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[Sitppkmeiit  to  the  BuiLDisa  News,  January  U,  18S1.J 


6 


THE'    BUILDING    NEWS 


AND 


ENGINEERING     JOURNAL. 


VOLUME      THE     T  H  I  RT  Y- N  I  N  T  H 


JULY     TO      DECEMBER,      1880. 


PUBLISnED   (FOR  THE   PKOPRIETOPO   BY   E.   J.   KIBBLE'WHITE 

AT      THE      OFFICE      OF      THE      '-BUILDING      NEWS,' 

31,  TAVISTOCK  STEEET,  COYEKT  G/UJDEX,  LONDON,  W.C 


Supplement  to  the  BvTVDTsa  Nsws,  January  14,  1881. 


737688 

UNIVEhSlTY  OF  TORONTO 


INDEX     TO     VOL.     XXXIX. 

[For  Index   to  Illnstrations  see   Page  VII.] 


ABBETS  :  Lacock,  23S ;  Malmcsbory, 

336  ;  6t.  lUdigund's.  Dover,  672  ;  West- 

minBter,    I3a;   ^Vhitby,   8;    Yorkshire, 

429 
A  B  C  of  art,  the,  166 
Abolition  of  I^adoa  fogs,  461 
Academy,    lioyol :   78 ;    admissions,    62 ; 

prizes,  693 
Aoceseohes  to  our  obelisk,  29,  31,  53,  79, 

U2 
Accidents,  London,  114 
Account,  a  builder's,  in  1571,  401 
Aooounts  of  metropolitan  water  cos.,  61 
Acme  ^lass  rooflng^,  Rcndlc's,  381 
Aooustica :  an  experiment  in,  176;  bad,  of 

churchea,  460 
Act,  employers*  liability,  7S5 
Adjoining:  land,  lateral  support  of,  634  ; 

owner  and  notice  to  appomt  surveyor, 

170 
Administration,  sanitary,  436 
Agreements,  biiildin^,  rescision  of,  491 
Agricultural:    buildings,   royal,   Dublin, 

341 :  hall,  engineering  exhibition,  581 
Air  :  light  and,  LAyboume  r.  Kidston,79, 

112, 133, 169 ;  pump  ventilators,  Boyle's, 

617 
Alexandra  palace,  industrial  exhibition, 

141,  292,  343 

AUeefed :  decadence  of  English  sculpture, 
311 ;  nuisance  from  brick-burning,  372 

Almanarks  and  diaries.  77G 

Almshouses,  Springfield,  558 

Altar  shrine,  a  Swiss,  141 

America ;  archieological  institute  of,  63 ; 
central,  explorations  in,  230 ;  sanitary 
science  in.  350,  790 

American  :  engineers  and  bridge-building, 
148 ;  institute  of  architects,  697 

AmesbuT)'  priory  ch.,  236 

Analysis,  water,  439 

Ancient  :  Babylonian  kings,  672  ;  British 
interments  m  Berks.  63;  buildings  of 
Halifax,  117.  169;  embroiderj-,  731; 
lights,  351,  377,  407;  masonry  in  Lon- 
doD*waU,  32*2 ;  moniuuents,  our,  62, 139  ; 
tombs  in  Switzerland,  182 

Anschutz,  Uermann,  the  late.  311 

Antiquarian:  field  club,  Dorset,  673; 
society,  Cambridge,  631,  673 

Apostles'  creed,  the,  732,  792 

Appliances,  household,  and  decorative 
furniture,  494 

Arbitrator,  the  professional,  competitions 
and.  343.  370,  401 

Arbitration,  Lancaster  waterworks,  662 

Arch :  horseshoe,  576 ;  ogee,  325 

Archsological :  associations  (British),  109, 
206,  234,  612.  631,  672  (Cambrian).  284 
(royal,  of  Ireland),  485  (Yorkshire). 
367;  discoTeries  at  Kirkdale  ch  ,  412; 
institutes  (American),  63  (royal),  109 
(do.  at  Lincoln).  195;  societies  <Berks\ 
898  (Bristol  and  Oloster),  118(Essex% 
123  (London  and  Middlesex],  226  (Nor- 
folk), 63,  (Rome).  326.  373,  401  (Surrey), 
lOe,  177  (Sussex),  239.  612 

Archaeology :  of  the  Sahara,  806 :  profes- 
aorahjp  of,  at  university  college,  1 ; 
Rhind  lectures  on,  425,  440,  468 

Arches  of  stone :  bridges,  form  and  thick- 
ness of,  61 ;  stability  and  strength  of, 
426 

Archaic  Greek  sculpture,  the  later  period 
of,  671 

Architect,  singular  action  by,  809 

Architects  :  American  institute  of,  697 ; 
and  local  board  tiurveyors,  724 ;  assist- 
ants, 616;  certificates.  677;  charges, 
81.  67C;  commission,  372,  402,  576; 
Glasgow  iniititute  of,  4S5,  78S;  (and 
municipal  buildings  competition^  641; 
in  Ijondun.  difficulties  of,  202;  Uml 
handbook,  701 ;  Manchester  society  of, 
606;  official  employment  of,  in  Bir- 
mingham. 62:  of  the  Italijin  Reniiis- 
■ancc,  668,  669,  696;  rights.  :*72  ; 
royal  institute  of  British,  78,  93,  251. 
617.  519,  525,  684,  605,  (Ml,  720;  sharing 
charges  with  quantity  surveyor,  663 

Architectural:  associations  (London),  498, 
622,641.554.  611,640,  668,774;  (do.  in 
East  Anglia),  62, 178,  206.  263 ;  in  Lom- 
bardv),  119;  (origin  of).  668;  (survey- 
ing cUas).  239 ;  (Birmingham),  M2, 715; 
(Edinbuigh),  631;  (Glasgow),  456; 
(northern),  673  ;  competitions  ("re 
memorial).  29  |  dictionary.  63;  improve- 
ments in  the  City,  65 ;  marbles  at  Fhoenix 
works,  Plymouth,  670;  mosaic,  design 
in,  607  ;  museum.  720 ;  notes  from  Nor- 
folk, 206.  253 ;  optics,  638  ;  photographs 
from  Norfolk,  483 ;  profession,  prospects 
and  position  of,  628;  Societies  (Leeds), 
627;  (Liverpool),  667.  631,  678;  tauto- 
logy, 722;  treatment  of  small  staircases, 
728,774 

Architecture :  cheapness  in,  786 ;  civil  (in 
18th  century),  166;  (sanitary  science  in 
relation  to^  641  ;  classic,  in  Glasgow 
and  London,  3-17;  m.-rcantile.  in  tho 
City.  464;  Norman,  2".v.,  2S3  fin  Scot- 
land), 253;  Norwegian,  283;  present 
jKwsibilities  of,  ~<i ;  price  of,  433,  4(3  ; 
Bcotdsh  church,  a  duke  on,  373 :  Statham, 
H.  H.,  on,  685,  613 


Aries  and  Nimes,  Boman,  7S7 

Amside,  sanitary  works  at,  810 

Arrangement,  safety,  for  water-pipes,  657 

Arsenic  in  wall-papers,  30 

Art :  A  B  C  of ,  166 ;  and  poetry,  study  of, 
577 ;  Carib,  166 ;  collections  in  the  pro- 
%ices,  19S ;  decorative,  108 ;  English, 
Barry's  influence  on,  634  ;  exhibitions, 
Sunday.  113;  French,  and  its  relations 
to  the  stiite,  410;  furniture,  original 
sketches  for,  350  ;  gallery,  Birmingham, 
5-1,  151 ;  Greek,  2t> ;  in  relation  to  social 
science,  439  ;  institute  of,  exhibition,  87, 
519  ;  is  it  the  imitation  of  nature !  579  ; 
metal-work,  examples  of,  93  ;  of  Celtic 
sculptured  monuments,  441 ;  season,  the 
coming,  577;  text-books,  3;  the  nude 
in,  410 ;  Weekes'a  lectures  on.  S3 

Artisans'  dwellings  :  act  (in  the  City),  141 
(in  Whitechapel) ,  663  ;  in  London,  4S9, 
577 

Artistic :  furniture,  modem,  410;  schools, 
English  and  Frendi,  172 :  sign-boards, 
369 

Artists*  :  colours,  92 ;  education,  437  ; 
homes.Sl,  182, 384, 412, 511,  702  ;  studios, 
club  designs,  627 

Arts:  minor,  256  ;  society  of,  31,  517,  781, 
(royal  Scottish),  663 

.cVruodel  castle,  790 

Assessment  of  workhouses  and  infirmaries, 
346 

Ashpits,  improved,  228 

Asphalte  tar-pa^ing,  720 

Assembly-room,  Pontefract,  573 

Assistants,  architects',  516 

Associated  carpenters  and  joiners  of  Scot- 
land, 731 

Associations  :  archfeological  (British),  109, 
206,  234,  512,  631,  672  (Cambrian)  284 
(royal,  of  Ireland),  485  (Yorkshire), 
267 ;  architectural  (Birmingham),  542 
715  (Edinburgh)  631,  673  (Glasgow),  456 
(London),  62,  119,  178,  205,  239,  253,498, 
522,  541,  554.  611,  640,668.  774  (northern) 
673 ;  master  builders  (natl.),  120 ;  muni- 
cipal and  sanitary  engineers  and  sur- 
veyors. 345,  397,  517  :  sanitary  assurance, 
547,  719 

Assurance :  classification,  sanitary,  80 ; 
association  for  London,  sanitary,  547, 
719 

Aston  :  drainage  scheme,  81 ;  hall,  mono- 
graph of,  255 ;  pubUc  buildings  and  free 
library,  196 

Asvlums :  Barnwell,  Gloucester,  513 ; 
Hull,  674 

Auctioneers'  licenses,  53 

Auction,  prisons  in  the,  172 

Audley  house,  Salisbury.  345 

Avebury  and  Silbury,  208 

Axis,  neutral,  225 

Award,  Bt'iLDixc  News  designing  club, 
210 

Awards,  secret  and  supplementary,  pro- 
fessional referees  and,  314 

Aylesbury,  sewage  utilisation  at,  140 

Ayr  hospital  competition,  805 


BABYLONIAN  kings,  ancient,  672 

Bandon  waior  supply,  516 

Band  saws,  344 

Banks :      Aberavon,     702 ;     Clerkenwell 

(rennv),498;  Dundee  (Scotland).  659: 

Llanrwst.  456  ;  Wakefield  (West  Riding) 

HI ;  Wellingborough  (two),  442 
Bargatc,   Southam  pton,    restoration    of, 

402 
Barge,  new  state,  Oxford,  604 
Bams,  mediipval,  119 
Bar  of  fact,  the  nature  theory  at  the,  035 
Barrack,  the  modem.  681,  G33,  G6I 
Barr>"'8 :  influence  on   English  art,  634 ; 

pictures  at  the  socy.  of  arts,  492 
Bat.dha,  209 

Bath,  Xtoman  baths  in,  200 
Baths:    Dudley,    256;    Ilfracombe,    167; 

Longton,  467  ;  Richmond,  SuiTcy,  369  ; 

Roman,  in  Bath  city,  200  ;  Botherham, 

29 ;  Turkish,  heating  and  ventihiting, 

258 
Bats  in  church,  316 
Battersea  :    defective  reservoirs  at,  230 ; 

steam  laundr>-,  397 
Baxter's  new  stone-breaker,  345 
Bayswalcr,  St.  Matthew'sch.  competition, 

456 
Beam,  wood,  662 

Beddington-park,  cricket  pavilion  in,  528 
Bed,  natural,  of  stone,  150 
Bedford-park,  Chiswick,  new  school  of  art, 

316 
Bedroom  chimney-piece,  199 
Belfast,  improvements  in,  177 
Bell  measurements,  63 
Bells,  pneumatic,  255 
Bench-knife,  joiners'.  455 
Benefit  society,  u  national,  22S 
Benevolent  institution,  builders*,  150,  5Pfi 
Berk-*:  ancient  British  interments  in,  63  ; 

archioological  socy.,  398 
Bermondaev :    town  hall,    G31 ;  tramway 

through, 691 
Bills  of  quantities  and  measuring  builders' 

work,  179 


Bilston,  gaa-explosion  at,  83 

Birkbeck  building  socy.,  82 

Birmingham;  arehi.  assocn.,  542,  715;  art 
gallery,  51,  151 :  Chamberlain  memorial, 
315;  improved  street  lighting  in,  5S3; 
Mason  college,  323;  master  builders' 
assocn.,  542;  official  employment  of 
architects  in,  52 

Blackburn  workhouse,  new  imbecile  wards, 
573 

Blackfriars-bridge,  statuary  on,  82,  398 

Bloomsbury,  improvements  in,  143,  196 

Board  schools  :  Batley,  470  :  Blaengwawr, 
137;  Boxmoor,  Hemel  Hempsted,  270; 
Buckingham,  256 ;  Carlisle,573  ;  Crovdon, 
512,776  ;  Douglas,  Isle  Man.  6S7;  HaUfax, 
182,  512 ;  Newbottle,  227 ;  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne,  210;  Newcastle-under-Lyne,  573; 
Hymouth,  168;  Sheffield,  227  (central), 
110;  South  Shields,  544 

Boattiouse  and  state  bai^e,  Oxford,  64 

Books :  and  china,  cabinet  for,  774  ;  on 
building  construction,  402 

Bordeaux,  church  building  at,  296 

Borough  boimdaries,  extension  of,  78 

Bouch,  Sir  Thos.,  the  late,  543 

Boudoir,  an  octagon,  732 

Bournemouth  regulations  for  house  drains, 
315 


87 

Bowood  house,  237 

Boyle's :  air-pump  ventilators,  517  ;  chim- 
ney-cowl, 614 

Boys'  home,  Sheflford,  94 

Brackets,  the  mechanics  of,  541 

Bradenstoke  priory,  234 

Bradford,  increase  in  value  of  property  at, 
633 

Bi-ading,  Roman  buildings  near,  354,  489, 
698 

Breach  of  :  by-laws,  662  ;  contract,  82 

Breaking  weight  of  cast-iron  column,  662 

Breweries  and  maltings,  232 

Brick :  burning,  alleged  nuisance  from, 
372 ;  coloured  damp-proof  composition, 
229  :  footings  to  tank,  229  ;  pier,  weight 
carried  by,  616  ;  what  is  a,  201 

Eriokmakers,  meeting  of  metropolitan, 
4S4 

Brickmaking  season,  the,  170 

Bricks,  cross-swearing  as  to,  114 

Bridge-building,  and  American  engineers, 
148 

Bridges  :  and  tolls,  London,  197 ;  Black- 
friars,  82,  398 ;  iron,  difi"erent  modes  of 
erecting,  671 ;  London,  122 ;  of  the  world, 
largest,  353  ;  Over,  515  ;  over  streets, 
passenger,  ^S ;  railway  co.'s,  78,  497, 
546,  575,  605,  660,  6S9.  717;  Southesk, 
781 ;  stone,  form  and  thickness  of  arches 
of,  61 ;  Tay,  34,  56,  73,  SO,  107, 123,  368, 
577;  temporary  wooden,  172;  Victoria 
suspension,  Chelsea,  643 

Brigade  depot,  Oxford,  583 

Brighton  church  competition,  393 

Bristol:  and  Gloster.  archseol.  socy.,  118  ; 
master  builders'  assocn.  at,  120;  trade 
school  competition,  287,  6S7 

British:  archaeological  assocn.,  109,  512, 
631,  672  (at  Devizes),  206,  2^4;  archi- 
tects, royal  institute  of,  78,  93,  254,  517, 
519,  625,  584,  605,  641,  720 ;  artists' 
soct's  exhibition,  639;  interments  in 
Berks,  63  ;  museum  (and  Sunday  soey.), 
82  (extension),  83,  229  (lighting),  109 

Brittany,  170 

Broadstairs  drainage  competition,  537 

Bromley,  Kent,  sewerage  scheme,  344 

Brussels,  fine  art  exhibition  at,  291,  318 

Builder:  and  client,  809;  and  the  prima 
donna,  171, 173  ;  charge  of  fraud  against. 
372 

Builders:  account  in  1571,  401;  and  em- 
ployers' liability  bill,  113,  257.  258;  and 
plumbers  guilty  of  manslaughter,  439  ; 
and  quantities,  224;  assocns.,  master 
(Birmingham),  542  (natl.),  120;  benevo- 
lent institution,  150,  686 ;  dispute,  a, 
547  ;  extras,  171,  173  ;  free  water  supply 
for,  229  ;  important  to,  633  ;  partnei-ship 
dispute,  170 ;  work,  measuring,  and 
bills  of  quantities,  179 

Building  :  act  (by-laws,  metropolitan).  140 
(case  undsr),  488;  agreements,  rescission 
of,  491;  and  engineering  exhibits  at  the 
cattle  show,  668 ;  bridge,  American, 
148  ;  construction,  books  on,  402 ;  exhi- 
bition, Islington,  663;  half-timbered, 
460  ;  jerrj-,  at  Edmonton,  31,  114  ;  News 
designing  club,  51,  91,  124,  210,  486,  627, 
773;  regulations,  general,  for  Scotland, 
810;  society  (Birkbeck),  82;  trades 
unions,  proposed  federation  of,  120 

Buildings  :  at  the  east  end  of  London,  405  ; 
in  Sduth  Ixindon,  553  ;  in  the  city,  637  ; 
in  Westminster,  new,  232;  of  Halifax, 
ancient,  117,  169;  Roman,  near  Brading, 
354,  489.  698;  sanitary  regulation  of, 
437  ;  separate,  114  ;  unsafe,  376 

Bunhill-tields,  tombs  in,  403 

Burning  bricks,  alleged  nuisance  from,  372 

Burton :  market-hall  competition,  605, 
687  ;  workhouse  competition,  037 

Butterfleld's  churches,  Mr.,  138 


By-laws:    breach  of,  662;    metropolita 
building  act,  140 


CABINET  for  books  and  china,  774 

Caen,  sketches  in,  326 

Cambrian  archfeol.  assocn.,  284 

Cambridge  antiquarian  socy.,  631,  673 

Campagna,  Marquis  de,  the  late,  489 

Cannock  waterworks,  140 

Canterbury :  Cathedral  stair  turrets,  373, 
402  ;  St.  Paul's  ecclesiologists  at,  30, 138 

Cantor  lectures  on  potten'  and  porcelain, 
634.  658,  692,  719,  811 

Cardiff :  public  hall  competition,  63,  412 ; 
water  supply,  488,  719 

Carib  art,  166 

Carpenters  and  joiners  of  Scotland,  asso- 
ciated, 731 

Carthusian  monastery  in  Sussex,  341 

Cassie  memorial,  Edinburgh,  430 

Castings,  iron,  61 

Cast  iron :  790 ;  columns,  breaking  weight 
of,  662 

Castles :  Arundel,  790 ;  Bratton,  208 ; 
Castle  Howard,  544,  574 ;  Chepstow,  455 ; 
Colchester,  31 ;  Devizes,  206 

Catalogue  of  pictures,  Dulwich  gallery,  7 

Cathedral  organ  case  and  screen  design, 
442 

Cathedrals  :  and  doms  488 ;  Canterbury, 
36,  373,  402 ;  Cologne,  230,  4S3  ;  Edin- 
burgh (St.  Mary)  137 ;  Gloucester,  402, 
459;  Hong  Kong  R.C.,  773;  Lichfield, 
810;  Limoges,  325;  Lincoln,  719,  720; 
Liverpool  [projected)  82 ;  Melbourne 
(St.  Paul)  64,  113;  Old  St.  Paul's,  523, 
555;  Perigueux,  354;  Rochester,  498; 
Sir  Gilbert  Scott's  restorations  of,  288, 
314;  St.  Albau's,  455,  466,  498,627,644, 
672,674,  689,  717,  788;  St.  Paul's,  254; 
Sydney,  544 ;  Truro,  91,  256,  441 ; 
Venice,  St.  Mark's,  700;  York,  342,  345 

Cattle  show,  engineering  and  building  ex- 
hibits at,  668 

Ceiling :  decoration  of  a  distemper,  30 ; 
painted,  a,  614 

Ceilings,  groined,  460 

Celtic  sculptured  monuments,  art  of,  441 

Cement:  future  of ,  607,  661,  688,717,780, 
807 

Cement,  Portland  :  29  ;  at  institution  civil 
engineers,  520 ;  colouring,  718.  7S0 ; 
early  days  of,  725;  for  roof  and  floor 
construction,  60  ;  iron  filings  in,  53,  SO, 
111,  197,  228.  317,  399,  428,  486,  515; 
manufacture  of,  5  ;  testing,  81,  197,  575 
(improvements  in),  495  (recent  methods 
of),  469 

Cements,  use  of,  611,  640 

Cemeteries  :  Cawood,  456  ;  St.  Mary  Cray, 
544  ;  Stratford-on-Avon,  567 ;  Swindon, 
776  ;  Tavistock  (chapel)  28 

Central :  America,  exploration  of  ruined 
cities  in,  230  ;  hall,  houses  of  parlt.,  de- 
coration of,  54 

Certificates  :  architects',  577 ;  science  and 
art,  30,  81 

Chamber  for  organ,  805 

Chamberlain  memorial,  Birmingham,  315 

Channel  tunnel,  the,  122,  663 

Chapels  :  Abbotsbury  [St.  Catherine),  152 ; 
Aberystwith  (Welsh  Wesln.),  77  ;  Acas- 
ter  Malbis  (Wesln.),  227;  ancient  con- 
crete, 460;  Beighton  (Wesln.),  341; 
Bristol  (boro.asrlum),  398;  Camberwell- 
green  (Congl.\  341;  Cardiff  (Ca!v. 
Meth.),  687;  Conway  (Wesln.),  3S3 ; 
Dover  (memorial  hall),  412,  631 ;  Dub- 
lin (St.  Columbus'  coll.  R.C.,  Rathf;irn- 
ham),  312;  Ely-place,  Holborn  (St. 
Etheldreda),  606;  Halifax  (Wesln.  St. 
John),  2S4,  426;  Haven-green,  Ealing 
(Bapt.),  152 ;  Iiiams-o'th'Height(Wshi.), 
312  ;  Newton-heath  (Wesln.)i  368  ;  Old- 
ham (St.  Anne,  B.C.),  659 ;  Over  Dar- 
wen  (Wesln.), 659:  Pendlebmy  (Congl.), 
137;  Pendleton  (Presbj-tn.)  27;  public 
school,  designs  for,  773 ;  Retfoixl 
(Wesln.),  603  ;  R\-ton-on-TyTie  (Wesln.^ 
77;  Sliipston-on-Stour  (Wesln.),  168'; 
Skipton  (Prim.  Meth.),  27  ;  South  Bank 
(Wesln.).  659  ;  Tavistock  (cemetery),  28  ; 
Tulse-hiU  (Weshi.),  77 

Chapter-house,  Lincoln,  stained  glass  ir 
719 

Charge  of  fraud  against  a  builder,  372 

Charges:    an    architect's,    81,    576;    siu 
veyor's,  546,  780  (for  quantities),  633 

Chamel-h»use,  Stratford-on-Avon,  692 

Chartres.  la  porte  Guillaume,  210 

Chateau  de  la  Jovordaye,  442 

Chateaux  of  the  Loire,"  174 

Chatham  dockyard  extension  works,  353 

Cheapness  in  a'rcbitectui-e,  786 

Cheapside.  a  gas  explosion  in,  SO 

Chelsea,  proposed  new  street,  431 

Cheltenham,  horse  repository,  27 

Chemistrj'  i.»f  sewage  precipitation,  775 

Chepstow  castle.  455 

Chimney  cowl.  Boyle's,  614 

CUininev-pieees :   and  over-mantels,  732 
Aston  hall,  64  ;  bedi'oom,  197 

Chimneys,  raising,  59 

China  and  books,  cabinet  for,  774 

Chiswick,  proposed  markets  at,  781 


BTTCLDING  NEWS,  Vol.  XXXIS. 
July  to  December,  ISiiO. 


INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


Choir  school,  King's  coll.,  Cambridg'e,  124 

i  Chorltun  miioa  otiicos  competition,  644 

!   Christma^-<lay  at  Exeter,  810 

;  Church  :  architecture,  Scottish,  373 ;  build- 
ing at  Bonleaux,  2itG;  building  socies 
{Gloster  and  Bristol  ,  456  ^incorporated,! , 
110 ;  congress,  Leicester,  345 ;  door, 
spring  to  close,  2S7  ;  flooi-s,  sloping,  372, 
402 ;  hunting  in  Sussex,  379  ;  north  side 
of,  2S3 ;  notes,  on  and  off  the  east  coast, 
601 ;  roof,  felt  on,  633 ;  used  as  pigstye, 
200 
Churches  :  Abingcr,  227 ;  Amesbury,  236  ; 
Avebury,  209;  Bacup  (St.  John),  806; 
Balljrculter,  5SS ;  Bayswater  (St.  Mat- 
thew), 456;  Bedford  (Trinity),  426; 
Beverley  [minster  screen),  426  (new), 
167  ;  Bigrigg,  603 ;  Bishop  Cannings, 
20S;  Bishop  Fraser  upon,  606;  Black- 
bum  fSt.  rhilip),  778;  Boxgrove,  239  ; 
Bradford-on-Avon  (Saxon),  239;  Brad- 
ford ^St.  Thomas),  606;  Braoksome  (AH 
SS.),  614;  Brighton,  398  (St.  Martin  , 
806;  Broad  Hinton  (St.  Peter  ad  Vin- 
cula),  573 ;  Bromham,  237  ;  Brvnammaw, 
456;  Buniham-We8lgate,54«;  Burv  St. 
Edmund'8(St.  Mary),  426  ;  Butterfield's, 
Mr.,  13S;  Caen  tSt.  Gilles),  326,  52S; 
Camden-town  (St.  llicliael),  412  ;  Can- 
terbury ^St.  Martini,  33 :  Cawthome  (All 
6S.).  807;  Caynham  (St.  Mary/,  124; 
Chesterton  (St.  Andrew),  227  ;  Chideock 
(St.  Giles!,  426;  Churchill  (St.  John), 
227  ;  Clonakilty  [St.  Mary  Immaculate, 
B.C.),  137;  Congresbury,  399 ;  Cripple- 
gate,  E.C.  (St.  Giles),  402;  Crwmer, 
469  ;  Croydon  (St.  James),  498  ;  Dalling- 
ton,  715  ;  Derby  (Trinitv),  778  ;  Devizes, 
206;  Docklow,  644;  Draycott  Ceme, 
234;  East  Ardsley  (St.  Michael),  456; 
Eastbourne,  284 ;  Edinburgh  ( Barclay  1, 
898 ;  Edington,  207 ;  Endford,  236 ; 
Erlestoke,  256 ;  Fairfield,  316 ;  Fletching, 
6S7;  Fort  William  (St.  Andrew),  341  ; 
Fourvii>re,  Lyon  (N.D.),  380;  Frampton 
(St.  Mary),  29,  53;  Frant,  485  ;  Frimley, 
687;  Govanhill  (Estab.),  284;  Glouces- 
ter tRaikesi,  573,  5S7,  658,  715,  776; 
Great  Paxton  (Trinity),  27  ;  Gunnislake 
(St.  Anne),  603;  Haltham,  77S  ;  Ham- 
mersmith (new  parish),  240,  2S7  ;  Hanley 
(Congl.;,  778;  Hartest (AU  SS.),  426; 
Heythrop-park,  427 ;  Honiton  (St. 
Michael),  631  ;  Horton,  659;  Hudders- 
fleld  (Trinity),  687;  Hungerford,  456; 
Jersey  (St.  George),  167;  John-st., 
Berkeley-sq.  (St.  Mary),  732;  Keusal 
Kew  Town  (B.C.),  632;  KiUeam, 
603;  Kirkby  Malzeard  (St.  Andrew), 
S41;  Kirkdale,  412;  Knapton  (St.  Ed- 
mund), 2S5 ;  Langley  Burrell,  234 ; 
Langley  (St.  Leonard),  341 ;  Lea,  "Wilts, 
77;  Leeds  ( Emmanuel  i,  36S ;  Leicester 
(St.  Margaret),  399;  Leith  tFree),  778; 

t  Leonard  Stanley,  US;  Lewanick,  110; 
Liverpool  (U.P.'j,  27;  Llanbadwr,  27; 
Louth  (St.  James),  298;  Lozells,  Bir- 
mingham (St.  Paul),  341  ;  Ludlow  (St. 
John  Evan.),  137  ;  Maesllwch-park  (pro- 
posed), 94;  Maghull,  341;  Maidstone 
IR.C.;,  312;  Malmesbury  (abbey),  235  ; 
Manchester  (at.  Clement),  110;  Man- 
ningham  (St.  Luke  ,  659;  Marston,  196'; 
Mells  (St.  Andrew),  6S7 ;  Monmouth 
(St.  Thomas',  36S ;  Morville  (St.  Gre- 
gory),285;  Needham  Market  ^St.John), 
603;  Xeedwood  .Christ  ch.j,  687  ;  Nether 
Avon,  236 ;  Newark-on-Trent,  401 ;  New- 
casUe-on-Tyne  (St.  Matthew),  702 ;  Xew- 
gate-st..  E.C.  (Christch.),39S;  Xewtown, 
Exeter,  573,  5S8;  New  York  (St.  Francis 
Xavier,  B.C.},  326;  Nidd,  141;  Xorth 
Yorkshire,  2S5 ;  Xonrich  ;St.  Peter  Man- 
croft),  659;  Xuthurst,  bv  Knowle  (St. 
Thomas),  77  ;  Old  Milverton,  312,  315; 
old  Newcastle,  298 ;  Over  Haddon  (St. 
Anne),  137;  Oxhev,  by  Buahey  (St. 
Matthew).  485;  Partick,  457;  Pinhoe 
(St.  Michael:,  168,  197,  228;  Plymouth 
iSt.  Peter',  558;  Portsmouth  (R.C), 
778 ;  Potteme,  207 ;  Puddletrenthide, 
603 ;  Queenstown,  South  Africa,  5S7  ; 
Radclilfe-bridge,  Manchester  (New 
Jem.),  168;  Ramsbottom  (St.  Joseph, 
B.C.),  457;  Rock  Ferry(St.  Anne.R.C.;, 
256;  Scarborough  (Trinity),  110;  Scis- 
»ett  (St.  Augustine),  457;  Sheffield 
(parish),  513;  Southburgh  (St.  Andrew!, 
544;  Spalding  (St.  Paul],  603;  Stand- 
lake,  110;  Steeple  Aston,  208 ;  Steetley, 
M4 ;  Stoodleigh  (St.  Margaret),  110; 
6tow-cum-Quy,  659;  St.  Pancras,  411- 
St.  Quentin  (St.  Michael).  270;  Strat- 
ford-on-Avon  (Trinity),  692;  Sutton 
Benger,  234;  Swanscombe,  168;  Syden- 
ham (St.  Matthew  ,  HO;  Thirsk  (bats 
in),  316  ;  Thurpe  by  Sowerhy  (St.  John>, 
399;  ToU'shunt  d'Arcy,  604;  Tywar- 
dreath,  342 ;  Upper  Tulse-hfll  (St.  Mat- 
thias) lie,  123.  Ifi7.  169,  182:  -Walkera 
(St.  Mar>-  ,544;  Walsall  ,St  Matthew. 
K9 ;  >yalton-le-Dale  ,R.C.),  457  ;  VTek 
Kilbnde  Free  ,  168;  "West  Vale  (St 
John  .  545;  Whittchapel  [St.  Marv). 
2S9.  460;  ^VhitUe-le-Woods  (St.  John  ! 
168;  Wdlingham-by-Stow  (St.  Helen', 
613;  Wunbome,  776 :  "Wingfield,  659- 
Wolverhampton  (St.  Paull,  659-  York 
(St.  Lawrence,  660 
Cisterns  :  and  water  supply,  269 ;  under- 
ground, 61 
City,  the  :  and  ^Mb  institute  (classes^ 
430  (examination:^  ,  200;  architectural 
improvements  in.  55 ;  artisans*  dwellings 
Act  in,  141  :  council,  574;  discovery  of 
Roman  wall  in,  G44  ;  growth  in  value  of 
prunisea  in,  ^9,547;  improvementa  in, 


322 ;     mercantile  luchitecture    in,  464 ; 
new  buildings  in,  637  ;  of  London  school, 
485 ;  technical  schools,  230 
Civil  :    and  mechanical   engineers*  socy., 
692;  architecture  tin  18th  centy.),  165; 
sanitary   science    in  relation    to,    641  ; 
engineers,  institution  of,  548,  781  (Port- 
land cement  atj,  520;  service  estinuites, 
78 
Classic  architecture  in  Glasgow  and  Lon- 
don, 347 
Classification  and  assurance,  sanitary,  SO 
Class,  surveying,  archi.  assocn.,  239 
Cleopatra's  Needle,  accessories  to,  29,  31, 
53,  79,  112 

Client's  point  of  view,  competitions  from, 
375 

Clitheroe  schools  competition,  805 

Clocks,  public ;  Lincoln  cathedral,  720 ; 
Numberg  museum,  316 ;  some  new,  141  ; 
Wakefield  town  hall,  316 

Close  church  door,  spring  to,  287 

Closets  and  drains,  traplcss,  427,  459, 
514,  546,  574,  604 

Clubs :  antiquarian  (Dorset),  673  ;  Build- 
ing News  designing,  51,  91,  124,  210, 
486,  627,  773;  Darwen  (Conserv.),  715; 
Glasgow,  792;  Liverpool  (Conserv.),  63, 
412,  434;  Woobum-green  (workmen's), 
240 

Oyde  purification  scheme,  4-^,  547 

Coal  screening,  electric  light  for,  663 

Coast,  the  east,  ch.  notes  on  and  off,  601 

Coffee  music  hall,  royal  Victoria,  778 

Coffee  taverns  :  archi.  assocn.  design,  674  ; 
Exeter,  226  ;  Kensal-green,  210  ;  Salis- 
bury, 778;  Woolwich,  646 

Colchester :  castle,  31  ;  sewerage  scheme, 
30 

Colleges:  Birmingham  (Mason).  323  ;  Can- 
terbury (St.  Augustine),  37;  Oxford 
(Magdalene),  732;  University,  London, 
298  (archaeology  at),  1  (extension  ofj,  31 

Cologne  cathedral,  completion  of,  230,  483 

Coloured  drawings,  ^6 

Colour  in  Greek  sculpture,  311 

Colouring  of  :  houses,  the  outer,  149  ;  Port- 
land cement,  718,  780 

Colours,  artists',  92 

Column,  our  commonplace,  25,  150,  225, 
283,  324,  805 

Columns,  cast  iron,  breaking  weight  of, 
662 

Commisssion,  architects*,  372,  402,  576 

Committee,  fog  and  smoke,  617,  548,  691 

Commonplace  colimin,  our,  25,  150,  225, 
283,  324,  805 

Compass-point,  662 

Compensation,  139 

Competitions:  and  the  professional  arbi- 
trator, 343,  370,  401 ;  architectural  (re 
memorial),  29;  baths  (Rotherham),  27; 
bd.  schools  (Croydon),  512  ^Douglas, 
Isle  Man),  687  (Halifax),  182, 512  ;  ceme- 
teries (St.  Mary  Cray),  544  (Stratford- 
on-Avou),  587  (Swindon),  776;  churches 
(Bayswater,  St.  Matthew),  456  ; 
(Bnghtoni,  398;  (Gloucester,  Raikes', 
573,  587,  658,  715,  776  (Newtovm,  Exet«r) 
573,  5S8  (Queenstown,  South  Africa), 
587  (Upper  Tulse-hill,  St.  Matthias), 
116,  123,  167,  169,  182;  club  houses 
(Gla^ow),  792  (Liverpool  Conserv.),  63, 
412,  434:  dairy  homesteads,  491,  515; 
drainage  (Broadstairs),  5S7  ;  essay 
(Strasburg,  imiv.),  2S8  ;  from  thechent's 
point  of  view,  375;  furniture  Owen 
Jones'),  369;  gas-works  (Tipton),  687  ; 
hall  (Exeter),  167;  harbour  (Whitby), 
466;  hospital  (Ayr),  805;  infirmary 
(Fulham  pauper),  123  ;  local  board  offices 
(Leyton),  456,693 ;  market  hall  (Burton;, 
605,  6S7 ;  markets  (Waterford  i,  498 ; 
monimient  i, Victor  Emanuel,  Rome),  398; 
municipal  bxiildings  (Glasgow'),  53,109, 
256,  270,  2S^,  293,  313,  319,  339,  340,  343, 
344,  363,  354,  370,  400,  456,  4§4.  515,  644, 
661,  689,  716,  780,  808 ;  national  draw- 
ings (S.  Kensington),  85;  orphanage 
(O'Brien;,  52,  442 ;  public  hall  (Cardiff), 
63,  412;  sdiool  and  chapel  (Selby 
Wealn.),  689 ;  school  of  art  (Liverpool), 
587,  632,  689,  715,  716,  779,  808  ;  schools 
(Bristol,  trades),  287,  687  (Clitheroe), 
805  (Croydon  bd.),  776  (Newbxiry  gram- 
mar), 459,  487  (Truro,  Wesln.),  687; 
sewage  disposal  (Norwood),  573  ;  slates, 
splitting  and  dressing  f  Carnarvon) ,  260 ; 
station  (Liverpool  Excnange),  779,  808; 
statuary  (Blackfriars-bridge),  82,  398 
statue  (Rowland  Hill),  456,806;  swim- 
ming-baths tRichmoud),  369;  town 
hall  (Eastboume\  776  (Pontefiuct),  573, 
631,  636,  689,  716 ;  trades  house  (Glas- 
gow'. 326  ;  union  offices  (Chorlton),  544 ; 
ventilation  (Yeovil),  544;  vestry-hall 
(Westminster) ,  29,  33,  63,  294,  340,  369, 
400,512;  water  supply  schemes  (JDun- 
dalk;,  456  (Limerick),  298,  516;  work- 
house (Burton-on-Trent),  687 

Completion  of  :  Cologne  Cathedral,  230, 
483 ;  frescoes,  in  Capitol  of  Washington, 
199 

Composers  and  copyists,  722 

Composition,  damp-proof,  229 

Compulsory  purchase  of  land,  314 

Concrete:  chapel,  ancient,  460;  dome  for 
India,  408;  eureka,  403;  material  for, 
402 ;  modem,  348 

Conductors,  lightning,  inspection  of,  267 

Congresses  :  archwologic^  (Derizca).  206, 
234;  church  (Leicester),  345;  sanitarv 
(Exeter),  316,  367.  397;  social  scien-^'- 
(Edinburgh).  171,  259,  397,436;  t^ad^- 
union  (DubUn),  324 

(Conservative  club,  competition,  Liverpool. 
63,  412,  4a4  I 


Conservatory,  warming,  46") 

Construction  :  and  situation  of  dwellings', 
697;  half-timbered,  780;  materials  and, 
695 ;  of  gas-works,  66 ;  stone  in,  665 

Constructional  ironwork, 661 

Constructive  study  of  Victoria  embank- 
ment, 115,  144 

Contract :  breach  of,  82 ;  work  and  low- 
tenders ,  580 

Convent,  Fulham  (Carmelite),  544 

Conversion  of  dwellings  into  shops,  587 

Copies,  modem,  of  wooden  houses,  585 

Copyists  and  composers,  722 

Com  exchange,  Ipswich,  513 

Cost  of  artisans'  dwellings  act  in  the  City, 
141 

Cottages :  Duke  of  Devonshire's  prize 
medal,  316,  372 ;  gamekeepers',  91  ; 
£100,  81  ;  Maidstone.  558 

Courts:  law,  the  new,  209,  288,  314; 
racket,  314 

Cousen,  John,  the  late,  SIO 

Coventry,  old  tapestrv  from  St.  Mary's, 
613 

Coverings,  water-proof,  409 

Covers,  manhole,  29 

Coves  t©  eaves,  plaster,  690 

Cowfold,  Carthusian  monastery,  341 

Cracking  of  paint.  700 

Creed,  the  Apostles',  732,  792 

Creosoting  timber,  suggestions  for,  181 

Cricket  pavilion,  Beddington-park,  528 

Cropley,  filter-beds  at,  344 

Crosses  and  headstones,  designs  for,  701 

Croydon  bd.  schools  competition,  512,  776 


DAIRY  homestead:  competition,  491, 
615  ;  prize  design,  702 

Dalton-in-Fumess  sewerage  scheme,  81 

Damages  for  dilapidations,  81 

Damp  :  house,  229  ;  —  or  what  ?  718,  780 ; 
proof  brick-coloured  composition,  229 ; 
walls,  81,  633.  662 

Dangerous  structures,  expenses  of  remov- 
ing, 662 

Days,  early,  of  Portland  cement,  725 

Deals,  yellow,  487 

Decadence  of  English  sculpture,  allied, 
311 

Decoration :  house,  hints  on,  581 ;  of  dis- 
temper ceiling,  30;  of  central  hall, 
Houses  of  Parliament,  54 ;  of  St.  Pan- 
eras*  ch.,  411 ;  of  vacht,  200 ;  sculptural, 
553 

Decorative :  art,  108 ;  furniture  and  house- 
hold appliances,  494 ;  metal  work,  Scot- 
tish, 425;  stonework,  do.,  440 

Defective  mortar,  647 

Defects,  Siinitary,  of  rented  houses,  law 
on.  460 

Delays  and  extras,  4SS 

Deposited  plans,  deviations  from,  140 

Derwent  Valley  railway,  proposed,  230 

Design  :  and  planning,  domestic,  622 ;  in 
architectural  mosaic,  607  ;  ornamental, 
H.  H.  Statham  on,  613 

Designing  club,  Buildisg  News,  51,  91, 
124,  210,  486,  627,  773 

Destruction  of  St.  Mary's,  Whitechapel. 
269 

Designs:  archi.  assocn.  prize,  522,  674; 
church,  St.  Matthias,  Upper  Tulse-hill. 
116  ;  club,  Liverpool  Conservative,  434 ; 
dairy  homesteads,  491,  702;  for  furni- 
ture, Owen  Jones'  prize,  369 ;  for  head* 
stones  and  crosses,  701 ;  local  board 
offices,  Leyton,  693 ;  municipal  build- 
ings, Glasgow,  2S9,  313,  319,  339,  354  ; 
national  competition,  S.  Kensington, 
85;  i-eviews  of  B.  N.  club,  91,  627,  773  ; 
royal  academv,  693 ;  town  haU,  Ponte- 
fract,  636 ;  vestry  hall,  Westminster,  33 

Determination  of  thickness  and  form  of 
arches  of  stone  bridges,  61 

Deviations  from  deposited  plans,  140 

Devizes,  archseological  congress  at,  206, 
234 

Devonport  sewerage  works,  662 

Devonshire's  cottages,  Duke  of,  316,  372 

Dictionary,  the  architectural,  53 

Different  modes  of  erecting  iron  bridges, 
671 

Difficulties  of  architects  in  London,  202 

Dilapidations,  damages  for,  81 

Dip-traps,  662,  690 

Directory  of  science  and  art  department, 

345 
Dirt ;  and  disease  in  Rotherhithe,  172 ;  in 

Canterburj-  cathedral,  373,  402 
Disallowed,  district  surveyor's  fees,  429 
Disaster,  the  Tay  bridge,  report  on,  W,  56, 

80,107 
Distemper :    an  improved,    410 ;    ceiling, 

decoration  of,  30 
Distribution  of  sound  by  steel  wires,  152 
District  surveyors :  fees,  53  (di^iUowed) , 

429  ;  powers  of,  229 
Dividing  schoolroom,  372 
Docks,  Grangemouth,  406 
Dockyard  extensions,  Chatham,  353 
Dome,  concrete,  for  India,  405 
Domestic:     design    and    planning,    522; 

plumbin?  and  water  service,  630 

Doms  "  and  miinsters,  488 
Doncaster  waterworks,  516 
Door,  ch.,  spring  to  close,  287 
Doors.  487.  616 
Dorchester,  sewage  disposal    difficulties, 

140 
Dort^  mllerv.  the.  166 

...♦  .^.,:. .,.„..„  ^^i^  club,  573 

1         I   ^!   n,  board  schools  com - 

■  : .  -:    i,       _  .  .  Is  abbey,  672 
uiiifc-ai.,  dituiutge  in,  200 


Drainage  :  in  Downing-at.,  200 ;  of  Broad- 
stairs,  5S7  ;  of  Dublin,  report  on,  176  ;  of 
new  houses,  558 ;  of  workhuuses,  225 ; 
rain-water,  613 ;  scamped,  in  a  work- 
house, 171 

Drains;  house  (and  their  record),  497, 
( Uourneinouth  regulations  as  to),  604  ; 
315;  traplcss  closets  and,  427,459,486. 
514,  515,  574,  004 ;  trapping  and  venti- 
lating, 632 

Draught  or  ventilation,  572,  033 

Dra>ving  :  instruction  in,  in  France,  G94 ; 
pen,  Sprenper's,  2>8;  room  comer,  732: 
schools  on  Lc'inster  lawTi,  Dublin,  810 

Drawings :  archi.  assocn.  prize,  522; 
coloured,  516 ;  mounting,  372 ;  national 
competition,  S.  Kensington,  85 

Dr.  Tanners,  15th  century,  197 

Dmidical  researches  in  South  of  France, 
326 

Dry  rot  in  chorches,  Bishop  Fraser  on, 
606 

Dublin ;  agricultural  buildings,  royal 
socy.,  341 ;  drawing  schools  on  Lcinster 
lawn,  810;  new  theatre  royal,  39;  royal 
commissioners'  report  on  drainage  of, 
176 

Dudley  gallery,  winter  exhibition.  609 

Duke  of  Devonshire's  cottages,  316,  372 

Dulwich  gallery,  catalogue  of  pictures,  7 

Dundalk  water  supply  competition,  456 

Dunstable  new  town  hall,  631 

DupUcatc  works  of  art,  198 

DweUings :  artisans,  in  London,  4S9>  677  ; 
company,  improved  industrial,  200 ; 
conversion  of,  into  shops,  587  ;  healthy, 
147  ;  internal  walls  of,  460 ;  situation  and 
consti-uction  of,  697  ;  underwriting,  28, 
79,  111,  139,  169;  unsanitary,  140 


EARLIEST  Norman  keep,  the.  547 

Early  :  Christian  inscribed  Scottish  monu- 
ments, 495 ;  days  of  PorUand  cement, 
726 

East :  Anglia,  architectural  assocn.  in,  62, 
178,  206,  263;  coast,  ch.  notes  on  and  off 
the,  601 ;  end  of  London,  new  buildings 
-  at,  405 

Eiastboume  town  hall  competition,  776 

Eaves,  plaster  coves  to,  690 

Ecclesiastical  art  exhibition,  Leicester, 
54 

Ecclesiological  socy.,  St.  Paul's,  36,  138, 
528.  719 

Edinburgh  :  additional  water  supply,  372 ; 
archi.  assocn.,  631,  673;  exhibition  of 
Scottish  paintings,  381,  440;  notes  from, 
339,  727;  social  science  congress,  171, 
259,  397,  436  ;  St.  Cuthbert's  poorhouse, 
110  ;  St.  Mail's  cathl.  reredos,  137 

Edington  priory  and  church,  207 

Edmonton,  jerry  building  at,  31, 114 

Education  of  artists,  437 

Effigy,  wooden,  at  Dartmouth,  172 

EoTPtian :  linen,  ancient,  346 ;  very 
modem,  29 

Eighteenth  century  civil  architecture,  165 

Electric  light :  for  coal  screening,  663 ;  its 
production  and  use,  62 

Elements  of  mechanism,  the,  630 

Ely  water  supply,  288 

Embankment,  Victoria,  a  constructive 
study,  115,  144 

Embroidery :  ancient,  731 ;  examples  of 
old,  498 

Emplovers'  liability :  act,  785 ;  bill, 
builders  and,  113,  257,  258 

Employment,  otticial,  of  architects  in  Bir- 
mingham, 62 

Engineering  :  and  building  esJiibits  at 
cattle  show,  668  ;  exhibition,  Islington, 
681 ;  scholarships,  Gilcluist,  316 ;  society, 
Liverpool,  461,  700 

Engineers  :  American,  and  bridge-build- 
ing, 148 ;  mechanical  institute  of,  171 ; 
of  Philadelphii,  789 ;  socy.  of,  720 ;  socy. 
of  civil  and  mechanical,  692 

English  :  and  French  artistic  schools,  172 ; 
art,  Barry's  influence  on,  634 ;  ch. 
architecture,  essay  on,JS0;  homesteads, 
26,  53 ;  sculpture,  alleged  decadence  of, 
311 

Essay  :  competition,  Strasburg  univ.,288; 
on  English  ch.  architecture,  SO ;  on  glass 
trade,  663 

Essex  archfeol.  socy.,  123 

Establishments,  hydropathic,  81 

Eureka  concrete,  Nichols's,  403 

Evaporation  from  traps,  to  prevent,  171 

E^-ils  of  trapping  drains,  427,  459,  486, 514, 
545,  574,  604 

Examinations  :  city  and  guilds  of  London 
institute,  200;  surveyors',  120, 149;  tech- 
nological, 114 

Examples  of  art  metal  work,  93  .   - 

Exchange  station  compttition,  Lirerpool, 

779,  808 

ExcuRtion  of  archi.  assoon,  62 

Exeter  hall  competition,  167 

Exeter:  Christmas  day  at,  810 ;  mcmonal 
cross,  547 ;  Newtown  ch.  competition. 
573,  588 ;  sanitary  congress  at,  316,  367, 
397 

Exhibitions:  art  (institute  ofl,  87,  619 
(Leek),  431  (Sunday),  113  (Whitchurch;, 
316;  building  (Islington  ,  663;  Dore 
gallery-.  166 ;  Dudley  gallery,  6<t9  ;  eccle- 
siastical art  ^Leicester',  64;  engineering 
(Ishngton  ,  .81 ;  tine  art  t  Brussels  ,  291, 
318  ^Uertfordj,  431  Leeds).  »15,  719; 
fine  arts  apphed  tc  industry  ( Paris  !< ,  199  : 
gas  (Glasgow),  141,  431;  industrial 
(Alexandra  Palace),  141,  292,  343  (Bow 
institute),  31, 87  (St.  Pancras).  465,  691 ; 
international  (Rome,  proiK>sed)  141 
(sanitary,  proposed),  811 ;  leather  trades 


IV, 


INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


BtTTLDrnG  NEWS,  Vol.  XXXTS. 
July  to  December,  18S0. 


(Ajrricultuiul  hall),    346;    photographic 
Bocy.'fl,  406;    Scottish  paintings  (Edin- 
burg-h),  381,  440;  socy.  British  artists, 
639  ;  turners',  435  ;  water  colour.  G60 
Exhibits,    cngineeriug-    and  builiUng',   at 

cattle  show,  6as 
Expenses  of  removal  of  dangeroua  struc- 
tures, 662 
Experiment  in  acoustics,  176 
Exploration  of  Central  ^Vmerica,  230 
Explosions,  eus  :  Bilston,  83;  Cheapside, 
bO  ;  Totteuiiani-ct.-road,  35,  7S,  b3,  14«, 
255,  257 
Extras:  and  delays,  4S8;  builders',  171, 


173 
Eye-so 


,  Queen  Anne,  661 


FACT,  the  nature  theory  at  the  bar  of, 

635 
Factories,  Maiden,  Kentiah-town,  792 
Fall  of  a  house  in  Oxford-street,  347 
Farm :    buildings,  Alresfoiti,  51 ;    house, 

old,  at  Saltford.  343 
Federation  of  building  trades  unions,  prD- 

posed,  120 
Fees,  district  surveyors' ,  53,  429 
Felt  on  church  roof,  633 
Fenestration,  scientiiic,  550 
Ferrey,  B.,  the  late,  and  his  works,  261 
loth  century  Dr.  Tanners,  107 
Filinga,  iron,  in  Porland  cement,  53,  80, 

111.  228 
Fine:  art  exhibition,  Brussels,   291,  318; 

arts  applied  to  industry,  Parisian  exhibi- 
tion of,  199 
Fireplace,  the.  its  sanitary  value,  55 
Fireplaces  and  windows,  57 1 
FIo<xis,  legislation  as  to,  606 
Floor:    and  roof    construction,  Portland 

cement   for,  60  ;    church,  sloping,  372, 

402 
Floors,  parquet  and  mosaic,  455 
Fog :  and  smoke  committee,  517,  648,  691 ; 

Capt.  Galton  on,  691 
Fogs,  abolition  of  London,  461 
Fonts,  Norman,  2S3 
Footbridge,  design  for,  354 
Footings,  brick,  to  tank,  229 
Form  and  thickness   of   arches  of  stone 

bridges,  determination  of,  61 
Formation  of  smoke,  to  prevent,  606 
Fort  Augustus  monastery,  312 
Foundations,  hillside,  4S7 
Founders  of  Sunday  schools,  memorial  to, 

31 
Fonrvi^re,  N.  D.  de,  Lvon,  3S0 
Frampton,  St.  Atary's  ch.,  29,  53 
France :    instruction  in  drawing  in,  694  ; 

south  of,  Druidical  researches  in,  326 
Fraser,  Bi^op,  on  care  of  churches,  606 
Free  libraries  :  Aston,  196  ;  Dunfermline; 

341 ;  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  323 
Freestone,  good,  near  Liverpool,  402 
Free  water  supply  for  builders,  229 
French  :  and  English  artistic  schools,  172; 

art,   its   relations    to    the    state,    410; 

sketches,  354 
Frescoes   in :    capitol,  Washington,    199 ; 

town  hall,  Manchester,  345,  373 
Fresco  painting,  spirit,  92,  4S3 
Friendly  societies,  position  and  prospects 

of,  200 
Front,  west,  St.  Alban*8,  455,  466,  467,  49S, 

627,  644,  672,  639,  717,  7S8 
Fulham  infirmary  competition,  123 
Funds  of  the  R.I.B.A.,  7S.  93 
Furniture  :  artistic,  modem,  410 ;  art,  ori- 
ginal sketches  for,  350  ;  decorative,  and 

household  appliances,  494  ;  designs,  52S ; 

exhibition,  Leeds,  propo?ed,  719 
Future  of  cement,  the,  607,  661,  688,  717, 

780,807 


GALLERIES:  Birmingham  (art).  54, 
151 ;  DortS  166 ;  Dudley,  609 ;  Dulwich 
college  (catalogue),  7;  national,  54;  na- 
tional portrait,  82,  200 

Gallimore,  J.,  as  mavor  of  Newcastle, 
Staffs,  577 

Gambrill,  C.  D.,  of  Xew  York,  the  late, 
431 

Gamekeeper's  cottage  designs,  91 

Gas  :  and  gas  works,  86 ;  biumers,  Sugg's 
improvements  in,  323;  combustion,  re- 
moving products  of,  698;  exhibition, 
Glasgow,  431;    explosions   (Bilston)  83 

gheapside),  80  (Paris),  316  (Tottenham- 
-road),  35,  78.  83,  148, 255,  257  ;  pipes, 
injury  to  by  lightning,  296;  reduction 
in  price  of  metropolitan,  781 ;  works, 
Tipton,  687 

Gates  :  Chartres,  210;  WTX)Ught  iron,  547 

Gauge,  tile  roof,  460 

General  building  regulations  for  Scotland, 
810 

Geometry,  practical  and  projection,  571 

Gibbs,  Wm.,  in  rr,  114 

Gilchrist  engineering  scJiolarship,  316 

Girder:  joists  on,  633;  York,  stone  on. 
780 

Glasgow:  and  London,  classic  architecture 
m,  347  ;  arclii.  assocn.,  456  ;  depression 
in  building  trade,  399;  gaa  exhibition, 
141,431;  institut«of  architects.  485, 788- 
numicipal  buildings  competition,  5;i. 
109,  25*1,  270.  2S9,  203,  313,  319,  ^30.  340 
343,  314,  353.  354,  370.  400.  456,  4.'<4,  515. 
661,  6S9,  716.  780,  808  (Glasgow  archi- 
tects and),  644;  new  club  competitn., 
792 ;  sewage  disposal  scheme,  488,  547  ■ 
Sunday  socy.  at,  517;  theatre,  485 
trades  house  competition,  3->6 

Glass  :  roofing.  Rcndle'sacme,  331 ;  seUers' 
CO.,  essay  pnzes.  663  wiici» 

Glazes,  opaque,  325 


Glo'stershire  notes  and  queries,  S3,  411 

Gloucester:  cathedral,  459  (visitors'  hand- 
book to},  402;  Raikes'  ch.  competition, 
573,  587,  658,  715,  776 

Gloves,  Iluskin  on,  151 

Godalming  water  supply,  198 

Goldsmiths'  work  for  South  Kensington, 
&i7 

Good:  freestone  near  Liverpool,  402;  iron, 
tests  for,  58«i 

Grammar  of  Japanese  ornament,  583 

Grammar  schools  :  Exeter,  137  ;  Xewbury, 
459,  487;  Kochester,  298;  'Welling- 
borough, 720 

Grangemouth,  new  dock  work  at,  408 

Great :  Britain  and  Ireland,  suggested 
isthmus  to  join,  810;  span  roofs,  321, 
371,  400 

Greek:  art  and  painting,  Prof.  Newton 
on,  26,  38.  61 ;  sculptxire  (colourin),  311 ; 
(later  period  of  archaic),  671 

Groined  ceilings,  460 

Growth :  in  value  of  City  premises,  259, 
547;  of  trees,  12*2 

Guildhall,  the  large  picture  at  the,  397 

Gymnasium  wall,  780 


HAKEWILL,  J.  H.,  the  late,  311 
Half  :  timbered  building,  460,  780  ;  houses, 

197 
Halifax:  ancient  buildings  of,  117,  169; 

higher  bd.  school  competition,  182,  512 
Halls :   fil2     and  stiiircases,  784 ;  Aston, 

255;  Dover  (meml).  412.  631;  Exeter, 

167  ;   Ferox,  Tonbridge,  659  ;   Scottish 

corporation,  110 
Halstead,  sewage  disposal  works,  SI 
Hampton  court   palace,  restorations  at, 

Harbours :  new  Irish,  7S ;  Port  Seton, 
399 ;  Scarborough,  776 ;  Sunderland, 
511 :  Whitby,  450 

Hartshorn,  C.P.,  the  late,  311 

Hastings  municipal  buildings,  588 

Headstones  and  crosses,  designs  for,  701 

Health,  Dr.  Beddoe  on,  438 

Healthy  dwellings,  147 

Heating  and  ventilating  Turkish  baths, 
258 

Hertford,  fine  arts  exhibition,  431 

Hillside  foundations,  487 

Hints  on  house  decoration,  581 

BUstory  of  English  ch.  architecture,  essav 
on,  80 

Hittite  remains  and  inscription,  284 

Hobdays  in  home  counties,  525 

Home  counties,  holidays  in,  525 

Homes  :  artists',  51, 182,334,  412.  511,  702  ; 
bovs'  (Shefford),  94;  mariners  [Liver- 
pool) ,  544 

Homestead:  daiiT,  competition,  491,515, 
702  :  EngUsh,  26,  53 

Hong  Kong,  new  R.C.  cathedral,  773 

Horseshoe  arch,  576 

Horsham  sewerage  scheme,  810 

Hospitals  :  Ayr,  805 ;  Halesworth  (Patrick 
Stead),  51;  Manchester  (NichoU's),  778 

Hotel  de  ville,  Paris,  489,  576 

Hotels:  Arundel-st.,  Strand,  412;  Birk- 
dale  (Palace),  240;  Blackfriars  (Royal) 
341 

House :  accommodation  for  the  working 
classes,  438 ;  building  and  hygiene,  263 ; 
b\iildingin  Spain,  90;  damp,  229;  de- 
coration, hints  on,  5Sl ;  drains  (and 
their  record),  497,  604  (Bournemouth 
r^ulations  as  to),  315  (ventilating  and 
trapping),  632;  fall  of,  in  Oxford-st., 
347  ;  of  Commons,  improvements  at, 
663 :  sewers,  proper  size  of,  209 

Household  appliances  and  decorative 
furniture,  494 

Houses :  Antwerp,  412 ;  Bournemouth. 
528;  Bowood,  237;  Bramfield,  573; 
Bright<m,  279;  Buxton  (Northwood), 
77  ;  Cadbury,  Somerset,  470 ;  Cadogan- 
sq.,  S."W".,  ei ;  Castle  Howard,  544,  574  ; 
Chelsea,  674;  Chiswick,  1S2;  Everton, 
544  ;Fowey  (Place),  182  ;  half-timbered, 
197 ;  Hampstead,  51,  124;  Hastings 
(Sandrock).  326  ;  Keevil,  208;  Kensing- 
ton, 3S4,  412,  511,  702;  Langham- street, 
Portland- place,  624  ;  Leicester,  210,384; 
Longleat,  238;  M^mesbury  (Abbey), 
235 ;  new,  drainage  of,  558 ;  of  Parlia- 
ment, decoration  and  lighting,  54  ;  outer 
colouring  of.  149  ;  Pinner, 
Plas  Llanychan,  Ruthin,  588  ;  Pot- 
tcmo,  207 ;  Rawdon,  Hoddesdon,  8,  558 ; 
rot  in  new,  139 ;  Salisbiiry,  Audley,  345 
sanitary  (arrangements  of),  172  (defect; 
in,  inadequacy  of  law  as  toi,  460;  situa- 
tion and  construction  of,  697  ;  specifica- 
tions for,  718  ;  Stroud,  at  and  near,  118 ; 
Sydenham,  Westwood,  732 ;  under- 
writing, 28.  79,  111,  139,  169  ;  unhealthy 
455  ;  Westgatt'- on-Sea.  8 :  wooden,  and 
modem  copies,  685 ;  "Woodhouse,  Up- 
Ij-me.  8 

How  :  suburban  dwellings  are  built,  345 
to  build  Tiiverpool  cathedral,  82 

Hull :  asylum,  674 ;  decoration  of  town 
hall.  227 

Him^lred -pound  cottages,  81 
Hungarj-,  a  Roman  town  in,  572 

Ilvdropatbic  estiiblishment :  81 ;  Birkdale, 
*240 


ILERACOSCBE  swimming  baths,  IGl 
Tranff.-ry.  mental,  2G8 
Imitation  of  natui-e,  is  art  the,  570 
Important  to  builders,  633 


Improved :  ashpits.  228  ;  cement  manu- 
factory, an,  5;  distemper,  410;  indus- 
ti-ial  dwellings  co.,  200;  method  of  re- 
moving gas-products,  698;  sewer  section, 
543;  street  lighting  in  Bii-miugham, 
583 

Improvement  and  distribution  of  sound 
by  steel  wires,  152 

Improvements:  architectural,  in  the  city, 
55  ;  in  Belfast.  177  ;  in  Bloomsburv,  143, 
196:  in  gas-burners,  Sugg's,  323;  in 
testing  of  cement,  495 

Inadequacy  of  sanitary  law,  460 

Inclination  of  sewers.  606 

Incorporated  ch.  building  society,  110 

Indentures,  372 

Indian  ink,  314 

Industrial  exhibitions  :  Alexandra  palace, 
141,  292,  343;  Bow  institute,  31,  87  ;  St. 
Pancras,  465,  691 

Infirmarv,  Fulham,  123 

Influence  of  J.  Barry  on  English  ai-t,  634 

Injury  to  gas  and  water  pipes  by  lightning, 
296 

Ink,  Indian,  314 

Inner  circle  railway,  123 

Inscribed  early  Scottish  monuments,  495 

Inscriptions,  Roman  and  Runic,  496 

Inspection  of  Lightning  conductors,  267 

Institutes :  American  architects,  g97 ; 
aichffiological  (American),  63  (royal), 
109, 195 ;  art,  87,  519 ;  British  architects, 
royal,  78,  93,  254,  517,  519,  525,  584,  605, 
eil,  720;  Glasgow  architects,  485,  788; 
mechanical  engineers,  171 ;  mechanics 
(Pudney),  603;  Midland,  226;  sanitary, 
of  Great  Britain,  54,  316 

Institutions:  builders'  benevolent,  150, 
586 ;  civil  engineers,  520,  548,  781 ;  of 
surveyors,  585 ;  public,  unh<;althiness  of, 
352;  royal,  692 

Instruction  in  drawing  in  Franco,  694 

Internal  walls  of  dwelling  houses,  460 

International  exhibition :  at  Rome,  pro- 
posed, 141 ;  sanitary,  proposed,  811 

Ipswich  :  new  corn  exchange,  513  ;  school 
arrangements  near,  141 

Ireland ;  and  Great  Britain,  suggested 
isthmus  between,  810;  justice  to,  343; 
progress  of,  283;  royal  archieol.  assocn. 
of,  485 

Irish :  national  museum,  78  ;  piers  and 
harbours,  new,  78 

Iron :  bridges,  different  modes  of  ereeting, 
671 ;  cast,  790 ;  castings,  61 ;  columns, 
cast,  breaking  weight  of,  662 ;  filings  in 
Portland  cement,  53,  80;  good,  tests  for, 
111,  5S6  ;  in  cement,  197,  223,  317,  399, 
428,  486.  515;  rafters,  weight  of,  402, 
429  ;  structures  and  railway  bridges,  605, 
660,  689 

Ironwork,  constructional,  661 

Is  art  the  imitation  of  nature  ?  579 

Isthmus  to  join  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
suggested,  810 

Italian  Renaissance,  architects  of,  GGS,  669, 


JAPANESE  ornament,  gi-ammai 

583 
Jerry  building  at  Edmonton,  31,  114 
Joiners'  bench  knife,  455 
Joists  on  girder,  633 
Jubilee,  the  railway,  324 
Justice  to  Ireland,  313 


KEEP,  the  earliest  Norman,  547 
Kemerton  ch.,  Thorpe  memorial,  430 
Kensington :  sanitary  work  in,  259  ;  town 

hall,  196 
King-post,  780,  809 
Kings  :  ancient  Babylonian,  672  ;  college, 

lectures  on  architecture.  431 
Kingston  new  town  hall,  93 
Kirkdale,    aichieological    discoveries    at 

412 
Knight,  J.  M.,  the  late,  310 
Knostrop,  sewage  purification  at,  372 


LABOURERS'  residences  in  London, 

167 
Lacock  abbey,  233 

Lancaster  waterworks  arbitration,  G62 
Land :  adjoinmg,  lateral  support  of,  G34  ; 

compulsory  purchase  of,  314  ;  laws  and 

leaseholds,    our,    172 ;    socy.,    national 

freehold,  811 ;  surveying,  788 
Landowners  and  railways,  692 
Large  pictureat  the  Guildhall,  397 
Lateral  support :  of  adjoining  land,  634  ; 

right  to,  663 
Later  period  of  archaic  Greek  sculpture, 

671 
Laundry,  steam,  at  Battcrsca,  307 
Law:    as  affecting    quantity    survevors, 

630,657,690;  courts,  the  new,  2a»,"  288, 

314 
Laws,  land,  and  leaseholds.  172 
Layboume  V.  Kidston,  light  and  air,  79, 

112.138,169 
Leafs  stencils,  548 

Leamington  waterworks  litigation,  488 
Leaseholds  and  land  laws,  172 
Leather  trades'  exhibition,  Agricultiu-al 

liaU,  346 
Lectui-os:   architecttiral.  King's   cnllcgc, 

431;   art.  Prof.   "Weekes's,  S8;    Rhind, 

archaeology,  425,  440,  463 
Lee,  C.W.,  the  late,  311 
Leeds :  archi.  socy.,  527 ;  sewage  purifica- 
tion works,  372 
Leek  art  exhibition,  431 
Legal:  30,  53,  81,  114,  140,  170,229,315, 

345,  372,  429,  488,  547,  576,  633,  662,  691, 

781, 809  i  handbook,  architect's,  701 


Legislation  as  to  floods,  606 

Leighton,  Sir  F.  :  and  National  portrait 
gaUery,  82 ;  home  of,  384,  412 

Leinster-lawn,  Dublin,  proposed  drawing 
schools  on,  810 

Levelling,  practical  hints  on,  701 

Leyton  public  offices  competition,  456,  603 

Liability :  for  explosions,  gas  co.'s,  83  ;  for 
quantities, 576;  of  employers' (act), 785 
fbill,  builders  and),  113,  257,  258 

Liberton,  sewerage  "works  at,  402 

Licences,  auctioneers',  53 

Lichfield  cathedral,  the  west  front,  810 

Lichgate,  Speen  ch.,  644 

Life,  701 

Light :  and  air  case,  79, 112, 138. 169 ;  and 
shade,  treatises  on,  30 ;  electric  (for  coal 
screening),  663  (its  production  and  use', 
62 

Lighting :  of  houses  of  Parlt.,  54 ;  street, 
in  Birmingham,  583 

Lightning ;  conductors,  inspection  of, 
267  ;  injurv  to  gas  and  water  pipes  by, 
296 

Lights,  ancient,  351,  377,  407 

Limerick  water  supply  competition,  293, 
516 

Limoges  cathedral,  325 

Lincoln  :  archaeol.  institute  at,  195 ;  cathe- 
dral (new  clock),  720;  (stained  glass  in 
chapterhouse},  719 

Lincrusta-^Valton,  672 

Linen,  ancient  Egyptian,  345 

Lisieux,  sketches  from,  326,  384 

Liverpool:  architectural  socy,,  587,  631, 
673;  cathedral,  how  to  build,  82;  Con- 
serv.  club  competitn.,  63,  412,434  :  engi- 
neering society,  461,  700;  exchange  sta- 
tion, 779,  808 ;  good  freestone  near,  402  ; 
school  of  art  competition,  587,  632,  689, 
715,  716.  779,  808 ;  water  supply,  193 

Living  style,  requisites  for  a,  549 

Local  board:  olfices  (Leyton),  456,  693 
(South  Homsey),  368;  surveyors  and 
architects,  724 

Logarithm,  numerical  value  of,  229 

Loire,  chateaux  of  the,  174 

London :  and  Glasgow  classic  architecture 
in,  347;  and  Middlesex  archsol.  socy., 
226 ;  architects  in,  difficulties  of,  202 ; 
artisans'  dwellings  act  in,  577  ;  bridges, 
122  (and  tolls),  197  ;  bridge  station, state 
of,  141 ;  east  end  of,  new  buildings  at, 
405 ;  fogs,  691  (abolition  of),  461 ;  houses, 
scamped  plumbing  in,  373  ;  school  board, 
77,  137,  810;  seaside  brought  to,  171  ; 
sea  water  supply  for,  658 ;  sewage,  utili- 
sation of,  198;  smoke  and  fog,  630; 
south,  buildings  in,  553;  street  accidents 
in,  114  ;  sti-eets,  unwholesome  state  o*, 
230;  the  imsanitaiy  dwellings  in,  577  ; 
university  college,  298  ;  "Wall,  ancient 
masonry  in,  322 

Longest  bridges  of  the  world,  353  ^ 

Longleat  house,  233 

Lower  Thames  Valley  drainage,  257 

Low  tenders,  contract  work  and,  530 

Ladgate-hill,  the  widening  of,  691 

Luton,  sewage  purification  at,  372 

Lyon,  N.  D.  de  Fourviere,  380 

MACHINERY,  potters*,  premium  for 

improved,  172 
Mackenzie,  Rev.  E.  C.  "Walcott,  the   late, 

787 
Magdalene  college,  Oxford,  732 
Mailing,  St.  Leonard's  tower,  547 
Malmesbury,  archieologists  at,  235 
Maltings  and  breweries,  232 
Manchester :  frescoes  at  town  hall,  345, 
373;    new    school    of    art,     167,     781; 
Nicholl's  hospital,  778;  socy.  of  archi- 
tects, 606 
MMuhole  covers,  29 
Manslaughter,    plumbers    and    builders 

guilty  of,  439 
Manufactory,  an  improved  cement,  5 
Manufacture  of  Poitland  cement,  5 
Manzies  mounds  at  Rousay,  512 
Marbles,  architectural,  at  Phcenix  works, 

Plymouth,  670 
Margate,  320 

Mariners'  home,  Liverpool,  544 
Market :   cross,  Malmesbury,    235 ;  halls 
(Burton),    605'   (MiUom),  807;    houses 
(Okehampton) ,    807     (Over     Darwen) , 
457  ;  squai-e,  Saffron  "Walden,  152 
Markets :  Chiswick,  proposed,  781 ;  "Water- 
ford,  481 
Masonry :  ancient,  in  London-wall,  322 ; 

Norman,  31 
Mason  scientific  college,  Birmingham,  323 
Master:  builders' assocns.  (Birmingham), 
^542  {national',  120;  v.  pupd,  259 
Materials :    and    construction,    605 ;    for 

concrete,  402 
Mayence,  moving  a  station  at,  781 
Measurements,  bell,  53 
Measuring  buUders'  work,  bills  of  quanti- 
ties and,  179 
Mechanical  engineers,  institute  of,  171 
Mechanics:    institute,     Pudsey,   603;    of 

brackets,  541 
Mechanism,  elements  of,  630 
Medals,  society  of  arts,  31,  781 
Mediaeval :  barns,  119  ;  trade  cards,  630 
Melbourne  new  cathedral,  64, 113 
Memorials:    Bp.    Hamilton    (Salisbury), 
516;    Cassie     (Edinburgh),    430;  cross 
(Exeter),     547 ;     founders    of    Sunday 
schools  (Essex-st.  chapel] .   31;  Larkin 
(Newcastle),  430  ;    Major  "Whyte  Mel- 
ville, 429,  459;  Prince  Imperial  (Chisel- 
hm-st),  516;    re  architectural  competi- 
tions, 29 ;    St.    Antholin's,   Walbrook, 
S09  ;  Temple-bar,  199,  288,  332,  460,  517  ; 
Thorpe  (Kemerton),  430 


BUILDING  NEWS,  Vol,.  XXXIX. 
July  to  December,  18S0. 


INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


SnppUment  to  the 
BiriLDiso  KnH-g,  Jan.  14, 1 


Mental  imagery,  263 

ilercantile  architecture  in  the  City,  4Gi 

Metal  work  ;  art,  examples  of,  9.1 ;  decora- 
tive, Scottish,  425 ;  Gawthorjj's  designs 
for,  346 

Methods,  recent,  of  testing  Portland  ce- 
ment, 469 

Metropolis :  open  spaces  in,  60S ;  water 
supply  of,  30,  171,  229.  257,  4SS.  347,  .577, 
C06,  658,  781  (reportof  select  committee), 
174,  198 

Metropolitan :  board  of  works,  140,  227, 
427,442,  513,  574,  659,  715,731;  brick- 
makers,  meeting-,  4.S4  ;  building  act  case, 
4.^ ;  gas  co.'s,  reduction  in  prices  by, 
7S1 ;  workhouses  and  intii-maries,  assess- 
ment of,  316 

Midland  institute,  226 

Minor  arts.  256 

Minster,  AVimbome,  776 

Miserere,  29 

Missouri,  archfeology  of,  293 

Misuse  of  the  pilaster,  144 

Models  of  statuary,  trying,  4S9 

Modem :  artistic  furniture,  410 ;  barrack, 
the,  584,633,  C61;  concrete,  318;  copies 
of  wooden  houses,  585  ;  Ef?yptian,  very, 
29 ;  steels  as  structural  materials,  4U 

Modes  of  erecting  iron  bridges,  four,  671 

Monasteries  :  Cowfold,  Sussex,  311 ;  Fort 
Augustus,  312 

Money,  the  price  of  architecture  in,  463 

Monograph  of  Aston  hall.  255 

Monuments  :  Celtic  sculptured  art  of,  411 ; 
Edinburgh  (Nasmyth),  606;  inscribed 
early  Scottish,  495;  our  ancient,  62, 
139  ;  symbolism  of,  468  :  Tm-ner  tower, 
Liverpool,  606 ;  Victor  Emanuel  (Rome) 
3;)8 

Mortar :  defective,  547  ;  sea  sand  in,  516 ; 
what  is,  231,  262 

Mortuaries  :  for  towns  and  villages ,  367 , 
3S1 ;  rights  of,  315 

Mosaic :  and  parquet  floors,  435  ;  archi- 
tectural, design  in,  607 

Moscow,  a  visit  to,  68,  145,  203,  264,  378, 
493,  610 

Mounting  diuwings,  372 

Municipal  buildings  ;  Glasgow,  53,  109, 
256,  270,  289,  293,  313,  319,  339,  340,  343, 
314,  353,  354,  370,  400,  456,  484,  515,  644, 
601,  6S9,  716,  7ai,  808  ;  Hastings,  5SS 

Mimicipal,  &c.,  surveyors'  assocn.,  345, 
397,  517,  577 

Munsters  and  doms,  4SS 

Museums:  25;  architectural,  720;  Bir- 
mingham, 54,  151 ;  British,  82,  83,  109, 
229;  Irish  national.  78;  Paris  (natural 
history),  54S  ;  Parkes'  hygienic,  121.  431, 
692 ;  pictures  for,  Ruskin  on,  151 ;  S. 
Kensington.  62,  198,  .547 

Music-hall :  25 ;  Victoria  coffee,  773 


NAIRIT  drainage  works,  313 

Narthex,  25 

National :  benefit  society,  22S ;  competi- 
tion prize  drawings,  8.  K,  nsington,  85 ; 
gallery,  54 ;  poiti-ait  gallery,  S2,  200 

Nativity,  the.  by  Diirer,  773 

Natural :  bed  o*f  stone,  150 ;  history  mu- 
seum, Paris,  518 

Nature :  is  art  the  imitation  of,  579 ; 
theory  at  the  bar  of  fact,  635 

Nave,  150 

Necessitj-  for  regular  inspection  of  light- 
ning conductors,  267 

Necking,  150 

Neptune,  225 

Nero  antico,  226 

Net  tracery,  226 

Neutral  axis,  225 

New:  buildings  (at  the  East  end),  405  (in 
the  City),  637  (in  Westminster).  232; 
house,  rot  in,  139  ;  houses,  drainage  of, 
558 ;  law  courts,  209,  2S8,  314 ;  Sadler's 
tVells,  383;  science  and  art  buildings, 
198 ;  screw,  a,  230 ;  stove,  Siemens',  586  ; 
streets,  paving  of,  58  ;  system  of  water 
purification,  259 ;  valuations,  the  water 
companies  and,  26;  west  front  of  St. 
Alban's,  627;  York  (new  E.G.  ch.  in), 
328  (overcrowding  in),  461  (obelisk,  the), 
199  (water  supply*.  402 

Newark,  an  old  builder's  account  from,  401 

Newbury  grammar  school  cjmpetition, 
459,487 

Newcastle :  churches,  old.  298 :  svnagogue 
at,  256  ;  free  library,  323 ;  Larlun  monu- 
ment, 430 

Newington  tramways  and  wood  paving, 
430 

Newton,  C.  T.,  on  Greek  art.  26,  .3=!,  61 

Newtown,  Exeter,  ch.  competition.  573. 
588 

Niche,  226 

Nichols's  Eureka  cement,  403 

Nimbus,  226 

Nimes  and  Ai-les,  Rom,an,  787 

Nine  Elms  railway  works,  259 

Norfolk  :  archaeological  socv.,  63  ;  archi- 
tectural (notes  from),  -205,  233  (photo- 
graphs from),  483 ;  round  towers,  283 

Norman:  architecture,  226  (in  Scotland), 
2.58  ;  fonts,  283 ;  masonry,  31  :  roofs,  283 

Northern  architectural  socy.,  673 

North  side  of  church.  283 

Norwegian  :  architecture,  283;  wood  pulp 
trade.  345 

Norwich,  improvement  of  Chapel-field 
100 

Norwood,   sewage   disposal   competition, 

Note,  peculiar,  of  a  room,  284 

N  )  es;  and  queries,  Glostershire,  83,  411 ; 

from  church,  on  and  off  liist  coast,  001  ; 

Edinburgh,    333,    727;   from   Norfolk, 


architectur.ll,  2C5.  253 ;  par]iamentar\-! 

54,  78.  109,  123,  107,  19S,   229,  2.57,  314 ' 

sanitary,  from  H.M.  oflice  of  works.  606 
Notice  to  adjoining  owner  to  appoint  sui-- 

veyor,  170 
Notices,  parliaroentarj-,  658 
Notre  Dame  de  Foiu-vii^re,  Lyon,  3S) 
NudeinUrt,  the,  449 
Nuisance,  alleged,  from  brick   burning, 

372 
Numerical  v.alue  of  log.,  229 
Numismatics,  284 
Nuraghe,  284 


OAE  shingles,  718 

Obelisk  :  2S4 ;  our,  accessories  to,  29,  30, 
53,  79, 112  ;  the  New  York,  199 

Obituary:  Anschutz,  H..  311  ;  Bouch,  Sir 
T.,  543;  Campagna,  Marquis  de,  4S9; 
Cousen,  J,  810;  Ferrey,  li.,261;  Gam- 
brill,  C.  D.,  431 ;  Hakewill,  J.  H.,  311  ; 
Hartshorn,  C.  P.,  311;  Knight,  J.  M., 
340;  Lee,  C.  W..  311;  Mackenzie.  E., 
404;  Penstone,  W.,  240;  Shute,  S,,  340; 
Smith,  E.  J.,  200;  Tnrnjr,  W.  H,  31; 
Walcott,  Mackenzie  E.  C,  757;  Wool- 
lett,  W.  M.,  634;  Wyatt,  T.  H.,  204, 
488 

O'Brien  orphanage,  competition,  52,  442 

Observatory,  324 

Octagon,  325 

Office  of  works,  sanitary  notes  from,  606 

Offices:  Addle-st.,  E.G.,  644;  Cardiff  (bd. 
of  trade),  614;  Leyton  (local  bd.),  456, 
693;  South  Homsey  (local  bd.),  368; 
AVarrington  (newspaper),  614 

Official  employment  of  architects  in  Bir- 

Ogle  arch.  325 

Ogivale,  325 

Oil,  325 

Old  ;  embroidery,  498 ;  farmhouse  at  Sal*.- 
ford,  343  ;  Newcastle  churches,  298  ;  St. 
Paul's,  523,  555 ;  tapestry  from  St 
Mary's,  Coventry,  613 

Oldest  tobacconist's  in  London,  7S1 

Onyx,  325 

Oolites,  325 

Opaque  glazes,  325 

Opening  address  at  Institute,  510,  525 

Open  spaces  in  metropalis,  65S 

Optics,  architectural,  638 

Orange  and  Nimes,  Roman,  787 

Orangery,  803 

Oratory,  805 

Orchestra,  325 

Orders,  805 

Ordnance  surveys,  the,  8 

Ordonnanoe,  805 

Organ :  805 ;  case  and  screen,  cathedi-al, 
442 ;  chamber,  805 

Orientation,  805 

Original  sketches  for  art  furniture,  350 

Origin  of  the  architectural  assocn.,  668 

Orkney,  409 

Ornamental  design,  H.  H.  Statham  on, 
613 

Ornament,  grammar  of  Japanese,  5i3 

Orphanage,  O'Brien,  52,  442 

Our :  ancient  monuments,  62,  139 ;  com- 
monplace column,  25,  150,  225,  283,  324, 
805 ;  railway  bridges,  497,  546,  575,  605, 
660,  689,  717 

Outer  colouring  of  houses,  149 

Overcrowding  in  New  York,  461 

Overhead  v.  undei-ground  telegi-aph  wires, 
811 

Overmantel  designs,  628,  732 

Oxford :  brigade  depot,  588 ;  Magdalene 
college  new  buildings,  732 ;  new  boat- 
house  and  state  barge,  64  ;  street,  fall  of 
house  in,  317 


PAESTTTM,  temples  of,  91 

Paint  cracking,  700 

Painted:   ceiling,  by  Adam,  614;    vases, 

Greek,  C.  T.  Newton  on.  Gl 
Painting  :  Greek.  C  .  T.  Newton  on,  .38  ; 

spirit  fresco,  92,  483 
Paintings  in  Hermitage  palace,  St.  Peters- 


,57 


Palace,  Hampton  court,  552 

Panels  at  Westminster  abbey,  139 

Papers,  wall,  arsenic  in,  30 

Paris :    gas  explosion  in,  316 ;    hotel  de 

viUe,  4S9,  576 ;  natural  history-  museum, 

548;  sewage  disposal,  114;  sewers  of, 

344 
Parkes  museum  of  hygiene,  121.  431,  692 
Parliamentary  :  notes,  54,  78,  103,  1-23, 167, 

198,  229.  257,  314 ;  notices.  65S 
Pailiamcnt,  houses  of,  improvements  at, 

663 
Parquet  and  mosaic  floors,  455 
Partnership  dispute,  budders',  170 
Party  wall,  633,  690,  718 
Past  in  the  present,  the,  723 
Pavemen's,    Roman;      Bromham,     237; 

Woodchester,  118 
Pavilion  in  Beddington-park,  523 
Paving :  asphalte  tar,  720 ;  of  new  streets, 

68 
Pencil,  plans  in,  52 
Pen.  Spreng's  drawing,  253 
Penstone,  Wm.,  the  late,  240 
Percentage  system,  the,  721,  807 
Perigueux  cathedral,  354 
Perspective,  139 

Peterborough  sewerage  works.  662 
Philadelphia,  engineers  of,  789 
Pha?nix  works,  "Plymouth,   architectural 

marbles  at,  670 
Photographic  society's  exhibition,  403 
Photographs  from  Norfolk,  architectural, 

483 


Picture,  lai-ge,  at  the  Guildhall,  397 

lectures:  Barr>''s,  at  socv.  of  arts,  492; 
for  museums,  Ruskin  on,  151  ;  in  Dul- 
wich  college  galler)-,  catalogue  of,  7 

Pier,  brick,  weight  carried  by,  516 

Pigstye  in  a  church,  200 

I'ilaster,  misuse  of  the,  144 

Pinhoe  church,  168.  197,  22S 

Pink,  Thos.,  in  re,  2'!9 

Pipes,  water :  and  gas,  injury  to,  by  light- 
ning, 296  ;  safety  arrangements  for,  657 

Pitch  for  tiled  roof,  113.  139,  170,  197 

Planning  and  design,  domestic,  522 

Plans :  deposited,  deviations  from,  140 ;  in 
pencil,  .52 

Plaster  coves  to  eaves,  690 

Plumbei-s  and  builders  guilty  of  man- 
slaughter, 439 

Plumbing  :  and  water  service,  domestic, 
630  ;  scamped,  in  London  houses,  373 

Plymouth, architcctmalmarblesatPha'aix 
w  irks,  670 

Pneumatic  bolls,  255 

Poetry  and  ait,  study  of,  577 

Pointing  rubble  walls,  J913 

I'oint,  variation  of  coinpai^s,  G62 

Pollution  of:  a  Sussex  river,  691  ;  rivers' 
act,  30.  149 

Pontefract  town  hall  competitn.,  673,  631, 
630,  C.S9,  716 

Poorhousc,  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh.  110 

Porcelain  and  pottery.  Cantor  lectures  on, 
634,653,692,719,811 

Portland  cement;  29;  at  instituln.  civil 
engineers,  520;  colouring,  718,  780; 
early  days  of,  725 ;  for  roof  and  floor 
construction,  00 ;  iron  filings  in,  53,  8  ', 
111,  197,  228,  317,  399,  42S,  486,  615; 
manufacture  of,  5;  testing,  81,  197,  469, 
495,  575 

Portrait  gallery,  national,  82,  200 

Position  and  prospects  of  architectural 
profession,  623 

Possibilities,  present,  of  architecture,  783 

Post  offices :  Durham,  659 ;  Scarborough, 
778 

Potters'  machinery,  premium  for  now,  172 

Pottery  and  porcelain,  Cdutjr  lectures  on, 
634,  658.  692,  719.  811 

Powei"s  of  district  surveyors,  229 

Practical ;  geometry  and  projection,  571 ; 
hints  on  levelling,  701 

Prebble,  Wm.,  In  re,  372 

Precipitation  of  sewage,  chemistry  of.  775 

Pi-emises,  business:  Cai-diff,  210;  King 
WiUiam-st.,  E.G..  94;  Liverpool,  628; 
Manchester,  51 ;  Merchant  Taylors'  co  , 
470;  Newman-st.,  W.,  210;  Penrith, 
368;  Wordsley.  Ill 

Pi  esent :  possibilities  of  architecture,  7S3 ; 
the  pist  in  the,  723 

Preservation  of :  railway  sleepers,  172  ; 
timber,  107 

Pi*eserving  wood,  52 

Preventing  evaporation  from  traps,  171 

Price  of  architecture,  the,  433,  463 

Prices,  schedules  of,  240,  287 

Prima  donna  and  her  builder,  171,  173 

Princess's  theatre,  new,  513 

Priories:  Amesbury,  236;  Bradenstoke, 
234;  Edington,  207;  Fulham-road  (St. 
Mary) ,  470 

Prisons  under  the  hammer,  172 

Piize  awards,  architectural:  assocn.,  522, 
541 ;  univ.  college,  31 

Prizes,  royal  academy,  693 

Products  of  gas-combustion,  removal  of, 
598 

Profession,  architectural,  prospects  and 
position  of,  623 

Professional  :  arbitrator,  competitions 
and.  343,  370,  401 ;  referees  and  supple- 
ment.Hry  and  secret  awards,  314 

Professorship  of  archteology  at  university 
college,  1 

Progress  of  Ireland,  the,  283 

Projection  and  geometry,  practical,  571 

Proper  size  of  house  sewers,  209 

Property,  value  of,  713 

Proposed :  federation  of  buildg.  trades 
unions,  120 ;  new  Derwent  Valley  1  ail- 
way,  230 ;  R.C.  catiiedral.  Hong  Kong, 
773 

Prospects  and  position  of  architectural 
profession.  62S 

Prout  and  Hunt,  Ruskin's  notes  on,  62 

Public  :  buildings,  Ast  m,  196  ;  hall,  Car- 
diff, 63,  412;  institiiUons,  unhcalthiness 
of,  352;  school,  designs  for  chapel  to. 
773 ;  works  in  Spain,  223 

Pumps,  429 

Pupil  v.  master,  259 

Puixthase  of  land,  compulsory,  3!4 

Purification  of :  the  Clyde,  488,  547 ;  water, 
new  system,  259 

Purity  of  water,  233 

QUANTITIES:  285,  312.  342,  371. 
411,  457.  718,  780;  bill.i  of,  and  measur- 
ing builders'  work,  179 ;  builders  and. 
224;  liabUity  for,  576;  suneyors' 
charges  for,  C33 

Quantity  surveyors  :  sharing  charges  with, 
663  ;  the  law  as  affecting,  630,  657,  690 

Queen  Anne  eye-soros,  661 

Queenstown,  South  Africa,  ch.  competitn  , 
587 

BACKET  courts,  314 

Rafters,  iron,  weight  of,  402.  429 

Baikcs' :  ch.  competition.  Glo'ster.  573. 
6S7.  C58,  715,  776 ;  statue.  Embankment, 
30.82 

Railway:  co.'s  brid?es,  73,49,.  516,  57  o. 
605,  606,  687.  717  ;  Derwent  Valley,  pro- 
posed new.  230 ;  inner  circle.  123  ;  jubi- 
lee, 324 ;  sleepers,  preservation  of,  172  ; 
station,  Chestaat-hiU,  N.Y.,  94 


Railways:  landowncn  and,  692;   of  the 

world,  IM 
Rainfall,  roofii  and,  435 
liaiii-waUrdruinagc.  613 
ltai.*in;?  ,Iiiiiiii.-v^,  sy 
Itiihijii!,.  .  ,1,  c'-:  ,^-,.  works,  315 
1,"  .  ■    -f  te.itin;^  Portland  co- 

'-''■'  ■  t  '  Itu-wia,  2,  57.  8^,  U5, 

-  ■  •.   -     1,     ..-.!■  1,  .110 

U.-t.„,l  „i  hou—.dmiiw,  497.  flOi 

U^-ductiou  m  pricu  of  KoM.  in  metronoUs 
781 

Referees,  profeviiiinjil,  and  lupplcmcntary 
and  wnt  awinU,  314 

lU-gulatiotu*.  ll«,uriicuiuuth,  for  buuJO- 
diaiu.,  :)15 

Relations  of  Frencli  art  with  Uie  itatc, 
410 

Removing :  a  »tati  ,n  at  Maycnca,  781 ; 
dangerous  utructures,  expciunt  of,  flflj; 
products  of  gas-ixiinbujtiun,  6iM 

Renaissance,  luilian,  anhiu-cti  of,  068, 
669,696 

Rcndlc's  acme  glaxi-rooflng.  ;B1 

Repair  of  Vict^jria  feuspeluiiju-bridge,  643 

Reports  :  archi.  assocn. ,  .'* ;  draimmr  of 
Dublin,  176  ; gan-ixplomon. Tottt-nham- 
ct.-rd.,  118,  2.'>5;  fyunlon  wat/r  aupply 
committee,  174,  liH;  Tay-bridge,  114.5(1, 
107,  31W  ;  wood-paving,  Dubhn  city  cn- 
gineei»',431 

Hcpo5iti,r>-,  liorsc,  Clieltenliam,  27 

lle'|Ui>it  s  for  a  livini?  »lvl<-,  -',((» 

Heiidos  and  Blall".  St    Al!.,i,'«.  .::i 

Rescis^-ionof  buil.ln. 

Reser^■oi^s  at  Batt 

Itesideiice.-*,  Ixindi. 

Restorations:  at   11'-..-    - 
552;  iu  Spain,  265;  ol    the   'iuy  LnJ,;':, 
677 

Resurrection  pie,  781 

Reviews:  A  B  C  of  Art,  R.  T.  Btothird, 
166  ;  Ancient  Einbruider>',  Mm.  Ilartier, 
731;  vVrchitect's  Legal  MaiidUjok,  Jen- 
kins and  Riymond,  701 ;  .VrclJlecturvof 
the  BroUiera  Adam.  614;  Artwuu' 
Year  B.,ok,  701  ;  Art  Text  Uo..k»,  E.  J. 
Poynter,  3;  Bedriiom  Ncntilulion,  L. 
Tait,  701 ;  Bevis'a  Builder.'  Price  Book. 
256;  Bieweriea  and  Mallingi,  O. 
Scamcll,  232;  British  Alinanack  and 
Companion,  701 ;  Buildiso  News  De- 
signing Club,  91,  627,  773;  C»l»clt'« 
Mechanic's  Almanack,  701 ;  CutaloTue 
of  Pictures  in  Dulwidi  College  Uallery, 
Richter  and  Sparkes,  7  ;  Coa.Hlruclioo 
of  Gas  Works,  S.  Hughes,  S«  ;  Decora- 
tion, 511,  701;  Designs  and  Detiila  of 
Dwellings,  New  York,  701 ;  IKxigna  and 
E.xamplts  of  MeUl  Work,  T.  J.Oaw- 
thorp,  346;  Designs  of  Iron  Ca«tin^, 
Steven  Bros.,  62;  Domestic  Pluoibmg 
and  Water  Service.  6.30;  Dwcllmg 
Houses,  Dr.  Cotfield,  511;  Electric 
Light :  lU  l"roduc:ion  and  L'se,  J.  W. 
Uiquhirt,  62  ;  E  ementary  InUoductiun 
to  Practical  Mechanics,  611;  ElcracnU 
of  Slechanisni,  T.  Ooodeve,  G»i;  Ex- 
amples of  Art  from  S.  Kensiog^Jn  Mu- 
seum, 62  ;  Examples  of  Art  Metilwurk, 
Hart,  Son,  and  I'eard,  93;  Oloucoiter- 
shire  Notes  and  Queries,  S3,  411 ;  GniJi- 
mar  of  Japanese  Ornament.  T.  W.  Cut- 
ler. »S3 ;  Great  Industries  of  Grat 
Britain,  62  ;  Handbook  for  PaiuU'rB  on 
Use  of  Colours,  W.  J.  Muckley,  92; 
Harper's  Magazine,  European  Mition 
of,  511.  701 ;  HoUdays  in  Home  Coun- 
ties, E.  Wiilford,  525;  Hudson  and 
Keams'  diarit^.,  7tG;  Key  to  ClTil 
Architecture  in  1788,  T,  Skaife,  165; 
Laws  of  Health,  Dr.  Corti-Id.  511  ;  Lec- 
tures on  .\rt.  Academy.  U.  Weekc«.  88 ; 
Lif.-,  J.  Piatt,  701 ;  London  Smoke  and 
Fog,  F.  Eljvard,-,  631;  .Material*  and 
Construction,  F.  Cumpin.  rai ;  Modiicvjl 
Trade  Cards,  630 ;  Minor  Arts.  U.  F. 
Leland,  236;  Monograph  of  Aston  Hall, 
W  Niven,  255;  Notes  by  Ruskin  on 
Prout  and  Hun-.  «-•:  N'"! -<  "n  Ilooks, 
701;  Notes  on  s':  •  ■- ■  '  '■'■  '^\ 
Observations  on'  'Ithy 

DweUings,  D.  1..  l>Jr 

signs  of    Heaxl>i  •   }•  • 

Bjrrowd;ile,  7"1  . 
Art  Furniture.  .\ 
Ancient  Monuit.' 
62;  Past  in  th.  . 
723;  Plumber  .1 
S.  Uellyer,  511  , 
for  Amateurs.  ' 
and  I'r.ij'-'^tinn.  : 

Phinc  (i ■•  ■'•'• 

Quantt;  hM 

Abroad.  1  "»^ 

Engin..  1  .V  "■ 

Sotnal    s -  ,\"-'*» 

of  \nci  n;  l:  ,;i;i..-.  1  H '.  '  '>■.■'  l«T- 
land.  117;  Vi..,t.,r.'  U.indb -.k  to  Glon- 
ce-tcr  Cilli  .Ital,  .'.  H.  liu'ft:.  402; 
Wo..iiiir  of  tlic  Wi-.er  Wit.  h.  J.  M. 
Smith.  701  ,      .  J,       ^ 

Revised  directory,  science  and  »jt  depart- 
ment. 315  „    ,., 

Rhind  lectures  on  architjlogy,  415,  4*0, 
468.  495 

Richmond,  swimnung-baths  competitioo, 


Oar 
lidl,' 


ictX 


i;;Vl'.'- 

I 
1. 


t.'.372;  of  archil«t«'  »»- 
Mirtuaries,  315 
■jrt.eeS 
Act,  the,  30,  140;   in 

Roi.^-;r   -.::.•  Ir.il.  newstallf,  499 
Roe  stones  or  ooliU'S,  323 
Roman:    and    Runic    inacrlptiaiia,   «6 
baths  in  Bath  city,  »X> ;  buildii>(a  nau 


VT. 


INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


BUTLDTNG  NEWS,  Vol.  XXXTX. 
July  to  December,  ltf80. 


Brading,  3S4,  4S9,  693 ;  Nimes,  Aries  and 

Orange,   7S7  ;    town  in    Huugarj-,  672 ; 

■wall  iu  the  City,  discovery  of,  G44 
Borne:  archicol,  socy.   of,  32G,  373,  401  ; 

proposed  international  exhibition  at,  141 
Koof :    and  floor  construction,  Portland 

cement  for,  60 ;   church,  felt  on,  fi33 ; 

gauge  of  tiled,  460;  pitch,  for  tiled,  113, 

139,  170,  197  ;  tiles,  460,  719 

Boofing,  glass,  Bendle's  acme  sj'stem  of, 
381 

Eoofa  :  and  rainfall,  435;  great-span,  321, 
371,  400  ;  Norman,  283 

Boom,  peculiar  note  of  a,  284 

Rooms,  warming,  576 

Rotherham  baths  competitn.,  29 

Itothcrhithe,  dirt  and  disease  in,  172 

Itot  in  new  house,  139 

Round  towera  of  Norfolk,  283 

Rousay,  Manzie's  mounds  at,  512 

Itowland  Hill  statue,  456,  806 

Royal :  Academy,  78  (admissions),  52 
(prizes),  693;  archieological  (assocn.  of 
Ireland],  485  (institute),  109;  archi- 
tectural museum,  720 ;  Commissioners* 
report  on  drainage  of  Dublin,  176  ;  insti- 
tute of  British  architects,  93,  2M,  517, 
619,  525,  5K4,  605,  641,  720  (funds  of),  78, 
93 ;  institution,  692 ;  Scottish  socy.  of 
arts,  663 

Rubble  walls,  pointing,  543 

Ruined  cities  of  Central  America,  230 

Ruins  of  TeotihuAcan,  321 

Rules,  designing  club,  486 

Runic  and  Roman  inscriptions,  496 

Ruskin,  on  gloves  and  pictures  for  mu- 
seums, 151 

Buskin's :  notes  on  Prout  and  Hunt,  G2 ; 
Btatue,  Oxford,  114 

Russia,  a  recent  visit  to,  2,  57,  88, 145,  203, 
264,  37S,  493,  610 

SADLEBS'  "Wells  theatre,  new,  383 
Safety  arrangements  for  water-pipes,  657 
Baffron  Walden  market-square,  151 
Sahara,  archteology  of  the,  806 
Sale-rooms,  Liverpool,  558 
Salford,  municipal  surveyors'  assocn.  at, 

617,  577 
Sahsburj',  Audlcy  house,  345 
Saltford,  old  farm-house  at,  3-13 
Sand  ;  sea,  139;  in  mortar,  516,  546 
Sanitary  :   administration,  436  ;  arrange- 
ments of  houses,   172 ;   assurance  (and 
classification),  80  (assocn.  for  London), 
647,   719;    congress,    Exeter,    316,   367, 
897  ;  defects  in  rented  houses,  law  as  to, 
460 ;  exhibition,  proposed  international, 
811;    institute  of    (ireat  Britain,    54; 
matters  and  water  supply,  30,  81,  114, 

140,  171,  198,  230,  259,  2S8,  315,  ^44,  372, 
402,  430,  488,  516,  547,  606,  662,  691,  719, 
781,810;  notes  by  H.M.  Office  of  works, 
606  ;  regulation  of  building,  437  ;  science 
(in  America),  350,  790  (in  relation  to 
civil  architecture),  641 ;  value  of  the  fire- 
place, 65  ;  work  in  Kensington,  259 

Savoy-place,  Strand,  opening-out  of,  692 

Saws,  band,  344 

Scamped :  plumbing  in  London,  373 ; 
workh»use  drainage,  171 

Scarborough  :  harbour,  776  :  spa,  150 

Schedules  of  prices,  2t0,  287 

Scholarships :  Gilchrist  eogineering,  316 ; 
Whit  worth,  ai6 

School :  arrangements  near  Ipswich,  141 ; 
public,  chapel  to,  773 ;  room,  dividing, 
372 

Schools :  artistic,  English  and  French, 
172.  V.i\-\  A  tijides),  28;,6S7  ;  Camber- 
w  !  1  ^  .■  '  ,r  girls'),  284  ;  Cambridge 
:  ).  I,  K  ■  oil.),  124;  City  of  London 
I.  niMii:.!!:.  11  ..485,574{'technical),  230; 
CULiicruH,  ^..., ;  Cockermouth  (Sundiy), 
631;  Exfttr  (grammar),  137;  Farington 
(ch.),  142;  Helensburgh  (Hcrraitage), 
167;  Newbur>-  (grammar),  459,  187; 
Peterborough  (Sunday),  603;  Pinxton, 
841;  Plymouth  (boys'  high^  152;  Ro- 
chester [grammar),  298;  Sheffield  (cen- 
tral), 110;  St.  Anne's-on-Sea,  342; 
Tiverton  (Blundell's),  111 ;  Truro  (Wes- 
leyan).  169, 687 ;  \'illage,  124 

Bchools  of  art;  Ayr,  412  ;  Bedford-park, 
Chiewick,  316  ;  Brighton,  369  ;  Carlisle, 
ess ;  Chesterfield,  687 ;  Cirencester,  777  ; 
City  of  London.  715 ;  Crystal  Palace,  167, 
196 :  Dexby.  777 ;  Dorchester,  777 ; 
Dudley,  630 ;  Dundee,  777 ;  Durham, 
606 ;  Female,  806 ;  Gateshead.  412 ; 
Guildford,  456;  Hastings,  716;  Liver- 
pool. 687,  632,  689,  715,  716,  779.  sn8 ; 
Manchester.  167.  781.  S06  ;  Metropolitan 
drawinir  cla.ssi-.'*,  ri7:t ;  Newcastle-on- 
Tync.  l.v:.  7.,-.  \  ,.:  n  Abbot,  109,123; 
NottiiiL'  :  ,  i:  :  '  :iim,  312:  Perth, 
630:1;.  !■■  ..-     1  burv,  587;8hcf- 

fleld,  :>7',  -  ;i.  K  ti-ington,  109;  St. 
Martin'a-in-tlie- Fields,  058;  Tonbridgc, 
716;  Walsall,  398;  York,  715 
cicnce  and  art :  buildings,  new,  198 ;  cer- 
tificates, 30,  SI ;  depai-tment's  dircctorj-, 
845 

Science,  sanitary:  in  America,  *150,  790; 
in  relation  to  civil  architecture,  641 

Scientific;  college,  Birmingham,  3-23;  fe- 
nestration, 650 
Scotland :  associated  carpent'^rs  and 
joiners  of,  731 ;  general  building  regula- 
tions for,  810 ;  Norman  archit'-cture  in, 
268 

Scottish  :  church  architecture,  a  duke  on, 
373;  corporation  hEiU,  110;  decorative 
(metal  workj,  425  (stone  work),  441  ; 
monuments,  inscribed  early,  495 ;  paint- 
ings'exhibition,  381,  440;  socy.  of  arts, 
royal,  663 


Screw,  a  new,  23<3 

Sculptural  decoration,  553 

Sculpture :  440 ;  alleged  decadence  of 
English, 311 ;  archaic  Greek,  latcrperiod 
of,  671 ;  colour  in  Greek,  311 

Sculptured  monuments,  Celtic,  441 

Sea  sand  :  139  ;  in  mortar,  516,  546 

Seaside  brought  to  Loudon,  171 

t'cason  :  art,  677  ;  brick  maldng,  170 

Sea  water  supply  to  London,  633 

Secret  and  supplementary  awards,  pro- 
fessional referees  and,  314 

Section  of  sewer,  an  improved,  543 

Sections.  690,  718 

Selby  Wesln.  chapel  competition,  689 

Separate  buildings  under  the  building  act, 
114 

Sessional  arrangements  of  R.I.B.A.,  new, 
93 

Setting  of  stonework  at  St.  Paul's,  254 

Sewage  :  and  water  supply,  439 ;  precipi- 
tation, chemistry  of,  775 ;  systems,  691 ; 
utilisation,  140,  198 

Sewer:  section,  an  improved,  543;  venti- 
lation, 430 

Sewers :  house,  proper  size  of,  209 ;  incli- 
nation of,  606 ;  Parisian,  344 

Sharing  charges  with  quantity  surveyor, 
663 

Shetford,  B.C.  boya'  home,  94 

Shingles,  oak,  718 

Shops,  conversion  of  dwellings  into,  5S7 

Shrme,  altar,  a  Swiss  Gothic,  141 

Shute,  Stephen,  the  late.  340 

Sideboard  for  dining-room,  442 

Signboards,  artistic,  369 

Silk-mill,  Brighouse,  773 

Singular  action  by  an  architect,  S09 

Situation  and  construction  of  dwellings, 
697 

Size  of  house  sewers,  proper,  209 

Sketches  :  abroad,  644 ;  French,  351 ;  from 
Caen  and  Lisieux,  326,  384  ;  original  for 
art  furniture,  350 

Slate-RpUtting  and  dressing  competition, 
260 

Sleepers,  railway,  preservation  of,  172 

Sloping  church  flooi-s,  372,  402 

Slough  sewerage,  198 

Small  staircases,  architectural  treatment 
of,  728.  774 

Smith,  E.  J.  the  late,  200 

Smoke  I  and  fog  Icommittee),  517,  548, 
691  (London),  630;  formation,  to  pre- 
vent, 606 

Social  science :  art  in  relation  to,  439 ; 
confess,  Edinburgh,  171,  259,  397,  436 

Societies:  antiquarian  (Cambridge),  631, 
673;  archceological  (Berks),  398  (Bristol 
and  Glo'ster),  118  (Essex),  123  (Norfolk) 
63  (Rome),  326,  373,  401  (Surrey  1,  109, 
177  (Sussex),  239,  512;  architects  (Man- 
chester ,  606;  architectural  (Leeds),  527 
(Liverpool),  5S7,  631,  673  (Northern), 
673;  arts,  31,  517,  781  (Barry's  pictures 
at),  492;  arts,  royal  Scottish,  663; 
British  artists'  exhibition,  639  ;  building 
(Birkbeck),  82;  ch.  buUdg.  (incor- 
porated), 110 ;  civil  and  mechanical  en- 
gineers, 692;  engineermg  (Liverpool), 
461,  700;  engineers,  720;  friendly,  200  ; 
land  (national  freehold),  811 ;  national 
benefit,  a,  227  ,  St.  Paul's  ecclesiological, 
36,  138,  528,  719;  Sunday,  82,  431,  439, 
461,517,810 

Sound,  improvement  and  distribution  of, 
by  steel  wires,  152 

Southampton,  restoration  of  Bargate,  402 

Southesk  \-iaduct,  condemnation  of,  781 

South  :  Kensington  (museum),  62,  198,  547 
(national  competition  drawings),  85 ; 
London,  buildings  in,  653 ;  of  France, 
Druidical  researches  in,  326 

Sowerby-bridge  sewerage  scheme,  230 

Spaces,  open.m  metropolis,  658 

Spain:  hnuse-building  in,  90;  public 
works  in.  22^ ;  restorations  in,  205 

J^P  ,n,  7r.  nt.  r.inf.s-,  321,  371,  400 

Sj    .,   -     I'l  ..;..-|_'li.l50 

'  1.1  houses.  718 
>iuMi-iM-.  ..  p. .lilting,  92,483 
M...IL.N  ^..ul„,  .-.16 
Sinx-nger's  drawing  pen,  2S8 
Spring  t<i  close  church  door,  287 
St.  :  Alban's  cathedral,  455,  460,  498.  627, 
614,  672.  674,  689,  717,  788:  Andi-ew 
(Fort  William),  341  (Kirkby  Malzeard), 
341  (Mells),  687  (Old  Chesterton),  227 
(Southburgh).  Ml ;  Anne  (Gunnisbike), 
603  (Oldham  B.C.),  659  (Over  Uaddon), 
137  (Rock  Ferry),  256;  Antholin  (Wal- 
brook),  809;  Augustine  (Cunterburv, 
coll.),  37  (Scissett),  457;  Catherine  (Ab- 
botsbury),  152;  Clement  (Greenhej-s), 
110:  Edmund  (Knapt^m),  2S5:  Ethel- 
drcda  (Ely-place).  606;  Francis  CShef- 
ford  R.C.}.  94;  Francis  Xavier  (New 
VorkW  326;  George  (Jersev),  167; 
Giles  (Chidcock),  426  (Cripplegate),  402 
(Edinburgh  cathl.)  227;  Gilles  (Caen), 
32f>.  5-28 ;  Grt»gorj-  (Monille),  285 ;  Helen 
(WilUiighami,  Sl.T;  Hilda  (^^^lilbv 
abbcv),  8 ;  James  (Croydon).  408  (Txjuth') 
298; 'John  (Churchill).  227  (Halifax 
AVesln.l,  2SI  (Thorpe),  39i)  (West  Vale) . 
645  (Whittle-le- Woods),  168;  John 
Evangelist  (Bacup),  80(i  (Gravel-hill, 
Ludlow),  137  (Needham  mkt.),  603; 
Joseph  (Ramsbottom).  457;  Lawrence 
(York),  660;  Leonard  (Langbo),  341 
(tower.  Mailing),  517;  Luke  (Manning- 
ham).  659;  Marg.iret  (Leicester),  399 
(Stoodleigh),  110;  Mark  (Venice),  700; 
Mary  (Bury  St.  Edmunds),  426  (Cayn- 
ham),  124  [C^lonakilty  B.C.),  137  (Coven- 
try, tapo.stryIfrom),  613  (Cray,  cemetery), 
644  (Edinburgh  cathl.),  137  (Frampton), 


29,  53  (Fulham,  priory).  470  ( John-st., 
Berkeley-sq.},  732  (Sydney,  catlil.),  544 
(Walkerni,  544  (^Vhitechapel).  269,  460  ; 
Martin  (Brighton),  806  (Canterbury), 38; 
Matthew  (Bays^vater),  456  (Newcastle- 
on-Tyne),  702  (Oxhey),  4S5  (Sydenham), 
110  (Walsall),  369;  Matthias  "Tulse- 
hill),  116,  123,  167,  169,  182;  Michael 
(Camden-town),  412  (East  Ardsley),  456 
(Homton),  631  (Pinboe),  168,  197,228 
(St.  Quinton),  270;  Pancras  (London, 
church),  411  (do.,  industrial  exhibition), 
465,  491;  Paul  (Hammersmith),  240, 
287  (Maghull),  341  (Spalding),  603; 
Paul's  cathedral  (Melbourne),  64,  113 
(old),  523,  555  (setting  of  stonework), 
254;  Paul's  ecclesiological  socy.,  36, 138, 
528,  719  ;  Peter  (Blackburn),  426  (Broad 
Hinton),  573  (Plymouth),  553  ;  Peter 
Mancroft  (Norwich),  659;  Petersburg, 
2,  57;  Philip  (Blackburn),  773;  Radi- 
gund  (abbey,  Dover),  672;  Thomas 
(Bradford),  806  (Monmouth),  368  (Nut- 
hurst),  77 

Stability :  and  strength  of  stone  arches, 
425 :  of  water  tanks,  405 

Stained  glass:  Bamsbury  (St.  Andrew), 
809  ;  Bognor,  719  ;  Bradford  (St.  John), 
140 ;  Broughty  Ferry,  809 ;  Cambridge 
(Corpus  Chiisti),  114;  Chislehurst 
(Wesln.) ,  140;  CVawley,  576;  Dublin 
(C:h.  ch.),  429;  Felstead  (school  chap.), 
633;  Gloucester  (St.  John),  82;  Hen- 
stridge,  114;  Houghton,  171;  Hunger- 
ford,  516  ;  Ipswich,  547  ;  King's  Norton, 
429 ;  Lincoln,  chapter-house,  719 ; 
Llanegryn,  315;  Morecambe,  429;  Mow- 
bray, Cape-town,  691 ;  Old  Miiverton, 
315;  Pensford,  82;  Southport,  402; 
Wellingborough,  402;  Westerdale,  259  ; 
Ystaljiera.  719 

Staircases  :  and  hall,  784  ;  Kawdon  house, 
558 ;  small,  architectural  treatment  of, 
728, 744 

Stairs,  411 

Stalls,  cathedral :  Rochester,  498 ;  St. 
Alban's,  674 

Stand,  tripod,  809 

State,  the  relations  of  French  art  with  the, 
410 

Stationary  engine-driving,  630 

Stations,  railway  :  Chestnut-hill,  94  ;  Fen- 
church-st.,  811 ;  Liverpool  exchange, 
779,  808  ;  London-bridge,  141 

Statues:  Bums,  516;  Blackfriars-bridge, 
82,  398  ;  in  the  Law  Courts,  288  ;  Paris 
Hotel  de  Ville,  489,  576;  Raikes,  R 
(Victoria  Embankment),  30,  82;  Bus- 
kin (Oxford  museum),  114  :  Sir  Rowland 
Hill,  456,  806  ;  St.  Etheldreda's  chapel, 
Ely-place,  606;  Summers  (bust,  Taun- 
ton), 662  ;  trying  effect  of,  489 

Steam  laundry  at  Battersea,  397 

Steel  wires,  improvement  and  distribution 
of  sound  by,  152 

Steels,  modem,  as  structural  materials, 411 

Steinhoff  v.  WooUams,  arsenic  in  wall- 
papers, 30 

Stendla,  Leaf's,  548 

Stone  :  arches,  stability  and  strength  of, 
425 ;  breaker,  Baxter's,  345 ;  bridges, 
form  and  thickness  of  arches  of,  61 ;  in 
construction,  665  ;  natural  bed  of,  150; 
work,  setting  of,  at  St.  Paul's,  254  ; 
York,  on  girder,  780 

Stonehenge,  236 

Stove :  a  wonderful,  546,  575,  808 ;  Sie- 
mens' new,  586 

Stratfoi-d-on-Avon  cemetery  competition, 
687 

Street:  accidents,  London,  114:  lighting, 
improved,  in  Birmingham,  588 

Streets :  London,  unwholesome  state  of, 
230 ;  new,  paving  of,  58 ;  passenger 
bridges  over,  48S 

Strength  :  and  stability  of  stone  arches, 
425  ;  of  railway  structures,  717 

Sfefoud:  domestic  architecture  about,  118; 
houses,  118 

Structures,  iron,  and  railway  bridges,  605, 
660,  689 

Studios :  artists'  designs  for,  627  ;  Hamp- 
stead,  270 

Study  of  poetry  and  ai-t,  577 

Style,  a  living,  requisites  for,  549 

Sub-contracts,  372 

Subterranean  water  supply,  weather  and, 
198 

Suburban  dwellings,  how  built,  345 

Suffolk,  school-arrangement  in,  141 

Suggestions  for  creosoting  timber,  484 

Sugg's  improvements  in  gas-burners,  323 

Summer-house  designs,  91,  240 

Sunday ;  art  exliibitions,  113 ;  school 
founders,  raeml.  to,  31 ;  society,  32,  431, 
439,  461,  517,810 

Sunderland  new  harbour,  511 

Supplemenbirj"  and  secret  awards,  pro- 
fessional referees  and,  314 

Support,  latest :  of  adjoining  land,  634  ; 
right  to,  663 

Survey  archtvol.  socy.,  109,  177 

Surveillance  of  sti'eet  arclutecture,  438 

Sun,-C)Tng:clas8,archi.aas^cn.,  239:Iand, 
788 

Sur^'cy,  the  Ordnance,  8 

Sur%'eyor,  notice  to  appoint,  170 

Surveyors:  assocn,,  municipal,  345,  397, 
617,577,  charges,  54«,  780  (for  quanti- 
ties), 63;J;  examinations,  120,  149;  in- 
stitutitm  of,  6!?5;  local  board,  and  archi- 
tects, 724 ;  quautity,  law  as  affecting, 
630,  657,  690 

Suspeosion  bridge, Victoria,"repairs  of,  643 

Sussex  :  avcha-ol.  socy.,  239,  612 ;  church- 
hunting  in,  379 ;  river  pollution  in,  344, 
691 


Swanscombe    church,    ecolesiol(^ists   at, 

168 
Swansea  water  works,  288 
Swimming-baths,  Richmond,  369 
Swiss  Gothic  altar  shrine,  141 
Switzerland,  ancient  tombs  in,  182 
Symbolism,  of  monuments,  468 
Sydenham,  Oxon,  drainage  works  at,  576 
Synagogue,  Newcastle-on-Tyue,  256 
Systems,  sewerage.  691 
System,  the  percentage,  721,  807 


TANK,  brick  footings  to,  229,  259 

Tanks,  water,  stability  of,  405 

Tanners,  Dr.,  15th  centxiry,  197 

Tapesby,  from  St.  Mary's,  Coventry,  613 

Taunton  water  supply,  719 

Tautology,  architectural,  722 

Tavern,  Victoria  docks,  493 

Tavistock  cemetery  chapel,  28 

Tay  bridge  :  bill,  report  on,  368;  disaster, 
34,  56,  60.  107 ;  rebuilding,  78,  123,  577 

Technical  schools,  the  City.  230 

Technological :  classes.  City  guilds  insti- 
tute and,  430;  examinations,  114 

Telegraph  wires,  underground  v.  overhead, 
811 

Temperature  of  town  water  supplies,  270 

Temple-bar  memorial,  199,  288,  382,  469, 
517 

Temples  of  Pffistum,  94 

Temporary  wooden  bridges,  172 

Tenders,  low,  contract  work  and,  580 

Teotihuacan,  ruins  of,  321 

Testing:  Portland  cement:  81,  197,  575; 
improvements  in,  495 ;  recent  methods 
of,  469 

Tests  for  good  iron,  586 

Text-books,  art,  3 

Thames  valley  drainage.  Lower,  257 

Theatres:  Dublin  (new  royal),  38;  Glas- 
gow, 4S5  ;  new  Princess's,  513 ;  newSad- 
lers'  Wells,  333 

Theory  of  "nature"  at  the  bar  of  fact, 
635 

Thickness  and  foi-m  of  the  arches  of  stone 
bridges,  determination  of,  61 

Thirlmere,  a  baseless  vision  of,  346 

Ties,  wall,  516,  546 

Tile  roof:  719;  gauge,  460  ;  pitch  for,  113, 
139, 170, 15:7 

Tiles,  roof,  460 

Timber :  preservation  of,  107  ;  suggestions 
for  creosoting,  484 

Time,  the  price  of  architecture  in,  433 

Tipton  gas-works  competition,  687 

Tobacconists'  shop,  oldest  in  London,  781 

Tolls  on  London  bridges,  197 

Tombs :  ancient,  in  Switzerland,  182 ;  in 
Bunhill-fields,  403 

Tottenham-Ct.-road,  gas  explosion  in,  35, 
78,  S3,  148,  255,  257 

Tower  and  spire,  club  designs,  51 

Towers :  of  Wimborne  minster,  776 ; 
round,  of  Norfolk,  283 

Town:  and  village  mortuaries,  367,  3S1; 
water  supplies,  temperature  of,  270 

Town  halls  :  Bermondsey,  631 ;  Dunstable, 
631 ;  Eastbourne,  776 ;  Eceles,  341  ; 
Hull,  227;  Kensington,  196  ;  Kingstown, 
93;  Maidenhead,  544;  Manchester,  345, 
373;  Pontefract,  573,  631,  636,  689,716; 
Wakefield,  316,  485;  Yeadon,  77 

Tracerj-,  net,  226 

Trade  cards,  mediteval,  630 

Trades:  house,  Glasgow,  326 ;  school  com- 
petition. Bristol,  287,  687  ;  union  con- 
gress (Dublin),  324;  unions,  proposed 
federation  of,  120 

Tramways  and  wood -paving  at  Newington, 
430 

Ti-apless  closets  and  drains,  427,  459,  436, 
514,  545,  574,  604,  632 

Trapping  and  ventilating  house-drains, 
632 

Traps :  dip,  662,  690 ;  to  prevent  evapora- 
tion from,  171 

Treatises  on  light  and  shade,  30 

Treatment,  architectiu'al,  of  small  stair- 
cases, 723,  774 

Trees,  the  growtli  of,  122 

Tripod  stand,  809 

Troy,  295 

Ti-ui-o  :  cathedral,  91.  256,  411 ;  Wesln. 
school  competition,  687 

Tulse  hiU,  St.  Matthias'  ch.  competitn., 
116,  123,  167,169,132 

Tunnel,  the  Channel,  122,  663 

Turkish  baths,  heating  and  ventilating, 
258 

Tumor,  Wm.  H.,  the  late,  31 

Turners'  co.  exhibition,  435 


XTLVERSTON,  sanitarj-  muddling  at, 

Undeiground  :  cisterns,  81 ;  or  overhead 
telegraph  wires,  811 

Underwriting  dwellings,  28,  79,  111,  139, 
169 

TJnhealthiness  of  public  institutions,  352 

I'nhealt  by  houses,  455 

L'niversitj' college,  London :  31,  298;  pro- 
fessorship of  arehfeology  at,  1 

Unrestored  church,  a  Sussex,  316 

Unsafe  buildings,  378 

Unsanitary  dwellings:  140;  of  London, 
577 

Unwholesome  state  of  London  streets,  230 

Use  of  cements,  the,  611,  640 

Utilisation  of  sewage :   140  ;    of  London, 


VALUATIONS :    487 ;   the  new,  the 
water  companies  and,  26 


BtTTLDING  NEWS,  Vol.  XXXIX. 
Jiily  to  December.  1880. 


INDEX  or  CONTENTS. 


SuppJemnt  In  lie 
Bcn.pn;o  N»w«.  January  14. 1981. 


vn. 


Value  :  of  City  premises,  259,  547  ;  of  pro- 
pei-ty,  718  ;  sanitary,  of  the  fireplace,  55 

Vases,'  Ureek  painted,  61 

Venice,  St.  Mark's,  700 

Ventilating:  and  heatingr  Turkish  baths, 
258  :  and  trapping  house-drains,  632 

VentiUrion :  401,429,  662;  competition, 
Yeovil,  544;  or  draught,  572,  633; 
sewer,  430 ;  watercloset,  in  Edinburgh, 
403 

Ventilators,  Boyle's  air-pump,  517 

Very  modem  I^-ptian,  29 

Vestry  liaU.s :  Kensington,  196;  West- 
minster, 29,  33,  63,  294,  340,  369,  400, 
612 

Viaduct,  Southesk,  condemnation  of,  781 

Vicarage,  Bath,  110 

Victor  Emmanuel  monument  competition, 
398 

Victoria  :  coffee  music  hall,  778 ;  embank- 
ment, a  constructive  study,  115,  144 ; 
suspension  bridge,  repair  of,  643 

Village  school  designs,  124 

Villages  and  towns,  mortuaries  for,  367, 
SSI 

Villas:  Blackburn, 270  ;  Brading (Roman), 
354,  488.  698 

Visitors'  handbook  to  Gloucester  cathe- 
dial,  402 

Vis.t  to  Bossia,  a  recent,  2,  57,  88,  143, 
2-J3,  264,  483,  610 


WAKEFIELD :  town  hall,  485  (clock), 
316  ;  waterworks  scheme,  315 

Walcott,  Mackenzie  E.  C,  the  late,  787 

Wall:  gymnasium,  780;  papers,  arsenic 
in,  30;  party,  633.  690,  718:  Roman, 
discoverv  of,  in  the  citv,  644 ;  tie.'J, 516,546 

Walls :  damp,  81,  633,'  662 ;  internal,  of 
dwellings,  460 ;  pointing  rubble,  543 ; 
spotty,  516 

Walsingham.  228 

Walton,  Lincrusta,  672 

Warming  :  conservatory,  460  ;  rooms,  576 

Washington  capitol,  frescoes  in,  199 

Water :  analysis,  439  ;  and  gas  pipes,  in- 
jury to,  by  lightning,  296 ;  closet  ventila- 
tion in  Edinburgh,  403  ;  coloiu*  exhibi- 
tions, the,  666  ;  companies,  metropolitan 
(accounts),  81  (and  the  new  valuations), 
26 ;  pipes,  safety  arrangement  for,  657  ; 
purification,  new  system  of,  259  ;  purity 
of,  233  ;  supplies,  town,  temperature  of, 
270  ;  tanks,  stability  of,  405 

Waterproof  coverings,  409 

Water  supply  :  and  sanitary  matters,  30, 
81,  114,  140,  171,  198,  230,  259,  28.S  31.5, 
344,  372,  402,  4.30,  488.  516,  547,  6«!,  662, 
691,  719,  781,  810;  and  sewage,  439 ;  cis- 
terns and,  269  ;  for  builders,  free,  229  ; 
of  metropolis,  30.  171,  229,  257,  4SS,  577, 
606,  781  (select  committee's  report),  174, 
19S 


Weather,  the,  and  subterranean  wat«r 
supply,  198 

Weight:  breaking,  of  cast  iron  column, 
062 ;  carried  by  brick  pier,  516 ;  of  iron 
rafters,  402,  429 

Wesleyan  chapel  building,  168 

West  fronts  :  Lichfield  cathedral,  810 ;  Bt. 
Alban's  cathednil,  455,  466,  467, 498, 6*i7. 
644,  672,  6S-9,  717,  788 

Westminster:  abbey  (panels),  139;  new 
buildings  in,  232;  vestry  hall  compe- 
tition, '29,  33,  63,  294,  310,  369,  40O, 
512 

■What  is:  a  brick!  201;  mortar  I  231, 
262 

■Whitby :  abbey,  8 ;  harboor  improvement 
scheme,  456 

Wliitchurch,  loan  exhibition  at,  316 

■WTiitcchiipel  church  :  acoustic  defects  in, 
460 ;  destruction  of.  269 

Whitwortti  scholarships.  316 

Wliyte-Melville  memorials.  429.  459 

Widening  of  Ludgate-hill.  691 

Wimbomo  minster,  the  towers  of,  776 

Windows  and  fireplaces,  571 

Winslow  sewerage  works,  091 

Winter  exhibition,  at  tlie  Dudley  ffallerr, 
609 

Wires  :  steel,  and  acoustics,  152  ;  tele- 
graph, underground  or  overhead,  810 

Wonderful  stove,  a,  546,  676,  SOB 


Wood  :  beam.6«2 ;  paving  (and  ti«raw«yi), 

4.TI :  re|«,rt  on.  4;)1  ;  pn'OTVlnr,  62 ;  pulp 

trade  of  Norway,  34.1 
Wo<)dihe«t.'r.  Itonmn  pi>vement  at,  lit 
Wo<«l(n  :  tridgw.,  Umporory,  17J ;  eUiiry 

at  Duttmoutli,  172;  hous««  and  modern 

copio*,  :jsf> 
■Woollen,  W.  M.,the  Ute,  CM 
Workhouw  draiiiiit,-v,  N:iri)|M^,  171 
Workhou«e«  ;  uwvamctit  of,  S*I ;    BUrk- 

hum,  573 ;  Burton,  8»7  :  I'horlton,  644  ; 

drainage  of,  2i'> 
Working  clasicn,  house    aeoommodation 

for.  4.-)8 
Workington.  MniUry  work,  at,  7HI 
Works  ;  of  art,  du|.licate,  lUN;  of  Mt  D. 

Ferrey,  201 
World,  the,  longest  brldgra  of,  3S3 
Wrought-iron  gatca,  547 
Wyatt,  T.  H.,  ttie  Uu>,  204,  tm 


■YACHT  decorations,  a» 

V.ruli.M  town  hall,  77 

Yellow  deals,  4>r7 

Yeovil,  venlihili.in  «)mp<titlon,  644 

York :  mmster,  542, 345  ;  Ikiman  remains 

at,  672 ;  stone  on  girder,  7h<> 
Yorkshire:    abbeys,  42U :    srchjroloiri<^ 

asaocn.,  247  ;  tlao  art  cxhibiUon,  MA 


INDEX      OF     ILLXJST  R  A.  T  I  O  M  S 

*,*  The  Lithographic  Illustrations  will  be  found  immediately  following  the  Pa^es  indicated. 


ABBEYS:  Bury  St.  Edmund's  (plan), 
601;  Crowland    (plan),  601;  St.  Alban's 
(carvings) ,  94,  freredos  and  stalls  in  Lady 
chapel),  674,  (west front— SirE.  Ueckett's 
new!,  614,  627,  (do.  Canon  Davys'  de- 
signs)  470,   (do,  J.  O.  Scott's  design!, 
644;    Wabingham    (plan\    601;    West- 
minster , panels),  91,  139  ;  'Whitby,  8 
Abbot^burv,  St.  Catherine's  chapel,  152 
Aberavoii,  bank  at.  702 
.»."'■■    slass-rooling.  Rendle's.  3S1 

■:..  Aldermanbury.  offices  in,  644 
ianbury.  offices  in  Addle-st.,  644 
'Uses.  Springfield.  558 
>rd,  home-buildings.  Grange-park, 

--\  chateau  of.  182 
ip,  maiion  Hydraulique,  412 
s'  creed  illustrated,  732,  792 
;iall.  Kensington,  384,  412 
.  St.  Gilles"  ch.,  Caen,  528 
'  tural    museum    sketching   club : 
....  ..u-.^.  chapter-house,    Westminster, 

aii'i  Kamrysr.-e's  tomb,  St.  Alban's,  94 
Arti.sans'  aw.uings,  aerkenweU,  498 
Artists'  huuiLS  ;  Basil Champneys',  Manor- 
t  'f'!!.  Hampstead,  38;  J.  C,  Dollman's, 
'jrd-park,   1S2;    Luke  Fildes',   Hol- 
.-p^irk.  702,  732;  Sir  F.  Leighton's, 
■ington,  384,  412  ;  Val  C.  Pi-insep's, 
ind-park,  498 

~  residence,  club  design,  792 
I-street,  W.C,  private  hotel,  412 
-.  improved,  228 
L  luxll,  chimnev-piece  at,  64 
. :  11 ,  Hull  borough ,  674 


A  L  LYCTTLTEK  church,  5as 

Mdes:  maison   Hydraulique,   Ant- 
:  .  412  ;  Rawdon  house,  Hoddesdon, 

— »o  ;  Aberavon  (Glamorganshire),  702; 

Cltrkenwell      (national     penny*,     49S; 

Saffron  Walden  (Gibson's),   132;  Wel- 

—^lingborough  (two),  442 

Banqueting  hall.  Old  Cockhotel,  Halifax, 


124 


--— B~,  state,  of  Univ.  Coll.,  Oxford,  64 
8«m»cks,  new  depot,  Oxford,  588 
Batley,  Carlinghow  board  schools,  470 
Battle  hall,  Leeds,  Kent,  lavatory  at,  5'25 
flayeux,  sketches  near,  384 
Beauchene  house,  Hampstead,  124 
Beddington-park,  cricket  pavilion,  528 
Bedford-park,   house   in    Newton-grove, 

182 
BeU-terrace  schools,  Newcastle,  210 
Bench-knife,  joiners'  patent,  4.55 
Berkeley-square,  St.  Mary's  ch.,  near,  732 
Berlin,  ironwork  in  Gewerbe  museum.  644 
Billiard-room  ventiUtion.  698 
Birmingham,  chimney-piece  at  Aston  hall, 

64 
Blackbnm.  villa  at.  270 
Bloomfield.  NY.,  Chestnut-hill  station,  94 
Board  of  trade  officfs.  Cardiff.  614 
Board  schools  :  Batley.  470 ;  Chol.<ey.  384  ; 

Hemel  Hempsted.  Boxmoor.  270;New- 
,    csstle-on-Tyne.  BeU-terrace.  210 
Boat-honse,  University  Club.  OxfonJ,  64 
Boudoir,  octagon,  in  Adams'  style,  732 


Bournemouth  :  All   Saints'  church,  614 ; 

houses  at,  528 
Buxmoor  bd.  schools,  Hemel  Hempsted, 

270 
Bovle's :   chimney-cowl,  614  ;  double-pipe 

ventilators.  698 
Boys' :  high  school.  Plvmouth,  152  ;  home, 

bt.  Francis',  Sheffoi'd.  94 
Bracket,  strains  upon,  541 
Branksome  park,  Bournemouth :  additions 

to  All  S8.  ch.,  614  ;  house  at,  528 
Bridges :   Orthez,  364 ;  over  park  stream, 

354 
Brigade  depot,  Oxford,  5SS 
Brighton,  Doone-terrace,  Hove,  270 
Brussels,  hotel  de  ville.  732 
Budding  act,  roofing  difficulties  under,  203 
Building  News  designing  club  :  artist's 

residence,  792  ;  bridge  over  park  stream, 

354 ;  gamekeeper's   cottages,   182,    298 ; 

mixed   village     school,     124 ;    summer 

houses,  240 ;  towers  and  spires  for  ^-il- 

lage  ch.,  38 
Buildings    of     Merchant   Taylors'    Co., 

Threadneedle-st.,  470 
Bury  St.  Edmund's    monastery,   ^ound 

phin,  601 
Business  premises  :  Addle-st.,  E^.,  644  ; 

Cardiff,    210;    King   William-st.,    E.G. 

(assurance),  94;   Liverpool,  528;  Man- 
chester, 3S ;    Newman-street,  W.,  210 ; 

Threadneedle-st.,  470 


CADB'CrRY  house,  Somerset,  470 
Cadogan-sq.,  S.W.,  houses  in,  64 
Caen,  St.  Gilles'  ch.,  326,  528 
Cambridge  :  choir  school.  King's  College, 

124;  house  at,  64 
Camden-town,  St.  Michael's  ch.,  412 
Cardiff:      shops,    210  ;     telegraph     and 

marine  offices,  614 
Carlisle,  section  of  station  roof.  321 
Carvings,  St.  Alban's    and  'Westminster 

abbeys.  94 
Case,  o'rgan,  for  cathedral,  design,  442 
Casket,  iron  and  leather,  644 
Cathedral  organ  case  design  (A,  G.  Hill) 

442 
Cathedrals  :  Hong  Kong  (proposed,  B.C.) 
732  ;  Melbourne  (proposed,  interior),  64 ; 
Norwich    (interior),   178;    Paris   (Notre 
Dame),  354  ;    Rochester   (nave  stalls), 
498 ;  St.  Albans   (carv.ngs,  Ramrygge's 
tomb),    94.     (stalls    and    lady   chapel, 
reredos  ,  674,   (new  west  front,    by  Sii" 
E.   Beckett',    614,  627,   (Canon  Davys' 
design),  470,  (J.  O.  Scott's  design),  644 
Caynham  St.  Mary  ch.,  Ludlow,  124 
Ceiling,  painted,  in  Queen's  house,  614 
Cement :  Portland,  test  for,   197  ;  works, 

Johnson's,  Greenhithe,  6 
Cemetery   lodge  and    lych-gate,    Sutton 

Coldfleld,  298 
Chancel,  new,  St.  James's.  Croydon,  493 
Chapels  :  Abbotsbury  ^St.  Catherine),  152  ; 

Haven-green,  Ealing  (Bapt.',  152 
Chartres,  la  Porte  Guillaume,  210 
Chateaux  :  Amboise,  Chaumont,  and  Che- 
nonceaux,  182 ;  La  Jovardaye,  Morbihan, 
442 
Chaumont,  chateau  of,  1S2 


Chelsea  :  Garden  comer  house,  674 ;  houses 
in  Cadogan-sq.,  64 

Chenonceaux,  chateau  of,  182 

Chestnut-hill  station,  Bloomfield,  N.Y., 
94 

Chimney  :  cowl,  Boyle's,  614 ;  piece  at 
Aston  hall,  64 ;  pieces  and  over-mantels 
in  wood,  732 

Chiswick,  house,  Kewton-grove,  Bedford- 
park,  182 

Choir  school,  King's  College,  Cambridge, 
124 

Cholsey,  bd.  school,  384 

Church-door,  spring  to  close,  287 

Churches  :  Ballyculter,  Down,  688  ;  Brank- 
some (All  t<S.),  614;  Caen  (St.  Gilles), 
326,  528;  Camden  town  (St.  Michael), 
412  ;  Cavnham,  Ludlow  (St.  Mary),  124  ; 
Croydon  (St.  James),  498;  Hammer- 
smith (St.  Paul,  new),  240;  John-street, 
Berkeley-square  (St,  Mary) ,  732  :  Louth 
(St.  James— gable  cross  and  altar  table, , 
298;  Lyon  (Notre  Dame  de  Fourviere- 
details),  380;  Mae 'llwch-park,  Radnor- 
shire (proposed),  94;  National  competi- 
tion Q.  prize  design  'G.  8.  Doughty's) 
384;  Newcastle-on-Tyne  (St.  Matthew) 
702  ;  Norwich  (St.  Peter  Mancroft),  179  ; 
Plymouth  (St.  Peter),  558;  Salcombe.  8; 
St.  Quentin  (St.  Michael,  collegt),  270  ; 
towers  and  spires  (3J  for  village,  33 ; 
Villier-le-Sec,  384 

City,  the:  Merchant  Taylors'  buildings, 
Threadneedle-st.,  470;  offices  (Addle- 
st..  Aldermanbury),  644,  (Reliance,  King 
William-st.),94 

Clerkenwell,  national  penny  bank  and 
artisans'  dwellings,  498 

Clevedon,  Cadbury  house,  near,  470 

Clontarf,  O'Brien  orphanage,  J.  L.  Robin- 
son's (2nd  prem.)  design,  442 

aubs:  designing,  38,  124,  IS'-', '240,  29.«, 
354,792;  Glasgow,  new  (J.  Salmon  and 
Son's  design),  792;  village  (Woobum- 
green),  210 

Cock  hotel,  Halifax,  banqueting  hall,  124 

Coffee-taverns  :  archi.  assoen.  pnze  design, 
E.  Vaughan.  674;  Kensal-green,  210; 
Woolwich,  588 

College:  London  University,  new  north 
wing,  298;  Magdelcne,  Oxford,  new 
buildings,  732 

Commercial  sale-room,  Liverpool,  658 

Commines,  street  sketch  in,  361 

Como,  from  the  pier,  354  ^    _ 

Competition  designs  :  church  'National  Q. 
prize,  G.  S.  Doughty',  Sit  :  cliil.  buUd- 
inga,  Glasgow  (.1.  S.'Uinon  and  Son ) ,  792^; 
coffee-tavern  (archi.  assocn.  prize,  E. 
Vaughan),  674 ;  dairy  homestead  (Irt 
prize,  R.  Waitc  ,  702;  municipal  build- 
ings, Glasgow  (Ist.  G.  Corson\  32i; ; 
(Salmon  and  Son\  .334;  oiphanage. 
O'Brien,  Clontarf  (2nd,  J.  L  Bobinson', 
*42  :  trades  house,  Ohisgow  vSalmon  and 
Con,  326 

Corbel,  early  Renaissance,  4 

Comer,  a  drawing-room,  732 

Cornices.  Spini-sh.  90 

Cottages :  gamekeeper's,  182,  296 ;  Hay- 
don.  Pinner  (and  lodge),  8;  Maidatone, 


Cowl,  Boyle's,  614 
t>eed,  Ue  Apojtles",  732,  792 
Cricket  pavilion,  Beddington-park,  528 
Cross  on  gable,  St,  James's,  Loulh,  ■OS 
Crowland  monastery,  ground  plan,  t»l 
Croydon,  new  chancel,  St.  James's  ch., 
498 

DAIB.Y    homestead,    B.    'Waite'a  (Ut 

pnze)  design,  702 

De  Gheyn's  Apostles'  creed,  732,  792 

Depot  barracks,  Oxford.  588 

Designing  club:  artist's  residence,  792; 
bridirc  over  park  stream.  354 ;  game- 
keeper's cottages  (3'.  1.H2,  298;  nuxrd 
village  school.  124  ;  summer-booaei  (3) 
2)0:  towers  and  spires,  viUiga  ch.  (S), 
33 

Designs  :  organ-ease  for  cathe«lr*l  (A,  f>. 
Hill) ,  4-12  ;  sanctuary  '  B.f..  8.  J.  XichoU  . 
1S2;  8t  Alban's  cathedml.  wc«t  front 
(Canon  Davys  .  470.  J.  O.  Kcfjtt  .641: 
(See  also  under  Competitions  and  De- 
signing Club) 

Details :  abbeys  (St.  Alban's  and  Wf«t- 
minster),  94  ;  'Whitby:.  8;  altar  Ubie 
(St.  James's  lyouth  .  298 ;  rhaprl  (Ab- 
botsbury, St.  Calhenne  ,  IW;  rhnrehea 
(Caen.  Kt.  Gilles  .  5-ii :  Lyon.  N  V.  do 
Fonr^ni^re).  ,380;  cornices  .sn,ini«h),  90; 
houses  i) Kensington,  Sir  F.  Ijeiirhton's), 
381  ;  Renaissance.  4 ;  sideloar,!  for 
dining-ro'irii.  442;  stairrasrs  ',\ntwrrp, 
maison  Hvdniulique  .  412;  -Rawilon) 
658;  studi.')  .1.  r.  I)..llm  ,n'.  .  182;Ubl« 
aGothi.    ;  -> 

Dining-ri  112 

Door.  ch.. 

Double-pi!  ,;.••«,««« 

Dover.m.mI.  1..I1  .nl..!. -.I..412 

Drawing-room  :  comer,  732 ;  table,  a 
Gothic.  .5-28 

Drinking-vcssel  at  Berlin  museum,  044 

Diirer,  the  Satirity.  by.  7.1* 

Dwellings,  artisans',  Clerkenwell.  488 

E ALINO,  Havcn-^iwn  cfaapel,  J5« 

Embroidery,  old,  493 

FACTOBIES,  Maiden,  Kentish-town, 
Farm-buildings.  Orange-park,  AlreaforJ, 

f';  ...         ,, 

]  '-I ;  menidnai, 

I~  '"tens.  SM 

{  .;.  644 


OABLS-OBOSS.  St.  Jtaaft,  Lontb, 


XJU, 


INDEX  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


BUrLDING  NEWP,  Vol.  XXXIX. 

July  to  December,  18S0. 


Gameket'per'a  cottage  designs,  182,  298 
Garden-comer  house,  Chelsea,  674 
Giis-burnere,  Sugg's  airangement  of,  323 
Gas-combustion,  improved  method  of  re- 
moving products  of,  6S»S 
Gate,  licb,  at  Speen  ch.,  644 
Gateway  at  Chartrcs,  210 
Gcwerbe   museum,    CerliOt  ironwork  at, 

644 
GlamorganpLire  bank.  Aberavon,  702 
Gltisgow:   municipal   buildings   competi- 
tion fist,  a.  Corson*8)  320;  ^Salmon  and 
Son'*;,  354  ;  new  club  (Salmon  andj^on's 
desiRH),  7y2;  trades  house  [Salmon  and 
Son's  design).  326 
Glasi-rootini?,  Rendle'a  acme.  381 
Oioa.  Lisieux,  house  at,  3^ 
Gothic  table  for  drawing-room,  523 
Grammar-school  porch,  Rochester,  29S 
Grango-park  home  buildings,  Ali*c»ford, 

38 
Greenhithc,  Johnson's  cement  works,  5 
Grille*  iron,  at  Berlin  museum,  644 


HALESWOBTH.  Patrick  Stead  hos- 
pital, 3H 
TIalf-timbered  constmction,  7S0 
ll:ihfax,  interior  of  banqueting  hall,  Old 

Cock  hotel,  121 
nails:  Arab,  Kensington  (Sir  F.  T.*lgh- 
ton's),  3St,  412;  ^Vston  fchimnev-piece 
at}.  *>4;    bmqueting.    Old   Cock  Ilotvl, 
Halifax,  12( ;  Dover  (memorial),  412 
Utimmersmith  new  parish-church,  240 
Uampstead  ;  Beaucbene  house,  Fitzjohn's- 
avenue,  124  ;  Manor-farm  (BasilCbamp- 
neya'    hjme^,  38;    studios,    Park-road.. 

Hanging  lamp  at  Rerlin  museum,  6M 

Hiiatinf^rs  :  new  municipal  buildings,  588  ; 
Sandro^-k  house,  326 

Haven-green  chapel.  Ealing,  152 

Haydon.  Pinner,  lodse  and  cottages,  8 

Hemel  Ht.mp«t«d.  Boxmoor  board  school, 
270 

High  school,  Plymouth,  152 

Hill-side  foundation?,  487 

Hoddcidon,  Kawdon  house,  8;  staircase 
balu-ttrading  at,  55S 

HulUnd-park,  Kensington,  houses  at,  384, 
412,  49.S.  702,  732 

Home  buildings,  Grange-park,  Alrcsford, 
38 

Homes  :  artista',  3S,  182.  384,  412,  49S,  702, 
732  :  boys*  {Shefford  R.C.),  94 

Hompstcad.  dairy,  R.  Waite's  (1st  prize) 
design,  702 

Hong  Kong,  proposed  R.C.  cathedral, 
732 

Hospital,  Halesworth  (Patrick  Stead), 
33 

Hotel  de  rille.  Brussels,  732 

Hotels  :  Arundel-st.,  Strand  (private),  412 ; 
Old  Cock.  Ha  ifitx  (banq-ieting  hall), 
121;  Piilace,  Soutbport,  210;  Rose  and 
Crown,  iSaffron  Wulden,  152 

Houses:  Antwerp,  412;  artist's  (club  de- 
sign'. 7d2  ;  Beauchene,  Hampstcad,  124  ; 
Blackburn,  270 ;  Bournemouth,  628 ; 
Cadbury,  Somerset.  470;  Cadogiin-sq., 
8.W.,  64;  Cambridge,  64;  Folkestone, 
298;  Frankfort  on  Main,  644;  Gaiden- 
oomer,  Chelsea,  G74 ;  Glo«,  384  ;  Haydon, 
near  Pinner,  8;  Huve,  West  Brighton, 
270 ;  Kensington,  3^4.  412.  4i)S,  702, 732 ; 
lAngham-st.,  Portland-place,  124;  Li- 
rieux,  326,  384  ;  Maidstone,  558;  Manor- 
form.  Hamp^tead,  38 ;  Xewton-gn>ve, 
Bedford-park,  162 ;  Orleans,  4 ;  Place, 
Fowey,  1S2;  Plas  Llanvchan,  Ruthin, 
688;  Rawdun,  Uoddesdon.  8,  55S;  Sind- 
rock.  Hastinirs.  326;  Stonevgate,  Leices- 
ter, 210, 3.>l ;  Westgate-on-Sea.  S ;  West- 
wood,  Sydenham,  732;  TVoodhouse, 
Lyme  Regis,  8 

Hove.  Doone-terracc,  270 

Hull  borough  asylum.  674 

Hydraulique,  miiison.  Antwerp,  412 

Hydropathic  establishment  and  hotel, 
Suuthpoit,  210 


IMPROVED  ashpits  228 
Iron :    casket,    ewer,    grille,    tamp    and 
pricket,  in  Berlin  museum,  644 ;  screen, 


JAPANNED  room  of  Queen's  house, 

Piiint.-i  ..ilmi;in,6M 
Johns-jn'.-i. .  ui'iii  works,  Greenliithe,  5 
John-street,  Berkeley-square,  new  church, 

732 
Joiners'  pat«nt  bench  knife,  455 
Jovardaye,    chatou    de    la.    Morbihon, 


EENSAI^grccn,    coffee     palace     and 

woikmen's  hall,  210 
Kenhincton:  artisU*  homes  at,  384,  412, 

4S-I.  7i>2,  732 
KentiMi-town,  Maiden  factories,  792 
Kingpost,  690.  809 
KiQfc's  college,  Cambridge,  dioir  school, 

124 
King  Will;am-atreet,  EC.  Reliance  office, 


UlDY  chapel,    .St.  Alban'8   cathedral, 

new  rcredos  in,  674 
Lftmp,  16th  century,  hanging,  644 
I^ngham-st..   Portlond-placc.    residence 

l»,  124 


Lavatory  at    Battle    hall,   Leeds,    Kent, 

525 
Leeds,    Kent,   lavatory   at   Battle    hall, 

625 
Leicester,    houses    at    Stoneygate,    210, 

3M 
Leighton's,  Sir  F. ,  house,  Kensington,  384, 

412 
Lichgates:    Spcen    church,    644;    Sutton 

Coldfield  cemeterj-.  298 
Lisieux,  sketches  of  old  houses  at,  326, 

384 
Liverpool :    commercial    saleroom,    558 ; 

Cnpe's  business  premises,  523 
Lodge  :  and  cottages,  Hiiydon.  Pinner,  8; 

cemeter}-,  Sutton  Coldfield.  298 
Loire,  chateaux  on  the,  182 
London  :  roofing  difficulties  in,  203 ;  Tni- 

versity  college,  now  north  wing,  298 
Louth,  altar  table  and  gable  cros^  at  St. 

James's  church,  298 
Ludlow,  St.  Mary's  church,  Caynham,  124 
Lunatic  asylum,  borough  of  Hull,  674 
Lyon,  N.  D.  de  Fourvii^re,  details,  380 

MAESLIiWCH-park,   proposed   ch  , 

Magdalene  college,  Oxford,  new  buildings, 

732 
Miiidstone,  cottage  residence,  553 
Maison  Hydraulique,  Antwerp,  412 
Slalden  factories,  Kentish-town,  792 
Manchester,  premises,  Market-st.,  38 
Manor-farm,  Hampstead,  38 
M'lriue  and  telei^raph  otfices,  Cardiff,  614 
Marino,  Clontarf,  O'Brien  orplianage,  J. 

L.  Robinson's  designs,  442 
Market  squares :    Brussels,  732 ;    Saffron 

Wulden,  152 
Jfcasured  drawings :  chimney-piece,  Aston 
hall,  64  ;  St.  Catherine's  chapel.  Abbots- 
bun-.  152 ;    St.  Gilles'  ch.,    Caen,  528 ; 
WhUby  abbey,  8 
Melbourne,  inteiior  of  proposed  cathedral, 

Gl 
Memorial :    fountain.      Saffron   Walden, 

152  ;  hall  and  schools,  Dover,  412 
>[er;  antile  marine  office,  Cardiff,  614 
Merchant  Taylors'  Co.  buildings,  Thread- 

needle-st.,  470 
Mixed  village  school,  club  design,  124 
Monastic   ground  plans :     Bury  St.  Ed- 
mund's. Crowland,   and  Walsingham, 
601 
Morbihan,  chateau  de  la  Jovardaye,  442 
Municipal   buildings :  Glasgow   competi- 
tion (1st   prem.   design,  G.    Corson's). 
326  (Salmon  and  Son's),  354;  Hastings, 
588 
Museum:  architectural  (sketches  at),  94; 
Gewerbe,  Berlin  ( ironwork  at),  644 


NATIONAL:  penny  bank,  Clerken- 
well,  408  ;  prize  design  for  church,  G.  S. 
Doughty's,  384 

Nativity,  the.  by  Durer.  732 

Xave  stalls,  Rochester  cathedral,  498 

New:  buildings,  Magdalene  college,  Ox- 
ford, 732;  cathedral.  Melbourne,  64; 
municipal  buildings  competition,  Glas- 
gow (1st,  G.  Corson's),  326;  (Salmon 
and  Son^s).  354;  municipal  buildings, 
Hastings,  588  ;  north  wing,  Univ.  coll., 
T»ndon,  298;  parish  cli..  Hammersmith, 
240 ;  west  front,  St.  Alban's  abbev,  614, 
627 

Newcastle-on-Tyne  :  bd.  schools,  210;  St. 
Matthew's  ch,  702 

Newman-st.,  W..  premises  in,  210 

Newton-grove,  BMford-park.  house  in, 
182 

North  amptonsliire  banks  [two) ,  Weliing- 
boro',  442 

Norwich :  cathedral  choir,  178 ;  St.  Peter 
Mancroft  ch..  179 

Notre  Dame.  Paris.  854 


O'BRIEN  orplianage,  Clontarf,  compe- 
tition (2nd,  J.  L.  Robinson's  design). 
442 

Octnpon  boudoir,  in  Adams'  style,  732 

Offices:  Addle-st.,  EC.  644;  Reliance 
assurance.  King  Williim-sl.,  94 

Old  :  altar-table,  8t.  James's  ch.,  Louth, 
298 ;  embroidery,  498 

Organ  case,  cathedral,  A.  G.  Hill's  design 
f"r.  442 

Orleans,  window  of  house  at,  4 

Or  hanage,  O'Brien,  Clontarf,  competi- 
tion (2nd  design,  J.  L.  Robinson's  ,  442 

Over-door,  a  Queen  Anne.  628 

Over-mantels  and  chimney-pieces  in  wood, 
732 

Oxfotxi :  brigade  depot,  588;  new  build- 
ings. Magdalene  college,  732;  university 
flub  boathouse,  64;  Vniv.  coll.  state 
barge,  64 


PAINTED  ceibng,  by  Robert  Adam. 

614 
Palace  hotel,  Pouthport,  «40 
Panels  at  Wewtminwt.  r  abbey,  94,  189 
Paris ;  part  of  Tuilcrics,  4 ;  sketches  in, 

35^1 
Park  stream,  bridge  for,  351 
Purtj-wall,  fixing  pinto  in.  661 
Patrick  Stead  hoscatal,  Ilalcsworih,  38 
Pavihon,  cricket,  Beddington-park,  528 
Penny  bank,  ('lerkenweli,  498 
Pinnner.   lodge    and   cottages  'at    Hay- 
don, 8 


Place  house,  Fowey,  1S2 
Plans  :  almshouses  ( Springfield  1 ,  558 ; 
asylum  (Hull  boro'),674;  bank  (Aber- 
avon), 702;  bridge  over  park  stream, 
354;  cathedrals  (Hong  Kong,  R.C), 
732;  (St.  Alban's-west  end),  470,  614, 
627,  644;  cemetery  lodge  (Sutton  Cold- 
field),  298;  chapels  (Abbotsbun-,  St. 
Catherines  152;  (Haven-green,  Ealms), 
152;  churches:  (Ballyculter),  588; 
(Branksome,  All  SS.),  614;  (Caynham, 
Ludlow,  124;  (Croydon,  St.  James's.. 
498;  (Hammersmith,  St.  Paul),  240; 
(Maesllwch-park,  Radnor), 94  ;  (National 
prize  design,  G.  S.  Doughiy's),  384; 
(Newcastle-on-Tyne,  St-  Matthe^^ ),  702 ; 
(Plymouth,  St.  Peter),  558;  (Salcombe), 
8;  towers,  3  club  designs,  38;  club, 
workmen's  village  (Woobum -green), 
210 ;  coffee  taverns  ( Archi.  Assocn.  prem. 
design,  E.  Vaughan),  674;  (Kensal- 
green),  210  ;  college  (London university), 
298;  cottages  (eamekeeper's),  182,  298; 
(Maidstone),  558;  dairy  homestead  (1st 
prize,  R.  Waite),  702";  factories  (Mai- 
den, Kentish-town),  792 ;  farm  buildings 
(Alresford,  Grange-park),  38 ;  hall 
(Dover,  meml.),  412;  hospital  (Hales- 
worth,  Pati-ick  Stead),  38  ;  hotel  (Palace, 
Soutbport),  240;  houses  (artists'),  792  ; 
(Beauchene.  Hampstead),  124  ;  Bourne- 
mouth), 528;  (Cambridge),  64;  (Chel- 
sea), 674;  (Holland-pk  ,  Kensington), 
498,702;  (Hove),  270;  (Kensington,  Sir 
F.  Leighton's),  384 ;  (Manor-farm, 
Hampstead),  38;  (Newton-grove,  Bed- 
ford-park), 182  ;  (Plas  Llanychan),  588; 
(Sandrock,  Hastings),  326;  (Stoneygate, 
Leicester) ,  210, 354 ;  (  ff'oodhouse,  Lyme) , 
S ;  hydropatliic  establishment  (South- 
port),  240 ;  monastic  buildings  (Bury  St. 
Edmund's,  Crowland,  and  Walsing- 
ham). 601;  municipal  buildings  (Glas- 
gow competition,  1st,  G.  Corson's^,  326; 
(Hastings),  588;  offices  (Cardiff,  Board 
of  Trade).  614;  orphanage  (Clontarf, 
O'Brien,  J.  L.  Robinson's  design),  442  ; 
pavilion,  cricket,  Beddington-park,  528 ; 
schools  (Batley,  bd.),  470;  (Cambridge, 
lung's  coll.,  choir),  124 ;  (Hemel  Hemp- 
sted,  bd.),  270;  { Newcastle- on-Tvne, 
bd.).210;  (Plymouth,  boys'  high),  152; 
(village,  mixed),  124  ;  staircases  in  small 
houses,  729,  730  ;  station  (Chestnut-hill, 
N.Y.),  94;  studios  (Hampstead),  270; 
summer-house,  240 ;  tavern  (Victoria 
Docks),  498;  town  hall  (Saffron  Wal- 
den), 152;  villas  (Blackburn),  270; 
(Folkestone),  298 

Plas  Llanychan,  Ruthin,  5S8 

Plvmouth :    bovs'  high    school,  152 ;    St. 
Peter's  ch.,  558 

Porch,  schoolhouse,  Rochester,  298 

Porte  Guillaume,  Chartres,  210 

Portland :  cement,  test  for,    197 ;    place, 
residence  near,  124 

Priories:  St.  Gabriel's,  near  Bayeux,  3S4; 
St.  Mary's,  Fulham-road,  470 

Private  hotel,  Arundel-st.,  Strand,  412 

Proposed  cathedrals:   Hong   Koug,  R.C, 
732;  Melbourae,  64 


QUEEN  Anne  over-door,  a,  523 


R  AILWAT     station,     Cicstnut-hill, 

N.y.,  94 
Ramrygge's  tomb,  St.  Albftn*s,  carvings 

upon. 94 
Ra'hhaus  at  Freibuig,  6(4 
Kawdon  house,  Hoddesdon,  6;  balustrtid- 

ing  to  staircase  at,  558 
Reliance  office,  King  William-Sicet,  E.C., 

90 
Renaissance  shell  ornament  and  corbel,  4 
Rendle's  acme  glass  rooting,  381 
Reredos  in  Lady  chapel.  St.  Alban's,  674 
Residence :    artist's,     club    design,    792 ; 

Langham-st.,  Portland-place,  124 
Rochester :    cathedral,  nave    stalls,    498 

grammar  school  porch,  298 
Roman  Catholic  sauctuarj-,  S.  J.  Nieholl's 

design,  182 
Roofing  ;  at  Carlisle  station,  321 ;  difficul- 
ties under  the  building  act,  203 ;  glass, 

Rendle's  acme,  3S1 
Rose  and  Crown  inn,  Saffron  Walden,  152 
Royal  arclu.  museum  sketches,  94 
Ruthin,  Plas  Llanychan,  588 


SAFFRON  "WAIiBEN,  the  Market- 
square,  152 

Salcombe,  new  ch.,  8 

Sale-room  buildings.  Commercial,  Liver- 
pool, 558 

Sanctuarj-.  a  Ronmn  Catholic,  S.  J. 
Nieholl's  design,  182 

Sandrock,  Hastings.  826 

Schools:  Batley  (bd),  470;  Cambridge, 
King's  coll.  [choir"!,  124;  Cholsey  (bd.l 
3S1;  Dover  (meml.  hall),  412;  Hemel 
ileropsled  (bd.),  270;  nuxed  village 
(club  design).  124;  Newcastle-on-Tyne 
(I'd.).  210  ;  Rochester  (grammar— poixh] 
298 ;  (Sianford-in-Valu  ch.).  384 

Screen:  and  organ-case,  A.  G.  Hill's  de- 
sign, 442;  in'U,  470 

Sections:  abbey  ("Whitby),  8:  chapel 
( Abbot«bur>',  St.  Catherine) .  162 ;  church 
(Caen.  St.  Gilles),  528:  cottages,  eiame- 
kceper's.  182,  298;  covered  yard  and 
c  .wnouse  (Alresford-grangcl,  38;  houses 
(artist'f),  792;  (Holland-park,  Kensing- 
ton), 498,  702j  lichgat*  (Speench  1,644; 


painted    ceiling   in     Queen's    Japanned 

x-oom,   614;  roof  (Carlisle  station),  321; 

school,  mixed  -village,  124;   spires,  38; 

stalls    (Rochester  cathl  ),  498;    station 

(Chestnut-hiU,  N.Y.),  94 
Shefford,  R.C.  boys'  home.  94 
Shell  ornament,  Renaissance,  4 
Shops  at  Cardiff,  210 
Sideboard  for  dining-room,  442 
Sketches :  from  Caen  and  Lisieux,  326  ;  in 

Paris,  354 
Sketching  club,  archi.  museum,  94 
Small  staircases,  plans  of,  729,  730 
Southport,  Palace  hotel  'and  hydropathic 

establishment,  240 
Spanish  cornices,  90 
Speen  ch..  lichgate  at,  644 
Spires  and  towers,  village  ch.,  thiee  club 


Springfield,  almshouses  at,  558 

Spring  to  close  ch.  door,  287 

St.:  Alban's  cathedral  (carvings),  94; 
(lady  chapel,  rerclos,  and  stalls),  674; 
(westfront,  Sir  E.BecketrsnewK  614,627; 
(do..  Canon  Davys'  design),  470  (do.,  J. 
O.  Scott's),  644:  Catherine (Abbotsbury, 
chapel),  152;  Francis  (Shefford.  boys' 
home),  94  :  Gabriel  (near  Bayeux^,  384  ; 
Gilles  (Caen),  326,  528  ;  Hilda  ('\\'bitby 
abbey),  8;  Jacques  Boucherie  (Paris,— 
tower),  354;  James  (Croydon),  498: 
(Louth— altar  table  and  gable  cross) 
298;  Mary  (Caynham,  Ludlow),  124; 
(Fulham-road,  priory),  470; (John-street 
Berkeley-square,  732 ;  Mary  Magdalene 
(Oxford,  college),  732:  Matthew  (New- 
I  astle-on-TjTie),  702 ;  Michael  (Caraden- 
town),  412;  Paul  (Hammersmith),  240; 
Melbourne  cathl.).  64;  Peter  Mtincr.»ft 
(Norwich),  179;  Peter  (Plvmouth),  558  ; 
Quentin  (St  Michael's  ch.),  270 

Staircase-balastrading:  Antwerp,  maison 
Hydraulique,  412;  Hoddesdon,  Kawdon 
house,  558 

Staircase  planning,  729,  730 

StaUs:  Rochester  cathl.,  498;  St.  Alban's 
cathl.,    674 

Stand  tripod,  809 

Stamford-in-Vale,  church  schools,  384 

State  barge,  univ.  coll.,  Oxford,  64 

Stations :  Chestnut-hill,  W.Y,  94;  roof, 
Carlisle,  321 

Stoneygate,  near  Leicester,  houses  at,  210, 
354 

Studios,  details  of:  Bedford-park,  182; 
Kensington,  384, 702  ;  Park-road,  Hamp- 
stead, 270 

Sugg's  arrangement  of  gas-burners,  323^ 

Suramer-bouse,  three  club  designs,  240,  "^ 

Sutton  Coldfield,  cemete'y  lodge  and  lich- 
gate. 298 

Sydenbam,  We&twood  house,  732 


Tanks,  tie-rods  in,  406 

Tavern,  new,  Victoria  docks,  403 

Telegraph   and    marine    offices,    Cardiff, 

614 
Terrace,  Doone,  at  H<-»ve,  270 
Test  for  Portland  cement,  197 
Threfidneedle-st.,  Merchant  Taylor 

build  mgs,  470 
Towers:  and  spires  for  village  ch.,  three 

club  design?,  38;  St.  Jacques  Boucherie, 

Paris,  3al 
Town  halls  :  Brussels,  7,32  ;  Freiburff.  644 

Hastings.  588;  Saffron  Walden,  152 
Trades'  house,  Glasgow,  Salmon  and  Son's 

design.  326 


irNIVER.SlT Y :  chib  boat-house,  Ox- 
ford, 64  :  college,  Oxf  rd,  state  barge  of, 
G4  ;  cuUege,  Loudon,  new  noith  wing, 
20S 

Uplyme,  Devon,  Wood  house  at,  8 


Boyle's 


,p  roved 


VENTILATORS 

double-pipe.  698 
Victoria  docks,  new  tavern,  498 
Village :  club,  Woobum-green,  210 ;  schoc 

rlub  design,  124 
Villier-le-Sec  church,  3?4 
Villas :  Blackburn,  270 ;  Folkestone,  208 


"WALL,  p.uty,  plate  in.  661 

Walsine^ham  abbey,  ground  plan.  GOlJ 

Wellingborough,  two  new  banks.  442 

West:  Brompton,  St.  Mary\s  prioiy,  470; 
front,  St.  Alban's  cathl  (f^ir  E-  Beckett's 
new),  614,  627;  (Canon  Davys'  design), 
470;  (J.  O.Scott's).  644 

Westgate-on-Pea.  house  at.  S 

Westminster  abbey :  panel  irom  chapter- 
house, 94;  do.  from  Henry  VII.'s  chapel, 
139 

Wcstwood  house,  Sydenham,  732 

Wliitby  abbey,  measured  drawings,  8 

Window  of  house  at  O  leans,  4 

Wing,  new  north.  University  college, Lon- 
don, 298 

Wooburn-green,  workmen's  village  club 
210 

Wood-house  at  Uplyme,  Devon,  8 

Woolwich,  coffee-tavern,  588 

Workmen's:  hall,  Kensal-grccn  coffee- 
palace,  210;  village  club,  Woobun» 
green,  210 


July  2,  18S0. 


THE     BUILDING    NEWS 


AND    ENGINEERING    JOURNAL. 


THE  PROFESSORSHIP  OF  ARCHEO- 
LOGY AT  rXIYERSITY  COLLEGE. 
Y\"T;  are  glad  to  hear  that  a  well-earned 
'  '  compliment  has  been  paid  to  Air.  C. 
T.  Xewton,  C.B.,  of  the  British  Museum, 
by  the  Council  of  Universitj-  College,  in 
appointing  him  to  fill  a  chair  of  Archsoology 
in  that  institution.  It  is  no  less  satisfactory 
to  find  the  University  College  authorities 
have  resolved  to  promote  the  study  of 
archeology  in  the  same  thorough  manner  as 
they  are  doing  that  of  architecture,  engi- 
neeiing,  and  other  sciences.  AVe  are  sure 
that  no  gentleman  better  fitted  than  Mr. 
Xewton,  who  has  been  the  keeper  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  antiquities  in  the  British 
Museum  for  so  many  years,  could  have  been 
appointed.  Moreover,  as  the  colleague  of 
Mr.  T.  Hayter  Lewis,  the  learned  professor 
of  Architecture  at  the  same  college,  no  one, 
probably,  could  have  better  appreciated  the 
genius  and  spirit  of  Greek  art.  We  are  not 
yet  informed  what  the  course  of  study  will 
be  ;  but  we  understand  a  serirs  of  lectures 
will  shortly  be  commenced  upon  a  systematic 
plan  which  cannot  fail  to  be  both  instruc- 
tive and  interesting  to  a  large  class  of 
art-students  and  architects,  who  may  wish 
to  embrace  the  opportunity  of  supplement- 
ing their  historical  and  architectural  know- 
ledge by  an  acquaintance  with  archteology. 
As  the  commencement  of  a  school  of  archie- 
ology,  the  election  will  be  welcomed  by  all 
interested  in  the  systematic  promotion  of 
archaeological  science.  It  is  no  exaggera- 
tion to  say  the  study  is  now  pursued  after 
a  very  desultory  and  haphazard  fashion. 
We  have  no  proper  school  for  instruction, 
and  no  means  of  obtaining  correct  data,  or 
ascertained  facts,  except  by  the  study  of 
recondite  and  often  inaccessible  volumes. 
Mr.  Xewton's  admirable  course  of  peripa- 
tetic lectiu-e3  periodically  given  in  the  British 
Museum,  reports  of  which  we  have  recently 
pubUshed,  afford  theouly  satisfactory  means 
of  instruction  in  Greek  art  at  present  within 
the  reach  of  the  public.  With  the  unbounded 
wealth  of  the  British  Museum  to  his  hand, 
arranged  in  methodical  order,  the  stu- 
dent may  practically,  so  to  speak,  become 
familiar  with  any  peiiod  of  Classical  archaeo- 
logy. The  fragments  from  Egypt,  the 
collections  of  Layard,  and  of  Lord  Elgin, 
the  Townley  marbles,  the  marbles  reco- 
vered by  Sir  Charles  FeUowes  from  the 
buried  cities  of  Lycia,  the  valuable  bronzes 
and  coins  bequeathed  by  Payne-Knight,  the 


interesting  remains  of  the  famed  mausoleum 
at  Halicamassus,  brought  home  by  Mr. 
Newton  ;  and,  lastly,  the  recent  acquisitions 
from  Ephesus,  recovered  from  the  buried 
ruins  of  its  temple  by  Mr.  J.  T.  Wood,  are 
all  within  his  reach.  To  instance  the  sculp- 
tures known  as  the  Elgin  collection,  what 
better  schooling  in  the  beauty  and  refined 
grace  of  Greek  art  could  be  sought  than  the 
sculptures  in  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon, 
upon  which  Mr.  Xewton  occasionally 
descants  to  small,  but  highly-appreciative, 
audiences  ?  Yet,  ever  since  the  date  of  the 
acquisition  of  these  precious  fragments  early 
in  the  present  century,  which  cost  the  nation 
£35,000,  they  have  been  lying  compara- 
tively neglected,  and  useless  for  all  purposes 
of  instruction,  till  the  present  keeper  called 
attention  to  them.  Then  there  are  the 
beautiful  Phigalcian  marbles,  associated 
with  the  name  of  the  late  Mr.  C.  R. 
Cockerell,  equally  worthy  of  study,  but  not 
general!)-  accessible  to  the  student,  simply 
because  he  hardly  knows  their  connection 
in  the  history  of  art.  With  the  exception 
of  a  mere  smattering  of  Mediaeval  art,  the 
young  architect  knows  little  or  nothing  of 
Classical  archaeology  as  a  rule,  and  the  finest 
examp'es  of  composition  andsculptured deco- 
rations—  those  of  the  pediments  and  frieze  of 
the  Parthenon — are  a  sealed  book  to  him. 
The  collection,  as  a  whole,  opens  up  other 
very  interesting  inquiries,  which  it  is  the 
province  of  the  arcbaologist  to  investigate. 
Thus,  for  instance,  the  origin  of  Greek 
orders  has  been  a  theme  of  controversy  for 
ages;  but  in  the  Lycian,  Elgin,  and  other 
galleries  the  history  of  the  tlevelopment  of 
the  Ionic  can  be  fully  traced.  1  he  be.iutiful 
fragments  taken  from  the  Ercchtheum,  a 
hexastyle  temple  of  the  fifth  centurj-  before 
Christ,  and  those  from  other  examples, 
enable  the  student  of  Classic  to  see  the 
gro^vth  of  the  order ;  in  a  similar  manner  as 
the  study  of  Greek  coins  enables  the  numis- 
matist to  read  the  successive  phases  of 
Greek  art.  It  has  been  asserted  that  no 
monuments  or  sculptures  of  this  period 
enable  this  knowledge  to  be  obtained  so 
easily  as  the  study  of  coins,  as  they  furnish 
the  local  conceptions  of  gods  and  heroes, 
the  portraits  of  emperors,  weights,  and  a 
variety  of  other  data  obtainable  in  no  other 
way.  But  to  the  architect,  a  few  classified 
fragments  from  the  actual  buildings  or  some 
of  the  sculptures  reveal  an  insight  into  a 
number  of  collateral  subjects,  while  the 
subject  of  cuneiform  inscriptions  on  Assyrian 


and  other  monuments  is  another  fmitful 
source,  and  each  become  to  those  who  will 
be  at  the  trouble  of  comparing  and  analysing 
them— like  fossils  to  the  geologist — an 
unerring  test  of  age. 

It  is,  perhaps,  hardly  known  that  our 
British  Museum  contains  the  richest  collec- 
tion of  Greek  art  in  Europe,  while  in  archaic 
sculpture  there  is  no  other  gallery  in  the 
world  that  can  compete  with  it  ;  yet  the 
wealth  it  possesses  is  scarcely  made  available 
from  the  absolute  want  of  means  to  intro- 
duce it.  In  other  countries,  the  scnlp- 
tures  of  Phidias,  the  Panathenaic  Festival, 
the  sculptured  slabs  of  ancient  Assyrian  art, 
and  the  fragments  unearthed  at  Ephesus, 
Lycia,  and  Halicamassus,  would  form  nuclei 
of  schools  devoted  to  archicology  and  art. 

TMiile,  however,  the  trtasures  of  our 
national  collections  are  at  present  doing 
little  towards  helping  on  tlio  study  of 
archaeology  and  architecture,  the  former  ia 
left  to  a  few  societies,  and  to  individuals 
who  in  many  cases  take  to  it  as  a  mere 
hobby.  What  we  chiefly  complain  of  is  that 
the  work  is  spasmodicallj-  done.  A  society, 
or  a  few  individuals,  busy  themselves  in 
opposing  tVe  restoration  of  a  church,  or,  it 
maj*  be,  in  setting  their  face  against  Ihc  very 
measures  which  would  prolong  the  existtnco 
of  a  building,  while  thej"  do  literally  nothing 
towards  instructing  the  rising  archit«A8  in 
an  art  with  which  they  claim  such  sym- 
pathy when  its  examples  are  wcU-nigh  given 
over  to  decay. 

A  well-organised  school  of  archtcology 
will  do  much  to  aid  the  hands  of  those  wno 
wish  to  place  the  study  ujwn  a  more  satia- 
factory  footing  than  it  is  at  present.  Ar- 
chtcology has  been  too  long  to  a  consider- 
able extent  the  pjistime  of  amateurs,  ladies, 
and  clergymen,  bent  rather  upon  enjoying 
a  pleasant  outing- efjitcially  the  luncheon, 
than  on  serious  study  of  the  examples 
visited.  1  he  annual  meetings  of  the  arcnaD- 
ological  societies  have  afforded  too  often 
merely  a  display  of  desultory  banter  and 
gossip  ;  and  the  papers  read  at  mc<:ting8  are 
frequently  the  opinions  and  crotchets  of 
theorists,'who  have  little  real  knowledge  of 
theprinciples  of  induction,  and  U  ss  acquaint- 
ance with  the  details  of  archaological  re- 
search. Of  late  the  study  has  assumed  far 
more  comprehensive  proportions  than  it  was 
formerly  supposed  to  comprehend.  It  is 
partly  in  the  condition  of  geology,  partly 
exact,  as  in  the  domain  of  numismatics  and 
inscriptions.      Primitive     antiquities    have 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


July  2,  1880. 


opcued  a  laige  field  of  inquiiy,  aud  the 
functions  of  the  archreologist  now  extend  to 
palftontological  facts,  though  the  evidence 
of  the  two  sciences  are  distinct.  Archseo- 
logy  has  been  declared  by  undoubted 
authorities  to  form  an  intermediate  Hnk 
between  geology  and  history.  It  is  true  it  is 
difficidt  to  determine  the  close  of  the  geolo- 
gical and  the  beginning  of  the  archteologieal 
periods,  but  it  may  suffice  to  know  that  in 
the  latest  diluvial  formations  vestiges  of  the 
hiunan  sjjecics  aud  of  human  art  afjpear. 
But  to  nanow  our  inquiries  to  the  period  at 
which  the  ages  known  as  the  Stone,  the 
Bronze,  and  the  Iron  began,  archa;ologists 
have  discovered  the  Stone  period  to  have 
had  a  greater  duration  than  was  at  first  sup- 
posed. They  have  divided  that  period  into 
two  parts  ;  and  the  discoveries  in  France, 
Denmark,  and  Sweden  have  given  a  fresh 
interest  to  the  study  of  prehistoric  archae- 
ology. Caves,  barrows,  chambered  cairns, 
and  other  sepulchral  remains,  are  now  dealt 
with  in  a  manner  that  proves  the  advantage 
of  a  course  of  scientific  study,  including  the 
evidences  furnished  by  pala;ontology  and 
ethnology.  If  archa;ology  is  ever  to  assert  the 
dignity  of  a  science,  to  become  a  useful  aid 
to  the  historian,  or  to  other  sciences,  it 
must  take  account  of  the  vaiious  arts,  which 
in  then-  tiu-n  throw  light  upon  it.  Archi- 
tecture, scnlptuie,  ceramic  art,  numismatics, 
ornamentation,  ought  each  to  be  made  a 
subject  of  study ;  each  has  an  historical 
value  in  the  successive  styles  ■which  marked 
its  development.  Classical  archajology 
is  a  branch  that  has  been  left  to  a 
few  savants,  but  as  no  means  for  its 
proper  study  is,  as  we  have  seen,  within  the 
reach  of  architects  and  sculptors,  so  the 
p.rcheeologist  is  often  ignorant  of  architec- 
ture as  an  art,  and  seldom  biings  to  the 
investigation  of  his  work  the  technical 
knowledge  of  detaU  necessary  to  a  perfect 
interpretation  of  certain  remains.  To  this 
end  archasologists  and  architects  should 
work  hand-in-hand,  a  condition  now 
rendered  almost  impracticable  from  the 
want  of  interest  in  each  others  avocation. 
"We  have  few  like  Winckelmann,  with  his 
scientific  method  of  research.  Antiquaries 
are  too  often  mere  dreamers,  architects  too 
shut  up  within  the  narrow  domain  of  their 
technical  art.  Hence,  it  is  time  the  subject 
should  be  taken  up  by  those  who  have  the 
undoubted  advantage  of  a  large  experience, 
■who  have  studied  the  consecutive  jjhases  of 
the  subject  from  actual  contact  with  an- 
tiquities in  its  numerous  branches,  and  who 
have  a  large  collection  at  command.  If 
the  archieological  societies  who  now 
spend  their  time  on  excursions  had  the 
welfare  of  the  science  at  heart  they  would 
unite  for  the  purpose  of  instituting 
schools  for  the  study  of  archpcology.  Clas- 
sical and  British,  and  woidd  help  towards 
the  dissemination  of  soimd  ■views.  At  the 
British  Museum  the  antiquities  of  the 
British  Islands  are  scarcely  visited  by  the 
student.  There  is  a  large  collection  of 
antiquities  previous  to  the  Eoman  invasion, 
embracing  the  Stone,  Bronze,  and  Iron 
periods ;  another  collection,  found  in  Britain, 
of  Eoman  manufactm-o  ;  and  several  cases 
of  Anglo-Saxon  antiquities.  There  is  also 
an  Early  Christian  and  a  Mediaeval  collec- 
tion of  much  interest.  Why  are  not  these 
made  moie  available  for  the  instruction  of 
the  student  ?  Cannot  our-  antiquaries  assist 
towards  so  desirable  an  end,  by  making 
these  and  local  collections  centres  of  popular 
interest  ? 


A  BECKST  VISIT  TO  EUSSIA. 

IN  spealsing  of  the  contents  of  the  Hermit- 
age Palace  as  a  part  of  the  great 
Winter  Palace  at  St.  Petersbm-g,  we  may 
note  that  it  is  but  scantily  fm-uished.  The 
seats  and  chairs,  where  they  occur,  are 
treated  in  white  and  gold,  and  upholstered 


in  maroon  velvet.  The  side  and  centre 
tables  in  their  lower  parts  are  mostly  of 
gdt  bronze  ;  but  in  some  instances  they  are 
of  marble,  and  inlaid  with  the  same  descrip- 
tion of  precious  stone  that  forms  the  tops. 
These  are  mostly  in  malachite,  and  of  con- 
siderable size,  viz.,  6ft.  Oin.  by  3ft.  Gin.  in 
the  instance  of  the  tables,  and  5ft.  high  in 
that  of  the  vases ;  but  in  the  Spanish 
Gallery,  which  is  one  of  the  principal  rooms, 
the  tables,  two  in  number,  are  "ft.  by  3ft 
Gin.  in  size.  These  are  faced  with  lapis 
lazuli.  In  this  material  there  are  in  the  same 
aparlment  two  square-top  vases,  and  one 
circular  ditto,  of  considerable  size.  These 
in  their  moulds  and  decorative  parts  are  of 
gilt  bronze,  the  effect  of  which,  against  the 
divine  hue  of  this  costly  stone,  is  far  more 
chaiTuing  than  is  the  case  with  the  greener 
and  less  costly  malachite.  We  have  in  this 
palace  a  finer  opportmiity  of  judging  of  the 
beauty  of  these  native  stones,  than  was 
the  case  with  the  far-famed  screen 
of  the  St.  Isaac  Cathedral,  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  here  brought  under  a  power- 
ful overhead  light.  The  malachite  is  variant 
in  its  vernal  hues,  and  a  material  possessing 
a  considerable  amoimt  of  grain  or  stratifica- 
tion. Advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  latter 
inasmuch  as  the  artists  have  matched  the 
fragments  of  stone  in  colour  and  in  grain, 
with  the  "view  of  destroying  what  might 
otherwise  prove  a  monotonous  surface.  The 
general  effect  is  that  of  broad  lines  of  the 
various-tinted  stones  coursing  across  the 
field  or  face  of  the  tables ;  this  feature  i 
stUl  more  highly  elaborated  by  these  line 
or  shades  of  colour  being  waved,  an  effec 
that  is  obtained  by  cutting  the  veneers  or 
plates  of  stone  from  nodular  blocks  of  mala- 
chite. The  residt  on  the  whole  is  vei-j^ 
pleasing,  and  the  impression  we  form  is  that 
the  lapidaries  could  carry  the  work  no  further 
in  the  direction  of  superiority.  The  same 
effect  is  gained  with  the  colossal  vases,  which 
present  themselves  to  the  ordinary  observer 
as  being  ■^vrought  from  solid  blocks  of 
highly-figured,  veined,  or  stratified  mala- 
chite. We  noticed  that  in  all  cases  the 
gilt-bronze  mountings  of  these  costlj'  objects 
was  less  pleasing  in  effect  against  this  green 
groimd,  than  was  the  case  with  the  blue 
ground  of  the  lapis  lazuli.  This  is  traceable 
to  the  fact  that  the  former  has  yellow  in  its 
composition.  It  is  an  instance  of  a  primary 
colour  (yellow  gold)  being  brought  into  con- 
trast with  a  compound  colour  (green),  when 
that  compound  is  closely  related  to  the 
primary.  With  the  lapis-lazuU  we  have 
no  such  ■violation  of  the  laws  of  colo'ar, 
the  contrast  is  more  positive  or  pronounced, 
being  that  of  the  primaries  blue  and  yellow 
(gold).  The  effect  in  this  ease  is  rich  in 
the  extreme,  and  the  objects  stand  out  from 
their  costly  surroundings  with  a  degree  of 
force  and  character  that  ■n-ould  not  be  ob- 
tained in  any  other  material.  We  spoke 
of  the  grain  or  figure  tliro'mi  into  these 
broad  faces  of  polished  malachite,  and, 
before partingv.-ith  the  subject  of  this  highly- 
wrought  lapidary  ■work,  vfo  may  note,  that 
in  the  great  tables  of  lapis-lazuli,  and  other 
classic  objects  wrought  in  this  material, 
there  is  no  attempt  at  grain,  stratification, 
or  bands  or  shades  of  colour,  from  the  simple 
fact  that  the  material  is  in  the  form  of  an 
amorphous  crystal.  The  fragments  are 
jointed  with  the  greatest  amount  of  care 
and  judgment,  the  prime  object  being  to 
avoid  contrast  in  shade  or  colour,  where  the 
joints  occur.  The  charm  of  this  material 
lies  in  its  divmily  of  colour,  and  in  its  rich 
transparency  which  amounts  to  liuninositj^. 
In  the  cutting  of  this  stone,  numerous 
grains  of  silver  are  met  with,  a  feature  that 
is  seized  upon  bj-  the  artists  to  impart  some- 
what of  the  character  of  stratification  to  the 
face  or  field  of  this  material.  The  impres- 
sion we  receive  after  viewing  these 
costly  objects  in  this  their  native  sphere,  is 
that  they  were   primarily  ■wrought  by  Im- 


perial command  to  represent  this  northern 
empire  in  some  European  exhibition,  with 
the  secondary  -view  of  findiug  a  permanent 
restmg-place  within  the  'n'alls  of  this  palace, 
for  we  can  scarcely  believe  that  ■works  of 
this  kind  could  be  produced  in  the  present 
day  without  some  attempt  being  made  to 
bring  them  under  the  notice  of  the  people 
of  other  lands.  Side  by  side  ^vith  these  costly 
works  are  others  not  less  remarkable  in  their 
specialities ;  such,  for  instance,  as  great 
vases,  wrought  out  of  single  blocks  of  doye- 
coloured  porphyry,  and  other  i-are  and 
costly  native  marbles. 

In  some  cases  we  noticed  candelabra  and 
tazzas,  wrought  in  ■violet-coloured  Siberian 
jasper  ;  in  other  cases  the  tazze  wrought 
in  sytnite,  aventurine,  and  fine  jasper,  and 
candelabra  in  rhodonite  and  other  precious 
materials. 

The  sculpture  is  in  most  cases  modem, 
and  the  work  of  Titali,  Gothe,  Houdon, 
Bienaime,  and  others.  The  Italian  gallery 
contains  an  unfinished  work  by  Michael 
Angelo,  called  the  "  Tuui-  de  Force."  It  is 
a  crouching  figure  which  appears  to  have 
been  -wrought  without  either  rule,  compass, 
or  model,  from  a  rough  block  of  marble,  as 
if  to  show  what  this  artist  could  produce 
with  the  aid  of  his  mighty  geniu=,  from  the 
smallest  amount  of  material. 

Near  this  is  a  marble  group  by  Lorenzello, 
of  "  a  bov  carried  by  an  eagle,"  after  a 
model  by  Raphael.  This  is  remarkable  as 
being  one  of  the  only  two  pieces  of  sculptm'C 
with  which  Raphael's  name  is  associated; 
the  other  is  in  a  church  in  Eome.  The  his- 
tory of  this  work  is  somewhat  chequered 
dm-ing  the  last  ceutmy.  In  1787  it  -was 
purchased  by  command  of  Cathemie  II. 
from  a  Mr.  Browne,  of  Wimbledon.  As  a 
work  of  art  in  the  hands  of  the  Imperial 
familj- it  was  subsequently  lost.  In  1S72  it 
was  discovered  in  a  store  -  room  of 
the  Winter  Palace,  and  placed  in  its  present 
position. 

Amongst  the  best  of  the  statuary  may  be 
noted  a  work  by  Canova,  bearing  the  title  of 
"  Paris,"  and  another  in  bronze,  a  statue  of 
John  the  Terrible,  by  a  native  artist,  "  An- 
tonofsky."  Of  other  works  ■we  may 
notice  a  table  of  fine  pietru  dura,  -with  silver 
moim'ings  ;  a  present  from  the  King  of 
Italy  in  1873.  In  an  adjoining  room,  to 
which  the  public  are  not  generally  admitted, 
is  a  more  costly  table  of  Eoman  workman- 
ship, somewhat  earlier  in  date.  This  was 
made  for  the  Empress  of  Eussia,  mother  of 
the  present  Emperor.  It  is  very  massive, 
and  -wrought  iu  the  highest  quality  of  mo- 
saics, to  represent  ■views  of  the  cities  visited 
by  Her  Majesty,  and  statues  and  pictures 
most  admired  by  her  in  Eome.  There  are 
also  some  ivory  vases,  which  are  highly  in- 
teres'ing  in  their  associations.  They  were 
made  to  the  order  of  Alexander  I.,  from  the 
mammoth  remains  so  largely  found  in 
Eussia,  and  presented  by  him  to  the  Em- 
peror of  Japan  ;  this  Oriental  magnate 
returned  the  gifts,  -with  the  remark  that  he 
conld  not  c^indesceud  to  acce^-it  presents 
from  an  inferior. 

The  select  portion  of  the  Hermitage 
Palace  here  alluded  to  is  that  erected  by  the 
Empress  Catherine  II.,  with  a  frontage 
towards  the  I'ivcr  Neva,  over  which  it 
commands  a  magnificent  view.  This  is  used 
by  distinguished  visitors  ;  in  1866  it  formed 
the  apartments  of  H.E.H.  The  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  in  1873,  of  that  Oriental 
potentate,  the  Shah  of  Persia.  One  great 
featm-e  in  this  building  is  the  Hall  of  the 
Staircase  of  the  Council  of  the  Empire, 
which  is  of  imposing  size  and  proportions. 
At  the  top  of  this  staircase  is  an  immense 
malachite  vase,  near  which  is  the  pavilion 
of  the  Empress  Catherine  II.  This  room, 
used  as  a  select  ball-room,  is  fitted  up  in 
white  marble,  -with  a  gallery  of  light  gilded 
trellis  work,  supported  on  marble  columns 
rimning  round  the  upper  part  ;  a  portion  of 


July  2,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING   NEWS. 


the  floor  is  mosaic,  upon  which  is  placed  a 
pair  of  fountains,  modelled  from  the 
celebrated  one  at  Bakhchisami,  in  the 
Ciiuiea ;  the  principal  featiu-o  of  these 
fountains  is  that  of  wa'er  falling  from  a 
series  of  ornamental  shells. 

In  one  of  tlieso  rooms,  the  upper  part  of 
the  mantelpiece  is  wrought  in  mosaic  flanked 
■with  beautiful  columns  of  costly  ribbon 
jasper.  In  another,  "  Poter  the  Great's 
Galltry,"  arc  some  interesting  wurks,  di- 
rectly and  indirectly  associated  with  that 
monarch,  T\-ith  his  celebrated  successor, 
Catheiine  II.,  and  with  other  high  digni- 
taries. Amongst  these  works,  many  of 
which  are  of  fabulous  value,  we  may  note  a 
walking-stick,  formerly  belonging  to  the 
great  Catherine,  remarkable  from  the  fact 
that  the  handle  is  of  blood  jasper,  the  surface 
of  W'hich  isthickly  encrusted  with  diamonds  of 
the  first  water.  Another  rare  and  costly 
work  is  a  large  emerald,  wrought  in  the 
form  of  a  bird  ;  this  was  formerly  a  bridal 
gift,  made  by  King  Pedro  II.,  of  Portugal, 
to  the  Princess  of  Savoy. 

Before  noting  the  works  of  art  in  the 
form  of  paiutings  in  oil,  many  of  which  are 
of  special  interest  to  the  English  traveller, 
we  will  offer  a  few  remarks  upon  the  coUec- 
tionsof  c  iins,  gems, cameos,  which  are  stored 
in  three  of  the  principal  rooms. 

This  fine  collection  of  coins,  now  amount- 
ing to  200,000  specimens,  owes  its  founda- 
tion to  Catherine  II.,  from  whose  reign  it 
has  bt  en  increased  up  to  the  present  stand- 
ard by  gifts  and  purchases.  This  colleotiou 
is  rich  in  coins  of  the  antique,  both  Syrian, 
Grecian,  and  Eoman,  as  is  the  case  with 
certain  Asiatic  and  European  kingdoms,  now 
rmder  the  sway  of  the  Ku^sian  sceptre,  and 
kingdoms  which  are  lost  other  than  iu  the 
pages  of  history.  ^Vhat  is  most  to  our  pur- 
pose is  those  of  the  old  kingdom  of  Mus- 
covy which  are  represented  by  8,000  speci- 
mens. Some  of  these  are  remarkably  rude, 
and  as  such  reilect  iu  a  powerfid  manner  the 
standard  of  civilisation  that  obtained  in 
this  country  in  ancient  times. 

Specimens  are  here  shown  of  the  ancient 
coins  knONvn  as  "potinas,"  which  were 
measmes  or  weights  of  silver  current  in  the 
14th  and  loth  centuries.  The  weight  of 
these  coins  is  half  a  pormd,  and  the  earliest 
specimens  .are  without  stamp  or  impression. 
A  century  later,  the  "ruble"  came  on  the 
scene,  the  woitjht  of  which  was  one  quarter 
of  a  pound,  and  the  workmanship  somewhat 
improved. 

Perhaps  the  most  curious  are  the  squ.ire 
"copecks"  and  "half-copecks"  of  iron, 
which  are  supposed  to  have  been  current  in 
old  times  amongst  the  mining  population  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  White  Sea,  and  the 
badges,  or  tokens,  the  date  of  which  is  about 
1725,  sold  by  Peter  the  Great  to  those  who 
elected  to  pay  a  fino  for  the  privilege  of 
wearing  their  beards. 

The  English  traveller  is  somewhat  as- 
tonished to  find  an  important  collection  of 
about  1,000  Anglo-Saxon  and  Danish  coins, 
bearing  the  impress  of  our  pre-Norman 
kings.  These  have  been  found  at  various 
times  in  different  parts  of  Russia  in  Europe, 
where  they  are  supposed  to  have  been  carried 
in  exchange  for  black  mart«n-skins  and 
other  products  of  the  chase  ;  for  Russia  was 
the  "  Hudson's  Bay  "  of  the  old  world,  and 
the  seat  of  the  ancient  fur  trade— a  trade  of 
no  small  import  at  the  present  day. 

The  collection  of  gems  and  cameos  is  the 
largest  .and  the  most  valuable  in  the  world. 
These  arc  thown  in  octagonal  cases,  with 
sloping  sides,  the  lower  parts  of  wbith  are 
tables ;  these  are  fixed  on  the  floor  of  the 
great  gem-room,  which  is  one  of  the  finest 
in  the  palace  :  for  here  the  stately  doors  and 
fittings,  noticed  as  being  richly  inlaid  with 
brass,  are  to  be  seen. 

This  collection  is  the  result  of  various 
purchases,  the  principal  one  being  the 
celebrated  cabinet  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans 


(Philippe  Egalite),  the  examples  from  which 
are  distinguished  from  others  in  being 
framed,  or  mounted,  in  dull  or  mat  gold. 
These  gems,  mar.y  of  which  are  of  the  high- 
est antiquity,  arc  not  arranged  in  chrono- 
logical order,  the  curators  jireferring  to 
classify  them  on  the  basis  of  the  subjects 
engraved  upon  them — an  arrangement  that, 
to  our  mind,  is  somewhat  questionable. 

This  gem-room,  as  part  of  its  furniture, 
contains  a  massive  clock,  remarkable  for  the 
perfection  of  its  mechanism.  This  imposing 
work  is  fitted  with  a  chime  of  bells,  and 
other  musical  arrangements,  upon  which 
overtures  are  executed  with  the  precision  of 
a  band.  It  is  said  to  have  been  won  as  a 
prize  in  a  lottery  by  a  poor  widow,  who  sold 
it  to  the  Czar  for  £3,000. 

[To  be  continued.) 


ART  TEXT-BOOKS.* 

TWO  of  the  new  series  of  illustrated  text- 
books on  art  education,  edited  by  Mr. 
E.  J.  Poj-nter,  R.A.,  are  already  before  us  ; 
one  on  "Classic  and  Italian  Painting,"  by 
Mr.  Poynter,  R.A.,  and  the  other  on 
"  Gothic  and  Renaissance  Architecture,"  by 
Mr.  T.  toger  !?mith,  F.R.I.B.A.  In  the 
first  volume  we  find  the  history  of  Classic 
art,  and  ths  general  summary  of  Italian 
art,  have  been  written  bj-  Mr.  Percy  R. 
Head  ;  while  Egyptian  art  and  the  schools 
of  Italian  painting  are  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Poynter.  In  this  instance  the  preface  is 
something  more  than  an  unnecessary  apo- 
logy :  it  enters  into  the  reasons  why  art- 
teaching  should  aim  at  a  definite  and  system- 
atic knowledge  as  its  found  at  ion.  Theobject 
of  these  text-books,  it  informs  us,  is  to 
provide  that  "  such  a  knowledge  should 
form  part  of  general  education. ' '  We  cordially 
agree  with  Mr.  Poynter's  remark  to  the 
effect  that,  as  Greek  and  Latin  are  taught 
in  our  public  schools,  not  for  the  immediate 
use  they  will  be  in  after  life,  but  for  the 
preparation  they  afford  us  as  a  basis  of  the 
study  of  etymology  of  modern  languages, 
so  a  knowledge  of  Classical  and  Italian 
works  of  art  ivill  be  useful  to  prepare  for  a 
taste  for  art.  We  quite  agree  also  in  the 
remark  that  a  smattering  of  drawing  is  use- 
less, unless  under  very  able  direction,  towards 
a  cultivation  of  taste.  "Technical  know- 
ledge of  this  Idnd  may  exist,"  very  tridy, 
"in  an  individual  in  company  with  the  most 
absolute  indifference  to  any  form  of  art  that 
lies  beyond  his  range  of  ideas ;  and  there 
are  many  cultivated  men  whose  opinion  on  a 
work  of  art  is  much  to  be  preferred  to  that 
of  many  artists,"  If  a  history  of  the  great 
models  and  masters  of  art  formed  a  part  of 
the  education  in  history  every  boy  receives, 
an  interest  in  and  a  growth  of  taste  would 
follow,  and  considerably  supplement  bj' 
intelligent  appreciation  the  instruction  in 
drawing.  The  treatises  before  us  make  a 
laudable  attempt  to  supply  the  deficiency ; 
the  book  on  Classic  and  Italian  painting 
places  before  the  student  well-'nTittcn 
introductions  to  Egyjitian  and  Greek 
painting,  the  works  of  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum,  Byz mtine,  and  Early  Chris- 
tian art,  and  the  great  Italian  schools, 
all  these  being  illustrated  by  wood  engra- 
ings  from  the  best  sources,  which  engravings 
are  themselves  works  of  art.  Every  im- 
portant school  has  thus  been  illustrated,  and 
we  notice  especially  one  of  the  works  of  Fi-an- 
cesco  Eaibolini,  generally  called  Erancia, 
the  greatest  of  the  early  Bolognese  mas- 
ters, classed  here  rmder  the  Umbrian  school. 
The  subject  represents  the  Virgin  enthroned, 
attended  by  Saihts,  and  is  in  the  Pinacoteca, 
Bologna.  Its  composition  exhibits  the 
influence  of  Perugino.  Francia  was  a  gold- 
smith of  great   repute,    and  was   born    in 


•  Art  Text-Books.  Edited  by  E.  J.  Potstef:.  K.A. 
Ixindon  :  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  Searle  and  BiTingtos, 
Fleet-street. 


1-1  jO,  and  only  late  in  life  took  to  painting. 
Ho  died  in  1.317,  and,  according  to  Vasari, 
of  grief  at  seeing  himself  surjiassed  by  the 
young  Raphael.  Of  course,  the  schools  of 
Italy  take  up  by  far  the  larger  half  of  the 
book.  They  open  with  an  account  of  the 
decoration  of  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisn,  and 
Mr.  Poynter  very  justly  insists  upon  show- 
iirg  that  Early  Italian  painting  was,  as  the  art 
had  been  in  Classical  times,  the  handmaideD 
of  architecture.  The  greatest  works  were 
accomplished  in  the  decoration  of  churches 
and  public  buildings,  and  the  pictures 
were,  if  not  mural,  painted  for 
some  "  fixed  position,  for  which  their 
effect  was  calculated."  To  the  last,  tays 
the  author,  "  the  chief  boast  of  Italy —  in  a 
climate  where  the  jiainter  may  expose  his 
colours  to  the  air  with  more  boldness  than 
beneath  a  Northern  sky — has  been  the  fres- 
coes and  the  wide  surfaces  of  canvas  or 
panel,  which  throw  open  the  whole  side  of 
a  chapel  or  a  saloon,  into  a  new  world  of 
movement  and  beauty."  There  was,  more- 
over, a  unity  of  aim  in  the  individual  paint- 
ngs  ;  they  were  intended  to  form  parts  of  a 
scheme  of  decoration.  The  biographies  be- 
gin with  Cimabue,  the  leader  of  the  Floren- 
tine school,  but  Mr.  P^yrrter  says  he  cannot 
fairly  bo  called  the  first  great  Italian  painter. 
Giunto  of  Pisa,  who  painted  frescoes  at 
Assissi :  Guido,  of  Siena,  who  painted  (1221) 
the  Virgin  and  Child  in  the  Church  of  San 
Domenico,  were  chief  among  the  earliest  re- 
generators in  the  13th  century.  The  names 
of  Andrea  Tafi  and  Gaddo  Gaddi,  the  great 
mosaic  workers,  arc  not  forgotten  aruong 
the  earlier  artists.  These  early  artists  had 
to  struggle  against  the  influence  of  Byzan- 
tine, or  Greek  tr.aditions,  whi' h  trammelled 
art  for  a  long  time,  and  hence  their  works  were 
transitional.  A  much  greater  painter  than 
(imabue,  according  to  the  author,  was 
Duccio  di  Buoninsegna,  the  leader  of  the 
Sienese  school.  His  "  Scenes  from  the 
Life  of  Christ,"  particularly  "The  En- 
tombment of  tl:e  Virgin,"  part  of  the 
altar-piece  in  sacristy  of  Siena  Cathedral, 
are  powerful  in  conception,  and  place 
Duccio,  as  a  religious  artist,  in  a  high  [hoc, 
if  not  on  a  par  with  Gioto.  Like  Cimabue's 
"Madonna,"  Duccio's  great  altar-piece 
was  carried  in  procession  by  the  citizens. 
Giotto  is  illustrated  by  tlu-ee  subjects,  one  a 
panel  fresco  of  "  Christ  Among  the  Doctors," 
in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Art,  Florence ; 
another  one  of  the  series  of  frescoes  in  the 
Arena  Chapel  at  Padua,  representing 
"  Joachim  reliring  to  the  Sheepfold,"  and  a 
bas-relief  from  the  Campanile,  Florence, 
entitled  "  Shepherd  Life."  Several  choice 
engravings  from  works  by  Fra  Angelico, 
Benozzo  Gozzoli,  Fillipo  Lippi,  Botticelli, 
Signorelli,  Ghirlandaio,  Mantegna,  Bellini, 
Perugino,  Da  Vinci,  ilichel  Arigelo, 
Raphael,  Giogione,  Titian,  the  Canaeci, 
Guido  Reni,  &c.,  accompany  the  bio- 
graphical and  critical  notices  of  these 
eminent  masters.  In  th"  wr^rk3  of  the 
earlier  mas'ers  wc  di-  '  ,  ss  .and 

devotional  power,    c:.  '    "'ith 

difficulty.     Those  oft;.  ;  y  must 

be  studied  for  their  gia!.  I  1  .  ■nitrv-  treat- 
ment, crowded  incident  and  richness  of 
detail,  combined  with  a  more  masterly  power 
of  expression,  which  gradually  gained  in 
strenKth  and  richness  till  we  reach  the 
eclectits  and  mannerists  after  the  period  of 
Raphael.  -Ul  the  characteristic  features  are 
clearly  point<'d  out  to  the  student  ;  for 
example,  of  those  who  followed  Raphael,  a 
considerable  group,  including  Giulio  Ro- 
mano, Peruzzi,  &c.,  arc  shown  to  belong  to 
a  decorative  school  of  importance,  and  the 
chief  aim  of  the  Venetian  school  was  to 
express  human  beauty  of  the  highest 
physical  and  spiritual  kind,  while  for 
technical  qualities  and  colouring  it  stood 
without  a  rival  culminating  in  Titian.  The 
author  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the 
works  of  Messrs.  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  in 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  2,  1880., 


WINDOW  FEOM  A  HOUSE  AT  OELEASS  (eaKLY  IGtii  CEXTUKY). 


compiling  tlie  summaries,  tliough  the  criti- 
cal notes  arc  liis  own.  The  summary  of 
Classic  painting  by  Mr.  P.  Head  is  pretty 
complete.  The  preliminary  sketches  of 
Egyptian  painting  and  that  of  Greece  are 
illustrated  by  characteristic  engravings  from 
the  tombs  and  from  Pompeii,  and  are  mtro- 
ductory  to  the  schools  of  Italy.  Polygnotus, 
Dionysius,  Micon,  Apollodorus,  Zeuxis, 
Apelles,  Sec,  are  briefly  sketched. 

The  textbook  on  "  Gothic  and  Renais- 
sance," by  Mr.  T.  Eoger  Smith,  is  CQpfined 
exclusively  to  these  two  last  developments  of 
architecture,  and  is  intended  to  be  followed 
by  one  of  Classic  and  Early  Christian.  The 
author  has  furnished  the  student  with  what 
we  may  call  a  practical  exposition  of  the 
subject.  It  is  not  a  mere  historical  record 
of  styles,  having  reference  to  great  historic 
periods  of  art,  but  aims  at  giving  the  reader 
some  account  of  the  chief  classes  of  buUd- 
ings,  and  the  leading  constructive  features 
of  architecture.  An  illustrated  glossary  of 
technical  terms  precedes  the  work,  which 
is  almost  a  necessary  condition  to  the  study 
of  architecture.  Such  words  as  "moulding," 
"  pier,"  "  vault,"  are  explained  at  some 
length,  and  the  different  kinds  of  vault 
arelllustrated.  The  buildings  of  the  Middle 
Ages  form  the  subject  of  the  lirst  chapter, 
the  definition  of  the  parts  of  a  Gothic  ca- 
thedral being  made  a  starting-point,  after 
which     monastic    buildings,    military    and 


PAET  OF  THE  TUrLBEIES,   PAK13   (BEGrX    l-JtH,, 


IIASLT   EENAISSAXCE   COEEEL. 

domestic  buildings  are  described  with  some 
detail.  This  portion  of  the  work  is  es- 
sentially rudimentary  in  its  character.  A 
few  good  engravings  are  given  to  illustrate 
the  principal  features  and  arrangemeuts  of 
ecclesiastical  and  domestic  buildings.  The 
house  of  Jaques  Ca^ur  at  Bourges  furnishes  a 
good  idea  of  the  assemblage  of  buildings  of 
the  latter  class,  and  a  plan  of  Warwick 
Castle  is  shown  to  illustrate  the  castellated 
mansion  of  the  time  of  Eichard  II.  After 
this  general  description  of  building  in  the 
concrete,  the  author  proceeds  to  enter  into 
detail.  Chapter  III.  discusses  the  subject 
of  the  styles  or  periods  of  English  Gothic 
architecture.  Eickman's  nomenclature,  be- 
sides that  of  t^harpe  is  given,  and  the 
striking  peculiarities  of  each  stjde  are  added 
from  Mr.  Morant's  Notes  on  English  Archi- 
tecture. But  by  far  the  most  useful  and 
suggestive  portion  of  the  book  is  devoted  to 
the  analysis  of  buildings.  The  importance 
of  the  plan  in  an  architectural  sense  is 
explained  by  reference  to  the  vicissitudes 
which  marked  the  east  end  of  Gothic 
churches.  Here  a  tew  diagrams  would  have 
been  useful,  explaining  the  developments 
of  vaulting  which  arose  out  of  the  plan, 
and  the  beautiful  mechanical  expedieuts 
to  which  the  Media-val  architects  resorted  in 
carrying  their  vaidts.  The  growth  of  the 
pier,  or  its  development  from  the  wall,  would 
perhaps   have   been  more   readily   compre- 


July  2,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


henJed  by  the  stuileiit  if  a  few  diagrams  had 
been  furnished,  and  the  remarks  on  but- 
tresses would  have  received  additional  point. 
Arches,  spires,  roofs,  ornaments,  stained 
glass,  and  sculpture,  are  afterwards  described 
and  illustrated  after  a  simihir  method  of 
treatment.  The  Gothic  of  France  is  dis- 
cussed and  well  illustrated.  One  example, 
a  Doorway  at  Loches  (1180),  exhibits 
the  tx-ansitional  employment  of  a  cir- 
cular arch,  below  the  pointed  form,  and 
some  spirited  detail  and  carving;  and 
another  of  a  very  different  and  later  phase 
of  Gothic,  some  houses  atLisieux  of  the  IGt'u 
century.  The  peculiarities  of  the  plans  of 
French  cathedrals  are  pointed  out,  such 
as  the  use  of  the  column  instead  of  the 
shafted  pier,  and  the  frequeut  omission 
of  buttresses.  The  Gothic  architecture 
of  Belgium,  and  the  Netherlands,  and 
Germany,    is     biiefly   touched    upon.     The 


divisions  of  architecture,  and  although  ho 
has  gone  over  a  largo  and  well-gleaned 
field,  he  has  imparted  a  practical  tone  to  his 
work.  We  reproduce  four  of  the  illustra- 
tions given — one  of  a  curious  Early  Eenais- 
sanco  corbel  ;  another,  showing  a  beautiful 
shell  ornament,  typical  of  the  Early  Ve- 
netian llenaissance,  found  in  many  of  the 
Venetian  churches  and  other  buildings  ;  a 
third  from  Orleans,  showing  a  clever  adapta- 
tion of  e.arly  six'eenth-century  work  to 
streets  and  shops  ;  and  a  fourth,  a  portion 
of  the  garden  front  of  the  Tuileries,  com- 
menced in  IdGl,  for  Catherine  de  Medicis, 
from  the  designs  of  Philibert  Delorme. 

We  think  tbe  plan  adopted  of  dealing 
first  with  buildings  and  then  with  their 
separate  parts,  has  more  interest  for  the 
general  student  than  the  course  of  commen- 
cing with  the  elements  and  proceeding  upon 
a  spithetic  me' hod. 


makers,  in  Germany  especially,  used  ^led- 
way  mud  at  a  very  high  cost  for  their  first 
essays  in  their  desire  to  produce  Portland 
cement.  The  eminent  chemists,  how- 
ever, who  soon  took  charge  of  the  cement 
question  on  the  Continent,  were  not  long  in 
disabusing  the  public  mind  on  this  point, 
and  it  was  soon  made  evident  that  a  good 
and  reliable  Portland  cement  could  be  pro- 
duced from  other  minerals  than  chalk  and 
clay.  This  knowledge,  accompanied  by 
equally  cogent  commercial  reasons,  led  to 
the  establishment  of  foreign  Portland 
cement  works,  more  especially  in  Germsny ; 
and  the  considerable  trade  hitherto  done 
with  that  country  by  Englisli  manu- 
facturers has  in  consequence  dwindled  down 
to  comparatively  insignificant  proi)ortions, 
and,  indeed,  wo  are  already  beginning  to 
receive  supplies  of  cement  from  German 
uianufactmers.     This  somewhat  unexpected 


M£::Sl;3.    I.    l.    JOIO'SOX   AXD    CO.'s    CEME.VT    WOltKS,    GKEENllITIIE. 


Go'.hic  of  Italy  is  treated  pretty  fully  in  its 
main  features,  and  a  few  good  illustrations 
are  furnished  to  illustrate  the  style.  Spain 
and  Portugal  are  included  in  the  sketch  of 
the  Gothics  of  Southern  Europe.  The 
"Principles  of  Construction  and  Design" 
form  a  concluding  chapter  to  this  section, 
and  indicate  a  few  of  the  lealing  principles 
which  the  aichitcots  of  the  Middle  Ages 
followei  in  their  design.  The  concluding 
chapters  treat  of  Renaissance.  After  a 
general  sketch  of  the  decadence  of  Gothic, 
and  the  revival  of  Classical  traditions,  the 
author  jiroceeds  to  consider  the  plan,  walls, 
columns,  openings,  and  other  constructive 
features  in  the  same  analytical  method  as 
adopted  in  the  previous  chapters  on  Gothic  ; 
after  which  follows  an  account  of  some  of  the 
great  masters  and  works  of  the  Revival  in 
Italy,  France,  Belgium,  and  England.  The 
illustrations  ti  this  part  are  torerably  com- 
plete and  representative.  Mr.  Roger  Smith 
has  presented  the  student  with  an  excellent 
elementary    handbook    of   the    \.\to    great 


THE  ilAXUFACTURE   OF    PORTLAXD 
CEMEXT. 

AX  niPROVED  CEilEXT  MAXrFACTOEY. 

IT'ROM  the  somewhat  crude  and  incom- 
plete factory  of  Aspdin,  established  at 
Wakefield  more  than  half  a  century  ago, 
there  has  been  through  all  these  years  but 
indifferent  and  unsatisfactory  progress  in 
improvements,  cither  to  cheapen  the  cost  or 
better  the  quality  of  Portland  cement.  While 
England,  from  its  lavourable  position  both 
as  regards  the  command  of  raw  materials 
(chalk  and  clay)  and  fuel  at  a  low  cost, 
assisted  by  cheap  and  ready  means  of  transit 
to  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  secured  a 
monopoly  of  the  trade,  but  little  anxiety  or 
desire  arose  for  changing  the  original  system 
of  manufacture.  In  addition  to  those 
advantages  named,  a  belief  existed  that 
Portland  cement  could  only  be  made  from 
cha'k  and  clay,  or  mud  from  the  river  Med- 
way,  in  Kent ;  and  to  such  an  extent  did 
1  this  idea  prevail,   that    the    early  cement 


competition,  and  the  increasing  and  more 
intelligent  requirements  of  the  engineer  and 
archi'cct,  has  gi'cn  an  impetus  to  this  great 
industry  which  has,  as  wc  have  already 
observed,  resulted  in  many  useful  and  satis- 
factory iuii>rovemcnt3. 

That  our  readers  may  better  unders'and 
the  nature  and  character  of  the  more  ad- 
vanced cement  manufacture,  wc  purpose 
in  this  essay  to  give  a  description  and  par- 
ticulars of  what  may  be  regarded  as  the 
most  favourable  outcome  of  recent  inven- 
tion and  progress  displayed  at  the  manufac- 
tory of  Messrs.  I.  C.  Johnson  and  Co  , 
Grecnhithc,  in  Kent.  We  select  those  works 
from  their  comparative  neatness  to  London, 
and  also  in  some  measure  from  the  fact  of 
Mr.  Johnson  buing  the  oldest  practical 
cement-maker  in  England,  or  indeed,  any- 
where else.  At  a  recent  discussion  which 
took  place  at  the  Insti'.ution  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers, Mr.  Johnson  stated  that  he  had  been 
a  cement-maker  for  upwards  of  fifty-five 
years.     The  more  credit  to  him,  therefore 


6 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  2,  1880. 


for  having  been  the  first  to  shake  off  the 
trammels  of,  wo  might  almost  say,  anti- 
quity, and  enter  upon  a,  system  of  manufao- 
turo  which  has  utjset  the  cherished  tradi- 
tions of  the  past,  and  its  associated  absur- 
dities. 

The  works  at  Greenhithe  were  established 
with  the  object  of  following  the  new  lines 
of  manufacture,  and,  therefore,  it  was  a 
comparatively  easy  task  to  arrange  the 
plan  and  machinery  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  altered  character  of  the 
industry.  Favourably  cii'cumstanced  as 
regards  site,  the  new  works  command 
an  inexhaustible  supply  of  the  finest  chalk, 
while  they  are  connected  by  a  short 
line  of  railway  to  a  wharf  on  the  Thames,  so 
that  all  the  advantages  which  a  cement- 
works  should  possess  are  thus  seemed.  The 
original  object  of  Mr.  Johnson  was  to  avoid 
the  use  of  an  extensive  system  of  "back" 
or  reservoir  space,  and  so  hasten  the  process 
of  manufacture,  besides  dispensing  with  the 
cost  of  land  sind  buildings  involved  in  their 
construction  and  arrangement.  At  first  the 
experiments  in  this  direction  were  attended 
with  some  difficulty,  but  eventually  they 
culminated  in  the  unqualified  adoption  of 
the  "  Gorcham  process  "  of  mixing  or  wash- 
ing, and  the  "  Johnson  kiln."  These  works 
of  Messrs.  Johnson  being  placed  in  a  locality 
near  which  are  dwelling-liouses,  the  produc- 
tion of  the  gases  from  the  kilns  was  con- 
sidered by  the  surrounding  inhabitants  .as 
dangerous  to  health,  legal  action  having  been 
taken  to  prevent  the  manufacture  of  cement 
in  this  otherwise  favourably  situated  lo- 
cality. It  was  shown,  however,  that  more 
than  ordinary  precautions  had  been  taken 
to  avoid  the  chance  of  any  nmsance,  and 
the  result  was  th;it  the  works  have  been 
prosecuted  not  only  with  profit  and  credit 
to  their  owners,  but  without  infl  cting  harm 
or  annoyance  on  their  neighbours.  Althou  ;h 
not  far  from  what  may  be  termed  the 
great  Northfleet  zone  of  the  cement  in- 
dustry, the  works  at  Greenhithe  arc  com- 
paratively isolated,  and  one  feels  surprised 
that  any  action  could  have  been  taken  for 
their  suppression,  unless  some  under-current 
of  interested  opposition  felt  annoyed 
at  the  succiss  of  a  new  rival  in 
an  industry  wh'ch  some  manufacturers 
doubtless  consider  as  an  hereditary  pri- 
vilege. Of  course  thg  very  na  ure  of  the 
manufacture  of  cement  indicates  that  in  its 
prosecution  a  large  amount  of  noxious 
gases  must  be  eliminated  from  the  raw 
materials  and  the  fuel  by  which  they  are 
converted.  One  of  the  most  important 
gaseous  products  realised  is  that  of  carbonic 
acid,  aod  unless  some  elicctual  means  arc 
provided  for  its  careful  destruction  or  dis- 
persion, a  dang»-r  not  only  to  vegetable  but 
animal  life  would  result.  It  will  be  seen, 
however,  from  our  description  of  the  works 
at  Greenhithe,  thiit  every  device  that  means 
or  ingenuity  could  suggest,  have  been 
adopted  to  secure  perf^'ct  immunity  from 
danger  to  the  suirounding  country  or  its 
inhabitants. 

Our  woodcut  gives  a  fair  representation 
of  the  works  of  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Co., 
and  an  examination  of  it  will  show  the 
peculiarly  favourable  character  of  their 
position,  and  the  originality  and  skill  which 
have  been  displayed  in  their  arrangement. 
What  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  im- 
portant feature  in  connection  with  the 
establishment  is  the  chalk  source,  and  in  the 
quarry  immediately  behind  the  works,  a 
fase  of  upwards  of  50ft.  in  dejjth,  proves  not 
only  that  the  (juiditj'  of  that  indispensable 
carbonate  of  lime  ingredient  is  good,  but  the 
supply  will  be  abl:  to  withstand  the  greatest 
possible  run  upon  it  for  many  years  to  come. 
The  chalk  is  as  nought,  however,  if  the  clay 
or  mud  (silica  and  alumina  ingredient) 
cannot  be  secured.  This  has  also  due  atten- 
tion, and  the  connection  with  the  river  com- 
mands a  supply   from   the  Medway  on  the 


same  equally  favourable  conditions  and 
terms  as  all  the  other  factories  both  in  the 
Medway  and  the  Thames.  The  command 
of  coke  (gas),  coal,  and  every  other  sub- 
ordinate want  are  all  secured  under  the 
best  and  most  convenient  conditions.  The 
works  may  be  said  to  be  built  on  the  river 
level,  and,  therefore,  at  little  cost,  receives 
the  raw  materials  and,  with  equal  conve- 
nience, secures  the  ready  despatch  of  the 
manufactured  cement  by  locomotives,  which, 
in  the  various  branches  or  departments  of 
the  industry,  are  constantly  at  work. 

The  cement  works  at  Gieenhithe  may  be 
considered,  at  present,  as  from  three  to  four 
himdred  ton-power  manufacture  per  week, 
which  means  the  handling  and  moving  of 
about  two  thousand  tons  weight  in  seven 
days,  besides  the  water  used  in  mixing  the 
raw  materials. 

The  first,  and,  we  might  almost  say,  the 
most  important  building  on  the  works  is 
that  at  the  right-hand  corner  of  the  illus- 
tration, where  the  chalk  and  clay  are  mixed 
together,  and  in  which  is  placed  the  wash- 
mill.  This  machinery  of  mixture  is  in 
duplicate,  so  that,  in  the  event  of  accidents, 
no  hindrance  to  the  manufacture  can  arise. 
It  will  be  well  to  explain  at  this  point  that 
the  s}'stem  adopted,  and  which  we  are  about 
to  describe,  involves  a  continuous  operation 
of  washing,  owing  to  the  total  abandon- 
ment of  receptacles  or  backs  of  storage,  an 
inseparable  adjunct  of  the  wet,  or  old 
method.  The  distinctive  term  "  semi- wet 
process"  hardly  conveys  the  meaning  of 
the  difference  between  the  two  systems, 
and  we,  therefore,  at  starting,  give  this 
explanation  : — 

The  wash-mill  is  the  beginning  of  the 
manufacture  proper,  for  we  cannot  re- 
cognise the  quarrying  of  chalk  or  digging 
of  the  clay  as  an  operation  where  tech- 
nical skill  is  required.  The  chalk  is 
brought  to  the  wash-mill  by  the  locomo- 
tive, and  it,  together  with  the  clay, 
is  conveniently  arranged  so  that  the  work- 
men readily  put  into  the  mill  the  regu- 
lated proportion  of  the  one  and  the  other. 
The  speed  of  the  rotating  mOl,  with  its 
series  of  iron  cutters,  is  so  arranged,  and 
the  supply  of  the  materials  favourablj'  ad- 
justed to  secui'e  a  fair  reduction  or  macera- 
tion of  the  now  partially-combined  chalk 
and  clay.  The  quantity  of  water  which 
enters  the  wash-mill  varies  from  forty  to 
fifty  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  raw 
materials.  The  result  is,  the  production  of 
a  thin  pasty  mass,  which  is  sufinciently  fluid 
to  be  readily  elevated  to  the  hoppers  of  the 
hoiizontal  millstones  placed  in  the  adjoining 
building  to  the  left.  The  act  of  elevating 
tends  to  fiu'ther  perfect  the  mixture,  and 
after  passing  through  the  millstones,  which 
renders  the  slurry  more  fluid  still,  it  is 
pumped  or  forcod  to  an  elevation  high 
enough  to  secure  its  flow,  by  gravitation,  to 
all  points  of  the  flues,  which  form  the  salient 
feature  in  Mr.  Johnson's  patent  kiln.  Before 
entering  on  further  description,  we  will 
point  out  the  exact  ijosition  of  these  flues  on 
our  accompanying  woodcut.  Adjoining  the 
mill  where  the  slurry  from  the  wash-mill  is 
operated  upon  are  the  engine  and  boiler- 
houses,  and  next  to  these  are  the  cement 
grinding-mills,  and  warehouses  for  storing 
the  cement.  On  the  same  level,  and  imme- 
diately behind  and  parallel  to  this  line  of 
building,  at  a  distance  of  thirty  feet,  are  the 
kilns,  at  present  numbering  fifteen.  At  the 
entrance-height  of  the  kilns  (all  of  which 
are  covered  in)  are  the  drying-flues,  seg- 
mental in  form,  and  about  10ft.  high.  These 
flues  receive  the  slurry,  which  is  conveyed 
by  pipes  direct  from  the  mixing-niill- 
stones  and  inlets  or  holes  in  the  arches, 
readily  permit  of  its  dropping  down  at  any 
desired  point.  The  -flues  have  an  incUna- 
fion  of  1ft.  in  100ft.  rising  from  the  kiln, 
so  that  the  thickest  or  deepest  part  of  the 
wet  slurry  is  at  the  point  nearest  the  kiln 


where  the  greatest  heat  is  produced.  When 
the  kUn  is  lighted  the  end  of  the  flue  is 
built  up  and  made  air-tight,  and  the  flue  it- 
self connected  to  the  main  heat  channel, 
joined  to  the  main  chimney  300ft.  high, 
and  thus  secures  not  only  a  draught  for  the 
kiln,  but  a  perfect  method  of  exhausting 
all  the  gases  which  arise  during  the  com- 
bustion of  the  kiln.  The  inventor  of  this- 
kUn  and  its  drying  adjuncts  claims  for  his 
system  that  the  slurry  being  heated  and 
dried  from  above,  is  more  compact  in  cha- 
racter, and,  therefore,  more  susceptible  to 
beneficial  heat  action  when  placed  in  the 
kiln.  An  objection  has  been  raised  by  some 
critics  that  the  heated  gases  in  their  p.ossage 
over  the  slurry  or  slip  are  partially  ab- 
sorbed, and,  by  such  absorption,  introduce 
into  the  process  a  new  element  of  distrust 
or  danger.  Mr.  Johnson,  however,  to  dis- 
pose of  this  objection,  has  had  the  follow- 
ing analysis  made  of  the  thin  deposited 
scum,  or  film,  resultuig  from  the  passage  of 
the  heated  gases,  from  which  it  wdl  be  seen 
that  no  injurious  result  from  that  cause  is 
likely  to  arise,  or  even  possible. 

ANALYSIS. 

%yater  16-30- 

Sand 7-50 

Alumina 0'9l 

Oxide  of  iron O'Ti 

Sulphate  of  potash    47'16- 

Sulphate  of  soda  7'6& 

Chloride  of  sodium  10"66 

Sulphate  of  lime  S-28 

Do.       of  magnesia 0'8t 

100-03 
This  arrangement  of  utilising  the  waste 
heat  of  the  kiln  under  the  circumstances  we- 
have  described  has  almost,  if  not  quite,  re- 
volutionised the  system  of  cement  manu- 
facture. The  proportions  of  kiln  and  flue 
capacity  require  careful  adjustment,  for  the 
best  advantage  can  be  derived  only  when 
they  are  symmetrical  in  their  measures. 
Thus  it  woidd  be  tmprotitable,  and,  indeed, 
inconvenient,  were  too  much  kUn-room  pro- 
vided, and  thereby  require  i's  being  lighted 
when  only  pai-tially  filled.  Again,  too  much 
flue-space,  which  woidd  produce  more  dried 
slip  or  slurry  than  the  kiln  would  contain, 
would  also  be  a  disadvantage.  Experience, 
however,  has  now  arrived  at  the  exact  pro- 
portion of  washing  power,  flue  accommoda- 
tion, and  kOn  capacity,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  derangement  in  the  continuous 
and  regular  manufacture  under  the  new 
system.  The  whole  of  the  processes,  too> 
htivo  .another  great  advantage  over  the  old- 
fashioned  wet  system,  and  that  is  the  immu- 
nity from  delaj-  or  stoppage  by  unfavourable 
weather,  whether  arising  from  rain  or  frost. 
Each  kUn  has  its  own  carefuUy-covered  and 
weather-proof  flue  ;  and  thus,  when  the 
contents  of  the  burnt-out  kUn  are  taken 
away  to  be  ground,  the  process  of  refilling 
may  be  begun,  and  so  soon  as  that  operation 
is  complete  the  slurry  is  speedily  allowed  to 
cover  the  flue  floor  again  for  the  next  charge 
of  the  kiln.  Under  ordinary  cii-cumstances 
the  routine  of  such  a  process  becomes  almost 
mechanical  in  character  and  unfluctuating 
in  its  conditions,  because  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  intervening  error  arising  to  derange 
its  miiformity  or  aceurac}'  of  result. 

Sociu-ing  the  unvarying  products  from  the 
kilns  with  such  regularity  permits  of  ad- 
justing the  means  of  reducing  and  grinding 
the  clinker,  so  as  to  prevent  any  delay  in 
emptying  the  kilns,  which  wotdd  practically 
lead  to  stoppage  of  the  whole  work.  The 
clinker,  on  its  withdrawal  from  the  kilns,  is 
wheeled  across  to  the  grinding  mills,  on 
the  ground  floor  of  which  is  placed  a  power- 
ful Blake's  .stone-crusher,  and  after  being 
cracked  or  crushed  by  its  agency,  is  raised 
by  elevators  to  the  hopper-floors  of  the 
cement-grinding  millstones,  from  which  it 
issues  in  the  requited  condition  of  fineness. 
Much  difference  of  opinion  at  present  pre- 
vails as  to  tie  exact  quality  of  the  powdered 


July  2,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


cement ;  but  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
most  exigent  demands,  a  sifting  aijparatus 
is  provided,  so  that  almost  any  degree  of 
fineness  can  be  secured.  This,  however, 
involves  increased  cost,  which  Iho  advanced 
or  intelligent  consumer  does  not  liesitato  to 
meet  by  paying  a  higher  price  for  cement 
so  prepared. 

The  high  chimney,  so  prominent  a  figure 
in  the  view  of  Messrs.  Johnson's  cement 
works,  may  be  considered  the  leading  agent 
in  the  industrial  efforts  we  have  described. 
All  smoke,  from  whatever  source,  is  either 
economically  absorbed  by  its  powerful  in- 
fluence or  dissipated  by  its  agency,  and  thus 
all  waste  or  danger  from  noxious  or  danger- 
ous ga.ses  is  avoidtd. 

In  thus  hastily  describing  the  various 
points  of  interest  attaching  to  the  manu- 
facture of  Portland  cement  by  the  new  pro- 
cess, it  must  not  be  assumed  by  our  readers 
that  the  conversion  of  such  simple  ma- 
terials into  so  valuable  a  consti-uctive 
agent  is  imattended  with  anxiety  and 
care.  In  contrast,  however,  with  the 
old  wet  system  of  manufacture,  it  may  be 
characterised  as  simplicity  itself,  for  there 
are  no  risks  of  derangement  of  mixture 
when  once  the  true  proportions  have  been 
combined  in  the  washmUl.  Neither  does 
the  slurrj',  when  it  enters  the  drying  flues,  | 
encoimter  any  danger  of  disturbance  of  its 
parts,  and  thus  it  enters  into  the  finishing 
stage  of  the  kiln  free  from  any  further  or 
damaging  influence  of  any  kind  whatever. 
The  semi-wet  process  involves  the  necessity 
of  a  more  regular  and  accurate  weighing  of 
the  raw  materials  which,  under  the  old  sys 
tem  is  generally  performed  in  a  haphazard 
manner  by  the  washmill-men,  who  are 
trained  up  to  a  belief  that  on  their  manipu 
lation,  dexterity,  and  occult  astuteness,  the 
whole  success  of  cement-making  depends. 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  cement-makers 
operating  within  the  district  covered  by  our 
■essays  that  the  chalks  and  clays  are  so 
imifoi-m  in  chemical  and  mechanical  quali 
ties,  and,  iu  consequence,  the  cement  manu 
factmer,  and  those  working  under  his 
authority,  are  saved  a  great  amount  of 
anxiety.  It  is  probably  this  which  has  in 
a  great  degree  hindered  progress  m  cement- 
making,  becau-e  the  task,  at  first  sight, 
seems  an  easy  one  to  mix  chalk  and  clay 
together,  and  it  was  seldom  that  much 
more  intelligence  was  f  rthcoming  than  such 
as  was  capable  of  performing  this  simple 
task.  Modem  science,  however,  has  thro^-n 
light  on  much  that  was  iu  the  ©Id  time 
obscure,  and  no  rule-of-thumb  practice  is 
now  tolerated,  thereby  increasing  the  com- 
fort and  confidence  of  cement-maker,  and 
cement-consumer. 

We  ought  not  to  forget  a  reference  to  one 
department  of  the  works  at  Greenhithe, 
which  may  be  said,  in  its  reformed  shape,  to 
be  the  unavoidable  outcome  of  much  im- 
provement all  round,  and  that  is  the  test- 
ing or  challenge  house.  The  testing-house 
is  so  arranged  and  controlled  that  a  con- 
tinuous system  of  testing  the  cement  pro- 
duced is  daily — if  not  hourly — performed. 
The  machine  used  is  that  invented  by  Mr. 
Michele,  and  is  very  simple  in  character, 
giving  as  uniform  results  as  are  desiiaMe, 
which  are  daily  recorded,  and  the  briquettes, 
when  fractured,  put  carefully  away,  in 
case  they  may  be  required  for  future 
reference.  The  section  broken  is  two  and  a 
quarter  square  inches,  being  the  original  size 
adopted  by  English  engineers  from  France. 

The  average  breaking-strain  of  the  year 
1S79  was  1,1601b.  per  2^  sq.  inch,  as  stated 
by  ilr.  Johnson  at  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers. 

There  are  several  interesting  points  in  con- 
nection with  these  cement  works  of  Messrs. 
Johnson  outside  of  their  manufacturing 
value,  such  as  the  following. 

The  chimney  is  300ft.  above  the  level  of 
its  base,   and  equal  to    350ft.  above  river 


level.  The  base  of  the  chimney  is  2.jt't. 
square,  and  at  the  top  it  is  lift,  in  diameter. 
It  cost  £2,o0(),  and  its  gross  weight  is  2,.j00 
tons.  Five  hundred  tons  of  sand  were  used 
in  its  construction.  There  were  600,000 
gault  clay  bricks  used  in  building  it, 
and  the  mortar  was  composed  of  one  of  grey 
lime  and  three  of  clear  sharp  pit-sand,  found 
on  the  premises.  The  works,  or  rather  the 
buildings  of  the  works,  cover  about  an  acre 
of  ground  only,  and  it  is  in  this  direction 
that  they  form  a  remarkable  contrast  to 
works  in  which  the  wet  process  is  carried 
on.  The  total  horse-power  now  in  use  is 
somewhere  about  150. 

The  sum  expended  in  the  erection  of 
the  works  we  have  described  was  about 
£20,000,  exclusive  of  land.  The  ground 
belonging  to  the  Company  is  about  75  acres. 

The  proprietors  of  these  works  provide  for 
the  comfort  of  their  workmen,  and  have  a 
building  on  the  premises  in  which  coli'ee 
and  other  refreshments  can  be  obtained  at 
any  time.  There  is  also  a  reading-room, 
wherein  are  a  plentiful  supply  of  daily, 
weekly,  and  monthly  papers,  and  magazines. 

Messrs.  Johnson  have  other  cement  works 
pretty  nearly  conducted  on  the  same  system 
at  Ciifife,  on  the  Thames,  and  Gateshead- ou- 
Tyue. 


CATALOGUE    OF   PICTURES    IN   THE 
DULWICH  COLLEGE  GALLERY.* 

IT  would  add  not  a  little  to  the  value  and 
instruction  of  our  national  art  collec- 
tions if  the  catalogues  were  made  more 
worthy  of  their  object  by  the  addition  of 
historical  or  biographical  notices.  Soj",e 
approach  to  such  a  course  has  been  made  by 
the  series  of  handbooks  pubUshed  by  the 
South  Kensington  authorities  and  one  or 
two  other  institutions,  and  the  governors  of 
Dulwich  College  have  just  brought  out  a 
new  edition  of  their  catalogue  of  pictures 
in  the  Dulwich  College  Gallery,  which  may 
be  taken  as  an  excellent  model  of  the  kind 
of  publication  we  desire.  It  is  descriptive 
as  well  as  biographical,  and  contains,  in  a 
condensed  form,  a  good  deal  of  information 
respecting  the  artists.  In  the  present  com- 
pilation, the  governors  have,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
secured  the  services  of  Dr.  Jean  Paul 
Kichter,  a  gentleman  of  acknowledged 
learning  in  art  and  an  accomplished  critic, 
who  has  rewnitten  the  notices  of  the  Foreign 
schools.  Those  of  the  British  School  of 
Artists  have  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Sparkes, 
the  head-master  of  theXational  Art  Train- 
ing School,  &c.  The  Dulwich  Gallery  of 
pictures  has  an  established  reputation.  The 
greater  number  of  the  pictures,  we  find 
it  stated,  "were  collected  before  ISO",  by 
the  celebrated  picture-dealer,  Koel  Joseph 
Desenfans,  for  Stanislaus,  King  of  Poland. 
They  were  originally  intended  for  a  National 
Gallery  at  AVarsaw ;  but  the  subsequent 
misfortunes  of  the  King,  which  ended  in  the 
dismemberment  of  the  Polish  Kingdom, 
prevented  the  furtherance  of  the  design,  and 
after  the  death  of  the  King,  in  179S,  the 
pictures  were  left  in  the  possession  of  the 
collector."  Desenfans,  at  his  death,  left  the 
wholeof  them  to  Sir  Peter  Francis  Bourgeois, 
a  landscape-painter  to  George  III.,  who,  in 
his  will,  made  in  1610,  bequeathed  his  pic- 
tures to  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Dulwich 
College,  leaving  a  large  sum  for  their  proper 
care  and  exhibition.  AVe  leam  that  the 
gallery  was  commenced  in  1S12,  the  archi- 
tect being  Sir  John  Soane,  and  was  finished 
in  1S14,  when  the  pictures  were  removed  to 
it.  The  catalogue  is  arranged  under  the 
names  of  the  painters  found  in  the  gallery, 
these  being  in  alphabetical  order,  so  that  a 


•  C-italogue  of  the  Pictures  in  the  Dulwich  College 
Gallery,  with  Biographical  Notices  of  the  Painters.  .Je.^n 
Pacl  Kichter,  Ph.D.,  and  John-  C.  L.  Spaekes,  Head- 
master of  Xatiooal  Xrmning  School,  South  Kensington. 
Printed  bj-  Spottiswoode  and  Co. 


visitor  to  the  gallery  has  only  to  refer  to  the 
name  on  the  frame  and  consult  the  corre- 
sponding name  at  the  head  of  the  catalogue. 
A  table  in  the  apjiendix  gives  a  list  of 
I)aintei-s'  names,  arranged  according  to  the 
numbers  on  the  picture.'),  and  another  table 
gives  a  comijlete  list  of  the  painters,  with 
the  pictures  of  doubtful  authorship  and 
copies  indicated. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  examine  a  few  of 
the  riferences,  and  to  see  on  wliat  principles 
they  have  been  made,  and  wo  find  on 
this  point  a  few  very  useful  prefatory  re- 
marks have  been  made  by  Dr.  Jean  Uichtcr 
in  a  letter  to  the  (;ovemor8.  Wo  quote  one 
remark  deserving  esjiecial  attention.  He 
says:  "  In  examining  old  pictures  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  into  consideration  not  only  the 
taste  prevailing  when  they  were  paint<Hl,  but 
also  the  difforent  principle  on  which  each 
individual  artist  worked.  Wo  should,  be- 
sides, have  a  true  conception  of  his  aim  and 
ideas.  In  no  other  w  ay  is  it  possible  to 
enjoy  intelligently  at  one  and  the  same  lime 
such  diverse  works  as  those,  for  example,  of 
Kaphael  .and  Eubens,  or  of  Teniers  and 
Nicholas  Poussin.  An  accurate  knowledge 
of  what  was  intended  to  be  portrayed  is 
especially  required  in  the  case  of  the  Uutcli 
painters,  who  all  endeavoured,  each  in  his 
own  way,  to  represent  Nature  as  she  is." 
Opening  the  book  at  the  first  page  we  have 
' '  Albani — .School  of  Bologna.  Bom  1578, 
died  1660."  After  a  short  biographical 
account  we  find  some  well-timed  and  criti- 
cal remarks  upon  his  stj-le,  as,  for  example, 
that  his  "  figures  display  a  charming  com- 
bination of  the  ideal  and  s  nsual,"  that  he 
represents  mostly  mythological  and  re- 
ligious subjects  and  the  quiet  of  retired 
Ufe;  that  he  constantly  "used  mem- 
bers of  his  family  as  models,  and  held 
as  of  great  importance  the  vaiiety  of  his 
concetti  (motives)."  Then  we  have  three 
pictures  in  the  gallery  described  as  "  after 
Albani,"  in  all  of  which  that  painter's  man- 
ner is  recognised  in  the  choice  of  colours  and 
other  characteristics.  Each  description  is 
further  amplified  by  notes,  r.r/.,  references  to 
pictures  of  a  similar  kind,  where  the  original 
is  to  bo  found,  the  subjects  or  plots  selected 
by  the  artist,  &c.  The  size  and  material  of 
the  pictures  are  also  noted,  and  in  some 
cases  the  former  price  of  the  picture.  So, 
in  fact,  the  visitor  to  Dulwich  standing 
before  a  picture  may  obtain  its  whole  history, 
the  characteristics  of  the  school,  and  the 
artist's  conception  ;  but  the  catalogue  has  a 
more  permanent  value  in  affording  those  in 
quest  of  information  respecting  any  great 
picture  or  school  definite  knowledge. 
Scanning  over  the  200  pages,  we  find  a 
very  large  proportion  of  pictures  belong  to 
the  Dutch  and  Flemish  schools.  Genuine 
pictures  by  Bakhuisen,  Both,  Brouwcr,  Cuijp, 
VanDeelen,Yan  Dijck,Du  Jardin,  Janssens, 
Jordaens,  Dusart,  Tan  de  Velde,  Teniers  the 
elder  and  younger,  Eubens,  liuisdacl,  Rem- 
brandt, Ommegauck,  Van  Ostade,  Wouwer- 
man,  &c.  Among  them  we  find  several 
valuiible  paintings  by  Van  Dijck,  the 
Tenitrs,  Ilubcns,  and  Kembrandt.  The 
Italian  schools  are  represented  by  several 
works  by  or  after  Albani,  Kaphael,  Belucci, 
Annibale  and  L.  Carracci,  Corrcggio, 
Cortcna,  Douienichino,  Titian,  Veronese. 
Two  or  three  genuine  Murillos  are 
named,  also  some  autheiificatcd  pictures  by 
Lorrain,  Chard  in,  Le  Bmn,  N.  Poussin, 
Watteau,  Vernet,  Le  Nain.  and  others  of 
the  French  School.  English  painters  are 
well  represented.  For  instance,  we  see 
pictures  by  Sir  W.  Beechty,  Bourgeois, 
Gainsborough,  Lawrence,  Southerbourg, 
Monamy,  Northcote,  Opie,  Owen,  Rey- 
nolds, AVilson,  and  others  by  unknown 
artists.  The  Did>vich  Picture  Gallery  may, 
in  short,  be  regarded  as  a  very  complete 
and  representative  collection,  and  the  cata- 
logue really  forms  a  concise  handbook  to  the 
Old  Masters, 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  2,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Professorship    of  Archieology    at   University 

CoUege  

A  Recent  Visit  to  Russia    

Alt  Text-Books    

The  Manufactiire  of  Portland  Cement 

Catalogue  of  Pictures  in  the  Dulvrich  College  Gallery 

Our  Lithographic  Uluatrations 

The  Ordnance  Sun-ey 

Chips 

Our  Commonplace  Column.. 

The  English  Home-stead     

>Ir.  Newton  on  Greek  Ai't 

The  Water  Compaaies  and  the  New  Valuations 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Intercommvinication    

Statues,  Memorials,  &c 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters     

Le^l  Intelligence 

Our  OfficeTable    

Meetingrs  for  the  Ensuing  "Week      

Trade  News     

Tenders     


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

NEW  CaCKCn,   SALCOMBE,  DEVON.— RAWDON  bouse,  JIERTS. 

—ST.  Hilda's  abbev,  whitdy.— hocse  at  westgate- 

ON-SEA.— WOOOnODSE,      DEVON. — LODGE 


S'D    COTTAG 


Our  LiTHOGRAPHIClLLUSTRATIONS. 


SALCOITBE   CmjnCH,    DEVON. 

The  nave  of  Salcombe  Church,  Devon,  was  tuilt 
thirty  years  since.  It  is  now  proposed  to  put  on 
new  roofs,  and  to  add  a  chancel.  The  work  is 
to  be  commenced  shortly,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  J.  D.  Sedding. 

ST.  Hilda's  abbey,  whitby,  youkshike. 
The  abbey  which  we  illustrate  this  week  is 
situate  on  the  crown  of  a  cliff  2-50ft.  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  commands  a  magnificent 
view.  It  was  founded  by  King  Oswy  in  604, 
and  Lady  Hilda,  of  high  reputed  sanctity,  was 
its  first  abbess.  A  convent  was  destroyed  by 
the  Danes  in  S76,  and  it  lay  desolate  more  than 
200  years.  A  Benedictine  abbey  was  erected  on 
its  site  in  the  time  of  Willi -im  the  Conqueror,  by 
William  de  Percy,  and  rose  from  a  comparatively 
humble  condition  to  one  of  splendour,  between 
the  years  1142  and  131G.  On  the  14th  Decem- 
ber, 1539,  the  monks  resigned  their  monastery 
into  the  hands  of  Henry  VIII.  The  abbey  is 
now  in  niin,  but  enough  remains  to  show  that  it 
was  once  very  fine  and  extensive. — A.  P.  Cr. 

In  the  BuLLDixo  News  for  October  29,  1869, 
was  published  a  detailed  account  of  the  abbey, 
with  perspective  of  interior  of  north  transept, 
both  by  Mr.  E.  H.  Smales.  Sections  of  mould- 
ings by  the  late  Mr.  Edmund  Sharpe,  M.A., 
were  given  in  our  issue  for  August  25,  1S71  : 
a  view  of  east  end  of  choir  sketched  by  "  W.  C," 
May  4,  1877,  and  a  drawing  by  Mr.  J.  Lang- 
ham  of  exterior  of  north  transept,  June  28,  1878. 

EAWDOX  HOUSE,    HODDESDEN,     &C. 

jViioxQ  the  architectural  exliibits  tliis  year  at 
the  Royal  Academy  are  the  four  accompanying 
d  rawings,  by  Ernest  George  and  Peto,  Argyle- 
street,  W.  Riwdon  House,  Hoddesden,  is  an 
interesting  old  building,  bearing  the  date  1622  ; 
to  this  the  architects  have  been  adding  a  wing 
for  Mr.  Henry  Eicardc,  the  owner.  The  choice 
of  material  had  to  be  made  in  adding  to  a  buildins; 
that  had  been  ruthles.sly  stuccoed.  On  peeling 
off  the  cement  from  the  old  work,  interesting 
brick  mouldings  and  pUasters  were  exposed  ;  and 
great  care  has  since  been  taken  in  bringing 
again  to  light  the  red-brick  walls  which  fixed 
the  character  of  the  new  work.  The  house 
stands  back  some  "Oft.  from  the  high  road.  It 
was  decided  to  add  the  additional  rooms  in  a 
■wing  between  the  house  and  the  road,  forming 
a  courtyard  in  front,  with  a  gateway  to  the 
stables,  and  covering  the  site  of  a  recent  badly- 
built  extension,  which  was  out  of  character  with 
the  old  house.  The  new  wing  contains  a  dining- 
room,  schoolroom,  nurseries  and  bedrooms,  and 
a  lift  from  tlie  oificcs,  and  other  such  con- 
veniences, of  which  the  old  house  was  innocent. 
Thi  billiard-rocm  is  oak  panelled,  after  the 
manner  of  the  original  rooms.  A  sundial  makes 
a  pleasing  feature  on  the  south  front  of  the  new 


wing,  and  the  new  and  old  work  blend  har- 
moniously. The  new  building  and  works  to  old 
front  have  been  very  satisfactorily  carried  out 
by  Mr.  Hunt,  of  Hoddesdon,  at  a  cost  of  be- 
tween four  and  five  thousand  pounds.  Mr.  J. 
B.  Gass,  of  Bolton,  has  had  charge  of  the 
works,  and  has  shown  great  care  in  their  super- 
intendence. 

A  House  at  Westgate-on-Sea  is  another  work 
by  the  same  architects,  and  is  now  erecting  for 
Mr.  Herbert  Peto.  The  house  is  situated  with  a 
fine  view  of  the  cliffs  and  sea,  in  one  of  the 
healthiest  positions  of  this  healthiest  of  seaside 
places.  The  plan  is  compact  and  square,  though 
the  squareness  is  lost  on  the  ground-floor  by  the 
large  bay  windows  towards  the  sea,  and  the  roof 
is  rendered  interesting  with  picturesque  gables. 
The  rooms  are  grouped  round  a  panelled  hall, 
with  a  fireplace  and  deeply-recessed  windows. 
The  dining-room  has  an  ingle  nook,  lined  inside 
with  gauged  brickwork,  and  has  settles  on  either 
side.  The  long  range  of  windows  at  the  top 
light  a  good  playroom  and  schoolroom  for  the 
children.  The  stables  are  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  house.  The  buildings  are  of  red  brick, 
with  weather  tiling,  and  the  gables  are  filled  in 
with  plaster  modelling  by  Mr.  Walter  Smith,  of 
Lambeth  ;  the  brickwork  is  buUt  in  cement, 
and  the  external  walls  are  hollow,  with  Jen- 
nings* borders,  as  no  solid  wall  would  keep  out 
the  sea-damp.  The  house  is  being  erected 
by  Messrs.  Peto  Brothers,  at  a  cost  of  about 
.£3,000. 

WooD-nouSE,  for  Sir  George  Baker,  Bart.,  is 
now  building  at  Uplvme,  Devon,  near  Lyme 
Regis.  It  is  beautifully  placed  on  rising  ground, 
in  one  of  the  loveliest  coombes  of  this  part  of 
Devonshire,  with  a  fine  view  over  the  Lyme 
Bay,  and  is  situated  nearEousdon,  a  large  work 
just  completed  for  Sir  Henry  Peek  by  the  same 
architects.  The  ground-story  of  the  building  is 
of  random-coursed  I'plyme  stone,  built  hollow, 
with  brick  lining.  The  upper  portion  of  the 
building  is  of  timber,  boarded  and  felted  over 
and  covered  with  weather-tiling.  The  gables 
are  of  oak  timber  work.  The  contract  was 
taken  in  competition  by  Mr.  Luscombe,  of 
Exeter,  for  the  sum  of  £4,525. 
The  Lodge,  near  Pinner,  for  Mr.  Lawrence 
Baker,  is  built  on  the  site  of  the  former  one  that 
was  frequently  inundated  by  the  rising  of  the 
Pinn.  The  present  Lodge  is  built  upon  arches, 
under  which  the  water  may  rise  without  doing 
mischief.  The  posts  of  the  porch  have  been 
cleverly  carved  by  Mr.  Hitch.  The  ornamental 
plaster  fiUing-in  of  the  timber  work  is  from  the 
hands  of  Walter  Smith.  Th;s  Lodge,  and  the 
group  of  three  cottages,  have  been  built  by 
Mr.  J.  KindeU,  of  Harrow. 


THE  ORDNANCE  SURVEY. 

PERIODICAL  complaints  are  made  of  the 
backwardness  and  delay  of  the  Ordnance 
Survey  Department,  and  a  debate  in  the  House 
of  Commons  the  other  day  drew  attention  to  the 
unsatisfactory  progress  made  with  the  large  scale 
map  of  the  country  commenced  about  20  years 
ago,  and  which  is  so  far  from  being  finished, 
that  it  is  expected  the  survey  will  take  another 
18  years  to  complete.  Such  a  piece  of  informa- 
tion is  provoking  enough,  seeing  that  all  the 
while  those  who  have  been  looking  forward  for 
an  authentic  survey  have  not  only  to  wait  but 
pay,  and  that,  when  they  get  the  map  it  will 
represent  England  imperfectly.  But  what  is 
more  aggravating  is  the  knowledge  of  the  fact 
that  the  survey,  slowly  dragging  its  course  is, 
after  all,  based  on  the  state  of  the  country  so 
many  years  ago,  that  it  will  not  correctly  de- 
lineate the  features  and  changes  that  have  been 
made  in  it  at  the  time  of  its  publication.  It  is, 
according  to  the  Timfs,  doubtful  whether  the 
purchaser  will  get  what  he  wants  any  more  than 
he  is  likely  to  get  now  in  purchasing  an  ord- 
nance map  as  advertised  on  the  lin.  scale,  which 
may  only  give  him,  to  use  the  same  authority's 
statement,  "his  own  parish  about  as  correctly 
as  if  it  had  been  made  in  the  time  of  William 
the  Conqueror  or  Agricola."  The  lin.  scale 
map  represents  England  as  it  was  in  1795;  it 
gives  many  roads  and  boundaries  that  have 
ceased  to  exist,  and  is  misleading  to  the  stranger. 
Unfortunately,  our  popular  maps  of  the  countrj' 
and  counties  are  based  on  this  lin.  ordnance  map, 
and  the  public  have  to  put  up  with  all  the  de- 
ficiencies in   if,  though  the   Timts  rather  exag- 


gerates those  defects,  for  it  must  be  remembered 
that  popular  maps  are  generally  considerable 
reductions,  and  it  would  be  mechanically  im- 
possible to  show  any  but  the  larger  features  such 
as  the  lines  of  railway  upon  them.  AVe  feel  there 
are,  however,  some  grounds  for  these  complaints, 
notwithstanding  the  defence  set  up  by  the  Ord- 
nance authorities,  that  it  is  difficiUt  to  obtain 
skUled  engravers  and  other  workmen.  It  appears 
that,  with  the  power  under  command,  the  survey 
proceeds  at  the  average  rate  of  about  five  square 
miles  a  day,  and  the  daily  cost  is  about  £300.  If 
we  consider  the  work  is  purely  mechanical  in  its 
nature,  this  seems  a  large  sum,  and  there  is 
some  plausibility  in  the  assertion  that  every 
body  of  workmen  would  do  their  best  to  protract 
rather  than  shorten  their  work  in  their  own  in- 
terests. But  the  efficiency  of  the  map  is  a 
greater  question.  If  only  the  military  districts 
and  the  larger  manufacturing  towns  have  been 
surveyed  on  the  new  scale,  and  the  country  dis- 
tricts are  delineated  as  they  were  30  years 
ago,  those  who  live  long  enough  to  see  the 
completion  of  the  map  wUl  be  seriously  incon- 
venienced by  its  shortcomings.  The  history  of 
the  Ordnance  Survey  throws  some  light  upon 
the  delays  that  have  arisen.  It  may  be  men- 
tioned the  idea  of  a  Government  survey  origin- 
ated from  military  exercises.  As  loug  ago  as 
the  establishment  of  peace  with  America,  a 
triangulation  was  began  between  this  country 
and  France,  and  this  was  the  commencement  of 
the  lin.  map.  About  1815,  the  military 
interest  in  it  ceased,  and  private  surveyors  were 
employed  to  carry  on  what  was  desired — a  good 
map  of  the  country  ;  but  the  want  of  a  uniform 
system  of  triangulation,  the  overlapping  caused 
by  selecting  different  meridians,  led  to 
confusion,  and  to  a  complete  revision  of  the 
maps.  Afterwards,  Col.  Colby,  who  took  charge 
of  the  department,  was  engaged  to  make  a 
tenement  survey  of  Ireland,  and  a  Gin.  scale  was 
decided  upon,  which  led  in  time  to  a  reconsidera- 
tion of  the  scales.  In  1851,  a  select  Committee, 
and  afterwards  a  Royal  Commission,  were 
appointed  to  discuss  the  subject.  But  in  1862  a 
report  was  issued,  which  pronounced  in  favour  of 
the  25in.  scale,  which  was  adopted  for  the 
cultivated  districts,  with  the  6in.  for  the 
uncultivated  ;  but  the  battle  of  the  scales 
continued  to  go  on  imtil  Sir  Henry  James,  the 
late  Director,  we  believe,  re-established  the 
present  system.  Besides  the  scales  we  have 
named,  there  is  a  oft.  scale  for  towns,  and  a 
10ft.  scale,  making  in  all  five  scales.  By  a 
report  made  by  the  late  Gen.  Cameron,  it 
appears  the  northern  counties  and  a  large  part 
of  the  south  of  England  are  finished  on  the 
25in.  and  Gin.  scale,  while  the  British  Isles  are 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  completed  on  the  lin.  scale. 
Such  are  the  main  facts  we  have  been  able  to 
collect.  No  doubt,  there  have  been  many 
practical  difficulties  in  the  conduct  of  such  a 
survey  ;  the  time  wasted  in  the  discussion  of 
scales,  over  which  £30,000  had  been  spent,  has 
been  a  serious  hindrance  ;  but  the  public  should 
have  some  assurance  when  the  survey  will  be 
completed.  The  filling-in  work ,  such  as  the 
details  of  buildings  and  fences  within  the  large 
triangles,  is  a  work  of  time,  but  of  the  utmost 
use  to  engineers  and  surveyors.  The  time  taken 
to  transfer  these  details  and  their  reduction  by 
photography  is  a  tedious  process  about  which 
the  public  know  little,  and  care  less,  but  they 
have  a  right  to  expect  a  thoroughly  reliable 
map  within  a  reasonable  period. 

CHIPS. 

At  thelast  meeting  of  the  Ely  Diocesan  Conf  erenc3 
the  following  grants  were  made  :— New  church  at 
Bijjgleswade,  £100;  restoration  of  nave  at  Coxle, 
£25;  rebuilding  tower  at  Higham  Gobion,  £10; 
erection  of  parsonage  house  at  Stopsley,  by  Luton, 
£50  :  Toddiufjton  parsonage,  £50.  A  grant  for  the 
restoration  of  Hatlpy  Cockayne  was  subsequently 
withdrawn  as  the  patron  promised  to  take  the 
whole  cost  cf  work  upon  himself. 

Old  Chingford  Church,  on  the  borders  of  Epping 
Forest,  was  reopened  for  public  service  on  Sunday 
week,  after  being  closed  for  SG  years. 

At  a  meeting  'of  the  Teignmouth  local  board, 
held  last  week,  Messrs.  Kowell  and  Son  were 
appointed  architects  for  the  proposed  new  build- 
ings. 

A  large  block  of  four  residences  is  to  be  erected 
at  Truro  by  Messrs.  Farley  and  Tippet,  builders,_ 
from  plins  by  Mr.  Hicks,  architect.  The  buildings 
are  to  faced  with  Plymouth  limestone,  with  granite 
for  dressings  from  St.  Stephen's. 


The  Building  Rews.  Jul.  9.  l^^{> 


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July  2,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


25 


OUR  COMMONPLACE  COLrMX. 


"fTT'ITHOUT  discussing  the  strict  deanition 
*  T  of  this  word,  applied  by  the  ancients  to 
a  temple  of  the  Muses,  and  which  means  a  study, 
or  place  of  retirement,  we  shall  devote  our 
attention  to  the  requirements  of  buildings 
erected  for  the  purpose  of  museums.  There  are 
obriously  different  kinds  of  museums — first, 
those  set  apart  for  th-»  study  of  natural  history, 
such  as  the  British  Museum,  and  especially  the 
new  buildings,  by  Mr.  A.  WaterhoufC,  called 
the  Natural  History  Museum,  at  South  Kensing- 
ton, which  may  be  taken  as  an  excellent  model 
on  a  large  scale  (see  illustration,  Buildixo  News, 
Vol.  XXXVI.,  p.  170) ;  secondly,  those  set 
apart  for  the  illustration  of  a  special  branch  of 
science,  as  the  Museum  of  Economic  Geology, 
Jermyn-street ;  third,  those  devoted  to  the 
collections  of  works  of  art  and  antiquities,  as  the 
South  Kensington  Museum ;  and  fourth,  the 
exhibition  of  books  and  manuscripts,  objects  of 
manufacture,  and  appliances,  &c.  Very  often 
these  different  purposes  are  combined  iu  one 
building,  as  we  find  in  most  of  our  provincial 
museums,  in  which  case  different  principles  of 
arrangement  have  to  be  consulted.  We  may, 
however,  just  state  a  few  general  conditions 
which  are  important  for  the  architect  to  con- 
sider ;  and  the  fir.~t  that  occurs  is  that  the  plan 
should  be  arranged  strictly  in  reference  to  a 
proper  distribution  and  claxsijicfitioii  of  the  objects 
to  be  displayed.  By  this  means  the  building  may 
be  made  to  assist  the  student.  For  instance,  in 
an  art  museum,  the  distribution  of  the  several 
galleries  or  rooms  should  be  so  managed  as  to 
allow  of  a  proper  system  of  classification, 
■whether  it  be  based  on  chronology  or  style  ;  a 
museum  for  the  collection  of  geological  speci- 
mens, or  natural  history,  should  be  arranged 
with  reference  to  some  scientific  relation  existing 
between  the  specimens.  Thus,  for  geological 
museums,  the  groups  of  rocks  in  order  of  time 
may  be  made  the  principle  of  clas.sification,  or 
for  practical  purposes,  the  igneous  and  sedimen- 
tary rocks  may  be  separately  provided  for.  In 
ordinary  museums  both  systems  might  be  pre- 
sented, though  the  clas-^ification  generally 
adopted  is  that  of  stromatology,  in  which  the 
rocks  are  arranged  in  chronological  order  with 
their  fossils.  Thus  the  specimens  would  have 
to  be  cla.csified  according  to  the  primary,  secon- 
dary, and  tertiary  epochs,  and  cases  would  be 
provided  for  each  group  of  rocks,  such  as  the 
Cambrian  or  the  Carboniferous,  the  Oolitic,  or 
the  Cretaceous  ;  and  finally,  the  later  specimens  of 
the  Eocene  and  Pleistocene  strata.  In  natural  his- 
tory museums  in  general,  the  architect  ought  to 
consider  the  best  method  of  distributing  his 
rooms  so  that  the  groups  and  classes  may  be 
exhibited  according  to  some  distinction  or  scien- 
tific order.  Hence  the  di\-i6ion  into  organ- 
ised and  unorganised  specimens,  seems  to  be  im- 
portant. In  small  museums  the  cases  may  be 
made  to  stand  at  intervaLs  projecting  into  the 
room,  each  recess  or  compartment  representing 
a  class,  order,  or  genus,  in  which  the  species 
would  be  collected.  We  throw  out  the  above 
suggestions  of  rlas.sification  as  they  may  be  of 
value  to  the  designer  of  museums ;  but  in  most 
instances  it  is  desirable  that  ho  should  consult 
with  the  keeper  of  some  museum,  or  inspect  a 
few  buildings  of  acknowledged  merit  in 
their  arrangements.  For  local  museums,  the 
natural  history  and  antiquities  of  the  dis- 
trict ought  to  be  prorided  for,  containing 
specimens  of  its  geological  strata,  its  Jhia 
and  fauna.  Sec.  A  good  central  hall  is  important, 
and  might  be  made  advantageous  for  the  display 
of  typical  specimens,  as  adopted  by  Mr.  Water- 
house  in  the  planning  of  the  Natural  History 
Museum,  where  the  central  entrance  block 
running  transversely  with  the  facade  is  devoted 
to  the  purpose  of  an  index  or  typical  museum. 
Birds  and  pala>ontological  specimens  occupy  the 
long  front  galleries  on  the  ground-floor,  and 
from  these  lead  a  series  of  galleries  at  right 
angles,  for  shells,  reptiles,  and  fish  on  one  side, 
and  geology  on  the  other.  .lUternating  between 
these  last-  named  galleries  arc  nirrower  ones 
intended  for  the  use  of  students.  A  private 
corridor  is  also  provided  for  the  use  of  curators, 
which  traverses  the  galleries  at  each  end,  and 
which  provide  commimication  quite  distinct 
from  the  public.  The  main  galleries  for  birds 
and  palteontoliigy  and  the  index  museum  are 
arranged  with  cases  projecting  from  the  side 
waUa,    lighted    by    windows    between.      The 


British  collection  is  located  at  the  end  of  the 
typical  or  index  museum.  The  second  condition 
of  importance  is  the  determination  of  the  area 
of  each  department,  which,  after  the  general 
scheme  of  distribution,  must  be  decided  upon  in 
preparing  the  plan.  When  the  limits  of  the 
collection  already  exist,  the  architect  has  some 
data  to  work  from,  and  the  number  and  area  of 
the  rooms  are  readily  found  ;  but  in  most  cases 
the  building  is  intended  to  provide  for  a  growing 
collection  of  a  multifarious  kind — loans,  gifts, 
&c.,  and  it  then  becomes  necessary  to  have  a 
sufficient  niunber  of  galleries  more  or  less  alike. 
In  such  a  case  the  best  plan  is  for  the  architect 
to  consult  the  requirements  of  a  general  museum, 
apportioning  his  area  between  the  departments 
of  natural  history  in  its  various  branches,  art, 
and  antiquities,  scientific  appliances,  and  manu- 
facturing processes,  which  he  can  generally  do 
with  some  approximation  to  the  actual  require- 
ments. It  will  be  some  assistance  to  him  if  he 
tentatively  sketches  to  scale  one  room  with  its 
cases  or  cabinets,  allowing  a  sufficient  width  for 
central  corridor,  after  arranging  the  fittings ; 
as  this  will  then  become,  when  properly  digested, 
a  unit  as  it  were,  of  his  general  plan,  bearing 
in  mind  the  kind  of  objects  to  be  shown, 
lighting  by  roof,  or  otherwise.  The  dimensions 
of  the  objects  will,  of  course,  give  the  architect 
an  idea  of  the  area  neces.sary  and  the  height  to 
be  obtained  ;  a  fair  height  may  be  stated  to  be 
Hft.  Other  points  to  consider  arc  the  strength 
of  the  floors  to  carry  great  weights,  lighting, 
warming.  As  regards  the  size  of  cases,  ISin.  is 
considered  a  good  width,  so  that  a  gallery 
should  allow  3ft.  for  two  rows  ;  separate  wall 
cases,  of  uniform  length,  are  desirable,  as  they 
can  be  readily  shifted  or  removed,  and  4ft.  may 
be  taken  as  a  good  length.  The  arrangement 
and  construction  of  muiseums  has  been  a  subject 
of  controversy  among  authorities.  A  series  of  top- 
lighted  galleries,  caseshavingair-tight  fronts,  and 
specimens  accessible  only  by  intermediate  private 
galleries  for  students  and  curators,  has  been  pro- 
posed. These  private  galleries  should  be  in 
communication,  and  have  cases  for  duplicate 
speciments,  and  be  accessible  from  workshops 
and  professors'  rooms.  In  the  Natural  History 
Museum,  at  Kensington,  thi.s  arrangement  has 
been  carried  out,  as  we  have  hinted,  and  narrow 
rescr\'e  galleries  are  introduced  between  the 
wide  public  galleries.  Cases  placed  back  to  back 
and  made  to  project  into  the  gallery  between 
the  ^vindows  will  enable  a  large  number  of 
specimens  to  be  exhibited  ;  besides  which,  the 
recesses  are  convenientfor  students.  Ichthyologi- 
cal  specimens  have  to  be  preserved  inspirits ;  hence, 
the  room  containing  them  should  be  fireproof. 
The  mode  of  lighting  a  museum  should  receive 
attention  before  any  plan  is  determined  on.  For 
museums  of  natural  history  collections  vertical 
or  top  light  should  be  secured,  though  specimens 
illustrating  mineralogy,  conchology,  kc,  may 
be  better  lighted  by  side  openings.  Sculpture 
or  pictures  are  best  seen  under  a  top  light,  or  a 
side  light  from  the  north.  The  museum  and 
picture-gallery  at  iJerlin,  by  Schinkel,  is  formed 
round  three  sides  of  a  central  vestibule  ;  the 
rooms  are  about  40ft.  wide  and  2Gft.  high,  with 
flat  ceilings,  and  the  lighting  is  by  common 
windows  on  the  side  down  to  the  dado.  Screens 
16ft.  high  and  20ft.  long  divide  the  galleries 
into  rooms,  about  30ft.  by  18ft.,  for  grouping 
the  pictures.  At  the  Hotel  des  Monnaies,  Paris, 
the  collection  of  minerals  forms  a  circle,  which 
incloses  a  lecture  theatre.  We  may  mention  the 
public  museum  and  library  at  Havre,  by  M.  L. 
Fortune  Brunet  Debaines,  described  in  Gwilt's 
"Encyclopaedia."  "It  consists  of  a  central 
hall  for  sculpture  ;  on  either  side,  and  separated 
from  it  by  an  open  arcade,  by  means  of  which 
the  hall  is  lighted,  is  a  gallery  end  a  museum, 
the  floor  of  which  is  Oft.  or  8ft.  above  the  floor 
of  the  hall,  so  as  to  afford  room  for  attendants, 
&c.,  beneath."  A  picture-gallery  is  provided 
over  the  hall,  and  a  library  over  side  galleries. 
The  plan  is  square,  about  100ft.  Top  light  may 
be  judiciously  obtained  in  the  cove  of  the 
ceiling.  It  is  essential  to  bear  in  mind  the  law 
of  reflection  of  light,  so  that  the  angles  of  inci- 
dence and  reflection  should  not  be  allowed  to 
interfere  with  the  inspection  of  the  glass  cases, 
by  avoiding  the  reflection  of  the  windows  and 
skylights— a  source  of  great  trouble  and  incon- 
venience in  some  museums.  Side  lights  will  be 
suitable  in  small  museimas,  and  may  be  made  to 
alternate  between  cases  projecting  at  intervahj 
into  the  room. 

For  examples  of   museums  we  may  refer  the 


reader  to  the  index  of  this  journal,  and  to  the 
illustrations  we  have  given  of  buildings  of  this 
class.  The  British  Museum,  the  Natural  His- 
tory Museum,  Kensington,  which  we  have 
described  and  illustrated;  the  South  Kensington 
Museum,  Museum  of  Economic  Geology, 
Jermyn-street ;  Soane's  Museum,  Lincoln's-inn- 
fields:  afford  good  instances  of  classified  collec- 
tions, though  we  can  hardly  recommend  some  of 
them  as  models.  Papworth,  in  his  "Museums, 
Libraries,  and  Picture  Galleries"  (lS-33),  ob- 
serves :  "  It  is  submitted  as  a  constant  result  of 
experience  that  a  museum  for  a  provincial  town 
should  not  be  without  a  lecture-room  ;  its  utility 
at  the  Museum  of  Economic  Geology  is  self- 
evident,  and  the  noble  apartments  of  the  British 
Museiun  would  amply  suffice  for  this  purpose ; 
but  the  utility  of  a  theatre  is  perhaps  greater  in 
proportion  where  attached  to  a  small  collection, 
than  when  part  of  a  large  one,  because  the  best 
means  of  ensuring  the  permanent  and  successful 
establishment  of  a  museum  appears  to  be  the 
employment  of  some  system  of  lecturing."  We 
may  name,  among  large  provincial  museums, 
the  Ashmolean  and  University,  Oxford,  the 
Fitzwilliam,  Cambridge,  and  those  of  Edin- 
burgh, Dublin,  &c.  G.  H.  G. 

srusic-HAix. 
Rooms  for  musical  entertainment  were  origin- 
ally called  "  saloons"  in  London.  Canterbury 
Hall,  Lambeth,  was  the  fir^t  mu.sic-hall  opened, 
which  took  place  in  May,  1S52.  The  "  Archi- 
tectural Diet."  says,  "  For  the  Handel  Comme- 
moration Festival  at  the  Crystal  Palace  in  18.59, 
the  company  published  a  plate  of  comparative 
dimensions  of  the  principal  orchestras  of  the 
country,  giving  the  areas  but  not  the  sizes.  The 
centre  transept  was  considered  as  360ft.  long  by 
216ft.  wide;  the  orchestra  being  enlarged  to 
216ft.  wide  and  100ft.  iu  depth  in  the  centre  to 
hold  nearly  4,000  performers."  The  company 
published  sections  of  roofs  of  various  music- 
halls  used  for  musical  festivals,  but  gave  no 
dimensions.  It  is  stated  the  Birmingham  Town 
Hall  is  one  of  the  very  best  buildings  for  music 
in  this  country.  We  give  the  dimensions  of  a  few 
large  music-halls  in  the  provinces  : — 

Long. Wide.  High. 
Birmingham  Music-haU  ...  .in-6ft.  76ft. 'Oft. 

(Two  galleries) 
Aberdeen  New  Music-hall   ..    150       GS     50 
Liverpool  Philharmonic  Hall  135     102     68 
Concert-room,    St.    George's 

Hall,  Liverpool  (1,100) 77      72     37  oval 

Bradford,  St.  George's  Hall     152      70     70 
In  London: — 

St.  James's  HaU    139       59     59  6in. 

Exeter  HaU  (.S.OOO)  138      76     54 

Willis's  Rooms 100       40 

Albert  Hall  (8,000)    320     308  elliptical 

We  refer  the  reader  to  an  article  in  the  Build- 
ing News  upon  the  code  of  regulations  issued 
by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  for  the 
better  construction  of  music-halls,  page  528, 
Vol.  XXXVI.,  where  it  is  provided  that 
the  area  to  be  assigned  for  each  person  shall 
not  be  less  than  1ft.  Sin.  by  1ft.  Gin.  in  the  gal- 
leries, nor  less  than  2ft  4in.  by  1ft.  Sin.  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  house,  room,  &c.  It  is  also 
required  that  every  staircase  for  use  of  audience 
shall  be  inclosed  by  brick  walls,  and  all  stair- 
cases and  floors  to  be  made  of  fire-resistmg 
materials.  No  staircase  or  internal  corridor  to 
be  less  than  4ft.  6in.  wide,  and  wider  when  the 
number  exceeds  400,  and  separate  exits  are  to 
be  provided  for  those  parts  of  the  audience  which 
are  seated  at  a  higher  level  than  others  commu- 
nicating directly  with  the  street. 

NAETHEX. 

This  term  has  hardly  been  defined  with  exact- 
ness -  it  has  been  applied  to  a  porch  or  portico  m 
front  of  a  basilica,  as  well  as  to  the  inclosed  court 
at  the  west  end  of  an  E^iriy  Christian  chui-ch. 
Bino-ham  in  his  "  Origines  Eccles.  '  refers  to 
Eusebius,  who  uses  the  term  "  exonarthex  as 
looking  into  the  atrium,  and  was  in  fact  one  of 
the  cloisters  or  porticoes  surrounding  the  en- 
closure, whiletheinteriornarthex("esonarthex  ) 
was  a  part  of  the  building  inclosed  by  barriers. 
The  terms  "  narthex  "  and  "  porticus  "  are  thus 
confounded.  The  exonarthex  was  a  lean-to  till  the 
5th  century.  The  narthex  contained  three  doors, 
the  centre  one  for  the  clergy,  the  north  for  the 
women,  and  the  south  for  the  men.  At  S.  Frond 
at  Perigueux,  at  Fountains  and  Beaulieu  abbeys, 
there  are  narthcxes.  At  Cluny  (13th  century) 
the  narthex  was  a  church  with  aisles,  trifonum, 
and  two  towers.     In  large  basUicas  there  was  a 


26 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


July  2,  1880. 


narthex  at  each  end  of  the  atrium  or  forecourt. 
The  narthex  on  the  outside  was  intended  for  the 
use  of  penitents,  called  weepers,  and  the  inner 
narthex  for  another  class  of  penitents,  the 
hearers.  (See  Walcott's  Sacred  Archceology, 
"Arch.  Diet.") 

THE  ENCLISH  HOMESTEAD. 

THE  altered  conditions  of  social  life,  says 
Mr.  E.  Ingress  Bell,  in  tV.e  Mai/a:ine  of 
Art,  and  the  growth  of  luxuries  amongst  all 
classes  have  had  the  most  disastrous  effect  on 
our  English  farmhouses,  and  have  esjjeciaUy 
wrought  sad  havoc  with  their  picturesque  in- 
teriors. The  great  fireplace,  with  its  blazing 
hearth,  its  cosy  nooks,  and  high-backed 
"settles,"  is  now  little  more  than  a  tradition. 
Its  place  is  filled  by  a  lustrous  grate,  and  the 
hearth  is  a  patch  of  encaustic  tiling.  The 
great  oak  beams  and  their  depending  trellis  have 
disappeared  from  the  ceUiug,  which  is  newly 
plastered,  and  has  a  huge  sprawling  arrange- 
ment of  acanthus  leaves  in  the  centre.  The  dear 
old  wainscoting  which  gave  the  parlour  (now 
the  drawing-room)  such  a  homely  charm, 
glorious  in  colour  from  age  and  "  elbow 
polish,"  has  been  removed  and  cut  up  into 
"  Queen  Anne"  mantels  in  Wardoiir-street,  or 
used  by  the  architect  in  the  alterations  at  "  the 
Hall."  The  farmer's  wife  and  daughter, 
nothing  loth,  have  substituted  for  it  a  garish 
wall-paper,  "harsh  and  crude,"  and  the  sur 
roundings  have,  of  course,  been  rearranged  in 
corresponding  "taste." 

We  may  be  sure  that  the  stone  muliions  and 
the  quaixies  have  been  taken  out  of  the  old 
Tudor  windows  to  be  supplanted  by  sashes  and 
vaste  expanses  of  plate-glass,  thus  destroying  at 
a  stroke  the  scale  of  the  building.  The  exposed 
fronts  of  the  house  have  been  covered  with 
stucco,  lined  to  look  like  ashlar — if  that  were 
possible — to  the  loss  of  the  old  weather-stained 
hanging-tiles,  so  much  more  grateful  to  the  eye 
and,  for  that  matter,  equally  weather-proof. 
Perhaps  the  whole  side  of  the  house  has  been 
blackened  over  with  tar.  It  is  well  if  the  new 
tightly-fitting  joinery  has  not  made  the  chim- 
neys smoke,  and  that  the  massive  old  Tudor 
chimney-stacks  have  not  in  their  ruddy  old  age 
been  subjected  to  the  degradation  of  rows  of 
"tallboys." 

The  above  is,  alas !  no  fancy  picture.  Even 
while  I  write,  this  kind  of  alteration,  or  rather 
destruction,  is  going  on  all  over  the  kingdom. 
I  could  cite  but  too  many  instances.  Kot  fifcy 
miles  from  town  an  old  manor-house — long  oc- 
cupied as  a  fai-m-house — is  being  divided  up  into 
labourers'  tenements.  The  old  "  house-place'' 
or  "  keeping-room,"  with  its  tUe  floor,  ample 
chimney-nook,  and  dark  wainscoted  walls,  is,  or 
was,  a  study  for  a  painter.  Two  long  three- 
light  mullioued  windows  ranged  on  one  side  of 
the  room  admitted  a  softened  southern  light 
through  a  screen  of  tender  vine-leaves.  Seats 
below  the  window-sills,  cut  out  of  the  thickness 
*f  the  sturdy  walls,  formed  most  in\"iting  resting- 
places  after  the  ' '  busie  labour ' '  of  the  day. 
The  details,  furniture,  appointments  were  all  in 
keeping,  and  all  of  the  highest  appropriateness 
and  excellence  in  their  simple  style.  The  tenant 
and  his  women-folk,  however,  found  it  all 
"  dull,"  and  have  migrated  to  the  nearest  mar- 
ket town.  Mrs.  Poyser  receives  her  visitors  on 
a  gay  (tapestry)  Brussels — surrounded  by  sticky 
Tottenham  Court-road  furniture — instead  of  in 
that  deal-  old  kitchen  in  the  Hall  Farm  ;  and 
you  can  no  longer  get  a  glimpse  of  prettj' 
Hetty  Sorel  among  her  bright  pans  in 
the  daily,  the  guelder-roses  peeping  at  her 
through  the  casement.  She  is  in  Germany 
"  finishing  her  education." 

The  commencement  of  the  present  century  saw 
the  whole  country  dotted  with  picturesque 
homesteads,  of  which  the  next  generation  will 
scarcely  find  an  example  remaining,  and  will 
learn  only  from  a  stray  wood- cut  by  Birket 
Foster,  what  an  English  farmstead  was  in  its 
prime,  and  how  great  and  irreparable  is  its  loss. 

There  is  no  need  to  enlarge  in  these  pages  on 
the  artistic  value  of  the  old  English  farm-house 
and  its  surroundiags.  The  saddest  example 
which  may  stiU  be  found  is  the  manor-house  in 
reduced  circumstances.  Once  the  residence  of 
the  lord,  it  has  fallen  successively  into  the  hands 
of  the  farmer  tenant,  and  has  now  probably  gone 
to  ruin,  or  has  been  divided  into  labourers' 
tenements.  With  every  stage  of  its  declension 
some  calamity  has  befaUen  it  from  the  artist's 


point  of  view,  until  its  old  age  ends  in  mere 
neglect  and  squalor — a  stray  chimney-stack  of 
exquisite  detail  and  proportion,  a  coat-of-arms 
in  a  cuiiously- carved  panel,  a  Tudor  porch,  or 
solitary  mullioned  window  being  alone  left  to 
testify  to  the  charms  of  its  youth.  The  imagi- 
nation reverts  to  the  time  when  it  stood  out 
proudly  from  its  entourage  of  tall  elms  or  noble 
walnut-trees,  its  long  lines  of  capacious  bai-ns 
and  clusters  of  golden  stacks,  its  rows  of  quaint 
gables  and  dormers,  and  the  solid  or  fantastic 
fonns  of  the  chimneys  standing  boldly  up  against 
tho  sky ;  the  charm  of  the  scene  heightened  by 
the  drowsy  cooing  of  the  pigeons  and  the 
measured  thud  of  the  busy  flail  at  the  open  bam. 
But,  above  all,  the  wealth  of  lovely  colour  dis- 
tinguished the  older  buQdings  from  their  newer 
rivals  beyond  all  other  marks.  The  glowing 
mellow  red  of  the  old  bricks  and  tiles,  softened 
and  harmonised  by  a  powder  of  ashy-grey  lichen, 
the  intensely -brilliant  green  of  the  mossy  patches, 
and  the  bright  gold  of  the  stonecrop,  blended  and 
varied  by  Nature's  own  hand,  are  beauties 
which  are  known  and   dear  to  all. 

Oiu'  modern  efforts  at  farm-building  in  the 
old  style  cannot  be  said  to  be  satisfactory.  They 
are  too  symmetrical.  There  is  a  spick  and  span 
mechanical  look  about  them  which  differentiates 
them  at  once.  The  ndivete  of  the  old  work, 
which  gnu-  on  the  site,  is  unproducible  in  this 
over-sophisticated  age,  and  the  more  we  affect 
the  bygone  fashion,  the  mere  transparent  is  the 
aft'ectation.  The  best  men  are  not  employed  in 
designing  works  of  this  class,  which  are,  as  a 
rule,  left  to  the  agent  and  his  factotum. 

The  common  artificers  of  tlie  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  century  seemed  to  do  the  right 
thing  intuitively,  and  so  have  been  guided  by  an 
inborn  appreciation  of  what  was  aitisticallj^  ap- 
propriate to  every  occasion  ;  the  works  of  that 
day  are  never  disfigured  by  those  uncouth  and 
unfeeling  monstrosities  which  are  the  mark  of 
the  rural  builder  of  the  present  day.  When  we 
shall  have  completed  the  series  of  rectangular 
concrete  boxes,  stucco-covered,  with  square 
holes  for  windows,  and  deficient  in  everything 
which  can  please  the  eye,  our  descendants  will 
wonder  at  the  apathy  with  which  we  could 
abandon  to  decay  the  work  of  our  fore- 
fathers— work  which  we  were  so  powerless  to 
imitate. 

ME.  NEWTON  ON  GREEK  ART. 

MR.  NEWTON'S  seventh  lecture  on  Greek 
art  treated  of  what  he  styled  the  Hellenistic 
Period,  comprising  the  three  centuriesbetweenthe 
accession  of  Alexander  the  Great  and  the  reign 
of  Augustus.  The  last  of  the  great  sculptors  of 
Greece  was  Lysippos.  His  statues  appear  to 
have  been  exclusively  of  bronze.  His  great 
celebrity  may  be  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  his 
name  comes  down  to  us  associated  with  that  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  whose  portrait  he  alone 
among  sculptors  was  allowed  by  that  king  to 
make.  Among  his  works  were  two  colossal 
statues,  one  of  Zeus  (Jupiter),  the  other  of 
Herakles  (Hercules),  in  the  city  of  Tarentum. 
An  allegorical  figure  represented  Kairos,  "Op- 
portunity," with  a  long  forelock,  while  he  was 
bald  behind,  in  one  hand  a  pair  of  shears,  in  the 
other  a  pair  of  scales.  At  Rhodes  he  made  the 
Sun  God,  Helios,  in  a  chariot  group.  He  made 
statues  of  Alexander  himself  and  of  some  of  his 
companions  in  arms,  who  fell  in  the  battle  of  the 
Graneikos.  There  are  several  extant  busts  or 
statues  of  Alexander,  none  of  which,  however, 
can  be  traced  with  any  certainty  to  an  original 
by  Lysippos.  He  also  made  ideal  portraits  of 
great  men  of  past  generations,  of  whom  no  tra- 
ditionary likeness  had  been  handed  down,  such 
as  the  fabulist  yEsop.  Among  his  statues  of 
athletes  was  a  celebrated  one,  afterwards  trans- 
ported to  Rome.  This  figure  was  represented 
scraping  himself  with  a  strigil,  and  was  hence 
called  the  Apnxyomenos.  In  the  Vatican  is  a 
marble  statue  believed  to  be  a  copy  of  this  cele- 
brated work.  The  Faruese  Hercules,  which  we 
knew  from  an  inscription  on  its  base  to  have 
been  the  work  of  Glycon,  is  also  thought  to  have 
been  derived  from  an  original  of  Lysi])pos. 
Studying  the  Canon  of  Polycletos,  conjointly 
with  nature,  he  constructed  a  new  canon  of  pro- 
portions. To  him  was  attributed  the  saying 
that  Polycletos  made  men  as  they  were,  but 
that  he  made  men  as  they  ought  to  be,  a  saying 
which  had  been  variously  interpreted,  and 
which  seemed  to  point  to  some  deviation  from 
the  normal  type  of  the  human  figure  as  estab- 


lished by  Polycletos,  designed,  perhaps,  to 
correct  the  optical  impression  produced  by 
statues  on  a  colossal  scale.  It  wo  turned  from 
this  meagre  account  left  by  the  ancients  of  the 
art  of  Lysippos  to  extant  monuments  of  his 
period,  we  had  the  lieu  erected  by  the  Greeks, 
after  the  battle  of  Chseronia,  e.g.  33G  ;  the  sculp- 
tured column  from  the  temple  of  Artemis  (Diana) 
at  Ephesus ;  the  Dionysos  (Baechu.s)  from  the 
Choragic  monument  of  ThrasyUos,  e.c.  320  ;  and 
a  colossal  figure  of  Victory  on  the  prow  of  a 
ship,  found  in  the  island  of  Samothrace  some 
years  ago,  and  now  in  the  Louvre.  Professor 
Gonze,  in  his  recent  work  on  Samothrace,  had 
given  a  restoration  of  this  statue,  and  pointed 
out  its  stilking  resemblance  to  the  Victory  on  a 
prow  on  the  coins  of  Demetrios  Poliarcetes.  It 
was  highly  probable  that  this  type  on  the  coin 
and  the  statue  found  at  Samothrace  both  com- 
memorated the  great  naval  vietoiy  Demetrios 
gained  at  Salamis  B.C.  305.  It  was  after  the 
siege  of  Rhodes  by  this  same  Demetrios  that  the 
Rhodians  erected  that  colossal  bronze  statue  of 
the  Sun  God,  which,  from  its  immense  scale, 
ranked  as  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world. 
Pliny  told  us  that  it  was  100ft.  high,  and  that 
few  men  could  with  both  arms  reach  round  its 
thumb.  It  was  probably  finished  B.C.  2S4,  and 
was  thrown  down  by  an  earthquake  5G  years 
after  its  erection.  Its  position  at  the  entrance 
of  a  harbour  at  Rhodes  is  marked  by  some  enor- 
mous blocks  of  stone  near  the  fort  of  St.  Nicholas. 
The  tendancy  of  art  in  the  Hellenistic  period 
was  mainly  towards  the  colossal  and  the  sensa- 
tional, but  there  was  also  a  strong  realistic 
tendency,  shown  in  the  portrait  busts  and  heads 
of  that  period,  and  in  what  is  told  us  about 
Lysistratos,  the  brother  of  Lysippos,  who  is 
said  to  have  cast  a  man's  face  from  the  life,  and 
then  worked  that  up  into  a  perfect  likeness. 
The  realistic  t-udency  shows  itself  strongly  also 
in  the  Pergamos  school  of  sculpture  which  was 
created  by  the  Attalid  dynasty.  The  statue 
commonly  called  the  "  Dying  Gladiator "  and 
the  group  in  the  Villa  Ludovisi  called  Arria  and 
Pastus  were  probably  part  of  a  great  composition 
representing  the  victories  of  Attains  and  Eu- 
menes  II.  over  the  Gauls.  A  smaller  set  of 
fig-ures,  representing  groups  of  Gaulish  and  Greek 
combatants,  had  been  identified  by  Professor 
Brunn  as  copies  of  a  set  of  sculptures  dedicated  by 
Attains  at  Athens  to  commemorate  his  triumph 
over  the  Gauls.  The  group  at  Naples  commonly 
called  the  Farncse  Bull  represented  the  tragic 
incident  of  the  punishment  of  Dirce  by  Zethos 
aud  Amphion,  and  was,  in  spite  of  much  re- 
storation, a  noble  composition  deserving  of  more 
notice  than  it  had  received.  It  was  probably 
the  original  work  which  Pliny  states  to  have 
been  the  work  of  two  artists  of  Tralles  and  to 
have  been  brought  from  Rhodes  to  Rome.  The 
great  work  of  the  Rhodian  school  was  the 
Laoeoon.  There  was  good  reason  to  believe 
that  we  possessed  the  original  group  known  to 
Pliny,  the  sculptures  in  high  relief  recently 
obtained  by  the  Geiinans  at  Pergamos,  and 
now  to  be  seen  in  the  museum  at  Berlin,  were  cer- 
tainly works  of  the  same  school  as  the  Laoeoon,  and 
were  remarkable  from  their  dramatic  and  almost 
modern  character.  After  delivering  the  lecture 
Mr.  Newton  pointed  out  in  the  Slado  school 
casts  of  several  of  the  more  celebi'ated  statues  of 
the  later  Hellenistic  period,  and  made  critical 
remarks  on  their  motive  and  style. 


THE  WATER  COMPANIES  AND  THE 

NEW  A'ALLTATIONS. 
rpHE  Haclmey  District  Board  of  Works  have 

_L  been  considering  a  report  presented  by 
their  Parliamentarj'  Committee,  which  recom- 
meuded  that  a  petition  should  be  presented  to 
Parliament,  jsraying  that,  pending  the  present 
Parliamentary  inquiry,  the  Metropolitan  Water 
Companies  should  be  restrained  from  raising 
the  present  rates,  and  be  thus  prevented  from 
taking  an  undue  advantage  of  the  new  or  quin- 
quennial valuation  of  property.  A  long  discus- 
sion arose  upon  this  recommendation,  in  the 
course  of  which  it  was  advocated,  on  the  ground 
that  the  action  requested  would  have  a  salutary 
eft'ect  in  restraining  a  possible  arbitrary  exer- 
cise of  the  powers  already  held  by  the  water 
companies,  and  in  protecting  the  ratepayers 
against  a  premature  increase  of  charge,  as  based 
upon  increased  assessments,  before  these  cams 
into  operation.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was 
argued  that  the  prayer  of  the  petition  in  effect 


July  2,  1880. 


sought  that  Parliament  should  set  at  nought  the 
acknowledged  basis  of  the  water  charges,  which 
was  legally  and  properly  that  of  the  assessments 
of  property  :  that  the  public  might  rest  satisfied 
with  the  present  temper  of  the  Government, 
which,  it  was  alleged,  was  not  over-friendly 
to  the  water  companies,  and  with  the  vigilance 
of  the  learned  counsel  who  were  engaged  to 
watch  the  interests  of  the  public  diu'ing  the 
Parliamentary  inquiry,  and  that  the  proposed 
restraint  involved  a  temporary  suspension  of  the 
companies,  and  a  virtual  confiscation  of  their 
rights,  which  no  one  had  a  right  to  demand  or 
enforce.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  Board 
preferred  giving  the  Government  the  still  wider 
scope  of  considering  the  whole  basis  of  ad j  ust- 
ment  of  charge  ;  and  Jfr.  Euntz,  the  Hackney 
member  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works, 
expressed  tlie  opinion  that  it  was  not  hkely, 
whilst  it  might  justly  be  considered  impertinent 
to  suggest,  that  the  Government  would  over- 
ride Acts  of  Parliament  regulating  the  water 
charges,  which,  however,  the  proposal  now 
offered  really  involved.  Ultimately,  the  Board 
rejected  the  Committee's  recommendation,  11 
voting  in  its  favour,  and  17  against  it. 


CHIPS. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  goveroors  of  the  in- 
firmar}'  at  Worthing  held  on  M->nday,  a  draught 
conveyance  of  lanil  in  Lyndhurst-road,  selected  as 
the  site  for  the  new  building,  was  approved,  and 
it  resolved  to  appoint  Mr.  Wm.  Oluhaui  Chambers. 
of  Lowestoft,  architect  for  the  new  infirmary  and 
dispensary,  and  the  committee  of  management 
were  directed  to  invite  open  tenders  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  work,  and  submit  the  same  to  the 
governors. 

The  new  Church  of  St.  Mary,  South  Hylton, 
was  consecrated   by    the    Bishop  of   Durham   on 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 

Builbiug  ^nttlliricnct 


CnELTEXHAii. — A  new  horse  repositorj-  for  Mr. 
W.  Baker  was  opened  on  Friday.  The  principal 
frontage  is  to  Regent-street,  the  buildings  being 
grouped  around  a  large  quadrangle.  Fronting 
Regent-street  are  the  offices  and  harness-rooms, 
and  on  one  side  a  covered  rido  measuring  1.50ft. 
by  33ft.  in  height,  lighted  both  from  the  side 
and  by  lantern  openings  in  a  pitch-pine  roof.  A 
second  side  is  formed  by  the  coach-house,  7Gft. 
by  22ft.  with  granary  over,  haWug  shoots  and 
lift.s.  The  fourth  side  is  occupied  by  four  ranges 
of  horse-boxes,  fitted  up  in  a  substantial  manner 
in  oak  and  pitch-pine,  and  with  special  systems 
of  ventilation  and  flushing.  In  the  centre  of 
this  front  is  a  loft  9.3lt.  by  30ft.,  and  16ft.  high, 
having  upon  it  a  clock-tower,  with  a  clock  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Baker  bj-  his  patrons  at  a  cost  of 
£200.  There  are  also  washing,  sweating,  and 
drying-rooms,  and  a  domicile  for  resident  over- 
looker. Messrs.  Billings,  of  Cheltenham,  were  the 
contractors,  and  the  architect  was  Mr.  C.  M. 
Miller. 

Geeat  Paxtox. — The  parish-cliurch  of  Holy 
Trinity,  Great  Paxton,  Hunts,  was  reopened 
on  Sunday  week,  after  complete  restoration, 
effected  at  a  cost  of  about  fl,.500.  Those  por- 
tions of  the  fabric  supported  by  arches  of  nave, 
and  the  north  transept  date  from  the  middle  of 
the  11th  century;  the  south  transept  and  part 
of  chancel  from  the  13th  century,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  chancel  and  tower  from  the  1.3th  cen- 
tury. The  chaucel-roof  has  been  rebuilt,  the 
east  window  remodelled,  and  the  sedUia, 
credence  and  piscina  restored  by  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Commissioners,  and  carved  oak  choir-staUs, 
pulpit,  and  lectern  have  also  been  placed  in  the 
building.  The  roofs  of  nave  and  aisles  have 
been   ahnost    entirely    relieved.      The  Norman 


Monday.     It  replaces  a  church    on  the   same   site  ^     

destroyed  by  fire  in  IS7S,  and  is  Early  English  in  I  north  transept  arch  and  the  chancel   and  tower 
stjle:  It  consists  ot  nave  71ft.  hyJ.ift.  internally;    arches,  hitherto  blocked  up  with  rough  plaster 

chancel.    29ft.  bv  20ft.    filn_  ■    rb^in^l     nnrtli    ciflft    nf     i.^i.    ._.i_i_    .  i,  ^-  ,  ,=       ^ 


Oft.  by  20ft.  6in.  ;  chapel,  north  side  of 
nave,  20ft.  by  12ft,,  and  vestry  and  organ-chamber 
on  north  side  of  chancel.  Mr.  Hunter,  of  Sunder- 
land, was  the  contractor  ;  Mr.  Preston,  of  the  same 
town,  took  tlie  sub-coutract  for  slating,  and  Mr. 
Henry  Tomkinson  that  for  heating. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  church  was  laid 
at  Ton  Ystrad,  in  the  Ehoudda  Valley,  on  Thurs- 
day, the  17th  inst.  The  church  will  be  Gothic  in 
character,  and  have  a  spire  100ft.  in  height.  It 
will  seat  between  .500  and  600  persons,  and,  with 
the  vicarage  adjoining,  will  cost  £5,000.  Mr. 
Fowler,  of  Brecon,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr.  C. 
Sheppard,  of  Cardiff,  the  contractor. 

A  new  U.  P.  Church  was  opened  in  High-street, 
Galashiels,  on  Thursday,  the  17ih  ult.  It  seats 
200  persons  more  than  the  church  which  previously 
occupied  the  same  site,  and  has  connected  with  it 
a  hall  accommodating  150  persons,  a  session  house, 
and  side  room.  Mr.  Carl  Ludwig,  of  Galashiels, 
was  the  architect,  and  the  contractors  were  Messrs. 
A.  Murray  and  Sons,  of  the  same  burgh. 

ICew  Board  Schools  are  about  to  be  erected  at 
Parson's  Green  for  the  South  Lcith-Landward 
School  Board,  from  llie  designs  of  Mr.  James 
Goolen,  architect,  of  Leith.  The  building  will 
consist  of  a  main  structure  two  stories  in  height, 
with  side-wings  each  of  one  story,  and  of  a  care- 
taker's house.  Accommodation  is" provided  for  300 
scholars  in  three  departments,  and  the  contract  has 
been  taken  by  Mr.  J.  Melrose,  of  Leith,  at  £2,S00. 

The  vestry  of  St.  Mary,  Xewington,  S.E.,  last 
week  r,»ised  the  salary  of  Mr.  Lr.ng,  who  has  been 
inspector  of  nuisances  since  1S69,  from  £150  to 
£175  per  aunum. 

A  Wesleyan  chapel  and  schoolroom  is  to  be 
erected  at  Lostwithiel,  at  a  cost  of  £1,.500,  from 
plans  by  Mr.  Hicks,  architect,  Eedrulh,  the  con- 
tractors being  Messrs.  Philp  and  Brown,  of  Lost- 
withiel. 

Messrs.  Peutre  and  Cossentine  are  the  contractors 
for  building  a  Wesleyan  chapel  at  Polruan-by- 
Fowey,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £1,000.  The 
architect  is  Mr.  Hicks,  of  Redruth. 

A  new  organ  was  opened  on  the  21th  June  in  the 
parish-church  of  Lamertou,  i  ear  Tavistock,  the 
old  instrument  having  been  destroyed  in  the  fire 
which  gutted  the  church  two  years  since.  The 
organ  was  built  by  Messrs.  J.  AV.  Walker  and  Sons, 
of  London,  and  cost  £310 ;  the  case  is  of  oak,  and 
the  pipes,  which  present  a  double  front,  are  deco- 
rated in  colour. 

A  new  church,  in  the  Earlv  English  style,  built 
of  Kentish  rag.  and  seating'  400   people,  has  just 


lath  and  plaster,  and  boarding,  have  been  opened 
out.  The  tracery  of  the  windows  has  been  re- 
paired, and  the  porch  re-roofed.  The  floors  have 
been  reduced  to  their  original  levels,  which  are 
curiously  various ;  this  part  of  the  work  has 
brought  to  light  the  carving  at  the  base  of  the 
masfive  stone  columns  in  the  nave,  where  the 
floor  has  been  lowered  no  less  than  2ft.  6in.  A 
new  vestry  has  been  built,  and  the  floors 
throughout  the  church  have  been  relaid  with  red 
and  black  Staffordshire  tiles.  Porritt's  heating- 
apparatus  has  been  introduced.  The  altar  is 
now  covered  with  a  crimson  and  gold  cloth, 
worked  by  the  Misses  Towgood.  The  architect 
was  Mr.  E.T.  Streatfield,  of  Groat  Marlborough- 
street,  London,  "W.,  and  the  contractor  Mr. 
William  Osborne,  of  St.  Moots,  Hunts,  who  has 
restored  upwards  of  a,  score  churches  in  this 
district. 

LrvEEPOOL. — A  fresh  start  has  been  made  with 
the  Union  Presbyterian  Church,  Liverpool,  the 
foundation-stone  of  which  was  laid  in  1S70. 
The  new  plans  have  been  prepared  by  Mr. 
David  Walker,  architect,  of  Liverpool,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  about  £1,000,  the  contract 
having  been  undertaken  by  Mr.  John  Wylie, 
builder.  The  plans  consisted  of  a  wide  nave 
dirided  by  iron  columns  into  aisles,  the  total 
internal  dimensions  being  73ft.  in  length  bv 
5Sft.  in  width.  On  the  north-west  front  a 
tower,  with  saddle-back  roof  and  open  lucerne 
lights  at  bell  stage,  rises  to  a  height  of  90ft.  ; 
and  on  the  south  side  an  octagonal-ended  stair- 
case flanks  the  main  gable,  which  is  to  be  filled 
with  two  large  three-light  windows.  The  nave 
will  seat  67S,  and  the  south  gallery  204  wor- 
shippers, with  pro\-ision  for  extension  to  an 
additional  200  sitters  bj-  the  erection  of  side 
galleries,  if  rcquiretl.  A  large  lecture-room, 
with  retiring-rooms  attached,  capable  of  hold- 
ing .500  people,  will  be  erected  over  the  ground 
floor  classrooms,  in  the  rear,  the  roof  being  open 
to  the  ridge.  The  style  of  the  building  is  Early 
Pointed  Geometric  Gothic,  the  materials  with 
which  the  structure  is  to  be  built  being  entirely 
of  bricks,  faced  with  deep  red  bricks,  and 
moulded  bricks  for  all  the  doors,  windows,  and 
other  features. 

T.nxBADWB. —  Llanbadwr  Church,  Aberyst- 
with,  was  formally  reopened  on   the  1st  July, 

after  the  restoration  and  refumishinsr  of  the  tower 


been  erected  on  the  outskirts  of  tam'orbey  Park,  1  •'•n'l  transepts  at  a  cost  of  about  £2, -500,  under 
"®^BexIey,  and  was  consecrated  last  week  by  the  Mr.  John  P.  Seddon,  architect,  of  No.  1,  Queen 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  I  Anne's-gate,  Westminster.     The  transepts  have 


27 

been  reroof  ed  and  ceiled,  and  the  crux  groined  in 
wood  beneath  the  belfry-stage.  The  pulpit, 
which  IS  the  gift  of  the  Bi.^iliop  as  a  memorial,  is 
of  freestone,  and  has  bas-reliefs  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  John,  by  Mr.  Hugh  Stannus.  The  rcMtora- 
tion  has  been  executed  by  Messrs.  Roderick 
AVilbamsand  Son,  of  Aberystwith.  The  uavo 
was  thoroughly  restored  some  years  biucc,  and 
the  chancel  is  about  to  be  undertaken  also,  from 
designs  and  uuder  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Seddon. 

Pendleton.— A  now  Presbyterian  cliapel, 
schools,  and  house,  at  Pendleton,  Manchester, 
have  been  lately  completed  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  William  Dawes,  architect, 
Cooper-street,  Manchester.  The  design  is  based 
on  the  Romanesque  style.  The  walls  through- 
out are  constructed  with  red  brick,  relieved  with 
stone  ditssings.  The  chapel,  which  accommo- 
dates 305  persons  on  the  ground-floor  and  2.58 
in  the  galleries,  is  57ft.  long,  30ft.  7in.  ^vide, 
and  32ft.  high.  Im  connection  with  the  chapel 
there  is  a  minister's  vestry  and  conveniences  for 
the  use  of  the  congregation,  and  between  the 
chapel  and  the  schoohs  there  are  three  rooms  that 
may  be  alternately  used  as  vestries  or  class- 
rooms. Over  these  rooms  are  arranged  the 
organ-chamber  and  two  additional  class-rooms. 
The  school-room  is  48ft.  long,  30ft.  wide,  and 
22ft  high.  In  the  basement  there  are  store- 
rooms, tea-room,  heating-chamber,  kc.  The 
contractors  for  the  work  were  Messrs.  Kewley, 
Jones,  and  Robertson.  Mr.  Joseph  Roberts  was 
the  clerk  of  the  works.  The  cost  of  the  build- 
ings was  about  £5,500. 

Restoe.vtion  rs  Chestee  Diocese. — At  a 
Coa^istory  Court  for  the  diocese  of  Chester,  held 
on  the  24th  ult.,  a  faculty  was  granted  for  the 
restoration  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Stockport, 
where  the  works  will  include  the  erectioc  of  new 
chancel,  replacement  of  present  pews  by  open 
bene'nes,  reflooring  of  church,  and  the  addition 
of  spire  to  tower,  the  -whole  outlay  being  esti- 
mated at  £3,523.  A  faculty  was  also  granted 
for  Frodsliim  parish-church,  where  it  is  pro- 
posed to  rc-roof  the  building,  remove  galleries, 
throw  open  the  tower  and  restore  its  pinnacles, 
restore  the  north  and  south  arcades,  reseat  the 
church  with  benches,  except  in  the  Helsby 
Chapel,  where  chairs  will  be  placed;  to  construct 
new  vestry,  pulpit,  reading-desk,  and  heating 
apparatus.  A  new  rcredos  was  also  sanctioned  in 
the  church  of  St.  Chad,  RomQey,  near  Stock- 
port, and  a  stained-glass  window  in  Aatbury 
parish-church. 

Skiptox. — A  new  Primitive  Methodist  chapel 
was  opened,  on  the  27th  inst.,  atSargrave-road, 
Skipton,  Yorks.  The  chapel  is  41ft.  by  42ft. 
inside,  and  32ft.  from  floor  to  ceiling.  A  ves- 
tibule, 7ft.  wide,  nms  the  whole  length  of 
front,  finishing  at  each  of  the  flanking  towers 
with  gallery  stiiirs.  Minister's  and  steward's 
vestries,  lavatories,  &c. ,  are  in  the  rear  of  chapel. 
The  basement  contains  a  large  schoolroom,  42ft.  by 
35ft.,  infant  school,  four  classrooms,  heating- 
chamber,  caretakcr'shouse, conveniences,  \c.  Thft 
chapel  is  heated  by  hot  water  ;  accommodation 
is  provided  for  700  persons.  The  cost  has  been 
between  £3,000  and  £4,000  ;  the  style  of  archi- 
tecture is  Italian.  The  building  has  been  carried 
out  from  the  designs,  and  under  thesupeiiuten- 
denne  of,  Mr.  Thomas  Howdill,  architect,  40, 
Park-lane,  Leeds. 

A  Local  Government  Board  inquiry  was  held  at 
the  Town  Hall,  Ipswich,  on  Thursday  week,  before 
Mr.  Robert  Morgan,  C,E.,  with  reference  to  an 
application  from  the  town  council  for  sanction  to 
the  borrowing  of  £4,412  for  providing  a  hospital 
for  infectious  diseases.  It  was  explained  that  the 
local  authoiity  some  years  since  built  a  temporary 
fever  ho.^^pital  of  wood,  which  had  now  fallen  out 
of  repair.  Tenders  had  been  invited  for  a  per- 
manent structure,  and  that  of  Mr.  K.  S.  Smith,  of 
Ipssvich,had  been  accepted  at  £3,619,  the  remainder 
of  the  sum  asked  for  being  for  site,  fencing,  and 
furniture.  It  was  asked  that  the  loan  should  be 
granted  out  of  its  turn,  as  the  matter  was  urgent., 
The  inspcotor  promised  to  report  on  the  matter 
and  mentioned  that  the  plana  had  been  approved 
by  the  board. 

At  the  qu.artcrly  meeting  of  the  Bath  and  Wells 
Diocesan  Societies,  held  at  Wells,  on  Tuesday 
week,  the  following  grants  were  made :— Brampton 
Balph,  for  re-roofing  church,  £30 ;  Wedmore,  for 
reslating  and  restormg  St.  Mary's  parish-church, 
£100 ;  Seaborough,  for  restoration  of  parish-church, 
£40;  Weston-super-Mare,  new  class-room  at  St. 
John's  Schools,  £15;  and  Paulton,  new  infants' 
school,  £55. 


28 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  2,  1880. 


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iRE 


-Ed^ 


Haaber  Jeg,  Sub  Silentio 
(It  IS  to  be  regretted  yoiu:  drawings  were  not  prepaid, 
as  they  did  not  reach  us  till  it  was  too  late.    Yom- 
drawing  of  bridge  will  probably  appear).  Acorn  (too 
i  commendable). 


late;  yc 


I  on  the  whole  i 


C0ritsiJ0nXitnct 


rNDERWEITING  DWELLING  -  HOUSES. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Botldino  News. 
Sm,  —The  Society  of  Arts  have,  during  many 
years  ambitiously,  if  not  atalltim^s  successfully, 
entered  upon  the  discussion  of  important  domes- 
tic questions  which,  without  intervention,  might 
have  slumbered,  and  never  been  thought  of  or 
considered.  Whether  such  a  society,  founded 
on  generally  speaking  popular  principle."!,  is 
competent  to  deal  with  vital  sanitary  questions 
need  not  be  discussed,  but  if  a  body  composed  of 
such  varied  ingredients  and  of  all  shades  of 
scientists  and  philanthropists  can,  by  their 
influence  or  persistency,  bring  such  questions 
a^  the  condition  of  our  dweUings  to  the  front, 
their  labours  cannot  be  said  to  be  in  vain 


At  the  first  meeting  of  the  annual  Health 
Conference,  Mr.  Cresswell  pressed  upon  the 
consideration  of  the  meeting  the  expediency  of 
delegating  tlie  supervision  and  control  of  dwel- 
ling-houses to  the  Metropolitan  Board  in  London 
and  County  Boards  throughout  the  country. 
L'uder  the  circumstances  attending  such  a  pro- 
posal in  its  initial  stage  it  was  impossible  to  give 
such  details  as  would  indicate  the  scope  and 
character  of  such  a  scheme.  To  insure  houses 
against  the  risks  of  fire  or  natural  elemental 
violence  is  now  an  almost  universal  system, 
which,  during  late  years,  has  assumed  the 
character  of  an  almost  firmly-established  custom. 
Insurance  companies  are  entitled  to  the  credit  of 
having  initiated  the  fire-brigades  and  other  cog- 
nate appliances  for  the  extinction  of  fires  and 
saring  human  Ufe.  At  first  they  loaded  them- 
selves with  much  of  the  cost  attending  the 
working  of  these  protection  systems,  for  it  was 
clearly  their  interest  to  mitigate  the  evils  sur- 
roimding  the  destruction  of  property  by  fire.  If 
the  system  of  fire-proof  buildings  was  carried 
out  to  the  fullest  margin  of  its  protective 
development,  the  necessity  of  insuring  against 
loss  by  fire  woiUd  naturally  cease.  The  most 
hopeful  and  enthusiastic,  however,  even  do  not 
contemplate  an  early  realisation  of  such  a  state 
of  comfort  or  happiness. 

Mr.  Cresswell  enters  on  a  wide  and  almost 
boundless  field  of  protective  or  rather  conserva- 
tive usefulness  in  his  proposition  to  grant  cer. 
tificates  of  healthiness  and  constructive  capacity 
to  the  owners  of  dweUing- houses.  We  cannot 
expect  to  find  any  appreciable  amount  of  hearty 
response  to  such  a  scheme  from  those  owners 
where  its  advantages  and  guarantees  would  be 
most  necessary  or  desirable.  The  owners  of 
badly-constructed  or  unsanitary  houses  would 
hinder  by  every  means  at  their  command  the 
necessary  reparation  which  their  dangerous 
structures  require.  In  fact,  many  of  the  worst 
and  most  disgraceful  dens  of  tilth  and  disease 
are  by  their  very  constitution  incapible  of  the 
most  moderate  remedies.  Such  buildings  can 
only  be  improved  by  rasing  them  to  the  ground. 
_  In  tlie  direction  of  providing  against  the  pos- 
sibility of  danger  from  new  buildings,  is,  how- 
ever, a  comparatively  simple  matter,  for  it  is 
within  the  capacity  of  the  most  inditterent 
builders  to  secure  their  structures  against  the 
possibility  of  their  becoming  nuisances  or  dan- 
gerous pesthouses  in  the  future.  But  to  insure 
such  a  desirable  result,  the  proposed  building 
must  not  only  in  its  various  parts  and  details  of 
construction  be  unimpeachable  in  character  and 
design,  but  the  foundations  on  which  it  rests 
must  have  careful  consideration.  The  base  must 
not  only  be  solid  and  strong  enough  to  secure  it 
from  settlement  or  disturbance,  but  it  must  also 
be  imperious  and  proof  against  the  absorption, 
noxious  moisture,  or  gases  from  the  site  on 
which  it  stands.  Our  London  suburbs,  and,  in- 
deed, the  suburbs  of  all  industrial  and  populous 
centres,  expand  in  the  direction  of  the  previously 
highly-charged  manure  lands,  which  have  been 
for  many  years  dedicated  to  the  cultivation  of  all 
kinds  of  vegetables.  Houses  so  placed  without 
any  protective  means  of  preventing  the  rise 
through  their  spongy  and  ill-conditioned  walls 
of  liquid  manure,  are  unfitted  for  human  habita- 
tion. However,  many  of  our  London  workmen's 
dwellings  are  so  placed,  and  to  repaii-  or  renovate 
such  badly-built  structures  would  be  a  matter  of 
considerable  difficulty,  if  not  impossibility. 

Our  mercantile  marine  has  the  advantao-e  of 
being  guarded  by  the  famous  "Lloyd's,"  and 
according  to  the  character  of  its  classification, 
the  underwriters  belonging  to  that  body  insure 
the  vessels  at  such  rates  as  cover  the  risk  they 
enter  into  or  underwrite.  The  means  of  infor- 
mation, however,  at  their  command,  and  by 
which  they  are  guided  in  the  estimation  of  the 
risk  they  run  is  good,  sufficient,  andreliable,  for 
every  ship  is  liable,  and,  in  fact,  undergoes  a 
survey  of  a  competent  Lloyd's  surveyor  before 
it  can  receive  its  certificate  of  character  of  sea- 
worthiness or  general  capacity  to  withstand  the 
strain  of  its  intended  duty.  AU  materials  of  its 
construction,  and  the  stj-le  and  character  of  the 
workmanship,  by  and"  through  wliich  it  is 
fashioned,  receive  the  most  careftil  and  intelligent 
scrutiny ;  otherwise  it  would  be  excluded  from 
the  advantages  of  insurance,  unless  at  rates  so 
liigh  as  would  practically  amount  to  prohibi- 
tion. 

The  duty  of  certifying  the.  sanitary  and 
tructural  condition  of  a  dwelling-house  would 
involve  not  only  an  examination  of  the  site  upon 


which  it  is  to  be  built,  but  also  the  most  careful 
and  intelligent  scrutiny  of  the  materials  of  which 
it  is  intended  to  be  composed.  Foundations, 
walls,  timbers,  and  indeed  all  detaU,  would  have 
to  be  carefully  examined,  and  such  tests,  both 
mechanical  and  chemical,  applied  as  would 
secure  it  against  the  danger  of  introducing  into 
its  construction  no  materials  but  such  as  were  of 
the  best.  Bricks  submitted  to  compressive  tests, 
and  their  porosity  carefully  measured,  would 
insure  that  no  spongy  or  absorptive  walls  cjuld 
be  reared,  and  the  danger  with  wliich  such 
capacity  is  associated  becomes  a  matter  of 
impossibility.  Mortar,  and  the  cement  and  sand 
of  which  it  is  composed,  and  its  tensile  strength 
would  also  have  to  form  an  important  ingredient 
in  the  system  of  testing,  which  must  surround 
and  be  inseparable  from  the  system  securing  the 
acquirement  of  sanitary  dwellings. 

Lloyd's  and  its  officers  hiive,  by  long  experi- 
ence, arrived  at  the  most  advantageous  methods 
by  which  they  are  guided  in  their  by  no  means 
careless  or  indifferent  surveys  and  examination  ; 
but  it  will  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  in  the 
present  lamentable  condition  of  constructive 
science,  to  institute  such  tests  as  can  secure  the 
object  Mr.  Cresswell  has  in  view. 

Much  advance  has  doubtless  been  made  during 
recent  years  in  the  attainment  of  sanitary  rules 
for  the  elimination  of  the  waste  incurred  in  the 
maintenance  and  comfort  of  human  life,  but  the 
macbincrj-  of  its  enforcement  is  not  of  the  most 
reliable  character.  "OTiile  the  dwelling  is  pro- 
vided with  the  means  of  securing  a  supply  of  gas 
and  water  as  well  as  a  presumably  perfect  system 
of  sewage  connection  with  the  arterial  or  main 
drains,  no  competent  authority  exists  who  can 
control  or  regulate  the  quality  of  the  materials 
of  which  the  building  itself  is  formed.  We  have 
district  surveyors,  parish  surveyor,  and  all  sorts 
and  kinds  of  well-paid  and  useless  authorities  ; 
but  when  a  house  tumbles  down,  or  its  walls  be- 
come deranged  and  dangerous,  we  find  that 
there  is  really  no  responsible  officer  to  whom  the 
public  can  look  to  for  comfort  or  support  in  the 
hour  of  danger  and  necessity. 

London  with  its  teeming  population  and  its 
complicated  and  extensive  machinery  of  vestry- 
dom,  has  to  look  after  itself,  and  some  of  the 
buildings  now  being  raised  daily  within  the 
circle  of  its  supposed  protective  influence,  are 
simply  a  disgrace  to  our  modem  intelligence. 
We  have  had  very  recently  some  remarkable 
disasters — some  of  the  biggest,  but  happily 
■without  the  lo;S  of  life,  and  it  is  almost  amusing^ 
to  see  how  actively  each  rcspon:iiljle  authority 
disowns  his  share  of  the  culpabiUty  of  the  trans- 
action or  mishap.  But,  under  all  circumstances, 
the  builders  most  vehemently  insist  that  the 
materials  were  of  the  best,  and  no  fault  could  by 
any  possibility  lie  at  their  doors.  Bricks  were 
undeniably  good,  and  the  mortar  superexcellent, 
when  perhaps  you  might  easily  crush  the  one  in 
one  hand  and  be  unable,  even  by  microscopic  aid, 
to  find  any  lime  in  the  other,  and  the  sand  itself 
was  minus  lime,  simply  road  mud  or  something 
worse. 

Let  us  begin  if  we  are  to  start  with  a  system 

of  testing  all  materials  used  in  buUdiug,  when 

the   means   of  securing   habitable   and  "healthy 

dwellings  would  not  be  far  to  reach. — I  am,  &c., 

A  CrviL  Engcieee. 


NEW  CEMETEET  CH.VPEL  AT  TAVIS-^' 
TOCK. 

SiK, — The  EciLMXG  News  of  May  21st  and 
2Sth  last,  contain  illustrations  of  a  new  cemetery 
chapel,  Sec,  at  Tavistock.  The  descriptive 
letterpress  accompanying  the  same  appears  to 
be  incomplete.  Might  it  not  fairly  have  been 
stated  that  at  Abbotsbury,  in  Dorsetshire,  there 
exists  an  ancient  building,  viz.,  St.  Catherine's 
Chapel,  with  which  in  size,  proportions,  and 
design  gener.iUy,  the  said  cemetery  chapel  is 
almost  identical. 

For,  on  comparing  these  geometrical  illustra- 
tions given  of  the  one,  with  geometrical  illustra- 
tions which  I  possess  of  the  other,  almost  the 
only  variations  I  perceive  are  that,  on  plan,  the 
poiition  of  the  octagonal  turret  is  now  shown  at 
the  S.W.,  instead  of  the  N.W.  angle  of  the 
building  ;  different  tracery  is  used  in  the 
windows  ;  these  also  being  coupled,  instead  of 
single  ones,  in  the  end  walls ;  and  that  a  some- 
what dilfereut  version  is  given  of  the  porches 
and  roof  internally. 

If  such  be  really  the  case  it  will  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  decide  how   far   any  merit,  or  otherwise, 


July  2,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


29 


which  may  attach  to  this  ne-n-  chapel  is  due  to 
Mr.  Henry  Clutton,  who  is  termed  "  the 
architect"  of  "these  interesting  building;"."  and 
Low  much  to  the  original  designer. — I  am,  &e., 
J.  Dhayton  Wyatt. 


PORTLAND  CEMENT. 
-  ::, — I    .am  very  glad    thiit    my    letter   has 
'  d  a  reply  from  so  able  an  authority  as  Mr. 
!  :  but  can  hardly  accept  Ms  solution  of  the 
■  ion,  and  as  I  am  perfectly  serious,  I  must 
\>u  to  insert  the  following   in  reply:  — 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  iron  I  sent  you 
i.i  I  leen  crushed  ;  but  I  stated  that  the  sample 
.-■iini'ly  contained  the  larger  particles,  the  rest  of 
tin'  iron  being  ground  so  small  that  it  could  only 
Iv    detected    with   the   magnet.       We    had  in 
stiM-k,  when  I  wrote  you,    cement   from   three 
dilt'  rent  makers,  all  of  which  contained  more  or 
It  -■  iron.   If  all  this  has  been  caused  by  *'  crushed 
\i'lt>  or  nuts,"   machinery  used  in  the  manufac- 
niii   of  cement  must  be  very  ill-made  and  care- 
li:--ly  managed.     I  am  quite  aware    that   iron 
t;i;'.;L.'S  are  a  costly  adulterant  to  use  in  cement, 
aii'l  it  was  because  I  realised  this   fact,  I  wrote 
y  u.  being  unable  to  frame    any   rational  ex- 
pl  illation  how  such  an  expensive  article  came  to 
Iji  mixed  with  the  cement.     Had  it  been  an  ex- 
0' ;  'i'lnal  thing  for  me  to  find  iron  in  cement,  I 
1     .11  not  have  troubled  you.      My    experience 
!    ■  !  ten  tliat  I  have  found  iron  present  in  quite 
'   out  of  five  samples   examined;  and  when 
-  been  mixed  in  anything  like  quantity,  I 
nearly  always  found  the  cement  to  give  a 
'  reaking  weight. 
If  Mr.    Eeid  will  take,  say,  a  pint  of  ce- 
.  and  well  mix   with   it   a   teaspoonful   of 
rusty  filings,   he   will,  unless  he  h,as  a  very 
touch,  fail  to  discover  them  by  handling, 
oment   gives    the   iron   a   greasy   feeling, 
h  prevents  its  presence  being  so  detected.    I 
!  at  present  two  cement-testing  machines. 

"f  wliich  are  described  in  Mr.  Reid's  book. 
1  ■  :ted  in  my  previous  letter  that  it  was  from 
t!ie  fact  of  the  cement  I  was  testing  failing  to 
statid  the  tensile  strength  that  I  was  first  led  to 
di-  iver  the  presence  of  iron,  .and,  as  I  have  en- 
deavoured carefully  to  follow  Mr.  Reid's  own 
dirt ;  tions  in  his  book,  which  has  been  my  guide 
in  testing,  I  fail  to  see  how  I  have  "  courted  " 
dit^i.tilties. 

I  regret  to  hear  that  iron  "  in  even  the 
millest  and  least  objectionable  form  in  Portland 
cement  is  more  or  less  dangerous,"  as  we  have 
sii'li  difficidty  in  obtaining  cement  free  from  it, 
aiid  shoidd  like  to  ask  Mr.  Reid,  in  conclusion,  if 
ht  would  reject  cement  that  contained  an  ad- 
mixture of  iron,  or  whether  he  would  consider 
it  -  it'e  to  use  it  should  it  stand  a  breaking 
weiuhtperij  square  inches,  of,  say  7.501b.,  at  the 
end  of  seven  days. — I  am,  &c. , 
June  30th.  Magxet. 

MEMORIAL  TO   THE   PRESIDENT  AND 
COrNCIL  OF  THE  R.I.B.A. 

Sin, —  If  "  A  'U'estminsfer  Architect"  had 
read  the  memorial  with  greater  attention,  he 
would  have  seen  that  it  refers  only  to  ' '  Fablic 
Architectural  Competitions,"  and  goes  on  to 
eay : — 

"  Toiir  Memorialists  are  further  of  opinion  that  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  case  call  for  united  action  on  the  part  of 
the  profession,  and  that  the  most  effectual  way  of  en- 
suring this  will  be  to  devise  some  scheme  whereby  all 
members  of  the  profession  can  agree  not  to  take  part  in 
^y  Public  Competition,  unless  a  professional  adjudicator 
of  established  reputation  is  appointed ;  and  to  such  a 
<ondit!on.  if  (jfU'-rathf  nccuptyil^  your  ilemorialists  are  pre- 
pared to  bind  themselves." 

Farther,  in  the  explanatory  circular,  it  is 
stated:  "The  accompanying  Memorialists" 
&e.,&c. 

I  xmderstand  that  the  'Westminster  Vestry- 
Hall  Competition  comes  under  this  heading. 

A  reference  to  the  professional  journals  wotdd 
have  shown  your  coiTespondent  that  the  number 
of  memorialists  is  1,274,  not  1,-174,  and  should 
the  prayer  be  granted,  I  doubt  not  that  a  much 
larger  adherence  will  be  the  result,  as  many 
have  waited  to  see  what  joint  action  is  to  be 
taken.— lam,  kc, 

Jime  .30.  Cole  A.  AoAiis. 

WESTMINSTER  VESTRT-HALL. 

Sib, — 1.  I  g.ave  my  consent  to  enter  this 
competition  before  I  was  asked  to  sign  the 
memorial  referred  to  by  your  correspondent,  and 
certainly  before  I  signed  it. 

2.  The  signatures    to    that    memorial    were 


specially  conditional.     I  have  yet  to  learn  that 
those  conditions  have  been  fulfilled. 

3.  The  terms  of  this  competition  were  pre- 
pared by  the  Vestry's  professional  adviser,  and 
are,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  especially  just  and 
reasonable ;  and  I  believe  that  gentleman  is 
still  adrising,  and  is  likely  to  advise  in  this 
matter,  and  I,  for  one,  have  confidence  that  his 
advice  would  be  unbiassed  and  intelligent. 

4.  This  competition  is  a  limited  one,  and  a 
such  I  think  outside  the  scope  intended  by  the 
memorial  refeiTed  to.  I  am  open  to  correction 
as  to  this. 

b.  It  would  be  advisable,  in  the  interests  of 
those  competitors  who  have  friends  and  relatives 
upon  the  Committee,  that  those  vestrymen  should 
resign  their  seats  on  that  Committee,  as  I  doubt 
not  that  they  would  act  the  part  of  Brutus  in  so 
responsible  a  position ;  but  the}-  might  fail  to 
obtain  the  credit  due  to  so  noble,  yet  unpleasant, 
an  obligation.  Considering,  however,  the  num- 
ber and  character  of  the  gentlemen  who  compose 
the  Committee,  I  entertain  no  fear  of  the 
judgment  being  influenced  by  personal  favour. 

C  (and  las;ly).  Competitions  have  disad- 
vantages, as  those  who  enter  them  well  know. 
I  seldom  join  in  them  ;  but,  when  I  do,  I  make 
up  my  mind  to  accept  their  result  with  equa- 
nimity, and  without  grumbling. — I  am,  &c., 
John  P.  Seddon. 

VERT  MODERN  EGYPTIAN. 

Sir, — They  have  done  it  at  last.  I  knew  they 
would.  It  seems  fatuous  !  They  have  put  a 
meaningless  modern  sphinx  on  the  pedestals, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  Cleopatra  Needle  ;  and 
what,  I  fancy,  most  people  will  think  a  still  more 
evil  chance  has  befallen  the  base  of  the  monolith 
itself.  It  has  been  clothed  in  buskins  of  make- 
believe  Egyptian  design. 

Unless  the  object  was  to  cover  it  up,  I  put  it 
to  your  readers — Could  an  ancient  relic  be  more 
vulgarised? — I  am,  &c.  R.  C. 


MAN^HOLE  CO^^RS. 

Sm, — I  am  not  surprised  at  the  letters  which 
have  been  called  forth  by  Mr.  Rawlinson's  con- 
demnation, in  the  BtriLEixd  News  of  April  30,  of 
direct  ventilation  through  the  perforated  lids  of 
manhole  covers. 

Your  correspondent,  Mr.  Read,  city  surveyor 
of  Gloucester,  in  giving  a  sketch  of  the  cover 
used  by  him,  might  have  strengthened  his  argu- 
ment by  a  reference  to  the  model  plans  recently 
issued  by  the  Local  Government  Board  as  a 
guide  to  engineers  and  sanitary  authorities,  and 
bearing  Mr.  Rawlinson's  signature  in  the  usual 
comer.  Sheets  1,  2,  and  4  of  these  each  con- 
tain drawings  of  manholes,  having  covers  with 
grated  lids,  and  without  side-chambers,  the 
only  difference  between  those  covers  and  Mr. 
Read's  being  in  the  attachment  of  the  necessary 
bucket.  Sheet  2  shows  in  addition  a  manhole 
with  a  grated  cover  in  which  the  bucket  attach- 
ment is  identical  with  Mr.  Read's. 

Having  invested  in  these  drawings  as  soon  as 
pubHshed,  in  order  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  ideas  of  the  Local  Government  Board  upon 
sanitary  details,  it  is  rather  disappointing  to 
find  Mr.  Rawlinson  practically  repudiating 
them  before  they  have  been  six  months  in  exist- 
ence. —I  am,  &c. ,  C.  E. 

June  22. 

KOTHEEHAM  BATHS  COMPETITION. 
SiE, — Can  any  of  your  readers  tell  me  the  result 
of  the  above  competition  ?  On  the  5th  May  last  a 
"  Committee  in  Council "  selected  six  out  of  the 
designs  sent  in.  These  were  to  be  on  view  (to 
members  of  the  Corporation  only)  for  a  fortnight, 
and  then  the  committee  were  going  to  make  a 
selection.  Since  then  I  bave  heard  nothing— rather 
a  lengthy  fortnight.  Considering  that  the  designs 
have  been  in  since  the  2.5th  of  March  last  (over  13 
weeks),  I  think  it  is  high  time,  and  ocly  fair  to  the 
respective  competitors,  that  the  decision  of  the 
committee  should  be  made  known  without  any 
further  delay. — I  am,  &c.. 

As  Interested  Paett. 


MISERERE. 
SiE, — In  your '"Commonplace  Column"  for  the 
current  week,  passing  reference  is  made  to  the 
Early  English  miserere  seats  iu  the  choir  of  Exeter 
Cathedral.  All  of  them— fifty  or  more— date  from 
Bishop  Bruere's  time  (1224 — 44),  with  one  excep- 
tion, and  that  of  I  iter  date.  When  the  restoration  j 
of  the  cathedral  took  place,  a  few  years  since,  one 
stall  less  than  there  had  been  there  before  was 
shown  iu  the  plan.     AVhy,   under  those  circum- 


stances, the  Perpendicular  miserere  seat,  being  an 
odd  one  and  an  addition,  was  not  sacrificed  (if  it 
was  absolutely  necessary  to  sacrifice  any  at  all), 
instead  of  one  of  the  Early  English  series,  I  never 
could  exactly  understand  ;  suflico  to  record  that 
one  of  the  sharpest  and  most  perfect  of  Bishop 
Bruere's  misereres  was  removed. 

When  last  I  heard  of  it,  a  year  or  so  ago,  it  was 
in  the  stoneyard  of  the  cathedral  mason,  who  also 
holds  the  po.^t  of  Diicesan  surveyor.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  .-eat  will  not  be  allowed  to  be  lost 
sight  of ;  for  Early  English  woodwork,  of  any 
sort,  is  very  seldom  met  with,  and  rarer  still. 
sharp,  crisp  carvings,  such  as  are  exhibited  in  the 
miserere  in  question,  which,  after  over  COO  years' 
existence  in  Exeter's  cathedral  choir,  is  turned  out 
—still  sound,  hard,  and  without  so  much  as  n 
worm-hole  in  it— to  seek  a  home  in  any  collector's 
cupboard  who  may  chance  to  take  an  uiterest  in  it. 

A  week  or  two  ago,  I  was  met,  at  a  little  Dor- 
setshire stiition,  not  many  miles  from  Sherboume 
Abbey,  by  a  jovial  country  builder,  who,  after 
driving  me  to  his  place  and  hospitably  entertaining 
me  there,  showed  me  over  his  belongings.  Amongst 
some  odds  and  ends,  were  eight  old  miserere  seats 
in  perfect  condition.  Late  Decorated  or  Eirly  Per- 
pendicular in  character  ;  their  carvings  were  re- 
markably vigorous.  I  bought  them  of  him  for  five 
shillings  apiece,  all  round,  and  they  are  before  me 
as  I  write.  Where  did  they  come  from  ? — I  am,  &c., 

Exeter,  June  19.  Habby  Heus. 


ST.  MARY'S  CHXTICH,  FRAMPTOX. 
SiE,— Seeing,  but  a  very  short  time  ago,  the 
Church  of  St.  Mary,  Frampton,  Lincolnshire, 
grave  fears  for  the  safety  of  the  lovely  Transitional 
tower  and  spire  were  forced  upon  me,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  I  think,  that  the  time  has  come 
when  measures  for  their  preservation  ought  to  be 
taken.  Lgly  fissiaes,  those  on  the  east  face  being 
the  most  serious,  give  evidence  of  gradually- 
increasing  mischief.  The  tower  and  spire,  and 
portions  of  the  fabric  (Decorated)  are  illustrated  in 
Bowman  and  Crowther's  book ;  but  the  drawings 
convey  no  idea  of  the  present  dilapidations.  The 
church  has  been  described  and  written  of  by 
archaeologists  and  antiquaries,  and  chronicled  by 
our  greatest  Gothic  instructor  as  having  "  the  most 
perfect  of  all  simple  Early  towers  and  spires." 
Trusting  steps  will  be  taken  to  hand  down  in 
safety  to  future  generations  this  noble  work  of  the 
12th  century, — 1  am,  i-c.  Safety. 


CHIPS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  St.  James's 
Church,  Wedaesbury,  held  last  week,  it  was 
decided  to  complete  the  chancel  as  a  memorial  to 
the  late  vicar,  in  accordance  with  the  designs  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Loxton. 

The  districts  of  High  and  Low  Bentham,  near 
Lancaster,  are  about  to  be  supplied  with  water. 
The  scheme  has  been  devised  by  Mr.  Frith,  C.E., 
who  estimates  the  cost  at  about  £3,000. 

The  name  of  Mr.  David  Hughes,  a  local  builder, 
has  just  been  added  to  the  commission  of  the  peace 
for  Liverpool  borough. 

A  new  church  of  St.  Matthew  is  about  to  be 
erected  at  Preston,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  James 
Hibbert,  of  Church-street,  in  that  town. 

The  town  council  of  Colchester,  at  a  meeting  held 
on  Wednesday,  received  and  considered  coimsel's 
opinion  as  to  the  recent  negotiations  with  the  water 
company.  Messrs.  Philbrick.  Q.C.,  and  Mr. 
Millar,  Q.C.,  in  a  joint  report,  recommended  the 
council  to  complete  the  contract  with  the  company, 
i.e.,  to  pay  the  money  which  they  had  formally, 
and  under  the  sanction  of  an  Act  of  Parliament, 
covenanted  to  pay  for  the  property  and  interests 
of  the  water  company.  Aft-r  the  bargain  n;a3 
struck,  there  was,  it  seems,  a  change  in  the  politics 
of  the  majority  of  the  town  council,  and  the  new 
body  considered  that  2-5  years'  purchase  was  too 
high  a  price  for  the  undertaking.  They  now,  after 
deTay  and  incurring  considerable  expense,  find  the 
agreement  was  binding. 

Messrs.  Hayward  and  Wooster,  of  Bath,  have 
tiken  the  contract  for  the  erection  of  a  mansion, 

th  stables,  kc,  near  Box,  Wilts,  from  plans  by 
Mr.  Hicks,  architect,  Redruth. 

The  memorial-stone  of  additions  about  to  be 
made  to  the  council-chamber  and  assembly-rooms 
of  Chichester  was  laid  by  the  mayor  of  that  city  on 
Monday.  Messrs.  Jefferyand  Skiller,  of  Hastings, 
are  the  architects ;  Mr.  'George  Clark  is  the  con- 
tractor and  Mr.  G.  C.  Inkpen  the  clerk  of  works. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  opened  the 
bridges  of  Hammersmith,  Putney,  and  Wands- 
worth, free  from  toll,  on  Saturday  afternoon.  This 
completes  the  freeing  of  the  bridges  within  the 
Metropolitan  area.  Ten  bridges  have,  in  all,  been 
thrown  open  to  the  public  since  the  passing  of  the 
Act  in  1S77,  at  a  cost  of  £1,377,325;  the  original 
claims  amcunted  to  £2,338,09-5. 


30 


THE  BUILDII\"G  NEWS. 


July 


1880, 


j:iitcrr0mmunicatian» 


QC'Esrio.y.s. 

[6161.1  —  Perspective  Drawing.  —  I  shall  feci 
fAvoureJ  by  rci'civin.^  iDformution  tti  to  the  b€st  method 
to  draw  in  cun-eU  work,  in  pn'iwringr  penipcctives,  so  na 
to  get  th'.-  liueii  steady  and  unifunn.— X.  Z. 

(6162.;  -Hundred  Pound  Cottag-es.— Where  ean 
plonji  be*  ublained  ol"  the  Unke  of  Utvunwhire's  f'ottuges, 
to  coat  t'lu)  each,  which  iT'tin'-d  the  Oold  Me<lul  from  the 
IMyal  .-Vgricultunil  S.K-iety  Urehindj  f  Many  of  your 
readent  would  be  ^'Ud  to  kuow  what  can  be  done  at  audi 
a  low  coat.— S.  W. 

(8163.;— Testing  Portland  Cement.— Will  the 
writer  of  the  leoent  seiics  of  arlirlea  on  I'lirtland  Cement 
add  to  the  value  of  the  one  on  t.  Mtin::  it  by  giving  an 
easy  method  of  doing  it  where  only  sniiili  <iuantities  are 
uacd,  and  when,  ct)n.se,iuently,  the  expense  of  a  teating- 
machine  would  not  be  incurrcHl  ?  For  one  case  wher*e  it  ia 
used  in  anch  large  quantitica  aa  to  justify  thia  expenj^e 
it  ia  used  in  one  hundred  where  it  would  not.— S.11.T. 

(6IM.1— Damp  Walls.— Wliieh  ia  beat !  I  have  a 
house,  the  wall-*  uf  which,  in  the  liaae^ment,  both  outside 
and  inside  wnUa.  .nhow  a  dampness,  which  rises  from  the 
ground  Une,  .say,  jft.  or  more.  My  idea  to  remedy  it  is 
to  clear  out  the  inuitar  to  joint  I  just  above  the  ground) 
through  the  thukneis  uf  bri<kwork,  and  work  thin  lead 
through,  tiat  and  point,  and  till  in  with  cement;  or,  if 
posaible,  work  tlie  patent  f i  It  through  the  joint  instead ; 
or  cut  out  or  underpin  tlie  walla  piece  by  piece,  insert 
Taylor'a  patent  glazed  stoneware  anti-damp  couRse, 
keying-up  soundly  with  tiles  or  slates  and  Portland 
cement.— G.  B. 

(eico.i-SketchinK-  in  Hotel  Cluny,  Paris, 
and  Notre  Dame  Cathedral. -Cm  unvone  infonn 
me  huw  1  cin  MttLin  j.crmi^M..n  t.)  .sk.  tch  in  the  above 
edifices  ;  ;ind  nlso  in  what  part  of  the  city  are  theie  any 
'Oldraria"  !-F.  J.  P. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

St.^tlti:  to  Eobeut  Eaizes. — Earl  Shaftesbury 
will  unveil,  to-morrow  (Saturday),  at  noon,  iu  the 
gardens  of  the  Thames  Embaukmeut  a  statue  of 
Kobert  Raikes,  proprietor  of  the  (Jloiicester  Journal, 
by  whom  the  lirst  Sunday-school  was  established 
iu  En^'laud  in  17iiO.  The  site  selected  faces  the 
first  entrance-gate  east  of  Cleopatra's  Needle,  and 
the  pedestal  is  of  grey  Cornwall  marble.  Upon  this 
ia  erected  a  statue  of  bronze,  at  present  shi'ouded. 
The  height  of  statue  and  pedestal  is  20ft. 


[6U7.;- Science  and  Art  Certificates. -I  have 
noticed  with  interest  the  query  and  answers  with  regai-d 
to  the  Science  and  .Vrt  Department  Certificate  for  -Vrchi- 
tecture.  Iteply  6117,  June  Isth,  savs  the  only  archi- 
tectunU  examination  held  by  ttre  department  is  Building 
Construction,  while  6147,  June  25tli,  says  that  he  holds 
■all  lhrr<  certificate's.  Two  statements  so  diametrically 
opposite,  from  holdciT!  of  certilicates,  I  fail  to  compre- 
hend.    Will  any  of  yours  kindly  inform  on  the  subject  ?— 

O.VE  NOT  CEitriKlC.VTED. 

(6156.; -Decoration  of  Distemper  Ceiling.— 
ITie  colour  to  be  used  ought  to  depend  on  the  furniture 
of  the  church,  the  colour  of  the  seats,  and,  especially,  on 
the  light.  For  the  ground  of  ceiling,  a  vellum,  salmon, 
or  probably  a  grey  tint  would  be  the  beat.  A  strong 
light  would  allow  of  a  more  positive  and  deeper  shade  of 
colour.  Ch'  culate,  red ,  and  blue,  or  bulT,  are  good  colours 
to  employ ;  but  so  much  depends  on  the  church  itself, 
that  it  is  diUicult  to  recommend  any  paiticuhir  scheme 
If  harmonv  of  tmts  are  required,  I  should  suggest  simple 
shadca  of  lulTs,  browns,  or  gieys.  according  to  the  scale 
01  colouung  requu-e-l.  Positive  colours  are  best  avoided 
in  small  churches,  unless  they  can  be  skilfully  combined.— 

:6160.] -Treatise  on  Light  and  Shade.— There 
IS  a  treatise  on  Sh.uling.  by  Owilt.  entitled,  "  Seiography, 
with  Examples  of  Shadows,"  and  a  very  good  e.XDO- 
sition  will  be  found  in  Xewland;s  "  Carpentry."  at  the 
TA       ........  Geometry"  (Lock- 


end. 


■  Treatte 


wood  and  Co.)  cxpliina  the  principles  of  shadow  pi 
iectlon.  I  may  rt-fer  "  A.  B.  C."  to  arUcle  in  Biili.i.>o 
News,  just  published,  and  to  Wightwick's  ••  Hints  to 
\oung  AichiU'cta"  (l^kwood),  for  the  principles  of 
ahadmg,  light  and  shade. -O.Ii.  O.  «-        1-       " 


CHIPS. 

A  new  vicarage  is  about  to  be  built  at  Great 
Broughton,  Cuuiberlaud,  for  the  Kev.  K.  Clarke 
from  the  plans  and  speciticatioas  of  Mr.  \V.  c' 
Jennings,  of  Cockermoutb. 

A  cofTee-taTcm  was  opened  at  Lydncy,  on 
Thursday  week.  The  fi'tiugs  have  beeu  supplied 
by  Xlessis.  Sessions  and  Sens,  of  Gloucester  and 
Cardiff. 

The  Xorth  Oxfordshire  Archreological  Society 
had  an  excursion  south  of  Oxford  on  Wednesday 
week.  At  Marsh  IJaldon  they  visited  the  church, 
noticing  the  tower,  which  changes  above  the  roof 
of  nave  from  a  squire  into  an  octagon,  and  the 
Georgian  pew,  singers'  gallery,  and  other  littin-a. 
In  the  grounds  attichcd  Dthemaiisiou  are  bases 
01  jriUars.  arcadinga,  and  other  fragments  of  the 
former  church  at  Nuueham.  Hiving  inspected 
Toot  Bahlon  and  G  irsiugtou  Churches,  the  mem- 
bers visited  the  hisliop-s  palace  at  Cuddcsdon 
Alter  inspecting  the  private  chapel  and  library,  niid 
the  theological  college,  ihi  churches  of  Forest  Hill 
and  btaoton  St.  John  were  seen. 

The  east  window  of  the  chancel  of  St.  John's 
S,"n^.''  ,'-•'''""«'".  I""  j"st  bien  filled  with 
jUincd  glas,^,    as  a  memorial  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 

«eho^l.  ''tk'''-"}^  jo.nt-foi.nders  of  Sunday- 
Th^v:  M^'Vr""''''""  "  "'  ""^'  Italian  style,  and  of 
bSbS  l!;,l  ck"??''"  °P"""*'  «»»'•""»  our  Lord 
N».?r.^  '■  "^y'''*^"  :    on  the  left  side   is  the 

Nativity  an  I  on  the  tight,  the  Baptism  of  Jesus 
Smr"!'""  '^^  designed  and  executed  by  Mc/s^! 
Camm,  Bros.,  of  Smethwick,  Birmingham. 


WATEH    SUPPLY   AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

COLCHESTEE. — A  Local  Government  Board  in- 
quiry was  recently  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  Col- 
cnester,  before  Mr.  J.  T.  Harrison,  inspector, 
with  regard  to  the  application  from  the  town 
council  for  leave  to  borrow  £33,000  for  sewerage 
works.  Mr.  Clegg,  borough  surveyor,  explained 
the  scheme,  which  he  estimated  to  cost  £3.5,370, 
iu  addition  to  the  purchase  of  land,  of  which 
a  minimum  of  25  acres  would  be  required  for 
tiltratiou  or  iirigatiou.  The  net  loss  on  the  scheme 
would  bo  £.500  a  year  for  working.  The  sewage 
will  be  pumped  up  on  to  a  tank  on  the  laud  by  two 
2.3  horse-power  engines.  An  alternative  scheme, 
proposed  by  Mr.  Edward  Easton,  C.E.,  of  West- 
minster, estimated  to  cost  £30,000,  was  submitted 
on  behalf  of  a  large  landowner. 

The  RrvEES  Pollution  Peevextion  Act.— A 
deputation,  representing  the  mill-owners,  woollen 
manufacturers,  paper-makers,  calico-printers, 
dyers,  etc.,  waited,  on  the  23rd  ult.,  uponMr.  Dodsou, 
the  president  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  with 
respect  to  the  griev.ances  they  felt  with  regard  to 
the  carrying  out  of  the  above  Act.  Mr.  Trevelyan, 
in  introducing  the  deputation,  said  that  supposing 
the  provisions  of  the  Act  were  enforced  with 
increased  severity  for  the  next  three  years,  it 
would  almost  have  the  effect  of  stopping  manufac- 
ture in  Scotland.  Mr.  Alex.  L.  Brown,  president 
of  the  Manufacturers'  Corporation,  then  presented 
a  memorial  which  set  forth  the  views  of  the 
association  he  represented.  Mr.  Dodson,  in  reply, 
said  he  had  listened  to  the  views  of  the  deputa- 
tion with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure,  and  when 
the  opportunity  came  he  "would  lay  them  before 
the  Government.  They  would  understand  that, 
in  dealing  with  a  matter  of  this  kind  there  were 
first  the  rights  of  the  private  owners  to  be  con- 
sidered, and  then  there  were  the  rights  of  the 
public  to  consider  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view 
and  the  Government  had  to  arrive  at  a  just 
balance  between  the  different  interests.  It  was  not 
improbable  that  before  long  the  question  of  the 
pollution  of  rivers,  and  other  sanitary  questions 
would  have  to  come  under  consideration,  and  he 
promised  the  deputation  that  their  views  should 
then  have  attention.  He  would,  however,  be  mis- 
leading them  if  he  held  out  any  hopes  of  the 
Government  dealing  with  the  question  this  session 
He  could  assure  them  that  they  had  more  work 
than  they  were  likely  to  dispose  of  successfully 
this  year.  '' 

The  Watee  Supply  op  the  Meteopolis.— On 
Saturday  last,  an  inspection  of  the  works  of  the 
Chelsea  Water  Company  was  made  by  tlie  gover- 
nor, the  directors,  engineers,  secretary,  and  other 
officers;  and,  at  the  invitation  of  the  board 
representatives  attended  of  all  the  metropolitaii 
water  companies.  The  company  now  takes  its 
water  from  the  Thames  at  about  half  a  mile  below 
Sunhury  Lock.  It  has  at  first  to  pass  through  an 
iron  grating  at  the  intake,  guarded,  by  a  movable 
wooden  screen  so  arranged  as  to  prevent  the  accu- 
mulation of  river  rfcirw  from  being  drawn  through 
the  grating,  and  is  then  drawn  through  t»vo  fine 
wire  screens  into  the  covered  wells,  from  which  the 
water  is  pumped  uito  the  regulating  tank  by  two 
steam-engines,  each  of  JO-horse  power.  Thence  it 
luns  into  any  one  of  ihe  four  sub.sidenco  reservoirs 
each  of  which  is  capable  of  holding  35  million 
gallons ;  or,  if  necessary,  the  water  can  be  delivered 
into  the  3Cin.  main  and  sent  direct  from  the  intake 
ou  ii  the  filt-rs  at  Seething  Wells,  a  distance  of 
five  miles.  From  the  reservoirs  th«  water  flows  by 
gravitation  through  a  Sfiiu.  main  to  the  filter  beds 
at  Seelhuig  Wells.  The  bods  are  seven  iu 
number,  and  have  an  area  of  about  seven 
acres.  The  filtering  medium  consists  of  coarse 
b.iUast,  coarse  and  fine  gravel,  and  a  top 
layer  of  sand  of  about  3it.  in  thickness,  the  total 
depth  of  materials  being  Sft.  From  tho  filter  beds 
the  water  runs  into  the  filtered  water  tanks  and 
thence  into  the  engine  wells,  from  which  it  is 
pumped  up  to  the  service  reservoirs  on  Putney- 
heath,  a  distance  of  over  four  miles.  There  are 
si.t  steam  pumping  engines  of  150  horse-power 
each,  working  m  pairs.  Four  of  them  are  suffici- 
ent to  raise  ten  million  gallons  per  day  of  21  hours 
into  the  service  reservoirs,  which  are  capable  of 
holding  II  million  gallons.  They  are  ISOft 
above  the  level  of  the  engine  wells  at  Kingston. 
irom  these  reservoirs  the  water  flows  by  gravita- 


tion through  four  mains  to  Putney,  where  they 
pass  over  the  river  to  Fulham.  Thence  they  are 
branched  off  at  various  points  into  the  service 
pipes,  through  which  the  domestic  supply  of  the 
whole  district  is  afforded.  The  subsidence  reser- 
voirs, covering  about  40  acres,  at  West  Moulsey 
were  first  visited,  and  subsequently  the  inspecting 
party  proceeded  down  the  river  to  inspect  the 
filter  beds  and  pumping  machinery  at  Seething 
Welb. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

Aesexic    IX    Wall  -  Papees.— Steixhofp    v. 
WooLLAiis.— This  was  a  case  tried  at  Guildhall, 
June    17,    ISSO,   in   the    High    Court  of    Justice 
Queen's  Bench  Division,  before  Mr.  Justice  Bowei. 
and  a  Common  Jury,  in  which  the  plaintiffs,  Messrs. 
Steinhoff,  sued  the  defendants,  Messrs.  Wm.  Wool- 
lams  and  Co.,  wall-paper  manufacturers,  of  High- 
street,   Manchester-square,    W.,   for  ceitiin  sums 
said  to  be  due  for  colours  sujjplied  to  the  latter. 
Defendants  refused  payment,  on  the  ground  that 
the  colours  were  verbally  guaranteed  b}'  the  plain- 
tiff's agent  as  non-arsenical,  whereas  cue  of  them, 
called  "Imitation  Azure  Blue,"  did,  in  fact,  con- 
tain a  large   quantity  of  arsenic.      Previously  to 
discovering  this  fact,  defendants  had  used  the  pig- 
ment in  the  manufacture  of  wall-papers,   and,  as 
it  has  been  a  strict  rule  with  them  for  ye^rs  past  to 
allow  no  arsenical  colours  to  be  used  iu  their  fac- 
tory, they  were  thrown  between  the  alternatives  of 
endangering  their  reputation  by  the  sale  of  goods 
detrimental  to  the  public  health,  or  of  having  the 
stock  of  arsenical  paper  they  had  uu wit  tiugly  manu- 
factured left  ou   their    hands.      They   choss   the 
latter  course,  and  now  made  a  counter  claim  on  the 
plaiutift's  for    £370,  for  compensation  for  the  loss 
incurred.      The  plaintiffs  %vere  represented  by  Mr. 
L  rd  ;  the  defendants  by  Mr.  Kemp,  Q.C.,  and  Mr. 
Plumptre.     Mr.  Frederic  Aumonier  proved  that  he 
was  now  sole  proprietor  of  the  business  of  the  de- 
fendants,  and    traded    under  the  style  of    Wm. 
WooUams   and  Co. :  that  his  firm  had  dealt  with 
the  plaintiff's  for  non-arsenical  colours  continuously 
since    1S62 ;    that    the    plaintiff's    traveller    (Mr. 
Cobbe)  guaranteed  the    "Imitation  Azure   Blue" 
to  be  free  from  arsenic  at  the  time  the  first  order 
was  given  for  it ;  that  it  was  bought  and  used  on 
the  faith  of  Mr.  Cobbe's  assurance  that  it  was  free 
from  arsenic  ;  that  he  continued  to   use  it   imtil 
his  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  one  of  his 
papers  contained  arsenic  ;  that  he  then  had  all  the 
colours    used   in   his    manufactory    tested    by    a 
competent     analytical     chemi^t,      when     it    was 
found   that   the    "Imitation    Azure   Blue"    was 
the  only  one  that  contained  any  arsenic ;  that  he 
at  once  discontinued  the  use  of  the  said  blue,  and 
withdrew  from  sale  all  the  stock  contaminated  by 
it,  to  the  value  of  £370,  or  thereabouts  ;  that  he 
had  in  Court  samples  of  all  the  papers  spoilt ;  and 
that  he  had  a  number  of  his  workmen  in  Court 
who  were  prepared  to  prove  in  detail  the  employ- 
ment of   the   arsenical   blue    in   staining  all   the 
papers  complained  of ;  that  ,he  had  had   all  his 
colour*  tested  by  Dr.  Bartlett,  Mr.  Bernard  Dyer, 
and    Mr.    R.    E.    Alison,    competent    analytical 
chemists;  aud  that  he  was  otherwise  prejudiced 
by  the  expense  he  had  been  put  to  in  the  exami- 
nation of  his  stock.    Mr.  Bernard  Dyer,  analytical 
chemist,  proved  that  he  had  tested  the  "Imitation 
Azure  Blue"  by  various  processes,  and  found  it 
contained  over  50  per  cent,  of  arsenic.     He  had 
also  tested  several  papers  coloured  with  it.     Mr. 
Lord,  for  the  plaintiff,  did  not  desire  his  learned 
friend  to  call  any  f  uither  scientific  evidence.     Mr. 
Charles  Barton  Cobbe,  traveller  to  the  plaintiff, 
denied  most  positively  that  he  had  guaranteed  the 
"Imitation  Azure  Blue"  to  be  free  from  arsenic. 
Mr.Wm.  Muir,  partner  with  the  pLiintiff.  said  Mr. 
Cobbe  had  no  authority  to  guarantee.  Letters  from 
the  plaintiff  to  the  defendants,  dated  IS73,    were 
produced,  stating  that  all  the  colours  and  flocks 
supphed  by  plaintiff  to  defendants  were  free  from 
arsenic.     Mr.  Lord  contended  for  the  plaintiff  that 
since  the  defendants  took  the  trouble  to  obtain  iu 
Ib,3  a  wi-itten  assurance  that  certain  colours  were 
tree  from  arsenic,  it  was  fair  to  assume  that  if  they 
desired  the  same  guirantee  about  a  new  colour  in 
Ihib  they  would  make    a    point  of  getting  it  in 
writing  also.     Mr.  Kemp  replied  for  the  defence,      " 
and  pointed  out   that   in    the  position  that  Mr. 
Aumonier  occupied,  representing  a  firm  of  esta- 
blished reputition  for  the  supply  of   non-arseni- 
cal papers,  it  was  impossible   to  beheve  that  he 
would  buy  colours  without  an    assurance    that 
they    were    free    from    arsenic  ;      that     if    his 
client  were  not  telUng  the  truth  he  must  be  com- 
mitting deliberate  perjury,   as  he   could  not    be 
mistaken  on  such  a  matter,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  Mr.  Cobbe  might  easily  be  mistaken.    His 
lordship  summed  up,  and,  after  dh-ecting  the  iury 
that  any  statement  intended  to    be  a   warranty 
made  at  the  time  of  sale  was  a  warranty  in  law, 
and  that  if  Jlr.  Cobbe,  although  not  authorised  ill 
words,  was,  by  his  position  iu  the  plaintiffs'  ser- 
vice authorised  in  their  opinion  to  do  all  things 
needful    to    seU   the   colours,    and    that   he  did 


July  2,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


31 


guarantee  the  colour  to  be  free  from  arsenic,  his 
-  employer  would  be  bound  by  what  ho  said,  left  it 
to  the  jury  to  say  whether  the  colour  was  sold  fiee 
from  arsenic  by  the  plaintiffs'  agect,  and  whether 
he  was  authonsed  to  give  a  warranty.  The  jury 
found  for  the  defendants,  Messrs.  WooUams,  on 
both  points,  and  a  verdict  was  entered  accordingly 
the  amount  of  damages  to  be  settled  by  arbitration] 
"Jekky"  Buildixq  Estraoedixabt— Heavy 
Pexalties.— On  Monday  last,  at  the  Edmonton 
Petty  Sessions,  Mr.  W.  K.  A.  Cole,  of  High-road, 
South  Tottenham,  w?.s  charged,  upon  four  sum- 
mouses,  with  infringing  the  by-laws  of  the 
Edmonton  Local  Board  of  Health,  inasmuch  as  he 
was  erecting  four  houses  in  Town-road,  within  the 
district  of  the  Board,  the  walls  of  which  were  not 
properly  bonded  and  solidly  put  together  with 
mortar  or  cement.  William  Gimson,  of  Bayceaus 
Villa,  Gipsy  Hill,  Norwood,  was  also  charged, 
upon  eight  summonses,  four  with  a  similar  offence 
'  as  that  alleged  against  Mr.  Cole  in  respect  of  four 
houses  in  course  of  erection  in  Jeremy's  Green- 
lane,  and  ilie  reraaiuiug  four  that  the  walls  of  the 
said  houses  did  not  rest  on  solid  ground,  concrete, 
or  other  solid  foundation,  as  required  by  by-law 
I  101.  Mr.  Houlder,  clerk  to  the  Local  Board,  con- 
ducted the  proceedings.  The  summonses  against 
Mr.  Cole  were  taken  first.  Mr.  Houlder  stated 
that  the  walls  of  the  houses  in  question  were  built 
of  very  inferior  materials.  Small  pieces  of  bricks 
'  had  been  used,  and  the  mortar  was  largely  in 
excess  of  the  quantity  required  to  execute  work 
properly.  Bonding  together  meant  that  bricks 
should  bond  each  other,  but  in  the  present  instance 
they  did  not  do  so.  There  was  so  much  bad 
building  going  on  that  the  Local  Board  were  com- 
pelled to  interfere,  and  they  hopad  the  Bench 
wou'.d  inflict  such  a  fine  as  would  induce  builders 
to  comply  with  the  bj'-laws,  so  that  houses  which 
would  become  detrimental  to  the  health  of  the 
inhabitants,  as  well  as  dangerous  to  those  who 
re>;ded  in  them,  might  not  in  future  be  erected. 
It  Harrison,  assistant  surveyor  to  the  Board, 
tbe  walls  were  constructed  of  bats  and  smaller 
;  3  of  bricks.  There  were  eight  or  nine  courses 
Without  any  tie  whatever.  One  course  of  bonded 
bricks  was  laid  every  few  feet,  and  the  intervening 
spaces  were  filled  up  with  small  pieces.  The  work 
was  intended  for  Flemish  bonds,  but  there  was  no 

■  real  bond  at  all.  By  defendant :  The  mortar  was 
of  fair  quality.  A  builder  was  entitled  to  erect 
concrete  walls,  but  the  system  of  construction 
whiLh  was  being  pursued  certainly  did  not  render 
tlir  walls  as  strong  as  concrete  ones.  By  Mr. 
Houlder  :  The  bonding  ought  to  be  every 
other  course  of  bricks.  Mr.  Grindle,  chief 
surveyor  to  the  Board,  said  the  mortar 
was  good,  I'ut  the  bricks  were  the  most  in- 
ferior he  had  ever  seen.  The  walls  were  not 
l< .  ti  1  I'd  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  except  by  the 
t-;.-.;ity  of  mortar.  By  the  Bench:  Having  re- 
,:;-;i  i  to  the  safety  of  persons  who  might  occupy 
the  houses  when  finished,  he  should  pronounce  the 

I    walls  insecure.      Defendant  said  he  had  expressed 

i    his  willingness  to  do  anything  the  surveyor  to  the 

'    Board  might   suggest  to  remedy  existing  defects. 

Mr.  Abbess  inquired  if  anything  could  be  done 

short  of    pulling    down   the   walls  to   secure   the 

■  safety  of  occupiers.  A  discussion  arose,  in  the 
course  of  which  a  suggestion  was  made  that  the 

I  necessary  strength  to  the  walls  could  be  given  by 
!  having  them  coated  with  cement,  and  eventually 
'  an  adjournment  for  three  weeks  was  ordered  to  see 
if  any  sche.ne  could  be  devised  and  carried  out  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Board's  surveyor,  the  Bench 
intimating  that,  as  the  offences  charged  had  really 
been  committed,  it  must  not  be  understood  that  a 
fine  would  not  be  imposed.  In  Mr.  Gimson's  case 
it  was  shown  that  the  spot  where  the  buildings  were 
being  erected  was  not  very  solid  ground,  and  that 
the  plans  sent  in  for  the  approval  of  the  Board 
provided  that  12in.  of  concrete  were  to  be  laid  to 
form  the  foundations  of  the  houses,  whereas  the 
amount  put  in  was  only  from  U  to  4iu.  in  depth. 
The  substance  itself,  too,  was  of  a  very  inferior 
quality.  The  mortar,  also,  was  exceedingly  bad, 
consisting  of  very  small  portions  of  sand  and  lime, 
therest  being  vegetable  mould.  Samplesof  mortar 
were  produced,  and  the  Bench  said  they  could 
scarcely  detect  the  presence  of  sand  or  lime. 
Defendant  said  every  ingredient  for  making  good 
mortar  was  upon  the  ground,  and  if  the  material 
was  bad  it  was  owing  to  the  neghgence  of  persons 
in  his  employ.  The  Bench  said  bad  materials  were 
used  by  many  builders  to  save  a  little  money,  even 
at  the  cost  of  loss  of  character.  The  magistrates 
would  assist  local  authorities  as  far  as  possible  to 
insure  the  erection  of  proper  buildings  ;  and  in  the 
hope  that  others  would  take  warning  by  the  result 
of  the  present  case,  defendant  would  be  ordered  to 
pay  £2  10_=.  in  respect  of  each  of  the  eight  sum- 
monses—£-0  in  all— with  costs,  the  amount,  if  not 
paid,  to  be  recovered  by  distress. 


The  Ehiwsaeson  branch  of  the  Llantressant  and 
Taff  Vale  Junction  Bailwav  has  just  been  com- 
menced by  the  contractor,  Mr.  Billups. 


The  artistic  accessories  of  the  obelisk  known 
as  Cleopatra's  Needle  have  been  this  week  sub- 
mitted to  the  judgment  of  experts  in  art  and 
Egyptology,  so  far,  at  least,  as  a  specimen 
sphinx  and  other  smaller  details  are  concerned. 
The  four  sphinxes  wUl  be  of  two  different  sizes, 
the  one  of  which  a  temporary  bronzed  plaster 
cast  is  in  po.sition  being  of  much  the  same  di- 
mensions as  the  lions  in  Trafalgar-square,  to  the 
attitude  and  form  of  which  it  closely  approxi- 
mates. Metal  plates  of  a  pyramidal  form,  fluted 
and  winglike,  have  been  substituted  for  the  pieces 
of  syenite  which  have  broken  away  from  the 
bottom  of  the  obelisk,  between  every  pair  of 
which  another  metal  plate  is  let  in,  adorned  with 
serpents  and  other  sacred  symbols  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, which  are  also  reproduced  in  the  forehead 
and  the  breast  of  the  sphinx.  At  the  base  of  the 
obelisk  it  is  intended  to  inscribe  the  name  of 
Thothmes  III,  in  commemoration  of  whom  the 
obelisk  was  primarily  produced. 

The  subject  of  Norman  masom-y  has  been  a 
rock  of  much  dissension  among  archaeologists,  as 
we  have  seen  iu  the  disputed  origin  of  Colchester 
Castle.  As  the  following  remarks  by  the  Rev. 
Edward  L.  Cutts,  in  his  pamphlet  entitled 
"Colchester  Castle  not  a  Roman  Building," 
are  relevant  to  other  instances,  we  may  quote 
them  here.  Speaking  of  herring-bone  masonry, 
Mr.  Cutts  says,  "itis  almost  asmuchaXormanas 
a  Roman  peculiarity ;  it  may  be  found  in  stonework 
in  Lincoln  Castle,  Peak  Castle,  ire,  and  in  a  wall 
of  much  later  date  in  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
The  bonding  courses  of  bricks  at  regular  intervals 
are  nearly  always  found  in  Roman  buildings, 
even  where  stone  was  more  accessible  than 
brick,  but  they  are  always  laid  with  much 
regularity  and  at  intervals."'  The  author  then 
quotes  Mr.  M.  H.  Bloxam,  who  has  examined 
very  carefully  the  peculiarities  of  "'ancient 
mixed  masonry  of  brick  and  stone,"  who  writes, 
"  In  the  castle  of  Colchester,  which  also  appears 
to  be  a  Late  Norman  structui'e,  we  may  perceive 
an  attempt  made  to  imitate  the  appearance  of 
Roman  work  in  the  regular  and  horizontal  layers 
of  courses  of  Roman  brick  throughout  the  walls 
at  intervals,  and  this  is,  perhaps,  the  nearest 
approximation  to  Roman  work  in  external 
appearance  we  have  ;  but  when  examined 
closely,  the  number  of  intervening  courses  of 
stone  and  brick  greatly  differ,  and  do  not  pre- 
sent the  same  degree  of  proportion  generally  ob- 
servable in  Roman  work."  Other  instances  are 
cited  of  herring-bone  work  in  the  Norman 
castles  at  Penline,  Tamworth,  Corfe,  and  Guild- 
ford. Brick  and  stone  in  separate  or  alternate 
layers  occur  at  Coggeshall  Abbey,  of  thirteenth- 
century  date,  St.  Alban's  Abbey,  and  in  other 
Norman  buildings. 

The  Council  of  the  Society  of  Arts  have 
awarded  medals  to  the  following  gentlemen  for 
papers  read  during  the  session  which  is  just 
over.— Major-General  H.  T.  D.  Scott,  C.B., 
F.R.S.,  for  his  paper  on  "  Suggestions  for  Deal- 
ing with  the  Sewage  of  London  ;  "  A.  J.  Ellis, 
F.R.S,,  for  his  paperon  "  The  History  of  Musi- 
cal Pitch;"  John  Sparks,  for  his  paper  on 
"  Recent  Advances  in  the  Production  of  Lambeth 
Art  Pottery;  "  Henry  B.  "Wheatley,  F.S.A.,  for 
his  paper  on  "  The  History  and  Art  of  Book- 
binding; "  W.  Holman  Hunt,  for  his  paper  on 
"  The  Present  System  of  Obtaining  Materials  in 
use  by  Artist  Painter.^,  as  compared  with  that 
of  the  Old  Masters ; ' '  Thomas  Fletcher,  for  his 
paper  on  ' '  Recent  Improvements  in  Gas  Furnaces 
for  Domestic  and  Laboratory  Purposes  ;  "  John 
C.  Morton,  for  his  paper  on  "The  Last  Forty 
Years  of  Agricultural  Experience  ;  "  Prof. 
Heaton,  F.C.S.,  for  his  paper  on  "  Balmiin's 
Luminous  Paint ;  "  Captain  Abney,  R.E., 
F.R.S.,  for  his  paper  on  "  Recent  Advances  in 
the  Science  of  Photography." 

The  following  are  the  prize  students  in 
Architecture  at  Vniversity  College,  Session 
1870-80.  Construction:  Second  Series,  Donald- 
son SUver  Medal,  A.  S.  Vowell,  of  London. 
Certificate,  2.  *C.  H.  Btdells,  of  Crouch-end. 
Third  Class.  F.  W.  St.  Aubyn,  of  London. 
First  Series,  Prize.  C.  J.  Tait,  of  London. 
Certificate,  2.  *F.  S.  Ogilvie,  of  North  Shields. 
Third  Class.  S.  J.  Bury,  of  Whetstone.  Fine 
Art,  Second  Series.  Donaldson  Silver  Medal, 
A.  B.  Pite,  of  London.  Second  Class.  W'm. 
A.  Pite,  of  London.     Third  Class.     F.  A.  Ger- 


n.sh,  of  London.  Fii-st  Series,  Prize.  W.  J. 
Lander,  of  London.  Third  Class.  B.  V. 
Wcstbrook,  of  London,  C.  Turner,  of  London. 
Modem  Practice,  Piizc.  Fr.  E.  E  lies,  of  Lon- 
don. Certificates,  2.  *R.  E.  Smith,  of  Forest 
HUl.  3.  A.  G.  Morten,  of  London.  4.  cf/ml. 
S.  J.  Bury,  of  London,  F.  G.  F.  Hooper,  of 
London.  Ladies'  Class,  Prize.  Laura  E. 
Jones,  of  London.  Certificate  2*,  Edith  M. 
Smith,  of  Forest  HiU.  Second  Class.  Elizabeth 
Beck,  of  London.  Third  Class.  Hannah  Oliver, 
of  Kew.  The  Council  of  the  College  have 
appointed  Mr.  Roger  Smith  to  conduct  these 
classes  for  the  Session  lSSO-81  in  the  absence  of 
Professor  Hayter  Lewis.  Names  with  (•) 
attached  obtained  the  nimiber  of  marks  qualify- 
ing for  a  prize. 

The  Lord  lHayor  has  granted  the  use  of  the 
Mansion  House  for  a  meeting  on  Friday,  July 
2nd,  in  aid  of  the  Fund  for  Completion  of  the 
Buildings  of  L'uiversity  College,  London. 
Among  others,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  the  Earl  of 
Kimberley,  President  of  the  College,  and  Sir 
John  Lubbock,  Bart.,  M.P.  for  the  University 
of  London,  wUl  bo  present,  and  the  Chair  wiU 
be  taken  by  the  Lord  Mayor  at  2  o'clock,  p.m. 
The  whole  cost  of  completing  the  buildings  of 
the  College  is  estimated  at  £10.5,000.  A  part  of 
this  simi,  towards  which  £20,000  have  already 
been  subscribed,  will  cover  the  expense  of 
erecting  a  new  section  of  the  north  wing,  which 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  work  of  the  College  has 
made  immediately  necessary,  and  which  will  be 
open  to  students  next  October. 

The  death  is  annoiuiced,  after  a  long  and 
painful  illness,  of  Mr.  William  Hemy  Turner, 
of  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  at  the  age  of 
.52.  Mr.  Turner  served  his  apprenticeship  as  a 
chemist,  but  soon  betook  himself  to  scientific 
and  antiquarain  pvu'suits,  and  of  late  years  was 
employed  by  the  Curators  of  the  Bodleian 
Library  in  deciphering  eld  documents  which 
had  not  seen  the  light  of  day  for  centuries.  In 
connection  with  Bodleian  work  he  was  engaged 
on  the  well-known  Calendar  of  Charters  which 
bears  his  name,  and  until  his  illness  on  the 
equally  important  work  of  indexing  the  Dods- 
worth  MS3.,  under  the  authority  of  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  City  of  Oxford.  Under  the  direction 
of  the  Town  Clerk  (Mr.  R.  S.  Hawkins)  he  re- 
cently produced  avaluable  book,  the  first  of 
a  series  entitled  "  Selections  from  the  Records 
of  the  City  of  Oxford,"  with  extracts  from 
other  documents,  illustrating  the  municipal 
history  of  that  city  from  Henry  A^III.  to 
Elizabeth,  1509-1603.  Mr.  Turner  was  en- 
trusted some  years  ago  with  the  important  task 
of  editing  the' Harleian  Society's  production  on 
"  Oxfordshire." 

Ts  the  forecourt  of  Essex-street  Chapel,  a 
monument  has  just  been  put  up  to  commemorate 
the  fuunders  of  Sunday-Schools.  The  pedestal, 
desio-ned  by  Mr.  Hugh  Stannus,  and  of  suitable 
forrn,  is  of  Portland  stone,  with  panels  of 
polished  red  arranite,  and  is  made  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  design.  The  projecting  front, 
which  is  circular  on  plan,  contains  a  long  in- 
scription, the  purport  of  which  is  the  com- 
memoration of  the  Christian  efforts  of  the 
originators  of  Sunday  schools  (members  of  the 
various  churches)  from  the  time  of  Cardinal 
Borromeo,  1580,  to  that  of  Theophilus  Lindsay 
and  Robert  Raikes,  1780.  At  the  sides  of  the 
pedestal  long  narrow  panels  of  polished  granite 
record  the  names  of  the  founders,  their  dates, 
and  the  churches  to  which  they  belonged.  We 
cono-ratulate  Mr.  Hugh  Stannus,  the  artust,  on 
the  modelling  of  the  figure  which  temporanly 
surmounts  the  pedestal,  which  was  placed  on  it 
for  the  inauguration,  and  wUl  remain  for 
inspection  a  few  days.  The  boy  has  an  intel- 
lio-ent  and  bright  countenance,  and  the  figure  is 
conceived  in  a  free  and  natural  manner,  but 
perhaps  a  trifle  too  small  for  its  position. 

Ox  Wednesday  afternoon,  the  Lord  Mayor 
paid  a  visit  to  the  East-end  of  London,  for  the 
purpose  of  opening  an  industrial  and  fine-art 
exhibition  at  the  Bow  and  Bromley  Institute. 
The  exhibition  has  been  promoted  with  a  new 
to  encourage  inventive  skill,  excellence  of  work- 
manship, and  the  wise  employment  of  work- 
men's spare  hours.  The  articles  exhibited  are 
arranged  under  five  heads — namely,  mechanical 
articles,  artistic,  general  fabrics  and  fancy 
work,  and  work  done  by  young  persons  imder 
IS.  Fifty  guineas  in  prizes  were  offered,  of 
which  the  Cloth  workers'  Companygave  £21.  The 


32 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


July  2,  1880. 


Coopers'  Company  provided  a  special  prize  for 
the  best  specimens  of  cooperage  or  articles  con- 
nected witn  that  trade.  Various  finns  lent  in- 
teresting,' specimens  of  their  particular  trade  ; 
thus,  MessiM.  Doulton  and  Co.  sent  some  beau- 
tiful artichs  of  pottery  ;  Mr.  Samuda,  formerly 
M.P.  for  tlie  Tower  Hamlets,  contributed  some 
models  of  ship.'t,  as  did  also  the  Thames  Iron- 
works Company,  and  Me^.'^rs.  W'estwood  and 
Baillie ;  and  Mr.  AVilberforcc  Bryant,  of  the  firm 
of  Messrs.  Bryant  and  May,  sent  a  valuable  col- 
lection of  Japanese  bronzes,  cannngs,  and 
armonr.  In  all,  49'2  articles  arc  exhibited,  103 
being  mechanical,  1J6  artistic,  70  general,  60  in 
fabrics  and  fancy  work,  and  70  the  work  of 
young  people  under  IS.  The  mechanical  include 
models  of  buildings,  engines,  ships,  machinery, 
and  cooper's  work  ;  the  artistic  comprise  articles 
of  terra-cotla,  stone,  china,  ivory,  wood,  oil 
and  wattr-colonr  paintings,  and  crayon  and 
pencil  drawings ;  the  general  classes  include 
musical  instruments,  objects  of  natural  hiatory, 
screens,  and  furniture ;  the  fabric  classes  em- 
braced embroidery,  needlework,  leather  and 
wool-work ;  while  those  exhibited  by  yoimg 
people  comprise  specimens  of  all  these  diverse 
objects. 

*..^ 

CHIPS. 
The  parish-church  of  Burgh-by-Sands,  near 
Carlisle,  is  about  to  undergo  restoration.  The  nave 
will  bo  re-roofed,  new  windows  inserted,  the  plaster 
removed  from  the  walls,  showing  the  old  masonry, 
a  new  floor  laid,  benches  substituted  for  pews,  and 
a  small  gallery  containing  -10  sittings  will  be  built 
at  the  west  end.  The  total  cost,  including  heating 
apparatus,  will  be  about  £1,500. 

The  town  council  of  Ipswich  considered,  at  a 
special  meeting,  held  on  Wednesday  week,  a  coci- 
municattOD  from  the  Commissioners  on  Historical 
Manuicripts,  asking  permission  to  examine  and 
report  upon  the  many  ancient  records  belonging  to 
the  corporation.  This  would  be  undertaken  by  Mr. 
J.  Coruy  JeafTreson,  the  commissit'Oers'  inspector, 
who  is,  by  the  way,  a  Suffolk  man.  In  the  dis- 
cussion which  followed  the  reading  of  the  letter, 
it  was  stated  that  there  were  a  large  number  of 
documents  of  various  ages  which  were  in  great 
confusion,  as  they  had  never  been  deciphered.  It 
was  unanimously  resolved  to  grant  permission  to 
the  commissioners  to  examine  and  report  on  the 
documents. 

Plans  for  improving  the  harbour  and  dock  of 
Youghall,  Co.  Cork,  have  been  prepared  for  the 
local  harbour  board,  by  Mr.  Kirkby,  C.E. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Bristol  and  Glouces- 
tershire Archicological  Society  is  fixed  for  the  21st 
inst.  and  two  following  days,  at  Stroud.  The  Somer- 
setshire Archajological  Society  hold  their  meeting 
on  the  24th  August,  at  Glastonbury,  under  Mr.  E. 
A.  Freeman. 

The  new  Mayo  memorial  infant-school  in 
Pelham-Iane,  Dorking,  was  opened  en  Thursday, 
the  21th  ult.  The  building  accnmmodates  70  in- 
fanta, and  cost  £S0U.  Messrs.  GoJdard  and  Sou 
were  the  builders,  and  Mr.  lihode  Hawkins  was  the 
architect. 

Another  section  of  the  Yarmouth  and  North  Xor- 
folk  liailway— to  Stalham  — was  to  be  opeutd  for 
traffic  ye8tcrd.-»y  (Thursday),  and  the  remainder  of 
the  lino  authorised  by  Parliament  to  Xorth 
Walaham  is  being  rapidly  proceeded  with.  Messrs. 
Wilkinson  and  Jiirvis  are  the  contractors.  A  Bill 
is  at  present  being  considered  Ly  a  committee  of 
the  House  of  Conin.ons,  for  au  extension  from 
X.  rth  WaUham  to  Fukcnhai,  to  form  thereacou- 
nection  with  the  Lynn  audFakeuhamliiilway. 

The  Shropshire  and  West  Midland  Agricullur  .1 
Show  will  open  at  Bridgnorth  on  the  21st  inst. 
The  I  ontractor  for  shedding  and  tents  is  Mr.  C.  R. 
Chirke,  of  Stoke-on-Trent,  who  has  already  com- 
menced operations. 

For  some  time  past  an  engineers'  wooden  hat 
has  b«n  erected  upon  the  summit  of  the  central 
tower  of  Gloucester  Cathedral,  for  the  purposes  of 
the  new  Ordnance  Survey  in  that  ciiy.  The  t'^m- 
porary  structure  has  now  been  taken  down,  and  the 
Kojal  Kngincers  engaged  on  the  workhavegiventhe 
followmg  figures  a.s  exact  mcisureraents  of  this 
nobly- propnrtioned  tower:— From  the  surface  of 
RTOunil  to  the  top  of  the  crosses  on  the  pinnacles, 
2loft.  lOin. :  height  of  pinnacles  above  the  tower- 
roof,  .Mft.  /)in. ;  tize  of  pinn.-.:les  on  the  outer 
projection  i,f  cornice,  8ft.  lOin. 

The  new  church  at  Burton  Leonard,  near  Ripon 
bmlt  in  1878  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  C.  H. 
Fowler,  of  Durham,  has  been  beautified  by  the 
flUing-m  of  the  five-light  east  windows,  with 
•taincd  bUss,  by  Capronnier,  of  Brussels,  repre- 
Beutmg  the  Ascension,  and  by  the  erection  of  an 
organ,  bu.lt  by  Mr.  Abbott,  of  Leeds.  The  case  of 
this  mstnuaout,  which  was  opened  on  Thursday 


week,  is  of  pitch-pine,  varnished,  and  the  front 
pipes  are  diapered  in  gold  and  sage  green. 

The  memorial-stone  of  a  Congregational  chapel 
now  being  rebuilt  in  Bethesda-street,  MerthjT 
Tydfil,  was  laid  on  the  2tth  June.  The  chapel 
will  have  a  schoolroom  beneath  it,  and  is  being 
built  at  a  cost  of  .£1,100,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
John  Williams,  of  Morganstown,  the  contractor 
being  Mr.  J.  U.  Francis,  of  Dowlais. 

The  Epping  Forest  and  County  of  Esses 
Naturalists' Field  Club  will  hold  a  field-meeting 
to-morrow  (Saturday)  afternoon,  for  the  purpose 
of  thoroughly  inspecting  the  ancient  earthworks  of 
Ambresbury  Banks  and  at  Loughton.  The 
archaeological  conductor  is  Major-General  Pitt 
Rivers,  F.R.S. 

A  line  of  railway  is  being  constructed  through 
the  Myrydd  Miwr  district,  near  Llanelly.  Mr. 
Waddell  is  the  contractor. 

The  Uiiiitiiigs  and  St.  Leonards  Times  remarks 
that  ill  fortune  still  attends  the  ancient  borough 
and  cinque  port  of  Seaford.  The  latest  and  most 
promising  scheme  for  its  conversion  into  a  Sussex 
watering-place  has  not  been  successful.  The 
world,  and  Sussex  in  particular,  have  not  sufficient 
faith  in  the  splendid  destinies  of  Seaford  and  the 
shares  of  the  Seaford  Estate  Company,  Limited, 
have  not  been  taken  up  so  readily  as  they  should 
have  been,  and  it  is  understood,  consequently, 
thit  the  money  mil  be  returned  to  the  depositors. 

The  memorial-stones  of  a  new  Wesleyan  chapel, 
at  Old  Ford-road,  Bow,  E,,  were  recently  laid. 
The  building  will  replace  a  school-chapel,  will  cost 
£4,750,  and  will  seat  1,000  persons. 

The  new  Temperance  Hospital,  at  the  south  end 
of  Hampstead-road,  was  opened  a  fortnight  since. 
When  completed  it  will  be  on  plan  E-shaped.  The 
limbs  and  stem  will  contain  wards,  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  block  will  be  the  staff  accommodation 
and  operating-theatre.  The  wards  next  the  road 
will  be  placed  above  6  shops,  which  will  be  let  liff . 
Thirty-four  beds  are  provided  at  present.  The  site 
has  cost  £8,.500,  and  the  builder's  contract  £11,000. 
Mr.  T.  H.  Barker,  of  Manchester,  was  the  archi- 
tect, and  Mr.  Mcllroy,  of  Charlotte-street,  Bed- 
ford-square, and  of  Xew  York,  designed  the 
operating- table  and  bedsteads. 

The  ordinary  macadam  paving  on  Waterloo 
Bridge  having  proved  quite  inadequate  to  sustain 
the  heavy  traflic  brought  over  it  since  the  freeing 
of  the  bridge,  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works 
have  determined  to  substitute  for  it  Sin.  by  9in. 
granite  cubes. 

Xew  Board-schools  were  opened  at  Beighton, 
Xorth  Derbyshire,  on  Monday.  Thev  are  built  of 
Dunford  Bridge  stone,  with  Stanton  stone  dres- 
sings, and  face  the  main  road  to  Killamarsh.  The 
total  cost,  including  master's  house  and  school- 
furniture,  has  been  £2,9S7,  and  accommodation  is 
provided  for  270  scholars. 

The  contractors  for  the  new  municipal  buildings 
at  Hastmgs,  Messrs.  D.  Jones  and  Co.,  of  Glouces- 
ter, are  making  rapid  progress  with  the  work, 
which  already  forms  a  marked  feature  of  Qaeen's- 
road ;  the  architect  is  Mr.  Andrews,  the  borough 
surveyor.  Just  opposite,  a  new  coffee-palace,  for 
which  Mr.  A.  D.  Womersley  is  the  contractor  is 
being  built,  while,  close  by.  preparations  are  beinc 
made  for  the  erection  of  an  opera-house.  ° 

The  memorial-stone  of  an  English  ContTeua- 
tional  chapel  was  laid  at  Briton  Ferry,  lastVe'ek 
The  building  will  be  Gothic  in  style,  and  will  have 
a  spire  CCft.  high.   The  estimated  cost  is  £2,161. 

The  little  church  of  St.  Mawnan,  about  four 
miles  from  Falmouth,  was  reopened  on  Wednesday 
week  after  restoration.  The  nave  has  been  re- 
roofed  and  re-seated,  and  the  south  arcade  has 
been  extended ;  the  chancel  has  also  been  re- 
arranged. Mr.  J.  Piers  St.  Aubvn,  of  the  Temple 
London,  was  the  architect.  '  ' 

A  breakwater  is  btiug  constructed  at  Brixham 
Devon,  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Piper  The 
work  is  being  executed  in  solid  blocks  of  concrete 
and  the  portion  completed  measures  1,300ft  in 
length. 

Mr.  W.  Prout,  of  Lewannick,  was  on  Wednes- 
day week  elected  surveyor  t>  the  Holsworthv 
Highway  Board  at  a  salary  of  £105  per  year 
There  were  2.5  candidates,  who  asked  salaries 
varying  from  £80  to  £200,  and  the  selected  candidate 
was  placed  second  in  the  recent  election  of  survevor 
to  the  Launceston  Highway  Buard. 

The  Glamorganshire  county  magistrates  on 
quarter  sessions  assembled  on  Monday,  adopted 
plans  proposed  by  the  county  surveyor  for  a  atone 
bridge  at  Pontynisbont,  of  one  span,  and  estimated 
to  cost  £1,400. 

The  Holywell  board  of  guardians  on  Fridav 
adopted  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  Douglas,  of 
Chester,  for  the  enlargement  of  the  union  work- 
house. Accommodation  will  bo  provided  for  ''05 
additional  mmates,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £3  000 


The  Blaengwawr  Board-schools  at  Aberdare 
were  opened  on  Monday.  They  accommodate  754 
children  in  three  departments,  and  have  cost,  in- 
cluding the  purchase  of  freehold  site,  £4,600,  equal 
to  £7  per  head.  Mr.  E.  H.  Lingen  Barker,  of 
Hereford,  was  the  architect,  and  Sir.  J.  Morgan, 
of  Aberdare,  the  contractor. 

A  new  presbytery  is  now  in  course  of  erection  at 
Longton,  from  the  designs  of  Messrs.  Pugin,  of 
Westminster.  It  will  cost  about  £2,120.  Mr.  Wm. 
Collis,  of  L'jughton,  is  the  contractor. 

At  the  Pembrokeshire  quarter  sessions,  held  on 
Monday,  the  plans  of  Mr.  George,  the  county  sur- 
veyor were  approved  for  the  widening  and  improv- 
ing of  Cartlett-bridge. 

The  N'orth-British  Railway  Co.  have  begun 
operations  at  Colton  Junction,  near  Dunfermline, 
with  a  view  to  the  replacement  of  the  large  wooden 
viaduct  which  carries  the  railway  over  the  street, 
and  over  the  old  Charlestown  railway,  by  a  new 
bridge  of  stone  and  iron.  Mr.  Carbe'.vell  is  the 
engineer. 

A  plan  of  the  burgh  of  Galashiels  has  been  all 
but  completed.  The  plan  is  on  a  scale  of  lO'oOft. 
to  the  mile,  and  includes  all  that  is  shown  on  the 
Ordnance  Survey  plan.  The  survey  was  entrusted 
to  Mr.  G.  A.  Lundie,  M.I.C.E.,  Cardiff,  and  the 
work  was  commenced  in  October  last. 

The  Xeath  town  council  met  on  Saturday  to 
appoint  a  manager  of  the  Corporation  gas-works. 
Out  of  77  applicants,  Mr.  R.  A.  Browning,  of 
Plymouth,  was  selected. 

An  oak  chair  has  just  been  carved  for  the  Bishop 
of  St.  David,  by  Messrs.  Martin  and  Evans,  of 
Cheltenham,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  H.  MiddletOD, 
of  the  same  town. 

The  "  N'orthcote  "  Hall  at  St.  Marie's  College, 
Oscott,  near  Birmingham,  is  now  about  to  be  com- 
pleted from  the  designs  of  Messrs.  Pugin,  of  West- 
minster. The  cost  will  be  about  £2,500.  Messrs. 
Wm.  Sapcot  and  Son,  of  Camden-street,  Birming- 
ham, are  the  contractors. 

A  new  Primitive  Methodist  chapel  was  opened 
at  Winterton,  Lincolnshire,  on  the  23rd  ult.  It 
is  situate  in  Queen-street,  and  has  been  built  by 
Mr.  C.  Snowden,  of  Great  Grimsby,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Wright.  The  cost  has  been  £1,500, 
and  500  sittings  are  provided. 

The  Selhurst  extension  of  the  Croydon  street 
tramways  was  opened  to  the  public  last  week, 
after  inspection  by  Major-General  Hutchinson,  of 
the  Board  of  Trade.  The  whole  length  of  the 
line  for  which  Parliamentary  powers  have  been 
obtained,  in  all  4  miles  31^  chains,  has  now  been 
constructed,  and  is  in  use. 

The  Eoker  Park,  Sunderland,  was  thrown  open 
to  the  public  with  formal  ceremouy  on  Wednesday 
week.  The  park  has  been  presented  to  the  towns- 
people by  Sir  Hedley  Williamson  and  his  heirs,  33- 
a  place  of  public  resort  and  recreation. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Congregational 
chapel  at  Headbridge,  a  suburb  of  Chester,  was 
laid  on  Wednesday  week.  The  site  is  given  by  the 
Duke  of  Westminster.  The  biulding  will  be  of 
plain  character,  and  will  seat  400  persons,  at  a  cost 
for  erection  of  £1,800.  Mr.  T.  M.  Lockwood,  of 
Chester,  is  the  architect  ;  and  Mr.  Eoxley,  of 
Malpas,  is  the  contractor. 

A  convent  church  and  choir,  for  the  Sisters  of 
the  Visitation,  are  now  being  bui  t  at  Roselands, 
Upper  Walmer.  Messrs.  Pugin,  of  Westminster,  are 
the  architects  ;  the  cost  will  be  about  £1,900.  The 
contractors  are  Messrs.  Wand  and  Denne,  of  Upper 
Walmer,  Kent. 

At  a  meeting  of  one  of  the  committees  of  the 
Leeds  Town  Council  held  last  week,  the  Borough 
Engineer  was  instructed  to  prepare  alternative 
plans  for  a  small-pox  hospital  proposed  to  be  built 
upon  ground  belonging  to  the  Corporation  adjoin- 
ing the  rubbish  destructor  at  Burmantofts.  One 
plan  is  to  show  accommodation  for  twenty,  and 
the  other  for  forty  patients. 

The  state  of  the  Jedburgh  Grammar- s:ho(^ 
buildings  has  long  been  a  subject  of  much  anxiety 
to  the  Burgh  School  Board.  Several  plans  have 
been  sent  to  the  Department,  but  none  has  been 
approved  of,  and  on  Tuesday  an  architect  from 
London  visited  Jedburgh  to  inspect  the  buildings. 
The  feeling  of  the  place  seems  to  be  in  favour  of  a 
new  scnool. 

An  important  development  of  freehold  property 
seems  likely  to  take  place  at  Ilford.  The  second 
portion  of  the  Clement's  Estate,  consisting  of  93 
lots  of  freehold  laud,  is  announced  for  sale  on 
Thursday  next,  at  the  Augel  Inn,  Ilford,  by 
Messrs.  Protheroe  and  Morris,  who  have  previously 
sold  the  whole  of  the  lots  in  the  first  portion. 

In  our  recent  description  of  "  Mr.  Colin  Hunter's 
House  at  Kensington,"  we  omitted  to  state  that 
the  drawing-room  frieze  mentioned  was  made  and 
supplied  by  Mr.  Robert  Christie,  of  102,  George- 
street,  Portman-square,  W. 


JiLY  9,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


33 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


LOXDGX,  FRIDAY    JCZT  0,   ISSO. 


WESTMINSTER     YESTRY-HALL 
COMPETITION. 

THE  competitors  who  were  invited  to  send 
in  designs  for  the  vestry-haU  and  offices 
for  the  united  parishes  of  St.  Margaret  and 
St.  John,  Westminster,  have,  with  few 
exceptions,  answered  the  invitation,  and 
the  drawings  are  now  on  view  at  the 
schools,  on  the  site  in  Alexandra-street,  Yic- 
toria-street.  We  find  on  inspection  that 
ten  designs  have  been  hung.  These,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions,  are  in  the  Renais- 
sance or  Classic  style,  and  display  some 
diversity  of  handling.  The  competitors 
seem  to  have  done  their  best  to  utilise 
the  site,  though  in  some  instances  the  build- 
ings are  made  to  cover  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  area,  that  little  space  is  left  for  light 
and  air.  One  of  the  instructions  to  archi- 
tects laid  some  stress  upon  the  advisability 
to  leave  clear  and  open  spaces  for  light  and 
air,  and  each  competitor  was  left  to  make 
his  own  decision  upon  this  point,  as  well  as 
to  the  expediency  of  leaving  sufficient  space 
between  the  building  and  the  railway.  We 
consider  the  best  plans  are  those  which  have 
contrived  to  light  their  back  offices  in  their 
own  ground,  and  have  simplified  the  build- 
ings and  their  roofing  by  adopting  two  or 
more  distinct  blocks  with  intermediate 
spaces,  instead  of  building  close  up  to 
the  line  of  side  street,  as  some  have 
done.  It  would  not  be  desirable  to  cover 
the  whole  area,  as  some  suggest,  with 
buildings  of  different  heights — a  plan  that 
would  entail  costly  roofijig  and  repair.  The 
position  of  the  vestry-haU  and  its  central 
situation  near  the  offices  is  an  important 
point,  and  we  see  several  modes  of  dealing 
with  it,  some  placing  it  between  the  offices 
and  the  assembly-hall,  and  others  in  front. 
Above  all,  the  provision  of  separate  en- 
trances for  the  public  offices,  and  the  vestry- 
hall  and  assembly-room,  is  a  feature  we 
trust  that  will  receive  due  attention. 

The  leading'  condition  was  that  the  build- 
i':igs  and  all  fittings,  except  movable  furni- 
ture, were  not  to  exceed  £15,000,  beyond 
which  were  a  number  of  suggestions  as  to 
the  requirements.  On  the  ground-floor, 
vestry  clerk's  offices,  of  certain  dimen- 
sions, a  waiting  and  strong-room,  rate- 
collector's,  surveyor's,  sanitary  inspector's, 
solicitor's,  medical  officer's,  gas  -  meter 
testing  -  rooms,  and  a  large  assembly- 
room,  capable  of  holding  1,000  persons, 
were  to  be  provided ;  and  on  the  fLi'st  floor 
a  vestry-hall,  SOft.  by  42ft.,  exclusive  of  a 
strangers'  gallery,  capable  of  seating  50  or 
60  persons,  a  retiring-room,  committee- 
rooms,  a  members'  hat  and  cloak-room,  wj^h 
proper  ingress  and  egress,  and  lavato»ies, 
also  library,  conference,  and  waiting-room, 
and  certain  dimensions  were  specified  for 
these  rooms,  though  the  competitors  were 
free  to  exercise  their  discretion  as  regards 
the  size  of  some  of  them.  A  good  ent^auce- 
haU  and  staircase,  and  a  secondary  stairs  in 
the  rear,  were  also  siiggested,  besides  house- 
keepers basement,  and  other  accommoda- 
tion. As  regards  the  dra-n-ings,  they  had  to 
be  dra'wn  in  Indian  ink,  and  the  perspective 
was  limited  in  size,  so  thit  its  extreme 
height  above  street  should  be  to  a  scale  of 
four  feet  to  the  inch.  Premiums  of  £100, 
£70,  and  £50  were  offered. 

"Stet"  is  unquestionably  one  of  the 
boldest  ink  designs  in  the  room.  Its  author 
has  chosen  Renaissance,  and  proposes  a  lofty 
centre  block,    which   forms    the    entrance. 


crowned  by  a  domical  roof  at  the  top,  «-ith 
side  bays  caiTted  up  in  the  end  wings,  hav- 
ing high  roofs  and  dormers.  The  composi- 
tion is  symmetrical  and  d'gnified.  The 
grouni-plan  is  cleverly  disposed  ;  the  vestry 
offices  form  the  front  block,  there  is  a 
centre  hall  and  stairs,  which  communicate 
by  a  wide  corridor  traversing  a  middle  block 
of  offi'  es,  to  a  large  hall  placed  transversely 
at  the  end,  81ft.  by  42ft.  6in.  The  centre 
block  of  offices  is  well  lighted  by  areas  on 
each  side  within  the  boimdaries  of  the  site, 
which,  we  think,  is  better  than  building  up 
to  the  limits  of  the  land  on  either  side  ;  it  is 
devoted  to  the  medical  officer  and  sanitary 
inspector,  &c.,  and  good  lavatories,  &c.,  are 
shown  at  one  end  close  to  the  hall,  with 
ample  means  of  ventilation.  The  i-ate-col- 
lector,  an  important  official,  whose  office  is 
frequently  besieged,  occupies  the  left  end 
of  the  front  block,  and  has  a  side-lobby 
entrance,  which  is  very  necessarj-.  The 
vestry  clerk  is  located  at  the  other 
end  of  the  facade,  and  is  provided 
with  a  well-placed  strong-room,  the 
clerks'  office  being  lighted  from  back  area. 
We  notice  a  separate  end  entrance  to  the 
public  hall,  which  has  a  semicircular  end,  a 
platform  is  shown  at  the  other,  and  the 
ante-rooms  are  obtained  in  the  triangular 
space  obtained  between  the  railway  and  the 
hall.  On  the  first  floor  a  large  committee- 
room,  42ft.  by  23ft.,  is  obtained  over  the 
vestry-clerk's  offices ;  a  library  is  shown 
over  the  rate-collector's,  and  committee  and 
other  rooms  intervene  in  front.  The  vestry- 
hall  forms  the  centre  block  over  the  s.ani- 
tary  department,  well  lighted  from  the  side 
areas ;  it  is  49ft.  by  44ft.,  and  is  con- 
venient as  regards  the  staircase  and  official 
offices.  A  good  gallery  to  hall,  and  mem- 
bers' lavatoi-y,  are  also  provided  in  connec- 
tion with  this  floor.  The  upper  fioor  is 
occupied  by  the  housekeeper's  rooms,  and 
the  basement  by  the  kitchen,  strong-rooms, 
&c.  The  staircase  is  well  lighted  by  a  sky- 
light over  the  hall.  We  notice  one  or  two 
detail  dawings  ;  one  a  pencil-sketch  of  ves- 
ti-j-haU  interior,  showing  a  flat  panelled- 
coijjng,  and  Elizabethan  detail  to  gallery. 
■The  design  marked  with  a  Black  Star  is 
also  a  clever  English-Renaissance  design,'to 
which  justice  has  been  done  by  a  rather 
flattering  drawing  in  ink,  by  a  hand 
well  known  to  us.  We  cannot  avoid 
saying  the  elevation  is  heavy  -  look- 
ing, and  that  the  jiosition  of  the  hips 
over  the  eatranee  and  the  general  roof- 
lines  are  somewhat  awkward.  In  front 
the  building  is  broken  by  three  projecting 
windows  corbelled  above  the  plinth,  and 
the  entrance  is  marked  by  a  porch  with 
deep  corbels.  In  the  plan,  the  author  has 
followed  the  same  general  disposition  of 
the  departments  with  side  areas,  the  chief 
difference  being  that  the  housekeeper  is 
1  leated  on  school  side  of  the  middle  block. 
The  rate-collector  has  a  side  entrance,  and 
the  vestry-clerk  and  surveyor  have  also  front 
rooms,  while  the  sanitary  and  medical  de- 
partment is  obtained  behind,  and  is  lighted  by 
the  side  area.  We  cannot  approve  of  the 
solicitor's  position,  who  is  squeezed  into  a 
queerly-shaped  room,  lighted  from  the  area 
at  one  comer  of  the  hall.  Latrines  are 
on  the  wrong  side  between  the  public 
hall  and  front  offices.  The  haU  is  T5ft.  by 
31ft.,  and  shows  a  platform  or  rostrum  pro- 
joting  from  one  side,  partly  filling  up  t'ne 
u'leven  ground.  It  has  a  side  entrance. 
The  entrance  hall  is  lighted  by  a  lantern, 
but  the  lobbies  and  passages  to  the  r.ate- 
coUector  and  other  rooms  are  a  little 
bem-ildering,  and  might  have  been  much 
simplified.  On  the  first-floor  is  a  vestry- 
hnll  soft,  by  42ft.,  with  horse-shoe  table, 
arranged  over  the  centre  block.  Surely  the 
provision  for  the  hat  and  cloak-rooms  is 
greatly  in  excess  of  requirements.  Along  the 
front,  approached  by  a  corridor,  are  com- 
mittee, sub-committee,  and  deputation  rooms. 


"  I'ni'as  "  is  a  design  of  merit  in  planning, 
and  is  distinguished  b}-  no  loss  than  four 
alternative  studios  of  the  elevation,  two 
being  Gothic  and  two  Renaissance  in  style. 
Of  the  former,  we  rather  prefer  the  design 
marked  A,  though  the  drawing  hardly  docs 
justice  to  it.  The  altoniative  is  perhaps  of 
too  domestic  a  typo  for  public  offices,  in 
spite  of  some  good  detail  :  but  the  Ueuais- 
saiice  designs  are  better  than  cither,  and 
are  suitably  treated.  In  the  planning  the 
auihor  has  judiciously  set  back  the  building 
from  the  side  street  by  areas  for  light,  and 
he  has  also  avoided  the  objection  of  intro- 
ducing windows  to  face  tlioback  offices  of  the 
school,  which  other  authorshave  thoughtlessly 
done.  The  principal  feature  of  the  plan  is 
an  octagon  haU  at  the  back,  approacln^d  by 
a  long  corridor  through  the  oiHciul  b'ock. 
The  offices  occupy  the  frort  and  a  middle 
block,  and  are  disposed  along  corridors. 
An  alternative  arrangement,  B,  shows  a  dif- 
ferent distribution  of  the  offices.  The  sani- 
tary and  gas  departments  occupy  a  centre 
cross  block,  separated  by  areas  from  the 
front  and  back  buildings,  by  which  moan ; 
light  and  air  are  secured.  The  staircase, 
with  circular  end,  is  better  lighted  in  this 
plan  ;  but  some  objection  may  be  taVon  to 
the  long  corridor  entrance  to  the  public  hall. 
The  vestry-hall  is  placed  on  the  first  floor  in 
a  retired  and  good  central  position.  The 
large  octagon  hall  has  a  projecting  lobby 
entrance,  and  is  lighted  by  a  lantern  in  the 
centre.  The  iron  principals  to  the  roof  are 
scarcely  suitable  for  a  permanent  room,  and 
we  should  have  preferred  timber  framing. 
A  groat  deal  of  labour  has  boon  ex- 
pended on  these  drawings,  and  the  author 
has  fairly  studied  the  requirements. 

French  in  spirit  and  detail  is  another 
Renaissance  design  under  the  motto  "La 
Casa  deUa  Citta,"  shown  by  a  boldly-drawn 
ink  perspective.  The  elevation  is  broken 
into  three  parts  by  a  wide  centre-block, 
roofed  higher  than  the  wings,  the  hips 
meeting  in  a  point ;  the  author  goes  iu  for  a 
large  hall  and  stairs,  which,  to^ttlier, 
occupy  a  considerable  area  of  the  ground- 
floor,  and  which  curtail  the  areas  in:-  liglit 
and  air  so  much,  that  borrowed  li^ht  is 
found  necessary  for  the  clerk  of  works' 
office,  &c.  Rather  out  of  lhe_  way  are  the 
inspector's  rooms  ;  the  front  offices  look  cut- 
up,  and  the  corridors  are  irregular.  The 
large  hall  is  placed  behind,  C3ft.  by  50ft.  ;  al- 
together, we  are  not  quite  satisfied  wi'h  the 
means  of  communication.  The  vcstr)--haU  is 
51ft.  by  42ft.,  and  isplaced  over  the  entrance. 
"St.  John  and  Margaret  "  in  garter,  is  an 
attempt  which  loses  sight  of  the  Lusinoss  to 
be  conducted  in  a  metropolitan  vestrj--hall, 
in  the  endeavour  to  imjiart  a  Modiicval 
character  to  the  ext  rior.  The  ink- 
perspective  shows  a  lofty  tower,  with 
belfry,  iu  a  Renaiss.ance  style,  which  ra'hcr 
overpowers  the  rest  of  the  composition.  It 
is  crowned  by  an  open  bclfiy.  The  best  part 
of  the  elevation  is  the  series  of  largo  mul- 
lioned  windows,  which  light  the  vestrj--hall 
on  one  side  of  the  tower.  Looking  at  the 
giound-plan,  we  observe  a  confused  coiridor 
arrangement,  the  approaches  to  sanitary  in- 
spectors' rooms  are  tortuous.  The  clerk  and 
surveyors'  offices  are  in  the  front  block,  with 
access  by  corridor,  lighted  at  end.  In  the 
smaller  left  wing  is  the  rate-collector's  office, 
with  its  entrance.  The  assembly-hall  is 
74ft.  by  39ft  ,  and  is  placed  in  the  rear  with 
windows  at  the  side.  Wo  not«  that  the 
vestr}--hall  on  first  floor  in  front  is  meagrely 
planned  in  its  entrance,  ami  the  corridor  is 
imsatisfactory  ;  there  is  a  general  want  of 
economy  iu  the  distribution  of  the  depart- 
ments, and  the  area-s  and  lighting  are  not 
"■lod.  "Fortuna  Sequator"  is  a  heavily- 
roofed  Classical  building.  The  offices  in  front 
are  approached  by  a  long  corridor,  ill- 
lighted,  with  an  entrance  at  one  end  ;  there 
is'^3  large  square  staircase,  30ft.  square, 
lighted  from  the  roof,  besides  an  open  area 


;]i 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


July  9,  1880. 


in  front  of  stairs,  which  lights  also  the 
solicitor's  room,  a  small  apartment.  The 
public  hall  is  72ft.  liy  i'Jtt.  and  is  jjlacod 
in  the  rear,  its  windows  btiiig  on 
ono  side,  and  a  corridor  approach  on 
the  other.  The  vestry-haU  on  the  first  floor 
is  -ITft.  by  4.';ft.,  an  unplo.isinp;  proportion, 
uud  is  located  in  the  front  of  building  at  the 
comer,  the  lighting  Ihjii^  from  front  win- 
dows and  by  a  skyliylit.  The  larsre  hall  is 
also  partly  lighted  fiom  roof.  It  would 
liaTe  been  bettor  if  the  committee-rooms  on 
this  floor  had  been  less  scattered  ;  the 
plan  is  weak  in  its  grouping.  "  Civis,"  a 
Classic  structure,  in  Indian  ink,  is  somewhat 
prosaic  in  its  treatment ;  it  has  a  Corinthiin 
order  on  a  basement  and  a  centre  pediment, 
with  a  lofty  tower  at  one  end,  cmiihasising 
rather  unmeaningly  the  rate-collector's 
entrance.  The  plan  has  a  symmetrical 
arr.ingement ;  small  areas,  with  windows, 
chiefly  on  the  front  atd  right-hand  side, 
are  shown.  An  entrance  leads  to  a  lobby 
with  surveyor's  department  on  right,  and 
vestry-clerk  on  the  left-hand.  These  offices 
are  subdivided  by  glazed  screens.  The  rate- 
collector  ha-s  his  separate  entrance,  and  ihe 
solicitor  and  medical  officers'  rooms  fcce  an 
inner  hall  and  stairs.  The  entrance  corridor 
continues  to  a  large  ball,  72ft.  Gin.  by  lift., 
transversely  disposed  with  a  side  entrance. 
The  sanitary  and  gas  offices  are  lighted  from 
an  area.  An  alternative  plan  proposes  to 
reverse  the  positions  of  the  vestry-clerk  and 
solicitor,  and  the  medical  ofticer.  A  vestry- 
hall,  o6ft.  by  l^ft.,  is  obtained  on  the  tirst 
floor  in  front,  with  retiring-room  below 
the  gallery.  Generally,  the  arrangements 
exhibit  study  ;  the  plan  has  been  symme- 
trically disposed  on  the  site,  and  the  com- 
mittee-rooms, the  staircase,  and  the  balcony 
approach  to  hall  are  well  planned.  'We 
have  only  space  left  to  remark  briefly  upon 
the  other  designs.  "  Duty  "  is  a  remarkable 
design  in  a  Perpendicular  Gothic  style,  the 
principal  featiu-e  being  a  large  entrance 
hall  GOft.  by  30ft.,  out  of  which  all  the 
offices  are  made  to  open.  The  author  calls 
his  plan  radiating.  Behind  the  great  hall  is 
the  grand  stai  s,  while  the  offices  surround 
the  hall  on  three  sides,  the  vestry 
clerk,  and  surveyor  forming  two  oppo 
site  wings  on  each  side.  On  the  first 
floor  is  a  councU-chamber  over  the  hall, 
and  the  sanitary  inspector  is  also  located 
here,  a  rather  awkward  and  imdesirable 
position.  The  public  hall,  80ft.  by  40ft.,  is 
shown  parallel  lo  the  railway  with  separate 
means  of  ingress  and  egress.  A  "Shield 
and  Cross  "  is  the  motto  of  an  ill-digested 
plan,  in  which  the  space  is  not  economically 
divided;  the  public  hall,  92ft.  by  .30ft.  Las 
corridors  on  three  sides,  and  the  principal 
offices  arc  ranged  along  the  front  ;  the 
entrance  to  vestry-hall,  on  the  first-floor,  is 
poorly  planned.  The  elevation  has  a  large 
centre-tower  and  cupola,  in  a  kind  of 
Kenaissanco,  but  the  detail  is  poor.  "  Suum 
Cuique  "  also  shows  an  ill-plannod  arrange- 
ment, with  a  large  octagon  hall  at  back, 
■while  the  means  for  lighting  are  much  too 
sm.all.  The  composition,  in  a  Kenaissancc 
style,  is  heavily  grouped,  though  bold  in 
parts,  and  the  design  is  spoilt  by  the  un- 
satisfactory roof-line  that  seems  to  have  a 
crushing   effect. 

After  keeping  the  competitors  waiting 
five  or  six  weeks,  it  is  only  fair  that  the 
drawings,  many  of  which  display  con- 
siderable labour,  thoidd  be  thrown  open 
for  public  inspection.  This  will  be  done, 
we  trust,  when  the  professional  report  has 
been  made,  the  preparation  of  which  the 
committee  have  decided  to  entrust  to  Mr. 
Charles  Barry. 

THE  TAY  BEIDGE  DISASTER. 
ATOW,  upwards   of    six  months  after  the 
^  ^      most  dreadful  railway  accident  which 
has  ever  occurred  in  this  country,  the  report 


of  the  tribunal  appointed  to  adjudicate  on 
the  cause  is  published.  The  nature  and 
character  of  the  report  before  us  indicate 
that  much  consideration  has  been  given  to 
the  subject  by  the  able  commissioner  and 
his  colleagues  in  arriving  at  their  almost 
ucavoidablo  conclusions.  Nothing,  it  may 
bo  said,  has  been  wanting  in  sifting  of 
evidence  and  grappling  with  details,  all  of 
which  are  more  or  less  familiar  to  the  public, 
and  it  may  1  e  said  that  the  result  of  this 
painful  inquiiy  will  be  received  with  un- 
mixed satisfaction.  Had  the  accident  taken 
place  in  any  other  division  of  Ihe  United 
Kingdom  than  .'■'cotland,  coroners'  inquiries 
would  have  undertaken  the  duty  of  examin- 
ing into  and  deciding  on  its  cause,  and  it 
may  be  regarded  as  fortunate  that  the 
whole  inquiry  rested  with  the  Board  of 
Trade. 

The  judgments  now  dellvfrcd  maybe  sad 
to  be  unanimous,  although  Mr.  Eothery  has 
boldly,  and  we  think  honestly,  insisted  upon 
using  such  Imguagc  as  cannot  be  misunder- 
stood, and  attributes  the  blame  to  the  right 
cause.  He  says,  "The  conclusion,  then,  to 
which  I  have  come  is,  that  this  bridge 
was  badly  designed,  badly  constructed,  and 
badly  maintained,  and  that  its  downfall  was 
due  to  inherent  defects  in  the  stn-.cturo, 
which  must,  sooner  or  later,  have  brought  it 
down." 

So  clear  an  indictment  admits  of  only 
one  construction,  and  wo  fear  the  party 
charged  with  the  offences  thus  clearly  set 
forth  will  have  much  difficulty  in  persuading 
even  the  most  chai  itable  and  weU-disposed 
to  him  personally  that  the  charge  is  too  con- 
demnatory in  character. 

Let  us  examine  the  causes  which  led  up  to 
this  disaster,  and  endeavour  to  understand 
why  so  much  enterprise,  money,  and  en- 
gineering talent  failed  so  lamentably  in 
solving  the  problem  of  crossing  the  Firth  of 
Tay  by  a  bridge.  Presuming  that  the  North 
British  Railway  Company  had  not  limited 
their  engineer  to  a  certain  defined  sum  for 
the  outlay  on  the  structure, we  cannot  under- 
stand why  a  bridge  of  the  style  and  character 
of  the  Tay  Bridge  was  resolved  up-in.  To 
cross  an  arm  of  what  may  be  called  the  sea 
in  a  notoriously  exposed  situation,  the 
bottom  of  the"  channel  of  which  was, 
from  geological  causes,  of  a  rough  and 
unreliable  character,  should  have  "created 
iu  the  mind  of  the  designer  of  the 
desired  bridge  the  utmost  anxiety  as 
to  the  foundations  of  such  a  structure. 
Indeed,  no  progress  in  any  direction  should 
have  been  determined  on '  until  t!mt  most 
vital  jwint  had  been  settled  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  doubt.  Here  we  find,  however, 
that,  owing  to  some  mistake  of  the  "borers,'' 
sound  rock  was  said  by  them  to  bo  where  it 
was  afterwards  found  that  a  chasm  existed 
filled  up  by  boulders,  or  other  diluvial  de- 
posit. An  alteration  of  the  lenatli  of 
the  spans  followed  on  this  discovery,  indi- 
cating that  the  design  of  the  brid'so  had 
been  proceeded  with  before  it  was  quite 
clear  that  the  piers  could  be  well  and  sub- 
stantially founded.  This  discover}-  .also  in- 
volved an  alteration  in  the  piers,  which  had 
originally  been  designed  of  brick,  and  the 
cast-non  "  stilts"  w-ere  substituted,  for  the 
purpose  of  lessening  the  weight  on  the 
foundation  cylinders.  So  that  we  have,  at 
a  very  early  stage  of  the  business,  undoubted 
evidence  of  derangement,  owing  to  the  un- 
certain character  of  the  base  of  the  intended 
fabric.  That  nearly  all  of  the  b  ttom  cv- 
linders  were  well  and  truly  deposited,  can- 
not be  questioned,  for,  in  adtlitiun  to  the 
skill  displayed  in  their  prejiaration  and 
transportation  to  the  various  points,  they  had 
the  advantage  of  great  weight,  which,  when 
accurately  placed  by  the  divers,  would  se- 
cure them  against  displacement  by  tid.il 
currents.  So  far,  therefore,  as  the  founda- 
tions proper  of  the  Tay  bridge  are  con- 
cerned, they  may  be  regarded  as  perfect  of 


their  kind,  for  no  damaging  reference  has 
been  made  to  the  materials  of  which  they 
were  composed. 

The  columnar  cast-iron  piers  seem,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  badly  conceived,  badly 
made,  and  no  doubt  improperly  put  to- 
gether. The  vertical  cracks  in  several  of 
the  columns  are  attribtited  to  an  expansion 
of  the  cement-concrete  Nrith  which  they  were 
filled  after  erection.  Such  a  distui-biug  in- 
fluence is  no  doubt  quite  possible ;  bat, 
seeing  that  the  cement  was  carefully  tested 
by  the  resident  engineers,  the  resiilt  con- 
jectured is  not,  to  our  minds,  quite  satis- 
factory. "\Ve  would  rather  look  to  the 
workmanship  at  the  Womiit  Foundry, 
where  the  celumns  were  cast.  This  appear.? 
to  us  to  be  the  most  lamentable  branch  of 
this  unhappy  business,  to  judge  from  the 
evidence  of  the  workmen  examined  at  the 
inquiry.  During  oiu-  own  e>.pericnce,  we 
have  found  that  men  employed  on  public 
and  other  works  are  too  prone  to  indiilge  in 
illegal  and  improper  acts  without  deriving 
the  most  remote  benefit  from  their  miscon- 
duct, but  simply  from  an  innate  and  unac- 
countable disire  to  dodge  and  "best" 
their  overseers.  In  the  foundry  depart- 
ment, there  was  not  only  an  amount  of 
recklrs  i  ignorance,  but  a  wilful  and  repre- 
hensible disposition,  on  the  part  of  all  con- 
cerned, to  "  scamp  '"  their  work;  otherwise, 
how  could  the  imperfectly-made  column,  of 
such  vital  importance  to  the  structure,  have 
been  made,  or  if  made,  allowed  to  form 
part  of  a  bridge  every  member  of  which 
was  dependent  on  each  other  for  its  sta- 
bility :-  The  hexagonal  plate,  or  base,  on 
which  the  columns  and  their  connecting 
braces  rested  was  founded  on  the  extension 
of  the  submerged  piers,  and  bolted  down  by 
l^in.  bolts,  2ft.  6in.  long.  These  holding- 
down  bolts  appear  to  us  absurdly  deficient 
in  character,  and  could  not  resist,  with  ad- 
vantage, any  upward  or  oblique  thrust, 
acting  violently  cither  on  the  platform  of 
the  bridge,  or  the  cast-iron  piers.  These 
bolts  never  could  have  been  regarded  in  any 
of  the  engineer's  calculations  otherwise  than 
as  mere  subordinate  factors  in  maintaining 
the  true  position  of  the  base-plate  against 
the  vertical  thrust  of  the  superincumbent 
mass  only. 

Even  assuming  that  tha  principle  of  cast 
iron  supporting  colum-  s  was  a  correct  one, 
and  every  figure  in  the  calculation  of  their 
competency  accurate  and  sound,  the  neces- 
sity existed  that  they  should  be  well  made 
and  accurately  fitted  to  each  other,  as  well 
as  to  the  braces  from  which  they  were  1 1 
receive  assistance  during  the  occurrence  of 
lateral  thrust.  AVhat  is  the  result  of  the 
investigations  in  this  direction  ?  We  find  de- 
fective castings  moulds  d  in  an  improper  posi- 
tion, and  the  lugs  of  columns  and  braces,  on 
which  so  luuch  depends,  imperfectly  bored, 
rendering  their  accurate  combination  im- 
possible. The  piers  should  have  been  as 
rigid  as  science  and  attention  to  detail  could 
have  made  them ;  but  they  became  almost 
articulate  in  character  when  the  movements 
resulting  from  passing  trains  disturbed  the 
numerous  joints,  destroying  their  coherency, 
and  becoming,  as  was  verj-  evident,  "  chat- 
tering "  and  disorganised  members  of  the 
then  undoubtedly  degraded  strucure.  The 
platform,  as  if  in  mockery,  is  described  as 
perfect  in  character,  rails  and  their  guards 
being  accurately  "fished,"  and  well  calcu- 
lated to  withstand  the  ordinary  wear  of  a 
passing  traffic.  The  lattice-workalso  was  well 
designed,  and  executed  in  a  fail-  quality  of 
miatcrial,  only  showing  still  more  clearly 
that  so  far  as  the  superstructure  was  con- 
cerned nothing  was  neglected  to  render 
that  portion  of  the  bridge  pleasing  and  fair 
to  look  upon.  How  fragile,  however,  these 
wrecked  girders  look  in  their  present  posi- 
tion on  the  shore  at  Brouj^htv  Ferry  '.  and 
few  of  those  uninitiated  in  the  mvsteries  of 
engineering  calculation  would  believe  that 


Jl-ly  9,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


35 


tliey   were  over  competent  to   support  the 
tratlic  which  passed  over  theru. 

The  science  of  constructive  engineering 
has,  in  connection  with  this  misfortune,  re- 
ceived a  damaging  shojk  calculated  to  induce 
mistrust  in  the  minds  of  even  the  most  dis- 
interested and  unconcerned.  This  structure, 
famous  now  in  more  ways  than  one,  was, 
during  its  brief  existence,  generally  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  successful  efforts  of  modern 
constructive  ingenuity.  Meeting  during  its 
early  initiation  with  considerable  opposition 
from  various  quarters,  it  finally  entered  upon 
the  lines  of  the  engineer,  and  in  his  hands 
was  fashioned  into  a  structure  which,  on  its 
completion,  was  accepted  by  the  engineering 
world  as  a  building  honourable  to  the  enter- 
prise of  the  North-British  IJailway  Com- 
jiany,  and  creditable  to  the  ability  of  its 
constructor. 

The  Tay  Bridge  was  the  practical 
outcome  of  the  rivalry  between  two 
railway  companies  competing  for  the 
important  traffic  of  the  manufac'uring 
industry  of  Dundee,  although  its  con- 
struction did  nothing  more  than  add 
another  link  to  the  already-existing  railway 
communications  supplying  that  commercial 
centre  with  the  requisite  transit  facilities. 
There  was  practicallj-  no  absolute  necessity 
lor  the  biidge,  such  as  that  which  called  for 
the  famous  structure  across  the  Menai 
Straits,  but  the  North  British  Eailway  Cora- 
jiany  were  ambitious  to  measure  their 
strength  with  the  Caledonian  Eailway  Com- 
pany, who  had  hitherto,  in  fact,  monopolised 
the  Dundee  traffic. 
.  The  public  do  not  criticise  too  closely  the 

character  of  the  bridges  or  other  structirres 
by  and  over  which   they  are  carried,  having 
much  faith  in  the  illusory  inspection  bj'  the 
officers   of   the  Board    of    Trade,    who  are 
populai-ly  supposed  to  protect  them  against 
i       misfortune  and  loss.     Under  other  circum- 
(       stances,  and  trusting  to  their  own  judgment, 
,       they  might  well   have  been  excused  if  they 
'       hai,  looking  at  the  fragUe  character  of  the 
Tay  Bridge,  and  the  long  and   dangerous 
>       sea  crossing,  refused  credit  to  its  competence 
and  stability  during  a  storm. 

The     scheme    of     the    bridge      was,    in 
its  inception   and  execution,   controlled  by 
the  best   available   engineering  experience, 
■ind.  when  completed,   passed  satisfactorily 
tlie  Government  inspection,  proving  it  to  be 
ssfe     and     competent     to     withstand     all 
reassnable  wear  and  tear  incidental  to  the 
purposes  forwhich  it  was  dedicated.  All  these 
safeguaids,    however,    faUed    to   secure   its 
stability,     and     a     storm     (doubtless,      of 
unprecedented   violence)   made   a   wreck  of 
this   fairy   structure,    accompanied    by    an 
unusually  largo  amount  of  human  sacrifice, 
sudden  and  appalling'  in  its  character.     The 
Tay  bridge  accident,  among  other  peculiari- 
ties of  its  occurrence,  is  made  all  the  more 
memorable   from    the    fact     of     co    living 
evidence  being  left   behind   to  describe  the 
manner  and    moment    of    i's    destruction. 
Tlince,     the     conflicting,     and     somewhat 
litradictory  estimates  of  intelligent  minds 
;o  thecaussof  accident — some  contending 
it  those  parts  of  the  bridL;e  which  fe'l  had 
nherent  defects,  rendering  them  incompe- 
ont  to  withstand  the  shock  of  unusual  and 
xceptional  natural  violence  ;    while  others, 
-  dn,  testify  that  thccoUapse  arose  from  a 
-tion   of   the    train    leaving    the    rails, 
reby  initiating   the   disturbance   of   the 
:ious  structural   members  of   the  girders, 
■  lering    their     further     coherence    and 
oiibility  quite  a  matter  of  impossibility. 

The  various  theories  advanced  on  the 
stability  of  iron  bridges  especially,  and  the 
numerous  suggestions  as  to  the  peculiar 
ac'ion  of  the  storm -cyclone,  show  with  much 
clearness  that  science  is  not  on  all-fours  in 
his  particular  inquiry.  The  most  eminent 
engineers  and  philosophers  have  had  ample 
opportunity  to  air  their  various  experiences 
•>nd  theories,   without,  in  reality,  imparting 


to  the  public  mind  any  comfort  from  their 
sometimes-diametrically  opposite  conclu- 
sions. Ihe  Board  of  Trade  inquiry, 
with  its  perfect  machinery  and  powers  of 
the  most  exhaustive  investigation,  left  no 
doubt  that  all  the  circumstances  attending 
this  most  lamentable  of  accidents  would  bo 
searchingly  examined.  Evidence  of  artisan 
and  engineer,  so  far  as  possible,  was  care- 
fully sifted,  and  the  inquiry  assumed  an 
unseemly  prominence,  owing  to  the  conflict 
of  slviUed  witnesses  exerting  their  several 
abilities  to  defend  the  s'de  on  which 
one  and  the  other  was  called  upon  to 
give  testimony.  Latterly,  the  contest  at 
the  inquii-y  in  the  North,  and  in  London, 
became  really  the  public  against  the  engineer 
of  the  bridges — an  unhappy  phase  of  the 
case,  for  it  naturallj-  and  unavoidably  im- 
ported personal  feeling  which,  under  the 
gravity  of  the  circumstances,  should  have 
been  avoided.  It  may  be  said,  in  excuse, 
that  the  engineer  who  built  the  wrecked 
bridge  was  upon  his  trial  ;  but  under  any 
circumstances  he  must  be  blamed — not  for 
the  storm,  it  is  true — but  for  erecting  a 
structure  which  succumbed  to  its  violence. 
Some  members  of  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers  endeavoured  to  show,  during  the 
early  correspondence  after  the  accident,  that 
the  engineer  could  not  be  held  responsible 
because  a  Government  Engineer  had  passed 
the  structure,  and  thus  certified  to  its 
stability.  Such  special  pleading,  however, 
must  fail  to  convince  the  most  confiding 
minds,  and  to  the  intelligent  it  seems  that 
no  necessity  for  Government  supervision 
could  possibly  arise  if  the  engineer  per- 
formed his  duty  truly  and  faithfully. 
Smeaton,  Telford,  and  Wren,  would  have 
undoubtedly  resented  the  insults  which 
would  h'lve  ben  offered  to  them  had  it  been 
suggested  that  the  "  Eddystone,"  "  Menai 
Bridge,"  and  "  St.  Paul's"  must  be  tested 
before  being  dedicated  to  public  use  and 
convenience.  It  is  becoming  too  fashionable 
in  these  days  to  fall  back  upon  some 
secondai-y  cause  to  protect  the  first  one, 
pretty  much  in  the  manner  of  the  solicitor 
who,  although  trained  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  law,  fortifies  his  client's  case  by  con- 
sulting another  legal  mind,  thus  protecting 
himself  against  the  danger  of  action  for 
damage  which  might  result  from  his  ignor- 
ance or  stupidity.  The  converse  of  this 
principle,  however,  occurs  in  modern  engi- 
neering works,  for  the  engineer-in-chief 
deputes  to  his  assistants  the  duty  of  carrj-ing 
oat  his  design  ;  they  again,  in  turn,  split  up 
their  responsibility  into  as  many  minor  parts 
as  suits  their  convenience  or  temperament. 
The  character  of  such  delegated  supervision 
is  pretty  well  illustrated  in  the  evidence 
produced  at  this  inquiry.  Iron-founders, 
jocularly  refening  to  the  quality  of  the 
work  which  thej-  performed,  and  the  un- 
seemly dodges  which  were  resorted  to  for  the 
purpose  of  hoodwinking  the  inspectors, 
thereby  securing  the  acceptance  of  materials 
which ,  under  a  better  system  of  surveillance, 
would  have  been  condemned  as  untrust- 
worthy aud  dangerous. 

{To  he  coxrh'Ji'l.) 


THE  GAS-EXPLO.-IOX  IN  TOTTEN- 
HAM COURT-EO.AD. 
THOSE  who  frequent  our  busy  towni 
thoroughfares  have  little  idea  of  the 
perils  to  which  they  are  exposed,  and  wo 
venture  to  say,  not  one  in  ten  thousand  of 
the  inhabitants  of  London  could  have  pre- 
dicted such  a  ca'amity  as  that  which  hap- 
pened on  Monday.  Apart  from  the  fearful 
havoc  and  destruction  to  life  and  property 
it  has  caused,  the  disaster,  the  details  of 
which  are  published,  raises  an  impor'ant 
question  which  must  speedily  be  answered, 
namely.  Upon  whose  shoulders  the  responsi- 
bility of  superintending  gas  and  sewer  works 
should  fall.  To  ascertain  the  extent  of  the 
damage  the  explosion  along  the  lino  of  the 


new  gas-main  has  caused,  we  Lave  inspected 
the  route.  It  appears  that  the  Gas  Light  and 
Coke  Company  had  been  laying  down  a  new 
main,  Sd'm.  diameter,  from  the  main  in  Gos- 
well-road,  which  passed  along  Guilford- 
street,  through  HusseU-squnre,  Montague- 
place,  Bedford-square,  after  which  it  crossed 
Tottenham  Court-road,  and  was  beinjj  car- 
ried through  Percy-.street,  and  Chariotte- 
street  to  join  the  trunk  main  at  Howland  - 
street.  Some  portionof  tbismain.toapointiii 
Baily-street,  where  the  first  explosion  oc- 
cuned,  had  been  in  use,  and  the  rcuiainin;; 
portion,  along  the  route  of  which  so  much 
damage  has  been  done,  had  oidy  recentlj- 
been  laid,  and  had  either  just  been  or  was 
about  to  be  connected  with  the  existing 
mains.  It  was  while  testing  this  portion  of 
the  pipe,  we  understand,  before  leaving  the 
work  for  the  night,  that  tlie  accident  linp- 
pened.  Percy-sfreet  and  Charlotte-street 
show  the  greatest  extent  of  havoc  due  to  the 
explosions.  Half-way  down  the  former 
street  we  come  upon  a  large  ojiening  where 
the  gas  has  blown  through  two  vaults,  and 
torn  up  the  roadway  over  the  main  pii>e, 
which  remains  as  left  by  the  explosion.  The 
houses  on  this  side  of  the  street  are  fearfully 
battered,  but  no  considerable  structural 
damage  appears  to  have  been  done,  as 
alleged  by  some  of  our  contemporaries.  All 
the  windows  on  botli  sides  of  the  street  at 
this  point  have  been  blown  in,  more  or  less, 
and  the  houses  present  the  apjiearance  of 
having  been  bombarded  by  artiller}-.  To 
show  the  foico  of  the  explosion  we  may 
observe  that  we  saw  a  large  piece  of  a  stone 
cornice  to  one  of  the  houses  had  been  broken 
off' by  one  of  the  granite  stones  of  the  road, 
which  had  been  violently  propelled  against  it. 
In  other  cases  large  stones  and  fragments  of 
brickwork  have  been  hurled  with  consider- 
able violence,  the  copings  and  other  stone- 
work are  chipped,  and  the  brickwork  of  the 
walls  damaged  in  places.  Some  of  the  stones 
and  dcbi-is  were  shot  over  the  houses,  in 
some  cases  passing  over  them,  damaging 
the  rear  premises,  and  in  other  instances 
smashing  through  the  roof  and  doing  other 
mischief.  Garret  and  other  window-frrnies 
are  here  and  there  displaced  or  broken.  At 
the  junction  of  Percy-street  with  Charlotte- 
street,  which  returns  northwards  at  right 
angles,  another  explosion  took  place. 
Here  the  vaults  of  a  shop  have  beer. 
blown  in,  and  the  brick  pier  beiow 
shop-window  has  been  thrown  domi,  and  it 
was  probably  due  to  the  sudden  turn  in  tlio 
direction  of  the  explosive-wave,  that  so 
considerable  a  havoc  has  been  made  at  this 
point.  jVnother  gaping  chasm  occurs 
further  north,  which  has  rendered  the  road 
impassable,  and  several  houses  have  severely 
suffered  from  the  eff'ects  of  t'lo  explosion. 
Two  other  eruptions,  one  at  the  irossing  ot 
Howland-street,  are  to  be  seen,  though  ..; 
less  magnitude.  Luckily,  the  pier  blow;, 
down  at  the  end  of  Charlotte-street  did  n..- 
affect  the  work  over,  as  the  shop-windo\'. 
iutei-vened  between  it  and  the  breastsummer. 
but  with  this  exception  (and,  altogether,  w. 
find  six  upheavals  of  the  roadway  have  take; 
I)laco)  we  find  no  house-front,  or  wall, 
seriously  or  stnicturallv  damaged,  and  none 
blo«-n  down.  But,  allowing  for  exaggerated 
statements,  the  injury  done  is  serious  and 
alarming  enough,  and  calls  for  iniij. 
and  searching  inquiry.  Wo  are  tol  1 
account  that  the  total  leng'h  of  • 
main  was  two  miles,  that  i'" 
from  Tottenham  Court-road,  i 
and  Charlotte-streets,  had  b- 
and  only  required  the  connect  in  v.  itli  Ui<- 
old  trur.!:  to  be  made.  Between  the  two 
sections  from  Tottenham  Court  -  road, 
one  running  eastw-ards  and  the  other 
westwards,  a  short  distance  intervened 
of  about  24  ft.  Air  had  been  pumped 
into  the  new  pipes  by  the  contractors  lor 
the  purpose  of  testing,  and  it  only  remamed 
to  fill  in  the  21  feet  gap  v.  itU  i.ii  r>.  and  to 


3G 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


July  9,  1880. 


turn  on  the  gas  from  the  main  in  Howland- 
strect,  and  to  watch  the  air  hole  at  the  other 
end  at  Ooswell-strcet,  to  see  when  the  air 
had  heen  driven  out,  and  to  close  up  the 
awrturp.  It  wius  by  some  inadvertence  at 
this  juncture  that  the  esijosion  took  place. 
There  must  in  the  first'place  have  been  a 
mixture  of  air  and  gas  in  the  main  of  the 
explosive  proportion,  or  1  in  1  o,  and  secondly, 
by  some  carelessness,  this  must  have 
been  ignited.  It  is  said  the  pressure-gauge 
gave  uo  indication  of  such  a  mixture,  nor 
was  any  smell  of  gas  perceived  ;  but  in  the 
face  of  such  an  unparalleled  explosion  there 
is  some  ground  for  thinking  sufficient  care  had 
not  bien  exercised.  There  is  always  risk  in 
forcing  gas  into  a  now  jHpe  where  a  certain 
amount  of  air  may  bo,  and  a  satisfactory 
answer  is  now  required  before  the  same 
method  can  be  safely  employed  again.  It  is 
certain  the  main  must  have  been  dangerously 
charged  with  gas  and  air  in  an  explosive 
condition.  Here  in  ihe  course  of  half  a  mile 
a  scries  of  violent  explosions,  tearing  up  the 
roadway  and  causing  a  jianic  of  dismay  of 
an  unprecedented  kind,  has  happened  from 
some  unscientihc  mode  of  connection,  or 
some  accident.  If  the  former  cause,  gas- 
engineers  have  something  yet  to  learn ;  if  the 
latter,  precautions  should  be  taken  to  ren- 
der even  a  mistake  harmless. 

It  is  as  well  to  remember  that  two  con- 
ditions are  necessary  for  an  explosion  of  gas, 
first,  the  mixture  of  a  certain  proportion 
of  gas  with  the  air,  and  the  next,  that  it  be 
in  a  confined  position.  The  pipes  could  not 
have  been  full  of  gas,  but  of  this  explosive 
comix)und,  and  when  the  light  was  applied, 
the  explosion  ran  along  the  main  and  burst 
out  with  increased  force  at  weak  points.  There 
ought  to  be  some  means  of  testing  the  con- 
dition of  a  main,  or  of  forcing  the  air  out 
more  effectively.  These  are  points  we  hope 
the  pending  inquirj- will  settle;  but  it  still 
leaves  the  question  we  put  at  the  beginning. 
With  the  divided  jurisdictions  under  which 
the  metropolis  groans,  there  appears  to  be 
no  control  exercised  over  the  operations  of 
companies,  who  seem  to  have  the  power  to 
open  our  roadways  and  to  perform  work 
fraught  with  danger  to  a  whole  neighbour 
hood.  At  present  we  suffer  a  constant 
breaking  up  and  patching  up  of  the  roads 
No  sooner  is  a  main  sewer  laid  or  repaired 
than  the  water  companies  commence  a 
similar  operation,  and  this  is  repeated  by 
the  gas  company  with  an  additional  amount 
of  risk  we  have  only  just  experienced. 
What  with  sewers,  water  and  gas  mains, 
and  tramway  lines,  the  long-suflering  pub 
lie  and  ratepayer  are  never  exempt  from 
the  inconvenic'nce  and  obstruction  created 
by  them ;  but  when  to  these  is  added  the 
risk  of  underground  explosions,  it  seems  to 
us  the  time  has  come  either  for  a  metro- 
politan municipality,  as  proposed,  or  some 
other  reasonable  guarantee  of  security  to 
life  and  property. 


ST.  rAUL'S  ECCLKSIOLOGISTS  AT 
CANTEKBl"RY.« 
'■pHE  second  8cs.>,ion  of  St.  Paul's  Ecclcsiologi- 
JL.  cal  Society  was  crowned  and  concluded  on 
Saturday  hut  liy  a  day  excursion  to  Canterbury. 
The  visit  was  one  of  (jrcat  interest,  the  Cathe- 
dral, St.  Augustine's  Collejfe,  the  churches, 
gates  and  walls,  and  other  mediicval  remains  of 
the  city,  afTurdin^r  ample  and  varied  subjects  for 
examination.  About  fifty  members  of  the  Society 

•  The  following  illt»tnitions  of  f*anterliury  have 
•PIvoartKl  in  Uit  IIiilt.is.i  News  during  the  past  ten 
Tcara:— Of  the  f'4ithe(IrHl :  cround-plan  of  conventual 
luildinRs  of  fhrist  Churc',  ^IiinJi  3,  1H6;  cloistein.  a 
drawinit  by  li.  N.  Slevinsun,  .S>pt.  24,  1869.  and  another 
by  E.  Wimbrulire,  Mnreli  4,  1870 ;  atairca»e  to  registry 
Oct  1".  1w7>:  invr-ment  in  trv.'  of  Uecket's  shrine, 
"""'"""■'  '  '  "  '  '•  F.  L.  I>c«hon,  Marcli  1,  I87'2;  tomb 
'"  '  Irinre,  by  F.  W.  Richar^i^,;n,  Jan 

'"■  '  h.-dnil  choir  c<»mpaifd  with  that  oL 

1^  '  •)icrley,  Juno  ai,  1S7<.     .St.  .Vngus- 

y"^'  -■  "-lout  the  walls:  the  Katohouso,  Aug. 

1.1th,  1-.1;  gruuii.J  plan  of  eonventuAl  buildings,  Aug. 
ao.  loris.  The  new  ft.  c.  Benedictine  Abbey,  at  Hales- 
plice,  April  7, 1S76. 


assembled  at  Victoria-station  at  10  a.m.,  and 
after  a  two-and-a-half  hours'  run  by  the  L.  C. 
and  D.  Une,  arrived  at  Canterbury.  Passing 
throHgh  the  grounds  attached  to  the  conical 
mound  known  as  the  Danejon,  and  along  the 
High-street,  they  entered  the  Cathedral  pre- 
cincts imder  the  Christchurch  gateway,  built  by 
Prior  Gold^tone  early  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
but  greatly  defaced  by  incongruous  patchings 
and  repairs.    At 

THE   CATHEDRAL 

the  visitors  were  received  by  the  Eev.  J.  Thomas, 
D.C.L.,  vicar  of  All  Hallows,  Barking,  E.G., 
and  honoraiy  canon  of  Canterbury,  and  by  Mr. 
H.  G.  Austin,  the  Cathedral  surveyor,  who  con- 
ducted them  over  the  minster,  pointing  out  the 
principal  features  of  interest.  Before  entering, 
a  halt  was  made  outside  the  west-front,  where 
were  noticed  the  range  of  historical  statues 
with  which  the  niches  on  its  lower  stages 
have  been  filled  during  the  past  twenty  years  : 
the  great  seven-light  Perpendicular  west  window 
and  the  peculiar,  probably  unique,  one  above, 
consisting  of  a  quatrefoil  of  triple  lights.  At- 
tention was  called  at  a  later  period  to  the  fact 
that  the  north-western  tower  is  a  modem  copy 
of  that  on  the  south  side,  replacing  a  fine  Korman 
steeple  which  was  condemned  as  ruinous  forty 
years  since.  A  comparison  of  the  twin  steeples 
showed  the  carefiJ  imitation  of  the  old  work 
in  the  new,  although  the  moiddings  of  the 
windows  are  scarcely  so  vigorous.  Enteiing  the 
cathedral  by  the  rich  S.W.  porch,  the  visitors 
foimd  themselves  in  the  lofty  and  nobly-propor- 
tioned nave ;  the  octagonal  pier- clusters  of 
slender  shafts,  the  lierne  vaulting,  the  spacious 
aihles,  the  four  centred  windows  with  verlical 
tracery,  the  wide  clerestory  extended  down- 
wards as  panelling  so  as  to  form  a  meagre 
substitute  for  a  triforium,  all  told  of  a  Perpen- 
dicular reconstruction  on  Xormau  lines,  more 
thorough  than  at  Xonvich,  Gloucester,  or 
■Winchester.  The  whole  area  is  bare,  unbroken 
by  the  chantries  and  altar-tombs  which  give 
scale  and  perspective  to  the  contemporary  min- 
ster naves  just  alluded  to,  or  even  by  chairs  or 
benches  s\iggesting  practical  use,  and  the 
masonry,  from  plinth  to  vaulting  ridge,  has  a 
painfully  fresh  and  scraped  appearance — an  un- 
lesthctic  result  of  over-careful  tending  to  the 
structure,  evident  throughout  the  building,  and 
especially  under  the  fine  central  lantern. 
A  few  monmnents  are  placed  against  the  aisle 
walls,  the  most  interesting  being  the  tattered 
colours  over  the  memorial  of  the  Afghan  disas- 
ters of  lSiO-1,  and  the  western  side-lights  are 
filled  with  modem  stained  glass,  in  one  or  two 
of  which  a  light  blue  tint  is  too  conspicuous. 
A  unique  effect  is  produced  in  the  view 
eastward  from  the  nave  or  its  aisles  by  the 
long  flights  of  steps  by  which  the  choir  is 
naehed,  and  by  the  curious  straining  arches 
with  rich  pierced  quatrefoil  webbing  above, 
thrown  across  the  western  arches  of  lantern  and 
transepts.  The  eastern  tower-arch  is  filled  in 
with  an  elaborately-sculptured  1.5th-century 
screen. 

P!iss;ng  out  of  the  cathedral  through  the  south 
transept,  a  general  view  of  the  south  side  was 
gained  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  close — of 
the  exquisitely  proportioned  central  tower,  which 
although  the  most  recent  feature  seems,  from  the 
decay  of  the  ma.sonry,  to  be  the  most  venerable 
portion;  of  the  double  transepts,  each  with  an 
enriched  turret  on  west  side,  on  the  left  the  nave 
and  western  towers,  and  to  the  right  the  curved 
lines  of  the  choir,  with  the  irregular  outline  of 
the  Trinity  Chapel  beyond.  Canon  Thomas 
remarked  that  he  wished  the  members  to  gain  a 
first  impression  from  this  point,  because  here  thev 
could  clearly  perceive  the  two  pirts  into  whic'n 
the  cathedral  was  divided — that  to  the  right  of 
the  ceuti-e  tower  being  substantially  the  choir  as 
re-ercctid  by  'William  of  Sens  and  Englisli 
\yiUiam,  using  some  of  Lantranc's  work,  of 
Norman  and  Trautitional  character,  and  that  to 
the  left,  the  nave  rebuilt  in  the  Perpendicular 
period.  The  original  nave  occupied  the  same 
site,  but  terminated  in  a  western  apse ;  it  was 
burnt  down  between  1170  and  1'2J0.  They 
would  ob.sen-e  the  rich  character  of  the  Transi- 
tional work,  especially  in  and  between  the  tran- 
.septs.  Further  to  the  right,  and  placed  ob- 
liquely to  the  choir,  was  Anselm's  Chapel,  of 
the  same  period,  but  into  which  a  Decorated 
window,  having  a  rose  head  of  great  beauty, 
had  been  inserted,  and  here  and  there  in  the 
eastern  part  were  Perpendicular  lights:  the 
whole  of   that  end  was  raised  on  high  pointed- 


arches,  so  as  to  give  internal  elevation  to  the 
choir.  Anselm's  Chapel  corresponded  to  St. 
Andrew's  Chapel  on  north  of  choir,  and  both 
were  termed  "towers"  instead  of  chapels,  by 
Professor  WiUis,  and  by  Mr.  R.  J.  King,  in 
ilurray's  Handbook  to  the  cathedral.  A 
singular  effect  was  produced  by  the  abrupt 
curving  inwards  at  this  point  of  the  choir  walls 
and  roof ;  this  contraction  in  breadth  was  the 
result  of  a  wish  at  the  time  of  the  rebuilding  in 
the  12th  century  to  include  Anselm's  and  St. 
Andrew's  chapels  within  the  choir,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  dimensions  of  the  former  eastern 
chapel,  and  the  narrower  part  was  later  in  style 
than  the  western  part  of  choir.  Walking  east- 
wards it  would  be  seen  that  the  Cathedral 
ended  with  Becket's  Crown,  built  after  the 
Martyrdom  on  the  site  of  Trinity  Chapel.  Above 
it  would  be  seen  the  bases  and  jambs,  with  their 
brick  backing,  of  the  conical  roof  intended  to  be 
added  in  the  1 5th  century,  but  not  completed, 
and  forming  a  rude  battlement. 

Continuing  the  circuit  of  the  minster,  the 
visitors  came  to  the  ruins  of  the  infirmary-hall 
and  its  chapel,  here  as  at  Peterborough,  Ely, 
and  Norwich,  represented  by  a  doable  range  of 
arches,  in  this  case  running  parallel  to  and  north 
and  east  of  the  choir.  Of  the  chapel  there  re- 
main Transitional  Norman  piers,  having  capitals 
freely  carved  with  winged  Uons,  dragons,  and 
grotesque  monsters  in  low  relief,  and  on  the 
north  side  the  tracery  of  a  beautiful  three-light 
Decorated  window  is  left ;  to  the  west  is  the 
infirmary-hall,  of  plainer  and  bolder  character, 
and  probably  half  a  century  earlier,  as  testified 
by  the  eirciUar-shafts  and  axed  cushion  caps. 
To  the  east  of  these  are  remains  of  the  guesten- 
house,  partially  re-built,  and  modernised.  Re- 
turning westwards,  to  the  north  was  seen 
portions  of  the  refectory,  ha\'ing  an  oriel  sup- 
ported by  four  nude  female  figures  carved  in  oak, 
as  cantilevers,  overhanging  the  flagged  passage  ; 
opposite,  on  the  south,  was  the  picturesque 
fUght  of  stone  steps  leading  to  the  treasury. 
The  visitors  still  going  westward,  walked  through 
a  dark  passage  beneath  the  choir  steps  into  the 
cloisters  ;  there  are  eight  bays  on  each  side,  filled 
with  .slender  four-light  Middle  Perpendicidar 
tracery,  and  enclosing  a  small  garth.  The  four- 
centred  heads  and  stilted  canopies  on  the  north 
side  were  restored  a  few  years  since  in  Caen 
stone  by  Mr.  Austin,  but  are  already  showing 
signs  of  decay.  In  the  outer  north  wall  are  the 
heads  of  Late  Norman  doorways,  of  similar  cha- 
racter to  the  eastern  part  of  the  church,  and  a 
few  bases  and  other  fragments  remain  of  Nor- 
man work  in  the  cloister.  Having  spent  a  few 
minutes  in  examining  this  qiuet  nook,  and  ad- 
miring the  carvings  and  pinnacles  of  the  central 
tower  which  overshadows  it,  the  visitors  were 
conducted  into  the  Chapter.house,  a  rectangular 
building,  whose  obtusely-pitched  roof  forms  a 
piquant  feattu"e  of  the  cathedral  buildings  as 
seen  from  the  north.  It  is  of  Perpendicular 
type,  and ,  although  the  side  windows  are  bricked 
up,  is  well  lighted  from  the  great  east  and  west 
windows.  The  ceding  is  Irish  oak,  covered  with 
a  raised  fan-vault  of  complicated  character,  and 
very  slight  in  construction,  decorated  with  stars 
and  other  devices  at  the  intersections.  The 
gilding,  vermilion,  and  azure,  on  these  ribs  and 
bosses  were  renewed  some  years  since  in  an 
eastern  bay  as  an  experiment  by  Mr.  Austin, 
who  explained  that  he  did  not  continue  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  decayed  state  of  the  ceiling.  At 
the  east  end  is  a  triple  chair  beneath  a  canopy, 
brought  out  a  little  from  the  wall ;  in  the  centre 
one  the  archbishop  seats  himself  at  his  enthrone- 
ment, when  the  clergy  swear  obedience  to  him, 
"with  such  mental  reservation  as  they  deem  fit," 
added  Canon  Thomas,  significantly.  On  the 
floor  are  many  slabs  to  archbishops,  mostly  ille- 
gible, and  indeed  unr-ecorded.  A  stone  bench 
surrounds  the  walls. 

The  north-west  transept,  that  of  the  Mai'tyr- 
dom,  was  entered  from  the  cloister  through  a 
poor  Tudor  door  set  into  Decorated  jambs. 
Canon  Thomas  described  the  Martyrdom  of 
Thomas  a  Becket,  which  occurred  here  in  Decem- 
ber, 1170,  narrating  how  the  Archbishop,  with 
a  few  monks,  ran  for  refuge  here  from  the 
palace  close  by,  and  was  beset  on  the  stairs  by 
three  armed  knights,  while  a  foutth  guarded  the 
entrance  of  the  transept.  In  the  pavement  was 
a  small  square  which  was  said  to  have  been  cut 
out  and  sent  to  Rome,  but  the  .stoiy  could  be 
traced  no  further  back  than  the  present  century. 
The  walls  and  pavement  are  probably  of 
I  Becket's  time,   although  the  stairs  have  been 


July  9,  1880. 


THE  BTHLDIXa  NEWS. 


37 


removed.  The  great  window  of  this  transept 
was  the  gift  of  Edward  IV.  and  his  Queen, 
whose  portraits  were  placed  on  either  side  of  that 
of  Becket.  An  iconoclast,  in  1042,  "  rattled 
down  proud  Becket's  glassie  bones"  with  apike, 
and  the  figure  of  the  Queen  was  unfortunately 
blown  flut  a  few  days  since,  and  is  now  being  re- 
placed. Oneortwoof  the  visitorstookadvantageof 
the  ladders  and  scaffolding  to  ascend  to  the  win- 
dow, and  examine  more  closely  its  glass,  which 
is  of  rich  colour,  somewhat  rough  texture,  and 
silvery  tone.  To  the  south  of  tliis  window  is  the 
Decorated  tomb  of  Archbishop  Peekham,  in 
which  is  an  effigy  of  Irish  oak,  which  has  been 
figured  and  described  as  that  Archbishop,  but 
Mr.  Austin  expressed  grave  doubts  whether  it 
has  not  been  removed  from  some  other  place. 
From  the  transept,  the  Dean's  or  Lidy-chapel, 
built  by  Prior  Goldstone  in  the  middle  of  the 
15th  century,  was  ^-isited.  The  fan-tracery  of 
roof,  the  windows,  and  walls,  are  covered  with 
a  profusion  of  Late  ornament,  shallowly  carved  : 
it  contains  a  number  of  Deans'  memorials  of 
every  type,  from  the  Jacobean  effigy  to  the 
Classic  marble  tablet  but  recently  gone  out  of 
fashion.  Crossing  beneath  the  central  tower, 
with  its  fine  open  lantern  supported  on  Perpen- 
dicular piers  so  massy  as  to  suggest  a  Nor- 
man substructure,  to  the  south-west  transept, 
the  glass  of  its  great  window  was  examined, 
and  afterwards  the  Warriors'  Chapel,  opening 
on  east  and  corresponding  with  the  Dean's 
Chapel  on  north  side.  It  is  of  Early  Perpen- 
dicular character,  with  an  elaborate  lieme  roof, 
and  contains  many  memorials  and  some  garish 
modem  glass  to  those  who  have  fallen  in  war ; 
the  central  object  is  a  large  altar-tomb,  on  which 
are  the  effigies,  carved  in  alabaster,  of  Margaret 
Holland  and  her  husbands,  one  on  either  side — 
Somerset  and  Clarence,  the  half-brother  and 
second  sou  of  Ilenry  IV.  Into  the  east  end  of 
the  chapel  projects,  through  an  aperture,  the 
head  of  rlie  coffin  of  Ai'chbishop  Langton,  whose 
body  wh;n  exhumed  a  few  years  ago  was  found 
to  be  sewn  up  in  leather. 

The  party  was  then  conducted  round  the 
choir  aisles,  from  south  to  north.  In  the  south- 
east transept  the  work  of  the  three  successive 
architects  was  seen,  in  as  many  forms  of  Transi- 
tional work :  the  chiseDed  work  of  William  of 
Sens  built  into  the  axed  masonry  of  Prior  Emulf, 
and  that  again  completed  in  lighter  style  by  the 
English  AVilliam  ;  and  the  dog-tooth  clle^Ton  and 
zigzagomaments  are  used  conjointly.  Inthistran- 
sept  is  placed  the  rude  "  patriarchal  chair  "  in 
which  the  archbishops  are  enthroned ;  it  is  a 
rude  square  chair,  composed  of  three  slabs  of 
Purbeck  marble,  and  is  decorated  with  patterns  of 
Romanesque  character.  To  the  east  of  this  tran- 
sept is  the  Decorated  tomb  of  Archbishop  Simon 
de  Sudbury,  who  was  beheaded  by  the  Kentish 
rebels  under  Wat  Tyler.  In  reply  to  a  query  as 
to  whether  it  wis  probable  that  the  ghastly 
dried  head  shown  in  a  grated  aumbry  at  St. 
Gregory's  Chui-ch,  Sudbury,  Suffolk,  was  that 
of  the  archbishop,  Mr.  Austin  said  that  he  could 
vouch  for  the  lact  that,  when  the  tomb  was 
opened  a  few  years  since,  the  body  was 
found  to  be  headless,  a  leaden  ball  supplying 
the  place  within  the  cere-cloth.  Ha\-ing 
glanced  into  Anselm's  chapel  and  the  watching 
loft  above,  the  party  went  into  the  choir  proper. 
The  general  effect  is  very  imposing,  the  only 
defect  being  the  want  of  elevation  in  the 
vaulting.  The  shafts  of  Caen  stone  alternately 
round  and  octagonal  are  set  one  behind  the 
other,  and  have  .square  caps  filled  with  cr'sp 
foliage  almost  Corinthian  in  type :  above  are 
double-shafts  in  the  triforium,  and  contrasting 
with  these  are  the  Purbeck  shafts  ia  the  clere- 
story, and  the  round  and  pointed  ribs  in  the 
vaulting,  which  seems  to  have  been  plastered. 
The  sudden  contraction  of  the  eastern  portion, 
the  flood  of  light  entering  from  Becket's  Crown, 
and  the  great  height  above  the  nave  are  dis- 
tinctive features  of  this,  the  largest  choir  in 
England.  Mr.  Austin  remarked  upon  the  false 
perspective  achieved  by  the  architects  of  this 
choir,  by  setting  out  each  bay  of  the  groining 
from  west  to  east,  somewhat  narrower  than  the 
last,  so  as  to  convey  to  anyone  looking  forwards 
from  the  entrance  beneath  the  return  screens,  an 
exaggerated  impression  of  the  extreme  length. 
The  organ  is  placed  out  of  sight  above  the  north 
triforium,  and  the  organist  sits,  not  in  the  choir, 
but  in  a  temporary  wooden  closet  in  the  north 
choir  aisle.  A  movement  is,  however,  on  foot 
for  providing  a  new  and  more  appropriate 
instrument,  when  these    arrangements  will  be 


changed.  Tlie  now  stalls  on  the  north  and 
south  sides  were  subjected  to  some  criticism ; 
they  are  kept  low,  with  large  carved  poppy- 
heads,  have  been  executed  from  the  designs  of 
the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott  in  oak,  and  replace 
others  in  deal  of  heavy  Cla.^sic  character,  said  to 
have  been  carved  by  Grinling  Gibbons.  The 
return  stalls  at  the  west-end  are  of  oak,  of  the 
Gibbons  period,  and  are  to  be  left.  A  Corin- 
thian screen  at  the  east  end  has  been  replaced 
by  a  reredos  of  slender,  indeed,  wiry  proportions, 
filled  in  with  glazing.  Behind  the  stalls  is  Prior 
de  Estria's  screen,  constructed  in  1304-5,  and 
now  glazed  between  the  openings.  In  the 
retro-choir  between  it  and  the  north-cast  tran.sept 
is  the  well-known  altar -tomb  of  Archbishop 
Chichele,  which  has  just  been  redecorated  in 
colour  and  gilding  by  All  Saints'  College, 
Oxford.  Occupying  a  corresponding  bay  between 
the  pUlars  on  the  south  side  is  the  yet  more 
celebrated  tomb  of  the  Black  Prince.  On  an 
altar-tomb  within  a  griU  is  the  effigy  of  the 
Prince  clad  in  chain  maU.  Over  it  hangs  a  flat 
canopy  of  wood,  on  the  under  side  of  which  is 
still  to  be  dimly  seen  an  emblematic  painting  of 
the  Trinity.  'This  canopy  is  suspended  from  a 
beam,  from  which  also  depend  the  helmet,  leather- 
lined  casque,  brass  gauntlets,  velvet  surcoat, 
scabbard,  and  wooden  shield,  covered  with 
moulded  leather,  of  the  Prince.  Ha«ng  deci  - 
phered  part  of  the  Norman-French  inscriptions 
upon  the  upper  edge  of  this  tomb,  the  visitors 
went  into  Becket's  Crown  at  the  extreme  east 
end  of  the  cathedral,  where  Mr.  Austin  described 
the  13th-century  stained-glass,  which,  although 
greatly  restored  in  places,  is,  in  quality  and 
quantity,  the  finest  of  its  period  yet  existing. 
lu  the  east  window  are  a  series  of  lozenges 
and  quatrefoils,  fiUed  with  types  and  antitypes 
of  Our  Lord's  Crucifixion,  Kesurrection,  and 
Ascension,  and  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  in  intricate 
symbolism,  drawn  from  Old  and  New  Test^mient 
sources.  In  the  north  wall  are  three  windows 
representing  the  miracles  of  St.  Thomasa  Becket 
they  give  several  representations  of  the  arch- 
bishop's tomb,  feretory,  and  shrine.  The  doubled 
columns  separating  the  Crown  from  the  retro- 
choir  are  built  in  alternate  bands  of  red  and 
white  stone.  In  the  retro-choir  the  place  whore 
the  shrine  stood  is  marked  by  a  fine  mosaic  pave- 
ment of  opus  Alexandrinum,  upon  either  side  of 
which  are  circles  of  inlaid  marbles  representing 
the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  while  to  the  east  five 
other  large  inlaid  circles  are  placed  in  line  north 
and  south.  Mr.  Austin  mentioned  that  about 
37  or  38  years  ago  the  body  of  Becket  was  ex- 
humed from  this  spot,  and  he  believed  he  was 
the  only  person  now  living  who  had  seen  it. 

The  visit  to  the  Cathedral  ended  by  a  descent 
to  the  crypt,  the  southern  part  of  which  is 
walled  off'  for  the  use  of  the  French  Protestant 
Church,  to  whom  it  was  granted  by  Edward 
VI.  'The  vaulted  roof  is  supported  by  rude 
Transitional,  circular  and  octagonal  shafts, 
having  richly-sculptured  cushion  caps.'  In  the 
south-west  portion,  Mr.  Austin  directed  notice 
to  a  cap,  which  has  been  figured  by  Mr.  J.  H. 
Parker  in  his  "  Glossary,"  as  a  typical  example 
of  the  way  in  which  the  Normans  carved  their 
capitals  after  placing  them  in  position ;  it  is 
plain  on  two  sides,  while  on  a  third  a  series  of 
cavities  and  chamfers  are  cut,  and  the  fourth  is 
carved  with  interlaced  work.  In  the  centre  of 
the  crypt  is  a  15th-century  chapel  to  Our  Lady, 
founded  by  one  Lady  Mohun  ;  the  sides  are 
screened  off,  and  the  roof  is  stiU  ornamented 
with  stars  and  a  few  glistening  stones.  At 
the  south-cast  end  the  Chapel  of  St.  John  was 
opened  out  some  years  ago,  but  in  consequence 
of  the  injuries  inflicted  on  the  frescoes  by 
amateur  attempts  to  revive  them  with  acid, 
and  by  tracing  from  them,  it  is  now  closed  to 
the  general  visitor ;  by  the  light  of  candles  the 
frescoes  were  seen  to  depict  incidents  in  the  life 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Ou  the  north  side  is 
a  small  well,  which  has  been  almost  filled  by 
visitors  dropping  stones  into  it.  Leaving  the 
crypt  by  the  eastern  end,  the  visitors  passed 
throutrh"  one  of  the  posterns  of  the  city  and 
cathedral  wall,  opposite  the  beautiful  Four- 
teenth-century gateway  of 

ST.    AUGCSTISE'S  COU.EGE, 

over  which  building  they  were  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  E.  A.,  Auger,  sub-warden,  who  stated  that 
the  college 'occupies  part  of  the  site  of  one  of  the 
three  establishments  founded  by  St.  Augustine 
in  the  citv — viz.,  the  monastery  of  Christ  Church, 
the  cathedral  just  visited,  the  little  church  of 
St.   Martin,    and  this  the   great   monastery  of 


St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  (and,  afterwards,  of  St. 
Augustine),  just  without  the  walls  of  the  city. 
The  latter  w;i8  founded  to  provide  Christian 
burial  outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  and  in  lime 
became  a  great  cstablislmient,  rivalling  tliat  of 
Christchurch,  the  monki  being  relegated  hero 
and  the  secular  clergy  remaining  there.  The 
buildings  were  splendid,  and  of  great  tizc  and 
importance.  After  the  Dissolution  the  buildings 
were  converted  by  Henry  VIII.  into  a  palace, 
and  were  used  by  him,  by  Elizabeth,  and  ho  late 
as  Charles  I.  'I'he  "  old  palace  "  was  divided 
into  holdings,  and  fell  into  private  liandu,  tho«o 
of  the  St.  Legers,  the  Woottons,  and  the  liuka'^, 
and  was  finally  used  as  a  brewery  and 
tea-garden,  when  Mr.  Berenford  Hopo  pur- 
chased it  and  gave  the  site  and  buildiiigs 
to  trustees,  to  bo  usid  as  a  Miruiunary 
College  of  the  Church  of  England.  I'udcr  Mr. 
But  terfield  the  present  buildings  were  erected. 
The  fine  gatehouse  through  which  they  had 
entered  had  simply  been  restored.  Of  the  quad- 
rangle in  which  they  were  standing  the  build- 
ings on  the  west  side  were  chietty  reht<jratioDit, 
and  consis'cd  of  the  chapel  and  hall ;  on  the 
north  side  was  an  entirely  new  range,  used  for 
lodging  the  students ;  on  the  east  the  worluhopii 
followed  the  foundations  of  an  old  undercroft,  and 
above  them  was  the  college  librarj' ;  wliile  on 
the  south  side  were  the  remains  of  the  great 
church,  and  in  the  centre  was  a  modem  conduit, 
house.  The  whole  of  the  new  buildings  are  of 
Decorated  character,  the  details  being  founded 
on  contemporary  buildings  in  the  occupation  of 
the  Archbishops.  The  sub- warden  conducted  the 
party  over  the  college  buildings,  beginning  with 
the  chapel,  the  nave  (the  ancient  portion)  of 
which  is  Early  English,  and  the  new  chancel  of 
two  bays  is  Decorated,  and  from  thence  on  the 
same  first  floor  to  the  college  hall— till  ISU  u.sed 
asafrce-and-easy — where,  underamodern  ceiling 
was  foimd  a  good  timber  roof,  which  has  been 
strengthened  and  opened  out ;  the  students  take 
aU  their  meals  in  this  room,  which  is  hung  with 
portraits  of  the  founders  and  an  old  view  of  the 
monastery  buildings.  Before  the  Dissolution 
these  apartments  fonned  the  chapel  and  guest- 
hall  of  the  monastery,  so  that  there  is  a  fitness 
in  their  present  use.  In  the  ba.senient  was  scon 
a  small  room,  said  to  have  been  the  "  dungeop." 
It  is  lighted  oiJy  by  a  narrow  splayed  opening 
in  the  thick  south  wall,  and  till  the  present 
door  was  made  by  Mr.  Buttertiil  1,  the  sole  ap- 
proach was  through  a  trapdoor  in  the  ceiUng  ;  at 
present  it  forms  a  larder.  The  range  of  apart- 
ments on  the  north  is  of  two  stories,  with  open 
corridor  in  front,  each  student's  lodging  com- 
prising two  very  small  rooms,  opening  into  each 
other,  and  furnished  in  Spartan  simplicity,  with 
bed,  chair,  desk,  cupboard,  and  bookcase.  In 
the  groined  basement  on  east  are  the  work»hop«, 
where  as  many  of  the  students  as  possible  are 
tauiiht  carpentry,  and  above  is  a  well-fumUhed 
library.  .iVll  the  piers  of  this  range  rest  on  old 
concrete  foundations  formed  in  fid/.  On  return- 
ing to  the  quadrangle,  th;  sub-warder  sketched 
the  history  of  the  college,  remarking  that  this, 
one  of  the  two  oldest  establishments  of  Christian 
England,  was  reconsecrated  to  iU  new  use  by 
Archbishop  Sumner  in  1S4S.  Between  270  and 
300  missionaries  had  bc-en  sent  out  froni  the 
coUege,  and  there  were  during  the  terra  about 
50  students  on  the  books.  It  was  pruboble  that 
this  great  quadrangle  was  never  seen  by  the 
monks  in  the  pre-Ucfoimation  days,  for  thia 
was  the  Great  Court,  the  buUdings  of  ^ 
monasterv  being  on  the  east,  those  on  the  west 
now  utiU-^ed  ha\-ingbe€n  the  ones  di  voted  to  h^- 
pitahty  by  tlie  abbot.  The  grind  tower  of  bt. 
Ethelbert  was  standing  a  century  since,  ^'ootl 
complete  :  it  was  partly  taken  down  in  1.  J3  by 
•'00  workmen,  only  one  side  bcmg  left,  andm 
October  1822,  on  account  of  supposed  penl  to 
the  County  Hospital  just  outside  the  w^  it 
was  decided  to  demohsh  it  -a  work  only  effected 
with  great  difficulty.  Part  of  the  south 
and  west  waUs  and  the  so.ith-ia*t  »»"  o' 
this  tower,  and  the  spnngcni  of  the 
great  arch  stiU  remain.  Of  the  north  aule 
Sf  nave  sue  bays  remain  with  tra«*.v 
Transitional  and  Later  ma.«onrT.  .  At  the 
north-west  angle  of  college  quadrangle  is  o  1  Uh- 
centurvraoiUded  arch,  now  filled  in,  and  on  either 
.^ide  tlie  bases,  for  columns  of  Purl«ok  marble, 
set  in  pairs.  This  seems  to  have  U-d  into  the 
forensic  parlour,  above  which  was  probably  the 
abbot's  chapel.  The  corKls  and  other  traces 
remain  of  the  wooden  roof  of  a  cloister,  and  in 
the  wall  is  a  square  opening,  supposed  to  have 


38 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  9,  1880= 


commanicated  with  the  ceUarer'«  room.  The  sub- 
warden  mentiontd  that  some  years  imco  some 
pipes  were  found  to  the  north  of  these  remains, 
which  led  to  the  lavatory.  They  were  strips  of 
lead  ronghly  beaten  into  a  circular  form,  and 
wcr«  now  preserved  in  the  museum. 

ST.  SIAIXTIS'S  cnTECii 
formed  the  lait  portion  of  a  long  day's  pro- 
gramme, and  w.is  shown  by  Canon  Koutledg-e, 
who  explained  that  althoujrh  the  church  had  a 
history  extending  buck  to  the  days  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, it  had  so  often  been  rebuilt  that  little 
cxLitcd  of  earlier  date  than  the  13th  century. 
The  north  side  was  entirely  reconstructed,  and  the 
wholo  much  altered  by  the  last  rector,  and  at 
the  present  time  little  by  little  the  present  cus- 
todians were  endeavouring  to  undo  his  work  as 
funds  permitted.  The  church  consists  of  a 
chancel,  nave,  and  western  tower,  and  in  the 
older  walls  a  good  many  Roman  bricks  from  the 
Via,  which  passes  it  on  the  south,  arc  reused. 
On  this  side  of  nave  is  a  half-round  buttress,  of 
rudo  character,  and  to  the  east  of  it  a  small  cir- 
cular brick  head  to  priest's  door,  like  archways 
at  Brixworth  and  other  Saxon  churches.  The 
font  is  almost  uuiquo  ;  it  is  a  cylinder  of  marble 
in  two  pieces,  each  covered  with  sepanite  and 
interlaced  rings  in  low  relief,  the  lower  portion 
being  somewhut  ruder,  and  earlier  Norman  in 
character  than  that  above.  There  is  a  very 
perfect  Norman  piscina,  a  14th-century  stone 
coffin  in  a  recess,  and  in  the  chancel  a  large 
Jacobean  monument  to  Lord  Fordwich.  A 
Norman  reredos,  and  some  stained  glass  by 
Heaton  and  Butler,  were  put  up  at  the  east  enil 
as  a  memorial  to  P.t.  Augustine  IS  months 
since. 

The  members  then  separated  into  sections, 
visiting  the  remains  of  Christ  Cliurch  Priory, 
and  including  the  well-known  stairs  to  registry, 
now  forming  the  entrance  to  grammar-school, 
and  the  Green  Courtyard-gate,  both  of  rich  Nor- 
man character  ;  the  mas,-ivc  Uth-century  towers 
of  Arclibishop  Sudbury,  at  Westgate,  and  the 
remains  of  several  ancient  hospitals. 


The  visit  to  Canterbuiy  w.i3  extended  over 
Sunday,  about  half  the  members  remaining. 
After  table  d'hote  breakfast,  the  party  walked 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  E.  J.  Wells,  to 
Chartham  Church,  a  fine  cruciform  structure, 
with  very  rich  choir  of  Edward  I.,  and  contain- 
ing in  the  nave  windows  good  examples  of 
Kentish  tracery.  The  pisciurc  of  these  altars 
and  several  brasses  arc  in  good  preservation. 
The  church  has  been  restored  by  Mr.  Street. 
The  party  then  took  train  to  Minster,  the  mother 
church  of  the  Isle  of  Thanet.  It  was  restored 
a  few  years  since  under  Mr.  Arthur  Aslipitel, 
who  died  during  the  progress  of  the  work.  The 
nave  is  Late  Norman  in  character,  and  was 
probably  built  in  sections,  the  dogtooth  being 
introduced  in  the  north  side,  but  not  on  tlio 
south.  Modern  flying  buttresses  suppoi-t  the  vault- 
ing. At  Sandwich  was  .seen  the  liospital  church 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  partially  restored  under  the 
late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott ;  it  is  Norman,  with  manv 
later  additions.  At  St.  Clements,  in  the  same 
town,  the  enriched  Norman  tower,  formerly  the 
centre  of  a  cruciform  structure,  attracted  most 
attention.  The  nltar-stone  retains  the  five 
crosses;  and  there  is  a  hagioscope  on  north  side 
of  church  chnncel-arch.  The  last  church  visit'.d 
was  St.  Teter's,  where  the  aisles  are  wider  than 
the  nave.  The  tower  fell  a  few  years  since, 
destroying  the  south  aisle,  which  is  now  in 
ruins,  although  the  stecjjle  has  been  meanly  re- 
built in  brick.  On  leaving  Sandwich  the  party 
divided,  some  going  on  to  Dover  and  others  to 
Richborough,  while  the  larger  number  returned 
to  Canterbury  on  foot,  ^siting,  en  route,  the 
churches  of  Ash,  made  famous  by  the  Ixte  J.  R. 
Planchf's  exhaustive  monograph,  "  A  Comer  of 
Kent,"  and  Patrixboume,  containing  much 
Norman  work. 

MR.   NEWTON  ON    GREEK   PAINTING. 

MR.  NEWTON'S  eighth  lecture  on  Ancient 
Greek  Art  treated  of  Greek  Painting,  for 
the  history  of  which,  tlie  ! -cturcr  siid.  tlie 
evidence  was  of  a  very  slender  kind.  If  we 
passed  oyer  the  few  traditions  about  Greek 
painters  in  the  archaic  period  of  ait,  the  first 
name  of  note  was  that  of  Polygnotus,  who 
flourished  between  the  end  of  the  Persian  war 
and  the  beginning  of  the  Peloponnesiun  war.  At 
Delphi  he  adorned  the  walls  of  the  great  hall 


called  the  Lesche  with  two  great  compositions, 
the  Taking  of  Troy  and  the  Descent  of  Ulysses 
into  Iladf  s.  Pau.sanias  had  left  us  a  very  full 
description  of  these,  giving  the  rames  of  all  the 
figures  represented,  and  the  order  in  which  they 
were  arranged.  Wo  must  suppose  the  more 
distant  figures  placed  above  the  others,  not 
exactly  in  parallel  lines,  but  in  groups  disposed 
with  a  certain  tendency  to  horizontal  regularity. 
There  was  in  such  compositions  no  attempt  to 
render  aerial  perspective.  The  sources  which 
inspired  Polygnotus  in  great  compositions  were 
the  "Iliad"  and  "Odyssey"  and  the  Cyclic 
poets.  He  painted  also  great  historical  pictures 
at  Athens  in  conjunction  with  Mycon  and 
Panwnos.  Several  attempts  had  been  made  to 
recompose  the  designs  of  Polygnotus  at  Delphi 
by  the  aid  of  the  description  in  Pausanias,  but 
such  attempts,  however  ingenious,  could  only 
be  regarded  as  pure  si)eculations.  With  regard 
to  the  merits  of  Polygnotus  as  a  painter,  our 
best  guide  was  the  authority  of  Aristotle,  who, 
living  in  the  full  maturity  of  Greek  painting  as 
developed  by  a  succession  of  great  masters  from 
Zeu.xis  to  Apelles,  emphatically  held  up 
Polygnotus  for  the  study  of  youth  as  being 
beyond  all  others  the  ethographer  or  painter  of 
noble  character  {ethos).  In  thus  distinguishing 
Polygnotus,  Aristotle  contrasted  him  with 
Zeuxis,  whose  paintings  he  considered  deficient 
in  that  quality  of  ethos  which  was  so  conspicuous 
in  Polygnotus.  In  the  period  immediately  fol- 
lowing painting  was  still  further  developed  by 
ApoUodorus,  who  made  the  first  essays  in 
chiaroscuro,  which  were  followed  up  with  more 
brilliant  result .s  by  Zeuxis,  who,  to  use  Pliny's 
expression,  entered  the  door  which  ApoUodorus 
had  opened.  Zeuxis  painted  a  celebrated  pic- 
ture of  Helen  for  the  city  of  Croton,  in  Lower 
Italy.  Parrhasius,  a  contemporary  of  Zeuxis, 
carried  the  art  still  further.  He  appeared  from 
Pliny's  statement  to  have  succeeded  in  bringing 
out  his  figures  in  strong  relief  by  the  skill  with 
which  the  contours  were  rendered.  Neither 
Zeuxis  nor  Parrhasius  appeared  to  have  painted 
great  historical  compositions  like  those  of 
Polygnotus,  but  rather  isolated  groups  or  single 
figures.  Among  the  most  conspicuous  names 
which  are  foimd  in  Pliny's  list  was  that  of 
PamphUus,  who  established  a  school  at  Sicyon, 
where  he  taught  drawing  on  scientific  principles  ; 
his  scholars,  who  paid  very  large  fees,  drew  on 
boxwood.  Pausias,  a  scholar  of  PamphUus,  in- 
vented encaustic  painting,  wliich  enabled  him  to 
obtain  finer  and  deeper  gradations  of  colour  as 
modified  by  chiaroscuro.  He  was  thus  enabled 
to  accomplish  very  bold  foreshortenings.  In 
one  of  liis  pictures  an  ox  was  so  presented  in  a 
front  view  that  the  whole  length  of  the  animal 
was  suggested.  The  successive  improvements 
of  art  developed  by  these  masters  led  to  a  power 
of  expression  which  showed  itself  in  the 
choice  of  dramatic  incidents,  to  portray  which 
it  was  necessary  to  render  transient  emotions. 
Such  subjects  were  the  dying  mother  still 
suckling  her  chUd  in  the  picture  by  Aristides 
of  the  Taking  of  a  Citv,  and  the  Sacrifice 
of  Iphigeneia,  by  Timanthes,  in  which  the 
grief  of  Agamemnon  was  expressed  by  the 
expedient  of  veUing  his  face.  ApeUes,  after 
liaviug  had  the  benefit  of  the  teaching  of 
PamphUus  and  of  the  study  of  the  great  malter- 
pieces  of  his  predecessors,  attained  an  eminence 
which  entitled  him,  in  the  judgment  of  antiquity, 
to  the  highest  rank  as  a  painter.  He  did  not 
appear  to  have  been  distinguished  for  his  skUl  in 
complicated  compositions  of  many  figures ;  but 
the  grace  and  charm  of  liis  pictures,  the  har- 
mony of  his  colouring,  and  his  wonderful 
mastery  over  all  technical  difficulties  were 
qualities  in  which  he  had  no  rival.  He  was  the 
Court-painter  of  Alexander  the  Great,  as 
Lysippus  was  his  sculptor,  and  they  alone 
among  contemporary  artists  had  the  privilco  of 
taking  his  portrait.  Among  the  most  celebrated 
works  of  Apelles  were  Iiis  "  Alexaneler  wielding 
the  Thunelerbolt"  and  his  "Aphrodite  risino- 
freiu  the  Sea."  A  contemporary  of  Apelles^ 
who,  through  that  great  master's  generous 
notice,  rose  suddenly  from  comparative  ob.«curity 
into  fame,  was  Protogenes  of  IJhodes,  a  painter 
who,  like  Leonardo  da  \"inci,  finished  painfully 
and  eUboratcly,  attaining  thus  a  perfection 
which  excited  the  admiration  of  Apelles,  but  led 
him  to  utter  those  warning  words,  which  had 
since  become  a  proverb— wnnH/n  tic  tabithi.  Pro- 
togenes appeared  to  have  painted  very  few 
pictures.  His  two  most  celebrated  works  were 
his     "lalysus"     and  his     "  Satvr  in  repose." 


After  the  reign  of  Alexander  there  were  many 
Greek  painters,  but  of  these  no  name  was  very 
prominent,  e-xcept  that  of  Timomachus,  who 
lived  at  some  time  in  the  HeUenistic  period  and 
who  painted  a  Medea  and  an  Ajax.  Painting 
in  the  HeUenistic  period  had  an  idyllic  tendency, 
with  more  or  less  of  landscape  in  combination 
with  some  mythic  incident  or  a  scene  from  real 
life ;  it  had  also  a  tendency  towards  genre. 
Examples  of  idyllic  subjects  and  r/enre  abounded 
in  the  paintings  at  Pompeii,  where  we  might 
also  see  in  the  decoration  of  walls  the  very  style 
which  Vitruvius  described  and  objected  to.  'The 
lecturer  then  explained  a  number  of  diagrams 
illustrating  the  progress  of  painting  from  extant 
examples,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  a 
figure  drawn  in  an  archaic  style  on  an  Athenian 
sepulchral  stele.  This  curious  exniiple  of  early 
drawing  is  probably  of  not  later  date  than  B.C. 
500.  A  figure  of  an  athlete  jumping  is  eugraved 
on  a  bronze  disc  in  the  British  Museum — dite 
probably  about  the  time  of  Polygnotus.  A 
fragment  drawn  on  boxwood  formed  part  of  a, 
casket  found  in  a  tomb  near  Kertch.  The  com- 
position engraved  on  the  Ficoroni  bumze  cista 
represented  Amycus,  King  of  the  Bebiyces, 
slain  by  PoUux.  The  mosaic  founel  at  Pompeii 
depicted  Alexander  and  Darius  at  the  battle  of 
Issos.  There  was  also  a  scene  representing 
Niobe,  Latona,  and  their  companions  drawn  on 
marble,  found  at  Herculaneum.  A  Roman 
mosaic  represented  a  battle  between  a  Centaur 
and  wUd  beasts.  Lastly,  there  was  a  Pompeian 
painting  of  Venus  fishing. 


THE  NEW  THEATRE  ROYAL,  DUBLIN. 

THE  old  theatre  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
February  last.  Almost  immediately  after 
the  fire  Mr.  Michael  Gunn,  the  proprietor,  sent 
for  Mr.  C.  J.  Phipps,  F.S.  A.  (who  had  some  ten 
years  ago  successfully  constructed  for  him  the 
Gaiety  Theatre  at  Dublin),  and  gave  him  in- 
structions to  design  a  theatre  which  would  be 
a  worthy  successor  of  the  National  Theatre  of 
Ireland.  The  drawings  and  designs  are  now 
complete,  and,  in  addition,  Mr.  Phipps  has 
prepared  a  large  model  of  the  interior  of  the 
theatre,  exactly  as  it  wUl  appear,  completely 
decorated. 
The  dress  circle  holds,  with  private  boxes     400 

The  upper  circle  400 

The  orchestra  and  pit  stalls,  and  pit  ... .  1,300 
The  gallery    1  300 

Making  the  total  number 3,400 

Which  is  about  500  more  than  the  old  theatre 
could  contain. 

The  width  of  the  proscenium  opening  is  33ft., 
and  the  stage  is  72ft.  wide  between  the  walls, 
with  a  depth  of  65ft.  Extending  on  either  side 
of  the  stage  waUs  are  scene  docks,  which  will 
make  the  available  width  of  the  stage  for  sjiecial 
purposes  UOft.  Running  the  whole  length  of 
either  wing,  outside  the  main  building,  are 
several  floors  of  rooms  for  aU  the  multitudinous 
requirements  of  the  theatre— green-rooms, 
manager's  and  treasury  offices,  property-making 
shops,  wardrobes,  taUors'  and  dressmakers' 
rooms,  and  dressing-rooms  for  actors,  actresses, 
baUet,  supers,  &-o.  There  is  a  height  above  the 
stage  floor  to  the  gridiron  from  which  the  scenes 
are  worked  of  65ft. 

Some  other  dimensions  may  'oe  given  to  show 
the  relative  size  of  the  new  theatre  :  — 

Curtain  line  to  front  of  dress  circle    51ft. 

Ditto        ditto        upper  circle 5tft. 

Ditto       ditto        galleiy  57ft. 

Ditto       ditto        back  waU  inside  cor- 
ridor of  pit 7S£t. 

Height  of  ceUing  above  pit-lloorin  centre  6Sft. 

The  style  of  the  exterior  elevation  is  ItaUan, 
and  the  purpose  of  the  building  is  distinctly 
shown  by  the  design.  No  one  would  mistake  it 
for  anything  but  a  grand  opera-house — and  it 
has  quite  a  Continental  character  about  it. 
Estimates  for  the  new  building  are  now  in  pro- 
gress of  preparation,  and  in  the  course  of  a  week 
or  so  tenders  from  builders  wUl  be  invited.  The 
buUding  wUl,  the  architect  beUeves,  be  ready  to 
open  by  the  early  autumn  of  1S81. 

Mr.  G.  Shrewsbury,  of  the  Old  Bailey  and  Buxton, 
has  sent  us  a  copy  of  his  catalogue  of  gas  con- 
servatory boilers,  hot-water  apparatus,  gas-baths, 
stoves,  i:e.  It  is  fuU  of  illustrations  of  ingenious 
arrangements  in  various  branches,  and  its  author's 
long  experience  and  reputation  are  sufficient 
{.■uarantees  of  h  s  ability  to  supply  the  requirements 
of  any  reader  in  want  of  such  apparatus. 


7he  BiJiLC>iNr.  [>EWS,  Ju^.  9   Io^(  > 


n»..id»»-»k»iiiR»iJi> 


July  9,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


51 


CONTENTS. 

TVestniinster  VCitry -Hall  Competition 

The  Tay  Bridge  Disaster    

The  Gas-Explosion  in  Tottenham  Court-road    

St.  Paul*s  Ecclesiologists  at  Canterbury      

Mx.  Newton  on  Greek  Painting       

The  Xew  Theatre  Eoyal,  Dublin    

Our  Lithographic  Ulusti-utions 

Preserving  "Wood 

Birmingham   Coiporation  and  the  Employment  of 

Architects    

Hoyal  Academy  Admigsiona     

Plans  in  Pencil      

Competitions 

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

Legal  Intelligence 

Pailiamentary  Notes    

Our  Office  Table    

Chips 

Tenders     


rLLTJSTRATIOXS. 

AKTISTs'  UOMES  :  XO.  5,  MB.  BASIL  CUAilPSEYs'  UOUSE, 
3IAN0E  FABM,  QAMPSrEAD.  —  THE  HOME  BUILDINGS, 
GBAXGE  PABK,  ALBESFOBD.  —  THE  PATRICK  6TEAD  HOS- 
PITAL, HALESWORTH.— DESIGN  FOR  VILLAGE  CHCECH 
TOWER  ASD  SPIRE.— PREMISES,  JIABKET-STREET,  MAX- 
CHESTEn. 


Our  LiTHOGRAPHIClLLUSTRATiONS- 

AEIISIS'  HOiEES  :  NO.  5 — HE.  CHAUPNETs'    HOUSE, 
HAiEPSTEAB. 

Me.  Bash,  Chamtxeys'  own  house,  -vrhiti  is 
now  in  course  of  erection,  forms  the  subject  to- 
day of  our  jij-tists'  Homes'  illustration.  In 
the  planning  of  the  house,  the  principal  point 
observed  by  the  architect  has  been  an  endeavour 
to  follow  the  lines  of  houses  erected  during  the 
last  two  centuries  in  makiog  a  continuous 
passage  through  tlie  house,  showing  the  garden 
beyond,  and  forming  a  vestibule  which  can  be 
to  some  extent  used  as  a  room  communicating 
with  the  garden- grounds.  Here  this  vestibule 
or  garden-ruom  is  divided  from  the  stairease- 
haU  by  a  double-arched  opening,  one  of  which 
openings  communicates  with  a  useful  cupboard 
for  tennis  balls,  bats,  &c.,  next  the  fire-place 
and  under  the  stairs.  In  the  dining-room  the 
main  parallelogram  has  been  made  serviceable  to 
the  fullest  extent  for  table  and  chairs  by  the 
removal  of  the  tire-place  into  a  cosy  recess 
instead  of  allowing  it  to  project  into  the  apart- 
ment in  the  more  usual  way,  obstructing  the 
room  and  diminishing  the  otherwise  avaUable 
space.  A  somewhat  analogous  arrangement 
appears  in  the  drawing-room,  which  is  a  fine 
apartment  24ft.  Sin.  long  by  lift,  wide,  dinded 
into  two  compartments  by  an  arched-opening 
similar  to  that  which  spaces  off  the  "  Ingle- 
nook"  fireplace,  which  is  arranged  ample 
enough  for  sitting  in.  A  third  sitting-room,  as 
a  study,  is  planned  near  the  entrance-hall, 
and  the  kitchen  with  offices  are  nicely  arranged 
on  the  N.E.  side  of  the  house.  The  plans  readily 
show  the  building  throughout,  and  thus  leave 
little  more  here  requiring  desciiption,  while  the 
elevation  of  the  S.E.,  or  garden  front,  and  per- 
spective view  of  the  entrance  elevation,  complete 
our  illustrations,  in  company  with  a  general 
block-plan  of  the  site  and  its  surroundings.  The 
main  walls  of  the  house  are  hollow  in  con- 
struction, having  4r,in.  outside  and  9in.  inside, 
the  space  between  being  Gin.,  which  unusual 
■width  is  purposely  arranged  to  give  sufficient 
depth  for  the  shutters  to  the  windows,  and  thus 
prevent  their  projection  into  the  room.  In  many 
of  3Ir.  Champneys"  buildings  it  has  been  observed 
that  much  point  is  made  of  the  symmetrical  plan- 
ning of  the  chimneys,  and  the  present  occasion 
will  illustrate  a  conspicuous  instance  of  this  rule. 
The  idea  is  that  all  chimney-stacks  should  be 
kept  within  the  outer  walls  and  inside  the  house, 
for  the  better  retention  of  all  the  fire-heat  pos- 
sible, and  to  prevent  a  tendency  to  smoke,  which 
all-esternal-built  flues  have  in  a  more  or  less 
degree.  From  an  artistic  point  of  view  it  cer- 
tainly may  fairly  be  described  as  an  anomaly 
that  when  the  general  design  of  a  house  suggests 
a  studied  symmetry,  that  the  chimneys,  the 
most  important  features  in  the  sky  line, 
should     crop     up     at    haphazard,    as   it  were, 


as  if  their  existence  or  distribution  were 
not  of  the  least  importance.  Here  at 
"  ilanor  Farm"  four  boldly-designed  chinmey- 
stacks  in  cut  brickwork  form  a  central  feature 
from  every  point  of  view,  and  enclose  a  Belve- 
dere balcony  from  •which  the  beauties  of  the 
prospect  may  be  enjoyed,  and  this  arrangement 
of  the  chimney-stacks  is  arrived  at  by  legitimate 
construction,  and  without  the  use  of  ircn  in  any 
way.  The  materials  used  are  red  bricks  for  the 
walls,  the  cramps  in  the  hollow  parts  being  of 
galvanised  iron.  The  roofs  are  covered  with 
tiles,  and  the  woodwork  outside,  like  the  cornice 
cove,  is  painted  a  dead  white.  The  builders  are 
Jfessrs.  Bell  and  Sons,  of  Cambridge  and  Saffron 
AV'alden.  A  studio  or  office  is  arranged  over  the 
stables,  seen  on  the  left-hand  side  of  our  view, 
and  the  kitchen  yard  is  cut  off  from  the  entrance 
garden  by  a  brick  wall  and  gates  as  shown . 

THE   nOJIE   EUTLDIXOS,    GEAXGE-PAEK;. 

The  home  buildings  in  the  Grange  Park, 
Alresford,  comprise  the  usual  erections  of  a 
home  farm,  dairy  and  cowhouse,  and  offices 
required  in  connection  therewith,  a  bakery, 
bacon-curing  and  smokiug-chambers,  bailiff's 
house  and  stables,  a  steam-laundry  and 
dwelling-house  for  laundry  workers,  and  agent's 
and  bailiff's  offices.  A  12  horse-power  fixed 
engine  and  Cornish  boiler  provides  power  for 
driving  chaff-cutter,  root-puJper,  corn-mill, 
cake-breaker,  &c.,  as  well  as  for  the  washing 
machineiy  ;  also  steam  for  cooking  cattle-food, 
and  for  heating  the  drying-chamber,  besides 
boiling  water  for  laundry  purposes,  thus 
avoiding  the  danger  and  trouble  of  independent 
fires.  Tramways  and  turntables  throughout 
the  buildings,  -where  necessary,  lessen  the  labour 
required  for  distributing  cattle-food.  The 
natural  ground  rising  abruptly  towards  the 
north-west  is  taken  advantage  of,  in  construct- 
ing the  food-loft  over  preparing-room,  by 
making  the  floor  level  with  the  bed  or  bottom  of 
ordinary  farm- waggons,  so  that  com  &c.,  can 
be  unloaded  into  a  tram-truck  out  of  the 
waggons,  and  taken  where  required  with  the 
least  possible  amount  of  labour.  The  cow-yard, 
measuring  S2ft.  by  C2ft.,  is  covered  by  a  single- 
span  U'on  roof.  The  floors  over  stables.  Sec,  are 
of  concrete  on  iron  girders.  The  milk-room 
fittings  are  of  polished  Sicilian  marble,  with  a 
fountain  in  the  middle  of  the  room ;  the  walls 
are  lined  with  Minton's  glazed  tUes,  and  the 
floor  with  encaustic  tiles.  Owing  to  the  uneven 
nature  of  the  site  and  surrounding  land,  a  very 
large  amount  of  excavation  was  necessary,  about 
17,000  cubic  yards  of  soil  having  to  be  removed 
for  buildings  and  approach  roads.  "Water  is 
distributed  over  the  various  parts  of  the  build- 
ings, by  a  service  of  pipes,  from  a  large  tank, 
the  latter  being  supplied  from  an  Artesian  well 
about  a  mile  distant,  and  forced  up  to  the  tank 
by  pumps,  worked  by  a  water-wheel.  Bell's 
telephone  connects  the  laundry  and  man- 
sion (about  half  a  mile  apart),  and  forms  a 
portion  of  a  system  of  telephonic  communication 
with  other  buildings  on  the  estate  ;  the  tele- 
phone Tvas  completed  while  the  buildings  were 
in  progress,  and  was  used  regularly  in  com- 
municating with  the  estate  buUding-yard,  a 
mile  distant,  for  materials  required  and  other 
matters.  The  walls  are  constructed  of  Portland 
cement  concrete  encased  with  concrete  slabs, 
both  concrete  and  slabs  being  made  principally 
from  the  old  bricks  and  debris  contained  in  the 
old  farm-buUdings  which  the  new  ones  are  built 
to  replace.  The  walls  looking  towards  the  park 
are,  however,  faced  with  red  brick  and  Portland 
stone  di'essings,  with  concrete  slabs  inside,  and  a 
core  of  concrete  between  the  two.  The  external 
walls,  generally,  are  liin.,  and  the  internal 
walls  Sin.  thic'.c,  and  are  of  great  strength  com- 
pared with  ordinary  brickwork  of  similar 
thickness.  The  total  cost  of  buildings,  including 
preparation  of  plans  and  superintendence,  steam- 
machinery,  farm-machinery,  roads,  fences, 
fittings,  and  working  plant  complete  in  all 
respects  to  constitute  them  a  going  concern, 
was  about  £13,700;  the  sub-division  of  which 
was  as  follows :  — The  roads,  fences,  level'iag  for 
site,  formation  of  paths,  gardens,  and  grass 
slopes,  the  steam-engine,  boUers,  shafting,  belts, 
farm-machiiiery,  tramways,  turntables,  laundry 
machinery,  dairy-fittings,  wall-linings,  and 
encaustic"  tile  floors,  and  all  fittings  for  live 
stock,  and  fixtures  throughout  the  buildings, 
£5,000.  The  buUding,  including  plans  and 
superintendence  and  water-supply,  £8,100.  The 
roof    area    of     the    building    meastires   24,000 


superficial  feet.  The  covered  yards  contain 
111,000,  and  the  inclosed  buildings  329,000  cubic 
feet  of  space.  The  low  cost  of  construction  is 
accounted  for  in  a  large  measure  by  reason  of 
the  unusual  facilities  that  exi.-ted  for  obtaining 
the  concrete  materiah),  and  the  estate  workshops 
and  sawmills  being  near  at  hand,  while  the 
whole  of  the  buildings,  the  ground- woik,  and 
formation  of  roads  and  approaches  were  executed 
by  the  estate  workmen.  Messrs.  F.  W. 
Reynolds  and  Co.  supplied  the  iron  roofs. 
The  whole  of  the  work  was  designed  and  the 
erection  superintended  by  Mr.  Thomas  Potter, 
of  Alresford.  The  Grange  is  the  seat  of  tho 
Plight  lion.  Lord  Ashburton,  and  Captain 
Caldwell,  of  Candovcr  House,  Alresford,  is 
agent  for  the  estate. 

PATEICK   STEAD   nOSPITAL,    IIAlESWOBTn. 

This  illustration  shows  the  design  accepted  in 
on  open  competition  for  the  above  hospital.  Itr. 
H.  K.  Colling  was  appointed  referee,  his  recom- 
mendation being  accepted  by  the  trustees.  Tho 
instructions  required  a  dispensary  for  out- 
patients, and  an  accident-ward  on  the  ground- 
floor,  with  the  kitchen  and  necessary  offices,  and 
on  the  first  floor  a  ward  with  si.t  beds  for  male, 
and  a  ward  with  six  beds  for  female  patients, 
with  an  extra  ward  for  special  cases ;  a  con- 
valescent or  day-room,  nurses'  rooms,  matron 
and  servants'  bedrooms,  and  an  operating  room. 
A  lodge  and  mortuary  are  al.so  provided.  The 
plans  attached  show  the  disposition  of  tho 
several  rooms  and  wards.  Mr.  Ilenrj-  Hall, 
F.R.I.B.A.,  is  the  author  of  the  design,  and 
the  trustees  have  instructed  him  to  carry  out 
the  work. 

"BUILBDfG   news"    DESIGSXKG    CLXTD. — TO  WEE 
ASD   SPIEE    FOE  A  VILLAGE    CHtHlCn. 

Vi'e  give  to-day  Olustrations  of  the  three  best 
designs  which  were  submitted  by  the  members 
of  our  Designing  Club,  for  a  Tower  and  Spire 
for  a  Village  Church.  The  chosen  design  by 
"  Binny  "  is  unquestionably  the  most  suitable. 
"Sub-Rosa's"  design,  shown  third  on  our 
sheet,  being  second  in  the  competition  ;  and 
"  Edwin,"  in  thecentre  of  the  page,  was  marked 
as  third.  The  plans  arranged  over  the  eleva- 
tions with  the  sections  on  our  sheet,  refer  to  the 
designs  adjoining.  We  are  glad,  on  the  present 
occasion,  to  be  able  thus  to  publish  the  chosen 
designs  side  by  side. 

PEEIHSES,    SIAEKET-STEEET,  MAN'CHESTEE. 

These  premises  are  situated  at  the  corner  of 
Market-street  and  Spring-gardens,  Manchester, 
and  form  two  distinct  blocks  of  buildings.  The 
corner  block  is  recently  completed,  and  belongs 
to  G.  B.  Withington,  Esq. ;  it  will  be  occupied 
on  ground-floor  for  shops,  the  superstructure 
being  let  off  for  suites  of  offices,  with  a  general 
entrance  to  Spring-gardens.  "The  elevation  is 
of  Yorkshire  stone,  designed  in  Free  Italian,  the 
principal  object  in  \-iew  being  an  abimdancc  of 
hu-ht,  which  is  found  so  essential  in  town- 
buildings.  The  first  and  second-pair  floors  have 
bay  windows,  which  are  obtained  by  splaying 
the  main  piers,  and  without  projecting  beyond 
the  building-line,  or  otherwise  infringing  the 
Corporation  by-laws.  Grey  granite  is  used  to 
the  pilasters  to  ground-floor,  offices,  entrance, 
and  shafts  to  comer  circular  windows.  The 
block  to  Spring-gardens  has  been  erected  about 
a  year.  It  belongs  to  Messrs.  Witliington, 
Petty,  and  Boutflower,  solicitors,  and  is  occu- 
pied by  them  as  offices,  excepting  the  ground 
and  ba.sement  floors,  which  are  appropriated  by 
Thompson's  oyster-rooms.  This  elevation  is 
built  of  purpo.se-made  stock-bricks  and  stone 
dressings,  the  detaih)  of  which  are  treated  in  a 
similar  manner  to  the  other.  The  whole  has 
been  erected  under  the  superintendence  of 
Messrs.  Mangnill  and  Littlewood-i,  architects, 
Manchester ; 'Messrs.  K.  Xcill  aad  Sons  being 
the  contractors. 


At  the  Derbyshire  quarter  sessions  on  Tuesday 
week  the  sum  of  t:l,7oO  was  voted  for  the  erection 
of  the  workshops,  ic,  at  the  county  lunatic- 
asvlum,  near  Mickleover,  from  designs  and  under 
the  superintendence  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Story,  the  county 
surveyor. 

A  Local  Government  Board  Inquiry  waj  held  at 
the  Tol-house,  Great  Yarmouth,  on  Friday,  before 
Mr.  K.  Morgan,  O.K.,  inspector,  respecting  an 
application  from  the  town  council  for  sanction 
of  a  loan  of  £8-50  for  sanitary  purposes. 


52 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  9,  1880. 


PRESERVING  WOOD. 
rpO  a  German  technical  journal,  Privy  Coun- 
J.  ciUor  Funk  has  contributed  a  valuable 
paper  on  the  results  of  some  experiments  in 
preser\-ing  sleepers  on  the  German  and  Austrian 
railways.  The  methods  employed  for  impreg- 
nating the  sleepers  are  well  known,  and  the 
substances  used  were  chloride  of  zinc,  sulphate 
of  copper,  corrosive  sublimate,  and  creasote. 
The  latter  is  commonly  used  in  this  coimtrj',  and 
from  the  manner  of  carrying  out  the  process  it 
becomes  rather  expensive.  Herr  Funk  gives  a 
table  of  the  cost  for  oak,  beech,  and  fir  sleepers, 
from  which  it  appears  that  the  chloride  of  zinc 
is  cheaper  than  the  other  preservatives,  but  costs 
more  for  beech  than  for  cither  fir  or  oak.  As 
compared  with  creasote,  the  only  thing  that 
gives  an  equal  degree  of  durability,  chloride  of 
zinc  is  about  one-third  the  price,  and  the  effect 
of  impregnation  is  to  bring  fir  sleepers  into 
practical  equality  with  the  more  costly  woods. 
The  life  of  sleepers,  both  impregnated  and 
iinimpregnated,  depends  largely  upon  the  nature 
of  the  timber,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
timber  is  treated  before  being  made  into  sleepers, 
and  the  nature  of  the  ballast  in  which  the 
sleepers  are  laid  ;  but  by  dealing  with  large 
numbers  of  sleepers  employed  under  different 
conditions  a  fair  idea  can  be  obtained  of  the 
value  of  preservative  processes.  According  to 
Herr  Punk  the  average  life  of  unimpregnated 
sleepers  on  German  and  Austrian  railways  up  to 
the  present  time  has  been  as  follows  :  oak,  13'6  ; 
fir,  "■2;  pine,  o'l  ;  beech,  3'0  years. 

On  the  same  lines  the  average  lives  of  sleepers 
properly  treated  and  impregnated  with  chloride 
of  zinc  or  creasote  under  hea^-y  pressure  have 
been:  oak,  19-5;  fir,  U  to  16;  pine,  S  to  10: 
beech,  1-3  to  18  years. 

The  prolongation  of  the  life  of  the  beech 
sleepers  by  impregnation  is  remarkable.  Herr 
Funk  adds  that  the  average  life  of  831,341  pine 
sleepers  impregnated  on  various  systems,  and 
used  on  thirteen  German  railways,  was  fourteen 


durable  sleejiers  than  that  felled  in  summer,  but 
what  difference  there  is  is  less  marked  in  the 
impregnated  sleepers  than  in  those  made  of  un- 
prepared wood. 

BIR^IINGHA^M  CORPORATION  AND  THE 
EMPLOYMENT  OF  ARCHITECTS. 

THE  Town  Council  of  the  borough  of  Birming- 
ham, at  their  meeting  on  Tuesday,  had  a  long 
andanimated  discussion  on  the  question  of  the  ap- 
pointment of  an  architect  to  the  corporation. 
The  subject  came  up  on  a  resolution,  moved  by 
Mr.  Alderman  Heeton,  in  the  following  terms  : 
— "That  the  General  Purposes  Committee  be 
instructed  to  inquire  iuto  the  dcsirabiUty,  or 
otherwise,  of  appointing  an  architect,  who 
.should  undertake  the  whole  of  the  Corporation 
work,  except  on  such  occasions  when  it  may  be 
deemed  desirable  to  invite  the  assistance  of  pro- 
fessional gentlemen  having  special  qualifications 
for  what  may  be  required.  And  with  a  view  of 
enabling  the  Council  to  come  to  a  decision  on 
the  matter,  that  the  committee  report  the 
amount  of  architects'  commissions  that  have 
been  paid  for  the  various  works  during  the  last 
five  years,  and  the  probable  liabilities  for  archi- 
tects' commission  upon  contracts  now  in  course 
of  execution."  He  contended  that  there  was  a 
considerable  amount  of  public  dissatisfaction 
with  the  system  which  had  hitherto  obtained  of 
employing  one  firm  of  architects  only,  without 
resorting  to  competition.  By  taking  this  course, 
and  paying  the  usual  commission  of  5  per  cent., 
it  was  felt  that  they  were  really  paying 
retail  prices  for  wholesale  orders.  The 
resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Brinsley. 
Mr.  Cook  then  moved  the  following  amend- 
ment : — "  That  the  Geueral  Purposes  Com- 
mittee be  instructed  to  consider  the  present 
system  of  obtaining  plans  and  estimates  for  the 
erection  of  buildings  for  the  Corporation,  and  to 
report  whether  it  is  de.sirable  that  any  change 
should  be  made  in  such  system  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  borough  architect  or  otherwise," 
which  was  seconded  by  Alderman  Kendrick, 
who  expressed  the  view  that  the  various  com- 
mittees should  have  power  to  select  for  them- 
selves an  architect  to  carry  out  such  work  as 
they  might  desire  to  have  executed.  He  objected 
to  the  appointment  of  a  borough  architect. 
Alderman  CoUings,  M.P.,  had  no  objection  to 
vote  for  the  amendment,  but  thought  it  would 


not  be  for  the  good  of  the  public  serWoe  if  the 
existing  system  were  altered.  Mr.  M.  Davis 
said  there  was  unquestionably  a  good  deal  of 
dissatisfaction  in  the  town  as  to  the  council 
sriving  all  the  work  of  the  town  to  Messrs.  Martin 
and  Chamberlain.  They  had,  no  doubt,  done  their 
work  well ;  but  why  should  they  enjoy  a  mono- 
poly of  the  public  work  of  the  town  ?  Alderman 
Biggs  renxarked  that  the  Corporation  for  the 
last  five  or  six  vears  had  been  paying  about 
£2,000  or  £3,000"  to  architects,  and  he  thought 
thej-  could  well  afford  to  pay  an  accomplished 
arciiitect — a  man  of  good  reputation— £1,000  or 
£1,200  a  year,  and  be  £1,000  a  year  the  gainer. 
He  did  not  say  this  question  should  be  settled 
without  some  consideration,  and  he  was  wQling 
that  the  matter  should  be  well  considered  by  the 
General  Purposes  Committee.  After  some 
further  discussion,  Mr.  Cook  ultimately  con- 
sented to  insert  in  his  amendment  after  the 
words  "that  the  General  Purposes  Committee 
be  instructed  to  consider"  the  words  "and  re- 
port upon,"  and  this  alteration  having  been 
accepted  by  Alderman  Heeton,  the  latter  with- 
drew his  resolution,  and  Mr.  Cooi's  proposal 
was  carried  unanimously. 


ROYAL  ACADEMY  ADMISSIONS. 


July  6,  18S0. 


1st  Class  Students. 

E.  J.  M.  Allen. 
G.  H.  Coldwell. 
C.  W.  Davies. 

F.  W.  Kite. 
F.  C.  Lpcs. 
■\y.  J.  Millard. 
E.  C.  Shearman. 
L.  Stokes. 
W.H.  Wood. 


2nb  Class  Students. 
A.  M.  Calderon. 
C.  T.  Fagg. 
J.  B.  Gas3. 

A.  Keen. 
W.  F.  Keen. 
W.  R.  Lethaby. 
E.  A.  Earn. 

B.  A.  Eaves. 
E.  W.  Smith. 
J.  D.  Wheeler. 

C.  0.  Wilson. 


Peobationees. 


W.  T.  Allen. 
H.  E.  Best. 
C.  Burton. 
J.  C.  Carter. 
E.  M.  Gruggen. 
A.  Hemingway. 
E.  W.  Jennings. 
J.  N.  Johnston. 


W.  E.  Lloyd  Jones. 

E.  Nevinson. 
J.  F.  Newton. 

F.  Simpson. 
E.  J.  Slow. 
P.  Thicknesse. 

G.  W.  Winchester. 


PLANS  IN  PENCIL. 

A  LAUDABLE  desire  to  get  designs  cheaply, 
with  a  minimum  of  trouble  to  the  com- 
peting architects,  is  actuating  the  School  Board 
of  the  Borough  of  Jedburgh  at  the  present  time. 
We  reproduce  the  advertisement  without 
charge : — 

P 

X        INGS   WANTED.— The  SCHOOL  BOAKD  of  the  RURGII 

..fJEIlBURGH  bavc  rpsolved  to   BUlLn  il  NEW  SCHOOL  ami 

FFICES  on  tlin  site  of  the  present  Buildinss,  for  whicn  the 


)LANS  OF  NEW  SCHOOL  BUILD- 


T)M   1  -  u  ted  on  will  be  paid  for.    Farther  infor- 

malinii  1, II,  I     u  1>  11  GALL,  Jedburgh. 

We  don't  quite  understand  the  expression 
"acted  on"  in  the  last  paragraph.  An  un- 
comfortable suspicion  haunts  us  that  the  plans 
arc  wanted  "in  pencil  only,"  for  greater  con- 
venience in  adaptation  should  it  occur  to  the 
professional  adviser  of  the  School  Board,  if 
there  is  one,  that  the  good  points  of  two  or  three 
of  the  best  designs  can  be  incorporated  in  the 
one  finally  selected.  At  any  rate,  we  suggest 
that  each  competitor  should  send  a  small  piece 
of  india-rubber  attached  to  his  "  plan  in  pencil 
only,"  as  an  earnest  of  his  complete  willingness 
to  be  rubbed  out  or  inked  in  at  the  discretion  of 
this  most  economical  and  considerate  Scotch 
School  Board. 


submit  plans  in  competition  for  the  proposed 
orphanage,  the  conditions  being  that  the  plans 
should  be  sent  in  under  motto,  the  author  of 
the  first  selected  to  have  the  carrying  out  of  the 
work  at  the  usual  fee  of  5  per  cent,  on  the  out- 
lay ;  the  second  and  third  to  be  awarded  £.50 
each.  The  oi-phanage  to  be  planned  to  accom- 
modate 100  boys,  and  a  community  of  six  who 
were  to  have  charge  of  the  Institution.  The 
building  to  contain  school  and  class-rooms, 
study  halls,  dormitories,  lecture-hall,  and 
chapel,  the  total  cost  not  to  exceed  £1.5,000.  The 
design  "  Truth  "  obtained  first  place,  "  In  hoc 
signo  vinces  "  second,  and  "  William  of  Wyke- 
ham"  third,  the  authors  being  J.  J.  O'Callaghan, 
John  L.  Robinson,  and  William  Hague,  respect- 
ively. The  unsuccessful  competitors  were  J.  C. 
Ashlin,  O'Neil,  O'Brien,  J.  J.  MacCarthy,  and 
Charles  Geoghegan. 

Sheefield. — Designs  are  invited  for  a  new 
font  for  the  parish-church,  Sheffield,  a'jout  to  be 
presented  by  the  Freemasons  of  the  town.  In- 
tending competitors  are  to  apply  for  particulars 
to  Mr.  Ensor  Drury,  24,  George-street,  Sheffield. 
No  premium  is  offered  in  the  notice  inviting 
designs. 

More   than   Fifty  Thousand  Beplies   and 

Lett  ison  subietts  of  Lniiirs.il  Iiitensthne  ipiieaitl  d  un, 
the  list  ten  Ye  irsm  the  ENCLlsII  'MK1I\MC  AND  \NOrLn 
OF    science     mo«it    of  thtm    ti   m    the    pens    of  the    leading 


] 


COMPETITIONS. 

O'Beiex  OErn.vNAGE  Competition. — An  eccen- 
tric lady  named  O'Biien,  having  died  some 
years  ago,  bequeathed  a  considerable  sum  to  the 
late  Cardinal  CuUcn  for  the  foundation  of  an 
orphanage  for  middle-class  children.  Shortly 
before  his  death,  the  Cardinal  acquired  for  the 
purposes  of  the  charity  the  estate  of  the  Earls  of 
Charlemont,  at  Marino  Clontarf,  a  short  distance 
from  Dublin,  on  the  Howth-road.  The  death 
of  the  Cardinal,  and  other  circumstan'ies,  pre- 
vented any  steps  being  taken  to  give  effect  to 
the  will  until  the  spring  of  this  year,  when  the 
present  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  the  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  M'Cahe,  invited  seven  Dublin  architects  to 


The  eirhest  and 


ns  la  to  be  faund  in 
the  best  medium 
nts  to  bt  brouRht 

aeientific  M-oikcrs 


TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

["We  do  not  hold  otirselves  responsible  for  the  opinions  of 
cm-  correspondents.  The  Editor  respectfully  requests 
that  aU  commiinications  should  be  drawn  up  as  briefly 
as  possible,  as  there  are  many  claimants  upon  the  space 
allotted  to  correspondence.] 
All  letters  should  be  addressed  to  the  EDITOK,  31, 

TAVISTOCK-STREET,  COVENT-GARDEN,  W.C. 


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"BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 
Drawings    Received.  —  Hubert,    Pupil    J.,    Burswel!, 
Jack  in  Circle,  Hasherjeg,  Edwin. 


July  9,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


63 


C0rit5p0ulicuce» 

THE  CLEOPATRA  NEEDLE. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Buildixg  News. 

Sm, — ^Tour  correspondent  "  E.  C."  is  right. 
"  They  have  done  it  at  last,"  and  stultified  a 
genuine  monument  by  farcical  adj  uncts  in  the 
same  stijh-  (f) 

Picturesquely  and  admirably  placed  the 
obelisk  is,  in  spite  of  the  adverse  opinion  of  Sir 
Frederick  Leighton.  But  it  should  have  been 
treated  as  a  jewel  in  a  rich  and  sumptuous 
setting,  not  placed  baldly  upon  a  mean  cold 
pedestal,  to  which  it  could  not  seem  to  belong  ; 
and  not  flanked  by  sham  antiques,  which  its 
very  presence  must  proclaim  to  be  impostures. 

The  Eomans,  who  placed  crabs  at  its  angles 
to  clasp  it,  had  a  better  notion  of  how  to  deal 
with  it  than  the  designers  of  the  stilted 
"  buskins,"  which  now  certainly  do  vulgarise  it, 
as  your  correspondent  points  out.  The  princely 
generosity  of  Erasmus  Wilson  in  bringing  us 
the  needle  has  been  ill-seconded.  The  work  to 
be  done  afterwards  was  one  that  should  be  done 
well ;  it  should  have  been  intrusted  to  someone 
of  proved  abUity,  and  not  been  allowed  to  be 
slurred  over  by  an  official  department. — I  am, 
&c.,  S. 

July  2,  18S0. 

BELL  MEASLTIEMENT3. 

SiE, — During  a  short  stay  at  Hindringham,  I 
have  availed  myself  of  an  opportunity  of 
measuring  the  bells  in  the  parish-church,  which 
is  noted  hereabouts  for  its  fine  tower.  The  bells 
are  five  in  number  ;  the  treble  is  dated  on  the 
waist  1770.  It  is  2Uui.  in  height,  exclusive  of 
the  canons,  and  2-5jin.  across.  There  hss  been 
some  inscription  round  it  which  has  been 
chiselled  off :  I  fancied  I  could  read  the  remains 
of  the  words  "John  ZVIirsb."  Local  tradition 
affirms  this  bell  to  have  been  purchased  in  1809, 
which  date  is  incised  on  the  bell-cage.  The  re- 
maining bells  are  all  of  one  set,  and  bear  the 
same  date,  1636.  No.  2  has  round  it,  just 
below  the  shoulder,  in  three  groups,  at  equal 
distances  apart,  the  letters  I  B,  I  D,  and  the 
date  16-36.  It  is  26in.  high,  and  30in.  across. 
No.  3  bears  similar  marks,  and  measures  26Jin. 
high,  and  32iui.  across.  No.  4  has  the  same 
inscription,  and  is  29in.  high,  and  36in.  across. 
The  tenor  is  32in.  high,  and  39in.  across  ;  it  is  a 
beautifully-shaped  bell,  and  bears  the  following 
inscription  in  Longobardic  ch  aracters — "  Tuba  ad 
juditium  campana  ad  tclcsiam  1636  IB."  All 
the  old  bells  are  much  worn,  and  appear  to  have 
never  been  turned. 

At  Little  Snoring,  distance  about  three  mUes 
from  this  village,  the  curious  old  church  has 
just  been  placed  in  the  builder's  hands  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  chancel,  and  for  thorough 
repair.  Now  I  leam  that  this  buQder  is  his  own 
architect,  and  I  trust  that  some  local  antiquarian 
wiU  keep  his  ere  on  the  restorations,  as  the 
church  of  Little  Snoring  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting in  the  country.  It  has  a  circular  tower 
which  stands  about  8ft.  away  from  the  south 
wall  of  the  nave,  near  the  porch  at  its  western 
end.  The  arched  entrance  into  the  church  is 
distinctly  of  Norman  Transitional  work,  and  the 
tower  may  be,  as  is  generaUy  stated,  of  Saxon 
workmanship. 

This  TUlage  is  capitally  situated  for  the  study 
of   a    fine    group    of  Perpendicular    churches, 
nearly  a  dozen  of  which  mav'  be  reached  within 
the  Hmits  of  a  comfortable  walk. — I  am,  kc, 
GrLBEET  R.  Redgrave. 

Hindringham,  near  Walsingham,  July  5. 


standing  to  report  on  the  designs,  aiding,  as  it 
does,  the  object  of  the  memorial  lately  sent  up 
to  the  R.I.B.A.,  on  this  subject  of  architectural 
competitions. 

I  am  sure  the  majority  of  your  readers  will 
agree  with  me  when  I  say  such  a  professional 
referee  should  always  be  called  in  to  adjudicate 
on  designs  sent  in  competition. — I  am,  kc, 

Refohji. 

IRON  FILINGS  IN  PORTLAND  CEMENT. 

SiE, — I  read  with  some  curiosity  the  letter  in 
last  BriLDiNG  News  by  "  Magnet." 

He  finds  metallic  iron  in  Portland  cement  by 
different  makers. 

I  shall  be  happy  to  make  the  acquaintance  of 
those  makers  who  can  afford  to  introduce  that 
article  into  their  manufacture.  "Magnet," 
perhaps,  would  not  lilce  to  publish  the  names 
of  those  gentlemen  ;  but  I  should  be  glad  to 
correspond  with  him  if  he  will  empower  you  to 
send  me  his  address. — I  am,  &c., 

Electeo-Magn-et. 


GLASGOW  JirNICIPAL  BUILDING. 

Sib, — In  reference  to  the  above  there  was  a 
paragraph  in  one  of  the  Glasgow  papers,  in 
which  the  writer,  after  enumerating  the  number 
of  designs  sent  in,  etc.,  goes  on  to  state  the  fol- 
lowing, viz. : — "  Several  architects  sent  in  copies 
of  reports  on  their  plans,  accompanied  in  some 
cases  by  photographs  of  the  designs,  requesting 
the  same  to  be  Ctrculated  amo)}g  the  yntnibcis  of 
CouncU,^^  but  which  request,  I  am  glad  to  say, 
the  town  clerk  was  instructed  not  to  comply 
with.  I  think.  Sir,  we  cannot  bring  occurrences 
such  as  these,  in  connection  with  competitions, 
too  often  before  the  notice  of  your  readers. 

I  would  also  observe,  with  much  satisfaction, 
the  very  wise  course  the  Council  intend  to  follow 
of    calling  in   a    professional    adviser   of   high 


SiE, — I  wUlingly  respond  to  "Magnet's" 
wish  for  further  information. 

It  matters  not  from  what  source  the  ground 
iron  came,  for  I  have  no  doubt  that  its  presence 
in  the  cement  was  due  to  accident.  It  may  in- 
dicate a  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  cement- 
maker  ;  but  when  you  consider  the  source  from 
which  they  get  their  fuel,  the  presence  of  bolts 
or  nuts,  kc,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  Thegas- 
wor'ns  people  do  not  undertake  to  purify  the 
coke   from    the    numerous   pieces  of  iron   with 

I  which  it  is  too  frequently  associated,  and,  un- 
fortunately, the  cement-maker  accepts  it  with- 
out challenge.  The  whole  passes  through  the 
kiln,  and  in  its  passage  becomes  so  much  like 
the  ' '  chnker ' '  that  its  presence  is  unobserved 
imtU  it  reaches  the  millstones,  which,  owing  to 
the    modern  preliminary  practice   of   crushing, 

I  involves  a  closer  relationship  between  the  run- 
ner and  the  bed-stone.  Pieces  of  iron  get  into 
the  now  limited  "  swallow  "  of  the  stones,  and 
are  gradually  reduced,  and  may  be  operated 
upon  for  days  even,  producing  during  that  time 
a  large  amount  of  fine  iron  dust.     At  last,  the 

[  larger  pieces  get  between  the  stones,  and  the 
miller  must  then  become  aware  of  their  presence, 

;  for  he  must  assist  their  passage   by  raising  the 

j  lever  of  the  "runner."  I  would  be  very  much 
surprised  indeed  to  find  such  quantities  of  iron 

1  in  any  sample  p-.ssing  through  my  hands  ;  but 
if  I  encoimtered  it,  I  would  attribute  its  presence 
to  the  cause  or  causes  I  have  named. 

I  repeat  that  iron,  of  the  character  in  ques- 
tion, should  not  seriously  prejudice  the  test,  and 
I  should  not  hesitate  to  use  the  cement  in  which 
it  was  found  (of  course,  I  mean  that  the  pro- 
portion of  giound  iron  should  be  of  such 
moderate  extent  as  I  would  expect  to  fiud  from 
the  causrs  I  have  named;  for  or  Unary  purposes, 
if  it  stood  a  tensile  strain  of  7501b.  per  2^  square 
inches,  at  the  end  of  seven  days.  T'hat  is,  how- 
ever, a  very  moderate  breaking  strain  for  a 
really  good  cement. 

In  my  last  book  ("Concrete"),  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  show  the  advantage  of  using  a 
finely-ground  cement,  and  it  was  in  reference 
to  this  point  that  I  presiuned  to  hint  that 
''Magnet"  courted  the  failure  in  his  experi- 
ment. Although  my  touch  is  still  acute,  I 
would  rather  trust  to  the  sieve,  and  I  am  sure  if 
your  correspondent  had  prefaced  his  examina- 
tion by  that  test,  he  would  at  once  have  encoun- 
tered the  iron  ;  for  the  pieces  are  comparatively 
large,  four  of  the  biggest  weighing  about  half  a 
gramme,  while  their  size  (surface)  averages 
upwards  of  ^in. 

' '  Magnet ' '  should  give  further  particulars  of 
the  cement,  although  I  do  not  wish  him  to  name 
the  makers ;  but  an  appeal  to  them  might  re- 
sult in  some  clearer  and  more  definite  explana- 
tion than  that  the  challenged  article  was  a 
"  patent  iron  cement." 

The  presence  of  iron,  in  a  combined  condition, 
in  cement  produces  a  weak  and  imperfectly- 
coloured  cement,  qtiick  in  initial  set,  but  in- 
capable of  ultimate  profitable  induration. — I  am, 
Sec,  He^-ey  Reld. 

ENGLISH  HOMESTEADS. 
See, — With  regard  to  Mr.  Ingress  Bell's 
article  in  the  Magazine  of  Art  concerning 
the  demolition  of  our  English  homesteads,  and 
his  suggestions  that  some  memorials  of  them 
should  be  preserved,  surely  there  are  many 
who  would  gladly  contribute  sketches  and  notes 


which  they  may  have  of  these  interesting  speci- 
mens of  domestic  work,  and  a  sufficient  number 
of  subscribers  could  be  got  together  for  their 
publication.  I  might  suggest  that  there  are 
many  smaller  examples  of  the  same  class 
scattered  among  our  villages  that  have  been 
entirely  ignored.  Their  stamped-plaster  gables, 
quaint  dormers  and  chimneys,  rough  and  coarse 
as  they  often  are  with  regard  to  detail,  display  a 
bold  originality  in  grouping  and  outline,  the 
spirit  of  which  some  of  our  foremost  architects 
strive  to  grasp.  Who  were  the  architects  of  these 
quaint  old  "  pubs  "  and  homesteads ':  Whoever 
they  were,  they  seem  to  have  adapted  their 
design  most  happily  to  the  materials  and  the 
capacity  of  the  workmen  around  them.  It  is  in 
these  works  alone  that  the  Gothic  .spirit  seems  to 
have  lingered  through  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries.  They  are  decreasing  in 
number  daily  ;  a  collection  of  these  picturesque 
remains  would  be  valuable  to  many,  both  for 
their  antiquarian  interest  and  their  artistic 
points. — I  am,  &c.,  Chables  L.  Bell. 

Cambridge. 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    DICTIOX^UIY. 

Sib, — The  first  number  of  this  book  came  out 
when  I  was  a  yoimg  man  and  a  bachelor :  my 
grandson  is  now  a  promising  youth.  I  am  anxious 
to  know  whether  there  is  any  possibiUty  of  it 
being  finished  in  his  time,  as  I  think  there  is  but 
little  chance  of  myself  or  my  sons  possessing  the 
complete  work.  Perhaps  some  of  your  readers 
may  be  in  the  secret. — 1  am,  kc,  Ascn^T. 


ST.   MARY'S  TRAMPTOX,  LINCOLNSHIRE. 

Sib, — I  read  with  interest,  in  your  last  issue,  ihe 
letter,  relative  to  the  above,  signed  "Safety." 
There  does  not  exist  a  more  beautiful  typical  Early 
tower  and  spire  in  England,  and  it  is  a  sad  thing 
to  think  that,  for  the  want  of  proper  attenti  an, 
they  are  slowly  but  surely  tending  towards  their 
destruction.  It  is  doubtful  whether  Gloucester, 
Worcester,  Ely,  and  Chichester  could  have  been 
preserved,  but  we  know  prompt  action  saved  us 
Hereford,  Wells,  Salisbury,  and  Canterbury.  In 
the  case  of  Frampton,  the  whole  might  easily  be 
made  secure  by  careful  and  judicious  treatment, 
unless  things  have  got  much  worse  since  last 
year. 

Y'our  correspondent  does  not  allude  to  the  in- 
terior of  the  church,  which  presented  a  curious 
medley,  and  I  believe  the  state  is  still  ihe  same. 
The  nave  has  double  and  single  rows  of  square 
deal  pews,  many  of  the  floors  of  which  are  rotten. 
The  chancel-seats,  also  square,  are  of  the  meanest. 
A  quasi-gallery,  having  the  wreck  of  a  harrel- 
organ  for  its  centre  adornment,  blocks  up  the 
south  transept.  In  front  of  the  chancel-scrten  is 
placed  a  stove,  the  chimney  of  which  is  held 
in  position  by  wires  attached  at  intervals  to  the 
screen.  Coals  are  shot  at  the  west  ead  of  the  south 
aisle.  The  remains  of  an  arcaded  Transitional 
font  are  propped  on  wedges  of  stone.  Flimsy 
stained  deal  roofs  to  the  chancel  and  transept, 
about  twenty  years  old,  suggest  local  skill.  A 
large  brass  chandeher,  dated  1722,  of  30  branches, 
suspended  from  the  nave-roof,  has  this  inscrip- 
tion :— "  The  gift  of  Coney  Tunnard  Gent  for  an 
example  to  all  pretenders  of  love  to  the  Church 
which  by  their  acts  don't  shew  it."  Quaint 
lines,  apparently  disregarded.— I  am,  &c.. 

G.  R.  W. 

LEGAL    INTELLIGENCE. 

Auction-eees'  Licen-ses.  —  A  person  earned 
Stock  appeared  at  Lambeth  Police-cjurt,  on 
Wednesdav,  to  an  adjourned  summons,  taken  out 
a<'ainst  him  hv  the  Excise  authorities,  for  having 
pointed  up  the  word  "Auctioneer  over  his 
premises,  he  not  being  duly  hcensed.  For  the 
defence  it  was  urged  that  hundreds  of  persons  aU 
over  the  countrv  put  up  the  word  auctioneer  with- 
out holdimj  a  "licence,  and  the  magistrate  was 
referred  to  "the  immense  number  of  advertisements 
in  newspapers  where  parties  used  the  term  .and  yet 
were  not  licensed.  It  was  contended  that  no 
licence  was  lequisite  for  the  use  of  the  word  unless 
the  party  exercised  or  carried  on  the  business.  Mr. 
ElUson,  after  a  long  argument,  said  he  was  of 
opinion  the  statute  intended  to  mclude  all  who 
professed  to  carry  on  the  business,  and  to  limit  to 
those  who  took  out  a  licence  the  power  of  using 
the  word.  He  must,  therefore,  convict  the  defend- 
ant, and  ordered  him  to  pay  a  fine  of  lOs.  and  2s. 
costs.    He  agreed  to  grant  a  case. 

DiSTEICT  StTETETOBS'  FEES.-At  the  Marl- 
borough-street  Police-court  on  Thursday  the  1st 
inst  .  before  Mr.  Mansfield,  Mr.  Alfred  btonor  of 
61,  South-street,  Grosvenor-square,  appeajed  to 
an  adjourned  summons  taken  out  by_  Mr.  Robert 
Kerr,  district  surveyor  of  St.  James  s,  tmder  the 
Mttripohtan  Building  Act,  to  recover  the  fee  of 
£1  los     Mr.  J.  A.  Alsop,  sohcitor,  appeared  lot 


54 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


July  9,  1880. 


the  defendant.  Mr.  Kerr  ?aid  the  defendant  bad 
executed  some  works  at  IS,  St.  James's-placo. 
Those  works  included  the  fixingof  some  hot-water 
apparatus.  By  the  Building  Act,  se.-tion  21,  para- 
graph 4,  it  was  provided  that  uo  pipe  for  carrying 
hot  water  should  be  placed  nearer  than  Sin.  to  any 
combustible  miiterial.  Mr.  Stonor  had  in  this  case 
fitted  the  pipes  nearer  than  Sin.  to  woodwork. 
Witness  communicated  with  him  about  the  viola- 
tion of  the  Act.  and  he  promised  to  amend  the 
work  ;  and  he  ultimately  did  so  to  witness's  satis- 
faction. Witness  then  sent  in  lis  claim  for  his 
fee,  which  Mr.  Stonor  had  neglected  to  pay ;  hence 
this  summons.  Mr.  Alsop:  5tr.  Stonor  Bare  you 
no  notice  of  this  work  'i  Witness :  No.  Mr. 
Alsop:  Therefore,  if  the  work  came  under  the 
Act,  ho  would  have  been  liable  to  a  penalty ''. 
AVitness:  He  would.  Mr.  Alsoji :  Why  did  you 
not  proceed  for  those  penalties  r  Witness  :  Because 
1  am  not  in  the  habit  of  proceeding;  for  them.  Mr. 
Alsop:  Did  you  survey  the  work?  Witness:  I 
did.  Mr.  Alsop  :  When  ■•  Witness :  One  visit  was 
on  the  Uth  Nov.,  1S79.  Mr.  Alsop  :  AUhoigh  the 
work  was  comjDleted  on  the  l.Sth  Sept.  V     Witness 


of  ?t.  James's  claimed  £-5  for  the  inspection  of 
work  done  hy  the  defendants  at  the  Con?erv.^tive 
Clubhouse,  the  work  in  question  consisting  of  the 
removal  of  a  stove  from  one  part  of  a  room  to 
another,  and  the  carrying  of  the  stove-pipe  through 
the  wall  into  the  extremity  of  the  flue.  It  was 
woik,  Mr.  Kerr  contended,  which  properly  came 
under  his  supervision,  the  building  being  a  very 
important  one,  and  uo  mercy  would  have  been 
shown  to  the  district  surveyor  if  fire  had  resulted 
from  his  neglect  to  see  the  work  properly  done. 
The  fee  he  was  entitled  t)  under  the  Act  was  £-5. 
In  these  cases  of  large  fees  he  was  ahvays 
open  to  receive  applications  for  abatement,  but  in 
this  case  no  such  application  had  been  made  to  him. 
The  solicitor  for  the  defence  conttndcd  that  the 
case  did  not  come  nithin  the  Act  at  all,  or  ihat  if 
it  did  it  came  under  section  .50  as  being  work  for 
which,  not  being  covered  by  the  schedule,  the  dis- 
trict surveyor  was  bound  to  apply  to  the  Board  of 
Works  to  fix  the  amount  of  his  fee.  It  was 
monstrous  to  contend  that  this  mere  altfration  of 
stove-pipe  and  flue  came  under  sections  20  and 
1,  and  entitled  the  district  surveyor  to  a  fee  half 


It  was  not  completed  then.  Mr.  Alsop  :  Do  you  I  as  large  as  he  would  be  entitled  to  for  the  ™tj.re 
swear  that  y»u  went  there  at  all  until  long  after  building  of  the  Conservative  club-house.  Mr. 
the  work  had  been  completed?  Witness:  The  Mansfield  rather  agreed  that  the  sum  claimed  was 
work  not  having  been  notified  to  me  at  the  time,  I  exorbitant,'  as  the  work  was  much  slighter  than 
went  there  when  I  became  aware  of  it.  Cross-  some  of  the  works  specified  in  the  schedule  as 
examination  continued:  Mr.  Stonor  has  disputed  eniitling  the  district  surveyor  to  a  fee  of  only  ten 
this  claim  since  November  last.  He  said  his  client  shillings.  At  the  same  time  he  believed  that  under 
would  not  pay  it.  I  have  another  claim  pending  section  9  Mr.  Kerr  was  entitkd  to  claim  the  £■;), 
against  him  in  respect  of  the  Eton  and  Harrow  I  and  he  was  bound  to  give  judgment  accordingly 
Club,  which  he  also  disputes,  as  not  coming  within 
the  Building  Act.  By  the  magistrate  (Mr.  Mans- 
field) :  I  inspected  the  works  myself,  and  gave 
directions  for  their  alteration,  which  were 
obeyed  by  Mr.  Stonor,  as  he  admits  in  a  letter 
which  I  produce.  Wra.  James  Ashdown  deposed  : 
lam  clerk  to  Mr.  Kerr.  I  remember  water-pipes 
being  put  in  at  IS,  St.  James's-place.  The  chimney 
was  opened  and  altered,  and  a  stove  was  fixed. 
That  work  was  surveyed  by  me  and  by  Mr.  Kerr 
on  several  occasions.  I  remember  seeing  Mr. 
Stonor  on  the  matter.  He  admitted  having  done 
the  work,  and  corrected  it  to  Mr.  Kerr's  satisfac- 
tion. Mr.  Kerr :  Are  you  aware  that  there  has 
been  considerable  difficulty  experienced  in  adminis- 
tering that  clause  of  the  Act  which  requires  all 
pipes  conveying  hot  water  to  stand  Sin.  away  from 
the  woodwork  r  Witness  :  Tes.  Mr.  Kerr :  And 
are  you  aware  of  the  custom  that  prevails  and  of 
my  practice  to  alJow  woodwork  which  is  not  in 
absolute  contact  with  the  pipes  but  yet  within  .jin., 
to  be  covered  with  metal  r  Witness:  Yes;  that  is 
the  practice.  Mr.  Kerr :  And  did  that  practice 
guide  the  negotiations  and  arrangements  which 
were  made  with  Mr.  Stonor ?  Witness:  Y'es,  and 
I  calculated  the  fees.  Mr.  Kerr :  Mr.  Stonor  gave 
us  no  notice  and  no  particulars  on  which  to  cal- 
culate the  fee,  and  my  clerk  had  therefore  to  do  it 
in  the  best  way  he  could.  Witness,  in  cross-exa- 
mination, said  the  surveyor's  fee,  according  to  the 
second  rule  of  the  Act,  was  calculated  by  the 
size  of  the  building  undergoing  altera'ion. 
This  completed  the  complainant's  case.  Mr.  Alsop, 
for  the  defence,  took  several  technical  objections 
to  the  summons,  all  of  which  the  magistrate  over- 
ruled. He  then  went  into  the  merits  of  the  case, 
contending  that  by  the  9th  secihn  of  the  Building 
Act,  IS  and  19  Vic,  such  work  as  that  executed  by 
Mr.  Stonor  in  this  case  was  excepted.  The  words 
were  "Any  alteration,  or  addition,  or  other  work 
made  or  done  for  any  purpose,  exn^p*  thit  of  inrcs- 
sari/  repair  not  ajfrrtir^f/  the  consfructioti  of  aiiif  ex- 
ternal or  pafti/-trti/i  iuor  upon  a.nj  old  building." 
Now,  he  believed,  and  he  would  call  evidence  to 
prove,  that  Mr.  Stonor's  case  came  within  that  ex- 
ception.    He  a'so  called  his  worship's  attention  to 

the  fact  that  although  the   work   was   completed 

about  the  middle  of  September,    it  was  not  until 

November  that  Mr.  Kerr  interfered  or  attempted 

to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.     Mr.  Stonor  did  not 

give  notice  of  the  work  because  he  felt  satisfied  it 

did  not  come  within   the  works  which  under  the 

Act  the  district  surveyor  was  entitled  to  survey 

and  to  charge  for.   If  Sir.  Kerr  had  really  believed 

in  his  claim  be  should  have  brought  it  before  the 

court   earlier.     The  fact  was,    thit  these  claims 

were  being  continually  made  and  then  abandoned 

because  it  was   known   the  cases   did   not  come 

within  the   Act.      Various  witnesses  having  be^n 

heard,  and  Mr.  Kerr  having  addressed  the  magis- 
trate at  some  length,  Mr.  Mansfield  said  :  I  am  of 

opinion  that  Mr.  Kerr  might  have  proceeded  for 

penalties  against  Mr.   Stonor  or  whoever  put  up 

those  pipes  for  their  not  being  three  inches  from 

the  wood,  but  I  utterly  repudiate  the  doctrine  that 

if  I  make  a  repair  I  am  bound  to  repair  with  the 

same  material  as  the  original ;  that  if,  for  instance, 

a  thing  was  made  of  cast  iron,  I  could  not,  in  re- 
pairing it,  use  some  other  mat  'ri  tl  for  the  same 

purpose  without   rendering  myself  liable  to   the 

Act.   It  is  absurd  to  say,  if  I  put  in  a  stone  instead 

of  a  brick  in  the  wall,  that  is  not  a  repair ;  therefore 

I  dismiss  the  summons. 


PAKLIAMENTABY     NOTES. 

Decoh.vtiox  of  the  CKxir.iL  HiLL  of  the 
HorsES.— Mr.  Schreiber,  last  week,  asked  the 
First  Commissioner  of  Works  when  he  intended  to 
complete  the  mural  decoration  of  the  central  hall 
of  the  Houses  ;  whether  he  was  in  possession  of 
designs  for  the  three  vacant  panels,  and  at  what 
cost  each  panel  could  be  filled  in  with  mosaics.  Mr. 
Adam : — The  question  as  to  the  best  mode  of 
filling  in  the  vacant  panels  in  the  central  hall  has 
given  rise  to  much  discussion,  and  was  very  fully 
inquired  into  in  1S70  and  1871,  but  no  definite  con- 
clusion was  arrived  at.  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
vacant  spaces  should  be  filled  up,  but  I  am  unable, 
without  further  cons'deration,  to  state  when  this 
can  be  done.  No  designs  exist  for  the  vacant 
panels.  The  cost  of  the  panel  already  filled  in 
was  about  £G7o,  but  I  am  unable  at  present  to  say 
what  will  be  the  cost  of  filling  in  the  vacant 
panels. 

The  Lightixo  of  the  House. — In  answer  to 
Mr.  D.  Grant,  Mr.  Adam  said:  The  question  of 
lighting  the  House  and  its  approaches  by  the  elec- 
tric light  has  received,  and  is  receiving,  careful 
consideration.  I  will  take  care  that  it  continues 
to  receive  full  attention,  but  I  am  not  prepared  at 
present  to  recommend  any  definite  course  of  action 
on  so  important  a  question,  involving  much  change 
and  alteration  of  existing  arrangements,  and 
which  ought  not  to  be  finally  adopted  without 
going  through  the  test  of  careful  experiment. 

TnE  National  Galleet. — Mr.  Coope  asked  the 
Fiist  Commissioner  of  Works  whether  he  was  able 
to  lay  upon  the  table  of  the  House  the  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  trustees  of  the  National  Gallery  as 
to  giving  increased  facility  for  admission  to  the 
public;  and  whether  he  was  prepared  to  state  what 
action  the  Government  was  willing  to  take  in  the 
matter.  Mr.  Adam.— The  copy  of  the  resolutions 
passed  by  the  trustees  of  the  National  Gallery  and 
their  remarks  explanatory  of  them  h:ive  been  laid 
upon  the  table  of  the  House,  and  will  shortly  be 
printed.  The  initiative  in  this  matter  rests  with 
the  trustees,  and  not  with  the  Government ;  but 
the  latter  will  bo  prepared  to  consider  any  pro- 
posals that  miy  be  made  to  them  oa  the  subject, 
with  the  view  of  giving,  if  possible,  increased 
facilities  to  the  public  and  students. 


In  the  case  of  Kerr  r.  Barron  and  Wilson,   also 
heard  before  Mr.  Mansfield,  the  district  surveyor 


At  the  Turin  National  Fine  Art  Exhibition  now 
being  held,  th-  highest  attainable  honour,  viz.,  the 
"  Grand  Diploma  of  Honour,"  has  been  conferred 
on  the  Venice  and  Murano  Glass  and  Mosaic 
Company,  of  30,  St.  James's-street,  London,  and 
731,  Campo  San  Vio,  Grand  Canal,  Venice.  At 
Paris,  in  1S7S,  the  company  received  two  gold 
medals,  and  the  Cross  of  Legion  d'Honneur.  A 
ndvr  process  invented  and  discovered  by  Signor 
Alessaudro  Castellani,  whereby  exquisite  impres- 
sions of  the  most  antique  medals  and  coins  maybe 
preserved  in  glass,  will,  doubtless,  interest  all 
who  have  studied  numismatics. 

In  our  description,  last  week,  of  the  house  at 
Westg,ate-ou-Sea,  of  which  we  gave  an  illustration, 
wo  omitted  to  state  that  the  facing  bricks  were 
manufactured  by  Mr.  ThomasLawrenco,  of  Brack- 
well.  Mr.  Lawrence  also  supplied  the  facing 
bricks  for  the  house  at  Sunninghill,  recently  illus- 
trated, and  he  is  also  supplying  the  whole  of  the 
bricks    for   Mr.  IloUoway's  Ladies'  College,  now 


(Dm*  ©fScc  €Mt 
— ♦♦♦ — 

TnE  first  anniversary  of  the  Sanitary  Institute 
of  Great  Britain  was  held  yesterday  (Thursday) 
afternoon  at  theEoj-allnstitution.  Earl  Shaftes- 
bury, vice-president,  occupied  the  cliair.  The 
annual  report  having  beeu  read,  received,  and 
adopted,  Captain  Douglas  Galton,  C.B.,  deli- 
vered an  address  on  "Some  Preventible  Causes 
of  Impurity  in  London  Air."  Statistics  as  to 
density  of  population  and  average  death-rate 
were  adduced,  and  shown  to  establish  the  theory 
that  in  proportion  as  there  is  more  complete 
circulation  of  air  around  dwellings  so  is  the 
healthfulness  of  the  inmates  increased.  The 
o-reater  uuhealthiiiess  of  town  over  rural  dis- 
tricts is  largely  due,  it  wa.s  urged,  to  the  too 
close  proximity  of  dwelling?,  the  consequent 
ab.sence  of  circulation  of  air,  and  the  saturation 
of  the  subsoU  with  impurities  passing  into  it 
from  the  closely  occupied  surface.  The  con- 
tamination of  the  soil  by  decaying  animal  matter 
is  diminished  in  Loudon  by  the  careful  surface 
paving  and  good  drainage,  but  there  is  still 
much  room  for  improvement  in  scavenging.  But 
the  oppressive  character  of  London  air  is  pro- 
bably largely  due  to  the  enormous  consumption 
of  co.al.  "Open  fireplaces,  with  all  their  ad- 
vantages in  cheerfulness  and  direct  change  of 
air  in  an  apartment,  are  wasteful  and  smoke- 
producers,  and  he  recommended  in  preference 
the  use  of  hot-water  and  steam-pipes,  carebeing 
taken  to  warm  the  room  indirectly  through  the 
walls  and  floor,  and  to  make  ample  provision  for 
ventilation.  Something  might  be  done  also  by 
storing  up  heat  either  in  felt-lined  boxes,  as  in 
the  Norwegian  stove,  or  by  utilising  the 
heat  evolved  in  the  crystallisation  of  acetate  of 
soda,  now  being  adopted  by  the  London  and 
North-Western  Railway  Co.,  in  their  foot- 
warmers.  Earl  Shaftesbury,  in  proposing  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  Captain  Galton,  asked  him  to 
moderate  his  zeal  against  the  open  fire,  a  pecu- 
liarly English  institution,  typical  of  home  com- 
fort," and  urged  that  it  was  of  little  use  in- 
structing engineers  and  architects— although  of 
the  latter  he  must  say  they  seemed  to  him  to 
know  as  little  of  drainage  and  ventilation  as  of 
the  moon — unless  the  general  public  were  edu- 
cated in  the  principles  of  sanitation. 

Messes.  Eichakd  and  George  Tangyehave 
made  amunificeut  proposal,  in  thehope  of  promot- 
ing the  erection  of  a  permanent  building  for  the 
Birmingham  Corporation  Art  Gallery.  Messrs. 
Tangye  now  make  the  following  offer  ; — That  if 
the  Council  will  agree  to  make  provision  for  a 
permanent  art  gallery,  on  a  scale  really  com- 
mensurate with  the  necessities  of  Birmingham, 
they  will,  on  the  resolution  of  the  Council  to 
commence  the  work,  pay  over  to  the  Free 
Libraries  Committee  a  sum  of  £.5,000  for  the 
purchase  of  specimens  of  art  for  exhibition  in  the 
gallery  ;  and  further,  that  if  this  contribution  is 
met  by  adequate  donations— say  of  equal  amount 
from  other  persons,  they  will  give  a  further 
sum  of  £5,000,  making  £10,000  in  all,  for  the 
above-named  purpose.  Birmingham  has  always 
behaved  with  regard  to  science  and  art  in  a 
manner  -which  shames  many  to-mis  with  greater 
advantages,  and  we  have  no  doubt  Messrs. 
Tangye's  liberal  offer  will  be  met  in  a  corre- 
spondingly liberal  spirit. 

FoLLOwrs-G  the  example  of  last  year,  an  Ex- 
hibition of  Ecclesiastical  Art  wiU  take  place  at 
Leicester  during  the  forthcoming  Church  Con- 
ress,  at  the  Skating  Kink,  in  Kutland-street, 
which  will  be  specially  fitted  up  and  decorated 
for  the  occasion.  The  Exhibition  will  open  on 
the  27th  of  September,  and  close  on  the  2nd  of 
October.  Many  of  the  leading  ecclesiastical  art 
manufacturers  have  akeady  intimated  their  in- 
tention of  being  represented,  and  owing  to  the 
central  situation  of  the  town,  the  Exhibition 
may  he  expected  to  rival,  if  not  surpass,  that  held 
at  Swansea  in  1879.  An  important  feature  of 
the  Exhibition  will  be  a  loan  collection  of 
ancient  church  plate,  mediaeval  silversmiths' 
work,  embroidery,  and  similar  objects,  towards 
which  ?ome  well-known  collectors  wUl  con- 
tribute. A  portion  of  the  building  will  be 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  principal  Church 
Societies  for  their  publications,  and  a  room  will 
be  provided  for  the  use  of  the  secretary  or  repre- 
sentative, who  will  be  in  constant  attendance  to 
give  personal  information  and  counsel  to  those 
interested  in  the  work  of  the  particular  society. 


being    built    at    Epsom,'  his  contract    being  for   Tbe  Exhibition  will  include  educational  books 
20,000,000  of  bricks  to  be  sent  in  in  four  years.         I  and  appliances  of  every  description. 


July  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


55 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


ZOXDOX,  FRIDAY   JULY  IG,  1S80. 


AECHTTECTUEAL  I3JPR0VEMENTS 
IX  THE  CItY. 

MAXT  people  traversing  that  busy  focus 
of  City  life  are  unaware  that  the 
little  steeple  seen  at  the  back  of  the  Mansion 
House,  risinp;  out  of  a  mass  of  obscure 
buildings,  belongs  to  a  church  which  is 
considered  to  be  Wren's  masterpiece.  Not 
many,  perhaps,  are  aware  that  the  little 
church,  whose  side  is  hidden  partly  by  an 
old  book-store,  is  St.  Stephen's,  Wallbrook, 
and  that  it  contains  one  of  the  most  in- 
genious and  admirable  architectural  interiors 
in  existence.  Probably  fewer  still  have  ever 
had  the  curiosity  to  enter  a  building  which, 
externally,  is  so  destitute  of  pretensions, 
either  to  size  or  dignity ;  but  of  all  the 
churches  we  know,  there  is  scarcely  one 
that  makes  us  less  disposed  to  estimate  the 
internal  quality  of  a  building  by  its  exterior. 
With  the  solitary  exception  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  all  Wren's  churches  are  ungainly 
buildings  till  we  enter  them,  though  we 
must  confess  to  the  beauty  of  the  steeples. 
But  what  we  desire  particiilarly  to  notice  as 
regards  St.  Stephen's,  Wallbrook,  is  that 
after  years  of  neglect,  it  is  now  undergoing 
at  least  substantial  repairs.  The  dreary, 
unsightly  wall  of  dirty  stucco,  facing 
the  Mansion  House,  has  been  stripped 
of  its  plaster,  and  the  stones  have 
been  redressed  and  pointed.  On  the 
entrance  side  we  find  the  same  process  has 
transformed  the  dingy  and  begrimed  front 
into  a  pleasing  facade.  The  window-dress- 
ings and  string-courses  have  been  cleaned  of 
plaster  and  whitewash,  and  their  hammer- 
dressed  faces  look  again  fresh  and  sharp. 
The  tower,  perfectly  plain,  has  been  treated 
in  the  same  manner,  and  resembles  one  of 
those  campaniles  which  flank  the  churches 
in  Italy.  As  every  one  knows,  it  is  crowned 
by  a  columnar  composition  of  two  tiers, 
whose  imique  and  elegant  outline  is  mainly 
produced  by  the  broken  lines  of  the  cornices 
and  the  angle  columns.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  points  is  the  manner  in  which 
this  tower  has  been  placed  a  little  on  one 
side  of  the  centre  of  the  church,  instead  of 
forming  the  entrance  lobby  as  it  might  have 
done.  Its  outer  side  is  partly  hidden  by  the 
narrow  house  which  faces  the  Poultry,  whQe 
over  the  entrance-archway  the  premises  on 
the  Wallbrook  side  overlap,  so  that  the 
whole  building  seems  hemmed  in.  The 
arched  entrance,  with  its  pilasters  and  the 
oval  Hght  above,  are  also  remarkable  for  the 
carved  festoons  and  the  peculiar  leaf  orna- 
ment which  spring  out  of  the  arch  of  the 
doorway.  No  less  peculiar  is  the  method 
resort<?d  to  in  lighting  the  church  on  the 
north  side  ;  the  recess  between  the  tower  and 
aisle  was  clearly  intended  to  obtain  light  to 
the  nave  and  aisle  at  this  end. 

Entering  the  church  through  the  western 
lobby,  we  find  very  little  has  been  done  yet. 
The  interior  presents  the  same  sombre  drab 
hue  that  most  of  the  City  churches  have  pre- 
sented during  so  many  years  of  neglect  and 
misuse,  and  it  is  only  the  proportions  and 
details  which  stil!  exercise  their  charm  over 
the  visitor.  The  west  screen  and  doorway 
below  the  organ  is  a  fine  specimen  of 
carved  oak  woodwork.  The  pedimental 
entrance  has  been  saved  from  mutilation, 
and  the  carving  only  requires  a  little  clean- 
ing to  restore  its  freshness.  Looking  through 
the  glass  doors,  the  dark  oak  pews,  reredos, 
and  canopied  pulpit  make  a  rich  contrast, 
which  remind  one  of  the  picturesque  easemhle 
of  some  Continental  church,  and  we  almost 


repme  at  seeuig  these  removed  to  make  room  ]  of  the  frontage.  Here  the  stone  pilasters 
for  more  modem  fittings.  We  are  sorry  to  !  look  rather  weak,  and  have  a  skeleton-like 
hear,  upon  mquiry,  that  the  funds  -n-ill  not  effect  upon  the  facade,  and  there  is  want  of 
permit  of  a  careful  decoration  of  this  unique  horizontal  lines  to  counteract  this  appear- 
interior ;  and  that  Wren's  finest  church  is   anco.     The  centre  forms  a  flat  bay  of  five 


to  be  denied  the  addition  of  colour  which 
St.  Mary-le-Bow  has  lately  received.  Few 
churches  ^^•Oldd  repay  better  the  cost  of  a 
discriminate  emploj-ment  of  colour,  and  we 
can  almost  imagine  what  a  rich  polychro- 
matic treatment  would  do  to  enhance  the 
beauty  of  the  interior  of  this  church,  by  dis- 
playing its  intricacy  and  play  of  light  and 
shade.  Surely  Wren  never  intended  the 
beautifvdly-panelled  dome,  which  covers  a 
large  portion  of  the  area  of  this  church,  and 
is  its  grand  feature,  to  remain  as  we  see  it ; 
nor  the  lateral  vaults  over  its  arms,  and  the 
triangular  pendentives  at  the  angles  of  the 
dome,  to  be  merely  whitewashed.  The  east 
window  is  of  rich  colour,  and  seems  to  make 
the  sombre  monotone  of  the  walls  and  vaults 
less  endurable  to  the  eye.  Its  design  con- 
sists of  centre  subjects,  and  medallions  fiUed 
with  Evangelistic  emblems.  On  each  side 
the    aisle   windows   are   filled  with  stiiined 


stories,  and  agreeably  breaks  the  monotony 
of  the  front.  The  windows  have  brick  pedi- 
ments over  them,  but  these  are  unpleasantly 
depressed  from  being  squeezed  between  the 
sills  of  the  upper  ^vindows.  Tarioiis  recent 
alterations  and  improvements  have  taken 
place  between  Cheapsido  and  London-wall. 
At  the  comer  of  the  latter,  and  facing  the 
new  Carjicnters'  Hall,  an  elaborate  building 
in  the  lienaissance  stylo  has  been  erected 
from  the  design,  we  hear,  of  Mr.  Norton, 
architect.  It  is  intended  for  a  Government 
telegraph  oflScp.  The  building  has  two 
frontages,  and  both  are  faced  with  Portland 
stone.  The  large  number  of  rooms  required 
has  apparently  had  something  to  do  with 
the  thickly-set  windows,  the  ojionings  being 
much  in  excess  of  the  solids,  especially  in 
the  side  facing  Carpenters'  Hall.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  facades  is  in  the  French 
muUioned  style  of   the   latter  part   of  th( 


glass  subjects,  representing  the  Crucifixion  l.jth  century;  and  the  windows  h.ave  tran- 
and  Ascension  ;  whUe  at  the  west  end  the  soms  with  carred  arabesques  in  relief  up  the 
windows    are    adorned    by    Our    Saviour's    architraves    and    .along    the    friezes.      The 


Nativity  and  Baptism.  Other  Scriptural 
scenes  till  the  oval  lights  at  the  sides  of  the 
church.  In  spite  of  i's  condition,  the  ad- 
mirer of  our  Renaissance  churches  will  find 
much  to  interest  him,  besides  the  ingenious 
planning  which  has  given  such  a  world-wide 
notoriety  to  the  church  of  St.  Stephen's. 
The  pulpit,  with  its  finely-caiwed  sounding- 
board,  is  particularly  worth  notice.  The 
latter,  like  the  pulpit  itself,  is  hexagonal  in 
plan,  and  has  a  roof  of  ogee  outline  ;  the 
sides  are  enriched  by  a  broken  cornice, 
handsomely  finished  at  the  angles  of  canopy 
with  carved  figures  of  cherubs  holding  fes- 
toons, and  with  carved  pendants  below. 
At  the  altar  end  is  an  oak  reredos, 
with  two  Corinthian  columns,  and  bold 
I  carvings  in  the  pediment.  There  is 
an  interesting  railing  inclosing  sacrar- 
ium,  of  semicircular  shape,  composed 
of  twisted  pillars,  crowned  by  a  massive 
capping  enriched  by  foliage  :  and  the  church 
is  surroimded  by  a  lofty  dado  of  wainscot . 
But  all  these  handsome  fittings  seem  lost 
and  destitute  against  the  dismal,  sombre 
walls ;  the  grand  painting  in  the  north 
transept  looks  almost  out  of  place  in  its 
dusty  recess,  and  the  very  columns  of  the 


general  effect  of  the  detail  ii  crowded,  and 
the  style,  rich  and  elegant  as  it  is,  must  bo 
deemed  unsuited  for  the  London  atmosphere. 
In  the  chimney  backs  a  series  of  medallions 
are  introduced  in  panels  representing  the 
four-quarters  of  the  globe.  There  is  a 
rusticated  basement  with  arches,  and  the 
sky-line  bristles  with  terminals.  One  or 
two  ot'ner  blocks  of  building  are  finished 
in  this  thoroughfare,  and  several  good 
plots  for  building  are  to  be  let. 
Since  our  last  notice  of  works  in 
Cheapside,  Mercers'  Hall  has  made  con- 
siderable progress.  Its  very  extent  and 
elabor.ation  of  detail  have  just  now,  so  long 
as  the  stone  is  fresh  and  white,  an  attrac- 
tion for  those  who  bestow  a  glance  upon 
our  buildings.  The  flat  bays  which  form 
features  in  the  facade  are  striking,  and  re- 
beve  the  repetition  that  would  have  resulted 
if  the  three-light  windows  had  been  re- 
peated throughout.  A  little  help  in  colour, 
too,  has  been  given  by  the  red  polished 
shafts  of  the  windows,  which  arc  carried 
throughout.  The  bays  are  surmoxmted  by 
dormers,  -w-itli  pediments,  and  an  elabo- 
rated dentil  cornice  and  balustrade,  highly 
carved,  crown  the  front ;  along  the  latter, 


Corinthian  order  which  Cirrythe  domical  •  medallions  or  panels  are  introduced,  with 
roof  look  begrimed.  We  find  the  funds  at  i  sculptured  busts  in  relief.  Strong  horizon- 
the  disposal  of  the  churchwardens,  Messrs.  tal  lines  mark  the  architecture,  and  these 
A.  Broad  and  H.  Fuller,  barely  £2,009,  are  ]  Hues  are  enriched  by  frets,  .as  in  the  win- 
inadequate  to  do  more  th.an  repair  the  lead-  i  dow-friezes,  and  by  the  Vitruvian  scroll  in 


work  of  roof  .and  dome,  and  to  put  the 
church  into  substantial  repair.  What  has 
been  done  is  a  step  in  the  right  du-ection, 
but  we  hope  those  gentlemen  will  soon  be 
enabled  by  further  assistance  to  redeem  years 
of  apathy  and  neglect  by  expending  a  Uttle 
on  the  interior  decoration  and  improvement 
of  one  of  the  first  of  Wren'ychurches. 

We  should  piiticularly  bice  to  see  the 
twelve  Corinthian  columns  supporting  the 
dome  relieved  bv  a  warm  colour,  the  entab- 


the  string-courses.  Ovals,  with  sculptured 
heads  of  animals  in  relief,  adorn  the  large 
windows  of  the  first  floor.  There  has  been 
clearly  no  stmt  about  carving,  for  we  see 
carved  ornament  in  positions— as  in  the 
angles  of  the  bays— where  its  value  is 
rather  questionable,  and  we  are  mcUned  to 
think  the  ornament  has  been  a  little  too 
lavishlv  bestowed.  Since  the  entrance  with 
its  loftv  mansard,  is  nearly  finished,  the 
proportions  of    th"  building    can   b9   esti- 


lature  carrying  the  eight  arches  enriched  by  I  mated.  Upon  the  front  of  this  towei 
gold,  with  judicious  colouring  in  the  frieze  Wren's  old  entrance  to  the  old  hall  has  boci. 
and  architraves,  and  the  panels  in  the  pen-  reproduced :  but  we  do  not  think  the  cor- 
dentives,  modelled  in  high  relief,  picked  out.  belled  ordinance  above  it  has  much  n«J""T; 
The  circular  cornice  and  the  medallions  ^^hile  the  canon  which  says  '•  \ok1s  should 
surrounding  the  base  of  the  dome,  and  the   \yg  o^er  voids  "  is  set  aside. 

panelled  compartments    of  the  latter,  with  |  ^     ^      

their   relief   ornaments,  would   admit   of   a  j 

lighter  key  of  colour,  commencing  with  a  yHE  FIREPL.4.CE  AND  ITS  S.ANTTAIIT 

dark  shade  in  the  lower  tier  of  panels,  and  j  V.iVLUE. 

rising  by  gradation  of  tone  to  a  lighter  tint.  .  jj„,„   ,i„i;,.ot«u1   hv 

Several  new  buildings  in  the  lo^c.ality  call   TN  the  amuversary  ^-^^     tW  dav  at 
for  notice.     At  the  cSmer  of  Bucklersburv"   1     Capt.  Douglas  Galton  tUe  ^^^^r  day  a^ 
some  premises  with  a  wide  frontage  of  red   the  Sanitary  Institute  a^d  reported  mth^ 
brick,^eiieved   by   stone    pUasters%f  two   Bun.DiXG>Ews,  that  |entleman^^^^^ 
orders,  rather   suggest  a  reconsideration  of  I  some  eugth  to  the  warnungoncbvent.lat^^^^^ 
the   combination^of  brick  and  stone,  when   buildings,  »"d  many  of  l^he  oteeixatw^^^^^ 
the  former  material  occupies  so  large  a  part  |  made  are  worth  the  attention  of  architects. 


56 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


It  is  rather  remarkable  that  the  author  of 
the  address  seemed  to  have  been  unaware  of 
the  recent  revolution  in  the  construction  of 
firei)laces  by  those  architects  who  strictly 
follow  the  precepts  of  the  Jacobean  leaders, 
for  he  ignored  altogether  the  consti-uc- 
tion  of  large  chimney  -  comers,  and  the 
revival  of  the  "dog"  and  "hob"  grate. 
It  is  certainly  singular  that  while  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Sanitary  Institute  was  telling 
his  audience  of  the  means  for  an  economical 
use  of  fuel  by  the  substitution  of  scientific 
heat-producers  for  the  open  firegrate,  our 
our  leading  architects  of  the  domestic  school 
are  bent  upon  closely  fallowing  the  least 
productive  form  of  heating  by  the  use  of  the 
old,  but  picturesque,  open  fireplace  which 
gave  to  the  homes  of  our  forefathers  their 
look  of  quaintness  and  hospitality.  The 
figures  given  by  the  author  to  show  the 
waste  of  fuel  which  takes  place  in  the 
ordinary  grate  would  have  been  somewhat 
altered  under  these  circumstances,  and  it 
might  have  been  shown  that  if  gths  of  the 
heat  generated  by  the  coal  is  carried  up  the 
chimney  of  a  fireplace  of  the  common  type, 
a  great  deal  larger  proportion  passes  up  a 
chimney  formed  with  a  large  hood  after  the 
old  model.  Capt.  Galton  says:  "  Under 
favourable  cii'cumstances,  the  coal  consumed 
may  be  taken  at  ten  times,  and  in  many 
cases  a  still  larger  quantity  than  is  necessary 
for  producing  the  required  warmth,"  so  if 
this  calculation  can  be  taken,  as  we  believe 
it  may  be,  the  waste  by  large  openings 
would  be  still  greater.  Again,  in  speaking 
of  the  effects  of  radiation  of  heat,  which  is 
the  mode  of  warming  of  all  open  fires,  the 
speaker  did  not  dwell,  as  he  might  have  done, 
upon  the  obstruction  to  radiation  caused  by 
recessing  the  fireplace  deeply  between 
jambs  or  in  nooks  of  the  room — a  custom  that 
has  lately  been  much  followed  and  has  won 
many  admirers.  By  this  plan  it  cannot  be 
doubted  the  warmth  of  a  fireplace  is  practi- 
cally not  felt  in  those  parts  of  a  room  which 
are  beyond  the  direct  limits  of  radiation ; 
that,  in  fact,  some  parts  of  the  room  are  cut 
off  from  the  heat,  as  may  be  practically 
shown  by  drawing  straight  lines  through 
the  obstructing  walls.  So  that  a  room,  with 
a  recess  in  which  a  fireplace  is  introduced,  is 
vii'tually  warmed  only  within  the  immediate 
precincts  of  the  recess  itself,  and,  therefore, 
only  those  who  can  seat  themselves  within 
the  narrow  radiance  of  the  fire  can  enjoy 
the  warmth  it  gives.  Yet  this  mode  of 
planning  is  now  very  commonly  followed  in 
houses  of  the  fashionable  type.  It  follows 
from  what  we  have  said,  therefore,  that 
architects  have,  in  many  instances,  uncon- 
sciously acted  in  opposition  to  the  principle 
of  radiant  heat  they  have  themselves  pro- 
moted by  the  retention  of  the  open  fire. 
They  have,  therefore,  been  rather  aiding  the 
sanitary  reformer  in  his  endeavours  to  con- 
vince the  public  of  the  untenable  position 
the  open  fire  occupies  as  an  economic  heat- 
producer.  But  Capt.  Galton  very  fairly 
represented  the  advantages  as  well  as  defects 
■of  the  open  fire.  He  showed  that  the  rays 
from  a  fire,  though  they  pass  through  the 
air  without  sensibly  warming  it,  raise 
the  temperature  of  the  walls  and  furni- 
ture of  a  room,  which,  in  their  turn, 
impart  warmth  to  the  air,  in  short, 
that  by  this  system  the  walls  of  a  room 
become  warmer  than  the  air,  and,  therefore, 
they  do  not  abstract  heat  from  the  occupants 
of  the  room,  as  they  would  do  if  colder  than 
the  air.  On  the  other  hand,  rooms  warmed 
by  flues  or  hot-water  pipes  are  rendered  so 
by  heating  the  air,  which  becomes  warmer 
than  the  walls,  and  the  latter  being  colder 
than  the  air  naturally  abstract  the  heat  from 
occupants  by  radiation.  To  bring  the 
walls  up  to  the  same  temperature  as  those  of 
a  room  warmed  by  an  open  fire,  the  air 
woiUd  have  to  be  heated  to  an  unpleasant 
degree,  and  hence  woidd  be  less  desirable 
for  health.     The  argument  is  a  sound  one. 


and  goes  a  long  way  towards  reconciling  us 
to  the  comforts  of  the  oijen  fire-grate,  not- 
withstanding its  wastefulness.  The  sugges- 
tions made  for  the  prevention  of  smoke  and 
the  economy  of  fuel  are  not  new.  One  con- 
sists in  supplying  hot  air  to  all  the  rooms  of 
a  house  from  one  stove  in  the  basement  ; 
another  in  the  use  of  an  adaptation  of  a 
German  stove  which  will  admit  fresh  warm 
air,  as  is  done  by  a  new  stove  manuf  actm-ed  by 
Messrs.  Doulton,  which  economises  fuel  and 
obviates  the  objection  to  over-heated  iron 
stoves  ;  and  a  third  is  the  use  of  an  apparatus 
heated  by  a  flame  jjroduced  by  mineral-oil. 
Heating  by  water  under  great  pressure  is 
commended  as  a  more  economical  method 
than  the  low-pressure  system.  The  greater 
the  pressure  the  quicker  is  the  air  warmed, 
and  the  more  is  the  advantage  of  radiation 
of  heat  to  the  walls.  He  also  describes  in 
detail  the  system  of  heating  by  steam  200 
houses  by  a  central  fire.  Excellent  as  the 
plan  is,  we  fear  it  will  be  a  long  time  before 
such  a  scheme  will  overcome  our  insular 
prejudices,  at  least  in  the  direction  of  our 
private  dwelling-houses  ;  but  we  venture  to 
think  that  if  the  advantages  of  radiant  heat 
can  be  obtained  a  great  deal  of  the  discom- 
fort arising  from  the  newer  systems  of 
heating  will  be  removed,  if  not  also  the 
prejudices  we  have  for  the  open  fire.  If,  as 
Cai^t.  Galton  shows,  we  can  warm  our  rooms 
by  means  of  the  walls  and  floor,  one  of  the 
great  advantages  of  the  radiating  heat  of  the 
open  fire  will  be  secured  ;  the  walls,  instead 
of  being  colder  and  robbing  heat  of  the 
occupants  of  a  room,  will  be  warm.  Various 
plans  have  been  suggested  for  accomplishing 
so  desu-able  a  system  of  warming ;  we  have 
on  former  occasions  hinted  how  the  rooms 
of  a  house  may  be  rendered  warm  by  means 
of  air-flues  in  the  floor  and  walls,  and  we 
see  the  author  of  the  address  calls  attention 
to  a  method  of  warming  large  surfaces  of 
corrugated  iron  plates  by  means  of  steam,  a 
method  that  might  be  applied  to  walls. 
"An  enamelled  surface,"  ho  says,  "emits 
heat  more  rapidly  than  an  iron  surface,  and, 
therefore,  enamelled  iron  plates  might  be 
found  a  convenient  form  of  wall  surface  for 
this  purpose."  The  idea  is  worth  considera- 
tion, tluDugh  there  are  at  present  several 
plans  which  can  be  adopted  that  would  give 
the  same  result.  Some  of  the  profession 
are  beginning,  we  find,  at  last,  after  much 
dislike  and  after  the  conquering  of  some  old 
prejudices,  to  realise  the  value  of  hoUow 
walls  for  houses,  and  a  few  who  denied 
their  practicability  and  value  now  recom- 
mend them .  This  we  have  always  contended 
was  the  first  step  towards  economy  of 
heating  and  a  new  system  of  warming  and 
ventilation.  Capt.  Galton  repeats  what  is 
worth  remembering,  that  a  soUd  one-brick 
wall  loses  by  radiation  one-half  more  heat 
than  a  wall  of  two  half  bricks  and  an  air 
space  between.  We  have  confined  our 
attention  to  the  consideration  of  a  point 
manifestly  neglected  in  estimating  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  the  two  systems  of  heating, 
and  it  is  one  that  may  be  profitably  kept  in 
view. 

THE    TAY    BRIDGE    DISASTER. 
(^Concluded  from  p.  35.) 

MUCH  confusion  appears  to  exist  amongst 
all  classes  of  scientists  as  to  the  exact 
influence  of  the  -wind  on  structures  generally, 
and  it  may  bo  said  that  this  inquiry  has  left 
the  question  in  a  more  unsatisfactory  state 
than  before. — Whether  the  pressure  of  a 
steady  unvarying  gale  is  that  which  shoidd 
be  regarded  as  most  dangerous  in  character, 
or  the  spasmodic  and  ii-regular  gust  which, 
while  impjinging  violently  in  all  directions, 
introduces  new  elements  of  danger  influenced 
in  a  great  measure  by  local  circumstances  ? 
In  calculating  the  capacity  of  a  structirre  to 
resist  gales,  it  is  not  sufficient  simply  to 
I  regard  the  strain  as  horizontal  in  character, 


for  oxijerience  has  proved  that  dirring 
hurricanes  their  influence  is  felt  in  vertical  as 
well  as  level  lines. 

This  tendency  was  well  illustrated  in  the 
case  of  Telford's  Menai  Bridge  during  the 
great  gale  of  January,  1839,  when  the 
platform  received  considerable  damage, 
although  the  chains  and  masonry  remamed 
unharmed.  Different  opinions  were  then 
given  as  to  the  immediate  causes  of  the 
accident,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
hurricane  must  have  acted  with  great 
energy,  either  from  above  or  below,  to  have 
caused  the  disturbance  to  the  platform. 
Telford  had  provided  for  what  he  considered 
as  the  most  likely  wind  }iressure,  viz.,  a  hori- 
zontal wave,  and  expected,  from  such  a  cause 
only,  a  simple  undulatory  motion  square 
with  the  line  of  the  bridge.  Even  with  all 
the  elasticity  which  such  an  articulated 
structure  secured,  the  result  of  the  storm  in 
question  indicated  that  the  natural  force 
was  eccentric  in  its  action;  otherwise,  the 
damage  would  have  been  limited  to  the 
points  of  resistance  offered  by  the  sides  of 
the  platform. 

The  Montrose  Suspension  Bridge  had,  in 
Oct.,  1838,  suffered  considerable  damage, 
and  the  late  General  Pasley  was  instructed 
by  the  Government  to  examine  and  report 
on  the  accident.  He  considered  that  the 
hurtful  impingement  of  the  storm  took 
place  from  below,  whereas,  Mr.  Provis,  who 
reported  on  the  accident  to  the  Menai 
bridge,  regarded  the  damaging  influence  as 
proceeding  from  above.  Both  of  these  high 
and  skilled  authorities  had  the  advantage  of 
examining  the  several  structures  in  their 
damaged  condition  immediately  after  the 
two  storms  which  had  injured  them,  and, 
therefore,  could  estimate  pretty  nearly  the 
extent  of  damage,  and  form  some  judgment 
as  to  the  character  of  the  destructive  storm- 
waves.  Local  circumstances  must  have 
considerable  influence  on  the  direction  and 
violence  of  the  hurricane  gusts,  and  both  at 
the  Menai  Straits  and  Montrose,  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  adjacent  country  offer 
favourable  conditions  for  intensifying  the 
energy  of  gr.les  blowing  from  westerly  or 
south-westerly  points. 

A  gale  such  as  that  which  blew  on  the 
28th  December  last  must  have  been  checked 
in  its  course  by  the  bridge,  and  the  moving 
train,  caused  in  addition  to  its  initial  im- 
petus a  dispersion  of  its  force,  thus 
diverting  its  violence  in  all  directions.  The 
pressure,  if  from  below,  would  test  the 
holding-down  power  of  the  bolts  in  the  piers 
because  the  weight  of  the  bridge  itself  was 
insufficient  to  resist  such  a  thrust,  and  the 
members  of  the  girders  only  being  designed 
to  withstand  a  vertical  strain  would  readily 
succumb  to  a  pressure  for  which  no  provision 
had  been  made.  If  the  damaging  action 
proceeded  from  above,  the  character  of  the 
structure  was,  under  ordinary  cu'cumstances, 
competent  to  resist  the  severest  vertical 
strain  proceeding  from  the  fullest  force  of 
Nature's  concentrated  violence.  If,  in 
either  case,  however,  disturbance  arose  from 
an  obhquity  in  the  line  or  direction  of  im- 
pact (which  could  only  be  possible,  however, 
from  deficiency  of  weight  and  imperfect 
holding-down  or  anchorage  power)  then,  in 
such  a  case,  the  whole  endamaged  structure 
could  no  longer  remain  in  a  state  of 
coherency,  because  its  various  members,  de- 
pendent on  each  other  for  mutual  support, 
had  been  deprived  of  their  original  symme- 
trical and  constructive  relationship. 

The  calculations  which  control  the  designs 
of  modern  engineers  may  be  in  harmony 
with  the  primary  objects  for  which  they 
are  devised,  but  they  fail  signally  when 
some  abnormal  strain  assails  them.  The  Tay 
Bridge,  in  its  fairy  and  toy-like  proportions, 
accomplishing  a  desired  object,  and  appa- 
rently a  wonder  of  constructive  skill,  lauded 
as  the  greatest  effort  of  modern  engineering 
skUl,  failed  to  withstand  the  first  great  and 


Jttt.y  16,  1830. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


57 


exceptionally  severe  natural  force  to  -n-hich 
it  was  subjected.  There  has  not  been  much 
advantage  derived  from  the  discussion  on 
such  rigid  lines  of  the  several  points  at  issxie 
in  this  controversy,  for  even  admitting  that 
the  most  minute  detail  of  construction  had 
been  faithfully  carried  out,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  seek  for  the  cause  of  destruction 
emanating  from  a  wider  and  more  general 
root  of  error  other  than  in  the  calculation 
or  conception  of  the  design  and  its  execu- 
tion. 

The  main  question  in  considering  this 
matter  must  centre  in  the  character  and 
quality  of  the  foundations  upon  which  the 
superstructure  rested.  That  they  were  good 
and  substantial  appears,  from  all  evidence, 
to  have  been  taken  for  granted  ;  but  we 
fail  to  see  that  sulficient  inquiry  was  directed 
to  this  most  vital  point.  The  preparation  of 
the  cylinders,  their  accurate  and  true  joint- 
ing, the  concrete  and  brickwork  with  which 
they  were  filled  or  lined,  theii-  careful 
floatage  to  their  destined  sites,  and  their 
ultimate  deposition  on  their  submarine 
beds,  fully  indicate  that  am,ple  ingenuity 
and  means  were  commanded  by  the  con- 
tractors or  their  agents.  Some  confusion 
seems  to  prevail,  however,  relative  to  the 
exact  condition  of  one,  at  least,  of  these 
huge  cyHnders,  and,  certainly,  no  very  re- 
liable information  has  been,  so  far,  forth- 
coming as  to  the  means  by  which  the  gir- 
ders were  tied  do^^-n  or  anchored  to  these 
columnar  supports.  The  lattice  character 
of  the  girders  offered,  of  course,  the  least 
surface  of  resistance  to  wind-pressure  ;  but 
we  may  fairly  urge  that  the  whole  structure 
wanted  weight,  more  especially  if  the  initial 
act  of  destruction  exerted  its  influence  from 
below.  Stej^henson's  Britannia  bridge, 
spanning  the  Menai  Straits,  stands  nobly 
defiant  against  storm  dangers,  because  its 
weight  cannot  be  moved,  even  if  a  great 
cyclone  encircled  it  in  its  fiercest  embrace. 
Smeaton's  Eddystone  has  long  braved  the 
dangers  of  its  exposed  site,  and  remains  to 
the  present  time  imharmed  in  its  structural 
parts,  although  the  rock  on  which  it  is  based 
is  no  longer  solid  enough  for  its  support. 
The  lines  and  weight  of  this  famous  struc- 
ture are  undeniably  perfect,  and  its  cele- 
brated engineer,  when  first  employed  to  re- 
place the  lighthouse  of  AVinstanley,  said, 
"  My  structure  must  have  weight,  and  that 
which  the  storm  blew  away  to  utter  for- 
getfulness  was  wanting  in  that  respect." 
The  modem  system  of  lattice-bridge  build- 
ing most  certainly  imparts  an  alarming 
element  of  danger,  and  involves  an  amount 
of  foresight  in  providing  for  its  rigid 
anchorage,  which  is  not,  we  fear,  always 
forthcoming.  In  ordinary  structures  of 
limited  span  this  danger  is  not  so  great  ; 
but,  in  such  an  example  of  the  principle  as 
that  of  the  Tay  Bridge,  the  utmost  attention 
should  have  been  directed  to  the  holding- 
do-\\Ti  power,  of  the  structure.  We  speak 
lightly  and  jocularly  of  a  "  house  of  cards  "  ; 
but  the  simile,  although  an  app.arently  fri- 
volous one,  well  represents  the  nature  of  alat- 
tioed  structure  when,  by  accident,  or  from 
want  of  forethought,  one  of  its  members  be- 
comes degraded  or  damaged.  Nothing  but 
widespread  disaster  will  ensue,  and,  although 
the  cause  assigned  by  the  engineer  of  the 
Tay  bridge,  his  witnesses,  and  advocates 
seems  trifling  in  character  and  perhaps  pos- 
sible, still,  the  accident  of  a  portion  of  a 
short  train  leaving  the  line  should  not 
have  been  so  destructive  in  its  results, 
but  have  been  limited  to  the  loss 
of  the  engine  and  carriages.  We  insist 
upon  water- tight  compartments  in  our  steam 
and  sailing  vessels  ;  why  should  we  not  also 
demand,  from  om-  engineers,  provision 
against  the  possibility  of  the '  destruction  of 
a  portion  of  a  bridge,  resulting  in  the  anni- 
hilation of  nearly  one-third  of  its  whole 
length  r  This  is  indeed  a  painful  subjoc',  .and 
we  feel  sorrow  for  the  engineer  who,  thus 


placed  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma,  conscien- 
tiously, no  doubt,  attributes  the  destruction 
of  his  structure  to  the  stumbling,  or  over- 
throw, of  a  train,  rather  than  to  the  violence 
of  great  and  uncontrollable  natiu'al  forces. 
A  bridge  so  susceptible  to  minor  danger  can 
only  be  considered  a  dangei'ous  trap,  into 
which  the  unconscious  and  controlled  traveller 
f.alls,  a  hojjeless  victim  to  the  imperfections, 
and,  it  may  be  said,  shortsightedness,  of 
modern  engineering. 

We  most  sincerely  trust  that  this  lament- 
able accident  may  lead  to  abetter  apportion- 
ment of  the  duties  of  the  engineer,  for  it 
cannot  be  regarded  as  satisfactory,  after 
what  has  occurred  at  the  Tay  Bridge,  as 
well  as  elsewhere,  that  work  intrusted  to 
the  most  eminent  engineer  ever  receives 
due  attention.  Let  men  high  in  the  pro- 
fession receive  all  honour  and  praise ;  but 
while  jealously  securing  these,  they  should 
not  forget  that  even  the  humblest  worker 
under  their  direction  is  entitled  to  some 
credit.  There  is  sm^ely  abundance  of  en- 
gineering talent  to  assist  in  the  construction 
of  works  of  all  kinds,  and  it  woidd  have  been 
well  if  the  North  British  Railway  Co.  had  in- 
sisted upon  a  scientific  and  practical  inspec- 
tor being  placed  in  charge  of  each  jjier^ 
with  special  authority  to  supervise  the  whole 
details  of  construction,  from  beginning  to 
end.  Had  such  a  course  been  adopted,  we 
shoidd,  at  all  events,  have  known  for  certain 
that  the  accident  was  due  to  the  principle, 
and  not  to  the  detail,  of  construction,  to 
both  of  which  causes  the  report  attributes 
the  disaster. 


A  RECENT  VISIT  TO  RUSSIA. 

OUR  notice  of  St.  Petersburg,  the  City  of 
the  North,  must  terminate  with  a 
glance  at  the  art-works  in  oU,  illustrative  of 
the  great  schools  of  Eirrope,  which  grace 
the  walls  of  the  Hermitage  Palace,  the  con- 
nection of  which  with  the  great  Winter 
Palace  of  the  Czar  we  have  already  noticed. 
In  England,  as  in  other  countries  possessing 
constitutional  forms  of  Government,  the 
museums  and  art-galleries  are  national,  and 
exist  as  the  property  of  the  Commonwealth. 
In  Russia,  where  organisations  of  this  kind 
are  unknown,  these  collections  are  naturally 
the  property  of  the  Imperial  Family,  and, 
as  such,  become  part  of  the  State  regalia, 
inspections  of  which,  in  the  form  of  suffer- 
ance, is  granted  to  the  public.  You  cannot 
pass  through  the  Hermitage  Palace  without 
feeling  that  you  are  in  a  part  of  the  great 
State  Palace  of  the  Czar  ;  nor  can  you  pass 
the  many  liveried  attendants,  and  the 
numerous  guards,  without  the  impression 
being  present  that  you  are  under  the  eye  of 
his  servants.  Wo  mention  this  because  the 
costly  collection  of  works  of  art  brought 
within  the  walls  of  this  palace  is,  primarily, 
a  "trapping  of  State,"  and,  secondly,  a 
national  gallery,  or  school  for  education  in 
the  higher  branches  of  art.  The  collection 
of  pictures  we  are  about  to  pass  iu  hasty  re- 
view, was  formed,  in  the  first  instance,  by 
the  great  Catherine  11.,  and  placed  in  the 
gallery  of  the  Hermitage  Palace,  erected  by 
her  in  1775.  The  collection  has  grown  from 
time  to  time,  under  circumstances  we  shall 
endeavour  to  explain,  until  ISGO,  when  it 
numbered  -1,000  specimens.  At  th.a'  time  it 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  learned  and 
celebrated  Dr.  AVaager,  of  Berlin,  who  se- 
lected 1740  of  the  best  and  most  valuable  of 
works  for  permanent  exhibition  in  the  gal- 
leries of  the  new  portion  of  the  palace.  The 
remainder  are  retained  by  the  Czar  for  the 
embellishment  of  his  various  palaces.  This 
great  German  art-master  submitted  each 
work  to  a  careful  examination,  the  result  of 
which  he  gave  to  the   public   in  his  work. 

Die  Gemiilde-sammlung  in  der  Kaiserlich 
Ermitage  zu  St.  Petersburg  "  (Munich, 
1S64). 

As  it  stands  to-day,  the  various  schools 


are  represented  as  foUows  :  333  Itali.an,  115 
Spanish,  944  Flemish,  Dutch,  and  German, 
S  English,  172  French,  and  Go  Russian.  As 
a  Continental  collection  of  the  first  rank,  it 
is  the  only  one  in  which  the  English  school 
is  represented — a  circumstance  traceable  to 
the  intimate  friendship  that  existed  between 
Catherine  II.  of  Russia  and  the  English 
Court  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Amongst  the  great  artists,  this  collection, 
boasts  of  the  following  examples  :  20  by 
Mm-illo,  6  by  Velasquez,  (!0  by  Rubens, 
34  by  Van  Dyck,  40  by  Tiniers,  10  by  Van 
der  Heist,  41  by  Rembrandt,  oil  by  Wouvcr- 
mans,  9  by  Potter,  40  by  Jacob  Rysdael,  and 
40  by  Snyders. 

The  collection  of  such  a  mass  of  art-works 
in  modem  times  suggests  in  itself  great 
national  and  political  convulsions,  for  it  is 
certain  that  if  the  European  States  had 
been  busy  in  nothing  beyond  the  arts  of 
peace,  or,  in  other  words,  in  forging  plough- 
shares from  their  swords,  during  the  laat 
ccntm-y,  no  such  collection  could  possibly 
have  been  made. 

The  great  Catherine,  upon  foimding  her 
Imperial  gallcrj-  in  1775,  was  free  to  enter 
the  art-markets  of  Europe,  and  it  is  strange 
that  her  first  purchase  should  be  made  on 
English  soil  in  connection  with  the  disper- 
sion of  the  celebrated  Walpole  ooUection  at 
Houghton  Hall  in  1779,  a  dispersion  that 
caused  an  irreparable  art-loss  to  this  comi- 
try.  The  mention  of  this  Walpole  gallery 
calls  to  our  mind  one  of  our  most  energetic 
collectors^ of  art- works,  viz..  King  Charles 
I.,  whose  treasures,  upon  being  dispersed 
before  the  fierce  blast  of  internal  warfare, 
was  largely  gathered  into  the  hands  of  Lord 
Walpole.  Could  this  latter  collection  have 
been  secured  to  the  nation,  we  should  have 
possessed  the  finest  in  the  world  ;  as  it  is, 
they  went  to  enrich  the  Louvre,  the  Museo 
at  Madrid,  the  Belvedere  at  Vienna,  and  the 
Hermitage  Palace  at  St.  Petersburg.  The 
portion  falling  to  the  latter  was  89 
Italian,  75  German,  7  Spanish,  and  o  Eng- 
lish pictures,  which  were  secured  for  the 
sum  of  £35,000. 

Napoleon's  wars  brought  another  great 
acqvusition.  This  "  .scourge  of  Europe  " 
pillaged  most  of  the  Continental  galleries  of 
Europe,  notably  those  of  the  Landgraves  of 
Hesse  and  Cassel  in  1806.  The  art-treasures 
so  acquired  were  borne  in  triumph  to  Paris, 
and  went  to  form  the  "  Malraaison  Gallery," 
otherwise  known  as  "  The  Collections  of  the 
Empress  Josephine."  Upon  the  fall  of 
Napoleon,  thirty-eight  of  the  finest  of  these 
works  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  who  paid  for  the  same  940,000 
francs.  In  the  same  ye.ir  (1814)  the  cele- 
brated collection  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Coisvelt,  the 
banker,  of  Amsterdam,  came  into  the 
market,  from  which  purchases  to  the 
amount  of  £8,700  wore  made.  These  were 
supplemented  with  selections  from  the 
galleries  of  Crozat,  Baron  de  Thiers, 
Dr.  Crichton  (of  St.  Petersburg),  Queen 
Hortense  of  Holland,  the  latter  furnishing 
thirty  of  the  best  pictures,  at  a  cost_  of 
180,000  francs.  Other  galleries  contributing 
were  those  of  King  William  II.,  of  Holland, 
and  the  Soult  and  Barbarigo  collections, 
purchased  by  the  late  Emperor  Nicholas  in 
1850.  . 

These  valuable  pictures  are  an-anged  in  a 
suite  of  rooms  which  forms  the  bulk  of  the 
first  floor  of  the  Hermitage  Palace^  With 
three  exceptions,  viz.,  the  Italian,  Spanish, 
and  Flemish  galleries,  which  draw  their 
light  from  above,  the  whole  of  the  reoms 
obtain  their  light  from  the  sides.  In  the 
latter  case  the  double  windows  arc  of  great 
width  and  height,  and  the  pictures,  in  fault- 
less condition,  are  mostly  fixed  on  mahogany 
screens,  which  abut  upon  the  divisions  of 
the  windows. 

These  galleries,  with  their  painted  ceil- 
ino^,  their  polished  walls,  floors,  and  fit- 
tings, are  scrupulously  clean,  and,  although 


58 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


at  the  period  of  our  visit  (December)  the 
palace  stood  in  a  world  of  suow,  a  summer 
temjjcrature  obtained  within.  This  was 
maintained  by  a  free  supply  of  hot  air,  which 
outers  the  rooms  through  square  brass  pipes, 
which  project  from  the  walls  about  eighteen 
inches  above  the  levels  of  the  floors.  These 
outlets  are  fm-nished  with  folding  doors, 
which  can  be  fixed  at  any  angle  to  regulate 
the  supply  of  air  ;  the  action  of  these  pipes 
is  not  felt  unless  j'ou  stand  in  the  line  of  the 
somewhat  hot  blast,  which  furnishes  a  dry 
atmosphere,  by  no  means  pleasant  to  inhale  ; 
one  that  you  are  prepared  to  learn  is  con- 
ducive to  diseases  in  the  throat,  a  malady  (o 
which  the  Russian  and  Xorth  German  people, 
from  inhaling  overdried  aii',  are  subject. 

Descending  to  the  pictm-es  themselves,  it 
i3  impossible  for  us  to  notice  any  but  the 
most  prominent. 

IX  THE  ITA1.-ULS  SCHOOL, 
Paul  Veronese  furnishes  a  "  Dead  Christ," 
supported  by  the  Virgin  and  an  angel.  This 
is  remarkable  as  being  one  of  the  few  pic- 
tures by  this  artist  possessing  a  religious 
feeling.  Sebastian  del  Piombo  has  a  similar 
subject,  "The  Descent  from  the  Cross,"  a 
picture  purchased  from  the  King  of  Holland's 
collection,  for  the  large  smn  of  29,000 
florins.  Tintoretto  furnishes  two  fine  works, 
"  Perseus  and  Andromeda,"  and  "  The 
Eesurrection,"  the  latter  being  the  original 
design  for  the  enormous  picture  at  Venice . 
The"Eepose  in  Egypt,"  "St.  Francis," 
and  "  The  Virgin  at  School,"  by  Guido,  are 
mai'veUous  works.  Salvator  Eosa  is  repre- 
sented by  eleven  specimens,  five  of  which 
came  from  the  Walpole  collection,  the  best 
being  his  "  Prodigal  Son."  Canaletto  has 
two  fine  works,  "  The  Doge  of  Venice 
Marrying  the  Adi-iatic,"  and  "  The  Recep- 
tion at  Venice  of  Count  Georgie,  Ambassador 
of  Louis  XV."  In  this  gallery  may  be  seen 
the  famous  Raphael,  "The  Virgin  and 
Child."  This  pictui'e  was  presented  by  the 
Emperor  to  the  late  Empress,  on  the  2oth 
anniversaiy  of  their  wedding,  as  a  sUver- 
vi-edding  gift !  Of  more  interest  to  our- 
selves is  the  "St.  George  and  the  Dragon," 
by  the  same  author,  painted  in  1506,  by 
order  of  the  Duke  dUrbino,  for  presentation 
to  our  King  Henry  VII.,  in  return  for  the 
Order  of  the  Garter  bestowed  on  that 
nobleman.  As  a  compliment,  St.  George 
himself  is  shown  wearing  the  Garter.  This 
picture  was  in  the  gallery  of  King  Charles 
I.,  but  it  came  to  its  present  owner  from  the 
Crozat  collection.  Its  first  use  upon 
arriving  in  Russia,  was  as  a  shrine  iu  the 
hall  of  St.  George  in  the  "Winter  Palace.  The 
most  pretentious  works  of  Raphael  are  his 
nine  frescoes,  removed  in  1861  from  the 
ground-floor  of  the  ViUa  Spada  on  Mount 
Pa'atine  in  Rome.  These  are  considered  as 
the  work  of  Eaj^hael  and  his  pupils  from 
1512  to  151.5.  One  "The  Abduction  of 
Helen,"  is  repeated  in  the  Bernal  collection 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  in  the  drawings 
at  Chatsworth,  and  at  Oxford. 

Of  ether  artists  of  the  Italian  school,  we 
may  note  that  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Correggio, 
Titian,  Paul  Veronese,  and  Caracci,  are  wtll 
represented. 

THE  FLEMISH  SCHOOL 
is  rich  in  works  by  Rubens  and  Vandyck, 
the  best  of  which  have  been  drawn  from  the 
Walpole  collection.  By  the  former  artist  we 
may  note  "  Mary  Magdalene  Washing  the 
Saviour's  Feet,"  and  "  The  Expulsion  of 
Hagar  ;"  and  by  the  latter,  "  A  Portrait  of 
Inigo  Jones,"  one  of  "  Philip,  Lord  TNTiar- 
ton,  at  the  Age  of  Nineteen,"  and  .another  of 
"  Archbishop  Laud."  This  same  artist  fiu'- 
nishes  portraits  of  "King  Charles  I.," 
"Queen  Henrietta  Maria,"  and  others  of 
great  historic  value  to  the  English  people. 

THE  SPA^•IS^  SCHOOL 

is  considered  the  best  and  most  varied  out  of 
Spain.     IMurUlo,  as  above  stated,  is  strongly 


represented.  With  the  exception  of  the  fol- 
lowing, "  Celestine  and  her  Daughter  in 
Prison  at  Seville,"  "  xV  Peasant  Girl,"  and 
"  A  Young  Beggar,"  they  are  all  sacred 
subjects,  the  best  of  which  is  considered  his 
"  Angel  Delivering  St.  Peter." 

One  of  the  galleries  is  set  apart  for  the 
works  of 

PAUL   POTTEK,    TEXIEES,    AND    WOITVEBIIAXS. 

Of  the  first  artist,  that  entitled  the  "  Watch 
Dog,"  is  a  remarkable  example;  another, 
"  The  Farmyard,"  signed  and  dated  1649,  is 
considered  a  masterpiece ;  this  was  one  of 
the  gems  drawn  from  the  collection  of  the 
Empress  Josephine.  Another,  from  the 
same  collection,  entitled  "The  Hunter's 
Life,"  is  very  rich  in  humour;  it  depicts  the 
animals  turaing  master  and  punishing  the 
hunters  iu  various  forms.  Teniers'  most  im- 
portant pictm-e  is  "The  Arquebusiers  of 
Antwerp."  The  figures  are  mostly  portraits 
of  the  period,  and  the  artist  himself  is  shown 
in  the  act  of  being  admitted  to  the  corps. 
Another  characteristic  picture  is  the  "  In- 
terior of  a  Kitchen,"  in  which  the  artist  is 
depicted  as  the  landlord  ;  this  example  has 
been  dl■a^vn  from  the  Walpole  collection.  ! 
There  are  also  examples  of  all  his  subjects  : 
landscapes,  cattle,  historical  portraits,  and 
even  a  sea-piece.  Wouvermans'  pictures  are 
very  numerous  ;  one  of  these  is  remarkable 
as  being  an  example  of  his  landscapes,  with- 
out the  introduction  of  the  proverbial  white 
horse. 
Another  gallery  is  set  apart  for  works  by 

EEMEE.IXDT  XXD  EXGLISH  AETISTS. 

There  is  no  collection  in  existence  where  the 
works  of  Rembrandt  can  bo  studied  with  such 
advantage,  for  the  Hermitage  is  unique  in 
the  quality  and  number  of  this  artist's 
works.  Two  portraits  are  exhibited,  show- 
ing his  earliest  and  latest  style :  the  one 
dated  1634  and  the  other  the  year  of  the 
Great  Fire  in  London  (1666).  The  portraits 
of  this  artist  are  numerous  :  some  are  highly 
finished,  others  free  in  style,  amounting  to 
coarseness ;  but  the  efiect  of  these,  when 
viewed  at  a  distance,  is  very  masterly.  His 
most  important  works  are  "  The  Parable  of 
the  Lord  of  the  Vineyard,"  in  which  the 
principal  figure  is  a  highly-finished  minia- 
ture, and  "  Peter  Denying  Christ."  His 
"Portrait  of  an  Old  Man  in  profile,"  is  a 
masterpiece  of  free  handling,  the  peculiar 
treatment  of  the  beard  being  the  work  of 
the  pointed  or  sharpened  end  of  the  brush- 
stick. 

THE  ENGLISH  SCHOOL 
is  represented  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller, 
Thomas  Jones,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Dobson, 
and  Robert  Walker,  the  latter  furnishing  a 
portrait  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  counted  amongst  his  patrons  the 
great  Catheiine  of  Russia,  for  whom  he 
painted  an  important  work  in  1789,  the 
subject  and  price  being  left  to  the  discretion 
of  the  artis^  The  subject  chosen  was 
"  Hercules  Strangling  the  Serpents,"  which 
was  intended  to  be  allusive  to  Russia  con- 
tending with  the  dilficulties  which  beset  its 
youthful  state.  For  this  work  the  artist 
charged  the  modest  sum  of  1,500  guineas. 
This  sum  the  great  Catherine  paid 
through  her  English  ambassador,  and  to 
mark  her  approval  of  the  work,  she  pre- 
sented the  artist  with  a  gold  snufif-box,  the 
lid  of  which  contained  a  miniature  of  her 
Majesty,  set  about  with  large  diamonds. 
The  correspondence  at  that  time  shows  that 
another  and  a  larger  work  was  in  progress, 
this  is  supposed  to  bo  the  "  Continence  of 
Scipio,"  an  unfinished  work  said  to  have 
been  the  last  of  Sir  .Joshua's.  Near  this  is 
a  portrait  by  the  same  artist,  executed  for 
I  Prince  Polonskiu,  at  a  cost  of  100  guineas  ; 
I  it  is  that  of  a  pretty  Englishwoman  who 
I  had  a  defect  of  ■(■ision  ;  this  has  been  artisti- 
I  cally  overcome  by  the  position  of  the  hand, 


which  casts  a  shadow  over  the  eyes.  Sir 
Godfrey  Kneller  is  represented  by  a  portrait 
of  "  Grinling  Gibbons,"  and  another  of 
"Locke." 

THE  EAELY  GEEilA^''    AXD    DUTCH    SCHOOLS  I 

are  well  represented,  atid  many  of  the  works 
are  of  special  interest  to  the  English  people. 
Sir  Anthony  More  furnishes  t  n'O  portraits  of 
great  merit — Sir  Thos.  and  Lady  Gresham. 
Holbein  is  partially  represented  by  a  por- 
trait of  King  Edward  Vl.,  once  the  property 
of  King  Charles  I.,  and  latterly  of  Lord 
Walpole.  Reubens  is  well  represented  by 
six  paintings  executed  by  his  pupils,  from 
designs  by  the  great  master  himself ;  these 
were  sketches  for  the  triumphal  arches 
erected  at  Antwerp,  to  greet  the  solemn 
entrance  of  the  Infant  Cardinal  Ferdinand, 
brother  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  Philip  IV., 
of  Spain,  These  works  are  allegorical,  and 
represent  "  Peace  and  War  contending  at 
the  Temple  of  Janus."  Slill  more  interesting 
are  his  two  sketches  for  the  decoration  of  the 
ceiling  of  Whitehall  Palace,  made  by  order 
of  King  Charles  I. ;  one  of  these  represents 
King  James  I.  seated  on  his  throne  with 
Pallas,  Juno,  Venus,  and  Cupid  before  liim, 
the  foreground  being  occupied  by  the  Genius 
of  Peace  burning  and  destroying  armotrr. 
This  work  was  once  the  property  of  Sir 
Godfrey  Kneller ;  but  it  came  to  the  present 
owner  through  the  Crozat  collection. 

The  other  is  the  "  Apotheosis  of  James 
I.,"  late  in  the  Walpole  collection.  Although 
of  great  merit,  we  have  not  space  to  notice 
other  works  of  this  artist.  Angelique 
Kaufmann  furnishes  two  fine  works,  the 
subjects  of  which  are  drawn  from  Sterne's 
"  Sentimental  Journey."  Amongst  Van  der 
Heist's  works  are  two  portraits,  specimens 
of  which  are  rarely  seen  out  of  Holland. 
Jan  Steen's  "  Game  of  Tric-trac  "  is  worthy 
of  notice ;  the  artist  is  here  sho\vn  in  the 
act  of  playing  with  a  lady.  Jan  Van  der 
Heyden  has  two  very  characteristic  street- 
scenes  in  Amsterdam  and  Cologne,  where, 
as  is  usually  the  case,  the  figures  are  by  A. 
Van  der  Veldo. 

THE   FEEXCH    SCHOOL 

is  represented  by  some  masterly  works> 
noticeable  amongst  which  is  a  portrait  of 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  by  apupUof  "Clouat." 
This  is  said  to  have  been  painted  at  Fother- 
ingay  Castle.  Claude,  Watteau,  Demarne, 
and  Granet  furnish  some  charming  pictures. 

THE   ErSSIAN    SCHOOL 

is  one  of  great  interest.  This  was  founded 
in  1739  by  Lossenko,  a  native  artist.  The 
works  here  are  mostly  large,  and  the  subjects 
are  mainly  mythical,  the  colouring  being 
crude  and  severe.  These  salons  are  open  to 
art-students,  who,  with  few  exceptions,  take 
up  their  stand  in  this  partictdar  gallery,  the 
favouiite  artist  being  one  Nefi',  whose  sub- 
jects resemble  those  of  the  late  Wm.  Etty. 
The  two  most  marked  pictures  by  this  artist 
are  "Nymph  going  to  bathe  "  and  "  Nymphs 
bathing."  tJgriumoff,  a  pupil  of  the  founder, 
is  represented  by  two  historical  picttrres, 
' '  The  capture  of  Zazau  by  John  the  Ten-ible 
in  1552,"  and  "The  election  of  Michael 
Romanoff  to  the  Throne  of  Russia."  The 
finest  work  by  these  native  artists  is  "  The 
Last  Pays  of  Pompeii,"  by  Triilo,  but  there 
are  some  very  creditable  productions  by 
Aivazofsky,  Thruni,  and  others. 


THF  PAXTNG  OF   "NEW  STREETS." 

THE  ParUamentary  Committee  of  the  Hack- 
ney Vestry  have  prepared  an  exhaustive 
report  on  this  subject,  which  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  builders,  owners  of  house  property,  and 
others  liable  to  apportionment-payments.  The 
reference  to  committee  was  upon  a  motion  by 
Sir.  Button :  "  That  the  paving  by  the  authority 
of  the  District  Board  of  Works  of  certain  new 
streets  or  parts  thereof  out  of  the  preneral  rate, 
is  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  Metropolitan 


July  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


59 


Local  Management  Act,  1855,  sec.  105,  and  the 
Metropolitan  Local  Manajioment  Amendment 
Act,  1862,  eec.  77,  and  that  the  sums  so  expended, 
should  forth'n-ith  be  charged  to  the  owners 
of  the  houses  forming  such  street,  and  of  the 
land  bounding  or  abutting  thereto  ;  that  the 
general  rate  should  be  recouped  the  amount 
so  expended,  and  that  it  be  an  instruction  to  the 
District  Board  of  AYorks  henceforth  to  carry  out 
the  prorisions  of  the  said  Act  in  respect  to  pav- 
ing." The  committee  report  that  having  had 
the  sections  of  the  Acts  under  review,  and  the 
decisions  of  the  Courts  of  Law  thereon,  they 
' '  are  clearly  of  opinion  that  the  Legislature  in- 
tended by  the  passing  of  these  Acts,  that  no 
first  paving  need  be  made  at  the  cost  of  tlie  rate- 
payers." At fii'st, there  appearedtobe  somediffi- 
culty  in  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of 
185.5,  as  to  charging  the  cost  of  paving  new  streets 
on  house  owners,  wliich,  by  sec.  250,  defined  the 
word  "street "  to  include  any  "  highway  (except 
the  carriageway  of  any  turnpike  road),  road, 
bridge,  lane,  footway,  square,  court,  alley,  or 
passage,  whether  thoroughfare  or  not,"  and  also 
as  "  part "  of  any  such  highway,  kc,  and  by 
sec.  112,  of  the  Act  of  1862,  the  word  "  street" 
was  held  to  include  "mews,"  and  the  word 
' '  new  street  "was  declared  to  mean  and  include 
"all  streets  hereafter  to  be  formed  or  laid  out, 
and  a  part  of  any  such  street,  and  also  all  streets 
the  maintenance  of  the  paving  and  roadway 
whereof  had  not  previous  to  the  passing  of  the 
Act  been  taken  into  charge  and  assumed  by  the 
authorities  having  control  of  the  paving  and 
highways  in  the  parish,  and  also  a  part  of  any 
such  street,  and  also  all  streets  partly  formed 
or  laid  out."  Since  the  passing  of  the  Act  of 
1862,  many  cases  have  been  submitted  to  the 
superior  courts  for  decision,  respecting  the  pa\-ing 
of  streets,  and  the  vexed  question  of  'What  is  a 
new  street  and  what  we  are  liable  to  pay  for  the 
paving ;-  has  been  fully  settled  by  the  decisions 
in  the  cases  of  Pound  r.  Plumstead  District 
Board  of  Works,  in  1871,  and  reported  in  7  L. 
E.Q.B.  183  ;  Dryden  r.  Putnev  Local  Board  of 
Health,  in  1876,  reported  1  L.R.  1  Ex.  D.  223  ; 
Attorney  General  r.  Wandsworth  Board  of 
Works,  L.E.  6,  Chancery  Division,  539,  and 
other  cases  too  numerous  to  mention.  There  are 
of  course  numerous  other  decisions  on  collateral 
questions,  but  the  above  cases  fully  settle  the 
application  of  sec.  105  of  the  Act  of  1855,  and 
sec.  77  of  the  Act  of  1862.  The  district  over 
which  the  Hackney  District  Board  of  Works  ex- 
ercises authority,  was  one  whieh  at  the  time  of 
the  passing  of  the  Act  of  1855,  contained  28 
miles  of  roadway  and  69  of  footways  under  the 
control  of  the  Board,  and  23  miles  of  roadway 
and  21  of  footpaths  not  under  its  control,  and 
■was  in  fact  a  rural  district,  and  "its  footways 
stood  alone  in  being  unpaved  amongst  those  of  all 
the  surburban  parishes ' '  (report  for  1 856) .  It  was 
considered  best  to  preserve  its  rural  character 
as  long  as  possible,  but  the  time  came  when  it 
was  necessary  to  pave  the  old  footways  wliich 
were  laid  out  before  the  passing  of  the  Act,  and 
the  Hackney  District  Board  of  Works  took  un- 
der their  consideration  the  advisability  of  adop- 
ting sec.  78  of  the  Act  of  1862,  but  came  to  the 
resolution  that  the  old  footways  should  be  paved 
out  of  the  general  rate.  There  is,  however,  a 
resolution  in  the  minute  books  of  the  Board:  that 
where  the  owners  of  houses  would  agree  to  con- 
tribute a  moiety  of  the  expense  of  paving  the 
old  footways,  the  Board  would  at  once  lay  down 
paving,  with  a  i-iew  to  the  general  benefit  of  the 
district.  The  committee  then  call  attention  to 
the  Hackney  paving  loans,  and  to  the  fact  that 
over  £100,000  has  from  time  to  time  been  collected 
from  o-wners  for  paving  new  streets.  Out  of 
the  last  loan,  there  was  expended  £3,606  2s.  lid. 
for  paving  Sidney,  Grove,  Cassland,  Amhurst, 
Clarence.  Downs-park,  Downs,  London,  Eleanor, 
Loddiges,  and  Paragon-roads,  and  Lamb-lane, 
wliich  thus  falls  upon  a  general  rate,  and 
the  question  which  occupied  the  earnest  and 
careful  attention  of  the  committee  was  whether 
these  roads  were  "new  streets"  within  the 
meaning  of  the  Act,  and  therefore  ought  to  have 
been  charged  on  the  owners,  under  sec.  105  of 
the  Act  of  1855,  and  sec.  77  of  the  Act  of 
1S62.  The  list  above  given,  it  may  be  observed, 
does  not  represent  the  whole  of  the  roads  and 
streets  in  the  district  which  have  been  paved  at 
various  times  out  of  the  general  rate,  as  of 
course  is  apparent  from  the  expenditure,  but 
only  such  as  were  involved  in  the  resolution  of 
reference  to  the  committee.  There  are  at  the 
present  time  streets  in  the  district  which  have 


been  paved  out  of  the  general  rate  on  one  side 
only,  the  other  side  being  still  unpaved.  To  as- 
certain whether  the  roads  mentioned  in  the 
schedule  are  ' '  new  streets ' '  within  the  meaning 
of  the  Act,  the  committee  have  had  special 
attention  directed  to  the  cases  of  Pound  r. 
Plumstead  District  Board  of  Works  :  Dryden  v. 
Putney  Local  Board  of  Health  :  and  the  Attor- 
ney General  v.  Wandsworth  District  Board  of 
Works.  From  the  facts  coimeeted  with  the 
roads  as  regards  the  Putney  case,  the  committee 
are  of  opinion  that  it  may  be  fairly  contended, 
from  the  further  light  which  the  above  cases 
have  given  upon  the  subject,  that  each  and  aU  of 
the  streets  and  roads  mentioned  in  the  schedule 
are  analogous  with  the  cases  above  mentioned, 
and  are  "new"  streets  within  the  meaning  of 
the  Act. 

Illustrative  and  confirmatory  of  the  commit- 
tee's opinion,  they  append  to  the  report  an 
appendix  giving  the  facts  of  Dryden  r.  Putney 
Overseers,  setting  forth  that  the  appellant  had 
been  for  eight  years  the  occupier  of  a  house  in 
High-street,  Putney,  at  some  distance,  and  quite 
separate,  from  Upper  Richmond-road,  herein- 
after referred  to ;  and  the  distress  was  made  in 
respect  of  part  of  arate  to  which  he  was  assessed  in 
respect  of  his  house  at  High-street.  Upper  Eich- 
mond-road  wasan  old  high  way,  andhad  been  kept 
in  repair  for  40  years  by  rates  raised  from  the 
ratepayers  of  Putney.  At  the  time  of  passing 
the  Metropolitan  Local  Management  Act,  1855, 
this  road  had  on  its  south  side  an  irregular  line 
of  houses,  but  434  yards  out  of  the  entire  length 
of  734  yards  were  bounded  by  market  gardens, 
and  on  the  north  side  there  were  gardens,  except 
at  two  places  where  there  were  two  cottages  ; 
along  the  south  side  there  was  a  good  raised 
gravel  footpath,  and  on  the  north  side  a  narrow, 
ill-defined  foot  track.  Since  1855,  the  two 
cottages  have  been  pulled  down,  and  the  whole 
of  the  frontage  land  on  the  north  side  covered 
with  houses,  and  in  the  course  of  building  the  old 
boundary  hedge,  had  been  removed  and  a 
fence  formed ;  at  intervals  from  1804  to  1870, 
the  Wandsworth  District  Board  of  Works  fixed 
a  granite  kerb  and  gravelled  the  path,  which 
were  paid  for  by  the  Board  out  of  the  general 
rates  of  the  parish,  since  which  the  footpath  had 
been  repaired  by  the  Board.  In  1874,  the  Board 
asphalted  the  southern  footpath,  the  cost  being 
included  in  the  general  rate.  Prior  to  this,  the 
appellant  had  (in  June  1874)  urged  the  District 
Board  under  the  circumstances  that  the  road  had 
become  a  "  new  streeet,"  under  the  Metropolitan 
Local  Management  Acts,  and  that  the  cost  of 
paving  the  footpath  ought  to  be  borne,  not  by 
the  ratepayers  of  Putney  at  large  out  of  the 
general  rate,  but  by  the  owners  of  the  houses 
and  land  abutting  on  the  footpath  in  question. 
The  District  Board,  however,  refused  to  accede, 
contending  that  the  road  was  not  a  "  ne w  street ' ' 
■n-ithin  the  meaning  of  those  Acts  ;  appellant  re- 
fused to  pay  Is.  6d.,  part  of  the  amount  at  which 
he  was  assessed  to  the  general  rate,  on  the 
ground  that  that  sum  represented  the  proportion 
charged  for  the  paving  of  the  footway,  an  expense 
improperly  included  in  the  general  rate,  and  in 
consequence  of  such  refusal,  10s.  4d.  was  le's'ied  on 
appellant's  goods  by  a  magistrate's  order.  It 
was  admitted  that  Is.  6d.  was  a  proper  propor- 
tion of  the  rate  of  £1  lis.  Od.,  attributable  to 
the  cost  of  the  paving  in  question,  and  that  if 
the  appellant  was  not  liable  as  the  occupier  of 
his  house  in  High-street  to  contribute  to  the 
cost  of  such  paving,  the  rate  of  £1  lis.  6d. 
ought  to  be  reduced'by  the  sum  of  is.  Od.  The  roof, 
([uestion  for  the  opinion  of  the  Court  was : 
whether  under  the  circumstances  above  set 
forth,  and  having  regard  to  the  provisions  of  the 
Metropolitan  Local  Management  and  Amend- 
ment Acts,  1855  and  1SC2  respectively,  the  ap- 
pellant, as  occupying  the  premises  in  High- 
street,  was  liable  "to  contribute  to  the  expenses 
of  the  above  mentioned  paving  on  the  north  side 
of  Upper  Richmond-road.  The  case  was  heard 
before  Mr.  Justice  Grove  and  Mr.  Justice  Quain, 
in  1S76,  and  the  decision  of  the  Court  was  in 
favour  of  Mr.  Dryden,  and  against  the  District 
Board  of  Works.  This  important  report  is  fixed 
for  debate  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Hackney 
Vestry  in  August,  and  then,  if  adopted,  it  will 
be  sent  to  the  District  Board  of  Works,  where  it 
is  sure  to  be  stoutly  opposed. 


provisions  perfect ;    in  operation  they  are  not 
always  found  to  work  so  smoothly  as  could  be 
wished,  e-\-idence  of  which  has  not  been  wanting 
in  reports  of  cases  we  have  given  lately.     The 
rights  to  make  good  and  repair,  to  puU  down 
and    rebuild,    to   raise     party-structure-),    are 
constantly  giving  rise  to  litigation,  and  it  is  of 
course    always   difficult   to  make  an   adjoining 
owner  see  the  justice  of  alterations  he  is  not  a 
wdling    party   to.     In    the    rai.-ing    of    walls, 
various  questions  as  to  the  invasion  of  existing' 
rights  occur ;  as  for  instance  in  the  obstruction 
of  light  to  ancient  windows,  but  in  this  instance, 
an  adjoining   owner  can  bring  an  action,   and 
the  clause  does  not  take  away  the  right  of  any 
individual  in  common  law.     The  other  day,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  a 
letter  was  read  from  Mr.  W.  H.  Skynner,  stating 
that    he    could    not    acquiesce    in    the     view« 
expressed  by  the  Board   respecting  his  inquiry 
whether    the   raising   of   the   chimneys   of   the 
house  number   7,  Neville-terrace,   South   Ken- 
sington, is,  or  is  not,  justified  by  the  Building 
Actr  and  suggesting  that  a  short  "Act  should 
be    obtained    prohibiting    the    exercise   of   the 
rights  given  to  a  building  owner  to  raise  the 
chimneys  of  an  adjoining  owner  to   a   greater 
height  than  5  feet  above  the  roof  of  that  house, 
and    for     making     compensation     where     any 
chimneys   are   raised   above  that  height ;  "  and 
requesting  the  opinion  of  the  Board  with  regard 
to  the  provisions  of  the  83rd  section  of  the  Act. 
We  cannot  but  think  the  letter  of  Mr.  Skynner 
expresses   a  general  opinion  as  regards  to  the 
raising  of  structures.     His  objection  in  this  case 
to  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  a  building  owner 
to  raise  chimneys  of  the  adjoining  house  to  an 
inordinate  height  seems  just,  for  from  a  perusal 
of  the  83rd  section  we  find  nothing  to  prevent  a 
chimney  being  carried  up  to  a  greater  elevation 
than  desirable.    In  fact  the  burden  of  sub-clause 
6  seems   to  be   that  the   building  owner  must 
raise  the  chimneys  if  necessary,  as  he  i^  given 
the  right  to  carry  up  "  to  the  requisite  height  all 
flues    and    chimney    stacks    belonging    to    tho 
adjoining  owner  on  or  against  any  such  party- 
structure  or  external  wall."   The  framers  of  the 
Act  clearly  had  in  view  the  primary  duty  of  the 
building  owner  in  raising  the  flues  and  stacks  of 
adjoining    owners    to    their    proper    height   to 
prevent  smoke,  and  they  scarcely  thought  of  a 
period  in  the  history  of  architectural  taste  when 
chimneys   would  be  carried   up   as  features   of 
buildings  to  an  excessive  height.     But  such  is 
the  fluctuation  of  fashion  in  these  matters,  that 
it  appears  now  to  be  necessary  to  legislate  against 
the   raising    of    chimney   shafts,   and    we  can 
foresee   as   much  inconvenience  and  danger  a.« 
likely  to  arise  from  the  practice,  as  that  against 
which  the   provisions   of  the  Act  were  mainly 
directed.     A  cliimney  may  be  carried  up  to  an 
inconvenient  and  dangerous  height,  if  a  building 
owner    with   the   Queen   Anne   craze   strongly 
developed,  proceeded  to  overtop  his  neighbours' 
house  by  two  or  three  stories,  and  in  addition 
thereto,  carried  up  a  shaft  of  some  ten  feet.     It 
is  true  the  84th  section  maies  it  imperative  for 
the  building  owner  to  comply  with  any  reason- 
able   requisition   of  the  adjoining  tenant,  and 
that  both  parties  have  the  option  of  a  reference : 
but  the  question  of  height  ought  to  be  indepen- 
dent.     There   is   a   particular  exception  to  be 
made  to  an  ordinary  rule,  and  that  is:  when  the 
raised   building  has  in  addition  a  mansard,  or 
steep  roof,  in  which  case  the  height  of  a  shaft 
should  be  suflicient  to  clear  the  summit  of  the 


RAISING  CHIMNETS. 

THE  rights  of  buUding  and  adjoining  owners, 
as  laid  down  by  the  Metropolitan  Building 
Act,  are  not  so  well  defined  that  we  can  call  the 


The  rules  respecting  the  construction  of 
chimneys  and  flues  in  the  Metropolitan  Building 
Act  are  not  unfrequently  set  aside.  Section  20. 
sub-section  9,  provides  that  chimney  shafts  shall 
be  carried  up  in  brick  or  stone  at  least  4in.  thick 
all  round,  to  a  height  of  not  less  than  3ft. 
above  the  roof,  flat  or  gutter,  tliat  height  being 
measured  from  the  highest  point  in  the  ••  line  of 
junction  with  such  roof  flat  or  gutter":  and 
the  next  clause  further  provides  that  the  brick- 
work or  stonework  of  any  chimney  ?haft, 
excepting  that  of  a  furnace  of  any  brewery, 
manufactory,  ire,  shall  not  exceed  in  height 
from  the  same  point  in  the  line  of  junction  mx 
times  the  least  width  of  such  shaft  at  the  level  of 
such  hio-hest  point,  unless  it  be  "  built  with  and 
bondedlo  another  chimney  shaft  not  in  the  same 
line  with  the  first,  or  otherwise  rendered  secure." 
We  refer  to  these  iTdes  to  show  that  the  Act 
contemplated  the  limitation  of  height  of 
erections  of  this  kind.  In  practice,  however,  it 
can  scarcely  be  said  any  rule  exists ;  -we  find  the 


60 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


utmost  irregrularity  in  the  heights  and  construc- 
tion of  chimneys  prevailing,  as  any  one  may 
convince  himself  ■n-ho  takes  notice  of  the 
construction  of  chimneys  in  any  of  our  main 
thoroughfares.  A  hard  and  fast  rule  would  be 
impossible;  but  there  should  be  a  little  more 
attention  to  tliis  point  than  at  present  seems  to 
exist. 


PORTLAND    CEMENT    FOR    ROOF    AND 
FLOOR  CONSTRUCTION. 

PORTLAND  cement  is  comparatively  a  new 
material,  and  as  its  properties  become 
more  known,  so  does  its  application  for  struc- 
tural piu-poses  advance.  One  of  the  most  novel 
and  useful  applications  is  its  adoption  (when 
made  into  a  concrete)  for  the  entire  construction 
of  floors  and  flat  roofs.  At  present  great  un- 
certainty exists,  not  only  as  to  the  proper  scant- 
lings to"  be  given  to  such  floors  and  roofs,  but 
even  as  to  the  way  to  proceed  in  calculating  the 
strength  of  these  plates  as  it  were,  because  they 
have  to  be  considered  as  plates,  either  resting  on 
four  walls  or  fii-mly  attached  at  the  edges  to 
four  walls.  The  basis  for  the  calculation  wUl 
be  the  strength  of  the  neat  Portland  cement, 
and  upon  this  subject  there  has  already  been 
published  a  very  great  deal  of  information.  The 
high  stresses  of  6,0001b.  pressure  per  cube  inch, 
GOOlb.  tensile,  and  3.501b.  transverse,  on  the 
super,  inch,  have  been  obtained  from  well-ma- 
tured Portland  cement.  It  is  also  known  if 
such  good  cement  be  mixed  with  three  parts  of 
very  carefully-prepared  chards  from  hard-burnt 
clay  a  concrete  can  be  formed  which  wiU  have 
a  strength  equal  to  the  cement.  In  practice  it 
is  necessary  to  take  a  very  much  lower  standard 
of  .strength  for  the  calculation  of  these  concrete 
plates,  because  the  strength  of  the  concrete  has 
to  be  called  into  jjlay  long  before  the  concrete  is 
thoroughly  matured.  About  one-seventh  part 
of  the  ultimate  strength  will  be  found  a  safe 
basis  for  the  calculation  of  the  strength  of  these 
plates  six  weeks  after  they  have  been  made. 
This  will  give  a  constant  of  501b.  per  inch 
transverse  for  the  calculations.  It  will  be  well 
first  to  consider  the  simple  case  of  a  plate  of 
concrete  resting  upon  two  walls,  and  from  that  to 
proceed  to  imravel  some  of  the  difficulties  sur- 
roimding  the  more  complex  arrangement  of  a 
floor  supported  upon  four  walls. 

Suppose  the  floor  or  roof  to  be  a  square  plate 
Sin.  thick,  20ft.  span,  and  that  each  superficial 
foot  weighs  94lb.  As  the  constant  for  strength 
is  to  be  501b.  per  inch,  then  this  plate,  supported 
as  a  beam  upon   two  walls,   will   fall  imder  the 

,       ,8  KBD2              400    X    240  x  64 
formula  of ^ =  ^io 

2.5,6001b.,  or  G4lb.  per  foot  superficial.  As, 
however,  the  weight  of  the  plate  is  P4lb  per 
foot  super. ,  it  is  erident  it  could  not  be  supporte  d 
as  a  beam  resting  on  two  walls.  Supposing, 
however,  it  had  been  possible  to  support  the 
plate  on  two  walls,  the  shear  upon  each  foot  run 
of  the  walls  would  have  been  6401b.  Now, 
suppose  the  plate  to  be  supported  on  four  walls, 
it  is  evident  the  shear  upon  the  walls  with  the 
stress  of  64lb.  on  the  foot  super,  will  not  be 
equally  distributed ;  but  beginning  at  the  angles 
at  only  321b.  per  foot  run  on  the  walls,  the  shear 
midway  between  the  two  angles  will  be  6401b. 
on  the  foot  ran.  From  this  circumstance  it  fol- 
lows the  plate  will  be  strongest  at  the  angles  and 
weakest  at  the  centre. 

In  proof  of  this,  suppose  the  superficial  foot 
at  each  angle  to  be  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  plate,  and  to  be  fixed  into  the  walls,  then 
the  formulfe  for  the   stress  of  a  distributed  load 

on  this  foot  will  be  at  least  twice = = 


of  loading  is  quite  impossible  in  practice,  the 
problem  of  the  breaking  stress,  for  a  uniformly 
distributed  load  over  the  whole  jjlate  when 
supported  on  four  walls,  stiU  remains  unsolved. 
From  the  foregoing  remarks,  it  is,  however, 
clearly  pointed  out  thac  as  the  increase  in  the 
supporting  power  of  the  plate  is  very  rapid  as 
the  angles  of  the  plates  are  reached,  it  can  be 
safely  "assumed  a  square  plate  can  be  loaded 
with  the  same  equally  distributed  load,  as  a  cir- 
cular plate  of  equal  diameter  and  thickness. 
Taking  this  assumption  as  a  step  towards  a 
solution  of  tlie  problem,  it  is  necessaiy  to  work 
out  the  breaking  stress,  for  an  equally  distri- 
buted load  over  a  circular  plate  Sin.  thick,  and 
20ft.  diameter. 

This  can  be  formulated  by  resolving  the  circle 
into  a  triangle,  whose  base  equals  the  circum- 
ference, and  altitude  equals  the  radius.  Then 
KBD^'    _   50x754x64  ^    cO3201b.      As     the 


Y  radius  40 

area  of  the  circular  plate is314-16ft.,  that  equals 
a  distributed  load  of  1921b.  per  foot  siiper.  with 
the  edges  fixed,  or  961b.  per  foot  super,  with  the 
edges  free. 

The  shear  upon  the  circular  wall,  will,  how- 
ever, be  only  4801b.  per  foot  run  when  the  plate 
is  free  at  the  edge,  and  yet  the  load  is  50  per 
cent,  more  than  that  of  the  square  plate,  resting 
on  two  walls  as  a  beam. 

Taking,  therefore,  961b.  as  the  breaking 
stress  per  foot  super,  over  a  square  plate  resting 
upon  four  walls,  another  method  of  investigation 
is  opened  up.  Suppose  the  angles  of  the  square 
plate  to  be  cut  out,  so  as  to  obtain  a  plate  in 
the  form  of  a  Latin  cross  ;  each  arm  of  which  is 
240in.  in  the  clear,  and  IGOin.  wide.  With  such 
a  form  of  plate,  the  shear  upon  each  of  the  four 
walls  wUl  be  nearly  equally  distributed,  and  the 
breaking  stress  of  .such  a  cross  will  be  twice 
8  K  B  D«  _  400  X   160  X  64   ^   j»  ggg^^^  ^   ^ 


100  X  12 


64 


=  12,S001b.,  if  it  does  not  even 
12 
fall  under  the  higher  formula  of  a  load  on  a 
triangle  24in.  base,  and  12in.  altitude,  with  the 
load  concentrated  at  J  the  altitude,  or  equal 
19,2001b.  Suppose,  however,  the  lower  formula 
be  taken,  then  that  will  equal  a  load  of  12,8001b. 
on  the  foot  of  each  angle  of  the  plate,  and  a 
sheer  of  6,4001b.  on  each  foot  of  wall  inclosin, 
the  angle. 

Or,  in  other  words,  the  foot  super.,  at  each 
angle  of  the  plate,  is  200  times  stronger  than  the 
weakest  portion  of  the  plate,  and  it  can  be 
similarly  shown,  that  with  an  hypothetical  sys- 
tem of  loading,  the  total  load  of  167, 2401b. 
could  be  sustained  by  the  plate  resting  on  four 
walls.     As,  however,   this  hypothetical  system 


supporting  walls,  and  the  second  condition  is 
that  the  walls  where  the  roofs  or  floors  ter- 
minate, such  as  external  walls,  be  of  sufficient 
thickness  to  resist  the  very  large  reactions  upon 
them  when  these  plates  are  fixed  into  them.  As 
regards  the  first  condition,  if  .proper  care  has 
been  taken  with  the  foimdations,  their  uni- 
formity of  structure,  and  materials  in  the  walls, 
combined  with  building  them  at  a  uniform  level 
day  by  day,  will  be  the  best  safeguard  ;  but  as 
regards  the  latter,  each  doubtful  case  wiU 
require  to  be  investigated,  and  properly  calcu- 
lated. As  an  example  of  the  necessity  for  so 
doing,  suppose  the  square  plate  before  considered 
was  built  into  four  concrete  walls,  each  Sin. 
thick,  then  it  wiU  presently  be  shown  that  it 
woifld  be  utterly  fallacious  to  take  the  breaking 
stress  as  1921b.  per  foot  super,  for  this  example, 
because  the  reactions  on  the  supports  wiU  be  too 
gTeat  for  such  thin  walls. 

It  was  before  seen  12,S001b.  is  the  breaking 
stress  upon  the  cantilever  portion  of  the  plate 
when  cut  into  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross,  sup- 
posing the  load  to  act  at  the  end  of  the  cantilever. 
It  wUl,  however,  be  easier  to  consider  the  reac- 
tions upon  the  walls  if  only   one  foot  run  of  the 

wall  is  calculated ;  then  — j = — r 

|_  40 

=  9601b.,  acting  at  the  end  of  a  lever  40in.  long 
and  having  the  fulcrum  on  the  iimer  edge  of  the 
wall  1ft.  run.  To  balance  this  weight  over  an 
area  of  only  1ft.  wide,  Sin.  long,  for  the  other 
end  of  thelever,  the  enormous  weight  of  9,6001b. 
would  be  required  or  its  equivalent ;  that  is  to 
say,  cohesion  between  the  plate  and  the  wall. 
As,  however,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the 
cohesion  or  tensile  strength  of  a  concrete  wall 
six  weeks  old  would  not  te  more  than  201b. 
per  inch,  then  this  cohesion  will  only  counter- 
act 12Slb.  out  of  the  9601b.,  as  it  is  only  equiva- 
lent to  haU  the  area  of  the  wall,  acting  at  two- 
thirds  distance  from  the  fulcrum,  that  is  9001b; 
at  a  distance  of  5-33in.  from  the  fulcrum. _  Thus 
there  is  still  a  reaction  caused  by  the  weight  of 
8321b.,  acting  at  a  distance  of  40in.  from  the 
fulcram,  and  to  balance  this  a  perpendicular 
load  of  8,3201b.  would  be  required  upon  the  wall 
per  foot  run,  or,  in  other  terms,  a  wall  about 
DOft.  high,  which  is  not  a  practicable  height. 
To  illustrate  how  soon  the  wall  approaches  a 
suitable  thickness,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say 
that  if  the  wall  is  twice  Sin.  thick,  the  height  of 
wall  (after  allowing  for  the  cohesion  between  the 
plate  and  wall)  will  then  be  less  than  12ft.,  and 
if  the  wall  is  made  2ft.  tliick,  the  cohesion 
between  the  wall  and  the  plate  wiU  be  of  itself 
sufficient  to  coimteract  the  weight  of  9601b., 
acting  40in.  distance  from  the  fulcriun. 

When  thin  internal  walls  are  used,  with  con- 
crete floors,  it  is  important  to  have  the  floors  of 
uniform  thickness  over  the  whole  area,  and  pass- 
ing over  also  the  whole  area  of  the  external 
walls. 

It  will  now  be  instructive  to  consider  the  ulti- 
mate strength  of  the  square  floor,  after  all  the 
plasticity  in  the  concrete  is  reduced  to  its  normal 
condition.  It  has  been  before  stated  it  might 
become  as  strong  as  well-matured  Portland 
cement,  or  seven  times  stronger  than  the  constant 
of  strength  used  in  the  calculations.  This  know- 
ledge is,  however,  only  useful  to  control  vision- 
ary schemes  of  construction,  based  upon  tests 
giving  high  breaking  stresses  ;  for  even  suppose 
it  to  be  the  case  the  concrete  ultimately  reaches 
seven  times  the  strength,  it  woiddnot  be  prudent 
to  reduce  the  scantling  below  S  inches  thick  for 
a  square  floor  20ft.  span  ;  and  it  has  also  to  be 
remembered,  that  thin  plates  with  high  breaking 
stresses  will  have  a  much  more  powerfid  reaction 
upon  the  walls  than  thick  plates.  It  may  be 
safely  assumed  the  concrete  wUl  reach,  at  least, 
three  times  the  strength  of  the  constant ;  or  a 
breaking  sti'css  of  5701b.  per  ft.  super.  ;  and, 
after  deducting  the  weight  of  the  material, 
4S21b.  per  ft.  super.,  which  is  a  strength  amply 
sufficient  for  the  ordinary  exigencies  of  practice. 
The  great  mass  of  material  in  the  floor  will 
also  render  it  a  very  safe  floor,  to  resist  any 
sudden  impact. 

For  roofs,  and  even  in  some  cases  for  floors,  it 
might  be  an  advantage  to  depart  from  the  plate 
of  uniform  thickness,  and,  instead,  to  proportion 
the  floor  or  roof,  so  as  to  obtain  uniform  strength 
for  a  distributed  load.  The  difficulties  as 
regards  the  reactions  upon  the  waUs  and  resi- 
lience will,  however,  be  thus  greatly  increased. 
The  highest  development  of  concrete  construc- 


L  240 

or  34,I32ib. ;  then,  as  the  area  of  the  plate, 
when  cast  into  the  form'  of  a  Latin  cross,  is 
3o5-5ft.,  that  will  give  96lb.  per  foot  super,  as 
the  breaking  stress ;  or,  in  fact,  exactly  the 
same  as  the  breaking-stress  for  the  circular 
plate.  Fiuthermore,  the  shear  per  foot-run 
upon  the  walls  will  be  exactly  the  same  as  when 
the  square  plate  was  supposed  to  be  supported 
on  two  walls,  that  is,  6401b.  per  foot  run. 

The  margin  between  the  weight  of  the  plate 
and  the  breaking  stress  is  so  small,  being  only 
21b.  per  foot  siipcr.,  it  is  evident  it  would  be 
exceedingly  riskful  to  I'est  the  square  plate  on 
four  walls.  Suppose,  however,  the  Latin  cross 
is  firmly  fixed  into  the  four  walls  at  the  edges, 
then  that  portion  of  the  cross  projecting  from 
the  central  square  will  act  as  four  cantOevers ; 
and  as  each  cantilever   is   thus    40iu.   long,  the 

^  ,     KB  D^  _  50  X  160  X  64       ,„  cnn     • 

formula  — = =    -r =  12,800,    is 

L  40 

the  breaking  stress  at  the  end  of  each  cantilever. 
It  can  be  demonstrated  that,  as  each  cantilever 
equals  in  area  one -fourth  part  of  the  central 
portion  of  the  cross,  then  if  the  r2,S00lb.  be 
divided  into  three  equal  portions,  two  of  these 
portions,  that  is,  8, 5331b.  represents  the  dis- 
tributed load  upon  one-fourth  part  of  the  central 
portion  of  the  cross ;  and  the  remaining  third 
represents  a  weight  of  4,2661b.  acting  at  the  end 
of  each  cantilever,  and  thus  equal  to  a  dis- 
tributed load  of  S, 5331b.  over  the  area  of  each 
cantilever.  The  area  of  each  cantilever,  and  of 
one-fourth  part  of  the  central  portion  of  the 
cross,  is,  in  each  case,   44-44ft. ;   so  that  equals 

1921b.    per  foot  super,  distributed  load   for  the 

breaking  stress,  or  9Slb.  per  foot  super,  over  and 

beyond  the  weight  of  the  material ;  and  1921b. 

is   again    exactly  equal  to  the  breaking  stress 

upon  the  circular  plate,  with  the  edge  fixed. 
The  eft'ect  of   removing  the   centering   from 

underneath    such    a  plate   of    concrete,    either 

square   or    circular,  and  firnJy  fixed    into   the 

supporting    wall,  would  be  as  follows  : — First 

there  would  be  a  deflection  due  to  the  weight  of 

the  material ;  and  second,  there  would  be  a  time 

deflection,    probably   of   many   hoiu-s   duration, 

due    to  the  continuance   of   the   stress   upon  a 

plastic  material. 

It  is  hoped  these  foregoing  remarks  may  prove 

of  use  to  those  who  may  have  to  constract  con- 
crete floors,  or  roofs,  but  it  has  also  to  be  re- 
membered, the  conditions  for  success  will  depend 

upon  the  walls  fulfilling  two  conditions,  of  very 

great  importance,  when  using  this  novel  method 

of  forming  roofs  and  floors.     The  first  condition    „  __    _    ^     - 

is  absolute  uniformity  in  the  settlement  of  the  |  tion,  will  be,  when  it  is  employed  for  paraboho 


July  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


61 


or  other  domes,  as,  iu  such  a  case,  at  least 
double  the  constant  of  strength  could  be  used  in 
the  calculations.  These  structures  -n-ill  probably 
be  made  with  high-class  conrrcte,  taking  the  fonu 
of  an  inner  and  outer  shell,  with  cross-walls 
joining  the  two  together. 

The  advantages  of  calling  into  play  the  ten- 
sile and  transverse  strength  of  concrete  for 
domical  structures  is,  as  yet,  an  unexplored  field 
of  inquiry.  Of  this,  however,  there  can  be  but 
little  doubt — concrete  domes  could  be  made  of 
very  much  larger  dimensions  than  is  possible 
with  either  brick  or  stone. — I  am,  &c., 

A.  C.  P. 


DETERJIINATIOX  OF  THE  THICKNESS 
AXD  rOEir  OF  THE  AECHES  OF 
STOXEBKIDGES.' 

By  G.  ToLKinn. 

^pHE  thickness  necessary  for  the  arch  of  a 
_L  stone  bridge  depends  on  the  strength  of  the 
materials  of  wliich  the  arch  is  buDt,  the  load  it  has 
to  bear,  and  the  form  and  dimensions  adopted  for 
the  arch-ring.  All  empirical  formukc,  used  for 
determining  the  depth  of  the  crown,  which  do 
not  contain  these  three  factors,  can  only  be  re- 
garded as  giving  adequate  approximation  when 
applied  within  narrow  liiuits.  If  the  span  of 
the  arch  be  small,  and  the  backing  above  it  of 
little  depth,  it  is  necessaiy  besides  to  take 
account  of  a  partial  distribution  of  the  live  load. 
It  may  generally  be  said  that  the  thickness 
required  will  be  least  when  the  fonn  chosen  for 
the  arch  is  such  as  to  make  the  line  of  pressure 
which  corresponds  to  full  loading  coincide  with 
the  mean  line  of  the  arch-ring.  Iu  a  former 
paper,  published  in  the  "  Zeitschrift  fiir  Bau- 
wesen  '"  of  1S76  the  author  has  gone  fully  into 
this  question  :  and  the  results  then  obtained 
have  been  collected  and  reproduced  in  a  small 
table.  The  chief  object  of  the  present  paper  is, 
however,  to  establish  a  formula  which,  while 
taking  due  account  of  the  three  factors,  gives 
also  an  easy  means  of  determining  the  thickness 
at  the  crown  of  such  arches.  The  formula  is 
not  PDictly  accurate,  but  numerous  applications 
which  have  been  made  of  it  have  proved  that 
the  approximation,  even  iu  extreme  cases,  is 
very  great. 

The  author  examines  two  distinct  cases  : — 1st. 
The  evenly-distributed  live  load,  covering  the 
entire  length  of  the  span.  2nd.  The  live  load 
extending  only  from  one  of  the  abutments  to  the 
centre  of  the  arch.  The  latter  case  leads  gene- 
rally to  greater  thicknesses  than  the  first,  but 
still  it  is  always  advisable  to  try  both  hypotheses. 
If  c  be  the  thickness  at  crown,  it  can  be  ex- 
pressed in  the  first  case  by 


•1.5 


1,5  i£  V       lo; 


J 

■-,  depth  at  crown  of  the  surface,  representing 
the  permanent  load  on  the  arch.     It  is  com- 
prised between  the  extrados  and  a  horizontal 
line  above  it. 
p,  depth  of  horizontal  strip,  representing  the 

live  load. 
«c  and  /,  span  and  rise  of  the  intrados  of  the 

arch. 
'J,  greatest  pressure  admissible  on  the  stone. 

The  foi-mula  is  independent  of  the  choice  of 
unit,  which  may  be  at  pleasure  the  foot,  the 
yard,  or  the  metre.  Although  rj  is  equivalent  to 
a  weight,  it  is  not  to  be  expressed  by  a  number 
of  units  of  weight,  but  by  the  volume  of  stone  of 
a  like  weight.  Thus,  supposing  the  stone  to  he 
able  to  bear  s,ifely  SO  tons  per  square  meter,  and 
to  weigh  2  tons  per  cubic  meter,  the  numerical 
ralue  of  y  to  be  introduced  into  the  formula 

will  be  T—  =  40  cubic  metres. 

In  the  second  case,  that  of  partial  distribution 
of  the  live  load,  the  expression  of  c  depends  on 
the  nature  of  the  assiunption  wliich  is  made 
with  regard  to  the  springings.  When  they  are 
assumed  as  rigidly  fixed,  the  value  of  c  will  be 
smaller  thau  when  they  are  supposed  to  admit  of 
«Ught  angular  displacements.  It  is,  therefore, 
judicious    to     adopt    the  "second    hypothesis. 


•  Zeitsdirift  des  Architekten-  uud  Ingeoieur-Vereins 
Tn  Hannover.  TraofUted  for  Institution  of  Civil  Engi 
neers. 


although  probably  farther  from  the  truth  than 
the  first.     The  equation  becomes  in  this  case  : 
f         ^  Iw-f 
■1  «■ 


c  =  •62.5  X  ^- 


c  +  c  + 


-  +  !¥ 


The  symbols  have  the  same  siguification  as 
before  ;  the  thickness  at  the  crown  being  com- 
puted, there  remains  to  draw  the  arch  in  its 
right  form.  This  is  done  by  means  of  the  table 
already  cited.  The  operation  is  extremely 
simple,  reducing  itself  to  the  multiplication  by 
numerical  co-efficients  of  a  series  of  figures  con- 
tained in  the  table. 


MR.  NEWTON  ON  GREEK  PAINTED 

VASES. 

MR.  NEWTON'S  ninth  lecture  (a  supple, 
mentary  one),  which  concluded  the  course 
on  Ancient  Greek  Art,  was  given  at  University 
College,  Gower. street,  on  the  7th  inst.  It  treated 
of  the  designs  on  Greek  painted  vases.  These 
vases  formed  a  distinct  branch  of  fictile  or  ceramic 
art ;  the  designs  with  which  they  arc  decorated 
might,  therefore,  be  called  specimens  of  Ceramo- 
graphy.  The  earhest  examples  of  such  designs 
carried  us  back  to  the  earUest  period  of  Hellenic, 
and  perhaps,  of  pre-Hellenic  civilisation.  In 
the  rudest  of  these  specimens,  found  at  Athens, 
Mycen:e,  and  Rhodes,  the  human  figure  rarely 
occurred,  or,  if  represented,  was  drawn  as  a 
child  might  draw  it.  A  large  class  of  this  early 
potterj-  was  ornamented  either  with  geometrical 
or  floral  patterns.  Next  came  the  style  now 
called  Asiatic,  because  believed  to  come  from  a 
Babylonian  or  Assyrian  source.  In  this  style 
zones  of  animals,  with  occasionally  winged 
monsters,  encircle  the  vase,  and  in  the  blank 
spaces  between  these  animals  are  flowers  and 
sjTnbols.  As  drawing  improves  in  this  style,  the 
human  figure  is  introduced,  with  something  like 
dramatic  action,  and  the  subject  represented  is 
explained  by  names  written  over  the  figures. 
The  lecturer  illustrated  this  phase  of  ceramo. 
graphy  by  a  design  on  a  Rhodiau  vase  on  which 
was  represented  a  scene  from  the  Trojan  war,  in 
which  Hector  and  Menelaus  are  fighting  over 
the  body  of  Euphorbos.  In  the  next  stage  of  the 
art  the  figures  were  painted  in  black  on  a  red 
ground,  the  details  of  anatomy  and  other  inner 
markings  being  rendered  by  incised  lines  and 
conventional  colours.  The  drawing  iu  tlus  style 
is  generally  harsh  and  full  of  archaic  mannerism. 
A  further  change  was  introduced  by  making  the 
ground  of  the  picture  black,  the  figures  being 
red  with  inner  markings  drawn  in  faint  lines  of 
deeper  tint  of  red.  Small  details  and  accessories 
were  picked  out  with  other  colours ;  but,  as  the 
predominant  colour  was  red,  these  designs  might 
be  called  monochrome.  This  style  probablj"  be- 
gan as  earl}-  as  the  time  of  Polygnotus  or  earUer, 
and  continued  till  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  At  Athens  and  in  Sicily  and  in 
a  few  other  places  we  met  with  another 
contemporary  style  of  vase-painting,  in 
which  the  figures  were  painted  in  several 
colours  on  a  white  ground.  A  very  beauti- 
ful speciinen  of  this  style  was  to  be  seen  in 
the  British  Museum — a  Rhodian  cup,  inside 
which  is  painted  Aphrodite  riding  on  a  swan. 
This  vase  is  probably  of  the  time  of  Phidias. 
Both  in  the  monochrome  style,  with  red  figures, 
and  in  the  contemporary  polychrome  style  there 
was  no  attempt  at  cluaroscuro,  and  yet  the 
painters  who  decorated  these  vases  were  the 
contemporaries  of  Apollodoros,  Zeuxig,  Parrha- 
sios,  Pausias,  by  whom,  as  we  know  from  Pliny, 
chiaroscuro  was  gradually  developed  by  a  series 
of  steps.  The  reason  why  this  improvement  in 
the  art  of  painting  so  little  affected  ceramography 
was  majnly  that  the  convex  or  concave  surface 
of  the  vase  was  better  adapted  to  a  design  kept 
very  flat  than  to  one  which  by  chiaroscuro 
suggested  the  idea  of  relief,  and  because  in  the 
great  age  of  art  the  composition  of  the  vase- 
picture  was  determined  in  most  cases  by  the  form 
of  the  vase  itself,  which  was  regarded,  like  the 
triangular  spaceof  a  pediment,  as  anarchitectonic 
necessity.  The  absence  of  chiaroscuro,  again, 
led  the  vase-painter  in  the  best  period  to  avoid 
complicated  foreshortening  and  groupings ;  the 
face  is  generally  seen  in  profile,  and  the  figures 
are  kept  in  one  plane.  In  the  contemporary 
polychrome  style  the  colours  are  harmoniously 
combined,  but  not  modified  by  light.  About  the 
time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  when  the  eye  of 
the  Greeks  was  dazzled  by  the  splendid  colouring 
of  Apelles  and  increased  private  wealth  led  to  a 


more  sumptuous  style 'of  decoration,  several  in- 
novations were  made  in  vase-painting.  The  de- 
signs with  red  figures  we  find  introduce  gilding, 
and  here  and  there  a  figure  iu  white.  Other 
colours  were  introduced  in  the  accessory  details. 
One  of  tlie  finest  examples  iu  this  style  is  a  vaso 
from  Camirus,  in  Rhodes,  representing  Thetia 
carried  olf  by  Peleus,  in  which  the  wings  of  Eros 
are  painted  blue,  and  the  mantle  of  Thetis 
sea-green.  The  drawing  of  this  vase  is  most 
masterly.  In  this  and  sub-'^cquent  HeUenistio 
periods  we  find  vases  of  immense  size,  on  which 
arc  painted  designs  in  several  planes  ;  from  the 
absence  of  aerial  perspective  the  more  distant 
figures  appear  to  bo  Iiighcr  up  in  the  picture 
than  the  nearer  ones  ;  rising  ground  is  indicated 
by  irregular  lines  of  dots,  but  there  is  no  attempt 
to  represent  landscape,  except  by  conventional 
adjuncts,  such  as  a  single  tree  to  represent  a 
forest.  In  the  later  specimens  of  this  style  tho 
drawing,  though  showing  great  facility  and 
dexterity,  is  often  careles,s  and  faulty,  and  tho 
types  are  effeminate.  With  regard  to  the  sub. 
jects  of  vase -pictures,  we  find  in  the  early  style 
a  preference  for  scenes  of  war  and  the  chase,  and 
recognise  many  subjects  from  tho  Homeric  and 
Cyclic  poems ;  in  the  finest  period  of  art  these 
subjects  still  recur,  together  with  many  other 
myths  not  previously  familiar  to  us  because  not 
celebrated  in  extant  classical  Uterature.  Agon- 
istic scenes  were  also  abundant  in  this  period.  In 
the  later  style  of  the  Hellenistic  period  there  is 
a  preference  for  more  effeminate  subjects  taken 
from  Diouysiac  or  Erotic  myths.  Scenes  where 
mourners  bring  offering  to  a  tomb  were  also 
common  in  this  style.  The  lecturer  then  ex. 
plained  a  number  of  drawings  of  vase-pictures 
illustrating  the  different  periods,  among  which 
the  most  remarkable  were  the  two  Rhodian  vases 
already  mentioned  ;  the  Blacas  vase,  represent- 
ing the  Taking  of  Troy  ;  the  vase  painted  by 
Meidias,  representing  the  rape  of  the  Leucippida;; 
Hercules  in  the  garden  of  the  Hesperides,  and 
other  subjects ;  and  a  composition  of  many 
figures  representing  a  series  of  toilette  scenes 
painted  on  the  inside  of  a  cup  found  in  a  tomb 
in  the  Crimea,  and  now  in  the  Hermitage  at  St. 
Petersburg. 


M 


IRON  CASTINGS. 
ESSRS.  STEVEN  BROTHERS  AND  CO. 
the  well-known  iroufounders,  of  Upper 
Thames-street  and  Milton  Ironworks,  Glasgow, 
have  brought  out  an  "  Illustrated  Book  of  De- 
signs of  Iron  Castings ' '  of  considerable  bulk. 
An  alphabetical  index  gives  some  idea  of  the 
comprehensiveness  of  this  catalogue,  which  con- 
tains every  kind  of  casting  the  architect  or  engi- 
neer can  require,  with  .sizes,  and,  in  many 
instances,  explanatory  notes  fur  the  guidance  in 
selection  and  preparing  specifications.  Thus,  in 
the  section  devoted  to  rain-water  guttering,  the 
most  varied  sections,  from  the  simple  roimd  to 
the  most  elaborate  moiUded  profile,  are  iUtis- 
trated  full  size  and  the  exact  dimensions  given, 
so  that  a  gutter  may  be  selected  to  suit  buildings 
of  every  conceivable  class.  Wo  by  no  means 
admire  all  the  designs,  and  we  cannot  help 
thinking  the  ornamentation  is  in  many  cases  ex- 
cessive. We  prefer,  for  instance,  those  on 
pages  IOC,  107  to  those  figured  on  page  117,  and 
some  of  the  antefix;e  patterns  and  crestings  are, 
we  think,  a  trifle  overdone.  Section  II.  illus- 
trates pipes,  rain-water  goods,  &o. ;  and  every 
useful  du-ection  will  be  found  in  this  part, 
such,  for  instance,  that  the  projection  of  an  angle 
bend  for  a  raiu-water  pipe  will  be  greater 
than  a  right-angle  bend.  A  great  variety 
of  ornamental  patterns  for  pipes  and  connections 
follow,  and  some  of  the  rain-water  heads  shown 
are  sensibly  treated,  and  are  dtsigned  for  both 
Classic  and  Gothic  buildings.  Those  imitating 
capitals,  as  S-1,  we  have  a  decide!  objection  to. 
Hot-water  appliances,  steam,  gas,  and  water 
fittings,  gratings,  &c.,  form  another  section,  and 
are  well  described  and  represented.  Here  the 
builder  cannot  mistake,  for  he  has  figorcd  dia- 
grams of  every  sort  of  siphon,  elbow,  and  outlet 
he  can  require,  and  a  variety  of  pat  terns  for 
coils,  though  we  do  not  admire  all  the  elaborate 
coil-cases  shown.  The  stabld  and  cattle  fittings 
appear  as  excellent  in  sanitary  arrangement  and 
design  as  it  is  pos-sible  for  them  to  be,  and  the 
only  objection  we  have  to  make  is  that  the 
patterns  are  too  numerous.  The  mangers  and 
stable-gutters  are  admirable,  and  the  plans 
showing  stall  arrangements  will  be  found  useful. 
Terminals  and  finials,  vanes,  &c.,  form  another 


62 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880= 


A*  re.'ards  the  deeims  for  crestinss    as  we  state<l  last  week,  decided  to  visit  the  neigh- 


larffcclass.     ..^-.„-—  _         ,    ,. 

and  railiujr^,  and  those  for  registers  and  ehunney 
pieces  fewer  and  better-studied  designs  would 
have  been  preferable.  In  some  of  these  the 
result  has  been  to  crowd  ornament  together 
without  motive  in  design.  These  remarks  apply, 
amon"-  other,^,  to  crestings,  ice,  Nos.  40S,  (530, 
tilO,  y27,  S7J,  SSJ.  Section  VIII.  illustrates 
railing'  and  pate-standards,  and  it  is  a  pity 
such  poor  Gothic  designs  as  Nos.  41»,  39",  and 
34  have  been  given.  Newel- bars,  balusters, 
&c.,  are  fully  treated.  Passing  over  Section  X., 
wliich  deals'with  panebs,  ic,  we  come  to  a  sec- 
tion on  Bchool-tittings.  Some  of  the  garden- 
chairs  are  suitable.  Section  XII.  is  a  useful  one, 
aud  treats  of  ranges,  stoves,  &c.,  to  which 
sjme  remarks  are  appended.  Section  XA  I. 
shows  a  variety  of  designs  for  porches,  con- 
servatories, verandahs,  kc.  ;  and  the  catalogxie 
concludes  with  sanitary  appliances  of  a  very 
complete  character.  Messrs.  Steven  Brothers 
appear  to  have  spared  no  expense  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  their  catalogue  to  make  it  reliable. 


THE  SOUTH  KENSINGTON  JTUSEUAI.* 

1)ARTS  IV.  and  V.  of  this  illustrated  serial 
have  reached  us.  Among  the  examples  in 
the  former  p.irt  we  notice  more  especially  a  wood 
engraving  of  the  central  door  at  the  Sou  h  Ken- 
sington Museum,  designed  by  the  late  Godfrey 
Sykes.  The  architrave  moiddings  are  in  terra- 
cotta, executed  by  Blanchard  and  Co.,  and  a 
remarkable  feature  are  the  small  lizards  modelled 
in  relief  in  the  inner  hollow.  The  doors,  in 
bronze  gilt,  were  executed  by  the  late  Giovanni 
Franchi,  and  contain  panels  of  figures  in  high 
reUcf  representing  men  famous  in  science  and 
art.  As  a  specimen  of  architectural  modelling 
and  design  it  is  noteworthy.  The  frieze  in 
refreshment-room,  designed  by  J.  Gamble,  is  also 
clever  in  composition.  A  bronze  lamp  of  ICth- 
ccntury  workmanship,  of  the  shape  of  an  ancient 
galley ;  a  rtrliquary  of  crystal  and  copper-gilt, 
French,  of  the  Hthcentury ;  a  walnut  cabinet,  with 
some  spirit«l  car\-ing  of  French  workmanship  ;  a 
pastoral-stall  head,  in  ivory,  of  the  Hth  century, 
also  French  ;  a  silver  mace  ;  an  enamelled 
copper  casket ;  and  a  marble  panel,  with  low 
ItaUan  relief  figures  in  a  group,  compose  the 
subjects  of  this  part.  In  the  next  part  we  have 
seven  etchings  and  one  wood  engraving.  The 
frontispiece  is  a  view  across  the  Loan  Court  of 
the  Museum,  accurately  drawn,  hut  rather  black. 
The  court  was  designed  by  Capt.  Fowke,  R.E., 
and  the  decorations  wore"  by  Godfrey  Sykes. 
The  latter  are  chiefly  in  brown,  relieved  by  gold 
and  blue,  heightened  by  white.  As  an  example 
of  what  may  be  done  in  the  decoration  of  ex- 
posed ironwork,  this  Loan  Court  has  a  certain 
value  to  the  architect.  The  iron  coltunns, 
girders,  and  arches  are  decorativcly  treated  upon 
their  surfaces;  all  bolts  and  rivets  are  made 
ornamental  details.  Wo  cannot  accept  the 
example,  however,  in  some  of  the  details.  A 
vigorously-designed  bronze  knocker,  of  Venetian 
character  and  of  16th-century  workmanship,  isan 
interesting  illustration  ;  it  is  thought  to  have 
been  the  work  of  one  of  the  school  of  Alessandro 
Leopard!,  a  celebrated  bronze-worker.  The 
design  shows  a  mask  of  Medusa  forming  the 
hinge,  and  two  dolphins  forming  the  lower  half 
of  the  knocker ;  the  latter  carry  satyrs,  and  have 
serpents  coiled  round  them.  An  Italian  carved 
wood  bellows  of  the  IGth  century,  from  the 
Soulages  Collection,  is  also  interesting  for  its 
spirited  treatment.  A  Spanish  gilt-metal 
monstrance  of  the  same  date;  some  ivory  panels 
to  a  casket  of  French  14th-century  design; 
three  designs  for  panels,  ascribed  to  Giovanni 
da  Udine  (16th  century);  and  a  bold  Japanese 
eagle  of  iron  of  the  same  date,  are  among  the 
other  specimens  furnished.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  the  publishers  have  given  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects. The  illustrations  are  all  transferred  from 
etched  plates,  and  arc  generally  accurate  in 
drawing,  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  each 
part  is  a  good  shilling's-worth. 


bouihood  of  Norwich.  Mr.  James  Fowler,  of 
Louth,  has  kindly  consented  to  generally  con- 
duct the  visits.  "  Detailed  arrangements  are 
being  made,  and  in  order  to  answer  as  far  as  pos- 
sible" the  inquiries  already  received,  the  annexed 
sketch  programme  has  been  prepared,  and  -n-ill 
be  worked  out  with  such  modifications  as  may 
be  found  necessary.  The  number  is  limited  to 
thirty.  The  excursion  wiU  take  place  in  August, 
commencing  on  Monday,  the  IGth,  and  ending  on 
Saturday,  the  Slst.  The  following  is  the 
SKETCH     PEOGEAMME. 

HEAD  QL'ABTESS,  SOEWICH. 

Monday.  — The  Catliedral  and  adjoining  buildings. 
Churches  of  St.  Peter  Mancroft,  and  St. 
Stephen. 

TcESDiV.— Eail  to  Aylsham.  Carriage  from  thence  to 
Cawston,  Sail,  andBlickling  (Church  and 
Hall.) 

■Wedsesdav.  — EaU  to  JT.  'Vralsham.  Carriages  from 
thence  to  Trunch,  Knapton,  Edmgthorpe, 
Bromholm  Priory,  and  Worstead. 

TnuBSDAY.— Bail  to  E.  Dereham  and  Fakenham.  Car- 
riages to  E.  Barsham  Hall. 

Fbiday.— Eail  to  ■\Vvmondham.     Caniages  from  tlience 
to  Attleborough,  Great  Ellingham,  Hing 
ham,  and  Deopham. 
Saiuedav.— St.  Andrew's   and    Stranger's  HaUs.     SI 
George's  and  St.  Giles's  Churches,   &c 
Norwich. 


the  author  is  reverent  in  a  degree,  remarkable 
in  the  sneering  style  of  the  period ;  but  in  the 
discussion  of  the  pretensions  of  Tara,  and  the 
assumptions  of  Mr.  Fergusson,  an  undertone  of 
playful  criticism  relieves  the  drier  matter.  The 
book  is  nicely  printed,  and  deserves  our  recom- 
mendation as  a  trustworthy  and  convenient 
handbook  to  the  remarkable  antiquities  which 
led  to  its  composition,  and  a  useful  companion 
in  their  summer  wanderings  to  home  tourists 
who  care  to  see  "  Some  rare  note-worthy  objects- 
in  their  travel." 


THE 


ARCHITECTURAL    ASSOCIATION 
EXCURSION. 


THE   sub- committee  appointed  to  determine 
upon   the  du-trict  to  be  visited  this  year, 
.and  to  made  the  necessary  arrangements,  have, 

■  The  South  Kensinffton  Museum:  Examples  of  the 
Works  of  Alt  in  the  Iluseum,  &c.  London  :  Sampson 
Low,  MantoD,  Searle,  and  EiviDgton, 


OUR  ANCIENT  MONUMENTS.* 

IN  a  pleasant,  chatty  style,  Mr.  Jackson  has 
imdertaken  to  illustrate  the  Ancient  Monu- 
ments scheduled  in  the  Bill  of  Sir  John  Lub- 
bock, who  furnishes  a  brief  introduction  to  the 
volume.  Owing  to  adverse  influences  the  list  is 
very  imperfect,  Cornwall  being  wholly  omitted. 
Prehistoric  times  admit  of  large  speculation,  and 
it  appears  that  archteologists  are  not  yet  quite  at 
accord  with  regard  to  the  nomenclature.  Thus 
we  have  four  epochs  : — 

1.  The  Drift,  for  which  Sir  John  Lubbock 
proposes  the  name  PaloeoUthic. 

•2.  The  Stone  Age,  which  receives  from  the 
same  hand  the  synonym  of  Neolithic. 

3.  The  Bronze,  aud 

4.  The  Iron. 
The  monuments  are   "Tumidi,    Menhirs,  or 

Standing  Stones,  Dolmens,  or  Stone  Chambers, 
Stone  Circles,  and  Stone  Rows  or  Avenues." 
Mr.  Jackson's  spelling  of  P/ic-Christian  and 
P/'ii  historic  we  would  hope  are  misprints  ;  but 
he  certainly  confuses  the  meaning  of  an  import- 
ant word ;  we  read  of  "no  less  than  thirty 
cromlechs  or  altar-hke  groups  of  stones,"  but  on 
the  opposite  page  are  perplexed  to  find  this 
sentence,  "we  propose  to  confine"  [the  name 
Cromlech]  "  to  circular  monuments ;"  and  in  the 
appendix,  "  our  popular  use  of  the  words  dolmen 
and  cromlech  ought  to  be  reversed ;  and  while 
the  former  word  accurately  describes  the  so- 
caled  altar-stone,  the  latter  better  suits  the 
case  of  stone  circles."  There  are  other  similar 
slips,  but  we  prefer  to  turn  to  the  more  kindly 
view  of  an  agreeable  though  superficial  work, 
which,  if  less  popular  and  more  solid,  would 
have  been  the  birtter  if  moulded  on  the  model 
of  the  admirable  articles  published  in  the  Juiirnal 
of  the  Royal  Antiquaries  of  the  North,  at  Copen- 
hagen. Mr.  Jackson's  essay  on  Old  Sarum,  its 
cathedral,  and  the  new  minster  in  the  Vale  of 
the  Avon  is  ultra  rircs,  but  he  gives  us  some 
new  and  acceptable  information  in  "  the  evidence 
existing  of  liurposed  church  erections  on  the  site 
of  rude  monuments  of  an  carUer  period.  Thus, 
in  the  tenth  century,  we  find  Patrick,  Bishop  of 
the  Hebrides  (■)  desiring  Crlygus  to  found  a 
church  where  he  should  find  three  upright  stones. 
The  cluuxh  of  Benachie,  in  Scotland,  is  built  in 
a  Pagan  stone  circle.  Rudston  and  Ruthwell  (?) 
pillars  would  appear  to  be  incorporations  of 
stone  monuments  with  subsequently  erected 
ehuiches,  and  so  also  would  appear  to  he  piUars 
in  the  Abbeys  of  Downpatrick  and  St.  Thomas, 
Dublin,  respectively."  It  the  light  of  St.  Gre- 
gory's instructions  to  St.  Augustine,  not  to 
destroy,  but  to  consecrate,  the  earlier  places  of 
worship,  the  subject  might  well  be  pursued 
further,  and  made  to  possess  a  wider  interest. 
The  illustrative  woodcuts,  though  somewhat 
coarse,  give  a  rough  but  effective  idea  of  the 
monuments  which  they  represent.  Whilst  the 
legendary  and  controversial  literature  of  the 
.subject  has  not  been  sparingly  used,  the  tone  of 


BOOKS  RECEHTID. 

JS'ohs  III/  Mr.  Toiskin  on  Samuel  Trout  and 
TViUiam  Munt  (London  :  Fine  Art  Society)  is  an 
illustrated  edition  of  Mr.  Ruskin's  notes  on  the 
extremely  interesting  collection  of  pencU  and 
water-colour  drawings,  opened  in  November 
last,  at  the  Fine  Art  Society's  Gallery  in  New 
Bond-street.  "We  reviewed  the  drawings,  and 
Mr.  Ruskin's  notes  on  them,  on  p.  603.  of  Vol. 
XXXVII.,  and  have  only  to  add  here  that  the 
twenty  autotypes  render  this  edition  tenfold 
more  valuable  and  interesting. Great  Indus- 
tries of  Great  Britain  (London :  CasseU,  Petter, 
and  Galpin)  has  completed  another  volume. 
Numerous  illustrations,  and,  as  far  as  we  can 
judge,  accurate  information,  by  competent 
authorities,    render   the   series   a  very  valuable 

work  of  reference. JPractical  Boat-Sailing  for 

Amateurs  (London  :  The  Bazaar  office)  contain* 
particulars  of  the  most  suitable  sailing-boats- 
and  yachts  for  amateurs,   and  instructions  for 

their  use. Ehctrie  Light  :  Its  Froduction  an^ 

Use  ;  by  J.  W.  Urquhart,  C.E.,  edited  by  F.  C. 
Webb,  M.I.C.E.,  M.S.T.E.  (London:  Crosby 
Lockwood  and  Co.),  is  not  a  very  satisfactory 
book.  The  author  seems  to  have  been  anxious- 
to  save  his  readers  from  the  trouble  of  arri^ng- 
at  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  theory  of  his- 
subject,  aud  the  result  is,  that  occasionally  one 
is  forced  to  conclude  that  some  of  the  statements 
made  in  the  book  are  the  fruit  of  that  sort  of 
"practical"  experience  which,  disdaining  the 
study  of  principles,  degenerates  into  rule  of 
thiunb  work.  Still  there  are  many  uscfid  sug- 
gestions on  details  in  the  book,  and  the  illus- 
trations are  always  good  and  nearly  always- 
accurate. 

CHIPS. 

The  first  portion  of  the  enlargement  of  Astori 
church  is  now  completed,  aud  was  opened  on  Tues- 
day week.  This  portion  consists  of  an  extension 
of  the  nave  and  aisles  in  an  eastward  direc- 
tion, over  the  site  of  the  old  chancel.  It  was 
commenced  rather  more  than  a  year  ago.  It  is 
proposed  to  proceed  next  with  the  chancel. 

A  new  court-house  for  the  Broxton  petty  ses- 
sions has  been  erected  from  the  designs  of  the  county 
surveyor  of  Cheshire  (Mr.  Stanhope  Bull).  The 
building  is  in  bright  red  brick,  and  the  style  fol- 
lowed IS  Early  English.  It  consists  of  a  super- 
intendent's residence,  constable's  house,  poUce- 
station,  lockup,  with  three  cells,  a  spacious  and 
well-arranged  court-house,  and  all  necessary 
offices.  The  contractor  is  Mr.  Howard,  of  Hazel- 
grove. 

A  parish  meeting  was  recently  held  at  Dart- 
mouth for  the  purpose  of  considering  two 
schemes  for  the  repair  and  improvement  of  St. 
Saviour's  Church,  which  has  been  permitted  to 
lapse  into  a  state  of  dilapidation.  Mr.  Thomas 
Lidstone,  diocesan  surveyor,  presented  a  report,  aud 
estimated  the  cost  of  the  work  at  £4,3-56.  A  second 
report  and  plans  were  presented  by  Mr.  Edward 
Ashworth,  architect,  of  Exeter,  who  estimated  the 
expense  at  £3,S7S.  In  the  event,  the  latter  plans 
were  adopted  by  the  vestry.  Mr.  Ashworth  stated 
th.»t  he  proposed  to  clear  away  the  west  gallery  aud 
all  the  "  cradle  work,"  place  the  organ  iu  the  north 
chancel- ais'.e,  restore  the  roofs  and  tower,  reseat 
the  church,  renew  the  windows,  provide  hot-water 
apparatus,  re-light  the  church,  and  remove  the 
altarpiecc  to  the  west  end  of  the  church  against  the 
northern  wall,  and  substitute  for  it  a  reredos. 

On  the  24th  ult.  the  foundation-stone  of  a  new 
church  at  Four  Elm?,  Kent,  was  laid.  The  external 
facing  will  be  of  Limpsfleld  stone,  while  the  quoins, 
window,  and  other  dressings,  and  the  internal 
facing,  will  be  of  Bath  stone.  Messrs.  Punnett,  of 
Tonbridge,  are  the  contractors,  and  the  architect 
is  Mr.  Edwin  T.  HaU,  of  57,  Moorgate- street, 
London. 


•  Our  .\ncient    Monunaents,  and    the    Ijmd  around 
Them.    By  C.  P.  K.  Jacksos.  Ljndon ;  E.  Stock.  IStO. 


The  vestry  of  St.  George's,  Hanover- square, 
have  decided  to  enlarge  and  extend  the  public 
baths  in  Davies- street,  Berkeley-square,  at  a  cost 
not  exceeding  £2,500. 


July  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


63 


ABCBLS:0I.0G1CAL. 

AXCIENT  BkiTISH  IxTEUilZXTS  IN  Bekcs. — The 
neighboui'hood  of  Lambourue,  in  Berkshire,  is 
rich  in  remains  of  prehistoric  times,  including 
the  great  cjimp  at  Uffington,  with  the  well- 
known  figure  of  a  hoi-se  rudely  cut  out  in  chalk 
on  the  hill-side.  Not  far  distant  is  Wayland 
Smith's  cave,  a  sepulchi-al  chamber  with  a 
gallery,  once  corered  by  a  large  mound,  and 
representing  the  earliest  form  of  burial-place 
with  which  we  are  acquainted  in  Britain:  This 
relic  of  past  ages  is  made  celebrated  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott  in  "  Kenilworth."  Local  anti- 
quaries would  gladly  attach  to  Ashdown  (now 
the  property  of  the  Earl  of  Craven)  Alfred's 
famous  battle  of  .Ji^scesdune,  but  it  is  still  a 
disputed  point  as  to  whether  the  engagement 
■was  really  fought  there,  many  antiquaiies  con- 
sidering it  scarcely  possible.  However,  there  is 
in  the  neighbourhood  a  lai'ge  group  of  barrows 
(numbering  nearly  30),  to  which  the  name 
"Seven  Barrows"  is  given,  and  which  were 
partly  examined  about  30  years  ago.  Some 
other  barrows  in  the  neighbourhood  have  lately 
been  explored  by  Canon  Greenwell,  F.R.S.,  of 
Durham,  author  of  "  British  Barrow.s,"  being 
asoeiated  in  his  researches  with  Mr.  W.  Money, 
F.S.A.,  of  Newbury.  Three  or  four  barrows 
which  were  examined  proved  to  have  been 
opened  and  completely  rifled  in  times  long  past, 
but  among  these  was  a  small  one  that  stiU  con- 
tained the  broken  fragments  of  a  fine  cinerary 
urn,  which,  when  discovered,  had  been  broken 
and  scattered  about  by  the  first  explorers.  A 
single  jet  bead,  no  doubt  the  remains  of  a  neck- 
lace, had  escaped  the  eyes  of  these  people.  The 
first  untouched  barrow  met  with  was  iu  the 
pai'ish  of  Childrey,  on  the  edge  of  the  down 
overlooking  the  White  Horse  Yale.  Just  to  the 
south-east  of  the  centre  was  a  large  Sarseu 
stone,  and  going  down  at  its  side  was  a  circular 
grave,  excavated  iu  the  chalk,  2ift.  in  diameter 
and  lUt.  in  depth.  It  was  nearly  filled  with 
charcoal,  the  remains  of  the  funeral  pile  upon 
which  the  body  had  been  burnt.  Interspersed 
among  the  charcoal  were  the  burnt  bones.  In 
the  baiTow,  not  connected  with  the  Lnterment, 
were  a  flint  scraper  and  an  arrow-point  of  flint, 
of  a  type  very  rare  in  England,  but  almost  the 
«ommouest  in  Ireland.  The  next  barrow 
examined  was  in  the  parish  of  Letcombe 
Baisett.  It  was  a  large  one,  and  it  had  been  a 
good  deal  levelled  by  the  action  of  the  plough. 
Badgers  had  at  one  time  burrowed  in  it,  and  the 
skeletons  of  two  of  these  animals  were  found. 
Some  of  the  burnt  bones  which  the  barrow  con- 
tained had  been  burrowed  through  by  the 
badgers,  and  dispersed  about,  and  with  the 
burial  had  been  a  carefully  -  worked  barbed 
arrow-point  of  flint.  The  central  and  original 
interment — that  of  the  burnt  body  of  a  woman — 
had  been  in  a  deep  and  narrow  grave  excavated 
in  the  chalk.  The  bones  w?re  perfectly  free 
from  any  admixture  of  earth  or  charcoal,  and 
were  beautifully  white  in  colour.  Xo  imple- 
ment, ornament,  or  pottery,  had  been  buried 
with  the  body.  The  last  barrow,  at  Stancombe, 
in  the  parish  of  Lamboume,  produced  excep- 
tional results.  In  the  material  of  the  mound, 
but  not  connected  with  the  burial,  were  a  bone 
pin,  and  a  small  vessel  of  pottery  about  2in. 
high,  ornamented  with  vertical  lines  made  by 
the  puncture  of  a  sharp-pointed  instrument. 
At  the  centre,  iu  a  shallow  grave,  scooped  out  of 
the  surface  soU,  were  the  burnt  remains  of  a 
man,  and  lying  on  the  top  of  them  was  a  most 
symmetrically-formed,  perforated  axe-hammer 
of  stone,  one  of  the  finest  yet  discovered.  It 
has  been  presented  to  the  British  Museum, 
where  the  valuable  collection  of  articles  pre- 
viously discovered  by  Canon  Greenwell  are  pre- 
served. Side  by  side  with  this  hammer  was  a 
second  hammer  made  from  the  burr-end  of  a  red 
deer's  antler.  It  is  very  well  formed  and  larger 
than  usual.  Canon  Greenwell  has  discovered 
two  pre\-iously,  one  in  Yorkshire  and  one  in 
Westmoreland,  and  is  of  opinion  that  these 
implements  have  been  used  as  weapons  of  war. 
Close  by  was  found  an  "incense  cup"  of 
globular  form,  ornamented  on  the  upper  part 
with  zigzag  lines,  and  perforated  just  below  the 
rim  with  six  holes  in  pairs.  At  the  side  of  the 
deposit  of  burnt  bones  was  a  smaU  bronze  knife, 
with  a  tang  for  insertion  into  the  handle.  This 
article  presents  another  instance  of  the  con- 
current use  of  stone  with  bronze,  and  therefore 
possesses  more  than  usual  interest. 

NoEFOLi  Ajechjeolooicai.  Societt.  —  The 
annual  excursion  of  this  society  took  place  on 


Wednesday  week,  the  district  visited  being  that 
between  Norwich  and  Bimgay,  notes  on  the 
buildings  visited,  prepared  by  Mr.  R.  M.  Phip- 
son,  being  read  in  his  absence  by  the  Eev.  C. 
R.  Manning,  who  supplemented  them  with 
further  observations.  Leaving  Norwich  bv 
carriages,  the  Early  Decorated  church  at  Wood- 
ton  was  the  first  building  inspected.  Tliere  is 
no  chancel  arch  or  break  in  the  main-roof  from  east 
to  west :  the  14th-century  piscina,  sedilia,  double 
aumbry,  stairs  to  roodlof  t,  and  hagioscope  remain, 
and  at  the  east-end  of  south-aisle  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  Decorated  windows  in  the  country. 
At  Hedenham  were  seen  the  Elizabethan  brick- 
work of  the  old  hall  and  the  parish-church,  an 
Early  English  and  Decorated  building  which 
Mr.  Phipson  described  as  "  Another  case  of  over- 
zealous  and  mistaken  restoration.  Beddington 
Church,  the  next  one  visited,  is  more  interesting, 
having  a  circular  west  tower  of  the  13th  century, 
to  which  an  octagon  stage  has  been  subsequently 
added.  The  chancel  is  Transitional  Early 
English,  and  has  good  south  priest's  door  with 
dogtooth  mouldings  and  large  four-light  east 
window,  of  tliis  period.  The  nave  and  aisles 
aie  Decorated  and  Perpendicular  in  character, 
and  some  of  the  ancient  benches  have  male 
poppy-heads  on  the  north  side,  female  heads  on 
the  south.  In  Darrow  Wood,  the  Castle-hill, 
a  small  artificial  eminence,  moated  round,  was 
examined.  In  opposition  to  Mr.  Alfred  Suckling, 
who  had  suggested  that  it  was  a  Danish  art 
work,  the  Eev.  C.  R.  Manning  considered  it 
marked  the  residence  of  a  Saxon  thane.  At 
Denton,  the  fine  church,  with  good  ancient 
stained-gla.ss  in  the  Decorated  east  window, 
was  examined,  and  from  thence  the  members 
drove  to  the  church  at  Ear^ham,  which  contains 
some  Early  English  work  and  a  rich  Late  Per- 
pendicular font,  scidptured  with  the  seven 
sacraments,  and  some  old  Flemish  stained  glass. 
The  day's  excursion  closed  amidst  the  ruins  of 
Bungay  Castle. 


AECHITECTTJRAIi  &  ARCH-ffiOLOGICAL 
SOCIETIES. 

Aech^ological  IxsTirrTE  of  Ajiekica.. — The 
first  annual  report  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
presented  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Institute, 
held  in  Boston  Maj'  1.5th.,  shows  the  niunber  of 
members  to  be  122,  of  whom  15  are  life  mem- 
bers. The  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of 
the  Institute,  about  to  be  issued,  wOl  contain  a 
paper  on  "The  System  of  House-Building 
practised  by  the  Indians,"  by  the  Hon.  Lewis 
H.  Morgan :  ' '  Arch."eological  Notes  on  Greek 
Shores,"  Part  I.,  by  Mr.  Joseph  Thacker 
Clarke,  whom  the  Institute  assisted  with  funds 
in  the  prosecution  of  his  archagological  researches ; 
and  a  report  by  Mr.  W.  J.  StiUman,  on  the 
walls  of  Monte  Leone.  As  part  of  the  future 
work  of  the  Institute,  the  Executive  Committee 
proposes  to  send  an  expedition  to  Coloiado  and 
New  Mexico,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the 
life  of  the  Indians  there  located,  with  a  view  to 
the  determination  of  many  unsolved  questions 
in  American  archaeology,  and  to  explore  a  site 
in  Greece,  selected  after  cocsultarion  mth  Prof. 
Ernst  Curtius.  The  establishment  of  scholar- 
ships of  archaeology  at  Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia, 
and  other  colleges,  and  of  an  American  archa?o- 
logical  school  at  Athens,  is  also  urged  by  the 
committee. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Caediff.— The  site  of  the  old  theatre  and  some 
adjoining  land  in  this  town  is  proposed  to  be 
utilised  by  the  erection  upon  it  of  a  public  hall, 
shops,  and  chambers.  The  architects  of  Glamor- 
ganshire have  been  invited  to  send  in  plans  and 
specifications  showing  means  of  dealing  with  the 
area,  and  a  small  premium  is  to  be  paid  to  the 
author  of  the  selected  plan. 

LiTEEPOOL. — There  is  to  be  a  Conservative 
club-house  built  in  Liverpool,  and  Mr.  A. 
Waterhouse  has  been  there  arranging  terms  for 
a  competition,  to  be  confined  to  local  architects. 
We  understand  that  no  architect  will  be  allowed 
to  compete  unless  he  is  a  member  of  the  pro- 
posed club,  or  can  make  a  declaration  of  Con- 
servative faith.  The  site  is  in  Dale-street,  at 
the  comer  of  Sir  Thomas' s-buildings,  and 
opposite  the  municipal  buildings. 

WES-niEfSTEE.— A  meeting  of  the  Westmin- 
ster vestry  was  held  on  Wednesday,  when  the 


proposal  originally  made  to  confine  the  report  of 
the  proffssional  referee,  Mr.  Charles  Barrj',  to 
three  designs  selected  by  the  committee,  wa.s  set 
aside,  and  it  was  determined  that  Mr.  Barry 
i-hould  report  on  all  the  designs  submitted,  anj 
that  his  fee  should  bo  increatied  from  fifty  to  a 
hundred  guineas. 


CHIPS. 

New  schools  built  at  Twedidland  and  Dobwalls 
were  recently  opened  by  the  Liakeard  School 
Board.  They  are  Queen  Anne  in  style,  with  some 
gable  fr.imiug  and  half-timber  work,  and  have 
Bridgwater  brick  facings  and  dressings.  The  cost 
of  the  firat-named  school,  which  accommodates  SO 
children,  was,  including  master's  house,  £(M!),  and 
that  at  tlie  Dobwa'ls  school  £372.  Mr.  Skentrl- 
berj',  of  Looo,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Whale, 
of  Liskeard,  the  contractor. 

Mr.  George  Jacob  Holyoakc,  who  recently  vistc-d 
the  United  States,  speaks  rather  severely  cf  Iho 
cities  from  an  architectural  point  of  view : — "U  an 
architect  in  each  ciiy  could  be  banged  now  and 
then  with  discrimination,  what  a  mercy  it  would 
be  to  mankind." 

The  Cork  town  council  received  and  considered 
on  Friday  a  report  from  the  Artisans'  Dwellinss 
Improvement  Com.uitteo  with  reference  to  the 
progress  of  the  scheme.  It  was  stated  that  since 
September  last  the  committee  had  considered  three 
out  of  five  "  unhealthy  areas,"  and  hod  decided  to 
first  improve  that  near  Stephen-street,  known  as 
No.  1,  as  an  experiment.  Mr.  M'Mullen,  C.E., 
was  appoints  1  engineer  of  the  scheme,  and  Mr. 
Walker  the  official  valuer,  the  latter  of 
whom  so  satisfactorily  conducted  the  purchase 
negotiations  that  comparatively  few  of  the 
interests  scheduled  in  No.  1  area  came 
before  the  arbitrator  for  settlement.  Having 
now  obtained  possession  of  nearly  all  the  tene- 
ments, the  committee  had  instructed  Mr.  M'Mullen 
to  demolish  the  properties,  and  a  clearance  of  the 
site  was  nearly  completed.  Some  progress  had 
been  made  with  No.  2  area,  the  arbitration  for 
which  would  soon  be  held,  and  No.  3  bad  also  been 
commenced.  The  tot.il  cost  for  them  had  been 
£2,8.52,  out  of  the  £3-5,000  loan  which  had  been 
sanctioned.    The  report  was  adopted. 

The  Brighton  town  council,  on  Wednesday  week. 
finally  approved  the  specification  and  contract 
drainings  prepared  by  the  borough  surveyor  for 
the  new  fence  on  the  Marine  parade,  and  appointetl 
Mr.  Wilhan  Parsley  clerk  of  works  during  its 
erection,  at  a  salary  of  £3  3s.  per  week. 

A  Congregational  chapel,  Byzantine  in  style, 
was  opened  on  Wednesday  week  at  Brjn  Sion, 
Lampeter  Velefrey.  The  plans  were  prepared,  and 
the  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  £880,  by  Mr. 
John  James,  of  Whitland. 

Foundation-stones  were  laid  at  Bovey-Tracey. 
Devon,  on  Monday  week,  of  a  new  Wesleyon 
chapel  about  to  be  built  at  a  cost  of  £600.  Mr.  J. 
K.  Cull,  of  Newton,  is  the  architect,  and  the 
contractors  are  Messrs.  Aggett  and  Underbill,  of 
Chagford. 

The  Bristol  and  Gloucestershire  Archaeological 
Society  will  hold  their  annual  meeting  at  Stroud 
on  Wednesday  next,  the  21st  inst.,  and  two  foUow- 
jng  days. 

The  16th  half-annual  report  of  the  Cork  City 
Improved  Dwellings  Company,  Limited,  just  pre- 
sented to  the  shareholders,  states  that  the  revenue 
account  shows  a  net  balance  and  profit  of 
£451  6s.  Sd.  on  the  half-year,  which  enables  thB 
directors  to  declare  a  dividend  at  the  rate  of  6  pet 
cent,  per  annum  on  the  fully-paid  shares,  and  also 
to  pay  0  per  cent,  on  calls  on  new  shares,  and  to 
carry  fornard  £15  12s.  Id.  to  the  reserve  account 
which  will  then  stand  at  £594  Os.  5d.  The  work  of 
buildin"  is  progressing  satisfactorily  at  Rathmore, 
EichmJad-hill,  and  54  of  the  company's  new  houses 
are  now  occupied. 

A  new  police-station  is  about  to  be  erected  at 
HoUint-toii,  near  Hastings,  and  three  police- 
cottagts,  with  ceUs,  at  Eastbourne,  for  the  coantf 
magistrates,  from  the  designs  and  plans  of  Mr. 
Henry  Card,  of  Lewes. 

The  Eoyal  Agricultural  Society  is  this  week 
holdin"  its  annual  show  at  Carlisle.  The  whole  of 
the  shedding  has  been  erected  under  contract  by 
Messrs.  Thomas  Penny  and  Co.,  of  TauntOT,  and 
covered  with  canvas  by  Messrs.  I  nite  and  Son,  of 
Edgware-road,  London.  The  work.  toRether  with 
the  erection  of  temporary  bridges,  levelling  Mid 
draining  of  site,  and  laying  on  of  water  supply,  bM 
been  carried  out  under  the  supervision  of  Mr. 
McKie,  the  city  surveyor,  who  ho-s  been  appointed 
engineer  to  the  local  Snow  committee. 

The  Bath  town  council,  after  a  disenuion  and 
division,  resolved  on  Tuesday  week  to  raise  the 
salary  of  Mr.  Gilbey,  assistant  city  engineer,  by 
£20  per  annum. 


64 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Architectural  Improvements  in  the  City      

The  Fireplace  and  its  Sanitary  Value    

The  Tay  Bridf?e  Disaster    

A  Rec*nt  Visit  to  Ru*aia    

The  Paving"  of  "  New  Streets"       

Kaisingr  Chimneys ._.    ... 

Portland  Cement  for  Koof  and  Floor  Construction... 
Determination   of  the  Thickness  and  Form  of  the 

Arches  of  Stone  Bridges 

Mr.  Newton  on  Greek  Painted  Vases     

Iron  Castings 

The  South  Kensington  Museum      

The  Architectural  Association  Excursion    

Our  Ancient  Monuments    

Books  Eeceived     

Chips 

Archaeological 

ArchiU  ctural  and  Archteological  Societies 

Competitions 

Our  lithographic  Illustrations 

Building  Intelligence   

Parliamentary  Notes    

To  Correspondents , 

Correspondence     

Intercommunication    

"Water  Supply  and  Sanitar>' Matters     

Le^ral  Intelligence 

Statues,  Memorials,  &c 

Stained  Glass 

Our  Office  Table    

Tenders    


ILLUSTRATI0X3. 

XtW  BOAT-nOCSE,  OXFOHD.— UNIVEESITY  COLLEGE  STATE 
BARGE,  OXFORD.— UOrSES  IS  CADOOAS-SQUARE.— HOVSl 
AT      CASraRIDQE.  —  CHIUNEY-PIECB,     ASTOS     HALL.— IN' 

TERiop.  OF  ST.  Paul's  cathedral,  melboi'rse. 


Our  LiTHOGRAPHIClLLUSTRATIONS. 


UmVEBSm    COLLEGE    BAKGE    AXD    BOAT-HOUSE, 
OXFORD. 

The  barge  here  illustrated  was  built  for  Uni- 
Tersity  College,  Oxford,  about  a  year  ago,  by 
Mr.  Saunders,  of  Streatley,  and  Mr.  Dodd,  of 
Carershara,  the  former  taking  the  hull,  and  the 
latter,  the  house  ;  it  cost  about  £9.50  in  all.  The 
interior  consists  of  a  good  club-room,  a  dressing- 
room,  and  other  accommodation.  The  boat- 
house  is  now  being  built  jor  the  O.xford 
University  Boat  Club  by  Mr.  Silver,  of  Maiden- 
head. Tlio  lower  story  consists  of  the  boat-house 
proper,  about  70ft.  square,  giving  accommodation 
for  some  forty  eights  and  other  boats.  There  is 
a  workshop,  kc,  behind.  Above  these  are  three 
club-rooms,  with  dressing-rooms,  ^bath-rooms, 
&c.,  and,  in  the  roof,  a  residence  for  the  keeper. 
The  cost  wUl  be  about  £2, GOO.  The  architect  in 
each  case  was  Mr.  J.  Oldrid  Scott. 

HOUSES,    CADOGAN'-SQUAEE. 

These  houses,  which  form  part  of  a  long  terrace 
of  similar  buildings,  are  from  designs  furnished 
by  A.  J.  Adams,  architect,  18,  Queen's-road, 
Bayswatcr,  W. ;  and  thty  were  built  by  Mr.  T. 
Pink,  of  Hans-place  and  Cadogan  Estate.  Dark 
and  light  bricks,  mixed  indiscriminately,  have 
been  used  for  the  external  walls,  the  cornices, 
strings,  moulded  work,  and  carved  portions 
being  of  light  red  rubbers,  gauged  in  putty. 
The  principal  stairs,  and  also  thefloors,  as  well 
as  the  door.s  of  the  reception-rooms,  are  executed 
in  oak.  The  chimney-pieces  throughout  are 
Queen  Anne  in  character,  and  are  made  of  oak, 
marble,  and  tiles.  The  brick-carving  was  exe- 
cuted by  Mr.  Jolm  M'CuUock,  of  Kennington 
Park. 

HOUSE   AT  CAJtBEEDOE. 

Tni3  house  has  been  erected  at  Cambridge  for 
Mr.  F.  W.  H.  ilyers,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
W.  C.  Marshall,  M.A.,  architect. 

CnntNET- PIECE    AT    ASTQN    HAIL,   WAE^yiCKSHIEE. 

This  is  a  repi-oduction  of  one  of  a  series  of 
drawings  illustrating  this  mansion,  and  for  which 
the  Institute  recently  awarded  their  .silver  medal 
and  premium.  The  house  was  built  between 
the  years  16IS— 1G3.5,  and  the  room  in  which 
this  fireplace  occurs  is  the  principal  apartment, 
excepting  the  gaUcry,  on  the  first-floor.  It  is 
a  handsome  room,  .39ft.  by  23ft.,  and  17ft.  higli, 
lighted  at  each  end  by  large  mullioned  and  tran- 
somcd  windows,  and  the  fireplnce  occupies  the 
centre  of  one  side.  It  is  executed  in  a  fine 
white  stone,  with  two  boldly-projecting  panels 
of  black  marble.  A  portion  of  the  fine  plaster 
fneze  is  alsjo  shown.  The  complete  set  of  these 
carefully -detaUed  and  interesting  drawings  will 
be  pubhshed  very   shortly   by  Mr.    RimeU,  of 


Oxford-street,  the  author  of  the  entire  work 
being  Mr.  W.  Niven,  architect,  of  Parkhurst, 
Epsom,  whoso  etchings  of  old  AVarwickshire 
houses  we  noticed  some  short  time  since. 

ST.  Paul's  cathedral,  irELBOtJBSE. 
The  foundation-stone  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
Melbourne,  of  which  we  give  an  interior  view 
to-day,  was  laid  on  April  13th.  Since  the  de- 
sign was  originally  received  from  Mr.  Butterfield, 
the  situation  of  the  cathedral  building  has  under- 
gone an  alteration.  It  was  at  first  proposed  for 
the  structure  to  occupy  the  present  site  of  St. 
Paul's  Church  and  parsonage,  and  to  leave  the 
schools  untouched.  It  would  then  have  stood 
nearly  east  and  west,  and  have  been  parallel 
with  Flinders-street.  Subsequently,  it  was 
deemed  desirable  to  have  the  building  parallel 
with  Swanston-street,  or  nearly  north  and  south, 
as  that  gave  greater  length  to  the  site,  and 
allowed  for  additional  extensions,  if  these  were 
in  time  found  to  be  necessary.  Orientation  has 
thus  been  abandoned.  The  extreme  external 
length  of  the  building  when  completed  wUl  be 
273ft.,  and  its  extreme  width  126ft.  The  eastern 
end  will  approach  to  within  ISffc.  of  Flinders - 
lane,  but  as  the  siU  of  the  chancel-window  wiU 
be  elevated  4.5ft.  above  the  pavement,  its  close 
proximity  to  the  street  will  not  be  objectionable. 
The  general  plan  of  the  building  is  an  irregular 
cress.  The  south  transept  will  scarcely  project 
at  all  beyond  the  line  of  the  aisles,  but  the 
north  transept  will  be  constructed  much 
deeper  to  accommodate  the  organ.  The  internal 
dimensions  will  be  asimder: — Nave  and  aisles, 
from  the  west  door  to  the  piers  of  central 
tower,  IGlft.  by  Goft.  ;  north  tran.sept,  Soft,  by 
21ft.  ;  south  transept,  35ft.  by  29ft. ;  central 
tower,  43ft.  by  43ft.  ;  and  chancel,  48ft.  by  37ft., 
making  the  total  length  of  the  choir  91ft.  There 
wUl  he  three  main  entrances,  the  principal 
being  from  Flinders-street  by  the  central  door  ; 
the  other  two  will  be  by  means  of  doorways  under 
each  of  the  western  towers.  It  is  not  proposed 
to  have  the  central  doorway  open  on  general 
occasions,  as  it  would  expose  too  directly  the  in- 
terior to  the  street.  The  floor  of  the  nave  and 
aisles  will  be  raised  several  steps  above  the  street, 
and  from  the  floor  of  the  nave  to  that  of  the 
altar  will  be  the  usual  ascent  of  seven  steps. 
The  piers  of  the  nave  will  be  clustered  columns, 
with  somewhat  depressed  pointed  ai'ches  to  carry 
the  clerestory  walls.  The  great  central  tower  wUl 
be  carried  by  four  massive  piers  with  clustered 
shafts,  and  be  open  to  the  interior  for  a  height 
of  lOOft.,  at  which  level  a  panelled  wood  ceiKng 
will  be  placed.  At  a  height  of  70ft.  from  the 
floor  there  will  be  a  stone  gallery  all  round, 
with  an  iron  railing.  The  roofs  of  nave  and 
chancel  will  be  constructed  ahke,  and  carried  by 
principals,  with  curved  ribs  springing  from  the 
caps  of  polished  granite  corbel-shafts.  Tlie 
ceiling  will  be  cradled  in  a  polygonal  form, 
with  moulded  ribs,  and  have  a  total  height  of 
75ft.  in  the  clear.  The  aisle-roofs  will  be  of  the 
usual  lean-to  section,  but  of  a  slightly  flat- 
ter pitch  than  that  of  the  nave.  Th 
building  is  designed  externally  in  th 
Decorative  style  of  Gothic.  The  prin 
cipal  features  will  be  the  two  western  towers 
and  the  great  central  tower  and  spire.  The  two 
former  will  have  gabled  roots,  with  crosses 
reaching  to  an  extreme  height  of  130ft.  from  the 
groimd.  Between  these  western  towers  will  be 
the  large  central  doorway,  and  over  this  a 
five-light  traceried  window,  the  upper  part  of 
the  central  gable  being  filled  with  blank 
arcading,  with  a  cusped  vesica  in  the  centre, 
inclosing  a  cross  in  alto-relievo.  This  vesica 
form,  it  may  be  mentioned  here,  is  used  frequently 
throughout  the  designs.  It  is  introduced  in  the 
centre  of  the  reredos  tracery,  and  the  windows 
of  the  south  transept  are  of  the  same  form.  The 
spandrels  over  door  and  window,  and  the  gables 
of  the  western  towers  will  be  richly  diapered. 
The  total  height  of  the  nave  and  chancel-roofs 
will  be  93ft.  from  the  surface  of  the  ground ; 
the  transept  roof  will  be  several  feet  lower.  The 
great  central  tower  vdU  be  square,  43ft.  by  43ft. 
(external  dimensions),  nntU  it  reaches  above  the 
ridge  of  the  nave-roof,  when  it  will  be  reduced 
by  a  broach  to  an  irregular  octagon,  leaving  the 
four  principal  sides  about  double  the  width  of 
the  broached  sides.  Each  face  on  the  design  is 
filled  with  geometric  tracery,  that  in  the  four 
principal  faces  being  opened  and  louvred,  and 
that  on  the  other  four  faces  blanks.  At  a 
height  of  153ft.  from  the  ground  there  will 
1  spring  from  this    tower    au    octagonal    stone 


spire,  reaching  to  the  vane  to  a  height  of  about 
275ft.  This  spire  will  be  enriched  by  escalloped 
bands  at  intervals  throughout  its  height,  and 
wlU  be  siu'mounted  by  a  metal  cross  and  wea- 
thercock vane.  Permanent  seating  accommoda- 
tion will  be  provided  in  the  nave  and  aisles  for 
1,300  persons,  but  on  special  occasions  provision 
will  be  made  for  2,000.  The  choir  wUl  seat  50 
singers.  The  original  estimated  cost  of  the 
entire  buildmg  was  £100,000,  but  as  the  scale  of 
the  building  has  been  considerably  increased,  it 
may  be  a.ssunied  that  the  cost  will  be  propor- 
tionately increased.  The  usual  vestries  and 
chapterhoiise  accommodation  will  also  be  pro- 
dded. Messrs.  Terry  and  Oakden,  architects,  are 
in  charge  of  the  complete  works,  with  Mr.  Har- 
rison, of  Prahran,  as  clerk  of  works.  Mr.  Terry 
has  recently  been  in  England,  and  while  there 
consulted  with  Mr.  Butterfield  as  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  working  drawings.  The  only  contract 
at  present  let  is  to  Mr.  AV.  Smith,  of  Collingwood, 
for  the  construction  of  the  foundations  and  the 
walls  up  to  the  level  of  the  floor,  and  the  piers 
to  a  height  of  12ft.  Gin.  above  the  nave-floor.  As 
these  piers  will  eventually  have  a  great  weight 
to  support,  their  construction  is  being  proceeded 
with  in  advance  of  the  work,  so  that  a  firm 
settlement  may  be  secured.  The  bottom  course 
of  each  pier  consists  or  four  very  large  stones. 
In  the  case  of  the  first  pier,  two  stones  have  been 
obtained  of  sufficient  size  to  answer  the  purpose, 
and  it  was  one  of  these  stones  which  was  laid  at 
the  ceremony.  It  was  14£t.  long,  and  nearly  6ft. 
wide,  aijd  weighed  over  nine  tons.  AVe  are  in- 
debted to  the  Australasian  Sketcher  for  the  above 
particulars  and  view.  A  complete  set  of  the 
geometrical  designs  of  the  building,  from  Mr. 
Butterfield' s  own  plans,  were  published  by  us 
in  May  last  year. 


CHIPS. 

Eichard  Littlejohn,  aged  25,  and  described  as  a 
builder,  living  at  Choumert  House,  Choumert- 
road,  Peckham,  was,  together  with  one  Jane  Ellen 
Bentley,  committed  for  trial  at  the  Old  Bailey  ses- 
sions, by  Mr.  Ch.nnce  at  Lambeth  police-court,  on 
Tuesday,  on  a  charge  of  having  illtreated  George 
Bentley,  84  years  of  age.  The  case  for  the  prose- 
cution is  that  the  old  man,  having  become  imbe- 
cile, was  locked  up  in  a  room,  without  proper  care 
or  attention. 

A  new  grammar-school  is  about  to  be  built  on 
the  West  Hill  at  Hastings,  from  the  designs  of 
Messrs.  Jeffery  and  Skiller,  of  that  town. 

The  Holbom  board  of  guardians  decided,  last 
week,  to  erect,  on  the  site  of  the  Farringdon-road 
workhouse,  a  new  workhouse  for  400  aged  and  in- 
firm, and  100  acute  sick,  people,  and  also  a  board- 
room, dispensary,  and  relief  offices.  The  estimated 
cost  is  £30,000. 

Mr.  J.  G.  Brown,  of  Sunderland,  has  been 
appointed  assistant  surveyor  to  the  town  council  of 
that  borough,  at  a  salary  of  £180  a  year. 

The  local  board  for  Brandon  and  Byshottles, 
Durham,  met  on  Monday  week  to  appoint  a  suc- 
cessor to  Joseph  AV".  Spoor,  late  surveyor  and 
inspector  of  nuisances  to  this  and  other  boards, 
who  has  absconded,  after  committing  defalcations. 
Sixty-eight  applications  were  received,  including 
one  from  Mr.  Kichard  Gardner,  builder  and  con- 
tractor, of  Langley  Moor,  a  member  of  the  board, 
who  is  reported  to  have  kept  his  seat  at  the  table 
during  the  reading  of  the  testimonials.  The  subse- 
quent proceedings  appear  to  have  been  merely 
formal,  for  only  Mr.  Gardner  and  Mr.  John  Shaw, 
surveyor  to  the  neighbouring  local  board  of  Sutton, 
were  nominated,  and  the  former  candidate  was 
elected,  by  4  votes  to  2.  Mr.  Gardner,  in  returning 
thanks  for  his  election,  expressed  a  hope  that  he 
should  make  a  better  servant  than  member  of  the 
board. 

St.  Mary's  parish-church.  Bury  St.  Edmunds, 
was  reopened  on  Friday,  after  the  removal  of  the 
galleries  over  the  north  and  south  aisles,  and 
repairs  to  the  walls  and  columns.  The  work  was 
carried  out  by  Mr.  L.  Jackaman,  builder,  of  Bury. 
It  is  proposed  to  place  several  stained-glass 
windows  in  the  aisles,  and  to  rebuild  the  chancel 
roof. 

A  new  infants'  Board-school  is  about  to  be  built 
in  Manor-''oad,  Hastings,  from  the  plans  and 
designs  of  Mr.  T.  Elworthy,  architect  to  the  board. 

Memorial-stones  of  a  new  AVesleyan  chapel  and 
schools  were  laid  at  Princetown,  Djjtmoor,  on 
Wednesday  week.  The  site  was  used  as  a  market 
when  the  French  prisoners  of  war  were  confined  in 
the  neighbourhood.  The  chapel  will  seat  320,  and 
the  schools  and  class-rooms  200.  Mr.  Snell  is  the 
architect,  and  Mr.  Fudge  the  builder.  The  outlay 
wiU  be  £1,200. 


The  Building  Rews,  Jul  16    I^^(> 


WN^vPN  ««NS.  E'ott. 


CHIMNEY-PIECE    IN   THE    GREAT. CHAMBER 
.i i_ t '. £ 


FhotoIjdiograph»d&frurt*dbj  Jaaes  AlrennBn.6  Queen  Square  W  C 


Aston       Hall. 


The  Building  Rews,  Jul.  10    1.5^0 


HOUSES. CADOCAN  SQUARE. 

AJ.ADAHS       ARCHITLCT 


The  BJ-'J^^i^''^'  Pews   Jul  |5    I7v7v<  > 


W"»  BvilKu-l'idd,  AvAi 


noijlL/i^wphMiPr.aifdbT  JsM?  Ajirrc^ar.  r.  Qu»en  o^yi 


ST    PauCs  Cathedral,  Melbourne. 


July  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


77 


BuilDinn  Inttlltstnct 


Aeektstwith. — On  "Wednesday  week,  tie  new 
Welsh  Wesleyan  Chapel  in  this  town  was  opened. 
The  new  chapel  will  seat  between  SOO  and  900 
persons,  and  measures,  internally,  exclusive  of 
vestibule  and  vestry,  &o.,  72  feet  6  inches  by  40 
feet  wide,  and  32  feet  from  floor  to  ceiling. 
There  is  a  gallery  round  three  sides,  with  an 
organ-gallery  in  the  south  end,  circular  in  plan, 
with  coved  ceiling,  with  ministers'  vestry  and 
committee-room  underneath.  The  principal 
elevation  is  in  the  Corinthian  style  of  architec- 
ture. The  cost  of  the  building  and  site  has  been 
about  £4,000,  and  the  whole  of  the  works  have 
been  executed  by  Mr.  Thomas  Jones,  builder, 
Dole,  Aberystwi'th,  with  3Ir.  David  Williams 
as  clerk  of  works,  from  the  plan  and  specification, 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Walter 
W.  Thomas,  architect  and  surveyor,  Liverpool 
and  Aberystwith. 

KxowLE. — Last  week  the  new  church  of  St. 
Thomas,  Xuthurst-cum-Hockley-heath.  near 
Knowle,  was  consecrated.  The  total  cost  of  the 
chui-ch,  exclusive  of  the  site,  has  been  about 
£2,200.  It  comprises  a  nave  53  feet  long  by  24 
feet  nine  inches  wide,  a  chancel,  a  south  porch, 
an  organ-chamber  and  choir  vestry  also  on  the 
south  side,  beneath  the  vestry  being  situated 
the  heating  chamber.  A  tower,  crowned  with  a 
belfry  and  spire,  rises  at  the  angle  formed  by 
the  nave  and  chancel  on  the  north  side.  The 
building  is  erected  chiefly  in  redbrick,  with  Bath 
and  Wrexham  stone  dressings  to  the  window 
tracery,  siUs,  copings,  Sec.  Moulded  bricks  and 
brick  diaper  work  and  banding  are  also  freely 
used.  The  interior  of  the  walls  is  lined  with 
pressed  buff-coloured  bricks,  with  which  red- 
pattern  work  is  intermixed.  Accommodation  is 
provided  for  a  total  of  202  worshippers.  The 
corbels  to  the  nave-roof  principals  and  to  the 
chancel-arch  and  other  portions  of  the  work  have 
been  carved  by  Mr.  Eoddis,  of  Birmingham. 
Early  Gothic  is  the  style  followed.  Mr.  John 
Cotton,  of  15,  Temple-row,  Birmingham,  pre- 
pared the  designs  for  and  superintended  the 
erection  of  the  church.  The  contractors  are 
Messrs.  J.  Barn&ley  and  Sons,  of  Birmingham. 

Lea,  Wilts. — The  hamlet-church  of  Lea,  near 
Malmesbury,  was  reopened  on  the  1st  inst., 
after  restoration  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  C.  J. 
Phipps,  F.S.A.  The  building.'which  consisted 
of  13th-century  nave,  and  square  west  tower, 
was  "restored"  in  1840:  but,  four  years 
afterwards,  it  was  considered  unsafe,  and  since 
that  tmie,  services  have  been  held  in  a  school- 
room. The  building  has  been  rebuilt,  with  the 
exception  of  the  east  wall,  which  has  been 
underpinned,  and  tho  tower ;  a  north  aisle  has 
been  added,  and  the  tower  opened  out  to  the 
church,  increasing  the  sittings  from  120  to  220. 
The  work  has  been  executed"  in  Garsdon  stone, 
with  Bath-stone  dressings,  the  interior  beinff 
also  lined  with  Bath  stone.  The  roofs  of  both 
nave  and  north  aisle  are  open  with  match-boards 
at  back  of  principals,  all  of  varnished  deal,  and 
covered  with  Staflordshire  tiles.  The  floor  of 
the  church  is  of  Forest  stone,  the  chancel  beins 
laid  with  Minton's  tesselated  tiles,  while  inside 
the  Communion-rails  there  is  an  oak  parquetrv 
floor.  The  pulpit  and  eaele  lectern  are  new, 
and  are  carved  in  oak.  The  church  is  heated 
with  a  hot-water  apparatus,  bv  Bacon,  of  Lon- 
don. A  vestry  has  been  shut  oif  at  the  east  end 
of  the  new  north  aisle  by  the  erection  of  a  screen 
in  pitch-pine,  designed  by  the  architect.  The 
seats  and  chancel  stalls  are  also  of  pitch  pine. 
On  the  south  side  of  chancel  has  been  erected  a 
stained-glass  window,  in  remembrance  of  the 
late  Adjutant  Bradford.  The  subjects  are  David 
and  Joshua.  Mr.  E.  Knapp,  of  Lea,  took  the 
contract  for  masonry,  and  Mr.  E.  Stratton,  of 
Garsdon,  that  for  woodwork ;  the  eost  of  the 
work  has  been  £1,800. 

LoxDON  School  BoiED. — At  the  meeting  of 
this  board  held  on  the  8th  inst.  a  di.?cussion  took 
place  on  the  system  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
inviting  builders'  tenders  only  from  a  selected 
list.  Miss  Taylor  and  Mr.  Roberts  strongly  con- 
demned this  mode  of  transacting  business,  as 
most  prejudicial  to  the  public  interests  ;  and  Mr. 
Ross  moved,  that  in  the  particular  case  under 
discussion,  tlie  drainage  of  the  playground  of 
Vpton  House  industrial  school,  that  tenders  be 
invited  by  public  advertisement.  Mr.  Freeman, 
as  chairman  of  the  Works  Committee,  stated 


that  there  are  over  a  himdred  names  of  builders 
on  the  board's  list,  and  that  no  builder  is  ever 
shut  out  from  competing  for  the  board's 
work  if  he  is  a  man  of  position  and  stability. 
Eventually  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Ross  was 
rejected.  —  At  the  preceding  meeting  the 
board  accepted  the  following  tenders : — New 
school  in  Compton-street,  GosweU-road,  Wall 
Bros.,  £12,44";  ditto,  Oldfield-road,  Stoke 
Newington,  C.  Wall,  £8,150  ;  repairs  and  paint- 
ing at  the  School  Board  Offices,  on  the  Victoria 
Embankment,  C.  Durant,  £1,140  14s.  7d.  ;  and 
improvements  in  a  school  in  Walton-street, 
Chelsea,  just  acquired  by  transfer,  B.  E.  Night- 
ingale, £617.  For  supplying  furniture  and  fit- 
tings to  schools,  the  following  sums  were  voted : 
— St.  Clement's-road,  Chelsea  (new  school), 
£606  8s.  9d.,  802  school-places,  equal  to  a  cjst 
of  15s.  Id.  per  head;  Wenlook-road,  New  North- 
road  (new  school),  £868  19s.,  1,196  places,  equal 
to  14s.  6d.  per  head  ;  and  Hargrave-park-road, 
Upper  Holloway  (enlargement),  500  places,  equal 
to  12s.  Id.  per  head. 

NoETHwooD,  BtTXTON. — Ahouseisbeingerectcd 
here  for  Mr.  John  E.  Harrison,  of  Buxton,  on 
the  site  of  an  old  one  which  has  been  taken  down 
for  the  purpose.  The  cellars  and  foundations  of 
main  walls  are  retained,  and  in  a  great  measure 
decided  the  plan  of  the  new  structure.  The  out- 
buildings and  west  wall  of  kitchen  are  the  only 
parts  of  the  old  building  remaining  above 
ground.  The  new  residence  is  buUt  of  rock- 
faced  Buxton  grit  stone,  with  boasted  beds  and 
joints,  jointed  in  Portland  cement.  The  dress- 
ings round  windows  and  doors,  quoins  and 
strings,  are  of  wrought  stone.  The  principal  en- 
trance is  constructed  of  cube  stone  of  large 
dimensions,  obtained  from  a  quarry  near  by.  The 
internal  fittings  of  the  entrance  hall  are  in 
Enghsh  oak ;  those  to  the  principal  rooms  and 
staircase  being  pitch-pine.  Hot  water  is  laid  on 
in  the  offices  and  bath-room  ;  the  passages  and 
linen-room  are  heated  with  circulating  pipes. 
The  windows  in  principal  rooms  are  fitted  with 
double-hung  sashes,  the  bottom  sashes  bein]_ 
glazed  with  polished  plate,  and  the  upper  ones 
with  coloured  designs  in  lead.  Messrs.  Richard 
Waite,  DufBeld,  and  John  R.  Parkin,  Idridge- 
hay,  are  the  joint  architects.  The  work  is  being 
carried  out  by  Mr.  Nelson  Webbe,  of  Buxton, 
contractor. 

Rttox-on-Ttne. — The  foundation-stone  of  a 
new  Wesleyan  Methodist  chapel  at  Ryton,  was 
laid  on  June  24th.  The  style  is  Early  Pointed 
and  the  chapel  will  consist  of  a  nave,  separated 
from  side-aisles  and  transepts  by  a  series  of 
pointed  arches  springing  from  cast- iron  columns, 
which  will  carry  a  clerestory  wall.  At  one  end 
of  the  nave  there  will  be  a  pulpit  platform  of 
pitch-pine,  stained  and  varnished.  The  build- 
ing will  be  built  of  stone,  and  the  walls  on  the 
outside  faced  with  thin  courses  of  blocking.  At 
the  north-west  angle  of  the  chapel  will  be  a  lofty 
tower,  covered  with  a  slated  roof.  In  the  rear 
of  the  main  building  there  will  be  rooms  for  the 
caretaker  to  dwell  in.  and  underneath  will  be  a 
chamber  for  hot-water  apparatus.  The  peculiar 
character  of  the  plot  of  ground  necessitated  an 
unusual  height  of  foundations,  and  advantage  has 
been  taken  of  this  to  provide  a  large  room  under 
the  whole  area  of  the  chapel.  It  is  intended 
that  the  transepts  shall  not  be  seated  for  the 
present,  but  be  divided  from  the  chapel,  and 
formed  into  a  schoolroom  and  four  vestries.  The 
architect  has  provided  in  his  plans  for  an  exten- 
sion of  the  building,  and,  when  the  requii-ements 
of  the  congregation  demand  it,  the  transepts 
will  be  opened  out  to  the  other  portion  of  the 
chapel,  and  "a  lecture  hall  and  school,  with 
class-rooms,  vestries,  and  other  accommodation 
will  be  erected  at  the  rear  of  the  present  works, 
in  harmony  with  the  original  building.  The 
chapel,  as  now  arranged,  will  seat  280  persons, 
and  with  the  extension  referred  to,  230  more 
sittings  will  be  obtained,  making  510  ;  and  the 
accommodation  is  arranged  to  be  stUl  further 
increased  by  the  erection  of  a  gallery  in  each 
transept,  which  will  bring  up  the  sitting  accom- 
modation to  620.  These  extensions  may  be 
made  by  easy  and  gradual  stages  to  meet  the 
growing  requirements  of  the  congregation. 
The  contractors  for  the  works  are :  Mr.  Wm. 
Lishman,  Ryton,  mason-work ;  Mr.  John  J. 
Salter,  Ryton,  joiner's  work:  Mr.  J.  Rutter, 
Ryton,  painting;  Messrs.  C.  and  G.  Nicholson, 
Newcastle,  slating ;  and  Messrs.  R.  B.  Charlton 
and  Co.,  Newcastle,  plumbing  and  iron- work. 
The  building,  as  now  contracted  for,  will  cost 


about  £2,950,  and  is  being  carried  out  from  tho 
designs  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Joseph  C.   Lish,  architect,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Tt:xsE  Hnx. — A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  has 
been  opened  at  Tulse  HiU.  It  is  in  the  Early 
Gothic  style,  and  built  of  Kentish  rag  and  Bath 
stone.  The  dimensions  are  SOft.  by  52ft.  in  the 
body  of  the  chapel,  with  a  wide  semi-circular 
ended  chancel  30ft.  deep  in  addition,  which, 
with  the  double  entrance  porches,  give  a  total 
length  of  r26ft.  In  the  basement  is  a  large 
school-room  51ft.  by  51ft.,  with  a  height  of  loft., 
and  amply  fighted.  There  are  several  other 
class-rooms  and  vestries.  A  tower  and  spire  are 
in  course  of  erection,  the  design  being  that  of  an 
octagon  lantern  on  the  tower  with  pinnacles  at 
each  angle  and  smaller  ones  at  springing  of  spire 
above  octagon.  The  architect  is  Mr.  Charles 
Bell,  of  Dashwood  House,  9,  New  Broad-street, 
E.C. ;  and  the  bmlders  are  Messrs.  J.  and  C. 
Bowyer,  of  Norwood.  The  total  cost  would  be, 
including  fencing,  upwards  of  £11,000. 

Yeadon. — The  Town  HaU  and  Mechanics' 
Institute  at  Teadon  were  foi-mally  opened  on 
Saturday  week.  The  building  has  been  erected 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  W.  Hill,  architect,  Leeds, 
at  a  cost  of  about  £7,000.  The  front  elevation  is 
surmounted  by  a  spire,  with  illuminated  clock. 
The  front  porch  gives  access  to  a  vestibule  10ft. 
by  18ft  ,  and  the  vestibule  admits  to  an  entrance 
hall,  48ft.  by  SOft.  Behind  it  are  two  class- 
rooms, lavatory,  cm-ator's  room,  and  a  room 
which  is  to  be  used  as  the  Board  School.  On 
the  left  of  the  front  porch  are  the  Local  Board 
room  and  waiting  room,  and  on  the  right  the 
conversation  room  and  the  Mechanics'  Institute. 
The  rest  of  the  space  on  the  ground-floor  is 
divided  into  a  reading-room  for  the  institute  and 
four  class-rooms.  On  the  second  floor  is 
situated  an  assembly  room,  which  will  accom- 
modate about  1,200  persons.  Its  area  is  72ft. 
by  48ft.,  and  it  has  an  orchestra  22ft.  by  32ft. 
at  one  end,  and  a  gaUery  48ft.  by  13ft.  at  the 
other,  and  side  galleries,  each  72ft.  in  length. 
The  height  from  floor  to  ceiling  is  31ft.  6in. 
The  groimd-floor  upon  which  the  building  stands 
is  140ft.  in  length  and  80ft.  in  width.  The 
building  has,  by  the  joint  Hberality  of  J.  M. 
Barwick,  of  Low  Hall,  and  A.  Brayshaw,  of 
Teadon,  Esqrs.,  but  in  the  names  of  two  of  each 
of  their  respective  children,  been  enriched  by  two 
large  six-light  stained-glass  windows,  designed 
and  executed  by  the  art  firm  of  Powell  Bros., 
Park-square,  Leeds.  The  subjects  illustrated 
are  specifically  appropriate  to  the  staple  industry 
of  Teadon,  viz.,  sheep-shearing,  and  spinning 
and  weaving.  In  the  shearing,  the  description 
of  Thom.son,  "The  Poet  of  the  Seasons,"  has 
been  followed  :  the  sheep  lies  "bound,"  and  is 
being  "of  its  robe  bereft"  by  the  "tender 
swain's  well- guided  shears."  The  companion 
window  exhibits  antique  spinning  and  weaving  in 
perhaps  the  simplest  forms.  The  loom,  verified 
in  and  copied  from  the  British  Museum  an- 
tiquities, is  one  which  appears  to  have  been 
common  with  the  early  Syrians,  Egyptians,  itc, 
such  as  is  probably  yet  to  be  found  in  the  t«nts 
of  the  Arabs  of  the  Sahara,  and  in  the  huts  of 
the  Impongwo,  and  other  native  tribes  of  West 
Africa,  whose  cloth  is  woven  pahn-fibre.  Over 
this  loom  a  Syrian  man  is  bending  at  his  work, 
and  by  his  side  sits  a  Syrian  woman,  supporting 
a  distaff  with  one  arm,  whilst  her  hands  are 
eno-aged  in  spinning  with  a  spindle,  according 
to 'the  fashion  in  vogue  before  spinning-wheels 
were  even  a  dream.  Ten  family  and  other 
appropriate  heraldic  blazons  of  arms  enframe  the 
subjects,  including  those  of  the  county  (York), 
and  the  Clothworkers'  Company,  and  riband 
legends,  traversin?  the  open  but  enriched  spaces, 
record  the  dedicatory  gifts  to  "the  people  of 
Teadon."  

A  new  Baptist  chapel  was  opened  at  Newbridge- 

on-Wye  on  Tuesday  week.  It.  is  bmit  of  loQal 
stone  relieved  with  brick  band- courses,  and  the 
dressings  are  of  Forest  of  De.in  stone :  the  fittings 
are  of  pitch-pine,  varnished.  At  the  rear  is  a 
lar^e  schoolroom,  divided  by  a  movable  partition. 
The  Eev.  H.  Thomas,  of  Swansea,  wis  the  archi- 
tect and  the  contractors  were  Messrs.  Howella 
and'  Jones,  of  Ystradgynlais.    The  cost  has  beea 

The '  parish-church  of  Week  St.  Mary,  near 
Stratton,  was  reopened  on  Thursday  week,  by  the 
Bishop  of  Truro,  after  restoration. 

New  premises  are  in  course  of  erection  for  St. 
Mark's  ophthalmic  hospital,  Dublin,  from  the  plans 
and  designs  of  Mr.  Drew,  of  that  city. 


PABLIAMENTAEY     NOTES. 

TiiE  Tat  Beidoe.-Iu  the  House  of  Commons 

last  week  tliere  was  a  short  discussion  on  the  Tay^ 

ifriricTe   aceideut.     On    the    second  reading  bemg 

movfd  o£  the  BUI   of   the  Korth  British  Kailway 

Company  for   the   rebuilding  of  the   bridge,  Mr. 

Anderson  opposed  it.    and,   adverting  to  the  con- 

dfm^ation  p^aSsed  on  SLrT.  Bouch  in  Mr.  Rother/s 

repTt,  strongly  objected  to  that  gentleman  bemg 

employed  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  bridge.    Mr 

Chimberlain,  in  the  course  of  his  reply,  said  that 

Sir  T.  Bouch  would  have  nothmg  to  do  with  the 

plans,  and  exphiined  that  he  proposed  to  refer  the 

Bill  to  a  hybrid  committee,  with  instructions  wliich 

would  widen  the  scope   of  the  ordinary  inquiry. 

After  some  further  conversation,  the  BiU  was  read 

a  second  time  and  ordered  to  be  referred  to  a  hy- 
brid committee,  ivith  power  to  inquire  into  the  best 

position  for  the  bridge,  the  protection  ot  the  navi- 
gation, the  best  mode  of   securing  its  permanent 

safety,  &c. 
The  EoTAi  AcABSinr.— Mr.  Thompson   asked 

the  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  if  the  Government 

■would  use  its  influence  with  the  President  ol  the 

Eoyal  Academy  to  open    its   exhibition    free  ot 

charge  on  Monday,  the  2nd  of  August,  bemg  Bant 

Holiday.     Mr.  Gladstone  said  it  was  not  usual  tor 

the  Government  to  interfere  in  any  manner  m  the 

administration  of  the  details  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

At  the  same  time,  he  had  every  reason  to  beUeve 

in  the  disposition  of  the  President  and  the  Council 

of  the  Royal  Academy  to  give  accommodation  to 

the  public,  and  to  entertain   auy  reasonable  pro- 
posal ;     and  without   giving    an    opinion  -"'^■' 

would  not  be  in  accordance  with  his  duty- 
proposal,  he  would  recommend  that  the  gentlemen 
interested  in  it  should  seek  an  opportunity  of 
meetiuf,  on  public  grounds,  the  President  of  the 
Council.  He  had  no  doubt  any  representations 
made  would  be  kindly  and  respectfully  and  cai-e- 
fully  entertained. 

BOEoron  Bor^-nAErES.— Mr.  P.  A.  Taylor  asked 
the  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
whether  the  Government  contemplated  the  intro- 
duction of  a  measure  to  facilitate  the  extension  of 
borough  boundaries  for  municipal  and  sanitary 
purposes :  and,  if  not,  whether  the  Government 
was  willing  to  recommend  the  appointment  of  a 
Eoyal  CommisMon  to  inquire  into  the  subject.— 
Mr.  Dodson  :  The  matter  is  one  of  considerable 
difficulty,  inconsequence  of  the  political  considera- 
tions incidentally  mixed  up  with  it,  and  the  Go-     ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^     ^      ^__  ^ ^ 

vemment  have  not  yet  had  time  to  consider  how  tar    ^^^  recommendations   of    the    Committee 
it  will    be   practicable    to  eifect  the  extension  of    ^^^^^^^  careful  consideration.     Mr.  A.  JL  I 


which 
this 


borough  boundaries,  otherwise  than  by  local  Acts, 
At  the  same  time,  it  is  very  desirable,  from  a  sani- 
tary point  of  view,  that  further  facilities  should 
be  given  for  this  purpose,  and  attention  shall  be 
given  to  the  subject  during  the  recess.  The  in- 
formation at  present  available  will  probably  be 
found  sufficient  to  enable  the  Government  to 
arrive  at  a  decision,  and  it  does  not,  therefore, 
at  present  appear  necessary  to  recommend  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  Royal  Commission  to  inquire  into 
the  matter. 

CossTKTTcnos-  OF  Haeeottes  rs-  Ieelaot).— Mr. 
Forster,  replying  on  Monday  to  Mr.  O'Connor 
Power,  said  the  Committee  appointed  to  carry  out 
the  construction  of  additional  piers  and  harbours 
in  Ireland  had  fixed  on  some  piers,  and  were 
selecting  sites  for  others.  He  could  not,  however, 
make  a  statement  in  anticipation  of  their  con- 
clusions. 

The  Ieish  Xatiox  ai  Mr  sei-m  of  Science  and  aet. 
— Mr.  Bellingham  asked  the  Vice  President  of  the 
Committee  of  Council  on  Education  if  he  could 
inform  the  House  at  what  stage  were  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  establishment  of  the  National 
Museum  of  Science  and  Art  in  Ireland.  Mr.  Mun- 
della  said  no  definite  arrangements  had  yet  been 
made  for  the  building  of  this  Museum  in  Dublin, 
owing  to  difficulties  which  had  arisen,  the  nature 
of  which  was  explained  in  the  last  Report  of  the 
Science  and  Art  Department.  During  the  recess 
the  Government  would  he  in  a  position  to  prepare 
estimates  for  the  new  building.  Mr.  Bellingham, 
being  dissatisfied  with  this  reply,  gave  notice  of 
his  intention  to  apply  for  the  production  of  a  copy 
of  the  correspondence  between  the  Royal  Dublin 
Society  and  the  Science  and  Art  Department. 

The  Recent  Gas  Explosion.— Mr.  Firth  asked 
the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  whether  the 
Board  had  jurisdiction  to  institute  an  inquiry  into 
the  causes  and  circumstances  of  the  recent  gas 
explosion  in  the  Tottenham-court-road  :  and,  if  so. 
whether  it  was  their  intention  to  institute  such 
inquiry.  Mr.  Chamberlain  :  The  Board  of  Trade 
have  no  authority  under  the  Gas  Act  to  institute 
an  inquiry  into  the  matter  to  v.hich  the  question 
refers.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  to  be  a  matter  of 
so  much  importance  that  it  is  desirable  to  have  a 
thorough  investigation  into  the  circumstances,  and 
I  have,  therefore,  communicated  with  Dr.  Hard- 
wicke,  the  coroner,  on  the  subject,  and  he  has 
desired    Mr.   Yemon    Harcourt,   one    of   the  gas 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 

referees,  to  act   as    assessor    during  the  inquiry. 
(Hear,  hear). 

The  Tay  Beidqe.— Sir  A.  Gordon  asked  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  whether  the  posi- 
tion and  the  construction  of  the  piers  of  the  brid|e 
across  the  River  Tay,  and  the  width  and  the  height 
of  the  spans  or  openings  between  the  piers,  as  ttiey 
were  altered  from  the  deposited  plans  approved  by 
Parliament,  were  such  as  were  prescribed  by  tlie 
Boai-d  of  Trade.  Mr.  Chamberlain  said  the  posi- 
tion and  construction  of  the  piers  of  the  Tay-bndge 
differed  from  the  plans  sanctioned  by  the  Board  ot 
Trade,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act  autho- 
rising the  construction  of  the  bridge.  The  conapany 
did  not  inform  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the  altera- 
tions which  had  been  made,  and  the  Board  were 
not  aware  of  those  alterations  until  some  time  alter 
the  piers  had  been  fixed.  As  the  width  of  spans 
was  settled  in  the  first  instance  by  the  Boai'd  ot 
Trade  pmely  out  of  regard  to  the  convenience  ot 
navigation,  and  as  the  incre.ised  width  was  an 
improvement  so  far  as  navigation  was  concerned, 
the  Board  saw  no  reason  to  interfere  with  the 
alteration. 

Railway  Cojitanies  and  theie  Beibges.— Sir 
G  Campbell  asked  the  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  if  he  would  be  so  good  as  to  state  what  course 
the  Government  proposed  to  adept  in  consequence 
of  the  Report  of  the  Wreck  Commissioners  regard- 
ing- the  faU  of  the  Tay-bridge.  Mr.  Chamberlain 
said  that  as  soon  as  the  Board  of  Trade  received 
the  report  of  the  Court  of  Inquiry  with  regard  to 
the  Tay-bridge,  he  directed  a  circuiar  letter  to  be 
sent  to  all  railway  companies  in  the  kingdom,  en- 
closing a  copy  of  the  report,  and  calling  their  atten- 
tion to  the  liabilities  they  incurred  with  regard  to 
similar  constructions  on  their  Hues  of  railway.  He 
also  wrote  to  General  Hutchinson  celling  upon  hun 
to  offer  an  explanation  as  to  the  remarks  contamed 
in  this  report  as  to  the  original  inspection  of  the 
bridge.  It  was  his  intention  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  consider  what  rules  were  desirable  to 
be  made  with  regard  to  the  wind  pressure  on  rail- 
way construction,  as  suggested  by  the  Court  of 
Inquiry. 

Civil  SEE^^CE  EsiniATES. — The  House  of  Com- 
mons went  into  Committee  of  Supply  on  the  Civil 
Service  Estimates  on  Monday,  and  voted  £37,771 
for  Royal  Palaces.  The  next  vote  of  £3.5,401  for 
the  Houses  of  Parliament  afforded  an  opportunity 
to  Mr.  Rylands  of  bringing  under  notice  the 
insufficient  accommodation  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons for  the  reporters.  Mr.  Adam  promised  that 
■    ••       -"'  •"  -I    should 

Sullivan 
held  that  the  accommodation  not  only  for  reporters 
but  for  strangers  and  members,  was  a  reproach  to 
the  country.  Sir  A.  Lusk  saw  no  occasion  for  re- 
buildiusr  the  House  in  order  to  extend  the  accom- 
modation for  members,  and  Mr.  H.  Wiggan  would 
regret  to  see  the  present  House  destroyed.  Mr. 
M'Coan  (H.  E.,  Wicklow)  considered  the  cnge  in 
which  ladies  were  placed  a  disgrace  to  the  House. 
Mr.  Adam  observed  that  the  whole  question  was 
vmder  the  consideration  of  the  Government.  The 
vote  was  agreed  to,  as  were  also  £116,432  for 
public  buildings,  £16,3S.5  for  furniture  of  public 
offices,  £183,073  for  Revenue  Department  build- 
ings, £.50,600  for  County  Court  buildings,  £27,145 
for  Metropolitan  Police-courts.  £8,200  for  Sheriff 
Court  Houses,  Scotland,  £110.200  for  the  new 
Courts  of  Justice,  £16,000  for  courts  of  law  and 
offices,  Edinburgh,  £133,500  for  the  survey  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  £4,693  for  British  Museum 
buildings,  £29,728  for  the  Xatural  History  Mu- 
seum, £20,000  for  Edinburgh  University  Buildings, 
£19,825  for  harbours  under  the  Board  of  Trade, 
£195,356  for  rates  on  Government  property, 
£10,000  for  Metropolitan  Fire  Brigade. 


July  16,  1880. 


More   than   Fifty   Thousand^Keplies  ^and 

ine  i-'^i.^^il,;,^-^' ^    „f  ,h...«    f,...m    t>,.>    pens   of  the    le.idmg 

, ._     "-housands  of 
'ipts  and 


CIENCE. 


Techn 


wrinkles  embracing  a 

to  desire  information  hav 

The  earliest  and  most  accurate 


I......    from    the    ^ —  . 

Authorities  of  the  day.    Thousands  of 
ntitic  papei 


and  countle; 
every'  subject  on  vrhich  i 

ppeared  during  the  same  period- 

infonnntion  respecting  all  new 

scienUflc  discoveries  and  mechanical  "/«°"»°J 'J'° '", '""S;!,;!; 
its  nages  end  its  large  circulation  render  its  the  bc^t  medium 
foralfadVwtiserswhS  wish  their  announcements  to  be  brought 
S^aer  the  notice  of  manufacturers,  mechanics  sciontiIic«  orWeis, 
^d  amateurs.  Piice  Twopence,  ot  aU  booksel  ers  and  news- 
vSjSS  pSst  free  21d.  Office  •  31,  Tavistock  street,  Covent- 
gaxdcD  W-C. 

1       »     I 

TO  CORKESPONDENTS. 

fWe  do  not  hold  ouxselves  responsible  for  the  opinions  of 
our  correspondents.  The  Editor  respectfully  requests 
that  aU  communications  should  be  drawn  up  as  bnetly 
as  possible,  as  there  are  many  claimants  upon  the  space 
allotted  to  correspondence.] 
AH  letters  should  be  addressed  to  the  EDITOR,  31, 

TAVISTOCK-STIIEET,  COViiNT-GAEDEN,  W.C. 
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To  AjfEEiCix-  ScBSCEiBEES.— Mr.  W.  L.  Macanley,  of 
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Cases  for  binding  the  half-yearly  volumes,  23.  eadi. 


The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  having  on 
Friday  pronounced  in  favour  of  the  model  sphinx 
placed  on  one  of  the  pedestals  of  the  Cleopatra's 
Needle,  and  of  the  additions  to  the  obelisk  base, 
the  permanent  sphinxes  and  "buskins"  are  to  be 
forthwith  cast  and  placed  in  position  as  soon  as 
completed. 

The  parish-church  of  Crawley,  Sussex,  was  re- 
opened on  the  1st  inst.,  after  enlargement,  including 
the  restoration  of  the  chancel  to  its  original  length. 
One  hundred  and  forty  additional  sittings  have 
been  provided. 

The  parish-church  of  Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  re- 
opened after  restoration  at  a  cost  of  £10,000  on 
March  31st  last,  has  just  been  enriched  by  the 
presentation  of  a  memorial  brass,  7ft.  by  3ft.,  set 
in  black  marble,  and  placed  in  the  chancel  to  the 
memory  of  Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  who 
is  buried  in  the  church ;  and  also  by  two  stained- 
glass  windows,  which  have  been  placed  in  the 
north  aisle.  The  windows  are  the  work  of  Messrs. 
Lavers,  Barraud,  and  AVestlake,  of  London, — the 
one  represents  Our  Lord  bearing  His  Cross;  the 
other,  the  Last  Supper,  the  Agony  in  the  Garden, 
and  Our  Lord  Washing  the  Disciples'  Feet. 


READY  SHORTLY, 
Handsomely  bound  in  cloth, Vol.  SXXVm.  of  theBcriD- 
iso  News.    Price  Twelve  ShiUings.     Order  at  once,  as 
only  a  limited  number  are  bound  up. 

Also  may  be  had.  Vol.  XXXVU.,  price  123. 
N  B  ■  -Cases  and  vols,  must  be  ordered  through  a 
bookseller  or  newsagent,  as  the  regulations  of  the  Post- 
office  prevent  them  from  being  sent  by  post. 

Received.— M.  and  Co.-H.  P.  and  H.— Eev.  .1.  B.  M.— 
H.  W.  and  Co.— H.  S.  A.— J.  W.  and  Co.— F.  W.  and 
Son.-A.  S.  Co.-  C.  F.  L.-II.  and  L.-J.  P.  jun  --C. 
and  S.— McN.  E.  and  Co.-F.  Bros.— II.  H.  B.  and  Co. 
-F.  I.  Co.— J.  A.— D.  H.and  Co. 

Dr.  iwis-os  Received.- J.  F.  D,  M.J.  L. ;  Entrance  to 
an  old  Churchyard;  B.  H.  T.  ;  J.  P.  J. 

Disgusted.  (No  wonder  you  are,  but  so  are  others  in 
similar  cases,  and  it  is  Uttle  use  our  pubUshing  details 
of  such  cases  if  the  offending  party  is  not  a  member  of 
the  K.I.B.A.,  and  not  very  much  then.)— Nil  Despee- 
ANDi-H.  (Can  appear  as  an  advertisement  with  name 
and  address.) 

"BUILDIXG  NEWS"  DESIGNTNG  CLUB. 

Dmwixr.s  Eeceived.  —  Our  Praises  are  our  Wages, 
Attempt,  Excel,  Factable,  Ernest,  Mustapha,  Ap 
Adam,  Clansman,  Pupil  J.,  Hubert,  Jack  in  circle, 
Haaberjeg,  Edwin. 

Comsponlitnte. 

THE  FUNDS   OF  THE  R.I.B.A. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BurLEDfO  Newb. 
SiK, — I   venture    to    send    you    the   inclosed 
correspondence,   as  it  may  interest  many  of  the 
members   of   the   Institute    besides    myself.— I 
am,  &o.,  W.  BtTEGES. 

15,  Buckingham-street,  Strand. 
[The  following  circvdar  was  issued  on  July  9,  18S0]. 
EoyallnstituteofBiitiah  Architects, 

9,  Conduit-street,  Hanover-square,  London,  W. 
9  July,  1S80. 
NOTICE  is  HEREBY  GIVEN  that,  on  Monday  Even- 
ing, the  19th  July,  1880,  at  8.30  p.m.  precisely  :    ,^    .    , , 
A  Special  General  Meeting  of  Members  will  be  held, 
in  accordance  with  By-laws  LSrV.  and  LXXI.,  to  au- 
thorise the  sale  of  £2,300  Three  Per  Cent.  Consols,  for  the 
jiurpose  of  discharging  the  remaining  liabilities  m  re- 
spect to  the  recent  Premises  alterations,  and  of  reimburs- 
ing to  the  Ordinaiy  Funds  a  portion  ot  the  advances  made 
therefrom.  „ 

Thomas  H.  Wtatt,  Hon.  Sec. 
WiLii AM  H.  White,  Secretary. 


15,  Buckingham-street,  Strand. 
Julv  12,  ISSO. 
Mv  Dear  Sib,— I  see  by  the  circular  just  received  from 
you  that  a  Special  General  Meeting  is  to  be  held  on  Mon- 


JrLY  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


79 


day  ••  to  authorise  the  sale  of  £2  SfO  Consols  for  the 
pnipose  of  discharging  the  remaining  liabilitiesin  rtspect 
to  the  recent  Premises  alteration." 

I  see  also  bv  the  annnal  report  that  we  now  possess 
invested  in  the  funds  £4,060  17s.  !t3.,  valued  at  £3.939. 

We  shall  then,  roughly,  diminish  our  stock  by  one 
half. 

As  I  do  not  suppose  that  the  expenditure  in  question 
has  been  incurred  by  the  council  upon  its  own  authority, 
will  you  kindly  oblige  me  by  the  information  as  to  when, 
and  by  what  sort  of  general  or  special  meeting,  the 
authorisatiOH  was  given  to  incur  liabilities  which  will 
have  the  effect  of  so  very  materially  diminishing  our  funded 
property  ;  and  also  whether  advice  of  such  a  subject  was 
given  in  the  notice  paper,  in  the  tirst  instance,  before  the 
said  meeting ! — I  remain,  yours  obediently. 

VT.   Bl-EGES. 

TV.  H.  TVeite,  Esq.,  Secretary  to  the  E.I.B.A. 


Eoval  Institute  of  British  Architects. 
13th  July,  ISSO. 
5Iy  Dear  Sib,— In  reply  to  your  favour  of  vesterday's 
date,  I  have  much  pleasure  in  sending  yon  Xos-  11  and 
13  of  the  Proceedings  of  last  Session,  in  which,  at  pp. 
87  and  SS  you  will  find  the  paragraph  'Annual  Report) 
referring  to  the  then- suggested  altei-ations  ;  and  at  p. 
112  you  will  find  the  Special  Report  therein  mentioned. 
The  resolutions,  givingthe  authorisation  about  which  you 
ask  for  information,  are  printed  on  p.  114.* 

It  will,  however,  give  me  greater  pleasure  to  see  you 
here,  if  you  can  spare  the  time,  in  order  that  I  may  show 
you  some  of  our  Minutes  and  Reports  on  this — strange  as 
it  may  seem— difEcult  and  prolonged  business. — I  am, 
dear  Sir,  truly  yotu^,' 

■WrLLUM  H  'White,  Secretary. 
'William  Eceoes,  Esq..  1.5.  Buckingham-street, 
Strand,  'W.C. 


15,  Buckingham-street,  Strand, 
.Tuly  15,  1880. 

Dear  Sie, — I  have  to  acknowledge  your  communication 
of  yesterday,  and  I  have  carefully  read  the  extracts  in 
question,  it  appears  that  although  the  meeting  (5th 
May,  1879)  gave  authority  to  the  Council  to  rearrange 
certain  parts  of  the  building,  and  to  obtain  a  new  lease, 
not  a  word  is  said  as  to  where  the  money  is  to  come  from. 
If  the  resolutions  in  question  are  to  he  considered  as 
covering  the  diminution  of  our  property  by  one-half, 
they  would  equally  apply  to  its  total  absorption. 

I  hope  you  will  excuse  me  if  I  say  the  affair  appears  to 
me  as  a  very  unbusinesslike  transaction,  both  on  the 
part  of  the  council,  and  on  that  of  the  meeting. 

'Why  not  have  asked  for  a  grant  before  going  to  work  ! 
As  many  other  members  mav  be  as  desirous  as  myself  to 
know  the  rights  of  the  aifair.  and  as  the  subiect  is 
essentially  a  public  one,  I  am  about  to  send  our 
csorrespondenee  to  the  Buildisg  News. — I  remain,  yours 
faithfully,  'W.  Bceges. 

'W.  H.  'White,  Esq. 


LIGHT  AXD  AIR. 


Sib, — A-fter  the  decision  given  lately  by  Mr. 
I' Anson  in  the  case  of  Layhoume  v.  Kidston,  I 
am  afraid  that  -what  -n-orks  are  now  published 
on  light  and  air  are  of  little  value — that  is  to  say 
if  Mr.  I' Anson  is  looked  upon  as  an  authority, 
■which  I  beliere  he  is. 

The  case  mentioned  above  -was  one  in  ■which 
some  ancient  lights  -were  involved,  and  Mr.  John 
Whiehcord  and  my  self  surveyed  the  premi.-es  on 
behalf  of  the  plaintiff,  and  Mr.  Hovenden  for 
the  defendant. 

The  Bghts  mentioned  consisted  of  two  sky- 
lights, and  other  windows  overlooking  the  sky- 
lights and  facing  the  south,  with  a  wall  on  the 
east  side,  but  quite  open  in  the  front  and  west 
side,  ■without  any  obstruction  than  at  a  greater 
angle  of  43  degrees.  The  defendant  pulls  down 
and  rebuilds  the  premises,  making  a  high  wall 
on  the  west  side  of  plaintiff's  lights,  and  carries 
it  up  some  2.3ft.  higher  than  the  old  buildings, 
BO  that  the  front  diagonal  light  docs  not  fall  at  a 
less  angle  than  60  degrees  :  and  also  builds 
another  wall  at  the  foot  of  the  skylights  .5ft. 
high,  and  close  up  in  front  of  same,  so  the  front 
light  does  not  fall  at  a  greater  angle  than  that 
allowed  by  V3  degrees,  and  by  that  means  leaves 
the  skylights  and  other  lights  virtually  in  a 
square  box  or  area  9ft.  by  6ft.,  from  which  they 
must  obtain  all  their  light.  In  his  report  he 
says  that  the  "windows  over  the  skylights  (the 
sill  of  the  lower  one  is  only  18in.  above  the  top 
of  the  skylights}  have  not  had  the  light  injured 
in  any  way,  and  that  the  skylights  are  only  very 
slightly  injured ;  by  means  of  which  report  the 
plaintiff  has  to  pay  the  costs  and  damages. 


•  Resolved,  that  it  is  not  at  present  expedient  to  ap- 
propriate the  upper  rooms  of  the  building  (9,  Conduit 
Street,  ^W.).  but  that  it  be  referred  back  to  the  Council  to 
rearrange  the  entrance,  the  staircase,  and  the  first  floor 
rooms  in  the  best  manner  which  can  be  devised,  and  to 
carry  the  same  into  effect. 

Eesolved,  that  the  Cxiuncil  be  not  restricted  to  avoid 
any  interference  with  the  upper  floors,  but  that,  if  an 
additional  area  can  be  there  obtained  of  moderate  extent, 
they  have  power  to  negotiate  for  the  same  "with  a  view  to 
improve  the  ventilation,  and  make  the  required 
arrangements  relating  thereto  with  the  Architectural 
Vnion  Company  ;  and  further,  that  the  Council  be 
empowered  to  surrender  the  present  lease  of  the  premises, 
and  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  executing 
a  new  lease  "with  the  Architectural  Union  Company. 


How  Mr.  I' Anson  arrives  at  his  decision  I 
cannot  say  :  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be  out  of  all 
reason,  either  with  the  laws  of  light  or  common- 
sense  ;  and  if  Mr.  I'Anson's  views  are  to  be 
followed,  it  seems  to  me  that  ancient  lights  are 
of  no  value  "whateyer,  and  the  sooner  there  is  no 
law  to  protect  them  the  better. — I  am,  &c., 

Waitee  J.  N.  TomxN'sox,  Arch. 

13,  Great  James-street,  Bedford-row,  W.C, 
July  14. 


SHEFFIELD  PAEISH-CHmCH  FONT 

COMPETITIOX. 
TtTMt  SiE, — Inclosed  is  just  to  hand.     Kindly 
give  publicity  to  both,  and  oblige. — Tours,  &c., 
M.  E.  Hadfielb  AiT)  Sox. 
Com  Exchanee  Chambers,  Sheffield, 
14th  July,  1880. 

Com  Exchange  Chambers, 

Sheffield,  14th  July,  ISSO. 

SHEFFIELD  PAEISH-CHTTKCH. 

Dear  Sib,— 'With  regard  to  your  circular  as  to  a  pro- 
posed competition  for  a  font  design  in  the  Sheffield 
Parish-church,  we  'i  j  ;  .  -  v  iv.  ,lo  not  embark  in  un- 
limited competition  ~.  ".  ::  "  :  we  so  foolish  as  to  do 
so,  should,  in  the  1  :.  ■.  hesitate  to  send  a 
design  for  a  compari- ■':  ■:  '-  matter  like  a  font,  or, 
for  that  matter,  anv  df  t  orative  necessary  where  a  brother- 
architect  was  emploved  on  an  important  work,  such  as 
the  restoration  of  the  Sheffield  Parish- Church.  'We 
apprehend  we  mav  venture  respectfully  to  olfer  an 
opinion  or  suggestion  that,  if  the  Sheffield  Freemasons 
want  a  font  design,  they  surely  cannot  go  far  -wrong  by 
applving  to  the  architects  in  whose  hands  the  important 
worit  of  restoring  our  old  Parish-church  has  been  placed, 
and  whose  dra"wing  'or  rather  a  photo-lithograplij 
appears  at  the  head  of  your  circular,  we  presume. 

Kindlv  lay  this  letter  before  your  next  meeting. 
■We  are,  yours  faithfully, 

M.  E.  Hadfield  axd  Sox. 

P.S  — "We  have  forwarded  a  copy  of  this  letter,  and 
your  circuLiTS  to  the  professional  journals  . 


The  parish  church  is  at  present  undergoing  complete 
restoration,  and  the  Freemasons  of  the  town  propose  to 

The  committee  appointed  to  carry  out  the  proposed 
gift  in"^nte  competition  for  the  design  of  the  proposed 
Font,  and  the  execution  of  the  woik  on  the  following 
terms. 

1.  The  entire  sum  to  be  spent  "will  not  exceed  £150. 

2.  The  committee  do  not  suggest  any  particular  mate- 
rials, but  throw  out  for  the  consideration  of  competitors 
the  fact  that  the  church  is  s  tuate  in  the  middle  of  a 
smokv  manufacturing  town. 

3.  The  committee  do  not  absolutely  and  at  all  events 
pledge  themselves  to  accept  any  of  the  designs  .submitted 
for  competition  :  but  in  the  event  of  a  design  so  .submitted 
being  accepted,  the  author  of  it  will  be  entru.sted  with  the 
execution  of  the  work,  and  a  prize  of  £5  will  be  given  to 
the  design  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  is  next 
best  to  that  accepted. 

4.  In  the  event  of  none  of  the^  designs  so  submitted 
being  accepted,  the  prize  of  £5 "will  be  given  to  the  author 
of  what  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  the  best  de- 
sign .submitted  for  competition. 

5.  Desiimsmust  be  sent  In  not  later  than  1st  September, 
to  the  Hon.  Sec. 

EssoB  Dsrr.v, 
24,  George-street,  Sheffield. 
After  the  selection  the  designs  will,  of  course,  be  re- 
turned to  the  authors. 


rKDERTVEITIXG  DWELLEs'G-HOrSES. 
SiE, — I  have  carefully  read  the  letter  of  a 
"Civil  Engineer"  in  the  la*t  issue  of  your 
journal,  in  which  Mr.  CrcssweU's  proposal,  dis- 
cussed at  the  Society  of  Arts  the  other  day,  is 
reviewed  ;  but  I  cannot  gathei  what  the  opinion 
of  the  writer  is  except  that  it  is  desirable  to 
start  with  a  system  of  testing  aU  building  j 
materials,  in  "which  every  one  "will  cordially  join.  ^ 
A  "  Civil  Engineer  "'  is  not  very  sanguine  of  | 
results  :  he  appears  to  tliink  that  to  provide  for  | 
the  proper  and  sanitary  construction  of  new 
buildings  would  be  almost  impossible,  as  it  would 
involve  an  e.xamination  of  the  site  of  houses,  an 
intcDigent  scrutiny  of  materials  and  every  detail, 
tests  to  secure  the  use  of  good  bricks  and  mortar. 
He  says  :  "  Lloyd's  and  its  officers  have.by  long 
experience,  arrived  at  the  most  advantageous 
methods  by  which  they  are  guided  in  their  by 
no  means  careless  or  indifferent  surveys  and 
examination  :  but  it  "will  be  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible, in  the  present  lamentable  condition  of 
constructive  science,  to  institute  such  tests  as  can 
secure  the  object  Mr.  Cresswell  has  in  "liew." 
Quite  true  ;  and  why  may  not  the  supervisor  of 
dwellings  be  equally  efficient  and  expert  in 
detecting  bad  material  or  workmanship  :  why  is 
it  more  possible  to  underwrite  for  vessels  than 
dwelling-houses  f  I  cannot  admit  that  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  house- building  are  so 
numerous  or  so  great  as  to  baffle  properly- 
quaUfied  inspectors.  The  only  difficulty  I  can 
surmise  is  that  of  examining  foundations  and 
those   materials   of   a    building    which   arc   not 


readily  accessible  or  are  easily  concealed  ;  but  if 
all  materials  were  subjected  to  previous  exami- 
nation before  being  brought  on  the  ground,  and 
daily  inspections  were  made  of  foundations,  it  is 
not  possible  to  conceive  how  the  most  dishonest 
builder  could  possibly  elude  the  inspector's  eye. 
Of  coui'se,  in  such  a  scheme  it  should  be  made 
imperative  that  every  foimdation  should  be  in- 
spected before  the  footings  or  concrete  were  laid, 
and  that  the  brick  footings,  damp-course,  etc., 
shoidd  be  certified  to  at  the  time  of  their  con- 
struction. Drains  and  excavations  ought  also 
to  be  certified  in  the  same  manner.  I'nder  such 
conditions  I  am  at  a  loss  to  see  why  the  under- 
writing of  dwellings  should  be  less  possible  than 
that  of  vessels  of  the  mercantile  marine,  or  in 
what  way  the  classification  of  sanitary  reliability 
of  houses  would  be  more  difficult. 

Abchitectus. 

THE  OBELISK  ON  THE  EMBANKMENT. 

Sm, — On  reading  the  short  note  about  this, 
in  last  issue,  I  went  up  to  see  the  models  of 
suggested  additions  to  the  obelisk  and  granite 
plinth  ;  and  must  confess  to  a  strong  feeUng  of 
disappointment onsesthetic,  aswellas  ou  common- 
sense  grounds. 

The  additions,  which  are  very  well  modelled 
and  got  up  by  the  artist  employed,  consist  of  a 
Sheath  for  the  eroded  end  of  the  monolith,  a 
Comiee,  &c.,  on  the  block -pedestal,  and  the 
Sphinx,  of  which,  I  gather,  there  are  to  be  two. 

The  feather-like  features  at  the  angles  of  the 
sheath  certainly  lessen  the  apparent  height ; 
which  is  a  fatal  objection,  as  the  whole  looks 
quite  short  enough  amid  its  surroundings. 

The  cavetto  round  the  top,  and  the  roU- 
motJdings  at  angles  of  pedestal,  are  copied  from 
the  huge  pylons  at  Phila;  and  elsewhere  ;  and 
besides  being  ridiculous  when  so  small,  are 
"wrong  in  the  imitating  of  granite  work  in 
bronze.  The  tablet  in  the  centre  of  each  face, 
"with  the  regulation  row  of  serpents  at  top,  and 
dado  fringe  at  bottom,  is  affixed  regardless  of 
masonry-joints  or  constructive  propriety.  The 
whole  looks  too  evidently  stucl:-on,  and  might, 
■with  greater  fitness  and  economy,  be  made  in 
compo. 

The  sphinxes  "will  be  turning  their  backs,  in 
solemn  disdain,  on  the  obeli.sk,  which  is  the  only 
genuine  thing,  while  they  are  the  shams.  Such 
adjuncts  were  usually  placed  with  the  front  part 
of  their  bodies  towards  the  central  axis  ,•  and 
thus  formed  a  part  of  the  composition.  If  even 
the  head  were  turned  (so  as  to  make  them 
"couchant  guardant")  there  would  be  more 
coherence  in  the  design.  At  present  there  is  a 
"litt-on-acd-off "  effect  ;  and  the  vacant 
pedestal  looks  rather  the  better  of  the  two.  But 
why  a  sphinx  ?  The  obelisk  was  presented  for 
British  prowess  ;  surely  a  British  Lion  (though 
not  like  those  in  Trafalgar-square)  would  haye 
been  more  appropriate. 

The  cartouch  for  royal  name  (which  gives  the 
date)  on  breast  of  animal,  instead  of  Victoria  or 
anything  else  to  denote  the  10th  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  has  the  signs  for  "Men-ho- 
phra"  :  Can  anything  be  more  like  "playing 
at  archajology,"  and  more  likely  to  cast  discredit 
on  the  real  work  than  this  "r  The  detaU  of  the 
whole  of  the  "fixings"  is  undoubtedly  fairly 
coi-rect  Egyptian.  Dr.  Birch's  approval  is 
security  for  that ;  but  why  Eg^-ptian  detail  at 
aUf  it  we  were  moimting  a  ballet  for  the 
stase  and  ■wished  ia  keep  the  couhiir  locnk  in 
these  days  of  scenic  realism,  that  might  be 
rin-ht ;  but  in  architecture  the  nearer  the  countcr- 
fe?t  the  greater  the  danger  ;  and  if  the  design  be 
adheredlo,  in  50  years,  people  may  imagine  the 
whole  "roup,  obeUsk,  sphinxes  and  all,  to  have 
been  brought  over  from  Egypt,  or  else  that  the 
obeU-k,  as  weD  as  the  additions,  had  been 
manufactured  at  Brummagem.  "Thus  we  falsify 
history,  and  to  this  has  our  slavish  adherence  to 
arch.-eology  reduced  us  !  In  the  pedestal  of  the 
obelisk  in  "the  Place  de  la  Concoi-de,  there  are 
some  quaint  designs  in  the  Egyptian  style  graven 
by  the  French  at  the  time  of  re-erection.  These 
childLsh  conceits  are  utterly  unworthy  of  a 
dit^nified  monument;  but  the  French  at  any 
rate,  stopped  short  of  the  lower  depth  of 
sphinxes,  tS:c.  , 

I  trust  it  may  not  be  too  late  to  postpone  the 
present  scheme  untU  some  alternative  has  been 
considered.  Surely,  Mr.  Vulliamy,  the  accom- 
plished architect  to  the  M.  B.  "W .,  caDnot  have 
approved  of  our  obelisk  being  desecrated  by  these 
AVardour-street  "properties." 

I  do  not  know  if  the  S.  P.  A.  B.  has  moved  in 


80 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


the  matter:  no  stabiUty  is  in  question,   and  the  ]  now  appears^to  think  that  though^ement^-mato^ 
matter  mii^ht  rest.     I  believe  I  have  seen  nearly 
all  the  Egj-ptian  obeUsks  which  have  been  ro- 
crccted  in  Europe,  and  not  one  of  them  that  I 


know  of,  either  in  Kome  or  elsewhere,  is  treated 
in  the  sham  Egyptian  style  proposed  for  ours. 
Our  national  taste  is  at  stake  in  this,  for  we 
shall  never  have  another  venerable  relic,  like  the 
present,  to  experimentalise  upon  and  so  tho- 
roughly viJgarise. 

Hugh  Stakuus. 
Kennington  Park-road,  S.E.,  July  7. 


SAI^ITAHY  ASSURANCE  AND  CLASSIEI- 
CATION. 
Sm,— I  have  to  thank  "A  Civil  Engineer" 
for  his  opportune  suggestions  with  regard  to  the 
materials  of  construction  and  the  site  and  soil  of 
our  future  dwellings. 

Without  sound  bricks  and  genuine  cement,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  buildhealthworthyhouses, 
however  perfect  the  oiiginal  design,  or  faultless 
the  details  of  sanitary  equipment. 

Watertight  drains  and  honest  plumbing,  traps, 
grdlies,  and  ventDating  cowls,  are  not  the  be- 
all  and  end-all  of  sanitary  construction ;  and 
the  question  of  porous  bricks  and  limeless  mor- 
tar did  not  escape  the  attention  of  the  compe- 
tent men  who  attended  the  conference  of  the  1 1th 
May  last,  and  approved  the  resolution  which  I 
had  the  honour  to  propose. 

Nor  do  I  ignore  the  moral  obstacles  to  be  sur- 
mounted on  the  threshold  of  the  enterprise  ;  the 
inertia  of  the  mass,  the  active  opposition  of  the 
few  ;  the  heaven-bom  critics  on  the  one  hand, 
and  those  who  dislike  to  be  disturbed  on  the 
other.  Nevertheless,  with  the  intelligent  co- 
operation of  such  men  as  your  correspondent, 
there  is  room  for  hope  ;  and  "Faint  heart  never 
yet  won  fair  lady."  In  the  mind's  eye,  we  may 
foresee  the  ideal  house  (Al.  100)  of  the  next 
century,  like  Lord  Spencer's  mansion  even  of 
this  day,  perfect  in  all  its  parts  as  a  model  yacht 
or  a  Cunard  liner,  registered  and  certifi- 
cated according  to  a  code  of  municipal 
regulations,  as  well-known  and  accepted  by  the 
common-sense  of  mankind  as  the  laws  of 
Moses. 

The  progress  of  scientiiic  observation  and 
practical  experience,  from  day  to  day,  may 
suggest  modifications  and  dictate  improvement ; 
but  the  cardinal  principles  of  sanitary  science 
will  remain.  The  nucleus  of  such  a  code  exists 
already  in  the  Building  and  Metropolis  Manage- 
ment Act  of  ISoo,  the  model  by-laws  of  the 
Local  Government  Board  of  1877,  and  the  re- 
ports of  scientific  bodies,  such  as  the  Society  of 
Arts  or  the  British  Medical  Association. 

All  that  is  wanting  is  the  breath  of  life,  the 
force  of  pubUo  opinion,  to  infuse  vitality  into 
the  dry  bones  of  scientific  conclusions,  and  "  give 
to  the  "age  and  body  of  the  time  its  form  and 
pressure." 

Above  all,  we  must  have  the  sanction  of  Par- 
liament— as  the  supreme  guardian  of  the  health 
of  the  people — together  with  local  parliaments 
in  eveiy  county,  to  inspire  confidence,  and  lend 
the  sanction  of  authority  to  the  certificates  of 
their  inspectors. 

The  Metropolitan  Board  within  the  metro- 
polis, and  the  mimioipal  authorities  of  our  larger 
towns,  may  at  once  set  a  practical  example  and 
break  ground  for  the  good  of  the  rest  of  the 
community ;  and  so  soon  as  a  trial  of  the  system 
has  been  attempted,  there  will  be  opportunity 
for  the  arajilest  criticism  and  really  useful  dis- 
cussion. 

There  are  readers  of  your  journal,  men  of 
repute  and  calibre,  whose  judgment,  in  this  re- 
spect, will  be  of  practical  value. 

MeauwhUe,  if  the  principle  be  sound,  it  will 
live  through  the  fiery  ordeal ;  if  not,  let  it  die 
the  death  of  many  another  good  intention,  and 
be  forgotten. — I  am,  ifcc., 

C.   N.    Ceesswell. 
1,  Hare-court,  Temple,  July  8th. 


cannot  afiord  to  mix  iron  with  cement,  gas  com 
panics  are  in  a  position  to  supply  pieces  of  it, 
gratis,  with  coke  ;  but  he  has  to  own  that,  at  a 
certain  stage,  "  the  miller  must  become  aware 
of  their  presence."  If  so,  why  does  he  not  take 
steps  to  remove  them,  instead  of  ''  a.ssisting 
theii-  passage";  and  why,  if  the  miller  is 
aware  of  the  presence  of  iron,  does  everyone 
deny  it  is  there  ?  Mr.  Reid,  in  his  first  letter, 
said  that  "iron,  in  even  the  mildest  and  least- 
objectionable  form,  is  more  or  less  dangerous." 
He  now  says  that  "iron,  of  the  character  in 
question,  shoidd  not  seriously  prejudice  the 
test."     I  cannot  reconcile  the  two  statements. 

No  sifting  wUl  detect  the  presence  of  iron  ;  all 
cement  contains  more  or  less  core.  The  eye 
cannot  detect  the  particles  of  iron  in  this  ;  only 
the  magnet  enables  one  to  do  so. 

As  Mr.  Eeid  asks  for  further  particulars,  I 
send  you  three  samples  of  cement,  which  are 
taken  from  casks  of  three  different  makers, 
opened  at  random.  Samples  A  are  the  raw  ce- 
ment. Samples  B  are  the  core  obtained  by  sift- 
ing two  quarts  of  cement  through  a  .50-mesh 
sieve.  They  all  contain  iron,  which,  if  Mr.  Eeid 
will  search  for  with  a  magnet,  he  will  doubtless 
find.  I  have  frequently  met  with  cement  con- 
taining much  more  iron  than  the  samples  I  send  ; 
but  thought  it  fairer  to  forward  the  samples 
just  as  they  came,  without  searching  for  a  bad 
case. 

In  conclusion,  I  impute  no  motive  to  makers  ; 
but  I  cannot  accept  Mr.  Reid's  theories  as  at 
all  an  answer  to  my  first  question,  "How  does 
ii-on,  in  its  free  form,  come  to  be  mixed  with 
cement  ?  "  I  have  considted  makers,  but  neither 
they  nor  Mr.  Reid  seem  prepared  with  a  clear  or 
definite  explanation. — I  am,  &c., 

July  13.  Magnet. 


TAY  BRIDGE  DISASTER. 

SiK, — In  concluding  his  report  on  this 
disaster,  Mr.  Eothery  says: — ''Lastly,  my 
colleagues  in  this  report  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  requirement  issued  by  the 
Board  of  Trade  respecting  wind-pressure,  and 
that  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  understood 
rule  in  the  engineering  profession  regarding 
wind  pressure  in  railway  structures,  and  they 
therefore  recommended  that  the  Board  of  Trade 
should  take  such  steps  as  may  be  necessary  for 
the  establishment  of  rules  for  that  puriJose.  I 
cannot,  however,  join  in  that  recommendation, 
for  it  appears  to  me  if  there  is  no  understood 
rule  in  the  engineering  profession  regarding 
wind-pressure  in  railway  structures,  it  is  for  the 
engineering  profession,  and  not  for  the  Board  of 
Trade  to  make  them." 

This  question,  then,  of  wind-pressure,  appears 
to  be  the  principal  rook  upon  which  the 
commissioners  split,  and  it  is  for  the  public 
to  put  them  right.  I,  for  one,  differ  with  Mr. 
Rotherj-.  If  engineers,  and  not  the  Board  of 
Trade,  arc  to  make  the  rules  for  wind-pressure, 
they,  like  doctors,  might  differ.  It  appears  to 
me  equivalent  to  saying  architects  and  engineers 
should  make  their  own  rules  as  to  the  thickness 
of  walls,  instead  of  the  Building  Act  saying  so. 
They  might  differ.  If,  as  pointed  out  by  Mr. 
Rothery,  "  it  is  the  practice  in  France  to  allow 
55-lb.  per  square  foot  for  wind-pressure,  and  in 
the  United  States  501b.,"  there  seems  no  reason 
why  the  Board  of  Trade  should  not  enforce  a 
similar  aUowanee  in  this  country. 

Youi's  faithfidly, 
July  13th,  1880.  W.  F.  Pottek. 

P.S. — Since  writing  the  above,  I  am  pleased 
to  see  from  the  Parliamentary  reports  of  this 
day,  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  announced  in  the 
House  of  Commons  last  evening  ' '  his  intention 
to  appoint  a  committee  to  see  what  rule  shoidd 
be  made  with  regard  to  wind-pressure,  as 
suggested  in  the  inquiry." 


IRON-FILINGS  IN   CEMENT. 

Sni, — In  answer  to  "Elpctro-Magnet,"  I 
think  he  will  need  no  further  introduction  to 
makers  if  he  will  try  a  magnet  on,  say,  the  first 
six  examples  of  cement  he  meets  with. 

In  further  answer  to  Mr.  Eeid,  that  gentle- 
man seems  to  have  abandoned  his  first  theory  as 
to  loose  bolts  and  nuts  and  portions  of  the  ma- 
chinery being  ground  up  with  the  cement,  and 


A  GAS -EXPLOSION  EST  CHEAPSIDE. 

SiE, — If  in  Cheapside,  or  any  other  City 
thoroughfare  paved  with  something  like  a  foot 
of  solid  concrete  beneath  asphalte,  instead  of 
among  comparatively  loose  material,  as  in  the 
Tottenham  Court-road,  what  would  be  the  effect 
of  a  gas-explosion;  The  danger  is  apparently 
not  such  a  remote  one  that  we  can  aft'ord  to 
ignore  it,  and  I  shoidd  be  glad  to  know  what 
other  readers  think  would  be  the  result  so  far  as 
the  cellars  and  basements  of  the  adjoining  houses 
are  concerned. — I  am,  cScc,  F. 


"  ESSAY  ON  THE  HISTORY"  OF  ENGLISH 
CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE." 
SiE,  —  As  I  have  learned  that  Mr.  Edward 
Pococke  has  been  soUciting,  from  architects  and 
others,  subscriptions  to  the  above-named  work, 
will  you  kindly  allow  me  to  state  that  he  has  no 
authority  to  do  so,  and  that  subscriptions  can  only 
be  paid  to  Mr.  David  Bain,  at  the  pubUshers,  31, 
Southampton-street,  Strand.— I  am,  &c., 

July  16.  G.  GiLBEKT  SCOIT. 


CHIPS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  SaUsbury  Church  Building 
Society,  held  ou  Tuesday  week,  the  payment  was 
ordered  of  £12.5  towards  the  restoration  of  Shap- 
wick  parish-church,  Dorset,  and  of  smaller  sums 
for  the  irou  church  of  St.  Martin,  Salisbury,  and 
Popham  district  church,  Bremhill,  Wilts. 

The  town  council  of  Hereford  decided,  on  Tues- 
day week,  to  adopt  several  measures  for  improving 
the  water-supply  of  the  city,  as  suggested  by  Mr. 
G.  Cole,  city  surveyor,  including  the  erection  of  a 
tank,  100ft.  high,  on  an  elevated  site,  to  be  suppUed 
with  water  from  the  works  by  means  of  Mr.  Isaac 
Shone's  patent  pneumatic  ejector,  as  made  by 
Messrs.  Thwaites,  Brothers,  of  Bradford.  The 
new  scheme  will  afford  a  high-pressui-e  supply  for 
the  more  elevated  parts  of  the  city,  and  is  estimated 
by  Mr.  Coles  to  cost,  including  tower,  ejector,  and 
mains,  .£1,985. 

The  Y'oughal  rural  sanitary  authority  decided,  ou 
Friday,  to  call  iu  Mr  Lynch,  C.E.,  to  report  and 
advise  as  to  a  new  water  supply  for  the  district  of 
Killagh. 

At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  local  board  for 
Oxford,  held  last  week,  it  was  stated  that  counsel's 
ophiion  had  been  taken  on  the  proposal  t*  give 
an  honorarium  of  £1,000  to  Mr.  White,  the  engi- 
neer, to  mark  the  board's  approval  of  the  way  in 
which  he  had  carried  out  the  drainage  work,  and, 
in  reply  to  leading  remarks,  it  transpired  that  the 
weight  of  opinion  was  against  the  proposal  as 
illegal.  The  matter  is  to  be  again  discussed  nest 
month.  _  ~ 

A  scheme  for  the  supply  of  water  to  Wiggington 
and  the  outlying  parts  of  Tring,  prepared  by  Mr. 
Baines,  C.E.,  was  finally  approved  by  the  Great 
Berkhampstead  rural  sanitary  authority  last  week. 
The  local  board  of  Alford,  Lincolnshire,  decided 
on  Saturday  to  purchase  a  site  in  Farlesthorpe 
road,  containing  2^  acres,  for  a  burial-ground,  and 
to  borrow  £2,000  to  inclose  the  land  and  build 
chapels  and  walls. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Peterborough  on  Tuesday 
week  before  Major  Hector  Tulloch,  R.E.,  an 
Inspector  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  respect- 
ing an  application  on  behalf  of  the  Corporation  to 
borrow  a  further  sum  of  £8,100,  on  account  of 
drainage  and  waterworks.  The  Inspector,  at  the 
close  of  the  inquiry,  intimated  that  the  opposition 
which  had  been  raised  to  the  form  was  irrelevant. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  for  rebuilding  the 
Providence  Congregational  Chapel  at  EUand,  near 
Halifax,  held  ou  Wednesday  week,  plans  submitted 
by  the  architects,  Messrs.  Kirk  and  Sons,  of  Hud- 
dersfield  and  Dewsbury,  were  adopted  :  the  chapel 
will  be  Gothic  in  style,  with  transepts  and  gallery, 
and  is  to  seat  750  persons.  A  school  assembly- 
room  and  class-rooms  being  also  provided. 

Extensive  works  of  water  supply  are  being 
carried  out  at  Littlehampton,  Sussex,  for  the 
local  board.  The  pipes  supplied  by  a  Glasgow 
firm  are  being  laid,  and  the  foundations  are  about 
to  be  put  in  for  the  water  tower.  This  will  be 
soft,  in  elevation,  and  will  have  a  high-level  tank 
of  over  100,000  gallons,  and  also  a  low-level  tank 
of  less  capacity.  Messrs.  Grantham  are  the  engi- 
neers ;  Mr.  Hayter  is  the  contractor,  and  Mr. 
Burns  the  clerk  of  works.  The  local  board  last 
week  accepted  the  tender  of  Messrs.  L'aidlaw,  of 
Glasgow,  for  the  supply  of  water- works, engines. 
The  district  is  about  to  be  drained,  and  for  the 
work  Mr.  J.  Bateman,  C.E.,  is  the  engineer. 

The  Leamington  town  council  appointed  Mr. 
David  Carey,  late  in  the  employ  of  Messrs.  Powis 
and  Co.,  of  London,  one  of  the  contractors  for  the 
Artesian  well  pumps  and  machinery,  as  managing 
engineer  at  the  new  waterhouse.  The  salary  is 
£2  10s.  per  week,  with  house,  &c.  There  were  82 
applicants  for  the  appointment. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Falham  board  of 
guardians  a  warm  personal  discussion  arose  on  the 
draft  instructions  for  the  competition  for  the  pro- 
posed new  infirmary,  and  ou  the  proposition  to 
select  six  architects  to  compete  for  the  work. 
Eventually  notice  was  given  by  Mr.  Schofield  of  a 
motion  to  rescind  the  resolution  by  which  six 
architects  only  are  to  be  invited  to  compete,  and 
the  question  was  adjourned. 

A  new  school- chapel  will  shortly  be  commenced 
at  Crossbill,  Glasgow.  The  architects  are  Messrs, 
Pugin  and  Pugin. 


July  16,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


81 


j:nttrcommu«icatt0a 


QUESTIOXS. 

[6166.]— Deal.— Does  a  green  stain  in  deal  invariably 
denote  sap  I  What  is  the  matter  with  a  deal  when 
thickly  covered  with  dark  spots .'  What  is  a  suie  test  to 
tell  red  deal  from  white  for  one  to  use  whose  eyes  are  not 
very  apt  at  telling  the  difference  of  colour  ?  If  one  or 
other  of  your  numerous  coiTespondents  would  kindly 
answer  these  questions  for  me,  or  direct  me  where  to  find 
the  information  I  require,  it  would  greatly  oblige. — 
Student. 

[6167.]— Pitch  for  Tile  Koof— WUl  some  one 
kindly  inform  me  what  is  the  "usual"  pitch  for  a  tiled 
roof,  to  be  safe  w  ith  tUes  laid  to  a  lia.  gauge  .'  Also  de- 
fine the  gauge  ' — Aeeitee. 

[616S.]-  Half-Timbered  Houses.— In  cases  where 
•weight  need  not  be  studied  is  it  good  to  use  brick  nog- 
ging  .'  With  quarteling  4in,  in  depth  and  the  bricks  on 
edge,  I  should  have  an  inch  left  for  plastering  externally 
between  the  quartering.  Would  it  be  necessary  to  build 
the  brick  nogging  in  cement !— C.  F.  M. 

[6169.]— Bedroom  Chimney-Piece.— The  wood- 
work of  my  bedroom  is  atpresent  Tarnished,  and  I  intend 
painting  it  white.  How  should  the  timber  chimney-piece 
be  done  '  Should  the  panels  of  the  doors  be  different 
from  the  style  1 — Telephone. 


REPLIES. 

[6140.]— trndergrotmd  Cisterns.— Ha^•ing  had 
considerable  practical  experience  in  the  constiTiction  of 
underground  cisterns,  I  beg  to  offer  a  few  remarks  and 
suggestions.  There  is  no  form  of  cistern  so  economical 
and  convenient  as  a  cylindrical  one,  with  ^^^  bottom  and 
domed  top,  this  form  bearing  external  pressuie  much 
better  than  one  square  on  plan,  and  requii'Cs  no  centering. 
Single  brick  is  quite  strong  enough  for  cisterns  up  to  7ft. 
or  8ft.  in  diameter.  Where  there  is  no  water  to  keep 
back,  I  have  successfully  constructed  cisterns  without 
puddle*  depending  on  coat  of  cement  inside  (but  do  not 
allow  water  to  run  into  cistern  until  the  cement  has  had 
time  to  harden ;  allow,  say,  24  or  36  hours).  Where  you 
have  to  contend  with  backwater,  your  work  must  be  made 
thoroughly  watertight  before  applying  cement  inside. 
Several  times  I  have  successfullyused  riddled  soil  in  place 
of  clay  as  puddle.  Whether  puddle  is  used  as  backing  or 
no,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  get  your  ground  out,  so  that  you 
have  a  space  of  two  or  three  inches  at  back,  which  space 
should  be  thoroughly  rammed  as  work  proceeds.  I  have 
never  seen  a  filter  in  connection  with  cistern,  but  have 
often  thought  one  might  be  made  to  answer  well,  con- 
structed in  the  form  of  a  square  box,  with  tight-fitting 
taay  or  trap  made  of  some  material  that  would  act  as 
astrainer  on  the  water  as  it  passed  into  the  cistern.  The 
tarap  would  require  less  attention  if  the  water  was  made 
to  flow  upwards  through  the  strainers  ;  on  this  plan  the 
filter  woxild  always  be  full  of  water,  which  might  be  an 
objection.  Of  course  size  of  filter  would  have  to  be  suited 
to  area  of  roof.— Bricklayer. 

[6147.]— Science  and  Art  Certificates.  —  Un- 
fortunately, I  have  not  received  my  number  of  the 
Building  News  in  which  is  "Fortus's"  question,  but  if 
I  understand  rightly,  an  explanation  of  the  Science  and 
Art  examinations  will  be  of  service.  1st.  Art. — Elemen- 
tary architecture,  open  to  students  of  schools  of  ait  and 
ait  night-classes,  taught  by  art-masters,  requires  a  know- 
ledge of  Greek  and  Roman  architecture  and  their  mould- 
ings, and  the  larger  distinctive  characteristics  of  Gothic 
architecture,  from  the  ^  Conquest  to  the  Perpendicular 
period.  This  is  the  examination  required  from  all  male 
students  from  the  1st  art^master's  certificate.  The  best 
books  I  know  are  Nicholson  "  Five  Orders"  and  Bloxam's 
*'  Gothic."  No  candidate  can  be  examined  in  this  subject 
who  has  not  passed  an  examinationin  freehand,  geometii- 
cal,  perspective,  and  model  drawing,  or  who  has  not  gained 
a  3rd-grade  piize  in  the  advanced  section  in  the  examina- 
tions of  the  works  of  schools  of  ait  and  art  classes  in 
London.  The  advanced  examination  in  architecture  in 
London,  open  only  to  art-masters  who  have  obtained  the 
art-master's  certificate  of  the  first  group,  the  text-books 
for  which  are  Fergusson's  History  and  Fairholt's  *' Dic- 
tionai-y  of  Teims  in  Art."  Science. — The  examinations 
for  the  science  of  building  construction  require  a  know- 
ledge of  all  kinds  of  construction,  and  are  divided  into 
three  stages,  from  elementary  to  honours  ;  the  honoui-s 
requiring,  in  addition  to  a  good  general  knowledge  of 
materials,  an  examination  in  practical  designing. — Anr 
Master,  and  1st  Class  Honours  in  Science. 

[6147.]  —  Science  and  Art  Examinations, 
South  Kensing-ton.^— I  venture  to  make  a  few  notes 
on  the  singular  replies  pubhshed  in  this  journal  as  to 
works  of  reference  for  the  advanced  arcliitectui"al  exa- 
mination held  under  the  Science  and  Art  Department. 
*'One  not  Certificated,"  and  "Fortus"  too,  may  well 
be  perplexed  with  the  contradictory  replies  the  query  in 
question  has  drawn  out.  Some  of  them,  of  course,  cannot 
be  conect  answers  to  the  question.  ''  Holder  of  1st  Class 
Certificate"  i^in  his  reply  of  June  ISth)  asserts  that 
"  building  cODstruction  [which]  is  the  on!y  examination 
relating  to  architecture  held  by  the  Department."  This 
reply  is  quite  beside  the  remaik,  as  it  relates  to  subject 
HI.  in  the  Sdence  list,  but  the  books  mentioned  are  well 
recommended  for  that  subject.  "  J.  W.  C,"  also  June 
ISth,  recommends  some  good  books  for  preparing  for  the 
architectural  ex.amination.  Then,  June  25th,  some  one 
*' Certificated  in  All  Three"  {what  three!),  who  also 
mentions  some  good  books  for  the  examination  in  ques- 
tion, condemns  the  first  two  replies,  although  why,  in  the 
case  of  *'J.  W.  C.*s"  reply,  I  cannot  understand,  and 
further  states  that  "  J.  W.  C.'s"  reply  answers  for 
"  Klementary  Architecture."  Now,  as  far  as  I  am  aware, 
there  is  but  one  grade  recognised  by  the  Department 
which  is  called  advanced,  or  3rd  grade,  architecture,  and 
is  on  the  Art  list.  This  being  the  case,  perhaps  those  who 
have  replied  before  can  explain  how  their  information 
varies  so  much.— R.  A.  F.  T. 

[6154.]— Hydropathic  Establishment.  —  Some 
years  ago  I  recei^  ed  the  commission  to  design  a  hydro- 
pathic estabUshment  (since  erected),  and  at  that  time 
used  my  best  endeavours  to  obtain  illustrations  of  similar 


buildings,  but  without  success,  the  only  way  to  get  at  re- 
quirements being  to  visit  foui-  or  five  modem  estabUsh- 
ments.— F.  E.  I.  B.  A. 

[6162.]— Hundred-Pound  Cottages.— In  reply  to 
"S.  W."  respecting  huudred-poimd  cottages,  I  do  not 
know  the  design  referred  to,  but  I  am  acquainted  with  a 
veiy  neat  and  compact  design  by  Mr.  Ross,  of  Darling- 
ton, which  cottages  took  the  first  prize,  and  were  erected 
by  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  (England)  some  years 
ago.  See  their  show  ground  at  Leeds.  They  are  grouped 
in  pairs,  and  can  be  erected  complete  for  £220  per  pair. 
Lithographs,  I  believe,  can  be  had.— H.  W.  C. 

[6163.]— Testing  Portland  Cement.— To  those 
unable  to  command  the  use  of  a  testing-machine,  it  is 
advisable  to  make  up  a  '*  pat "  of  neat  cement,  and  after 
it  has  lost  its  plasticity  it  should  be  immersed  in  water. 
If  it  remains  perfect  in  that  position  during  24  hours  it 
maybe  regarded  as  safe,  and  may  be  used.  A  tolerable 
estimate  ot  the  strength  of  the  cement  may  be  obtained 
by  cementing  bricks  together  or  making  up  small  cubes 
which  may  be  either  tested  by  compression  or  transverse 
strain. — W. 

[6164.]— Damp  Walls. — I  have  several  times  taken 
out  a  course  of  common  biicks  just  above  ground-level  in 
old  damp  houses,  and  inserted  a  course  of  Taylor's  or 
Doulton's  damp-proof  perforated  bricks.  They  can  be 
obtained  the  thickness  of  a  common  brick  (and  any  width 
according  to  the  thickness  of  the  walls)  so  that  no 
making  good  with  slates  or  tiles  is  necessaiy.  Three  feet 
more  or  less,  according  to  the  stability  of  the  brickwork, 
can  be  done  at  a  time,  and  the  perforations  serve  to 
admit  air  for  ventilation  beneath  the  wood  floors.  No 
doubt  exists  as  to  the  benefit  derived  from  doing  this  to 
old  houses  where  no  damp-proof  course  has  been  inserted. 
The  work  should  be  done  with  Portland  cement  and  shai  p 
clean  sand.— Tnos.  Potter. 

[6164.]— Damp  Walls. — Allow  me  to  suggest  to 
"  G.  B."  that  as  it  is  nearly  as  troublesome  to  rake  out 
the  mortar  joint  and  insert  lead  as  to  cut  out  a  course  or 
two  of  bricks,  I  think  the  best  plan  would  be  to  introduce 
Taylor's  patent  gLized  anti-damp  course,  of  course  key- 
ing up  well  with  slate  and  cement.  If  the  ground-level 
outside  is  not  very  high,  I  would  recommend  in  addition 
excavating  at  the  back  of  the  wall,  and  either  foimiug  a 
blind  area  or  asphalting,  but,  of  course,  this  would  only 
be  possible  in  case  of  access  behind  the  wall. — G.  H.  G. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Aston. — There  is  some  prospect  of  the  drainage 
of  this  district  being  at  last  begun.  Mr.  G.  B. 
Nichols,  C.E.,  who  laid  the  King's  Noiton  sewers 
and  had  got  out  the  plans  for  the  Astou  Authoritj^ 
has  been  replaced  by  Mr.  E.  Pritchard,  C.E.,  Past 
President  of  the  Association  of  Sanitary  Engineers, 
who  recently  laid  the  Yardley  scheme,  and  other 
works  in  this  locality  ;  and  the  scheme,  which  was 
originally  intended  to  cost  something  like  £100,000, 
is  likely  to  be  very  considerably  reduced. 

DALTON-EJ-FrEN'ESS.- Oa  Friday  last  a  public 
inquiry  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  town  sewage 
was  held  at  Dalton  before  Major  Tulloch,  K.E' 
It  is  proposed  to  convey  the  sewage  for  the  existing 
filtration  tanks  to  the  sea.  The  inspector  approved 
the  scheme,  and  intimated  that  he  should 
recommend  a  loan  of  £6,000,  for  carrying  out  the 
works.  Messrs.  Brierley  and  Holt,  of  Blackburn, 
are  the  engineers. 

Halstead. — The  works  for  the  disposal  of  the 
sew.ige  of  Halstead,  Esses,  which  have  been  in 
construction  since  last  autumn,  under  the  personal 
superintendence  of  Messrs.  Bailey  Denton,  Son,  and 
North,  whose  scheme  was  adopted  by  the  Local 
Board  of  Health,  are  now  rapidly  approaching 
completion.  The  main  sewer,  extending  from  the 
former  outlet  at  Parson's  Bridge  to  Langley  Mill,  a 
distance  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter,  has  been  for  some 
time  out  of  the  hands  of  the  contractor,  Mr.  Kun- 
nacles  ;  and  the  windmill,  erected  by  Mr.  C.  H. 
Hett,  of  Brigg,  by  means  of  which  the  sewage  will 
be  pumped  to  the  higher  levels  on  the  farm,  has 
been  completed  this  week.  This  mill  is  forty  feet 
high,  and  is  provided  with  a  circular  self-actiug 
sail  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  driving  a  Noria  chain 
pump,  to  which  are  attached  46  close  buckets  with 
open  sides,  each  raising  a  gallon,  equal  to  46  gallons 
of  sewage  each  revolution.  The  well  is  20ft.  deep, 
and  six  feet  in  diameter;  and  the  brickwork 
is  throughout  excellent  in  character.  It  has  been 
ascertained  that  the  pumps,  with  an  ordinary  wind 
wiU  raise  648,000  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours. 
On  Thursday  week,  when  a  comparative  calm  pre- 
vailed, the  pump  was  found  to  be  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  deal  with  the  sewage.  The  experi- 
ment of  utihsing  the  wind  for  this  purpose 
seems  likely  to  be  successful,  and  it  is  believed 
that  no  difficulty  whatever  will  arise  in  dealing 
with  the  estimated  quantity  of  sewage— 60,000 
gallons  in  dry  weather,  and  a  maximum  quantity 
of  2.50,000  gallons  in  the  wet  season— by  the  use  of 
this  economical  motive  power  in  raising  it  to  some 
eight  acres,  the  sewage  being  discharged  over  the 
remainder  of  the  farm  by  gravitation.  The  whole 
of  the  farm  of  fifteen  acres  is  now  drained,  and 
except  a  small  portion,  which  will  probably  be 
completed  in  the  course  of  three  weeks  or  a  month, 
it  is  levelled  and  trenched  throughout,  and  roads 
intersecting  the  levels  are  made.  Some  three  acres 
have  been  sown  with  rye  grass,  and  another  por- 
tion with  prickly  comfrey,  but  the  operations  were 
not    sufficiently    advanced    to     crop     the    entire 


farm  this  summer.  The  works  were  recently 
opened  by  Mr.  Deutou,  jun.,  ami  two  or  three 
members  of  the  Local  Board,  Mr.  Mathews,  Sur- 
veyor, and  Mr.  Johnson,  the  efficient  clerk  to  the 
works,  being  also  present.  Early  in  the  afternoon 
the  sewage,  which  has  hitherto  flowed  into  the 
river  Colne  near  Parson's  Bridge,  was  diverted  in- 
to its  new  and  more  legitimate  channel.  Owing  to 
the  slight  fall— about  five  inches  to  the  mile — 
nearly  two  hours  elapsed  before  it  reached  the 
farm,  whence  it  was  allowed  to  flow  upon  one  or 
two  of  the  lower  levels.  About  £7,000  have  been 
expended  upon  the  works. 

METKoroLiTA^-  Watee  CoiTTANiES.— By  the  pub- 
hshed statement  of  accounts  of  the  eight  London 
Water  Companies  for  the  year  1879,  audited  by  Mr. 
Stoneham,  on  behalf  of  the  Local  Government 
Board,  it  appears  that  the  share,  loan,  and  debenture 
capital  of  all  the  companies  amounts  to  £12,256,430. 
The  rates,  rents,  and  interest  receivable  by  them, 
amount  to  £2,1.52,102,  and  the  total  expenditure  for 
all  purposes  to  £1,422,795,  which  admits  of  a 
dividend  ou  the  ordinary  share  capital,  varying 
from  10  per  cent,  in  the  case  of  the  West  Middlesex, 
the  highest,  down  to  4|  per  cent.,  the  lowest,  to 
the  shareholders  of  the  Southwark  and  VauxhaU 
Company. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

An  Aechitect's  Chaeges.- Before  Yice-Chan- 
cellor  Sir  Richard  Malins,  in  re  the  Alcazar  Com- 
pany. A  petition  was  presented  for  the  winding-up 
of  this  company  by  Mr.  Edward  Louis  Paraire,  an 
architect,  as  a  creditor  of  the  company  for  a  large 
sum  of  money  alleged  to  be  due  to  him  for  prepar- 
ing plans  and  for  consulting  with  the  company  as 
to  the  buildings  intended  to  be  erected.  The  com- 
pany was  incorporated  in  September,  187S,  for  the 
purpose  chiefly  of  erectiEg  upon  the  freehold  gromid 
on  which  Saville-house,  Leicester-square,  formerly 
stood,  a  spacious  theatre  of  varieties,  containing  a 
caft-  and  restatirant,  where  it  was  intended  to  have 
dramatic  and  musical  performances,  with  popular 
interludes  and  attractive  histrionic  varieties.  The 
names  of  the  first  directors  were  Lord  WiUiam 
Lennox,  Sir  John  Sebright,  Mr.  Wood,  Messrs. 
Cramer  and  Co.,  Major  Wingfield,  Mr.  Alexander 
Henderson,  Captain  Wombwell,  aud  Mr.  W.  R. 
Lennox.  The  petitioner  stated  that  he  had  pre- 
pared plans  and  elevations  of  the  proposed  building 
and  had  assisted  the  directors  with  Us  advice  and 
experience  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  building 
operations  should  be  carried  out,  and  that  he  bad 
obtained  fenders  from  builders  and  contractors  for 
the  construction  of  the  theatre  and  restaurant, 
according  to  the  plans  prepared  by  him.  During 
the  whole  of  the  period  from  the  incorporation  of 
the  company  down  to  December,  1S79,  he  had  been 
summoned  to  the  meetings  and  consulted  by  the 
directors  of  the  company  as  their  architect  with  re- 
ference to  carrying  out  the  undertaking,  and  they 
availed  themselves  of  the  plans  and  measurements 
which  he  had  prepared.  Since  December,  however, 
the  board  of  directors  had  declined  to  accept  any 
of  the  tenders  for  the  construction  of  the  building 
which  he  had  obtained,  and  had  entered  into 
negotiations  with  another  architect,  and  they  had 
declined  to  carry  out  the  budding  for  which  the 
plans  were  prepared.  The  petitioner  had  con- 
sequently sent  in  his  claim  for  the  debt  due  to  him, 
amounting  in  the  whole  to  £2,960,  and  he  alleged 
that  the  company  were  unable  to  pay  the  amount 
due  to  him  and  to  other  creditors,  and  that  the 
company  ou"ht,  therefore,  be  wound  up  under  the 
direction  of  the  Court.  The  petition  was  opposed 
by  the  company,  who  alleged  that  the  charges 
made  bv  Mr.  Parau-e  were  excessive,  and  they  dis- 
puted the  debt,  but  they  had  offered  him  £o00  in 
settlement  of  his  claim.  They  denied  entuely  that 
they  were  unable  to  pay  the  amount,  and  stated 
that  the  subscribed  capital  of  the  company  was 
£■'3  350  and  it  was  calculated  that  when  the  bmld- 
iu'T  was' erected  a  large  profit  would  accrue  to  the 
shareholders.  The  building  to  be  placed  on  the 
site  was  now  being  erected,  and  considerable  pro- 
.jress  has  been  made  with  the  work,  and  it  was 
Expected  that  the  building  would  be  opened  m 
October  next.  Under  these  circumstances  they 
opposed  any  attempt  to  wind  up  the  company  by  a 
p'erson  whose  aUeged  debt  was  disputed  and  who 
TOuld  bring  his  action  to  establish  any  debt  which 
mi"ht  be  justly  due  to  him.  The  ^  ice-Chancellor 
said  it  was  evident  that  there  must  be  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  to  which  Mr.  Paraire  was  justly 
entitled.  Even  the  prospectus  contained  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  building  mtended  to  be  con- 
structed, which,  he  was  told  had  been  P«pared 
from  the  plans  furnished  by  Mr  Paraire.  How- 
ever, it  was  impossible  for  the  Court  to  make  a 
winding-up  order  upon  the  petition  of  a  creditor 
whose  "debt  was  ,\holly  .  disputed.  He  should, 
therefore,  direct  the  petition  to  stand  over  unhl 
the  petitioner's  claim  should  have  beea  estabUshed 
in  an  action. 

Action  foe  Damages  for  Dilapidations.— 
Mr.  Henry  Coutley,  Prospect  House,  Stanningley, 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


Bued  Mr.  Alexander  H.  Tewdell,  Prospect  Villa, 
Btannmgley,  in  the  Leeds  County -court,  last  Friday 
week,  before  Mr.  West,  for  the  sum  of  £14  Ss.  Cd. 
for  dilapidations.  The  plaintiff  is  the  owner  of 
Willow  Cottage,  Stauningley.  and  about  five  years 
ago  he  spent  .i200  in  repairing  it.  Since  then  the 
defendant  had  occupied  the  house  at  a  rent  of  £100 
a  year.  In  February  last  he  left,  and  then  it  was 
found  that  the  house  had  suffered  dilapidation  to 
the  extent  of  the  amount  claimed.  The  plants  and 
fencing  were  damaged  to  a  great  extent.  The 
defendant  was  called,  and  stated  that  the  fixtures 
of  the  house  had  not  been  damaged,  and  that  it  was 
in  as  good  a  condition  now  as  it  was  when  he  went 
into  it.  For  the  removal  of  the  plants,  he  paid 
£2  2s.  into  court,  and  he  further  stated  that  the 
damage  to  the  railings  was  caused  by  the  plain- 
tiff's dogs,  costs,  and  hens.— A  verdict  was  given 
for  the  plaintiff  for  £7  8s.  6d.  beyond  the  amount 
paid  into  court. 

Bkeach  of  Coxtract.— At  Halifax  County-court 
on  Tuesday  week.  Hirst  and  Wilson,  carpenters 
and  joiners,  of  Elland,  sued  Joseph  Xewsom,  coal 
merchaut,  Elland,  for  £2G  15s.,  in  respect  of  breach 
of  contract.  Plaintiff's  case  was  that  in  July,  1S78, 
defendant  wished  to  erect  four  houses  at  Elland, 
and  inslructedMr.  Wilkinson,  architect,  of  Sowerby- 
bridge,  to  prepare  plans  and  advertise  for  tenders, 
which  was  done.  On  August  l-3th,  plaintiffs  ten- 
dered for  the  carpenters  and  joiners'  work  for  £2 12, 
and  on  the  following  day  Mr.  Wilkinson  wrote 
stating  that  their  tender  had  been  accepted,  and 
they  signed  the  contract  for  the  execution  of  the 
work.  After  plaintiffs  had  ordered  in  timber  to  the 
extent  of  £80,  and  had,  indeed,  cut  out  IS  of  the 
windows,  defendant  entered  into  litigation  with  a 
Mr.  Casson  as  to  the  laud,  a  lawsuit  which  re- 
sulted disastrously  to  him.  At  a  later  date,  defend- 
ant informed  plaintiffs  that  he  could  not  build  the 
four  houses,  and  that  he  bad  transferred  the  archi- 
tect's work  from  Messrs.  Wilkinson  to  Messrs. 
Leening  and  Leening,  of  Halifax.  He  told  plain- 
tiffs that  he  proposed  erecting  one  house,  on  plans 
prepared  by  another  architect,  and  they  tendered 
afresh  for  the  work,  but  did  not  get  it.  The  claim 
now  made  was  composed  i»f  loss  on  reduction  in 
price  of  wood,  labour  thrown  out  in  cutting  the 
window  frames,  loss  of  profit  on  contract,  amount 
paid  Mr.  Wilkinson  for  quantities,  and  travelling 
expenses.  The  judge  gave  a  verdict  for  £23  1.5s., 
disallowing  the  two  guineas  claimed  for  travelling 
expenses. —A  second  action  against  the  defendant, 
Newsom,  for  £15  143.,  was  brought  by  Mr.  Wilkin- 
son, the  architect,  being  2  per  cent,  commission  on 
the  four  houses,  and  £2  for  travelling  expenses ; 
and  after  striking  out  the  latter  item,  his  honour 
gave  judgment  for  £13  14s.  for  plaintiff. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

Stattjaet  on  Biacktp.iaes  Beihge.— Mr.  Hart, 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  City  Common  Council, 
moved  ;  "  That  it  is  desirable  that  Blackfriars- 
bridge  be  completed  in  accordance  with  the  designs 
and  provisions  of  the  engineer,  by  the  addition  of 
appropriate  groups  of  statuary,  to  be  placed  upon 
pedestals  provided  for  that  purpose  at  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  bridge,  and  that  it  be  referred  to  the 
Bridge  House  Estates  Committee  to  obtain  (by 
public  competition)  designs,  which  shall  be  the 
absolute  property  of  the  Corporation,  at  an  expense 
by  way  of  premiums  of  a  sum  not  exceeding 
£1,000,  reporting  thereon,  with  the  cost  of  exe- 
cuting the  work,  to  this  Court."  Mr.  Edmeston 
seconded  the  motion,  remarking  at  the  same  time 
that  he  thought  the  recent  strictures  of  Sir  F. 
Leighton  were  scarcely  deserved.  The  motion  was 
agreed  to. 

Mesioeial  Statite  to  Koeep.t  Eaiees.— The 
statue  on  the  Thames  Embankment,  unveiled  on 
Saturday,  July  3,  was  designed  by  Mr.  W.  Brock, 
of  Osnaburgh -street,  and  has  been  cast  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  James  Moore,  at  the  foundry  of 
Messrs.  Drew  and  Co.,  of  Thames  Ditton.  The 
figure  is  of  bronze,  and  &ft.  6in.  in  height.  The 
Classic  pedestal  is  of  Cornish  grey  granite,  and  has 
been  executed  by  Messrs.  Freeman  and  Sons,  of 
Penrhyn.  The  height  of  statue  and  pedestal  to- 
gether is  20ft.  6iu.,  so  that  to  the  spectator  the 
figure  appears  the  size  of  life. 


STAINED  OLASS. 

Glol'cesteeshike. — Messrs.  Camm  Bros.,  of 
Smethwick,  have  lately  fixed  two  windows,  one  at 
St.  John's  Church,  Gloucester,  and  the  other  at 
Pensford  Church.  The  former  is  Italian  in  style, 
centre-light  subject,  "  Christ  Blessing  Little 
Children" — Our  Saviour  sitting  in  the  midst  of  a 
group,  having  taken  a  child  upon  his  lap,  is  in  the 
act  of  blessing  a  girl  kneeling  before  Him.  In  the 
background  are  several  of  the  Apostles.  The  east 
window  in  Pensford  Church  has  been  fiUed  with 
the  subject  of  the  Transfiguration.  The  window 
was  sutmlied  through  Messrs.  S.  Cashmore  and 
Co.,  of  Bristol. 


Halifax.— The  five-light  window  at  the  east 
end  of  Archbishop  Eokeby's  chapel  in  the  parish- 
church  was  last  week  filled  with  stained  glass,  as 
a  memorial  to  the  late  Mr.  John  Waterhouse.  The 
three  centre  lights  are  occupied  by  the  Transfigu- 
ration, Our  Lord  being  pourtrayed  with  Moses  on 
His  right,  and  on  His  left  the  prophet  Elijah,  while 
at  the  foot  are  the  kneeling  figures  of  the  three 
disciples.  In  the  sinister  light  are  two  subjects, 
the  lower  one  being  the  Annunciation,  and  over  it 
the  Nativity  of  our  Lord.  The  dexter  light  is  also 
charged  with  two  subjects — our  Lord  at  the  tomb 
of  Lazarus,  and  the  Eaising  of  Lazarus,  the 
twelve  small  lights  in  the  head  of  the  window 
having  been  filled  with  figures  of  the  Apostles, 
each  carrying  inhishand  theinstrumentof  his  mar- 
tyrdom—save  St.  John,  who  is  holdingabook.  The 
window  is  from  the  studio  of  Messrs.  Clayton  and 
Bell,  of  London.  There  are  now  28  stained-glass 
windows  in  Halifax  parish-church,  including  six 
in  the  clerestory,  aud  another  to  Archdeacon  Stus- 
grave  is  about  to  be  placed  at  the  west  end  of  the 
south  aisle. 


CHIPS. 

On  Tuesday  week  the  Bishop  of  Kochester  con- 
secrated the  new  church  of  St.  Crispin,  which  has 
been  built  on  the  site  of  an  iron  building  in 
Southwark- park -road,  Bermondsey.  The  edifice 
is  in  the  Gothic  style,  of  red  brick  with  stone 
facings,  and  the  cost  of  church  and  parsonage  has 
been  £1.5,870,  including  £2,800  for  site.  The  tower 
and  spire  remain  to  be  completed  at  a  cost  of  about 
£900.  Messrs.  Coe  and  Robinson  were  the  archi- 
tects, and  the  builder  was  Mr.  Shepherd,  of  Ber- 
mondsey New-road. 

On  Thursday  evening  two  carpenters,  named 
Coleman  and  Falconer,  in  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Bromley,  a  local  builder,  were  employed  in  fixing 
a  facia  board  on  the  new  Memorial-hall  in  Priory- 
street,  Dover,  when  the  scaffold  shifted  and  both 
fell  to  the  ground,  a  distance  of  40f^  Coleman 
dislocated  his  neck,  fractured  his  skull,  aud  died 
immediately;  Falconer  was  taken  to  the  Dover 
hospital  suffering  from  severe  injuries.  At  the 
inquest  held  on  Coleman  on  Friday,  the  foreman 
and  a  labourer  gave  evidence  that  the  scaffold  was 
erected  in  the  usual  manner,  but  as  the  cords  with 
which  the  staging  was  lashed  together  could  not 
be  produced,  the  jury  asked  to  have  the  ioqutry 
adjoured  till  the  injured  man  should  have  re- 
covered, that  he  might  be  examined  as  to  the 
construction  of  the  scaffold.  The  inquest  was 
accordingly  adjourned  for  three  weeks. 

The  old  paribh-church  of  Swansea  was  reopened 
on  Thursday,  the  8th  inst.,  by  the  Bishop  of  St. 
David's,  after  restoration.  The  old  high -backed 
pews  have  been  replaced  by  open  seats  of  pitch- 
pine,  the  galleries  have  been  reduced  in  size  and 
set  back  from  the  main  pillars,  the  walls  have  been 
repainted,  and  the  church  is  lighted  by  gas  coronc;, 
in  place  of  candelabra.  The  number  of  sittings 
remains  as  before  the  alterations.  Mr.  Bucknall, 
of  Wind-street,  Swansea,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
David  Morgan,  of  the  same  town,  the  builder ;  the 
cost  has  been  £660. 

New  steading  has  just  been  erected  on  the  farm 
at  Linkwood,  near  Elgin,  belonging  to  Earl  Sea- 
field,  for  the  use  of  the  tenant,  Mr.  Eric  Sunder- 
land. The  buildings  are  Gothic  in  character,  and 
have  been  erected  in  freestone,  with  slated  roofs, 
except  the  court,  132ft  by  6(ift.,  which  is  covered 
with  corrugated  iron.  The  floors  to  stables  and 
cow-byres,  poultry-houses,  and  piggeries,  are  of 
cement  concrete,  scored  in  squares  to  prevent 
slipping.  ^  The  steading  accommodates  104  head  o' 
cattle,  with  arrangements  for  extensions,  should 
they  be  necessary.  Messrs.  Matthews  and  Mac- 
kenzies,  of  Elgin,  were  the  architects;  and  the 
contractors  were :— Masons,  Messrs.  Dow  and 
Eay,  of  Eothes  ;  carpenter,  Mr.  Jas.  Mitchell, 
Keith  ;  slater,  Mr.  Alex.  Stewart,  Aberlow ; 
plasterers,  Messrs.  Maciver  aud  Yourice,  Elgin  ; 
plumber,  Mr.  J.  Gordon,  Elgin ;  concrete  work', 
Mr.  G.  Ogilvie.  Elgin ;  and  ironwork,  Messrs. 
Abemethy  and  Co.,  Ferryhill,  Aberdeen. 

A  new  Congregational  church  at  Uddingston, 
near  Glasgow,  which  has  just  been  erected,  was 
opened  on  thj  200th  anniversary  of  the  battle  of 
Bothwell  Bridge,  which  took  place  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity.  The  building  is  Early  English 
in  style,  and  has  a  tower  and  spire  attached.  All 
the  windows  are  filled  with  cathedral  glass,  except 
the  traceried  wheel  window  over  the  pulpit,  which 
is  occupied  by  stained  glass  representing  the  Lamb 
of  God,  surmounted  by  the  symbol  of  the  Trinity, 
and  with  floriated  Mediicval  designs  in  the  semi- 
circles surrounding  the  centre  light.  An  or^au, 
procured  in  England,  has  been  enlarged  and  re- 
modelled for  the  church  by  Messrs.  Spring  aud 
Brook,  of  Glasgow. 

The  local  board  of  Chesterton,  nest  Cambrid<'e, 
have  appointed  Mr.  Bland  as  surveyor,  at  a  sal^y 
of  £.50  a  vear. 


Our  (BMtt  €Mt 


A  DEPUTATION  from  the  Sunday  Society  waited 
upon  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum  last 
week,  to  present  a  memorial  praying  for  the 
opening  of  the  museum  on  Sunday. — Lord  Dun- 
raven,  who  introduced  the  deputation,  said  he 
was  president  for  this  year  of  the  Sunday  Society, 
and  he  and  those  associated  with  him  hoped  the 
trustees  would  be  able  to  open  the  Museum  to 
the  i>ublic  on  Sundays.  The  movement  had 
worked  well  in  the  country,  and  the  opposition 
to  it  had  died  out.  He  was  of  opinion  that  from  a 
moral,  social,  and  religious  point  of  view  it  was 
better  for  the  people  to  have  some  place  to  go  to 
on  Sunday  than  to  spend  their  time  in  idleness. 
Mr.  Mark  H.  Judge  then  read  a  memorial. — Sir 
A.  Hobhouse  said  he  was  sure  that  if  the 
Museum  was  opened  it  would  be  greatly 
frequented  on  Sundays. — Professor  Godwin  and 
Flowers  also  addressed  the  trustees. — Lord 
Sydney,  in  reply,  said  that,  without  expressing 
tlie  private  opinion  of  the  trustees,  he  might  say 
that  it  was  out  of  their  power  to  grant  the 
prayer  of  the  memorial  without  referring  the 
matter  to  the  Treasury.— Lord  Duuraven 
thanked  the  trustees  for  receiving  the  deputation, 
and  hoped  that  legislation  would  shortly  deal 
with  the  matter. 

"How  to  build  Liverpool  Cathedral  "  is  dis- 
cussed very  forcibly  by  Mr.  John  Henry  Parker, 
C.B.,  of  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford.  He 
b^gs  the  Liverpool  people  not  to  be  in  too  great 
a  huiiy.  They  must  first  get  a  plan,  aud  build 
the  two  lower  tiers  of  masonry  to  insure  the 
ideas  of  the  architect  against  change  ;  "then  go 
on  with  the  choir  only,  finishing  it  quickly, 
establishing  service,  and  having-  a  collection 
before  each  Communion  for  the  completion  of 
the  buUding."  Then  proceed  with  the  rest  of 
the  building  as  money  comes  in — fir.st  the  west 
front,  and  then  the  nave.  This,  as  Mr.  Parker 
says,  was  the  old  Christian  custom. 

The  announcement  that  the  President  of  the 
Royal  Academy  is  henceforth  to  be  ex-ofHcio 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  National  Portrait 
Gallery,  is  a  direct  reversal  by  Mr.  Gladstone  of 
the  policy  laid  down  by  Lord  Beaconsfield.  On 
the  death  of  Sir  Francis  Grant  and  the  election 
of  Mr.  (now  Sir  Frederick)  Leighton  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Royal  Academy,  most  people 
thought  that  he  would  succeed  to  the  trusteeship 
of  the  Portrait  Gallery  as  a  matter  of  course.  In 
this  they  were  promptly  undeceived  by  Lord 
Beaconsfield,  who,  anxious  to  preser^-e  the 
prerogative  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
privilege  of  art,  appointed  Sir  Richard  Wallace, 
and,  later  on,  even  Lord  Lamington  (Mr.  Baillie 
Cochrane)  was  preferred  to  Sir  Frederick 
Leighton. 

TnE  twenty-ninth  annual  meeting  of  the 
Birkbeck  Building  Society  was  held  Thursday 
(July  8th),  in  the  theatre  of  the  Birkbeck 
Literary  Institution.  The  report  presented  to 
the  meeting  stated  that  the  receipts  for  the 
year  ending  31st  March  last,  were  £.5,709,932, 
aud  the  total  from  the  commencement  of  the 
Society,  £49,794,824.  The  deposits  reached  the 
large  sum  of  £5,132,924.  The  gross  profits 
earned  by  the  Society  amounted  to  £102,802,  of 
which  £8G,58G  have  been  appropriated  to  the 
payment  of  interest  on  shares  and  deposits, 
discount  and  expenses  of  management,  leaving 
a  net  profit  of  £16,216.  The  surplus  funds 
amount  at  the  present  time  to  £1,960,296,  of 
which  £300,4.58  is  invested  in  Consols,  New  Three 
per  Cents,  and  Exchequer  and  Treasury  Bills; 
£219,275  in  Metropolitan  Board  of  W'orks  and 
India  Stocks;  £542,757  in  Colonial  Bonds; 
£76,693  in  Railway  Debentures;  £125,145  in 
French  Treasury  Bills,  Foreign  Railway  Obli- 
gations, Bonds,  &c. ;  £306,109  in  gas,  water, 
and  miscellaneous  securities ;  £214,914  in  free- 
hold ground-rents;  while  £180,943  is  in  cash. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  no  portion  of  the  funds 
appear  to  be  invested  in  promissory  notes,  bills 
of  Exchange,  or  personal  seeurites  of  any  kind. 
The  total  liabilities  of  the  Society  are  £2,465,819, 
while  the  assets  are  £2,583,331,  showing  a  net 
surplus  of  £117,512.  Of  this  sum,  £50,000  is  in- 
vested in  Consols  as  a  permanent  guarantee  fund, 
lea\-ing  £67,512  to  be  carried  forward  to  await 
the  next  declaration  of  a  bonus.  The  number  of 
investors  and  depositors  is  38,814,  while  the 
shares  in'  existence  number  32,812,  on  which 
£180,396  have  been  paid  up. 


July  16,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


83 


At  a  meeting  of  the  St.  Pan?ras  Board  of 
Works  held  on  Monday  night,  a  report  Tvas 
received  from  the  eub-committee  appointed  on 
■Wednefday  last,  stating  that  they  had  instructed 
the  chief  surveyor  and  the  vestry  clerk,  to  put 
themselves  in  communication  with  the  secretary 
of  the  Chartered  Gas  Company.  In  reply  to  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  gas  company,  the  follow- 
ing answer  has  becnreoeived  : — "  On  the  subject 
of  your  letter  of  the  7th  inst.  I  am  directed  to 
say  in  reply  that,  whUe  the  company  do  not, 
imder  existing  circumstances,  admit  their 
liability  for  the  damage  occasioned  by  the  late 
explosions,  yet  with  a  view  of  carrying  out 
■without  delay  the  works  and  repairs  necessary  to 
be  done  to  the  houses,  streets,  and  sewers  in  your 
parish  injured  by  the  explosion,  Messrs.  Aird 
and  Sons,  the  contractors,  have  received  instruc- 
tions forthwith  to  place  themselves  in  communi- 
cation with  Mr.  Scott,  your  surveyor,  to  arrange 
with  him  as  to  what  is  required  to  be  done  by 
them  to  carry  out  the  works  on  behalf  of  the 
company."  The  chief  surveyor  had  accordingly 
put  himself  in  communication  with  the  con- 
tractors, and  a  clerk  of  the  works  had  been 
appointed  to  supervise  the  proper  execution  of  the 
necessary  works. 

DuKiN'G  the  present  year  important  additions 
wUl  be  made  to  the  building  of  the  British 
Museum.  By  the  death  of  the  widow  of  Mr. 
WUliam  "White — who  himself  died  as  long  ago 
as  1823 — a  sum  of  over  sixty  thousand  pounds, 
the  "  White  bequest,"  has  become  available  for 
additional  buildings.  According  to  the  sugges- 
tions at  present  before  the  Trustees,  it  is 
intended  to  expend  a  considerable  sum  in 
extending  the  accommodation  available  for 
Greek  antiquities.  This,  it  is  understood,  will 
be  at  once  proceeded  with.  A  substantial  addi- 
tion to  the  south-eastern  side  of  the  Museum  is 
also  contemplated.  This  is  probably  in  the 
portion  of  the  grounds  abutting  upon  Montague- 
street,  and  ki^own  to  officials  as  the  Principal 
Librarian's  garden.  Here  it  was  long  ago 
proposed  to  erect  suitable  and  complete  accom- 
modation for  the  Department  of  Prints  and 
Drawings,  which  is  in  want  of  a  public  exhibi- 
tion gallery  as  well  as  of  further  accommodation 
for  its  hidden  treasures.  Plans  for  such  an 
extension  in  the  spot  mentioned  were  drawn 
during  the  term  of  office  of  Sir  Antonio  Panizzi 
at  the  Museum,  and  it  is  to  this  accommodation 
probably  that  allusion  is  intended. 

A  LAHGE  gas-main  in  Church -street,  Bilston, 
near  Wolverhampton,  exploded  on  Tuesday 
morning,  tearing  up  the  street  for  a  distance  of 
100  yards.  The  accident  was  caused  by  a  work- 
man of  the  company  applying  a  light  to  a  hole 
in  the  road  which  he  had  picked  in  order  to  find 
the  source  of  an  escape  of  gas  which  has  been 
going  on  for  some  time  past.  The  gas  had 
leaked  from  a  defective  service  pipe  into  the 
sewers,  permeating  the  soil  of  the  roadway.  A 
second  explosion  occurred  in  the  afternoon, 
doing  more  damage  than  the  first  one,  and  this 
time  some  personal  injuries  were  caused. 
During  the  work  of  repairing  the  damage  caused 
by  the  explosion  in  the  morning  a  strong  smell 
of  gas  was  perceived  about  .50  yards  away  from 
the  scene  of  the  iirst  occurrence,  and  to  discover 
whence  the  gas  came  workmen  commenced 
breaking  up  the  centre  of  the  roadway.  It  is 
supposed  that  in  the  course  of  this  process  one  of 
them  either  struck  a  corroded  gas-pipe  and 
pierced  it,  or  that  the  aperture  made  in  the 
surface  released  the  pent-up  gas,  which  had 
impregnated  the  soil  underneath.  Misfortimes 
of  the  same  kind  seldom  come  singly,  and  the 
apprehensions  expressed  by  a  correspondent  in 
another  column  really  deserve  serious  considera- 
tion. The  coroner's  jury  returned  a  verdict  on 
Tuesday,  with  regard  to  the  Tottenham  Court- 
road  explosion,  to  the  effect  that  the  deaths  were 
caused  by  an  explosion,  that  that  explosion  was 
caused  by  a  light  being  ignorantly  placed  to  a 
pipe  by  the  man  Hawkes,  the  gas  having  been 
introduced  into  the  new  main  by  some  defect  in 
the  valve  in  Howland-street.  The  jury 
appended  to  their  verdict  a  rider  giving  it  as 
their  opinion  that  additional  care  should  be 
taken  by  the  Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company  in 
the  testing  of  new  mains. 

The  seventh  part  of  "  Gloucestershire  Notes 
and  Queries,"  edited  by  the  Eev.  B.  H.  Blacker, 
M.A.,  is  to  hand,  and  contains,  as  usual,  a  fund 
of  interesting  gleanings.  On  page  211  we  find 
a  note  on  Winstone  parish-church,  between 
Gloucester  and  Cirencester,   restored  in   1876, 


under  the  direction  of  Messrs.  Waller  and  Son. 
The  building  consists  of  oidy  nave  and  chancel, 
with  south  porch  and  small  saddle-backed  tower. 
Xorraan  work  occurs  in  the  chancel-arch,  nave, 
north  window,  and  north  and  south  doorways. 
One  peculiarity  of  the  church  is,  that  there  is  no 
east  window  to  the  >hancel — a  peculiarity 
exhibited  in  one  or  two  other  churches  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Traces  of  early  painting  have 
been  fotmd  upon  the  chancel-arch  and  walls,  bnt 
the  colours  were  too  friable  to  be  preserved.  It 
is  thought,  from  the  discovery  of  two  coats,  that 
the  decoration  was  of  more  than  one  period.  The 
Roman  Villa  at  Chedworth,  in  the  Cotswold 
Hills,  is  the  subject  of  a  note,  which  mentions 
that  slabs  of  stone  with  Christian  monogram 
X  P  are  to  be  S3en.  Tesserje  of  coloured  stone 
were  also  foimd  here  some  years  ago.  The 
villa  stands  on  a  terrace  overlooking  a  vale,  and 
is  encircled  by  woods ;  its  stone  walls,  oft.  or 
Oft.  high,  are  nearly  perfect,  and  have  been 
roofed-in,  so  that  the  tesselated  pavements,  and 
the  caldarium,  ire,  of  the  baths  are  now 
weather-proof.  The  present  number  contains 
notes  on  Fosbroke's  and  Grose's  histories  of 
Gloucestershire,  Robert  Raikes,  The  Gloucester 
Spa,  Chavenge  Manor  House,  Largest  Oak  in 
Britain,  Severn  Bridge  Railway,  Old  Stone 
Pulpit  in  Pitchcombe  Church,  Church  Font, 
Oldbury-on-Severn :  Monumental  Inscriptions, 
,-tc. 


CHIPS. 

A  public  inquiry  was  held  at  Huntingdon,  on 
Wednesday  week,  before  Major  TuUoch,  R.E.,  on 
behalf  of  the  Local  Goyemment  Board,  with  refer- 
ence to  an  application  from  the  town  coimcil  for 
sanction  to  a  loan  of  £600  for  the  proposed  exten- 
sion of  the  area  of  the  corporation  waterworks.  It 
was  stated  that,  in  lS7o,  the  waterworks  were 
formed,  at  a  cost  of  £5,000,  from  the  plans  of 
Messrs.  Easton  and  Anderson,  but  since  1S7S  there 
has  been  a  gradual  falling-off  in  the  supply,  owing 
to  failure  of  the  well,  and  it  was  now  proposed  to 
extend  the  pipes  1,000  yards  to  Brampton,  to  the 
gravel  beds  in  that  parish,  which  contained  water. 
The  work  will  be  done  under  the  superintendence 
of  Mr.  Robert  Hutchinson,  the  borough  surveyor. 

The  burial  board  for  St.  Xeots,  Hunts,  last  week, 
adopted  a  plan  for  laying  out  the  new  cemetery, 
submitted  by  Mr.  J.  Wood  Ingram,  of  the  firm  of 
Wood  and  Ingram.  The  cost  of  the  cemetery  is 
estimated  at  about  £2, .500. 

It  is  proposed  to  build  and  form  a  coimty  mu- 
seum, library,  and  school  of  art  at  Dorchester  ; 
and  more  than  half  the  required  sum,  £(3,000,  has 
been  subscribed,  and  a  suitable  site  has  been  pre- 
sented, so  that  the  scheme  has  every  prospect  of 
success. 

The  rural  sanitary  authority  of  Settle,  North 
Lancashire,  adopted,  at  their  meeting  on  the  6th 
inst.,  the  plans  for  new  works  of  water-supply  for 
the  district  of  Bentham,  prepared  by  Mr.  Edward 
Firth,  C.E.,  of  Bakewell,  and  estimated  to  cost  in 
execution  £3,000. 

A  fresco  painting  has  just  been  added  to  the 
great  parish-church  of  St.  Xicholas,  Yarmouth,  on 
the  stone  pillar  against  which  the  new  pulpit  has 
been  erected.  The  subject  is  the  Saviour  calling 
Simon  and  Andrew  from  their  fishing,  and  it  is 
surrounded  with  the  chevron  ornament,  fleur-de-lys, 
and  other  flowers.  The  artists  were  in  the  service 
of  Messrs.  J.  M.  Buckley  and  Co.,  of  Wigmore- 
street,  London,  W. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  at  Lancaster  last 
week  to  consider  the  condition  of  the  in- 
firmary, it  was  resolved  that  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  provide  separate  premises  for  infec- 
tious cases,  and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  con- 
sider whether  the  infirmary  itself  should  be 
extended  or  rebuilt  on  a  better  site. 

The  church  portion  of  the  new  cemetery  at 
Langport,  Somerset,  was  consecrated  on  Saturday 
week.  The  area  of  the  cemetery,  which  is  equally 
divided  between  Churchmen  and  Xonconformists, 
is  an  acre  and  a  half.  In  the  centre  is  a  large 
chapel,  Early  English  in  style,  and  divided  in  the 
centre  by  a  screen,  so  as  to  allow  of  use  in  two 
portions.  It  is  built  of  blue  lias  stone  with  Ham- 
stone  dressings.  Mr.  HaU,  of  Mecklenburfr-square, 
London,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Davis,  of 
Langport,  the  builder.  The  total  cost  of  laymg 
out,  &c.,  has  been  £1,200. 

Mr.  Henry  Robinson,  M.  Inst.  C.E,  has  been 
appointed  Professor  of  Land-surveying  and  Level- 
ling at  King's  College,  London. 

New  schools  are  about  to  be  built  in  connection 
with  Trinity  Chureh,  Brighton  (well  known  in 
connection  with  Frederick  Robertson).  The 
plans  have  been  prepared  by  Messrs.  Holford, 
Clayton,  and  Black,  architects,  of  Brighton. 


Increasing  business  and  important  commissions 
in  the  South  of  England  have  decided  Messrs. 
Dunn  and  Hansom  to  open  ofBces  in  London,  at 
No.  2,  Westminster  Chambers,  Victoria-street, 
S.W.  Their  offices  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne  will  be 
continued  as  heretofore,  and  one  of  the  partners 
will  always  reside  there. 

The  members  of  Mr.  Harry  Hems's  Exeter  staff 
held  their  annual  wayzgoose  on  Saturday.  They 
proceeded  in  open  brakes  to  Sidmouth,  where  a 
most  enjoyable  day  was  spent.  After  dinner,  Mr. 
Frank  Dyer,  the  senior  emijloye,  proposed  Mr. 
Harry  Hems's  health,  who  responded  in  due 
course,  after  which  Mr.  George  Harrison  proposed 
that  of  the  many  members  of  the  estabUshment  at 
present  away  at  distant  contracts. 

The  foundation-stone  of  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Femdale-road,  Brixton,  was  laid  on  the  1st  inst. 
The  edifice  is  to  be  built  of  brick,  with  Bath-stone 
dressings  and  tracery  windows,  from  the  design  of 
Messrs.  Habershon  and  Fauckner,  architects,  of 
3S,  Bloomsbury-square,  the  superintending  archi- 
tect being  Mr.  J".  R.  Manning.  The  building  is  to 
be  covered  in  with  tiles,  fitted  with  galknes  on 
both  sides,  and  will  afford  sitting  accommodation 
for  about  1,600  persons.  The  total  cost  is  esti- 
mated at  about  £8,000.  The  contract  for  the 
building  has  been  intrusted  to  Messrs.  D.  C.  Jones 
and  Co  ,  building  contractors,  Gloucester. 

An  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Birmingham 
School  Board  was  held  on  the  8th  inst.,  when  Mr. 
Davis  brought  forward  his  motion  for  rescinding 
the  arrangements  with  the  present  architects, 
Messrs.  Martin  and  Chamberlain,  and  instructing 
the  Sites  and  Buildings  Committee  to  invite  archi- 
tects to  send  in  plans  for  the  next  set  of  schools  to 
be  erected.  To  this  an  amendment  was  proposed, 
appointing  Messrs.  Martin  and  Chamberlain 
architects  to  the  board  at  a  salary  of  £250  per 
annum.  The  amendment  was  carried  by  8  votes 
to  0. 

A  new  library,  and  other  additions,  have  j  ust  been 
completed  at  "  River  Meade,"  Sunbury  -  on  - 
Thames,  for  Mr.  L.  Knight  Bruce,  from  the 
designs  of  Messrs.  Pugin,  of  Westminster. 
Mr.  John  Dalglish,  of  Sunbury,  was  the  con- 
tractor. 

The  new  market-hall  in  Carlton-street,  Castle- 
ford,  was  opened  on  Monday.  The  length  of  the 
hall  is  156ft.  9in.  by  UOft.,  and  the  height  to  the 
ridge  of  the  roof  is  3Sft.  The  market  has  four  en- 
trances, the  principal  one  being  in  Carlton-street. 
In  addition  to  the  market  hall  an  arcade  has  been 
erected,  and  this  connects  :he  hall  with  Carlton- 
street.  Its  length  is  105ft.,  breadth  43ft.,  height 
to  ridge  of  roof  31ft.  On  each  side  there  are  eight 
shops  ;  the  materials  used  in  building  are  pressed 
bricks,  with  stone  dressings.  The  cost  of  the  un- 
dertaking is  estimated  at  £10,000.  Messrs. 
Malcolm  Paterson,  Dewsbury,  and  Wm.  Wheater, 
Albion-street,  Leeds,  have  been  the  joint  engineers 
for  the  work. 

Two  comer  stones  of  a  new  school,  in  connection 
with  the  "Children's  Home"  (Lancashire  branch), 
Edgeworth.  near  Bolton,  were  laid  on  Saturday 
afternoon  last.  The  building,  which  is  to  be  of 
stone,  is  being  erected  from  designs  prepared  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Ormrod,  architect,  of  Bolton,  and 
will  comprise  schoolroom,  and  two  class-rooms,  to 
accommodate  about  263  scholars,  at  an  estimated 
cost  of  about  £1,200,  including  boundary- walls  and 
outbuildings,  Jcc.  Messrs.  Martin  Brothers,  of 
Edgewoith,  are  the  contractors  for  the  building. 

Extensive  additions  to  the  Angel  Hotel,  Salis- 
bury to  provide  increased  bedroom  accommodation, 
have' been  completeJ,  under  the  superintendence 
of  Mr.  F.  Bath,  architect.  Mr.  Arthur  Foley  wss 
the  builder,  and  also  supplied  the  furniture  and 
fittings  required. 

The  Derbyshire  Archffiological  Society  had  an 
excursion  on  Saturday  last,  when  the  parish-church 
and  an  old  house  at  Norbury  having  been  visited, 
the  principal  part  of  the  day  was  spent  at  Ash- 
bourne, where  the  fine  church  waa  seen  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Rev.  F.  Gourdam,  and  also  the 
Grammar  School,  erected  in  lot>o,  and  the  haU 
where  Prince  Charies  slept  on  the  return  from 
Derby  in  1715. 

The  Hove  Commissioners,  sitting  as  the  Burial 
Board,  yesterday,  received  a  report  from  a  com- 
mittee, Vecommendmg  the  acceptance  of  the  tender 
of  Mr  G.  B.  Marshall,  of  Bnghtoi:.  at  £2  4.-)0.  the 
lowest  of  seven  received  for  the  ereotiou  of  a  wall 
lodge,  and  fences  round  the  new  cemetery,  and 
dso  to  appoint  Mr.  E.G.  Morgan  as  clerk  of  the 
works,  at  a  salary  of  £2  23.  per  week. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  was  opened  m  Derling- 
.treet,  St.  Catherine's.  Lincoln,  on  Monday  week, 
it  is  built  of  white  brick,  with  stone  dressmgs.  and 
measures  46ft.  by  34ft.  Mr.  Chis.  Bell,  of  Lon- 
Tn  w.«  tie  arktect,  and  Messrs.  Cowan  and 
Lansdown,  of  Lincoln,  the  builders;  the  cost  in- 
eluding  four  class-rooms  attached,  has  been 
£1,200? 


84: 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  16,  1880. 


The  Oddfellows'  Hall  at  Halifax  was  reopened 
on  Monday,  after  reconstruction  and  redecoration. 
Messrs.  J.  Chamock  and  Sod,  of  Pellow's-lane, 
carried  out  the  joinery  works,  and  Mr.  Jonas 
Binns,  of  King's  Cross,  Yorkshire,  designed  and 
carried  out  the  decorations. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  Halifax, 
held  on  Wednesday  week,  it  was  reported  that 
tenders  had  been  received  for  making  Royle*s 
Head  reservoir  watertight,  and  to  guarantee  it  for 
one  year.  The  lowest  sent  in  was  over  £1,400, 
which  was  considered  too  high,  and  Mr.  Paskin, 
the  waterworks  engineer,  had  thereupon  made  a 
tender  in  writing  that  he  would  undertake  to  get 
the  reservoir  done  by  day-work,  at  a  cost  not 
to  exceed  £'1,400,  and  that  any  excess  he  would  pay 
himself,  while  the  town  should  have  any  benefit. 
Several  members  of  the  council  objected  that  while 
the  offer  was  a  plucky  one,  it  was  one  that  ought 
not  to  be  taken  from  anyone  in  the  employ  of  the 
Corjioration.  By  a  large  majority,  however,  it 
was  decided  to  accept  Mr.  Paskin's  offer. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  the  corner-stone  of  the 
new  parish- church  of  Fulham  was  laid  bjr  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  church  will  be 
built  in  the  Perpendicular  style,  from  the  designs 
of  Mr.  Elomfield,  who  wUl  give  the  east  window  in 
memory  of  his  father,  the  late  Bishop  ;  but  the  old 
tower,  with  its  peal  of  bells,  will  remain  untouched, 
and  nothing  will  be  destroyed  that  is  worth 
preserving.     The  total  estimated  cost  is  £9,480. 


Iiamplottg-h's  Pyretic  Saline  is  refreshme, 

most  agreeable,  and  the  preventive  of  FKVERS,  BILIOUSNESS, 
SMALL  POX,  SKIN  DISEASES,  and  many  other  spring 


r  ailments.    Sold  1 


throughout  the  world,  and 


the  Maker.  113,  Holborn  I^ill.     Use  no  tubstitute  — [Adtt.] 

Holloway's  PiUs  purify  the  blood,  and   by  this 

operation  pi_event  the  depressing  effects  of  cold,  damp,  and  fosgy 


weather.    They  r 

and  give  a  wholesome  tone 

way's  Pills  present  the 


1  to  a  healthy  standard. 


Dotilting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.    Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  application  to 
CHAHLES  TRASK, 
Norton- sub -Hamdon,  Uminster,  Somerset. 
— [Adtt.] 


Westwood  Quarries,  near  Bradford-on- 

Avon.     (Established  150  years). 

WILLIAM:  GODWIN  can  supply   best  FREESTONE 

.from  the  Original  AVestwood  Quan-iesjinany  quantities.    Price: 

on  application  to  the  above  ,  or  to  Gerrish  and  Co,  'Limited], 

Kedciiff  Backs.  Stone  Shipping  "Wharl.  Bristol. 


BOX    GROUND    STONE 

Is  the  Best  for  Use  in  all  Exposed  Positions,  being 
"Well-known  and  Tried  Weather  Stone. 


50,000   Feet   Cube     in   Stock. 

PICTOE  &  SONS, 

BOX,  WILTS. 

.^_^^  [Advt. 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S.W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters. 

Desiams  and  Estimates. 

General   Repaii-s    and    Alterations  Executed. 

Experienced  Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country.— [Anvx.] 


TENDERS. 

•«•  Correspondents  ■would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  rate.of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

Batswateb. — For  nenv  warehouses,  Queen's-road  and 

Douglas-place,  Bays-water,  for  W.  Whiteley,  Esq.  Mr.  J. 

E.  Saunders,  architect.    Quantities  by   Messrs.  Osbom 

and  Russell  :  — 

CubittandCo £99,824    0    0 

Holland  and  Hannen        99,210    0    0 

Adamson  and  Son 96,415    0    0 

Ashby  and  Homer 92,890    0    0 

Laurence      92,760    0    0 

Brass 88,645    0    0 

Beemosdset,  S.E. — For   alterations  and  additions  to 

dwelling-houses  in  the  Spa-roa(?,  for  the  Bermondsey 

Vestry  :— 

Drake,  T.  and  F £347    0    0 

Battley,  T 335    0    0 

Brockwell  305    0    0 

Almond,  J 279    0    0 

Bullers 265    0    0 

Eldridge  and  Gee  (ac-oepted)  ...        221    0    0 

^_f  ^^QHTos.- For  alterations  to  No.  177,  and  new  shop, 

178,    Western-road,     Brighton.      Mr.    Arthur   Loader, 

architect  :— 

Lockyer,  G.  R £834    0    0 

^ewnham,  J.  M.        ...  777    q    0 

Bruton,J  ";        ;"        V50    0    0 

Downer,  W 735    0    0 


Burton  and  Co.  (accepted) £8S1    0    0 

(Borough  surveyor's  estimate,  £1,000.) 

Cardiff. — For  widening  the  approaches  to  Cathays 
Bridge,  for  the  Town  Council  :— 

Jones  and  Jepson  [accepted)  ...      £813    0    0 

[Lowest  tender  received,  the  highest  being  £1,606,  from 
a  Newport  tirm.  Borough  surveyor's  estimate,  £930.1 

Cardiff. — For  warehouse,  for  Mr.  J.  Isaac,  Hope  and 
Little  Tredegar-streets.    Mr.  John  P.  Jones,  architect : — 

Jones,  Bros.,  Cardiff  £1,170    0    0 

Webb,  Birmingham 1,158    0    0 

Lock,  Cardiff 1,112    0    0 

Thomas     „ 1,074    0    0 

Davies       „ 1,060    0    0 

EUiott       „ ...         1,046    5  11 

Shepton    , 1,040    0    0 

Pumell  &  Fry,  Cardiff  (accepted)  985    7    0 

Chelsea.— For  the  erection  of  Onslow  College  of  Science 
and  Art,  King' s-road.  Messrs.  T.  Stokes  and  J.  Arpin, 
45,  Walton-street,  Brompton,  architects  : — 


BelhamandCo 

Strong,  Bros 

Stimpson  and  Co 

Smith,  W.H 

Sharpe  and  Mills     

Criske,  C 

Holloway,  J.,  Lavender  Hill* 
*  Accepted. 


£1,895  0  0 

1,779  12  8 

1,688  0  0 

1,651  0  0 

1,645  0  0 

1,620  0  0 

1,573  0  0 


Chelsea.— For  improvements  and  repairs  to  a  school 
in  Walton -street,  Chelsea,  accommodating  486  children, 
on  transfer  to  the  London  School  Board  :— 

Stimpson  and  Co £660    0    0 

Hobson,  J.  D 659    0    0 

Hook  and  Oldrey        636    0    0 

Nightingale,  B.E.,  Albert  Embank- 
ment, S.E.  (accepted)    617    0    0 

CoLCHESTEK.— For  the  erection  of  water-tanks  in  Mili- 
tary-road, for  the  service  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Clegg,  borough  surveyor  ; — 

Oldridge,  C.  H.,  Colchester  (accepted)      £254  10    0 
[Lowest  of  eight  tenders  received.] 


Taylor,  J.  (accepted) £70    0    0 

[Lowest  of  four  tenders.] 

Halifax.— For  the   new   church  in  West  Vale,  near 
Halifax.    Accepted  tenders  :— 
Stone  and  mason  work  :— 

Riley,  M.,  Sowerby  Bridge. 
Joiner's  work  : — 

Fumess,  E.,  Greetland. 
Plumbing  :— 

Calvert,  S.,  West  Vale. 

Halifax.— For  the  completion  of  Bhroggs'  Public 
Park,  for  the  Town  Coimcil ; — 

For  excavations,  trenching,  and  diaining  in  the  park  : — 
Kendall,  J.  (accepted). 

For  completing  boundary-walla  and  entrances  ; — 

Pickles,  J.  (accepted). 

For  widening  and  improving  Shroggs'-road  :— 

Kershaw,  J.  (accepted). 

Haitpstead.— For  villa  at  Fitzjohn's-a venue,  for  Mr. 
Pettie,  R.A.  Mr.  Wm.  Wallace,  architect.  Quantities 
by  Mr.  F.  Thomson:— 


Richardson,  Bros.    ... 

Hunt,  J.  R 

Brass,  W 

Minley,  M.     

Scrivener  and  Co.     ... 

AVhite,  R 

Woodward,  J.,, 
Toms,  E. 

Cox,  E 

Tavemer and  Son    ...        ." 
Dowsing  and  Sons  (accepted) 


£7,995  0  0 

7,645  0  0 

7,587  0  0 

7,530  0  0 

7,490  0  0 

7,429  0  0 

7,380  0  0 

7,359  0  0 

7;274  0  0 

7,130  0  0 

6,497  0  0 


Hove,  nest  BRicnTos.— For  the  erection  of  a  lodge, 
walls,  and  fences,  being  contract  Ne.  1  in  connection  with 
the  new  cemetery,  for  the  Hove  Commissioners  :— 

Ockenden       £3,310    0    0 

Patching  and  Son 3,237    0    0 

Parsons  and  Sons 3,060    0    0 

J;f°gley  2,943    0    0 

Cheesman  and  Co 2,766    0    0 

OH^^r 2,650    0    0 

Marshall,  J.  G.  B^,  Brighton*    ...        2,450    0    0 
*  Accepted. 

Northamptok.— For  making  a  culvert  in  Eerr-street, 
for  the  Town  Council  :— 

Wingrove,  Kettering-road  (accepted)      £123    5    6 
[Highest  tender  received,  £190.] 

Ilfracojibe.— For  villa,  Fortescue-place,  for  Mr.  E  H 
Lang.    Mr.  W.  M.  Bobbins,  architect  ;— 
Parkyn  (accepted). 

Ilfracombe.— For  labour  to  stables.  Royal  Clarence 
Hotel.    Mr.  W.  M.  Bobbins,  stm-eyor  : — 

Horwood £110    0    0 

Knill        86  10    0 

Gibbs  (accepted)         86    0    0 


KiKGSTHORPE,  NEXT  NoBTnAMPTON*.- For  the  sewerage 
of  Arthur-street,  for  the  Kingsthorpe  Parochial  Com- 
mittee.   Mr.  Hull,  surveyor  : — 

Greeo,  Bros,  (accepted)        £102    0    0 

[Lowest  of  four  tenders  received.] 


LiMEHOusE,  E. — The  following  tenders  for  sanitary 
work  have  been  accepted  by  the  Vestry  of  Lini*^lirt»«o  (or 
the  ensuing  year:— For  oloaneme,  dusting,  and  water, 
No.  1  distriot,  T.  and  E.  Abbott,  reduced  from  £2,465  to 
£2,365;  No.  2  district.  Parsons,  from  £1,3L>8  to  £1,320; 
No.  3  district,  Rollinson,  from  £780  to  £765. 

LoxDOK. — For  rebuilding  premises  in  the  Poultry. 
Msssrs.  Ford  and  Hesketh,  architects  : — 


£3,274  0  0 

3,155  0  9 

3.123  0  0 

3,000  0  0 

2,950  0  0 

2,933  0  0 

2,722  0  0 

2,717  0  0 

2,605  0  0 

a  school  to  provide 
n  Compton-street, 
Boai-d.    Mr.  E.  R. 

£15,792  0  0 

13,991  0  0 

13,920  0  0 

13,850  0  0 

13,665  0  0 

13,593  0  0 

13,551  0  0 

13,478  0  0 

13,212  0  0 

13,181  0  0 

12,983  0  0 

12,800  0  0 


Scrivener  and  Co 

Dove,  Bros 

Mowlem  and  Co 

Maik 

Brass 

Macey  and  Sons       

Lawrence        

SabeyandSon         

Conder 

London,  E.C— For  the  erection  of 
accommodation  for  l,4iX)  children,  i 
Goswell-road,  for  the  London  School 
Robson,  architect  to  the  Board : — 

Scrivener,  W.  and  Co 

Tongue,  W 

Thompson,  J.         

HiggsandHill        

Brass,  W 

Boyce,  T 

Kirk  and  Randall 

■Williams,  G.  S.  S.  and  Son 

Lawrance,  E 

Grover,  J 

Jerrard,  S.  J 

Atherton  and  Latta         

Wall,  Bros.,  Dale-road,  Kentish 

Town  (accppted)        12,447    0    0 

[Cost  of  site  (area  14,630  square  feet),  £15,448  lis.  Hd. ; 
cost  of  (n)  school  buildings  only,  including  closets, 
£10,247;  {b)  tar  pavement  and  playgroimd,  £166  ;  (c) 
boundary  walls  and  gates,  £329;  (d)  teachers'  rooms, 
£300;  (t)  schoolkeeper's  residence,  £350  ;  for  special  ex- 
penses, properly  chargeable  to  site,  viz. :  cost  of  (/)  extra 
depth  of  foundations,  £405;  {<?)  works  to  adjoining 
premises,  £650;  total,  £12,447.  Cost  per  head  of  («},  (J), 
and  (<*),  £7  13s.  5d.  ;  total  cost  per  head,  £8  17s.  9d.] 

London,  E.G.— For  cleaning,  painting,  and  repairing 
the  premises  of  the  School  BoEird  for  London,  Victoria 
Embankment.  Mr.  E.  R.  Robson,  architect  to  the 
Board  :— 

Main  Building.     Stores.       Total. 

Kershaw,  T £1,7.56    0    0£40    0    0  £1,796    0    0 

Grace,  J.  G.  and  Son    1,398    0    0    60    0    0    1,458    0    0 
Trollope,  G.  and  Son    1,199    0    0    61    0    0    1,260    0    0 
Durant,  C.  (late  Ar- 
nold), Jermyn-st.*    1,088    4    7    52  10    0    1,140  14    7 
*  Accepted.    Cost  as  estimated,  £1,500. 


-on-Trent.— For  the  erection  of  six  residences 
situate  in  Harcourt-street,  Newark,  Notts.,  for  the  Mayor 
of  Newark.  Mr.  E.  W.  G.  Hayward,  architect  and  sur- 
veyor, 6,  Bar-gate,  Newark : — 

Messrs.  Bainc^  and  Mackenzie's  tender : — 

Excavator  and  bricklayer    £814    0  0 

Mason     56    0  0 

Carpenter  &  joiner  (including  Bpouting)  666    0  0 

Slater      70    0  0 

Plasterer 147    0  0 

Glazier  and  plumber 56    0  0 

Painter 31  17  6 


Mr.  Cosham's  tender  :— 
Excavator  and  bri^Hayer    , . . 
Mason  (Brown  anibons) 
Carpenter  and  joiner  ...        ... 

Slater  (Dobbs) 

Plasterer 

Plumber  and  glazier  (Bousfield) 

Sundries ... 

Painter  (Cubley)        


Mr.  W.  R.  Whate's  tender  :— 

Excavator  and  bricklayer    £62111  2 

Mason  (Brown  and  Sons)      .^.        ...  65    5  0 

Carpenter  and  joiner  (Hurst)          ...  440    0  0 

Slater  (DobbsJ  ...        75    6  0 

Plasterer 104  17  4 

Glazier  and  plumber  (Bousfield)    ...  61    3  0 

Painter  (Cubley)         31  17  6 


£1,840  17 

6 

£680    0 

0 

65    S 

0 

533    2 

() 

75    0 

0 

144    0 

(1 

61     3 

0 

18    7 

B 

31  17 

6 

£1,588  15 

e 

£1,429  12 

0 

1,419    0 

u 

£1,,400    0  0 
JMr.  C.  Lane's  tender  : — 

Excavator  and  bricklayer     £591  0  0 

Mason      61  0  0 

Carpenter  and  joiner 430  0  0 

Slater  (Dobbs) 75  6  0 

Plasterer  (Cosham) 120  0  0 

Glazier  and  plumber  (Bousfield)    ...  61  3  0 

Painter  (Cubley)         31  17  6 


(Accepted)    £1,370    6    6 


New  SnoHEHAM.— For  Baptist  chapel,  New  Shoreham. 
Susses.    Mr.  Arthur  Loader,  architect,  Brighton  :— 


Burstow,  S 

Stow,  T 

Newnham       

Burchell         

Curd,  C 

BrutoD,  J.  [accepted) 


£1,278 
1,250 
1,230 
1,210 
1,210 
1,200 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


'85 


THE  BUILDOa  NEWS. 


ZOXDOX,  FRIDAY,   JVIT  23,   ISSO. 


THE  NATIONAL  COIIPETITIOX  PEIZH 
DEAWIXGS  AT  SOUTH  KEXSIXG- 
TON. 

THE  competition  prize  drawings  now  on 
view  in  the  Galleries   next  the  Hori:i- 
cultural  Gardens   at  South   Kensington  are 
certainly  quite  up  to  the  average  of  the  last 
few  years.     Though  we  hear  that  the  num- 
ber of  works  has  considerably  exceeded  that 
of  recent    exhibitions,   the   prize   drawings 
and  models  have  been  arranged  with  more 
economy  within  the  two  galleries  which  they 
occupied  last  time,  and   they    are    not    so 
crowded.     Ve  have  stdl  fault  to  find  with 
the  want  of  classification  ;  the  designs,  such 
as    wall-papers,    those    for   textile   fabrics, 
decoration,  &c.,  are  mixed  up  rather  indis- 
criminately    with    drawings     from     casts, 
paintings,  &c.,   and  we   find,  as  we  did  on 
the  previous  occasions,  that  the  architectural 
designs  have  been  placed  in  two   or  three 
parts  of  the  room,    widely   separated  from 
one  another,  so  that  it  gives  those  who  are 
desirous   of  comparing   the   results  in   one 
class    some  trouble  to    find   the  drawings. 
We  notice,  for  instance,  the  designs  for  a 
church  have  been  scattered  in  two  or  three 
extreme  corners  of  the  room.     "We  may,  as 
usual,  begin  by   referring  to   these  works, 
and  we  are  glad  to  find  a  higher  degree  of 
merit  evinced,   and  not  quite  such  a  craving 
after  ornament  and  crowded  detail  that  we 
have  had  to  complain  of  on  previous  occa- 
sions.    A  design  for  a  Cathedral  Church  has 
enlisted  several  attempts.     Alfred  William- 
son,   Leeds,    receives  the   silver  medal   for 
a   set   of    elaborate    drawings,    showing    a 
Decorated    church,    with    western    towers, 
finished  ^\•ith  spires,  and  a  fleche  over  cross- 
ing.    The  gabled  niches  over  west  doorway, 
and  the  windows  of  the  towers,   are  a  trifle 
laboured  in   effect,  and  the  proportions  of 
towers  are  not  very  happy  ;  but  the  detail 
is  good,  despite  the  rather  scratchy  di-a wing. 
The    brown    tints    in    belfry  windows  and 
doors  rather  spoil  the   effect.     Mr.  Gilbert 
S.  Doughty,  Nottingham,  who  also  receives 
a  sUver    medal,    shows   a  bolder  drawing. 
The  church   is    cruciform,    with   a   central 
spire  of  two  stages,  but  we  hardly  like  the 
manner  in  whicn  the  octagon  stage  springs 
from  the  square.    Western  towers  are  shown 
also  ;  the  style  is  Middle  Pointed,   and  the 
tracery  well  di'awn ;  the  effect  of   the  east 
end  is  somewhat  jumbled.  Better  than  either 
of  the  above  is  A.  Marshall's  "  Study  for  a 
Church,"  ia  the  Italian  Renaissance  style 
though   we  do  not  see  any  prize  has  been 
g^ven   to   it.     It   shows   a  long  plan,  with 
circular   apse,    including    nave   and   aisles 
with  a   central   dome  over  crossing',   and  a 
detached  campanile  at  the  west  end.     The 
latter,  and  the  general  treatment  and  detail 
are  meritorious,  and  the  flank  elevation  and 
perspective  view  in  ink  are  cleverly  drawn 
if  we  except  a  rather  confused  effect  in  the 
shading  of  the   latter.     The  baptistry  and 
treatment   of    aisle    are   pleasing    features 
The     silver     medal     is     awarded     to     F 
Bro'wn,    of    Westminster    Royal    Architec 
tural  Museum,  for  his  design  for  a  country 
house   in    a  Jacobean   style.     The   work   is 
quietly    conceived,    and    the    features    are 
feelingly  rendered  with  characteristic  detail. 
The  treatment  is  brick  and  parget.     A  Late 
Gothic  design  for  the  same  subject,  by  A. 
W.    Cross,    Hastings'  and  St.  Leonard's,  is 
also  a  creditable   drawing,  and   worthy  the 
book-prize.      Arthur    W.    BrewiU,    Notts, 
receives  a  bronze  medal  for  a  design  for  a 


free  library  and  museum,  Gothic  ;  the  tower 
is  the  best  feature,  but  the  hatched  shading 
to  the  buttresses  is  not  done  in  the  proper 
manner.  J.  Diplock's  (Brighton)  design  for 
a  similar  building  in  Gothic  is  creditable  in 
detail,  though  the  central  tower  looks  a 
little  high-shouldered. 

We  must  speak  in  praise  of  a  few  drawings 
from  measurements.  S.  Llewellyn  takes 
the  silver  medal  for  the  di-awing  of  a  villa, 
very  neatlj'  drawn,  coloured  and  shaded, 
and  A.  Whitehead  receives  bronze  medal  for 
the  same.  Designs  for  art  and  science 
schools,  by  G.  Wood  (bronze  medal),  has 
character,  but  the  draii\-ing  is  heavy  in 
tinting.  A  bronze  medal  is  fairly  won,  also, 
by  Alex.  Greeble,  Dundee,  for  his  nicely 
shaded  elevation  of  Ionic  entrance  to 
Custom-house.  A  very  interesting  drawing 
from  measurement,  by  J.  H.  Brierley, 
HaUfax.  is  shown  of  an  old  carved  oak  fire- 
place of  the  16th  century,  from  the  "  Old 
Cock  Hotel,"  in  which  occurs  some  very 
quaint  and  grotesque  carving  in  panel  over 


note  a  few  other  drawings.  M.  Haye's 
bronze  medal  design  for  dining-room  deco- 
ration is  heavily  colom-ed,  and  the  detail 
rather  coarse.  J.  Castle,  Manchester,  obtains 
a  book-prize  for  a  nice  design  for  paper  ;  the 
gray-tinted  gromid  is  pleasingly  relieved  by 
bro%\ni  loaves  in  tufts  and  piiikish  fiowers, 
and  a  free  natural  rendering  has  been 
adopted.  The  Elizabethan  fireplace,  by  J. 
Morgan, Lancaster,  suffers  from  overcrowded 
detail ;  and  the  best  design  for  furniture  is 
that  by  W.  Lock,  of  Belfast,  whose  reward  (a 
book-prize)  is  surely  an  unworthy  recom- 
pense for  the  well-proportioned  and  exqui- 
sitely-treated sideboard  he  exhibits.  The 
composition,  and  its  division  into  three  pedi- 
ments, the  good  outline,  and  the  refined 
taste  shown  in  the  detail,  well  deserved  a 
sUver  medal ;  the  drawing,  on  grey  paper, 
toned  with  brown,  is  also  excellent.  The 
same  prize  is  awarded  to  J.  Henderson, 
Dundee,  for  a  chimney-piece  and  firegrate, 
neatly  drawn  in  sepia.  In  metalwork  jus- 
tice also  seems  to  have  miscarried  grossly. 


themantel.  J.  Walsh'sdra'^'ing  of  it  is  rather  '  How  a  silver  medal  could  have  been  given  to 
the  clearest.  A  book-prize  is  won  by  some  j  the  cup  design  (A.  Hall,  Cirencester)  wo 
neatly-drawn  details  of  Chapter-house,  St.  |  are  puzzled ;  fhe  iigures  are  caricatures,  and 
Mary's  Abbey,  Fumess,  by  Perkin ;  and  W.  i  the  design  equally  bad.  S.  Thorpe's  striking 
Stevenson,  Edinburgh,  receives  a  bronze  ,  and  vigorous  design  for  fire-dogs  is  infirutely 
medal  for  an  interesting  study  of  Celtic  \  more  deserving,  though  it  only  receives  a 
ornament  in  pencd.  In  decorative  designs  j  bronze  medal.  A  silver  medal  is  won  by  H. 
there  are  several  very  creditable  works,  j  Tidmarsh,  a  well-known  artist  in  plate,  for 
though  the  prizes  have  not  in  all  cases  fallen  I  his  Republican  shield,  in  which  the 
to  those  most  deserving  of  distinction.  A  j  figures  are  ably  drawn,  and  are  dis- 
gold  medal  is  given  to  John  W.  Bradbum,  posed  in  six  medallions  round  a  centre, 
Coalbrookdale,  for  a  design  for  a  plaster  I  with  the  motto.  Mr,  G.  W.  Ehead's  design 
ceiling  for  a  synagogue.  Ihe  panels  are  is  also  meritorious,  and  worthy  of  distinction, 
well  arranged,  but  the  ornament  in  the  mar- j  J.  Benson  obtains  a  bronze  medal  for  a 
ginal   spaces  is  more  naturalistic  than   wo ,  clever     tankard,    and    a    chastely-designed 


like ;  the  author  has  profusely  introduced 
the  vine,  and  we  much  prefer  the  conven- 
tioaal  ornamentation  in  the  centre  panel. 
The  emblematic  panels  surrounding  the 
ceding  are  the  chief  features,  and  the  whole 
is  beautifully  draT\ii  in  light  ink,  shaded  in 
part.  Another  gold  medal  is  awarded  to  F. 
Gibbons,  Cirencester,  for  a  tesselated  pave- 
ment, in  which  a  good  arrangement  of 
panels  in  a  Greco-Roman  style,  and  a 
harmony  of  low  -  toned  colours  re- 
lieved by  white  in  the  ground  ap- 
appears ;  the  tesserae  are  shown.  Another 
design,  by  W.  B.  Pratt  (Cii-encester),  ex- 
hibits signs  of  the  Zodiac,  but  the  arrange- 
ment lacks  composition.  J.  Procter,  Burslem, 
receives  a  bronze  medal  for  wall  decoration  ; 
the  open  arch,  with  figures  in  blue,  shaded 
in  perspective,  is  not  a  rarional  treatment  of 
a  flat  surface  ;  but  we  have  more  fault  to 
find  with  the  design  for  ball-room  decora- 
tion, which  obtains  the  silver  medal  (A. 
Hall,  Cirencester),  notwithstanding  it  was 
awarded  the  first  prize  by  the  Plasterers' 
Company.  The  arabesques,  springing  from 
a  vase-like  composition  between  the  pilas- 
ters, the  figures  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  the 
ornament  in  dado  and  frieze,  are  very  coarse 
and  tawdry  ;  there  is  a  want  of  scale  in  the 
parts,  and  of  soHdity  in  the  dado.  The 
drawing  is  neatly  shaded  in  sepia.  The 
second  Plasterers'  prize  is  given  to  a  design 
much  more  refined,  and,  we  may  add,  de- 
serving of  distinction.  Ironwork,  as  usual, 
is  largely  competed  for.  The  silver  medal 
goes  to  W.  G.  Thomas,  of  the  Architec- 
tural Museum,  Westminster,  for  a  design 
for  wrought-iron  gates  in  a  good  Classical 
style ;  the  compartments  are  divided  into 
panels  by  pilasters,  and  some  of  the  orna- 
mental detail  is  clever  ;  but  we  like  quite  as 
well  the  bronze  medal  design  by  F.  Fidler, 
Sheflield,  where  the  scrollwork  has  been 
spiritedly  dra-vvn  in  good  taste,  and  the  piers 
are  well  designed.  W.  H.  Sherbm-ne, 
Rotherham,  wins  a  bronze  medal  for  park 
gates,  which  are  spoilt  by  the  heavy  outlijie 
and  overcrowded  ornament  ;  the  book-prize 
is  bestowed  on  the  same  student  for  some 
spirited  sketches  of  old  ironwork  at  Kiveston 
Hall,  York  Minster,  and  the  Temple  Gar- 
dens.    In  decoration  and  furniture  we  must 


loving-cup,  by  Smith,  Coalbrookdale,  a  silver 
medal.  A.  Winterbottom's  (fchefiBeld) 
spirited  and  elegant  design  for  fruit-dish, 
with  engraved  glass,  is  certainly  worthy  of  a 
higher  prize  than  has  been  given  to  it  ;  it  is 
tastefully  drawn  and  tinted.  We  must  not 
omit  to  add  that  the  gold  medal  has  boon 
won  by  W.  Kitson,  Architectural  Museum, 
Westminster,  for  a  clever-modelled  design. 

Lace  design  is,  perhaps,  not  quite  so  well 
represented  as  it  was  last  year.  A  gold 
medal  is  won  by  Mary  Joyce,  Dover,  for  a 
pdlow-lace  handkerchief,  collar  and  cuffs  ; 
the  design  is  a  natural  rendering  of  flowers 
and  leaves,  and  is  appropriately  treated.  Z. 
Inman,  Birkenhead,  takts  a  silver  medal 
for  a  conventionabsed  treatment  of  lace 
kandkerchief,  of  decided  merit,  but  we  do 
not  notice  any  work  from  Nottingham  this 
time.  We  can  only  bestow  a  glance  on  two 
or  three  of  the  prize  drawings  in  oil ;  one  is 
distinguished  by  a  gold  medal,  the  work  of 
\>\  P.  Watson,  consisting  of  an  old  chair 
with  tankard  and  drapery,  the  composition, 
colouring,  and  grouping  being  meritorious, 
and  the  handling  vigorous  ;  and  another,  a 
similar  group  by  D.  Anderson,  receives  a 
silver  medal,  the  same  distinction  being 
bestowed  on  the  oil-study  by  J.  Clark.  A 
sQver  medal  is  also  given  to  an  od  bust  from 
the  antique,  a  very  vigorous  study,  by  T.  Ali- 
son, Edinburgh.  In  the  chalk  studies  we 
find  many  striking  drawmgs,  evincing  a 
hit'h  degree  of  merit.  Edinburgh  and 
Bri'^hton  distinguish  themselves,  the  gold 
medal  being  won  by  Geo.  Bathgate,  Edm- 
burfh  for  a  drawing  of  the  Laocoon,  and  by 
Miss  Amy  Scott,  Brighton,  for  a  drawing  of 
fio-ure  from  ,the  antique.  Binmngham  also 
tifkes  a  silver  medal  for  a  dra^-ing  of  figure 
from  life,  by  J.  C.  Carr;  and  Arthirr  McCor- 
mick,  Belfast,  wins  the  same  prize  for  a  head 
from  the  antique.  Of  the  London  Schools— 
Bloomsbury  and  Lambeth  are  conspicuous ; 
F  Marshall,  of  the  former,  takes  a  sUvcr 
medid,  so  also  does  Constance  Brooker,  of 
the  latter  place.  C.  Stephenson,  Bradford 
of  the  Grammar  School,  and  G.  H.  EUiott, 
of  the  same  town,  receive  gold  medals  for 
o-roups  of  water-colours.  In  the  second 
gallery  there  are  some  verj-  creditable  works  ; 
we  notice,  for  instance,  a  few  oil  studies  in 


86 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


monochrome,  from  the  cast,  by  students  of 
the  Xational  ^\j-t-Traininf;  School,  iiarticu- 
larly  the  panels  of  surface  ornament,  by 
Elton  Edgar,  W.  F.  ^\^^ito,  Whitehead, 
Llewellyn,  &c.,  and  a  well-painted  lion's 
head  cornice,  by  Line.  Ihe  design  for 
chuich,  by  Hubert  G.  Smith,  shows  a  well- 
proportioned  tower  and  sjiire,  and  neat 
drawing  of  detail;  another  design,  by  W. 
Walker,  Hull,  has  a  book  prize  for  a  cruci- 
form church,  showing  a  central  spire,  and 
good  Early-English  detail  freely  drawn  ; 
and  a  third  is  signed  "Coulson."  Why 
were  not  these  drawings  placed  on  the  same 
screen  with  the  prize  designs  ?  The  design 
for  country  house  signed  "  Strong  "  shows 
some  careful  drawings.  The  drawings  of 
ironwork,  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Medifeval 
ornament  consigned  to  this  gallery  are 
evidence  of  the  progress  of  our  Art  schools. 
In  the  Provinces,  Bra'lford,  Cirencester, 
Brighton,  Edinburgh,  and  Coalbrookdale, 
stand  prominent. 


GAS  AND  GAS-WOEKS.* 
rpHE  construction  of  gas-works  has  within 
-1-  recent  years  become  a  special  branch 
of  engineering,  and  has  assumed  the  import- 
ance of  a  distinct  art,  so  that  there  is 
scarcely  needed  an  apjloofy  for  a  new  work 
on  the  subject.  Messrs.  Crosby  Lockwood 
and  Co.  have  just  brought  out  a  new  edition 
of  the  treatise  originally  written  by  the  late 
Mr.  Samuel  Hughes,  t'.E  ,  which  has  been 
rewritten  and  much  enlarged  by  Mr.  William 
Eichards,  C.E.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
say  that  a  few  years  have  made  considerable 
changes  in  the  production  and  development 
of  gas  as  an  important  agent  in  heating  and 
producing  motive-power,  as  well  as  in  that 
of  illumination  ;  and  that  Mr.  Eichards' 
treatise  is  almost  a  completely  new  work, 
inasmuch  as  its  editor  had  to  rewrite  a 
large  portion  of  the  original  treatise. 
From  a  g:lance  at  the  contents  of  the 
new  treatise,  we  find  the  author  has 
embodied  many  of  the  more  valuable 
results  of  experience,  and  the  work  may  be 
usefully  consulted  as  an  elementary  hand- 
book on  Iho  construction  of  gas-works.  After 
an  historical  sketjh  of  gas-lighting,  the 
chemistry  of  the  subject  is  entered  into  with 
some  fxdness ;  these  chapters  we  may  pass 
over  to  consider  the  more  practical  portions 
of  the  book,  and  their  bearing  upon  the  con 
struction  of  works.  It  is  somewhat  remark 
able,  by  the  way,  that  it  was  not  till  1774 
that  the  real  properties  of  gas  were  known. 
Before  that  time,  we  find  "inflammable 
air  "  spoken  of  as  gas,  and  though  explosions 
often  occurred  in  coal  mines,  no  scientific 
knowledge  of  the  subject  existed  tOl  the 
discoveries  of  Black,  Priestley,  Scheele, 
Eutherford,  and  others,  revealed  the  secrets 
of  the  chemistry  of  gas.  Soon  afterwards, 
William  Murdoch,  in  1792,  seems  to  have 
lighted  his  own  house  and  offices  at  Eedruth 
with  gas  made  in  iron  retorts,  and  conveyed 
through  tin,  iron,  and  copper  pipes.  Chajj- 
ter  v.,  on  "Carbonisation,"  is  a  practical 
introduction  to  gas-making.  The  value  of 
clay  and  brick  oven  iron  retorts  is  casually 
referred  to  ;  the  author  also  makes  some 
judicious  remarks  on  the  charges  for  retorts, 
their  liability  to  incrustation  ;  the  advantage 
of  White's  "automatic  valve"  and  other 
hints  on  the  construction  of  retorts,  &c. 
The  following  chapter  deals  with  the  choice 
of  site  for  gas- works  and  the  general  plan  of 
works.  Of  course  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant points  is  the  means  for  the  transport  of 
coal :  the  works  should  be  within  convenient 
distance  of  a  railway  or  rirer-side,  though, 
as  Mr.  Eichards  says,  it  is  not  merely  eco- 
nomy of  transport  which  has  to  be  considered 
but  in  everything  connected  ivith  gas.     He 

•  The  Construction  of  Gas-works,  &c.  By  Simcei, 
Hbghes,  C.E.  6th  Edition.  Rewritten  and  enlarged 
by  William  Eichaeds,  C.E.  London :  Qosby Lockwood 
and  Co.  .  ■; 


shows,    for   esarajile,  that  with  all  the  re- 
sources and  api>liances  of  the  Beckton  Gas- 
works,   the    largest   establishment    in    the 
world,  "  it  is  not  placed  in  a  more  favourable 
position   than   many   of  the   medium-sized 
establishments,  for  the  simjile  reason  that  its 
very   magnitude  necessitates  extraordinary 
means  of  discharging  vessels  and  transports, 
and  it   may  be  observed  that  works  of  the 
smallest  description  are  capable  of  producing 
the  same  quantity  of  gas  from  a  ton  of  any 
given  coal  as  the  largest,  provided  they  em- 
ploy the  same  -s-igilance  and  heats,  with  the 
same  description  of  retorts,  and  in  a  few  cases 
medium-sized    works,    by   reason   of   theii- 
limited  capital  for  a  given  quantity  of  gas 
produced,  are  placed  in  even  more  favourable 
conditions  than  the  large  works  in  question.' ' 
The  preliminary  observations  on  the  nature  of 
the  ground  for  a  site,  as  regards  foundations 
for  the  gas-holders,  should  be  kept  in  view. 
In  favourable  soils,  as  clay,  earth,  or  gravel, 
brick,  stone,  or  concrete-made  tanks  for  the 
gas-holders  are   the  best,  but   in  damp  or 
bad  soils  an  iron  tank  is  necessary.   Another 
leading  consideration  in  planning  gas-works 
is   to  provide    for    future   extension.      The 
retort-house  especially  should  be  capable  of 
being  doubled,   and  the  gas-holders  multi- 
plied.    Not  less  necessary  is  the  desirability 
of  placing  the  entrance  nearest  the  locality 
to  be  supplied,   with   managers'   and  fore- 
men's dwellings,  and  all  store-rooms,  offices, 
weighing-bridge,  &.C.,  in  convenient  proxi- 
mity ;  whUe  a  further  caution  to  avoid  ex- 
pense of  transport   is  that  the  coal-stores, 
coke- spreading   floor,    and    shed    for   coke 
should  adjoin  the  retort-house.    The  purify- 
ing-house, tar-tank,  lime,  &c.,  are  best  in  a 
separate  part   of    the   site,  where   they  are 
least  offensive.     The  jiractical  value  of  this 
part  of  the  treatise  is  enhanced  by  a  jjlan  of 
gas-works  for  a  town  of  10,000  inhabitants, 
designed  by  Mr.  V.  Wyatt,  engineer  of  the 
Gaslight  and  Coal  Company,  which  forms  a 
good  frontispiece  to  the  work.     The  plan  is 
drawn  to  a  scale,  and  the  dimensions  of  the 
different   parts   are   figured.      The   plot   of 
ground  shown  is  300ft.  by  290ft.  There  is  one 
entrance ;   on   the  right-hand  corner  is  the 
manager's  house  and  offices,  on  the  left  side 
of  groimd  a  space  is  cut  off  for  two  tanks  with 
gas-holders  70ft.  by  20ft.  deep.     Along  the 
side  opposite    the  entrance   is    a  range   of 
buildings,    including    the   pmifying-house, 
40ft.  by  30ft.,  lime-shed,  boiler  and  engine- 
house,   while    the   coals   and    retort-house, 
60ft.   by  50ft.,    with  the  chimney,    occupy 
the   centre  of    the   area   of   the  coke-yard, 
allowing     of     space     for    extension.      The 
elevations  of  the   buildings  are  designed  in 
a  suitable  style,   and  form  pleasing  rather 
than  unsightly  structures.     Indeed,  we  may 
observe  that  uusightliness  springs  as  often 
from  a  wasteful  use  of  material  as  from  any 
other  Gause ;  these  buildings   are    made   to 
partake  of  shapes  iU-suited  to  the   require- 
ments.    The    author,    speaking    of   capital 
required  says  :  for  modern  works  from  £o00 
to  £800  per  million  feet  per  annum  is  about 
sufficient,    or  from   25s.    to  35s.   per  head. 
Detailed  information  will  be   found  of    the 
different  buildings.     As  regards  the  dimen- 
sions of  retort-houses,  little  definite  is  given, 
as   so   much    depends    on   the    setting  and 
number    of   retorts.      They  are    now  often 
built  75ft.  wide  ;  the  largest  at  the  Beckton 
works  are  100ft.  in  width,  and.lSOft.  long. 
The  author   says:  "  In  small  works  the  re- 
tort-house is  usually  about  26ft.  wide,  which, 
allowing  12ft.  for  the  width   of  the   retort 
stack,  with  tho   space  usually  left  between 
it  and  the  wall,  together  with  the  mouth- 
pieces,   leaves    14ft.    clear    for     working." 
Between     the    ends     of    the     stack    and 
the    walls    there     should     bo     a      space 
to  prevent  bulging   of   the   walls  by  heat. 
Various  other  details  as  to  roofing,  walls, 
are  given  ;  but  these,  of  course,  vary,  and 
depend  on   requirements.     Iron   sheets  for 
covering  roofs  of  retort-houses  are,  however. 


found  not  to  last   long,   seldom   exceeding 
seven   years,    and   the   writer  recommends 
slates,  which  are  no  doubt  much  the  best. 
The   future    requirements    of    the    locality 
render  it  necessary  to  make  ample  provision 
for   enlargement    and   other   contingencies. 
Next  the  retort-house  it  is  necessary  to  have 
the  coal-store,  and  the  size  of  this  depends 
on  the  means  of  transport ;  if  near  a  river  or 
canal,  the  larger  it  is  the  better  it  wUI  serve 
during  the  probabilities  of  frost  or  delay  of 
vessel.     The  purifying-house  has  generally 
open  sides,  and  ample  means  of  ventUatiou 
to  carry  away  the  gases,  and  the  roof  should 
be  covered  with  tiles  or  slates,   as  iron   is 
quickly  corroded  by  the  action  of  the  sulphur 
from  the  waste.      The  author   gives   some 
practical  advice  on  the  buUding  of  chimnej-s 
or  stacks  ;  the  square  form  is  the  cheapest, 
and   a  detached   shaft  is   advisable,     'ihey 
are  generally  lined  with  firebrick  a  part  at 
least   of   the    height,    a    space    being    left 
between   for  a   current   of   air.     A   hint   is 
given   that   every    eighth   or    tenth   course 
should  be  tied  with  hoop-iron   to  prevent 
cracking.       A      few     useful     figures     are 
furnished.  On  favourable  ground  the  price  of 
a  square  chimney  35ft.  high,  with  an  internal 
area  of  4  square  feet,  will  not  exceed  £35.  A 
circidar  or  octagonal  shaft,  8ft.  internal  area 
and  60ft.  high,  wUl  cost  about  £85.  A  sfack 
of  similar  form  of  10ft.  area  and  lOOft.  high 
is  put  down  at  £180  to  £200.  If  no  nuisance 
is  likely  to  arise  a  chimney  of  45ft.  high  is 
considered  sufiicient.    Chapter  VII.  treats  on 
retort-settings,  the  evils  of  iron  retorts,  form 
of  furnaces ;  and  sections  of  retorts  are  given 
applicable  to  both  cast  iron  and  clay  retorts. 
The  hydravilic  main  and  valves  are  next  de- 
scribed in  detail,  and  the  two  lands  of  valves, 
the  h3'draulic  and  the  slide-valve,   are  ex- 
jjlained.  Thelatter  have  acquireda  fresh  inte- 
rest from  the  recent  explosion  in  Tottenham- 
court-road.     The  author  says:   "Hydraulic 
valves  are  now  only  used  in  gas-works,  and 
never  in  the  streets.     They  have  the  advan- 
tage of  not  being  liable  to  leakage  like  some 
slide-valves,  and  shut  oft'  the  gas  very  effec- 
tually, but  they  have  the  disadvantage  that 
an  accidental  access  of  pressure  renders  them 
useless."      Chapters    on    the    "exhauster," 
"condenser,"  the    "scrubber,"    "wet  and 
dry  lime   purifiers,"  and  other  methods  of 
purification  will  be  found  to  contain  all  recent 
processes.     Gasholders  have  a  separate  chap- 
ter devoted  to  them.  The  tanks  are  described 
in   detail,    the   thickness  of   the  brickwork 
is  given   for   difi'erent   sizes,  and  a  specifi- 
cation  for    a    gas-holder   tank    33ft.    dia- 
meter suitable  for  a  holder  32ft.   diameter 
and  12ft.  deep  is  furnished,  besides  specifica- 
tion  of    cast-iron    tanks.      Gas-holders  of 
single-lift   and   telescopic   construction   are 
fully   entered   into  ;    a    fuU  specification  is 
furnished   of    gas-works   of    different  sizes, 
from  which  the  student  will  obtain  a  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  details.     The  photometer 
and  methods  of  testing  gas,  the  governor, 
the  pressure   gauge,    and   other   appliances 
form  the  subjects  of  separate  chapters.    The 
distribution  of  gas,   the  mains,  and  services 
have  particidar  interest,  and  especially  have 
the  remarks   on   meters,    of    which  several 
kinds  are  described,  from  the  first  meter  of 
Clegg   to    the   dry   meters  of    Malam   and 
Eichards.     Passing  by  a  chapter  on  bmners 
and  glasses,  we  note  a  remark  on  gas-ex- 
plosions, which,   from  tho  recent  calamity, 
receives  additional  interest.     Que  paragraph 
is  written  in  remarkable  ignorance  of  what 
has   recently    happened.      We    may   quote 
anotbe.'   passage   bearing   upon   the  laying 
of    mains.      "  Accidents     have    frequently 
occurred  when   laying   mains,    often   occa- 
sioned by  a  bladder-valve  which  has  per- 
mitted a  small  portion  of  gas  to  pass  into 
the  main  beyond  it,   whore  the   explosive 
compound  was  formed,  and  by  the  merest 
hazard,  a  neighbouring  light  has  produced 
the   calamity ;  therefore,    in   laying  mains, 
when  practicable,  it   is    always    better   to 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


87 


have  a  slieet-iron  temporary  valve.  This  is 
done  by  placing  a  thin  sheet  of  iron  between 
the  spigots  of  two  pipes  at  the  pomt  where 
the  stoppage  is  required,  which  may  be 
clayed  or  cemented  romid  to  prevent  leak- 
age of  gas."  Again,  lazy  workmen  prefer 
the  gouge  to  the  drill.  In  the  concluding  re- 
marks, the  author  reviews  some  of  the  recent 
improvements  that  have  taken  place  in  gas- 
manufacture,  the  evil  effects  of  the  "  dip 
pipe,"  the  means  adopted  for  purifying  gas, 
the  propulsion  of  gas  through  the  mains,  &c. 
A  good  index  at  the  end  renders  Mr.  Richards' 
new  edition  a  compendious  manual  of  gas- 
manufacture  as  it  now  is,  and  we  can  safely 
add  our  testimony  to  its  practical  value. 


INSTITUTE    OF     ART. 

LAST  Monday,  there  was  a  special  exhi- 
bition of  fine-art  work,  pictures,  &c., 
opened  at  the  galleries  of  the  Institute  of  Art, 
9,  Conduit-street,  under  the  management  of  a 
number  of  distinguished  ladies,  which  suffi- 
ciently indicates  the  growth  of  this  society. 
It  is  needless  for  us  to  add  to  our  previous 
testimony  of  the  good  the  Institute  is  doing 
in  encouraging  artistic  taste  among  ladies 
and  others  who  are  desirous  of  making  their 
works  known,  and  of  obtaining  a  ready 
sale  for  their  handiwork.  On  our  visit  at 
the  "  private  view,""  we  noticed  a  large  ac- 
cession of  fresh  work.  In  the  department 
of  needlework,  for  example,  we  may  mention 
a  few  curtains,  valances,  quilts,  tablec'oths, 
furniture-covers  of  excellent  design  and 
colour.  The  work  sent  by  Miss  E.  "U'emyss, 
designed  and  worked  at  her  Castle  Needle- 
work School,  display  the  two  qualities  of 
good  art  workmanship  in  a  special  degree. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  tablecloths  or  covers 
of  handwoven  linen,  one  worked  with  the 
design  of  a  conventionalised  thistle  in  crew- 
els ;  another  with  a  darned  yellow  ground, 
covered  with  a  rich  iloral  pattern  in  brown, 
from  an  old  design  ;  a  thii-d,  a  curtain  with  a 
beautiful  lily  border  in  shades  of  brown, 
with  green  leaves ;  a  piano  -  cover,  en- 
riched by  leaves  and  flowers  in  excellent 
colours.  A  very  striking  design  for  a  six- 
panel  screen,  by  Miss  Wemyss,  and  executed 
by  that  lady,  is  hung  on  the  wall ;  the  lines  of 
the  pattern  are  zig-zags,  filled  in  with  con- 
ventional foliage  in  deep  reds  and  browns, 
and  the  conception  is  deserving  of  praise  as  a 
■tdgorous  adaptation  of  needlework  for  such 
a  purpose.  We  must  also  call  attention  to 
a  handsomely-worked  sunflower  border,  on 
a  summer  rug,  on  a  dark  ground ;  a  curtain, 
with  handsome  fobage-border  embroidered 
on  a  rich  maroon  velvet,  by  Lidy  Haring- 
ton ;  some  beautiful  embroiderj-,  by  Lady 
Constance  Stanley ;  a  qiiilt,  by  Lady  Ade- 
laide Taylor,  and  particularly  to  a  chimney- 
piece  valance,  and  a  boldly-designed  border 
in  embroidery  on  golden  plush  velvet,  for 
fireplace  curtains,  by  the  Working  Ladies' 
Guild.  The  same  Guild  sends  some  large 
curtains,  of  satin  sheeting,  embroidered 
with  sxmflowers,  which  are  remarkable  for 
boldness  of  design  and  spirited  workmanship. 
Nor  must  we  pass  by  a  portiere  cur- 
tain, of  good  design ;  a  banner,  worked  on 
gold  satin  sheeting  by  Mrs.  J.  Elliott,  &c. 
In  lace-work,  the  old  Cardinal  point -lace 
flounce,  exhibited  by  Lady  Constance  Ken- 
nedy, and  the  specimen  of  old  Greek  point- 
lace— a  vigorous  design,  quite  in  the  Byzan- 
tine spirit,  representing  the  Siege  ofTroy — 
lent  by  Mrs.  Eman,  are  themselves  priceless 
remnants  in  this  class,  which  contains  also 
some  fine  specimens  of  Italian  and  English 
point -laces.  Painting  on  cloth  forms  another 
featui'C  of  the  exhibition,  of  which  we  can 
only  men'ion  a  painted  screen,  by  Lady 
Camilla  Fortescue,  in  which  arums  are  in- 
troduced in  a  naturalistic  manner.  Painted 
china  plates  are  numerous.  Miss  C.  L. 
Nichol's  study  of  chrysanthemums  on  a 
gre«n  ground  is  a  work  of  taste  and  feeling 


"We  also  notice  some  china-painting  by 
EUen  Hue,  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  which 
natural  flowers,  gorse,  and  violets  have  been 
verj'  prettily  introduced ;  some  terra-cotta 
painting,  and  a  fine  china  tea-service,  ex- 
hibited by  Lady  Dorothy  NevOl,  of  Oriental 
design.  Mr.  Gunoison's  model  of  a  dead 
dove,  in  leather,  is  an  extremely  interesting 
piece  of  work,  displaying  dexterous  manipu- 
lation in  the  feathers.  Another  of  the 
special  exhibits  is  a  tablet,  executed  by  Gen. 
L.  F.  Hamilton,  in  which  inlays,  in  the 
form  of  panels,  are  introduced,  with  devices 
taken  from  ancient  Greek  forms,  found 
in  the  Treasury  of  Atreus  and  Tomb  of 
Agamemnon  by  Dr.  Schliemann,  and 
man}-  small  disc  designs  are  introduced  in 
the  borders.  The  same  gentleman  exhibits 
some  marqueterie  copied  from  an  old  oak 
Florentine  cassone. 

In  the  gallerj'  set  apart  for  oils  and  water- 
colours,  w-e  see  several  clever  works.  Lord 
Hardinge's  "View  in  Normandy  "  is  a 
striking  oil  study  ;  Lord  ColviUe  also  sends 
a  bridge-scene  on  the  river  Oich.  Mr.  O. 
D.  ScuUard,  whose  marine  studies  we  spoke 
of  highly  in  the  last  exhibition,  exhibits  one 
or  two  masterly  pictures,  characterised  bj' 
the  skilful  management  of  high  lights  in 
the  clouds  and  water,  and  by  a  breadth  and 
impasto.treatment  of  pigment.  The  "Moon- 
lit Sea,"  by  Miss  Hortense  Wood,  surpasses 
even  her  former  work  in  the  rendering  of 
the  lights.  The  "Pastel  Head,"  by  liliss 
Corkham,  is  pleasing,  and  almost  emulates 
oil,  while  the  flower-subjects  are  as  nume- 
rous as  ever,  and  we  can  only  single  out  the 
grapes,  by  3Irs.  Lush  ;  "Irises,"  a  charm- 
ing study,  by  Mrs.  Stapleton;  "Roses,"  by 
Miss  E.  Bywater  ;  "Jonquils,"  by  Miss  G. 
F.  Jackson.  Of  other  subjects,  we  note 
"  Old  Houghton  Hall,"  and  the  "  E.  Clois- 
ter of  Westminster,"  by  Edith  Cane;  H. 
Medliscott's  "  Grand  Canal,  Venice,"  and 
Miss  Cane's  vigorous  study  of  Irish  scenery. 
Lady  Durrant,  Lady  Dunbar,  and  Miss 
Murray  are  also  represented  by  some 
creditable  productions. 


INDI'STEIAL  AND  FINE  ART  EXHI- 
BITION AT  BOW. 
\  N  exhibition  of  more  than  usual  merit 
-i^  has  been  opened  at  the  Bow  and  Brom- 
ley Institute,  a  building  erected  by  the 
North-London  Railway  Company,  and 
which,  besides  serving  the  pm'poses  of  an 
Institute,  also  forms  a  station  on  that  com- 
pany's line.  The  large  hall  of  the  Institute, 
with  its  fine  organ,  presents  an  unusually 
gay  appearance,  from  the  numerous  collection 
of  objects  of  fine  art  and  industry  brought 
together  ;  and  through  the  patronage  of  the 
Lord  Mayor  and  Sherifi's  of  London,  the 
Worshipful  the  Clothworkers"  and  Coopers' 
Companies,  and  other  distinguished  names, 
the  industrial  exhibits  have  been  enhanced 
by  the  acquisition  of  numerous  loans. 
Among  these  we  cannot  omit  to  mention 
the  display  of  painted  china,  stained  glass, 
and  decorative  objects  made  by  T.  Cox,  of 
49,  Southampton-row.  The  staircases  lead- 
ing to  the  hall  have  been  adorned  ^vith 
numerous  cartoons,  some  by  well-known 
artists,  for  stained-glass  windows  and  mural 
decoration,  while  the  hall  itself  is  bedecked 
with  real  painted  glass,  which  has  toned 
the  light  coming  through  the  windows,  and 
has  given  a  rich  and  variegated  effect  to 
the  interior.  The  same  artist  has  a  stall  filled 
with  many  artistically -painted  plaques 
and  vases,  a  special  feature  being  the  flowers 
painted  in  relief  upon  plaques,  and  upon 
terra-cotta,  the  dull  ground  of  the  latter 
increasuig  the  contrast  of  the  raised  and 
glazed  flowers.  The  roses  and  honeySackle 
are  particularly  striking  plaques :  and  the 
blue-painted  china  vases  handsome  and 
spirit:d.  Messrs.  Doulton  send  a  well- 
selected  stall    of  theii-   artiste  ware,  with 


some  beautiful  "impasto"  designs;  and 
Messrs.  Josiah  Wed<;wood  and  Sons,  of  St. 
Andrew's-circus,  Holborn,  some  unique 
specimens  of  Wedgwood  jasper  vases,  iu 
pale  blue,  black,  and  sage.  The  Japanese 
collection,  lent  by  Mr.  Wilborforce  Brj-ant, 
of  Surbiton-hill,  contains  some  choice  lacquer 
work,  and  old  Kaga  and  Satzuma  ware. 
But  to  proceed  to  the  industrial  exhibits  : 
the  Mechanical  class  contains  some  remark- 
able manifestations  of  ability  and  persever- 
ance, illustrating  dexterous  handwork  and 
the  power  of  the  artist  over  his  ma- 
terials. Among  models,  that  ever-prolific 
field  for  the  energy  of  ingenious  minds, 
there  are  several  of  singular  merit.  The 
York  Minster,  in  cardboard,  by  J.  Dickinson, 
of  Tredegar-square,  and  the  model  of  a 
countrj-  villa  in  the  Tudor  style,  by  F. 
Kempster,  an  architect's  assistant,  West 
Ham,  are  both  clever.  A  labourer  exhibits 
a  model  of  a  village  church  and  font,  a 
warehouseman  (W.  J.  Washbrook),  the 
London,  Chatham,  and  Dover  Railway 
bridge  at  Blackfriars,  and  a  doU-makcr 
exhibits  a  model  of  Bow  Church.  In  another 
class  we  find  a  working  engine  made  out  of 
vulcani'e,  by  W.  J.  lUcketts,  a  tortoiseshell- 
manufacturer,  of  the  locality.  In  models  of 
vessels  the  outrigger  racing-boats,  ex- 
hibited by  J.  F.  Porter,  "S'auxhall-bridgo- 
road,  and  the  steamship  model  of  steel,  made 
by  J.  E.  Powell,  of  Hit;hbury-park,  call  for 
particidar  notice.  Workers  in  this  class  will 
value  the  splendid  models  lent  by  the 
Thames  Ironworks  Company,  &c.  Mr.  H. 
T.  Grainger,  engineer.  New  Church -road, 
Camberwell,  exhibits  his  improvements  in 
tramways  by  a  series  of  models  we  have 
before  described  ;  a  compositor  shows  a  fog 
apparatus  for  railway  signalling,  and  miny 
useful  builders'  mode's  are  to  be  seen.  We 
must  direct  attention  to  a  very  clever  case 
of  inventions  shown  by  J.  Goater,  lock- 
smith. Ponder' s  End,  and  numbered  GO  in 
catalogue.  One  shows  a  wood  model  of 
safe  which  received  a  prize  at  Westminster, 
illustrating  a  new  method  of  resisting  open- 
ing ;  but  we  particularly  note  a  model  or  sec- 
tion for  building  ironclads,  "  from  stem  to 
stem,  and  from  keel  to  bulwark,"  without 
bolt,  rivet,  orscrew;  the  joints  are  stcamtight, 
and  the  same  method  is  recommended  for 
seawalls.  An  anchor-head,  or  double-clutch 
lock,  is  exhibited  also.  An  ingenious  mode  of 
increasing  the  leverage  in  railway  brakes  is 
shown  by  S.  Scourfield,  of  Mostyn-road,  E., 
whoalsoexhibitsotherthings ;  anda  cleverly- 
modelled  chronometer-escapement,  by  A.  G. 
Nelson,  is  shown. 

The  artistic  exhibits  are  even  more  numer- 
ous and  varied.  In  terra-cotta,  stone,  and 
china,  we  mark  several  works.  W.  Allan, 
of  Lambeth,  sends  a  good  design  for  ceiling 
decoration,  and  one  or  two  clever 
models  of  figures.  H.  Gunthorp,  carrer, 
Dulwich-road,  sends  a  clever  plaster  medal- 
lion and  figure  ;  G.  Dunn,  designer  to 
Messrs.  Stiff  and  Sons,  some  vases  and  bowls, 
and  n.  iHiggs  a  few  carvings  in  Caen  stone. 
The  specimens  of  stoneware  pottcrj-  ex- 
hibited bv  H.  HoUins,  a  potter,  at  Bromley, 
are  remarkable  instances  of  ingcnu  ty  ;  the 
smokers  friend,  one  of  the  exhibits,  com- 
bines, when  put  together,  a  tobacco-jar,  a 
spittoon  which  forms  a  pedestal,  also  a  barrel 
for  boer,  a  cup,  and  a  jar  for  spiUs,  and 
other  puzzles  in  stoneware  are  to  be  seen  ; 
an.thcr  collection  of  stoneware  contains  a 
variety  of  chemical  apparatus,  taps,  &".  A 
silver  dish  with  spirited  relievo  hgures,  by 
«iddleton.  an  embosser,  of  Islington,  has 
been  purchased  by  H.  Herkomcr.  A.R.A., 
one  of  the  adju<licat>rs.  \\e  rio;ice  also  a 
china  plaque  by  Miss  Price,  a  china_-paintcr, 
V,issiill-road,  S.W.  ;  some  dtssert-plates. 
hand-painted,  a  few  cleverly-painted  china 
plates  by  Mrs.  W.  Smith,  an  artist.  Crouch- 
hill  ;  chasing  in  coj.per,  and  specimens  of 
repousse  work  in  brass,  by  J.  Sparkes, 
Heme-hill.     Carving  in  wood  and  ivory. 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


fretwork,  and  other  kinds  of  ornamental 
work  form  a  large  section.  A  corn-mer- 
chant, a  type-ciitter,  a  French  polisher,  a 
hoot-maker,  a  hutchcr  have  turned  Iheir 
hands  to  these  branches  of  art ;  the  fret- 
work inkstand,  by  L.  Franks,  and  especially 
the  flower-stau  i  and  bedroom  suite  of  models 
by  J.  Sparrow,  demand  notice  for  good  out- 
line and  artistic  forms  of  ornament,  though 
we  find  several  crude  attempts  in  design  by 
other  exhibitors.  The  oil-paintuigs  are 
below  criticism,  the  best  being  by  a  chemist, 
entitled  "  Hengrove,  near  Margate,"  and 
"  Out  in  the  Cold,"  by  a  policeman,  Ko. 
1G3.  These  works  are  the  productions 
of  miscellaneous  workers,  labourers,  ware- 
housemen, railway-guards,  pawnbrokers' - 
assistants,  letter- sorters,  carmen,  &c.,  there- 
fore, we  cannot  expect  to  find  attention  to  the 
rules  of  persi)cctive,  as  in  No.  169.  The  few 
water-colour  drawings  ai'e  open  to  the  same 
remarks,  the  best  we  saw  being  the  "  Time 
Sketches,"  exhibited  by  Miss  West,  art 
student.  Poplar,  and  a  study  of  shells,  &c., 
by  the  same  artist,  Nos.  232,  233.  Crayon 
and  pencil  drawings  are  numerous,  and  the 
few  architectural  designs  are  interesting,  if 
only  as  furnishing  the  psychological  observer 
of  art  with  the  impulses  of  untrained  ideas  in 
that  direction.  Needlework  is  a  large  class. 
We  can  only  single  out  a  well-executed 
piece  of  tapostrj'  by  T.  Beaton  (333),  some 
patchwork  quilts,  crochet,  and  other  kinds 
of  needlework.  Berlin-wool  work  is  well 
shown  by  Mrs.  Harris  in  415,  and  wool 
flowers  and  pictures  are  more  abundant 
than  tasteful.  In  a  lower  and  smaller  room 
a  pleasing  collection  of  models  and  artistic 
■works,  by  youths  under  IS,  are  shown,  among 
them  a  working  model,  in  cardboard,  of  a 
locomotive  engine,  by  W.  A.  Clatworthy, 
an  engineer's  jiupil,  a  remarkable  specimen 
of  juvenile  workmanship  ;  a  slate  chimney- 
piece  ,  by  an  apprentice,  while  we  must  not 
overlook  a  two-wheel  hand-truck,  turned 
out  in  a  thoroughly  workmanlike  manner, 
by  a  boy  aged  only  15  yoars.  The  vases 
exhibited  by  W.  Dunn,  a  decorator  with 
Messrs.  Stiff  and  Sons,  a  lad  only  14,  are 
very  praiseworthy.  We  notice,  too,  a  plan 
and  elevation  of  Bushey  Chui'ch,  by  Emery, 
a  pupil-teacher ;  and  some  ink  sketches, 
pottery,  &c.,  hy  F.  Haite,  Xo.  458  ;  painted 
glass  by  an  ai>prentice,  447 ;  but  we  must 
cut  short  our  notes,  expressiug  a  hope  that 
the  exhibition  \^-ill  be  the  forerunner  of 
others  in  the  neighbourhood.  To  the  secre- 
tarj',  Mr.  Parr,  and  the  manager,  Mr. 
Boxall,  praise  is  due  for  the  arrangements. 


LECTUEES    ON    ART.* 

AVERY  readable  book  has  just  been 
published,  containing  the  lectures  on 
art  delivered  at  the  Royal  Academy,  by  the 
late  Henry  Weekes,  R.A.,  Professor  of 
Sculpture.  Written  in  an  easy  and  popular 
style,  the  lectures  are,  nevertheless,  marked 
by  sound  views  on  art,  and  by  well-rea- 
soned advice,  which  may  be  profitably 
accepted  and  applied  by  all  s'udents, 
whether  of  sculpture,  painting,  or  architec- 
ture. The  book  is  prefaced  by  a  memoir  of 
the  author's  life,  from  which  we  gather  that 
the  young  sculptor  was  articled  to  Behues, 
the  celebrated  portrait-sculptor,  that  after- 
wards, in  1823,  he  became  a  student  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  where  he  was  a  regular 
attendant  of  the  evening  life- school,  and 
obtained  the  silver  medal,  and  was  after- 
wards in  the  employment  of  Sir  Francis 
Chantrey  as  a  modeller,  in  which  capacity 
he  soon  attracted  the  notice  of  his  master. 
Launched  on  his  own  account,  commissions 
soon  poured  in  upon  him.  A  Royal  com- 
'"aP'^1    for    a    bust    of    Her    Majesty    the 


I-«cturcs  on  .\rt,  deliTered  at  the  Eoval  Academy, 
Wirt.'r!:''*  ^"v^-4-  Professor  of  Sculpture,  ic. 
BiluSe         "'"^  "•  ^'■^'"^rs  and  Son,  Lcicesfcr- 


Quecn,  to  be  presented  to  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  was  a  stroke  of  fortune, 
soon  after  which  other  patronage  fell  to 
his  share.  Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  in  proof 
of  his  esteem  for  his  young  assistant,  left 
the  young  artist  a  legacy,  and  a  request  to 
his  executors  that  Weekes  should  complete 
his  xmfinished  works.  Bj'  the  aid  of  this 
bequest  he  purchased  Chantrey's  studio,  and 
so  placed  himself  in  the  position  of  his 
master's  successor,  a  step  which  soon  secured 
for  him  extensive  patronage  as  a  sculptor. 

Dipping  into  the  eighteen  lectures,  we 
find  some  excellent  remarks  on  composition. 
Speaking  of  the  selection  of  a  subject,  he 
observes  that  one  that  harmonises  most  with 
the  student's  "  inward  feelings,  or  that 
appeals  most  strongly  to  the  nature  within 
him,"  is  to  be  preferred  ;  in  other  words,  he 
recommends  the  expression  of  indi\'iduality. 
As  if  to  qualify  this  opinion,  he  says  the 
subject  should  be  suitable  to  the  art  itself — 
suggestive,  not  wholly  an  imitative  one. 
The  thought  conveyed  must  suggest  other 
and  higher  thoughts.  Examining  the  sub- 
jects suitable,  Mr.  Weekes  does  not  im- 
plicitly advise  ancient  models,  though  he  care- 
fully guards  his  reader  against  making  sculp- 
ture imitative.  To  illustrate  his  meaning 
he  refers  to  Byi-on's  beautiful  lines  on  the 
"  Dj'ing  Gladiator,"  aud  places  great  de- 
pendence on  that  poet's  views.  In  fact,  he 
believes  Byron  had  the  sort  of  imaginative 
mind  that  could  appreciate  the  abstract 
beauty  of  sculpture.  Another  wholesome 
maxim  of  Weekes'  is  to  "  look  out  of  the 
profession  for  opinions."  We  entirely  go  with 
the  author  when  he  thinks  our  sympathy 
with  mythological  deities  is  to  a  large  extent 
lost,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  we  have  always 
held  the  desirability  of  not  fettering  the  stu- 
dent with  academic  models,  while  avoiding, 
on  the  other  hand,  imitation,  which  is  often 
degrading  in  its  tendency.  The  author 
shows  clearly  that  the  two  principles  are  not 
opposed.  Biblical  subjects  are  fitted  for 
sctdptirre,  as  they  are  suggestive ;  but  the 
hoiTor  associated  with  such  a  subject  as  the 
Murder  of  the  Innocents  is  pronounced  un- 
suitable, and  it  is  evident  from  every  Ime  of 
these  lectm-es  that  Weekes  was  one  of  those 
tender  -  hearted  men  who  instinctively 
shrunk  from  the  paiiiftil  aud  sad  in  human 
nature.  He  naturally  expresses  revolt  against 
the  personification  of  repidsive  incidents 
like  that  of  the  Starvation  of  Count  Ugolino 
and  his  family,  by  Michael  Angelo  and  Flax- 
man.  In  another  lecture /orm  and  line  are 
carefully  defined — form  as  representing  the 
buUi  of  the  whole,  line  as  meaning  the  general 
direction  of  that  form.  This  last  may  be 
horizontal,  as  in  repose ;  perpeudiculai-,  as 
in  life  ;  and  quietude,  or  slanting,  as  in  ac- 
tion, more  or  less  violent.  These  distinctive 
attributes  of  form  and  line  are  illustrated  in 
Egyptian  and  Greco-Eoman  sculptm-e,  the 
first  representing  repose,  the  latter,  as  in  the 
Fighting  Gladiator,  action  and  energetic 
movement.  One  piece  of  good  advice  is 
given,  to  the  effect  that  strong  action  is  ob- 
jectionable, and  ought  to  be  avoided  ;  it  is 
the  resort  of  inferior  artists.  In  groups 
there  is  obviously  less  objection  to  action, 
as  the  cause  becomes  more  apparent  than 
in  single  figures ;  an  illustration  of  this  is 
found  in  the  statues  of  the  Discobolos. 
Reference  is  made  to  the  ruling  lines  of 
architecture  in  determining  the  outline  of 
groups,  as  in  the  Niobe  and  children. 
Drapery  is  not  forgotten.  The  indica- 
tion of  the  lines  of  drapery  as  express- 
ing rather  than  concealing  the  action 
and  the  limbs  is  an  important  point 
often  disregarded  ;  aud  the  author 
instances  the  groups  in  the  British 
Museum,  as  Ceres  and  Proserpine  from  the 
Parthenon,  as  good  lessons  in  drapery.  A 
vei-y  useful  remark  is  made  touching  the 
limitation  of  the  sculptor's  means  in  sepa- 
rating or  subdividing  his  composition ;  he 
cannot  resort  to  colour  or  fixed  light  and 


shade,  like  the  painter,  but  must  show  the 
distinction  by  contrast  of  texture,  or  by 
opposition  in  the  lines  of  di-apery  or  the 
breadth  of  folds.  The  figures  in  the  metopes 
in  the  Parthenon  are  illustrations.  ' '  Beauty  " 
forms  the  subject  of  a  lecture.  Our  author 
disagrees  with  Flaxman's  view,  and  asso- 
ciates it  with  utUity ;  that  is,  the  beauty  of 
a  figure  depends  in  the  representation  of  all 
its  organs  in  a  state  most  suited  to  the  use 
they  are  intended  for.  Each  object  has  its 
pecidiar  beauty.  Though  not  stated  in  the 
most  philosophical  way,  the  idea  is  a  just 
one.  The  observations  on  Style  and  Man- 
nerism are  to  the  point ;  we  quite  agree 
with  Weekes  in  saying  there  is  a  more  than 
usual  amount  of  mannerism  passing  for  style 
just  now,  both  among  sculptors,  and  other 
artists  as  well ;  but  this  lecture,  as  many 
others  do,  suffers  from  the  almost  neces- 
sary verbosity  and  laxity  of  expression 
due  to  this  form  of  composition.  Mr. 
Weekes  also  judiciously  points  to  the  value 
of  Idealism  in  Sculpture,  and  to  the  ten- 
dency in  exhibitions,  in  deference  to  public 
taste,  to  pander  to  Realism.  The  former 
elevates  and  dignifies  the  work  of  the  artist, 
the  latter  lowers  and  degrades  it.  In 
sctilpture,  as  the  author  holds,  the  abstract 
in  Nature  should  be  the  essence,  but  in 
painting,  the  tendency  to  Realism  is  more 
excusable,  as  the  artist  deals  with  colour, 
light,  and  shade,  &c.,  means  which  do  not 
exist  in  sculiiture.  The  author  warns  his 
readers  against  the  temptation  of  colour  in 
sculpture,  especially  in  imi  ation  of  the 
flesh,  though  he  does  not  object  to  the 
introduction  of  slight  indications  of  it  to 
relieve  the  monotony  of  marble,-  as,  fo? 
example,  in  borders  to  draperies  to  increase 
emphasis.  The  necessity  and  advantage  of 
general  education  to  the  sculptor  is  made 
the  subject  of  a  lectirre,  and  Weekes  saw  the 
iujportance  of  making  the  sculptor  a  thinking 
man,  which  he  is  more  likely  to  become  by 
education.  Portraiture  forms  another  dis- 
course, after  which  we  find  two  thoughtful 
dissertations  on  the  discourses  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  which  are  justly  held  to  be  the 
"  classics  of  English  art  literature."  Though 
written  a  century  ago,  these  "  Discourses  " 
contain  a  practical  philosophy  in  art  which 
no  recent  treatises  have  surpassed.  Chantrej', 
Behnes,  and  Gibson  are  made  the  text  of  the 
13th  leoture,  and  our  author  considers  them 
the  leaders  of  their  art.  The  Early  History 
of  Sculpture  forms  the  subject  of  the  re- 
maining lectures.  The  work  is  illustrated 
by  eight  photographs  of  statues  by  the 
author,  beautifully  taken  from  negatives- 
in  the  possession  of  Messrs.  Negretti  and 
Zambra,  and  although  they  have  nothing  to- 
do  \vith  the  text,  they  add  much  to  the 
value  of  the  volume.  The  statue  of  John 
Hunter,  "  The  Mother's  Kiss,"  the  "  Bishop 
of  Madras,"  "  Cleopatra,"  and  "  Sardanapa- 
lus,"  are  all  works  displaying  the  purity  of 
conception  and  ideal  power  of  this  sculptor. 


A  RECENT  VISIT  TO  RUSSIA. 

THE  journey  from  St.  Petersburg  to- 
Moscow,  although  the  distance  is  oon- 
siderable  (j3S0  mUes),  is  quickly  and  com- 
fortably performed.  The  night  train  is  the 
one  most  adopted  by  travellers,  as  it  performs 
the  journey  in  fifteen  hours,  viz.,  from 
7  p.m.  to  10  a.m.  This  is  a  double  line  of 
rails,  and,  being  the  most  important  in  the 
empire,  it  is  constructed  in  a  most  durable 
manner.  The  ijrincipal  stations  are  one- 
story  erections,  and  of  considerable  size. 
These  are  circular-ended  in  plan,  and  the 
verandah  that  forms  the  covering  of  the 
platform  continues  round  the  building,  in 
which  case  it  forms  a  spacious  covering  for 
the  vehicles  having  business  at  the  station. 
These  buildings  are  of  brick,  and  to  protect 
them  against  the  frost  they  are  painted  red. 
The  same  system    obtains  with  the  abut- 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


89 


ments  of  the  railway  bridges,  some  of 
■which,  eveu  with  this  precaution,  are 
tenibly  dilapidated.  The  outlines  of  the 
country  have  undergone  no  change — stiU  the 
same  undulations,  and  the  same  cuttings 
of  diift,  sand,  and  boulders.  The  villages 
and  small  towns  are  more  strictly  Russian  ; 
the  houses,  invariably  of  round  logs  of  fir 
fixed  one  on  the  other,  and  crossed  at  the 
corners,  are  clustered  together,  and  their 
roofs,  covered  with  reeds,  are  steeper  in 
then-  pitch  than  ai'e  those  we  have  previously 
witnessed.  The  only  erections  of  note  are 
the  churches,  built  of  rubble  masonry  or 
brick,  and  plastered  on  the  face.  These  are 
coloured  red  or  stone- colour,  and  the  iron 
roofs  are  painted  green,  as  are  the  domes 
and  spires.  The  bells  are  exposed  in  the 
towers,  where  they  are  rung  by  ropes  fixed 
to  the  hammers  ;  the  system  of  ringing 
beUs  by  swinging  is  evidently  unknown. 
As  we  ajipi-oach  towns  of  importance,  large 
brick  works  are  noticeable ;  these,  with  their 
kilns,  are  all  covered  down  and  roofed-in 
with  wood  during  the  winter  season,  when 
the  piu-suit  of  brick-making  is  out  of  the 
question.  The  bricks  are  all  hand-made, 
and,  from  the  sandy  character  of  the 
clay  and  being  unsubjeoted  to  pressure, 
they  are  light  aud  friable  in  their 
character.  From  the  large  consumption  of 
bricks,  especially  in  Moscow,  where  other 
material  is  practically  unknown,  there  ap- 
pears to  be  a  fine  field  for  the  introduction 
■of  our  machinery  and  our  improved  modes 
of  burning,  for  the  bricks  wordd  stand  the 
severity  of  the  climate  far  better  if  made 
under  pressure  and  more  highly  burnt. 
Travelling,  as  we  are,  in  a  dii-ect  line  from 
St.  Petersburg  towards  Turkey-in-Em-ope, 
we  notice  a  great  change  in  the  vegetation. 
The  fir,  the  S23ruce,  and  birch  become  less 
frequent,  and  the  oak,  the  alder,  the  ash, 
and  the  lime  more  conspicuous.  Although 
we  are  travelling  towards  the  south  we  do 
not  notice  any  change  of  temperature  in  the 
winter  season.  This  is  o-\ving  to  the  fact 
of  Moscow  being  wholly  inland  and  away 
from  the  influenoe  of  the  western  ocean, 
which  reaches  the  to'wns  on  the  Baltic  shores 
and  over  to  St.  Petersburg.  Moscow  is 
thus  in  a  region  of  snow  and  ice,  where  the 
temperature,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  is 
below  freezing-point  during  the  greater  half 
of  the  year.  Duiing  the  prevalence  of  strong 
north  winds  the  temperature  falls  to  a  very  low 
point,  30deg.  of  frost  (Keaumur),  and  even 
more,  at  which  the  otherwise  busy  streets 
are  cleared,  for  it  is  not  safe  to  be  exposed 
to  such  an  atmosphere  ;  we  were  told  that 
sledgemen  and  market-women  in  the  streets 
insensibly  freeze  to  death,  birds  fall  dead  on 
the  wing,  and  that  water  thrown  up  in  the 
air  falls  to  the  ground  as  ice.  We  mention 
this,  for  it  was  such  a  temperature  that 
overtook  Napoleon  and  his  army  on  their 
retreat  from  Moscow  in  1812.  Oiii- first  im- 
pression of  Moscow,  as  we  glide  from  the 
station  to  the  hotel  over  the  brown  coating 
of  snow  that  lies  thick  in  the  roadways, 
is  of  narrow  crooked  streets,  and  groups  of 
two-story  houses  of  a  cheap  and  common 
type.  The  splendour  of  St.  Petersburg  has 
faded,  and  we  have  descended  to  the  or- 
dinary level  of  a  Continental  town,  where 
cleanliness  and  order  are  not  the  first  con- 
sideration. Our  inn  (Hotel  BQlo)  was  every- 
thing that  could  be  desired,  except  that  the 
apartments,  heated  by  hot  air  generated 
in  the  basement,  were  stifling  if  the  closing 
of  the  grating  was  not  resorted  to.  The  city, 
of  over  000,000  inhabitants,  is  curicus  in  its 
plan  ;  the  Kremlin,  which  is  another  word 
for  a  fort,  or  citadel,  is  the  oldest  portion. 
Round  this  the  town  has  grown  laj-er  after 
layer  ;  these  are  well  defined  by  streets,  as 
boulevards,  which  follow  the  lines  of  long- 
forgotten  fortification?. 

Bounding  the  whole  are  great  lines  of 
modern  defences,  broken  only  by  the  princi- 
pal entrances  of  the  city,   and  the  passage 


of  the  father  of  the  city  —  the  river 
"Moskva."  The  streets  on  the  one  hand 
radiate  from  the  Kremlin,  and,  on  the  other, 
they  follow  the  old  lines  of  defence,  from 
which  it  will  be  seen  they  are  difiicult  to 
master  by  a  stranger.  In  our  case,  the 
dread  of  being  lost  in  such  a  citj'  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  valuable  notes  we  hoped 
to  obtain  on  the  other,  forced  upon  us  the 
engagement  of  a  guide,  a  class  of  people  by 
no  means  common,  for,  be  it  understood 
that  English  travellers  are  rarely  seen  in 
this  far-famed  city. 

The  plan  of  the  city  we  have  said  is  that 
of  a  groat  cu'cle  with  the  Kremlin  in  the 
centre.  The  river  enters  at  the  south-west, 
and  leaves  at  the  south-east,  describing  in  its 
course  a  semicircle.  On  the  north  bank,  at 
the  apex  of  this  arc,  and  on  elevated  ground, 
stands  the  Kremlin  ;  this  is  triangular  in 
plan,  one  Hne,  which  we  may  call  the  base, 
being  towards  the  river.  The  land  sides  are 
enormous  walls  of  brick  skirted  by  dry 
ditches,  to  the  north-east  as  they  abut  upon 
the  bazaars  they  are  levelled  up  and  become 
the  great  "red  square,"  partially  used  for 
state  and  trade  purposes,  and  partially 
occupied  by  the  Cathedral  of  St.  BasU.  To 
the  north-west  they  are  planted  as  public 
walks ;  and  in  these  grounds  stood  the  recent 
Moscow  Exhibition,  some  portion  of  which, 
in  the  form  of  picturesque  wooden  buildings 
labelled  "  For  Sale,"  still  remain.  On  the 
south,  between  the  river  bank  and  the  walls 
of  the  citadel,  a  pleasant  road  is  formed,  and 
behind  the  walls,  which  are  studded  with 
strong  watch-towers,  the  storied  spires  of 
which  with  their  green  painted  tiles  are 
highly  picturesque,  rises  the  celebrated 
terrace,  on  the  liat  or  top  of  which  the 
buildings  of  the  Kremlin  are  placed,  and 
from  which,  looking  far  and  wide  over  the 
city  with  its  three  hundred  churches,  capped 
with  gilded  domes,  the  finest  city  view  in 
the  world  is  obtained.  It  is  not  our  inten- 
tion to  devote  much  space  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  city  as  separate  from  the 
Kremlin  or  old  heart  of  Russia,  as,  with  the 
exception  of  the  cathedi-al  above  alluded  to, 
it  is  all  the  creation  of  modern  times  ;  the 
whole  of  it  spreading  over  miles  and  miles  of 
gromid,  has  sprung  from  the  blackened 
heap  of  ruins  that  marked  the  national  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Russian  people  at  the  un- 
welcome visit  of  Napoleon  with  his  grand 
army  of  4.JO,000  men,  in  1S12.  The  fate  of 
the  Kremlin  did  not  follow  that  of  the  city ; 
its  preservation  to  this  day  is  due  to  the  ac- 
cident of  its  being  occupied  as  the  head- 
cjuarters  of  its  conqueror,  Napoleon,  who, 
with  fearful  misgivings  for  the  future,  was 
hedged  round  by  the  burning  city.  The  street- 
plan  of  the  city,  we  may  remark,  is  sugges- 
tive of  an  earlier  date  than  1812  ;  but  this  is 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  of  the  inhabitants 
being  left  to  themselves  in  rebuilding  after 
the  fire,  when  they  elected  to  follow  the 
lines  of  the  old  streets.  We  are  thus  in- 
debted to  these  Kremlin  walls,  the  line  of 
which  measures  about  one  and  a  half  miles, 
for  the  preservation  of  this  ancient  citadel, 
which  contains  within  its  bounds  the  old 
palaces  of  the  kings,  the  metropolitan,  and 
the  mausoleum  churches,  the  arsenal,  the 
courts  of  justice,  the  Treasury,  an  old 
monastery,  and  other  important  buildings. 

These  encircling  walls  were  erected  by 
John  III.  about  1490,  to  put  the  citadel  in  a 
state  of  better  defence,  consequent  upon  the 
introduction  of  ordnance,  the  former  walls 
of  stone  and  the  still  older  of  wood  giving 
way  to  the  progress  of  military  engineering. 
The  architect  of  these  works  is  said  to  have 
been  an  Italian ;  but  the  style  is  more 
Asiatic  than  any  peculiar  to  Italy.  The 
bricks,  of  which  they  are  entirely  constructed, 
are  lOin.  by  oin.  by  21in.,  the  modern  bricks 
being  half  an  inch  shorter,  and  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  thicker.  The  system  of  bond  is 
difficult  to  judge  of  ;  this,  no  doubt,  arises 
from  the  fact  of  subsequent  repairs,  but,  so 


far  as  wo  could  judge,  the  principle  pursued 
was  a  course  of   headers,    upon  which  was 
placed    a    course     composed     of    alternate 
headers  and  stretchers,   and  again  a  course 
of  headers.     Taking  the  south  or  river  lino 
of  the  wall,  we  have  two  angidar  towers  cir- 
cular  in   plan,   and  of  considerable  height, 
capped   with   minarets   or   .spires.      In   tho 
stretch  of   waU  five  other  bastions  occur  ; 
these  are  square  in  plan,  and  roofed  in  at  a 
high   or   steep   pitch,   tho   line  of   which  Ls 
broken  by  upper  stages  pierced  with  open- 
ings, which  render  them  watch-towers  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  term.     The  roof-covering 
in  this  case  is  small  red  tiles  painted  t'reon 
on  the  face  ;  these,  owing  to  their  old  and 
dilajjidated    state,    are    charming  iii    their 
effect.     Turning   the    angle,   and  pursuing 
the  line  of  the  north-western  wall,  wo  are  in 
tho  pleasant  giounds  of  tho  old  dry  moat 
or  ditch,    which    is    crossed    by    a   bridge 
leading  to  the  entrance  in  that  face.   This  is 
flanked  by  large  circular  bastions,  the  brick- 
work of  which,  as  is  the  case  throughout,  is 
coloured  in  imitation  of  stone.     Over  the 
arch   is   the   ever-present    shrine   with    its 
attendant  lamp,  ujjon  which  the  eyes  of  the 
faithful   are  ever    fixed.     Tho  walls,  after 
Ijassing  the  gateway,  are  of  enormous  height 
and  strength,   and,   from  what  we  saw  in 
similar   walls   at  the  city  of  Smolensk,  wo 
should  judge  them   to   be   20ft.   in  thick- 
ness,     as     they    support     an     enormous 
weight    of    eaith     that     forms    tho     hgh 
level    or    great    terrace    of    the    Kremlin. 
above  these   rise  in  picturesque  order  the 
stately  buildings  of  the  treasury,  tho  arsenal, 
and  the   old  palace,  which  gives  us  the  im- 
Ijression  that  this  side  of  the  great  citadel  is 
impregnable.     Turning  the  northern  angle, 
which  is  marked  by  a  great  circidar  tower, 
we  fall  in  with  the  most  interesting  side  of 
the  structure.     This  is  defended  by  a  great 
curtain   wall,  in  the  enc'osiu'e  of  which  is 
the    trading    part    of   the   city,    viz.,    the 
great   bazaars    and   stores,    vrith   all    their 
addenda      of     exchanges,      churches,     and 
other    institutions.     This,    a    much    larger 
iuclosure  than  the  Kremlin  itself,  is  known 
as  the  "  Chinese  City."     We  are  told  that 
these  Chinese  cities  are  attached  to  several 
Russian  towns,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
"  Chinese    bazaars"    are    to    the    city    of 
Calcutta.      They    are,    to    say    the    least, 
ancient  reflections  of  the  character  of  tho 
commodities   dealt   in    in   these    old  trad- 
ing    quarters.      Pursuing  the  line  of  the 
Kremlin  walls,  we  near  a  gate  of  somewhat 
modern   construction — a  gate  that  occupies 
the    site    of    one    partially    blown    up    by 
orders   of  Napoleon,   one   of   his   last   acts 
before  leaving  the  city.     In  the  centre  of 
this  north-eastern  face  stands  the  principal 
entrance,    called    the    "Holy"    or    "Re- 
deemer's" gate.     This  is  a  rectangular  con- 
struction, projecting-  from  the   face  of  tho 
wall,  above  which  rises  a  tower  and  spire  of 
tasteless   architecture.      This,   iu  its   lower 
part,  is  said  to  bo  the  work  of  Peter  Salarius, 
a  MUanose,  in  1401.  and  in  the  upper  part  of 
Christopher    Galloway,    an   English   clock- 
maker,  who  placed  a  clock  therein  m  1020. 
The   interior  of    the   tunnel-like   archway, 
that  pierces  this   structure,  is  rudely   d«:o- 
rated  with  conventional  ornament,  treated  in 
every  conceiv.able  colour  on  a  gi-ound  of  buff. 
This   fate  is   remarkable  for  the  shrine  or 
picture  placed  over  tho  archway,  a    picture 
that  is  held  to  be  endowed  with  the  power 
of  working  miracles,  and  one  before  which 
every  male  person,  year  in  and  year  out,  bo 
he  of  what  nationality  he  may.  uncovers  in 
reverence  to  the  same,  or  out  of  respect  to 
the  national  custom,  and  before  which  every 
female  makes  lowly  obedience.     It  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  sights  in  Russia  to  stand 
near  this  hoi  v  gate  of  the  Kremlin,  and  watch 
th"  multitude  of  busy  people  passuig  in  and 
about  this   portal,  no   solitao'    member  of 
which  fails  to  pay  the  time-honoured  tribute 
of  reverence  to  this  sainted  shrine.     Near 


90 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


this  gate  stand;;  the  truly  Russian  cathedral 
of  St.  Basil,  and  opposite  the  same  is  the 
place  of  public  execution.  We  are  reminded 
of  this  by  a  quaint-looking  pagoda  on  the 
Kremlin  walls,  in  which,'  it  is  said,  "Ivan 
the  Terrible  "  was  wont  to  sit  and  witness 
the  execution  of  his  subjects,  after  their 
being  condemned  to  death.  On  either  side  of 
this  celebrated  gateway,  as,  indeed,  is  the 
case  with  most  of  the  gatewaj-s  in  the  walls  of 
the  KremUn  and  the  Chinese  city,  are  native 
chapels,  in  which  the  old  custom  of  wor- 
shippers entering  and  making  their  burnt 
offerings  in  the  form  of  purchasing  and 
fixing  lighted  tapers  before  the  shrines  is 
actively  pursued. 

Of  the  general  architect  ureofthese  Kremlin 
walls,  which,  on  the  whole,  arc  very  quaint 
and  picturesque,  we  oflFer  the  remark,  that 
the  details  of  this  work  are  familiar  to  us  in 
the  designs  of  our  architects  ;  we  trace  them 
more  especially  in  battlements,  parapets, 
and  corbels,  a  case  in  point  being  the  water- 
tower  at  Grimsby,  which,  for  its  grace  of 
outline  and  its  charming  details,  is  justly 
admired  ;  but  which,  nevertheless,  is  bor- 
rowed from  the  Kremlin  walls,  or  some 
parallel  source. 

{To  be  conlinued.) 


HOUSEBUILDING  IN  SPAIN. 

SPAIN,  for  many  past  years  a  land  of  legends 
and  travellers'  marvels,  is  lo^ing,  nonr,  that 
artificial  aspect ;  and,  to  the  rest  of  the  civilised 
world,  is  appearing-  in  a  truer  light  of  history 
and  description.  The  readers  of  the  Bltldixc; 
News  have  already  at  hand  more  than  one  good 
accoimt  of  the  country  and  its  architectural 
adornments.  I  purpose  makiog,  therefore,  only 
a  few  notes ;  not  of  poetical  impressions,  but  of 
everyday  things,  of  ordinary  Spanish  house- 
buUdiDg  in  use  at  the  present  day.  Of  coui-se, 
some  of  these  methods  and  materials  are  already 
known  and  utilised  in  England  and  other 
countries,  but  they  are  not  common  enough,  I 
believe,  to  be  miinteresting. 

Eor  the  next  ten  years,  Spain  ought,  then,  to 
receive  dQigent  attention  from  English  painters 
and  students.  To  the  architect,  perhaps,  Spain 
cannot  offer  quite  so  much.  There  is  a  wealth 
of  antiquity,  and  picturesque  age.  But  pm-ity, 
and  the  first  principles  of  arohitectiu-al  art,  were 
almost  forgotten  here  when  Gothic  art  declined. 
The  Gothic  architecture  Mr.  Street  has  made 
tolerably  familiar  to  us,  and  Sir  Digby  Wyatt's 
book  gives  some  examples  of  the  Renaissance. 
There  is  in  Spain  an  abundance  of  misshapen 
abortioni,  with  so-called  Italian  detail  ;  and, 
here  and  there,  may  be  found  a  tomb  or  a  door- 
way of  a  delicacy  and  refinement  not  to  be  sur- 
passed. And  there  are  marvels  of  elaborate 
decoration  in  late  styles  ;  but  I  don't  think 
Spain  is  a  country  in  which  to  study  Renaissance 
architecture.  But,  in  the  north,  Gothic,  and  in 
in  the  south,  Mooresque,  architectural  remains 
are  many  and  instructive.  And,  comparativelv, 
they  are  fresh. 

1  have  written  all  this,  not  from  a  desire  to 
record  my  impressions,  but  with  an  earnest  wish 
to  attract  more  attention  to  the  richness  of  this 
new  field  for  study.  Spain  is  being  neglected  by 
EngU.^hmen  :  it  is  as  a  volume  imread.  I  hope 
my  fragment  of  protest  may  have  some  sbght 
iniluence  upon  the  flood  of  novelty-seekmg 
Britons,  who  are  crowding  to  hackneyed  resorts'^ 
and  neglecting  this  store  of  freshness. 

Now  to  my  more  immediate  subject.  This  is 
a  land  of  cheap  labour  and  materials,  and  antique 
methods  and  tools.  It  is  strange  to  see  such 
things  as  the  lathes  upon  which  men  tuni  their 
domestic  woodwork  (by  means  of  a  bow  and 
string  upon  the  article  itself)  being  used  in  the 
nineteenth  century  in  civilised  Europe.  But 
there  are  many  "  rough-and-ready  "  modes  of 
construction  and  ornament  which  are  worth 
notice,  and  might  be  remembered  with  advantage 
sometimes  in  out-of-the-way  piovinces,  even  in 
England.  The  varied  and  eiieotive  cornices,  for 
instance,  formed  of  brick,  in  combination  with 
the  hollow  roofing  tiles,  are  good  and  cheap,  and 
can  be  made  by  the  most  uneducated  bricklayer. 
ITie   taes   I   refer   to  are  the  abnost-universal 


with  roughly-tempered  clay  ;  the  workman  has 
a  light,  foiu--sided  frame,  about  12in.  by  lOin. 
narrower  at  one  end,  to  allow  for  the  diminishing 
of  the  finished  tile.  A  lump  of  clay  is  laid  upon 
the  table,  within  this  mould,  and  levelled  in  it 
with  a  straight-edge.  Then  the  soft  tile  is  lifted 
upon  a  curved  block,  and  an  assistant  carries  it 
away,  places  it  on  the  ground,  draws  out  the 
block  by  the  big  end,  and  leaves  the  tile  standing, 
archhke,  in  the  sun  to  dry  ;  then  it  is  burnt  in 
a  primitive  kiln.  The  curvatiu-e  of  these  tiles  is 
nearly  a  cjuadrant. 

Bricks,  which  are  generally  about  lOin.  by 
.5in.  by  lUn.,  are  scmetimes  made  in  moulds,  as 
are  the  tiles.  Now,  with  these  two  materials, 
and  liberally-used  mortar,  the  Spanish  cottage 
builder  crowns  his  wall  with  a  really  good 
cornice,  which  is  not  exactly  like  his  next  door 
neighbour's,  nor  yet  a  fantastic  attempt  at 
originality.  I  give  sketches  of  three  varieties  of 
these  cornices. 


:7;^, 


The  use  of  the  thin  brick,  too,  allows  of  better 
effect  m  strmgs  and  surface  relief  than  we  can 
obtam  with  plain  bricks  ;  and  I  must  add  mv 
testimony  m  favour  of  the  appear.ance  of  the 
thiek  mortar  joint,  stiU  prevalent  here  The 
rough  varied  surface  is  far  more  agreeable  than 
that  of  a  dead  flat  EngUsh  brick  wall.  Even  in 
large  monumental  buildings  it  has  not  the  cheap 
or  crude  efi-cct  which  is  probably  what  an 
Englishman  fears.  As  for  its  resistance  to 
weather,  the  winter  is,  in  some  parts  of  Spain 
more  severe,  and  nearly  as  humid  as  is  usual  in 
Jingland  ;  and  these  walls  seem  to  stand  it  well 
enough. 

In  modern  building  one  finds  the  walls  bein<r 
constructed  in  the  extremes  of  solidity  and 
flunsmess,  sometimes  in  masses  of  soUd  stone 
and  brickwork,  and  at  others  in  three  or  four  or 
more  superimposed  stories  of  brick  noggin "■  even 
for  party  and  external  waUs.  But  I  notice  that 
the  irammg  of  this  is  carefully  secured,  and  that 
every  post  is  fitted  with  short  pieces  by  w.av  of 
cap  and  base,  strengthening  the  port,  and  bed 
and  sill  at  the  same  time.  Some  of  these 
enolosures,    carrying    heavy    floors    and   roofs 


Floors  are  nearly  always  tiled,  even  upon  the 
upper  floors.  They  are  constructed  of  rough, 
sometimes  unsquared,  timbers  laid  about  3ft. 
Gin.  apart,  and  with  rough  arches  of  pieces  of 
brick  or  stone  between  them,  upon  this  a  thin 
levelhng  of  concrete,  and  then  the  tiles— plas- 
tered below  on  laths  as  usual.  This  is  a  floor  very 
suitable  for  cottages  in  rural  districts  ;  almost 
any  timber  can  be  used  with  very  little  prepara- 
tion or  skilled  laboiu'  ■ —  and  its  fire-resisting 
properties  are  very  considerable.  If  wrought  timber 
is  used  the  latlung  is  generally  omitted,  and  the 
undersides  of  arches  are  plastered  between  the 
joists.  I  like  this  ceiling  very  much;  sometimes 
a  few  lines  of  colour  decoration  make  quite  a 
feature  of  it. 

In  roofs,  too,  otherwise  useless  timber  is 
made  to  serve  by  rough  lathing  and  bedding  the 
tUes  (altogether  without  nails)  upon  an  ample 
quantity  of  mortar  ;  and  the  roof  is  so  firm  that 
when  necessary  people  walk  upon  the  tOes  with- 
out disturbing  them.  And,  of  course,  it  lasts 
for  generations. 

Joinery,  as  might  be  expected,  is  rather  rough ; 
but  it  is  solid  and  genuine,  and  eft'ective.  This 
last  _  very  much,  because  of  the  use  of  thick 
framing  in  small  panels,  with  a  very  simple 
moulding,  or  even  quite  square.  I  have  seen 
doors  and  shutters  simply  divided  up  into  square 
panels  of  from  Gin.  to  12ic.  side,  which  looked 
far  more  effective  than  many  modern  English 
overstrained  attempts  at  decorative  framing.  In 
more  complicated  work,  some  of  the  older  doors 
to  ehm-ches,  &c. ,  with  a  richness  rivalling  the 
more  ancient  Moorish  joinery,  are  very  fine 
models.  The  windows  to  houses  are  generally 
casements  differently  contrived  in  different  pro- 
vinces—generally heavy,  and  with  shutters  hung 
inside  upon  the  sash  itself.  Lifting  sashes  are 
unknown. 

The  frequent  use  of  glazed  and  painted  tiles 
for  dadoes  and  wall-linings  is  worthy  of  note, 
and  the  tiles  are  all  hand-painted  ;  sometimes  in 
a  manner  and  with  colours  not  to  be  despised. 
The  household  pottery  (nearly  related  to  these) 
is  beautiful.  As  the  town  water  supplies  are 
nearly  .all  street  fountains  and  natural  streams, 
the_  pitcher,  of  unglazed  red  earthenware,  in 
which  it  is  carried  and  stored,  is  an  everyday 
necessity.  The  forms  are  mostly  very  good, 
often  superb,  and  there  is  a  considerable  variety. 
But  already  one  sees  occasionally  a  vessel  of  tin, 
ugly  and  hot.  It  would  be  worth  while  making 
a  large  collection  of  these  beautiful  pitchers  and 
other  smaller  jugs  and  bowls,  before  they  are 
replaced  by  the  tin  water-cans  and  wretched 
crockery  of  civilisation. 

Although  Spanish  national  art  has  been  un- 
fortiinate,  and  has  not  figured  very  prominently, 
I  think  that  there  is  a  considerable  artistic  feel- 
ing in  the  race.  Among  the  degenerate  ill-led 
styles  of  decoration,  one  sees  often  evidence  of 
it  in  some  delicately  designed  bit  of  fresh-look- 
ing work.  And  there  is  a  scope  for  decorative 
art  which,  if  the  vagaries  of  the  Renaissance 
age  had  not  led  the  present  into  such  mistaken 
styles,  would  result  well.  Wall -papering,  for 
instance,  is  almost  unknown.  Hand-painted 
walls  and  ceilings  are  more  common,  and  some 
of  them,  upon  a  system  of  dividing  up  the  sur- 
face into  panels  with  lines  of  stencilled  and  free- 
hand ornament  and  a  simple  centrepiece,  are 
very  satisfactory.  The  most  prevalent  fault  is 
the  representation  of  relief,  mouldings  and  sink- 
ings withshadowsbeingpaintedontheflat  stucco. 
And  this  is  largely  done  upon  exterior  facades. 
Perhaps  at  Toledo  it  is  as  common  aa  anywhere. 
A  perfectly  flat  front  is  scene-painted  and  sha- 
dowed to  represent  orders  and  cornices,  archi- 
traves and  arches,  with  a  patience  and  at  an 
expense  which  would  haveproHded  a  really  good 
decoration.  And  not  only  upon  houses,  but  upon 
large  public  buildings,  is  this  foolish  "adorn- 
ment "  done. 

In  these  cities  of  balconies,  the  smith  is  an 
important  tradesman,  and,  with  the  cheap  la- 
bour and  little-valued  time,  common  houses  often 
get  provided  with  wrought-iron  work  of 
genuine,  simple  design,  for  these  balcony  fronts, 
which  would  be  a  luxury  in  London.  Bolts, 
bars,  and  latches  arc  primitive,  and  ponderous 
or  fragile,  according  to  the  buileler's  whim.  It 
is,  in  some  parts,  no  uncommon  thirtr  for  a 
general  .smith  to  make  a  lock,  from  beginning 
to  end.  Some  are  artistic  :  but,  as  a  rule,  there 
IS  not  much  to  be  learnt  from  them. 

As  a  rule,  Spanish  cities  are  not  building  very 
actively.  Madrid,  of  course,  shows  some  ten- 
dency to  grow  and  improve  itself.  But  although 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


91 


the  capital  is  far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the 
country,  building  seems  to  carried  on  in  much 
the  same  manner.  Party  walls  of  brick  nogging 
are  carried  up  apparently  unlimited  heights. 
External  walls  are  generally  tolerably  massive, 
and  ironmongery  is  better.  The  joinery  is  bet- 
ter in  execution ;  but  large  panels  and  weak 
mouldings  spoil  it.  The  later  facades  are 
generally  French  in  character  ;  some  very 
agreeable. 

Salamanca,  Zamora,  Leon,  Avila,  and  other 
cities  of  the  interior,  are  all  nearly  stationary  as 
to  housebuilding.  At  the  two  former,  one  or 
two  pubUe  buildings  are  in  progress.  As  a  rule, 
they  are  designed  in  a  French  spirit.  But  Sala- 
manca, once  so  prosperous,  has  not  vitality 
enough  even  to  remove  the  ruiss  left  by  the 
French  invaders.  There  are  considerable  spaces 
still  strewn  with  debris,  and  deserted  as  worth- 
less. 

Valladolid  and  Zaragoza  show  more  aoti\-ity. 
At  Valladolid,  new  market-places  of  ii'on  and 
glass  are  being  erected  upon  the  "plazas,"  to 
replace  the  more  picturesque,  but  less  useful, 
umbrella-tents  of  picturesque  and  dilapidated 
coloured  canvas.  These  buildings  seem  to  be 
copied  from  what  more  northern  nations  have 
found  appropriate ;  but  I  did  not  notice  any 
particular  modification  to  resist  the  intense 
summer  heat  of  the  countrj'.  'Wlien  they  are 
completed,  I  fancy  the  people  will  long  for  the 
airy  shade  of  their  old  freely-ventilated  tents. 

Zaragoza  has  improved  itself  pretty  well. 
Upon  thefine,  broad,  new  "  paseo,"  housebuild- 
ing is  still  going  on. 

Toledo  is  doing  very  little.  The  new  ap- 
proaches even  do  not  seem  to  make  much  differ- 
ence to  the  building  trades.  This  city  and 
Cordova  are  somewhat  similar  in  their  old-world 
antiquity,  which  seems  to  repel  modern  inno- 
vations. There  is  a  new  broad  avenue,  or 
"paseo,"  at  Cordova,  which  .seems  not  to 
belong  to  the  town. 

Granada,  too,  makes  little  progress.  There  is 
some  work  going  on  in  connection  with  the 
covering  in  of  the  river  Darro,  which  has 
become  Uttle  better  than  an  open  sewer,  along 
the  main  street.  Here  light  wooden  construc- 
tion is  very  prevalent.  The  Andalusian  cities 
of  Seville  and  Cadiz  are,  of  course,  more  favour- 
ably situated  than  those  yet  mentioned  for  in- 
tercoui'se  with  the  world.  Consequently,  they 
are  much  modernised,  and  are  now  carrying  on 
their  improvements.  But  Catalonia,  with  its 
capital  city,  Barcelona,  must  be  allowed  the 
first  place  for  progress.  Here  building  is 
carried  on  with  an  activity  quite  English,  and 
the  city  is  growing  out  towards  its  suburbs  at 
great  si^eed,  while  public  works  (which  I  hope 
to  speak  of  further)  are  considerable  and  many. 
— R.  W.    Gibson. 


TRURO  CATHEDRAL. 

THE  works  at  this  place  in  connection  with  the 
new  Cathedral  are  going  on  steadily,  and, 
under  the  excellent  management  of  Mr.  James 
Bubb,  the  clerk  of  {the  works,  the  staff  of  men 
employed  by  him  are  making  visible  progress. 
All  the  staging,  itc,  used  at  the  late  Royal 
ceremony  has  been  removed,  and  sold  by  auction. 
The  foundations  are  being  now  got  out  for  the 
new  Cathedral,  and  the  footings  are  being  put 
in  at  the  east  end  of  choir.  They  rest  upon  the 
solid  rock  beneath  (Shillct).  A  wooden  church, 
to  hold  400  or  500,  is  at  once  to  be  built  on  the 
north-east  site,  but,  in  such  a  compass,  of  course, 
as  not  to  interfere  with  any  part  of  the  footings. 
Hence,  the  choir,  as  originally  intended,  will  be 
completed  without  any  interference  with  this 
temporary  'structure.  The  wooden  church  will 
probably  take  two  months  to  erect.  Once  up, 
the  Church  of  St.  Mary— all  but  the  ornate 
south  aisle  in  chancel — will  come  down  imme- 
diately. The  work  of  destruction  includes  the 
spire,  which  is  also  doomed,  and  which,  it  is 
possible,  Mr.  Sedding,  or  some  other  lover  of 
Cornish  spires,  may  like  to  buy.  Any  reason- 
able offer  will  gladly  be  accepted.  AH  the 
stones  of  the  old  church  will  be  worked  up  in 
the  new  Cathedral.  When  the  rest  of  the  church 
is  down,  the  work  of  rendering  perpendicular 
the  south  wall  will  be  commenced.  It  is,  at 
present.  Sin.  out  of  the  upright.  It  is  built  of 
a  soft  Elvin  stone,  and,  being  all  face  bedded, 
time  has  not  dealt  kindly  with  richly-moulded 
and  particularly  ornate  carved  work,  all  of  which 
is  much  decayed.  The  foundation  -  stone 
measures  3ft.   Sin.  by  2ft.   lin.   by  llin.,  and  is 


made  of  Mabe  granite,  a  grey  variety  procured 
near  Penryn.  It  forms  the  course  above  the 
plinth  of  the  north-east  angle  buttress.  The 
memorial-stone,  also  laid  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  is,  in  reality,  one  of  the  pier-stones  in 
the  south  arcade,  where  the  third  pier  east  from 
the  western  respond  in  that  arcade  will  occur  ; 
the  base,  and  one  course,  was  put  in  prior  to  the 
ceremony,  in  St.  Dennis  granite.  Upon  this 
another  course,  in  the  same  material,  was  fixed 
by  the  Prince,  and,  since  then,  yet  another 
one  has  been  added,  so  that  the  column  stands 
isolated — as  Lot's  wife  must  have  doneafterbeiug 
converted  into  salt — some  ten  feet,  or  more, 
above  groimd,  and  all  by  itself,  at  the  western 
end. 

"  BUILDING  KEWS  "  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

EEVIEW  OF  EESIG^'S — A  GAilEKEEPEE's  COTTAGE. 

THE  designs  we  have  received  for  this  subject 
are  generally  creditable  to  their  authors, 
and  we  are  happy  to  record  a  marked  improvement 
in  the  work  of  many  of  our  members.  A  game- 
keeper's cottage  should  be  economical  in  plan, 
and  characteristic  in  external  design  ;  it  should 
not  look  like  a  vQla,  but  ought  to  present  a 
modest  relation  to  the  other  buildings  of  the 
estate.  "Alfred's"  design  appears  to  meet 
these  requirements  better  than  any  other.  The 
plan  is  compact — nearly  square  ;  there  is  a  well- 
disposed  centre  haU,  with  gun-room  on  one  side, 
easy  of  access  to  the  sportsmen,  and  so  placed  as 
not  to  destroy  the  privacy  of  the  gamekeeper's 
private  rooms.  The  stairs  are  well  placed  and 
lighted,  and  the  kitchen  and  offices  are  out  of 
sight.  Economy  has  been  obtained  by  combining 
the  flues  and  drawing  them  up  together  in  the 
centre  of  roof,  thus  making  also  a  pleasing  fea- 
ture. The  upper  story  is  constructed  of  timber- 
framing  and  plaster,  and  the  gable  above  entrance 
is  bracketed  over,  giving  a  pleasing  relief.  The 
upper  plan  is  compact,  and  the  drawing  of 
elevation  carefully  fijiished.  We  should  liked  to 
have  seen  a  roof-plan,  if  only  a  sketch,  to  show 
the  roofing  over  kitchen,  &c.  "Sub  Silentio  " 
is  also  a  very  pleasing  grouping,  though  more 
costly  in  character ;  the  arrangement  is  very  simi- 
lar to  tlie  last,  the  stairs  and  gun-rooms  are  dis- 
posed in  the  same  manner,  but  we  do  not 
like  so  well  the  scullery  and  larder  arrangement, 
which  are  roofed  within  the  main  slope  of  gable ; 
the  roofing,  also,  is  rather  too  cut-up,  and 
the  chimneys  are  not  so  well  stacked.  The  bed- 
rooms are  convenient  and  large,  and  the  eleva- 
tions and  sketch  show  a  thorough  feeling  for 
the  Old  English  style  of  the  17th  century,  and 
avoid  redundance  in  detail.  As  in  the  last, 
there  is  a  timber-framed  gable  over  the  entrance, 
with  a  coved  projection,  and  the  upper  story 
is  framed  and  filled  in  with  parget ;  there  is  a 
pleasing  double-gable  front,  the  lower  walls 
being  of  brick.  "Edwin"  sends,  as  u.sual,  a 
spirited  sketch  of  a  simply-groupfd  cottage, 
tiled  in  the  upper  story  and  roof,  with  bright 
red-brick  walls  below.  The  entrance  is  wide, 
and  made  a  central  recess  with  a  seat  on  one  side, 
and  is  very  picturesque  and  home-like.  We 
think  the  gun-room,  12fc.  by  Sft.,  at  the  back 
of  parlour,  is  rather  inconvenient,  though  we 
see  the  kitchen  and  li^dng-room  are  placed  on 
the  other  side,  having  a  separate  door  of  inter- 
communication between,  so  that  the  private 
apartments  are  together.  The  offices,  too,  are 
all  self-contained,  and  the  bedroom  arrangement 
fairly  disposed.  The  elevation  and  details  are 
plain,  and  effectively  treated  in  a  homely,  rural 
style.  "  Ap  Adam  "  is  generally  compact. 
The  pailour  is  opposite  to  gun-room,  and 
both  are  near  the  entrance,  and  the  private 
rooms  are  well  kept  apart.  The  design  is  in 
a  good  Gothic  brick-and-timber  style,  and 
well  drawn.  "Castello"  is  another  design  of 
merit.  AVe  see  little  to  find  fault  with  in  the 
arrangement,  though  the  gun-room  is  small. 
The  parlour,  or  luncheon-room,  on  the  other 
side  of  vestibule,  is  a  good  feature,  and  coidd 
bo  scrviceably  used  on  sporting  days. 
The  private  part  of  house  is  separated,  and  the 
ofiiccs  convenient  and  in  communication  with  the 
living-room.  The  bedrooms  are  well  planned. 
The  elevation  in  a  plain  Domestic  Gothic  style  is 
sensibly  treated,  the  upper  story  is  partly  tiled 
and  partly  of  timber,  and  the  detail  is  creditable. 
The  entrance-porch  is  a  good  feature.  The  draw- 
ings are  clearly  executed,  and  the  author  lias 
taken  care  to  figure  dimensions.  The  cubical 
contents  are  worked  out  at  Sd.  per  foot,  £760. 
"  Mcrliu."     This  design  is  neatly  drawn,  and  is 


in  a  suitable  style,  but  the  glazed  porch  to  the 
entrance  is  unneces.sary  for  a  gamekeeper's  cot- 
tage. The  positions  of  stairs  in  front  of  hall  and 
the  parlour-door  are  not  the  best  chosen,  and 
the  plan  is  spoilt  by  the  arrangement  of  kitchen 
and  Uving-room  doors,  which  destroy  all  privacy 
in  the  house.  The  outer  offices  contain  four 
dog-kennels.  The  side  elevation  is  more  pleasing 
than  the  front,  the  centre  gable  over  w.c.  in  the 
latter  destroys  aU  unity,  and  is  rather  too  obtru- 
sive. "Sub  Rosa "  sendsa  pleasing  sketch,  but 
it  has  a  stilted  appearance,  and  partakes  too 
much  of  a  viUa,  for  which  it  would  admirably 
do.  Tlie  entrance  and  gun-room  at  the  side  of 
house  is  inconvenient  and  small,  and  tlio  roofing, 
with  centre  valley,  undesirable.  "The  cost  is 
estimated  at  £3.50.  "I'upilJ."  is  picturescjue 
and  cottage-Uke,  but  somewhat  incoherent  and 
jumbled.  The  plan  is  compact  but  rather  devoid 
of  method.  It  would  be  quaint.  The  entrance, 
gun-room,  and  parlour  are  conveniently  re- 
lated, and  the  stairs  are  planned  to  ascend 
round  the  living-room  chimney,  which  becomes 
a  kind  of  newel.  The  design  possesses  the 
merit  of  concentration  in  plan,  and  a  Uttle  more 
care  in  the  detail  would  have  given  it  a  title  to 
a  higher  rank.  "North"  makes  a  pleasing 
cottage,  and  is  simply  grouped.  There  is  a  good 
open  porch,  which  leads  to  a  narrow  lobby  and 
stairs,  but  the  gun-room,  instead  of  being  near, 
is  made  a  lean-to,  disconnected  with,  though 
attached  to  the  house,  having  an  outer  door 
directly  opening  into  it.  It  is  true  there  is  a 
communication  by  a  door  between  parlour  and 
gun-room,  but  the  plan  is  inconvenient  and 
uneconomical.  "  Our  Praises  are  our  Wages  " 
is  simple  and  efi'ective  in  the  sketch.  The  gun- 
room. Oft.  Sin.  by  Sft.  Cin.,  is  .small,  and  we 
think  the  living-room  door  is  too  close  to  the 
entrance,  which  is  placed  at  the  side  of  the 
house.  The  drawings  are  neat,  and  the  style 
suitable  on  the  whole.  One  objection  is  the 
double  roof  and  valley  between,  always  expen- 
sive, and  undesirable  where  it  can  be  avoided. 
"Howard,"  a  well-drawu  elevation,  suitably 
treated  in  brick  and  timber  framing,  Gothic  in 
st}-Ie,  but  the  plan  is  too  capricious  to  enter- 
tain ;  we  need  only  remark  upon  the  awkward 
position  of  gun-room  in  the  middle  of  house, 
near  the  kitchen  and  staircase,  and  the  small 
canted  lobby  giving  access  to  it.  There  can  he 
no  comfort  in  such  an  arrangement.  "Mot's" 
design  is  rather  villa-hke  :  it  is  treated  in  a 
more  monumental  Gothic  style  than  many  have 
attempted  ;  the  corner  staircase  forms  a  turret, 
and  the  whole  is  built  with  stone  externally, 
and  a  brick  lining  inside,  with  3in.  cavi^. 
The  arrangement  is  compact,  though  the  stairs 
might  have  been  placed  elsewhere,  and  nearer 
the  private  rooms.  In  a  stone  district  the  design 
would  be  suitable.  "Clansman"  is  cottage- 
like, and  suitably  treated  in  elevation.  There  is 
a  large  corner  porch  leading  to  a  parlour,  a  gun- 
room behmd  10ft.  ein.  by  8ft.,  having  a  closet 
for  dog-food  under  the  stairs,  and  a  hving-room 
on  the  oppo.site  side.  The  planning  is  too  in- 
genious, and  looks  rather  involved  ;  the  living- 
room  door  is  not  in  a  good  place,  and  the  gun- 
room would  have  been  better  where  the  parlour 
is.  The  kennel  and  game  larder  are  good  points. 
The  stair  landing  window  is  awkwardly  squeezed 
in  the  corner,  over  the  porcli.  "  Never  Too  Late 
to  Mend  "  might  have  been  better,  in  spite  of 
crudeness  and  wantof  finish  ;thepassagcsaud  gun- 
room are  wasteful.  "Jack"  in  circle  is  a  neatly- 
drawn  elevation  in  a  species  of  Gothic,  half- 
timbered  above  ;  but  the  planning  is  spoilt  by  a 
wide  wasteful  centre  passage  through  house, 
and  the  cramped  and  awkward  position  of  gun- 
room next  to  the  larder,  its  door  facing  the 
kitchen;  surely  the  author  has  not  given  a 
{famekeeper's  cottage  the  thought  it  needed. 
"  Burswell's"  design  is  better  in  plan,  albeit  the 
corner  porch  looks  cramped,  and  the  stairs  would 
have  been  better  placed  elsewhere.  The  cxteraal 
treatment  is  suitable  and  inexpensive.  The 
author  prices  at  6d.  a  foot  =  £P73  l_2s._  Hubert 
is  a  neat  Gotliic  design,  the  pnncipal  feature 
in  which  is  the  open  comer  porch,  made 
bv  carrying  a  bedroom  on  posts  to  protect 
entrance-certainly  a  consideration  in  wet 
weather,  though  hardly  a  justifiable  manner  of 
providing  shelter.  The  author  seems  to  think, 
evidently  with  some,  that  the  gun-room  is  mi 
u"lv  necessitv,  better  relegated  to  the  precincts 
of  the  out-offices,  and  accordingly  it  is  pUccd 
next  the  earth-closet  and  close  to  the  Uv.ng-room 
door  Other  inconsistencies  appear.  '  Haaber 
Je.'"  has  not  sufficiently  worked  out  the  detaiJa 


92 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


of  his  plan :  tlio  gun-room  ia  in  a  good  place, 
but  the  pantry  is  too  long.  The  general  design 
has  merit,  though  it  is  rather  school-like.  The 
design  by  "Ernest  "  savours  loo  much  of  a  sub- 
urban viUa :  the  entrance  passage  is  long  and 
wasteful,  and  the  private  rooms  are  not  well  kept 
together.  In  carrying  the  dinner,  the  service 
would  be  directly  across  the  gun-room  door,  and 
cJo.'e  to  entrance.  "Toledo"  is  conceived  in  a 
suitable  brick-and-timber  style,  and  the  plan  is 
compact,  but  the  entrance  looks  cramped. 
' '  Attempt "  is  far  too  ambitious  ;  we  might 
easily  mistake  it  for  a  gentleman*  s  villa :  the 
hall,  12ft.  square,  with  stairs,  is  too  large,  and 
the  doors  of  kitchen  and  gun-room  are  placed 
close  together — a  fatal  mistake,  which  a  little 
thought  would  have  avoided.  "  JIustapha  "  has 
a  sensible  plan  in  the  main,  though  the  gun- 
room ia  placed  behind  the  parlour ;  the  elevations 
nhow  brick-and-timber  framed  upper  stories  in 
Domestic  Gothic,  appropriate  in  character,  but 
a  little  expensive  in  the  roofmg.  "  Factable,"  a 
Ecatly-drawn  set,  but  a  trifle  mechanical; 
plan  sensible  in  arrangement,  but  villa- 
like. "Excelsior"  falls  into  the  same  error; 
the  hall  is  over-large,  and  the  plan  costly,  but 
the  elevation  is  drawn  in  a  suitable  style. 
"X.  L.,"  "Ivanhoe,"  "Dewe's,"and  '■Gems- 
horn"  have  all  given  us  more  of  small  villas 
than  gamekeepers'  cottages,  and  some  of  them 
have  exceeded  the  bounds  of  discretion  as  to 
ornament.  One  ahows  the  gun-room  leading 
from  the  kitchen,  another  makes  it  a  large  room 
■vying  with  the  parlour.  ' '  Palmam  qui  meruit 
ferat"  puts  himself  out  of  the  contest  by  sending 
a  tracing;  the  de.sign  would  make  a  decent  villa, 
but  we  can  hardly  call  it  suited  to  the  purpose, 
cither  in  plan  or  elevation.  On  the  whole,  the 
drawings  show  a  decided  improvement,  and 
there  are  fewer  designs  marked  by  coarse  or 
crude  detail. 

A  STUDIEIl-nOTtSE. 
Only  three  designs  have  been  sent  in  competi- 
tion for  this  subj  ect.  We  place  ' '  Edwin " '  first, 
inasmuch  as  he  has  seized  the  idea  of  a  semi- 
rustic  erection  of  brick  and  oak,  that  is  neither 
ridiculously  fanciful  nor  too  ornamental.  It  is 
a  simple  octagon,  with  a  conical  roof  of  shingle, 
and  has  three  flat  bracketed  bay-windows,  with 
a  ckcular  seat.  Its  diameter  inside  is  Sft.  Gin. 
The  external  walls  are  timber  framing  filied  in 
with  upright  oak,  and  the  plinth  is  of  brick. 
"  Sub  SUentio  "  is  more  finished,  and  certainly 
pleasing  in  style.  It  has  three  open  sides  in  the 
octagon,  the  centre  one  being  the  entrance,  with 
a  scalloped  shell  pediment  over  nmning  into  a 
conical  roof.  The  open  railwork  to  the  two  sides 
arc  treated  in  a  Japanese  spirit.  A  pale  chocolate 
for  the  outside,  and  a  light  blue  grey  for  the 
interior  are  suggested.  "Alfred"  sends  a  clever 
sketch,  rather  more  rustic  than  cither  of  the 
former.  The  plan  is  an  elongated  octagon,  with 
three  projecting  bays  on  brackets  to  each  of  the 
ends — each  window,  in  fact,  springing  out  of  a 
side  of  the  lower  framing.  The  roof  is  of 
thatch,  and  the  style  is  Late  Gothic. 


AETISTS'    OOLOX.'ES.* 

ME.  MUCKLEY'S  own  practical  experience 
has  been  well  turned  to  account  in  the 
preparation  of  this  practical  and  well-arranged 
manual.  Recent  discussion  has  made  manifest 
what  many  people  knew  before,  viz.,  thatartLsts 
generally  have  acquired  but  a  small  amount  of 
knowledge  of  the  chemistry  of  colours,  their 
relations  to  each  other,  or  the  vehicles  necessary 
to  convey  them  to  canvas.  The  result  is  the 
rapid  change  and  deterioration  of  pictures,  to 
the  disappointment  both  of  painter  and  patron. 
The  following  extract  is  an  example  of  the  equal 
readiness  with  which  Mr.  Muckley  detects  some 
of  the  causes  which  have  produced  the  deteriora- 
tion of  artists'  colours,  and  suggests  a  remedy :  — 

"  Of  late  years  there  has  been  great  competi- 
tion in  the  prices  of  colours,  oils,  and  varnishes, 
and  even  the  best  coloiu'men  have  felt  it  neces- 
sary to  keep  pace  with  it.  This  has  induced 
quicker  methods  of  preparation,  as  well  as  more 
extensive  adulteration. 

"If  a  thoroughly  careful  and  conscientious 
course  were  to  bo  observed,  it  would  be  of  the 
greatest  advantage  to  art.  Let  some  colourman 
begin  anew,  by  taking  special  care   that  all  the 


*  A  Handbook  for  Painters  and  Ai-t  Students  on  the 
TJ,-^e  of  Colours,  A:c.  By  Wji.  J.  SIucKLEV.  London  : 
Bsillitire,  TindaU,  and  Cos. 


materials  which  come  into  his  hands  are  pure, 
and  that  the  washing  and  grinding  of  certain 
pigments  be  as  perfect  as  possible.  Let  him 
also  supply  only  those  colours  which  he  knows 
to  be  of  the  best  quality  and  permanent.  Or  if 
he  chooses  ta  sell  those  which  are  only  semi- 
permanent, let  this  be  indicated  on  the  usual 
label  attached  to  the  tube  or  cake,  so  that 
painters  may  be  made  aware  with  what  they 
have  to  deal.  The  price  of  such  materials  might 
be  raised  .according  to  the  extra  time  and  care 
given  to  their  preparation.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  any  colourman  who  woidd  take  the 
matter  up  in  this  form,  would  soon  have  the 
best  part  of  the  business  to  himself,  for  at  the 
present  time  no  such  person  exists.  The  forma- 
tion of  a  body  or  society  for  the  preparation  of 
painters'  materials,  under  the  immediate  control 
and  direction  of  painters  of  repute,  would  doubt- 
less be  still  better. 

"  Cheapness,  or  rather  lowprice,  should  be  the 
last  thing  an  artist  ought  to  think  of  in  relation 
to  the  cost  of  his  materials.  There  is  no  kind  of 
manufacture  more  deserving  of  consideration 
than  that  of  making  painters'  materials,  and 
more  especially  that  relating  to  pigments.  This 
is  at  once  evident,  if  we  realise  that  from  a  few 
tubes  of  colour,  of  small  comparative  cost,  a 
work  of  the  value  of  hundreds,  and  sometimes 
thousands  of  pounds,  is  often  produced.  When 
it  is  considered  that  the  permanent  or  fugitive 
character  of  such  works  is  to  so  great  an  extent 
in  the  hands  of  colourmen,  their  responsibility 
is  certainly  very  great. 

' '  In  order  to  ascertain  if  colours  change,  and 
how  soon  such  changes  may  take  place,  the 
painter  should  try  experiments  for  himself.  Let 
certain  pigments  be  taken,  both  mixed  and  un- 
mixed, and  matched  with  such  objects  as  may 
be  in  his  possession  of  permanent  colours,  as 
glass,  enamel,  porcelain,  &c.  These  colours  or 
compound  hues  might  be  put  upon  the  things 
referred  to.  After  they  have  been  allow  ed  to 
remain  upon  them  for  a  few  weeks,  any  change 
that  may  have  occurred  will  be  easily  .seen.  In 
some  cases  the  painter  will  be  astonished  at  the 
rapidity  and  extent  of  the  alteration  in  these 
trial  colours,  and  by  this  experiment  he  will  be 
able  to  ascertain  very  distinctly  what  colours  to 
employ,  and  what  to  avoid.  A  pigment,  when 
well  prepared,  may  be  quite  permanent  ;  but 
careless  preparation,  adidteration,  or  insufficient 
washing,  will  not  only  render  it  fugitive,  but 
damaging  to  all  other  colours  which  come  in 
contact  with  it.  Take  zinc  white,  which  has 
been  either  imperfectly  made  or  adulterated,  as 
an  example  of  instability,  but  which  is  perma- 
nent when  properly  made.  This  pigment  is 
often  so  badly  manufactured,  that  when  era- 
ployed  at  all  thinly,  it  flies  away  in  a  few  weeks. 
This  may  be  seen  by  covering  over  with  it  a 
chequered  or  figured  sui-face  of  light  and  dark 
colours,  or  dark  grey  and  white,  making  the 
darker  parts  almost  in-visible  with  the  zinc  white. 
In  a  little  time  these  marks  will  be o-in  to  re- 
appear, through  thewliite,  and  in  the  space  of  a 
month  or  two,  they  will  be  nearly  as  visible 
as  though  nothing  had  been  put  upon 
them.  Should  suspicion  be  entertained  of  the 
permanence  of  a  colour,  experiments  ought  to  be 
made  with  it  at  once,  in  order  to  ascertam  if  the 
doubt  be  well  founded.  A  number  of  tints  with 
the  suspected  colour  and  flake  white  should  be 
mixed.  It  should  also  be  compounded  with 
other  coloui-s,  which  in  the  painter's  opinion 
have  been,  or  are  likely  to  be,  afiected  by  it. 
Patches  of  these  tints  and  hues  might  then  be 
put  on  a  piece  of  millboard  or  canvas,  and  hung 
in  different  situations,  more  or  less  likely  to 
afltect  colours  of  any  description.  Of  com\<e  each 
patch  or  trial  of  colour  should  be  numbered,  and 
the  same  entered  in  a  memorandum  book  ;  corre- 
sponding with  such  number,  the  colours'  wliich 
may  have  been  employed  to  form  the  tint  or  hue, 
shoidd  be  named,  as  well  as  the  vehicle  which 
was  mixed  with  them,  with  any  remark  that  the 
painter  might  have  felt  necessary  to  make  at  the 
time.  If  this  kind  of  experiment  were  to  be 
followed  up  for  a  few  years  by  various  painters, 
and  at  the  end  of  that  time  they  compared  notes 
with  each  other,  most  valuable  information 
woidd  be  obtained  ;  and  being  put  on  record,  it 
would  bo  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  painter 
and  his  art. 

"The  painter  should  always  make  an  effort  to 
use  as  few  colours  as  possible,  and  they  should 
be  of  the  most  permanent  kind.  The  use  of  a 
limited  palette  with  the  old  masters  was  a  neces- 
sity, and  this  explains,   to  a  great  extent,  the 


good  condition  of  many  of  their  works  at  the 
jiresent  time.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
many  colourmen  manufactui-e  their  goods  to  sell, 
and  almost  irrespective  of  their  final  use  in  the 
production  of  costly  works  of  art.  The  most 
fugitive  colours  may  be  obtained  from  them,  as 
well  as  the  most  durable,  and  the  painter  who  is 
uninformed  as  to  the  nature  of  colours,  generally 
employs  them  all  indiscriminately,  and  of  course, 
to  the  detriment  of  his  work." 


SPIRIT  FRESCO  PAINTING. 

MR.  T.  GAMBIER  PARRY'S  account  of 
this  process,  published  at  the  desire  of 
the  Lords  of  the  Committee  of  Council  on  Edu- 
cation, for  the  use  of  students  in  schools  of  art, 
is  an  important  contribution.  Lately,  much 
attention  has  been  called  to  the  process  of  spirit 
fresco  painting,  as  practised  by  Mr.  Gambler 
Parry,  in  consequence  of  its  adoption  by  Sir 
Frederick  Leighton,  P.R.A.,  in  his  great  mural 
painting,  "The  Arts  of  War,"  at  the  South 
Kensington  Museum.  We  shall  here  content 
ourselves  with  a  summary  of  the  paper  of  Mr. 
Parry.  He  claims  the  following  advantages  for 
the  process:  (1)  Durability  (the  principal  ma- 
terials being  all  but  imperishable)  ;  (2)  power  to 
resist  external  damp  and  changes  of  tempera- 
ture ;  (3),  luminous  efifect ;  (1)  a  dead  surface; 
(■51  freedom  from  all  chemical  action  on  colours. 
In  speaking  of  the  wall  surface  to  be  painted, 
he  says  it  must  be  perfectly  dry  and  porous,  that 
the  best  surface  is  good  common  stucco  precisely 
the  same  as  that  used  for  Buon  fresco,  viz. ,  two 
parts  of  thoroughly  slaked  Hme  and  three  of 
perfectly  washed  gritty  sand  ;  but  for  ordinary 
work,  the  common  plaster  (stucco)  in  the  interior 
of  buildings  carefully  executed  may  be  trusted. 
Its  natural  porous  surface  is  very  essential,  and 
all  "floating"  destroys  this  quality.  Cements 
are  to  be  avoided,  being  too  hard  and  smooth. 
After  a  good  stucco  wall,  that  of  a  coarse  and 
porous  Bathstone  is  preferred,  or  any  other 
jiorous  freestone  ;  all  sand-papering  to  be 
avoided  from  its  filling  the  pores  of  the  stone. 
We  quote  in  full  the  instructions  on  the  medium 
and  preparation  of  colours.  "Take  in  any 
multiple  of  these  proportions  according  to 
quantity  required  for  a  work  : — 

Elemi  resin  (&um  elemi) 2oz.  (  tt-^?  i.+ 

Pm-ewhitewax      4oz.  I  "^SM. 

Oil  of  spike  lavender    8oz- j  Liquid 

Finest  prepai'ation  of  aiHst's  copal  20oz.  )  measure. 

If  a  stronger  kind  of  copal  is  used,  ISoz.  are 
sufficient.  With  these  materials,  incorporated 
by  heat,  all  colours  in  dry  powder  must  be 
miied,  and  the  most  convenient  system  is  to  do 
so  precisely,  as  all  colours  are  mixed  on  a  slab, 
and  put  into  tubes.  The  colours  keep  in  this 
way  for  many  years  ;  I  have  many  in  tubes 
above  20  years  old.  The  proper  method  of  com- 
pounding this  medium  is  this :  Two  pots  (one 
small,  one  large),  a  long  spoon,  and  a  charcoal 
stove  are  required.  Take  2oz.  of  Elemi  resin 
and  melt  them  in  2oz.  of  rectified  tui-pentine  in 
the  small  pot  or  saucepan  over  the  charcoal,  and 
strain  when  quite  liquid  through  muslin  (to 
clear  it  of  pieces  of  leaves  and  bark)  into  the 
larger  pot.  This  is  most  conveniently  of  copper. 
The  one  I  use  is  Gin.  across  and  ISin.  high,  with 
a  flange  near  the  bottom  to  make  it  stand 
securely  on  the  charcoal.  Into  this  put  4oz.  of 
white  wax  in  small  pieces,  and  melt  with  the 
elemi.  When  melted  add  20oz.  of  copal,  and 
boil  all  together  to  a  white  foam,  stirring  well 
with  a  spoon  reaching  to  the  bottom,  remove 
from  the  fire,  and  boil  again.  Immediately 
before  the  last  removal  from  the  fire  add  Soz.  of 
spike-oil.  This  volatile  ingredient  "would  be 
wasted  if  added  sooner  and  boiled.  N.B. — It  is 
necessary  to  be  extremely  careful  lest  any  spark 
from  the  charcoal  (no  flame  being  allowed) 
shoidd  ignite  the  liquid,  every  ingredient  being 
inflammable.  It  should  be  done  out-of-doors. 
Decant  through  funnel  into  clear  glass  bottles,  so 
that  the  condition  of  the  medium  may  be  visible 
before  use,  the  quart  size  being  most  convenient, 
and  leave  uncorked  to  cool."  In  preparing  the 
wall-surface  dry  and  warm  weather  is  recom- 
mended. The  medium  is  to  be  diluted  in  once 
and  a  half  it^  bidk  of  good  turpentine,  the  mix- 
ture being  better  when  compounded  by  heat  in  a 
large  iron  caiddron  over  flameless  charcoal. 
This  wall-wash  may  be  kept  for  any  time  in 
bottles.  The  wall  is  to  be  well  saturated 
with  the  solution,  the  liquid  being  dashed 
against   rather   than    merely  washed    over  it. 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Eepeat  after  two  days,  leave  it  a  few  days  to 
erapoTate,  then  mix  equnl  quantities  of  pui-e 
white -lead  (in  powder)  and  of  gilders'  whitmg. 
iji  the  medium  slightly  diluted  with  about  a 
third  of  turpentine,  and  paint  surface  thickly, 
and  when  evaporated,  add  another  very  thick 
coat.  This,  when  dry  (in  2  or  3  weeks),  pro- 
duces a  perfect  surface,  so  white  that  colours 
upon  it  have  the  luminous  effect  of  Buon  fresco, 
with  transparency  of  water-colour."  As  regards 
paintins,  Mr.  Parry  says,  "Paint  boldly  and 
simply  as  in  Buon  fresco,  as  much  as  possible 
a'.la  prima,  and  with  much  body,  and  use  pure 
oil  of  spike  in  your  dipper  freely."  Decision  is 
necessary  to  avoid  disintegration  of  material. 
SoUd  painting  is  preferred.  The  rationale  of 
the  process  is  described.  The  colours  in  powder 
are  incorporated  with  material  identical  with 
that  which  has  been  sunk  into  the  pores  of  the 
wall  surface,  and  has  hardened  there  by  the 
evaporation  of  the  turpentine  vehicle.  The 
colours,  therefore,  maybe  regarded  as  belonging 
to  the  wall  itself,  and  not  merely  superficial. 
This  result  is  produced  by  the  spike  oil  beiiig 
the  common  solvent  of  all  the  materials,  which 
turixjntuie  is  not ;  the  painter's  brush,  when  it 
touches  the  surface,  opens  it  to  receive  thecolours, 
and  the  rapid  evaporation  of  the  spike  oil  closes 
them  in.  Some  cautions  are  given,  as  cleanliness 
in  working,  kc,  into  which  we  cannot  enter. 
Mr.  Parry  alludes  to  his  own  paintings,  executed 
over  the  chancel-arch  of  Ilighnam  Church  21 
years  ago,  and  another  work  in  St.  Andrew's 
chapel  in  Gloucester  Cathedral,  finished  in  1S67, 
as  examples  of  the  durability  of  the  process.  We 
recommend  all  .students  of  the  art  to  a  process 
likely  to  overcome  the  objections  to  other 
systems,  due  to  the  darkness  and  dampness  of 
the  dimate. 


Christian, 

iiuuouni,     ivuuiue,     ijuia,     iVUUBUu,     v).     Fowler, 

Papworth,    T.   R.   Smith,    Curroy,    Jemiings, 
Bowes  Paice,  and  Brandon. 

Mr.  A.  Cates  read  the  r.  port  of  the  building' 
committee,  showing  how  the  money  was  spent, 
and  stated  that  the    subscriptions  received  had 
been  insuificient  to  meet  the  requirements,  while 
ample  powers  were  given  to  the  Council  by  tlie 
resolutions  passed  by  the  meniViers.     The  Secre- 
tary read  a  list  of  additional  donations,  amount- 
ing in  all  to  £32  Gs.,  from  members,  and  several 
questions  were  put  by  Messrs.  Cuney,  Jonningb, 
Edis,  Roger  Smith,  AVyatt  Papwurth,  Robson, 
and  Fowkr,   and  were   answered  by  the  Presi- 
dent,  the  only  point  of   interest  in  his  replies 
being  that  the  Coimcil  anticipated  that  the  sum 
now  withdrawn  from  capital  would  bo  refunded. 
within  the  next  two  years  by  the  entrance-fees 
and  subscriptions  of  new  members.    After  a  dis- 
M.eade  anrt   Bon,    Lrreii  r>nms\vicK-    eussion  of  a  conversational  character,  in  which 
way  to  give  general  satisfaction.  The    objections  were  expressed,  not  to  the  vote  itself, 
■stone    was  "laid    in     the   month  of    but  to  the  want  of   business-like  action  in  the 
November,   187".     "We  illustrated  the  Crotton.    entii'e  proceedings,  the  resolution  authorisiDg  the 
road  front   of  the  town-hall,  from  Mr.  Robin-  |  sale  of  stock  was  put  from  the  chair,  and  passed 
son's  drawing,  on  April  4,  1879.  ■  unanimously. 


OI  me  DUUOlUg  are  Cli.uuiai-iita<.icv*,  tiu\4^  Li^yj^^  ^l 

the  principal  stories  are  constructed  with  nook 
shafts  in  angles,  with  carved  capitals,  moulded 
arches,  and"  hood-moulds.  PoUshed  Aberdeen 
columns  ornament  the  windows  over  the  main 
entrance  in  the  Royal  Marine-road  and  the 
boardroom  windows."  The  building  will  be 
capped  by  a  cornice,  supported  by  granite 
brackets,  with  a  pierced  parapet  over  the  roof, 
hio-h-pitchcd,  covered  with  slates  in  bands,  and 
decorated  with  metal  cresting.  The  materials 
u^ed  in  the  construction  of  the  building  were 
local  chiselled  granite  ashlar  for  the  main  walls, 
with  Bath  stone  cornices  and  arches.  Various 
descriptions  of  stone  have  been  introduced  by 
the  architect  where  their  colour  serves  to 
emphasise  the  leading  lines  in  the  architectm-e. 
It  is  now  nearly  two  years  in  progress,  and 
during  that  time  the  contract  has  been  carried  on 
by  Messrs.  Meade  and  Son,  Greit  Bnmswick 
street,  in  a  way 
foundation 
November 


AEEAUGESEEXTS    FOE    NEXI  SESSION. 

The  ConncU  have  issued  a  circular,  annoon- 
cing  to  the  members  of  the  Institute  that  during 
the  next  session  a  trial  will  be  made  of  the 
following  arrangements,  namely  : — 

fl)  Oedixart  axd  Other  Meetisos  of  thf.  Sebsiox.— 

That  tlie  prescribed  number  of  meetings  be,  aa  at 

'     '       '     -      '    'fliat  the  said  fourteen  Meetings 


THE  NEW  KINGSTOWN    TOWN-HALL 

THE  new  Town-hall,  at  King.stown,  opened  on 
Tuesday,  contains  municipal  offices,  a  fine 
public     hall,    and    a    commodious   courthouse, 
where  the  county  chairman  -n-ill  sit  periodically, 
together  with  accommodation  for  the  holding  of 
the  police-court.     So  long  ago  as  1866  the  Town 
Commissioners,  feeling  the  want  of  such  accom- 
modation as  that  which  the  new  building  pro- 
vides, advertised  for  plans  and  specifications,  but 
the  difficulties  which  were  thrown  in  the  way  of 
procuring  a  suitable  site  caused  the  scheme  to 
lapse  for  a  time.     In  1874  it  was  revived,  and  in 
August  of  that  year,  the  difBouUies  with  regard 
to  the  site  having  been  obviated,  the   plans  sent 
in  by  Mr.  J.  Robinson,   198,  Great  Bnmswick- 
street,  Dublin,   were  selected,  and  tenders   ad- 
vertised for.     The  amount  of  the  contracts  and 
extras  was  nearly  £14,000,   but   it  is   estimated 
that  the  entire  building  when  furnished  will  cost 
at  least  £16,000.     The  architecture  is  after  the 
Italian    style.      The   main  frontage   is  on  the 
Royal  Marine  road,  where  the  fa(,'ade  measures 
130"ft.  The  main  entrance  is  situate  in  the  centre 
of   this   front.      Passing    tlirough  the   massive 
doorway,   the  hall,  16ft.  wide  by  22ft.  long,   is 
reached.      The   bottom   story,    16ft.    2in.  high, 
contains  the  courthouse,  which  is  39ft.  by  30ft., 
with    rooms    for    witnesses,    barristers'    room, 
clerk  of  the  peace's  offices,  the   jury-room,   the 
judges*  retiring  room,  closets,  lavatory,  &c.     On 
the  left-hand  side  of  the  main  entrance,  on  the 
same  story,   are  offices  for  the  town   clerk,  the 
town    surveyor,    the    rate    collector,    and    the 
sanitary    inspector.      The   nsxt   story   is    22ft. 
high.    "It   is  approached  by  a  grand   staircase, 
and   contains   the  assembly-room,    a   fine  lofty 
apartment,    7Gft.   Gin.   long  by  41ft.  6in.   wide, 
moulded  roof  and  c  amices.     The  interior  fittings 
of  the  assembly  room  will  consist  of  a   platform 
of    pitch-pine    and   American   walnut   for   the 
accommodation  of  performers.     The  boardroom, 
in  which  the  town  commissioners  will  hold  their 
meetings,  is  also  situated  on  the  second   story. 
Its  size"  is  30ft.  by  39ft.     The  walls  are  covered 
to  a  height  of  6ft.  with  a  paneULng  of  pitch- 
pine    and    American   walnut,   richly   moulded. 
The   furniture  of  the  boardroom  has   been  de- 
signed by  the  architect,  and  will  be   of   massive 
oak  in  keeping  with   the   rest  of  the  building. 
The  assembly-room  will  be   devoted  to   public 
meetings,    concerts,    and   entertainments.      The 
second   story  wUl   contain,  in  addition    to   the 
rooms  mentioned,  the  town  clerk's  office,  a  com- 
missioners'   retiring-room,    and    some;    derks' 
apartments.     The  height  of  the  building  is  .50ft. 
from  the  floor  balustrade.     A  tower  120ft.  high 
surmounts  the  courthouse  entrance  in  Crofton- 


EXAMPLES  OE   ART  METALWORK.      | 

MESSRS.  HART,  SON,  PEARD,  and  Co., 
of  AVych-street  and  Regent-street,  have 
sent  us  a  new  edition  of  their  illustrated  cata- 
looTie.     It  is  divided  into  six  sections.    Section  I.  |  „.  j.uiii  lue  pic^i 

trpits  of  cast-iron  work,     and  includes   designs  i  pre9ent,  fourteen.    .,.  j..«^  .....  ™. ■ — ..  -— . 

Treats  oi  Last  uuii    >vui.a,     ..  j  t„„K    consist  as  at  present,  of  one  Annual,  oneSpccial  (fi._  _ 

for  ridge-crestings,  terminals,  balcony  and  tomb  |  ™"ajd  of  pAils) ,  and  twelve  Ordinaly.  c  That  four  of 
raUino'S,  street-raiUngs,  gratings,  hinge-fronts,  I  the  twelve  Ordinary  Meetings  be  devoted  to  business,  a.s 
balusters,  lamp-pillars,  R.  W.  pipe-heads,  &c.  foUows  :-One  to  be  the  Opening  Meeting  on  the  flret 
In  the  margin  o^f  Lch  sheet,.the  Simensions  and  I  Monday  mxo^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

price  of  each  article  are  given.  Many  ot  tnej  ^^  j^^j^^jj^^  jf^j^j^^q^jj-g^  {£,,  j^ijourned  Discussions, to 
nattems  show  a  due  regard  to  the  functions  of  '  be  convened  principally  for  the  discussion  of  professional 
?a..t-iron  design,  and"  a  ^. large  -Hety  of  |  ,ues«onsand^^^^^^^ 
I  patterns     are     given.     _  Section  _  II.     similarly    pracnce,  as  we  __     .         »-.„    _y ,_,__ 


cism  at  other  Ordinary  iteetings.  <(.  That  the  remaii™„ 
eiffht  Ordinary  Meetings  be  devoted  exclusively  to  tlie 
reading  of  Papers  and  Discussions  thereon.  ,    ,,  . 

■'1  The  PnELrsiisAiiv  Bcai.vESs.-e.  That  the  baUot 
for  new  Members  be  taken  only  at  the  four  Ordmary 
Meetin"s  for  business,  and  that  notice  of  the  same  be 
duly  --tut  to  each  proposer  of  the  several  candidates  te- 
ijue'-tin"  bis  presence,    f.  Tliat  the  annotmcoment  of  do- 


contains  designs  for  railings,  bell-cots,  chancel- 
screens,  gable- ci-osses,  gates,  grilles,  ridge-crest- 
in  o-s,  i-c,  in  wrought  iron,  so  that  the  architect 
may  select  that  kind  of  manufacture  most  suited  for 
his  ptuTioie.  Some  of  the  gates,  .grilles,  screens, 
&c.,  are  in  good  taste,  and  f^ti^t  tie  advan-  ;  que^m,^m»^p..«^u„ 

tages  of  wrought  iron.  Section  ill.  is  devoted  ,  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^^  funds,  be  made  only  at  the  four  Ordiniry 
to  Mediaeval  ironmongery,  in  which  wiU  be  jj^^j  n,j  fo^  business,  g.  That  new  Members  bo  M- 
found  every  article  necessary  for,  the  furni.shing  |  ^^f  ^,,t'y^aeCha^--„^3^T7,„^i^5^f  j"^^^^^^^ 
of  churches  and  houses,  each  variety  being  care-  [  f'-^^./^-^t^u^h  Meetings  only  as  wiU  conform  xrith  the 
fully  priced.  Fittings  for  lightmg  is  another  ^^.^^,^^5  g^.j^^  xv.,  whereby  a  recommendation  must 
section,  and  includes  every  requisite,  from  1  be  read  at  one  Ordinary  M«hng,htm^  up  diujm^ 
candle-brackets    to    lamp-posts    and    lanterns,    and  the  tw<.^--^^^^^^ 

Some  of  the  gaseliers  of  polished  brass  are  ex- |  ^^^^j^^.      yj^^gj^j^ationsthen.ameandaddressofth'- 

ceedingly  chaste  in  design  ;  Nos.    62.5,  630,  540,  ,  eandidate  shaU  alone  be  read -the  "oimnation  paper  t 

°  ■"         ii-^i  :_    i°„ ,1     fi^;=l,     anrl    in    >,.>  immorliatBlv  afterwalds  hiuig  OH  tDo  boaru  in  m 


t^,  are  excellent  in  form  and  finish,  and  in 
many  of  the  other  classes  we  find  correct  prin- 
ciples have  actuated  the  designer. 

Section  V.  includes  church  furniture,  from 
alms-boxes  to  altar-crosses.  Lecterns  of  wood 
and  brass,  desks,  and  pulpits  arc  to  be  found 
here  in  every  kind  of  Medireval  style,  from 
rigorous  severity  to  florid  detail.  The  last  sec- 
tion contains  domestic  furniture,  a  very  large 
class.  We  see  some  very  good  basket  and  pillar 
grates,  with  firebrick  body,  varying  in  price 
from  1.5s.  to  £7  ;  also  dog-grates,  in  Gothic  and 
Renaissance  styles,  and  a  large  collection  of 
register-stoves,  with  tile  borders,  in  a  variety  of 
palteiTis,  from  Early  Gothic  to  Queen  Anne.  To 
facilitate  reference  to  the  various  articles  illus- 
trated in  the  catalogue,  an  alphabetical  index 
is  given  at  the  end,  by  which  much  himting 
will  be  saved.  Altogether,  the  catalogue  con- 
tains 226  pages  of  closely-printed  examples, 
each  article  being  priced  in  the  margin  aiid 
.amply  described,  eo  that  the  architect  need  only 
to  quote  the  number  or  description.  It  wiU  be 
found  of  service  to  the  profession,  as  a  guide  to 
prices  ;  and  the  builder  and  ironmonger  would 
be  incompletely  stocked  with  necessary  trade 
catalogues  without  this  one. 

ROYAL    INSTITUTE    OF   BRITISH 
ARCHITECTS. 

THE  special  meeting  convened  for  Monday 
evening  to  authorise  the  sale  of  £2,300 
Three  per  Cent.  Consols,  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
charging the  remaining  liabilitio--  in  respect  to 
the  recent  premises  alteration,  and  of  reimbursing 
1  to  the  ordinary  funds  a  portion  of  the  advances 
I  made  therefrom,  passed  off  very  tamely,  ine 
President,  Mr.  John  Whichcord,  took  tbe  chair 
lat   S.30,   and   amongst   the   five-and-twenty  or 


brimmetotdy"afterwa;drhan'g  on  the  board  to  the 
Meeting  Eoom.  Ic.  That,  at  the  eight  Ordmary  Meetmgs^ 
for  the  Reading  of  Papers  and  Discussions  thereon,  no 
questions  other  than  relating  to  the  subject  of  the  eyen- 

'°?-,?VI'p\'?ffKD  D.scrs«,ovs.-(.  That  subjects  for 
Paperf  and  Di^clssgns  be 'invited  under  tie  foUowm| 
Sf-I  New  Materiahi,  Building  Appliancea,  and 
Systems  of  Construction ;  H.  Arehiteetnial  Works  m 
iJo^Ti  at  Home  and  Abroad,  the  Foreign  Pap?™  to  be 
translated  for  the  authors  if  ■•^I^VK.'^  v"h„  ,lo^  V 
speeiaUy  relating  to  architecture     H  • '^"^''^''fjj.,  " 

S.^  r^Tha^rsSoffif^J^M 

TL^TfoS^^  S  ^minded  repJation.,  are  made 
as  toVe  pubSn  of  Proceedings  and  Transactions. 

EESIGSATIOX  OF  THE    Hoy.   BECEET-VBT. 

The  CoW  announce  with  ^^f^^^^^l,^'^ 
^re«re?,in^^:n^ence    fiU-h^a.tbfro^ 

Opening  Meeting  of  next  Session. 

AttheK.^T^^al  sessions  »"  J'^^'^^f  ."""h 
hefd'a'fllaidstole,  on  faction  took  ^  ace  «« 
post  of  county  surveyor  m  the  room  J  t  ^^^ 

5^uck.  His  ^on.  Mr  P  l^^^/f^^s^  UcanU  being 
other  selected  candidates  out  01         ,  i  ^^ 

placed  as  follows  :  '^5^  Y°»^^,    ra.  remunera- 

"^JiSrnrand%'s[ima?ei;'ro3d  thoy  n^ot  be 
carried  into  execution. 


94 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  National  Competition  Prize  Drawings  a 

Kensington 

Gas  and  Gas-Woiks      . 

Institute  of  Art    

Indostrial  and  Fine  Art  Exhibition  at  Bow... 

Lectures  on  Art     

A  Recent  Visit  to  Russia    

Housebuilding  in  Spain      

Truro  Cathedral    

"  BriLDiKG  News  "  Designing  Club     

Artists'  Colours     

Spirit  Fresco  Painting 

The  New  King-stown  Town-Hall     

Examples  of  Art  Mctalwork     

Eoyal  Institute  of  British  Architects    

Our  lithographic  Illustrations 

The  Temples  of  Paestum    

The  Preservation  of  Timber     

The  Tay  Bridge  Disaster    

Decorative  Ai-t      

Architectural  and  Archaeological  Societies  ... 

Competitions 

Schoolsof  Art 

Parliamentary  Notes   

Chips 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

Intercommuiueatioa    

Stained  Glass 

Statues,  Memorials,  &c 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

Jjegal  Intelligence 

Our  Office  Table    

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      

Tenders    

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ST.  FEASCIS'   nolIE  FOR  BOY.<,  SHEFFORD. — ABC 
StUSEUM  SKETCHES.  —  SEW    PREMISES   OF  THE 
LIFE     ASSURANCE     SOCIETY. — PROPOSED    NEW 

HESTNUT     HILL      RAILWAY 


cue 


OUR  LiTHOGRAPHIClLLUSTRATIONS 


ST.     GEOEGE's    (e.g.)     CHTIECn,     AKD    ST.     FEANCIS' 
HOJEE  FOE  BOYS,    SHEFFOED,    BEDFOEDSHIEE. 

The  group  of  buildings  in  this  view  consists  of 
the  Church  of  St.  George,  -with  the  Presbytery, 
and  the  entrance  gateway,  infii-mary,  and  other 
portions  of  the  street-front  of  the  Home  for 
Boys.  St.  Francis"  Home  -was  founded  in  1S70  ; 
it  is  now  providing  for  fifty  orphans  and  desti- 
tute boys,  principally  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
diocese  of  Xorthampton,  'and,  when  completed, 
will  accommodate  about  eighty.  It  is  imder  the 
charge  of  the  very  Eev.  Canon  Collis.  The  u-- 
regular  plan  of  the  street-front  has  been  ne- 
cessitated by  the  position  of  old  buildings 
partially  retained,  and  the  form  and  style  have 
been  considerably  influenced  by  the  desire  to 
give  useful  employment  to  the  boys,  who,  under 
the  direction  cf  the  technical  instructor,  have 
executed  the  whole  of  the  carpenter's  and 
joiner' s  work  in  the  building.  The  small  Chapel 
of  the  mission  was  erected  about  a  century  since 
in  the  garden  at  the  back  of  the  Priest's  resi- 
dence, the  approach  to  it  being  by  a  narrow 
passage  between  two  houses  ;  the  Church  is  now 
to  be  erected  with  a  frontage  to  the  street,  as  in 
the  view,  the  Chapel  being  preserved  to  serve 
as  sacristies,  &c.  A  view  of  the  doiinitory, 
schoolroom,  and  of  the  old  chapel,  as  seen  from 
the  playground,  was  given  in  the  Buildixo 
News  of  July  2Gth,  1878;  of  the  old  and  new 
buildings  on  October  Gth,  1S76;  and  a  third,  of 
the  interior  of  the  church,  on  May  28th,  187.5. 
The  architect  of  the  whole  is  Mr.  S.  J.  NichoUs, 
of  1,  Caversham-road,  London,  N.W. 

EOTAL  AECHITEOrcrEAI.  STTSEUlt  SKETCHI>.-G  CXrB — 
VAEI0U3   DETAILS    FE03I   ST.    AEBAn's. 

To-DAT  we  are  enabled  to  give  another  of  Mr. 
T.  F.  Pennington's  valuable  sheets  of  sketches, 
from  the  examples  of  carvings  collected  at  the 
Royal  Architectural  Museum,  'Westminster.  This 
drawing  was  finished  on  the  spot  in  pen  and  ink, 
and  it  illustrates  several  portions  of  the  in- 
teresting and  elaborate  chapel  of  Abbot  Ram- 
rygge,  at  St.  Alban's  Abbey.  The  panel  is  from 
the  Chapter  House,  Westminster. 

HEW  PEEjnSES  FOE    THE     EELIAXCE     MUTUAL  LIFE 
ASSUEANCE    SOCIETY. 

The  new  building  of  the  Reliance  Mutual  Life 
Assurarce  Society,  illustrated  by  us  this  week, 
and  including  Xos.  70,  71,  and  72,  KingWiUiam- 
street.  City,  at  the  corner  of  Clement's-lane,  has 
jnst  been  completed.  The  greater  portion  of 
the  ground-floor  is  occupied  by  the  Reliance 
OfBce,  incjuding  the  principal  ofiice,  37ft.  by 
28ft.  by  17ft.  high,  the  under-secretary's  room 
and  messengers'  and  waiting-rooms.  The  re- 
mainder of  ground-floor  is   let  to  the  National 


Fire  Insurance  Corporation.  On  the  first  floor 
are  the  Board  and  Committee,  and  Medical 
Officer's  rooms,  with  lavatories,  &c.,  for  the  Re- 
liance, and  board-room  for  the  National.  The 
three  upper  floors  are  divided  into  cflBces,  and 
the  basement  is  divided  into  strong-rooms  and 
clerks'  lavatories,  w.c.'s,  &c.  The  internal  ar- 
rangements include  a  passenger  hydraulic  lift 
from  top  to  bottom.  The  internal  fittings  of 
ground  and  first  floor  are  of  Spanish  mahogany. 
Externally,  a  bold  central  doorway,  divided, 
gives  access,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  Reliance 
oflices  only,  and,  on  the  other,  to  the  National, 
and  other  offices.  The  material  used  externally 
are  red  granite  and  stone.  The  architect  is  Mr. 
Fred.  Chancellor,  of  S,  Finsbury  Circus,  City, 
and  the  builders  are  Messrs.  Perry  and  Co.,  of 
Bow. 

lIEilOKIAL     CHUECH,     SIAESLLWCH     FAEK,     EADXOK- 
SHIEE. 

This  church,  to  accommodate  232  persons,  was 
designed  to  cost  £2,000,  exclusive  of  the  spire 
and  belfry  stage  ;  the  materials  being  local  grey- 
stone  with  Forest  of  Dean  dressings  for  the 
walls,  and  internally  faced  with  Bathstone 
ashlar,  the  roofs  covered  with  red  tiles.  Our 
Ulustration  is  taken  from  a  drawing  in  the  pre- 
sent exhibition  at  the  Royal  Academy  by  Mr. 
Francis  E.  Jones,  of  Messrs.  W.  S.  We-atherley 
and  F.  E.  Jones,  20,  Coekspur-street,  Loudon, 
S.W. 

CHESTNTJT-HILL   STATION     OX    THE   NEW   YOEK   AND 
GEEENWOOD   LAKE   EAUWAY,    U.S.A. 

This  American  railway-station  is  now  in  course 
of  erection,  from  the  designs  and  f nil-size  details 
furnished  by  Mr.  MauriceB.  Adams,  A.R.I. B.  A., 
architect,  of  London.  It  is  intended  for  the  use 
of  the  residents  on  Mr.  Edward  S.  "V^'ilde's  Es- 
tate, at  Bloomfield,  and  the  adjoining  property 
on  the  Greenwood  Lake  Railway,  twelve  miles 
from  New  York.  In  America  property  owners 
along  new  lines  of  railway  always  have  to  fur- 
nish the  money  and  build  their  own  stations, 
with  but  very  Uttle  help  from  the  railway  com- 
panies, although  the  stations  thus  erected  have 
to  be  designed  in  conformity  with  the  regulations 
laid  down  by  those  who  have  constructed  the 
lines.  One  regidation  to  be  observed  is  that  a 
covered  way  in  front  of  the  station  building 
facing  the  platforms  shall  be  erected  without 
posts  or  columns,  and  so  in  the  present  case  this 
has  been  done,  while  the  internal  arrangements 
had  also  to  be  regulated  as  shown  for  similar 
reasons.  The  plans  and  elevations  which  we 
give  are  simply  reproductions,  at  a  reduced 
scale,  of  the  working  drawings,  and  thus  they 
really  explain  themselves.  The  construction  is 
entirely  of  timber,  after  the  American  manner 
of  buUdiiig,  on  a  base  waU  of  brick  and  stone, 
having  a  creamy  white  rough  cast  finished  sur- 
face between  the  timbers,  which  are  coloured  a 
dark  rich  brown.  The  roofs  are  covered  with 
tiles,  and  the  clock-dial  next  the  railway  is  in 
bronze.  The  bell  fixed  in  the  turret  is  worked 
from  the  platform.  The  site  is  on  an  elevated 
and  prominent  position,  which  immediately 
adjoins  Mr.  Wilde's  new  estate,  on  which  pic- 
turesque and  commodious  houses  are  being 
erected,  and  where  a  church  for  the  use  of  the 
residents  is  shortly  to  be  undertaken.  One  of 
the  detached  houses,  designed  by  Mr.  Adams,  Mr. 
Wilde's  architect,  was  published  in  the  Build- 
ing News  for  August  1.3,  1S79,  and  others  are 
now  in  progress  in  this  prettily. wooded  and 
rapidly-increasing  suburb  of  New  York,  where 
Mr.  Wilde's  undertakings  are  exciting  some 
attention. 

THE  TEMPLES  OF  PAESTUM.* 

COMPARA'TIVELY  few  tourists  in  Italy 
have  visited  Paestum,  owing  partly  to  the 
malaria  and  the  effort  required,  but  chiefly  to 
the  dangerous  exposures  to  brigandage.  Even 
now  it  is  prudent  to  go  in  a  considerable 
company  and  be  as  expeditious  as  possible.  We 
took  a  very  early  start  frcm  Naples  to  Batti- 
paglia,  a  station  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
beyond  Salerno,  whither  we  had  despatched 
three  horses  the  preceding  evening  from  Salerno. 
Arriving  at  Battipaglia  about  eleven,  we  drove 
as  rapidly  as  possible  to  Paestum,  a  distance  of 
thirteen  miles,  passing  two  hours  there,  and 
returning  in  time  to  take  the  five  o'clock  train 
for  Naples,   so   as   to   reach  there   that   night. 


By  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Winslow,  in  the  An. 


Immediately  on  leaving  the  railway  station  we 
entered  a  vast  marshy  plain,  where  herds  of 
buffaloes  were  grazing,  tended  by  uncouthly- 
clad  herdsmen.  Many  wild  fowl  flew  up  as  we 
passed  along,  and  occasionally  a  disconsolate 
group  of  malaria-smitten  people  sat  by  the  way- 
side. Here  and  there  a  distant  farm-house  rose 
to  view.  Our  guide  pointed  out  some  very 
malarious  spots,  and  the  forest  of  Persano  where 
brigands  commonly  inhabited.  About  three 
miles  from  Paestum  we  crossed  that  fiery  little 
river,  the  Sele,  the  scene  of  Manzi's  most  daring 
exploits  as  highwayman.  On  the  left,  at  con- 
siderable distance,  the  mountains  presented  a 
bold  and  rough  appearance ;  just  before  us  lay 
the  blue  Mediterranean  ;  the  Italian  sky  cast  its 
peculiar  haze  upon  mountain,  land,  and  sea. 
Suddenly,  perhaps  a  mile  away,  appeared  the 
Doric  temples,  in  a  simple  and  stem  grandeur, 
column  after  column  in  beautifid  outline  and 
majesty,  producing  as  clear  and  entrancing 
architectural  impressions  as  I  have  ever  received 
at  the  first  sight  of  a  noble  building.  Nor  did 
the  distance  prove  to  be  the  enchantment :  a 
close  survey  of  the  finest  of  the  ruins  (why  call 
them  ruins  r)  allowed  me  to  fully  accept  what 
Prof essor  Reinliard  Kekule  said  of  one  who  views 
them,  ' '  that  he  will  find  the  impression  produced, 
conspicuously  that  of  the  Temple  of  Neptune, 
almost  more  overpowering  than  even  the  specta- 
cle of  the  Roman  Forum." 

Standing  just  before  the  massive  and  sym- 
metrical structure,  your  eye  marvels  at  the 
perfect  proportions  and  at  the  grand  strength 
displayed  without  display.  No  Alhambric 
architect  produced  so  solemn  a  temple  ;  no  deK- 
cate  skill  could  grasp  such  stately  force  and 
give  it  so  full  an  expression.  You  cannot,  at 
first,  descend  to  ntunerals  ;  when  you  do  you 
find  there  are  thirty-six  fluted  Doric  columns  of 
a  diameter  of  seven  and  a  half  feet,  six  being  at 
either  end  and  twelve  on  each  side.  Within  are 
two  series  of  eight  columns,  each  with  a  dia- 
meter of  six  feet ;  also  a  row  of  columns  above 
that  formerly  supported  the  roof.  The  stone,  a 
kind  of  travertine,  is  ricldy  mellowed  by  age. 
Of  the  colour  of  cork,  it  has  cork-like  imperfec- 
tions or  crevices,  wherein  .snails  abide  and  sprays 
of  green  take  root.  Fo.s.sil  reeds  and  aquatic 
plants  spring  from  all  the  stones,  and  a  rich 
growth  of  ferns  and  acanthus-leaves  covers  the 
floor  of  the  temples.  No  vestiges  of  the  rose- 
gardens  so  glowingly  sung  by  the  poets  of 
Rome  now  remain.  You  look  for  "the  rust- 
ling lizard  and  the  gliding  snake,"  to  find 
many  of  the  former  and  the  latter  as  rare  as 
the  owls  of  the  Coliseum  that  poets  locate 
there. 

You  now  scan  the  second  temple  placed  a  little 
to  the  south  of  that  of  Neptune.  Less  majestic, 
it  is  still  very  impressive.  The  fifty  columns  of 
travertine  stone,  each  between  six  and  seven 
feet  in  diameter,  taper  upward  in  a  curve,  and 
the  capitals  are  of  a  peculiar  form.  This  temple 
is  divided  into  halves  by  a  series  of  central 
columns.  A  short  walk  brings  you  to  the  third 
structure,  usually  called  the  Temple  of  Ceres, 
which  has  a  fine  peristyle  of  thirty-four  columns, 
each  having  a  diameter  of  five  feet.  Over  the  six 
columns  which  stand  at  the  head  of  the  temple 
an  imposing  front  stiU  remains,  and  the  shafts  at 
the  other  end  support  a  large  remnant  of  the 
blocks  that  upheld  the  roof. 

Little  can  be  said  of  these  ruinous  temples  by 
way  of  minute  description,  because  they  are  of 
strength  and  "beauty  unadorned."  They  are 
simply  grand,  cliiefly  because  they  are  grandly 
simple.  A  profu.sion  of  words  woidd  not  help 
the  matter ;  and  even  the  photograph  fails  to 
present  a  just  impression  of  the  grandeur  of  these 
Doric  temples,  so  well  preserved  amidst  the  wear 
of  time  and  man. 


Extensive  premises  for  the  Longridge  Industrial 
Co-operative  Society  were  opened  on  Saturday 
last.  They  have  a  frontage  of  .54ft.  6in.  with  a 
depth  of  G4ft. :  in  the  basement  are  roomy  cellars 
for  stores ;  on  Ihe  ground-floor  are  three  shops 
and  warehouse  behind,  with  cart  entrance.  On 
the  first  flo jr  are  ofiice,  board-room,  conversation- 
room,  store-rooms,  and  warehouse  behind,  with 
lavatories  and  ladies'  room.  On  the  second  floor  is 
a  public  hall,  with  serving  and  retiring-rooms, 
capable  of  seating  600  or  700  persons.  The  whole 
is  substantially  built  of  stone  at  a  total  cost  of 
£2,700,  under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs.  Lax- 
worth  and  Gardner,  of  Preston. 

The  corner-stone  of  a  new  church  at  Gattey,  in 
Etchells,  Cheshire,  was  laid  on  Saturday  week. 


The  Building  I^ews.  Jul. 23,  I^^O 


PbotoiittogMphtd&PriBtMlbTJttoesAiRnnac  6  Qu^cn  Square  WC 


K) 

J 


X 


The  Building  [^ews.  Jul. 25, 15^0 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


107 


THE  PEESERVATION  OF  TIMBER.*        vacuumive  are  enabled  to  vaporise  the  moisture 

TTTx^  1       ,        J.      i,     ,      J,    ij  c  n.„  NT, „T    rapidly,   and   at  a  temperature  wMch   will   not 

HE  trustees  for  the  bondholders  of  the  ^ew  |  ,.„*'.,,„-fVo  »;..,»,„    w>,„i,  .i>„  ,..„==„.„  ;o .„,.„.„,! 


m  irusiees  lor  ine  oonauome,s  u.  --  --•     injure  the  timber.  When  the  pressure  is  removed 
Orleans  and  Mobile  Railroad  had  become       J  „_■,„„,„.■„    ,,  „  ,,„.,,.  „>,„' u„j  v^  ,t,,  ,:,„t,„,. 


so  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  value  of  coal-tar 
oil  as  a  preventive  of  decay  in  timber — which 
takes  place  rapidly  in  the  long,  warm  seasons  of 
that  latitude,  and  of  the  ravages  of  the  teredo, 
which  is  abundant  and  det-tructivo  to  the 
numerous  and  long  bridges  which  cross  the  bays 
and  inlets  alung  their  line— that  they  decided  in 
the  winter  of  1S74-5  to  creosote  the  piles  and 
timber  used  in  bridge  construction.  As  no  works 
could  be  found  in  this  couutry  treating  timber 
thoroughly  enough  to  be  sati,-factory,  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  build  machinery  and  do  the 
work  on  a  plan  different  from  any  then  in  opera- 
tion. Accordingly,  works  were  erected  at 
West  Pascagoula,  Miss.,  at  a  cost  of  about  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  and  all  the  bridges  and  water- 
ways on  the  road  have  been  constructed  of  creo- 
soted  timber,  except  the  long  spans  of  trusses, 
which  are  of  iron.  The  work  has  been  eminently 
satisfactory.  Pile  piers  have  been  built  which 
bid  fair  to  outlast  their  iron  superstructure. 

These  works  contain  two  reservoir  tanks  for 
storing  oil,  placed  in  the  groimd ;  two  tanks  for 
treating  timber,  Oft.  diameter  inside  by  lOOft. 
long  :  a  large  tubular  condenser  and  pump  for 
.supplying  it  with  water,  a  large  vacuum  piunp, 
an  oil  pump,  a  powerful  force  pump,  a  hoisting 
engine  for  handling  timber,  a  pair  of  boilers 
capable  of  furuishing  the  required  steam,  and  a 
super-heater.  These  are  all  connected  bj'  the 
requisite  pipes  and  valves.  Each  treating  tank 
contains  nearly  five  thousand  feet  of  one-inch 
pipe  arranged  in  coils,  through  which  super- 
heated steam  is  passed  for  seasoning  timber,  and 
also  iron  raUs  upon  which  cars  loaded  with 
timber  are  moved  in  and  out.  Both  heads  of 
the  treating-tanks  are  movable.  At  suitable 
distances  arc  transfer-derricks  for  loading  and 
unloading  timber.  A  large  number  of  piles, 
ninety  and  ninety-five  feet  long,  have  been 
handled  with  them.  In  work,  piles  are  cleaned 
of  dirt  and  bark,  hutted  and  sharpened,  and 
timber  cut  and  framed  ready  to  be  put  in  position. 
It  is  then  loaded  on  iron  cars,  built  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  hauled  into  the  tank.  Steam  is  then 
turned  in  through  a  perforated  pipe  extending 
along  the  inside  at  the  bottom  of  the  tank.  This  is 
continued  until  the  timber  has  become  heated 
through.  Tlie  vapour  is  then  condensed,  and  a 
partial  vacuum  produced.  Super-heated  steam 
is  passed  continually  through  the  coils  of  pipe  to 
vaporise  the  sap  and  moisture  contained  in  the 
timber,  and  as  fast  as  vaporised  it  is  condensed. 
A  partial  vacuum  being  maintained,  the  moisture 
vaporises  at  a  low  temperature,  and  the  season- 
ing proceeds  rapidly.  When  the  timber  has 
become  properly  seasoned  the  tank  is  filled  with 
oil  and  a  pressure  applied  by  means  of  the 
pressure-pump  of  from  one  himdred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred  pounds  per  square  inch.  This 
pressure  is  maintained  untU  the  pressure-gauge 
remains  constant,  showing  that  the  timber  will 
absorb  no  more  oil.  The  oil  is  then  drawn  off, 
the  load  drawn  out,  and  another  load  which  has 
meanwhile  been  prepared  di-awn  in  and  the 
process  repeated.  The  consumption  of  oil  by 
this  process  has  usually  been  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  pounds  per  c\ibic  foot,  or  from  one  and 
one-fourth  gallons  to  two  gallons  per  cubic  foot. 
Over  three  gallons  per  cubic  foot  have  been  in- 
jected in  some  loads. 

The  main  features  of  our  plan  of  treatment 
are  the  extraction  of  the  sap  or  moisture  in  the 
timber  to  prevent  fermentation,  and  also  to  pro- 
vide room  for  oil.  Timber  can  no  more  be 
steamed  dry  than  it  could  be  seasoned  by  boiling. 
The  timber,  being  cooler  than  steam,  would 
condense  and  absorb  it,  thxis  accumulating 
moisture.  Water  cannot  be  drawn  out  of  timber 
by  a  vacuum  alone.  If  timber  retained  its  mois- 
ture by  atmospheric  pressure,  then  by  removing 
such  pressure  it  would  flow  out.  But  moisture 
is  retained  in  timber  by  capUlary  attraction, 
which  is  left  in  full  force  when  atmospheric 
pressure  is  removed.  We  steam  timber  to  heat 
it  through,  as  being  the  simplest  method  of 
conveying  heat ;  then  condense  the  steam 
and  pump  out  the  air  to  produce  a  partial 
vacuum.  It  is  weU  known  that  water  vaporises 
in  a  vacuum  at  a  low  temperature.  While 
under  pressure  the  degree  of  heat  at  which 
it  vaporises  rises  to  correspond  with  the 
pressure   applied.      By    maintaining   a    partial 


by  condensation,  the  heat  absorbed  by  the  timber 
during  the  steaming  expands  the  moisture  by 
vaporising  and  drives  it  out.  Superheated  steam 
is  passed  through  the  coiU  of  one-inch  pipe  Ib 
the  treatiug-tank  to  maintain  the  temperature 
and  assist  in  vaporising  the  moisture,  and  as 
fast  as  vaporised  the  moisture  is  drawn  away  by 
the  condenser.  Tlxis  process  is  continued  until 
the  timber  has  become  satisfactorily  seasoned, 
when  the  tank  is  filled  with  oil  and  a  pressure  of 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
pounds  per  square  inch  is  applied  until  the 
timber  will  absorb  no  more  oil. 

It  is  now  nearly  four  years  since  the  construc- 
tion of  bridges  with  creosoted  timbers  was  com- 
menced, and  during  that  time  not  a  fire  has 
caught  in  the  new  work  from  passing  trains, 
while  on  bridges  constructed  of  tmcreosoted 
timber  watchmen  were  a  continual  necessity.  In 
this  respect  we  are  happily  disappointed. 


•   By    J.    W.    PuTSAU,    A.S.C.E,   in   the 
American  SttppWrntnt. 


THE  TAY  BRIDGE  DISASTER. 

THERE  was  published,  on  Wednesday 
afternoon,  an  important  report,  giving 
the  minute  of  the  Board  of  Trade  on  the  Tay 
Bridge  disaster,  which  was  agreed  to  at  the 
Council  Chamber,  Whitehall,  on  July  1.5th.  It 
is  as  follows: — 

"My  Lords  have  carefully  considered  the 
remarks  of  Major-General  Hutchinson  and  the 
reports  of  the  Commission  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  fall  of  the  Tay  Bridge.  They  desire, 
in  the  first  place,  to  state  that  they  have  al- 
ways placed  entire  confidence  in  Major-General 
Hvitchinson.  No  more  competent,  conscientious, 
and  intelligent  oificer  could  have  been  found  to 
whom  to  intrust  the  inspection  of  the  structure 
in  question,  and  they  are  of  opinion  that  his 
conduct  of  that  inspection  has  not  been  such  as 
to  forfeit  their  confidence.  In  order  that  there 
may  be  no  misapprehension  of  the  limit  of 
the  duty  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  its 
oflicers,  they  think  it  right  to  add  the  following 
observations: — By  the  Act  .5  and  C  Vic- 
toria, chap.  5-5,  every  railway  company 
is  bound  to  give  notice  to  the  Board 
of  Trade  of  their  intention  to  open  any 
line,  or  portion  of  line,  and  the  Beard 
of  Trade  have  then  the  power  to  appoint  an 
officer  to  inspect  the  work,  and  if  that  officer  re- 
ports that  the  opening  would  be  attended  with 
danger  to  the  public  by  reason  of  the  incomplete- 
ness of  the  works  and  permanent  way,  or  in- 
sufficiency of  establishment  for  working  the 
railway,  together  with  the  grounds  of  his 
opinion,  the  ]3oard  of  Trade  have  power,  within 
ten  days,  to  postpone  the  opening.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  a  report  to  the  above  effect,  the  Bodrd 
of  Trade  have  no  powers  in  the  matter,  and  the 
company  are  at  liberty,  on  their  own  responsi- 
bilitv,  to  open  the  line  and  to  convey  passengers 
over'it.  The  Board  of  Trade  have  no  power  to 
require  the  companies  to  submit  j)lans  of  new 
works  before  they  are  constructed,  nor  have  the 
Board  of  Trade  or  its  officers  iiny  power  to  in- 
spect or  supervise  the  works  while  in  progress. 
The  Board  of  Trade  officers  are  therefcre  not 
placed  in  a  position  to  express  an  opinion  upon 
the  design  of  the  work  before  it  is  constructed, 
nor  upon  the  workmanship  and  materials  whilst 
it  is  progress.  AH  that  the  inspecting  officer  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  can  do  is  to  visit  the  work 
when  notice  is  given  by  the  company  that  it  is 
complete,  and  then  and"  there  to  form  such  an 
opinion  as  the  circumstances  permit  of  its  com- 
pleteness. Neither  has  the  Board  of  Trade 
any  power  to  sanction  the  opening  of  any 
new  work  subject  to  any  conditions.  They 
must  either  postpone  the  opening^  alto- 
gether, or  leave  the  line  to  be  opened.  Xcr  has 
the  Board  any  power,  after  the  work  is  once 
opened,  to  compel  the  company  to  keep  and 
maintain  it  in  proper  repair,  or  to  make  such 
alterations  or  additions  as  they  may  think  fit. 
I'nder  these  circumstances  it  is  clear  that 
Major-General  Hutchinson  could  not  be  respon- 
sible for  any  defects  in  the  Tay  Bridge  which 
were  not  discoverable  on  such  an  inspection  as 
he  was  empowered  to  make.  It  is  clear  that 
he  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  faults  in  the 
material  and  workmanship  which  were  not 
visible  when  the  work  was  finished  and  pamted  : 
still  less  for  defects  which  did  not  exist  until 
after  his  inspection.  As  regards  design,  it  may 
be  said  that  he  ought  to   have  seen  that  the 


work  was  essentially  weak,  and  to  have  reported 
accordingly ;  but  this  ii,  to  say  the  least, 
extremely  doubtful.  The  duty  of  an  inspecting- 
ciflicer,  80  far  as  regards  design,  is  to  see  that 
tlic  construction  is  not  such  as  to  transgress 
those  rules  and  precautions  which  practice  and 
experience  have  proved  to  bo  ncccHsary  for 
safety.  If  ho  were  to  go  beyond  this,  or  if  ho 
were  to  make  himself  responsible  for  every  novel 
design,  and  if  he  were  to  attempt  to  introduoo 
new  rules  and  practices  not  accepted  by  the 
profession,  he  would  bo  removing  from  tho  civil 
engineer  and  taking  upon  himself  u  rcHponsi- 
bility  not  committed  to  liim  by  rarliamcut. 

In  the  present  case  tho  work  was  submitted  to 
the  ordinary  tests,  and  it  might  ulill  have  been 
standing  had  proper  means  been  taken  to  main- 
tain it.  Mujor-General  Hutehiiinon  teems, 
indeed,  to  have  suspected  its  weakness,  and 
gave  a  warning  which  was  nut  sufticieDtly 
attended  to.  Had  ho  stated  cxplii  ity,  in  addi- 
tion, that  in  his  opinion  the  structure,  thoQgh 
not  incomplete  within  tho  meaning  of  tho  Act, 
was  weak  in  design,  and  would  therefore  require 
special  care  in  maintenance,  his  report  would 
have  suggested  precautions  which  have  been 
neglected,  and  which  events  have  since  piOTed 
to  have  been  neccs.sary,  though  it  would  hSTO 
gone  beyond  the  letter  of  the  statue  under  which 
he  was  acting. 

The  Board  of  Trade  arc  unwilling  to  conclude 
this  minute  without  some  general  remarks  on 
the  policy  of  tho  legislation  to  which  they  have 
adverted.  It  may  appear  to  some  that  tho 
present  state  of  things  is  one  wliich  cannot  be 
logically  defended,  and  that  the  Board  of  Trade 
ought  to  be  intrusted  with  further  powers.  Tho 
experience  of  a  great  number  of  years  has, 
however,  shown  that  tho  present  system  docs 
not  work  unsatisfactorily,  and  a  little  considera- 
tion will  show  that  the  pubhc  safety  and  con- 
venience would  not  be  promoted  by  such  achange. 

In  the  first  place,  if  the  Board  of  Trade  were 
to  be  held  responsible  for  the  designs  of  railway 
structures  and  for  the  supervision  of  their  execu- 
tion, they  must  employ  a  st.iif  as  experienced,  as 
numerous,  and  probably  as  highly  remunerated 
as  the  civil  engineers  by  and  under  whom  these 
structures  are  now  designed  and  executed.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  obsen'o  on  the  impracticabi- 
lity of  such  a  step. 

I5ut  this  is  not  all.  If  any  public  department 
were  intnisted  with  the  power  and  the  duty  of 
correcting  and  guaranteeing  the  designs  of  those 
engineers  who  are  responsible  for  railway  struc- 
tures, the  result  woudd  bo  to  cheek  and  control 
the  enterprise  which  has  done  so  much  for  tho 
country,  and  to  substitute  for  the  real  respon- 
sibility which  rests  on  the  railway  engineer  the 
unreal  and  delusive  responsibility  of  a  public 
office.  At  the  present  moment  there  is  no  one 
who  is  more  deserving  of  pity  than  the  civil 
engineer  who  designed  and  constructed  the  Tay 
BrTdo-e,  and  who,  as  the  law  now  stands,  is  held 
responsible  for  its  defects.  With  his  ca.se  in 
view,  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that 
any  civil  engineer  intrusted  with  a  similar  ta.-k 
in  future  will  commit  similar  errors.  Had  the 
law  been  such  as  to  make  the  report  of  the  m- 
specting  officer  a  guarantee  for  the  design,  this 
responsibility  would  have  been  removcxl  from  the 
civil  engineer,  and  the  public  would,  instead, 
have  had  to  trust  to  a  pubUcfficer  whose  know- 
led"-e  and  control  must  be  comparatively  madc- 
quate,  and  against  whom  no  timihir  responai- 
biUtycan  be  enforced.  In  liise  manner,  to  impose 
on  any  public  department  the  duty  of  exercising 
a  control  over  the  current  minagcment 
of  railways  would  bo  attended  with  equal 
difficulty  and  danger.  To  say  nothing 
of  the  necessary  evils  of  double  manage- 
ment, any  Government  department  exer- 
cising such  control  would,  if  .slack  m  their  super- 
vision, appear  to  guataut'  ...')..-■:  "  ir- 
which  miglit  be  really  f 
and  would,  if  the . supervisi  ■ 

iaterfere  with  railway  nii:  .  i  „,, 

extent  as  to  aUenate  from  it  the  pubhc  '^-"'■'J'-af;; 
and  destroy  with  it  its  moral  influence  and  iX» 
capacity  for  u.sefulnes.s.  Whibt.  t^'^-f^".  •' 
m^«t  be  fuUv  admitted  that  the  p-.W.c  •afety  in 
the  first  plice,  and  publicconvenunce  in  the 
second,  a^  the  principal  if  not  'h^  only  con- 
siderations which  ought  to  govern  such  f''^^.  •' 
appears  that  these  ob:ect»  would  not  be  pro- 
moted if  a  greater  responsibility  '«*«^.'"'^'^« 
Board  of  Trade  and  its  officers,  and  a  lesser 
resposibiUty  with  the  company  and  their  cngi- 


108 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


OnSEBTATIOXS  OF  JIAJOB-OEKEBAI,  HUTCHIXSOX. 

In  compliance  with  the  terms  of  your  minute 
inclosinj;  copies  of  the  reports  of  the  Court 
of  Inquiry  and  of  Mr.  Rothcry  on  the 
fall  of  the  Tay  Bridge,  and  stating  that 
the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  wished 
to  be  fumislied  witli  any  observations  I 
might  hare  to  offer  bearing  upon  the  remarks 
made  with  reference  to  my  inspection  of  that 
bridge,  I  would  merely  repeat  the  substance  of 
my  evidence  before  the  Court  of  Inquiiy, 
namely,  that  I  was  appointed  to  inspect  the  Tay 
Bridge  on  the  loth  of  Februarj-,  ISTS,  and 
received  at  about  the  same  time  the  ijlaiis  and 
details  relating  to  its  consti'uction,  these  plans 
and  details  having  been  the  first  information  with 
which  the  Board  of  Trade  had  been  furnished 
concerning  the  mode  of  cunning  out  this 
important  work  ;  that  I  devoted  much  anxious 
care  and  thought  to  this  important  duty,  both 
before  the  inspection  and  during  the  throe 
daya  (25th,  2Gth,  and  27th  February)  that  the 
inspection  lasted ;  that  as  regards  the  theoretical 
strength  of  the  bridge  for  carrying  the  weights 
to  which  it  might  be  subjected,  it  appeared  to 
be  suflicicntly  strong ;  that  under  a  test  load  of 
six  heavy  engines,  run  over  it  at  various  speeds 
up  to  40  miles  an  hour,  the  high  girders  showed 
very  moderate  deflections  and  very  little 
lateral  inovenacnt ;  that  from  as  careful  exami- 
nation as  I  was  able  to  make,  both  before  and 
after  test,  I  saw  no  structural  defects  to  excite 
any  uneasy  feeling  cither  about  the  quality  of 
the  materials  employed  or  the  way  in  which  they 
had  been  put  together ;  and  that  I  was  conse- 
quently justifiiil  in  assuming  that  the  work  was 
sound  and  the  workmansliip  good ;  but  that, 
nevertheless,  liu\-ing  regard  to  the  compara- 
tively narrow  base  of  the  piers  and  their  compo- 
site structure,  it  was  dcsiiable  to  submit  them  to 
as  little  racking  motion  as  possible,  and  that  I 
therefore  reconunended  a  moderate  speed,  not 
exceeding  25  miles  an  hour,  to  be  observed  in 
running  over  the  bridge ;  that  witli  regard  to 
wind  pressure  there  had  been  in  this  country 
no  definite  rules  laid  down  for  guidance, 
and  that  it  had  not  been  customary  in 
open  struct'ores,  such  as  the  Tay  Bridge,  to 
consider  the  subject,  as  the  necessary  stability 
given  to  the  piers  for  other  considerations  would 
enable  them  to  bear  any  probable  wind  "pressure 
thlit  would  come  upon  them.  Had  I,  however, 
entered  into  calculations  upon  that  subject,  the 
theoretical  results  I  should  have  arrived  at  with 
such  data  as  were  available  at  the  time,  would 
not,  I  believe,  have  justified  me  in  recommend- 
ing the  Board  of  Trade  to  object  to  the  opening 
of  the  bridge  on  the  ground  of  insufficient 
strength  to  resist  any  anticipated  wind  pressure. 
Further,  that  as  the  bridge  appeared  to  have 
been  (as  from  the  only  means  1  had  of  judging, 
viz.,  from  the  plans  and  inspection  after  com- 
pletion, I  was  justified  in  assuming  it  to  have 
been)  constructed  of  good  materials,  well  put 
together,  that  it  hud  well  stood  the  tests  to 
which  it  had  been  submitted,  and  assuming  (as 
I  was  again  justified  in  assuming)  that  it  would 
be  well  and  carefully  maintained,  there  was  no 
sufficient  reason  to  jiu-^tify  me  in  recommending 
the  Board  of  Trade  to  object  to  the  I'ailway  over 
the  Tay  Bridge  being  opened  for  public  traffic, 
subject  to  the  recommendation  as  to  the  limita- 
tion of  speed  to  25  miles  an  hour. 

Owing  to  the  magnitude  and  importance  of 
the  structure,  I  was  anxious  to  see  how  far  the 
lateral  stiffness  of  the  piers  (which  had  been 
satisfactorily  under  the  test  of  engines  running 
fast  over  it)  might  be  affected  by  the  action  of 
high  wind  upon  the  side  of  a  train  in  motion 
over  the  bridge. 

This  I  had  intended  to  get,  if  possible,  an 
opportunity  of  doing  before  the  traffic  com- 
menced running,  but  I  was  laid  aside  by  serious 
illness  shortly  after  tlio  inspection,  and  before 
my  recovery  the  bridge  had  been  opened  for 
traffic.  C.  S.  HoTcniNsoif. 

12th  July,  1880. 


DECORATIVE  ART. 

I^NGLISHMEX  toast,  writes  Mr.  Lewis  F 
_i  Day,  in  the  Maffazine  of  Art,  that  they  arc 
proud  of  their  homes,  and  attached  to  them. 
They  may  be  so.  Only  few  homes  look  as  if 
any  one  had  any  intelligent  interest  ic  them. 
Tou  may  go  from  liouse  to  house  among  your 
neighbours,  and  from  no  one  dwelling  shall  you 
be  able  (n  gather  a  distinct  impression  of  its 
owner.    Each  r eflects  the  others,  or  rather  they 


are  all  reflections,  paler  or  more  pronounced,  as 
the  case  may  be,  of  what  is,  or  was,  the  prevail- 
ing fashion.  The  exceptions  to  the  rule  will  be 
few,  and  these  shall  betray,  not  the  more  loving 
householder,  but  the  more  "  ad%-anoed"  deco- 
rator. If  by  chance  some  particle  of  the  per- 
sonality of  the  man  whose  house  it  is  peeps  out, 
the  odds  are  that  it  strikes  a  false  note  in  the 
^eneral  effect.  Those  who  have  heedlessly 
succumbed  to  the  decorative  mania  often  begin 
too  late  to  find  that  the  little  comforts  and  con- 
veniences to  which  they  were  accustomed  are  out 
of  keeping  with  their  "  fine  art "  furniture,  and 
they  blindly  attribute  to  the  fault  of  art  what 
is  in  fact  due  to  the  thoughtlessness  with  which 
they  adopted  a  fashion  altogether  out  of  accord 
with  their  individual  wants  and  ways.  AH  the 
railing  against  "  aesthetic  "  furniture  and  its 
inconvenience,  all  the  sneers  against  art  that 
is  uppcnnost  in  the  house,  all  the  protests  in 
favour  of  usefulness  and  cosiness  and  comfort 
(implying  unquotable  maledictions  on  art  and 
its  unservieeableness),  resolve  themselves  into  so 
many  unconscious  confessions  of  ignorance  con- 
cerning the  relation  of  art  to  every-daylife.  The 
furniture  that  is  inconvenient,  no  matter  what 
the  waste  of  workmanship,  sins  against  taste  as 
well  as  reason.  To  revolutionise  the  household 
is  very  far  from  being  the  function  of  art  at  all. 
And  if  use,  cosiness,  and  comfort  cannot  be  re- 
conciled with  beauty,  blame  the  artist  for  his 
incompetence,  but  do  not  condemn  art  because 
its  votary  is  unecjual  to  the  occasion. 

It  is  at  the  starting-point  ot  decoration  that 
the  most  fatal  blunders  are  made.  Some  effect 
that  we  have  seen,  some  "style"  that  is  in 
fashion,  something  that  may  be  quite  contrary 
to  our  way  of  life,  catches  our  fancy  ;  and  we 
proceed  to  revolutionise  the  house,  and,  in  the 
name  of  art,  to  render  ourselves  uncomfortable, 
dragging  that  name  into  the  contempt  of  all  who 
have  retained  their  sober  senses. 

How  happens  it  that  the  word  "  homely  "  is 
associated  with  ugliness  ?  A  certain  simplicity 
and  sobriety  are,  rightly  enough,  in  character 
with  the  life  of  simple,  sober  people  ;  but  the 
Puritan  protest  against  luxury,  looseness,  and 
extravagance  was  more  earnest  than  discrimi- 
nating. The  arts,  whose  highest  development 
was  naturally  found  in  princely  palaces,  fell 
into  disrepute  along  with  their  royal  patrons, 
and  to  this  day  they  have  scarcely  regained 
their  prestige  among'  the  sterner  and  more 
matter-of-fact— I  will  not  say  more  Puritan — 
Englishmen. 

The  abuse  of  art  does  not  condemn  it.  There 
is  nothing  incompatible  between  homeliness  and 
beauty,  unless,  indeed,  a  man  love  ugliness, 
and  then  beauty  is  out  of  her  element  within  his 
walls.  A  man's  home  should  seem  to  have 
grown  round  him  like  a  shell ;  it  should  fit  him 
as  natvurally ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  as  beautiful  as  any  shell  that  ever 
housed  fish.  It  does  not  seem  much  to  ask 
that  a  man's  home  should  appear  to  belong  to 
him ;  but  the  modern  manner  is  to  rub  down 
all  personal  and  characteristic  angles  to  a  dead- 
level  of  polish  that  reflects  just  what  happens 
to  come  in  contact  with  it.  To  be  indi\-idual  is 
to  be  in  continual  danger  of  offending  against 
social  cctivcnriiias.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that 
persons  of  real  taste  fit  up  their  houses  taste- 
lessly, intelligent  people  senselessly,  and  men 
and  women  of  refinement  satisfy  themselves,  in 
this  one  respect,  with  something  like  very  much 
vulgarity. 

Too  much  is  left  to  the  decorator ;  too  much 
is  expected  of  him. 

It  happens  fretiuently  that  the  persons  who 
apply  to  him  have  formed  no  notion  of  what 
they  want  in  the  way  of  decoration.  I  think 
they  .should  have  something  more  than  a  notion. 
What  your  ideal  of  a  room  may  be  it  is  quite 
beyond  the  province  of  any  one  but  your  most 
intimtite  friend  to  divine.  'ftTiether  you  prefer 
a  light  room  or  a  dark  one,  a  rich  decoration 
or  a  delicate  one,  is  a  matter  of  choice — of 
temperament  perhaps,  or  of  eyesight.  If  you 
leave  it  in  the  hands  of  an  artist,  he  may 
succeed  in  producing  something  very  admirable 
indeed,  but  which  you  cannot  in  the  least 
admire,  because  it  is  not  in  the  direction  towards 
which  your  sympathies  tend.  If  you  leave  it  in 
the  hands  of  a  tradesman,  he  too  (having  an  artist 
in  his  employ),  may  do  something  equally  good, 
or  something  very  bad ;  but,  in  cither  case 
what  character  there  is  in  it  belongs  to  the  par- 
ticiUar  workshop  whence  it  was  derived,  whereas 
what  is  wanted  in  domestic  decoration  is  the  cha- 


racter of  the  inhabitant.  Tliis  will  possibly  not 
be  very  readily  conceded  ;  but  it  is  acknowledged 
by  implication  in  the  common  remark  that  deco- 
ration gives  to  a  house  an  air  of  discomfort.  The 
decoration  that  does  so  was  from  the  first  ill- 
advised.  What  else  is  to  be  said  of  decoration, 
when  it  is  not  till  the  novelty  of  it  begins  to 
wear  off  that  folks  dare  to  be  themselves  in  their 
rooms,  and  to  admit  those  familiar  and  necessary 
conveniences  and  comforts  that  make  home 
homely  ?  The  mistake  was  in  ever  thinking  to 
exclude  them.  The  decorator  should  take  those 
very  personal  and  individual  wants  into  con- 
sideration from  the  first,  and,  indeed,  found  his 
scheme  of  decoration  upon  them.  He  should 
begin  by  consulting  his  patron  and  finding  out 
what  he  wants,  advising  him  against  that  which 
is  impractical,  protesting  against  that  which  is 
tasteless,  and  striving  always  not  to  carry  out 
some  fine  ideas  of  his  own,  but  to  put  into  work- 
ing order  those  of  his  employer.  His  business 
is  not  so  much  to  think  for  his  patron  as  to  put 
his  thoughts  into  artistic  form,  A  mean 
ambition,  you  say  !  Perhaps.  And  yet  the 
poets  we  most  esteem  are  not  those  who  tell  tis 
something  that  is  new  to  us,  but  those  who  most 
perfectly  express  for  us  the  thought  that  was 
ours  before — vague  and  bodiless  hitherto, 
henceforth  and  for  ever  now  a  definite  delight. 

Decorative  art  may  very  readUy  be  associated 
with  every  comfort  and  convenience  ;  it  will  add 
to,  instead  of  detracting  from,  homeliness, 
oneness,  and  character ;  ii  only  we  begin  fimn 
ourselves,  if  our  art  is  based  upon  our  wants,  if 
our  single  aim  is  honestly  to  express  our  best 
selves  in  oar  surroundings.  The  veritable 
demons  that  come  between  art  and  homeliness 
are  Insincerity,  Half-heartedness,  and  Brag. 

The  circumstances  under  which  our  houses 
assume  their  incongruous  appearance  go  far  to 
account  for  it.  Before  ever  the  tenant  came 
into  possession  the  walls  were  htmg  with  paper 
selected  by  the  builder,  in  whose  eyes  those 
patterns  are  most  beautifid  on  which  the  largest 
trade  diseoimt  is  allowed.  The  dining-room,  of 
course,  is  red,  the  woodwork  wainscot  or  wal; 
nut  ;  the  drawing-room  white  and  gold,  with 
folding-doors  of  most  marvellous  maple.  THS 
bedrooms  have  been  painted  with  a  cold  greyish- 
white,  and  papered"  with  a  view  to  smartness, 
and  without  regard  to  repose.  Even  if  we  were 
in  time  to  have  a  voice  in  these  things, 
and  chose  them  with  some  taste,  they  wei'e  most 
likely  determined  without  any  forethought  for 
the  further  furnishing  of  the  room.s.  Each  in- 
dividual item  of  decoration  was  chc>sen 
for  its  intrinsic  excellence,  perhaps,  more 
likely  for  its  cheapness,  possibly  for  no 
better  reason  than  that  it  was  novel.  The 
carpet  owes  its  selection  to  the  effect  of  a  yard 
of  it  seen  amongst  a  distracting  variety  of  pat- 
terns by  a  purchaser  who  could  have  but  a  faint 
conception  of  what  its  effect  en  masse  would  be. 
It  bears  no  sort  of  relation  to  the  rest  of  the 
furniture,  most  of  which  was  rashly  ordered  on 
the  ground  of  its  effectiveness  in  the  show-room, 
and  remains  ever  since  a  reproach  to  oiu'  indis- 
cretion. The  pictures  are  such  as  chanced  to 
catch  the  fancy  of  the  owner,  who  did  not  pause 
to  think  how  they  would  look  on  his  walls,  or 
where  he  should  find  room  for  them.  The  orna- 
ments of  bronze,  brass,  ormolu,  ivory,  alabaster, 
china,  terra-cotta,  lacquer,  wax-work,  or  em- 
broidery, are  more  ill-assorted  than  all ;  being, 
for  the  most  part,  the  gifts  of  various  kind 
friends  of  very  various  tastes,  each  of  whom 
presented  what  he  or  she  thought  "pretty." 
It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  more  unfavour. 
able  conditions  than  those  for  the  introduction 
of  art  into  the  house.  It  is  only  after  years  of 
gradual  weeding  out  of  the  inappropriate  and 
gradual  introduction  of  what  is  really  fit,  that 
many  a  home  begins  to  assume  its  homely  cha- 
racter. Habit  and  convenience  effect,  perhaps, 
at  last  what  it  should  have  been  the  first  object 
of  art  to  produce — oneness  and  repose. 


The  new  Grosvenor  Park  Baptist  Chapel,  Chester, 
was  opened  on  Tuesday  week.  The  chapel  has 
been  built  fjom  designs  of  Mr.  J.  Douglas,  of 
Chester,  and  the  contractor  for  the  work  was  Mr. 
W.  Vernon.  The  materials  used  for  the  outside 
are  red  Rudlow  brick  for  the  walling,  Cefn  stone 
for  the  dressings,  and  crown  tiles  for  the  roofs. 
The  dimensions  of  the  building  are  GGft.  by  ISft., 
and  about  48ft.  to  the  ridge  of  the  roof. 

The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  decided  on 
Friday  to  erect  a  new  fire  brigade  station  for  Hol- 
born  on  a  vacant  plot  of  the  Board's  freehold  land 
at  the  western  end  of  Theobald's  road. 


July  23,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


109 


ABCHITECTURAI,  &  ARCH^OLOGICAL 
SOCIETIES. 

BEITISn  AECHiEOLOOICAI;  ASSOCIATION. — The 
annual  excursion  of  this  association  will  be  made 
to  Wiltshire  in  the  third  week  in  August,  the 
headqu  arters  being  at  the  ancient  county  town 
of  Devizes.  The  proceedings  will  open  iu  the 
town  hall  of  the  borough  on  the  afternoon  of 
Monday,  the  16th  pros.,  after  which  the  County 
Museum,  the  churches  of  St.  John  and  St. 
Mary,  and  tho  remains  of  the  Castle  will  be 
visited.  On  Tuesday  an  exeui-sion  wiU  be  made  to 
Potteme,  where  tho  church  and  several  mediieval 
houses  will  be  inspected,  and  the  carriage  drive 
will  be  continued  through  Erlestoke  to  Edington, 
where  the  priory  church  wiU  demand  attention. 
Bratton  Castle,  said  to  be  the  entrenchment  of 
Guthrum  the  Dane,  will  bo  exainined,  and  also 
the  adjacent  Wliite  Horse,  while  on  the  return 
journey  tho  churches  of  Steeple  Aston,  Keevil, 
and  PJulshot  are  to  be  seen.  On  Wednesday, 
Bishop  Canning's  Church,  the  Wansdyke,  the 
Roman-road,  tho  famous  "  Drmdic  "  circle  at 
Aburj',  and  SUbm-y-hiU,  will  be  visited,  and 
described  by  tho  Eev.  A.  C.  Smith.  On  Thurs- 
day the  members  will  proceed  to  Chippenham 
by  raU,  and  then  visit  Bradenstoke  Priorj'  and 
Malmesbury,  where  the  Market  Cross,  the  Abbey, 
and  Priory  llouse  wUl  be  inspected,  and  described 
by  Messrs.  Thos.  Blashill,  Patrick,  and  J. 
Reynolds.  On  Friday,  Vespasian's  Camp  at 
Amesbury  and  Stonehenge  will  be  visited,  the 
return  being  made  to  Devizes  across  Salisbirry 
Plain.  On  Saturday,  Bromham  Church,  the 
Koman-road  near  Wanshouse,  Bowood,  Lacock 
Abbey,  and  Melkshamwill  form  the  programme. 
Monday  and  Tuesday,  the  2oi-d  and  2ith,  wUl 
be  extra  days,  on  the  first  of  which  Bedwyn, 
Chisbury  Camp,  and  Eamsbury  Manor  wUl  be 
taken,  and  on  the  second  Savernake,  the  seat  of 
the  Marqius  of  AUesbmy  and  Marlborough. 

SuKEEY  Akch.'eological  SOCIETY. — The  annual 
general  meeting  of  this  society  took  place  on 
Wednesday  last,  21st  instant,  at  its  council- 
room,  8,  Dane's  Inn,  Strand.  Major  Heales, 
F.S.A.,  occupied  the  chair,  supported  by  Messrs. 
C.  H.  Cooke,  F.R.I. B. A,  Ralph  Nevill,  F.S.A., 
A.  J.  Style,  &o.  The  report  of  the  council  and 
balance-sheet  of  accounts  were  confii-med. 
Among  other  matters,  the  report  regretted  the 
death  of  Mr.  Planche,  an  honorary  member  of 
the  society.  The  retiring  members  of  the 
council,  the  auditors  (Messrs.  J.  T.  Lacey  and 
W.  F.  Potter),  and  the  honorary  secretary  (Mr. 
Thomas  Milboum)  were  unanimously  re-elected. 
It  was  announced  that  the  annual  excursion 
would  take  place  on  Friday,  the  30th  instant,  to 
Famham,  Waverley  Abbey,  and  Farnhani 
Castle,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Eight  Rev. 
Bishop  of  Winchester.  A  vote  of  thanks  to 
Major  Heales  for  presiding  closed  the  pro- 
ceedings. 

The  Royal  A-rco^eolookx'l  Institute. — The 
Archaeological  Institute  holds  its  annual  meeting 
at  Lincoln  this  year,  commencing  July  27.  On 
Tuesday  afternoon,  27th,  Mr.  G.  T.  Clark  will 
describe  Lincoln  Castle,  and  there  wUl  be  excui" 
sions  on  Wednesday,  2Sth,  to  Gainsborough  and 
Stow.  On  Thui'sday  morning  the  architectural 
history  of  Lincoln  Cathedral  will  be  dealt  with, 
and  the  building  described  bj-  Canon  Veuables  ; 
and  in  the  afternoon  the  question  of  the  restoration 
of  the  west  front  of  St.  Alban's  Cathedral  will  be 
the  subject  of  a  lecture  by  Canon  Owen  Davys, 
of  Wheatharapstead,  illustrated  by  large  draw- 
ings. On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  will  hold  a  reception  at  Rise- 
holme  Palace.  On  Friday  there  will  be  excur- 
sions to  Grantham,  Sleaford,  Heckington, 
Boston,  and  Tattershall ;  on  Saturday  to  Newark, 
Hawton,  and  Southwell :  and  on  Monday  to 
Navenby,  Brant-Broughton,  and  Somerton 
Castle.  It  is  expected  that  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln 
will  preach  in  the  cathedral  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing. 

COMPETITIONS. 

Glacoow. — As  will  bo  seen  from  an  advertise- 
ment elsewhere,  several  of  the  designs  for  the  new 
mrmicipal  buildings  have  been  sent  in  with 
identical  mottoes,  thus  rendering  the  task  of  the 
corporation  a  somewhat  perplexing  one.  Mr. 
Charles  Barry  will  proceed  to  report  on  the  de- 
signs early  next  month,  previous  to  which  time 
the  competitors  who  have  used  similar  mottoes 
are  requested  to  take  the  means  pointed  out  by 
the  corporation  for  their  better  identificatiou. 


SCHOOLS      OF      ART. 

Ne-^-ton  Abbot.— There  are  several  novel  and 
important  features  in  connection  with  tho  pro- 
posed establishment  of  a  school  of  Science  and 
Art  at  Newton  Abbot,  which  will  be  ere  long 
inaugurated  tinder  the  presidency  of  tho  Earl  of 
Devon.  One  of  the  difliculties  in  the  way  of 
popularising  artistic  and  scientific  education  is 
that  the  appeal  has  generally  perforce  been  made 
rather  to  the  few  than  to  the  many,  who  prefer 
the  iiiih-e  to  the  nti'i:  And  when  the  eitort  has 
been  put  forth,  as  has  frequently  been  tho  case,  to 
combine  amusement  with  instruction,  the  result 
has  generally  been  that  by  the  severance  of  the 
two  the  desired  result  has  failed  of  production, 
and  that  the  amused  are  only  partially  instructed, 
though  tho  instructed  may  more  adequately 
have  been  amused.  One  of  the  chief  features 
of  the  new  Science  and  Art  School  which  it  is 
proposed  to  establish  at  Newton,  and,  indeed, 
its  leading  novelty,  is  the  outcome  of  tho 
experience  and  practical  suggestions  of  Mr. 
John  Phillips,  the  honorary  secretary  pro  turn., 
and  it  is  this — the  giving  of  public  lectures  on 
simple  scientific  subjects,  iu  plain  language,  such 
as  those  in  connection  with  the  Twickenham 
Economic  Museum,  the  South  London  Working- 
man's  College,  and  similar  Institutions,  these 
lectures  to  be  made  additionally  attractive  by 
the  introduction  at  intervals  of  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music.  This  music,  on  the  one  hand,  is 
to  be  provided  by  the  students  at  the  school, 
and  on  the  other  tho  scientific  portions 
of  the  lectures  are  to  be  ela'oorated  in  class. 
In  its  practical  bearing  in  connection  with 
ceramic  work  it  may,  indeed,  have  very  im- 
portant results.  Newton  is  iu  the  centre  of  five 
potteries,  all  capable  of  producing  art  pottery, 
and  affording  facilities  for  such  work.  No 
place  in  the  West  of  England,  and  few  indeed 
anywhere,  afford  such  facilities  for  producing 
faience  ware,  accepting  the  present  definition 
of  faience  as  a  local  pottery,  produced  from 
exclusively  local  material,  for  most  of  the  pot- 
tery of  the  district  is  of  this  character.  No- 
where, in  fact,  is  there  such  a  juxtaposition  of 
the  most  important  essentials,  either  for  finer 
faience  than  is  made  elsewhere,  or  for  pottery 
generally,  than  is  found  in  the  ueighboiu'hood. 
The  original  Faenza  ware  was  coarse  pottery 
of  local  clays.  Finer,  but  corresponding,  is 
the  beautiful  Vallauris  ware,  though  there  the 
material  is  chiefly  hidden  by  the  enamels  ;  and 
finer  still  is  the  Lambeth  faience,  made,  how- 
ever, not  of  local  clays,  but  of  DevoDshire  and 
other  clays.  Hence  ' '  Devonshire  Faience ' ' 
would  be  as  true  a  production  as  the  original 
ware  of  Faenza  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  at  all 
why  the  Newton  School,  with  its  special  direc- 
tion to  this  subject,  should  not  produce  art- 
workers,  either  among  rich  or  poor,  who  could 
design  or  decorate  equally  with  the  art- workers, 
poor,  in  our  sense,  and  uneducated,  of  Italy, 
Rhodes,  kc.  At  all  events,  the  effort  is  now 
about  to  be  made  under  auspices  which  ought  to 
command  success. 

School  of  Aet,  South  Kexsingion. — In  the 
concluding  lecture  of  the  present  course  on  "Art 
History,"  Dr.  Zerffi  gave,  on  Tuesday  last, 
some  interesting  statistics  with  reference  to  the 
growth  of  the  attendances  at  these  lectures.  Dr. 
Zerffi,  in  1869,  commenced  to  lecture  to  an 
audience  of  seven.  Since  then  he  has  de- 
livered no  less  than  44G  lectures,  attended,  on 
an  average,  by  70  persons,  making  a  total  of 
31,220  attendances.  Each  lecture,  it  printed, 
would  extend  to  about  32  pages  8vo.,  and  the 
lecturer  has  thus  furnished  material  enough  to 
fill  20  volumes  of  7122  pages  each.  The  present 
course  of  40  lectures  was  attended  by  3,600  per- 
sons, making  an  average  of  90  per  lecture.  This 
affords  satisfactory  proof  of  the  gradual  spread 
of  the  taste  for  the  study  of  the  historical  de- 
velopment of  art. 

PARLIAMENTARY  NOTES. 
The  Bkitish  Museitm:  —Mr.  D.  Grant,  on 
Tuesday,  asked  the  right  hon.  member  for  Cam- 
bridge University,  as  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  British  Museum,  whether  arrangements 
could  be  made  for  lighting  the  building  so 
that  it  could  remain  open  to  the  public  until  10 
o'clock  at  night.  Mr.  Walpole  regretted  that  he 
could  not  give  so  favourable  an  answer  as  might 
be  desired.  The  proposal  to  light  up  the  museum 
had  been  before  the  trustees  on  more  than  one  oc- 
casion ;  but  they  always  found,  on  consulting  the 
highest  and  best  authorities,   that  the  use  of  gas 


would  ho  so  injurious  to  some  of  the  collections, 
particularly  to  tho  books  and  sculpture,  and 
would  be  attended  with  so  much  danger  of  fire,  that 
thoy  hud  not  sceu  their  way  to  sanction  its  use.  It 
was  possible  that  the  use  of  gas  might  bo  super- 
seded by  tho  elo;tric  light,  which  hud  been  intro- 
duced into  the  reading-room,  much  to  tho  advan- 
tage of  students,  who,  during  tho  winter,  were 
allowed  to  remain  until  7  o'clock.  Uo  was  iu- 
furmed,  however,  that  tliu  cxporionco  obtained 
\yould  not  justify  a  more  extended  use  of  the 
light  in  other  parts  of  tho  building,  «u.-h  as  tho 
exhibition-rooms  and  long  galleries,  because  tho 
means  had  not  yet  been  discoveroj  of  impartiiig 
steadiness  to  the  largo  nuiubur  o(  lighU  that 
would  bo  required.  The  trustees  would  keep 
their  attention  lixud  on  tho  matter,  and  would 
avail  themselves  of  tho  earliest  opportunity  of 
making  tho  desired  exporimout. 


CHIPS. 

At  tho  Hampshire  Midsummer  Assizes,  held  last 
week,  an  action  for  alleged  slander  was  brou^'ht  by 
Mr.  Richard  Wallis,  a  juatico  of  tho  peucu  for 
Basmgstoke,  agaUist  Mr.  Simon  Westcott,  borough 
surveyor  of  the  same  town.  Tho  imimttd  slander 
wasthatpldntiff  endeavoured  to  compound  a  felony, 
and  defendant  stated  that  ho  had  mrutioned  tli-.- 
report,  saying  at  the  time  that  ho  did  not 
beheve  it.  Plaintiff  eventually  agreed  to  with- 
draw a  juror,  no  apology  being  given  by  tho  de- 
fendant. 

Some  carelessness  in  tendering  was  revealed  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  Woolwich  District  lioord  of 
Works.  At  the  previous  meeting  tenders  for  1,0W 
yards  of  stono  were  opened,  the  lowest  being  that 
of  Messrs.  Manuel  at  Us.  3d.  per  cubic  yard,  and 
the  next  that  of  Messrs.  I'uuniugs  at  Us.  Ud.  per 
ton.  Messrs.  Manuel  now  wrote  expressing  regret 
that  by  a  mist.ake  Us.  3d.  was  written  in  place  of 
12s.  3d.,  and  Messrs.  Fennings  to  explain  that  (or 
"per  ton"  should  have  read  "pir  cubic  yard." 
The  clerk  was  directed  to  write  to  Messrs.  Manuel 
asking  if  they  were  prepared  to  execute  the  con- 
tract at  Us.  31.,  and  should  they  reply  in  tho 
negative  to  accept  the  amended  tender  of  Messes. 
Fennings  at  Us.  Ud.  per  yard. 

A  new  coffee-tavern,  adjoining  the  old  town  hall 
at  Reigate,  was  opened  by  the  m:iynr  of  that 
borough  on  Wednesday.  Messrs.  Apted  Brothers, 
of  Reigate,  were  the  builders. 

The  new  buildings  of  St.  Kenehm's  School  on 
Cowley-hill,  Oxford,  were  opened  by  LordEUbank 
on  Tuesdaj'. 

A  lofty  obeUsk,  which  was  in  course  of  erection 
on  Tower-hill,  Beaumaiis,  as  a  memorial  to  tho 
late  Sir  Richard  Bulkeley,  suddenly  fell  on  Mon- 
day, a  number  of  workmen  having  a  vcrj'  narrow 
escape.  The  monument,  which  was  to  have  been 
formally  unveiled  next  week,  stood  in  a  very  ex- 
posed situation,  and  the  foundations  arc  supposed 
to  have  been  undermined  by  storms. 

At  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Salisbury 
Diocesan  Church  Building  Association,  held  last 
week,  the  following  grants  were  voted  :— Iron 
mission  in  Gigant-strect,  Salisbury,  £2-");  restora- 
tion of  Sh.apwick  Church,  Dorset,  i-iO  ;  rcstirntion 
of  Pitten  Church,  near  Salisbury,  i-iO;  and  for  new 
chapel-of-ease  at  Foxham,  Lromhdl,  £10t). 

The  churchyard  of  Temple  Church,  near  Rcd- 
clifte,  one  of  "the  poorest  parishes  in  Bristol,  haa 
been  converted  into  an  oruamental  garden,  at  a 
cost  of  £000,  and  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  on 
Tuesday  by  the  Mayor  of  Bristol. 

A  Local  Government  Board  inquiry  was  held  at 
Brighton  town-hall  on  Tuesday,  before  Mr.  A. 
Taylor,  inspector,  into  the  proposal  of  tho  Brighton 
Town  CouucU  to  borrow  tho  sum  of  £0.000  for  the 
erection  of  a  fence  along  the  Marme- parade.  Tlio 
borough  surveyor  explained  the  plans,  which  are 
for  a  fence  0,061ft.  in  length,  from  the  .Vquanum 
to  Lewes- crescent ;  the  fence  will  bo  of  iron,  on 
concrete  fouiid.itions,  with  a  pamfed  «"?-"•'• 
There  was  no  opposition  ti  the  prapoMl.  The 
Council  have  accepted  the  tender  of  Mr.  J.  O.  B. 
Marshall,  of  Brighton,  at  £2,!>o.j,  for  tho  concrot*. 
walling,  and  masonry. 

Tho  Paddington  Poor-I»w  Guardians,  at  their 
last  meeting,  held  on  th.^  I  fh  in-t  n^-rted  pUn. 
prepared  by  their    .    '  "       ^    ""j^- 

Harston,  for  the  e,  7  'Of 

2.50  inmates,  on  tli.  '  »'«  » 

new  laundry.   The  c  »»«"' 

£100  a  bed;  of  tho  laltn,  il,'-'-,'. 

Mr   T    n.   Wilson,   architect,    Norfolk-itroet, 
Sheflield,  exhibited  on  Wednesday  t.  .1...  Kr.-l«all 
Board  of  Guardians  draft  pUns  f. 
hall   for   tho   workho'iso.     Mr.    V 
estimatcl  tho  cost  of  crectm-  ' 
and  that  there  would  bo    .  ■    _    • 

It  was  resolved   that  Mr.  l"^'  in- 

structed to  complete  the  :i  <•'"- 

mates  to  be  submitted  to  a  i  . 


no 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880, 


Builbing  J-nttlligtnct 


Bath. — A  new  vicarage  house,  in  connection 
with  Saint  Luke's  Cliurch,  Bath,  has  just  been 
completed  at  a  cost  of  over  £->,000.  The  build- 
ing is  constructed  of  Bath  stone,  and  covered 
with  BridgB-atcr  tiles.  The  whole  of  the  work 
was  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Hill  and  Gay,  of 
Bath,  under  direction  of  the  architect,  Mr. 
CharlesS.  Adye,  Town-hall  Chambers,  Bradford- 
on-.\von,  Wilts. 

CiEDHT. — A  large  block  of  shops  is  on  the 
point  of  being  erected  on  the  comer  of  Bute  and 
Custom  House-streets,  Cardiff,  for  Mr.  C.  Kyte, 
at  an  estimated  cost  of  £2,000.  The  lower  part 
is  intended  to  be  done  in  Bath  stone,  while  the 
superstructure  is  wholly  of  brick  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  portion  of  the  bay-windows,  which 
is  also  of  Bath  stone.  The  facework  is  proposed 
to  be  of  white  brick,  and  the  comice^,  hood- 
mouldings,  neckings,  &c.,  being  of  red  moulded 
brick,  from  the  Tencoed  Works.  Mr.  John  V. 
Jones,  2G,  Park-street,  Cardiff,  is  the  architect. 

Edixefegii. — Progress  is  being  made  with 
the  work  of  providing  accommodation  for  close 
upon  200  additional  inmates  at  the  St.  Cuthbert's 
Poorhouse,  Edinburgh,  the  walls  of  the  wings 
which  are  to  be  added  being  now  above  the  level 
of  the  first  floor.  After  various  schemes  for  the 
enlargement  of  the  building  had  been  considered, 
one  of  those  submitted  by  Messrs.  D.  k  J.  Bryce, 
architects,  was  adopted  and  proceeded  with. 
This  mode  of  extension  consists  in  the  addition 
of  a  wing  at  either  end  in  front  of  the  ediiice, 
the  design  and  arrangement  being,  of  course,  in 
unison  ^vith  the  original  design.  The  actual 
number  of  inmates  for  whom  room  will  be  made 
by  the  extension  is  192,  and  the  cost  of  the 
works  contracted  for  is  close  upon  £10,000. 

IscoEPORiTEi)  CircKcn  Butldixg  Societt. — 
This  Society  held  its  last  monthly  meeting  for 
the  present  session  last  week.  Grants  of  money 
were  made  in  aid  of  building  new  churches  at 
Balham,  St.  John,  Surrey,  .£200  ;  Northampton, 
St.  Michael,  £3-50  ;  and  South  Wcstoe,  near 
South  Shields,  £2-50  ;  rebuilding  the  churches  at 
Halstead,  near  Sevenoaks,  £2.5  ;  York,  St. 
Lawrence,  £200 ;  enlarging  or  othen\-ise  im- 
proving the  accommodation  in  the  churches  at 
Caldmore,  St.  Michael,  near  Walsall,  £30 ; 
Mounton,  near  Chepstow,  ,£20 ;  Plaistow,  St. 
Mary,  near  Bromley,  Kent,  £40  ;  Saucreed,  St. 
Creed,  near  Penzance,  £10 ;  Seaborough,  near 
Crewkeme,  £1.5;  and  Timsbury,  St.  Andrew, 
near  Eomsey,  Hants,  £10.  Under  urgent 
circumstances  the  following  grants  formerly 
voted  were  increased  towards  building  the 
church  at  Upper  Holloway,  St.  Peter,  Middlesex, 
from  £12-5  to  £150  ;  and  towards  reseating  and 
restoring  the  churches  at  Wormshill,  near 
Sittingbourne,  from  £35  to  .£40  :  Thuming,  St. 
James,  near  Oundle,  from  £40  to  £60  ;  and 
Haverfordwest,  St.  Thomas,  from  £30  to  £50. 
Grants  were  also  made  from  the  Special  Mission 
BoildingsFund  towards  buildingmission  churches 
at  Pensam,  in  the  parish  of  Abergele,  £20 ; 
Higher  Stoke,  in  the  parish  of  Stoke  Damerel, 
Devon,  £15 ;  Holloway,  St.  John,  £30 ;  and 
Portsca  (AValton-ro:id},  Hants,  £40.  The 
society  likewise  accepted  the  trust  of  a  simi  of 
money  as  a  repair  fund  for  Minehead  church, 
Somerset. 

Lewaotck. — The  parish-church  of  Lewanick, 
five  miles  from  Launceston,  has  just  had  its 
chancel  restored.  Lewanick  Church,  like  most 
of  ita  neighbours,  is,  in  the  main,  of  the  Per- 
pendicular type  of  Gothic  architectui'e  ;  but  the 
Decorated  doorway  at  its  western  end,  and  some 
other  remains,  are  indicative  of  an  older  church, 
built  probably  upon  the  same  lines  at  some 
earlier  period.  On  plan  the  building  consists  of 
the  western  tower,  a  chancel,  fine  north  and 
south  porches,  and  a  spacious  nave  and  two 
aisles,  joined  the  one  to  the  other  bj-  arcades ; 
the  bmlding  is  principally  of  granite,  of  a  rough 
moor  stone,  very  like  granite,  and  of  the  well- 
known  Cornish  Polyfont  stone.  The  most  re- 
markable thing  about  the  church  is  the  miniature 
font-like  stone  that  stands  near  the  inner  door 
of  the  north-west  porch,  and  immediately  against 
the  adjacent  seating.  It  is  a  cresset-stone,  and 
its  purpose  and  history  were  recently  discussed 
in  these  pages,  iu  which  also  it  has  been 
illustrated.  The  chancel-walls  have  been  de- 
nuded of  their  many  coats  of  whitewash,  and 


the  stones  beneath  have  been  pointed.  The  old 
plastered  and  stuccoed  inner  roof  has  been  re- 
moved, and  the  waggon-typed  shape  of  the 
original  nave  roof  has  been  carried  on  right 
through  to  the  east  wall.  The  four.light  east 
window  has  been  faithfully  restored.  During 
the  progress  of  the  works  an  ogee-headed  piscina 
was  opened  out  in  the  east  wall,  and  a  most 
interesting  old  two-light  window,  altogether 
blocked  up,  was  discovered  in  the  south  wall  and 
within  the  sanctuary.  This,  too,  has  been  opened 
out  and  restored,  and  filled  with  stained  glass. 
The  floors  are  laid  with  encaustic  tiles  of  quiet 
design  by  Messrs.  Maw  and  Co.,  of  Broseley. 
The  old  altar-rails,  which  were  of  a  Jacobean 
type,  have  been  modified  and  refixed.  The 
altar  is  new,  and  of  English  oak.  A  reredoshas 
been  erected,  of  Bath-stone,  a  parallelogram  in 
form,  and  surmounted  by  a  carved  and  pierced 
cresting.  Immediately  over  the  altar  are  sculp- 
tured representations  of  the  four  Evangelists, 
and  at  either  side  are  panels,  in  which  are 
carved  lilies  in  pots.  The  cast  wall  has  been 
mainly  rebuilt  and  pointed,  and  a  coping  of  Port- 
land stone  added  to  the  gable,  surmounted  by  a 
foUated  cross  at  its  apex.  The  outer  roofs  have 
been  cared  for,  and  a  crease  of  red  Berkshire  tile 
put  upon  the  ridges.  The  works  have  been 
carried  out  by  Mr.  Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter, 
under  the  personal  superintendence  of  the 
Rev.  Charles  H.  Archer,  the  Vicar,  who  is  a 
great-grandson — maternally — of  Sir  WUliam 
Chambers. 

Manchester. — The  foundation-stone  of  St.  Cle- 
ment'sChurch,  Denmark-road,  Greenheys,  Man- 
chester, was  laid  on  Saturday.  The  new  build- 
ing will  be  in  the  Early  English  style,  and  wUl 
consist  of  chancel,  nave,  north  and  south  aisles, 
with  organ-chamber,  and  clergy  and  wardens' 
vestries.  The  total  length  of  the  church  will 
be  12Gft.  6in.,  and  the  breadth  across  the  nave 
and  aisles  61ft.  9in.  It  is  intended,  in  course 
of  time,  to  erect  a  tower  and  spire  at  the  west 
end  of  the  north  aisle,  but  for  the  present  that 
part  of  the  work  has  been  abandoned,  owing  to 
the  want  of  sufficient  funds.  Accommodation 
wUl  be  provided  for  750  worshippers.  The  con- 
tract has  been  let  to  Mr.  Herd,  Polygon -place, 
Ardwick,  for  the  sum  of  £4,392,  and  the  church 
will  be  erected  from  designs  by  Mr.  H.  R. 
Price,  architect,  25,  Cross-street,  Manchester. 

ScAHEOKorGH. — The  new  church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  Scarborough,  was  opened  last  week. 
The  church  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel 
without  break, and  of  equal  width,  30ft.  between 
the  walls ;  terminating  at  the  east  end  in  a 
semicircular  apse  —  a  north  aisle,  about  l"ft. 
wide,  overlapping  the  chancel — and  a  porch, 
forming  the  basis  for  a  future  tower,  at  the 
north-west  angle  of  the  nave.  The  Internal 
length  of  the  nave  and  chancel  is  about  108ft., 
and  the  entire  width  of  the  building  when 
finished  will  be  73ft.  inside.  The  material  used 
for  the  walling  is  grey  Hackness  stone  laid  in 
random  courses,  with  masonry  and  dressing  of 
freestone.  The  roofs  are  of  Baltic  fir  and  pitch 
pine,  covered  with  Westmoreland  slates.  The 
style  adopted  is,  generally,  that  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  treated  in  a  simple  manner,  and  with 
little  ornament  The  church  has  been  erected 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Christian,  by  Messrs. 
Padbury  and  Son,  Scarborough. 

SuEFiTELD.— The  Central  Schools,  which, 
with  the  Firth  College  and  School-Board  oiEces, 
form  a  conspicuous  group  of  buildings  in  Leo- 
pold-street, were  formally  opened  by  Earl 
Spencer  on  Thursday,  the  loth  inst.  A  perspec- 
tive view  of  the  building,  with  description, 
appeared  in  the  Builiung  News  for  Oct.  17th 
last  year.  They  were  designed  by  Mr.  Flockton, 
of  Sheffield,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  E.  E. 
Robson,  F.S.A.,  of  London,  in  a  Free  Classic 
style,  and  have  been  erected  by  Messrs.  W. 
BissettandCo.,  of  ShefKeld,  Mr.  J.  Laidler,  of 
London,  acting  as  clerk  of  the  works.  The 
facing  material  throughout  was  Huddersfield 
stone.  The  schools  are  the  last  section  of  the 
undertaking  to  bo  completed.  In  the  basement 
of  the  parallelogram  are  placed  a  school  cf 
chemistry  20ft.  by  22ft.,  and  a  laboratory  39ft. 
by  20ft.,  and  a  joiners'  shop,  the  heating  appa- 
ratus chamber,  which  is  81ft.  iu  length  by  5ft. 
wide  ;  it  contains  apparatus  by  Mr.  D.  0.  Boyd, 
of  London,  which  heats  the  whole  building  by 
20  tiers  of  pipes,  the  air  being  clarified  before 
admission  into  the  chamber  by  passing  through 
wetted  canvas.  Ou  the  ground-floor  are  a  school 
for  cookery  20ft.    by  22ft.,   with   scullery,   a 


junior  mixed  school  for  233  children,  an  infants' 
school  for  133,  a  babies'  room,  deaf  and  dumb 
school  for  4S,  gymnasium,  and  several  class- 
rooms. In  the  mezzanine  are  teachers'  rooms, 
lavatory,  and  caretakers'  apartments.  The  first 
floor  is  divided  into  eight  class-rooms,  each  for 
48,  rooms  for  the  head  master  and  mistress,  and  a 
library,  and  over  this  is  a  general  hall  S6ft.  by 
34tt.  The  cost  of  the  entire  range  of  buUdlngs 
— the  College,  the  School  Board  ofiices,  and  the 
schools,  including  furniture,  "architects'  com- 
mission, &c.,  but  exclusive  of  land,  amounts  to 
about  £70,000.  Of  this  amount  £20,000  Is  for 
the  erection  of  the  College,  the  cost  of  which  is 
borne  by  Mr.  Mark  Firth. 

St.vxdlake,  Oxox. — The  restoration  of  the 
parish-church  has  just  been  commenced.  The 
gallery  and  high  pews  have  been  cleared  out,  the 
floors  renewed,  and  the  roof  of  the  nave  taken 
ofl:.  It  is  proposed  to  completely  restore  the 
nave  this  year,  to  renew  Its  roof  and  floor,  to 
scrape,  point,  and  repair  its  walls,  and  to  pro- 
vide sittings  for  200  persons.  The  contract  for 
this  portion  of  the  work  has  been  taken  by  Mr. 
Barnes,  builder,  of  Witney,  at  £1,581.  It  has 
been  decided  that  the  restoration  of  the  whole 
church  shall  be  divided  Into  five  sections,  which 
will  be  carried  out  as  funds  permit,  as  follows :  — 
(1)  the  nave,  now  in  progi-ess :  (2)  north  aisle 
and  its  transept ;  (3)  south  aisle  and  its  tran- 
sept ;   (4)  tower  and  porch  ;   (5)  the  chancel. 

Stoodleigh. — The  parish-church  of  St  Mar- 
garet, Stoodleigh,  which  has  been  restored  and 
enlarged,  was  reopened  by  the  Bishop  of 
Exeter  on  Monday  week.  A  new  chancel,  30ft. 
in  length,  with  south  chancel  aisle  and  porch, 
has  been  added ;  the  new  walls  have  been  built 
of  local  stone  laid  in  random  courses,  the 
dressings  being  of  red  stone  from  Ford.  Inter- 
nally the  walls  are  lined  with  brick,  and  finished 
with  a  warm  stucco.  The  reredos  Is  of  Devon 
marble  and  Bath  stone.  The  Internal  roof  of 
nave  has  been  restored,  the  south  arcade  taken 
down  and  rebuilt,  and  in  the  south  aisle  the 
windows  put  in  seventy  years  ago  have  been 
replaced  by  others  in  character  with  the 
prevalent  style  of  the  church.  A  new  pulpit  of 
moulded  and  traceried  work  has  been  erected  in 
Bath  stone  ;  the  font  has  been  placed  on  a  raised 
stone  base,  and  fitted  with  a  high  wooden  cover, 
and  the  tower-arch  is  filled  in  with  a  low 
moulded  screen.  The  windows  of  ehancel-alsle 
and  that  at  east  end  have  been  filled  with  stained 
glass  by  Messrs.  Hardman,  of  Birmingham.  Mr. 
H.  Woodyer,  of  Guildford,  was  the  architect ; 
Mr.  Wood,  of  Lurleigh,  the  builder,  and  Mr. 
Redfern  the  clerk  of  works. 

Sydenham. — Thenew  churjh  of  St.  Matthew's, 
Panmm'e-road,  Sydenham,  has  just  been 
consecrated.  The  chiurch,  when  completed, 
will  consist  of  chancel,  with  choir  vestry  and 
parish  room  under  ;  south  chancel  aisle,  with 
churchwardens'  vestry  under  ;  organ  chamber, 
with  clergy  vestry  tmder ;  nave  and  aisle,  four 
arches  in  length,  that  is,  72ft.  6in.  long  and 
55ft.  wide,  the  height  to  the  wall  plate  being 
35ft.  6in.,  and  to  the  ridge,  62ft.  6in.  The 
nave  and  chancel  will  be  under  one  continuous 
roof.  Entrances  are  provided  by  porches  in  the 
north  and  south-west  comers  of  the  aisles.  The 
font  wUl  be  placed  in  a  specially  designed 
baptist  ly  in  the  middle  of  the  west  wall  of  the 
nave,  and  the  bells  will  be  carried  in  a  bell 
g.able  over  the  chancel  arch.  At  present  there 
have  been  built  the  chancel,  with  vestries  be- 
neath, two  bays  of  nave,  covered  in  at  clerestory 
level  by  a  temporary  roof,  and  the  aisles  to  same, 
which  have  permanent  roofs.  The  style  of  the 
church  is  Early  English  Lancet.  In  material 
the  church  is  very  simple,  being  mostly  of  yellow 
stocks  relieved  with  arches  and  bands  of  red 
bricks.  The  builders,  who  have  creditably 
carried  out  their  work,  are  Messrs.  Lathey 
Brothers,  of  Battersea  ;  and  the  architect  is  Mr. 
J.  E.  K.  Cutts,   of  Southampton-street,  Strand. 

The  Scottish  Cor.Por.ATioN. — On  Wednesday 
the  Duke  of  Argyll  opened  the  new  hall  of  the 
Scottish  Corporation,  built  on  the  site  of  the  old 
one  in  Crane-court,  Fleet-street,  which  was 
destroyed  by  fire  In  November,  1877.  Professor 
Donaldson  is  the  architect.  The  new  block  of 
buildings  consists  of  three  stories ;  there  is  a 
spacious  chapel  for  the  congregation  of  pensioners 
on  pay-days,  and  the  religious  service  on  those 
occasions :  the  hall  for  the  meetings  of  the 
governors  is  43ft.  long  by  18ft.  wide,  and  16ft. 
high  ;  at  the  east  end  of  the  hall  there  is  a 
handsome    white     marble     chimney-piece,    re- 


July  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Ill 


sembling  that  at  Craigievar  Castle,  Scotland, 
which  was  saved  from  the  conflagration ;  and 
adjoining  it  is  a  committee-room,  19ft.  long  by 
15ft.  6in.  wide.  The  architect,  wishing  to 
infuse  into  the  building  as  much  as  possible  of 
national  sentiment,  has  largely  adopted  in  the 
ornamental  details  the  lion  rampant,  the  thistle, 
and  similar  emblems.  The  estimate  for  re- 
building was  £.5,778. 

TrvEETON. — The  memorial -stone  of  the  new 
school-building  at  Horsden,  for  Blundell's  School, 
was  laid  on  Saturday  week.  The  site  consists  of 
about  20  acres,  and  the  new  building  will 
accommodate  250  boys.  The  cost  of  the  whole 
is  estimated  at  about  £15,000.  The  new  build- 
ing has  been  designed  by  Messrs.  Hayward,  of 
Exeter,  and  the  contractors  for  the  work  arc 
Messrs.  Langdon  and  Poole,  Minehcad.  In  stylo 
the  new  school  will  correspond  with  the  old  one, 
but  the  interior  be  considerably  different.  The 
large  room  will  be  66  by  30ft.  and  have  a  hand- 
some open-timbered  roof,  and  the  class-rooms, 
six  in  number,  will  vary  from  31  to  24ft.  in 
length  and  be  generally  20ft.  wide  and  14ft.  in 
height.  The  entrance  will  be  through  the  tower, 
which  is  at  the  north-west  angle  of  the  building, 
and  over  the  doorway  wiU  be  a  niche  for  a 
statue  of  the  founder.  A  second  external  door- 
way in  the  tower  is  intended  to  form  an  approach 
to  a  chapel,  which  it  is  hoped  will  be  soon 
erected.  The  accommodation  for  the  Head 
Master  will  be  convenient  and  have  kitchen 
•oflSces  sufficiently  large  for  taking  boarders,  but 
no  further  prorision  is  made  for  them  in  the 
present  contract.  The  north  porch  of  the 
building  wiU  be  lOSft.  in  length,  and  the 
extreme  length  from  north  to  south,  including 
the  head  master's  house,  will  be  about  224ft. 
The  whole  building  will  be  erected  with 
Holberton  stone,  with  dressings  of  Doulting 
stone. 

WaeeiteU). — The  West  Hiding  Bank  premises 
in  TVood-strect  and  Silver-street  are  about  to  be 
rebuilt  from  the  designs  of  Messrs.  J.  XeUl  and 
Son,  of  Leeds.  From  a  lobby,  10ft.  by  7ft.  Oin. 
with  oak  dado,  panelled  ceiling,  and  mosaic 
floor,  will  be  entered  the  banking-room,  which 
will  be  40ft.  by  30ft.,  and  ICft.  ein.  high,  and 
will  have  panelled  ceiling,  tiled  floor  for  the 
public,  and  also  seating,  and  will  be  fitted  up 
with  de-sking,  tables,  counter,  screens,  and 
dadoes,  aU  of  figured  old  English  oak.  Entered 
from  this  room  are  the  strong-room  and  the 
clerk's  dressing-room.  Separately  approached, 
but  with  the  banking-room,  the  clerks  and  the 
counter  in  view,  will  be  the  partners'  room,  and 
the  consulting-room  both  fitted  and  furnished  in 
oak,  and  a  private  staircase  leads  to  ledger- 
room,  dressing-room,  and  lavatory.  Partly  over 
bank  and  with  a  private  entrance  from  AVood- 
street  is  the  manager's  residence,  the  first  floor 
being  divided  into  a  drawing-room,  24ft.  by 
17ft.,  seven  bed-rooms,  and  bath-room.  Cellar- 
age is  provided  under  part  of  the  house,  the 
cellars  imdcr  the  bank  being  filled  in  solid  and 
covered  with  concrete.  The  house  department 
and  the  hank  wUl  be  kept  separate  by  fire -proof 
walls  and  floors.  The  elevations  will  be  Queen 
Anne  in  character,  the  whole  being  carried  out 
in  specially  made  small  selected  bricks,  with 
Bradford  stone  dressings.  The  bank  will  be 
tnclosed  with  Burnett's  steel  thief -proof 
shutters  :  the  main  entrance  doors  will  be  lined 
with  steel  in  the  middle,  and  have  a  strong 
ornamental  wrought-irou  grill  in  the  fanlight. 
The  premises  will  be  buUt  detached,  and 
windows  at  the  back  near  the  ground  will  be 
defended  by  wrought-iron  bars,  built  in.  The 
contracts  have  been  let  to  Messrs.  J.  and  W. 
Beanland,  of  Bradford,  and  to  Mr.  J.  C.  Tatler- 
saD,  plasterer,  of  TVakefield. 

WOEDSLET,    XEAE    STOTTREKIDaE. — XeW    offices, 

seed  warehouse,  and  a  manager's  residence,  are 
being  erected  by  Messrs.  Webb  and  Sons,  at 
their  extensive  seed  establishment,  near  Stour- 
bridge. The  former  comprise  on  the  ground 
floor  an  entrance-hall  and  staircase,  with  general 
waiting-room  attached,  a  ledger  office  60ft.  by 
2'tft.,  with  manager's  office  at  one  end,  fire- 
proof room,  cloak-room,  and  lavatory,  and  a 
private  staircase  to  the  upper  floor,  on  which  are 
arranged  a  suite  of  offices  for  the  Messrs.  Webb 
and  the  heads  of  the  several  departments,  together 
with  sample-room,  cashiers  office,  and  a  spacious 
reading-room  and  library  for  the  use  of  the 
employes,  which  is  approached  from  the 
entrance-hall  by  a  handsome  staircase  of 
polished  pitch  pine.     The  seed  warehouse  ia  in 


continuation  of  the  present  extensive  buildings, 
and  is  five  stories  high,  each  floor  having  an 
open  space  of  88ft.  by  40ft.,  comprising  on  the 
basement,  potato  and  root  stores ;  on  the  ground 
floor,  clover-seed  stores  ;  second  floor,  vegetable 
and  flower-seed  department  ;  third  floor,  mnn- 
gold-seed  stores,  with  a  general  store  on  the 
upper  floor.  The  buildings  are  being  carried 
out  by  Mr.  Lovatt,  from  designs  prep.ared  by 
Mr.  J.  E.  Veall,  architect,  of  Wolverhampton. 
The  materials  used  are  red  pressed  bricks  with 
Hollington  stone  dressings,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
£7,000. 


Hore   than  Fifty  Thousand  Beplies  and 

LcttTson  subjects  of  Univers.-il  Interest  have  npneaied  d'.ring 

the  last  tin  V.  ..IS  in   the   ENGLISH    MECHANIC  A.ND  WOKI. 11 

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orii-i!  I  ntific  papei^.  and  i 

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Comspoulitncc. 

UNDERWRITING  DWELLIXG-HQI'SES 
To  the  Editor  of  the  BtnLDisG  Xews. 
Sib,— "  Architectus"  in  your  last  nuniber 
asks  why  inspectors  or  supervisors  of  buildings 
cannot  act  as  efficiently  in  the  direction  of  our 
dwellings  as  Lloyds'  surveyors  operate  in  over- 
haulins  tho  materials,  and  the  mode  by  which 
they  afe  combined,  ia  the  construction  of  etcam 
and  sailing  vessels.     In    boUding    vessels  the 


materials  used  are  either  wood  or  iron,  but,  in 
modem  times,  more  especially  tho  latter.  'l1io 
form  in  which  the  one  and  the  other  is  supplied 
to  sliiji  builders  admits  of  its  being  readily  tested, 
and  ttius  far  the  surveyor  from  Lloyds'  duty  in 
a  simple  one.  The  punching  and  drilling  of  the 
necessary  rivet-holes,  and  the  fashioning  of  the 
various  parts  of  a  well-planned  ship  is  a  kind  of 
work  performed  in  open  day,  and  capable  of  tho 
most  facile  .scrutiny  and  examination.  Sfore- 
over,  all  engaged  in  the  Imciness  have  an  interest 
in  producing  the  best  iiuality  of  work,  for  unless 
the  experienced  surveyor  representing  Lloyds 
can  favourably  certify,  the  co.stly  vcs-sel  would  be 
practically  valueless,  for  without  a  dear  classifi- 
cation at  the  fountain  head  in  London,  it 
neither  could  be  insured  nor  expi-ct,  unless  under 
disadvantageous  conditions,  to  be  used  to  carry 
cargo. 

I  see  no  practical  difficulty  in  the  organisation 
of  a  protective  body  to  superviso  tho  erection  of 
houses;  but,  under  existing  systeros,  or  rather 
want  of  .systems,  the  thing  is  all  but  impos-iible. 
There  is  plenty  of  machinery,  in  all  conscience, 
but  it  requires  remodelling.  The  Mctropchtaii 
Board,  with  their  highly-paid  staff,  take  especial 
care  of  the  numbering  and  nuniiog  of  our 
streets,  and  perform,  no  doubt,  to  their  own 
satisfaction,  a  large  amount  of  mutlne  rod- 
tapeisra  ;  but  they  are  helpless,  and  stand  by  in 
the  most  ridiculous  manner,  permitting  tho  use 
of  improper  materials  in  buildings  intended  for 
human  occupation.  Tliis  body,  which  ought  to 
be  the  Lloyds'  or  safety  beacon  to  avert  danger 
in  our  streets,  in  their  wi.-dom  resell,  or  rather 
let,  the  surplus  lands  which  come  into  their  liandji 
on  .short  leases,  and  thus  encourage  tho  erection 
of  indifferent  or  dangerous  structures. 

One  would  imagine,  after  the  perusal  of  a 
modern  fashionable  building  specification,  that 
its  framor  and  the  concoctor  of  its  details  had  the 
most  perfect  knowledge  of  the  materials  on 
which  that  document  so  glibly  descants.  If, 
however,  you  take  the  trouble  to  follow  up  the 
work  it  pretends  to  control,  you  will,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  find  that  the  whole  thing  is  a 
mere  sham,  not  so  much  from  the  desire  to  do 
wronsr  as  from  the  incapacity  to  do  right.  A 
clerk^of  the  works  is,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
appointed,  whose  duty  is  supposed  to  be  of  a 
protective  character  ;  but  even  the  most  experi- 
enced of  that  class  is  unable  to  cope  with  the 
difficulties  with  which,  even  in  an  ordinary 
building,  he  his  surrounded.  Unfortunately,  in 
these  times  both  engineer  and  architect  prefer 
1  the  luxurious  office  to  the  building  they  have 
undertaken  to  construct,  and  have  no  pride  in 
looking  after  the  details  on  the  ground— unlike,  in 
that  respect.  Wren  and  Smeaton,  the  former  of 
whom,  it  may  be  safely  affirmed,  knew  every 
stone  in  St.  Paul's,  and  the  latter  had  anetiually 
intimate  acquaintanceship  with  every  member  in 
the  scheme  of  his  great  work,  the  Eddystone 
lijhthousc.  . 

I  "Mr.  Cresswell,  I  think,  must  move  first  in  tlie 
direction  of  testing  all  the  materials  used  in 
building  ;  but  before  that  can  be  done  available 
means  must  be  at  hand  for  that  purpose.  \S  e 
have  no  such  means  of  examination  in  thw 
countr)-,  and  those  bmlding  materials  which  arc 
now  chaUenged  are  only  submitted  to  some 
arbitrary  or  rule  of  thumb  examination. 

The  tenure  of  land  on  which  tho  houses  are  to 
be  buUt  should  aUo  be  considered  ;  otherwuie, 
good  and  durable  houses,  like  those  of  Glas- 
gow, for  instance,  woiUd  not  be  erected  on  a 
I  lease  determined  at  a  comparatively  early  iIt!-. 

No  underwriting  could  be  found  to  <i    • 
bad  or  dis(a--.J  houses,  as  it  i.",  at  pri - 
!  possible  to  get  risks  written  against  non  >  r 
i  dassed  .ships.     There  would  be  a  ?"•»';'•-•';•,:' 
occupy  houses  which  had  a  cle.an  biU  of  health. 
and  giiarantced  against  those  dangers  and  ruk. 
cODsSiuent  on  bad  materials  and  defective  oon- 
strucUon.     Let  us  hope  for  an  early  rcaluiat.»i 
M  t>i»f  "  crood  time  coming.'  — I  »">.  *■<■•• 


of  that  "  good  time  coming. 


Crvn.  EsotsEB*. 


IRON-FILINGS  IN   CEMENT. 

SiE,— I  might  apply  the  old      '         ■■---•-. 
man  convinced  against  his  will. 
opinion  still,"  toyour  corTP«p"i 
who   will   insist   upon  it   ■'    • 
contains   a    conadepbl- 
iron."     I  admire  his  p-  r  - 

that  he   is   most   consci.i.t.   -     • 

.shall  take  the  trouble  of  examming  "  vir-'  ■;■  "' 
Portland  cemenU  from  different  dL.trict-  m 
England,  Scotknd,  Irehmd,  and  Otrmany,  and 


112 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


asocrtaiu  to  what  extent  the  presence  of  iron 
exists.  There  has  been  too  much  quasi- 
autboritative  "burking"  of  cement  inquiry, 
and  "Magnet"  and  every  other  experimenter 
should  be  assisted  and  encouraged  in  his  investi- 
gation. I  hope  in  your  next  number  to  produce 
the  results  of  my  search  for  "free  iron"  in 
Portland  cement  from  widely  separated  districts, 
and  produced  fx'om  a  variety  of  raw  materials. 

"Magnet,"  iu  his  anxiety  to  maintain  liis 
point,  jumbles  up  in  the  most  confusing  manner 
the  information  which  I  thought  I  had  clearly 
^ven.  The  bolts,  nuts,  or  other  pieces  of  iron 
whose  presence  iu  the  cement  I  attribute  to 
accidental  causes,  are  unavoidably  introduced 
into  cement  works  through  the  agency  of  the 
coke,  and  I  have  no  doubt  also  that  a  consider- 
able addition  is  made  from  carelessness  on  the 
part  of  the  makers  themselves.  Their  being 
challenged  by  the  miller  when  passing  through 
the  millstones  is  quite  an  economical  question, 
and  if  the  workman  in  charge  of  this  department 
of  cement  industrj*  is  paid  by  the  ton  for  grind- 
ing the  cement,  ho  could  not  afford  to  stop  the 
whole  machinery  and  occupy,  perhaps,  an  hour 
in  removing  the  foreign  substance.  Ho  knows 
fi-om  experience  tliat  there  are  cement  consumers 
t'j  be  found  who  neither  use  sieve,  testing- 
machine,  nor  even  common  sense,  and  confidingly 
take  cement  so  long  as  it  is  in  a  cask  and  sack 
with  a  maker's  name  labelled  thereon. 

Iron  in  chemical  combination  in  cfmmt  is 
prejudicial,  and  iron  iu  a  compound  mixture 
(cement  and  iron)  need  not  be  for  mortar  or 
concrete  purposes  injm-iou.s.  It  is  not  so  long 
ago  that  engineers  specified  a  certain  proportion 
of  iron-filings  in  mortar  and  concrete  prepara- 
tions. Indeed,  within  the  last  ten  years,  a  very 
important  bridge  was  built  iu  Scotland  under 
such  conditions  in  the  specification. 

The  detection  of  iron  by  the  aid  of  the  magnet 
is  not  new,  for  the  practice  has  existed  for  a  long 
time  in  the  porcelain  industries  of  this  and  other 
countries  for  pui-ging  clays  and  prepared 
granites  of  the  metallic  impurity  which  would 
seriously  endanger  the  quality  of  the  ware.  At 
Beleek,  in  Ireland,  where  the  famous  porcelain 
of  that  name  is  produced,  the  reddish  orlhoclase 
granite  is  first  calcined,  thus  becoming  white, 
and  when  the  powdered  clay  so  obtained  is 
mixed  with  water,  magnets  are  introduced  to 
extract  the  iron,  which,  if  allowed  to  remain, 
would  damage  the  porcelain,  which  is  of  the 
purest  white  colour  when  ready  for  market. 
Even,  however,  should  it  be  found  that 
"Magnet's"  -v-iews  are  correct,  the  danger  to  be 
apprehended  from  a  moderate  mixture  of  "free 
iron"  in  cements  cannot  materially  damage  any 

compound  with  which  it  may  be  incorporated. 

I  am.  &c.,  Henky  Eeid. 

21,  Arundel-street,  TV.C,  19th  July. 


Sra, — Referring  to  "Magnet's"  questien  as 
to  the  origin  of  the  metallic  iron  which  fre- 
quently occurs  in  Portland  cement,  there  is,  I 
think,  little  doubt  that  it  is  produced  in  the  kiln 
iu  which  the  cement  is  burnt.  The  temperature 
in  a  cement-kiln  is  amply  sufficient  for  the  re- 
duction of  metallic  iron  from  its  oxides,  and 
these  oxides  exist  not  only  in  the  raw  cement 
mixture,  but  are  also  present  in  considerable 
quantity  in  theeokeused  for  burning  the  cement. 
AVhethcr  they  are  derived  in  the  latter  case  from 
the  ferruginous  shale,  or  iron-pyrites  in  the  coal 
used  at  the  gas  works,  does  not  affect  the  ques- 
tion at  issue. 

If  "Magnet"  can  procure  some  pieces  of 
heavily-burnt  cement  clinker,  ho  will  not  be 
long  in  detecting  the  presence  of  metallic  iron  if 
he  will  treat  them  in  tho  following  manner  • — 
Grind  one  or  more  sides  of  each  piece  of  clinker 
on  a  grindstone  and  immerse  in  a  dQuto  solution 
of  sulphate  of  copper  (blue  vitriol).  Should  any 
globules  of  metallic  ii-on  be  inclosed  iu  the 
clinker  they  become  coated  with  copper  and  can 
easily  be  detected  with  tho  naked  eye. 

I  first  found  free  iron  in  cement  clinker  in  this 
monner  about  six  years  ago,  and  have  since  met 
with  it  frequently,  not  only  in  cement  clinker  and 
gi-ound  cement,  but  also  in  clinkers  from  furnaces 
and  elinkercd  bricks. 

Like  the  sulphides  present  in  cement  metallic 
iron  generally  escapes  tho  notice  of  the  analyst, 
owing  to  the  method  of  analysis  usually  adopted. 
I  may  add  that '  the  highest  proportion  of  free 
iron  I  have  found  iu  cement  clinker  was  three 
per  cent.— I  am,  &c., 

Briston,  July  21.  "Walter  F.  Eeid. 


LIGHT    A2sD     AIR— LAYBOrKlS'     v. 
KIDSTON. 

SiE, — As  I  was  engaged  in  this  case,  I  trouble 
you  with  a  few  remarks  in  reply  to  Mr.  Tomlin- 
son's  letter,  which  appears  in  this  week's  issue, 
first,  he  implies  that  otly  one  surveyor  was  em- 
ployed on  the  defendant's  behalf,  the  fact  being 
that,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Hovenden,  the  late  Mr. 
Robert  Hesketh  and  myself  were  called  in,  and, 
after  carefully  inspecting  together  both  the 
plaintift's  and  defendant's  premises,  advised 
that  there  was  no  substantial  injury  to  the 
plaintiff's  light.  Further,  Mr.  Eason,  of  the 
firm  of  Messrs.  Reynolds  and  Eason,  also  in- 
spected both  premises,  and  gave  his  opinion  that 
the  letting  and  selling  value  of  the  plaintiff's 
premises  was  not  affected. 

In  justice  to  Mr.  I' Anson  I  state  this,  and  I 
am  sure  your  readers  are  likely  to  accord  more 
weight  to  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Hesketh,  whose 
loss  we  all  deplore,  and  whose  calm  judgment, 
great  experience,  and  careful  and  exhaustive  re- 
ports induced  the  Judges  and  masters  in  Chan- 
cery so  often  to  refer  cases  to  him  than  to  Mr. 
Tomlinson,  against  whom  I  have  not  one  word 
to  say,  except  his  youth,  for  we  cannot  expect 
matui'e  judgment  without  the  unpleasant  ac- 
companiment of  age,  and  those  of  your  readers 
who  do  not  know  him  would,  I  fancy,  certainly, 
from  his  passionate  attack  ou  a  gentleman  who 
stands  in  the  front  rank  of  our  profession, 
imagine  him  to  be  one  of  those  iu  whose  veins 
runs  the  "  hot  blood  "  of  youth. 

If  I  could  spare  the  time — which,  just  now,  is 
so  much  occupied — I  could  explain  the  fallacy 
of  the  description  Mr.  Tomlinson  gives,  and 
how  it  is  that  the  angles  of  60deg.  and  73deg. 
are  misleading ;  but,  probably,  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  answer  his  statement  aa  to  comnwn  sctise. 
He  says  the  decision  seems  to  him  to  be  out  of 
all  reason,  either  with  tho  laws  of  light  or 
common  sense. 

I  do  so  simply  by  giving  an  extract  from  my 
report: — 

'_'  I  commenced  by  going  upstairs  to  the  attic, 
as  it  is  stated  that  the  light  to  one  of  the  dormer 
windows  was  affected  by  the  back  wall  of  the 
main  building  of  the  defendant's  premises.  I 
found  that  this  room  has  sloping  sides,  that  this 
window  consists  of  a  fixed  sash  of  small  size, 
being  (glass  measured)  2ft.  5in.,  by  1ft.  9in.,  and 
an  indication  that  the  light  is  more  than  suffi- 
cient is  afforded  by  there  being  a  shelf  right 
across  the  sash,  and  this  shelf  and  the  goods 
thereon  naturally  exclude  light. 

'  To  test  the  value  of  the  Ught  from  this  (now 
darkened,  as  alleged),  we  covered  the  other  more 
important  window  with  a  great  coat,  and  we 
could  read  at  the  end  of  the  room  farthest  from 
this  window  small-type  labels  on  the  goods,  as, 
for  example,  the  words  '  warranted  to  keep  its 
shape  and  colour.'  The  size  of  the  type  was 
1- 24th  only  of  an  inch  long.  I  also  tested  by 
reading  the  smallest  type  in  the  Times  of  that 
day's  date.  The  only  comer  affected  was  the 
north-east  corner,  but  this  was  a  natural  result, 
as,  from  the  shape  of  the  room,  this  corner  cau 
only  be  lighted  from  the  window  fronting 
ArtUlery-lane. 

"Next  we  screened  iu  a  similar  manner  the 
west  window  (the  window  stated  to  have  its 
Ught  injured),  and  the  result  was  that  there  was 
scarcely  any  difference  in  the  quantity  of  the 
light.  (Note.— These  tests  occurred  at  about 
twenty  minutes  past  three,  the  day  being  dul 
and  cloudy) .  1 

"We  next  descended  to  the  «(ro««?.;7oo)-,  where  a 
Ught  which  lighted  a  pa.ssage-way,  9ft.  6in. 
long  by  7ft.  wide  (and  which  is  fitted  up  with 
shelves  and  used  for  storing  goods)  was  good, 
and  I  did  not  consider  that  the  building  on  the 
opposite  side  of  Artillery-lane,  Messrs.  Boor  and 
Co.'s— although   it    (and    not   the    defendant's 

building)  does  obstruct    some    rays  of   light 

appreciably  affected  the  lighting  of  this  passage. 
"We  next  ascended  by  a  different  staircase, 
and  so  arrived  at  the  passage  over  that  last- 
mentioned,  and  here  the  light"  was  good,  and  the 
r>-marks  apply  about  Messrs.  Boor  and  Co.'s 
premises  as  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

"W'e  next  descended  to  the  fist  Jloor,  and  here 
is  the  borrowed  Ught.  The  size  of  this  portion 
of  the  first  floor  is  9ft.  Cin.  by  7ft.  Gin.,  and  it 
has  three  doorways  leading  to  other  portions  of 
this  floor.  The  lighting  is  by  a  skyUght  over 
tho  bulkhead,  having  rough  plate-glass  therein ; 
the  light  then  passes  through  two  glazed  open- 
ings, 1ft.  9in.  by  1ft.  each,  and  through  another 


opening  3ft.  6in.  by  2ft.  lin.  (outside  glass 
measure,  as  the  sash  bars  dividing  this  opening 
into  four  panes  are  measured  in)  I  noticed  the 
goods  (coal-scuttles  and  scoops)  against  the  wall, 
and  the  light  appeared  sufficient ;  but  I  thought 
perhaps  the  light  may  have  been  greater  before 
the  defendant's  building  was  erected:  how  can 
I  test  this  ?  and  I  mentioned  to  the  other  sur  - 
veyors  I  considered  this  might  be  easily  done. 
There  are  three  large  rooms  on  this  floor,  and  a 
portion  lighted  by  tho  very  large  skylight, 
which,  it  is  admitted,  has  not  been  affected  by 
the  defendant's  building  operations.  My  sug- 
gestion was  adopted,  and  we  walked  rormd  and 
looked  at  the  goods  on  other  stands,  and  in  other 
cases,  and  I  am  bound  to  say  could  not  dis- 
tinguish them  more  clearly.  /  cannot  ima- 
gine a  fairer  test  than  this,  because  being  at  the  same 
time,  no  question  of  the  dulness  of  the  day,  or  the 
hour  of  the  day,  could  be  raised. 

"With  regard  to  thelavatoryinthis  (first)  floor 
the  roof  of  which  is  glass,  the  light  is  excellent, 
and  I  could  not  imagine  why,  with  such  a  strong 
light  on  the  floor  the  glass  panel  therein  had 
been  boarded  over  in  the  .shop,  as  if  the  boarding 
was  removed  the  light  to  cashier's  desk  would 
have  been  greatly  increased.  (Note. — I  imagine 
the  original  object  of  this  glass  in  the  floor  was 
to  give  additional  light  to  the  cashier's  desk.) 

"Next  we  descended  to  the  /7/wr«(f-//oor,  and  the 
first  thing  I  looked  for  was  the  light  to  cashier's 
desk,  with  the  result  mentioned  in  preceding 
paragraph,  namely,  that  it  had  been  boarded 
over  to  prevent  light  having  access. 

"  The  next  was  to  test  the  deep  shadow  on  the 
counter  mentioned  by  Mr.  Warman  Thorn  in  the 
affidavit  of  2Gth  June,  1879.  The  gas  iu 
shop  being  aUglit,  we  had  it  put  out,  with  the 
advantage  of  the  evening  twilight  easting  the 
shadow  more  distinctly,  and  I  found  the  whole 
counter  in  full  light,  and  the  statement  there- 
fore, of  Mr.  Thorn  is  not  supported  by  the 
fact. 

"After  the  survey  of  thewhole  of  the  plaintiff's 
premises,  I  am  of  opinion  that  practicaDy  the 
lighting  for  all  the  present  purposes  is  amply 
sufficient,  and  that  the  rental  value  is  not 
affected ;  of  couise,  I  exclude  the  increased  value 
caused  by  the  defendant's  modern  and  attractive 
new  building,  as  that  must  not  be  taken  into 
account  iu  this  action." 

Sm-ely  no  (»i/ia?-(MZ  person  can  read  this  extract 
without  saying  that  at  least  Mr.  I'Anson's  award 
is  in  accord  with  common  sense. 

One  other  point  I  crave  leave  to  allude  to,  so 
as  to  calm  the  fearji  of  your  numerous  readers 
and  prevent  panic.  Mr.  Tomlinson  says :  ' '  After 
the  decision  given  lately  by  Mr.  I' Anson  in  the 
case  of  Laybourne  v.  Kidston,  I  am  afraid  that 
what  works  are  now  published  on  light  and  air 
are  of  little  value. ' ' 

I  assure  them  that  the  decision  is  in  accord 
■with  the  legal  decisions,  and  therefore  with  my 
work  on  "  Light   and   Air,"    which   they  may 
still  read  without  any  misgiving. — I  am,  &:c., 
Banistek  Fletcheb. 


THE  OBELISK  ON  THE  EMBANKMENT. 

SiK, — Passing  by  the  Sphinx  temporarily 
located  by  the  Needle  on  the  Embankment,  I 
noticed  on  its  face  an  intense  expression  of 
amused  scorn,  that  I  am  sure  was  not  there 
when  I  saw  the  model  in  the  studio  of  its  clever 
and  admirable  sculptor  (Mr.  Mabey).  I  can 
only  describe  it  as  equivalent  to  that  pourtrayed 
on  the  visage  of  the  noted  two  Auguis  behind  the 
scenes  iu  the  Greek  temple. 

The  comparison  in  this  case  is  yet  to  come.  It, 
and  its  fellow,  shoidd  he  placed  face  to  face, 
when  I  wager  a  wink  will  be  found  in  the  eye 
of  one,  or  both  of  them. 

Now  it  is  obvious  that  Mr.  Mabey  would 
never  have  dared  to  introduce  this  piece  of 
comedy,  commissioned,  as  doubtless  he  was,  by 
the  solenm  and  august  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works. 

I  can  only  assume  that  somehow  the  Sphinx 
has  read  the  correspondence  on  the  subject  of  his 
connection  with  the  real  Egyptian  obeUsk  in  your 
pages,  and  has  come  to  a  fitting  conclusion  as  to 
the  absurdity  of  his  own  existence  and  position. 
In  conclusion,  I  am  oidy  afraid  that  should  the 
expression  that  has  so  struc'K  me  strike  others 
likewise,  there  will  certainly  be  a  crush  on  the 
Embankment  next  Sunday,  of  which  pick- 
pockets might  take  advantage,  and  therefore  it 
is  as  well  that  timely  notice  should  be  given  to 
the  police.     That,  Mr.  Editor,   I   leave  to  you, 


July  23,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


113 


and  feeling  calmly  conscious  of  having  done  my 
duty  in  the  matter, — I  am,  &c., 

JoHs  P.  Seddon. 

PS. — Of  course,  as  all  the  world  knows  that 
artistic  rules  required  that  the  animals  should 
hare  been  placed  lis-d-tis,  that,  in  Tiolation 
of  them,  the  Sphinxes  are  to  he  dos-ii-dos,  is  doubt- 
less a  concession  to  expediency,  and  out  of  fear 
of  some  such  catastrophe  as  that  which  has 
happened.  The  usual  combination  of  the  wisdom 
of  serpents  and  harmlessuesa  of  doves  is  evident 
in  thLs,  as  in  all  other  transactions  of  the  honour- 
able Board.— J.  P.  S. 

1,  Queen  Anne's  Gate,  'Westminster,  S.W. 
July  22.     

BI'ILDEES    AND    THE   EMPLOTEES' 
LI.U31LITr  BILL. 

SiE,- — I  beg  to  inclose  you  a  list  of  objections 
raised  by  the" builders  of  the  Vnited  Kingdom  to 
"  The  Employers'  Liability  BUI,  1S80,"  now  be- 
fore the  House  of  Commons  (in  Committee),  and 
would  ask  the  favour  of  yoiu-  finding  space  in 
your  valuable  Journal  for  notice  of  the  same. — 
I  am,  &c.,  E.  S.  Henseaw,  Secretary. 

The  Central  Association  of  Master  Builders  of 
London,   27,  Kinsr-street,    Covent-garden, 
"W.C.    London,  2indJuly,  ISSO. 
1.  That  ■ffhilo  many  other  clauses  of  the  Bill  are  open 
to  objection,  Sub-cluuse  3  of  Cla>ise  1  is  the  most  objec- 
tionable, as  the  one  which  entails  the  greatest  hardship 
upon  employers,  and  especially  those  engaged  in  the 
Building  Trade.  „  .     ,  „.      , 

i.  That  the  Master  Builders  of  the  Umted  Kingdom 
employ  a  larger  number  of  hands  than  are  employed  in 
ajiy  other  branch  of  industry  proposed  to  be  ajJected  by 
the  present  Bill. 

3.  That  in  the  business  of  a  Builder  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  persons  employed  throughout  the  various 
d^)artments  comprised  in  such  business,  are  persons  who 
are  of  necessity  in  the  position  of  some  authority.  The 
general  foreman  exei-cises  authority  over  the  other  f o:-e- 
men,  and  these  again  exercise  authority  over  those  be- 
neath them,  and  so  on  in  a  descending  scale,  until  at  last 
the  person  exercising  authority  is  often  a  workman,  and 
a  workman  in  a  comparatively  humble  grade :  thus  each 
bricklayer  has  working  with  him  a  labourer,  who  is  ex- 
pected to  conform  to  the  directions  of  such  bricklayer, 
and  the  effect  of  Sub  clause  3  will  therefore  be  not  only 
to  render  the  employer  liable  for  the  neghgent  acts  of  his 
general  foreman,  and  his  other  foremen,  but  also  for  the 
negligent  acts  of  all  his  bricklayers,  whereby  the  labourei-s 
working  with  such  bricklaye:s  sustain  injury. 

4.  TaCLt  the  above  case  of  the  bricklayer  and  labourer 
is  given  simply  by  way  of  illustration,  but  in  a  lai-ge 
Building  business  the  persons  who  exercise  authority, 
such  as  the  bricklayers,  may  be  counted  by  hundreds, 
and  yet  each  of  such  pei-sons  will,  by  reason  of  Sub- 
clause 8,  be  in  a  position  to  render  his  employer  liable  to 
the  payment  of  heavy  damages. 

5.  That  it  appears  from  the  observations  of  the  Eight 
Hon.  (?eorge  Dodson,  made  on.  moving  the  second  read- 
ing of  the  Bill,  that  the  object  and  scope  of  the  Bill  was 
only  to  render  the  employer  liable  for  the  acts  of  a  person 
"to  whom  the  employer  distinctly  delegates  his  own 
authoritv." 

6.  That  the  definition  introduced  into  the  Bill,  as 
amended  in  Committee,  "  of  a  person  who  has  superin- 
tendence entrusted  to  him,"  is  in  accordance  with  the 
object  of  the  Bill,  as  so  stated  by  the  Kight  Hon.  John 
George  Dodson. 

7.  That  Sub-clause  3,  as  above  pointed  out,  goes  much 
further,  and  neutralises  the  effect  of  the  definition  clause, 
which  limits  the  liability  of  emp  loyers  to  cases  of  negli- 
gence of  persons  who  are  not  ordinarily  engaged  in 
manual  labour,  and  thereby  (so  far  at  least  as  Builders  are 
concerned;,  almost  abolishes  the  defence  of  co. 
employment. 

s.  That  at  any  rate  Sub-clause  1  of  Clause  1,  which 
renders  the  employer  Uable  for  certain  defects  in  machi- 
nery, &c.,  meets  the  only  case  left  uncovered  by  the 
definition  clause,  which,  it  can  reasonably  be  aigued, 
ought  to  be  provided  for. 

9.  That  it  is  therefore  just  and  expedient  that  Sub- 
clause 3  should  be  omitted  from  the  Bill,  which  will  thus 
be  brought  more  into  harmony  with  its  intention,  as 
already  declared  by  the  Eight  Hon.  John  George 
Dodson. 

10.  That  if  sub-clause  3  cannot  be  omitted  altogether, 
and  it  is  thought  necessary  to  render  the  employer  liable 
for  the  acts  of  any  other  persons  besides  those  who  have 
*'  superintendence  entrusted  "  to  them,  and  those  who 
will  be  in  a  position  to  render  bim  liable  under  sub-clause 
1  of  clause  1 ;  the  Bill  should  at  any  rate  more  accurately 
specify  and  limit  the  other  persons  who  it  is  intended 
should  render  the  employer  liable  under  sub-clause  3. 

Benjamin  Hannkn, 

President  of  the  BuUdeis*  Society. 
Geo.  F,  Tbollofe, 

President  of  the   Central   Associa- 
tion of  London  Builders. 
Staxlev  G.  Bir.D, 

Vice-President  of  the  National  Association  of 
Master  Builders  of  Great  Btitain. 
London,  20th  July,  ISSO. 


Everybody  who  knows  my  work  will  know  that 
I  never  bury  a  gas-pipe  below  the  floor,  nor  use 
standard  lights  among  seats,  as  here  represented. 
But  this  is  only  one  of  many  inventions  and  omis- 
sions. To  my  eye,  the  drawing  is  at  best,  a  very 
weak  caricature. — I  am,  ice, 

W.  BtrrTERFTELD. 

[The  description  which  accompanied  the  illus- 
tration in  the  Australian  iS7.'i7r7ifi- seemed  to  have 
been  published  with  the  authority  of  the  resident 
architect,  and  we  thought  the  engraving  suflicieiitly 
good  to  reproduce.  Of  course,  a  wood  engraving 
never  is  a  thoroughly  satisfactory  representation  of 
an  architectural  work,  aud  an  artist  like  Mr. 
Butterfield  would  at  ouce  detect  defects  aud  in- 
accuracies which  would  escape  general  notice.  The 
only  one,  however,  which  he  mentions  specifically 
is  hardly  a  very  serious  matter. — Ed.] 


SUNDAY  ART  EXHIBITIONS. 

SiE, — We  have  the  pleasure  to  announce  on  be 
half  of  the  Sunday  Socieiy  that,  in  addition  to  the 
Sunday  opening  of  the  Grosvenor  Gallery,  the 
Society  has  arranged  for  openin»  the  Annual  Ex- 
hibition of  the  Society  of  British  Artists  at  Suffolk- 
street,  Pall  Mall,  East. 

Both  exhibitions  wiU  be  open  to  the  members  of 
the  Sunday  Society  on  Sunday  next,  July  25,  andthe 
public  will  be  admitted  on  the  follovmig  Sunday, 
August  1,  by  means  of  tickets,  which  will  be  for- 
warded to  all  who  make  written  application  and 
send  stamped  and  addressed  envelope  to  the 
Honorary  Secretary,  6,  Dudley-Place,  W.  On 
each  Sunday  the  Gallery  in  Suffolk-street  will  be 
open  from  4  till  half-past  6,  and  the  Grosvenor 
Gallery  will  be  open  from  6  till  half-past  8. 

In  order  that  these  opportunities  for  intellectual 
recreation  on  Sunday  may  be  as  widely  known  as 
possible,  we  beg  you  to  insert  this  letter  in  your 
columns. — "We  are,  iJcc, 

DtTN-EATES,  President. 
Maek  H.  Judge,  Hon.  Sec. 

9,  Conduit-street,  W.,  July  20,  1880. 

CHIPS. 

Mr.  F.  J.  Evans,  for  many  years  engineer,  and 
latterly  a  director,  of  the  Chartered  Gas  Company, 
"   "         ewhat  suddenly  last  week.      He  designed 


5xnUrc0mmuuicati0u. 


died  ! 


this  c 


ST.  PAtX'S  CATHEDRAL,  MELBOUENE. 

SiE, — The  perspective  which  you  have  published 
this  week  from  the  Amtfallin  SketcJur  of  the 
cathedral  at  Melbourne,  is  so  very  incorrect  and 
misleading,  that  I  must  ask  you  to  allow  me  to 
disavow  the  intention  of  building  anything  so  very 
commonplace.  I  am  sorry  that  you  did  not  apply 
to  me  to  verify  this  Australian  picture,  which  is 
singularly  unlike  the  working  drawings  which  are 
now  completed. 


and  superintended  the  erection  of  the  gigantic  gas- 
works at  Becktou. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  wing  of  the 
National  Hospital  for  the  Paralysed  aud  Epileptic 
was  laid  on  Wednesday.  The  new  wing,  which 
was  illustrated  by  a  perspective  drawing  in  the 
BuiLDLNO  News  for  January  9th  last,  is  in- 
tended to  fomi  the  initial  portion  of  a  new  hos- 
pital, and  will  provide  out-patients'  wards  for 
eighteen  additional  male  patients,  and  other  much- 
needed  accommodation.  The  architect  of  the  new 
building  is  Mr.  M.  P.  Manning ;  the  contractor, 
Mr.  W.  Brass.  The  estimated  cost  of  building 
and  furnishing  is  £9,000.  The  hospital  is  situate 
in  Queen's-square,  Bloomsbury. 

A  new  church  was  consecrated,  on  Tuesday,  at 
Simonside,  near  Tyne  Dock.  Mr.  Johnson,  of  the 
firm  of  Austin,  Johnson,  and  Hicks,  Newcastle, 
was  the  architect,  and  the  style  is  Gothic,  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  loth  century. 

The  memorial- stones  of  a  new  Baptist  chapel, 
now  being  erected  atMa'khouse  Common,  Walt- 
hamstow,  were  laid,  on  Tuesday  last.  The  build- 
ing is  of  Gothic  design,  and  will  accommodate  550 
persons,  at  a  total  cost  of  about  £2,000.  Mr.  John 
Edward  Sears  is  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Allen,  of 
Kilbmn,  is  the  contractor. 

The  town  council  of  Congleton  have  accepted 
tenders  from  Mr.  Thomas  Scragg,  of  Buglawton, 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Kirk,  of  Biddulph,  for  the 
construction  of  waterworks  for  the  supply  of  the 
borough.     The  total  cost  will  be  about  £12,0U0. 

The  town  council  of  Newcastle-under-Lynehave 
opened  negotiations  with  the  gas  company  for  the 
purchase  of  their  works  and  undertaking ;  and  the 
shareholders  of  that  company  met  last  week  and 
agreed  to  the  piice  to  be  asked. 

Memorial-stones  of  a  new  chapel  and  school 
were  laid  on  Wednesday  week  by  the  Wesleyans  of 
Lostwithiel.  The  chapel  will  be  Early  Gothic  in 
stjle,  with  a  central  gable  flanked  by  pinnacles  at 
the  end  facing  street,  and  at  the  junction  of  chapel 
and  school  will  be  a  tower  and  spire.  The  chapel 
will  be  57ft.  by  31ft.,  and  wUl  seat  225  persons;  ,  deal  "' 'T'""- 
the  school  will  accommodate  150  children,  and  the  snownndun 
total  cost  mU  be  £1.750.  Mr.  J.  Hicks,  of  Ked- 
ruth,  is  the  architect :  and  Messrs.  PhUp  and 
Brown,  of  Lostwithiel,  are  the  builders. 

An  animated  debate  took  place  at  the  Poplar 
district  board  of  works  on  Friday,  with  reference 
to  a  committee's  recommendation  to  pave  Burilett- 
street,  Bromley,  with  York  stone,  at  a  cost  of  £>10. 
the  alternative  tender  being  for  Victoiia  stone  at 
a  cost  of  £520.  On  a  division,  it  was  decided  to 
accept  the  latter  tender,  and  use  the  patent  stone. 


QUESTluyS. 

[C170.1 -Wood-Engraving.— Could  any  one  ifivo 
me  the  name  of  a  poud  hook  on  woo*l-engrftving  I  A 
hand-book  or  manual  in  what  1  want.— B.  M. 

[G171.]— Perspective.— Could  any  of  your  rroden! 
inform  me  if  thet  e  id  a  :ird  grade  examitmtiou  to  pempuc- 
tive  held  at  the  ^NJUth  KeDuugtou  Schooh*,  and  if  no 
in  whiit  respects  it  diffen  from  tlie  2ud  grade,  iu  which 
latter  I  have  gdined  a  prize,  and  winh  t*j  fuUow  on  tlie 

subject  ! — CoLCKSTluKNSlS. 

[G172.]— Contracts.— Would  «omo  reader  b«  kinil 
enough  to  give  the  names  of  a  few  boukii  oil  tho  Uw«  r«- 
lating  to  contructs  in  connection  with  biiildiii(r<*  !  Such  ■« 
are  acceptc<l  as  standani  works  by  London  iuchit«ct«  AOd 
builders  are  desired.— J.  J.  M. 

:GI73.]-Damp  in  "Walls.- Will  »orae  rciuler  kmdiy 
inform  me  of  the  best  method  for  preventing  dtunp  in 
walls  defacin'.;  the  paper,  without  cuttini;  aw»y  tbv 
brickwork  1— Tiifin;K. 

[C171.".— CommisBion.-An  architect  amuiKCS  ver- 
bally with  a  cUcut  to  carr>'  out  the  wliulo  of  a  Lar^  job, 
at  a  percentai^e  somewhat  less  tlian  u--iiill>-  rh  uvtl, 
which,  under  then  citing  circumsUiti'  ;  1 

to  do.     AMien  the  llrst  contract  is  cm   : 
thirdsof  the  work,  and  the  ni'jst  trouhl- 
the  client  decides  to  iliiish  Uic  matter  Liin--'  .  t 
the  architect.    Is  not  the  architect  entit  r'l  t-.;. ; 
uponthe  amount  of  tlic  first  contnict, also  toa  <J.  •■    i   : 

preparing  drawings  and  specifications,    oiid    • ■  - 

estiloatefl,  &c.,  for  the  rtmamingporti<m  which  tti-  .  ii.  i  ■ 
intends  to  carry  out  himself,  and,  if  so,  Iiow  iaut:li  ; 
-Q. 

HU75  ]— Rot  in  New  House— A  nulxitantial  Tllla, 
costing  over  four  thousand  pounds,  was  built  betwwn  two 
and  three  years  ago,  and  altJjough  fairly  well  veiitil-it4;d,oo 
opening  it  up  the  whole  walls  htluw  level  <if  i<lijvp<?n,  a« 
well  as  underside  of  Uooring,  wore  covered  w  th  a  wrt 
spongy  fungus,  white  aud  downy  iu  some  placrs,  and 
having  the  appearance  of  shoe  Icatlicr  at  othent.  The 
growth  has  ptnttrated  ouile  tbnmgh  the  walls  both 
stone  and  htiok,  and,  indeed,  on  breaking  the  hardest 
bricks  is  seen  growing  in  their  very  centrefl.  Th*  llxirili^ 
was  perfectly  rotten,  luid,  of  courac,  had  t*)  be  n-u.  w.j.1, 
and  although  both  it  and  the  wall  have  bcon  C'>  .!•■  1  at.S 
sulphate  of  iron,  corrosive  sublimate,  hot  lirrv-.A:  .  ' 
fungus  stiU  breaks  through  as  lively  as  ever,  an  1  *  >  i  ■■  li 
the  operation  of  gutting  out  will  be  reiiuirvd  aifaiu  vrry 
shortly.  The  house  is  built  between  two  oth.r^  with 
nariHjw  passages  at  both  ends,  on  a  fwft  rotten  samlston'-, 
with  a  considerable  declivity  on  the  strtvt  fnmt,  tiie 
sleepers  being  level  with  the  ground  at  one  end  onl  aboot 
oft.  above  at  the  other.  I  may  also  mention  that  the 
sleepers  were  flrst-cla.'s  pitch  pine,  and  that  0:c  whola 
ground-floor  was  deafened  in  the  usual  way  for  parpoeet 
of  warmth.  Perhaps  some  gentleman  who  ha«  •«•'«"* 
similar  cjise  will  give  his  opinion  and  eapeneuce  of  K» 
matter  and  oblige— James  U.  SIudie. 

[617G.)— Drain-Pipes.— Is  there  any  rule  or  sUlod 
way,  according  to  our  sanitary  laws,  how  drain-pipes  ore 
to  be  put  together  !  As  I  am  foreman  to  a  builJcr,  I  woi 
sent  toa  gentleman's  house  in  oneof  our  most  rwpecUblo 
neighbourhoods  in  the  metropoUs  to  find  out  th.-e»u»c  of 
°'wer-gas  in  thehouse,  aa  there  was  great  o(ren.«ivi:  smelln, 
d  people  suffering  from  sickness  stattJ  to  an.<c  (rotn 
is  cause.  After  excavating  the  earth  ovc-  the  main 
drain  I  found  the  crown  of  the  old  brick  drain  had  been 
taken  away  and  drain-pipes  had  been  placed  m  the  bottom 
of  the  old  drain  with  noUiing  at  oU  in  Oie  jomt^,  and 
some  of  the  pipes  entered  the  joinU  or  iwckcU  and  *jmD 
did  not  do  so,  and  some  of  the  pipes  wero  broken  The 
result  was  that  the  outside  of  the  pipes  were  tilled  hall- 
way up  with  the  soil  from  the  drain,  and  at  some  pUc«« 
the  soUage  was  running  outside  of  the  pipes  mste«U  ol 
the  inside.  Through  my  master's  n.-t  c.^  n  tno 
sanitary  inspector  of  the  parish  was  .«n  ■ 
had  been  recently  laid  in,  and  you  i: 
I  was  surprised  when  I  heard  the  sni.i 
form  the  gentleman  of  the  house  t!  ■ 

right  when  the  ground  was  lllled  in,  ■■■  ■ 
come  through  the  ground ;  ani  a-s  to  • 
broken  I  might  put  a  bit  of  cement  on  i 
when  I  stated  lliat  the  drain  ought  1. 1 
hold  water,  he  (the  snmtary  in-ipMl. 
man  that  it  was  all  very  well  what  : 
there  was  one  done  so  there  were  ny 
so,  and  his  drains  were  not  worse  tl.  • 

If  this  is  how  our  s.anitary  irjpect.ji.  ;■■  -  _^  ' ;  ^^ 
in  the  heart  of  London,  where  are  wc  l«  l^x.  '  •  ■^T 
improvement  7 — C.  J.  L. 

-G177.;-Dainp-ProofBrick-ColouredCom^ 
sition.— Havmg  a!  ',.,unMi« 


Having  a 
filing  to  go  to  I! 
joints  with  cement,  ' 
position  the  colour  oi 
a  brush,  that  will  turn  i 
cavity  walL— IIasox. 


[6IG7.> 


RErLlES. 
Pitch  for  Tile  Koof.-AmonK»twork»ai 


tions  taken  a^  I'l 
pitch.    Thf  - 


rh  gaug 


tiles  bedditl   in    mortar 


ilk   iri^x«cda. 


fair  and  fafe 
r  Uthau 
\rt.  Four 
done  a 
\nvp  out 
.icmtcdoT 
-Bam- 


The  death  is  announced  of  ilr-  j- C.  Mfj^'V,' 
promising  portrait-painter,  e«pea«Uy  of  chUdra.  • 
portrait!. 


114 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


July  23,  1880. 


STAINED  GLASS. 

Camueidoe.— The  east  window  of  Corpus  Christ! 
College  Chapel,  Cambridge,  has  recently  been 
filled  with  stained  glass.  The  window,  which  is  a 
five-light  one,  represents  the  subject  of  "Ojr 
Lord's  Crucifixion,"  and  was  designed  and  executed 
by  Messrs.  Hcaton,  Butler,  and  Bayne,  of  Garrick- 
street,  London. 

Hexstkidoe. — Messrs.  Jones  and  Willi'  have 
recently  designed  and  executed  a  three  light-aud 
tracery  paiuted  •  glass  window,  introducing  the 
figures  of  Faith,  Ilope,  and  Charity,  with  arms  and 
crests  in  the  base  of  each  light,  on  a  scroll  or  motto, 
including  the  family  arms,  in  memory  of  Louisa 
Ann,  wife  of  H.  M.  Viner,  Esq.,  at  Henstridge 
Church,  Somerset. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &o. 

Statue  of  Me.  Kuskix.— Mr.  Euskin  is  to  have 
a  statue.  The  Society  of  the  Rose,  a  missionary 
society,  intended  to  spread  abroad  his  doctrines, 
which  has  its  headquarters  in  Manchester  and 
branches  at  Glasgow,  London,  and  Aberdeen,  have 
\indertaken  to  provide  it.  Mr.  Boehm  is  going  to 
execute  the  statue  memorial,  and  it  will  be  placed 
in  the  Oxforl  Museum,  ttiere  to  remain  as  evidence 
of  the  work  done  by  Mr.  Ruskiu  when  he  was  jjro- 
fessor. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

TuE  Sewage  of  Paeis.— A  correspondent  of  the 
Times  writes:  "As  the  city  of  Paris  has  tried 
various  chemical  and  other  means  of  dealing  with 
its  sewage,  and  is  now  irrigating  about  1,000  acres 
of  land  withiu  five  miles  of  the  Tuileries,  the  fol- 
lowing will  be  of  interest  to  a  large  section  of 
English  readers:  On  the  2.3rd  of  June  last  the 
Couseil  Municipal  of  Paris  resolved,  among  other 
things,  to  approve,  firstly,  the  continuance  of 
irrigation  in  the  fields  of  Gennevilliers,  and  the 
carrying  of  the  sewage  to  the  lower  north-western 
part  of  the  peninsula  of  St.  Germain  and  adjoining 
farms,  and  the  delivery  of  the  sewage  from  the 
conduits  to  persons  on  their  routes  who  shall  be 
willing  by  agricultural,  chemical,  or  other  means 
to  cleanse  it  at  their  own  expense  and  risk  for  the 
sake  of  what  they  may  be  able  to  get  out  of  it, 
subject  to  rules  to  be  prepared  ;  secondly,  to  ask 
the  Government,  in  case  of  the  l,.50O  hectares 
(3,700  acres)  might  be  insufficient  for  the 
purification  of  the  sewage  without  annoyance  to 
the  neighbourhood,  to  take  into  immediate  con- 
sideration the  extension  of  the  present  proposal  and 
the  irrigation  of  other  districts  in  the  valley  of  the 
Seine." 


LEGAL    INTELLIGENCE. 

Ckoss-sweaeixq  as  to  Bricks.— At  the  Wood- 
bridge  County-court  on  Monday,  before  Mr.  J.  S. 
Bristowe,  judge,  an  action  wasbrought  by  Henry 
Law,  brickmaker,  of  Kirton,  against  H.  Thurmau, 
builder,  of  Walton,  Suffolk,  to  recover  £12 13s.  .5d., 
balance  of  account.  Plaintiff  said  in  1878  the  de- 
fendant ordered  70,000  bricks  in  order  to  buUd  a 
school  at  Kamsholt,  and  promised  to  pay  the  money, 
at  the  agreed-on  price  of  32s.  per  1,000,  upon  the 
completion  of  the  building  of  the  school.  Defend- 
ant had  since  paid  two  sums  of  £.50  each  on  account, 
and  a  contra  bill  of  .£8  18s.  7d.  due  to  defendant 
having  been  deducted,  left  the  sum  of  £12  13s.  5d. 
now  in  dispute.  The  defence  set  up  was  that  one 
load  of  bricks  was  inferior,  but  plaintiff  called  his 
man  Smy,  who  proved  that  the  bricks  were  in- 
spected by  defendant's  man  whilst  they  wore  being 
unloaded,  and  no  complaints  were  made.  The 
bricks  were  not  sold  by  sample.  His  Honour  inti- 
mated that  defendant  must  satisfy  him  why  he  had 
made  no  previous  complaint  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
bricks,  although  he  had  paid  two  sums  on  account. 
Defendant  said  he  had  made  complaints  of  one 
barge-load  of  10,000  bricks,  which  had  been  con- 
demned by  the  surveyor,  and  which  he  was  unable 
to  use.  He  called  his  partner  in  the  school  con- 
tract, Mr.  Finch,  who  stated  that  the  bricks  were 
purchased  by  sample,  and  that  one  load  was  unlit 
for  use.  Plaintift'  denied  that  any  complaint  had 
reached  him.  Charles  Finch,  foreman  bricklayer, 
said  ho  complained  to  Smy  of  the  quality  of  one 
barge  of  bricKs,  which  were  afterwards  condemned, 
but  Smy  denied  this  statement.  His  Honour  gave 
judgment  for  plaintiff  for  the  amount  claimed, 
holding  that  if  the  bricks  were  so  bad  th^  clerk  of 
the  works  ought  to  have  been  called  by  defendant 
to  prove  that  such  was  the  case. 

I.v  EE  Wn.LiAM  Gn.BS.— The  debtor,  who  is  a 
builder,  of  11,  Hamilton-road,  Lower  Norwood, 
has  filed  a  petition  for  liquidation  ;  and  Mr.  G.  H. 
Fmch  applied  last  week  for  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
J.  M.  Henderson,  accountant,  as  receiver  of  the 
estate,  and  for  an  injunction  restraining  several 
actions.  The  debts,  which  were  chiefly  secured, 
amounted  to  about  £30,000,  and  there  were  assets 


consisting  of  house  property  of  the  estimated  value 
of  £30,000,  subject  to  mortgages  thereon  to  the 
extent  of  £26,000.  Tho  Registrar  granted  the 
application. 

The  Buzlding  AcrS. — Messrs.  Perry  and  Co., 
builders,  of  Tredegar  Works,  Bow,  appeared  last 
week  at  Westminster  to  an  adjourned  summons,  at 
the  instance  of  Mr.  Edward  Druiy,  tho  district 
surveyor  of  St.  Margaret  and  St.  John  and  the 
Close  of  St.  Peter,  Westminster,  to  show  cause 
why  they  should  not  pay  the  sum  of  £108  29.  6d., 
fees  which  had  accrued  by  reason  of  Mr.  Drury 
surveying  and  causing  the  regulations  of  the  18th 
and  19th  Victoria,  chapter  122,  section  51,  second 
schedu'e,  to  be  carried  out  with  regard  to  the 
works  known  as  Queen's  Mansions  East,  Victoria- 
street,  Westminster,  not  yet  finished.— Mr.  Drury 
conducted  his  own  case,  and  Mr.  Greenwood  de- 
fended.—Mr.  Drury  relied  firstly  on  the  27th 
section,  sub-section  2,  and  contended  that  the 
blocks  known  as  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  .and  G  were 
separate  buildings,  and  as  such  were  entitled  to  be 
charged  for.  In  January,  1879,  he  received  notice 
from  Messrs.  Perry  that  the  building  in  course  of 
erection  was  intended  to  be  used  as  residential 
chambers  of  an  area  of  10,300ft.  He  drew  atten- 
tion to  Sub-section  2  by  letter,  and  on  the  22nd 
January  notices  were  received  that  Perry  and  Co. 
would  erect  three  blocks  of  buildings.  Notice  was 
then  sent  that  there  were  no  continuous  party- 
walls,  and  attention  was  drawn  to  the  section  re- 
lating to  this.  After  communicating  to  Mr. 
Knowles,  the  surveyor,  and  seeing  him,  the  defend- 
ants were  written  to  asking  for  separate  notices, 
and  on  the  17th  of  July  a  Mr.  Bartlett  called,  the 
notices  were  filled  up,  and  they  were  signed  for 
four  sets  of  chambers  on  the  basement,  and  seven 
each  on  the  ground  and  next  five  floors.  Mr. 
Drury  had  constantly  surveyed  the  buildings,  which 
were  advertised  as  residential  chambers  in  sets, 
and  were  so  constructed  as  to  be  occupied  by 
separate  tenants,  and  consequently  the  claim  for 
£108  2s.  6d.  was  made  up  of  fees  under  the  Act 
for  separate  buildings. — Mr.  Greenwood  for  the 
defence,  contended  that  in  signing  these  notices 
his  clients  had  no  idea  that  this  building  was  going 
to  be  considered  sepai-ate  buildings.  They  were 
really  given  in  mistake  for  the  original  plans,  and 
the  intention  was  that  it  should  be  an  hotel. — In 
answer  to  Mr.  D'Eyncourt,  Mr.  Drury  stated  that 
the  fee  for  an  hotel  would  be  £10,  payable  a  month 
after  the  roof  was  on.  There  was  communication 
from  set  to  set  only  by  a  balcony.  These  notices 
were  good,  and  they  were  really  separate  tenements. 
— Mr.  Greenwood  objected  to  the  claim  for  the 
basement,  £10  1.5s.,  as  they  took  it  of  another 
builder,  and  it  should  be  charged  to  him. — In 
the  end  Mr.  D'Eyncourt  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  fees  were  due  as  claimed,  and  ordered 
them  to  be  paid. 

The  "Jeeey"  Butldejo  at  Edjionton. — In 
the  BxriLDrx-G  News  of  the  2nd  inst.  we  reported 
the  proceedings  before  the  Edmonton  Justices  upon 
four  summonses  against  Mr.  W.  B.  A.  Cole,  of 
High-road,  South  Tottenham,  for  infringing  the 
by-laws  of  the  Edmonton  Local  Board  of  Health, 
inasmuch  as  the  defendant  was  erecting  foui'  houses 
in  Town-road,  within  the  district  of  the  Board,  the 
walls  of  which  were  not  properly  bonded  and 
solidly  put  together  with  mortar  or  cement.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  evidence  showed  that 
the  houses  in  question  were  constructed  of  very 
inferior  materials,  small  pieces  of  bricks  being  used, 
with  mortar  largely  in  excess  of  the  quantity  re- 
quired to  execute  the  work  properly,  and  that  an 
adjournment  for  three  weeks  was  ordered  to  enable 
defendant  t:>  strengthen  the  walls  by  covering  them 
with  cement  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Board's  sur- 
veyor. The  cases  came  before  the  magistrates 
again  on  Monday  last,  when  defendant  was  repre- 
sented by  Mr.  Peckham,  solicitor,  who  stated  that 
a  portion  of  the  work  had  been  done,  and  asked  for 
another  week  to  complete  it.  Mr.  Abbess  (chair- 
man of  the  Bench)  inquired  whether  the  defendant 
had  shown  a  disposition  to  complete  the  operations 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Local  Board.  Mr.  Houlder 
(clerk  to  the  Board)  reminded  their  worships  that 
defendant  only  asked  for  a  fortnight,  which  was 
ample  time  to  do  all  that  was  wished  at  his  hands  ; 
and  said  that  nothing  whatever  was  done  during 
that  fortnight,  and  now  only  about  a  third  of  the 
work  was  finished.  This  was  the  second  time  the 
Board  had  been  compelled  to  adopt  proceedings 
against  the  defendant  in  respect  of  his  contraveninir 
the  by-laws.  Mr.  Abbess :  \Miat  do  you  ask  us 
to  dor  Mr.  Houlder  :  To  fine  the  defendant.  Dr. 
Parsons,  in  his  report  to  the  Local  Government 
Board  on  the  endemic  prevalence  of  enteric  fever 
in  Edmonton,  and  on  the  general  sanitary  condition 
of  the  district,  used  these  words  :  "The  cottages 
recently  erected  in  Edmoutnn  proper  are  many°of 
them  examples  of  the  flimsiest  style  of  jerry  build- 
ing. The  mortar  being  used  at  the  time  of  the  in- 
quiry in  some  cottages  in  course  of  erection  mainly 
consisted  of  road  scrapings— black  fcetid  slud'^e." 
The  Local  Board  hope  the  Bench  will  assist  them 
to  prevent  the  necessity  of  similar  complaints  in 
future.    Mr.  Grindle,  chief  surveyor  to  the  Board, 


in  reply  to  the  Bench,  said  the  work  had  not  yet 
been  done.  Some  of  the  walls  had  not  been  touched. 
Mr.  Abbess :  Could  it  have  been  done  in  the  time  we 
granted  r  Mr.  Grindle :  Yes,  if  a  commencement 
had  been  made  immediately  after  the  order  of  the 
Court.  Mr.  Abbess  said  it  almost  seemed  that  when 
time  was  granted,  defendant  went  away  without 
the  intention  of  respecting  the  decision  of  the 
Bench.  That  was  not  the  way  to  treat  the  Local 
Board  or  the  magistrates,  and  as  far  as  the  latter 
were  concerned,  they  did  not  intend  to  be  trifled 
with.  Mr.  Houlder:  Nor  do  the  Board.  Mr. 
Abbess  :  If  defendant  had  really  intended  to  carry 
out  what  he  undertook  to  perform,  he  would  have 
commenced  immediately  after  our  decision.  The 
offences  were  proved  on  the  last  occasion,  and  we 
now  order  defendant  to  pay  £2  lOs.  and  costs  on 
each  of  the  four  summonses. — On  the  same  day 
that  the  proceedings  against  Mr.  Cole  were  origin- 
ally heard,  William  Gimcon,  builder,  of  Bayceaux- 
viUa,  Gipsy  -  hill,  Norwood,  was  charged  upon 
eight  summonses,  four  with  a  similar  ofi'ence  as 
that  alleged  in  regard  to  the  other  defendant,  and 
the  remaining  four  that  the  walls  of  the  houses  did 
not  rest  on  solid  ground,  concrete,  or  other  sound 
foundation,  as  required  by  by-law  101.  The  facts 
were  reported  in  our  columns  at  the  time,  and  it 
will  be  recollected  that  the  Bench  imposed  a  fine  of 
£2  10s.  and  costs  on  each  of  the  eight  summonses. 
On  Monday  last  Mr.  Houlder  informed  the  justices 
that  the  money  had  not  been  paid,  and  asked  for  a 
warrant  of  distress  upon  defendant's  property,  in 
order  that  the  amount  might  be  recovered.  The 
application  was  granted. — Mr.  Houlder  then  ap- 
plied for  summonses  against  other  persons  building 
in  Edmonton  for  infringing  the  by-laws  of  the 
Board,  and  in  describing  the  bad  character  of  one 
case,  said  the  erection  was  so  faulty  that  the  occu- 
pier when  poking  his  own  fire  would  poke  that  of 
his  neighbour  at  the  same  time.  (Laughter.)  The 
Bench  granted  the  summonses,  and  expressed  their 
satisfaction  that  the  Local  Board  were  moving  so 
energetically  to  insure  houses  being  erected  within 
their  district  which  would  not  become  detrimental 
to  the  health  of  those  who  resided  in  them. 


mx  (BW.tt  €Mt 


The  large  number  of  street  accidents  iu 
London  during:  the  year  1879— 3,93.5  killed  and 
injured — led  to  the  formation  of  a  society  having 
for  its  object  the  arou.sing  of  public  attention  to 
the  subject,  and  the  adoption  of  means  to  secure 
the  better  safety  of  foot-passengers  in  the 
streets.  Lord  Templetown,  in  appealing  for 
aid  to  the  society,  now  states  that  during  the 
short  time  of  its  existence  it  has  done  much  to 
bring  about  a  better  state  of  things.  The  atten- 
tion of  Parliament  and  of  the  Home  Office  has 
been  directed  to  the  question.  Additional 
refuges  have  been  erected  at  several  points 
where  the  exigencies  of  traffic  most  imperatively 
called  for  them.  The  number  of  dangerous 
street  accidents  has  perceptibly  diminished,  and 
the  general  public  have  greatly  benefited  by  the 
society's  efforts. 

The  pass  list  of  the  second  examination  in 
technology  under  the  direction  of  the  City  and 
Guilds  of  London  Institute  for  the  Advancement 
of  Technical  Education  has  now  appeared.  The 
results  of  tliis  examination,  as  compared  with 
those  of  the  previous  years,  show  a  very  consider- 
able increase  in  the  number  of  candidates,  and 
in  the  number  of  subjects  in  which  they  were 
examined.  In  1879,  202  candidates  were 
examined  at  23  centres  in  seven  subjects,  of 
whom  151  passed;  in  1880,  816  candidates  were 
examined  at  85  centres  in  21  different  subjects, 
of  whom  515  passed.  The  towns  furnishing  the 
greatest  number  of  candidates  were  Crewe, 
Bolton,  Oldham,  Kenmare,  and  Xewcastlc-on- 
Tyne.  In  eight  subjects  no  candidates  pre. 
seuted  themselves— namely,  in  fuel,  glass 
manufacture,  goldsmiths'  and  silversmiths'  work, 
lace  manufacture,  manufactiu'e  of  oils,  colours, 
and  varnishes,  oils  (iUumiuating  and  lubri- 
cating), printing,  and  sugar  manufacture.  The 
prizes  awarded  are  fourteen  honours  prizes  of 
£5  each,  21  advanced  prizes  of  £3  each,  20 
elementary  prizes  of  £2  each,  besides  26  silver 
and  50  bronze  medals.  The  estimated  amount 
of  the  grant  to  teachers  on  the  results  of  the 
examination  is  £495  against  £67  last  year.  The 
largest  percentage  of  failures  is  in  iron 
manufacture,  in  which  subject  there  are  56 
failures  to  27  passes.  In  mechanical  engineering 
the  percentage  of  failures  is  also  very  great,  one 
candidate  only  having  pas.sed  out  of  H  who 
presented  themselves  for  honours. 


July  30,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


115- 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


ZOXSOy,  FRIDAY,   JULY  ZO,   18S0. 


THE 


A'ICTOEIA    EMBANKMENT. 
COXSTEUCTIX'E  STUDY. 


LET  us  take  a  stroll,  not  dowa  Flcot- 
street,  but  along  its  modern  parallel, 
or  analogue,  the  "  Victoria  Embankment," 
and  thoughtfully  stud}-,  from  a  builder's 
point  of  view,  the  various  contributions 
from  Nature's  storehouse  which  have  been 
used  in  its  construction,  and  some  of  the 
important  buildings  erected  on  its  side. 
Our  starting-point  shall  bo  the  junction  of 
the  new  Boulevard  with  Bridge-street  and 
Blackfriars  Bridge,  and  we  wOl,  by  looking 
■westward,  examine  the  general  effect  of  the 
■well-formed  road,  footpaths,  and  lines  of 
trees. 

We  shall  turn  our  back  upon  the  un- 
sightly structure  of  the  London,  Chatham, 
and  Dover  Railway  Bridge,  \vi\h.  its  river- 
piers  faced  externally  with  the  Portland 
stone  from  the  ruins  of  old  Blackfriars 
Bridge,  and  in  a  condition  ill-calculated  to 
inspire  confidence  in  the  stability  of  a 
structure  with  such  dilapidated  surround- 
ings. The  new  Blackfriars  Bridge,  in  some 
respects,  forms  a  pleasing  contrast  to  its 
very  unbecoming  neighbour,  and,  in  some 
measure,  shuts  out  from  view  the  railway 
■viaduct.  It  is  indeed,  a  goodly  sight  to 
look  at  the  Embankment  from  the  river, 
and  appreciate  the  rei<ular  and  symmetrical 
lines  of  its  parapet,  interrupted  at  intervals 
by  landing-piers  and  other  needful  arrange- 
ments for  maintaining  the  communication 
with  the  shore.  The  distance  is  not  too 
great  to  fidly  estimate  the  beauties  of  a 
well-built  structure,  having  at  its  eastern 
■terminus  a  stately  bridge,  towering  above 
which  is  seen  the  great  Cathedral  of  St. 
Paul's  ;  and,  at  its  western  end,  another 
bridge  of  graceful  outline,  flanked  and 
terminated  by  the  gorgeous  Palace  of 
'Westminster. 

The  great  variety  of  materials  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  Victoria  Embankment 
offers  unusual  facilities  for  the  study  of 
some  of  our  leading  building  stones,  and  we 
\vill  start  with  an  examination  of  the  granite 
of  the  river- wall.  This  good  and  pleasing 
external  coating,  or  skin,  of  granite  forms 
merely  the  finishing  surface  to  an  elaborate 
and  carefully-arranged  structure  of  first- 
class  stock-bricks,  bonded  together  ■with 
excellent  Portland-cement  mortar.  That 
both  bricks  and  mortar  were  of  the  best  of 
their  kind  was  readily  proved  during  the  ex- 
cavation of  that  part  of  the  wall  which  was 
to  receive  the  foundation  of  the  "  Cleopatra 
Needle."  An  examination  of  a  piece  ot  this 
firmly-cemented  brickwork  proves  that  the 
cement  and  the  river-sand  which,  together, 
formed  the  mortar,  was  unexceptionable  in 
quality,  and  its  perfect  junction  ■n-ith  the 
favourable  surfaces  of  the  weli-bumt  stock 
shows  what  can  be  accomplished  when  well- 
selected  materials  are  conscientiously  com- 
bined. The  wall  proper,  therefore,  may  be 
regarded  as  one  formed  of  the  best  qm^Aity 
of  stock  bricks  of  a  bright  yellow  colour, 
hard,  though  somewhat  porous  in  texture, 
joined  together  ■with  Portland  cement 
mortar  in  the  proportion  of  one  of  cement  to 
two  of  the  cleanest,  sharp,  river-sand — such 
may  be  considered  the  embanking  wall,  for, 
practically,  its  extent  and  character  war- 
rants such  appellation,  and  the  granite 
facing  and  parapet  with  the  coping  merely 
represents  its  external  ornamental  clothing. 
To  appreciate  the  extent  and  character  of 
the  granite  diWsion  of  the  work,  an  examina- 


tion from  the  river  itself  is  indispensable,  for 
it  is  there  that  the  quality  of  the  stone  can 
best  be  seen,  and  the  extent  of  its  alrcadj' 
degraded  surface  estimated.  Granite  of  the 
best  qua' it}',  ever  in  contact  with  running 
water,  soon  submits  to  its  solvent  action, 
which  readily  acts  on  the  alkaline  ingre- 
dients with  ■ft'hioh  granites  are  invariably  in 
a  greater  or  Ifss  degree  associated.  The  ex- 
tent and  character  of  the  alkalies  has  much 
to  do  with  the  durability  of  this  stone,  and, 
as  many  widely-separated  districts  were  laid 
under  contribution  for  this  important  work, 
various  shades  of  colour  and  degrees  of 
textures  are  exhibited.  The  general  cha- 
racter of  the  granite  is,  however,  good, 
and  the  colour  a  light  grey,  which,  con- 
sidering the  trying  position  in  which  it  is 
placed,  wears  fairly  well.  The  larger- 
grained  qualities  appear,  however,  to  be  the 
most  degraded,  and  their  original  finely- 
worked  surfaces  are  becoming  roughened 
from  the  action  of  the  ever-active  water 
solvent  insidiously  breaking  up  the  alkaline 
coherent.  A  careful  glance  along  the  para- 
pet coping  wlU  show  that  the  washing  out 
of  the  cementing  agent  is  proceeding  slowly 
but  surely.  We  reach  Waterloo  Bridge, 
and,  if  our  minute  and  careful  examination 
of  the  modern  structure  awakens  in  our 
minds  thoughts  of  eventual  disintegi-ation  of 
its  graceful  and  substantial  details,  we  are 
almost  horrified  at  the  condition  of  this 
well-known  and  highly-appreciated  com- 
paratively modem  building.  At  its  com- 
pletion, this  bridge  was  regarded,  not  only 
by  English  engineers,  as  a  remarkable  ex- 
ample of  stable  and  dtu'able  construction, 
but  French  engineers  also  looked  upon  it  as 
an  engineering  triumph. 

Waterloo  Bridge,  in  its  present  state,  does 
not,  unfortunately,  testify  to  the  prescience 
of  its  admirers.  That  it  is  a  fairly-propor- 
tioned structure,  and  creditab'e  to  the 
genius  of  its  celebrated  engineer,  no  one 
can  dispu-e,  but  its  foundations  are  based 
on  mud,  and  its  superstructure  composed  of 
perishable  Cornwall  granite,  which  is  in- 
competent to  resist  the  insidious  action  of  a 
London  atmosphere.  The  balustrades  of 
the  parapet  are  of  Aberdeen  granite,  and  a 
comparison  of  the  two  granites  wiU  readily 
indicate  the  advantage  of  the  northern  de- 
posit over  that  obtained  from  the  igneous 
deposits  of  the  west.  The  study  of  the 
graiutes  used  in  the  Victoria  Embankment 
wall  and  parapet,  and  that  emplo5'ed  in 
building  Waterloo  Bridge,  will  result  in 
much  profit  to  the  building  student  if  he 
win  apply  in  his  examination  the  necessary 
chemical  rules  and  analyses.  It  is  well 
known  th.at  those  granites  in  which  alkalies 
exist  in  too  great  a  proportion  are  liable  to 
early  disintegration,  and  the  measiure  of 
their  durability  is  influenced  by  the  quality 
of  the  alkaline  ingredients,  that  of  potash, 
however,  securing  a  higher  quality  of  dura- 
bility than  soda.  Both  these  evanescent 
chemical  agents  exist  in  varying  propor- 
tions in  nearly  aU  granites  ;  but  that  which 
has  the  less  of  either,  more  especially  of 
soda,  is  proved  to  be  the -more  durable 
stone. 

Before  leaving  the  granite  division  of  otu' 
study,  we  wdl  look  at  the  famous  Cleopatra 
Needle,  which,  in  its  modem  site,  can  well 
afford  to  look  T\-ith  indifference,  if  not  dis- 
dain, upon  its  surrounding  fellow  structures, 
reared  fi'om  analogous  igneous  rocks.  Age, 
indeed  !  Who  can  denote  with  accuracy  the 
period  when  the  monolith  was  quarried  from 
its  granite  bed  in  far  distant  Syene  ?  Or  who 
can  enumerate  the  human  lives  sacrificed 
during  the  time  of  its  removalfrom  its  natural 
bed  to  its  final  erection  amongst  its  nume- 
rous fellows  on  the  banks  of  the  NOe  ?  The 
interval  of  time,  and  the  vicissitudes  through 
which  Cleopatra's  Needle  has  passed,  were 
indeed  calculated  to  degi-ade  an  obelisk  be- 
yond recognition,  composed  of  ordinary 
granite,  or  less  durable  materials. 


The  granites  of  our  Victoria  Embankment 
are  grey  in  colour,  and  tlie  Obelisk  re<l, 
denoting,  in  its  analysis,  tlio  presence  of 
iron  oxides.  Geologi.sts  an<l  mineralogists 
are  not  quite  unanimous  as  to  the  exact 
proportions  or  description  of  this  famous 
Egyptian  granite.  The  analysis,  however, 
is  us  under  : — 

S']'':*.  70-25 

Alumina. jooo 

Oxide  of  iron  and  nungKnerc  i'M 

iV""*     : •■ ■ M« 

Ma^csia,  aooa,  andputoth    9-oo 

■Water  and  lun 1'09 

100-00 

It  may  be  described  as  a  granite  formed 
of  quartz,  orthose,  oligoclase,  and  frcunently 
also  of  hornblende;  but  tlio  latter  in  verj- 
limited  in  quantity.  This  granite  is  capabln 
of  being  very  highly  poll.sh.-d,  and  in  the 
Egyptian  climate  niahilains  its  surfaces  un- 
impaired, having  been  origiuiilly  used  in 
lining  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Cheopi. 
Perched  on  its  modem  base,  in  a  humid  cli- 
mate, and  subject  to  the  baneful  influences 
()f  a  London  atmosphere,  it  wiU,  in  some 
distant  future,  solve  th?  problem  whether 
any  granite  can  exist  uniiiiiiaired  in  such  a 
situation.  Already  preservative  npplicatioiis 
are  imparted  to  its  surfaces,  which  may  re- 
tard or  impede  its  decay;  but  cannot,  we 
fear,  prevent  the  unavoidable  degradation 
consequent  on  its  modem  Western  location. 
Let  us  now  m^ke  our  acquaintance  with 
the  gault  bricks  used  in  e-omc  of  tha  walla 
on  the  land  side  of  the  Embankment,  along 
which  we  will  now  saunter.  AValls,  diviiUng 
the  carriage  and  footways  from  private  gar- 
dens, at  several  points  on  the  Embankment, 
are  constructed  of  gault  bricks  with  a  Port- 
land-stone coping.  At  tin-  eastern  end,  and 
near  Blackfriars  Bridge,  the  wall  so  erected 
may  be  regarded  as  merely  temporary  in 
character  ;  but  for  the  time  during  which 
it  has  existed,  ample  opportunity  is  afforded 
to  judge  of  the  character  and  quality  of  the 
materials  of  which  it  is  formed.  The  bricks 
maj'  not  be  regarded  as  the  best  which 
can  be  produced  from  gault  clay ;  but  the 
external  defects  -which  they  now  exhiliit, 
after  so  comparatively  short  a  time,  inliuate 
that  they  are  not  suitable  for  building  pur- 
poses, where  uniformity  of  surface  er  free- 
doai  from  flaws  is  an  object.  A  careful  in- 
spection ot  the  bricks  in  question  indicates 
that  the  degrading  action  of  the  weather 
has  destroyed  the  original  face  of  their  sur- 
faces, and  thus  gradually  permitted  the 
presence  of  water,  which,  when  frozen,  has 
already  exerted  a  mechanical  infhience, 
resulting  in  the  elimination  of  various-sized 
pieces  of  the  brick.  The  writer  has  mode  a 
careful  observation  of  this  almost  unob- 
served process,  and  after  frost  and  during 
thaw,  was  surprised  at  the  amount  of  dWn- 
tegrated  brick  which  accuraidatcd  at  the 
b-ise  of  the  wall  in  question,  on  both  of  its 
sides. 

Gaalt  clay,  when  properly  tempered  and 
rendered  thoroughly  homogeneous,  prodnces 
bricks  of  a  high  class,  from  the  peculiarly 
favourable  character  of  its  chemical  con- 
stituents. Its  natural  state  is,  generally 
speaking,  stiff,  and,  in  some  deposits,  highly 
indurated  ;  but  before  being  converted,  or 
moidded,  into  the  desired  fomi'<,  should  be 
well  tempered  and  rendered  phuitic.  Where 
this  desirable  preliminary  operation  is  dis- 
pensed with,  and  the  clay  usH  ai  dug  from 
the.  pit    or    quarry,    and    at  "  ' 

through  a  brick-machine,  mm  ' 
are  produced.     The  i-lifirruffr  • 
the  bricks    on   tli      ''-' 
that  the  presswr- 
moulded  -was  in.^:: 
larly-sized  piece-!  .i  .   :i_v.  i;i  : 
the  accurate  application  of   li 
kiln,  resulting  in  the  cra-k=  = 
the  bricks  built  in  the  v. 
all   probability,   the    nr,: 
the   works  of    the    Vir- 
selected    these    bricks  from   th' u-  id-aMng 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


colour  and  apparently  hard  character ; 
neither  quality,  however,  has  secured  a 
sound  and  sightly  wall.  If  the  wall  proper 
and  its  cons'  itueuts  fail  to  please,  vrc  arc  still 
less  satisfied  with  the  condition  and  character 
of  itscoping.  The  Portland  stone,  of  which  this 
finishing  course,  or  cap,  is  made,  either  must 
have  bceu  of  exceptionally  bad  quality,  or 
the  particular  site  in  which  it  is  placed  is 
subject  to  an  exceptionally  damaging  cli- 
matalinflueiice.  Portland  stone,  of  whiohSt. 
Paul's  Cathcdriil,  Greenwich  Hospital,  and 
Somerset  House  are  built,  obtained  from  the 
famous  Oolitic  deposits  in  Dorsetshire, 
has  a  reputation  for  great  diuability, 
and  we  therefore  conclude  that  the  super- 
\-ising  check  on  the  quality  of  the  materials 
was  not  vigilant  enough  to  prevent  in  this 
particular  spot  the  use  of  stone,  which  is 
simply  a  disgrace  to  the  authorities  under 
■whose  liirection  it  was  built. 

The  railing  bounding  the  Temple  Gardens 
is  a  very  creditable  work,  and  the  stone  in 
its  foundations  and  plinth  forms  a  remark- 
able contrast  to  the  adjoining  coping  we 
have  referred  to.  "ftio  quality  of  the  stone 
and  ironwork  of  this  ornamental  railing  and 
the  quality  of  its  workmanship  form  a  be- 
coming screen  between  the  Embankment  and 
these  charming  gardens.  It  is  a  great  pity 
that  the  Templars  did  not  make  the  iron  rail- 
ings wider  apart,  and  so  enable  the  public  to 
get  a  good  view  of  the  ornamental  gardens 
and  buildings  of  the  quadrangle.  Their 
being  so  closely  railed  off  cannot  proceed 
from  any  selfish  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
Temple  authorities,  for  they  display  the 
utmost  amount  of  liberality  in  throwing 
their  well-kept  gardens  open  to  the  public. 
The  high  brick  wall  in  the  'ftTiitehall  quarter 
is  simply  disgraceful,  and  the  Metropolitan 
Board  never  should  have  allowed  such  an 
eyesore  to  have  been  erected. 

(To  he  coiirliided.) 


ST.     MATTHIAS'      CHURCH     (UPPER 
TULSE  HILL)  COMPETITION. 

THE  committee  have  made  a  selection 
from  fifty  or  more  sets  submitted  to 
them  in  this  competition,  of  four  designs,  and 
these  have  since  been  further  considered. 
The  instructions  to  architects  required  a 
church  of  red  brick  or  stone,  with  stone 
dressings  of  plain  character,  with  tower  and 
spire,  and  all  necessary  fittings,  capable  of 
accommodating  800  worshippers  and  to  be 
arranged  to  admit  of  economical  enlarge- 
ment. The  cost  was  limited  to  £7,000,  in- 
cluding architect's  commission ;  and  a 
builder's  estiruato  was  required  to  bo  fur- 
nished, as  a  guarantee  of  the  performance 
of  the  architect's  design.  One  of  the  con- 
ditions stated  that  the  church  will  probably 
be  built  in  three  sections.  A  rather  unusual 
course  was  adopted  as  regards  the  identifi- 
cation of  the  designs,  though  it  has  had  the 
eflfect  of  preventing  any  unfair  knowledge  of 
the  authors'  names  from  transpiring.  The 
drawings  were  requested  to  be  sent  under 
motto  only,  not  accompanied  with  sealed 
envelopes,  and  when  the  selection  of  the 
committee  had  been  made,  an  advertisement 
announcing  the  motto  and  asking  for  the 
name  and  address  of  each  competitor  was  to 
be  published.  This  course  has  been  acted 
upon  by  the  committee,  as  our  readers  will 
have  seen  in  our  hist  issue,  though  it  was 
found  impossible  last  week  to  announce,  as 
intended,  the  motto  of  any  design,  for  a 
very  simple  reason,  namely,  that  the  com- 
mittee could  not  come  to  a  decision  till  they 
had  carefully  gone  through  'he  details  of  the 
design  they  thought  the  nearest  to  their 
requirements,  and  for  which  purpose 
they  had  to  j)ut  themselves  into  com- 
munication with  the  author.  Though 
the  committee  comprises  among  its  mem- 
bers several  practical  men,  two  or  three 
architects  and  builders,  besides  their  own 
indefatigable  secretary  and  churchwarden. 


Messrs.  Martin,  engineers,  to  whose  efforts, 
we  understand,  the  present  church  accom- 
modation, as  well  as  the  proposed,  are 
mainly  due,  it  has  had  to  meet  with  some 
difficult}-  in  coming  to  a  decision,  partly  due 
to  those  who  oppose  the  building  of  a  new 
church  in  thedistrict,  and  also  from  the  Metro- 
politan Board  of  Works,  in  respect  of  the  line 
of  building.  The  last  point  has  considerably 
delayed  the  decision  of  the  committee 
with  respect  to  the  plans,  as  many 
of  the  competitors  have  failed  to  adapt  their 
building  to  the  site  ;  others  have  not  taken 
into  consideration  the  provision  of  entrances 
for  the  convenience  of  residents  living  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Locldiart-road ;  while  a 
few  have  neglected  to  utilise  the  difference 
of  levels  of  the  site.  Many  of  the  authors 
have  made  no  provision  for  concrete  founda- 
tions, an  important  item  in  a  district  where 
the  ground  is  of  a  treacherous  or  clayey 
nature  ;  other  designs  show  no  means  for 
future  extension.  Moreover,  as  usual,  indi- 
vidual preferences  and  the  influence  of 
donors,  have  added  to  the  difficulties  against 
which  the  committee  have  had  to  contend. 
Certain  members  of  the  committee,  we 
understand,  have  been  captivated  by  the 
attractive  interior  of  "  Experientia,"  the 
chief  fault  of  which  design  is  that  its  author 
has  not  shown  space  for  future  extension, 
and  has  not  provided  concrete,  or  a  room 
below  the  chancel  ;  whUe  others  have  formed 
an  attachment  for  the  design  marked 
"  Faith."  On  Tuesday  evening,  we  hear, 
the  committee  accepted  conditioned! >/  the 
design  bearing  the  mntto,  "  Ked  Cross," 
the  authors  being  Messrs.  Harnor  and 
Waters,  of  8,  John-strett,  Adelphi.*  It  was 
found  that  not  one  of  the  designs  met  all 
the  requirements,  and  the  duty  of  the  com- 
mittee under  these  circumstances  was  to 
select  a  design  requiring  the  least  amount  of 
alteration.  From  a  careful  inspection  of  the 
five  designs  we  are  inclined  to  think  the 
committee  on  points  of  utility  alone  have 
come  to  a  fair  conclusion.  The  plan  of  "  Red 
Cross"  fairly  adapts  itself  to  the  gTOund  ;  the 
author  has  sho%vn  means  for  extending  the 
transepts  on  both  sides ;  entrances  are  shown 
at  convenient  points,  and  the  levels  of  the 
ground  and  the  foimdations  have  been  con- 
sulted. Moreover,  we  think  the  architec- 
tural character  of  the  building  in  every  way 
suitable  to  the  locality  ;  no  expensive  orna- 
ment or  elaborate  tracery  is  shown  ;  the 
style  is  plain  sensibly  treated  Early  English, 
of  brick  relieved  by  stone  dressings.  We 
necessarily  limit  our  opinion  to  the 
designs  we  have  seen,  but  the  selection  of 
these  of  course  rests  with  the  committee. 
On  this  account  we  may  express  our  regret 
the  buUding  committee  did  not  see  their 
way  to  allow  the  whole  of  the  designs  to  be 
submitted  to,  and  adjudicated  upon,  by  Mr. 
Street,  or  Mr.  Pearson,  as  iwoposed  ;  but  we 
have  nevertheless  confidence  in  the  architec- 
tural and  practical  ability  in  the  committee, 
that  the  best  for  the  purpose  have  been  dis- 
tinguished. We  also  regret  that  the  com- 
mittee did  not  offer  two  or  three  premiums  ; 
it  must  be  confessed  a  great  deal  of  labour 
and  ability  have  been  expended  by  the  com- 
petitors, as  the  designs  we  have  seen  exhi- 
bited fully  bear  out. 

We  may  now  give  the  result  of  our  notes 
on  the  five  sets  selected  by  the  committee, 
and  which  were  written  h  fore  the  decision  we 
have  mentioned  above  was  made.  We  may 
just  premise  that  the  site  of  the  church  is 
quadrilateral,  I'pper  Tulse-hiU  forming 
the  western  boundary,  and  Lockhart- 
road  the  southern. 

"Faith,  and  a  Black  Cross,"  shows  a 
church  of  wide  proportions,  comprising  a 
nave  and  two  aisles,  transepts,  organ- 
chamber,  and  vestry,  one  on  either  side,  and 
an  octagonal  apse.  The  planning  is  symme- 
trical ;  the  aisles  are  not  continued  to  the 
end  of  nave,  but  form  a  break  on  each  side. 


•  See  paj^  VZ3. 


There  are  three  wide  bays  besides  the  tran- 
sept, and  the  author  has  produced  a  com- 
modious well-plannednave,finishedwithbrick 
in  an  Early  English  style.  The  roof  is  open 
and  timbered,  the  ribs  spring  from  short 
hammer-beams,  and  tie-rods  are  shown.  A 
well-proportioned  tower,  mth  spire,  is 
shown  at  the  west  end,  forming  a  lobby 
entrance  on  the  south  side.  The  tower  is 
pleasingly  varied  by  the  octagon,  with  en- 
gaged pinnacles.  Accommodation  is  pro- 
vided for  8-10  worshippers.  The  pencil  per- 
spective and  ink  elevations  exhibit  good 
detail.  "Faith  in  a  red  circle,"  favourably 
spoken  of,  is  a  chtu'ch  with  nave  and  two 
aisles,  an  octagon  -  ended  chance],  with 
clergy  and  choir  vestries  on  the  north  side 
forming  a  projection.  There  are  five  bays 
shown.  The  vestry  accommodation  is 
arranged  on  the  chancel-floor  level,  and  the 
heating  is  by  stoves  underneath  the  vestries. 
We  can  speak  approvingly  of  the  elevations 
and  interior  features.  There  is  a  boldly- 
treated  tower  and  spire  at  the  east  end  :  the 
former  has  an  octagonal  upper  stage  as  in 
the  former  design,  and  there  is  a  flcche 
springing  from  the  chancel  gable.  Large 
triple  windows  light  the  clerestory,  and 
these  are  close  set.  The  east  end  is  lighted 
by  triplets,  and  the  western  gable  is  pierced 
by  three  windows.  The  author  has  again 
selected  an  Early  or  13th-century  style  of 
English  Gothic.  A  detailed  specification 
accompanies  this  set,  and  we  find  the  aiithor 
estimates  his  building  separately  as  follows  : 
Nave  and  aisles,  £3,200  ;  chancel  and 
vestries,  £1,700;  tower  and  spire,  £1.700; 
boundary  w.all,  &2.,  £1,700  ;  making  a 
total  of  £7,000.  In  compliance  with 
the  instructions,  builders'  estimates  are 
appended.  Neatly-drawn  ink  per- 
pective  and  elevations  are  sent  in 
under  motto  "  Experientia."  The  author 
submits  two  designs,  but  the  position 
assigned  to  the  plan  on  site  and  the  means 
of  extension  are  not  satisfactory.  The  first 
set,  marked  A,  exhibits  a  plan  with  nave 
and  aisles,  with  clergy  and  choir  vestries  on 
the  south  side  of  chancel ;  the  latter  is 
finished  as  a  semi-decagon.  The  north 
aisle  extends  to  correspond  ■ivith  the  vestries, 
and  the  arcade  shows  five  bays.  At  the 
west  end  there  is  a  lobby-entrance,  as  well 
as  a  porch  under  the  tower  at  the  south- 
west angle,  which  is  set  close  to  the  nave. 
Stairs  to  a  gallery  are  shown  at  the  opposite 
comer  of  the  western  lobby,  as  the  author 
proposes  to  enlarge  the  number  of  sittings 
by  this  means,  the  additional  accommodation 
thtis  obtained  being  100.  A  choir  of  30  is 
proposed  in  the  chancel,  and  the  organ  is 
intended  to  be  played  from  the  latter.  We 
cannot  say  we  like  the  rather  low  and 
meagre  tower  and  spire :  it  would  have  been 
better  to  have  omitted  the  spire  and  built  a 
larger  tower ;  nor  do  we  admire  the 
way  the  former  feature  is  made  to 
spring  from  the  tower :  there  is  a  low 
gabled  form  of  parapet  with  squat  cir- 
cular pinnacles  at  the  angles.  The  walls 
are  proposed  to  be  Saced  with  red  bricks, 
having  stone  dressings,  and  brick  bands  and 
voussoirs  are  shown  internally.  The  ehan- 
cel  is  groined,  and  there  is  an  open-timber 
roof  over  the  nave.  The  number  of  sittings 
provided  is  830,  and  the  estimate,  guaranteed 
by  Messrs.  Dove,  Brothci-s,  is  £6,700.  In 
the  dra-\vings  the  author  has  adopted  a  mix- 
tui'e  of  English  and  foreign  detail.  The 
second  design  of  "  Experientia,"  marked  B, 
is  drawn  in  a  similar  style.  Decorated  in 
character,  the  main  dift'erence  being  a  vrider 
nave  ;  the  aisles  reduced  to  passages,  and 
the  introduction  of  transepts,  by  which 
means  the  accommodation  is  chiefiy  pro- 
vided for  in  the  nave  and  transepts.  Of 
course,  the  great  gain  to  be  obtained  by 
making  the  aisles  passages  is,  tha*  there  is 
no  obstruction  to  the  view  ;  but  this  advan- 
tage is  obtained  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  pro- 
portions    of    the    nave.     There   is   a   lofty 


July  30,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


117 


clerestory,  which  will  be  a  good  feature  ; 
the  chaucel  is  rather  too  low  iu  height,  and 
the  tower  and  spire  have  the  same  meagre 
effect  in  their  proportions  as  the  last.  The 
author  appears  to  have  adopted  the  tran- 
septs as  a  means  of  obtaining  future 
additional  accommodation  by  galleries  hold- 
ing 100  persons  iu  each.  On  the  north 
side  of  chancel  is  the  chou- vestry,  with  organ 
over,  and  on  the  south  side  is  the  clergy 
vestry  of  larger  size,  cap.able  of  being  used 
for  classes.  The  heating  is  provided  for  by 
chambers  imder  the  latter  vestry,  and  a  sum 
of  £loO  has  been  proposed  for  this  purpose. 

The  two  designs  with  motto  Eed  Cross  in 
Circles  are  distinguished  for  a  careful  study 
of  the  site  and  the  conditions,  and  architec- 
turally, are  equally  worthy  of  the  committee's 
consideration.  Let  us  fiurst  take  the  design 
marked  A,  shown  by  a  set  of  wcU-drawn  and 
vigorous  ink  drawings.  Hero  we  have  a 
cruciform  plan,  well  proportioned  in  the 
various  parts,  and  carefully  adapted  to  the 
ground.  There  is  a  well-profiortioned  tower 
and  spire  at  the  west  end.  The  former  is 
treated  ia  a  plain  brick  but  dignified  stj-le, 
without  buttresses,  while  the  spire  is  of  good 
form  and  elevation,  and  the  detail  of  the 
whole  design,  in  an  Early  English  style,  is 
worked  out  in  a  masterly  manner.  The 
transepts  project  slightly ;  the  choir  and 
clergy  vestries  are  shown  on  either  side  of 
chancel,  and  the  latter  is  terminated  as  a 
semi-octagon.  The  tower,  which  forms  an 
entrance  porch,  is  at  the  south-west  angle  ; 
its  outer  boundaries  forming  those  of  the 
aisle  and  west-end.  An  entrance  is  obtained 
also  in  the  centre  of  west-end.  Plan  A  shows 
a  nave  of  93ft. ,  and  a  good  detail  of  seats  is 
shown.  The  estimate  of  the  author  is  £6,ToO, 
and  accommodation  is  shown  for  836.  The  al- 
ternative design  under  B  shows  slight  transept 
projections,  and  a  symmetrical  arrangement 
of  the  vestries  at  the  east  end  ;  the  principal 
difference  is  the  substitution  of  narrow  aisles 
to  serve  as  passages,  and  the  plan  thereby 
secures  an  imobstructed  area.  The  font  is 
placed  in  a  small  semicircular  recess  on  the 
north  side  ;  there  is  a  narthex  arrangement 
for  the  west  end,  which  is  treated  in  a  bold 
and  effective  manner  externally.  A  well- 
coloured  perspective  shows  red  brick  walls 
relieved  by  a  roof  of  green  slates,  and  the 
schedule  of  accommodation  gives  828  as  the 
total  number.  In  both  designs  the  interior 
treatment  is  simple  and  inexpensive,  and  the 
details  are  well  drawn.  Below  the  chancel 
end,  rooms  are  obtained  by  utilising  the  fall 
of  the  ground— a  point  we  find  wanting  in 
some  of  the  others.  Another  design,  with 
monogram  ' "  E.  H. , "  is characterisedbya  more 
florid  treatment  than  either  of  the  former. 
The  style  is  Decorated,  all  the  windows  have 
traceried  heads,  and  those  in  the  aisles  are 
square-headed.  Iu  plan  the  arrangement  is 
hardly  so  pleasing  or  satisfactory ;  there  is 
a  square-ended  chancel,  a  vestry  and  organ 
chamber  on  the  north  side,  and  a  baptistry 
on  the  other  side,  and  a  tower  and  spire  at 
the  south-west  comer.  The  drawings  are 
lightly  inked  in,  and  while  we  must  praise 
the  neatness  of  some  of  the  detail,  we  can 
hardly  think  the  design  economical  enough 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  committee. 


THE    AXCIEN'T    Ll'ILDIN'GS    OF 
HALIFAX.* 

IX  these  days  of  restoration  and  recon- 
struction well-drawn  views  of  old  build- 
ings have  a  claim  to  our  regard  ;  and  reliable 
drawings  illustrating  old  domestic  architec- 
ture are  even  more  valuable,  as  they  often 
become  records  of  buildings  left  to  the  ten- 
der mercies  of  proprietors  and  leaseholders. 
The  parish  of  Halifax  abounds  in  old  halls 
and  half-timbered  buildings   of  the  seven- 


*  Views  of  Ancient  Building,  Illustrative  of  the  Do- 
mestic Architecture  of  the  Parish  of  Halifax.  By  John 
Levlaxb.    Halifax  :  R.  Lejland  and  Son. 


teenth  century,  and  Mr.  John  Lcyland 
deserves  our  thanks  for  having  brought  out 
a  series  of  photo-lithographs  of  some  of  the 
more  important  of  those,  with  brief  descrip- 
tive notf  s,  that  will  be  welcomed  by  all 
admirers  of  Halifax  and  its  neighbourhood. 
The  only  regret  we  feel  is  that  the  drawings 
were  not  executed  ■with  more  architectural 
care  iu  details,  and  that  the  shading  ,and 
trees  were  not  more  sparingly  emiJoyed  to 
produce  effect.  There  is  an  unpleasant  in- 
decision in  the  details,  and  a  woolliness  of 
effect  in  the  shaded  parts,  which  give  a 
mannered  treatment  to  some  of  the  views. 
We  take,  for  instance,  a  few  points  to 
illustrate  our  nieauing.  In  the  view 
of  ancient  building,  in  Elland,  there 
is  a  meagreness  and  poverty  in  the 
timbering;  the  shaded  parts  are  finical  in 
touch  ;  the  bay  windows  in  Plate  YI.  are 
surely  drawn  out  of  perspective ;  the  next 
plate  shows  a  grand  old  mansion,  but  the 
view,  to  our  mind,  has  been  wholly  spoilt 
by  the  disproportioned  amount  of  fore- 
ground introduced  ;  the  trees  in  Plato  XXI. 
are  poorly  drawn ;  and  there  are  other 
evidences  which  almost  incline  us  to  think 
that  the  drawings  in  many  cases  have  been 
copied  from  iihotographs.  But,  although 
saying  so  much  as  regards  the  technical 
qualities  of  the  drawings,  we  are  not  un- 
mindful of  the  interest  in  the  subjects  them- 
selves which  the  author  has  endeavoured  to 
impart,  nor  the  difficulties  which  beset  the 
attempt  to  restore  to  their  original  condition 
some  of  the  examples  given.  Mr.  Leyland, 
at  least,  has  felt  the  value  at' aching  to  the 
old  buildings  he  has  attempted  to  illustrate, 
and  his  book,  with  all  its  shortcomings,  is 
an  interesting  contribution  to  the  history  of 
the  domestic  architecture  of  Halifax.  The 
selection  made  seems  to  be  a  good  one, 
Ulustratiug  as  it  does  the  stone-buOt  man- 
sions erected  in  Jacobean  times,  such  as 
Barkisland  Hall,  in  Plate  II.,  as  well  as 
the  timbered  houses  in  the  locality.  The 
timber  examples  are  first  described.  Halifax 
was  originally  a  quaint  town  built  chiefly  of 
timber,  and  until  modem  times,  as  the  author 
says,  there  remained  lines  of  curious  over- 
hanging houses  on  both  sides  of  Cro'ivn- 
street.  But  we  may  take  a  few  examples 
from  the  book  itself,  and  here  we  notice  the 
author  has  disregarded  "  incongruous  altera- 
tions and  defacements,  with  which  bad 
taste  and  long  neglect  have  surrounded 
many  of  the  ancient  houses,"'  and  they  have 
been  drawn  as  they  most  probably  appeared 
when  surrounded  by  lawns  and  gardens. 
We  confess  we  should  have  preferred  to  have 
seen  them  as  they  now  exist.  Among  the 
timber  examples  "  Broad-Bottom  Hall,"  or 
the  "  Old  (.  hapel,Wadsworth  "  (Plate  XXV.), 
is  given  as  the  oldest  example  in  the  parish, 
its  date  being  about  1350.  Its  exterior  has 
been  completely  altered,  but  fragments  of 
the  interior  remain,  from  which  the  con- 
jectural drawing  is  made.  The  pointed 
ceiling  partly  exists  ;  also  the  old  wainscot 
of  overlapping  planks  of  oak.  The  original 
dimensions  were  29ft.  by  16ft.,  and  the 
point  of  arch  16ft.  from  the  floor.  The 
original  windows  have  disappeared ;  but  the 
author  shows  a  five-light  window  of  the 
fourteenth  century  at  the  end.  The  deco- 
ration in  the  panels  of  vaulted  ceiling 
is  hypothetical,  we  find,  and  certainly 
would  have  been  better  omitted.  The 
chimney-mantel  corbelling  does  not,  as 
sho\vn,  look  like  old  work,  and  the  table 
introduced  is  quite  modem  in  spirit,  and 
does  not  add  to  the  effect.  Shibden  Hall, 
the  seat  of  J.  Lister,  Esq.,  is  partly  of  tim- 
ber ;  the  date  is  about  HOO,  but  looks  rather 
recent  in  some  of  its  details.  Plate  XXI. 
shows  a  half-timbered  house,  re-erected  in 
Shibden  Park,  brought  fro.n  Cripplegate. 
The  drawing  shows  a  restoration,  but  the 
surroundings  do  not  at  all  harmonise  with 
the  building ;  and  if  this  is  a  truthful  re- 
storation, we  caimot  say  much  for  it.     The 


stream  is  not  in  true  perspective.  "  Sunny 
Bank,"  Greetland,  is  another  timber  house 
illustrated,  but  tlio  huidscaiie  represented  is 
desolate-looking,  and  cm  hardly  bo  thought 
to  show  the  original  hite.  Plute'XIII.  rcjire- 
scnts  one  of  the  few  remaining  timber 
buildings  in  Ilalifux.  The  timbers  an;  now 
hidden  by  jilasteriii;;  ;  the  coved  wooilwork  in 
singular ;  indeed  we  should  bo  iuelinod  to 
question  the  accuracy  of  this  restoration.  The 
grotesquecarving  to  thngate  way  isof  interest. 
The  "  Spread  Eagle  Inn,"  in  the  old  market; 
the  ancient  house,  Woolshopg ;  the  "  White 
Swan,"  and  adjacent  houses  in  Halifax,  are 
particularly  interesting  instances  of  the  old 
half-timbered  houses  iu  tlio  towni.  Most  of 
these  buildings  have  been  destroyed  or 
covered  over  with  plaster,  but  tho  illustra- 
tions show  them  divested  of  this  covering, 
and  restored,  from  existing  evidences, 
either  wholly  or  in  i)art.  Tho  "Whitu 
Swan  "  and  adjoining  houses  are  re- 
stored, from  fragments  discovered  on  their 
demolition  in  I8.j9.  and  are  represented  as 
they  appeared  in  the  niiildle  of  the  18th 
century.  The  "  Si)read  ICagle  Inn,"  now 
destroyed,  has  also  been  shown,  from  cxist- 
data,  though  with  what  accuracy  wo 
should  not  like  to  say.  It  is,  howovor, 
suggestive  of  treatment.  The  great  house 
in  Erringden  is  one  of  the  old  stone  man- 
sions. The  author  says,  in  his  introduction, 
"  From  its  architectural  details  and  tho 
peculiarities  of  its  inteniid  construction  and 
arrangement,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
it  was  erected  about  .\.i).  Hon,"  The  front 
has  a  pleasing  variation  in  its  gabh-d  breaks, 
there  are  no  less  than  four,  the  largest  pro- 
jscting  beyond  the  others.  One  interesting 
feature  is  the  projecting  porch  with  the 
peculiar  pediment-like  feature  above  the 
doorway.  Its  present  state  is  described  as 
deplorable;  the  interior  is  "cold,  damp, 
and  cheerless,"  and  the  building  is  aban- 
doned to  ruin.  By  the  permission  of  the 
author  we  are  enabled  to  present  our  readers 
with  a  reproduction  of  plate  XL,  which 
represents  a  recent  restoration  of  one  of  the 
upper  apartments  or  Banqueting  Hall  of  the 
Old  Cock  Hotel,  Halifax.  Ihis  old  house 
was  one  of  the  largest  built  in  tho  town ; 
it  stands  in  the  Southga'e,  and  was 
erected  in  Elizabeth's  time.  It  seems 
to  have  suffered  considerable  changes,  since 
it  was  a  mansion  with  its  jiaslures  and 
gardens  aroimd  it.  The  banqueting-hall, 
the  subject  of  our  illustration,  has  been  re- 
cently restored,  and  its  mantel-piece  is  a 
unique  example  of  Elizabethan  carved  work. 
In  our  recent  re\-iew  of  prize  drawings  at 
South  Kensington,  are  mentioned  two  draw- 
ings of  the  old  fireplace  from  measurement. 
The  date,  1581,  occurs  on  one  of  its  flat 
mouldings.  "Above,  in  stucco,"  says  Mr. 
Leyland,  "  arc  the  armorial  bearings  of  tho 
illustrious  family  of  Savilc,  whose  branches 
were,  at  the  time  referred  to,  settled  at  Cop- 
ley, Hullenedge,  Xew-Hall,  Over  Bradley. 
Blaithroyde,  and  Shaw-hill.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly the  custom  of  the  junior  branchcJ 
of  the  house  of  Savile,  at  that  time,  to  plant 
their  families  in  goo.Uy  mansions,  m  various 
places  within  the  parish  of  Halifax.  Tho 
author  further  thinks  that  the  house  was 
erected  by  Sir  Henry,  the  warden  of  Mcrton 
College,  and  in  proof  of  this,  <|Uote8  a  letter 
addressed  from  Halifax  in  1592  to  his  fnend 
stow  the  historian.  The  hall  wos  a  lirr- 
and  lofty  apartment,  lighted  by  a  winL.w 
three  tiers  in  height  and  t  vreh  ■  '  •'  '  ' 
The  house  was  sold  in  the  1  ■ : 
hostel.  The  pmelling  "f  til' 
and  lireplace  of  the  hall 
cularly  fine  .speiimen- 
XII.  shows  another  n. 
the  architecture  of  the  ITii 


I'lsto 
:)en  of 
rmcrly 


ju  the  Swan  Coj-picc.  where  the  town-hall 
now  stands.  One  of  the  rooms  has  a  fine 
plaster  ccUing.  Barkisland  H.dl  is  »  pw- 
ticularlv  good  example,  and  rs  Ulustrated 
by  one'  of  the  best  phites.    The  family  of 


118 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


GlodMll  were  identified  -(vitli  the  Royalist 
cause,  and  one  was  slain  in  Sir  Marmaduke 
Lang'dale's  regiment  at  Hessey-Moor,  in 
10-14.  The  date  over  door  is  1638.  Kershaw 
House,  Midgley,  is  another  excellent  speci- 
men of  the  domestic  buildings  of  this  period. 
The  wide  gables  and  many-light  mullioned 
windows,  the  curious  projecting  porch  with 
rose  window,  and  the  simple  effective  details 
of  gable-copings  and  ornaments  are  obarac- 
teristic.  Broadfold,  Midgley,  is  another 
illustration  of  interest.  Its  broadly-treated 
fagade,  centre  gable,  and  plain  mullion 
windows  have  a  thorough-going  stone 
character,  but  the  mansion  now  no  longer 
exists.  Norland  Lower  Hall  is  pleasing, 
but  in  all  these  drawings  the  chimneys  ap- 
pear to  bo  modern.  Several  houses  of  the 
Stuart  period  have  been  demolished,  such  as 
Broadfold  and  Boothroyd,  both  of  which 
are  given  in  the  book  ;  others  have  suffered 
spoliation  at  the  hands  of  modern  builders, 
but  Mr.  Leyland  has  done  some  good  by 
recalling  their  likeness  and  features.  Several 
peculiar  features  ;nay  be  pointed  out.  Thus 
at  Binroydo,  Norland,  we  have  a  succession 
of  live  wide  gables  with  mullioned  windows; 
"its  hall-body,  once  open  to  the  roof ,  has 
had  a  ceiling  constructed  on  a  level  with 
its  gallery,  but  in  the  attic  thus  formed  the 
original  decorations  still  remain."  Clay 
House,  Groetland,  is  a  grand  old  mansion  ; 
Brearley  Hall,  Midgley,  is  represented  by  a 
view  of  interior  hall.  Altogether  25  plates 
are  given,  illustrating  many  of  the  finer 
specimens  of  domestic  architecture  in  the 
neighbourhood.  They  have  all  been  printed 
by  Mr.  J.  Akerman,  and  the  subscribers  to 
Mr.  Ley'and's  volume  will  have  cause  to 
thank  him  for  publishing  views  that  wUl 
revive  dying  memories,  and  rekindle  some 
enthusiasm  for  the  domestic  architecture  of 
the  locality. 

BRISTOL  AND  GLOUCESTERSHIRE 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

THE  fifth  annual  meetinur  of  this  society 
opened  at  Stroud  on  Wednesday,  July  21, 
under  the  presiJ.  ncy  of  Mr.  E.  Caruthers-Little. 
After  the  businesi  waa  transacted  visits  were 
paid  to  Bowuliam  House,  Rodborough,  and 
MinchenLampton. 

At  the  evening  meeting  Mr.  C.  Wethered 
read  an  interesting  paper  on  the. 

DOMESTIC  AECHITECTtTEE  ABOUT   STEOUD. 

He  said  iu  "  the  spucious  times  of  great 
Elizabeth  "  there  was  no  fairer  portion  of  what 
was  styled  of  yore  "  Merrie  England"  than  this. 
The  traveller  from  these  parts  who  passes  from 
the  antique  cities  of  Bruges  and  Ghent  to  the  not 
less  interesting  cities  of  Brussels  and  Antwerp 
will  find  in  those  earher  homes  of  the  arts  much 
that  is  characteiisiio  of  these  old  struetiu'al 
forms  around  us — an  intermingling  of  moidding 
and  shapings  that  may  be  hkened  to  the  foreign 
idioms  which  often  tinge  a  provincial  dialect.  A 
strong  Flemish  feeling  is  also  disceraible  in 
numerous  carved  oaken  chests,  chairs,  and  tables 
still  existing  amonir  us,  or  scattered  elsewhere. 
The  art  workmen  of  those  days  seemed  to  have 
combined  an  intuitive  perception  of  the  beautiful 
with  a  faculty  for  its  realisation  in  outward 
forms  of  appropriateness  and  grace.  Hence  the 
thoroughness  tliat  comes  from  an  intelligent  and 
honest  use  of  materials  to  ensure  the  end  in 
view.  A  nation^il  architecture,  to  be  worthy  of 
the  name,  should  be  the  shaped  result  aud  bodily 
expression  of  tin  thoughts,  tastes,  and  genius  of 
a  people.  From  the  Norman  Invasion,  down  to 
a  period  even  later  than  the  Tudors,  we  possessed 
such  an  archittoture,  eminently  suited  in  all  its 
phases  to  our  climate  and  conditions,  and 
applicable  to  all  purposes,  reliaious  and  civil 
alike.  Owing  mainly  to  the  skiU  of  our  local 
masons  and  their  seclusion  from  the  chief 
centres  of  innovation,  together  with  the  excellent 
quality  of  the  freestone,  its  traditions  lingered 
much  longer  in  the  Gloucestershire  valleys  than 
elsewhere.  Stroud  possesses  an  object  of  anti- 
quarian interest  in  its  Town  Hall,  dating  in  the 
opinion  of  a  distingidshed  authority,  Mr.  Parker, 
of  Oxford,  from  the  loth  century.  Stiipt  of  its 
recent  additions,  from  an  architectural  point  of 


view,  it  is  worthier  of  notice  than  the  costly 
modern  building  of  greater  pretensions  close  by. 
It  has  scale  and  proportion,  with  a  quiet  dignity 
of  its  own.  As  specially  domestic  tj^jes  of 
illustration,  I  may  take  More  Hall,  near  Band- 
•(viek — said  to  have  been  founded  by  a  nephew  of 
the  celebrated  Sir  Thomas  More— and  the  Court 
House,  at  Painswick.  These  are  in  reality 
nothing  more  than  a  grouping  and  blending  on  a 
wider  scale,  to  meet  larger  warts,  of  the  elements 
to  be  found  in  every  adjacent  cottage  of  the 
same  date;  briugiug  every  tenement,  however 
humble,  into  a  kind  of  masonic  relationship  with 
the  rest.  Much  of  their  attractiveness  depends 
ou  the  mode  of  fenestration,  and  on  the  steep 
declivity  of  their  roofs ;  the  windows  being  either 
a  single  opening  with  boldly-chamfered  framing, 
or  of  two  or  more  lights  divided  by  muUions, 
and  frequently  crossed  by  transomes.  The 
dripstone  above  is  still  more  effective  when 
carried  round  as  a  stringcourse,  by  defining  a 
height  and  marldng  a  flooring,  while  it  adds  in 
its  long  line  of  shadow  a  frown  to  the  front. 
The  roof,  the  crowning  of  the  edifice  and  the 
Symbol  of  home,  is  always  conspicuous  from  its 
size  and  pitch,  having  an  angle  of  inclination 
seldom  less  than  sixty  degrees.  Broken  up  into 
many  gables,  it  imparts  variety  to  the  skyline 
and  increases  the  play  of  light  and  shadow. 
Above  all  rise  the  bold  stone  chimney-heads, 
worked  in  the  solid  and  often  set  on  the  diagonal ; 
putting  to  shame  those  flimsy  pot-and-pan 
cyUnders  stuck  on  yesterday  and  apt  to  be  blown 
down  to-day.  Unity  of  local  means  and 
appliances  is  further  preserved  by  roofing  with 
stone  tiles,  a  natiiral  formation  principally 
occurring,  I  believe,  in  the  Oohtic  beds  of  Tet- 
bury.  From  long  exposure  to  the  weather  the 
outer  surfaces  have  acquired  a  tone  of  the 
warmest  grey,  softened  by  nature's  own  touches 
of  colour  in  moss  and  lichen.  The  Cotswold 
masons  have  left  upon  their  hatched  and  chiselled 
stones  that  impress  and  strength  of  endeavour 
which  clearly  shows  in  lasting  marks  how  "joy's 
soul  lies  in  the  doing."  Much  of  what  they 
built  has  been  destroyed  or  defaced  by  the 
meddlesome  hand  of  the  spoiler,  moved  by  that 
spirit  of  unrest  whicli  is  one  of  the  besetting  sins 
of  modern  life.  An  arrest  of  continuity  in  the 
vernacular  architecture  of  a  people  or  race  dulls 
and  checks  the  iesthetic  yearnings  of  the  crafts- 
man. Such  an  arrest  occurred,  though  later  here 
than  elsewhere,  when  the  blight  of  the  Classic 
Renaissance  swept  over  France  and  England.  A 
century  or  more  ago  it  led  to  the  transformation 
of  Stratford  House,  The  Field,  Steanbridge 
House,  and  many  another  neighbouring  "  haunt 
of  ancient  peace ' '  into  the  state  in  which  we 
now  see  them.  Every  one  of  their  monotonous 
facjades,  with  the  inevitable  portico,  and  windows 
of  the  same  deadness  of  shape,  size,  and  number 
on  each  side,  is  the  borrowed  dress  for  forms 
that  were  then  ruthlessly  disarrayed.  Men  then 
did  their  utmost  to  blot  out  the  nobler  features 
of  the  dwelling-houses  in  which  their  forefathers 
had  lived  and  died.  After  all,  archteology  is  but 
the  registry  and  classification  of  material  facts 
of  the  past,  unless  we  can  apply  some  of  its 
teachings  to  the  formation  of  a  system  of  in- 
struction which  shall  bear  fruit  in  the  arts  of  the 
future.  Amid  the  confusions  arising  from  the 
neglect  of  ancient  principles  in  the  industrial 
arts,  it  is  cheering  to  find  traces  of  true  Gothic 
feeling  iu  the  productions  of  the  stonemasons, 
carpenters,  and  smiths  of  the  present  d,ay.  We 
have  followers  of  these  honourable  crafts  in 
Stroud  who  can  read  drawings  and  render  restilts 
in  a  way  quite  worthy  of  their  ancestors. 

STKOITD   HOUSES. 

Mr.  C.  Playne  read  a  paper  on  "Stroud 
Houses."  He  said  the  oldest  building  which  he 
had  foimd  in  that  neighbourhood  was  a  granary 
near  the  residence  of  their  president,  and  the 
oldest  dweUing-place  was  Denuay,  in  the  parish 
of  Bisley,  close  to  the  Thames  and  Severn  Canal. 
The  next  oldest  was  More  Hall,  near  Stroud, 
and  then  came  the  Court  House,  at  Painswick, 
where  Charles  re>ted  after  his  repulse  at 
Worcester.  Next  in  point  of  age  was  the  in- 
teresting old  manor  house  Owlpeu.  One  place 
deserving  attention  was  Bradley,  and  as  it  was 
stated  Shakespeare  ouce  lived  at  Dursley  not  far 
from  it,  the  place  had  been  suggested  as  that 
the  dramatist  had  in  view  as  the  residence  of  the 
worthy  Justice  Shallow.  He  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  had  in  those  old  houses  remains 
far  more  pleasing  to  the  eye  than  most  of  those 
built  at  a  subsequent  period.     He  recommended 


those  who  might  biuld  houses  to  put  their  initials 
on  them  aud  the  date,  for  the  benefit  of 
archteologists  who  might  come  400  years 
hence. 

THE  EOIIAH  PAVEMENT  AT  WOODCHESTEE. 

On  the  second  day  a  visit  was  paid  to  Wood- 
chester,  in  order  that  they  might  view  the 
pavement  of  the  Roman  villa,  which  had  not 
been  uncovered  since  18.52.  This  villa  was  not 
so  much  a  single  building  as  a  group  of  budd- 
ings, connected  by  colonnades,  and  surrounding 
one  or  more  quadrangular  courts  with  a 
fountain  in  the  centre.  The  pavement  in 
question  probably  formed  the  flooring  of  the 
chief  hall  or  atriiuu,  where  the  Roman  governor 
received  his  clients,  and  the  mistress  often  sat 
engaged  in  spinning.  The  earliest  mention  of 
the  pavement  is  in  the  additions  to  Camden's 
"  Britannia,"  published  in  1695  by  Bishop 
Gibson,  and  Sir  Robert  Atkyns  in  his  "  History 
of  Gloucestershire  "  also  speaks  of  it.  About 
1785  a  smaU  part  of  the  pavement  was  uncovered, 
containing  figures  of  an  elephant  and  several 
birds,  but  the  damp  and  frost  destroyed  these 
delineations.  In  1793,  in  digging  a  vault  for 
Mr.  John  Wade,  of  PudhUl,  or  ParkhiU  as  it  is 
now  called,  a  great  portion  of  the  pavement  was 
laid  open,  and  in  the  two  years  following  exca- 
vations were  made  in  a  field  adjoining,  and 
foundations  of  buildings  were  found  extending 
nearly  500ft.  on  the  south  side  of  the  pavement. 
This  interesting  relic  of  Roman  times  was 
opened  in  1842,  again  in  1846,  and  then  in  1852. 
The  large  party  of  arch."eologists  who  assembled 
on  the  present  occasion  to  see  the  once-more 
uncovered  pavement  listened  to  a  descr.ption  of 
it  by  Mr.  J.  D.  T.  Niblett.  The  general  design 
is  a  circular  area  25ft.  in  diameter.  This  area 
is  surrounded  by  a  border,  within  which  are 
representations  of  various  beasts  (originally 
twelve  in  number)  on  a  white  ground,  with 
trees  and  flowers  between  them.  The  figures  of 
a  gryphon,  a  bear,  a  leopard,  a  stag,  a  tigress,  a 
Uon,  and  a  lioness,  are  now  remaining.  Most 
of  these  figures  are  about  4ft.  in  length. 
Within  this  circle  is  a  smaller  one,  in  which 
birds  are  represented  on  a  white  ground  ;  in  this 
circle  is  also  the  figure  of  a  beast  which  seems 
designed  for  a  fox.  Within  the  circle  of  birds 
is  an  octagonal  compartment,  with  openings^  to- 
admit  the  principal  figure  of  the  design,  which 
is  now  much  mutilated.  When  the  first  draw- 
ing was  made  the  head  only  was  wanting ;  it 
represents  Orpheus  playing  on  the  lyre,  which 
he  rests  on  his  left  knee.  In  the  four  angular 
spaces  between  the  border  and  the  circular  com- 
partment are  remains  of  female  figures,  two  of 
which  appear  to  have  been  in  each  of  these 
spaces ;  the  figures  in  the  north-east  angle, 
which  are  more  perfect  than  any  of  the  others, 
are  evidently  designed  for  Naiads.  The  tesserse 
of  which  this  pavement  is  composed  are  for  the 
most  part  cubes  of  half  an  inch.  The  compart- 
ments are  coloured  harmoniously  with  dark 
blueish-grey,  red,  white,  and  several  shades  of 
brown ;  most  of  the  materials  are  from  the 
neighbotu-hood.  The  pavement  will,  for  a  short 
time,  remain  uncovered,  that  such  of  the  public 
as  choose  may  inspect  it.  Buckholt  aud  Ulejr 
Bury  were  next  visited,  and  after  the  tumuli 
had  been  inspected,  the  members  pushed  on  and 
subsequently  inspected  Frooester  Bam,  a  most 
interesting  archteologieal  rehc.  Leonard  Stanley 
Church  was  afterwards  in^pected,  and  described 
by  Mr.  J.  Middleton,  jun.  The  party  then 
returned  to  Stroud. 

At  the  evening  meeting  several  papers  were 
read,  one  by  Mr.  W.  J.  J.  Powell  on  the  alleged 
murder  of  Edward  II.,  and  another  contributed 
by  Mr.  J.  Middleton  on 

LEOMAED   STANIET  CHITECH. 

The  author  noted  that  although  in  late  times 
monastic  and  coUegiate  church  plans,  through 
various  alterations,  became  very  much  alike, 
yet  in  their  beginnings  they  had  qtiite  a  difier- 
ent  origin  and  development.  The  churches  of 
the  monks,  even  the  earhest  we  are  acquainted 
with,  a;e  large  crucifoim  buildings  witti  aisles, 
and  this  original  Norman  plan  was  generally 
adhered  to  througlx  the  many  later  changes  that 
took  place.  Canons'  churches,  on  the  other 
hand,  took  as  their  model  the  ordinary  parish 
church— iu  fact,  most  Canons'  chm-ches  were 
parish  churches,  either  from  their  foundations, 
as  is  the  case  here,  or  from  having  a  collegiate 
foundation  added  afterw:.r Is.  Now  the  original 
Norman  plan  for  a  parish  chm-ch,  with  very  few- 
exceptions,    was    a   building,     sometimes    with 


July  30,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


119 


transepts  and  sometimes  without,  but  in  either 
case  with  no  aisles.  The  tower,  if  tliere  was 
one,  was  nearly  always  central,  though  com- 
paratively few  of  these  remain,  either  because 
they  have  faUen  down,  a  thing  very  common 
with  Norman  worlc  in  spite  of  its  apparent 
strength  and  solidity,  or  else  because  they  have 
been  removed  on  account  of  the  massive  piers 
being  too  great  an  obstruction  to  a  clear  -s-iew  of 
the  choir.  In  this  case  the  choir  has  had  a 
naiTOw  escape ;  the  piers  show  considerable 
settlements,  and  are  much  beut  out  of  the  per- 
jiendicular.  In  adopting  this  parochial  plan  for 
their  churches  the  canons  naturally  chose  the 
grander  type,  gamely,  that  with  transepts  and 
tewer,  often  greatly  increasing  its  scale,  but 
still  keeping  to  the  aisleless  form.  Very  soon, 
however,  together  with  the  introduction  of  the 
Early  English  style,  aisles  became  common  even 
in  small  parish  churches,  and  in  most  cases  the 
canons  set  to  work  to  add  what  then  began  to  be 
considered  an  almost  necessary  part  of  any 
important  church.  But  here  the  canons  were 
stopped  by  a  difficulty  ;  they  already  had  their 
cloister,  and  perhaps  other  parts  of  their  colle- 
giate building  buttiUL'  rifiht  against  one  wall  of 
their  church  (generally  'he  south  wall)  and  so 
they  were  forced  to  content  themselves  with 
adding  an  aisle  on  the  free  side  only  ;  this  we 
find  at  Bolton,  Eastby,  and  Biinkburn,  and 
many  other  places.  In  this  church  we  have  a 
case  where  no  additions  have  been  made,  pro- 
bably owing  to  the  fact  that  the  collegiate 
fotindation  was  very  soon  absorbed  into  the 
great  abbey  at  Gloucester,  and  so  lost  its  inde- 
pendent character.  Other  instances  of  some- 
what important  collegiate  churches  never  having 
any  aisle  added  are  to  be  found  at  Lilleshall,  in 
Shropshire,  and  Bayham,  in  Sussex,  but  they 
were  very  rare.  On  account,  then,  of  the  plan 
of  this  church,  and  without  any  other  evidence 
on  the  subject,  we  could  tell  at  once  that  it  was 
built,  not  for  a  monastic,  but  for  a  collegiate 
foundation.  It  will  appear  at  first  sight  to  any 
one  looking  at  this  church,  that  its  proportions 
are  rather  awkward,  the  length  being  somewhat 
excessive  in  comparison  with  its  breadth  ;  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  originally  it  formed 
two  quite  distinct  churches ;  the  part  west  of  the 
tower  being  the  parochial  church,  and  the  rest, 
the  eastern  division,  the  part  appropriated  to 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  canons.  This  dirision 
was  made  by  the  rood-screen  in  the  western 
arch  of  the  tower,  against  which,  in  the  middle, 
stood  the  high  altar  of  the  parish  church.  This 
altar,  from  its  position  immediately  under  the 
rood,  was  called  the  Jesus  Altar,  or  Altar  of  the 
Holy  Hood ;  on  each  side  of  this  there  would  be 
a  door,  generally  looked,  which  was  used  for 
processions  to  pass  in  and  out  on  certain  grand 
festivals.  This  rood-screen  formed  a  complete 
and  solid  di^-ision,  fencing  oS  the  eastern  part, 
including  the  tower,  for  the  private  use  of  the 
canons.  Vt-ry  few  instances  of  this  partition 
now  exist — almost  the  only  examples  now 
remaining  are  at  St.  Alban's  and  Boxgrove 
Church.  It  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
ordinary  open  rood-screen,  which  was  in  every 
parish-church  simply  to  foi-m  a  separation 
between  the  nave  and  chancel.  The  eastern  or 
coUegiate  part  of  the  church  was  again  divided 
into  two  parts  by  another  screen,  in  the  eastern 
-arch  of  the  tower;  this  screen  was  called  the 
pulpitum ;  on  it  would  be  a  gallery  from  which 
parts  of  the  service  was  sung,  and  in  the  l-3th 
century  a  pair  of  organs  were  generally  added. 
The  object  of  this  screen  was  to  divide  the  choir 
from  the  tower  and  transepts,  which  thus  formed 
anti-chiipels  in  which  altars  for  low  celebrations 
were  placed.  For  the  sake  of  giving  dignity  to 
the  altars,  in  the  transepts  it  was  very  common, 
during  that  period  when  the  Xormau  style  was 
in  use,  to  build  semi-circular  apses  opening  out 
of  the  eastern  walls  of  the  transepts.  This  was 
the  ease,  to  take  local  instances,  at  Gloucester, 
Tewkesbury,  and  Pershore  abbeys.  Founda- 
tions of  these  apses  exist  at  Leominster  and 
Selby,  and  both  the  apses  are  themselves  still  in 
existence  at  Eomsey  Abbey  Church.  In  the 
east  wall  of  the  south  transept  of  this  church 
there  is  a  blocked  archway,  and  on  the  wall  out- 
side the  marks  of  a  roof,  which  I  have  little 
doubt  show  the  position  of  one  of  these  tran- 
septal  apses.  In  this  church  we  find  a  very 
unusual  pecnliarity^namely,  that  the  sotith 
transept  alone  had  an  eastern  chapel,  there  being 
no  sign  of  any  opening  out  of  the  north  transepf. 
The  only  parallel  instance  I  linow  of  is  at  Castle 
Acre    prior)-.      Another     example      exists     at 


Patrington  church,  but  of  the  Hth  century,  not 
Norman  work.  The  absence,  however,  of  any 
window  ;  and  the  fact  that  the  Norman  string, 
course  does  not  run  along  the  eastern  wall  of 
this  eastern  transept,  look  rather  as  if  it  had 
been  contemplated  to  add  on  this  side  too  a 
projecting  chapel  like  that  on  the  south ;  and, 
moreover,  the  jambs  of  an  archway,  carried  up 
only  a  foot  or  two,  can  be  traced  on  the  outside 
of  the  wall. 

At  the  concluding  meeting  held  on  Friday  last 
it  was  resolved  that  next  year's  meeting  shoidd 
be  at  Chepstow.  The  members  left  Stroud  at 
the  close  of  the  meeting  on  an  excursion,  the 
first  place  visited  being  Painswick.  A  climb  to 
the  entrenchments  on  the  top  of  Spouebed  Hill, 
nearly  1,000ft.  high,  rewarded  the  excursionists 
by  the  magnificent  panorama  presented.     There 

a  square  camp  inclosing  three  acres  of  ground, 
and  Eomau  coins  have  been  frequently  dug  up 
there.  It  was  one  of  the  cusfra  exploratorla  of  the 
Romans.  After  the  siege  of  Gloucester  in  1643 
the  Royalist  army  occupied  these  heights.  Mr. 
Cecil  Davis  and  Mr.  Niblett  gave  some  par- 
ticulars of  the  spot,  and  then  the  party  continued 
their  way  to  Cranham,  where  the  great  event  of  the 
day  took  place,  a  tumulus  being  operjed.  Human 
remains  were  discovered,  upon  which  Dr.  Payne 
made  a  few  remarks.  He  said  the  remains  they 
had  discovered  were  those  of  two  or  three 
indi\-iduals,  and  it  was  interesting  to  find  con- 
crete in  the  tumulus.  Lypiatt  Park,  the  re- 
sidence of  Mr.  J.  E.  Dorington,  was  next 
reached.  The  monastic  house  of  the  16th  century 
has  a  grim  interest  attached  to  it  in  the  tradition 
that  the  Gunpowder  Plot  was  here  hatched. 
The  house,  which  has  beeen  enlarged,  is  entered 
by  an  embattled  porch,  and  is  divided  in  its 
centre  by  a  hall  whose  ceiling  is  embellished  by 
a  fresco  representation  of  the  Story  of  llutius 
and  Porsenna.  Having  partaten  of  the  Pre- 
sident's hospitality,  the  party  returned  to  Stroud, 
and  then  separated. 

liEDI^VAI,  BABXS. 

In  view  of  the  inspection  by  the  society  of 
Frocester  Barn,  5Ir.  T.  Pope,  of  Bristol,  for- 
warded the  following  paper: — As  the  society 
propose  at  their  Stroud  meeting  to  make  an  ex- 
cursion to  Frocester  Bam,  I  send  you  a  few 
notes  which  may  be  interesting  as  illustrating 
the  subject  of  mediaeval  barns,  many  of  which 
are  very  remarkable  buildings,  both  as  to 
appearance  and  also  as  to  construction,  and 
which  are  now  fast  disappearing.  I  send  these 
notes  as  I  have  paid  considerable  attention  to  the 
subject  for  some  years.  The  Glastonbury  Bam 
's  probably  the  best  known,  and  is  the  most 
ornamental  of  all  such  buildings  I  am  acquainted 
with.  It  is  so  well  illustrated  in  Pugin  that  it 
is  needless  to  refer  further  to  it.  The  Abbey 
Bam  at  Ardennes,  near  Caen,  is  also  well  known 
and  illustrated.  It  has  two  aisles  and  nave,  and 
measures  154ft.  6in.  long,  the  nave  being  2'2ft. 
span,  the  aisles  being  5ft.  Sin.  and  lift.  6in. 
wide  respectively.  The  arcades  in  this  case  are 
of  stone  ;  the  English  examples  are  generally 
when  consisting  of  nave  and  aisles,  formed  of 
oak  posts.  The  great  barn  at  Peterborough, 
now  destroyed,  was  about  150ft.  long  by  36ft. 
wide,  and  consisted  of  nave  and  two  aisles,  the 
posts  being  of  oak.  It  appears  to  have  been  an 
early  bam,  with  the  roof  to  a  pitch  of  about  55 
degrees  in  one  span  with  two  well-proportioned 
transepts.  Remains  are  still  existing  of  a  very 
remarkable  barn  at  Abbotsburj^,  which  has  a 
parapet  upon  the  exterior  evidently  for  the 
purposes  of  defence.  Unfortunately,  I  had  no 
time  when  there  to  make  a  plan,  but  judging 
from  the  roof,  which  is  hammer-beam,  and  the 
niche  which  terminates  the  gable-end,  I  should 
judge  this  bidlding  to  be  fifteenth-century  work. 
The  bam  at  Bredon,  \\'orcestcrsbire,  is  well 
worth  a  visit ;  it  consists  of  nave  and  two  aisles, 
nave  'iOft.  wide,  aisles  Sft.  Oin.  each,  oak  pillars 
about  13in.  square.  The  aisles  have  collar 
beams  at  springing  of  gables,  from  which  spring 
large  curved  braces  to  support  collars  of  centre 
roof.  The  roof  is  of  one  span  on  the  exterior, 
as  usual,  and  there  is  a  remarkably  beautiful 
stone  chimney  to  a  chamber  formed  in  one  of 
the  transepts.  The  length  of  this  bam  is  about 
130ft.,  and  the  exterior"  effect  is  quite  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  many  churches.  There  is  no 
straining  for  effect ;  everything  is  natural  and 
fitted  for  the  work  it  has  to  do.  The  gables  of 
transepts  are  formed  of  oak  and  plaster.  There 
is  nothing  to  mark  the  date.  At  Winterborne, 
in  this  county,  near  the  church,  half  the  ancient 


barn  still  remains  :  it  consisted  originally  of  ten 
bays,  and  measured  about  2eft.  span  in"  the  in- 
terior. The  roof  is  in  one  span,  with  collar 
beam  and  king  post,  and  largo  carved  braces 
brought  down  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
ground.  The  walls  are  3ft.  Oin.  thick  and  built 
battering.  There  are  two  transepts  with  gran- 
aries in  gables,  and  with  the  Jacobean  stables 
buUt  with  gabled  end  between  the  transepts ;  it 
forms  a  very  picturesque  building,  and  one  only 
regrets  the  loss  of  halt  of  it.  A  fine  bam  re- 
mains at  Clach  or  Bradenstoko  Abbey  of  nine 
bays,  with  transepts.  Tlie  roof  is  very  good,  of 
one  span.  This  roof  has  the  peculiarity  of  hav- 
ing a  row  of  windows  between  the  tops  of  but- 
tresses and  eaves.  I  should  think  it  is  of 
fifteenth-century  date.  The  Abbey  Barn  at 
Lacock  is  curious  in  plan,  having  evidintly  been 
buUt  to  suit  the  streets  which  bound  it  upon  two 
sides.  I  can  give  the  scantlings  of  the  timbers 
of  this  bam,  which  will  aftord  our  members 
some  idea  of  the  profuse  use  of  oak  in  these  old 
buddings — plates  6in.  by  Gin.,  principals  ISin. 
by  lOin.,  purlins  Oin.  by  Giu.,  rafters  4in.  by 
4in.  The  width  of  this  bam  is  21ft.  Gin.  by 
95ft.  long,  with  one  transept  35ft.  by  20ft., 
height  about  32ft.,  walls  from  3ft  to  2ft.  Cin. 
thick ;  the  curved  braces  arc  brought  down  to 
about  six  feet  from  ground-level.  The  way  the 
natural  bend  of  the  timber  is  utilised  is  interest- 
ing. Most  persons  have  noticed  the  Bradford 
Bam  in  going  by  railway  from  Chippenham  to- 
wards Salisbury,  with  its  elegant  early  detail 
and  transepts  ;  it  appears  to  me  to  be  about 
fourteenth-century  date,  but  it  i:«  difficult  to  as- 
sign any  date  without  mouldings  or  documents 
to  guide  you.  At  Coxwell,  near  Shrivenham, 
isaremarkable  barn,  commonlycaUcdShrivenham 
Great  Barn.  It  consists  of  nave  17ft.  Gin.  wide, 
and  two  aisles  each  about  7ft.  Gin.  wide.  Tran- 
septs one  on  either  side  are  about  24ft.  by  ISft. 
and  the  other  shallow.  There  arc  seven  "bays  in 
this  bam,  oak  pillars  resting  on  freestone  square 
basis,  about  six  feet  above  ground  ;  and  here  it 
will  be  well  to  remark  how  careful  the  builders 
were  to  avoid  any  projection*  that  might  injure 
the  cattle  ;  every  corner  is  chamfered  or  rounded. 
At  Woodspring  Priory,  near  "Weston-super- 
Mare,  the  jambs  are  roundtd  evidently  for  this 
purpose.  The  construction  of  the  roof  at 
Shrivenham  shows  how  good  a  carpenter  mnst 
have  framed  it — angle  ties  at  the  corners,  and  ties 
whenever  there  was  the  slightest  chance  of 
pressure  upon  the  walls.  The  corbels  supporting 
the  principals  in  this  bam  look  almost  Uke  Early 
English  work,  but  may  possibly  have  been  re- 
used from  some  other  building ;  the  walla  are 
about  4it.  6in.  thick  and  buttressed.  The  roof 
is  in  one  span  to  the  exterior.  Tlicre  were 
formerly  remains  of  a  fine  bam  at  Llanthony, 
Gloucester  Docks.  A  portion  of  the  bam  at- 
tached to  the  Abbots  of  St.  Augustine's  country 
residence  stUl  remains  at  Almondsbury,  in  this 
county — one  rather  interesting  at  English 
Coombe,  near  Bath — and  no  doubt  the  members 
of  this  society  wUl  be  able  to  mention  many 
others  of  which  it  woidd  be  interesting  to  make 
sketches  before  they  disappear.  There  is  a 
sketch  of  a  fine  bam,  said  to  be  Early  English, 
at  Raunds,  Northamptonshire,  in  Turner's 
"Domestic  Architecture."  At  Calcot,  in  this 
county,  is  a  fine  bam  Decorated  in  style,  with 
transepts  in  form  of  two  towers.  This  bam  I 
have  never  seen,  but  perhaps  some  of  our  mem- 
bers may  be  able  to  add  to  our  knowledge  by 
furnishing  us  with  other  examples  worth  study- 
ing and  illustrating.  The  chief  interest  in  the 
Frocester  Barn  is  to  me  the  excellently-framed 
trusses  brou^ht  well  down  towards  the  ground, 
and  the  wind  braces  so  formed  as  to  strengthen 
the  rafters  and  to  give  support,  the  lower  one  to 
to  the  upper  one  ;  you  will  notice  also  the  short 
ties  between  the  curved  braces  and  cuUar  beata, 
for  the  trasses  only  go  half-way  up  the  roof. 
An  interesting  old  bam  of  13tli-ceutury  date 
at  Harraondsworth.  Middlesex,  was  illustrated 
in  the  Bltldino  News  of  September  21,  IS.  (. 

THE  ARCHITECTI-E.ii  ASSOCIATION. 

IT  has  been  decided  bv  some  of  the  members  of 
the  Architectural  A.-sociatiin  to  vi.-t  some 
of  the  cities  in  the  beautiful  plain  of  Loml  an.y. 
for  study,  this  autumn.  This  district,  l»  mg  a 
clav  country,  is  rich  in  terra-cotta  worK,  as  weU 
as  in  stone  and  marble  stmctnres.  It  contain^ 
manv  interesting  churches  by  Bramantc  and 
othe"r«   in  the  pure  Italian  liinaecimcnto,  from 


120 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


1450  to  1550 ;  also  mural  decoration  of  all 
periods,  from  that  in  Sant'  Ambroglio  to  that  of 
Sant'  Alefsandro,  and  the  modem  freschi  and 
s"TafBti  in  the  Gulltria  Vittorio  Emanuele.  It 
is  intended  to  give  most  attention  to  the  Bra- 
mante  period.  It  is  proposed  to  devote  the  latter 
half  of  September  to  the  excursion  (see  Itine- 
rary). Tlieeost  will  be  from  £1S  to  £20  per  man, 
but  it  is  intended  to  keep  the  amoimt  as  low  as 
possible.  The  number  of  members  and  friends  is 
Umited  to  20  ;  and  applications  for  the  vacancies 
now  remaining-  will  be  considered  according  to 
priority  of  deposit.  Each  f^entleman  will  be 
expected  to  draw  the  particular  work  arranged 
and  allotted  to  him  by  the  Secretary.  By  this 
sub-division  a  large  mass  of  information  will  be 
collected ;  and  the  right  to  edit  and  pubU.'^h  a 
selection  is  reserved  to  the  Secretary,  subject  to 
the  decision  of  a  majority  as  to  manner  of  pub- 
lishing. Paper  in  sheets  of  It  J  by  12  will  be 
purchased  by  Secretary ;  he  will  take  temporary 
charge  of  all  sketches,  and  on  return  to  England 
will  submit  a  scheme  for  rendering  the  informa- 
tion available  for  all.  The  sketches  to  remain, 
of  course,  the  property  of  the  gentleman  malang 
each,  and  any  profit  will  be  divided. 

ITINEEARY. 

liCaving  London  at  7.40  a.m.,  on  "Wednesday,  Sept.  15. 

"Wednesday,  15th  Sept.,  Leave  I<ondon  7.40  a  m. ;  arrive 

Paris  6.5  p.m. ;  s'eep  at  Paris. 

Ttiursday,  16th  Sept.,  leave  Paris  3.0  p.m.  ;   sleep  in 

Friday,  17th  Sept.,  arrive  Turin  9.4  p.m. ;  sleep  at 
Turin. 

Saturday,  ISth  Sept.,  leave  Turin  11.0  a.m. ;  arrive 
Milan  4.10  p.m. ;  sleep  at  Milan. 

Sunday,  19th  Sept.,  spend  in  Milan  ;  sleep  at  Milan. 

Monday,  20th  Sept.,  leave  Milan  10.25  a.m  ,  arrive  Ber- 
gamo 12.S  p.m.  ;  stay  9  hours;  leave  Bergamo  9.16  p  m. ; 
arrive  Brescia  10.57  p.m. ;  sleep  at  Brescia. 

Tuesday,  21st  Sept.,  leave  Brescia  G  p.m. ;  arrive  Cre- 
mona 8.5  p.m. ;  sleep  at  Cremona. 

"Wednesday,  22nd  Sept ,  leave  Cremona  5.35  a.m. ;  arrive 
Mantua  7.45  a.m. ;  sleep  at  Mantua. 

Thursday,  23rd  Sept.,  leave  Mantua  11.10  a.m. ;  arrive 
Favia  5.11  p.m.  ;  sleep  at  Pavia. 

Friday,  24th  Sept.,  leave  Pavia  1  25  p.m.  ;  arrive  Cer- 
toaa  1.47  p.m. ;  stay  6^  hours  ;  leave  Certosa  S.22  p.m.  ; 
arrive  Milan  9.15  p.m. ;  sleep  at  Milan. 

Saturday,  2oth  Sept.,  leave  Alil.-in  5.15  p.m. ;  arrive 
Turin  10.46  p.m. ;  sleep  at  Turin. 

Sunday,  2Sth  Sept.,  leave  Turin  9.40  a.m. ;  sleep  m 
train. 

Monday,  27th  Sept.,  arrive  Paris  3.23  p  m. ;  sleep  in 
Paris. 

Tuesday,  2Sth  Sept.,  leave  Paris  7.35 ;  arrive  London 
5.40  pm. 

The  above  date  of  departure  is  fixed,  but  the 
details  of  circular  tour  from  Milan  may  be  modi- 
fied to  suit  convenience  of  majority,  and  Como, 
Iiodi,  Saronno,  and  Piacenza  may  be  included  if 
thought  desirable. 

Gentlemen  are  requested  to  communicate  as 
soon  as  possible  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the 
Lombardy  Excursion,  Mr.  Hugh  Stannus,  at 
No.  118,  Kennington-park-road,  London,  S.E., 
from  whom  all  further  information  may  be  had. 


THE  MASTER  BUILDERS'  ASSOCIATION 
IN  BRISTOL. 

ON  Tuesday  afternoon  the  half-yearly  meet- 
ing of  the  .Nationjil  Association  of  Master 
Builders  was  held  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  Brist  ol, 
Mr.  S.  G.  Bird,  London,  in  the  chair. 

The  Chairman  said  he  very  much  regretted 
having  to  take  the  chair,  and  he  was  quite  sure 
they  would  agree  with  him  when  he  mentioned 
that  it  was  owing  to  the  illness  of  the  president, 
Mr.  Clay.  Their  president  came  to  Bristol  in- 
tending to  take  part  in  the  business  of  the 
meeting,  but  he  had  been  taken  suddenly  ill 
Befere  commencing  the  proceedings,  he  begged 
to  tender  to  the  Mayor  of  Bristol  their  thanks 
for  the  kindly  welcome  given  by  the  city  of 
Bristol  to  the  association. 

The  Mayor  of  Bristol  stated  that  he  had  great 
pleasure  in  being  present  and  in  giving  the  asso- 
ciation ahearty  wclcon.e  tothe  city.  Ho  was  very 
glad  to  see  them,  more  particularly  as  they  were 
engaged  in  a  business  with  wliich  he  was  to 
some  extent  connected.  lie  regretted  the  absence 
of  the  president,  and  hoped  that  their  proceed- 
ings would  not  suffir  in  consequence.  He 
trusted  that  they  woiild  cnjuy  their  visit  to 
Bristol.  They  would  find  many  places  of  interest 
in  the  city  and  neighboui-hood,  and  around  them 
there  was  some  of  the  finest  scenery  to  be  found 
in  the  kingdom.  He  need  hardly  dilate  upon 
the  necessity  and  importance  of  such  a  society. 
They  found  labour  combining  for  its  own  ends, 
and  it  was  necessary  for  the  employers  to  com- 
bine also  for  their  own  protection.    The  objects 


of  the  society  were  good,  and  he  trusted  that  the 
as.sociatiou  would  continue  for  many  years. 

The  Secretary  of  the  association  (Mr.  Knox) 
having  read  the  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  at 
Sheffield,  read  the  report  of  the  council,  which 
stated  that  they  had  obtained  particulars  from 
98  of  the  principal  towns  in  the  kingdom  with 
reference  "to  the  rate  of  wages  paid.  The  de- 
pression of  trade  still  continued,  and  the  large 
supply  of  labour  had  a  tendency  to  bring  down 
prices.  In  Bristol  many  of  the  men  were  to  be 
obtained  at  less  than  the  recognised  rate.  The 
council  recommended,  as  regarded  apprentices, 
that  the  employers  should  put  themselves  in 
communication  with  the  masters  of  schools  in 
their  respective  districts,  with  the  view  of 
obtaining  boys  of  good  character,  as  that  would 
be  the  means  of  raising  the  standard  of  the 
operatives  in  the  building  trade.  The  council 
had  taken  action  with  reference  to  the  liability 
of  employers  for  injuries  caused  to  their  work- 
people by  negligence,  and  many  amendments 
had  been  proposed  to  the  BiU.  The  council 
hoped  that  if  the  Bill  was  carried  the  amend- 
ments would  be  adopted.  The  finances  were  in 
a  satisfactory  condition.  There  was  a  balance  in 
favour  of  the  association  of  £329  8s.  lOd. 

The  report  was  adopted,  and  then  it  was 
agreed  that  the  next  half-yearly  meeting  of  the 
association  should  be  held  at  Manchester  in 
January. 

A  discussion  took  place  relative  to  the  liability 
of  builders  to  repair  roads  for  an  excessive  use 
of  them. 

The  Chairman  next  introduced  the  subject  of 
the  liability  of  employers.  He  alluded  to  the 
Bill  brought  in  by  the  present  Cxovemment.  He 
was  sorry  he  had  introduced  politics  ;  but  Mr. 
Gladstone  himself  found  the  Bill  brought  in  was 
quite  impracticable,  and  that  it  was  not  a  Bill  he 
could  carry,  and  he  withdrew  the  Bill  and  took 
it  into  committee  of  the  whole  House.  The 
Government  reconsidered  it,  and  brought  in  a 
second  Bill,  which  they  had  now  before  the 
House,  and  which  they  were  going  to  discuss. 
The  Chairman  read  the  Bill,  and  said  to  them 
themost  important  provision  wassub-clause  three, 
that  if  a  man  met  with  an  accident  by  reason  of 
the  negligence  of  any  person  in  the  service  of  the 
employer  who  had  service  entrusted  to  him,  or  by 
reason  of  the  negligence  of  any  person  in  the 
service  ef  the  employer  to  whose  orders  or  direc- 
tions the  workman  at  the  time  of  the  injury  was 
bound  to  conform  and  did  conform.  He  con- 
tended that  this  regulation  would  make  builders 
responsible  for  one-fourth  of  the  men  they  em- 
ployed, and  they  asked  that  the  clause  should  be 
expunged.  He  said  they  had  deputations  to 
dift'erent  members  of  the  Government.  Sir 
Henry  Jackson  also  gave  them  a  cordial  recep- 
tion and  tendered  to  them  some  good  advice. 
They  were  drafting  another  clause  on  the  basis 
of  sub-clause  3,  to  take  the  sting  out  of  it  if 
possible.  As  to  the  insurance  clause,  there 
would  be  a  great  ditficulty  in  working  it  as  far 
as  a  builder's  business  was  concerned.  It  would 
be  a  good  thing  for  them,  as  it  certainly  would 
be  cutting  away  the  ground  from  under  the  trades- 
unions.  The  trades-unions  ostensibly  collected 
their  money  for  sick  benefit,  but  when  astrike  came 
on  they  used  their  funds  for  the  purpose  of 
the  strike.  If  the  Government  carried  out  the 
insurance  clause  there  would  be  no  necessity  for 
trades-unions  getting  up  insurance  societies, 
and  they  would  not  have  any  necessity  for 
getting  funds  for  them.  The"  trades-unions 
would,  in  Parliament,  oppose  the  insurance 
clause  as  surely  as  the  employers  would  support 
it.  The  Bin  would  be  considered  on  Friday, 
and  the  council  would  take  steps  to  watch  its 
progress. 

Mr.  LcsUe  thought  they  should  try  and  "et 
the  maximum  allowed  in  case  of  an  iniurv  £100 
instead  of  £150. 

The  Chairman  was  thanked  for  his  statement 

respecting  the  Bill,  .ind  then  Mr.  Hughes  read 

a  paper  on  "  Quantities,"  which  was  discussed. 

In   the   evening    the   delegates   dined   at  the 

Mansion  House,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Mayor. 


PROPOSED  FEDERATION  OF  BUILDING 
TRADES-UNIONS. 

ON  several  occasions  during  the  past  six  years 
attempts  have  been  made  to  federate  the 
trades-unions  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and 
hitherto  each  attempt  has  failed.  The  cause  of 
these  failures  is  mainly-  to  be  ascribed  to  the 


diversity  of  interest  and  customs  existing  in  the 
many  and  varied  branches  of  industry  which 
form  the  trade-union  movement  in  the  country. 
It  woidd  now  appear  that  there  is  a  prospect  »i 
successful  federation  in  the  several  branches  of  the 
building  trade.  A  conference,  which  sat  for 
foiu-  days  last  week  at  the  otfice  of  the  Brick- 
layers' Society  in  Stamford  -  street,  London, 
closed  its  deliberations  on  Friday  last.  It  was 
attended  by  representatives  from  the  Amalga- 
mated Cai-penters  and  Joiners,  the  National 
Associations  of  Plasterers,  the  London  District 
Association  of  Plasterers,  the  House  Decorators 
and  Painters,  and  the  Operative  Bricklayers' 
Society.  These,  with  the  exception  of  the 
masons,  who,  it  is  reported,  will  shortly  join  the 
movement,  comprise  the  important  trades  en- 
gaged in  building  works.  Tlie  contribution  will 
be  about  6d.  per  annum  per  member,  with  a 
shilling  per  member  entrance  fee.  The  contri- 
bution is  not  high,  but  should  the  movement 
prove  workable,  its  revenues  will  soon  increase, 
and  its  membership  be  multiplied.  The  plan  of 
federating  trades  which  are  kindred  in  charac- 
ter has  always  been  the  one  most  favoured  by 
unionists,  and  the  present  movement  is  said  to 
have  a  fair  prospect  of  success.  The  following 
is  the  preamble  agreed  upon  before  the  Conference 
closed  its  sitting: — 

Preamble. 

1.  That  the  objects  of  this  Federation  shall  be  to  pro- 
mote a  knowledge  of  the  principles  and  advantages  of 
trade  unionism  amongst  the  operatives  engaged  in  the 
building  trades. 

2.  To  secure  unity  of  action  amongst  the  organisations 
established  in  the  building  trades. 

3.  To  endeavour  to  obtain,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  in 
each  town  or  city,  a  unifonnity  of  working  hours  in  the 
diiferent  trades. 

4.  To  render  assistance  to  any  trade  in  the  Federation 
.desirous  of  resisting  an  aggression  on  the  part  of  their 

employers,  or  of  endeavoiu'ing  to  improve  their  social 
position. 

N.^iiE  OF  Fedeeatios. 
The  National  Federation  ot  Building  Trade  Associa- 
tions. 

A  sub-committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  into 
and  report  upon  the  most  desirable  place  for 
central  offices  and  other  details  connected  with 
the  organisation. 


SURVEXORS'  EXAMINATIONS. 

THE  Institution  of  Surveyors  has  just  done 
a  very  good  thing  in  establishing  an  ex- 
amination system,  which  will  take  effect  from 
the  31st  of  July,  ISSO,  in  order  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  professional  education.  The 
examinations  will  be  classified  under  three  heads, 
viz.  : — Class  I.  Students'  preliminary  examina- 
tion. Class  II.  Students'  proficiency  examina- 
tion. Class  III.  Professional  associates' 
qualifying  examination.  The  examinations  in 
Classes  I.  and  II.  will  be  compidsory.  Class  II. 
will  be  divided  into  three  sub- classes.  The 
examination  in  Class  III.  will  be  voluntary, 
and  is  designed  to  give  professional  Associa- 
tes an  opportunity,  subject  to  conditions  h 
ereinafter  stated,  of  qualifying  themselves  to  be 
members  of  the  Institution. 

Class  I.,  Siudexis'  PEEi.ijirN-.uiT  ExAitrs-ATioN. 
— Any  person  eligible  under  the  existing  by-laws, 
being  desirous  of  becoming  a  student  of  the  In- 
stitution will  be  required  to  undergo  a  pre- 
liminary examination,  with  the  view  of  testing 
his  general  knowledge  and  educational  acquire- 
ments.* The  subjects  of  exrimination  wiU  be : — 
Elements  of  Algebra,  including  simple  equa- 
tions ;  Euclid— the  first  three  books ;  English 
History :  composition  and  writing-  from  dicta- 
tion. Some  acquaintance  with  either  Latin, 
French,  or  German  will  also  be  required.  Those 
successful  in  passing  the  examination  will 
receive  a  certificate  to  that  effect,  and  will  be 
enrolled  as  students  of  the  Institution.  The 
examination  will  be  held  in  the  month  of 
January  in  each  year.  Applicants  shall  send 
in  their  names  to  the  secretary  before  the  end  of 
the  preceding  month  of  November.  The  pupil 
passing  with  the  highest  number  of  marks  -will 
be  exempted  from  the  payment  of  fees  during 
the  term  of  his  studentship. 

Class  II. ,  Stulexts'  PKoriciExcT  Examtxatiox. 
— A  students'  proficiency  examination  will  be 
held  biennially  in  the  month  of  April.     It  will 


"  Persons  producing  a  certificate  of  hai-ing  passed  the 
Matriculation  E.vamination  of  the  University  of  Oxford, 
Cambridge,  London,  or  any  other  University  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  or  who  have  passed  with  honours  the 
Senior  Local  Examination  of  the  Univei-sity  of  Oxford  01* 
Cambridge,  will  be  exempted  from  this  Examination. 


July  30,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


121 


be  incumbent  upon  all  students  elected  after  the 
31st  of  July,  18S0,  to  undergo  this  examination. 
The  student  -nill  be  expected  to  present  himself 
at  the  examination  next  preceding;  the  expiration 
of  the  time  during  which  he  is  eligible  as  a 
student  uudtr  By-Law  17,  provided  the 
unexpired  tenn  of  his  studentsliiji,  counting  from 
the  date  of  such  examination,  be  not  more  than 
twelve  months.  Should  this  unexpired  term  be 
greater  than  twelve  months,  the  period  during 
which  the  student  is  eligible  under  By-Law  17 
will  be  exteudcd  to  the  date  of  the  examination 
next  following  his  attainment  of  the  age  of  21 
years. 

Students  may  elect  to  be  examined  under  any 
one  of  the  three  sub -classes  of  a  table  which  has 
been  arranged  on  the  broad  lines  of  the  usual 
branches  of  sui'veyors'  practice  ;  but  notice  must 
be  given  of  the  sub-class  and  of  the  scientific 
and  special  subj'cts  in  which  the  student  elects 
to  be  examined,  not  later  than  the  last  week  of 
the  month  of  November,  preceding  the  exami- 
nation. 

A  students'  proficiency  examination  will  be 
held  in  the  mouth  of  Api-U,  1881,  and  thence- 
forward once  in  two  years.  This  examination, 
although  not  compulsory  in  the  case  of  students 
elected  before  the  31st  of  July,  1880,  is  open  to 
such  students.  Students  elected  before  the  31st 
of  July,  1880,  who  desire  to  enter  for  the  pro- 
ficiency examination  in  April,  1881,  will  be 
expected  to  signify  their  wish  to  the  secretary 
not  later  than  the  last  week  of  November,  ISSO, 
and  at  the  same  lime  indicate  the  sub-class 
and  the  scientific  and  special  subjects  in 
which  they  elect  to  be  examined.  Where  neces- 
sary, the  time  during  which  such  students  are 
eligible  under  By-law  17  will  be  extended  until 
the  examination  next  foliowintr  their  attainment 
of  the  age  of  21  years.  The  sum  of  three 
guineas  must  be  deposited  with  the  secretary  by 
each  student  before  his  name  is  entered  on  the 
examination  list,  as  an  earnest  of  his  intention 
to  offer  himself  for  examination  on  the  days 
appointed.  Should  the  student  fail  to  attend  on 
the  days  of  examination,  the  money  so  deposited 
will  be  forfeited,  and  his  name  will  be  removed 
from  the  list  of  students.  Otherwise,  the  amount 
will  be  refunded  after  the  examination. 

Days  axd  Coukse  of  EsAinx-iTiox. — Class  II. 
— The  examinations  under  sub-classes  land  2  \vill 
be  held  concurrently  on  three  consecutive  days, 
commencing  with  the  first  Tuesday  in  the  month 
of  April.  A  fourth  day  will  be  devoted  to 
practical  work  in  the  field,  and  a  fifth  to  plotting 
and  drawing  the  field-work  under  the  super- 
intendence of  one  of  the  examiners.  The 
examination  under  sub-class  3.  so  far  as  relates 
to  the  first  three  subjects  under  the  sub-class, 
will  be  held  concurrently  with  those  under  sub- 
classes 1  and  2.  The  other  subjects  under  sub- 
class 3  will  be  taken  during  the  Tuesday, 
"Wednesday,  and  Thur=day  of  the  week  follow- 
ing. 

ExAitrsATiON  SxiN-DAEDS.— Class  I.  {Stmloits' 
ridiminary .) — The  maximum  number  of  marks 
in  Class  I.  (Students'  Preliminary)  wiU  be  500. 
The  minimum  number  of  marks  to  qualify  the 
pupil  to  a  certificate  as  a  student  wiU  be  300. 

Class  II.  [Studants'  Trojiciinn:) — The  maxi- 
mum number  of  marks  in  each  of  the  sub. 
classes  1,2,  and  3  will  be  1,000.  No  student 
will  be  held  to  have  passed  the  examination  who 
has  obtained  less  than  .500  marks. 

ScnoLAEsmrs  and  Pkizes.— Class  11.— The 
Institution  will  give  a  prize  of  £2-5,  to  be  callcl 
"The  Institution  Prize,"  to  the  student  who 
obtains  the  greatest  number  of  marks,  over  500, 
in  the  proficiency  examination  in  sub-classes 
I.,  II.,  or  III. 

The  IssTrruTiox  ScnoL.vK. — To  signalise  con- 
spicuous merit,  a  medal  and  the  title  of  'Insti- 
tution Scholar"  will  be  given  to  the  student 
who  obtains  the  greatest  number  of  marks,  over 
900,  of  any  of  the  students  examined  in  sub- 
classes I.,  II.,  and  III. ;  and  the  name  of  the 
student  so  distinguished  wUl  be  permanentlv 
recorded  on  the  walls  of  the  lecture-hall.  The 
ni'^mbers  of  the  council  will  give  the  candidate 
who  succeeds  in  earning  the  distinction  of 
"Institution  Scholar"  an  opportunity  (free  of 
charge)  of  acquiring  practical  experience,  for  a 
period  not  exceeding  12  m(mths,  in  a  London 
office.  A  medal  will  be  given  to  any  student 
obtaining  900  marks  in  any  of  the  sub-classes. 
StTB -CLissts  I.,  II.,  AXD  III. — A  special 
prize  of  £20  will  be  given  to  the  student  (not 
being  the  "  Institution  Scholar"  or  the  winner 
of    "The    Institution   Prize")   obtaining    the 


greatest  number  of  marks,  over  500,  in  each  of 
the  sub-classes  I.,  II.,  and  III. 

President's  Prize. — A  prize  of  £15,  to  be 
called  the  "President's  Prize,"  will  be  given 
to  the  student  who  passes  the  best  livd  voce 
examination  in  some  subject,  to  be  announced 
si.x  months  previously.  It  will  be  open  to  all 
students  to  compete  for  the  "  President's 
Prize,"  providing  they  give  notice  of  their  in- 
tention to  do  so  at  the  same  time  that  they 
signify  the  sub-class  under  which  they  desire  to 
be  examined,  in  Class  II.  The  name  of  the 
winner  of  the  Institution  Scholarship,  and  those 
of  the  prize  winners  in  the  various  sub-classes 
of  Class  II.,  will  bo  announced  at  the  annual 
general  meeting,  and  the  prizes  will  be  publicly 
presented  to  the  successful  competitors  at  that 
meeting.  Kules  regulating  the  conduct  of  the 
various  examinations  under  class  II.  will  be 
previously  published. 

Class  III. — Pkofessioxal  Associates'  Quali- 
fying Examination.— Should  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  professional  Associates  signify  their  wish 
to  qualify  themselves  as  members  by  passing  an 
examination  under  Class  III.,  the  council  will 
make  arrangements  for  holding  an  examination  of 
the  kind ;  but  examinations  under  this  class 
will  not  be  held  more  than  once  in  two  years. 
No  professional  Associate  will  be  held  qualified 
to  enter  his  name  for  examination  under  Class 
III.  unless  he  shall  have  been  at  least  ten  years 
employed  as  a  paid  assistant,  beyond  the  period 
of  his  articles,  and  unless  so  employed  before 
the  31st  of  May,  ISSO;  but  the  time  shall  be 
reduced  to  five  years  in  the  event  of  his  having 
passed  the  examinations  in  Classes  I.  and  II. 
Professional  Associates  who  wish  to  qualify 
as  members  under  Class  III.  wiU  be 
required  to  pay  an  examination  fee  of  three 
guineas. 

THE    P.-VRKES   Ml'SEUM   OP  HYGIENE. 

1  PUBLIC  meeting  was  held  on  Tuesday 
2\_  afternoon  at  the  Egyptian  Hall  of  the 
Mansion  House,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
Lord  Mayor,  in  connection  with  the  first  anni- 
versary of  the  Parkes  Mu.seum  of  Hygiene,  tem- 
porarily established  on  the  upper  floor  of  Uni- 
versity College,  Gower-street,  W.C.  The  museum 
was  founded  as  a  memorial  of  the  late  Dr.  E.  A. 
Parkes,  latterly  of  Xetley  Hospital,  the  distin- 
guished sanitary  reformer  and  physician,  who 
died  in  the  spring  of  1S7G.  The  council  of 
University  College  courteously  placed  rooms  at 
the  disposal  of  the  committee,  until  a  permanent 
home  could  be  secured.     The  articles  exhibited 

e  arranged  in  the  following  groups — viz., 
engineering  and  local  hygiene,  architecture, 
furnishing,  clothing,  food,  and  preservation  and 
relief  ;  and  to  these  is  added  a  library.  All  de- 
partments of  the  Stste  have  afforded  cordial 
assistance  to  the  institution,  the  Admiralty  and 
the  War  Office  sending  books  and  other  material, 
the  India  Office  contributing  their  sanitary  re- 
ports, and  the  Education  Department,  the  Local 
Government  Board,  and  other  offices  making 
equaOy  valuable  contributions.  Private  donors 
and  inventors  have  rendered  important  help,  and 
the  museum  is  now  becoming  a  central  institution 
for  the  instruction  of  the  public,  where  not  only 
professional  men,  but  owners  of  property,  em- 
ployers of  labour,  manufacturers,  artisans,  and 
other  persons,  both  men  and  women,  may  study 
at  their  leisure  the  subjects  in  which  they  are 
most  interested.  The  finmcial  state  of  the 
museum  is  scarcely  satisfactory,  and  it  was 
mainly  to  aid  it  in  that  respect  that  the  meeting 
was  convened. 

Dr.  G.  H.  Poore,  the  hon.  secretary,  before 
reading  the  report,  mentioned  that  he  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  Home  Secretary  (Sir 
W.  V.  Harcourt),  evincing  much  interest  in  the 
museum,  as  conducing  to  the  better  knowledge 
of  the  important  subject  of  sanitation,  on  which 
the  health  of  the  community  so  much  depended. 
The  report  stated  that  the  museum  w.as  formally 
opened  to  thepublicon  the2Sth  of  June,  1879,  by 
the  then  Home  Secretary,  and  the  first  year  had 
been  one  with  which,  in  many  respects,  the  com- 
mittee had  a  right  to  feel  satisfied.  The  museum 
had  been  open  to  the  public  on  three  days  in  each 
week,  and  since  the  1st  of  J.inuarj-,  ISSO,  the 
number  of  visitors  had  been  2,166.  During  the 
past  winter  a  series  of  demonstrations  were 
given  on  Saturday  afternoons  by  members  of  the 
executive  committee.  The  first  series,  by  Pro- 
fessor Corfield,  Drs.  Steele  and  Poore,  was  given 
for  the  benefit  of  members  of  the  Working  Men's 


Club  and  Institute  Union,  and  comprised  the 
subjects  of  house  drainage,  ventilation,  lighting 
and  warming,  food,  and  the  management  of  the 
sick-room.  The  sicond  series,  by  Professor 
Corfield  and  Sfr.  Rogers  Field,  was  given  to 
members  of  the  Institution  of  Builders'  Foremen 
and  Clerks  of  Works,  and  comprised  the  sub- 
jects of  ventilation  and  house-drainage.  Both 
series  were  numtroiisly  attended.  The  muneuin 
had  also  been  used  by  the  stud.nts  of  the  Col- 
lege, by  hospital  nurses,  and  others.  The  com- 
mittee woidd  gladly  entertain  applieations  from 
persons  engaged  in  tuition  who  might  wisli  to 
bring  their  pupils  to  the  museum  for  the  purpose 
of  practical  instruction.  They  trusted  that  the 
generous  example  of  some  of  the  City  companies 
might  bo  followed  by  others  of  the  ancient  City- 
guilds  and  the  wealthy  citizens  of  London.  The 
different  sections  of  the  museum  had  been  con- 
siderably enriched  during  the  past  year,  tho 
only  section  which  had  shown  no  tt'ndency  to 
expand  being  that  devoted  to  clothinif,  notwith- 
standing that  the  subj'  ct,  in  our  variable  and 
often  trying  climate,  was  one  of  prime  import- 
ance. The  provision  of  a  new  home  for  tho 
museum  had  already  becomo  a  necessity,  and  the 
removal  of  the  collection  to  a  building  specially 
designed  for  it  in  some  central  position  would 
prove  a  great  benefit  to  tho  museum  and  a  great 
boon  to  the  public.  As  to  tho  financial  position, 
.since  the  spring  of  1876  £1,285  had  been  sub- 
scribed. Of  that  £CtI  had  been  exp<ndcd  in 
museum  fittings,  in  paying  the  salary  of  a  cura- 
tor, and  in  other  unavoidable  expenditure ; 
£600  had  been  invested,  which  yielded  an 
income  of  something  less  than  £21  per 
annum,  and  the  treasurer  had  £65  in 
hand.  The  museum  was  free  in  every  respect. 
No  charge  was  made  to  viaitirs  at  any 
time,  nor  for  space,  suitability  being  tho  only 
condition  for  the  acceptance  of  any  object.  Thus 
the  museum  wa,s  entirely  dependent  upon  volun- 
tarj-  contributions.  The  executive  committee 
were  determined  that  the  institution  should 
remain  a  true  museum,  and  not  become  a  mere 
show-room  for  manufacturers  and  patentees. 
To  achieve  that  object  a  permanent  home  for  the 
museum  must  be  found,  and  a  sufficient  sum 
provided  to  meet  the  annual  expenditure.  The 
committee  confidently  appealed  to  the  public  for 
the  necessary  funds. 

Earl  Fortescue,  in  moving  as  the  first  resolu- 
tion, that  the  annual  report  afforded  conclusiTO 
evidence  that  the  Parkes  Museum  of  Hygiene  was 
meeting  a  great  educational  want  and  was 
eminently  worthy  of  public  support,  said  that 
sanitary  reform  was  well  worthy  of  far  greater 
sacrifices  and  efforts  than  had  yet  been  made  in 
its  behalf.  Disease,  vice,  and  crime  were  con- 
current, and  want  of  proper  sanitation  not  only 
produced  disca.se,  but  encouraged  immorality 
and  crime.  jVmong  the  movements  in  prom'jting 
sanitary  reform  the  Parkes  Museum  took  a  high 
place,  for  hygiene,  tho  object  of  which  wx<  the 
preservation  rather  than  the  restoration  of  hc.Uth, 
required  some  such  institution  as  that  to  show 
what  had  been,  was  being,  and  could  be  done  io 
its  behalf. 

Mr.  G.  Palmer,  M.P.,  in  .seconding  the  re.wlu- 
tion,  referred  to  the  important  part  played  by 
ladies  in  disseminating  a  knowledge  of  s.initary 
principles  and  requirements. 

The  President  of  the  Roy.al  College  of  Sur.j-  "n^ 
(Mr.  Erichsen),  in  supporting  the  m.ti-  ;  ! 

the    in-stitution     was     especially    valu. 
managers  of   hospitals   and  to  momiKr- 
medic^l  profe.s.sion  in    giving    th-.m  an  iijiur- 
tunitv    of    studying   practically   the   ai>i.li«n'-ci 
and  mechanism  by  which  di.<ea*«i  ■  ■   .1  i     ;  t.  • 
vented  and  health  rci-torcd.  Th.  ■ 
skill  might  be  rendered  nugat  - 
bined    wi'h    the    highest    hygi- 
There  were  diseases  of  a   most    ■ 
which  might  be  generated  in  ho- 
of sanitary  precautions,  but  »  h.'< 
and  absolutely  preventiblc  if  the  : 
means  were  "taken.      The    fir>t 
museum  was,  however,  the  prev. 
rather  than  the  restoration  to  h< 

Mr.  Erasmus  Wilion,  F.K.S  . 
the   resolution,   and   sail   the   7 
eminently    practical    m'«lc    of    ; 
knowledge  of  s.anitary  laws.     M 
something  of  the  theory  of  hyj: 
portancc,  in  an  abstract  sense,  'i 
water,  of  warmth  and  ventilation,  b  r.  •.:. 
culty  was  how  to  .adopt  these  intheirown  1.         -. 
and  what  appliances  were  or,  were  not  .nlu- 
civc  to  health.     If  they  felt  dubious  a»  to  the 


122 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


Jrainage,  tliey  did  not  knowwhat  to  do  to  remedy 
it,  or  to  whom  to  apply— in  eliort,  to  what  shop 
to  go.  In  this  mubeum  all  the  most  recent  ap- 
pliances could  be  compared  and  examined,  and 
by  these  and  the  library,  all  the  advantages  of 
sanitary  science  were  brought  within  reach. 
Turning  to  the  particular  branch  of  surgeiy  with 
which  his  name  is  associated,  he  showed  that 
the  most  harassing  scourge  of  schoole,  ringworm, 
could  be  swept  out  of  society  if  plenty  of  air, 
proper  food,  and  sufficient  warmth,  were  pro- 
yided. 

The  resolution  was  then  put  and  carried  unani- 
mously. 

Sir  William  Jenner,  in  proposing  a  TOte  of 
thanks  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  after  referring  to  the 
ji'ovablo  character  and  the  professional  eminence 
,  of  iJic  late  Dr.  Parlies,  whose  name  the  museum 
,bore^  ssiii  ^^^  lectures  to  working  men  in  the 
mugavjn  were  valuable  as  teaching  them  to  im- 
prove Lot  .only  their  own  homes,  but  the  homes 
of  every  sneu'ibtr  of  the  community.  It  was  not 
only  the  bouset.'  of  the  poor,  but  the  great  man- 
sions of  the  rich,  which  required  looking  after  in 
a  sanitmy  sac^e.  Jn  5>is  practice  he  found  wives 
and  mothers  weeping  for  sick  and  dying  rela- 
tives, whose  illnesses,  anJ  probable  ueaths,  were 
entirely  due  to  a  neglect  of  ordinary  sanitary 
precautions.  The  task  of  tesuching  workmen  to 
build  houses  properly  and  healtWly  ^as  neither 
more  nor  less  important  than  the  due  attention  of 
the  inmates  to  the  sanitary  state  of  their  own 
dwellings.  He  described  the  sanitary  condition  of 
one  of  the  finest  mansions  in  London,  to  which  a 
wealthy  patient  of  his  would  have  been  removed 
had  he  not  recommended  an  examination  of  the 
premises,  which  revealed  the  fact  th.it  the  bath- 
room pipes  descended  into  the  soil-pipe  unventi- 
lated,  most  of  the  closets  were  unventilated,  and 
the  overflow-pipe  from  cistern  passed  direct  into 
the  drain.  He  also  instanced  the  difficulty  he 
had  expi-rienced  in  bringing  his  own  home  into 
a  sanitaiy  state.  Three  times  he  had  the  drain- 
age overhauled  by  tradesmen  of  respectability, 
and  found  that  the  otherwise  intelligent  foreman 
he  employed  on  the  last  occasion  needed  super- 
vision at  every  stage,  so  ignorant  was  he  of  the 
simplest  principles  of  hygiene.  As  to  the  Parkes' 
Museum,  it  was  not  intended  as  a  charity,  unless 
it  was  that  charity  which  began  at  home,  and  if 
they,  through  the  museum,  supported  and 
assisted  sanitary  science  and  knowledge,  he  felt 
sun?  that  home  was  the  place  where  it  would 
first  practically  commence.  Many  a  man's  want 
of  health  was  simply  due  to  the  vitiated  air  he 
breathed,  and  to  this  cause  most  of  those  very 
common  ailments — sore  throats — were  attribu- 
table. He  concluded  by  earnestly  commending 
the  museum  to  the  practical  snpjort  of  the 
meeting,  and  of  the  publio  at  large. 

The  vote  of  thanks  was  seconded  by  Mr. 
Greorge  Godwin,  supp  irted  by  Sir  J.  Fayrer,  and 
carried  unanimously,  and  the  Lord  Mayor 
having  siiitably  replied,  the  meeting  broke  up. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  TEEES. 
vJIE  ROBERT  CHEISTISONreadapaperlast 
O  week,  before  the  Scottish  Meteorological 
Society,  advocating  the  institution  of  an  inciuii'y  by 
the  Society  into  therelation  of  climatesin  Scotland 
to  the  growth  of  trees.  Doubts  had,  he  said, 
been  occasionaDy  thrown  out  as  to  the  uniformity 
of  the  law  in  regard  to  the  growth  of  trees 
being  marked  by  annual  layers  or  rings  of  wood, 
but  he  had  never  himself  met  a  clearly  excep- 
tional ease ;  and  although  it  was  true  that  these 
annual  rings  presented  great  differences  in 
width,  it  appeared  to  him  that  exceptions  to  the 
ordinary  course  must  be  so  very  rare  as  scarcely 
to  interfere  with  any  practical  application  that 
might  be  made  of  the  general  rule.  As  indicat- 
ing the  valuable  results  that  might  be  obtained 
from  the  proposed  inquiry.  Sir  Eobert  stated 
what  he  had  himself  observed  las:  autumn  in 
the  wood  of  Dull.  In  this  wood,  he  said,  his 
attention  was  principally  directed  to  ^he  larches, 
which,  taking  the  average  of  the  most  favoured 
localities,  had,  he  found,  grown  daring  their 
first  thiity-three  years  at  the  rate  of  one  inch  in 
radius  in  seven  years.  Taking  this  growth,  and 
comparing  it  with  the  growth  shown  in  a  section 
of  a  larch  from  the  Glamis  grounds,  whic-h 
measures  12ft.  in  girth,  and  which  w.is  110  years 
old,  he  found  this— that  in  the  Glamis  larch 
there  had  been  a  growth  of  an  inch  during  three 
years  and  a-half  for  the  first  thii-ty-two"year.<, 
and  that  it  was,  therefo^e>  presiiaiable    that 


though  the  trees  at  Dull  now  looked  healthy 
enough,  they  had  ceased  to  grow  at  a  profitable 
rate.  He  al^o  described  the  different  measure- 
ments which  he  had  last  year  obtained  in 
Drummond  Hill  Wood,  stating  that  at  the  foot 
of  the  hUl  he  found  the  larches  measuring  about 
S.J  feet  in  height,  and  4  feet  10  inches  in  girth  ; 
that  as  an  ascent  was  made  the  trees  became 
smaller;  but  that  when  a  height  of  SOO  feet 
above  sea-level  had  been  reached,  a  flat  shelving 
piece  of  deep-soiled  ground  was  come  upon, 
where  the  trees  were  better  grown  than  any- 
where else,  measuring  115  feet  iu  height  instead 
of  S-j  feet,  and  7  feet  10  inches  in  girth  in  place 
of  4  feet  10  inches. 


LOKDOX    BRIDGES. 

IT  will  be  a  surprise  to  most  people,  remarks 
the  Echo,  to  learn  that,  after  paying 
£1,373,325  to  free  the  toll  bridges  over  the 
Thames,  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  finds 
the  bridges  in  such  a  condition  as  to  require  the 
expenditure  of  £040,000  to  make  them  safe. 
Yet  this  is  what  transpired  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Board  last  Friday.  It  is  no  answer  to  the  cry 
of  disappointment  that  is  certain  to  arise  to  say 
that  the  expenditure  wiU  be  spread  over  a 
number  of  years ;  it  will  have  to  be  borne  by 
the  i-atepayers,  whether  it  is  one  year  or  twenty. 
Sir  Jo.-eph  Bazalgette,  the  engineer,  has  pre- 
sented an  elaborate  report,  iu  which  he  describes 
the  condition  of  the  nine  bridges  (excluding  that 
at  Deptford),  which  demand  the  enormoua 
expenditure  we  have  named.  Two  of  them — 
namely,  Bsrttersea  and  I'utney — will  have  to  be 
rebuilt,  the  former  at  a  cost  of  £259,000,  and 
the  latter  with  the  approaches  costing  .i300,000. 
The  case  of  Waterloo-bridge  is  the  most  surious. 
Soundings  which  have  been  made  of  the  bed  of 
the  Thames  since  1823,  when  the  celei/Tated 
architect  of  the  Menai  Suspension-bridge, 
Telford,  took  the  soundings,  have  establi:!E»d 
that  the  scour  is  continually  deepening  the  bed 
of  the  river.  Waterloo-bridge  was  built  in 
1814,  upon  a  timber  staging  resting  upon  pUes 
20ft.  long,  and  the  masonry  was  carried  to  a 
depth  of"5ft.  below  the  bed  of  the  river.  The 
result  of  the  scour  has  been  that  the  heads  of 
these  piles  are  now  from  1  foot  to  6ft.  above  the 
bed  of  the  river,  and  are  visible  at  low  water. 
If  the  foundation  between  the  piles  should  be 
washed  out,  the  structui-e  woiild  inevitably  sink. 
The  engineer  now  proposes  to  put  wruught-iron 
cylinders  round  each  pier,  and  to  fill  up  to  the 
level  of  the  foimdations,  so  as  to  make  a  solid 
foundation  right  down  to  the  piles.  These  -works 
are  estimated  to  cost  £40,000,  and  they  were 
ordered  on  Friday  by  the  Board.  Yauxhall- 
bridge  is  in  pretty  much  the  same  condition, 
and  here  it  is  proposed  to  convert  the  three 
central  arches  into  one  opening,  and  to  dredge 
out,  so  as  to  get  an  adequate  area  of  waterway, 
besides  putting  down  similar  caissons  to  those 
recommended  for  Waterloo ;  estimated  cost 
£45,000.  The  Lambeth-bridge  is  decaying; 
from  5ft.  of  the  cable  01b.  weight  of  rust  has 
been  removed,  of  which  about  42  per  cent,  was 
pirre  iron.  The  Albert  Suspension  Bridge,  "if 
loaded  on  one  side,  will  depress  where  loaded,  and 
rise  where  not  loaded."  A  part  of  Battersea- 
bridge  overhangs  as  much  as  9it.,  and  the 
stumps  of  the  piles  are  in  a  ruinous  condition. 
Wandsworth-bridge  has  suffered  for  want  of 
cleaning  and  painting.  Putney-bridge,  which  is 
151  years  old,  is  in  a  little  better  condition  than 
Battersea,  and  is  a  serious  obstruction  to  the 
navigation.  Of  Hammersmith-bridge  it  is 
remarked  that  it  will  become  a  matter  for  seri- 
ous consideration  whether  wrought-iron  should 
not  be  substituted  for  the  cast-iron  cross-girders 
under  the  roadway.  The  Board  have  resolved 
to  seek  Parliamentary  powers  for  such  portions 
of  the  foregoing  projects  as  they  have  not  power 
at  present  to  cany  out,  and  for  the  mending  of 
tliis  bad  bargain  of  the  Board  the  ratepayers 
will  have  to  pay  what  will  be  equal  to  a  single 
rate  of  Gid.  in  the  pound. 


The  excavations  have  been  commenced  at  some 
distance  from  the  village,  at  a  spot  where  the 
clift'a  have  an  altitude  of  70ft.  above  the  level  of 
the  sea  at  high  water.  A  point  has  been  chosen 
where  the  rocks  of  grey  chalk  which  have  to  be 
traversed  by  the  tunnel  come  to  show  their  heads 
at  the  surface  of  the  soil.  On  the  opposite  shore 
similar  borings  have  been,  as  is  known,  begun,  so 
that  the  works  are  proceeding  simultaneously. 

The  soundings  that  have  been  made  during  the 
last  few  years  demonstrate  that  the  base  of  the 
Channel  consists  of  a  compact  mass  of  chalk, 
resting  on  banks  of  slate.  This  mass,  which  is 
easy  enough  to  pierce,  is  said  at  the  same  time  to 
sufiicieutly  resist  infiltration.  It  would,  therefore, 
present  a  substance  excellently  adapted  for  per- 
foration. But  what  yet  remains  to  be  proved  is 
whether  the  succession  cf  these  chalk  layers  will 
not  disclose  some  irregularities  or  luptures  which 
would  render  the  enterprise  impossible.  That  is 
why,  before  commencing  the  definitive  works,  it 
was  necessary  to  make  an  attentive  study  of 
the  ground  by  means  of  trial  excavations.  It  is 
now  five  years  since  the  company  which  had 
obtained  the  concession  for  the  tunnel  began 
the  first  borings  at  Sangatte.  But  only  since  last 
year  have  the  works  been  prosecuted  with  any 
activity. 

The  chairman  of  the  company  was  originally  M. 
Michel  Chevalier,  but  since  his  decease  the  place  of 
the  great  economist  has  been  taken  by  M.  Leon 
Say.  The  period  allotted  for  the  trials  was  not  to 
have  exceeded  five  j'cars ;  but  as,  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  concession,  the  Government  was 
au'horised  to  prolong  this  terta  by  three  years,  the 
Minister  of  Public  Works  did  not  hesitate  to  accord 
this  extension.  However,  before  making  a  formal 
engagement,  M.  Varroy  wished  to  examine  for 
himself  what  had  been  done.  The  shaft  has  now 
reached  a  depth  of  nearly  200ft.,  or  aboui  130ft. 
below  the  level  of  high  water.  It  has  a  width  of 
10ft.,  and  is  lined  with  oak,  so  that  the  water  can- 
not penetrate  very  freely,  not  more  than  17  gallonsr 
a  mincte.  This  water  is  not  salt,  which  is  thonght 
to  prove  that  the  layers  hitherto  traversed  have 
their  point  of  contact  sufficiently  far  from  the 
shere  to  prevent  the  sea  from  ascending  the  shaft. 
It  is  intended  to  sink  to  a  depth  of  300ft.,  and 
then  a  gallery  will  be  excavated  in  the  direction 
England.  Up  to  the  present  the  engineers  are 
highly  satisfied  with  the  resalts  obtained,  as  no 
irregularities  have  been  cliseovered,  which  is 
considered  a  good  augury  for  the  success  of  the 
enterprise. 

I'nfortunately,  with  the  greatesi  exertions  on 
the  part  of  the  engineers,  it  is  impossible  to  proceed 
at  a  (juiker  rate  tlsiu  twenty  isches  a  day. 
Nevertheless  in  eighteen  mouths  or  two  years 
enough  progress  will  have  been  made  fo  arrive  at  a 
perfect  usderstanding  about  the  possibility  of  the 
undertakiag.  It  is  statei  that  the  wor!s  will  not 
fail  througi>  lack  of  funds. 


A 


THE  CHANNEL  TUNNEL. 
N  excursion  was  made  a  few  days  ago  by  M. 
__^^  Leon  and  M.  Varroy,  the  Minister  of  Public 
W'Srks,  accompanied  bj^  M.  Eibot,  Deputy,  and 
Fcrmud  E  lOul-Duval,  civil  engineer,  to  Sangatte, 
near  Calais,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  sound- 
ings which  have  been  undei  taken  by  the  Submarine 
Tunnel  Company  between  England  and  Fraaoe. 


CHIPS. 

The  patrons  cf  the  Watson  Gordon  fine  ari~  pro- 
fessorship in  Edinburgh  Uuivetjsity,  have  elecjed 
Mr.  Gerard  Baldwin  Brown,  M.A.,  of  Oxford 
University,  the  son  of  a  well-kaown  Congrega- 
tional minister  of  Srixton,  as  the  Srst  occupant  ci! 
the  chair. 

A  new  front  of  open  carved  oak-work  has  just' 
been  placed  before  the  sedilia  standing  in  the 
sacrarium  of  St.  Andrsw's  Church,  Plymouth.  It^ 
has  been  designed  by  Messrs.  G.  G-.  and  J.  O. 
Scots,  and  made  by  Mr,  Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter. 

The  new  parsonage-house  of  St  James's,  Dar-' 
lingtoa,  was  last  week  iaspected  and  approved  by 
Mr°Eiran  Christian,  architect  to  the  Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners.  The  architect  of  the  building  is- 
Mr.  G.  &.  Hoskins,  F.E.I.B.A.,  of  Darliugion. 

A  new  fountain  in  Laura-place,  Bath,  was- 
recently  unveiled.  It  is  Italian  13th-century 
Gothic  ni  style,  and  consists  of  three  basins, 
the  materials  used  being  Portland  stone  and 
Westmoreland  Shap  granite.  The  architect  is- 
Mr.  A.  S.  Goodiidge,  of  Bath.  Messrs.  Farmer 
and  Briudley,  of  London,  executed  the  car-ving. 
Mr.  Ambrcoe,  of  Bath,  carried  out  the  masonry 
and  concrete  work,  and  Mr.  Sydenham  the  plumb- 
ing.    The  cost  has  been  ,£600. 

Anew  ceraetery  at  Snydale,  aear  Wakefield,  was 
recently  coa.-ecrated.  The  ares,  which  measures 
45Sft.  by  2C7f t-.,  is  inclosed  by  a  5-ft.  brickwall. 
The  Episcopalian  and  NoncouSormist  chapels  are 
exactly  similar,  and  are  each  25ft.  by  ISft.,  and 
18ft.  high,  with  open-timbered  roofs,  and,  like 
curator's  houje,  in  which  i^  a  large  board-room  on 
first  floor,  are  built  of  red  bricks,  with  freestone 
facings.  Mi.  George  Malcolm,  of  Pontefract,  was 
the  architect  to  the  burial  board. 

The  Norfoli  and  Suffolk  county  justices  have 
decided  to  rebuild  the  Falcon  bridge  at  Bungay  in 
iron,  from  the  plans  of  Mr.  Brcreton,  county  sur- 
surveyor  for-  Xcrfolk,  at  an  s»iisated  cost  of 
£1,700. 


July  30,  1880.. 


THE  BTTILDINa  NEWS. 


123 


AECHITECTITEAL  &  ARCH^OLOGICAI- 
SOCIETIES. 

Essex  Aecii.-eologicai,  Societt.— The  annual 
excusion  of  this  society  was  arranged  for  Wed- 
nesday week,  to  be  held  at  Saffron  Walden  and 
Audley  End.  The  annnal  raeetiugr  was  held  at 
10  a.m.,  at  the  town-hall,  Mr.  G.  Alan  Lowndes 
in  the  chair.  The  twenty- eighth  annual  report, 
read  by  Mr.  H.  W.  King,  the  secretary,  stated 
that  there  was  a  balance  in  hand  of  .£102  7s. ; 
and  attention  was  called  to  the  frequent  loss  and 
destruction  of  sepulchral  monuments  and  painted 
glass  during  church  -  restoration.  Recently 
valuable  Mth  and  1.5th-century  glass  had  been 
abstracted  from  Rochford  Church,  and  monu- 
mentsfrom  South  Weald  Church,  where  one  of  the 
abstracted  brasses  had  been  publicly  advertised 
by  a  private  possessor ;  indeed,  the  secretary 
reported  that,  in  six  instances  in  which  appli- 
cation had  been  made  to  him  by  historians  and 
descendants  of  families,  he  was  obliged  to  reply 
that  the  monuments  inquired  for  were  destroyed 
during  the  progress  of  cliurch-restoration.  The 
council  therefore  pointed  out  the  necessity  of 
keeping  a  vigilant  eye  on  the  church-restorer, 
and  endeavouring  to  keep  these  valuable  records 
of  the  past  from  demolition,  abstraction,  or  con- 
cealment. Mr.  AViseman,  of  Paglesham,  having 
been  elected  a  member  of  council,  in  place  of  the 
late  Mr.  G.  H.  Rogers-Harrison.  H.M.  Windsor 
Herald,  the  report  was  adopted.  The  secretary 
read  a  paper  by  Mr.  Joseph  Clarke,  F.S.A.,  de- 
scriptive of  a  large  collection  of  Celts,  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  ;  the  writer  expressed  the  opinion 
that  these  were  Roman  in  origin,  and  were  used 
by  that  people  fur  undei-mining  walls,  in  moving 
the  heavy  materials  of  fortifications,  and  for 
gardening  and  agricultural  purposes — a  theory 
dissented  from  by  Mr.  Nichols  and  other 
speakers.  The  members  then  made  a  perambula- 
tion of  the  town,  visiting  the  timber-built  and 
plastered  premises  in  Church-street,  formerly 
the  "Sun  Inn;"  the  piece  of  wall,  10ft.  thict, 
and  30ft.  high,  and  the  traces  of  ditches,  which 
constitute  the  only  remains  of  the  castle ;  and 
the  museum,  where  Mr.  Joseph  Clarke  acted  as 
guide.  At  the  church  Mr.  C.  Forster  Hayward, 
F.S.A.,  delivered  a  lecturette,  describing" it  as  a 
fine  example  of  a  Perpendiculnr  church  of  the 
time  of  Henry  VII.,  but  probably  not  finished 
till  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  panel-work 
under  the  windows  of  the  north  aisle  was  adverted 
to,  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Jelf  suggesting  that  this  and 
traces  of  similar  work  now  destroyed  on  the 
south  aisle,  marked  the  position  of  former  side 
chapels.  Mr.  Jos.  Clarke  pointed  out  in  the 
spandrels  of  the  arches  there  were  eight  saffron 
bads  arranged  so  as  to  form  wheels.  Mr.  Hay- 
ward  called  attention  to  the  traces  of  a  rood-loft 
to  the  fine  south  door,  and  the  Audley  tomb  and 
its  chapel,  c.  1544,  and  deplored  the  great  loss  of 
trasses  from  the  church.  The  visitors  next 
went  to  Myddletoa-street,  where  was  seen  a 
malting  with  overhanging  story,  and  windows 
having  sQls  moulded  out  of  one  pi«ce,  moulded 
muUions  and  traceried  heads,  and  in  adjoining 
house  was  examined  a  specimen  of  tapestry 
descriptive  of  English  rural  life  aad  industries. 
After  limcheon,  the  temporary  collection  of 
antiquities  displayed  in  the  town  hall  was 
examined,  and  also  the  corporation  charters  and 
books  in  the  muniment-room.  At  Mr.  G.  S. 
Gibson's  honse  a  paper  on  "  Hie  Ancent  Ceme- 
tery at  SaSiron  Walden,"  was  read  by  the  Rev. 
H.  Eckreyd  Smith,  who  stated  that  on  Mr. 
Gibson's  grounds  had  be-;n  found  immense 
quantities  of  skeletons,  bushels  of  badly-tem- 
pered Eomano-British  pottery,  some  Samian 
■ware  atd  iron,  bronze  and  pewter  objects,  some 
of  whiot  were  exhibited.  The  day  closed  with 
a  vijit  to  Lord  Bradbroofce's  mansion  at  Audley 
End,  where  Mr.  C.  F.  Hayward  read  a  paper, 
in  wfcioli  he  traced  its  history  of  the  building, 
•which  was  built  by  BRron  Howard  de  V.''alden 
on  the  site  of  a  Benedictine  Abbey  given  him  by 
Henry  VIII.  The  design  had  beeE  called 
Italian,  but  the  features  showed  distinctly  that 
it  was  an  English  design,  the  outcome  of  the 
modes  of  bmlding  common  to  the  countiy 
•during  the  preceding  century.  Time  scarcely 
.permitted  the  visitnrs  to  examine  the  mu..^eum 
in  the  mansion  founded  by  the  late  lord  Bray- 
brooke,  and  the  ancient  armour,  tapestry  and 
other  fittings  of  the  state  apartment*. 


COMPETITIONS. 

FuLHAji  New  I^-FIEltA^.Y. — The  Fulham  board 
of  guardians  last  week  re- discussed,  in  detail, 
the  arrangements  for  thiscompetition.  Theresolu- 
tion  limitingtho  competition  to  six  selected  archi- 
tects was  rescinded ;  and  it  was  f\irther  decided 
to  offer  100  guineas  as  first  promiuiu  and  .50 
guineas  as  second,  these  designs  to  become  the 
property  of  the  board.  The  commission  to  the 
arclutect  for  the  building  itself  was  fixed  at  r> 
per  cent,  up  to  £20,000,  and  2J  per  cent,  on  any 
outlay  beyond  that  sum.  Mr.  Sanders,  of  King- 
street,  Chelse,i,  was  appointed  to  suj^ply  the 
levels,  at  a  fee  of  10  guineas,  motions  to  make 
the  fee  a  guineas  and  to  leave  the  matter  to  the 
competitors  being  defeated.  It  was  decided 
that  the  surveyor  and  clerk  of  works  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  architect,  but  appointed  by  the 
board ;  and  that  the  new  building  must  afford 
accommodation  for  SGOpatients,  exclusive  of  sepa- 
rate arrangements  for  lock  aud  other  special  ca-es. 
The  chief  discus>ion  took  place  with  reference  to 
the  suggested  appointment  of  a  professional 
referee,  the  chairman  and  others  thinking  that 
the  duty  of  selection  could  be  very  well  per- 
formed by  members  of  the  board  ;  but  ultimately 
it  was  decided  "  That  an  eminent  architect  (such 
architect  to  be  a  member  of  the  Royal  Institute 
of  British  Architects)  be  called  in  to  assist  the 
board  in  deciding  how  far  the  plans  submitted 
conform  to  their  requirements,  and  also  as  to 
their  relative  value." 

St.  Matthias'  CHimcn,  Ttose  Hell,  Com- 
petition.— Since  our  review  of  these  designs  was 
in  type  we  hear,  just  as  we  are  going  to  press, 
that  another  meeting  of  the  building  committee 
is  to  be  held  to-day,  to  recon.sider  the  decision 
as  to  the  relative  position  of  the  five  selected 
designs. 


SCHOOLS     OF     ART. 

Newton  Abbot. — A  public  meeting  was  held 
at  the  town- hall  on  Tuesday  evening,  when  it 
was  agreed  to  make  arrangements  for  the  for- 
mation of  a  school  of  science  and  art.  The  Rev. 
H.  Tudor,  rector  of  Walborough,  who  presided, 
reminded  the  meeting  that  the  school  of  art 
previously  existing  in  the  town  took  a  very  high 
position  at  South  Kensington,  'and  he  remarked 
that  he  could  not  help  thinking  that,  in  a  town 
with  a  population  of  between  nine  and  ten 
thousand,  there  must  be  many  young  people 
desirous  of  taking  advantage  of  a  knowledge  of 
science  and  art.  They  lived  in  the  centre  of  the 
clay-works  of  South  Devon,  and  as  they  saw 
hundreds  of  cart-loads  of  clay  going  through  the 
town  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  thought  must 
have  struck  many  of  them  that  some  of  that 
clay  might  be  turned  into  those  beautiful  things 
which  they  sometimes  saw  in  the  shop- windows. 
There  were  also  a  gieat  many  young  men  con- 
nected with  their  railway-works  who  had  no 
place  where  they  could  spend  a  quiet  and 
iuteUecfual  evening,  and  he  thought  a  school  of 
science  and  art  would  supply  such  a  place  ; 
which  was  another  reason  why  such  a  school 
should  flourish  there. 


A  new  and  permanent  theatre  of  brickwork  is 
about  to  be  built  et  Mount  Pleasant,  Silston.  Mr. 
Edwin,  of  that  *o«?n,  is  the  builder. 


PARLIAMENTARY      NOTES. 

The  Tat  Bridge  Bill.— The  Select  Committee 
appointed  bv  the  House  of  Commons  to  inquire 
into  the  North  British  Railway  (Tay  Bridge)  Bill, 
met  again  on  Wednesday.  The  C'ommittee  having 
heard  the  concluding  arguments  on  both  sides, 
retired  to  consider  the  questions  submitted  to  them. 
After  an  absence  of  half  an  hour  they  re-entered 
the  room,  and  the  Chairman  stated  that,  after  a 
careful  and  anxious  consideration  of  the  four 
points  submitted  to  them,  they  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  expedient  to  rebuild  the 
bridge,  that  the  proposed  .^ite  was  the  most  suitable 
that  could  be  selected,  and  that  the  bridge  would 
bo  no  interference  with  the  navigation  of  the 
river.  As  to  the  most  important  of  the  four  points 
—the  safety  and  the  security  of  the  public— the 
Committee  felt  that  they  were  not  justified  in 
giving  theirsanction  to  the  scheme  of  reconstruction 
proposed  in  the  Bill  before  them  (applause).  The 
Committee  would  report  more  fully  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  nnd  would  probably  give  the  reasous 
which  induced  them  to  come  to  this  decision.  The 
decision  of  the  Committee  was  unanimous.  In 
reply  to  a  suggestion  from  Mr.  Clerk,  tie  Chair- 
man stated  that  the  mitter  was  now  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Committee.  If  the  decision  of  the 
Committee  had  been  diffrent  they  could  have  re- 
commended  that  three  independent  experts  should 
be  appointed  to  make  tests  of  the  existing  works. 
In  view  of  the  introduction  of  another  Bill  next 
SeesioD,  it  would  be  well  for  the  railway  company 


themselves  to  proceed  with  the  requisite  tcsti  a? 
soon  as  possible. 

The  Innep.  Cibole  Railway.— The  Bill  for  tho 
completion  of  the  Inner  Circle  Railway  was  rejected 
by  the  House  of  Commons  on  Tuesday.  A  Select 
Committee  had  amended  the  mca-sure,  but  they 
had  faded  to  eliminate  iU  most  objectionable  fea- 
ture, the  retention  of  which  has  proved  fatal  to 
the  scheme.  By  the  terms  of  the  Bill  it  was  pro- 
posed that  the  Metropolitun  and  District  R.iilway 
Companies,  in  coiistruttiag  the  rcmiiuing  link 
between  Cannon-street  and  Aldaa'e,  should  haro 
po\verto  "  burrow"  beueath  the  houses  and  streets, 
givmg  compensation  only  iu  those  cases  where  the 
basements  of  the  buildings  were  iut.Tfr-red  with,  or 
where  actual  damage  ao -rued  within  a  given 
period.  Such  a  proposal  naturally  excited  the 
strongest  opposition  among  the  owners  and  occu- 
piers of  property  along  the  line  of  route.  The  Select 
Committee,  it  is  true,  passed  sundry  resolutions 
which,  while  they  slightly  moilificd  the  operation 
of  the  clauses,  vutually  conceded  the  extraordinary 
powers  which  the  Companies  demanded.  The 
arguments  iu  defence  of  the  Bill  were  not  without 
their  weight,  but  something  weightier  still  was 
necessary  to  reconcile  Parliament  to  such  an  inno- 
vation as  was  thus  proposed.  The  enormous  e»- 
pense  of  buying  up  the  property  along  the  line  of 
route  w.as  given  as  a  reason  why  the  Companies 
should  be  allowed  to  "  invade  the  freehold  "  and 
pay  nothing  for  the  privilege,  unless  they  inflicted 
positive  damage.  But  the  extreme  value  of  tho 
property  at  stake  furnished  a  btroni;er  re^uson  why 
a  just  principle  should  not  be  violited.  Tho  mca- 
sure  just  rejected  is  a  substitute  for  an  Act  passed 
last  Session,  whereby  it  was  arranged  th«t  tho 
railway  should  bo  constructed  under  a  bne  of 
thoroughfare,  piU-tly  new,  and  towards  that  scheme 
the  Metropolitan  Board  agreed  to  contribute  half 
a  million  sterUng,  in  addition  to  a  quarter  of  a 
million  from  the  Corporation. 


CHIPS. 

At  the  recent  meeting  of  tho  Royal  Historical 
and  ArchsBoIogical  Society  of  Ireland,  held  at 
Dublin,  tho  collection  of  Irish  antiquities, 
collected  by  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Beun,  of 
Glenravel  House,  Co.  Antrim,  was  formally 
presented  to  the  Belfast  museum.  It  includes 
some  400  ancient  beads,  found  in  counties  Down 
aud  Antrim,  a  small  bronze  altar-vessel,  having 
upon  it  an  inscription  in  the  square  Irish  charac- 
ter, "Pray  for  Martin  O'Bralachain,"  supposed  to 
be  the  erudite  Professor  of  Divinity,  of  that  name, 
at  Armagh  Abbey,  who  died  in  1188,  a  brazen 
dish  and  crucibles  from  a  cranog,  aud  many 
tokens. 

Extensive  additions  and  alterations  have  boca 
made  to  Messrs.  Leatham,  Tew,  aud  Co.'s  West 
Riding  Bank  at  Pontefract.  Messrs.  J.  Neill  and 
Son,  of  Leeds,  were  the  architects,  and  Messrs. 
Beanland,  of  Bradford,  the  contractors. 

The  Lord  Chancellor  has  added  the  mme  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Chatfeild  Clarke,  F.R.I.B.A..  to  the 
Commission  of  the  Peace  for  Newport,  lele  of 
Wight. 

The  committee  of  the  Yonng  Men|s  Christian 
Association  have  requested  Mr.  A.  Pite,  Messn. 
Searle,  Son,  and  Hayes,  aud  Mr.  Charles  Bell,  to 
prepare  designs  in  competition  for  the  adapting  of 
Exeter  hall  for  the  purpose  of  the  association. 

On  Thursday,  the  22nd  inst..  Major  Hector 
Talloch,  R.E.,  one  of  the  inspectors  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  held  an  inquiry  at  BilstoD  re- 
specting an  application  fr.im  tlio  improvement 
commissioners  for  sanction  to  borrow  the  sum  of 
£1,.500  for  the  extension  and  completion  of  tho 
town  hall,  from  de."igns  prepared  by  M.  ssrs.  Bidlake 
aud  Fleeming,  architects,  of  Wolverhampton.  It 
was  stated  that  the  building  was  proposed  to  be 
extended  towards  Church -si  leet,  on  land  he'oDKmg 
to  the  corporation,  so  as  to  enlarge  the  os'embly- 
room,  and  give  additional  means  of  entrance  and 
exit.  Considerable  opposition  was  .  :..  r.  -i  l.y  rate- 
payers on  account  of  tho  local  •'  ■«. 
and  the  consequent  decrease  .  ;  '•'•-O 
the  town -hall  was  buUt.  Then..  it 
that  already  a  proposal  had  hen  .-n...  '■'■''" 
adding  a  free  library  to  tho  tow-nhall,  and  that 
one  addition  could  nor  well  bo  made  withont  tho 
other. 

St  James's  Church,  Accrinpf.in,   was  reopened 
on  Saturday  by  the  Bishop  of  Manchester,  alter 
renovation  and  improvement.    The  qnMi-chaocel 
has   been   seated    with   carved    o»k   »t^ll»,    with 
traceried  fronts   and  ornamented  b^nch-cnds,    a 
rood-screen    of  wood    and    irnnw->rlc    hi'    been 
erected,  the  altir  has  b  ......    ^p 

pulpit    remodelled,    a  i.  '  » 

vestry   built  at  tho  nor  ^^u- 

The  carving  was  exccui  -  -  ,,  , ,  ■  '.,?' 
crington;  the  decorations  Lj  iir  lu.=ter,  v.i  the 
same  town:  the  metal- work  by  Mr.  Sladm.re,  o£ 
Coventry ;  all  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  George 
Baines,  architect,  of  Accrington. 


124 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  30,  1880.. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Vktoria  EmlmnkmfTit.— A  ConBtructive  Study... 
Bt.  yuu]-is.-'i].nr<-h   Tr-nrrTulseHiU)  Competition  : 

Th'  .\-.  i  ililifax 

Bj;-'  \ I chseological  Society  ...  : 

Til-  M  I  ■   I  ition  in  Bristol       ; 

Prop^JMtl  l-'..l.-!.iti  .11  III"  iUalding Trades-Unions     ... 

ISan'eyors*  Kxumiiiatians ] 

The  Rirkes  Museum  of  Hygiene     

The  Growth  of  Trees    

London  Bridges     

The  Channel  Tunnel ■ 

Chine "'  ; 

Arcmt4:Ctunil  and  Archaeological  Societies  ...    ..."    ... 

Competitions 

Schoolsof  Art *"    '."     "\  ■ 

Rirliamentiiry  Notes ,'..  • 

Oar  Lithographic  niostiations ." 

Building  Intelligence '„    ["    "'  i 

To  Correspondents ,".    ["    '" 

Correspondence      [    [[[    \\^ 

Intercommunication    ,,.     "'    [[[  j 

Stained  Glass '.'    '_'.    *'"_  ; 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  ij^tters      ...    ...    ..'.    ... 

Legal  Intelligence i 

Our  Office  Table    ',,[    .",    [[[  i 

TradeNewa     i 

Tenders    *" i 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

INTKRIOH  or    THE     BANQUETING     HALL,  OtD    COCK    HOTEL, 
UAUFAX.-  BEAl'CHENE,    KITZJOHN   AVENUE,   HAUPSTEAD. 

—ST.  Mary's  ciiubch,  cavsuam.— residence  i.v  lano- 

DAU-STBEET.  —  CUOIE    SCHOOL,    KINO's     COLLEGE,     CAM- 
BEIDOE.— DESIGN-    FOR   A   MIXED   VILLAGE    SCHOOL. 


Our  LithographicIllustrations- 

DnrEEIOE  OF   BASQUBTCSQ    HALL,  OLD    COCK   HOTEL, 
HALIFAX. 

Foe  a  description  of  this  illustration  see  the 
reriew  of  Mr.  Leyland's  book,  on  p.  117. 

"  BEAUCnzXE,"    FITZJOIDJ'S  AVEN-UE,    HAJIPSTEAD. 

This  hou.se  is  now  in  course  of  erection  for 
Mr.  L.  SI.  Casella,  from  the  designs  and  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  architect,  Mr.  George 
Lethbridge,  A.K.I.B.A.,  of  7,  Draper's  Gardens, 
E.G.,  the  builder  being  Mr.  'SVilliam  Brass,  of 
Old-street,  E.G.  The  house  is  faced  n-ith  red 
brick,  with  carved  brick  panels,  and  all  orna- 
mental parts  are  of  rubbed  and  gauged  red 
brick.  Sills  are  of  Corsehill  stone.  The  house 
has  been  planned  with  great  attention  to 
internal  comfort  and  convenience,  and  contains 
on  the  basement  floor  the  usual  domestic  offices, 
servants'  haU,  housekeeper's  room,  and  servants' 
bath-room.  Second  floor  contains  large  hall, 
vestibule,  portico,  dining,  drawing,  and  billiard - 
rooms,  serving-pantry  and  store-room,  cloak- 
room, lavatory,  and  w.c.  First  floor— 4  bed- 
rooms, dressing-room,  fitted  with  fixed  wash- 
ba.sins,  bath-room  with  walls  lined  with  tiles, 
and  fitted  with  glazed  earthenware  bath,  house- 
maid's closet,  fitted  with  slop-closet,  &c.,  in 
white  marble,  linen-room,  and  two  w.c.'s. 
Second  floor — day  and  night  nurseries,  with  open- 
timbered  roofs,  with  store-room  adjoining,  fitted 
with  sink,  &c.,  nurse's  dressing-room,  house- 
maid's closet,  w.c,  and  four  servants' bedrooms. 
Rooms  for  boxes  and  water-cisterns  are  pro- 
vided in  roof,  which  is  covered  with  boarding 
and  felt,  and  Broscloy  tiles.  Servants'  stairs 
are  formed  in  Portland  stone,  the  principal 
staircase  being  of  wood,  richly  moulded.  A 
lift  is  provided  with  communication  to  each  floor. 
Each  room  is  provided  with  special  means  of 
ventilation,  and  the  halls,  passages,  and  stair- 
cases, and  billiard-room,  and  cloak-room,  are 
heated  by  hot-water-coils.  All  partitions  arc 
of  brick,  carried  on  iron  girders ;  all  joiners' 
work  is  to  be  of  pitch-pine,  stained  and  var- 
nished. Staircase  window,  screen  in  hall,  and 
upper  portion  of  windows  of  principal  rooms 
arc  to  be  glazed  with  stained  glass. 

cnuEcn  OF  st.  maey,  catxham. 
This  church  had  fallen  into  such  a  state  of 
decay— the  walls  being  more  than  a  foot  out  of 
the  perpendicular,  and  in  many  places  fractured 
from  foundations  to  roof ;  burials  had  taken  place 
quite  close  to  the  walls,  and  some  feet  below  the 
toundations— that  the  church  had  to  bo  shored 
up  to  prevent  its  falling,  and  so  dangerous  was 
Its  condition  that  for  some  considerable  time 
past  It  has  been  closed,  and  the  village  school 
lias  been  used  for  the  services.  The  works  now 
>"  progress  comprise  rebuilding  the  walls  of 
nave  and  chancel  and  east  waU  of  tower,  aU 


ancient  doors  and  windows  and  groins  being  re- 
built in  their  original  position.  On  the  north 
side  a  new  aisle,  organ-chamber,  and  vestry  arc 
being  built.  1110  walls  of  chancel  are  being 
rebuilt  with  new  foundations,  the  windows 
being  rebuilt  in  their  original  position.  The 
chancel  ai.sle  wall  contains  a  triple  arch,  and  is 
in  good  condition  ;  this  interesting  feature  will 
be  carefully  preserved.  The  wood  shingle  spire 
is  a  new  feature,  in  the  place  of  the  modern 
slate  roof.  The  works  are  being  carried  out 
under  the  direction  of  Jlr.  James  Brooks, 
architect,  35,  Wellington -street,  Strand, 
London,  W.G. 

EESIDEXCE,      LAXGHAil- STREET,      POETLASD-PLACE. 

This  residence  has  recently  been  completed,  and 
is  erected  on  the  Portland  Estate.  The  site 
being  limited  in  area,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
carry  up  the  buildings  to  a  considerable  height, 
in  order  to  obtain  sufficient  bedroom  accommo- 
dation. The  architect  was  instructed  to  observe 
strict  economy  in  regard  to  the  exterior,  and  to 
avoid  aU  merely  extraneous  ornamentation,  and 
he  has  scrupulously  carried  out  these  instruc- 
tions, trusting  to  proportion,  and  first-class 
materials  and  workmanship,  to  give  character 
and  comfort  to  the  appearance  of  the  house.  The 
finest  red  Fareham  bricks  have  been  used  for 
the  facings,  and  Portland  stone  for  the  porch, 
and  the  whole  of  the  windows  are  'glazed  with 
plate-glass.  The  interior  of  the  house  has  been 
finished  with  every  attention  to  refinement  of 
detail.  The  house  has  been  erected  by  Messrs. 
Lucas  Brothers,  from  the  designs,  and  under  the 
superintendence,  of  Mr.  Thomas  Porter,  archi- 
tect, 2,  AVestminster  Ghambers,  Victoria-street. 

CHOIE   SCHOOL     FOE     KTNg's   COLLEGE,    CAMBELDGE. 

The  choir  school  for  King's  College,  Cambridge, 
has  been  built  to  accommodate  sixteen  boys, 
whom  the  college  has  undertaken  the  entu-e 
charge  of.  The  building  contains  schoolroom, 
with  lavatory,  &c.,  and  a  house  for  the  master, 
the  dining-room  of  which  is  used  for  the  boys 
as  well  as  the  master.  Above  the  schoolroom 
and  dining-room,  a  long  dormitory  is  arranged, 
and  each  bed  is  screened  off  by  a  partition, 
which  forms  wash-stand,  dressing-table,  i.<cc., 
and  a  cubicle  is  fomied  by  drawing  a  curtain  to 
inclose  the  space.  The  centre  of  the  room  has 
four  long  presses  for  .the  boys'  clothes.  It  is 
built  with  red  brick  and  tiles,  and  stands  some 
little  way  back  from  West-road,  the  paddock  in 
front  forming  the  playground.  Mr.  W.  M. 
Fawcett,  M.A.,  is  the  architect. 

BUILDING      NEWS      "DESIGNING     CLUB." — VIIiAOE 
SCHOOL. 

The  selected  design  for  a  mixed  village  school 
for  100  children,  which  we  publish  to-day,  is  by 
the  author  of  motto  "Alfred."  Eed  brick  is 
intended  to  be  used,  with  cut  and  rubbed 
quoins,  jambs,  &c.  The  roofs  are  covered  with 
tiles,  and  the  earth-closets  are  arranged  in  rear 
at  end  of  playground,  which,  without  a  covered 
way  in  wet  and  wintry  weather,  is  by  no  means 
a  good  arrangement. 


CHIPS. 

Major  TuUoch,  E.E.,  held  an  inquiry  at  Balsall 
Heath,  last  week,  relat  ve  to  an  application  made 
by  the  Local  Government  Board  of  that  place  to 
borrow  £22,UOO  for  works  of  sewerage.  The  lo- 
cal board  originally  intended  spending  £1.5,700  on 
the  works,  but  they  now  find  that  the  work  has 
been  under-estimated,  and  that  the  total  cost  will 
not  fall  short  of  £37,000. 

The  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Euglaud  at  Hcatm  have  determined  upon  the 
erection  of  a  new  church,  with  lecture-hall  and 
other  buildings,  fronting  to  Tyneuiouth-road,  and 
have  commissioned  Mr.  J.  J.  Lish,  architect,  Xew- 
castle,  to  proceed  at  once  with  the  designs,  and  to 
invite  tenders  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  works, 
with  the  view  of  having  the  contract  let,  and  sub- 
stantial progress  made  with  their  new  buildings, 
before  the  winter  sets  in.  ° 

A  landslip  at  Passo  M;irtiuo,  near  Catania, 
Sicily,  hasjbrought  to  liplit  a  large  number  of 
ancient  tombs  and  artistic  objects  believed  to  belong 
to  the  cemetery  of  Sineatus,  a  town  on  the  river 
Simet,  mentioaed  by  Pliny. 

On  Thursday,  the  22nd  July,  an  inquiry  was 
held  at  the  board-room.  Eothwell,  by  J.T.  Harri- 
son, Esq.,  C.E.,  the  Uovenimtnt  Inspector,  with 
respect  to  an  application  to  borrow  £f,SoO  for 
drainage  purposes.  There  was  no  opposition  to  the 
proposed  scheme.     The  board  were  represented  by 


Mr.  Warren  (Messrs.  Ford  and  Wanen) ;  Mr.  A. 
T.  G.  Parkinson,  of  Albion-street,  being  the  engi- 
neer for  the  proposed  works. 

Messrs.  Watson  and  Son,  of  313,  High  Holborn, 
have  issued  a  very  useful  and  comprehensive  cata- 
logue of  mathematical  and  drawing  instruments, 
which  will  be  of  service  to  those  requiring  such 
articles.  The  prices  are  moderate,  and  the  quality 
of  their  manufactures  may  be  relied  upon. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  new  mission  church 
at  Four  Lanes,  Wendrcu  (Carnmenellis),  Cornwall, 
was  laid  last  %veek.  The  new  church  will  be  in  the 
Early  English  style,  and  will  seat  200  persons. 
The  architect  is  Mr.  T.  Goodchild,  London,  and 
the  contractor  is  Mr.  A.  Jenkin,  Leedstown, 
Hayle. 

Dr.  Carpenter  (Chairman  of  the  Council  of  the 
British  Medical  Association),  Mr.  Ernest  Hart 
(Chairman  of  the  National  Health  Association), 
and  Mr.  J.  Bailey  Denton,  C.E.,  are  among  the 
directors  of  a  new  company  registered  last  week, 
which  has  for  its  object  the  practical  treatment  of 
sanitation.  The  name  of  the  company  is  the 
"  House  Sanitary  Appliances  and  Inspection 
Company,"  and  it  will  be  on  the  co-operative 
principle. 

Last  week  a  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  passed  the  Bill  for  the  construction  of  a 
roadway  under  the  Mersey  which  shall  be  available 
for  the  use  of  all  kinds  of  traffic  between  Liverpool 
and  Birkenhead.  The  total  length  will  be  one 
mile,  six  furlongs,  six  and  a  half  chains,  and  the 
cost  is  estimated  at  £500,000,  half  of  which  is 
guaranteed  by  the  Birkenhead  authorities  and  the 
Great  Western  Railway.  The  Bill  has  now  passed 
the  Committees  of  both  Houses,  who  have  granted 
seven  years  for  its  construction.  The  engineers 
are  Mr.  John  Fowler,  of  London,  and  Messrs.  Low 
and  Thomas,  of  Wrexham. 

The  Penzance  rural  sanitary  authority  have 
adopted  plans  for  the  sewerage  of  Marazion,  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  W.  Dennis,  C.E.,  and  estimated  to 
cost  in  execution  £1,200. 

The  Church  of  St.  Katherine,  at  Woodlands,  a 
suburb  of  Frome,  was  reopened  on  Saturday  week 
after  the  restoration  and  partial  rebuilding  of  the 
nave.  North  and  south  aisles  have  been  added  to 
the  nave,  with  new  Early  Decorated  windows, 
filled  with  tinted  cathedral  glass.  The  passages 
have  been  laid  with  encaustic  tiles,  and  the  flooring 
beneath  the  seats  h  is  been  relaid  with  wood-blocks 
arranged  herring-bone  fashion,  and  a  new  organ 
has  been  built  by  a  London  firm.  Mr.  J.  L.  Pear- 
son, R.A.,  was  the  architect,  and  Jlessrs.  J.  P.  and 
F.  Brown,  of  Fromi,  were  the  builders. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  hydropathic 
establishment  was  laid  at  Baslow,  bj-  the  Mayor  of 
Sheffield,  on  Wednesday  week.  The  enterprise  is 
undertaken  by  a  limited  liability  company,  having 
a  capital  of  £10,OUO.  The  site  is  within  a  short 
distance  of  Chatsworth  Park.  Mr.  S.  L.  Swann  is 
the  architect,  and  the  contractors  are  Messrs. 
Armitage  and  Hodgson,  Mr.  Ezra  S.  Cartwright 
being  clerk  of  the  works,  and  Mr.  Hitchin  fore- 
man. The  totil  of  the  contracts  amounts,  with 
estimate  for  furniture,  to  £15,000. 

The  Settle  rural  sanitary  authority  last  week 
instructed  Mr.  John  Hartley  to  prepare  plans  for  a 
new  cemetery  at  Austwick. 

Of  the  new  school  of  St.  Kenelm,  Oxford, 
opened  last  week,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  of  Oxford,  is  the 
architect,  and  Mr.  Wells,  of  the  same  city,  the 
builder.  Accommodation  is  provided  at  present 
for  50  boys,  together  with  masters'  rooms. 

New  pumping-machinery  for  the  drainage  of  the 
Middle  Fen  district  has  been  set  up  at  Prickwillow, 
near  Ely,  and  was  publicly  started  on  Tuesday 
week.  The  district  drained  comprises  11,000  acres 
of  fen  land,  receiving  the  waters  of  a  yet  larger 
area  of  slightly  higher  land,  and  the  engiue  by 
which  the  water  has  hitherto  been  discharged  into 
the  Ouse  has  proved  insufficient  in  wet  seasons. 
The  new  centrifugal  pumping-machinery  has  been 
erected  by  Messrs.  Easton  and  Anderson,  of 
London,  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Carmichael, 
surveyor  to  the  commissioners,  and  will  raise  74 
tons  of  water  per  minute  to  a  height  of  12ft. 

At  Hucknall  Torkard,  on  Monday  week,  memo- 
rial stones  were  laid  of  a  new  Wesleyan  chapel  and 
school.  The  contract  for  building  has  been  let  to 
Messrs.  Munks  and  Richer,  at  £1,600. 

Anew  drill-hall  for  the  1st  Norfolk  Artillery 
Volunteers,  was  opened  at  Great  Yarmouth  last 
week.  The  chief  room  is  73ft.  by  40ft.  wide,  and 
at  the  rear  are  orderly-room  and  committee-room, 
each  17ft.  by  I3ft.  "The  building  is  faced  exter- 
nally with  brick,  and  stone  dressings ;  and  the 
interior  of  the  hall  is  finished  with  bands  of 
red,  white,  and  blue  in  brickwork  and  stucco. 
All  the  joinery  is  of  pitch-pine  varnished,  and  the 
main  roof  is  of  the  same  material.  Mr.  Arnott,  of 
Yarmouth,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Want  the 
builder. 


The  Building  Rews.  Jul.  30.  I^^O 


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July  30,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


137 


luilbins  Jnttlligtnct 


Blaexgwawp.. — NcTv  scliools  for  the  Aberdare 
School  Board  were  opened  here  on  the  28th  ult. 
The  buildings  have  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  J. 
Morgan,  of  Aberdare,  from  the  designs  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  E.  H.  Lingeu 
Barker,  of  Hereford,  the  Board's  architect,  and 
without  the  aid  of  a  clerk  of  works.  The  -walls 
are  built  with  local  stone,  in  level  bedded 
courses,  with  a  cavity  and  internal  brick  lining. 
Forest  of  Dean  stone  has  been  used  for  di-essings, 
and  the  pointed  relieving  arcliea  over  windows 
and  the  door  arches  are  carried  out  wich  red  and 
white  bricks,  similar  materials  in  bands  being 
used  in  thd  tops  of  all  the  gables,  the  chimney- 
stacks  being  of  white  fire-bricks  only.  The 
roofs,  whicb  are  covered  with  the  best  Bangor 
slates,  are  of  open  description  inside,  the  curved 
principals  being  supported  on  stone  corbels,  and 
the  other  timbers  being  stained  and  varnished 
and  plastered  between.  Accommodation  is  pro- 
vided for  754  children  according:  to  the  new,  and 
797  according  to  the  old.  Government  regulation  ; 
and  the  cost  has  been  for  the  school  buildings, 
with  their  offices,  £3,122  lis.  9d.,  £62  lis.  9d. 
of  this  amount  having  been  found  necessary  for 
additional  foundation  works.  The  cost  per 
head  has  therefore  been  £4  2s.  lOd.  according  to 
the  former,  or  £3  ISs.  4d.  according  to  the  latter 
calculation.  The  outlay  on  the  boundary  and 
division  walls  and  gates  was  £2.50  lis.  9d., 
bringing  up  the  expenditure,  independent  of  the 
fitting-i:p  and  furnishing  of  the  rooms,  and  the 
formation  and  draining  of  playgromids,  to 
£3,372  3s.  6d. 

Clon-iexlty. — A  new  Roman  Catholic  church, 
dedicated  to  St.  Mary  the  Immaculate,  was 
consecrated  on  Sunday  at  Clonakilty,  co.  Cork. 
The  style  adopted  is  pure  Gothic  of  an  Early 
French  type,  and  the  edifice  consists  of  nave, 
1.5Sft.  long  by  32ft.  (iin.  wide  ;  aisles,  each  72ft. 
by  IGft.;  transepts,  each  32ft.  6in.  by  32ft.  Cin., 
and  with  a  total  width  from  north  to  south  of 
109ft.  6in.;  side  chapels,  20ft.  by  16ft.  3in.;  and 
baptistery,  16ft.  square.  The  height  to  ridge  of 
nave  ruof  is  SOft.,  and,  from  floor-line  to  centre 
rib  of  groining,  6.5ft.  At  the  north-western 
angle  is  a  tower,  at  present  unfinished,  but, 
ultimately,  to  be  capped  by  a  spire.  The  dressings 
are  of  Bally  Knockdane  granite.  The  lighting 
is  by  ranges  of  lancets,  with  clerestory,  and  a 
large  wheel-window  at  the  west  end,  and  in 
either  transept.  In  the  apsidal  sanctuary  are 
three  two-light  windows,  with  traceried  heads, 
and  filled  with  stained  glass,  representing  the 
Visitation,  the  Assumption,  and  the  Nativity. 
The  arcades  between  the  nave  and  its  aisles  are 
carried  across  the  transepts,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
large  piers,  otherwise  necessary  at  the  angles  of 
the  transept,  and  giving  a  less  disturbed  view 
of  the  high  altar.  The  columns  of  the  arcade 
have  capitals  and  sub-bases  of  granite,  bases  of 
limestone,  and  shafts  of  Aberdeen  pohshed 
granite.  The  roofs  of  both  nave  and  aisles  have 
arched  principals,  the  spaces  between  being 
filled  with  wood  groining,  having  carved  bosses 
at  the  intersections  of  ribs.  The  transepts  have 
barrelled  vaults  of  wood,  the  surface  between 
ribs  being  boarded-in  witli  3in.  wide  yellow 
pine.  The  transepts  and  aisles  are  floored  with 
Peak's  tUes,  the  other  floors  being  of  wood. 
The  high  altar  has  been  executed  by  Messrs. 
Eardley  and  Powell,  of  Dublin,  at  a  cost  of 
f  C73  ;  it  is  largely  composed  of  white  marble, 
relieved  with  coloured  marbles.  The  altar  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  was  erected  by  Mr.  Persse,  of 
Dublin,  at  a  cost  of  £350,  and  that  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  by  Mr.  P.  J.  Soannell,  of  Cork, 
at  a  cost  of  £250  ;  at  the  west  end  of  church  is 
an  organ- gallery.  The  total  cost  has  been 
£29,000.  Mr.  G.  C.  Ashlin,  of  DubUn,  was  the 
architect  ;  Mr.  Cotta,  of  Cork,  executed  the 
carving  in  wood ;  and  Mr.  Hodgkinson,  of 
Limerick,  the  painting  and  decoration. 

EDixBrEon.  —  Tlie  reredos  in  St.  Mary's 
Cathedral,  Edinburgh,  has  now  been  completed 
by  the  insertion  of  the  principal  piece  of  sculp- 
ture. Designed  by  the  architect  of  the  Cathedral, 
the  reredos  stands  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
chancel,  but  at  some  distance  from  the  east 
wall.  It  is  constructed  of  reddish-veined  ala- 
baster, with  enrichments  in  variously-coloured 
marbles,  and  sculptures  in  white  Carrara  ;  the 
most  important  of  the  latter  being  the  relievo  of 
the  Crucifixion,  by  Miss  Grant,  niece  of  the  late 


Sir  Francis  Grant,  P.R.A.,  which  occupies  the 
centre  of  the  design.  The  structure,  which  is 
approached  by  steps  from  the  level  of  the  chan- 
cel floor,  presents  a  ccutral  elevation,  and  two 
receding  wings  ;  the  extreme  width  being  over 
20ft.,  and  the  height  to  the  topmost  pinnacle 
being  represented  by  a  similar  figure.  The 
lower  stage  consists  of  a  plain  base,  about  5ft. 
high,  surmounted  by  a  carved  cornice.  Over 
this  there  rises,  upon  two  pairs  of  verde  antico 
marble  shafts,  a  wide  pointed  arch,  decorated 
with  beautiful  undercut  carving,  and  carrying  a 
crocketed  gablet,  with  ornamental  cross  by  way 
of  fiuial.  The  gablet  supports  four  angelic 
figures,  and  its  t3-mpanum  is  pierced  by  a  six- 
leaved  opening,  the  spandrels  being  filled  in  with 
delicate  mosaic  work.  Within  and  behind  this 
arch,  is  a  second  of  cu.spcd  form,  supported  at 
either  side  by  a  cluster  of  four  columns,  of  pink- 
ish Jura  marble.  Here,  too,  the  outline  of  the 
arch  displays  rich  c  irved  work,  the  spandrels  of 
the  cusps,  like  the  gablet  above,  being  filled 
with  mosaic.  Behind  tliis,  again,  comes  an 
arcade  of  three  openings — that  in  the  centre 
being  cusped  and  somewhat  wider  and  higher 
than  the  other  two — resting  on  four  octagonal 
columns  of  Jura  marble,  of  a  somewhat  darker 
shade  than  those  just  mentioned,  and  forming, 
so  to  speak,  a  screen  to  the  central  relievo.  The 
low  base,  on  which  the  supporting  columns 
stand,  presents  in  front  a  row  of  five  medallions, 
inclosing  figures  of  winged  angels,  who  severally 
hold  the  instruments  of  the  Passion.  Behind 
the  arcade  is  placed  Miss  Grant's  design,  which 
entirely  fills  the  three  openings.  In  the  centre 
arch  appears  the  Christ  in  full  relief — the  cross, 
however,  being  only  raised  upon  the  background. 
On  the  spectator's  left  of  the  cross  stands  the 
Virgin,  and  behind  her,  in  somewhat  lower 
relief,  the  wife  of  Cleophas,  closely  draped,  and 
glancing  upward  at  the  Crucified.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  cross  is  a  Roman  soldier,  and 
beside  him,  in  stronger  relief,  the  Apostle  John . 
Seated  on  the  ground,  by  the  foot  of  the  cro.'^s, 
is  the  Magdalene.  Through  the  smaller  arch, 
to  the  spectator's  right,  is  seen  the  good  Cen- 
turion. Another  soldier,  towards  the  back- 
ground, stands  with  folded  arms  surveying  the 
scene  ;  and  these  figures  are  balanced,  in  the 
opposite  side  arch,  by  a  couple  of  priests.  The 
background  is  occupied  with  a  picture,  in  low 
relief,  showing  groups  of  spectators  and  soldiers 
on  horseback,  rocks  and  hUls,  on  which  is  a 
shepherd  with  his  flock,  and  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem  in  the  distance.  The  statues,  also 
modelled  by  Miss  Grant,  which  have  bi  en 
placed  in  two  niches  occupying  the  flanking 
wings  of  the  reredos,  are — on  one  side  St. 
Margaret  of  Scotland,  and  on  the  other,  St. 
Columba  bearing  the  crosier  of  St.  Fillans. 

ExETEK. — On  Wednesday,  the  new  building 
erected  for  the  Exeter  Grammar  School  was 
opened.  The  schools  have  been  constructed  of 
brickwork,  faced  and  adorned  with  Box-ground 
stone  dressings,  by  Messrs.  Stephens  and 
Bastow,  of  Bristol,  from  the  designs  of  Jlr. 
W.  Butterficld,  architect,  Adam-street,  Adelphi, 
London.  The  style  of  architecture  is  Gothic. 
On  the  ground-floor  of  the  main  centre  building 
is  placed  the  large  class-room,  SOft.  by  20ft., 
and  13ft.  3in.  in  height.  Adjoining,  are  four 
smaller  class-rooms,  each  22ft.  by  20ft.,  and 
13ft.  high,  these  being  similarly  lighted  and 
ventilated.  The  great  dining-  hall,  a  .spacious 
and  hand.some  apartment,  66ft.  byi'2ft.,  has  an 
open  arched  roof,  is  25ft.  in  height  at  the  apex, 
and  loft,  at  the  wall-plate,  and  is  lighted  on 
both  sides  by  tracery  windows,  filled  with 
Cathedral  glass.  The  necessary  domestic  offices 
are  situated  at  the  north  end,  and  the  food  will 
bo  brought  up  from  the  kitchen  by  means  of  a 
lift.  At  the  extreme  N.E.  comer  of  the  build- 
ing, facing  the  front,  is  situated  the  master's 
common  room,  and  in  the  rear  are  the  domestic 
offices,  which  are  entered  by  a  door  on  the  east 
side,  approached  by  a  flight  of  steps  leading 
from  Victoria  road.  Over  the  class-rooms  are 
ranged  on  the  first  floor  nineteen  studies  for 
boys,  12ft.  by  7ft.  9in.,  and  8ft.  6in.  high.  In 
the  turret  portion  of  the  edifice,  at  the  N.E. 
end,  are  placed  the  master's  bed  and  sitting- 
rooms,  three  bath-rooms,  and  a  Unen-room.  The 
heating  apparatus  has  been  furnished  by  Messrs. 
Edwards  and  Son,  of  Great  Marlborough- 
street,  London.  Mr.  J.  Newton  has  acted 
throughout  as  clerk  of  the  works,  and  Mr.  C. 
Hampton  as  foreman. 

Ludlow,  Salop. — The  comer-stoiie  of  a  new 


church  was  laid  on  Iho  8lh  inst.,  at  Gravel-hill. 
The  new  building  is  to  l)e  dedicated  to  St.  John 
tho  Evangelist  ;  its  stylo  wUl  bo  the  Middle 
Pomtcd.  Tho  church  will  consi.-t  of  a  nave, 
chancel,  south  aisle,  vestrv,  and  porcli.  There 
will  bo  no  tower  or  spire,"  but  a  bcll-CGt  oa  the 
west  gable  of  tho  nave,  and  will  contain  one  boll. 
Tho  walls  will  bo  of  native  stone  and  Bath  stou'j 
dreesmgs.  Tho  roofs  will  bo  of  piteU-pmo  and 
covered  with  Broselcv  tiles ;  tho  total  cost  will 
be  about  £4,,')00  ;  the  architect  is  Mr.  A.  W. 
Blomfield,  of  Muutagu-plaoe.  >rontagu-st|uare, 
London ;  the  contractors  are  5rei«rs.  Wall  and 
Hook,  of  Brimscomb.',  Gloucesterthiro  ;  fore- 
man of  works,  Mr.  William  Day. 

The  Lo.vno.N  School  Boakd,  at  its  meeting 
on  Wednesday,  accepted  tenders  for  new  scliooU 
at  Bromlcy-by-Bow,  Fnlham-fields,  and  Clap- 
haiii-road,  and  for  the  enlargement  of  the  school 
on  London-fields,  Hackney  ;  the  amount  of  tho 
tenders  are  given  elsewlierc.  It  was  reportfd 
that  it  had  been  decided  the  Waterloo-road 
school,  now  in  course  of  erection,  by  Mr.  Mary- 
land, of  York-street,  Walworth,  should  be 
enlarged  by  400  sjliool-plnces,  on  a  contract 
schedule  of  prices,  with  an  addition  of  5  per 
cent,  as  compensation  for  tho  ri-so  in  tho  price  of 
building  materials ;  the  quantities  for  the 
enlargement  had  been  taken  out,  and  showed 
that  the  cost  would  amount  to  £3,402,  equivalent 
to  £S  13s.  Id.  per  head.  The  works  committee 
were  authorised  to  expend  the  following  stimsou 
furniture  and  fittings  for  enhirged  schooU: 
Star-lane,  Fulhain,  £273  17«.  5d.,  400  school- 
places,  equalling  a  cost  of  Us.  8d.  per  head ;  and 
Beresford-street,  Walworth,  £423  18s.,  002 
school-places,  equalling  14s.  lOd.  per  head.  Mr. 
W.  Murray,  formerly  a  furniture  inspector  to 
the  board,  vas  appointed  as  permanent  "  mea- 
suring clerk,"  in  the  stead  of  tho  late  Mr.  Wm. 
Blackmore,  at  a  salary  of  £300  per  annum,  his 
duties  being  to  furnish  estimates  of  provisions 
in  tenders,  and  to  measure  aUo,  on  completion 
of  schools,  all  alterations,  omissions,  and  addi- 
tions. Mr.  W.  Clark,  an  assistant,  was  appointed 
for  six  months  to  act  as  furniture  inspector,  at  a 
salary  of  £170  per  annum. 

OvEE  Haddon.— On  Monday,  the  new  Church 
of  St.  Anne,  Over  Iladdon,  near  Bakcwell,  was 
consecrated.  The  church,  which  is  in  tho  Deco- 
rated Gothic  style,  has  been  built  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  H.  Cockbain,  architect,  of  Mid. 
dleton,  near  Manchester,  and  consists  of  a  nave 
with  south  porch,  a  chancel  with  vestry  on  the 
north  side,  and  baptistry,  from  which  projects 
the  western  end  of  tho  nave,  and  is  finished 
above  with  an  open  battlemcntcd  parapet.  The 
walls  are  built  of  marble  parpoints,  and  the 
chancel  and  porch  walls  arc  lined  internally 
with  wrought  stone.  The  credence,  .sedilia,  ond 
piscina,  the  reredos  and  the  font  arc  all 
enriched  by  the  use  of  Cornish  serpentine  shifts. 
The  centre  panel  of  the  reredos  has  a  white 
statuary  marble  cross  on  a  rich  red  marble 
ground.  The  nave  and  porch  floor  are  paved 
n  ith  Messrs.  Maw's  tiles ;  the  chancel  and 
baptistry  arc  paved  with  marble  mosaic,  and  the 
borders  enriched  with  inlaid  work.  The  general 
contractors  are  Messrs.  J.  R.  and  A.  Hill, 
TideswcU  and  Litton.  Tho  benches  were  sup- 
plied by  Mr.  John  Heywood,  of  Manchester  : 
and  tlie  wrought-iroii  entrance  pates  by 
Messrs.  Thomason,  of  Birmingham  and  Man- 
chester. 

PEXDLEErBY.— The  congregation  now  wor- 
shipping in  the  Congregational  Chapel, 
Peudlcbury,  Manchester,  are  about  to  build  a 
new  placo"of  worship,  from  drawings  prrparcd 
by  Mr  J.  P.  rritchett,M.R.I.B.A..  of  Darling- 
ton.  The  church  Udesignrd  in  the  "  Eirlr  Deco- 
rative "  style  of  Gothic  architecture,  and  com- 
pri-scs,  nave  62ft.  by  25ft.,  ai.slfs  'ca.;li  .>.ft.  by 
lOft.,  and  choir,  ICft.  by  14ft.  There  w  « 
vestibule  in  the  front,  with  staini-  T  rnr»,  .,dr-^ 
and  vestries  behind  the  church 
the  choir  :  the  nave  is  8eparate<l  : 
by  arcades  of  light  iron  piK 
moulded  arches  of  wo.>.l,  and  fr-n  •  n-  ;_  n...  •■ 
above  these  springs  a  "  wagKX)n-h.  vlc-d  root. 
The  choir  or  chancel  arch  is  of  »ton. ,  ramcd  by 
red  Penrith  pillars,  having  carved  capiUls  «nd 
moulded  ba.ses.  The  present  aecomm»laticm 
will  be  for  351  adults  on  the  ground-floor, 
besides  20  in  the  choir  and  52  in  an  end-g»l  cry 
overthc  vestibule,  or  a  total  of  123  ;  the  buiMing 
is  to  be  erected  of  h.ammer-drcsi«d  wall  sfnc. 
with  dressings  of  chiselled  a.-ihlar ;  the  roof-  to 


138 


THE   BUILDING   NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


be  covered  'nritli  Lancashire  or  dark  Westmore- 
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road,  Salford. 

TWoTB  than  Fifty  Thousand  Keplles  an_d 

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J>v   SAlNi'  ■     r     t    °f  th-in    fmm    the   pens   of  the    Imding 


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the  coincidence  that  in  Ireland  the  triformin 
arcade  is  missing,  and  that  the  clerestory  and 
aisle  windows  are  comparatively  dwarfed,  and 
that  the  sanctuary  and  reredos  have  not  yet 
come  to  hand.  ,r     t,  l^ 

We  are  very  much  puzzled  by  Mr.  Butter- 
field's  statements  in  re  gas-pipes;  for  by  his 
practice  here  he  is  quite  as  Iri>h  as  we  are  oirr- 
selves,  if  not  more  so.  Here  he  has  buned  his 
.'as-raains  below  the  tiled  floors  of  his  church, 
and  has  cut  holes  through  his  columns  to  make 
a  passage  for  his  gas-pipes.  Here  he  pamt^ 
some  of  the  stone  ci.lumns  in  his  clerestory,  and 
makes  them  and  other  stone  details,  with  pamt, 
to  shine  in  the  simiUtude  of  polished  marble. 
We  have,  by  order  of  the  architect,  a  cross  of 
rusty  nail-heads  in  the  joinery  work  all  over  the 
church,  which  is  not  a  commonplnee  feature  in 
our  churches  ;  but  we  suppose  it  is  a  new  develop- 
ment of  Gothic  feeling.  Wt  have  in  the  two 
hundred  and  odd  pieces  of  the  small  wooden 
lectern  a  standing  marvel,  not  of  Gothic  wood 
construction,  but  of  Spriggish  mosaic. 

It  is  only  when  we  reach  certain  windows  and 
their  sloping  jambs  in  Dundela  church  porches, 
that  we  defimtely  soar  above  "commonplace  " ; 
there  is  a  fine  feeling  for  "  Early  Iri^h  "  peculi- 
arities in  these  slopiug  jambs,  and  it  has  been 
reserved  to  the  architect  of  the  Beresford  fund 
to  catch  the  frenzy  of  it.  The  "old  church  at 
Banagher"  has  sloping  j ambs,  but  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Celts,  ' '  Dundela  bangs  Banagher." 
Our°"  Zebra  tower  "  is  not  commonplace  in  any 
part  of  Europe  ;  'tis  another  of  our  nstless  Irish 
o-rievances,  and  is  unique  for  all  time  in  a  land 
famous  for  its  towers.  In  passing  it  last  Sunday 
evening,  I  overheard  a  fervent  native  pray, 
"May  Saint  Patrick  save  us  from  any  more  of 
that  pattern." 

We  grieve  to  say  its  author  has  forsaken  us  ; 
so  that  we  may  no  more  make  meny  over  his 
Anglo-Irish  Bulls,  nor  mourn  over  his  "buried 
gas-pipes." — I  am,  &c.,  I.  J.  Phillips. 

Belfast,  July  27. 


on  that  side,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  being 
satisfied  there  was  no  defence.  I  mention  this 
to  prove  that  mature  judgment  is  not  always 
the  "unpleasant  accompaniment  of  age";  m 
fact,  is  it  not  notable  that  the  more  de.-^perate  the 
case  the  greater  the  necessity  of  retaining  the 
most  eminent  counsel  ?  But,  fortunately,  they 
do  not  always  win. 

Mr.  Fletcher  ought  not,  therefore,  to  go  out 
of  his  way  to  trample  on  youth,  for — 
"  Youth  is  not  rich  in  time,  it  may  be  poor ; 
Part  with  it  as  with  money,  sparing  ;  pay 
No  moment,  but  in  purchase  of  its  worth  ; 
And  what  its  worth,  ask  death-beds ;  they  can  tell. 
Part  with  it  as  with  hfe,  reluctant '.  " 
Th3  same  spirit  as  that  expressed  in  Edward 
Toung's  lines  actuates  every  faithful  young  man 
in  defending  the  reputation  his  precious  youth 
has   gaiaed  for  him.     I   willingly   join    in   so 
noble  a  fight. 

I  feel  sure  Mr.  Fletcher  would  not  consciously 
or  intentionally  wrong  any  young  man  who  is 
striving  honourably  and  diligently  to  attain,  at 
least,  the  same  amount  of  distinction  in  his 
profession  as  Mr.  Banister  Fletcher  has  attained 
for  himself  in  his  time  of  life. — I  am,  &c., 
July  23.  H.  H.  BEmoHAN. 


LIGHT    AND    AIR   CASE.  —  LAYBOUKN 
V.  KIDSTON 


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ME.  ErTTEEFIELD'S  CHURCHES. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BuiLDrso  News. 
SiE,— Can  it  be  po.'sible  that  when  Mr.  Butter- 
field  com' s  to  Ireland  he  makes  us  the  exception 
to  his  general  rules  ?  We  have  in  the  suburbs 
of  Belfast  the  nave  and  tower  of  a  Buttcrfield 
chur  jh  ;  we  hope  he  will  never  disown  it,  or  call 
it  "commonplace,"  as  he  did  the  photo-litho 
you  published  of  Melbjunie  Cathedral. 

We  fear  that  such  a  repudi  ition  bodes  ill  to 
the  reputation  of  our  interior,  which  some  archi- 
tects here  consider  is  a  fac  simile  of  that  by  the 
Auatrallaii  Skctchtr.     It  docs  not  interfere  with 


SiE, — Mr.  Banister  Fletcher,  in  his  answer 
to  Mr.  Tomlinson  this  week,  in  the  above 
case,  in  my  opinion  goes  out  of  his  way 
to  reflect  on  the  latter  gentleman's  judge- 
ment, on  the  score  of  youth.  Now,  if  age  is  to 
be  the  measure  of  judgment,  I  cannot  help  think- 
ing there  is  an  exception  to  the  rule  in  Mr. 
Fletcher's  case,  or  he  would  not,  I  am  sure,  be 
so  severe  on  one  "  in  whose  veins  runs,"  as  he 
designates  it,  "  the  '  hot  blood'  of  youth." 

Mr.  Fletcher  says  he  has  not  one  word  to  say 
against  Mr.  Tomlinson,  "except  his  youth"  ; 
and  what  has  he  to  say  against  that  ?  If, 
as  Mr.  Fletcher  continues,  "we  cannot  expect 
mature  judgment  without  the  unpleasant  accom- 
paniment of  age,"  why  does  he  go  so  far  to  dis- 
prove it  by  the  rather  indiscreet  observation  that 
follows,  viz.,  "  and  those  of  your  readers  who 
do  not  know  him,  would,  I  fancy,  certainly  {sic) 
from  his  passionate  attack  on  a  gencleman  who 
stands  in  the  front  rank  of  our  profession,  .  .  ." 
I  cannot  help  submitting.  Sir,  that  Mr.  Tomlin- 
son's  letter  is  written  in  quite  as  manly,  and  in 
as  dispassionate,  a  manner  as  Mr.  Fletcher's. 

Mr.  Tomlinson,  we  are  told,  is  young  (I  trust 
youth  is  no  discredit  to  an  architect,  for  I  am 
young  myself  and  do  not  regret  it,  although 
possibly  I  may  lack  the  necessary  accompaniment 
of  "mature  judgment"),  but  from  the  cor- 
respondence I  should  have  imagined  him  to  be 
quite  as  old  as  Mr.  Fletcher,  for  his  let  ter  is 
written  in  equally  as  terse  and  lucid  a  manner 
as  that  of  his  antagonist ;  and  I  should  say. 
with  all  deference  to  Mr.  Banister's  opinion, 
that  he  has  acquitted  himself  creditably  of  the 
important  charge  committed  to  him  by  his  client, 
and  has  proved  himself  as  capable  as  most  men 
of  protecting  his  client's  interests. 

I  beg  Mr.  Fletcher  will  not  hold  up  either 
of  the  honourable  gentlemen  whose  names 
he  has  mentioned  as  being  infallible,  for 
I  have  recently  proved  them  both  to  be  as 
fallible  as  other  men  in  one  and  the  same  case. 
Mr.  I' Anson  and  Mr.  Hesketh  were  both  retained 
by  the  defendant  in  a  notable  case  in  the  city, 
I  w-hilst  I,  amongst  others,  gave  evidence  on 
I  behalf  of  the  plaintiff.  In  this  case  the  evidence 
\  for  the  plaintiff  was  so  overwhelming  that 
[  neither  of  the  said  honourable  gentlemen  was 
'  called,  nor,  indeed,  any  of  the  other  witnesses 


THE  ST.  PAUL'S  ECCLESIOLOGICAL 
SOCIETT  AT  CANTERBURY. 
Sm,— I  do  not  know  who  is  responsible  for  the 
account  of  the  visit  to  our  Cathedral,  which  has 
beenforwarded  to  you  ;  but  whoever  is  the  author, 
it  reflects  very  little  credit  upon  him ;  and  I 
would  strono-lv  adrise  the  St.  Paul's  Ecclesiolo- 
gical  Society,  "the  next  time  they  visit  our  city, 
to  secure  the  services  of  some  really  trustworthy 
guide  to  the  building,  for  there  can  be  no  douBt 
that  the  person  who"  ofliciated  in  that  capacity 
is  answerable  for  some,  if  not  most,  of  the  blun- 
ders that  have  been  transmitted  to  your  pages. 
I  have  indicated  them  in  the  following :  — 

1 .  Dr.  Thomas  is  not  an  Momrarij  Canon,  hut 
I  am  happy  to  say  a  regular  member— and  a 
most  aflectionately  regarded,  and  profoundly 
respected  one — of  our  Cathedral  Chapter. 

2.  The  "  scraped  appearance "  evident 
"throughout"  the  building,  exists  chiefly  in 
the  imagination  of  your  correspondent.  The 
nave  cer'tainly  has  been  restored  and  cleaned  ; 
and  sadlv  it  needed  it. 

3.  The  central  tower  appears  the  oldest  por- 
tion, not  through  any  special  decay  of  its  ma- 
sonry, but  because  the  greater  part  of  the  remain- 
der    of  the   exterior   of    the  building  has  been 

4.  The  two  Williams,  or  rather  the  first  of 
the  name,  did  not  incorporate  any  palpable- 
portion  of  Lanfranc's  choir— which  latter,  in- 
deed, was  pulled  down  almost  entirely.  Your 
correspondent  means  the  choir  of  Emulph. 

5.  The  Saxon  nave  terminated  in  an  apse  at 
the  west  end,  but  of  its  exact  extent  we  know 
little.  Neither  was  it  burnt  down  "between 
1170  and  1220."  It  is  Lanfranc's  n.ive  which 
occupied  the  same  area— having  no  western  apse 
—as  the  present  one,  but  that  part  of  the  build- 
ing was  not  destroyed  by  fii-e,  but  replaced  by 
Perpendicidar  work  in  the  regular  way.    _ 

6.  What  authoritv  is  there  for  referring  the 
upper  part  of  the  "  Cro-n-n  "  to  a  period  so  early 
as  the  1.5th  century  ?  or  for  doubtitig  that  St. 
Andrew's  and  St.  Ansebn's  chapels  were  once 
towers  ;  these  latter  arc— if  I  rightly  recollect- 
so  represented  in  the  Norman  drawing. 

7.  The  " picturesciue  flight  of  stt.ne  steps" 
leads  to  the  east  transept,  and  not  to  the  treasury 
— except  by  a  very  roundabout  way. 

8.  The  "dark  passage"  mentioned  does  not 
run  anywhere  near  the  choir  steps. 

9.  Thegarth  of  the  cloisters  is  not  a  "small  " 
one — according  to  the  usual  cloistral  areas. 

10.  The  Early  English  work  in  the  latter 
seems  to  have  been  ignored  by  your  corre- 
spondent. 

11.  The  pavement  of  the  "Martyrdom"  has 
much  of  it  been  removed  since  the  time  of  the 
Murder. 

12.  The  staircase  in  this  arm  is  distinctly 
Lanfranc's  unaltered  work,  and  ought  to  have 
been  pointed  out. 

13.  The  bigness  of  the  Perpendicular  piers  of 
the  Great  Tower  is  simply  owing  to  the  fact  of 
their  retaining  Lanfranc's  cores.  A  piece  of  the 
plinth  is  visible  on  the  south  side. 

14.  For  "dog-tooth"  substitute  "Astorite"; 
and  "chevron"  and  zigzag  may  be  considered- 


July  30,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


139 


ideutical   ( Jl'iUis   is   partly   answerable  for  the 
first  error) . 

15.  The  " patriarchal  chair"  is  not  "rude" 
in  its  workmanship,  but  very  accurately  cut. 

16.  The  loft  over  St.  Anselm's  Chapel  is 
not  now  regrarded  as  a  watching-  chamber.  It 
seems  much  too  far  off  for  such  a  purpose. 

17.  The  *' false  j^eri^pective "  spoken  of  is  an 
accident,  caused  by  the  opening-out  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  east  transi-pt.  The  graduation 
of  the  bays  was  done  by  William  of  Sens  to  save 
the  fortifying  of  more  of  the  crypt  piers  than 
was  nece>sarJ^  If  the  architect  had  intended  to 
produce  the  effect  stated  (which,  by  the  bye,  is 
obviously  fcvtrstd  when  the  choir  is  viewed 
from  the  east)  he  would  not  have  widened  his 
eastern  bays  again,  causing  one  of  them  to 
stride  bodily  over  the  crypt  pier. 

18.  The  "Alexandrine"  mosaic  does  not 
mark  the  site  of  the  shrine  of  Bccket.  The 
latter  stood  more  east,  and  its  position  is  defined  i 
by  a  channelling  in  the  pavement,  which  ought 
to  have  been  explained  to  the  visitors. 

19.  The  exhumation  of  the  body  of  "Becket" 
is,  indeed,  a  miracle  in  comparison  with  which 
all  that  is  asserted  to  have  been  done  by  that 
archbishop  during  his  lifetime  sinks  iuto  utter 
insignificance.  The  fine  of  Hmg  Henry  IV. 
was  laid  bare  to  the  light  during  the  year  1832. 
The  present  Mr.  Austin  was  then  a  boy — or 
Uttlemore — and,  if  a  T\'itness  of  the  "exhumation" 
at  all,  was  so  only  by  favour  or  by  connivance. 
The  "  38  years  ago  "  is  (as  will  be  seen)  purely 
mythical,  according  to  the  foregoing  date,  which 
is  that  given  by  Summerly. 

20.  The  Lady-chaptl  in  the  crypt  is  not 
"Perpendicular"  in  the  date  of  its /oumlti  I  ion  ; 
neither  had  Lady  Mohun  anything  to  do  with 
such  founding.  She  merely  wished  her  remains 
to  have  the  companionship  of  the  pillars  of  this 
central  chantry. 

21.  The  remark  about  "acid,"  fee,  looks  to 
me  somewhat  like  a  piece  of  spite  from  some- 
body. The  Chapel  of  St.  John  has  been  care- 
fully opened,  and  the  frescoes  restored  in  a  most 

■aiasterly  manner  by  Mr.  Neale,  tracings  ha^■ing 
been  taken  at  the  same  time.  The  chapel  is  acces- 
sible to  the  public — under  proper  restrictions. 

22.  The  assertion  about  the  "well"  is  very 
■open  to  question.  The  orifice  seems  to  be  that 
of  a  niche  or  water-drain  for  the  usual  purpose, 
only  that  it  is  nearer  the  ground  than  is 
common.  The  monastery  of  Christ  Church  was 
abundantly  suppUod  by  water  -from  a  spring 
situated  about  a  mile  away  (sea  the  Greater 
Norman  Drawing),  and  a  "  well"  in  the  Crypt 
Transept  would  have  been  as  useless  as  out  of  place. 
As  for  stones  being  dropped  in,  the  Vergers  are 
far  too  careful  to  allow  anything  of  that  sort  to 
be  done, — as  a  practice. 

There  are  other  statements  which  are  errone- 
ous, such  as  that  which  ascribes  to  Grinling 
Gibbons,  the  "carving"  of  the  "deal"  pews 
or  pens,  just  got  rid  of  (both  carving  and  ma- 
terial being  purely  imaginary  as  regards  this 
precise  portion) :  and  there  are  others  which  are 
doubtful,  such  as  the  remarks  about  "  wiriness" 
of  reredos,  and  lack  of  vigour,  in  Austin's 
Tower- window  mouldings.  But  the  foregoing 
will  be  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  general 
untmstworthiness  of  the  account  sent  to  you. — 
Tours,  &c.  John  W.  Waemax,  A.C.O. 


have  an  interest  in  producing  good  work,  applies 
quite  as  forcibly  to  house  construction  when 
once  it  becomes  open  to  inspection,  and  is  carried 
out  under  a  system  of  certificates.  A  "  Civil 
Engineer "  refers  to  the  helplessness  of  the 
Metropolitan  Board,  permitting  improper 
materials  to  be  employed;  but  under  the  regime 
of  Mr.  Cresswell,  there  is  no  reason  why  that 
body  should  not  become  the  Lloyd  of  building 
in  the  Metropolis  at  least.  The  "Civil  En- 
gineer's "  onslaught  on  the  modern  fashionable 
building  specification  is  justified  ;  it  is,  after  all, 
too  much  a  matter  of  form,  and  the  practical 
builder  treats  it  as  such  ;  but  this  is  a  strong 
additional  argument  in  favour  of  a  classification 
and  inspection  of  dwellings.  In  these  times  of 
fashionable  architects,  when  the  Queen  Anne 
or  Dutch  William  craze  overwhelms  one  or  two 
architects  with  so  much  work  that  they  cannot 
spare  time  to  attend  to  the  construction,  or 
supply  details  for  their  own  buildings,  can  we 
wonder  r  And  these  are  men  who  often  prate 
the  most  about  the  old  medijeval  architect  who 
devoted  his  whole  mind  and  energy  to  one  build- 
ing at  a  time.     Results  speak  for  themselves. — I 

am,  &C.  AKCHITECTtJS. 


l-NDEEVVEITIXG  DWELLING-HOCSES. 
SiE,  —  It  is  doubtless  true,  as  "  Civil 
Engineer"  hints,  that  a  modem  dwelling-house 
is  a  more  complex  structure  than  an  iron  vessel ; 
that  the  forms  of  the  material  supplied  to  the 
shipbuilder  admit  of  easy  testing  ;  but  the 
facUity  with  which  the  parts  of  a  vessel  can  be 
inspected  is  not  entirely  owing  to  the  similarity 
between  all  vessels,  but  is  mainly  due  to  the 
system  of  classification  and  inspection  which  is 
adopted.  I  consider  that  if  the  processes  of 
laying  concrete  foundations,  building  footings  to 
walls,  inserting  air-bricks,  inspecting  thicknesses 
of  walls  and  timbers,  examining  lime  and  sand, 
were  duly  performed  in  a  regular  manner,  under 
inspection,  they  would  soon  be  considered  quite 
as  mechanical  as  the  punching  and  drilling  of 
rivet-holes.  Inspection  would  beget  method, 
and  duties  of  inspectors  would  become  di- 
minished. Every  stage  of  a  building's  progress 
would  be  submitted  to  the  supen-isor,  who 
might  pay  two  or  three  visits  a  day  if  necessary, 
and  materials  should  be  tested  before  being 
brought  upon  the  premises.  The  remark  that 
all  engaged  in  the  business  of  building  vessels 


Om  ANCIENT  MONUMENTS. 
Sm, — 'Tis  to  be  hoped  that  in  the  second  edi- 
tion of  this  work,  when  the  author  finds  time  to 
subside  into  a  nearer  approach  to  accuracy  in 
his  references,  he  will  not  omit  to  correct  his 
"lapsus"  in  re  the  Abbey  of  Downpatrick. 
You  might  well  have  placed  a  note  of  interroga- 
tion (?)  after  his  misleading  and  confused  infor- 
mation respecting  "the  pillars  in  Downpatrick 
Abbey,  similar  to  that  after  Kudston  and  Ruth- 
weU  (r)  pillars." — I  am,  &c.  Ulidia. 


PANELS  AT  WESTMINSTEK. 
SlE, — Some  years  ago,  when  I  was  sketching  the 
bronze  doors  to  Henry  the  Seventh's  Chapel  in 
Westminster  Abbej',  I  copied  in  my  book  a  panel 
which  is  identical  with  ihatso  cleverly  rendered  by 
Mr.  Pennington  in  your   photo-Iitho  of  23rd  iust.. 


and  stated  to  be  from  the  Chapter  House,  West- 
minster. I  am  curious  to  know  if  there  are  similar 
panels  in  both  places  in  the  Abbey  ;  also  if  there 
is  a  solid  plate  backing  to  either  panel,  or  is  it  only 
in  the  cast  ?  There  are  certain  peculiarities  in  the 
foliation  of  the  Tudor  roses  in  my  sketch  which  do 
not  appear  to  be  in  the  cast  in  the  museum. — I 
am,  &c., 

Belfast,  July  26.  I-  J.  PHILLIPS. 


A  new  Church  of  St.  James  was  opened  at  Tebay, 
near  Orton,  on  Tuesday  week.  The  building  con- 
sists of  chancel,  trauseptal  organ -chamber,  and 
nave,  the  western  end  being  semi -circular,  with  a 
round  towerlet,  finished  by  a  conical  roof.  X'nder 
this  west  end  is  a  crypt-vestry  and  a  heating- 
chamber.  The  walling  material  was  given  by  Mr. 
Penning,  of  the  Shap  granite  works,  and  is  lined 
with  red  and  white  brckwrik.  The  chancel  fittings, 
which  were  executed  by  Mr.  Huck,  of  Endmoor, 
are  of  walnut,  and  the  seating  in  the  nave  is  of 
pitch-pine.  The  flooring  throughout  is  of  wood- 
blocks. The  font  is  a  solid  block  of  local  granite, 
circular  in  form,  and  partly  polished,  with  an  in- 
scription in  large  letterine  carved  upon  it.  Mr. 
Ferguson,  of  Carlisle,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
Donaldson,  of  Barnard  Castle,  the  contractor.  The 
cost  of  erection  was  £1,6C0. 

The  east  window  of  the  parish-church  of  Wel- 
wick.  East  Eidin».  has  been  filled  with  stained 
gLiss  by  Messrs.  Heaton,  Butler,  and  Bayne.  ^-i 
London.  The  subjects  of  the  five  lights  are  ti. 
Nativity,  Baptism,  Crucifixion,  and  Ascension  •  r 
Our  Lord,  and  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghc.-t 
upon  the  Apostles  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost. 


r:utti-communication» 


Qi  i:!iTioys. 

,fil7s  ":-H:eatinB  Board  Schools  With  Hot 
•^"•■— t-uulu  any  of  your  n  udtin  infoiiu  uie  if  Uiure  are 
any  Board  Bchooln  (or  uiluiit»,  l,oy»,  uud  pjulii,  with  two 
ticjpatatt'  claus-rooni;!  to  luch  di  iwi-lmeiit,  all  on  tlie 
fc-round-Uoor,  that  uie  all  hiuttd  by  mciuu  of  hot  air  :— 
Mauciho. 

[0170.]— Builders"  Clerks'  Holida^.-WUl  oume 

one  kindly  mlurm  me  wlml  is  tlic-  lU^t.JUl  ua  regaidji 
holidays  !  Are  they  idlow.  d,  and  iii,.,ii  wlait  Iitihb  i»  it 
general  to  stop  their  suluriis  '.    Cun  tlii-y  tluiiu  uuy  Imie  '. 

—  O.NE  WHO  ISKIiUS  IT. 

;G180.]  —  Biittany.  —  Tlio  writer  would  be  glad  t4) 
know  il  there  is  u  guide  publiehid  treatinB  iinliy  fully 
of  lirittany  geucrully,  but  moie  cBpeciully  of  ita  architec- 
tural fcotures  ;  or  if  any  oi  your  truv.  Ikd  reodcia  would 
give  hiui  some  iuformauon  oo  thin  gubjcct  be  would  feci 
obliged.— M.  H.  C. 

[61SI.]— Kepaira.— A  lady  takes  a  houic  for  a  year, 
the  only  article  in  the  ugncment  bctutcn  her  and  Uind- 
lurd  as  to  repaire  is  tbul  the  picuiU'ts  oic  to  be  dclivirvd 
up  "  in  as  good  repairs  and  c.nditious  an  they  aic  io  at 
the  time  of  taking  po>«i6.Moii."  Iluviug  Ucn  iu  the  houiv 
three  mouths,  a  porliun  of  the  ceiling  fulls  down.  In  not 
the  lundlold  bound  to  icpuir :  It  uppcuik  so,  1  think,  by 
Table  XII.,  in  "  Dihipidatiuns,"  by  Uunistt-r  llctchcr. 
If  ho  refuses,  what  steps  lau  be  taken  to  e-umpel  him  to  do 
so,  the  tenant  losing  money  thiuugh  not  being  able  to  let 
the  room !— Survevob. 

[6182.]  —  Numerical  "Value  of  Log.— WOI  wm* 
kind  mathematical  leader  tell  me  how  to  hnd  tie  numeri- 
cal value  of  lui  '^"'.'1^1  J-1.00. 

[6183.]-Depth  of  Black  Clay  on  Poole  Head 
Beach.— I  am  told  that  ne.\t  below  the  black  cluy  cornea 
chalk,  with  excellent  water  supply,  2^  miles  west  of 
Bournemouth  Pier-  The  black  clay  erujis  up  a  few  feet 
higher  than  the  high-water  line.  Can  any  of  your  readcni 
kindly  say  («)  the  thickness  of  the  black  clay  bed,  h',  cost 
of  boringthe  same  ,(c)  probable  height  to  which  the  water 
would  rise  from  the  chalk  (adjacent  saiid-ciill  is  b7ft.!, 
((/}  best  sort  of  light  pier  to  run  out .'  The  chiy  sc-eini*  to 
extend  some  distance  into  tlie  sea,  and  the  fall  is  gradual. 
— FooLE  Head,  Poole. 


REPLIES. 

[6152.  J— Compensation.— B.,  as  sole  contractor  to 
A.,  is  responsible,  not  1)  ,  who  ia  only  a  sub-contractor. 
The  question  of  compensation  is,  of  couise,  between  C. 
and  I).,  and  then  if  there  is  no  agreement  as  to  time,  A 
cannot  sue  for  damages.— O.  H.  G. 

[6153.]— Sea-Sand.— "  C.  F.  M."  had  better  batten 
his  wall  if  he  wants  to  insure  perfect  dryness.  Thin  sbccta 
of  lead  or  tinfoil  is  the  only  way  I  know  of  for  clfcctaally 
hiding  the  damp  places,  and  tliis  requires  to  be  done  with 
gi-eat  caie.  The  '* Indestructible"  or  retiifying  Uqoid 
is  also  a  good  solution  for  applying  to  damp  walls.  — 
a.  H.  G. 

[616".] -Pitch  forTiled  Roof.— The  required  lap  in 
roof-tiliBg  vaiiesfrom'-'Ain.  to3Ain.,  according  to  the  pitch 
of  roof.  Beckett's  H-irXf  ord,  Cheshire,  verve  tiles  secure 
uniformity  of  lap,  besides  supplying  a  substantial  and 
ornamental  finish.- C.  H.  M. 

[6167.;— Pitch  for  Tiled  Roof.— In  mv  reply  on 
p.  113  there  ore  two  errors.  "IJm."  should  be  "  Ijin. 
lap,"  and  "treated"  should  be  "torched,"  which  is  a 
term  generally  used  for  pointing  tdes.- Buicklayeb. 

[6171  ."-Perspective  —An  examination  in  3rd  grade 
perspective  is  held  annually  in  May  at  any  of  the  schools 
of  art.     All  candidates  presenting  themselves  must  have 
obtained  a  full  certilicatc  for  the  four  Mxaai  grade  sub- 
jects.   The  couree  embraces  tlio  rcpiesentation  of  any 
object  in  any  position,  its  reflection  and  its  shadows  by 
the  sun  or  any  artificial  light.    "  3rd  Uiade  Fen-pe'ctive, 
by  H.J.Dennis,  is  the  best  t.  .xt-1  iyl:  ]■' li-I;--!      It  is 
awarded  by  Government  as  a  •.■:. 
pri2e3"    are  awaided   for    <  . 
"  good,"  and  if  a  student  pa- 
limited  number  of  times  for"  L'  ^ 
he  obtains  "good"  he  cannot  sitiii'liu  lur  ■■  L.\<.eutn.. 
3r.D  Gbade  E.vcelle.nt. 

[6171. 1-Perspective -The  Advanced  Local  Exa- 
mination in  Advanced  rcrsp.f^vt.  "I-:!  t..  ..tcdcnts 
of   schools   of    art  and   a:l    :  -■-.-    '? 

3rd  grade  mosters  ;  it  lequin  -  .  •-', 

the pci-spective  ofobliqac  pi  ^^  '•  ,     ' ,' 

tions,  as  well  as  of  the  poisi  i^.lj..- 

applied  to  difficult  cases." -3Ki.O:;AL'r.  A;.T  .M.vsteb. 

[6171-  -Perspective.-Theij  la  .  3rd  grjde  ojai- 
nation  held  at  >:..ulh  Kc-n.^nTioTi  Schnc!^  It  difffT- fron 
the  2nd  gnu''   :"  •  .■-••-''.  ^ 

siblepositioii."  i 

may  1*6  foun  '. 
parallel.  or;r,  : 

termed  oblii]'.  . 

obtained  by  ; 
shadows  an.l 
perspective  i- 
perspective 
under  a  com; 
several  good 
ultimately  t" 

is  chisscd  aiii  I  -n  i-      C'-n- 

in  common  «  ,  -^  j  ^  „i„  , 

sequontly,  t'  ■ 
full  2nd  graJ' 

■6175 —Rot  in  New  He-;  "     "    '"':": 

on  the  'suhj'-ct  of   "  i:"t  in   .. 
mentiiins  that  "pitch  pin.-      '•. 


140 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


STAINED  GLASS. 

Beabfoed,  Yores.— Four  additional  stained - 
glass  wmdows  have  been  placed  iu  the  church  of 
St.  John,  Ilorton-hme,  ia  this  town.  They  stand 
6ide  by  side  within  the  great  west  arch  of  the 
church  and  immediately  beneath,  and,  as  it  were, 
crowned  by  the  large  rose  window  of  that  arch. 
Each  is  a  single  light,  and  each  is  occupied  by  a 
figure  of  one  of  the  Four  Evangelists.  The  outlines 
of  the  figures  are  bold,  and  the  colouring  of  their 
robes  very  rich  ;  the  more  eftective  from  contr.ist 
with  pure  white  diaper  backgrounds,  each  in  its 
turn  enframed  by  a  broad  foliated  border  on  a  rich 
ruby  ground.  These  windows  are  from  the  studio 
of  Messrs.  Fowell,  Bros.,  30,  Park-square,  Leeds, 
by  whom  also  are  other  staiiied-glass  windows  in 
the  same  church, 

CniSLEnuEsT,  Kent.  —  A  two  -  light  memorial 
window  to  the  memory  of  a  lady  deceased,  has 
just  been  erected  in  the  Wesleyan  Chapel  of 
Chislehurst.  In  the  centre  of  each  light  is  an 
enriched  boss  which  displays  a  lily  entwined  by  a 
riband  bearing  a  Scriptural  legend,  the  one  being, 
"The  Lord  is  My  Shepherd,"  the  other,  "My 
Sheep  Hear  My  Voice."  By  instruction  no  figure 
subject  is  introduced,  but  instead  the  lights 
display  a  variety  of  foliated  ornament  ricMy 
treated.  The  design  and  execution  are  by  the  art 
firm  of  Messrs.  Powell,  Bros.,  Park-square,  Leeds. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Caxnock.— The  inauguration  of  the  new  pump- 
ing station  and  other  works  recently  constructed 
by  the  South  Staffordshire  Waterworks  Company, 
under  their  Extension  Act  of  187.>,  was  celebrated 
on  Wednesday  by  an  excursion  to  the  works,  which 
are  situated  at  Hut.tington  and  Hednesford,  in 
Cannock  district.  The  new  source  of  supply,  which 
was  accidentally  revealed  durii  g  trial  sinkings  for 
coal  in  1874,  is  the  conglomerated  pebble-bed 
formation,  a  subdivision  of  the  new  red  sandstone, 
and  the  quality  of  the  water  has  been  favourably 
reported  upon  by  Dr.  Hill,  of  Birmingham,  and 
Professor  Voelcker,  and  the  quantity  obtained  is 
Tery  large  and  capable  of  great  extension.  From 
the  stations  at  Huntington  and  Hednesford,  which 
are  about  31  miles  apart,  the  water  is  pumped  into 
the  Scout-house  reservoir  at  Cannock,  whence  it  is 
forced  ah.ng  the  mains  of  the  district  where  the 
local  service  reservoii's  and  engines  maintain  a 
constant  and  equable  pressure  at  the  many  varying 
levels.  The  pumping  engines,  four  in  number,  are  of 
165  nominal  horse-power  each,  and  capable  of 
raising  five  million  gallons  daily  at  each  pumping 
station,  thus  increasing  the  company's  supply  from 
10  to  20  million  g.illons  daily,  a  supply  that  may 
be  indefinitely  increased,  if  required,  in  the 
Cannock  district,  by  increasing  the  pumping 
power.  From  the  main  reservoir  at  Cannock,  the 
water  is  carried  by  gravitation  through  a  trunk 
main  to  Wednesbury,  where  it  is  connected  with 
the  rest  of  the  company's  system,  and  merged  in 
the  general  supply  derived  from  the  fandstou' 
rocks  in  the  vi  inity  of  Lichfield.  For  reaching 
some  of  the  high-lying  districts  about  Dudley,  the 
water  is  repumped  at  Wednesbury  to  a  higher 
reservoir  on  a  system  which  utilises  the  pressure 
from  the  Cannock  reservoir,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Black  Country  is  reached  by  simple  gravi 
tatioD.  The  pumps  are  all  in  duplicate.  The 
■works  have  been  designed  by,  and  carrieel  out 
under  the  superintendence  of,  Mr.  W.  Yawdsey, 
the  engineer  to  the  company.  They  have 
been  divided  into  three  contracts,  of  which, 
that  for  the  erection  of  the  engine-houses, 
pumping-stations,  and  other  buildings,  wh'ch  are 
all  in  the  Norman  style,  was  let  to  Jlessrs.  Trow, 
of  Wednesbury  ;  that  fi>r  the  engines  to  Messrs. 
James  Watt  and  Co.,  of  Soho  ;  and  that  for  the 
reservoirs  at  Scout-house,  and  laying  pipes  and 
mains,  to  Mr.  Joseph  Walker,  of  Crewe.  The 
expenditure  has  been  about  .C313,000. 

DoEcnESTEE. — At  the  meeting  of  the  town 
council  of  Dorchester,  held  last  week,  the  drainage 
of  the  town  formed  the  subject  of  a  long  discussion, 
initiated  by  the  Mayor,  who  reported  an  interview 
with  Mr.  Flozer,  M.P.,  in  which  that  gentleman, 
as  the  owner  of  adjoining  land,  had  positively  re- 
fused to  allow  any  further  flow  of  sewage  into  the 
river.  A  letter  was  also  received  from  the  Local 
Government  Board,  inclosing  copy  of  a  memorial 
received  from  residents  on  the  Cornwall  estate, 
complaining  of  the  absence  of  drainage  on  the 
estate.  After  a  warm  controversy,  the  mayor  and 
borough  surveyor  were  deputed  to  visit  Aylesbury, 
Coventry,  and  Taunton,  and  report  back  to  the 
council  on  the  respective  merits  of  the  modes  there 
used  for  sewage  disposal. 

RrvEE  Pollution. — A  deputation  from  the 
Fisheries  Preservation  Association  and  other 
kindred  societies  had  an  interview  on  Tuesday 
with  Mr.  Dodson,  and  represented  to  him  that  the 
Rivers  Pollution  Act  was  practically  inoperative. 


Mr.  Dodson  said  a  deputation  of   manufacturers    court  had  been  for  years  known  as  a  disgraceful 
haci  recently  represented  to  him  how  difficult  it  was    "'"'■"      «—  "'  *>■»  >-—  h„d  nlrendv  been  re- 
to  work  under  the  Act ;    the   statements   of  both 
deputations  would  be  carefully  considered. 

Utilisatiox  op  Sewage.— At  Aylesbury,  on 
Monday,  what  is  termed  a  "  deraoustratiou "  of 
the  practical  utilisation  of  sew.ige  was  made  at  the 
Aylesbury  Sewage  Works,  where  the  wastes  of  the 
town  populntion  are  intercepted  and  formed  into  a 
commercially  valuable  agricultural  product.  A 
large  company  was  present,  including  many  local 
authorities  of  British  and  foreign  cities.  The 
work  of  utilising  the  sewage  of  Aylesbury  has  been 
undertaken  by  the  Native  Guano  Company,  whose 
chairman  is  the  Hon.  W.  F.  B.  Mainwaring,  and 
the  work  which  most  concerns  the  town  as  a  town 
—  that  of  purifying  the  water  courses  which  flow 
from  it— is  undertaken  at  a  fixed  sum  of  £J0O  a 
year.  The  chairman  of  the  company,  assisted  by 
Mr.  Sillars,  Mr.  Bawsou,  Mr.  Page,  and  the 
oflicers,  explained  the  process  adopted,  which  is 
that  known  as  the  "  A  B  C,"  and  is  simply  a  pro- 
cess of  precipitation  or  "  settling."  As  the  sewage 
pours  int  i  the  works  at  the  rate  of  300,000  gallons 
a  day— the  refuse  of  a  population  of  8,000  or 
9,300-it  receives  an  admixture  of  the  clay  and 
charcoal  in  solution.  This  acts  as  a  deortoriser. 
The  stream,  which  has  become  black  by  this 
admixture,  flows  on  towards  large  tanks,  and  as  it 
passes  it  receives  another  liquid,  this  being  the 
precipitate,  formed  of  sulphate  of  alumina,  which 
is  shale  treated  with  sulphuric  acid.  In  the  pro- 
cess of  precipitation  the  sewage  thus  added  to 
passes  over  three  tanks,  and  then  runs  out 
apparently  as  clear  as  water  from  the  spring.  It 
is  Siiid  that  fish  live  in  this  water,  and  Professor 
Wanklyn  certifies  that  in  some  respects  it  is  purer 
than  water  used  for  domestic  purposes  in  many 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  precipit  iting  process 
leaves  behind  each  week  upwards  of  10  tons  of 
solids  known  as  "  sludge."  This  is  converted  into 
a  pulverised  innoxious  manure  which  fetches,  it  is 
stated,  about  £3  10s.  a  ton  in  England  and  a  yet 
higher  price  abroad.  After  the  inspection,  Mr.  C. 
S.  Read,  speaking  as  an  agriculturist,  while  he  was 
of  opinion  that  the  irrigation  system  was  appli- 
cable to  certain  friable  lands,  said  he  considered 
that  this  system  solved  the  great  difficulty  of 
sewage  disposal  for  the  large  towns  which  could 
not  obtain  the  vast  acreage  necessary  for  irriga- 
tion. 


place.  Some  of  the  houses  had  already  been  : 
moved  under  the  Artisans'  Dwellings  Act,  and 
those  remaining  were  condemned  by  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health  as  unfit  for  human  habitation. 
Mr.  Burton,  the  defendant,  had  lately  become  the 
lessee  of  the  premises,  the  former  lessee  having 
gone  away  to  America,  leaving  the  tenants  in  pos- 
session of  the  rooms,  who  now  refused  to  pay  any 
rent  to  Mr.  Burton,  alleging  that  he  was  not  the 
landlord.  Mr.  Burton  could  not  get  the  tenants 
out,  but  that  was  nothing  to  the  parish,  who  com- 
plained that  the  houses  were  a  nuisance,  and 
required  extensive  repair.  That  work  could  not 
be  carried  out  until  the  tenants  were  got  out.  He 
had  to  ask  for  an  order  under  the  Nuisances 
Removals  Act,  after  proving  the  nuisance,  which 
would  subject  the  lodgers  and  occupiers  to  a  £o 
])enalty  for  refusing  to  leave  the  dwellings.  Mr. 
Burton  was  willing  to  do  the  neces-ary  repairs  if 
the  houses  could  be  emptied. — Mr.  Lightfoot  was 
called,  and  proved  the  above  facts,  stating  that  the 
premises  were  filthy  and  dilapidated.  The  paving 
of  the  yard  was  broken,  the  roofs,  walls,  and 
ceilings  out  of  order,  and  the  cisterns  were  dirty. — 
Mr.  Burton  said  he  would  do  the  necessary  repairs 
if  by  a  magistrate's  order  he  could  get  possession. 
— The  order  asked  for  was  granted. 


LEGAL    INTELLIGENCE. 

By-laws  of  the  Meteopolitax,  Board  of 
Works.— Mr.  T.J.  Neale,  of  33,  Aylesbury-street, 
Walworth,  builder,  was  summoned  on  the  2"2nd 
inst.,  before  Mr.  Ellison,  at  the  Lambeth  police- 
court,  for  an  infringement  of  the  new  by-laws, 
issued  by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  under 
the  Metropolis  Management  and  Building  Acts 
Amendment  Act,  1878,  in  using  bael  mortar  in  the 
erection  of  a  new  building  in  the  rear  of  No.  80, 
Old  Kent-road.  Mr.  George  Lansdown,  district 
surveyor  of  East  Newington  and  part  of  St. 
George  the  Martyr,  Southwark,  appeared  in  sup- 
poit  of  the  summons,  and  explained  that  the 
builder  had  received  notice  to  amend  under  the 
Building  Act,  as  well  as  under  the  by-laws,  but 
had  neglected  to  amend  and  had  left  the  work.  The 
defendant  pleaded  guilty.  The  magistrate  fined 
him  .5s.  and  2s.  per  day  for  each  day  since  notice 
to  amend,  and  2s.  costs,  total  27s.  The  penalty  iu 
case  of  the  breach  of  any  of  the  previsions  in  the 
by-laws  is  a  penalty  not  exceeding  £3,  and  in  each 
case  of  a  continuing  oifence,  a  further  penalty  not 
exceeding  30s.  for  each  day  after  notice  thereof 
from  the  board  or  district  surveyor.  Since  the 
hearing,  the  building  has  been  entirely  taken 
down. 

De\i.vtion's  feoh  Deposited  Plans.  —  At 
Cockermouth  Petty  Sessions,  on  the  21st  inst., 
Thomas  Wellwood  was  summoned  by  the  Cocker- 
mouth  Rural  Sanitary  Authority  for  having  com- 
mitted a  breach  of  the  by-laws  of  the  Authority 
in  building  cottages  at  Distington.  Mr.  Thomas 
Weatherstone,  surveyor  to  the  Authority,  stated 
that  the  Distington  Iron  Company  bad  presented 
plans  to  the  Authority  for  23  new  cottages.  The 
plans  were  perfectly  right,  and  were  passed  by  the  I  tfon. 
Authority.  On  proceeding  to  the  place  some  time 
afterwards  he  found  the  cottages  occupied,  and 
that  they  had  not  been  built  according  to  the  plans 
deposited,  the  privies  being  within  10ft.  of  the 
dwellings.  The  case  had  been  adjourned  to  give 
defendant  time  to  make  the  alterations,  but  up  to 
thnt  morning  nothing  had  been  done,  and  he 
askeil,  therefore,  that  a  penalty  should  be  imposed. 
Defendant,  who  did  not  appear,  was  fined  £.5. 

Unsanitary      Dwellings.  —  Joseph      Henry 
Burton,    of    48,    East-street,    was    summoned    at 

Marylebone,  on  Tuesday,  by  Mr.   Lightfoot,  in- 
spector of  nuisances  for  the  parish  of  Marylebone, 

£ —  ..11 ; —  i\,^  »»»».:o..n  "x'.^..    •!   A    j;   n..,]  (J   ■^^ — 1. 


CHIPS. 

A  new  church  at  Kingston,  Dorset,  was  conse- 
crated on  Saturday.  It  is  13th-century  Gothic  in 
style,  and  has  been  built  at  the  cost  of  Lord  Eldon 
at  an  outlay  of  between  £30,000  and  £40,000. 
Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  R.A.,  is  the  architect,  and  the 
work  has  been  in  course  of  construction  during  the 
past  five  or  six  years.  The  church  is  cruciform  in 
type,  with  a  lofty  central  tower  containing  a  peal 
of  eight  bells.  The  walls  are  all  built,  both  within 
and  without,  of  wrought  stone,  and  the  eastern 
part  is  groined  in  stone.  Features  of  the  interior 
are  the  elaborate  mouldings  employed,  and  the 
free  use  of  columns  and  shafts  of  polished  Purbeck 
marble.  Nearly  all  the  windows  are  filled  with 
stained  glass  by  Messrs.  Clayton  and  Bell,  of 
London  ;  the  organ  was  supplied  by  Messrs.  Mabey 
andOldknow,  of  London.  Near  the  church  a  large 
vicarage  house  is  approaching  completion  from  the 
same  architect's  designs. 

The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  on  Friday, 
approved  the  plans  and  specifications,  submitted  by 
Messrs.  Buck,  Son,  and  .Smith,  by  direction  of  the 
justices  of  the  county  of  Kent,  for  the  rebuilding  of 
beptford  bridge,  and  the  widening  of  the  road  and 
waterway.  It  wa"  also  resolved  to  contribute  one- 
half  of  the  cost,  estimiited  at  a  total  of  £8,000,  to 
the  Commissioners  of  Sewers,  for  making  a  new 
thoroughfare  from  Chancery-lane  to  Fetter-lane. 
A  report  was  received  from  the  bridges  committee 
submitting  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board's 
engineer,  the  following  works  of  repair  and  main- 
tenance were  urgently  necessary: — («)  works  for 
deepening  the  foundations  of  Waterloo-bridge, 
estimated  to  cost  £40,000,  notice  to  be  sent  to  the 
Thames  Conservators  that  the  board  are  about  to 
execute  the  proposed  works  forthwith  ;  (A)  that 
appHcation  be  made  to  Parliament,  next  Session, 
for  powers  to  enable  the  board  to  deepen  the 
channel  and  enlarge  the  span  of  Vauxhall-bridge, 
at  an  estimated  cost  of  £4.5,000;  that  similar  Par- 
liamentary powers  be  applied  for  to  rebuild  (e) 
Battersea-bridge,  (<0  Putney-bridge,  and  (i) 
Deptford  Creek-bridge,  at  estimated  costs  of 
£2.50,000,  £300,000,  and  £20,000  respectively ;  and 
(rf)  that  works  of  painting  and  repair  be  done  to 
Wandsworth-bridge  forthwith,  at  an  estimated 
cost  of  £5,000.  Alter  a  shoit  discussion  all  the 
recommendations  were  agreed  to. 


The  Shildon  and  East  Thickley  local  board  have 
recently  discussed  the  character  of  the  materials 
used  in  the  extensive  drainage  works  recently  car- 
ried out  in  their  district,  supplied ',by  Jlessrs  Davi- 
son and  Toward,  biickmakers,  and  members  of  the 
board.  Eventually  the  board  referred  the  matter 
to  Mr.  William  Cudworth,  of  Darlington,  engineer 
to  the  North-Eastern  Railway  Company.  Mr. 
Cudworth  has  now  made  his  report,  in  which  he 
speaks  favourably  of  the  bricks  and  tiles  iu  ques- 


for  allowing  the  premises  Nos.  3,  4,  5,  and  (5,  Y'ork 

court.   East-street,    Marylebone,    to  be  in  such  a 

state  as  to  be  a  nuisance  and  injurious  to  health. —      _  „ ,  „ 

Mr.  W.  E.  Greenwell,  vestry  clerk,  said  that  York-  I  proved  by  Messrs.  Hele  and  Co.,  of  Plymouth. 


A  new  theatre  was  opened  at  the  Spa,  Scar- 
borough, on  Wednesday  week.  Messrs.  A'erity  and 
Hunt  are  the  archiieots.  Mr.  F.  Arthur,  of  Mot- 
combe-street,  London,  carried  out  the  decorations, 
and  Mr.  Littlejohns,  of  London,  the  stage  fittings. 
The  new  Spa-buildings  and  Cliff-bridge  will  be 
opened  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  on  Monday 
next. 

The  rural  sanitary  authority  of  Skipton  last 
week  adopted  schemes  of  water  supply  and  sewer- 
age prepared  by  Mr.  Fdliter,  engineer,  of  Leeds ; 
the  estimated  cost  is  £2,700  for  water,  and  £4,500 
for  sewering. 

The  organ  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Truro,  was  re- 
opened on  Friday,  having   been  enlarged  and  ira  - 


July  30,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


141 


(Dui*  (Bmt  €mt 


An  industrial  exhibition  is  to  be  held  at  (lie 
Alexandra  Palace  during  the  month  of  Sep- 
tt'iubcr.  Bloduls  and  other  prizes  to  the  value 
of  £200  will  be  offered  for  competition  in  the 
several  classes  of  mechanical  industry,  artistic 
productions,  and  fabrics  and  fancy  work  ;  draw- 
ings, &c.,  executed  by  persons  under  IS  years  of 
age ;  and  also  work  done  by  school-children. 
Insti-uctive  or  interesting  articles,  not  intended 
for  competition,  will  be  received  for  exhibition. 
Persons  eligible  to  compete  for  prizes  must  be- 
long to  the  working  classes,  in  the  usual  accep- 
tation of  the  term,  or  as  defined  by  the  judges. 
The  "exhibits"  for  wldch  prizes  wiU  be 
awarded  embrace,  in  the  mechanical  s-ection, 
cabinet  work,  inlaid  tables,  ivory  and  wood 
carving,  turning  and  fretwork,  and  musical 
instruments ;  models  of  steam-engines,  buildings, 
carriages,  ships,  &c.  ;  models  of  appliances  for 
saving  life,  machines  wcrked  by  electricity, 
clocks  and  watches,  &c.  In  the  artistic  section 
will  be  included  work  in  terra-cotta,  stone, 
marble,  alabaster,  and  china,  tiles,  mosaics, 
ornamental  writing  and  illimiination,  oil 
paintings,  water-colour  and  pen-and-ink  draw- 
ings, architectural  and  mechanical  designs, 
graining  and  marbling,  decorative  painting  on 
glass,  china,  kc,  and  miscellaneous  artistic 
work  on  precious  metals.  The  general  and 
fancy  work  section  will  include  the  usual  dis- 
play of  objects  of  natural  history,  scrap-screens, 
patehwork  quilts,  embroidery,  and  other  useful 
and  ornamental  articles. 

The  Historical-Antiquarian  Society  of 
Grisons  have  lately  added  to  the  treasures  of 
their  museum  one  of  the  few  Gothic  altar  shrines 
that  still  remain  in  Eastern  Switzerland.  It 
was  formerly  in  a  chapel  belonging  to  the  Me- 
solcina  family,  aiul  has  been  purchased  by  the 
society  from  the  present  proprietor  of  the 
chateau,  of  which  the  chapel  forms  a  part.  The 
shrine  is  divided  into  three  parts.  On  the  plinth 
is  a  painting  in  oil  of  the  hankerchief  of  St. 
Veronica  held  by  two  angels,  and  on  the  trijitych 
and  side  shrines  are  portraits,  also  in  oil,  of  St. 
Stephen  and  St.  Anthony.  The  inside  of  the 
shrine  is  gilt,  and  the  gilding  is  in  excellent 
preservation.  The  interior  contains  figures, 
carved  in  wood,  of  St-  Nicholas,  St.  JIaria,  and 
St.  Catherine,  their  names  being  indicated  in 
the  later  Gothic  characters.  Two  other  figures 
are  carved  on  the  reverfo  part  of  the  side 
shrines ;  but  the  names  of  the  saints  whom 
they  are  intended  to  represent  are  not  given. 
On  the  cro'wn  of  the  shrine  are  carved  seven 
busts,  supposed  to  be  those  of  the  founders  or 
patrons  of  the  chapel.  The  barets  of  two  of 
the  number  mark  them  out  as  priors  of  St.  Vic- 
tor ;  two  others  wear  clerical  costumes,  the  re- 
maining four  being  habited  as  civilians.  With 
the  exception  of  some  slight  damages  to  a  few 
of  the  figures,  which  can  easily  be  made  good, 
the  shrine  is  exceedingly  well  preserved.  The 
carvings  and  paintings  are  well  executed,  and 
belong  to  the  same  style  of  art,  and  probably  to 
the  same  age,  as  the  decorations  of  the  cathe- 
dral altar  of  Coire  and  the  altar  of  the  Church  of 
St.  Lucius  at  Churwalden. 

It  is  propo.sed  to  have  an  International  Exhi- 
bition in  Rome  in  I8S.5-SG,  and  a  journal  has 
been  started  to  further  the  project.  An  effort 
is  being  made  to  secure  for  the  Exhibition  out- 
side Porta  Pia  and  Porta  Salara,  on  the  north 
side  of  Rome,  embracing  the  Villa  jUbani,  with 
its  fine  collection  of  sculpture  and  Italian 
garden  ;  the  Villa  Borghese,  with  its  pleasant 
walks  and  gallery;  the  Villa  Ludovisi,  adjoin- 
ing the  walls,  with  its  ca.sino,  and  the  Aurora 
of  Domenichino  ;  the  Villa  Patrizi ;  the  Villa 
Torlonia ;  the  Villa  Ada — lately  the  king's 
property,  but  since  bought  by  Count  Telfener 
— which  reaches  to  the  edge  of  the  Anio  ;  and 
the'tract  lying  between  these  estates,  from  the 
furthest  of  whiih  the  land  drops  suddenly  down 
to  the  Campagna,  giving  a  splendid  view  of 
the  Soracte  and  the  Sabine  Hills. 

Me.  T.  W.  Da^tjt,  H.IM.  Inspector  of 
Schools  for  the  Ipswich  district,  in  his  report 
for  1S79  on  the  schools  in  the  Ipswich,  Samford, 
Woodbridge,  Plomesgate,  Blything,  "VVangford, 
and  Mutford  census di\-isions,  .says: — "Although 
the  .school  buildings  arc  generally  satisfactorj- 
in  respect  of  cubical  content,  site.  &c.,  itisciuite 
obvious,  in  many  eases,  that  architects,  builders. 


and  those  wlio  have  employed  them  in  erecting 
schools,  have  not  paid  adequate  attention  to  the 
detaUs  of  internal  arrangement  and  organisa- 
tion, such  as  desks,  lighting,  warming,  and 
the  like.  In  visiting  new  schools,  I  freeiuently 
find  that  architect.",  in  providing  for  the 
admission  of  light,  have  thought  mora  of  ex- 
ternal architectural  fiuish  than  of  the  eyes  of 
scholars  and  teachers,  who  have  to  spend  daily 
many  hours  in  the  schoolroom.  Again,  in 
selecting  desks,  managers  seem  more  highly  to 
appreciate  ready  convertibility  into  seats,  or 
even  tables,  for  meetings  in  the  room,  than  con- 
veidence  during  ordinary  school-work.  In  far 
too  many  cases,  ventilation  is  ignored  by  archi- 
tect, builder,  manager,  and  teacher  alike." 

The  City  Commissioners  of  Sewers  received, 
last  week,  a  report  from  the  Improvement  Com- 
mittee, stating  that  they  had  received  tenders 
for  the  land  cleared  in  tlie  "  imhealthy  areas  of 
Golden-lane  and  Petticoat-square,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  erection  of  artisans'  and  labourers' 
dwellings.  The  sites  had  been  acquired  at  a 
cost  of  over  £240,000 ;  but  it  the  highe-t  sum 
offered  were  accepted,  the  loss  would  consider- 
ably exceed  £200,000.  In  accordance  with  the 
committee's  recommendation,  the  consideration 
of  the  tenders  was  adjourned,  audit  was  decided 
to  communicate  with  the  Home  Secretary  as  to 
whether  he  is  willing  to  allow  the  loss  to  be 
mitigated,  by  permitting  the  basements  and 
ground-floor  to  be  utilised  for  shops  or  stores, 
on  condition  that  ccjually  convenient  accommo- 
dation be  provided  in  the  upper  stories  for  the 
number  of  artisans  and  labourers  ejected  from 
the  demolished  tenements.  It  was  stated  that 
by  this  modification  the  loss  would  probably  be 
reduced  by  £2.;, 000. 

It  often  occurs  to  the  Medical  Prcfs  and  Cir- 
cular, ' '  What  must  foreigners  think  of  the  rotten 
cattle-sheds  called  London  Bridge  Station  ?  To 
them  it  is  the  entrance-portal  to  the  metropolis, 
and  as  they  look  around  at  its  felt-covered  roof, 
its  unpainted  timber,  and  its  whitewashed  walls 
and  ceilings,  now  turned  black  with  age  and 
dirt,  well  maj-  they  exclaim  on  reaching  this 
gateway  to  the  richest  metropolis  of  the  world. 
What  a  filthy  place  1  And  if,  unfortunately, 
their  affairs  compel  them  to  get  out  at  the  sta- 
tion, a  second  look  would  certainly  confirm  first 
impressions.  They  would  find  subterranean 
passages  through  which  passengers  pass  almost 
as  black  as  night,  so  that  gas  has  to  be  burned 
the  whole  daj-  long,  waiting-rooms  with  huge 
holes  in  the  ceUings  and  walls,  where  plaster  will 
hang  together  no  longer,  and  the  South  Eastern 
Railway  is  so  bent  upon  paying  big  dividends 
that  it  has  no  time  or  inclination  to  study  the 
comfort  or  health  of  its  patrons.  Should  the 
weather  be  stormy  or  the  sun  exceedingly  hot, 
the  narrow  ledges  which  for  years  have  done 
duty  for  a  station,  will  be  found  insufficient  to 
save  them  either  from  a  drenching  or  sunstroke. 
Verily  the  whole  concern  reflects  the  liighest 
discredit  upon  Sir  Edward  Watkin  and  the 
management  in  generil." 

On  Friday  last,  at  Nidd  Church,  near  Harro- 
gate, was  started  a  new  large  public  clock, 
which  has  been  fixed  in  the  church  by  Messrs. 
Wm.  Potts  and  Sons,  Guildford-street,  Leeds. 
The  clock  is  constructed  on  a  solid  horizontal 
cast-iron  bed  frame,  which  is  planed.  It  has 
also  maintaining  power  on  the  bolt  and  sliuttcr 
principle,  by  Sir  E.  Beckett,  Q.C.,  to  keep  the 
clock  going  during  the  time  of  winding  up.  The 
escapement  is  the  double  three-legged  gravity, 
by  Sir  E.  Beckett,  Bart,  with  phosphor-bronze 
pallets  and  check  action  to  prevent  flipping, 
this  being  the  most  accurate  kind  of  escapement 
made.  The  clock  strikes  the  hours  and  half-liours 
on  the  large  or  tenor-bell  of  the  peal.  JIf.«srs. 
Potts  and  Sons  have  also  just  completed  a  large 
illuminated  clock,  with  four  dials,  9ft.  Oin.  each 
in  diam.,  for  the  New  Town  Hall,  Wakefield, 
which  strikes  upon  a  bell  of  2h  tons.  Also  the 
large  clock  at  Westgate  Joint  Station,  Wake- 
field, which  shows  the  time  on  the  four  illu- 
minated dials,  7ft.  Gin.  each  in  diameter,  and 
was  set  going  on  Friday  last.  The  same  firm 
are  also  engaged  making  a  large  clock  for  Lin- 
cobi  Cathedral  to  strike  the  Cambridge  quarters 
on  four  bells,  two  of  them  being  new  ones,  and 
the  hours  on  tlio  famous  "  Big  Tom  of  Lincoln." 
They  are  making  another  large  clock  for  the 
Central  Station, "Manchester  (Cheshire  lines)  ; 
and  a  large  illuminated  clock,  with  four  Gft. 
dials,  for  the  Melbourne-street  Weslcyan  Chapel, 


York;  and  Cambridge  quarter-clock,  with 
four  Gft.  illuminated  dials,  nbd  five  new  largo 
bells,  weighing  over  two  tons,  for  DewHbury ; 
and  have  lately  erected  the  HunsUt  Mouv  cloelc, 
with  four  dials  ;  the  HuddersHiM  Corporation 
quarter-clock,  with  four  outside  dials,  and  three 
new  largo  bells;  two  new  large  clocks  and 
bells  near  Ripon  ;  one  near  Hull,  and  nnothor 
near  Grantham;  also  the  New  Station  clock, 
Sunderland,  with  four  7ft.  illuminated  dials. 

It  has  been  resolved  by  the  PliilMHOphieal 
Society  of  Glasgow  to  hold  nn  Kxhibitiim  of 
Apparatus  in  the  Burabank  Drill-hull,  Glasgow, 
from  Sept.  28  to  Oct.  25,  illustrativo  of  the  most 
recent  developments  in  tlie  use  of  Gaj),  Elec- 
tricity, &c.,  for  lighting  and  other  purposes. 
The  scheme  has  been  actively  couutenanccd  and 
encouraged  by  the  pas  and  water  committed)  of 
the  town  council.  The  range  of  subjecta  to  bo 
illustrated  by  the  exhibition  will  include  appa- 
ratus, appliances,  models,  or  drawings  that 
relate  to,  or  illustrate,  any  of  the  following', 
namely: — Coal-gas— its  manufacture,  purifica- 
tion, storage,  distribution,  rcgulationof  pn:ssurc, 
and  measurement.  Its  utilisation  in  lighting, 
heating,  cooking,  ventilating,  and  ax  a  motive 
power.  Photometric  testing  of  gas  or  other 
sources  of  light.  Residual  jiroducts  of  gaa 
manufacture,  coke,  tar,  benzole,  aniline  dyct>, 
ammonia,  salts,  ire.  Oils,  oil-gases,  candles— 
their  manufacture  and  use  for  lighting,  heating, 
cooking,  and  motive  power.  lilcctricity — Us 
generation  and  application  for  lighting,  tele- 
graphy, motive  power,  &c.  Hydrnulic  Ap- 
pliances— Motors  suitable  for  eompurison  with 
gas-motors,  and  apparatus  for  the  mcasure.iieDt 
and  regidation  of  the  flow  and  pressure  of  water. 
Architectural  Appliances — More  especially  those 
which  relate  to  lighting,  ventilation,  beating, 
and  lightning  conduction ;  and  architectural 
ii'onwork  and  sanitary  appliances  such  as  can  bo 
exhibited  in  the  open  grounds.  Miscellaneous 
Apparatus — Gas-lighted  buoys,  fog-horns, 
miners'  safety-lamps,  fire-dimp  indicators,  and 
apparatus  for  lighthouse  illumination,  ventila- 
tion of  mines,  &e.  Awards  for  merit  will  be 
given  for  such  classes  of  the  Exhibits  as  the 
committee  and  exhibitors  may  arrange  to  be 
tested,  or  such  other  exhibits  as  may  possess  very 
special  merit. 


Lamploueh's  Pyretic  Saline  is  refreshing, 

most  .lUrcraMc.  and  thp  prevrntivi-  of  t  KVERS.  11II.MI>.\K:.S, 
SMALL  FOX,  SKIN  DISEASES,  and  many  oUtir  •prinp  and 
stinkmer  ailmi'nU.  Sold  br  ctiomist*  throughout  th,.  world,  and 
the  Maker,  113,  Uolborn  Mill.     Ci*  no  tubMtttuU  — '  Adit.  1 

Holloway's  Pills  render  dolicite  invuliJs  sii  ffering 

from  loss  of  nppL-tite,  liaujiOU,  »lck  hcidachp,  .H!iiii..v.  of  klirht, 
faintiHss,  tliitulcncv,  or  8p,isms  the  nto*t  Ciwntlnl  *f  ri  Irr  without 
cak'ncss  or  annoyance  on  thrlr  fwblr  frauif*.  Low 
n«  from  consoHted  or  torpid  Ihcr.  art-  rrmorcd  hy 

l'»1io. 


CHIPS. 

A  stained-glass  window  of  two  lights,  represcnt- 
in^J  St,  Anne  and  St,  Cecilia,  lias  just  h'Qu  i>laccd 
in  the  church  of  St.  Pctroik  Minor,  I'a'Istow,  in 
memory  of  the  Viacountu.'s  Mol.sworth.  Mr. 
Honwood,  of  Frome-Selwood,  w.!?  the  artist,  and 
the  work  has  been  exccuttJ  mid.  r  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr,  Hingcstou-Kaudolph,  of  King- 
more,  ,      ,,    T  .     ,. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  the  town-hall,  Lowcitoft, 
on  Thursdav,  the  22nd  inst,,  before  Mr.  K.  .\rorcan, 
C.E.,  one  of  the  inspectors  of  !!:•■  '  •■■'  '•  ■■■rii- 
ment   Board,   respecting  an  nij  '  '•"' 

Lowestoft  improvement  coimni  •'■j 

£.5,000  for  the  beach  outlet  t.i  tl    :  'I 

£2,,'J00  for  the  improvement  of  Kuk  .■)- -T.  <  t. 
The  town  surveyor  produced  plans  r.t  th-  various 
works,  and  stated  thut  the  "I"''  'n''"''':'^^  .'''  "j" 
population  from  13,000  to  about  2a.t00  .lunng  the 
past  ten  years  had  rendered  them  necessary. 

The  Bristol  Tramways  Cotnpiny  hivo  jijst 
entered  into  a  contract  with  Mr.  A.  KrouM,  who 
recently  constructed  the  Hitw  ll^lmc.  f  .r  f"r™inK 
new  lines  of  tramrails  to  th.<  ;  ■'■'■/l''  f;'  H-rfieW 
and  Bedminster,  and  from  OKI  Mirket-.trect  to 
Bristol-bridge. 

V  new  ComUh  Weslcyan  M.dJle-cIsM  school 
is  about  to  be  built  at  Truro.  The  architect  to  the 
a'isociation  who  are  nromoting  the  undertaking  u 
Mr.  Edward  Kendall,  of  Truro. 

A  set  of  pictures  of  tho  .stations  of  the  Cross, 
paintings  .'f  Mr.  Henry  O'Shca,  of  Limcnck.  was 
solemnly  blessed  in  the  Dominican  church  at 
Tralee,  on  Friday. 

A  st  lined-gloss  window,  the  work  of  Mcssr?. 
J^raesandCc.  of  Kentish  Town.  h«  just  t^cn 
placed  in  St.  Augustine's  Church,  Highbury  >cw 
Park,  as  a  memorial. 


142 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


July  30,  1880. 


A.  working  men's  club  was  opened  at  Bury, 
Susses,  on  Saturday.  It  includes  a  large  club- 
room,  witb  sis  bedrooms  over  it  for  single  men,  a 
covered  skittle-alley,  and  a  cottage  for  the 
manager;  the  total  cost  of  erection  was  £1,100. 
Mr.  F.  Bacon,  of  Earley,  near  Beading,  was  the 
architect. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  church  at  North 
Camp,  Aldershot,  was  laid  on  Monday  by  the 
Duchess  of  Connaught.  Mr.  J.  Edward  K.  Cutts, 
of  Southampton -street.  Strand,  is  the  architect, 
and  the  cost  of  the  first  section  of  the  church  will 
be  £3,050. 

A  new  gas-holder,  with  Duncan's  improved 
valves,  has  just  been  erected  at  the  gas-works  at 
AYoodbridge,  SuiJolk ;  and  also  two  new  purifiers, 
with  Clayton's  six-way  valves,  and  larger  pipes 
■and  siphons.  The  improvements  have  been  carried 
out  by  Mr.  E.  Buckle,  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  B.  D.  Gall,  general  manager. 

The  Eeigate  Town  Council  had,  en  Friday,  to 
elect  a  representative  governor  of  the  Grammar 
School  and  other  charities  in  Reigate,  in  the  stead 
of  the  late  Mr.  R.  Hesketh,  the  City  architect  and 
surveyor.  The  candidates  proposed  were  the  sou 
of  the  late  governor,  Mr.  Robert  Lempriere  Hes- 
keth, F.R.I.B.A.,  of  London  and  Reigate,  and  the 
present  Mayor  of  the  borough.  Mr.  Genrge  Edwin 
Pym,  architect,  of  Reigate.  The  latter  gentleman 
was  elected  by  10  votes  to  7. 

A  bazaar  was  held  at  Horley,  Surrey,  on  Wed- 
nesday week,  in  aid  of  the  funds  for  restoring  the 
parish-church,  a  work  about  to  be  carried  out  from 
the  plans  of  Mr.  Blomfield,  MA.,  of  L-jndon. 

The  Pontypridd  highway  board  have  adopted 
plans  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  Grifiiths,  of  Pontypridd, 
their  surveyor,  for  an  iron  girder  bridge  over  the 
jiver  at  Glamychydd  Fawr,  about  three  miles  from 
Llantrissant. 

The  Cotirt  of  Common  Council  for  the  City  last 
week  negatived  a  proposition  to  refer  to  a  com- 
mittee the  qu-  stion  whether  the  erection  of  an 
organ  in  the  Guildhall  would  be  practicable  and 
desirable ;  it  was  stated  that  the  City  architect  had 
reported  the  scheme  as  impracticable. 

The  system  of  the  London  Street  Tramways 
Company  is  now  in  course  of  extension  from  Stam- 
ford-hill to  Loiver  Edmonton,  a  distance  of  4J 
miles.  The  rails  are  being  laid  on  the  modern 
cross-sleeper  method,  so  as  to  secure  a  uniform 
foundatiou  for  the  rails  and  setts.  The  contractor 
is  Mr.  Jacob  P.  Batch,  of  Tottenham  and  Camber- 
well,  and  a  large  staff  of  men  are  employed  on  the 
■work. 

At  the  Holborn  district  board  of  works  last  week 
a  question  was  asked  as  to  the  cost  of  the  new 
town-hall,  the  original  estimate  for  which  was 
stated  to  have  been  f  iO,OUO,  and  the  surveyor  re- 
ported that  thus  far  the  expense  had  been  £18,000, 
but  "  there  were  still  many  extras  that  could  not 
be  calculated  upon." 

Heinrich  Drasche,  one  of  the  leading  Austrian 
•manufacturers,  died  on  Saturday,  in  his  69th  ye^r. 
He  was  the  first  Austrian  to  employ  porcelain  and 
terra-cotta  as  house-building  ornaments,  and  two- 
thirds  of  the  new  Vienna  houses  are  built  with  his 
bricks.  Employing  thousands  of  hands,  he  estab- 
lished schools,  libraries,  and  provident  societies  for 
them,  lived  in  a  modest  style,  and  did  not  seek 
society.  He  leaves  a  property  estimated  at  20 
million  gulden. 

Half  the  property  on  the  Cedars  Estate,  Leyton- 
stone,  has  been  sold,  and  the  other  half  is  to  be 
offertd  by  Messrs.  Protheroe  and  Morris,  at  the 
"  AVorkiug Men's  Hall,"  Stratford,  on  Wednesday 
next,  the  4th  proximo,  at  7  o'clock. 

Offing  to  some  accident,  the  drawings  sent  in  by 
Mr.  J.  Martin  Brooks  were  not  submitted  to  the 
council  of  the  Riyal  Academy  with  the  drawings 
of  the  other  &tudent3.  This  oversight,  however, 
has  now  been  rectified,  and  Mr.  Brooks  has  been 
admitted  as  a  first-class  student. 

An  organ  -  case  has  just  been  fixed  to  the 
new  instrument  recently  erected  by  Willis,  of 
London,  in  Weutworth  Church.  The  case  is 
of  oak,  Sft.  Gin.  high,  and  separated  and  panelled 
by  traceried  buttresses  into  five  divisions,  the 
end  ones  being  recessed  from  the  others.  The 
tipper  part  is  very  elaborate,  and  is  formed  of 
ctisped  quatrefoils  and  open  tracery,  with  a  moulded 
string-course  with  carved  patterns  of  varied  design, 
cut  in  relief.  At  the  top  is  an  embattled  cornice. 
"The  screen  to  the  larger  pipes  in  the  recess  is  of  a 
similar  character.  Messrs.  Chadwick  and  Co.,  of 
Masbro',  have  executed  it,  and  Mr.  William 
Dickie,  building  surveyor  to  Earl  FitzwiUiam, 
designed  it. 

A  new  Conservative  club  was  opened  at  Briar- 
field,  near  Burnley,  on  Saturday.  Mr.  Thomas 
Berry,  of  Burnley,  was  the  builder. 

St.  Stephen's  Green,  which  has  been  laid  out  as 
^  public  park  for  the  citizens  of  Dublin  by  Lord 


Ardilaun,  at  a  cost  of  £20,000,  was  thrown  open  on 
Tuesday. 

The  firebrick  trade  is  being  r,apidly  developed 
at  Brierly  Hill.  For  some  months  past  trial  sink- 
ings have  been  going  on  in  the  Cricketfield  Estate, 
in  search  of  the  Stourbridge  seam  of  fire-clay,  and 
the  work  has  just  been  crowned  with  success.  Till 
within  the  la-t  few  years  this  manufacture  was 
confined  to  the  parishes  of  Lye  and  Amblecote,  but 
the  present  discovery  will  probably  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  an  eighth  fii-ebrick  works  withm 
the  town  of  Brierly  Hill. 

An  application  from  the  commissioners  of  Hove 
to  the  Local  Government  Board  for  sanction  to 
borrow  £5,350  for  the  construction  of  groynes,  and 
£1  000  for  works  of  sewerage,  formed  the  suliject 
of  an  inquiry  held  before  Mr.  Ai-nold  Taylor  on 
Wednesday  week.  Mr.  Ellice-Claik,  borough 
surveyor,  explained  the  plans. 

Two  lions,  of  life-size,  and  modelled  in  terra- 
cotta, have  just  been  placed  in  the  porch  of  Mark 
Church,  Somerset.  They  were  modelled  at  Mr. 
John  Matthews's  Royal  Pottery,  near  Weston- 
super-Mare. 

A  memorial-stone  of  the  south  aisle,  now  being 
added  to  the  Church  of  St.  Michael  and  All 
Ai.gels,  Walsall,  was  laid  last  week.  The  work 
will  be  Early  English  in  style,  and  executed  in 
Hammerwich  stone  with  Bath  dressings.  Mr.  J. 
Veale,  Wolverhampton,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
Garlic'k,  of  Saltley,  the  contractor. 

A  Local  Government  Board  inquiry  was  held  at 
Bury  St.  Edmund's,  on  Wednesday  week,  before 
Mr.  R.  Morgan,  inspector,  respecting  an  applica- 
tion from  the  town  council  for  permission  to  bor- 
row £6,000  for  the  extension  of  the  waterworks. 
The  scheme  will  be  carried  out  from  the  plans  of 
Mr.  E.  Rush  Turner,  engineer,  of  Ipswich,  and 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  W.  Siggers,  borough 
surveyor. 

New  day  and  Sunday-schools  for  the  parish  of 
Farington,  near  Preston,  were  opened  on  Saturday. 
Externally,  they  are  built  of  pressed  red  brick- 
work, relieved  with  stone  strings  and  bauds  of 
black  bricks.  The  gables  are  finished  with 
barge-boards,  having  louvres  for  ventilation  ;  the 
roofs  are  covered  with  green  slates,  capped  with 
red  ridge  tiles.  The  walls  of  chief  rooms  are 
plastered,  aud  have  wooden  dadoes  and  open 
timber  roofs  carried  en  stone  corbels,  and  the 
heating  is  by  hygiastic  ventilating  grates.  There 
is  a  mixed  schoolroom  60ft.  by  22ft.  ;  girls'  class- 
room, 27ft.  by  20ft.;  boys'  class-room,  23ft.  by 
20ft.;  aud  an  infants'  schoolroom,  35ft.  by  20ft., 
as  well  as  lavatories  and  cloak-rooms  ;  at  the 
west  end  is  the  master's  residence.  Messrs. 
Garlick,  Park,  aud  Sykes,  of  Preston,  were  the 
architects,  and  Mr.  John  Walmesley,  of  the  same 
town,  was  the  contractor.  The  outlay  has  been 
about  £3,500. 

The  restoration  of  the  north  porch  of  Salisbury 
Cathedral  has  been  commenced  this  week  ;  the 
entire  expenses  will  be  borne  by  Mrs.  Hamilton, 
the  widow  of  the  late  Dean  of  Salisbiuy,  as  a 
memorial  of  her  husband. 


Cralrc  &t^s. 


WAGES  IVtOVEMENTS. 

Leeds.— The  threatened  strike  in  the  Leeds 
building  trade  has  been  averted,  the  masons  and 
bricklayers  having  consented  to  a  reduction  of  one 
halfpenny  per  hour,  to  take  effect  on  Monday 
next. 

LrvEErooL. — lu  the  case  of  arbitration  on  the 
wages  question,  in  dispute  between  the  master- 
painters  and  operatives  of  Liverpool,  Mr.  J.  F. 
Collier,  the  judge  of  the  county  court,  the  arbi- 
trator, has  awarded  that  the  wages  shall  be  7:!d. 
per  hour  all  the  year  round,  such  advance  to  be 
paid  from  Thursday,  the  Uth  iust. 

Westwood  ftuarries,  near  Bradford-on- 

Aron.     (Established  150  years). 


BOX    GROUND    STONE 


ReJcliff  Hacks,  sti 


.1(1  Ca.  iLiniltod;. 


fWharl.  Bristol. 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.    Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  application  to 
CHAHLES  TRASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Tlminster,  Somerset. 
-[Advt.]      

McIACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St.  James's- 

sti'eet,  S."W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters. 

Designs  and  Estimates. 

General   Repairs    and   Alterations   E.secuted. 

Experienced  "Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  seat  to 

any  part  of  the  country- — [Advt.] 


50,000  Teet  Cube    in   Stock. 

PICTOE  &  SONS, 

BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt. 

TENDEBS. 

«^  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  late,  of  the 
accepted  tender — it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  infoiination. 


Belgeavi  A. — For  enlarging  dining  saloon  and  building  . 
serveiy,  exclusive  of  decorations,  for  Sla j or- General  C. 
Baring,    jir.  W.  H.  Collbran,  architect  :  — 

Hart        JE2i6    0    0 

Helper.— For  alterations  to  the  workhouse  chapel,  for 
the  Board  of  Guaidians  : — 

Bodell,  B £840  0  0 

Thompson,  J.  W 759  0  0 

liver.  T 730  0  0 

Marshall,  W 726  0  0 

Liinb,  W 723  0  0 

Walker,  J 712  0  0 

Hitigley.  A 639  0  0 

Wh.  eldon,  Bros,  (accepted) 632  0  0 

Smith,  A 627  0  0 

Brixtov.— For  erecting  new  wrought-iron  fence  to  the 
Kshtle  Estate.  Hanover-square,  S.W.  Mr.  W.  H. 
Gwyther,  architect  :— 

Pack,  Bros,  (accepted) . 

Bito«LET-BT-Bow.— For  the    erection    of  a  school  to 

provide  accommodation  for  1,300   children,  in  Bromley 

Hall-road,  E.,  for  the  London  School  Boald.    Sir.  E.  IX. 

Kubson,  architect  to  the  Boaid  ;  — 

Staines  and  Son £12,147    0    0 

Brass.  W  11,410    0    0 

Fntchard.  G.  S Il,3a9    0    0 

Hanis  and  Wardrop        11,375    0    0 

Saigeant,  J.  F 11,339    0    0 

Williams,  G.  S.  S.  and  Son       ...        11,;85    0    0 

HiggsandHUl        11,190    0    0 

Wo  .d,  F.  and  F.  J 11,070    0    0 

Cox.  C 10,9(i3    0    0 

Stimpson  and  Co 10,850    0    0 

Bovce.T 10,700    0    0 

J.rraid,  S.  J 10,273    0    0 

Kirk  and  EandaU 10,214    0    0 

Athei ton  and  Latta,  Poplar*  ...  10,020  0  0 
•  Accepted. 
[The  school  consists  of  a  central  hall  on  each  floor' 
reckoned  as  providing  accommodation  for  only  90  children- 
with  the  classrooms  grouped  around  it.  Cost  of  a)  school 
buildings  onlv,  including  closets,  £8,200 ;  b)  tar  pave- 
ment and  playground,  £530 ;  (,<■)  boundarj-  walls  and 
gates,  £530;  {<()  teachers'  rooms,  £300  ;  (t)  schoolkeeper's 
res-dence,  £350  ;  (/)  extra  depth  of  foundations,  £110  ; 
total,  £10,020.  Cost  per  head  of  (n),  (!<),and  (r),£7  2s.5d. ; 
total  cost  per  head,  £7  14s.  2d.] 

Bckto.n-os-Tbest.— For     rebuilding     Holy    Trinity 
Church  : — 
Horsman  &  Co.,  Wolverhampton  (accepted)    £17,142 

EisUEV,  Herts.— For  board  schools  for  guls  and  in- 
fants, for  the  Bushev  School  Board.  Mr.  H.  H.  Bridg- 
man,  A.B.I.B.A.,  architect.  Quantities  supplied  by  Mr. 
Fredei-ick  Thomson  : — 

Larter,  F £2,818,0    0 

Scrivener  and  Co 2,798    0    0 

Andrews  a::d  Son 2,79?    0    0 

Toms,  E. 
Oiadirick,  A.  W. 
Wall,  C. 


__    :it,  J.  E 

Waterman,  G.and  J.  (accepted).. 


2,643 
2,630 
2,600 
2,388 


0    0 
0    0 


CiSTLr-FORD.— For  additions  to  the  cellaring  at  the 
"  Lion  Hotel,"  for  Messrs.  Beverley  Bros.  Mr.  Geo.  H. 
Frar.ce,  architect : — 

Bagnall,  Bros,  (accepted)      £8112    0 

CL-ipn-iH,  S.W.— For  the  erection  of  a  school  to  pro- 
vide accommodation  for  600  children,  in  Wirtembei^g- 
street,  Cla!pham-road,  for  the  Loudon  School  Board,  ill-. 
E.  E.  Eubson,  architect  to  the  Board  :  — 

Staines  and  Son 

Thompson,  J 

Hunt.  J.  l; 

Hart.H 

Marsland,  J 

Lavhey,  Bros 


I 


Hrgsjs  and  HiU 
Nightingale,    B. 
bankment  (at 


£5,S87 

0 

0 

5,705 

0 

0 

5  762 

0 

() 

5,759 

0 

0 

5,740 

0 

0 

6,675 

0 

0 

5,650 

0 

0 

6,537 

0 

U 

E.,  Albeit  Em- 

cepted; 5,483    0    0 

[Cost  of  site  (area  17.530  squire  feet),  £4  607  143.  7d.  ; 
cost  of  (a)  school  buildings  only,including  closets,  £4,223; 
fi)  tar  pavement  and  playground,  £268;  (<■]  boundary 
walls  and  gates,  £362;  (rf)  teachers'  rooms,  £200;  (0 
schoolkeeper's  residence,  £368;  {/)  extra  depth  of 
foundations,  £62 ;  total,  £5,483.  Cost  per  he.ad  of  (o; ,  (*}, 
and  (<■),  £8  Is.  9d. ;  total  cost  per  head,  £9  23.  9d.] 

Forest  Gatk,— For  new  schools  and  chapel  improve- 
ments for  the  Methodist  Free  Church.    Mi-.  F.  Boreham, 
architec".     Quantities  by  Messrs.  Mann  and  Saimders  :  — 
Schools.  Chapel. 

Horlock £2,237    0    0  £900    0    0' 

Alexander        ...        2,232  19    0  1,'>42  19    0 

Sargeant  ...        2,197    0    0  1,315    0    0 

Crjdbold 2,110    0    0  l.-2i;0    0    0 

Bangs     2,0-iO    0    0  1,210    0    0 

Morter 1.963    0    0  1.189    0    0 

^  In  error. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


143 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


LOXBOX,  FRIDAY,   AUG  VST  e,   IE 


IMPEOVEilENTS  IN  BLOOMSBURT. 

BLOOMSBUEY  only  a  century  ago  was 
quite  a  rural  and  isolated  locality. 
Macaulay,  in  his  sketch  of  London,  gives  us 
an  interesting  picture  of  the  neighbourhood 
about  the  year  16S5.  He  describes  two 
celebrated  palaces,  "  each  with  an  ample 
garden,"  on  the  verge  of  pastures  and  corn- 
fields, one  Southampton  or  Bedford  House, 
as  it  was  afterwards  called  ;  and  the  other 
known  as  Montagu  House,  celebrated  for 
its  furniture  and  frescoes,  burned  to  the 
ground,  and  which  afterwards  made  way 
for  the  British  Museum.  Other  writers  and 
old  prints  show  us,  that  the  area  between 
St.  Pancras  and  the  British  Museum 
was  open  country,  and  the  part  immediately 
on  the  rear  of  the  latter  building  was  tiU  the 
end  of  the  last  century  a  district  well  known 
for  every  kind  of  vice,  and  for  the  resort  of 
footpads.  Few  have  not  heard  of  the  "  Field 
of  the  Forty  Footsteps,"  a  story  of  tra- 
dition, the  scene  of  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  at  the  back  of  Montagu  House  ; 
but  we  refer  the  curious  reader  to  the  works 
of  Strype,  Jesse,  Dr.  Pdmbault,  in  Xoiis  and 
Queries,  Southey's  Commonplace  Book,  &c., 
for  further  evidence  of  the  condition  of  the 
locality,  which  has  since  become  one  of 
stately  squares  and  streets.  Few  localities 
have  perhaps  witnessfd  such  rapid  change 
of  fortune  as  Bloomsburj*.  It  was  once 
the  patrician  quarter  of  London,  till  the 
fashionable  world  moved  westward,  and 
even  now  many  of  the  streets  and  squares 
wear  a  look  of  dull  respectability.  The 
architectural  exterior  of  the  houses  is,  by  the 
caprice  of  fashion,  somewhat  more  in  keep- 
ing with  modern  taste  than  it  was  a  decade 
ago ;  the  shabby  hue  of  the  brick  fronts 
with  their  square  windows  and  faded  ^vindow 
drapery,  the  wide  doorways,  with  here  and 
there  some  carved  work  in  the  style  of  the 
Adams,  take  us  back  to  a  period  when  in- 
ternal convenience  was  more  studied  than  it 
is  now.  Internally,  many  of  the  houses 
show  indications  of  former  wealth  :  the 
cornices  and  ceilings  are  in  some  eases  ex- 
cellent examples  of  the  stylo  of  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  the  period  at  which 
many  of  the  squares  were  buUt.  The  firepilaces 
are  often  designed  in  the  best  style  of  this 
age,  the  statuary  marble  mantel  being  en- 
riched by  the  light  and  elegant  festooning 
and  iluted  ornaments  common  to  this  period. 
But  we  hasten  to  notice  a  few  of  the  more 
recent  improvements.  Bloomsbury-square, 
in  Queen  Anne's  reign  the  head-quarters  of 
fashion  according  to  Macaulay,  shows  signs 
of  reconstruction.  On  the  west  side  a  block 
of  old  houses  is  being  remodelled,  and  Mr. 
Collcutt's  red  brick  gabled  house  makes  a 
prominent  feature  in  the  opposite  side  of  the 
square.  We  have  already  illustrated  this 
building.  The  north  side  was  once 
taken  up  by  Bedford  House,  which 
from  the  prints  we  have  seen  of  it  must 
have  been  all  that  the  old  topographers 
said.  It  was  bmlt  by  Inigo  Jones,  had  a  long 
and  rather  low  facade  %vith  ■n'ings,  and  was 
crowned  by  a  cornice  and  balustrade.  The 
pediments  of  the  lower  -windows  and  the 
central  doorway  must  have  been  pleasing 
features.  Behind  the  house  were  fine  gar- 
dens, commanding  in  1772  a  view  of  the 
nsmg  hnis  of  Hampstead  and  Highgate. 
It  would  not  be  surprising  to  find  that 
many  of  the  modem  houses  show  traces  of 
the  old  mansion  of  the  Wriothesleys  in 
their  interior  fittings. 


In  Bloomsbury-street,  at  the  corner  of 
Streatham-street,  a  memorial  infirmary  is 
progressing  towards  completion,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Peacock.  The  structure 
forms  an  —J  shaped  building  open  on  three 
sides.  On  the  ground-floor  there  will  be  a 
dispensary  on  one  side  of  the  hall,  and  a 
commodious  waiting-room,  with  physicians' 
emA  sm-geons'  rooms  on  the  other  side.  Eed 
brick  with  stone  dressings  are  the  materials 
employed,  and  the  architect  has  relieved  the 
front  of  the  building  by  two  slightly  project- 
ing gabled  wings  relieved  by  stone.  The 
gables  are  treated  in  an  Elizabethan  style, 
being  broken  into  segments  and  curves,  and 
finished  by  small  pedimental  compositions 
at  the  apices,  which  have  rather  a  stilted 
appearance.  Dividing  the  stories  are  stone 
cornices  and  friezes,  the  latter  enriched  by 
triglj-phs;  and  the  angles  of  wings  have 
stone  pilasters.  Belief  has  thus  been  liberally 
obtained,  and  the  structure  makes  a  rather 
strong  contrast  with  the  dreary  stucco  and 
brick  of  the  neighbourhood.  Eed  tiles  have 
been  used  for  the  roofing.  In  the  planning, 
the  architect  has,  by  the  arrangement  of  the 
entrances,  caref uUy  avoided  confusion  ;  the 
patients,  after  receiving  advice  and  having 
their  prescriptions  made  up,  can  leave  the 
building  by  a  sepa'ate  entrance  from  that 
by  which  they  entered,  the  latter  being 
provided  in  the  flank  side  of  the  biulding, 
thus  avoiding  crowding  in  the  Bloomsbury- 
street  side.  The  position  of  the  infirmary  is 
a  good  one  :  it  is  retired  from  the  main 
thoroughfares,  and  forms  a  striking  finish  to 
the  block  of  houses.  Mr.  B.  E.  Nightingale, 
of  Albert  Works,  is  the  contractor.  Between 
Little  Eussell-street  and  GUhert-street,  the 
same  architect  has  completed  some  parochial 
schools,  intended  for  the  united  parishes  of 
St.  GHes-in-the-Fields  and  St.  George, 
Bloomsbury,  in  lieu  of  the  old  schools  in 
iluseum-street.  The  front  of  the  schools 
faces  the  former  street,  and  is  designed  in 
the  Elizabethan  style,  with  an  ornamental 
gable  and  side  wing.  Externally,  stock  and 
red  brick  and  stone  have  been  used,  the 
latter  material  freely  in  the  cornices, 
strings,  doorway  dressings,  and  gable. 
Crowning  the  latter  is  a  pedimented  tablet, 
with  date,  supported  bj'  a  central  pier,  which 
divides  the  windows.  Over  the  entrance 
wiing  is  a  niche  with  figures,  and  a  tab'et 
over  entrance  inscribed  with  the  name  and 
date  of  the  schools.  The  fagade  has  a  neat 
but  a  little  crowded  appearance ;  the  windows 
are  plaiu  segment -headed,  -with  casements 
below  and  pivoted  casements  over  the 
transoms.  In  the  interior  arrangement  the 
most  has  been  made  of  the  area.  The 
ground-floor  contains  a  committee-room  in 
the  front,  a  hall  and  stairs,  a  cloak-room  in 
an  intermediate  position,  and  a  school  or 
classroom  in  the  rear,  with  a  matron's  room, 
entered  from  the  passage,  which  is  lighted 
by  a  side  area.  The  stairs  in  front  lobby  are 
deal,  with  stained  and  varnished  soffits  and 
strings,  and  the  rooms  are  paved  with  wood 
blocks  set  herring-bone-wise  ;  the  passages 
on  all  the  floors  being  of  artificial  cement 
mosaic,  which  makes  a  hard,  impervious, 
and  efi'ective  floor.  Landing  on  the  first 
floor,  the  same  general  arrangement  is  re- 
peated ;  there  is  a  front  room  lighted  by  two 
windows  with  casements,  and  the  upper 
ones  falling  inwards,  and  in  the  rear  a  long 
schoolroom,  lighted  from  Gilbert-street, 
plainly  finished,  while  the  corridor  leads  to  a 
large  lavatory  and  bath-room,  lighted  from 
the  same  street.  On  the  second  floor  a  long 
schoolroom  occupies  the  centre  depth  from 
front  to  back,  ceiled  to  the  collars,  the  angle 
struts  being  exposed.  A  lavatory  and 
small  room  is  obtained  at  the  back,  and  the 
passages,  as  in  the  ground-floor,  are  well 
lighted  from  the  side  area.  In  the  base- 
ment a  dining-room,  lighted  by  area,  a  kit- 
chen, and  a  large  laundry  for  the  girls,  fitted 
with  every  convenience,  are  provided. 
The  Gilbert-street   elevation  is   effectually 


finished  in  stock  brick  relieved  by  red  brick 
aiches  and  gable.  All  the  fireplaces  are  of 
oak,  in  keeping  with  the  stj'le,  and  the 
fronts  are  filled,  at  the  side  of  grates,  with 
painted  tUes.  Hart-street,  which  now 
iorms  a  continuous  thoroughfare  with  King's- 
road  and  Theobald's  -  road,  connecting 
Bloomsbury  with  ClerkcnwcU,  has  recently 
been  improved  in  its  architectural  appear- 
ance. On  its  north  side,  a  large  red  brick 
and  stone  block  of  offices  and  shops  has  been 
lately  built,  the  main  feature  of  which  is 
an  arcaded  ground-story,  of  red  granite 
shafts  and  stone  arches,  above  which  are 
spacious  oflices,  with  mullioncd  windows, 
designed  in  a  Eenaissance  style.  The  brick 
walling  and  stone  dressings  are  already 
beginning  to  lose  their  freshness  ;  but  the 
work  is  decidedly  an  improvement  on  the 
drabby  hue  of  the  stuccoed  fronts  in  its 
immediate  vicinity.  As  we  pass  Hawkes- 
moor's  Church  of  St.  George  we  cannot 
avoid  refiecting  on  the  justice  of  Horace 
Walpole's  satire  that  the  steeple  is  the 
master-stroke  of  absurdity,  "  with  its 
obelisk,  crowned  by  a  statue  of  George  I., 
and  hugged  by  the  royal  supporters."  Still, 
with  all  its  recent  improvements,  the  eastern 
end  of  the  street  looks  mifinished,  the  un- 
sightly bare  walls  at  the  end  of  Southamp- 
ton-row and  Ked  Lion-square  giving  a  very 
rough  and  ragged  appearance  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood. In  Theobjld's-road,  the  strip 
of  building-land  on  the  south  side,  left  by 
the  Metropolitan  Board,  is  gradually  being 
filled  up  with  shops.  We  notice  two  new 
blocks  of  white  brick  and  stone  in  a  rather 
nondescript  style ;  in  the  first  we  come  to, 
the  windows  are  marked  out  from  the  front 
by  a  pecidiar  treatment,  and  each  vertical 
tier  is  finished  by  a  pediment,  forminjj  a 
series  of  narrow  bays  in  the  facade.  The 
comer  is  simply  canted  off  ;  but  the  manner 
in  which  the  upper  part  is  finished  is  simply 
"  amazing,"  with  its  elongated  corbels  and 
blank  space.  There  is  a  Manchester-ware- 
house look  in  the  treatment,  ihe  effect  being 
too  stereotyped  and  mechanical  to  be  good. 
Another  block  shows  an  attempt  to  intro- 
duce colom-ed  brick  and  cement  decoration. 
The  latter  ornament  consists  of  a  series  of 
small  panels  of  impressed  cemf  nt  in  the  piers 
of  stock  brick,  and  the  cfi'ect  is  a  trifle 
better.  The  harmony  between  the  stock 
bricks  of  two  tints  and  the  brown  moriar 
pointLngispleasing,andthetreatment, despite 
its  poor  and  meagre  details,  is  an  endeavour 
todosomethingfreshatleast.  Ornamentation 
in  panels  has  not  been  attempted  with  any 
great  success  in  London  at  x>resent ;  but  it 
has  the  advantage  of  enabling  the  architect 
to  dispense  with  columnar  and  other  forms 
of  relief  which  are  more  costly,  and  cannot 
well  be  introduced  in  other  materials  than 
stone  or  brick.  We  see  many  gaps  in  this 
thoroughfare,  and  the  very  incomplete  con- 
dition of  its  junction  with  Southampton- 
row  and  Eed  Lion-square  is  an  unsatis- 
factory instance  of  the  piecemeal  way  in 
which  public  improvements  are  earned  on 
in  London.  Bedford-row,  a  fashionable 
locality  in  the  beginning  of  the  isth  cen- 
tury, seems  slow  to  improve,  though  its  old 
houses  contain  some  finepanelling,  staircases, 
and  plaster-work.  Between  Southampton- 
row  and  Gray's  Inn-road,  many  mterestmg 
specimens  of  old  buildings  stfll  exist,  if 
only  an  explorer  be  found  to  ransack  some 
of  the  old  houses  before  they  are  pulled 
do-mi.  In  High  Holbom  we  make  note 
of  a  large  new  rei-brick  block  of  chambers, 
offices,  and  shops  facing  Dean-street,  but 
■svithout  any  architectural  merit.  The 
carved  stone  heads  over  the  windows  of 
first  floor,  and  the  meagre  scanty  cornice, 
aire  the  facade  a  very  commonplace  ware- 
house effect',  the  only  point  of  reHef  bemga 
red-tiled  roof.  The  shop-fronts  are  made 
sUo-htly  to  project  from  the  front  of 
buSding.  Before  very  long  we  may  ex- 
pect to   see   considerable  reconstruction  in 


144 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


this  part  of  Holbom,  and  we  hopo  tliat 
so  fine  a  thoroughfare  will  not  suffer  from 
the  change,  as  it  will  undoubtedly  do  if  the 
warehouse  style  which  threiitens  it  prevails  ; 
and  we  should  bo  sorry  to  seo  it  transformed 
into  a  second  Southwark  or  Queen  Victoria- 
street.  Taking  a  leap  from  south  to  north, 
we  reach  the  neighbourhood  of  Euston- 
road,  which  is  gradua'ly  improving.  On 
the  north  side,  next  the  Midland  terminus, 
a  nest  of  dilajjidated  houses  has  been 
demolished;  in  fact  nearly  the  whole  area 
known  as  Somcrs  Town  is  ojicn  field  again, 
Ossulton-street  still  remaining  as  the 
•western  boundary.  Wo  are  glad  to  find 
this  great  thoroughfare,  connecting  the 
leading  northern  railway  termini,  is  about 
to  assume  anew  aspect. 


MISUSE  OF  THE  PILASTER. 

IN  these  days  of  architectural  cribbing  it  is 
not  sui-prisiug  to  meet  with  designs  and 
buildings  which  exhibit  little  respect  for 
recognised  authorities.  What  the  source  of 
inspiration  is,  whether  the  designer  borrows 
from  good  or  second-rate  examples,  would 
seem  to  be  immaterial  rjuestions  to  those  who 
are  content  to  copy  features.  But  common- 
sense  at  least  ought  to  have  some  influence  in 
detemiiuing  whether  certain  features  can  be 
applied  or  not.  It  should  certainly  decide 
the  propriety  or  otherwise  of  using  details 
which  at  one  time  were  intended  as  intelli- 
gible and  meaning  adjimcts  to  buildings. 
For  instance,  a  column  or  pilaster  always, 
tiU  the  worst  period  of  the  Renaissance,  ex- 
pressed some  kind  of  support,  and  it  is 
obviously  absurd,  unless  architectural  forms 
are  to  be  employed  as  meaningless  jar- 
gon, to  introduce  such  a  feature  with- 
out some  apparent  motive.  As  a 
pilaster  expresses  support,  we  take  it  that 
anything  like  a  sham  pilaster,  used 
in  total  forgetfulness  of  this  principle,  is  a 
violation  of  all  architectural  meaning.  In 
all  forms  of  literary  composition,  if  we  use 
a  word  or  a  phrase  ambiguously,  in  defiance 
either  of  the  rules  of  grammar  or  metrical 
arrangement,  we  are  held  up  to  deserved 
ridicule  ;  in  architecture  alone  among  the 
fine  arts  rules  of  composition  have  lately 
been  set  at  nought,  and  looked  upon  as  the 
mark  of  inspired  genius.  It  is  not  a  suffi- 
cient excuse  to  appeal  to  the  vagaries  of  the 
Eenaissance  to  justify  the  irregularities  we 
see  repeated.  The  architects  of  that  period 
were  passing  through  a  stage  of  transition, 
and  their  work  we  look  upon  as  thoroughly 
representative  of  the  15th  and  16th  centuries, 
and  as  tndy  expressing  a  style  of  their  own, 
as  the  poetry  of  Spenser  or  the  essays  of 
Bacon  in  the  Elizabethan  period  of  English 
literature.  As  the  diction  of  that  age  was 
eminently  striking  and  picturesque,  so  the 
architecture,  by  its  admixture  of  English 
and  foreign  elements,  became  a  distinct  and 
pleasing  combination  of  features.  Archi- 
tects have  never  done  imitating  the  pictur- 
esque forms  of  Elizabethan  building.  WTiat 
would  be  said  of  our  authors  and  poets 
if  they  in  like  manner  copied  the  style 
of  the  "  Faerie  Queen  "  or  the  "  Shep- 
herd's Calendar":-  Now,  the  pilaster 
is  essentially  a  feature  bon-owed  from  the 
Eenaissance,  but  in  all  good  examples  we 
find  it  expressing  support,  even  although  it 
be  reduced  to  a  mere  superficial  strip  of 
stone.  But,  by  some  freak  of  fancy,  we 
have  lately  noticed  it  employed  as  a  mean- 
ingless ornament,  supporting  nothing, 
marking  no  separation,  and  implying  no 
structural  function  whatever.  In  a  few 
recent  buildings  we  have  seen,  the  pilasters 
are  placed  as  isolated  ornaments,  attached  to 
the  wall  of  the  groimd-story  -n-ithout  any- 
thmg  above  them  ;  in  another  instance  we 
find  they  h.ave  been  introduced  on  the  top  of 
^^.*™>g-course,  carried  by  corbels  below 
tneir  bases ;  and  a  very  common  misuse  of 


them  consists  in  making  them  rest  on  the 
keystones  of  window-arches.     To  introduce 
pilasters  as  mere  pedestals  is,  perhaps,  the 
greater  folly  ;  but  in  all  these  instances  the 
featiu-e  has  been  misapplieil,  and  we  question 
whether  any  good  precedent  can  be  found 
for  it.      A    rather    favourite    device   with 
some   architects   is  to  pile  up  narrow  piers 
of    brickwork    upon    pilasters,    a    practice 
only  a  degree  better  than  stopping  them  .at  the 
capital ;  and  we  have  even  noticed  the  mon- 
strosity of  piling  pilasters  over  one  another 
without   any  intervening  entablature ;    the 
base  of  one  resting  on  the  abacus  of  the  lower. 
In  the  employment  of  the  entablature  as  a 
horizontal    separation    between    stories   we 
find  a  confused  sense  of  the  meaning  and 
value   of    its   three   component    parts  :  the 
architrave  is    occasionally  repeated  in  the 
heads    of    the   windows,   even   if    the  two 
architraves  are   thereby   bi'ought   close  to- 
gether ;  we  frequently  meet  with   a   depth 
of    entablature     quite    disproportioned    to 
the    facade ;     for    instance,    we    often   see 
the   entablature  between   the   ground   and 
first     stories     proportioned     without     any 
reference   to  the  heights  of   the  stories  or 
the  order.     If  we  notice  any  good  building 
of  the  Revival,  such  as  Inigo  Jones's  design 
for  the  facade  of   Wilton   House,   the  ob- 
servance of   the  ride  we  have  hinted   at  is 
foimd.      There  is    no    order,    but   a  broad 
pleasing  eff'ect  of  proportion  is  attained  by 
omitting   the   frieze     and     architrave,    and 
crowning  the  building  by  a  block  cornice. 
This  feature  connects  the  lofty  angle  blocks, 
and  is  well  proportioned  to  the  height  of  the 
facade.     If  the  architect  had  introduced  the 
full   complement  of    the    entablature,    the 
height    would     have     been     reduced     and 
the   employment  of    an   order   or  pilasters 
required.       As     it     is,      the     composition 
is  classical  and  elegant,   while  there  is  an 
avoidance  of   the   mechanical   appearance  a 
row  of  pilasters  would  have  had.  In  modern 
buildings  we  find  very  little  consideration  is 
given  to  these  matters  ;  whole  entablatures 
are  employed  ^\-ith  and  without  an  order  of 
columns  or  pilasters  below.     What  we  con- 
tend is  that   architects   have  an  interest  in 
preserving  the   intention  of  these  features, 
and   that  by  misapplying  them  they  bring 
the  art  and  profession  into  contempt.  We  might 
point   to   the    ridiculous  manner    in  which 
arches  are  sometimes  used  ;  as,  for  example, 
the  employment  of  a   relieving  arch  over  a 
thick   lintel    for   a   small  opening,   thereby 
exhibiting  excessive  precaution,  one  of   the 
"fads"   of    the  Gothicist  ;    the  incising  of 
ornament  on  arches  and  lintels  in  which  all 
idea  of  the  true  function  of  those  structures 
is  lost  sight  of,  and  a  variety  of  other  faults 
which  would  take  far  more  space  than  we 
have  at  our  disposal.     If  architectural  fea- 
tures have  a  definite  purpose  in  the  forma- 
tion  of  a  style,  if  we   look   upon  them  as 
the   outcome  of    wants    expressed  in  stone 
or  brick,  let  us  at  least  be  consistent  in  their 
use.      But  the  question  turns  so  intimately 
on  style,  that  we  may  be  led  into  a  longer 
and  more  abstract  discussion  than  we  shotdd 
care  to  enter.      We  suspect  many  of  those 
who  follow  their  own  devices  and  conceits 
in  these  matters  apply  the  motto  of  Buifou 
to  themselves  who  said  "  Style  is  the  man  "  ; 
in  other  words,  style  is  the  simple  reflection 
of  an  artist's  personality  found  in  the  work 
of  every  artist  who  has  any.    But  this  defini- 
tion does  not  ajiply  to  those  who  copy  only  to 
pervert,    as    the   school  does  to  whom   we 
have  been  referring.     The  remarkable  point 
in  the  misapplication  we  have  alluded  to  is 
that  its  followers  are  chiefly  copyists :  they 
carefully  mimic  features  for  the  purpose  of 
employing  them  in  any  connection  they  like. 
If  this  misappropriation  is  the  personality  of 
the  artist,  we  say  no  more  :  we  can  only  say 
it  is  not   art.     Again,  it  would   puzzle  the 
future  historian  or  lexicogr.apher  of  architec- 
ture in  describing  or  defining  features  that 
had  lost  their  original  import. 


THE     VICTORIA     EMBANKMENT.— A 
CONSTRUCTIVE  STUDY. 

(Contimicti  from  j>.  IIG.) 

ON  proceeding  to  the  western  extremity  of 
the  Embankment,  we  find  the  more  pre- 
tentious wall,  shutting  out  from  the  view 
of  the  passers-by  the  aristocratic  'WhitehaU 
quarter,  better  in  character,  although  builf 
of  gault  bricks  and  Portland  stone.  The 
bricks  do  not  appear  to  have  suffered  so 
much,  but  the  stone  is  veiy  uneven  in 
quality,  and  of  divers  shades  and  tints, 
much  of  it  being  already  green  from  in- 
cipient vegetation. 

This  stretch  of  river-side  Embankment 
may  be  regarded  as  the  most  convenient 
carriage  and  footway  within  the  Metro- 
politan circle.  It  is  well  and  judiciously 
planted  with  trees,'  which  already  afford 
good  and  grateful  shelter  from  the  summer 
sun.  The  carriageway  is  substantially 
formfd,  and  finished  at  top  with  Guernsey 
granite  "Macadam,"  and  its  well-rounded 
surface  offers  a  ready  and  efficient  means 
for  the  passage  of  the  water  during  storms 
of  rain.  The  footways  are  laid  with  York 
flag  or  paving,  but  it  already  shows  signs  of 
incipient  decay,  owing  to  the  laminated 
character  of  the  sedimentary  deposit  from 
which  it  is  derived.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  so  obtain  the  York  landing  or  "flag" 
from  the  quarries  as  to  secure  its  being  laid 
in  its  quarry  or  natural  bed.  The  result  is, 
as  we  see  in  the  dilapidated  condition  of  both 
pavements,  where  there  is  hardly  one  stone 
free  from  damage  caused  by  the  action 
of  water  or  frost.  The  stone  is  naturally 
absorptive  in  character,  and  when  its 
original  surface  is  cut  through,  it  permits 
the  passage  of  water  between  its  thin  and 
clearly-defined  "  leaves."  Frost  super- 
vening under  such  circumstances  exerts  a 
too-easily  acquired  mechanical  force,  which 
readily  degrades  the  stone,  separating  by 
its  insidious  action  one  lamina  from  the 
other.  The  fitful  and  irregular  character  of 
last  winter  had  a  most  prejudicial  effect  on 
the  York  pavement  of  the  Victoria  Embank- 
ment, and  frequently  in  the  early  morning 
after  a  slight  frost,  gi-eat  quantities  of 
loosened  sandstone  could  be  seen  strewed  all 
over  its  surfaces. 

It  is  almost  a  pity  that  those  who  de- 
signed and  carried  out  this  great  scheme  did 
not  consider  whether  the  passenger-traffic 
would  have  been  better  had  it  been  confined 
to  the  centre  of  its  whole  width,  and  a  double 
row  of  trees  planted.  By  such  an  arrange- 
ment the  carriage  trafBc  woidd  have  been 
split,  and  a  wide  and  convenient  promenade 
of  goodly  proportions  secured  for  pe- 
destrians. 

In  our  traverse  to  and  fro  we  have  not 
taken  notice  of  the  buildings  on  the  Em- 
bankment, or  those  which  we  may  say 
flank  its  two  ends.  St.  Paul's  at  the  east, 
and  the  Houses  of  Parliament  at  the  west, 
illustrate  to  the  constructive  student  perhaps 
two  of  the  most  practical  and  profitable 
lessons  he  coidd  read.  The  grand  and  im- 
posing Metropolitan  Cathedral,  now  nearly 
two  hundred  years  old,  was  built  with  the 
famous  and  best  bed  of  Portland  stone  from 
the  Oolitic limestoneformation,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  neglect  it  has  met  with  at  the 
hands  of  its  clerical  custodians,  continues  to 
maintain  a  goodly  appearance,  and  if  the  soot 
and  other  impurities  with  which  its  exterior 
is  impregnated  were  removed,  the  pristine 
bf  auty  of  the  fine  old  building  would  gladden 
the  sight  of  Londoners  and  -s-isitors  from  all 
lands.  But  at  the  western  end  of  our  stroll 
we  find  the  nation's  houses  of  legislature, 
although  but  recently  erected  and  finished 
not  much  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  in  a 
chronic  state  of  decay,  requiring  the  utmost 
vigilance  to  maintain  its  crumbling  parts  in 
a  safe  and  habitable  condition.  The  stone 
used  in  building  the  Houses  of  Parliament 
was  obtained  from  the  Magnesian  limestone 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


145 


deposits  of  the  Permian  formation,  and 
before  its  selection  a  commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  examine  and  report  on  the  best- 
known  building  stones  of  England,  Wales, 
and  Scotland.  The  examination  was  a  most 
exhaustive  one,  and  resulted  in  a  report  of 
great  and  interesting  value ;  but  it  failed 
to  secm-e  a  durable  stone  for  the 
most  important  budding  in  England,  if 
not  in  the  world.  The  accomplished  architect 
of  the  Houses  of  Parhament,  if  he  had  not 
the  trials  of  vexatious  personal  interference 
experienced  by  "Wren,  was  surrounded  by  a 
large  and  influential  crowd  of  advanced 
scientists,  who  were  instrumental  in  almost 
forcing  upon  his  acceptance  a  stone  which, 
even  before  the  completion  of  the  building 
in  which  it  was  used,  gave  evidence  of  pre- 
mature decay.  Kearly  eveiy  quarrj*  pro- 
ducing building  stone  of  any  note  in  Eng- 
land, Wales,  and  Scotland,  was  most  care- 
fully examined,  and  a  very  valuable  report 
from  the  commissioners  employed  published 
of  the  result  of  their  labours  — geologist, 
mineralogist,  chemist,  and  practical  con- 
structor combining  in  their  respective  e.x- 
periences  aud  knowledge  to  produce  the 
most  accurate  record  of  their  investigations. 
Such  report  was  received  with  confidence 
by  the  public  from  the  well-known  ability 
of  those  engaged  in  its  compilation,  and  the 
architect  accepted,  without  the  least  hesita- 
tion, the  stone  adjudged  by  so  imjiortant  a 
tribunal  to  be  best  for  his  great  work.  The 
result  has  been  too  often  deprecated  in  these 
pages  to  need  further  mention. 

The  lesson  to  be  read  from  a  careful  and 
studious  examination  of  these  two  noble 
architectural  piles  is  a  useful  one,  and  so 
far  as  the  respective  qualities  of  the  stones 
of  which  they  are  built  is  concerned,  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  constructive 
student.  The  chemical  analyses  of  the 
Anston  and  Portland  stones,  taken  from  the 
commissioners'  rejjort,  are  as  imder  :— 

Anston.  Portland. 
Silica       ...            ...            ...           3-60        120 

Carbonate  of  lime  ...         51-10  9510 

Carbonate  of  magnesia     ...         40'20       1'20 
Iron  alumina       ...  ...  ISO        050 

Water  and  loss    ...  ...  393        1-94 

While  the  weight  of  the  two  stones  was,  in 
their  ordinary  condition,  as  follows  : — 

Anston  about  1521b.  per  c.  foot. 

Portland  about  Holb.  per  c.  loot. 

Their  absorptive  proportions  being  the  mag- 
nesian  0-174,  and  Portland  0-206,  when 
thoroughly  desiccated. 

Another  good  example  of  the  durability 
of  Portland  stone  may  be  seen  on  our 
line  of  route  at  Somerset  House,  finished  in 
1780.  UntU  the  construction  of  the  Victoria 
Embankment,  oiu-  knowledge  of  this  mag- 
nificent budding  was  limited  to  the  front  in 
the  Strand,  for  the  river  front  was  inaoces 
sible  except  by  boat  at  high  water.  The 
bold  carving  aud  rusticated  quoins  of  what 
may  bo  called  the  basement  of  Somerset 
House  remain  apparently,  after  a  hundred 
years'  exposure  to  a  London  climate,  perfect 
in  charac'er,  forming  a  maiked  contrast  to 
the  adjoining  granite  structure  of  Waterloo 
Bridge,  which  lias  not  been  built  much  more 
than  half  a  contuiy. 

Another  structure,  the  Temple  Librarj-,  in 
the  Temple-gardens,  furnishes  us  with  an 
illustration  of  the  stone  of  which  it  is  built 
being  unable  to  withstand  the  London 
atmosphere.  Ihe  stone  is  from  the  OoHtio 
formation,  having  been  obtained  from  the 
Great  or  Bath  Oolitic  group,  being  below  the 
Portland  stone  beds,  from  which  it  is 
separated  by  the  Kimmeridge  and  Oxford 
clays.  The  Temple  Library  was  finished  in 
18G1,  and  is,  therefore,  not  yet  twenty  years 
old  ;  but  at  the  present  time  it  exhibits  the 
most  marked  signs  of  decay,  and  the 
external  faces  of  the  buttresses  especially, 
may  be  rubbed  off  with  a  slight  pressure  of 
the  hand.  There  is  no  building  that  we 
know  of  in  London  where  is  abetter,  orratber 
a  worse,  illustration  of  the  unsuitabUity  of 


this  particular  stone  of  which  it  is  built  for 
a  London  site.  Those  intrusted  with  its 
preservation  should  lose  no  time  in  repair- 
ing, as  far  as  possible,  the  ravages  of  this 
disease  of  stone,  for  we  can  call  it  by  no 
other  name.  There  are  some  buildings  ad- 
joining this  struotui'e  upwards  of  200  years 
years  old,  that  show  no  such  signs  of  decay 
as  the  Temjde  Library. 

The  School  Board  of  London's  new  build- 
ing between  Temple  Station  and  Temple 
Library  already  begins  to  indicate  that  the 
stone  used  is  not  proof  against  the  insidious 
attacks  of  a  polluted  atmosphere. 

We  have  said  enough  to  show  that  much 
useful  information  may  be  obtained  by  a 
careful  study  of  the  building  materials  we 
have  named,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  similar 
opportunity  to  be  found  in  Loudon  for  such 
an  examination  as  a  stroll  along  the  Vic- 
toria Embankment.  In  describing  the  walls, 
&c  ,  of  this  most  important  woik  we  have 
not  separated  the  artificial  products  from 
those  obtained  fromnatural  sources.  Although 
the  bricks  undergo  certain  manufacturing 
manipidation,  \lie  materials  of  which  they 
are  composed  are  natural  clays.  There  is, 
on  this  same  embankment,  a  very  well- 
known  artificial  stone  which,  at  the  Temple 
Station,  where  it  is  used  to  a  considerable 
extent  as  ballusters  and  coping,  unfor- 
tunately shows  marked  indications  of  decay. 
The  external  efflorescence,  accompanied  by 
decomposition,  of  the  more  exposed  oma- 
men'al  lines,  indicates  either  that  artificial 
stone  so  made  is  unsuited  for  the  climate  or 
atmosphere  in  which  it  is  thus  placed,  or 
that  some  errors  were  committed  in  its  pre- 
paration. Wo  have  not  found  that  this 
artificial  stone  from  our  own  careful  obser- 
vation is  competent  to  resist  the  wearing 
action  of  this  climate  in  external  works, 
although  the  examples  we  have  seen  in  the 
interiors  of  buildings  show  its  high  capacity 
for  internal  decoration  generally.  The  pro 
cess  by  which  it  is  prepared  is  a  chemical 
one,  and  therefore,  any  mistake  in  the  pro- 
portion of  the  materials,  or  carelessness  in  their 
final  manipulation,  would  be  sure  t)  lead  to 
the  results  above  described. 

The  Victoria  Embankment  not  only  repre- 
sents the  best  examples  within  oirr  reach 
of  building  materials,  but  may  be  regarded, 
from  a  utUitarian  point  of  view,  as  the  most 
successful  constructive  undertaking  of 
modem  times.  Primarily  designed  to  secure 
a  more  uniform  margin  to  the  river  shore, 
it,  at  the  same  time,  utdised  the  unsightly 
mud  banks,  which,  at  low  water,  were  both 
unsightly  aud  unsavoury.  Besides  that, 
however,  it  provided  for  the  main  drain  and 
subway,  while,  subsequent!}',  the  Metropo- 
litan District  EaUway  Company  took  advan- 
tage of  its  substantial  surroundings  to 
construct  their  line  underground. 

We  trust  that  when  plenary  power  is 
vested  in  the  Metroijolitan  Board  to  control, 
without  the  chance  of  opposition  from 
privileged  gas  and  water  comp.anies,  that 
the  well-designed  subways  will  be  utilised 
and  devoted  to  the  purposes  for  which  they 
were  originally  dedicated.  When  gas  and 
watercompanies  have  thepower  which  enables 
the  obstinate  officialism  with  which  they  are, 
unhappdy,  too  frequently  associated  to  reject 
the  use  of  such  accommodation,  it  denotes 
blundering  legislation,  the  rectification  of 
which  should  be  at  once  tet  about.  The 
vendors  of  gas  and  water  to  such  a  popula- 
tion as  that  of  London  shoidd  not  hesitate  to 
adopt  every  improvement,  more  especially 
when  they  are  undettiken  and  carried  out 
by  a  competent  boar  J,  which  wUl  reduce 
the  risk  of  accidents,  and  improve  the 
means  by  which  these  indispensable  supplies 
are  distributed.  By  the  use  of  subways,  all 
chance  of  explosion  or  waste  -svould  be  pre- 
vented, .and  certainly  a  groat  saving  in  the 
wear-and-tear  of  pipes,  which  now  in  their 
deeply-imbedded  trenches  are  continually 
being    damaged  by  oxidation,   and   under 


such  circumstances,  other  unavoidable 
destructive  causes. 

The  Victoria  Embankment,  therefore, 
secures  the  triple  a<lvantag(!  of  river,  road, 
and  railway  accommodation,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  great  public  benefit  secured  by  tho 
main  drain,  which  convoys  11  largo  amount 
of  the  West-end  sewage  to  tlio  river  outfaU. 

In  the  frequent  reparation  to  tlio  carriage- 
way of  the  Embankmcut,  tho  be.st  means 
are  adopted  for  tlie  maintenance  of  a  first- 
cla-ss  "  Macadam  "  surface.  The  granite  is 
carefully  broken  to  tho  regulution  size,  and 
laid  on  tho  freshly  p-ckod-u])  and  roughened 
surface,  which  is  afterwarJs  coaled  with 
finely-broken  granite,  on  which  is  put  a 
thin  covering  of  ekan  sharp  pit-sand.  On 
this  well-proportioMid  mixture  tho  steam 
roller  is  passed  to  .-lu.!  fio  until  it  assumes  a 
dense  and  solid  character.  Wlien  finished, 
tho  accurate  contour  of  tlio  road  testifies  to 
the  care  bestowed  in  its  formation,  and  if 
these  lines  could  be  maintained  for  any 
length  of  time,  the  most  exacting  metro- 
politan ratepayer  could  not  grumble  ot  its 
cost.  In  a  very  short  period,  however,  tho 
tratlic  in  its  hainmeiing  action  disturbs  this 
fair  and  jileasant-looking  road,  producing 
ruts,  mud,  and  dust,  showing  too  clearly 
that  it  is  only  a  question  of  time,  and  a  very 
short  time  too,  when  this  good  and  ap- 
parently substantial  surface  will  have  again 
to  be  repaired. 


A  RECENT  VISIT  TO  RUSSIA. 

HAVING  glanced  at  the  inclosing  walls 
ot  the  Kremlin,  at  Moscow,  we  will 
pay  a  risit  to  the  principal  buildings  in  the 
interior.  These  are  situate  on  tho  lines  of 
tho  north-west  and  north-east  walls,  which 
form  two  sides  of  the  triangle,  the  south 
side  being  occupied  by  tho  sloping  terrace 
descending  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  Of  tho 
age  of  these  buildings  it  is  difficult  to  speak; 
a  grejt  part  are  the  work  of  this  and  the 
last  century  ;  but  the  churches  and  part  of 
the  old  palace,  although  wo  are  told  that 
ever  J'  portion  except  the  inclosing  walls 
fell  before  the  great  fire  of  1737,  bear 
evidence  of  considerable  antiquity.  The 
most  conspicuous  object,  and  one  that 
occupies  a  very  central  position,  is  the 

TOWER   OF    IVAN  TILE   ORE.IT, 

budt  by  the  Czar  Noris  Godunof  in  IGOO. 
This  is  an  octagonal  tower  of  three  stages, 
each  of  which  in  the  upper  part  is  pierced 
with  arches  for  the  admission  of  bells.  This 
tower  is  terminated  by  a  circular  stage 
enriched  with  gablets  of  an  Asiatic  tj-pc, 
and  capped  with  an  ogee  or  bulb-shaped 
golden  dome.  This  tower,  >rith  tho  sur- 
mounting cross,  is  320ft.  in  height,  and, 
being  accessible  to  the  public,  is  a.sccnded 
in  the  same  msinner  as  our  London  Monu- 
ment to  the  Great  Fire.  From  the  basement 
being  occupied  as  a  chapel  dedicatcfl  to 
"  St.  John  of  the  Ladder,"  it  may,  although 
o-rouping  in  with  the  Coronation  Church,  bo 
considered  a  church  of  itself.  Like  the 
adjoining  fabric,  it  is  a  brick  const  ruction, 
tho  face  of  which  is  stuccoed  and  fini.^hcd 
white  or  light  buff.  Adjoining  I  ho  f  iitranoo 
to  this  tower,  and  open  to  the  court  or 
terrace  of  the  Kremlin,  stands  the 

GRE.VT  DELL  OF  MCSCOW. 
From  our  boyish  days  upwards  we  have 
heard  of  this  great  and  unfortunate  bell ; 
but  we  wore  scarcely  prepared  to  find  it  so 
colossal  in  its  projiortions.  It  is  truly  caUed 
the  "  King  of  Bells,"  a  title  it  by  no  means 
loses  when  comparcl  with  tho  grcotcst  of 
the  34  bells,  the  Assumption-bell,  of  (H  tons, 
in  tho  adjoining  tower,  for  it  is  givra  as 
■>00  tons  iu  weight.  This  great  bell  is 
something  over  Jlft.  high  in  the  casting, 
and  26fl.  4in.  to  the  top  of  tho  ball  and 
cross.  Its  circumference  at  the  top  is 
•2Gft.  ^in.,  and  at  the  rim  G7ft.  llin.  From 
the  lower  part   a  piece  isdetaihed;  this, 


146 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


placed  alongside,  is  "ft.  high,  2ft.  thick,  and 
11  tons  in  weight.  The  value  of  the  metal 
in  this  bell  is  given  as  £350,000.  The 
founding  of  largo  bolls  in  Russia  has  for 
many  centuries  been  a  matter  of  prime  con- 
sideration. History  records  the  casting  of 
one  at  Moscow  in  1553,  the  weight  of  which 
WPS  about  IG  tons,  and  a  Polish  traveller  in 
1611  relates  having  seen  a  large  bell,  the 
clapper  of  which  was  moved  by  24  men. 
Another  trjiveller  records  the  casting  of  a 
great  beU  about  1600  ;  half  a  century  later 
this  was  recast,  when  its  circumference  was 
51ft.,  and  its  weight  over  100  tons.  This 
bell  was  broken  in  a  lire  in  1706,  and,  with 
additional  metal  of  gold,  silver,  &c.,  was 
recast  as  the  present  bell  in  1733.  Four 
years  later  it  shared  the  fate  of  its  prede- 
cessor, being  broken  in  the  fire  that  wrecked 
the  Kremliu  in  1737.  This  bell,  in  its  fall, 
•was  deeply  imbedded  in  the  ground^  where 
it  lay  for  close  upon  a  century ;  it  was  owing 
to  this  circumstance  that  Napoleon  aban- 
doned the  idea  of  bearing  it  away  as  a  trophy 
of  war.  Its  exumation  took  place  in  1836, 
when  it  was  placed  upon  the  present  base  of 
stonework,  which  is  about  5ft.  in  height, 
and  through  which  a  gateway  is  formed  to 
give  access  to  the  interior.  The  iron  ham- 
mer, or  clapper,  lies  on  the  ground  beneath 
the  bell,  and  the  broken  piece  is  placed 
against  the  outside  of  the  base,  immediately 
below  its  original  position.  The  bright 
particles  of  metal  in  the  section  show  how 
largely  it  is  composed  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  this  has  led  to  the  supposition 
that  the  fractures  were  caused  by  the 
imperfect  cohesion  of  the  metal,  omnng 
to  the  ladies  of  the  Court  of  Queen  Anne, 
casting  into  the  furnace  their  ornaments  of 
gold  and  silver.  An  inspection  of  it  clearly 
shows  that  it  has  been  fractured  by  fire,  for 
the  lines  of  breakage  ma}'  be  traced  in  other 
parts  than  that  where  the  great  fault 
exists. 

In  the  inspection  of  this  great  citadel  we 
are  impressed  with  its  resemblance  in  ar- 
rangement to  the  Acropolis  of  Athens.  It 
was  the  residence  of  the  reigning  prince  or 
head  of  the  State,  in  which  he  was  sirr- 
roimded  by  his  relatives,  his  coiu-tiors,  his 
clergy,  his  nobles,  and  his  ministers  of  war 
and  justice,  all  of  whom  had  their  quarters 
or  official  residences,  and  their  buildings  of 
a  public  ch.aracter,  which  were  protected  by 
every  art  then  known  to  warfare. 

OF  THE   A^CIEyi   PALACES 

of  the  kings  there  is  little  to  be  seen,  the 
fire  of  1737  destroying  all  but  the  principal 
walls,  some  of  which  were  removed  to  make 
way  for  new  palaces,  and  others  restored  to 
somewhat  of  their  former  state.  The  most 
perfect  is  the  portion  called  the  Ten m,  or 
residence  of  the  Queens  of  the  older  dj-nas- 
ties.  In  this  budding  they  and  their  chil- 
dren lived  in  a  state  of  seclusion  ;  their  only 
participation  in  scenes  of  State  being  by 
looking  down  from  a  window  into  the 
King's  Hall.  This  system  of  seclusion,  set 
aside  by  that  groat  reformer,  Peter  the 
Great,  suggests  ihe  Eastern  origin  of  the 
people  ;  and  although  a  custom  dead  1o  the 
outer  world,  it  is  one  deeply-seated  in  the 
true  Russians  of  to-day.  You  see  it  in  the 
shops  .and  bazaars  of  Moscow,  which  are 
exclusively  peopled  by  the  male  sex.  The 
custom  of  drawi:ig  assistance  from  females, 
or  of  the  wife  attending  to  a  part  of  the 
customers,  or  of  doing  work  that  publiclj' 
exposes  her,  is  practically  unknown.  This 
building  consists  of  four  stories,  which,  in 
the  form  of  terraces,  gradually  diminish, 
until  the  upper  one  is  only  a  single  room. 
The  principal  ap.art;acnts  are  the  rining, 
reception,  and  throne-rooms.  Outside  a 
window  of  the  latter  apartment  a  box  was 
formerly  fixed,  into  which  petitions  intended 
to  reach  the  hands  of  the  Tsar,  were  placed 
by  the  peojile.  Next  to  these  come  the 
oratory,   and  the   council-chamber    of   the 


nobles  ;  the  original  use  of  the  latter  was  for 
the  king's  children,  the  nobles  being  then 
received  in  the  Throne-room,  the  room  in 
which  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  the  Ambassador 
of  Charles  II.,  was  received  in  1664.  These 
rooms  are  mostly  vaulted,  and  decorated 
with  Italian  ornament,  executed  to  the  order 
of  the  late  Emperor  Nicholas,  who  restored 
the  budding  between  1836  and  1849.  There 
are  other  portions  of  the  old  palaces  ;  but 
as  they  have  passed  through  a  severe  restora- 
tion, in  some  instances  at  the  will  of  the 
architect  in  charge,  in  others,  based  on 
drawings,  &o.,  of  the  17th  century,  they 
do  not  possess  an  interest  that  calls  for  a 
lengthy  notice.  One  part  of  the  old  budd- 
ings is  called  the  Hall  of  St.  Tladimir. 
This  is  truly  a  Venetian  building ;  the 
ground-story  is  stuccoed  to  represent  blocks 
of  stone,  with  sunk  or  drafted  joints,  the 
face  of  each  block  being  raised  to  a  point  in 
the  centre,  in  the  maimer  common  to  us  in 
our  Elizabethan  architecture.  This  rusticated 
work  has  been  repeated  in  the  walls  of  a 
church  in  the  Chinese  part  of  the  city,  where 
it  has  been  the  subject  of  native  decoration, 
the  rustications  being  coloured  black,  white, 
red,  and  yellow ;  one  colour  to  each  of  the 
four  faces  of  the  individual  blocks.  In  the 
case  in  point,  there  is  no  attempt  at  this 
savage  style  of  decoration  ;  the  finish  being 
the  resemblance  of  stone.  This  lower  part, 
as  if  for  safety,  is  unpierced  with  windows  ; 
but  in  the  upper  story,  the  wall-facing  of 
which  is  plain,  there  are  numerous  windows 
of  Classic  type,  the  details  of  which,  in  the 
form  of  sills,  columns,  pediments,  &o.,  are 
very  imposing.  Ascending  to  this  upper 
story  is  an  imposing  flight  of  steps, 
known  as  the  "  red  staircase,"  "red"  being 
the  equivalent  of  "  beautifid  "—a  term  that 
appears  again  in  the  "red  [or  beautiful] 
square"  outside  the  Kremlin  walls.  This 
staircase — used  on  State  occasions,  when  the 
Emperor  leaves  the  palace  for  the  "  Cathe- 
dral of  Ihe  Assumption"  or  the  "  Coronation 
Church" — was  in  old  times  the  principal 
outer  entrance  to  the  palace,  in  which  posi- 
tion it  was  associated  with  some  thrilling 
scenes  of  Russian  history.  It  was  here  that 
' '  Ivan  the  Terrible  "  drove  his  spear  through 
the  foot  of  an  unwelcome  messenger,  and 
pinned  him  to  the  ground  whilst  he  read  his 
despatches ;  and  it  was  here  that  he  gazed 
upon  the  dreaded  comet  which  was  believed 
to  foretell  his  dissolution. 

The  palace  proper  of  to-day  is  a  largo 
erection  with  a  southern  aspect,  the  building 
of  which  was  commenced  on  the  site  of  an 
older  palace  by  the  late  Emperor  Nicholas 
in  1S3S.  The  former  palace,  an  erection  in 
its  turn  of  the  great  Catherine  upon  the  site 
of  a  still  older  building,  was,  after  being 
occupied  in  1812,  destroyed  by  Napoleon 
upon  his  retreat  from  the  city.  This  is  an 
extensive  binlding  of  three  "floors,  with  a 
fourth  occupying  the  centre,  the  latter  being 
roofed  with  an  ogee  dome  square  in  plan, 
surmounted  by  one  of  those  truly  national 
nedular  spires.  The  architecture  is  inferior 
to  that  of  any  modern  public  building  we 
h.avo^seen  ■'Si  Russia.  Roughly  speaking, 
tlio  design,  with  its  piazza  on  the  lower 
story,  is  Classi'c ;  but  the  det.ails  have  been 
handled  by  an  artist  largely  influenced  by 
the  native  style  or  type  of  architecture,  and 
hence  it  is  a  building  which  in  point  of 
design  is  tridy  incongruous,  and  one  the 
like  of  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  in  the  new  capital.  This  is  known 
as  "  the  Great  Palace,"  and  is  the 
residence  of  the  Czar  when  visiting 
the  old  capital  of  Moscow.  Some  atone" 
mont  is  made  for  these  shortcomings 
in  the  interior  of  the  building.  The  vesti- 
bule is  supported  on  grey  gi-anite  monoliths, 
which  lead  to  a  staircase  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. The  drawing-room  of  the  Empress  is 
white  and  gold,  upholstered  in  white  silk. 
The  study  of  the  Emperor  is  fitted  up  with 
inlaid  woods,   and  upholstered  in  red  silk  ; 


and  in  an  adjoining  room  is  a  mantelpiece  of 
polished  malachite.  The  state-rooms,  on 
the  first  floor,  are  well  appomted,  and 
enriched  with  massive  objects,  such  as  vases, 
candelabra,  &c.,  of  ci-ystal,  manufactured  at 
the  Imperial  Glass  Works  at  St.  Petersburg. 
The  Hall  of  St.  George,  the  patron  saint  of 
Russia,  is  an  imposing  apartment,  200ft. 
long,  68ft.  broad,  and  53ft.  high.  The 
granite  columns  are  here  surmoimted  with 
capitals  of  zinc,  over  which  are  shields  sup- 
ported by  sculptiu'cd  figures  ;  these  shields 
are  inscribed  with  the  dates,  &c.,  of  Russian 
conquests,  extending  over  three  and  a  half 
centuries.  This  room  is  furnished  in  black 
and  gold,  and  upholstered  in  orange  silk. 
The  cost  of  lighting  this  hall  is  very  great, 
for  we  are  told  that  it  requires  3,200  candles. 
There  are  several  halls  in  this  great  palace 
which  are  but  little  inferior  to  the  above  in 
size,  and  in  which  the  cost  of  lighting  is,  if 
anything,  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  Near 
this  palace  stands 

TIIE  TREASURY, 
a  building  of  three  floors.  The  windows  on 
each  story  of  this  building  are  symmetrically 
arranged,  and  between  each  are  large 
attached  columns,  the  lower  orders  of  which 
take  the  ground  as  first  story,  and  the  shafts 
and  capitals  the  two  upper  ones.  The  pur- 
pose of  these  columns  is  to  support  the 
cornice  and  the  blind  or  plain  parapet  above. 
These  shafts  are  remarkable  in  the  drum  of 
the  same  being  enriched  with  an  incised 
ornament,  the  outlines  or  bands  of  which 
are  Saracenic  or  Moresque,  and  thefiUing-in, 
or  wrought  portion,  an  arrangement  of  the 
Greek  honeysuckle.  This  building  was 
erected  in  1851,  and  in  its  contents  it 
bears  a  resemblance  to  the  Tower  of  London. 
The  collection  here  carries  us  back  to  the  old 
times,  when  Russia  was  classed  as  an 
Asiatic  power,  seated  on  the  north  of  the 
Euxine ;  when  her  wealth  was  counted  in 
costly  works  of  art,  in  precious  gems,  and 
in  valuiible  metals  ;  when  her  tributes  and 
complimentary  gifts  were  received  in  articles 
of  this  description,  which,  as  set  out  in  our 
Biblical  literature,  was  the  primitive  type  of 
movable  or  exchangeable  wealth.  We  have 
here  works  of^Eastern  art  drawn  from  India, 
Persia,  Armenia,  and  Greece,  the  gifts  and 
tributes  of  princes,  and  the  acquisitions  of 
the  wealthy  nobles,  and,  last  of  all,  the 
gorgeous  trappings  of  the  half-civilised  but 
splendour-loving  kings  or  emperors.  These 
objects  have  been  subject  to  many  vicissi- 
tudes, one  of  whiih  was  the  great  fire  in 
1737,  when  many  of  the  most  interesting 
objects  were  destroyed ;  another  was  the 
moving  of  the  seat  of  Empire  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, where  they  took  rani  amongst  objects 
of  Western  civilisation. 

Before    the    advance    of     Napoleon,    the 
remainder    of    these    household   gods  were 
removed    east  to    the    great    trading     city 
of    Nijni  -  Novgorod,     from     whence    they 
only    partially     returned     to     the     ruined         , 
palaces  of  the  Kremlin.     One  part  of  this 
great  museum  is  devoted  to  ancient  national 
armour  of   iron  and  steel,  a  oollcct'on,  the 
loan    of    which,    could    such    a    thing   be         [ 
arranged,   would  be  highly  appreciated  in         ! 
this    country;    another  part  is  devoted  to         ' 
ancient   firearms,   amongst  which  are  some         | 
Erfglish   fowling-pieces,    presented   to    the         ; 
reigning  Tsar  by  one  of  our  counti-ymen,  of         i 
name  Tobias  Smith,  in  1614.     Here  are  also 
the  coronation  chairs  of  the  early  liomanofF 
kings,  and  here  is  the  haldacchino  still  used  in 
the  ceremony  of  crowning  the  Emperors  ;  and 
here  also  is  the  throne  of  Poland,  removed 
from  Warsaw  in  1833.     Near  this  is  an  old 
ivory  throne,   brought  from  Constantinople 
in   1472,    whfn   .a   princess    of   that    house 
was   espoused    by    the   reigning  prince   of 
Kussia — this  is  a  fine  work  of  art,  rich  with 
mythological   subjects.      This    throne    was 
brought  into  use  so  late  as  1856,  at  the  coro- 
nation of  the  present  Czar.     Alongside  is  a 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


147 


Persian  throne,  brought  to  Russia  in  16G0 — 
this  is  a  costly  object,  being  studded  with 
876  diamonds,  1,223  rubies,  and  numerous 
other  stones  of  great  value.  Before  these 
thi'ones  is  a  magnificent  orb,  the  gift  of  the 
Greek  Emperor  Basilius  to  the  reigning 
Grand  Duke  Vladimir,  better  known  as  "  St. 
yiadimii-,"  who  introduced  the  Greek  faith 
into  the  country  in  981.  This  gift  was  ac- 
companied with  a  crown,  a  collar  of  gold 
enamel  set  with  precious  stones,  and  a  chair 
with  a  piece  of  the  true  Cross.  The  orb  is 
studded  with  58  diamonds,  S9  rubies,  23 
sapphires,  oO  emeralds,  and  37  pearls.  The 
enamels  are  fine  works  of  Greek  art,  repre- 
senting in  their  several  plates  scenes  from 
the  life  of  King  David. 

Allied  to  different  associations  are  the 
crowns  of  conquered  kingdoms.  Here  is 
that  of  Simeon,  Tsar  of  Zazan,  the  date  of 
•which  is  about  iJoO.  This  is  surmoimted 
by  a  topaz  and  adorned  with  rubies,  pearls, 
and  turquoises.  Here  are  some  early  asso- 
ciations of  England,  which  bespeak  the 
friendlj-  relations  existing  between  the  Court 
of  Russia  and  that  of  our  Queen  Elizabeth. 
It  would  appear  that  the  Tsar,  iSToris 
Godunof,  contemplated  a  war  upon  the 
infidel  Turks,  and  that  he  sought  the  aid  of 
our  Queen.  This  aid  she  refused  ;  but  in 
place  of  it  she  lent  her  countenance  to  the 
movement  by  presenting  the  Russian 
monarch  with  a  state  carriage  and  eight 
hors(  s.  This  large  carriage  is  still  preserved. 
The  panels  are  painted  with  allegorical 
allusions  to  the  crusade.  It  is  an  old  pole 
carriage  hung  on  str.aps,  and  the  frame- 
work of  the  body  is  covered  with  crimson 
velvet.  To  this  our  Queen  added  the  Order 
of  the  Garter,  which,  together  with  the 
patent  for  the  same,  is  here  preserved. 

One  room  is  set  apart  for  the  exhibition  of 
old  gold  and  sUvcr  work,  some  of  which  dates 
back  to  the  twelfth  century.  Hero  are  some 
examples  of  English  workmanship,  which 
reached  the  Russian  Court  as  presents  made 
by  the  ambassadors  of  James  I.,  Charles  I., 
and  Charles  II.  The  latter,  through  the 
hands  of  the  Eail  of  Carlisle,  the  English 
ambassador,  is  far  the  richest,  consisting,  as 
it  does,  of  two  jugs  of  chased  silver,  two 
vases  of  i-crmd!,  surmounted  by  armed 
cavaliers — the  entire  weight  of  which  is 
24lb. — two  large  jugs,  two  candlesticks,  and 
four  dishes  of  silver. 

(To  he  continued.) 


information  embodied  originally  in  a  course 
of  lectures  delivered  to  oiJicers  of  the  Royal 
Engineers  at  Chatham.  The  first  chapters 
treat  on  the  healthiness  of  a  site,  effect  of 
soDs,  arrangement  of  dwellings  on  a  given 
area,  purity  of  air,  &c.  These  are  full  of 
statistics  interspersed  with  the  enunciation 
of  principles,  though  many  of  the  latter  are 
commonplaces,  and  would  have  been  as  well 
omitted,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  matter 
is  rather  disconnected  and  wanting  in 
method.  Generally,  the  book  suffers  from 
the  "paste  and  scissors  style,"  in  spite  of 
its  usefulness.  Chapter  VI.,  on  cubic  space 
and  floor- space,  contains  some  valuable  in- 
formation for  the  architect.  We  perfectly 
agree  in  the  conclusion  that  the  best  of  ven- 
tilation arrangements  give  us  only  an  ap- 
proximation to  the  condition  required, 
namel}^  in  which  the  emanations  from 
persons  in  a  i-oom  are  instantaneously  and 
uniformly  diffused  through  the  whole  space. 
Most  systems  give  imequal  parts  of  pure 
and  contaminated  air.  From  Professor 
Donkin's  demonstration  the  size  of  a  room 
dotS  not  affect  the  condition  of  the  air  in  it, 
but  the  condition  of  aii'  depends  oidy  on  the 
rate  of  j)roduction  of  poisonous  emanations, 
and  that  of  the  admission  of  fresh  air, 
though,  of  course,  the  larger  the  room  the 
longer  it  takes  to  reach  a  condition  of  im- 
piu-ity.  Practical  experiments  show  that 
about  1,200  cubic  feet  of  air  admitted  per 
hour  in  barrack-rooms  keep  them  in  fair  con- 
dition ;  that  it  is  better  to  have  outside  walls 
to  barrack  rooms,  and  this  principle  of  plan- 
ning is  now  adopted.  The  porosity  of  walls 
is  a  point  that  is  not  much  considered, 
though  an  important  element.  A  very  ^ood 
remark  is  made  resiiecting  the  height  of 
rooms.  Mere  height,  unless  combined  with 
means  for  the  removal  of  the  heated  air  at 
the  top,  is  of  little  or  no  value,  such,  for 
example,  as  a  lofty  room  with  a  space  above 
the  tops  of  the  windows,  where  the  expi]-ed 
air  ascends,  cools,  and  falls  down.  Ihe 
proportion  of  floor-space  iu  any  room  must 
deijoud,  thei-efore,  on  the  ventUatiug 
arrangements  as  well  as  the  height  and  the 
planning. 

In  well-constructed  wards,  with  opposite 


best  of  rectangidnr  shape,  eo  as  to  afford  a 
large  surface  also  nuido  of  conducting  ma- 
terials. But  they  should  bo  impervious  to 
ground-air  and  bo  perfectly  drj'.  As  n. 
London  fog  is  hardly  perceptible  at  a  height 
of  above  100  yards,  it  is  thought  the  best 
way  of  bringing  pure  nir  into  a  largo  town 
would  bo  to  draw  it  do\ni  a  high  shaft.  Tho 
Victoria  tower  has  not  becu  utilised  as  it 
might  have  been  to  supply  llio  Houses  of 
Parliament.  Sijoaking  of  tln'  teuipcratum 
of  the  infiowhig  air,  it  is  thought  from  C8' 
to  ~o'  a  desirable  one  to  prcvdit  it  feeling 
cold  on  entering  ;  the  air  .sliould  also  not  bo 
too  dry.  A  good  air-filter  is  sliced  sponpp, 
which  may  be  readily  washul.  A  few  useful 
cautions  are  given  respecting  cxtractiou- 
shafts  that  may  bo  worth  more  attention 
from  architects  than  they  are  likely  to  re- 
ceive. Capt.  Gallon  says  :  "  It  is  advisablo 
that,  as  far  as  iiossiblo,  extraction-shafts 
from  different  rooms,  the  operation  of  which 
depends  on  temperature,  should  bo  inde- 
pendent of  each  other."  By  this  means  a 
reverse  current  cannot  enter  another  room. 
Descents  in  the  shaft  ought,  too,  to  be  com- 
pensated for  by  increased  height  of  shaft  or 
increased  temperature.  Tho  chapter  on 
simple  ventilation  will  bo  found  pretty  ex- 
haustive of  the  chief  methods  in  use,  and 
the  princijiles  are  clearly  i)ointcd  out  ;  but 
we  notice  the  omission  of  several  recent 
contrivances.  The  effect  of  wind  blowing 
against  an  outer  wall  of  a  room,  with  aper- 
tures on  each  side,  is  to  cause  the  air  to 
force  its  way  in  on  the  windward  side,  and  to 
cause  it  to  be  extracted  on  the  opposite  side. 
Sherringham's  ventilator  is  rec  mmended  ; 
indeed,  tho  author  does  not  say  much  in 
fjivom-  of  the  vertical  tube  admission  pilan, 
inasmuch  as  it  forms  receptacles  for  dii-t, 
insects,  &c.,  which  affect  the  air;  but  it  is 
only  fair  to  say  this  objection  might  bo 
easily  obviated,  as  dust  will  collect  more 
readily  in  a  ventilator  placed  near  tho  ceil- 
ing. Rooms  with  only  one  outer  wall 
alter  the  conditions  of  ventilation,  and  a 
vertical  tube  carried  from  near  the  coiling 
above  tho  roof  is  recommended,  when  nn 
Arnott  valve  cannot  be  used.  The  principles 
upon  which  such  a  tube  operates,   and  the 


windows,  24ft.  wide,  the  floor   area  can  be    disturbing    conditions    which     often     turn 
minimised,   and  an  area  of  90   square  feet   outlets  into  inlets,  aro^  p'inted  out,  and  will 


HEALTHY  DA^-ELLIXGS.* 
'T^HE  title  at  the  heading  conveys  the 
-■-  object  of  a  large  and  growing  class 
of  literature,  in  which  recent  improvements 
in  hygiene  form  the  staple  of  information. 
We  are  already  besieged  with  books  of  this 
Mnd,  by  which  their  authors,  with  good  in- 
tention, are  endeavouring  to  instruct  and 
enlighten  a  large  community.  As  in  other 
branches,  they  can  be  arranged  into  good, 
bad,  and  indifferent.  Some  seek  to  methodise 
and  arrange  the  vast  accumulation  of  facts 
and  data,  and  to  apply  them  to  our  wants, 
while  the  larger  class  are  content  to  collect 
at  second-hand  and  to  publish  information 
which  has  been  better  done  by  others. 
Captain  Douglas  Galton  has  just  published  a 
large  octavo  volume  of  Observations  on  the 
Construction  of  Dwellings,  Hospitals, 
Barracks,  &c.,  which  is  brimful  of  informa- 
tion obtained  from  a  varietj-  of  .authoritative 
sources,  although  we  find  nothing  original 
or  new  in  it.  The  object  of  the  author  has 
been  to  "present  in  a  condensed  form  a 
short  resume  of  the  very  scattered  informa- 
tion which  exists  bearing  on  the  construc- 
tion of  healthy  dwellings,  vrhether  houses, 
hospitals,  barracks,  asylums,  or  prisons  " — 

•  Obserrations  on  the  Construction  of  Healthy  Dwel- 
lings, &e.  By  Djuolas  Galtox,  late  Royal  Engineers, 
C.B.,    Hon.  D.C.L.,  F.B.S  ,  &<:.,  Oxford  :   Claraidon 


per  bed  would  be  sufficient  for  ordinary  cases 
of  sickness.  To  a  certain  extent,  floor-space 
should  govern  cubic  space,  for  we  might  ima- 
gine a  lofty  room,  but  a  space  around  the  bed 
insufficient  for  nursiug ;  hence  iu  a  hos- 
pital the  existence  of  a  clinical  school  sup- 
poses, of  course,  a  larger  area  per  bed  than 
that  given  above.  The  dilution  of  air  and 
its  movement  forms  a  separate  chapter,  the 
formula  being  given  ;  a  more  practical  one 
deals  with  the  etficient  ventilation  of  rooms. 
Capt.  Galton  says:  "Air  should  not,  as  a 
rule,  be  introduced  near  the  floor-level.  The 
openings  woiild  be  bablo  to  bo  fouled  with 
sweepings  and  dirt.  The  air,  unless  very 
much  above  the  temperature  of  the  air  of 
room,  would  produce  a  sensation  of  cold  to 
the  feet."  He  recommends  the  oriiices  to 
be  above  the  level  of  the  heads  of  the  occu- 
pants, and  the  current  directed  towards  the 
ceiling  and  subdivided  by  numerous  orifices. 
The  following  is  a  judicious  observation  : — 
"  It  is  of  imp  rtance  not  only  to  shut  off  the 
staircase  from  the  basement,  but  to  provide 
fresh  air  to  the  staircase;  and  when  open 
tires  are  used,  to  supply  each  room  m 
which  there  is  an  open  fireplace  with  i's 
own  supjjly  of  fresh  air.  If  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  room  is  to  be  kept  up  to  a 
pleasant  heat,  this  must,  to  some  extent,  be 
warmed  air."  Some  useful  hints  are  given 
regarding  the  inlets ;  these  should  be  at 
least  2ft.  from  the  ground,  with  paved  and 
drained  surface  near ;  the  channels  for  ad- 
mission should  be  short,  direct,  and  acces- 
sible for  cleaning ;  long  channels  collect 
dirt.  Underground  channels  for  air  modify 
the    temperature   of    air;    hence   they  are 


be  found  of  value.  For  instance,  the  con- 
ditions which  will  favour  the  application  of 
those  forms  of  shafts,  which  are  supposed 
to  act  both  as  iidets  and  outlets,  as  Watson's, 
Maclunnel's,  and  others,  are  clearly  stated. 
All  these  ventilators,  as  Capt.  Galton  shows, 
can  only  act  in  a  closed  room,  but  when 
other  openings  occur,  as  when  doors  and 
windows  are  opened,  both  parts  operate 
only  as  outlets.  For  churches  and  chapols 
warmed  by  stoves  or  hot  pipes,  and  with 
closed  doors,  they  answer.  Wo  aro  rather 
dis.appointed  at  not  finding  any  allusion  to 
suchusefulformsof  ventilators  as  Boyle's,  and 
ether  systems  of  extraction.  In  the  Chapter 
on  Warming,  the  author  alludes  to  conclu- 
sions we  have  lately  ref  rred  to— tho  efTocts 
of  warmuig  by  open  fire,  and  by  warmed 
air— and  the  remark  is  worth  making  again 
that  the  condition  of  comforfublo  warmth 
is  to  introduce  means  to  w.ann  Ixjth  the 
walls  as  well  as  the  air.  nigh-prp8«uro 
s!eam  is  preferred  to  hot- water  pipes.  A 
few  interesting  diagrams  are  given  to  iUua- 
trate  the  action  of  open  firephices.  The 
chapter  on  Ventilation,  in  combination 
with  warmed  air,  is  one  of  the  nu.st  interest- 
ing in  the  book  ;  this  is  illustrated  by  somo 
experiments  made  by  Professor  E. 'Woodj 
of  Harvard  University,  upon  tho  cfiFects  of 
currents  in  a  hosi.ital'ward  at  Boston,  in  the 
United  States.  Tho  effect  of  admitting 
warm  air  at  the  lower  part  of  the  ward  on 
each  side,  and  allowing  it  to  escar*  at  » 
central  openin?  in  the  ceiling,  is  shown  by 
a  diagram  to  leave  the  air  stagnant  at  the 
upper  comers  of  ward  over  the  beds,  and 
also  in  tho  centre  of  ward  for  a  height  oi 


148 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


about  8ft.  from  the  floor-level.  These  facts 
show  the  advantage  of  extraction  shafts  in 
other  parts  besides  the  centre  of  a  ward, 
and  the  use  of  stoves  to  create  a  circulation 
of  the  air.  Ventilation  of  prisons  on  Jebb's 
and  Morin's  plans  is  touched  upon  ;  but  the 
author  prefers  the  removal  of  air  from  the 
upper  part  of  each  cell  by  a  shaft  with 
opemngs  at  the  floor  and  ceiling,  the  upper 
or  lower  one  being  closed  according  to  the 
■weather.  To  warm  the  air  at  some  central 
part,  and  to  distribute  it  through  the 
building,  is,  no  doubt,  the  most  economical 
for  large  buildings. 

In  speaking  of  internal  arrangements  of 
buildings,  a  good  hint  is  thro\\Ti  out — viz.,  to 
insert  fireclay  slabs,  projecting  all  round 
the  walls  of  a  room  Oin.,  to  receive  the 
beams  and  to  finish  the  plaster  ceiling.  It 
would  act  also  to  check  the  passage  of  fire 
from  story  to  story.  Many  of  the  other 
suggestions  are  somewhat  stale,  though 
they  will  be  found  useful  to  many  students, 
particularly  the  remarks  on  ward  construc- 
tion. We  quite  agree  there  should  be  a 
unit  of  size  for  all  workhouses,  asylums, 
schools,  and  barracks,  which  may  be  in- 
creased according  to  requirements.  Con- 
ditions affecting  materials  in  constniction, 
such  as  the  loss  of  heat  through  walls  of 
difterent  kinds  and  construction,  form  an 
important  chapter  into  which  we  cannot 
enter.  The  pm-ity  of  water,  refuse  removal, 
house-drains,  sewerage  works,  <S:o.,  are  the 
subjects  of  the  concluding  chapters  of  Capt. 
Galton's  useful  resume. 


THE  REPORT  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN 
BOARD  OF  WORKS  ON  THE  RECENT 
GAS  EXPLOSION. 

AT  the  meeting  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works,  on  Friday  last,  the  Works  and 
General  Purposes  Committee  brought  up  a 
voluminous  joint  report  by  the  engineer  and  the 
consulting  chemist  on  the  subject  of  the  recent 
ga.s  explosion  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tottenham 
Court-road.  The  report  commences  by  describing 
the  works  as  laid  down  by  the  Gas  Light  and 
Coke  Company  and  the  number  of  explosions 
that  took  place  at  different  points,  and  then  goes 
on  to  say  :  — 

"  The  circumstances  which  seem  most  worthy 
of  note  in  connection  with  this  explosion  are — 
First,  as  to  the  means  by  which  the  gas  found 
its  way  into  the  new  main,  from  which  it  was 
supposed  to  be  cut  off  by  a  sound  and  efficient 
valve ;  secondly,  as  to  the  way  in  which  seven 
successive  explosions  occurred  with  an  interval 
of  time  between  them  respectively.  With  regard 
to  the  first  point,  two  theories  were  raised  to 
accoimt  for  the  presence  of  sufficient  gas  in  the 
new  main  to  produce  the  explo-sive  mixture  of 
air  and  gas.  One  of  these  supposed  the  gas  to  have 
entered  the  main  by  leakage  from  without ;  the 
other  that  the  gas  entered  at  the  Howland- street 
end  of  the  new  main  in  consequence  of  a  defect 
in  the  valve,  which  was  situated  at  that  point. 
There  seems  very  little  probability  that  the  gas 
could  have  entered  the  new  main  by  leakage 
from  without,  and  no  reason  seems  to  have  been 
given  to  support  that  view.  In  our  opinion 
there  can  be  very  little  doubt  that  the  gas  found 
its  way  into  the  new  main  through  the  valve  at 
Howland  -  street,  which  might  by  some  means 
have  been  slightly  injured  ;  in  that  ease  a  leak- 
age of  no  great  amount  would  be  sufficient  to 
admit  enough  gas  to  account  for  the  mischief. 
The  cubical  contents  of  the  whole  main  involved 
in  the  explosion  were  between  11,000ft.  and 
1.5,000ft.,  and  as  it  is  obvious,  from  the  circum- 
stances that  explosions  occurred  only  in  certain 
points  in  the  course  of  the  main,  that  the  whole 
of  the  contents  were  not  explosive,  probably  less 
than  2,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  were  in  the  main  in 
more  or  less  complete  admixture  with  the  air, 
and  it  would  not  require  a  great  leak  in  the 
valve  for  2,000ft.  of  gas  to  pai-s  in  the  course  of 
the  time  duiing  which  tlio  new  main  had 
remained  unused  after  its  completion.  The 
coroner's  jurj'  took  the  view  that  the  gas  had 
entered  the  new  main  in  const  eiueuce  of  some 
defect  in  the  valve  at  the  Howland-street  jimc- 
tion,  and  tins  appears  to  us  to  'do  the  correct 
view.     Unfortunately,  the  valve  and  its  fittings 


were  entirely  destroyei  by  the  last  explosion,  so 
that  there  were  no  means  of  making  any  investi- 
gation concerning  the  previous  state  of  the 
valve ;  but  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
seem  to  point  to  the  valve  as  the  origin  of  the 
mischief,  whereas  there  seems  to  be  nothing  to 
support  the  theory  that  gas  foimd  its  way  into 
the  new  main  by  leakage  inwards,  such  gas 
having  previously  leaked  out  of  other  mains  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  new  main.  If  it  be  admitted, 
as  most  probable,  that  the  gas  passed  by  the 
valve  from  the  fully-charged  main  in  Howland- 
street  into  the  new  main  in  Charlotte-street,  the 
formation  of  an  explosive  or  inflammable  mix- 
ture of  gas  and  air  was  a  necessary  concomitant ; 
whether  such  mixture  would  be  explosive  or 
merely  inflammable  was  only  a  question  of  pro- 
portion between  the  gas  and  air  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  admixture  or  diffusion  of  the 
gas;  if  the  gas  were  in  less  proportion  than 
about  7  per  cent,  by  volume,  or  more  than  2.5 
per  cent.,  it  would  burn  away  cjuietly  and  not 
explode :  but  if  it  were  in  the  proportion  of 
something  between  7  and  25  per  cent,  the 
mixture  would  be  more  or  less  violently  explo- 
sive. With  respect  to  the  second  point  for 
consideration  it  is  very  interesting  to  observe 
that  a  number  of  distinct  explosions  took  place 
in  regular  order  and  with  a  clear  interval  of 
time  between  them.  It  seems,  at  the  first  view 
of  the  matter,  remarkable  that  this  should  have 
been  the  case,  as  it  might  have  been  expected 
that  the  gas  would  have  diffused  itself  into  the 
air  contained  in  the  main  during  the  consider- 
able time  that  had  elapsed  after  the  main  was 
finished  up  to  the  plugged  end,  and  that  a 
uniform  mixture  would  have  been  formed  either 
simply  inflammable  or  explosive  in  its  nature. 
If  the  mixture  were  explosive,  then  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  one  general  explosion 
of  the  whole  of  the  contents  of  the  main  woidd 
have  taken  place  at  one  moment,  the  iron  pipe 
probably  giving  way  in  any  spot  in  which  it 
was  weakest,  or  in  which  the  pressure  of  the 
earth  above  and  about  it  happened  to  be  least. 
Tills,  however,  was  not  the  case.  When  the 
light  was  aijplied  to  the  top  of  the  stand-pipe  in 
the  end  of  the  main  at  Bailey-street  an  immedi- 
ate expilosion  followed,  the  effect  of  which 
extended  only  to  that  particidar  spot  ;  after 
an  appreciable  time  had  elapsed  a  second 
explosion  occurred  in  the  coiu'se  of  the  pipe, 
then  another,  and  so  on,  up  to  seven,  the  dis- 
tances between  the  points  of  explosion  varying 
from  ISOft.  to  SSOft.  With  the  exception 
of  the  fourth  explosion,  at  the  comer  of 
Charlotte-street  and  Percy-street,  the  points  of 
disruption  were  in  the  straight  run  of  pipe,  and 
the  effect  was  exactly  as  if  a  mine  of  gunpowder 
had  been  laid  at  each  point  where  the  explosion 
occurred.  If  such  mines  had  been  connected  by 
a  match  they  would  have  exploded  in  succession, 
as  the  match  burned  .away,  exactly  as  the  gase- 
ous mixture  exploded  in  the  main.  It  is  not  easy 
to  understand  why  the  mixture  of  gas  and  air 
should  have  been  formed  in  such  different  pro- 
portions in  the  different  parts  of  the  pipe  that  in 
some  places  the  mixture  should  be  explosive,  in 
other  places  only  inflammable.  It  has  been  sug- 
gested that  the  mixture  was  uniformlj'  explosive 
throughout  the  whole  length  of  the  main,  but 
that  tlie  disruption  or  bursting  of  the  main  only 
occurred  in  certain  comparative  weak  places ; 
this  view,  does  not,  however,  bear  examination. 
If  the  mixture  of  gas  and  air  had  been  imiformly 
explosive  it  can  only  be  bcUeved  that  the  explo- 
sion would  have  been  momentarily  from  one  end 
of  the  pipe  to  the  other,  and  that  the  bursting 
of  the  pipe  in  the  seven  different  points  would 
have  been  almost  or  quite  simiiltaneous.  This, 
however,  was  not  the  case.  Testimony  shows 
that  the  seven  explosions  followed  each  other  with 
a  distinct  interval  of  time  between  them,  just  as 
would  be  the  case  if  an  explosive  mixture  of  gas 
and  air  had  existed  at  the  seven  points  of  disrup- 
tion, and  a  .simply  inflammable  mixture  along  the 
pipe  between  those  points,  such  inflammable  mix- 
ture  only  serving  as  a  means  of  carrying  the  fire 
from  one  collection  of  explosive  mixture  to  the 
other,  and  the  time  which  elapsed  between  each 
explosion  being  consumed  in  the  progress  of  the 
flame  along  the  pipe.  Flame  does  not  travel 
with  very  great  rapidity  under  sucli  circum- 
stances, and  the  interval  between  the  explosions 
would  ba  thus  fully  accounted  for.  After  aU, 
the  most  important  question  now  is  as  to  the 
practical  lesson  to  be  learned  from  this  accident. 
It  is  obvious  that  considerable  danger  may  exist 
in  connection  with  the  practice  of  testing  gas- 


mains  before  they  are  brought  finally  into  use, 
and  that  when  the  mains  are  of  the  large  size 
now  generally  laid  down,  and  where  the  cubical' 
contents  are  consequently  great,  the  danger  may 
be  very  considerable,  as  has  been  shown  in  the 
case  now  under  consideration.  In  the  first 
place,  the  application  of  a  light  to  test  the  un- 
Icnown  contents  of  a  main  which  is  in  connection 
with  another  main  charged  with  gas,  is  an  act 
which  seems  to  us  to  border  on  temerity ;  it 
is  quite  impossible  to  know  that  leakage 
from  a  charged  main  into  a  new  main  may  not 
take  place  at  any  time ;  under  such  circum- 
stances the  formation  of  an  explosive  mixtiu"e  is 
only  a  question  of  degree,  and  to  suppose  that 
fire  will  not  travel  down  a  pipe,  even  of  small 
diameter,  is  a  very  dangerous  error.  In  the 
second  place,  the  danger  of  applj-ing  a  light 
may  be  entirely  avoided.  The  Davy  lamp 
affords  an  illustration  that  flame  may  be  applied 
to  test  a  gaseous  mixture  provided  that  proper 
arrangements  be  made  to  prevent  the  direct  con- 
tact of  the  flame  with  the  inflammable  explosive 
mass.  If  on  the  top  of  the  standpipe  screwed 
into  the  main  at  the  blank  end  in  Badey-street 
there  had  been  applied  a  contrivance  analogous 
in  principle  to  that  of  the  Davy  lamp,  or  like 
what  was  known  as  Maughan's  jet  in  connec- 
tion with  the  oxy-hydrogen  blowpipe,  no  danger 
in  applying  a  Ught  would  have  existed,  and  no 
accident  would  have  occurred.  It  is  desirable 
that  the  attention  of  gas  companies  should  be 
directed  to  this  point ;  to  apply  a  naked  light  to 
the  top  of  a  stand-pipe  connected  with  a  main 
in  the  manner  in  question  was  a  most  dangerous 
act,  and  such  a  thing  ought  never  to  be  repeated 
without  precautions  quite  easy  of  appliance,  and 
which  would  be  effective  in  obviating  danger." 


BRIDGE  -  BUILDING    AND    AMERICAN 
ENGINEERS. 

IN  the  course  of  his  annual  address  delivered 
at  the  Annual  Convention  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers  at  St.  Louis,  on  May 
25,  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  O.  Chanute,  made 
the  following  remarks  on  the  progress  of  Bridge- 
building  in  America  :  — 

While  it  is  true  that  bridges  were  built  cen- 
turies before  engineering  was  recognised  as  a 
distinct  profession,  it  is  true  equally  that  engi- 
neers, admittedly  to-day,  are  the  bridge-builders 
of  the  world.  Our  predecessors  of  earlier  days 
worked  in  wood  and  stone,  and  their  rules  of 
construction  were  foimded  upon  the  cut  and  dry 
method.  We  have  now  added  iron  and  steel  as 
constructive  materials,  and  it  becomes  a  part  of 
our  duty  to  determine  upon  scientific  principles 
the  proper  distribution  of  strains,  and  the  due 
proportioning  of  materials  to  resist  them,  so  as 
to  secure  the  greatest  amount  of  efficiency  at  the 
least  cost. 

As  a  temporary  expedient,  wooden  bridges 
were  early  built  in  this  country,  imder  the 
familiar  names  of  the  Burr  truss  and  the  Town 
lattice,  but  after  the  introduction  of  railroads,  it 
became  necessary  to  provide  a  more  efficient 
system  of  counter-bracing  than  could  be  attained 
in  the  earlier  forms  of  trussing.  The  Howe 
truss  was  invented,  and  was  found  to  be  the 
simplest  and  best  arrangement  that  could  be 
adopted.  This  bridge  is  undoubtedly  the  best  of 
its  kind  in  the  world,  and  has  been  of  immense 
service  in  faciHtating  the  development  of  our 
railway  system  through  what  may  be  called  its 
pioneer  stage.  From  data  obtained  in  the  rail- 
road reports  of  the  States  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio,  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  now  in  the 
United  States  about  900  miles  of  bridges  upon 
our  railroads,  of  which,  perhaps,  one-thiid  are 
permanent  structures,  of  stone  and  iron,  and 
two-thirds  at  least  are  temporary  structures  of 
wood,  which  wUl  have  to  be  rebuilt  by  our  engi- 
neers. 

The  demand  for  more  perm.anent  structures 
has  brought  about  the  substitution  of  iron  for 
wood.  As  might  have  been  expected,  the  forms 
ot  trussing,  with  which  we  were  most  familiar 
in  wood,  were  the  first  upon  which  experiments 
were  made  la  ii'on  ;  whUe,  however,  our  English 
brethren  30  years  ago  were  building  plate  girders 
and  tubes,  our  venerable  honorary  member. 
Squire  Whipple,  was  studying  the  subject,  and 
with  characteristic  modesty,  laying  down  the 
principles  of  a  science  of  bridge-construction 
based  upon  determining  the  action  of  the  forces, 
in  skeleton  structures,  by  rigid  mathematical 
calculation.      His    book,    printed    by   his  own 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


149 


hand  in  1S47,  contains  nearly  all  that  is  vitally 
important  connected  with  the  theory  of  fixed 
epane,  and  his  bridges  stand  to-day  as  monu- 
ments to  his  skill,  and  reminders  to  us  of  the 
debt  we  owe  to  that  distinguished  engineer. 

The  concentration  of  the  material  into  a  few 
parts  resulted  in  the  use  of  the  pin  connection  at 
the  joints,  in  contradistinction  to  the  rivet,  as 
used  in  other  countries.  For  compression  mem- 
bers, cast  iron  very  readily  adapted  itself  to  top 
chords  and  posts,  and  until  late  years,  was  con- 
sidered satisfactory.  To  resist  tension,  it  became 
necessary  to  forge  bars  with  enlarged  heads, 
now  known  as  eye-bars,  and  to  determine  the 
proper  proportion  of  pin  and  eye,  to  the  section 
of  the  bar,  so  as  to  develop  its  full  strength.  In 
this  we  have  been  reasonably  successful,  and 
with  the  introduction  of  improved  machinery, 
we  have  been  enabled  to  make  and  secure  imi- 
formly  reliable  bars  at  a  very  low  cost.  To  this 
fact,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other  may  we 
attribute  the  success  which  has  attended  the 
labours  of  American  bridge-builders.  The  eye- 
bar  is  the  distinctive  fcatiu'C  of  the  pin-connected 
bridge,  and  upon  it  depends  in  a  large  measure 
its  economy.  Abridge  which  can  be  taken  upon 
the  staging  in  pieces  and  made  self-sustaining, 
between  daylight  and  dark,  would  seem  to  need 
little  more  to  be  said  in  its  favour,  as  compared 
with  the  tedious  and  expensive  methods  ren- 
dered necessarj-  in  the  erection  of  riveted  struc- 
tures. It  must  not  be  assumed,  however,  that 
American  bridges  are  all  pin-connected.  Many 
of  the  best  raCroads  in  the  country  prefer  riveted 
bridges  on  account  of  their  superior  rigidity, 
particularly  in  short  spans,  and  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  not  easily  knocked  down  by  derailed 
cars,  a  point  which  has  not  received  that  atten- 
tion which  it  deserves.  Our  shop  practice  in 
riveted  work  is  generally  good,  and  we  have 
effected  some  improvements  on  the  European 
methods,  in  general  design :  but  we  are  yet 
deficient  in  experimental  knowledge  as  to  the 
value  of  the  rivet  connections,  particularly  when 
applied  on  one  side  of  an  angle  bar,  and  we  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  avoid  cross  strains  upon  the 
chords,  at  the  intersection  of  the  diagonals. 

The  English  practice  of  di-Uling  all  holes  on 
the  ground  where  splices  occur,  has  not  been 
found  necessary  here,  when  a  proper  system  of 
automatic  spacing  is  employed. 

The  chief  defects  in  our  bridges  have  arisen 
from  the  weakness  of  the  floor,  and  when  it  is 
remembered  that  locomotives  have  increased  in 
weight  within  the  past  few  years  about  forty 
per  cent.,  and  that  the  floor  is  subjected  to  its 
maximum  strain  every  time  that  a  locomotive 
passes  over  the  bridge,  it  will  be  apparent  that  a 
decided  increase  in  strength  must  be  given  to 
this  portion  of  the  structure,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility, it  will  be  necessary  to  renew  many  of  our 
earlier  bridges  in  this  particular.  Again,  there 
should  be  more  efficient  provision  against 
disaster  from  the  derailment  of  cars.  The  less 
wood  we  have  on  iron  bridg-cs  the  better ;  ties 
are,  of  course,  a  necessity,  but  they  should  be 
supported  on  at  lea.st  four  iron  stringers,  and  be 
spaced  Sin.  to  lOin.  apart,  and  secured  against 
spreading.  Joint  boxes  should  be  avoided.  End 
posts  should  be  continuous  to  the  masonry  sup- 
ports, and  secured  to  the  top  chords,  and  to  each 
other  by  efficient  portals.  Horizontal  bracings, 
to  resist  vibrations  and  wind  pressure,  should  be 
made  more  effective  than  they  are,  particularly 
at  the  chord  connections.  There  are  many  other 
minor  details,  it  is  safe  to  assume,  which  will  be 
perfected  in  due  time,  but  upon  the  broad 
question  of  experimental  information,  we  must 
look  for  aid  to  every  member  of  the  profession. 
A  testing  machine  of  the  very  be;t  description, 
belonging  to  the  United  States  Government,  is 
now  in  working  order,  at  the  service  of  all  such 
as  may  desire  to  avail  themselves  of  it.  I 
believe  the  time  has  arrived  when  a  committee 
of  this  Society  should  be  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  inviting  the  co-operation  of  manufac- 
turers, in  the  effort  to  obtain  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  metals  and  manufactured 
shapes  which  enter  into  our  important  structures. 
Particularly  is  this  the  case  in  regard  to  the 
material  which  we  call  steel.  Of  late,  the 
manufacture  of  steel  by  the  pneumatic  and  open 
hearth  processes  has  been  undergoing  a  pro- 
digious development,  and  we  miy  now  assume 
that  a  metal  can  be  obtained  by  cither  of  these 
methods,  more  uniform  in  its  character  than  the 
best  iron  yet  offered  in  merchantable  quantities, 
possessing  an  elastic  limit  of  40,000  pounds  per 
square  inch,  and  an  ultimate  strength  of  6-5  to 


70  thousand  pounds  per  square  inch,  and  capable 
of  being  manufactured  into  any  of  the  required 
shapes  for  structural  purposes,  at  a  cost  which, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  saving  involved  in 
dead  weight,  must  insure  its  substitution  for 
iron  in  the  larger  spans  at  least ;  and  it  is  con- 
fidently asserted  by  those  whose  experience 
entitles  tlicui  to  speak  with  authority,  that  the 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  steel  will  be  pro- 
duced at  a  le.-s  cost  than  iron  is  at  present  by 
the  hand-puddling  process.  AH  the  more  im- 
portant, therefore,  is  it  that  we  should  inform 
ourselves  by  the  most  thorough  tests  of  the 
characteristics  of  steel,  if  we  would  maintain 
tho  high  standard  of  American  bridge-construc- 
tion. Wo  have  thus  far  applied  this  metal  to 
but  few  structui'es.  It  has  been  used  in  the 
bridge  at  St.  Louis,  in  the  bridge  at  Glasgow, 
and  is  now  being  used  in  the  East  River  Bridge, 
designed  by  Mr.  RoebUng,  of  1,600ft.  span,  and 
in  parts  of  the  Plattsmouth  Bridge,  which  j-ou 
are  invited  to  i-isit.  It  is  hoped  that  the  engi- 
neers of  these  pioneer  structures  will  communi- 
cate to  tho  Society  the  information  which  their 
experiments  have  elicited  concerning  this  mate- 
rial of  the  future. 

The  day  cannot  now  be  far  distant  when  the 
merits  and  economy  of  the  American  type  of 
bridges  will  be  recognised  by  other  nations 
Already,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  labour 
and  materials  are  cheaper  in  other  countries  than 
in  this,  we  are  enabled  to  compete  successfully 
in  Canada  and  in  South  America.  I  believe  that 
a  well  directed  effort  to  make  known  abroad 
what  wo  have  accomplished  in  this  branch  of 
engineering  during  the  last  fifteen  years,  would 
open  a  market  for  our  bridges  and  designs  in 
Europe  and  in  Asia. 


SURVEYORS'   EXAMINATIONS. 

~\"VTE  published  last  week,  p.  120,  the  scheme 
*  T  of  examinations  established  by  the  Insti- 
tution of  Surveyors,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  the 
programme  of  the  Institute  of  British  Architects 
was  not  commenced  a  day  too  soon.  It  has  long 
been  the  custom  to  look  upon  the  surveyor  as  a 
particularly  useful,  though  somewhat  inter- 
meddling and  officious,  member  of  the  building 
profession,  at  least  among  a  certain  section  of 
architects  who  affect  to  despise  the  more  prosaic 
and  arithmetical  duties  of  the  surveyor.  By 
some  he  is  looked  upon  as  the  real  enemy  to  the 
architect,  inasmuch  as  he  can  prepare  plans  and 
specifications  for  any  class  of  buildings  in  a  more 
economical  manner,  and  occasionally  comes  in 
for  a  large  share  of  estate  building.  In  all  but 
art  qualifications  a  surveyor  is  practically  an 
architect,  and  it  is  the  absence  of  the  element  of 
taste  that  has  been  so  magnified  astheseparating- 
line  between  the  two  professions.  It  is  this 
element  in  the  case,  moreover,  which  has  ope- 
rated so  prejudicially  against  the  establishment 
of  an  architects'  examination ;  but  with  the  sur- 
veyor all  is  dry  fact  and  law,  and  there  is 
nothing  whatever  to  prevent  an  examination 
from  becoming  a  test  of  the  student's  capacity. 

The  division  proposed  under  Classes  I.  and  II. 
seems  to  be  a  good  one,  as  it  ■n-ill  compel  every 
student  desirous  of  entering  the  Institution  to 
become  a  fairly-educated  young  man  in  the 
essentials  of  knowledge  ;  while  Class  II.  will 
make  it  necessary  for  every  student  elected 
(after  the  31st  July,  ISSO)  in  future  to  undergo 
an  examination  in  one  or  other  of  the  usual 
branches  of  a  surveyor's  practice  with  which  he 
may  be  conversant.  That  is  to  say,  he  may 
elect  to  be  examined  under  any  one  of  three  sub- 
classes of  a  table  which  has  been  laid  down  to 
embrace  the  professional  acquirements  of  a  sur- 
vej-or,  so  that  inmost  cases  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary for  the  student  to  go  through  a  system  of 
cramming  at  all,  but  only  to  furbish  up  his  know- 
ledge acquiiedincidentaUyin  the  office ia someone 
branch.  Thus  the  student  has  three  branches  from 
which  he  can  choose :  there  is  land  agency, 
valuation,  and  building,  and  these  three  form 
sub-cUss2s.  .(Vs  some  of  our  yovmger  readers 
may  like  to  know  what  each  of  these  sub-classes 
contain,  we  may  give  the  subjects  in  each.  In 
land-agency  they  are  book-keeping,  the  use  of 
valuation  tables,  laud-.surveying  and  levelling, 
law  of  landlord  and  tenant,  agriculture,  con- 
struction of  farm-buildings,  forestry,  land  drain- 
age, geology,  and  composition  of  soils.  In  sub- 
class II.,  the  compulsory  subjects  comprise, 
besides  the  first  four  in  the  last,  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  copyholds,  law  of  fixtures,  dilapidations, 


agricultural  law,  law  of  easements  and  riparian 
rights;  andin.«ub-clasHlII.,  relating  to  build- 
mg,  the  following :  modes  of  pricing  work,  esti- 
mation of  quantities,  and  measurement  of  arti- 
ficer's work,  constnictivc  and  working  drawings, 
and  tho  law  of  fixtures,  of  dilajildationn,  of 
easements,  and  light  and  air,  in  addition  to  the 
tlu-ee  first  subjects  in  sub-class  I.  In  addition 
to  these,  a  report  on  some  ."pecial  subject  named 
by  the  council,  will  be  requir.il  of  students  pass- 
ing in  sub-classes  II.  and  III.,  and  a  kuowtedge 
of  some  special  science,  as  algibni,  hyilro.-ta- 
tics,  metallurg}-,  mechanics,  road- making,  ie., 
a  list  of  which  is  given  in  the  code  of  rules.  By  this 
du-ision  into  6ub-cla,«.ses,  the  stuJcnt  is  limited  to 
that  branch  of  his  profession  which  he  likes  the 
best  or  which  ho  has  studied,  so  that  really 
little  more  is  required  of  liira  than  getting  up 
those  subjects  in  which  ho  may  feel  )iim><clf 
rather  backward.  As  regards  the  Uiwt  of 
fixtures  and  dilapidations,  easements,  &c.,  the 
elements  only  are  necessary  to  be  learned— a 
task  that  might  be  accomplished  in  the  course  of 
a  few  days'  diligent  reading.  A  builiUng  sur- 
veyor, unless  he  is  chiefly  engaged  in  quantity 
taking,  often  has  to  prepare  valuations  and  land 
surveys,  particularly  in  the  provinces,  so  it  is 
necessary  that  he  should  be  acquainted  with  the 
elements  of  the  valuation  of  freeholds,  lease- 
holds, and  the  law  of  landlord  and  tenant.  We 
do  not  .see  in  the  last  sub-class  any  mention  of 
the  preparation  of  a  specification— a  most  neces- 
sary accomplishment  for  the  building  surveyor, 
which  might  be  added  to  or  substituted  for  one 
of  the  last  subjects.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
book-keeping,  the  use  of  valuation  tables,  and 
land-surveying  are  required  in  all  three  classes, 
and  these  are  doubtless  the  A  B  C  of  a  succewf  ul 
surveyor's  practice.  The  legal  and  miscellaneous 
subjects  are  at  present  picked  up  in  practice, 
hence  the  very  different  and  conflicting  views 
held  by  surveyors  on  some  of  these  topic,  and 
the  diversity  of  practice  found  to  exist.  The 
Council  have  selected  their  subjects  with  judg- 
ment, but  the  student  would  be  greatly  aided  if 
a  list  of  books  were  added,  acknowledged  as 
authorities  in  the  subjects  mentioned. 


THE  OUTER  COLOURING   OF  HOUSES. 

IT  is  easier,  writes  Mr.  Meynell,  in  the  Maga- 
zine of  Art,  to  decide  what  is  not.  than  what 
is,   a  fitting  hue    for  the   painting   of   London 
houses.    A  glance  at  what  has  already  b?en  done 
helps  us  as  to  what  we  should  avoid.     So  far  as 
we  have  observed,  no  kind  of  blue  has  been  at- 
tempted ;  and  this  is  well.     We  also  dismiss  the 
heavy  dark  grey  which  has  been  used  in  several 
instances  on  both  sides  of  the  park,  as  a  needle's 
addition  to  the  burden  of  existence  in  an  ag^ 
which  asks  itself  whether  life  is  worth  living, 
for  this  colour  is  intolerably  dismal.     We  must 
also  condemn  for  the   same    reason   the  black 
which  has  been  tried  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Brompton  ;  neither  is  the  red  of  Herbert  House, 
Belgrave-square.  so  largely  imitated,  prC'.isely 
felicitous  in  effect.     And  yet  it  is  to  red  that  we 
must  turn  for  the  principal  solution  of  our  diffi- 
culty.    How  happy  is  the  effect  of  tho  red-!  rick 
houses  which  are  springing  up  in  .ill  dir^  cti.ms, 
and  promise   to   be   soon  numerous  enouuh   to 
leaven  the  mass  of  London  mud-'olour.  all  who 
have  an  artistic   sense  must  feel.      Th-y  w.irm 
up  the  very  chills  of  a  November  sky,  th.  y  form 
strong   but  pleasant  contrast  with   the  tree«  in 
summer,  and  combine  really  wtll  with  the  greys 
and  browns  of  winter  boughs,  pavement-,  .ind 
mud  ;  there  is  no  sky  with  wluh  lh.y  cm  form 
discords  ;  they  suggest  warmth   mi  1  ■     -'■<'  np 
furniture  within ;  and  if  uniform ; 
the  .same  effect   as  the  dull   br 
brick,  we  should  rccommci. !  t! 
are  unfortunate  enough   t 
piint,  should  imitate  tho  :. 
uot  the  appearance,  of   h 
colour  in  oU-paint   must, 
duller,  less  positive,  and    ■ 
necessity  of  constant  n* " 
unctuousncss  of  s'" ' 
no  case,  and  und-  : 
should  a  li"n=e  l-e  ■ 
of  creara-^\!  r     '- 
dows.     Tl;' 
coloured  v.. 
would  be  a..  .  ^ 
arli.stic   architectu 
would  once  for  all 

in  the   block  for  i  i  ' 

small  pancd,   and  luve  lL<.ir    Ij-jI;  pani-.'.d   a 


150 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


■'ocd  dull  dark  green  (composed  of  black  and 
white  and  yellow  without  any  blue  whatever), 
with    brass    appointiuenta,    they    would  have 
dwellings    as  good    as    adverse    circumstances 
allow.  ^Another  block   might  bo  painted    iu  a  ! 
wann  creamy  yelluw,  much  toned  down  in  ilie  i 
mixing  by  means  of  white  and  grey,  yet  decided  i 
enough  to  be  relieved  with  warm   white  lintels,  j 
Next,  an  experiment  might  be  tried  with  sage-  i 
green.      'Why  should  the    colour   which  is  so 
pleasant  to  live  with  indoors  not  help  to  make 
our  streets  agreeable  ?    Much  taste,  however, 
or  failing  that,  much  docility  under  advice,  is 
necessary  in  the  choice  of   sage-green ;  for    a 
good  sage-green  is  at  least  a   teriiary  colour, 
and  ot  course,  the  moi-e  compound  the  tint,  the  j 
mere  room  for  diversities.     Pollowing  our  rule,  ] 
we  would   have    no    cold  greens ;  the  colour 
should  at  once  be  warm  and  greyish  ;  as  in  the 
other  cases,  we  would  not  use  it   in  one  ma.'-s,  i 
but  break  it  slightly   with   cream-white  lintels, 
and  the  doors  should  decidedly  be  Hack,  with 
brjss  appointments. 

OUE  COMMONPLACE  COLUMN. 

XATUEAI  BED   OF  STONE. 

IT  is  a  ride,  founded  upon  obseiTation  and 
experience,  that  the  stones  used  in  a  biuld- 
ing  slioidd  be  placed  so  that  the  lamina;  be  in 
planes  parallel  to  the  horizon,  and  perpendicular 
to  the  face  of  wall.  The  reason  of  the  rule  is 
that  as  the  connecting  substance  of  the  laminje 
in  of  a  more  friable  nature  than  the  larainse  them- 
selves, they  are  apt  to  scale  olf,  and  thus  pro- 
duce rapid  decay.  In  the  mechanical  process  of 
disintegration,  there  is  much  to  fear  from  inat- 
tention to  the  lajing  of  stones  in  their  "  natural 
bed."  The  freezing  of  water,  which  enters  the 
sttne  through  fissirres  or  pores,  and  finds  its  way 
between  the  laminse,  is  a  constant  source  of  mis- 
chief in  masonry.  Thus  the  importance  of  set- 
ting stones  with  their  laminte,  or,  as  the  work- 
men call  it,  "bed,"  ia  a  horizontal  direction, 
oannot  be  over-  estimated.  If  work  bo  ' '  face- 
bedded,"  the  water  freezing  causes  the  lamin.-e 
to  scale  off  in  succession,  so  that  in  course  of 
time  the  space  the  stone  occupied  is  left  vacant, 
and  farther  damage  by  the  intrusion  of  moistiure 
is  caused.  The  natural  bed  of  a  stone 
should  particularly  be  attended  to  iu  the 
fronts  of  buildings  facing  the  south  and  west. 
ticdcr  the  present  contract  system  of  inviting 
boildcrs,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  exer- 
cise the  amount  of  care  necessary  to  have  all 
stones  laid  on  their  proper  bed,  and  architects 
often  neglect  to  provide  a  due  supervision,  even 
when  they  can  do  so.  In  the  specification  for 
masonry  the  architect  should  always  insert  a 
clause  to  the  effect  that  the  stones  are  to  be  pro- 
perly marked  by  the  stone-merchant,  and  to  be 
laid  on  their  natural  bed.  It  is  not  unusual  for 
the  upper  bed  of  stone  to  be  so  marked  at  the 
quarry,  but  the  precaution  is  next  to  useless 
under  the  ordinary  supervision  of  buildings. 
Wo  may  observe,  for  the  guidance  of  the  young 
architect,  that  sandstones  are  particularly  liable 
to  decay,  or  the  scaling  of  their  surfaces ;  there 
.ire  generally  laminated  plates  of  mica  interven- 
ing between  the  beds.  Limestones  are  less 
liable,  though  varieties  occur,  such  as  in  shelly 
limestones,  where  the  planes  of  lamination  are 
visible.  In  the  report  of  the  Commission  ap- 
pointed to  select  a  stone  for  the  Houses  of  Par- 
liament some  valuable  observations  are  made. 
We  quote  those  paragrai>hs  bearing  upon  the 
"bedding"  of  stones.  " Sandstones,  from  the 
mode  of  their  formation,  are  very  freejuently 
laniinatcel,  more  especially  when  micaceous,  the 
pl.ites  of  mica  being  generally  deposited  in 
planes  parallel  to  their  beds.  Hence,  if  such 
stone  be  placed  in  buildings  with  the  planes  of 
lamination  in  a  vertical  position,  it  will  decom- 
pose m  flakes,  according  to  the  thickness  of  the 
laminre  ;  whereas  if  it  be  placed  so  tliat  the 
planes  of  lamination  be  horizontal,  that  is  most 
commonly  upon  its  natural  bed,  the  amount  of 
decomposition  will  be  comparatively  immaterial. 
Limestones,  such  at  least  as  are  usually  em- 
I>loyed  for  building  purposes,  aro  not  liable  to 
the  kiud  of  lamination  obser\'abIc  in  sandstones; 
nevertheless  varieties  exist,  especially  those 
commonly  termed  shelly,  which  have  a  c'.arse 
laminated  structure,  generally  parallel  to  the 
planes  of  their  beds,  and  therefore  the  same  pre- 
caution in  placing  such  stone  in  buildings  so 
that  the  planes  of  lamination  bo  horizontal  is 
as  necessary  as  with  the  sandstones  above 
noticed." 


The  nave  is  the  body  of  a  church  extending 
from  the  west  entrance  to  the  transepts,  or  to 
the  choir  or  chancel,  if  there  are  no  transepts. 
It  usually  has  aisles,  one  on  each  side,  thotigh  iu 
the  naves  of  some  churches,  such  as  those  in  the 
South  of  France,  of  Aquitania  and  Anjou,  for 
example,  there  aro  no  aisles,  but  the  naves  are  ex- 
posed on  both  bides,  and  are  covered  with  domi- 
cal roofs.  The  width  and  proportions  of  naves 
is  a  study  of  more  value  to  the  arcliitect  than 
has  been  generally  thought.  Iu  France  the 
naves  of  churches  gradually  assumed  a  majestic 
width  of  from  .50ft.  or  upwards,  and  in  churches 
of  only  one  nave,  as  the  Cathedral  at  Toidouse, 
the  width  between  the  walls  was  63ft.  The 
width  of  EngUsh  naves  is  generally  less :  a  large 
propoi-tion  of  old  churches  says  the  "Arch. Diet," 
will  be  found  to  be  under  30ft.  between  the 
centres  of  the  piers ;  the  modern  ones  about 
25ft.  ;  Lichfield  is  about  33ft. ;  Hereford,  3Sft.  ; 
Chichester,  37ft.  ;  York,  4Sft. ;  Westminster, 
38ft.  Gin. ;  Elv,  30ft  ;  Old  St.  Paul's,  39ft.  In 
Germanv,  Tim  Cathedral  is  56ft.  wide,  over 
treble  in  heieht ;  Spires  Cathedral  is  olft.,  over 
double;  and  Treves  Cathedral  has  a  nave  of  60ft. 
In  Italy,  llilan  is  63ft.  between  centres  of 
columns":  Florence,  60ft. ;  Sta.  Chiara,  Naples, 
is  104ft.  wide,  and  has  no  aisles.  Spain  has  many 
wide  naves.  Gerona  Cathedral  has  one  73ft. ; 
Palma  Church,  9oft.  Many  modern  cbru-ches 
have  been  built  with  wide  naves  and  narrow 
aisles.  Mr.  Street  built  a  church  at  Clifton  upon 
this  plan,  and  several  recent  chtirches  by  that 
architect,  bv  Mr.  Pearson,  Mr.  Hansom,  Mr.Blom- 
field,  Mr.  J.  Fowler,  and  others,  exhibit  a  greater 
width  of  nave  than  wasformerlythoughtjudicious. 
The  advantage  of  a  wide  preaching  area  is  begin- 
ning to  be  felt,  and  architects  now  frequently  re- 
duce the  width  of  their  aisles  for  the  pui-pose,  thus 
throwing  all  the  central  area  open  for  seats,  the 
aisles  serving  merely  as  passages.  For  other 
particulars  of  naves,  see  art.  in  "Architectural 
Diet."  and  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  wide  bays 
in  BtrrLDixG News, XVIII.,  1870,  p.  352.  Thepro- 
portion  of  the  height  to  the  -n-idth  of  naves 
varies  much ;  in  town  churches  it  seems  desir- 
able, for  more  than  one  reason,  to  make  the  nave 
lofty  chiefly  because  it  enables  the  architect  to 
introduce  lofty  clerestory  windows,  by  which 
means  he  can  dispense  with  or  reduce  the  aisle 
windows.  But  the  beauty  inherent  in  a  well- 
proportioned  nave  is  a  point  that  should  not  be 
overlooked.  The  nave  of  Amiens  Cathedral 
is  three  squares  iu  height,  and  it  has  been  shown 
by  Mr.  E.  Cresy  in  Gwilt's  "Encycl."  that  the 
entire  nave  of  Amiens  may  be  placed  within  an 
isometrical  cube.  Each  side  of  the  cube  is 
divided  into  36  squares,  each  of  these  is  23ft. 
6in.  on  each  of  its  sides.  The  walls  and 
buttresses  occupy  the  outer  six  squares  of  this 
division,  the  adjoining  inner  squares  occupy  the 
space  of  the  aisles,  and  the  two  middle  divisions 
the  nave.  The  nave  occupies  thus  12  squares, 
.and  the  aisles  the  same.  The  same  author  shows 
also  that  Amiens  aud  Salisbury  Cathedrals  were 
both  set  out  with  the  perch  measure  of  the  re- 
spective countries.  The  squares  set  out  as  above 
each  measure  23ft.  Gin.,  the  royal  French  perch. 
The  development  of  the  nave  from  Eomanesque 
examples  is  interesting.  In  the  earlier  Norman 
churches  the  triple  division  into  arcade,  trifcrium, 
and  clerestory  was  defined  by  string-courses, 
and  each  horizontal  division  was  treated  more  or 
less  distinctly;  as  the  style  advanced,  these 
horizontal  lines  were  broken  through,  the  pier- 
shafts  run  up  to  carry  the  vault  and  di^-ide  the 
three  parts  into  compartments,  till,  in  the  Per- 
pendicular, the  vertical  Bnes  appear  more 
prominently,  and  the  bay  becomes  a  more  de- 
cided vertical  compartment  from  the  floor  to  the 
vaulting.  AVe  refer  the  reader  to  VioUet-le-Duc's 
Dictionary  (.see  arts.  "  Architectiu'e,"  "  Cathe- 
drale,"  "Nef");  see  also  Walcolt's  "Sacred 
Archa;ology  "  for  elaborate  notices  of  the  subject. 

Necking  is  usually  appUed  to  the  upper  por- 
tion of  a  column,  or  the  space  between  the  lower 
anmdet  and  its  junction  with  the  shaft.  In  the 
Parthenon  the  junction  is  a  slight  groove  ;  in 
other  instances  of  Doric  it  consists  of  two  or 
three  grooves ;  these  are  often  chamfered  or  sloped 
on  one  or  both  sides.  The  Greek  Ionic  has  rarely 
a  necking.  In  the  Roman  orders  the  necking 
became  an  astragal,  and  is  generally  part  of  the 
capital,  though  the  real  neck  is  the  space  between 
the  astragal  and  cap,  aud  both  those  are  often  of 
different  marble  to  the  shaft.  In  Gothic  the  neck- 
moidding  separates  the  capital  from  the  shaft. 


BUILDERS'  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTION. 

THE  thirty- third  annual  meeting  of  this  In- 
stitution was  held  at  Willis's  Rooms,  St. 
James's,  on  Thursday,  the  29th  idt.,  the  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  F.  J.  Dove,  in  the  chair. 

The  report  for  the  past  year  stated  that  if 
means  shoidd  be  found  to  make  an  adelitiou  to 
the  annuities  uow  given  (£30  to  men,  and  .£24  to 
women),  the  comfort  of  the  pensioners  'many  of 
whom  had  no  other  means  whatever)  would  be 
materially  promoted.  The  Committee  had  con- 
fidence that  increased  funds  wotUd  be  supplied 
by  the  powerful  interest  which  the  Institution 
represented,  if  it  were  decided  to  increase  the 
pensions.  The  Committee  express  their  thanks 
to  Mr.  F.  W.  Keeble,  the  hon.  secretary  of  the 
annual  ball,  and  to  the  stewards  who  assisted 
him,  in  making  that  gathering  a  success,  and 
warmly  acknowledge  their  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
F.  J.  Dove,  the  retiring  President,  for  the  ener- 
getic manner  in  which  he  has  served  the  Institu- 
tion duimg  the  past  year.  During  the  year  ten 
pensioners  (an  exceptionally  large  number)  have 
been  elected  on  the  funds  of  the  Institution,  and 
two  widows  of  pensioners  have  been  added  to  the 
list  without  election.  Seven  pensioners  died  dm-- 
iug  the  year. 

The  balance-sheet,  audited  by  Messrs.  J.  H. 
Hunter,  J.  Cruttenden,  and  R.  J.  Ward,  showed 
the  receipts  to  be  £3,221  19s.  2d.  (including 
£846  IDs.  7d.  balance  brought  forward  from  last 
year).  The  annual  subscriptions  amounted  to 
£7S6  lOs. ;  the  donations  to  £S61  123.  ;  the  divi- 
dends on  funded  property  to  £632  7s.  od.  ;  and 
the  nrofit  on  the  ball  was  £94  lOs.  2d.  The  ex- 
penditure included  £1,346  6s.  6d.  paid  to  pen- 
sioners ;  and  the  bitrial-money  for  pensioners, 
£35  Is.  6d.  After  deducting  expenses  of  man- 
agement, and  expending  £700  in  the  purchase  of 
Three  Per  Cent.  Consols,  there  remained  a 
balance  of  £788  Is.  4d.  at  the  bankers'. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  George  Pluclmett, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Richard  Head,  it  was  resolved, 
after  considerable  discussion,  to  increase  the 
pensions  of  the  men  to  £39  a  year,  and  those  of 
the  women  to  £27  a  year.  It  was  stated  that 
there  were  now  twenty-two  men  and  thirty-one 
women  receiving  annuities  from  the  Institution, 
and  that  the  Committee  hoped  in  a  few  years' 
tune  to  increase  the  amoimt  of  the  pensions  to 
£50  per  annum  for  the  men,  and  £30  per  annum 
for  the  women.  To  enable  them  to  do  this,  in- 
creased subscriptions  would  be  needed. 

It  was  resolved  to  alter  section  2  of  Rule  III., 
so  as  to  allow  applicants  for  pensions  to  be  in 
receipt  of  an  Income  of  £50  per  anniun  (inde- 
pendently of  the  amount  of  the  pension),  instead 
of  £30  as  at  present. 

The  report  and  balance-sheet  were  adopted, 
and  votes  of  thanks  were  accorded  to  the  Presi- 
dent for  the  eificient  way  in  which  he  had  per- 
formed the  duties  of  his  office  during  the  past 
year ;  to  the  vice-presidents  ;  to  the  trustees 
(Mr.  George  Plucknett,  Sir  S.  Morton  Peto, 
Alderman  Sir  J.  C.  Lawrence,  M.P.,  and  Mr. 
C.  T.  Lucas )  ;  to  the  Committee ;  to  the 
auditors ;  and  to  the  honorary  solicitors. 

The  Treasurer  (Mr.  George  Plucknett)  was 
re-elected,  as  were  the  members  of  the  Commit- 
tee, who  retired  by  rotation,  and  the  auditors. 
Mr.  Howard  Colls  was  also  elected  a  member  of 
the  Committee. 

Mr.  Thomas  F.  Rider  was  unanimously  elected 
President  of  the  Institution  for  the  ensuing  year, 
and  it  was  announced  that  under  his  Presidency 
the  annual  elinner  wUl  be  held  at  the  Free- 
masons' Tavern  on  Thursday,  November  11th. 


THE  SPA,  SCARBOROUGH. 
A  FTER  the  fire  in  1876,  wliich  destroyed  the 
xX  Spa  Saloon,  erected  from  the  designs  of  the 
late  Sir  Joseph  Paxton  ,  in  1858,  the  Committee 
having  obtained  the  advice  and  assistance  of  the 
late  F.  P.  Cockerell,  Hon.  Sec.  R.I.B.A.,  in 
drawing  up  the  necessary  conditions,  invited 
architects  to  send  sketch  designs  in  competition. 
This  was  responded  to  by  twenty-six  designs 
being  submitted,  of  which  the  authors  of 
four  were  selected  by  Mr.  Cockerell  to  fur- 
nish further  drawings,  in  elucidation  of  their 
designs,  and  also  an  alternative  design  for 
the  restoration  and  readaptation  of  the  exist- 
ing buildings.  This  gentleman  having  re- 
ported upon  these  finished  designs,  selected 
that  sent  in  by  Messrs.  Verity  and  Hunt, 
of  27,  Regent-street,  London,  who  were  there- 
upon instructed  by  the  Committee  to  prepare  the 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


necessary  working  drawings  and  estimates.  Tbe 
work  of  rebuilding  commenced  in  October, 
1877.  The  Grand  Ilall,  a  room  capable  of 
holding  3,000  persons,  was  opened  to  the  public 
on  the  1st  Jime,  1879,  and  the  whole  of  the 
buildings  are  now  completed,  and  were  opened 
on  Monday.  The  attention  of  the  architects 
vi"as  particularly  given  to  preserring,  .so  far  as 
possible,  the  old  associations  of  the  place,  and 
such  features  as  the  balconies  and  colonnade, 
and  a  portion  of  Paxton's  Hall,  were  carefully 
retained,  so  that  it  is  difficult  at  first  sight  to 
realise  that  such  an  entire  re-construction  has 
been  effected.  The  old  Gothic  Hall,  built  by 
Wyatt,  in  1837,  has  been  entirely  demolished  to 
make  way  for  the  present  buddings.  After  the 
removal  of  the  old  buildings,  it  was  necessary 
to  execute  amo>t  extensive  system  of  massive  re- 
taining walls,  in  order  to  secure  the  Cliif  in  the 
rear  of  the  buildings.  This,  owing  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  ground,  was  a  work  of  extreme  diffi- 
culty. Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  extent 
of  these  works  when  it  is  stated  that  nearly 
30,000  tons  of  earth  had  to  be  removed.  The 
foundations  of  all  the  walls  have  been  carried 
down  to  the  solid  rock,  and  every  precaution  has 
been  taken  to  secure  tlie  durability  of  the  struc- 
ture. The  first  portion  of  the  actual  building 
work  entered  upon  was  the  Grand  Hall.  The 
site  of  the  Grand  Hall  is  140ft.  bv  100ft.,  and 
56ft.  in  height.  The  area  of  the  haU  is  .ilft.  by 
G4ft.,  and  it  is  capable  of  accommodating  a 
seated  audience  of  about  1,000  persons. 

In  addition  to  the  accommodation  provided  in 
the  Grand  Hall,  there  is  on  the  first  floor  a  h.-ill 
100ft.  by  60ft.,  and  40ft.  high,  which  was 
originally  intended  for  a  floral  lounge;  but  this 
has  now  been  fitted  up  with  a  small  stage,  and 
the  auditory  arranged  so  as  to  serve  either  the 
purposes  of  dramatic  or  musical  representations. 
On  the  ground-floor  immediately  below  this  hall 
is  a  buffet,  100ft.  by  30ft.  A  central  vestibule 
and  staircase,  .50ft.  by  30ft.,  giving  access  to  the 
two  halls,  and  to  the  buffet,  leads  likewise  to  a 
reading-room,  or  billiard-room,  30ft.  by  30ft., 
with  a  conservatory  at  end.  On  the  upper  ter- 
race, which  forms  the  roof,  and  immediateh' 
over  this  portion  of  the  building,  is  a  cafe,  30ft. 
by  30ft.,  with  an  open  loggia  overlooking  the 
Bea  ;  a  separate  servants'  staircase,  and  a  lift, 
are  provided  for  communication  with  the  kit- 
chens, &c.,  below. 

Connected  with  the  interior  of  the  two  halls, 
the  buffet  and  the  cafe,  are  sereral  retiring  and 
cloak-rooms. 

The  total  length  of  the  building  is  242ft.  The 
general  height  of  the  whole  corresponds  with 
that  of  the  old  saloon.  Additions  have  been  made 
to  the  towers  by  an  extra  story  and  Mansard 
roof.  The  central  block  rises  to  a  height  of  75ft. 
above  the  promenade.  The  whole  of  the  works 
have  been  carried  out  from  the  designs,  and 
under  the  superintendence,  of  the  architects, 
Messrs.  Verity  and  Ilimt  ;  Jlr.  F.  T.  Reade, 
C.E.,  being  the  engineer  for  the  structural  iron- 
work. Tile  general  contractor  was  Mr.  John 
Barry,  of  Scarborough.  Messrs.  Dennett  and 
Co.,  of  Nottingham  and  London,  have  con- 
structed the  iloors,  terraces,  and  tower  stairs  in 
their  patent  concrete.  The  tile-work  is  by 
Messrs.  Simpson  and  Sons,  London.  The  orna- 
mental plaster- work  is  in  Geo.  Jackson  and  Sons' 
patent  fibrous  material.  The  stone-carving  has 
been  done  by  Mr.  Scale,  of  Walworth.  Mr. 
H.  K.  Taylor  has  acted  throughout  as  clerk  of 
works. 


MR.  RU-SSIN  ON  GLOVES  AND  PIC- 
TURES FOR  MUSEUMS. 
MR.  RUSKIN,  in  the  Art  Journal  this 
month,  writes  on  "  Museums."  In 
introducing  his  subject,  he  has  the  following 
reference  to  the  difficulty  in  getting  good 
leathern  gloves  :^ 

"  I  can't  give  you  any  talk  on  detail  yet:  but, 
not  to  drop  a  stitch  in  my  story,  I  want  to  say 
why  I've  attached  so  much  importance  to 
needlework,  and  put  it  in  the  opening  court  of 
the  six.  Ton  see  they  are  progressive,  so  that 
I  don't  quite  put  needlework  on  a  level  with 
painting.  But  a  nation  that  would  learn  to 
'  touch '  must  primarily  know  how  to  stitch.  I 
am  always  busy  for  a  good  part  of  a  day  in  my 
wood,  and  wear  out  my  leathern  gloves  fust ; 
after  once  I  can't  wear  them  at  all;  but  that's 
the  precise  difficulty  of  the  matter.  I  get  them 
from  the  shop,  looking  as  stout  and  trim  as  you 
pleas»,  and  half-an-hour  after  I've  got  to  work 


they  split  up  the  fingers  and  thumbs  like  ripe 
horse-chesnut  shells,  and  I  fi':d  myself  with  five 
dangling  rags  round  my  wrist,  a  rotten  white 
thread  draggling  after  mc  through  the  wood,  or 
tickling  my  nose,  as  if  Ariadne  and  Arachne  had 
lost  their  wits  together.  I  go  home,  invoking 
the  universe  against  sewing-machines,  and  beg 
the  charity  of  a  sound  stitch  or  two  from  any  of 
the  maids  who  know  tin  ir  woman's  art ;  and 
thenceforward  the  life  of  the  glove  proper  begins. 
Now,  it  is  not  possible  for  any  people  that  put 
up  with  this  sort  of  thing  to  leani  to  paint,  or 
do  anything  with  their  fingers  decently ;  only, 
for  the  most  part  they  don' t  think  their  museums 
are  meant  to  show  them  how  to  do  anj'thing 
decently,  but  rather  how  to  be  idle,  indecently. 
Which  extremely  popular  and  extremely  erro- 
neous persuasion,  if  you  please,  we  must  get  out 
of  our  way  before  going  ftu'ther." 

After  this  Mr.  Ruskin,  who  some  time  since 
attacked  Mr.  Frith' s  "Derby"  picture  in  refer- 
ence to  the  Leicester  Museum,  explains  away  his 
criticism : — 

"  I  0 we  some  apology,  by  the  way ,  to  Mr.  Frith 
for  the  way  I  spoke  of  his  picture  in  my  letter 
to  the  Leicester  Committee,  not  intended  for 
publication,  though  I  never  write  what  I  would 
not  allow  to  be  published,  and  was  glad  that  they 
asked  leave  to  print  it.  It  was  not  I  who  in- 
stanced the  picture ;  it  had  been  named  in  the 
meeting  of  the  committee  as  the  kind  of  thing 
that  people  best  liked,  and  I  was  obliged  to  say 
why  people  best  liked  it,  namely,  not  fur  the 
p.ainting.  which  is  good  and  worthy  their  liking, 
but  for  the  sight  of  the  racecourse  and  its  hiunours. 
And  the  reason  that  such  a  picture  oitght  not  to 
be  in  a  museum  is  precisely  because  in  a  museum 
people  ought  not  to  fancy  themselves  on  a  race- 
course. If  they  want  to  see  races,  let  them  go  to 
races ;  and  if  rogues,  to  Biidewells.  They  come 
to  museums  to  see  something  different  to  rogues 
and  races." 


THE  ART-GALLERY  AND  MUSEUM  FOR 
BIRMINGHAM. 

THE  munificent  offer  of  Messrs.  Tangye  to 
contribute  f  10,000  towards  art  examples 
for  an  art  gallery  and  museum  for  the  town  of 
Birmingham,  on  the  condition  that  the  Cotmcil 
would  provide  a  permanent  public  building  for 
such  gallery  commensurate  with  the  neces^ities 
of  the  town,  has  led  to  a  veiy  gratifying  result. 
The  difficidty  which  presented  itself  to  the 
Council  arose  out  of  the  circumstance  that  they 
had  no  legal  power  to  defray,  from  any  existin^ 
funds  at  their  disposal,  the  cost  of  erecting  the 
proposed  gallery.  The  General  Purposes  Com- 
mittee, to  whom  the  m.atter  was  referred,  having 
fully  considered  the  subject,  reported  on  Tuesday 
that,  at  the  rear  of  the  present  cotincil-house, 
there  was  land  which,  as  far  back  as  1S65,  had 
been  appropriated  by  the  Council  for  assize 
courts  and  judges'  lodgings,  but  which  would 
form  a  most  convenient  and  suitable  site  for  an 
art  gallery  and  museum,  fully  adequate  to  the 
requirements  of  the  town.  If  the  original 
intention  of  building  assize  courts  were  adhered 
to,  the  further  concentration  of  municipal  busi- 
ness would  be  suspended,  if  not  rendered  alto- 
gether impracticable,  and  the  C  jmmittee  there- 
fore recommended  that  the  minutes  of  the 
Council  appropriating  the  land  in  question  for 
assize  coutts  should  be  rescinded.  The  expenses 
authorised  b\'  the  Public  Libraries  Act  (imder 
which  al  .ne  the  Council  had  power  to  provide 
an  art  gallery  and  museum)  were  limited  to  the 
penny  rate  which  might  be  levied  under  these 
Acts.  Bat  under  section  18  of  the  public 
Libraries  Act,  1855,  the  Council  might,  in 
addition  to  the  said  rate,  with  the  approval  of 
the  Treasury,  appropriate,  for  the  purposes  of 
the  Act,  any  land  vested  in  the  corporation,  and 
on  such  land  might  erect  buildings  for  public 
libraries  or  museums,  or  both  ;  or  for  schools  of 
science  and  art.  'The  Committee  therefore 
recommended  that  the  site  in  question  should, 
with  the  approval  of  the  Treasury,  be  ap- 
propriated lor  the  purposes  of  the  free 
libraries  department,  on  the  terms  that  offices 
for  the  gas-department,  at  present  located  in 
another  part  of  the  town,  should  be  crectcd_  at 
the  cost  of  that  department,  as  a  cons^ideration 
for  the  use  of  the  land,  and  that  the  first  floor  of 
the  building  should  be  made  available  for  an  art 
gallery  and  museum.  Under  the  plans  of  the 
proposed  building,  prepared  by  Mr.  Yeoville 
Thomason.  the  accommodation  for  this  purpose 
(on  the  first  floor)  would  consist  of  three  galleries 


151 
u 


of  the  foibwing dimensions:  We*t  gallery,  71ft. 
by  50ft.,  4.180  square  feet ;  central  gilkry, 
157ft.  by  .52ft.,  8,164  square  feet;  and  east  gal- 
lery, 83ft.  by  4jft.,  3,825  wiuaro  feet;  or  a 
total  area  of  16,178  square  foot;  while  on 
another  floor  there  would  be  on  additional  sp.iee 
of  0,332  square  feet  aviiilable  for  use.  In  ordar 
to  assure  themselves  of  thi>  complete  legality  of 
the  proposed  scheme,  the  C.imnuttco  had  sul.- 
mitted  a  case,  eml«)dyinu'-  all  the  facts,  to  the 
Solicitor-General  anil  Mr.  U.  h.  Wright,  wiio 
expressed  the  opinion  tint  the  Hclieme  could  In- 
legally  carried  out,  and  drafted  th.)  re.iui.-iti- 
resolutions  for  adoption  by  the  Council.  Ah  the 
erection  of  the  building  would  ne.i.H.virily  oct  upy 
a  considerable  tim<>,  the  fJeneral  l'ur|Miws  Com- 
mittee recommend  the  Council  to  aiithorisf  the 
Gas  Committee,  who,  as  well  as  the  Fn-o 
Libraries  Committee,  cordially  concurred  in  the 
recommendations  made,  to  proceed  at  once  with 
the  necessary  levelling  work,  tlie  putting-in  of 
the  foundations,  and  the  brickwork  and  coucrete 
for  the  latter,  nnd  that  they  should  al»i  empower 
the  Gas  Committee  to  cauie  the  nccewiar)-  pliine 
for  the  buildings  to  bo  prepared,  to  obtain  ten- 
ders for  the  works,  and  to  take  for  theno  pur- 
poses such  meastires  as  they  n>ight  deem  necM- 
sary  or  advisable.  The  Mayor  (Mr.  K. 
Chamberlain),  in  moving  a  resolution  for  the 
adoption  of  the  proposed  schene,  and  for  con- 
ferring upon  the  Gas  Committee  the  requhtito 
power  to  proceed  with  the  preliminarj-  w.^rk, 
explained  that  alih'iugh  he  had  felt  it  neces-i.iry 
to  considt  Mr.  Thoma.son,  the  archit«t  of  tbe 
existing  Council  House,  on  the  Bubject  of  what 
could  be  done  with  the  land,  the  present  resolu- 
tions did  not  involve  the  adoption  of  any  par- 
ticular plan.  The  elevation  in  pencil  licfort  ths 
Council  was  only  made  to  sho  ■k  the  style  in  which 
an  extension  of  the  present  buiMingx  couM  be 
effected,  and  a  sufficiettly  imposing  entr.incv  to 
the  art  g.allciy  provided.  It  was  considircd  that 
a  mean  entrance  might  damage  the  popularity  of 
the  proposed  institution,  and  les.st-n  the  chancer 
of  securing  gifts  from  parties  interested  in  art 
progress.  'Tiie  Mayor  added  that  the  space  ot 
disposal  might  be  enlarged  to  20,000  squuru  feet 
if  it  were  determined  to  erect  a  gallery  round 
the  principal  room.  The  resolution  was  seconded 
by  Mr.  Alderman  Lloyd,  and  carried  tmani- 
mously.  The  prelimioary  work  will  at  once  be  pro- 
ceedtd  with.  A  memorial  from  the  Birmingham 
School  of  Art,  praying  that  proWsion  should  be 
made  for  tlie  accommodation  of  tlie  school  in  the 
proposed  new  buildings,  was  referred  to  the 
General  Purposes  Committee,  but  the  Mayur  re- 
marked he  feared  want  of  space  would  pp  v.-nt 
the  committee  from  reporting  favourably  on  the 
application. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Birmingham  yestvrdny 
about   £3,000  wus   collected  towards  the  i'i.C'OO 
required  to  secure  the  addition  il  sum  of  £5,0uO 
conditionally  promised    by  Messrs.  Tangye  for 
contributions   to  the  art  ^'allcry.     Tip     Mi     r, 
who  presided,  and  headed  the  - 
with  £500,  said  that  the  main  g 
on  the  model  of  the  South  Kensin 
Subscriptions  will  not  be  limite<l,  u:;  1   ar       x- 
pected  to  reach  at  least  £10,000. 


CHIPS. 

The  South  LDU'lon  Tram  7. 
the  contract  far  the  constr 
ia  Battorsca   to  Mcssrj.   1'. 
Lawrence  rountney-Iane.  t  ii.  .   ' 
already    been    commcnco'l.       In- 
was  n.Dt  the  loTcst  received,  but  » 
cause  Messrs.  Dixfn  anil  Uonie  wci 
the  contract  at  once. 

\t  the  Porbv  Police-cotirt  on  Tafdtj,  darioR 
Xh'^h..,,■„.-r,{^r,  ri«-  u.riTtl.o  V,-  ■■,.•,  •.  \U. 
Mr.  • 

tha- 

TliC    i;.ll-     Cb"  ■ 
Cornwall,   is  nndci  • 

£300:  Mr.  P'-.ii":-. 

T'      ■ 


152 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


Aug.  6.  1880. 


CONTENTS. 

♦-♦-• 

Improvements  in  Bloomsbury 

Misuse  of  the  Pilaster 

The  Victoria  Embankment :  a  Constructive  Study  ...  : 

A  Recent  Visit  to  Russia    : 

Healthy  Dwellings 

The  Report  of  the  Sletropolitan  Board  of  "Works  on 

the  Recent  Gas  Explosion      

Bridie-Building  and  American  Engineers 

Surveyors' Examinations : 

The  Outer  Colouiing  of  Houses      

Our  Commonplace  Column 

Builders*  Benevolent  Institution     

The  Spa,  Scarborough 

Mr.  Raskin  on  Gloves  and  Pictures  for  Museums 

The  Art-Gallery  and  JIuaeum  for  Birmingham 

Chips : 

Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 

Improvement  and  Distribution  of   Sjund  by  Steel 

■Wires     

(Jivil  Architecture  in  the  Eighteenth  Century     

The  DoiL^  Gallery : 

TheABCofArt 

Carib  Ai-t 

Competitions : 

SchoolsofArf : 

Parliamentary  Xotes   

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     : 

Intercommunication    ] 

Legal  Intelligence 1 

"Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      1 

Stained  Glass.-.    ' : 

OurOfficeTable    1 

Trade  NeTvs     : 

Tenders    1 


NEW  TO\VS  n.v 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

,  BAXK,  HOTEL,  .VND  MEMORIAL  FOU^■TAI^• 
>EN.  — BOYS*  HIGH  SCHOOL,  PLYMOUTH.— 
CHAPEL,      EAI  IXG.   —  ST.      CATHERINE'S 


Our  LithographicIllustrations 


THE  MABKBT  SQTTABE,  SAPFEON  'WAI.DE:?. 
(tIBSOn's  Bank  at  Saffron  Walden,  which  was 
biiilt  a  Tear  or  two  since  from  the  designs  of 
Mr.  y\'.  Eden  Xesfield,  architect,  is  shown  on 
the  left-hand  side  of  the  double-page  \iew 
which  we  give  to-day  of  the  Market-square  of 
that  place,  which  same  drawing  includes  the 
new  town-hall,  just  now  erected  at  the  expense 
of  Mr.  Gibson  by  Mr.  Edward  Burgess,  archi- 
tect, of  Bedford-row.  The  Rose  and  Crown 
public-house  is  a  genuine  old  structure,  very 
carefully  restored  by  Mr.  Eden  Nesfield  at  the 
time  the  bank  was  built.  The  memoriiil 
fountain  was  presented  some  few  years  since  by 
Mrs.  Gibson  to  the  town.  It  was  exhibited  at 
the  Intemation.al  Exhibition,  1862,  and  was 
executed  by  Mr.  Earp,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
J.  F.  Bentley,  architect.  Our  view  "is  chiefly 
made  from  photographs  taken  by  Mr.  Bedford 
Lemere. 

THE    B0Y3'    lUGU    SCnOOL,    PLTMOUTH. 

Ix  the  laying  out  of  a  scheme  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  Plymouth  High  School  for  Boys, 
the  governors  determined  to  make  provision  for 
future  as  well  as  present  requirements.  The 
structure  is  part  of  a  whole — a  fragment  in  fact. 
The  entire  design  comprises  1.5  large  class-rooms, 
each  capable  of  accommodating  27  bovs ;  an 
assembly-hall,  40ft.  by  7oft. ;  a  library  and 
head-master's  room,  40ft.  by  27ft.  ;  spacious 
principal  and  secondary  stone  staircases,  board- 
room, assistant-master's  room,  and  pupils'  day- 
room  :  commodious  di-ill-shed,  three  fives-courts, 
and  large  workshops,  or  chemical  laboratory  ;  a 
residence  for  the  head-master,  a  serjeant's- 
lodge,  and  a  dining-hall  with  all  necessary 
culinary  offices.  The  portion  now  in  progress 
contains  eight  class-rooms,  six  being  to  the 
north,  and  two  to  the  south  of  the  central  front 
entrance  ;  the  library  over  the  entrance-hall  and 
the  back  wing  containing  the  board-room.  Sec. 
The  principal  front  of  the  building  faces  south- 
west, and  consists  of  a  central  entrance  pro- 
jecting four  feet,  flanked  by  a  two-storied  facade 
containing  24  large  mullioned  and  transomed 
■windows,  lighting  12  class-rooms.  At  the 
southern  e.^tremity  will  be  the  head-master's 
residence,  extending  over  a  carriage  archway, 
which  unites  it  to  the  main  building ;  and  at 
the  northern  end  will  be  the  assembly-hall — 
standing  atright  angles — octagonal  turrets  rising 
up  at  the  points  of  jimction  at  both  ends  of  the 
front,  and  ako  at  the  south-west  angle  of  the 
assembly  hall.  The  hall  will  be  on  the  upper 
floor  level,  and  underneath  will  be  a  range  of 
three  large  class-rooms,  each  3Gft.  by  24ft.  Over 
the  spacious  arch  of  the  central  entrance  vesti- 
bule is  a  large  oriel  window,   which  will  be  the 


chief  feature  of  the  library  or  head-master's 
room  (to  be  used  pro  tcin.  as  an  assembly-hall), 
and  above  this  window  will  rise  a  gable  flanked 
by  cliimney  stacks,  which  are  so  designed  as  to 
play  a  very  important  part  in  the  architectural 
composition.  'The  entrance  vestibule  is  lined 
with  Bath  stone,  and  has  a  room  on  either  side 
for  the  secretary's  office  and  the  porter's  use 
respectively.  The  hall  within  is  27ft.  square, 
and  spacious  corridors,  9ft.  wide,  extend  from 
it  right  and  left,  and  are  lined  with  arched 
recesses  throughout  the  entire  length,  with  a 
depth  of  4ft.,  for  cloaks,  hats,  &c.  From  the 
central  hall  swing-doors  lead  out  to  the  court  in 
the  rear  of  the  main  building,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  which — and  forming  the  boundary  up  to 
Mutley-lane — are  the  drill-shed,  fives- courts, 
laboratory,  workshops,  &c.  At  the  north  end 
of  this  inclosed  court  or  play-space  (20.5ft.  long 
by  50ft.  wide)  is  a  covered  way  connecting  the 
class-rooms  corridor  with  the  drill-shed,  lava- 
tory, and  conveniences,  &c.  In  front  of  the 
building  will  be  a  level  terrace,  or  fore-court, 
conterminous  in  width  with  the  length  of  the 
Assembly  Hall  block,  and  supported  by  a  re- 
taining-wall  ivhioh  the  fall  of  the  ground 
necessitates.  The  walls  are  faced  with  lime- 
stone and  Portland  stone  throughout.  The  works 
are  beingexecuted  by  Mefsrs.  Blatchford  andSon, 
of  Tavistock,  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
architects,  Messrs.  Paidl  and  Bonella,  of  Ko.  9, 
Montague-street,  London,  ■^'.0.,  and  No.  1,  St. 
Peter's-square,  Manchester.  Mr.  Siddell  is 
clerk  of  the  works. 

HAVEN-GEEEN    CHAPEL,    EALIXG. 

Tms  chapel  is  being  built  near  the  Ealing 
Broadway  stations,  imder  the  auspices  of  the 
London  Baptist  Association.  Its  extreme  in- 
ternal dimensions  are  83ft.  by  51ft.  Accommo- 
dation is  being  provided  for  900  adults  in  the 
chapel  (including  galleries  on  tliree  sides),  and 
for  250  childi-en  in  the  school  buildings,  which 
include  (besides  the  main  sc>iool-room)  three 
class-rooms  and  a  separate  Bible  class-room.  It 
was  considered  advisable  to  allow  the  small 
house  adjoining  to  remain  standing;  this  in- 
volved a  somewhat  unusual  arrangement  of  the 
building,  which  will,  however,  have  the  effect 
of  placing  it  to  better  advantage  with  respect  to 
the  roads  which  converge  upon  the  site.  The 
memorial- stones  were  laid  on  Aug.  3rd  by  the 
Rev.  John  CliEford,  M.A.,  LL.B.,  B.Sc,  Ex- 
president  of  the  Association,  and  by  Sir  Thos. 
Chambers,  Q.C.,  M.P.,  President  of  the  Sunday 
School  Union.  The  buildings  are  being  executed 
in^  Portland  cement  concrete,  faced  externally 
with  red  bricks,  with  dressings  of  moulded  brick 
and  Bath  stone.  The  chapel  roof  (the  ridge  of 
which  is  C.5ft.  above  the  ground)  is  in  one  "span 
51ft.  between  the  walls,  partly  wro't,  and  with  a 
groined  and  waggon-shaped  ceiling  of  white 
deal  with  yellow  deal  ribs.  The  cost  of  the 
freehold  site  has  been  nearly  £1,500,  and  the 
cost  of  the  biuldings  is  expected  to  be  about 
£5,500.  ^  The  works  are  being  executed  by  Mr. 
Thos.  N"ye,  of  Ealing,  from  the  designs  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  architect,  Mr. 
J.  Wiillis  Chapman,  11,  Sutherland  -  gardens, 
Harrow-road,  W. 

ST.  CATHEETSe's  CHAPEl,  ABBOTSBUET,  DOESET. 

We  now  give,  supplementing  the  letter  of  our 
correspondent  which  was  published  in  the 
BurLMXG  News  of  Jidy  2ud,  illustrations  of 
the  above  ancient  building.  Inasmuch  as  de- 
scriptive explanations  of  its  different  parts  occur 
on  the  plates  themselves,  it  will  suffice  to  refer 
to  these  for  particulars.  Attention  may,  how- 
ever, be  specially  drawn  to  the  stone  roofs ;  also 
to  the  upper  stage  of  the  octagonal  staircase 
being  larger  than  those  below,  and  to  the 
possible  reason  for  this — whether  it  served,  on 
occasion,  for  "be.acon"  purposes,  or  not  f — an 
idea  which  the  detached  and  elevated  position 
occupied  by  the  building  would  seem  to  favour, 
rather  than  otherwise.  No  use  whatever  is  now 
made  of  the  structure. 


The  Academy  states  that  the  bare  expenses  of 
bringing  over  and  erecting  the  obelisk  known  as 
Cleopatra's  Needle  did  not  exceed  the  estimate  of 
Mr.  John  Dixon,  the  engineer,  about  £11,500  ;  but 
to  this  had  to  be  added  £3,500  law  costs,  and  net 
loss  on  the  appeal  to  the  House  of  Lords  of  £5,000, 
making  the  total  cost  of  the  obelisk  £19,500,  of 
which  £10,000  was  paid  by  Professor  Erasmus 
■Wilson. 


IMPROVEMENT     AND      DISTRIBUTION 
OF  SOUND  BY  STEEL  AVIRES. 

IT  has  been  found  that  a  semicircular  build- 
ing, lined  throughout  with  pine-wood,  is 
the  best  known  structure  for  producing  the 
conveyance  of  sound,  and  for  the  following 
reasons: — 1st.  The  various  return-waves  of  a 
sound  come  back  so  quickly,  and  almost  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  so  as  to  combine  with  the 
original  note,  and  render  it  full  and  rich.  2nd. 
The  pine- wood  has  an  affinity  for  absorbing  the 
vibration  of  the  air  produced  by  a  note,  and  in- 
creasing the  same  in  a  similar  way  to  the  sound- 
ing-board of  a  piano.  3rd.  The  travelling-speed 
of  sound  in  pine-wood  is  about  four  times 
greater  than  in  common  air.  This  quick  dis- 
tribution of  sound,  combined  with  the  absorp- 
tion, almost  entirely  prevents  the  after-sound, 
so  that  every  word  spoken,  or  note  sung,  is 
heard  distinctly. 

There  are  not  many  buildings,  however,  that 
have  a  semicircular  shape,  or  a  pine-wood 
lining,  and  the  practical  difficulty  has  always 
been  to  overcome  such  enemies  of  sound  as  large 
stone  waUs,  arches,  domes,  recesses,  projecting 
buttresses,  and  manj-  other  obstacles.  These 
are  simply  destructive  to  sound,  each  of  them 
giving  one  or  more  return-waves,  not  coming 
b.iek  together  as  in  the  semicircular  building, 
but  at  different  times,  according  to  distance  and 
the  various  angles  they  have  to  make,  causing 
the  return- waves  of  sound  to  be  of  ten  heard  from 
four  to  five  seconds  aftt?r  the  note  has  been 
emitted.  This  greatly  interferes  ■with  the  fol- 
lowing words  spoken,  and  they,  in  their  turn, 
naturally  increase  the  confusion  in  the  air.  The 
audience  hears  but  imperfectly,  indistinctly,  or 
often  not  at  all,  the  speech,  the  sermon,  or  the 
song,  which,  by  proper  arrangement,  might 
easily  have  been  conveyed  to  them. 

Hitherto  no  adequate  cure  has  been  found  for 
this  e%Tl,  except  in  a  very  partial  degree  by  such 
contrivances  as  double  ceilings,  hangings,  or 
drapery.  Listeners  have  grown  accustomed  to 
hear  but  a  few  disjointed  words,  the  thread  of 
the  discourse  is  often  hopelessly  lost,  and  a  great 
deal  of  discomfort  and  loss  has  been  inflicted  on 
the  world  at  large. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Eugert,  of  75,  City-road,  claims  to 
have  discovered  an  entirely  new  method  of  con- 
veying soimd,  which  is  to  be  tried  to-morrow 
afternoon  at  his  premises,  for  the  benefit  of 
architects  and  others  who  choose  to  attend.  In 
a  hall  constructed  as  above  described,  three 
causes  were  given  for  the  excellence  of  its 
acoustic  properties  ; — The  semicircular  form, 
the  absorption  of  the  vibration  in  the  air  by  the 
pine-wood,  and  the  velocity  of  sound  therein. 
The  first  of  these,  that  is  the  shape,  is  not  per- 
haps very  necessary,  and  need  not  be  now  re- 
garded ;  but  both  the  absorption  and  the 
velocity  can  be  supplied  artificially,  and  in  a 
higher  degree,  as  Mr.  Engert  claims  already  to 
have  proved  in  his  former  invention  of  \'ibrating 
steel  plates.  These  are  so  very  sensitive  as  to 
take  up  the  most  gentle  vibration,  and  render 
the  speed  of  sound  infinitely  greater  than  in 
the  pine-wood  structure.  In  air,  sound  travels 
but  1,100ft.  in  a  second,  but  in  steel  the  speed 
increases  to  16,000ft.  in  the  same  time.  Steel 
plates,  however,  cannot  be  employed  in  all  in- 
stances, but  steel  wires  may,  and  are  admirable 
for  this  purpose. 

To  properly  apply  the  invention,  one  or  more 
layers  of  steel  wires  are  stretched  along  a 
building  lengthwise,  connected  by  cross-ivires 
the  spiral  springs,  and  properly  tuned,  so  that 
and  vibration  may  be  absorbed  and  conveyed 
from  one  to  another,  and  instantaneously 
spread  over  the  whole  building.  This  entirely 
prevents  any  after- sound,  as  the  naturally  slow 
speed  of  sound  in  the  air  has  been  so  accelerated 
that  the  words  of  a  speaker,  or  the  notes  of  a 
singer,  reach  the  audience  about  fifteen  times 
more  quickly  than  under  ordinary  arrange- 
ments. 

The  Congregational  church  at  St.  Austell  was  re- 
opened ou  Thursday  week  after  renovation.  The 
gallery  is  now  supported  by  cast-iron  columns  in 
place  of  larger  wooden  ones,  new  open  beaches, 
Communion -plat  form,  tible,  and  seat,  all  of  pitch- 
pine,  have  been  erected,  the  cirgan  enlai'ged  by  Mr. 
G.  Tucker,  of  Plymouth,  and  the  case  decorated, 
and  the  floor  of  the  schoolroom  beneath  the  chapel 
has  been  lowered  18in.,  and  a  new  entrance  pro- 
vided. Mr.  S.  Trevail  was  the  architoct,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  J.  Smith,  of  St.  Austell,  the  contractor. 
Mr.  Hawke,  of  the  same  town,  did  the  plumbing 
work. 


The  Building  Rews,  Au<i-'6,  I^^O. 


Set/rH  £MMr  - 


J  DrB;rton  Wyatt .  mens  et  delV 


Pho.jL4oj>rarli^iPni)i.<)tT.I.n».Afcnnu.  6  Queen  Squ.r,  W  C 


The  Bi-iilding  r;>Ews,  Aug-S,  I^^O. 


M3ravtan  Wyatt .  mens .  et  cl< 


pKaiobih.»ifh"ifcf?«^*' 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


CI■^^L    ARCHITECTITRE    IN    THE 
EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.* 

THIS  quaint  old  book  contains  so  much  prac- 
tical information  bearing  on  the  present 
m-ival  called  "  Queen  Anne  Ar-chitecture, "  that 
the  reproduction  of  parts  may  be  of  service  to 
some  (groping  in  the  dark)  in  working  out  its 
practical  details.  The  author  in  his  preface 
says:  "If  anyone  .should  traduce  me  for  dis- 
covering the  secrets  of  the  building  branch  rela- 
tive to  the  prices  of  work,  I  must  inform  him 
that  I  considered  these  the  first  rudiments  of  my 
plan.  I  humbly  dedicate  my  endeavours  to  all 
in  the  building  branches."  The  prices  arc  only 
interesting  as  comparative,  and  we  .shall  give  a 
few  of  these  to  show  the  mode  of  measurement. 
The  book  is  divided  into  S 1  lectures,  and  con- 
cludes with  a  dissertation  on  the  late  Building 
Act.  In  this  the  author  reasons,  the  insurance- 
offices  ought  to  pay  the  fees  of  district  surveyors. 
With  this,  no  doubt,  many  builders  will  agree. 

There  are  only  two  illustrations  to  the  work, 
but  these  show  the  mode  of  working  the  con- 
tinuoas  handrail  with  newels,  ramps,  and  swan- 
necks,  but  icithout  ui-eaths,  that  so  many  of  the 
modem  imitators  fail  to  grasp. 

Passing  over  the  autlior's  remarks  on  the 
History  of  Architecture  and  Mechanical  Powers 


1G5 


brick  set  your  bevel,  which  will  answer  for  the 
whole.  Observe  tliat  the  bricks  hold  their  full 
gauge  at  the  back,  or  when  you  come  to  set  tliem 
you  will  have  much  trouble. 

"A  Circular  Arch  upon  a  Circular  Plan. — The 
best  practical  method  I  can  give  is,  after  you 
have  di\-ided  the  arch,  and  settled  your  bond  in 
front,  to  make  two  moulds  to  tlio  sweep  of  the 
wall  and  tix  two  uprights  of  wood  a  little  aliovc 
the  top  of  the  arch,  one  at  the  top  and  the  other 
to  be  moved  down  to  the  top  of  the  courses  as 
they  gradually  rise ;  after  which,  with  a  rod 
with  a  prick  in  the  end  clapped  close  to  tlieso 
two  ribs,  strike  the  top  sides  of  every  brick  (the 
under  side  may  be  marked  by  the  preceding 
brick),  and  in  this  manner  proceed  all  the  way 
till  you  get  to  the  top,  which  will  give  the  e.'cact 
curve  required  to  the  wall,  and  perpendicular  to 
the  ground  plan."  The  author  proceeds  to 
instruct  tlio  bricklayer  to  level  his  walls  every 
3ft.  or  4ft.  in  height,  and  be  careful  to  plumb 
his  groins  and  chimneys.  He  laments  the 
ignorance  of  the  profession  in  regard  to  the  proper 
dimensions  of  chimneys  and  their  openings,  and 
in  consequence  the  great  disturber  of  a  family, 
smolnj  chimneys;  and  states  regretfully,  "even 
Palladio  only  guessed  at  its  properties." 

Starting  with  the   statement  that  a  room  too 


and  Foundations,   remarking   on  the  way  that    f  1?,"°?  ^'^^  ^^^  \\T  '^.<'^'''<=*'7  ^^'^  "  .'^'"i  ^°° 
his  rough-and-ready  rule  of  l-Hth  part  of  their    V^^^^"""  8^^^  the  following  rule  :_  Multiply  the 


length  as  a  scantUng  for  piles  in  foundations  is 
worth  remembrance,  we  will  see  what  he  says  of 
brickwork  (so  largely  entering  into  the  compo- 
sition of  the  architecture  of  his  day)  in  his  own 
words:    "Another  great  defect  is  the  bulging, 
or  convex  situation,  we  often  see  arches  in,  after 
the    houses  are  finished,    and    sometimes  loose 
in  the  centre  bond  or  key.     The  first  of  these 
defects  is,  in  reality,  no  more  than  a  fault  of  the 
practice  of  rubbing  bricks  too  much  off  on  the 
inside"    (to   make   front    joint    close).      "The 
observation  of  camber  arches  not  being  skewed 
enough  is  an  egregious   fault,   because  it  takes 
greatly  from  the  beauty  of  the  arch  as  well  as 
its   significancy.     The   proper  method  of  skew- 
ing   all    camber    arches    should    be    one-third 
of    their    height;    for    instance,     if     an    arch 
should   be    Oin.    high,   the   skew  (back)    should 
be   Sin.  :     if    12in.,    4in.  ;    if    loin.,    ,5in.  ;    and 
so    of    all    the   courses.     Observe,    in   diriding 
the  arch,  that  the  quantity  consists  of  an  odd 
member  :  by  so  doing  you  will  have  a  proper 
bond  and  the  key-bond   in    the  middle  of   the 
arch.''      Vaults— aU   piers,  or  abutments  to  be 
one-sixth  of  the  width  of  span  is  the  author's 
rule.     So  many  niches  in  brickwork  are  executed 
in  horizontal  courses   by  some  of   our  principal 
disciples  of  this  school,  that  it  will  bo  well  for 
them  to  study  the  following  : — "A  niche  is  th 
ianer  or  concave  quarter  of  a  globe,  and  usually 
made  in  walls  on  the  exterior  parts  of  a  building 
to  place  figures  or   statues  in.     The  practice  oi 
this  in  brickwork  is   the  most   difficult   part  of 
Qie  profession,  on   account   of   the  very  thin  size 
the  bricks  have  to  be  reduced  to   down  at  the 
inner   circle     (called     by    bricklayers   the    pad 
block),  as  they  cannot  extend  beyond  the  thick- 
ness of  one  brick  at  the  crown  or  top,  it  being 
the  nsual,  as  weU  as  much  the  neatest  method" 
to  make  all  courses  standing.    The  most  familiar 
way  to  reduce  this  poiat   to  practice  is  to  draw 
the  front  back,    &c.,  and  make  a  template  of 
pasteboard.      The   reader    is    to    observe   that 
one    templet    for    the    standing    courses    will 
answer  for    the   front,    and   one   for    the   side 
of  the  brick,   and  at  the    top   of    the  straight 
part,   from   whence   the  niche  takes  its  spring, 
make  a  circle   of  8  or  Oin.    (the  modern   pad- 
block),  and  cutting  this  out  of  paste-board  also, 
divide  it  into   the  same  number  of  parts  as  the 
outward  circle,  from  which  you  get  the  width  of 
your  front  template  at  the  bottom.     The  reason 
of  this  inner  circle  is  to  cut  oflf  the  thin  conjunc- 
tion of  points  which  must  all  finish  in  the  centre, 
and  which   in  bricks   could   never  be  worked  to 
that  nicety.      It  will  be  necessary  to  have  one 
template  made  convex  to  try  the  faces  of  bricks 
and  the  setting.      The  stone  you  rub  the  bricks 
on  must  be  cut   at  one  end,  and  the  exact  form 
of  the  niche,  or  it  will  be  impossible  to  form  the 
faces  properly.     The  level  of  the  flat  sides  of  the 
bncks   is   got   by  diriding   the   back    into   the 
number  of  parts   of  the  front,   and  all  struck  to 
one  centre.      From  the  circle  of  the  front  of  one 


„  *  -\  Key  to  avU  Architecture :  or.  The  rniversal 
Bntish  Builder.  Likewise,  A  New  Criterion,  or  Universal 
r^°1^5-  gy Jpox.isSKA.FE,  PA.  Third  Edition. 
UTinted  for  R.  Baldwin,  47,  Paternoster-row.    1788.) 


length  and  breadth  together,  and  the  product 
by  the  height ;  the  square  root  of  the  last  pro- 
duct will  be  the  quantity  of  light  required, 

Tlie  price  given  as  the  prime  cost  of  a  rod  of 
brickwork,  with  bricks  at  30s.  perm,  is  £9  3s. 
Speaking  of  plain  tiling,  he  calls  attention  to 
the  judgment  required  in  getting  the  exact 
pitch  of  the  tUting  fillet  at  the  eaves,  a  point  I 
have  no  doubt  many  modem  workmen,  .since  the 
revival  of  plain  tiUng,  have  found  themselves 
brought  in  contact  with,  and  in  more  than  one 
instance  I  have  found  the  error  overcome  by 
plastering  each  lath  with  hair-mortar  to  make 
the  tile  bed,  and  the  poor  architect  wonders  why 
old  plain  tile  roofs  are  water-tight,  but  modem 
ones  not  so. 

Our  author  says: — "Plastering  is  a  most 
useful  invention,  and  has  greatly  the  preference 
of  wood,  for  cornices,  kc,  but  we  see  it  often 
loses  its  effects  when  mixed  with  wood,  as  in 
base  mouldings,  &c."  After  complaining  of 
plaster  enrichments  being  laid  on  wood  mould- 
ings as  bad  taste,  he  proceeds: — "To  the 
immortal  credit  of  the  present  age,  it  may  be 
affirmed  that  this  branch  of  business  is  in  its 
full  meridian  of  lustre,  on  which  head  the  Messrs. 
Adams  deserve  particular  honour,  being  them- 
selves the  originals  of  many  capital  designs, 
wliich  almost  beggar  description,  from  the  spring 
of  whicli  the  whole  mass  of  surveyors  and  petty 
mixturers  have  found  matter  to  supply  their  own 
want  of  genius  and  invention."  He  tlien re^^rets 
that  Messrs.  Adams  ruin  their  work  by  want  of 
projection.  He  gives  the  prices  of  ribbons  and 
roses  at  Is  Cd  per  foot  superficial,  and  trophies 
cases  of  arrows,  &c. ,  at  os.  super,  and  festoons 
and  flowers  at  3s.  9d.,  and  friezes  to  chimney- 
pieces,  enriched,  at  .3s.  6d.  super.  This  is  inter- 
esting as  showing  the  cost  of  some  of  the  really 
good  work  we  see  done  about  this  date. 

Carvers'  work  contains  nothing  interesting 
except  prices.  These  are  given — Ovolo  to  deal 
framing,  carved  e^s:  .and  tongue  per  foot  run  -id., 
on  hard  wood  6d.  Friezes  fluting  Gin.  wide  and 
upwards.  Is.  6d.  super.  Corinthian  capitals  9s. 
per  foot  super.  Ionic  capitals  6s.  per  foot 
super.  Festoons  from  4s.  to  Ss.  per  foot  super. 
Lecture  22  treats  of  the  construction  of  the 
Dado,  and  this  is  a  very  import:int  lecture,  and 
as  the  dido  is  now  thoroughly  believed  in  by  the 
majority  of  architects,  and  so  few  understand 
its  construction,  I  will  give  this  lecture  rather 
fully. 

"Dado  is  the  die  or  the  entire  part  of  an 
order,  between  the  base  and  cornice  of  the 
pedestal,  and  by  architects  is  attributed  to  that 
plain  part  of  a  room  between  the  base  and  sur- 
base  mouldings.  The  chief  theory  to  be  c  n- 
sidered  in  the  practice  of  dado  is  the  manner  of 
putting  it  up,  which  requires  some  thought  in 
order  to  secure  it  from  casting  ;  the  method  of 
keying  only  being  found  insufficient  without  a 
proper  manner  of  placing  the  keys. 

' '  Wlien  you  key  your  dado,  leave  the  keys 
long  enough  at  the  broad  end  to  reach  the  joists 
or  floor,  and  put  the  broad  ends  of  them  down- 
wards for  this  reason,  that  there  is  a  proclivity 
or  tending  downwards  in  all  work,  which  can 


the  key  goes  to  the  floor,  there  it  stops,  and  if  it 
should  shrink,  tlie  proclivity  of  the  dado  will 
ever  keep  the  work  straiglit.  If  the  broad  ends 
were  upwards,  the  dado  might  drop  from  tho 
keys,  and  render  them  of  no  use." 

In  putting  dado  round  windows  mind  to  keep 
up  the  front  of  the  elbow  a  littlo  that  tho 
shutters  may  open  easily.  Dudo  in  all  angles 
mu.st  bo  grooved  ;  observe  ahto  that  no  n»il»  be 
put  m  tlio  bottom  edge  of  dado :  let  it  receive  no 
fastening  but  what  it  has  from  tlio  keys ;  if  it  be 
confined  both  at  top  and  bottom,  it  is  sure  to 
break.  As  to  the  height  of  dado  tlio  window  in 
to  bo  tlio  guide.  Some  architects  propo.se  a  fifth 
part  of  the  heiglit  of  the  room,  but  this  will  not 
.suit  very  low  nor  very  high  ro<,in».  I  think 
dado  should  never  be  higher  than  3ft.  Oio.,  nor 
lower  than  30in.  If  rooms  were  all  about  12ft. 
high,  a  fifth  piirt  would  do  very  well.  If  Ihero 
are  columns  or  pilasters,  tho'  dado  nhould  in 
every  respect  bo  subscr^-ient  to  tho  pedestal  of 
the  order.  I  hope,  after  this  careful  specifioa- 
tion,  I  shall  see  no  more  dado  naittd  Ihnnujh  lh» 
front  to  grounds,  and  afterwards  rent  In  twain, 
calling  for  the  attention  of  the  painter  with  bin 
hard  stopping,  that  shrinks  and  drops  out. 

The  author  then  cautions  liis  readers  not  to 
spoil  their  mouldings  by  too  many  members,  onJ 
describes  this  as  the  fault  of  the  age,  and  to 
consider  their  position,  and  telhi  them  never  to 
exceed  the  following  bounds,  viz  :  To  make  tho 
cornice  l-2Uhpart  of  the  height  of  the  rofjm, 
nor  to  project  less  than  two  thirds  its  lieight. 
The  other  branches  of  joinerj-,  such  as  doors, 
sashes,  floors,  kc,  are  practically  treatc-d. 
With  regard  to  doors  ho  describei  the  mean- 
ing of  a  double  margin  door,  that  it 
represents  a  pair  of  folding  doors,  and  de- 
scribes its  proper  construction.  In  connection 
with  floors,  he  calls  attention  to  tho 
proper  thickncssing  the  ends  of  boardu  next  tho 
wall  before  laying  as  it  is  not  possible  to  do  90 
afterwards  ;  that  in  all  tongued-beading  joints 
the  tongued  board  should  bo  laid  first,  as  tho 
joint  could  then  be  fitted  with  a  smootliing 
plane  ;  and  in  laying  dowclled  floors  to  give  tho 
least  possible  draw  to  tho  dowels  to  prevent 
bruising  the  ends.  Writing  on  sashes,  ho  warns 
the  workman  to  make  the  dowel  not  less  than  4 ' 
long,  and  on  shutters  he  gives  what  is  afterwards 
given  more  elaborately  by  Nicholson,  viz.,  how 
to  cut  shutters  in  two  heights.  I  fear  there  is 
not  one  joiner  in  a  thousand  that  could  do  this. 
"  If  shutters  be  hung  double,  that  is  to  say, 
cut  in  the  middle,  they  must  always  be  hung  the 
whole  length  first,  and  then  taken  down  and 
cut ;  observe  also  with  regard  to  this  last  parti- 
cular, that  you  do  not  cut  your  joint  by  tho 
range  of  the  middle  bar  (niccting  head),  but 
square  from  each  outward  stile  till  they  both 
meet  in  the  middle  ;  the  reason  of  this  is  obvious 
— if  the  sash-frame  should  incline  either  woy 
they  will  nrf  open  if  cut  otherwise  than 
square." 

The  wood  doorways  we  so  frequently  see  in 
work  of  the  period  are  treated  on  exhaustively ; 
and  prices  for  Corinthian,  Ionic,  and  Doric 
given,  and  the  construction  described.  As  these 
are  not  likely  to  come  into  use,  wo  will  pa«8  on 
to  wood  chimney-pieces,  and  these  are  intcrest- 
injT  as  showing  prices. 
°  ..    d. 

Plain  chimney-pieces,  per  foot      10 

Ditto  with  breaks         t    8 

„    dentils        I    « 

Ttcts  to  frieze.*,  per  foot  ran  J    0 

Comraon  lillct  dentils 0    A 

Flutings  in  friezes,  «in.  wide,  per  fool     ...    «    8 
Flutings  and  beads  in  friezes,  run 0    * 

The  author  seems  weak  in  his  masonry,  and 
only  gives  a  few  prices,  as  follows : — 

'  ■.    d. 

t    6 


Portland  pavin?.  per  fool  super 

Purbcck  in  random  couracs  0    ij 

Key  and  ashlar  fronts  of  rortlaod  stone,  ft.    in, 
super     .■■«;■         '    *    * 

Portland  a.itrn!?i>I  steps,  charyod  at  3*.  p«r 
foot  cube,  and  Is.  supcrlicial,  measured 
over  faces.  j 

M.uMinrsrit'P-: 


I     7 
I     * 


Ii-d,  labour  only 

''  :in  aad  Compo- 


II     0 
10    0 


never  be  detrimental  to  dado  thus  done  :  for  if  I  time  than  now. 


Portland  ^■ 

And  the  -■   ■  '')  '  '    f    2 

Purbcckd  a..  *    ' 

The  author  follows  with  a  long  list  of  ptioM 
for  task  work,  which  indicates  that  piece- work 
was  more  general  in  the  building  trade  in  his 


166 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


Piece  work— Common  brickwork  per  rod  £13  0 
CaJmber  arches,  rubbed,  ^aged,  and 

set,  per  foot        1  0 

CirciUar  ditto,  per  foot 1  2 

Ditto  1 1  a  uiche      3  6 

A  circular  arch  on  a  circular  plan      ...  2  0 

Brick  cornices,  per  foot  super 2  6 

Carpenters'  and  joiners*  work — Roofs  per 

Bounre       6s.  6d.  to    9  0 

Briajred  floors  with  binders,  per  square  8  0 

Naked  floors          5  6 

Platvs,  bond  lintels,  &c.,  per  100ft.  run  S  0 

Boor  c;u^es,  per  foot        0  1^ 

Clean  dowellcd  floors,  per  square        ...  17  0~ 

Straight-joint  ditto,  per  square         ...  8  0 

Folded  floors         :g  G 

Doors,  ovolo  and  fiat,  per  foot  super...  0  G 

Door,  bead  and  flush  both  sides  „  ...  0  8 
Sashes  and  frames,  with  oak  casings, 

sillti,  beads,  &c.,  per  foot  super      ...  0  7 

Ditto,  with  maho^ny  sashes  ,,         ...  0  8 

Fir  sashes  and  frames,  tojrether         ...  0  5 

(iluinir-up  Ionic  caps  for  carver,  each  2  0 

Ditto  Corinthian,  per  foot  super        ...  0  6 

Tlie  author  closed  with  a  leedireon  the  Build- 
ing Act,  and  the  following  Ls  too  good  to  be 
oTcrlouked.  "  The  terrors  of  a  fine  .  .  .  would 
have  deterred  many  huilders  in  Marylebone 
from  attempting  matters  they  had  neither  the 
means  nor  cxperitnee  to  curry  out.  Many  to  my 
knowledge  turned  builders  who  neyer  served  any 
time  to  the  business,  and  without  the  possession 
of  one  requisite  in  the  ecience,  unless  a  thirst 
for  money  may  be  called  so.  And  to  the  lasting 
shame  of  the  London  builders,  it  may  be  justly 
affirmed,  that  there  are  hundreds  of  buildings 
about  the  town  which  are  of  less  value  when 
finished  than  the  materials  were  before  being 
used." 

In  taking  leave  of  our  author,  I  think  we  may 
all  learn  a  lesson  from  him  of  thoroughness  in 
practical  details,  and  also  in  knowing  that  there 
were  pretenders  iu  his  days  as  in  ours  ;  and  now 
when  professional  feeling  tends  to  examinations 
and  diplomas,  and  making  what  is  really  au 
artistic  profession  into  a  close  trades  union, 
that,  after  all,  the  best  diploma  is  a  well- 
executed  building,  and  that  he  that  does  his 
work  better  than  the  pretender  will  in  the  end 
reap  the  harvest.  K.  P. 


THE  DORE  GALLERY. 

AS  a  delineator  of  character,  M.  Dore  wields 
a  powerful  pencil.  His  "  Neophyte  "  was 
a  mar\'el  of  composition  representing  convent 
life.  It  depicted  a  young  monk,  recently  ad- 
mitted, seated  in  the  choir  during  service,  and 
surrounded  by  other  older  monks  who  are  grown 
careless  and  inditferent,  and  whose  expressions 
are  intended  to  convey  the  restrictions  and 
blighting  influences  of  a  monastery.  We  have 
just  seen  a  companion  picture  to  tlus,  entitled  a 
"  Day  Dream,"  in  which  a  young  man  clad  in 
monastic  robe  and  cowl  is  seated,  playing  the 
organ  in  the  choii-  of  a  church.  At  the  left  of  the 
picture  we  see  the  half-darkened  choir  thronged 
by  a  procession  of  monks  carrj-ing  lighted  tapers, 
while  raised  in  an  organ  gallery  is  a  young 
Carthusian  before  the  instrument  playing  a 
chant.  On  the  further  side  of  the  organ  a 
stream  of  light  comes  through  the  window,  and 
in  the  gleam  of  radiance  the  artist  has  depicted 
in  faint  but  iridescent  hues,  the  fair  form  of  a 
young  gii-I,  who  is  evidently  the  dre.am  of  his 
imagination.  The  straiusof  music  have  conjured 
up  the  fair  spectral  image  in  the  mind  of  the 
youthful  devotee,  whose  head  is  turned  aside. 
The  expression  of  the  face  is  intellectual  and 
meditative,  and  denotes,  moreover,  the  purity  of 
the  norice.  The  drawing  of  the  accessories  is 
a  little  harsh  ;  but  the  composition  and  the 
•olouiing  are  both  masterly,  and  the  spectator, 
as  he  stanchs  before  the  canvas,  can  almost 
rt'ali,se  the  religious  and  poetic  fervour  of  the 
scene  depicted. 

"  Rainbow  Landscape,  Loch  Carron,"  is 
another  recent  work  by  M.  Dore,  in  quite  a 
different  direction.  It  is  a  boldly-painted  view 
of  a  Scotch  lake,  which  is  half-hidden  in  the 
depths  of  the  mountains  which  rise  around  it. 
Tlio  foreground  stands  out  in  realistic  power, 
and  the  blue  water  of  the  loch  is  just  discerned 
below  the  mists  and  clouds  which  envelop  the 
opposite  mountain,  while  th.-  rainbow  which 
spans  the  chasm  helps  to  irradiate  the  scene,  and 
to  throw  over  it  an  almost  Alpine  effect  of  sun- 
light and  cloud.  The  picture  certainly  sustains 
the  artist's  reputation  as  a  powerful  painter  of 
effect.  Another  picture  shows  a  grand  sunset 
scene.  In  the  foreground  is  dark  hilly  ground, 
broad,  and  deep  in  shadow,  while  the  distance 
of  hills  are  bathed  in  a  rich  red  glow  of  the 


setting  sun.  The  light  and  dark  shadows  are 
truthfully  managed,  and  the  whole  scene 
breathes  the  quiet  stillness  of  a  sunset.  In 
striking  contrast  below  this  picture  we  see  a 
companion  subject,  a  mountain  chasm  down 
which  a  relentless  torrent  is  rushing,  sweeping 
in  its  passage  the  (Uhris  of  a  pine  forest  which 
clothes  its  sides.  It  is  a  masterly  performance, 
as  vigorous  in  handling  as  the  conception  itself. 
Those  who  have  an  hour  to  spare,  and  who  can 
appreciate  the  grand  style  of  painting,  whether 
in  historic,  imaginative,  or  landscape  subjects, 
will  enjoy  this  new  accession  to  the  Dore 
Gallery,  which  the  proprietors  have  opened 
to  the  public. 

THE  ABC  OF  ART.* 
YT7"E  have  read  many  introductory  treatises 
*  T  on  drawing  and  design,  but  our  experi- 
ence has  been  that  whOe  some  of  them  may 
simplify  and  methodise  the  student's  first 
attempts,  others  not  unfrequently  bewilder  by 
placing  before  him  dry  definitions  and  rules 
which  rendjr  drawing  tedious.  We  have  read 
through  Sir.  Rob  rt  T.  Stothard's  "  AB  C  of 
Art,"  but  we  cannot  say  that  he  has  been 
more  successful  than  his  predecessors  in 
smoothing  the  paths,  or  pointing  out  a  royal 
road  to  art.  We  waded  through  more  than  half 
the  treatise  before  we  came  to  the  principles  of 
Sir.  Stothard's  teaching,  and  even  now  we  are 
not  sure  that  we  have  fully  grasped  the  system 
which  he  declares  is  simple  enough.  Why  such 
a  long  preface  is  introfuced  with  quotations  from 
Shakespeare,  Lavater,  and  the  late  Prince  Con- 
sort we  are  at  a  loss  to  see ;  nor  can  we  precisely 
understand  the  bearing  of  physiology  and 
physiognomy  upon  the  system  proposed.  We 
are  afraid  if  a  knowledge  of  these  sciences  were 
required,  it  would  frighten  many  people  away 
from  drawing.  Mr.  Stothard's  formula  we  give 
in  his  own  words : — "The  ABC,  being  the  first 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  will  rule  all  applicable 
to  the  form  ;  the  second  three,  D  E  F,  will  eon- 
fine  itself  to  Hght,  shade,  shadow,  and  refraction 
(r  reflection)  ;  and  the  third  three,  G  H  I,  will 
comprise  colour."  In  a  section  called  "Deduc- 
tions" the  author  proceeds  to  show  how  a  ball 
is  shaded,  and  describes  by  diagrams  the  pro- 
gressive stages  or  sittings  required  to  make  a 
shaded  drawing.  Reference  is  often  made  to  a 
"law  before  laid  down,"  but  what  this  law  is 
does  not  appear  however,  and  we  can  hardly 
follow  the  author  through  Ms  nine  stages  of 
shading,  as  any  task  may  be  similarly  divided 
into  arbitrary  stages.  Having  gone  through 
the  process  of  representing  light  and  shade,  a 
similar  division  of  the  second  stage  of  drawing 
is  proposed,  and  again  colours  are  subjected  to 
the  same  process  of  treatment.  The  latter  stage 
is  simple  and  obvious  enough.  The  treatise 
concludes  with  remarks  on  fashion  as  detrimental 
to  art,  and  we  take  leave  of  it  with  the  observa- 
tion that  while  the  author's  principles  are  very 
likely  good,  he  has  rendered  them  so  ambiguous 
by  mixing  them  up  with  metaphysical  ideas 
having  no  direct  bearing  on  the  subject,  that  we 
arc  not  disposed  to  exert  ourselves  very  much  to 
find  out  what  they  are. 


CARIB  ART. 
iROF.  OTIS  T.  MASON,  of  Columbian 
—  College,  Washington,  D.C.,  communicates 
thefollowing  notice  of  some  interesting  obser- 
vations recently  made  hj  hi^n  to  the  ^iMmmt; 
Aft  7??'i'icic :— "  The  student  of  archreelogy 
often  finds  himself  upou  tlie  brink  of  a  wide 
chasm  which  separates  the  proximate  from  the 
remote  past.  In  America  we  have  the  abori- 
gines, whoso  shadow  has  but  recently  passed 
across  the  Continent ;  and,  far  back  of  them, 
tho  mound-buihlers,  the  cliff-dwellers,  and  the 
architects  of  Middle  America  and  Peru.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  Eastern  world  ;  back  of  the  past  lies 
antiquity.  It  is  very  difficult,  at  times,  to  find 
the  bridge  which  connects  these  epochs  of  civi- 
lisation ;  but  when  such  a  viaduct  exists,  it  leads 
to  most  important  consequences.  It  has  been 
my  good  fortune,  lately,  to  connect  the  Carib 
artists  of  the  days  of  Columbus  with  those  who 
sculptured  tho  stone  collars  and  mammiform 
stones  of  Porto  Rico.     Herrera  informs  us  that. 


•  A  B  C  of  Art ;  being  a  System  of  Delineating  Foi-ms 
and  Objects  in  Nature,  &c.  By  Hubert  T.  Stotiiard, 
F.S.A.,  &o.  London.  W.  H.  Allen  and  Co.,  Waterloo- 
place. 


when  a  company  of  Spaniards  in  Cuba  visited  a 
certain  cacique,  he  caused  them  '  to  sit  down  on  a 
seat  made  of  a  solid  piece  of  wood,  in  the  shape  of  a 
beast  with  very  short  legs  and  the  tail  held  up, 
the  head  before,  with  eyes  and  ears  of  gold.' 
Two  of  these  very  stools  have  been  found  in  a, 
salt-cave  in  Turk's  Islands,  ornamented  just  as 
described  in  Herrera.  Now  for  the  connection. 
In  the  Latimer  collection  from  Porto  Rico  there 
is  a  stone  stool,  carved  from  a  single  slab,  and 
corresponding  in  every  particular  to  the  wooden 
stools  on  which  the  Spaniards  sat.  This 
stool  and  others  of  varied  pattern  were  found, 
with  stone  collars  and  mammiform  stones,  on  the 
island  of  Porto  Rico.  So  that  the  connection 
is  complete  between  the  old  polished-stone- 
workers  and  the  wood-carvers  of  Columbus. 
This  leads  to  a  further  discovery.  In  nearly 
every  archaeological  museum  are  stone  imple- 
ments resembling  mctntes  (cocoa  mortars),  but 
ornamented  with  scroll  patterns  on  the  inner 
surface.  Now,  no  savage  would  be  so  foolish  as 
to  spend  months  in  carving  an  elaborate  pattern 
which  a  muller  would  destroy  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  single  breakfast.  These  ornamented 
so-called  nictates  are  seats,  one  and  all,  and  be- 
long to  the  class  above-described. 


CHIPS. 

The  new  Roman  Catholic  schools  for  St.  Wal- 
burge,  Preston,  were  opened  on  Wednesd.Ty  week. 
They  are  built  of  brick,  and  measure  120ft.  4in.  in 
length,  by  a  uniform  width  of  31ft.  6in.  Accom- 
modation is  provided  for  520  boys.  Mr.  Tomlin- 
son,  of  Preston,  was  the  principal  contractor,  and 
the  subcontract  for  brickwork  was  taken  by  Mr. 
Bickerstaffe,  of  the  same  town. 

A  new  gas-holder  is  approaching  completion  at 
Louth,  Lincolnshire.  The  excavation  of  site  has 
been  carried  out  by  Mr.  W.  Nicholson,  and  the 
contract  for  brickwork  by  Mr.  S.  Harrison,  both  of 
Louth,  while  the  ironwork  for  the  tank  is  being 
supplied  and  erected  by  Messrs.  Clayton,  of  Leeds. 

Extensive  additions  are  about  to  bs  made  to  the 
Walsall  workhouse,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  T.  H. 
Fleeming,  of  Walsall,  architect  to  the  board  of 
guardians. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Brentwood,  on  Wednesday, 
Mr.  Ernest  C.  Lee  produced  and  explained  his 
plans  and  designs  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  un- 
sightly brick  church  of  St.  Thomas,  and  it  was 
decided  to  proceed  at  once  with  the  first  section— 
the  western  part  of  nave.  We  illustrated  Mr. 
Lee's  design  on  July  2.5,  1879. 

The  Lout'n  Commissioners  of  Sewers  last  week 
adopted  a  scheme,  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  Mau^han, 
surveyor  to  the  court,  for  draining  the  Upper 
Marshes.     The  estimated  cost  is  £1,700. 

Tenders  were  accepted  last  week  for  the  erection 
of  a  new  church  at  West  Yale,  Halifax.  The 
architect  is  Mr.  T.  H.  Eushworth,  of  Carlton 
Chambers,  London. 

A  new  organ,  in  pitch-pine  case,  was  opened  on 
Sunday  week  at  AVestgate  United  Free  Methodist 
Church,  Bradford.  Messrs.  Conacher  and  Co.,  of 
Huddersfield,  were  the  builders. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  East  Dereham  on  Tues- 
day week,  before  Captain  K.  C.  T.  Hildyard,  an 
inspector  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  respect- 
ing an  application  from  the  local  authority  for 
sanction  to  borrow  £5,000  for  works  of  sewerage 
and  sewage  disposal,  and  £4,000  for  water-sujiply. 
Both  schemes  were  unopposed,  and  the  inspector 
promised  to  recommend  the  loans. 

The  local  board  of  Keighley  have  decided  to 
purchase  71  acres  of  land  at  Marley,  at  a  cost  of 
£10,500,  for  the  purposes  of  sewage  disposal. 

The  open  space  near  the  Victoria-station,  Nor- 
wich, known  as  Chapel-field,  is  being  improved  at 
the  expense  of  the  town  council,  the  outlay  being 
about  £1,500.  The  work  is  being  carried  out  by 
Mr.  Lake,  the  city  surveyor,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Elphinstone,  horticulturist.  The  whole  area 
has  been  retrenched  and  sown  with  grass-seed. 
The  iron  railing  round  the  field  has  been  made 
more  secure  by  iron  netting,  executed  by  Messrs. 
Barnards,  Bishop,  and  Barnard,  and  the  children's 
playground  has  been  fenced  in,  Messsrs.  Boulton 
and  Paul  beiug  the  successful  tenderers  for  the 
latter  contract ;  a  lodge  for  the  keeper  is  about  to 
be  built.  Amongst  the  special  gifts  are  gymnastic 
apparatus,  seats,  a  drinking-fountain  and  water- 
supply  ;  and  Messrs.  BarnarCs,  Bishop,  and  Barnard 
have  handed  over  to  the  city  the  iron  pavilion 
shown  by  that  firm  at  the  Philadelphia  and  Paris 
Exhibitions  for  tho  nominal  sum  of  £500,  including 
construction  and  repainting,  and  it  is  now  in 
course  of  re-erection.  The  Held  is  to  be  opened  as 
recreation- groimds  and  gardens,  by  the  mayor,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING-  NEWS. 


167 


COMPETITIONS. 
Beyeeley. — Ou  Tuesday  a  new  ciiiircli  erected 
in  Holmechurch-lane,  Beverley,  on  the  site  of 
the  old  parish-tliureh,  was  consecrated.  The 
style  Is  Greometrical,  or  Early  Decorated,  and 
tke  tower,  when  finished,  wUl  hare  a  peal  of 
bells.  The  church  comprises  a  nave  70ft.  long 
by  23ft.  wide,  and  47ft.  high  to  the  ridge,  a 
chancel  25ft.  by  23ft.  wide,  a  porch,  organ- 
chamber,  and  choir- vestry  ou  the  south  side 
The  tower  is  12ft.  square,  94ft.  high,  and  rises 
at  the  south-west  angle.  The  building  is  erected 
of  Bradford  stone,  with  Whitby  Crag  Moor 
stone  dressings  to  the  window  tracery,  sills, 
copings,  &o.  The  interior  of  the  wall  is  lined 
with  red  stock  bricks.  Messrs.  Simpson  and 
Malone,  of  Hull,  and  Mr.  Elwell,  of  Beverley, 
are  the  contractors.  The  design  of  the  building 
is  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Brodrick,  of  Hull,  who 
have  also  superintended  the  erection  of  the 
church.     Accommodation  is  provided  for  360. 

ExETEE  Hat.t,. — The  designs  prepared  by  Mr. 
Alfred  R.  Pite  have  been  selected  by  the  Com 
mittee  for  the  proposed  additions  and  improve 
ments  to  this  building.  The  property  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Toung  Men's  Christian 
A£SOciation,  and  will  speedily  be  adapted  to 
their  requirements,  while  the  large  hall  will 
still  be  retained  as  the  great  centre  for  public 
meetings  with  increased  facilities  of  exit. 

St.  MiimiAs'  Chuech,  I'ppee  Tcxse  Hill. 
— Since  our  review  of  these  designs  last  week 
was  written,  a  difference  of  opinion  has  arisen 
in  the  committee  respecting  the  decision,  which 
we  had  just  time  to  record  at  the  moment  of 
going  to  press  last  week.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  in  our  issue  of  July  23,  an  announcement 
appeared  in  our  advertisement  columns  from  the 
building  committee  thanking  the  numerous  com 
pctitors  for  their  trouble,  and  announcing  "  that 
the  selection  had  been  made,  after  careful  regard 
to  the  committee's  requii-ements."  We  there- 
upon lost  no  time  in  obtaining  information  re- 
garding the  deci;jon,  and  were  informed  that  the 
design  marked  *'  Red  Cross  "  had  been  selected 
conditioDally,  though  "  Experientia  "  had  been 
preferred  by  two  or  three  others.  A  subsequent 
meeting  on  Tuesday  week  last  confirmed  this 
decision  by  a  decided  majority,  and  the  archi- 
tects of  that  plan  were  then  communicated  with, 
and  were  given  to  imderotand  that  their  designs 
were  favourably  regarded.  Eor  some  reason, 
the  chairman  has  endeavoured  to  overrrule  the 
committee's  selection,  and  we  now  hear  that 
another  design,  with  the  motto,  "R.  K.,"  has 
been  brought  forward  in  opposition.  We  have  not 
been  enabled  to  gather  ou  what  grounds  the 
chairman  or  a  smaU  section  of  the  committee 
have  attempted  to  overrule  the  decision  previ- 
ously arrived  at,  but  it  is  rumoured  that  an 
influential  donor  has  something  to  do  with  the 
matter.  To  appease  the  authors  of  "Red  Cross  " 
an  offer  of  £2-5,  we  hear,  has  been  made  to  them, 
which  they  have  declined  to  accept — a  proceed- 
ing which,  if  it  is  true,  rather  compromises  the 
affair.  So  the  matter  rests  at  present.  We  are, 
of  course,  not  in  a  position  to  vouch  for  the 
correctness  of  all  we  hear ;  but  there  will  be 
another  committee  meeting  to-day,  at  which  the 
question  wUl  be  fully  discussed,  and  we  hope — 
as  we  have  every  reason  to  believe— justice  wiil 
be  done.  We  may  mention,  in  addition  to  our 
notes,  that  "R.  K."  shows  two  designs,  and  the 
future  extension  is  proposed  to  be  made  on  one 
side.  The  style  is  more  florid  than  the  others, 
while  no  builders  estimate  has  been  sent  in — 
reasons  which  probably  influenced  the  committee 
in  putting  this  design  aside.  A  letter  appears 
elsewhere  from  a  competitor,  calling  in  question 
the  action  of  the  committee  on  other  grounds. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 
The  Cetstai,  Palace  School  of  Aet. — The 
20th  session  of  the  school  closed  on  Saturday 
last,  when  the  works  of  the  lady  students  were 
examined  and  the  prizes  awarded  by  the  judges 
— Mr.  Teames,  R.A.,  Mr.  Bine,  of  the  Institute 
of  Water-colour  Painting,  and  Mr.  Woodington, 
A.H.A. ,  the  sculptor.  The  general  classes  have 
lately  increased  to  nearly  500  students  in  the 
division  for  ladies  alone  receiving  systematic 
instruction  in  literature,  science,  and  art,  con- 
ducted imder  the  syndicate  appointed  by  the 
Senate  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and 
entitling  them  to  the  Vice -Chancellor's  certifi- 
cate upon  passing  the  examination.     In  the  Art 


classes  a  scholarship  of  £30  is  awarded  annually 
to  the  student  showing  the  greatest  proficiency 
in  any  one  of  the  departments  of  water-colour 
painting,  drawing  from  the  antique  and  from 
the  life,  and  modelling  from  the  figure.  These 
classes  are  directed  by  Mr.  E.  A.  Goodall  in 
landscape  and  architectural  subjects,  and  by  Mr. 
Smallfield  in  figure  subjects ;  while  Mr.  0.  Von 
Glehn  supeiintends  the  drawing  school  and  M. 
Vinoelst  the  modelling  in  clay  from  the  antique. 
The  judges  awarded  the  silver  medal  in  water- 
colour  painting  to  Miss  E.  M.  Merrj-,  for  her 
drawing  of  part  of  the  HaU  of  Columns,  taken 
from  Kamak,  in  the  Egyptian  Couit  of  the 
Palace.  The  certificate  of  honour  was  gained 
by  Miss  Holmer  for  her  drawing  from  the  same 
subject.  In  the  class  of  figure-painting  from 
the  life,  in  water  -  colour,  the  silver  medal 
was  awarded  to  Miss  M.  Bedale,  for  a  pic- 
turesque figure  of  a  man  in  Italian  costume ; 
two  drawings  by  Miss  Bethune  being  highly 
commended.  In  the  class  of  chalk-drawing 
from  the  antique  and  of  the  head  from  life,  the 
silver  medal  was  taken  by  Miss  F.  Marsh,  and 
the  certificate  by  Miss  A.  M.  Cowper.  In  the 
sculpture  class,  the  certificate  was  awarded  to 
Miss  B.  A.  Brown,  for  her  model  from  the  an- 
tique draped  statue  of   Euterpe  in  the  Munich 


BuilMns  ]:ntrllin[cncc. 

Uelen-suueoh,  N.B.— The  new  Ilurmitairo 
School  at  Hclensburgli,  erected  by  the  hchool- 
board  for  Row,  was  opened  on  Mouduy.  The 
buildmg  IS  dirided  into  two  portiona  for  girU 
and  boys,  and  ia  Gothic  in  style;  the  main 
frontage  is  115ft.  in  length,  and  is  bruktiu  up 
by  turrets,  iron-crcstcd  steep  roof,  and  central 
belfry.  There  are  eight  rooms  in  all,  so  sepa- 
rated by  movable  partitions  that  they  can  bo 
thrown  luto  three  Urge  a])artnient».  The  upi>fr 
parts  of  these  partitions  are  glazed.  There  uro 
four  other  cla.-s-room8.  The  windows  ure  yUiL-d 
high,  and  are  fitted  so  as  to  allow  heated  uir  l^j 
escape  without  causing  a  down-drauglit.  Tho 
heating  is  by  hot- water  i.ipes.  Adjoining  uro 
large  playgrounds,  and  a  janitor's  houac.  Tho 
total  accommodation  is  for  3U0  thildreu.  Tho 
arcliitccts  are  Messrs.  William  Spcncc  and  Son, 
of  Glasgow. 

iLFnACOMBE  New  Swuquso-Baiiu. — In  tho 
autumn  of  last  year  the  directors  of  the  Ilfra- 
combo  Hotel  Company,  Limited,  ditid- d  to 
increase  the  attraction  of  their  bcautiiiiUy. 
ituated  hotel  by  constructing  oswimmii]:.'  1  ulh, 


Museum ;  and  this  work  being  considered  to  be  j  and  accordingly  instructed  Their  arthiti.~i,  Mr! 
that  of  the  highest  merit  in  the  school,  gained  W.  M.  Robins,  of  Ilfracombe,  to  prepare  dc'r.ign» 
for  Miss  Brown  the  scholarship  of  the  year.  The  and  obtain  tenders  for  the  work.  The  bath  is 
other  works  in  modelling  were  from  the  Venus  situateat  the  west  end  of  the  marine  terrace  of  the 
of  MUo  and  the Dlscobolos of  Xaukydes,  reduced  I  Ilfracombe  Hotel,  and  stands  on  a  jortion  of 
to  about  half  life-size,  all  of  which  showed  '  tlie  foreshore,  leased  from  the  CommiesionerB  ot 
excellent  study.  The  sculpture  students  may  be  Woods  and  Forests,  and  is  protected  by  a 
said  to  bear  off  the  honours  of  the  school,  as  massive  concrete  sea-wall  50ft.  thick  at  the  l'i.~e, 
might  be  expected,  when  they  have  before  them 
constantlj-  examples  of  all  the  greatest  works  in 
existence.  In  painting,  the  instruction  has  not 
hithertobecncqually  extendedto  the  highest  form 
of  oil-j)ainting,  though  this  might  well  be  done, 
now  that  the  Crystal  Palace  contains,  in  the 
picture-galleries,  so  many  remarkable  examples, 
particularly  of  the  modem  schools  of  France, 
Germany,  and  Belgium,  and  some  works  of  the 
old  masters. 


PABLIAMENTAEY     NOTES. 

LAEorEEEs'  Resldexces.— Mr.  Hubbard,  on 
Monday,  asked  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home 
Department  whether,  in  view  of  the  deficient  resi- 
dential accommodation  for  the  labouring  popula- 
tion within  the  metropolis,  aggravated  by  the 
demolition,  under  Improvement  Acts,  of  tmsuitable 
habitations  not  hitherto  replaced,  he  would  consider 
and  propose  some  means  through  which,  at  the 
earUest  period,  a  remedy  might  be  applied  to  an 
evil  so  prejudicial  to  the  health  and  morals  of  the 
people.  Sir  W.  Harcourt  said  that  the  matter  was 
a  very  serious  one,  and  required  a  great  deal  of 
consideration.  Every  exertion  woiUd  be  made 
to  carry  out  the  objects  stated  in  the  question. 


CHIPS. 

The  Cutler's  Company,  at  a  meeting  held 
at  Shefiield  on  Tuesday,  elected  Mr.  William 
Chesterman,  of  Bow  Works,  Sheffield,  as  the  Master 
Cutler  for  the  ensuing  vear. 


On  the  22nd  ult.,  the  parish-church  of  Worms- 
hill  was  reopened  alter  partial  restoration.  Ihe 
roofs  of  the  chancel  and  nave,  together  with  all  the 
seats  throughout  the  church,  have  been  renewed, 
and  the  walls  strengthened  and  repaired.  Old 
windows  have  been  opened  out,  and  new  windows 
made,  together  with  an  entirely  new  floor  of  en- 
caustic and  other  tiles.     A  very  interesting  old  oak 

pulpit,   of  the  Tudor  age,    has  been   cleaned  of  i .- —    i  •  V  ■"  .i.        •  „;.,.i  i 

paiAt,  and  has  been  set  upon  a  new  base  after  the    granite,  wh.^  is  the  pnnc.piil  I 
design  of  the  architect,  and  made  of  the  stoutest 


from  the  top  of  which  a  fine  sea  view  !  .  tho 
westward  is  obtained.  Owing  to  the  iHtiUi:iri- 
ties  of  the  site,  about  11,000  ton-s  of  rock  hud  to 
be  removed,  and  this,  together  with  the  sharp 
sand  and  shingle  on  the  beach,  supplied  suflluicut 
materials,  save  lime  and  cement,  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  whole  of  the  masonry  and  con- 
crete work.  The  building  is  ICOft.  long  br 
5Cft.  wide,  and  the  water  surface  of  the  batn 
138ft.  by  34ft.  The  depth  at  one  end  is  Oft.  and 
at  the  other  3ft.  The  floor  is  Uned  with  whito 
grooved  tiles  and  tho  sides  with  white  glazed 
bricks.  Around  the  sides  are  arrangc^d  over 
60  dressing-rooms, each  oft.by  4ft.,constnicttdof 
varnished  pitch  pine  and  fitted  with  mahogany 
shelves,  brackets,  and  seats.  Each  room  has  a 
mndow  and  sash  door  in  tinted  glass,  and  is 
furnished  with  mirror,  hat-pegs,  comb,  and 
brush,  &c.  Upon  the  tops  of  the  dro.--ing- 
rooms  is  a  large  promenade  capable  of  Iiullin,' 
500  non-bathers.  Spring-boards,  diving  t.ibks, 
w.c.'s,  and  lavatories  are  provided,  and  amj>le 
facilities  for  healing  the  bath  for  tepid  bathing 
is  secured. 

Jeeset. — The  cave  of  the  new  church  of  St. 
George,  Jersey,  which  is  the  only  portion  at 
present  completed,  was  opened  for  divine  service 
on  Tuesday,  the  20th  July.  St.  GeorRc's 
Church,  the  foundation-stone  of  which  was  Uid 
in  1S70,  has  been  designed  by  Mr.  P.  B. 
Haywarf,  son  of  Mr.  John  Ilayward.  It  will 
consist,  when  completed,  of  a  navo  oSft.  long 
by  22ft.  broad,  north  porch,  chancel  24ft.  by 
ISft.  Gin.,  and  tower,  with  a  saddle-back  rwf  of 
high  pitch,  the  north  side  forming  an  organ- 
chamber  and  vestry.  It  is  dejjgn-d  in  the 
simplest  form  of  the  I>ancet  period  of  architec- 
ture, partly  on  account  of  economy,  but  mens 
especially  on  account  of  its  suitability  to  the 
material    employed    in    it.s    cnn^trn  •]  n  — v..- . 


portions  of  the  old  oak  beams  of  the  chancel  aisle 
The  works  have  been  carried  out  by  the  architect, 
Mr.  J.  Clarke,  F.S.A  ,  aiid  the  contractor,  Mr.  J 
Lawson,  of  Whitstable. 
£1,200. 

The  memorial-stone  of  the  second  section  of  the 
restoration  of  St.  James's  Church,  Exeter,  was  laid 
on  Tuesday  week.  Mr.  R.  M.  Fulford,  of  Exeter, 
is  the  architect,  and  Mr.  J.  R.  Gibb.ard,  of  the 
same  city,  is  the  builder ;  the  cost  of  the  present 
work  will  be  £2,500. 

Truth  asks  :  Can  it  be  true  that  when  the  chapel 
of  New  College  was  undergoing  restoration,  one  of 
the  authorities  caused  petticoats  to  be  painted  over 
several  of  the  stained-glass  figures  who  were 
scantily  clothed  Y 

It  has  been  decided  to  hold  the  Annual  Congress 
of  the  Cambrian  Arch.'cological  Association  at 
Pembroke,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  C.  E.  G. 
Phillipps,  of  Picton  Castle.  The  meeting  will  be 
held  towards  the  close  of  the  present  month. 


the  islaud.  The  .side  w-indow.i 
sin*'le  and  double  lights,  and  i 
c«:cTipies  the  west  gable.  They  arc  :.:;.  1  "ith 
cath.  dral  glass  of  various  tint.<,  givrn  by  Mr. 
The  total  cost  was  about  Drake,  of  Exeter,  who  lias  ah-o  proscnt'd  fo  tho 
church  a  small  stained-gl.i-ss  window  in  the  w««t 
gable.  The  cost  of  tho  building  hitherto  hMM 
been  about  £1,000. 

Maxcuesteb.— Con.'<i<2cr 
ccntly  been  made  in  the  ' 
which  is  being  raised,  fr 
George    T.    Bedmaync,    ' 
School  of  Art,   in  Caveno 
Manchester.     Tho  cost  ■■: 
spective  of    internal   fitting-, 
£11,000.     Tho   basement  of   the 
tains  a  modelling-room,  the  dimci 
are  16ft.  by  2Gft.,  a  casting -room, 
and  a  committee-room.   2Cft.   by 
same  floor  are  the  residence  of  th 
other  offices,  and  adjoining  this  t^.-.   \    => 


168 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


it  is  piuposcJ  to  erect  a  dinintr-tall,  3Sft.  by 
2'lft.  for  the  aeconimodation  of  the  students. 
The  ground -floor  is  occupied  with  four  studios 
—two  of  them  being-  3Sft.  by  24ft.,  another 
64ft.  by  24ft.,  and  the  fourth,  Soft,  by  20ft. 
The  same  floor  has,  iu  addition,  the  head- 
master's room,  15ft. .by  17ft.,  the  second  and  third 
masters'  room,  17ft,  by  loft.,  and  the  custodian's 
room,  13ft.  Cin.  by  13ft.,  with  a  range  of 
lavatories,  Are.  The'  first  floor  contains  an  art 
gaUery,  the  dimensions  of  which  are  SSft.  by 
2oft.  and  22ft.  in  height.  Two  other  studios 
(No.  5  and  No.  6)  occupy  a  large  portion  of  the 
first  floor,  the  former  being  .54ft.  by  26ft.,  and 
the  latter  64ft-  by  25ft.,  eadi  having  an  altitude 
of  24ft.  Oin.  Over  the  entrance  is  an  oriel 
window,  composed  of  four  lights,  enriched  with 
Gothic  tracery,  which  lights  are  to  be  filled  with 
speoiallj'  designed  stained  glass.  We  have  illus- 
trated the  exterior  of  the  building. 

PiNHOE. — The  fifteenth- century  church  of  St. 
Michael,  at  Pinlioe,  Exeter,  was  reopened  on 
Saturday  week,  after  restoration.  The  chancel 
has  been  almost  entirely  rebuilt,  and  a  vestry  and 
porch  have  been  added.  The  new  chancel  roof 
is  of  English  oak,  picked  out  with  gold,  ver- 
milion, and  green,  and  covered  externally  with 
slate,  and  a  ridge  of  Bath  and  Hamhill  stone. 
The  nave  and  aisle  roofs  have  had  colour  appUed, 
as  a  groundwork  for  future  embellishment,  and 
the  walls  are  stuccoed  a  warm  colour  throughout. 
AH  these  decorations,  aid  the  reglazing  of  the 
•windows,  are  the  work  of  Mr.  F.  Drake,  of  the 
Cathedral-yard,  Exeter.  The  cari-ing  is  by 
Mr.  Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter,  and  includes  the 
placing  of  angels  bearing  shields  at  the  in- 
tersections of  ribs  in  nave- roof  ;  the  restoration 
of  the  grand  old  rood-screen,  which  runs  without 
a  break  from  wall  to  wall,  the  partial  re-erection 
of  the  pulpit,  and  the  addition  of  seating  in  solid 
oak,  modelled  after  the  old  bench  ends.  The 
nave  and  aisles  are  lined  with  memorial  stones, 
the  spaces  filled  with  coloured  tiles,  and 
the  chancel-floor  is  laid  with  encaustic  tiles  by 
Messrs.  T.  and  R.  Boote,  of  Burslera.  The 
organ  has  been  cleansed  and  refixed  by  Mr. 
Hawker,  of  Exeter.  The  chancel  has  been 
restored  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Ewan 
Christian,  of  Ijondon,  the  nave,  aisles,  and  tower 
from  those  of  Mr.  R.  M.  Fulford,  of  Exeter. 
Mr.  James  0.  Fleming  was  clerk  of  works. 

PLTSictTrn. — On  Monday  week  the  Mayor  of 
Pljrmouth  opened  the  new  Board-schools  in  0.x- 
ford-street,  built  by  Messrs.  Lethbridgo  and  Foot, 
contractors,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Silvanus 
Trcvail,  architect,  of  Truro.  The  schools  are 
comprised  in  a  block  of  buildings  measuring 
about  180ft.  long  by  COft.  deep,  and  are  divided 
into  two  separate  departments.  Gas  is  laid  on 
throughout  the  building ;  the  heating  is  by  open 
fireplaces  ;  and  Tobin's  vertical  system  has  been 
adopted  in  the  ventilation.  Internally  the  walls 
are  dadoed  in  pitch-pine  thi-oughout  to  the  level 
of  the  window-sills,  and  the  main  timbers  of  the 
roof  are  left  open  and  varnished,  the  work  bein_ 
of  a  plain  and  substantial  character.  Externally 
the  treatment  has  been  that  of  Early  Domestic 
Gothic  in  .style ;  the  walls  are  of  blue  limestone, 
with  dressings  in  the  same  material  of  a  lighter 
tint,  the  contrast  being  eliective.  The  roofing 
is  of  Delabole  slate,  relieved  by  fancy  cut  bands, 
and  is  surmounted  by  a,  wooden  belicote,  rising 
about  30ft.  above  the  ridge. 

RiECLUTE  Beidge,  xeah  Maxoiestee.- — The 
New  Jerusalem  Church,  Stand-lane,  was  opened 
on  Wednesday  week  (July  28th).  The  new 
church,  which  stands  upon  the  site  ot  the  old 
one,  is  in  the  Free  Classic  style,  from  designs  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Thorpe,  architect,  of  Whitefield. 
It  is  of  stone  externally ;  the  dressings  are  from 
the  Slaithwaite  quarries,  and  are  polished,  and 
the  wall-spaces  are  filled  in  with  Lightcliff  par- 
points.  The  whole  of  the  woodwork  is  of  var- 
nished pitch-pine,  except  vestibule  and  commu- 
nion furniture,  which  are  of  polished  oak,  and 
has  been  executed  by  Mr.  John  Allen,  of  Rad- 
cliff.  Messrs.  Williams  and  Hope,  of  Dinting, 
have  been  contractors  for  the  masonry.  The 
cost  of  the  church  is  nearly  £5,000. 

SniPSTON-oN-STOtTE.  —  Memorial-stones  have 
been  laid  of  a  new  Wesleyan  Chapel  now  in 
course  of  erection  at  Ship.ston,  near  Banbury. 
It  is  Early  English  in  style,  and  is  being  built 
of  Armscote  stone,  rock  faced,  with  Bath  stone 
dressings.  The  chapel  will  be  40ft.  long  by 
23ft.  Oin.  wide,  and  will  seat  upwards  of  200 
people  ;    attached  will  be  a  schoolroom  20ft.  by 


10ft.,  with  class-room,  minister's  vestry  and 
oflices.  The  chief  front  to  the  road  will  have  a 
four-light  window  with  cinquefoil  tracery,  and 
on  either  side  will  be  a  buttress  finished  with 
pinnacle  and  carved  iinial.  Behind  the  rostnun 
will  be  a  chancel  lighted  by  four  lancet-headed 
windows.  The  beams  of  the  open  roof  will  be 
of  pitch-pine,  stained  and  varnished,  and  the 
seats  of  the  same  material,  but  varnished  only. 
Mr.  John  Wills,  of  Derby,  is  the  architect,  and 
Mr.  James  Pickering  is  the  builder  ;  the  outlay 
will  be  about  .£1,000. 

Wesleyan  Chatel  BmLniKO. — During  the 
year  126  new  chapels  have  been  built,  00  of 
which  are  in  places  in  which  no  Wesleyan 
chapel  before  existed,  and  the  rest  supersede 
smaller  and  inferior  buildings.  There  have  also 
been  90  enlargements,  and  altogether  above 
30,000  additional  sittings  had  been  provided  at 
an  average  cost  in  the  case  of  the  new  chapels  of 
less  than  £6.  Twenty  schoolrooms  have  been 
erected  and  thirteen  manses.  The  total  cost  of 
all  the  erections  and  enlargements  and  of  forty- 
two  organs  has  been  £318,175,  and  the  temporary 
debt  is  £7-5,807.  The  Chapel  Fund  has  given 
£13,439,  and  lent  without  interest  £10,310. 
Sanction  has  been  given  to  the  erection  of  173 
chapels,  IS  ministers'  houses,  17  schoolrooms, 
and  23  organs,  with  110  enlargements,  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  the  whole  being  £253,655,  and  the 
increased  number  of  sittings  in  the  chapels 
23,480. 

West  Kileetde,  N.B, — The  foimdation-stone 
of  a  new  Free  Church  was  laid  in  Main-street  on 
the  24th  ult.  The  church  will  be  65ft.  6in. 
by  37ft.  inside  main  walls,  and  will  accommodate 
450  persons  in  area,  and  a  gallery  over  entrance 
lobby.  To  the  rear  are  placed  the  session-house 
and  vestry.  The  masonry  is  of  red  freestone, 
the  chief  frontage  being  in  bull-nosed  rubble 
and  polished  dressings.  The  chief  consists  of  a 
projecting  doorway,  with  gable  above,  and 
recessed  and  panelled  jambs.  This  is  flanked  by 
buttresses,  and  behind  the  gable  is  a  rose 
traceried  window.  On  the  left  hand  and  west 
front  will  be  a  tower,  containing  stair  to  gallerj', 
and  finished  by  a  spire,  rising,  iu  all,  120ft. 
from  ground.  The  ceiling  will  be  coved  on  the 
side  walls,  and  waggon-headed  in  the  centre, 
plastered  between  the  couples,  the  tie-beams  of 
which,  and  of  exposed  parts,  will  be  of  dressed 
timber.  The  platforms,  pews,  and  fittings  will 
be  of  pitch-pine.  Mr.  James  Ritchie,  of  Glas- 
gow, is  the  architect,  and  the  chief  contractors 
are,  for  masonry,  Mr.  J.  MacFarlane,  West 
KUbride  ;  joinery,  Mr.  Miller,  Glasgow  ; 
plastering,  Mr.  J.  Boyd,  Saltcoats;  and  glaz- 
ing, Messrs.  J.  and  J.  Kier,  Glasgow.  The  total 
cost  will  be  about  £3,000. 

Whittle-le- Woods. — The  foundation-stone 
of  St.  John's  church,  Whittle-le-Woods,  near 
Chorley,  was  recently  laid.  The  ehiu'ch  is 
in  the  Early  English  style,  and  comprises  nave 
82ft.  long  by  Sift.  Oin.  wide  and  45ft.  liigh ; 
south  aisle,  S2ft.  long  by  13ft.  Gin.  wide  and 
30ft.  high;  north  transept,  19ft.  9in.  long  by 
30ft.  Oin.  wide,  the  roof  intercepting  with  the 
nave.  The  chancel  will  have  an  octagonal  apse 
37ft.  Oin.  by  25ft.  by  32ft.,  and  will  accommo- 
date a  choir  of  40.  The  organ-chamber  will  be 
loft,  by  loft,  and  30ft.  high,  and  the  vestry 
under  the  tower  15ft.  by  15ft.  and  19ft.  6in.  hgih. 
Accommodation  will  be  provided  for  572  persons. 
Adjoining  the  north  transept  a  lofty  tower  will 
be  erected,  sufficiently  spacious  to  contain  a  peal 
of  eight  bells.  The  internal  dimensions  of  the 
tower  will  be  loft,  by  loft,  and  90ft.  high.  The 
whole  of  the  work  has  been  designed  by  Messrs. 
Myres,  Vcevers,  and  Myres,  architects,  of 
Preston,  Blackpool,  and  AVestminster,  who  are 
carrying  out  the  work.  The  contractors  for  the 
work  are  the  Victoria  Timber  Company, 
Chorley ;  the  amount  of  their  contract  being 
£5,428.  Mr.  John  Bowen  is  acting  as  clerk  of 
works. 


On  Saturday  last  there  was  opened  at  Wigan 
the  first  section  of  a  tramway  system  to  be  con- 
structed in  the  town  and  suburbs.  The  stables 
and  otlices,  built  by  Messrs.  W.  and  A.  Bywater, 
of  I'emberton,  from  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  R.  A. 
Busby,  architect,  of  Lord-street,  Liverpool,  com- 
prise accommodation  for  over  50  horses,  also  engine 
and  boiler  rooms,  haj'-lofts,  oflices,  &c.,  together 
with  a  house  for  the  manager  or  foreman.  The 
cost  of  the  buildings,  inclusive  of  house,  fittings, 
kc,  is  £2,465,  which  sum  gives  a  total  cost  per 
horse  of  under  £50. 


More   than   Fifty  Thousand   Replies   and 

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pinal  articles  and  scientific  papers,  and  countless  receipts  and 


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"  BUrLDIXG  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

We  hope  to  publish  our  award  in  the  above  next  week. 
The  names,  ages,  and  addresses  of  the  members,  and  the 
time  they  have  been  engaged  in  architectur.il  offices, 
must  be  forwarded  by  Wednesday  next  to  this  office. 

Drawisos  Eeceived.— J.  B.  Fowler,  I.  L.,  J.  B.  G., 
J.  P.  J.  P.  J.,  J.  P.  S.,  and  H.  R.  G. 


C0tatsp0ui][tuct 


THE    ST.      PAUL'S    ECCLESIOLOGICAL 

SOCIETY  AT  SWANSCOMBE  CHURCH, 

liENT. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BniLDiNa  News. 

SiE, — I  should  be  obliged  if  you  would  cor- 
rect the  very  incorrect  statements,  published  in 
your  paper  of  June  25,  with  regard  to  the  visit 
of  that  SO'  iety  to  the  above  chiu'ch. 

1st.  They  state  "  the  restoration  was  carried 
out  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Freeman, 
of  Greenhithe,  acting  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
George  VuUiamy,  the  architect  to  the  Board  of 
Works."  Now  neither  of  these  gentlemen  had 
anything  whatever  to  do  with  this  work.  I  was 
the  architect  for  the  whole  of  this  work,  also  for 
the  schools  irear  the  same.  I  made  every  draw- 
ing with  my  own  hands,  and  wrote  the  specifi- 
cation.    I  found  the  work  was  of  such  interest 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


169 


that  it  demanded  much  care  and  attention.  I 
visited  the  work  nearly  every  week  at  my  ovra 
expense.  Mr.  H.  Saunders  was  my  clerk  of 
works. 

2nd.  The  richly- sculptured  tomh,  also  my 
design,  is  alabaster,  not  marble. 

3rd.  The  spire  and  tower  are  covered  with  oak 
shingle,  and  not  slated. 

4th.  The  rector's  name  is  the  Rev.  T.  H. 
Candy,  B.D.,  not  Dandy. 

With  regard  to  the  various  points  of  interest 
I  should  have  been  glad  to  have  been  present  to 
point  them  out,  also  to  exhibit  the  tracings  I 
made  of  the  various  figures  and  painted  work  I 
found  upon  the  old  plaster.  A  most  interesting 
pamphlet  has  been  written  by  Mr.  J.  A. 
Sparvel  Bayley,  F.S.A.,  giriuga  correct  history 
of  the  church  and  the  work  of  restoration. — I 
am,  &c.,  Jabez  Bignell. 

Wimbledon,  Surrey. 

P.S. — I  have  just  read  in  your  paper  of  to- 
day Mr.  John  W.  Warman's  letter,  complaining 
of  the  blunders  made  in  the  report  of  the  society's 
visit  to  Canterbury. 


ST.  MATTHIAS'  CHURCH  (TULSE  HILL) 
COMPETITION. 
Sir, — Living  in  the  neighbourhood  I  think 
that  it  is  only  right  that  those  gentlemen  who 
have  competed  for  the  above  church  should 
know  that  a  rumour  is  abroad  to  the  effect  that 
an  endeavour  is  being  made  to  throw  out  the 
design  which  has  been  selected.  That  the  com- 
mittee have  acted  fairly,  your  article  in  la.st 
week's  paper  fully  bears  out,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  competition,  which  promised  so 
fair  at  the  beginning,  may  not  become  a  scan- 
dal.— Yours,  &c.,  One  Isteeested. 


SlE, — Without  in  any  way  questioning  the  de- 
cision of  the  Committee  in  this  competition,  I 
wish  to  draw  attention  to  the  following  :  — ■ 

It  was  stated  in  the  conditions  that  no  per- 
spectives would  be  required.  On  reading  through 
your  account,  in  last  week's  paper,  of  the  suc- 
cessful designs,  I  was  greatly  surprised  to  see 
that  tlu'ee  or  four  of  them  had  perspectives,  and 
the  one  placed  first  had  one  folly  coloured.  So 
that  those  who  did  not  send  in  perspectives  were 
placed  at  a  decided  disadvantage. 

If  competitors  wilfully  ignore  conditions  in 
competitions,  all  fairness  is  at  an  end,  and  it  will 
be  hopeless  for  the  Institute  to  try  and  bring 
about  a   better  state  of  things. 

I  append  a  copy  of  the  conditions,  and  a  letter 
I  received  from  Mr.  Gadsdun. — I  am,  &c., 

R.  J.  H. 

ST.  MATTHIAS'  CHUPCH,  UPPER  TULSE  HILL, 
BMXTON. 

IsSTBUCTIONS  TO  ARCHITECTS. 

The  Building  Committee,  in  desiring  to  receive  designs 
for  the  above,  heg  to  call  the  special  attention  of  Archi- 
tects to  the  following  requirements  : — 

1 .  The  church  is  to  be  sohdly  built  of  red-bn'ct  or  stone, 
■with  stone  dressings.  Any  attempt  at  unnecessary  orna- 
ment is  undesirable. 

2.  The  plans,  elevations,  and  sections,  which  should 
comprise  the  church,  with  chancel,  tower,  spii'e,  seating, 
and  necessary  fittings,  bound.ary  wall,  gates,  and  ap- 
proaches, Seating,  &c.,  to  be  drawn  to  a  scale  of  Sft,  to 
lin.  onimpenal  drawing-paper,  and  mounted  on  strainers. 

3.  .\11  3  scale  drawings,  with  the  exception  of  plans, 
must  be  in  line  only.    Xo  perspoetirs  rcqttii-ed. 

4.  The  plans  showing  accommodati'^n  for  SOO  sittings 
to  be  arranged  with  a  view  to  an  economical  enlarge- 
ment. 

5.  As  it  is  not  intended  to  spend  more  than  £7,i»<),  in- 
cluding architect's  commission,  a  detailed  specitication 
and  estimate  of  cost  from  a  responsible  builder,  who 
would  execute  the  whole  of  the  work  according  to  sub- 
mitted drawings  and  specification,  should  be  sent  in  with 
designs. 

6.  The  drawings  are  to  be  sent  in  \wUr  motto  oitt>/. 

When  the  selection  of  design  has  been  made,  an  adver- 
tisement will  be  inserted  in  the  JiniOl':r  and  Bcildint. 
News,  announcing  the  motto  of  the  design  which  has  been 
chosen,  and  asking  for  the  name  and  address  of  each 
competitor. 

7.  Xo  premium  is  offered,  but  the  Committee  under- 
take to  employ  the  architect  whose  design  is  placed  first. 
The  Committee  do  not  pledge  themselves  to  accept  any 
design. 

S.  The  Committee  undertake  to  return  all  unsuccessful 
drawings,  but  will  not  be  answerable  for  any  damage  in 
transit. 

9.  The  Committee  desire  it  to  bo  understood  that  the 
church  will  probably  be  built  in  three  sections. 

10.  Designs  to  be  sent,  carriage  p:iid,  to  the  Rev.  J.  T. 
Gadsdun,  Honorary  Secretary,  24,  Elm  Park,  BrLxton- 
hil],  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  July  next. 

24,  Elm  Park.  Brixton  Eise. 
3rd  June,  ISSO. 
Dear   Sir,— Yours   of  yestei-day    duly   arrived   this 
morning,  and,  in  reply,  I    can  say  that   the   Building 


Committee  of  St,  Matthias'  Church  endeavoured  to  draw- 
up  the  papsr  of  Instructions  for  Architects  as  fairly  as 
possible.  If  perspectives  are  sent  in  they  will  be  put  on 
one  side.  The  principal  approach  should  be  at  the 
corner  of  Tulse  Hill,  and  the  road  shown  in  the  site- 
plan.— I  am,  yours  truly,  Joux  T.  Gadsdc.n. 


LIGHT    AND    AIR.— LAYBOURNE 
V.  KIDSTOX. 

Sib, — In  answer  to  Mr.  Baui.ster  Fletcher's 
letter  of  the  23rd  ult.,  I  beg  to  say  that  I  did 
not  for  a  moment  expect  that  my  short  experi- 
ence would  have  the  same  weight  accorded  to  it 
as  Mr.  Hesketh's ;  but  so  as  to  let  my  client 
have  the  opinion  of  a  more  experienced  man,  I 
called  in  Mr.  Jolin  Whichoord  (the  president  of 
the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects),  whose 
experience,  you  wUl  allow,  is  quite  equal  to  Mr. 
Hesketh's  or  Mr.  Banister  Fletcher's  in  such 
matters,  and  ho  in  his  report  confirmed  mine  in 
all  its  material  points. 

Mr.  Banister  Fletcher  informs  us  that  to  test 
the  quantity  of  light  in  one  of  tho  rooms  he  used 
the  Times  newspaper,  and  this  could  be  read 
without  difficulty.  I  myself  should  not  say  this 
was  any  criterion,  as  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  the  Times  has  such  clear  t}"pe  that  it  can  be 
read  in  a  dark  room  by  means  of  a  farthing 
rushlight. 

He  also  informs  us  that  a  glass  panel  in  the 
lavatory  floor  has  been  boarded  up  to  prevent 
the  light  descending  into  the  shop.  Now  Mr. 
Banister  Fletcher  can  hardly  have  used  mature 
judgment  when  he  said  this,  for  it  stands  to 
reason  that  it  is  an  utter  absurdity,  for  who  in 
their  senses  would  block  up  light  for  the  sake  of 
doing  it,  as  he  implies,  when  all  the  light  that 
can  be  got  is  required  at  that  part  of  the  pre- 
mises, and  of  which  there  is  already  insuffi- 
cient ? 

But  I  should  rather  say  the  panel  has  been 
boarded  up  to  prevent  people  being  seen  from  the 
shop  while  using  the  lavatory. 

The  deep  shadow  mentioned  in  Mr.  Thomas's 
affidavit  is  a  fact  (and  a  very  stubborn  one),  as  it 
is  there  now  to  be  seen,  and  will  remain  so  as 
long  as  the  defendant's  building  is  its  present 
height. 

No  account  has  been  taken  of  the  simlight 
that  used  to  shine  on  the  skylights  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  day  previously  to  the  erection  of 
defendant's  buildings,  which  now  is  wholly  ob- 
structed. 

And  it  is  also  my  opinion  that  the  case  is  a 
miscarriage  of  Justice. — I  am,  &c., 

Walter  J.  N.  Tohlinson. 

August  4th. 


and  fitness.  Even  after  the  difficulty  of  quality  of 
material  has  been  overcome,  tho  more  imiwrtant 
question  of  supervising  their  proper  combination 
has  to  bo  met.  A  Wsit  "  two  or  throe  times  a 
day,"  is  not  calculated  to  meet  the  re(|uirc'ment« 
of  tho  case,  and  I  almost  fear,  and  judging 
from  past  and  present  oxporioncc,  that  a  super- 
intendent constantly  on  tho  job  would  not 
succeed  in  checking  tho  desire  to  "scamp "  tho 
work.  I  doubt  even  if  lie  slept  ou  tho  preniincs, 
and  took  the  additional  precaution  of  imitating^ 
the  weasel's  vigilance,  lie  would  Kiicceed  in 
checking  tho  chronic  condition  of  indilferencc  to 
qiiaUty  of  work  of  tho  modem  builder.  There 
i.s  of  course  no  insuperable  obntiicle.-  to  prevent  a 
right  and  proper  system  being  innugurated  ; 
but  Mr.  Cresswell  must  not  lluttir  hinu^lf  that 
progress  is  possible  in  the  ubseme  of  vigorouK 
testing  of  the  material,  of  which  tho  new  cer- 
tified or  classified  houses  arc  to  bo  built. — 
I  am,  &c.,  CrviL  E.noikesb. 


UNDERWRITING  DWELLING-HOUSES. 
Sir, — I  do  not  wish  to  disturb  the  sanguine  feel- 
ing entertained  by  ' ' Architectus ' '  as  to  the  readi- 
ness or  ease  with  which  the  existing  machinery 
of  building  may  be  subordinated  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  Mr  CressweU's  undoubtedly 
desirable  scheme.  Before,  however,  any  useful 
progress  can  be  made,  the  exact  qualities  of  the 
materials  to  be  used  must  be  defined,  and  a 
complete  specification  of  the  salient  features, 
which  should  regulate  their  selection.  A  brick 
must  not  only  be  described  as  such,  but  its  poro- 
sity and  capacity  of  resistance  to  extremes  of 
temperature,  as  well  as  its  value  in  withstanding 
compressive  strain,  should  be  assured.  Lime 
and  cement  shoidd  only  be  used  on  their  own 
intrinsic  merits,  and  not  loosely  received  as  the 
production  or  the  manufacture  of  certain  makers. 
Stone,  regardless  of  the  quarry  from  which  it 
was  extracted,  should  be  challenged  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  most  reliable  tests,  competent  to 
prove  its  fitness  to  withstand  aU  tho  strains  to 
which  it  may  be  subjected  in  its  destined 
position  in  the  building  of  which  it  is  to  form  a 
part.  I  merely  refer  to  these  "  leading 
articles,"  and  for  the  present  purposes  dis- 
regard ail  questions  of  timber,  iron,  and  the 
other  materials  used  in  building.  But  where  is 
the  architect  to  find  the  accurate  means  of  test- 
ing even  these  few  building  miterials'r  He 
cannot  do  it  himseif,  for  his  experience  does  not 
qualify  him  for  such  a  task.  Tlie  clerk  of  works 
is  even  more  dangerous  in  the  matter,  for  the 
rules  by  which  he  is  usually  gtuded  are  both 
empirical  and  occult.  The  establishment  of 
ready  and  cheap  means  of  testing,  conducted  by 
those  versed  in  all  the  details  of  material,  both 
natural  and  artificial.can  alone  meet  the  difficulty. 
and  no  material  should  be  accepted  unless 
ofiSciaUy  certified  to  be  of  the  proper  standing 


ANCIENT  BUILDINGS  IN  HALIFAX. 

SiE,— In  your  review  of  my  book,  "Ancient 
Buildings  in  Halifax,"  in  your  usuo  of  yo«t«rdaT, 
you  made  several  remarks  wliich,  as  tliey  contain 
errors  of  fact,  I  trust  you  will  jicrinit  mo  to  cor- 
rect. You  express  an  opinion  "  thit  the  drawinn 
in  many  cases  have  been  copied  from  pbotopraphs.  * 
In  one  instance  only,  that  of  a  building  now 
destroyed,  has  such  been  the  case.  Your  insertion 
of  this  letter  may  remove  an  impression  which  is 
certainly  calculated  to  deprive  mo  of  any  credit 
due  to  my  pencil. 

The  bay-windows  in  Plate  VI.  are  not,  as  you 
think,  out  of  perspective,  their  covers  bein?  placed 
in  the  building  at  a  considerable  angle  to  allow  tho 
rain  to  run  off.  They  can,  therefore,  bo  seen  from 
below,  which  gives  an  odd  appearance  on  tho  spot. 
I  surely  am  not  to  be  censured  for  this. 

The  table  in  Plate  XXV.,  which  you  think 
"quite  modern  in  spirit,"  is  obt lined  from  one  in 
a  fourteenth-century  MS.,  "The  Ilomanco  of 
Alexander,''  in  the  Bodleian  Library. 

The  house  in  Shibden-park  was  removed  by  Mr. 
Lister  to  prevent  its  destruction  by  tho  railway 
company,  and  has  been  most  truthfully  restored. 
It  now  preseuts  exactly  its  origiual  appearance,  and 
I  am  sorry  you  do  not  like  it. 

The  coved  woodwork  in  Plate  XIII.,  which  yon 
think  so  singular  as  almost  to  doubt  its  existence, 
is,  in  fact,  not  an  unusual  feature  in  timbered 
architecture.  Examples  of  it  are  found  at  Age- 
croft,  Samlesbury,  and  Spcke  Halls.  Lancashire; 
Little  Moreton  Hall,  Cheshire:  St.  Mary-lc- Wig- 
ford,  Lincoln ;  Hirrietsham,  Kent,  and  other  place* 
innumerable.  In  the  building  I  have  depicted  at 
Halifax  it  actually  still  exists,  though  covered  with 
plaster. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  say  that  my  book  scarcely 
aims  at  elaborate  architectural  dclail,  which  mi^ht 
have  been  destructive  of  artistic  effect;  and  is  m- 


tended  rather  to  give  the  spirit  of  the  buildings 
hich  it  represents. — I  ai 
HaUfax,  July  31st. 


Joicf  Letulxo. 


NEW  \^T;SLEYAN  SCHOOL  AT  TRURO. 

SiK, — In  yom:  impression  of  last  week,  with 
reference  to  the  new  Cornish  Wealeyan  Middle- 
class  School  about  to  be  erected  at  Truro,  you  state 
that  the  architect  for  the  above  building  is  Mr. 
Edward  Kendall,  of  Truro.  This  gentleman  a  tho 
much  esteemed  secretary  to  tlie  association.  The 
architect   (the    design  of  whom   wai    selectoJ  in 

open  competition;  is— Yours,  ic,  

Eluot  J.  ErrwEii. 

West  Bromwioh,  August  i. 


CHIPS. 

Mr  Stephen  Isaacson  Tucker,  I(->U(je  Croi« 
Pursuivant  of  Arms,  a  well-known  wnf-f™ 
archaeological  and  (jenealo^icil  nuc.t.oi.s  l,i»  bwai 
nominated  by  Iho  Duke  of  N.  rf..lk.  bcr.-d|.rv  iM\ 
Marshall,  to  tho  patent  office  of  ,s  jmnwt  Hcr»M 
in  Ordinary,  so  long  held  by  the  Utc  Mr.  J.  R. 
Planchi'. 

An  iron  church,  erected  by  Mnun.  Broad,  coo- 
tractors,  of  London,  wis  opened  at  Bndpjrt,  oa 
Tuesday. 

The  chur-h  of   St.  Pet.  :    '      '  "■   '"  • 

street,   Chich.  stcr,  is  un.l. 
new  rercdo.s  hi-  1  "'n  erff 
late  rector,  t'     ''    '    '''  ' 
a  brass  lia< 
reredos  is  ■ 

the  central  ;  ^       ^ 

ingiltmos^i:.     •Ih-rrir, 
pulpit  and  rcidiug-dcsk  h/i- 
o  vestry  is  being  nddci.     :. 

the  nrcbitcct,  and  the  wcrki.>-      ■ 

Mr.  F.  M.  Vick,  builder,  ol  Chiic^tir. 


170 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


Jnteit0mmunicati0u» 


QUESTIONS. 

[6184.] —"Wall-Lining-s.  —  Would    some  of   your 

readers  be  kind  enouj^'h  to  give  me  full  information,  as  to 

the  best  kind  of  tile^  fur  wall-limng-s,  with  prices,  mode 

of  laying,  references  to  writings  on  llie  subject,  &c. — Ic- 

NOBAMl'S. 

[61S5.]— Preservation  of  Stone.— Will  some  cor- 
respondent give  me  liis  practical  experience  of  the  effi- 
cacy of  any  stone-preserving  process  i  "What  is  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  portious  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament 
which  were  experimented  upon  some  years  ago,  I  beUeve, 
by  different  processes  !  Oil  is  apparently  being  largely 
used  to  the  new  masonry  during  the  repairs  to  York 
Slinster^  under  Mr.  Street.  I  have  understood  that  oil  is 
not  more  peimanent  in  its  effects  than  painting,  and 
requires  renewal  similarly.  Can  anyone  thiow  light  on 
this  question  from  actual  experience;— Oxe  is  Duvbt. 

[6ie6.]— Railway  Companies  and  the  Value  of 
Xjand.  —  A  railway  was  made  some  20  years  since  through 
an  estate  running  along  the  sides  of  aud  near  the  bottom 
of  a  hill,  which  is  loaded  with  lai-ge  quantities  of  green 
sands,  through  which  the  head  water  above  percolates. 
In  making  this  railway  those  green  sands  were  cut  into 
from  15  to  20ft.  in  depth,  for  a  length  of  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  and  the  consequence  is  that  those  sands  have 
been  constantly  niuniug  out  ever  since  to  a  very  consider- 
able extent,  and  in  all  probability  will  continue  so  for 
years  to  come.  The  result  has  been  that  as  those  sands 
discharge  themselves  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  a 
vacuum  is  thus  formed,  aud  after  a  while  the  upper  strata 
or  top  crust  breaks  away  and  settles  down,  and  so  vei-y 
materially  interferes  with  the  cropping  of  the  land  and 
the  vegetation  thereon,  as  well  as  destroying  several 
orchards  of  a  thriving  and  excellent  kind.  An  action  was 
recently  brought  against  the  company  for  compensation 
for  the  damage  so  done  to  the  lauds  by  the  landowner. 
The  damages  were  set  by  the  landowner's  surveyor  at  so 
much,  based  as  follows;  — The  oi-Ujinal  agricultiu-al 
annual  value  of  those  portions  where  the  slips  and  sub- 
sidences had  taken  place,  havmg  been  put  at  what  they 
were  fairly  worth  had  no  disturbance  of  such  lands  oc- 
curred, at  the  usual  SO  years'  purch  ise  for  the  fee  simple 
thereof.  Against  this  the  present  value  was  obtained  by 
taking  the  siime  portions  of  lands  at  what  they  were  con- 
sidered worth  for  agiicultmal  purposes  at  the  present 
moment  per  annum,  and  the  value  in  fee  of  the  same 
reckoned  at  from  13  yeari'  to  22  years'  purchase,  accOrdiog 
to  the  natuie  and  dangerous  state  thereof.  Tbe  railway 
company's  sun'eyor  objected  to  this  mode  of  computing 
the  value  of  the  alleged  damage  as  made  by  the  land- 
owners' surveyor,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  inconsistent, 
and  an  unknown  basis  to  go  upon.  That  having  reduced 
the  agricultural  value  in  the  first  instance,  the  landloid's 
surveyor  had  no  light  to  lessen  the  years'  purchase  also 
thereon.  The  landowners'  surveyor  contended  that  inas- 
much as  those  affected  portionsof  land  were  not  stationary 
but  movable,  and  ia  a  running-away  state,  they  ought  to 
be  treated  more  like  house-property  than  otherwise.  It 
would  be  a  matter  of  great  satialaction  to  have  the  opinion 
of  some  of  your  readers,  being  experienced  land  sur- 
veyors, on  this  matter  as  to  which  of  these  two  surveyors 
may  be  cunsidered  correct  in  his  theory.— E.  C. 

f6IS7.]— Measuring-  Old  Gothic  Work.— "VTould 
any  one  kindly  inloi-m  me  if  any  small  guide  to  measming 
old  Gothic  work  has  ever  been  named  in  the  '*  Intercom- 
munication ".  column,  or  elsewhere,  that  would  assist  m  _•  in 
making  measured  di-awings  of  an  old  abbey,  with  probable 
materials,  drawings,  paper,  tire,  required  for  such  work  .' 

—  CUAS.  G.  KlLLMISTKU. 

t618S.]— Making-  Black  Bricks.— Is  there  any  cheap 
and  easy  way  of  making  black  bricks  out  of  red  ones? 
"Would  making  the  biieks  hot  and  dipping  them  in  coal 
tar  answer  the  purpose  and  stand  the  weather  1—3.  Sr.vR- 
Kow,  Napier,  N.Z. 

[6189.J— Fifteenth-Century  Dr.  Tanners.— In 

the  church  of  St.  Marj-,  at  Bury  St.  Edmund's,  I  am  told, 
is  an  altar-tomb  surmounted  by  a  recumbent  figure  of  a 
starved  man,  the  details  of  which  are  well  executed  and 
ghastly  enough.  It  was  erected  to  the  memory  of  Ji  hn 
Baret,  who  died  of  starvation  in  1463,  while  attempting  to 
fastforty  days  andforty  nights.  Haveanyof  your  readers 
ever  sketched  this  monument;  if  so,  perhaps  you  would 
publish  it :— L.  R.  D. 

LG190.]~Footings  of  Tank.- TThat  kind  of  bond  is 
best  for  footings  of  a  large  brick  circular  tank,  40ft.  dia- 
meter? Four  courses  of  footings  three  bricks  thick.  Is 
all  heailer  the  best  or  quickest  I — G.  C. 

[6191.]— Imitating  WhiteMarble.—Ihave  a  largo 
white  marble  or-nament  broken  into  a  number  of  pieces, 
and  wish  to  join  ihem  together  again,  but  having  lost 
some  small  pieces  I  want  to  know  if  there  is  some  kind  of 
composition  I  could  get  to  imitate  white  matble.— ilto- 

DLESEX. 

[6192.]— Spring  to  Close  Church  Door.-I  want 
to  make  a  hea\'y  door  of  an  old  church  in  a  poor  parish 
self-closing.  Can  any  of  our  many  intelligent  readers  help 
me  to  do  so  ?  I  would  have  them  bear  in  mind  'tis  a  heavy 
door,  swinging  on  rides  about  ^thsof  an  inch  thick,  and 
this  simply  on  hooks  leaded  almost  beyond  hope  of  re- 
moval in  stonework.  There  are  two  steps  of  stone  at 
doorway,  and  the  door  shuts  against  the  face  of  one  of 
them  about  2in.  down  it,  so  that  a  spring  at  bottom  of 
door  won't  apply.  The  old  rides  are  necessarily  so  fixed 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  introduce  rising  butt~s,  and 
to  obtain  the  effect  by  pulley  and  cord  is  objectionable  on 
account  of  noise  they  make  in  working.— T.  E.  V. 


[6l67.]-Pitch  for  TileRoof.— To  insure  water  being 
kept  out,  the  pitch  thould  not  be  less  than  an  angle  of  45 
degrees.-C.F.  M. 

[6180.]  — Biittany.— I  have  just  returned  from  an 
architectural  tour  in  Briitany,  and  had  with  me  Murray's 
"Handbook  to  France."  and  found  it  all  that  I  could 
deshe  in  regard  to  urchitecttu-al  features.    I  had  also  a 


Bradshaw's  "  Continental  Guide,"  but  the  foimer  was  by 
far  better  for  any  one  interested  in  architecture.— Chas. 
Mason. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

A  BuiLDEES*  Paetnership  Dispute.— Eogees  v- 
Maxley. — On  Tuesday  Vice  Chancellor  Malins  gave 
judgment  in  this  case  reported  in  our  issue  of 
June  11.  His  Lordship  said  the  plaintiff  and  de- 
fendant entered  into  partuership  together  as 
builders  and  contractors  in  the  year  1S59.  Their 
business  was  carried  on  in  St.  George's-road, 
Camden-town,  aud  the  partnership  was  dissolved 
in  August,  1S78,  under  circumstances  to  which  he 
would  more  particularly  advert.  The  question  in 
this  action  was  as  to  the  rights  of  the  plaintiff 
under  that  dissolution.  It  appeared  that  the 
plaintiff  and  defendant  had  commenced  life  as 
journeymen  carpenters,  and  were  friends  aud  com- 
panions together.  The  partnership  which  they 
entered  luto  became  eminently  successful  and  was 
carried  ou  in  a  most  honourable  manner  and  with 
great  kindness  to  each  other,  for  they  both  agreed 
in  stating  that  no  difference  had  ever  taken  place 
between  them  till  the  occasion  which  gave  rise  to 
this  action.  It  was  providtd  by  the  articles  of 
partnership  of  the  21st  of  May,  1862,  that  annual 
accounts  of  the  partnership  affairs  should  be 
taken,  and  that  appeared  to  have  been  adhered  to. 
The  balance-sheet  from  1S75  to  1877  showed  a 
large  surplus  over  debts  aud  liabilities.  That  of 
1875  amounted  to  £GG, 000,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  a  large  property,  consisting  principally  of 
houses  and  shops,  was  divided  between  them.  In 
1S76  the  surplus  was  £32.000,  and  in  1877  it  was 
£3 1,977-  That  account  was  signed  by  both 
partners  iu  April,  1879.  In  consequence  of  a  strike 
in  the  building  trade  and  general  deijression,  the 
business  profits  in  1878  were  considerably 
diminished;  so  that,  while  the  wages  paid  in  1S77 
averaged  £100  a  week,  they  were  reduced  to  £200 
in  1878.  In  this  state  of  aft'uirs  the  plaintiff  fell 
into  bad  health  in  the  summer  of  1878  ;  he  was 
certainly  unwell  nearly  if  not  the  whole  of  July  ; 
and  upon  the  evidence  his  Lordship  was  satisfied 
that  in  the  early  part  of  August  in  that  year  he 
was  in  a  serious  state  produced  by  want  of  sleep, 
which  rendered  him  incapable  of  conducting  busi- 
ness ;  and  in  consequence  of  this  state  of  health  he 
suddenly  became  possessed  of  an  overwhelming 
desire  to  retire  from  business.  It  was  on  the  19th 
of  August  that  the  first  transaction  took  place 
which  was  brought  in  question  in  this  action.  The 
plaintifi"s  account  was  that  on  that  day,  after  his 
visit  with  Mr.  Mauley  to  Dr.  Burnett,  he  went 
home  and  lay  down  on  the  sofa  for  the  rest  of  the 
day  till  about  half-past  6,  when  he  went  to  the 
office.  The  defendant's  account  was  that,  on  the 
contrary,  the  plantift'  returned  to  the  office  and 
they  spent  the  afternoon  in  looking  into  the 
accounts,  and  the  result  was  that  they  both  deter- 
mined to  sell  the  whole  concern  and  go  out  of 
business.  The  plaintiff  swore  that,  having  gone  to 
the  office  at  half-past  6,  they  both  walked  on 
Primrose-hill  for  about  two  hours,  and  the  result 
of  the  conversation  they  then  had  was  that  the 
plaintiff  should  retire  from  business,  and  that  the 
defendant  should  give  him  one-third  of  the  value 
of  the  surplus  assets  of  the  partnership.  The  de- 
fendant denied  this  and  said  that  the  plaintiff  came 
to  the  office  at  half-past  S,  the  next  morning,  and 
made  a  proposal  to  him  that  he  (the  defendant) 
should  give  the  plaintiff  11  houses  then  lately  built 
by  the  firm  and  which  had  been  transferred  to  him 
as  his  private  property,  and  should  indemnify  the 
plaintiff  against  any  further  liability  of  the  partner- 
ship business,  and  that  as  these  houses  were  of 
greater  value  than  one-third  of  the  assets  of  the 
firm  the  plaintiff  should  transfer  to  him  a  sum  of 
£2,000  then  standing  in  his  name  in  the  public  funds. 
His  Lordship  found  it  quite  impossible  to  reconcile 
these  conflicting  statements,  but,  having  very  care- 
fully considered  the  evidence  on  each  side,  he  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  plaintift"s  statement 
of  the  result  of  the  negotiations  was  the  correct 
one,  and  that  it  was  agreed  between  the  plaintiff' 
and  defendant  that  the  latter  should  take  the 
business  upon  the  terms  of  paying  the  plaintiff'  in 
money  or  money's  worth  one-third  of  the  value  of 
the  surplus  assets  of  the  partnership.  The  parties 
having  come  to  an  agreement  to  dissolve,  it  was  the 
common  case  between  them  that  they  went  on  the 
morning  of  the  20th  to  the  office  of  their  solicitors 
and  there  saw  Mr.  "Whitfield.  They  then  told 
him  what  they  had  agreed  upon,  and  a  deed  of 
dissolution  of  partuership  was  prepared  and 
executed  the  very  same  day,  by  which  the  plaintiff" 
released  to  the  defendant  all  his  interest  in  the 
business,  and  the  defendant  agreed  to  assign  over 
to  the  plaintiff  all  his  interest  iu  the  11  houses,  aud 
the  plaintiff  was  to  transfer  to  the  defendant  the 
sum  of  £2,000  Consols.  After  this  transaction  was 
carried  out  the  plaintiff"  left  town  for  several 
months  and  his  health  became  restored,  and  when 
ho  returned  he  was  dissatisfied  with  the  arrange- 
ment come  to,  aud  upon  looking  into  the  books  he 
complained  to  the  defendant  that  he  had  not  been 
fairly  dealt  by,  and  that,  instead  of  getting  one 


third  of  the  assets,  he  had  not  received  more  than 
one-sixth  part,  and  he  required  a  further  payment 
to  be  made  to  him.  This  the  defendant  resisted, 
and  contended  that  the  plaintiff"  had  received  all 
he  was  entitled  to,  and  more  eveu,  because  the 
value  of  the  houses  was  greater  than  the  sum  he 
had  fixed.  This  dispute  led  to  the  present  action, 
*hich  had  been  heard  at  great  length,  and  his 
Lordship's  opinion  upon  the  evideuce  was  that  the 
plaintiff's  statement  was  the  correct  version  of  the 
contract,  and  that  he  was  not  in  such  a  state  of 
mind  on  the  20th  of  August  as  to  be  capable  of 
entering  into  such  an  arrangement :  and,  further, 
that  the  defendant  ought  not  to  have  allowed  the 
business  to  be  concluded  in  such  haste.  Being  of 
opinion,  however,  that  the  plaintiff  was  entitled  to 
one-third  of  the  assets  of  the  business,  the  only 
question  was  whether  he  had,  in  fact,  received  that 
amount.  The  plaintiff's  strict  right  would  be  to 
have  the  value  of  the  assets  taken  as  they  were  on 
the  20th  of  August,  1878,  and  to  have  the  dift'er- 
ence,  if  any,  made  good  to  him  :  but,  after  going 
through  the  evidence  which  had  been  given  as  to 
the  value  of  such  assets,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  plaintiff  would  have  had  about  the  value 
of  one- third  of  the  assets  if  he  had  not 
paid  to  the  defendant  the  £2,000  Consols,  and  if 
that  sum  had  not  been  so  paid  there  would  have 
been  no  justification  for  this  action.  It  was  clear 
from  the  evidence  of  Mr,  Whitfield,  the  solicitor, 
that  the  plaintiff  was  from  the  first  dissatisfied  at 
having  to  pay  that  sum,  and  this  opinion  his  Lord- 
ship had  expressed  during  the  hearmg  of  the  case. 
He  could  not  help  feeling  great  regret  that  this 
dispute  had  arisen  between  two  persons  who  had 
been  so  long  connected  in  business  and  who  had 
acted  with  such  kindne.-s  and  good  faith  towards 
each  other  during  their  partnership.  With  a  view 
to  some  compromise  being  effected  he  had  ordered 
the  case  to  stand  over  for  a  fortnight,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  the  defendant  had  expressed  his 
willingness  to  submit  to  a  decree  to  the  effect  he 
had  himself  suggested — namely,  that  the  defendant 
should  return  the  £2,000  Consols  to  the  plaintiff 
and  pay  the  costs  of  this  action.  The  plaintiff  had 
declined  to  accept  that  offer ;  but  as  the  offer,  in 
his  Lordship's  opinion,  would  meet  the  justice  of 
the  case,  the  decree  would  be  in  accordance  with 
it.  He  felt  satisfied  that  if  the  alternative  course 
was  adopted  of  having  an  inquiry  in  Chambers,  it 
would  cause  great  delay  and  exptjnse  and  would 
not  in  the  end  produce  a  more  favourable  result 
for  the  plaintiff.  He  considered  that  he  was  con- 
sulting the  best  interests  of  both  the  plaintiff"  and 
the  defendant  in  refusing  to  order  a  reference  to 
Chambers,  and  in  making  the  decree  he  had 
stated. 

The  BKicoLiKiNti  Season. — At  the  Brighton 
county-court,  on  Friday,  the  action  of  Goatcher  v. 
Clayton  was  heard,  this  b.tng  one  to  recover 
£5  133.,  alleged  to  be  due  on  a  contract  by  the 
defendant  to  make  bricks.  Plaiutiff  deposed  that 
he  contracted  to  make  bricks  for  the  defendant  at 
Gs.  per  1,000.  He  made  220,000,  and  upon  that 
number  6d.  per  1,000  was  kept  back  to  recoup 
defendant  for  any  damage  which  might  be  caused 
to  the  bricks.  He  entered  into  no  contract  to  make 
bricks  throughout  the  season.  When  he  had  made 
the  number  mentioned  he  told  defendant  that  the 
clay  was  very  hard  to  work,  and  asked  for  3d.  per 
1,000  extra,  which  defendant  refused  to  pay.  The 
defence  was,  that  the  plaintiff  agreed  to  make 
bricks  for  the  whole  of  the  season,  and  as  he  had 
not  done  so  the  6d.  per  1,000  had  been  forfeited. 
Defendant's  son  said  the  contract,  which  was  iu 
writing,  was  read  over  to  plaintiff*,  and  was  that 
plaiutiif  should  make  bricks  throughout  the  season ; 
the  custom  was,  if  men  left  before  the  brickmaking 
season  was  over,  they  forfeited  the  6d.  The  judge 
(Mr.  Martineau)  did  not  consider  the  plaintiff  was 
entitled  to  claim  the  Od.  per  1,C00  before  the  end 
of  the  season,  and  perhaps  not  then,  and  he  there- 
fore dismissed  the  case. 

Notice  to  Adjoining  Ownee  to  appoint  a  Sxm- 
VETOR.— Wadd  v.  Ckoll. — This  was  a  motionheard 
beforetheMasterof  theRolls,  on  Wednesday  last,  to 
restrain  defendants  from  acting  under  an  award  to 
pull  down  a  certain  party-wall,  situate  in  Basiug- 
hall-street,  City,  on  the  ground  that  a  proper 
notice  had  not  been  served  on  the  plaintiff  re- 
quiring her  to  appoint  a  surveyor  to  act  for  her. 
Defendant  had  given  the  usual  three  mouths'  no- 
tice, on  the  form  authorised  by  the  Board  of 
Works,  and  had  also  written  plaintiff,  saying  he 
"  should  be  obliged  "  if  she  would  appoint  a  sur- 
veyor; but  she  having  failed  to  do  this,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  appoint  a  surveyor  for  her,  under  Section 
85,  sub-section  9,  of  the  Building  Act,  and  the  two 
surveyors  bo  appointed  had  appointed  a  third 
surveyor.  The  three  surveyors  awarded  that  the 
wall  should  be  pulled  down,  but  the  plaintiff 
moved  to  restrain  defendant  from  doing  so.  Mr. 
Karslake,  who  appeared  for  the  defendant,  con- 
tended that  three  months'  notice  first  served  re- 
quired the  plaintiff"  to  appoint  a  surveyor,  and  he 
showed  by  an  aflidavit  that  no  other  form  for 
doing  so  had  been  issued  bj'  the  Board  of  Works. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


171 


Sir  G.  Jessel  said  that  the  "  three  months'  "  notice 
contained  no  retiuirement  of  the  plaintiff  to  appoint 
a  surveyor,  and  tlie  letter  was  insufficient,  as  it  did 
not  require  the  plaintiff  to  do  so,  but  simply  said 
that  the  defoudunt  ''would  be  obliged"  if  it 
were  done.  He  granted  the  injunction,  on  that 
ground  ;  but  reserved  the  question  of  costs. 

A  Pkima  Doxna  axd  hek  Buildek.— HEArj)  v. 
Paiti. — At  the  Glamorganshire  Assizes,  on  Tues- 
day, the  following;  case  came  before  Lord  Justice 
Thesiger  in  the  Nisi  Prius  Court.  Mr.  M'lutyre, 
Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Jeffreys  were  for  plaintiff,  and  Mr. 
Bowen,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Percy  Gye  (specially 
retained  from  the  South-Easteni  Ciicuit)  for  the 
defendant.  Mr.  Jeffreys,  in  opening  the  pleadings, 
stated  that  the  Marquise  de  Caux,  the  defendant, 
employed  Joseph  Cook  Rees  to  do  certain  additions 
and  buildings  to  her  huuse,  Craig-y-Nos  Castle. 
Kees  did  work  to  the  amouut  of  £11,000,  and  on 
the  18th  of  May,  ISSO,  defendant  was  indebted  to 
him  in  the  sum  of  £2, .500.  This  sum  Eees  assigned 
to  Heard,  the  plaintiff.  Defendant  had  notice  of 
the  assignment,  and  was  frequentlj*  requested  to 
pay  this  amount,  but  she  had  not  done  so.  She 
stated  that  the  employment  was  according  to  con- 
tract, that  she  had  paid  £8,435,  and  that  no 
further  work  had  been  done.  She  also  stated  that 
the  £2, .500  claimed  for  additions  had  not  been 
ascertained  by  admeasurement  to  be  due,  and  the 
amount  was  not  payable  until  three  mouths  after 
the  completion  of  the  whole  work.  She  further 
denied  the  assignment  of  the  debt  by  Eies, 
and  set  up  a  counter  claim  under  an 
agreement  of  the  18th  of  March,  1880, 
by  ■which  Rees  undertook  to  finish  the  buildings 
by  the  4th  of  April,  or  to  pay  a  certain  sum  per 
day  if  they  were  not  completed  by  that  time. 
Mr.  M'lutyre  opened  the  case.  He  said  plaintiff 
was  a  timber  merchant  carryiug  on  a  large  busi- 
ness at  Swansea,  and  defendant  was  the  well- 
known  singer,  Madame  Adelina  Patti.  Madame 
Patti  ptirchased  an  old  house  in  Breconshire,  near 
Tstalyfera,  which  she  found  to  be  inconveniently 
arranged  and  not  sufficiently  large.  She  there- 
fore determined  to  have  the  whole  house  recon- 
structed, and  a  gentleman  named  Peck,  of  29, 
Gray's  Inu-square,  on  her  behalf,  entered  into 
a  contract  with  Kees  to  do  certain  works  for 
£4,2.50,  and  there  were  in  the  contract  provi- 
sions with  respect  to  extra  works,  and  as  to 
the  terms  on  which  money  was  to  be  paid 
both  for  the  contract  and  the  extras.  Mr. 
Peck  was  to  entirely  control  the  work,  and 
be  the  sole  judge  of  any  dispute  which  might 
arise.  Eees  commenced  the  work,  and  alteration 
after  alteration  was  made  in  the  buildings  by  the 
defendant.  The  work  went  on,  and  payments 
amounting  to  .£14,3S5  were  made  on  certificates 
given  by  the  architect  of  the  actual  work  done. 
Defendant  had  p.aid  £S,5o.5  on  the  coutract  work, 
which  was  a  sum  vastly  in  excess  of  the  contract 
price.  On  March  18,  Mr.  Herbert  Gye  appeared 
on  the  scene,  armed  with  a  letter  from  Madame 
Patti,  and  superseded  Mr.  Peck.  Mr.  Gye  was 
dissatisfied  with  the  woik,  and  seemed  to  dis- 
pute the  amounts  which  had  already  been 
settled.  The  work  was  so  much  greater  than 
Mr.  Eees  had  expected  that  he  borrowed 
money  from  Mr.  Heard,  who  also  supplied 
him  with  a  quantity  of  miterial.  Eees  gave 
Heard  a  cheque  upon  the  sums  of  money  which 
would  become  due  to  him,  and  in  March,  1880,  a 
sum  of  £2,000  was  paid  over  by  Mr.  Gye  to  Heard. 
Mr.  Bowen,  for  the  defendant,  said  he  had  never 
seen  the  assignment,  and  he  wanted  it  proved. 
Then  he  disputed  the  items  in  the  charge  of  £o,900, 
and  under  the  agreement  of  the  ISth  of  March, 
1880,  defendant  claimed  £3  Ss.  per  day  for  the 
delay  in  completing  the  work.  The  work  should 
have  been  completed  by  the  4th  of  April,  whereas 
it  was  not  finished  until  about  the  I8th  of  June. 
The  learned  Judge  said  that  if  the  items  of  the  ac- 
count were  disputed,  it  would  be  best  to  bring  in 
Rees  as  a  party  to  the  action.  The  counsel  on 
both  sides  agreed,  .'^nd  his  lordship  discharged 
the  jury  and  referred  the  question  of  faet  to  the 
arbitration  of  Mr.  Arthur  Lewis,  the  legal  queries 
being  left  to  the  consideration  of  the  judge  in 
London. 


"WATEK  SUPPLY  AND  SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Ths  Wateh  Supply  of  London". — Vue  Select 
Committee  appointed  to  consider  the  question  of 
the  water  supply  of  the  metropolis  on  Tuesday 
agreed  upon  their  report.  This  will  be  found  to 
recommend  the  creation  of  a  Water  Trust,  to  be 
elected  from  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of 
London,  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  and 
the  other  bodies  representing  water  districts  out- 
side the  jurisdiction  of  these  corporations.  The 
Committee  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  "  the 
"agreements"  with  the  water  companies  ac- 
cepted as  a  basis  of  Sir  Richard  Cross's  scheme  for 
the  purchase  of  the  existing  water-works  should 
be  placed  out  of  court.  They  do  not  oppose  the 
purchase    of    the  water -works    upon   reasonable 


terms,  but  suggest  that  favourable  consideration 
should  be  given  to  the  possibility  of  obtaining  a 
supply  from  other  sources.  This,  however,  is  a 
mitterthat  v."ill  be  left  eiitirely  to  the  proposed 
Water  Trust,  which  will  be  created  by  Act  of 
Parliament. 

STAINED  GLASS. 

HouonTOX. — A  three-light  window  has  just 
been  placed  in  Houghton  Church,  Walsingham, 
Norfolk,  the  subject  being,  in  the  centre,  "The 
Crucifixion,"  and  in  the  .<ide-light3  the  figures  of 
"The  Blessed  Virgin"  and  "St.  John."  The 
window  is  treated  in  an  emblematic  manner  on  a 
rich  ruby  background,  with  leaded  conventional 
foliage,  and  was  executed  by  Messrs.  Gibbs  and 
Howard. 


CHIPS. 

The  Congregational  Chapel  at  Lewes  was  re- 
opened on  Wednesday  week  after  renovation  and 
improvement,  and  the  provision  of  additional 
.Sunday-school  accommodation.  The  works  have 
been  carried  out  by  Mr.  H.  Hoey,  under  the  super- 
intendence and  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  H.  C. 
Card,  of  Lewes. 

The  local  board  of  Fulwood,  near  Preston, 
adopted  on  Saturday  jdans  for  new  works  of  water 
supply,  including  seven  miles  of  pipes  and  mains, 
and  a  water  tower  and  tank  7oft.  in  height,  and 
estimated  to  cost  £13,000. 

Preparations  are  being  made  by  Messrs.  Holme 
and  King,  railway  contractors,  of  Liverpool  and 
Wigan,  to  lower  the  Sough-tunnel,  near  Darwen. 
The  bed  of  the  tunnel  is  of  s&lid  rock,  and  is  over 
2,000  yards  long,  and  this  is  to  be  lowered  3ft. 
The  work  will  extend  over  six  months,  and  from 
1.50  to  200  men  will  bo  employed  in  shifts  night 
and  day. 

New  works  and  extensions  are  being  carried  out 
at  the  Cambridge  gasworks,  from  the  designs  of 
Mr.  John  Hawkesley,  C.E.,  of  London  ;  the 
estimated  cost  is  £10,000. 

A  report  has  been  made  by  Mr.  A.  M.  Blomfield, 
M.A.,  on  the  condition  of  the  church  tower  at  St. 
Neot's,  Hunts. 

The  new  Fisherlads'  Institute  at  Grimsby  was 
opened  on  Tuesday  week.  The  building  stands  at 
the  corner  of  Tomline  and  Orwell-streets,  on  a  site 
granted  at  a  nominal  rent,  by  Col.  Geo.  Tomline, 
of  Orwell  Park.  Ipsivich.  It  is  built  of  red  brick 
with  stone  dressings,  and  contains  reading-room, 
library,  lecture-room,  refreshment-room,  and 
class-rooms,  and  attached  are  a  large  swimming 
and  several  private  baths.  A  residence  is  provided 
for  the  agent,  and  a  cottage  for  the  bathman. 
Mr.  Charles  Bell,  of  London,  is  the  architect,  and 
the  contractors  are  Messrs.  Eiggal  and  Hewins,  of 
Grimsby. 

The  new  Central  Station  of  the  Midland  Railway 
Company  at  Manchester  was  opened  for  main  line 
traffic  on  Monday.  The  roof  has  been  erected  by 
Messrs.  Handyside,  of  the  Britannia  foundry, 
Derby;  its  chief  dimensions  are — span  210ft., 
height  from  platform  to  cro'.vu  of  arch  84ft., 
length  54Sft. 

The  Cleveland  Institution  of  Engineers  visited 
West  Hartlepool  on  Thursday  in  last  week  for  the 
purpose  of  inspecting  the  new  docks  and  ware- 
houses. They  were  met  by  Mr.  Charles  Harrison, 
C.E.,  the  engineer  to  the  North- Eastern  Railway 
Company,  who  explained  the  details  of  construction 
and  stated  that  the  total  area  of  the  new  docks  is 
31  acres:  the  length  is  1,000ft.,  the  entrances  are 
each  60ft.  wide,  and  the  cost  of  stone  and  brick 
work  has  been  £680,000.  New  warehouses,  just 
contracted  to  be  built,  at  an  outlay  of  £34,000 
were  also  visited,  and  also  the  new  pier  works  in 
progress  for  the  port  commis.^ionerj,  and  several 
engine-works  and  shipbuilding-yards. 

On  the  29th  ult.,  the  Bishop  of  Eipon  conse- 
crated the  newly-erected  church  at  Killinghall, 
near  Harrogate.  The  church,  which  is  dedicated 
to  St.  Thomas,  is  built  in  the  style  of  the  Second 
Pointed  or  Geometrioul  Decorated  period.  The 
works  have  been  carried  out  from  the  drawing  of 
Mr.  Swinden  Barber,  F.R.I.B.A.,  Halifax.  The 
cost  is  about  £3,000. 

The  Liverpool  City  Council  on  Wednesday 
adopted  a  recommendation  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee that,  having  regard  to  the  long  and  faithful 
service  for  upwards  of  3.5  years  of  the  deputy  cor- 
poration surveyor,  Mr.  George  H.  Rollet,  he  be 
relieved  of  the  more  active  and  responsible  duties 
of  his  office,  and  that  he  be  retained  upon  the  staff 
at  £300  per  annum,  being  two-thirds  of  his  present 
salary,  with  the  understanding  that  he  aff  irds  the 
committee  when  called  upon  any  iuformntion  or 
assistance  they  may  I  eqnire  from  him.  The  com- 
mittee further  recommended  thit  Mr.  F.  T.  Tar- 
ton,  surveying  assistant,  be  appointed  assistant 
deputy  corporation  surveyor  at  a  salary  of  £3-50  per 
annum. 


Our  (DfRce  €Mt 

Dr.  EiniAEDsos  proposes  to  brinff  the  seaside 
itself— not  merely  «ca-water— to  Lijudon.  His 
plan  is  to  get  enou)<h  sca-watcr  uml  to  make 
spray  fountains  of  it  in  every  garden,  every 
house,  every  close  court,  and  every  alloy.  Tho 
poorest  creature  will  be  able  to  feel  the  in- 
yigoratinj,'  salt  spray  upon  his  check  a.s  eaijly  as 
if  he  stood  on  Brijjhton  pier  or  walked  on  tho 
sands  at  Trouvillo.  Dr.  liichardwjn  wants  to 
have  a  royal  commission  to  invostigato  tho  sub- 
ject. Dr.  Ilichard.fon  gives  no  esliinato  as  to 
cost,  and  really  as  far  as  can  be  seen  at  present, 
however  it  may  be  in  tho  future  in  Hygeia  and 
Salut-land,  little  probability  existii  that  tho 
Doctor's  project  will  bo  realised. 

At  the  approaching  Social  Science  CongroM 
to  bo  held  in  Edinburgh,  the  sulijects  for  discun- 
sion  in  the  Health  Department  are:— 1.  What 
arc  the  best  areas  for  sanitary  purposes,  and  how 
far  should  there  1  e  a  revision  of  the  mode  of 
electing  and  continuing  the  services  of  the  ofliccn 
under  the  Public  Health  Actn'r  2.  What  is  tho 
best  mode  of  amending  the  present  hiws  with  re- 
ference to  existing  buildings,  and  also  of  im- 
proving their  sanitary  condition  so  as  to  render 
them  more  healthy,  having  due  regard  to  econ- 
omical considerations  r  3.  What  are  the  mcanx 
which  should  be  adopted  for  tho  prevention  of 
the  pollution  of  streaun^,  without  undue  inter- 
ference with  industrial  operations,  and  for  tho 
preservation  of  pure  sources  of  water  supply  ? 
And  in  the  Art  Department : — I.  Ought  there  to 
be  a  school  of  dramatic  art  subsidised  by  private 
subscription  or  endowment,  or  by  the  State  'r 
2.  How  far  would  the  revival  of  the  old  system 
of  "masters  and  pupils"  be  of  advantage,  and 
tend  to  promote  the  growth  of  liistorical  art  in 
the  country,  and  the  fitting  use  of  painting  and 
sculpture  in  our  public  buildings?  3.  How  con 
the  musical  education  of  the  middle  classes  bo 
improved  i 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  rural  sanitary 
authority  of  West  Ward,  Westmoreland,  held 
on  Wednesday  week,  a  rep  irt  w;us  presented  by 
the  works  committee  on  tho  drainage  works 
recently  carried  out  at  the  workhouse,  in  which 
the  committee  said  they  had  no  words  at  their 
disposal  to  express  sufficiently  their  opinion  of 
the  disgraceful  manner  in  which  "  a  pretence 
had  been  made  to  carry  out  the  original  con- 
tract" ;  they  suggested  that  the  clerk  of  works, 
who  received  £2  per  week  to  supervi-ie,  should 
be  asked  to  give  expl  inations  to  the  board.  A 
letter  was  read  from  Mr.  Sarginson,  the  clerk  of 
works,  throwing  blame  upon  Pattinson,  tho 
contractor.  The  chairman  of  the  board  said  the 
clerk  of  works  had  actually  allowed  the  whole  of 
the  sewage-pipes  to  be  placed  above  the  soft- 
water  pipes ;  if  he  had  attended  to  hi.s  work 
properly  he  must  have  seen  such  shameful  work 
a-s  had  been  revealed.  Mr.  Sargin.s.jn  was  then 
called  before  the  boird,  and  gave  a  lengthy  ex- 
planation of  his  conduct,  and  after  some  discus- 
sion the  comtnittee's  report  was  adopted. 

A  snrrLEB  and  cheaper  method  than  the  use 
of  oil  for  preventing  the  evaporation  of  water 
in  traps  is,  according  to  a  corn>«pondent  of  tho 
Ama-icm   Arrhitcct,    to    fill    the    tr.ip    with    a 
saturated  solution   of  calcium   rh!   n  ! •■.       Ih;.* 
material  is  a  by-product  in  the  :■ 
which,  in  quantity,  the   maniii 
doubtless  be  glad  to  find  a  m  ir^ 
a  pound.     Owing  to  its  hv 
solution  does  not  evapor.r 
to  a  gallon  is  sufficient.      I 
closet,  flu»h  the  trap   thor--i._: 
supply,  lift  the   handle,   and  dr 
chloride  into  the  trap  until  n  ->  m 
For  smiUer  traps,  as  in  ^: 
where  a  slight  waste  i 
the  saturated  solution,  w  1 
as  heavy  as  the  water,  w. 
The  calcium  chloride   n. 
little  free  hydrochloric  i. 

the  metal.     It.s  presence  i..   ...        -        , 

detected  by  litmus-paper,  and  a  Ur*»p.«n.  j.1  oI 
marble  du[t  will  neutralise  aU  that  con  be  f»und 
in  several  gallons. 

The  summer  meeting  of  the  In^tituto  of 
Mechanical  Engineers  w«..  npo„«l  at  Birr.^-in- 

Fumess  on  Tuesday,  wl, '    '■  "-    prc-ent 

between  two  and  thr<-e  b  .  ,    „, 

Edward  A.  Cooper,  Don..  :  ,'Z~\ 

in  the  chair.     After  the   ; =   '•>nn«l 


172 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  6,  1880. 


business,  the  President  gave  an  address  in  Tvhich 
he  referred  briefly  to  the  progress  made  by 
mechanical  engineering,  and  called  attention  to 
the  various  matters  which  pressed  themselves 
very  urgently  on  their  notice  at  the  present 
time,  such  as  the  general  depression  in  trade, 
■which  has  now  held  its  dull  course  for  years ; 
and  secondly,  the  means  in  our  power  which 
were  or  were  not  being  taken  advantage  of  to 
promote  the  manufactures  and  commerce  of  the 
country.  Subsequently,  Mr.  F.  C.  Stiloman 
read  a  paper  on  the  railway  and  dock  approaches 
of  Barrow.  The  scheme  of  docks  at  Barrow 
•was  discussed,  and  the  author  of  the  paper 
described  the  many  natural  advantages  which 
the  port  possessed,  and  the  satisfactory  progress 
which  had  been  made  in  the  dredging  operations, 
nature  itself  assisting  very  materially  in  the 
operation  of  scouring  the  channel  or  tide- way. 
Mr.  Humphry  then  read  a  paper  on  the  new 
steamship  Citi/  of  Itomc.  At  one  o'clock  the 
members  of  the  institute  were  entertained  at 
lunch  by  the  Mayor  of  Barrow,  and  in  the 
afternoon  several  of  the  public  works  of  tlie 
town  were  visited.  In  the  evening  a  special 
excursion-train  was  run  to  Coniston,  where  the 
engineers  were  entertained  to  dinner  by  the 
Barrow  Shipbuilding   Company  and  other  firms. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Rotherhithe  Vestry  last 
evening,  a  report  was  brought  up  for  the  special 
committee  appointed  to  consider  the  circum- 
stances of  the  death,  from  scarlatina,  of  a  child 
in  Queen-street,  Rotherhithe.  The  committee, 
in  their  report,  .stated  that  they  had  made  a  per- 
sonal investigation  of  some  of  the  houses  in 
Queen-street,  and  had  found  the  number  of 
people  who  lived  in  them  to  be  as  follows : — No. 
1 ,  nine  persons ;  Xo.  2,  fifteen  persons;  No.  3, 
fourteen  persons ;  No.  4,  seventeen  persons  ;  No. 
5,  twenty-two  persons ;  No.  G,  eleven  persons, 
two  rooms  being  unlet ;  and  No.  7,  nineteen 
persons.  The  committee  were  of  opinion  that 
the  foregoing  houses  were  unfit  fur  human 
habitation  unless  lime-whitened  and  cleansed, 
and  traps  provided  for  the  drains  in  the  back 
yards. — Mr.  Stevens  thought  the  disclosures 
made  that  evening  would  seem  to  make  it  ad- 
visible  tliat  the  Vestry  should  memoriahse 
the  Metropolitan  Board  to  obtain  improved 
artisans'  dwellings. — Mr.  Walker  said  that 
the  squulor  and  dirt  in  this  street  were  some- 
thing hideous,  the  children  bting  in  many 
instances  covered  with  vermin. — Al'ter  remarks 
from  other  gentlemen,  Dr.  Browning  asserted 
that  there  was  no  overcrowding  in  Queen-street 
in  the  legal  sense  of  the  word — that  was  to  say, 
there  was  no  instances  where  any  single  in- 
habitant had  less  than  200  cubic  feet  of  space 
allotted  him  or  her. — Finally,  the  Vestry  resolved 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  owners  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  houses.  It  should  be  stated  that 
the  houses  are  by  no  means  large  buildmgs,  and 
their  condition,  as  well  as  that  of  the  inhabitants, 
is  most  wretched. 

An  interesting  work  has  been  recently  pub- 
lished by  Herr  Funk,  of  Cologne,  giving  the 
results  of  a  long  experience  on  different  German 
lines,  as  to  the  duration  of  railway  sleepers,  of 
ordinary  or  prepared  wood.  Chloride  of  zinc, 
sulphate  of  copper,  and  creosote,  are  the  sub- 
stances chiefly  used  to  impregnate  the  wood; 
corrosive  subUmate  is  also  employed,  but  the 
high  cost  forbids  its  general  use.  The  sub- 
stance found  most  suitable  is  chloride  of  zinc, — 
con.siderably  cheaper  than  creosote, — it  produces 
equally  durable  sleepers.  (Sulphate  of  copper  is 
being  generally  abandoned,  as  a  diflicult  and 
costly  means.)  The  average  duration  of  S31,.34" 
pine  sleepers,  subjected  to  various  process3s  of 
injection,  was  1-1  years.  The  durability  of  oak 
is  increa.sed,  by  injection,  from  13-6  to  lO'G 
years  ;  pine,  from  72  to  15  ;  fir,  from  o'l  to  9  ; 
beech,  from  3  to  16'o.  It  will  be  seen  that 
while  non-prepared  oak  has  great  superiority, 
the  injected  pine  and  beech  are  more  durable. 
Injection  under  strong  pressure  is  practised  in 
Germany. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Fine  Art  Exhibition,  in 
Glasgow,  on  Tuesday,  Professor  Baldwin 
Brown  spoke  on  the  different  characteristics  of 
the  English  and  French  artistic  schools.  He 
said  it  appeared  to  him  that  these  schools  had  a 
good  deal  to  learn  from  one  another.  Any  who 
had  cast  their  eyes  around  the  walls  of  the  room 
in  which  they  were  would  see  some  of  the  most 
characteristic  excellences  of  the  English  scliool 
icpresented  by  the  colour,  the  sentiment,  and 
the  feeling  in  the  works  of  Chalmers,   and  the 


breeziness,  the  open-air  feeling — especially  in 
the  skies — in  the  works  of  Bough.  These  were 
things  in  which,  he  thought,  we  surpassed  our 
neighbours  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel ; 
and  he  believed  they  felt  that,  and  were  ready 
to  recogni82  it,  as  was  the  case  after  the  exhibi- 
tion of  1878.  At  the  same  time,  in  other  mo*t 
important  points  the  English  school  had  very 
much  to  learn  from  them.  He  thought  there 
could  be  no  doubt  that,  without  going  into  any 
technical  details,  the  French  generally  might  be 
said  to  surpass  us  in  drawing  and  perspective, 
and  in  the  art  of  making  the  objects  they  were 
dealing  with  look  solid.  Now,  the  feeling  of 
beauty  and  nature  in  the  English  school  would 
be  none  the  worse  for  a  little  solid  backbone  of 
drawing  and  perspective  underneath  it,  and 
there  was  no  method  by  which  we  could  learn  it 
better  than  by  studying  the  works  of  French 
painters  and  draughtsmen. 

In  the  Contemporary  for  the  present  month 
the  Rev.  Barham  Zincke  makes  a  double  attack 
on  the  Land  Laws  that  tie  up  property  in  the 
rural  districts,  and  on  the  urban  lea.sehold 
system,  which  he  denounces  with  unsparing 
severity.  In  Switzerland  it  is  difficult  to  find  a 
family  residing  in  a  house  which  is  not  its  own 
property  ;  the  heads  of  465,000  householders  out 
of  a  total  of  556,000  are  owners  of  land  ;  and, 
in  some  cantons,  a  man  cannot  contract  a  legal 
marriage  until  he  has  at  least  a  site  for  a  house 
of  his  own.  Need  it  be  added  that  the  Swiss, 
poor  though  they  are  reckoned,  are  far  better 
housed  than  the  Englishman  ?  Mr.  Zincke  goes 
even  so  far  as  to  say  that,  "  beyond  controversy, 
London  stands  below  all  the  capitals  of  the 
ci\dlised  world  in  the  meanness  of  its  houses  ;  " 
and  he  attributes  this  mainly  to  the  miserable 
system  of  one  man  building  a  house  only  to  let 
it  to  somebody  else,  on  a  third  man's  land.  To 
his  other  complaints  against  the  urban  leasehold 
system,  remarks  the  Eclio,  Mr.  Zincke  might 
have  added  that  it  enables  the  landowners  to 
escape  from  local  and  imperial  burdens  which 
press  so  heavily  upon  smaller  men.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone calltd  attention  to  that  point  just  before 
the  last  Election,  and  as  he  always  redeems  his 
promises,  we  may  expect  to  hear  more  of  it  be- 
fore very  long. 

A  Feench  engineer,  M.  BouilUant,  has  in- 
vented and  perfected  several  models  of  bridges 
which  require  for  their  construction  nothing  more 
than  such  undressed  woods  as  may  be  found 
anywhere.  They  may  be  put  together  and 
taken  apart  again  in  a  few  hours.  The  girders 
supporting  the  platform  are  sustained  by  three 
cress-girders  ;  and  the  latter  are  supported  by  a 
truss  composed  of  poles  tied  together  diagonally. 
The  whole  truss  is  firmly  braced.  These  bridges 
may  be  constructed  entirely  of  wood,  if  there 
be  wood  at  hand  capable  of  furnishing  material 
for  tying;  of  wood  and  rope,  or  of  wood  and 
iron  wire.  Finally,  they  may  be  constructed 
still  more  solidly  by  means  of  a  device  invented 
by  M.  Bouilliant,  and  called  a  "  put-log 
fastening."  This  fastening,  which  may  be  also 
used  for  many  other  purposes,  such  as  the  con- 
struction of  scaffolding,  &c.,  is  composed  of  a 
chain  to  surround  the  ends  of  the  pieces  to  be 
joined,  and  a  nut.  The  nut  is  proi-ided  with  an 
eye,  to  which  is  attached  one  of  the  end  links  of 
the  chain,  and  a  hook  to  which  may  be  attached 
any  other  link  that  may  be  desired.  The  nut  is 
traver.scd  by  a  screw  having  at  the  upper 
extremity  a  lever,  and  at  the  lower  a  small  metal 
plate. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Devonshire  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Literature,  and 
Art,  held  on  Tuesday  week  at  Totnes,  Mr.  E. 
Appleton,  F.R.I.B.A.,  read  a  notice  of  a 
wooden  effigy  found  at  Dartmouth  in  1879.  It 
was  discovered  in  takiug  down  a  house  near  the 
Church,  where  it  served  as  a  lintel  of  a  back 
window.  It  was  made  of  chestnut,  was  5ft.  2in. 
in  height,  and  represented  a  mitred  bishop,  with 
alb,  cope,  and  stole,  but  the  hands  and  feet  were 
gone.  The  date  of  the  house  was  IGSO,  but 
doubtless  the  figure  was  much  older  than  that, 
and  was  probably  an  effigy  on  a  tomb,  of  about 
the  fifteenth  century  in  origin.  The  effigy,  which 
was  exhibited,  belonged  to  Mr.  Cranford,  of 
Dartmouth.  Jfr.  Pengelly  suggested  that  the 
effigy  was  a  figure-head  of  some  ship,  but  this 
idea  was  not  widely  accepted  during  the  brief 
discussion  which  followed. 

A  CostsuTTEE  is  at  present  engaged  in  New 
York  in  drawing  out  rules  for  the  proper  sanitary 


arrangements  of  houses,  and  in  deliberating  how 
far  it  would  be  proper  for  the  board  of  health  to 
dictate  details  of  construction.  The  following 
rules  have  been  agreed  upon  : — All  soil-pipes  to 
be  of  iron.  All  soil-pipes  to  be  accessible  through- 
out their  entire  length  for  inspection.  AU  soil- 
pipes  to  extend  through  the  roof,  and  to  be  of  un- 
diminished calibre.  All  sewer-pipes  to  be  of  iron. 
That  sewer-pipes  be  above  the  cellar  floor,  and 
not  buried.  That  all  joints  in  sewer  and  soil- 
pipes  be  gas  and  water  tight,  and  that  they  be 
caulked  with  either  lead  or  with  ircn  filings  and 
sal  ammoniac  cement.  That  traps  be  provided 
for  all  basins,  sinks,  and  bath-tubs.  That  all 
traps  be  ventilated  by  special  pipes  through  the 
roof.  That  tliere  be  no  traps  on  vertical  soU- 
pipes  ;  upon  the  important  question  of  the  ex- 
pediency of  placing  traps  between  houses  and 
the  street  sewers,  considerable  divergency  was 
manifested  in  the  views  of  the  sanitary  au- 
thorities of  New  York. 

The  United  States  Potters'  Association,  at 
its  last  annual  convention,  resolved  that  a 
reward  of  500  dols.  be  and  is  hereby  offered  to 
any  person  who  may  invent  and  offer  to  us  any 
new  and  useful  machinery  of  importance  to  us, 
applicable  to  our  art  and  business,  and  that  a 
reward  of  250  dols.  be  and  is  hereby  offered  by 
us  to  any  person  who  may  invent  any  essential 
and  useful  improvement  to  or  upon  any  ma- 
chinery now  in  use  by  us.  Provided,  that  these 
inventions  or  improvements  are  free  from  aU 
patents  obtained,  or  to  be  obtained,  from  the 
inventor  or  any  other  person.  All  communica- 
tions relating  to  machinery  and  rewards  should 
be  made  to  Messrs.  Thomas  C.  Smith,  Green- 
point,  N.  Y.  ;  John  Moses,  Trenton,  N.  J.  ;  M. 
Tempest,  Cincinnati,   0. 

At  the  Auction  Mart,  on  Wednesday,  a  sale 
of  a  very  special  character  was  held  by  Messrs. 
Edwin  Fox  and  Bousfield,  acting  on  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Home  Secretary  and  Prison  Com- 
missioners, and  of  the  county  authority  for 
Middlesex.  The  property  offered  comprehended 
the  six  prisons  for  Bath,  Wisbech,  Bury  St. 
Edmund's,  Southwell,  Mold,  and  Beverley, 
which  were  described  as  freehold  estates  now 
available  for  building,  being  no  longer  required 
for  their  original  purpose,  in  consequence  of  the 
alterations  effected  in  the  administration  of 
justice  under  the  Prison  Act  of  1877.  They 
comprise  altogether  about  17i  acres,  were  offered 
in  six  lots,  and  the  total  amount  at  which  the 
lots  were  knocked  down  was  £17,850.  The 
principal  lots  were  sold.  The  barracks  situate 
at  Hampstead,  not  now  wanted  for  Militia 
purposes,  in  consequence  of  the  head-quai'ters 
being  removed  to  the  depot  under  Lord  Card- 
well's  organisation  scheme,  comprised  about  one 
acre  of  land  suitable  for  building,  and  were  sold 
for  £5,500. 


CHIPS. 

The  directors  of  the  Crystal  Palace  propose  to 
start  a  series  of  annual  international  exhibitions, 
each  one  to  be  limited  to  one  class  of  articles.  The 
first  exhibition,  of  wool  and  woollen  goods,  &c., 
takes  place  next  year. 

A  fine  building  estate  near  Crawford  College, 
Maidenhead,  is  now  being  laid  out,  and  several 
first-clasa  residences  are  about  to  be  erected,  com- 
manding splendid  views  of  the  Thames  Valley, 
Cliefdeu  Woods,  Taplow,  etc.  The  houses  will  be 
of  red  brick,  covered  with  tiles.  Terra-cotta, 
manufactured  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
site  by  Messrs.  J.  K.  Coo;er  and  Son,  will  be 
largely  used  in  the  external  dressings  and  enrich- 
ments, the  houses  alternating  with  red  or  buff 
material,  and  as  the  estate  has  been  planted  about 
15  years  with  ornamental  trees  and  shrubs,  the 
grounds  to  each  house  will  be  in  mature  condition 
as  soou  as  the  houses  are  ready  for  occupation. 
Messrs.  Brown  and  Albury,  of  Reading,  are  the 
architects. 

A  Local  Government  Board  inquiry  was  held  at 
Bacup  last  week  by  Capt.  R.  F.  C.  Hildyard  on  an 
application  from  the  Bacup  sanitary  authority  to 
borrow  the  sum  of  £1,900  for  stieet  improvemfnts 
in  connection  with  a  new  bridge  over  the  river 
Irwell.  The  plans  were  produced  and  explained 
by  Mr.  John  Wilsan,  C.E.,  surveyor  to  the  Board, 
who  also  furnished  the  inspector  with  particulars 
respecting  the  pnpulition,  rateable  value,  and 
water  supply  of  the  district.  Mr.  Jno.  Haworth, 
of  Lancaster,  objected  to  part  of  the  scheme. 

Messrs.  H.  Saxon  Suell  and  Sou  have  been 
requested  to  prepare  a  design  for  the  new  Hoyal 
Samaritan  Free  Hospital,  on  the  site  of  Dorset 
House,  St.  Marylebone. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


173 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


LOXDOX,  TJHIDAY,   AVGl'ST  XZ,   1S80. 


BUILDERS'  EXTEAS. 

A  CASE  of  more  than  orJinary  interest 
to  the  public,  the  architect,  and  the 
bjiilcler,  will  be  found  recorded  in  our 
Legal  Intelligence  of  last  Tveek.  It  was  an 
action  brought  against  Adelina  Patti,  the 
well-known  operatic  singer,  by  the  assignee 
of  a  Welsh  builder  of  the  name  of  Rees,  for 
builders'  extras,  and  which  came  before  Mr. 
Justice  Thesiger,  at  the  Glamorganshire 
Assizes.  Owing  to  the  very  complex  nature 
of  the  evidence,  the  judge  very  properly 
suggested  a  reference  to  arbitration,  nor 
would  it  have  been  jjossible  for  an  ordinai-y 
jury  to  have  come  to  a  decision.  From  the 
imperfect  report  of  the  evidence  already 
given,  from  which  no  definite  conclusion  can 
be  drawn,  the  sum  for  the  "  extras  "  looks 
enormous,  and  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
contract  price;  yet  those  who  are  acquainted 
with  building  operations,  and  the  difficulties 
attending  the  alteration  of  an  old  house, 
well  know  how  quickly  a  bill  of  extras  may 
be  incurred,  and  that  without  any  faidt 
either  of  architect,  builder,  nr  proprietor. 
Dilficultics  occur  at  the  threshold.  As  the 
very  materials  get  taken  down,  unforeseen 
decay  appe.ars,  and  numerous  improvements 
suggest  themselves.  The  alterations  to 
Madame  Patti's  house  seems  to  have  assumed 
the  proportions  of  a  rebuilding,  while  only  a 
small  part  of  the  old  structure  remained. 
It  appears  that  the  defendant  employed 
Mr.  Joseph  Cook  Rees,  a  builder,  to  make 
certain  additions  to  her  residence,  a  small 
castle  known  as  Craig-y-Xos,  in  the  county 
of  Breoonshire.  The  old  castle  was  incon- 
venient and  small,  and  the  defendant, 
through  her  agent,  Mr.  Peck,  of  29,  Gray's 
Inn-square,  entered  into  a  contract  with 
Mr.  Rees,  bywhich  the  latter'engaged  to  do 
certain  work  for  the  sum  of  £4,2j0.  Under 
the  contract,  certain  provisions  were  made 
for  extra  works,  and  as  to  the  terms  by  which 
these  were  to  be  paid  for ;  though  what 
these  terms  really  were  we  have  not  heard, 
beyond  the  condition  that  no  "  extras  ''  were 
to  be  performed  ■\\-ithout  Mr.  Peck's  written 
order.  The  work,  which  consisted  under 
the  contract  of  the  addition  of  two  wings, 
and  other  buildings,  besides  stables,  was 
ultimately  completed,  and  a  bill  sent  in  for 
extras,  which  considerably  exceeded  the 
contract  sum,  the  total  claim  being  over 
£14,000.  The  defendant  paid  £8,43.3  into 
court,  and  refused  to  pay  more,  and  the 
action  was  brought  to  recover  the  sum  of 
£2,500,  which,  it  appears,  had  been  assigned 
by  Rees  to  the  plaintiff  (Mr.  Heard),  a 
timber-merchant,  who  supplied  him  with 
material.  These  are  the  main  facts  of  the 
case  as  they  appear.  The  pleas  urged  in 
defence  seem  plausible  enough,  while  the 
counter-claim  set  up  by  the  defendant, 
under  an  agreement  made  last  Ifarch,  by 
which  Rees  undertook  to  finish  the  work 
by  a  certain  date,  or  in  default  pay  a 
certain  fine  per  day.  woiJd  appear  to  be  a 
cogent  answer  to  the  claim.  On  the  other 
side,  it  appears  from  the  evidence,  and  was 
uncontradicted  at  the  trial,  that  constant 
alterations  were  made  by  the  defendant 
herself  (which,  if  true,  would  go  a  long  way 
to  upset  any  agreement  that  had  been 
entered  into),  and  various  pavments  were 
made.  Then  we  find  that  Mr.  Peck,  a 
gentleman  who  appears  to  have  acted  in  the 
capacity  of  architect,  was  to  become  sole 
arbitrator  in  case  of  dispute.  Payments 
were  made  on  his  certificates  to  a  certain 
amount,   when    a   Mr.    Herbert    Gye    was 


appointed  by  the  defendant  to  supersede 
him.  This  gentleman  seems  to  have  dis- 
puted much  that  had  already  been  paid  for  ; 
but  we  find  a  payment  was  made  by  him  of 
£2,000  in  March,  to  Heard.  Looking  at 
these  rather  contlicting  facts,  and  in  the 
absence  of  further  definite  details,  we  are 
at  some  loss  to  see  on  what  ground  a  refusal 
to  pay  the  balance  is  made.  If  a  builder 
gets  the  architect's  final  certificate,  ho  can 
generally  defy  the  employer's  threats,  for  in 
the  eyes  of  the  law  it  is  tantamount  to  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  debt.  It  may  also 
be  borne  in  mind  that  a  stipulation  in  the 
contract  to  the  effect  that  written  orders 
must  be  given  for  extra  work  is  superseded 
by  a  final  certificate  allowing  such  extra 
work,  and  such  certificate  has  been  ndod  to 
be  conclusive. 

But  the  case  is  instructive  not  only  to  the 
architect  and  builder,  but  to  the  public  in 
general,    and  we    may  now  dwell    upon   a 
common    m'sapprehension    of    the    subject 
which  has   misled  some    of   our  daily  con- 
temporaries.    In  the  minds  of  a  great  many 
people  the  word  "  extra  "  conveys  the  idea 
of  money  paid  for  things  that  should  have 
be'n  included  in  the  contract,  but  were,  by 
omission  or  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  archi- 
tect or  biulder,  left  out.     This   definition  is 
perfectly  right  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  the  word 
"  extras  "  is  apt  to  be  used  ambiguously  ;  it 
may  mean,   in  fact,  two  very  distinct   sorts 
of  extras.     In  the  first  place,  it  is  frequently 
used  to  signify  additions  made  by  the  em- 
ployer, which   .are  in    no  sense  to  be   con- 
founded   with  things   omifted   to   be   done 
under  the  contract,  but  which  are  absolutely 
essential  to  the  completeness  of  a  biulding. 
In  another  sense,  and  a  more  just   one,  it 
may  mean  the  latter.     But   it  ought  to  be 
clearly  remembered  that  additions  made  by 
an  order  in  writing,  such  as  those  probably 
were  in  the  case  we  have  mentioned,  are  no 
more  cxtr.is  than  the  addition  of  some  rooms 
or  offices  to  a  house  would  be  after  it  had 
been    in    occupation    for    years.     Yet   the 
public  iTui  away  with  the  notion  that  what- 
ever they  may  pay  for  as  an  (tdlitir.m  to  the 
contract  is  an  extra,  whether  it  is  absolutely  a 
matter  of  personal  convenience   or  taste,  or 
not ;  whereas  the  two  things  are  quite  dis- 
tinct.    It    is   very  possible,    and   indeed   it 
often  happens,  that  these  extras  are  incurred 
from  the    incapacity  of    the    employer    to 
clearly  foresee  and  provide  for  what  he  really 
wants.     Incompetency  to  understand  plans 
and   sections   often  leads  to   extras.     AVhen 
the  house  is  in  progress  the  employer   dis- 
covers  something     different     to    what     he 
expected;  he  perhaps    discovers   something 
missing,    less  height  of  room  or  width   of 
passage,   and   he  forthwith   gives  an   order 
for    the  alteration   or   addition  ;    but  these 
variations    cannot    be    laid   to   the   charge 
of  the  architect ;  they  arise  from   the  want 
of    previous     knowledge    on    the    part    of 
the  employer.     They  may  even  be  suggested 
by  the  builder  in  the  course  of  the  work,  or 
they  may  be  introduced  at  the  fancy  of  the 
owner ;  but  in   neither   case   can  it  be  s.aid 
they  are  due  to  omission  or  neglect  in  draw- 
ing up  the  specification.     The  readiness  of 
the  public  to  blame  the  builder  or  architect 
is  not  surprising,   but  the   remark  we  have 
made  wUl  be  sufficient  to  allay  the  feeling 
which  such  a  lefer  as  that  published  in  the 
Times,  and   signed  "A  Householder,"  may 
crea*e  in  the  minds  of  many  who  have  had 
some  e.'cperience  in  bricks  and  mortir.     It 
is,  at  least,  an  answer  to  the  question  put 
by    "  Hoxiseholdf  r  " — "Why  is    it   that  no 
effort  is  sufficient  to  obtain  accurate  know- 
ledge as  to  what  will  be  the  cost  of  building 
repairing    one's    house?"'      The   writer 
states    his  own    experience    attending    the 
throwing  out  new  windows  in  his  drawing- 
ro^m,  and  snme  alterations   to  hisstibling. 


tions  which  fancy  or  afterthought  may  have 
suggested.  Wo  are  not  told  whether  the 
account  was  disputed  ;  it  m'ght  have  been 
grumbled  at,  but  it  was  paid.  Till  we  hear 
the  facts  on  the  other  sid>",  these  public 
statemen's  are  misleading.  The  article,  com- 
menting oa  "  A  Hou.seholder'.'j  "  experiouce, 
says  tlat  his  "experience  i.^  that  of  thou- 
sands of  others.  Uo  is  evidently  indignant 
that  l;e  cannot,  with  the  exerci-o  of  ordinary 
care  and  intelligence,  bo  euro  wh:it  the 
building;  operations  whiuh  he  orJerod  will 
cost;  that  he  may  find  himself  many  potindx 
out  in  his  calculations,  andtha*,  novertlulesM 
no  one  niU  bo  to  blame."  The  Timit  is  partly 
right  in  the  conclusion  :  itjilainly  t'll.'i  pi  oplo 
not  to  be  their  own  architect ;  but  it  does 
not  guarantee,  even  with  the  aid  of  pr  .fi>8- 
tional  advice,  that  their  interests  wi.l  h. 
adequately  protected.  It  further  o-  it- 
the  architect  is  ina  toordir  what  "  e:v;.,ii 
he  likes.  Tt;e  article  goes  on  to  say  :  "  There 
maybe  serious  and  expensive  m^dificationa 
of  the  plan  as  originally  sanctioned :  they 
may  add  enormously  to  (lie  cost  of  the 
building ;  but,  great  or  small,  costly  or 
cheap,  the  changes  are  extra',  and  thoy 
must  bo  paid  for  by  the  employer,  even  if 
they  double  the  original  c^st ;  and  the  archi- 
tect will  have  his  additional  percentage  on 
the  cost  of  the  extras  which  he  has  chosca 
to  order  without,  in  all  probsb  lily,  coDsalt- 
ing  his  employer.  Xo  more  honourable 
body  of  men  than  architect^  cxi^t.  But 
humanity  is  frail,  €ven  though  it  has  the 
letters  R.I.B.A.  after  it;  as  things  are 
managed,  there  is  a  strong  temptation  not 
to  look  far  ahead,  not  to  cslimato  very 
nicely,  and  to  lend  a  favourable  ear  t)  pro- 
posals that  this  or  that  extra  shmld  be 
allowed."  The  Timei  has  rather  oveistatcd 
the  case.  It  is  not  a  fact  that  an  architect 
can  order  Avhat  extras  he  likes,  and  no 
architect  worth  the  name  would  be  infiuoneed 
by  a  consider.ation  of  his  commission.  The 
first  precaution  against  all  such  misunder- 
standings is  a  carefully-drawn  specification 
which  every  architect  ought  to  bo  able  to 
draw  up  ;  in  fact,  any  omission  on  his  part 
is  a  retlection  on  his  competence.  In  this 
specification  there  should  be  a  clauss  to  the 
effect  that  no  extra  work  is  t)  be  executed 
unless  it  be  ordered  in  writing  by  the  archi- 
tect or  client,  as  the  case  may  be  ;  and  every 
such  order,  when  presented  to  the  contractor, 
should  be  considered  incomplete  without  the 
rendering  of  a  supplemental  estimate  on  the 
part  of  the  builder.  The  latter  coarse  is 
not  generally  followed,  for  tho  conditions 
usually  contain  a  c'ause  to  the  effect  that  all 
additions,  omissions,  or  variations  so  ordered 
are  to  be  measured  and  valued  aceiorJing  to 
a  schedule  of  prices  annexed,  and  in  caiesof 
day-work,  vouchers  are  delivered  to  the 
architect  or  clerk  of  work;. 

We  cannot  at  present  say,  without  know- 
ing the  special  provisions  of  the  contract, 
how  far  these  remai-ks  are  applicable  to  the 
case  dcfenied  by  Madame  Putti ;  we  do  not 
know  how  the  clauses  were  drawn  up  :  nil 
we  kno5V  is  that  no  extras  we-o  to  bo  exe- 
cuted without  Mr.  Peck's  written  order.  It 
is  also  clear  several  orders  for  extras  must 
have  been  given  to  bring  the  am  'unt  to  the 
sum  it  has  reached.  The  question,  of  course, 
mav  be  :  Were  these  orders  g  ven  with 
Ma'dame  Patti's  sanct'on  :  If  ihey  were  (and 
we  presume  eo),  can  the  public  be  su  prLuvl 
toher  th.at  the  extras  entirely  s.vainped 
the  contract  ?  We  presume,  of  cv.r^e.  that 
the  extras  were  measured  and  vahivl  a.vnrd- 
in"  to  a  schedule,  or  at  fair  price.",  and  we 
mSst  further  believe  thot  they  w.ro  for 
thin-rs  the  specification  did  not  con' am.  It 
was  Impossible  for  the  jury  nt  Sw.an«ei  to 
investigate  the  intricacies  of  the  builder » 
account  without  going  minutely  int)  the 
contract,  as  it  is  nscessary  to  prove  what  w 


He  says  the  estimate  was  £oO,  but  the  actu.al  included  in  it  m  the  hrst  ph.n.  .It  "P" 
cost  was  about  £100  ;buthecarefullv  avoids  pears  the  extra  work  h.s  be-n  "WTO^'P 
mention   of  alterations  made,  or  aiiy  addi-  |  with  the  contract,  though    it  is  not  clear 


174 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


whether  separate  agreements  treie  entered 
into  for  its  couipletii.n.  Of  course,  such  a 
complication  of  work,  unless  the  original 
conditions  embraced  alterations,  would  pre- 
vent M»dame  Putti  suing  for  penalties  for 
non-completion,  and  the  issue  if  the  matter 
would  be  reduced  simjily  to  a  question  of  a 
fair  admeasurement  of  the  work  claimed  for. 
The  bare  statement  of  the  facts  of  the  case 
are  qui'e  formidable  enough,  \\'ithout  the 
comments  which  have  appeared  in  the 
columns  of  our  contemporaries.  It  appears, 
indeed,  almost  impossible  that  a  btuse  con- 
tracted for  to  cost  a  little  over  £4,000  could 
actually  cost  nearly  £10,000  more  ;  but  we 
must  not  be  led  away  by  the  figures.  Fcr 
augiit  we  know,  the  original  plans  may  have 
been  doubled  ;  numerous  alterations  may 
have  been  ma'le  as  the  work  proceeded,  and 
the  sum  claiiued  may  be  for  a  residence  that 
cannot  be  compared  with  the  romantic  but 
rickety  old  castle  which  the  contractor 
imdertook  to  restore  under  his  original 
agi'eement. 


THE  EEPOET  OF  THE  WATEE  SUPPLY 
COMMITTEE. 

THE  rejjort  of  the  Select  Committee  on  the 
Water  Supply  of  London,  of  which  we 
gave  an  abstract  last  week,  and  which  has 
since  been  presented  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, is  fairly  satisfactorj'  as  far  as  it  goes, 
but  does  not,  in  our  opinion,  go  far  enough  ; 
and, moreover, lacks  certain  information  which 
it  might  reasonably  have  been  expected  to 
supply.  The  committee,  for  instance,  was 
directed  to  find  out  whether  the  claims  of 
the  water  companies  were  well-founded  on 
past  legislation  or  not,  but  the  committee 
has  not  troubled  itself  with  the  subject  at 
aU,  nor  with  the  cognate  and  equally  im- 
portant one  embracing  the  powers  under 
which  the  companies  conduct  their  business. 
Mention  is  made,  indeed,  of  "  the  improvi- 
dent legislation  of  the  past,"  and  the 
intolerable  state  of  things,  so  far  as  the 
public  are  concerned,  which  exists  if  the 
claims  of  the  companies  are  capable  of  being 
maintained ;  but  this  has  been  a  foregone 
conclusion  long  ago,  and  most  people,  we 
fancy,  looked  to  the  report  of  the  committee 
for  some  information,  which,  if  not  reassur- 
ing, w  uld  at  least  have  indicated  in  some 
degree  the  real  nature  of  the  bonds  in  which 
we  are  shackled  by  the  water  companies. 
Many  more  people,  too,  expected  that  Par- 
liament would  have  been  informed  by  the 
committee  how  far  it  might  be  desirable  to 
limit  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  present 
powers  of  the  water  companies  to  levy  rates 
and  rents.  The  revaluation  for  rating  and 
taxing  purposes  which  takes  jjlace  this  year, 
and  of  which  the  water  companies  are  going 
to  take  the  full  advantage,  was  urged  on  Sir 
Eichard  Cross  as  a  reason  for  hastening 
legislation.  It  is  true  the  late  Home  Secre- 
tary invited  the  ratepayers  to  raise  the 
question  of  the  legality  of  the  projjosed 
increase  in  the  law-courts,  but  those  rate- 
payers who  are  not  enamoured  of  the 
prospect  of  fighting  such  giant  corporations 
single-handed,  and  who  looked  to  the  Select 
Committee — as  we  believe  the  majority  of 
them  did  look^for  indications  of  probable 
protection  against  the  proposed  extortion, 
will  not  unreasonabl}'  be  disappointed.  So 
much  for  what  the  Select  Commit 'ec  has 
not  done  ;  what  it  has  accomplished  is  fairly 
satisfactory.  It  disposes  once  and  for  all 
of  Sir  Eichard  Cross's  provisional  agree- 
anents,  and  leaves  the  matter  just  where  it 
was  twelve  months  since,  with  the  exception 
that  a  recommendation  made  long  ago  by 
similar  Select  Committees,  for  placing  the 
whole  of  the  London  water  supply  under  a 
single  management, is  revived  as  atempoi'ary 
expedient  "  in  the  abseirce  of  any  single 
municipal  body  to  which  these  functions 
could  be  coramitted."     Without    venturing 


absolutely  to  describe  the  composition  of 
such  a  bod}',  the  committee  is  of  opinion 
that  it  shoidd  include  members  of  the  Cor- 
]joration  of  London  and  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works,  together  with  a  due  repre- 
sentation of  the  districts  at  present  supplied 
by  companies  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
above-named  pubUc  bodies  —  such  as  the 
Kent  company,  for  instance,  which  supplies 
the  best  water  brought  to  London,  but  also 
supplies  it  to  towns  so  far  from  the  metro- 
polis as  to  render  it  very  improbable  that 
they  would  consent  to  be  placed  under  the 
control  of  the  City  of  London,  the  Board  of 
Works,  or  any  other  purely  metropolitan 
bodj'.  On  such  a  representative  body  as  the 
committee  suggest  shoidd  be  formed,  ought, 
in  their  opinion,  to  devolve  the  responsibility 
of  determining  questions  affecting  the 
source,  nature,  and  price,  of  the  Metropoli- 
tiui  water  supply  of  the  futui-e.  The 
recommendations  of  the  committee  with 
regard  to  tha  constitution  of  the  proposed 
water  authority  are  really  of  the  vaguest 
possible  desciiption.  "  Various  courses 
might  be  adopted."  This  we  all  knew  long 
ago,  but  it  was  hoped  that  the  committee 
might  be  able  to  indicate  more  definitely 
which  course  would  probably  be  the  best, 
and  that  Parliament  might  have  been  able 
to  recommend  to  the  newly-created  Water 
Trust  that  com'se  for  adoption.  If  the  first 
duty  of  the  new  authority  is  to  be  to  "  ma- 
tiirehj  examine  "  whether  regulation  of  the 
existing  companies  as  in  the  case  of  the  gas 
supply,  or  the  introduction  of  a  fresh  water 
supply  altogethef,  or  the  purchase  of  the 
existing' undertaking  is  preferable,  we  must 
bid  farewell  to  anj-  expectations  of  speedy 
deliverance  from  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
water  companies  or  any  hope  of  an  improved 
suppl)'.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  hardly 
fair  to  expect  any  Government,  Liberal  or 
Conservative,  to  risk  its  existence  on  a 
measure  which  is,  after  all,  a  local  one — 
though  the  locality  is  so  vast  as  to  render  its 
necessities  far  more  imperative  and  important 
than  manj-  others  of  an  imperial  character. 
If  London  had,  as  it  ought  to  have  had  lung 
ago,  a  single  governing  body  capable  of 
dealing  boldly  and  economically  with  such 
questions  —  subject,  of  course,  to  the  final 
sanction  or  disapproval  of  Parliament — 
Londoners  would  not  have  had  to  be  ashamed 
many  times  over  of  their  position  as  regards 
gas,  water,  and  a  score  of  other  matters 
compared  with  th.at  enjoyed  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  many  a  tentb-rate  provincial  town. 
London,  however,  has  not,  and  will  not, 
have  just  yet,  such  a  governing  body.  If, 
therefore,  the  present  Home  Secretary, 
undeterred  by  the  failure  of  his  predecessor, 
sees  his  way  to  disregard  the  very  permissive 
character  of  the  Water  Committee's  recom- 
mendations, and  with  the  advice  of  competent 
lawyers  and  engineers  to  formulate  a  new 
scheme  for  consideration  next  session,  he 
would  earn  the  g-  atitude  of  every  Londoner 
— except,  ijerchance,  holders  of  water  stock. 
The  preliminarj'  to  tlie  preparation  of  such  a 
measure  should  be  to  ascertain  exactly  what 
the  legal  position  of  the  water  companies  is, 
and  then  either  to  insist  on  compulsory  pur- 
chase at  fair  terms,  or,  if  this  is  found  im- 
possible, to  go  in  at  once  for  a  frtsh  and 
independent  supply.  Practically,  this  last 
coiu-se  must  be  adopted  before  many  years 
elapse :  it  might  almost  as  well  be  imder- 
taken  at  once. 


CHATEAUX    OP    THE   LOIRE. 
[with  litho.  illustrations.] 
By  Edwin  Sewakd,  A.E.I.B  A. 
HIS  paper   is  founded   on  some  rough 
notes  of  a  short  tour  in  the  South  and 
West  of  France,  which  I  made  last  summer. 
We  will  suppose  our  rou'e  to  commence  at 
Bordeaux,  and  from  that  city  we  sail  down 
the  broad  Garonne,  70  miles  to  its  mouth  in 


T 


the  Bay  of  Biscay.  Green  vineyards  fringe 
the  riicr-banks,  and  cover  the  level  country 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  giving  place  .at 
intervals  to  the  white-washed  houses  of 
villages  and  small  towns,  or  to  the  rugged 
mass  of  a  fortress,  as  at  Blaye,  where  one  of 
the  green  islands  which  are  so  frequent  in 
the  river,  bears  a  grim  burden  of  dark 
masonrj',  glistening'  with  the  shining 
muzzles  of  cannon.  After  its  confluence 
with  the  Dordoone,  the  liver  expands  into 
the  Gironde,  and  a  few  hours  bring  us  to 
the  Great  Cordouan  lighthouse,  buUt  high 
above  yellow  sands  at  its  mouth.  Follow- 
ing the  coast-line  to  the  northward,  we  get 
a  distant  view  of  La  t'ochelle— a  picture  of 
quaint  towers  and  white  walls,  stretching 
along  the  level  shore.  Soon  after  we  enter 
the  river  Charente,  and  following  its  wind- 
ings past  villages  and  windmills,  we  at 
length  arrive  at  Eochefort,  which  is, 
although  a  dull  sleepy  to'wn,  one  of  the  chief 
naval  arsenals  of  France.  We  leave  Eoche- 
fort by  the  railway,  which  rims  through 
league  after  league  of  level  vineyard — 
through  the  heart  of  the  monotonous 
Charente  wine  district — to  Poitiers,  a  pictur- 
esque old  town,  which  lonks  down  on  the 
flat  counti-y  from  the  top  of  a  steep  hill, 
bristling  with  ruined  towers  and  tall  spires. 
Here,  in  the  narrow  streets,  are  many  charm- 
ing "  bits  "  of  ancient  building,  any  one  of 
which  would  well  repay  examination,  and 
stUl  more  would  the  wonderfid  old  church 
of  Notre  Dame,  the  Cathedral,  the  celebrated 
Palais  de  Justice,  with  its  vast  and  curious 
fire-places,  or  any  of  the  ten  or  twelve 
churches  which  rear  themselves  above  the 
tiled  roofs  of  this  very  ancient  city,  whose 
past  history  is  of  equal  interest  with  its  pre- 
sent quarntness. 

From  Poitiers,  a  ride  of  two  hours  by 
rail  takes  us  to  Tours,  the  pecidiar  tall  towers 
at  the  western  end  of  the  Cathedral  being 
visible  for  many  miles  across  the  dusty  plain 
which  lies  around.  In  this  beautiful  sun- 
lit town  we  could  well  afford  to  sit  quietly 
down  and  enjoy  the  rich  and  well-varied 
architectural  beauties  which  abound  in  nearly 
every  street;  but  as  yet  we  have  barely 
arrived  at  the  commencement  of  our  actual 
work,  and  we,  therefore,  cacn  t  afford  to 
pause  until  passing  the  tidl  front  of  the 
Cathedral  and  a  gloomy  castle  beyond.  At 
length  we  find  ourselves  on  a  tine  stone 
bridge,  which  spans  the  wide  Loire. 

Looking  eastward,  up  the  stream,  a  broad 
landscape  of  green  trees  and  sandy  vine- 
yards lies  before  us  bordering  the  river- 
banks.  This  is  the  district  which  we  are 
about  to  explore,  and  here  we  are  within  a 
few  miles  of  those  great  historical  castles 
wbich  add  such  an  interest  to  this  particular 
neighboui'hood,  and  which  form  the  subject 
of  this  paper  :  several  indeed  are  just  visible 
in  the  distance  from  the  tops  of  the  Cathe- 
dral towers. 

But  before  examining  any  one  of  them  in 
particular,  it  is  desirable  to  preface  the  de- 
tails with  a  few  remarks  on  Cbateaux  iu 
general. 

The  castles  of  France  are  a  class  of  build- 
ings possessing  a  strongly  marked  character 
of  their  own,  distinct  from  anything  in 
architectm-al  art  to  be  found  elsewhere. 

During  the  earlier  middle  ages,  castles 
throughout  Europe  had  general  points  of 
resemblance,  both  as  to  arrangement  and 
appearance  ;  but  later,  the  feudalism  of 
various  countries  gradually  developed  a  style 
peculi.ar  to  each.  In  England,  no  very  great 
progress  in  stj'le  was  ever  made  bej'ond  that 
of  the  massive  square  or  round  towers,  with 
narrow  loopholes  and  embattled  parapets, 
such  as  were  to  be  seen  at  Caerphilly  or 
Chepstow,  for  at  a  comparatively  early  stage 
of  our  history  the  feudal  castle  had  come  to 
be  represented  by  the  fortified  country- 
house  and  the  moated  grange.  But  ia 
France,  one  of  the  great  principles  of 
Feudalism,  a  hard  and  fast   distinction  be- 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


175 


tweeu  the  upper  and  lower  classes,  remained 
in  force  much  longer,  and  thus  when  the 
barons  and  merchants  of  England  -neie 
building  Gothic  manor-houses  and  Tudor 
mansions,  the  kings  and  seigneurs  of  France 
were  rearing  on  the  slopes  of  the  Loire 
valley  and  elsewhere  those  great  fortress - 
palaces  which,  with  her  unequalled  cathe- 
drals, remain  to  show  what  must  have  been 
the  splendour  and  power  of  France  in 
Mediicval  times. 

A  castle,  whether  rising  from  the  border 
of  a  Scotch  lake,  crowning  some  steep  hill 
above  an  English  river  or  Welsh  valley,  or 
perched  on  a  crag  overhanging  the  Ehine, 
generally  suggests  the  idea  of  a  picturesque 
mass  of  crumbling  walls,  half-hiJden  by 
foliage,  where  gatehouse  and  keep  have  lain 
for  generations,  rojfless,  and  open  to  winter 
frost  and  summer  sun.  This  aspect  of  decay 
in  that  which  was  once  so  formidable, 
possesses  a  certain  interest  and  beauty  ;  but 
the  pioturesqueness  of  the  French  chateaux 
is  of  quite  a  different  order,  for  in  spite  of 
time,  and  the  storms  of  battle  and  revolution 
which  have  swept  against  them,  they  are,  as  a 
rule,  still  in  good  r<  pair,  and  often  inhabited. 
The  original  casements  still  swing  in  the 
mullioned  windows,  the  sculpture  of  four 
hundred  years  ago  decorates  the  great  stone 
towers,  and  these  retain  their  conical  roofs 
and  bristling  iron  finials. 

The  conical-roofed  towers,  usually  cir- 
ciilar,  are  one  of  the  striking  peculiarities  of 
the  French  castles.  Generally,  they  are 
great  structures  built  up  from  the  ground, 
as  at  Cbaumont  and  Chambord ;  in  other 
and  later  examples,  as  at  Chenonceaux  and 
Azay-le-Eideau,  they  are  corbelled  forward 
from  the  angle  of  the  building,  or  from  the 
face  of  the  wall.  This  corbelling  is  usually 
managed  with  very  great  taste  as  to  design, 
and  the  corbel  is  in  itself  a  loading  feature 
of  the  style,  whether  used  for  aiding  defen- 
sive purposes,  or  merely  as  an  ornament. 

Good  specimens  of  it  are  seen  at  Chau- 
mont,  Azay-le-Rideau,  and  Pierrefonds, 
where  galleries  which  encircle  the  tops  of 
the  great  towers  are  built  forward  on 
corbels.  Use  is  also  made  of  this  feature  in 
the  entrance  tt  Chenonceaux,  where  a  pair 
of  corbels  form  a  rich  balcony  above  the 
doorway.  They  are  chieflj'  used,  however, 
at  the  tops  of  the  towers,  and  are  enriched, 
or  simple  and  massive,  according  to  the  age 
io  which  they  were  designed.  A  good 
example  of  this  tower  corbelling  is  to  be  seen 
in  England,  and  the  idea  of  it  was  perhaps 
suggested  by  the  French  chateaux.  I  refer 
to  the  new  angle  tower  of  Cardiff  Castle. 
But  the  best  example  extant  is  to  be  seen  at 
the  Chateau  of  Pierrefonds,*  near  Paris. 
This  magnificent  building  was  purchased  by 
the  First  Napoleon  for  £108,  and  £200,000 
have  since  been  expended  on  its  restora- 
tion. 

Amboise  is  the  first  chateau  we  visit  after 
leaving  Tours  ;  it  is  about  fifteen  miles  by 
rail  from  that  city,  and  it  stands  on  a  rock 
high  above  the  Loire.  From  t  he  level  of  the 
valley,  two  great  towers,  each  nearly  oOft. 
in  diameter,  are  carried  up  to  the  level  of  the 
rocky  platform  on  which  the  chateau  is 
built.  They  contain  passages,  which  ascend 
in  cork-screw  fashion,  the  slope  of  which  is 
so  gradual,  and  the  width  so  great,  that 
horses  and  carriages  can  be  driven  up  them 
to  the  summit  of  the  rock.  These  great 
staircases  without  stairs  (for  such  in  effect 
they  really  are)  are  elaborately  vaulted  in 
stone,  with  bits  of  rich  carving  peeping  out 
beneath  corbels,  and  at  the  intersections  of 
vaulting  ribs.  The  spot  now  occupied  by 
the  castle  was  once  an  encampment  of  Julius 
Cffisar,  and  some  caverns  still  seen  in  the 
sandy  rock  are  said  to  have  been  used  as 
granaries  by  his  soldiers. 


A.  sketch  in  the  conrtyar.J  of  Pierrefonds,  a^  restored 
6y  the  late  il.  ViuUet-le-Duc,  was  repioduced  from  that 
»Khitect' s  drawing  in  the  Briuirec.  News,  Dec.  19, 1879. 


Much  of  the  older  part  of  the  Chateau  has 
disappeared,  but  enough  remains  to  make 
this  one  of  the  most  remarkable  spots  in  the 
whole  of  France. 

The  tower  parapets  overhang  a  precipice  ; 
and  from  these  parapets  a  magnificent  view 
can  be  had  both  up  and  down  the  river,  the 
great  breadth  of  which  is  broken  here  and 
there  by  long,  wooded  islands— quite  a  usual 
feature  in  the  French  rivers.  Straight 
underneath  lie  the  streets  and  house-roofs  of 
the  quaint  old  town,  which  seem  to  be 
peacefully  dozing  in  the  sunshine.  How 
unlike  to  that  day  when  those  very  streets 
streamed  with  blood,  and  when  the  Water 
of  the  Loire  itself  is  said  to  have  turned  red  I 
This  was  in  1560,  at  the  time  of  the  religious 
wars  of  France,  which  were  ushered  in  by 
the  following  incident  at  this  place : — A 
Huguenot  plot  to  rescue  from  the  charge  of 
the  Due  de  Guise  the  young  King  Francis 
II.  was  betrayed,  and  1,200  of  the  con- 
spirators were  taken  into  the  streets  below 
the  Castle  walls  and  beheaded.  This 
slaughter  was  witnessed  from  a  balcony  in 
front  of  the  Castle  by  Catherine  de  Medicis, 
hor  three  sons,  afterwards  kings  of  France, 
and  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  who  were  dressed 
in  court  costume.  Space  will  not  allow  me  to 
do  more  than  allude  to  the  little  chapel— a 
perfect  gem  of  Late  Gothic  architecture  — 
which  is  built  on  the  summit  of  a  great 
masonry  buttress,  springing  from  the  valley 
below  the  Castle. 

A  pleasant  drive  of  a  dozen  miles  through 
the  forest  of  Amboise,  and  up  the  vallej'  of 
the  Cher,  brings  us  to  Chenonceaux — a 
veritable  chateau,  complete,  and  all  erected 
at  about  the  same  period. 

Perhaps,  considered  as  a  building,  this  is 
the  most  picturesque  of  all,  for  the  whole 
castle,  or  rather  mansion,  is  built  on  a 
bridge,  partly  the  foundation  of  an  old  mill, 
which  stretches  across  the  Cher.  Corbelled 
turrets  and  balconies,  elaborate  dormers, 
"chisel-backed"  roofs,  and  gorgeous  iron 
finials  are  seen  here  in  native  perfection. 
Strange  to  say,  the  Eevolution,  which  else- 
where ■\%Tought  such  a  work  of  ruin  and 
plunder,  spared  this  beautiful  old  house 
and  its  contents ;  a  circumstance  which  is 
said  to  be  due  to  the  good  feeling  held  by 
the  people  towards  the  lady  occupying  it  at 
the  time.  The  interior  has  accordingly 
been  preserved  almost  without  alteration, 
and  the  old  rooms  are  still  decorated  with 
their  quaintly  -  carved  furniture,  stained 
glass,  rich  tapestries,  old  china,  enamels, 
paintings,  &c.,  even  to  the  original  books  on 
the  shelves  of  the  library.  There  are  many 
interesting  associations  connected  with 
Chenunceaux:  that  great  art-lover  Fr.ancis  I., 
the  fomider  of  the  Louvre,  lived  here,  and 
the  mirror  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  who 
came  here  as  a  bride,  is  still  sh  '«-n.  The 
house  was  given  by  Henri  II.,  of  France,  to 
Diana  of  Poitiers  as  a  residence,  but  on  his 
death  it  was  seized  by  his  wife,  Catherine  de 
Medicis,  whose  bedroom,  with  its  old  fu-ni- 
ture,  remains  nearly  untouched.  To  Madame 
Dupiu,  who  possessed  it  during  the  Eevolu- 
tion, Eousseau,  Yoltaire,  and  others,  the 
most  eminent  literary  men  of  France  during 
last  century,  were  constant  visitors :  and  at 
Chenonceaux  many  a  French  play  and  poem 
is  said  to  have  had  its  origin. 

Cbaumont  is  the  next  point  of  interest 
after  leaving  Amboise.  The  favourite  i)0si- 
tion — that  of  a  high  cliff  above  the  river — 
has  again  been  chosen  for  the  Chateau. 
Miles  of  green  liver-bank  and  sandy  river- 
bed can  be  seen  from  the  woods  around  the 
castle,  for  the  Loire,  though  one  of  the 
broad  rivers  of  Europe,  often  in  summer 
has  not  so  much  water  as  can  generally  be 
seen  in  our  river  Taff.  But  the  reverse  of 
this  is  the  case  in  winter,  when,  in  spite  of 
high  levees  or  dykes  forming  artificial  banks 
along  the  river-sides  for  some  hundreds  of 
miles,  the  rivi-r  sometimes  lays  the  whole 
surrounding  country  under  water.     About 


forty  years  ago,  a  whole  fleet  of  boats  waesent 
from  Paris  with  provisions  to  succmr  the 
peojjlo  of  this  district  who  bad  Leon  ren- 
dered houseless  by  the  floods. 

The  Chateau  of  Chuumont  is  entered  by  a 
drawbridge  flanked  by  two  of  the  typical 
round  towers,  the  Mtdiaval  machiiicry  of 
portcullis  and  drawbridge  being  still  in  use. 
The  furniture  and  old  taj^strj-,  a  largo 
aniount  of  fine  old  potterj-,  and  cut  glaas, 
with  ancient  domestic  oniaments,  arc  pre- 
served in  the  towers,  and  the  scarlet  hat  of 
Cardinal  George  d'Amboisc,  bom  at  this 
place  and  minister  of  Franco  under  Louis 
XII. ,  is  still  hung  in  the  chapel. 

It  was  for  this  gloomy  castle  that  Catherine 
de  Medicis  compelled  Diami  cf  Poitiers  to 
exchange  her  pretty  Chateau  of  Chenonceaux 
on  the  death  of  Henri  II. 

The  eastern  end  of  the  chapel  is  d.coratcd 
with  some  ancient  Mediicval  paiiifinps  on 
panel,  which  are  especially  interctiiig  both 
from  their  worth  as  specimens  of  ancient  art, 
and  from  their  historical  value. 

On  a  hot  summer's  day  no  more  desirable 
a  retreat  could  be  found  than  the  courtyard 
of  the  castle.  In  front  stretches  the  broad 
sunlit  landscape  of  winding  river  and  dis- 
tant vineyards,  and  on  all  other  sides  lies 
the  cool  shadow  of  the  areado,  ami  of  the 
great  building  which  towers  above  it. 

Perhaps  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Cha- 
teux  is  that  of  Blois,*  which  we  visit  after 
leaving  Chaumont.  Some  of  the  early  ar- 
chitecture of  France,  as  well  as  some  of  the 
latest,  with  specimens  of  the  work  of  all 
intervening  periods,  make  up  this  great 
pile  of  buildings.  The  main  front  is  chiefly 
of  red  brick,  and  is  one  of  the  earliest  ex- 
amples extant  of  a  Gothic  design  erected 
with  that  material.  Much  of  the  work  in 
this  front  is  elaborately  gilded  and  deco- 
rated, especially  around  an  equestrian 
statue  of  the  young  Louis  XII.,  in  whose 
reign  this  wing  was  built,  which  stands  in 
a  rich  arch  above  the  entrance.  The  suites 
of  rooms  are  gorgeously  decorated,  jiarticu- 
larly  the  chimney-iiicces,  the  whole  of  the 
castle  having  been  carefully  restored  within 
the  last  twelve  ye.ars,  strictly  in  accordance, 
as  far  as  it  can  be,  with  ancient  precedent. 
In  the  upper  part  of  the  entrance  front  is  a 
most  interesting  Museum,  chiefly  of  Works 
of  Art,  and  a  good  gallery  of  paintings. 
The  various  wings  inclose  a  great  courtyard, 
and,  on  entering  this,  the  attention  is  at 
once  riveted  by  the  excessive  richness  of  a 
vast  pile  whi -h  rises  on  the  right ;  this  is  the 
Francis  I.  building,  the  most  gorgeous 
specimen  of  Early  Renaissance  architecture 
in  France;  indeed,  it  is  not  sui passed  by 
anything  of  its  kind  in  Europe.  From  the 
front  of  It  projects  the  celebrated  staircase, 
open  to  the  air,  and  covered  both  on  the  ex- 
terior and  interior  with  sculpture,  so  deli- 
cate as  to  resemble  fine  ivory  earring.  A 
corresponding  richness  of  decoration  extends 
to  the  interior  of  these  rooms  also,  the 
original  patterns  of  stamped  leather,  and  of 
the  carved  dados,  being  reproduce*!  on  the 
waUs. 

Splendid  as  these  apartments  are,  • 
feeling  of  gloom  seems  to  pervade  them, 
perhaps  on  account  of  the  drea^lful  deeds 
which  darken  the  history  of  this  great 
building,  and  of  which  constant  remindcra 
are  eve^'whcre  seen.  By  a  plot  of  Catherine 
de  Med'icis,  the  Due  de  Guise  and  hia 
brother.  Cardinal  de  Lorraine,  wor^  enticed 
from  Paris  to  take  part  in  aconferei.ee  here. 
Soon  after  their  arrival,  the  Dukr.  being 
sent  for  bv  the  King,  passed  through  a 
doorway,  still  shown  to  the  visitor,  b  hinel 
which  were  concealed  more  than  forty  of 
the  King's  gentlemen-in-waiting  ;  each  of 
these  assassins  delivered  his  blow,  and  their 


reproduction  ff  Mr.  . 
Loire,"  D««.  45, 18H. 


176 


THE    BUILDIiS^G    NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


victim  fell,  pierced  with  as  many  dag-gers. 
Prayers  were  at  the  moment  being  ottered 
up  for  the  success  of  this  plot,  iu  the  chapel 
close  at  hand.  The  Cardinal  was  murdered 
the  next  day  in  a  vault  under  another  part 
of  the  Castle.  The  outer  side  of  this  wing 
oveihangs  a  precipice,  and  much  of  this 
front  is  also  painted  and  gilded.  In  one  of 
the  upper  rooms  Queen  Marie  de  Medicis 
was  imprisoned  by  her  son,  Louis  XIII.  ; 
she  contrived  to  escape,  letting  herself  down 
by  a  rope  from  one  of  the  windows.  The 
upper  end  of  the  courtyard  was  erected  by 
Gaston,  Due  d'Orleans,  from  designs  by 
Mansard ;  it  is  quite  out  of  harmony  with 
the  other  parts  of  the  Chateau.  The  left 
side  of  the  quadi-angle  is  formed  by  the 
chapel ;  beyond  rises  an  old  tower,  iu  the 
upper  part  of  which  was  the  observatory  of 
Catherine  de  Medicis,  where  she  spent  mxich 
of  her  time  plotting  and  scheming,  and  con- 
sulting the  stars  with  the  astrologer.  She 
died  a  raving  lunatic  at  Blois,  a  few  days 
after  the  execution  of  those  plots  pre'saously 
referred  to,  of  which  she  was  the  instigator. 

The  city  of  Blois  surrounds  the  Chateau, 
sloping  down  a  steep  ridge  to  the  river- 
bank. 

It  contains  an  interesting  Cathedral,  a 
large  number  of  churches,  and  many  fine 
old  houses.  But  any  particular  description 
of  these — of  the  old  City  of  Orleans,  or  of 
the  noble  Cathedral  of  Chartres,  both  of 
which  lie  in  our  route  for  Paris — is  not 
within  the  limits  of  oui-  subject,  and,  as  the 
aforesaid  route,  after  leaving  Blois,  takes  us 
into  a  fresh  district,  we  have  there  seen  the 
last  of  the  Chateaux  of  the  Loire. 


AN  EXPERIMENT  IN  ACOrSTICS. 

I  AST  Saturday  afternoon  an  interesting 
J  acoustical  experiment  took  place  in  the 
jiremists  of  Mr.  A.  C.  Engert,  of  the  City-road, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  show  how  sound  may 
be  propagated  and  improved  by  the  use  of  steel 
plates  and  wires.  Last  week  we  gave  a  rcudne 
cf  Mr.  Engert's  plan,  and  we  are  now  enabled 
to  speak  with  more  confidence  of  the  method 
adopted,  beheving  that  the  principle  is  capable 
of  being  developed  and  applied  to  the  improve- 
ment of  soimd  iu  buildings  not  properly  planned 
for  that  purpose.  With  all  our  practical  science 
and  architectural  progress,  it  seems  almost  im- 
Ijossible  for  our  best  architecjs  to  design  a  hall 
or  a  concert-room  that  is  faii'ly  perfect  as 
regards  sound  ;  even  those  who  have  set 
themselves  to  solve  the  problem,  unham- 
pered by  other  necessities,  have  failed  iu 
the  attempt,  as  that  great  failure,  in  so  many 
respects,  the  ^Vlbert  Hall  itself,  affords  a  proof. 
The  old  adage  is  exemplified  in  this  as  in  many 
other  matters,  that  an  ounce  of  fact  is  worth  a 
ton  of  theory.  Mr.  Engert  has  been  a  student 
of  the  subject  for  forty  years,  and  he  seems  to 
have  tested  every  step  by  experiment.  Those 
T\-ho  visited  the  late  Building  Exhibition  at  the 
Agricidtural  Hall  at  IsHngton  may  remember 
the  stall  which  this  gentleman  had  fitted  up,  in 
which  was  placed  a  piano,  having  several  steel 
plates  hung  behmd  it  for  the  pm-pose  of  showing 
how  the  notes  of  the  instrument  were  increased 
in  volume  and  richness.  Many  who  had  the 
curicsity  to  enter  the  stall  expressed  some  doubt 
■ibout  the  matter,  till  it  was  clearly  proved  to  them 
that  the  plates  did  really  magnify  the  sound,  and 
that  the  instrument  played  without  their  assist- 
ance was  wantiug  in  tone  and  richness.  Eutthis 
experiment  was  hardly  practical  in  its  results. 
People  did  not  care  to  order  a  lot  of  rough  steel- 
plates  straight  off,  to  hang  behind  their  costly 
drawing-room  pianoforte.  Since  then,  Mr. 
Engert  has  been  busily  engaged  perfecting  his 
theory,  and  he  now  has  introduced  an  improve- 
ment in  the  shape  of  steel  wires,  which  are  less 
unsightly,  and  can  be  applied  to  rooms  of  all 
shapes.  By  the  use  of  the  plates  or  wires,  arti- 
ficial resonance  is  obtained,  and  further  every 
soimd  becomes  fuller  and  richer;  the  speaker 
finds  he  can  use  less  voice  to  produce  the  same 
c  ft'ect,  and  his  efforts  to  make  himself  heard, 
being  reduced,  are  rendered  less  harsh. 

Now,  architects  usually  endeavour  to  obtain 
this  desu-ab!e  result  in  a  concert  or  lectture-hall 
by  using  linings  of  wood,  soimding-boards,  and 


reilectors ;  and  pine  wood  is  knonn  to  be  a 
valuable  material  for  this  piupose,  as  sound 
travels  in  it  four  times  quicker  than  in  air;  but 
unfortunately  a  well-filled  public  room  neutral- 
ises the  effect,  for  every  individual  becomes  a 
damper,  and  deadens  the  sound.  There  are  also, 
the  disturbing  elements  of  architectural  effect, 
breaks,  recesses,  columns,  timber-roofs,  etc.,  to 
contend  against,  which  cause  return-waves 
of  sound  to  follow  one  another  at  different 
intervals,  according  to  the  distance  and  angle  of 
the  obstruction,  and  thus  confusion  of  sound  is 
the  result.  By  the  judicious  use  of  drapery  the 
af  tcr-soimd-waves  may  be  prevented ordeadened ; 
for  it  must  be  remembered  the  secret  of  causing 
sound  to  be  heard  clearly  and  distinctly  is  to 
prevent  the  repetition  of  soimd-waves  from 
different  distances,  so  that,  in  fact,  the  return- 
waves  should  reach  in  a  due  time  the  original 
soimd,  and  combine  with  it  and  reinforce  it  as 
it  were.  Only  by  securing  this  simultaneous 
return  of  the  soimd- waves  can  distinctness  be 
obtained. 

Mr.  Engert's  first  experiment  last  Satmday 
was  qiute  conclusive  as  to  the  value  of  steel 
plates  in  producing  resonance.  In  a  room  about 
Ibft.  square  a  piano  was  placed,  behind  which 
were  hung  or  fastened  a  number  of  vibrating 
steel  plates,  of  gauges  from  20  to  2S,  so  placed 
that  the  sound-waves  might  act  freely  between 
the  plates.  To  assist  this  the  plates  are  cui'ved 
a  Uttle,  and  they  are  also  fastened  together  by 
spiral  steel  springs.  At  their  lower  end  they 
hang  quite  free,  so  that,  they  take  up  any 
vibration  in  the  air  produced  by  a  note.  The 
wave  thus  confined  between  the  plates,  and  re- 
pelled a  large  number  of  times,  creates  a  repe- 
tition of  the  sound,  or  a  combination  of  these  re- 
petitions are  produced,  adding  to  the  volume  and 
richness  of  the  original  note.  Proof  of  the  value 
of  the  steel  plates  was  afforded  when  a  young  lady 
(Miss  Eolfe,  daughter  of  Mr.  Engert's  partner) 
played  an  air  on  the  piano,  and  also  when  her 
sister  accompanied  her  in  singing.  Though  the 
instrument  was  rapidly  played,  each  note  was 
distinctly  heard ;  the  steel  plates,  in  fact,  ab- 
sorb the  vibrations,  and  respond  to  the  same 
sound.  The  thicker  plates,  as  may  be  expected, 
favour  the  higher  notes,  and  the  thinner  ones 
the  lower  notes. 

The  second  experiment  was  made  to  show  the 
effect  of  steel  wires  in  distributing  the  sound. 
Those  who  were  present  accompanied  the  in- 
ventor to  a  large  factory,  where  eight  wires 
were  stretched  longitudinally  at  a  height  of  S 
or  9ft.  from  the  floor.  These  were  tightened  to 
a  certain  tension  by  screws  at  one  end,  and  fixed 
to  hooks  at  the  other  end  ;  acro.ss  the  wires  were 
others,  connected  by  spiral  springs,  while  vertical 
wires  iixed  to  the  floor,  were  passed  through  a 
space  left  open  by  the  removal  of  one  of  the  floor 
boards.  These  wii'es  were  behind  the  pianoforte, 
wldch  stood  near  one  end  of  the  room  of  rectan- 
gular shape.  After  the  audience  had  been  dis- 
tributed in  different  parts  of  the  room,  Mr. 
Engert  made  a  few  remarks,  which  were  dis- 
tinctly audible  to  every  one.  He  next  showed 
the  effect  of  his  speaking  when  his  Usteuers  were 
in  an  adjoining  part  of  the  factory  without 
wires,  and  afterwards  the  experiment  was  re- 
peated, the  visitors  going  upon  the  floor  above, 
where  four  wires  were  longitudinally  fixed  in  con- 
nection with  the  upright  ones,  which  we  have 
before  described.  The  speaker  remained  below, 
and  his  remarks  were  distinctly  heard  above 
when  the  listeners  stood  between  and  below  the 
wires,  but  at  other  parts  of  the  loft  he  was  in- 
audible. It  may  be  explained  thus :  the  -nnres 
absorb  the  vibrations  of  the  voice,  and  convey  it 
from  one  to  another,  by  which  means  every  word 
is  distributed  over  the  room  with  clearness.  No 
after-sound  was  audible,  as  the  waves  are 
broken  by  the  wires,  which  take  up  the 
notes,  and  give  them  out  again  in  every  direction. 
The  effect  of  the  wires  is  to  increase  the  speed  of 
sound,  to  spread  it  over  a  larger  space,  and  pre- 
vent the  return  of  vibrations.  For  this  purpose 
the  wires  must  be  tuned  to  the  room,  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  take  up  the  vibrations  readily, 
and  convey  them.  The  inventor  docs  not  claim 
to  magnify  the  sound  by  these  means,  but  to 
convey  and  spread  it  with  distinctness,  and  to 
prevent  any  echo  or  confusion  that  may  exist  in 
the  room.  The  wires  of  different  gauges,  ac- 
cording to  their  length,  are  placed  2  or  3ft. 
apart,  and  one  or  more  layers  of  them,  all  con- 
nected, may  be  fixed  at  certain  heights,  which 
are  regulated  by  experiment.  The  lower  they 
are,  the  better  effect  they  are  said  to  produce. 


Ih  a  church,  a  height  of  15ft.  may  be  taken. 
The  experiments  were  enlivened  by  some  music 
and  songs,  every  note  of  which  was  rendered 
distinct  by  the  arrangement,  so  that  one  could 
enjoy  music  in  any  part  of  a  large  room,  no 
matter  at  what  distance  from  the  instrument.  It 
must  be  remarked  that  Mr.  Engert's  system  is 
not  the  pilan  that  has  so  often  been  advocated  in 
our  paper  to  prevent  echo,  which  consists  in 
tfixtng  wires  across  the  building.  If  the 
system  cannot  be  regarded  as  original,  the  in- 
ventor deserves  crt  dit  for  being  the  first  to  apply 
wires  for  the  distribution  of  sound  in  a  building. 
There  are  certain  physical  laws  which  Mr. 
Engert  has  taken  into  account  in  the  improve- 
ments he  has  introduced,  the  most  important  of 
them  being  that  law  by  which  a  string,  when 
at  rest,  absorbs  the  particular  undulation  or 
musical  note  which  it  gives  out  when  struck.  It 
is  well  known  that  when  a  musical  note  is 
sounded  in  the  presence  of  an  instrument  capable 
of  sounding  the  same  note,  this  instrument  takes 
up  the  note  and  gives  it  out  of  its  own  accord. 
A  piano  or  harp  rings  to  the  sound  of  another 
instrument  which  is  touched,  and  in  a  like 
manner  the  strings  or  wires  in  Mr.  Engert's 
apparatus  absorb  the  vibrations  of  sound  of  the 
speaker  or  singer,  and  cany  them  off,  preventing 
their  return.  The  wires  are  tuned  to  the  room, 
and  their  vibrations  break  the  sound-waves,  and 
destroy  the  surplus  ones  which  so  frequently  create 
echo  or  confusion  of  sound.  We  may  thus 
regard  Mr.  Engert's  plan  as  the  means  of  dis- 
tributing the  sound-waves  more  evenly,  and 
preventing  the  after-sound,  which  is  so  de- 
sti'uctive  to  voice  and  music  in  many  of  our 
pubUc  rooms.  In  air  sound  travels  1,100ft.  in  a 
second,  but  in  steel  the  speed  is  increased  more 
than  tenfold.  One  advantage  of  the  system  is 
its  simplicity  and  readiness  of  application.  It 
is  not  cumbersome,  or  unsightly  ;  it  need  not 
interfere  with  the  architectural  arrangements, 
no  artificial  ceiling  or  resonant  walls  are  required. 
Buildings  of  semicircular  shape  and  without  the 
obstructions  of  columns  and  arches  are  rare;  but 
the  wires  can  be  introduced  in  any  room,  indeed, 
the  value  of  the  method  is  the  readiness  with 
which  it  can  be  applied  to  buildings  of  imperfect 
consti-uction.  We  understand  that  the  cost 
would  be  trifling.  An  ordinary  church  would 
probably  require  the  expenditure  of  from  £50  to 
£100,  to  fit  it  up  with  wires.  Mr.  Engert's 
experiments  were  necessarily  rather  incomplete, 
and  we  shoidd  like  to  see  them  tried  in  a  church 
or  lecture-hall  of  confessedly  bad  character  for 
sound.  A  committee  of  architects  of  the 
E.I.B.A.  might  well  undertake  the  task  of 
making  a  few  experiments — there  is  no  lack  of 
suitable  buildings  to  try  them  in.  In  the  mean 
time  the  attention  of  architects  individually  may 
be  directed  to  what  seems  a  very  useful  remedy 
for  imperfect  acoustics  in  buildings. 


REPORT  OF  THE  ROYAL  COMMIS- 
SIONERS ON  THE  DRAINAGE  OF 
DUBLIN. 
XTTE  have  received  a" bulky  blue-book,  con- 
TT  taining  the  report  and  minutes  of 
evidence  on  the  recent  inquiry  into  the  present 
system  of  sewerage  and  di-ainage  of  the  city  of 
DubUn,  and  how  far  they  affect  the  sanitary 
condition  of  the  city  and  the  river  Liffey.  Mr. 
Robert  Eawlinson  and  Dr.  Francis  Xavier 
MacCabe  were  appointed  Commissioners,  and 
their  report  and  recommendations  are  suggestive. 
The  report,  which  occupies  several  pages,  is 
divided  into  four  parts,  and  deals  separately  with 
the  present  svstem  of  drainage,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  the  river  Liffey.  Personal  inspections 
were  made  of  the  river  and  the  city  generally, 
and  it  was  soon  found  that  the  system  of  sewer- 
age was  not  wholly  answerable  for  the  high  rate 
of  mortality  which  had  prevailed  ;  but  that  it 
was  to  be  traced  to  other  cau-^es,  and  chiefly  the 
tenement  houses  of  Dubhn.  The  medical  evi- 
dence is  very  strong  upon  this  fact,  and  seems  to 
point  to  them  as  the  prime  source  of  the  excess- 
ively high  death-rate.  They  are  badly  classi- 
fied and  registered,  dilapidated,  dirty,  over- 
crowded, and  ill-ventilated,  according  to  the 
statements  made,  and  the  report  plainly  saj-s  that, 
until  the  condition  of  these  houses  shall  have  been 
improved,  the  general  health  of  the  city  will 
continue  to  suffer.  That  portion  of  the  report 
which  describes  the  city  and  river  is  fidl  and 
particular.  The  river  Liffey,  which  flows  from 
west  to  east,  intersects  the  city  about  equally ; 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


177 


Trithiu  the  city  boundary  the  river  is  a  tidal 
streani,  embanked  by  quays,  faced  with  granite, 
and  presenting  along  both  sides  the  sewer  out- 
lets, through  which  the  sewage  of  Dabliu 
empties  itself  into  the  river.  At  high  water, 
these  outletsi  are  covered  ;  at  low  water  they  are 
exposed  with  a  large  proportion  of  the  bed  of  the 
river.  The  geology  and  meteorology  of  the  city  are 
next  described,  from  which  we  learn  the  island 
has  a  wet  climate;  uithc  south  and  west  it  is  warm 
and  moist,  though  Dublin  itself,  being  on  the 
east  side,  has  a  lower  rainfall  and  a  drier  climate. 
The  Commissioners  s;iy,  however,  there  are  no 
elements  in  the  site  to  make  the  climate  neces- 
sarily unwholesome,  and  that  by  efficient 
sanitary  works,  Dublin  miy  be  made  as  fresh, 
sweet,  and  wholesome  in  its  surface  and  atmo- 
sphere as  any  city  in  Europe.  Speaking  of  the 
sewerage  and  drainage,  the  Commissioners 
endorse  the  remark  of  the  city  engineer  in  a  re- 
cent report,  to  the  effect  that  it  is  a  mistake 
to  charge  the  exceptionally  high  death-rate  on 
defects  in  the  main  sewering.  In  short,  from 
our  perusal  of  the  report,  it  is  clear  that  the 
opinion  of  the  city  engineer  has  been  borne  out — 
namely,  that  it  is  to  defective  house-drainage, 
to  the  miseraWe  state  of  repair  in  which  the 
tenement  houses  are  kept,  and  to  poverty  arising 
from  drink,  that  the  high  death-rate  in  Dublin 
is  to  be  attributed.  But  wliile  the  report  speaks 
creditably  of  the  improvements  carried  out  in 
the  old  sewers,  it  observes  that  the  main  sewers 
of  Dublin  cannot  be  accepted  as  perfect,  such 
as  would  be  now  designed  and  carried  out  with- 
out reference  to  old  and  badly-constructed 
drains.  They  harbour  and  retain  the  gases 
generated  in  the  lower  levels,  and  convey  them 
to  the  higher  parts,  rendering  the  suburbs 
unhealtliy.  The  house-drainage  also,  from  the 
evidence  given,  is  very  defective ;  the  drains 
appear  generally  to  be  constructed  of  rubble 
wsdl  channels,  resting  on  the  soil  beneath  the 
basement,  and  liable  to  leakage,  which  saturates 
the  subsoil,  and  they  were  originally  intended  to 
carry  off  the  waste  water  only.  "With  improved 
water  supply,  the  drainage  of  subsoil- water  by 
means  of  wells  and  pumps  has  ceased,  and  the 
residt  has  been  a  rise  in  the  subsoU  water,  and  a 
baneful  effect  npon  general  health.  Attention 
is  directed  also  to  the  want  of  break  at  the  point 
of  connection  between  the  drains  and  the  sewers. 
The  condition  of  the  river,  and  the  former  main 
drainage  plans,  are  next  discussed  at  some  length. 
Mention  is  made  of  variuus  schemes  for  abating 
the  nuisance  of  pollution  by  the  use  of  flushing 
reservoii's,  dams,  and  weirs,  and  Mr.  Stoney's 
condemnation  of  them  is  fully  acquiesced  in. 
The  report  then  enters  into  a  particular  descrip- 
tion of  the  five  plans  brought  before  the  Com- 
missioners, namely  : — Plan  No.  1,  by  Mr.  Parke 
Keville,  C.E.,  crtv  ercineer  ;  plan  No.  2,  by 
Mr.  R.  Hassard,  'C.E."",  and  Mr.  A.  TyrreU, 
C.E.  ;  plan  No.  3,  by  Mr.  Andrew  Palles,  C.E., 
and  jas.  Price,  C.E. ;  plan  >io.  4,  by  Mi-.  J. 
Doherty,  C.E.  ;  and  plan  No.  5,  by  Mr.  J.  O. 
Moynan,  C.E.  These  plans  are  aU  given  in  the 
appendix,  and  show  generally  high  and  low- 
level  intercepting  sewers.  "We  shall  content 
OTrrselves  with  giving  the  general  conclusions  of 
the  conunission  with  respect  to  these  plans. 
They  consider  plan  No.  1,  by  the  city  engineer, 
best  fulfils  the  requirements  of  city,  river,  port, 
and  harbour  purilication  ;  it  provides  for  the 
interception  of  the  sewage  from  the  entire  areas 
north  and  south,  and  also  for  the  purification  of 
the  port  and  harbour  by  low-level  and  high- 
level  intercepting  sewers,  and  the  discharge"  of 
the  dry  weather  and  ordinary  sewage  by  one 
main  outlet  sewer,  continued  along  and  beyoud 
the  North  Bull  wall  into  deep  water  at  low 
tides,  where  the  tidal  flow  is  seawards.  They 
further  say: — 

"Plan  No.  1  has  been  prepared  by  the  city 
engineer,  who  is  most  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  city,  with  its  sewers,  with  its  drains, 
and  with  its  watr  supply.  He  has  also  pre- 
viously prepared  main-drainage  plans,  has 
worked  out  all  the  details  of  the  local  drainage 
areas  and  rain-fali  ;  is  conversant  with  the  state, 
character,  and  action  of  the  existing  main  sewers ; 
both  during  dry-weather  periods,  and  when  in  a 
state  of  flood,  ani  by  having  had  charge  of  the 
main  sewers  and  streets  for  many  yeai-s,  he  has 
a  full  knowl.dge  of  the  subsoil  of  the  city  which 
will  have  to  be  opened  out  and  worked  in  for 
the  construction  of  the  main  intercepting  sewers ; 
and  he  has  also  studied  the  tidal  flow,  in  and  out,  of 
the  harbour  and  river,  for  a  number  of  years,  as 
indicated  by  elaborate  float  experiments."   In  the 


Main  Drainage  Scheme  of  1871  the  sewers  were 
designed  to  have  capacity  for  the  reception  and 
removal  of  7,500  cubic  feet  of  sewage  per  minute. 
Subsequently  Rathmines  and  Pembroke  have 
been  separated,  the  sewage  from  these  townships 
being  provided  for  separately.  We  have  learned 
that  the  dry-weather  flow  from  the  sewers  of 
Dublin,  when  completed,  may  amount  to  2,000 
cubic  feet  per  minute,  and  we  have  arranged 
with  the  city  engineer  to  pro^-ide  for  a  maximum 
of  5,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  in  the  intercept- 
ing mains,  and  for  3,500  cubic  feet  in  the 
outlets.  The  estimates  have  been  carefully 
revised,  and  have  been  reduced  from  £350,000, 
the  amount  stated  by  the  city  engineer  in  his 
evidence,  to  £2.52,208  15s.  Id.,  and  with  land 
engines  and  pumps  and  other  contingencies  to 
the  sum  of  £294,170  15s.,  or  .say  £300,000,  and 
we  see  no  reason  to  doubt  but  that  the  proposed 
works  may  be  executed  for  the  sum  named." 
They  further  recommend  : — 2.  That  the  sewerage 
of  the  city  be  completed  as  soon  as  practicable, 
so  that  every  street  within  the  municipal  area 
may  be  provided  with  a  suSicient  main  sewer. 
3.  That  the  whole  of  the  .sewers  be  provided 
with  proper  ventilators,  side  entrances,  man- 
holes, and  fla.shing  arrangements,  not  fewer 
than  twenty  separate  ventilators  being  provided 
for,  on  each  mile  of  sewer.  4 .  That  the  entire 
scavenging  of  Dublin,  both  public  and  domestic, 
be  undertaken,  and  carried  out  by  the  Cor- 
poration . 

Mr.  Hassard's  plan.  No.  2,  is  also  spoken 
of  highly  ;  the  scheme  is  pronounced  original 
and  bold  in  conception,  but  the  commis- 
sion think  the  suggested  line  of  outlet  sewer 
eight  miles  in  length,  and  by  a  tunnel  through 
the  Hill  of  Howth,  unnecei'sary  to  the  purification 
of  the  river,  port,  and  harbour.  Plans  3,  4, 
and  5  do  not  provide  for  carrying  the  sewage 
beyond  the  harbour,  and  accordingly  they  are 
considered  imperfect,  as  they  "would  not  purify 
the  port  and  harbour.  The  report,  however, 
speaks  in  high  terms  of  the  engineering  ability 
displayed  in  them.  The  commissioners  also 
report  that  the  entire  system  of  sewers  and 
drains  should  be  ventilated,  and  have  additional 
side-entrances,  manholes,  gullies,  and  flushing 
arrangements  ;  that  it  is  desirable  to  extend  the 
Artisans'  and  Labourers'  Dwellings  Act ;  that 
the  courts  and  yards  of  tenement  houses  require 
paving :  that  better  scavengins  should  be  pro- 
vided, and  the  roads  improved.  These  are.  in 
brief,  the  recommendations  of  the  report.  The 
largest  part  of  the  volume  is  taken  up  with  the 
minutes  of  evidence,  which  comprise  14  days' 
work,  and  will  be  found  of  interest  and  value, 
while  the  statistical  information  in  the  appendix 
adds  to  the  completeness  of  this  official  return. 


SrSREY  ARCHJEOLOGICAli  SOCIETY. 

THE  annual  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held 
at  Famham,  on  Friday  week.  The  proceed- 
ings commenced  at  the  parish-church,  where  a 
paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Ralph  Nevill,  F.S.A. , 
F.R.I. B.A.,  who  mentioned  thar  the  church 
was  restored  in  1S5S  by  Mr.  B.  Ferrey.  The 
arohdeanery  of  Surrey,  to  which  this  church  was 
attached,  was  created  in  II 20.  and  it  was  from  this 
period  that  the  columns  and  capitals  of  the  chancel 
— the  oldest  existing  portion  of  the  fabric — dated ; 
the  capitals  of  the  new  large  columns  were  a 
copy  of  the  older  work,  but,  as  would  be  seen,  a 
very  inferior  copy ;  the  lines  of  shadow  in  the 
old  work  were  more  in  number,  and  much  more 
delicate.  Archdeacon  Inge,  who  flourished 
about  1335,  left  300  marks  for  completing  the 
chancel  which  he  had  begun  to  rebuild,  but  had 
left  unfinished.  In  1363  his  successor,  John  de 
Edynton,  was  summoned  before  the  bishop, 
William  of  Wykeham,  on  the  charge  of  em- 
bezzling the  materials  collected  together  by  the 
archdeacon,  and  again,  in  13G9,  for  neglecting 
to  proceed  with  the  repairs.  It  was  not  till 
1369  that  William  of  Wykeham  issued  a  com- 
mission to  an  Irish  bishop  to  consecrate  the 
chancel  of  the  parish -church  of  Famham,  a  high 
altar  lately  built  there,  and  any  other  altars 
that  might  require  consecration.  He  believed 
the  greater  part  of  the  work  in  nave  and  chancel 
might  be  ascribed  to  1350  to  1399.  The 
transept  entrances  were  widened  by  Mr.  Ferrey 
during  his  restoration,  and  the  present  excellent 
battlements  to  the  centr.il  tower  dated  from  the 
eamo  period ;  the  turrets  to  this  tower  were 
octagonal,  and  not  hexagonal,  as  described 
in    all    the    county   histories.    There    were    a 


number  of  monuments,  tablets,  and  brasses, 
which  it  was  interesting  to  find  had  not 
sufl'ercd  at  the  hands  of  architect,  clergy,  or 
churchwardens.  The  members  then  proceeded 
by  carriages  past  the  residence  of  the  Sir 
^'illi.im  Temple  eulogised  by  Macaulay,  whore 
Swift  wrote  many  of  his  w.aks,  and  by  the  un- 
happy Stella's  cottage  to  Waverley  Abbey  on  the 
banks  of  the  Wey,  where  a  paper  on  the  history 
of  the  Abbey,  WTitten  by  Mr.  F.  J.  Baijout, 
was  read.  The  history  of  this  Cistercian 
institution  was  traced  from  its  foundation 
in  1123  to  its  suppres.sion  in  153G,  and  gradual 
change  of  hands  the  property  has  suffered  to 
the  present  time.  Only  a  few  traces  remain  of 
the  Abbey  church,  which  was  built  1203-7-S.  A 
return  was  then  made  to  Faruliam  Ca.stle,  where 
the  members  were  received  by  the  Bishop  of 
Winchester.  A  paper  on  the  history  of  the 
Castle  was  read  by  the  Hun.  W.  St.  John  Brod- 
rick,  JI.P.  Founded  by  Henry  of  BluU,  brother 
to  Stephen,  a  site  which  already,  for  three  cen- 
turies, hadbelongedto  theBi.shops  of  Wiuthoter, 
it  was  rebuilt  in  its  present  form  as  a  castcll;iled 
residence  for  the  bishops  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.  In  a  remonstrance  to  Queen  lOliza- 
btth,  in  1595,  by  the  then  Bishop,  it  was  ^tutcd 
that  his  net  revenue  scarcely  exceeded  £500 
annually,  and  that  the  castle  was  in  eo  ruinous  a 
condition  that  it  would  need  at  least  double  that 
sum  for  repair.  For  a  short  time,  at  the  dose  of 
the  IGth  century,  the  see  was  left  vacant,  and 
Famham  fell  in  a  very  ruinous  condition.  During 
the  Civil  wars  the  castle  was  occupied  in  siicro.'i- 
sion  by  the  Royalists  and  Parliamentarians,  and 
after  the  battle  of  Alton  SOS  prLionera  were 
lodged  in  the  church  and  ca.-tle  at  Fnmham. 
At  the  Restoration  the  castle,  which  had  been 
put  to  sale,  was  restored  to  the  bishopric,  and  in 
1GS4  the  ruins  were  converted  into  the  pre.«cnt 
habitable  mansion  by  Bishop  Morley,  at  a  cost 
of  £10,000.  Further  improvements  were  made 
in  the  castle  and  grounds  adjoining  by  Bishop 
Brownlow  North,  at  the  beginning  of  the  pre- 
sent century,  and  also  by  the  present  bisbop. 
The  members  then  inspected  the  castle,  under 
the  guidance  of  Mr.  J.  Henry  Christian,  who 
described  its  architectural  features.  The 
servants'  hall,  u.sed  for  domestic  purposes  since 
the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  was  first  seen,  Mr. 
Christian  explaining  his  grounds  for  believing 
it  to  be  the  chapel  of  Henry  do  Elois'  castle,  and 
the  oldest  portion  of  the  building  extant.  The 
traces  of  Bishop  Morley's  work  in  the  exterior 
of  the  dining-hall  having  b;en  examined,  tha 
members  mounted  to  the  keep,  the  summit  of 
which  is  laid  out  as  kitchen  and  flower  garden, 
and  the  visit  closed  with  a  walk  in  the  private 
grounds  and  park,  the  members  dining  together 
at  ah  hotel  in  the  evening. 


IMPRO^-EMENTS  IN  BELFAST. 

LAST  year  no  less  than  1,324  new  buildings 
were  added  to  the  town  of  Belfast.  At  the 
junction  of  Talbot-street  and  Robert-street, 
where  less  than  twelve  months  ago  stood  s 
number  of  dirty  hovels,  tenanted  by  habitual 
thieves  and  prostitutes,  now  rises  a  substantial 
building  four  stories  high.  Built  of  red  briclt, 
it  may  be  plain,  but  50ft.  high,  and  with  a 
frontage  to  Robert-street  of  7Gft.  and  to  Talbot- 
street  of  GOft.,  it  is  at  least  commodious.  The 
building,  which  is  intended  for  a  bonlt d  store, 
is  being  erected  by  Messrs.  M'Liughiin  and 
Harvev,  for  Messrs.'Yoimg,  King,  ai:d  Co.,  of 
Calender- street,  from  the  de^igu  of  Mr.  W.  H. 
Lynn,  architect.  It  is  sut'I  "'•■!  '  ■'  '■  -  -'"a 
heavy   metal   columns.     <  ' 

last,  the  work  has  been  p;;  ; 

it  is  now  almost  completci!  ' 

Belfast  Academy  building - 
and  Co.,  flax  merchants,  ; 

stores  erected,   three  stori  ' 

brick,    and   somewhat    or; 

The  structure  is  a  most  .  ' 

addition  to  the  necessary  !^; 
poses,  contains  spacious  eij  . 
Part  of  it  has  been  already 
been  in   the  occupation   ■ 
months,  but  an  exten.'.ive  :: 

made  to  it.     The  entire   I  J 

frontage  to  Academy-stre- 
will  expend  back  towards 
tance  of  I57fl.     The  woi  . 
by  Mes-srs.  Dixon,  Cliftt' •  ' 

Messrs.  Hogg's  new  wan!.  ...   .     ■ -   -. 

to  St.  Anne's  Church  Schools,  and  here,  eiUnoiVC 


178 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


alterations  are  in  contemplation,  i  t  being  intended, 
amongst  other  improvements,  to  rebuild  the 
schools.  But  the  most  important  alterations  in 
this  district,  from  the  numbi.r  of  streets  and 
habitations  affected,  are  those  which  are  now  in 
nrogress  in  the  area  between  Green-street  and 
Great  Patrick-street.  Between  these  thorough- 
fares runs  Lynas-lane,  and  parallel  to  it 
William' s-hine  two  collections  of  pestilent  dens, 
the  haunts  of  the  very  worst  characters  to  be 
found  in  the  locality.  Within  the  last  fortnight 
several  rows  of  these  dens  have  been  demolished, 
and  a  large  space  cleai-ed  out  for  building  pur- 
poses. On  this  vacant  ground  a  substantial 
store  is  about  to  be  erected  for  Mr.  Edgar,  seed- 
merchant,  of  Edinburgh.  The  plans  for  the 
structure  have  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Robert 
Watt,  architect,  and  the  work  of  erection  will 
shortly  be  commenced.  As  arranged  by  the 
Town  Council,  William's-lane  is  to  be  entirely 
closed  up,  and  a  space  equal  to  its  width  added 
to  the  breadth  of  Lynas-lane,  making  the  latter 
thoroughfare  20ft.  wide,  instead  of  as  now  only 
lift.  This  will  be  the  first  step  towards  the 
formation  of  a  commodious  thoroughfare  between 
Great  Patrick -street  and  Green-street,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  narrow  and  dirty  lanes  hitherto 
existing.  The  width  of  Green-street  is  also  to 
be  increased  to  30ft.  Towards  Lynas-lane  the  new 
building  will  have  a  frontage  of  124ft.  It  wUl 
extend  along  Green-street  a  distance  of  84ft. 


EOOF  COVERINGS. 

THE  weights  of  roof  coverings  vary  con- 
siderably, and  we  give  the  following  table, 
which  wlU  be  found  of  service  by  those  who 
wish  to  calculate  the  loads  on  roofs.  The 
weights  are  given  in  pounds  per  square  foot : — 

Slates 5to  11 

Tiles   7to20 

Pantilea 10 

Boarding  Jin  thick 2^ 

Sheet  iron  (16  w.  g.)  and  laths 5 

Corrugated  iron  and  laths  5'5 

Sheet  lead T 

Sheet  zinc 1-25  to  103 

Another  table  gives  for  slates  of  all  sizes  Sin. 
lap,  except  rags  or  Queens,  a  weight  of  81b. 
per  foot.  In  calculating  the  weight  of  common 
rafters  and  purlins  of  timber  an  average  of  71b. 
is  put  down,  though  the  exact  weight  will 
depend  largely  on  the  space  and  the  distance 
apart  of  the  principals :  the  farther  they  are 
from  one  another  the  greater  will  be  the 
scantlings  of  the  timbers,  and  the  more  the 
weight.  lu  iron  roofs,  a  common  truss  of  aOft. 
span  will  weigh  about  3  to  olb.  per  square  foot 
of  area,  though  many  of  our  large  railway- 
station  roofs  constructed  on  the  bowstring  or 
arched  principle,  weigh  from  10  to  2ilb. 


THE    AECniTECTURAL     ASSOCIATION 
IX  EAST  AXGLIA. 

THE  ancient  city  of  Norwich  has  been  selected 
as  the  centre  for  the  eleventh  annual  ex- 
cursion of  the  Architectural  Association,  an  out- 
ing which  will  occupy  those  assisting  in  it  the 
whole  of  next  week.  Although  Norwich  itself 
is  an  exception,  being  blessed  with  the  busy 
manufactories,  the  enterprising  commerce,  the 
extending  suburbs,  the  acrimonious  politics,  the 
sewerage  difficulties,  and  the  heavy  municipal 
indebtedness,  which  denote  a  progressing 
borough,  the  district  to  be  visited  is,  speaking 
generally,  a  declining  one,  with  a  slowly - 
diminishing  population.  In  the  Middle  Ages, 
East  Anglia  was  the  seat  of  the  woollen  manu- 
facture ;  its  shallow  ports  afforded  sufficient 
draught  for  the  vessels  of  the  peried,  and  a  pros- 
perous trade  with  the  Continent  was  carried  on, 
much  benefit  being  gained  from  the  arts  and  in- 
dustries introduced  by  the  Tlemish  colonists. 
But  with  the  substitution  of  coal  for  wood  as 
fuel,  and  the  increasing  use  of  iron,  the  tide  of 
life  and  business  steadily  ebbed  from  the  Eastern 
Coast  of  England,  and  now  the  district  is  purely 
agricultural.  To  those  members  of  the  Associa- 
tion who  .-ihare  -n-ith  Mr.  Sedding  an  enthusiasm 
for  the  harmonious  proportions,  the  multifold 
divisions,  the  flat  surfaces,  and  elaborate  pre- 
arranged ornamentation  of  the  Perpendicular 
period,  the  neighbourhood  to  be  visited  wUl  be 
one  of  unusual  interest,  the  large  and  numerous 
churches,  and  the  halls  and  timbered  dwellings 
being  chiefly  of  the  time  when  the  trade  of  Nor- 
folk was  at  its  zenith.  These  churches  are  more 
noticeable  for  good  proportions  than  for  purity 


of  design  and  delicacy  in  execution ;  but  the  flint 
and  panel  flushwork,  and  the  treatment  of  oak 
in  the  open  roofs,  and  occasionally  in  bench  ends 
and  parcloses,  has  considerable  merit.  Kemi- 
nisceuces  of  an  intercourse  with  Flanders  are 
apparent  in  the  Flamboyant  tracery  and  dex- 
terous use  of  brickwork.  But  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  the  14th,  loth,  and  early  part  of 
the  16th  centuries  are  solely  represented  in  the 
buildings  of  Norfolk.  True,  Early  English  is 
exceptionally  rare,  and  the  earlier  phases  of  the 
Decorated  style  are  not  common ;  but  there  are 
rich  stores  of  the  Latest  Norman  work,  massive 
in  character,  elaborate  in  ornament,  and  the 
Jacobean  houses  and  pre-Neogothic  restorations 
to  churches,  as,  for  example,  the  Renaissance 
turrets  at  the  east  end  of  St.  Peter  Maucroft, 
Norwich,  and  the  bastard  Classic  alterations  of 
mouldings  in  tlie  church,  ought  not  to  be  over- 
looked. 

The  interesting  features  to  be  found  in  Nor- 
wich itself  will  doubtless  amply  justify  its 
selection  as  the  head-quarters  for  this  year's 
excursion ;  its  cathedral,    abounding  in  work  of 


Norfolk  Hotel,  in  St.  Giles' s-street— and  the 
preaiTangement  reflects  much  credit  on  Mr.  C. 
R.  Pink,  the  l.on.  secretary.  Mr.  James 
Fowler,  of  Louth,  will,  as  on  former  occa.sions, 
generally  conduct  the  party,  except  on  Thurs- 
day, when  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose  has  undertaken 
the  duty  of  guide. 

Glancing  down  the  circular,  we  notice  that 
Monday  next,  the  opening  day,  is  to  be  devoted 
to  the  cathedral,  where  the  surveyor  to  the 
fabric,  Mr.  J.  H.  Brown,  will  act  as  eictrone, 
meeting  the  members  opposite  the  west  front, 
which  has  just  been  lebuilt  under  his  supervi- 
sion, acting  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  James 
Fergusson.  In  the  afternoon  three  large  and 
Late  churches,  situate  close  to  each  other,  will  be 
seen — St.  Peter  Mancrtft,  described  by  Mr. 
Street  (who  is  now  engaged  in  its  restoration)  aa 
"a  noble  example  of  a  Mediceval  parochial 
church";  St.  Stephen's,  also  in  the  Market- 
place, and  of  a  Late  and  more  debased  character 
than  the  former,  containing  some  dated  glass  of 
several  periods  in  the  east  window ;  and  St. 
Giles',  where  the  well-proportioned  flint-work 


ISTEEIOK  OF  NOEWICa  CiTilEDEAL. 


the  Late  Norman  and  Perpendicular  periods, 
and  the  fragments  of  the  great  Benedictine 
establishment  which  once  adjoined  that  minster 
on  the  south  ;  the  churches,  profusely  sprinkled 
over  its  labyrinthine,  pebble-pitched  narrow 
streets ;  the  triad  of  imposing  gateways  into 
the  cathedral  close ;  the  flint  and  rubble  f.aced 
remains  of  bastions  and  walls  environing  the 
Mediaeval  core  of  the  city ;  the  little-known  but 
interesting  fragments  of  Mediteval  domestic 
work  near  King  and  Ber-streets  ;  the  fine  Bene- 
dictine nave  of  St.  Andrew's  monastery,  now 
used  as  a  civic  hall ;  and  the  quaint  GuilJhall, 
will  afford  a  superabundance  of  materials  for 
s;udy  and  sketching.  But,  in  addition  to  the 
city  itself,  a  wide  district  situate  chiefly  to  the 
north  and  west  of  Norwich  is  to  be  examined 
during  the  coming  week. 

The  programme  now  before  us  provides  for  a 
busy  six  days'  work  ;  so  full  is  it  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  carry  out  the  plan  in  its  entirety 
were  not  every  item  of  arrival,  stay,  and 
departure  precisely  timed  beforehand,  even  to 
the   hour   of    breakfast    at    the  rendezvous — the 


tower  and  the  groined  south  porch  are  the  most 
interesting  features.  This  church  was  exten- 
sively restored  by  Mr.  R.  M.  Phipson,  of  Nor- 
wich, a  few  years  ago,  and  most  ef  the  churches 
to  be  \-isited  have  been  under  the  same  architect's 
hands. 

On  Tuesday  the  members  will  proceed  by  the 
newly- opened  railway  to  the  little  market  town 
of  Aylsham,  where  the  large  church,  a  Deco- 
rated structure,  partially  rebuilt  in  the  Perpen- 
dicular style,  will  repay  an  hour's  examination. 
Then  carriages  will  be  takf  n  to  the  fine  Perpen. 
dicular  churches  of  Cawston  and  Sail,  both 
remarkable  for  their  open  rcofs,  still  retain- 
ing traces  of  colour,  and  for  tbe  peculiar 
galleries  across  the  west  tower  arches.  The 
chief  incident  of  the  day  will  probably  be 
the  visit  to  Blicking  Hail,  one  of,  the  finest 
and  best -preserved  Renai.-sance  manor-houses 
in  England  ;  it  has  a  picturesque  quadrangular 
front,  set  in  a  fonniil  terraced  garden  ;  a  grand 
double  staircase,  rich  in  Jacobean  carving,  and  a 
spacious  library,  containing  stores  of  choice  books 
and   MSS.    tapestry,  relics  of   the  Boleyns,  and 


Auo.  13,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


179 


havina:  an  elaborate  plastered  ceiling^.  The  little 
church  adjoining-,  which  has  been  almost  rebuilt, 
has  a  few  good  brasses,  and  an  elaborate  monu- 
ment, with  effig-j-  in  alabaster,  to  the  late  Mar- 
qui-i  of  Lothian. 

North  'SValsham,  where  the  Perpendicular 
church  has  a  ruined  tower,  remains  of  a  rood- 
screen,  and  monuments  to  the  Paston  family, 
will  be  visited  by  rail  on  Wednesday,  and  from 
thence  a  carriage  excursion  is  projected  to 
Trunch  Church,  whose  remarkable  wooden 
font-cover  has  been  rendered  familiar  by  fre- 
quent illustrations ;  the  chancel-screen  and  open 
roof  are  of  rich  character.  Near  by  will  be  seen 
an  earlier  church,  vrith  equally  good  roof,  at 
Knapton  :  and,  after  looking  at  Edenthorpe, 
they  wUl  proceed  to  Bronholm  Priory,  at  Bacton, 
where  there  are  some  Transitional  Norman  and 
Early  English  features.  The  large  Late  Deco- 
rated church  at  AVorstead,  a  village  whose  name 
has  been  commemorated  in  the  woollen  fabric 
once  made  thereat,  will  be  the  last  feature  of  the 
day's  sightseeing. 

On  Thursday,  a  rail  journey  will  be  broken  for 
an  hour  and  ahalf  at  East  Dereham,  interesting 
from  its  association  with  the  closing  scenes  in 
Cowper's  life  ;  a  Congregational  church  has  in 
recent  years,  we  believe,  been  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  house  facing  the  market-place,  in 
which  the  gentle,  melancholy  poet  died.  The 
cruciform     parish-church,     with     low     central 


ham,  a  rich  example  of  Tudor  brickwork,  now 
occupied  as  a  farmhouse.  It  is  illustrated  bv 
two  views  in  Britton's  ".iVntiquities,"  Vol.  II.", 
p.  92.    The  return  journey  will  be  made  by  rail. 

The  "double  church"  at  Wyraondham,  con- 
cerning which  the  late  Rev.  J.  L.  Petit  wrote 
an  exhaustive  monograph,  will  be  the  first 
building  visittd  on  I'riday,  and  will  doubtlc.-s 
occasion  some  controversy  as  to  whether  the 
ruined  Decorated  church  of  the  monastery,  with 
charming  octangular  towerof  diminishing  stages, 
was  ever  opened  out  to  the  parochial  nave,  of 
ordinary  15th-century  character,  anne.xtd  on 
the  west.  The  wooden  pillars  supporting 
the  steep  tile  roof  of  the  octagonal  market- 
cross,  and  the  recently-restored  chapel  of 
St.  Thomas  ;i  Becket,  will  also  be  noticed. 
Attleborough  wUl  next  be  visited,  and  after 
seeing  the  western  parts  of  a  collegiate  church, 
now  the  parish-church,  the  members  will  pro- 
ceed by  road  to  see  the  group  of  large  churches 
at  Great  Ellingham,  Hingham,  and  Deopham, 
the  last  tsvo  having  conspicuously  lofty  towers. 

The  last  day,  Saturday,  like  the  opening  one, 
will  be  a  "  home"  day,  and  on  it  the  Perpen- 
dicular church  of  St.  Andrew,  St.  Andrew's 
and  Strangers'  Halls,  the  latter  a  Jacobean 
merchant's  house,  said  to  have  been  the  guest- 
house of  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk,  and  four  more 
churches,  all  Perpendicular,  will  be  inspected 
in  turn. 


quit  mo  of  the  intention  of  saying  one  word  in 
disparagement  of  any  arohilcct  or  surveyor  who 
is  worthy  of  the  name.  All  fair  and  reasonable 
builders  look  upon  arehitects  and  .•surveyors,  aa  a 
cIjss,  as  tlieir  best  friendt,  and  as  tho.se  without 
whom  the  building  trade  caun  it  prosper.  It  is 
possible  some  of  my  remarks  may  reach  the  cars 
of  some  gentlemen  styling  themselves  "gur- 
veyors,"  and  cuus'!  irritation  to  them  on  recog- 
nising the  facts  of  my  illustrations.  To  such  I 
will  say,  My  only  object  is  to  di  goo.l  by  raising 
the  standard  of  their  profe.tsion  and  my  own 
trade,  and  if  their  method  of  procedure  in  prac- 
tising the  profession  of  a  "quaulityund  mea- 
suring surveyor"  be  conducted  on  scientific 
principles,  combined  with  honesty  of  puri)0i«>, 
they  have  nothing  to  fear  from  dincussion.  On 
the  contrary,  to  all  such  surveyors  the  building 
trade  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  as.HiBling  to 
place  the  trade  upon  a  sound  basis,  instead  of 
being  the  precarious  and  risky  business  it  must 
of  necessity  be  while  conducted  under  a  loose, 
slovenly,  haphazard  system  of  measuring  by  un- 
trained men,  incapable  of  properly  perfomiing 
the  work  assigned  to  them,  or,  as  in  many  cases, 
the  work  they  assign  to  themselves— that  is. 
when  architects  supply  quantities  prepared  by 
themselves  or  their  clerks,  umuthorised  by  cither 
their  client,  the  proprietor  of  the  building,  or 
the  builder,  who  are  the  only  parties  interested 
in  the  correctness  or  incorrectness  of    the  sur- 


steeple,  and  a  second  and  equally  unassuming 
ajuare  tower,  erected  opposite  to,  and  a  few  feet 
from,  the  south  transept,  contains  Cowper's 
tomb,  and  much  Early  Decorated  work,  re-cast  in 
the  l.jth  century.  The  central  tower  stands  to 
the  westward  of  the  transepts,  and  the  question 
may  be  re-debated  whether  an  earlier  tower 
existed  over  the  supporting  piers  that  can  be 
traced,  or  was  the  iatcntion  to  crown  the  cross 
abandoned  on  account  of  some  defects  in  foun- 
dations. At  New  Walsingham,  the  Decorated 
refectory,  and  several  other  fragments,  chiefly 
Early  Perpendicular  in  character,  remain,  of 
the  famous  Augustinian  Priory  of  "Our  Lady 
of  Walsingham,"  now  the  property  of  the  Lee- 
Warners  ;  there  is  a  fine  gateway  to  the  Priory 
next  the  main  street  of  the  townlet.  The  church 
is  another  of  the  large  Perpendicular  edifices, 
with  elaborate  nave  roofs  and  sculptured  fonts, 
whi'.h  will  now  begin  somewhat  to  pall  on  the 
members  ;  and  there  are  also  extensive  remains 
of  a  Franciscan  convent,  fragments  which  the 
author  of  the  "Glossary"  has  criticised  as 
"very  late  and  very  poor."  Near  by,  the  little 
1 4th-centur)-  groined  (f  pilgrims')  chapel  of 
Houghton-le-Dale  (the  beautiful  cast  window 
has  been  engraved  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Parker,  as  an 
example  of  the  Transition  from  the  Decorated 
to  the  Perpendicular) ,  will  be  visited  by  road ;  and 
also  tl.e  Wolterton  Manor-house,  at  East  Bars- 


THE  CinrECH  OF  ST.  PETEE  3LLXCE0FT,  XOKWICH. 

The  northern  part  of  East  Anglia,  about  to 
be  visited  by  the  Association,  teems  with  asso- 
ciations with  the  historic  past  of  England,  while 
a  ghastly  ghost  story  is  not  extinct  at  Blickling, 
and  legends  of  the  pilgrims'  days  are  stiU  extant 
at  Walsingham  and  elsewhere  in  the  country. 
We  have  sufficiently  indicated  the  architectural 
features  of  the  district  to  be  vi?ited  to  show  that 
the  visit  to  Norfolk  will  not  be  the  least  in- 
teresting of  the  excursions  of  the  Architectural 
Association. 

The  illustrations  of  the  Cathedral  and  St. 
Peter  Mancroft's  Church,  Norwich,  are  repro- 
duced from  "  Our  Own  Country,"  by  permission 
of  Messrs.  Cassell,  Petter,  and  Galpin. 


BILLS  OF  QUANTITIES  AND  MEASURING 
BUILDERS'  WORK.* 

I  WILL  endeavour  to  put  into  shape  in  as 
practical  a  form  as  possible,  and  in  the 
plainest  languiige,  my  experience  and  views  on 
the  subject.  In  doing  so,  if  I  should  say  any- 
thing that  may  appear  to  reflect  upon  the  cha- 
racter or  work  of  any  architect  or  surveyor,  or 
of  any  class  of  them,  I  am  sure  you  will  all  ac- 

•  Eead.  by  EowiED  Hughes,  at  the  half-yearly  meet- 
ing of  the  Xational  Association  of  Master  Builders  of 
Great  Britain  at  Bristol,  July  27,  ISSO. 


veyor's  work.  At  the  same  time,  in  numeroa» 
in.stances  these  gentlemen  take  care  to  insert  a 
notice  on  the  first  paire  of  their  quantities  to  the 
effect  that  the  builder  alone  must  l>o  respon.-oble 
and  suffer  for,  or,  as  the  cise  may  be,  profit  by, 
all  errors  tliat  m  ly  have  been  made  by  the  sur- 
veyor. With  these  general  remarks  I  proceed 
to  deal  mire  dirictly  and  in  detail  with  the  sub- 
ject. Firtt.— Asto  "Quantities."  What  «  the 
meaning  of  the  term  as  applied  to  our  trad*  ? 
and— "ftTiat  is  the  use  of  the  "  Bill  of  (Mantities  : 
These  questions  may  seem  to  you  to  \k  unnecoi- 
sary,  but  I  beUeve  v.ry  f  t  'f  1'"^  ir.  n.-ral 
public,  members  of  publ  ■  "• 

or  even  the  legal  prof-  ' 

very  vague    and  imper:  ■'. 

subject.  A  "Bill  of  Qu  .■,•..•..  -  .-  a  ..  j  .... d 
account  of  the  quantity,  quality,  .yid  de  enption 
of  every  portion  of  the  w.rk  n-qnir.-.!  to  t-- done 
in  the  execution  of  any  buildir  -   •   -  -  •  ." 

person  wishing  to  build   req>.:- 
cost  before   embarking  in   any  ' 

contract  with  a  buildir  to  ex..   .■  ,      ,        '} 

work.  Without  a  "Bill  of  U.i.ni.t^is  it  « 
impraMicable,  in  the  case  of  w..rks  ..f  atiy  im- 
rx.rtance,  to  obtain,  by  competition,  estimates 
or  tendtra  for  work,  and  it  is  obvious  that  such 
competition  is  obtained  entirely  in  the  mter»t» 
of  the  proprietor  ab'.ut  to  buUd.  Seir""^— V* " 
is  the  use  of  the  quanUtics:-     The  "  BiU  of 


180 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


Quantities  "  is  isaucJ  as  a  rule  by  the  agent  of 
tho  proprietor,   and  is   neither    more   nor  less 
than    a  written    statement,     on     his     behalf, 
of  the  quantity  and  desi^ription  of  certain  goods 
and  labour  he  requires,  and  for  which  he  applies 
to  a  number  of  tradesmen  for  quotations  in  com- 
petition.     In  the  absence  of  any  quantities  the 
proprietor  or  liis  architect  would,  probably,  in- 
vito hiilf   a  dozen   builders   to  compete  for  his 
work,  which  work,  as  an  example,  I  will  assume 
to  bo  of  the  value  of  (say)  £5,000.     The  average 
sorreyor's  fees    for    measuring   the   quantities 
would  be  IJ  per  cent.,  or  £75,  and  copying  fees 
probably  £10— say,  a  total  of  £85.      Assuming 
this  to  be  a  reasonable  charge  for  such  measm-- 
ing — and  I  think  it  is  if  the  work  be  properly 
and    accurately    done — then    the    contractor's 
labour  involved  in  a  competition  of  sis  builders, 
each  taking  his  own  quantities,  would  be  worth 
£510,  while   each  of  the  five  unsuccessful  ones 
would  be  called  upon  to  spend,  either  in  cash  to 
a  surveyor  or  in  value  of  his  own  or  his  assistant's 
services,    £S5    in   consideration    of    his   having 
had     one    chance    out    of    six    to    obtain    the 
contract.      Practically,    thereforef   builders  re- 
fuse to  compete  unless  quantities  are  delivered  to 
them  free  of  expense  ;  but  whs  n  quantities  are 
supplied  to  them  they  make  no  charge  for  time, 
estimating,  money  spent   in  visiting  the  site  of 
the  proposed  work,  kc,  which  in  itself  is  fre- 
quently a  considerable   sum.     The   case  I  have 
just  assumed  for   argument's    sake   is   but  an 
average   one.      In   many   cases   the   proprietor 
desires  and  obtains  a  much  wider  competition. 
For  example :  in  a  case  I  have  now  before  me  no 
fewer  than  28  tenders  were  submitted,  the  money 
value  of  which  tenders  (if  each  builder  took  out 
hia  own  quantities)  would  be  about  50  per  cent. 
of     the     cost     of     the    intended     work.        To 
obviate  such  an  outlay,  without  depriving  the 
proprietor  of  the  manifest  advantages  of  com- 
petition, the  custom  has  become  almost  universal 
for  the   proprietor,    through,  his   architect,    to 
supply,  at  his  own  cost,  to  each  builder  invited 
to  tender  for  his  work  a  copy  of  the  quantity  of 
the  work  for  which  he  desires  to  obtain  competition 
quotations.     If  such  quantities  be  prepared  by  a 
honajide  surveyor  capable  of  properly  describing 
the  proprietor's  requirements,  as  set  forth  on  the 
architect's  plans  and  specifications,  the  use  and 
advantages  of  such  a  "  Bill  of  Quantities "  are 
of  immense  value  to  the  proprietor.  Third. — TVTio 
prepares  the  *'  Bill  of  Quantities  "  ''     Sometimes 
the  quantities  are  prepared  by  the  architect  him- 
self,  or  by  his  assistants  iu  Ids  name.     In  such 
cases  this  is  done  either  with  the  sanction  of  his 
client  or  on  his  own  appointment  and  responsi- 
bility, but  the  builders  have  no  voice  in  such  ap- 
pointments.     In  other  cases  the  quantities  are 
prepared  by  a  surveyor  appointed  by  the  archi- 
tect or  his  client.  Occasionaily  two  surveyors  are 
appointed — one  by  the  architect  on  behalf  of  and 
in  the  special  interest  of  his  client,  and  the  other 
by  election  of  the  majority  of  the  builders  compet- 
ing. I  know  of  only  one  line  of  argument  in  favour 
of   an   architect    acting   as   his    own    quantity 
surveyor,  viz.,  that  no  other  person  can  know  so 
well   as  himself   what   are   his  requirements  as 
shown  and  described  by  his  plans  and  specifi- 
cations,   nor   is   any  other   person   so   likely  to 
know    what     changes    take     place     requii'ing 
measurement  as  the  work  progresses.     At  first 
sight,    to    a    novice,    this    argument    appears 
plausible,    and,    with   a   first-class   architect  of 
large    experience,    it    may   be    made   to   work 
tolerably  weU;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are 
-  numerous  reasons   against  the  plan,  such  as — 
(a)  The  architect,  as  a  rule,  looks  upon  himself 
as  the  servant  of  his  client  only,  and  in  many 
cases  he  is  restricted  by  his  client  to  a  limit  in 
regard   to   the   cost  of  the  proposed  buildings. 
This  is  especially   the   case  in  connection  with 
works  in  which  architects  have  themselves  com- 
peted ;  also  in  cases  where  the  architect  is  young 
in  the  profession  and  more  subject  to  the  iniiuence 
that  may  be  Virought  to  bear  upon  him  by  his  client . 
(i)  An   architect  who  occasionally  takes  otf  his 
own  quantities  cannot  possess  the  experience  or 
the   facilities   and   special  knowledge  for  such 
work  as  a  surveyor  who  devotes  his  whole  time 
to  it,  and  who  has  been  specially  trained  for  the 
work,   is  able   to  do.     (i-)  An  architect  in  good 
practice  has  the  usual  daily  routine  of  duties  to 
attend,  which  will  necessarily  prevent  him  giv- 
ing the  sole   and   undivided   attention  which  is 
absolutely  necessary  while  the  process  of   ab- 
stracting quantities    is    proceeding,    otherwise 
errors  of  a  more  or  less  serious  character  are  sure 
to  occur;  nor  can  a  measurer's  duty  be  properly 


delegated  to  assistants   any  more   than   can  the 
heavy  responsible  duties   of   eminent  physicians 
or  lawyers   be   delegated   to   unqualified  clerks. 
(</)  In   the  event  of   errors   being  discovered  in 
the  quantities  supplied  by  the  architect  himself, 
he  is  at  once  placed  in  a  false  position.     It  must 
be   most  difficult   for  him  under  such  circum- 
stances    to    hold     the     balance     fairly     and 
equitably  between  himself  and  the   builder  on 
the  one  hand,  and  between  the   builder  and  the 
owner  on  the  other ;  no  matter  how  honest  he 
may  be,  or  desirous  of  doing  what  is  equitable 
towards   the   builder,    he   cannot,    in   the   very 
nature  of  things,  avoid  being  biassed  in  a  measure 
against  the  builder  iu   the   proprietor's  favour, 
when  the  opposite  course  would  expose  his  own 
errors  of   ciuautities,   and  thereby  prejudice  his 
client  against  himself.     Fourth. — As  to  the  cost 
of  quantities  :  the  surveyors'  charges  vary  from 
^  per  cent,  to  2|  per  cent,  on  the  total  estimated 
cost   of   the   work,    plus   the   lithographers'    or 
printers'  charges  for  the  copies.     So  far  as  my 
experience  goes,  I  have  paid  ^^  1,  1:^,  1\,  1|,  2, 
2^ ,  and   2\   per  cent.     These   variations  in  the 
charges  have  not  been  in  consequence  of  the  work 
being  more  or  less  elaborate  or  troublesome  to 
measure  in   a  fair   proportion    to    the    quality 
or  accuracy  of  the  measuring,  but  apparently 
merely  subject  to  the  caprice  of  the  measurer.    I 
tliink  it  but  right  to   say   I  have  rarely  if  ever 
known  any  of  the  leading  London  quantity  sur- 
veyors charge  more  than  li  per  cent.,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  work  done  by  them  is,  as  a 
rule,  of  the  most  perfect  character.  Fifth. — Who 
pays  for  the  quantities  ?     We  as  buUders  know, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  proprietor   about 
to  build  in  all  cases  pays  the   siureyor's   fees, 
although  in  most  eases   he  does   not  know  it — 
simply  because  those  fees  are  made  a  part  of  the 
contract  and  paid  to  the  builder  by  the  proprie- 
tor on  the  certificate  of   the  architect,  and  then 
paid  by  the  builder  to  the  surveyor,  whoever  he 
may  be.  Sixth. — TiTio  should  be  responsible  for 
the  accuracy  of  the  quantities  ?     In  reference  to 
the  only  two  parties  to  a  contract,   shoiild  it  be 
the  proprietor  or  the  builder  ?     I  have  already 
shown  that  the  proprietor,  either  directly  or  in- 
directly, through  his  architect,  almost  invariably 
appoints  the  surveyor  to   supply   the  builder  a 
list    of    the   quantity    of     the     various    work 
he  desires   a    quotation     for    in     competition. 
'^^'hen    he     accepts     a     tender    he   undertakes 
to     pay    the     builder     the     stipulated    price 
for  the    quantity    of    work    mentioned   in   his 
application — neither  more   nor  le.^s.     If,  there- 
fore, the  quantity  given  proves  to  be  deficient  or 
in  excess,  it  is  ob\iously  just  and  right  he  should 
pay  the  builder   less   or  more  according  to  the 
work  actually  done ;    otherwise,  in  the  case  of 
excess   of   work   done,   he   obtains  that   excess 
without  honestly  paying  for  It  (taking  advantage 
of   the   incapability  or    negligence    of    his  own 
appointed  surveyor) .     If ,  on  the  contrary,  there 
be  less  work  done,  then  the  builder  gets  paid  for 
work  he  has  not  done.     During  the  progress  of 
building  each  party  under  these  circumstances 
has   a    strong  inducement  before   him   to  take 
advantage  the  one  of  the  other— the  builder  to 
omit   some    and   scamp   other  work ;  while  the 
proprietor  (or  his  agent)  may  try  all  he  can  to 
take    advantage    of     clauses    iu     his    contract 
giving      him      almost     absolute      powers      to 
impose    work    upon    the    builder    that   is   not 
mentioned     iu     the      quantities     furnished     to 
him,   and  may  refuse  to  pay  for  such  work. 
I  think  I  may  venture  to  assert  that  in  no  other 
trade  but  that  of  a  bmldcr  and  contractor  does 
such  a  state   of   things    exist   as    this — that   a 
tradesman  or  merchant  should  be  called  upon  to 
supply  more  goods  than  are  bargained  for  at  a 
given  price  without   extra  payment.     For  ex- 
ample :  if  a  builder  a^ks  a  timber-merchant    to 
quote  a  price  for  20,000  cubic  feet  of  timber  for 
a  particular  job,  and  the  offer  be  accepted  and 
21,000ft.  be  siipiilied,  no  builderwould  be  knave 
or  fool  enough  to  expect  the  merchant  to  forego 
his  claim  for  the  extra  1,000ft.     Tlie  same  argu- 
ment will  apply  to  all  materials  and  labour  also. 
Again  :  if  the  Corporation  of   Bristol  advertise 
for  and  accept   a  tender  for  (say)   200  suits  of 
police  clothing,  they  do  not  expect  to  get  250 
suits  without  paying  for  the  extra  50  ;  nor  would 
they  pay  for  200  if  only  150  were  delivered.     I 
submit,  then,    taking    all   in   all,    it  is   to   the 
best    interests   of    all   parties — proprietor,    ar- 
chitect,    and   builder — that    iu  every   building 
contract  a  genuine  "  Bill  of  Qu.antities"  should 
be  prepared  by  a  properly-qualified  surveyor  at 
the  expense  of  the  proprietor,  and  guaranteed 


by  him.  This  course  would  inspire  confidence 
in  the  minds  of  the  builder,  and  induce  liim  to 
enter  more  eagerly  into  competition,  haWng  no 
fear  of  his  being  misled  by  incorrect  quantities, 
and  having  no  necessity  to  contemplate  risk  and 
add  any  sum  to  cover  errors.  The  proprietor 
would  have  the  advantage  of  better  competition, 
and  generally  would  obtain  better  work  and 
more  fair  dealing  from  the  builder,  who  would 
have  no  interest  in  omitting  or  scamping  his 
work,  knowing  that  he  would  be  paid  for  the 
work  done  and  no  more.  The  architect  would 
avoid  many  unpleasant  discussions  and  disputes 
during  the  progress  of  the  work  and  after  its 
completion.  Having  said  thus  much  on  the 
general  subject,  I  now  come  to  Seventh. — Th& 
mode  of  measuring  and  abstracting  cinantities. 
Tou  all  know  that  persons  undertaking  to  do 
this  work  differ  in  a  most  estraorJinary  manner 
— not  only  as  to  the  method  of  doing  the 
work  itself,  but  also  in  the  way  of  describing  it 
when  putting  it  into  writing  to  circulate 
amongst  biulders.  These  different  methods  are 
the  cause  of  most  of  the  disputes  arising  in 
respect  of  builders'  accounts ;  and  such  a  state 
of  things  is  not  surprising  when  we  consider  the 
character  of  persons  frequently  employed  in  the 
offices  of  many  architects  in  the  provinces,  who 
supply  their  own  quantities  to  the  builders 
tendering  for  their  work.  The  persons  I  allude 
to  are  often  men  from  the  ranks — joiners,  brick- 
setters,  or  masonr? — who  have  in  the  course  of 
their  regular  employment  at  a  trade  picked  up  a 
little  knowledge  of  measuring,  and  eventually 
seek  and  obtain  enqjloyment  in  an  architect's 
office,  professing  to  be  able  to  measiu-e,  frc. 
I  have  in  my  time  met  with  many  such  cises, 
and  when  tested  such  men  have  shown  their 
ignorance  and  utter  incapacity  for  such  work. 
Unfortunately,  this  too  often  happens  during  the 
progress  or  at  the  measuring  up  of  a  com- 
pleted contract,  when  the  mischief  has  been  done. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  have  the  satisfaction 
occasionally  to  receive  quantities  prepared  by 
surveyors  trained  from  their  youth  to  such  work, 
to  which  no  excepHon  can  be  taken  ;  on  the 
contrary,  the  builder  sees  at  a  glance  the  stamp 
of  the  work  and  has  confidence  in  it,  feeling 
assured  the  measiuing  has  been  correctly  done 
and  unmistakably  described  in  writing.  My 
experience  has  taught  me  that  in  measuring 
builders'  work  in  a  proper  and  intelligible 
manner,  to  enable  the  builder  to  price  such  work 
it  is  necessary  in  aU  eases,  when  practicable,  to 
dissect  and  divide  as  much  as  possible  into 
separate  items — work  involving  labour  ;  that  is, 
by  making  the  first  item  of  any  particular  class 
of  work  to  represent  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
simplest  form  of  it  as  a  basis  to  start  from, 
adding  item  b}'  item  any  increased  value  in 
labour  or  materials  as  distinct  items.  By  this 
method  (which  is  practised  by  the  best  and  most 
experienced  surveyors)  the  work  is  priced  accord- 
ing to  its  merits  or  value.  I  cannot  illustrate 
this  principle  better  than  by  reminding  you 
that  this  is  the  principle  upon  which  a  lady's  dress 
is  built  and  priced.  The  material  and  plain 
labour  in  the  making  is  the  first  item  of  calcula- 
tion ;  then  follow  the  trimmings  to  any  extent 
and  cost,  in  some  cases  multiplying  the  value  of 
the  finished  dress  tliree  or  four-fold  that  of  the 
foundation.  So  it  is  with  every  description  of 
builders'  work  —  from  the  excavations  and 
drainage  to  the  painting  and  decorations.  The 
trimmings  or  extra  items  are  attended  to  and 
properly  described  by  the  bona-fih  surveyor,  but 
more  frequently  ignored  by  the  slovenly  sur- 
veyors I  have  ah-eady  alluded  to.  My  paper  is 
growing  too  long,  and  I  find  it  dilficult  to  convey 
my  meaning  in  a  more  condensed  form.  I  will, 
therefore,  conclude  with  a  few  illustrations  of 
defective  quantities  which  have  come  under  my 
own  notice.  No  doubt  each  one  of  you  could  speak  to 
himdreds  of  such  cases,  and  I  trust  on  some 
future  occasion  other  members  will  foUow  up  the 
subject  and  make  good  the  defects  you  will  not 
fail  to  find  in  what  I  have  hastily  put  before  you. 
Fur  example :  we  frequently  find  surveyors 
measuring  so  many  cube  yards  excavating  and 
wheeling,  omitting  altogether  the  depth  and 
distance  to  wheel,  kc,  &e.  The  same  applies 
regarding  drains.  I  have  known  ornamental 
brickwork  described  as  so  many  yards  or  rods  of 
common  brickwork,  "the  prica  to  include  all 
cutting,  double  coiu'se  of  blue  brick  plinth, 
moiUded  string-course,  ornamental  projecting 
stock  brick  cornices,  gauged  arches,"  &e.,  &c., 
"as  shown  upon  the  drawings."  I  should  like 
to  know  a  builder  ^^'ho  could  properly  price  such 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


181 


■^orkfroju  such  quantities.     I  met  with  a  recent 
case  where  an  arcliitect  had  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing  by     competition    the    commission    for    an 
important    public  building,  with    an    elaborate 
tower  as  part  of  the  structure,  built  with  dressed 
stone,  the  work  being  what  may  be  described  as 
of  a  "  monumental"  character.     The  quantities 
gave  this  work  as  so  many  cube   feet  of   stone, 
including  all  labour  of   every  description,  this 
phrase  being  on  the  heading   and  not  with  the 
quantity.     The  result  of   separate  tenders    for 
the     upper    part     of    this     tower     was     that 
they  varied  from  about  £500  to   £1,700.     The 
lowest  tenders  were  imdoubtedly  priced  as  stone 
and  setting  only,    omitting  all  labour.     1  have 
before  me  quantities  for  a  public  building,  for 
which  the  architect's  charges  are  two  per  cent., 
wherein  he   describes  so  many  "  superficial  feet 
of  moulded  both  sides,  swing  doors,  hung  folding, 
including  quarter-inch  polished  plate-glass  upper 
panels,  protected  by  six  wrought-iron  bars,  and 
patent  swing  hinges  to  stand  open."     No  size  of 
glass,  no  size  or  q\uility   of  bars,   and  no  size  or 
quality  of  hinges  mentioned.     In  many  other 
items  he  give  superficial  feet  of  doors,  including 
best   mortice   locks,   and   rebated   and  moulded 
frames,  and   neither  number  of  doors,  quantity 
or  size  of  frames,  or  number,  size,  or  quality  of 
locks.     You  all  know  in  a  matter  of  locks  "best" 
is  a  -n-ide  term.     It  means  anything  from  7s.  6d. 
to  75s.     In  one  door  he  gives  superficial  feet  of 
door  including  4in.  best  butts,  5  by  4  rebated  and 
beaded  frame,  two   barrel  holts,  strong   chain, 
drop  latch,  lock  (value  13s.  P.  C),  and  approved 
bell-puU.     Another  item  is — "Provide  and  fix 
cistern  on  strong  bearers,  and  foiiu  trap  door," 
without  dimensions  or  particulars  of  any  kind. 
In  m:iny  items  of  this  architect's  quantities,  in 
addition   to   jumbling   up   doors,  locks,  hinges, 
bolts,  &c.,  by  the  foot,  he  hangs  on  the  words — 
"  Including  painting."    This  is  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  separate  bill  for  painting. 
Great  numbers  of  items  of  importance  are  given 
by  this  architect  as  lineal  measure  with  no  sizes. 
Some   items   are   described   as    "fixed,"    while 
others  have  added  to  them  the  words  "including 
fixing."     In  the  former  case  the  buUdcr  cannot 
tell  whether  the  item  is  to  include  materials  or 
not.     Another   specimen    is — "  Superficial   feet 
of   plain    one-inch    boards    (see    plan)."      The 
last  two   bracketed  words  convince  the  builder 
that  quite  the  opposite  of  plain  is  meant ;  but 
he   is  to  be   paid    plain    price.      I   cannot   for 
one  mc    lent  believe  that  the  architect  who  has 
issued  I  hes'j  quantities  has  personally  had  any 
hand  iu  them,  but  they  are  in  his  name,  and  he 
is  to  receive  the  fees,   although  they  have  most 
probably  been  taken  by  some  impostor  who  has 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  place  in  his  office.     I 
say  such  measuring  is  nothing  less  than  a  fraud 
upon  the  proprietor.  This  architect  holds  an  im- 
portant public  appointment,   and  the   work   in 
question  is  public  work.     I  have  recently  seen  a 
surveyor's  final  measured  account  for  a  building 
which  had  been  prepared  in  draft,  then  altered, 
•checked,     re-checked,     and     lithographed     for 
the  purposes  of  an  arbitration   by  order  of  the 
High  Court  of  Justice.     On  this  surveyor  being 
examined  before  the  arbitrator,   he  was  forced 
to  admit  scores  of  errors  in  computation — mainly 
errors  that  would  disgrace  a  charitj-  school- boy. 
In  one  page  of  his  account  he  admitted  no  less  than 
six  most  stupid  errors,  several  of  them  consisting 
of   the    pounds    and   shillings  being  placed  in 
the  wrong  columns.      For  instance  :   8'ft.  at  Id. 
per  foot  was  deducted  as  £2   10s.  Od.  instead  of 
2s.  lOd.     Ttiis  architect  and  surveyor  made  such 
an  exhibition  of  himself  that  his  client  called  the 
builder  (who  was   plaintiff)   aside,   "  threw  up 
the  sponge,"  and  otfered  to  pay  debt,  costs,  and 
interest.     I  have  known  in  one  church  contract 
the   surveyor   omitting  to   add   up  an   item  of 
10,000ft.,   being  the  left-hand  figure  of  a  five- 
figured  item  in  his  abstract  for  stone  facings. 
He  also  omitted  the  whole  of  the  dressed  stone, 
sills,  jambs,  and  arches  to  the  inside  of  all  doors 
and  windows  ;  the  whole  of  the  brick  lining  to 
the  church,  and  the  gutters  and  down-pipes  of 
one   side   of  the    church ;  besides   other   items, 
amounting   in   all    to    the    value   of  £3,000  to 
£t,000.     This  work   was   done   by  the  builder 
without  obtaining  one  shilling  in  payment.     In 
another  case  I  find  a  surveyor  describing  in  a  bUl 
of  quantities  most  elaborate  carved  mahogany 
newel  posts  by  the  lineal  foot.     Thus,   " 
feet  run  of  eight  by  eight  Spanish  mahogany 
newel  posts  cut,  turned,  moulded,  and  carved  to 
details  to  be  suppUed,  iucluding  drops  and  finials 
where  required."  Fromthisdescription,  andby  the 


additional  precaution  of  an  examination  of   the 
contract    drawings,    it    is    impossible    for  any 
bmlder  to  say  what  the  real  value  of  the  work 
maybe.     It   might  be   any   sum   from   10s.  to 
50s.   per    foot,    according    to    the    caprice    or 
conscience  of  the  architect  when  he  subsequently 
designed  the  work  in  detail.     The  same  surveyor 
described  doors  of  an  ordinary  size,  but  contain- 
ing about  sixteen  panels  each,  some   of  tlicm 
with  raised  panels  and  bolcction  moulds,  and  the 
remainder  with  cuspcd  tracery  planted  on  the 
panels.     These  doors  were  described  as  ordiuai-y 
doors,  but  with  the   words,    "see   drawings." 
On  reference  to    the  drawings  they  were  found 
to  be  one  eighth  of  an  inch  scale  only,  on  which 
it    was    impossible   to    show    what    work    the 
architect  might  contemplate,   when  at  a   subso- 
qucnt  period  (after  the  contract  was  made),  he 
furnished   details.       Such   details   might   show 
work     worth    any    sum    from    2s.    to    Cs.    or 
Ss.  per  foot,  and  yet  be  in  accordance  with  the 
one-eighth  of  an  inch  scale  general  drawings. 
I  have  seen  iu  another  schedule  for  competition 
a  number  of  omameutal  wrought -iron  grilles  or 
panels  for  doors,    described  simply  by  number, 
"  to  details  to  be  subsequently  supplied."     It  is 
impossible  to  approach  the  value  of  such  work 
from   such   description ;    each   grille   might   be 
worth  any  sum  from  10s.  to  £10.     In  another 
case,  an  architect  who  was  his  own  surveyor,  re- 
quired a  wrought-iron  cresting  on  the  top  cap- 
ping of  some  gates  to  the  back-)-ard  of  a  house, 
and  described  it  by  the  running  foot,  without 
the  height  being  mentioned  or  a  drawing  of  any 
kind  to  show  the   character  of  the  work.     The 
builder  priced  the  work  at  Is.  6d.  per  foot,  or  15.'=. 
for  a  10ft.  gate.     After  the  contract  was  settled 
the  architect  furnished  a   detail  that  would  cost 
30s.  per  foot,   or  about  three  times  the  value  of 
the  gate  itself.     More  than  this  :  he  claimed  the 
right  to  order  two  additional  gates  and  crestings 
to   be   supplied   at    the   same    contract   prices. 
This    architect    inserted     in     the    same    sche- 
dule    a     large     sum     as     "Provisions"    for 
stained  glass,    grates,   chimney-pieces,   heating 
apparatus,    stable-fittings,     &c.,     all  of    which 
goods  he  ordered  himself  from  his  own  trades- 
men, altogether  unconnected  with  the  contracttr 
in  any  way,  and  he  sent  each  of  these  tradesmen 
certificates  for   their   account  to  be  paid  by  the 
contractor.     This   work,    being    in    a    clifiicLlt 
country  district,    the   contractor   in  his  compe- 
tition tender  priced   the   work  at  home  prices, 
and     added      10     per    cent,    at    the    foot    of 
his     estimate     as    the     most    convenient    way 
to   increa.se   his   prices.      In    the   final   account 
prepared   by  this   architect   he  deducted  all  the 
provisional   sums   and    the   ten    per    cent,    the 
contractor  had  himself  added  iu  his  tender,  and 
added  the   net  amount  of  his  certificates  to  his 
tradesmen,  and  further  deducted  a  fee  from  the 
contractor  for  measuring  the  additions  and  de- 
ductions in   connection   with    these  provisions. 
The  result  of  this  sj'stem  of  dealing  with  the 
account   was   this: — The   contractor's   accepted 
tender  provided  for  him  being  liable  to  a  reduc- 
tion of  (say,  for  example)  £500  if  the  proprietor 
pro\-ided  certain   goods   himself.     These   goods 
were  so  supplied,  but  instead  of  £500  being  ex- 
pended the  architect  expended  £600.     He  orders 
the  builder  to  pay  his  tradesmen  £600,  giving 
him  credit  for  that  sum  net  in  the  final  account, 
but  debiting  him  with  £550  plus  measuring  fees. 
The  contractor  thus  had  to  advance  the  money, 
or,  in   other  words,  he   acted   as   banker  to  the 
proprietor,    forfeiting  his  own  legitimate  profit 
as  contracted  for,  and  paid   the  architect  a  fee 
for  the   privilege    of   having  been  permitted  or 
forced  to  do  the  work  for  nothing.     This  archi- 
tect did  not   dispute  the  facts  as  stated,  and  he 
did    not   attempt   to    explain   his   account,    but 
claimed  absolute  authority  to  debit  or  credit  any 
sum  he  chose,  and   that  his  decision  was  final 
and  binding.     I  bcUeve  this  architect  charged, 
altogether,  over  5  per  cent,   fees  on  the  work 
done  in  respect  of  the  first  quantities  and  subse- 
quent measuring  of  additions  and  omissions,  and, 
as  is  often  the  case,  the  larger  the  fees  the  worse 
the  work.     The  whole  of  the  work  so  done  was 
not   worth  so  much  as  the  paper  on  which  the 
quantities    were    written,    while    the    grossest 
possible  ignorance  of  such  work  was  exhibited. 
In   conclusion :  the  question   will   probably  be 
put — What  remedy  do  you  propose  'i    This  is  a 
large  and  difficult  question,  which  I  will  not  at 
this   time   venture   fully  to   discuss,  but  I  will 
just  give  one  ©r  two  sentences,  and  I  have  done. 
1 .  I  earnestly  urge  builders  individually  and  collective  1  y 
to  do  their  best  to  put  an  end  to  such  a  state  of  tluuga  by 


rejectinff  nil  quantities  that  Bhow  on  their  face  they  are 
not  genuine  aud  are  the  work  ..f  un<iualil..-d  pereonn.  If 
an  eua  be  put  to  the  deiuund  for  such  quantitiea  thesupply 

a.  Jtifiot  upon  the  quantities  being  the  basif  of  all  con- 

3.  'J'liis  Association  should  at  an  early  dat«  calmly  con- 
sider the  question  as  to  whether  it  is  praeUcable,  in  con- 
junction Willi  aiclutecta'  ussociutions,  to  agree  to  noma 
line  01  notion,  whcnl.y  impostoni  ejilling  Uicnuelna 
surieyors  can  be  weeded  out  an<l  prt- v.nt«l from  foU 
lowing  the  profession  of  quantity  and  lueusurinK  ia- 
yeyois  ;  und  that  all  men  uudertaking  »u<  h  work  aliould. 
bysoineeffeclutil  means,  qualify  th.iiiMlves,  by  liitno, 
orcliplonia  of  some  kind,  to  pii.ve  thi  ir  lUneas  for  tha 
duty.  I  understand  some  sneli  plan  is  pi,  val.-ot  in  Scot- 
land, and  It  would  be  well  it  we  could  useenain  wliat  tha 
practice  16 lu  Irance,  Ueimany  aud  llelKiuin. 

\yith  a  view  to  remedyiiiff  the  Kreat  eyil 
which  Ihave  thus  but  imperfectly  dencribcd,  and 
which  is  known  to  uU  builders  us  a  moat  Krievoua 
evil  they  labour  under,  und  which  \\a»,  in  him- 
dreds  of  instances,  cau.sid  the  luin  of  buildeni  of 
small  capital,  when  they  Iiave  l«en  powerlefcB  to 
help  themselves,  I  have  penned  thc»o  ronuirkii. 


CHIPS. 

The  mcinorial-stoueof  the  now  public-h&ll,  now 
in  course  of  erection  in  Kore-slnet,  Devonnort 
was  laid  on  Wednesday  week,  Iiidcr  the  LrRe 
concert-room  will  t.o  six  ofliccs  or  shops  facing  thn 
street,  and  beneath  are  foureetflof  vaulta,  nil  of 
which  will  be  let  off.  The  contract  for  crccliou  haa 
been  taken  at  £f-,lU0,  but  the  cent  c,{  purchaso  of 
leases,  furnishing,  and  architects'  fees  will  briuR  the 
total  expense  to  about  £10,500.  .Mr.  Sainuol 
Kuiyht,  of  Cornhill,  London,  ia  the  architect,  amd 
Mr.  James  Matcham,  of  I'ljmouUi,  tho  ton- 
tractor. 

A  new  mission-hall,  &c.,  at  Birkenhead,  and  ia 
connection  with  the  Grange-road  I'reabyterian 
church  of  that  town,  was  opened  on  the  l-t  ult. 
The  new  buildings,  which  consist  of  large  hall, 
with  open-timber  roof,  entrance  porch,  clam- 
rooms,  and  keeper's  residence,  have  been  rrirted 
by  Messrs.  Xickson,  of  Seacciube,  from  the  de- 
signs and  under  the  superintendence  of  Measn. 
Muirhead  and  Baldwin,  architects,  of  Manchester. 

The  Cork  Gas  Consumers'  Company  have  adopted 
a  report  and  plans  by  Mr.  George  Anderson,  CE., 
their  engineer,  for  the  partial  reconstruction  and 
enlargement  of  the  older  portion  of  their  woika. 

At  the  recent  annual  meeting  of  the  trustees  of 
Bishop  Monk's  Ilorfield  Tru^t,  the  following 
grants  were  made  for  building  or  lepaiHof;  glebe 
houses:  — St.  Matthew's,  Kingsdowu,  £300;  Bia- 
hopston,  Wilts,  £200  ;  St.  Michu.  I'b,  Two-MUc-hill, 
£00;  and  St.  Luke's,  Barton-hill,  £00. 

The  Epsom  highway  board  on  Wednesday  week 
increased  the  salary  of  thtir  euiveyor  by  £50  a 
year. 

For  the  vacant  office  of  the  anrveyor  to  the 
local  b6ard  of  Aldcrehot,  lOS  apjiliuitiona  have  been 
received. 

A  church-clock  striking  the  quarters,  and  mads 
by  Messrs.  Thwaites  and  Iteed,  of  Clerkenwell,  haa 
just  been  placed  in  the  parish-church  of  Wcat 
Clandon,  near  Guildford,  as  a  memorial  to  tho 
rector's  wife. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  coffee- la  Tern, 
now  being  erected  in  Xorth-stn.  t.  Guildford,  waa 
laid  on  Wednesday  w  cek  by  the  Kurl  of  Guildford. 
The  building,  which  will  be  known  oa  the  "  Koyal 
Arms,"  is  being  built  of  I.  eul  l.iicka,  and  will 
contain,  in  the  basement,  kitchen  and  oflices, 
with  youths'  recreation  room  ;  on  the  ground- floor 
a  Ion"  bar-room,  with  bagateih  and  l.illiard-njom, 
dining-room  for  commercial  n.en,  and  mannger*! 
rooms';  on  the  first  lloor  will  be  an  assembly  r.Kim, 
aud  four  bedrooms  for  commercial  men,  and  •tct 
these,  other  bedroims  for  working  men,  aud  a 
lodgers'  library.  The  total  cost  will  be  £2,000; 
MrrA.  B.  H.irding  is  th<  architect,  aud  Mr.  Ueury 
Shaw  the  superintendent  of  works. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Waller,  of  the  firm  of  Waller  and 
Sons,  architects,  of  Gloucester,  haa  been  apj«.  i.nid 
Leclurcron  Building Mnleriala  and  CousUl.mu, 
at  the  Royal  Agricultural  College,  Cnnceati  r. 

On  Thursdav,  tho  .5th  inat..  at  th-  Wrat  Riding- 
court,  Bradford.  Joshua  Tajb...  I"iild-r.  of 
0.\endon,  was  fined  hi.  and  roa  -.  I  r  en^uuK 
stables  not  in  accordance  with  Ibo  p  ■in  whieh  Lo 
had  deposited  with  tho  Douholn.e  to  >1  bond. 

A  new  mill  at  Halifax,   built  ..      n      -   ^ 

Flour  Society,  Limited,  was  op  i 
week.     It  is  erected  on  tho  Baile> 
has  nt  present  30  pair?  of  al/uis 
will  «oon  be  increased  to  50.  and  li.ir-j   are   »!•« 
warehouses  ond  other  premises.     Thry  haTc  U«a 
in  course  of  erection  since  187..     Ho  chauman  of 
the  board  of  directors  mentione  i  ib.t  the  i»^»^ 
for  the  new  pr,  mists  amount,  d  to  i  ;o,i<»),  aod  »• 
extras  would  1*  less  thin  I  J0<1.     The  arctutwt  wmi 
Mr.  Richard  Ho  stall,  of  lUlifax. 


182 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


173 


Builders'  Extras    ...     ■.•  ^■-     ■•.\^  — 

The  Report  of  the  Water  Supply  Committee 

Chateaux  of  the  Loire 1V4 

An  Experiment  in  Acoustics    176 

Report  of  the  Royal  Commissioners  on  the  Drainage 

of  Dublin     ,. 176 

Surrey  AicbTOolog-ical  Society 177 

Improvements  in  Belfast    177 

Roof  Coverings      ,     178 

The  ^Vrchitectural  Association  in  East  Anglia    17S 

Bills  of  Quantities  and  Measuring  Builders*  Work  ...  179 

Chips 181 

Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 1S2 

Archreological 1S2 

Competitions 182 

The  Archreologicallnstitute  at  Lincoln       195 

Building  Intelligence   106 

Schoolsof  Art 10(3 

To  Correspondents 196 

Correspondence      ISO 

Intercommunication    197 

Parliamentary  Notes    19S 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      198 

Statues.  Memorials,  &c 199 

Our  Office  Table    199 

Chips 200 

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      201 

Tenders     201 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


HOMES  :     MB.     J. 

WICK.  —  PLACE  HOUSE, 
LOISE. —  DESIGN  FOB  j 
BOHAN   CATHOLIC    SAN'CTl 


S    HOUSE  AT  CHIS- 
rOWEY.  —  CHATEAUX     OF      THE 
OAMEKEErER'S    COTTAGE. —  A 


Our  Lithographic  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


AETIST3 


DOLLilAN  S 


HOIEES  :    NO.     6. — lER. 

HOUSE,    CHISWICK. 

The  examples  whicli  we  have  thus  far  illustrated 
of  "Artists'  Homes"  hare  all  been  more  or  less 
of  an  extensive  character.      Although  our  pri- 
m.iry  intention,  in  giving  this  series  of  artists' 
residences  and  studios,   was   to   illustrate  those 
chiefly  of  our  leading  painters,    sculptors,   and 
architects,  yet  we  had  no  idea  of  alone  confining 
our   drawings  to  houses   strictly   of  this  class. 
Such  buildings  must,  of  course,    possess  an  in- 
terest peculiarly  their  own — often,  indeed,  from 
the  celebrity  of  their  owners,    rather  than  from 
the     architectural     merit     of     the     particular 
house  illustrated.     The  houses,  however,  which 
will  always  have  a  more  general   value  to  the 
major  number  of  our   readers,   will   necessarily 
be  those  of  a  less    costly  plan,    and  thus  well- 
within  the  reach  of  most  of  that  large  class  in- 
cluded under  the  title  of  artists.     Of  this  more 
limited   character  cf  building  is  the  house,  with 
studio,  for  Mr.  J.  C.  DoUman,   which   we  illus- 
trate by  a  double-page  plate  to-day.     The  build- 
ing is  simply   one  of  a   pair    built   in   Newton 
Grove,    Bedford    Park,  Chiswick,    on    the   old 
orchard  site ;  and,  as  an  example  of  architecture, 
may  be  taken   to   be   as   uupi'etending   and   as 
inexpensive   as   it  can  possibly   be,    depending 
entirely  upon  the  common-seuse  convenience  of 
its  interior  arrangements,  and  picturesque  pro- 
portions of  its    elevation  for  all  the  etlect  which 
has  been  aimed  at.      The   almost  universal  re- 
quirements of   economy  and  limited  area  of  site 
were  in  this  case  a  very   primary   consideration, 
and  for  this  reason  two  houses  were  determined 
upon,  in  order  that  the  most  might  be  made  of 
both  the  individual  plots   on  which  the  houses 
stand,  by  placing  the  buildings  together  in  the 
centre  of   the   combined   areas,  instead  of  each 
house   in   the   middle   of   either,  while   another 
important  stipulation  was   to  preserve  as  mauy 
of   the    standing    and    thickly- placed   trees    as 
possible.     The  studio   here,  as  in  all  painters' 
houses,    governs   the    planning   of   the  house ; 
and,  to    avoid    the   foliage   on    every   side,    as 
well   as  for  questions   of  economy,   this  apart- 
ment   has   been   arranged    on   the    first    floor, 
and  is  reached  from  a   roomy  proportioned  hall 
by  an  easy  and  wide  staircase,  immediately  ap- 
proached from  the  entrance  door,  so  that  visitors 
need  not  necessarily  be  brought  into  the  more 
strictly  private  part  of   the  house.     A   models' 
stair  is  arranged  in  the  rear,  with   shelves  for 
plants  beyond,  and  a  glass  house  over,   for  the 
purpose  of  painting  with  open-air  efi'ects  from  the 
model.     A  balcony  is  arranged  over  the  dining- 
room  bay  for  the  painter's  use,   when  requiring 
a  brief    release    from    the    confinement   of   the 
studio,  and  another  is  arranged  with  a  south- 
western aspect,  for  use  in  chill  and  early  spring 
weather.     The  large  gable  window,  which  con- 
stitutes the  chief  means  of  lighting  the  studio, 


directly  faces  the  north,  aud  for  top-light  effects, 
a  skylight  is  contrived,  with  shutters  to  be  used 
when  such  a  flood  of  light  is  not  required.  On 
the  ground  floor,  a  diniug-room,  20ft.  6in.  by 
1.5ft.,  is  provided,  with  a  garden  door  conveni- 
ently arranged,  and  a  servinghatehway  from  the 
kitchen.  The  drawing-room  is  ISft.  long  and 
13ft.  Gin.  wide.  A  good  storeroom  is  placed 
next  the  staircase,  and  the  kitchen,  which  is 
17ft.  Gin.  by  I'ift.  Gin.,  is  weU  screened  from 
the  hall  by  a  cuitained  lobby.  The  sciUery 
and  offices  are  beyond.  On  the  first  floor, 
besides  the  studio,  which  is  '2Cft.  Gin.  by  19ft., 
two  large  bedrooms,  with  bathroom  and  w.c, 
are  arranged,  similar  rooms  being  repeated  on 
the  next,  or  top,  floor.  The  other  house  possesses 
a  south-west  and  south-east  aspect,  with  a  com- 
modious hall  and  staircase,  large  reception- 
rooms,  and  convenient  arrangements  on  the  first 
and  second  floors.  The  materials  used  are  red 
bricks  for  the  walls,  with  cut  bnck  arches  and 
sQls,  pilasters,  and  strings.  The  cove  and 
front  gables  are  finished  in  plaster  of  grey  lime, 
having  a  drying  colour  of  creamy  white, 
and  Mr.  Dollman  intends  to  personally  enrich 
the  gables  with  scratched  ornament,  after  the 
manner  shown.  The  roofs  are  covered  with 
tiles,  like  the  gables,  and  a  feature  in  the  com- 
position of  the  design  is  made  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  chimney-stacks.  The  external 
woodwork  is  painted  a  creamy  white.  The 
architect,  from  whose  desigus  and  under  whose 
supervision  the  work  is  being  executed,  is  Mr. 
Maurice  B.  Adams,  A.R.I. B. A.,  of  Bedford 
Park,  Chiswick.  Our  next  artist's  home  will  be 
that  of  SirFredk.  Leighton,  P.R.A.,  including 
illustrations  of  his  celebrated  Arab  Hall,  of 
which  drawings  were  exhibited  this  year  at  the 
Rjyal  Academy. 


PIACE   HOUSE,    FOWEY. 

FowET  is  about  25  miles  below  Plymouth  ;  it 
has  a  fine  church,  of  which  the  tower,  somewhat 
similar  in  style  to  the  present  subject,  was 
illustrated  Nov.  30,  1877,  and  its  rich  font, 
Nov.  24,  1S7G.  The  accompanying  drawing  is 
only  of  a  small  part  of  the  house,  not  more 
than  a  quarter  of  the  extent  of  the  front  being 
shown.  "The  Place"  occupies  the  site  of  the 
Kune'  s  Court,  the  reputed  palace  of  the  Earls  of 
Cornwall.  At  the  time  of  the  French  assault  on 
the  town  in  14-57,  "  the  wife  of  Thomas  Treft'ry," 
according  to  Leland,  "with  her  servants,  re- 
pelled their  enemies  out  of  the  house,  in  her 
husband's  absence ;  whereupon  he  builded  a 
right  faire  and  strong  embattled  tower  in  his 
house,  and  embattled  it  to  the  walls  of  his  house, 
in  a  manner  made  it  a  castle,  and  unto  this  day 
it  is  the  glory  of  the  towne  building  of  Foey." 
The  tower  is  lOSft.  high.  The  Place  was  care- 
fully restored  by  the  late  Mr.  Joseph  Treffry 
(ne  Austen,  the  representative  through  the 
female  line  of  the  ancient  family),  and  the  late 
owner,  the  Rev.  Dr.  .J.  E.  Treffry,  also  an  anti- 
quarian, who  died  a  few  weeks  ago  on  board  the 
}-acht  in  which  he  spent  much  of  his  later  years. 

THE     CHATEAUX    OF    THE    LOIEE. 

For.  descriptions  of  these  sketches,  see  article  on 
p.   174. 

DESIGN    FOE    THE    INTEEIOE    OF    A    SASCTUAEY. 

This  drawing  is  a  preliminary  study  for  the 
chancel  of  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  proposed 
to  be  erected  in  a  suburb  of  London,  and  is 
designed  with  a  special  view  to  the  ritual  and 
requirements  of  the  present  day.  The  archi- 
tect is  Mr.  S.  J.  Nichull,  of  1,  Caversham  road, 
London,  N.W. 

"BUTLDINO    news"     DESIONINO    CLUB. — A      GAME- 
KEEPER'S     COTTAGE. 

A  gambkeepee's  cottage  affords  one  of  the  most 
favourable  occasions  for  picturesque  design,  and 
we  think  "Alfred  "  has  succeeded  in  producing 
a  design  quite  equal  to  the  occasion.  We  pub- 
lish illustrations  of  his  plan,  which  wo  have 
selected  for  the  first  place  in  the  competition, 
herewith. 


ARCH^OLOGICAIi. 

Ancient  Toubs  in  Switzeeland.— An  in- 
teresting find  of  ancient  tombs,  supposed  to  have 
formed  part  of  a  Burguudian  burying-ground, 
was  made  a  short  time'ago  at  Assens,  a  village 
of  Canton  Vaud.  These  tombs,  which  follow 
each  other  in  regular  order,  are  hollowed  out  of 
the  rock  on  a  hill  at  the  entrance  of  the 
village  about  3ft.  below  the  soil.  They 
are  each  two  metres  long  and  80  centim  ctres  wide. 
At  the  head  of  each  grave  is  a  flat  stone,  dressed, 
but  bearing  no  inscription.  The  bon.-s  are  dis- 
posed in  the  ordinary  way,  as  if  the  bodies  to 
which  they  belonged  had  been  laid  down  in  a 
horizontal  position,  and  not  vertically,  as  in  some 
tombs  lately  opened  at  Chamblandes,  in  the  same 
canton.  Fragments  of  tibite,  femurs,  and  the 
clavicles  were  found,  but  no  skulls.  One  of  the 
tombs  contained  the  bones  of  an  adult  and  an  in- 
fant, presumably  of  a  mother  and  her  cliUd. 
Among  the  objects  found  are  pieces  of  curiously- 
wrought  and  chased  metal  and  .silver  rivets,  the 
remains,  probably,  of  a  warrior's  glaive  and 
sword-belt.  In  another  of  the  tombs  was  a  bell- 
mouihed  vase  of  the  capacity  of  half  a  litre, 
black  as  to  its  exterior,  but  in  substance  yeUow. 
Whether  the  material  of  which  it  is  composed  be 
stone  or  burnt  earth  has  not  been  determined. 
Inside  as  well  as  outside  there  are  traces  of 
lozenge-shaped  figures  executed  apparently  with 
some  graving  tool.  The  chief  interest  of  these 
tombs  consists  in  the  fact  that  they  are  almost 
certainly  coeval  with  the  arrival  of  the  Bur- 
gundians  in  the  Jura  country  in  the  fifth  century, 
whither  they  were  called  by  the  aboriginal  in- 
habitants torepeople  the  land,  almost  depopulated 
by  an  invasion  of  the  Alemanni.  Being  for  the 
most  part  shepherds  and  hunters,  they  dwelt 
chiefly  on  the  mountain  slopes  and  m  elevated 
valleys.  The  plateau  of  Mount  Jorat  appears  to 
have  been  one  of  their  most  important  settlements, 
and  there  can  bo  little  doubt  that  the  origin  of 
Assens,  as  weU  as  of  Cheseaux,  where  also  Bur- 
gundian  tombs  have  been  found,  dates  back  some 
1,400  years. 

COMPETITIONS. 

Halifax    Higher    Boaed    School.  —  At    a 


A  new  memorial  window  of  stained  glass  has 
just  been  place!  in  the  eastern  partof  St.  Andrew'. 
Church,  Derby.  The  two  chief  lights  contain  as 
subjects  the  Fall  of  Man,  Moses  aud  the  Burning 
Bush,  and  the  Annuuciation  aud  the  Nativity,  and 
in  the  Sesfoid  rose  head  are  types  of  the  six  days' 
woik  of  creation.  The  window  is  in  the  1.5th- 
ceutury  style,  and  is  from  the  atelier  of  Messrs, 
Lavei*^,  Barraud,  and  Westlake,  of  London. 


special  meeting  of  the  Halifax  School  Board, 
held  on  Tuesday,  it  was  decided  to  invite  plans 
iu  competition  for  a  Higher  Board  School,  for 
250  boys  and  250  girls,  from  the  following  three 
local  architects,  or  firms  of  architects :— Mr. 
Richard  Horsfall,  of  Halifax  ;  Messrs.  Jackson 
and  Longley,  of  Bradford ;  and  Messrs.  Leem- 
ing  and  teeming,  of  Halifax. 

St.  Matthias  (Uppee  Tulse-Hill)  Church 
Cojipetition.— The  Rev.  John  T.  Gadsdun 
writes  us:  — "AVill  you  allow  me,  through 
the  medium  of  your  columns,  to  inform 
the  gentlemen  who  kindly  competed  for  St. 
Matthias  Church,  Upper  Tulse-hill,  that  the 
motto  of  the  design  placed  first  by  the  com- 
mittee is  a  Red  Cross  in  a  Circle,  and  the  archi- 
tects are  Messrs.  Harnor  and  Waters,  John- 
street,  Adelphi'r" 

CHIPS. 

St.  Mary's  Church,  Sowerby,  was  reopened  last 
week,  after  renovation  and  decoration  earned  out 
by  Mr.  Jonas  Baius,  of  King  Cross,  near  Sowerby. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Baptist  chapel 
was  laid  on  Saturday  week  at  Primrose-hill,  near 
Huddersfiekl  ;  it  will  measure  57ft.  by  lott.,  and 
will  accommodate  700  persons,  at  a  cost  for  erection 
of  .£4,000. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Sussex  Archseological 
Society  was  held  at  Boxgrove  this  week,  where  the 
church  was  to  be  described  by  Mr.  Lacy  fudge, 
architect.  In  the  afternoon  Halnaker  and  the 
Duke  of  Richmond's  seat  at  Goodwood  were  to  be 
visited. 

Mr.  Benjamin  D.  Frost,  civil  engineer,  under 
whose  supervision  the  Hoosac  Tunnel  was  con- 
structed, died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  July  19.  Mr. 
Frost  was  a  resident  of  Massachusetts,  but  had 
been  in  the  West  several  months  prosecuting  sur- 
veys for  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver, 
in  which  work  he  was  actively  engaged  to  the  end. 
He  was  within  a  few  years  of  completing  his 
fiftieth  year. 

A  new  fish-market,  erected  by  Lord  Bute,  was 
opened  on  Wednesday  last  at  Cardiff. 

The  will  of  the  late  Mr.  J.  E.  riauche  has  been 
proved  by  Mr.  S.  I.  Tucker,  his  sole  executor  and 
successor  iu  the  office  of  Somerset  Herald,  the  per- 
sonal estate  being  sworn  under  £1,000. 


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Place  -  House  -Fowey  -  Cornwall 


The  Building  [^ews,  Aug.  13.  I^^O. 


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A    ROMAN     CATHOLIC     SANCTUARY 

B^"   S.J.NICHOLL..\RCHn"ECr 


Aug.  13,  18S0. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


195 


THE  AECILEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTE  AT 
LINCOLN. 

THE  Archoeological  Institute,  which  held  one 
of  its  earliest  and  most  successful  meetings 
at  Lincoln  in  1848,  has  just  been  repeating  its 
visit  to  that  city,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln.  "We  have  not  attended  the 
meeting  either  this  year  or  last,  the  facilities 
afforded  in  former  years,  and  still  afforded  in 
the  case  of  the  sister  aESOciation,  whose  meeting 
next  week  at  Devizes  we  hope  to  nport,  not 
having  been  vouchsafed.  The  following  irsiiiin' 
of  the  proceedings  is  mainly  gathered  frim  a 
very  well  written  summary  in  the  Ouaidian. 
The  proceedings  opened  on  Tuesday,  July  27, 
when  the  Bishop  then  took  the  chair  as  local 
president,  and  delivered  an  opening  address. 
The  reception  over,  the  President  and  members 
of  the  In.stitute  repaired  to  the  New  Corn  K.x- 
change,  where  they  were  entertained  at  luneheon 
by  the  Mayor  ai;d  Corporation.  This  official 
banquet  was  succeeded  by  a  visit  to  some  of  the 
more  interesting  archaeological  remains  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  city,  umler  the  guidance  of  the 
Bishop  of  Nottingham  and  Precentor  Venables, 
embracing  the  churches  of  St.  Mary-le-Wigford 
and  St.  Peter-at-Gowts.  The  towers  of  both 
these  churches,  though  actually  erected  after  the 
Conquest,  are  excelkut  examples  of  pra;-Norman 
architecture.  They  are  tall,  slender,  unbut- 
tressed  structures,  battering  as  they  rise,  the 
coupled  belfry-windows  supported  by  mid- 
wall  shafts,  an  English  version  of  the  Roman- 
esque campanile  of  Italy — in  the  words  of  Mr. 
E.  A.  Freeman,  "  as  much  at  home  on  the  banks 
of  the  Adige  as  on  that  of  the  Witham."  These 
towers  have  been  attributed  by  Mr.  Freeman  to 
one  "  Colswegen,"  a  Dane,  to  whom,  according 
to  I)omi'S(l(tij^  the  Conqueror  made  a  grant  of 
land  '*  below-hill,'*  on  wliich  he  erected 
houses  and  two  churches.  But  an  Anglo-Saxon 
inscription,  occupying  the  pedimeutal  head  of  a 
Roman  sepulchral  slab  built  into  the  west  wall 
of  St.  Mary-le-Wigford's  tower,  deciphered  by 
Professor  Mullenhof,  and  read  to  the  members 
by  Prebendary  Wordsworth,  clearly  assigns  the 
erection  and  dedication  of  that  church  to  "Eir- 
tig,"  and  Colswegen's  claim  vanishes.  St.  Peter- 
at-Gowts,  however,  may  very  possibly  have 
been  founded  by  him.  The  Early  EngUsh 
interior  of  St.  Mary's  was  visited  and  duly  appre- 
ciated, and  the  excellence  of  its  restoration  com- 
mented on.  The  south  aisle  is  a  modern  addition 
at  the  cost  of  the  late  vicar,  in  which,  with  much 
wisdom,  no  attempt  his  been  made  to  copy  the 
lovely  arcade  opposite.  St.  Peter-at-Gowts 
("gout"  is  a  local  term  for  a  sluice  or  water- 
course, Fr.  egoiit)  has  been  less  happy  in  its 
restoration.  The  so.called  "White  Friars  "  was 
then  inspected.  It  is  an  excellent  example  of  a 
half-timbered  house  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the 
residence  of  a  well-to-do  citizen,  with  some 
thirteenth-century  work  below.  The  party  then 
moved  on  to  the  liall  of  St.  Mary's  Gudd,  locally 
ImoTUTi  as  "John  of  Gaunt's  Stables,"  one  of 
the  most  valuable  examples  of  the  domestic 
architecture  of  the  twelfth  century  to  be  found 
in  England.  In  the  courtyard  behind  the  hall 
is  an  almost  perfect  and  nearly  unique  specimen 
of  a  small  Norman  house.  The  whole  premises 
stand  in  need  of  some  careful  conservative 
repair— «o<  rrftorafion.  Opposite  to  this  build- 
ing stood  "John  of  Gaunt's  Palace,"  the  resi- 
dence of  his  mistress,  Katherine  Swynfori,  the 
Mcestress  of  our  pre.sent  Royal  Family  and  the 
sister  of  Chaucer's  wife,  whom  he  afterwards 
married  at  the  altar  of  the  cathedral  in  which 
she  lies  buried.  A  magnificent  Early  Perpen- 
dicular window  (figiu-ed  by  Pugiu),  now  lighting 
awashhouse,  bears  testimony  to  the  former -splen- 
dour of  the  mansion.  It  was  now  time  to  climb 
the  hill  to  the  castle,  to  listen  to  Mr.  G.  T.  Clark's 
lecture,  which,  commenced  in  the  lower  ward, 
was  finished  within  the  eiiniiit,  of  the  keep,  which 
crowns  the  lofty  mound,  pronounced  by  him 
"  the  finest  example  of  a  shell-keep  existing  in 
England."  The  external  walls  and  gateways  of 
the  castle  itself  he  assigned  to  the  Conqueror, 
the  keep  being  not  earlier  than  Stephen.  Mr. 
Clark  called  attention  to  the  widely  prevail- 
ing mistake  that  the  earthworks  and  mounds 
here  and  elsewhere  where  William  is  recorded 
to  have  erected  castles,  are  of  the  same  date  as 
the  masonry  they  sustain,  for  they  actually 
represent  much  ea'rlier  strongholds,  thrown  up 
by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  of  which  William  took 
advantage  to  form  his  fortresses.  Banks  of 
earth  of  such  dimensions  would  require  a  very 


considerable  time  to  settle,  and  years  must  have 
elapsed  before  they  were  stable  enough  to  sup- 
port heavy  walls  of  stone.  Mr.  Clark  pursued 
the  subject  at  the  evening  meeting  in  a  paper 
on  "Post-Roman  and  English  Earthworks," 
giving  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  praj-Norman  fortifications. 

Wednesday  morning  opened  with  a  paper  by 
Mr.  J.  T.  Micklethwaitc,  on  the  "Growth  of  a 
Parish  Church."  The  paper,  characterised  by 
extensive  and  accurate  knowledge,  careful  obser- 
vation, and  sound  deductive  jiower,  was  one  of 
the  most  real  additions  to  our  arelueological 
knowledge  aflorded  by  the  meeting.  The  prin- 
ciple which  Mr.  Micklethwaito  laid  down  as 
"the  key  to  the  history  of  the  development  of 
our  parish-churclics,"  from  small  aisleless  struc- 
tures to  the  spacious  and  varied  edifices  which 
meet  us  almost  in  every  village — viz.,  that  they 
never  ceased  to  bo  used — is  one  that  exjil  lins 
many  difiiculties  and  solves  many  problems. 
Wherever  they  could,  our  forefathers  built  out- 
side the  existing  fabric,  and  the  altar,  if  moved 
at  all — which  was  not  the  case  in  the  majority 
of  instances — was  the  last  thing  touched.  W(  stern 
towers,  of  which  only  a  small  percentage  are 
older  than  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  ma- 
jority not  older  than  the  fifteenth,  were  often 
built  beyond  the  existing  church,  which  was 
afterwards  lengthened  westwards  to  join  them. 
The  north  aisle  was  the  earliest,  and  often  the 
only  one  built,  because  the  burial-ground  was 
on  the  south  side.  The  lecturer  protested  against 
depriving  our  churches  of  "life  and  human 
interest"  by  altering  Late  windows  to  suit  our 
modern  canons  of  taste. 

Canon  Wickenden  then  read  an  account  of  the 
"  Muniments  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter,"  and 
Canon  Perry  succeeded  with  a  graphic  account 
of  the  various  Episcopal  Visitations  of  the 
Chapter,  from  the  historical  visitation  of 
Groteste,  the  first  on  record,  to  that  of  Bishop 
Smith,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the 
juvenile  Dean  Fitzhugh's  young  companions 
were  charged  with  shooting  at  the  carved  work 
of  the  cathedral  with  cross  bows,  and  holding 
unlawful  "  commessationes "  with  cards  and 
dice  and  strong  potations  in  the  "  common 
chamber  of  the  church." 

Wednesday  afternoon  was  devoted  to  an 
excursion  to  Gainsborough,  where  the  Institute 
was  received  by  Sir  Hickman  Bacon,  in  the  fine 
old  Hall  of  the  Burghs,  which  is  beingcarefidly 
restored  by  Mr.  Somers  Clarke.  This  mansion 
is  a  capital  example  of  half-timbered  construc- 
tion, with  a  crenellated  brick  tower,  and  an 
elaborate  stone  oriel  to  the  lofty  hall,  in  wliich 
the  Institute  partook  of  a  well-furnished  meal, 
as  Henry  VIII.,  and  his  fr.iil  Queen,  Catherine 
Howard,  had  done  340  years  before,  as  Lord 
Burgh's  guests.  After  the  meal  Mr.  Somers 
Clarke  described  the  architectural  features  of  the 
mansion,  illustrated  by  a  large-sized  plan.  The 
patty  then  moved  on  by  Lea  and  Knaith  to 
Stowe.  Here  the  one  object  of  interest  was  the 
noble  minster  of  St.  Mary's,  preserving  tradi- 
tions, and  some  assert  actual  remains,  of  the 
church  erected  by  St.  Etheldreda's  husband, 
Egfrid  of  Northumbria,  which  eventually  (ac- 
cording to  some  historians :  but  the  point  is 
doubtful)  became  the  cathedral  church  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  diocese  of  Sidnacester,  the 
mother  of  Lincoln,  burnt  by  the  Danes 
c.  870.  The  tower  piers  and  part  of  th?  tran- 
septs are  certainly  of  prae-Norman  building,  c. 
1040  ;  the  nave  being  the  work  of  Rcmigius,  and 
the  stone-vaulted  chancel  that  of  Alexander, 
Bishop  of  Lincoln.  The  admirable  restoration 
of  this  church,  a  quarter  of  a  century  bacl;,  was 
the  first  introduction  to  the  diocese  of  Lincoln 
of  Mr.  J.  L.  Pearson,  the  now  celebrated  arclii- 
tect  of  Truro  Cathedral.  AVednesday  evening 
was  devoted  to  a  conversazione  and  an  inspection 
of  the  temporary  museum. 

Thursday  was  saddened  by  the  intelligence  of 
the  almost  sudden  death  of  Mrs.  Blakesley,  the 
Dean's  lady,  who  had  been  entertaining  members 
of  the  Institute  at  dinner  on  Tuesday  evening. 
This  caused  some  alteration  in  the  arrangements 
—  Precentor  Venable.''' lecture  on  the  "Architec- 
tural History  of  the  Cathedral,"  which  had  been 
announced  for  the  Chapter-house,  being  trans- 
ferred to  the  Assembly  Rooms.  The  same  sad 
event  also  interfered  with  the  proposed  lecture 
within  the  cathedral  by  the  Precentor.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  Precentor's  discourse,  which 
was  illustrated  with  most  instructive  plans  and 
elevations,  drawn  for  a  like  occasion  by  the  late 
Professor  Willis  and  Mr.  Edmund  Sharpe,  the 


members  were  conducted  round  the  building  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  Parker.  In  the  afternoon  Canou  Owen 
Davys  brouglit  before  the  Institute  the  burning 
rpiestion   of  the  west   front  of  St.  Alban's,  now 
threatened  by  Sir  Edmund  Beckett.   His  lecture, 
which   wo   may   probably   givo    hi'er    on,   wan 
copiously  illustraud  by  drawings  from  liis  own 
and  other  pencils.     Prebendary  Searlh's  h-cturo 
on    "Roman    Lincoln"    was    followed    by   au 
in.specaion  of  tho  remains  of   Ihu  iRirlico  of  tho 
Basilica,  tho  Newport  gate,  and  the  fragmculH 
of  the  walls.  Ice.     Tho  party  was  acconipiinie<l 
by   Dr.    Collingwood   Bruci>.     A  large  nunilx  r 
meanwhile    visited   tho    Old   Palace,  where    tin) 
ruins  were  explained  by  tho  Bitthop  of  Nutting- 
ham. 

In  the  evening  the   Bishop  of  Lincoln  and 
Mrs.     Wordsworth     received      tho     Pr-nident, 
Council,  and  members  of  the  Institute  and  their 
friends  at  Riseliolme  Palace. 

Friday  was  devoted  to  » lengthened  excursiun, 
embracing   several   of   the    ]>ariHh-cliurubcii    of 
South  Lincolnsliire,  those  of   Urunthum,  Slea- 
ford,      Hec^kington     (where     tho    eluliorutvly- 
earved   Easter    Sepulchre,    sedilin,    and    other 
chancel  decorations  were   the  object  of   muili 
interest),  Boston,   and  Tattershull.     Thu  cMtle* 
of  Slcaford  and  Tattcrshall  were  also  imiiiectiKl. 
Saturday  morning,  the  promii.e<l  paper  on  tho 
"Monuments  of  the  Catliedrul,  '  by  Sir.  M.   H. 
Bloxam,  not   being   forthcoming,    n   pn[>iT  WM 
read,  drawn    up   by  Mr.  Thomas  North,  on  tho 
"  Bells  of  Lincolnshire,"    and  one   l>y  the  R«t. 
F.  Spurrell,  on  "An  Incident   in    the  Death  of 
King  John,"  which  event   he   showed    to  have 
been  due  to  too  copious  draughts  of  now  cider  at 
Sleaford  Castle.     At  noon  an  exeursi<in  Ktartcd 
for  Southwell,  where  the  nave  of    tho  Minster— 
the    future   catliedral   ol    tho  new  diocese — was 
found  in  the  hands  of  builders  and  earpcntem, 
engaged  in  re-erecting   the   high-pitched   roof* 
ami  lofty  spires— the  latter  only  reinove<I  in  HOI 
—  under   tho    direction  of  Mr.  Ewan  Christian. 
Newark  succeeded  Southwell,  when',  tinn?  being 
more  liberally   allowed,  Jlr,  James  Fowler  very 
clearly  explained  the  architectural  history  of  tho 
castle— its  connection   with  tho  hisU>ry  of  tho 
county  and  nation  being  left  without  an  illai- 
trator — and  after   a   graceful   rcwption  by  the 
Mayor  at    the  Town-hall,  accompauied  by  tho 
"loving  cup"    and   other  not   unaeroptable  re- 
freshments, the   magniticent  pirish-chureh    waa 
visited,  and  made  the  subject  of   a  Iccturo  from 
Mr.  Mickhthwaite,  tracing  the  architectural  hi»- 
tory  of  the  vast  fabric  with  preat  cleameM.     In 
spite  of   the  floods  of   tho  Trout,  which  covered 
the  road  to  some  depth,  a  number  of  tho  mem- 
bers   visited    llawton    Church,    which    has  juKt 
been  carefully  restored  by  Mr.  James  Fowler— 
so  celebrated  for  its  elaborately-carved    pjL-tcr 
Sepulchre  and  other  chancel  arrangements. 

On  the  return  to  Lincoln,  a  paper  vox  read  by 
Canon  Wickenden  on  the  ' '  Stalls  and  Mist  ri're*  of 
the   Cathedral,"  the   work  of  Treasurer  Wcl- 
bourn,  c.  1370. 

On  Sunday  the  members  of  the   In.'<titato  re- 
maining in  Lincoln  attended  the  cathedral. 

On  Monday  the  last  excursion  wri«  mid^,   in- 
cluding the  churches  of  Naveuby, 
rated  chtinccl,  c  mtaining  a  fine  K . 
sedilia,  &c. ;  Welboumc,  with  on  i.. 
spire,  and  a  fine  interior,  sorely    ii' ■  '  ■  -    •  •■  '"- 
sing  and   refitting;  Leadcnham,    with   a    weii- 
proportioned   spire   and  noble    arc.i  !-< ;   Ftrant 
Broughton,  with  a  new  chancel  bv  ^' •■    r    1  ■  v. 
and  painted    glass,    and  polr.hr 
tions  of  an  excelleneo  and  punlv 
to  be  met  with  :  and  clo-iny  « i; !.  ■ 
fortress  of  Somerton  Ca-''  .■.l.iay 

Bek,  Bishop  of  Durham,  l''»"» 

of  confinement  of  John,    K'  •''''" 

his  capture  on  tho  field  of  I'l  '■ 
.seven  months,  13.-.9-I3GO.     In  ti 
closimr  meeting  was  held,  when  t 
were  given  to  the  Bishop  o    Line 
of  Nottingham,    Prcc«ntorf  \  >na' 
G   T.  Harvev,  and  others.     »  e   '• 
meeting  of  1881  is  likely  to  be   hc.i  .n  i-j...  ..... 

and  that  of  18S2  ot  Carlisle. 

The  parish -church  ot   ('  ■  '    ''•J' 

month,  which  a  few  y""  T"' 

stored  by  Mr.  J.  P.  SL  A-.l  *;" 

about   to  undergo    further    r"     i 
de8i(j..«  of  the  same  orchitect,  at  ai. 
of  £500. 

The  new  church  of  St  rejcr.  L;,.- -•.  - - 
l-pVr  Hollow.v.wo.  coiw«ct«t«i  by  U»  B-U*  U 
London  on  Tuciday  week. 


196 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


Builbiufl  |ntcllif|[tucc, 

Aston. — The  memorial-stone  of  the  public 
buildiiiga  and  free  library  at  Aston,  Birming- 
ham, was  laid  ou  Tuesday.  About  two  yciira 
since,  the  board  advertised  for  competitive  de. 
aigf^  for  public  offices,  free  library,  baths, 
stabling,  ice.  The  selection  of  the  most  suitable 
design  was  referred  to  Mr.  Alfred  Waterhouse, 
architect,  and  on  his  report  in  favour  of  Messrs. 
Alexander  and  Henman,  architects,  of  Stockton- 
on-Ttts,  and  Middlesborough,  their  design  was 
adopted.  Mr.  Henman  afterwards  settled  in 
Birmingham,  and  he  was  intrusted  with  the 
supcriuteudence  of  the  works.  The  buildings 
now  in  progress  consist  only  of  the  public 
offices  of  the  Board  and  rooms  for  the  free 
library  under  one  roof.  The  erection  of  the 
stabling  and  batht  is  for  the  i)resent  deferred, 
but  will  probably  be  taken  in  hand  at  an  early 
date.  Tlie  present  block  of  buildings  will  give 
the  following  accommodatiou : — At  the  angle  of 
the  All>ert  and  Witton-roads,  with  a  separate 
entrance  in  AVitton-road,  will  be  the  frte 
library,  with  a  large  and  weU-lighted  reading- 
room,  lending-library,  and  reference-library  ; 
the  whole  having  a  floor  area  of  over  2,000 
superfitial  feet.  The  entrance  to  the  public 
offices  iu  iVlbert-road  gives  access  through  an 
open  porch  and  vestible  to  the  ground-floor, 
where  are  situated  the  rate-collector's publicand 
private  offices,  medical  officer's  room,  and  public 
and  private  offices  for  the  sanitary  inspection  ; 
also  a  public  waiting-room,  lavatories,  &c.  A 
stone  staircase  ascends  to  the  first  floor,  where 
are  situate  the  board-room  and  two  committee- 
rooms  over  the  library  department,  offices  for 
the  clerk,  sub-clerk,  surveyor,  buildiog-surveyor, 
and  tile  drawing  office,  as  well  as  another 
waiting-room  for  the  public  lavatories,  &e.  In 
the  basement  is  the  fire  department,  with  stand- 
ing-room for  two  fire-engines,  firemen' s-rooms, 
hose-room,  kc.  The  housekeeper  is  accommo- 
dated iu  the  basement  atd  attic,  and  there  is 
ample  store-room  for  the  requirements  of  the 
board.  Some  of  the  architectural  embellish- 
ments have  had  to  be  dispensed  with,  on  the 
ground  of  economy,  but  a  handsome  brick-and- 
stone  building  will  be  the  result  of  the  present 
contract.  The  proposed  tower  which  appeared 
in  the  original  design  has  been  abandoned  for 
the  present,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
it  will  ultimately  be  carried  out.  The  contract 
has  been  taken  by  Mr.  William  Robinson, 
builder,  of  Spring'  -  hill,  Birmingham,  for 
£8,270,  exclusive  of  the  front  bo<indary-wall. 
Mr.  F.  Hulme  has  been  appointed  clerk  of  the 
works.  The  buildings  are  expected  to  be  com- 
pleted iu  June  of  ue.i;t  year. 

Kexstmotcv.— The  new  Town-hall  for  Ken- 
sington was  opened  by  the  Princess  Mary  of 
Teck  on  Saturday  last.  The  building,  which 
faces  the  High-street,  has  b;en  erected  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Robert  Walker,  selected  in  oom- 
petilion  and  subsequently  revistd  in  consequence 
of  the  acquirement  of  the  site  of  two  additional 
houses  in  Church-court.  On  the  first  floor  is 
the  vestry-halJ,  which  is  02ft.  long,  being 
45ft.  liiu  wide  and  32ft.  high,  approached  by  a 
grand  staircase  and  having  a  platform  at  the 
east  and  a  gallery  at  the  west  end.  There  are 
two  committcp-rooms  on  the  ground  and  first- 
floors,  each  .'iGft.  by  30ft.,  and  several  smaller 
rooms.  The  style  adopted  is  Free  Classic,  and 
the  High -street  elevation  and  the  exposed  side 
of  the  building  has  been  carried  out  in  Portland 
stone  with  small  columns  of  polished  grey 
granite.  Messrs.  Brand  and  Co.,  of  Manor- 
street,  Chelsea,  were  the  contractors,  and  the 
cost  has  been  between  £30,000  and  £10,000.  We 
illustrated  Mr.  Walker's  design  on  December 
13,  isrs,  and  several  of  the  other  drawings 
and  plans  submitted  in  the  competition  have 
been  reproduced  in  our  photo-litho.  pages. 

Maeston,  LixcoLNsnTEE.  — The  parish-chui-ch  of 
Marston,  near  Grantham,  was  reopened  on  the 
3rd  inst.  after  restoration  and  the  rebuilding  of 
the  chancel.  Three  years  ago,  when  the  work 
was  commenced,  the  roofs  were  all  flat  ones,  the 
east  window  of  the  south  aisle  was  partially 
blocked  by  a  brick  vault,  and  a  dormer  window 
gave  additional  light  to  the  nave.  The  new 
chancel,  built  on  the  old  foundations,  is  in  style 
fully  developed  Early  English,  great  depth  being 
given  to  the  mouldings  and  richness  to  the 
gener.il  treatment ;  the  windows  are  fitted  with 
stained  glass  by  Messrs.  Ward  and  Hughes,  of 


London,  and  the  paving  has  been  executed  by 
Messrs.  Minton  Hollins  and  Co.  The  new 
reredos  is  a  memorial  to  the  rector's  wife.  A 
stone  screen  separates  the  Thorold  Chapel  from 
the  chur'ch.  The  south  aisle,  which  is  of  the 
Decorated  period,  has  been  rebuilt  and  reroofed, 
the  ptrforated  spandrels  to  the  arcade  of  nave, 
probably  unique  examples,  being  left  untouched. 
The  tower  and  spire  have  been  repoiuted,  and  iu 
the  tower-arch  lias  been  placed  a  new  organ. 
The  works  have  been  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
Rudd  and  Son,  of  Grantham,  from  the  designs 
and  under  the  direction  of  Messrs.  TCirk  and 
Sons,  of  Sleaford,  at  a  cost  of  £2,000.  A  sen- 
tence in  the  long  and  apparently  inspired  report 
of  the  reopening  service,  pubUshed  in  the  Lin- 
cohishirc  Chronicle^  may  be  interesting  to  those 
members  of  the  Society  for  the  Protection  of 
.'intient  Buildings  who  do  not  see  that  provincial 
journal.  "The  beautiful  Early  English  inner 
doorway  deserves,  and  we  hope  will  soon  have,  a 
porch  more  in  character  with  the  rest  of  the 
fabric  than  the  Late  Perpendicular  one  which  now 
covers  it ;  but  the  whole  undertaking  as  it  stands 
is  an  example  of  thorough  restoration  creditable 
alike  to  the  parish  and  the  diocese." 


Kore   than   Fifty  Thousand  Replies   and 

L.-tters  on  eut.jcxts  ot   UniTPl>;il    Intf-rcst  !i;tve  apptuied   d-.rinff 
the  last  ten  years  ill  the  EXGLI.'^H   MECHANIC  ijNl)  WORLT* 


ri^inal  articles  and  i 


!  papers,  and  countlo: 


SCHOOLS     OF     ART. 

Ceystal  Palace  School  of  Peacticax  En- 
GCEEELXG. — The  Certificates  were  distributed  ou 
Saturday  to  the  successful  students  in  the  School 
of  Practical  Engineering  connected  with  the 
Crystal  Palace  Company's  School  of  Ai't, 
Science,  and  Literature,  which  has  now  com- 
pleted its  twentieth  session.  The  report  of 
Mr.  R.  Price  Williams  and  Mr.  R.  Hodson,  the 
examiners,  was  to  the  efl'ect  that  the  work  iuthe 
several  mechanical  departments  has  been  ex- 
ceedingly good,  both  in  general  execution  and 
in  detail,  it  being  worthy  of  remark  that  a 
special  point  had  been  made  of  economical  train- 
ing in  reference  to  cost  of  labour  in  manufac- 
ture, erection,  &c.  It  was  pleasing,  and  at  the 
same  time  surprising,  to  find  so  much  real, 
efficient  practical  knowledge  imparted  to  the 
students  iu  so  short  a  time.  The  examination 
of  the  second  and  thii-d  term  civU  engineering 
studens  gave  results  which,  in  many  other  cases, 
confirmed  the  indication  by  marks  given  at  the 
lectures.  The  calculations  of  strains  in  the 
various  designs  for  girder-bridges,  &o.,  were 
very  satisfactorily  worked  out  by  the  third  and 
final-term  students,  who  had  also  executed  the 
drawings  of  the  bridges  in  very  finished  style. 
The  work  done  in  the  Colonial  section  had  been 
such  as  would  prove  of  gi-eat  use  to  intending 
colonists.  The  e  lamination  also  bore  testimony 
to  the  sldU  and  judgment  shown  by  the  principal 
(Mr.  J.  W.  Wilson),  and  the  vice-principal  (Mr. 
J.  W.  Wilson,  juu.),  in  their  judicious  direction 
of  the  professional  education  of  the  students. 
Of  the  33  students  who  attended  the  lecture  on 
"Railway  and  Dock  Work,"  28  were  eligible 
for  examination,  and  of  these  20  passed  in  a 
satisfactory  manner. 


CHIPS. 

The  board  of  management  of  the  South  Metro- 
politan School  District  have  adopted  plans  prepared 
by  their  architect,  Mr.  Wallen,  of  College-street, 
Dowgate-hiU,  for  the  extension  of  the  north  end  of 
the  schools  at  Sutton,  Surrey. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Eugby  on  Thursday  week, 
before  Mr.  Arnold  Taylor,  inspector  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  into  an  application  by  the 
Rugby  local  board  for  sanction  to  borrow  £1,800 
for  sewage  works  and  street  improvements,  the 
inspector  intimated  that  sanction  would  be  readily 
given,  as  the  objects  forwhich  theloanis  asked  are 
works  of  neces.4ty. 

The  death  is  announced  of  Mr.  W.  Moseley,  of 
Cumberland- terrace.  Regent's  Park,  the  architect 
of  the  \\  cstniinster  Palace  Hotel  and  many  other 
important  works,  and  the  district  surveyor  of  West 
IsliUfjtou.  Although  he  had  attained  his  S2ud  year 
Mr.  Moseley  w^is,  until  quite  recently,  active  iu  the 
discharge  of  his  duties. 

By  the  fall  of  a  party-wall  at  Devonport,  on 
Thursday  week,  several  men  received  serious 
injuries  and  narrowly  escaped  with  the'r  lives. 
The  accident  occurred  iu  a  row  of  houses  in  course 
of  erection  near  Higher  Portland-place,  Stoke- 
ncxt-Devonport,  of  which  Mr.  \Vm.  Rowe,  of 
Portland-buildings,  is  the  builder,  and  resulted 
from  the  overloading  with  materials  of  a  scaffold 
lixed  in  the  new  masonry  of  the  party-wall,  and 
iu  the  fall  the  masonry  and  men  at  work  on  it 
carried  away  the  joists  of  a  floor  below.  [ 


information  respeotins  .ill  i 


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CoNSTAxT  Eeader.  (There  are  no  builders.  The  work 
is  being  done  by  a  staff  of  men  employed  directly  by 
the  clerk  of  works,  under  the  architect.) — 3.  "W".  E. 
(Write  the  secretary,  12,  Great  George-street,  S.W.) 
— S.  W.  G.  (At  Batsford's,  52,  High  Holbom,  if  any- 
where.) 


ContspouHtntc. 

IMPROVEMENTS  IN  BLOOMSBUBT. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  BurLDrKO  News. 

Sle, — Iu  your  review  of  the  above  iu  last 
week's  impression,  I  veutiue  to  thiuk  that  the 
two  blocks  of  buildings  in  Theobald's-road,  now 
being  erected  from  my  designs,  are  therein  criti- 
cised iu  an  unjust  manner.  In  the  first  block,  a 
portion  of  which  will  be  the  "  Spread-Eagle  " 
Tavern,  the  canted  comer  is  to  receive,  iu  its 
blank  space  or  panel,  tile  work  or  boards  painted 
with  sign,  kc,  and  the  "amazing"  finish,  or 
pediment  will,  by  its  projection,  protect  the 
tile  work,  &c.,  from  effects  of  the  weather. 

Had  your  critic  first  made  himself  acquainted 
with  the  conditions  imder  which  I  am  working, 
I  feel  sure  that  ho  would  have  modified  the  other 
remarks  be  has  made  ou  these  buddings.  As  to 
the  second  block,  whilst  appreciating  his  re- 
marks, I  am  amazed  at  his  description  of  the 
ornamental  panels  as  "impressed  cement," 
whereas  they  really  are  cast  brickwork.     There 


_1 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


197 


is  no  cement  used  in  the  fronts  nor  stock  bricks 
the  facings  being  of  white  Suffolks  and  milins. 
— I  am,  fee,  3.  W.  Beookee. 

2,  Railway-approach,  London-bridge,  S.E. 
Aus'.  10. 


LONDOX  BRIDGES  AND  TOLLS. 

SiE, — Many  of  your  readers  will  be  surprised 
at  your  remarks  from  the  £v/io  on  the  above 
subject. 

It  is  a  great  boon  to  the  public  to  have  the 
bridges  over  the  Thames  and  roads  leading 
thereto  free  of  toll.  The  efforts  of  the  Metropo- 
litan Board  of  Works  to  do  away  with  the  tolls 
on  bridges  and  roads  in  and  around  London, 
notwithstanding  the  large  amoimt  paid,  are  fully 
appreciated  ;  nevertheless,  I  wish  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  Deptfnrd-road-bridge,  or  rather  the 
road  from  the  common  ferry  near  the  said 
bridge. 

It  seems  to  myself,  and  others,  an  oversight 
that  the  Deptford-road  bridge  should  be  made 
free  of  toll,  and  that  the  toll  for  landing  on  the 
Middlesex  side  of  the  river  from  said  Deptford- 
bridge-road,  and  the  tolls  on  the  West  Ferry- 
roads,  Isle  of  Dogs,  in  connection  with  the 
common  ferry,  should  still  be  unrepealed. 

In  the  year  1SI2,  an  Act  was  obtained  for  the 
establishment  of  a  common  ferry  from  Green- 
wich, in  the  county  of  Kent,  to  the  Isle  of  Dogs, 
in  the  coimty  of  Middlesex,  consisting  of — "  one 
or  more  boat  or  boats,  or  such  other  vessels  as 
shall  be  sufficient  and  proper  for  the  passage  and 
conveyance  of  horses,  carriages,  &c.,  itc,  fron 
or  near  a  place  called  the  Wood  "RTiarf,  Green 
wich,  to  the  opposite  shore,  near  to  a  place 
called  the  Ferry  Hoose  in  the  Isle  of  Dogs 
marsh  " — and  tolls  were  granted  for  the  same. 

On  examining  the  Act  (52  Geo.  III.,  cap 
14S),  it  will  be  found  that  the  company  called 
the  Poplar  and  Greenwich  Ferry  Company  was 
formed,  and  in  consideration  of  receiving  power 
to  charge  tolls,  they  undertook  to,  and  did, 
establish  a  common  ferry  over  the  river  Thames 
from  Greenwich,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  to  the 
Isle  of  Dogs,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex ;  and 
they  also  undertook  to  make,  pave,  maintain, 
and  keep  in  repair  a  convenient  road  or  carriage- 
way from  the  Wood  Wharf  aforesaid  to  the  road 
leading  from  Deptford  Creek-bridge,  &c.,  kc 
and  also  a  convenient  road  or  carriage-way  on 
the  Middlesex  side,  leading  to  tie  Thames  or 
ferry  aforesaid. 

These  roads  were  made,  and  for  some  time 
maintained,  so  as  to  obtain  better  access  to  the 
said  common  ferry. 

The  common  ferry  for  conveyance  of  horses, 
carriages,  *tc.,  from  Greenwich  has  been  for  a 
long  time  abandoned,  aid  the  toU-gates  near 
the  Wood  Whai-f  on  the  Greenwich  side,  leading 
to  Deptford  Creek-bridge-road,  have  been 
moved,  so  that,  as  I  have  said,  it  appears  to  be 
an  oversight  that  the  toll  for  landing  on  the 
Middlesex  side  should  stUl  remain,  and  that 
tolls  should  still  be  collected  on  the  roads  leading 
to  said  common  ferry. 

Efforts  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  to 
remove  these  tolls,  hitherto  with  no  effect.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works  will  include  these  tolls  in  their  present 
large  expenditure,  and  so  abolish  one  of  the 
remaining  nuisances  existing  in  and  around  the 
metropolis. — I  am,  &e., 

Sajtcel  Teickeit. 


IKON  IN  CEMENT. 


SrE, — After  a  oaref  ul  examination  of  a  variety 
of  Portland  cements  from  different  districts, 
manufactured  under  wet,  semi-wet,  and  dry 
processes,  I  find  the  quantity  of  iron  very 
limited  indeed.  The  quantity  of  metallic  matter 
withdrawn  from  the  cement  ranges  from  0-75 
per  cent,  to  0168  per  cent.  The  largest  amount 
I  was  able  to  extract  wasfrom  "Magnet's"  2  A 
sample  sent  to  you. 

On  a  careful  chemical  analysis  of  the  metallic 
matter,  it  is  found  that  about  0'-13  per  cent,  of 
it  is  only  iron,  the  bulk  being  silica,  alumina, 
oxide  of  iron,  &c.  The  oxide  of  iron  appears  to 
be  magnetic  in  ciaracter,  but  there  is  not  enough 
of  rt'a!  iron  to  warrant  the  consumers  of  Portland 
cement  in  being  alarmed,  unless  they  should  be 
foolish  enough  to  buy  the  "patent  iron  cement" 
from  "Magnet's"  merchant.  I  am  still  of 
opinion,  therefore,  that  the  original  sample  sent 
to  you  was  ground  iron,  and  resulted  from  the 
cause  I  imagined. 


Thei-e  is  much  interesting  detail  resulting  from 
my  study  of  this  new  craze,  but  it  is  too  lengthy 
to  trouble  you  with.  I  tru-t,  however,  tha"t 
"  Magnet "'  wUl  be  satisfied  with  those  results  I 
have  reached,  but  I  shall  be  glad  to  give  him 
further  information  should  he  desire  it,  if  he 
applies  tome. — I  am,  &c., 

Hen-ey  REin. 


PIXHOE  CHURCH. 

SiE,— The  description  of  this  church  is  not 
correct.  No  mention  is  made  of  my  name,  who 
was  the  only  contractor  for  the  entire  works.  The 
carving  and  tracery  was  done  by  ray  own  man, 
Mr.  Gush.  Mr.  James  O.  Fleming  is  described  as 
clerk  of  the  works,  but  there  was  no  clerk  of  the 
works ;  a  Mr.  Finning  acted  as  ruy  foreman  and 
timekeeper, 

I  purchased  the  tiles  of  Messrs.  Minton  and 
Messrs.  Boote,  but  they  were  laid  by  my  men. 

The  glazing  of  the  chancel  and  nave  was  part  of 
my  contract,  which  I  iutrusted  to  Mr.  F.  Drake, 
Exeter,  and  Messrs.  Pepper  and  Co.,  London. 

Trusting  you  will  do  me  justice  by  inserting  this 
in  your  next  issue, — I  am,  kc, 

Hexev  Phillips. 

10,  Friars-gate,  Exeter,  Aug.  12. 


5nttrt0mmuuicatt0n. 

QVESTIOXS. 

;;6193.]— Glass  StaLaing"  and  Painting.  — Can 
any  reader  give  me  the  name  vi  a  buuk  ui.uii  this  subject  I 
Some  work  giving  practical  hint^^  as  to  medixxms,  fluxes, 
shading,  &c.,  is  whati  requiie. — K. 

[G194.]— Sketchifle-Tramps.  —  Can  any   of  your 

readere  kindly  give  me  hints  as  lo  best  routes  to  be  taken 
for  Saturday  to  Monday  trips  !— C.  G. 

[6195.]— Bowling- Alley. —Required  the  width  and 
length  of  an  American  bowimg-alley  for  private  use,  also 
how  floor  is  laid.— Subscriber. 

[6196.]— Old  Bnllding-s  on  the  Thames. —I  shall 
feel  obbged  if  any  correspondent  can  teil  me  of  a  few 
picturesque  old  buildings,  such  as  an  old  mill,  with  trees, 
i!t"C.,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Thames  between,  say, 
London  and  Windsor.- Keauer. 

[6197.]— Damp  House. — "VTill  any  correspondent 
suggest  a  remedy  for  the  toilowing : — The  house  |.an  old 
one)  is  formed  ot  9in.  brick  walls,  now  covered  with  ivy. 
It  is  well  drained,  and  all  the  floors areabove  the  ground 
level.  Yet  clothes  in  wardrobe  or  drawers  will  be  covered 
with  mouldy  spots  in  a  few  days. — Subscriber. 

[6198.]— Girders  for  Shop-Windows.— I  will  be 
glad  if  one  or  moxe  of  your  experienced  readers  will 
favour  me  with  their  advice  as  to  t:.e  best  section  or  kind 
of  iron  girder  for  use  as  a  Imtel  over  the  openings  of 
windows  of  about  seven  to  ten  feet  span  on  ground-floor 
for  tenements  of  six  stories  in  height.  I  would  par- 
ticularly wish  relative  opinion  as  to  wrought  iron,  cast  iron, 
and  flitch  beams,  for  su'-h  a  purpose,  and  would  feel 
favoured  by  the  recognised  meihod  of  calculating  the 
necessary  strengths  and  the  best  adapted  sections.  Any 
recommended  publication  speedily  referring  to  this  ap- 
plication in  architectiure  I  would  be  happy  to  hear  of. — 
J.  M. 

[6199.]— Concrete  Houses.— I  employed  an  archi- 
tect to  superintend  the  erection  of  a  concrete  house, 
with  plate  floors  and  double-concrete  roof.  He  is  sup- 
posed to  be  skilful  in  manipulation  of  aggregates,  and 
somewhat  of  an  authority  on  cements  (I  won't  mention 
name),  but  he  granted  ceitificatcs  to  the  builder,  as  high 
as  he  could  under  the  contmct,  and  received  his  own 
commission,  5  per  cent.  Accordiog  to  the  sworn  testi- 
mony of  the  foreman  who  had  to  rectify  [at  my  cost  so 
far)  the  shameful  work  of  that  contractor,  it  was  found 
that  the  south  wall  50ft.  long  and  20ft.  high  was  lOin. 
out  of  perpendicular  ;  none  of  the  walls  square  inside 
or  out  ;  the  openings  for  doors  and  windowsaU  out  of  le\*el 
la  pretty  job  in  concrete!),  and  the  roof,  on  which  work- 
men wei-e  trying  to  put  a  very  deep  concrete  Greek  cor- 
nice, 16iin.  out  of  level.  Rectilication  of  these  and 
many  more,  but  minor,  performances  had  to  be  done 
with' skilled  labour,  at  a  vast  loss  of  time,  and  usin? 
20,000  bricks,  some  thousands  of  tiles,  and  many  tons  of 
I'ortland  cement.  £400  loss  in  muney  expended  and  in 
time  lost,  at  least.  I  shall  be  greatly  obUged  if  one  of 
the  honourable  members  uf  the  lloyal  Institute  of  British 
Architects  will,  in  your  columns,  kindly  say  what  is  the 
proper  way  of  dealing  with  this  gentleman,  who  (im- 
penitent,  of  course)  is  himself  excee<lingly  severe  in 
remarks  upon  other  architects.  Litigation  might  not 
yield  fruitful  results. — Ixiugnans. 

[6200.]— Painted  Brickwork.- Can  any  of  youi 
readers  tell  me  if  it  be  possible  to  take  oil  paint  off  brick- 
work, or,  if  not  possible,  how  I  can  make  it  look  mor. 
like  the  brickwork  (on  the  same  front)  whicli  has  not 
been  painted  .'  I  should  prefer  not  rakiug  out  the  joints 
and  repointing,  because  the  mortar  is  very  hard.  The 
bricks  are  ordmaiy  stocks.  -  C.  F.  M. 


or  bucket  u  hung,  and  fine  aand,  iron  filings,  or  ffitiund 
jjljigaddtdmacontinuouB  Mitum  until  fracluitoctun.. 
AUC  tttightof  viiiti<,l  and  contenU  will  rvpn&tnt  lcn*ilo 


strength.  The  fall  need  be  Twy  flight  to  prcrcBt  eon- 
tents  beinff  upset.  Briquettea  of  any  Khat*e  ran  be 
tested  in  this  way  :  holes  c-an  U-  formed  in  the  LriquettM 
while  moulding,  so  as  to  avoid  the-  nc^i-Mity  for  immcniBr 
the  mould  in  watir.-C.  AV. 

[GlC7.]-Pitch  for  TUe  Eoof— A  tfle  roof  lAould 
not  have  less  than  a  third  of  the  f>pan.  A  Muan*  pildi  U 
letter.-G.  n.  G. 

[6168.]— Half-TimberedHouBes.-Brirk-nofnrioir 

is  not  desirable  sj  much  whcie  llic  wt-ight  u(  vaU  u  un- 
r>iuteria],  though  it  is  better  where  thin  uuLBorvrequiraS. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  build  in  rcment.  though  I  ihonld 
certainly  recommend  it.— G.  H.  G. 

1.6169.]— Bedroom  Chimney  Piecf*     ~"      ' 
piece  mav  be  puiiiU-d  whit.- if  Ui.-  in«>n. 
but  if  there  are  pilLtat^^rs  or  column-,  or  ■ 
panels, relief  coulJ  be  obtained  by  thr-t n  ; 
shades  of  colour,  say  two  shade*  of  dark  i.-  . .  n  >  i    i  '.if' 
or  bluish  tint,  or  chocohite  and  black.    'Uh-  puivU  •!» 
best  of  a  darker  shade  than  the  Hides  of  framing,  mnd  of 
coui-se  the  same  nUe  applit-s  to  the  pancU  and  t-uon.— 
G.  H. 

[61S9.]  —  Fifteenth-Century  Dr.  Tanners.  — 
Has  not  *•  L.  R.  D."  been  hoaxe<l !  The  /''»"  -V*//  Htz^u 
of  the  6th  inst.  says:-I>r.  Tanmr  »i..l  l.i^  fil.  nd*  will 
undertake  a  long  job  if  they  tr;  t    '  '  f  trtcrf 

figure  of  this  kind— what  is  t*'  \---  •■.-m»- 

ciated  figure'*— to  l>e  found  thi  But 

as  for  taking  a  nute  of  the  fact  '. '  nn  ao 

commemorated  dic-d  of  trying  *.  '  b«t  ia 

another  matter.    It  was  not  ur.  ;  irurta 

of  this  kind,  sometimes  alone.  ■  ip«ny 

with  a  figure  representing  the  -  '  Iif**. 

They  were  meant  as  an  edifying'  ■  jn- i.  '  • 

that  was  all.      But  what  the  mylholo);r 
logical  legend"  often  arose,  and  the  sii; 
told  which  is  seemingly  looked  on  :!•  !"T; 
Bury  St.  Kdmund's.  Sometime?"     '    ■ 
shape,  and  it  is  said  that  the  p- : 
of  love.     Anyhow,  cither  tale  1  ■ 
wives'  fables,  which  it  is  strani.*'  ' 
year  l?^as  an  instance  of  **thK 
Amongst  a  crowd  of  others,  Bi 
is  commemorated  by  a  figure  oi  : 
dral;  and  most  assuredly  the  ji  ■ 

VI.  did  not  die  of  love,  nor  yti '.i  ...M.  ~  1-- .- ^ 

days.-K. 

[6IS0.1-Fifteenth-Century   Dr.  Tanners.— I 
suspect  that  the  monument  to  Jol  n  I'.ir.  t  m  .-;   Mi-y  s 
Burs*  St.  Edmund's,  is  scarcely  UI.   , 
as  **  L.  R.  D."  suggests,  if  h^ 
solely  because  it  is  surmounted  ' 
a  starved  man  who,  tradition  r- 
forty  days.     There  are  similar  > 
elsewhere;    but   although    pT 
ascribes  them  to  be  monument..:. 
like  others,  is  probably  a  "m-: 
life's  uncertainty,  and  a  t 
than  anv  actual  repres*;  i 
enthusiast.       There  r-- 
Andrew's  Chap- 1.  up  :; 
dral's  choir,  a  i 
describes.     It   '. 
over  it  occurs  r 
nosomnes  pr. : 
venit  dominati 
associate  this  v.  -. 
in  Worth's    -l 
published,  I  b- 
.Mr.  Worth  in  : 
Bishop  Lacy    ! 
respectively  in  ' 
write  I  was,  pn  ' 
ford.      Tmnsl.i.' 
lie  raised  the  ' 
and  was  a  pr- 
rh.,r.il.       IT- 


lu  luxviij  t  j,Uii.dr»l, 


JtEFLlES. 
[GI63.]— Testing"    Portland     Cement.— A    tost 
similar  to  that  afforded  by  a  machine  may  be  secured  at 
rv  slight  cost  by  adopting  the  followiug:— I'rocure  a 
mould  for  briquette,  giving  lin    or  2lin.  sectional  area 
as  dtsired,  divided  transversely  a~  yv  >k'  t«  Ii,     Ti.  ■  -  ';.' 
^own  at  the  sides  are  t«>  receiv 
shifting  of  the   pfirts  wh; 
cement.    AVhen  the  cement  hi- 
mould,  with  the  briquette,  is  pl.t 

t)  remain  the  usual  time.    When  t-)  1  •■  t' .-:»-!.  "i-     ' '' ' 
of  the  mould  is  suspended  to  a  book,  oa  the  other  a  box  | 


At  the  ShcfTuId  Policc-cour^,   on   ^"^l/"*^ 

contractor,  of  Sundcrl-.n!.  w,=  r.n,-^,il^  f  •:  tnJ 
on  a    charRC  of  h«vr  -  ■'»  'J  '*•" 

pretonco  by  a  "  lorn:  • 

ll-'"'"-'    '  '  ■  '^•.  »rtc-lr»«l«, 

,  »n<i  '«■- 

.  to  tb*  Weit 
ComberlMd  Iron  aaii  J>U«1  i^vopmy. 


198 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


PAKLIAMENTABY  NOTES. 
South  Kexsisgios  Museuti. — Mr.  Leeman,  on 
Moudiiy,  aiked  the  Vice-President  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Couucil  on  Education  whether  there 
existed  any  list  of  duplicates  of  objects  of  ait  in 
the  South  Keusiiigton  Museum ;  and,  if  not, 
whether  he  would  cause  such  a  list  to  be  prepared 
for  the  rc-assembliug  of  Parliament,  such  list  to  be 
classthed,  aud  to  give  date  and  country  of  each 
example  ;  whether  he  would  cause  a  report  to  be 
prepared,  to  he  presented  at  the  same  time,  fiiving 
a  detailed  account  of  the  system  of  circulation  of 
objects  of  art  throughout  the  kingdom  under  the 
Science  aud  Art  Department  of  the  South  Ken- 
sington Museum  from  its  first  establishment  to  the 
present  time,  such  report  to  give  iu  alphabetical 
Older  the  towns  to  which  loans  had  been  sent,  how 
often,  aud  for  \;hat  periods  of  time,  the  number  of 
objects,  returns  of  visitors,  and,  where  possible, 
the  financial  results,  with  any  details,  extracts 
from  official  correspondence,  &c.,  showing  the 
influence  of  such  contributions  from  national  collec- 
tions in  the  promotion  of  local  provincial  exhi- 
bitions and  museums  ;  aud  particulars  as  to  special 
provisions  which  had  been  made  for  the  safe 
transmission  and  custody  of  such  loans  ;  aud  what, 
if  any,  arrangements  had  been  entered  into  with 
insurance  offices  for  protection  agaiust  loss  by  tire. 
Mr.  Mundella:  A  list  of  all  duplicates  of  art-objects 
iu  the  South  Kensington  Museum  suitable  for 
circulation  on  loans  to  schools  of  art,  provincial 
museums,  &c.,  was  printed  iu  1S72,  aud  can  readily 
be  made  complete  to  the  present  time.  A  repoit 
relating  to  the  organisation  of  the  system  of  circu- 
lation of  art-objects  on  loan,  as  carried  on  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
to  the  present  time,  shall  be  furnished  early  next 
Session.  Meantime  it  may  interest  the  House  to 
know  that  during  1879  collections  have  been  sent 
to  sevtn  petmanent  museums,  including  those  at 
Eethnal  (Irtiu  and  Edinburgh,  and  to  ten  local 
exhibitions.  The  number  of  art-objects  lent  has 
been  5,854,  aud  the  number  of  paintings  and 
drawings  2,089.  The  number  of  visitors  to  local 
museums  in  the  year,  excluding  Bethnal  Green 
and  Edinburgh,  has  been  581,922.  The  visitors  to 
Bethnal  Green  numbered  444,02 1 ,  and  to  Edinburgh 
047,294,  giving  a  total  of  1,673,237.  The  number 
of  visitors  tu  South  Kensington  was  879, 395,  giving 
a  grand  total  of  2,552,632.  The  demand  for  loans 
of  art-objects  has  largely  increased  this  year,  and 
we  are  endeavouring  as  far  as  possible  to  meet  it. 

Duplicate  Woeks  of  Abt.— In  reply  to  Mr, 
Leeman.  Lord  F.  Cavendish  said  he  had  consulted 
the  trustees  of  the  three  collections  included  in  the 
question.  With  regard  to  the  National  Gallery, 
duplicates  of  pictures  in  that  collection  would,  as'a 
rule,  be  copies,  and  no  such  copies  had  been  sold  or 
exchanged  ;  nor  were  there  any  in  the  possession  of 
the  trustees  The  National  Portrait  Gallery  pos- 
sessed only  one  duplicate.  The  hon.  member's 
questions  would,  therefore,  apply  principally  to  the 
case  of  the  British  Museum,  aud,  looking  to  the 
limited  amount  of  the  grant  which  was  annually 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  trustees,  he  thought  it 
would  not  be  advisable  to  deprive  them  of  the 
power  of  selling  or  exchanging  duplicates,  exchange 
or  sale  being  often  the  only  means  of  obtaining 
necessary  specimens.  The  power  of  sale,  which 
was  conferred  on  the  trustees  liy  ceitain  Acts  of 
rth  George  III,,  had  very  rarely  been  exercised, 
except  fur  special  purposes  with  the  concurrence  of 
the  Treasury,  With  regard  to  the  second  part  of 
the  question,  he  was  informed  that  the  diflioulties 
of  compiling  such  a  return  in  the  case  of  the  British 
Museum  would  be  very  great,  owing  to  the  im- 
mense number  of  objects  and  the  necessity  of 
careful  comparison  of  similar  specimens  before  they 
could  be  pronounced  duplicates ;  and  th-jt  the 
number  and  value  of  the  duplicate  specimens,  when 
such  an  examination  had  been  completed,  would 
not  be  at  all  commensurate  with  the  cost  of  the 
labour, 

Aet  Collections  in  tiie  Peotixces,— On  Mon- 
day, on  the  vote  of  £4,693  for  the  British  Museum 
Buildings,  some  of  the  members  for  large  manu- 
facturing constituencies  put  in  a  strong  claim  for 
the  distribution  of  duplicate  specimens  among 
local  institutions,  and  Mr.  Walpole  promised,  iu 
the  name  of  his  co-trustees,  that  the  matter  should 
receive  consideration. 

New  Science  and  Aet  Buildisos.— On  the 
vote  of  i.'12,S36  to  complete  the  sum  necessary  for 
the  erection  and  maintenance  of  new  buildiiij;s  for 
the  Department  of  Science  and  Art,  Mr.  Eylands 
moved  the  reduction  of  the  vote  by  the  sum  of 
£2,000,  on  the  ground  that  in  this  vote  was 
included  the  salary  of  aa  ofticer  or  superinten- 
dent of  works  whose  salary  was  not  specifically 
stated.  This,  he  said,  had  continued  for  six 
years  during  the  erection  of  these  buildings  at 
South  Kensington,  representing  a  total  sum  of 
£12,000.  He  was  always  under  the  impression 
that  Government  buildings  were  erected  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  Office  of  Works,  and 
therefore  he  required  an  explanation  of  a  matter 
of  which,  from  the  information  afforded  by  the 


Estimates,  he  would  have  known  nothing.  Mr. 
Adam  said  care  would  be  taken  in  future  Esti- 
mates to  separate  items  of  Silary  from  votes  for 
buildings.  He  might  mentiou,  however,  that  if 
instead  of  General  Scott  aud  his  staff'  a  regular 
architect  had  beeu  employed,  it  would  have  cost 
the  country  a  total  additional  sum  of  £3,000  or 
£4,000.  Jir.  Mundella  observed  that  it  was  the 
late  Government  who  were  responsible  for  this,  the 
present  Government  bting  obliged  to  take  the 
Estimates  this  year  just  as  they  found  them.  He 
should  add  that  this  sum  of  .£2,000  included  work 
of  a  structural  character  done  by  General  Scott- 
such  as  mouldings,  terra-cotta  work,  and  so  forth. 
The  amendment  was  withdrawn. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

GODALIIING. — The  waterworks  for  Frith-hill, 
Godalming,  aud  Famcombe  were  inaugurated  by 
Lord  Midleton  on  Wednesday  week.  They  have 
beeu  constructed  for  a  limited  liability  company 
during  the  past  two  years,  trial  boreholes  made 
under  the  direction  of  the  engineer,  Mr.  Jabcz 
Church,  of  Great  George-street,  Westminster, 
having  proved  that  an  inexhiustible  supply  of 
excellent  water  was  to  be  obtained  from  ihe  lower 
greensand.  The  works  are  situate  at  Frith-hill, 
near  Charterhouse,  the  engine  and  boiler-house 
being  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  the  reservoir  at  the 
top.  The  contractors  for  the  well  and  reservoir 
were  Messrs.  T,  Docwra  and  Son,  of  London  ;  the 
architect  for  the  engine-house,  boiler-house,  aud 
tower  was  Mr.  C.  Forster  Hayard,  F.S.A.,  of 
London  ;  and  the  builder,  Mr.  E,  Pink,  of  Milford, 
The  machinery  and  mains  were  furnished  by 
Messrs,  Young  and  Co,,  of  London,  and  the  tank 
and  connections  by  Messrs,  S,  Cutler  and  Co.,  als5 
of  London,  Mr.  H,  Caldicott  has  acted  as  clerk  of 
works.  The  engine  is  a  horizontal  one  of  15  h,-p,, 
and  thtre  are  three  powerful  pumps,  of  which  one  is 
a  reserve,  throwing  7,000  gallons  of  water  per  hour. 
The  well  is  63ft.  deep,  and  will  contain  about  40ft. 
of  water  while  pumping  is  going  on.  The  smoke 
is  carried  away  by  a  tall  shaft,  placed  some  way  up 
the  hill-side.  The  reservoir  on  Frith- hill  is  80ft, 
by  COft,,  and  12ft.  deep,  aud  is  capable  of  holding 
300.000  gal'ons.  It  is  covered  in  and  ventilated  by 
shafts.  Close  by  is  a  castellated  water-tank,  built 
of  Bargate  stone  and  brick,  and  containing  a 
wrought-iron  tank,  15ft.  diameter  and  19ft.  deep, 
of  2S,U00  gallons  capacity.  The  rising  main  is  of 
Gin.  diameter. 

LiTEEPOOL  Watee  Supply, —  The  City  Council 
of  Liverpool  decided  on  Mondaj*,  to  proceed  with 
the  first  section  of  the  scheme  for  a  new  water 
supply  from  Vyruwy,  in  North  WaliS,  The  scheme 
is  expected  to  be  completed  in  about  five  years, 
and  will  secure  an  additional  supply  of  13,000,000 
gallons  of  water  per  day  to  Liverpool.  The  tot.il 
cost  of  the  undertaking  is  estimated  at  fS, 000,000. 

The  Utilisation  of  London  Sewage.— A  Bill 
with  the  above  object  has  received  the  Royal  assent. 
The  Dagenham  and  District  Farmers'  (Optional) 
Sewage  Utilisation  Act  authorises  the  formation 
of  a  company  and  the  construction  of  works  for  the 
deliviry  of  London  sewage  to  the  occupiers  of  some 
9,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Essex  side  of  the  Thames, 
between  Barking  and  Wennington.  The  essence 
of  the  project  is  pointed  to  in  theword  "optional" 
in  the  title  of  the  Bill.  The  farmer  or  market- 
gardener  will  draw  sewage  only  when  he  requires 
it,  and  the  company  will  be  under  no  obligation  to 
take  the  sewage  except  when  they  can  dispcse  of 
it.  The  Act  confirms  a  30  years'  agreement  with 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  by  which,  in 
consideration  of  a  half-share  in  the  profits  of  the 
concern  (beyond  5  per  cent),  the  Board  undertakes 
to  supply  the  company  with  any  quantity  of  sew- 
age up  to  60,000,000  gallons  a  day.  The  works 
proposed  will  be  capable  of  supplying  £20-worth 
of  manure,  at  a  charge  of  about  £2,  to  every  acre 
iu  the  district  during  the  six  dryest  months  of  the 
year.  The  company  will  divert  the  bulk  of  the 
sewage  from  the  river,  at  any  rate,  during  the 
hottest  months  of  the  year. 

The  Weathee  .vxd  the  Subteeea^ea:^  Watee 
Supply.— The  rainfalls  of  this  year,  according  to 
Mr.  Baldwin  Latham,  are  replenishing  the  earth  ; 
those  of  last  year  carried  the  elements  of  fertility 
into  the  drains  and  subsoil.  In  June  and  July  of 
1S79  he  recorded  739  inches  of  rain  at  Croydon. 
Of  this  rain  ho  found  that  395  inches  passed 
through  a  percolating  gauge  one  yard  deep, 
consisting  of  soil  and  chalk,  being  a  section  froni 
a  Surrey  down,  and  3-13  inches  passed  through  a 
percolating  gauge  of  the  same  depth,  consisting  of 
soil  and  gravel,  being  a  section  taken  from  a 
Surrey  valley.  The  evaporation  in  the  period 
from  a  water- sui face,  ascertained  by  means  of  a 
gauge  lloating  in  water,  was  495  inches.  In  the 
two  mouths  of  June  aud  July  of  this  year  G'oo 
inch-s  of  riin  fell,  and  no  water  has  passed  through 
cither  of  the  pcrcolatmg  gauges,  the  evaporation 
from  the  water-surface  having  been  6-75  inches. 
In  June   and  July  of  last  year  the  evaporation 


was  31  ptr  cent,  less  than  the  rainfall ;  in  the  same 
mouth  this  year  it  exceeded  the  rainfall.  These 
results  are  checked  by  well  measurements  extend- 
ing over  a  large  j  art  of  Surrey,  and  which  show  a 
gradual  lowering  of  the  subsoil  water  since  the  13th 
of  March  of  the  present  year,  and  which  still 
continues.  In  the  new  red  saudst  ue  formation  of 
Afherstone,  aud  in  the  ool.te  formation  of 
Northampton,  there  has  also  been  a  gradual 
diminution  in  the  sub.soil  water,  with  the  exception 
that  iu  the  third  week  in  July,  during  the  whole 
week,  there  was  a  very  rapid  percolation,  but  it 
soon  ceased,  and  now  the  subsoil  waters  are  agaiu 
rapidly  declining. 

Slough  Seweeage. —  This  work,  which  has 
engaged  the  attention  and  cons  deration  of  the 
ratepayers  aud  the  Local  Board  for  so  many  years, 
has  at  length  beeu  cariied  to  completion.  No 
fewer  than  six  or  seven  Local  Government  Board 
inquiries  have  been  held  on  the  subject  of  the  dis- 
posal of  the  sewage  since  the  question  was  first 
mooted.  After  receiving  reports  by  Mr.  E.  B. 
Grantham,  C.E,,  en  several  schemes,  the  Board 
finally,  in  1878,  determined  on  the  present  plan, 
Since  that  time  the  works  have  been  slowly  but 
surely  developed.  A  new  system  of  sewers,  about 
seven  miles  m  length,  has  beeu  laid  throughout 
the  town,  storage  tanks,  an  engine-house,  and 
engine  driver's  cottage  have  been  built;  two 
pumpiug-engiues  of  ten-hor.-e  power  each  have 
been  erected  by  Messrs.  J.  Watt  aud  Co.,  of  Bir- 
mingham; arising  main,  2,So0  yards  in  length, 
has  been  laid,  and  a  portion  of  a  farm  of  25  acres 
has  been  laid  out  for  irrigation.  The  principal 
feature  in  the  works  is  the  separation  of  the  rain- 
fall and  subsoil  water  from  the  sewage.  The  house 
connections  are  not  yet  made,  but  after  careful 
testing  it  has  been  found  that  the  leakage  into  the 
sewers  at  present  amounts  only  to  six  gallons  per 
minute,  or  less  than  one  cubic  foot,  aud  this  not- 
withstandiug  that  some  of  the  sewers  are  laid  in  a 
soil  containing  water  nearly  on  a  level  with  the 
water  of  the  Thames,  When  the  sewage  has  beeu 
allowed  to  flow  down  the  sewers  for  some  time  this 
volume  will  probably  be  diminished.  The  surface- 
water  drains  to  carry  off  rainfall  are  connected 
with  the  town  sewers  which  were  laid  some  j'ears 
ago.  There  are  probably  very  few  towns  m  which 
so  little  water  leaks  into  the  sewers.  The  works 
are  designed  and  have  been  carried  out  under 
the  superintend  nee  of  Messrs.  E,  B,  Grantham 
and  Son,  Mr.  F,  Smith  being  the  clerk  of  works. 

The  London  Watee  Sitply,— The  following 
is  the  Eeport  from  the  Select  Committee,  of  which 
Home  Secretary  Sir  William  Harcourtwasthechair- 
man,  which  was  appointed  to  inquire  ''as  to  the  ex- 
pediency of  acquiring  on  behalf  of  the  inhabitants 
of  London  the  undertakings  of  the  existing  metro- 
politan water  companies ;  and  also  to  examine  and 
report  wheti.er  certain  agreements,  or  any  of 
them,  already  entered  into  provisionally  for  the 
purchase  of  these  undertakings,  could  furnish  a 
satisfactory  basis  for  such  an  acquisition  ;  and, 
further,  to  inquire  and  report  as  to  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  powers  of  the  water  companies  to 
levy  water-rates  aud  rents,  and  how  far  it  may  be 
desirable  to  modify  the  same." 

"  1.  That  it  is  expedient  that  the  supply  of  water  to 
the  metropoUs  should  be  placed  under  the  control  of 
some  public  body,  which  shall  represent  the  interests  and 
command  the  confidence  of  the  water  consumers,  2. 
That  under  such  management  a  greater  etficiency, 
economy,  and  equality  of  charge  than  that  which  at 
present  exists  might  be  secuied;  the  defects  in  the 
present  provision  for  the  extinction  of  fii*e  might  be 
remedied  ;  and  better  provision  might  be  made  for  the 
health  of  the  community,  3  That  in  order  to  effect  the 
above-mentioned  objects,  a  water  authority  for  the  me- 
tropohs  should  be  created  with  statutory  powers  which 
will  enable  such  body  to  acquhe  and  utilise,  so  far  as 
may  be  deemed  expedient,  existing  sources  of  supply, 
and  to  have  recourse  to  such  other  sources  of  supply,  as, 
upon  investigation,  may  prove  to  be  available  and  desir- 
able, 4,  That  in  the  absence  of  any  single  municipal 
body  to  which  these  functions  could  be  committed,  a 
water  authority  of  a  representative  character  should  he 
constituted,  and  that  a  Bill  having  that  object  be  intro- 
duced at  an  early  date  by  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
Without  absolutely  describing  the  composition  of  such  a 
body,  your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  it  should  include 
elements  to  be  derived  from  the  Corpo:ation  of  London 
and  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  together  with  a 
due  representation  of  the  districts  at  present  supplied 
by  the  metropohtan  water  companies,  which  Ue  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Corporation  and  the  Metropolitan 
Board .  It  is  on  such  a  body,  when  properly  framed,  that, 
in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  should  devolve  the  re- 
sponsibility of  determining  questions  alfecting  the 
source,  the  natm-e,  and  the  price  of  the  water  supply  of 
the  metropolis.  The  subject  is  one  which  especially  con- 
cerns the  consumers  of  water,  and  should  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  a  repiesentativo  body,  furnished  with  ade- 
quate power  to  give  effect  to  such  measures  as,  on  mature 
consideration,  may  he  determined,  5,  That,  for  certain 
pui-poses  at  least,  it  would  be  desirable  to  acquire  the  un- 
dertakings of  the  existing  companies,  if  the  same  could 
be  obtained  upon  fair  and  reasonable  terms,     6,  Your  ' 

committee  have  in\estigated  the  terms  negotiated  for 
such  a  purpose  in  the  agreements  referred  to  them, 
which  were  pro\isionally  concluded  between  the  metro- 
pohtin  water  companies  and  Mr,  E,  J,  Smith,    These  [ 

agreements    are    printed     iu     the     appendix    to   this  t 

report,    and  their  flnincial  reports  are  set  forth  in  a  \ 

ParUamentary  paper,  also  printed  in  the  appendix.    The  i 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


199 


amount  of  immediate  annuities  to  be  paid  under  iUe 
agreements  is  £773,454;  to  this  would  Lave  to  be  added 
defeii€d  annuiiies  to  accrue  by  T\ay  of  iucrement  at 
various  inteivals,  amounting  finally  to  £3'2o,490,  making 
an  ultimate  annual  payment  of  £1,098,953.  The  value 
of  the  immediate  onnuitits  in  3^  per  Cent.  Stock,  taken 
at  par,  would  be  £22,0PS,70O,  and  Mr.  Smith  estimated 
the  present  value  of  the  deferred  annuities  at  £6,851,300, 
making  the  total  value  of  slock  under  the  agreements 
£28,950.000.  If  the  deferred  annuities  had  been 
capitalised  at  3^  per  cent.,  the  t;ctal  amount  would  stand 
at  £29,734,281.  In  addition  to  this,  it  would  have  been 
necessary  to  make  proWsion  for  the  debt  charges — viz., 
preference  and  debenture  capital,  amounting  to 
£3,061.500,  beaiing  an  aclual  annual  charge  for  interest 
of  £133,913,  and  also  for  the  bond  and  mortgage  debt, 
£223,006,  with  an  annual  charge  for  interest  of  £7,807. 
These  interest  charges  Mr.  E.  J.  Smith  calculated 
would,  as  well  as  the  annuities,  be  covered  by  the  income 
of  the  compam'eswben  transferred  under  the  agreement?. 
Adding  these  (baigcs  to  the  total  of  the  annuities 
granted  as  above,  the  annual  payments  would  have  been 
finally  £1,240,G73,  and  the  total  capital  value  would  have 
stood  at  £33,018, b36.  These  agreements  were  founded 
on  the  principle  of  payjng  so  much  in  the  way  of  im- 
mediate annuitits,  in  consideration  of  the  existing  net 
income  of  the  companies  and  so  much  by  way  of  deferred 
annuities,  in  regar--  of  the  anticipated  increase  from  year 
to  year  of  their  revenue.  The  present  net  income  of  the 
companies  is  a  figtire  which  is  capable  of  being  accurately 
ascertained  and  adjusted.  It  is  admitted  that  the  im- 
mediate annuities  to  be  granted  under  the  agreements 
were  in  excess  of  the  actual  net  income  realised  in  any 
year  of  which  we  have  completed  accounts.  Mr.  E.  J. 
i^mith,  however,  alleged  that  the  annuities  he  proposed 
tx>  grant  would  be  met  by  his  estimate  of  net  income  for 
the  year  ending  the  1st  of  June,  1881.  But  the  question 
of  the  future  increments  is  a  matter,  to  a  gi  eat  degree. 
of  estimate  and  speculation.  Their  amount  must  depend 
on  numerous  elements  at  which  it  is  only  possible  to 
conjecture,  such  as  the  future  rate  of  the  growth  of 
houses,  and  the  probable  increase  in  their  value,  the 
future  rate  at  which  the  water  rentals  are  to  be  fixed, 
and  the  future  capital  which  it  may  be  necessary  to  ex- 
pend. These  are  the  elements  from -which  the  growth 
of  the  past  has  been  compounded  ;  whether  they  will  in- 
crease or  decrease,  or  remain  stationai-y  hereafter,  is  al- 
together uncertain.  It  seems  that  the  calculation  of  in- 
crements on  whichtlie  agreements  proceeded  was  founded 
on  the  assumption  that  all  the  items  of  receipt  would 
grow  at  a  greater  rate  in  the  future  than  in  the  past  ; 
that  the  number  and  the  value  of  the  houses  and  the  rate 
of  the  rentals  would  perpetually  augment  ;  but  that, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  growth  of  capital  ex- 
penditure which  has  hitherto  been  required  in 
order  to  earn  an  increased  income  would  sink 
almost  to  nothing,  and  might  be  discarded  from  the 
calculation.  This  does  not  appear  to  be  a  sound  basis  of 
a  financial  estimate  for  the  futui-e.  In  the  investigation 
before  your  commil  tee  the  Corpo.ation  of  London  and 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  "Works  have  taken  part. 
Those  two  bodies,  on  behalf  of  the  water-consumers, 
whom  they  may  be  taken  to  represent,  have  declared  to 
your  committee  their  opini-  n  that  the  terms  contained 
in  these  agreeiLents  do  not  furnish  a  satisfactory  or  ad- 
missible basis  of  purchsse :  and  in  that  opinion  your 
committee  concur.  7.  In  the  resolution  communicated 
to  your  committee  by  the  Coi-poration  of  London,  it  was 
stated  that  the  price  agieed  to  be  paid  imder  the  agree- 
ments to  the  wuter  companies  was  nearly  nine  milliens 
in  excess  of  the  market  value  of  the  property  at  a  period 
immediately  previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  ne- 
gotiation. As  a  geceral  rule,  the  market  value  of  stocki= 
of  this  description  affords  the  best  estimate,  not  only  of 
the  present,  but  of  the  prospective  value  of  the  com- 
modity. The  expectation  of  future  imi  rovement  is  an 
element  which  always  enters  into  the  coasiderati  jn  of 
the  market  value.  It  was,  indeed,  suggested  that,  in  the 
case  of  the  water  companies,  their  affaiis  were  not 
sufficiently  well  known  to  the  public  to  enable  a  complete 
judgment  of  tht ir  value  to  be  formed,  and  that  their 
futui-e expectations  were  not  sufficiently  estimated.  But 
during  the  past  six  monthf,  every  fossible  light  has 
been  cast  upon  their  affairs,  and  yet  their  market  value 
is,  at  tlie  present  time,  with  a  complete  knowledge  of 
Uieir  condition,  still  some  milh'ons  below  the  price  which 
was  payable  under  these  agreements.  The  value  of  the 
shares  rose  immensely  on  the  disclosure  of  the  terms  of 
the  agreements ;  they  fell  as  soon  as  it  was  considered 
doubtful  whether  the  agreements  would  be  sanctioned: 
but  at  no  time  did  they  ever  rise  to  the  full  value  which 
would  have  been  due  to  them  if  the  agreements  had  been 
c-orried  into  efftct.  It  is  ob^-ious,  therefore,  that  the 
judgment  of  the  public,  as  evidenced  by  the  market 
price,  coincides  with  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  of 
London  and  the  Metropolitan  Board— viz.,  that  the 
price  offered  in  the  agreements  is  greatly  beyond  the 
estimated  value  of  the  property.  8.  Your  committee  are 
further  directed  to  *  inquire  into  the  nature  and  extent 
of  the  power  of  the  water  companies  to  levy  water-rates 
ard  rents,  and  hu w  far  it  may  be  desirable  to  modify  the 
same.'  It  is  admitted  that  rates  have  been  raised  in 
recent  times  under  the  statutory  powers  of  the  companies : 
and  the  evidence  shows  that  a  considerable  portion  at 
least  of  the  increase  in  the  n  ceipts  of  the  companies  has 
been  due  to  this  cause,  as  the  increase  per  cent,  in  the 
net  water  i-entnls  for  the  last  eight  years  has  been,  in  the 
case  of  most  of  the  companies,  greatly  in  excess  of  the 
percentage  of  increase  in  the  number  of  houses.  9.  The 
companies  claim  the  right  still  further  to  increase  their 
rates  in  proportion  to  the  growth  in  the  value  of  houses, 
and  this  right  would  have  no  legal  relation  to  the  aug- 
mentation in  tl  e  quantity  or  improvement  in  quality  of 
the  water  supplied.  If  the  companies  were  limited  in 
the  amount  of  dividend  they  could  earn,  as  was  contem- 
plateel  by  the  "Waterworks  Act,  1S47,  there  might  be  srme 
reasonable  restraint  on  their  power  to  enhance  the  charge 
against  the  consumer.  But  the  companies  as  ert  their 
righi  under  the  title  of  back  dividends  to  escape  from  anv 
such  limit.  Indeed,  their  right  to  do  so  is  made  one  of 
the  grounds  for  demanding  so  large  a  price  from  the 
pnbhc  for  the  purchase  of  their  undertakings.  The  cal- 
culations on  which  the  agreements  were  founded  pro- 
ceeded, to  a  considerable  extent,  on  the  assumption  that 
the  claim  of  the  companies  to  back  dividends  was  estab- 
lished. In  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Smith,  Uie  possible 
amount  of  such  dividends  is  estimated  at  nearly  20  mil- 


lions. Ihe  counK'l  lor  the  companies  contended  before 
the  comnuitee  that  the  right  to  such  dividends  miaht  be 
cai-rieil  back  to  the  origin  of  the  companv,  which  accounts 
for  the  astounding  figures  given  m  the  case  of  the  New 
River  Company  of  £15,000,000  as  the  amount  of  back 
di\idcnd.  The  counsel  lor  the  Coiporation  and  the  Me- 
tropolitan Board  of  "Works  maintained,  on  the  oti.er 
band,  that  no  (juestion  of  back  di^-idtnd  could  arise  till 
the  Act  which  introduced  a  limit  came  into  force.  With- 
out pronouncing  an  opinion  on  the  legal  point,  your  com- 
mittee must  observe  that  if  the  contention  of  the  com- 
panies is  well  founded  the  population  of  the  metropolis 
and  its  suburbs,  amounting  to  4,000,(00  of  people, 
woiJd  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  certain  trading  companies, 
armed  with  the  power  of  raising  the  price  of  one  of  tlie  first 
necessities  of  liie  to  an  extent  practically  without  any  limit, 
a  situation  from  which  the  companies  seem  to  consider 
there  is  no  escape,  except  in  the  purchase  of  their  under- 
takings at  such  a  price  as  they  may  be  pleased  to  accept. 
If  that  were  the  only  remedy,  the'consequences  to  the  con- 
sumer of  the  improvident  legislation  of  the  past  would 
be,  indeed,  intolerable.  But  Parliament  is  not  unequal 
tortdress  such  mischiefs  to  tlie  public  interests.  The 
nmnner  in  wbicli  the  gas  companies  have  been  dealt 
with  by  Parhament  may  be  referred  to  in  illustration  of 
the  methods  by  which  a  remedy  for  such  a  state  of  things 
may  be  effectually  provided.  10.  Your  committee  hiivc 
not  had  before  them  any  specific  scheme  for  an  inde- 
pendent supply  of  water,  and  general  speculations  on 
tlie  subject  are  of  little  value  without  detailed  plans  of 
the  sources  from  which  it  is  to  be  derived  and  the  cost  of 
caiTying  it  into  effect.  But  your  committee  would  ob 
6er\-e  that  the  total  cost  of  the  existing  water  supply  to 
the  metropolis  has  not  much  exceeded  £12.000,000,  a 
considerable  portion  of  which  sum  may  be  attributed  to 
works  which  have  become  useless  or  have  been  rc-dupli- 
cattd.  And  it  would  become  the  duty  of  the  water  au- 
thority when  constituted  carefully  to  consider,  with  the 
professional  asi^ist-:mce  whiuh  will  be  at  their  disposal, 
whether  anew  and  better  supply  could  not  be  obtained 
at  a  cost  greatly  less  than  the  sum  which  would  have  had 
to  be  paid  under  the  agreements  for  the  existing  supply, 
11.  In  the  constitution  of  the  water  authority  your  com- 
mittee would  recommend  that  that  body  should  be  in- 
tiusted  with  the  largest  discretion  as  to  the  best  method 
of  dealing  with  the  water  supply  of  the  metropo] 
Various  courses  might  be  adopted.  It  would  be  possible 
to  proceed  by  regulation  of  the  powers  of  the  existing 
companies,  as  in  the  case  of  the  gas  supply;  or  by  the 
introduction  of  an  independent  water  supply  ;  or  by  the 
purchase  of  the  existing  undertakings.  It  would  be  the 
duty  of  the  water  authority  maturely  to  examine  which 
of  these  schemes,  separately  or  in  combination,  would  be 
most  advantageous  to  the  public.  In  order  to  give  effect 
to  any  of  them,  further  statutory  authority  would  be 
necessary,  so  that  the  judgment  of  Parliament  on  any 
scheme  adopted  by  the  water  authority  would  be  finally 

August  3." 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

TEJirLE  Bak.  -  On  Tuesday  the  first  stone  of  the 
memorial  structure  which  is  about  to  be  erected  by 
the  Corporation  of  Loudou  on  the  site  of  old  Temple 
Bar  was  laid.  The  structure  will  be  37ft.  high,  oft 
wide,  and  Sft.  long.  The  base  will  be  of  iiolished 
Guernsey  granite,  the  nest  tier  of  Balmoral 
granite,  and  above  that  there  ^vill  be  pink  granite 
from,  the  same  quarry  as  that  used  in  the  Albert 
Memorial  in  Hyde-park.  In  the  niches  on  the 
north  and  south  side  will  be  life-size  figures  in 
marble  of  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  by 
Mr.  Boehm,  A.K.A.,  and  in  panels  on  the  sides  will 
be  representations  in  bronze,  by  Mr.  Ma  bey  a"d  Mr. 
Kelsey,  of  the  Queen*s  first  entrance  into  the  city 
through  Temple  Bar  in  1837.  and  of  the  procession 
to  St.  Paul's  on  the  day  of  the  thanksgiving  for  the 
Prince*s  recovery.  The  superstructure  will  bo  of 
hard  white  stone,  and  will  be  surmounted  by  a 
griffin  which  is  being  executed  by  Mr.  Biich, 
A.R.A.  The  inscri]:tion  round  the  structure  will 
be  the  words: — "Here  formerly  stood  Temple 
Bar."  The  memorial  is  designed  by  the  City 
Architect,  and  the  execution  of  it  has  been  en- 
trusted to  Messrs.  Mowlem,  Burt,  and  Freeman,  of 
Millbank. 


The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Congregational 
chapel  was  laid  at  Brent,  near  Plymouth,  on 
Monday  week.  It  is  Geometrical  Gothic  in 
character,  and  is  52ft.  by  30ft.,  seating  ISO  persons, 
without  galleries.  The  roof  will  be  open,  and, 
like  the  seats  and  rostnmi,  will  be  of  pitch-pine. 
The  walls  will  be  built  of  local  stone,  the  front 
being  faced  with  Plymouth  limestone.  The  door- 
way and  side  windows  will  be  arched  with  Leemcor 
brick,  and  the  hood-moulds  and  other  dressings 
will  be  of  Bath  stone.  Mr.  H.  J.  Snell,  of 
Plymouth,  is  the  architect ;  and  Messrs.  11.  and  J. 
Veale,  of  Brent,  are  the  contractors.  The  cost 
will  be  about  £660. 

Trinity  Church,  New  Bridge-street,  Xewcastle- 
on-Tyne,  has  just  been  reopened,  after  undergoing 
important  alterations  and  improvements.  Mr. 
J.  J.  Lish,  Newcastle,  was  the  architect  ;  and 
Messrs.  Copland  and  RoUo  and  Mr.  James  Smart 
were  the  contractors  for  the  several  departments  of 
the  work. 

A  meeting  of  the  employes  of  Mr.  F.  Sage, 
biulder,  of  Grav*s  Inn-road,  took  place  ou  Saturday 
week  at  the  Tufnell  Park  Hotel,  the  occasion  being 
the  presentation  of  an  address  and  purse  of  gold  to 
Mr.  Putterill,  who  has  611ed  the  office  of  foreman 
during  the  past  seven  years,  acd  is  now  leaving  the 
firm. 


(Dur  ODffirc  ^Mt 

-  ♦♦♦ 

SiNCK  1875,  Rome  JU,2C8  miles  uf  railiouJ 
have  been  built  iu  Euroiu.,  aud  about  5,000  mik» 
in  other  parts  of  the  world  outoido  of  Uic  United 
States,  chiefly  in  Austrulia  aud  India,  *o  that 
the  world'H  railways  probably  stand  to-day  a.s 
follows  : 

I^uropo    98,275  miles,  or  47  per  cent. 

United  States.,.,    86,121         ,,         11 
Rest  of  the  world  25,000         ,,         12         " 

209,390 
Thus  the  50  millions  of  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States  have  lumislud  themselvcH  with 
80,000  miles  of  railway,  while  the  300  millions 
of  Eurojic  have  98,000  milts,  and  the  1,050 
millions  of  the  rest  of  the  world  possess  but 
25,000  miles. 

It  appears,  from  a  paragraph  in  the  Boston 
Jdicrliser  of  June  18th,  that,  after  all,  some- 
tiling  is  to  bo  done  towards  the  eomplrtion  of  the 
work  of  Signor  Brumidi  iu  the  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington:—•' The  joint  Committee  on  Librarj-, 
before  Cungress  adjourned,  instructed  the 
architect  of  the  Capitol,  Mr.  Clark,  to  give  the 
New  York  fresco  artist,  I'ilippo  Costaggiui,  a 
trial  at  completing  the  alkfrorical  fr.sco  belt  in 
the  Capitol  dome  left  unlinii-hcd  by  Brumidi. 
No  apijropriation  hasbeenmade  for  continuing  the 
work,  but  Costaggini  was^o  urgent  tooxliibit  his 
(■kill  in  fresco  work  that  the  cummitteo  decided 
to  let  him  show  what  be  could  do.  lie  will  soon 
commence  work  at  the  jwiut  where  the  lato 
artist  .^topped.  lie  believes  he  can  carry  out 
Brumidi's  ideas  and  style  in  the  completion  of 
that  great  undertaking.  If  ho  fails,  his  work 
will  be  erased,  and  another  artist  will  be  given  a 
chance  to  attempt  it." 

The  steamer  Drsioiii?,  with  the  Alexandrian 
obelisk  on  board,  Vus  at  anchor  off  the  foot  of 
Twenty-third-street,  New  York,  waiting  fiir  the 
Park  Commissioners  to  decide  where  the  Kgy]>tian 
relic  shall  be  placed.  Jlr.  G.  L.  Fiuardeut,  a 
New  York  antiquarian,  is  of  opinion  that  the 
best  place  for  the  obeli.-k  is  in  Manhattan-square, 
at  the  centre  of  what  will  in  time  be  a  court  be- 
fore the  Museunr  of  Natural  Historj-.  Ho  sug- 
gests that  it  would  be  an  appropnatc  thing  to 
adopt  the  ancient  idea,  and  employ  the  obelisK  a» 
the  needle  of  a  sundial,  and  construct  a  pave- 
ment at  its  base  of  asphalium  or  some  other 
material  on  which  the  figures  could  be  distinctly 
marked.  An  asphalte  sundial  would  probably  bo 
a  useful  novelty,  and  quite  as  ornamental  as  the 
rf  markable  additions  made  to  our  obeU.-k  on  the 
^'ictoria  Embankment  by  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  AYorks. 

TuE  Piilais  de  I'lndustrie,  at  Paris,  has  been 
opened  with  a  collection  of  objects  brought  to- 
gether under  the  auspices  of  the  Central  UniiU 
of  the  Fine  Arts  applied  to  ii.du.strial  pi;r|    -■ -. 
This  Is  the  sixth  exhibition  which  the  wx  ii;>  h  i- 
held,  the  last  having  taken  place  in   lS7i>.     The 
principal  objects  shown  are  connected  with  the 
design  and  manufacture  of  metal,  and  there  i» 
an  exhibition— open  to  all  who  pay  for  spa.e — of 
all  kinds  of  decorative  art-work,  such  :.«  furni- 
ture,   crystal,    textures,  mirror.',   models   of  all 
kinds,  &c.     In   1882  the  special  exhibits  are  to 
be  textures,  paper,  leather,   and  furniture.     In 
ISSl,  wood,  applied  to  construction  and  decora- 
tion, stone,  earth,   glass,  and  plant.".     The  oi- 
hibitors  of  metal  work  are  singularly  few.     The 
fine.-t   are  the  cases  containing   bnmze  sUtuc», 
statuettes,  and  busts.     There  are  -  n..    ■  un-un 
designs  for  street-lamps,   more  in 
useful,  and  a  variety  of  art- work  i: 
and  lead.     In  another  part   .f  t' 
has  been  opened  a  new  i  ■ 
tapestry,  and  ceramic  war 
art.     The  circular  conceni ; i 
cl.ires  that  in  all   the  imi'ita;  ' 
world,  there  arc  being  opentd  sf  • 
bv  which  designers  arc  inspire^I 
/.riiDYof  art  pa.-t  and  present,  an; 
the  remark  that  France  rou.>t  no'.    ■ 
rear,  but  mu^t  al.*>  have  her  Jf" 
cornti/i    like    other    coun'r-- 
directors  have  to  look   t' 
assistance— to  those  who 
pro.'perify  of  the  country,   I  ■ 
tion  of  the  arts.     In  order  t.)  .illr  . 
the  object  of  this   appeal,  a  Ion- 
works  of  decoration  has  been  br^  . 
and,  with  the  articles  already  in  the  f  nnaccnt 


200 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  13,  1880. 


possession  of  the  directorB,  are  exposed  to  public 
view  in  the  suite  of  rooms  to  the  south-east  of 
the  Palais.  The  town  of  Paris  has  sent  several 
designs  in  monochrome  and  colour,  the  Biblio- 
theque  Nationale  has  lent  four  fine  pictures  by 
Boucher,  and  the  manufactory  of  Gobelins  sends 
many  designs  used  in  tapestry  work ;  while  other 
works  of  a  high  order  of  merit  have  been  lent  by 
amateurs. 

By  no  means  the  least  interesting  feature  in 
the  decoration  of  the  new  yacht  which  the 
Emperor  of  Eussia  has  built  for  himself  will  be 
the  frieze  of  the  grand  saloon.  It  has  been  exe- 
cuted by  Sir.  de  Morgan,  of  Cheyne-row,  Chel- 
sea, in  liand-painted  half-tiles,  the  half-tUes 
being  necessitated  on  account  of  the  curve  on 
plan  of  the  saloon.  Rather  vivid  colourings 
liave  been  adopted,  as  being  more  in  accord  with 
the  Russian  style  of  decorations,  though,  in 
point  of  colour,  compared  with  what  are  gene- 
rally understood  as  ^^vid,  these  here  named  are 
barely  secondaries,  and  are  simply  vivid  when 
contrasted  with  Mr.  de  Morgan's  usual  tones 
and  accustomed  manner.  In  all  the  decorative 
and  fumishiug  work  of  tlie  Emperor's  yacht, 
time  has  been  a  point  of  primary  consideration, 
rendering  much  care  of  detail  and  unity  of  finish 
out  of  the  question.  Mr.  de  Morgan's  work  has 
. — as  far  as  it  goes — swfi'ered  but  little  on  this 
account  of  time ;  indeed,  the  only  difference  is 
that  we  have  a  bold,  rather  than  an  intricately 
minute,  design  and  arrangement  of  parts.  The 
frieze  is  divided  at  about  sight-line  level  into 
panels  between  the  windows  by  marble  frame- 
work, and,  although  the  pattern  is  repeated 
throughout,  the  variety  of  colourings  and  tone, 
produced  by  the  running  of  the  pigments  in  the 
kiln,  an  absence  of  anything  like  machine-like 
monotony  is  strictly  avoided.  Peacocks  and  other 
richly-plumed  birds,  with  reptiles,  and  very 
conventional  foliage  and  trees,  are  the  subjects 
mainly  treated  in  these  friezes.  Mr.  Wm. 
Leiper,  of  Glasgow,  we  believe,  is  the  architect 
superrising  the  decorations  and  finishing  of  this 
very  important  vessel,  and  the  contracts  for  the 
work  are  chiefly  taken  by  three  London  firms, 
viz.,  Messrs.  Jackson  and  Graham,  by  Messrs. 
GiUow  and  Co.,  and  by  Messrs.  Christie,  which 
latter  firm,  we  hear,  are  executing  the  saloon 
chairs,  at  about  £40  per  chair,  a  quotation 
which,  alone,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  ex- 
tensive and  likewise  costly  character  of  the 
work  in  question. 

Me.  Jajtes  S.  Eaueell  (of  the  well-knovm 
firm  of  Randell,  Saunders,  and  Co. ,  Limited)  has 
an  interesting  and  very  important  article  in  the 
Toi'tnif/hUif  lici'ieir  for  the  present  month  on 
"Friendly  Societies:  their  Position  and  Pro- 
spects." Some  of  his  facts,  revealing  tlje  terribly 
unsound  condition  of  some  of  the  provident  so- 
cieties which  at  present  afford  the  industrial 
classes  the  only  means  of  providing  against  sick- 
ness or  old  age,  really  call  for  serious  attention 
at  the  hands  of  the  Legislature.  The  Echo,  in  a 
review  of  the  article  which  appeared  on  Frid.ay 
last,  hints  pretty  plainly  that  if  Insurance  Com- 
panies and  Banks  had  been  conducted  on  princi- 
ples similar  to  those  of  most  of  the  Industrial 
Friendly  Societies,  we  should,  long  before  this, 
have  had  to  learn  to  do  without  them.  Mr. 
Randell  suggests  the  desirability  of  establishing 
a  National  Benefit  Society,  with  a  national 
guarantee,  similar  to  that  of  the  Post  OJfice 
Savings  Bank,  to  which  a  minimum  contri- 
bution, securing  a  minimum  benefit  should  be 
made  comptilsory  on  the  part  of  every  young 
working  man  from  the  age  of  eighteen  to 
twenty-one,  and  to  which  men  of  riper  years 
should  be  allowed  to  contribute  further  at  their 
own  option. 

The  twentj'-third  annual  report  of  the  trustees 
of  the  Xational  Portrait  Gallery  has  been  presented 
to  Parliament.  The  donations,  which  amounted 
to  2.3S  in  the  last  report,  have  now  been  con- 
tinued to  2.51.  The  additions  include  "The 
Convention  of  the  Anti-Slaverj-  Society,"  under 
the  presidency  of  Thomas  Clarkson,  painted  by 
B.  R.  Haydon,  and  presented  by  the  Committee 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society ; 
a  portrait  of  the  water-colour  painter,  A.  V. 
Copley  Fielding,  hy  Sir  W.  Boxall ;  another  of 
Xnigo  Jones,  copied  by  Old  Stone  from  a  pic- 
ture by  Van  Byck  ;  another  of  Maclise,  by  E. 
M.  Ward  ;  a  biist  of  Robert  Owen,  kc.  The 
purchases,  which  were  31-5  in  the  last  report,  are 
now  35S.  Among  the  new  ones  are  a  portrait 
of  Queen  Mary  II.,  by  Gaspar  Netschcr  ;  of 
Piiuce  Rupert  by  Lely ;  and  of  Milton,  at  the 


age  of  G2,  when  blind,  engraved  by  William 
Faithome  ;  and  a  bust  of  Benjamin  AVest,  life- 
size,  by  Chwitrey.  A  number  of  autograph 
letters  have  also  been  added,  several  of  them 
from  the  correspondence  of  the  late  Sir  Anthony 
Panizzi.  There  have  been  SP2,462  visitors  in 
all  to  the  collection  from  the  time  when  it  was 
first  opened  in  Great  George-street,  West- 
minster, in  18.59,  to  the  end  of  1879.  The 
largest  number  of  i-isitors  in  any  one  year  was 
in  1870,  when  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Indian 
presents  were  on  view.  In  that  year  the  num- 
ber was  108,2.52;  in  1877,  79,987;  in  1878, 
72,10.5;  and  in  1879  (when  the  exhibition  was 
closed  for  alterations  in  the  spring  months), 
G4,.'!04.  In  the  first  six  months  of  this  year  the 
visitors  have  amounted  to  40, .510. 

At  the  next  examination  of  the  City  and 
Guilds  of  London  Institute  for  the  advancement 
of  sectional  education,  the  examination  in  blow- 
pipe analysis  will  be  discontinued.  The  follow- 
ing subjects  will  be  added  to  the  programme  :  — 
Plumber's  work,  zinc  and  tinplate  work  and 
tools.  Steel  and  iron  manufacture  will  form 
one  subject.  The  examinations  will  be  held  on 
two  evenings  instead  of  one,  in  order  to  give 
candidates  an  opportunity  of  being  examined  in 
the  subjects  of  two  allied  industries.  The  In- 
stitute will  accept  as  evidence  of  the  candidate's 
knowledge  of  the  necessary  science  subjects  a 
certificate  stating  that  the  candidate  has  obtained 
a  degree  in  science  at  one  of  the  Universities  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  the  City  and  Guilds  of 
London  Institute,  the  Royal  School  of  Mines, 
University  College,  London;  King's  College, 
London;  the  Yorkshire  College  of  Science, 
Leeds  ;  University  College,  Bristol,  and  Mason's 
College,  Birmingham  ;  stating  that  the  candi- 
date has  attended  a  course  of  instruction  under 
a  professor  or  professors  at  one  of  the  above 
institutions  in  the  science  subjects  allied  to  the 
technological  subject  in  which  the  full  certificate 
is  claimed,  and  has  pa»sed  an  examination  in 
such  science  subjects  satisfactory  to  the  professor. 

The  thirty-fourth  half-yearly  meeting  of 
the  Improved  Industrial  Dwellings  Company 
(Limited)  was  held  at  the  Mansion  House,  on 
Monday,  Sir  Sydney  AVaterlow,  Bart.,  M.P., 
chairman  of  the  Company,  presiding.  The  report 
showed  that  the  total  revenue  for  the  past  year 
amounted  to  £31,353  2s.  8d.,  and  the  total  ex- 
penditure to  £17,334  14s.  7d.,  leaving  a  divisible 
profit  of  £13,818  8s.  Id.,  which  added  to  previous 
balance  of  £344  18s.  7d.  made  £14,103  6s.  8d. 
available  for  dividend.  The  directors  re- 
commended the  payment  of  the  usual  dividend  at 
the  rate  of  .5  per  cent,  per  annum,  free  of  income- 
tax,  which  wotdd  would  absorb  £10,623,  that 
£3,500  be  added  to  the  reserve  fund  for  the 
equalisation  of  dividend,  which  would  then 
amount  to  £40,000,  and  the  carrying  forward  of 
the  remaining  sum  of  £38  6s.  "sd.  to  the  next 
accoimt.  In  moving  the  adoption  of  the  report 
the  chairman  regretted  the  sraallness  in  the 
number  of  shareholders  present,  and  thought  the 
shareholders  should  take  a  great  deal  more  in- 
terest in  the  companies  of  which  they  were 
practically  partners  than  they  usually  did. 

It  would  be  just  as  weU  next  week,  when  the 
Premier  has  left  town,  to  look  to  the  condition 
of  the  drainage  of  the  houses  in  Downing-street. 
Our  contemporary,  the  Lancet,  wo  notice,  states 
that,  for  a  day  or  two,  some  of  the  symptoms  of 
Mr.  Gladstone's  illness  "  gave  a  typhoid  aspect 
to  the  facts."  Repeated  complaints  have  been 
made,  from  time  to  time,  of  illness  among  the 
clerks  working  in  some  of  the  adjacent  offices, 
which  it  was  alleged  was  due  to  the  defective 
construction  or  maintenance  of  the  drains.  Our 
pubUc  men  sacrifice  quite  enough  of  the  dictates 
of  health  at  the  shrine  of  patriotism  or  ambition, 
whichever  it  m.ay  be,  without  being  compelled 
to  incur  the  risk  of  catching  typhoid-fever  when 
they  move  into  the  official  residences  provided 
for  them. 

TuE  late  Mr.  E.  J.  Smith  was  one  of  the  two 
fortunate  land  agents  and  surveyors  in  England 
who  do  the  business  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Com- 
missioners and  of  the  Church  Estate  Commis- 
sioners for  England  and  Wales.  It  is  probably 
well  known  tliat  these  Commissioners  are  as  a 
corporation  wealthier  than  any  landowner  in  the 
kingdom,  and  their  vast  possessions  include  some 
of  the  finest  lands  in  the  country  and  real  and 
mineral  property  of  all  kinds.  The  practice  of 
the  Commission  has  been  to  divide  England  and 
Wales  into  two  parts,  a  northern  and  a  southern 


division,  and  to  carry  on  their  business  upon  that 
basis.  For  the  Southern  division  Mr.  John 
Glutton  is  the  receiver,  and  for  the  northern 
division  the  late  Mr.  E.  J.  Smith — whose  name 
and  whose  sudden  death  are  well  known  to  the 
public  in  connection  with  the  Select  Committee  on 
London  Water  Supply — was  the  receiver.  The 
method  of  remuneration  has  (the  London 
Correspondent  of  the  Manchester  Guardian  be- 
lieves) been  by  commission  on  receipts,  and  the 
receivers  have  in  this  way  had  very  large 
emoluments.  The  question  of  filling  up  the 
vacancy  caused  by  Mr.  Smith's  death  was  pro- 
bably discussed  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Com- 
missioners, which  generally  takes  place  on  a 
Thursday,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
matter — one  of  no  small  importance'to  public 
interests — will  be  shortly  mentioned  in  Parlia- 
ment. 

A  WBiTEE  in  the  Sportsman  of  Saturday,  sign- 
ing himself  "Lorgnette,"  recommends  people 
wanting  a  unique  sight  to  explore  the  back 
streets  of  Canterbury.  "  I  did  so  last  year,"  he 
explains,  "  and  found  an  interesting  and  ruined 
church,  which  stood  near  an  asylum  or  hospital, 
I  forget  which.  What  made  the  sight  more  in- 
teresting was  the  fact  that  the  whole  of  the  nave 
had  been  turned  into  a  pigstye,  in  which  xm- 
numbered  black  swine  were  placidly  feeding. 
The  contrast  between  this  grand  old  ruin — one 
of  the  oldest,  if  not  the  oldest,  chui-chcs  in  Kent 
— and  the  unclean  animals  it  housed,  for  it  was 
fitted  up  as  a  pigstye,  made  a  man  think  with 
peculiar  satisfaction  of  the  reverent  manner  in 
which  the  Church  of  England  treats  some  of  its 
historical  edifices.  To  find  a  church  made  into 
a  bam  in  some  remote  country  village  is  a  little 
uncommon,  but  the  place  may  he  far  away  from 
the  haunts  of  men,  and  hardly  known  even  in  a 
gazetteer.  In  Canterbury  itself,  however,  to 
see  a  well-known  city,  and  a  city,  too,  which 
gives  the  Primate  his  proudest  title,  turning  a 
literal  church  into  a  literal  pigstye,  struck  me  as 
being  the  most  sublime  piece  of  irreverent  and 
dirty  vandalism  which  eotdd  be  named."  We 
trust  "The  Looker  On  "  has  made  a  mistake. 

In  a  report  to  thetown"conncil  of  Bath,  Mr.  C. 
E.  Davis,  the  city  architect,  has  given  some  in- 
teresting particulars  of  the  Roman  baths  he  has 
discovered  to  the  north  of  the  abbey  during  some 
drainage  excavations.  In  addition  to  the  b,aths 
made  known  a  century  since,  Mr.  Davis  has 
found  a  barge  bath,  about  80ft.  by  40ft.  in 
width,  lined  with  lead  fin.  in  thiclcness,  and 
surrounded  by  a  flight  of  massive  steps.  The 
margin  of  the  bath  is  formed  by  a  platform,  17ft. 
wide,  and  paved  with  Sin.  stones,  and  the  whole 
appears  to  have  been  inclosed  in  a  hall,  esti- 
mated to  have  had  dimensions  of  about  174ft.  hy 
r20ft.  The  drains  and  sluices  for  regiUating 
the  influx  and  efflux  of  water  were  very  com- 
plete. The  report  was  adopted,  and  it  was, 
after  a  di.scussion  of  a  party  character,  resolved 
to  place  £700  at  the  disposal  of  the  committee 
for  further  drainage  works  at  this  point,  so  as 
to  underpin  neighbouring  premises,  to  open  out 
the  baths,  and  to  utilise  and  purify  them. 


CHIPS. 

On  Tuesdiy  week  Mr.  W.  S.  Gore  Langton, 
M.P.,  entertained  at  dinner  the  workmen  who 
have  been  employed  in  the  construction  of  new 
stables  for  him  at  Duuster.  The  stables  are  for  a 
hunting  stud,  are  situate  near  Kuttrell  Arms 
Hotel,  and  are  constructed  in  the  Gothic  style, 
with  every  modern  improvement.  The  architect 
was  Mr.  C.  H,  Samson,  and  the  contractor,  Mr.  H. 
Davis,  of  Taunton. 

The  Sanitary  Institute  of  Great  Britain  have 
awarded  Messrs.  Woollams  and  Co.  a  medal,  "as  a 
special  mark  of  merit"  for  their  paperhangings, 
"  free  from  arsenic,"  exhibited  at  the  late  Croydon 
Exhibition. 

The  corporation  of  Saffron  Walden  are  making 
extensive  alterations  and  additions  to  the  gas- 
works lately  acquired  by  them.  The  additions 
comprise  new  gasholder  (to  hold  35, 000ft.),  new 
purifiers,  storehouse,  &-c.,  Mr.  Jabez  Church,  of 
Westminster,  being  the  engineer;  Messrs.  Whitlin 
and  Sons,  of  Saii'ron  Walden,  the  contractors  for 
excavations  aud  brickwork  ;  and  Messrs.  Cutler 
and  Sons,  of  Mill  wall,  London,  for  the  ironwork. 

New  schools  erected  for  the  Norwich  School 
Board,  in  Crook's-place  in  the  city,  were  opened  on 
Monday.  They  accommodate  900  childreu  in  three 
equal  departments,  and  have  been  built  at  a  cost  of 
£7,000,  exclusive  of  site,  by  Mr.  E.  Wegg,  from 
the  plans  and  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Brown,  of 
Norwich,  architect  to  the  Board. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


201 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


ZOXSOX,  FRIDAY,   ACGVST  20,   1880. 


WHAT  IS  A   BRICK  ? 

THE  qiiestion  seems  easily  answered;  but 
we  doubt  whether  one  in  a  hundred 
would  give  a  satisfactory  reply,  and  describe 
with  any  degi-ee  of  accui-acy  the  salient 
points  of  a  good  brick.  Its  size  is  as 
changeable  as  its  character,  and  buUders  in 
«ach  particular  locality  accept  the  dimen- 
sions which  custom  or  caprice  have  dictated. 
Colour  is  due  to  the  chemical  quality  of  the 
clay  or  marl  from  which  the  brick  is  made, 
and  its  yellow,  red,  or  blue  shade  proceeds 
from  the  presence  of  various  metallic  oxides 
which  are  acted  upon  by  the  heat  of  the 
Iriln,  while  undergoing  the  process  of  baking 
or  tiring.  Clays  of  the  finest  quality,  not 
even  excepting  kaolin,  are  formed  of  minute 
particles  or  atoms,  spherical  in  shape, 
which  are  rendered  plastic,  or  become  hy- 
drated,  from  the  influence  of  water,  for 
which  they  display  a  retentive  capacity. 
There  are  what  may  be  called  two  impor- 
tant divisions  of  clays,  the  "rich"  and  the 
"poor,"  or  the  "fat"  and  the  "lean," 
di^'ided,  in  a  somewhat  arbitrary  manner, 
into  all  sorts  of  subordinate,  and  olttimes 
senseless,  classifications.  The  application 
of  chemical  rules  under  existing  circum- 
stances is  generally  disregarded,  and  ordin- 
ary brickmaking,  throughout  this  country, 
may  be  described  as  a  wasteful  industry,  in 
•which  much  waste  of  labour  and  material 
"takes  place. 

lu  the  London  districts  we  have,  in  all 
directions,  abundant  examples  of  brick - 
making  of  a  character  neither  creditable  to 
our  constructive  capacity,  nor  in  keeping 
with  our  scientific  pretensions.  If  we  take 
the  Metropolis  as  a  centre,  and  describe 
around  it  a  circle  of  fifty  miles  radius,  we 
shall  include  within  its  circumference  a 
great  variety  of  clays,  from  which  are  pro- 
duced the  bricks  supplying  the  requirements 
of  London  and  its  wide-spreading  suburbs. 
The  ordinary  and  commonplace  stocks, 
made  on  the  ground  on  which  the  buildings 
are  to  be  erected,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
very  lowest  type  of  brick-industry  within 
the  influence  of  our  prescribed  limits  of  ob- 
servation. "We  shall,  however,  make  some 
remarks  on  this  well-known  brick,  and  de- 
scribe the  methods  in  vogue  by  which  they 
are  fabricated. 

The  loamy  clay  from  which  stocks  are 
made  requires  a  good  deal  of  preparation 
before  it  is  fitted  to  be  moulded  into  the 
desired  shapes.  The  clay  is  first  dug  in 
the  late  autumn,  and  laid  up  into  convenient 
heaps,  which,  after  more  or  less  weathering, 
is  mixed  with  certain  proportions  of  chalk 
and  fine  coaldust  or  ashes.  The  object  of 
applying  the  finely-comminuted  chalk  is 
for  the  purpose  of  fluxing  the  obdurate 
sandy  clay,  and  the  ashes  to  assist  in  the 
ultimate  calcination  of  the  brick.  The  usual 
means  adopted  in  this  primitive  process 
may  be  considered  competent  to  produce 
such  a  brick  as  will  pass  muster  for  the  com- 
monest buddings,  the  hardest  of  which 
being  used  for  external  WfiUs,  and  the  soft- 
est and  unshapely  or  imperfectly-burnt  are 
hid  away  in  division  and  internal  walls.  The 
operations  which  aim  at  a  mixture  of  the 
clay,  chalk,  and  ashes  f.iU  far  short  of 
what  might  be  accomplished  by  a  more 
sensible  treatment  of  these  easily-combined 
materials.  Simple  digging,  and  a  subsequent 
turning  over  of  the  clay-heap,  together 
with  the  final  mixing  through  the  pug-mill, 
is  not  calculated,  even  when  done  in  the 


most  successful  and  careful  manner,  to  pro- 
duce a  homogeneous  mass.  In  the  absence, 
therefore,  of  aperfect  mechanical  combination 
of  the  materials,  the  subsequent  heat  action 
cannot  be|accomplished  with  anydegreeof  ac- 
curacy or  success.  The  result  is  irregularly- 
burntbricks,  of  various  shapes  and  forms,  and 
allmore  or  less  defective  in  texture, rendering 
them  incompetent  to  resist  the  most  ordin- 
ary conditions  of  wear  and  tear  to  which 
tti«y  neay  he  submitted.  How  much  better 
the  results  of  all  the  labour  now  employed 
might  be,  if  a  more  perfect  and  reasonable 
amalgamation  of  the  raw  materials  were 
brought  about.  The  clay,  as  now  treated, 
is  only  imperfectly  acted  upon  by  the  chalk, 
and  the  consequence  of  such  slovenly 
treatment  is  apparent  in  the  iiroduce 
realised  in  the  clamp.  Without  the  intro^ 
duction  of  the  chalk,  clays  of  the  character 
we  have  referred  to  could  not  be  fluxed  by 
the  small  amount  of  fuel  now  used  in  the 
stock  brickmaking  industry.  The  produc- 
tion of  stock  bricks  is  a  very  large  one,  and 
the  outlying  districts  of  TJxbridge  and  Sit- 
tingbourne,  ^vith  a  host  of  less-important 
contributories,  supply  the  wants  of  London, 
which,  in  prosperous  times,  amounts  to 
several  hundred  millions  a  year.  Tlie 
colour  of  a  good  stock  brick  is  a  pale  yellow, 
and  when  the  clay  is  favourable  in  quality, 
and  the  manipulation  tolerably  good,  a 
brightness  in  shade  is  produced,  very  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye.  The  careless  or  indiiierent 
stock  brickmaker,  in  his  haste  tol  produce  a 
cheap  article,  disregards  the  character  of 
the  clay,  and  takes  no  pains  or  trouble  to 
eliminate  the  flints  and  stones  during  the 
process  of  conversion.  Hence,  unsightly 
and  unshapely  bricks  always  secure  a 
market,  because  our  controlling  building 
authorities  exercise  neither  vigilance  nor  do 
they  submit  such  building  materials  to  any 
standard  er  test  which  could  challenge 
their  imperfections. 

Red  bricks  are  produced  from  a  variety 
of  yellow  clays  of  more  or  less  obduracy, 
and  those  made  by  hand,  from  whatever 
quality,  have  to  be  reduced  to  a  consistency 
soft  and  ductile  enough  to  permit  of  its 
easy  conversion  by  the  moulder.  This 
necessity,  in  the  case  of  hand-made  bricks, 
leads  to  much  waste,  and  the  introduction 
of  the  sand,  owing  to  its  imperfect  amal" 
gamation  with  the  clay,  coupled  with  its 
careless  and  improvident  use  by  the  moulder, 
produces  cracks  and  flaws,  preventing  the 
desired  beneficial  cementing  action  in  the 
kiln.  In  all  hand-treated  clays,  whether 
of  the  desired  texture  or  not,  sand  has  to 
be  used  in  the  process  of  moulding, 
although  sometimes,  in  some  localities,  wet 
or  slop  moidding  is  stiU  practised.  Hand- 
made bricks,  from  a  good  yeUow  clay, 
when  well  burnt,  producing  a  bright  red 
brick,  are  generally  preferred  to  those  made 
by  machine,  which,  owing  to  the  pressure 
they  are  necessarily  submitted  to,  have 
imperfect  arrises,  as  well  as  being  uneven  in 
bed  or  angles. 

If  we  carefully  examine  the  fine  red 
bricks  made,  say,  during  the  Queen  Anne 
period,  we  shall  find  that  not  only  has  the 
clay  been  made  perfectly  homogeneous, 
but  combined  with  very  careful  hand- 
moidding,  has  resulted  in  the  production  of 
an  article  of  great  excellence.  The  dura- 
bQity  of  these  brinks  of  the  period  we  refer 
to  is  now  proved  beyond  question,  for  thej- 
have  stood  the  wear  of  nearly  two  centuries 
in  a  London  atmosphere.  There  is  much 
improvement  in  the  make  of  red  facing 
bricks  in  recent  years,  owing  to  the  success- 
ful introduction  of  first-class  terra-cotta 
ornament,  with  which  a  good  effective  com 
bination  is  produced,  much  to  the  credit  of 
the  architect  and  the  adornment  of  Lon- 
don. Tne  search  after  clays  for  such  pur- 
poses, and  the  chemical  rules  with  which  it 
was  controlled  and  guided,  resulted,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  in  a  better  appreciation 


of  their  qualities,  and  a  more  soruible 
method  of  treatment.  Some  defacement  of 
the  first-class  red  bricks  is,  however,  per- 
haps imconsciously,  committed  by  tbo  modom 
architect,  who  designs  Oolitic  stone  fucings, 
from  which,  in  a  couii)aratively  short  time, 
the  carbonate  of  lime  ig  washed  out,  pro- 
ducing stiilactitic  drippings,  which  i>orma- 
ncntly  disfigure  the  brick,  and  tbuspreiu- 
diciuUy  blemish  the  even  colour  of  the  wulla. 
A  good,  orrathir  a  bad,  exumi>le  of  this 
natural  and  uncontrollable  (hgriwlotion  of 
the  stone  and  consKjuont  discoliiuration  of 
the  red  brick,  is  already  ai>]iarpnt  in  some 
portions  of  the  New  Law  Courts  buildings. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  clays  from 
which  good  sound  facing  bricks  can  bo  pro- 
duced, and  almost  everj-  district  has  its  own 
peculiar  method  of  treatment. 

It  is  desirable,  in  manufacturing  bricks  of 
first-class  character,  to  adopt  suitable 
iiacliines,  not  only  to  secure  a  good  and 
true  form,  but  also  to  increase  their  density, 
which  mechanical  pressure  uccomplishoa 
more  readily  than  the  ordinary  spasmodic 
thrust  of  the  moulder's  anus  and  hands. 
Machine-made  bricks  are  from  this  cause 
much  heavier  than  those  made  by  hand  ; 
because  the  pressure  which  thej-  arc  sub- 
jected to  dispenses  with  a  large  proportion 
of  water  of  plasticity,  ^v•itIlOut  whiili  the 
moulder  could  not,  while  producing  a  good 
or  perfect  form,  secure  the  required  density. 
The  surface  clays  from  which  the  red  bricks 
are  produced  have  generally  a  considerable 
proportion  of  nodules  of  flints  or  other 
foreign  materials,  such  as  carbonate  of  lime. 
When  machinery  is  used,  and  these  objec- 
tionable im])urities  pass  imchallenged,  they, 
when  submitted  to  the  heat  of  the  kiln,  be- 
come changed  in  character,  and  result  in 
the  blemishes  so  frequently  seen  in  bricks  of 
this  class.  The  carbonate  of  lime  is  con- 
verted into  lime,  and  the  flints  rendered 
friable,  so  that  on  exposure  to  the  atmo- 
sphere the  one  becomes  hj-drated  and  the 
other  pulverulent,  while  one  or  either,  by 
their  unavoidable  expansion,  degrade  the 
brick  and  render  them  in  many  cases  use- 
less. 

In  the  gault-clay  formations  of  Hitchin 
and  the  Medway,  we  find  an  abflndanco  of 
the  most  valuable  materials  for  the  produc- 
tion of  first-class  white  and  light-coloured 
bricks.  The  favourable  condition  and  cha- 
racter of  this  well-known  clay,  not  only 
from  its  excellent  mechanical  combination, 
but  also  from  its  suitable  cliemical  j.ropor- 
tions,  render  i»,  under  moderately  careful 
treatment,  capable  of  making  i>erliap8  the 
best  bricks  which  can  be  produced  in  this  or 
any  other  countr}-.  This  clay  in  some  of 
its  beds  of  deposits  is  highly  indurated  in 
character,  and  requires  considerable  prepar- 
ation before  it  can  be  accurately  moulded 
either  by  hand  or  machine.  It  is  not.  how- 
ever, necessary  to  add  any  chalk  in  pre- 
paring it  for  moulding,  as  it  contains  natu- 
rally about  twenty-five  cent,  of  carbonate 
of  lime  in  a  verj-  finely  comminuted  sUt*. 
Notwithstanding  such  well-conditioned  cir- 
cumstances, however,  this  clay,  m  ev.>n  lU 
finest  form,  should  be  subraittod  to  o  pulver- 
ising, or,  according  to  its  texture,  watrr- 
saturating  treatment,  so  as  to  derive  the 
fullest  value  from  the  action  of  the  kiln. 
There  are,  we  might  say,  unfortunately.  » 
demand  for  various  qualities  of  bncfci. 
whether  made  from  gault  or  other  Iras 
valuable  clays,  and  brickmakers  cannot  rMUit 
the  demand  mode  upon  them  i  ^r  tho!io  of  an 
inferior  and  cheap  quality.  The  margin  of 
price  between  the  best  and  the  wont  of  any 
kind  of  brick  is  not  wide  enough  to  warrant 
the  architect  or  enRineer,  to  aca<pt  snch 
goods,  or  encourage  by  their  tacit  i«lrona^ 
their  indiscriminate  iL»e.  A  can-ful  exami- 
nation of  th-  best  ga<ilt  bncks  from  Hert- 
fordshire or  Kent  wiU  show  that  m  pomt  of 
texture  (which  includes  porosity  and  hard- 
ness)   no    better    aid    to    the  constructor. 


202 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


whether  in  a  substantial  or  decorative  form, 
could  be  desired. 

From  thcso  few  observations  it  will  be 
apparent  that  there  are  what  maybe  termed 
suitable  and  unsuitable  clays,  just  as  there 
are  in  the  mortar  direction  carbonate  of  lime  of 
divers  qualities.  Clays,  however  unsuitable, 
are  sometimes  converted  into  bricks  under 
the  impression  that  the  materials  being  in 
the  groimd  where  the  buildings  arc  to  be 
erected,  they  must  bo  used,  and  the  modern 
absurdity  of  basements  to  buildings,  pro- 
vides, in  clayey  districts  especially,  the  first 
instalment  of  the  excavations  for  such  a 
purpose.  The  intelligent  observer  cannot 
but  see  that  such  an  arrangement  is  at  best 
but  a  short-sighted  one,  for  under  what  we 
may  term  such  compulsion,  the  quality  and 
character  of  buildings  so  erected  are  bad, 
and  in  the  end  unprotitablo,  and  under  other 
and  more  sensible  conditions  of  control- 
ment  would  bo  impossible. 

Under  such  a  variety  of  systems  or  pro- 
cesses of  brick  production  from  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  clay  and  loam,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising to  find  that  the  results  from  such 
conflicting  causes  are  most  undesirable  in 
character.  The  common  stock  brick,  made 
regardless  of  accuracy  of  form,  or,  indeed, 
of  any  fixed  rules  as  to  its  size  or  capacity 
of  resistance  to  any  kind  of  strain  or  test, 
differs  widely  from  tho  finely-moulded  and 
equally  carefuUy-bumcd  brick  from  the 
"  gault."  Sizes  or  true  form  in  the  "  stock  " 
bricks  are  utterly  disregarded,  because  in  the 
majority  of  cases  these  distorted  and  ill- 
conditioned  forms  are  intended  to  be  artisti- 


shajie,  hiding  under  the  guise  of  ornament 
all  their  faults  and  shortcomings. 

Tipping  building  bricks  out  of  the  cart 
is  a  common,  indeed  almost  a  universal, 
practice  in  some  of  the  midland  and  north- 
ern counties,  but  more  especially  in 
Yorkshire,  Derbyshire,  and  Nottingham, 
where  many  first-class  bricks  are  made  from 
the  indurated  clays  or  shales  of  the  coal 
measures.  It  is  a  refreshing  siijht  for  one 
accustomed  to  tho  rubbishy  bricks  used  in 
London,  to  see  the  carts  tip  up  their  loads 
of  laricks  in  Manchester,  Leeds,  or  Notting- 
ham, and  to  hear  the  true,  almost  metallic, 
sound  with  which  it  is  accompanied; 
proving  that  not  only  is  the  clay  good  and 
suitable  from  which  they  are  produced,  but 
that  the  manipulation  which  controlled 
their  fabrication  was  sensible  in  character. 

All  clays  may  produce  bricks  of  a  good 
kind;  but  the  intelligence  which  directs 
their  conversion  into  bricks  must  be  of  a 
different  kind  from  that  now  generally 
prevailing.  Sandy  or  harsh  loimy  clays  can 
only  be  used  by  the  addition  of  carbonate  of 
lime :  to  induce  the  fluxing  of  their  obdurate 
parts  is  absolutely  indispensable  to  produce 
a  hard  or  sound  brick.  The  proportions 
determined  on  should  be  true,  and  not 
dictated  by  any  rule-of-thumb  process,  but 
controlled  and  guided  by  the  necessary 
chemical  knowledge.  In  like  manner,  strong 
or  fat  clays  which  require  reduction  should 
have  the  amount  of  sand  or  loam  carefully 
apportioned.  Under  such  circumstances 
the  best  benefits  would  be  derived  from 
the  fire  or  burning  process,  which  again 
should  receive  some  more  rational  guidance 


cally  veneered  with   a  "  compo  "  plaster  of    \-^^^^  j^  ^^^^  ^^  present.     AVere  such  means 
dubious   character,  for  those   builders   who    adopted  in   a  sensible   preparation    of   the 


would  use  the  bad  brick  are  not 
likely  to  be  very  particular  about 
the  character  of  the  material  which,  for  a 
time  at  least,  hides  its  nakedness  and  de- 
formity. In  the  northern  suburbs  of 
London  some  very  excellent  gaidt  bricks 
have  been  used,  and  the  uniformity  of 
colour,  as  well  as  their  substantial  cha- 
ractei-,  creates  a  wish  in  the  mind  of  the 
observer  that  their  use  was  more  general. 
Tho  use  of  perforated  gault  bricks  meets  a 
difficulty,  in  reference  to  the  bond  of  the 
work,  which  would  bo  better  scoured  than 
at  present,  if,  instead  of  doubtful  lime- 
mortar,  a  weak  mixture  of  Portland  cement 
and  clean  sharp  sand  was  used  in  some 
grouting  form. 

Under  the  circumstances  we  have  de- 
scribed, it  is  quite  impossible  that  any 
uniformity  of  weight,  size,  colour,  or 
strength  can  prevail,  and  the  confusion 
consequent  thereon  is  in  some  degree 
heightened  by  the  knowledge  that  no  read)' 
means  of  test  can  be  commanded.  If  we 
were  to  suggest  a  handy  remedy  for  guid- 
ance to  one  and  all,  it  would  be  that  no 
brick  for  any  purpose  whatever  should  be 
considered  <ini,d  unless  it  can  stand  tho 
bi-unt  of  being  tipped  out  of  the  cart  or 
waggon  in  which  it  is  carried  from  the 
point  of  manufacture  to  its  destined  resting- 
place.  How  few  bricks,  in  our  London 
district  at  all  events,  would  be  competent 
to  stand  this  not  by  any  means  unreason- 
able test,  for,  instead  of  being  coherent 
enough  to  stand  tipping,  they  can  scarcely 
keep  together  under  the  jolting  of  the  cart. 
Look  at  the  labourers  unloading  a  brick- 
cart  at  say  a  "jerry"  job  in  a  Lot  don 
suburb.  How  daintily  ho  handles  tlic 
fragile  forms,  and  carefully  deposits  them 
in  a  stack  where  they,  in  their  condition  of 
mutual  support  to  each  other,  ajipear  to  be 
good  and  true.  The  ne.\t  ?*age  of  handling 
is  into  the  hod,  and  the  chuck-down  on  the 
scaffold  from  whi'  h  they  are  speedily  passed 
by  the  bricklayer  into  the  walls,  where  their 
rottenness  speedily  becomes  enshrouded  in 
tho  dabs  of  mortar,  fitting  companions  which, 
by  subsequent  equally  improper  and  un- 
controlled   treatment,    assume    a,    goodly 


clays,  and  an  equally  attentive  regard  to 
the  heat  action  in  the  kilns,  we  should  soon 
arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  "  what  is  a  brick?" 
Until  then  it  is  only  prudent  for  us  to 
suggest  that  a  good  sound,  and  in  every 
sense  competent,  brick  should  be  thoroughly 
homogeneous  in  texture,  and  even  in  what- 
ever may  be  the  required  colour,  having  a 
capacity  of  withstanding  a  certain  defined 
tensile,  transverse,  or  compressive  strain. 
Much  ingenuity  is  now  wasted  in  a  classi- 
fication of  bricks,  and  wo  are  indeed  sur- 
prised to  find  that  this  bewildering  system 
is  countenanced  by  architects  who  should 
steadfastly  oppose  such  a  practice.  If  a 
good  brick  was  insisted  upon  (in  other 
directions,  such  as  cement,  for  instance,  it  is 
pressed)  good  quali'ics  would  soon  be  forth- 
coming, for  the  varieties  now  so  unhappily 
prevailing  are  due  to  the  slovenly  system  of 
brickmaking,  through  and  by  which  ar- 
rangement into  classes  is  unavoidable.  It 
meets  also  a  dangerous  and  irrational  ten- 
dency to  cheapness  which,  we  are  sorry  to 
say,  influences  many  in  tho  selection  of  that 
which,  failing  their  support  or  countenance, 
would  be  regarded  without  any  great  stretch 
of  the  imagination  as  simply  rubbish. 


THE  DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ARCHI- 
TECTS OF  LONDON. 
I.^'^NGLISH  architecture  and  architects  are 
-i  made  the  theme  of  spirited  and  well- 
intentioned  sketches  or  letters  in  the  columns 
of  our  French  contemporary,  L((  Semniiie  des 
( 'oihHnirtrnrs.  The  writer  of  these  letters, 
Mr.  Lawrence  Harvey,  a  London  architect, 
acd  formerly  student  at  the  School  of  Beaux 
Arts  lit  Paris,  rccomits  the  difficulties  met 
with  by  the  architects  in  London  more  par- 
ticidarly,  and  it  may  be  of  soma  profit,  and 
interest  to  the  English  reader  to  lis  en  to 
what  he  has  to  saj  touching  our  architecture 
and  practice.  Sir.  Harvey  begins  by  giving 
his  brethren  across  the  Channel  a  list  of  the 
enemies  the  English  architects  have  to  en 


vej'or.  He  shows  that  nearly  the  wliole 
surface  of  London  belongs  to  great  landlords, 
either  individuals  or  corporations,  who  never 
sell  their  land,  but  grant  only  leases  of 
various  terms  between  21  and  99  years,  and 
th^t  nearly  all  private  buildings  are  erected 
under  conditions  imposed  by  great  pri- 
prictors.  Exaggerated  eoonomj-,  says  the 
writer,  is  the  consequence  ;  the  individual 
who  builds  is  not  content  with  4j  per  cent, 
interest  on  his  capital,  but  wants  7j  per  cent, 
on  account  of  his  money  being  placed  in 
buildings— lost  funds  («  fands  jiercht).  The 
result  of  this  is  clearly  explained.  The  Eng- 
lish caiiitalitt  can  only  spend  in  construe' ion 
£100,  where  the  Parisian  would  willingly 
spend  £160  ;  and  of  course,  as  we  are  told, 
the  difference  accounts  for  the  light  con- 
structions which  distinguishes  England  from 
tho  Continent.  "Our  walls  S)  thin,"  says 
our  reviewer,  "  our  floors  bend  atevery  foot- 
step, and  our  facades  are  a  thin  facing  of 
stone  10  centimetres  thick — that  is  quite- 
enough  to  kill  the  architecture."  This  is 
not  all  ;  the  condition  has  given  rise  to  the 
surveyors,  whom,  the  writer  pointedly  re- 
marks, are  our  great  enemies — "  Cet  etat  de 
choses  a  donne  naissance  aux  surveyors,  nos 
grands  ennemis !  "  The  surveyor  is  the 
agent  of  the  proprietor,  employed  by  him  ta 
watch  his  interests.  "To  him,"  says  the 
review,  "you  have  to  address  yourself  for 
renting  the  ground  on  which  you  will  build  ; 
he  has  to  control  and  approve  j'our  plans 
prior  to  their  execution,  because  one  of  the 
stipulations  of  all  leases  is  that  the  buildings 
shall  be  erected  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
surveyor  of  the  landlord.  By  this,  jou  see 
the  enormous  power  which  these  individuals 
possess,  power  of  which  they  naturally  make 
use  to  round  their  already  fat  pockets  (/(C 
forme  dcja  dodiie  de  Icurs  pvches).  They  call 
themselves  architects,  just  as  others  call  them- 
selves Spaniards  without  having  any  right 
to  do  so,"  and  tho  writer  hints  tha'.  their 
power  often  allows  them  to  practise  usury. 
We  again  translate  a  passage  to  show  in 
what  aspect  the  English  surveyor  is  regarded 
by  this  French  critic.  "I  would  not  com- 
plain were  they  only  mediocre ;  but  unfor- 
tunately, the  school  oae  has  to  pass  to 
acquire  a  position  as  surveyor  is  not  one  of 
artists,  but  administrators  ;  their  business  is 
chiefly  contentious  ;  their  school  is  the  office 
of  the  surveyor  to  whom  they  will  perhipi 
succeed  later  on ;  their  artistic  ability 
matters  little,  as  business  comes  to  them  by 
force  of  circumstances."  Again  he  says 
(aud  we  may  weaken  its  force  by  rendering 
it  in  English),  "  Vous  le  voyez,  en  archi- 
tecture, I'Angleterre  ne  pratique  pas  lo 
Kbre-i'change,  mais  la  protection  de  I'inca- 
pa'ite.  Ne  vous  etonnez  done  que  d'une  chose 
— c'est  que  notre  art  ne  s  )it  pas  ici  dans  un 
pire  ttat."  As  an  instance  of  the  price  of 
London  leases,  a  house  in  Bond-street  is 
cited  with  a  frontage  of  about  20 It.,  and  a 
depth  of  about  95ft.,  where  the  lease  for  the 
ground  only  is  £1,000  sterling,  or  23,000fr. 
per  year.  Yet  the  capitalist,  although  h-i 
has  expended  a  good  deal,  cannot  let — a  fact 
very  encouraging  for  architecture  !  Wo 
confess  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  tho 
remarks  on  the  landlord's  surveyor  ;  but  there 
is  another  kind  of  surveyor,  the  district  sur- 
veyor (or  (u/eiit-roi/er),  called  Enemy  No.  -, 
to  whom  isat'ributedmuchof  the  faults  of  our 
architecture,  and  many  of  our  metropolitan 
architects  will  echo  the  writer's  obser- 
vations. The  district  surveyor  is  less 
terrible,  wo  are  told ;  bis  principal  fault 
is  that  he  is  allowed  to  do  priva'e  work, 
though  a  public  functionary  ;  but  in  cutting 
his  nails,  one  could  make  a  presentable  be:ng 
of  him  {in-esque  sociable).  "By  his  super- 
vision he  arrives  at  a  power  of  the  thickness 
of  a  wall,  he  gets  an  artistic  connection,  and 
thanks  to  the  idea  with  which  the  citizen  is 


counter.  The  first  paragraph,  headed  imbued,  the  district  surveyor  can  favour 
"Enemy  No.  1,"  describes  with  a  great  him  with  some  indulgence  if  he  is  emploved 
deal  of  force  and  justice  the  landlord's  sur-   a?    the    architect."     The    origin    of    the 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


203 


Building  Act,  it  is  satirically  pointed  out,  has 
iiifluenced  prejudicially  the  good  construc- 
tion and  appearance  of  our  buildings.  The 
fear  of  another  great  fire  has  deeply  im- 
pressed the  surveyor's  ideas.  "  One  can 
scarcely  see  any  other  thing  in  it,"  says  the 
critic,  and  he  proceeds  to  point  out  ■what  are 
admittedly  the  blemishes  of  our  street 
buildings.  One  of  these  is  the  rule  for  the 
construction  of  rcofs,  which  requires  that 
the  gutter  shall  always  be  separated  from  the 
street  by  a  parapet  not  less  than  9in.  thick 
and  1ft.  Gin.  high,  the  result  of  which  is  that 
at  any  time  the  t;utterhe3omcs  ttopj^ed  up,  the 
house  is  flooded.  He  says,  "  At  any  snow- 
storm in  London  you  will  see  the  picturesque 
spectacle  of  Englishmen  walking  on  the 
roc  fs  of  their  houses  to  clear  off  the  snow, 
without  which  the  thaw  would  be  fatal." 
This  law  fur  the  gutter,  it  is  added,  has  given 
rise  to  a  kind  of  roofs  not  found  elsewliere, 
an  infinite  series  of  houses  with  gutters 
crossing  from  the  front  to  back  in  the  middle 
of  the  houses,  the  party  walls  being  carried 
^o  the  apices  of  the  gables.  This  manner 
of  roofing  by  two  sheds  {fomn'i-  de  drii.v 
■fippcnti.s)  is  common.  (See  sketch.)  Diagrams 


C.  D  .  C.  CUTTE.=>3 

are  given  to  Ulustrate  the  effect  of  this 
ruinous  and  unsightlj-  construction,  and  the 
French  reader  is  justly  told  that  this  strange 
mode  of  construction  satisfies  the  law  en- 
tirely, both  with  respect  to  the  gutters  and 
also  to  the  party-walb,  which  have  to  be 
raised  Uft.  above  the  roof.  The  builder 
saves,  by  these  an-angoraents,  one  length  of 
gutter  and  two  lengths  of  parapet,  besides 
other  things.  Many  other  peculiarities  in 
our  Building  Act  are  pointed  out.  Au'dher 
enemy  is  the  vestry  surveyor  ;  but  he  is  less 
exacting,  and  he  is  only  mentioned  as 
taking  a  fee  for  signing  plans.  He  is  not 
allowed  to  take  private  business.  The 
lawyers  (/es  homines  tie  his)  are  Enemy 
No.  4.  These,  as  an  obstacle  to  business, 
surpass  all.  Laws  are  dispensed  with  all 
vague  necessaries,  giving  rise  to  innumerable 
l)lea  lings,  8nd  the  writer  remarks  with  truth, 
realised  by  those  who  have  had  experience, 
that  the  cost  of  a  process  is  so  enormous 
that  "  one  cannot  have  an  idea  of  it  in 
France,"  while  he  mentions  thil  the  Icgd 
costs  of  proceedings  to  enable  the  ileiro- 
politan  Eadway  to  be  constructed  equalled 
the  cost  of  the  work.  No  one  will  say  that 
Mr.  Harvey  in  these  sketches,  has  drawn 
on  the  imagination.  The  enemies  or 
difficidties  sketched  are  no  ideal  croiturcs, 
as  every  London  architect  is  aware,  but  it 
would  hardly  be  light  I o  assume  that  the 
French  architect  is  entirely  free  of  them. 

The  concluding  part  of  the  article,  of  which 
we  have  here  given  the  gist,  contains  a  valu- 
able j^rac'ical  hint  addressed  to  our  confreres 
in  France.  The  writer  sai  s,  several  of  my 
colleagues  have  consulted  me  repeatedly  for 
plans  (sketches)  drawn  by  French  architects, 
which  they  are  about  to  carry  out  here,  and 
he  mentions  the  one  source  of  great  embar- 
rassment is  the  reduction  of  the  measure- 
ments, which  imposes  the  obligation  of 
making  new  drawings  for  execution  in 
England.  ' '  This  imnecessary  work,  even  dan- 
gerous from  an  art  point  of  view  (as  the 
interpreter  puts  a  little  of  his  own)  can 
readily  be  avoided  by  adopting  a  metrical 


scale  {vchtUe  mitriqat)  corresponding  with 
the  measurements  used  here."  The  English 
foot  and  its  subdiWsion  into  eighths  is 
described,  and  the  author  explams  that  for 
a  general  sketch,  the  English  custom  is  to 
adopt  an  eighth  of  an  inch  scale  for  the  foot 
which  corresponds  with  !-!)(>  of  the  real 
size.  The  reduced  English  measurement 
woidd  be  represented  by  its  l-!)Gth  part, 
and  coidd  bo  obtained  by  dividing  in  24 
equal  parts  0-2oni.  Mr.  Harvey's  letters 
are  WTitten  in  a  half-humorous  vein,  though 
they  point  in  quiet  satire  to  some  of  the 
undoubted  ditficultics  with  which  the  artistic 
architect  is  beset  in  England.  They  are,  ])er- 
haps,  a  trifle  exaggerated  in  tone,  and  the 
English  architect  will  be  disposed  to  reply 
that  these  enemies  affect  only  a  small  part 
of  our  metropolitan  architecture,  and  that 
in  the  provinces  they  do  not  exist.  He  may 
also  retort  that  the  French  architecture  is 
influenced  as  much  by  an  academic  regime, 
which  destroys  aU  originality  and  vitality. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  we  are  bound  to  say  the 
remarks  of  Mr.  Harvey  will  have  the  effect 
of  placing  whatever  merits  or  demerits  exist 
in  our  art  in  a  clearer  light  in  the  eyes  of 
our  French  colleagues,  and  we  may  join 
with  him  in  the  expression  of  the  hope  that 
they  will  feel  some  sympathy  for  our  work, 
and  entertam  in  the  future  more  charitable 
sentiments  towards  their  English  brethren. 


A  RECENT  VLSIT  TO  RUSSIA. 
IV'OT  the  least  interesting  buildings 
-1-^  wdthin  the  great  walls  are  the  churches 
of  the  Kremlin,  which,  as  a  group,  occupy 
the  centre  of  the  inclosure ;  connected  with 
these  is  the 

HOUSE  OF  TUE  HOLY  SYXOD, 
formerly  the  sacristy  of  the  Patriarchs  of 
Moscow.  From  these  churches,  prior  to 
being  shorn  of  some  portion  of  their  jjower 
by  the  cathedrals  of  St.  Petersburg,  being 
the  metropolitan  churches  of  the  Empii'e, 
the  House  of  the  Holy  Synod  is  a  building 
of  considerable  interest.  Here  the  greatest 
and  most  sacred  offices  of  the  church  are 
performed,  and  here  are  stored  the  richest 
treasures  of  literatmc  and  art  associated 
with  the  national  faith.  As  a  building  it 
may  be  classed  as  part  of  the  State  or 
Imperial  buddings,  literally  a  portion  of 
the  old  palace,  in  which  position  it  illus- 
trates the  close  and  iutimato  connection 
that  exists  between  Church  and  State  in 
Russia. 

Amongst  the  objects  of  art  stored  in  this 
synodal  house  are  seven  gold  mitres  of  the 
high-priests,  studded  vnth  gems  and  stones 
of  great  value ;  the  (Jldest,  which  is  5Alb. 
weight,  dates  from  the  time  of  our  Queen 
Elizabeth.  Allied  to  these  are  the  sacerdotal 
robes,  or  sacred  garments,  of  the  pa'ri- 
archs  — a  race  of  dignitaries  that  existed 
down  to  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great;  but 
which,  from  their  enormous  powers,  were 
suppressed  by  that  monarch,  and  replaced 
by  the  Holy  Synod,  the  president  of  which  is 
the  metropolitan  of  the  State  or  National 
Church.  'The  most  remarkable  vestment, 
some  of  which  date  from  the  14th  century, 
is  a  gold- embroidered  cloak,  of  fabulous 
value,  the  weight  of  which,  augmented  by 
pearls,  plates  of  chased  gold,  diamond.', 
rubies,  emeralds,  and  garnets,  is  J41b.  This 
was  a  gifc  of  Ivan  the  Terrible  to  the 
oil'ended  Church,  and  was  accepted  as  an 
oitcring  at  the  shrine  for  foul  deeds  done  in 
his  flesh — crimes  which  culmina'ed  in  the 
murder  of  his  only  son,  and  in  that  of  one  of 
the  patriarchs  of  the  Church.  This  vest- 
ment, as  a  work  of  art,  is  contemporary  with 
our  King  Henry  YIII. 

Of  other  trappings  of  these  high-priests 
we  may  notice  some  jjendant  gems  worn  on 
the  breast,  and  attached  to  collars  of  gold. 
These  are  of  rare  beauty,  workmaushii),  and 
size,  the  largest  measuring  oViii.  by  2Aiu. 


Of  the  vessels  of  the  church,  the  most 
noticeable  are  those  connected  with  the 
chrism  or  holy  oil.  This  fluid,  believed  to 
bo  part  of  the  oil  used  by  Mury  Magdalene 
iu  anointing  the  feet  of  Christ,  was  brouglit 
from  Constantinople,  upon  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  in  981,  in  a  long-necked 
copper  vase,  overlaid  with  plates  of  mother- 
of-pearl.  This  vessel,  although  believed  by 
many  to  be  of  later  date,  is  still  prc8cr>'eil 
with  its  miraculous  contents.  The  chrism 
or  holy  oil  of  the  Russian  Church  is  i)eriodi- 
cally  distributed  amongst  th(!  bishops  from 
sixteen  silver  jars,  after  being  made  with 
great  solemnity  from  thirty  ingredients,  such 
as  oils,  wines,  gums,  and  sjiices,  in  large 
caiddrons  and  kettles  of  silver.  The  highest 
office  in  the  making  of  this  holy  oil  is  that 
of  taking  one  drop  of  the  suporhitivc  com- 
pound from  the  above  vase— a  droj)  or  ex- 
traction that  is  replaced  by  a  like  rjuantity  of 
the  new  comi)ound.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  the  silver  vessels,  tlie  gifts  of  kings,  em- 
ployed in  this  holy  office,  are,  in  the  ag- 
gregate, about  two-thirds  of  a  ton  in  weight. 
This  holy  oil,  we  need  scarcely  say,  is  used  in 
anointing  the  Russian  Emperors,  and  in 
baptising  every  Russian  of  true  or  orthodox 
faith. 

The  library  of  this  building  contain.?, 
among  its  treiLsures,  some  Greek  manuscriiits 
of  the  eight  centuries,  and  Sclavonic  manu- 
scripts of  the  eleventh  centuries,  the  latt«r 
beuig  followed  by  a  version  of  the  gospel  of 
the  twelfth  century. 

The  first  of  the  churches  clustering  round 
this  synodal  house  is  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Assumption,  formerly  called  the  "Patriar- 
chal Cathedral,"  but  now  commonly  known 
as  the  "  Coronation  Church."  The  position 
occupied  by  this  church  in  Russia  is  parallel 
to  ttiat  of  the  cathech-al  of  Canterbury 
in  our  own  countr)-.  In  matter  of 
size  it  is  a  mere  cbapel — a  remark 
that  appHes  to  all  Russian  churches, 
when  compared  with  those  of  Western 
Europe.  Its  foundation  dates  from  1.126 ; 
but  the  present  fabric,  although  it  has 
undergone  restorations  consequent  upon  the 
damage  it  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Poles 
in  1G12,  and  from  the  Great  Fire  of  1737,  is 
the  work  of  Aristotle  Fionavcnti,  of 
Bologne,  who  erected  it  about  14S0,  after 
the  model  of  the  cathedral  of  the  old 
metropolis  of  Vladimir.  This  cathedral  of 
Vladimir  dates  from  11 .54  to  1100,  and  was 
the  coronation  church  of  Moscow  down  to 
1432.  In  this  coronation  church  of  the 
Kremlin  we  have  a  church  of  the  true  old 
national  type,  and  the  contemplation  of  it 
carries  the  mind  by  e.osy  gradients  from 
Moscow  to  Vladimir,  and  from  thence,  via 
Constantinople,  to  the  Holy  Land.  In  j.lan 
the  church  proper  is  a  square  apartment,  the 
entrance  to  which  is  through  a  western 
porch,  given  up,  as  is  invariably  the  case, 
to  the  ever-present  mendicant.  The  walls, 
of  great  height  and  strength,  arc  pierced 
with  lancet-like  windows,  and  entirely 
covered  internally  with  sheets  of  iron  or 
copper,  as  a  groundwork  for  rude  painting*. 
Those  on  the  south  side  are  pictures  of 
the  seven  councils,  those  on  the  west 
are  illustrations  of  the  List  Judgment,  and 
those  on  the  north  are  incidents  from  the 
life  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  eas",  an  in- 
ternal wall,  is  the  great  screen,  dt«or«ted  ui 
like  manner  with  five  tiers  of  p.iinfings  ;  the 
uppermost  depicts  the  Eternal  Father  .-rap- 
ported  by  the  Patriarchs;  the  next,  the 
Virgin  and  Child,  m  the  comp.iny  of  the 
Prophets ;  in  downward  couiso  follows 
scenes  from  the  life  of  Our  Saviour,  below 
which  is  the  Saviour,  supported  by  nngeU 
aud  Ajiostles.  On  the  lower,  or  hung  on  the 
line,  are  the  .lacred  pictures,  of  which  we 
sh.ali  give  a  passing  note.  These  picture, 
as  a  whole,  are  pain  te<l  on  a  ground  of  gold, 
in  a  mixed  order  of  merit,  and  coming,  as 
they  do,  from  an  Eastern  source,  they  sog- 
gcst  the  channels   from   which  the  Italian 


204 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


Mosaics— so  ably  illustrated  on  the  walls 
of  the  South  Kensington  Museum— have 
been  drawn.  In  the  centre  of  this  apart- 
ment, which  is  the  equivalent  of  the  nave, 
aisles,  and  transepts  of  our  western  chiucbes, 
are  four  columns,  which  suiiport  the  central 
dome,  a  feature  the  height  of  which  is 
l'25ft.  These  columns  are,  in  like  manner, 
the  groundwork  for  metal  pictures.  The 
general  effect  of  all  this  display  of  art  is 
disappointing.  You  can,  at  best,  but 
imagine  yourself  in  an  apartment  in  which 
poverty  of  material  and  architecture  is  pain- 
fully apparent,  and  in  which  the  walls  are 
covered  with  old  frameless  pictures,  the 
value  of  which,  as  works  of  art,  it  would  not 
be  difficult  to  estimate.  Below  the  sight 
line  of  these  pictures,  the  walls  on  the  north, 
south,  and  west  are  occupied  with  tombs  of 
metropolitans,  most  of  which  are  saints  of 
the  National  church.  The  places  of  highest 
honours  are  the  four  corners,  two  of  which 
are  occupied  by  silver  tombs  or  shrines, 
guarded  by  attendant  priests,  whose  offices 
are  to  receive  the  army  of  the  faithful.  Ihe 
wall,  in  like  manner  on  the  east,  is  occupied 
by  the  steps  and  platform  of  the  choir, 
which  extends  across  the  whole  of  the  build- 
ing. Through  this  screen  are  five  doors  or 
openings,  leading  into  as  many  chapels, 
the  central  one  being  the  "  Bema,"  or 
sanctuary.  These  eastern  chapels  occupy 
the  same  position  with  regard  to  the 
nave  or  body  of  the  church,  as  the  fingers 
do  to  the  palm  of  the  hand.  Over  these 
chapels  are  other  apartments,  and  out  on 
the  roof,  symbolical  of  a  high  place,  and  the 
top  or  summit  of  the  church,  is  an  apart- 
ment or  sacristry,  in  which  the  prelates  of 
the  church  are  elected.  This  eastern  portion 
of  the  church  is  a  more  lofty  constructi'  n 
than  the  nave,  and  being  crowned  with  a 
minaret,  capped  with  a  bulb-shaped  golden 
dome,  is  palatial  in  its  grouping.  The  nave, 
with  its  range  of  semicircular  roofs,  counter- 
parts of  the  "  Brompton  boilers,"  its  large 
dome,  and  its  four  attendant  smaller  ones, 
is  but  a  minor  feature.  This  church,  the 
true  heart  of  Russia,  groups  with  the  great 
Ivan  bell-tower,  and  is  the  central  feature 
in  all  the  views  or  drawings  of  the  Kremlin 
of  Moscow. 

Such,  roughly  speaking,  are  the  outlines 
of  this  important  buUding.  In  its  material 
of  construction  it  has  nothing  worthy  of 
notice  ;  the  walls  are  of  brick  or  rubble 
masonry,  roughly  cast,  the  outer  face  is 
finished  white  or  light  buff,  and  the  whole 
of  the  domes  are  copper-gUt,  a  finish  they 
received  .about  two  hundred  years  since. 

The  details  of  this  building  are  too 
interesting  to  bo  lightly  passed,  and  we 
must  ask  our  readers  to  imagine  themselves 
seated  under  the  central  dome  whilst  the 
most  important  are  passed  in  rapid  review. 
The  act  of  being  seated  must  end  in  imagi- 
nation, for  no  such  aids  to  rest  exist  in  this 
holy  place,  the  Emperor  himself  being  re- 
quii-ed  to  stand  when  attending  Divine 
service.  The  most  notable  feature  before 
us  is  a  picture  on  the  altar- screen  or 
"Iconastas,"  to  which  groups  of  people 
make  their  way,  with  the  object  of  kissing 
it  in  devotion.  This  is  a  pictme  of  the  Holy 
or  Blessed  Virgin  on  a  composition  of  wax 
supposed  to  have  been  painted  by  St.  Luke. 
It  was  carried  from  Khersonesus,  an  ancient 
and  now  ruined  city  in  the  Crimea,  to  Kief, 
in  9S8,  by  the  Grand  Did;e  Vladimir, 
from  whence  it  reached  jMoscow  in 
1155.  In  1395  it  was  credited  with  the 
miracle  of  driving  the  Tartars  from  the 
country,  and  in  1812  it  was  one  of  the  first 
treasures  of  the  city  to  be  borne  away  for 
safety.  It  is  one  of  those  pictures,  the 
figures  of  which  are  Asiatic  in  features  and 
Ethiopian  in  complexion,  and  in  which  the 
robesand  groundwork  arc  overlaid  with  beaten 
gold.  The  jewels  set  in  the  crowns  are 
vidued  at  £15,000,  one  emerald  alone  being 
worth  £10,000. 


The  next  most  valuable  shrine,  or  picture, 
is  that  of  the  "  Holy  Virgin  of  Jerusalem." 
The  original  picture,  of  which  the  present  is 
a  copy,  was  believed  to  have  been  painted 
by  the  Apostles,  and  brought  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Constantinople  in  453,  and  from 
thence  to  Russia  with  the  introduction  of 
Christianity.  The  fate  of  the  original  is  un- 
known, as  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French 
when  they  pillaged  this  cathedral  in  1812. 
Of  the  tombs,  that  in  the  south-east  comer 
is  the  most  celebrated.  This  contains  the 
remains  of  St.  Phillip,  a  Patriarch  w^o 
was  driven  from  the  altar  of  this  church  in 
1569,  and  put  to  death  by  the  minions  of 
Ivan  the  lerrible,  in  which  respect  he  may 
be  termed  the  St.  Thomas-a-Becket  of 
Russia.  The  tomb  of  this  prelate,  like  that 
of  St.  Jonah  in  the  north-west  angle,  is  of 
hammered  or  wrought  silver.  The  bleached 
relics  of  this  saint,  in  the  form  of  the  skull, 
are  exposed  through  the  top  of  the  tomb  or 
shrine,  in  which  position  the  withered  fore- 
head is  kissed  by  thousands  of  worshippers, 
from  the  Emperor  and  the  nobles  to  the 
lowliest  peasant. 

At  the  foot  of  the  eastern  columns,  and 
facing  the  altar-screen,  are  two  pulpit-like 
constructions ;  that  on  the  right  is  called 
the  throne  of  the  patriarch,  and  that  on  the 
left  the  throne  of  the  Empress.  To  the 
right,  and  in  the  same  line,  is  a  third,  "  the 
ancient  throne  of  the  Tsars,"  or  "  the  throne 
of  Vladimir  Monomachis."  This  is  reported 
to  date  from  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
in  981.  It  is  a  wooden  construction,  and 
a  work  of  great  labour.  The  ornament, 
which  largely  consists  of  perforated  work, 
the  face  of  which  is  richly  carved,  is 
strongly  Persian  in  its  character,  in  which 
respects  it  reminds  one  of  the  wood  and 
ivory  carvings  of  India.  In  this  throne  the 
old  Tsars  stood  in  their  robes  of  state, 
during  the  celebration  of  Divine  Service. 
In  the  south-west  corner  of  the  church  is  a 
wooden  erection,  the  entrance  to  which  is 
screened  by  curfains.  This  is  the  "Taber- 
nacle over  the  Holy  Tunic,"  and  at  corona- 
tions, when  the  church  is  seen  at  its  best, 
it  is  used  as  a  retiring  closet  of  the 
Empress. 

Ihe  east  end  of  the  sanctuary  is  apsidal, 
and  the  central  point  of  the  same  is  occupied 
by  the  throne  of  the  former  patriarchs  and 
the^  present  metropolitan,  radiating  from 
which  are  the  seats  of  the  bishops  and 
other  dignitaries.  In  the  centre  of  this 
holy  place  stands  the  high  altar,  on  which 
is  a  "Moimt  Sinai "  containing  the  Host. 
This  is  wrought  in  gold  and  silver,  .and  on 
the  top  is  a  figure  of  Moses  with  the  Tables 
of  the  Law.  The  weight  of  this  object  is 
oSlb.,  half  of  which  is  gold,  and  the  re- 
mainder silver.  Under,  or  beneath  this 
work.  State  papers  of  the  utmost  value  are 
deposited. 

In  the  northern  chapel  are  three  tombs, 
one  beuig  that  of  St.  Peter,  the  first  metro- 
politan of  Moscow,  and  founder  of  the 
church.  On  this  tomb  in  old  times  the 
feudatory  princes  swore  fealty  to  the  reign- 
ing princes  of  Moscow.  The  altar  here, 
like  that  of  the  most  southern  chapel, 
although  dedicated  to  different  saints,  is 
considered  "  part  of  the  high  altar,"  placed 
here  that  the  public  may  reach  it  without 
entering  the  holy  or  more  private  sanc- 
tuary. 

A  word  may  here  be  said  on  the  wealth 
of  geld  and  precious  stones  belonging  to 
the  ancient  churches  of  Russia.  In  our 
own  laud  our  churches  were  enriched  by 
gifts  hi  lands,  the  rents  of  which  paid  the 
fees  of  the  priests  for  oft'oring  prayers  for 
the  repose,  &c.,  of  the  souls  of  the  donors. 
In  Russia  a  more  ancient  custom  obtains, 
one  seen  in  the  Zazan  Cathedral  at  St. 
Petersburg,  where  the  Don  Cossacks  gave 
the  silver  for  the  great  screen,  to  com- 
memorate the  campaign  of  1812.  Gifts  of 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones  are  affixed 


to  the  Russian  shrines,  in  which  position 
they  become  objects  of  awe  and  veneration 
to  the  people,  whose  visits  to  the  same,  with 
their  gifts  or  tributes,  are  many  and  often. 
In  other  cases  they  amalg.amate  with  the 
relics  and  treasures  stored  away  to  be  in- 
spected only  on  payment  of  certam  fees.  It  is 
said,  and  no  doubt  with  truth,  that  the  interest 
on  lands  given  to  the  Western  Churches  was 
far  less  than  the  interest  upon  treasures 
exhibited  in  connection  with  the  Russian 
Church. 

Such  was  the  known  wealth  of  the  churches 
of  Moscow,  that  they  fired  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  French  soldiers  in  1812  ;  nor  were  they 
much  disappointed,  for,  after  the  most 
valuable  objects  had  been  carried  away  to 
distant  cities  for  greater  safety,  the  pillagers 
are  said  to  have  found  in  this  church  alone 
five  tons  of  silver,  and  five  hundred- weight 
of  gold.  This  is  said  to  have  been  mostly- 
obtained  from  the  vessels  found  in  the 
sanctuary ;  the  operation  of  melting  down 
was  being  pursued  in  furnaces  erected  in  the- 
church  when  the  blast  of  the  fatal  retreat 
was  sounded,  a  call  that  necessitated  agreat 
amomit  of  mutilated  treasure  being  left  be- 
hind by  the  hosts  of  the  Grand  Ai-my. 
{To  he  continued). 


THE  LATE  MR.  THOMAS  H.  WYATT. 

MR.  THOMAS  HENRY  WYATT,  whose 
death  was  recorded  last  week,  had 
been  for  some  time  jjast  in  a  critical  state, 
suffering  from  a  variety  of  maladies,  though 
it  was  not  expected  by  his  friends  that  he 
would  have  been  so  suddenly  carried  away. 
Mr.  Wyatt  was  born  in  Roscommon,  Ire- 
land, and  his  father,  Mr.  Matthew  AVyatt, 
was  a  metropolitan  police  magistr.ate.  Des- 
tined for  mercantile  life,  he  soon  broke  away 
from  an  occupation  that  proved  distasteful 
to  him,  and  became  a  pupil  of  the  late  Mr. 
Philip  Hardwick,  R.A.,  who  had  a  large- 
and  varied  practice  both  in  Classic  and 
Gothic.  Ho  was  appointed  district  surveyor 
of  Hackney,  a  post  he  held  only  a  few  years, 
and  we  find  him  afterwards  in  a  large  pri- 
vate practice  in  Great  Russell-street,  having 
entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  David 
Brandon,  with  whom  he  enjoyed  extensive 
patronage  under  the  still  familiar  title  of 
Wyatt  and  Brandon.  During  his  partnership 
he  was  engaged  in  numerous  mansions  and 
church  restorations,  of  which  we  give 
a  few  of  the  principal- it  would  be 
impossible  to  name  them  all.  Some 
years  ago,  after  his  dissolution  with  Mr. 
Brandon,  his  son,  Mr.  Matthew  Wyatt, 
joined  him.  His  younger  brother,  the  late 
Sir  M.  Digby  Wyatt,  served  his  articles  with 
him  ;  also  Mr.  E.  M.  Barry,  lately  deceased, 
both  distinguished  for  their  artistic  and 
architectural  acquirements ;  and  it  is  somee 
what  remarkable  to  relate  that  Sir  Digby 
Wyatt,  though  he  did  not  live  to  achiev- 
half  the  work  of  his  brother,  has  won  an 
almost  European  reputation  by  his  literary 
and  artistic  works.  One  of  the  earliest  and 
best  kuown  of  Mr.  T.  H.  AVyatt's  works  was 
Wilton  Chm-ch,  near  Salisbury,  a  building 
which  soon  acquired,  in  spite  of  the  adapta- 
tion of  a  style  which  has  not  taken  a  deep 
root  in  England,  a  popular  notoriety  ;  and 
which  formed  the  foundation  of  a  large 
connection  in  that  county.  In  its  design 
Mr.  Wyatt  selected  the  Early  style  of  Lom- 
bard)', and  no  expense  was  spared  by  Lord 
Herbert  to  make  it  a  thoroughly  represen- 
tative church  of  the  kind.  Those  who  have 
seen  it  can  estimate  the  skill  with  which  some 
of  the  details,  excessively  rich  in  some  parts, 
have  been  carried  out.  Mr.  Wyatt  early 
interested  himself  in  the  promotion  of  pro- 
fessional union.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
who  came  forward  to  read  papers  to  the 
Architectural  Society,  then  a  young  strug- 
gling society,  and  the  pioneer  of  the  Intsi- 
tute,    and   of  which  he  was  made  vice-pre- 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


sident ;  afterwards  he  assisted  to  promote 
the  latter,  and  did  much  towards  increasing 
the  prosperity  of  the  Architects'  Benevolent 
Society.  In  this  society  he  seems  to  have 
taken  a  si)ecial  interest,  -which  we  should 
like  to  see  emulated  ;  and  was  appointed  its 
President.  Mr.  Wyatt  became  a  Fellow  of 
the  Institute  in  1S3S,  and  at  the  time  of  its 
absorption  of  the  younger  society  in  1S42, 
he  was  made  a  member  of  council.  In  1870 
he  was  elected  President  of  the  Institute, 
and  three  years  afterwards  received  the  Gold 
Medal.  Latterly  he  was  appointed  honorary 
secretary,  in  the  room  of  the  late  Mr. 
Cockerell,  and  was,  until  quite  recently,  an 
active  member  in  all  important  measures  of 
reform.  Unlike  his  brother,  Sir  M.  Digby 
"Wyatt,  however,  he  was  more  retiring, 
and  we  are  not  aware  that  he  contributed 
anything  to  the  literature  of  his  profession, 
■except  in  his  presidential  addresses.  His 
brother  dedicated  his  "Lectures  on  Fine 
Art,"  delivered  when  Slade  Professor,  to 
him,  in  which  dedication  he  affectionately 
expresses  his  gratitude  to  him  for  opening 
the  door  of  the  profession,  and  for  other 
acts  of  fraternal  kindness. 

As  an  architect,  Mr.  T.  H.  Wyatt  was  a 
skilful  planner,  though  his  designs  are  not 
distinguished  for  any  marked  origina'ity  or 
power  of  expression.  L'ke  other  architects 
of  his  age,  he  began  with  Classic,  and  the 
Euston  entrance  was  one  of  the  first  designs 
on  which  he  was  engaged  while  a  pupil  at 
Mr.  Hardwick's.  His  works,  however,  show 
that  he  coidd  adapt  Gothic  as  well  as  Renais- 
sance. VCe  may  mention  two  recent  buildings 
which  show  the  latter  spii-it —namely ,  the 
Knightsbridge  Cavalry  barracks,  lately  de- 
scribed in  our  pages,  and  only  recently 
completed,  and  the  new  block  for  the 
Brompton  Hospital  for  Consumption,  a 
large  red  brick  structure  scarcely-  finished. 
He  seems  to  have  built  and  altered 
several  hospitals.  We  may  name  the  Mid- 
dlesex and  Malta  Hospitals;  Cancer  Hos- 
pital, Osnaburgh-street  ;  Fever  Hospital, 
titockwell ;  Salisbury  Infirmary  ;  Small  Pox 
•ditto  :  Tetbury  Cottage  Hospital  ;  Basing- 
stoke Cottage  Hospital ;  Wilts  Lunatic  Asy- 
lum ;  Buckingham  Lunatic  Asylum  ;  Norfolk 
and  Norwich  Hospital.  Among  his  other 
public  buildings  we  may  mention.  Exchange 
Buildings,  Liverpool  (with  his  partner); 
Recreation  Hall  and  Iheatre,  Woolwich ; 
Militia  Stores,  Wilts;  Adelphi  Theatre; 
Hull  Orphanage;  EailwayStation,  Florenc; 
Eingwood  and  Cricklehowell  Townhalls ; 
Polytechnic  Institution ;  alterations  at  In- 
stitution of  Civil  Engineers,  of  which  he  was 
honorary  architect ;  Assize  Courts  at  Cam- 
bridge, Winchester,  Devizes,  L"sk,  &c.  ; 
churches  at  Wilton,  Croekerton,  Westbury, 
East  Hamham,  Fisherfon,  Laverstock,  near 
Salisbury,  Fonthill,  Gifford,  Warminster, 
Dorset  ;  besides  several  in  London, 
of  which  we  may  name  St.  Mat- 
thias, Bethnal  Green ;  Trinity  Church, 
Haverstock-hill ;  also  churches  in  Cam- 
bridgeshire, St.  Mary-in-the-Feu,  &c.  ; 
in  Ireland ;  in  Flintshire,  Montgomery- 
shire, Merionethshire,  Carnarvonshire,  Den- 
bigh :  in  North  Britain  ;  in  Woolwich  (Garri- 
son Church,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother), 
and  churches  in  many  other  counties  of 
England.  In  alterations  and  additions  to 
churches  Mr.  Wyatt's  practice  was  very 
extensive.  la  connection  with  his  partner 
he  undertook  Wimbome  Minster;  he  also 
restored  Ll.andaff  Cathedral,  Great  Bed- 
wyn  Church,  Wilts  ;  Chilmark,  and  many 
otlier  churches  in  Wiltshire,  Dorset,  and 
Hants ;  indeed,  among  the  numberof  restored 
edifices  in  the  last-named  counties  he 
seems  to  have  had  an  extensive  connection. 
Of  schools  and  parsonages  a  goodly  number 
are  from  his  designs  ;  but  perhaps  the 
largest  branch  of  Uis  practice  consisted  of 
private  mansions,  of  which  he  designed  and 
altered  a  countless  number.  In  London  he 
built  Sir  Dudley   Marjoribank's  residence, 


205 


Park -lane ;  Lord  Arthur  Russell's,  in  Audley- 
square  ;  besides  residences  for  Sir  Charles 
Forster,  M.P.  Westminster,  Sir  Baldwin 
Leighton,  M.P.  (Berkeley-street),  Prmce 
Waronzoff,  Duke  of  Palmella,  Mr.  T. 
Protheroe,  Mr.  J.  Morrison  (Fonthill  House, 
Wilts),  Duke  of  Beaufort  (BreconV  Mr.  J. 
Moraut  (Brockenhurst,  Hants),  &c.,  &c. 
In  many  of  these  works,  as  in  the  last- 
named,  the  style  selected  is  Renaissance  or 
Elizabethan.  In  conjunction  with  Mr. 
Brandon  he  carried  out  mansions  at  Orchard- 
leigh,  Somersetshire  ;  Broadford,  Kent  ; 
Abbey  Lois  and  Eamsfort,  L-eland  ;  wliile 
it  would  be  useless  to  enumerate  the  noble- 
men's and  gentlemen's  mansions  he  enlarged 
and  altered. 

Mr.  Wyatt  held  m'iny  honorary  appoint- 
ments :  he  was  honorary  architect  to  the 
Institution  of  Civil  Engineers ;  to  the 
AthenfBum  Club,  of  which  he  was  a  member; 
to  Middlesex  Hospital  ;  to  the  Salisbury 
Diocesan  Church  Building  Society ;  to  the 


1S19  as  a  memorial  to  Bi»hup  Sninley,  and  w 
when  the  wiuilow  wiw  rebiiilt  a  hhurt  time  since, 
the  j.'la»»  to  which  vc  refer  wub  n-plaoed  for 
fear  of  givinj,'  offeuco.  Surely  otfmcc  was 
spared  from  a  very  few,  whilo  it  U  now 
frfoly  offered  to  thounand«,  and  wc  question 
the  real  iwliey  of  allowing  nu-h  an  objeotion- 
ablc  feature  to  remain,  ot  any  rate  where  it  in. 
A  complete  rc^toration  of  the  ancient  deooratiro 
painting  to  the  bomes  of  the  HuiK-rb  vaulted  roof 
of  the  nave  and  choir  in  bein(f  effected.  After 
careful  examination,  no  doubt,  the  cleaning  u 
beinp  very  carefully  eicHtuUd,  though  the  colourn 
cho.sen  for  the  figurefl  wem  rather  gauily  and 
hard.  From  the  lli>or  of  the  building,  probably, 
tho  tints  in  time  will  lose  much  of  their  hanh- 
nesD,  even  if  the  etfect  do.n  not  equal  tho  umplo 
quietness  of  the  old  gilding,  at  prc'nent  noon  on 
the  untouched  part».  The  nave  in  imuaed  for 
services,  and  the  unfortunate  ntonc  Hcreen,  of 
which  tlio  upper  part  only  <liite«  fr..m  1833, 
still  rcmriinsi,  cutting  the  catficdrul  in  two,  and 
quite  blocking  out  the  upue  and  choir.  Tho 
entrances  to  the  tranwptji,  on  either  mde  of 
the  cros.iing,  are  filled  with  Btulfv  powii,  which 


Governesses'    Benevolent   institution;    and   enjoy  a  very  select  Hort  of  privncy, 'being  guarded 


consvdting  architect  to  the  Incorporated 
Society  for  Building  New  Churches.  We 
win  only  add  that  Mr.  Wyatt  was  much 
esteemed  by  those  who  shared  his  acquaint- 
ance, and  occupied  a  high  position  amon 
the  architects  of  the  day.  His  remains 
were  interred  at  the  small  village  of 
Weston,  near  Basingstoke,  the  church 
of  which  he  rebuilt ;  and  he  was  followed  to 
the  grave  by  a  few  of  his  oldest  friends 
among  those  present  being  Mr.  C.  H.  Gre 
gory,  the  engineer ;  Mr.  Hannen,  tho 
builder;  Mr.  Whichcord,  the  President  of 
the  R.I.B.A.,  and  a  few  of  Mr.  Wyatt's 
pupUs  and  assistants. 


ARCHITECTURAL  NOTES  FROM 
NORFOLK. 

LAST  week  we  briefly  remarked  upon  the 
general  programme  of  places  to  be  visited 
by  the  annual  excursion  party  of  the  Archi- 
tectural Association  now  in  Norfolk,  with  Nor- 
wich as  their  headquarters.  To-day,  it  may  be  of 
interest  if  we  print  a  few  notes  made  during  the 
fii'st  two  days  of  the  excursion.  Norwich  itself 
is  full  of  interest,  as  indeed  full  of  churches,  but 
it  is  just  possible  that  one  may  have  too  much 
of  even  a  good  thing,  and  the  exceedingly  large 
nmnber  of  churches  of  but  moderate  interest  as 
well  as  quality,  pall  very  readily  upon  the 
visitor.  St.  Peter  Mancroft  Church  and  St. 
.Stephen's  are  imdoubtedly  fine  buildings,  and 
St.  Uiles  at  the  upper  part  of  the  town  may  in 
simOar  terms  be  described,  though  the  restorer 
has  rendered  everj-thing  throughout  excessively 
clean  and  prim,  like  the  new  chancel  whicli  has 
also  been  added.  The  cathedral  claims,  of 
course,  primary  notice,  and  therefore,  was  the 
first  building  visited  on  Monday  morning 
last,  when  about  thirty-five  excursionists 
were  met  by  Mr.  John  H.  Brown,  the  Cathe- 
dral surveyor,  wlio  very  kindly  conducted  the 
party  roimd  the  buildings.  The  liistory  of  the 
church  has  in  .so  many  ways  already  been  given 
and  is  so  readily  found  in  special  works  oil  the 
subject  from  Mr.  Walter  Rye's  verj-  able  Uttle 
"  Tourist's  Guide,"  up  to  DeanGoulbiuii's  big 
and  learned,  as  well  as  copiously  illustrated 
hook  on  the  Cathedral  and  its  Sculptures,  that 
any  historical  or  archieological  remarks  hei'O  are- 
as needles,"  as  they  would  be  singularly  out  of 
place.  The  west  front  is  now  being  restored  by 
Mr.  Brown,  assisted  by  Mr.  James  Fergusson, 
the  work  in  progress  being  simply  to  do  now 
what  Mr.  Blorc  to  very  ineffectually  did  some 
twonty-five  years  ago,  when  he  simply  cased 
with  sham-jwintcd  slabs  the  Norman  ashlar 
work  of  this  front,  instead  of  properly  making 
it  good.  The  Society  for  the  Protection  of 
Ancient  Buildings,  had  it  existed  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  would  have  had  here  iudceel  amjile 
cause  to  taunt  the  restorer  with  having  .spoiled 
the  appearance  of  antiquity  without  having  put 
the  building  into  a  substantial  state  of  repair. 
The  huge  west  window,  of  Pcrpendicnlar  date, 
which  swamps  cvorj-thing  else  by  its  size,  i- 
fiUed  with  tho  most  hideous  painted  glass.  - 
to  be  after  Rafaelle ;  indeed,  no  more  modi  i 
term  would  adequately  express  its  uglines-. 
was  here  placed  by  the  countn-  gentlemen  in 


under  lock  and  key,  and  on  Sunday  the  cathe- 
dral seems  to  be  treated  as  the  parish-church  of 
the  chosen  well-dressed  few,  instead  of  being 
entirely  free  and  oiku  to  all,  both  rich  and  poor 
alike.  Tlie  floor  of  the  sanctunry  has  lately  been 
paved  by  Messrs.  Powell,  of  W hi tefriani- street, 
with  some  beautifully-executed  mosaic,  fromtlio 
designs  of  Mr.  Arthur  Blumticld,  who  alao 
designed  the  inlaid  wooden  altar.  Thia 
latter  seems  out  of  keeping  with  the  rest, 
and  we  cannot  admire  it.  The  same  re- 
mark apphes  to  the  new  work  in  the 
Jesus  chapel,  one  of  tho  d  mblo  circular 
chapels,  two  of  which  alone  remain,  and  it  has 
been  restored,  we  believe,  chiefly  by  Mr.  Butter- 
field.  The  etfect  of  tho  colour  decorations  is 
anything  but  satisfactory  :  crude  vermilion  has 
been  u>ed  instead  of  the  soft  brick-red  orange 
found  in  the  old  work,  and  which  always  har- 
monises so  well  with  almost  any  other  colour 
without  being  overbearing  in  its  effect.  Tho 
blues  in  the  old  colour  were  greenish  in  tone  on 
the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  exceedingly 
delicate  and  grey  ;  but  here  French  ultramarino 
seems  to  have  been  the  only  blue  available  for 
the  new  work  now  complained  of. 

The  other  chapel  of  St.  Luke,  on  the  south 
side,  is  now  u.sed  as  a  pari.sh-church  for  tho 
parishioners  of  the  demolished  church  of  St. 
Mary-in-the-Marsh,  and  is  unrestorcd.  Here 
the  charming  etfect  of  the  ancient  ceilour  decora- 
tions may  be  well  seen,  and  so  miy  also  tho 
atrociously-ugly  stone  pulpit,  of  which  the  letta 
said  the  better.  It  was  said  by  Mr.  Brown  to 
have  been  the  work  of  Mr.  Parker,  of  Oxford. 
Mr.  Salvin  is  responsible  for  the  rebuilding  of 
the  south  transept  front,  which  was  executed  in 
Caen  stone,  Uke  the  rest  of  the  outside  walLi  of 
the  Cathedral ;  but  Norman  work  only  looks 
ridiculous  when  built  with  inrisible-jointed 
masonry,  and  Norman-charactered  clock-fronts 
are  scarcely  even  considered  in  good  taste  or 
satisfactory.  The  excursionists  visited,  on 
Monday,  the  whole  of  the  precincts  of  tho 
Cathedral,  and  the  new  Bishop's  palace,  built  by 
Mr.  Ewan  Christian,  wai  reva  from  tho 
grounds.  Mr.  Phipson  has  recently  built  a  gar- 
looking  re-sidence  on  the  south  side  of  thi 
Cathedral  for  one  of  the  Canon*,  and  Mr.  J.  K. 
CoUing  is  now  erecting  a  very  common-plaee, 
box-like  house,  in  red-brick,  on  the  west,  for  a 
.limilar  purpose.  St.  Peter  Mancroft  Church  is 
now  being  very  carefully  n-norato<l  by  Mr.  O. 
E.  Street,  R.A.,  and,  when  the  sjoenlariy- 
beautiful  tower  of  this  church  ha"  Ken  rwtorrd 
to  its  original  form,  the  ehurrh  w.Il  I^  one  <if 
the  finest  parish-churches  in  the  kingdom,  as^it 
is  now  the  typo  of  all  the  churches  in  Norwich, 
and  the  t)est  of  them  all. 

On  Tuesday,  the  excur- 
for  Aylsham,  where  c.ir- 
for  the  rest  of  the  da\ 
Aylsham,  Cawston,  Sail- 
sham  is   a   quaint  villngc. 
Inn    ("The    Black   B«Ts.' 
omnment.il  pla.«ter  "J'-.  _"' 
The  church,  of  r.       ' 
reputed  founder.  ' 


!.ft   1" 


-A  ^1 


206 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aucx.  20,  1880. 


good  examples,  and  the  Jacobean  pulpit  is 
interesting.  The  new  seating  is  Tery  ugly 
owing  to  the  ' '  unrest ' '  effect  of  the  little  bosses 
on  the  top  members  of  the  backs  and  ends  which, 
when  seen  from  the  end  of  the  church,  have  a 
very  singular  appearance.  The  carvings  ou  the 
font  deserve  particular  attention.  Cawston 
Church  was  next  visited,  and  on  the  whole 
afforded  more  interest  than  any  of  the  churches 
seen  on  Monday.  The  road  from  Aylsham 
passes  through  a  very  charming  and  well- wooded 
part  of  the  country.  The  church  is  a  very  good 
perpendicular  building  containing  a  magnificent 
roof,  one  of  the  finest  of  its  date  in  England.  It 
has  double  hammer-beams  which  singularly 
project  beyond  the  queen-posts,  and  support  rich 
full-length  angels  displaying  the  heavenly 
hierarchy.  The  massively- rich  and  deep  cornice 
below  deserves  speci.U  notice,  with  its  flatly- 
treated  series  of  angels,  small  shields,  and  fleurs- 
de-lys.  Mr.  Phipsou  has  reported  on  the  condi- 
tion of  this  roof  with  a  view  to  its  restoration, 
and  if  only  his  report  is  thoroughly  carried  out 
there  will  be  but  little  reason  to  complain,  and, 
anyway,  it  is  certain  that  something  must 
soon  be  done,  as  the  timbers  continue  to 
fall  and  the  roof  soon  wUl  become  dangerous. 
The  rood  -  screen  is  remarkable  for  its  very 
beautiful  figure  decorations,  which,  unfortu- 
nately, have  been  much  disfigured  both  by  time 
and  by  want  of  care ;  for  instance,  the  late  rector 
had  the  school-children  seated  next  against  it, 
and,  of  course,  during  serrice,  they  found  much 
amusement  In  picking  off  the  colour  and  gild- 
ing. Sir  John  Shome's  figure  has  especially 
suffered  from  the  above  cause.  Sir  John  was 
an  Augustinian  Canon  of  Duustaple  at  the  end 
of  the  13th  century,  who  is  said  to  have  con- 
veyed the  devil  in  a  boot,  and  having  crushed 
the  fiend  with  his  foot,  became  controller  over 
the  disease  called  gout,  and  so  is  usually  repre- 
sented holding  a  boot  from  which  the  devil  is 
peeping.  He  was  also  ' '  much  sought  for  the 
agew.*'  Salle  church  (pronounced  Saul)  is 
throughout  Perpendicular,  and  undoubtedly  is 
a  magnificent  building.  It  stands  on  high 
ground  and  commands  a  fine  view,  and,  together 
with  Cawston  church,  maybe  taken  as  an  excel- 
lent example  of  Norfolk  Perpendicular  work. 
The  roof  of  the  former- named  church  was 
always  the  finer  of  the  two,  and  it  may  be  here 
mentioned  that  some  good  drawings  of  it  were 
recently  published  in  the  Architectural  Associa- 
tion sketch-book,  by  Mr.  Stokes.  It  should 
also  be  recorded  that  an  unusually  fine  leathern 
box  for  the  preservation  of  the  altar  plate  re- 
mains, of  13th-century  date,  at  Cawston,  and  it 
is  of  singular  beauty.  The  dirty  condition  of 
Salle  church  is  a  great  disgrace  to  all  concerned, 
and  the  ruinous  state  of  the  roofs  need  imme- 
diate attention.  We  have  seldom  seen  a  more 
beautiful  church,  and  certainly  never  a  more 
neglected  or  dirty  one.  Want  of  space  prevents 
our  giving  a  minute  description  of  the  building. 
Blickling  Hall,  one  of  the  finest  old  brick  man- 
sions to  be  found  anywhere,  was  next  reached. 
Here  the  Marchioness  of  Lothian  most  graciously 
met  the  excursion  party,  and  conducted  the 
visitors  through  the  several  apartments,  describ- 
ing every  feature  of  interest,  and  at  length  ex- 
plaining the  panels  in  the  library,  which  is  a 
magnificent  Jacobean  specimen  of  plaster- work 
no  less  than  120ft.  long.  A  good  detailed  de- 
scription of  the  subjects  illustrated  in  the  panels 
of  this  ceiling  was  published  in  the  Atitiijiuiry 
for  June  this  year.  Blickling  Hall  was  built  by 
Chief  Justice  Hobart,  in  the  reign  of  James  I., 
but  was  not  completed  until  16'2S,  and  the  west 
front  was  rebuilt  after  fire  in  17C9.  Tlie  house 
has  a  special  interest  as  having  been  anciently  the 
seat  of  theBoleyns,  AnneBoleyn  having  been  born 
here.  The  house  preserves  its  antique  character, 
and,  as  seen  from  the  road,  with  its  wide  double- 
quadr.angle  approach,  is  exceedingly  picturesque. 
There  are  numerous  projecting  oriel  windows- 
and  curved  as  well  as  pointed  gables.  The  en. 
trance  is  by  a  central  porch  divided  from  the 
house  by  an  open  cortile.  The  rampant  bull 
rules  everywhere,  and  is  represented  in  a 
masterly  way  on  the  piers  on  either  side  of  the 
bridge  before  the  entrance.  The  carvings 
throughout  the  house  are  remarkably  good,  and 
delicately  executed.  The  clock-tower  over  the 
entrance  is  c^uaint,  and  groups  well  with  the  end 
pavilion-like  towers  at  each  angle.  The  gardens 
are  kept  in  singularly  good  taste,  and  the  house 
throughout  is  beautifully  furnished.  Mr.  Him- 
gerford  PuUan,  of  South  Kensington  Museum, 
renovated   the   library   and  decorated  its  walls. 


The  general  effect  of  the  decoration  is  good,  but 
will  not  bear  a  detailed  criticism,  as  the  work  in 
parts  is  too  vivid  in  colour,  and  very  incongruous 
in  style.  The  book-cases  are  out  of  character, 
but  the  painted  glass  at  the  end  of  the  room  is 
very  good.  Mr.  G.  E.  Street  restored  Blickling 
Church  four  years  a^o,  and  built  a  west  tower 
in  memory  of  the  late  marquis,  to  whom  an 
elaborate  tomb  is  erected  in  the  church  by  Watts. 
The  party  of  excursionists  reached  Norwich  after 
a  long  day-trip.  Mr.  James  Fowler,  of  Louth, 
and  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose  were  among  the  party, 
which  is  presided  over  by  the  president  of  the 
year,  Mr.  E.  C.  Lee. 

THE    BRITISH    AKCH^OLOGICAL 
ASSOCIATION  AT  DEVIZES. 

[fKOH  due  own  EErOETEE.] 

THE  thirty-seventh  annual  Congress  of  the 
British  j\jcha?ological  Association  is  being 
held  this  week  in  the  quiet  capital  of  North 
Wilts,  under  the  local  presidency  of  Earl  Nelson. 
Devizes  has  evidently  been  built  in  horseshoe 
form  around  extensive  earthworks  of  defence, 
placed  at  the  angle  of  meeting  of  two  deep 
ravines.  The  simple  earthen  mound  was  forti- 
fied, and  became  a  castle  of  masonry  ;  two  large 
churches  were  built  in  the  r2th  century  in  the 
town,  on  the  high  promontory  behind,  about 
the  time  when  the  first  charter  of  incorporation 
was  granted  by  Henry  I.  Beyond  these  churches 
and  the  scanty  remains  of  the  castle,  there  are 
few  objects  of  antiquarian  interest  in  the  tOT\-n, 
which  is  best  known  as  the  great  corn-market  of 
the  district.  The  name  of  the  head-quarters  of 
the  Congress,  the  Bear  Hotel,  is  associated  with 
the  early  life  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  whose 
father  was  its  landlord  during  the  youth  of  the 
future  P.E.A.  and  fashionable  portrait-painter. 
The  chalk  districts,  with  greensand  faults  on 
the  east  of  Devizes — divided  by  a  well-watered 
valley  into  the  Marlborough  Downs  to  the  north 
and  Salisbury  Plain  to  the  south — are,  however, 
weirdly  attractive  to  that  class  of  archfeologists 
who  seek  to  unravel  the  modes  of  life  and  burial 
of  those  who  lived  in  the  so-called  "pre- 
historic "  past. 

No  portion  of  England  is  so  rich  in  traces  of 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  and  their  suc- 
cessors— of  the  Belgoe,  the  Romans,  and  the 
West  Saxons  ;  stone  and  earthen  circles,  long 
lines  of  boundaries,  ramparts  and  ditches,  pit 
dwellings,  and  British  ridgways  and  Roman- 
paved  roads,  mounds,  and  cisted  tumuli  are 
numerous,  and  have  been  well  preserved.  The 
features  of  interest  .are  not  confined,  however, 
to  pre-Norman  buildings  and  earthworks.  A 
number  of  churches  of  a  well-marked  type, 
chiefly  of  the  loth  and  loth  centuries,  and  the 
remains  of  several  Benedictine  establishments 
are  set  down  on  the  programme,  together  with  a 
few  specimens  of  half-timber  houses,  and  some 
of  the  modern  mansions  are  to  be  visited  in  the 
course  of  the  Congress.  The  district  covered  in 
the  excursions,  which  are  nearly  all  by  carriage, 
is  unusually  compact,  in  no  case  overstepping  the 
county  borders,  and  being  almost  confined  to 
the  northern  division. 

MONDAY. 

Tlie  Congress  was  opened  on  Mondav  after- 
noon with  a  meeting  in  the  Town  Hall,  at  which, 
the  members  of  the  Association  were  welcomed 
to  Devizes  by  the  Mayor.  Mr.  T.  Chandler,  and 
by  the  flourishing  Wiltshire  Archreological 
Society,  represented  by  the  Rev.  A .  C.  Smith, 
who  gave  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  chief  points  of 
interest  in  the  ground  covered  ty  the  excursions, 
andtheRev.  H.  A.  Smith.  The  corporation  plate 
and  muniments  were  afterwards  viewed  in  an 
adjoinina:  room  ;  thev  include  charters  of 
Henry  III.,  Henry  VIII.,  Elizabeth,  Charles  I. 
(two),  and  James  II.,  an  illuminated  copy 
of  the  earlier  charters  made  in  the  17th 
century,  fortunately,  as  it  proves,  for  the  charter 
granted  by  Queen  Maud  is  now  missing ;  a 
verderers'  cup  of  sUver,  dated  ICOG,  a  crowned 
silve*  gilt  mace,  presented  in  the  year  of  Restora- 
tion, and  another  of  more  recent  date. 

St.  John  the  baptist's  Church,  near  the  Castle, 
was  then  vitited  and  described  by  the  Rev.  J. 
Hart  Burges,  D.D.  It  is  a  crucifonu  edifice, 
with  lofty  central  tower.  This  tower,  and  the 
transepts,  and  the  chancel  are  chiefly  of  Late 
Norman  character.  On  the  north-west  angle 
of  the  tower  is  an  external  belfiy  staii-case,  rising 
as  circular  turret  above  the  pinnacles,  of  a  rich 
character.  The  nave  is  long,  and  has  been  rebuilt 
in  the   13th  century,    and   lengthened   very  re- 


cently, and  north  and  south  chapels,  with  rich 
oaken  ceilings,  were  added  to  the  church  in  the 
16th  century.  The  chancel  is  low,  and  consists 
of  two  bays,  still  retaining  their  Norman  trans- 
verse vaulting.  The  east  end  has  modem  inter- 
secting arcading,  copied  from  a  Norman  frag- 
ment ou  north  wall,  and  coloured  with  bright 
tones,  now  happily  fading.  Dr.  Burges  ascribed 
the  eastern  part  of  church  to  the  time  of  the 
Militant  Bishop,  Roger  Poer,  of  Sarum,  Chan- 
cellor to  Henry  I. ,  e.  1130,  and  stated  that  he 
proposed  to  open  the  lantern  of  tower,  and  so 
reveal  the  beautiful  Norman  arcading  in  the 
upper  part,  now  Iddden  by  a  lath-and-plaster 
ceiling,  and  to  remove  the  colour  from  the  chan- 
cel and  to  place  in  the  west  window  stained  gl.ass 
by  Messrs.  Hardman,  of  Birmingham.  Mr.  E. 
P.  Loftus  Brock,  F.S.A.,  remarked  that  it  was  a 
typical  and  fine  example  of  the  Wiltshire  church, 
a  cruciform  building,  enlarged  in  the  loth  cen- 
tury. An  unusual  feature  was  the  central  tower, 
which  was  oblong  on  plan,  and  the  narrow  arches 
to  the  transepts  were  pointed,  whereas  the  wider 
ones  to  east  and  west  were  circular,  but  with 
precisely  similar  mouldings.  From  this  in- 
troduction of  the  pointed  arch,  and  the 
use  of  the  biUet  and  other  mouldings, 
the  date  must  be  later  than  that  men- 
tioned by  Dr.  Burges — probably  it  was  built 
between  1132  and  1160.  Again,  there  were 
traces  of  aisles  to  the  Norman  nave  in  the  win- 
dows on  west  face  of  south  transept— probably 
small  low  lean-to's,  above  which  the  central 
tower,  the  highest  Norman  steeple  in  tlie  South 
of  England,  rose  with  fine  effect.  The  south 
chantiy-  chapel  would  repay  examination,  as  one 
precisely  similar  iu  ornamental  details,  and  also 
built  by  a  Beauchamp,  would  be  seen  at  Brom- 
ham  on  Saturday.  Mr.  Lambert,  F.S.A.,  dis- 
puted whether  the  Norman  nave  was  ever 
finished,  and  suggested  that  the  monks  gradually 
built  just  the  parts  required  for  worship— the 
chancel  and  transepts,  and  the  nave  was  left 
perhaps  till  the  1 3 tli  century.  A  local  gentle- 
man, however,  stated  that  when  the  arcades 
were  recently  repaired,  the  bases  of  Norman 
pillars  were  found  under  the  present  octagonal 
piers— proving  Mr.  Brock's  hypothesis  that 
nave-aisles  were  at  least  contemplated  by  the 
founders.  After  some  discussion,  the  members 
proceeded  to  St.  Man/s  Chiireh.  This  was  also 
a  Late  Norman  structure,  but  of  a  more  usual 
type,  and  the  clerestoried  nave  and  its  aisles 
were  rebuilt  in  the  13th  century,  the  old  footings 
and  buttresses,  as  Mr.  E.  Kite  showed,  being 
utilised  on  the  north  side.  An  unusual  ft  ature 
is  a  well-carved  statue  of  the  Virgin  and 
Child,  placed  under  a  rich  tabernacled 
canopy  on  the  east  wall  of  nave,  in  the 
position  often  occupied  by  a  Sanctus  bell. 
On  the  south  of  nave  is  a  rich  Early  Eng- 
lish porch,  originally,  according  to  Mr.  Bron, 
an  inner  doorway,  but  removed  and  rebuilt  in 
clumsy  fashion  at  some  unknown  period.  Ttie 
usually  accurate  John  Britton  mentions  a  north 
porch,  which  does  not  exist.  The  chancel,  like 
St.  John's,  is  extremely  low,  is  also  square- 
ended,  and  has  transverse  groining.  Dr.  Burges 
mentioned  that  he  had  also  restored  this  church 
four  years  ago,  without  the  assistance  of  a 
profci^ional  architect.  Beneath  the  plaster 
.ceiling  of  nave  he  found  the  present  fine  Perpen- 
dicular roof,  with  decorated  tie-beams,  resting 
on  corbel  heads.  The  date  was  fixed  by  an 
inscription  on  the  second  beam;  "William 
Smith,  qui  istam  ecclesiam,  fieri  fecit, 
MCCCCXXXVI."  The  chancel  waUs  were  lift, 
thick,  but  the  masonry  was  very  had,  only  the 
outer  faces  being  pioperly  laid.  Mr.  Brock 
remarked  upon  the  less-finished  character  of  the 
Norman  work  here,  although  of  about  the  same 
date  as  St.  John's.  He  suggested  that  Devizes 
must  have  been  far  larger  than  was  generall}^ 
assumed  at  the  time  of  Maud's  grant  of  a  charter 
of  incorporation.  The  Costlc  was  next  visited, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  occupier,  Mr.  R.  V. 
Leach,  who,  during  the  p^st  twenty  years,  has 
built,  from  his  own  designs,  a  modern  mansion 
into  the  ruins,  and  laid  out  the  grounds  as  a 
landscape  garden.  The  central  mound,  the 
inner  bailej-,  and  the  two  lines  of  valla,  sepa- 
rated by  a  r.ampart,  can  still  be  clearly  dis- 
tinguished. The  present  castle,  in  which  Norman 
balustered  fenestration  is  picturesquely  combined 
with  Edwardiau  bastions  and  machicolated 
turrets  and  balconies,  stands  on  the  west  side  of 
a  site  which,  roughly  speaking,  is  a  triangle 
with  rounded  comers,  and  may  represent  on  plan 
the  domestic  offices  of  the  Mediceval  building ;  to 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


207 


the  south  are  remains  of  what  seems  to  have  been 
the  undercroft  of  the  great  hall.  The  castle 
is  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Bishop  Roger 
Poer,  and  was  gradually  dismantled  after  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.,  and  the  keep  was  besieged 
by  the  Parliament  in  1C43,  and  taken  two  years 
afterwards.  Mr.  Leach  conducted  the  \-isitor9 
over  the  building,  which  is  a  very  storehouse  of 
old  china,  paintings  by  old  and  modem  artists, 
armour,  wood-carving,  &c.,  in  a  "  secret 
chamber,"  approached  by  a  (modern)  sliding 
door,  and  buUt  upon  the  only  inhabited  ancient 
part  of  the  castle,  is  a  museum,  filled  with  bones, 
Eomancoins,  Samian  ware,  Anglo-Saxi  m  pottery, 
British  spear-heads  and  celts  of  flint,  all  found 
in  the  grounds  by  Mr.  Leach  or  the  workmen. 
In  the  grounds  are  one  or  two  gateways  built  of 
Late  Norman  carved  stones,  removed  from  St. 
John's  Church  during  recent  restoration,  and 
Mr.  Leach,  on  being  rallied  on  the  subject, 
explained  that  undoubtedly  tlie  castle  formed  a 
ijuarry  for  church  repairs  in  the  past,  and  some 
of  the  fragments  were  only  returned.  At  the 
close  of  the  ■(■isit  Jlr.  Brock  suggested  that  the 
castle  was  built  upon  earlier  earthworks,  and 
that  this  would  account  for  the  extensive  mounds 
and  ditches  by  which  it  was  defended;  the 
trenches  were  foimd  when  the  tunnel  of  the 
Great  'Western  Railway  was  pierced  beneath  the 
castle  to  be  excavated  45ft.  deeper  than  the 
present  levels.  Besides  this,  Mr.  Leach's 
museum  showed  that  the  site  was  occupied 
sucessively  by  the  British,  the  Romans,  the 
Saxons,  and  the  Normans,  and  compared  the 
castle  with  that  at  Norwich  and  others.  A  few 
of  the  members  visited  the  Museum  in  St.  Johu's- 
street,  the  chief  attraction  in  which  is  the  Stowe- 
head  collection,  formed  by  the  Wiltshire  his- 
torian and  antiquarian.  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare 
and  his  friend,  Mr.  William  Cunnington,  of 
Heytesbury,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  and  which  within  the  last  IS  months 
has  been  rearranged  and  presented  to  the  county 
by  Mr.  Henry  Cunnington.  It  is  exclusively 
composed  of  pre-Norman  objects  found  in  the 
county,  and  includes  the  largest  collection  of 
gold  ornaments — lozenge-shaped  plaques,  rings, 
and  pins — in  the  world ;  many  cinerary  urns, 
bronze  and  flint  dagger-knives,  beads  of  amber, 
glass,  gold,  and  bone.  There  are  also  a  large 
collection  of  bronze  vessels,  Samian  ware, 
and  was  found  on  the  premises  of  an  iron- 
works company  at  Westbury.  Some  of 
the  most  recent  additions  to  the  museum 
are  the  contents  of  a  tumulus  at  Rochlcy  Do-mi 
near  Marlborough,  opened  by  Mr.  W.  Henrj- 
Cannington  last  autumn ;  beneath  the  mound 
was  a  primary  interment  containing  the  perfect 
skeleton  of  an  adult  male,  placed  in  kneeling 
posture,  the  head  resting  on  clasped  liands. 
Over  this  were  secondary  interments,  consisting 
of  two  cineraiy  iutis,  one  16in.  high  and  13in. 
across,  the  other  9jin.  high,  and  a  small  food 
vessel.  The  skeleton  is  in  excellent  preservation. 

nfAUGUEAI,  ADDRESS. 

In  the  evening.  Earl  Nelson  delivered  his  in- 
axigural  address  at  the  Town-haU.  He  dwelt  at 
much  length  on  the  advantages  which  had  been 
derived  from  the  study  of  archieology,  remark- 
ing that  during  the  last  half-century  the  history 
of  this  country-  had  been  really  re-written  by  the 
means  of  archteological  research.  These  re- 
curriug  meetings,  though  they  might  be  held 
amidst  scenes  often  visited  and  rejiorted  on  be- 
fore, had  a  greater  work  to  perform  than  was 
at  first  apparent.  It  was  much  more  than  a 
pleasant  picnic,  much  more  than  the  alditional 
pieces  of  infonnation  that  might  be  gathered 
upon  each  fresh  visit  and  from  the  valuable 
papers  which  would  bo  read.  Its  greater  work 
was  a  missionary  one,  and  the  zest  that  such 
meetings  gave  to  all  to  become  antiquaries,  to 
gather  together  little  bits  of  their  family  history, 
and  of  the  history  of  their  respective  parishes,  to 
support  the  local  as-sociation,  promote  the  circu- 
lation of  their  archax>logical  and  natural  history 
magazine,  and  contribute  to  its  pages.  A  mass 
of  information  was  gathered  together  from  time 
to  time,  which  heli)ed  to  elucidate  different  ob- 
scure parts  of  historj-,  and  had  already,  through 
the  M'dtshire  Mayazim,  added  much  to  the 
materials  for  a  county  history  which,  with  much 
less  labour  than  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  and  his 
noble  compeers  liestowed,  would  gre.itly  enlarge 
and  illustrate  the  work  associated  T>-ith  his 
name.  A  well  known  archax>logi.-t,  Canon 
Jones,  of  Bradford,  was  on  the  point  of  bringing 
out  a    most   interesting    book  on  the  original 


uses  of  the  ditferent  parts  of  Salisbury  Cathe- 
tlral,  Arith  a  second  volume  on  the  whole  religious 
history  of  the  diocese  from  the  earlier  times.   In 


tho  programme,  the  earl  said  he  earnestly 
wished  them  a  hajipy  and  eucccBBfid  meeting, 
and   he  should  bo   fully  juNtified    if   under  his 


reerencc  to  the  ecclesiast ieal  branch  o  their  presidency  m^ny  of  th'  Zl  ry' leaTt  th e^ 
subject,  he  Illustrated  by  wo  mstances  how  a  own  usefukcJ  and  resolved  7o  put  theU 
*r!™,"°"h;  ^:Lf.  ,  ^±'^°'"^\Tr^'' '"''?  '.'^"l    ^''""'''"'' '°  '^^  ^■•'"•l  and  endeavoured  to  coU^^ 


ntly  useful  purpose.  'When  i-estoring 
Salisbury  Cathedral  a  natural  de-iiire  expressed 
was  by  the  laity  that  they  should  not  have  a 
closed  choir,  and  that  they  might  have  seats,  if 
not  in  the  choir,  at  least  in  the  north  and  south- 
eastern transepts.  Both  these  demands  were 
looked  upon  as  contrary  to  old  arrangements  ; 
but  Canon  Jones's  book  woxdd  show  that  at 
Salisbury  the  returned  stalls  were  a  mistake, 
as  it  was  a  foundation  of  secular  canons, 
and  that  in  the  original  design  the  laity  sat 
in  the  prcsbytci-y  and  the  two  eastern  tran- 
septs, thereby  surrounding  the  altar.  There 
was  a  direct  order  in  part  of  the  old  Sarum  Use 


and  prcsene  all  such  monumentH  of  the  past  as 
came  in  their  way,  so  as  to  bring  them  under 
the  notice  of  the  greater  xnant. 

In  the  cvcniug  a  dinner  waH  held  at  tho  Bear 
hotel,  under  tlie  presidency  of  Enrl  NcUon. 

Tl'ESDAY. 
The  excursions  were  conuncnccd  by  an  eleven 
hours'  carriage-drive  to  u  group  of  villages  on 
the  south-west  of  Devizes.  J'olUnu  Chiirrh  was 
the  first  halting-place.  It  is  an  unuxually  per- 
fect specimen  of  a  middle  of  thitti-entli-ri-ntorT 
cruciform  church,  tho  only  lat<r  featun-i  being 


was  a  uireci  oraer  m  pari  oi  me  oia  .>arum  Use    n  Tiierccfl  iin,l  n„.  ,niii,,i    .  „.„     .         i      •  7" 

that  the  priest  walking  round   the  altar  should  !  ?,^h^rbrord'ce™aT,^wer„;ToH""^^ 

incense  the  people  in  the  transepts  and  in  the    The  windows  throughout   are   all   W-otiT"ho 


The  window 

treatment   throughout   i.s   himplo   but  dignified. 
A  bold  string-courso  without,  and  a  double  one 
within,    surround  tho   building.     During  a  rt- 
Kuran 
excavating   under   th<>  iirc-icnt 
font,  another  and  much  earlier  and  ruder  one 
was  found  buried  beneath,  and  is  now  ploc^-d  to 
the  west  end  of  nave  ;  it  is   almo.'it  of  the  form 
of  a  gallipot,  26in  high,  and  S.'iin.  acio.w  at  rim, 
and  has  upon  the  rim  an  early  Latin  version  of 
a  -    J     c  41,      J  J      ■•  r  /^  T  I  ^*-  '^^^  1-     ^''-   Thds.   Morgan  assigned    thi» 

offence,  and,  if  the  deductions  of  Canon  Jones    font,   from  the   lettering,  to   early  in   the  10th 

l!''!I?.'Ji;';!^y„°"l„  „ir,!!i°!'"„l  f^^  century:;  other  speakers  differed  L  to  it-   date 

,„™   n       „  „      ,„,  „„  „  „,.       — either  Anglo-Saxon,  or  rude  Early  Norman. 


presbytery.     The   other   case   he"  adduced 

the  use  of  colours  at  the  different  Church  festi- 

yals  and  seasons      The  colours  .adopted  by  many    „,„„„_    surrouna  tno   t.uiuimg.     JJuri. 

in  Ignorance  of  the  subject  were  taken  from  the    ^toration,    eight  years   since,  under  Mr 

r/pb",  rTr"';'''''''"/v'  '^<1'=°'°"'-'';'!    Christian,  while   excavating 'under   th. 
the  Church  oi  i,ngland,   as  taken  from  her  old 

service  books,  pointed  to  the  part  Galilean  and 

part  Eastern  origin  of   their  Church,  and  gave 

an  additional  proof  of  her  independence  of  Rome. 

In  these  two  instances  it  was  clear  that  a  tnic 

knowledge    would    have    avoided    a    cause    of 


act  according  to  the  old  order  of  things  would 
have  been  in  favour  rather  than  against  the 
natural  desires  of  the  people.  His  lordship  then 
proceeded  to  point  out  that  they  might  assist  in 
promoting  archteological  lore  by  preserving 
the  old  names  of  the  different  fields  and 
farms.  Every  field  had  a  name,  and  many 
stiU  retained  them  by  mere  tradition  among 
the  old  labourers,  and  in  the  old  pari.sh  maps 


Porch  House,  a  picturesque  half-timbeti-d  range 
of  buildings  in  the  village-street,  was  next  tvn. 
The  house  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  the  b<-tter 
class  of  dwellings  erected  in  the  loth  century  ; 
having  the  characteristic  projecting  upper  story 
corbelled  out  on  the  floor- beams,  and  having 
gables  ornamented  with  gcodlmrgeboards.  Within 
the  original  hall,  on  ground  level,  and  occujtWng 


and  terriers.     Some  of   more  modern  date  only    the  whole  height   of   building,    remaint   intact, 


referred  to  the  size  of  the  field  on  its  compara 
tively  recent  allotment,  such  as  "Hundred 
acre,"'  on  his  estate,  which  was  a  very  .small 
plot,  and  was  originally  "under  acre,"  and 
"Ten  furlong,"  or  the  like;  but  there  were 
much  older  names  than  those,  and  if  they  ever 
attempted  to  walk  the  bounds  of  an  old  Saxon 
charter  many  of  the  old  names,  if  kept,  would 
help  out  the  boundaries,  and  the  specified  points 
on  the  boundary  would  give  a  point  and  an  ex- 
planation to  the  names.  Whelpley,  Wellow, 
Landford — once  spelt  with  two  U's — were  a 
proof  of  the  British  being  originally  to  the  east 


except  that  the  roof  pendants  have  been  re- 
moved, at  one  end  being  the  withilra wing-room, 
with  bedrooms  above  at  tho  other,  beyond  the 
screen  of  the  domestic  offices.  Tlio  Rev.  H.  A. 
Olivier  explained  that  the  house  for  a  long 
time  was  known  as  "  Ye  Olde  ANTiite  Horse 
lune,"  and  ultimately  fell  into  his  father's 
hands,  when  it  was  partially  restored,  a  work 
completed  by  Mr.  G.  Richmond,  R.A.,  who  ba< 
since  purchased  it,  and  has  carefully  reinstated 
it,  laying  figured  tiles  on  the  grfimd-floor,  and 
remains  of  old  stained  glass,  collected  from  many 
sources,    in   the   windows.     The   trim   terroctd 


of  their  Christ-Church  Avon.  Cerdic's  battle  |  grounds  of  Jus^r.V/ House,  for  many  generations 
at  Charford  drove  them  to  the  other  side,  and  the  seat  of  the  Grubbe  family,  were"  next  visited, 
caused  the  succession  of  forts  from  Old  Sarum  j  amj  i^  passing  through  Jirli'loif,  a  new  church 
down  the  valley  protecting  the  western  lands  to  j  in  stone,   of  Late  1  Ith-century  type,  with  low 


which  they  retired.  A  few  years  ago,  in  di_  _ 
in  a  rabbit  burrow,  Lord  Radnor's  keeper  came 
upon  an  old  Saxon  chief,  with  his  sword  by  his 
side,  who  had  evidently  fallen  in  the  moment  of 
victory  in  the  middle  of  the  fortified  pah  he  had 

taken  from  the  British — following  up  the  sue- ,      „ 

cesses  of  Cerdic,  and  driving  the  Britons  on  the  resting  building  seen  during  the  day.  It  ha« 
other  side  across  the  river  .it  Britford,  as  it  was  [  been  illustrated  and  descried  as  a  typiml-dattd 
stUl  called.  His  lordship  then  proceeded  to  refer  [  building,  showing  the  prw  c^-  '-t  tmn-iti..n  Item 


tower  to  south,  and  a  brick  and  tile-hung  vicar- 
age, both  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Street,  R..\., 
were  seen  to  be  in  course  of  completion. 
EDIXOTON"  cutwcu. 
Tliis  noble  Priory  Cliurch  was  the  rao»t  int*- 


double-page  drawings  i-i 
the  late  I'.  C.  Deshou  w 
prize.  It  is  of  the  <Tii 
locality,  with  large  ch n. 
and  clercstoricd  nave  ■i 
and  south  fonh  of  tlji 
varies  from  flowing  lit' 
dows  to  a  rigid  well-dc\ 
the  great    west  window 


fliciently 
thought  nothing  could  justify  the  profanation  of 
old  burial-places  when  there  was  a  certainty  cf 
no  new  discovery  being  made.     He  did  not  see, 
however,  why  a  careful  tunnelling  should  not  be 
conducted    under    the    so-called   altar- stone  at 
Stonehenge,  to  see  if  any  remains  which  might 
iUustratethe  age  of  Stonehenge  could  be  found 
thtre,  or  witliin  the  sjicred  circle  :  and,  secondly, 
he  advocated  the  replacing  of  those  stones  which    —  „ 
had  fallen  within  man's  memory,  and  a  reccrd    I'icton   showed,    the    n. 
of   which   had   been  carefully   prcser^•ed.     The  :  progressive      An   embn- 
mechanical  appliances  of  the  present  day  could    round   the  buUibrg,    n 
easily  re-erect   them.     The   necessity  of  some- !  and   is    repeated    on    i: 
thing  being  done  to  preserve  the  ruin  as  handed    front   shows   Ibreatcmni.-  ^^^.  ■ 
down    to   us   was    becoming    more    .and    more  i  and  on  entering  further  cymi  i 
pressing.     One    of    the  great  stones  was  gra- ;  restoralion  arc  apivmnt.     in 

dually  leaning   more   heavily  on  a  stone  of  the    senes  of  canopit^l  • "■ 

inner  circle,  "and    it    might    come    down   any    with   taUmacK.. 

day.      Some      means     shoiUd     be      taken    by  ,  headUss  fiinir-^  r 

artificial  supports  to  prevent  that  catastrophe,    clabontely-carM  ;  ^  _ 

and  he  could  not  see  why,  when  that  was  done,    Jacbcan  chara.  t,T.  '^'j''"'-' ■  [' .      ,.        \., 

they  might  not  have  those  .tones  replaced  whoso  ;  pilaster  and  '"■."tone  aWr^to  have  fnr»^  at 

position  was  clearly  known,  and  whoso  faU  had    one  time  .in  "<i"7»  ^^"'"'^^J^-P'r^i, 

been  carefully  recorded.    Having  commented  on  |  rood-loft  is  perfect,  but  beneath  it 


Tht  large 
is  an  in- 


208 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


cou^nious  wooden  screen,  and  upon  it  boards 
figmed  with  the  Eoyal  arms,  and  dated  17SS, 
tho  C'ommaudmouts,  and  Creed.  The  nave  has 
a  Hingular  wooden  ceiling  of  Debased  character, 
with  plaster  panels,  and  has  a  small  we.*t 
gallery,  higli  pews,  balustradcd  platform  round 
font,  tablets  on  the  piers,  white- washed  walls, 
and  other  tokens  of  an  "  ante-Restoration  " 
period.  On  the  base  of  the  former  churchyard 
oro8:<,  opposite  the  south  porch.  Colonel  Bramble 
gave  an  address  on  the  history  of  the  church. 
It  was  built  by  William  dc  Edington,  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  in  the  short  space  of  nine  years, 
having  btx'u  founded  in  1  S.'i  1  and  dedicated  in 
1302  as  the  church  of  an  Augu^tinian  college  ; 
but  the  establishment  was  soon  changed  into  a 
prioiy  of  Bonhommes,  a  French  order,  of  which 
the  only  other  known  English  houses  were  those 
on  College  Green,  Bristol  (now  the  mayor's 
chapel),  and  A.-^hi^idge,  in  Bucks.  Having 
described  the  church.  Colonel  Bramble  referred 
to  the  dangerously  dilapidated  state  of  the  west 
window,  and  referred  to  the  monuments,  specially 
mentioning  the  last  work  executed  by  C'hantrey, 
a  group  on  the  noith  chancel  wall,  .showing  the 
death-bed  scene  of  Sir  S.  R.  B.  Taylor  (1815), 
a  monument  to  Edmund  Lewys,  tempo. 
Charles  I.,  and  his  wife,  the  Dowager  Lady 
Bcauchamp,  and  a  singular  caricature  of  the 
same  monument  in  the  nave,  erected  within  recent 
yeais  to  the  Taylor  family,  in  which  a  panel  of 
the  procession  of  father,  mother,  and  children, 
with  weeping  angels  at  either  end,  is  repeated, 
tlie  Taylor  figures  being  in  the  ordinary  yeoman 
costimie  of  40  years  ago.  In  the  south  transept 
would  be  seen  a  monument  to  one  of  the  piiors, 
the  only  memorial  to  one  of  that  order  in 
England;  it  was  much  defaced,  and  had  re- 
peated on  it  the  rebus  of  a  tun,  with  three 
spi'ays  of  leaves  growing  out  of  it,  and  the 
monogram  "J.  B."  ;  the  suggested  explana- 
tions, "  Sainton,"  "Beckington,"  or"Treeton," 
did  not  correspond  with  any  name  in  the 
tolerably  complete  list  of  ' '  Rectors  of  Bon- 
hommes." There  was  also  in  the  centre  of  the 
church  an  altar-tomb  to  a  Cheverel,  on  wliich 
were  two  canopied  pews,  apparently  of  the  same 
date.  The  Rev.  II.  Cave-Browne-Cave  said  it 
was  proposed  to  restore  the  church,  and  appealed 
for  funds  towards  the  £7,000  required.  Earl 
Nelson  observed  that  the  church  was  far  too 
large  for  the  villagers'  needs,  nor  could  they 
keep  it  in  repair,  and  he  thought  the  preserva- 
tion of  such  a  valuable  historical  document  as  to 
the  change  of  style  was  not  merely  a  county,  but 
a  national,  undertaking,  and  introduced  Mr. 
C.  E.  Powell,  of  Chancery-lane,  W.C.,  who  had 
prepared  a  preliminary  report,  pending  the 
appointment  of  a  restoration  committee.  3Ir. 
Powell  said  he  should  propose  a  strictly  con- 
Bcrvative  reparation  of  the  edifice,  underpinning 
the  west  front  and  carefully  rebuilding  the 
window,  which  was  being  shattered  ;  removing 
the  monuments  from  the  tower  piers  and  making 
them  good,  and  taking  ten  or  eleven  coats  of 
whitewash  from  inner  wall.  The  nave  roof  and 
ceiling  were  evidently  the  result  of  two  altera- 
tions of  the  sixteenth  century,  and,  notwith- 
standing its  debased  character,  he  should  not 
allow  more  than  repair.  Some  of  the  late 
panelling  iu  the  church  could  be  utilised  in  a 
proposed  vestry,  to  be  built  on  the  old  priory 
t'oimdations,  at  the  angle  of  north  transept  and 
chancel,  in  place  of  the  wooden  room  now  shut 
off  in  thi.s  transept.  Earl  Nelson  remarked  that 
it  was  plucky  of  an  architect  to  discover  liis 
proposals  for  restoration  to  archajologists. 
Mr.  Brock  commended  the  spirit  of  the 
report,  and  after  supplementing  the  descrip- 
tions already  given  of  the  church,  called 
attention  to  the  decaying  and  battered  con- 
dition of  the  parish  registers,  arising  from  the 
neglect  of  former  vicars.  Mr.  J.  A.  Picton, 
r.S.A.,  followed,  and,  directing  attention  to  the 
three-storied  south  porch,  said  the  upper  cham- 
ber of  this  and  similai'  porches  had  been  called 
"parvUes  "  by  modern  archieologists,  who  took 
the  term  fromawell-kcown  passage  in  Chaucer. 
Ho  challenged  them  to  produce  an  ancient  autho- 
rity for  the  use  of  the  word.  A  "  parvise"  was 
simply  an  inclosed  space  at  the  west  end  of 
churches,  used  for  festive  meetings,  and  occa- 
sionally as  schools.  The  upper  parts  of  porches 
might  be,  and  were,  used  for  these  purposes  in 
France,  but  were  not  in  this  coimti-y. 

Tho  remains  of  the  Priory,  on  the  north  of 
church,  were  afterwards  examined,  it  being 
shown  that  the  nave-windows  were  kept  high 
above  a  string-course  on  this  side,  to  allow  of  the 


pent  roofs  of  the  cloister,  and  the  monks'  entrance 
from  dormitory  into  transept,  doorway  into 
aisle,  and  other  traces  were  described  by  Col. 
Bramble.  On  part  of  the  site  a  farmhouse, 
with  gabled  front,  recessed  between  two  low 
square  embattled  towers,  has  been  built  from  the 
debris.  It  contains  some  good  panelled  work 
and  plastering  of  Late  10th-century  character. 
The  monastic  fish-ponds,  stillstocked  with  tench, 
the  buttressed  and  coped  stone  wall  now  enclos- 
ing an  orchard  and  a  conduit,  from  which  run 
two  supplies  of  water,  one  said  to  be  hard  the 
other  soft,  but  the  tasting  of  which  provoked 
amusing  diversities  of  opinion,  are  almost  the 
only  other  traces  of  the  Bonhommes'  establish- 
ment. 

After  luncheon,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith,  of 
Yatesburj',  gave  an  address  on  Bratton  Castle, 
the  next  place  to  be  visited,  explaining  that  the 
"castle"  consisted  simply  of  earthworks  on  the 
crest  of  a  commanding  down,  and  presumably  of 
British  origin.  He  claimed  that  this  was  the 
site  of  the  decisive  siege  and  victory  gained  by 
Alfred  over  the  Danes  in  87S,  at  the  place  de- 
scribed by  Asser,  and  the  Saxon  chronicle  as 
"Ethandun."  Mr.  Brock  agreed  that  the  site 
was  Briti-sh,  and  Mr.  Myers,  F.S.A.,  advanced 
the  theory  that  not  only  the  camps  and  stations, 
but  the  reputed  roads  of  the  Romans  were 
merely  utilisationB  of  British  ways  and  stations. 
Mr.  Picton  asked  for  proof  of  this,  either  from 
documents  or  British  remains  found  on  the  roads, 
and  said,  on  the  contrary,  these  roads  agreed  pre- 
cisely with  imdisputed  Roman  works  of  engi- 
neering in  Italy,  France,  and  Germany.  The 
•'  Castle  "  was  then  visited ;  it  occupies  the  crest 
of  a  steep  down,  from  whence  a  wide  view  was 
obtained  to  south  and  west,  to  Landsdown-hill, 
and  Stourton  Church.  On  the  hill  slopes  it  is 
defended  by  a  ditch  and  vallimi,  but  on  the 
north  -  east,  where  the  approach  is  easy, 
there  are  double  ramparts  and  a  largo  outwork 
strengthened  at  the  two  entrances.  Oa  the  slope 
beneath  is  scored  in  the  chalk  the  well-known 
"  White  Horse  of  TTeslliiir;/,"  which  was  recut 
a  century  since,  when  it  was  doubled  iu  size  and 
made  to  face  west  instead  of  east.  The  outline 
is  very  tame  and  prosaic  ;  the  extreme  dimen- 
sions are  170ft.  in  length  by  160ft.  in  height, 
and  since  1873  the  outlines  have  been  maintained 
by  stone  edging. 

On  the  return  journey  Steeple  Aston  Church, 
a  fine  example  of  Late  Perpendicular  work,  with 
lofty  west  tower,  and  pinnacled  and  battlemented 
nave,  aisles,  and  chancel.  The  Rev.  —  Crawley 
explained  that  the  village  was  originally  Staple 
or  Market  Ashton.  The  large  "  steeple,"  from 
which  the  name  is  popularly  derived,  was  formerly 
capped  by  a  spire  Ooft.bigh,  which  was  struck  by 
lightning  in  July  and  October,  1670,  and  de- 
stroyed much  of  the  church.  The  aisles  are 
groined  in  stone,  and  the  nave  in  wood  on  stone 
springers.  Similar  stone  groining  was  added  to 
chancel  when  restored  from  Mr.  Glutton's  designs 
a  few  years  since,  and  the  nave  has  been 
restored  by  Messrs.  Giles  and  Gane.  Near  the 
church  in  the  village-street  is  a  large  cross,  built 
or  rebuilt  in  1G73,  and  finished  above  the  shaft- 
stone  ball  atid  .-.undial.  Kecvil  Chui-ch,  an  Early 
Perpendicular  transepted  building,  with  good 
west  tower,  was  next  seen,  and  in  the  village  a 
well-restored  1.5th-century  half-timbered  house, 
having  a  central  hall,  as  in  the  Potteme  example. 
Opposite  this  was  inspected  the  Manor  House,  the 
seat  of  Mr.  Beach,  M. P.,  was  erected  for  the 
Lambert  family  late  in  the  16th  century,  and 
presents  four  gables  on  the  chief  front,  and  three 
on  each  wing.  The  main  entrance  is  under  a 
lofty  .lacobean  porch,  known  to  have  been  added 
iu  IGll.  The  principal  rooms  are  waiuscotted, 
and  contain  a  large  collection  of  paintings, 
china,  and  old  domestic  fui'niture.  The  garden 
is  of  a  formal  cliaracter,  in  keeping  with  the 
house,  and  is  noteworthy  for  the  numerous  and 
large  clipped  yews.  Time  would  nut  aUow  jus- 
tice to  be  done  to  the  last  church  on  the  pro- 
cramme,  that  of  Poulshot,  which  is  an  interest- 
ing example  of  a  small  unrestored  church,  still 
containing  the  cumbrous  west  galleiy,  the 
wliitewashed  vaulted  ceilings,  and  the  candela- 
bra of  10  years  ago  ;  there  are  Jacobean  pulpit, 
font-cover,  and  chancel-rail,  and  pews  of 
medium  height.  The  incumbent,  the  Rev.  H. 
A.  Olivier,  briefly  indicated  the  chief  features, 
showing  that  it  was  an  E;irly  English  church, 
remodelled  in  the  16th  century,  when  the  north 
aisle  was  reduced  in  width,  the  chancel 
lengthened,  and  two-light  windows  renewed. 

In  the  evening  a  meeting  was  held  at  the 


Town  Hall,  when  papers  were  read  by  Mr.  J. 
A.  Picton,  on  "  The  Ethnology  of  Wiltshire,  as 
illustrated  in  its  Place  Names,"  and  by  Dr. 
Stevens,  on  "Discoveries  of  Palajolithie  Flint 
Implements,  with  Mammalian  Remains  in  the 
Reading  Drift."  Each  gave  rise  to  some  dis- 
cussion, in  which  the  president  (Earl  Nelson), 
Messrs.  Myers,  Wright,  and  others  took  part. 

WEDNESDAY. 

The  day  was  devoted  to  a  long  carriage  ex- 
cursion to  the  mysterious  circles  at  Avebury  and 
to  the  mound  at  Silbury,  declared  to  be  the 
largest  artificial  hill  in  Europe,  wih  a  few  ex- 
ceptions in  Southei'n  Russia.  Lea\'ing  the 
Market-place  at  Devizes  at  9  a.m.,  the  members 
proceeded  to  the  fine  cruciform  church  of  liis/iop 
Cannings,  commenced  at  the  close  of  the  12th 
century,  but  the  nave  was  raised  in  height  by  a 
clerestory  and  aisles,  added  to  it  240  years  later. 
The  nave  is  of  five  bays,  divided  from  the  aisles 
by  cylindrical  piers,  carrying  unmoulded  pointed 
arches  upon  the  plain  central  tower,  and  has  a 
later  stone  spire  set  within  a  poor  parapet.  The 
chancel  is  groined,  is  square-ended,  and  has  a 
Lady-chapel  on  north.  The  south  porch  is  Flow- 
ing Decorated  in  character.  Mr.  Brock  called 
attention  to  the  simple  character  and  deep 
mouldings  of  the  Early  English  work,  and 
showed  that  in  the  chancel  the  lancets  and 
string-course  were  insertions  iu  an  older,  pro- 
bably Saxon,  wall.  Some  discussion  arose  on  a 
peculiar  wooden  stall  in  the  north  transept,  at  the 
back  of  which  is  a  panel  inscribed  with  a  series 
of  short  dedicative  inscriptions  in  Latin.  It  has 
been  called  a  confessional  and  a  meditation  chair ; 
but  Mr.  Brock  showed  that  the  framing  was 
modem,  that  the  painted  panel  was  formerly 
rebated  to  others,  and  that  it  was  probably  part 
of  a  rood-screen,  but  certainly  was  not  till  quite 
recently  a  chair.  After  visiting  the  church,  the 
Wanslli/ke,  which  may  be  traced  through  Wilt- 
shire for  ten  miles,  and  less  perfectly  from  the 
Bristol  Channel,  w-as  visited  at  Shepherd's  shore, 
near  its  intersection  with  the  Roman-road.  This 
earthwork,  considered  by  Dr.  Guest  to  have  been 
the  last  frontier  of  the  province  of  the  Belgo?. 
consists  of  a  rampart  and  ditch,  the  latter  placed 
to  the  north,  clearly  indicating  that  its  defensive 
purpose  was  to  guard  a  people  dwelling  in  the 
south,  and  it  is  carried  in  an  iiTegular  line  along 
the  hills  from  east  to  west.  After  a  discussion 
by  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith,  Messrs.  Picton,  Brock, 
J.  T.  Burges,  and  Morgan,  the  members  proceeded 
across  the  Roman  road,  which  was  shown 
by  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith  to  rim  in  a  direct  line 
for  Silbury,  but  to  turn  abruptly  to  the  south  to 
avoid  it.  At  Avebury  the  plans  by  Dr.  John 
Aubrey  (c.  1660),  Dr.  Stukeley  (c.  1743),  and  Sir 
R.  Colt  Hoare  (c.  1S12),  were  explained  by  the 
Rev.  A.  C.  Smith.  The  interest  attaching  to 
these  old  surveys  and  conjectural  restorations  is 
very  great,  as  the  circle  is  the  site  of  a  compara- 
tively modern  village,  and  has,  therefore,  been 
greatly  injured. 

Mr.  Smith  showed  that  the  inclosure  on  which 
the  members  were  assembled  was  an  outer 
mound,  30ft.  high,  with  deep  ditch  on  inner  side, 
in  all  70ft.  in  height.  Within  this  are  a  few  of 
the  original  ring  of  huge  stones,  which  sur- 
rounded the  smaller  circles,  one  of  which  had  one 
central  stone,  the  other  three  central  stones. 
Two  avenues  once  led  to  south  and  south-west. 
The  stones  were  sarsens,  brought  a  distance  of  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  a  torrent  bed  of  boulders  at 
the  junction  of  the  valley.  The  largest  stone  left 
weighs,  according  to  Mr.  Wm.  Long,  63  tons, 
and  one  of  90  tons  was  destroyed  a  few  years 
ago.  He  claimed  that  this  was  a  more  important 
monument  than  Stonehenge,  although  less 
kno\vn,  and  that  it  was  far  older  was  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  these  were  rude  uuhewn  stones, 
set  on  end,  while  those  at  Stonehenge  exhibit 
marks  of  chiselling.  The  Rev.  Bryan  King 
described  recent  discoveries  of  broken  sarsens, 
pottery,  and  deers'  horns  in  the  inclosure,  and 
Mr.  Picton  gave  an  address,  in  which  he  claimed 
that  this  was  a  great  amphitheatre,  and  that 
these  circles  were  connected  with  the  primeval 
religion  of  the  world.  Mr.  J.  T.  Burges  spoke 
upon  the  earthworks.  Dr.  Stevens  showed  that 
all  these  circles  were  based  on  multiples  of  three, 
and  referred  to  the  mystic  properties  of  the 
number. 

Mr.  Morgan  .suggested  that  ' '  Abury "  was 
derived,  not  from  the  Saxon  ea,  a  river,  but 
from  the  Icelandic  root  aar,  a  year,  and  that  the 
name  meant  a  yearly  assembly  of  people. 
Mr.  Crumiogton    remai'ked    that    the  sarsens 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


009 


■were  remains  of  a  layer  of  sandstone  which  once 
overlaid  the  chalk,  and  regretted  the  removal  of 
so  many  sarsens  from  the  valley  for  building 
purposes,  but  that  had  recently  been  stopped. 
Mr.  Brock  raised  the  theory  that  this  was  a 
temple,  and  that  this  formed  part  of  a  serjient, 
of  which  the  head  exists  on  Overston  HUl,  and 
in  this  Messrs.  Smith  and  Cunnington  concurred. 
It  transpired  that  the  site  has  been  recently 
purchased  by  Sir  John  Lubbock,  M.P.,  to  pre- 
sen'e  it  from  desecration.  The  members  then 
visited  the  principal  stones  in  thevilbigp,  includ- 
ing two  in  a  farmyard,  which  stood  in  the  centre 
of  the  northern  circle,  and  the  two  other 
unusually  large  stones  at  the  south  point 
of  the  outer  ring,  which  indicated  the 
entrance  to  the  Kennet  avenue.  In  the 
afternoon  the  parish -chuch  of  Avebury  was 
visited.  It  is  internally  in  a  white-washed  and 
dilapidated  state,  preparations  having  been 
made  for  restoration  from  tbe  designs  of  Mr.  R. 
J.  Withere,  of  London.  It  has  suffered  much 
from  alteration  effected  by  Mr.  Button,  a 
builder,  of  C'alne,  in  1810,  who  replaced 
Norman  arcades  to  nave  with  pseudo-Classic 
colunms,  but  in  the  present  alterations  traces  of 
the  former  arcade  figured  by  Brit  ton,  and  to  the 
west  of  these  older  and  plain  arches  on  either 
side  ;  the  chancel  was  a  lower  level  than  the 
nave,  as  at  Bradford -on -Avon  and  allother  Saxon 
churches.  Daring  the  work  fragments  of  a 
15th-century  rood-screen,  of  good  design,  was 
found  to  have  been  worked  into  seats  and 
galleries.  Mr.  Withers'  detailed  drawings  and 
restorations  were  publishtd  in  the  Bcitdiso 
News  for  Nov.  25tb,  1879.  Having  seen  Ave- 
bury, the  Manor-house  adjoining,  built  in  1601, 
on  the  site  of  a  small  priory,  and  now  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Kenrm,  now  being  "^ restored  from 
designs  of  Mr.  Ponting,  of  Marlborough,  the 
members  drove  through  the  Kennet  Avenue  to 
the  supposed  head  of  the  serpent  of  stones,  and, 
afterwards,  to  Silbury-hill,  at  both  of  which 
places  further  explan  itions  were  given  by  the 
Rev.  A.  C.  Smith,  and  others.  Afterwards  an 
imperfect  circle  of  very  small  sarsens,  on  a 
down  a  mile  south  of  Silbury  (which  forms  a 
direct  line  with  it  and  Avebury),  was  visited, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith, 
who  discovered  it,  and  pointed  out  the  similarity 
between  it  and  the  small  stone  circles  of  Jutland. 
In  the  evening  a  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Town  Hall,  at  which  Mr.  J.  T.  Burges  read  a 
paper  on  "The  Ancient  Fortitications,  with  Par- 
ticular Reference  to  the  Castle  of  Devizes,"  in 
which,  after  tracing  the  history  of  British 
castles  from  the  rude  mounds  and  earthworks  of 
the  Britons,  ditches  and  palisades  of  the  Saxons, 
and  so  to  the  Norman  castles,  he  showed  that 
many  of  these  mounds  were  inchided,  as  at 
Leicester,  Warwick,  and  other  places,  within  the 
lines  of  the  subsequent  Norman  castle,  which 
without  having  any  keep  or  other  bearing  upon 
thfm  ;  for  instance,  Canterbury  where  the 
"Danejon"  mount  was  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  castle.  He  showed  how  the 
Norman  castles  were  defended  by  stockades  and 
moats.  Coming  to  Wiltshire,  he  showed  that 
the  British  forts  were  taken  and  subsequently 
occupied  by  the  Romans  under  Vespasian  ;  and 
finally  dealt  with  Devizes  Castle,  elucidating  its 
form  by  plans  of  Hcdingham,  Ludlow,  and 
Kenilworth,  &c.,  and  having  drawn  a  sketch 
plan  of  the  building,  traced  its  history  from  the 
date  of  its  erection  on  an  older  mound  by 
Bishop  Roger  of  Sanim ;  its  use  as  a  prison,  the 
seige  it  resisted  in  1643,  and  its  demolition 
three  years  afterwards.  Mr.  Brock  after- 
wards read  a  paper  on  "The  Recent  Dis- 
covery of  a  Viking's  Ship  in  Norway,"  illus- 
tratf  d  by  drawings  and  .specimen  fragments  of  the 
vessel.  Intheafternoon  the  parish-church  of  Ave- 
bury, a  Norman  edifice  with  later  additions,  was 
visited.  The  Perpendicular  rood-loft  was 
discovered  during  a  recent  restoration  to  have 
been  worked  up  into  scats  and  galleries  ;  detailed 
drawings  and  the  proposed  reconstruction  by 
Mr.  R.  J.  Withers,  the  architect  for  the  restora- 
tion, were  published  in  the  BuiLDDto  News  of 
November  2.5,  1879.  Having  seen  Avebury 
House,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Kemm.  the 
members  drove  up  the  Kennet  Avenue  to  Silbury 
Hill  end  the  stone  circle  opposite,  where  further 
explanations  were  given  by  the  Rev.  A.  C. 
Smith  and  others.  In  the  evening  a  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Town  HaU. 

THURSDAY. 

Yesterday  the  programme    provided    for  an 


excursion  from  Chippenham  to  Bradenstoko ' 
Priory,  passing  through  Langley  Burrell, 
Draycot,  Sutton,  Benger,  and  Christian  Mal- 
ford.  At  the  priory  explanations  were  to  be 
given  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Loftus  Brock,  and  carriages 
were  resumed  to  Malmcbbury,  where,  after  a 
luncheon  to  be  given  by  Mr.  W.  Powell,  51. P., 
at  his  reading-rooms  in  the  town,  the  Cross, 
Abbey  House,  and  Abbey  were  to  be  visited. 
We  shall  give  full  particulars  of  the  visit  in  our 
next  issue. 

To-day  (Friday)  Stouehenge  is  to  be  visited, 
a  detour  being  made  en  route  to  see  Amcsbury 
Church  and  Vespasian's  Camp,  and  lectures 
have  been  promited  by  Sir.  William  Long, 
F.S.A.,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Morgan,  F.S. A.  On  Saturday  theproceedingswill 
commence  at  Bromham  Church,  to  be  described 
bytheRev.  E.  B.  Edgell.aRoman  villa  and  pave- 
ment, andsome  Mediicval  houses  being  also  seen  in 
the  village.  At  Zowood  House  the  collections  and 
the  gallery  of  historical  pictures  will  be  inspected, 
by  permission  of  tl>e  Marquis  of  Lansdownc, 
and  after  a  visit  to  Spye  Park  old  gate  the 
carriages  will  be  rcsmned  to  Lacock,  where  the 
remains  of  the  Benedictine  nunnery,  the  parish- 
church  of  St.  Cyriac,  and  the  1-lth-century 
houses  in  the  village  offer  promise  of  an  interest- 
ing termination  to  the  day's  outing.  The 
closing  meeting  of  the  Congress  is  to  be  held  in 
the  evening,  but  supplementary  excursions  are 
arranged  for  Monday  and  Tuesday.  On  the 
former  day  Great  Chalfield  House,  WraxaU, 
and  Bradford-ou-Avon  are  to  be  visited,  and  on 
the  latter  the  towns  of  Marlborough  and  Milden- 
hall  will  be  seen,  the  return  by  carriage  through 
Savemake  Forest.  We  shall  resume  our  report 
next  week. 


c 


THE  NEW  LAW  COURTS. 
CONSIDERABLE   progress   has  been  made 


in  the  main  fa(;ade  of  this  building.  The 
Strand  front  begins  to  assume  a  more  coherent 
appearance  among  the  maze  of  scaffolding,  and 
it  affords  some  idea  of  the  completed  design. 
The  long  stone-fronted  facade  to  the  west  has 
also  risen  to  its  fuU  elevation  in  some  parts,  and 
the  masses  of  its  towers  or  projections  make  an 
imposing  effect.  More  imiforraity  of  features 
marks  this  front ;  the  ■ndndows  are  generally 
narrow  lights  grouped  together,  having  trefoiled 
heads,  and  the  chimney-stacks  break  the  long 
roofing,  and  display  considerable  variety  of  treat- 
ment. But  it  is  in  Carey- street  that  the  architect 
seems  to  have  displayed  the  resources  of  his 
fancy  to  the  utmost.  The  frr  ntuge  is  broken  up 
into  large  masses,  th  ■  wiadjws  are  varied  in 
character,  and  the  ;  .bks  are  enriched  with 
sculptured  ornament  of  spirited  d;sign,  espe- 
cially in  the  spandrels  and  windows.  A  remark- 
ablefeatirre  in  this  fa(,ade  is  the  gable  facing 
Serle-street,  upon  the  apex  of  which  a  statue 
of  Moses  has  been  placed.  The  great  Jewish  law- 
giver stands  upon  a  pedestal  which  rises  out  of  the 
gable  ;  he  is  shown  bareheaded,  with  the  Tables 
of  the  Law  in  his  left  arm,  massively  draped. 
Figures  on  gable  summits  arc  not  common  in 
England,  and  we  might  fairly  question  the  taste 
of  perching  a  bareheaded  statue,  single  and 
exposed,  upon  a  pinnacle  overlooking  the  chim- 
neys and  roofs  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  were  it  not 
that  the  precincts  are  conseerattd  to  the  law. 
One  of  our  contemporaries  has  suggested  that 
the  statue  would  have  been  less  exposed  to  the 
weather,  and  more  easily  seen,  if  placed  in  a 
niche  ;  but  we  think  that  even  the  latter  position 
would  be  unsatisfactory. 


BATALHA. 

BATALIIA,  though  little  more  than  a  small 
village,  contains,  according  to  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  Giinrclian,  the  finest  group  ot 
ecclesiastical  buildings  in  Portugal.  There  are 
not  many  finer  groups  in  Europe.  At  the  fii>t 
gUmpse,  the  forest  of  gables  and  pinnacles  and 
battlements  and  flying  buttresses  reminded  us 
of  Milan.  Their  date  fills  up  nearly  the  whole 
interval  between  the  years  inSS  and  l-'ili.  Tli-- 
central  building  is  the  church,  which  wa- 
finished  in  1110.  The  nave  is  very  effective 
from  its  height  and  simplicity.  There  is  no  tri- 
forium  ;  but  the  pier  arches  are  so  lofty  "J.ift 
as  to  make  the  want  hardly  felt.  The  choir  :■ 
short,  and  ends  in  an  apse.  There  are  sm:.. 
chapels,  containing  tombs,  at  the  east  of  c;i' 
transept.     The  general  effect  of  the  church  u 


not  altogether  pleasing;  and  the  windows  have 
btcn  filled  with  niincrublo  coloured  glmm, 
arranged  in  kuloidoscopic  piittcniH.  But  thu 
deficiencies  of  the  church  itself  nru  more  tliau 
made  up  for  by  the  beauty  of  its  adjuncto.  From 
the  south  side  of  tbe  nave,  ti.ward-i  the  wist  end, 
is  the  entrance  to  the  chajxl  of  the  founder.  It 
forms  a  tquarc  of  COft.,  with  n  ctntral  octni^nal 
lantern  of  40ft.  in  diameter.  Tlii.i  last  iH  nup- 
portul  by  eight  splmdid  columnii  carrying 
stilted  arches,  with  capitals  of  exqui»ito  inUnge. 
The  mouldings  of  the  arches  arc  piiked  out  iit 
various  colours.  Tlio  vaulting  is  very  iK'autifui. 
Indeed,  nothing  can  well  exceed  the  grace  of  the 
design  and  tho  perfection  of  workinaniibip  in 
this  lantern.  lu  the  oiitro  of  the  llo<jr  ntunda 
the  tomb,  of  great  height,  sunnounted  by  tho 
figures,  larger  than  life,  hand  in  hand,  of  Dom 
Jofio  and  his  Queen.  A  nobler  nionuincnt  con 
hardly  be  found  anywh(rc.  Tliu  .»outh  niilo  of 
the  chapel  is  occupied  by  tho  tombu,  nliw  of 
great  beauty,  of  other  mVtnbiTu  of  thi>  Roynl 
Family.  The  cast  side  has  four  altani,  and  lh« 
west  is  taken  up  with  rece.^ses,  less  elaborately 
adorned,  in  which  other  tombs  were  probably 
intended  to  be  placed.  This  chuiK-l  uluno  in 
worth  taking  a  journey  to  see.  From  tho  opjio- 
site  side  of  tho  nave  tho  cloisters  are  entered. 
The  redundance  of  ornament,  and  the  way  in 
which  the  architect  and  the  carver  have  run  riot 
in  every  fonn  and  variety  of  <juaint  and  elegant 
device,  are  man-cllous.  Much  of  thia,  to 
modern  taste,  seems  overdone.  But  there  aro 
parts,  especially  the  portal  leading  to  tho 
chapter-house,  which  are  in  the  purest  stylo  of 
Gothic  art.  The  effect  of  tho  whole  is  magnili* 
cent  in  the  extreme. 

But  still  more  striking  is  tho  Unflnijhed 
Chapel  —  the  "  Capella  luipetfeita  "— ot  tho 
extreme  end  of  tho  church.  It  oceupico  a  Mini- 
lar  po.sition  to  that  of  Henry  VII. 'h  Chapel  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  though  the  intended  com- 
munication with  the  church  has  never  been 
carried  out.  It  is  octagonal,  and  of  nobla 
design  and  exquisite  workmanship.  It«  ireiitern 
arch  excels  in  elaborate  richness  anything  even 
in  the  cloisters.  The  walls  were  never  carried 
up  farther  than  the  springing  of  the  vaulting. 
Like  Henry  VII. "s  Chapel,  it  seems  to  havo 
been  intended  for  a  Ruyal  burial-place.  T<jo 
much  praise  cannot  be  given  to  the  luring  caro 
with  which  the  whole  building  is  licing  restored, 
by  simply  replacing  worn-out  ,st<'nes  and  injared 
details  with  workmanship  hardly  less  skilled 
than  that  of  the  original  buildings. 

THE  PROPER  SIZE  OF  HOUSE-SEWERS. 

V  SERIES  of  observations  has  been  made  by 
Sewer  Commissioner  Mnnro.  nf  St    I.^-ni^ 
(U.S.A.),  to   determine   t! 
sewers  to  carry  off  hou- 
irrespcctive  of  surface  dr.i::. 
The    present    sewerage    svs..  i.i 
provides  for  all  the  drainage   Ir 
cause;  but  it  has  been  found  eip 

towards  immediate  exUnsion,  to:.:: 

additions    to    the    sv.Htem    for    the   jutpo^.^  ..f 

conveving    housc-dr.iiu:i-e    alone      A   certain 

neighbourhood    was    scUctcd,    throuL-h    whioh 

Compton    Avenue    sewer,    with   a   diameter  of 

7 'ft     passes.     On  this  are.i  of   lli1    acr«  wtra 

1 ':!70  houses,  population  11,000.     Tho  ohwrv*- 

tions  were  taken  bv  c.nstrurtinp  a  .m.ill  dan, 

with  a  section  of  IJiu.  pipe  runn.ng  through  it 

on  the  bottom  of  thu-  .V  ■  i       -^  ' '.     '  '^.'~    *"■ 

sewer  was  made  to  : 

and  it  was  found  v 

when  the  flow  is  i- 

was  only   Glin.  deep   n 

weather  and"  soil  were  dr> 

nothing  but  the  wostc  froi; 

into  the  sewer.     Another  - 

bv   l;ft.t  in  ft  f»'»''y  '^"'''' 

I0.5  acres,  with  the  result   : 

diameter  gave  a  maximum 

and  a  minimum  of  liiu  ,  f 

Miy,    .^^in.       While    the 

shown    seem*    small,    it,  .    .   .,. 

consumption  equal  to  ab  .  ' 

per  day  for  every  mnn,  * 


E    I.  lUiiipK-r.     r.ii.-.'-r: 


210 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Wlat  is  a  Brick  ! 

The  Difficulties  of  the  Architects  of  London    ... 

A  Recent  Visit  to  Russia    

The  Lat«  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Wyatt    

Arehitectm-al  Notes  from  Norfolk 

The  British  .\rohw9logical  Association  at  Devizes 

Tlie  New  Law  Courts 

Batalha    

Tlie  Proper  Size  of  House-Sewers 

Our  Lithographic  Ulustratdons 

The  "  BriLDiso  News  "  Designing  Club    

Chips 

Public  Works  in  Spain 

Builders  and  Quantities     

Drainage  of  Workhouses 

Our  Commonplace  Column 

Architectural  and  Archfeological  Societies 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

latercommunicatiou    

Parliamentary  Notes   ,     

Legal  Intelligence 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitarj- Matters      

OurOfficeTable    

Trade  News     

Tenders     


CjypEE-PALACE 

— LA  PORTE  GUII 
SCHOOLS,  NEWCAS 
LAGE  OLrB,  WOOBl 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


-'OBKMES'S  HALL,  KENSAL-GREEN'. 
AUME,  CHABTRES.— BELL  TEBBACF, 
.E-ON'-TVNE. —  NEW  WORKMEN'S  VIL- 
N-GBEEN.— FOUB  HOUSES  AT  STONEY- 

SHOPS  AT  CARDIFF.  — PREMISES  IN 
OXFOBD-STREET. 


Ojr  Lithographic  ILLUSTRATIONS 


red  brick  and  stone,  with  stock-brick  wall-face. 
I  The  roof  will  be  covered  with  tiles. 

LA  POETE   GUIXLAUSrE,    CHABTKE3. 

The  accompanying  sketch  entitled,  "  La  Porto 
Guillaumc,Chartres,"  was  made  at  Chartres  last 
May.  La  Porte  Guillaume  is  the  only  one 
remaining  of  the  city  gates  of  Chartres.  The 
central  part  is  buUt  of  heavy  stone  well  laid  ;  the 
towers  are  of  much  lighter  work,  though 
considerably  thicker,  and  are  plastered.  The 
original  moat  still  remains,  though  now  spanned 
by  a  stone  arch  instead  of  a  drawbridge.  It 
was  at  this  gate  that  tradition  says  the  Virgin 
appeared  just  in  time  to  drive  back  the  forces  of 
the  Prince  of  Cond(3  and  sarc  the  city.  A  fresco 
in  the  cathedral  commemorates  the  event.  Vt  e 
are  indebted  to  Mr.  Cass  Gilbert,  architect,  of 
•2G,  Bedford-place,  for  the  drawing  from  which 
our  illustration  is  photo-lithographed. 

NEWCiSTLE-OX-TVXE.— WESTJIOr.ELiN-Il-EOAD  OE 
BELL-TEEEACE   SCHOOLS. 

This  group  of  schools  was  one  of  the  fh-st  erected 
by  the  board.  It  is  carried  out  entirely  in  stone, 
with  Ashlar  dressings  and  slated  roofs.  Accom- 
modation is  pro-v-ided  for  1,000  children  in  the 
manner  shown  upon  the  plan.  The  leading  idea 
of  the  arrangement  was  to  place  the  class-rooms 
in  such  a  manner  that  complete  supervision 
would  be  obtained  by  the  head-master,  without 
traversing  corridors  or  leaving  the  main  room. 
Cap-rooms,  teachers'  private  rooms,  and  the 
usual  accessories  are  provided.  The  cost  of  the 
buildings  was  about  £9,600.  Messrs.  N.  and  K. 
Reed  were  the  contractors,  and  the  architect 
was  Mr.  Thomas  OUver,  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

^'EW  WOEKJIEN'S  VH-LAGE   club,   WOOBtntN-GEEEX. 

This  building  is  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Arthur 
Vernon,  architect,  of  High  Wycombe.  No 
further  particulars  have  reached  us. 


and  folcUng  doors.     The  basement  is  lighted  in 
front     by    windows    under    hall    boards,    and 
Messrs.  Hayward  Bros.'   prismatic  lights   have 
been  fitted  over  site  of    area,  so  as  to  throw  as 
much  light  as  possible  to    back   of   vaults      A 
portion  of  Ughts  open  on  rollers,   givmg  a  large 
and  useful  space  for  lowering  or  raising  extra - 
sized  crates.     The  basement  and  ground-stones 
are  diHded  from  each  other  by  fireproof  floors. 
The   upper  part   of   the  building   is    arranged 
as   dwcllinss   in    flats,    consisting   of  drawing- 
room,    dining-room,    bedrooms,   and  bathroom, 
with  usual   oflices  to  each,  and  accommodation 
for  a  "  porter  "  is  procured  by  a  mezzamne  be- 
tween ground  and  first  stories  out  of  No.  89,  of 
which  Messrs.  Osier  have  a  lease.     The  ware- 
house in  basement,  the  shop   on   gi-ound  floor, 
and  the  flats  in  upper  part  of  the  building,  are 
approached  by  separate  entrances  from  Newman- 
street.     The  facing  is  of  red  brick,   with  terra- 
cotta enrichments   between  string-courses,    and 
Portland  stone  dressings.     The  ground- story  i^ 
of  red  Mansfield,  the  doors  and  windows  are  ot 
wainscot,  and  the  whole  of  windows  of  ground 
and  upper  stories  are  glazed  with  plate-glass. 
Messrs:    Wall    Bros.,     of    Dale-road,    Kentish 
Town,  have  carried  out   the   work,  at  a  cost  ot 
£7,800,  from  designs  prepared  by  Messrs.  lield 
and  Burnet. 


THE 


COFFEE-PALACE  AXD  WOEKMEn's  HALL,  KEXSAL 
GEEEX. 

I'niil  within  the  last  few  years  two  farmhouses 
alone  stood  amidst   the   green  pastures  south  of 
the  Great  Western  Railway   at   Kensal  Green. 
Narrow  bridges,  with  gates  across  them,  spanned 
the  railway  and  the  more  northemly  canal.     A 
road    branching     from     the     Harrow-road     at 
Paddington  kdlhrough  quainlly.named  cottages 
to  what  was  then  the  Great  AVestern  gas-works. 
A  couple  of  footpaths  traversed  the  farms  north- 
■wards,  from  Notting-hill  to  the  cemetery.     The 
farms   have   now   been   displaced  by  a  vast  net- 
work of  new  streets ;  the   fields  has  been  turned 
into  building-sites  ;    the    footways    have    been 
diverted  and  converted  into  wide  roads  full  of 
bustle    and    activity ;    and    one    of    the    finest 
thorougfares  in  the  metropolis,  which  begins  at 
the  main  Bayswater-road   and   passes   over  the 
crown    of    Notting-hUl,    has    been     continued 
northwards  to  Kensal  Green   and   the   Harrow- 
road.     The   old   narrow   bridge   over  the  Great 
Western   Railway   has  been   replaced  by  a  new 
one   of   appropriate    size    and    character.     The 
corre-pouding  one  over  the  canal,  some  300  yards 
further  north,  has  been  most  wisely  condemned, 
and  a  new  iron  structure  40ft.  wide,  designed  by 
Mr.  Henry  Vignollcs,  will,  in  a  few  months,  be 
besun.     The  old  Plough-lane  will  be  widened, 
and   thus  the    northern    outlet   of   Kensington 
parish  wUl    bo    completed.     Between  these  two 
bridges,  opposite  the  gas-works,  at  the  highest 
spot  in  the  whole  parish  and  for  miles  around, 
a  strip  of  ground,  with  a  frontage   of   some   200 
yards  to  the  main  road,  has   for   years  remained 
vacant.     The  district  being  one  occupied  almost 
entirely  by   the   labouring  classes,  the  idea  was 
started  of' erecting  there  a  building  devoted  to 
the   reasonable    requirements    of    their    leisure 
hours,  and  a  series    of    suitable    dwellings  for 
them  with  all  the  latest  sanitary  improvements. 
The  .site  was   purchased  for   the   purpose  by  a 
gentleman  in  the  vicinity,  and  it  is  now  being 
cleared  for  the  proposed  buildings.     The  Coft'ee 
Palace  and  Hall,  shown  in  our  engraving,  will 
be  built  at  the  point   directly  opposite  the  new- 
bridge  over  the  canal.     The  arrangement  of  the 
plan   was   governed   to  a  great   extent   by   the 
lieculiar  sha'peof  thesite  and  by  the  difference  in  the 
levels— the  roadway   falling   considerably  from 
he  front  elevation  to  the  rear.     The  difliculties 
have,  however,    been   fairly   overcome,  and,  in 
some  cases,  utilised.     The  plans  at  the  bottom  of 
the   page   explain   themselves.      The   materials 
used  on  the  fronts  will  be  carved  and  moiddod 


FOUE  HOUSES,    STSNEYGATE,    LEICESTEE. 

These  houses  are  now  in  com-se  of  erection  by 
Messrs.  Thos.  Bland  and  Sons,  for  Mr.  C.  S. 
Robinson,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Isaac  Barra- 
dale,  F.R.I.B.A  ,  Leicester.  The  whole  of  the 
external  work  is  faced  with  Parry's  thin  Wood- 
viUe  strawberrj'-coloured  bricks,  and  the  roof  is 
covered  with  Broseley  tUes.  There  are  large 
kitchens,  pantries,  and  the  usual  servants'  ofiices 
in  the  basement  (which,  in  the  lower  two  houses, 
is  above  the  ground-line).  The  ground-floor  of 
each  house  contains  dining-room,  drawing-room, 
and  breakfast-room,  and  a  servants'  stairs  in  the 
two  end  houses.  The  first  floor:  two  bedrooms, 
drawing-room,  bath,  w.c,  &c.  The  second 
floor  :  large  balcony,  three  bedrooms,  and 
dressing-room ;  and  in  the  attic  are  two  large 
bedrooms,  store  closets,  and  cistern- rooms.  A 
lift  is  in  communication  from  basement  to  ground 
floor. 

SHOPS     AT     CAEDIFF. 

This  block  of  buildings  is  now  in  course  of 
erection  for  Mi-.  C.  Kyte,  on  the  corner  of  Bute 
and  Customhouse  streets,  Cardiff.  The  site  is 
part  of  the  surplus  land  belonging  to  the  Cor- 
poration of  Cardiff  through  their  last  Improve- 
ment Act,  whereby  numerous  old  rookeries 
were  demolished,  and  a  fine  new  street  opened, 
which  wiU  be,  in  a  few  years,  one  of  the  finest 
streets  in  the  town.  With  reference  to  the  ma- 
terials, the  lower  part  of  the  shops  is  to  be  built 
of  Bath  stone  and  Radyr-stone  plinth ;  the 
upper  part  is  to  be  faced  with  white  brick,  re- 
lieved by  red-brick  cornices,  string-courses, 
hood-mouldings,  &c.,  from  the  Pencoed  Brick 
and  Tile  Works;  the  bay-windows  are  con- 
structed of  Bath  stone,  with  the  exception  of 
coniices,  wluch  are  brick,  and  are  supported  by 
Aberdeen  red  granite  columns.  The  contract 
has  been  let  to  Messrs.  Jones  Brothers,  Cardift", 
for  £2,500.  "The  architect  is  Mr.  John  P.  Jones, 
Park- street,  Cardiff. 


BUILDING  NEWS"   DESIGNING 
CLrB. 

AFTER  a  careful  examination  of  the  merits 
of  the  leading  competitors,  we  have  the 
pleasure  of  pubUshing  the  names  of  those  we 
think  are  entitled  to  receive  the  three  prizes.  At 
the  same  time,  we  cannot  avoid  mentioning  tlie 
almost  equal  merit  shown  in  the  designs  contri- 
buted by  the  two  foremost  competitors  ;  but  as 
the  drawing  of  "Alfred"  has  been  throughout 
more  careful,  we  place  him  first. 

1st  Prize,  £10  10s.—"  AHred"  (Arthur  Keen, 
12,  Cathcart  HiU,  Junction-road,  N.)        _ 

2nd  Prize,  £5  .5s.— "Edwin ;'  (Edwin  G. 
Hardy,  17,  Brunswick-gardens,  Kensington,  W  .) 

3rd  Prize,  £3  3s.-"  Sub  Silentio"  (W.  OUver 
Mackay,   13,    Sommerhill-street,  Newcastle-on- 

^he  foUowing  competitors  are  highly  com- 
mended:   ^^  ,,     „     -.  TJ     , 

"  Sub  Rosa  "  (.'vlberi:  Howell,  8,  Upper  Bed- 
ford-place, RusseU-square).  ,i-ii„„j. 

"Binny"  (Frank  Bindloss,  The  Midlands, 
CheadleHulme,  Cheshire). 

"Honey  Dew"  (Herbert  W.  Railton,  bt. 
Alban's  View,  Blackburn,  Lancashire). 

"  Jack"  (J.  Holdgate,  Lower  Clapton). 

"PupilJ."  (J.  B.  Hikens,  Norwood,  near 
Liverpool).  ^      ci.     i,     > , 

"No.   90"    (.Arthur   Turner,    St.    Stephens, 

Norwich).  ,    .       ^-l        

We  also  mention  the  names  of  six  other  com- 
petitors whose  persistent  endeavours  and  steady 
improvement  call  for  prais?. 

"  Ap  Adam"  (A.  West  Mabson,  Elhott-road, 
Crooks  Moor,  Sheffield). 

"  Castello"  (F.  H.  MulUs,  Manor  House,  lar 
Colton,  Northampton). 

"Motto  J.  L."  (J.  Lord,  jun.,  Alma-place, 
Brighouse).  ^^  ,, 

"Clansman"    (W.  D.   Amos,  Neweastle-on- 

^Fleur  de  Lis"  (W.  Martin,  Venice  Villa, 
Ilfracombe,  N.  Devon.) 

"BursweU"  (G.  S.  French,  Sidney-street, 
North  Shields). 


PEKjnSES     in     NEWJUN-STEEET,     OXFOED-STEEET. 

The  premises  Nos.  89a,  90,  and  91,  Newman- 
strcct.  have  been  recently  completed  for  Messrs. 
F.  and  C.  Osier,  glass-manufacturers,  of  Bir- 
mingham and  London.  The  basement  and 
ground-floor  will  be  occupied  by  them  for  busi- 
ness purposes,  the  former,  extending  to  back  of 
vaults,  being  connected  with  theu-  present  ware- 
house, and  the  shop  in  ground-floor,  with  an 
intermediate  showroom  at  back,  communicating 
with  their  premises  in  Oxford-street  by  openings 
in  party-walls  fitted   with  wrought-iron  sliding 


CHIPS. 

The  iron  shutters  at  Child's  Bank,  Temp  e  Bar, 
have  been  supplied  by  Messrs.  Salmon  Barnes, 
and  Co.,  of  Ulverston ;  the  shutters  have  been  made 
of  their  best  quality  curvilinear  iron,  worked  by 
patent  balance- weight  motion,  and  adapted  tor 
raising  and  lowering  from  the  inside.  The  same 
firm  are  the  contractors  for  the  shutters  for  the 
shops  and  stalls  of  the  Dublin  South  City  Markets. 

A  new  Episcopal  church  is  being  erected  at  Dun- 
dee. The  plans  have  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Alex. 
Ross,  architect,  Inverness,  and  the  cost  is  esti- 
mated at  £2,500.  The  church,  which  will  provide  ac- 
commodation for  between  250  and  300  persons,  is  in 
the  Early  Gothic  style,  with  a  circular  tower  lOft. 
high. 

A  presbytery  and  sacristy  is  to  be  built  at  South 
Bank,  near  Middlesbrough,  for  the  Eev.  Thomas 
Holland.  New  schools,  to  accommodate  2o0 
children,  will  subsequently  follow.  Martin  Carr, 
of  Sheffield,  is  the  architect. 


The  Building  Rews,  Aug-20.  I<S30. 


^.  ,1.      .4.  Mi- 


:  .(illli'^il 


Ato.  20,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS, 


223 


PT^BLIC  WORKS  IN  SPAIN. 

THAT  tlie  public  works  of  Spain  sliould  be 
insufficient,  and  badly  regulated,  seems 
to  ie  a  matter  of  course.  "With  this  people, 
■wliose  defioiency  in  administrative  ability  makes 
thfir  great  coimtry  an  unwieldy,  disunited 
group  of  provinces  ;  whose  want  of  probity  makes 
constitutional  government  a  farce  :  and  whose 
energy-lacking  character  looks  upon  civilisation 
principally  as  so  much  more  of  luxury  for  those 
who  have,  or  can  get,  money  to  purchase  it — 
this  state  of  things  is  only  what  is  to  be  ex- 
pected. Except  in  those  localities  where  foreign 
intercourse,  or  a  more  progressive  race  than  the 
average,  prevails ;  public  works  tardily  follow 
the  demands  of  the  country,  rather  than  lead  or 
develop  its  resources.  There  is  movement — 
progi-css,  I  suppose  it  may  be  called — but  it  is  a 
progress  reluctantly  yielding  to  the  eompiUsion 
of  the  cirilisation  of  more  energetic  nations. 
Still  it  is  not  fair  to  judge  Spain  simply  by  com- 
parison with  other  more  highly  civilised  coun- 
tries of  Western  Europe.  She  is  not  capable  of 
the  same  development  as  arc  our  own  and  some 
other  favoured  lands.  The  extreme  cUmates — 
the  enervating  summers  and  tempestuous  winters 
— the  barrenness  of  the  flood-washed  sand  and 
roek  soils,  and  the  intractable  moiuitainous 
character  of  a  large  portion  of  the  surface  in 
certain  districts — render  their  being  brought  into 
a  condition  such  as  England  or  Belgium  enjoys 
out  of  the  question.  It  is  not  just,  then,  to 
estimate  Spain's  capability  of  supporting  a 
population,  or  her  proper  proportion  of  roads  and 
railways,  by  computation  of  her  thousands  of 
square  miles,  with  such  standards  as  these. 

Tlie  roads,  for  example,  are,  from  this  point 
of  view,  very  inadequate  ;  yet,  for  the  popula- 
tion and  the  purposes  it  has  to  serve,  the  system 
is  tolerably  good.  I  think  the  high  roads  are 
now,  especially  if  the  condition  of  other  things  be 
considered,  very  satisfactory.  They  are  fairly 
well  engineered  ;  with,  generally,  good  working 
gradients.  The  embankments,  cuttings,  biidges, 
and  occasional  tunnels,  are  kept  in  good  order 
by  a  regular  permanent  staff  of  workmen,  and 
the  nucadam  surface  of  broken  limestone  or 
granite  is  also  well  kept.  The  "  diligeneias," 
which  fire  not  themselves  models  of  utility  or 
good  management,  have  little  to  complain  of  as 
to  their  roads.  Most  of  these  Tehicles  now  ply 
as  feeders  to  the  railways,  in  correspondence 
with  the  trains ;  with  consequently  a  greater 
regard  for  punctuality  than  formerly.  In  some 
cases,  too,  the  new  lines  of  railway  are  com- 
menced from  both  ends  at  once,  and  portions  are 
opened  as  they  are  completed  ;  with  a  connecting 
service  of  "diligeneias,"  gi-aduaUy  shortening, 
and  finally  disappearing  altogether.  It  is  not 
long  since  the  route  to  Granada  was  traversed 
thus  :  and,  at  present,  the  traffic  from  Oviedo  to 
Leon,  and  from  Leon  westward  to  Lugo,  has  to 
use  the  same  broken  means  of  transport. 

As  new,  or  even  growing  cities,  are  in  the 
interior  rarities,  nearly  all  the  highway  system 
is  ancient.  I  did  not  see  or  hear  of  any  alto- 
gether new  high  road  ;  but  improvement  works 
are  to  be  seen  here  and  there.  The  approaches 
to  some  towns,  upon  the  elevated  sites  favoured 
by  their  founders,  the  Moors,  which  are  subjects 
requiring  some  consideration,  have  been  or  are 
being  improved.  These  ascents  are  sometimes 
so  great  as  to  involve  zig-zags  and  detours  of  as 
much  as  a  mile  in  length.  Of  course  the  im- 
provements are  such  in  a  utilitarian,  but  not, 
by  any  means,  in  the  picturesque  sense.  At 
Toledo,  the  new  road  from  the  station,  after 
crossing  the  river  by  the  old  bridge  "Alcantara" 
and  making  a  ciremt  of  the  eastern  end  of  the 
town,  makes  a  zigzag  (always  rising)  towards 
the  Puerta  del  Sol.  But  it  runs  past  this  struc- 
ture and  alongside  the  fragment  of  the  old  road, 
instead  of  through  it.  And,  artistically  speak- 
ing, the  grand  old  gate  seems  insulted  by  the 
disregard  for  its  purpose.  At  Segovia  similar 
works  upon  the  principal  approach  were  exe- 
cuted some  time  back.  And  at  Zamora,  Toro, 
and  other  elevated  towns,  a  reform  in  the 
entrance  roads  has  been  attendant  upon  the 
increased  traffic,  brought  by  the  railway.  At 
Avila  the  road  from  the  direction  of  Segovia 
which  passes  under  the  walls  of  the  town  to  the 
bridge,  is  now  being  reconstructed  at  different 
levels  and  gradients ;  and  although  there  are 
no  cuttings  of  any  great  depth,  yet  the  granite 
rock  which  crops  up  through  the  thin  soil 
necessitates  a  great  deal  of  labour  in  wedging, 
blasting,  &c. 


I  may  note  here  the  awakening  to  the  useful- 
ness of  trees,  which  is  evident  in  some  places. 
Spain  is  sadlj'  deficient,  generally  speaking,  in 
this  respect ;  partly,  perhajis,  because  some  sort 
of  irrigation  is  almost  always  necessary.  But 
one  can  see  now  in  many  situations  near  the 
large  towns,  lately-planted  trees,  wliich  pro- 
mise to  greatly  improve  the  parched  dusty  roads  — 
notably,  for  numbers,  near  Burgos,  where  upon 
the  waste  Lands,  bordering  on  the  river  (which 
like  most  Spanish  streams,  shows  a  greed  for 
space  out  of  all  proportion  to  its  volume),  there 
are  some  splendid  "  alamedas"  or  gi'ovcs  which 
ha\e  been  quite  lately  extended.  These  trees 
are  principally  varieties  of  the  poplar  species. 
But,  in  many  localities,  the  elm  flourishes  well 
if  supplied  with  water. 

Some  other  important  works,  now  in  progress, 
are  the  improvement  of  the  internal  thorough- 
fares of  all  cities.  In  those  few  which  are  pro- 
gressive, there  are  one  or  more  new  broad  streets, 
either  intersecting  the  denser  neighbourhoods  or 
extending  the  town  toward  a  suburb.  Some  of 
these  streets  I  mentioned  in  connection  with 
House-building.  But  I  reserved  the  notice  I 
wish  to  make  of  the  extension  of  Barcelona,  as 
belonging  rather  to  the  series  of  public  works 
than  to  simple  house-building. 

Barcelona,  the  capital  of  Catalonia  (called  by 
Ford  the  Lancashire  of  Spain),  overlooks  the 
Mediterranean  toward  the  east.  It  is  extending 
with  London-like  rapidity  over  its  valley,  to- 
ward the  hills,  on  the  south  and  west  sides.  In 
the  south,  under  the  hill  and  fortress,  which 
command  the  town,  is  arising  a  new  bourgeoise 
quarter  with  wide  rectangularly-planned  streets 
and  lofty  houses.  To  the  south-west,  along  the 
path  of  the  Spanish  railway,  is  a  busy  suburb 
of  trade  and  manufactures.  Westward,  at  a 
distance  of  a  mile  or  more  from  the  former 
boundary  of  the  town,  lies  the  suburban  town  of 
Gracia,  at  the  base,  and  on  the  lower  slopes  of 
breezy  hills,  upon  which  villas  are  arising  in  all 
directions.  Gracia  is  now  connected  with 
Barcelona  by  a  fine  avenue  "El  Paseo  de 
Gracia,"  and  as  this  is  a  good  representative  of 
the  modem  Spanish  favourite  type  of  principal 
thoroughfare,  I  will  describe  it  in  detail. 

It  has  first  a  broad  central  footwalk — the 
scene  of  the  all-popular  evening  promenade — 
fully  50ft.  wide ;  then  on  each  side  a  good 
carriage  roadway  (which,  in  this  instance,  has 
the  tramway  along  its  inner  edge),  and  be- 
yond are  the  usual  footways,  also  liberally  wide. 
Each  of  these  divisions  is  lined  with  rows  of 
trees,  and  sometimes,  as  at  Zaragoza,  evergreen 
hedges  are  added.  The  effect  is  very  agreeable. 
Of  course,  the  amount  of  land  necessary  is  rather 
extravagant,  and  where  (as  is  generally  the  case 
in  England)  there  is  much  cross  traffic,  the  cen- 
tral footway  would  be  too  much  intersected  by 
crossings.  But,  for  Spanish  conditions,  it  is 
very  suitable  and  good.  It  affords  a  curious 
contrast  between  the  ancient  and  modem 
methods  of  resisting  the  heat  of  the  climate.  In 
this,  foliage  replaces  the  sheltering  comices  and 
closely  opposed  walls  by  which  the  Moors  and 
their  contemporaries  sought  the  necessary  shade. 
And  the  airiness  is,  of  course,  much  more  salu- 
brious. The  "Rambia" — the  older  main 
thoroughfare  of  Barcelona — is  also  adorned  with 
noticeable  trees.  They  are  splendid  lofty 
planes,  untrained  and  unlopped,  except  so  far  as 
is  necessary  for  their  proper  care  ;  and  they 
show,  I  think,  to  great  advantage  over  the  con- 
ventional cones  of  foliage  wliich  are  generally 
considered  proper  for  town  streets.  A  great 
number  of  the  frontages  on  the  "Pasco  de 
Gracia"  are  already  filled,  and  the  remainder 
seem  to  be  going  fairly  well. 

The  by-roads  of  Spain  are  simply  as  bad  as 
they  can  be  ;  sometimes  spread  over  a  hundred 
feet  of  ground,  by  the  attempts  of  drivers  to 
escape  the  mud  or  dust,  and  at  others  sunk  deep 
in  a  cutting,  formed  by  the  repeated  chumings 
of  wheels  and  washings  of  trespa.'sing  ri\-ulcts. 
It  is  very  true  in  Spain,  the  national  proverb 
wliich  says,  "  There  is  no  .short  cut  without 
laboiu'." 

The  railways  also  are  bad.  One  cannot  even 
grant  them  the  moderate  approval  which  the 
high  roads  may  claim.  The  country  is  often 
very  difficult,  calling  for  all  the  engineer's  skill 
and  ingenuity,  and,  as  usual,  in  mountainous 
districts  steep'  gradients,  sharp  curves,  and  long 
detours  are  necessary.  Cuttings,  even  sh.allow 
ones,  involve  a  large  amount  of  blasting  in  the 
hardest  rock-s — granite,  limestones,  &c.,  or,  in 
treacherous  soft  sands,  careful  provision  has  to 


be  made  for  the  escape  or  diversion  of  the  sur- 
face water.  EmbanKments  generally  necessi- 
tate provisions  of  more  magnitude  tliau  we  are 
familiar  with,  for  the  stream  in  the  traversed 
valley,  which,  although  in  summer  nlmost  a  dry 
gravel-bed,  is  probably  a  powerful  flood  in 
winter  and  spring. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  Spaniali 
r.ailways  traverse  a  country  flat  as  the  sea.  la 
cither  circumstances,  the  ways  and  acichsorics 
are  in  bad  condition.  With  very  few  and  small 
exceptions,  tliey  are  single  linos  with  loops  at 
stations.  Some  few  railways,  however,  have 
been  constructed  with  tunnels,  embanknipnts, 
4.C.,  of  the  necessary  width  for  tlie  second  lino 
of  rails.  The  metals  used  are  flat  botlum 
flanged,  probably  to  avoiil  the  detail  labour  con- 
sequent upon  the  use  of  chairs,  \:e.  Sometimes 
even  the  hollow  rail  of  J\  section  is  used.  And 
the  road  is  worn  and  iK'gle<,ted  till  it  attains 
almost  its  last  stage  of  even  coniparutive  safety. 
Fortunately  the  maximum  rate  of  speed  is  low. 
The  stations,  too,  which  are  inconvenient  and 
dirty,  are  placed  at  considerable  distances  from 
their  towns.  This  appears  to  be,  sometimes, 
merely  an  extraordinary  freak,  or  a  concession 
to  the  coach-owners.  Certainly  it  is  intentional, 
for  it  is  invariable,  and  often  one  passes  the 
town  quite  near,  and  then  has  to  return  in  one 
of  the  wretched  little  omnibuses  from  the  dis- 
tant station.  There  may  be  some  butter  motive, 
the  expected  growth  of  the  town,  or  sonic  such 
unapparent  reason.     I  hope  so. 

The  rolling  stock  is  also  badly  maintained, 
and  often  badly  constructed.  The  engines  are 
mostly  of  English  or  French  make,  and,  I  sup- 
pose, are  good  enough,  but  are  neglected.  The 
carriages  are  nearly  equal  to  the  most  inferior  of 
English  lines.  Occasionally,  of  course,  liettcr 
specimens  than  this  low  average  are  met  with. 

The  construction  of  new  railways  is,  at  pre- 
sent, I  understand,  principally  carried  on  with 
French  capital.  Some  of  the  latest  sections 
opened  arc  the  following: — Bobadilla  to 
Granada,  Seville  to  Bo':)adilla  fiompleting  a 
direct  route  from  Seville  to  Oranadaj,  Madrid  to 
Talavera,  and  Lerida  to  Tarragona.  Among 
the  most  important  lines  in  progress  are — from 
Vigo  to  Lugo  and  La  Coruna  ;  from  Leon  to 
Orense,  meeting  the  last-named  line  ;  from 
Oviedo  to  Leon;  Aranjuez  to  Cuenca,  Seville 
to  Huelva,  and  Seville  to  Badajoz.  Parts  of 
some  of  these  lines  are  already  finished  and 
working,  as  before  described,  with  connecting 
services  of  "diligeneias." 

There  are  also  projects,  shortly  to  be  realised, 
of  lines— from  the  present  Cadiz  line  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Gibraltar,  from  Badajo/  to 
Malpartida,  from  Vilalba  (on  the  Madrid  line) 
to  SegoWa,  and  a  long  line  from  Zarngnza 
south-westward,  parallel  with  the  coast.  A 
glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  until  the.'o  are 
complete  the  railways  of  Spain  can  hardly  bo 
called  a  svstem ;  and  even  then  many  Urge 
towns  will  only  be  indirectly  eonuccUd  by  routes 
involving  considerable  detours. 

Bridges  are,  in  this  country,  frequent  necessi- 
ties.    And   the  powerful  action  of  noturc  and 
time   enforce  a  certain   standard  of  soUditv  and 
thoroughness.      The    greater   number    of    the 
larger  towns  have  their  ancient  bnrlges  dating 
from  the  Medieval  or  even  the  Koman  ep.K'h  ; 
well  constructed    originally,    and    lairlv    «•  .1 
eared    for    now.     Leon,    Salamanca,    /..;     n 
Toro,   Valladolid,  A>-U«,  Toledo,  Zumg.     •     ■■  ■ 
Cordova  have  each  one   or  more  intirtsiii.-  ■  11 
bridges   over  their  re.spectivo  nvcrs;   m.-t    "I 
them    highly    picturesque    stniclun^.    with    a 
fantastic  variety  of  arches  and  pu  r»  arid  giilc- 
houses-the  result  of  many  succcsMve  damage. 
and  repairs  or  partial  reconslnution.     ll.»l  « 
Toro  shows,  too.  o  curious  example  of  --""C  of 
the   difficulties   to   be  conlend-1   with    in    the 
erection  and  mainUnoncc  cf  surli  work".     Ihc 
bridge,  which  originally  was.  of   coimo   olKint 
at  ri|ht-angles  with  the  dirtcti.n  of  the  ^tiram. 
nowappcars,  from  some   r--";'.   ;•  ^'°  r"»»  f ' 
with  it.     The  river  ha.s  t;:.  i  r.l.y      .;.r.  -^  i. 
bed  by  encroaching  upon  i 
bank,' necessitating  the  .i 
to  the  bridge ;  and  then,  :^- 
wall,  of  considerable  lengiii.  i  •  ; 
and  prevent  the   floods  from  «  ■ 
munication  with  the  bank.     Ar. 
arc  done  very  .sp.iringly    '^  " '"'',■■    l,    '   "^i" 
nitv     the   question   is   not    decided,    but    «&iy 
de'Iyed.    The  river  stiU    pen-i.ts     .t    rert«n 
times,  in  crossing  over  the  ro.d.  inrtcad  of  under 
the  bridge. 


224 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


The  new  bridges,  occasionally  seen,  arc  of 
similar  character  to  those  prevalent  in  the  south 
of  France ;  rounded  piers  "with  segmental  arches 
— more  useful  than  beautiful.  But  they  are  far 
better  than  the  light  straight  ugly  lattice 
girders,  which  have  been  used  at  Lerida  to  re- 
place part  of  the  stone  bridge  recently  destroyed. 
Two  foot-bridges  of  similar  inartistic  iron  con- 
struction have  been  thrown  across  the  picturesque 
house-lined  river  at  Gerona,  sadly  disfiguring 
the  view  of  the  stream.  There  are,  about  the 
country,  a  few  examples  of  the  cast-iron  arch 
construction,  which  have  a  somewhat  less  offen- 
sive appearance.  Not  unfrequent  in  some  less 
populated  districts,  are  Ught  suspension  bridges 
of  wire,  rope,  and  timber,  which  have  the 
advantages  of  cheapness,  both  of  material  and 
construction ;  and  are  sufficient  for  their  pur- 
pose. 

In  Madrid,  a  miniature  Holbom  Valley,  near 
the  royal  palace,  has  lately  been  provided  with 
its  iron  viaduct,  which  is  not,  however,  a  work 
of  any  great  magnitude. 

In  noticing  railway  bridges,  I  must  first  men- 
tion a  smaller  construction  than  what  is  usually 
termed  a  bridge.  These  are  the  lesser  works 
for  the  occasional  floods  which  sweep  over  cer- 
tain plains — shallow  broad  sheets  of  water,  of 
insignificant  power  perhaps,  imopposed ;  but 
capable  of  great  destruction,  if  accumidated 
against  such  a  dam  as  a  railway  embankment. 
Little  height  is  necessary.  The  railway,  elevated 
a  few  feet  above  the  plain,  is  carried  over  a 
series  of  transverse  stone  piers,  somewhat  close 
together,  with  girders,  or  rather  .sleepers,  to 
receive  the  metals.  There  is  generally  no  floor. 
The  bridges  proper,  by  which  the  lines  cross  the 
large  rivers,  are  nearly  all  the  most  simple  and 
similar  lattice  girders  of  rectangular  outline 
(with  the  raUs  at  the  level  of  the  bottom  flanges), 
often  of  considerable  span,  and  frequently  re- 
quired to  be  much  longer  than  the  ordinary 
breadth  of  the  stream,  so  as  to  accommodate 
exceptional  states  of  the  water.  I  must  confess 
I  was  sui'prised  at  the  lightness,  almost,  one 
might  say,  flimsiness,  of  these  structures,  as 
compared  with  their  spans  and  loads,  and  our 
usual  notions  of  the  relationship  of  these  data. 
I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  learning  that  this 
economy  is  arranged  by  working  out  the  usual 
formula;  with  an  imusuaUy  high  coefficient  of 
strength  of  the  material.  Notwithstanding 
this,  the  material  itself  is  of  inferior  quality, 
principally,  I  believe,  Belgian.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  (as  I  noticed  of  timber-work  in 
house-building)  the  fitting  and  jointing  are  care- 
fully attended  to,  and  thus  the  principal  source 
of  weakness,  for  which  exorbitant  "  margins  of 
safety"  are  usually  allowed,  maybe  to  some 
extent  curtailed.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  a 
question  whether  the  generally  prevalent  extra- 
vagant allowance  for  defects  is  not  over-reach- 
ing itself  in  becoming  a  direct  encom"agement 
to  carelessness.  I  do  not  advocate  exactly 
what  I  see  here,  the  motive  of  which  is  un- 
doubtely  economy ;  but  stUl,  that  object  is 
attained,  and  the  trains  pass  and  repass  safely 
and  regularly  enough  ;  possibly  more  so,  than  rf 
the  engineers  had  known  they  had  a  big  "mar- 
gin for  safety  "  to  trifle  with. 

The  piers  to  these  bridges  are  of  ii'on  or  stone, 
according  to  circumstances.  If  the  former,  the 
same  economy  of  coui-se  rules  their  proportions. 

I  saw,  in  travelling  in  mountainous  districts, 
several  examples,  deserving,  I  think,  more  atten- 
tive examination  than  the  superficial  one  I  was 
able  to  bestow  upon  them.  The  portions  of 
lines  between  Burgos  and  Zaragoza  (by  Logro 
between  Madrid  and  .^vila.  Alcazar  and  Cordc 
and  between  Granada  and  Bobadilla,  I  remember 
as  be-'ng  particularly  interesting  for  their 
difficult  engineering  problems  and  solutions. 
At  Madrid  and  at  Barcelona  there  are  several 
lines  of  tramways  through  the  main  thorough 
fares.  They  are  worked  with  English  cars,  and 
probably  owemore  than  this  to  English  assistance 

Those  at  Barcelona  are  laid  wi^h  a  rather  sur- 
prising disregard  for  the  convenience  of  the 
non-travelling  public.  The  Hues  in  some  cases 
pass  along  narrow  streets,  where  there  is  but 
about  2it.  breadth  of  footway,  and  so  close  to 
the  kerb,  that  shoii-sunblinds,  signboads,  &o., 
are  almost  suppressed,  and  foot-passengers  and 
inhabitants  have  to  take  refuge  in  doorways  as 
the  cars  pass.  This  is  more  than  inconvenient — 
it  is  dangerous.  But  it  doe.'  not  appear  to  be 
here  considered  the  particularly  selfish  infringe- 
ment of  public  rights  which  it  imdoubtedly 
would  be  in  England.     A  section  of  the  local 


press,  which  protests  against  the  whole  system, 
probably  goes  too  much  to  that  extreme  to  gain 
any  important  influence,  as  the  tram-cars  are 
favourite  means  of  transport.  The  lines  are 
allowed  to  get  into  a  very  bad  state  of  repair, 
too,  but  the  vehicular  traffic  is  not  representative 
of  so  strong  an  interest  as  to  make  effectual 
protest  against  that  evil. 

Upon  a  line  which  runs  out  four  or  five  miles 
northward  to  the  suburbs  in  that  direction,  the 
service  is  worked  by  steam-engines,  which  are 
of  English  make  (Merry  weather's,  if  I  remember 
rightly).  They  draw  trains  of  three  cars  each, 
upon  lines  laid  at  the  edges  of  the  road.  These 
also  are  in  bad  order,  and  the  high  rate  of  speed 
used  along  the  less-frequented  sections  of  the 
road  will  probably,  before  long,  end  in  an  acci- 
dent, and  perhaps  the  condemnation  of  the  whole 
system,  when  only  the  manner  of  working  it  is 
to  blame.  I  travelled  by  this  line,  and  watched 
the  effect  of  the  engine  and  cars  upon  the  few 
horses  we  passed.  I  was  pleased  to  be  able  to 
observe  that  only  slight  notice  was  accorded  by 
them.  It  is  Ukely  that  these  animals  had  en- 
countered the  thing  before,  and  no  doubt  many 
horses  which  will  be  alarmed  at  the  first  appear- 
ance of  such  a  machine,  will  be  reconciled  to  it 
more  speedily  than  some  of  their  masters.  It 
appears  strange  that  a  distant  and  less  busy 
land  should  be  enjoying  the  benefits  of  our  ad- 
vanced science  while  we  at  home  are  so 
fettered  by  laws  and  restrained  by  prejudices 
that  even  a  trial  of  sufficient  duration  to  be  fail' 
is  impossible. 

In  harbour  works  the  maritime  towns  show  a 
desire  to  keep  pace  with  the  times  ;  but  I  have, 
unfortunately,  little  information  upon  thi.s  sub- 
ject. Barcelona  is  improving  her  accommoda- 
tion for  shipping  by  constructing  an  inner  har- 
bour, and  Cadiz  and  Seville  have  a  certain 
amount  of  such  work  in  hand.  But  some  of  the 
other  busy  seaports  did  not  come  within  my 
range. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  late  addition  to  the  few 
canals  of  Spain.  The  same  circumstances  which 
I  have  described  as  making,  railway  operations 
difficult  have,  of  coxrrse,  even  more  force  against 
canals.  The  present  canals,  which  I  occa- 
sionally met  with  here  and  there,  appeared  to  be 
as  deserted  of  boats  as  are  the  rivers.  But  pro- 
bably, later  in  the  year,  when  the  harvests  and 
vintages  have  been  got  in,  there  is  more  occasion 
for  their  use.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  an 
extension  of  the  canal  system  in  the  plains  would 
be  highly  beneficial,  if  only  for  purposes  of  irri- 
gation. 

The  rivers  are  distressingly  neglected  as  far 
as  navigation  is  concerned.  Some  of  the  larger 
ones,  which  are  permanently  well  filled,  are  for 
many  mOes  capable  of  being  rendered  navigable 
with  only  a  moderate  expenditure  of  capital  and 
labour.  Indeed,  the  ciuestion  has  long  ago  been 
discussed,  and  this  fact  admitted.  And  yet  they 
are  left  to  the  dams  and  mills,  with  hardly  a 
ferry-boat  upon  the  broad  highways  which  ought 
to  be  arteries  of  commerce. 

The  ingenious,  if  not  skilftd,  schemes  of  irri- 
gation which  prevail  everj-where  in  this  land  of 
drought,  deserve  mention.  The  long  sinuous 
channels  and  rough  yet  carefully- regulated  dams 
of  stones  and  mud  have  a  certain  set  of  prin- 
ciples and  methods,  the  residt  of  years  of  experi- 
ence, which  make  thek'  construction  a  little 
science.  And  the  treatment  of  slopes  and  other 
difficult  surfaces  so  as  to  render  them  amenable 
to  this  control,  belongs  to  the  same  subject.  But 
a  detailed  description  is  perhaps  beyond  the 
province  of  this  paper. 

The  water  supply  to  towns  still  leaves  much 
improvement  to  be  desired.  The  source  is 
generally  the  river,  and  only  in  one  or  two 
instances  is  the  filtration  even  tolerably  effective. 
So  that,  although  Spaniards  drink  a  great  deal 
of  water,  pure,  or  rather  untempered,  yet  a  glass 
of  really  good  water  is,  in  the  lesser  towns,  a 
treat  only  occasionally  enjoyed,  and  more  often 
the  stranger  drinks  with  dubious  anticipation  of 
the  effects  of  the  unaccustomed  solution.  The 
supply  to  the  public  fountains  is  fairly  abundant 
in  ordinary  times,  and  the  irksomeness  of  the 
necessary  carriage  is  not  felt  as  a  hardship 
where  notliiug  more  convenient  has  ever  been 
known.  In  seasons  of  drought,  however,  there 
is  sometimes  serious  suffering  arising  from  the 
scarcity  or  badness  of  water. 

The  lighting  of  towns  is  fairly  well  done ; 
allowance  being  made  for  the  absence  of  gas, 
which  only  the  capital  and  a  few  other  favoured 
cities   can   boast.       The   lamps    are    fed    with 


petrolcinn,  and  I  notice  an  extensive  and  grow- 
ing appreciation  of  this  fluid  for  domestic  as  well 
as  public  purposes. 

The  police  administration  is  related  to  rather 
than  connected  with  these  subjects  ;  but  I  mist 
note  the  interesting  fact  that  every  town  (except 
I  think,  Madrid)  has  stiU  its  ancient  service  of 
watchmen,  who  patrol  the  streets,  armed  with 
spear  and  lantern,  and  chant  the  time  o'nigh' 
and  the  state  of  the  weather,  embellishing  the 
cry  sometimes  with  a  pious  ejaculation.  There 
is  something  charmingly  out  of  date  about  all 
this. 

Of  buildings  which  deserve  to  rank  as  public 
works,  there  are,  I  fear,  but  few  examples  of 
late  erection  to  be  enumerated.  The  national 
pastime,  bull-fighting,  despite  all  the  talking 
of  its  discouragement  has  yet  vitality  enough  to 
dem.and  and  obtain  substantial  new  theatres- 
These  are  highly  interesting  structures,  partly 
on  account  of  the  many  points  in  which  they 
resemble  the  ancient  Roman  amphitheatre.  The 
new  "Plaza  de  Toros,"  at  Madrid,  is  a  vast 
open  amphitheatre  of  granite  steps,  encircling 
the  arena  and  its  ring  passage-way,  and  sur- 
mounted by  the  two-storied  covered  structure 
which  ccntains  the  higher  class  of  seats,  and 
under  which  are  the  passages  and  corridors.  The 
inclosing  wall  is  in  a  kind  of  modemisedMoresqne 
style. 

There  are,  in  different  towns,  a  few  adminis- 
trative buildings  and  theatres,  barracks,  &c.,  of 
no  particidar  note.  The  exterior  of  a  new 
theatre  in  the  ' '  Paseo  de  Gracia ' '  before  men- 
tioned (Teatro  Espaiiol),  deserves  note  for  its 
good  adaptation  of  Moresque  architecture  to 
modern  street  purposes.  It  has  a  facade  in  two 
blocks  of  similar  and  .symmetrical  design,  with 
the  entrance  gateway  and  passage  between  them. 
The  detail  is  generally  very  agreeable,  although 
not  quite  pure.  The  interior  of  the  theatre  itself 
is  not  particularly  good  or  novel. 

Of  churches,  ancient  towns  have  inherited  a 
sufficiency  for  the  wants  of  to-day  ;  for  where 
progress  and  increase  of  population  are  active, 
heresy  and  scepticism  are  also  rife  in  a  more 
tian  proportionate  degree — so  that  often  fewer 
rather  than  more  churches  are  required.  Bar- 
celona, with  its  300,000  souls,  has  not  so  many 
churches  as  some  old  towns  of  10,000. 

Schools,  museums,  and  hospitals  are  generally 
accommodated  in  ancient  buildings,  either  built 
for  those  purposes,  or  afterwards  appropriated 
to  them.  In  these  departments  of  cirilisation 
there  are  not  many  signs  of  activity,  although 
there  is  a  knowledge  extending  that  something 
more  is  wanted. 

In  submitting  these  traveller's  notes  to  the 
readers  of  the  Bt'iLDLSG  News,  I  must  make 
some  apology  for  their  shortcomings.  I  do  not 
pretend  that  they  are  exhaustive.  There  are 
several  important  cities  of  Spain  of  which  I  saw 
nothing.  And  they  are  perhaps  not  altogether 
free  from  occasional  error,  as  those  things  which 
I  have  noticed  I  have  to  write  of  inconveniently, 
and  without  even  a  guide-book  to  represent  the 
literary  aids  which  one  generally  has  at  command. 
Perhaps  these  circumstances  may  be  urged 
against  the  criticism  I  should  otherwise  dtserve- 
E.  W.  GiESox. 

BUILDERS  AND   QUANTITIES. 

LAST  week  we  published  a  valuable  paper  on 
"  BiUs  of  Quantities,  and  Measuring  Build- 
ers' Work,"  read  by  Mr.  Edward  Hughes  at  a 
meeting  of  the  National  Association  of  Master 
Builders  of  Great  Britain,  at  Bristol  (page  179). 
It  is  the  more  valuable  as  representing  the 
bmlders'  view  of  the  question  of  quantities,  as 
the  subject  has,  hitherto,  been  chiefly  discussed 
by  architects  and  surveyors.  Vi'e  may  as  weU 
rather  pointedly  say  that  the  profession  have 
rather  avoided  the  builders'  view  of  the  subject, 
and  we  see  that  Mr.  Hughes  has  very  clearly 
stated  the  latter,  namely,  that  the  Bill  of 
Quantities  is  issued,  as  a  rule,  "  by  the  agent  of 
the  proprietor,  and  is  neiiher  more  nor  less  than 
a  written  statement  on  /ns  beh.alf."  Mr. 
Hughes'  experience  of  the  surveyor's  fees  for 
taking  quantities,  namely  U  per  cent.,  with  a 
fee  for  copying,  fairly  gives  the  average  cost— 
we  have  oiten  known  it  greater — of  supplying 
quantities  to  the  competing  builders.  It  is  not 
generally  true,  however,  that  each  unsuccessful 
biulder  is  called  upon  to  spend,  in  cash,  a  siir- 
veyor's  fee,  in  consideration  of  his  having 
had  one  chance  out  of  six  to  obtain  the  contract ; 
for,  in  most   cases,    the  builders  obtain  a  sur- 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


225 


veyor's  quantities,  and  it  is  agreed  that  the  suc- 
ceasfol  competitor  pays  the  commission.  Xor  is 
it  always  true  that  builders  refuse  to  compete 
unless  quantities  are  delivered  to  them  free  of 
expense  ;  in  provincial  practice,  they  more  fre- 
quently desire  quantities  to  be  prepared  by  the 
afchitect,  or  liis  suneror.  Mr.  Hughes  also 
aiys  : — "  Builders  make  no  charge  for  their  time 
estimating,  money  spent  in  visiting  the  site, 
irluch,  in  itself,  is  frequently  a  considerable 
sum."  But,  we  take  it  that  everyone  who  de- 
sires to  compote  cannot  fairly  object  to  give  liis 
own  time,  and  \vc  might  instance  the  gi'eater  cost 
incurred  by  architects  in  entering  the  lists  of  com- 
petition, in  which  not  only  their  time  and  labour, 
but  several  months  a.ssistants'  labour,  have  to  be 
bestowed  fruitlessly.  In  alluding  to  the  ques- 
tion. Who  prepares  the  bill  of  quantities !'  Mr. 
Hughes  adopts  the  only  right  line  of  argiunent, 
and  one  which  we  have  invariably  maintained, 
namely,  that  the  architect  is  not  the  proper 
person  to  prepare  his  own  quantities.  Several 
good  reasons  are  given  for  this,  the  last  of  which 
ia  sufficient  in  the  mind  of  any  one  ha^-ing  a 
keen  sense  of  his  position  and  independence  ; 
and  this  reason  is  that  in  the  event  of  error 
being  found  in  the  quantities,  it  is  most  ditli- 
cult  for  the  architect  to  hold  the  balance  fairly 
and  equitably  between  himself  and  the  builder 
on  the  one  hand,  and  between  the  bxiilder  and 
owner  on  the  other ;  however  honest  his  inten- 
tion may  be,  **he  cannot  avoid  being  biassed  in 
a  measure  against  the  builder  in  the  proprietor's 
favour." 

We  desire  particularly  to  call  the  attention  of 
our  professional  readers  to  the  remarkable  diver- 
gence or  range  in  the  charges  for  quantities 
which  Mr.  Hughes  specifices,  but  which  is  by  no 
means  exaggerated.  According  to  him,  he  has 
paid  |,  1,  i\.  U,  If,  2,  2|,  and  2}  per  cent, 
variations,  not  in  consequence  of  the  degree  of 
complexity  or  trouble  in  the  work,  but  due  to 
caprice  of  the  measurer. 

In  London  the  leading  surveyors  of  this  class 
charge  seldom  more  than  1^  to  2  per  cent.,  but 
in  the  country  the  rates  are  far  from  being  so 
uniform  as  they  should  be.  It  is  perhaps  only 
right  to  say  that  in  small  complicated  buildings 
and  alterations,  a  higher  percentage  may  fairly 
be  claimed  than  for  large  buildings,  where  a 
great  mass  of  brickwork  and  rougher  work  only 
is  required :  but  we  think  it  time  something 
should  be  done  to  make  a  code  of  prices  for  the 
measuring  surveyor,  and  the  Institution  of  Sur- 
veyors is  the  right  body  to  institute  such  a  code. 
With  respect  to  responsibility  for  accuracy  of 
quantities,  the  author  thinks  that  it  is  to  the 
best  interests  of  proprietor,  architect,  and 
builder,  that  in  every  building  contract  the  bill 
of  quantities  should  be  prepared  by  a  properly 
qualified  surveyor,  at  the  expense  of  the 
proprietor,  and  guaranteed  by  him.  Xo 
one  will  dispute  the  justice  of  this  proposition  ; 
but,  unfortunately,  as  everyone  knows,  the 
quantities  are  often  taken  out  unknown  to  the 
proprietor,  and  does  not  form  an  element  in  the 
contract  as  they  should  do.  A  practical  part  of 
Mr.  Hughes"  paper  dwells  on  the  mode  of 
measuring  and  valuing,  to  which  we  particularly 
refer  our  readers.  He  strongly  urges  the  value 
of  dissecilri'j  and  dividing  into  separate  items, 
work  involving  labour,  by  making  the  first  item 
of  any  branch  represent  the  simplest  form, 
adding,  item  by  item,  any  increased  value  in 
labour  or  materials.  Our  experience  of  quantity- 
taking  has  shown  us  that  a  good  system  of 
measuring  centering  is  everything,  and  that  a 
good  deal  of  labour  may  be  omitted  by  not 
taking  into  account  the  extra-labour  items  as 
they  occur.  The  author  illustrates  these  re- 
marks by  referring  to  the  quantities  usually 
inserted  for  excavation  where  so  many  cube 
yards  excavating  and  wheeling  are  mentioned, 
but  without  stating  the  depth  of  trenches,  &c. , 
or  the  distiince  to  wheel. 

In  describing  brickwork,  greater  omissions  of 
labour  occur  ;  the  quantity,  so  many  rods,  is  in- 
serted, and  the  price  is  to  include  cutting,  orna- 
mental moulded  courses,  cornices,  gauged  arches, 
Src,  as  sho^vn  in  drawings  ;  but  the  builder  is  at 
a  loss  to  know  what  is  intended  by  such  a 
general  phrase,  or,  for  instance,  the  following 
phrase:  "including  all  labour  of  every  de- 
scription." In  joinery,  as  it  is  easy  to  show, 
imperfect  description  may  give  rise  to  estimates 
varying  fn.ra  25  to  200  per  cent.,  and  the  in- 
stances mentioned  are  by  no  means  uncommon. 
In  the  absence  of  dimensions  or  quality  of  fur- 
niture,   number    of    doors    or  windows,  it  is 


impo.--"sible  to  estimate  correctly  from  a  lump  sum 
of  superficial  feet.  The  word  "  best,"  so  com- 
monly used  in  quantities,  in  de.scribing  locks  or 
other  fittings,  is  a  very  misleading  term,  and  as 
we  are  told,  may  mean  anything  from  7s.  6d.  to 
73s.  But  we  need  not  enter  into  other  details, 
such  as  the  phrase  *'  including  painting,"  in  the 
joiner's  work,  and  the  ambiguous  meaning  con- 
veyed in  the  terms  "  feet  run,"  "fixed";  all 
that  weueed remind  builders  istolook  at  drawings 
when  they  can,  before  pricing  out,  though  this 
course  is  not  often  practicable.  The  other  in- 
stances speak  for  themselves.  We  need  only  add 
that  the  remedies  proposed  by  the  author  aro 
reasonable:  first,  for  builders  to  reject  quantities 
that  are  not  properly  prepared  ;  second,  to  insist 
on  their  being  made  the  basis  of  the  contract ; 
and  third,  that  all  surveyors  practising  in  this 
capacity  should  have  some  license  or  diploma. 


DR.VINAGE  OF  WORKHOUSES. 
rp^HE  Local  Government  Board  have  had 
I  under  their  consideration  the  reports  made 
from  time  to  time  by  their  inspectors  regarding 
the  system  of  drainage  in  operation  at  various 
workhouses,  and  other  poor-law  institutions,  and 
it  is  evident  to  them  that  in  many  instances  the 
arrangements  in  this  respect  are  not  as  satis- 
factory as  could  be  desired. 

The  Board  find  that,  while  in  many  cases  the 
drainage  is  conveyed  direct  into  the  public 
sewers,  there  are  numerous  examples  in  which 
it  is  collected  in  cesspools,  and,  moreover,  that 
the  contents  of  these  cesspools  are  frequently 
allowed  to  escape  either  by  soakage  into  the 
ground,  or  by  overflowing  and  discharging  into 
a  ditch,  or  a  pond,  or  a  stream. 

In  reference  to  arrangements  of  this  character 
the  Board  deem  it  right  to  point  out  that,  if 
existing  in  an  urban  sanitary  district,  they 
would  be  in  contravention  of  the  47th  section  of 
the  Public  Health  Act,  lS7o,  which  enacts 
that  :  — 

"Any  person  who  in  any  urban  district  .  . 
(3)  AUows  the  contents  of  any  watercloset, 
privy,  or  cesspool  to  overflow  or  soak  there- 
from, shall  for  every  such  offence,  be  liable 
to  a  penalty  not  exceeding  40s.,  and  to  a 
further  penalty  not  exceeding  bs.  for  every 
day  during  which  the  offence  is  com- 
mitted." 

Although  this  enactment  relates  only  to  such 
cesspools  as  are  within  an  urban  sanitary  district, 
it  would,  nevertheless,  be  very  desirable,  for 
sanitary  reasons,  that,  even  when  the  workhouse 
is  situated  in  a  rural  sanitary  district,  every 
effort  should  be  made  so  to  deal  with  the  sewage 
that  it  shall  not  pollute  the  soil  in  a  manner  that 
would  be  illegal  in  an  urban  sanitary  district. 
Moreover,  the  flowing  of  sewage  into  streams 
and  watercourses  is  prohibited  in  rural  as  well 
as  in  urban  districts  by  the  Rivers  Pollution 
Prevention  Act,  1876. 

In  view  of  the  considerations  above  referred 
to,  the  Board  think  it  may  be  of  use  to  point  out 
a  few  general  principles  to  be  observed  in  regard 
to  the  disposal  of  sewage  from  workhouse 
buildings. 

They  first  observe  that  cesspools  should  never 
be  allowed  to  exist  if  sewers  are  within  an  ac- 
cessible distance. 

The  21st  section  of  the  Public  Health  Act, 
1S75,  authorises  the  owner  or  occupier  of  any 
premi-ses  to  drain  such  premises  into  the  sewers 
of  the  district,  and  the  23rd  section  gives  power 
to  the  sanitary  authority  of  any  district  to  re- 
quire the  owner  or  occupier  of  any  premises 
which  are  without  a  drain  sufficient  for  effectual 
drainage  to  make  a  suitable  drain  and  connect  it 
with  the  public  sower,  provided  such  sewer  be 
not  more  than  100  feet  distant  from  the  site  of 
the  prcniises. 

If  cesspools  are  rendered  necessary  by  the 
absence  of  other  proper  outfall  for  drains,  it  is 
most  important  that  they  should  be  made  ab- 
sjlutcly  water-tight,  and  be  so  situated  as  to  be 
out  of  the  line  of  the  natural  drainage  of  the 
locality,  and  as  not  to  endanger  the  wells,  or 
other  sources  of  water  supply.  They  should 
also  be  so  far  distant  from  buildings  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  becoming  a  nuisance  to  the  inmates. 
Moreover,  they  should  be  so  placed  as  to  allow 
of  their  contents  being  periodically  removed  and 
applied,  where  practicable,  to  land  under  culti- 
vation. 

If  there  are  no  sewers  available,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  locality  will  permit,  it  may  be 


po.-^siblc  to  dispense  with  cesspools  altogether, 
and  to  deal  with  solid  excrement  on  some  dry 
system,  and  apply  the  slop  drainage  direct  to 
land  by  way  of  irrigation.  Care,  however,  must 
be  taken  that  the  land  to  be  irrigated  is  of  ade- 
quate size,  and  possesses  the  requisite  fall,  and 
is  itself  capable  of  being  drained;  and  when- 
ever the  dry  earth,  pail,  or  ash  Mstem  for  ex- 
crement removal  is  u.sed,  it  is  iudi.speusable  that 
a  regular  system  of  suiK-rintendcncc  and  removal 
should  be  organised  and  rigidly  carried  out. 

Where  drains  are  connected  either  witli  public 
sewers  or  with  cesspools,  it  is  essential  that 
means  should  be  taken  for  preventing  sewer-air 
or  cesspool-air  from  ascending  into  the  drains  of 
the  building.  This  may  be  effected  by  a  water- 
trap  in  the  drain  at  a  point  near  to  the  sewer  or 
cesspool,  with  an  opening  for  ventilation  on  the 
side  of  the  trap  nearest  to  the  workhouse  build- 
ings. Such  opening  may  often  be  in  the  form  of 
a  manhole,  giving  access  to  the  drain. 

With  regard  to  the  ordinary  drains  them- 
selves, which  should  be  formed  of  impervious 
pipes,  they  should  in  no  case  whatever  pass 
under  or  be  within  any  building.  If  surface 
water  has  to  be  coaveyed  away  from  the  floor  of 
any  building,  such  as  a  washhouse  for  example, 
it  should  pass  by  means  of  surface  channels  to 
gully  gratings  outside.  In  the  Simo  way 
every  pipe  for  carrying  off  waste  water,  whether 
from  a  bath,  lavatory,  or  sink,  or  the  overflow 
pipe  from  a  cistern,  should  be  taken  through  an 
external  wall  and  discharge  visibly  in  the  open 
air  over  a  channel  leading  to  a  gully  grating 
outside  communicating  with  the  drains.  The 
drains  should  be  laid  in  direct  line  and  uniform 
gradient  between  the  points  where  they  change 
direction  or  gradient,  and  at  these  points  it  is 
convenient  to  provide  means  of  access  to  the 
drains  for  the  pui'pose  of  inspection  or  cleansing. 
Ample  means  of  ventilating  the  drains  of  the 
building  by  suitable  openings  at  their  lower  and 
upper  extremities,  and  of  flushing  them,  should 
be  provided.  The  soil-pipe  from  any  watercloset 
should  always  be  outside  the  building,  and  be 
continued  up  beyond  the  point  of  junction  with 
the  highest  closet,  and  without  diminution  of 
diameter,  to  some  point  where  it  will  afford  a 
safe  outlet  for  drain  air.  Where  prirics  of  any 
kind  are  in  use,  much  care  and  attention  is 
needed  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  a 
nuisance.  They  should  be  so  arranged  as  to 
avoid  any  con-iiiderable  accumulation  of  filth 
during  a  lengthened  period.  Hence,  the  size  of 
the  receptacle  or  pit  beneath  the  seat  should  be 
strictly  limited,  and  the  filth  should  be  removed 
therefrom  at  regular  and  frecjuent  intervals. 
Ordinarily,  a  very  moderate  capacity  should 
suffice  for  the  receptacle,  when  fixed,  of  each 
privy,  whilst,  if  the  receptacle  be  movable,  such 
as  a  tub  or  paU,  a  capacity  of  more  than  two 
cubic  feet  would  be  inconvenient.  ^Tiere  fiied 
receptacles  are  in  use,  they  ought  under  no  cir- 
cumstance to  be  sunk  in  the  ground,  but  should 
rather  be  raised  at  least  three  inches  above  the 
level  of  the  adjacent  ground,  and  the  floor  and 
sides  should  be  made  of  stone-flagging  or  other 
non-absorbent  material.  The  privy  receptacle 
should  be  so  arranged  that  under  no  circum- 
stances whatever  would  rain-water  be  allowed 
to  enter  it,  and  of  course  no  slop  water  should 
be  emptied  into  it. 

OUE  COilMOXPLACE  COLUMN. 

NEPTUXE. 

A  X  ancient  Italian  God,  a  marine  deity.  He 
J\_  is  commonly  represented  with  a  trident,  and 
with  horses  or  dolphins,  and  surrounded  by 
tritons  and  other  sea-monsters.  He  is  some- 
times shown  asleep,  or  reposing,  and  sometimes 
in  a  state  of  violent  agitation. 

XETTEAL  .1X13. 

Ix  a  beam  the  neutral  axis  may  be  conceived  to 
be  a  line  separating  the  forces  of  extension  from 
those  of  compression.  If  the  ratio  of  the  resist- 
ances to  these  forces  were  the  same  in  all 
substances,  then  in  all  bodies  of  the  same  form 
the  neutral  axis  would  have  a  definite  geo- 
metrical position;  but  Mr.  E.  Hodgkin-ron  proved 
th!»t  this  ratio  has  a  separate  value  for  each 
substance.  In  wood,  where  the  ratio  i-  one  of 
equality,  the  neutral  axis  iu  a  rectangular  l*am 
supported  at  the  cnd.'^,  passes  lengthwise  through 
centre  of  beam  :  in  cast-iron,  in  which  resistance 
to  compression  is  greater  than  that  to  extension, 
it  is   a   little   above,  and  in   wrought  iron,  in 


226 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


■which  the  contrary  is  the  ease,  it  is  a  little 
below  the  centre.  ;See  works  of  Rankine,  and 
Other  mathematical  treatises  on  construction) . 


NEKO   A2JTIC0. 

A  CELEEEATED  black  marble  of  the  ancients, 
"  the  grand  antique  black  marble,  a  breccia 
black  and  white,  very  pure,  with  great  spots 
broken  up  by  zigzag  lines,  is  extremely  rare" 
("Arch.  Diet.") 

NET   TEACEEY. 

This  is  a  form  of  Decorated  tracery,  so-called 
from  the  resemblance  of  the  pattern  to  the 
meshes  of  a  net ;  each  loop  is  generally  quatre 
foiled.  It  has  a  monotonous  effect,  particularly 
in  large  window-heads,  and  has  no  central 
pattern  or  figure.  Examples :  east  cloister  of 
Westminster  Abbey,  Peterborough  Cathedral, 
chapel  at  West  Gatehouse.  (See  "  Paley's 
Manual.") 


This  word  comes  from  Old  English  Noel,  Kowel, 
and  Xuel ;  French  iioi/aii ;  German  sphidil.  It 
is  the  vertical  pillar  or  post  round  which  the 
steps  turn  in  a  winding  stair,  each  step  forming 
a  segment  or  part  of  the  newel.  An  "  open 
newel"  staircase  is  where  the  steps  are  pinned 
into  wall,  and  there  is  no  centre-pillar.  The 
term  is  used  also  for  the  post  at  the  angle  or 
foot  of  an  ordinary  square  staircase.  Beautiful 
instances  of  newel  staircases  occur  where  the 
newel  at  the  top  gives  rise  to  a  series  of  ribs 
which  radiate  and  form  a  groined  vault,  as  at 
Peterborough  and  Carlisle  cathedrals,  Alnwick, 
Belsey,  Warkworth  castles.  In  other  cases  we 
find  hollow  newels,  sometimes  pierced  with 
tracery,  which  form  very  pleasing  features.  At 
Ghamis  castle  there  is  a  hollow  newel,  with  a 
doorway  for  drawing  up  water  at  every  floor. 
We  may  mention  also  that  Mr.  Street  has  intro- 
duced this  feature  in  the  New  Law  Courts, 
where  the  side  staircases  of  hall  have  hollow 
newels,  the  hollow  having  another  and  smaller 
spiral  staircase  for  private  use.  Wooden  newels 
were  important  in  the  buildings  of  the  Stuart 
times,  and  were  large,  and  often  elaborately 
carved  and  turned.  In  the  time  of  Elizabeth, 
the  development  of  the  staircase  gave  to  the 
newel  an  importance  it  has  never  reached  since. 
We  refer  the  reader  for  examples  to  Layer 
Marney  Hall,  Essex,  where  the  oak  newel 
extends  the  whole  height  of  stairs  ;  the  Palace, 
Linlithgow  (stone  newel  to  stairs  leading  to 
Queen  Margaret's  Bower),  Ashton  Hall,  and 
nearly  all  the  large  halls  of  that  period. 


It.  Jiifc/ao,  ashell ;  Fr.  «(<■/(<.  The  niche  seems  to 
have  been  scarcely  knoNNTi  to  the  Greeks,  though 
an  instance  occurs  at  Messene.  At  Baalbec 
it  is  foimd  in  several  temples.  There  appears 
to  be  some  hesitation  to  use  the  niche  among 
architects,  though  for  throwing  out  figures  by 
shadow,  the  niche  is  a  valuable  means  of  effect. 
They  should  be  quite  plain  ;  ornament  is  to  be 
avoided  round  or  in  them,  as  fometimcs  seen. 
An  impost  carried  round  a  niche  is  objection- 
able. As  a  niche  is  to  receive  something,  it  is 
a  solecism  to  leave  it  empty.  The  depth  and 
size  of  a  niche  is  important ;  nothing  looks 
worse  than  to  see  a  statue  forced  or  scjueezed 
into  it.  Palladio  makes  the  chin  of  the  statue 
to  be  level  with  the  top  of  impost,  the  whole 
head  being  in  the  cii'cular  part,  and  this  appears 
to  be  a  rational  rule.  At  the  sides  of  the 
statue  there  shoidd  he  sufficient  but  not  too  much 
space.  It  is  laid  down  that  it  should  not  be  less 
than  one-third  of  the  head,  normorethan  one-half. 
In  some  cases  pedestals  are  used  to  raise  the 
statue.  (See  "  Chambers'  Decorative  Part  of  Civil 
Architecture,"  the  Buildinq  News  reprint, 
where  remarks  on  niches  and  statues  will  be 
found.  Sec  also  "Arch.  Diet.")  In  Gothic,  the 
niche  (or  tabernacle)  is  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Early  English  figures  were  often  set  on  pedestals 
and  canopies  are  often  used  above  them ;  these 
figures  occur  singly,  in  pains,  or  suites  ;  the  heads 
of  niches  were  ti'efoiled  or  plain.  For  examples 
we  refer  to  the  west  front  of  AVells  Cathedra). 
In  the  Decorated  and  Perpendicular  styles, 
canopies  are  frequent,  triangular  and  often  ogee 
in  form  ;  .and  the  niche  was  made  a  feature  in 
the  tops  of  buttresses.  In  plan,  the  Perpendi- 
cular niches  were  often  semi-octagonal,  and  the 
canopies  were  usually  of  this  shape  also.  For 
examples,  see  west  fronts  of  Salisbury,  Wells, 
Exeter  Cathedrals  ;  Magdalene  Church,  Oxford. 


Parker's  "Glossary"  contains  illustrations  of 
the  leading  types. 

ursTBUS. 
The  halo  or  disc  encircling  the  head.  Its  use  is 
not  confined  to  Christian  art,  as  thought  by 
many,  as  it  has  been  found  in  Indian,  Egyptian, 
Etruscan,  Greek,  and  Roman  art.  "  In  the 
Hebrew  scriptures  we  trace,  in  the  absence  of 
representation,  the  same  symbolic  idea  in  the 
light  which  shone  xipon  the  face  of  Moses  at  his 
return  from  Sinai  ( Exod.  xxxiv.  29  —  35) 
andin  the  light  with  which  the  Lord  is  clothed  as 
with  a  garment,  Ps.  ciii.  1,  Vulg.  (civ.  1,  Auth. 
V^ers.)  ;  and  in  the  New  Testament,  in  the  trans- 
figuration of  Our  Lord  (  Luke  i.x.  31),  and  in 
the  crowns  of  the  just,  to  which  allusion  is  so 
often  made.  (2  Tim.  iv.  8 ;  1  Peter,  v.  4 ; 
Apoc.  iv.  4).  Nevertheless,  the  nimbus,  strictly 
so-called,  is  comparatively  recent  in  Chi-istian 
art,  appearing  first  towards  the  end  of  the  5th 
century.  Later  in  Christian  art,  it  became  al- 
most a  necessary  appendage  of  all  representa- 
tions of  God  or  of  the  Saints.  Its  ordinary  form 
is  the  circular  or  semicircular;  a  form,  indeed, 
in  which  later  symbolists  discover  an  emblem 
of  perfection  and  of  eternity  ;  but  the  nimbus  of 
the  Eternal  Father  is  often  in  the  form  of  a 
triangle,  and  that  of  the  Trinity  an  emanation 
of  light,  the  rays  of  which  form  the  three  arms 
of  a  cross.  The  nimbus  of  the  Virgin  is  some- 
times a  simple  ring  and  sometimes  a  crown  of 
diadems,  occasionally  enriched  by  an  ornamental 
border,  on  whicli  twelve  stars  are  sometimes 
represented.  Her  nimbus,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
Divine  Persons,  is  commonly  of  gold  ;  but  that  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  is  occasionally  in  colours,  as  blue, 
red,  purple,  or  white.  .  .  In  later  art,  the  nimbus 
became  lighter  and  more  aerial,  melting,  as  it 
were,  into  the  picture  ;  and  in  Raphael's  saints 
it  occasionally  fades  into  the  very  faintest  indi- 
cation of  a  golden  tinge  around  the  head.  Didron 
mentions  the  curious  instance  of  a  picture  of  the 
traitor  Judas  with  a  Mack  nimlms.  .  .  The  '  glory' 
is  a  combination  of  the  nimbus  and  aureole,  and  is 
chiefly  seen  in  Byzantine  pictures."  (Chambers's 
"Encyc").     (See  also  Didron's  work.) 

NOEIIAN   AECniTECTUEE. 

As  the  characteristics  of  this  style  are  well 
known,  we  merely  make  a  few  notes  and  refer  to 
examples.  The  Norman  is  a  local  name  merely, 
it  is  a  branch  of  the  generic  style  known  as 
Romanescjue,  to  whicli  the  Lombardic  and 
Byzantine  are  related.  A  great  deal  of  discus- 
sion has  taken  place  respecting  the  limits  and 
features  of  the  style  ;  it  is  usually  considered  to 
have  prevailed  from  the  Conquest  (1066),  through 
the  reigns  of  William  I.,  William  II.,  Henry  I., 
and  Stephen  (U54)  and  the  Transition  during 
Henry  II.  till  (1189).  The  Anglo-Norman  work 
is  heavier  than  the  French-Norman ;  the  nave 
piers  are  more  massive  than  those  in  French 
buildings.  The  late  Sir  G.  G.  Scott  in  his 
"  Guide  to  the  Architectural  Museum  "  refers  to 
a  series  of  casts  of  semi-Byzantine  capitals,  and 
makes  thefollowing  appropriate  remark : — "  Till 
about  1175  it  would  appear  that  the  English 
followed  up  a  Transition  of  their  own  founded 
upon  their  own  Anglo-Norman  style,  as  the 
Church  of  St.  Cross,  near  Winchester.  After 
this  date  it  became  profoundly  influenced  by 
that  of  France,  owing  to  the  employment  of  a 
French  architect,  William  of  Sens,  on  the  choir 
of  Canterbury  cathedral,  where  he  profusely 
introduced  the  prevailing  detaUs  of  the  French 
style,  and  especially  the  Byzantinesque  ven-^ion 
of  the  Corinthian  capital  and  its  derivative,  the 
capital  «  croi'hit.  From  this  time  forward  an 
English  building  is  rarely  to  be  found  wholly 
free  from  French  influence,  especially  evincing 
itself  in  the  use  of  the  crochet  capital  along  with 
others  of  purely  English  origin — examples  at 
Glastonbury  Abbey  ll86  -  1200;  St.  David's, 
1180-1200,  where  the  capitals  I'l  crochet  are  used 
alongside  of  every  derivative  of  the  Norman 
cushion  capital."  We  may  name  the  following 
examples  :  Chapel  in  White  Tower,  London, 
said  to  be  the  earliest  example  in  England  (1081)  ; 
tower  of  Rochester  cathedral  (10^7-1130);  St. 
Alban's  (1077)  :  Hereford  (1079)  ;  Gloucester 
(lOSS)  ;  Ely  (1081)  ;  transepts  of  Winchester 
(1079-1107) ;  Norwich  (1096):  choir  and  transept; 
Parker  also  adds  Colchester  Castle ;  Christ 
Church,  Hants,  nave  :  Durham,  nave  and 
trsinsepts  (1093-1133)  Tewkesbury  Abbey 
Church  ;  choir  of  Peterborough ;  Porchestcr 
Church,  Hants  ;  St.  Cross,  Hants,  choir  ;  and  of 
Later  Transitional  work  :  Iflley  Church,  Oxford- 
shire ;    Burfreston,    Kent ;    Stewkley    Church, 


Bucks ;  Jervaulx  Abbey,  Torkshii'e ;  Peter- 
borough Cathedral,  nave  and  transepts  ■  Rom- 
sey  Abbey,  Hants  ;  and  parts  of  Canterbury  and 
Durham  Cathedrals,  Byland  Abbey,  &c.  A 
chronological  and  classified  list  is  given  in 
Parker's  Glossary.  Norman  architectuiq  in 
Scotland  partakes  of  the  same  character,  bat  is 
lesspure — see  Dunfermline  Abbey,  and  Churches 
of  Kelso  (1128),  Dryburgh,  Jedburgh,  Dunkeld, 
&c.  In  chese  the  Transitional  character  is  more 
advanced  than  in  England,  a  fact  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  (see  "  Arch.  Diet.").  For  works,  we 
may  direct  the  student  to  Dawson  Turner's 
"Tour  in  Normandy"  ;  Cotman  and  Turner's 
"Arch.  Antiq.  of  Normandy"  ;  Britton,  Pugin, 
and  Le  Keux'  s  ' '  Specimens  ' '  (Spiers'  Edition) ; 
"  Notes  in  Nonnany,"  by  Godwin;  "Sir Gilbert 
Scott's  Lectures";  "Parker's  Glossary,"  &c., 
in  addition  to  our  o-n-n  pages  (seeVol.  for  1874). 

ARCHITECTXTRAL  &  ARCHJEOLOGICAI^ 
SOCIETIES. 

London  and  Middlesex  AECHiEOLOoicAL 
Society. — The  aimual  summer  excursion  of  this 
society  was  held  on  Tuesday,  Aug.  10,  at 
Enfield,  when  about  eighty  of  the  members  and 
friends  assembled  at  the  Granunar  School  to 
hear  papers  read  on  "  The  History  of  Enfield," 
by  Mr.  J.  O.  Ford,  and  on  "  The  Church  and  its 
Monuments,"  by  the  vicar,  the  Rev.  G.  H. 
Hodson.  The  company  then  inspected  the 
house  forming  part  of  the  old  palace,  which  con- 
tained a  panelled  room  of  the  Elizabethan 
period.  Progress  was  then  made  to  Oldbury 
Camp,  to  "Durrani's,"  a  brick-buit  moated 
house,  once  the  residence  of  the  famous  Judge 
Jeffreys.  "Forty  Hall"  was  next  visited, 
where  the  fine  pictures  and  house  (erected  by 
Inigo  Jones)  were  freely  inspected.  After  a 
drive  through  Trent-park,  the  residence  of  Mr. 
R.  C.  L.  Bevan,  the  members  returned  to 
Enfield  about  six  o'clock.  The  next  session 
will  commence  in  November,  when  the  evening 
meetings  will  be  resumed  at  4,  St.  Martin's- 
place,  W.C. 

The  Midland  Institute. — The  usual  August 
excursion  of  the  Archceological  section  of  the 
(Bii-mingham)  Midland  Institute,  took  place  on 
Friday  and  Saturday  last.  The  party  left  Bir- 
mingham e.arly  on  Friday,  and  arrived  at 
Lincoln  about  midday.  After  luncheon  the 
Rev.  Canon  Venables  (who  at  an  hour  or  two's 
notice  had  kindly  placed  Idmselt  at  the  disposal 
of  the  party)  conducted  the  visitors  over  the 
Cathedral  and  town.  On  Saturday  the  party 
left  for  Newark,  which  was  reached  at  10.22. 
The  first  place  visited  was  Hawton,  about  IJ 
miles  away,  where  the  country  church  has  a 
magnificent  tower  of  the  Perpendicular  style. 
A  description  of  the  remains  and  of  the  church 
was  read  by  Mr.  Everitt.  Returning  to  Newark, 
the  Church  of  St.  Mary  was  visited.  In  the 
afternoon  some  of  the  party  proceeded  by  train 
to  Southwell  Minster,  and  at  0.22  the  visitors 
started  homeward,  eta  Derby. 


CHIPS. 

The  ceremony  of  laying  foundation-stones  of  a 
new  coifee-tavern  and  a  new  arcade  took  place 
at  Exeter  recently.  The  old  grammar-school 
premises  at  Eastgate  were  acquired  some  time 
since  at  a  cost  of  £4,500,  and  two  limited 
liability  companies  were  formed,  and  it  wr.s  decided 
to  construct  .an  arcade  couuectiug  High-street 
with  Southern  hay,  and  to  build  a  coffee -tavern  on 
a  portion  of  the  site.  The  plans  for  both  nnder- 
t.akings  were  prepared  by  Mr.  James  Crocker,  of 
Queen-street,  Exeter,  and  these  having  been 
accepted  by  the  boards,  tenders  were  in- 
vited, and  those  of  Messrs.  Stephens  and 
Sous,  of  Exeter,  were  accepted,  at  £9,300  for 
the  arcade  and  £2,500  for  the  tavern.  Mr. 
Passmore  is  clerk  of  works.  The  style  is  Italian, 
and  the  arcade  will  be  225ft.  long,  with  a  15ft. 
promenade  under  glazed  ii-on  roof,  and  with  11 
shops  on  either  side,  having  six-roomed  houses 
behind.  Two  other  shops  and  the  coffee-tavern 
face  High-street.  The  walls  wilf'be  built  of  red 
and  white  bricks,  with  freestone  dressings,  and  the 
roofs  will  be  covered  with  Welsh  slates. 

The  town  council  of  Lincoln  sealed,  at  their 
meeting  on  the  3rd  iust.,  arrangements  for  the 
purchase  of  the  works  and  undertakings  of  the 
local  gas  company. 

New  schools  are  about  to  be  built  for  the  school- 
board  of  Gelligaer  at  Fenybank,  near  Vochrioa, 
from  the  designs  of  their  architsct,  Mr.  John 
Williams,  of  Morgans  town,  Merthyr. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


227 


ButlMuQ  JinttlUscuct 


Acastee  Mai-bis. — A  new  We-sleyan  cliapel, 
at  Acaster  Malbis,  near  York,  was  opened  on 
Au?.  12.  The  edifice  itself  is  in  the  Early 
English  style,  from  designs  by  Mr.  C.  Anderson, 
architect, of  Lendal,  York, andiscapableof seating 
about  1.50  persons.  Mr.  J.  Simpson,  of  Priory- 
street,  York,  has  been  the  contractor  for  the 
work,  for  the  sum  of  about  £890.  The  chapel  is 
buUt  of  stone  from  Potternewton,  relieved  by 
Whitby  stone  dressings.  The  porch  is  a  pro- 
jecting one,  with  pitch-pino  entrance  doors, 
having  ornamental  iron  hinges.  The  width  of  the 
edifice  is  23ft..  whilst  its  extreme  length  is  •5.5ft. 
The  edifice  will  be  heated  Tvith  Uolden's  hot-air 
apparatus,  and  is  ventilated  by  air-grates  and 
ventilators  in  the  roof.  The  chancel  and  porch 
are  laid  with  Maw  and  Co.'s  ornamental  tiles. 
Mr.  Cole,  of  York,  has  done  the  carving  work. 

Ai!rMGEK. — The  parish-church  of  Abinger,  near 
Dorking,  a  building  referred  to  by  John  Evelyn 
in  his  diary  as  "the  melancholy  church  of 
Abinger,"  was  reopened  on  Thursday,  the  5th 
inst.,  by  the  Bishop  of  'Winchester.  The  chancel, 
repaired  in ISoS  under  Mr.  Powell's  superintend- 
ence, is  13th-century  in  char.acter,  but  parts  of 
the  navo  are  a  century  earlier,  while  alterations 
existed  of  many  dates,  down  to  the  bellcote  added 
in  the  Georgian  era.  The  present  works  com- 
prise a  thorough  repair  of  the  external  structiu'e, 
especially  of  the  roofs,  and  internally  the  addi- 
tion of  an  organ-chamber  and  vestry  on  the  south 
side  :  new  staUs,  and  seats  in  the  patrons'  aisle 
of  oak  ;  rearrangement  of  the  seating  ;  repairs 
to  heating  apparatus,  and  the  replacement  of 
the  comparatively  modern  west  window  by  a 
memorial  one.  A  new  lych-gate  of  oak  has  been 
erected,  and  the  old  parish  stocks,  which  stand 
just  outside  the  chvirch,  have  had  a  new  cover  of 
oak  and  railings.  Mr.  Basil  Champneys,  of 
London,  was  the  architect ;  and  Messrs.  Colls 
and  Son,  of  Dorking,  the  builders  ;  the  cost  has 
been  £1,500. 

Chesteeton.  —  The  parish-church  of  St. 
Andrew,  Old  Chesterton,  near  Cambridge,  was 
reopened  on  "Wednesday,  Aug.  4,  after  completion 
of  restoration.  The  north  porch  has  been 
thoroughly  restored  and  re-roofed,  the  external 
arch,  originally  of  clunch,  having  been  rebuilt  in 
stone.  The  tower-arch  has  been  opened  to  the 
nave,  revealing  the  unique  belfry  staircase  of  the 
loth  century,  by  which  the  original  Decorated 
west  window  is  blocked  up.  At  the  eastern  end 
of  each  aisle  a  blocked- up  window  has  been 
opened  out,  the  work  on  the  south  side  bringing 
to  light  a  double  piscina  and  fragments  of  an 
ogee-arched  tomb.  The  ancient  oak  benches  in 
the  nave  have  been  carefully  repaired,  and  new 
oak  seats  provided  for  the  choir,  the  aisle  for  the 
present  being  provided  with  cane-seated  chairs. 
The  chancel  and  passages  have  been  paved 
with  red,  black,  and  yellow  tUes,  by 
Messrs.  Minton,  Hollins,  and  Co.,  and 
new  floors  have  been  provided  throughout 
the  church.  The  old  portion  of  the  rood-screen 
has  been  taken  down,  but  it  is  intended  to  refis 
it  when  it  is  restored.  There  are  four  new 
stained-glass  windows,  all  placed  in  the  south 
aisle.  A  three-light  one  at  the  west  end  has 
been  designed  by  Mr.  G.  G.  Scott,  and  the  work 
was  executed  by  Messrs.  Burlison  and  Grylles  ; 
the  subjects  are  Adam,  Abraham,  and  Jacob. 
Mr.  EUis  Leech,  of  Cambridge,  filled  that  at  the 
east  end  ;  the  figures  are  SS.  Peter,  Paul,  and 
Andrew.  Messrs.  "Ward  and  Hughes  undertook 
another  representing  "Christ  Blessing  Little 
Children,"  and  the  remaining  one  is  by  Mr.  Con- 
stable, of  Cambridge,  the  subject  being  the 
J\.doration  of  the  Magi.  Hot-water  apparatus 
has  been  supplied  by  Mr.  Middleton,  of  Ches- 
terton ;  the  organ  has  been  enlarged  and  con- 
verted from  a  single  into  a  double  manual  organ 
by  Mr.  A.  T.  Miller,  of  Cambridge.  The  arclii- 
tect  for  the  restoration  was  Mr.  AVilliam  Smith, 
of  the  Adelphi,  London,  and  the  contractors 
were  Messrs.  Rattee  and  Kett,  of  Cambridge  ; 
the  cost  has  been  about  £2,300. 

CBXTtciirLL. — On  Thursday.  Aug.  12,  the 
parish-church  of  St.  John,  Churchill,  Somerset, 
was  reopened,  after  restoration.  The  work  was 
undertaken  bj-  Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Glastonbury, 
the  contractor,  under  Mr.  Ewan  Christian,  of 
London,  whowasthe  architect.  On  the  exterior  all 
the  pinnacles,  turi-ets,  and  parapet  have  been 
carefully    restored.      The  tower  was  formerly 


covered  with  plaster,  but  tliis  is  removed,  and 
the  native  stone  is  risible.  The  windows  of  the 
tower  are  filled  in  with  traceried  stonework.  The 
dressings  to  the  widows  and  masonry  generally 
are  of  Bath  stone,  though  this  material  was  not 
employed  in  the  original  erection.  Tlio  porch 
has  been  restored,  and  a  new  oaken  roof  supplied. 
Inside  the  floors  are  newly  laid,  and  opeu  scats 
of  English  oak  in  the  nave  replace  the  former 
unsightly  pews.  The  roof  of  the  navo  is 
thoroughly  restored.  It  is  of  oak,  with  new 
boarding  laid  on  the  top  of  the  principals. 

Hull. — On  Thursday,  August  5,  the  town 
councU  resumed  their  sitting  in  the  council- 
chamber,  after  the  improvement  and  entire  re- 
decoration  of  the  interior  of  the  town-hall.  The 
more  important  portions  of  the  decorations, 
including  those  in  the  entrance-hall,  council- 
chamber,  banqueting  -  room,  and  Mayor's 
parlour  have  been  designed,  and  the  work  was 
personally  superintended,  by  Mr.  Lewis  F.  Day, 
of  Mecklenburg-square,  London,  "W. ,  the  execu- 
tion being  in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Campbell 
and  Smith,  of  Southampton-row,  London. 
Messrs.  Simpson  and  Son,  Messrs.  Howard  and 
Ijightowler,  and  Mr.  "U^ardle,  all  of  Hull,  have 
carried  out  the  work  done  in  committee-rooms, 
offices,  con-idors,  and  courts  :  and  Messrs. 
Richardson  and  Sons,  of  Bond- street,  supplied 
the  upholstery.  The  borough  engineer,  Mr.  J. 
Fox  Sharpe,  directed  the  improvements  effected 
in  the  town  clerk' s, borough  engineer'  sand  medical 
otficerof  health's  offices,  and  the  sanitary  arrange- 
ments and  ventilation  have  been  remodelled. 
In  the  council-chamber  the  walls  are  mainly  of 
a  Pompeian  red,  and  the  ceiling  is  chiefly  buff 
and  cedar  colour,  a  large  central  skylight  being 
filled  with  rich  stained  glass,  in  which  ruby  and 
gold  colour  are  plentifully  introduced.  In  the 
spandrels  between  the  -n-indow-arches  are 
shields  of  arms  of  the  more  important  coimtries 
trading  with  Hull,  such  as  France,  Germany, 
Russia,  Austria,  Denmark,  Italy,  Norway  .and 
Sweden,  and  the  United  States.  The  chief 
interest  lies  in  the  four  large  frescoes,  one  of 
which  fills  a  large  semicircular  space  upon  each 
wall.  The  painting  on  the  north  wall,  over  the 
Mayor's  chair,  represents  the  knighting  of  Dela 
Pole.  The  King,  by  whose  side  stands  Henrj-, 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  is  in  the  act  of  giving  the 
accolade  to  the  kneeling  merchant,  and  on  the 
one  side  are  a  bishop  and  herald,  and  on  the 
other  a  group  of  citizens,  with  two  young 
pages  of  the  Court.  The  architectural  back- 
ground is  of  the  13th  century.  The  second 
scene,  on  the  south  wall,  shows  Sir  John 
Hotham  refusing  to  admit  King  Charles  into 
the  town.  In  the  centre  the  King,  mounted  on 
a  black  charger,  and  surrounded  by  an  escort, 
claims  admittance.  Behind  the  drawbridge, 
which  is  just  being  raised  at  his  command, 
stands  Sir  John,  the  keys  of  the  castle  in  his 
hand,  and  in  the  background  are  the  walls  of 
HuU.  The  picture  on  "the  eastern  wall  repre- 
sents Andrew  Marvell  acting  as  secretary  to 
Cromwell.  The  member  for  Hull  is  writing  at 
the  dictation  of  John  Milton,  who  occupies  the 
central  position  in  the  scene,  his  hand  raised  as 
he  speaks.  The  Lord  Protector  is  seen  entering 
the  chamber  through  a  curtained  doorway.  The 
panelled  walls  of  the  room  are  taken  from  a  city 
building  of  the  period.  The  last  of  the  subjects, 
that  on  the  eastern  wall,  is  Wilberforce  intro- 
ducing his  motion  for  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
Scene,  the  House  of  Commons.  To  the  extreme 
left  sits  the  Speaker  in  his  robes,  and,  facing 
him,  "WUberforce  stands  in  the  act  of  speaking. 
On  the  front  bench,  facing  him,  sits  Fox, 
listening,  his  legs  crossed.  On  a  back  bench 
sits  Edmund  Burke,  with  folded  arms.  The 
costumes  are  of  the  period,  and  the  principal 
actors  in  the  scene  are  from  authentic  portraits 
by  Romney,  XoUckens,  and  others.  The 
frescoes  are  painted  by  Mr.  Frederick  Smith,  of 
the  firm  of  Campbell  and  Smith,  of  Southamp- 
ton-row, W.C. 

Meteopolit.ix  Boaed  of  Woeks. — At  the 
meeting  of  this  board  on  Friday,  a  deputation 
from  lessees  and  occupiers  of  land  on  the  Cotton 
Estate,  Limehouse,  presented  a  memorial  on  the 
subject  of  floodinirs  from  recent  storms.  Mr. 
Bryce,  M.P.,  who  headed  the  deputation,  spoke 
of  the  injury  to  health  and  property  in  the  dis- 
trict, caused  by  the  overflow  of  sewage  matter, 
and  said  that  the  district  was  not  very  healthy 
at  any  time :  but  it  had  been  found  that  fevers 
and  other  diseases  had  become  much  more 
prevalent  in  consequence  of  the  recent  orerflows. 


The  memorial  was  referred  to  the  works  com- 
inittcc.  It  was  decided  to  address  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Maplcson's  solicitors,  as  to  the  un])uid  rent, 
now  some  £3,000  in  urrear,  for  the  site  of  llio 
unfinished  National  Opera  House  on  the  Em- 
banlcmeut,  and  to  state  that  unless  satisfactory 
arrangements  are  made  by  Nov.  let,  the  board 
will  take  further  steps.  Several  tenders  were 
been  accepted  for  the  repair  of  the  Albert, 
Wandsworth,  and  Waterloo  bridges.  A  letter 
was  ordered  to  be  add^e8^ed  to  certain 
memorialists  in  Hackney,  stating  that  the 
board  arc  not  prepared  to  negotiate  with  thom 
for  the  purchase  of  portions  of  Hackney  DownB 
and  Hackney  Marshes.  In  a  conversation  lus 
to  the  rearrangement  of  the  district  of  West 
Lslington,  rendered  vacant  by  thedcccaso  of  Mr. 
William  Moseley,  the  late  district  surveyor ;  it 
transpired  that  the  income  of  the  late  official 
was  over  £1,000  a  year.  The  district  will  bo 
divided  into  North-Wcst  Lslington  and  South- 
West  Islington,  and  the  elections  for  the  two 
appointments  will  take  place  on  Friday,  the  8th 
October,  at  noon. 

Ne\st!ottxe. — New  Board  schools  at  New- 
bottle,  in  the  county  of  Durham,  were  ojioncd 
on  the  2nd  inst.  The  walls  are  of  brick,  built 
hoUow  ;  the  roofs  covered  with  Webih  slates  and 
red  tUo  ridges.  The  schools  accommodate  31.5 
children  in  three  separate  departments,  a 
separate  school  and  class,  room  being  provided 
for  each.  The  boys'  and  girls'  departments 
have  dual  desks  and  seats.  A  master's  house, 
containing  sbc  rooms,  with  yard,  garden,  ic, 
and  a  board-room  have  been  erected  on  the  site. 
The  cost  of  the  school  buildings,  including  scats 
and  desks,  boundary-walls,  outoflices,  ice,  is 
imder  £6  per  child.  The  work  has  been  exe- 
cuted from  the  designs  (selected  in  competition) 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  W.  Fox, 
architect,  of  the  city  of  Durham,  Mr.  Forstcr, 
of  Spennymoor,  being  contractor  for  the  whole 
of  the  work. 

St.  Glles'  Cathedeal,  Glasgow. — The  res- 
torations on  St.  Giles'  Cathedral  Church,  have 
been  completed,  as  far  .as  Dr.  W.  Chambers  is 
able  to  proceed,  untU  the  nave  or  western  por- 
tion of  the  building  is  placed  at  his  disposal, 
which  is  not  likely  to  be  earlier  than  twelve 
months  hence.  The  parts  last  executed  are  the 
southern  aisles  and  vaidts,  formerly  unapproach- 
able, but  now  open  for  inspection.  The  most 
conspicuous  additions  are  the  ornamental  tiles 
laid  in  the  south  transept  and  the  Moray  Aisle, 
also  the  iron  grill  at  the  Moray  jVislc.  Ft«m 
this  aisle  there  is  a  descent  of  a  few  steps  to  a 
crypt,  in  which  are  the  tombs  of  the  Regent 
Murray,  Alexander,  fourth  Earl  of  Galloway, 
and  the  Earl  of  Athole,  Lord  High  Chaiicellor 
of  Scotland,  with  inscribed  marble  tablets  in  the 
pavement  indicating  the  names  and  dates.  From 
the  crypt  there  is  a  further  short  descent  to  the 
vault  in  which  was  iutorabcd  the  Marquis  of 
Montrose,  in  which  the  name  and  date,  IGOI, 
are  likewise  inscribed  on  a  tablet.  The  estima- 
tion for  the  restoration  of  the  southern  a'-YOS 
was  £1,500  ;  but  the  cost  has  been  nearly  double 
that  amount. 

SuEFFiELD.— New  Board  Schools  at  Wood- 
side,  Sheffield,  were  opened  on  Monday  week.  The 
waUs  are  of  rock-faced  AValkley  stone,  with 
dressings  of  Grenoside  ashlar.  The  roofs  are 
covered"  with  dark  Westmoreland  slat.,"*  with 
red  rid-'cs.  The  accommodation  pr..vul.  d  is  for 
310  chUdren  in  the  mixed  boys'  and  girls  de- 
partment, and  for  332  infanU.  The  cost,  inclu- 
sive of  the  heavy  work  of  forming  the  t-mund, 
which  is  on  a  considerable  slope,  rut.iming 
walls  &c.,  and  for  the  whole  of  theboun.iry 
walling  for  the  present  and  futiiro  dop  ir-n.  :.;-. 
is  und?r  £0  per  chUd.  TTie  buildings  h:>^ ■  1  -  n 
erected  from  the  plans  of  Messrs.  InnoccM  .^nd 
Brown.  The  contriictors  are  Messrs.  Sharp  and 
Son,  and  Mr.  W.  Dickinson  is  the  clerk  o« 
works.  ^ 

The  parish-church  of  Aldoby.  near  Bo.-rI«. 
formerly  attached  to  an  a-lJ^'-'-K J"'"'  "  . 
priory,  was  reopened  r^*?;''?;  ''.f.T  ^'  . 
Jionof  the  nave.  The  church  »";»''''  ,  .■ 
in  a  sad  state  of  dilap.d.iUon  ^'"^.^'^_^>\''- 
L  hieh  souare  pews  of  ktmI  "^f  <^^i  uncomforl- 
IbleforaXveVen  replaced  by  open  bench«^ 
^he  floo™relaid.  and  tho  .toneworic  'fT*"^-  P'f 
work  has  been  carried  out  f™™  »»'?,?''";' "l^Jj^'.^- 
R  W  Pearcc  of  Norwich,  by  Mr.  Alfre,!  t.nmmer. 
buiWer.orWheatacre:  the  stonework  was  do.e 
by  Mr.  F.  J.  Allen,  of  Beccles. 


228 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


Fifty   Thousand  Keplies   and 

f    I  '  !■  r^  v.,t  have  appeared  d'.rLiiB 

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i  .M  1 1 11 1 1  HI.   p,i|it-i>,  and  countless  receipts  and 

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A  XATIONAi  BE>rEFIT  SOCIETY. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Butldikq  News. 

SiE, — Tou  are  generally  so  correct  in  your 
statements  and  deductions,  and  confidence  in 
them  is  so  established,  that  when  an  inadvertency 
arises,  it  makes  its  correction  of  more  import- 
ance. 

In  your  last  week's  Building  Kews,  in  your 
reference  to  my  article  in  the  Fortiiiyhtbj  lieeieu- 
of  this  month,  on  "Friendly  Societies,  their 
Position  and  Prospects,"  you  say  Mr.  Eandell 
suggests  the  desirability  of  establishing  a 
National  Benefit  Society,  with  a  national 
guarantee,  similar  to  that  of  the  National  Sa- 
vings Bank,  to  which  a  minimum  contribution, 
securing  a  minimum  benefit,  should  be  made 
compulsory,  on  the  part  of  every  young  uoikiui/ 
win  from  the  age  of  eighteen  to  twenty-one. 

I  could  not  advocate  the  working  man  being 
compelled  to  pay,  and  others  not  to  be  com- 
pelled ;  and  to  seek  to  draw  a  line  between  these 
who  should  be  called  on  to  pay  and  those  who 
need  not  be  called  ou,  would,  I  think,  be  .a  fatal 
difficulty  to  such  organisation. 

The  organisation  I  referred  to  was  that  pro- 
posed by  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Blackley,  and  it  is  in- 
correct to  limit  it  to  working  men,  or  to  men. 
Mr.   Blackley  proposes  that  every  person  shall 


give  a  guarantee  to  the  State  against  their  ever 
becoming  a  burden  to  the  State.  He  truly 
ob.serves  those  who  are  rich  when  young  may  be 
poor  before  they  die.  Therefore,  instead  of 
every  "young  working  man,"  it  should  be  every 
young  person. 

The  millions  paid  yearly  to  Friendly  Societies, 
the  large  amounts  received  annually  by  the 
industrial  assurance  offices,  and  the  amounts 
annually  deposited  with  the  Post  Office  Sai-ings 
Bank  (the  returns  of  which  show  us  that  female 
servants  are  the  most  numerous  class  of  deposi- 
tors), all  evidence  the  power  with  the  indus- 
trial classes,  to  make  the  necessary  payments  to 
secure  their  independence,  if  the  necessary 
organisation  was  accessible  to  them.  Till  such 
organisation  is  provided,  I  fear  a  very  large 
portion  of  the  savings  of  the  industrial  classes 
will  continue  to  be  lost  to  them,  and  till  nil  are 
included  in  su:!h  organisation,  both  male  and 
female,  there  will  be  no  hope  of  seeing  the 
industrial  classes  rise  above  the  poor  laws,  and 
of  those  laws  dj-ing  out. — I  am,  ifco., 

James  S.  Eaxdell. 


lEOX  IN  PORTLAND  CEMENT. 

Siii, — Permit  me  to  thank  Mr.  Reid  for  the 
pains  he  has  taken  to  prove  that  iron  in  its  free 
condition  does  exist  in  Portland  cement ;  but  I 
much  regret  that  he  has  not  given  us  the  in- 
teresting details  he  has  obtained,  as  I  am  sure 
neither  you  nor  your  readers  would  have  been 
"troubled"  with  them.  If  any  one  is  con. 
vinced  against  his  will,  I  think  readers  of  Mr. 
Reid's  letters  will  consider  it  is  that  gentleman 
himself.  In  his  first  letter  ho  doubted  my 
seriousness,  and  simply  ignored  my  statements, 
and  propoimdcd  the  "  nut-and-bolt  theory." 
Next  we  had  the  loose  iron  in  gas-coke  idea, 
and,  lastly,  Mr.  Reid  having  investigated  the 
subject  for  himself,  now  finds  my  views  correct. 

F'resuming  that  Mr.  Walter  F.  Reid  is  the 
same  gentleman  whose  analyses  are  so  often 
quoted  by  Mr.  H.  Reid  in  the  1877  edition  of 
his  book  on  Cement,  and  who  has  been  aware  of 
the  existence  of  free  iron  in  cement  for  the  past 
six  years,  I  am  surprised  that  Mr.  il.  Reid 
was  not  also  aware  of  the  fact.  Or  are  we  to 
gather  that  in  the  analysis  there  quoted,  the 
free  iron  had  escaped  the  notice  of  the  chemist  ? 
Mr.  W.  F.  Reid  may  have  hit  on  the  true  theory 
of  the  existence  of  iron  in  cement,  and  now 
assuming  that  fact  to  be  at  last  beyond  dispute, 
I  will  ask  in  conclusion.  Is  the  presence  of  free 
iron  injurious  to  cement?  "We  must  not  forget 
that  Mr.  Reid  in  his  first  letter  distinctly  said 
that  "iron,  in  even  the  mildest  and  least  objec- 
tionable form  in  Portland  cement,  is  more  or  less 
dangerous,"  and  on  the  19th  ult.  said  that  "he 
had  no  doubt  also  that  a  considerable  addition  is 
made  from  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  makers 
themselves,"  knowing  "  from  experience  that 
there  are  cement  consumers  who  neither  use 
sieve,  testing-machine,  nor  even  common  sense, 
and  confidingly  take  cement  so  long  as  it  is  in  a 
cask  and  sack  with  a  maker's  name  labelled 
thereon."  Certainly  Mr.  Reid  seems  to  have 
had  ' '  too  much  faith  in  the  honesty  of  cement 
makers." 

As  Mr.  Reid  kindly  suggests  this  may  be  a 
craze  of  mine,  I  can  only  say  that  my  experi- 
ence has  shown  me  that  the  magnet  is  a  valuable 
aid  to  the  triple  test,  and  I  would  strongly 
advise  your  readers,  when  testing,  to  use  it,  and 
feel  sure  that  they  will  find  that  the  addition  of 
free  iron,  whether  due  to  accident,  carelessness, 
adulteration,  or,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  W.  L. 
Reid,  to  being  smelted  from  shale,  is  deleterious. 
— I  am,  &c.,  "Magnet." 


IMPROVED    ASH-PITS. 

SiE, — The  old  form  of  ash-pit  aud  conveni- 
ence, notwithstandi  ig  their  many  sanitarj- 
disadvantages,  are  still  the  rule  in  many  towns. 
In  the  rural  district.*  common  middens  remain 
to  a  large  extent,  which  are  still  more  objection- 
able. 

Ignorance  of  the  laws  of  health,  and  false 
economy  will  in  some  measure  account  for  a 
continuance  of  these  evils.  In  some  towns,  and 
in  the  suburban  district.s,  a  modified  form  of 
ash-pit  and  convenience  might,  I  think,  be 
adopted,  without  iu  any  way  cudangerint;- 
health.  Improvements  have  already  been  made 
in  their  construction  iu  some  places,  but  the  ash- 
pit accommodation  generally  is  greatly  in  excess, 
aud  still  more  is  liable  to  be  overcharged,  and 
the  ashes  often  are  not  properly  distributed  over 


the  excrement.  I  have  lately  erecied  "Im- 
proved a.sh-pits"  to  some  houses  here,  which,  I 
tliink,  possess  the  requisite  sanitary  advan- 
tages, and  are  likely  to  answer  their  purpose 
exceedingly  well.  The  ashes  being  deposited  in 
the  shoot  (which  is  a  cleansed  flag)  falls  direct 
uDon  the  excrement.  The  vault,  which  will 
contain  about  1  cubic  yard  of  soil,  cannot  be 
overcharged.  Less  facility  is  also  given  for  the 
throwing  in  of  garbage,  &c. 

The  emptying  door,  next  the  back  road,  avoids 
the  necessity  of  entering  the  vault  for  the  pur- 
pose of  clearing  out  same. 

Ample  ventilation  is  also  prorided  iu  the  air- 
shaft  at  the  back  by  air-grids  at  the  bottom,  and 
large  openings  or  outlets  at  the  top.  The  con- 
venience is  more  capacious  than  usually  made, 
and  well  ventilated.  Few  ordinary  dwellings, 
the  size  of  the  vaiUt,  will  be  sufficiently  large 
for  about  six  months'  use,  and  the  cost  of  the 
erection  is  only  about  the  same  as  for  an  ash- 
pit and  convenience  upon  the  old  plan,  the 
biulding  being  considerably  reduced  in  length. 

I  inclose  you  a  sketch  of  the   plan  adopted  by 


r  I  c .  I 


r  f  c .  a 


myself.  I  have  no  patents  to  protect  in  con- 
nection with  same,  but  hope  the  old  form  of 
ash-pit  and  convenience  may  soon  be  entirely 
done  away,  and  replaced  by  others  fulfilling  all 
the  sanitary  requirements.  Fig.  1  is  section 
on  line  A  B  of  sectional  plan ;  Fig.  2  is  section 
of  pair  of  conveniences  at  line  U  D  of  ground 
plan  ;  Fig.  3,  sectional  plan  ou  line  E  F  :  Fig.  4, 
ground  plan. — I  am,  &:o.,  W.  Bkowx. 

St.   Martin's-buildings,  Micklegate,  York, 
Aug.  14. 


WALSINGHAM. 

SiE, — May  I  express  a  hope  that  the  Archi- 
tectural Association  will  make  a  ground-plan  of 
the  Grey  Friars  Hou.se  at  Walsingham,  and  pub- 
lish it  in  your  pages.  Last  week  I  was  unable 
to  obtain  access  to  it,  or  I  should  have  devoted 
some  time  to  the  same  object.  We  have  few 
remains  of  Franciscan  arrangement,  and  none 
so  perfect  as  these  appeared  to  me  from  a  tan- 
talising bird's-eye  view  over  walls  from  a  high 
adj  oining  bank. 

The  "Cadaver"  has  been  well  explained  by 
your  correspondents,  and  is  so  common  a 
feature  in  Mediaeval  sculpture,  that  it  did  not 
seem  to  require  more  than  a  curt  refutation  of  a 
popular  error  which  was  long  since  exposed. — I 
am,  ifcc,  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Waxcott. 


PINHOE    CHURCH. 

SlK, — Youl'  correspondent  corrects  an  omission 
in  your  necessarily  curtailed  report  of  the  above 
recent  restoration,  and  whilst  doing  so,  himself, 
inadvertently  makes  others. 

The  task  of  restoring  the  grandly  groined  old 
rood-screen,  one  of  the  finest  samples  in  Devon- 
shire, of  renovating  the  interesting  Late  Perpen- 
dicular pulpit,  of  repairing  the  almost  unique  aud 
curiously  sculptured  poor-box  (concerning  which 
some  correspondence  took  place  in  these  columns 
early  in  187S,  when  Precentor  Mackenzie  E.  C. 
Walcott  ascribed  its  date  to  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century),  the  conservative  making  good  of  the 
original  old  carved  bench-ends,  the  creation  of 
carved  angels  in  the  roof,  aud  of  carved  figures  in 
the  chancel  stall  standards,  the  provision  of  an  oak 
lectern  altir-table,  aud  of  a  marble  retable  were 
amongst  the  items  not  embraced  in  his  contract. 

Under  the  immediate  direction  of  Messrs.  Evvan. 
Christian  and  E.  Medley  Falford,  these  worka 
were  carried  out  by  assistants  in  the  employ  of 
Haeey  Hems. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


229 


$ut^itcimmmucati0n» 


QCESTIOXS. 

[6201.]  — Hanging-  Sashes.— WUl  any  of  your 
numerous  readers  iuform  rao  of  any  mode  of  hanging- 
sashes  to  dispense  with  the  usual  cords  and  weights  .'  Jly 
wish  is  to  work  a  single  sash  about  4ft.  square.— Vext- 

NOS. 

[6202.1— Master  v.  Pupil.— I  have  the  misfortune 
to  beartieled  to  an  architect  who,  although  not  a  bank- 
rupt, has  recently  been  sold  out,  when  all  his  instruments, 
books,  &c.,  were  seized,  the  consequence  being  that  he 
cannot  properly  instruct  me.  He  has  also  entirely  lost 
his  practice.  Under  these  circumstances,  can  I  claim  the 
remaining  18  months  of  my  time  ?— Pupil. 

16203.] -Tank.-There  is  an  open  tank  about  40ft.  by 
12ft.  by  2ft.  6in.  deep,  on  the  roof  of  a  factory.  The 
bottom  is  formed  of  trick  aiches  and  iron  girders,  con- 
creted .ind  cemented.  The  sides,  which  arc  of  stone  wall- 
ing, are  also  cemented.  The  cement  is  much  cracked,  and 
the  tank  will  not  hold  water.  It  is  very  important  that 
it  should  be  made  to  hold.  Could  not  this  be  done  by 
putting  a  lining  of  concrete  around  the  sides,  battering 
' 1ft.  at  the  bottom  to  3in.  thick  at  the  top,  with  a 


facing  of  cement  lin.  in  thickness  over  the  whole 

haps  some  of  your  readers  could  give  me  their  opinions, 

or  suggest  some  other  method  likely  to  prove  a  success. — 


ji£Fii:es. 

;6177.]—Danip-Proof  Brick-Coloured  Compo- 
sition.—.\s  ■■yli<.,n"  his  II, .t  vet  received  a  direct 
answer  to  his  .viesiion.  I  sli  )ul  i  »u-,vst  he  waits  a  time 
before  defacing  hw  hous-  wit'i  composition.  I  have  fre- 
quently noticed  walls  in  new  houses  to  be  damp  where 
exposed  to  continuous  rains)  that  have  after  a  time  be- 
come perfectly  dry.  Possessing  as  he  does  a  hollow  wall 
(one  of  the  best  moans  of  prevenling  damp),  it  would  be 
a  good  plan  to  ventilate  the  wjills  by  inserting  air-brick 


[61S2.] -Numerical  Value  of  Loer.-The  rule  for 
raismg  any  number  to  a  given  power  by  mains  of  loga- 
rithms is— Multiply  the  logarithcn  of  the  number  by  the 
index  of  the  given  power,  and  the  product  thus  obtained 
is  the  logarithm  of  the  required  power  of  the  number.  To 
apply  this  rule  to  the  particular  case  in  question  it  is 
necessary  to  multiply  the  log.  of  10,  which  is],  by  the 
indjexof  the  given  power,  which  is  1-079181,  and  the  pro- 
duct thus  obtained  1079181  is  the  log.  of  ioi-»;'is>.  It  is 
now  only  necessary  to  refer  to  the  tables  and  find  the 
number  corresponding  to  this  logarithm.  We  Bnd  it  to 
be  12-820SS79.  Hence  we  know  that  lo'  "^'I'l  e(iu.al 
12S20SS79.— S.  H. 

[6190.]— Brick  Footing-s  to  Tank.-Tf  "  G.  C 
will  just  take  the  trouble  to  arrange  his  bricks  he  will 
find  that  he  cannot  hive  all  headers.  If  he  has  2Iiu. 
offsets  a  stretcher  comes  in  every  alternate  coui-se.  I 
always  keep  stretcheis  inside  where  width  of  wall  allows. 
Bricks  are  seldom  tilled  in  thick  walls  as  stretchers, 
though  it  makes  but  little  ditierence  to  despatch  of  work 
But  surely  a  matter  so  simple  might  be  left  to  workmen. 
— Bricklayer. 

[6197.]— Damp  House.— Nine-inch  outer  walls  can 
never  be  depended  upon  for  keeping  out  damp,  and  ivy  or 
any  creeper  greatly  increases  its  liability.  I  comsider'the 
best  remedy  would  be  tirst  to  insert  a  proper  damp-course, 
the  whole  thickness  of  walls,  and,  say,  6in.  above  the 
ground  Ime.  Take  down  the  ivy  and  cover  the  wall  with 
agood  coat  of  cement  stucco,  or,  if  you  prefer  it,  cover 
the  walls  with  trowelled  stucco,  and  paint  it  when  tho- 
roughly dry. — Alfred. 


PARLIAMENTARY      NOTES. 

London  Water  StTPLY.- On  Monday,  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  Lord  Fortescue  having  directed 
attention  to  the  tank  system  of  intermittent  water 
supply  in  the  Jletroiiulis.  and  asked  whether  the 
Government  meant  to  take  measures  to  remedy 
the  evil,  and  whether  they  had  offered  other  terms 
for  the  purchase  of  the  water-works  than  those 
which  had  lately  been  rejected,  Lord  Fife  returned 
a  negative  reply.  The  report  on  which  the  ques- 
tion was  founded  had  only  been  issued  a  week  ; 
but  the  Goverumeut  were  prepared  to  give  effect  to 
the  reoommeudation  of  the  Select  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  that  an  independent  water 
authority  should  be  constituted,  with  powers  to 
deal  with  the  whole  matter. 

TiiE  BEiTisn  JtrsErji.— Captain  Aylmer  on 
Friday  last  asked  the  First  Commissioner  of  Works 
whether  he  was  aware  that  the  new  building  pro- 
posed to  be  erected  at  the  British  Museum  would 
be  in  close  proximity  to  other  houses  already 
erected  ;  and  if  so,  whether  he  would  give  instruc- 
tions that  the  roofs  of  the  new  building,  which 
would  he  on  .a  lower  level  than  the  surrounding 
houses,  should  be  constructed  of  tireproof'materials. 
—Mr.  Adam. — If,  as  I  presume  is  the  case,  the 
hon.  gentleman's  question  refers  to  a  new  build- 
ing proposed  to  be  erected  in  Montagu-street  for 

the  British  Museum,  I  may   inform  him  that  no  ' s.. 

working  plans  have  as  yet  been  prepared  for  that    an    order.      , 

bmlding.      It  will  be  in  proximity  to  other  build-    your  contention,  y 
lugs  :  but  every  jirecaution  will  be  taken  to  render    Mr.  Taylor     "" 


LEGAL  INTELLIGENCE. 

The  Powees  of  District  Surveyors- Iiiport- 
ANT  Leoae  QtJESTiON.— Last  week,  at  the  Marl, 
borough- street  Police-court,  before  R.  Newton 
Esq.,  the  case  of  Kerr  v.  Webster  was  heard,  in 
which  the  complainant,  as  district  surveyor  of  St 
James's,  Westminster,  summoned  Mr.  Wm.  Web- 
ster, builder  and  eoutractor,  for  having  disobeyed 
an  order  of  the  Metropolitm  Board  of  Works  to 
alter  the  construction  of  a  chimuey  at  the  Criterion 
restaurant,  by  providing  and  fixing  an  additional 
stay  of  H  iron  9in.  deep,  secured  at  the  foot  by  a 
wrought-iron  strip  passing  round  the  said  chuniiey- 
stack,  "in  the  manner  shown  upon  the  half-inch 
scale  drawing  supplied  by  Mr.  Verity,  architect  of 
the  building,  appearing  before  the  Board  on  the 
biiilder's  behalf,  in  respect  of  his  disagreement 
\vith  the  said  district  surveyor."  Mr.  Taylor 
solicitor,  appeared  for  the  defendant.  Mr.  Kerrj 
having  been  sworn,  stated  that  in  the  mouth  of 
May,  1S79,  the  chimney  in  question  was  discovered 
by  him  to  have  been  erected  on  the  old  building  of 
the  Criterion  restaurant  without  notice  having 
been  given.  The  chimney  reached  to  a  very  great 
height,  something  like  Mft.,  which  was  consider- 
ably more  than  six  times  the  least  width,  the  latter 
being  the  limit  prescribed  by  statute.  On  dis- 
covering that  the  chimuey  had  been  so  erected,  ho 
(witness)  communicated  with  Mr.  Thomas  Verity, 
the  architect  of  the  building.  They  corresponded 
for  several  months,  and  he  was  under  the  impres- 
sion that  Mr.  Verity  intended  applying  for  the 
sanction  of  the  Board  of  Works.  He  did  not  do 
so,  however,  and  witness's  patience  being  exhausted 
he,  in  Sept.,  1879,  gave  Mr.  Webster,  the  contractor, 
notice  to  amend  the  work,  and  summoned  him  in 
Nov. ,  1879,  for  neglecting  to  obey  the  notice.  The  case 
came  before  Mr.  Mansheld,  when  the  preliminiry 
objection  was  taken  that  the  Criterion  was  a  public 
building,  and  although  witness  contended  that  the 
clause  in  regard  to  public  buildings  could  not  safely 
be  held  to  apply  to  a  chimney,  Mr.  Mansfield  even- 
tually decided  that  it  was  a  public  building.  After 
that,  the  dispute  between  witness  and  defendant 
was  by  agreement  referred  to  the  Board  of  Works, 
and  the  result  was  that  they  ordered  the  work  to 
be  amended  in  the  manner  set  foith  in  the  present 
summons.  Mr.  Newton :  Did  you  say  that  Mr. 
Manstield  decided  that  the  Criterion  was  a  public 
building  ?  Mr.  Taylor  :  Yes.  It  is  a  public  buUd- 
lug,  being^licensed  for  dancing,  and  all  the  rest  of 
it.  Mr.  Newton  :  That  does  not  make  it  a  public 
building.  Mr.  Kerr:  When  we  got  the  decision 
of  the  Board  of  Works,  Mr.  Verity  signified  that 
their  order  would  not  be  obeyed,  and'therefore  I 
had  to  bring  this  summons  before  you.  Mr,  New- 
ton :  If  Mr.  Mansfield  has  decided  it  to  be  a  public 
building,  then  it  comes  under  section  30,  and  it 
won't  come  under  sections  4-5  and  46.  Mr.  Kerr  : 
Yes,  it  will!  Mr.  Taylor:  No;  that  is  just  the 
point.  Mr.  Kerr  :  There  is  no  rule  laid  down  in 
the  Act  for  carrying  out  the  decisions  of  the  Metro- 
politan Board,  and  therefore  we  have  always  been 
accustomed  to  say  that  we  mu.st  proceed  upon  the 
order  of  the  Board  of  Works,  as  if  it  were  a  clause 
of  the  Act,  for  the  occasion.  I  gave  notice  to  Mr. 
\Vebster  to  obey  the  order  in  tLi^i  case,  and  upon 
his  disobedience  I  have  come  before  you  to  ask 
you  to  compel  him  to  carry  out  the  oider  of  the 
Board  as  if  it  were  a  requirement  of  the  Act 
itself,  the  order  being  duly  arrived  at  by 
the  Board  under  the  powers  of  the  Act. 
Mr.  Newton  :  You  say,  Mr.  Taylor,  that  this  comes 
under  the  30th  section  'r  Mr.  Taylor :  Y'es.  Mr. 
Newton:  Then  tow  can  the  Board  or  Works 
enforce  the  order  r  Mr.  Taylor:  I  presume  they 
have  their  own  machinery  for  the  purpose.  At 
any  rate,  they  have  not  power  to  alter  an  Act 
which  excludes  a  public  budding  from  the  control 
of  the  surveyor.  Application  has  been  made  to  the 
Board  of  Works,  and  they  have  made  their  order. 
Mr.  Newton  :  Which  you  refuse  to  obey ':  Mr. 
Taylor:  It  has  not  been  obeyed,  certainlj'.  Mr. 
Newton  :  I  don't  see  what  other  machinery  there 
could  be  to  enforce  the  order  than  that  which  has 


you  to  appeal  against  my  decUion.  Mr.  Taylor  ■ 
iJut  I  liavu  at  present  slated  only  one  o/  my 
objections.     If  wo  do  have  to  appeal,  wo  shoulU 


,.,-  --   ■■-  —  ..-.u  w  appeal, 

like  to  have  it  on  satisfactory  base; 


My  Hccond 


contention  is  that  the  wrong  paity  has  been 
summoned  Mr.  Newton:  lie/end uit  i,  hS 
builder.  Mr.  Taylor:  But  in  the  ca.o  of  a  public 
buildmg  the  responaiblo  party  is  the  buildioi? 
owucr.  Mr.  Newton  :  I  don't  soo  any  thing  in  tho 
Act  to  say  the  builder  is  not  to  bo  thu  person 
summoned  hero.  Mr.  Kerr:  Tho  arehiict  i> 
allowed  to  appear  before  tho  Board  of  Wo.ks 
under  their  by-lawn,  but  that  docn  not  relieve  tho 
builder  of  his  responsibility.  Mr.  Taylor  :  In  lhi» 
case  the  builder  hiw  been  off  tho  preininc.  a  loun 
1  ovo"  ,  ';'?'"P''''«J  liis  contract  on  the  6th  March. 
ISSO,  and  therefore,  so  far  as  his  liability  ia  con- 
cerned, ho  IS  quite  free.  I  don't  soy  that  there  is 
not  some  responsible  person  who  may  be  sum- 
moned, but  the  contractor  cinnot  b.-  liiblo  other- 
wise ho  would  never  be  free.  Mr.  Kerr,  iu  reply 
to  the  magistrate,  said  tho  chimney  wa»  built  iS 
months  ago,  and  ho  had  been  complaining  about 
it  ever  since.  The  first  notice  was  served,  and  the 
original  proceedings  in  this  court  iusUtutod,  before 
the  defendant  finished  his  contract,  and  within 
SIX  months  of  the  commission  of  tho  oflencc.  Mr 
laylor    pointed    out    that    Mr.    Mansfield    never 


adjudicated    upon    the    original    summons,    but 
1?       S^    tbo    matter   in   dispute  to    tho   Hoard. 
Mr.    Newton    said   he   was  against   Mr.   Taylor 
on  this  point,  as  he  considered  the  summons  was  a 
continuation  of  the  original  contentious  proceoUnKf. 
Mr.    Taylor    said    he    had    u  third  obje.tion    to 
raise,  which  he  considered  must   be  fatal   to  this 
summons.     The  summons  was  based  on  the  deci- 
sion of  the  Board  of  Works,  but  upon  cxamiualion 
his  worship  would  would  find  that  throu)?hout  the 
document    embodying    the    Board's    decision    n) 
mention  whatever  was  made  of  Mr.  Webster,  the 
defendant,  and  he  was  no  party  to  tho  matter  at 
all.     The  words  used  in   tho  recital  wore:   "The 
Board  then   proceeded   to   consider  the  matter  ol 
disagreement  between  Mr.  Kerr,  district  surveyor, 
and  Mr.   Thomas  Verity,    architect,"   &c.      Mr. 
Newton:  Your  argument  amounts  to  this,  that  Mr. 
Verity,  and  not  the  defendant,  is  the  proper  person 
to  be  summoned  f    Mr.  Taylor :  Perhaps  so.     Mr. 
Newton :  And  if  Mr.  Verity  had  been  summoned 
your  answer  would  have  been  that  the  builder  wa» 
the  proper  person  under  sec.  30.     Mr. Taylor:  No; 
I  say  that  the  builder  is  clearly  out  of  it.     Mr. 
Newton  :    Who  do  you  say  is  the  proi>cr  person 
then?    Mr.  Taylor:  I  should  think  the  building 
owners,  Messrs.  Spiers  and  Pond.    Mr.  Newton  : 
Then  you  hold  yourselves  above  everybody.     You 
say  neither  Mr.  Webster  nor  Mr.  Verity  is  liable  'f 
Mr.  Taylor:  All  I  say  at  present  in  this  case  is, 
that  Mr.  Webster  is  not.      Mr.  Kerr:  The  pro- 
ceedings have    been   taken  against   .Mr.  Webster 
throughout.     Mr.  Newton :  Have  you  any  other 
objections  to  urge?    Mr.  Taylor:  No,  sir.    If  yon 
are  against  me  on  the  question  of  jurisdiction,  I  ask 
for   a  case,   and  we  need  not  go   into   the  other 
points  at  all.     Or  perhaps   it  will   bo  more  satis- 
factory if   you   make  an   order,   so   that   we  can 
appeal  against  it.     Mr.  Newton  .  Very  well.  I  will 
make  the  order ;    and  when   tho   Uueon'a  Bench 
next  sits  you  can  ask  for  the  order  to  c^me  before 
them,  and  move   to  quash  it.     Mr.  Taylor:  Y'«, 
we  will  either  do  it   that  wiy  or  leave  it  to  bo 
enforced.      Mr.    Newton    then    made    the  order, 
observing  that   Messrs.  Spiers    and    Pond  would 
find  it  much  cheaper  in  the  end  to  do  what  Mr. 
Kerr  asked  than  to  waste  time  and  money  iu  litiga- 
tion. 

A  Builder's  BjjJKRtTrTCY.— Ho  Thomas  Pink. — 
In  this  liquidation  petition,  which  came  before  Mr. 
Registrar  Murray,  at  tho  Court  of  Bankruptcy,  on 
Friday,  tho  debtor  was  an  cttcusivo  builder  and 
contractor  at  Battersca,  residing  in  Pont-Jtrect, 
Belgravo-square,  and  trailing  as  "  Thomu  Pink 
and  Son."  The  indebtedness  amountod  to  about 
£12,000,  and  the  assets  were  estimated  at  £8.000, 
consisting  of  stock-iu-trado.  Mr.  NiohoUon.  «• 
counsel  for   tho  debtor,   appli' 


been  used  in  this  case.     Mr.  Taylor  :  The  Act  says  i  „  ,  „  ,. \-i„,i,,.,- 

that,    in   the  event  of  disagreement   between  the    Seear,  of  Holborn  \  laduct 


for  an  interim  judgment  to  r    " 
ings  until  after  the  first  m«-t: 
the    petition.     His    Il-uour  ^• 
cations. 
Free  Water  SurriY  fob  Blilbebs.— At_tb» 


•ppnint   Mr. 
->  I  also 

■ider 
...pU- 


Southern  Divisional  Police-c 
nesd.ay   week,    before  Mr 
Edward    Hall,    builder, 


district  surveyor   and   the   builder,  the  matter  in 

dispute  shaU  be  referred  to  the  Board  of  Works. 

That  having  been  done   in   this  case,  the  matter  is 

out  of  the  district  surveyor's  hands,  and  he  should 

have  nothing  to   do   with    this  appli-^ation 

Newton:    Who  should,  then?     Mr.    Taylor :  The 

Board,  by  their  public  officer,  whoever  he  may  be. 

Mr.  Kerr :  I  am.     Mr.  Taylor :  You  are  not,  for 

this  purpose.     I   c  ntend   that   Mr.   Kerr  has  no  !  appeared   to  answer  a 

right  to  take  proceedings  after  the  matter  has  been  i  instance  of   tho   Wat  : 

placed   in   the   hands   of  the   Board.     The  Board  j  Corporation,  for  nn  .: 

must  themselves  take  proceedings  to  carry  their    Water  Act,  in  that,  « 

order    into    effect.      I    see    nothing    iu    the    Act    to  do,  he  took,  or  can - 

which  gives  the  magistrate  power  to  enforce  such    iu  Harrington-street 

Mr.    Newton  :     Then,    according    to    purpose  of  mixing  i_  r  .     j  -  .. 

do  anything  you  like?    Uminarv    objection     wxi    Uki-n     by    delendoul  » 
may  be  a  defect  in  the    solicitor  that  tho  off-ncc  W.k  place  as  l0D(t  iRo  »» 


oortir  for   buildinif. 


Wed- 

!■  Dry 

.-.■^, 

-    iho 

:    (he 

«al 

I  to 

■  rrel 

r  the 

A  pr«- 


the  roof  fireproof,  iu  the  same  manner  as  the  other  Act,  but  I  see  no  clause  giving  the  magistrate  the  29lh  June,  but  the  magistrate  over-raW  it^ 
buildings  belonging  to  the  British  Museum,  which  power  to  enforce  an  order  of  the  Hoard  made  under  '  observing  that  power  had  not  b«n  given  the 
f'3„<^o»5iJered  to  be  sate  from  fire  from  .iny  ex-  |  these    circumstance--.      Mr.    Newton :    Then    the  I  Corporation  to  arr«t  on  tho  spot  wh»n  •J'^bm 

better  plan  will  be,  if  that  is  your  contention,  for  |  offence  as  alleged  was  committed.    Mr.  llerTjn 


temal  causes. 


230 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  20,  1880. 


CromptoD,  supervisor  of  waterworks,  then  deposed 
that  on  the  moruinf;  of  2nth  June  he  found  that  in 
Harriugton-street  Mr.  Hall  (defendant)  was  build- 
ing four  houses,  and  that  close  by  a  Mr.  Henry  was 
aJso  building  houses.  The  latter  contractor  had  a 
barrel  on  his  works  supplied  with  the  corporation 
water.  Witness  saw  one  of  defendant's  men  go 
with  a  bucket  in  his  hand,  take  some  water  from 
Henry's  barrel,  and  use  it  for  mixing  with  mortar 
for  use  in  defendant's  building  operations.  De- 
fendant's solicitor  raised  two  objections,  that 
defendant  gave  no  authorisation,  and  if  he  did, 
the  water  belonged  to  Mr.  Henry,  and  not  to  the 
Corporation  ;  but  for  the  plaintitf  the  terms  of  the 
special  Act  of  Parliament  were  quoted  against  the 
second  plea  ;  and  as  to  the  first,  it  was  shown  that 
defendant  had  no  other  supply  than  that  borrowed. 
A  penalty  of  2l3.,  with  costs,  was  inflicted ;  a  case 
being  granted  for  appeal. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

SowEEBY  Bridge. — The  Sowerby  Bridge  sewage 
scheme,  designed  by  Messrs.  Utley  and  Gray,  civil 
engineers,  of  Hahfax  and  Sowerby  Bridge,  has 
now  received  the  approval  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board.  Mr.  Godfrey  Rhodes,  solicitor,  clerk 
to  the  local  board,  received  on  the  0th  August 
the  official  intimation  that  the  plans  and  estimates 
were  passed,  and  sanction  granted  to  borrow  the 
amount  (t'15,U3)  required  to  carry  out  the  works, 
repayable  as  to  the  sum  of  £10,043  in  thirty  years, 
and  the  remaining  £4, .500  in  fifty  years.  The 
works  comprise  four  mdes  of  main  sewers,  with  all 
necessary  manholes,  ventilation  shafts,  and  flush- 
ing arrangements ;  also  two  wrought-iron  siphons 
under  the  river  Calder,  one,  cast-iron,  crossing 
under  the  Rochdale  Canal,  and  one  under  the 
Eybum,  together  with  the  tanks,  buildings,  &c., 
which  are  designed  upon  the  best  modem  prin- 
ciples for  economically  and  effectually  treating 
sewage.  The  outfall  works  will  be  constructed  in 
the  Holmes  between  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire 
Railway  and  the  river  Calder,  immediately  oppo- 
site Messrs.  Norris'  chemical  works.  Mr.  Han- 
son's process  of  treating  the  sewage  was  explained 
by  the  patentee  at  the  public  inquiry  held  by  Mr. 
Robert  Morgan,  C.E.,  on  the  11th  June  last,  and 
has  been  approved  by  the  Local  Government  Board 
in  conjunction  with  this  scheme. 


CHIPS. 

A  beacon  ia  about  to  be  erected  on  the  High 
Cross  Rock,  Skerries,  for  the  Dublin  Port  and  Docks 
Board,  and  from  the  designs  and  specifications  of 
their  engineer,  Mr.  Bindon  B.  Stouey,  of  Dublin. 

The  vestry  of  Mile  End  Gel  Town,  after  great 
delay,  and  incurring  legal  expenses,  have  succeeded 
in  preventing  a  Trafalgar-square  in  that  district 
from  being  built  over.  The  square  will  be  thrown 
open  to  the  public,  and  will  be  kept  in  repair  by 
the  owners  as  au  open  space. 

The  Bermondsey  Vestry,  on  the  9th  inst.,  sealed 
a  contract  with  Messrs.  Ferry  and  Co.,  for  the 
erection  of  new  Vestry-hall  and  offices,  at  a  cost  of 
£20,000. 

Mr.  Hawkesley,  C.E.,  of  Westminster,  has  been 
instructed  by  the  Ashford  local  board  to  inspect 
and  report  on  the  waterworks,  in  view  of  the 
possible  transfer  of  the  works  from  a  limited 
liability  company  to  the  public  authority. 

A  new  school  is  about  to  be  added  in  Brunswick- 
terrace  at  the  rear  of  the  Wesleyan  chapel  in 
Camberwell-road,  near  the  "Gate."  Mr.  Charles 
Bell  is  the  architect. 

The  town  council  of  Penzance  received,  on 
Wednesday  week,  a  report  from  a  committee, 
announcing  the  death  of  Mr.  Robbing,  one  of  the 
contractors  for  the  new  docks  works.  It  having 
been  stated  that  these  improvements  are  being 
satisfactorily  carried  out,  i',  was  decided  to  accept 
the  offer  by  Mr.  Chard,  one  of  the  executors  of 
Mr.  Robbins,  to  execute  the  contract  for  the 
graving  dock  in  its  entirety,  aud  for  the  comple- 
tion of  the  excavation  under  the  New  Street  sbp. 

The  West  Him  local  board  of  health  have 
increased  the  salary  of  Mr.  Horseman,  engiueer  at 
the  Abbey  Mills  pumping  station,  from  £150  to 
£200  a  year. 

On  Sunday  last  the  parish-church  of  St. 
George's,  Camberwell,  was  re-opened,  after  a 
complete  renovation,  carried  out  by  Mr.  L.  C. 
Shipton.  The  new  pulpit  is  designed,  carved, 
illuminated,  and  presented  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Baker. 

The  Council  of  the  Glasgow  Mechanics' 
Institution— almost  the  parent  of  the  similar 
organisations  throughout  the  kingdom,  aud  just 
endowed  and  remodelled  as  a  technical  school — 
have  appointed  Mr.  Andrew  Jamiesou  as  principal. 
Mr.  Jamiesou  is  an  associate  member  of  the  Insti- 
tution of  Civil  Engineers,  and  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Telegraph  Engineers. 


Our  OfRct  €Mt 

Me.  Siioolbeed,  engineer,  of  London,  has 
just  completed  the  survey  of  the  country  lying 
between  Hassop  and  Dure,  and  towards  Hather- 
.sage  and  Castleton,  with  a  view  to  opening  up  the 
Derwent  Valley  and  adjoining  districts  to  rail- 
way communication.  Leaving  the  Hassop 
station  of  the  Midland  Railway,  the  line  will 
proceed  to  Griudlcford  Bridge,  within  sight  of 
Longshawe  Lodge,  the  Duke  of  Rutland's 
shooting-box  for  his  extensive  moors.  Here 
will  be  a  junction,  from  which  a  branch  will  go 
to  Hathersage  and  Castleton,  thus  tapping  the 
lead-mine  country.  A  few  miles  from  Cirindle- 
furd  Bridge  is  Calver,  where  another  station 
wUl  be  made  which  wiU  afford  easy  access  to 
Baslow  for  Chatsworth.  Calver  Station  will 
also  be  near  to  Froggatt  Edge,  Stoney  Middle- 
ton,  and  Curbar.  Leaving  Calver,  the  railway 
will  foUow  the  Derwent  part  of  the  way,  and 
join  the  main  line  of  the  Midland  at  Dore  and 
Totley  Station,  within  five  miles  of  Sheffield. 
The  proposed  railway  will  obviate  the  necessity 
of  Sheffield  passengers  going  round  by  Amber- 
gate  Junction  to  reach  Bakewell  and  Matlock, 
and  will  practically  give  Sheffield  a  second  route 
to  Manchester. 

The  ruined  cities  of  Central  America  are 
about  to  be  systematically  explored.  Au  ex- 
pedition is  .shortly  to  be  despatched,  under  the 
joint  ausi)ices  of  the  French  and  American 
Governments,  the  expense  being  jointly  defrayed 
by  Mr.  Pierre  Loiillard,  of  New  York,  the 
original  promoter  of  the  undertaking,  and  by  the 
French  Government.  The  leader  of  the  ex- 
pedition is  to  be  M.  Charnay,  a  traveller  who 
has  already  made  two  journeys  in  Mexico. 
Photographs  of  bas-reliefs  and  liieroglyphic  in- 
scriptions will  be  taken,  and  in  tlie  more  im- 
portant cases  careful  casts  as  well.  The  ex- 
ploring party  will  visit  Mount  Alban,  Mitla, 
Palenque,  and  other  great  centres  of  ancient 
civilisation.  Its  route  will  lie  through  Oaxaca, 
Tehuantepec,  aud  Guatemala,  terminating  in 
the  jjeninsula  of  Yucatan,  where  the  ground  is 
"  to  a  great  extent  fresh."  There  have  been 
many  books  written  on  this  part  of  the  world, 
the  most  important  work  hitherto  having  been 
that  of  Stephens  and  Catherwood ;  but  there  is 
a  great  deal  still  to  learn  of  the  language  and 
monuments  of  the  ancient  people  who  seem  to 
have  developed  a  great  civilisation  in  Central 
America  long  before  the  first  European  set  foot 
in  the  New  World.  The  origin  of  these  people 
is  in  itself  a  puzzle.  Some  authorities  believe 
them  to  be  autochthonous,  and  their  civilisation 
to  be  wholly  independent  of  any  civilisation 
that  has  existed  in  the  Old  W'orld.  Others 
maintain  the  unit}-  of  the  human  race,  and 
argue  for  an  immigration  of  primitive!  races 
from  Asia  into  America,  across  Behring's  Straits, 
while  others  again  believe  that  dry  land  once 
extended  from  America  as  far  as  the  Canaries. 

The  ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
Cowper-street  buildings  for  Technical  Education 
has  been  postponed,  but  the  plans  are  being  pre- 
pared. They  differ  from  those  originally 
published,  inasmuch  as  the  buildings  will  be 
larger,  and  planned  to  include  a  mechanics'  de- 
partment, as  well  as  the  physical  and  chemical. 
The  building  -n-ill  be  called  "The  City  and 
Guilds'  Technical  College,  Finsbury."  The 
committee  have  elected  as  architect  for  the 
central  institution,  to  be  erected  at  Kensington, 
Mr.  Wateihouse  (the  architect  of  Owens  Science 
Schools,  Manchester,  the  buUdings  for  the  textile 
department  of  the  Yorkshire  College  of  Science, 
and  other  similar  buildings).  The  cost  of  this 
building  wiU  be  £-50,000.  The  Finsbm-y  build- 
ings will  co.st  £20,000,  one-half  of  which  wUl  be 
born.by  the  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute 
of  Technical  Education,  and  the  other  half  by 
the  Drapers'  Company. 

A  New  Screw,  according  to  the  IroiiMoiiynr, 
promises  to  ha\e  au  imi)ortant  place  in  the 
market  in  the  near  future,  which  the  established 
companies  feel  a  natural  interest  in  discouraging. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  great  bulk  of 
the  screws  used  are  set  in  with  the  hammer,  aud 
given  a  turn  or  two  with  a  screw-driver  to  bring 
them  ilu.sh.  Recognising  this  fact,  an  ingenious 
inventor,  for  many  years  somewhat  prominently 
identified  with  the  business,  has  brought  out  a 
new  screw,  which  is  adapted  for  driving,  and 
which  enters  the  wood  without  tearing  the  grain. 
The  gimlet  point  is  dispensed  with,  and  a  cone 
point  substituted.     The  thread  has  such  a  pitch 


that  it  drives  in  barb  fashion,  offering  no  re- 
sistance in  entering,  but  firmly  rcsi.sting  all 
attempts  to  -n-ithdraw  it  except  by  turning  it  out 
with  the  screwdriver.  The  head  is  flat,  but  in 
setting  it  uj)  two  nipples  or  square-shouldered 
projections  are  raised  in  it  by  the  one  operation. 
The  screwdriver  takes  hold  of  them  more  easily 
than  it  does  of  the  customary  nick,  and  holds 
quite  as  firmly,  and  when  driven  flush  the  pro- 
jections on  the  head  are  not  in  the  way,  and  do 
not  disfigure  it.  It  is  claimed  that  this  screw 
can  be  made  one-third  cheapier  than  ordinary 
screws,  the  principal  saving  being  effected  in 
doing  away  with  the  necessity  for  sawing  the 
nick  in  the  head.  This  consumes  more  time  than 
anyotheroneitemof  the  manufacture,  and  is  very 
destructive  of  saws,  which  are  expensive  and 
have  to  be  kept  on  hand  in  large  quantities. 

We  hope  it  is  not  true,  but  a  London  cor- 
respondent of  a  prorincial  paper  declares  that 
south  London  is  at  this  moment  in  very  immi- 
nent danger  of  a  water-famine,  and,  what  is  more 
worthy  of  notice,  from  the  possible  failure  in 
the  supply  from  the  company  which,  under  the 
proposed  agreement  was  to  receive  by  far  the 
largest  proportional  award.  Not  only  are  the 
Battersea  reservoirs  of  this  company  almost 
empty,  but  their  maintenance,  even  at  the  pre- 
sent low  level,  is  dependent  upon  a  single  en- 
gine. Shoidd  the  piston-rod  break,  or  any  of 
those  possible  accidents  happen  which  are  not 
uncommon  even  with  the  best  machinsry,  the 
whole  of  the  districts  supplied  from  this  source 
would  be  left  without  a  drop  of  water.  The 
company,  possibly  in  view  of  the  proposed  pur- 
chase, liever  has  taken  the  precaution  to  fit  up 
machinery  which,  in  case  of  need,  could  be  at 
once  made  use  of  in  the  event  of  an  accident, 
and  not  the  least  allowance  was  made  in  Mr.  E. 
J.  Smith's  liberal  award  for  the  absolutely  ne- 
cessary outlay  which  this  company  woidd  be 
forced  to  make,  unless  it  forfeited  its  privileges, 
or  abandoned  the  undertaking  altogether. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning  last  the 
last  stone  of  the  cross  ornamenting  the  top  of 
the  pinnacle  of  the  second  of  the  two  great 
spires  of  the  cathedral  of  Cologne  was  finally 
fixed  in  its  place.  Begun  on  August  llth,  1248, 
it  has  thus  taken  no  less  than  sis  himdred  and 
thirty-two  years  to  complete  the  gigantic  struc- 
ture. After  the  main  portion  had  been  conse- 
crated in  1322,  but  little  progress  was  made  for 
centuries.  The  ancient  archbishops  of  the 
place,  having  many  churches  at  their  disposal, 
neglected  the  finest  of  them,  deterred,  as  it 
were,  by  the  transcendent  grandeur  of  the 
design.  Only  after  the  cessation  of  ecclesiastical 
rule  and  the  incorporation  of  the  Rhenish  terri- 
tory with  Prussia  was  the  building  taken  in 
hand  again.  In  1817  King  Frederick  William 
the  Third  bestowed  some  money  on  the  Cathe- 
dral Chapter  to  enable  them  to  resume  opei-a- 
tions;  in  1842  Frederick  William  IV.,  his  son 
and  successor,  revived  the  undertaking  by  a 
solemn  inaugural  festivity  and  the  donation  of  a 
large  sum.  Donations  began  to  flow  in  more 
liberally,  and  after  another  building  period  of 
thirty-two  years  the  great  work  stands  perfect. 
The  National  Health  Society,  Berners-street, 
is  calling  the  attention  of  the  vestries  ol  the 
metropolis  to  the  unwholesome  condition  of  the 
streets  of  London  iu  hot  weather.  In  a  docu- 
ment signed  on  behalf  of  the  Council  it  was 
represented  that  the  intolerable  smells  that  hare 
lately  pervaded  the  streets  of  the  West-end  have 
been  the  subject  of  frequent  complaints.  Streets 
smelling  like  very  badly-kept  stable  yards  have 
been  throughout  the  past  and  other  seasons 
injurious  to  health  and  prejudicial  to  trade. 
Then  the  sirrface-cleaning  of  the  streets  was  so 
imperfect  in  the  greater  part  of  London  that 
much  filth  which  should  be  removed  remained 
upon  the  streets  in  a  state  of  decomposition.  In 
Paris,  Vienna,  or  Madrid,  the  streets  were 
thoroughly  well  washed  and  cleansed.  In  the 
City  of  London,  the  hydrants  which  are  now  in 
use  for  protection  from  fire  might  well  be  made 
serviceable  for  washing  the  streets  and  flushing 
the  sewers.  Hea-\-T  thunder  showers  and  storms 
of  rain  occasionaliy  acted  as  scavengers,  and 
actually  diminished  the  death-rate.  Much 
might  be  done  by  amending  the  form  of  the 
sewers  and  making  them  self-cleansing.  It 
was  said  that  when  this  had  been  done  iu  a  part 
of  Holbom  the  expense  had  been  less  than  that 
involved  in  cleansing  them  by  flushing.  No  doubt 
the  early  attainment  of  a  water-supply  under  com- 
petent scientific  and  public  control  would  be  the 
most  effective  means  of  remedying  these  evils. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


231 


THE  BUILCma  NEWS. 


LOXDOX,  FRIDAY,  AVGUST  27,   1880. 


WHAT  IS  3I0RTAR  ? 

THERE  could  not  be  a  more  puzzling 
question  put  to  one  whose  experience 
was  limited  to  the  building  practices  of  the 
■metropolis,  for,  within  its  wide  extent,  there 
are  many  varieties  of  mortar  used  for  the 
purposes  of  construction.  The  word  itself  is 
of  ambiguous  origin,  but  its  derivation  is 
generally  supposed  to  have  been  derived, 
Kke  many  other  good  building  names  and 
practices,  from  the  Eomans,  who  rcquiredthat 
the  liiueusedby  them  sh'uldberendered tho- 
roughly homogeneous,  and  its  particles  per- 
fectly reduced  in  the  "  mortarium  "  before 
being  used.  In  addition  to  this  jirecaution, 
it  was  also  the  custom,  more  especially  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Augustus,  that 
a  preliminary  probation  of  two  years  should 
take  place  before  even  the  mortar  was  per- 
mitted to  be  used  for  building  purposes.  The 
general  application  of  the  word  "mortar" 
may  be  regarded  as  being  applied  gencri- 
cally,  for  there  is  no  absolute  value  attached 

to  the  term  in  itself,  and  by  itself.  Mortar  !  much  as  lime  so  treated  could  be  kept  for  a 
being  a  compound  concocted  of  such  variable  length  of  time  when  carefully  packed  and 
ingredients,  and  subject  to  a  great  variety  i  protected  from  the  air.  This  great  advant- 
of  treatment,  no  specific  value  or  estimation  age  was  originally  realised  by  Smeaton,  who 
is  possible,  imless  it  is  described  as  being  j  was  enabled  to  use  some  of  the  lime  prepared 
composed  of  a  certain  quality  of  lime,  to  i  for  the  Eddystone  Lighthouse  several  years 
be  mixed  with  a  definite  quantity  of  sand.        after  the  completion  of  that  great  buildin. 


licity  or  water-setting  capacity.  The  ad- 
vantage of  so  valuable  a  property  enabled 
the  engineer  to  construct  docks,  harbours, 
and  such  works  fearlessly  :  but  this  discovery 
had  even  a  much  wider  influence,  for  it 
proved  that  limes  derived  from  such  som-ces 
possessed  the  hitherto  unknown  faculty  of 
cohesiveness.  Iho  importance  of  this  valu- 
able property  secured  the  advantage  of  not 
only  holding  bricks,  and  such  like  materials, 
together  bj-  the  force  of  adhesion,  but  it 
also  commanded  that  which  had  not,  imtil 
then,  been  accomplished  — unless  by  the  in- 
troduction of  foreign  substances — namely, 
the  perfect  cohesion  of  the  mortar  itself. 
Common  mortars,  derived  from  pure  carbon- 
ates of  lime,  possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  the 
capacity  of  adhesiveness ;  but  they  were  un- 
able to  maintaiu  their  own  coherency  unless 
their  particles  were  accurately  separated  by 
the  introduction  of  sand,  or  other  suitable 
mechanical  agency.  Hitherto,  the  engineer 
and  architect  were  troubled  by  the  necessity 
of  perfect  slaking  of  the  lime  before  it  could 
be  profitably  combined  with  the  sand,  and 
many  ingenious  practices  were  resorted  to, 
by  the  aid  of  water  and  air,  to  accomplish 
this  desirable  object.  The  ne  iv  limes,  how- 
ever, containing  silica,  alumina,  &c.,  were 
difficult  to  slake,  and  the  practice  of  grind- 
ing the  lime  was  introduced,  which  not  only 
permitted  its  accurate  combination  with  the 
sand,  but  secured  another  advantage,  iuas- 


The  best  and  most  desirable  property  in  a 
good  mortar  is  that  the  materials  of  which  it 
is  composed  shall  not  only  be  competent  to 
secure  profitable  coherency  of  its  component 
parts,  but  also  possess  the  quality  of  adhe- 
siveness, and  thusbind  together  the  bricks  or 
other  forms  in  the  building  in  which  it  may 
be  used. 

The  Romans,  dealing  generally  with  lime 
derived  from  comparatively  pure  carbonates, 
resorted  to   many  schemes  for  overcomin 


the  tendency   of  limes   obtained  from  such    in  canals  and  docks,  involving  the  employ- 
souices  either  to  part  too  readily  with  their  '  ment  of  a  new  element  in  construction,  in 


in  other  engineering  works  in  the  North  of 
England 

It  would  have  been  well  for  the  country 
generally,  and  for  the  reputation  of  con- 
structors especially,  if  the  lines  on  which 
Smeaton  and  his  contemporaries  worked  had 
received  more  attention  and  consideration  at 
the  hands  of  their  successors.  The  beginning 
of  this  century,  however,  owing  to  the  great 
increase  in  the  prosperity  of  the  country, 
necessitated  the  erection  of  extensive  works 


water  of  hydration,  or  not  to  part  with  it  at 
all.  If  from  the  first  cause,  the  result 
would  be  a  dusty,  pulverised  mass,  and,  if 
from  the  latter,  a  wet  pasty  product,  both 
alike  incompetent  to  secure  their  ovm 
coherency,  or  impart  any  benefit  to  the  ma- 
terials with  which  they  were  associated. 
Hence,  we  find  in  the  best  remains  of  the 
old  Roman  mortars  a  careful  and  perfect 
blending  of  the  lime  with  the  sand,  and, 
generally,  the  insertion  of  thin  porous  tiles 
or  bricks  to  absorb  any  superfluity  of  moist- 
ure, while,  for  hydrauhc  purposes,  puzzo- 
lano  and  trass  were  used  in  combination  with 
pure  limes  for  works  under,  or  in,  water. 
JTor  whatever  pirrposes,  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, it  was  a  condition  imposed  upon 
all  engaged  in  building  operations  that  the 
ingredients  of  which  the  mortar  was 
composed  should  be  intimately  mixed  to- 
gether. 

From  a  fiill  appreciation  of  the  benefitstobe 
derived  from  a  careful  blending  of  the  lime 
and  sand,  the  early  English  engineers  and 
architects  resorted  to  the  practice  of  beating 
the  mortar.  Smeaton  adopted  that  mode  of 
preparing  his  Eddystone  mortar  for  the 
famous  lighthouse,  and  it  is  from  that  start- 
ing-point we  first  begin  to  understand  the 
value  of  the  impure  limestone,  which  had, 
until  that  time,  almost  been  regarded  as 
worthless  for  budding  purposes.  Chemical 
knowledge,  such  as  it  was  at  that  period, 
assisted  in  estimating  the  true  value  of  those 
impurities,  and  Smeaton's  labours,  guided 
by  such  rules  as  he  could  command,  cleaily 
indicated  the  source  from  which  the  Lias 
limes  more  especially  derived  their  hydrau- 


the  shape  of  the  contractor.  This  new 
system  relieved  the  engineer  of  much  of  his 
proper  duties,  and,  at  the  same  time,  practi- 
cally deprived  him  of  the  onus  of  carrying 
on  the  works,  and  certainly  took  out  of  his 
hands  the  personal  accurate  conduct  and 
control  of  the  details  of  their  execution,  for 
the  success  and  efficiency  of  which  he  was 
primarily  responsible.  The  decadence  of 
materials  and  quality  of  work  may  be  said 
to  date  from  this  time,  not  altogether  from 
the  apathy  of  the  engineering  control,  but 
because  works  were  undertaken  beyond  the 
means  which  could  be  commanded  for  their 
completion.  The  contractor,  therefore,  be- 
«ftme  master  of  the  situation,  and  continued, 
in  many  cases,  the  progress  of  the  works  at 
his  own  risk,  and  with  his  own  means  ;  and, 
under  such  circumstances,  the  quality  of  the 
work  could  not  be  very  efficiently  controlled, 
or  even  challenged,  by  the  engineer.  To 
show  what  evil  results  sprang  from  such 
contractors'  work,  we  will  mention  a 
striking  instance  in  cotmection  with  one  of 
the  earliest  metropolitan  lines,  which  was 
finished,  and,  indeed,  almost  entirely  made, 
by  a  well-known  contractor.  After  holding 
the  line  of  railway  in  pawn  for  some  ye.irs, 
imtil  he  was  paid  for  the  work  he  had 
done,  he  at  last  transferred  it  to 
the  company,  who  not  only  prospered, 
but,  in  course  of  time,  the  line,  which 
was  entirely  on  brick  arches,  required 
widening,  the  execution  of  which  was  let  to 
another  well-known  and  more  modem 
extensive  contractor.  In  the  course  of  the 
progress  of  the  work,  the  engineer  in  charge 
complained  of  the  bad  quality  of  the  brick- 


work; but  the  contractor,  pointing  to  the  old 
work,  said,  "Mine  is  better  than  that "  ;  to 
which  he  received  for  answer — "The  con- 
tractor who  did  that  work  jmiil  himse//,  but 
I  have  the  money  ready  to  pay  you,  and  I 
must  insist,  therefore,  on  its  quality  being 
unexceptional."  This  anecdote  is  given  to 
show  that  the  necessity  for  coutiiming 
work,  in  the  absence  of  legitimate  funds 
to  pay  for  it,  led  to  a  practical  aban- 
donment of  the  proper  engineering  control. 
This  was  the  period,  however,  when  work 
was  being  done  in  an  improper  manner,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  the 
demoralisation  of  the  workman,  who  became 
the  tool  of  the  rapacious  niiddlrman,  who, 
in  his  rapid  race  for  wealth,  became  heedless 
of  the  quality  of  his  work,  so  long  as  it  was 
profitable.  The  legacj'  of  this  recklessness 
was  to  modem  builders  a  most  damaging 
one  ;  for  it  resulted,  as  we  hope  to  sh  >w  in 
this  discussion  of  the  mortar  question,  in  tlio 
present  lanient.'vble  disregard  of  the  quality 
of  building  materials  in  general,  and  Iho 
lime  and  sand  in  particular.  It  wag  at  or 
about  this  period  that  the  advent  of  tlio 
mortar-mill  took  place,  which  practically 
added  to  the  opportunities  of  disguising  th^,- 
quality  of  the  mortar,  while  it  professed  to 
add  to  its  value.  The  subletting  of  brick- 
work— the  materials  being  supplied  by  the 
contractor — by  the  rod  or  yard,  completed 
the  debasement  of  the  work  so  carelessly 
controlled ;  the  selected  workman,  who  in 
his  turn  became  a  tub-contractor,  disre- 
garded thickness  of  joints,  quality  of  brick 
or  mortar,  so  long  as  he  could  speedily  tlimin 
it  together,  and  raisng  the  bigijest  heap  in 
the  shortest  time,  was  his  first  and  incle.d 
only  study. 

The  primary  duty  required  of  mortar, 
whatever  may  be  its  qua'ity,  is  to  connect 
together  bricks  or  stones,  and  the  amomit  of 
it  used  for  that  puri)Ose  need  not  be  very 
great.  Indeed,  when  large  blocks  of  stone 
are  used,  and  when  the  required  amount  of 
accuracy  is  bestowed  on  the  dress  of  their 
bads,  the  mortar  may  be  simply  regarded  as 
a  cushion  in  which  is  dissipated  the  pressure 
caused  by  the  weight  of  the  block.  In 
ancient  masonry,  such  as  that  which  was 
employed  in  the  building  of  the  city  of 
Jemsalem,  the  joints  were  so  thin  that  with 
d  fficulty  a  knife  could  be  thrast  into  them, 
anl  in  many  other  ruins  of  antiquity  the 
stability  of  the  building  was  dependent  on 
the  faultless  character  of  the  stone  dressing, 
without  reference  to  the  bedding  joint  of 
mortar.  We  hail  in  London  a  few  years 
ao-o,  a  good  illustration  of  the  effects  of 
p?essure  from  large  blocks  in  the  case  of  the 
bridn-e  over  Farringdon-strcct,  carrying  th.« 
Holbom  Viaduct.  Ihe  beautiful  gram''- 
columns  or  p'er?,  from  the  Ishind  of  Mull, 
showed  indications  of  fracture,  and  it  was 
found,  after  considerable  discussion  and 
altercation  amongst  experts,  that  the 
damaging  influence  was  due  to  theabseuce 
of  a  cushion,  or  interposing  elastic  B*stanco 
between  the  joints,  which  would  have  As- 
persed and  nuUitied  the  vertical  thrust  of 
the  hard  crvstalline  surfaces  agamst  each 
other.  Sheet-lead  was  used,  and  the  remo<^-. 
an  easy  and  simple  one,  overcame  the  diffi- 
culty, and  succeeded  in  ni'""V^'""8  p'^° 
integrity  of  a  structure  of  which  the  City 
authorities  and  their  engineers  may  weU  bo 

^"^Thickness  of  joints,  especially  in  brick- 
work, has  always  been  a  matter  of  di*™*"""- 
and  ofttimes  of  dispute,  between  archi^t 
and  buUder.and  while  the  one  contended 
for  a  thin  joint  as  more  ^/""""^ J^,,'^ 
elevation  of  his  design,  the  other,  rv^P'^^lw* 
of  appearance,  and  limiting  hi.  vision  to  the 
profit  point,  made  the  mortar-joints  as  hick 
L  the  supervising  authonty  ,somot.me  wo 
fear  not  over- visnl.int.  would  allow,  ^i-ci- 
ficat'ions  prescribing  that  so  """ny  ~"^':.  ^ 
brickwork  should  measure  so  n^y>"^^^ 
had  not  much  deterrent   influence  in  con- 


232 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


trolling  tHe  chai-aoter  of  the  work,  and  now 
mortar-joints  may  be  said  to  be  of  divers 
thicknesses,  as  well  as  qualities.  Mortar  of 
the  usual  kind  is  not  expensive,  and  the 
thick  joints,  while  facilitating  the  laying  of 
the  bricks,  provides  a  system  of  handling 
bv  the  workmen  not  at  all  calculated  to 
improve  the  appearance  of  the  work,  or  add 
to  its  stability.  A  brick  is  easUy  laid  in  a 
soft  iness,  for  the  bricklayer  almost  throws 
it  do^vn,  and  finishes  its  imbodment  by  an 
artful  blow  from  the  handle  of  his  trowel, 
which  i-  followed  bj'  an  equally  effective 
stroke  of  the  trowel-blade  along  the  joints, 
completing,  in  a  shorter  time  than  we  have 
taken  to  describe  it,  the  laying  of  a  brick. 
{To  he  continudL) 


NEW  BUILDINGS  IN  WESTMINSTER. 

PEOBABLY  at  no   other  period   within 
the  present  century  have  greater  op- 
BOrtunities    presented  themselves   for    im- 
proved   street   architecture    than  now.     In 
the  locality  of  which  Covent  Garden  is  the 
centre,  several  plots   of   building    land   are 
being  cleared  of  the  debris  of  old  houses, 
and  new  houses  are  in  progress.     We  la'ely 
referred  to   improvements    that  have  been 
going  on  in  many  parts  of  Bloomsbury,  be- 
tween   Oxford-street    on    the    south,    and 
Euston-road  on  the  north.     On  the   south 
side    of     Oxford-street,    the    Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works  have  been  equally  active  in 
removing    old     nests     of     dwellings.       In 
Henrietta-street,  avery'eligible  plot,  recently 
occupied  by  eight  houses,  has  been  cleared 
for  building,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road,  between  Bedford-street  and  Bedford- 
buiy,  a  much  larger  area  has  been  opened 
by  the  contemplated   street-widening,  and 
new  buildings  are  already  in  progress.  Those 
two   streets  and   Chandos-street  bounded  a 
triangular  area  of  dilapidated   houses   and 
tenements   which   were   a    disgrace   to   the 
locality,  since  at  least  the  tide  of  fashion  has 
set  in  another  direction.     In  the  18th  cen- 
tury we  read  of  the  district  of  St.  Giles  being 
a  wealthy  and  populous  parish  ;  it  had  per 
haps   a   greater    reputation  for  its  hetero 
geneous  population  of  beggars.     A  few  of 
the  houses  exhibit  traces,  in  all  their  squalor, 
of  better  days  ;  and  in  Bedfordbury,  a  par- 
ticularly squalid-looking  street,  there  are  to 
be  seen  two  or  thiee  old  red  brick  houses  of 
good  design  and  workmanship.     Near  the 
Chandos-street    end  we  come  across  a  red 
brick  front  of  exceptional  good  quality,  h  aving 
a     richly- moulded    cut-brick   cornice,    and 
other  carved  brickwork,  and  an  interesting 
specimen  of  an   old  stack-pipe  head.     The 
house  has  clearly  seen  better  days.     But  we 
pass  on  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Leicester- 
square,  remarking,  by  the  way,  that  the  block 
of  houses   between    St.   Martin's-lane   and 
Castle-street  might  also  be  much  improved 
by   a   better   approach  at  the    back  of  the 
National  Gallery,  by  making  the  road  form 
a  considerable  detour  at  this  point.  Leicester- 
square,  long  famous  for  its  foreign  settlers, 
has  acquii-ed  an  almost  European   celebrity 
for  its  panoramas  and  places  of  amusemf nt, 
though  we  cannot  call  it  an  agreeable  locality. 
On  the  north  side  a  large  building  is  in  pro- 
gress,   under    the    well-known    contractors 
ilessrs.    Cubitt,     of     Gray's-iun-road,    in- 
tended as  a  panorama  on  a  large  scale.     At 
present  little  is  to  be  seen  of  the  building 
except  a  large  brick  circular-ended  struc- 
ture, of  a  circus-like  form,  which  is  intended 
to   form   the    pic'ure-gallery    itself,    round 
which  the  painting  will  be  fixed  or  wound. 
Its    roof    will    be    supported    by    straight 
lattice  wrought-iron    ribs,   diminishing    as 
the}'  rise,  and  will  form  a  kind  of  flat  cone. 
Through  the  courtesy  of  Mi-.  Wilson,  of  the 
firm  of  Messrs.    Cubitt,  we  are  enabled  to 
give  our  readers  some  idea  of  the  architect's 
design  which  is   about   to   be   carried  out. 
Towards  the  square    there  will  be  a  lofty 


facade  of  Portland  stone  in  a  Fj-ench  Ee- 
naissance  style,  the  main  features  of  which 
will  be  two  side  entrances,  a  rusticated 
basement  upon  which  the  main  stories  will 
rest,  having  a  centre  pediment  supported  by 
fluted  pilasters.  The  superstructure  is 
crowned  by  a  lofty  mansard  and  central 
domical  roof  of  exceedingly  stilted  propor- 
tions, on  the  top  of  which  it  is  intended  to 
have  an  electric  light.  The  upper  stories  of 
the  front  building  will  be  used  for  picture- 
galleries  and  other  purposes.  The  plan 
shows  two  wide  corridor  entrances  and  hall 
enriched  by  jjilasters,  one  as  an  ingress  to, 
and  the  other  to  be  used  as  the  egress  from, 
the  building  in  the  rear.  On  entering,  the 
visitor  will  reach  a  circular  raised  platform 
or  gallery  in  the  centre  of  the  panoramic 
hall,  which,  as  we  have  said,  is  circular- 
ended,  though  on  plan  it  forms  an  elongated 
shape,  by  an  intermediate  length  of  straight 
walling  "between  the  circular  ends.  Bound 
the  walls  of  this  room  the  picture  will  be 
wound,  occupying  the  whole  height  of  the 
walls.  The  spectators,  b;ing  situated  in 
the  centre,  wUl  thus  bo  surrounded  by 
the  scenery  and  vault  of  the  coiling, 
and  to  compltte  the  illusion  the  space 
between  the  sjaectators'  gallery  and  the 
pamting  might  be  sloped  away,  or  made  to 
represent  the  foreground  of  the  landscape. 
The  extent  of  the  area  thus  covered  by 
canvas,  and  the  artificial  aid  afforded  by  the 
imaginary  ground  around  the  spectator, 
illumined  as  the  whole  will  be  by  the 
electric-light,  will  enable  the  visitor  to 
realise,  as  far  as  the  painter's  skill  will 
allow,  the  most  extensive  landscape  or  other 
scenery.  He  is  at  once,  as  it  were,  trans- 
ported into  a  new  world  of  imagination, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  vast  picture. 
To  help  the  illusion,  the  gallery  is  raised 
sufficiently  to  afford  a  visual  vertical  angle 
(altogether  about  60*^)  above  and  below  the 
horizontal  line  or  level  of  the  eye  ;  so  that 
the  painting  can  be  seen  to  the  best  advant- 
age, the  imaginary  horizontal  plane  on  the 
level  of  the  eye  bounding  the  horizon  of  the 
scenery.  By  the  illumination  afforded  by 
the  electric  light,  the  visitor  to  such  an  ex- 
hibition might  be  enabled  to  imagine  him- 
self transported  from  the  miserable  gloom 
of  a  London  fog  into  the  serenest  atmo- 
sphere ;  enjoying  the  scenery  of  Italy  or  the 
Alps.  We  are  not  aware  what  particular 
kind  of  scenery  will  be  exhibited  here, 
though  we  understand  it  will  be  of  a  general 
kind,  and  include  reminiscences  of  recent 
camp>aigns  in  the  East.  The  ai-chitect  of 
the  new  buildings  is  M.  L.  Dumoulin,  of 
Paris. 

Coventry- street  is  at  last  in  the  hands  of 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  and  active 
operations  are  just  now  going  on  in  pulling 
down  the  old  houses  on  the  south  side  lead- 
ing into  Piccaddly,  and  in  carrj-ing  out  the 
widening  of  this  long-neglected  thorough- 
fare. AYhen  these  improvements  are  effected 
there  will  be  a  step  at  least  towards  the 
desirable  communication  between  the  Strand 
and  the  West -end,  which  is  now  very  cir- 
ciutous.  The  Haymarket  remains  at  present 
the  only  wide  leading  communication 
between  Charing  Cross  and  Piccadilly.  We 
find  thoThea're  Eoyal,  frombeing  a  drabby- 
coloured  building,  has  assumed  a  tone  of 
warm-buff  or  Pompeian-red  ;  the  columns  of 
the  portico  and  the  frieze  have  been  painted 
a  decided  red ;  in  addition  to  which,  we 
notice  the  rebuilding  of  a  few  of  the  houses 
in  a  more  substantial  manner. 

The  CivU  Service  Co-operative  Society  are 
housed  in  new  premises,  which  occupy  a  site 
in  the  Haymarket  that  has  recently  ac- 
quired some  notoriety,  from  the  contention 
with  reference  to  a  dangerous  stmcture  in 
its  rear.  Mr.  Verity,  the  architect,  has 
turned  out  a  pleasing  front,  in  which  colour 
has  been  introduced  by  the  use  of  a  warm 
red  sandstone  for  the  facing.  The  style  is 
French  Renaissance.     The  effect  of  the  zinc 


roof,  with  its  cast  metal  tinsel-like  orna- 
ments to  the  angles  and  hips  of  centre 
mansard,  rather  spoils  the  arohitectirre, 
which  is  light  and  characteristic.  Three 
unequal  bays,  divided  by  flat  pilasters, 
break  up  the  facade.  There  is  a  central 
entrance,  which  is  a  wide  opening  (forming 
a  vestibule  to  the  ground  floor)  surrounded 
by  jambs  and  lintel  of  polished  grey  granite 
of  bold  section ;  above  is  an  entresol  of 
rather  lofty  proportion,  and  over  this  a 
series  of  arched  windows  with  carved 
panelled  soffits.  The  other  windows  are  all 
square  -  headed,  and  the  oniamentatiou 
sparingly  confined  to  the  spandrels  of 
arches  and  to  the  carved  capitals  of  the 
pilasters  of  the  upper  stories.  A  bold 
modillion  cornice  over  the  principal  story 
divides  the  front,  and  the  upper  part  is 
treated  as  a  lofty  attic.  The  green  marble 
panels  introduced  in  the  heads  of  the  en- 
tresol windows  have  rather  a  spotty  effect. 

In  another  locality.  Fleet-street,  we  may 
notice  more  particularly  than  we  did  a  few 
months  since,  a  new  building  which  has 
recently  been  comidetcd  externally,  namely, 
Messrs.  Child's  Bank.  Mr.  J.  Gibson  is  the 
architect.  The  facade  faces  the  gateway  of 
the  ofiice-block  of  the  Law  Courts,  and  is 
an  imposing  composition  of  the  Corinthian 
order.  The  three-quarter  columns  stand  on 
a  massive  rusticated  basement ;  they  are 
fluted,  and  support  a  highly-enriched  en- 
tablature, the  or:iamentation  of  which  is  not 
a  strict  following  of  the  Classic  models. 
Now  the  hoarding  is  do'wn,  we  can  judge  of 
the  effect  better ;  and  we  can  speak  ap- 
provingly of  the  general  proportions  and 
details.  Mr.  Gibson  has  been  successful  in 
finishing  his  order  at  the  ends  by  the  use  of 
a  massive  pilaster  coupled  with  the  end 
columns.  The  rusticated  treatment  of  these, 
and  the  solidity  of  the  basement  treatment, 
added  to  the  massive  consoled  projections 
of  the  entrance-doorways,  and  the  quiet 
Classic  character  of  the  recessed  ashlaring 
and  windows  of  the  upfjer  stories,  produce  a 
striking  facade  to  the  Strand.  Just  opposite 
we  find  the  Corporation  have  inclosed  a 
space,  on  the  site  of  old  Temple  Bar, 
whereon  the  intended  memorial  is  to  be 
erected,  in  a  style  singularly  at  variance 
with  the  New  Law  Courts. 


W^ 


BREWERIES  AND  MALTINGS.* 

E  have  sometimes  wondered  at  the 
paucity  of  published  information  on 
this  subject ;  but  perhaps  it  is  not  strange 
that  architects  have  underrated,  if  not 
despised,  a  class  of  building  which  pretends 
to  satisfy  little  more  than  the  mechanical 
requirements  of  the  brewer.  At  any  rate, 
we  might  have  expected  that  the  subject  of 
brewery  arrangement  would  have  called 
forth  more  expositors  than  it  has,  when 
every  other  kind  of  special  construction  has 
its  exponents.  Messrs.  Spon  have  just 
published  a  second  edition  of  Mr.  George 
Scamell's  treatise  on  the  subject,  which 
seems  to  be  the  only  practical  treatise  on 
breweries  and  maltings  extant,  and  we  are 
not  surprised  a  second  edition  has  been 
called  for.  The  original  author,  a  fellow  of 
the  Institute,  is  an  authority  on  the  subject, 
having  been  for  years  engaged  in  the  engi- 
neering department  of  Messrs.  Truman, 
Hanbury,  and  Buxton's  brewery;  while 
Mr.  Frederick  Colyer,  M.I.C.E.,  who  has 
revised  and  partly  rewritten  the  Work,  has 
spai-ed  no  labour  to  render  this  edition  more 
worthy  of  the  aoceptauce  of  the  practical 
brewer  and  architect  engaged  in  this 
class  of  building.  Many  of  the  chapters 
have  been  completely  rewritten,  the 
list    of    patents    has     been    revised,    and 

*  Breweries  and  Maltings  :  their  Airan^cment, 
Construction,  Machinery,  and  Plant.  By  Geo.  Scamell, 
F.R.I.B.A.  Second  edition,  revised  and  eijlarged  by 
FEEnERicKCoLYEK,  M.Inst. C.E.  London:  E.  aad  F.  N. 
Spon,  Charing  Cross. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


233 


the  plant  and  machinery  necessary  for 
breweries  of  different  sizes  are  described 
with  fulness  ;  but  perhaps  the  most  useful 
features  are  the  plans  and  sections  that  have 
been  specially  prepared  and  added  to  this 
edition.  Seventeen  plates  of  plans  and  sec- 
tions are  given  of  breweries  from  5  quarters 
to  160  quarters,  after  which  a  German 
brewery  is  detailed,  and  examples  of  malt- 
ings  follow.  Some  very  important  advice  is 
given  by  Mr.  Colyer  as  regards  site  and 
arrangement  of  a  brewery,  which  primarily 
depends  on  a  water  supply,  though  many 
breweries  are  supplied  by  the  water  com- 
panies ia  towns,  the  well-water  beiug  used 
for  refrigerating  and  washing.  An  open  and 
micontaminated  site  is  equally  essential,  as 
the  odours  of  gasworks,  &o.,  injure  the  beer  ; 
and  a  position  on  rising  ground  has  advan- 
tages over  a  flat  site  in  disposing  of  the  sec- 
tion of  the  building,  and  often  saving 
labour,  though  perhaps  a  more  desirable 
point  is  the  means  of  transport.  In  planning 
a  brewery,  the  future  extension  of  the  plant 
must  not  be  forgotten  ;  the  brewery  is  more 
economical  if  worked  by  gravitation  so  as 
to  avoid  pumping.  "The  hot-liquor  back 
shoidd  command  the  mash-tun,  the  mash- 
tun  the  under-back  and  copper,  the  copper 
the  hoji-back,  and  from  the  hop-back  the 
wort  should  flow  to  the  coolers  or  re- 
ceivers, and  through  the  refrigerator 
to  the  fermenting  tuns,"  &c. ;  an  arrange- 
ment, however,  which  cannot  always  be 
commanded  in  large  breweries.  The  more 
usual  plan,  says  the  author,  "  is  to  arrange 
the  plant  iu  such  a  way  that  the  liquor 
gravitates  to  the  hop-back;  the  wort  is  then 
pumped  to  the  coolers.  It  is  considered  by 
most  brewers  better  to  pump  the  '  boiled  ' 
than  the  'raw  wort.'"  "As  a  general 
principle,"  wo  are  told,  "it  is  desirable  to 
have  the  boilers,  coppers,  and  hop-back  in  a 
distinct  building,  as  it  keeps  the  brewery 
free  from  steam.  The  boilers  should  be  so 
placed  as  to  allow  of  their  being  removed 
when  worn  out  without  cutting  them  to 
pieces,  so  that  new  boilers  can  be  taken  iu 
whole,  as  the  work  is  not  so  sound  if  a  boiler 
has  to  be  riveted  up  after  delivery."  The 
north  is  the  best  aspect  for  the  windows  of 
tun-room,  and  the  walls  are  best  built 
hollow,  so  as  to  preserve  an  equal  tempera- 
ture ;  and  for  the  same  reason  tile  roofs  are 
better  than  slates,  and  the  tiles  do  not  con- 
dense the  vapours  from  the  wort.  The 
biulding  shoidd  be  well  ventilated,  except 
the  malt  and  hop  lofts  :  these  shoidd  be  as 
air-tight  as  possible.  Brick  or  concrete 
arches,  on  iron  girders,  are  the  best  floors, 
and  concrete  and  asphalte  are  the  cleanest 
for  the  cellars.  Claridge's  patent  asjohalte 
is  recommended  as  the  most  dm-able,  laid 
on  Portland  cement  concrete.  We  find  the 
author  gives  tables  of  the  safe  loads  borne 
by  cast-iron  columns  and  rolled  iron 
joists,  the  weight  beiug  distributed.  These 
will  be  usefid  for  reference,  and  a  few 
practical  hints  are  given  respecting  Portland 
cement,  another  material  that  deservedly 
enters  largely  into  construction  of  breweries. 
The  chapter  on  wells  and  water  thoroughly 
enters  into  this  important  c_iuestion,  and 
modes  of  boring  and  sinking  wells  are  dis- 
cussed. The  Diamond  rock-boring  process 
is  described ;  and  a  useful  part  of  this  chap- 
ter considers  the  importance  of  collecting  the 
rain-water  from  the  roofs  of  breweries,  and 
using'  it  for  other  purposes  than  brewing. 
For  washing  horses  and  other  similar  ]our- 
poses,  rain-water  is  better  than  any  other ; 
and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  brewers 
often  neglect  to  make  provision  for  what 
otherwise  must  be  a  large  waste  of  water. 
Underground  tanks  lined  with  Portland 
cement  might  be  made  for  the  storage  of  the 
rain-water  so  collected,  and  the  follo\ving 
instruction  is  given  as  to  the  construction  of 
water-tanks  :  '  The  bottom  should  be  lined 
with  a  2in.  layer  of  concrete,  3  parts  sand 
or   crushed   brick,  to   1  of  Portland  cement 


resting  upon  a  bottom  of  stones  tin.  in 
thickness.  The  walls  should  be  9in.  thick  ; 
these  are  formed  by  a  mould  made  by  having 
an  interior  frame  of  wood  of  such  dimensions 
that  there  will  be  9in.  between  the  inside 
of  it  and  the  inside  of  the  excavation  :  this 
space  is  filled  with  concrete.  The  top  may 
be  arched  over,  or  angle-irons  thrown  across ; 
clipping  the  walls  at  each  side,  tmd  at  2ft. 
or  3ft.  intervals ;  the  spaces  between  are 
filled  with  concrete  slabs  or  stones."  The 
calculations  for  well  excavations,  the 
capacity  of  circidar  tanks,  and  the  areas  of 
roofing  required  to  supply  tanks,  will  be 
greatly  faoUitatedby  the  tables  and  rules 
that  are  given.  Speaking  of  cisterns, 
allusion  is  made  to  the  fact  recently  inves- 
tigated by  M.  Mocet,  that  the  zinc  of  gal- 
vanised iron  is  attacked  by  water,  particu- 
larly river-water,  which  contains  a  quantity 
of  common  salt  and  of  air,  and  which  pro- 
duce carbonate  and  oxide  of  zinc;  cast- 
iron  is  therefore  recommended.  The  con- 
struction of  cold-liquor  backs  (or  tanks), 
the  engines  and  boilers,  chimney  stacks, 
and  various  other  fittings,  are  described  in 
their  general  features,  and  smoke-con- 
summg  furnaces,  the  best  of  which  is  said  to 
be  "  Juckes',"  are  referred  to.  The  details 
of  the  machinery  and  gear  form  the  subject 
of  a  separate  chapter.  Malt-mUls,  conveyors, 
hop  and  yeast-presses,  and  other  apparatus, 
are  practically  discussed,  into  which  it  is  un- 
necessary to  enter  here.  We  pass  on  to 
notice  the  principal  features  of  the  plans 
given,  and  let  us,  however,  first  premise 
that  in  malt-houses  the  area  of  working- 
floor  allowed  per  quarter  varies  very  much  ; 
the  author  says  it  ranges  from  110ft. 
superficial  per  quarter,  up  to  190ft.  Cement, 
or  tile  floors,  are  most  commonly  used. 
Generally,  a  malting  should  have  the  cistern 
and  couch  at  one  end  of  the  floors,  and  the 
kiln  at  the  other  end,  the  malt  being  stored 
in  a  floor  over,  or  in  a  building  attached  to 
the  kiln.  The  proposed  alterations  in  the 
Excise  duties  will  probably  operate  to 
make  certain  modifications  in  construc- 
tion. Let  us  glance  over  some  of  the 
plans  and  estimates  given.  Plate  1  repre- 
sents a  o-quarter  brewery,  the  plant  consist- 
ing of  a  cast-iron  cold-liquor  back,  hot- 
liquor  back,  malt-rolls,  with  hopper  and 
screen,  grist-case,  self-acting  mashuig-ma- 
chine,  mash-tim,  steam  wort-cojjper,  hop- 
back,  wood  cooler,  refrigerator,  wood  fer- 
menting tuns,  well-pumps,  boiler,  and 
engine,  &c.,  well,  30ft.  deep.  The  estimate 
is  £2,400.  When  cellarageis  provided,  the 
cost  is  increased;  a  7-quarter  brewery  is 
shown,  estimated  at  £4,500.  Taking  a  40- 
quarter  brewery,  wo  find  the  plan  consists 
of  one  long  rectangularbuilding,  containing 
malt-store  at  one  end,  the  coolers  at  the 
other,  and  fermenting-tuns  between  ;  while 
a  smaller  rectangle  is  occupied  by  the 
coppers,  grist-case,  mash-tuns,  with  hoist. 
The  cost  is  put  at  £9,500.  The  sections  are 
clearly  drawn,  and  show  the  roof  construc- 
tion, ventilators,  and  internal  arrangement, 
except  stairs  and  shaftirjg.  In  most  of  the 
plans  the  cold-liquor  back  is  placed  to  com- 
mand every  utensil  of  the  brewer)- ;  the  hot- 
liquor  back  is  heated  by  a  steam-cod.  _  The 
malt  is  raised  by  steam-hoist,  and  tipped 
into  the  hopper ;  it  then  passes  over  the 
rolls  to  grist-case  and  to  mash-tun,  fitted 
with  mashing-maohine.  The  wort  then 
passes  to  under-back,  then  to  steam- copper, 
aud,  afterwards,  to  hop-back,  over  coolers, 
to  the  refrigerators.  The  boiler  is  placed  in 
a  separate  building,  with  engine  near,  and 
the  brewer's  room  is  shown,  placed  on  the 
mash-tun  stage.  In  some  of  the  sections, 
deep  cellarage  is  provided.  The  plans 
illustrated  indicate  various  arrangements. 
In  a  few  cases  the  cold-liquor  back 
forms  part  of  the  roof,  and  an  elevator  is 
used,  which  Hfts  the  grist  to  the  case.  The 
tables  of  useful  memoranda  at  the  end 
render  the  work  a  compendious  giude  to  the 


practical  brewer  and  builder.  No  attempt 
IS  made  to  render  the  builduig  architectural 
externally,  and  here  a  greit  deal  must  bo 
left  to  the  architect ;  but  Mr.  Colyer  has 
supplied  him  with  facts  and  tho  essentials 
of  economical  building. 


PURITY  OF  WATER. 
rPHIS  subject  is  generally  uppermost  iu 
-L  peoples'  minds  after  a  severe  drought, 
and  duruig  the  prevalence  of  dry  summer 
weather,  and  the  statistical  information  that 
has  recently  been  accumulated  upon  it  is 
beginning  to  be  rather  fonuidablc.  Tho  dis- 
coverj-of  polluted  sources  gires  rise  to  inquiry, 
but,  still  a  large  part  of  tlu!  suburbs  of  every 
town  can  show  instances  of  polluted  wells 
by  contamination  of  the  strata.  A  great 
deal  of  misconception  exists  still  of  the 
causes  of  contamination.  It  is  not  very 
clearly  understood  that  wherever  an  im- 
pervious layer  underlies  a  pervious  stratum, 
aud  crops  out  somewhere  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, there  is  a  gradual-flowing  under- 
ground river  in  operation,  which  j)asses  out 
in  the  form  of  springs  at  a  lower  level.  Acarc- 
f  ui  examination  by  boring  of  the  sub-strata 
of  districts  proves  that  this  water-level  forms 
an  inclined  plane  from  the  highest  point  to 
the  natural  outfall,  and  has  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  the  natural  siu-face  of  tho 
ground.  These  underground  rivers  pursue 
a  coiirse  along  tho  easiest  channel.  Mr. 
Baldwin  Latham  has  given  some  interesting 
figures  of  the  rate  of  rise  in  various  strata, 
by  which  the  inclination  of  the  water-plane 
can  be  found ;  and  he  has  illustrated  the 
effect  of  the  rainfall  at  Croydon  in  contami- 
nating the  water.  Of  course,  the  water 
level  is  raised  in  wot  weather,  aud  falls  when 
the  rain  is  scarce.  In  some  localities  the 
wet  weather  level  of  the  subsoil  water  is 
close  to  the  surface,  as  we  find  it  to  be  in 
many  parts  of  London — Lambeth,  for  in- 
stance. The  importance  of  the  investigation 
of  these  levels  is  beginning  to  be  acknow- 
ledged. In  many  localities  supplied  by  deep 
chalk  wells,  the  supply  is  found  to  become 
deteriorated  dm-ing  rainy  seasons,  and  the 
cause  is  not  far  to  seek.  In  dry  weather, 
of  course,  the  subsoil  water-level  being  be- 
low the  bottoms  of  cesspits  and  sewers,  it 
is  not  contaminated;  but,  as  soon  as  the 
level  rises  from  rain  to  within  reach  of  these 
sources  of  pollution,  the  water  suffers.  The 
immediate  vicinity  of  cesspits  to  \yell3  is  a 
readdy-ascertained  cause  of  pollution,  if  it 
happens  that  the  run  of  underground  water 
is  in  the  latter  direction.  Captain  Gallon, 
in  a  chapter  on  this  subject,  shows  how 
fluctuatmg  this  dauger  may  be,  and  he  also 
summarises  a  variety  of  suggestions,  which 
we  may  refer  to  here.  It  is  stated  that  the 
London  water  companies  have  discovered 
that  the  hemp  used  to  caulk  their  iron 
mains  has  injrucd  tho  water ;  but  this 
source  of  pollution  may  bo  readily  overcome 
by  the  adoption  of  a  joint  we  recently  men- 
tioned in  this  journal,  which  was  effected  by 
running  a  coiuposition  in  a  groove  that 
presses  as  a  band  round  the  spigot-end  of 
pipe.  Water  supplied  from  wells  in  porous 
sods  is  generally  open  to  suspicion;  they 
are  as  a  rule,  mere  surface  wells,  and 
the' purity  of  their  supply  depends  upon  tho 
nature  of  the  sell  through  which  the  supply 
comes,  and  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  lo- 
cality. Even  in  deep  wells,  it  is  found  that 
the  surface  water  is  of  a  different  quality  to 
the  water  drawni  from  the  bottom  of  weUs 
by  pumping;  the  surface  water  is  often 
polluted  with  oi-ganic  impurities.  A  useful 
precaution  in  the  case  of  surface  wells  m 
porous  strata  is  to  line  the  brick  steuung 
behind  with  puddle  to  the  depth  of  weU,  or 
so  far  below  the  surface  as  any  source  of 
impurity  is  suspected.  By  this  means  the 
siu-face  water  cannot  percolate  mto  the  well 
tiU  it  has  been  filtered  through  the  soil.  It 
is  desirable  also  to  pave  the  surface  round 


284 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


the  well  upon  puddle,  and  to  drain  it  away 
and  to  carry  up  the  steining  of  the  well  to 
form  a  curb,  by  which  means  surface  im- 
purities are  prevented  from  falling  in,  or  to 
cover  the  well  entirely.  Every  well  should 
have  a  pump,  as  the  bucket  plan  of  drawing  is 
open  to  objection,  for  obvious  reasons.  As 
regards  storage,  it  has  been  urged  that  the 
best  position  for  keeping  water  is  in  tanks 
xmderground,  if  impervious  to  drainage.  The 
water  retains  an  even  temperature,  and  will 
take  up  carbonic  acid  gas,  thus  rendering  it 
palatable.  In  c'sterns,  the  variation  of 
temperature  has  an  injurious  effect,  as  the 
water  absorbs  noxious  gases  when  cooled. 
Cajjt.  Galton  gives  the  following  figures  to 
show  the  difference  between  the  kinds  of 
storage  :  — 

"Well-water  was  observed  to  have  a  maxi- 
mum temperature  of  ol'o'-^,  and  a  minimum 
temperature  of  50 •5'^,  or  a  meaa  of  ol"  dur- 
ing the  year  in  the  same  locality.  The 
water  supplied  from  mains  had  a  maximum 
temperature  during  the  year  of  Gi-S",  a 
minimum  temperature  of  o9'7',  and  a  mean 
temperature  of  o2''2o°,  and  the  water  in  cis- 
terns above  ground  varied  from  Tlo-  maxi- 
mum, to  'lio  60^  minimum,  with  a  mean  of 
52-00*.  Thus,  whilst  the  range  of  tempera- 
ture of  the  well  water  was  only  ten, 
the  range  of  the  water  in  cistern  was 
nearly  38"." 

Such  a  great  variation  of  temperature  has 
a  prejudicial  effect  upon  the  water,  and, 
hence  the  value  of  placing  cisterns  in  posi- 
tions not  exposed  to  great  changes,  though 
easy  of  access.  As  regards  the  overflow,  or 
waste  pipes,  it  is  now  generally  admitted 
that  they  should  be  disconnected  from  the 
drain. 


THE    BRITISH    ARCH.liOLOGICAL 

ASSOCIATION  AT  DEVIZES. 

[feom  oxtb,  own  repoktee.] 

AN  archjeological  congres.s,  such  as  that  just 
closed  at  Devizes,  is  by  no  means  the 
fitting  occasion  for  patient  study  and  quiet 
thinking-out  of  cruces ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a 
time  for  the  trotting-out  of  hobbies,  a  period 
when  theories  can  be  aired  and  combated,  and 
when  those  whose  minds  have  been  broadened 
by  the  cursory  examination  of  many  scattered 
examples  of  the  same  class  are  brought  into 
contact  with  local  observers  who  have  concen- 
trated attention  on  the  objects  in  their  vicinity. 
Judged  by  this  moderate  standard  of  utility,  the 
recent  Wiltshire  meeting  has  been  one  of  the 
most  successful,  as  it  was  one  of  the  more 
popiJar,  of  those  held  by  the  British  Arch.'eo- 
logical  Association.  The  discussions  at  the 
places  visited  were  well  maintained,  and  at 
several  of  the  churches  and  priories  the  qtiick 
observation  of  trained  minds  and  free  inter- 
change of  opinions  cleared  up  difficult  points  as 
to  the  age,  history,  and  original  purpose  of 
unusual  features.  As  to  the  traces  of  the  work 
of  earUer  races  than  the  schoolboy's  landmark, 
the  Norman  Conquest,  with  which  the  county 
visited  abounds,  not  so  much  was  done.  The 
ante-Eoman  origin  of  the  earthworks  upon  the 
hillsides  was  generally  conceded,  the  coins  and 
pottery  tearing  the  image  and  buperscription  of 
tlie  Ultramontane  invaders,  so  frequently  turned 
up  in  these  camps,  being  as.sumed  to  indicate, 
not  formation,  but  utilisation,  of  defences.  The 
controversies  at  Avebury  and  Stonehenge  were 
particularly  interesting,  although  inconclusive. 
At  the  former  place,  Mr.  James  Fergusson's 
theories  of  a  comparatively  modern  origin  for 
these  rude  earthworks  and  erected  stones  were 
severely  handled,  it  being  shown  that,  in  the  case 
of  Silbury  Hill,  Mr.  Eergusson  was  palpably  in 
ciTor,  for  when  he  accepted  the  challenge  of  the 
Wilts  ArcLa-ological  Society  to  excavate  this 
moiinlit  was  established  to  the  satisfaction  of 
his  opponents  that  the  undisputedly  Roman  road 
between  Bath  and  Marlborough,  the  Via  Julia, 
makes  a  bee-line  to  the  hill  for  a  considerable 
distance,  but  deviates,  and  always  has  deviated, 
to  the  south  to  avoid  cutting  through  it,  showing 
hat  at  least  this  mound  of  made  earth  is  older 
han  the  still-existing  road  mentioned  by  An- 
oniuus,  the  stations  upon  which  can  nearly  all 


be  identified.  At  Stouehensre  some  curious 
hyjiotheses  were  broached,  including  the  remark- 
able supposition  by  a  leading  official  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, and  an  E.S.A.  to  boot,  that  the  stones 
were  originally  inclosed  in  a  sepulchral  hax- 
row  which  had  been  washed  away  by  the  rain- 
fall, a  theory  requiring  for  its  maintenance  that 
the  made  earth  should  all  have  been  removed  by 
storms  and  showers,  yet  that  the  bases  of  the 
immense  stones  should  be  left  unmoved  and 
unexposed  in  the  low  natural  mound.  The  only 
generally  agretd-on  points  were  that  Stonehenge 
was  more  recent  than  Avebiu-y,  that  its  stones, 
which  are  of  different  strata  from  various  locali- 
ties, were  set  up  at  times  separated  by  an  in- 
terval from  each  other,  and  that  in  all  probability 
the  small  tmhewn  stones  were  the  first  brought 
to  the  hillock.  That  it  was  set  up  for  sun- 
worship  seemed  well  supported  until  Mr. 
Cunningtou  mentioned  the  awkward  fact 
that  the  hne  of  view  of  the  sun  at  the  summer 
solstice  from  the  altar  stone  to  the  Friar's  Heel, 
on  which  the  theory  was  based,  must  have  been 
interrupted  by  a  stone  which  has  fallen  only 
w  ithin  recent  memory.  It  was  obviously  impossible 
for  a  miscellaneous  assembly  Uke  an  Archajo- 
logical  Association,  ntunbering  a  goodly  propor- 
tion of  mere  tom-ists,  to  devote  the  requisite 
time  to  an  examination  of  a  barrow,  so  none  of 
the  numerous  examples  seen  were  opened.  This 
omission  was,  however,  of  Uttle  moment,  as  their 
tise  and  character  are  now  so  well  known  that 
the  natm-e  of  the  contents  and  their  position 
can  be  fairly  predicted  before  exploration.  Visits 
to  two  palatial  mansions,  each,  by  a  coincidence, 
the  seat  of  a  marquis,  afforded  agreeable  breaks 
in  the  week's  work ;  entirely  diverse  as  the 
hou-ses  and  their  contents  were,  each  presented 
special  featm'es  of  attraction ;  the  undulating 
landscape-gardens  and  gallery  of  paintings  at 
Bowood,  with  Adams's  ISth-ccntury  Classic 
range  of  buildings,  being  balanced  by  the  state- 
Uer  Early  Renaissance  of  Longleat,  its  modern 
decorations,  its  furniture  and  library.  The 
papers  read  at  the  evening  meetings  at  Devizes 
Town  Hall  were  not  equal  in  research  and  style 
to  those  of  some  previous  years,  and  the  daily 
excursions  were  so  long  and  fuU  of  interest  that 
not  much  energy  could  be  thrown  into  indoor 
discussions.  The  chief  value  of  the  Congress 
will  be  the  quickening  of  local  thought  about, 
and  appreciation  cf,  the  antiquities  of  the  district, 
leading  to  their  more  careful  preservation  from 
destruction  or  injury,  and  a  desii-e  to  investigate 
their  character  and  meaning.  As  a  whole,  the 
proceedings  have  passed  off  well,  a  result 
to  which  fair  weather  contributed,  but  largcly 
dae  to  the  excellent  organisation  of  the  local 
secretaries,  Messrs.  Reynolds  and  Butcher,  the 
latter  of  whom,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  E.  Kite, 
brought  out  a  reliable  pamphlet,  "  Historical 
Notes,"  on  the  principal  places  visited.  The 
Association  has  never  had  a  local  president  who 
exerted  himself  more  heartily  or  more  genially 
than  Lord  Nelson  has  done,  and  the  title  of 
"our  hard-working  president"  was  no  empty 
compliment.  But  we  must  proceed  from  a 
general  survey  to  a  journal  of  the  Congress 
proceedings,  resuming  our  narrative  at  the 
point  to  which  it  was  brought  in  our  last 
issue. 

THURSDAY. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  popular  rxcm-sions  of 
the  Congress,Bradenstoke  Priory  andMalmesbury 
Abbey  being  the  chief  features  of  the  day's  pro- 
gramme. Over  one  himdred  ladies  and  gentle- 
men left  Devizes  station  at  S.30  by  .special  train 
for  Chippenham,  where  waggonnettes  were  in 
waiting.^  Langleij  BurrcU  Church,  the  first  place 
visited,  is  still  bepewed  and  imrestored  ;  the 
oldest  part  is  a  north  arcade,  earned  by  low 
circular  piers  with  bold  Transitional  folia<'e  ; 
the  aisle  itself  is  a  loth-centuty  reconstruction. 
Other  distinctive  features  are  a  groined  south 
porch,  with  charming  grille  to  window  Ughting 
an  upper  chamber,  and  a  panel  carved  with 
crucifix  high  up  in  eastern  wall.  Exposed  otit- 
side  the  south  porch,  loosely  propped  against  the 
wall,  is  a  tomb-slab  of  stone  carved  with  effigies, 
presumably  of  a  Cobham  and  liis  wife ;  this  it 
was  suggested  could,  and  ought  to  be,  protected 
from  the  weather  at  a  cost  of  a  few  shillings. 
The  church  at  Braycott  Cenie,  closely  adjoining 
on  east  and  in  line  with  the  Classic  residence 
now  inhabited  by  Earl  Cowley,  has  been  con- 
siderably restored.  In  the  large  chancel,  which 
is  lower  than  the  nave,  owing,  as  Mr.  Ewan 
Christian  suggested,  to  slight  fall  of  site,  is  a 


brass  with  effigies  of  Sir  Edward  Cernc,  who 
died  in  1393,  clad  in  chain  maO,  and  his  second 
wife ;  and  on  the  south  wall  are  himg  two 
ancient  bascinets,  a  pair  of  gaimtlets,  and  short 
sword.  These,  and  a  tattered  flag,  were  sus- 
pende"d  by  members  of  the  Long  family,  and 
opposite  it  is  a  14th-century  fotmder's  tomb,  with 
niunerous  mouldings  and  closely- set  crocketing. 
Mr.  Loftus  Brock  expressed  regret  that  the 
old  font  was  now  set  in  the  manor  house 
garden,  just  under  the  east  window  of  the 
church,  and  was  used  as  a  garden-pot  ! 
(A  somewhat  similar  desecration  had  been  seen, 
but  escaped  comment,  on  Tuesday,  in  a  garden 
at  Tinhead,  near  Edington,  where  is  a  fine 
13th-century  font,  with  trefoil  arcading  on  the 
rim ;  this  was  taken  from  Great  Cheverell 
Church  during  a  recent  restoration,  and  a  tame 
modem  Perpendicular  font  substituted).  Sutton 
Bciigcr  Church,  next  visited,  has  a  south  aisle 
of  a  better  type  of  the  Late  Decorated  style 
than  is  common  in  the  district ;  the  aisle  win- 
dows are  filled  with  flowing  tracery,  the  five- 
light  eastern  one  being  of  a  florid  retictilated 
character,  and  adorned  with  the  ball-flower  on 
the  mouldings  both  within  and  without.  In  the 
central  lower  panel  of  this  window  was,  on  the 
inner  side,  a  rich  canojiy  of  tabernacle  work, 
once  filled  by  a  statuette,  while  the  other  blank 
east  face  of  this  panel  was  carved  with  a  fair 
reproduction,  in  miniatxure,  of  the  window  itself, 
but  less  depressed  in  tracery,  and  with  the  addi- 
tion of  stiff  pinnacles ;  we  say  was,  for  in  the 
recent  restoration  of  the  church  this  unique  fea- 
ture has,  for  some  reason,  been  replaced  by  a 
modern  and  inaccurate  copy  :  a  figure  of  Our 
Saviour  being  erected  inside  the  new  canopy, 
while  the  old  outer  panel  is  placed  for  the  pre- 
sent against  the  east  wall  of  aisle,  showing  the 
deviation  occasioned  in  recutting.  The  altera- 
tion aroused  some  severe  criticism.  Over  the 
reading-desk  is  thrown  an  altar-cloth  or  hearse- 
cloth,  embroidered  with  rows  of  kneeling  female 


BRADENSTOKE   PEIOKY. 

This  Priory,  unUke  most,  is  set  on  the  edge  of 
a  steep  hill  commanding  a  wide  view  to  the  west 
and  north-west.  The  site  is  occupied  as  a  farm, 
the  dwelling  being  formed  out  of  the  "  King's 
Lodgings"  and  the  guest-house,  a  Ifth-century 
structure,  in  tolerably  perfect  condition,  the 
post-Reformation  floors  and  stairs,  with  which 
the  great  hall  is  cut  up,  being  the  weakest  points. 
It  lies  nearly  north  and  south.  The  tmdercroft, 
now  cellarage,  has  been  httle  tampered  with,  and 
is  vaulted  with  quadripartite  vaulting,  carried 
on  short  columns ;  over  this  is  the  great  hall, 
now  divided  into  rooms  and  additional  floor* 
added,  but  stiU  preserving  externally,  esiiecially 
on  the  west  face,  its  old  appearance,  between  the 
buttresses  being  a  series  of  unusually  long  Deco- 
rated windows.  From  the  garrets  can  be  ex- 
plored the  open  roof,  with  ball-flowers  on  the 
tie-beams,  flgured  in  Rickman's  "Architecture," 
and  in  one  of  the  old  rooms  is  a  carved  and 
painted  stone  chimney-piece,  crowned  by  a  cor- 
nice of  foliage  and  central  bracket,  and  almost 
contemporary  in  date  with  the  chief  features. 
At  the  north  end  of  the  building  is  a  garderobe 
tirrret,  approached  by  a  corner  staircase.  The 
buttresses  of  the  west  wall  are  connected  by  a 
series  of  semicircular  voussoirs,  with  plain  wall- 
ing above,  set  loft,  or  so  from  the  ground,  and 
quite  ISin.  from  the  wall.  These  evidently  Late 
Norman  remains  suggested  a  puzzle  till  it  was 
explained  by  Mr.  Brock  that  the  stones  had  been 
brought  from  another  portion  of  the  site  in  1 732. 
On  the  bill  slope  facing  this  front,  Mr.  Brock 
read  a  paper  on  the  Priory,  in  wliich  he  intro- 
duced his  subject  by  a  glance  at  the  distribution 
of  the  monastic  orders  in  Wiltsliire,  which  was 
singularly  varied.  The  Benedictines  had  but 
few  houses  in  the  county,  the  Cistercians  and 
Cluniacs  hut  one  each,  and  the  obscure  Bon- 
hommes  and  Gilbertines  were  represented  by 
one  and  two  foundations.  The  friars  of  later 
origin,  elsewhere  so  numerous,  the  white  and 
grey,  had  but  one  house  each,  and  the  black 
friars  but  two,  while  there  were  seven  alien 
houses.  In  "\'i'ilts  there  were  six  houses  of  Austin 
Canons,  of  which  Lacock  Nunnery,  to  be  seen  on 
Saturday,  was  one,  and  Bradenstoke  the  prin- 
cipal and  most  wealthy.  Its  importance  could 
be  judged  from  the  fact  that  at  the  Dissolution 
it  was  returned  as  valued  at  £2 12  19s.  3d.  in 
the  clear,  while  the  neighbouring  priory  of 
Keynsham,  Gloucestershire,  was  given  as 
£119  14s.  3d.,  and  Mabnesbury  as  £S03  ITs.  7d. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  KEWS. 


235 


The  relatire  value  of  money  might  be  noted 
from  the  certificate  of  Sir  J.  Seymour  in  1523, 
that  in  the  borough  of  "The  Vyse,"  only  eight 
persons  were  returned  as  being  worth  £20  per 
annum.  The  number  of  the  occupants  of  Bra - 
dcnstoke  at  the  Dissolution  \ras  the  prior  and 
twelve  monks  (and  these  seem  to  hare  been 
chiefly  aged  men),  the  abbey  of  Malmesbury 
having  22,  including  the  prior  and  sub-prior. 
Search  through  the  old  chronicles  had  given  few 
other  facts  as  to  the  Priory,  except  its  founding 
and  dissolution.  It  was  established  and  endowed 
by  Walter  d'Eureux  and  De  Saresbiria,  a."d. 
1142,  to  the  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and 
for  his  soul's  health.  After  the  death  of  his 
lady,  Walter  took  the  religious  habit  (but  did 
not  seem  to  have  become  prior),  and  at  his  death 
he  was  buried  by  her  side.  Bradenstoke  was 
the  favourite  burying -place  of  the  founder's 
family  until  the  establishment  of  Laeock  Nun- 
nery. In  the  pages  of  Dugdale  would  be  found 
the  names  of  six  of  the  priors,  and  notices  of 
the  seal,  inmates,  income,  pensions,  and  princi- 
pal charters.  Two  cartnlaries  of  the  priory  yet 
existed.  One  had  pa.ssed  from  the  Stowe  Col- 
lection to  the  Library  of  Lord  Sherborne.  A 
second,  in  the  British  Museiim,  was  a  volume 
damaged  by  the  fire  at  Westminster,  1731,  but 
it  was  readable,  and  had  been  carefully  bound. 
It  gave  minute  reference  to  the  property  held  by 
the  Priory,  and  abounded  with  curious  particu- 
lars as  to  tenure,  .Jcc.  It  was  a  work  of  local 
interest  that  might  well  be  published  by  the 
Wiltshire  Society.  The  charter  of  Henry  III. 
to  St.  Peter's,  Gloucester,  was  dated  from  Bra- 
denstoke, A.D.  123.5,  and  indicated  the  presence 
of  the  king  at  the  Priory  at  that  date.  Aubrey, 
in  his  "Xatural  History  of  Wilts,"  described 
the  ruins  of  the  priory  as  they  were  in  166G, 
when,  he  said,  the  church  had  been  destroyed 
.  and  the  foundations  dug  up.  Mr.  Brock,  how- 
ever, conjectm'ed  the  latter  item  was  incorrect, 
and  that  the  foundations  still  remained  to  re- 
ward a  search  for  them.  Aubrey  described 
the  hall  which  had  been  left,  and  said  at  the 
■west  (really  the  north)  had  been  the  King's 
Lodgings,  which  had  remained  till  15SS,  He 
added,  that  the  ruins  had  been  used  as  a  Cjuarry 
for  a  long  period,  the  mansions  at  Broad  Hinton, 
Bromham,  and  Cadnam,  having  been  built  with 
them.  A  "  Xorth  View  of  Bradenstoke  Prior}-," 
published  by  the  Brothers  Buck  in  1732,  repre- 
sented the  hall  as  now,  with  an  additional  build- 
ing at  the  north  end  no  longer  existing ;  this 
was  an  apartment  of  great  elegance,  lighted  by 
a  16th-century  traceried  window  of  eight  lights, 
and  having  an  arched  door  vrith.  a  row  of  shields 
between  it  and  the  window.  These  shields  had 
been  built  into  the  present  south-east  porch. 
The  church  was  said  to  have  stood  to  the  south 
of  the  present  remains,  and  in  1S.51  a  pavement 
of  encaustic  tiles  was  found  on  its  site  6ft.  deep. 
This  was  a  discovery  of  much  interest,  and  ought 
to  be  followed  up,  for  the  search  might  result  in 
a  pavement  as  rich  as  that  unearthed  at  Keyns- 
ham.  Mr.  Brock  and  Mr.  Eeynolds  then 
described  the  architectural  features  of  the  build- 
ing, all  except  the  arcading  now  set  up  on  the 
west  wall-buttresses  being  ascribed  by  the 
former  speaker  to  between  1320  and  1330.  The 
whole  of  the  conventual  buildings,  with  the 
church,  were  placed  to  the  south  of  this  guest- 
house. Opposite,  a  plain  Perpendicular  barn, 
with  modem  roof,  was  seen.  An  entrenched 
mound  to  the  north  of  the  house  was  regarded 
by  some  as  a  barrow  or  encampment,  allied  to 
the  one  on  the  opposite  hill,  that  of  Chart;  but 
Mr.  Kerslake  and  others  suggested  it  was  merely 
the  site  of  a,  pleasaunce  and  a  fishpond  in  the 
monks'  garden.  Subsequently,  Mr.  Goldney 
stated  that  his  father.  Sir  Gabriel  Goldney,  and 
he  had  determined  not  to  allow  the  Priory  to  be 
restored  in  theii-  time,  but  simply  to  preserve  it. 
Mr.  Brock  commended  the  prudence  of  this 
course,  but  referred  to  the  interesting  revela  - 
lions  that  might  be  anticipated  from  an  excava- 
tion of  the  pavement  and  site  of  the  former 
church.  Rejoining  the  carriages  at  the  foot  of 
Bradenstoke  hill  at  Dauntsey,  a  long  drive  was 
made  to 

ir.M.'JESBTOY. 

Here  Mr.  W.  Powell,  M.P.,  had  provided  a 
srmiptuous  luncheon  in  the  new  reading-rooms 
he  has  buUt  and  furnished  for  the  townspeople. 
This  having  been  done  justice  to,  the  Market 
Cross  was  \-isited.  It  is  a  Late  Perpendicular 
structiire,  very  similar  to  those  at  Sali.';biu-y  and 
Chichester,  and  is  a  stone  canopy  borne  upon 


eight  pillars.  A  deeply-moulded  flying  but- 
tress rises  from  each  pier,  clear  of  the  richly- 
groined  roof,  the  Ught  ribs  being  drawn  into  a 
cluster  by  a  wide  string-band  supporting  a  largo 
pinnacle  and  ogee  finial.  Tliis  pinnacle  bears 
traces  of  sculptured  figures,  and,  on  the  west 
face,  of  a  crucifix  ;  but  the  faces  of  the  work  are 
much  abraded  by  weather  and,  perhaps,  rough 
treatment,  for  most  of  the  bosses  have  been 
broken  from  the  groined  vault .  It  was  erected 
for  the  shelter  of  the  market  folk  in  11 90. 
Passing  through  a  large  stone  archway  into  the 
churchyard,  the  grand  south  fa(;adeof  the  Ahbei) 
Church  was  seen  in  all  its  beauty.  Of  the 
original  cruciform  structure— once,  like  Ely, 
adorned  by  a  lofty  central  spire,  and  another  at 
the  west  end — but  two -thirds,  the  eastern 
portion,  of  nave  and  a  magnificent  south  porch 
remain.  The  south  front  .shows  a  Transitional 
Xorman  shell,  with  a  clerestory  and  most  of  the 
aisle  lights  filled  with  Decorated  windows,  with 
large  flying  buttresses  and  pinnacles.  A  flowing 
pierced  parapet  is  carried  above  the  clerestory, 
the  aisle  and  porch.  The  roof  is  a  modem  one,  of 
slates,  resting  on  deal  timbers  of  poor  scantUng 
set  upon  the  14th-century  stone  vaulting.  East 
and  west  are  ragged  fragments  of  the  former 
extensions.  The  south  porch  is  the  richest 
feature  ;  it  is  Transitional,  of  eight  deep  orders, 
of  which  three  are  filled  with  sculptured  groups, 
and  the  others  with  interlaced  ornament.  The 
inner  doorway  is  almost  equally  rich,  and  in  the 
tympanum  and  on  the  walls  are  bas-reliefs  of 
the  "Majesty"  and  the  "  Apostles."  Flanking 
this  porch,  on  the  east  side,  the  visitors  were 
shocked  to  find  a  too- "public  convenience," 
which,  as  an  incongruous  indecency,  ought  to  be 
summarily  removed.  The  interior  forms  a  noble 
church,  wherein  massive  cylindrical  piers,  with 
scalloped  capitals,  and  a  large  triforium,  all  of 
Transitional  character,  lead  up  to  a  large  Deco- 
rated clerestory  and  a  groined  roof  of  the  same 
period.  The  aisles  retain  their  Xorman  groining 
and  a  few  Norman  windows,  and  have  Perpen- 
dicular screens  at  the  eastern  ends.  In  the 
regretted  absence  of  Mr.  Thomas  Blashill,  Mr. 
George  Patrick  read  some  historical  ' '  Notes ' '  on 
the  abbey,  and  conducted  the  visitors  over  it. 
Turning  to  the  building  before  them,  he  said  no 
traces  of  the  Saxon  abbey  could  be  found,  and 
it  was  probably  of  wood.  Britton,  in  his 
"Antiquities."  refers  to  a  deed  of  Malmesbury 
of  the  time  of  King  Edgar,  in  which  allusion  is 
made  to  the  generally  ruined  and  deserted  con- 
dition of  the  buildings ;  but  such  a  deed  cannot 
now  be  found.  The  arches  and  existing  remains 
are  not  of  prior  date  to  IICO  or  1170.  Porches 
were  not  common  in  the  Transition  style  of  that 
period,  and  the  south  porch  before  them  was 
almost  unique  for  its  exceeding  richness  and 
magnificence  of  ornament ;  the  subjects  of  the 
sculptures  were  taken  from  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  This  porch  was  enlarged  in  the 
Perpendicular  period  by  the  addition  of  an  outer 
casing  to  the  walls.  The  windows  of  the  clere- 
story were  altered  to  the  Decorated  style  about 
13o0-60,  and  no  traces  of  Norman  work  exist 
intemaliy  above  the  level  of  triforium  excepting 
the  great  arches  of  central  tower.  The  pinnacles 
and  the  flying  buttresses  were  of  the  14th 
century.  The  door  on  the  north  side,  leading  to 
the  cloisters,  was  Norman,  but  had  had  another 
inserted  within  it  in  the  14th  centurj- ;  and  to 
the  latter  period  might  be  referred  the  north 
aisle  windows  and  the  lofty  west  window. 
Within  the  abbey,  attention  was  called  to  the 
contrast  between  the  J  2th  and  14th  century 
work,  to  the  excellence  of  tracery  in  the  eastern 
screens  to  aisles,  to  the  quadripartite  vaulting, 
and  to  the  Perpendicular  watching-chamber 
projecting  from  one  of  the  triforium  arches  on 
the  south  side.  Both  the  grand  towers  had 
fallen — that  at  the  intersection  of  transepts, 
which  probably  contained  the  large  peal  of  bells, 
and  which  fell  in  Henry  VIII. 's  reign,  and  a 
second,  chiefly  of  14th  century  character,  which 
also  came  down  in  Charles  II. 's  time.  Mr. 
Brock  said  the  history  of  these  towers  was  a 
warning  to  ambitious  people  ;  their  ruins  were 
evidently  due  to  successive  additions  to  their 
height  and  the  building  of  lofty  spires,  first  on 
the  central  and  then  on  the  western  steeples, 
whereas  the  existing  remains  showed  that  no 
attempt  was  made  to  strengthen  the  foundations. 
The  central  tower  was  one  of  the  sniaU  class, 
broader  on  the  east  and  west  faces  than  on  those 
north  and  south  ;  a  glance  at  the  remaining 
north-east  fragment  would  show  that  instead  of 
attempting  pointed  arches  on  the  narrow  sides, 


as  in  the  eimilar  example  at  St.  John's,  Devizee, 
the  circular  soflits  were  brought  to  equal  heights 
by  stilting  the  transept  openings.  On  this  weak 
erection  once  stood  one  of  the  highest  spires  in 
England,  and  in  it  a  heavy  peal  of  bcllfl  was 
hung.  A  question  having  arisen  as  to  the  pur- 
pose of  a  peculiar  series  of  large  circular  me- 
dallions or  rosettes  of  flat  ornament  between  the 
clerestory  windows  on  the  eastern  portions,  both 
on  the  north  anl  soutli  tides,  Mr.  Ewan 
Christian  said  they  indicated  that  a  Norman 
clerestory  was  at  least  commenced,  and 
replaced  in  the  11th  century  by  the  pre- 
sent rather  poor  windows,  proving  his 
point  by  showiug  that  one  or  two  of  these 
rosettes  formed  springers  <,f  semicircular  arches. 
Mr.  John  Reynolds,  of  Redlands,  Bristol,  ex- 
plained the  situation  of  the  conventual  buildings, 
wliich  have  entirely  disappeared,  the  site  being 
a  piece  of  pasture  and  a  private  g.irden,  showing 
that  a  plain  unpicrced  wall,  with  deep  string- 
course above  the  nave,  was  clear  evidence  of  the 
south  walk  of  the  cloi-sters.  There  were  two 
entrances  into  the  nave,  both  of  wliich  are  dis- 
tinctly marked,  although  now  walled  up.  On 
the  return  east  side  next  the  nortli  transept  was 
the  chapter- house,  and  next  to  it  the  day-room, 
overhead  being  the  dormitory,  which  had  a  door- 
way into  church,  for  the  use  of  the  monks  who 
had  the  night  6cr%'iccs  to  perform.  On  the  north 
side  was  the  refectory,  and  on  the  we-t  a  second 
day-room  for  lay  brethren  or  students,  but  its 
exact  use  was  controverted.* 

Dr.  Jennings'  residence.  Abbey  House,  built 
in  the  1 6th  century,  on  the  site  of  some  of  the 
conventual  buildings,  was  then  visited.  A\Tiat 
are  now  the  cellars  are  a  series  of  vaulted  cham- 
bers, with  Decorated  window  tracery  and  yroiu- 
ing,  corresponding  with  the  great  works  of 
rebuilding  in  the  abbey  church.  The  window- 
are,  as  Mr.  Christian  showed,  deeply  splayed 
inside  on  a  curve,  the  surface  being  rendered  to 
a  true  face  in  cement.  The  columns  are  almost 
buried  in  dibvis,  but  excavations  show  them  to 
be  9ft.  from  base  to  capital.  A  (entral  range 
has  been  destroyed.  Tlie  similarity  of  the  work 
to  Bradenstoke  is  very  marked.  Dr.  Jennings 
suggested  that  this  was  a  second  cloister,  otheni 
that  it  was  an  undercroft,  but  Messrs.  Christian 
and  Rej-nolds  agreed  that  it  was  too  important 
for  the  latter,  while  the  former  hypothesis  could 
not  be  supported  :  it  must  have  formed  the  great 
hall  of  the  abbot's  house,  and  at  that  time  wag, 
of  course,  above  ground.  In  the  upper  part  of 
the  house  is  much  good  17th-century  panelling 
and  carved  oak  furniture,  including  a  large 
Jacobean  four-post  bedstead,  richly  treated  in 
Classic  style,  but  having  as  a  foot-board  a 
pierced  undercut  panel,  French  Flamboyant  in 
style,  and  bearing  upon  it  the  arms  of  France 
impaled  with  those  of  Brittany,  and  the  dolphin, 
the  well-known  badge  of  th?  Dauphins,  which 
the  Rev.  Sir.  Elliott  showed  indicated  that  thi-. 
fragment  of  carving  was  originally  worked  for 
Charles  VII.  of  France,  who  married  the 
heiress  of  the  Dukes  of  Brittany.  The  staircase 
to  the  upper  part  of  house  is  of  solid  block  oak, 
with  soUd  oak  newel.  Dr.  Jennings  condii'-t^-d 
the  members  over  the  ea.'-tem  limb  of  tlic  '  ':«  y 
church,  which  he  has  indeed,  and  had  exi\i  v.it-  1 
a  few  years  since,  when  he  found  nDthini,'  \iv,\ 
the  concrete  foundations  of  the  choir  and  tran- 
septs, and  the  square  flue,  with  soot  still  in  it, 
running  along  the  north  side,  by  which  the 
building  was  wanned.  All  the  worked  stone, 
with  the  exception  of  a  coffin,  which  he  left  w 
situ,  had  been  quarried  away. 

In  the  evening  two  papers  wer. 
by  Mr.  Morgan,  F.S.A.,  on  "Ti  • 
Westerners)" in  Wiltshire";  th.' 
Phene,   F.S.A.,  F.G.S.,  on    "  t.s..^-:ur^    .A.,  .- 
logues  to  StonehengeandAvcbury."  The  author 
claimed  that  he  had  discovered  in  th-  Biil.  nrj. 
Islauds  in  the  Mediterranean  th. 
of  the  mortise  and  tenon  .-.ystcin 
in  structures  which  as.-<ume  "  tl 
tion  of  the  more  vast  p<jrtion  f :' 
All  the  features   of   Stonehenge 
analogues  in  the  "  ishinds  betw. 
continent  and   Europe."     The.- 
was  led  to  beheve,  were  Romon. 
sion   was    "that   as   the    Rom:ii 
their  power  by  alliance  with,  an  i  ^  :       • 

dora    to,    the    nobles    of    the    cuunine=    t....y 
governed ;  as  they  considered  the  worship  of  the 


•  In  the  I 
found  plan.^  ■ 
their  convent 

■\Valcott,  tog' ■.: 


>i,  ISTfl,  wfll  t- 
.>.-k  .\».*«-t»  an  1 
E.  C.  JUcireniic 


236 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


ocal  deities  of  otiier  lands  meritorious,  and  no 
abrogation  of,  or  detraction  from,  the  honours 
claimed  by  their  own  deities  of  Rome,  they 
could  show  this  in  no  more  comprehensive  way 
than  by  restoration  or  augmentation  of  that 
temple  in  Britain,  which  was  in  the  centre  of  the 
deceased  nobQity  of  the  land,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  what  was  clearly  the  great  wardmote  or 
gathering-place  of  the  British  at  Avebury."  A 
discussion  ensued,  in  which  Mr.  Pioton  and 
others  took  part.  Mr.  "W.  Cuunington  pointed 
out  that  the  most  extraordinary  thing-  in  con- 
nection with  Stonehenge  was  the  fact  that  tliero 
were  three  or  four  kinds  of  stone  there,  one  of 
which  it  was  absolutely  clear  did  not  exist  in 
England ;  to  which  Dr.  Phene  replied  that  Mr. 
Fergusson  saw  the  direct  course  of  the  stones 
from  Africa,  and  he  gave  as  an  example  of  large 
stones  being  brought  from  abroad  a  description 
of  a  piece  of  Assyrian  sculpture,  which,  he  said, 
had  been  dug  up  on  the  estate  of  Lord  Mount 
dgecumbe. 

FRIDAY. 

A  drive  of  forty  miles  to  and  from  jVmesbury 
and  Stonehenge  was  the  programme  for  the  day. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  at  Vespasian's 
Camp  and  Stonehenge,  the  members  of  the 
Arehteological  Association  were  met  by  the 
Newbury  District  Field  Club,  the  combined  party 
numbering  about  200.  On  the  outward  journey 
the  route  taken  was  along  the  Valley  of  the 
Avon,  two  of  the  village  churches  being  ex- 
amined. The  first  of  these,  EnJford or  Avonfcrd 
Church,  is  a  building  altered  to  its  present  con- 
dition after  the  crushing  of  the  nave  by  the  fall 
of  the  spire  ui  1S17.  It  has  a  range  of  blank 
areading  of  slender  lancets,  on  the  north  side  of 
chancel,  and  opening  out  of  this  a  low  octagonal 
chamber  now  used  as  a  vestry,  and  having  in 
the  angles  four  aumbries,  in  which  hooks  still 
remain.  This  adjunct,  which  has  been  a  crux 
to  local  antiquaries,  was  pronounced  by  Mr. 
Brock  to  be  the  tase  of  a  proposed  north-east 
13th-century  tower,  and  utilised  from  early 
times  as  a  sacristy.  The  church  of  ycthcr  Avon 
has  a  remarkable  west  portal,  of  very  rude  and 
early  character.  Two  pUasters,  with  cushioned 
caps  roughly  sculptured,  the  one  with  a  lion,  the 
other  with  an  ape,  or  some  other  quadruped, 
carry  a  plain  circular  soffit  and  arch  of  great 
depth  ;  the  north  and  south  sides  of  this  stage 
of  tower  are  panelled  with  flint  and  stone,  and 
have  small  Norman  doorways,  now  walled  up. 
The  internal  arch  is  of  like  character,  and  also 
has  wide  joints  ;  the  nave  has  Late  Transitional 
piers  and  arcades.  Mr.  Brock  suggested  that 
this  west  doorway  was  once  internal,  and  formed 
the  central  tower  of  an  alslelcss  church,  appa- 
rently of  the  latter  portion  of  the  11th  century  ; 
an  opinion  in  which  Mr.  Ficton  coincided. 

AMESBUET    PEIOEY    CH17ECH. 

This  church  is  a  large  cruciform  structure, 
with  low  square  central  tower,  from  which  a 
spire  was  demolished  in  1540.  The  walls  of  the 
nave  are  Norman  with  inserted  windows,  but 
the  other  limbs  were  rebuilt  and  enlarged  in  the 
13th  century.  The  upper  part  of  tower  is  con- 
siderably later,  and  Decorated  windows  are 
inserted  into  the  chancel  between  the  lancets. 
The  roof  of  nave  is  a  good  example  of 
hammer-beam  construction,  with  ornamented 
tie-beams  and  braces.  There  is  a  Late  south 
aisle,  and  opening  from  the  north  transept  is  a 
chantry  chapel,  with  an  excellent  two-light 
window  in  east  gable,  divided  by  a  shaft  with 
foliage  cap,  c.  1340.  Mr.  Brock  gave  an  account 
of  Amesbury  Priory,  foimded  in  880  by  Queen 
Elfrida,  as  a  Benedictine  nunnery,  and  which 
grew  to  be  one  of  great  magnificence.  At  the 
suppression  of  monasteries  almost  all  the  con- 
ventual buildings  were  destroyed.  It  was 
lear  that  this  was  the  conventual  as  well  as 
he  parish -church,  for  on  the  north  wall  is  a 
corbel-table  marking  the  old  cloister  roof  and 
the  walled-up  doorways,  while  at  the  east  end 
were  traces  of  other  buildings  ha^dng  existed 
against  north  transept.  He  expressed  regret 
that  in  the  restoration  effected  in  1853  [under 
Mr.  Butterfield]  the  rood-screen  and  an  east 
window  of  Henry  VII. 's  time  were  removed,  the 
latter  to  make  way  for  a  modem  conception 
supposed  to  be  in  character  with  the  earliest  part 
of  fabric,  for  in  this  work  a  link  of  the  church's 
history  was  destroyed.  Some  discussion  took 
place  as  to  the  want  of  symmetry  in  plan.  The 
chancel  leans  considerably  to  north,  and  the  west 
wall  of  nave  is  set  askew,  but  no  satisfactory 


explanation  was  offered,  instances  of  leaning, 
both  to  south  and  north,  being  mentioned ;  and 
in  reply  to  the  theory  that  the  inclination 
indicated  the  rising  of  the  sun  on  the  daj'  of  found- 
ing, Mr.  Brock  said,  an  inexplicable  fact  was, 
that  in  no  one  case  where  the  day  of  founding 
was  known  did  the  inclined  axis  exactly  corre- 
spond with  the  sun's  position. 

After  luncheon,  the  visitors  walked  through 
the  park,  beside  the  site  of  the  nunnery,  and 
past  the  seat  of  Sir  E.  Antrobus,  said  to  have 
been  built  from  the  designs  of  Inigo  Jones  by  his 
son-in-law,  Webb,  to  the  earthworks,  called  by 
Dr.  Stukeley,  and  on  the  Ordnance  Survey, 
"  I'cspasUin's  Camp."  These  ramparts  follow 
the  contour  of  a  hill-side  overlooking  the  Avon, 
and  are  on  plan  an  elliptic  curve,  with  closed 
end,  containing  an  area  of  39  acres,  and  com- 
manding the  river  and  opposite  bank  ;  they  are 
formed  by  a  vallum  with  outer  ditch,  but  are 
much  obscured  and  broken  by  the  planting  of 
trees  and  the  formation  of  pleasure-groundsupon 
them.  Lord  Nelson  pointed  out  the  resemblance 
to  Bratton  Camp,  allowing  for  the  existence  of  a 
river  here,  and  suggested  a  common  origin.  Mr. 
Brook  said  these  earthworks  had  been  much  mis- 
understood. This  camp  was  certainly  used  by 
the  Romans,  as  a  few  of  their  coins  found  on  the 
site  proved,  but  here  and  elsewhere  they  simply 
utilised  works  already  existing,  formed  by  the 
Britons,  not  as  mere  military  stations,  nor  yet 
burial  places,  but  as  oppida — lines  of  defence  on 
the  hill-tops,  within  which  they  erected  their 
wigwams  of  branches  or  dug  out  pits,  and 
folded  their  cattle  at  night.  They  followed 
every  contour  of  the  ground  in  their  trenches 
and  banks,  and  where  a  river  was  not  at  hand, 
probably  got  water  as  the  shepherds  on  the 
Downs  did  now,  by  puddled  "dew  ponds"  at 
the  lowest  point  of  camps,  in  which  the  rainfall 
was  stored.  These  entrenchments  were  some- 
times used  by  a  later  race  for  sepulchres,  but  the 
new  layers  of  the  burrows  were  often  perceptible. 
The  members  proceeded,  after  some  discussion,  to 

STONBHENGE, 

gathering  within  the  inner  circle  to  listen  to  the 
reading  of  papers  by  members  of  the  two  socie- 
ties. Stonehenge  is  too  well  known  to  need 
more  than  an  outline  of  description.  It  occupies 
the  swelling  surface  of  an  elevated  portion  of 
Salisbury  PLiin,  but  by  no  means  one  of  the 
highest  eminences  within  a  short  distance.  In- 
closing an  area  of  3C0ft.  diameter  is  a  slight 
bank  and  outer  vallum,  with  entrance  on  north- 
east. Within  this  space  is  what  appears  at  first 
sight  to  be  a  confused  group  of  large  stones,  of 
several  kinds,  sizes,  and  forms,  some  erect,  a  few 
leaning,  and  others  fallen,  but  all  fissured  and 
weather-worn,  and  clothed  with  hchens  and 
mosses.  Segments  of  an  outer  circle  of  squared 
stones  are  standing  upright — stones  16ft.  high — 
at  a  distance  of  about  3ft.  apart,  and  connected 
by  a  series  of  imposts,  mortised  by  large  holes 
on  the  under  side  into  a  projecting  knob  on  each 
upright,  and  dovetailed  into  each  other.  Within 
this  are  a  few  unliewn  obeliscal  stones,  about 
4  ft.  high,  and  within  this  again  two  perfect 
trilithons,  one  fallen  one,  and  two  uprights  of 
other  lintel-like  erections  of  the  largest  stones  in 
the  group,  and  forming  the  west  part  of  a  grand 
elUpse.  'There  is  an  inner  ellipse  of  obelisks,  very 
irregular  and  incomplete,  and  in  the  centre  is  a 
large  flat  stone,  callod  the  "  altar  stone,"  but 
which  has  apparently  fallen.  There  are  three 
stones  on  the  inner  edge  of  the  inclosure,  and 
just  outside  on  the  N.E.,  in  the  line  of  en- 
trance to  the  rampart,  is  a  large  leaning 
stone  called  the  Friar's  Heel,  which  was 
frequently  alluded  to  during  the  afternoon. 
Standing  upon  a  fallen  stone,  which  served 
as  rostrum  to  the  successive  speakers.  Lord 
Nelson  pleaded  for  the  conservation  of  Stone- 
henge, by  setting  upright  a  now  prostrate 
trilithon  on  the  western  side,  known  to  have 
fallen  in  1797,  and  by  pushing  back  and  securing 
one  of  the  two  large  single  stones  of  the  inner 
ellipse,  which  now  leans  threateningly  upon  an 
inner  obelisk,  and  mu.st,  if  not  seen  to,  fall  within 
a  short  time.  The  exact  position  and  appear- 
ance of  the  fallen  trilithon  are  known,  and  the 
restoration  could  be  effected  without  risk  by 
present  mechanical  appliances.  He  then  in- 
troduced Mr.  William  Cunnington,  F.S.A.,  who 
deUvered  an  opening  address,  every  stone 
haring  been  lettered  in  chalk  by  the  speaker  to 
facilitate  identification  during  description.  The 
largest  stones  were  "  Sarsens,"  boiilders  which, 
ages  since,  were  deposited  as  sand  above  the 


chalk  deposits,  were  formed  by  the  agglutinising 
of  some  particles  into  silicious  sandstones,  and 
were  exposed  when  the  looser  portions  were 
washed  away.  These  sarsens  were  found' in 
some  of  the  Wiltshire  valleys  on  the  Marl- 
borough Downs.  The  obelisks  were  smaller, 
and  of  two  varieties  of  stone,  one  a  hornstone 
and  the  other  "  diatose  ' '  (the  latter  a  scarcely 
accurate  term)  both  igneous  rocks,  but  neither 
of  which  could  be  found  in  England  or  Wales. 
These  were  all  grey,  of  various  shades,  but  the 
middle  or  altar  stone  was  black,  and  was  a 
micaceous  sandstone,  possibly  derived  from 
the  coal-measures  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Frome.  Having  minutely  distinguished  the 
varieties  of  stone,  Mr.  Cimnington  showed 
a  model  of  Stonehenge,  as  now,  and  as 
supposed  to  have  appeared  when  perfect,  show- 
ing that  there  was  then  probably  an  outer  earth- 
work, as  now,  and  inside  this  a  ring  of  mortised 
and  tenoned  stones,  all  joined  at  the  top  like  the 
few  now  standing,  then  a  circle  of  posts  or  low 
obelisks,  a  horseshoe  of  trilithons,  and  an  inter- 
nal horseshoe  of  obelisks.  In  the  construction 
of  this  group,  whatever  its  purpose,  a  high  me- 
chanical knowledge  and  very  great  skill  were 
displayed,  the  more  surprising  since  it  was  pro- 
bably done  without  the  use  of  iron  tools.  Con- 
structive ability  was  shown  not  alone  in  the 
transport  and  setting  up  of  these  huge  stones, 
but  in  the  system  of  mortise  and  tenon  and  dove- 
tailing employed  to  secure  the  transverse  slabs, 
a  method  of  securing  which  the  speaker  illus- 
trated with  small  wooden  blocks.  Mr.  Wright 
asked  if  the  cross  stones  of  the  trilithons  had 
not  been  displaced  and  set  up  again,  and  Mr. 
Cunnington  and  local  gentlemen  said  this  was 
not  true.  A  general  laugh  greeted  the  question 
"  To  what  date  do  you  attribute  the  work  of 
erection"  ?  to  which  no  reply  was  given.  Mr. 
T.  Morgan,  F.S.A.,  read  a  paper  on  the  etymo- 
logj'  of  the  name,  which  had  been  conjocturally 
derived  from  Hengist,  hanging,  or  leaning  and 
suspended  stones,  and  stones  of  hanging,  or 
gibbets.  He  favoured  the  opinion  of  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  that  it  was  derived  from  the  Saxon 
stane-ing  or  field  of  stones,  and  nothing  would  be 
more  appropriate,  standing  as  it  did  in  the  midst 
of  an  acropolis  of  some  300  barrows.  As  to  its 
object,  it  neither  resembled  a  cromlech,  temple, 
nor  place  of  worship,  but  partook  of  the  cha- 
racteristics of  all  these.  One  jilausible  view  was 
Mr.  Lucas's,  who  maintained  that  they  were  sim- 
ply burial-places  denuded  of  earth  by  the  wash- 
ing away  of  the  soil ;  it  certainly  resembled  the 
Mag's  house  in  the  Orkneys,  which  was  a  real 
cromlech.  He  believed  all  the  kinds  of  stones 
might  be  found  in  Wales,  or  perhaps  in  Ireland. 
A  French  writer  had  pointed  out  the  analogy 
between  Stonehenge  and  many  Temples  of  the 
Sun,  especially  those  at  Baalbek  and  Martimd, 
in  Cashmere,  and  he  was  disposed  to  believe 
that  this  was  intended  for  sun  worship,  without 
committing  himself  to  any  date,  although  all 
from  King  David,  to  Druids,  Romans,  and  even 
Saxons,  had  been  named.  Prof.  Rupert  Jones, 
F.R.S.,  read  a  paper  written  b_y  Mr.  T.  Claxton 
Fidler,  M.I.C.E.,  of  Cork,  on  the  Astronomical 
Theories  as  to  Stonehenge.  The  author  de- 
tailed trigonometrical  co-ordinate  surveys  and 
mathematical  calculations  made  by  himself  and 
two  other  engineers,  during  a  week  spent  at 
Stonehenge,  and  stated  that  the  result,  after 
allowing  corrections  for  the  apparent,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  true,  horizon  and  position  of 
sun,  and  also  for  the  cyclical  change  in  the  obli- 
quality  of  the  ellipse,  proved  that  the  Friar's 
Heel  is  so  situated,  and  the  axis  and  centre  of 
the  building  are  so  arranged  as  to  mark  the 
rising  of  the  sun  at  the  summer  solstice.  The 
priest  at  the  altar,  situated  in  the  apsidal  end  of 
the  horseshoe,  or  a  worshipper  in  the  centre  of 
the  circle,  would  see  the  sun  rising  out  of  the 
Friar's  Heel  stone.  As  this  arrangement,  if  a 
mere  coincidence,  had  a  range  of  probabilities  of 
1,400  to  1  against  the  Friar's  Heel  being  pitched 
within  the  earthworks  within  a  semidiameter  of 
the  correct  position,  the  theory  that  Stonehenge 
was  a  temple  for  sun-worship  was,  in  the 
author's  opinion,  established  by  the  result 
of  his  observations.  In  this  theory  Profes- 
sor Jones  and  subsequent  speakers  concurred. 
Mr.  Walter  Money,  F.S.A.,  of  Newbury, 
followed  with  a  paper,  referring  in  his  intro- 
ductory remarks  to  his  explorations  of  Wiltshire 
barrows,  in  conjunction  Tvith  Canon  Green  well. 
He  had  very  little  doubt  that  Stonehenge 
belonged  to  the  Bronze  Age,  a  view  in  which  he 
believed  Sir  John  Lubbock  concurred.     The  age 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


337 


could  only  be  fixed  ajipioximatcly,  but  if  they 
considered  that  the  use  of  Iron  was  known  in 
Britain  at  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar's  invasion  of 
the  countiy,  B.C.  5.5,  and  that  its  introduction 
might  be  rouglily  assigned  to  two  or  three 
centuries  before  Christ,  a  starting-point  was 
pro\'ided.  The  use  of  bronze  must  have  lasted 
over  a  considerable  time,  and,  allowing  "00 
years  for  its  use  as  the  metal  of  cutting  instru- 
ments in  Britain,  the  age  of  its  introduction 
would  be  about  1000  b.c.  "WTien  at  Stonehenge 
with  the  Wiltsliire  Society  a  few  years  ago,  lie 
was  struck  by  its  comparison  by  Mr.  J.  H. 
Parker  to  Gilgal ;  and  since  thou  he  had  seen 
this  theory  advocated  by  an  anonymous  writer 
of  a  pamphlet  on  "Identity  of  the  Religions 
called  Druid  and  Hebrew,"  published  by  Black- 
wood, in  1821),  in  which  some  very  remarkable 
arguments  were  adduced  in  support  of  the 
theory  that  this  was  a  Druidical  temple  of  Early 
British  times,  similar  in  character  to  the  temples 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  most  ancient  account  of  a  temple 
was  in  Exodus  xxiv.  4  :  — "  And  Moses 
rose  up  early  in  the  morning  and  builded 
an  altar  under  the  hill,  and  twelve  pillars, 
according  to  the  twelve  tribes."  Having  quoted 
from  the  Pentateuch,  Joshua,  Judges,  Zephaniah, 
Tacitus,  and  Epiphanius,  to  show  the  earliest 
modes  of  worship  by  erecting  stones  in  the  open 
air,  Mr.  Money  urged  that  there  was  no  proof 
that  the  stone  circles  described  in  the  Old 
Testament  were  not  erections  of  the  heathen 
possessors  of  Canaan.  No  covered  temple  was, 
however,  buUt  in  the  land  till  the  days  of 
Solomou.  Stones  were  the  simplest  materials, 
and  circles  the  simplest  form  in  which  to  arrange 
them  ;  and  these  circles  were  the  memorials  of 
great  events,  the  meeting-places  of  armies,  the 
burial-places  of  chieftains,  and  were  regarded  as 
sacred  spots.  The  stones  here  were  arranged 
exactly  like  the  description  of  the  Jews.  Its 
appearance  proclaimed  the  antiquity  of  Stone- 
henge,  but  its  magnitude  and  grandeur  declared 
^at  the  people  who  first  raised  the  ponderous 
blocks  of  stone  of  which  it  was  composed  were 
not  so  rude  and  uneducated  as  had  been  con- 
ceived. In  Ireland,  as  well  as  in  England,  a 
vast  number  of  these  circles  existed  :  but  it  was 
in  Scotland  where  they  were  discovered  in  the 
finest  preservation.  In  France,  and  on  the 
Continent  generally,  they  were  to  be  found,  and 
it  must  be  supposed  that  they  were  used  for  the 
same  purposes  in  Europe  as  in  Asia.  He  be- 
lieved, notwithstanding  possible  ridicule,  that 
Stonehenge  and  like  structures  were  used  for 
worship  by  the  Uruids.  As  to  the  mode  of 
construction,  he  saw  no  difficulty  in  sup- 
posing that  these  colossal  blocks  of  stone 
were  brought  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Marlborough,  and  transported  and  set  up 
by  enslaved  manual  labom-.  Mr.  Myers,  F.S.A., 
urged  the  higher  antiquity  of  Avebury  over 
Stonehenge,  from  its  greater  rudeness.  Stone- 
henge coidd  not  have  been,  as  Mr.  Morgan 
suggested,  a  group  of  unearthed  cromlechs ; 
none  of  those  in  Brittany,  Cornwall,  or  Ireland 
had  any  approximation  to  this.  As  to  its 
being  a  temple  of  the  sun,  it  was  absurd  to 
compare  it  to  Baalbek,  now  a  fragment  of  six 
Corinthian  piUars  connected  by  a  well  designed 
cornice  of  great  depth  ;  Baalbek  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  refined  examples  of  Classic 
work,  and  far  surpassed  anything  in  Rome.  Mr. 
Taylor,  of  Clifton,  added  that  Martund  was 
equally-  unlike  Stonehenge ;  it  was  a  circular 
shrine,  of  which  the  dome  had  fallen  in.  Pro- 
fessor Rupert  Jones,  Lord  Nelson,  and  others 
having  discussed  the  possible  derivation  of  the 
name,  as  to  which  no  theory  found  acceptance  by 
any  other  than  the  propounder,  Mr.  J.  A. 
Picton,  E.S.A.,  said  the  coincidence  between 
the  position  of  the  Friar's  Heel  and  the  altar 
stone  and  the  position  of  the  stm  at  the  summer 
solstice  was  so  marked  that  it  might  be  taken  as 
an  accepted  theory  that  the  object  of  this  erection 
was  sun-worship.  He  would  try  to  deal  with 
Stonehenge  without  any  pre-conceived  theory, 
and,  discarding  all  traditions,  would  simply 
examine  the  facts.  He  saw  before  him  certain 
phenomena  and  facts,  and  asked  what  inference 
did  they  lead  to.  Before  him  were  parls  of 
two  circles  of  small,  irregular,  round,  unhewn 
stones,  and  between  and  outside  these,  other 
circles  or  parts  of  circles  of  tooled  stones, 
squared,  and  provided,  some  with  mortise  holes 
and  others  with  tenons.  Was  it  not  probable 
that  the  unhewn  stones  were  the  older  of  the 
two  series  ?    Elsewhere  they  found  cromlechs 


and  monoliths,  everywhere  with  no  history 
attached  to  them — at  most  a  vagu^  tradition 
that  they  were  erected  before  the  use  of  tools 
was  loiown.  At  Avebury  they  had  traces  of 
circles  of  rude,  large  unhewn  stones ;  here  at 
Stonehenge  were  small  stones  of  this  class 
associated  with  large  wrought  ones.  Tlie 
squaring  of  the  head  of  the  huge  leaning  stone 
in  the  inner  circle  before  them,  leaving  in  the 
middle  of  the  face  a  knot  or  tenon,  and 
the  cutting  of  holes  in  others  could  not  be 
denied.  This  granted,  how  and  when  was  it 
wrought  r  Tlie  date  must  be  reduced  to  an  ex- 
tremely limited  period.  They  must  be  posterior 
to  unhewn  stones,  and  the  latter  must  be  attri- 
buted to  a  period  before  the  Roman  invasion ; 
he  defied  anyone  to  produce  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  hewn  stone  before  or  at  the  time  of 
the  Roman  conquest.  These  monuments  could  not 
have  been  so  late  as  the  Saxon  conquest,  for  the 
chroniclers  would  have  described  their  erection, 
whereas  they  were  silent.  Inigo  Jones's  hypo- 
thesis that  Stonehenge  was  a  Roman  work  had 
been  received  with  laughter ;  he  was  wrong  in 
attributing  them  to  such  a  polished  and  cultured 
people  as  the  Romans,  but  he  might  have  been 
correct  had  he  regarded  it  as  a  last  expiring 
ett'ort  of  the  partially- civilised  heathen  devotees 
of  the  ancient  religion  to  assert  their  faith. 
How  were  the  stones  wrought  ?  It  had  been 
said  on  the  groimd  that  flint  implements  were 
used,  but  they  might  as  well  try  to  scrape  the 
moon  with  a  knife  as  to  cut  those  hard  sand- 
stones \vith  flints.  Another  idea  was  that 
bronze  tools  were  used.  This  was  not  impossible, 
as  some  of  the  granite  tombs  of  Egypt  were 
carved  with  only  bronze.  The  introduction  of 
iron  was  comparatively  recent ;  the  Romans, 
before  the  first  Punic  war,  employed  bronze. 
As  to  the  name,  it  could  not  be  derived  from  the 
Celtic  word  "  hag" — mighty,  powerful — as  sug- 
gested by  Prof.  Jones.  He  believed  the  root 
was  the  Teutonic  heng,  to  hang,  and  that  the 
Saxons,  who  knew  nothing  abuut  them,  called 
the  trUithons  stone-gallows.  Mr.  Cunnington 
replied,  stating  that,  elaborate  as  the  calcula- 
tions quoted  by  Professor  Jones  might  be, 
between  the  altar  and  Friar's  Heel  was  a  block 
now  known  as  the  "slaughtering  stone,"  but 
which  his  grandfather,  Mr.  H.  Cunnington,  and 
Sir  H.  C.  Hoare  remembered  as  standing  up- 
right. If  erect  it  would  completely  hide  the  view 
of  the  Friar's  Heel  from  the  altar,  and  thus 
completely  disposed  of  an  ingenious  theory.  Mr. 
Brock,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Picton  and  others, 
reasoned  that  the  hewn  stones  were  not  subse- 
quent in  erection  to  the  obelisks,  for  the  scaffold- 
ing or  inclined  planes  of  earth  used  to  erect  the 
cross  beams  on  the  large  stones  would  have  dis- 
placed or  buried  the  shorter  stones.  The  work 
must  be  regarded  as  a  whole.  One  of  the  smaller 
upright  stones  in  the  inner  circle,  that  against 
which  the  upright  leaned,  had  evidently  been 
tooled,  for  it  was  hollowed  on  one  side  and 
bowed  on  the  other.  Mr.  Edwards,  of  Avebury, 
said  over  one  of  the  detached  stones  near  the 
outer  trench  the  sun  could  be  seen  at  setting  on 
the  shortest  day  ;  but  it  appeared  there  was  no 
proof  that  a  stone  ever  existed  on  the  raised 
place  indicated  from  which  to  take  observations. 
After  a  perambulation  of  the  inclosure  the  parties 
separated,  the  members  of  the  Association  re- 
turning to  Devizes  by  the  road  across  the  Plain, 
a  district  rapidly  being  transformed  from  open 
downs  into  arable  land. 

At  the  evening  meeting,  Mr.  J.  Tom  Burgess's 
paper  on  "  Devizes  Castle,"  and  the  Rev.  A.  C. 
Smith's  recent  discovery  of  a  stone  circle  south 
of  Silbury,  formed  the  subjects  for  discussion. 

SATURDAY. 
Bowood  Hall  and  Lacock  Abbey  were  the 
central  points  of  this  day's  excursions.  Tlie 
Chiifch  at  Broinham  was  the  first  stopping-place. 
The  plan  is  tmusual  and  disproportionate, 
occasioned  by  the  addition,  in  the  1  Jth  century, 
of  a  large  aisle,  transept,  and  chantry,  to  south 
of  a  cruciform  church.  This  chantry  forms  a 
chancel  aisle,  and  is  a  gem  of  Late  Perpendicular 
work ;  it  was  buOt  by  Richard  Beauuhamp, 
Lord  St.  Armand,  and  has  an  embattled  parapet 
enriched  with  panelling  and  an  eastern  canopy, 
a  flat  panelled  roof,  painted  and  gilt  with 
heraldic  devices,  and,  happily,  untouched  by  the 
restorer's  brush.  In  the  centre,  incUuUng  an 
altar-tomb — to  Sir  R.  Tocotes,  who  died  after 
1402 — of  Purbeck  marble,  with  recumbent 
eifigyof  alabaster,  unhappily,  scored  all  over  with 
nobodies'  names  and  iuititils,  some  dated  so  far 


liacK  as  1G31  and  IGIH.  Tliero  are  several 
canopied  tombs  and  monuments  to  the  families 
of  the  Beaucliamps  and  Bayntous,  liuviiig  an 
unusual  wealth  of  enamelled  branses,  and  on  thu 
wall  are  three  undertakers'  heluicta  of  the  IGtli 
century.  The  church  itself,  which  has  a  fine 
central  tower  and  Hjiire,  and  an  lOurly  i;iiglis!i 
chan<el,  was  re.itorcd  a  few  years 'simc-  by 
Messr.s.  CaqKuter  and  Slater.  The  rector,  the 
Rev.  E.  B.  Edgell,  dceriLcd  the  wretched  state 
in  which  he  found  the  ilmrch  on  coming  to 
Bromham,  the  previous  iurumbcnt,  who  lield 
the  living  for  G.j  years,  liaviiig  kept  numberH  of 
pigeons  in  a  wooden  loft,  which  then  extended 
over  the  upper  part  of  tlic  chancel.  In  this 
parish,  at  Sloperton  Cottage,  lived,  for  tlic  last 
20  years  of  his  life,  tlie  poet  Moore,  to  whose 
memory  the  west  window  was  filled  last  year 
with  stained  glass  by  Constable,  of  Cambriclgo  ; 
in  the  churchyard,  on  the  north  nidcof  the  chan. 
eel,  is  a  large  flat  stone  surrounded  by  u  ntiliDg, 
inscribed  to  "  Thomas  Moore,  tenderly  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  the  goodness  of  \m  heart ;  the 
poet  and  patriot  of  his  countrj-,  Ireland.  Bom, 
May  2Sth,  1770;  sank  to  rest,  Feb.  2.'')th,  1852, 
aged  72."  Jloore's  widow  and  twi>  children 
arc  biu-icd  in  the  same  grave.  In  a  field  near 
Bromham,  some  remains  of  a  Rommi  iil!,i  were 
visited,  and  described  by  Messrs.  G.  It.  Wright 
and  W.  Cunningtiin.  The  portions  tmcovortd 
consist  of  portions  of  two  tcsselatcd  paTcmentii, 
adjoining,  slightly  diflering  in  level,  the  more 
elaborate  one  lianng  a  guilluehc  pattern  exe- 
cuted in  black,  brown,  grey,  and  red  tessera'  of 
chalk  and  clay  :  and  near  by  arc  traces  of  a 
hypocaust.  The  pavement  has  been  uncovered 
four  times  at  long  intervals  during  the  la.«t  cen- 
tury, and  has  been  greatly  injured  since  it  was 
figured  liy  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare ;  indeed,  when  a 
small  portion  was  cleared  of  earth  a  month  ago, 
the  next  day  the  hole  was  found  to  be  bare,  tbo 
village -cliildren  having  picked  out  the  tessene. 
The  scanty  remains  should  be  tnatedas  amcsaic, 
covered  ivith  cement,  and  removed  to  the 
Devizes  Museum  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
Wiltshire  Arch;eological  Society  will  under- 
take this  work  before  it  is  too  late.  At  ll'anf 
House,  the  supposed  site  of  a  Roman  station  of 
Verlucio,  nothing  was  seen  but  the  well-defined 
Roman-road  from  Bath  to  Marlborough. 

Bowood  llomi,  the  seat  of  the  ilarquis  of 
Lansdowne,  afforded  an  agreeable  variety  in 
the  programme.  The  chief  portion  was  built 
from  a  design  by  the  Brothers  Adam :  the  prin- 
cipal front,  which  faces  south,  has  a  large  portico, 
carried  by  ten  Doric  columns,  and  in  the  pedi- 
ment are  sculptured  the  family  arms.  To  the 
left  has  been  added  a  long  wing,  the  elevation 
imitated,  after  the  fashion  of  the  la.st  century, 
from  a  portion  of  Diocletian's  Palace  at  .'^jialatro. 
The  entrance  hall  is  paved  with  tes,sclated  marble, 
and  contains  statuary  and  two  large  frctoocs, 
representing  scenes  in  the  Trojan  war.  .\  grand 
staircase  leads  to  the  principal  suite  of  apart- 
ments, wherein  a  coujjl ;  of  hours  were  well  spent 
in  examining  the  paintings,  sculpture,  and 
china  The  pict  ures  include  choice  examples  of 
works  of  the  masters  of  the  Italian,  Flemiah, 
Spanish,  and  English  schools,  the  moft  valuable 
being  the  one  over  the  fireplace  of  the  library, 
Raphael's  "St.  John  the  Baptist  Preaching  in 
the  WUdemess,"  painted,  in  1505,  in  the  mat 
master's  Florcntme  style.  There  are  good  ex- 
amples of  the  works  of  Rembrandt,  Salrator 
Rosa,  Murillo,  Giorgiune,  Kuysdel,  Ttnicrs, 
Cuvp,  and  Jan  Both;  and  in  the  Engli.-h  ^chool 
Su"  Joshua  Rcvnolds  is  represented  by  his 
"Strawberry  Girl,"  and  a  jwrtrait ;  Hogarth 
by  a  portrait,  "Peg  Woffington"  :  K'ry  tv  a 
"Prodigal  Son";  Turner  by  : 
grandly-conceived  landscapes 
several"  Italian  l.nnd—:!^^ :  V 
domestic  scenes,  |  : 
tail :  and  Landsi-  i 
and  Eastlakc,  by 
of  the  sculptures  is  HM :. 
"  Hagar  in  the  Desert," 

in  her  lap.     The   librar.  • 

works.  The  extensive  gr 
unrestrained  form  of  li: 
vantage  being  taken  of  ■ 
by  thick  plantatinn-  .i 
open  glr.dcs,   an'! 
obtain  great  vari-  ' 

atthe^'Lansdow:,  -^ 

proceeded  to  /.  ■ 
to   see   the   Tud 
removed  from  Ol  : 
century  vaulted  tomiuit-h-u-e  •  u  I'-wa.n  liiii  . 


'238 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


and  I!ti<'<!/  Coiiil,  a  good  example  of  a  small 
Jwelliiigliouse  of  the  loth  century,  -nith  mul- 
lioned  and  cusped  windows,  four-centred  porch- 
way,  the  remains  of  an  open  roof,  and  much 
panelling ;  it  was  gi'eatly  altered  about  80  years 
ago. 

Here  and  at  Laeoch  Abbey,  the  most  interesting 
visit  nf  the  day,  the  -visitors  were  received  by 
Mr.  C.  H.  Talbot,  the  owner  and  occupier  of  the 
latter  building,  who,  in  brief  but  appreciative 
terms,  described  the  buildings,  pointing  out  the 
principal  features.  The  abbey  was  founded  by 
the  widowed  Ela,  Countess  of  Salisbury  in  her 
own  right,  for  Cauonesses  of  St.  Augustine  ;  the 
foundation-stone  was  laid  in  1232,  and  eight 
years  after  the  countess  was  elected  as  third 
abbess.  The  abbey,  which  obtained  many 
gi'aats  of  markets  and  forest  and  free-warren 
privileges,  was  surrendered  in  1.539.  After  the 
Dissolution,  the  site  was  granted  to  Sir  William 
Sherington,  who  pulled  down  the  church  and 
many  other  buildings,  and  buUt  over  the  cloisters 
and  nims'  domiciles  the  present  picturesque 
building.  The  property  passed,  by  the  marriage 
of  his  niece  and  heii'ess,  to  the  Talbot  family, 
and  in  1645  the  buUding  was  fortified  for 
Charles  I.,  but  capitulated  after  a  brief  siege. 
Opposite  the  south,  the  principal  front,  Mr. 
Talbot  explained  the  alterations  carried  out  by 
Sheiington,  indicating  on  the  wall  the  traces  of 
the  transept  door,  the  springers  of  the  vaulting, 
and  other  marks  of  north  wall  of  former  abbey 
church,  on  the  site  of  which  they  were  standing. 
This  front,  including  the  octagonal  tower  at 
south-east  angle,  was  the  work  of  Sherington, 
but  the  oriels  were  thrown  out  in  1S2S.  Passing 
through  the  gateway,  the  visitors  found  them- 
selves in  an  open  garth.  On  three  sides  were 
the  cloister  walks,  with  good  Perpendicular 
tracery  and  groined  vaults,  7, bays  on  north  and 
south  sides,  and  6  on  east  side  ;  the  west  walk  is 
gone.  Mr.  Talbot  drew  attention  to  the  .springers 
and  ribs  of  13th-century  arcading  built  into  the 
north  wall,  and  showed  that  the  two  south-west 
bays  were  first  re-erected  by  the  nuns  (these 
TransitionalDecorated  bays  contained  afine  num- 
ber of  masons'  marks),  and  after  a  considerable 
pause  the  work  was  completed.  Over  the  east 
walk  was  the  nuns'  donnitory,  still  retaining  its 
loth-century  roof ;  but  behind  the  wall  were 
the  original  13th-century  sacristry,  chapter- 
house, slype,  and  nuns'  day-room,  running  in 
line  from  south  to  north.  Over  the  north  walk 
was  the  refectory,  with  four-light  windows,  by 
Sherington,  in  curious  travesty  of  Gothic  work, 
having  consoles  resembling  cusping  in  the  head 
of  each  light,  and  a  circular  ornament,  copied 
from  Italian  palaces,  at  the  intersections  of 
ti-ansom  and  mullion  ;  on  the  east  side  was  as 
good  an  Early  Kenaissance  double  chimney  as 
could  be  found  in  England.  In  this  north  walk 
were  traces  of  the  nuns'  lavatory.  The  walling 
on  west  cut  off  one  bay,  and  was  part  of 
Sherington' s  work,  as  was  also  much  of  the 
upper  part  on  south.  In  a  southern  bay  was  an 
altjr-tomb,  said  to  be  that  of  the  Countess  Ela, 
and  removed  by  John  Ivory  Talbot  pro- 
bably from  the  site  of  the  high  altar  of 
church  in  1790  ;  a  cross  and  beads  dis- 
covered in  it  had  been  figured,  but  could  not 
now  be  found.  Passing  ouLside  to  the  east  face 
of  the  abbey,  Mr.  Talbot  showed  his  visitors  the 
northernmost  conventual  apartment,  a  large 
13th-ceutury  vaulted  building  with  central 
range  of  three  pillars,  and  a  large  fireplace  on 
west  side ;  this  h.id  been  styled  the  kitchen,  but 
was,  he  believed,  the  nuns'  common  or  day- 
room.  Mr.  Ewan  Christian  showed  that  the 
east  front  began  to  fail  in  the  1.5th  century, 
when  the  builders  erected  heavy  piers  and  threw 
out  a  flying  buttress,  preparing  for  another  and 
larger  one,  which,  although  desirable,  was 
never  erected.  The  refectory  and  dormitory 
which  met  at  this  angle  were  rebuilt  at  the  same 
time.  Passing  the  slype,  the  chapter-house  was 
seen  ;  it  is  a  beautiful  13th-century  apartment, 
with  groined  vaulting  supported  on  one  clustered 
shaft,  with  deep  neckings,  and  to  the  west  an 
inserted  and  larger  octagonal  pier ;  the  area  is  thus 
divided  into  two  aisles  ;  but  at  the  west  end,  by 
a  singular  rearrangement  of  the  vaulting  ribs, 
three  bays  are  made  over  the  (hi-ee  entrances  on 
this  side.  There  is  a  bold  string-course,  except 
in  the  central  north  bay,  and  traces  of  frescoing 
above.  The  sacris'ry  to  the  south  is  a  similar 
afartment,  but  plainer,  the  string-course  being 
omitted,  and  the  ribs  plain  instead  of  being 
moulded.  There  are  piscina  and  double-aumbry 
in  south  wall  adjoining  the  trefoil-headed  former 


entrance  to  church.  All  three  apartments  were 
glazed  on  the  east  face  till  the  close  of  the  last 
centui-y,  when  that  wall  was  destroyed.  In  the 
west  wall  of  sacristy  is  a  hollow  sjiace,  believed 
to  contain  the  staircase  to  nuns'  dormitory,  but 
Mr.  Talbot  said  he  should  not  try  to  open  it ;  he 
bad  not  even  removed  the  accumulated  earth 
over  the  bases  of  the  columns  as  he  found  them 
so  mutUaled  that  they  were  best  protected  from 
damage.  The  old  fishpond  on  the  north  was 
next  seen,  and  beside  it,  mounted  on  a  pedestal 
as  an  urn,  is  a  large  bell-metal  cauldron  removed 
from  the  nuns'  day-room ;  it  is  33in.  high,  holds 
C7  gallons,  is  finely  modelled,  with  three  feet 
and  small  handles,  and  has  cast  round  it  the 
inscription  in  Latin,  "  I  was  molten  by 
Peter  Waghuens  in  Malines,  in  the  year  1500  ; 
Praise  to  God  and  Glory  to  Christ."  There  is 
a  somewhat  similar  cauldron.at  Warwick  Castle. 
Having  seen  Sheriugton's  courtyard  for  stables 
on  west  side,  with  half-timbered  dormers 
breaking  the  tiled  roofs,  the  visitors  passed  into 
a  lofty  hall  of  same  date,  where  refreshments 
were  provided,  and  afterwards  made  a  toiu?  of 
the  building,  seeing  in  the  library  an  interesting 
collection  of  Talbotypes,  the  early  photographic 
process  invented  by  the  father  of  their  host. 

The  village  of  Lacock  is  a  happy  hunting- 
ground  for  any  artist.  Almost  all  the  houses 
are  of  the  14th,  loth,  and  IGth  centuries,  with 
pent-roof  porches,  grey-tiled  roofs,  here  and 
there  four- centred  doorways  and  windows,  and 
on  one  of  the  inns  some  good  ironwork  brackets, 
which  formerly  carried  the  signboard ;  the 
village  cross,  a  Late  Perpendicular  structure, 
has  been  carefully  re-erected  by  Mr.  Talbot  of 
the  stones  preserved  in  the  Abbey,  in  accordance 
with  a  section  and  elevation  drawn  by  Carter. 
Before  leaving,  the  members  visited,  imder  Mr. 
Talbot's  guidance,  a  large  14th-century  barn, 
unusually  irregular  in  plan,  the  timbers  of  each 
bay  being  of  different  height  and  framing ; 
and  also  the  parish-chm-ch  of  St.  Cyriac,  into 
which  an  ancient  house  has  been  built  now 
forming  the  north  transept.  On  the  north  of 
chancel  is  the  vaulted  Talbot  ch.apel. 

A  closing  meeting  was  held  at  the  town- 
hall  under  the  presidency  of  Earl  Nelson,  when 
the  members  were  entertained  by  the  Mayor  of 
Devizes  (Mr.  T.  Chandler).  The  ancient  corpor- 
rate  deeds  and  charters  were  examined  by  Mr. 
W.  de  Gray  Birch,  F.E.S.L.,  and  the  borough 
maces  and  regalia  by  Mr.  G.  Lambert,  F.S.A. 
A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  G.  R.  Wright,  F.S.A., 
on  ' '  The  History  and  Hardships  of  the  Present 
Laws  of  Treasure  Trove."  The  author  showed 
that  the  existing  laws  under  which  the  Crown 
could  claim  any  articles  of  gold  or  silver  found 
buried  in  the  earth  greatly  checked  the  searching 
of  land  for  archceological  treasures,  and  was 
injurious  and  objectionable  in  every  way,  and  he 
urged  the  necessity  for  the  amendment  of  the 
law.  In  the  discussion  which  followed  Mr.  C. 
H.  Compton  thought  the  law  might  stand  if  the 
Treasury  were  compelled  to  place  all  articles 
claimed  in  museums  for  the  benefit  of  the  public. 
The  President  then  delivered  a  farewell  address, 
in  which  he  simimarised  the  week's  proceedings, 
pointing  out  the  way  in  wliich  archfeologists  had 
been  compelled  to  revise  their  opinions.  He  had 
particularly  noticed  that  what  were  formerly 
called  Roman  camps  they  now  concluded  were 
really  British,  and  in  the  same  way  as  these 
groundworks  had  been  ascribed  to  the  earlier 
inhabitants,  so  also  some  of  the  churches  which 
had  been  called  Norman  were  now  called  Saxon. 
This  was  most  reasoniible,  because  Norman 
architecture  just  came  into  use  under  Edward  the 
Confessor,  and  surely  WilUam  I.  would  not  have 
juUed  down  every  scrap  of  Saxon  building. 
Something  has  been  done  by  Dr.  Phene's  excel- 
lent paper  to  elucidate  the  mystery  which  hung 
over  Stonehenge.  He  thought  the  outer  en- 
trenchment at  Stonehenge  should  be  preserved 
from  public  mutilation,  and  he  1  oped  something 
would  soon  be  done  to  keep  the  stones  from  being 
touched,  and  he  also  trusted  money  would  be 
raised  to  keep  the  tottering  stones  in  their  places, 
as  well  as  to  buy  the  Roman  remains  at  Brom- 
ham.  He  thanked  Colonel  Bramble  for  his  ex- 
cellent paper  on  abbeys  and  priories.  Henry 
VIII.  had  been  blamed  for  the  destruction  of 
the  monasteries,  but  the  greatest  blow  had  been 
struck  at  them  l)y  Henry  V.,  when  they  began 
to  make  themselves  political.  In  conclusion, 
Lord  Nelson  said  he  did  not  think  they  would 
fully  appreciate  the  papers  they  had  heard  untQ 
they  had  had  time  to  digest  them  thoroughly. 

After  a  few  toasts,  votes  of  thanks  were  i>assed 


to  the  President,  Mayor,  and  Corporation,  to 
the  Wilts  Archseological  Society,  the  readers  of 
papers,  and  those  who  had  shown  hospitality, 
and  not  least,  to  Mr.  G.  R.  Wright,  the  active  and 
courteous  congress  secretary,  and  the  local  secre- 
taries, Messrs.  J.  Reynolds  and  W.  H.  Butcher. 

MONDAY 
was  an  extra  day,  devoted  to  Longleat,  the  seat 
of  the  Marquis  of  Bath,  and  a  party  of  36  pro- 
ceeded to  Warminster  by  train,  and  thence  by 
caniage,longcircuitsthrough  the  park beingmade 
on  the  way  thither  and  back.  The  mansion  was 
erected  on  the  site  of  a  small  Augustinian  priory 
by  Sir  John  Thynne,  in  the  middle  of  the  ICtli 
century ;  the  architect  being,  it  is  supposed, 
John  of  Padua,  who  has  also  been  identified 
with  John  Thorpe.  The  building  accounts  are 
preserved  in  the  mansion,  and  range  from  Jan. 
21st,  1566-7,  to  March  20th,  1578,  during  which 
time  about  £8,000  was  spent.  Sir  C.  Wren  car- 
ried on  the  work  for  the  fourth  Thynne,  his 
work  including  the  staircases,  and  a  porch  since 
removed  to  Warminster  School.  The  north 
front  is  the  work  of  Jeffrey  Wyatt.  In  the 
other  faj-ades,  a  curious  blending  of  Tudor  and 
Classic  details  combine  to  give  character  and 
dignity  to  what  Fergusson  styles  "  one  of  the 
largest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful, 
palaces  in  England  of  its  day."  With  large, 
muUioned  windows  and  projecting  bays,  are 
combined  the  use  of  the  ' '  Three  Ordei-s  ' '  in  the 
successive  stories,  and  Italian  pilasters,  entabla- 
tures, chimneys,  and  balustrading ;  whUe  later 
architects  have  added  cupolas  and  statues,  to 
break  up  the  sky-line.  The  interior  contains  a 
series  of  grand  apartments,  remodelled  by 
Jeffrey  Wyatt  in  the  early  years  of  the  century, 
the  upper  suite  of  rooms  has,  dming  the  past 
eight  years,  been  in  process  of  completion  and 
decoration,  from  the  designs,  and  imder  the 
superintendence  of,  Jlr.  Crace,  of  Wigmore- 
street,  W.,  a  work  yet  in  progress  ;  and 
the  noble  owner,  the  Marquis  of  Bath,  is, 
it  is  understood,  ever  adding  to  the  treasures 
of  loth-century  tapestry,  buhl-work,  cabinets, 
ancient  and  modem  enamelled  glass,  &c.  The 
grand  saloon  has  been  decorated  from  the  designs 
of  Mr.  Fox  ;  the  coffered  ceiling  is  profusely 
gilded  on  the  leading  lines,  and  inlaid  with 
painted  panels.  The  collection  of  paintings  is 
almost  confined  to  portraits  of  the  Thynne 
family  and  their  connections  by  marriages  ;  but 
the  pride  of  Longleat  is  the  magnificent  library, 
including  Caxton's  ' '  Recuyell  of  ye  Histories  of 
Troye,"  printed  in  1474,  probably  at  Bruges,  in 
splendid  preservation  ;  a  "  Polychronieon," 
printed  at  Southwark,  1527;  large  family  Bible, 
1541,  containing  entries  of  bh'ths  and  deaths  by 
Sir  John  Thynne,  the  builder  of  Longleat.  In 
a  room  above  is  the  choicest  part  of  the  Ubrary 
of  good  Bishop  Kerr,  who  for  20  years  found  a 
home  in  his  retirement  here.  A  catalogue  of 
the  contents  of  Longleat  would  be  as  uninterest- 
ing as  it  would  be  out  of  place,  but  the  general 
arrangement  may  be  briefly  indicated.  In  the 
circuit  of  the  house,  the  large  hall— a  lofty 
room  with  fine  roof — was  first  visited,  and  then 
upstairs  the  drawing-room,  which  has  recently 
been  redecorated  by  Mr.  Grace.  The  coffered 
beams  of  the  ceiling  are  picked  out  in  gold  and 
colour,  and  the  panels  are  filled  with  figure 
subjects  to  large  scale,  and  in  bright  colours. 
The  upper  part  of  chimney-piece,  which  had  a 
large  head  cutting  into  the  cornice,  has  beea 
replaced  by  a  lower  one,  with  Francois  I. 
details,  well  conceived,  but  not  quite  in  harmony 
with  the  Italian  treatment  of  the  older  mantel- 
shelf. The  unbroken  east  wall  is  occupied  with  a 
fi-ieze  representing  the  story  of  Circe,  and 
beneath  it  velvet  hangings,  both  from  a  Venetian 
palace.  An  embroidered  tabard,  woven  with 
the  aims  of  George  I.  or  II.,  now  forms  a  fire- 
screen of  singular  brilliancy.  Traversing  the 
long  saloon  decorated  by  Mr.  Fox,  in  which, 
amongst  many  cabinets,  is  a  unique  Florentine 
one  of  inlaid  coral,  and  modelled  after  an 
Oriental  temple  more  of  Mr.  Grace's  work  was 
seen  in  a  dining-room  beyond  ;  the  ceiling  is 
rich,  but  not  overladen  with  gilding  ;  the  walls 
are  hung  with  gilded  and  figuied  stamped 
leather,  and  the  window-curtains  are  of  a  golden- 
coloured  plush,  the  floor  being-  laid  with  a 
Wiltou  carpet.  Bedrooms  complete  the  suite 
on  this  floor ;  and  returning  to  the  ground -level 
the  ante-library  and  library,  the  latter  a  noble 
apartment,  were  seen,  the  survey  closing  -with  the 
private  chapel,  which,  in  curious  contrast  to  the 
gilding    and  colour    elsewhere,  is    at    present 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


239 


untouched  and  destitute  of  decoration,  except  that 
in  the  north  window  lighting  the  western  gallery, 
which  f>.Tms  the  private  pew  of  the  family,  some 
German  glass  has  been  inserted  as  an  inner 
double  casement. 

Some  time  was  spent  in  Warminster  before 
leaving  by  train,  one  or  two  of  the  party  going 
on  to  Bradfofd-on-Avon  to  examine,  under  Canon 
Jones's  courteous-  guidance,  the  little  Saxon 
chui-ch  he  rediscovered  to  the  north  of  the 
parish -chiu-ch.  The  Saxou  building'  is  used  as 
a  free  school-house,  and  has  been  figiued  by  Mr. 
J.  H.  Parker  and  others  as  consisting  of  a  shal- 
low chancel,  small  square  nave,  and  compara- 
tively large  north  porch.  Its  general  features 
— the  massive  walling,  having  externally  flat 
butrresses  or  pilasters  and  circular  blank  arcad- 
ing  and  channelling,  hewn  out  of  the  large 
blocks  of  stone  of  which  it  is  built  ;  the  rude 
circular  windows  and  narrow  horseshoe  chancel, 
northern  and  western  arches,  and  bas-reliefs  of 
flying  angels  on  eastern  wall  of  nave,  have  been 
rendered  familiar  by  photographs  and  drawings. 
The  work  was  evidently  executed  by  rule  of 
thumb,  no  two  curves  being  struck  alike,  andno 
vertical  lines  being  pliunb.  Canon  Jones  has, 
however,  recently  found  (and  showed  to  his 
visitors),  by  a  break  in  the  masonry  of  south 
wall  and  weatherings  in  the  wall  above,  now 
concealed  by  a  lean-to  addition,  that  there  was 
originaUy  a  south  porch,  now  entirelj' destroyed, 
and  forming  with  that  on  the  north  a  square- 
ended  cruciform  building. 

TITESDAT. 
On  Tuesday  a  large  party  proceeded  by  road 
to  Marlborough,  where,  after  seeing  the  two 
churches  and  the  castle,  they  were  entertained 
by  Mr.  Merriman,  and  afterwards  drove  through 
Savemake  Forest  to  the  large  cruciform  and 
flint-built  church  of  Great  Bedwyn,  thus  wor- 
thily concluding  the  nine  days'  proceedings. 


SUSSEX   ARCH^OLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

OiS  Thursday,  Aug.  12,  the  members  of  the 
Sussex  Archteological  Society  left  Brighton 
for  Drayton  Station,  where  carriages  were 
waiting  to  convey  the  paiiy  to  Boxgrove 
Church,  which  was  described  by  Mr.  Lacy  W. 
Eidge.  The  oldest  part  of  the  structure,  said 
Mr.  Ridge,  probably  dated  from  about  1117. 
"  Of  purely  Norman  date  we  have  the  transept 
walls,  arches,  and  windows,  the  arches  on  the 
south  side  of  the  existing  bay  of  nave  ;  and  the 
charming  external  fragment  the  entrance  from 
cloisters  to  chapter-house.  Of  the  Fust  Transi- 
tional period  (i.e.,  from  Korroan  to  E.E.)  we 
have  the  ruined  nave,  Norman  in  general  tone, 
but  pointed  in  its  arches,  and  first  presenting 
that  system  of  coupled  bays  which  gives  so 
marked  a  character  to  the  choir  ;  the  arches  of 
the  crossing  with  the  pointed  and  great  circular 
caps  and  bases  which  sweep  rouad  and  gather 
up  the  odd  sharp  pointed  mouldings  of  the  piers 
and  arches,  so  characteristic  of  a  state  of  transi- 
tion wherein  the  pointed  form  w-as  applied 
experimentally,  and  the  due  subordination  (that 
is  the  arrangement  in  rings)  of  arches  and  pier, 
was  not  yet  reached ;  the  arcaded  bell-story, 
heavy  in  its  proportions  and  its  details,  with 
square  abacus  and  coarsely  moulded  but  pointed 
arches ;  and  last,  probably  quite  late  in  the 
transition,  the  bell-story  with  circirlar  arched 
openings,  but  having  on  their  inner  arches  a 
moulding  under-cut  and  refined  to  an  extent  far 
in  advance  of  any  of  the  preceding  work, 
"svhich  may  well  be  a  standing  warning  to  us 
not  to  trust  too  implicitly  in  assigning  dates  to 
the  buildings  to  the  form  of  the  arch.  Next  the 
Transition  is  over,the  great  century  of  mediieval 
art  has  come,  the  style  which  is  to  produce 
Lincoln  and  Salisbury,  the  west  front  and  the 
sculptures  of  Wells,  and  the  great  Cistercian 
Abbeys,  is  established.  The  great  cathedrals 
throughout  northern  France  are  rising  rapidly. 
No  longer  does  the  apsidal  east  end  satisfy  the 
architectural  taste  of  the  day.  Everywhere  in 
England  the  apse  is  being  removed  to  make 
waj-  for  the  prolonged  choir  and  square  end  : 
and  in  no  cases  is  the  change  more  apparent 
than  in  the  "West  Sussex  churches  of  Chichester, 
Shoreham,  and  Boxgrove.  Not  only  is  the 
choir  to  be  rebuilt  as  an  integral  and  in  some 
sense  separate  part  of  the  church,  but  a  new 
departure  is  to  be  made :  a  larger  scale  is  to  be 
adopted,  new  materials  are  to  be  introduced 
and  a  higher  level  of  art  workmanship  is  to  b^ 


attempted.  True,  the  new  cboir  will  dwarf  the 
tower,  and  not  altogether  harmonise  with  the, 
old  work,  but  that  to  the  ambitious  mind  of  the 
13th  century  architect  was  a  trifle.  Posterity 
might  rebuild  transept,  nave,  and  tower,  and  if 
here  at  Boxgrove  the  hope  was  destined  to  be 
disappointed,  architectural  history  shows  that 
tliis  was  the  exception,  rather  than  the  rule. 
Exact  parallels  are,  however,  to  be  found  at 
Carlisle  Cathedral  and  elsewhere.  The  old 
tower  is  complete  in  itself  :  it  has  its  large 
arches,  arcade,  or  triforium  and  bell-story  just 
like  any  other  central  tower — that  at  Chichester 
for  instance,  in  which,  however,  let  me  partn- 
^hetically  remark,  all  character  was  lost  at  the 
rebuilding,  by  leaving  open  without  louvres  or 
other  form  of  inclosure  the  openings  of  the  bell- 
story.  Fortunately,  it  is  a  thing  easUy  remedied. 
Boxgrove  Tower  is  complete  enough,  but  is 
eclipsed  by  the  larger  scale  of  the  newest 
portion  of  the  church.  Circiimstantial  evidence 
renders  it  possible  to  fix  with  certainty  the  date 
of  the  choir  and  to  assign  it  to  the  early  years 
of  the  13th  century.  With  the  completion  of 
the  choir  the  building  was  finished,  except  that 
a  chapel,  now  the  entrance  porch,  was  added, 
and  the  vestry,  the  flint  work  of  which  should 
be  noticed,  hi  the  1.5th  century.  New  windows 
were  inserted  from  time  to  time,  and  tombs 
erected  ;  but  I  believe  that,  except  the  large 
chantry,  they  are  to  be  dated  only  bj'  their 
architectural  features.  The  interest  of  the 
church  undoubtedly  centres  in  the  choir.  The 
effect  of  size  produced  is  far  in  excess  of  the 
actual  dimensions,  for  although  the  total  length 
of  the  whole  chvirch  was  very  considerable,  some 
230ft.  or  more,  the  clear  width  of  the  choir  is  only 
20ft.,  and  the  height  from  floor  in  sacrarium 
to  boss  only  some  35ft.  I  think  this  arises  from 
the  double  bays  of  the  lower  arcade,  combined 
in  the  clerestory,  and  vaulting  into  a  single  bay, 
which  seems  to  multiply  the  number  of  parts 
without  necessitating  diminution  of  size,  and  to 
maintain  that  simplicity  without  which  there  is  no 
grandeur.  Itimparts to  thebuildinganeitect which 
is  strikingly  original.  The  way  in  which  the 
space  which  would  ordinarily  be  the  triforium, 
that  is  the  cover,  the  part  of  the  wall  against 
which  the  aisle-roof  abuts,  is  thi'own  into  the 
ground-story  aids  also  both  the  appearance  of 
size  and  the  originality  of  design.  No  one  who 
is  familiar  with  the  eastern  bays  of  the  choir  or 
presbytery  of  Chichester  Cathedral  can  fail  to 
be  struck  with  the  close  relationships  of  its 
design  to  this  choii'.  The  clerestory  here  is 
little  more  than  an  adaptation  of  that  of  the 
Cathedral,  the  chief  difference  being  the  side 
marble  shafts  are  carried  up  much  higher  than 
at  Chichester,  where  they  are  somewhat 
dwarfish  beside  their  tall  central  neighbours. 
The  lower  half  of  the  design  is  a  bold  develop- 
ment of  the  triforium ;  in  each  case  a  great 
round  arch  inclosing  two  pointed  ones.  Nor 
does  the  relationship  of  the  two  designs  stop 
here.  The  idea  of  the  ground-story  piers  of  the 
presbytery,  the  great  central  circular  shafts 
with  their  detached  rather  than  clustered 
columns  around,  finishing  at  the  top  in  carved 
marble  caps,  with  which,  I  suppose,  nearly  aU 
of  you  are  familiar,  were  taken  as  a  model  by 
the  architect  of  Boxgrove,  and  anything  these 
piers  we  see  before  us  may  want  in  size  and 
richness  they  gain  in  refinement.  Taken  in 
conjunction  with  the  larger  piers  with  their 
really  almost  solid,  though  apparently  shafted, 
stone  cores,  I  doubt  if  the  whole  range  of  Early 
English  art  can  furnish  a  more  beautiful  speci- 
men of  piers  than  those  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing. Now,  the  eastern  bays  of  Chichester  being 
erected  between  the  fire  of  1186  and  the 
consecration  of  1199,  are  most  interesting,  not 
only  from  their  extremely  great  intrinsic  beauty, 
but  also  as  a  specimen  of  the  very  last  stage  of 
the  Transition.  Boxgrove  must  have  followed, 
and  must  have  followed  very  closely,  on  the 
other  work.  The  greater  refinement  in  detail, 
the  more  perfect  system  of  proportion,  the  more 
perfect  drill  of  the  orders  or  rings  of  arches— as 
to  which  they  came  to  considerable  grief  at 
Chichester — the  fillet  or  flat  piece  on  the  large 
beads,  all  prove  the  former  point,  while  the 
round  arch  and  the  unconventional  look  of  the 
building  altogether  prove  the  latter  proposition. 
One  extremely  interesting  point  was  brought 
out  by  the  measured  drawings,  plotted  to  scale, 
made"  by  me  of  this  building ;  namely,  the 
existence  of  a  system  of  geometrical  and 
numerical  proportion  to  which  I  attribute  that 
refinement  which,  to  my  eye  at  any  rate,  is  very 


striking  in  its  proportions.  You  will  easily 
realise  what  I  mean  by  a  double  equilateral 
triangle  ;  that  is,  two  equilateral  triangles 
described  on  opposite  sides  of  the  same  base 
iNow  the  section  of  the  choir  from  paving  to  boss 
incloses  such  a  figure,  that  is  two  eouilateral 
triangles  described  on  a  line  clear  of  the"  walls  in 
height.  The  double  bay  being  square,  tlie  side 
wall  takes,  of  course,  the  same  figure.  The 
same  figure  fits  into  tlie  openinp  from  choir  to 
aisle.  Such  a  figiure  fits  cxaetlv  on  plan  into 
the  space  occupied  by  choii-  and  aisles.  I'he' 
same  tlung,  to  some  extent,  holds  good  in  th«r 
older  part  of  the  building;  in  the  opening  to 
north  transept,  and,  I  thuik,  the  double  bay  of 
nave.  Certainly,  the  nave  doul.I..  bays,  instead 
of  bemg  square  on  plan,  as  in  the  clioir,  Iiavo  a 
width  from  west  to  east  equal  to  the  height  of 
an  equilateral  triangle  on  the  clear  width  of 
nave  as  a  base.  Again,  the  height  from  floor  to 
top  of  string  under  clerestorv  is  the  height 
thence  to  boss  as  three  to  two.  From  floor  to 
top  of  capitals  is  as  two  to  one  within  the  arch, 
and  as  two  to  three  up  to  strmg.  I'roportionn 
of  this  kind  do  not  hold  in  all  Mediieval 
buildings,  though  I  have  met  with  other 
specimens  of  it.  Where  they  are  to  be  found, 
the  fact  certainly  imparts  an  additional  interest." 
The  Priory  Ruins  and  Halnaker  Hoiu'e  were 
afterwards  ^isited,  and  then  the  party  drove  on 
to  Goodwood,  where  dinner  was  ser^-ed.  Good- 
wood House  was  afterwards  inspected.  Amongst 
the  art  treasures  may  be  mentioned  paintings  by 
Vandyke,  Sir  P.  Lely,  Knellcr,  NoUekcns, 
Tumerelli  (not  he  of  the  wreathi.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  Lawrence,  Romncy, 
the  Smiths  of  Chichester,  called  often  the 
"Sussex  Claudes,"  and  many  others.  Every- 
one was  attracted  by  the  cenotaph  representing 
the  miu'der  of  Lord  Damley.  This  was  painttd 
in  1-567,  and  was  brought  to  England  by  the 
Lennox  family  from  the  Chateau  d'Aubigny. 
The  curiosities,  trophies,  medals,  testimonial's, 
&c.,  would  have  well  sufliced  to  occupy 
a  day  very  profitably.  Tlio  grand  trophy 
presented  to  the  late  Buke  of  Richmond 
(the  first  patron  of  the  Sussex  Archieo- 
logical  Society)  for  his  exertions  in  se- 
curing  the  distribution  of  the  medals  due  to 
oflicers  and  soldiers  in  various  engagements,  and 
which  was  subscribed  for  by  every  officer  and 
by  all  the  men,  amounting  to  £1,.5C0,  attracted 
universal  attention.  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  plate 
used  on  the  morning  of  Waterloo,  the  shirt  of 
Charles  the  First,  and  many  other  rare  and 
curious  relics  were  all  examined.  A  walk 
through  the  gardens  and  the  private  pleasure 
grounds  completed  a  most  enjoyable  tour. 
Taking  to  their  carriages,  the  visitors  made  for 
Chichester  station,  and  after  some  delay  reacheii 
Brighton  about  nine  o'clock. 

ARCHITECTITJAL    ASSOCIATION 
SURVEYING  CLASS. 

TO  the  many  and  great  advantages  offered  to 
the  junior  members  and  students  of  the 
architectural  profess-ion  has  been  added  a  'nr- 
veving  class.  This  year's  course  of  lessons  hn« 
just  been  brought  to  a  close.  A"-,,,  r,  ,„.„!,. 
were  made  with  Mr.  A.  T.  A\ 
of  5,  Westminster  Chambers,  \  ;  ' 

five  twelve  lessons  (six  indoor  1-.  .  -  .'^ 

field  lessonsl  which  should  embrace  »urvtiing 
with  chain  only  ;  with  chain  and  the  theodobte; 
plotting ;  various  methods  of  setting  out  curren 
with  and  without  the  theodolite  ;  exphination  of 
rules  and  tables  connected  therewith  ;  the  boi- 
sextant  and  optical  square  protractor  and 
vernier  explained,  levelling,  adjustment  fiT  le- 
version,  collimation,  explained  and  illusT-ited 
practicallv.  Calculation  of  an-a-  by  ;>---  rhni- 
meter;  contours  ;  calculation  of  : 
and    capacities  of   reservoirs,  '' 

Bidder's  tables  of  earthwork  on 
tin"S  from  railway  sections  ;  th..  ..m'  -i 
plamed.      In    short,    the  instruction 
eveiy  branch   of  land-snn-eymL'   ''k.H 
within  the  experience  of  an  ar  '  ■      •       •        '^ 
Walmislev  certainly  spared  no  ;  ' 

thorou<rh"as  well  as  comprehcc- 
theore'ti.-a!)    lectures    were    d...         .  -i  • 

committee-room  of  the  E.I.B-A.  on  li^...-<i.Y 
evenings  at  7  o'clock,  and  the  field  'pra"ical, 
lle«ons°on  Hampstesd  Heath  at  3  o'cI-k  on 
!  S,turdaTs.  It  U  to  be  hoped,  when  tb-  cl»«* 
I  i^  more  "regularlv  established  and  more  wvicIt 
known,  the  members  will  more  nnmeroufly 
avail  themselves  of  its  invaluable  aid. 


liid«l 
,    fall 


240 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


"WTiat  is  STortar  ? 

New  Buildinffs  in  Westminster       

Breweries  and  Maltings      

Purity  of  Water •■■ 

The  British  Archfeological  Association  at  Devizes 

Sussex  Archaeological  Society 

Architectural  Association  Surveying  Class 

Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 

Schedulesof  Piices       

The  Late  Mr.  W.  Penstone       ,    

Chips 

Ardiitectural  Notes  from  Norfolk 

Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects    

St.  Paul's  Cathedral— Setting  of  Stonework 

The  Tottenham  Court-road  Gfas  Explosion 

Pneumatic  Bells     

A  Monogi-aph  of  Aston  Hall,  Warwickshire 
The  Glasgow  Municipal  Buildings  Competition. . . 

Books  Received 

Building  Intelligence   

Parliamentary  Notes    

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Intercommunication    

Stained  Glass 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

OurOfficeTable    

Tenders    


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

KEW  PARISH  -  CHURCH  OF  ST.  P.^CTL,  HAMMEBSJIITH. 
PALACE  HOTEL,  &C.,  SOUTHPORT. — DESIGN'  FOR 
SUililER-HOrSE. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations- 


NEW  PAEISH-CHTJECH,  HAlQIEESinTH,  W. 
Cue  iUustration  shovrs  the  design  for  the  new 
church  which  is  shortly  to  take  the  place  of  the 
present  unsightly  and  inconvenient  building. 
The  plan  shows  a  nave  103ft.  long  by  30ft.  wide 
and  north  and  south  aisles  13ft.  Gin.  wide  : 
entrance  porches  at  the  west  end,  and  doors  for 
exit  at  the  east  end  of  the  aisles.  A  large 
baptistry  at  the  west  end  of  the  nave  is  a 
prominent  feature  of  the  design.  The  chancel, 
42ft.  long  and  30ft.  wide,  has  accommodation 
for  a  choir  of  fifty.  Proper  exits  for  communi- 
cants are  provided  by  means  of  choir  aisles. 
The  tower  at  the  north-east  angle  of  the  building 
is  127ft.  in  height  from  ground  to  top  of 
parapet,  and  I53tt.  to  top  of  pinnacles,  and  is 
well  placed  with  regard  to  the  site.  The  lower 
stage  forms  a  clergy  vestry  IGft.  by  ISft.  The 
choir  vestry,  33ft.  9in.  by  13ft.  Gin.,  is  placed  at 
the  east  end  of  the  chancel,  and  communicates 
■with  clergy  vestry,  and  vrith  organ- chamber  in 
south  aisle  of  chancel  —  a  very  convenient 
arrangement,  and  the  only  one  which  could  be 
adopted  without  any  interference  with  graves — a 
matter  which  has  evidently  been  carefully  con- 
sidered. This  church  will  accommodate,  on 
fixed  benches,  1,012  adults,  but,  by  chairs  and 
sliding  seats  for  occasional  use,  this  number  may 
be  increased  to  1,220.  With  regard  to  the 
erection  of  the  new  building,  it  is  proposed  that 
the  tower  of  the  existing  church  be  first  pulled 
down,  and  the  nave  and  its  aisles,  &c.,  then 
buUt  westward,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  present 
church  up  for  use  till  this  part  be  completed, 
after  which  the  old  church  will  be  pulled  down 
and  the  new  chancel,  with  its  aisles  and  vestries 
(including  lower  stage  of  the  tower),  will  then  be 
bidlt.  The  proposed  outlay  on  these  portions  of 
the  structure  is  £1.5,000,  but  it  is  estimated  that 
about  £.5,000  more  will  be  required  to  complete 
the  building.  For  so  large  and  important  a 
parish-church  this  is  certainly  not  an  extrava- 
gant sum.  The  ground-plan  seems  in  all 
respects  carefully  studied,  and  very  conveniently 
arranged,  and  the  exterior  and  interior  both 
show  a  considerable  amount  of  quiet  dignity 
derived  from  well-considered  proportions  rather 
than  from  anything  like  fussiness  or  pretentious 
ornamentation.  Mr.  John  P.  Seddon  and  Mr. 
Hugh  Roumieu  Gough,  of  Queen  Anne's  Gate, 
are  associated  in  this  matter  as  joint  architects. 

THE   PALACE    HOTEL  HTBEOPATHIC  AND    SPA 
COIIPANT    (limited),    BIEKDALE. 

The  directors  of  the  Palace  Hotel  Company, 
Southport,  Lancashire,  have  taken  powers  to 
add  a  hydropathic  establishment  to  the  hotel, 
and  have  given  their  architects,  Messrs.  Mang- 
nall  and  Littlewoods,  of  Manchester,  instructions 
to  erect  baths  on  a  magnificent  scale,  and 
superior  to  any  hydropathic  establishment  now 


in  existence.  The  foimdations  for  the  work 
were  completed  in  June,  and  contracts  for  the 
superstructure  were  let  to  Mr.  Bridge,  con- 
tractor, Southport,  in  July,  and  it  is  expected 
his  contract  will  be  completed  in  six  months 
from  that  date.  The  new  wing  wiU  be  on  the 
north-east  side  of  the  present  building,  and  co- 
extensive with  the  present  frontage,  and^  wdl 
consist  of  a  new  dining-room,  capable  of  dining 
ISO  persons — the  present  dining-room  wiU  be 
converted  into  a  coffee-room.  Also  a  large 
handsome  room,  SOft.  long  by  40ft.  in  width 
and  26ft.  in  height,  will  be  erected  for  recrea- 
tion purposes,  and  to  be  used  also  as  a 
promenade,  similar  to  the  large  thermal  estab« 
lishments  on  the  Continent.  It  will  also  be  used 
as  a  concert  room  and  theatre,  and  wUl  seat  600 
persons  comfortably ;  at  one  end  a  platform 
will  be  erected,  to  be  occasionaUy  used  as  a 
stage.  There  wiU  be  eight  baths  for  ladies  and 
the  same  number  for  gentlemen.  Six  of  these, 
in  each  case,  wUl  be  constructed  with  marble 
and  tiles,  on  the  tank  principle,  with  double 
dressingurooms  and  all  other  conveniences, 
similar  to  the  last  new  baths  at  Buxton  ;  each 
will  be  supplied  with  hot  and  cold,  sea  and  fresh 
water,  and  will  be  fitted  with  douche  and 
shower-bath  to  each.  In  addition  to  these  baths, 
there  will  be  mcdicated-baths,  where  the  various 
German  waters,  similar  to  Homhurgh  and  Weis- 
baden,  will  be  applied  ;  there  will  also  be  a  room 
fitted  up  for  inhahng  medicated  vapours.  There 
wUl  also  be  ascending  and  descending  wave  and 
spray -douches,  sitz-vapour,  and  Eussian-baths, 
and  the  Turkish-baths  will  be  the  most  complete 
in  the  kingdom ;  there  will  be  two  hot-rooms, 
and  a  sea-water  plunge-bath  connecting  the 
same  with  the  cooling  and  dressing-rooms  to 
accommodate  20  visitors  at  one  time.  These  will 
be  luxuriously  fitted  with  marble  and  tiles,  and 
have  coloured  glass  in  the  ceilings.  All  the 
rooms  will  be  specially  well  ventilated,  and 
heated  by  the  circulation  of  hot-water.  Machi- 
nery will  be  put  down  for  pumping  sea-water  ; 
with  the  application  of  settling-tanks  and  filter- 
beds,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  sea-water  will  he 
obtained,  so  that  it  can  be  supplied  for  other 
purposes  if  required.  There  will  also  be  erected 
in  conjunction  with  the  hotel,  but  approached 
from  Weld-road,  a  refreshment -cafe,  with  sepa- 
rate rooms  and  entrances  for  excursionists.  The 
building  wiU  accommodate  130  to  140  visitors. 
The  new  buildings  wiU  have  a  parallel  frontage 
with  the  present  building,  and  are  designed  in 
keeping  with  the  present  hotel,  and  will  be  con- 
structed chiefly  of  ornamental  brickwork,  stone 
being  introduced  for  strings  and  cornices,  &c. 
The  cafe  will  have  overhanging-eaves,  and  be  of 
appropriate  design,  similar  to  the  cafes  met  with 
on  the  Continent.  The  works  will  be  pushed  on 
as  quickly  as  possible,  for  use  dui'ing  the  next 
season.  In  the  mean  time,  the  hotel  is  under 
the  able  management  of  Mr.  Frederick  Ferris 
Baker,  who  so  successfully  conducted  the  Victoria 
Hotel,  at  Southport,  for  several  years. 

"BUILDINO    news"    DESIGNING   CLUE — A  STTjniEK- 
HOUSE. 

This  week  we  publish  perspectives  of  all  three 
of  the  designs  sent  in  competition  for  this  sub- 
ject. Although  the  conception  by  "  Sub 
Silentio "  is  the  more  finished,  that  by  "Ed- 
win" has  been  placed  first,  because  his  design 
more  nearly  fulfils  the  requirements  of  a  semi- 
rustic  erection.  The  Late  Gothic  design  by 
"  Alfred  "  comes  in  a  good  third,  and  although 
so  few  designs  were  submitted,  the  competition 
is  a  satisfactory  one. 

NEW  WOElOIEN'a   CLUB,  WOOEUKN  GEEEN. 

This  building,  which  we  illustrated  last  week, 
has  been  erected  opposite  the  picturesque  green 
at  Woobum,  Bucks,  by  the  munificence  of  the 
late  Alfred  Gilbey,  Esq.,  J. P.  It  is  a  brick-and- 
tile  structure,  containing  large  general  reading- 
room  and  boys'  room,  capable  of  being  thrown 
into  one  lecture-room  of  considerable  size ; 
smoking-room  panelled  with  American  oak, 
with  entrance  hall,  serving  bar,  and  complete 
caretaker's  residence,  offices,  &c.  The  fittings 
have  received  special  care,  and  Maw's  wall  and 
floor  tiles  are  largely  used.  The  total  cost  of 
the  building  has  been  about  £1,2-50,  and  it  is  let 
at  a  nominal  rate  to  the  Club  committee. 
Messrs.  Taylor  and  Grist,  of  Bierlon,  Ayles- 
bury, were  the  contractors,  and  the  architect  was 
Mr.  Arthur  Vernon,  of  26,  Great  George-street, 
Westminster,  and  High  Wycombe,  Bucks. 


SCHEDULES  OF  PRICES. 

IT  may  be  worth  remembering  what  Sir 
Edmund  Beckett  has  said  about  "  sche- 
dides."  As  so  much  has  turned  on  them  of  late, 
and  as  the  observations  are  practical,  we  quote 
them  in  full.  "  Contracts  are  sometimes  taken 
upon  what  is  called  a  schedule  of  prices,  which 
means  a  contract  to  do  whatever  Cjuantity  of 
eveiy  specified  kind  of  work  is  prescribed  by 
the  architect  or  the  employer,  if  he  is  allowed  a 
voice  in  his  own  affairs — at  such  and  such 
prices.  No  sensible  man,  however,  will  let  the 
contract  be  solely  on  that  footing,  as  it  gives 
him  no  idea  of  even  the  least  he  may  have  to 
pay.  The  contract  ought  to  be,  as  usual,  for  a 
certain  sum  for  the  work  indicated  in  the  plans 
and  specification  :  but,it  is  useful,  and  may  pre- 
vent disputes,  to  have  a  schedule  of  prices  for 
extras,  which  should  be  the  prices  which  the 
contractor  has  put  upon  the  respective  kinds  of 
work  in  the  plans  for  his  own  calculation  of  the 
total  amount.  In  that  case  you  pay  for  the 
extras  as  you  would  have  done  if  they  had  been 
originally  in'the  plans,  which,  of  course,  is  fair 
to  both  sides.  But  care  should  be  taken  that 
omissions  are  not  calculated  without  builders' 
profit  and  additions  with  it,  as  I  am  sure  they 
very  often  are  if  you  do  not  make  a  bargain  for 
them  when  they  are  ordered.  I  have  often  said 
that  whether  you  turn  a  window  into  a  blank 
wall,  or  a  wall  into  a  window,  it  is  certain  to  be 
claimed  for  an  extra  if  you  leave  it  to  be  settled 
afterwards."  This  advice,  written  for  the  good 
of  the  public,  is  sound,  and  we  particularly  en- 
dorse the  last  sentences,  namely — that  omissions 
ought  to  be  calculated  to  include  builders' 
profit  upon  the  same  schedule.  It  is  almost 
notorious  in  ordinary  contract  work  if  omissions 
occur,  and  they  are  seldom  looked  after,  they  are 
swallowed  up  in  the  extra  work  or  additions, 
and  no  proper  allowance  is  made  for  them  as 
there  ought  to  be.  It  is  too  often  that  the 
builder  urges  that  the  omission  of  something  has 
not  saved  him  anything,  and  with  this  view  it  is 
not  taken  into  account,  or  the  omission  is  priced 
according  to  another  schedule  than  that  upon 
which  the  extras  are  based.  This  is  scarcely 
justice,  and  we  do  not  mean  to  say  it  is  followed 
by  straightforward  contractors. 


THE  LATE  ME.   W.  PENSTONE. 

WE  regret  to  announce  the  death  of  Mr. 
William  Penstone,  architect,  of  22,  Great 
James-street,  Bedford-row,  on  Monday  afternoon 
last,  at  Cleeve  Abbey  Farm,  Washford,  near 
Taunton,  where  he  was  staying  to  recriut  Ms 
failing  health.  For  some  years  past,  consump- 
tion has  been  evident,  and,  in  consequence,  Mr. 
Penstone  has  been  obliged,  more  or  less,  to  keep 
his  room.  He  was  the  architect  of  some  schools 
in  Berkshire,  and  elsewhere.  Drawings  of  two 
of  his  schools  were  exhibited  by  him  in  this 
year's  Eoyal  Academy  Exhibition,  as  well  as 
many  other  drawings  he  had  made.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  id-health,  he  was  advised  to  de- 
vote his  attention  to  the  preparation  of  per- 
spectives. No  doubt,  many  of  our  readers  are 
well  acquainted  with  his  drawings,  many  of 
which  have  been  reproduced  in  this  paper.  Mr. 
Penstone  was  a  constant  contributor  of  sketches 
to  the  Architectural  Association  Sketch-book, 
in  which  he  took  a  very  great  interest.  We  be- 
Ueve  Mr.  Penstone  was  in  the  34th  year  of  his 


CHIPS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Aldershot  local  board  of 
health,  held  on  the  10th  inst.,  Mr.  W.  L.  Coulson 
was  unanimously  elected  surveyor,  out  of  108 
candidates. 

A  new  V.  P.  church  at  Galashiels  was  opened  on 
Aug.  19.  The  church  is  in  the  Early  English 
style,  from  designs  by  Messrs.  Thornton,  Shiels, 
and  Thomson,  architects,  Edinburgh.  The  tower 
is  square  to  a  height  of.TOft.,  and  the  spire  rises  to 
a  height  of  50tt.  from  the  tower.  The  church  has 
accommodation  for  from  750  to  SOO  sitters.  The 
total  cost  is  about  £4,-500. 

A  new  hospital  has  J  ust  been  erected  at  Dawlish, 
and  will  be  opeued  in  September  next.  Mr. 
Bridgman,  of  Torquay,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
H.  Baker  is  the  contractor. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  at  Poole,  was  opened  on 
Wednesday  week.  It  is  Early  English  in  style, 
and  has  an  octagonal  tower  and  spire  90ft.  high. 
Sitting  accommodation  is  provided  for  950  wor- 
shippers at  a  cost  for  erection  of  £4,000. 


The  Building  I^ews,  Au<i-27  I^^O. 


Jr.ii^   il I,, 


SELECTED     DESIGN 


^ 


III  j  i'-"*-' — ' nyJ— «*»i'"  fe-J"" ^••■■* * ^ 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


ABCHITECmt.iJL    XOTES    FROM 
KOEFOLK. 

THI'S  far  vre  have  followed  the  Architectural 
Association  excursion  party  from  Norwich 
through    the    Cawston    district,     and    to-day, 
by  the   aid   of    our   own    notes   taken   on    the 
occasion,    we  propose   hrietly   to   continue    the 
description   of   the   places    visited    during    the 
remainder   of    last   week,    keeping    the    archi- 
tectural rather  than  an  archaeological  interest  in 
view.     On  Wednesday  an  early  start  was  made, 
after  a  breakfast  at  7.30,  forXorth  Walsham,  by 
rail ;  indeed,  this  manner  of  commencing  opera- 
tions was  found  necessary  every  day,  in  order  to 
reach  the  first  stage  of  the  journey  -vvithout  loss 
of  time,   and  so  it  was  arranged  that  a  special 
railway-carriage  should  be  hefd  in  readiness  for 
the  _  excursionists.     Korth    'O'alsham,    with   its 
quaintly -designed    market  -  cross,     erected     in 
Edward  \^.'s  reign    by   Bishop   Thirlby,    was 
reached  rather  before  ten,  and  here  the  assem- 
blage was  photographed,   in  front  of  the  S-Vi". 
porch,   by   :Mr.    J.   L.    Robinson,   architect,    of 
Dublin.     This  gentleman,   who  is  a  very  able 
amateur  photographer,  brought  his  camera  with 
him  and  took  photographs  of  everyplace  visited, 
so  that,   by  the  end  of  the   week's   excursion,' 
about  one  hundred  views  were  secured.    Of  these 
a  selection  will  no  doubt  be  supplied  to  the  mem- 
bers, in  obedience  to   a  unanimously-expressed 
wish.    The  town  of  Walsham  is  only  remarkable 
for  its  church,  which  is  of  the  Late  Decorated 
period,  having   no  clerestory,   but   presenting  a 
grand  interior.     The  work 'is   Perpendicular' in 
feeling,  and  the  general  character  of  the  church 
differs  materially  from  those   already  described. 
A  roof  of  one  span  is  noted,  and  no  arch  is  used 
to  divide  the  chancel  from  the  nave.     The  font- 
cover  deserved  the  attention  devoted  to  it,  espe- 
cially on  account  of  its  rich  tabernacle-work,  and 
so  did  the  porch   already  referred  to.     ilost  of 
the  sketches  made  were"of  this  feature,  which  is 
a_  grand   two-story   building   of    Henry    H'.'s 
time.     The  west  tower  is  in  ruins,  having  fallen 
in  1724,  and  again  in  183.5  ;  but  parts  of  the  walls 
147ft.  high,  remain  standing,  and  combine  in  a  ' 
pleasing  manner  with  the  grouping  of  the  houses 
and   market-cross,    as   seen   from    the    village- 
street,  from  which  the  church  itself  is  rarely  hid 
by  Its  immediate  surroundings.     The  church  has 
been  carefully  restored,  and  in  spite  of  the  de- 
scription given  by  the  writer  of  "Restoration  in 
East  AngUa,"   published   by   the    "Society  for 
the  Protection  of   Ancient  Buildings,"  the   new 
work  here  does  not  look  "  hideous."     The  lower 
part  of  the  rood-screen  remaining,  with  its  ela- 
borate painted   panels   of   Saints,    is  worthy  of 
special  notice.      By   carriages,    the   party  now 
proceeded   to   Tnmch,   which   lies  from   Xorth 
Walsingham   about   half  an   hour's   drive  in  a 
northerly     direction.      The     foUowing     rhyme 
describes  the  close  way  in  which  the"  parishes 
just  in  this  neighbourhood  are  arranged : 
"  Gimmingham,  Trimmingham,  Knapton,    and 
Trunch, 
North  Repps,  and  South  Repps  are  all  of  a 
bunch." 
"The  Early    14th-century   Church  of  Trunch   is 
chiefly  known   for   its   exceedingly  remarkable 
•  baptistn,' "   or    rather    "baldachin,"  which  is 
very  sumlar  to  the  stone  example  at  Luton,  in 
Bedfordshire.     Here  the   structure  is  of  wood 
nchly  carved   and    supported   on    six   mas.sive 
posts,  having  annulets  rather  stone-hke  in  detail. 
The  style   is   very  Late   Perpendicular,  havino- 
ornamentation  in  free  forms   and  foUage.     The 
stilted  or  rather   tricky  rise  in  elevation  of  the 
battlemented  cornice  to   the   carved  projecting  ' 
canopies  in  the  upper  part,  by  which  the  curve 
on  plan  is  intensified   in  perspective,  is  worthy 
of_  note     as     a   permissible    expedient.      The 
P^'°ted  rood-screen  deserves  more  than  a  note, 
and  likewise  the  fine  hammer-beam   roof  with 
its  treatment   of  intermediate  principals,  every 
other  one  of  which   is   brought   down   on  wall 
shafts,  the  others  resting  simply  on  corbels    The 
chancel  is  possessed  of  a  fine  set  of  stalls  return- 
mg  at  the  west  end,  but  they  are  in  a  dreadf  ullv 
dUapidated   condition,    like    the    whole   of   the 
sanctuary.     This  part  of   the  church  is  hardly 
ever  used,  the  vicar,  who  has  held  the  living  for 
fafty  years,  being  of  the  oi^iniou  that  a  chancel 
lOT  such  a  church  is  hardly  a  necessary  feature, 
-the  altar  is  a  mean  table,  only  rendered  more  so 
by  the  dirt  which  is  upon  it,  in  which  respect  it 
competes   with    that   in   the   abominably   dirty 
church    of    Knapton,     which    was    next  seen. 
Abominable "  is   a   strong   term   no   doubt  to 


2oi 


employ   when   describing   the   condition   of    so 
sacred  a  building  as  an  EngUsh  parish-church 
but  the  word  is  in  no  way  too  forcible.    Ne^^lect 
and  dirt  combine  with  the  elements  in  pei-petu- 
atmg  the  desolate  condition  in  which  this  mag- 
nificently-roofed  church   has  been    allowed    to 
remain,  at  any  rate  for  the  last  fifty  years.     The 
roof   is  of   double   hammer-beam  construction 
exceedingly  rich  in  carved  ornamentation  and  in 
elaborate  colour  decoration,   so  that  it  may  well 
be   described   as   being   one  of   the  very  finest 
examples  remaining  anywhere.    This  fact  alone 
it  would  have  been  thought,  should  secure  the 
church  against  the  ruin  which  must  before  lono- 
happen  if  nothing  is  done  to  repair  the  struc° 
ture,   not  to  name  the  necessity  of  making  the 
church  simply  decently  convenient  for  the'  pur- 
pose of  holding  sers-ice.     The  rectorial  ric^ht  is 
vested    in   the   Master  of   Peterhouse   College' 
Cambridge,  and  we  regret  to  say  that  the  re- 
peated   efforts    on   the    part    of    the    church- 
warden   and    others    to   get    help   from    those 
who  should  consider  the  present  state  of  things 
a  standing  disgrace,  have  proved  of  no  use  at 
all.     The  vicar  of  the  church   is   non-resident, 
and  services,  such  as  they  are,  are  performed  by 
a  varied  series  of  curates.     The  font  is  an  early 
example  of  marble.  Transitional  in  style,  stand- 
ing on  four  detached  and  one  central  .shaft,  and 
it  is  covered  with  a  most  interesting  baldachin- 
like   cover,    bearing  the  date  1704,  and  havino- 
good   turned   balusters  with  weU- proportioned 
mouldings  and  cornices.    The  font  itself  is  never 
used,  but  a  common  white  slop-basin  does  duty 
for  a  font  by  its  being  stood  during  service  on 
the  font-steps. 

At  Edingthorpe,  which  is  two   miles  S.E.   of 
Knapton,  an  interesting  church,  in  its  way,  was 
seen.     The    west   tower   is  one  of   the  Norfolk 
round  towers,   developing,  in  this  case,   into  an 
octagon  at   the  belfry  stage.     Some  good  win- 
dows  remam  in  the  south  aisle,  and  a  decorated 
screen  to  the  chancel,    with   the   wrought-iron 
I  hour-glass  stand,  &c.,  deserve  mention.      After 
a  sharp  drive  by  the  sea,  leaving  Bacton  on  the 
[left,     the    excursionists    reached    the    ruins   of 
Bromholm  Prioiy,  which  was  founded  by  William 
de  Glam-iUe  for  Cluniac  monks  in  1113.     As  a 
remote   and  struggling  cell  attached  to  Castle 
Acre    Priory,    it    had    long    led    a    chequered 
existence,  when,   in   1205,   the  remarkable  relic, 
afterwards  known  as  the  "Rood  of  Bromholm  "' 
was  purchased  by  the    Prior    and   brethren  of 
Bromholm,    in   return   for  the  hospitality  they 
afforded  to  the  English  Chaplain  of  Baldwin  o"f 
Flanders,  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  and  who. 
when  his  master  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner 
at  Adrinaople,  fled,  with  all  the  relics  from  the 
Imperial  Chapel  which  he  could  bring  away  with 
him,  to  England.     No  one   would  buy  the  piece 
of  the   true   Cross   above   referred    to,  till    the 
Chaplain  reached  Bromliolm,   where  it  was  se- 
cured as  already  described.     In   1223,  the  relic 
wrought  many  miracles,  and  its  fame  spread  far 
and   wide,  so    that    pilgrims  flocked    from   all 
parts,    bringing,    ten  years  later,   Henry  III. 
himself,  and  thus   the  Prior  collected  a  vast  sum 
of  money,  with   which  he  built   a  fine  series  of 
buildings,    only  traces    of  which  now   remain, 
excepting     part     of     the     chapter-house,    N. 
transept      of      the      church,      and     dormitory. 
The   remains   show   work   of  Transitional    and 
Early  English  period  of  great  beauty.    We  trust 
the  present  owner,   the  Earl  of  Kimberley,  wiU 
not  allow  the  remains  to   continue  in  their  pre- 
sent neglected   condition,  but  that  some  means 
will  be  taken  to  preserve  so  valuable  a  specimen 
of   architectural   detail,   and   so   conspicuous   a 
landmark   in   the   history   of  England  and   its 
Church.     Retracing  their  steps  to  some  extent, 
the  excursionists,    by   a   long   drive  through  a 
beautifuUy-wooded   district,   reached  the  well- 
known  and  justly-celebrated  church  of  Worstead. 
Dm-ing  the  prosperous  times  of  tliis  place,  when 
its  manufactures  of  the  woollen  fabric  known  as 
worsted  were    in  their  most  flourishing  condi- 
tion, this  church  was  erected,  without  stint  or 
thought   of   costly   outlay.     It    is    one   of    the 
grandest   in  the  county,  and  as  a  specimen  of 
Transitional  from  Decorated  to  Perpendicular  is 
singularly  unique.     The  three  screens  at  the  east 
end,  dividing  the  chancel  and  chapels  from  the 
nave  and  aisles,  are  very  good  and  elaborate : 
but  the  screen  at   the   west  end  of  the  bmldins- 
has  been  quite   spoiled   by  the  drcadfuU}-  ugly 
paintings  in  the  panels,  bj-  a  local  amateur  lady 
artist.     The  roof,  of  hammer-beam  construction, 
is  a  good  example   of  common-sense  carpentry, 
in  an  admirable    state    of   preservation.     The 


pinnacles  on  the  tower  are  not  by  Mr.  Phipson 
asstated,  but  were  erected  about  IS  years  since 
They  spoil  the  outhne  of  the  top  stage  of  this 
grand  tower  the  "  sound-holes  "  of  which  are 
very  remarkable  and  good  in  their  tracing.  The 
'  ^■.  oak  Pewmg  is  not  bad  in  detail, 
ihursday  s  visits  were  devoted  to  the  follow- 
ing places,  aU  of  which  lie  to  the  north-west  of 
^orwlch  :  East  Dereham,  New  Walsingham, 
Houghton-m-the-Dale,  East  Barsham  ^HaU 
and  Fakenham.  East  Dereham,  which  will  ever 
be  remembered  m  connection  with  its  associa- 
tions  with  Cowper,  is  a  clean  toTim,  having  a 
broad  high-street  leading   to  the  church,  with 

ll^'°   *°r.r'J'"'''   °"  ^^^  "^""t''  Bide  being 
known  as  "  he  New  Clockcr."     It  was  b.ult  iS 

ST'^f   1    '/"^'  ■"•"="  »^«  <='^°t™I  tower, 
ril  1'  ^n  ^'"";S^"'  '^"^  *°""'l  '00  weak  t<^ 
carry  the  beUs.      Tlie  church  consists  of  nave 
with  aisles    central  tower,  two  short  transepts 
having   aisl^es  onlthe  east   side  as  chapels,   ind 
chancel.     The  grand   interior   is  spoUcd  by  the 
huge  gaUenes,  which,  at  any  rate  for  the  pre- 
sent  are  necessary,  it  was  said,  to  afford  accom- 
modation  for  the  parish.      It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
another  churci  may   before  long  be  erected  for 
the  use   of   the    parish,     and   thus  enable    the 
churchwardens   of  the  mother  church  to  remove 
these    hideous  obstructions   just   described      A 
good    Flemish     and     elaborately-can-ed    chest 
remams   m  the   north   transept,  or,  rather   St 
Edmund's  Chapel.     It  has  a  fine  lock  of  earlier 
date  upon  it,  and  altogether  may  be  named  as  a 
fine  piece  of  furniture  of  its  kind.     A  good  riew 
of  the  church  may  be  had  from  the  S.W.,  and 
on  the  N.  of  the  church-yard  a  quaintly-gibled 
house  deserves  a  sketch.      Leaving  East  Dere- 
ham by  train,   the  grand  old  remains  of  the  once 
most  famous  Augustinian  Priory  of  New  Wal- 
singham were  visited.     Here  was   situated  the 
shrme  of  Our  Lady  at  Walsingham.     The  party 
on   Thursday   was  met  by  the  Rev.  D.  H.  Lee 
Warner,   the   owner  of  the  property,  and  whose 
house  stands   within   the  priory.     Mr.   Warner 
exhibited   some  plans  showing  his  excavations 
and  the  original  plan  of  the  church  and  buUd- 
ings,  and  an  interesting   description  was  given 
by  Mr.  Penrose,  who  on  this  occasion  conducted 
the  excursionists.      The  three  wells  were  seen, 
but  no  miracles  are  said  to  have  been  performed 
by  their  aid  for  many  years,  though  occasionally 
pilgrims  stUl  come   to   the   site  of  the  original 
shriae  to  wash  in  the  wishing  well.      The  refec- 
tory forms  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  ruins 
remaining  of  the  priory,  and  the  staircase  arcade 
to  the  original  pulpit  deserves   the  most  careful 
study  on  the   part  of  all  lovers  of  fine  architec- 
ture.      Nothing     throughout    the     week    was 
seen    of    equal    purity   of  detail    and    outline. 
It    is     of     Early    English     character,     verg- 
ing,   perhaps,    on  the   Decorated  period.     The 
gateway  is  a  fine  example    of  its   kind,    and 
deserves  a  sketch,   specially  for  the  cariing  of 
the  gargoyles  and  the  unusual  head  carved  in  a 
quartrefoil   in   the   centre   of  the  main    gable. 
Many  picturesque  gabled  houses  remain  in  the 
town,  which  has  changed  less  than  most  places 
since  the  loth  century,  when  pilgrims  thronged 
the  streets  from  all  parts  of  the   world.     TTie 
church  is  not  of  much  interest  to  the  architect, 
but  contains  one  of  the  finest  fonts  to  be  found 
anywhere,  and  so  deserves  naming  to  be  visited. 
Houghton-in-the-Dale  was  passed  on  the  way 
to  East  Barsham  Hall.     The  chapel  is  a  small 
but  elaborate  and  well-designed  buUding,  of  the 
Decorated  period,  and  though  now  used  as   a 
shed  and  part  of  acott.age  simply,  was  originally 
a  shriving-place  for  the  pilgrims  on  their  way  to 
Walsingham.     Heniy    VHI.    walked    on    foot 
from   here   to  the  sacred  shrine   when  staying 
at  East  Barsham   Hall,    which,  after    a   rapid 
drive,  was   reached   about   three   o'clock.     Mr. 
Penrose  briefly  reviewed,  by  the  aid  of  Cotman's, 
Pugin's,    and    Mr.    Lee    Warner's  plans,    the 
original  extent  of  this  very  remarkable  house ; 
and  Mr.  Warner  added  some  points  of  interest. 
This   fine   ruin,    for,    unfortunately,  it   can   be 
described  as  little  else,  though  partly  used  as  a 
farm-house,  was  erected  by  Sir  Henry  Fermor, 
in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VII.   and  Henry  VIII. 
It  is,  unquestionably,  one  of  the  finest  examples 
extant  of  ornamental  and  cut  brickwork.  Several 
features  are  in  moulded  terra-cotta,  and  espe- 
cially, as  worthy  of  note,  may  be  named  the 
coat'  of    arms    and    large    crockets    over    the 
archways    of    the   great    gatehouse,  and   also 
the    large     stack    of    chimneys     seen     from 
the  back  of  the  house.     Nearly  three  hours 
were  most  profitably  spent  here  in  sketching 


254 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


the  old  house  and  in  examining  the  large 
bam  in  the  yard  adjoining,  where  much  of  the 
ornamental  stonework  from  the  ruins  of  'Wal- 
singham  Priory  are  built  in  the  walls,  rendering 
the  bam  unusually  interesting,  as  buildings  of 
this  class  in  Norfolk  are  usually  of  but  a  mean 
character.  The  programme  arranged  for  Friday 
•was,  perhaps,  lighter,  and  the  bmldings  visited 
presented  less  of  special  interest  than  those  of  the 
former  days'  trips.  The  churches,  however, 
were,  with  the  exception  of  DeojAam  and  Great 
Ellingham,  of  large  size  and  varied  detail,  while 
the  cathedi-al-like  church  of  Hingham  may 
probably  be  named  as  among  the  grandest  of  its 
size  seen  during  the  whole  excursion.  AVy- 
mondham  parish-church  of  St.  Mary  and  St. 
Alhanwas  first  visited.  It  is  chiefly  remarkable 
for  having  two  towers,  one  square  at  the  west 
end,  the  other  being  octagon  on  plan,  and  once 
forming  the  central  tower  to  the  chuich,  while 
originally  part  of  the  Benedictine  priory.  The 
nave  always  seems  to  have  been  used  as  the 
parish-church,  and  in  this  fonn  it  is  now  used, 
the  remainder  of  the  priory  being  in  ruins.  The 
Norman  piers  and  arches  of  the  nave  are 
interesting- ;  but  the  former  being  cased  with 
plaster- work,  cannot  be  well  defined.  The  tri- 
forium  is  of  Norman  date,  with  an  Early  Per- 
pendicular clerestoi-y  over,  the  roof  hammer- 
beams  being-  in  each  intermediate  case  brought 
down  on  corbels,  which  form  keystones  to  three 
windows'  hoodmoulds.  The  main  principals  are 
carried  by  wall-shafts  resting  on  corbels  at  level 
of  clerestory  window-sills.  The  roof  is  a  fine 
example,  with  no  queen  posts,  and  ha\dng 
singular  rose  flowers  or  centres  over  the  crossing 
of  the  several  main  timbers.  The  sedilia  on  the 
south  side  of  the  sanctuary  is  of  rich  Renais- 
sance character  in  terra-cotta,  and  seems  almost 
foreign  in  style.  The  font  is  a  good  specimen, 
and  stands  well  at  the  west  end  ;  but,  owing  to 
the  bad  state  of  church  matters  atWymondham, 
is  not  used — a  paltry  slop-basin  in  white  ware 
being  used  instead,  both  the  vicar  and  his  curate 
finding  it  less  trouble,  it  seems,  to  stand  the 
basin  on  the  font-steps,  and  so  perform  the 
Baptismal  serWce  as  if  the  use  of  the  grand  old 
font  itself  had  passed  away.  The  church  is 
crammed  up  with  pews,  and  two  velvet-covered 
cushions  rest  like  sofa  scjuabs  on  the  altar.  As 
seen  either  from  the  east  or  west,  this 
church  makes  an  uncommonly  good  subject 
either  for  a  painter  or  architect's  sketch. 
Attleborough  Church  is  well  kept,  and  seems 
well  served.  It  was  the  next  building  visited, 
and  is  possessed  of  a  fine  rood-screen  now  placed 
in  a  cmious  and  meaningless  sort  of  way  at  the 
west  end  of  the  church.  The  east  end  or  chancel 
of  the  churchhas  been  destroyed,  and  the  tower, 
centraloriginally, nowstands  as  apaTish-roomon 
theground-storyeastof  the  altar,  which  is  placed 
against  the  west  arch  of  the  tower.  The  clere- 
stoi-y  windows  occur  over  the  piers  of  the  nave 
and  not  over  the  arches,  and  the  celestory  is 
low  for  so  lofty  a  nave.  A  good  eagle  lectern 
remains,  and  a  quaint  old  alms-box.  The  N.W. 
porch  is  a  fine  example  of  design  in  cut  flint  and 
stone.  Full  detail  di-awings  were  given  in  the 
monograph  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Attleborough, 
from  drawings  by  Wm.  Patton,  architect,  pub. 
Ushedby  Canon  Bai-rett  in  1848 — a  book  of  much 
merit.  Lunch  was  obtained  in[the  house  adjoin- 
ing the  chva-ch,  and  Great  EUingham  Church 
was  soon  reached  after  half  an-houi-'s  ride.  It 
is  a  very  Kentish-looking  building,  with  its  lead- 
covered  and  well-proportioned  spire.  The  nave 
arcade  on  the  south  side  is  a  very  fine  example 
of  Early  English  work,  that  on  the  north  side 
being  rather  later  in  date.  The  clerestory  win- 
dows, which  are  small  but  very  good,  come  im- 
mediately over  the  piers,  and  there  is  no  chancel 
arch.  The  windows  in  the  chancel  are  unusually 
long,  but  exceedingly  good  in  design.  The 
building  is  unrestored,  but  not  badly  kept. 
Hingham,  with  its  magnificent  tower  of  six 
stages,  is  a  boldly-treated  church  of  the  Deco- 
rated period,  and  has  some  splendid  Dutch  glass 
in  the  east  window.  The  nave-roof  is  new,  but 
is  a  good  composition  based  upon  studies  of  other 
similar  Norfolk  roofs.  Mr.  J.  K.  CoUing  was 
the  architect  from  whose  designs  the  nave  was 
reseated  and  restored,  and  Mr.  Arthur  Blom- 
field  restored  the  chancel  with  its  altar,  stalls, 
organ,  and  mosaic  pavement.  The  latter  is  an 
exceedingly  fine  example  of  work  of  free 
and  appropriate  design,  executed  in  good 
colours  and  spirit.  The  work  was  by 
Burke  and  Co.,  and  does  them  credit.  We  do 
not  like  Mr.  CoUiug's  earrings   on  the  nave- 


benches  ;  the  ornament  seems  meaningless  and  is 
poor  in  execution,  unworthy  of  the  author  of 
"  Ai't  Foliage,"  kc.  It  is  only  on  tliis  account 
that  we  express  our  surprise  at  the  unsatisfactory 
results  here  obtained.  The  fine  recessed  altar- 
tomb  on  the  north  side  of  the  chancel,  to  Thomas, 
Lord  Morley,  E.arou  of  Eye,  though  much  de- 
faced, is  a  most  interesting  monument,  remark- 
able for  its  richness  and  originality.  Some 
beautiful  church  music  was  rendered  with  much 
feeling  on  the  fine  organ  during  the  time 
sketches  were  being  made,  and  a  very  satisfac- 
tory day's  excursion  terminated  by  a  short  stay 
at  Deopham  Church.  The  roof  here  is  in  such  a 
ruinous  state  that  its  dangerous  condition  ren- 
ders it  impossible  to  use  the  nave,  so  that  the 
seats  have  been  removed  to  the  aisles,  as  the 
roof   might  fall   at   any  moment.     The  vicar's 

tforts  to  obtain  funds  to  save  this  sad  calamity 
should  certainly  receive  more  help  from  those 
specially  interested  than  it  seems  has,  as  yet, 
been  forthcoming.  The  chm-ch,  however,  is 
very  dirty,  and  this  state  of  things  the  vicar 
could  easily  improve   himself.      The  tower  is  a 

ood  example,  having  a  gabled  canopied  belfry- 
stage,  with  woodwork  to  the  doors  both  at  the 
west  end  and  south  porch,  of  much  beauty  and 
refined  detail.  The  final  dinner  of  the  excur- 
sion was  held  en  Friday  night,  Mr.  E.  C.  Lee, 
the  president,  in  the  chair,  when  Messrs.  Phip- 
son,  John  H.  Brown,  cathedral  surveyor,  and 
Mr.  Boardman,  architect,  of  Norwich,  were 
among  the  guests.  Congratulatory  speeches 
were  made,  thanks  being  given  to  Messrs.  Fowler 
and  Penrose,  the  leaders  of  the  party  ;  and  to 
Mr.  Charles  R.  Pink,  of  TVinchester,  the  hon. 
sec.  to  the  excursion,  for  the  admii-able  and  com- 
plete way  in  which  the  whole  of  the  arrange- 
ments had  been  planned  as  well  as  carried  out. 
^Vlso,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  cordially  awarded  to 
Mr.  WeUard,  who  acted  as  quartermaster  during 
the  week  to  the  comfort  of  everybody.  Saturday 
was  devoted  to  visiting  the  places  of  interest  not 
yet  seen  in  Norwich  itself. 


EOTAL    INSTITUTE     OF    BRITISH 
ARCHITECTS. 

IN  the  Proceedings  of  the  R.I.B.A.,  issued 
yesterday,  it  is  announced  that  the  Coimcil 
have  nominated  Mr.  John  Macvicar  Anderson, 
Member  of  Council,  to  fiU  the  ofiice  of  honorary 
secretai-y,  vacant  by  the  resignation  and  subse- 
quent death  of  Mr. Thomas  Henry 'Wyatt,F  S.A., 
past-President.  The  election  wiU  take  place  on 
Monday,  November  1st.  Notice  is  given  that, 
at  the  next  examination  of  candidates  for  cer- 
tificates of  competency  to  hold  the  office  of 
district  surveyor,  and  at  all  future  examinations 
for  the  same  purpose,  the  examination  will  in- 
clude some  test  of  the  candidate's  skill  in 
making  working- drawings.  The  time  allowed 
for  written  and  graphic  examinations  will  be 
extended  from  one  sitting  of  foiu-  hours  to  two 
sittings  of  three  hours  each,  namely,  from 
10  a.m.  till  1  p.m.  and  from  2  p.m.  till  5  p.m. 
The  candidates  will  be  required  to  leave  the 
Institute  during  the  intervening  hour,  and  the 
questions  set  will  be  contained  in  two  papers 
instead  of  one  paper  as  heretofore.  Due  notice 
of  the  next  examination,  to  be  held  Thursday, 
■2Sth,  and  Friday,  29th  October,  will  be  advertised. 
In  the  examination  for  the  office  of  district 
surveyor,  the  following  are  the  candidates  who 
have  passed  and  received  certificates  during  the 
list  session: — EUis  Marsland,  Meynell-road, 
Hackney-common,  E.  ;  George  Gray  Jarvis, 
TaHourd-road,  Peckham,  S.E. ;  "Walter  Free- 
man, Edinburgh-terrace,  Balham,  S."W. ;  Wm. 
Hewson  Lees,  Doughty-street,  Meckleubm-gh- 
square,  W.C.  ;  Robert  Edward  Pownall, 
Aberdeen-place,  N.W.  ;  Thomas  Edward 
Mundy,  Buckingham- street,  Adelphi,  AV.C.  ; 
Henry  Adair  Rawlins,  Salters'  HaU-eourt, 
Cannon-street,  E.G. ;  Hugh  McLachlan,  Red- 
clitte -street,  South  Kensington,  S.W.  ;  and 
Arthur  Ashbridge,  LeadenhaU-street,  E.C.  In 
the  architectirral  examination,  the  names  of  the 
passed  candidates  in  the  class  of  proficiency,  1880 : 
John  Bradshaw  Gass,  Bolton ;  F.  T.  Wilberforce 
Goldsmith,  Newport,  Mon. ;  Frank  Johnson, 
Nottingham ;  Heni-y  Hardie  Kemp,  Bowdon, 
near  Manchester ;  Philip  James  Marvin,  Cam- 
den-street,  N.W.  ;  and  Lawrence  George  Sum- 
mers, Nottingham. 

The  passed  candidates  in  the  preHmiuary  class, 
1880,  are: — Edwin  Hrrbert  Dance,  Upper  Hale, 
Farnham,  Surrey  ;  Edward  Guy  Dawbcr,  King's 


Lyim  ;  Ernest  Herbert,  Brixton,  S.W.  ;  John 
Ernest  Kingham,  Farnham,  Surrey  ;  and  Roger 
Elsey  Smith,  Forest-hill,  S.E.  It  is  reported 
that  three  honorary  fellows,  IS  fellows,  43  asset 
elates,  four  honorarj'  associates,  and  one  hon. 
and  corresponding  member  have  been  elected  to 
membership  during  the  jiast  session.  The  late 
Mr.  T.  H.  Wyattwas  President  of  the  Archi- 
tects' Benevolent  Society,  and  the  Ccimcil  of 
that  Society  have  requested  Mr.  John  Whioh- 
oord,  P.R.I. B. A.,  to  act  as  chairman  till  the 
annual  meeting  in  March,  1881. 


ST.  PAUL'S  CATHEDRAL-SETTING    01- 
STONE^n'ORK. 

THE  maintenaiicc  and  reparation  of  old 
buildings  need  a  good  deal  of  close  super- 
vision and  examnation,  and  our  great  public 
buildings,  especially  our  cathedi-als,  have, 
happily,  during  this  age  of  restoration,  been 
placed  iruder  such  siu-veillance,  that  those 
intrusted  with  the  supervision  of  their  fabrics 
exercise  a  vigilant  care  and  a  very  pardonable 
amount  of  pride  in  keeping  them  in  perfect  order, 
and  in  examining  every  stone  or  dowel  which  has 
a  doubtfiJ.  appearance  of  durability.  But  even 
with  the  most  careful  watchfulness,  sometimes 
a  part  of  a  building  hidden  from  sight  eludes 
examination.  In  the  preservation  of  a  large 
stnicture,  a  great  deal  more  than  super-ficial 
surveys  are  required.  It  is  not  always  the 
detection  of  decayed  stonework  on  the  outer 
face  of  a  building  that  needs  the  first  attention, 
though  a  crumbling  state  of  decay  gives  a 
ruinous  and  uncared-for  look  to  a  building. 
There  are  more  deep-seated  maladies  than  this, 
and  there  is  often  a  danger  lest  these  hidden 
defects  prove  to  be  soirrces  of  danger  and 
irrstability.  A  building  of  great  weight  must 
always  be  in  a  state  of  settlement ;  underground 
springs,  soakage,  and  the  diversion  of  water- 
courses have  been  known  to  undermine  biuldiirgs, 
while  in  large  cities,  such  as  London,  the  con- 
stant alterations  of  adjacent  property,  the  removal 
of  weighty  buildings,  and  esi^ecially  the  tamper- 
ing with  the  ground  by  the  excavations  of  new 
sewers,  &c. ,  create  an  endless  source  of  mischief. 
Large  poirticoes,  such  as  that  at  the  west  end  of 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  are  more  likely  to  settle 
than  a  homogeneous  mass  of  masonry  like  a 
wall,  and  in  the  coui'se  of  three  centuries  it 
would  not  be  surprising  if  the  axes  of  some  of 
the  end  columns  were  thrown  over  a  trifle  in 
consequence.  Any  danger  from  such  diver- 
gences need  not  be  feared,  as  the  settlements  are 
too  trifling ;  but  they  occasionally  give  rise  to 
cracks  and  dislocations  of  different  kinds,  which 
the  siu-veyor,  by  a_carefid  diagnosis,  is  enabled 
to  attribute  to  its  proper  cause.  A  contemporary 
has  recently  called  attention  to  a  giving-way 
of  the  stonework  in  the  upper  part  of  one  of  the 
fluted  Corinthian  columns  supporting  the  west 
portico  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  which  had  been 
discovered  on  a  recent  sui-vey  being  made  of  the 
cathedral.  Such  an  announcement  would  be 
alarming  enough  to  those  who,  when  the}'  see  a 
fractured  column  or  a  crack,  think  the  whole 
building  is  in  danger ;  but  the  actual  fact,  on  the 
contrary,  is  one  that  need  not  give  rise  to  any 
uneasiness.  From  a  casual  inspection  we  find 
that  a  fractured  portion  of  the  upper  stone  of  one 
column  is  being  replaced.  The  column  in 
question  is  the  tMrd  one  from  the  south  side,  in 
the  lower  range  of  columns  of  the  portico.  As 
most  of  our  readers  know,  the  westenr  portico  of 
St.  Paul's  consist  of  two  orders  of  columns,  the 
upper  order  carrying  the  pediment  being  of  eight 
coupled  columns,  and  the  lower  order  extending 
an  intercoliunniation  on  each  side,  making  twelve 
columns  coupled.  The  column  that  is  now 
under  repair  is  therefore  below  the  outer 
column  of  the  upper  range  on  the  south  side, 
and  its  base  rests  on  the  upper  landing  of  the 
second  flight  of  steps.  From  what  we  hear,  it 
was  found  that  the  upper  courses  of  the  column 
at  the  joint  were  slightly  out  of  position  ;  in  fact, 
that  two  portions  or  fractured  prisms  had  biilged 
a  little  at  the  joints,  and  it  was  thought  neces- 
sary to  replace  the  cracked  parts.  The  fractured 
prism  which  separated  from  the  upper  cour-se  of 
stone  is  not  more  than  a  fourth  of  the  mass, 
and  it  has  separated  in  an  oblique  plaue  with  the 
sharp  angle  downwards,  as  usual  incasesof  crush, 
ingshort  cylinders  of  stone.  The  pressure  on  this 
column  was  probably  never  equal ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  inequality  of  a  stone  may  have  thrown  the 
,  weiirht  on  the  side  which  has  fractured,  or  the 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


2o.5 


stone  may  liave  been  inadveitently  placed  on  its 
wrong  bed.  The  fractured  prism  we  saw  getting 
haided  up  appeared  as  sound  as  new  stone, 
indeed,  harder,  .and  will  be  replaced  in  its  old 
position  again,  and  no  one  will  know  that 
anything  has  been  done  to  it.  Perforations  have 
been  made  in  the  fractured  pieces,  and  no  doubt 
copper  bolts  will  be  inserted  through  the  whole 
coui'se ;  they  hare  been  eased  at  the  joints,  and 
the  column  wUl  then  be  sounder  than  it  has  been 
for  the  last  century  or  two.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  refute  the  assertion  that  the  structure  has 
been  at  aU  endangered  ;  the  fractured  pieces  of 
stone  which  have  been  secured  do  not  affect  the 
strength  or  support  in  any  appreciable  degree, 
as  the  remaining  part  is  sound  and  occnpies  two- 
thirds  or  more  of  the  diameter  of  colimin.  Of 
course  the  main  pressure  on  a  column  thus 
situated  would  be  through  the  axis,  and  this  part 
is  quite  intact.  The  fracture,  trivial  as  it  is,  in 
reference  to  St.  Paul's,  has  a  lesson  for  the  ar- 
chitect and  mason.  It  might  occur  to  an  outer 
colnnin  with  more  dangerous  results,  or  it  might 
have  taken  place  in  a  single  column  supporting 
another  above  it,  and  then  some  caution  in 
replacing  the  stone  would  have  been  necessary. 
In  the  present  case,  luckily,  the  columns  are  in 
pairs,  and  ample  support  is  afforded.  But  the 
constmction  of  modem  buildings  is  not  always 
carried  out  with  the  consummate  care  exercised 
in  the  building  of  St.  Paul's.  In  the  first 
place,  the  foundatians  of  single  outer  columns 
are  not  securely  laid  so  as  to  insure  a  perfect 
transference  of  the  weight ;  in  the  next  place,  if 
of  stone,  the  stones  are  not  personally  examined 
and  tested  under  pressure  as  they  should  be  ;  in 
fact  we  have  never  known  of  au  instance  where 
the  stones  have  been  specially  tested ;  their 
soundness  and  freedom  from  vents  or  flaws,  veins, 
&c.,  is  usually  guaranteed  by  the  foreman  or 
clerk  of  works,  and  it  is  to  the  practical  experience 
of  those  gentlemen  we  have  to  trust  in  most  cases. 
Of  course  in  the  selection  of  stone  in  the  quarry 
much  depends,  but  a  great  deal  more  in  the 
supervision  of  erection — to  see,  for  instance,  that 
the  natui-al  beds  are  in  their  proper  position. 
Then  there  is  another  common  fault — the  erection 
of  columns  of  stones  without  inserting  some  com- 
pressible substance  like  lead  between  the  joints. 
Many  of  our  modem  porticoes  have  suffered  from 
inattention  to  this  point,  and  the  consequent 
flushing  at  the  joints.  Referring  to  the  re.-istance 
of  stone,  it  may  be  said  thst  as  the  greatest  weight 
upon  it  is  usually  never  sufficient  to  fracture 
it,  we  need  not  trouble  ;  but  such  an  assertion  is 
unreliable  in  many  cases,  as  when  any  natural 
fault  occurs  in  the  stone  ;  and  we  believe  it  is 
stated  that  the  greatest  stress  on  any  part  of  the 
masonry  at  St.  Paul's  is  about  H  tons  per  square 
foot. 


THE     TOTTE>.TH.A.iI-COrRT-ROAr)     GAS 
EXPLOSION. 

THE  report  has  been  issued  as  a  Parliamentry 
Paper,  prepared  by  Mr.  A.  G.  Vernon 
Harcourt,  one  of  the  gas  referees  to  the  Board 
of  Trade,  of  the  circtmistances  attending  the  ex- 
plosion of  gas  in  the  Tottenham-court-road,  on 
.July  .5.  Mr.  Harcourt  says  :  "  Although,  in  my 
opinion,  the  responsibility  for  the  explosion  anil 
the  destruction  caused  by  it  rests  almost  ex- 
clusively upon  the  ignorance  or  thoughtlessness 
of  the  contractor's  foreman,  the  explosion  would 
also  have  been  averted  if  the  connection  in 
Bailey-street  had  been  made  before  that  near  the 
Howland-street  valve.  A  suggestion  was  made 
that  the  gas  which  exploded  may  have  found  its 
way  into  the  new  main  from  the  earth  in  which 
the  main  was  laid,  in  the  same  manner  in  which 
a  subsoU  drain  becomes  filled  with  water.  This 
would  no  doubt  be  possible  with  a  leaky  main  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  another  leaky  main 
charged  with  gas.  But  in  the  present  case  the 
main  was  all  but  gaslight,  and  no  evidence  was 
given  of  the  presence  of  gas  in  the  subsoil 
in  stiffieient  quantity  to  inflame  or  explode. 
L  nless  the  atmosphere  of  the  subsoil  contained 
gas  in  sulHciiut  proportion  to  form  an  explosive 
mixture  such  a  mixture  cannot  have  passed  from 
it  into  the  main.  As  wUl  appear  from  the  con- 
sideration of  the  small  amount  of  leakage 
sulSoient  to  produce  an  explosive  mixture,  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  gas  which  exploded 
entered  from  the  valve  in  Howland-street.  Pro- 
bably, thcrefore.Jno  accident  would  have  occurred 
if  the  connections  in  the  immediate  neighourhood 
of  the  valve  at  each  end  of  the  new  main  had 


been  defeiTed  till  last.  If  the  main  had  been 
laid  only  one  or  two  lengths  beyond  the  valve 
and  then  plugged  a  pressure-gauge  attached  to 
a  stand-pipe  would  soon  have  shown  even  a 
minute  leakage  in  the  valve.  Tliis  could  not  be 
the  case  with  a  main  extending  for  many  hundred 
yards.  The  reasons  are  (1)  that  the  pressure 
shown  is  that  due  to  the  difference  between  the 
leakage  at  the  valve  and  the  leakage  in  the 
main  :  [2)  that  the  time  required  for  the  ac- 
cumulation of  any  given  pressure  within  the  main 
is  directly  proportional  to  its  capacity,  the  danger 
of  unplugging  a  short  length  of  main  of  large 
diameter  into  one  end  of  which  gas  was  slowly 
leaking  from  a  valve  would  be  inconsiderable. 
Such  a  length  would  soon  cease  to  contain  an 


A    MONOGRAPH    OF  ASTOX   HALL, 
AVARWICKSHIRE.* 

A  FR.  W.  NIVEX,  architect,  has  just  brought 
±ii  oiit,  as  a  supplementary  volume  to  his 
"Old  Warwioksliire  Houses,"  noticed  bv  us 
some  time  since,  a  "Monograph  of  Aston  Hall," 
including  geometrical  drawings  and  views,  for 
which  the  Institute  of  Biiti»)i  Architects  lately 
awarded  him  their  medal.  The  volume  is  pre- 
faced by  a  brief  hiiitorical  sketch  and  d<  scription 
of  Aston  Hall,  reprinted  from  the  former  work 
of  Mr.  Niven,  just  sullieiint  to  refresh  the 
memory  of  the  reader  or  visitor.  Aston  Hall 
can  claim,  like  many  other  of  our  great  J.jmcstic 
buildings   of  its  age,    a   rcspectuble    antiquity. 


explosive  mixtm-e,  the  rate  of  ventilation  greatly  :  Even  before  the  Norman  Concjucst,  tlioro  was  a 
exceeding  that  of  leakage.  In  the  present  case  j  stately  Manor-hou.'se  at  Ei-tonc,  as  it  was  called 
the  leakage  had  charged  690  yards  of  main  with  .  the  property  of  Edwin,  ]::iil  Jf  Merc^ia.  King 
an  explosive  mixture.  If  no  light  had  been  I  William  bestowed  it  on  William  Fitz  Ausculf, 
applied  in  testing,  and  the  main  h;id  been  un- 1  whose  principal  seat  was  tlie  Castle  of  Dudley! 
plugged,  the  explosive  mixture  would  have  After  passing  through  several  generations,  we 
streamed  outwards  from  the  upper  part  of  the !  find  that  in  13C7  it  was  conveyed  to  John  atte 
main,  and  several  hours  probably  would  have  |  Holte,  of  Birmingham,  by  Maude  di- Grimsarwc. 
needed  to  elapse  before  the  risk  oi  explosion  by  j  "  John,  having  no  issue,  wns   succeeded  l.y  his 

the  accidental  application  of  a  light  to  the  mouth  ''    tit,,         ..     ,r  ,  

of   the   main   had   passed   away.      Mr.    Hersey 


stated  at  the  inquest  that  he  had  seen  ga 
accidentally  lighted  by  a  spark  from  a  pick.  As, 
however,  the  smell  of  gas  on  unplugging  the 
main  would  at  once  have  given  warning,  the 
actual  risk  in  this  case  would  have  been  very 
small.  But  besides  the  causes  named,  another 
was  in  operation  which  must  have  caused  the 
explosive  force  to  have  been  greater  at  some 
points  than  at  others.  When  the  plug  was 
blown  out  a  wave  of  compression  was  sent  in  the 
opposite  direction  along  the  column  of  gas,  wliich 
must  have  rebounded  from  the  bends  in  the 
main  and  from  the  valve  which  closed  it.  The 
return  waves  would  meet  the  advancing  fire,  and 


uncle,  Walter  atte  Holte,  and  with  hi.f  family, 
with  only  one  temporary  alienation,  the  e!>tato 
continued  till  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century."  The  present  hall  wa.s  built  in  1018, 
and  was  completed  in  163.5,  by  Sir  Thomas 
Holte,  who  resided  here.  Justice  Holte,  a 
learned  lawyer  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Holte  family,  and  his  bra&s 
may  be  seen  in  Aston  Church.  We  read  that 
Sir  Thomas  was  loyal  to  the  Stuart  cause,  and, 
in  1642,  he  entertained  Charles  I.  when  his 
army  was  marching  from  Shrewsbury-  to  relieve 
Banbury  Castle.  The  room  which  he  occupied 
is  stiU  known  as  the"  King's  Chamber,"  and  the 
attack  on  the  Hall  may  bo  remembered  by  the 
student  of  the  history   of  this  interesting  period 


at  these  points  the  strain  would  be  greater  from  '  of  our  English  annalo.  In  1782,  the  title  1)0. 
the  ignited  mixture  being  at  a  higher  tension.  '  coming  extinct,  the  estates  reverteil  to  Mr 
Each  outburst  would  cause   a  fresh  oscillation  |  Heneage  Legge  ;  in  ISl  7,  the  pictures  and  fumi 


and  fresh  coincidences  of  the  combustion 
reflected  waves  of  compression.' 


PNEUMATIC  BELLS. 

PNEUMATIC  arrangements  for  working 
bells  or  other  signals  have  come  into  con- 
siderable favour ;  but  one  drawback  is  fotmd  in 
the  frequency  with  which  the  air-holders  are 
damaged  or  are  rendered  useless.  The  air- 
vessel  is  usually  ov.al  in  form,  with  a  small  tube 
projecting  from  one  side  for  connecting  to  the 
air-pipes  ;  it  is  frequently  provided  with  a 
spring  inside  to  return  the  pusher,  and  almost 
invariably  retains  within  it  some  acid  deposit, 
resulting  from  the  processes  of  manufacture. 
The  consequence  is  that  not  only  does  the  rub- 
ber soon  become  hard,  and  consequently  useless, 
but  where  springs  are  u.sed,  the  wire  is  rapidly 
corroded,  and,  breaking,  often  perforates  the  air 
vessel.  Mr.  Arthtir  Clarke  has  patented  an  im 
proved  form  of  air-vessel,  which  obviates  the 
defects  of  the  old  form.  He  makes  his  air- 
vessel  cup-shaped — that  is,  entirely  open  on 
the  flat  side  (so  that  it  can  be  readily  and 
thoroughly  cleaned  out  before  beingfixed  for  use), 
and  of  such  a  shape  and  thickness  that  it  will 
not  collapse  with  usage.  He  also  dispenses 
with  the  spring  inside  the  air-holder,  except  for 
long  distances,  when  a  puU  handle  is  used  ;  a 
spring  is  then  applied  inside  the  air-holder,  but 
does  not  touch  it  in  any  part.  The  cup-shaped 
air-holder  is  closed  on  the  flat  side  by  a  plate  of 
metal  or  wood,  against  which  the  edges  abut 
closely  without  being  clamped  thereto.  The 
plate  may  be  the  top  or  bottom  of  the  box  in 
which  the  air-holder  is  contained.  For  short 
distances  the  air-tube  communicates  with  the 
interior  of  the  airholder  through  this  plate.  For 
long  distances  the  airholder  is  open  to  the  atmo- 
sphere through  holes  in  the  plate,  and  the  air- 
tube  communicates  with  the  metal  box  in  which 
the  air-holder  is  contained,  so  that  in  either  case 
no  binding  or  other  form  of  metal  connection  with 
the  indiarubber  is  necessary.  This  arrange- 
ment also  dispenses  with  the  use  of  valves  to 
prevent  the  return  of  air  in  long  pipes,  for  the 
inventor  makes  a  pin-hole  in  the  tube  close  to 
the  air-vessel  of  the  bell  or  indicator,  and  then 
when  the  air-holder  is  pulled  up,  it  creates  a 
partial  vacuum,  or  rather  in-draught  at  the  pin" 
hole,  while  the  release  compresses  the  air  and 
rings  the  bell,  the  surplus  air  escaping  by  the 
piiLhole. 


ture  were  sold,  and,  in  the  next  year,  the  Hall 
and  Park  were  bought  by  a  banking  firm  of 
Warwick.  The  Aston  Park  Company  continned 
its  possessors  for  some  time,  till  the  Corporation 
of  Birmingham  purchased  the  Hall  and  part  of 
Park  of  them  for  £26,000.  Mr.  Niven's  draw- 
ings illustrate  the  Hall  pretty  fully.  The  plan 
is  drawn  to  a  small  scale,  about  20ft.  to  the 
inch,  but  adequate  for  all  purposes  of  reference. 
There  are  fifteen  plates  in  all,  neatly  etched  by 
the  author.  The  first  plate  would,  perhaps, 
have  looked  less  crowded  if  the  plan  had  been 
placed  below  the  gener.il  view,  instead  of  above 
it.  The  elevations  of  the  main  and  south  front 
are  effectively  drawn,  and  make  np  for  any 
shortcomings  in  the  small  view.  The  grand  old 
entrance-hall,  47ft.  by  24  ft.  internally,  with  its 
lofty  mullioned  windows  and  columnar  jwrch,  is 
well  shown  in  the  main  elevation ;  and  the 
author  gives  large-si^e  details  of  the  main  en- 
trance, great  staircase,  and  a  sketch  of  its  fine 
geometrical  ceiling,  though  it  is  almost  a  pity 
that  the  stuffed  rhinoceros  and  giraffe  shoold 
have  been  introduced  in  the  view.  No  detail  of 
the  hall-ceiling  is  given ;  but  the  staircase  is  il- 
lustrated by  a  plan  and  section  and  a  plate  of  de- 
tail, showing  the  beautifully  and  quaintly-carved 
newels  and  strings,  and  the  rich  scrollwork 
panels  of  the  balustrades.  The  newels,  with 
their  handsoraely-designe<l  terminals,  with  the 
Ionic  capitals  and  the  rich  arabesques  in  the 
sides,  are  probably  among  the  finest  examples  of 
Elizabethan  workmanship  to  be  found  in  Eng- 
land. The  author  says :— "  The  st-iirca.se  seems 
to  have  been  formerly  painted  in  a  diUl  red  an^l 
grey ;  but,  having  been  since  painted  white, 
all  the  colour  has  now  been  removed  from  the 
wood.  A  Hide  imitation  of  the  bilu-tmde  was 
painted  on  the  waU  side  of  the  stairs.  The  re- 
semblance in  detail  of  this  stairc;i.<e  to  that  at 
Crewe  Hall  is  verv  strildn?,  and  this,  with  other 
points  of  similnritv,  has  led  Mr.  C.  J.  Richard- 
son to  pronounce  these  two  houiw-s  and  Dorfold 
Hall  to  be  by  the  same  archit<^t."  Tlie  great 
draw-ing-roora  over  the  chapfl.  •  Mi-irtm'  nt 
30ft.    by    23ft..    and     17ft.    h-  ■  •■ 

"  Queen's  Room,"  is illufitratc'!  ' 

plan  of  the  ceiling,  another  bea;-  t 

plaster  work  of  geometricM  dc.ipi,  ri.ic.^>  1  by 
.icroUwork  and  masks.  The  pattern  consist,  of 
intersecting  circles,  leaving   oval    panels,  with 

"^Mono^raph  of  A.ton  Hill,  .'"■"^j''?*'"^,  .'^i*'^ 
metrSu  fe»wing»  and  View,,  for  wh.rh  MedU  of 
R.IB^.™s  a«aed.  By  "W.  K.r«.a:c!uV«t.  Loalon  : 
J.  Bimell  and  Son,  Oxford-atnet,  *c. 


256 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880,, 


small  circularpanels  at  the  points  of  ixitersection. 
The  fine  chimney-piece  of  white  stone,  black 
marble,  and  alabaster,  is  illustrated,  and  is 
carefully  drawn  in  the  detaOs  ;  it  is  of  two 
orders  of  telamoncs,  and  the  frieze  of  the  mantel 
is  an  elaborate  piece  of  Elizabethan  ornament. 
The  deep  frieze  round  the  room,  modelled  in 
plaster,  enriched  by  figures  of  warriors  in  relief, 
is  shown  in  another  plate.  Bold  Renaissance 
scroll  ornaments,  alternating  with  niches  con- 
taining figures  clad  in  armour,  are  the  principal 
features  of  this  fine  frieze.  The  ceiling  of  King 
Charles's  bedroom  is  another  unique  specimen  of 
plaster  relief ;  squares  and  circular  forms  prevail, 
with  the  characteristic  scroll  ornaments  in  the 
panels.  These  rooms  were,  doubtless,  as  the 
author  says,  hung  with  tapestry,  or  painted  on 
the  walls.  King  Charles's  room  is  square,  ISft. 
each  way,  and  I'ift.  high,  with  a  recess  formed 
for  the  bed.  Plate  13  shows  a  handsome  stone 
chimney-piece  in  the  "Red-room,"  or  Cleopatra's 
room,  over  the  hall ;  and  Plate  14,  the  chimney- 
pieces  in  Lady  Holto's,  and  one  of  the  bedrooms 
orer  the  hall.  The  details  of  the  moiddings  of 
these  chimneys  form  the  last  plate.  One  of  the 
best  etchings  is  that  of  the  view  on  the  stairs, 
showing  the  doorway  of  great  chamber,  with 
its  wide  and  massive  architrave,  enriched  by 
guilloche  ornament,  and  surmounted  by  the 
characteristic  scrollwork  of  the  period.  In  the 
details  of  this  stately  Hall  the  student  cannot 
fail  to  observe  a  difference  in  the  style  of  some 
parts.  Probably,  as  Mr.  Niven  tells  us,  the  chim- 
ney-pieces are  not  all  of  the  same  date :  the 
earlier  may  have  been  brought  from  Duddeston, 
a  former  residence  of  the  Holte  family.  We  are 
glad  to  learn  that  both  brick  and  stonework  are, 
on  the  whole,  well  preserved  in  the  front  ;  but 
they  will  soon  begin  to  suffer  if,  as  Mr.  Niven 
says,  the  smoke  from  the  Birmingham  chimneys 
has  so  begrimed  the  building.  Altogether,  Mr. 
Niven' s  monograph  is  a  welcome  addition  to  the 
architectural  records  of  this  famous  Hall,  and 
the  etchings,  executed  from  careful  drawings 
made  by  the  author  himself,  insure  for  it  an  ac- 
curacy we  do  not  often  find  in  the  older 
illustrated  works  of  this  class. 


THE  GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS 
COMPETITION. 

WE  hear  that  Mr.  Charles  Barry's  report  on 
the  designs  submitted  for  competition 
for  the  new  municii)al  buildings  for  the  City 
of  Glasgow  has  been  made  to  the  Corporation. 
The  designs  will  be  on  view  at  the  Corporation 
Galleries,  Sauchiehall-street,  Glasgow,  to  com- 
petitors and  the  Press  on  the  6th  pros. ,  and  to 
the  public  from  the  13th  to  the  ISth  prox.  inclu- 
sive. We  shall  in  due  course  examine  and  report 
on  the  designs.  We  have  several  letters  to 
hand  this  week  from  competitors,  and  others, 
complaining  of  the  delay  which  has  taken  place 
in  the  publication  of  Mr.  Barry's  report. 
Riunour  is  busy,  both  in  London  and  Glasgow, 
as  to  its  tenor,  and  it  is  generally  believed  that 
the  first  and  second  premiums  have  gone  to 
Glasgow  architects.  'The  first  place  is  assigned 
to  a  design  in  the  French  Chiiteau  style,  by  a 
well-known  Glasgow  architect  ;  and  the  second, 
to  a  design  bearing  the  motto  "  Civis  Sum,"  in 
the  Roman  Classic  style,  and  evidently  inspired 
by  a  well-known  church  in  Venice.  Another 
plan,  bearing  the  motto  "  Aiblins,"  may,  pos- 
sibly, be  an  alternative  design  by  the  author  of 
"  Civis  Simi,"  though  we  think  not  ;  it  has,  at 
any  rate,  a  good  deal  in  common  with  the  first- 
named  design,  though  stronger  in  some  of  its 
details. 


BOOKS  RECEIVED. 

Notes  on  S/eelefuiiy  Tours,  by  an  Architect 
(London :  B.  T.  Batsford),  is  a  good,  cheap,  and 
seasonable  half-crown's  worth.  Students  in 
search  of  a  route  may  consult  its  pages  with  ad- 
vantage, and  those  unable  to  make  holiday  may 
study  the  examples,  and  wait  for  a  more  auspi- 
cious  opportimity,    better    prepared. Minor 

Arts,  by  C.  G.  Leland  (London  :  MacmUlan  and 
Co.),  is  another  volimie  of  the  "Art  at  Home 
Series,"  which  professes  to  teach  in  a  simple 
practical  manner  the  processes  of  several  minor 
decorative  arts  which  may  prove  sources  of 
profit  or  culture.  We  opened  the  book  with 
some  misgiving,  having  little  more  faith  gene- 
rally in  such  manuals  than  in  the  advertisements 
in   the   daily  papers,  wliich  ofier  remunerative 


occupation'  to  persons  without  previous  know- 
ledge or  experience — always  only  after  money 
has  been  paid  for  a  short  course  of  lessons  ; 
but  Mr.  Leland's  book  is  really  likely  to  be 
useful,  and  to  encourage  hand- work,  in  con- 
nection with  which  he  points  in  his  preface  to  a 
fact  which  we  have  more  than  once  dwelt  on. 
viz. ,  that  the  cxirrent  system  of  buying  goods  on 
credit  by  the  consiuner  is  very  injurious  to  art. 
"It  is  not  true,"  says  Mr.  Leland,  "  that  a 
tradesman  or  mechanic  is  incapable  of  becoming 
an  artist.  I  have  found  him  as  a  nde  ambitious 
and  capable,  but  always  kept  back  and  dis- 
com-aged  by  the  delay  (in  payment)  which 
maketh  the  heart  sick,  and  thereby  encouraged 

to  supply  cheap  stuff." Transactions  oj    the 

Xational  Association  fur  tlie  Promotion  of  Social 
Science,  for  1S79  (are  issued  too  late  to  be  of 
much  use  or  interest  to  anybody.  People  that 
care  for  the  Society's  proceedings  are  thinking 

of  this  year's  meeting). Ben's  s  Sidlilers'  Friee 

Bool;  'Midsummer  Edition  (London  :  Bevis  and 
Co.)  seems  to  increase  in  size  and  favour  with 
each  edition,  and  fully  deseiTes  the  position  it 
has  so  quickly  made  for  itself. 


BccKiMGHAii. — New  schools  for  300  children 
have  just  been  completed,  consisting  of  two 
departments  arranged  in  a  T  form,  viz.,  a 
schoolroom  44ft.  long,  fitted  up  with  galleries 
and  desks,  for  120  infants,  and  another  school- 
room, for  140  boys  and  gii'ls,  67ft.  long,  with  a 
class-room,  for  40  children,  20ft.  long  attached, 
and  both  fitted  with  deal  desks.  All  the  rooms 
are  of  the  same  ividth  (22ft.)  and  height  (14ft. 
up  to  plate,  and  2Sft.  to  ridge),  the  roofs  being 
of  open  timber  description,  with  arched  prin- 
cipals and  pla.stering  between  rafters.  The 
walls  are  formed  of  hollow  brickwork,  and  a 
course  of  gas-tar  and  slate  has  just  been  put 
throughout  them  at  level  of  ground.  The  red 
brickwork  has  been  relieved  by  white  bricks 
of  both  a  plain  and  ornamental  character,  as 
well  as  other  red  ones  of  a  deeper  tone,  and  blue 
Staffordshire  ones  for  the  more  exposed  surfaces, 
such  as  water  tables  to  chimney  stacks  and 
buttresses.  The  roofs  are  covered  with  brown 
and  blue  Broseley  tiles,  and  the  ridges  with 
Cooper's  red  ornamental  crests.  Each  room  is 
provided  with  a  ventilated  spirette,  having 
plate-glass  louvres  finished  by  one  of  Macfar- 
lane's  iron  terminals,  the  one  over  the  class- 
room being  utilised  for  the  bell,  provided  by 
Mr.  J.  Barwell,  of  Birmingham.  Elsley's 
patent  ventilating  grates  are  adopted  through- 
out, and  the  hearth.=  and  curved  fenders  are 
out  of  soUd  blocks  of  Yorkshire  stone.  The 
works  have  been  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
Marshall  and  Boyse,  of  Buckingham,  at  the 
very  moderate  cost  of  £2,240,  from  the  designs 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  the  architect, 
Mr.  E.  H.  Lingen  Barker,  of  London,  Hereford, 
and  Tenby. 

Duuley. — The  Mayor  of  Dudley  on  Monday 
opened  new  public  baths  erected  by  the  town 
council  at  Queen's  Cross.  The  building  consists 
of  the  bath  premises  and  attendants'  house, 
and  comprises  two  swimming-baths,  a  number 
of  private  baths  for  men  and  women,  attendance- 
rooms,  ticket-offices,  store-rooms,  engine-house, 
laundry,  and  drying-rooms  (over  the  boilers), 
and  care-taker's  house.  The  swimming-baths 
are  104ft.  in  length  and  30ft.  in  width.  The 
architects  are  Messrs.  Davies  and  Middleton  ; 
the  engineer,  Mr.  A.  Smith,  M.I.C.E. ;  and  the 
builders,  Messrs.  Holland. 

Eelestoice. — A  new  church  has  been  built  at 
theedgeof  the  Park  skirting  the  roadatErlestoke, 
Wilts.  It  is  Perpendicular  Gothic  in  character, 
and  has  been  designed  by  Mr.  George  Edmund 
Street,  R.A.  The  building  consists  of  a  nave, 
north  aisle,  chancel,  south  transept,  vestry, 
tower  and  porch.  The  nave  measures  4Sft.  by 
a  little  over  21ft.  wide,  and  the  chancel  is  26ft. 
by  17ft.  Gin. — making  a  total  length  of  74ft. 
The  height  of  the  tower  is  4.3ft.  to  the  line  of  its 
parapet,  and  it  is  surmounted  by  a  sharp- 
pitched  roof.  The  whole  of  the  roofs  generally 
are  covered  in  with  plain  red  tiles,  mjide  by  Mr. 
Box,  of  Market  Lavington,  surmounted  by 
crestings  by  Cooper,  of  Maidenhead.  The 
building  is  built  of  Bo.'C-ground  stone  through- 
out— not  only  in  the  dressings  but  the  wall- 
ing as  well — all  the  Box  stone,  after  being  faced 


up,  is  left  "batted"  from  the  tool,  and  in  no 
instance  is  it  "dragged"  or  rasped  up  to  an 
affected  smooth  surface.  The  interior  walls, 
like  those  outside,  are  all  of  solid  Box-ground 
stone,  tooled  over.  The  church  is  heated  by 
Messrs.  Jones  and  Son's  (of  Bank  Side,  London) 
system  of  hot  air.  The  carved  work  has  been 
executed  by  Mr.  Hariy  Hems,  of  Exeter.  The 
builders  are  Messrs.  Hale  and  Sou.  contractors, 
of  Castle-street,  Salisbury,  and  their  managing 
foreman  on  the  spot  was  Mr.  William  Cowley. 
Mr.  Street  has  been  represented  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Chapelow,  his  clerk  of  works.  The  cost  of  the 
church  is  rather  over  £6,000,  and  it  is  antici- 
pated that  it  will  be  opened  in  September.  A 
new  parsonage,  in  the  Domesticated  Gothic 
style,  has  been  built  also  from  Mr.  Street's  de- 
signs, and  by  the  same  contractors.  It  is  ap- 
proaching completion. 

Newcastle-ox-Tys:e. — A  new  Jewish  syna- 
gogue, at  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  was  opened  on 
■Tuesday.  Mr.  Johnstone,  of  Newcastle,  was  the 
architect.  The  style  is  Free  Byzantine.  The 
walls  are  of  a  composite  character,  but  with 
rubble  and  blockstone  dressings  from  quarries  in 
the  district.  The  front,  facing  Albion-street,^  is 
more  than  SOft.  long,  and  has  six  piers  in  its 
length,  enriched  by  bands,  string-courses,  and 
capped  with  ornamental  turrets,  with  angle 
columns  and  terminals.  The  basement,  wliich  is 
carried  down  throughout  the  whole  area  of  the 
buUding,  has  two  entrances  from  Albion-street 
and  one  from  Leazes-lane,  and  contains  boys' 
and  girls'  school,  committee-room,  bath-room, 
waiting-room,  &c.,  all  well  lighted  and  venti- 
lated. The  height  is  12ft.  from  floor  to  floor. 
The  synagogue  is  60ft.  long  from  front  to  back, 
by  .50ft.  wide,  and  43ft.  high  from  floor  to  top  of 
circular  ceiling.  The  groimd  floor  wiU  contain 
sittings  for  between  300  and  400,  and  the  gallery 
for  between  200  and  300.  Thorough  ventilation 
is  gained  by  horizontal  chambers  rimning  the 
whole  length  of  the  building,  rising  and  con- 
verging towards  two  large  Boyle's  ventilators. 
The  ark,  designed  by  the  architect  and  executed 
by  Mr.  TumbuU,  of  Newcastle,  is  of  fancy 
wood,  richly  carved.  The  whole  of  the  building 
has  been  undertaken  and  carried  out  in  the  best 
manner  by  Messrs.  T.  and  R.  Lamb,  of  Gates- 
head. 

Rock  Feeet. — A  new  high  altar  has  been 
presented  to  St.  Anne's  Cathohc  Church,  Rock 
Ferry,  by  a  Catholic  resident  of  Rock  Ferry, 
and  was  consecrated  this  week.  This  church, 
the  late  Edward  Welby  Pugin's  last  architec- 
tural work,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  speci- 
mens of  pure  Gothic  architecture  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Liverpool ;  and  the  altar  is  from 
the  designs  of  the  architect's  brother.  One  of  the 
great  features  in  it  is  the  tabernacle  and  centre 
canopy ;  the  latter  rises  to  a  height  of  24ft., 
and  is  supported  by  a  richly- cusped  arch  on 
marble  columns.  'The  sides  are  composed  of 
canopies  20ft.  in  height,  on  either  side  of  which 
are  gablets,  supported  by  trefoUed  arches  on 
marble  columns.  Lender  these  are  three  groups 
of  angles  adoring.  The  tabernacle  is  elaborately 
wrought  in  alabaster  ;  above  the  door  is  the 
word  "  Sanctus"  ;  immediately  over  this,  in  a 
trefoil  sinking,  there  is  a  pelican,  one  of 
the  emblems  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ; 
on  the  other  sides  are  two  other  trefoU 
sinkings  with  other  emblems — the  Passage 
of  the  Destroying  Angel,  and  the  Manna 
in  the  Wilderness.  The  columns  in  the  taber- 
nacle are  of  Mexican  onyx.  In  the  panels  on 
either  side  of  the  tabernacle  are  four  quatre- 
foils  fUled  with  marble,  on  each  of  which  there 
is  a  pattern  sunk  and  gUt.  The  altar-slab  is  of 
marble,  supported  by  four  columns  of  California 
marble  on  alabaster  bases.  Below  the  altar  there 
is  a  carved  panel  of  the  Last  Supper.  The  super- 
altars  are  of  marble,  supported  on  either  side  by 
two  marble  columns,  between  which  there  is  a 
panel  of  four  quatrefoils,  filled  with  coloured 
marbles.  The  chief  part  of  the  altar  is  of  Caen 
stone.  The  steps  to  the  altar  are  of  Sicilian 
marble.  The  whole  has  been  carried  out  from 
the  designs  of  Messrs.  Pugin,  by  Mr.  R.  L. 
Boulton,  sculptor,  of  Cheltenham.  The  metal 
tabernacle  and  also  the  curtain  cranes,  wHch 
are  on  either  side  of  the  altar,  are  from  the 
works  of  Messrs.  J.  Hardman  and  Co.,  of 
Birmingham. 

Teueo  Cathedeai,. — The  works  at  St.  Mary's 
New  Cathedral  are  being  steadily  proceeded 
with  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  James  Bubb, 
who  represents  Mr.  John  Loughborough  Pear- 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


son,  E.A.,  on  the  spot.  The  excavating  for  the 
choir  foundations  continues ;  it  is  proposed  to 
go  down  about  oft.  below  the  level  of  the  crypt 
floor.  At  the  east  end  the  concrete  footings  are 
in  up  to  that  line.  A  scaffold  has  been  erected 
around  the  spire  of  Truro  old  church.  This 
spire  is  120ft.  high,  and  as  it  was  only  erected 
.so  recently  as  little  more  than  100  years  age,  it 
is  not  of  particularly  good  type;  but  its  stones 
are,  some  of  them,  large,  and  will  require  care 
in  removal.  It  is  not  yet  decided  where  the 
clock  and  chimes  are  to  be  placed  j:))'o  tcm.  In 
the  design  a  small  tower  east  of  the  central  one, 
and  at  the  south  side  of  the  choir,  is  planned  to 
take  these  bells  ultimately.  Should  funds  come 
in  as  hoped  for,  the  choir — the  cost  of  which 
wUl  be  about  £35,000— wiU  take  four  or  five 
years  to  erect. 


PARLIAMENTARY      NOTES. 

The  Lower  Thames  Vaij.ey  Drainage.— Mr. 
Brodrick  asked  the  President  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  last  week  whether,  considering  that 
the  inquiry  of  the  inspectors  into  the  Lower 
Thames  Valley  drainage  scheme  terminated  nearly 
three  months  ago,  and  that  the  scheme  was  con- 
demned by  a  vote  of  the  House  of  Commons  last 
session,  he  could  give  a  guarantee  that  the  decision 
of  the  Local  Government  Board  should  be  an- 
nounced at  a  time  when  the  attention  of  Parlia- 
ment might  be  ciUed  to  it.— Mr.  Dodson  :  I  cannot 
guarantee  that  the  decision  of  the  Board  shall  be 
announced  before  the  close  of  the  session,  as  I 
must  have  time  to  master  the  voluminous  evidence, 
and  it  would  not  be  fair  towards  the  parties  in- 
terested to  keep  them  in  suspense  until  next  year. 
If,  however,  the  Board  should  decide  to  grant  the 

Erovisional  order  applied  for,  the  order  would 
ave  no  validit}*  until  contirmed  by  an  Act,  so 
that  ample  opportunity  wUl  be  aitorded  for  its 
consideration  by  the  House. 

Builders  an-d  the  Employers'  LLiELLirr 
Bill.— Commenting  upon  this  BiU,  which  was 
read  a  second  time  in  the  House  of  Lords  on 
Tuesday,  the  Duke  of  Somerset  said  there  were 
one  or  two  points  in  the  Bill  which  were  scarcely 
clear.  If,  for  instance,  a  man  employed  a  con- 
tractor to  build  a  house,  and  one  of  the  contractor's 
labourers  dropped  a  brick  upon  his  fellow  work- 
man, he  did  not  quite  understand  whether  the 
contractor  would  be  hable  or  not.  He  desired  to 
see  the  responsibility  of  employers  limited  to  the 
acts  of  persons  as  to  whose  authority  there  could 
be  no  doubt— persons  who  were  directly  authorised 
by  the  employers  themselves  to  act  for  them. 

The  Tottentiam  CorRT-ROAD  Explosion.- It 
is  stated  that,  at  the  instance  of  several  metropo- 
litan ratepayers'  associations,  a  BiU  has  been 
prepared  and  will  be  introduced  by  a  private 
member  at  the  beginning  of  next  session  of  Parha- 
ment,  having  for  its  object  the  compelling  of  gas 
companies  to  meet  all  claims  for  compensation 
arising  from  catastrophes  of  a  similar  character  to 
the  recent  gas  explosion  in  the  Tottenham  Court- 
road,  London.  The  gas  companies  interested  in 
this  catastrophe  are  meeting  all  claims  for  personal 
injtiries  in  a  liberal  manner,  and  are  repairing  at 
their  own  expense  the  damage  done  to  upwards  of 
200  houses,  but  they  deny  their  legal  liability  to 
do  so,  owing  to  the  wording  of  their  pohcies, 
which  they  assert  entirely  exempt  them.  The  Bill 
referred  to  has  been  prepared  to  meet  exceptional 
cases  of  this  description. 


CHIPS. 

A  new  Primitive  Methodist  School  Chapel,  at 
Sheffield,  was  commenced  on  Monday.  It  will  he 
70ft.  long,  31  wide,  and  Uft.  high  to  wall  plate, 
and  will  accommodate  300  scholars.  The  archi- 
tects for  the  building  are  Messrs.  Jas.  Kerrid"e 
and  Sons,  M'isbech  ;  the  contractor,  Mr.  James 
Fidler,  Eckington. 

Mr.  Baker  and  Mr.  Barlow,  jun.,  have  just 
made  an  examination  of  the  River  Tay,  in  view  of 
the  preparation  of  plans  for  the  reconstruction  and 
rebuilding  of  the  Tay-bridge.  They  fixed  on  a  site 
to  the  westward  of  the  bridge,  and  are  to  sink  an 
experimental  cylinder  by  means  of  air-pressure  to 
the  depth  of  over  20  feet  below  the  present  bed 
of  the  river,  so  that  the  nature  of  the  strata  may  be 
ascertained.  The  work  will  be  proceeded  with 
without  delay. 

Mr.  E.  0.  Buchanan  Tudor,  engineer  and  sur- 
veyor to  the  Poole  Local  Board,  has  introduced  a 
mode  of  improving  the  lighting  of  footpaths  and 
streets  by  the  use  of  the  existing  lamps,  but  glazed 
in  a  different  manner.  He  claims  double  the  light 
from  the  same  burner  with  a  less  consumntion  of 
gas. 

A  new  organ,  in  St.  John's  Church,  Lowestoft, 
erected  by  Messrs.  Marten  and  Taylor,  of  London, 
at  a  cost  of  £-500  was  opened  on  the  19th  inst. 


More   than   Fifty  Thousand  Replies   and 

-nsrson  subji-its  ol  Univcriuil   Interest  have  appcarod  A..nn~ 

■  'SrMv,?^''"  '"  '"^r.XGLISH    MKCHANTC  .ixi)  WOIll.ll 

bl-ltiscb,    most    of   tlKiti    rri'iii    the-    pens    of    tin-    !r;iiliiuj 


wrinkles  cmbracinfjr  n1 1 1 .  < 

to  desire  infonnntion  li.i  ^  i  . ; 
The  earliest  and  mo!-t  :r.in  i*. 
scientific  discovcrk's  and  imxliar 
its  pnges,  and  its  large  ciaul;itit 
for  iiil  advertisers  who  wish  thcii 
under  the  notice  of  manufiicturen 
and  amateurs.  Pric«  Twopence 
vendors.    Post    free  2\il.    uflice  : 


*  thf  best  medium 
lents  to  be  brought 
.  st'ientlflc  workers, 

tk  btrtct,   Covcnt- 


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mu.st  have  been  founded  on  the  principle  of 
paying  twice  over.  First,  iu  the  way  of  imme- 
diate annuities,  in  consideration  'a»  he  puts  it) 
of  existing  net  income,  and,  s.condlv,  byway 
ot  deferred  annuities  for  some  bupposLd  and  iin- 
ascertamed  and  prospccctivo  advantages,  which, 
in  the  eyes  ot  the  Committee,  as  to  men  of 
bu8ines.s,  are  "to  a  great  dogreo,  of  a  specu- 
lative  character.  ' 

So,  too,  with  regard  to  the  calculutioiu  of  in- 
crements fouiid(  d  on  the  assumption  that  aU  the 
Items  of  receipts  would  grow  at  a  greater  rate  in 
the  future  than  in  the  past ;  tliat  the  number 
and  value  of  tlic  hou><s  and  the  raU.  of  the  ren- 
tals would  perpetually  augni.nt,  whiUt  the 
powth  of  capital  expenditure  which  hasliithcrto 
been  required  m  ordir  to  cam  au  incrcauod  in- 
come, would  sink  almost  to  iiotliing,  and  miirlit 
therefore  be  di.scarded  from  the  Cidculiitions  Thi-f 
as  the  learned  counsel  for  the  Corp<jrution  itiid' 
was  proceeding  with  a  deUnuinutiun  to  "buy 
up  the  eight  companies— reasonably,  if  you  can  ■ 
but  buy  them."  Another  claim  set  up  by  the 
companies,  and  apparently  conceded  without 
question  by  Mr.  Smith,  was  tliat  of  a  further 
increase  in  rates  in  proportion  t.>  the  growth 
of  the  rateable  value  of  hou.ses.  This  right  was 
claimed  without  any  kind  of  "  legal  rolution  to 
augmentation  in  the  quantity  or  imi  rovcmcnt  in 
quality  of  the  water  supplied."  If,  argue  the 
committee,  "the  water  companies  were  limited 
in  the  amount  of  dividend  they  could  eani,  a^ 
was  contemplated  by  the  Water  Act  of  ISi:, 
there  might  be  some  reasonable  restraint  on 
their  power  to  enhance  the  charge  against  the 
consumer.  The  companies,  however,  assert 
their  right,  under  the  title  of  back  dividends,  to 
escape  from  any  such  limit,  boldly  making  tliia 
supposed  right  one  of  the  grounds  for  demand- 
ing so  high  a  price  from  the  public  for  the 
purchase  of  their  undertakings."  Mr.  Smith 
estimated  this   newly.acfiuircd  right   at  twenty 


.o^.6^.^^^%'^''^^TS^\S^r^''ZS^X\^^^:-,   ^^'-    ^^''<^>^''   however,   denounced 
amount.    Back  numbere  can  only  be  sent  at  the  rate  of  |  '"'^  ''"  "  sharp  practice  as  an  utter  delusion. 

The  Act  referred  to  precludes  any  company 
incorporating  these  clauses  from  dividing  more 
than  10  per  cent,  from  the  period  of  incorpora- 
tion. In  this  way  the  New  River  Company 
could  only  have  back  dividends  accruing  from 
1852,  and  the  total  amount  of  their  claim  in  that 
respect  was  £1,500,000,  which  might  accrue 
from  the  present  time,  seeing  that  that  they  were 
paying  £U  19s.  "d.  ;  but  Mr.  Smith  had  given 
them  .£2,000,000  for  that.  He  contended  fur- 
ther that  all  the  companies  had  forfeited  their 
right  to  back  dividends,  and  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  New  River  Company,  which,  after 
incorporating  the  Waterworks  Clauses  Act, 
had  illegally  created  a  reserve  fimd,  which  they 
had  used  to  equalise  dividends.  Prorided,  then, 
that  the  contention  of  the  companies  was  well- 
founded,  the  metropolis,  with  its  four  millions 
of  inhabitants,  would  be  "  at  the  mercy  of  cer- 
tain trading  companies,  armed  with  the 
dangerous  power  of  raising  the  price  of  one 
of  the  first  necessities  of  life  to  an  extent 
practically  without  limit— a  situation  fiom 
which  the  companies  seem  to  think  there  ii  no 
escape,  except  in  the  purchase  of  their  under- 
takings at  such  a  price  as  they  may  be  willing 
to  accept."  "If,"  said  th'- '■"inmitf'v,  "  thit 
were  the  only  remedy,  tb' 
consumer  of  the  improvi-i 


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C0n:tsp0nlitucc. 


THE  LONDON  WATER-SITPLY. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bunjirxo  News. 
SiE, — The  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  have  issued  their  report  on  the  London  '  past  would  be  indeed  in 
Water-supply,  and  which,  in  no  measured  terms,  I  ment  is  not  unequal  to  reJi'--  :■  .  >•■■-  n,.  ■-  ,.. 
condemns  the  Bill  of  the  late  Government.  As  the  pubhc  interests.  The  manner  m  which  the 
I  have  again  and  again  said,  and  as  the  com-  I  gas  companies  have  been  dealt  with  by  I'arlia- 
mittee  now  reiterate,  the  agreements  proposed  ment  may  be  rtferred  to  in  illiL-tration  of  the 
to  be  entered  into  with  the  water  companies  bv  metliod  by  which  a  remedy  for  Furh  a  sUtc  of 
the  late  Mr.  Smith  were  founded  in  error,  anil  things  may  l>e  clfc-ctually  provided.'' 
were,  in  many  particulars,  of  so  reckless  and  It  will,  then.  surpri.»c  no  one  to  find  that,  a« 
speculative  a  character,  that  it  was  scarcely  pos-  '  the  agreement  stood,  the  price  to  be  paid  to 
sible  for  any  body  of  gentlemen  sitting  in  judg-  t  the  water  companies  was,  after  making  a  vry 
ment  upon  them  to  come  to  any  other  conclusion 
than  that  "  they  do  not  furnish  a  satisfactory  or 


admissible  basis  of  purcha.se."     The  uusatLsfac 

tory  nature  of  the  proposed  arrangements  is  the 

more   apparent    as   it   is  brought  to   the  light 

and  more  closely  examined.     It  is  seen  also  that 

the  sum  proposed  to  be  paid  to  the  companies  is 

a  good  deal  in  excess  of  an  estimate  I  made  in 

April  last,  and   which  must  now  be    taken   ai  j  bent  on  a  \ 

£33,018,836.     The    bugbear  of   "  economisers  "    tion  which 


liberal  allowance  for  works  which  were  already 
useless,  or  in  a  short  time  would  become  »o, 
nine  millions  in  cTcess  of   the  market  value  ol 

the  property. 

The  shareholder 
doubtless  cause  f' 
Smith,  who  1  -'.  r. 
such  tran.-a 


bugbi 
came  to  nought,  and  it  is  fairly  estimated  that  the 
ratepayers  were  about  to  be  saddled  with  an 
enormous  annual  payment,  in  perpetuity,  of 
£1,210,7133.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  might 
almost  appear  to  be  unnecessary  to  point  to  the 
fallacy  of  Mr.  Smith's  facts  and  figures,  as  these 


down    to   p"     '■''■;  ■    '"■■  .■ 

all    the    mistnes  of    Tai  • 

did     the     then     Home    ^ 

golden   fruit   Ik- fore  their       _   : 

was  destined  to  bo  cruelly  f  j««.-.l  U  jv^uJ  tLiir 

reach,   and  now  it  appears    doubtful  whether 


258 


THE    BUILDING   NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


thev  -svill  ever  enjoy  it,  by  reason  of  tte  rate- 
payers having  asked  themselves  the  question 
whether  it  is  worth  while  to  pm-chase  an 
article  which  may  turn   out   to  be  dear   at   any 

It  is  an  incontestable  fact  that  there  is  not 
enough  water,  and  what  there  is  is  not  nearlj- 
so  good  as  it  ought  to  be  and  might  be.  This 
beiD"  the  actual  condition  of  the  water-question, 
price  may,  after  all,  be  looked  upon  as  quite  a 
secondary  matter.  Most  assuredly  the  health  of 
a  community  numbering  four  millions  is  of  far 
o-reater  importance,  and,  for  this  reason,  it  has 
already  caused  surprise  and  regret  amongst  the 
medical  profession  when  it  came  to  be  known 
that  the  Select  Committee  had  concluded  their 
labours  without  admitting  or  calling  for  evidence 
upon  the  most  important  part  of  the  question 
—that  of  finding  a  purer  and  better  supply  of 
potable  water.  The  Committee  are  strictly 
within  the  mark  when  they  say  "  They  have  not 
had  before  them  any  specific  scheme  for  an  in- 
dependent supply,  and  that  general  specula- 
tions on  the  subject  are  of  little  value  without 
detailed  plans  of  the  sources  from  which  it  is  to 
be  derived,  and  the  cost  of  carrying  it  into 
effect."  The  Committee  are  themselves  to  blame 
for  this.  I  can  confidently  state  that  pressing 
applications  were  made,  both  to  the  committee 
and  its  chairman,  to  admit  evidence  on  an  iude- 
pendent  and  purer  supply,  and  the  fullest  infor- 
mation was  prepared  and  forthcoming  at  any 
moment.  One  witness  was  ready  with  proofs 
that  the  Chiltern  Kidge  might  be  depended 
upon  as  an  almost  inexhaustible  source  of 
supply. 

The  water  here  is  running  to  waste  and  orer- 
ilowing  the  Colne  valley  above  "Watford,  and  its 
purity  has  long  attracted  the  attention  of  engi- 
neers and  sanitarians.     Robert  Stephenson  sonie 
forty  years  ago  was  at  much  pains  to  bi-ing  this 
"Watford   source   to    the    notice    of     successive 
Governments,  but  to  no  purpose.      So  confident 
was  he  of  the  water-bearing  capabilities  of   the 
chalk  strata  around  London,  that  he  went  to  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  sinking,  first  a  well  in 
Bushey  HOI  meadows,  near  the  Colne,  and  sub- 
sequently at  other  spots.     "U'hen  he  had  attained 
a  depth  of  31ft.,  he  obtained  1,091,000  gallons  a 
day.      "L'pon   extending   his   borings,  he    came 
across  a  constant  recurrence  of   large  springs, 
and  on  reaching  to  a  depth  of  SOft.  they  yielded 
a   supply   so  bountifid  as  to  set  all  temporary 
means  of   overcoming  it  at  defiance,   and   pre- 
cluded the  possibility  of  having  recourse  to  it  as 
a  mere   matter   of   experiment.     Of  its  purity 
there  was  abimdant  ocular  proof,  as   it  was  so 
beautifully  transparent  as  to  admit  of  the  bottom 
of  the  well  being  seen  when  the  water  in  it  was 
upwards     of    30ft.     deep.        So     earnest    was 
Stephenson  in  the  matter,  that  he  sought  the 
advice  and  assistance  of   Telford,  and   together 
they   ' '  drew  out    plans,    and  marked   out   the 
course  of  the  aqueduct   which  was  to  bring  the 
water  to  Brockley-hLU,  there  to  be  poirred  into  a 
reservoir,    holding   a  three  days'  supply,    with 
sufficient  head  to  admit  of  a  main  being  laid,  so 
as  to   avoid   all  opposition    from  landowners." 
The  great  advantages  of  this  scheme,  as  set  forth 
by   Stephenson,    were,    "that  of   using  spring 
water,  already  naturally  filtered,  in  preference 
to  that  which  has  before  drained   a  portion  of 
the   earth's  surface,  in  making  use  of   an  enor- 
mous reservoir  of  water  which  Nature  has  stored 
up   in  the  chalk,   and  effecting  this  at  a   spot 
where  no  existing  interests  can  be  injured,   and 
in  the  selection  of  a  situation  whence  a  bountiful 
.supply  may  be  conveyed  to  London  with  facility 
and   economy,    and  at   a  sutficient  elevation  to 
meet  the  demands  of   the  highest  parts  of   the 
Metropolis." 

Since  Stephenson's  time  water  engineers  hare 
constantly  appealed  to  his  results  with  a  view  of 
affording  a  good  water-supply  to  London.  In 
1S41  a  company  was  actually  projected  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  effect  to  Stephenson's  recom- 
mendation ;  but  the  established  water  companies 
successfully  resisted  the  progress  of  the  BUI 
throuffh  Parliament.  The  Bushey  Meadows  are 
situated  in  the  valley  of  the  Colne,  and  are  sur- 
rounded by  bare  chalk  hills,  which  vary  from 
500  to  OOO'feet  in  height.  The  chalk  appears  a 
few  feet  below  the  surface,  and  large  fissures  are 
seen  at  intervals  varying  from  12iu.  to  lift,  in 
depth ;  in  boring,  approach  to  these  fissures  is 
indicated  by  the  hardness  of  the  chalk,  and  when 
this  is  fairly  penetrated,  the  chisfl  suddenly 
descends  into  a  cavity  charged  with  water, 
which   immediately  gushes  up  to  within  a  few 


inches  of  the  surface,  although  the  level  of  the 
ground  is  ICOft.  above  Trinity  high- water  mark. 
With  a  body  of  practical  facts  of  a  similar  kind 
before  us,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  chalk 
fonnations  round  London  wUl  afl'ord  any  amount 
of  pure  water,  and  that  this  can  be  easily  and 
cheaply  obtained.  The  estimated  cost  at  that 
time  was  set  down  at  a  million  and  a  quarter 
(£1,250,000). 

A  word  on  a  recent  discussion  in  the  House  ot 
Lords  on  the  water-supply.     A  good  deal  was 
said  on,  and  endeavoured  to  be  made  out  of,  the 
storage  of  water  in  cisterns.     I  refer  to  this,  be- 
cause, for  some  reason  or  other,  the  companies 
and  the  "S\'ater-examiner  appear  to  attach  a  good 
deal  of  importance  to  it,  and  make  it  a  constant 
subject  for  comment,  and  it  is  one  that  can  be 
made  to  tell  in  the  companies'  favour,  when  the 
quality  of   their  water  is  brought  into  question. 
The  constant-supply  system,  however,  is  rapidly 
taking  the  place  of  the  cistern  system,  and  all 
but  two  of   the  companies— the  Southwark  and 
"\"auxliall— have  already  placed  a  large  number 
of   their   customers  on  a  constant  supply.^  As 
many  as  SO  per  cent,  of  the  East  London  "Water 
Company  are  .already  so  served  ;  but  I  am  quite 
unable   to     discover  that   the    constant-service 
system  has  in  any  way  had  the  effect  of  dimi- 
nishing  diarrhoea   and   summer  cholera  at  the 
East  End,  or  of   reducing  the  death-rate  from 
diseases   always   largely  on  the  increase  when 
the  temperature  of  the  Thames  and  Lea  waters 
rises  above   60°   Fahrenheit.     Admitting,  how- 
ever, that  house-cisterns  are  the  cause  of  a  good 
deal  of  illness  in  lodging-houses,  I  cannor  shut 
my  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  quality  of  the  water 
delivered  by  the  companies  is  in  the  first  instance 
greatly  deteriorated  by  the  mode  of   collecting 
and  storing  it.     The  water,    drawn   from    the 
Thames  in  a  very  discoloui-ed  and  muddy  state, 
is   received    into    open    cisterns    or    reservoirs, 
oflieiaUy  described   as    "subsiding  reservoirs," 
covering  from  twenty  to  thirty  acres  of   land. 
The  sides  and  bottoms   of  these  reservoirs  are 
composed  of   bare   earth ;  and  are  consequently 
covered  with   tons   of    decaying  vegetable  and 
animal  matter,   and  the  action  of  light  and  air 
renders  this  offensive  to  the  nose,  and  even  in 
the  filtered  waters  of   the  companies   I  always 
find  a  quantity  of  animal  and  vegetable  Ufe,  and 
when  seen  in  bulk,  the  colour  is  most  uninviting, 
sometimes  quite  repulsive. 

The  necessity  for  an  immediate  supply  of  more 
wholesome  water  in  London  is  more  than  ever 
apparent.  In  the  south  of  London  the  inhabit- 
ants are  wholly  unable  to  procure  any  but  dear 
and  polluted  Thames  water.  It  is  a  satisfaction 
to  know,  however,  that  since  I  directed  public 
attention,  through  your  columns,  to  the  dan- 
gerous quality  of  the  subsoil  water  the  Lambeth 
Water  Company  were  pumping  "  within  their 
properties,"  at  Molesey,  the  Local  Government 
Board  have  stepped  in  and  ordered  the  Company 
to  discontinue  any  further  use  of  this  water. 
Parliament,  rather  than  waste  time,  on  how  not 
to  do  it,  by  a  water  trust,  should  at  once  sanction 
and  encourage  the  formation  of  competing  com- 
panies who  are  still  ready  and  willing  to  bring 
into  London  a  good  supply  of  pure  spring  water 
frciin  the  chalk  hUls,  at  a  third  of  the  cost  to  the 
consumer. — I  am,  &c., 

l,Bedford.square,  Jaeez  Hogg. 

August  23,  1880. 


him,"  is  "  a  person  whose  sole  or  principal  duty  is  that 
of  aiiperintc-ndence.  and  who  is  not  ordinai-ily  engaged  in 
manual  labour."  ,-,.,.      ^         ^ 

4  That  Sub-clause  3  is  m  durect  contradiction  to  such 
definition,  and  thereby  (so  far  at  least  as  builders  ate 
cmceincd',  almost  abolishes  the  defence  of  common  em- 
ployment nearly  every  one  employed  being  under  the 
direction  of  some  other.  ,_    ...^  ,  ^^  i.  ■.. 

For  the  above  reasons  it  is  humbly  submitted  that  it 
will  be  just  and  expedient  that  Sub-clause  3  should  be 
omitted  from  the  Bill,  which  would  tV;en  leave  every  em- 
ployer liable  for  the  acts  of  his  authorised  superintend- 


EMPLOTEES'     LIABILITY     BILL,     ISSO. 

Sib, — I  shall  be  obliged  if  you  can  find  space 
for  a  notice  in  your  journal  to  the  effect  that  the 
master-builders  of  Great  Britain  have  petitioned 
the  House  of  Lords,  praying  that  their  Lord- 
ships will  make  such  alterations  in  the  Bill  as 
wiU  bring  it  into  accord  with  the  inclosed  objec- 
tions.— Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  S.  Henshaw,  Secretary. 
The  Central  Association  of  Master  Builders  of 

London,     27,     King-street,    Covent-garden, 

W.C,  23rd  August,  1880. 

1,  That  the  Mast-  r  Builders  of  the  United  Kingdom 
employ  a  larger  number  of  hands  than  arc  employed  iu 
any  other  branch  of  industry,  proposed  to  be  atJ'ected  by 
the  present  Bill. 

■'.  That,  while  many  other  clauses  of  the  Bill  are  open 
to  objection.  Sub-clause  3  of  Clause  1  is  the  most  objec- 
tionable, as  the  one  which  eutaUs  the  greatest  hardship 
upon  employers,  and  especially  those  engaged  in  the 
building  trade.  c   tt  ^r 

3  That  it  appeared  from  the  observations  of  H.  M. 
Government,  that  the  object  and  scope  ot  the  Bill  was 
onlT  to  render  the  employer  liable  for  the  acts  of  a  per- 
son" "to  whom  the  employer  distinctly  delegates  his  own 
authority,"  and  the  definition  introduced  mto  the  Bill, 
1  of  a  "  person   who   has    superintendence  entrusted  to 


5.  That  in  regard  to  Sub-section  4  in  Clause  2,  it  is  sub- 
mitted that  it  would  be  impossible,  in  most  cases,  to 
prove  that  the  workman  knrw  of  the  defect  or  negligence 
which  caused  his  injure  and  it  is  therefore  desirable  to 
alter  the  Clause  as  follows,  by  inserting  the  wolds  here- 
inafter put  in  italics  ;—  .  ,      ,. 

In  any  case  where  the  workman  knew,  or  witfi  ominartj 
enre  u-r.fhlhave  knov:n,  of  the  defector  negligence  which 
caused  his  injury,  or  was  awmr  o/atii/  impyoptr  conduct  oit 
llir  part  ot'oUitiS'in  the  same  emylon  ichich  Icmled  to  cause 
Ids  injur!/,  and  failed  within  a  reasonable  time  to  give,  or 
cause  tobe  given,  information  thereof  to  the  employeror 
some  person  superior  to  himself  in  the  service  of  the  em- 
ployer, unless  he  was  aware  that  the  employer  or  such 
superior  already  knew  of  the  said  defect  or  negligence. 
BESJ-viiiN-  Hasnex, 

President  of  the  Buildei-s'  Society. 
Geo.  F.  TnoLtopE, 

President  of  the  Central  Association  of 
London  Builders. 
Stani.ev  G.  Bird, 
Vice-Piesident  of  the  National  Assoeiationof 
Master  Builders  of  GreatBrirain. 
London,  20th  August,  1880. 

HE.VTIXa      AKD      VE^rTILATI^rG  OF 
TrRKISH  BATHS. 
giE^ — A  short  time  ago,  the  Lancet  frightened 
many  of  those  who  are  in  the   habit    ot   taking 
the    Turkish    bath    by   the     following  quota- 
tion :  — 

"  One  of  the  most  obvious  sanitary  conditions 
of  the  bath,  but,  unfortunately,  that  which  is 
most  difficult  to  secure,  is  the  purity  of  the  at- 
mosphere in  which  the  breathing  organs  of 
persons  in  a  pectiliarly  susceptible  or  physio- 
logical state  aie  immersed.  The  breather  of 
impure  gases  under  ordinary  circumstances  takes 
his  poison  largely  diluted.  It  the  air  of  a 
Turkish  bath  is  laden  with  germs  of  disease 
thrown  off  from  the  lungs  of  a  fever  or  of  a  con- 
sumptive patient,  there  are  no  currents  to  caiTy 
the  particles  away.  It  is  a  physical  certainty 
that  others  breathing  in  the  bath  must  inhale 
them.  This  is  an  e-s-ident  source  of  peril,  and 
su'^o'ests  the  wisdom  of  taldng  measures  to  en- 
sure'the  frequent  changing  of  an  atmosphere 
which  may  be  thus  easUy  polluted."  The  fol- 
lowing facts,  from  a  paper  read  AprU  30th, 
1879,  at  the  Philosophical  Society,  Glasgow,  by 
Mr.  J.  L.  Bruce,  architect,  on  the  Heating  and 
Ventilation  ot  Turkish  Baths,  at  the  ArUniiton 
Club  Baths,  Glasgow,  which  are  heated  by 
Constantine's  Patent  Convoluted  Stove,  show 
that  there  is  no  cause  for  alarm  about  the  ven- 
tilation of  the  hot  rooms  of  the  Turkish  baths. 

Mr.  Bruce  states  that  "the  amount  of  air  was 
exactly  measured  at  the  points  where  it  enters 
the  heating  apparatus  [chamber]  in  the  base- 
ment flat.  The  temperature  of  the  entering  air 
was  .52",  the  amount  for  first  stove  being 
790  cubic  feet  per  minute,  heated  by  stove  to 
312° ;  and  for  second  stove,  5.58  cubic  feet, 
heated  to  260°— in  all,  1,348  cubic  feet,  entering 
at  52'.  The  actual  amount  of  heat -expanded 
air  entering  the  hottest  room  is  readily  obtained 
from  these  data  by  a  well-known  formula, 
which  gives  for  stove  No.  1,  1,192  cubic  feet ; 
and  for  No.  2,  788-7  cubic  feet— in  all  1,980-7 
cubic  feet  per  minute. 

"  Giving  even  double  the  usual  deephig-room. 
allowance  of  20  cubic  feet  per  head  per  minute, 
that  is  allowing  40  cubic  feet  per  head— this  is 
sufficient  for  50  people  in  those  rooms,  and  seems 
enough  for  all  practical  purposes.  With  this 
enormous  volume  the  temperature  maintained 
in  the  hot  room  is  about  144°,  and  in  the 
hottest  210=,  the  latter  being  readily  raised 
to  230=,  by  closing  lower  part  of  central  arch 
between  the  two  rooms." 

Most  ot  the  Turkish  baths  in  this  country  are 
heated  by  the  convoluted  stove,  with  ventilation 
equal  to  that  of  the  Arlington  Baths.  The 
public  will  be  pleased  to  learn  that  the  ventila- 
tion is  everything  that  could  be  desu-ed.— I  am, 
^.g_^  Joseph   CoNSTAjrmrE. 

23,  Oxford-street,  Manchester. 


NORMAN  ARCHITECTURE  IN  SCOTLAND. 
SiE,— In  your  "Commonplace  Column,"  Aug. 
20th,  under'heading  "Norman  Architecture,"  for 
examples  in  Scotland  you  refer  to  Duukeld  as  a 
specimen.    This  is   quite  a  mistake;  there  is  no 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Norman  work  there.  The  navc-arche^  are  round, 
not  pointed,  and  guide -books,  and  people  who  know 
nothing  about  the  history  of  architecture  in  Scot- 
land, constantly  assert  that  they  are  Norman,  and 
this  may  have  misled  the  writer  of  the  article. 

St.  GUes'  Cathedral  is  in  Edinburgh,  not  Glas- 
gow, as  stated  at  page  227.  T.  R. 


QUHSTIOXS. 

[6204.]-Cathedrals.— I  shall  be  plad  if  some  reader 
of  the  Bt-iLDisc.  News  will  kimlly  give  me  a  list  of  the 
cathedi-als  in  Engl.ind  anil  Wales  restored  by  the  late  Sir 
G.  Gilbert  Scott. -Fked,  J.  Fueemas. 

[620S.;— House  Ag-ents'  Commission.  —  Will 
ajky  of  yoiu-  readei-s  kindly  inform  me  the  usual  commis- 
sion for  house  agents  both  in  letting  and  selhng  hous'-s, 
and  in  collecting  rents  both  quarterly  and  weekly,  and 
when  the  weekly  rents  are  of  several  tenements  in  one 
house  t  Any  infnrmation  on  this  subject  will  greatly 
oblige— O.NE  IX  .4  Fj.\. 

[6206.]-Copper  Candlestick.— I  have  lately  pur- 
chased two  copper  candlesticks,  which  have  been  pLited 
with  silver,  now  partly  worn  off,  'Will  som  ■  correspon- 
dent kinily  tell  me  by  what  means  the  remaining  silver- 
plating  may  be  removed,  without  injury  to  the  copper  ' 

[6207  ]— Ancient  Lights.— I  should  deem  it  an 
especial  favour  if  any  reader  could  inform  me  in  your 
next  number  whether  there  has  been  any  alteration  or 
amendment  of  the  Act  of  Parliament  as  to  "Ancient 
Lights.*'  I  have  just  heard  that  the  period  has  been 
altered  from  20  years  to  12J  years,  the  latter  now  givmg 
a  right  equal  to  that  formerly  of  20  years.  As  I  am  now- 
building  some  premises,  this  is  a  question  which  I  should 
very  much  like  answered  as  fully  as  possible. — Chips. 

[62.18  ]— The  Gothic  Development. -It  is,  I  sup- 
pose, easy  at  this  period  of  time  to  tiace  the  causes  and 
influences  which  have  brought  in  the  "Queen  Anne" 
style  quite  recently,  and,  perhaps,  also  the  Gothic  re- 
vival of  40  or  50  years  ago.  Is  there  a  good  architectural 
history  which  will  tell  me  if  the  reasons  are  now  known 
for  the  changes  in  the  styles  of  Gothic  architecture.' 
Now,  in  looking  for  instance  at  the  east  end  of  "Tewkes- 
bury Abbey  church,  where  the  arches  of  the  surrounding 
ambulatory  are  of  lower  pitch  than  the  choir  arches 
against  which  they  are  built,  thus  presenting  to  view 
from  the  interior  of  the  choir  a  bit  of  Gothic  eccentricitj', 
can  it  be  known  at  this  interval  of  time  why  the  later 
builders  did  not  build  theu- new  arches  in  keeping  with 
the  old  !  There  must  be  some  explanation  of  this  and 
similar  apparent  freaks.  Also,  are  there  any  moderately 
cheap  measured  drawings  of  Worcester  Cathedral  (Nor- 
man work),  Tewkesbury  Abbey,  ilalvern  Priory  Chmch, 
and  the  two  old  churches  at  Evesham  !— W.  G. 

[6209.]-Settling:Tanks.—'\VTiatis  the  usual  method 
of  constructing  small  settling  tanks  for  th.-  le.  ■  plit.ii  of 
the  drainage  of  inland  villages  and  sin  "  '      ■      ■    Tip 
allowing  it  {slops  and  some  sewage    : 
streams  ?    What  books  give  tlie  best  pi ,  i  1 1 

and  insti-uctions  on  the  moat  approved  :  m- 

ing  such  places,  and  disposing  of  the  S'n:]_'e  — l.i'.ev- 

TBV. 

[6210.]— Emigration.— Can  any  reader  give  me  some 
information  about  emigration  from  a  young  architect's 
point  of  view  '     I  am  thinking   of  trying  Port  Natal, 
litable  or  not.    Any  in- 


259 


but  do  not  know  if  it  would  he 

formation  on  the  subject  will  obh'ge- 


Gri 


[6211.]— Tramp  in  Suffolk —Can  any  reader  afford 
hmts  for  a  tramp  on  the  borders  of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk  ' 
— QciD. 


Ji£FLIES. 

[6202.] -Master  V.  Pupil. -Certainly;  only  incase 
of  bankruptcy  of  master  does  it  operate  as  a  discharge  of 
indentmes  of  the  apprentice.  It  is  of  little  practical  use 
for  a  pupd  to  continue  in  an  office  which  is  doing  no 
work  though  the  miiatcr  maybe  able  to  instruct  his  pupd 
privately  or  find  him  some  other  office  in  which  he  can 
remain  till  the  term  has  expmjd.  The  hitter  is  the  best 
plan  for  employer  to  adopt.  No  honourable  master  woidd 
like  to  allow  his  f ailm-e  iu  business  to  exonerate  bim  from 
the  duty  he  has  engaged  to  fulfil. —G.  H.  G. 

[6203.]— Tank.— The  plan  I  should  advise  "C.  S." 
to  adopt  is  to  carefully  examine  the  tank  and  fill  in  all 
the  cracks  with  Portland  cement.  After  this  I  should 
line  the  tank  in  the  following  manner :— Line  the  bottom 
with  a  layer  of  concrete  made  of  3  of  sand  to  1  of  Portland 
cement.  The  side  walls  may  be  of  concrete,  and  the 
whole  afterwards  rendered  with  cement,  or,  better  still, 
with  asphalte.  If  the  cracks  are  not  very  large,  I  should 
say  a  jin.  lining  of  good  asphalte  would  answer  purpose. 
Slate  slabs  tongued  and  grooved  and  set  in  oil  cement  I 
have  used  for  similar  purposes,  and  when  well  done  they 
are  effective.— G.  H.  G. 


STAINED  GLASS. 

Westeedale.— The  parish-church  of  Wester- 
dale,  CO.  York,  has  just  been  enriched  with  a 
3-light  stained-glass  east  window.  The  donor  is 
the  rector,  the  ilev.  J.  Rathbone  Ellis,  and  his 
gift  is  in  memory  of  his  deceased  wife  and 
daughter.  The  subject,  spreading  over  the  three 
lights,  is  the  Crucifixion  according  to  St.  John. 
On  either  side  of  the  uplifted  Saviour  is  an  adoring 
witness-angel.  At  the  foot  of  the  Cross  Mary 
Magdalen  exhibits  the  intensity  of  her  grief,  whilst 
to  her  right  and  left  are  grouped  Mary-Mother 
and  the  other  Mary,  St.  John,  and  the  Centurion. 
Messrs.  Powell,  Bros.,  Park-square,  Leeds,  are  the 
artists. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 

MATTERS. 
Sasitaey  AVoek  IX  Kexslxoton.— The  annual 
report  on  the  health  and  sanitary  condition  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Mary  Abbott's,  iCensingtou.  for  the 
year  1S79  has  just  been  published  by  Dr.  T.  Orme 
Dudfiold,  medical  officer  of  health.  The  death- 
rate  for  the  exceptional  year  of  .i:!  weeks  was  19-1 
jier  1,000,  0-1  per  l.COO  below  the  decennial  average. 
Statistics  are  given  showing  the  rapid  development 
of  the  parish  during  the  past  few  vears.  More  than 
700  fresh  houses  were  brought  into  rating  in  IST'J, 
and  building  operations  are  still  in  progress 
which  threaten  in  a  few  years  to  absorb  all 
available  laud.  In  the  report  the  possibility 
of  contagiou  being  distributed  from  the  Small- 
Pox  Hospital  near  Bromptou  Cemetery  is 
considered  at  leuRth.  The  author  coucades 
that  such  an  institution  is  liable  to  become  a 
danger  to  the  vicinity  unless  properly  managed, 
but  he  considers  that  the  precautions  taken  at  Ihis 
hospital  by  disinfection,  destruction  of  broken 
food  and  sweepings,  plentiful  air-space  and  quaran- 
tine precautions,  have  been  effectual  iu  preventing 
the  spread  of  disease,  while  no  house  is  nearer 
than  7.50ft.,  whereas  the  contagiou  of  small-pox 
has  not  been  known  to  travel  100ft.  It  is  reported 
that  the  abatement  of  nuisances  has  been  much 
accelerated  by  the  plan  of  serving  "  preliminary 
notices  "  upon  the  parties  liable  immediately  on 
discovery.  Amongst  the  offences  against  the  sani- 
tary Acts,  for  which  pr  .ceedings  were  successfully 
instituted,  were  cases  of  allowing  offensive  accu- 
mulation of  manure,  of  allowing  gipsies  to  encamp, 
there  being  no  accommodation  on  the  ground,  of 
not  carrying  out  sanitary  works  ordered  by  vestry, 
of  omitting  to  give  notice  to  vestry  before  begin- 
ning to  make  drains,  or  neglecting  to  construct 
drains  when  ordered,  and  of  burning  ballast  so  as 
to  be  a  nuisance  to  the  neighbourhood.  As  to  col- 
lection of  dust  and  ashes,  the  vestry  has  found  the 
result  of  taking  the  duty  into  their  own  hands  in- 
creasingly satisfactory ;  complaints  are  now  rare, 
and  even  applications  for  removal  of  dust  are  com- 
paratively few.  The  parish  has  been  divided  into 
districts  to  facilitate  inspection  of  bins  and  super- 
vision of  dusting  gangs.  Sanitary  authorities  have 
had  great  cause  of  complaint  on  the  score  of  the 
defective  foundations  and  tmhealthy  sites  of  build- 
ings ;  for  not  only  have  some  unworthy  builders 
been  known  to  use  bricks  saturated  with  filth  from 
broken-up  sewers,  in  the  foundations  of  houses, 
and  to  neglect  precautions  against  the  risiug  of 
damp,  but  it  has  been  a  too-common  practice  to 
excavate  the  natural  soil  and  to  fill  up  holes  so 
made  with  slop  and  the  contents  of  dust-bins. 
Happily,  these  practices  can  no  longer  be  adopted 
with  impuuity,  as  new  by-laws  have  been  made  by 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works. 


CHIPS. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Warwick,  on  Thursday 
week,  before  Mr.  J.  T.  Harrison,  C.E.,  one  of  the 
Local  Government  Board's  inspectors,  with  refer- 
ence to  an  application  from  the  town  council  for 
sanction  to  a  loan  for  £2,.50J,  rf  quired  for  the 
sewage-farm,  the  management  of  which  has  re- 
cently reverted  to  the  town-council.  Xo  oppo- 
sition was  raised  to  the  proposal. 

Plans  have  been  prepared  by  Mr.  G.  T.  Ked- 
mayne,  architect,  of  Manchester,  for  the  erection 
in  Victoria  Park,  Eusholme,  of  a  building  for  the 
use  of  the  students  of  the  Victoria  University  con- 
nected with  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Xew  offices  for  the  gas  company  have  just  been 
completed  at  Wolverhampton,  at  a  cost  of  £0,800. 
The  main  front  of  the  building  faces  Waterloo- 
road,  and  extends  a  total  length  of  1.50ft.  The 
contractor  for  the  ertction  of  the  building  was  Mr. 
Henry  Clarke,  of  Wolverhampton,  the  subcon- 
tractor for  the  masonry  being  Mr.  John  Jarrett 
The  architect  is  Mr.  J.  E.  Veal. 

The  annual  excursion  of  the  Suffolk  Institute  of 
ArchsEolo^y  was  held  on  Thursday  week.     Watti 
field  Hall,  an  Elizabethan  hall,   which  has  ju 


A  REM.IEKAI1LE  instance  of  growth  iu  value  of 
biLsme.'i.s  promises  iu  the  City  of  Load..n  is 
allorded  by  some  pr,H;eeding8  which  tcrminat«d 
last  week.  In  pur»uanco  of  their  plans  for 
improviD-  the  City,  the  Corporati  .n  desired  to 
appropriate  the  premises  of  tradesmen  in 
Gracechiirch-street,  who.so  not  annual  profitfl 
wore  only  about  £1,000.  In  Ids  chiim  for 
compensation  the  owner  put  the  runtal  value  of 
the  place  at  £600  a  year,  while  the  Corporation 
.-(.•^sessed  It  at  £1.50,  or  10  per  cent,  a  foot  i-..ntia 
at  1.0  years'  purchase  and  cost  of  biiihlin(r. 
iwenty-thrce  years  ago  the  owner  houirht  the 
premises  for  11,800,  their  proporti.ms  b-inira 
frontage  of  Hft.,  «iih  a  depth  of  lift.,  and  a 
superficial  area  of  about  C40ft.  Tho  dispute 
w.a8  referred  to  the  Recorder  of  London  aiid  a 
special  jury,  and  in  tho  end  a  verdict  was  ■^'ivon 
for  £16,.500,  the  jury  assessing  the  rental  v.iluo 
at£.M0ayear,  and  £12,100  for  the  freehold, 
this  rcprcieuting  IS  giuneas  a  foot,  n.s  against 
£2  \.js.  afoot,  which  tho  owner  paid  in  is.')7, 
and  three  and  a  half  years'  purchase  of  tho 
profits. 

Ox  Wednesday  week  the  mombcrs  and 
associates  of  tho  Society  of  Engineers  visilod  tho 
works  of  tho  London  and  South  Wootem 
Eiulway  Company  at  Nine  Elms.  The  com- 
pany visited  the  drawing  offices,  the  carriaffe- 
trimraing  department,  the  carriage-puintiop, 
boUer,  machine,  fitting,  tyre,  wood,  and 
moulding  shops,  observing  witli  much  iutcrc«t 
the  operations  conducted  therein.  In  the  fitting- 
shop  Church's  patent  slide-valve  was  iusijcctcd, 
and  in  the  tyre-shop  some  improved  uiuthodi 
were  pointed  out.  The  stationary  hoilcm  have 
now  been  brought  together,  and  by  a  pneumatic 
arrangement  the  sawdust  from  the  saw  mill  in 
conducted  to  them  and  used  fur  fuel.  In  the 
wood-shop  is  a  largo  circular  saw  mode  withoat 
hammering,  the  speciality  of  the  Lane  Manu- 
facturing Company,  of  America.  This  imple- 
ment sawed  through  a  log  1.5ft.  long  and  liin. 
thick  in  ten  seconds.  In  the  same  department 
several  machines  by  Ilansome  and  Company,  of 
Chelsea,  for  planing,  sawing,  slotting,  ic,  were 
exhibited. 


just 
undergone  extensive  alterations  to  suit  the  pur- 
poses of  a  new  teuiut,  was  first  visited,  and  then 
the  adjacent  parish-church,  a  Perpendicular 
structure  restored  last  year.  The  churches  of 
Rickinghall,  Superior  and  Inferior,  were  next 
seen,  papers  being  read  in  each  prepared  by  Mr. 
Turner,  the  churchwarden,  who  was  formerly  an 
architect ;  the  latter  church  is  the  more  interesting, 
having  a  Norman  round  tower  and  much  Late 
loth-century  work.  The  Hth-ceutury  chantry 
chapel  at  Botesdale,  and  the  fine  example  of  a 
Late  Decorated  church  at  Redgrave,  concluded  the 
day's  visits. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  corporation  of  Looe,  several 
tenders  were  received  for  the  proposed  town  clock, 
and   that    of   Mr.    John    Smith,    of    Derby,   was 

accepted  at  about  £200.     The  clock  will  have  four    .      •     ,  .      ,,       x     , 

illuminated  dials,  and  will  strike  the  Cambridge    nieeUng   placo   in   tne   Ju- 
chimes  each  quarter- hour.  The    "  Health      Dcpartmeui 


A    NEW    system    of    water    purification    lias 
recently      been      introduced      at      the     Royal 
Aquarium,  Westminster.     The   fresh   water,' as 
supplied  from  the  waterworks,  is  delivered  into 
a  largo  tank  capable   of   holding  about  80,000 
gallons.     For   the  past  fortnight  this  supply  of 
fresh  water  has   been  treated  by  the  purifying 
and  softening  system  devised  by  Jletsrs.  !• .  iT* 
Atkins   and   Co.,    of    Fleet-street,    and   with  a 
marked    improvement    in    the  results   both  as 
regards   the   clearness    of    the  water  and   tho 
reduction    of    mortality  among  the   fi.'hes.   as 
testified    by   Mr.    Carrington,   the   naturali.st  at 
the   Aquarium.      Tho   apparatus  cousisto  of  a 
cylinder  containing  lime,   a  softenioir  ciit«ni, 
and  a  filter.     The  impure  water  is  delirrr-d  in 
bulk  into  the  softening  cistern,  i<  -      ' ' 
tion  of  it  being  passed  on  its  way  : 
the  lime  cylinder.      Tho    jet    oi 
mixing  in   due  proportion    with   u.o    i     .y    •■-, 
water  in   the    cistern,    not    only    punlies  and 
softens    it,    but    coagulates    the    clay    held   in 
suspension,  and   thus  insures   it-   .•■■:■'     •■  - 
nioval   by   tho   filter  into   which  i 
This  latter  part   of  tho   apparatu 
series  of  hollow  discs  ;ift.  in  di  .i 
quarters  of  an  inch   thii  k, 
cloth,  and   is  so  construci 
amount  of  filtering  suriai  - 
area.     The  water  \ 
the   tank,    where   'v- 
now  present  a  mark-  . 

of  tho   former  supply.     1:  ■:••■■ 

filter  will  pass  from   80   tu 
water  per  square  foot  of  sun 

TuE  Government  having  gr,iu: 
the    old    Parliament    Hall,    Law 
As-sembly  Hall  at  Kliiil  ur.-h.    f  r 
of  the  Social   Sciem  •    • 
October  next,  the   1 
able  to  complete  air 
Hall  wiU  befitted  it; 
Law  Department,    • 
International  and  M  . 
cominodated  in   the  1  ir-'  i ' 
The  Rcpres.»inn  of   Crime 


pure 


i-e**!! 
■nent 
The 
.■.  of 
•o- 
.  -flm. 
.1   a. 


the 


260 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Aug.  27,  1880. 


Second  Division  Court-Room  ;  the  ' '  Economy 
and  Trade  "  Department  will  be  congeniall}- 
located  to  the  hall  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
George  IV.  Bridge  ;  while  the  Art  Department 
will  conduct  its  discussions  in  the  Established 
Assembly  HaU.  The  Education  Department  is 
yet  unprovided  for ;  but  it  is  confidently  ex- 
pected that  either  in  the  old  County  Buildings 
or  in  some  other  equally  suitable  place  the  need- 
ful accommodation  will  be  obtained.  Then  for 
the  inaugural  address,  wluch  will  be  delivered 
by  Lord  Eeay,  as  also  for  the  addresses  by  the 
presidents  of  departments,  the  Free  Assembly 
Hall  wUl  be  available ;  and  the  upper  hall  of 
the  Signet  Library  has  been  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  committee  for  the  meetings  of  the  General 
Council. 

A  competition  in  slate-splitting  and  dressing 
came  off  during  the  interval  between  the  morn- 
ing meeting  and  the  evening  concert  of  the 
Welsh  Eisteddfod  at  Carnarvon,  on  Tuesday. 
So  numerous  were  the  competitors,  and  so  great 
was  the  interest  evinced  in  this,  a  novel  feature 
at  an  eisteddfod,  that  a  delay  of  upwards  of 
half  an  hour  was  caused  in  the  commencement 
of  the  concert.  The  judges  were  Messrs.  J.  J. 
Evans,  manager  of  the  ]?enrhyn  slate  quarries ; 
B.  Owen,  Rliiwbrydfir  ;  K.  R.  Williams,  the 
latter  of  whom  initiated  the  competition,  and 
guaranteed  the  prizes.  The  competition  re- 
sulted as  follows  —  Class  1  (open  to  all 
comers): — 1,  £.5  5s.  Griffith  Jones,  Welsh 
Slate  Company,  Festiniog;  2.— £3  3s.,  Wil- 
liam Lewis,  Penygroes;  3,  £1  Is.,  W.  H. 
Williams,  Eachub.  Class  2  (for  boys  imder  IG 
year)  ;  1,  £4  4s.,  0.  Williams,  Groeslon  :  2  and  3, 
£3  3s.,  divided  betweenW.  O.  Owen,  Welsh  Slate 
Company,  and  T.  E.  Owen,  Ehostryfan.  Class 
3,  special  competition  open  to  all  comers.  To 
the  two  men  who  will  best  cut,  split,  and  dress 
a  rough  block  from  any  quarry,  the  block  not 
to  exceed  oft  Gin.  in  length,  any  width,  and 
2iin.  thick.  Eh-st  prize  of  £10  10s.  divided 
between  E.  Jones,  and  J.  Hughes,  Bethesda  ;  J. 
E.  Jones  and  E.  W.  Rowlands,  Llanberis;  3, 
E.  W.  Thomas,  Llandwrog,  and  H.  0.  Parry, 
Penygroes. 


CHIPS. 

Captain  Cole,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  has  been 
appointed  by  the  Indian  Government  to  the  new 
oiBce  of  Conservator  of  Ancient  Monuments  and 
Antiquities  in  India.  Captain  Cole  is  favourably 
known  for  his  investigations  into  the  early  archi- 
tecture of  Cashmere. 

The  parish-church  of  Darmsden,  near  Stow- 
market,  was  reopened  on  the  1.5th  inst.,  after 
restoration,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Herbert  J. 
Green,  of  Norwich.  The  seats,  and  other  fittings 
are  all  new.  The  work  has  been  carried  out  by  a 
North  Walsham  firm. 

A  new  coft'ee-tavem,  the  Prince's  Arms,  has 
been  opened  in  Prince's- street,  Ipswich.  It  has 
been  fitted  up  in  the  Queen  Anne  style  by  Messrs. 
Meadows  and  Bennett,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
Brightwen  Binyon,  of  Ipswich. 

The  parish-church  of  Gressenhall,  Norfolk,  was 
reopened  on  Sunday,  after  restoration,  including 
the  rebuilding  of  the  tower.  The  contractor  was 
Mr.  E.  Brown,  of  King's  Lynn. 

On  Tuesday  week  a  new  Board- school  was  opened 
at  Bolton,  three  miles  from  Mexborough.  The 
school  has  been  built  at  a  cost  of  £2,000,  the  archi- 
tects being  Messrs.  Wade  and  Turner,  of  Barnsley. 
The  school  is  built  of  rock-faced  stone  from  the 
Mesborough  quarries. 


The  parish«church  of  St.  Petrock,  Bodmin,  the 
largest,  church  iu  Curnn-all,  was  reopened  on 
Sunday  week,  after  complete  restoration  of  the 
nave,  and  reseating  with  chairs. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  church  of  St. 
John,  at  Bognor,  Sussex,  was  laid  on  Wednesday. 
The  new  buUding,  when  completed,  will  be  128ft. 
long  by  6.5ft.  across  transepts ;  the  chancel  will  be 
52£t.  high,  and  the  nave  oSft.  high.  It  will  be 
built  of  flint,  with  brick  courses  at  Gft.  intervals, 
and  red  brick  quoins  ;  the  dressings  will  be  of  red 
brick  and  Corsham  Down  stone,  and  the  roof  will 
be  tiled.  A  tower  and  spire  will  rise  1.50ft.  high. 
The  church  is  to  seat  854  persons,  and  will  cost 
about  £8,000  ;  but  as  only  about  £3,000  is  in  hand, 
it  is  only  proposed  at  present  to  erect  chancel  and 
one  transept.  Mr.  A.  W.  Blomfield,  M.A.,  of 
London,  is  the  architect,  and  Messrs.  Dove 
Brothers,  of  London,  are  the  contractors. 


BMAlf,  POX,' SKIN  DISEASES,  and  many  other  spring 
summer  ailments.    Sold  by  chemists  throughout  the  world,  and 
the  Maker.  113.  Holborn  Hill.     Vae  no  lubatttute  — I Adtt.  1 

Holloway's  Ointmeat  and  Pills  exercise  price- 
less power  over  lumbago,  all  pains  of  the  muscles,  nerves,  and 
ioiats,  and  quicklyreduce  all  swellings  caused  by  accidental  inju- 
ries, weakness,  or  hereditiry  taints.    The  intelligible  instructions 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  apphcati^n  to 
CHARLES  TRASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Ihninster,  Somerset. 
-[Advt.]       _       

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

sti'eet,  S.W.  Builders,  Becoratoi-s,  and  House  Painters. 

Designs  and  Estimates. 

General   Repairs    and    Altei-ations   Executed. 

Experienced  "Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country. — [Advt.] 


BOX    G.ROXJND    STONE 


50,000  Feet  Cube 
PICTOE  &  SONS, 


BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt.] 


Crystal  Palace. — For  additions  to  the  P^ilace 
Brewery,  Anerley-road,  for  Messrs.  Edie  Bros.  Mi\  C. 
J.  C.  Pawley,  architect,  No.  26,  Moorgate-street,  and 
Sydenham,  S.E.  : — 

Flynn  and  Son,  Anerley       £350    0    0 

Smith,  J.  and  Sons,  South  Korwood        260    0    0 

Fo.x.  W.,  Anerley       250  10    0 

nollidge  &  Stuart,  South  Xorwood*       233    0    0 
*  Accepted. 
Dt'LwicH. — For  villa  residence  No.  2,  for  Jas.  Hender- 
son, Esq.  Mr.  Rich-Hrd  Ptters,  architect,  Wool  Exchange, 
Coleman-stieet,  EC.    No  quantities  : — 

Parrish £1,670    0    0 

"Watson  and  Dennett  (accepted)...       1,450    0    0 
•        oooooooooooooooooooooo 


TENDERS. 

*.*  Con-espondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  thepjirties  tendering— at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

BuDLEiOH  Saltertox. — FoT  Carrying  out  the  water 
■works,  for  the  Local  Board.  Mr.  C.  W.  Whitaker,  C.E. 
Gt.  George-street,  Westminster,  engineer  ; — 

Willey  and  Co.,  Exeter     £5,867  15  0 

Kerslake,  Exeter     5,550    6  S 

Facey,  E.  N.,  Manchester 5,500    0  0 

Painter,  A.  F.,  Berkhampstead  ...        5,193    0  0 

Gould,  J.,  Newport 4,916    0  0 

BeU,  J  ,  Locdon       4,795    0  0 

Stephens  and  Bostow,  London     ..        4,759    0  0 

Hawkins  and  Best, Teignmouth,..        4,582    9  1 

Chaddock,  W.,  Saltash      4,567    0  0 

Coleridge,  P. 4,477    0  0 

Phillipps,  H.,  Exeter        4,394    0  0 

Crokand,  Starcross 4,110    0  0 

Small,  T.,  Gloucester         4,000    0  0 

Gibson,  W.,  Exeter  (accepted)    ...       3,620    0  0 

Crouch  Ekd. — For  the  erection  of  two  detached  villa 
residences.  Middle-lane,  Ci'ouch  End,  N.,  for  L.  Keller, 
Esq.  Mr.  John  Farrer,  architect  and  surveyor,  Albion 
Chambers,  20,  Finsbury  Pavement,  E.C.  : — 

Grover,  J £4,573    0    0 

Macfarlane  and  Son  4,405    0    0 

Smith,  J 4,396    0    0 

Laurence,  W 4,379    0    0 

Conder,  E 4,270    0    0 

Mattock,  Bros 4,233    0    0 

King,  J.  T 4,198    0    0 

Harper,  J 3,708    0    0 


3    4. 


>ooooooooooooo 


?ooooooooooooooo 


■2h& 
to  .  5 


.H 


.b£lC 


tc 


=  KM  = 


a     POOaQaPtllnEWMwHi-iOaCMfliOCSa 

Lewisham. — For  the  constnictien  of  a  sewer  in  Enners- 

dale-road,  Blackheath,  for  the  Lewisham  District  Board 

of  Works  : — 

Woodham,  H.,  Eushey  Green  (accepted)  £3,268    0    0 

[At  a  previous  meeting  of  the  Board,  the  tender  of  W. 

Carter,  which  was  £800  less  than  the  surveyor's  estimate, 

was  accepted,  but  it  was  subsequently  withdrawn  on 

account  of  error.] 

London. — For  six  warehouses,  Jewin-street  and  Ed- 
mund's-place,  E.C.  Messrs.  Ford  and  Hesketh,  archi- 
tects. 21,  Aldermanbury,  E.C.  : 


0    0 
0    0 


Hart 

Peto,  Bros 

Mark 15,E 

Crabb 16,270    0 

Lawrance,  E 15,565    0    0 

Conder,  E 15,289    0    0 

Ashby,  Bros,  [accepted) 15,256    0    0 

London. — For  rebuilding  the  **  Ship,"  Wormwood- 
street,  City.  Messrs.  Bird  and  Walters,  architects. 
Quantities  supplied :  — 

Bridgeman     £2,338 


£17,593 
17,143 
16,997 
16,645 
16,500 


0    0 
0    0 


Williams  and  Son 
Temple  and  Foster  . 

Mark 

Godden 
Braid  and  Co. . 

Anley 

Anley,  P. 
Jackson  and  Todd 


2,166  0 

2,166  0 

2,160  0 

2,145  0 

2,105  0 

1,967  0 

1,810  0 

1,808  0 


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EH 


PARQUET  FLOORINGS. 

150,000  ft.  super,  in  Stock,  ready  for  Laying 
EIGA  INCn  OAK  FLOOR  BOAKDS: 
Is.  per  foot  super,  (grooved  &  tongued; 
Zm mense    Stock    a iu-ovs    ready    for    Lay 


WOOD  CARVINGS. 

All  Styles  executed  for  the  Trade  at  Special 
Skilled  jVrtisaDS  sent  to  all  parts  of 


THIN  PARQUET 


''Turpin's  Patent).  5-16  inch  thick .  prepared 
deal  back  laminations,  equal  in  wear  to 
Solid  Parquet.    Used  for  V 


tsceptihle  of  removal  at  pleasure.    See  Construe 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


261 


THE  BUILDING-  NEWS. 


ZOXDOy,  FRIDAY,  SEPTEMBER  3,  1880. 


Carver.  The  grand  Pei-pendieular  tower, 
famed  throughout  England,  was  soon  dis- 
covered to  be  in  a  tottering  state  ;  the  ring- 
ing of  the  splendid  peal  of  bells  had  in  the 


sional  papers  of  the  Institute  a  letter  by 
him  relating  to  Mr.  Sylvester's  (then  new) 
process  of  rendering  bricks  and  stono  im- 
pervious to  moisture.     Mr.  Sylvester's  sug- 


THE   LATE   jrR.  BEXJAMIX  FERKEY 
AND  niS  WORKS. 

ME.  BEXJAMIN  PEREEY,  whose  death 
took  place  on  the  2:2nd  ultimo,  from 
an  affection  of  the  heart  and  other  compli- 
cations, at  his  residence,  Inverness-terrace, 
Bayswater,  was  well  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  Gothic  architects  of  the  school  of 
•which  Pugin  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
founder.  For  nearly  three  years  past  his  name 
bad,  in  a  great  measure,  ceased  to  be  heard 
of  in  connection  with  the  active  duties 
of  his  profession,  which  has  been  carried 
on  lately  by  his  only  son,  Mr.  Edmund  B. 
Ferrcy,  of  Spring-gardens,  the  successor 
to  his  practice.  Mr.  Benjamin  Ferrey, 
bom  in  1810,  was  a  pupU  of  the  elder 
Pugin,  and  became  early  imbned  with  the 
spirit  of  the  style  of  his  master,  which  was 
late  14th-century,  wherein  he  seems  to 
have  obtained  an  early  proficiency,  if  we 
may  judge  by  the  drawings  of  ecclesiastical 
buOdings  which  he  has  left  in  several  archi- 
tectural works.  In  this  direction  one  of  his 
earliest  efforts  was  a  description  of  the 
Priory  of  Christchurch,  Hants,  his  birth- 
place, and  a  town  wiih  which  he  appears 
to  have  been  early  associated.  The  work 
was  published  in  1834,  as  a  quarto,  and 
contained  plans,  elevations,  and  sections 
of  the  priory,  and  an  account  of  the  church 
by  E.  W.  Brayley.  Mr.  Ferrey  restored  the 
church  in  1860,  previous  to  which  the  nave 
and  roof  had  undergone  repair  and  partial 
reconstruction  under  the  supervision  of  the 
late  Mr.  Edward  Garbett,  architect,  of 
Winchester.  The  engraved  drawings  of  Mi-. 
Ferrey  show  careful  measurements,  and  the 
detail  of  the  tine  Norman  nave  of  Bishop 
Flambard  down  to  the  Perpendicular  por- 
tions, including  the  loth-century  tower, 
supplied  ample  materials  for  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  various  phases  of 
Gothic  work.  No  doubt  it  was  this  work 
which  helped  to  form  yoimg  Ferrey's  taste. 
After  this  his  connection  soon  increased,  and 
the  period  of  church  restoration  and  repair, 
which  had  just  then  commenced,  opened  a 
field  for  his  energies,  as  it  did  those  of  other 
architects  of  the  Gothic  school.  Wehaveonly 
space  here  to  notice  a  few  of  the  chief  works 
of  Mr.  Benjamin  Ferrey.  One  of  his  most 
important  works  was  St.  Stephen's  Church 
and  Schools,  Eochester-row,  Westminster,  a 
group  of  buildings  in  a  Late  Decorated  style. 
The  massive  tower,  with  its  slender  spire 
and  large  pinnacles  at  the  base,  is  still  a 
conspicuous  object,  though  the  proportions 
externally  are  not  those  we  should  now  call 
good.  Ihe  windows  to  the  clerestory  strike 
us  by  their  smallness,  though  the  interior 
favourably  compares  with  many  others  built 
in  this  ornate  style,  and  the  detail  through- 
out is  pure.  We  cite  this  work  as  a  typical 
example  of  Mr.  Ftrrey's  style,  whicli  was 
characterised  more  by  elegance  than  vigour. 
Other  works  are  the  Worcester  Diocesan 
Training  College,  Saltley ;  Dorchester  Town- 
hall  ;  the  Dorset  County  Hospital ;  restora- 
tion of  the  nave  anl  transepts  and  Lady- 
chapel  of  Wells  Ca'.hedral ;  also,  subse- 
quently, the  west  facade  of  Eomsey  Abbey 
church ;  Killaleagh  Castle  ;  almshouses 
at  Shepton  Mallet,  mansions  at  Bulstrode, 
Wynnstay,  &c.,  besides  numerous  churches, 
schools,  and  parsonage-houses.  Between 
the  years  1842  and  1850  Mr.  B.  Ferrey 
was  engaged  upon  the  restora'ion  of  the 
fine  church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
at  Taunton.  In  this  work  Mr.  Ferrey  was 
associated  with  the  county  surveyor,   Mr. 


course  of  time  so  impaired  the  stability  gestion  many  of  our  readers  may  have  for- 
of  the  masonry,  that  they  had  to  bo  re-  gotten  ;  wo  may  remind  iheni  it  conHihtedin 
moved.  A  partial  repair,  by  replacing  tlie  the  api)lication  of  a  solution  of  soup  and 
angle  buttresses,  which  were  found  to  be  alum  to  walls.  The  soap  was  ajiplied  mixed 
without  bond  to  the  walls,  was  abandoned  with  water  in  a  boiling  state,  foUowed.  after 
as  useless,  and  Mr.  Giles,  the  architect,  quite  dry,  by  the  solution  of  uluin.  Mr.  B. 
called  in  the  services  of  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  I  Ferrey  confirmed  tlio  efficiency  of  tliit  pi-o- 
Scott,  who  reported  that  the  tower  would  i  cess  in  close-grained  brick  and  stone,  and  h« 
have  to  be  taken  completely  down  and  re-  suggested  its  use  for  the  Bttmework  of  the 
built.  In  this  work  Scott  was  associated  Houses  of  Parliament.  The  rapid  decay  of 
with  Mr.  Ferrey,  who  jointly  prepared  the  the  stono  used  since  this  time,  of  course,  baa 
plans  and  specification.    Of  course  there  was 


no  original  design  required  in  this  work,  as 
the  old  tower  had  to  be  copied  faithfully. 
Mr.  Ferrey  had  previously  studied  the  towers 
of  this  locality,  and  in  a  paper,  "  The 
Towers  of  Somerset,"  had  set  forth  the  dis- 
astrous effect  upon  towers  of  the  practice  of 
wedi^ing  tightly  the  framework  of  the  bells 
to  the  walls,  which  has  destroyed  some  of 
the  finest  of  our  old  towers.  Apropos  of  the 
subject,  we  may  quote  a  passage  from  Mr. 
Ferrey's  observations:  "When  the  ringers 
encounter  a  difficulty  in  ringing  owing  to 
the  weakness  of  the  framing,  instead  of 
bracing  the  parts  together,  so  as  to  make 
the  framework  itself  secure,  they  stiffen  it 
by  thrusting  struts  and  wedges  between  the 
main  timbers  and  the  walls.  .  .  .  The  dis- 
astrous effect  of  the  system  must  be  mani- 
fest. Upon  observing  old  bell-framing,  it 
will  be  found  perfectly  independent  of  the 
side  walls,  and  when  the  peal  is  in  full 
action,  the  whole  cagework  may  bo  seen  to 
oscillate  considerably,  haTing  no  contact 
with  the  walls  ;  being,  indeed,  no  more  than 
a  dead  and  inert  weight  resting  upon  stone 
corbels  or  set-offs." 

Among  the  works  in  St.  Mary's,  Taunton, 
was  a  new  pulpit  from  Mr.  Ferrey's  design, 
a  rather  florid  example  of  Decorated,  in 
which  niches  were  introduced  for  figures. 
After  the  pulpit  was  finished,  the  figures 
were  objected  to  by  some  members  of  the 
congregation,  whose  bigotry  overruled  their 
judgment,  and  they  were  removed.  Mr. 
Ferrey  was  naturally  displeased  with  such 
a  proceeding,  and  a  correspondence  took 
place  on  the  subject,  but  we  do  not  know 
the  result.  Another  work  of  his  was  the 
church  at  Buckland  St.  Maiy,  and  also  a 
reredos  in  St.  Cuthbert's  Church,  Wells. 

Mr.  Ferrey's  designs  are  thoroughly 
English  in  conception  and  feeling,  and  cha- 
racterised by  rather  a  florid  tendency,  as  in 
the  pulpit  and  reredos  above  mentioned.  He 
was  rather  a  close  adherent  of  precedent, 
than  a  bold  originator.  The  literary  labours 
of  Mr.  Ferrey,  if  not  great,  are  distinguished 
for  the  practical  tone  that  pervades  them. 
He  contributed  various  papers,  of  w^hioh 
several  are  fo  be  found  among  the  Sessional 
Papers  of  the  Institute.  These  include 
•'  Observations  on  Gothic  Vaulting,"  1840  ; 
"  A  Letter,  relative  to  Process  described  by 
J.  Sylvester,  to  render  Bricks  and  Stone 
impervious  to  Moisture,"  1843;  "Account 
of  curious  double  spiral  staircase  in  the 
church  of  St.  Editha,  Tamworth,"  1S43 ; 
"Notes  on  the  Life  of  C.  Miles,"  1849,- 
"Notes  on  Stamped  or  Incised  Stucco," 
1857;  "Remarks  upon  Works  of  Eirly 
Medieval  Architects  :  Gundolpb  Flambard, 
William  of  Sens,"  &c.,  1864  ;  "Observations 
on  the  West  Front  of  Wells  Cathedral," 
1870.  In  the  first  of  these  papers  Mr. 
Ferrey  referred  chiefly  to  waggon-headed 
vaults,  and  more  especially  to  those  ex- 
amples in  which  the  structure  of  the  stone 
arch  forms  both  the  internal  and  external 
roof.  He  instances  Abbotsbury  chapel  a? 
a  remarkable  specimen  of  roofs  of  this  class, 
the  vault  of  which  is  constructed  with  more 
than  common  solidity  and  skill,  ar.d  h.is 
withstood  the  elements,  although  expose^l 
on  the  cliffs  of  Dorsetshire  and  long  left  to 
neglect.     In  1843  we  find  among  the  sos- 


rendered  such  a  suggostion  highly  im- 
probable as  to  its  results. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Ferrey,  in  1S37,  read  a 
short  paper  before  the  Institute  of  British 
Architects,  in  which  ho  recommended  n 
method  of  stamping  or  incisin;;  stucco  sur- 
faces while  wot.  It  is  really  the  revival  «f 
an  old  method,  but  we  may  quote  n  part  <A 
the  paper  to  show  that  the  method  wns  then 
comparatively  little  known :— "  A  very  ■  lu-ap 
and  simple  mode  of  omamentutio'i  -• '-mft 
hitherto  to  have  remained  unnttenii)ted.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  cxtenml  rough- 
casting on  old  timber  houses  was  stamped 
or  wrought  in  small  devices,  known  by  the 
term  '  pargetting ' ;  but  it  never  nunumed 
the  imiwrtanco  of  extensive  Avail  doi'ora- 
tions,  as  when  stono  and  brick  en'ircly 
superseded  the  use  of  quartered  oak  framing 
the  system  of  pargetting  also  cease*!.  The 
plan  now  proposed  is  to  impress  the  common 
stucco  with  geometrical  and  other  forms, 
and  applied  according  to  taste,  either  under 
string-courses,  around  arches,  in  sprandreU, 
soffits,  or  in  largo  masses  of  diup<^ring ; 
and  te.its  may  be  imprinted  on  the  plaster 
instead  of  being  simply  painted  on  tho 
walls.  If  colour  be  desired,  it  can  be 
effected  by  mixing  tho  desired  colour  with 
the  coat  forming  the  groundwork,  th'-n,  by 
laying  the  stencilled  pattern  ag.iinst  it,  and 
filling  in  the  solid  portions  of  the  device  with 
the  ordinaiy  stucco  or  plaster."  Whippinj;- 
ham  Church,  Isle  of  Wiglit,  has  b.  en  deer., 
rated  with  differed  coloured  devices  on  this 
plan,  and  Mr.  Ferrey  recommendiJ  it 
especially  as  a  suitable  kind  of  omamfnta- 
tion  for  the  interiors  of  ehurches.  The 
patterns  may  bo  impressed  in  situ  upon  tho 
plaster.  It  is  needless  to  s.ay  that  this 
mode  of  decoration  has  lately  hiyen  revived, 
though  not  exactly  in  the  way  above 
sketched  out.  The  advantage  of  jil  iKf<'r  or 
stucco  ornamentation  is  that  it  affords  n 
cheap  method,  and  c:in  be  applied  when  the 
use  of  bricks,  terra-cotta,  tiles,  or  mosiic 
are  out  of  tho  question. 

In  connection  with  architect nral  or  artistic 


II  to 


criticism,  Mr.  Ferrey  can  scar 
have  taken  a  leading  pnrt,  1' 
servations  on  tho  West  Fron: 
dral,''  made  in  1870,  «!■  'w 
He  then  referred  to  t 
of  this  front,  its  rank- 
monarchs,  sauits.  ano 
dorses  the  opinion  of  1 
the    excellent    select 

absence  of  all  apocr\i 

ideas,  and  the  beautifal  au'i 

tion,   beginnin?  with   the  ( 

lower  part,  an  1   *'   ' 

with  figures  re  ( 

He  then  point.  . 

of  the  abaci  of  tl-.e  ]> 

lias  or  imperfectly-f'ir 

due  to  the  ston-'  not  1 

the  natural  bod.      Bn'    '■: 

efforts  he  will  be  be?t  known 

lections  of  A.    N.   Well.y   I 

Father,"  a  work  dedicat-l  t.i  .\ 

Hope,  and  in  wt.ich  tho  au'hor  h;M  broigbt 

together  many  of  the  marks  of   gMiuis  and 

characteristi&i  of  the   grt-at  M-iurvnl  rew- 

valist,   though    of  his   worth    »<«   »  « '"S" 

Catholic  he  allows  another  to  »peak.     loe 

work  is  chiefly  a  collection  of  oorrc«po»o- 


rti 


262 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


ence,  and  was  well  received,  tboiigh  scarcely 
equal  to  the  merit  of  Pugin  as  a  great  revi- 
valist. Mr.  Ferrey  also  contributed  papers 
to  the  Archwo logical  Journal,  the  Church 
Builder,  Gentleman's  Magazine,  &c.  He  was 
honorary  architect  to  the  diocese  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  a  fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
member  of  the  Graphic  Society,  and  was  a 
past  vice-president  of  the  R.I.B.A.  In  1870, 
Mr.  Ferrey  was  presented  with  the  gold 
medal.  In  his  later  years  Mr.  Ferrey's  son, 
Edmund  Benjamin,  was  associated  with  his 
father  in  most  of  his  works.  Mr.  Ferrey 
was  in  his  seventy-first  year,  and  his  funeral 
took  place  last  Friday.  We  append  a  list  of 
some  of  his  principal  works  : — 

New  Mansions.— Bftgsliot  Park  (Duke  of  Connaught), 
Surrey  ;  Bulstrode,  Buclia  (Duke  of  Somerset)  ;  "Wynu- 
stay,  North  Wales  iSii-Watkin  W.  Wynn,  Bart.,  M.P.), 
Huntsham  Court,  DeTon  (C.  A.  'W.  Troyte,  Esq.). 

Additions  and  Alterations  to  Mansions. — North 
Aston,  Oson  (W.  H.  Foster-Melliar,  Esq.)  ;  Brof?yntyn, 
Salop  (Lord  Harleeli)  ;  KiUaleagh  Castle,  Ireland  (Earl 
of  Du£ferm) ;  Baynard's  Park,  Horsham  {Rev.  Thomas 
Thurlow)  ;  Biidehead,  Dorchester  (R.  WilJiams,  Esq.)  ; 
Frampton  Court,  Dorchester  (R.  B.  Sheridan,  Esq.); 
Bishop's  Palace,  Wells ;  Poltimore  Park,  Devon  (Lord 
Poltimore) . 

Public  Buildings,  &o. — Dorset  County  Hospital,  Dor- 
chester ;  Town  Hall,  Dorchester  ;  Saltley  Training 
Schools,  near  Birmingham ;  Dining  Booms,  Booking 
Offices,  &c,,  Ascot  Grand  Stand  ;  First  Laying  out  of 
Bournemouth  for  the  lato  Sir  George  Gervis ;  Royal  Cam- 
bridgeAsylum,  Kingston-on-Thames  (commenced  by  the 
late  Mr.  Allom). 

Parsonages.— Eton,  Windsor  ;  St.  Paul's,  Dorking ; 
Blsted,  Hants  ;  Fitzhead,  Somerset ;  Huntsham,  Devon  ; 
Henley  on- Thames  ;  Keresley,  Staffordshire  ;  New 
Shoreham ;  Nuthurst,  Sussex ;  Pishill,  Oxon ;  Penn- 
street,  Bucks ;  Eomsey,  Hants  ;  St.  Stephen's,  Westmin- 
ster ;  Tarrant  Hinton,  Dorset. 

ScuooLS. — Buckland  Newton,  Dorset ;  Bala,  North 
Wales  ;  St.  John's,  Angell  Town,  Ghetwynd,  Shi-opshire ; 
Cuckfield,  Sussex  :  Esher,  Sun'ey  ;  Henley-on-Thamc-s  ; 
Llannwtllyn,  Nortlr  Wales  ;  Morpeth,  Northumberland  ; 
Otterton,  Devon  ;  Romsey,  Hants  ;  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
Taunton  ;  Upper  Tooting,  Surrey  ;  Sidlesham,  Susses. 

New  Churches. -St.  Stephen's,  Rochester-row ;  Christ- 
church,  Union-grove,  Clapham ;  St.  John's,  Angell  Town  ; 
Christchurch,  Victoria-road,  Kensington  ;  Christchurch. 
Endell-street ;  St.  Ann's,  Brighton  ;  All  Saint's,  Black- 
heath  ;  Bengeo,  Herts ;  Birlingbam,  Worcestershire ; 
Buckland  St.  Mary,  Somerset;  Christchurch,  South  Ban- 
bury:  Burton,  Hants;  Chelwynd,  Salop;  St.  Paul's, 
Doiking;  St.  John's,  Eton;  Christchurch,  Eastbourne; 
Lower  Slaughter,  Gloucestershire;  Linslade,  Herts; 
Pennstreet,  Bucks;  Holy  Trinity,  Roehampton;  Sam- 
brook,  Salop  ;  Immanuel  Ch  ,  Streath.i 


Chur<'h  Restorations  and  Additions. — Wells  Cathe- 
dral ;  Wrexham  ;  Bi-islington,  Somerset ;  Barkway, 
Herts ;  St.  Lawrence,  New  Brentford  ;  Chobham,  Surrey  ; 
Christchurch  Priory  Church,  Hants  ;  Castle  Gary,  Somer- 
set ;  Corwen,  North  Wales ;  Crich,  Derbyshire ;  Down 
Ampney,  Gloucestershire  ;  Elm,  Hants  ;  Huish  Episcopi, 
Somerset  ;  Henley-on-'Thames  ;  Llangedwyn,  North 
Wales  ;  Merriott,  Somereet;  Martock,  Somerset;  Merton, 
Surrey;  Maulden,  Beds;  Ruabon,  North  Wales;  Eiby, 
Lincolnshire ;  Sopley,  Hants  ;  Streatham  Parish  Church  ; 
Thames  Ditton,  .Surrey;  Up-Ottery,  Devon;  Wichnor, 
Staffordshire;  Westbourne,  Sussex;  Wingham,  Kent; 
Ystrj-dgwlais,  South  Wales. 


WHAT     IS     MORTAR  ? 

(Concluded  from  p.  232.) 

''PHICK  joints,  of  whatever  kind  of  Hme- 
J-  mortar  they  may  be  made,  are  simplj', 
from  our  point  of  view,  wasteful,  and,  what 
is  much  worse,  useless.  The  duty  of  a  mortar- 
joint,  as  we  have  already  said,  is  to  adhere 
the  surfaces  of  the  brick  together,  just  as 
two  pieces  of  wood  are  joined  by  the  aid 
of  glue,  or  other  similar  binding  agent.  In 
the  case  of  wood-joining,  no  superfluity  of 
glue  is  permissible,  because  the  joint  would 
be  weakened  if  more  was  used  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  purpose  re- 
qirired.  The  same  rule  is  especially 
lipplioable  to  mortar-joints,  and,  if  possible, 
with  more  necessity  for  accuracy.  Excess 
of  lime,  or  its  careless  admixture  with  sand, 
renders  such  a  mortar  quite  incompetent  to 
perform  the  duty  for  which  it  is  primarily 
destined.  Lime  obtained  from  chalk  and 
other  pure  carbonates  has  no  cohesive 
capacity,  and  its  only  useful  faculty  in 
construction  is  its  quality  of  adhesiveness, 
and,  therefore,  such  limes  by  themselves 
cannot,  under  the  most  f.ivourable  conditions, 
ever  become  indurated.  They  will  either 
become  pasty  cr  powdery  masses,  according 
to  the  conditions  of  their  surroundings. 
;Uberti  relates  that  he  saw  limo  in  a  trench 


which  was,  from  good  presumptive  evidence, 
five  hundred  years  old,  and  it  was  then  still 
moist  as  "  honey  or  marrow."  The  proof 
of  the  dustiness  of  modern  mortar  is  un- 
hapijily  too  widespread  in  our  day  to 
permit  us  to  doubt  of  its  existence ;  for 
whenever  an  old  building  is  being  pulled 
down,  the  dust  shows  that  mortar  existed 
only  in  name  ;  oven  the  mortar  taken  down 
with  Temple  Bar  was  merely  pulverulent  in 
character. 

Various  theories  as  to  the  recarbonisation 
and  silicisation  of  mortar  prevailed  in  past 
times,  leading  the  confiding  builder  to  hope 
that,  however  defective  his  manipulation 
and  materials  were,  Nature  would  assist  in 
ultimately  indurating  the  mortar.  This 
somewhat  fallacious  view  has  received  a 
shock  at  the  hands  of  the  modern  chemist, 
who  clearly  demonstrates  that  even  the 
mortar  used  in  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Cheops 
has  not  oven  yet  become  perfectly  rccar- 
bonated,  while  the  mortar  of  Burgh  Castle, 
Suffolk  (a  Roman  garrison),  has  been  shown 
not  to  have  received  any  adventitious  aid 
from  its  well-proportioned  siliceous  aggre- 
gates. There  cannot  be,  or  at  least  should 
not  be,  any  comfort  sought  for  by  the 
builder,  therefore,  in  that  direction,  and  he 
must,  if  he  desires  to  produce  a  good  mortar, 
prepare  it  on  the  only  legitimate  lines  based 
on  a  thorough  scientific  as  well  as  common- 
sense  examination  of  the  question. 

Mortar,  of  whatever  kind,  receives  good 
or  bad  influences  through  the  quality 
of  the  bricks  or  stones  with  which  it  is 
brought  in  contact,  and,  therefore,  some 
degree  of  attention  is  required  to  secure  the 
best  constructive  results.  Differences  in  the 
porosity  of  bricks,  for  instance,  have  much  to 
do  with  the  beneficial  action  of  the  mortar, 
as  has  been  shown  by  some  experiments  with 
Staffordshire  moderately  glazed  blue  bricks, 
bard  grey  stocks,  and  soft  place-bricks. 
The  two  Staffordshire  bricks,  jointed  with 
blue  lias  lime  mortar,  at  the  end  of  one 
month  were  separated  by  a  force  of  -iOlb. 
per  square  inch,  grey  stocks  by  a  pull  of  361b. 
per  square  inch,  while  the  soft  place-bricks 
were  pulled  asunder  with  a  force  of  181b. 
ptr  square  inch.  In  this  case  the  lowest 
result  was  reached  through  the  softest 
material,  which,  doubtless  owing  to  its  ex- 
cessive porosity,  robbed  the  mortar,  while 
setting,  of  its  water  of  hydration  too 
speedily.  In  another  series  of  experiments, 
the  lowest  value  was  found  to  be  from  the 
hardest  stone,  the  results  being  as  follows: 
— Granite  being  equal  to  11  and  Portland 
stone  16  in  relative  adhesive  value,  the 
cementing  agent  in  that  case  being  Portland 
cement,  so  that  while  providing  against  the 
dangers  of  improper  mortar,  one  of  those 
not  to  be  disregarded  is  the  capacity  of  ab- 
sorption in  the  bricks.  Drenching  the 
brioks  does  not,  in  fact,  secure  immunity  at 
at  .all  times  from  this  danger,  for  during 
exceptionally  warm  weather,  the  evaporation 
of  the  water  would  speedih'  follow,  and  the 
spongy  brick  would  in  such  a  case  rob  the 
mortar  of  its  moisture. 

What  are  the  precautious  required  to  pro- 
tect buildings  against  the  dangers  common 
to  the  preparation  of  mortar  and  their  use  ? 
We  need  not  with  any  degree  of  particularity 
enumeratein  an  essay  of  this  kind,  necessarily 
so  general  in  its  character,  the  exact  details, 
but  we  maybriefly  state  that,  aboveall  things, 
it  is  essential  that,  of  whatever  proportions 
the  mortar  may  be  composed,  accuracy 
of  mixture  may  be  obtaiufd.  Proportion 
must  always  be  an  important  factor  in  this 
qucsiion,  because  the  quality  and  character 
of  both  lime  and  sand  influence  the  calcula- 
tions, which  must,  uiider  intelligent  condi- 
tions, determine  on  how  much  of  one  and 
the  other  should  be  used.  Properly  decar- 
bonised lime,  and  all  the  details  of  its 
manufacture  strictly  perfect  in  character, 
ought  to  secure  a  matrix  competent  to  blend 
with,  or  bec-me 'ncorporatcd  with,  any  kind 


of  suitable  aggregate.  Under  any  circum- 
stances, the  sand  should  be  naturally  clean, 
or,  if  foul  and  loamy  in  character,  freed  bv 
washing  from  any  impurities  which  could 
interfere  with  its  profitable  mixture  with  the 
lime.  Fine  sand  woidd  require  a  larger 
proportion  of  lime  than  one  coarse  in  cha- 
racter, because  it  is  a  necessary  condition  of 
success  in  mortar-making  that  every  particle 
of  aggregate  should  be  perfectly  covered 
with  lime  ;  otherwise,  the  comentitious  result 
would  be  defective.  Fine  granules  increase 
the  surfaces,  and,  therefore,  to  coat  them 
with  advantage,  a  more  diffusive  state  of  the 
lime  is  indispensable ;  otherwise,  there 
would  be  vacuities,  calculated  to  impair  the 
coherencj'  of  the  mortar,  for  the  particles  of 
sand,  under  ordinary  conditions,  could  not 
be  brought  into  sufficiently  accurate  contact 
with  each  other.  Coarse  sand  is  more  suit- 
able for  mortar- making  purposes  when  there 
is  sufficient  fine  stuff  to  fill  up  the  voids  re- 
sulting from  the  impossibility  of  forming  a 
compact  mass  with  such  materials,  and  less 
time  would  be  required,  because  there  woidd 
be,  in  such  a  case,  more  limited  surfaces  to 
require  coating  from  the  cementing  agent. 
The  whole  processes,  imder  whatever  circum- 
stances, .should  be  mainly  directed  to  secure 
well  balanced  proportions,  without  a 
superfluity  of  either  matrix  or  aggregate. 
The  sands  vary  in  textiu-e  according  to  the 
source  from  which  they  are  obtained  ;  but, 
generally  speaking,  they  are  composed  of 
spherical  particles,  more  or  less  hard  in 
texture,  according  to  the  geological  source 
from  which  they  were  originally  derived. 
Pit-sands  are  not  usually  so  favourable  as 
those  obtained  from  the  river,  or  other 
similar  sources,  because  they  are  usually 
associated  with  fine  silt  or  loam,  either  con- 
temporaneous with  their  original  deposit,  or 
subsequently  infiltrated  by  water  action 
from  surface  sources. 

Modern  mortar-joints,  according  to  our 
argument,  are  simply  wasteful  in  their 
character,  and,  practicall}',exertno  beneficial 
influence  on  the  brickwork  with  which 
they  form  so  conspicuous  an  adjunct. 
There  is  a  double  duty  which  should  be 
forthcoming  from  the  mortar- joints, 
.ilthough  we  fear  it  is  never  looked  upon 
except  in  its  single  sense,  that  of  keeping 
the  briclis  together.  The  other  dut)',  of  pro- 
tecting the  arrises  of  the  bricks  from  degra- 
dation, is  a  no  less  important  one  than  the 
other,  for  if  the  mortar-joint  dusts  out,  or 
is  washed  out  by  the  action  of  the  we.ather, 
the  sharp  angles  of  the  bricks  become 
rounded,  and  the  first  act  of  decay  sets  it. 
The  Romans,  famous  for  their  attention  to, 
and  sensible  knowledge  of,  mortar,  erected 
buildings  in  many  cotmtrios  which  still 
endure  when  the  buildings  of  the  Middle 
Ages  have  crumbled  away.  Those  who 
take  the  trouble  to  examine  some  of  the  old 
feudal  strongholds  of  our  own  land  cannot 
fail  to  see  that  their  decay  is  due  to  the 
weather  action  of  the  mortar  joints,  except 
where  the  concrete  form  of  wall  was 
adopted,  and,  under  such  circumstances,  a 
much  more  durable  example  is  apparent. 

Some  of  oiu'  architects  and  engineers, 
without  giving  the  question  of  mortar  the 
necessary  intelligent  consideration,  commit 
the  equally-reprehensible  practice  of  using 
too  much  lime  in  their  mortar.  The  results 
of  this  are  apparent  in  the  unsightly  dis- 
colouration of  the  fronts  of  buildings  in  the 
architectural  direction,  and  in  that  of  the 
engineering  division  of  construction,  in  the 
numerous  stalactites  tmder  the  soffits  of  the 
arches  of  railway  and  other  bridges.  The 
exudenoo  of  lime  in  these  cases  is  due  to  its 
having  been  used  in  excess  in  the  mortar' 
and  the  action  of  water  washes  it  out  of  the 
so-called  mortar  mass.  There  could  have 
been  no  substantial  coherence  of  the  mortar 
under  such  circumstances,  for  the  presence 
of  i')i))ijxff/ lime  was  calculated  to  degrade, 
and,  in  the  end,  probably  leave  the  sand  in 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


263 


r.  state  of  impoverishment,  at  least  so  far  as 
tlie  cementing  agent  was  concerned. 

The  mortar  question  is  essentially  witnin 
the  control  of  the  constructor,  and  we  hope 
that  these  remarks  will  lead  up  to  a  better 
appreciation  of  a  subject  which  has,  dui'ing 
recent  times,  had  but  scant  attention.  The 
modern  tendency  to  improved  brickwork 
will  doubtless  result  in  an  eventual  im- 
provement in  mortar-joints,  for  accurately- 
laid  bricks,  of  the  bright  red  colour  of  to- 
day, must  have  clearly-defined  joints  of 
minimum  thickness,  and  the  pleasing  sur- 
faces must  not  bo  disfigured  by  the  exuding 
lime  from  badly-proportioned  mortars. 

In  large  works  the  mortar -mill  takes  a 
more  jjrominent  place  than  its  merits  deserve, 
and  we  fear  that  much  of  the  bad  mortar 
of  to-day  is  due  to  the  carelessness  which 
the  nso  of  such  a  machine  involves.  While 
claiming  the  advantages  of  mixing  lime 
and  sand,  the  mortar  mill  induces  many 
malpractices,  and  favours  the  introduction 
into  the  mortar  of  substances  ill-calculated 
to  improve  its  quality.  Public  mortar  mills 
are  common  in  some  towns  in  the  north  of 
England,  where  mortar  can  be  purchased, 
ready  for  use,  at  so  much  a  ton.  Such  ac- 
commodation would  bo  most  useful  to  the 
builders,  were  the  materials  of  which  the 
mortar  was  composed  and  thus  manipulated 
true  in  kind  and  character.  Wo  fear,  how- 
ever, judging  from  the  placards  usually 
posted  up  in  a  prominent  place  near  these 
mortar  manufactories,  that  the  best  mate- 
rials are  not  used,  for  they  invite  the  delivery 
of  all  kinds  of  dry  rubbish  for  mixing  in 
their  mortar-mill.  We  were  sorry  to  find, 
the  other  day,  a  similar  invitation  at  a  large 
building  in  a  London  suburb. 

To  mix  lime  and  sand  thoroughly,  and  to 
secure  that  their  quality  was  proper,  could 
be  beneficially  done  by  a  different  kind  of 
machine,  and  the  mortar,  in  its  dry  state, 
thus  mixed,  sold  in  sacks,  ready  for  subse- 
quent hydration  by  a  careful  addition  of  the 
required  moisture.  Mortar  thus  provided 
would  be  capable  of  easy  challenge,  and  we 
think  it  would  be  less  costly  than  the  now 
existing  clumsy  and  irrational  preparation, 
surrounded,  as  it  undoubtedly  is,  by 
numerous  dangers.  Better  reduce  the  ex- 
tent of  the  joints,  and  useless  mortar,  more 
especially  when  it  is  evident  that  the  present 
superfluity  is  not  only  wasteful,  but  dan- 
gerous. In  the  recent  disaster  at  Finsbury 
Park,  the  thick  mortar-joints  exerted  no  pro- 
tective influence  when  the  settlement  of  the 
foundations  of  the  wall  occurred;  but  had  the 
mortar  been  composed  of  first-class  Portland 
cement  and  good  sharp  sand,  the  wreck  of 
a  sightly  building  would  have  been  more 
circumscribed  in  its  extent. 

When  the  controlling  authorities,  whose 
duty  it  ought  to  be  to  examine  and  test  the 
quality  of  building-materials,  awaken  to  a 
sense  of  their  position,  we  will  no  longer 
dread  the  possibility  of  living  in  houses 
surrounded  with  dangers  owing  to  their 
constructive  defects :  for  bad  bricks  and 
bad  mortar  would  then  be,  as  they  ought 
now  to  be,  regarded  as  simple  destructives 
of  health  and  comfort. 


HYGIENE  AND  HOUSE-BUILDING. 

THE  modern  dwelling-house  has  recently 
been  discussed  more  and  more  in  a 
spirit  that  is  not  very  agreeable  to  the  art- 
architect's  peace  of  mind.  He  finds  that 
many  of  his  cherished  ideas  arc  rather 
rudely  dispelled  ;  that  what  he  has  always 
regarded  with  admiration  on  account  of  its 
artistic  qualities  is  hopelessly  tabooed  by  the 
exigencies  of  sanitary  improvement.  Luckily 
for  him,  his  clienlilf  is  not  always  composed 
of  those  who  exact  from  him  a  complete 
compliance  with  the  latest  improvements  ; 
he  manages,  in  fact,  to  court  those  who 
can  respond  to  his  taste  and  sympathies  in 


design  ;  he  is  employed  because  he  has 
acquired  a  name  as  the  exponent  of  the 
fashionable  style  of  the  day  ;  and  in  the  as- 
surance that  he  can  create  a  demand  for  his 
services,  he  little  cares  or  troubles  himself 
about  anything  else.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
he  has  occasionally  to  face  awkward  facts. 
The  desire  to  bi'cak  up  the  exterior  of  the 
building  in  a  picturesque  manner,  to  impart 
the  poetry  of  age,  light,  and  shadow,  must 
often  be  in  strange  opposition  to  the  dic- 
tates of  reason  and  healtb .  It  is  somewhat 
curious,  from  a  hygienic  point  of  view,  that 
in  low  marshy  ground  and  in  thickly- 
wooded  localities,  the  irregular  broken  style 
of  house-building  has  taken  deep  root,  as  if 
in  spite  of  the  admonition  of  common-sense, 
that  such  sites  require  as  free  a  circulation 
of  air  round  a  building  as  can  be  obtained  ; 
that  large  masses  of  luxuriant  foliage  and 
umbrageous  shelter  imply  a  damp  and  mala- 
rious atmosphere,  demanding  every  precau- 
tion to  insure  dryness,  and  among  them  the 
avoidance  of  recesses  and  courtyards.  But 
it  is  in  such  situations  the  architect,  in  com- 
pliance with  his  artistic  impulse,  is  most 
lavish  of  those  features,  following,  indeed, 
the  taste  of  our  forefathers,  who  were 
strangely  ignorant  of  the  commonest  sani- 
tary conditions.  To  keep  a  dwelling- 
house  dry  in  such  a  situation  is  a  matter  of 
a  basement  and  a  few  steps  to  the  front 
door  ;  but  steps  to  the  architect  who  wishes 
to  produce  picturesqueness  are  simply  an 
abomination.  To  him  they  have  too  much 
of  the  prim  street  and  suburb  style  to  suit  a 
rural  locality  and  the  architecture  which 
rejoices  in  low-pitched  rooms.  What  would 
sanitary  science  demand  in  a  situation  such 
as  we  have  supposed  r  Its  ideal  would  be 
something  like  this.  A  house  with  a  lofty 
well-ventilated  basement  story,  raised 
several  steps  above  the  surrounding  levels, 
rooms  of  lofty  proportions,  and  a  plan 
which  favoured  a  circulation  of  air  round 
it,  if  possible  as  nearly  square  as  could  be, 
and  without  external  breaks  and  corners. 

Again,  the  "cosy  corner,"  that  cherished 
hobby  of  the  artistic  designer,  has  been  pro- 
nounced fatal  to  health  and  ventilation, 
pretty  and  quaint  as  it  is ;  the  air  in  it  stag- 
nates, and  through  ventilation  becomes  im- 
possible ;  no  sanitary  inspector  would  for  a 
moment  permit  it  in  a  cottage,  and  medical 
officers  have  long  since  condemned  the  recess 
in  buildings  intended  to  receive  the  sick. 
In  the  planning  of  private  gentlemen's 
houses,  it  is  permitted,  and  permitted  too  in 
various  places  on  landings  and  passages  as 
well  as  in  rooms  where  no  air  or  light  can 
penetrate.  But  a  still  more  fatal  infatua- 
tion is  the  dark  passage,  corridor,  and  stair. 
This  is  now  considered  somewhat  in  keeping 
with  the  style ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
is  invariably  the  sign  of  crude  and  ill- 
digested  planning.  AVhen  a  novice  begins 
to  plan  a  house  he  generally  makes  a  num- 
ber of  passages  ;  he  has  little  idea  of  ar- 
ranging his  rooms  round  a  hall ;  but  the 
old  method  of  planning  has  brought  about 
the  corridor  system.  There  was  an  open 
court,  and  a  cloister  or  corridor  of  commu- 
nication to  the  several  rooms,  while  others 
led  to  the  offices,  and  this  sort  of  plan  has 
beencopitd  in  m.any  recent  houses,  without 
thinking  that  the  expenditure  of  space  was 
a  matter  of  minor  consideration  during  the 
reigns  of  the  Tudors  and  Stuarts.  The 
separation  of  the  offices  from  the  body  of 
the  house  is  .a  point  equally  demanded  by 
sanitary  laws,  but  very  seldom  effectually 
conceded.  The  offices  are  allowed  to  inter- 
mix, instead  of  being  separated  between 
themselves. 

Architects  have  not  yet  acquired  a  code 
of  rules  for  the  proper  arrangement  of  these 
buildings.  Isohition  is  a  special  character- 
istic of  English  planning,  but  it  may  be 
made  to  increase  instead  of  lessen  labour. 
In  sanitary  planning  there  is  a  great  deal 
more  implied  than  the  shutting  out  of  noise 


and  smells  from  the  principal  rooms.  The 
kitchen  ought  to  be  free  from  the  contami- 
nation with  the  laundry,  and  tlio  butler's 
pantry  is  better  placed  near  the  dining- 
room  than  in  awkward  proximity  to  the 
duties  of  the  housemaid.  Yet  we  are  con- 
stantly seeing  anaiigcnientH  in  which  all 
those  matters  are  glaringly  .lisoboyed.  The 
utilities  of  a  dwelling-house  demand  a 
scheme  which  few  architects  are  willing  to 
make  for  them.  We  have  seen  wine  and 
beer  cellars  built  as  Icnn-to  sheds,  in 
which  it  is  impossible  to  retain  the  eciuuUo 
temperature  so  necessary ;  and  a  location  of 
other  offices  which  defies  any  rule  of  conve- 
nience. We  might  go  on  to  name  other 
points  where  the  artistic  designer  and  by- 
gienist  are  at  oiion  variance,  such  as  small 
windows,  large  firej)luces,  and  the  i)Ositioii 
of  the  chimney-Hues.  As  regards  the 
latter,  the  chief  sanitary  jirinciple  i< 
utterly  opposed  to  the  Gothic  idea  of 
making  the  chimney  an  external  feature,  and 
placmg  it  to  relieve  gables  and  blank  walls. 
The  position  of  the  fireplace  cannot  always 
be  regulated  by  such  a  hard  and  fast  prin- 
ciple as  that  of  placing  it  against  an  inside 
wall  for  the  sake  of  economising  the  heat. 
Other  rules  have  to  be  considered,  of  even 
greater  moment,  as,  for  instance,  its  relation 
to  the  door,  and  the  occupants  of  tbe  room. 
It  should  be  so  placed  that  those  sitting 
round  it  may  not  be  exposed  to  the  direct 
draught  from  the  doorway,  nor  bo  so  close  to 
it  that  every  entry  woidd  be  an  intrusion  ;  so 
that  we  see  the  architect  has  to  considt  con- 
flicting points  of  his  plan.  No  one  will 
deny  that  chimneys  grouped  together,  and 
placed  in  the  interior  walls,  are  more 
economical,  as  no  heat  is  wasted  externally 
by  conduction  through  the  outer  flue,  and 
that  the  house  benefits  to  the  full  extent  by 
the  passage  of  the  flues  through  it.  The 
only  doubt  we  have  is  whether  the  designer 
takes  account  of  either  of  the  principles 
we  have  hinted  at,  but  is  not  guided  rather 
by  considerations  of  external  effect.  Even 
the  "  hob-grate,"  which  is  now  tum:d  out 
largely  by  several  mtinufacturers  who  would 
have  laughed  at  them  a  little  while  ago, 
is  .an  obstacle  to  the  advancement  of 
heating  on  sound  princii)les.  Even  the 
disciples  of  "  Queen  Anne  "  confess  to 
its  inefficiency  and  liability  to  smoke. 
Mr.  Stevenson,  in  his  new  book,  says 
of  the  hobstovo  :— "  I  remember  the 
protest  against  them  of  a  manufacturer  who 
made  one  for  me  about  twelve  years  ago, 
that  he  was  removing  them  from  old  houses 
every  day.  He  now  supplies  quantities  of 
new  ones  cast  from  old  patterns.  In  my 
experience  they  arc  an  inefficient  kind  of 
grate,  giving  out  little  heat,  and  liable  to 
smoke.  This  may  bo  cured  by  le.'is.'ning 
the  width  of  the  opening  above  the  hahi,  so 
that  the  smoke  is  guid.  d  up  to  the  oijcning 
of  the  flue."  Yet  architects  of  the  school 
use  hob-grates  daily,  in  spite  of  their  ad- 
mitted defects.  In  this  matter  of  heating, 
indeed,  fashion  has  waged  war  with  sanitary 
science  for  years,  and  we  should  like  to 
know  how  many  modem  residences  ore 
warmed  by  hot  air  or  water,  or  even  so 
simple  a  plan  as  an  apparatus  connecttd 
with  the  kitchen-boiler,  which  has  boen  used 
with  perfect  success. 

In  the  arrangement  of  bedrooms  to 
many  of  our  large  modem  houses,  it  is  often 
curious  to  notice  what  perverse  notions  pre- 
vail in  respect  to  the  placing  of  doors, 
windows,  and  fireplaces.  Sometimes  there 
is  no  position  in  which  a  bed  can  be  placed, 
unless  it  is  squeezed  between  a  door  and  • 
fireplace  :  the  window  is  often  directly 
opposite,  and  there  is  little  space  for  furni- 
ture. In  the  appointments  of  dre.-wing  and 
bath  rooms,  and  w.c.'s,  the  architect  leavM 
much  to  be  determined  by  chance  and 
individual  caprice.  In  the  ventilating  de- 
tails the  engineer  can  do  what  he  likeB. 
Few  houses  are  designed  or  built  with  any 


264: 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


prc-airangod  plan  for  -warming  or  ven- 
tilatir.^  tbem.  We  should  be  sorry  to  sec 
every  house  of  importance  made  a  lau^^hing- 
stock  by  the  introduction  of  the  "  fads  "  of 
ventilating  engineers  and  patentees,  and 
we  might  easUy  imagine  such  a  thing  as 
this ;  but  architects  have  themselves  to  blame 
for  allowing  every  inventor  to  try  his  ex- 
periments on  their  buildings  at  their  em- 
j^oyers'  cost,  an  evil  which  might  be  avoided 
if  the  principles  of  the  science  of  heating 
and  ventilation  were  thoroughly  understood, 
and  provided  for  intheplans  and  specification. 
We  might  extend  these  observations  to  the 
effect  of  light  in  dwellings,  the  value  of  the 
ceiling  in  aiding  the  illuminative  effect  in 
rooms,  and  the  necessity  of  keeping  it  a 
light  tint,  if  not  perfectly  white,  so  as  to 
rrfect  the  small  amount  of  light  a  window 
gives,  which  has  been  calculated  to  be  only 
about  a  forty-eighth  part  of  the  full  light.  It 
is  unfortunate,  at  least,  our  having  to  admit 
that  this  element  of  health  is  allowed  to 
struggle  in  the  best  way  it  can,  and  fre- 
qucntlj-  when  it  does  enter  scantily  into  our 
apartments,  is  absorbed  by  dark  and  dismal 
walls.  Such  questions  as  properties  and 
materials,  their  absorbent  and  moisture- 
retaining  qualities,  their-  conductivity  of 
heat  and  electricity,  the  effects  of  colour  on 
health,  particularly  with  reference  to  wall- 
papers, are  beginniug  to  thrust  themselves 
before  every  enlightened  individual,  and 
must,  sooner  or  later,  enter  into  the  con- 
struction of  our  buildings  in  a  more  decided 
manner  than  even  our  sanitary  authorities 
arc  pi'epared  to  admit.  As  our  towns  en- 
large their  boundaries,  so  must  those  ele- 
ments most  conducive  to  health  begin  to 
assume  their  due  weight  in  the  design  and 
construction  of  the  dwellings  around  us. 


A  KECEXT  VISIT  TO  RUSSIA. 

FOLLOWIXG  in  order   of    interest,    wo 
have  of  the  churches  of  the  Kremlin  at 
Moscow,  to  notice 

THE      CATHEDRAL       OF       THE       ASCIIAXGEL 
MICHAEL, 

otherwise  the  Mausoleum  Church,  an  adjoin- 
ing building  to  the  last  described,  of  which 
it  is  said  to  be  partly  a  copy.  This  church 
was  founded  in  1333 ;  but  the  present 
building  daces  from  1507,  and  is  reputed  to 
be  th3  work  of  Aleviso,  a  Milanese.  It 
would  appear  that  not  only  the  churches, 
but  the  walls  of  this  great  citadel,  were 
built  from  designs  of  Italian  architects.  We 
fail  to  trace  the  Classic  types  that  must  have 
been  the  familiar  outcome  of  such  artists  ; 
but  this  is  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that 
they  were  compelled  to  follow  the  line  or 
style  of  design  existing  in  old  buildings  of 
a  national  character.  Theoretically,  we 
believe  oiu'selves  in  the  presence  of  works 
designed  by  Byzantine  artists,  whereas  prac- 
tically thej'  are  the  special  outcome  of 
Italian  artists.  It  is  one  of  many  proofs 
that  the  architecture  of  the  East  had  be- 
come the  orthodox  style,  and  that  no  feeling 
less  than  one  of  a  sacrilegious  character, 
would  have  tolerated  any  other.  We  have 
here  again  the  same  square  apartment 
representing  our  nave,  aisles,  and  transepts, 
with  the  same  four  columns  therein,  sup- 
porting the  central  dome.  Externally,  we 
have  the  same  rough-diawn  whitewashed 
walls,  the  semicircular  gables,  arid  the  fine 
gilded  domes,  the  sujiporting  walls  of  which 
are  pierced  with  long  narrow  lights,  which 
are  about  the  only  windows  in  the  fabric. 
Not  being  the  High  Chui  ch  of  the  Metro- 
politim,  we  miss  the  important  cluster  of 
eastern  chapels,  repeated  as  it  were  story 
above  story.  Here  we  have  three  chapels,  the 
central  one  graced,  as  is  usual,  -with  an 
apsidal  end.  As  enlargements,  no  doubt 
consequent  upon  the  enormous  space  ab- 
sorbed by  the  Eoyal  tombs,  smaller  chapels 
are  pushed  out  from  the  square  apartment?. 


flanking  the  main  or  central  chapel,  and  a 
lean-to,  or  south  aisle,  is  added  to  the  nave. 
We  fail  to  recognise  any  architectmal  de- 
tails worthy  of  note,  and  hence  the  fact  that 
restorations  followed  during  the  years  1772, 
and  1812,  are  of  little  moment. 

This  church,  which  is  by  no  means  large, 
is  literally  tilled  with  tombs  ;  they  are  ranged 
along  the  walls  row  after  row,  and  placed 
with  their  ends  towards  the  great  columns, 
until  little  further  than  passages  or  aisles 
are  left  for  the  worshippers.  Prom  1341, 
mitilthe  time  of  Peter  the  Great,  the  rulers 
of  this  great  empire,  both  of  the  Kmik  and 
the  Romanoff  dynasties,  found  a  resting- 
place  within  these  walls,  and  their  tombs 
to-day  are  no  less  than  forty-five  in  num- 
ber. We  have,  in  connection  with  the 
palaces,  alluded  to  the  old  custom  of  isolating 
the  female  part  or  portion  of  the  community, 
an  institution  painfully  apparent  within 
these  walls,  but  one  set  aside  in  the  more 
modem  mausoleum  church  at  St.  Petersburg, 
for  there  are  no  Queens  of  Russia  interred  in 
this  Imperial  building.  These  members  of 
the  imperial  house,  up  to  the  time  of  Peter 
the  Great,  were  interred  in  the  Church  of 
the  Ascension  Convent,  a  nunnery  founded 
by  St.  Eudoxia  in  1389,  near  the  Holy  Gate 
of  the  Kremlin.  Their  tombs  are  placed  in 
a  double  row  round  the  walls,  that  of  the 
foundress  being  of  sdver.  Those  of  the 
highest  historical  interest  are  the  tombs  of 
the  mother  of  John  the  Terrible,  and  that 
of  the  first  wife  of  Peter  the  Great,  whom 
he  forced  to  take  the  veil,  and  retire  into 
this  convent,  those  next  in  interest  being 
the  tombs  of  four  of  the  six  wives  of  Ivan 
the  Terrible.  Returning  to  our  subject,  we 
may  note  that  the  tombs  of  the  Tzars  are  of 
a  mixed  order  of  merit  :  they  are  all  uniform 
in  size,  about  eight  feet  long,  four  feet  wide, 
and  four  feet  high,  coped  or  roofed  at  the 
top.  The  bulk  of  those  are  covered  with 
faded  scarlet  palls,  on  the  top  of  which 
are  the  titles  of  the  deceased,  surmounted 
by  crosses,  and  on  the  bottom  are  orna- 
ments, all  worked  in  yeUow  silk.  The 
material  of  a  great  portion  of  these  tombs  is 
brick,  the  covers  or  copings  being  of  wood. 
At  first  glance  we  are  led  to  infer  that  they 
were  temporary  erections,  something  more 
consonant  with  the  resting-place  of  kings 
being  intended  to  follow.  Such  was  not 
the  case ;  it  is  the  custom  of  to-day,  as 
noticed  by  us  in  our  visit  to  the  modem 
mausoleum  church  in  the  St.  Petersburg 
citadel,  to  observe  a  m.arked  degree  of  plain- 
ness in  the  Royal  tombs,  the  only  advance 
noticeable  being  from  the  brick  and  wood 
under  notice,  to  plain,  jjolished,  white,  veined 
marble. 

The  mode  of  perpetuating  the  memories 
of  our  kings  has  been,  and  still  is,  by  re- 
cumbent effigies,  a  mode  that  seems  peculiar 
to  southern  and  western  Europe.  Here  the 
faith  that  does  not  admit  of  graven  images 
extends  to  the  tombs  of  kings,  and  hence 
they  are  represented  by  life-sized  pictures, 
fixed  on  the  adjoining  walls.  These  re- 
puted portraits  are  painted  on  sheets  of 
metal,  the  figures  being  shown  in  long 
white  robes.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this 
portion  of  the  ancient  customs,  pertaining 
to  the  departed  great  of  Moscovy,  is  not  re- 
tained in  connection  with  the  moclern  inter- 
ments at  St.  Petersburg,  and  as  efiigies 
could  not  be  resoi-ted  to,  the  plainness  of 
the  tombs  may  there  be  accounted  for.  The 
most  remarkable  tomb  in  the  mausoleum 
church  of  the  Kremlin  is  that  of  Dimitri, 
the  youngest  son  of  John  the  Terrible,  who, 
as  the  last  of  the  Kurik  dj-nasty,  a  race  that 
had  wielded  the  scep)tre  for  seven  centuries, 
was  murdered  by  Boris  Godunof  the  usurper, 
a  crime  that  was  parallel  to  that  committed 
Viy  Richard  III.  in  the  tower  of  London. 
Ihis  young  prince,  whose  remains  were 
afterwards  miraculously  found  and  conveyed 
to  this  resting-place,  has  long  been  a  saint 
of  the  Russian  Church,  and  ia  the  orthodox 


manner  his  bones  are  shrined  in  a  silver 
tomb,  through  the  top  of  which  the  fore- 
head of  the  skull  is  exposed  for  the  wor- 
shippers to  kiss.  Near  by,  stands  a  tall 
silver  candlestick,  presented  by  the  people 
of  the  town  where  the  murder  was  com- 
mitted ;  and  on  the  adjoining  column  is  fixed 
his  portrait,  besides  which  are  other  relics, 
consisting  of  his  shirt  and  handkerchief, 
marked  with  blood,  a  sUver  toy  purse,  foui'- 
teen  silver  coins,  and,  as  if  to  complete  the 
furnishing  of  this  chamber  of  horrors,  the 
fatal  knife  ■n-ith  which  the  foul  deed  was 
committed.  This  tomb  suffered  by  the 
pillage  of  the  French  soldiers  in  1812,  as  did 
that  of  another  fixed  in  a  side  chapel,  the 
object  of  booty  being  the  silver  of  which  they 
were  composed.  In  this  act  of  desecration, 
the  body  of  the  ill-fated  Prince  was  re- 
moved from  its  costly  setting,  and  cast  on 
the  ground,  from  whence  it  was  rescued  by 
a  pious  monk,  when  the  church  was  a  store- 
house of  the  French.  The  present  silver 
tomb  is  a  modem  work,  and  is  the  only 
one  of  the  kind  in  the  church,  the  other  in 
the  side  chapel  being  restored  or  replaced 
in  bronze. 

John  the  Terable,  by  a  curious  anomaly, 
IS  inteiTed  nearer  to  the  high  altar  than  any 
other  monarch,  in  which  position  he  may  be 
supposed  to  benefit  most  by  the  services 
performed  twice  a  year  for  the  sins  of  all 
those  inteiTed  within  these  walls,  services 
which  are  paid  for  by  vestments  and 
church  vessels  presented  to,  and  exhibited 
by,  the  priests.  The  altar-screen  is  much 
adorned  with  gold  ;  but  it  is  not  endowed 
with  any  miracle-working  pictures ;  the  most 
precious  shrine  is  one  containing  a  drop  of 
blood  cf  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Amongst 
the  treasures  of  this  church  may  be  counted 
a  fine  illuminated  version  of  the  Gospels  in  a 
gold  enamel  cover,  studded  with  precious 
stones,  the  date  of  which  is  1125;  across 
of  John  the  Terrible,  set  with  large  pearls, 
and  remarkable  for  containing  an  emerald 
one- third  of  an  inch  in  diameter  ;  and  an  old 
lantern  of  mica,  associated  with  the  same 
monarch  in  being  brought  by  him  from 
Novgorod. 

Having  noticed  these  two  celebrated 
churches  of  the  Kremlin,  andincideutally  the 
one  forming  part  of  the  Nunnery  near  the 
Holy  Gate,  our  task  of  comjiletion,  although 
these  are  but  half  the  churches  of  the 
Kremlin,  is  but  a  short  one.  Of  these,  the 

CATHEDEAI,  OF  THE  AITKUNCIATION, 

standmg  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the 
mausoleum  church,  claims  a  passing  note. 
This  is  a  still  smaller  church  of  the  same 
type,  fotmded  in  12fil,  and  last  rebuilt  in 
1489,  since  which  it  has  undergone  two 
restorations,  the  last  being  in  18G8.  The 
eastern  chapels  are  three  in  number,  and 
semicircular  in  plan,  and  from  the  fact  of 
this  arrangement  admitting  of  no  extensions, 
a  cluster  of  buildings,  two  or  three  stories 
in  height,  the  latter  being  crowned  by  two 
domes,  is  attached  to  the  southern  side  of 
the  nave.  The  interior  of  this  church  is 
remarkable  for  the  fioor  being  of  jasper 
and  agate,  the  gift  of  one  of  the  Shahs  of 
Persia.  The  walls  are  adorned  with 
niunerous  pictures  of  great  age,  brought 
from  Novgorod  the  Great  in  1547,  a  date 
that  fixes  one  of  the  restorations,  and  the 
first  occasion  of  the  domes  being  decorated 
with  gold.  It  is  natural  to  find  these 
churches  of  the  Kremlin  bound  up  with 
some  great  office  of  the  kings  ;  we  have  seen 
in  one  case  a  church  devoted  to  their-  coro- 
nations, and  another  to  their  interments, 
both  which  offices  must  bring  them  con- 
siderable gains.  In  the  present^  case,  as  if 
by  endowment,  the  Annunciation  Church 
has  the  right  of  b.iptism  and  marriage  in 
Cinneetion  with  the  reigning  family,  an 
an  ancient  right  that  has  no  doubt  been 
entrenched  upon   by    the   churches   of  the 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


265 


more  modem  capital.  Amongst  its  vi- 
cissitudes it  counts  the  fact  of  being  trans- 
formed into  a  stable  during  the  French 
occupation  of  the  city.  The  altar-screen  is 
rich  with  holy  pictures  ;  that  of  the 
"  Vu'gin  "  is  endowed  with  miraculous 
powers.  It  was  carried  into  Kittle  as  a 
standard  by  Dimitry  of  the  Don,  in  1389, 
and  by  Boris  Gudunof  in  1501,  when  the 
army  of  the  Khan  of  the  Crimea  was  under 
the  walls  of  Moscow.  Amongst  the  eccle- 
siastical treasures  is  the  sponge  in  which 
vinegar  was  offered  to  our  Saviour,  a 
portion  of  the  stick  with  which  he  was 
beaten,  a  portion  of  His  blood,  and  His  crown 
of  thorns. 

The  next  building  of  this  class,  and  one 
which  completes  the  group,  standing  in 
the  centre  of  the  holy  and  historic  inclosure, 
is  the 

CinjECn  OF  THE  SAVIOUR   ra  THE  WOOD. 

This  is  situate  to  the  north-west  of  the  others, 
in  which  position  it  is  surrounded  by  sub- 
ordinate parts  of  the  Royal  Palace.  It  is  a 
small  construction  of  the  ordinary  type, 
and  is  remarkable  as  being  the  oldest  or 
parent  church  of  Moscow,  the  original  being 
built  of  wood.  Its  greatest  treasure  is  the 
relics  of  Stephen  of  Perm,  the  first  Christian 
missionary  and  martj-r  in  Russia,  the  inci- 
dents of  whose  life  are  depicted  on  the 
walls.  This  church  was  converted  into  .a 
prison  by  the  French,  and  in  it  Count  Perof- 
ski  and  other  captives  were  hoiised  for  two 
weeks  upon  straw,  and  were  only  rescued 
when  nearly  starved  to  death. 

In  completing  our  notice  of  the  eccle- 
siastical buildings  of  the  Kremlin,  we  must 
give  a  passing  aUusion  to  the 

MIEACLE   MONASTERY, 

near  the  Holy  Gate,  an  institution  dating 
from  1365,  that  contains  within  its  inclosure 
two  churches.  Drawing  a  parallel  with  Eng- 
land, we  may  call  it  the  "  Lambeth  Palace 
of  Russia,"  for  it  is  the  residence  of  the 
primate,  or  metropolitan,  of  the  Russian 
church.  It  was  foimded  by  Alexis  the 
Patriarch,  a  saint  whose  blessing  is  still  in- 
voked on  behalf  of  the  young  about 
to  commence  their  studies,  one  who  is  still 
pilgrimised  by  the  peasants  of  his  holdings, 
who  come  on  his  name-day  to  pray  at  the 
shrine  of  then-  lord.  The  principal  church 
of  this  Monastei-y  is  the  Cathedral  cf  St. 
Alexis,  a  building  that  has  been  repeatedly 
restored  by  the  heads  of  the  present  dynasty. 
It  was  hardly  used  by  the  French,  the 
sanctuary  being  turned  into  a  bedroom  for 
Marshal  Davoust.  The  silver  tomb  of  the 
founder,  placed  against  the  south  wall,  was 
carried  away,  and  the  remains  of  the  founder 
were  discovered  under  a  heap  of  ruins  after 
the  invaders  had  taken  their  leave.  All  is 
now  in  order  ;  but  the  insults  offered  .o 
these  most  holy  shrinfs  of  Holy  Russia,  by 
the  French  under  Xapoleon,  can  neither  be 
forgotten  nor  forgiven.  It  was  some  comfort 
to  this  wounded  people  to  see  this  sacrilegious 
host  annihilated  in  their  wiutrj-  retreat  ;  to 
see  the  keys  of  Paris  hung  on  the  walls  of 
the  Zazan  Cathedral,  and  to  see  the  erection 
of  the  celebrated  Alexander  column  in  front 
of  the  Winter  Palace  ;  but  the  wound,  as 
everything  about  the  Kremlin  shows,  will 
never  heal.  The  other  church,  dedicated  to 
St.  Michael,  is  of  equal  iige,  and  has  recently 
been  brought  into  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion. Architecturally,  they  in  no  way 
differ  from  those  we  have  already  noticed. 
It  is  not  in  Moscow  that  architectural  inno- 
vations are  to  be  looked  for  ;  the  reforms 
of  Peter  the  Great  have  not  been  pinned 
upon  this  ancient  capital,  which,  like 
Haddon  Hall,  amongst  the  mansions  of  our 
nobility,  stands  as  a  faithful  record  of  the 
past. 

(To  be  continued.) 


SPAIN   IN    1880.— RESTORATIONS 

RESTORATION,  in  the  sense  in  which  we 
tise  the  word,  is  a  manner  of  work  yet 
new  to  Spain.  The  Chiu-nh,  which  is  still  a 
great  power  in  the  Land,  and  which  possesses,  of 
course,  the  principal  part  of  the  works  of  the 
past,  to  which  restoration  applies,  has  had  more 
regard  for  its  wants  and  services,  than  for  any 
archrcological  spirit,  in  the  repairs  which  have 
heen  occasionally  necessary  to  its  buildings. 
However,  there  is  becoming  e\-ident,  in  further- 
ance of  the  views  of  the  educated  classes,  who 
are  learning  to  look  to  these  subjects,  some 
aclniowledgmcnt  of  the  claims  of  the  specimens 
of  ancient  art,  to  be  a  little  better  guarded  from 
destruction.  One  finds,  sometimes,  upon  the 
fa(;ade  of  an  archteological  relic,  a  board  upon 
which  is  painted  the  style  and  title  of  a  com- 
mission for  the  preservation  of  artistic  monu- 
ments ;  the  name  of  the  particular  monu- 
ment there  being  preserved.  Beyond  irsing  this 
board,  and  installing  an  ancient  dame  with 
authority  to  receive  the  "  reales  "  of  inquirers, 
there  is  generally  but  little  done.  And  even  this 
is  only  applicable  to  such  buildings  as  are  not 
in,  or  have  passed  out  of,  the  hands  of  the 
church.  Sometimes  an  unguided  attempt  at  the 
collection  of  a  museum  is  found.  These  often 
look  as  if  the  collectors  had  been  suddenly 
converted  from  the  one  extreme,  of  neglect,  to 
the  other,  of  the  conservation  of  eveiything. 
But  one  must  not  grumble  too  much  at  this. 
There  are  often  several  interesting  fragments 
among  the  rubbish  brought  together  thus,  in 
some  disused  cloister  or  desecrated  chapel. 

And  restoration  itself  is  a  worlr  which  it  is 
not  advisable  to  over-stimulate,  lest,  being 
imdertaken  prematurely,  insufficient  knowledge 
may  cause  more  mischief  than  advantage.  The 
present  unrestored  condition  of  antiquities  is  a 
strong  attraction  for  the  artist,  and  one  which 
wiU  jH'obably  decrease  ere  long. 

The  principal  works  now  being  executed, 
which  I  encountered,  are  Leon  Cathedral,  the 
Alhambra  at  Granada,  the  Alcazar  at  Seville, 
and  the  chm-ch  (formerly  a  sj'nagogue'l  of  S. 
Benito,  called  El  Transito,  at  Toledo. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  Church  is 
altogether  neglecting  or  ill-treating  its  archi- 
tectural inheritance.  Some  of  the  cathedrals 
have  been  restored  or  repaired  at  various  times 
with  more  or  less  success ;  but  the  work  thus 
done  is  not  of  much  value  archseologically. 

The  cathedral  of  Leon  is,  just  now,  an 
unusually  interesting  study.  The  works,  which 
have  been  long  in  hand,  are  well  advanced  in 
the  taking-down  and  scaffolding  stages.  A 
thorough  description  of  the  edifice  will  be  found 
(by  those  who  are  not  ah-eady  acquainted  with 
its  peculiarities)  in  Street's  "  Gothic  Architec- 
ture of  Spain."  It  will  suffice,  therefore,  to 
say  that  the  present  building,  which  occupied 
the  site  of  a  former  one  of  the  11th  century,  is  a 
structure  in  the  best  period  of  the  Gothic  style  ; 
having  been  completed  about  a.d.  1,300.  It  is 
altogether  French  in  character  ;  and,  imfortu- 
nately,  so  light  in  construction,  particularly 
about  the  clerestory  and  triforium,  that  long 
ago  its  weakness  was  the  subject  of  considera- 
tion, and  the  outer  openings  of  the  tracery,  &c., 
of  each  bay,  in  these  stories,  had  to  be  filled  up 
with  masonry. 

The  lines  of  shafts  and  walls  are,  in  many 
cases,  very  much  out  of  tlie  perpendicular,  but 
not  always  so  as  to  be  dangerous.  Some  of  the 
flying  buttresses  had  to  be  restored  at  a  former 
date,  probably  when  the  strengthening  of 
vaulting  shafts  was  done.  The  thrusts  outward 
of  the  vaults,  have,  however,  caused  much  dis- 
turbance of  the  walls,  and  the  thrust.s  inward  of 
the  aisle  vaults  have  made  very  evident  impres- 
sions upon  the  shafts  of  nave.  I  should  add 
that  the  building  consists  of  nave  of  six  bays,  and 
aisles,  with  two  western  towers.  Transepts, 
choir,  and  apse  with  aisles  and  chapels.  These 
chapels  are,  at  present,  reserved  for  ecclesiastical 
uses,  being  screened  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
church. 

The  work  of  restoration  was  formerly  in  the 
hands  of  Senor  Lavinia,  who  died  in  1863  ;  and 
Senor  Don  Andres  Calligo  was  appointed.  Then 
succeeded  Senor  Don  Juan  de  JIadra,T0  (m 
architect  known  to  the  EngUsh  profession  by 
reason  of  his  visits  to  our  country) ,  lately  de- 
ceased. 

At  present  the  charge  has  been  tmdertaken 
by  Senor  Don  Deraetiio  de  los  Rios.  There  is, 
of  coarse,  a  large  nmnber  of  artificers  upon  the 
work  ;  but  not  enough  to  carry  it  on  with  the 


despatch  not  only  desirable,  but  necessary,  for 
s\ich  thorough  restoration.  The  building  Is 
thus  too  long  exposed  in  a  half-demolished  con- 
dition to  the  weather,  and  the  destructive  little 
casualties  attendant  ujion  such  operations.  The 
tombs  and  other  rich  delicate  work  are  not  sulB- 
ciently  guarded  from  breakage,  kc,  and  the 
beautiful  stained  gla.ss  has  already  been  sadly 
damaged  in  places.  I  suppose  that  eventually 
It  will  nearly  all  have  to  bo  removed  for  the 
execution  of  the  other  work.  It  should  be  done 
at  once.  Or,  if  this  is  not  the  ease,  more  care 
should  be  taken  that  holes  are  not  poked  throuffh 
it. 

The  crossing  and  transcp*s,  tlic  greater  part 
of  nave,  and  part  of  choir  are  full  of  scaffolding, 
&o.  This  is  necessarily  a  work  of  wjnsidernblo 
magnitude,  being,  not  only  the  means  of  acces*, 
but  the  support  of  the  work  and  of  the  heavy 
centering  for  vaults,  and,  in  some  cases,  thov. 
shoring  of  the  old  portions  of  the  structure.  It 
is  elaborately  designed  and  most  carefuHy 
executed.  Indeed,  it  appears  to  me  to  be  some- 
what extravagant  in  these  particulars.  It  is 
principally  of  wrought  timber  with  trusses,  and 
centerings,  and  accessories,  all  neatly  finished ; 
with  such  things  as  cut  ends,  &c.,  as  if  it  were 
the  end,  instead  of  the  means  of  the  work.  And 
a  comfortable  staircase  with  rounded  handrailn 
and  convenient  landings,  provides  easy  access  to 
the  various  stages.  And,  lastly,  the  material  is 
freely  expended  in  unnecessarily  complicated 
framing  and  heavj-  seantUngs.  Of  course,  it  ie 
better  to  be  lavish  than  dangerously  economical, 
and  it  is  more  pleasant  to  see  and  use  uicely- 
fiuished  scaffolding,  but,  if  money  is  scaree 
(which  I  understand  is  the  case),  the  amonnt 
expended  in  these  temporary  constructions  is,  to 
say  the  least,  liberal. 

Nevertheless  this  timber  structure  is  a  fino 
work,  and  it  is  without  doubt  well  designed  in 
principles.  With  the  exception  of  one  or  two 
ti-ussed  centerings  which  I  noticed,  all  tlio 
members  are  well  reUeved  of  cross  stains  by  the 
scientific  placing  of  struts  and  ties.  The  greater 
part  of  the  weight,  in  the  nave,  is  carried  down 
by  massive  principals  on  to  the  sill  of  triforium. 
These  are  not  tied  in  actually  at  the  feet,  but 
the  masonry  at  this  level  is  so  solid  that  it  can 
easily  resist  the  thrust ;  and  the  position  of  these 
primary  timbers  is  a  very  convenient  one.  In 
the  crossing  the  weight  is  brought  down  by 
posts,  braces,  &c.,  to  the  floor  itself.  Analysis 
of  this  maze  of  timbering  (as  it  appears  from 
below)  is  easy  upon  a  closer  inspection.  Then 
it  can  be  seen,  too,  that  there  is  more  than  the 
simple  scaffold.  In  shoring,  there  is  an  ingeni- 
ous arrangement  for  maintaining  a  con-tctive 
pressure  against  leaning  portions  of  the  work. 
Across  the  nave,  for  instance,  in  line  with  the 
transept  walls  where  the  last  bay  of  the  aisle 
vault  has  pushed  forward  the  main  shafts,  there 
is  a  frame,  the  principle  of  which  is  best  de- 
scribed by  suppo.sing  the  tie  removed  from  a  flat 
king-post  truss.  Of  course,  a  comparatively 
small  weight  upon  this  is  sufficient  to  cause  an 
enormous  thiiist.  And,  at  the  same  time,  the 
pressvu-e  is  elastic,  and  automatically  following 
in  its  action.  I  need  hardly  say  that  it  is  not 
quite  so  simple  an  affair  as  the  two  principals 
and  the  weight  spoken  of. 

The  outside  scaffolding,  &c.,  is  of  lefiser 
interest. 

So  much  for  the  intermediate  work. 

The  actual  building  operations  are,  at  pre- 
sent, principally  in  c.Dnneclion  with  the  recon- 
struction of  the  facade  of  the  S.  transept.  This 
has  been  altogether  taken  down,  and  is  being 
rebuilt.  The  new  work  is  now  up  to  about  the 
sill  of  the  great  window  over  the  portal  and 
arcading.  It  is  being  executed  in  a  rather  hard 
white  stone,  not  of  the  same  fine  warm  tint  <a 
the  old.  It  comes  from  the  produce  of  Eiirgo». 
But  very  little  of  the  old  work  is  reinstated. 
The  fine  doorway  is,  like  the  rest,  slmost 
entirely  new.  I  think  the  tympanum,  with  it« 
relief  carving,  is  the  only  piece  of  old  material 
retained. 

But  the  drawings,  which  the  architect  kindly 
showed  and  explained  to  me,  are  very  carefully 
and  thoroughly  made  (indeed,  I  am  almost 
inclined  to  deprecate  needless  expenditure  here 
again)  ;  and  full-sized  models  arc  used  in  pn- 
paring  and  determining  details  of   carving,  &«. 

Upon  the  subject  of  drawings,  I  may  be  per- 
mitted a  little  digres.sion  to  note  the  curious  fact 
that  the  drawing-board  and  T-square,  aa 
mathematical    instrumente,    are    unknown     in 

ain.    Draughtsmen  manage  to  do  all  theiv 


266 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


•work  with  parallel  rulers  and  set  squares.  An 
enn'ineer  I  met  with,  whose  English  training 
had  modified  his  methods,  told  me  he  had  to 
send  to  London  to  get  a  board  and  square  of 
proper  construction. 

The  Alhambra  is  the  next  important  work  of 
restoration.  Indeed,  it  may  claim  to  rank  first, 
as  being  of  an  edifice  unique  and  pre-eminent 
in  its  style  and  situation.  Constructed  during 
the  period  when  the  Moors  of  Spain  had  their 
resources  and  wealth  compressed,  so  to  speak,  in 
their  last  remaining  kingdom  of  Granada,  the 
Alhambra  was  abnost  the  realisation  of  their 
Oriental  dreams  of  magnificence  and  beauty. 
My  impression  of  what  remains  of  it  is,  that 
description  is  inadequate  to  convey  a  just  idea 
of  the  peculiarly  impressive  beauty  of  this 
extraordinary  work.  It  is  one  of  those  things 
which,  unless  actually  seen,  cannot  be  under- 
stood. I  believe  the  secret  of  its  greatest  chaiin 
lies  in  one  word — "Idealism."  The  decorative 
system  is  born,  not  of  imitation,  nor  historical 
teaching,  nor  faith,  but  of  reason  ;  seeking  the 
principles  and  the  sources  of  beauty.  And  that 
system  is  abstractly  more  perfect  than  others, 
as  is  reason  broader  and  deeper  than  the  beauty- 
inspiring  instincts.  It  is  not  of  architecture,  but 
of  decoration,  that  I  speak  thus. 

But  it  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  enter  into 
such  questions,  or  even  to  describe  the  parts  and 
features  of  this  beautiful  and  delightfully 
situated  fortress-palace.  Descriptions  better 
than  I  could  give  are  accessible ;  and  failing 
the  reality,  its  representations  are  valuable. 
Therefore,  presuming  in  my  readers  a  know- 
ledge of  its  form,  I  will  give  my  notes  of  the 
work  lately  done  and  now  being  done  upon  it. 

Tlie  works  are  in  the  charge  of  Senor  Don 
Rafael  Contreras,  a  gentleman  lately  elected  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British 
Aichitects,  whose  devotion  to  this  work  shows  a 
true  artist's  love  for  it.  The  operations  are  not 
more  of  restoration  than  of  continual  repair. 
The  structure  has  arrived  at  its  period  of  o!d 
age  ;  and  it  is  rather  continual  care  and  preser- 
vation, than  an  effort  to  restore  its  original 
brilliant  sijlendour,  which  is  being  carried  on. 

For  this  purpose,  a  small  staff  of  quietly- 
working  artificers  is  permanently  retained,  and 
these,  acquiring  the  spirit  of  the  style  in  which 
they  labour,  and  inspired  by  their  able  chief, 
produce  results  which,  so  far  as  excellence  is 
concerned,  are  extremely  satisfactory.  It  is  a 
pity  that  funds  are  not  sufficiently  abundant  to 
allow  of  a  more  extensive  restoration,  during, 
at  least,  a  short  time,  and  also  to  obviate  the 
necessity  wliich  exists  for  economy  in  the 
replacing  of  certain  more  expensive  details. 
The  elaborate  wall  tile-work,  for  instance, 
which  was  carried  round  the  octagonal  shafts 
with  pains  and  exisense  unsparcd,  as  may  still 
in  some  positions  be  seen,  is  being  restored  in 
the  ''Chamber  of  Judgment"  (which  opens 
upon  the  "  Court  of  Lions")  with  an  ingenious 
inlay  of  coloured  plaster.  This  is  itself  good, 
and  deserves  notice  as  a  means  of  decoration,  but 
it  is  not  a  restoration  of  the  tiles. 

The  "  Court  of  the  Lions,"  wliich  has  suffered 
much  in  the  latter  period  of  its  existence,  is 
being  .slowly  restored.  The  new  plaster  wall 
enrichment,  which  is  cast  in  moulds  carefully 
prepared  from  the  best  preserved  of  the  ancient 
work,  is  very  well  done.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult 
sometimes  to  detect  which  is  new  and  which 
old.  This  work  is  fixed  in  slabs,  and  the  joints 
finished  off  with  tools,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  original.  Some  of  the  stalactite  work,  too, 
has  been  wonderfully  well  replaced.  The  old 
eaves  are  being  removed  piece  by  piece,  and 
replaced  by  a  wood  cornice,  for  which,  I  sup- 
pose, the  architect  has  precedent.  I  hardly 
dare  to  criticise ;  but  I  think  that  the  upward 
tilt  of  the  brackets  is  not  very  satisfactory,  as 
one  can  see  by  the  internal  height  that  they  are 
not  really  the  rafter  ends  they  seem  to  be.  The 
colour  (a  stain,  I  believe,  but  it  may  be  the 
colour  of  the  wood)  is,  at  present,  a  rather  strong 
contrast  with  the  light  grey  of  the  old  plaster. 

The  beautiful  great  wooden  doors  of  the 
''  HaU  of  the  Abencerrages  "  and  of  the  "  Hall 
of  the  Two  Sisters"  have  had  portions  of  their 
elaborate  panelling  and  carving  replaced,  and 
this  too  is,  I  think,  very  well  executed.  The 
decorative  surface  is  a  sort  of  inlay  or  plating 
of  thin  tablets  of  wood  upon  a  massive  framed 
door,  so  that  the  substitution  of  the  nicely-joined 
pieces  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter. 

There  is  not  much  colour  left  in  this  court,  as 
it  is   rather   open   to  the   weather,  but  in  some 


sheltered  positions  there  yet  remain  valuable 
traces,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  not  be 
obliterated  without  good  cause.  I  understand 
that,  some  little  time  since,  the  columns  and 
caps  and  bases  upon  the  south  side  were  care- 
fully cleaned.  They  are  nice  and  white,  but 
some  fragments  of  the  delicate  frets  and  scrolls, 
which  once  covered  the  smallest  details,  have 
been  thus  lost. 

And  such  remains  have  great  value  in  the 
discussions  (not  yet  likely  to  be  terminated)  as  to 
the  colours,  and  positions  of  them,  originally  used. 

The  pavilion  at  the  west  end,  which,  with 
some  other  portions  of  the  palace,  was  bar- 
barously patched  ac  some  former  period  of  royal 
attention,  will  soon,  it  is  probable,  receive  some 
better  restoration.  It  would  be  well  to  recon- 
sider the  roof  (constructed  a  few  years  back)  of 
the  opposite  pavilion.  The  coloured  glazed 
tiles  ai'e  not  of  agreeable  tints,  and  look  as  crude 
and  raw  as  if  put  up  yesterday.  They  are, 
therefore,  not  in  harmony  with  the  i-est  of  the 
work,  and  they  contrast  most  unpleasantly  in 
colour  with  the  deep  blue  sky  wliich  forms  their 
background.  The  floor  of  the  court  (the  open 
part)  is  now  bare  mossy  gravel.  In  some  older 
accounts,  this  place  is  described  as  being  a 
garden.  Perhaps  the  gravel  may  have  advan- 
tages, but  it  ought  to  be  kept  spruce  and  weed- 
less,  or  else  altogether  given  over  to  vegetation. 
Scarcely  anything'  has  a  more  desolate  appear- 
ance than  the  damp  green  surface  of  earth,  with 
stray  blades  of  grass  here  and  there. 

The  chambers  at  the  eastern  end  of  this  court 
are  imdergoing  repair  to  their  damaged  details, 
&c.  The  paintings  are  still  fresh  and  well  pre- 
served ;  but,  of  course,  I  cannot  make  any  com- 
parison with  their  state  at  earlier  periods.  They 
look  as  if  they  might  last  for  centuries  yet.  A 
portion  of  the  flat  wood  ceiling  which  has  been 
replaced  with  new,  is  rather  awkwardly  done, 
owing  to  the  effort  to  fit  a  rectangular 
framing  into  a  twisted  and  irregular  space. 

The  "Hall  of  the  Two  Sisters  "  still  claims 
to  be  entirely  original  and  unrestored.  May  it 
long  remain  so  !  There  is  still  plenty  of  colour 
left  in  this  grand  department,  and  the  walls  and 
gorgeous  stalactite  ceiling  are  astonishingly  free 
from  any  serious  settlement. 

There  are,  however,  traces  of  the  percolation 
of  water  from  the  roofs,  which  will  do  mischief 
unless  arrested. 

Some  of  the  wall  tiling  shows  a  failing  I  had 
not  expected.  The  glazed  colour  has  here  and 
there  flaked  off  from  the  tile,  a  very  little  yet, 
apparently  through  the  disintegration  of  the 
earthenware  beneath. 

I  should  like  to  mtntion  an  observation  I  made 
of  the  construction  of  these  elaborate  dados. 
The  tiles  are  not  of  sucli  proportion  as  the  flat 
things  we  usually  so  name  ;  but  from  their  fre- 
quent narrowness  and  relatively  great  thickness, 
are  more  like  the  familiar  wood  brick-toys  of  our 
children.  And  they  are  so  firmly  set  that  a 
breakage  goes  across  the  mass  regardless  of  the 
joints.  From  inspection  of  the  position  of  signs 
of  movement,  the  cracks  in  angles,  &o.,  it  struck 
me  that  the  work  had  been,  wherever  practi- 
cable, fitted  together  in  large  slabs  in  a  hori- 
zontal position  (perhaps  face  downwards),  and 
strengthened  with  a  backing  of  cement  fixed 
thus  entire  upon  the  walls.  At  any  rate,  this 
conjecture  is  perhaps  worth  consideration  in  the 
construction  of  .similar  work. 

In  the  "Hall  of  the  Abencerrages,"  some  bits 
of  experimental  coloui'ing  have  been  done. 
They  are  not  very  satisfactory,  and  I  hope 
something  more  certainly  correct  than  they  are 
will  be  executed  completely. 

The  charminglittleHallof  the  Baths  is  having 
its  colour  entirely  restored.  The  effect  of  deco- 
ration of  tills  class  appears  to  great  advantage  in 
such  a  chamber,  where  recesses  and  galleries 
afford  a  pleasing  variety  of  light  and  shade. 
On  the  whole,  the  work  is  very  well  done. 
Perhaps  some  fault  may  be  found  with  the  red 
colour,  which  is  a  little  lacking  in  depth,  and 
the  gold  has  rather  a  bronze-like  dulness,  which 
does  not  exercise  so  neutral  an  influence  upon 
the  harmonies  as  would  the  brighter  gold  I 
expected. 

The  small  external  court  upon  this  lower  level 
is  fresh  and  gay  with  the  verdure  and  fruit  of 
its  oranges,  and  forms  a  pretty  termination  to 
the  view  from  the  "  HaU  of  the  Abencerrages," 
across  the  court,  and  through  the  Hall  of  the 
Two  Sisters,  and  the  little  chamber  beyond. 
This  favourite  "vista"  of  the  artists  is  all  in 
good  yet  picturesque  preservation. 


The  "Hall  of  the  Ambassadors  "  is  also  in  good 
condition.  There  is  nothing  being  done  in  it 
now;  indeed  there  is  little  necessary,  unless  it  be 
the  replacement  of  certain  rather  awk-v^ard  bits 
of  "  restoration  "  of  a  previous  generation.  Some 
of  the  celebrated  inlaid  tUes  have  lately  been 
maliciously  picked  to  pieces  by  inquisitive 
visitors,  notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of  the 
custodians  of  the  place. 

The  "  Court  of  the  Fishpond  "  is  trim,  and  in 
good  repair;  but,  imfortunately,  it  is  rather 
bare  of  decorative  detaUs,  and  what  there  are — 
nice  little  bits  of  plaster- work  around  doors  and 
windows — are  nearly  all  restorations. 

The  smaller  apartments  and  chambers  are 
granted  what  attention  can  be  spared ;  but 
some  parts,  stalactite  work,  and  wooden  ceilings, 
&c.,  are  pressingly  in  need  of  attention.  Their 
decaying  condition  will,  unless  they  are  speedUy 
repaired,  place  them  beyond  conservation.  It  is 
because  of  this  need  that  I  remark  the  desira- 
bility of  a  greater  expenditure  for  a  short  time. 
If  these  pressing  things  were  put  into  good 
condition,  the  amount  of  labour  at  present  at 
command  would,  doubtless,  suffice  to  keep  them 
so. 

The  never- completed  Renaissance  palace  of 
Charles  V.  remains  deserted,  roofless,  and  empty. 
If  it  were  not  for  its  intrusion  here,  which  one 
cannot  help  resenting,  it  would  receive  more  at* 
tention  than  it  does.  The  vast  circular  "  patio," 
or  court,  with  orders  and  vault,  is  an  interesting 
thing,  if  only  for  the  stone-cutting  science  dis- 
played. And  the  Ionic  faijades,  with  relievos, 
&c.,  are  not  altogether  devoid  of  interest.  But 
they  are  eclipsed. 

The  Alhambra  does  not  call  for  much  restora- 
tion to  its  outer  walls.  Externally  it  is  a  grim 
old  fortress,  whose  venerable  towers  and  crum- 
bling walls  of  ruddy,  time-stained  stone,  would 
rather  suffer  than  gain  by  restoration  to  trim- 
ness. 

The  elms  wliich  have  been  planted  so  thickly 
and  plentifully  upon  the  steep  slopes  of  the  hill, 
are  just  now  perhaps  at  an  age  of  youthful 
slimness  when  they  add  most  to  the  effect,  by 
adorning,  without  hiding,  the  ancient  edifices. 
Altogether  the  Alhambra  is,  as  a  place  of  delight- 
ful surprises,  deeply  impressed  upon  my  memory, 
one  which  I  shall  always  recommend  to  my 
fellow-creatures,  young  or  old.  Master  or 
student,  artist  or  tourist,  the  visitor  will  find 
there  an  abundance  of  the  "instructive  amuse- 
ment" which  it  is  the  fashion  nowadays  to 
seek. 

I  was  indebted  for  some  assistance  in  finding 
things  of  interest  (which  the  guides  take  no  note 
of  in  their  routine)  to  Mr.  Estanie,  the  British 
vice-consul  at  Granada,  who  passes  most  of  his 
time  with  "  tluck  Whatman  "  and  water-colours 
in  the  coiu-ts  of  the  Alhambra,  and  whose 
obliging  courtesy  in  gratifying  inquirers  is 
equal  to  the  thorough  familiarity  with  the 
place  which  he  has  acquired  in  his  artist-inter- 
course with  it. 

The  Alcazar  at  Seville,  although  the  original 
building  dates  from  the  10th  or  Ilth  century,  is 
not,  strictly  speaking,  a  Moorish  edifice,  as  it 
was  re-erected  for  the  Christian  king  Don 
Pedro  the  Cruel,  by  Moorish  workmen,  in  the 
nth  century.  Restoration  was  begun  in  1857, 
and  work  is  still  being  carried  on  ;  but  it  is  a 
not  altogether  advantageous  mixture  of  things, 
Spanish  and  Moorish — ancient  and  modem. 
Fireplaces  and  incongruous  paintings  have 
been  introduced  by  various  monarohs  who 
sought  comfort  and  fame.  And  the  gardens  are 
to-day  a  favourite  resort  when  they  are  open 
to  the  public,  and  are  being  adorned  with  most 
vile  garden-architecture  and  paintings.  Never- 
theless, there  is  much  that  is  beautiful  and 
much  of  archceological  interest  to  be  found  here, 
and  the  work  of  restoration  and  repair  has 
doubtless  been,  on  the  whole,  beneficial  to  the 
interests  of  art. 

San  Benito  (el  Transito) ,  at  Toledo,  originally 
a  synagogue,  afterwards  a  church,  and  now  an 
"artistic  monument,"  is  bting  restored.  The 
building  is  in  a  style  of  mingled  Gothic,  Moorish, 
and  Hebrew  ideas  and  details ;  but  it  is  not  the 
incongruous  medley  these  words,  unqualified, 
might  indicate  (see  Street's  "  Gothic  Architec- 
ture in  Spain").  There  was,  when  I  saw  it,  a 
scaffold  in  the  interior  for  access  to  the  range  of 
windows  under  the  roof ;  but  as  the  workmen 
were  not  there  I  was  unable  to  inspect  the  works 
closely.  I  am  sorry,  therefore,  to  have  to  only 
mention  this  work  without  comment. 

R.  W.  Gibson. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


267 


YORKSHIRE    ARCH.^EOLOGICAL, 
ASSOCIATION. 

rpHE  nth  annual  excursion  of  this  society 
I  tookplaceon  Wednesday  week,  irhenRother- 
ham  and  Wentvrorth  were  visited.  Leaving 
Leeds  by  special  train,  the  party,  numbering 
about  100,  proceeded  from  Masborough  by 
carriages  to  the  Roman  camp  of  Ttmplfhorough, 
where  a  paper  was  read  by  the  Rev.  W. 
Blazeby.  Thiscffs^-Hu)  has  long  been  recognised  as 
Roman,  but  antiquaries  formcily  considered  it  a 
mere  summer  camp  of  no  special  importance. 
Explorations  made  in  1877  and  1878  have,  how- 
ever, thrown  considerable  light  on  the  history 
of  the  place.  We  now  find  that  the  earthworks, 
which  inclose  an  area  of  rather  more  than  four 
acres,  are  not  Roman,  l)ut  were  thrown  up  on 
the  site  of  the  Roman  station  after  the  departure 
of  the  legions.  Several  feet  deep  within  the  banks 
of  earth  have  been  found  abundant  remains  of 
Roman  pottery  and  tiles,  and  among 
the  latter  tiles  bearing  the  stamp  of 
the  Fourth  Cohort  of  the  Gauls,  c  nu.  G.  There 
are  rooting,  bonding,  hypocaustal,  and  flue  tiles 
in  abundance,  proving  the  existence  of  perma- 
nent buildings,  with  the  home  comforts  of 
warmth  and  shelter.  In  the  well,  found  at  the 
south-east  comer  of  the  castnim,  were  discovered, 
besides  Roman  pottery  of  a  coarse  kind,  many 
quems  or  handmills  of  undoubted  Roman  origin, 
as  well  as  a  number  of  leathern  sandal-soles, 
such  as  have  been  unearthed  among  the  debris  of 
Roman  London  and  other  places.  In  the  middle 
of  the  south  rampart  the  remains  of  a  gateway, 
much  mutilated,  were  come  upon,  and  west- 
ward, within  the  caitrum,  the  foundation-walls 
of  a  building  now  exposed.  As  soon  as  the 
masonry  in  ^itu  was  discovered,  the  course  of  it 
was  carefully  followed  until  the  work  resulted 
in  uncovering  the  extensive  foundations  of  what 
appears  to  have  been  a  public  building.  In  the 
course  of  this  work  it  was  made  evident  that  two 
buildings  had  existed  at  different  periods  on 
the  same  site — the  latter  one  rude  and  plain, 
the  earlier  one  graced  with  colonnades  on  the 
east  and  south.  On  the  south,  the  Roman  colon- 
nade was  entirel}'  obscured  beneath  a  road 
sxirface ;  on  the  east,  later  walling  had  been 
built  upon  the  bases  of  the  fallen  columns. 
About  and  beneath  the  foundations  of  both 
periods  were  abundant  evidences  of  the  action 
of  fire — burnt  and  blackened  stones  and  masses 
of  charcoal  and  cinders.  Roman  potte-y,  in 
great  abundance,  but  of  no  special  rarity,  was 
found,  and  aUo  a  few  coins,  ranging  chiefly 
from  Titus  to  Antoninus  Pius.  The  discovery 
of  these  remains  raises  some  interesting  questions 
alfecting  the  Roman  geography  of  Britain.  The 
name  of  the  station  is  still  unknown  ;  but  it  io 
clear  that  after  the  time  of  the  Romans  it 
was  twice  occupied  and  fortified  by  another 
people — once  when  the  second  building  was 
raised,  and  again  when  the  earthworks  were 
thrown  up.  On  this  point  the  late  Rev.  D.  H. 
Haigh,  of  Erdington,  remarked,  "I  suspect  you 
have  foimd  the  villa  reyia  of  Eadwine,  and  pro- 
bably the  basilica  which  be  made  therein, 
which  were  destroyed  by  fire  by  Ciedwalla  and 
Pecda,  in  633  a.d.  This  was  in  cawpo  duno 
or  in  Donafield,  and  I  have  always  looked  for  it 
along  the  valley  of  the  Don,  upwards  from  Hat- 
field, where  the  battle  was  fought.  Constautine 
gave  to  the  Church  several  basiiUca^,  hall.s  wliere 
Justice  was  wont  to  be  administered,  and  they 
became  Christian  churches.  May  not  the  Roman 
building  in  which  you  correctly  recognise  a 
court  of  justice,  hare  been  made  into  a 
Christian  church,  and  the  narrow  aisle  added  to 
it,  on  the  ruins  of  a  portico,  by  Eadwine,  and 
consequently  the  name  of  '  Temple '  have  been 
sdded  to  the  '  Burg '  by  the  people  ':"  The  ex- 
plorations have  so  far  touched  only  the  southern 
part  of  the  castriim.  About  two-thirds  of  the 
entire  area  remains  unexamined,  and  many  in- 
t^eresting  discoveries  may  be  anticipated  on  re- 
suming operations.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the 
turnpike  road  a  sepulchral  urn  was  ploughed  up 
more  than  forty  years  ago,  and  very  likely  an 
examination  of  the  ground  there  would  disclose 
the  whereabouts  of  the  cemetery.  The  company 
next  drove  to  Jl'cntwort/i  Jl'ooil/io'ise,  where 
they  ware  permitted  by  Earl  Fitzwilliam  to  see 
through  the  princiiml  apartments  of  his  man. 
sion.  They  were  received  in  the  Pillared  Hall 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alfred  Gatty,  Vicar  of  Eccles- 
field.  The  house  is  in  core  a  Tudor  structure, 
and  the  internal  courts  and  chambers  of  Henry 
VIII. "s  time  still  exist.     The  garden  front  was 


rebuilt  in  the  early  part  of  the  18th  century  in 
brick  with  stone  quoins,  and  in  the  next  genera- 
tion the  present  park  front  was  re-erected  after 
a  design  by  Flitcroft.  The  interior  was  not 
completed,  however,  till  180G,  when  an  upper 
story  was  added  to  the  wings.  The  house  now 
covers  an  area  of  3  acres  and  37  perches.  The 
chief  interest  in  the  pictures  at  Wentworth 
centres  in  the  portrails  by  Vandyck  and  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  ;  those  by  Vandyck  illustrating 
the  stormy  years  preceding  the  Commonwealth, 
and  those  by  Sir  Joshua  belonging  to  the  time 
of  the  second  Marquis  of  RockiuL'ham.  To  the 
east  of  the  house,  but  outside  the  boundary  of 
the  park,  is  Hoober  Stand,  a  lofty  pyramidal 
monument  erected  to  commemorate  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  rebellion  of  174.5.  On  a  richly- 
wooded  eminence,  south-west  of  the  house,  may 
be  seen  a  Doric  column,  known  as  Keppel's 
Column,  and  built  in  honour  of  the  victories 
gained  by  the  British  fleet  under  Admiral  Kep- 
pel.  In  front  of  the  liousc,  beautifully  situated 
among  the  trees,  stands  the  mausoleum,  erected 
by  the  fourth  Earl  Fitzwilliam  in  memory  of  his 
uncle,  the  last  Marquis  of  Rockingham.  This 
building  contains  a  fine  full-length  statue  of  the 
Marquis  in  his  peer's  robes,  and  represented  as 
if  in  the  act  of  speaking.  The  room  is  skilfully 
lighted,  and  allows  the  work,  a  masterpiece  of 
NoUekens,  to  be  seen  to  advantage.  The  church 
has  been  partially  pulled  down,  the  only  parts 
remaining  being  the  tower  and  chancel, 
built  by  the  second  Lord  Stratford,  in  1681.  This 
portion  of  the  building  is  intended  to  be  a 
mausoleum  for  the  Wentworth  branch  of  the 
Fitzwilliam  family.  The  chief  interest  in  the 
church  arises  from  its  being  the  burial-place  of 
the  great  Lord  Strafford.  His  monument  is  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Communion-table,  and  therein 
he  is  represented  in  a  kneeling  position.  There 
are  two  fine  altar-tombs  ;  one  of  Thomas  Went- 
worth and  Margaret  Gascoign,  his  wife,  the 
other  of  some  forgotten  Gascoign.  The  visitors 
also  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  new 
church  built,  in  1877,  by  Earl  Fitzwilliam.  At 
the  luncheon  at  Rotherham,  Mr.  Thomas 
Brooke,  F.S.A.  (Huddersficld),  president  of  the 
council,  mentioned  that  the  Yorkshire  Archa;o- 
logical  Association  now  numbered  143  life  mem- 
bers and  3.50  annual  subscribing  members.  The 
subscriptions  of  the  life  members  being  capital- 
ised, they  had  an  untouched  fimd  of  about  £730 
invested  in  the  bonds  of  the  Halifax  Corpora- 
tion. As  they  had  now  almost  exhausted  the 
objects  of  interest  in  Yorkshire  within  one  day's 
reach,  the  council  must  soon  consider  how  far 
they  would  be  justified  in  taking  expeditions  of  a 
somewhat  greater  length.  The  members  then  ad« 
journed  to  the  spacious  and  handsome  old  parish- 
church  of  Rotherham  (a  fine  specimen  of  Perpen- 
dicular  architecture) ,  where  a  paper  was  read  by  the 
Rev.  J.  Stacye,  Master  of  Shrewsbury  Hospital, 
Sheffield.  On  their  way  from  the  church  to  the 
station  for  the  return  journey,  the  visitors  had 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  "Our  Lady's  Chapel 
on  the  Biidge,"  less  ornate  than  the  similar 
structure  at  Wakefield,  but  yet  interesting.  The 
exact  period  of  erection  is  ascertained  from  a 
bequest  of  John  Bokying,  master  of  the  Gram- 
mar School,  in  his  will,  dated  August  21th, 
1483—"  To  the  fabric  of  the  chapel  to  be  biult 
on  Rotherham  Bridge  3s.  4d."  The  foundation 
of  the  college  had  been  laid  one  year  before. 
The  dimensions  of  the  chapel,  which  Las  in 
modern  times  been  devoted  to  the  vilest  uses, 
is  32ft.  Gin.  in  length,  by  ioft.  oin.  in  width. 
Not  long  ago  it  was  used  as  a  gaol,  and  now  it 
is  made  to  serve  as  a  tobacco«shop.  On  the  way 
to  the  station  it  was  pointed  out  that  nothing 
now  remains  of  the  noble  College  of  Jesus,  built 
by  Archbishop  Rotherham,  in  his  native  town, 
but  one  side  of  the  quadrangle,  now  occupied  as 
the  College  Inn. 


ON  THE  NECESSITY  FOR  A  REGULAR 
INSPECTION     OF    LIGHTNING    CON- 
DUCTORS.* 
By  RicHAED  AxBERsox,  F.C.S.,  F.G.S. 

ON  the  present  occasion  I  wish  to  bring  under 
the  notice  of  the  Association,  a  few  cases 
of  damage  resulting  to  buildings,  which  had 
lightning  conductors  attached,  which  have  come 
under  my  own  observation.  The  adducing  of  such 
cases  furnishes  the  best  argument,  I   imagine, 


•  Read  before  Section  A  of  the  British  Association  at 
Swansea,  Aug.  27,  ISiiO. 


not  only  for  a  record  being  kept  of  all  accidents, 
but  of  a  regular  inspection  of  buildings  which 
have  lit;htuing  conductors  attaclied  to  them. 

On  the  lOth  of  October,  Is7n,  a  funiituro 
repositorj'  situated  at  tlie  back  of  Victoria 
Station,  Westminster,  was  struck  by  lightning, 
although  a  conductor  was  attached  to  the 
building.  The  wanhousc,  which  in  built  of 
brick,  is  II Oft.,  by  about  HOft.  wide,  the  roof  U 
flat  and  covered  with  had.  At  the  duuth-east 
comer,  a  slate-covered  tower  with  4ft.  of  iron 
cresting,  rises  to  the  height  of  20ft.  above  the 
roof.  To  this  ornamental  ironwork  a  solid 
copper  band  lightning  conductor  ]in.  broad  by 
;in.  thick,  and  weighing  -ISlh.  per  foot,  was 
attached.  A  terminal  made  of  Jin.  iliam.  cop|)cr 
tube,  with  three  discharging  pointu  Gin.  long, 
screwed  into  the  rod  Sin.  from  the  lop,  rooo  3ft. 
above  the  iron  cresting.  The  rod  was  attached 
to  the  ironwork  by  means  of  coi>|)er  wire,  and 
tho  band  to  the  slates  and  brickwork  by  gun- 
metal  clips.  TIic  co]iper  was  of  vcr)-  good 
quality,  having  a  conductivity  of  !'2  00  per  cent. 
The  electric  discharge  fell  on  the  point  of  tho 
lightning  conductor,  bending  it,  driving  out  two 
of  the  di.scliarging  point*,  and  twisting  tho 
third.  The  iron  cresting  was  >hatterid,  and 
considerable  damage  done  to  the  tower.  I'urt 
of  tho  discliarge  was  no  doubt  carried  oil  from 
the  lead  roof  by  the  rain-water  pipes,  which  wcro 
in  metallic  communication  with  it.  On  tenting 
the  conductor  shortly  after  the  accident,  I  got  no 
deflection  of  the  galvanometer  needle,  and  en 
opening  out  tlie  earth  terminal  found  the  con- 
ductor carefully  insulated  in  concrete. 

On  the  loth  of  June  last,  lightning  struck 
the  point  of  the  conductor  at  St.  Mark's  Church, 
Skelton,  slightly  bending  it ;  but  did  no  further 
damage.  The  conductor  was  made  of  iin  diam. 
copper  rope,  and  had  a  conductirity  of  52-.)0 
per  cent.  On  testing  the  conductor,  while  rain 
was  falling,  I  found  the  resistance  to  be  COO 
ohms.  The  conductor  was  buried  !>in.  among 
bricks,  lime,  &c.,  and  carried  l.jft.  from  the 
buQding.  On  Saturday  the  2Gth  of  June,  ISSO, 
a  hea\-y  thunderstorm  passed  over  South  Lam- 
beth, the  lightning  doing  considerable  damage 
to  All  Saints  Church.  The  building  in  question, 
the  style  of  which  partakes  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  13th  century,  consists  of  a  nave  02ft.  fiin. 
long,  2oft.  wide,  and  36ft.  high  to  the  plate- 
level  of  the  roof,  a  chancel  31ft.  long,  20ft.  wide, 
and  48ft.  to  the  ridge,  also  north  and  south 
aisles  13ft.  Sin.  wide.  A  stone  cross  4ft.  high 
stands  on  the  apex  of  the  west  gable,  and  another 
of  .••imilar  size  stood  92ft.  Cin.  from  it  on  the  east 
end  of  the  nave,  a  ridge  of  red  tiles  separating 
them.  A  2in.  diam.  copper  rope  conductor,  con- 
sisting of  49  wires,  was  attached  to  the  cross  on 
the  west  gable,  a  .>ft.  point  male  of  copper  tube 
rising  18in.  above  it.  On  tho  aflenioou  of  the 
10th,  lisrhtuing  was  ob.-ervcd  to  strike  the 
point  of  the  conductor,  then  dart  to  the  stono 
cross  of  the  east  end  of  nave,  throwing  it  down  and 
injiuing  the  roof  of  the  north  aisle.  On  testing 
the  conductor  a  few  davs  aftt  r  the  building  was 
struck,  I  found  the  lightning  rod  had  no 
"  earth  "  whatever,  the  rope  being  simply  stuck 
2in.  in  loose  rubbish.  The  copper  was  Tcry 
impure,  the  conductivity  being  only  32  10  per 
cent.,  or  about  double  that  of  iron. 

In  July  last  about  lialf-pa-t  five  in  the  mom- 
ino-    li"htning   stnick   one  of  the  chimneys   of 
NSrma^mrst  Court,  near   Battle,  .Su»«-x,  not- 
withstanding  a  lightning  conductor  wa«  attached 
to  it.     Normanhurst  stands  on  high     and.  and 
commands    a    magnifi.-nt    view   of   the  whole 
channel    from  tlie  South   ronlind   t-    1..  .v  l.y 
Head.     The  buildings  are  constructed  ol   liini 
blue  stone,  roofed  with  nn'.stly  til<-:n'-l   ■•■   '" 
the  style  of  tho  age  of  Francis  I.     i-- 
two  lightning  conductor:,  on  the  t.uil.i.: 
on   an  octagonal   tower,  which  ""cs   i_ 
S.W.  angle,  having  a  bal._ony  and  a  lofty  ,.^ua 
spire,  abSut  120ft.  high,  the  ..ih.r  on  the  S.t. 
chimnev.  which  was  struck,  ab..  it  1  .it.  ..i-iani 
from  the  tower.     Thelightmni.- 
sistcd  of  12   copper  wiies,    U  ; 

into  the  form  of  a  band  lin.  bn. ,  .  - 

■3Glb.  per  foot.   The  air  terminal  «  ^  "^  ,  ^  —  .  "• 
above  the  chimney  coping.  conK.'id  o.  an  m.n 
point    12in.  long,  covered  with   a   r.T.jv-.,,..n 
which  on   scraping  appeared   !■ 
was  attached  by  means  of  a  • 
I  a   copper  tube  Oft.   long,   and  . 

iper  foot.  Tlic  copper  band  wn-  -"■'••' 
I  to  the  rod  by  another  f  •»I'1»°?  J"""„,  J^^^ 
I  chimney  coping  consi.-t.^  of  eight  omamenUil 
'tone  pinnacles  3ft.    high  «id  2ft.  s-iuaic  at  the 


268 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept,  3,  1880. 


base.  The  tcnninal  rod  was  placed  on  the  centre 
of  the  chimuey,  and  insulated  from  it.  The 
lightning  discharge  struck  the  chimney,  destroy- 
ing three  of  the  pinnacles,  which,  falling  through 
the  roof  below,  did  considerable  damage.  The 
air  terminal  was  bent,  and  the  composition  on 
the  point  melted  Sin.  The  wires  near  the 
terminal  point  were  likewise  partly  fused,  and, 
on  taking  out  one  wire  2.3ft.  below  the  terminal 
rod,  I  found  it  so  irregular  m  thickness,  that  it 
had  to  be  redrawn  before  the  conductivity 
could  be  determined.  On  testing  the  earth 
terminal,  I  could  get  no  deflection  of  the  galva- 
nometer needle,  the  conductor  being  buried  in 
dry  earth  within  a  stone  wall  Sft.  above 
the  fosse,  or  asphalted  area.  The  conductor  on 
the  tower  had  "  good  earth."  The  conductivity 
of  the  copper  was  SOo. 

In  my  recently  published  work  on  ' '  The  His- 
tory and  Application  of  Lightning  Conductors," 
the  following  cases,  among  others,  are  given. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  1S7S,  lightning  struck 
the  powder  magazine  at  the  Victoria  Colliery, 
Bomtclifl,  Yorkshire.  At  the  time  of  the  ex- 
plosion the  magazine  contained  about  2,0001b.  of 
gunpowder.  The  magazine  was  an  oblong 
building  of  brick,  9ft.  long,  .5ft.  wide,  and  Oft. 
liigh  (internal  dimensions),  and  it  had  a  uniform 
thickness  of  three  bricks.  At  the  end  was  a 
heavy  iron  door,  and  at  the  other  a  lightning 
conductor,  consisting  of  a  copper  wire  rope 
seven-sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The 
point  of  the  terminal  rod  was  about  13ft.  above 
the  top  of  the  building,  and  a  similar  length 
was  carried  into  the  ground,  and  terminated  in 
clayey  soO  at  a  depth  of  3ft.  The  conductor 
was  fixed  to  a  pole  distant  about  2in.  from  the 
end  of  the  buUding  opposite  to  that  in  which  the 
iron  door  was  fixed.  /(  was  not  eonutcted  wit/i 
the  iron  door  in  any  tcatj.  On  testing  the  con- 
ductivity of  the  copper  rope  it  was  found  to  be 
only  39-2  instead  of  93  or  94  per  cent.  The 
conductor  should  not  have  been  insulated,  but 
brought  down  the  pole,  carried  along  the  roof 
down  the  iron  door-post,  and  so  into  the 
ground. 

In  August,  1879,  lightning  struck  one  of  the 
pinnacles  of  the  tower  of  Cromer  Church,  Nor- 
folk, although  on  another  pinnacle  only  27ft.  6ln. 
distant,  a  good  copper  conductor,  having  a  dia- 
meter of  J  of  an  inch  was  placed.  On  testing 
the  conductor  by  means  of  a  galvanometer,  I 
found  it  and  the  earth  connection  in  thorough 
order.  In  this  case,  a  point  should  have  been 
placed  on  each  of  the  pinnacles,  and  joined  the 
main  conductor. 

In  May,  1S79,  the  steeple  of  the  Church  at 
Laughton-en-le-Morthen  was  struck  by  light- 
ning and  damaged.  The  spire,  17oft.  in  height, 
had  attached  to  it  a  thin  tube  made  of  corrugated 
copper,  about  J  of  an  inch  in  external  diameter, 
and  g  internal ;  the  copper  being  1-32  of  an  inch 
in  thickness.  It  was  made  in  short  lengths 
joined  together  by  screws  and  coupling-pieces, 
but  there  was  no  metallic  contact  whatever  be- 
tween the  piices,  which  were  much  corroded. 
The  conductor  was  not  in  contact  with  the  build- 
ing, but  was  kept  at  a  distance  of  2iin.  by 
twenty-one  insulators.  The  earth  contact  was 
obtained  by  bending  the  tube  and  burying 
it  in  the  ground  at  a  depth  of  from  6  to  1  Sin . , 
the  soil  beingdrylooserubbish,  the  earth  teiminal 
being  only  3ft.  Itwas  placed  in  a  comer  formed 
by  a  double-stem  buttress,  which  came  between 
the  conductor  and  a  lead-covered  roof  attached 
to  the  spire ;  the  distance  between  the  conductor 
and  the  lead  roofing  being  about  Oft.  Gin.  The 
lightning  appears  to  have  come  down  the  con- 
ductor a  eert.ain  distance,  and  finding  the  road 
to  earth  bad,  it  passed  through  the  buttress, 
dislodging  about  two  cartloads  of  stone,  and 
then  down  the  cast-iron  pipes  leading  from  the 
lead-covered  roof,  and  to  to  earth. 

From  the  instances  quoted,  it  is  evident  that 
it  is  not  sufBcient  merely  that  rods  of  copper 
should  be  attached  to  a  building,  but  it  is  ne- 
cessary that  once  put  up,  they  should  be  regu- 
larly inspected  to  see  if  they  are  in  good 
order,  so  as  to  be  really  eflicaeious. 
That  this  is  rarely  done  is  one  of  the  main 
reasons  why  accidents  by  lightning  occur  in 
places  nominally  protected  by  conductors.  It 
is,  perhaps,  not  too  much  to  assert  that  at  pre- 
sent not  one  in  a  thousand  of  our  public  build- 
ings in  England  are  regularly  tested. 

There  can  be  no  manner  of  doubt  that  in  the 
matter  of  lightning  conductors  they  manage 
things  better  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel 
than  with  us.      The  French  Govenment   are  in 


the  constant  habit  of  consulting  the  most  emi 
nent  scientific  men  on  the  subject  of  protectin< 
public  buildings  against  the  destructive  influ 
ence  of  lightning.  There  is  scarcely  an  instance 
in  wliich  a  British  Government  ever  did  such  a 
thing.  It  is  true  the  Houses  of  Parliament  had 
lightning  conductors  erected  upon  them  at  a 
very  great  cost  and  under  scientific  advice.  But 
all  who  understand  the  subject  practically 
agree  in  saying  that  it  is  very  doubtful  whether 
the  magnificent  pile  of  buildings  in  which  our 
legislators  assemble  is  really,  that  is  efiiciently, 
protected.  At  all  events,  I  imderstand  the 
earths  have  never  been  tested  since  the  con- 
ductors were  erected  in  18.52.  That  the  Victoria 
Tower  should  have  been  struck  in  June,  1868, 
and  slightly  damaged,  tends  to  .show  that  the 
conductors  at  that  time  were  not  in  an  efficient 
state. 

From  the  examination  I  have  made  I  am 
pretty  correct  in  stating  that  one-half  of  our 
cathedrals  and  three-fourths  of  our  churches 
have  not  even  nominal  protection.  For  all  that 
science  has  done,  the  Queen  may  any  day  be 
killed  in  her  apartments  in  Windsor  Castle,  the 
Prince  of  Wales  in  Jlarlborough  House,  and  the 
Prime  Minister  in  Downing-street.  To  see  the 
dift'erence  between  England  and  France  in  this 
respect,  one  has  but  to  cross  the  Channel  be- 
tween Dover  aud  Calais.  At  Dover  there  are 
huge  barracks  of  great  length,  on  the  top  of 
high  hills,  exposed  to  the  full  fury  of  storms 
sweeping  across  the  Channel,  and  the  few  con- 
ductors to  be  found  upon  them  at  long  intervals 
are  certainly  not  numerous  enough  for  efficient 
protection  against  Hghtning,  and  their  efficiency 
has  never,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  been  tested.  The 
contrast  in  this  respect  on  crossing  the  Channel 
is  of  the  most  striking.  At  Calais  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  in  the  Grand  Place,  literally  bristles  with 
lightning  conductors,  and  so  all  the  churches 
aud  chief  buildings  in  the  town.  The  same  all 
over  France,  Germany,  and  Belgium.  Without 
slavishly  imitating  our  scientific  neighbours, 
we  might  yet  bestow  some  of  the  care  they  do 
upon  the  protection  of  our  property  as  well  as 
of  our  lives  against  the  terrible  effects  of  the 
electric  force. 

MENTAI,    IMAGERY. 

OX  Monday  evening  an  address  was  delivered 
by  Mr.  Francis  Gallon,  F.R.S.,  at  Swan- 
sea, in  connection  with  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  on  "  Mental  Imagery." 

The  author  said  :  — 

There  is  a  true  kinship  between  actual  vi.sion 
and  the  mental  picture  by  which  we  recollect 
what  we  have  seen.  'When  light  falls  on  the 
eye,  a  stimulus  from  without  travels  inwards 
towards  the  brain,  where  it  associates  itself  with 
other  waves  of  irritation  proceeding  from  inde- 
pendent centres.  In  the  formation  of  a  mental 
picture  the  process  is  reversed.  The  action  of 
the  brain  is  propagated  outwards,  becoming 
fainter  as  it  travels.  The  same  nervous  chain  is 
concerned  in  both  cases,  but  its  links  are  differ- 
ently affected.  We  may  define  Shakespeare's 
phrase  of  seeing  with  the  *'  mind's  eye  "  as  a 
condition  in  which  activity  of  the  ner^'ous 
centre  bears  a  higher  ratio  to  that  of  the  nervous 
terminations  than  it  does  in  ordinary  vision. 
The  object  of  the  lecturer  was  to  point  out  the 
chief  peculiarities  in  the  mental  imagery  of 
different  persons  to  show  that  they  were  natural 
and  hereditary,  and  characteristic  of  dili'erent 
races,  but  that  they  admitted  in  a  high  degree 
of  being  developed  by  education,  and  to  describe 
the  most  useful  peculiarities  for  technical  and 
artistic  use  as  well  as  for  p'lilosophical  gene- 
ralisations. The  medium  characteristic  of 
mental  imagery  among  Englishmen  was  fairly 
viWd,  but  incomplete.  The  field  of  their 
mental  view  was  narrow,  but  by  moving  the 
mental  eye  from  point  to  point  the  whole  of  the 
image  could  be  successively  seen,  so  far  as  it 
was  remembered  at  all.  He  based  these  conclu- 
sions on  hundreds  of  replies  sent  to  an  elaborate 
series  of  questions,  of  the  substantial  truth  of 
which  he  was  assured  by  frequent  cross-exami- 
nations. He  found  that  the  power  of  seeing  an 
image  vividly  was  by  no  means  uncommon,  so  it 
was  a  priori  reasonable  to  expect  that  education 
might  develop  the  power  of  the  large  majority 
to  that  high  level.  In  actual  proof  of  this  he 
quoted  the  experiences  of  M.  Lecoq  de  Bois- 
baudran  (Enseignement  Artistique,  Morel  et 
Cie.,  Parb),  the  late  director  of  the  Ecole 
Nationale  de  Dessein,  in  Paris,  to  show  how 


well  the  visualising  faculty  could  be  taught.  His 
pupils  were  made  to  study  simple  models  carefully 
and  then  to  draw  them  from  memory,  and  in  a 
few  months  they  had  no  difficulty  in  summoning 
the  required  images,  in  holding  them  steadily, 
and  in  drawing  them.  A  commission  of  the 
Institute,  appointed  in  1852  to  inquii-e  into  the 
results,  reported  most  highly  in  their  favour. 
M.  Legros,  the  present  Slade  Professor  of  Fine 
Arts  at  University  College,  was  one  of  M.  Bois- 
baudran's  pupils.  A  description  was  given  of 
many  peculiarities  of  mental  imagery,  such  as 
the  strange  and  durable  association  in  the  minds 
of  some  persons  with  colours  and  letters  or  with 
days  of  the  week,  and  the  curious  tendency  of 
about  one  person  in  every  thirty  to  visualise 
numerals  in  definite  forms,  which  the  lecturer 
recently  described  at  the  Anthropological  Insti- 
tute. These  are  examples  of  a  want  of  flexi- 
bility in  mental  imagery  that  is  characteristic 
of  those  who  can  with  difliculty  see  an  object 
mentally  in  more  than  one  or  two  aspects.  There 
are,  for  instance,  many  who  cannot  recall  the 
faces  of  dear  relations  who  have  died,  though 
those  of  persons  who  are  indifferent  to  them  are 
easily  recollected.  This  is  chiefly  owing  to  theii 
seeing  familiar  faces  very  often  in  many  aspects, 
and  to  the  memories  confusing  one  another. 
Philosophers  who  deal  in  abstract  ideas  avoid 
concrete  representations  and  suppress  mental 
imagery,  and  often  lose  the  visualising  faculty 
by  disuse.  But  those  whose  mental  imagery 
can  be  educated  so  as  not  to  be  hard  and 
persistent  in  its  character,  abandon  a  great  deal 
of  much  value  to  them  by  the  disuse  of  this 
power.  They  lose  the  only  means  they  have  of 
creating  a  mental  generic  picture  under  the 
conditions  explained  by  the  lecturer  last  year  at 
the  Koyal  Institution,  and  as  illustrated  by  his 
plan  of  composite  portraiture,  of  which  he  ex- 
hibited specimens.  After  giving  details  of 
various  and  not  uncommon  peculiarities,  he 
stated  as  a  not  unattainable  ideal  by  the  ma- 
jority that  we  should  aim  at  the  following 
result : — The  power  of  calling  up  at  will  a  clear 
and  complete  image  of  any  object  we  have 
studied,  and  to  be  able  to  see  it  from  any  desired 
aspect,  to  construct  clear  images  from  descrip- 
tion, and  to  alter  them  as  we  please  ;  to  create- 
generic  images  from  several  ditt'erent  but  some- 
what similar  elements,  and  to  carry  away 
pictures  at  a  glance,  more  complicated  than  we 
could  analyse  at  the  moment  of  seeing  them. 
The  lecture  was  illustrated  by  specimens  of  the- 
"  visualised  numerals,"  some  simple,  some 
shaded,  and  others  coloured.  He  showed  the 
practical  application  of  his  method  of  "statistics- 
by  inter  -  comparison "  in  obtaining  median, 
quartUe,  octUe,  and  sub-octUe  values  for  the 
vividness  of  mental  imagery.  He  also  exhibited 
specimens  of  aboriginal  work  by  the  bushmen  of 
South  Africa,  from  the  fine  collection  of  Mr. 
Stow,  who  has  very  lately  sent  some  specimens- 
to  England,  in  hopes  that  means  might  be  found 
for  the  publication  of  the  whole  of  them.  Alsc- 
from  Esquimaux  and  their  kinsmen,  the  ancient 
cave-dwellers.  All  these  testified,  as  he  showed, 
to  a  race- peculiarity  of  mental  imagery,  which 
was  probable  enough,  as  the  tendency  to 
visualise  clearly  was  a  natural  gift,  and  he  had 
found  it  to  be  hereditary  in  an  exceptionally 
high  degree.  From  among  the  many  evidences 
of  the  power  of  the  Esquimaux  to  cany  a 
mental  image  of  a  large  extent  of  country,  he 
exhibited  a  fac-simile  of  an  aboriginal  map,  one 
of  many  contained  in  Hall's  "  Journals" 
published  last  year  by  the  Vnited  States- 
Government.  It  was  the  chart  of  a  complicated 
coast  line,  extending  nearly  1,000  nautical  miles 
in  a  direct  line,  over  which  the  man  had  canoed 
diuing  his  life,  and  it  was  drawn  froni  memory 
alone.  It  might  be  compared  to  a  chart  of  the 
south  coast  of  England,  the  whole  of  those  of 
France  and  Spain,  and  of  the  opposite  shore  of 
Italy.  By  the  side  of  this  was  shown  the  Ad- 
miralty chart  of  1874  of  the  same  region,  and 
the  general  coincidence  between  the  two  was 
triking.  Tliere  was,  to  his  knowledge,  no  in- 
stance among  the  many  route  maps  compiled  up 
to  very  recent  years  by  travellers  totally  unpro- 
vided with  instruments  in  Africa,  Asia,  and 
Australia,  of  any  that  were  comparable  in  ex- 
tent and  accuracy  to  that  of  this  barbarous 
Esquimaux.  The  visualising  faculty  was  of 
importance  in  every  trade  and  profession  where 
design  is  required,  because  the  workman  ought 
to  have  a  clear  mental  image  of  what  he  intends 
to  do  before  he  takes  a  tool  in  hand.  The 
pleasure  its  use  can  afford  is  very  great,  many 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


269 


correspondents  saying  that  tte  delight  of  re- 
calling beautiful  scenery  and  great  works  of  art 
is  the  highest  they  know.  A  faculty  that  is  of 
importance  in  all  technical  and  artistic  occupa- 
tions, that  gives  accuracy  to  oui'  perceptions 
and  justness  to  our  generalisations,  is  ignorantly 
starved  by  disuse  instead  of  being  cultivated  in 
the  way  that  will  bring  the  best  return. 


THE   DESTEUCTION    OF    ST.    MABY'S, 
WHITECHAPEL. 

THE  calamitous  fire  which  has  reduced  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Whitechapel,  to  a  ruin, 
reminds  us  rather  forcibly  of  the  combustible 
nature  of  all  our  church-roofs  of  modem  con- 
struction. It  is  instructive  as  indicating  what 
might  at  any  time  happen  to  nine-tentb.?  of  our 
churches  which  have  timber  roofs,  and  which 
need  only  a  light  to  set  them  in  flames.  Unfor- 
tunately, stone  vaults  are  now  rare,  though  even 
where  they  exist,  as  in  most  of  our  cathedrals, 
the  wooden  roofs  above  them  are  liable  to  be 
burned  by  carlessness  of  plumbers,  as  the  late 
instance  of  Canterbury  Cathedral  affords  us  a 
lesson.  But  architects,  for  many  reasons,  prefer 
to  employ  timber,  and  to  use  close  boarded 
Taults  of  wood,  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  economy 
and  resonance.  As  far  as  we  can  gather  from 
the  facte  at  present  brought  to  light,  repairs 
were  being  made  inside  the  structure,  and  a 
light  is  said  to  have  been  left  burning  in 
some  part  of  the  organ.  In  the  momentary 
absence  of  the  workmen,  the  organ  is  alleged 
to  have  become  ignited,  and  the  flames, 
ascending  to  the  wooden  roof,  soon  set  it 
ablaze.  Nothing  would  seem  to  be  less  pro- 
bable than  a  lofty  roof  of  a  church  becoming 
ignited  ;  but  the  present  is  a  deplorable  instance 
of  how  readily  the  wooden  casing  of  an  organ 
may  act  as  a  connecting  link  to  destroy  a  whole 
building.  The  roof  in  St.  Mary's  was  lined 
with  polished  pitch-pine,  which  became  a  capital 
conductor  of  the  flames.  Dried  both  by  the 
heat  of  the  sun  on  the  outer  covering,  and  by 
the  gas-lighting  below,  it  was  rendered  in  a  fit 
state  for  immediate  combustion,  and  the  flames 
ran  readily  along,  helped  by  the  natural  draught 
created ,  and  attacked  every  poict  of  the  roof 
almost  simultaneously.  Referring  to  oiir  de- 
scription of  this  fine  edifice,  and  to  the  view  of 
the  interior  published  in  the  Bulldcv-g  News, 
Sept.  S,  1S76,  our  readers  will  find  minute  par- 
ticulars of  its  construction.  It  was  rebuilt  from 
the  designs  of  Mr.  Ernest  Lee,  at  the  expense  of 
Mr.  Coope,  M.P.,  and  completed  in  1877.  The 
nave  was  110ft.  inlength,  3Sft.  wide,  it  was  .51ft. 
high  to  the  plate,  and  6oft.  the  crown,  and  the 
roof  was  of  king-post  construction  with  ties, 
barrel- vaulted,  and  boarded  with  pitch-pine, 
ribbed,  and  left  without  stain  or  varnish.  The 
eastern  bay  of  nave  on  the  north  side  was  rather 
loftier  than  tlie  others,  and  contained  the  organ, 
whose  case  was  built  in  the  recess.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  inflammable  or  have 
favoured  the  spreading  of  the  flames  better.  Yet 
it  is  a  type  of  many  of  our  recently-built 
churches.  Even  pitch-pine  is  itself  a  highly 
resinous  and  inflammable  material  for  roofs,  and 
as  an  under  fining  with  an  open  space  over  it, 
it  seems  almost  to  invite  conflagration.  The 
disaster  is  important  as  a  lesson,  and  may  sug- 
gest the  question  of  how  such  roofs  may  be  ren- 
dered less  inflammable.  An  iron  roof  over  a 
church  will  probably  never  become  acceptable  to 
the  architect,  neither  can  we  say  its  advantages 
as  a  fire-resisting  material  give  it  any  greater 
claim  than  it  has  sesthetically.  Even  wooden 
roofs  may  be  made  uninflammable  or,  at  least, 
capable  of  checking  the  progress  of  fire. 
There  are  several  excellent  materials,  such  as 
plaster,  some  kinds  of  felt  which  resist  combus- 
tion, and  which  might  very  ea-sily  be  packed  to 
a  few  inches  ir.  thickness  behind  the  boarding  of 
a  vault.  The  danger  is  in  leaving  thin  match- 
boarding  with  an  open  space  above  it  to  the 
mercy  of  ignition,  which  might  just  as  readily 
have  happened  if  a  lighted  match  had  been  thrown 
down  upon  it  by  a  workman  engaged  in  repair- 
ing the  timbers  behind  or  the  slating.  But 
suppose  that  over  the  boarded  vault  another 
ceiling  of  rough  plaster  were  introduced  a  few 
inches  above.  In  this  case  the  flames  would  at 
once  have  been  arrested  in  their  progress  and 
time  given  to  have  averted  a  serious  fire.  Every- 
one knows  that  if  a  flame  is  prevented  from 
rising,  it  is  soon  extinguished.  Let  the  current 
of  air  be  stopped  by  some  incc  mbustible  material 
-ibove  the  wood  and  close  to  it,  and  a  sweeping 


fire  is  rendered  impossible.  A  second  plaster, 
or,  better  still,  concrete,  ceiling  above  the  lower 
one  would  do  this ;  and  why  cannot  all  our 
wooden  timber  roofs  be  so  protected?  It  was 
the  want  of  sub.-tauce  in  the  boards  which 
facilitated  the  conflagration  so  disastrously.  Ai> 
open- timber  roof,  vrith  open  principals  and 
boarding  close  to  the  slating,  would  not  have 
fallen  a  prey  to  the  flames  half  so  easily,  but  the 
boarded  ceiling,  with  its  undoubted  advantages, 
is  unquestionably  a  source  of  peril.  We,  there- 
fore, throw  out  the  above  suggestion  iu  the  hope 
that  our  church  building  societies  may  enforce  a 
regiUation  iu  the  way  we  propose.  There  are 
known  certain  chemical  solutions  which  check 
inflammability  ;  but  such  processes  are  as  yet 
doubtful.  Unfortunately,  in  church  roofs,  the 
risks  cannot  be  reduced  as  in  the  case  of  dwelling 
houses  and  stores ;  there  are  no  fire-proof  parti- 
tions to  confine  a  fire  to  one  compartment,  or 
iron  shutters  to  let  down  to  cut  off  communica- 
tion. 

As  one  of  the  best  and  most  recent  churches 
in  Loudon,  the  destruction  of  St.  Mary's  is  to  be 
deplored  ;  the  church  itself  was  raised  by  piivate 
beneficence,  and  its  architectural  proportions 
and  details  were  of  the  highest  order  and 
reflected  credit  upon  its  architect.  The  event 
may  teach  us  that  even  so  massive  a  structure 
as  a  church  may  be  reduced  in  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time  by  the  ignition,  through  care- 
lessness, of  its  almost  sole  combustible  materials 
when  those  are  disposed  in  a  manner  favourable 
for  speedy  destruction. 


CISTERNS  AND  THE  WATER  SUPPLY. 

IN   his  monthly  report  on  the  water  supplied 
by  the  London  Water  Companies,  Lieut-Col. 
Bolton  says  : — 

In  the  absence  of  a  duly  authorised  and  officiil 
"  standard  of  filtration"  regulating  the  quantity 
of  water  to  be  passed  through  a  given  area  in  a 
given  time,  it  has  been  found  during  the  past  8 
years  that  when  the  rate  of  filtration  does  not 
exceed  oiO  gallons  per  square  yard  of  filter  bed 
each  24  hours,  the  filtration  is  effectual,  and 
this  has  been  generally  recognised  as  a  tentiitive 
standard  rate  of  filtration.  The  water  companies 
now  nearly  all  keep  within  this  limit,  but  it  is 
disheartening  to  reflect  that,  notwithstanding 
the  efforts  that  have  been  made  and  the  large 
expenditirre  that  has  been  incurred  in  works  for 
properly  treating  and  improving  the  quality  of 
the  water,  these  efforts  are  rendered  nearly  abor- 
tive and  but  of  little  value  by  the  apathy  and 
carelessness  of  a  great  nrrmber  of  the  house- 
holders. The  water  delivered  for  domestic  pirr- 
poses  is  frequently  deteriorated  after  leaving  the 
Companies'  mains  by  the  dirty  state  of  the 
cistenrs  on  the  premises  of  the  consimrers.  Many 
of  the  cisterns,  tanks,  and  butts  for  containing 
water  in  small  tenement  houses  in  the  Metropolis 
are  in  a  disgusting  and  filthy  state.  An  oppor- 
timity  for  inspecting  these  presents  itself  when 
travelling  on  some  of  the  Metropolitan  and 
subirrban  lines.  Cisterns  may  be  seen  n-ithout 
lids  and  with  portions  of  rotten  lids  floating  in 
the  water,  fall  of  rank  and  decaying  vegetation, 
and  other  most  objectionable  substances,  such  as 
old  rags  and  paper,  and  on  closer  examination 
the  contents  would  show  more  or  less  organic 
deposit,  and  imder  the  microscope  would  be 
found  to  abound  in  infusorial  life.  All  cisterns 
should,  therefore,  be  properly  covered  and  be 
frequently  cleaned  out  and  every  care  should  be 
taken  to  prevent  the  contamination  of  the  do- 
mestic supply  after  delivery.  Now,  as  heretofore, 
it  appears  to  be  the  rule  in  building  a  certain 
class  of  houses  to  place  the  cistern  over  the  water- 
closet  with  an  untrapped  ■«  astc  pipe  communi- 
cating with  the  drains.  These  cr^tems  are  often 
open  and  regularly  receive  the  drippings  from 
the  roofs  and  gutters;  they  are  moreover  m 
close  proximinily  to  the  dust-bins  and  other 
deposits  of  filth  and  garbage,  while  children 
amuse  themselves  by  throwing  all  sorts  of  dirty 
rubbish  into  the  water,  including  dead  puppies, 
and  kittens,  with  an  occasional  cat.  These  are 
facts  known  by  personal  observation.  Ine 
purest  and  best  filtered  water  in  England  would 
be  poisoued  bv  such  a  system  of  sroreage. 

The  Public  Health  Act  of  IS7o,  section  70, 
gives  power  to  any  local  authority,  in  case  of 
complaint,  to  inspect  and  remedy  such  evils ;  but. 
probably,  the  only  remedy  for  this  state  of 
affairs,  will  be  found  in  the  establishment  of  the 
constant  supply  system  and  the  consequent  total 


aboUtiori  of  these  unfit  receptacles ;  meanwhile, 
and  until  the  .system  of  constant  supply  ia  com- 
pleted, the  owners  and  occui)ier«  of  houses  are 
surely  very  wrong  in  permiitirii,'  such  a  condition 
of  things  to  exist.  In  the  Utter  class  of  bouses 
and  in  many  public  buildings,  the  cleansing  of 
cisterns  and  tanks  is  frequently  nigUtctcd  for 
mouths,  and  in  some  cases,  years  arc  i>ennitted 
to  pass  without  any  examiuution  or  clcanoinK 
taxing  place. 

Ill  coru-t.-)  and  alleys  several  of  the  Water  Com- 
panres  arc  already  giving  o.ustaut  bupply  by- 
means  of  staud-pijies,  provided,  in  miwt  cases, 
with  self-clo.-ing  tap-,  and  in  the  dist riots  of 
those  companies  whieh  are  extcuiug  tho  constant 
supply,  a  marked  iiuprovcmcut  has  taken  place 
in  the  quality  of  the  water  e-on^umed  by  tho 
small  householder,  whieh  thus  rcathen  the  bouso 
in  the  same  condition  as  it  leaves  the  Company's 
mains.  In  these  monthly  reijorls  ntttmtion  is 
periodically  drawn  to  the  neeetc,ity  which  exists 
for  the  regular  cleansing  of  eistenm,  and  also  to 
the  fact  that  the  cuuiaminutiou  of  watt-r  from 
the  gases  generated  by  sewage  in  of  far  mora 
frequent  occurence  than  is  generally  understood. 
Waste  pipes  from  ei^t<■m8  arc  still  Iu  In  found 
in  direct  communication  with  the  hcwcni,  and 
the  gases  thus  flow  back  into  the  eislcms  and 
become  absorbed  by  the  water.  To  prevent  this, 
the  over-flow  pipe  should  be  brought  outside  the 
house  and  the  end  left  exposed  to  the  air,  instead 
of  being  carried  into  the  drain,  as  is  often  tbo 
case.  By  the  adoption  of  this  plan  the  poisonous 
effluvia  and  gases  from  the  drains  wiU  be  got 
rid  of ;  these  would  otherwise  ascend  tbroush 
the  pipe  and  not  only  be  partly  absorbed  by  the 
water  in  the  cistern,  but  be  mixed  with  thie  air 
in  the  houses,  thereby  becoming  a  cause  of 
danger  and  disease. 


CHIPS. 

The  parish-church  of  Caldbcck  was  reopened  on 
Sunday  week  after  restoration  cf  the  chancel,  from 
the  designs  of  Mr.  C.  J.  Ferguson,  of  Corliile.  In 
removing  the  ceiling  of  sacristy,  a*i-lightclcre*toiy 
window  of  about  the  i>criod  of  the  rebuilding  of 
sacristy  and  insertion  of  present  east  window  t) 
chancel— l.jl'2 — was  found  and  opened  out,  and 
also  three  lees  important  windows,  previiui-ly 
blocked  up.  The  cost  has  been  i'COO,  and  the  chief 
contractors  were  Messrs.  W.  and  J.  Batey,  of 
Upperley,  for  masoniy,  Mr.  Foster,  of  Wigton, 
for  joinery,  and  Messrs.  Stockdole  and  Johnston, 
of  CarUsle,  for  plumbing.  It  is  proposed  to  restore 
and  reseat  the  nave  frcm  the  designs  of  the  same 
architect. 

A  new  chapel,  to  be  known  as  tho  Vineyard,  has 
just  been  opened  in  Norfolk-street,  PecUiam.  It 
has  been  built  by  the  preacher,  Mr.  Frederick 
Seller,  builder  and  manufacturer,  of  East  Dulwich, 
at  a  cost,  including  furniture,  of  il.JOO,  audaesU 
500  persons  ;  at  the  rtar  is  a  second  hall,  fcporattd 
by  folding  doors,  and  seating  liOO  rwrsons.  The 
organ  in  the  chapel  is  by  Messrs.  Ccvington  and 
Sons. 

The  Newmarket  Local  Board  of  Ifeslth  diicnsicd 
on  Monday  week  the  differences  which  haveaziMa 
between  Messrs.  Saint  and  Son,  tho  ccntnctors, 
Mr.  J.  F.  Clark,  the  engimer,  and  tho  bird,  si  to 
the  terms  of  the  contract  for  bnckmK  the  Mwerofa 
area  and  resolv.d  to  call  iu  Mr.  Kdward  rritcharJ, 
C.E.,  of  London  and  Warwick,  to  act  as  arU- 
trator. 

A  mural  painting  representing  the  N»jiTi*T  t" 
been  placed  over  the  chancel-srch  of  rnlUeweU 
parish- church,  South  E^x.  The  P»'?''°K  "^ 
work  of  Messrs.  Buckley  and  Co.,  of  W  eUs-strw*, 
London,  W. 

The  corporation  of  Colchtster  decided  to  aeqmn 
land  of  Mr.  T.  Moy,  for  tbo  purpose  of  a  tewsri 
outfall,  and  also  accepted  tho  loirct  t«n<!rr.  t  .-.- 
of  Mr.  R.  C.  Trimm.  at  iM: . -'».  for  the  «.-  .  .. 
of  sewerage  works.  The  work  will  b-- cam.  .  ^ 
from  the  plans  and  under  ibc  sui«rrislon  . .  ..r. 
Clegg,  the  borough  surveyor. 

A  new  chorch.  in  conne  cf  erection  at  t*iiRbo 
at  acosTof  H.m.  will  be  op«n«i  brlheBiskopof 
Manchester  on  the  ijth  mst. 

The  town  ccnnca  of  I'rwtrt..  on  -rbniadsy 
week! adopt. dplsn.  by  Mr  G.r.ick.  Jb^*"- 
ve  yor  for  ilte.itions  to  tho  Boor  of  the  GnikUulI, 
and  for  imrrovemeots  at  the  «.re-eiclia«««. 

A  freehold  plot  of  cr.-e.r.  1  \:.  r..lRt.-row. 
Carmen -street,   with   a   fr  -     f  .  • 

ISft.  6in.,   and  conUinips  '^J^   • 

(with  an  old  hoii.«e  on  it,   ■  "^    br 

was  sold  bv  aucUon  U»t  we- ».  '  •■  -■^■,  "JJ. 
S^  Foster,  of  PoU-moU.  i<f,^-^-yiJl 
"-^-    a  square  foot,    or  at  the  rale  of    OT«t 


'  £3:6,000  per  acre. 


270 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Late  Mr.  Benjamin  Ferrcy  and  his  "Works 201 

Whit  is  Mortar  ? 262 

Hygiene  and  House-Building 263 

A  Recent  Visitto  Russia    264 

Spain  in  18S0- Restorations     265 

Yorkshire  Archjeolog-ical  Association    267 

On  the  Necessity  for  a  Regular  Inspection,  of  Light- 
ning Conductors 267 

Mental  Imagery    26S 

The  Destruction  of  St.  Mary's,  "Whitechapel     269 

Cisterns  and  the  Water  Supply       269 

Chips 269 

Our  Lithographic  Ulustrationa 270 

The  Glasgow  Municipal  Buildings  Competitiozi 270 

Temperature  of  To\vti  Water  Supplies 270 

The  Progress  of  Ireland    2S3 

Our  Commonplace  Column 283 

Hittit«  Remains  and  Inscription     2S4 

Architectural  and  Archfeological  Societies 2S4 

Building  Intelligence   2S4 

Parliamentary  Notes   285 

To  Correspondents 283 

Correspondence      2S5 

Intercommunication    287 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      28.S 

Legal  Intelligence 283 

Our  Office  Table    283 

TradeNews     290 

Tenders    290 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THE  COLLE  GIATE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  IIICHAEL  AT  ST.  QUEK- 
TIK.  —  STUDIOS,  PAEK-EOAD,  HAMPSTEAD.  —  HOUSES, 
LOBSA-EOAD,  HOVE  ,  BRIGHTON".  —  BOXMOOR  SCHOOLS, 
HEMEL  JIEMPSTED.— VILLA    RESIDENCE    AT  BLACSBUEX. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 


BOXMOOR    SCHOOLS. 

The  Boxmoor  Schools,  built  at  Two  AVaters, 
for  the  Hemel  Hempsted  School-Boaid,  are 
situated  on  a  narrow-fronted  site  of  steeply- 
sloping  ground  facing  the  open  common,  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  railway-station,  and  some 
distance  to  the  right  on  the  road  from  the  station 
to  the  town  of  Hemel  Hempsted.  They  are 
built  to  accommodate  120  children  in  the  mixed 
school  and  class-rooms,  and  100  infants,  of 
course,  having  separate  entrances,  with  the 
necessary  cloak-rooms,  lavatories,  .tc.,  and  good 
playgrounds.  There  is  a  master's  house  in  the 
front,  with  large  sitting-room,  kitchen,  scullery, 
pantries,  &c.,  and  three  bedrooms  over.  The 
buildings  were  satisfactorOy  carried  out  by  the 
late  Mr.  Joseph  Harris,  builder,  of  Great 
Berkhampsted,  from  plans  prepared  by  and  under 
the  personal  superintendence  of  Mr.  John  Ladds, 
architect,  who  won  them  in  competition.  The 
buildings  are  faced  with  Cowley  stock  bricks, 
and  have  red  brick  bands  and  arches,  with  hard 
stone  sill  and  steps  ;  the  roofs  are  open-timbered, 
ceiled  to  the  under  side  of  the  rafters,  and  are 
covered  on  the  outside  with  plain  tiles  from  the 
yard  of  Mr.  Franklin,  Ampthill,  Beds. 

VILLA    EESIDENCE    AT    ELACKBimN. 

■^E  have  received  no  particulars  descriptive  of 
this  villa  residence  at  Blackburn,  of  which  we 
are  enabled  to  give  a  plan  and  view  of  the 
entrance-front  to-day.  The  materials  are 
stone,  « ith  coloured  bands  for  the  walls,  and 
slates  for  the  roofs.  Tinted  quarry  glazing  is  to 
be  introduced  in  the  upper  lights  of  all  the 
principal  windows.  Messrs.  Waugh  and  Isitt, 
of  Bradford,  are  the  architects. 


year.  A  greater  range  than  Sdeg.  would  not 
practically  occur  in  such  a  tube  ;  whereas  iu 
Croydon,  where  there  was  a  constant  water 
supply,  the  range  in  the  temperature  had  been 
27 'Gdeg.,  and  a  cistern  supply  gave  a  range  of 
3S'7deg.  By  keeping  the  temperature  of  the 
water  between  the  limits  of  litdeg.  and  ■52deg. 
through  the  apparatus  referred  to,  it  was  ex- 
plained that  summer  diarrhcca  could,  in  a  great 
measure,  be  ijreveuted. 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion  which  followed, 
Mr.  R.  Grantham,  C.E.,  said  that  the  subject 
was  a  very  important  one,  and  engineers  might 
learn  from  it  that  it  was  desirable  to  place  water 
mains  at  greater  depths  than  was  now  the 
practice.  The  President  of  the  Mechanical  section 
said  the  subject  of  water  supply  was  one  of  great 
importance,  and  bore  testimony  to  the  experience 
of  the  author  and  the  importance  of  the  subject. 
A  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  the  author  of 
the  paper. 


THE    COLLEOLiTE    CHTJKCH    OF    ST.    jnCHAEL   AT    ST 
QUENTIN. 

In  approaching  the  town  of  St.  Qiieutin  by 
railway,  the  most  striking  object  is  the  Church 
of  St.  Michael,  a  view  of  which,  from  the  south- 
east, which  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy, 
we  give  as  one  of  our  lithographic  illustrations. 
The  church  is  situated  at  the  end  of  the  Rue  St 
Andre,  which  leads  eastward  from  the  Grande- 
place.  The  west  front  has  been  removed,  and 
one  of  Renaissance  character  substituted ;  but 
the  transepts  and  apse  are  tolerably  perfect. 
The  internal  height  of  the  vaulting  is  130ft., 
and  the  clerestory  windows  are  about  40ft.  in 
height ;  those  in  the  apse  have  still  the  original 
glass  iu  them.  The  great  feature  of  the  east 
end  is  the  arrangement  of  the  columns  between 
the  aisle  and  the  chapels  surrounding  the  apse. 
Instead  of  a  single  opening  to  each  chapel,  there 
is  an  arcade  of  three  arches,  the  centre  one  being 
wider  than  the  others  ;  the  columns  are  so 
placed  that  they  form  a  flat  apse  to  each  bay  of 
the  aisle.  The  columns  of  the  choir  arcade  have 
elaborately-carved  capitals,  which  have  a  second 
band  of  foliage  surrounding  the  shaft  below  the 
necking.  The  crypt  contains  the  tombs  of  St. 
Quentin  and  others.  There  is  a  fifteenth-century 
hotel  de  ville,  and  much  that  is  worth  sketch- 
ing in  the  different  streets. 

STUDIOS  AT   HAMTSTEAD. 

Tins  building  has  been  erected  in  the  Park-road, 
Haverstock  Hill,  with  a  \-iew  to  meet  the 
greatly-increasing  demand  for  spacious,  well- 
lighted  studios  in  this  neighbourhood.  Each 
studio  is  about  2.5ft.  6in.  by  20ft.,  and  ISft. 
high,  with  dressing-room  and  bedroom  adjoining. 
Tlie  building  is  faced  with  red  brick,  and  the 
roofs  covered  with  green  slates.  The  treatment 
is  bold  and  effective.  The  architect  is  Mr. 
Theodore  K.  Green,  of  Finsbury-place,  E.G. 

HOUSES,    LOENA-EOAB,    BEIGHTOIf. 

The  necessity  of  making  these  houses  com- 
mercially successful  compelled  the  architect  to 
avoid  all  quaint  conceits  and  picturesque  oddities ; 
however,  by  the  introduction  of  colour  and 
patterns  in  the  cement -work,  a  little  life  is  given 
to  the  design,  and  the  usual  objectionable 
appearance  of  cement-fronted  houses  is  avoided. 
The  walls  are  built  solid,  but  those  facing  south 
and  west  are  battened  internally.  Hot  and  cold- 
water  services  are  laid  on  to  each  house.  Special 
attention  has  been  given  to  the  lighting  and 
ventilation  of  the  staircases.  The  rentals  are 
from  about  £1)0  to  £60  per  annum.  Mr.  J.  G. 
Sheldon,  of  Cliftonville,  Brighton,  is  the  builder, 
and  the  architect  is  Mr.  W.  Galsworthy  Davie. 


THE  GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BI'ILD- 
INGS  COMPETITION. 

MR.  CHARLES  BARRY'S  report  on  the 
designs  submitted  for  the  erection  of  the 
proposed  new  mvmicipal  buildings  at  Glasgow 
was  presented  to  the  Town  Council  yesterday. 
Mr.  Barry  recommends  the  award  of  the  iirst 
premium  of  750  guineas  to  "Carton" — Mr. 
George  Corson,  of  25,  Ccokridge-street,  Leeds  ; 
the  second,  of  500  guineas,  to  "Fidelity" — 
Messrs.  Coe  and  Robinson,  of  4,  Furnivars-inn, 
London,  E.C.  ;  and  the  third,  of  300  guineas,  to 
"Let  Glasgow  Flourish  for  Ever" — Mr. 
Edward  Clarke,  6,  Adam-street,  Adelphi,  W.C. 


TEMPERATURE  OF  TOWN  WATER 
SUPPLIES. 

AT  the  British  Association  meeting  on  Mon- 
day a  paper  was  read  on  ' '  Temperature 
of  Town  Water  Supplies,"  by  Mr.  Baldwin 
Latham,  C.E.,  M.Inst.C.E.  The  author  pointed 
out  that  summer  diarrhcea  and  cholera  became 
prevalent  when  the  water  supply  of  a  district 
arrived  at  a  temperature  exceeding  C2deg. 
Fahrenh'it,  and  he  showed  that  the  changes 
which  took  place  in  water  at  a  high  temperature 
influenced  the  diseases  referred  to,  and  not 
atmospheric  changes.  In  corboration  of  this  he 
referred  to  districts  in  which  the  water  was  in- 
variably cold  in  summer  and  which  consequently 
were  not  subject  to  those  epidemics.  In  districts 
where  the  source  of  supply,  when  distributed 
through  the  mains,  was  from  a  well  which  was 
naturally  cold — as,  for  example,  in  the  district 
supplied"  by  the  Kent  Water  Works  Comjiany, 
compared  with  the  districts  in  London  supplied 
from  the  river  Thames,  the  former  source  of 
supply  being  so  much  colder  at  its  source  than 
the  latter,  the  grovmd  required  a  higher  degree 
of  temperature  to  raise  that  of  the  Kent  water 
to  a  dangerous  point,  and  thus  the  incidence  of 
the  disease  in  the  districts  supplied  with  that 
water  fell  later  than  in  those  supplied  with 
Thames  water  ;  whereas  if  the  cause  were  due 
to  atmosphere  temperature  the  incidence  of  the 
disease  should  have  been  identical  in  both 
districts.  The  author  further  pointed  out  that 
great  changes  in  the  temperature  of  water  were 
due  to  the  temperature  of  the  ground  at  the 
depths  at  which  the  mains  were  laid  ;  that  the 
temperatui-e  of  the  ground  might  be  made  use  of 
in  a  special  apparatus  patented  by  Professor  J. 
T.  Way  and  the  author,  by  which  water  was 
made  to  descend  to  a  depth  of  about  25ft.  by 
means  of  a  vertical  tube  driven  or  screwed  into 
the  ground,  so  that  the  temperature  of  the  water 
was  rendered  nearly   uniform   throughout  the 


CHIPS. 

A  new  church  in  Welhngton-square,  Minehead, 
built  at  a  cost  of  between  £4,000  and  £5,000,  was 
consecrated  on  Thursday  week.  It  is  in  the 
Decorated  style,  and  consists  of  chancel,  vestry 
with  organ-chamber  over,  nave  with  north  and 
south  aisles,  and  bell-turret.  It  is  dedicated  to 
St.  Andrew,  and  seats  324  worshippers ;  the 
architect  was  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  EA. 

The  corn  exchange  at  Chelmsford  is  being 
altered,  to  render  it  more  suitable  for  concerts  and 
entertainments,  and  is  being  extended  at  the  rear 
by  the  erection  of  a  new  basement  for  seat- storage, 
over  which  are  retiring-room,  an  office,  and 
committee-room.  The  works  are  being  executed 
from  the  designs  of  the  original  architect,  Mr. 
Chancellor,  of  London,  and  will  involve  au 
expenditure  of  about  £1,100. 

The  chapel-of-ease  of  St.  Peter,  Mansergh,  in 
the  parish  ( f  Kiikby  Lonsdale,  was  opened  on 
Thursday,  the  2Gth  ult.,  after  naving  been  rebuilt 
on  the  old  site.  It  consists  of  nave,  chancel,  north 
transept,  and  vestry  and  west  tower.  The  walling 
materials  are  native  "limestone  and  dressed  freestone, 
the  seating  is  of  pitch-pine,  and  the  pulpit  of  oak. 
Messrs.  Paley  and  Austin,  of  Lancaster,  were  the 
architects,  and  the  chief  contractors  were:  for 
masonry,  Messrs.  Atkinson,  Kirkby  Lonsdale; 
carpentery,  Messrs.  W.  Huck  and  Sons,  Endmoor ; 
plumbing"  Mr.  Moorhouse,  Kirkby  Lonsda'e  ;  and 
slating,  Mr.  Pyecock,  Leeds.  The  church  seats 
ISO  people,  and  has  cost  about  £2,000. 

Beeley  Church,  on  the  road  between  Eowsley 
and  Chatsworth,  is  about  to  be  restored  and  par- 
tially rebuilt  in  the  Decorated  style,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  H.  Cockbaio,  architect,  of  MiJdle- 
ton,  near  Manchester.  The  proposed  outlay  is 
about  £2,000.   ' 

A  new  Catholic  school-chapel  has  just  been  com- 
pleted at  South  Shore,  Blackpool,  which  has  cost 
about  £500.  It  is  S4ft.  long,  22ft.  wide,  and  14ft. 
to  wall-plate,  and  will  accommodate  about  200 
worshippers;  it  is  simple  in  design,  and  is  built 
of  brick  and  stone.  The  architect  has  been  Mr. 
Robert  B.  Mather,  Blackpool. 

The  foundation  -  stone  of  a  new  Primitive 
Methodist  Chapel  was  laid  at  Howdon,  near  New- 
castle-on-Tyne,  on  Saturday.  The  building  is 
designed  in  Gothic  of  the  Early  English  period. 
The  contractor  is  Mr.  Jacob  Atkinson,  of 
Gateshead.  The  designs  have  been  prepared 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Southron,  architect,  of  South 
Shields. 

The  small  parish-church  of  St.  Beuno,  Llanycil, 
was  reopened  last  week  after  restoration.  The 
south  wall  and  north  porch  have  been  rebuilt,  new 
pitch-pine  root  erected,  new  iraceried  windows  of 
Late  Decorated  character  placed  in  the  walls,  and 
new  oak  pulpit  desk  and  seats  and  other  fittings 
provided.  Mr.  W.  H.  SpauU,  of  Oswestry,  was 
the  architect,  and  Messrs.  E.  and  E.  Eoberts,  of 
Bala,  were  the  builders. 

An  inquiry  was  held  on  Thursday  week,  at 
Guildford,  before  Mr.  Robert  Eawliuson,  C,B., 
the  senior  inspector  of  the  Local  Goveniment 
Board,  respecting  an  application  from  the  town 
council  for  permission  to  borrow  £2,000  for  works 
of  street-improvement.  The  inspector  said  the 
board  could  not  grant  money  for  current  repairs, 
such  as  some  of  the  proposed  works,  and  for  the 
tar  paving  only  a  very  short  term  of  repayment 
could  be  permitted. 

A  new  organ,  built  bv  Messrs.  Browne  and  Son, 
Dublin,  was  dedicated"  on  the  26th  ult.  in  the 
Protestant  Cathedral  of  St.  Lazerian,  Leighlin. 

The  Maidstone  Gas  Company  have  voted  Mr. 
John  West,  their  late  engineer  .a'nd  manager.  £500, 
in  recognition  of  his  extra  services  as  engineer  and 
architect  during  the  reconstruction  of  the  works. 


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Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


28[ 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  IRELAND. 

ALTHOUGH  I  learn  from  your  columns 
that  the  steps  of  searchers  for  the  architec- 
tral  picturesque  have  this  year  heen  turned 
towards  the  Ketherlands — with  what  .success  we 
shall  no  doubt  be  informfd — my  own  have  been 
directed  towards  a  dilferent  quarter,  and  one 
that  seldom  attracts  the  notice  of  writers  in  art 
journals.  I  have  lately  returned  from  a  short 
tour  in  Ireland,  from  which  I  have  derived  great 
and  unexpected  pleasure,  and  as  "  ciiual  j  ustice 
to  all  round"  ought  to  be  the  motto  of  every 
lover  of  the  fine  arts,  I  propose  communicating  a 
few  of  the  principal  matters  of  interest  I  ob- 
served. 

The  main  result  of  the  tour  was  to  leave  on 
my  mind  an  impression  of  surprise,  mixed  with 
simdry  other  feelings,  that  a  country  which  is 
often  regarded  by  Englishmen  as  notable  for 
little  else  than  poverty, wretchedness,  ignorance, 
crime,  and  general  barbarism,  should  be  topping 
the  larger  island  in  Gothic  architecture,  church - 
building,  and  whatsoever  belongs  to  them.  It 
is  clear  that  one  set  of  men  are  little  at  a  loss  for 
the  money  they  require  to  carry  out  their  projects 
in  this  hne,  and  that  is  the  clergy.  The  Roman 
Catholic  priests  have  not  fallen  ofi  a  whit  from 
their  ancient  skill  in  holding  the  purse -string.-, 
and  the  clergy  of  other  denominations  are  little, 
if  at  all,  behind  them. 

Derry  was  the  first  remarkable  town  I  visited, 
a  place  which  now  covers  a  fine  amphitheatre  of 
hilly  ground  rising  above  the  ample  waters  of 
the  Foyle.  The  great  novelty  here  is  the  Roman 
Catholic  Cathedral,  a  vast  edifice  in  the  First 
Pointed  style,  bearing  much  general  resemblance 
to  some  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott's  latter  churches, 
but   much   larger.     The  nave  is  of  seven  bays, 

the  arches  resting  on  octagonal  columns,    with 

plainly  moulded  capitals,  and  in  the  sanctuary 

and  side-chapels  there  is  the  never-failing  accom» 

paniment    of   rich    sculpture,    subjects    chiefly 

taken  from  the  Gospels.     The  height  internally 

is  about  ninety  feet,  and  the  materials  are  Irish 

lime- stone,  granite,  and  marble.     The  epi.scopal 

residence   adjoining  is  in  a  medium  style,    so  as 

to  harmonise  well  with  the  massive  and  simple 

character  of  the  church. 

The  sites   of   all   the  principal   Irish   towns, 

(excepting  only  Belfast),  are  so  strikingly  beau- 
tiful, that  one  might  suppose  them  to  have  heen 

selected   with    an   eye    mainly    to    picturesque 

eflfect.     Armagh  was  my  next  point,  and  here  I 

found  ample  matter  for  wonderment,  not  only  in 

the  old  cathedral,  admirably  restored  some  years 

back  under  the  auspices  of  the  late  Protestant 

archbishop.  Lord   John   Beresford,    but   in    the 

modem  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  wliich  occupies 

an  adjoining  hUl,  a  much  larger  and  more  mag- 
nificent edifice  of  the  Second  Pointed  style,   the 

fruit  of  thirty  years'  labour  in  building.  I  did  not 

learn  its  exact  dimensions,  but  there  can  be  no 

doubt  of  its  being  the  largest  church  built  in  the 

three  kingdoms  since  St.  Paul's  of  London.  With 

its  two  towers  and  spires  flanking  a  richly  decor- 
ated frontal,  it  now  forms  the  principal  ornament 

of  the  town.     A  fine  church  in  the  same  style  of  [  "Y'-ORlIAXfontsareofvariousforras— circular, 

architecture,    which    the   Arraaghitcs  call    the  I  ^\      square,   or    polygonal ;    generally   rudely 

Presbyterian  Cathedral,  has  heen  erected  within    and  intricately  carved," with  massive  bases  or  sup 


the  rich  harmony  and  sweetness  of  their  tones. 
The  opinion  here  expressed  as  to  the  church.  I  was 
told,  is  substantially  the  same  with  that  of  all  or 
most  tourists  who  have  visited  it,  yet  I  cannot 
recollect  having  ever  .«een  it  noticed. 

In  Dublin  I  need  not  say  that  I  examined 
with  keen  interest  the  restored  fabric  of  Christ 
Church,  which  in  its  new  condition  reflects  so 
high  honour  on  Mr.  Street.  This  and  the  old 
cathedral  of  Armagh,  are  the  two  rao.-t  perfect 
examples  of  restoration  works  which  I  have  met 
with  in  our  own  territories.  My  eyes,  however,  were 
not  exclusively  directed  to  cccltsiastical  buildings, 
and  I  was  almost  equally  gratified  with  the  new 
market-houses  now  being  constructed  at  the  end 
of  Wicklow- street,  from  the  design  of  Mr. 
Mawson  ,of  Bradford.  They  are  after  the  best 
pattern  of  Flemish  Gotliic,  as  found  in  the 
Town  Hall  of  Brussels,  but  with  details  carefully 
.selected  and  elaborate,  such  as  can  be  found  in 
few  of  the  old  edifices  of  the  Low  Countries. 
The  material  is  fine  red  brick  with  white  stone 
facings. 

Both  at  Limerick  and  Killamey  Mediieval 
enthusiasts  will  find  much  to  reward  their  in- 
spection in  the  churches  built  from  the  designs 
of  the  elder  Pugin.  The  la^t  points  of  my  jour- 
ney were  Cork  and  Queenstown.  I  have  before 
now  given  expression  to  my  admiration  for  the 
cathedral  of  St.  Fiubar,  designed  by  Mr.  Burges, 
which  I  could  see  a  hundred  times  without 
being  satisfied.  No  Scotchman  could  do  so 
without  a  feeling  of  bitter  regret  that  the  de.'*ign 
for  the  Edinburgh  Cathedral  should  have  fallen 
into  hands  which  produced  a  result  so  much 
inferior.  The  grand  cathedral  of  Queenstown, 
for  the  Roman  Catholic  diocese  of  Cloyne,  from 
the  designsof  Mr.  Ashlin,  of  Dublin,  approaches 
completion,  and,  planted  on  its  commanding 
eminence,  will  form  a  sea-mark  worthy  of  the 
Cove  of  Cork.  In  dimensions  it  appears  to  be 
the  rival  of  Armagh,  but  I  trust  the  architect 
himself  may  be  induced  to  furnish  a  correct  and 
complete  account.  The  style  is  a  pure  example 
of  Decorated  Gothic  ;  this,  and  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  RutLand-square.  Dublin,  erected  at 
the  expense  of  Mr.  Fiudlatcr,  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  basilica  of  Arundel,  and  the  Keble 
College  at  Oxford,  afford  the  only  real  examples 
of  Decorated  Gothic  which  have  been  attempted 
of  late  years  by  English  or  Irish  architects.  We 
have  indeed  examples  of  plain  Second  Pointed, 
and  of  the  Debased  Perpendicular  to  which  some 
infatuated  men  of  merely  English  tastes  cling 
with  despairing  fondness ;  but  where  else  than  in 
the  instances  I  have  named  can  we  look  for 
flying  buttresses,  gableted  windows,  pinnacles, 
and  gurgovles,  finished  with  due  richness  of 
detail,  such  as  bring  back  to  our  insular  fancies 
the  glories  of  Cologne,  Amien.«,  and  St.  Gudule 
at  Brussels ': 

Vimtrvirs  Caledoxits. 


OUR  COMMONPLACE  COLUMN. 

XOTES   CN   X0B3IAX   FONTS. 


the  last  three  years  in  a  wooded   valley  at  the 
foot  of  the  two  hills  on  which  Armagh  stands. 

Sligo  was  my  next  object,  a  neat  town  built 
in  rustic  and  homely  but  pleasing  style  on  a 
broad  and  swift  stream  issuing  from  Loch  Gill, 
and  crossed  by  a  curious  old  bridge  of  nine 
arches.  Here  interest  is  engrossed  by  the  grand 
church  which  is  the  cathedral  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  diocese  of  Elphin.  It  is  in  the  Roman- 
esque or  Byzantine  style,  and  the  admirable 
finish  of  every  detaU,  both  outside  and  inside, 
with  the  consistent  adherence  to  all  its  require- 
ments of  the  style  observable  throughout,  leave 
on  the  mind  an  impression  entire  and  unbroken, 
such  as  is  derivable  from  comparatively  few 
works  of  architecture.  It  is  inferior  in  size  alone 
to  Speicr  (or  Spire-*),  and  with  a  perfect  recollec- 
tion of  the  basilica  of  St.  Boniface  at  Munich, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  the  church  of 
Sligo  by  far  the  finest  model  n  specimen  of  the 


ported  on  pUlars.  Good  examples  are  found  at 
Winchester  Cathedral,  St.  Michael's  Church, 
Southampton,  East  Meon,  Hampshire,  St. 
Peter's,  Ipswich,  and  in  many  of  the  churches 
in  Sussex.  Three  of  these  fonts  are  of  black 
marble,  the  bowls  are  square,  resting  on  a 
centre  pillar  with  four  angle  shafts.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  the 
same  hand.  See  illustrations  of  fonts  in  the 
BoLDrxG  News.  Apropos  of  fonts,  Sir  Edmund 
Beckett  suggests  that  when  there  is  no  tower 
door  the  tower  makes  a  capital  baptistry.  He 
instances  a  large  font  of  dark  marble  at  St. 
Mary's,  Beverley,  as  a  particularly  fine  one, 
though  not  generally  known. 

X0E3IAX   EOOFS. 

These  are  generally  of  sqnare  pitch,  sometiines 
hiirher,  open  to  the  frame  timbers,  of  king-post 
struction,  or  framed  with  a  tie-beam,  a  collar, 


style  which  has  been  raised  in  Europe.  The  ^  angle  ties,  and  upright  a.shlar  timbers  reslmg 
dimensions  as  given  to  me  are — length  internally  upon  an  inner  wall-plate.  Sometimes  they  were 
•210  feet,  length  of  tran.sept.s,  ISO  feet,  breadth,  cross-framed.  In  Peterborough  Cathedral  the 
81  feet,  reduced  height  to  wall-plate,  8-5.  The  ;  roof  is  boarded  on  the  under  side,  so  as  to  form 
nave  has  five  bays,  from  one  of  which  the  sLze  of  ,  a  flat  or  slightly  canted  ceiling,  and  such  were 
the  arches  may' be  deduced.  A  square  tower  of  ,  often  decorated  with  colour.  The  writer  in  the 
great  strength  and  solidity  contains  a  chime  of  ,  new  edition  of  the  "Encyclopiedia  Bntannica 
ninebellscastby  Murphy,  of  Dublin,  the  tenor  of  says:— "  At  Adel,  near  Leeds,  are  remams  of 
■which  weighs  37  cwt.     "They  are  remarkable  for  !  a  richly-moulded  Norman  roof,  in  which  every 


pair  of  rafters  eccmt  to  have  been  furnished 
with  a  tie-beam.  But  it  need  hardly  \jv  said 
that  not  many  wooden  roofs  of  this  period  exist, 
and  the  stone  roofs  which  as  time  wore  on  wore 
more  often  erected,  were  not  only  more  jwnna- 
ncnt,  but  no  doubt  pliiyed  the  most  imixirtant 
part  iu  the  gradual  developmiut  of  the  style, 
and  the  introduction  of  the  pointed  arch." 

XOBTU   SIDE    OF   CUUBCU. 

The  north  side  of  u  church  has  a  traditional 
meaning,  of  a  rather  superstitious  kind,  attuclud 
to  it.  It  was  regarded  as  the  liuuiit  of  .Salau 
andsoureeofthecoldwind.  luWalcott's"  .Sacred 
Archicology,"  the  curious  reader  will  find 
many  interesting  stories.  At  WiUcombo  Church, 
near  Morvenstow,  there  is  what  is  calli-d  the 
Devil's  Door,  adjoining  thefont,  which  was  ouljr 
opened  when  the  renunciation  of  the  devil,  ic., 
was  made  in  baptism,  fur  the  cseapc  of  the  licnd. 
In  other  Comi.sh  and  Welsh  ihurchcs  wo  liud 
the  same  superstitious  iJe-w  liave  existed,  and  ia 
consequence  the  northern  hAv  of  churchyanlj 
arc  often  without  graves.  The  north  door  has 
also  been  called  the  "  bachelor's  door,"  owing,  no 
doubt,  to  the  separation  of  the  sexes  Ihnl  was 
practised,  for  wo  find  the  north  and  south  dtorji 
placed  opposite  to  each  other  in  many  old 
churches. — The  "  Maitland  Club,"  "  ChroiiicUn 
of  Perth,"  ItoEdin.  Ib.il,  record  lUlh  May,  l.iSt.', 
that  a  woman  was  "  ordained  to  l>e  put  in  the 
ward  of  the  fornicators,  above  the  north  kirk 
door."     ("  Arch.  Diet.") 

NOEWEOIAJf  ABCIUTKCTUUE. 
TiiE  churches  of  Norway,  with  the  exception  of 
the  cathedral  of  Throndhjcm  and  a  few  others 
of  stone,  are  all  of  timber.  The  chaructcristics 
of  the  Norwegian  timber  churches  arc  planH  in 
the  form  of  a  cross,  with  a  centre  roof  from  which 
springs  a  cupola  or  spire ;  the  roofs  arc  high- 
pitched,  and  the  outline  of  the.'ie  erection*  h»vo 
generally  a  pyramidal  form.  The  walls  and 
roofs  are  often  covered  with  scale-shaped 
shingles.  The  "  Arch.  Diet."  says  the  "details 
are  elaborate ;  rounded  apses  to  the  chancila  ; 
transepts,  chapels,  and  porches,  exterior  clois- 
tered galleries,  lofty  spires  or  cupolas,  all  richly 
ornamented  with  encircled  crosses  on  ihi 
gables,  and  dragons'  heads  carved  in  bold  relief 
projecting  from  the  angles,  break  the  general 
outline  with  all  that  picturesque  variety  which 
is  peculiar  to  Gothic  architecture.  They  arc 
often  painted  of  a  rich  brown  colour,  rwembling 
chestnut  or  dark  oak  ;  sometimes  of  a  bright  red. 
Some  of  the  oldest  of  these  churchos  date  back 
to  the  I  Ith  or  12th  century."  An  example  of  a 
Nonvesrian  church  w.is  illustrated  in  the 
BriLi)n;G  News,  Vol.  XXXVII.  p.  278.  It  i# 
the  church  at  Hitterdal,  in  the  relUmarkcD, 
one  of  the  largest  examples  :  it  is  sf|uarp.  84  ft. 
by  •57ft.,  and  was  restored,  in  1S.')0,  by  Nebc- 
long.  We  have  also  illustrated  the  (.imilar 
church  at  Borgund.  Many  of  these  strurturts 
are  no  doubt  imitations  of  stone  buildings,  and 
they  show  the  durability  of  the  pino  of 
Norway.  They  arc  al<o  very  interesting  u 
showing  the  skill  of  Norwegian  artists  in  wood. 
The  church  at  M-ster,  in  South  Borgfnhua 
Ampt,  is  supposed  to  be  the  oldest  m  Norwajr, 
and  to  have  been  built  by  Olaf  TrTggT«*..n,  la 
99G,  in  the  .spot  where  he  had  orderid  Mn.>»  to 
be  said  on  his  arri^-al  from  England.  .'•«me  of 
these  buUdings  show  Engli-h  workmanship. 
We  refer  to  the  "  Arch.  Di-t.."  paper  by  .Mr 
Fergusson,    published    in    -"i'.n.l    p-ip-rs    of 

R.I.B.A.,    IS.50-.il;    '^  '•I • 

1813;    SkOldbcrg's  '•  T 

also  descriptions  relalir .  ' 

houses  from  Christiania. 

Vols,  xxv,  XXVI.,  i: 

E.   Thicke.     Irish  cr>- 

onc  in  view  of  church  at   i 

tioncd,  given  in  the  Ecuii.-.^.  >i-v>=,     i  '  ""■ 

reader  is  referred  to  a  letter  m  the  sanw  rolumo. 

p.  3-58.  ^_ 

XOKTOLK   EOCSD  TOWEM. 

These  towers  are  generally  about  thrr*  dU- 

metersin   height,   and  are   i  ."   '1    '      '■    "'^^ 

end  of  the  churches.     I'; 

materials,  in  a  country  '^  ^ 

scarce,     it     has    been 

imagined  that  their  buii; 

dispense   with   worked  ^ 

My   opinion    is    t''^*    '  .^ 

adopt«l  for  other   : 

ia  upset   by   otl  _ 

There  is  no  we-t.  ' 

open  to  the  churcn   ■  y  au  ai..       »••     ■-• 


284 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


G.  Roberts  assigns  their  date  to  from  1100  to] 
1150  A.  D.  In  later  examples  an  octagon  upper 
stage  sumiounted  the  cii'cular,  and  was  a  mark 
of  the  transition  to  the  square  (fee  paper  by  Mr. 
E.  P.  Loftus  Brock,  F.S.A.,  Buildixq  News, 
Vol.  XXXVII,  pp.  274  and  3S6,  where  that 
gentleman  shows  that  they  were  erected  in 
Saxon  times).  G.  H.  G. 

NOTE   OF  A  E003SI. 

EvEKY  room  has  a  note  of  its  own  that  is  at  once 
recognised  by  a  musical  ear ;  and  every  speaker 
shoidd  find  out  what  this  note  is,  so  as  to  speak 
in  it.  Little  is  to  be  found  on  this  subject — 
though  those  who  have  studied  the  acoustics  of 
buildings  are  well  aware  of  the  importance  of 
the  subject  and  its  bearing  upon  the  iraprove- 
ment  of  sound.  The  "note  of  a  room"  seems 
hardly  to  be  justly  defined  to  be  caused  by  the 
vibrations  of  a  column  of  air  giving  musical 
sounds  ;  we  may  more  correctly  define  it  to  be 
a  natiual  resonance  or  reverberation  of  a 
harmonic  character,  created  by  the  form  and 
reflecting  surfaces.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  note  of  a  room  may  be  alterf  d  greatly 
by  altering  the  natm'e  of  its  walls,  substituting 
a  resonant  for  a  deadening  material  like  stone, 
or  plaster,  iS:c.  It  is  the  reponse  to  a  vibration 
set  up  by  the  sound,  a  sonorous  agitation 
excited  by  it,  that  causes  the  note.  The  subject 
has  been  referred  to  by  Mr.  T.  Roger  Smith  in 
his  little  treatise  on  "Acoustics"  (Lockwood 
and  Co).  Recently  the  introduction  of  wires  for 
improving  sound,  by  Mr.  Engert,  of  the  City- 
road,  may  be  mentioned  as  indicating  how  the 
note  of  a  room  may  he  attuned  to  the  voice. 
The  wires  are  fixed  longitudinally  above  the 
auditory  and  are  stretched  to  a  degree  of  tension 
that  takes  up  the  vibrations  of  sound  and  con- 
ducts it  over  the  room.  By  this  means  it  is 
possible  to  modify  the  key-note.  (See  recent 
articles  in  Buiijjikg  News.) 

irronsMATics. 
Among  the  best  works  on  this  subject,  the  reader 
isreferredtoHennin,  "  Manuel  de  Numismatique 
Ancienne"  (Paris,  1S30)  ;  Grosset,  "  Handbuch 
der  alten  Numismatik  "  (Leipsie,  18.53);  Leake, 
"Numismatica  Helleniea "  (London,  18.54); 
Ruding's  "Annals  of  the  Coinage  of  Great 
Britain"  (1840);  Lindsay's  "  View  of  Coinage 
of  Scotland"  (Cork,  1854).  See  also  a  manual 
in  Bohn's  Series  and  articles  in  "  Encyc.  Brit- 
anniea." 

NTTEAGHE. 

C'eetaik  structures,  of  conical  shape,  in  the 
Island  of  Sardinia,  rising  30  or  40ft.  above 
the  ground.  They  contain  two  or  three  domed 
stories,  or  chambers,  connected  by  a  spiral  stair. 
Some  are  raised  on  basements  of  masonry,  or 
platfoi-ms  of  earth  ;  they  are  made  of  granite, 
limestone,  basalt,  porphyry,  sandstone,  and 
schist.  Their  entrances  are  small  and  low. 
Masonry  is  irregular,  but  not  polygonal,  and 
resembles  Asiatic  work.  Their  origin  is  obscure, 
and  have  many  points  of  resemblance  to  the 
"burghs,"  or  duns,  on  the  northern  shores  of 
Scotland.  Skeletons,  and  funeral  paraphernalia, 
have  been  found  in  them.  (See  art.  and  en- 
gravings in  "  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia.") 


In  addition  to  articles  in  our  own  pages,  we 
give  the  names  of  a  few  authorities  upon  the 
subject.  Obelisks  served  a  similar  purpose  in 
Egypt  to  the  stelre  of  the  Greeks,  and  columns 
of  the  Romans.  With  respect  to  their  outUnes, 
it  has  been  found  that  their  sides  are  slightly 
concave,  to  increase  their  apparent  height.  They 
were  used  in  the  4th  dynasty,  and  continued  till 
the  Roman  period.  Thotlimes  III.  erected 
many,  among  them,  Cleopatra's  needle.  Con- 
sult Kircher,  "  CEdipus  ^^gyptiacus  "  (1654)  ; 
Loega,  "  De  Origine  et  Usu  Obeliscorum  ;  " 
Birch's  "Notes  upon  Obelisks."  In  the  18th 
dynasty,  religious  ceremonies  and  oblations  were 
offered  to  Obelisks,  which  were  treated  as 
divinities. 


what  is  told  in  the  Bible,  but  the  decipherment 
of  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  inscriptions  has 
revealed  many  particulars  concerning  them.  It 
appeal's  that  the  designation  was  applied  to  a 
powerful  confederation  of  tribes  of  North  Syria. 
Mr.  Boscawcn  described  the  discovery  of  the 
site  of  their  capital  on  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 
phrates. He  showed  by  the  inscriptions  that 
the  Babylonians  came  in  contact  with  the 
Hittites  about  seventeen  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era.  The  effect  of  this  contact 
is  illustrated  by  the  interesting  fragment 
preserved  in  the  book  of  Genesis  relating  to  the 
purchase  of  the  cave-sepulchre  of  Maehpelah  by 
Abraham.  Here  we  find  that  the  commercial 
system  of  the  Babylonians,  which  was  known  to 
Abraham,  the  native  of  Ur,  was  also  known  to 
Ephron  the  Hittite.  The  hieroglyphics  record- 
ing the  campaigns  of  Thotmes  III.  and  Rameses 
II.,  the  Greek  Sesostris,  also  contain  references 
to  the  Hittites.  Mr.  Boscowen  visited  the  ruins 
of  the  Hittite  city  during  the  early  part  of  the 
present  year.  The  monuments  indicate  the 
close  relationship  between  the  Hittites  and  the 
other  early  races  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  route 
by  which  they  proceeded  to  the  ^Egean  Sea  can 
be  traced  by  them.  A  hieroglyphic  syllabary 
was  described,  and  reference  made  to  a  bilingual 
text  recently  discovered. 


HITTITE   REM:<\.INS  AND  INSCRIPTION. 

AN  interesting  paper,  read  before  the  British 
Association  on  Tuesday,  was  one  on  the 
Hittites  of  Scripture  by  Mr.  Boscawen.  Mr. 
Boscawcn  is  a  linguist  who  has  been  endeavour- 
ing to  prosecute  still  further  the  work  of  the 
late  George  Smith  in  Syria.  Nothing  has 
hitherto  been  known   of  the    Hittites  beyond 


ARCHITECTUBAL  &  ARCH-SSOLOGICAI 
SOCIETIES. 

Caiibeian  Akchjeologicai.  Association. — 
This  association,  which  held  its  annual  congress 
at  Pembroke  during  the  past  week,  brought  its 
proceedings  to  a  close  on  Friday  night.  The 
points  of  interest  visited  on  Wednesday  were 
Castlemartin  Church,  Flimston  Chapel,  St. 
Govan's,  Staekpole  Church,  and  one  or  two 
other  chm-ches  of  arehteological  pretensions. 
Perhaps  the  excursion  of  Thursday  was  the  most 
interesting  of  the  series,  taking  in  Nash  Church, 
Upton  Castle,  Carew  Castle  and  Church,  Manor- 
bier  Castle,  and  Lamphey  Church  and  Palace. 
At  Carew  Castle  the  Dean  expressed  an  opinion 
that  the  chapel  was  in  the  inner  ward  of  the 
eastern  tower,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of 
a  fireplace  in  the  room.  In  the  room  above  the 
chapel  was  pointed  out  a  staircase,  built  in  the 
wall  of  the  tower.  A  range  of  chambers  on  the 
north  side  is  said  to  have  been  the  work  of 
Sir  J.  Perrot,  to  whom  Queen  Mary  granted  a 
castle,  he  being  then  Lord  President  of  Ireland. 
He  afterwards  was  attainted  and  sentenced  to 
death,  but  died  in  the  Tower.  The  castle  pre- 
sents a  combination  of  three  styles  of  architec- 
ture, as  pointed  out  by  the  Dean — first,  the 
Edwardian  or  Norman  fabric,  the  decorations  of 
Sir  Rhys  ap  Thomas  to  the  inner  face  of  the  west 
side,  forming  a  transition  from  the  purely 
military  portions  of  the  edifice  to  the  purely 
domestic  additions  in  the  Elizabethan  style 
alleged  to  have  been  begun  by  Sir  J.  Perrot.  A 
great  feature  in  the  Elizabethan  portion  is 
formed  by  two  fine  semiciicular  oriels  running 
up  the  whole  height  of  the  rooms.  At  Carew 
Castle  Sir  Rhys  ap  Thomas  held,  in  1488,  the 
first  tournament  which  had  ever  taken  place  in 
Wales.  There  is  a  public  cross  in  the  road  at 
the  entrance  to  the  village  bearing  an  unde- 
cipherable inscription.  In  Carew  church  is  the 
tomb  of  Sir  John  Carew  and  of  his  wife  and 
their  family  of  three  sons  and  five  daughters. 
Manorbier  Castle,  which  vfas  next  visited,  is 
famous  as  the  birthplace  of  Giraldus.  Here  Dr. 
Harper,  of  Jesus  College,  Oxford,  who  is 
occupying  the  habitable  part  of  the  castle, 
hospitably  received  and  entertained  the  visitors. 
The  castle  is  situate  convenient  to  a  creek  of  the 
sea,  not  far  from  Tenby,  and  six  cellars  found 
under  ground  were,  there  seems  every  reaton  to 
believe,  used  by  smugglers  for  storing  their 
contraband  goods.  It  is  a  fair  model  of  a 
Norman  baron's  residence.  The  church  is  a 
ver}-  plain  building — a  chancel  and  nave  divided 
by  a  row  of  pillars,  without  decoration  of  any 
kind.  Lamphey  Palace  was  the  last  place 
visited.  It  is  valuable  as  an  example  of  domes- 
tic ai'chitecture  of  the  14  th  century,  and  is  said 
to  have  been  built  in  great  part  by  Bishop 
Gower.  The  last  resident  Bishop  (Bai'low) 
alienated  the  palace  in  favour  of  his  godson, 
Richard  Devereux,  from  whom  it  passed  in 
1600  to  the  Owens,  of  Oiieton. 

The  Wesleyan  chaptl  at  St.  Germains  is  about 
to  be  enlarged  and  altered  from  the  plans  of  Mr. 
Johns,  architect,  of  Saltash. 


BuiliJuts  jiutilliflcttct 


Cajeberwell. — New  schools  for  middle-class 
girls  have  just  been  built  for  the  Mary  Datchelor 
Charity,  at  the  foot  of  Cambern-ell-grovc,  and 
will  be  opened  next  month.  The  chief  elevation 
faces  the  Grove,  and  is  90ft.  in  length  and  5oft. 
high,  built  in  red  Fareham  brickwork,  with 
Portland-stone  dressings.  In  the  centre  is  a 
Doric  portico,  of  Portland  stone,  which  leads  to 
a  flight  of  steps  and  entrance-hall  46ft.  by  14ft., 
and  the  lecture-room,  the  latter  83ft.  long  by 
45ft.  wide,  and  seated,  including  gallery  over 
entrance,  for  700  people.  On  a  level  with  this 
room  are  library,  secretary's-room,  head-mis- 
tress's room,  and  cloak-room,  each  23ft.  by  19ft. 
Beneath  are  four  classrooms,  also  23ft.  by  19ft. 
library,  master's-room,  and  mistress's-room, 
and  in  the  basement  are  a  dining-room,  S6ft.  by 
4.5ft.,  second  lecture-hall,  and  apparatus- 
room,  and  kitchens  and  offices.  Mr.  T.  Chat- 
feild  Clarke,  of  Bishopsgate-street, Within,  is  the 
architect,  and  the  builders  are  Messrs.  Grove, 
of  Wilton  Works,  Islington.  Mr.  Joseph  Wil- 
liamson has  acted  as  clerk  of  the  works,  and  Mr. 
C.  W.  Brown  as  foreman  of  works.  The  iron- 
work was  executed  by  Messrs.  Toung  and  Co., 
PimUco :  the  gas-fittings  by  Messrs.  Earl  and 
Philp,  Peckham  ;  the  hotwater-pipes  for  heating 
principal  rooms,  by  Messrs.  Phipson ;  the  lava- 
tories by  Messrs.  Doulton,  Albert  Embank- 
ment ;  and  ventilating  apparatus  by  Messrs. 
Ewart  and  Son,  of  Euston-road,  W. 

Eastbouexe. — The  foundation-stone  of  a  new 
church  about  to  be  erected  on  the  I'pperton 
Estate,  Eastbourne,  was  laid  on  Friday.  The 
church  will  be  a  cmciform  structure,  consisting 
of  a  nave,  north  and  south  transepts,  chancel, 
choir -vestry  and  clergy  -  vestry,  and  three 
entrance-porches.  The  nave  will  be  100ft.  by 
43ft.,  and  48ft.  high  to  collar  of  roof,  having 
tic-beams  and  principals  and  a  barrelled  boarded 
ceihng,  divided  into  six  bays  in  length,  and  in 
each  bay  a  three-light  traceried  window  will  be 
placed.  At  the  west  end  will  be  two  three-light, 
surmounted  by  a  rose-wheel  window.  The 
chancel  will  be"36ft.  long,  24ft.  wide,  and  40ft. 
high  to  the  apex  of  the  hexagonal  boarded  and 
panelled  roof,  and  will  have  a  iive-hght  window. 
Accommodation  will  be  provided  for  696  persons. 
Over  the  chancel-arch  is  a  bell-turret,  and  under 
a  choir-vestry.  The  materials  to  be  used  are: 
Kentish  rag  stone  for  external  facing  of  walls, 
with  Bath-stone  dressings,  the  inside  lined  with 
patent  pressed  bricks,  and  the  jilling-in  of 
concrete  made  with  cement  and  sea-shingle. 
The  seats  throughout,  and  roof-timbers,  will  be 
all  of  pitch-pine,  and  the  roof  itself  covered  with 
Eroseley  tiles.  The  present  contract,  for  the 
nave  alone,  is  for  £4,000,  but  a  total  outlay  of 
£8,000  is  contemplated.  Mr.  C.  Haddon,  of 
Hereford,  is  the  architect ;  Messrs.  Crowe,  of 
the  same  city,  are  the  contractors,  their  foreman 
of  works  being  Mr.  Smart. 

GoTAXHTLi.,  N.  B. — The  memorial -stone  of  a 
new  Established  church,  in  course  of  erection  at 
the  junction  of  Allison-street  and  Cathcart-road, 
was  laid  on  Saturday.  The  style  adopted  is 
Middle  Pointed  Gothic.  At  the  angle  of  the 
roads  will  be  a  tower  and  spire  rising  to  loOft. 
in  height.  The  church  will  be  divided  into  five 
bays  by  buttresses,  and  the  internal  dimensions 
wiU  be  80ft.  by  53ft.,  exclusive  of  organ-cham- 
ber behind  pulpit,  and  a  height  from  floor  to 
ridge  of  o5ft.  'The  roofs  are  open-timbered,  and 
wiU  be  dressed,  stained,  and  varnished.  There 
will  be  galleries  on  two  sides  and  at  the  end  in 
the  interior  of  the  church.  The  area  and  these 
galleries  will  seat  1,000  worshippers.  Adjoining 
the  church  in  Cathcart-road  is  a  hall,  55ft.  by 
25ft.,  having  a  gable  and  traceried  window  in 
chief  elevation,  and  at  the  rear  will  be  session- 
house  and  vestry.  Mr.  Robert  B.ddie  is  the 
architect ;  the  cost  of  erection  will  be  a  little 
over  £7,000. 

Haeieas. —  A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  of  St. 
John  is  being  built  in  Prescott-street,  in  place 
of  that  in  South  Parade,  taken  by  a  railway 
company.  The  chapel  is  Perpendicular  Gothic 
in  style,  and  consiots  of  a  nave  with  aisle  77ft. 
by  20ft.  Oin.,  transepts  86ft.  Sin.  across  and 
24ft.  wide,  and  organ-chamber  attached  to  one 
transept ;  there  is  no  chancel.  The  open  roof  is 
of  red  deal,  and  the  seats  and  two  galleries  are 
of  pitch-pine.  The  pulpit  is  octagonal,  and  is 
build  of  Caen  stone ;  the  columns  are  of  Aber- 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


285 


duen  granite.  The  old  organ  is  being  enlarged 
by  Messrs.  Foster  and  Andrews,  of  Hull.  At 
the  rear  are  schools,  including  a  preaehing- 
rooin  30ft.  by  2Sft.,  vestries  and  class-rooms  on 
pround  floor,  and  over  these  are  assembly-room 
Tiift.  Gin. by  oO£t.,\vith  access  from  the  transept 
g-  ilkries.  Mr.  W.  Swinden  Barber  is  the  archi- 
tcrt,  ami  Messrs.  Thompson,  of  Peterborough, 
;ir    ill'    '  <  ntractors. 

KxAiTiX,  Malton. — A  reredos  has  just  been 
trorted  in  Knaptou  Church,  some  si.x  miles 
fiMiu  Malton.  The  Church  of  St.  Ed- 
mund is  an  old  building,  in  the  main  of  Early 
I>i'corated  Gothic  type,  consisting  of  a  nave, 
cli mcel,  and  north  aisle.  From  time  to  time 
judicious  restorations  have  taken  place  therein, 
uu  ler  the  direction  of  Messrs.  John  Gibson  and 
^  :.  architects,  of  Malton.  The  chancel  has 
1  ■  '  n  rebuilt  and  it.s  floor  laid  with  encaustic 
till  -.  Under  the  east  window,  which  is  a  thrce- 
l;-':t  one,  the  new  reredos  has  new  been  placed. 
lu  I  liaracter  with  the  sun'oundings,  this  addi- 
ti-u  !■<  Early  Decorated  Gothic  in  character. 
It  !■<  made  entirely  of  well-seasoned  Enghsh 
oak.  The  central  compartment  is  the  largest; 
I  11  I  ither  side  of  it  are  triple  buttresses,  which, 
i  at  their  lower  parts,  become  arched  higher 
.nd  terminate  with  lofty  crocketed  pinnacles. 
J  J  gable  between  is  canopied,  and  projects 
over  the  retable,  being  carried  upon  ebony 
columns.  It  is  filled  with  Geometrical  work 
of  flowing  character,  and  has  crockets  running 
upon  either  side.  In  the  centre,  and  kept  well 
up  above  the  apex,  is  a  tall,  foliated  cross.  On 
either  side  of  this,  standing  upon  pedestals,  are 
sculptured  figures  of  angels  blowing  trumpets. 
This  reredos  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Harry 
Hems,  of  Eseter,  from  the  designs  of  Messrs. 
Gibson  and  Son,  architects,  of  New  Maltou. 

MoEVLLLE. — The  chancel  of  the  parish-church 
of  St.  Gregory.  Morville,  Shropshire,  was  re- 
opened on  the  ;24th  ult.  The  chancel  had  been 
partitioned  off  from  the  church  during  the  pro- 
gress of  works,  which  consist  of  a  new  east  win- 
dow of  three  lights,  and  the  renewal  of  upper  half 
of  east  wall,  with  copings  and  gable  cross  :  the 
whole  of  the  dressed-stone  being  white  Alveley. 
The  window,  which  is  a  memorial  one,  is  of  the 
Early  English  Geometrical  period,  into  which 
stained  glass  has  been  introduced.  In  the 
centre  light  Our  Lord  is  represented  stand- 
ing in  the  carpenter's  shop,  with  out- 
stretched arms.  His  shadow  falling  on  a 
screen  behind ;  on  either  side  are  Joseph 
and  Mary,  the  former  at  work  in  his  daily  occu- 
pation, the  latter  with  gifts  offered  by  the  Magi 
at  her  feet ;  above  are  three  figures,  two  of  them 
indicating  persons  engaged  in  the  labours  of  the 
day,  'and  the  other  resting  by  night,  surmounted 
by  the  two  great  lights — the  sun  and  moon.  The 
glass  has  been  executed  by  Messrs.  Hardman 
and  Co.,  London  and  Birmingham.  A  new 
heating-apparatus  has  been  added,  and  the 
chancel-stalls  have  been  arranged  with  a  view 
of  giving  greater  comfort  to  the  occupiers,  and 
width  to  the  passage.  Mr.  T.  Gordon  is  the 
architect,  and  the  contractors  are  Messrs.  Wall 
and  Hook,  of  Stroud.  The  cost  of  the  work 
amounts  to  nearly  £400. 

"  onxn  YoEKSHTRE. — The  work  of  restoring 
of  the  ancient  churches  which  stud  the 
,...ls  of  North  Yorkshire  is  again  receiving  a 
powerftil  impetus.  One  of  the  oldest  churches 
in  the  kingdom  has  just  been  taken  in  hand. 
The  historic  church  of  Kirkdule,  near  Kirby- 
moorside,  is  said  to  have  been  built  antecedent 
to  the  Norman  Conquest.  The  church  is  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Gregory,  and  is  of  very  mixed  archi- 
tecture, consequent  on  frequent  repairs.  The 
most  dilapidated  portion  is  the  chancel,  to  which 
attention  is  being  given.  A  new  Gothic  roof, 
of  oak,  and  slated,  will  replace  the  old  flat  one. 
A  new  three-light  east  window  is  to  be  inserted, 
and  also  one  in  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel. 
The  old  painted  seats  in  the  chancel  are  being 
removed,  and  something  more  appropriate  will 
be  substituted.  The  restoration  is  in  the  hands 
of  Mr  S.  Crowther,  architect,  of  Manchester, 
and  the  contract  will  be  carried  out  by  Mr. 
Mark  Foggett,  builder,  of  the  same  city.  Not 
very  far  away  from  Kirkdale,  the  restoration  of 
another  very  ancient  churcli  is  about  to  be  under- 
taken— that  of  All  Saints',  Nunnington,  near 
Helmsley.  This  church  was  built  about  Ci'tO 
years  ago,  and  was  partially  rebuilt  in  1671, 
when  it  was  apparently  much  smaller.  It  is  now 
in  a  most  dilapidated  condition ;  in  fact,  it  was 
condemned  as  thoroughly  onsoond  thirty  years 


ago.  The  proposition  was  first  to  pull  it  down 
completely,  but  now  a  thorough  restoration  has 
been  determined  on ;  and  Mr.  Ewan  Chris- 
tian, the  architect  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Commis- 
sioners, has  been  entrusted  with  the  work, 
which  will  include  the  removal  of  the  low  white- 
washed ceiling  of  the  chancel  and  nave,  the  for- 
mation of  a  new  side  aisle,  but  putting  back  the 
cracked  north  wall;  building  of  new  open  roofs, 
rebuilding  of  vestry  and  porch,  adding  an  organ- 
chamber  and  new  organ,  opening  out  the  tower 
and  facing  the  unfinished  w-est  arch,  substitution 
of  open  seats  and  new  reading-desk  for  the  pre- 
sent antiquated  affairs,  and  the  introduction  of  a 
proper  system  of  warming  and  ventilating  the 
churcli.  Tliirty-six  additional  sittings  will  be 
gained  in  the  aisle,  and  eighteen  more  in  the 
tower,  by  the  alterations,  which,  it  is  estimated, 
will  cost  £2,200. 


PARLIAMENTARY  NOTES. 

The  "  Memoeial-Hefuoe"  nf  Fleet  Street. 
—On  Tuesday,  Mr.  Fhth  asked  the  Attorney 
General  wliether  an  information  for  intrusion 
under  the  Act  28th  and  29th  Vic,  cap.  104,  wiU 
lie  at  his  suit  against  the  Corporation  of  London  in 
respect  of  this  contemplated  erection  as  causing  an 
obstruction,  and  whether  he  is  prepared  to  exhibit 
such  information.  The  Attorney- General  said  it 
was  a  fact  that  the  Corporation  of  London  in- 
tended to  erect  the  refuge,  and  in  the  midst  of  it 
a  memorial  to  cDmmemorate  Temple  Bar.  The 
Corporation  claimed  a  right  to  do  so,  and  the 
Government,  as  represented  by  the  Board  of  Works, 
had  given  their  permission. 


CHIPS. 

The  Pen-bridge,  at  Maryhill,  near  Glasgow,  is 
about  to  be  rebuilt  and  the  canal  straightened. 
Messrs.  Morrison  and  Masnn,  of  Gla.sgow,  are  the 
contractors. 

Melville  parish-church,  near  Montrose,  has  been 
internally  restored  and  a  new  organ  erected.  The 
work  has  been  carried  out  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
Sim,  architect. 

The  complete  buildings  of  St.  Benedict's 
Monastery,  College,  and  Hospital,  at  Fort  Augus- 
tus, N.B.,  illustrated  in  our  pages  by  a  perspective 
view,  February  22nd,  1878,  were  opened  on 
Tuesday  week.  13th-century  Gothic  is  adopted 
throughout  as  the  style.  The  site  is  that  of  the 
Old  Fort,  and  has,  together  with  large  contribu- 
tions to  the  endowments,  been  given  by  Lord 
Lovat.  Messrs.  J.  A.  Hansom  and  Son,  of  Ken- 
sington, were  the  architects,  and  Mr.  Stokes  has 
acted  aa  clerk  of  the  works. 

The  reopening  of  the  parish-church  of  Xorbury 
took  place  on  Wednesday  week.  The  nave  (there 
are  no  aisles),  has  been  wholly  rebuilt,  the  old 
pews  being  removed,  and  open  seats  provided  for 
108  persons.  The  ceiling  is  decorated  with  stencil 
work  by  Mr.  Pugh,  painter,  i-c,  Bishop's  Castle. 
The  architect  is  Mr.  Cursen,;of  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields, 
and  the  contractor  Mr.  W.  Coles,  The  More.  The 
total  expenses  are  estimated,  in  a  statement  re- 
cently issued,  at  £723. 

The  architect  of  the  Austrian  Der.Titmeut  of 
Public  Works  has  officially  reported  that  the 
Cathedral  of  Trent,  the  place  where  the  celebrated 
Council  was  held  in  the  middle  of  the  16th  century, 
is  in  a  dangerous  state,  and  will  need  very  exten- 
sive repairs. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  of  Sewers  for  Boston, 
Lincolnshire,  held  last  week,  a  report  and  plans 
prepared  by  Mr.  Lancaster,  the  engineer  to  the 
court,  for  the  improvement  and  lowering  of  the 
main  drain,  was  adopted,  at  an  estimated  cost  of 
£1,4-50. 

A  new  head-master's  and  boarding-house  has 
just  been  added  to  the  Grammar-school  buildings 
at  Brigg.  Messrs.  Goddard,  of  Lincoln,  were  the 
architects,  and  Mr.  Parker,  of  Brigg,  was  the 
builder. 

The  Committee  for  the  Eestoration  of  North 
Walsham  Church,  Norfolk,  opened  last  week  five 
tenders  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  nave-roof,  and 
other  works.  Although  the  difference  between 
the  highest  and  lowest,  (the  latter  from  Messrs. 
Cornish  and  Gaymer,  of  the  same  place),  was  £1,100, 
none  was  accepted,  all  being  much  higher  than 
the  estimate. 

New  grammar-school  buildings  are  being  built 
at  Spalding,  at  a  cost  somewhat  exceeding  £3,000. 
Mr.  Bulling  is  the  contractir,  and  the  work  is  to 
be  completed  by  the  1st  January,  1881. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  vicarage  was  laid 
at  Honley  Bells,  Elshara.  last  week.  The  architect 
is  Mr.  James  Fowler,  of  Lauth,  and  the  contractor, 
Mr.  Parker,  of  Brigg. 


More  than   Fifty  Thousand   Replies   and 

Lctl'TBOn  HUhJcrtB  ot  Univfr«.al  InU-n-at  tiavc  apt>f.«ri,d  dtifl&r 
tti,.  lust  tt'n  yi-aritln  the  KNGLIHII  MhCllAMG  AM)  Wullljl 
OF  KflENCK,  mont  of  thorn  frum  the  prti.  ot  tho  l.-ii<llnr 
Silt-ntlflc  and  Technical  Aiilhuntioi  ot  the  day,  Thuuaaiida  of 
orljtiiial  article*  and  nientirlc  I'.tpi-r*.  and  coutitl'  -,  n  >  .  ijr.  .t.d 


«|,|.r., 


iK'-«.  nnd   its   Inr, 
.1  udVLTtiMTS  Hl» 

r  the  notice  of  in 


TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

["We  do  not  hold  ourHclvos  rr«jMjnjiible  fijr  the  optnioiu  of 
oar  corrcspondonls.  Tlie  £uitor  rcMpoctf  ttUy  reque«t» 
that  all  commiinieulions  ahould  bo  dnwn  up  u  brwllj 
1U4  possible,  tm  there  urc  numy  eUifnuwiM  upon  the  Kvuit 
allotted  to  correspondence.] 
All  letters  slioiild  tie  addrMsed  to  the  EDITOR,  31, 

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A.  S.— T.  E.  and  .Son. 

U.  S.  A.  (Ko.!-H.  M.  ("Building  Construction," 
Eivingtons.;  —  Wi!ST>ioRELisn.  (There  are  none. 
■When  there  was  one  those  who  should  have  nupporl*! 
it  were  indifferent,  and  it  wasdi»conUnued.l-C.  n»J«- 
LocK.  iThere  is  no  good  book  on  the  subject.  ^  oa 
will  find  some  gond  information  in  Ure's  Dicti.mary. 
Ask  a  query  in  ■•  Inter.oniiiiun.  .'..n  r  m  the 
Enqlifh  M'cli.ink.   ■iouwouMi'  ■  mlor- 

ma'tion  through   the  pages  oi  '  ■  •»»" 

soLi>.      (.\ll  drawings  are  m'  Jf  '" 

abeyance  during  the  vacatioT,  ^ruirs- 

lars  will  be  announced  in  due  c.iur- 

" BUILDING  NEWS"   DESIOXINO  CLUB. 

The  authors  of  the  drowiiiir-  n"'  v.!  r.  ^ini.-U--»nn.- :.• 
following  mottoes  nr. 
so  thot  tlieir  drawn 
Duncan.  McUi.-ter. 

Strive,  Peiseveranti  1.  i  ,,,,„, 

CoUibcrtus,  Through,  w.   i  ~»  1 1  .n    ir^i' 

Contspoulitncc. 

QrANTITIF> 
To  the  Editor  of  the  BtnLorso  News. 
c,-  _With  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
paper'pr-r-a  •"">  '*'"^  ^^  ^'  -U"''?'!  "  '^' 
Fate  m^eetLg  of  <'-«'»'"  »•""!"  t^^-' 
tion,  held  in  Bri.^tol.  I  heartily. ?r«.Ij^> 
deet^ly  that  such  a  paper  should  bo  ne«l.sJ.  but 
ft  fs  undeniable  that  qiuuitiUe..,  ""-'^•r^ 
'^  not  always  ?"?»-'  "  '""^^  7'VZh 
and  the  best  i*a.on  I  can  s-iirn  {<" '^' '^ 
CMele.s.si.es8  which  too  often  cxiM*  «  the  dear* 
t^et  Oir«ugli  work  with  «  httJe  tn™W«  as 
^f^ble^^stfte  of  atfair.  not  .holly  confin^ 
Mchitcct..  and  surveyor..  I  thmk  "'^""^ 
is  manifestly  unfair  to  proruicial  •"'yT??' 
wh^n  he  speik..  so  highly  of  the  d«»g.  of  tbA 


286 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880, 


London  brethren  ;  liis  remarks  are  evidently  in- 
tended to  disparage  the  former. 

Before  me  I  have  sets  of  quantities  -n-hich 
have  been  prepared  by  Liverpool,  Birkenhead, 
Cambridge,  and  London  surveyors,  and  if  there 
are  black  spots  on  the  Mersey,  I  can  find 
equally  black  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames. 

In  a  set  of  quantities  prepared  by  a  Liver- 
pool surveyor,  I  find  2  pinnacles  for  a  church, 
described  as  follows  :  ''2  pinnacles  as  per  draw- 
ing well  and  securely  dowelled  and  cramped 
(exclusive  of  carving)."  The  drawing,  a  l-6th 
«cale  tracing,  is  appended  to  the  quantities  and 
shows  them  to  be  octagon  on  plan,  one  measur- 
ing about  13ft.  high  and  3ft.  across,  the  other 
is  about  23ft.  high  ard  4ft.  3in.  across,  and  it 
may  be  easily  surmised  that  the  amounts  put 
down  in  the  different  tenders  were  extremely 
varied.  In  the  same  bill  I  notice  an  item  given 
of  "  supl.  stone  in  sills,"  but  no  tliickness 
is  named.  Further  on,  in  the  carpenters'  and 
joiners'  work,  I  find  the  flooring-boards  given 
as  so  much  material  only,  and  a  little  lower 
down  the  page  there  appears — "supl.  labour 
only  to  flooring  and  joisting."  Now  the  same 
area  for  both  cannot  be  right,  either  the  amount 
for  flooring  is  too  great,  or  the  wall-hold  for 
joisting  has  been  .altogether  forgotten ;  but 
stay — perhaps  the  glorious  system  of  averaging 
-has  been  adopted  in  order  to  save  time  and 
trouble.  The  staircase  is  described  by  the  num- 
ber of  steps,  the  length  being  given ;  but  the 
price  is  to  include  notch  boards,  etc.,  with  an 
extra  for  winders.  It  is  evident  that  this  loose 
fityle  must  commend  itself  to  many  builders, 
and  must  pay  well,  otherwise  contractors  would 
not  be  so  desirous  to  do  work  in  such  offices. 

Prom  a  set  of  cjuantities  by  another  Liverpool 
firm,  I  pick  out  the  following:  "43.5ft.  cube 
stone  in  plain  heads,  imposts,  sills,  and  copings. 
264ft.  6in.  cube  stone  in  moulded  factables." 
Beyond  that  no  further  information  is  given  to 
guide  contractors  as  to  the  proper  value  of  the 
work. 

Prom  another  set  of  Liverpool-prepared 
quantities  I  extract  the  following  :  "  638ft.  cube 
stone  in  buttress  weatherings,  and  dressings  to 
•doorways  and  all  labour." 

At  the  end  of  all  the.se  quantities  2  per  cent. 
is  faithfully  appended  for  the  veiy  meagre 
amount  of  information  afforded. 

Pxamining  another  set  of  quantities  prepared 
by  Birkenhead  surveyors,  the  following  items 
appe."ir  in  the  bill: — "The  contractor  must 
distinctly  understand  that  no  lining  up  to 
.gables  or  beam  filling  has  been  taken  separately, 
but  has  been  measured  in  with  the  common 
brickwork,  nor  any  common  discharging  arches 
over  lintels,  although  same  must  be  provided 
where  necessary  to  take  the  siiperincumbent 
weight  above."  Again,  "provide  and  fix  all 
centres,  numbering  60  or  thereabouts  [mark  the 
care  taken],  the  greater  number  will  be  simply 
turning  pieces  for  4i-in.  soffits."  You  will  per- 
ceive no  length  is  given;  they  may  be  ISin. 
long,  or  the  openings  may  be  3  times  that  size. 
The  stairs  are  also  given  in  a  loose  manner,  and 
for  work  done  in  this  way  a  charge  of  2|  per 
cent,  appears  in  the  siimm.ary. 

But  if  Liverpool  quantity-taking  is  in  such  an 
unhealthy  state,  and  the  evil  is  widespread, 
I  am  sorry  to  find  the  same  disease  existing  in 
places  further  south.  Prom  quantities  prepared 
by  a  Cambridge  surveyor,  I  select  a  few  items, 
"  715  yards  supl.  reduced  brickwork  to  the 
.standai-d  thickness  of  14in.,  all  openings  being 
deducted  which  contain  more  than  10ft. 
KU])1."  Now  there  is  no  labour  given  for  open- 
ings, and  I  have  searched  in  vain  for  the  beam 
filling  to  walls,  and  the  cutting  and  lining  up 
of  gables,  items  necessary  to  complete  the  work. 
The  masonry  items  are  stUl  more  imperfectly 
given,  and  are  as  follows:  "46ft.  2in.  cube 
splayed,  weathered,  and  throated  sills,"  "  50ft. 
6in.  cube  wrot  ch.amfered  heads,"  "  150ft.  6in. 
cube  moulded  and  tliroated  gable  copings,"  and 
"  103ft.  6in.  cube  springers,  bonders,  and  apex 
stones."  It  may  reasonably  be  asked,  how  can 
any  man  affix  prices  to  such  quantities ':  It  is 
not  sufficient  to  say  that  the  plans  can  be  seen 
at  the  architect's  office.  Turning  next  to  the 
carpenters'  and  joiners  work,  I  find  the  whole 
of  the  timber  for  "lintels,  plates,  tie  beams, 
r.pars,  joists,  etc.,"  under  one  heading.  Does 
that  surveyor  fancy  that  lintels  are  worth  the 
same  value  as  framed  principals  or  even  joists, 
or  rafters  ?  If  so,  then  I  am  afraid  the  joiners  of 
whom  Mr.  Hughes  speaks  so  disparagingly 
eould  teach  him   something  different  from  th"at. 


I  may,  in  passing  from  this  set  of  quantities, 
inform  the  surveyor  whose  name  is  attached  to 
them,  that  Liverpool  contractors'  price  labour  to 
oi)eninga  at  about  lOd.  per  supl.  yard  reduced 
to  brick  length. 

Moving  on  to  the  land  of  Goshen,  and  look- 
ing through  bills  of  quantities  which  liave 
been  prepared  by  London  surveyors,  I  find  that 
even  they  have  not  attained  to  perfection,  and 
I  make  bold  to  say  that  bad  as  matters  are  on 
the  Mersey,  they  can  be  matched  even  in  the 
capital. 

From  one  set  I  cull  the  following  particulars, 
"Supl.  labour  to  hollows  or  openings  in 
brickwork  having  splayed  jambs,  including 
plumbings  and  the  rough  arches  over  them." 
' '  Cube  stone,  including  waste  and  all  plain 
labour  to  beds  and  joints,  and  hoisting  and 
setting."  Why  not  measure  beds  and  joints,  my 
London  friend,  and  let  the  mason  understand 
the  actual  amount  of  cliisellhig  required.  In 
the  same  bill,  I  find  that  the  "  slates  arc  to  be 
nailed  with  copper  nails  of  approved  pattern 
and  weight."  Very  clear  and  distinct  this — a 
contractor  could  make  no  mistake  as  to  what 
was  meant.  In  other  respects,  I  admit  that  care 
has  been  taken,  in  the  preparation  of  these 
quantities,  and,  therefore,  the  sUps  which  I  have 
referred  to  are  the  more  inexplicable. 

Turning  to  another  set,  also  by  a  firm  of 
London  surveyors,  I  find  that  the  masonry  items 
for  a  public  building  are  taken  in  the  most  slip- 
shod manner.  The  tenders  for  a  tower  to  that 
building,  ranged  from  £543  to  £1,387,  and  the 
great  difference  between  the  two  amounts  must 
be  partly  owing  to  the  lack  of  sufficient  infor- 
mation. I  hardly  think  that  the  difference  can 
be  attributed  to  the  same  cause  as  that  as.signed 
by  Mr.  Hughes,  "that  the  first  included  only 
stone  and  setting,"  the  various  items  being 
described  as  follows :  "  — ft.  cube  stone  in  sunk, 
weathered,  and  moulded  sills."  " — ft.  cube 
stone  in  moulded  strings."  "  — ft.  cube  stone  in 
moulded  capping  to  pedestals,"  and  so  on.  But 
the  cream  of  the  joke  is  in  the  fact  tliat  there 
are  "  1,672ft.  cube  stone  in  the  uppermost,  45ft. 
of  the  lower,  including  all  labour  as  sketch  A  at 
end  of  bill,"  and  when  I  look  at  this  sketch  I 
find  it  to  be  drawn  to  an  J-  scale.  That  beats 
our  Liverpool  friend  with  his  pinnacles,  and  so 
I  leave  your  readers  to  reconcile  as  best  they  can 
the  .statements  made  by  Mr.  Hughes  when  read 
in  the  light  of  these  selections. 

It  is  evident  that  changes  must  soon  take 
place  in  the  methods  adopted  at  present  in  pre- 
paring bills  of  quantities,  and  I  shall  just  pick 
out  two  items  which  appear  pretty  regularly  in 
London  bills,  in  fact.  Banister  Fletcher  in  his 
book  on  "  Quantities,"  recommends  these  modes 
for  adoption  :  I  refer  to  joisting  and  doorframes. 
Take  the  case  of  a  building  where  the  scantlings 
of  joists  vary  from  llin.  by  3in.  to  6in.  by  2|in. 
The  last-named  must,  when  fixed,  be  worth 
considerably  more  in  price  than  the  first. 
Give  the  cube  timber  if  you  please  ;  that  is  the 
fair  way  between  the  proprietor  and  contractor, 
but  give  also  the  supl.  labour  to  the  various 
sizes  of  joists  ;  the  same  remark  applies  with 
equal  force  to  rafters  and  stiling.  The  other 
case  is  still  worse;  to  put  a  45in.  by  Sin.  door 
frame  into  cube  timber  along  with  another  Gin. 
by  Gin.  in  scantling  is  catching,  the  first-named 
holding  a  higher  relative  value  than  the  latter. 
Let  each  be  given  linl.,  and  the  builder  then 
knows  exactly  what  he  is  doing.  Stone  should 
also  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  careful  manner, 
and  unless  that  is  done  it  is  nearly  impos-iible 
to  arrive  at  its  true  value.  I  will  just  assume  a 
case.  Take,  for  instance,  the  cube  stone  in  plain 
heads  where  some  may  be  14in.  by  14in.,  others 
14in.  by  9in.,  .and  others  Itin.  by  4jin.,  and 
beyond  the  cube  stone  no  items  appear  for 
labour ;  in  the  case  of  the  smallest  scantling, 
the  labour,  polished  or  otherwise,  on  the  face  is 
as  3  to  1  to  the  other  scantlings,  and  yet  that 
methotl  is  spoken  highly  of  by  some  builders. 
In  the  case  of  muUioned  windows  with  transoms, 
the  evil  must  be  greatly  intensified.  This 
method,  spite  of  those  who  uphold  it,  is  unfair 
to  owner  of  the  building  as  well  as  to  contractor. 
Unless  the  contractor  supplements  what  is  given 
by  going  carefully  into  the  matter  (in  other 
words,  takes  out  his  own  quantities),  he  will 
probably  either  make  more  than  a  legitimate 
amount  of  profit  out  of  tlie  work  ;  or  it  may  be 
that  in  his  anxiety  to  get  the  job  he  prices 
rather  fine,  and  thus  runs  a  risk  of  losing  a 
considerable  sum  ;  then  begins  the  usual  amount 
of  worry  to  architects..    Now  I  say  that  stone 


from  Gin.  and  upwards  ought  to  be  taken 
"cube,  including  hoisting  and  setting,"  and 
the  whole  of  the  different  descriptions  of  labour 
taken  afterwards  in  supl.  and  linl.,  as  the 
circumstances  of  tlie  case  may  demand,  and  if 
builders  would  make  up  their  minds  as  to  the 
changes  required,  I  think  architects  and  sur- 
veyors would  meet  them,  and  discuss  with 
fairness  the  points  at  issue.  Let  us  no  more 
hear,  however,  about  the  proposition  occasion- 
ally propounded  of  having  the  quality  of  work 
classed  as  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  4tli,  and  5th,  perhaps 
even  lower  than  that,  for  there  is  no  knowing 
to  what  depths  we  may  go,  and  when  the  work 
is  completed  calling  in  a  surveyor  to  measure  up 
the  same,  and  decide  under  wlucli  of  the  several 
grades  it  should  be  paid.  There  is  here  an 
attempt,  but  poorly  conce.aled,  to  set  the  archi- 
tect aside  altogether.  He  is  to  draw  the  pic- 
ture, but  with  the  quality  of  the  work  he  must 
not  interfere.  But  I  fear  it  will  be  a  long  time 
before  architects  will  allow  themselves  to  be 
relegated  to  that  position. 

Coming  now  to  another  part  of  our  author's 
paper,  I  am  anxious  to  know  on  what  grounds 
Mr.  Hughes  objects  so  strongly  to  joiners, 
bricklayers,  and  masons  acting  as  quantity 
clerks.  His  condemnation  is  too  sweeping  in 
its  character,  and  is  not  qualified  by  a  single 
phrase.  I  cannot  see  by  what  process  of 
reasoning  I  should  be  considered  unfit  to  per- 
form these  duties  on  the  score  that  I  once  was 
in  his  employ.  I  join  issue  with  him  on  that 
head,  and  I  am  prepared  to  hold  that  my  train- 
ing in  a  workshop  ouglit  .specially  to  fit  me  to 
perform  that  particidar  work.  Do  builders  not 
regularly  trust  their  foremen  to  measure  up 
work,  and  see  that  they,  the  builders,  get  their 
pound  of  Jlt^&h  ?  Ease  your  harsh  expression, 
Mr.  Hughes,  and  I  will  agree  with  you  that 
some  sort  of  an  examination  is  necessary.  But 
if  necessary  for  those  desirous  of  becoming  sur- 
veyors, and  there  is  honour  to  the  man  who 
gets  out  of  the  ranks,  I  think  it  just  as  needful 
that  builders  should  also  conform  to  a  test  before 
being  allowed  to  qualify.  How  many  are  there 
who  do  not  know  what  a  rod  of  brickwork  con- 
tains in  supl.  yards,  who  could  not  tell  the  cube 
timber  in  the  various  standards  of  deals  and 
battens,  and  who  are  equally  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  contents  of  a  rood  of  slating.  I  know  an 
employer  of  labour  on  a  large  scale  connected 
with  one  of  the  building  branches  who  lately  did 
not  know  what  triglyphs  were,  with  mutules 
and  di-ops.     He  knows  now. 

I  have  previously  admitted  that  quantities 
are  not  in  all  cases  just  as  perfect  as  they  ought 
to  be,  but  I  know  builder.?  do  not  always  read 
carefully  what  is  even  written  in  bills  of 
quantities.  Let  them,  before  affixing  prices, 
do  this,  and  many  egregious  errors  will  be 
avoided.  A  circumstance  which  took  place  a 
few  years  ago,  and  now  comes  to  my  recollection, 
will  illustrate  what  I  mean.  A  firm  of  builders 
claimed  an  extra  for  some  work  which  they  had 
executed  in  Portland  cement,  instead  of  doing 
it  in  Roman  cement,  as  specified.  The  change 
from  Roman  to  Portland  was  made  on  their  own 
suggestion,  but  no  liint  was  then  given  that  an 
increased  price  would  be  requii'ed.  Now  the 
Portland  cement,  as  used,  was  mixed  in  the  pro- 
portion as  one  of  cement  to  two  of  sand,  whilst 
the  architect's  .specification,  and  likewise  the 
quantities,  specified  that  the  Roman  cement 
should  be  mixed  in  inverse  proportions,  viz., 
two  of  cement  to  one  of  sand.  When  the  work 
was  squared  up,  a  claim  of  Is.  per  yard  was 
made  for  the  privilege  of  substituting  tlie  former 
for  the  latter.  The  claim  was  resisted,  and  the 
matter  carefully  gone  into,  with  the  result  that 
the  balance  in  contractor's  favour  did  not  exceed 
M.  per  supl.  yard.  Strong  objections  were 
raised  against  the  small  amount  allowed,  .and  it 
then  came  out  that  the  qviantities  were  priced 
without  the  items  being  carefully  read  over.  As 
one  member  of  the  firm  said,  whi'st  the  matter 
was  under  discussion: — "  AVe  took  it  that  the 
cement  was  to  be  mixed  in  the  ordinary  way." 
Now  architects  and  surveyors  have  a  sufficient 
use  for  all  the  brains  they  possess,  without 
undertaking  to  supply  that  useful  commodit)" 
to  builders  on  a  large  scale. 

My  letter  is,  I  fear,  far  too  long,  and  may 
not  come  up  to  your  standard,  or  I  might  have 
touched  on  other  points  in  the  p.aper  by  Mr. 
Hughes,  for  I  find  that  even  in  the  quantities 
where  the  painting  is  mixed  up  with  the  joirery, 
and  which  he  so  mercilessly  criticises,  there 
are  some  extenuating  circumstances.     I  admit, 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


287 


as  a  copy  of  that  bill  now  lies  before  me,  that  it 
cannot  be  defended,  especially  in  the  items  where 
doors,  casings,  &c.,  are  so  wonderfully  jumbled 
tog-ether  (it  is  bad  workmanship,  like  a  good 
deal  of  the  building  which  goes  on  nowadays), 
but  woidd  there  have  been  any  great  difficulty 
in  the  way,  llr.  Hughes,  had  you  just  added 
about  I'd.  per  supl.  foot  to  the  price  of  your 
work  to  cover  painting,  seeing  that  these 
"joineiy  and  painting  items"  are  generally 
marked  "thus*  it  being  understood  from  the  bill 
that  the  work  may  or  may  not  be  done. 

I  have,  in  what  is  written,  "  extenuated 
nought,  or  set  down  aught  in  malice,"  and  with 
many  apologies  for  troubling  you, — I  am,  &c., 

Liverpool,  Aug.  26.  Edwabd  Reid. 

SCHELTLES  OF  PRICES. 
SiK, — From  a  contractor's  point  of  view,  sche- 
dules of  prices  have  their  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages. Among  the  former  is,  that  all 
work  performed  will  be  paid  for,  whereas,  with 
a  bill  of  quantities,  under  a  lump-sum  contract, 
this  by  no  means  follows,  so  many  imperfect 
documents  of  this  kind  being  nowadays  placed 
in  the  hands  of  builders.  Unless  the  bills  of 
quantities  are  prepared  by  a  properly  qualified 
surs-eyor,  the  builder  is  almost  certain  to  find 
important  items  omitted  or  so  badly  described 
that  he  is  ofien  misled  into  inserting  inadequate 
prices.  'SVTien  the  contract  is  taken  under  a 
schedide  of  prices,  nil  the  work  is  measured,  and 
it  is  the  builder's  own  fault  if  anything  is  left 
imnoted.  The  schedule,  it  is  true,  may  have 
been  also  prepared  by  an  incompetent  person, 
but  if  the  items  are  not  clearly  described,  the 
builder  is  under  no  obligation  to  accept  theraj 
and  he  can  insist  on  being  paid  the  actual  cost 
of  the  work  plus  a  reasonable  addition  for 
profit. 

The  disadvantages  attaching  to  a  contract 
imder  a  schedule  of  prices  are,  that  the  architect 
or  his  employer  is  enabled  to  vary  the  work,  a 
proceeding  which  is  more  the  rule  than  the  ex- 
ception. This  often  entails  great  loss  to  a  con- 
tractor if  the  variations  are  at  all  extensive,  as 
it  may  cause  a  quantity  of  materials  which  he 
had  ordered  for  the  work  to  be  thrown  on  his 
hands,  and  he  can  rarel3-  enter  into  engagements 
with  the  merchants  in  order  to  secure  himself 
against  a  rising  market  after  he  had  made  his 
tender.  Schedules  of  prices  are  not  always  pre- 
pared with  sufficient  care,  the  prices  being  often 
filled  in  haphazard,  or  culled  from  some  of  the 
pubUshed  price-books. 

Unless  the  builder  is  permitted  to  insert  his 
own  prices,  it  is  only  those  who  have  experienced 
it  that  can  form  any  idea  of  the  difficulty  in 
tendering  at  aU  on  a  schedule  that  is  badly  pre- 
pared. The  writer  has  met  cases  in  which  he 
found  it  impossible  to  estimate  a  percentage  that 
would  enable  him  to  secure  himself  against  loss 
without  risking  the  contract.  These  observa- 
tions apply  with  greati.st  force  where  a  number 
of  fancy  items  are  in.serted  because  the  compiler 
thinks  they  might  be  of  use,  as  we  see  in  many 
Government  schedules,  which  are  often  made 
very  complicated,  and  necessitates  the  employ- 
ment of  a  sharp  surveyor,  who,  of  course,  ex- 
pects remuneration  according  to  his  repute  for 
sharpness ;  otherwise  the  builder,  who  has  not 
time  to  devote  to  the  unravelling  of  a  compli- 
cated schedule,  would  often  be  compelled  to 
accept  any  interpretation  which  the  architect 
chose  to  adopt. 

For  extras  and  omissions  on  a  lump-sum  eon- 
tract,  obviously  the  bill  of  quantities  forms  the 
best  schedule  t  >  price  them  by ;  but  in  that  case 
the  builder  is  entitled  to  some  compensation  for 
omitted  work,  at  least,  to  cover  loss  on  orders 
already  given  for  materials,  i.tc.,  which  would 
be  rendered  useless,  and  to  cover  losses  arising 
from  having  his  ai-rmgements  for  carrying  out 
the  work  interfered  with. — I  am,  &c., 

J.  S. 


I  think  if  architects  would  aim  at  breadth  and 
dignity  of  design,  with  good  proportions,  instead 
of  endeavouring  to  get  effect  from  merely  cover- 
ing their  buildings  with  what  is  not  unfrequently 
badly-executed  carving,  we  should  have  more 
sensible  architecture. 

To  me,  though  I  know  there  is  precedent  for 
it  in  some  of  the  best  Medimval  structures,  it 
seems  quite  out  of  place  for  a  bunch  of  leaves 
and  fiowers  on  a  cap  to  be  apparently  supporting 
a  large  and  heavy  mass  of  building.  For  capi- 
tals, nothing  in  my  sight  looks  so  well  as  our 
own  (indigenous,  if  I  may  so  call  it),  Early 
English  Moulded  Cap  ;  it  can  bo  adapted  to  the 
richest  or  plainest  building.  Another  way  in 
which  carving  is  often  inappropriateljt  used  is  to 
stop  a  hood-mould  or  the  bottom  of  a  vaulting 
shaft.  I  think  the  plain  "stop"  to  the  vault- 
ing shafts  of  "  St.  Paul's"  looks  better  than  any 
cluster  of  flowers  and  leaves.  I  think  also 
foliated  finials  are  out  of  place.  I  believe  that 
the  ori<nnal  object  of  finials  was  to  add  weight 
to  the  apex  of  a  gable.  If  this  was  the  origin 
of  finials,  does  it  not  appear  that  it  would  be 
better  attained  by  something  more  weighty  than 
f ohage  ? 

Ai^ain,  we  have  less  chance  of  getting  our 
designs  carried  out  as  we  wish  in  floriated  orna- 
ment, for,  however  carefully  the  sketches  are 
made,  the  carver  will  vary  them ;  but  if  you  give 
a  design  for  a  geometric  pattern,  which  is  worked 
by  rule  and  figures,  you  at  once/x  the  "  work- 
man," and  he  is  unable  to,  as  I  have  heard  them 
say,  "improve"  the  design. 

Messrs.  Seddon  and  Gough  were  well  able, 
from  their  known  position  and  authority,  to  en- 
force the  carrying  out  of  a  building  designed 
without  carving  ;  but  younger  and  less  knowri 
men  would  be  unable,  so  prejudiced  is  the  public 
mind  for  carving,  or,  as  they  call  it,  "orna- 
ment." I  am  sorry  so  many  "  truckle"  to  this 
mistaken  taste  of  the  pubHc.  I  feel  quite  confident 
that  both  our  ecclesiastic  and  secular  buildings 
an  be  successfully  carried  out  without  the  aid 
of  carving,  especially  on  the  exterior  of  the 
building,  where  the  smoke  of  our  large  manu- 
facturing towns  soon  turns  it  black,  and  it 
appears  like  a  shapeless  patch  of  dirt. 

If  carving  must  be  admitted  on  the  exterior 
of  a  building,  I  would  limit  it  to  panels  and  like 
situations,  and  it  should  be  very  much  conven- 
tionalised.— I  am,  itc,  D.  M. 

30th  Aug. 


Merchants'  HaU. 
27  Aug.,  1880. 
TK.VDE  SCHOOL  COMPETITION. 
Dkab  Sir,— No  chnngp  wilt  b«  made  in  Uio  conditions  of 
the  above  ;  tlic  Sociity  do  nit  bind  tlicniK-lvta  to  cmnloir 
a  prutcsdional  refine  or  to  tinploy  tlie  tiutlior  of^ the 
surcosstul  design.    Full  information  on  lluw,  and  oilier 
points,  is  cuntiiined  in  the  rurticulur».-Youi»  tiuly, 
W.  I„  llcmoitl,  Esu.  Oiuucc  U.  Pui-i:. 

31,  Clore-itrMt. 
27  Aug.,  laso. 
TR.VDE  SCHOOL  fOMPETITION. 

DkahSiii,-!  thank  you  fir  your  informntion  in  reply 
to  my  queriea. 

I  intend  to  puhlish  the  eorreitpondi-nco  in  the  Duilding 
papers,  and  presume  you  will  have  no  ohj6rtion,— I  ftm, 


[■  Sir,  yours  truly. 


Wm.  L.  De>>abu. 


erchant  Venturem. 


Merchant!'  Hall. 
27  Aug.,  laSO. 
TK.\DE  SCHOOL  COMPETITION. 
Dk.vr  Sill,— ily  letters  are,  of  eotirsc,  cntirelf  at  your 
disposal.— Yours  truly,  Gkobi.e  II.  Pora. 

W.  L.  liamiird,  K-.j  .  .11,  naie-»lreet. 


inttvcommunicatiou. 


[0212.1 -Racket  Court —I  shall  esteem  it  a  great 
favour  if  some  lircUier-boilder  will  kindly  oasint  me  with 
advice  in  the  fuUu«ing  particular* :— Would  cement 
concrete  give  sattsfaetion,  or  would  o^phulte  be  more 
likely  to  do  so  in  floor  I  Would  Portland  cement  llu'ly 
finished  on  rubble  walla  be  satisfactory  I  The  buildinif 
being  66ft.  by  30ft.,  how  much  of  the  roof  should  b« 
!;la.ss!  Would  lighting  from  north  side  only  b*  bo»t ' 
AVhat  description  of  roof,  and  what  system  of  ithuing 
should  I  adopt !  Are  these  dimensions  sulHcient,  and 
what  height  should  there  be  to  wull-ph»tc!— Wisiimo  ro 

DO  RlOUT. 

:G213.]-Chancel  Walls.-Will  some  one  kindly  tell 
me  if,  in  those  churches  where  the  chancel  walls  are  not 
parallel  to  the  nave  or  aielc  walls  produced  ( 1 1  the  chan- 
cell  walls  go  off  at  any  particular  angle,  and  if  they  do, 
(2)  what  is  tliat  angle  !  also  (3),  whether  the  east  w  ill 
of  the  chancel  in  such  cases  ia  usually  ot  right  angles  to 
the  sloping  walU<,  or  whether  it  ia  parallel  with  tlje  we^t 
wall  of  the  church  f— Attesbobo. 

[62U.]— Indian  Ink.— Can  any  reader  kindly  inform 
me  which  is  the  verj-  best  Indian  ink  made  for  architec- 
tural drawing,  ink  that  will  stand  waahi 

and  whore  it  can  be  obla        ' 

obtaining  a  clear  shadow 

[6215.l-CentroUnead.-WiU  any  reader  kindly  ex- 
plain to  me  the  method  of  setting  Stanley's  centrolincad 
for  perspective  drawing,  o 


f  colour  Weil, 
\lso  the  beat  colour  for 

;-r.  F.  B. 


.ST.  PAUL'S  CHUECn,  IIAMUERSMITII. 
,SiB, — I  am  very  glad  to  see  by  your  illustra- 
tions  of  the  above,  in  the  Buu-mxii  News  for 
last  Saturday,  that  some  one  has  thought  it  pos- 
sible to  design  a  building  without  "  fussiness  or 
Ijretentious  ornamentation" — i.e.,  carving.  As 
far  as  I  can  find  from  your  illustrations,  the 
only  approach  to  carving  is  in  the  dog-tooth 
ornament  in  the  chancel  arch.  The  absence  of 
this  usual  adjunct  ia  so  marked,  that  I  think  it 
must  be  intentional,  especially  as  the  funds  seem 
to  have  been  ample. 


BRISTOL   TRADE    SCHOOL  COMPE- 
TITION. 

Sib, — As  I  am  aware  you  are  always  ready  to 
expose  the  evils  of  Architectural  Competition, 
may  I  beg  the  favour  of  the  insertion  of  the  in- 
closed correspondence,  which  has  taken  place  in 
connectio  n  with  the  advertisement  that  appeared 
in  your  paper  of  Aug.  20,  with  reference  to  the 
proposed  new  Trade  School  for  Bristol.— I  am 
&:c.  Wii.  L.  Beexato). 

31,  Clare  street,  Bristol. 
31st  Aug.,  1880. 

31,  Clare-street,  Bristol. 
24th  August,  1S80. 
PEOPOSED  NEW   TRADE  SCHOOL,  BRISTOL. 
S,„,_l  observe  in  tV.e  advertisement  in  the  Building 
papers  tor  designs  for  the  above,  that  competitors  are  re- 
quested to  forward  you  one  guinea  for  particulars.    May 
I  ask  if  this  amount  will  be  returned  to  those  who  send 
in  designs  :— I  am.  Sir,  yours  truly, 

Wm.  L.  B.vbnabd. 
O.  H.  Pope,  Esq.,  Treasurer,  Society  of 
Merchant  Venturer.*,  Br.stol. 

Merchants'  Hall. 
24  Aug,  18S0. 
TRADE  SCHOOL  COMPETITION. 
Sm.-The  guinea  will  not  be  returned.— Yours  truly, 
Oeoeoe  H.  Pope. 
W.  L.  Bernard,  Esq.,  31,  aare-street. 

31,  Clare-street,  Bristol. 
27th  Aug.,  16S0. 

PROPOSED  NEW  TRADE  SCHOOL. 
I  SiR.-I  am  obliged  by  the  receipt  of  your  letter 


De 


number  of  the  Bcil 

-J.  B.  , 

[6216.1-Iron  Houses.- 1  shall  be  very  gratefu 
for  any  information  of  a  practical  character  on  the  abov.- 
subject.  (1)  As  to  their  co  t  and  durability;  (2,  as  U; 
the  comfort  of  living  in  them,  both  during  summer  and 
winter.  I  have  a  small  house  and  an  increaaing  family. 
My  idea  was  to  erect  auch  a  building  for  the  purpoM  Ola 
day  and  night  nursery.- Mediccs. 

[6217.1-Band-Saw8.-Can  any  of  our  re«dcrsgire 
me  some  information  a.s  to  the  working  of  band-saws,  tBe 
gauge,  best  shape  of  tooth  for  cutting  wheel-feUoessad 
hard  English  timber  generally,  the  right  amount  snd  beat 
method  of  setting  the  teeth  of  the  saw-blade,  and  tiie 
correct  speed  to  run  at !  Also,  any  book  trcaUng  on  Ui« 
working  of  saw-mills,  and  oblige-As  E5T»TESTEwian. 

EEFLIES. 
to  Close  Church-Door.-I  haTe 

thiawav;  itisnn     ~  "' '  ""— 

d  to  the 


box 


m^SM 


^^^ 


II  n  trtiatt  th*  door 
.  .},  B  small  wh««l 
i   r    protKtstte 


pecting  the  above.  I  trust  the  Society  of  Merchant 
Venturers  will  reconsider  the  matter,  as.  by  the  present 
arrangement,  competitors  will  bo  paying  for  the  premium 
out  of  their  own  pockets.  .       ,•  „„„_»  '  tion  to  the  w,  if 

I  do  not  observe   any  mention  1° .,',''? i>?«^l^™'!^;  I  "i,ta  in  cau-.    • 


as  to  whether  a  professional  referee  wi  be  consulted,  or 
whether  the  succe  ssful  competitor  will  be  employed  to 
carry  out  the  works ;  possibly,  information  on  tnesc 
points  is  in  the  Particulars,  but,  if  not,  would  you  kindl} 
favour  me  with  a  reply  respecting  same  !-I  ""•  ^J" '"'^• 
vours  truly,  Wil .  L.  Ber>  .vbd. 

O.  H.  Pope,  Esq.,  Treasurer,  Society 
of  Merchant  \'enturer3. 


■6192.1-SprinK  t 

some  years  ago  if  an 

-  R.  P.  ••  --■••■ 


which  the  » 

the  motion  - 

pulley  or  by  <h'    '•,' ,' 

The  tube  nce^l  not  >  • 

the   piston 

air   to  pass 


ouil  l>-- 


288 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Sept.  3,  1880. 


of  the  tube  must  be  fitted  with  a  valve  opening  inwards, 
to  allow  air  to  enter  below  the  piston  when  the  door  is 
being  opened.  I  cannot  say  whether  this  ingenious 
device  is  patented,  but  can  answer  for  its  practical  work- 
ing.—Musk'a. 

[6204.]  — Cathedrals.— The  best  way  to  answer  Mr. 
Fred  J.  Preeman's  question  in  your  last  number  is  by 
reversing  it,  and  saying  what  cathedrals  the  late  Sir 
George  Gilbert  Scott  had  nothing  to  do  with  architectui-- 
ally.  Those,  I  believe,  in  England  were  York,  Carlisle, 
Bristol,  Wells,  Winchester,  and  St.  Paul's.  On  some  of 
them  he  had  reported,  however.  In  Wales,  Llandaff. 
Most  imfortxinately  there  is  no  perfect  list  of  either  the 
ecclesiastical  or  secular  buildings  Sir  Gilbert  was  engaged 
on.— J  AS.  Thos.  Irvine. 

[6204.1-Cathedrals.— Sir  Gilbert  Scott  did  the  fol- 
lowing cathedral  restorations :— Canterbury,  the  new 
choir  stalls  ;  Hochester,  general ;  Chichester,  the  central 
steeple ;  Salisbury,  general ;  Winchester,  choir  screen 
and  Bp.  Wilberforce's  tomb  ;  Exeter,  general ;  Glouces- 
ter, general ;  Ely,  general ;  Peterboro',  structurai  repairs  ; 
St.  Alban's,  general ;  Durham,  choir  screen  and  rear- 
rangement of  stalls  ;  Chester,  general ;  Eipon,  general ; 
Lichfield,  general ;  Worcester,  reredos,  screen,  &c. ; 
Hereford,  general;  St.  David's,  general;  St.  Asaph, 
general ;  and  Bangor,  general.  Sir  Gilbert  has  notes  on 
all  his  works  at  the  above  places  in  his  "  EecoUections," 
&c.,  published  a  year  or  two  ago  by  his  son.— H.  C.  S. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Ely. — The  local  board  of  Ely  have  drawn  up  a 
report  on  the  water-supply  of  the  city,  in  conse- 
quence of  memorials  addressed  to  the  Local 
Governmeut  Board  by  the  Dean  and  Chapter  and 
the  principal  ratepayers.  The  report  admits  that 
the  present  supply  is  unsatisfactory,  and  says  that  it 
arises  from  four  causes :  a  greater  demand  for  water 
than  was  at  first  contemplated ;  the  reduced  area  of 
the  filter-beds ;  the  want  of  settling-beds,  and  of 
a  larger  area  for  filtration.  It  is  pleaded  that  the 
reason  for  inaction  is  the  heavy  debt  for  previous 
works,  which  will,  for  five  years  to  come,  entail  a 
rate  of  2Ud.  in  the  £ ;  and  that,  however  unsatis- 
factory the  supply  of  water  is,  the  death-rate  has 
been  steadily  diminishing,  from  an  average  of  2.5-6 
per  1,000  in  the  seven  years  prior  to  the  applic.ition 
of  the  Public  Health  Act,  in  1848,  to  l'J-13  per 
1,000  during  the  past  eight  years.  A  report  from 
Mr.  TomliusoD,  C.E.,  recommends  the  j^rovision  of 
deposit  or  subsidiary  beds  and  other  improvements. 
The  Local  Government  Board  have  replied,  stating 
that  the  local  board  for  Ely  will  be  much  to  blame 
if  they  continue  the  distribution  of  such  water  as 
is  now  supplied,  and  urge  the  board,  without 
further  delay,  to  determine  on  a  suitable  scheme 
of  water-supply. 

SwiNSEA  Wateewoeks.— On  Tuesday  an  ex- 
cursien  of  members  of  the  British  Association  was 
made  to  the  Swansea  Waterworks  at  Velindre.  The 
waterworks  consist  of  two  capacious  reservoirs, 
holding  together  460  million  gallons  of  water.  The 
largest,  the  "Lliew,"  is  now  under  repair,  in 
consequence  of  a  leak  having  been  discovered  in 
the  embankment  crossing  the  valley.  The  con- 
struction of  this  reservoir  was  completed  in  I8G7, 
with  an  embankment  SOft.  deep,  and  a  water  area 
of  32  acres ;  depth  of  water,  66ft. ;  holding  300 
millous  of  gallons,  and  delivering  water  into  the 
town  with  a  pressure  of  400ft.  head.  Great  engi- 
neering difficulties  had  to  be  overcome,  owing  to 
the  uncertain  and  varying  nature  of  the  bottom, 
springs,  rock  joints,  and  fissures  appeariug,  the 
surface  of  valley  being  only  spaiingly  covered  with 
alluvium.  About  1873  it  was  discovered  that  the 
dam  embankment  across  the  valley  showed  signs 
of  depression,  and  a  leak  appearing  at  the  same 
time,  it  was  decided  by  Alderman  Eord  and  his 
committee  that  a  new  reservoir  should  be 
constructed  and  the  leak  repaired.  In  order  to 
accomplish  this  it  was  necessary  to  construct  a  new 
i-eservoir  to  supply  Swansea  during  the  repairs  of 
the  Lliew  reservoir,  and  the  "  Blaenantddu " 
reservoir  was  completed  in  1879.  Unforeseen  diffi- 
culties in  the  construction  of  this  reservoir  appeared 
and  delayed  its  completion,  but  by  the  skilful  ad- 
vice and  direction  of  Mr.  Edward  Cousins,  the 
engineer  to  the  Corporation,  the  contractors, 
Messrs.  Green,  successfully  completed  this  import- 
ant work,  the  embankment  being  SOft.  high,  with 
a  water  area  of  24  acres,  holding  160  million 
gallons.  The  repairs  to  the  Lliew  reservoir  are  just 
completed  at  a  cost  of  .£12,000.  The  members  of  the 
excursion,  on  reaching  this  spot,  were  conducted 
over  the  works  by  the  resident  engineer,  and  after- 
wards the  cause  of  the  leak,  the  various  statistics 
relating  to  the  reservoirs  and  the  water  supply, 
were  illustrated  and  explained  by  means  of  a  large 
number  of  diagrams,  and  a  paper  prepared  and 
read  by  Mr.  Cousins,  C.E.,  who  designed  and  con- 
structed the  reservoirs,  in  con  junction  with  Mr. 
Robert  Kawlinson,  C.B. 


LEGAL  INTELLIGENCE. 

As  AEcniTECr'a  Account. — At  the  Bradford 
County- court  on  Monday,  before  Mr,  Daniel, 
Q.C.,  Judge,  and  a  jury,  an  action  was  tried  in 
which  Mr.  F.  B.  Payton,  architect,  claimed  the 
sum  of  £35  Us.  4d.  from  Mr.  Isaac  Woodiwiss, 


contractors'  agent,  for  work  done  in  superintending 
the  erection  of  five  dwelling-houses  in  Horton 
Park-avenue,  Bradford.  The  plaintiff  stated  that 
after  he  had  been  paid  the  sum  of  £59  by  the 
defendant  for  professional  services  in  connection 
with  the  completion  of  the  plans,  the  preparation 
of  quantities,  and  the  acceptance  of  tenders,  the 
defendant  asked  him  to  superintend  the  work,  for 
which  it  was  agreed  he  should  receive  £30.  On 
behalf  of  the  defendant,  who  had  paid  £1  3s.  6d. 
into  court,  it  was  contended  that  there  was  no 
agreement  to  pay  anything  in  addition  to  the  sum 
of  £50  previously  paid.  The  defendant,  however, 
admitted  that  he  expected  the  plaintiff  to  superin- 
tend the  works.  The  jury  gave  a  verdict  for  the 
plaintiff  for  the  full  amount  claimed,  with  costs. 


CHIPS. 

New  waterworks  for  the  supply  of  Tiverton 
were  formally  handed  over  to  the  corporation  of 
that  town  on  Monday  week  by  the  contractor,  Mr. 
Willey,  of  Exeter.  The  filter-beds  and  reservoir 
are  situated  at  Chettiscombe. 

Some  correspondence  has  recently  taken  place  in 
the  Essex  newspapers  on  the  destruction  of  monu- 
mental records  during  restorations,  a  matter  to 
which  attention  was  called  in  the  annual  report  of 
the  Essex  Archaeological  Society,  read  a  month 
since.  The  latest  letter  on  the  subject  is  signed 
by  W.  Sims  Horner,  who  states  that  in  Epping 
Church  the  floor  of  the  chancel  was  till  recently 
formed  of  monumental  slabs,  recording  several 
generations  of  the  Conyers  family,  of  Copt  H  ill, 
but  that  since  the  restoration  of  the  building 
coloured  tile  paving  has  replaced  them.  He  asks, 
*'  Where,  now,  are  the  inscribed  slabs ':'  " 

New  baths  were  opened  at  Queen's  Cross, 
Dudley,  on  Monday  week.  They  have  been  built 
for  the  corporation  of  Dudley  under  the  super- 
vision and  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Alexander 
Smith,  engineer,  at  a  cost  of  £7,000.  Messrs. 
Holland  were  the  contractors. 

An  exhibition  of  sanitary  apparatus,  appliances, 
and  articles  for  domestic  use  and  econmony  will 
take  place  at  Exeter  from  the  21st  September  to 
the  0th  October,  in  connection  with  the  congress 
of  the  Sanitary  Institute  of  Great  Britain. 

The  four  railway  companies  interested  in  the 
Forth  Bridge  scheme  have  decided  not  to  proceed 
with  the  erection  of  the  bridge,  and  the  contrac- 
tors have  received  notice  to  cease  operations. 
The  revelations  of  the  Tay  Bridge  inquiry  are 
said  to  have  destroyed  public  confidence  in  the 
undertaking. 

A  wooden  hall,  70ft.  by  oGft.,  and  seating  1,000 
people,  is  being  built  for  the  Salvation  Army  at 
Ebbw  Vale.  M.  J.  Parry,  of  Cardiff,  is  the  con- 
tractor. 

The  engineers'  report  presented  to  the  half- 
yearly  meeting  of  the  Swindon,  Marlborough, 
and  Andover  Railway  Company  last  week  states 
that  the  works  of  the  railway  are  being  so  ener- 
gstically  prosecuted  by  the  contractors,  Messrs. 
Watson,  Smith,  and  Watson,  that  there  is  every 
probability  that  the  whole  of  the  works  between 
Swindon  and  Marlborough  will  be  completed  by 
the  end  of  the  present  year.  2.50,000  cubic  yards, 
or  more  than  one  half  of  the  earthworks  of  this 
section,  have  been  fiuished.  Twelve  highway  and 
other  bridges  are  fiuished,  and  ten  more  are  in 
progre.'S,  and  a  portion  of  the  permanent  way  has 
been  laid. 

The  Baptist  Chapel  in  Ramsden-road,  Baiham, 
was  reopened  last  week  after  the  completion  of 
alterations  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Higgs  and  Hill, 
who  built  the  chapel.  The  apse  behind  the  pulpit 
has  been  filled  with  appropriate  decoration  de- 
signed and  executed  by  Mr.  E.  L.  Voice,  who  has 
also  ornamented  the  organ-case  and  gallery  front 
and  recoloured  the  walls.  A  heatiog  apparatus 
has  been  supplied  by  Mr.  G.  Treves,  of  Baiham. 

The  first  of  the  large  iron  girders  that  are  to 
form  the  bridge  at  Shute  Mill,  near  Teignmouth, 
for  the  recently  doubled  line  of  the  Great  Western 
Railway,  was  placed  in  position  on  Sunday  week. 
The  girder  is  70ft.  span,  and  weighs  14  tons.  The 
work  is  being  carried  out  by  Mr.  George  Palmer, 
bridge  contractor,  of  Neath.  In  connection  with 
the  widening  of  the  line,  the  western  tunnel  at 
Teignmouth  has  been  removed,  the  double  railway 
being  carried  through  an  open  cutting,  protected 
by  substantial  walling.  The  work  of  removal  of 
the  crowu  of  tunnel  has  been  completed  during 
the  present  week. 

There  is  a  likelihood  of  the  industrial  dwellings 
system  receiving  a  trial  in  Liverpool.  The  Cor- 
poration recently  swept  away  some  objectionable 
buildings  in  a  part  of  the  city  known  as  Nash- 
grove,  and  t'le  Health  Committee  have  recom- 
mended that  the  Couucil  should  seek  the  approval 
of  the  Local  Government  Board  for  the  erection 
by  the  Council  of  a  number  of  artisans'  dwellings 
The  estimated  cost  of  the  scheme  is  £115,000. 


O^ur  Omte  €Mt 


Mr.  Beoadhuest  has  given  notice  that  he  will 
this  (Friday)  evening  ask  the  First  Commissoncr 
of  Works  whether  there  is  any  truth  in  the 
statement  which  appeared  in  the  Gloh  on 
August  20th  to  the  effect  that  a  statue  of  the 
builder  of  the  New  Law  Courts  is  to  be  plaecd 
on  a  pedestal  in  that  building ;  and,  if  so, 
whether  there  is  any  precedent  for  the  erection 
of  a  statue  in  a  national  buUding  to  a  con- 
tractor; and,  if  there  is  not,  whether  he 
will  take  step.s  to  prevent  such  an  erec- 
tion. Mr.  Broadliurst  has  been  somewhat 
misled  by  our  contemporary.  Neither  pedestals 
for,  nor  statues  of,  the  architect  and  builder  are 
proposed  to  be  erected.  The  corbels  supporting 
an  oriel  window  on  the  north  side  of  the  great 
quadrangle  of  the  courts— over  the  double  door- 
way into  Carey-street^are,  however,  being 
carved  with  busts  of  the  gentlemen  named. 
The  western  corbel,  that  to  the  left,  is  finished, 
and  shows  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  R.A.,  looking  up- 
wards and  towards  the  Fleet -street  end  of  the 
quad  ;  the  features  are  somewhat  sharply 
chiselled,  the  right  hand  holds  a  pencil,  while 
with  the  left  the  architect  leans  upon  the  wall 
and  grasps  a  scroll.  The  representation  of  Mr. 
Bull,  sen.,  was  yesterday  being  modelled  in  clay. 

An  improved  drawing  pen  has  been  intro- 
duced by  Messrs.  A.  W.  Faber  and  Co.,  for 
drawing  curved  lines  as  well  as  straight  ones, 
and  from  using  this  invention,  wliich  is  known 
as  "Sprenger's  Patent,"  we  think,  by  many 
who  are  in  the  habit  of  making  drawings  with 
long  and  delicate  curves,  especially,  that  this 
new  pen  will  be  considered  a  great  acquisition, 
as  it  works  with  a  delicate  nicety  of  action,  and 
its  escentric  centre  of  gravity  always  causes  the 
pen  to  foUow  the  movement  of  the  hand  which 
uses  it.  The  screw,  which  regulates  the  thick- 
ness of  the  line,  works  with  an  outgoing  thread, 
the  pressure  in  the  spring  of  the  pen  itself  being 
inwards,  so  that  an  even  thickness  of  line  is 
secured,  and  the  variable  pressure  of  the  pen 
against  the  edge  of  either  Tee-square  or  curve 
is  never  liable,  when  Sprenger's  pen  is  used,  to 
vary  the  thickness  of  the  ink  line,  as  is  the  case 
with  ordinary  drawing-pens  where  the  pressure 
of  the  spring  is  in  an  outward  direction. 

The  attention  of  the  House  of  Commons  was 
drawn  on  Tuesday  to  the  "  Refuge"  which  the 
Corporation  of  London  are  erecting  on  the  site 
of  Old  Temple  Bar.  Nobody  seems  to  have  any 
power  to  stop  the  intrusion  of  a  very  indifferent 
piece  of  art  on  a  spot  where  eveiy  inch  of  space 
is  valuable.  We  have  before  commented  on  the 
want  of  taste  exhibited  by  the  Corporation  in 
erecting  the  memorial  so  near  the  New  Law 
Courts,  with  which  it  willcontra.st  violently,  and 
at  great  disadvantage  so  far  as  style  and  archi- 
tectural merit  are  concerned.  If  a  refuge  to 
foot-passengers  at  this  junction  of  Fleet-street 
and  the  Strand  is  necessary,  Mr.  Street's  pro- 
posal to  erect  a  bridge  should  have  been  adopted 
aud  the  recently-widened  roadway  not  once 
again  encumbered  with  a  needless  obstruction  to 
traific. 

The  Lame}'  prize  of  the  University  of  Stras- 
burg  (2,400  marks,  or  about  £120),  is  to  be 
given  for  a  dissertation  on  the  ' '  History  of  City 
Architecture  among  the  Greeks"  (Geschichte 
der  Stadtebaukunst  bei  den  Griechen).  Antique 
literary  and  epigraphic  sources  are  not  to  be  ex- 
clusively drawn  upon,  but  the  results  of  excava- 
tions, etc. ,  are  likewise  to  be  made  use  of.  Such 
parts  of  the  subject  as  may  ajipear  to  have  been 
sufiiciently  treated  elsewhere,  may  either  be 
omitted  or  summarily  treated,  reference  being 
made  to  the  works  in  question.  The  literary 
style  must  not  be  of  an  exclusively  scientific 
character ;  the  general  results  at  least  must  be 
given  in  a  readable  and  easily  comprehensible 
form.  MSS.  must  be  sent  in  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Senate  of  the  University  before  Jan.  1st, 
1884  ;  the  prize  will  be  awarded  May  1st,  1885. 
All  nationalities  are  admitted  to  the  competition, 
and  the  dissertation  may  be  written  in  German, 
French,  or  Latin.  Each  MS.  must  bear  a  motto, 
and  must  be  accompanied  by  a  sealed  envelope 
bearing  the  same  motto,  and  contaiuiug  name 
and  address  of  the  author.  Any  departure  from 
these  regulations  will  involve  exclusion  from  the 
competition.  Only  the  envelope  belonging  to 
the  accepted  MS.  will  be  opened.  The  rejected 
MSS.,  or  those  excluded,  cannot  be  returned. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


289 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


LOXDOX,  FRIDAY,   SEFTEJfBER  10,  1880. 


THE     MI-NilCrPAL    BUILDINGS 
DESIGNS,  GLASGOW. 

THE  decision   arrived  at  with  rofcird  to 
the     Glasgow     Muuicipal     Buildings 

designs  seems  to  have  disappoiiittd  many, 
and  this  feeling  appears  to  be  entertaiiicci, 
not  only  by  the  competitors,  who  have  be- 
stowed   an    immenso    deal   of    labour   and 
thought  to  render  their  designs  worthy  of 
the  town,  but  also  by  the  majority  of  the 
town  council,   who,   at  their  last  meeting, 
on    Thursday    week,    expressed     a    strong 
opinion  in  favour  of   securing  the  best  and 
most   worthy  design,   iirespective   of    cost. 
3Ir.  Bariy   qualifies  his  decision  bj'  saying 
that   there   ai'e   other   designs   sent   in    for 
competition    ' '  superior    in   merit   to   those 
selected  for  the  premiums,"  but  that  he  was 
bound  by   the   iu.structions   issued  limiting 
the  cost  of  the  buildings.     It  seems,  indeed, 
pretty  evident,    by   reading    the    referee's 
report  and  letter,   that  he  felt  his  task  an 
unsatisfactory  one,  and  was  not  particularly 
pleased  with   the  manner  iu  which  he  had 
performed  it ;  and  in  attempting  to  follow 
his  "embarrassing  letter  of   instructions," 
he  has,   as  he  himself   admits,  disregarded 
those  designs  which  his  unfettered  judge- 
ment would  have  approved.     Even  those  he 
has    selected    are    only   a   degree  less    ex- 
pensive than  the  others,  and  their  authors, 
if  they  could   see   their  designs   executed, 
would   acknowledge   the    value   of   fiU'tbar 
embellishment,  in  the  way  of  marble   and 
internal    decoration.       Air.    Barry's    letter, 
the  purport  and  publicity  of  which  became 
a  subject  of  discussion  at  the  council  meet- 
ing,   clearly  places  the   above  view  of  the 
case  beyond  doubt.     He  there  says  that,  on 
considering  "  the  space  to  be  covered  by  the 
buildings,    and   the    character    which   they 
ought  to  bear,  his  opinion  w.-is,  that  a  much 
larger   sum   than   that   specititd   would  be 
required.     He  goes  on  to  eay,  in  substance, 
"if,    after   payment   of   the   premium,    the 
council  should  feel   disposed   to   reconsider 
the  question  of  the  designs,  apart  from  the 
question   of  cost  first   fixed,   he   would   be 
prepared   to   adnse   the    corporation.''     In 
fact,  ilr.  Barry,  in  his  repoit,  admits  the 
"impossibility  of   obtaining    any   building 
of     a     suitalile     character     for     the     sum 
of   £150,000  named   iu  the  instructions  "  ; 
and     we     quite     agree     with     him,      that 
a  fair  price  per  foot  cube  of  the  buildings, 
as  defined  on  the  plan  supplied,  woidd  cost 
not  less  than  £193,000.      But  to   meet   the 
instructions,  which   named  the  first  sum  as 
the  limit,  Mr.  Barry  hi.s  felt  himself  justi- 
fied in  reducing  his  iigure  to  it,  and  a  rate 
per  foot  cube  if  9d.   for  the  main  building 
has   been   deduced  accordingly  ;  a  price,  as 
every  architect  knows,  quite  inadequate  for 
a   structure   of  such  complex  arrangement 
and  character.      Such,  in  brief,  is  the  result 
of  the  parsimonious  dealing  with  the  matter. 
Comment  is  needless,  and  we  are  sorry  that 
Mr.  Barry  did  not  at  once  see  the  advisa- 
bility of    boldly   declining    to    accejit   the 
responsibility  of  a  selection  of  designs  under 
such  conditions,  namely,  of  making  the  cost 
the  test  of  merit.     But  we  give  elsewhere, 
ti>  fxttnu,,  Mr.  Barry's  report,  from  which 
it  will  be  seen  that   he  would,  if  left  free, 
have  adopted  other  designs,  the  cost  of  which 
would  range  from  £1S0^000  to  £l'oO,0()0. 

Two  obvious  mistakes  were  made  at  the 
outse:  by  the  Town  Council :  the  first  was 
the  restriction  of  the  area  set  apart  for  the 
building,  and  the  second  the  adoption  of  a 
set  plan,  which   gave  the  competitors   no 


scope  for  the  proper  grouping  of  their 
buddings.  The  instructions  also  limited 
the  architects  as  regards  height,  and  did  not 
take  into  sufficient  regard  (he  due  separa- 
tion of  the  official  from  the  reception  apart- 
ments ;  more  particularly  we  find  fault  with 
the  portion  assigned  to  the  town-h^dl,  and 
the  means  of  entrance  and  ex  t ;  the  corri 


from  the  narrow  peJimented  centres  over 
et.tranccs.  Looking  ut  the  i>hin.s  we  (ind 
little  or  no  alteration  from  the  Corporatiou'ii 
suggested  arrangement,  but  grout  labour 
has  been  expended  in  showing  the  ceilinf>A 
of  the  chief  apartments.  Xo  cslimato  \^ 
given.  "  Let  Ghwgow  Flourish  for  Ever," 
the  third  design  (Mr.  Edward  Clark,  Adam- 


dur  arrangement ;  and,    not  least,  the  very    street,   AdelpTii,   who,    we   be'ieve,  '«eiit  in 


disagreeable  proportion  of  the  offices,  many 
being  soft,  by  14ft.,  lighted  from  one  end 
only.  As  regards  cost,  the  competitors  have 
been  misled  by  discussi  ns  in  the  Town 
Council,  from  which  it  was  inferred,  the  smu 
fix(  d  upon  was  not  likely  to  be  rigidly  re- 
garded as  the  limit. 

Our  remarks  on  the  designs  will  be  neces- 
sarily brief,  as  no  less  than  9G  are  on  view. 
and   we  may  confine  our   criticism,   there- 
fore, to  the  elevations,  as  the  plans  are  not 
accessible   in  many  cases,    and  the  authors 
appear  to  have  followed  the  sketih  plan  in 
the    main.       The    designs    comprise    every 
variety  of  Classic,  from  the  severer  Greek  or 
astylar  forms  to  the  more  (lorid  types  of  the 
Roman,  Venetian,  and  Renaissance,  and  thf-y 
differ  as  much  in  their  manner,  from  dignified 
congnuty  to  feebleness  and   commonplace. 
To  commence  with  the  three  selected  designs : 
"  Carton,"   by  Mr.  Geo.  Corsou,  of  Leeds, 
seems  to  have,  in   some  respects,  improved 
on  the  sketch  plan  ;  there  is  a  decided  im- 
provement   in    the   staircase    arrangement, 
which  is  bctterliirhted,  while  the  quadrangle 
entrance  forms  a  loggia,  and  the  communi- 
cations are  more  architecturally   managed, 
while    the   saloons    and   town-hall  are   ar- 
ranged  with  a  view  to   their   combined  or 
separate   use.      The   principal  floor  retains 
the  position   marked  out   for  the  city  hall, 
the  council  chamber,  corporation  offices,  gas 
and  water  dep.artmeut,  &o.,  and  as  regards 
(heir  relation  we  'may  at  once  observe  Mr. 
Carrick's  jilan  might  be  safely  followed   in 
the  main,  except  as  to  the  location  of  cit}' 
l;all,  which  ought  to   be  made  an   external 
feiture.     Oa  the  second   floor  we  have  the 
saloons  in  front,  towards  Coohrane-street, 
the  Dean  of  GuUd  Couit,  also  the  offices  of 
public    works,    the   lands    valuation   offices 
facing  John-street.  Mr.  Corson  has  adopted 
the  Palladian  style,  the  reasons  for  which  he 
gives  in  his  elaborate  report,  chief  among 
them  being  it  is  more  dignified  and  more 
varied    than    the     Roman.      The   elevation 
towards    George's-square  heirs   an   official 
character:  a  lofty  tower  (not  a  dome)  with 
open-arched  belfry,    and    a    high-pitched 
cupola  forming  the  centre,   i;t   the  comers 
of  which  are  small  octagon   turrets.      The 
faoades  have  three   tiers,    of   three-quarter 
columns  of  the    Corinthian  order ;  between 
them  are  circidar-headed   \vindows,  and  a 
chief  feature  in  all   the   facades  are  angle 
piers  with  niches  for  statues.     There  is  a  too 
striking  similarity  or   rejietition  of  parts  in 
the  elevations  (a  characteristic  of  Palladian) 
to  enable   us   to   say   the    design  is  either 
grand  or  striking  in  its   (numble,  and  the 
only  variations   are   the   towers  and  Man- 
sard   ro-.'fs.     Those    are    varied.     Towards 
Georgo-strctt  the  tower  has  a  low  centre 
dome.     Towards  John-street  there  is  a  lofty 
tower,  octagon  above,  with  a  conical-shaped 
roof,  and  the  one   facing   Cochrane-strcet  a 
tower  with  flat  roof.     On  the   whole,   the 
design  iscoherent  and  satisfactory  inits  mass- 
ing, though,  if  one  m.ay  compare,   scarcely 
equal  to  the  author's  offices  at  Leeds.     The 
author  estimates   it  at  £1J0,I32,  a  sum  un- 
doubtedly  low.     The   drawings   arc   bohily 
inked   in.      "Fidelity"    (Messrs.   Coe   and 
Robinson,  of  London),  awarded  the  second 
prize,  is   much  more  ornate  in  design.     The 
tj-pe  chosen  is   rather  Roman   than  Vene- 
tian, the  tower,  ■svith   cupola  and  clock  set 
back  from  the   front.      There  is  a  pediment 
to  the  west  froi  t,  and   also  wings,  and  the 
treatment  consists  of  a  Corinthian  order  set 
upon  a  basement   with  flat   roofs.     On  the 
north  and  south  sides  the   elevations  suffer 


two  sets),  lias  a  grand  imposing  front 
to  the  square,  with  a  dignified  and  woll- 
proportioned  dome  in  the  cf-vtro,  which 
is    suppoited    at    base    by  '  ' 

There  is  a  columnar  order  (;h 
low  pediment  in  centre,  mid  l;  ■  .  r;. 

George-street  and  Cochrane->-ti  .  i  :  i.  kI,-^ 
are  relieved  by  pculimfntod  cenfrci,  and 
the  columns  are  coupled.  Tlie  west  front 
is  Doric  below,  wiih  C(jrinth;an  coupled 
columns  above.     The  estimate  is  £1  i:i'i\Ji. 

^ye  now  proceed   to   notice  u  fuw  other 
designs,  which   possess  merits  of  a  hiirber 
order  than  either  of  the  above,  but  which 
have,  for  the  reasons  stated,  been  set  a.iidc. 
Two  or  three  of  those  have  won  woU-iii'  ritwl 
praise.     We  fiist   alhide  to   a  d- ligii   con- 
ceived in  a  French  Cliatoau  or  Renaismci- 
style,     under    the    motto     "  S[>es     Duico 
Malum"  (Mr.  John  Burnet,  of  Gla«g..w), un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  able  t  in  th'-  olh  ction. 
The  high,  cliiteau-liko  roofa  make  one  of  itn 
most  striking  features,  and  coidra>t  rather 
pleasingly  with  the  more  Classic  or  A  ■  .V  t  ■ 
models   which   abound.     The  ilra«ii 
rather  faintly  lined,  but  indicate  a  i 
hand  in  the  detail.  TowarJstlr  ^ 
town-hall,  made  a  central  f 
the  windows  of  whi'h  are  co! 
ing  statues,    relieved    by   an  :'!i  •.     ii    •■! 
crowned  by  a  steep  roof,  out  of  wLi,h  riws 
a  small  bell-turret    or  cupola.     Tlic  plan 
seems    tj    be    much   altered.     One  of  the 
alterations  is  the  entrance  ve  'ib-.il.>  in  the 
axis  of  George-square:  th  s   i     i    .'    in  r 
imposing  by  a  row  of  d'?:np 
and  beyond  this  is  a  grand  c 
lighteil  from  a  domical  coiling. 
tive  design,  in  a  severer  fona  ci   i  . 
distinguished   by  a   Greek    feting   i 
detaU,   is   shown ;  it  has  a  centre   ;    :    ■ 
(tetrastjlc),    with    a  dome    over  of    itlmu 
design,  and  the  superstructure  is  raiseil  on  a 
double  basement,  the  lower p"rti.'i  ..f  wiiuh 

iTisticated.     Some    clever 
drawn  in  the  sections  cf  llie  ; 

saloons.     Great  John-street  e!. • 

pleasing  Florentine  character.  \Vo  might 
find  fault  with  one  detail  in  the  fir»f-nauicd 
design,  namely,  the  broken  frieze  butwtcu 
the  upper  windows,  and,  on  the  whole,  wc- 
must  confess  the  Renaissance  is  not  exactly 
the  style  to  adopt  at  Glasg.nv. 

Aiblins"  is  decidedly  an  able  nnd  well- 


balanced  design,  and  stund^  liiu-': 
Mr.    James   MacLaren.   of   K 
street,  London.     The  elevati. 
square    is    well    massed,    an  I 
character,  ami  the  gre  n- 
with  its  pediment  and  : 
dome,     is    striking    an 
author   says,    in    his    ■ 
f oimdcd  his  design  on  t ! 
palaces  worked  out  in 
of  the  French  school.     I 
nounccd  at  the  angles 
compositions  of  the  C'  ■ 
are  crowned  by  low  domu^d  .'■ 
intermidiatc    wings    have    a 
fcnesfral  order,  with  cimd  ir 
dows  between,   on   th'^    • 
which  is  a  .imaror  ran::- 
panels    oc— •  —"- 
and  a  low 
on  a  nisti 
Georg>^s'p-'  t  [r- 
to  the  last :   the 
roof  and  row  of  i.. 
attic  over.  contributuiL- 
produce  if :  the  author  h 
citv  hall  from  the  ant': 
jec'tionable  position  for  aw.  11  u^. 


».r 


llh- 

lOb- 

atruc- 


290 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880, 


ture,  and  placed  it  in  the  centre  of  facade, 
where  it  becomes  a  dignified  and  pronounced 
feature.  Other  deviations  have  been  made 
in  the  plan,  one  being  the  entrance-hall, 
which  may  serve  as  a  crush-room,  and  this 
part  of  the  plan  has  been  remodelled  in  a 
manner  which  is  worthy  of  the  council's 
attention.  Generally  the  elevations  express 
the  semi-official  and  public  character  of  the 
buildiujr.  The  author  has  honestly  expressed 
his  oijinion  that  the  sum  provided  is  totally 
inadequate,  and  ^Wth  this  we  fully  agree. 

"  Civis  Sum"  (Messrs.  Campbell,  Douglas 
.and  SeLars,  we  believe)  is  an  elaborate  set  of 
well-drawn  elevations  in  ink ;  the  type 
selected  is  of  a  more  florid  Eomau  kind,  the 
principal  front  is  vrcll  balanced,  and  the 
arrangement  of  central  portico  dignified 
and  staking.  There  is  no  pediment,  but 
the  portico  has  coupled  columns  between 
plain  rusticated  piers,  ■which  caiTy  small 
cupolas,  and  sustain  the  centre.  The  ends 
are  well  managed,  and  the  single  order 
embracing  two  stories  is  here  worked  out  in 
an  unobjectionable  and  not  too  pompous 
manner,  though  more  expensively  than  the 
last-named.  Sculptured  subjects  appear 
in  the  semicircular  recesses  above  the 
principal  windows,  and  groups  are  placed 
at  the  ends  and  figures  on  pedestals  over 
portico.  Ihe  columns  are  disengaged  from 
the  recessed  wings  containing  the  saloon 
and  library.  In  the  John-street  elevation 
corner  cupolas  flank  the  composition.  In 
theplan  the  authors  have  made  several  altera- 
tions ;  the  town  hall  is  placed  on  a  central 
axis  of  first  floor  east  and  west,  dividmg 
the  quadrangle  into  two  jjarts.  There  is  an 
octagonal  entrance-hall,  with  vestibules  fill- 
ing up  the  front  comers,  and  the  grand 
stairs  is  arranged  with  circular  ends  and  in 
good  communication  with  corridors.  By 
this  means  ample  light  is  got,  and  a  covered 
porch  is  shown.  The  council-chamber 
occupies  the  east  side  of  south  quadrangle, 
is  lighted  from  front,  while  the  general 
grouping  of  parts  is  improved,  and  the  plan 
is  rendered  symmetrical.  The  hall  is  lOoft. 
by  jott.,  and  is  lighted  by  windows  placed 
high  in  the  side  walls,  and  through  the  roof. 
The  plan  is  too  elaborate,  and  would  perhaps 
better  suit  an  ideal  Academy  design.  "  Palla- 
dian,"  a  design  by  Mr.  Stark,  of  Glasgow, 
is  a  solid  and  striliiiig  composition  in  many 
of  its  features  ;  the  square  angtilar  tnasses, 
the  single  order  of  fluted  columns,  rising 
from  a  low  podium,  and  the  centre  facing 
George-square,  are  dignified.  Enrichment 
is  obtained  by  sculptured  groups  in  front  of 
attic  story  of  centre,  and  by  a  richly  sculp- 
tured tambour  to  the  dome  in  relief.  The 
dome  stands  on  a  peristyle,  and  forms  a 
centre  feature  of  good  outline.  The  design 
under  motto  "  Progress  "  (Salmon  and  Son), 
is  conceived  in  a  bold  Eomau  style  ;  an  order 
of  Corinthian  coliunns,  occupying  the  prin- 
cipal story,  including  panels  for  sculp- 
ture, stand  upon  a  plain  basement,  the  ends 
are  crowned  with  lofty  Mansard  roofs,  and 
there  is  a  large  octagon  dome  in  the  centre. 
The  authors  show  a  clock  on  the  front  face 
of  dome,  and  there  is  a  deep  pediment  filled 
with  sculptured  figures.  The  John- street 
elevation  has  a  French  oast  in  its  features, 
the  pilastered  centre  between  the  small 
pediments  and  the  attic  of  this  portion 
break  up  the  elevation,  and  the  Mansards 
assist  the  effect.  Less  happy  is  the  narrow 
centre  with  its  coupled  columns,  over  the 
George-street  entrance.  The  quadrangle 
elevation  we  like  best  of  all.  The  printed 
description  accompanying  "Progress"  is 
well  illustrated  with  the  principal  eleva- 
tions of  the  fagades.  In  the  planning, 
Mr.  Carrick's  scheme  has  been  followed. 
"  Classic,"  in  pencil,  is  another  design  in 
which  efiect  is  obtained  rather  by  dignified 
groupin:;  and  judicious  sculpture,  than  by 
e'abjnilion  of  parts.  There  is  a  portico 
towards  the  square.  An  alternative  eleva- 
tion shows  a  lofty  tower  instead  of  dome,  in 


five  stages,  preserving  a  pyr.amidal  outline. 
The  proportions  are  good,  and  the  side 
faeades  have  centre  cupolas,  though  very 
diff'erently  treated.  The  sculptured  groups 
and  friezes  exhibit  taste,  and  the  work  is 
generally  refined  and  varied  in  its  detail. 
"  Comme  il  faut,"  a  design  of  clever  charac- 
ter, Thomsonian  in  style  ;  the  centre  tower 
is  crowned  by  a  pl.ain  cupola,  octagon 
below,  with  square  pedimtnted  base, 
springing  from  roof.  There  is  a  co- 
lumniir  front  of  two  stories,  crowned 
by  a  pediment,  and  the  detail  abo  is  tho- 
roughly Greek  in  conception.  "S.P.G.G.'' 
is  the  motto  of  an  extremely  neat  set  of 
drawings  with  Classical  features,  but  spoilt 
by  small  detail  and  poor  proportions. 
"  Athens  "  is  another  Greek  treatment,  with- 
out tower,  a  flat  roof,  and  a  little  too  severe. 
The  George-street  front  has  a  pediment, 
and  attic  over,  and  the  design  is  refined  in 
parts  ;  but  the  plan  follows  closely  the  sug- 
gested arrangement  with  all  its  defects,  and 
we  see,  as  we  do  in  many  others,  the  lavatory 
retained  between  reception  -  room  and 
saloon,  with  window  between  the  columns 
of  main  facade.  "Light"  shows  a  well- 
balanced  elevation,  with  pilasters,  attic, 
and  dome  in  the  centre  ;  the  angle  treat- 
ment is  sensible,  and  the  town-hall  is  em- 
phasised. The  suggested  tower  to  John-street 
is  slender,  and  does  not  add  to  the  dignity 
of  building.  "  St.  Kentigern  "  (Mr.  Hill,  a 
local  architect)  exhibits  a  quiet  treatment, 
dignified  in  the  elevation,  and  imposing 
in  its  breadth  and  massive  character.  It  is 
essentially  ad.apted  for  granite.  The  George- 
square  elevation  is  impressive,  but  refined  in 
detail ;  Doric  columns  of  Eoman  type  stand 
on  a  plain  rusticated  basement  ;  the  centre 
cupola  is  supported  by  side  tun-ets,  with 
caryatides  in  attic  carrying  a  pediment.  The 
Cochrane-street  elevation  is  plain,  but 
striking'.  "  Bannockbum  "  is  an  able  design, 
French  in  spirit,  and  the  detail  rather  Floren- 
tine than  Eoman.  The  Town  hall  is  made  a 
feature  by  higher  rooting.  The  dome  towards 
George-square  is  octagonal  and  heavy,  and, 
like  many  others,  is  set  back  over  the  stair- 
case ;  the  drawings  are  ably  executed.  Two 
Concentric  Circles  is  also  a  design  in  a 
Eenaissance  spirit,  characterised  by  a  breadth 
and  almost  bold  simplicity  of  treatment, 
that  affords  a  strildng  contrast  to  the  tawdry 
finery  and  vulgar  grandeur  of  some  near  it. 
The  town.hall  is  emphasised  by  a  richer 
handling,  and  the  decoration  is  confined  to 
this  part  and  the  doiTways.  No  roof  is 
visible,  and  the  dome  is  disproportionately 
depressed.  "  Ca  Ira  "  is,  on  the  contrary, 
extremely  ornate  Itali.an.  There  is  an  order 
of  columns  (Corinthian)  on  a  basement,  and 
a  portico  whole  height  of  front  facade,  and 
domical  roofs  at  the  comers.  The  design  is 
too  palatial,  and  not  official-looking  enough. 
"  Quivi  trovammo  "  is  another  palatial 
Italian  design,  with  a  low  order  and  coupled 
columns  in  attic ;  there  is  a  domical  tower, 
with  angitlar  turrets  and  high  roofs,  and  the 
composition  is  well  massed.  "Bruce,"  in  a 
semi-PaUadian  style,  has  no  dome;  the 
roofing  is  not  made  a  feature,  being  quite 
flat,  and  the  whole  is  severely  simple,  and 
scarcely  dignified  enough.  "  Lapides 
Loquunter  "  is  able  and  characteristic  ;  the 
front  is  brok  en  up  by  alternate  bay  s  with  attics 
filled  with  sculptured  relief  in  panels,  and  a 
lofty  tower  and  angle  cupolas  adorn  the 
main  facade.  The  great  hall  is  externally 
expressed,  and  the  author,  Mr.  T.  Lennox 
Watson,  of  Glasgow,  has  shown  how  effect 
may  be  obtained  with  local  sandstone  in  an 
inexpensive  manner.  "  Centre  of  Com- 
merce" is  an  astylar  composition,  Florentine 
in  manner,  with  good  detail,  pediment ed 
windows  on  chief  sides,  and  the  ends 
relieved  by  corbelled  bay  %vindows,  and 
finished  in  a  pleasing  manner.  The  hall  is 
marked  by  a  higher  loof,  and  by  four  angle 
cupolas.  The  quadrangle  elevation  is  one  of 
the  best,  and   there   is  a  circular  cupola  to 


main  front.  "  Ca  Canna"  (by  Mr.  Boucher) 
is  a  plainly-treated  Italian  design,  lacking 
in  dignity,  perhaps,  though  pleasing  in 
detail  of  entrance  and  attic  story  ;  the 
decoration  is  confined  sole'y  to  the  cornice 
and  upper  portion.  Palladian  designs  there 
a'c  several,  but  few  cleverly  worked 
out.  "  Simplex  "  is  one  in  this  style 
of  Italian.  Good  cutline  and  some 
other  points  strike  us  in  "  Art  with 
Economy,"  which  is  a  composition  without 
columns,  or  at  least  its  author  makes  no 
parade  of  them  ;  the  liall  is  pronounced  in 
the  position  assigned  it,  and  the  detail,  if 
bearing  evidence  of  refinement,  is  rather 
heavy.  There  is  a  domical  roof  over  hall, 
and  the  work  is  decidedly  French  in  feeling. 
In  the  design  "  City  Chambers,"  by  a  local 
archi  ect,  a  rather  lofty  centre  composition, 
crowned  by  a  dome  behind  it,  appears  ;  the 
angles  have  high  roofs,  but  we  cannot 
justify  tl  6  large  columns  in  centre  over 
lighter  ones  below.  The  former  want  a  base. 
"Ad  Eem  "  is  a  remarkable  design.  The 
author  shows  a  curious  tower  in  centre,  and 
the  George-street  facade  with  an  Ionic 
single  order  of  Greek  character.  The  narrow 
pedimental  centres  and  the  two  longest 
faaodes,  and  the  John-street  side,  with  its 
end  pediments,  scarcely  add  to  the  effect, 
"  Xisi  Domiuus  Frnstra  "  is  impressive  in 
the  Thomsonian  spirit,  which  is  carried  to 
exc?ss,  and  the  hall  is  pronounced.  The 
Ionic  capita's  are  a  little  too  Assyri.anised. 
Of  other  designs  we  can  only  speak  gener- 
ally. "Speedwell"  and  "Finis  Coronat 
Opus ' '  with  pencil  underneath  written 
"  Non  Nobis  Solum,"  are  rather  extreme 
instances  of  tlassical  composition.  The 
former,  in  its  John-street  front,  makes  a  very 
narrow  pediment,  whUe  the  last  glories  in  a 
Eoman  portico  which  appears  to  crush  all 
below  it,  and  is  rather  too  ambitious  in  style. 
"Eoyal"  spoils  his  dome  by  clock  gablets, 
and  renders  it  heavy.  "  AVhy  Noi  "  is  a 
massive  composition,  with  Palladian  features. 
The  lofty  tower  and  octagon  cupola  rises 
above  a  roofless  structure.  "  Crescent  in 
Square  "  adopts  a  very  ornate  and  flexible 
style  of  Eenaissance  ;  the  lofty  campanile, 
upwards  of  200ft.  high,  and  the  facade  have 
a  touch  of  Moorish  or  Venetian  character, 
and  the  author  has  made  one  external  fea- 
ture of  his  hall.  "  Alcyone  "  adopts  French 
Eenaissance.  He  has  a  sculptured  attic  above 
pediment,  flanked  by  two  cupolas,  with  a 
slender  tower  on  north  side  of  quadrangle. 
"Let  Glasgow  Flourish  "  is  the  motto  of 
two  designs,  both  of  the  ordinary  type,  and 
the  "  Ai'ms  "  of  Glasgow  is  the  motto  of  a 
Eoman  design,  the  only  noticeable  feature 
in  it  being  a  square  tower-like  mass  with 
octagon  cupola  above  and  angle  turrets  ;  the 
keystones  of  upper  windows  are  too  heavy, 
and  a  want  of  coherency  exists  in  the  George- 
square  front.  "Experto  Crede  "  is  rather 
Schinkelesque  in  manner  ;  there  is  some  neat 
drawing,  but  the  main  front  is  cut  up  by 
small  pilasters  and  curved  spandrels. 
"  George  in  Square  "  is  massive  in  outline, 
the  dome  is  low,  and  there  is  some  breadth 
of  wall-surface,  which  many  architects 
despise  or  underrate.  These  are  its  chief 
features.  We  have  merely  space  to  enume- 
ratethemottoesof  "Desideratum,"  "Clyde  " 
(a  good  dr.awing,  but  too  broken),  "  Defficit 
pecunia  defficit  omne,"  "  Experience," 
"Town  Hall,"  "Our  wUl  became  servant 
to  defect,  &c."  (a  fiee  monolithic  rendering)  ; 
"Pen  Non  Domine,"  "Apropos,"  "Light 
and  Shade,"  "  Salonica,"  "Conor,"  "  Ini- 
mutatus,"  "My  Mark,"  "  Non  quo  sed  quo 
modo,  and  red  cross,"  "Con  amore,"  Con- 
cordia et  Fidelitas,"  "  Lippen  to  me,  but 
look  to  yourself,"  "Nitor,"  "Eoman," 
"St.  Mungo,"  "  Festina  lente,"  "Clutha," 
"  Intersecting  triangles  "  and  "  G,  Eevires- 
cum,"  "  Suum  Cuique,"  "  B  in  Circle," 
"  Justice  and  Sword,"  "  Civis,"  etc.,  many 
of  which  are  neat  and  effective  drawings, 
but   either   too   florid  or  grandiose  or    de- 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


291 


fective  in  composition  and  proportion.  'V\'e 
hope  the  Council  will  ultimatolj'  select  a 
design  in  which  the  last-named  qualities  are 
conspicuous  :  the  farades  should  bo  in  a 
dignified  style — that  canbe  suitably  expressed 
by  the  local  sandstone — and  jilcasing  pro- 
portions and  symmetry  require  to  be  ob- 
served in  any  design  which  is  to  associate  or 
compete  with  the  buildings  of  George- 
square  ;  above  all,  the  structure  should  be 
worthy  of  Glasgow,  which  already  possesses 
not  a  few  ably-conceived  Classic  edifices. 
It  is  not  yet  definitely  known  what  the 
Town  Council  will  now  do  in  the  dilemma 
into  which  they  have  fallen,  and  which  we 
predicted  long  ago,  although  there  is  a 
feeling  among  some  of  its  members  to  set 
aside  all  the  designs  and  employ  an  inde- 
pendent architect.  Such  a  course  would  be 
not  only  unwise,  but  unfair  towards  those 
competitors  who  have  produced  designs 
worthy  of  the  city.  Whatever  is  done,  the 
people  of  Glasgow  should  first  make  up 
their  minds  exac'ly  what  they  want  and 
what  they  are  willing  to  spend  to  get  it ; 
when  these  points  are  settled,  they  may 
proceed  to  consider  the  advisability  of 
entrusting  the  work  to  the  architect  whose 
design  is  pronounced  the  best  among  those 
submitted  in  the  recent  competition,  irre- 
spective of  the  old  linuts  as  to  cost :  or  they 
may  arrange  a  new  competiriou  limited  to 
such  of  these  architects  as  lately  competed, 
or  may  be  selected,  and  may  choose  to 
compete  again.  Whatever  may  be  done, 
we  do  not  think  the  competitors  have  been 
fairly  treated,  either  by  the  Town  Council 
or  their  professional  referee. 


THE    FIXE     ART     EXHICITIOX     AT 
BRUSSELS. 

IF  the  fine  art  collection  now  to  be  seen 
at  Brussels  is  of  less  importance  than 
the  larger  and  more  extensive  exhibition  at 
thoTrocadero  in  1878;  still,  considering  the 
smaller  size  of  the  Belgian  kingdom  as  well 
as  its  lower  place  in  point  of  wealth  and 
power  to  the  great  French  nation,  the 
public  and  private  contributors  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  present  collection  are  to  be 
congratulated  for  the  general  interest  of  all 
that  is  to  be  seen  in  the  4th  section  of  the 
Exposition  Xation-Jle  of  1880. 

The  objects  exhibited  are  at  present  divi- 
ded into  live  classes  or  sections.  A  contains 
Metal  Work;  including  iron,  gold,  silver, 
and  especially,  as  might  be  expected,  latten 
or  yellow  bronze.  In  it  are  also  to  be 
found  ivories,  and  other  ornamental  articles 
of  virtu  and  luxe.  B  contains  Furniture  ; 
F,  Tapestries ;  G,  Coins  and  Medals ;  H. 
Manuscripts  and  Books.  Many  of  the  arti- 
cles lent  by  the  various  ecclesiastical  and 
municipal  bodies  are  of  the  very  highest 
order.  It  is  well  to  observe  that  some  of 
the  sections  contain  other  works  besides 
those  indicated  by  their  titles,  and  that 
sections  B  and  H,  are  only  partly  complete. 
This  is  a  great  pity,  for  the  catalogue  as  far 
as  it  goes  is  very  full  and  instructive,  and  in 
most  cases  accurate. 

When  we  say  that  A  contains  2615  items, 
our  readers  will  have  a  faint  idea  of  the 
importance  and  exhausfiveness  of  the  sec- 
tion. In  latten  and  iron  there  is  no  end  to 
the  instruction  that  ovir  art  workmen  and 
artists  might  gain.  All  is  true — much 
quite  as  simple  and  apparently  easy  as  it 
is  true,  but  still  such  as  we  seldom  now 
see.  We  shall  not  have  space  to  particu- 
larise as  much  as  might  be  wished  all 
that  is  most  worthy  of  admiration ; 
but  we  are  bound  to  notice  certain  typical 
pieces,  and,  in  passing,  we  wish  to  impress 
upon  our  readers  one  very  needful  lesson  ; 
which  is  that,  jmce  the  Pugin  and  Mecha- 
nico-glyptic  school,  there  are  at  least  two 
legitimate  modes  of  treating  metal,  each  in 
its  way  capable  of  carrying  out  all  that  the 
mind  of  really  fine  artists  wish  to  be  effected. 


It  is  ridiculous  nonsense  to  object  to  the 
most  natural  process  of  melting  and  casting 
any  metal.  Some  of  the  finest  works  in  the 
world  in  all  time  have  been  cast  — many  of 
them  must  of  necessity  have  been  cast. 
Metal  stamped  by  machinery  and  tinkered 
up  afterwards,  intended  to  pass  for  honest 
hand-work,  is  a  simple  attempt  to  falsify 
facts,  and  will  tend  more  than  anything  else 
to  degrade  fine  art  in  metal.  If  cost  is  an 
object,  more  attention  should  be  paid  to  a 
real  and  true  use  of  the  most  natural  mode 
of  treating  most  metals.  In  Belgium,  at 
least,  where  wo  have  so  many  famous  ex- 
amples of  hammered  work — and  it  may  be 
remarked,  in  passing,  that  they  still  produce 
admirable  specimens  of  this  difficult  art — 
difiicult  if  more  than  mere  twisting  and 
staniping  is  concerned — some  of  the  most 
interesting  pieces  were  cast;  one  especially 
good  example  in  iron  is  a  pair  of  tire-dogs 
of  the  middle  of  the  loth  century,  Xo.  2.'iG0, 
of  good  Gothic  design.  Of  course  the  best 
of  the  wrought  work  is,  except  usually  in 
the  case  of  statuary,  superior  and  more 
artistic  than  any  of  the  cast  iron.  The  ex- 
amples are  endless.  We  have  gridirons  and 
other  culinary  implements,  some  admirable 
for  their  natural  ornamentation.  Xo.  2351, 
a  fireback  of  the  year  1546,  gives  a  full  re- 
presentation of  a  kitchen,  which  exactly 
explains  the  u«c  of  many  of  the  actual  uten- 
sils in  its  neighbourhood.  The  various 
churches  and  archaeological  societies  exhibit 
fine  candelabra  and  crowns  of  lights.  Xo. 
2354  is  perhaps  the  best  thing  of  this  kind. 
The  funeral  candlesticks,  Xo.  2389,  belong- 
ing to  tbe  church  of  Xotre  Dame  du  Sablon 
at  Brussels,  of  the  16th  century,  are  remark- 
able for  their  extreme  simplicity  and  good 
taste.  Xo.  2416,  belonging  to  the  Ville  de 
Diest,  is  one  of  the  most  curious  chandeliers. 
It  is  composed  of  stags'  horns,  joined  to- 
gether with  wrought  iron,  in  the  form  of  a 
fortified  town,  and  dates  from  the  end  of 
the  14th  century.  Marriage  and  other 
cofiers  occur  in  considerable  numbers,  some 
entirely  covered  with  iron  or  steel ;  some 
beautifully  ornamented  with  painting  and 
ironwork.  Xos.  2439  and  2445  are  good 
specimens.  Against  the  walls  and  pillars 
hang  glazed  frames  containing  an  infinite 
variety  of  smaller  pieces  of  metal  work,  all 
showing  how  well  the  art  was  carried  out 
as  late  as  the  18th  century.  Keys  and  locks 
show  their  usual  excellence  of  workmanship. 
Xo.  2381,  which  once  belonged  to  the  Hotel 
de  Tille  at  Mor.s,  is  a  masterpiece  ;  pinna- 
cles, crockets,  pierced  work,  and  figures,  in 
absolute  perfection.  Better  still,  in  fact  as 
fine  as  it  is  possible  to  imagine,  is  Xo.  2279, 
a  magnificent  lock  of  the  13th  centurj'. 
Almost  ever}'  conceivable  implement  is  re- 
presented in  this  exhibition — knives,  keys, 
hand-saws,  tumscrews,  flat  irons,  rasps,  and 
graters — mostly  with  some  good  decoration 
about  them.  Xos.  2342  and  2350  are  espe- 
cially beautiful  specimens  of  later  work,  the 
latter  bearing  the  date  1686.  They  are 
mirror  frames  ornamented  with  natural 
flowers.  Liege  sends  some  fine  door-hinges 
of  early  date. 

The  latten  work  is  almost  as  extensive 
and  interesting  as  the  iron.  The  largest 
and  most  important  specimens  can,  natur- 
allj",  only  be  seen  in  situ,  as  they  consist  of 
huge  gates,  grilles,  and  other  fixtures. 
The  Church  of  St.  Jacques  a  Louvain,  how- 
ever, has  sent  a  fine  grille,  formed  by  a 
series  of  columns  surmoijnted  by  statuettes 
and  candelabra.  Its  value  is  increased  by 
having  a  date,  1568,  and  its  founder's  name, 
"  Ian.  Valdener  me  fecit."  A  tine  well- 
preserved  and  highly-coloured  funeral  brass 
is  exhibittd  by  the  Museum  of  Malines. 
There  are  many  fine  Icctems  in  the  shape  of 
eagles  or  pelicans,  &c.  ;  Pascal  and  other 
candlesticks,  the  finest  of  which  is  Xo.  452, 
a  very  noble  work ;  Xos.  S90  to  895  of 
the  12th  or  13th  centuries,  and  most  valu- 
able and  interesting  ;  processional   crosses 


and  other  articles  for  church  puiposes  ;  but 
the  most  numerous  section  is  of  things  for 
d(jmestic  use.  Baron  do  Vinck  has  collected 
an  amazing  number.  The  mortars  of  the 
Kith  to  the  ISth  century  arc  among  the  more 
interesting  specimens.  There  arc  uiore  than 
a  hundred  of  them,  the  earlier  ones  of  the 
middle  of  the  Kith  century  being  highly 
decorated  and  often  with  admirable  designs. 
The  utensils  in  the  form  of  grotesque  men 
and  animals  are  very  amusiiig  and  clever. 

Of  more  precious  metal  work  there  is  a 
grand  collection.  The  plate  from  the  ICth 
to  the  IHth  century  is  sui)erb.  Xos.  944 
and  918— Ewers  and  basins  of  rryoinw'c  and 
chased  silver  gilt  could  scarcely  be  surpassed. 
The  foUy  of  restoration-  in  fact,  theubsoluU' 
destruction  for  any  useful  artistic  purposes— 
is  shown  in  a  few  of  the  choicest  cathedral 
and  church  treasures.  Happily,  most  of 
the  precious  early  Christian  works  have 
been  rehgiously  ami  faithfully  preserved. 
Xo.  52,  Chisse  de  St.  Ghisluin,  bulong^g 
to  the  church  dedicated  to  that  saint,  ban 
been  made  up  of  two  chAsses,  one  of  the  I'.'th 
and  the  other  of  the  13th  century.  They  must 
have  been  once  of  great  value.  There  are 
six  largo  plaques  and  twenty-three  small 
ones  ;  but  by  rearrangement  and  ulmoat 
total  renewal  little  of  the  Vdluo  remains. 
There  is  one  good  piece  of  Merovingian  work, 
Xo.  82,  a  fibula  belonging  to  the  Church  of 
Xotre  Dame  at  Tongres.  It  is  of  the 
usual  character,  the  cloissons  being  tilled 
with  pieces  of  emerald  and  ruby. 
Xo.  49  is  a  leaf  of  a  very  early 
diptych  in  ivorj-,  representing  one  of  the 
Evangelists  holding  up  one  hand  in  blessing, 
and  having  a  book  in  the  other.  It  is 
similar  in  workmanship  to  the  ivories  on  the 
celebrated  chair  prcsen'ed  at  Ravenna.  It 
is  said  to  be  of  the  Gth  century,  and  is  in- 
scribed on  the  back  with  the  iiamus  of  the 
Bishops  of  Tongres,  who  lived  at  Liege  from 
the  year  840  to  950.  The  cathedral  of 
Toumay  contributes  a  splendid  diptych 
with  pierced  background,  of  the  begiiining 
of  the  9th  century.  The  chief  subject  is  the 
usual  representation  of  the  Cruciti.xion,  the 
feet  unsupported,  not  crossed,  but  with 
separate  nails.  On  the  right  hand  stands  a 
female  denoting  the  Church,  catching  the 
blood  in  a  chalice;  on  the  left,  another, 
symbolising  the  Synagogue  (Hierusalcm), 
with  her  head  turned  away  in  unbel  iff.  St. 
Mary  and  St.  John  stand  on  either  side  next 
to  them.  On  the  second  leaf  there  is  a 
portrait  of  SCS  NICASirS,  EP.-^P.  This 
beautiful  ivory  is  worthy  of  close  study. 
Mgr.  Ponceau  is  the  possessor  of  a  very  rare 
and  complete  reliquary  coffer  in  ivory  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Under  an  arca.ling  arc 
full-length  standing  figures  of  Our  Lord, 
the  Apostles,  and  Moses  and  Aaron. 
Among  other  priceless  treasures,  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Tongres  exhibits  one  of  the  finest 
covers  to  an  Evangelariuiii  that  wo  have 
ever  seen.  It  is  of  thick  wootl,  covercil  with 
plates  of  silver,  partly  gilt,  and  UjautifuUy 
inlaid  with  precious  stones.  In  li. ire- 
is  our  Saviour,  between  St.  "  "' 
John,  the  sun  and  moon  ab<iv. 
of  the  cross— jewelled  with  a  1 
a  pearl.  At  the  foot  of  the  ci....  i,  .m 
amethyst.  Tlie  border  is  studd.  1  with 
precious  stones  and  ancient  cla«s..  il  in- 
taglios, one  representing  the  head  of  >' 
another  Kacchus.  There  is  also  a  I'.;, 
cameo.  It  is  impossible  f"  -■^• 
faint  idea  of  the  exquisite  t-> 
fancy  of  some  of  the  filagree 
the  beautiful  scroll  ornament- ;.  .  ■-  ■ 
like  figures  of  hunUmen,  dog*.  -t«zv  ami 
hares.  The  outer  border  is  omaiu->t.-l  with 
niello  pictures  alternately  with  plaques  of 
similar  filagree  to  the  inside  one.  The  name 
of  the  author,  who  U  represented  on  hi» 
knees,  offering  his  book  to  the  Saviour,  and 
St  Xicolas,  the  patron  of  the  Abbey,  w 
inscribed  in  nieUo  +  Liber :  Scriptus :  intus : 
ef  foris:    Hugo;  Scripeit .  Quc«tu :   lorn: 


392 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


SiJPT.  10,  1880. 


manu  :  +  Orate  :  pro  :  eo  :  +  Ore  :  Canunt  : 
alii  :  Cristum  :  Canit  :  arte  :  fabiili :  Hugo  : 
sui  :  questu  :  scripta :  laboris  :  arans.  Xlie 
ilate  of  this  superb  book  is  of  the  loth 
century.  There  are  two  other  works  by  this 
great  artist,  also  showing  exquisite  taste. 
No.  13S,  a  reliquary,  belonging  to 
the  Abbey  of  Oignies  ;  and  Ko.  137, 
also  a  reliquary  in  the  form  of  a  foot.  There 
are  three  other  bindings  of  the  Gospels  close 
by  of  the  highest  quality.  The  side  of  314 
is  occupied  by  a  9th-centiuy  ivory,  of  sin- 
gular power  and  beauty.  It  forms  part  of 
the  rich  treasure  of  Notre  Dame  at  Tongres. 
There  is  in  it  a  om-ious  admixture  of  Classic 
and  Christian  ideas.  The  sun  and  the  moon 
are  representsd  bj'  a  man  and  woman,  each 
lamenting  the  cx-uc:fied  Creator.  At  the  foot 
of  the  cross  is  the  rcsiuTeotion  of  the  dead  ; 
on  the  right  is  the  earth,  represented  by  a 
half-nude  female  suckling  a  serpent,  and 
holding  a  tree  in  her  left  hand  ;  and  on  the 
left  side  the  ocean  is  represented  as  a  bearded 
man,  holding  a  iish  in  his  right  baud  and  an 
urn  in  his  left.  The  rest  of  the  cover  is  of 
later  date.  The  next  best  has  no  number, 
but  belongs  to  the  Administration  Commn- 
nale  de  Liege.  In  the  centre  there  is  also  a 
tine  12th-century  ivory  of  Christ,  in  a  vesica, 
supported  by  the  foiir  evangelistic  symbols. 
iSurroimding  this  are  most  spirited  enamels, 
really  champleve,  but  cut  out  so  as  to  look 
like  cloisonnee — i.e.,  the  cloissons  are  not 
soldered  on,  but  left  by  the  chisel.  The 
figures  represent  the  rivers  Pisou,  Geon, 
Tigris,  and  Euphrates,  with  Temperance, 
Fortitude,  and  Justice,  separated  from  each 
other  by  elliptical  ornaments  of  engraved 
copper-gilt,  which  have  unfortunately  been 
regilt.  We  have  seldom  seen  such  life  and 
vigour  in  any  mediaeval  enamels.  The  book 
bears  the  inscription:  "En  ego  Notkerms 
peccati  pondere  jjressus,  ad  te  flecto  genu 
qui  terres  omnia  nutu."  The  enamelled 
ch  sses  of  the  12th  and  13th  centuries  are 
numerous,  and  many  of  them  fine. 


INDUSTraAL    EXHIBITION    AT    THE 
ALEXANDRA  PALACE. 

LAST  Saturday  an  Industrial  Exhibition 
W3S  opened  at  the  Alexandra  Palace 
which  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  inaugura 
tion  of  a  new  scheme  of  exhibitions  for  the 
working  classes,  arranged  on  a  more  com 
plete  plan  of  organisation  than  some  recent 
ones  we  have  had  to  record.  The  exhibition 
is  held  in  the  Banqueting  Hall  in  the  Park, 
where  every  facility  has  been  afforded  for 
the  exhibitors,  and  many  of  these  by  name 
are  known  to  us  as  having  contributed 
articles  to  the  late  Bow  and  Bromley  Insti- 
ta*c.  The  rulis  and  regulations  are  few 
and  simple ;  only  members  of  the  working 
classes  can  compete  for  prizes,  and  every 
article  so  contributed  is  to  be  the  work 
or  design  of  the  exhibitor.  The  articles  &re 
to  be  brought  and  removed  at  the  exhibitor's 
own  risk  and  expense,  and  medals  and 
prizes  to  the  value  of  £200  are  offered  for 
competition  in  the  various  classes.  Speci.al 
prizes  are  to  be  given  for  new  and  meri- 
torious inventions.  Besides  the  exhibits  sent 
in  for  competition,  a  great  many  others 
have  been  contributed  of  an  instructive  and 
useful  class.  In  the  mechanical  section  are 
arranged  a  variety  of  classes,  including, 
cabinet  work,  inlaid  work,  turning,  carving 
fretwork,  furniture,  coopers'  work,  musical 
instruments,  models  of  buildings,  steam- 
engines,  ships  and  boats,  carriages,  &c. 
Many  of  these  are  works  of  design.  In  class 
1  we  find  a  variety  of  inlaid  work  of  un- 
usual excellence  in  workmanship,  and  some 
of  the  exhibits  bear  evidence  of  artistic 
design.  No.  2,  a  walnut  fireplace,  decorated 
with  satinwood  border  panels,  by  J.  Beau- 
champ,  of  Gray's  Inn-road,  is  a  neatly 
designed  piece  of  decoration  ;  the  painted  or 
stencilled  ornament  in  colours  in  the  light 


wood  borders  round  the  mirror  make 
pleasing  and  simple  kind  of  relief,  and  the 
design  of  the  grate-front  is  in  good  taste, 
llr.  Holdom,  of  Victoria  Park,  shows  a 
creditably  executed  suite  of  bod-room  furni- 
ture ;  and  the  inlaid  clock-case  exhibited  by 
J.  Morrison,  of  Harrow-road,  is  noteworthy 
as  a  pleading  design  in  the  style  of  the 
Adams.  In  the  same  class  wo  notice  inlaid 
boxes,  carved  brackets,  timepieces,  frames, 
and  various  carvings  by  F.  Smith,  "W.  Hill, 
S.  TTatson,  H.  A.  EMott,  A.  Devereux, 
Hicks,  and  other  exhibitors ;  but  sjjecial 
praise  is  due  to  Mr.  W.  Clayton,  of  Wardour- 
street,  for  his  admirably  designed  and  exe- 
cuted inlaid  tablets  of  the  Decalogu'>,  in 
which  various  woods  have  been  combined 
with  good  taste.  No  other  marqueterie 
work  comes  up  to  this. 

In  wood-carving  we  take  particular  notice 
of  an  oak  eagle  lectern,  designed  and  exe- 
cuted by  T.  T.  Wilson,  of  Pentonville  road. 
The  base,  formed  of  a  group  of  buttresses, 
is  well  proportioned,  and  the  detail  in  good 
keeping.  The  photographs  of  church  fur- 
niture executed  by  the  same  artist  are  all  in 
correct  Gothic  feeling.  The  wood-carving 
in  the  Adam's  style  by  G.  H.  Ball,  the 
brackets,  and  fretwork  in  tlus  class  also  de  - 
serve  a  more  particular  notice  than  we  can 
ive  here.  H.  Deeks,  of  Essex-road,  Isling- 
ton, deserves  credit  for  his  block  of  wood 
caiTed  with  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  and  the 
walnut  cabinet  door-panel  by  H.  Cooper,  is 
an  excellent  piece  of  work,  A  case  of  musi- 
cal instruments  consisting  of  banjoes,  b.anjo- 
lutes,  guitar-lutes,  &c.,  is  exhibited  by  S. 
W.  Kemp,  of  Kingsland-r-oad,  many  of 
pleasing  designs ;  and  another  case,  by  a 
gardener  by  the  name  of  Gannet,  is  inter- 
esting. 

Models  of  steam-engines  occupy,  as  usual, 
a  very  large  space  in  the  present  show,  and 
ingenuity  in  this  form  is  a  prominent  and 
well-deserving  feature  of  industrial  exhibi- 
tions. It  would  be  wearisome  to  the  reader 
to  give  half  the  names  'if  the  principal  exhi- 
bitors of  this  class ;  .'■  iffice  it  to  say,  that 
nearly  every  kind  of  mechanism  is  shown, 
and  the  exhibitors  are  men  and  apprentices 
of  various  occupations.  An  engineer's 
apprentice,  E.  Nasmyth,  is  credited 
with  the  original  design  for  a  horizontal 
engine  (86),  certainly  an  admirable  piece  of 
workmanship ;  and  the  models  sho\vn  by 
Jas.  Ellis,  of  Offord-road  ;  W.  Maples, 
Stratford  ;  Hedley,  Kent  ;  J.  Curzon,  Tot- 
tenham ;  E  Arkwright  ;  G.  E.  Laoey,  &o., 
especially  call  for  mention.  A  working 
model  of  a  compound  surface  condensing  en- 
gine, by  T.  Coates,  is  a  marvel  of  neat  work- 
manship. Here,  however,  we  may  more 
special!  ydr.aw  attention  to  aiewexhibits  of  an 
inventive  kind.  We  note  a  new  patent  h)-dro- 
static  ball  valve  for  cisterns  by  E.  Skitter, 
Hackney,  tSe  main  object  of  which  is  to  pre- 
vent leakage,  so  that  the  pressure  of  water, 
however  great,  ma}',  instead  of  forcing 
the  valve  to  open,  assist  to  keep  it  closecf. 
The  principle  of  the  invention  is  a 
good  one.  King's  patent  shaft-coupling 
for  repairing  propeller-shafts  at  sea,  is 
certainly  deserving  of  attention  by  the 
marine  engineer.  The  same  exhibition  shows 
a  self-acting  drying-closet,  an  apparatus  for 
preventing  persons  falling  between  trains 
and  the  platform  when  the  former  are  in 
motion,  a  safety-lift  having  a  ratchet  catch  so 
a?  instantly  to  .arrest  the  cage.  A  com- 
positor, F.  A.  G.aj',  exhibits  an  automatic 
fog  apparatus,  and  W,  Elliott  a  self-acting 
railway-signal  post.  We  also  see  an  im- 
provement in  screw-down  valves  and  fire- 
annihilators.  Some  of  the  exhibits  we  have 
seen  before  at  the  Bow  and  Bromley 
Institute,  as  Earushaw's  chronomylcr  es- 
capement, and  Harold  T.  Granger's 
improved  tramw.ay  models,  the  latter  a  grea . 
improvement  on  the  present  system.  S. 
Morgan,  a  carpenter,  shows  an  ingenious 
way  of  making  an  elliptical  staircase   self- 


supporting — wo  presume  the  name   "  Elyp- 
lical."     as   printed   in   the    catalogue,   is  a 
misprint— and    we    have    in    this   class   an 
abundance  of    inventive    skill    and   energy, 
from     models    for     bicycle    brakes    to   the 
"  early-riser's  friend,"  by  C.  M.  Walker,  an 
apparatus    combining    an    alarum    with    a 
striking  of  a  match,  lighting  of  lamp,  and 
making      coffee.       J.     Knight's     improved 
spreader,  or  rose,  for  watering   gardens,  is 
decidedly   an    improvement    upon   the   old 
rose,  and  we  must    not  forget   to   mention 
some    useful    improvements  on  fire-escapes 
by   W.   Parker  (class   13),   of  Dean's-yard, 
Westminster,  by  which    the  wheels    of  the 
escape  may  be  secured  by  simply  letting  go 
chains     which     release  blocks   which   drop 
under      the     wheels.      Another    suggestion 
consists  in  a  simple  means  of    making  the 
escape  stand  by  itself    without   the   aid  of 
strangers  or  without  resting  it  against  wall 
of  house,  both  valuable    improvements  on 
this  useful  machine  for  saviu;;  life.     Models 
of  ships  and  boats    are  clever,    though  the 
exhibition  misses   the  collection  of  valuable 
models  of  steamers,  &o.,  lent  by  some  of  the 
leading'companiestotheBowExhibition.  The 
exhibits  in  these  departments  have  been  well 
classified,  and  much  is   due   to  the  arrange- 
ments of  Mr.   J.   S.  Cooke,    the   seoretary. 
But  we  pass  on  to  notice  the  more  artistic 
sections  of  the  exhibition,  and  here  the  first 
wordofpraiseis  due  to  the  large  and,  in  many 
respects,   admirable  collection  of  decorative 
paintings  on  china,   glass,  and  ten-a-cotta, 
exhibited  by  Thomas  Cox,  of  Southampton- 
row,  PLUSsell-square,    to  whom,  in   a  large 
measure,     the     decoration   of    the    present 
exhibition-haU  is  due.     In  our  recent  notice 
of  work  in  the  Bow  and  Bromley  Exhibition 
we   mentioned  a  variety   of  painted   china 
and  terra-cotta,  of  exceedingly  good  design, 
and  the  same    enterprising    artist   has  en- 
hanced the  present  exhibition  by  a  large  dis- 
play of  terra-cotta,  painted  china,  and  stained 
glass,  which  form  an  art-exhibition  of  them- 
selves. The  raised  enamel  painting  on  terra- 
cotta,   especially    in    several    of    the  vases 
and  plaques,  has  a  particularly  rich  effect  in 
some    of    the    conventional    designs.      One 
peculiarity  of  the  china  painting  is  that  it  is 
painted  en  the  glaze  and  then  fired ;  some  of 
the  plates  and  vases  painted   with  fuchsias, 
ferns,  geraniums,   &c.,   are  excellent.      The 
plaques,     by     apprentices     of     Mr.     Cox, 
exhibit  invention  and  taste;  we  especially 
draw  attention  to  some  in  the  upper  gallery, 
showmg  conventionalised  outlines  of  foliage, 
&c.      Painted    tile    decoration    is    another 
branch  in  which  the  exhibition  is  strong, 
and  we    notice    several    pleasing   efforts  at 
wall   decoration  in  which  conventionalised 
birds,  fruit,    and   foliage    are   introduced  in 
blue  and  other  colours.      'J  he  stained  glass 
exhibited   by  Mr.   Cox  adds    much   to   the 
effect  of  the  clerestory  windows  of  the  hall. 
We  may  di-aw  attention  to  some    staircase 
windows,  by  an  apprentice,  aged  17,  of  the 
name  of  Stacey  ;  another  light,  "  designed, 
coloured,  cut,  and  glazed  "  by  W.  J.  Duncan, 
also  a  youth ;    some  medallions   bj-  a  boy 
aged  16  ;  and  some  capital  arrangements  of 
glass     in    leaded    patterns,    in    which   flat 
colom-ing  and  conventional   or  geometrical 
designs  are   shown.      Artists   in   glass  and 
tile    work,    particularly  those    v.dio   benefit 
from  these  exhibitions,  are  indebted  to  this 
collection  for  the  examples  brought  together. 
In    other    artistic    exhibits    in    terra-cotta 
and     stone,   Henry    Gunthorp,     of     Heme 
Hill,    J.     Curtis,     of     Kentish     Town,    W. 
H.     Caddy,  of  Brighton,   may   be   named. 
The    mosaics,    inlaid     marble,    a^id    wood- 
work    are     represented     by     performances 
which  only   need   art   education   to   render 
perfect.     Thus  we   may  take  Mr.  C.  Clay's 
inlaid  marble  table  (221) ;  another  by  J.  W. 
White,  containing  7,00U  pieces  of  wood,  as 
instances.     The  models  of  buildings  are  not 
of  great   excellence;    we  notice  among  the 
best  a  large  model  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


393 


in  cardboard,  by  C.  Eochfort,  a  police- 
constable,  Bow-street,  executed  with  mucb 
taste  and  care,  and  with  the  ijroijortions 
carefully  preserved;  the  model  village,  by  a 
schoolkeeper,  is  less  intelligible  ;  and  the 
model  of  a  cathedral  front  in  shells.  Hack- 
ney Tower  in  sealing-wax  by  a  wart-house- 
man, and  other  efforts  of  a  similar  kind,  are 
instances  of  misdirected  energy  and  perse- 
verance that  might  be  jput  to  even  better 
use.  Designs,  architectural  a:id  mechanical, 
are  certainly  higher  in  motive  ;  they  imply 
inveuticn,  though  very  many  of  them  show 
that  a  knowledge  of  art  princijjles  has  yet 
to  be  implanttd.  A  design  for  a  school  by 
a  carpenter  and  joiner  ( vN'oodlej'),  designs 
for  a  greenhouse  by  E.  Pennington  are 
creditable  iu  theii-  way,  and  are  valuable  as 
showing  improvements.  In  the  same  class 
we  note  designs  for  linolemu  by  a  mer- 
chant's clerk,  designs  for  tapestry  curtains, 
embroidery ;  decorative  designs,  drawings 
of  timber  roofs  and  iron  bridge  construction, 
by  Francis  J.  Bancroft,  of  Holloway  ;  archi- 
tectural designs  by  J.  Chamberlam,  Lime- 
house  ;  and  a  painted  panel  of  sUk,  with 
some  spiritedly-drawn  figures,  Terpsichorean 
in  character,  in  good  colours  upon  a  rich 
yellow  and  citron  gromid,  by  AV.  G.  Barker, 
of  TufneU  Park.  It  is  intended  for  a  piano- 
forte front.  Other  glass  panels  by  the  same 
artist  are  clever  in  conception.  The  decora- 
tive painting  on  glass,  &c.,  by  G.  Sears  (uf 
Lissou-grove),  by  J.  H.  McLeman  (Upner 
Holloway),  T.  Goldfinch,  S.  Eice,  Maud 
Hepworth,  S.  liogers,  and  D.  Graham  are 
interesting  as  showing  various  motives  and 
ideas.  Graining  and  marbling,  illumina- 
tions, &c.,  form  other  classes  of  art  work 
into  which  we  cannot  enter,  though  many 
of  the  exhibits  are  highly  creditable  to  their 
artists.  Looking  at  the  oil  and  water- 
colour  drawings  we  cannot  say  very  much, 
though  some  good  work  is  to  be  seen.  In 
both  classes  Nellie  Dwelly,  of  Bow-road, 
carries  the  palm.  The  flowers,  No.  2o9,  &c., 
show  talent  ;  and  in  the  water-colours  we 
notice  one  or  two  of  much  feeling  and  good 
colour.  In  the  oils,  Nos.  268  and  2S4,  by 
C.  Western,  a  coachmaker;  No.  305,  a 
head  from  life,  by  A.  H.  Winks,  IsUugton, 
display  talent  ;  but  we  are  sorry  such 
caricatures  as  the  likeness  of  Lord  Beacons- 
field  should  have  been  hung.  Nos.  265, 
266,  by  G.  C.  Blatchley,  a  few  signed  H.  P. 
Truman ,  letter-sorter ;  ' '  Biirnham  Beeches, ' ' 
by  F.  W.  LasceUes,  and  some  by  Noble, 
claim  notice.  In  the  water-colours.  Miss 
DweUy,  J.  R.  Dunning,  F.  W.  LasceUes, 
and  J.  C.  Banks,  are  the  leading  names. 
The  foliage  of  J.  E.  Dunning  and  F.  W. 
LasceUes  is  vigorous  ;  and  the  sketches  by 
J.  C.  Banks  are  marked  by  feeUng.  With 
these  exceptions,  the  coUeotions  hardly 
equal  the  other  c'asses  of  the  exhibition  ; 
many  are  crude  and  coarse  drawings  in 
colour.  We  can  only  afford  space  to  notice 
in  commendation  the  exceUent  collection  of 
metalwork  ;  especially  the  hammered  work 
of  Mr.  Thomas,  the  cast-iron  panels  or 
griUes  exhibited  by  J.  G.  and  E.  Emms,  of 
Bow;  some  fine  art  jewellery  by  AV.  AVil- 
liams ;  embossed  metal ;  the  stoneware 
puzzle  jugs  of  G.  H.  HoUins,  whose  exhi- 
bits at  Bow  we  lately  mentioned;  and  a 
terra-cotta  model  of  a  monk  in  prayer,  by 
W.  C.  Baldwin.  Copper  engraving,  old 
prints,  pen  and  peEcU  drawings,  and  astro- 
nomical models  and  diagrams  are  among 
the  thousand  misctUaneous  articles  to  be 
found  at  the  Alexandra  Park  Exhibition, 
which  is  weU  worth  a  visit. 


THE      GLASGOW       MUNICIPAL 
BLTLDINGS    COMPETITION. 

ON  Thursday  week,  as  stated  in  our  last 
number,  a  meeting  of  the  Glasgow  Town 
Covmcil  was  held,  when  the  Town  Clerk  read  the 
following  report  by  Mr.    Charlej   Barry,   who 


had  been  appointed  to  examine  and  report  on 
the  various  designs  : — 

"  Gentlemen, — In  accordance  with  your 
instruction.s,  as  per  resolution  of  the  Corporation 
of  30th  July  last,  conveyed  to  mo  by  Dr. 
Marwick,  the  Town  Clerk,  by  letter  of  the  same 
date,  I  have  paid  two  lengthened  viHits  to 
Glasgow,  and  have  devoted  the  whole  of  that 
time,  as  well  as  much  time  intervening  and 
since  here,  to  the  careful  consideration  of  the  UO 
sets  of  designs  sent  in  competition  for  the  now 
buildings,  compriting  in  all  724  drawings. 
Explanatory  reports  in  most  eases  are  sent  by 
the  authors  relating  to  arrangements,  materials, 
and  cost,  applying  to  their  respective  designs. 
I  have  received  every  assistance  I  desired  from 
the  office  of  Dr.  Marwick,  and  of  Mr.  Carrick, 
City  Surveyor,  the  latter  of  whom  has  been  so 
good  as  to  take  out  the  cubic  contents  of  no  less 
than  21  sets  of  drawings  on  one  consistent  prin- 
ciple I  indicated  to  him,  so  as  fairly  to  compare 
them.  This  was  necessary,  because  in  several 
eases  where  competitors  named  in  their  reports 
the  cubic  contents  of  their  designs  I  have  been 
unable  to  agree  with  their  figui-es,  but  wliich 
must  have  been  taken  on  some  other  principle 
than  that  I  considered  it  right  to  adopt.  I 
have  been  met  at  the  outset  of  my  inquiry  by 
the  difficulty,  and  as  I  beUeve  the  impossibility, 
of  obtaining  any  building  of  the  bulk  required 
and  of  a  suitable  character  for  the  simi  of 
£150,000  named  in  the  'Instructions';  and, 
taking  these  instructions  as  my  only  guide,  as 
they  necessarily  were  the  guide  of  each  com- 
petitor, I  find  them  in  this  respect  not  a  little 
ditficult  to  reconcile,  for  on  the  one  hand  they 
aie  accompanied  with  a  plan,  worked  out  in 
much  detail,  of  each  fioor,  to  which,  as  to  the 
arrangements  generally,  and  as  to  the  bulk 
absolutely,  each  competitor  was  to  adhere. 
The  heights  of  each  story  are  also  there  given, 
defining  the  vertical  dimensions  of  the  new 
building  with  nearly  the  same  precision  as  the 
plan  does  its  horizontal  dimensions.  Adding 
together  these  heights  of  the  several  stories, 
and  making  only  moderate  additions  for  founda- 
tions, the  thickness  of  the  several  floors  enables 
a  cube  to  be  made  out  up  to  the  general  parapet 
level  of  the  building,  which  I  had  done  in  each 
of  the  above  cases.  Pricing  out  this  cube  at  the 
rate  of  Is.  a  foot  up  to  top  of  parapet,  and  Is. 
Gd.  a  foot  for  any  feature  above  that  level,  such 
as  towers,  domes,  lofty  and  decorative  roofs, 
turrets,  &c.,  &c.  (prices  which  I  consider  only 
moderate),  would  show  that  to  carry  out  the 
plans  issued  with  the  instructions  would  cost 
not  less  than  .£193,000,  instead  of  the  £1.50,000 
named  to  competitors.  As,  however,  this 
£150,000  is  there  named,  I  have  felt  the  only 
fair  plan  towards  the  competitors  was  to  deduce 
a  rate  per  foot  cube  from  it,  and  from  the  plans 
issued  with  the  '  Instructions.'  Thus,  if  from 
the  £150,000  mentioned  in  tbem  the  very 
moderate  allowance  of  £12,500  be  allocated  to 
roofs,  turrets,  towers  above  parapet  level,  we 
have  £137,500  left,  which  gives  about  9d.  a 
cubic  foot  for  the  main  building.  This,  I 
think,  as  above  said,  an  insufficient  sum,  inas- 
much as  the  plainest  possible  building  of  the 
proposed  bulk  shown  in  Mr.  Carrick's  plans,  and 
priced  as  I  consider  proper,  would,  in  my 
opinion,  cost  not  less  than  £193,000,  without 
costly  features  or  expensive  decorations.  It  is, 
therefore,  only  fan  to  the  competitors,  many  of 
whom  no  doubt  have  an  acquaintance  with 
Glasgow  and  the  cost  of  building  there,  to  sup- 
pose that  reading  the  instructions,  which  they 
would  deem  to  he  carefully  prepared  and  issued 
under  the  authority  of  the  Corporation,  the  sum 
named  by  theni — £150,000— for  a  suitable 
building  of  the  size,  they  also  so  clearly  indicate 
would  suffice,  and  that  in  forming  their  e.sti- 
mates  they  would  take  the  rate  thus  arrived  at, 
or  about  9d.  a  foot  cube.  I  have  therefore  had 
21  of  the  best  designs  cubed,  and  have  myself 
priced  them  out  at  this  rate  up  to  parapet  level 
without  further  necessary  allowances  for  fea- 
tures above  that  level,  as  were  shown  in  the 
designs,  the  cost  of  which  naturally  differs 
widely.  Of  thete  I  have  selected,  as  requested, 
the  three  best  that  I  could  allow  myself  to  put 
before  the  Corporation,  wliich  would  apparently 
comeundtror  about  £150,000  in  cost  if  priced 
at  the  reduced  rate  above  mentioned.  Against 
the  mottoes  of  these  three  designs  I  have  showu 
in  tabular  form— 1st,  the  cost,  taking  as  basis 
the  cube  deduced  from  the  plan  supplied  with 
the  instructions  and  the  information  therein  as 
to  the  heights  of  stories,  and  priced  at  the  rate 


arrived  at  as  described ;  2nd,  the  lowest  cost 
that,  in  my  judgment,  each  of  theoe  three 
designs  could  be  well  e.\eeuted  for  iu  stone  in  a 
solid,  durable,  plain  manner,  without  luarblo, 
expensive  sculpture,  extorually  and  iutei-uaUy, 
decorations,  and  the  Uke,  for  which  puriweo  u 
large  extra  sum  should  bu  appropriated  iu  any 
design  that  may  bo  carried  out.  I  place  thcdu 
three  designs  before  the  Corijorutiou,  and  thiiik 
the  premiums  must  he  awarded  to  thtiu  iiuw- 
mueh  as  they  most  nearly  aro  in  accurdoaco 
with  the  embarrassing  letter  of  the  iiutruetioiui. 
These  three  designs  arc  :  — 

Cust  at  Hunio      Coiit  na  etUmalud 
rutc  ad  ^li-.         by  nus  wilhuut 

lIoiTocs.  „,'-'-"^V^''    .  '•^l'-^^";".*^^  fviitur.', 

pLin,  It  It  co»t       i«culptiiro.  or 
lul£liti,0jO.      rich  dccuratiuo. 
1st  •  Carton.'    KstimiitcU 

by  author  at  f  150,4'.'3. 

(Nns.  89,  (10,  and  91)  ...£153,800  £220,000 

2nd,  '  Fi.U'bty,'  No  osli- 

malrRiv.i..     (No.  IS)..    161,C00  200,0uO 

3rd.  'I..t  (ildJigowHoiir- 

i.-'h  fur  KvtT.'     Design 

A.    Kstiinutcd    by   l\ji 

authorat£l43,723.  (No. 

31)    Ul.j-W  J8S,000 

"  A  f c w  remarks  on  each  of  the  tbrco  dcugtM 
thus  recommended  may  be  useful  here.  '  Carton ' 
sends  not  only  a  creditable  design,  but  also  bait 
worked  out  a  really  good  plan,  much  iuipruvod, 
as  I  think,  on  Mr.  Can-ick's,  us  regurd.^.  t in.  light 
on  principal  stairs,  as  ;,'iviug  a  duplici'c  t,'rand 
staircase,  and  as  providing  a  coutiuuou.s  corridor 
all  round  on  the  first  floor,  which  on  ^rr.lud  and 
crowded  receptions  would  afford  relii  f  to  re- 
ception-saloons and  town-hall.  Iu  this  plun 
these  great  apartments  are  aUo  go  orraui'ed  as 
to  enable  separate  or  combined  use  to  be  made  of 
them.  'Fidelity'  has  sent  two  plans,  i.ho wing 
Uttle  variation  from  Mr.  Carrick's.  He  ban  ap- 
parently misunderstood  the  letter  from  Dr. 
Marwick  of  21st  April,  ISSO,  and  supposed  that 
it  confined  him  absolutely  to  the  fiiiot  ibstruc- 
tious  of  9th  March,  18S0,  as  regards  any  altera- 
tion of  plan ;  whereas  it  evidently  referred  to 
the  two  letters  of  9th  March  and  'Jlh  April, 
ISSO,  which  permitted  such  alterations.  He 
makes  no  allusion  in  his  report  to  cost,  and 
must  therefore  be  assumed  to  ojopt  that  uame<i 
in  the  instructions.  Priced  in  the  way  I  have  con- 
sidered heiseLtitledtodo,heha8very  nearly  com- 
pUed  with  them .  'Let  Glasgow  Flourish  for  Ever.' 
design  A. — The  author  has  given  explanatory 
plans  of  each  floor,  with,  however,  but  Uttlu 
variation  from  Mr.  Carrick's  plan.  His  dtsigu 
A  seems  to  me  to  be  the  better  of  the  two  sent 
in  by  the  author.  His  (slimato  for  it  in 
£113,728,  which,  although  quite  consistent  with 
the  above-named  calculations  founded  on  Mr. 
Carrick's  plan  and  the  instmctiuns,  I  tliink  i« 
too  low,  being  only  at  the  rate  of  I'ld.  for  the 
whole  building,  including  dome,  angles,  turrets, 
etc.,  which  are  necessarily  expensive  featuna.  I 
feel  bound  to  say,  fmther,  that  there  have  been 
sent  in  designs  of  much  superior  merit  to  any  of 
these  three,  but  more  costly,  thou^rh  not.  iu  my 
opinion,  a  particle  too  good  or  too  costly  for  the 
Municipal  BuUdings  of  so  important  a  city  u 
Gla.sgow.  The  cost  of  these  appears  to  range 
from  £180,000  to  £250,000.  It  is  with  grt«t 
regret  that,  bound  as  I  am  by  the  instruction*, 
I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  here  to  mcniim  ihew.' 
designs,  or  to  recommend  them  for  the  pp^miams 
wlaeh  (if  judged  by  merit  only;  tli'  \  "ic!.'  u. 
receive.  Several  of  the  other  dc-i 
a  careful  study-rearrangem-nt 
which,  if  weU  arranged,  will  of  r 
all-important  in  th.- working  and  iliry  u--  ct 
the  premises  satisfactorily,  and  tome  of  lhe»e 
coutiiiu  suggcsteJ  altemtionn  whi:h  n  •■uM  xm 
it  possible  under  such  circomstanr.  -  r 

the  careful  consideration  of  tii' 
under  the  advice  of  the  city  tu: 
again,  I  am  not  at  Uberly  to  m 
cally.''  Dr.  Marwick  went  on  t 
the  sealed  envelopes  containing  tl 
competitors  being  opened  it  had  1 
the  first  was  "Carton,"  Air.  i 
architect,      Leeds  ;     the    eccon  : 

Messrs.  Coc  and  Robinson,    4,   l..r —  ■ 

London;  and  the  third,  "Let  ^^^o" 
Flourish  for  Ever,"  Mr.  E  IwordChrke.  G,  Adam- 
street,  Adtlphi,  London. 

The  Lord  Provo.-t  .'ai  i  tint,  in 
report,  Mr.  Barry  hid  al.-o  wW.  i 
communication  that  he  ^Slr.  Barn 
to  be  p\iblished. 

Mr.  Mathicson  said  the  letter  wti  («nt  under 
cover  of  a  letter  sent  to  Dr.  Marwick.  which  w«« 
marked  private.    Theletter  to  which    hi*  loc«l- 


294 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


ship  referred  was  addressed  to  the  Lord  Provost 
and  Corporation  of  Glasgow.  There  was  nothing 
on  or  in  the  letter  as  to  whether  Mr.  Barry- 
wanted  the  letter  kept  private  or  published.  The 
letter  was  the  property  of  the  corporation,  and 
he  apprehended  that  whatever  was  the  property 
of  the  corporation  was  the  property  of  the 
public.  And  he  thought  they  would  bo  guUty  of  a 
dereliction  of  duty  if,  having  received  that 
letter,  they  did  not  place  it  before  the  citizens  of 
Glasgow.  It  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  corpora- 
tion that  the  representatives  of  the  people  of 
Glasgow  should  see  this  letter,  to  assist  them  in 
the  consideration  of  this  most  important  subject 
— a  subject  on  which  members  of  the  magistracy 
and  council  required  great  assistance. 

Bailie  Laing :  Why  is  it  not  in  the  report  ? 

Mr.  Mathieson  said,  as  to  that  he  had  nothing 
to  say. 

Mr.  Gray  :  Am  I  right  in  understanding  that 
there  is  nothing  mentioned 

The  L'lrd  Provost  said  he  saw  nothing  in  the 
letter  itself  that  made  it  at  all  necessary  or 
proper  that  it  should  be  withheld.  It  was  solely 
because  Mr.  Barry  had  indicated  that  it 
should  not  be  published  that  he  had  made  the 
suggestion . 

Mr.  Reid  moved  that  the  reporters  retire  and 
that  the  letter  be  read  to  the  council,  and  after 
that  the  council  might  make  it  pubUc  or  not,  just 
as  they  thought  proper. 

Bailie  Laing  seconded  that  proposal. 

Treasurer  Hamilton  thought  they  should  get 
Dr.  Marwick's  opinion  on  this  matter  as  to  whether 
the  letter  should  be  read  or  not. 

Mr.  Smith  said  Mr.  Mathieson  was  quite  right 
in  bringing  this  matter  up  in  the  way  he  had 
done.  With  all  due  deference,  he  considered  his 
lordship  was  in  error  when  he  considered  the 
letter  should  not  be  published. 

The  Lord  Provost  :  It  is  no  wish  on  my  part 
that  it  should  be  withheld.  It  is  solely  because 
Mr.  Barry  has  so  indicated. 

Mr.  Torrens  suggested  that  the  reporters 
should  retire,  and  then  after  the  letter  had  been 
read  to  the  council  they  could  decide  what  ac- 
tion should  be  taken. 

The  Lord  Provost  said  that  was  really  what  he 
proposed.  The  report  having  been  read  the 
council  would  now  hear  the  letter  read. 

A  Member :  In  private. 
-  Mr.  Mathieson"  asked  the  council  whether  it 
was  possible  to  keep  anything  private  if  it  was 
read  to  the  whole  corporation  ?  If  it  was  not  kept 
private  it  would  be  garbled  outside,  and  was  it 
not  better  that  it  should  be  fully  and  clearly 
reported  than  published  in  a  garbled  state? 

The  Lord  Provost  said  it  was  not  his  opinion 
he  was  giving,  but  Mr.  Barry's,  and  surely  Mr. 
Barry  was  the  best  judge  as  to  how  his  own 
document  should  be  handled. 

Mr.  Gray  thought  the  council  should  not  run 
in  the  face  of  Mr.  Barry.  It  would  be  a  breach 
of  faith  to  publish  the  letter. 

The  reporters  then  retired,  and  after  an  ab- 
sence of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  -were  re- 
admitted. The  members  of  the  council  were 
nearly  all  on  their  feet,  and  still  wrangling  as  to 
the  course  that  should  be  adopted  with  reference 
to  the  letter. 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  a  member  asked 
whether  the  council  were  thoroughly  independent 
as  to  which  plan  they  might  adopt. 

The  Lord  Provost :  We  are  perfectly  free  re- 
garding all. 

Mr.  Jackson  asked  if  he  was  right  in  under- 
.standing  that  every  competing  architect  would 
feel  perfectly  satisfied  if  the  council  departed 
from  the  proposal  and  accepted  none  of  the 
premium  designs.  After  the  council  had  in- 
spected the  designs,  one  might  be  accepted  by 
the  council,  and  the  original  awards  departed 
from  altogether. 

The  Lord  Provost :  The  adoption  of  any  one 
of  those  96  plans  is  still  competent  to  the  coun- 
cil. 

Mr.  Jackson  said  if  they  went  in  for  a  more 
expensive  plan  some  of  the  architects  might 
say  that  if  a  larger  sum  had  been  allowed  for 
the  building  they  would  have  sent  in  better 
plans. 

A  Member :  There  is  no  doubt  Mr.  Jackson  is 
right. 

The  Lord  Provost  moved  that  Mr.  Barry's  re- 
port, having  been  read,  be  accepted. 

Bailie  Scott  seconded  the  motion. 

Mr.  Smith  said  that,  of  course,  carried  with  it 
the  awards. 

Mr.  Mathieson  supposed  that,  if  the  council 


adopted  that  motion,  the  report  would  lie 
on  the  table  till  next  meeting,  and  members, 
after  having  examined  the  plans,  would  be  in  a 
better  position  to  discuss  the  matter  at  next 
meeting. 

The  Lord  Provost  asked  if  Mr.  Mathieson 
moved  that  as  an  amendment. 

Mr.  Mathieson  said  he  did  not.  lie  accept,  d 
the  report,  and  his  only  hope  was  that,  although 
it  bhould  cost  the  Corporation  the  £1,500,  it 
would  be  of  use  to  the  Town  Coimcil  from  an 
educational  point  of  view,  because  he  believed, 
with  the  utmost  deference  and  with  due  humility, 
that  an  education  of  that  sort  was  very  much 
needed,  and  it  would  be  a  solemn  obligation  on 
the  part  of  every  member  of  the  Corporation  to 
see  that  he  gave  this  question  the  fullest  and  most 
serious  and  personal  consideration.  It  was  an  im- 
portant question,  and  had  not  hitherto  received 
that  attention  which  it  was  entitled  to.  ("'Oh, 
oh.") 

Mr.  W.  R.  W.  Smith  said  that,  looking  to 
the  opinion  Mr.  Barry  expressed,  they  were  not 
spending  enough  money,  and  more  than  that,  he 
thought  the  subject  had  not  yet  received  due 
consideration. 

Treasurer  Hamilton  thought  it  would  be  a 
breach  of  honour  to  print  the  letter.  There 
was  matter  in  the  letter  that  affected  them 
very  considerably  as  to  the  value  of  the  pro- 
perty and  so  forth.  However,  he  thought  it 
would  be  as  well  not  to  publish  the  letter  in  the 
mean  time. 

Mr.  Martin  said  the  Treasurer  had  let  out  the 
whole  secret,  and  they  need  not  keep  it  any  longer 
now. 

After  some  further  discussion  as  to  the  course 
to  be  followed. 

Treasurer  Hamilton  "withdrew  this  motion  in 
favour  of  one  by  the  Lord  Provost,  that  Mr. 
Barry  should  be  written  to  and  asked  to  give  liis 
consent  to  the  publication  of  the  letter. 

This  motion  was  ultimately  carried  unani- 
mously, and  Dr.  Marwick  was  instructed  to  have 
Mr.  Barry's  report  and  letter  printed  and  circu- 
lated amongst  the  members  of  council,  as  soon 
as  Mr.  Barry  consented  to  the  publication  of  the 
letter. 

The  council  then  rose. 

[The  general  tenor  of  Mr.  Barry's  letter,  with 
reference  to  which  the  foregoing  discussion 
occurred,  was  that  he  had  been  careful  to  con- 
form his  report  and  his  awards  to  the  sum 
named  in  the  letter  of  instructions  issued  to 
competitors,  although,  on  considering  the  space 
to  be  covered  by  the  buildings  and  the  character 
which  they  ought  to  bear,  his  opinion  was  that 
a  much  larger  sum  than  that  specified  would  be 
required.  If,  after  payment  of  the  premiums, 
the  council  should  feel  disposed  to  reconsider 
the  question  of  the  designs  apart  from  the 
question  of  cost  first  fixed,  he  would  be  prepared 
to  advise  the  corporation.  He  had  visited  the 
site  and  examined  the  Acts  of  Parliament,  and 
as  he  thought  additional  ground  might  be  re- 
quired, he  was  pleased  to  know  that  compulsory 
powers  of  purchase  had  been  taken  over  a  more 
extended  area,  thus  securing  the  amenity  of 
the  buildings,  and  providing  for  future  necessi- 
ties.] 

THE    WESTMINSTER    VESTRY    HALL 
COMPETITIOX. 

"IT/'-^  reviewed  on  July  9th  last  (p.  33)  the 
*  T  eleven  sets  of  designs  for  the  proposed 
public  offices  for  the  united  parishes  of  St. 
Margaret's  and  St.  John's,  Westminster,  sent  in 
in  response  to  invitations  to  join  in  a  limited 
competition.  Mr.  Charles  Barry,  who  was 
selected  as  arbitrator,  has  since  issued  the  fol- 
lowing report : — 

PROPOSED  NEW  PUBLIC  OFFICES  FOR  THE 
U-NITED  PARISHES  OF  ST.  MARGARET'S  AND 
ST.  JOHN'S,  WESTMINSTER. 

1,  Westminster  Chambers,  Victoiia-street,  S.W. 
19tli  August,  1880. 

Gentlemen,— In  accordance  with  your  instructions  I 
have  viewed  the  site  of  the  intended  Vesti  y  Otfices  for  the 
United  Parishes  of  St.  Margaret's  and  St.  John's,  West- 
minster, and  have  also  carefully  examined  the  1 1  sets  of 
plans  and  designs  sent  in  competition  by  architects  ap- 
plied to  for  the  intended  new  buildings.  They  are  in 
various  styles  of  architecture,  but  the  majority  are  in  one 
or  other  of  the  ordinary  treatments  of  the  French  Renais- 
sance, a  style  which  I  think  ia  not  unsuitable  for  such  a 
purpose. 

They  may  be  roughly  divided  into  two  principles  of 
treatment  as  far  as  plan  and  bulk  of  building  is  con- 
cerned, viz.,  those  which  are  so  airanged  as  to  obtain 
their  window  lights  wholly  and  only  over  the  area  shown 
on  the  plan  of  ground  issued  .with  the  instructions,  and 


the  other  those  who  depend  more  or  less  largely  on  lights 
obtained  over  the  adjacent  land  to  the  east. 

It  will  be  obvious  that  the  first  class  avoid  any  interfer- 
ence with  the  ancient  lights  of  the  schools  on  the  west 
side,  and  do  not  lessen  the  adaptability,  and  therefore 
the  value,  of  the  adjacent  land  on  the  east,  for  whatever 
purposes  it  may  be  required. 

One  set  of  plans  with  the  motto  *'Dufy"  does  not 
comply  with  the  instructions,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not 
provide  several  of  the  rooms  asked  for,  it  shows  no  com- 
plete plan  at  all  of  the  large  room,  and  in  other  respects 
the  plans  are  not  sufficiently  worked  out  to  exhibit  the 
intended  design.  I  therefore  put  it  aside,  leaving  10  sets 
of  plans  as  to  which  my  judgment  is  asked. 

In  accordance  with  your  instructions,  I  have  had  each 
of  these  designs  cubed  out,  and  append  my  approximate 
estimate  of  each,  separating  this  estimate  into  two  heads, 
one  for  the  vestry  ottices  alone,  and  one  for  the  large  room 
and  its  appxutenances,  it  being  perfectly  obvious  that 
many  of  the  competitors  have  assumed  the  sum  of 
£15,000  named  in  the  instructions  to  apply  to  the  first- 
named  only.  It  is,  indeed,  obviously  impossible  to 
construct  a  building  which  shall  embrace  both,  at  all 
suitable,  either  in  place,  accommodation,  or  in  appear- 
ance, for  that  sum. 

I  append,  in  a  tabular  form,  the  estimates  furnished  by 
the  authors  of  the  plans  respectively  shown,  and  also  my 
approximate  estimate  of  each. 

I  may  here  mention  that  I  find  the  estimates  by  authors 
vary  in  their  rates  from  CJd.  to  lljd.  per  cube  footforthe 
vestry  offices,  and  fiom  31d.  to  SJd.  for  the  large  hall. 

On  the  subject  of  cost,  therefore,  having  furnished  the 
vestry  in  this  way  with  the  means  of  forming  their  own 
judgment,  I  say  no  more. 

Referring,  now,  to  the  merits  of  the  respective  designs, 
I  have  considered,  primarily  :  the  plan  arrangements  as 
regards  compactness;  the  relative  position  of  the  several 
departments  ;  how  far  they  are  (as  I  think  they  should 
be)  self-contained  ;  the  character  of  the  staircases, 
halls,  and  corridors  ;  and,  lastly,  and  by  no  means  least, 
the  provision  of  good  light  both  to  rooms  and  corridors. 

I  place  the  designs  as  to  general  merit  in  the  following 
order  ;— 

No.  1.  Stet. 
,,    2.  Portcullis  in  Circular  Strap. 
,.    3.  Black  Star. 

And  to  these  m  such  order  I  advise  the  premiums  to  be 
adjudged. 

The  order  of  merit  of  the  remaining  designs  I  consider 
to  be  as  follows  : — 

No.  4.  Civis. 
„    6.  La  Casa  delta  Citta. 
,,    6.  Fortuna  Scquatur. 
„    7.  Unitas  Design  (b). 
,,    8.  Unitas  Design  (a). 
,,    9.  Maltese  Cross  in  an  oval. 
,,  10.  Suum  Cuique. 

In  considering  the  treatment  and  size  of  the  large 
public  room,  I  have  thought  it  would  be  useful,  also,  to 
subjoin  a  rough  statement  of  the  areas  shown  on  the  re- 
spective plans,  and  while  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  how 
many  could  be  accommodated  in  the  large  or  small 
galleries  proposed  by  the  several  competitors,  I  think  it 
will  be  evident  that  no  one  of  the  rooms  shown  could 
accommodate  1,000  persons  on  the  floor  area. 

I  hope  the  Vestry  will  not  think  it  improper  on  my 
part  if  I  venture  to  advise  that  the  amount  of  the  first 
premium  be  paid  ind'-pendently  of  the  usual  commission, 
should  the  author  of  this  design  be  employed  to  carry  it 
out,  as  1  cannot  but  be  aware,  from  long  experience,  that 
after  a  design  has  been  chosen  in  competition,  it  is  rarely, 
if  ever,  actually  carried  out  as  per  competition  plan  ;  but 
entirely  new  plans  have  to  be  prepared  with  additions 
and  modifications  suggested  by  after  experience,  and 
when  the  architect,  for  the  first  time,  finds  himself  in 
personal  and  confidential  relations  to  his  employers, 
while  the  actual  expense  in  time  bestowed  on  the  thought 
needful  to  make  a  good  design,  and  the  preparation  of 
the  elaborate  drawings  required  to  exhibit  it,  are  not  too 
generously  recompensed  by  the  premiums  offered. 
I  have  the  honour  to  remain. 
Gentlemen, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Chables  Baeev. 

APPENDIX  A. 

New  Vestkv  Hall  axd  Offices 

For  the  United  Parishes  of  St.  Margaret's  and  St.  John's, 

Westminster. 


Mottoes. 

Offices 
only. 

Large 
Room. 

Total. 

Authors' 
Estimates 
for  Vestry 

Offices 

only. 

13,160 
15,645 
15,779 
16,014 

16,188 
16,493 
17,050 
17.412 
17,615 
18,155 

6,036 
3,786 
6,313 
6,735 

7,517 
4,705 
6.163 
5,284 
7,459 
4,284 

18,196 
19,421 
22,092 
19,749 

23,735 
21,198 
23,113 
22,696 
25,104 
22,439 

15,000 

11,737 

10,032 

Unitas  B.                

11,193 

Portcullis  in  Circular 

15,000 

16,000 

Fortuna  Sequatur 

La  Casa  deUa  Citta   ... 
Maltese  Cross  in  Oval . 

10,834 
15,000 
13,580 
14,933 

Note.— In  the  above,  the  estimates  as  regarsls  the 
vestry  offices  only  (without  reference  to  the  cost  of  the 
laige  room,  which  is  very  variable)  have  been  adopted 
for  the  sequence,  as  per  first  column,  which  can  be  com- 
pared with  the  respective  authors'  estimates,  which  are 
in  the  last  column  of  the  foregoing  table. 

APPENDIX  B. 

New  Vestev  Hall  and  Offices, 

United  Parishes  of  St.  Margaret's  and  St.  Jonh's 

■Westminster. 

Statement  of  the  areas  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  large 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


265 


hall,  as  proposed  by  the  authors  of  the  several  plans  sent 
by  architects  in  the  competition  :  — 

Unitas  Design  A about    2  500 

Unitas  Design  B about    2,600 

Black  Star  2,550 

Portcullis  in  Cirele  23S6 

Ciria 2,972 

La  Casa  della  atta 3,150 

Stet  3,402 

FortunaSequatur 8,528 

Suum  Cuique    about    4,000 

Maltese  Cross  in  Oval 4,600 

Mkm  — In  a  room  <  o  hold  the  required  1,000  people  it 
may  perhaps  be  assumed  that  250  may  be  accommodated 
in  galleries,  leaving  750  to  have  seats  on  the  floor. 

1  ti.ink  that  to  include  passages  between  seatsand  plat- 
form and  other  waste  space,  6ft.  super  per  person  is  the 
lei-^t  that  can  be  allow*-d. 

Thus  750  persons  at  Oft.  each  will  need  4,500  feet  super 
of  floor  area. 

This  report  was  discussed  Ly  a  committee  of 
tbe  vestry  of  the  united  parishes  at  the 
Alexandra  Schools  on  Tuesday  afternoon.  Re- 
preseijtatives  C'f  the  press  ■were  not  admitted, 
but  we  learn  that  the  report  was  warmly  dis- 
cussed, several  of  the  members  adversely  com- 
menting (in  the  referee's  intimation  that  a 
building-  is  rarely  carried  out  from  the  plan 
selected  in  competitions.  It  was  urged  that  if 
all  the  plans  to  largely  exceeded  the  amount 
i3amed  in  the  instructions  drawn  up  by  Mr. 
Amtz,  it  would  be  desirable  to  have  a  new  com- 
petition ;  others  were  in  favour  of  adopting 
designs  placed  low  in  the  list.  After  a  discus- 
sion, which  was  protracted  from  2. GO  till  3  p.m., 
tie  motion  that  Mr.  Barry's  report  be  adopted 
wa.s  rejected  by  13  votes  to  10,  and  it  was 
decided  to  reniit  the  whole  subject  to  a  meeting 
of  the  full  vestry  to  be  convened  for  a  fortnight 
hence.  It  was  decided  to  restrict  the  examina- 
tion of  the  ciimpetition  designs  to  members  of 
the  vestry  until  after  the  full  meeting. 

The  envelopes  containing  the  competitors' 
names  have  not  yet  been  opened,  but  it  is  un- 
derstood that  the  first  premiated design,  "S;et," 
is  by  Messrs.  Lee  and  Smith,  Victoria-street, 
E.C.  ;  "  Black  Star,"  by  Mr.  Trollope;  "  Civis," 
by  Mr.  Powell ;  "La  Casa  della  Citta,"  by  Mr. 
T.  E.  Knightley,  106,  Cannon-street,  E.C. ; 
"I'nitas  L'esigns  -A'  and  '  B  ,' "  by  Messrs. 
Seddon  and  Gough,  Queen  Anne's-gate,  West- 
minster ;  "Duty,"  by  Mr.  Bradwell,  Great 
Queen-street,  Westminster.  The  premiums 
offered  were  £100,  £70,  and  £.50. 


TROT. 

ACCORDLfsG  to  a  correspondence  with 
which  Dr.  SchUemanu  has  favoured  the 
Times,  during  the  last  spring  and  summer 
months,  his  new  book  on  his  excavations  at 
Hissarlik  may  be  looked  for  simultaneously  at 
Mr.  Murray's,  in  Albcmarle-street,  and  at 
Brockhaus's,  in  Leipsic,  on  the  10th  of  Novem- 
ber. The  Engli?h  work,  under  the  title  of 
"  Ilios,  the  City  and  Country  of  the  Trojans," 
is  to  rank  as  the  original,  which  Dr.  Scliliemann 
himself  translates  into  his  native  German.  We 
are  promised  '2,000  accurate  engravings,  after 
photographs  from  as  many  typical  antiques, 
with  plenty  of  trustworthy  plans  and  map;.  The 
book,  when  publbhed,  will  reveal  evolutions  of 
the  author's  ideas,  especially  in  reference  to  the 
historical  stratification  of  Hissarlik  mound, 
such  as  can  hardly  fail  to  cause  a  good  deal  of 
surprise.  Homer's  Troy,  which  at  the  outset 
Dr.  Schlit  mann  had  identified  with  the  first  city 
ever  built  upon  the  site,  that  beneath  which 
there  was  nothing  but  the  virgin  rock,  while  his 
discovery  of  what  he  called  Priam's  treasure  in 
the  next  overlying  layer  of  ruins  clinched  what 
had  long  been  his  conviction  that  this  must  have 
been  the  gold-bedight  metropolis  of  the  king, 
has  now  become  the  third  of  seven  successive 
cities,  instead  of  the  first  or  second  of  five.  The 
Homeric  aroh.'eologist  has,  in  fact,  adopted  the 
view  of  his  friend,  Professor  Sayce,  of  Oxford, 
who  during  his  visit  to  the  Troad  in  the  autumn 
of  last  year  discovered  that  two  cities,  both  built 
of  stone,  preceded  the  brick  city  thf  n,  as  now, 
identified  by  Dr.  Schliemann  with  Homer's 
Troy,  and  not  one  stone  city  only,  as  had 
hitherto  been  t'aought.  The  evidence  reserved 
until  now,  for  thus  dividing  into  two  the  under 
most  bed  of  stone  debris  at  Hissarlik  (a  bed  about 
♦."even  yards  thick  stretching  from  the  same 
height  above  the  level  of  the  plain  to  eleven 
yards  above  the  top  of  the  hill),  will  be  given  at 
large  in  "  Ilios."  Whether  the  people  of  the 
second  of  these  stone  cities  were  driven  thence 
by  an  enemy  or  voluntarily  abandoned  the  site 
Dr.   Schliemann  could    not  find    out  from  the 


ruins.  Of  a  great  fire,  he  writes  us,  he  saw  no 
trace ;  three  burnt  houses  only  turned  up  here. 
The  site  seems  to  have  lain  waste  for  a  long 
time,  for  the  rain  had  had  time  to  scoop  out  a 
great  immber  of  large  h"les  shaped  like  funnels. 
These  and  other  inequalities  of  the  ground  the 
new  settlers  filled  up  with  st'nes  or  cakes 
of  clay,  bhoot-ing  the  superfluous  rubbish 
down  the  steep  slopes  of  the  Mound. 
Their  own  new  town  they  reared  of  very  largo 
bricks  baked  slightly  and  mixed  with  straw  atid 
rass.  lu  a  few  instances  only  the  walls  of  the 
round  floor  were  of  smnll  stones  with  clay 
cement,  but  the  upper  stories  were  always  budt 
of  bricks  joined  together  with  brick-earth.  As 
the  old  rampart  on  the  south  side  could  be 
easily  scaled,  they  erected  just  in  front  of  it 
another  wall  sloping  at  an  angle  of  1.5''.  On 
this  and  the  adjoining  old  walls  they  built  a 
large  double  wall  of  brick,  with  an  interior 
passage  and  surmounted  by  many  towers.  The 
stupendous  masses  of  brickwork  with  which  the 
ateway  was  covered  to  the  depth  of  Sft.  and  even 
lOl't.  have  no  doubt  that  this  portal  was  crowned 
with  a  huge  tower.  Where  the  new  city  shrunk 
far  within  the  lines  of  the  old,  as  on  the  east 
side,  or  overlapped  it,  as  on  the  south-cast,  the 
old  ramparts  could  not  be  used  as  substructions. 
Hence,  in  these  places  the  new  settlers  either 
built  fresh  ramparts  to  support  their  brick  walls, 
or  else  laid  on  the  drbris  single  or  double  courses 
of  large  flags,  which  they  then  covered  with 
double  or  treble  layers  of  clay  cakes,  and  on  these 
latter  erected  the  brick  walls.  Of  these  brick 
walls,  with  the  interijr  passage,  large  segments 
may  still  be  seen  on  the  north-east,  south-east, 
and  south  sides.  AVith  tiny  saws  of  silex  or 
chalcedony  and  stone  axes  the  builders  could 
neither  cut  nor  cleave  jjlanks,  but  used  beams 
covered  with  brick  earth  to  floor  their  houses, 
each  of  which  had  also  a  clay-paved  terrace. 
Besides  the  large  street  leading  to  the  gateway 
there  was  but  one  other,  about  6ft  broad  and 
paved  with  great  flags,  which  is  to  be  seen  to 
the  east  of  Dr.  Schliemann's  great  north  and 
south  trench.  This  city,  the  discoverer  holds  as 
fii'mly  as  ever,  must  have  been  fired  by  the  hand 
of  an  enemy.  It  fell  suddenly,  as  is  clear  from 
the  skeletons  found  helmeted  and  with  arms  in 
their  hands,  as  well  as  by  the  ten  treasures  of 
gold  and  other  jewels,  plainly  left  by  hurrying 
fugitives.  Nine  of  these  he  picked  up  in  or  hard 
by  the  royal  house  near  the  gateway,  from  which 
it  was  only  separated  by  what  was  plainly  the 
Agora,  which  the  Iliad  locates  before  Priam's 
doors  {II.,  7SS ;  VII.,  .3i6).  Yet,  as  visitors 
may  satisfy  themselves,  the  south-east  corner  of 
the  city  was  spared  by  the  flames,  so  far  verify- 
ingthe  local  tradition  attested  by  Strabo  (XIII., 
p.  600),  that  Troy  was  not  utterly  destroyed  by 
the  avenging  Greeks.  From  the  prophecy  which 
Homer  (II. ."XX.,  307-S)  puts  into  the  mouth  of 
Poseidon,  that  thesons  of  thesons  of --Eneas  should 
rule  over  the  Trojaas,  Dr.  Schliemann  infers  the 
currency  of  this  tradition  in  the  bard's  own 
time.  The  Homeric  archaeologist  seems  now  to 
think,  in  spite  of  some  appearance  to  the  con- 
trary, especially  the  difference  in  architecture, 
that  out  of  this  remnant  of  the  third  city  sprang, 
Hke  a  phoenix,  the  fourth.  His  principal  argu- 
ments are  the  striking  resemblances  between  the 
pottery  of  both  (notwithstanding  the  emergence 
of  new  types  in  the  later  stratum)  as  well  as  in 
the  idols,  particularly  those  of  the  Owlfaced 
Athene,  and  in  the  votive  whorls  dedicated  to  her. 
Again,  he  says  : — 

"The  supposition  that  the  people  of  the 
fourth  city  was  identical  -with  that  of  the  third 
— the  burnt  city — seems  likewise  confirmed  by 
the  configuration  of  the  layers  of  ih'bris  above 
the  road  which  leads  from  the  gate  to  the  plain. 
In  fact,  as  visitors  will  convince  themselves  by  a 
srlance  at  the  strata  of  the  large  block  of  tUhris, 
40ft.  high,  which  I  have  left  in  situ  on  the  gate- 
way road,  the  very  same  road,  though  covered 
to  the  depth  of  Sft.  or  10ft.  by  the  dihis  of  the 
burnt  city,  continued  to  be  used  by  the  in- 
habitants of  the  subsequent  city  for  going  in  and 
out." 

As  to  the  striking  architectural  difference,  that 
not  a  single  brick  was  foimd  by  him  in  this 
later  city,"it  is  urged  that  the  conflagration  may 
have  convinced  the  Troj.-ins  of  the  unsafeness  of 
that  material.  Hecce  "  tliey  agreed  by  common 
consent  to  abandon  it,  and  to  build  thencefor- 
ward only  stone  housewalls,  such  as  visitors  see 
above  the  burnt  city." 

Dr.  Schliemann  concludes  the  long  letter 
whence  the  above  brief  extract  is  taken  by  re 


suraing  his  arguments  for  the  identification  of 
Homeric  Troy — no  new  points,  however,  being 
made— and  by  answering  the  objections  drawn 
from  the  "  Iliad  "  itself  against  liia  theory.  The 
bulk  of  the  stumbling-blocks,  scorning  to  fall 
back  on  the  bard's  poetic  licence  at  the  cost  of 
his  historical  fidelity,  ho  evades  by  what  the 
lawyers  call  the  plea  of  confession  and  avoidance. 
He  frankly  owns  that,  with  the  above  cxeeption, 
the  third  Hissarlik  city  was  not  broad-strcc'cd, 
as  Homer  calls  Ilios.  Nor  was  it  either  well- 
built  or  populous,  great  or  flourishing.  It  had 
no  Acropolis,  the  meanly-built  brick  town 
on  the  hill  being  its  own  Pergamos,  with  no 
lower  city  on  the  table-land  beneath  to 
defend.  Its  area  was  about  that  of  Tra- 
falgar-square, and  its  population  3,000  at 
the  utmost— say  a  tithe  of  that  of  Torquay.  Bat 
we  are  reminded  that  when  Homer  viaitc-d  tha 
site,  about  the  middle  of  the  9th  century  before 
our  era,  the  Ilios  of  the  i15  lie  Greeks  hud  mn- 
plantcd  not  only  the  rebuilt  Troy  of  the 
^Eneadie,  but  a  couple  of  other  cities  bchidev, 
and  was  itself  in  the  third  century  of  ita  ago.  It 
had  long  outgrown  the  sacred  site,  which  had 
now  become  only  its  citadel,  where  its  goAs  were 
housed  in  their  temples,  and  which,  centuries 
afterwards,  Xerxes  climbed  to  tacrifice  to 
Athene.  This  was  the  Pergamos  Homer  de- 
scribed as  Priam's — which  was  really,  at  that 
time,  stven  yards  below  the  soil— and  the  Troy 
of  which  he  sang  so  loftily  was  that  which  lay  at 
its  feet  on  the  plateau,  a  city  truly  great,  broad- 
streeted,  populou-*,  and  flourishing,  so  us  to  be 
well  able  to  sustain,  with  the  help  of  its  powerful 
allies,  a  siege  of  ten  years.  A  still  stronger 
objection  against  regarding  Hissarlik  as  the  silo 
of  Troy  has  always  been  drawn  from  the  hydro- 
graphy of  the  plain.  For,  according  to  all 
the  indications  in  the  "  Ihad,"  the  Simois  falla 
just  in  front  of  Ilios  into  the  Scamander,  whcrea* 
Dr.  Schliemann's  river  Simois  (the  Doumbrek 
Su)  falls  into  the  Kalifatli  Asmak  ;  not  into  the 
Mendere  Su,  which  h'?  agrees  with  others  in 
identifying  with  the  Homeric  Xanthos,  or  Sca- 
mander. Ml  reover,  the  Homeric  Scamander 
undoubtedly  flowed  between  the  Greek  camp 
and  Ilios,  whereas  the  course  of  the  Mendere  ia 
really  on  the  west  side  of  the  Plain  of  Troy,  so 
that  the  hostile  armies  in  their  movements  be- 
tween the  Hellespont  and  Troy  need  not  even  have 
approached  it.  It  is  but  fair  to  Dr.  Schliemann 
to  say  that  from  the  very  outset  he  has  ioidjited 
(in  meeting  these  objections)  that  in  the  time  of 
Homer  the  Scamander,  as  far  as  the  modem 
village  of  Koum  Kioi,  filled  the  immense  bed  of 
what  has  now  dwindled  to  the  little  rivulet 
known  as  the  KaUfatli  Asmak  ;  that  from  that 
point  it  turned  eastward ;  and  that  it  flowed 
into  the  Hellespont  by  the  broad  bed  of  the  dead. 
and,  in  the  rear,  blind  watercourse  called  the 
In  Tepeh  Asmak.  It  will  be  shown  in  detail  in 
"  Ilios"  that  this  hypothesis  of  a  i-hange  in  the 
bed  of  the  Scamander  is  triumphantly  borne  out 
by  the  geological  investigations  of  Prof.  Vir- 
chow.  His  numerous  and  deep  drcdgings  m 
the  bed  of  the  KaUfatli  Asmak  and  in  that  of 
the  In  Tepeh  ^\j!mak  have  brought  to  li)<ht  in 
these  ancient  channels  the  tell-tale  scour  of  dis- 
inteorated  .syenite  brought  down  aforvtimo  by 
the  Scamander  as  it  flowtd  through  the  stratum 
of  that  mineral  through  which  th-  Homeric  nver 
breaks  just  above  Kwjilar,  at  the  foot  «/  1^- 
From  the  In  Tepeh  Asm-.k  fn.gmcnU  of  bnck 
have  also  been  fished  up  ;  they  may  have  belonged 
to  brick-built  lUos  it>clf,  -whih  from  this 
point  of  view,  may  not  improbably  have 
descended  towards  the  river,  a  site  verj-  suitable 
for  a  suburb.  The  ancient  estuary  marked  by 
the  In  Tepeh  Asmak  seems  to  bear  the  name  Old 
Scamander  in  Tliny,  II.  N  ;  v.  xxxni.  I-a 
passage  plausibly  cited  by  Dr.  S-.-hhemann  « 
throu|hout  supporting  his  view  of  the  hydro- 
srraphy  of  the  Troad.  . 

^"The  drbris  of  the  fifth  nty,"  wnt«.  Dr. 
Schliemann  in  his  last  descriptive  letter  are 
characterised  by  a  complete  "l"'*"'^''  "'^^ 
weapons  and  implement.,  which  occurred  in  »uch 
immense  abundance  in  the  preceding  town.^ 
But  as  to  the  pottery  I  have  •""  ""'""^  ^ 
trreat  chanire :  though  wheel-made  %aacs  are 
^ore  abunrni  here,  yet  by  far  the  fj-"^  P^ 
of  the  pottery  is  stiU  hand-mado.  I  here  occor 
here  some  new  types  of  t.  rra-cotta  vc««l^  b» 
most  of  the  old  forms  remain,  '^'i  ;''<""»^  ?» 
terra-cotta  whorls,  ornamented  or  pl"'".  "'J'T' 
ust  as  great  as  before.  Tbe  small  marble  .dobs 
with  a^  incised  owl-head,  are  here  even  m<m. 
Tbundant  than  in  any  of  the  preceding  cUe* 


296 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


But  the  architecture  of  this  fifth  city  must  have 
been  totally  different,  because  there  are  here 
neither  brick  nor  stone  walls.  Hence  I  cannot 
help  thinking  that  this  last  pre-bistoric  city  was 
of  wood."  This  wooden  Troy  he  thinks  must 
have  been  succeeded  by  a  Lydian  settlement, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  very  strong  resem* 
blances  between  its  jiottery  and  that  of  the 
Etruscans,  whose  migration  from  Lydia  to  Italy, 
as  reported  by  Herodotus,  he  unreservedly 
accepts.  The  plantation  of  this  Lydian  colony 
on  the  Hissarlik  Mound  be  dates  long  before 
this  westward  movement.  Besides  the  marked 
Etruscan  affinities  of  the  pottery  found  in  the 
layer  of  ruins  next  below  those  of  the  ^Tlolian 
city,  as  contrasted  with  the  ceramic  remains  of 
the  older  strata,  attention  is  called  to  another 
Tery  interesting  point.  Dr.  Suhliemann  affirms 
that  in  the  ruins  described  by  him  as  Lydi:m  are 
repeatedly  found  the  same  strange  written  cha- 
racter which  figures  abo  70  the  doors  of  the  ancient 
hut  urns  said  to  have  been  fouud  below  the 
pepcrino  at  Marino,  near  Albano,  as  published 
by  Sir  John  Lubbock  and  Signer  Pigorini.  As 
this  written  character  is  common  to  the  Lydian 
with  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  cities,  Dr. 
Schliemann  has  submitted  to  Profes.sor  Sayce, 
whowritesfor  "Ilios"  the  appendix  on  the  score  or 
so  of  short  inscriptions  which  have  turned  up  in 
the  pre-historic  strata  at  Hissarlik,  his  idea  that 
the  Lydian  1;  n  j;uage  must  have  been  identical 
with  that  of  the  three  cities  in  question.  Professor 
Sayce  replied  as  follows: — 

"You  are  right  in  thiuking  that  the  Trojan 
language  was  akin  to  that  of  the  Lydians,  and 
that  both  Trojans  and  Lydians  used  the  same 
syllabary.  I  have  been  brought  to  exactly  the 
same  conclusions  by  my  resdarches.  The  most 
important  fact  acquired  is  the  one  derived  from 
Mr.  George  Smith's  discovery  oi  a  clay  cone 
inscribed  with  Kypriote  characters  under  the 
floor  of  Assurbanipal's  palace  at  Kouyunjik. 
This  cone  is  almost  a  duplicate  of  the  two  cones 
you  discovered  inscribed  with  the  Kypriote  cha- 
racter which  I  read  mo^  and  the  Kypriote  cha- 
racters upon  it  belong  to  the  Trujan  form  of  the 
Kypriote  syllabary.  Now,  Gog  or  Gjges,  King 
of  Lydia,  sent  tribute  to  Assurbanipal,  who 
states  that  the  very  name  of  Lydia  had  pre- 
viously been  unknown  to  the  Assyrians.  Indeed, 
we  learn  from  the  Assyrian  monuments  that  up 
to  that  time  the  Assyrians  had  never  penetrated 
westward  of  the  Halys.  You  see,  therefore, 
what  important  consequences  follow.  1.  The 
cone  must  have  been  brought  to  Nineveh  by  the 
Lydians,  and  either  there  was  a  close  and  inti- 
mate connection  between  Lj  dia  and  Troy,  or 
else  the  Lydians  used  exactly  the  same  form  of 
the  Kypriote  syllabary  as  did  the  Trojans.  2. 
This  syllabary  was  in  use  in  the  Tr.jad  (and 
Lydia?)  at  least  down  to  about  B.C.  C50.  3.  The 
painted  archaic  vase -fragment,  with  the  charac- 
ter signifying  mo  thereon,  fouud  by  you  in  the 
.35olic  Ilion,  would  belong  to  about  the  latter 
period,  from  which  we  may  gain  some  idea  of 
the  great  age  of  the  inscribed  objects  you  found 
at  greater  depths  and  of  the  objects  associated 
with  them.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the 
discovery  of  the  Trojan  inscriptions  constitutes 
the  most  important  contribution  that  has  been 
made  of  late  years  to  the  science  of  paloeography. 
And,  what  is  more,  it  reveals  a  new  and  unex- 
pected chapter  in  the  history  of  Asia  Minor.  If 
only  we  possessed  some  Lydian  inscriptions  we 
might  be  able  to  determine  the  age  of  Troy  and 
its  relations  to  Lydia." 

Tlie  seventh  city — that  of  the  .^Eolian  Greeks 
^has  already  been  touched  upon.  Dr.  Schlie- 
mann thinks  it  was  built  soon  after  their  expul- 
fcion  from  the  Peloponnesus  by  the  Dorians— an 
event  usually  dated  about  B.C.  1100.  Formerly 
the  Homeric  arehteologist  followed  Strabo  in 
dating  the  foundation  of  the  Greek  Ilion  some 
four  centuries  later. 


INJURY  TO    GAS    AND    WATEK-PIPES 
BY  LIGHTNING. 

THE  city  gas  company  of  Berlin,  having  ex- 
pressed the  fear  that  gas-pipes  may  be  in- 
ured by  lightning  passing  down  a  rod  that  is 
coimected  with  the  pipes,  Professor  Kircbhoff 
has  published  the  following  reply: — "As  the 
erection  of  lightning-rods  is  older  than  the 
system  of  J'gas  and  water  pipes  as  they  now 
xist  in  nearly  all  large  cities,  we  find  scarcely 
anything  in  earl_v  Uterature  in  regard  to  connect- 
ing the  earth  end  of  lightning-rods  with  these 


metallic  pipes,  and  in  modern  times  most  manu- 
facturers of  lightning-rods,  when  putting  them 
up,  pay  no  attention  to  pipes  in  or  near  the 
building  that  is  to  be  protected."  Kircbhoff  is  of 
the  opinion,  supported  by  the  views  of  a  series 
of  professional  authorities,  that  the  frequent 
recent  cases  of  injury  from  lightning  to  buildings 
that  had  been  protected  for  years  by  their  rods, 
are  due  to  a  neglect  of  these  large  masses  of 
metal.  The  Nicolai  Church,  in  Griefswald,  has 
been  frequently  struck  by  lightning,  but  was 
protected  from  injury  by  its  rods.  In  1876, 
however,  lightning  struck  the  tower  and  set  it 
on  fire.  A  few  weeks  before  the  church  had  had 
gas-pipes  put  in  it.  No  one  seems  to  have 
thought  that  the  new  masses  of  metal  which  had 
been  brought  into  the  church  could  have  any 
effect  on  the  course  of  the  lightning,  otherwise 
the  lightning-rods  would  have  been  connected 
with  the  gas-pipes,  or  the  earth  connection  been 
prolonged  to  proximity  with  the  pipe.  A 
similar  circumstance  occurred  in  the  Nicolai 
Church  in  Stralsund,  The  lightning  destroyed 
the  rod  in  many  places,  although  it  received 
several  strokes  in  1856,  and  conducted  them 
safely  to  the  earth.  Here,  too,  the  cause  of  in- 
jury was  in  the  neglect  of  the  gas-pipes,  which 
were  first  laid  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  church 
in  IS06,  shortly  before  the  lightning  struck  it. 
The  injury  done  to  the  schoolhouse  in  Elmshorn, 
in  1876,  and  to  the  St.  Lawrence'  Church,  at 
Itzehoe,  in  1877,  both  buildings  being  provided 
with  rods,  could  have  been  avoided  if  the  rods 
had  been  connected  with  the  adjacent  gas-pipes. 

"If  it  were  possible,"  says  Kirehhoff,  "to 
make  the  earth  connection  so  large  that  the  re- 
sistance which  the  electric  current  meets  with 
when  it  leaves  the  metallic  conducting  surface  of 
the  rod  to  enter  the  moist  earth,  or  earth  water, 
would  be  zero,  then  it  would  be  unnecessary  to 
connect  the  rods  with  the  gas  and  water-pipes. 
"We  are  not  able,  even  at  immense  expense,  to 
make  the  earth  connections  so  large  as  to  com- 
pete with  the  conducting  power  of  metallic 
gas  and  water  pipes,  the  total  length  of  which 
is  frequently  many  miles,  and  the  surface  in 
contact  with  the  moist  earth  is  thousands  of 
square  miles.  Hence  the  electric  current  prefers 
for  its  discharge  the  extensive  net  of  the  system 
of  pipes  to  that  of  the  earth  connection  of  the 
rods,  and  this  alone  is  the  cause  of  the  lightning 
leaving  its  own  conductor." 

Kegarding  the  fear  that  gas  and  water-  pipes 
could  be  injured,  the  author  says  :  "I  know  of 
no  case  where  lightning  has  destroyed  a  gas  or 
water-pipe  which  was  connected  with  the 
lightning-rod,  but  I  do  know  cases  already  in 
which  the  pipes  were  destroyed  by  lightning 
because  they  were  not  connected  with  it.  In 
May,  1809,  lightning  struck  the  rod  on  Coimt 
Von  Seefeld's  castle,  and  sprang  from  it  to  a 
small  water»pipe,  which  was  about  80  metres 
from  the  end  of  the  rod,  and  burst  it.  Another 
case  happened  in  Basel,  July  9,  18-19.  In  a 
violent  shower  one  stroke  of  lightning  followed 
the  rod  on  a  house  down  into  the  earth,  then 
jumped  from  it  to  a  city  water-pipe,  a  metre  dis- 
tant, made  of  oast  iron.  It  destroyed  several 
lengths  of  pipe,  which  were  packed  at  the  jointi 
with  pitch  and  hemp.  A  third  case,  which 
which  was  related  to  me  by  Professor  Helmholtz 
occurred  last  year  in  Gratz.  Then,  too,  the 
lightning  left  the  rod  and  sprang  over  to  the 
city  gas-pipes ;  even  a  gas  explosion  is  said  to 
have  resulted.  In  all  three  cases  the  rods  were 
not  connected  with  the  pipes.  If  they  had  been 
connected  the  mechanical  effect  of  lightning  on 
the  metallic  pipes  would  have  been  null  in  the 
first  and  third  cases,  and  in  the  second  the 
damage  would  have  been  slight.  If  the  water 
pipes  in  Basel  had  been  joined  with  lead  instead 
of  pitch,  no  mechanical  effect  could  have  been 
produced.  The  mechanical  effect  of  an  electrical 
discharge  is  greatest  where  the  electric  fluid 
springs  from  one  body  to  another.  The  wider 
this  jump  the  more  jjowerful  is  the  mechanical 
effect.  The  electrical  discharge  of  a  thunder 
cloud  upon  the  point  of  a  lightning  rod  may 
melt  or  bend  it,  while  the  rod  itself  remains  un- 
injured. If  the  conductor,  however,  is  in- 
sufficient to  receive  and  carry  off  the  charge  of 
electricity,  it  will  leap  from  the  conductor  to 
another  body.  "Where  the  lightning  leaves  the 
conductor  its  mechanical  effect  is  again  exerted, 
so  that  the  rod  is  torn,  melted,  or  bent.  So,  too, 
is  that  spot  of  the  body  on  which  it  leaps.  In 
the  examples  above  given  it  was  a  lead  pipe  in 
the  first  place,  a  gas-pipe  in  the  last  ease,  to 
which  the  lightning  leaped  when  it  left  the  rod, 


and  which  were  destroyed.  Such  injuries  to 
water  and  gas-pipes  near  lightning-rods  must 
certainly  bo  quite  frequent.  It  would  be 
desirable  to  bring  them  to  light,  so  as  to  obtain 
proof  that  it  is  more  advantageous,  both  for  the 
rods  and  the  building  which  it  protects,  as  well 
as  for  the  gas  and  water-pipes,  to  have  both 
intimately  connected.  Finally,  I  would  mention 
two  cases  of  lightning  striking  rods  closely 
united  with  the  gas  and  water-pipes.  The  first 
happened  in  Diisseldorf,  July  23rd,  1878,  on  the- 
new  Art  Academy  ;  the  other  August  19th,  last 
year,  at  Steglitz.  In  both  cases  the  lightning- 
rod,  the  buildings,  and  the  pipes  were  un- 
injured. ' '  — DeiUschen  £au:eitiiny. 


CHURCH  -  BUILDING    AT    BORDEAUX. 

THE  name  of  the  city  of  Bordeaux  is  so- 
familiar  to  us,  and  its  history  for  so  long  a 
time  formed  a  brilliant  portion  of  our  own,  that 
its  welfare  will  long  continue  to  be  a  subject  of 
interest  to  English  readers.  With  its  large 
commercial  population  and  important  trade,  its- 
fine  cathedral  and  ancient  churches,  its  splendid 
"Place"  (called  des  Quinconces),  pretty  Jardin 
des  Plantes,  and  well-stocked  museums,  it  is  a 
city  of  considerable  interest  to  the  traveller,  be 
he  architect,  archjeologist,  or  merely  sight- 
seer. 

Briefly  described,  Bordeaux  is  situated  upo 
the  Garronne  river,  about  30  miles  from  the  sea. 
Its  plan  is  roughly  in  the  form  of  a  broad 
eresoent,  with  the  river  upon  the  inner  curve, 
towards  the  east.  The  ancient  city,  some  of 
whose  boundaries  and  gates  yet  remain,  is  stiU 
the  centre  of  trade  ;  a  nucleus  from  which  the 
town  has  spread,  and  is  spreading,  in  all  direc- 
tions. There  is  a  small  suburb  upon  the  opposite 
bank  (La  Bastide),  connected  by  a  good  stone 
bridge  with  the  main  portion.  "      '"5  d  _, 

The  population  is  now  about  200,000,  a  Re- 
publican community  on  the  whole  ;  but  some 
other  sections  of  public  opinion,  the  "Reaction- 
ists," as  the  French  term  them,  are  not  without 
representatives  or  influence.  These  facts  are 
intimately  related  to  my  subject,  as  the  anti- 
clerical feeling  which  some  Republican  popula- 
tions have  developed  is  an  eflectual  check  to 
religious  progress  of  all  kinds.  Here,  religion 
has  vigour  and  interest  enough  to  maintain  a 
position  in  the  advancement  of  the  age  and  the 
place,  and  church- building  is  being  carried  on, 
and  considerable  sums  expended,  under  the 
direction  of  architects  of  acknowledged  ability. 

The  most  prominent  work  is  the  new  church 
of  St.  Louis,  whose  two  spires  rise  conspicuously- 
over  the  houses  near  the  river,  at  the  north- 
central  part  of  the  town.  It  is  a  large  building, 
measuring  as  much  as  300ft.  by  100ft.  over 
extremes.  The  style  is  Geometrical  Gothic,  of  a 
light  yet  uncomplicated  character.  The  chvu-cli. 
consists  of  a  wide  and  lofty  nave  of  sis  bays, 
with  triforium  and  clerestory,  aisles  of  an  or- 
dinary proportion,  with  lancet  windows,  transepts- 
of  about  lUft.  projection  beyond  the  aisles,  choir 
terminating  in  polygonal  apse,  and  smaller 
semi-octagonal  apses  in  transepts  opposite  aisles. 
The  customary  orientation  is  also  reversed, 
apparently  for  the  better  application  of  a  great 
"  W."  entrance.  (The  familiar  initials  are 
used  to  denote  the  conventional  aspects  of 
fa(,'ades).  There  is  a  large  W.  porch  in  three 
bays,  between  two  towers,  and  over  the  porch 
a  "gallery  which  is  to  contain  the  organ,  and 
there  is  also  a  porch- entrance  into  N.  transept. 
The  whole  is  vaulted  in  stone.  In  the  nave  the 
quadripartite  vault  has  shafts  running  down  to 
bases  upon  the  capitals  of  the  lower  piers.  These 
are  formed  as  four  three-quarter  shafts,  grouped 
round  a  larger  central  one,  and  are  of  very 
satisfactory  proportions.  The  clerestory,  the 
windows  having  central  muUions  with  cusped 
circles  in  heads,  is  simple,  loft}-,  and  satisfac- 
tory :  but  the  triforium  is  discontinuous  hori. 
zontally,  and  rather  weak  in  dcL-iil.  It  has  two 
trefoil-beaded  openings  to  each  bay,  grouped 
with  the  clerestory  over,  and  the  intersecting 
mouldings  and  poorly-carved  spandrils  are  not 
of  the  same  character  as  the  rest  of  the  structure. 
The  transepts  are  of  agreeable  appearance.  The 
large  windows  have  a  great  circle  (with  radiating 
shafted  tracery)  resting  upon  a  transom  con- 
siderably below  the  springing  line,  below  which 
the  muUions  finish  with  trefoU  heads— a  com- 
bination of  the  circular  window  with  the  pointed 
arched  opening.  This  tracei-y  appears,  from  the 
interior,  rather  thin  ;  but  this  and  some   other 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


297 


effects  can  only  bo  fairly  judged  when  the 
stained  glass  is  fixed.  At  present  the  E.  end 
only  has  been  so  finished.  The  gla.ss  is  pretty 
rather  than  pood,  the  colours  in  the  canopy 
work  are  rather  crudely  mingled,  and  the 
figures  are  somewhat  too  pictorially  painted  and 
shadowed.  Externally,  the  W.  end,  which  is 
the  richest  faoadc,  has  its  two  towers  finished 
with  pierced  spires  and  pinnacles,  and  with 
.gablets  and  crockets,  and,  over  the  entrances,  a 
large  rose  window,  openinginto  the  gallery  upon 
the  vault  of  por<:h.  The  rest  of  the  exterior  has 
a  rather  cold  and  mechanical  character.  Therj 
are  flying  buttix-sses  to  the  nave,  which  relieve 
and  vary  the  clerestory,  but  the  lines  ef  the  apse 
come  down  very  straight,  so  that  the  lofty  end 
seems  to  lack  a  basement  of  chapels  or  more 
projecting  buttresses.  This,  portion  however, 
is  not  conspicuou.sly  seen.  There  is,  through- 
out, a  considerable  amoimt  of  horizontality  in 
the  somewhat  prominent  cornices,  which  are 
carried  round  all  buttresses,  kc,  and  across  the 
bases  of  gablets.  The  nave  is  floored  with  wood, 
in  apparent  concession  to  the  requirements  of  a 
modern  large  congregation,  since  snch  a  floor 
is  very  uiiusual  here.  The  chairs  are  marshalled 
in  rows,  but  are  not  fixed.  The  pulpit  is,  as 
usual,  advanced  into  the  second  bay  of  nave,  so 
that  nearly  half  of  the  congregation  have  to  turn 
their  backs  to  either  the  preacher  or  the  altar. 
The  aisles  and  tran.septs  are  not  intended  to  have 
seats.  The  building,  which  is  already  tised  for 
service,  is  nearly  completed,  the  principal  work 
remaining  to  be  done  being  about  the  "\\'. 
entrances  and  gallery,  kc,  and  the  carving  to 
lower  parts  of  interior.  The  architect  is  M. 
Brun,  of  Bordeaux,  and  the  cost  will  probably 
amount  to  1,200,000  francs. 

Another  large  and  interesting  church  is  being 
built  on  the  cast  (La  Bastide)  side  of  the  river, 
in  the  Avenue  Thiers.  It  is  yet  hardly  advanced 
■enough  to  enable  one  to  judge  of  its  ultimate 
appearance.  The  nave  arches  are  barely  com- 
pleted, and  the  E.  end  is  only  a  little  higher. 
The  style  is  Early  Pointed.  The  plan  consists  of 
a  wide  nave,  in  only  three  bays,  aisles  ter- 
minating in  square  chapels,  and  a  choir  with 
polygonal  apse.  There  are  no  transepts.  It  is 
evidently  a  plan  intended  to  accommodate  a 
iarge  cungrtgation  of  worshippers  who  shall 
both  see  and  hear,  and  the  modification  of  the 
ordinary  lines  has  led  to  some  novelty.  The 
large  span  of  the  nave  arches  (there  being  only 
three)  causes  the  bays  or  divisions  of  aisles  to 
assume  an  awkwardly  long  proportion.  This  is 
corrected  by  throwing  out  a  rectangular  pro- 
jection between  the  buttresses,  having  about  the 
.same  projection  as  they  have,  so  that  externally 
the  buttress  appears  to  stand  in  a  recess.  Pro- 
bably the  effect  of  this  will  not  be  so  happy  as 
curious;  but  of  course  much  will  depend  upon  the 
roofing  lines.  luternally,  these  bays  will 
perhaps  receive  altars  or  other  adjuncts  of  the 
services. 

In  planning  this  church,  again,  orientation  is 
•disregarded,  the  E.  end  being  towards  the  north, 
so  as  to  place  the  TV.  entrance  upon  the  prin 


are  not  quite  so  happy.  They  have  large 
circular  windows  which,  without  tracery,  look 
weak  and  bare,  and  would  doubtles.'s  gain 
greatly  in  effect  if  filled  in  with  the  early  radia- 
ting shaft  tracery  of  the  style.  The  stained 
glass  here,  too,  lacks  flatness  of  treatment.  Ex- 
ternally, this  church  has  a  W.  entrance  facade, 
flanked  by  two  towers,  and  fronting  the  street. 
It  has  a  slightly  modeni  appearance,  which  is 
perhaps  not  necessarily  a  defect ;  but  which 
seems  to  lose  some  of  the  dignity  of  the  old 
work.  Altogether,  this  is  a  church  well  worth 
examination.  There  is  a  largo  church  in  pro- 
gress at  the  south  end  of  the  town  near  the  Kue 
Billaudel.  The  jdan  consi.^ts  of  nave  and  aisles, 
transepts,  and  choir.  The  style  is  a  kind  of 
Romanesque  with  a  plentiful  use  of  circular 
windows ;  but  here,  again,  the  detail  is  as  yet 
only  vaguely  foreshadowed  by  the  axe-faced 
stones.  The  choir  and  transepts  are  roofed  in 
but  not  yet  vaulted,  as  is  inteuded.  The  nave 
and  yV.  end  are  only  about  up  to  the  capitals  of 
piers.  The  elevation  of  the  TV.  front  shows  the 
usual  important  entrances  from  the  princip.il 
street,  and  the  usual  two  towers  at  angles.  The 
walls  are  being  faced  externally  with  the  white 
and  a  pale  reddish  stone  laid  in  alternate 
courses.  The  architect  of  this  work  is  M.  Mon- 
det  of  Bordeaux,  who  has  in  hand  also  tho  re- 
storation next  described. 

St.  Pierre  is  a  church  of  considerable  size  and 
architectural  value,  situate  near  the  centre  of 
the  river  front  of  the  old  town.  It  has  (or 
rather  had)  nave  and  aisles  of  the  Mth  century, 
with  choir  of  the  15th,  and  is  in  course  of  re- 
construction rather  than  restoration.  The 
walls  and  clustered  columns  upon  N.  side  of  tho 
nave  are  to  be  almost  entirely  rebuilt,  and  to 
those  on  S.  side  very  extensive  repairs  have  to 
be  done.  The  lower  part  of  W.  front,  with  the 
graceful,  richly-carved  doorway,  is  to  be  re- 
stored and  retained.  The  replacing  of  the  to  the  company, 
decayed  portions  is  commenced  here  ;  and  this 
system  of  inserting  the  new  stones  and  after- 
M"ards  working  them,  seems  particularly  advis- 
able for  such  work,  as  the  mason,  having  the 
old  work  by  which  he  is  guided  in  actual  jux- 
taposition to  the  stone  to  be  cut,  is  more  likely 
to  i^roduce  a  faithful  restoration  than  by  means 
of  the  best  templates  used  apart.  The  nave  is 
unroofed,  and  the  vaulting  taken  down.  Tho 
choir  is  partitioned  otf  and  not  included  in  the 
present  works.  There  is  not  yet  much  new 
work  done  to  the  main  structure,  but  some 
subordinateerections(chapels&c.,)  onS.  side  have 
been  rebuilt  or  repaired.  The  site  is  very  near 
the  river,  and  the  soil  is  simply  the  mud  de- 
posited (recently,  geologically  speaking)  by  the 
stream.  The  foundations — m  some  cases  the 
reconstruction  goes  as  far  as  to  them — are  con- 
sequently commenced  with  piles  and  timber- 
work.  For  this  purpose  a  handy  form  of  steam 
pile -driving  machine  is  in  u,se,  of  a  construction 
probably  not  in  use  in  England,  and  of  which  a 
brief  description  may  be  interesting.  The  hea\'y 
monkey,  or  "  moutou  "  as  the  French  workman 
calls  it,  is  bored  and  fitted  with  a  piston  and  rod, 


prmcipal  services,  the  ai.-.le8  and  transepts  being 
used  tor  proce.s.-icnal  pin  poses  and  lessor  eci- 
viccs.  Ihcre  is  no  dcubt  that  this  more  liberal 
lloor-space,  and  tho  ubseuco  of  Iho  moUvo  for 
paiiug  down  the  main  piers  an  obstructiro,  have 
much  to  do  with  the  inonumcutal  ciFi-ct  of  the 
structures.  Fixed  ben. hes  arc  out  of  tho  ques- 
tion, but  the  chairs,  of  improvid  pnltcm.aro 
arranged  in  rows  with  light  guide  rails  at  in- 
tervals to  presene  a  proper  distance  apart.  Tha 
choir,  which  has  become  perhaps  somowhat  loM 
proiuiuent,  has  often  u  small  organ,  but  tlm 
great  organ  isgenerilllv  plactKl  in  u  W.  (fiUlorr, 
apositiou  whose  many  disadvantufc-M  hiiH  lonr 
led  to  our  abandoning  it. 

The  unfinished  towers  we  too  often  «oe  at 
home  are  rare  here ;  tho  tower  is  npparentlr 
considered  as  necessary  as  the  chur.li  iVu-U. 

Finally,  there  is  to  bo  seen  cvorrwh-Te  a 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  largo  congro?ntl  ona 
are  in  these  days  to  bo  appenkvl  to  by  tho 
preacher's  eloquence  as  well  im  by  the  myHtcrim 
of  the  ritual,  and,  tU.rofore,  provisions  for 
proper  hoariog  of  it  arc  necessary. 

R.  W.  Ginsow. 


CHIPS. 

New  banking  premiies  are  in  course  of  crectioa 
for  the  Loudon  and  County  Bank,  opposite  Black- 
heath  station,  S.E.  Th^;  street  fa(;ado  in  in  bni;bt 
red  brickwork,  with  red  sautUtone  dresfiogn.  Mr. 
(ieorge  Bash  is  the  contractor. 

The  first  section  of  the  Soiithwaik  a-  d  Dcptford 
Tramway  Co.'s  Hue,  that  between  the  Bii,<hton 
Kailway-bridge  in  DeptforJ  Lower- nmd  nnd  tho 
Spa-road  station  of  the  South •Ki^leru  lUilway, 
will  shortly  be  opened.  Tho  permanent  wny  'n 
being  laid  at  the  rate  of  about  21)0  yardu  p<'r  week, 
and  the  stabling,  kc,  aro  in  course  o(  erection. 
The  works  are  being  carried  out  from  tiie  plani  and 
under  the  supervision  of  Jlr.  \V.  Shell  jrd,  engineer 


cipal  street,  and  the  N.  front  upon  the  secondary    the   end  of    which   pointing   downwards   rest: 


The  details  are  not  yet  anywhere  apparent,  as, 
in  the  customary  French  me'hod  of  using  soft 
jitone,  the  work  is  buUt  in  rectangular  blocks, 
and  afterwards  worked  in  position.  The  stone 
ased  here  is  a  soft  white  ooUte,  not  unlike  Bath, 
which  hardens  upon  exposure,  and  appears  in 
older  edifices  to  stand  very  well.  It  is  the  usual 
building  material  of  Bordeaux,  used  in  large 
squared  blocks,  even  for  the  commonest  descrip- 
tion of  work,  brick  being  very  rare.  This  cliureh 
is  in  the  hands  of  M.  Abadie,  a  well-known 
architect  of  Paris,  by  whom  also  were  carried 
out  the  restorations  of  the  magnificent  Roman- 
■esque  facade  of  St.  Croix  in  this  town. 

The  Church  of  St.  Ferdinand,  Rue  do  la  Croix, 
in  tlie  north-west  part  of  the  town,  is  another 
fine  work  by  JI.  Abadie,  erected  some  few  years 
back.  It  is  in  a  Transition  style,  with  pointed 
arches  and  circular  windows  without  tracery. 
The  interior  is  striking,  the  general  effect  being 
very  fine.  There  is  perhaps  a  little  Renaissance- 
like  fussiness  about  the  square  fluted  and  cor- 
belled features,  which  do  the  work  of  vaulting 
shafts,  and  their  detail  does  not  seem  quite  har- 
monious. (Almost  identical  shafts  arc  to  be 
-seen  in  the  new  church  of  St.  Anselle,  at  -Vngou- 
leme,  probably  by  the  same  architect.)  "The 
simple  massive  circular  piers  and  their  plainly- 
inoulded  arches  are  dignified  and  well  propor- 
tioned.    The  square  ends  to  choir  and  transepts 


upon  the  head  of  the  pile.  It  is  supplied  with 
steam  by  a  flexible  hose,  and  the  valve  has  an 
arm  (like  an  exaggerated  street-lamp  stop-cock) 
with  two  cords  held  by  the  operator.  The  valve 
being  opened,  the  monkey  raises  itself  upon  the 
end  of  the  piston-rod  protruding  below,  then, 
steam  being  shut  otf,  it  falls  in  ordinary  timber- 
framed  guides,  by  its  own  weight.  About  forty 
or  fifty  strokes  per  minute  can  be  thus  made ; 
but,  of  course,  the  amount  of  fall  is  limited  to 
the  length  of  piston-rod  (about  3ft.  in  tliis  in- 
stance), and  greater  weight  must  be  used  than 
for  a  longer  drop.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  kind 
of  steam-hammer  follows  the  pile  as  it  descends  ; 
and  also  that  the  resistance  to  the  raising  being 
obtained  on  the  pile,  the  force  of  that  part  of  the 
stroke  is  expended  to  the  purpos'.^.  It  appears 
to  be  a  Toiy  rapid  and  convenient  machine.  It 
might  be  an  improvement  to  make  tho  valve 
self-acting  for  shutting  otf  steam  at  the  end  of 
the  full  stroke,  leaving  the  hand  arrangement 
also  as  at  present. 

The  principal  particulars  in  which  the  designs 
of  these  new  French  churches  at  Bordeaux  vary 
from  our  own,  may  be  summed  up  thus.  The 
position  of  the  edifice  is  determined  without  re- 
gard to  the  points  of  the  compass,  by  the  require- 
ment of  an  important  entrance  from  the  prin- 
cipal street  at  what  we  call  the  west  end.  The 
nave,  and  crossing,  if  there  is  one,  are  alono  con- 
sidered the  places  for  the  seated  congregation  or 


In  celebration  of  the  extension  of  the  Ljnn  and 
Fakenham  Eiilway  from  MassinRham  Vi  Hemp- 
ton,  the  contractors,  Messrs.  Wilkinson  and  Jarru, 
last  week  gave  a  dinner  to  their  emplnyi-'.  Mr. 
Willet,  the  resident  engineer,  occupied  the  chair. 

A  brass  lectern,  set  with  ornamental  stnnec,  and 
the  work  of  Messrs.  Jones  and  Willis,  of  Birmin];- 
ham,  has  just  been  added  to  the  furiiituro  of  St. 
Thomas's  Church,  Ilalifax. 

The  Corporation  of  Cork  discnssed  at  grvat 
length  on  Friday  a  report  from  their  engineer,  Mr. 
T.  Claxton  Fidler,  C.E.,  on  the  sImw  progrm  of 
the  Anglesea  Bridge  works,  in  which  that  official 
expressed  his  opinion  that  the  contractor,  Mr. 
Alexander  Rooney.  had  failed  1 1  make  surh  pro- 
gress with  the  works  as  ho  deemed  sufli  i^nt  to 
insure  their  completion  within  the  prescrits  d  time. 
It  was  proposed  at  the  suggestirn  of  tho  town  clerk 
to  deliver  notice  to  tho  c<  ntractor  rtiting  tho  in- 
tentiou  of  the  Town  Council  t)  proceed  with  and 
complete  the  works  nt  his  expense,  as  provided  by 
tho  terms  of  the  contract ;  but  strong  opponitioa 
was  raised  by  a  minority  of  the  menit>era  on  ac- 
count of  the  engineer  being  appointed  »"l«  arbi- 
trator in  the  dispute  ;  and  the  qucstiin  wa»,  after 
a  brisk  exchange  of  personalitits,  adjourned  till 
to-day  (Friday). 

Tho  buildings  of  the  new  Corporation  Sanitary 
Works  at  tbe  Lamascote,  Stafford,  ore  rapidly  ap- 
proaching completion.  On  Thursday  »rc«k,  tba 
capstone  of  the  principal  chimney  Hack  was  laid 
by  the  borough  survivor,  Mr.  McCilium.  Thia 
chimney  is  I50lt.  in  height,  and  will  proTide  fortha 
disiiersicu  of  the  gaseous  products  of  tho  prooeaaea 
by  wljich  the  sewage  of  the  borough  is  to  be  con- 
verted by  Firmin's  process  into  a  dry  manure. 

A  new  church  of  St.  Matthew  is  nearly  com- 
pleted at  Tipton-grecn,  no.ir  WoIt.  rhamptoo,  and 
will  be  opened  in  a  few  weeka.  Mr.  Ereral  u  tba 
contractor. 

The  new  Town-h»ll  at  Wakefi.lJ.  er«t*d  from 
tho  design  of  Mr.  Thos.  V.  f.  Urutt,  cf  Blooma- 
bury,\V.O.,  is  to  be  opened  in  tbe  ls:h  of  October, 
the  anniversarv  of  the  laying  ■  I  lb"  foundatwa- 
stono.  The  iCahH-U  lUml.,.  lu  anuounanj  tba 
ceremonv,  says:  A  very  great  d.a  of  work  yet 
remains 'to  be  d  .no  at  the  town-h*ll,  wpeoally  IB 
tho  matter  of  furnishing. 

The  Salcorobe,  Devon,  local  board  hare  ciaefad 
Mr.  Edward  Cole,  senr.,  an  old  rraident,  aa  tow» 
surveyor  and  sanitiry  in";'  .-t.  r. 

The  foundation-  n-.chool  cbapal 

for  theXorth-cn  1 
Monday  week.  Tl 
Yarmouth. 

A  group  of  c  ffee-taveni   bnrditga  arc  braag 
erected  m  the  Old-sqnare,  Warwick,  and  JiUba 
opened  in  SoTember.    Ti.e  c  ntractor*  air 
Green  and  Sens,  of  the  Boltii,  Warwick. 


I'h  vaa  lasdoa 
r.  NickenoB,  of 


298 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Municipal  BuilJinfs  Designs,  Glasgow 

The  Fine  Art  Exhibition  at  Brussels     

Industrial  Exhibition  at  the  Alexandra  Palace.. 
The  Glasgow  Municipal  Buildings  Competition 

The  Westminster  Vestry  Hall  Competition 

Troy 

Injury  to  Gas  itnd  Water-Pipes  by  Lightning    .. 

Church-Building  at  Bordeaux 

Chips ■ 

Our  Lithogra  phic  Ulustrationa 

Old  Newcastle  Churches    

Ajchffiological 

Competitions 

Colour  in  Greek  Sculpture 

The  Alleged  Decadence  of  English  Sculpture    . 

Obituary   

Building  Intelligence    

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

Intercommunication    

Parliamentary  Notes    

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

Statues.  Memorials,  &c 

Stained  Glass 

Legal  Intelligence 

Our  Office  Table    

TradeNews     

Tenders     


...  3i; 


ILLUSTEATIONS. 

UNIVEESITY  COLLEGE,  LONDON,  NEW  NORTH  WING. — DE- 
SIQNS  FOE  gamekeeper's  COTTAGE. — BOCQESTER  CATHE- 
DRAL GRAMMAR  SCHOOL.— CEMETERY  LODGE,  SOTTON 
COLDFIEU).— VILLAS  AT  FOLKESTONE.— DETAILS  OF  CROSS 
AND   ALTAR-TABLE,    ST.    JAMES'S,    LOUTH. 


OURLlTHOGRAPHIClLLUSTRATlONS, 


UNIVEESITY   COLLEGE,    LONDON. 

We  illustrate  tliis  -week  the  south  front  of  the 
new  buildings  recently  erected  in  Gowcr-street, 
and  which  form  the  north  wing  of  Univerj-ity 
College.     The  main  block  of  the  building  con- 
sists of  four  lofty  floor,'',  chiefly  lighted  from  the 
north   side,    of   which    the    two    principal   are 
devoted  to  the  use  of  the  students  of  the  Slade 
Fine  Art  Schools.     These  rooms  are  approached 
by  a  handsome   staircase   in   the   front   of   the 
central  block.     The  lowest   floor  is  devoted  to 
chemical  department,   and  the  top  floor  to  the 
students  of  physiology ;  and  to  these  access  is 
gained  by  a  staircase  at  the  west  end.     In  the 
rear  of -the  miin  building  are   also  two  large 
chemical  laboratories.  The  building  is  faced  with 
brown  Portland  stone,    and   the   carving,   both 
of    the    interior    and    exterior,    all    of     which 
is    of    a    most     delicate     character,    has    been 
executed  by  Mr.  Wynn.     The  floors  throughout 
have   been   done  by  Messrs.   Dennett  and  Co., 
and  the  heating-apparatus  and  chemical  fittings 
by  Messrs.  Koper  and  Eupell.  Mr.  W.  Brass  was 
the  contractor  for  the  general  work,  and  is  also 
now  engaged  in  completing  the  necessary  fittings. 
Mr.    Heathcote  was  the  clerk  of   works.     The 
building  was  erected  from  the  designs  of  Prof.  T. 
H.  Lewis,  F.S.A.,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Messrs.  Perry  and  Reed,   architects  to  the  coun- 
cil, and   our  illustration   is  taken   from  a  pen- 
and-ink   drawing   by   Mr.    J.    Tavener   Perry, 
exhibited  in  the  last  Academy  Exhibition. 

"  EUTLDIXG     NEWS  "       DESIGNING     CLUB.  — COTTAGE 
EOK    A    GAMEKEEPEE. 

To  day  we  publi,-h  the  two  designs  placed 
second  and  third  for  a  Gamekeeper's  Cott.age. 
We  have  already  remarked  upon  these  designs 
when  reviewing  the  whole  series,  and  we  leave 
the  sketches  now  to  answer  for  themselves. 
The  design  placed  first  was  published  in  our 
issue  for  August  13th  last. 

KOCHESTEE  CATHEDBAL  GKA3IMAE- SCHOOL. 

The  new  school -house  for  the  Kochester 
Cathedral  grammar-school  has  for  its  principal 
entrance  a  triangular-shaped  porch,  suggested 
by  the  nature  of  the  only  available  approach  to 
the  house,  which  we  illustrate  this  week.  The 
walling  is  executed  in  concrete,  faced  with  red 
bricks  and  Kentish  rag  Boughton-stone  in  bands, 
and  the  porch  is  groined  in  rock  chalk.  Messrs. 
Perry  and  Reed,  of  the  Adelphi,  W.C.,  acted  as 
architects  for  the  work  to  the  Dean  and  Chapter, 
and  Messrs.  Vaughan,  of  Maidstone,  were  the 
contxactors. 


CEMETEKY   LODGE,    SUTTON    COLDFIELD. 

The  Cemetery  Lodge  and  Lych-gate,  given  in 
this  number  of  our  journal,  is  built  upon  the 
Sutton  Coldfield  Burial-ground,  with  red  brick 
facings,  timber  framing  filled  iu  with  plaster, 
and  the  roof  covered  with  Broseley  tiles.  Re- 
ferring to  the  ground-plan,  the  "  w.c.'s"  should 
have  been  marked  earth  closets,  and  "  carriage- 
way" covered  way."  The  cemetery  is  only  a 
short  distance  from  the  church,  and  has  no 
chapel  in  the  grounds.  The  robing-room  is 
planned  so  that  service  can  be  read  from  the 
windows,  if  desired,  the  coffin  and  mourners 
resting  under  cover.  The  work  has  been  exe- 
cuted by  Messrs.  C.  Jones  and  Son,  contractors, 
of  Birmingham,  from  the  designs  and  under 
the  superintendence  of  Thomas  Mr.  W.  Cutler, 
F.R.I. B. A.,  of  5,  Queen-street,  W.C. 

HOUSES,     CHEIST     CHUltCH-KOAD,    FOLKESTONE. 

These  villas  are  being  erected  for  Mr.  N.  White, 
in  the  Christ  Church-road,  Folkjstone.  They 
are  without  basements,  the  kitchen  and  offices 
beino-  on  a  level  with  dining  and  drawing-rooms. 
Mr.  E.  B.  Fowler  is  the  builder,  and  the  archi- 
tect Mr.  Reginald  Pope. 

ALTAB-TABLE  AND    GABLE   CEOSS,    ST.    JAMEs's 
CHUECH,    LOUTH. 

The  old  table  has  at  some  time  been  altered  in 
the  length,  and,  I  think,  also  in  the  height 
The  inscription  "  D.  R.  jnyner,  1630,"  ought  to 
be  in  the  centre.  The  chancel  cross  and  other 
carvings  have  been  made  in  the  famous  Ancaster 
stone.  The  exposed  work  is  somewhat  weathered, 
and  the  outlines  gently  softened  by  tinie,  but 
the  general  contour  is  perfect,  the  stone  nowhere 
rotten,  and  the  warm  grey  colour  is  splendid 
where  lighted  up  by  the  sun.  The  delicate 
tracery  of  the  E.  parapet  and  the  outUne  of  the 
cross  form  a  beautiful  object  in  dark  clear  relief 
against  a  western  sky  after  sunset ;  and  we  are 
forcibly  impressed  by  the  care  and  attention 
paid  by  the  architects  of  the  Perpendicular 
period  to  the  embellishment  and  perfection  of 
the  sky-line  of  their  buildings. — John  J. 
Ceesswell. 


CHIPS. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  was  opened  at  Harts- 
head,  near  Halifax,  on  Wednesday  week.  It  is 
Gothic  iu  style,  and  is  built  of  Northowram  stone, 
with  Ein'sbury  dressings,  and  all  the  internal  fit- 
tings are  of  pitch-pine.  The  dimensions  are  4.5ft.  by 
22ft.,  and  accommodation  is  provided  for  250 
persons,  at  a  cost  for  erection  of  £800. 

The  Tipton  School-board  further  discussed,  on 
Thursday,  the  2nd  inst.,  the  threatened  litigation 
for  recovery  of  extras  by  the  builders  of  the  new 
schools  .at  Tipton  Green  and  Burnt  Tree,  and 
motions  by  the  chairman  were  carried  by  narrow 
majorities,  the  first  rescinding  the  motion  appoint- 
ing Mr.  Charles  Hound  as  architect  and  surveyor 
to^the  board,  the  second  giving  Mr.  Round  three 
months'  notice  to  discontinue  to  act.  It  was  also 
decided  to  request  the  Education  Department  to 
send  down  an  official  architect  to  examine  the  work 
at  the  two  schools  above  named  and  compare  it 
with  the  plans  and  specifications,  reporting  any 
1  deviations  to  the  board. 

The  Wesleyan  chapel  iu  Snargate-street,  Dover, 
was  reopened  on  Thursday  week,  after  renovation, 
reseating,  and  decoration,  carried  out  by  Mr.  P. 
StiiY,  builder,  of  Dover.  The  cost  has  been  over 
£1,000. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  new  chancel  now 
being  added  to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Syston,  near 
Leicester,  was  laid  on  Tuesday  week.  Mr. 
Frederick  W.  Ordish  is  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
Henry  Allen  the  builder. 

Euxtou  Wesleyan  Chapel  is  now  undergoing 
restoration  from  the  plans,  and  under  the  superin- 
tendence of,  Mr.  David  Grant,  architect,  Preston. 
Extensive  quays  and  sea  defences  are  being 
formed  at  Wexford  for  the  Waterford  and  Wex- 
ford Railway  Company.  Messrs.  Fowler  and  Ward 
are  the  engineers,  au'l  the  work  is  being  carried 
out  under  contract  by  Mr.  Murphy,  of  Dubfin. 

The  first  block  of  new  buildings  in  the  Deptford 
Broadway,  in  connection  with  the  scheme  for 
widening  that  thoroughfare,  and  the  new  bridge 
over  the  Eavensbourne,  is  nearly  completed,  and 
consists  of  four  shops  and  dwellings.  The  shops 
are  divided  on  the  street  front  by  stone  piers  and 
brackets,  and  over  a  deep  stone  frieze,  three  stories 
are  carried  up,  in  red  Chilton  brickwork,  with 
Beer  freestone  facings  and  dressings,  dormers  being 
obtained  iu  the  high-pitched  roofs.  Mr.  Joseph 
Wall,  A.R.I.B.A.,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Edgar 
Banks,  of  Lewisham,  the  contractor. 


OLD  NEWCASTLE  CHURCHES. 

A  NUMBER  of  the  members  of  the  Newcastle 
Society  of  Antiquaries,  with  their  friends, 
met  on  Friday  last  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
certain   of  tlie  churches  in  Newcastle  and  the 
locality  in  which  were  typified  a  peculiar  style 
of  architecture.     The  muster  took  ijlace  at  half- 
past  ten  in  the  forenoon  in  the  Library  of  the 
Old    Castle.     Here  Mr.    W.   H.  D.   Longstaffe 
explained    the    peculiarities     of    the    style     of 
architecture  which  they  were  going  to  inspect. 
These   he   stated   to  be  octagonal  piUars,  from 
which  the  arch  sprung  without  any  ornamenta- 
tion, segmental  windows,  and  low-pitched  roofs. 
St.  Mary's  Church  at  Gateshead  was  first  visited. 
Hero  excellent  specimens  of  the  plain,  severe, 
octagonal     pillars,     depending     entirely    upon 
delicacy   of  proportion   for   their    good    effect, 
were   seen.     There   were   also  examples  of  the 
segmental  window,  and  the  roof  is  low-pitched. 
After  a  brief  visit  to  Trinity  Church,  Gateshead, 
the  party  came  to  St.  John's  in  Newcastle.  Here 
Mr.  LongstafEe  pointed  out  what  he  called  the 
"  eft'eminate  "  class  of  segmental  windows.    The 
party  were  next   shown  a  string-course  on  the 
exterior  of  the  south-east  comer  of  the  nave,  ad- 
joinining  the  south  transept,  which  is   one   of 
the  oldest  pieces  of  Norman  work  in  Newcastle. 
A   variety  of  objects  of  interest  iu  the  church 
were  examined,  and  then  the  company  repaired 
to  St.  Nicholas'.     Here  the  most  perfect  form  of 
the    low-pitched    roof    was    seen,    besides   the 
peculiar  style  of  pillars.     Mr.   Longstafte  gave 
a  short  history  of  the  structure,  aud  in  pointing 
out   the   numerous   interesting  features  he  was 
greatly    as.-isted    by  the    Rev.   Canon  Martin. 
St.  Andrew's  was  the  next  church  visited,  and 
this   venerable  edifice  was   prolific  in  points  of 
interest,   in  the  description  of  which  the  Rev. 
W.  B.  East  gave  valuable  aid.     The  church  at 
Ponteland  was  seen  at  disadvantage  owing  to  its 
being  at  present  under  repair.    When  in  its  com- 
plete  state  it    was    characterised    also   by   the 
octagonal  Dillars,   the  segmental  windows,  and 
the  low-pitched  roof.     As  the  latter,  however, 
had  begun  to  give  way  through  age,  it  has  been 
pulled  down,  together  with  the  north  transept. 
The  pillars  will  be  restored   as  before,  but  as  a 
high-pitched  roof  is  to  be  built  and  the  tower 
considerably  heightened,  the  whole  aspect  of  the 
church  will  be  changed,  and  it  will  be  deprived 
of  the  hoary,  antique,  mediaeval  contour  which 
has  hitherto  made  it  such  an  interesting  feature 
of  the  district.     Having  brought  the  proceedings 
to  an  appropriate  conclusion  by  a  conference  at 
the  historic  Black  Bird  Inn  close  by— which  Ls 
the  remains  of  an  old  castle  or  peel-tower— the 
antiquaries  and  their  friends  returned  to  New- 
castle. 


ARCH-ffiOLOGICAL. 

MissouKi.— Mr.  George  A.  Bate?,  of  the 
Naturalists'  Bureau,  Salem,  Mass.,  will  shortly 
issue  the  first  of  a  series  of  papers  on  the  aroha;- 
ology  of  Missouri,  to  be  published  under  the 
auspices  of  the  ArchoDological  Section  of  the  St. 
Louis  Academy  of  Science.  Tbis  important 
work,  entitled  "  Archajological  Remains  and 
Ancient  Pottery  of  Southern  Missouri,"  by 
Prof.  W.  B.  Potter  and  Dr.  Edward  Evers,  twcv 
members  of  the  society,  contains  a  general 
description  of  the  South-eastern  Missouri  dis- 
trict, and  the  pottery  which  has  been  found  in 
such  abundance  in  the  burial  mounds  _  of  that 
region,  aud  is  illustrated  by  twenty-nine  full- 
page  lithographic  plates. 

COMPETITIONS. 

LniEEiCE  Water  SrriLY.— The  Corporation 
of  Limerick  City  opened  on  the  2nd  inst,  plans 
and  estimates  from  thirteen  engineers  m 
response  to  advertisements  inviting  schemes  for 
the  supply  of  a  million  gallons  of  water  daUy. 
ihe  plans  are  all  marked  with  the  name  and 
address  of  the  competitor,  and  the  corporation 
have  decided  to  hang  them  in  the  council  chain- 
ber  for  public  inspection  fur  14  days— till 
Thursday  next— between  the  hours  of  10  a.m. 
and  3  p.m.  The  amounts  of  the  estimates, 
which  vary  from  £18,000  to  £97,400,  are  given 
in  our  list  of  "Tenders." 


A  new  Established  Church  was  opened  on  Sunday 
week,  at  Strathlillan,  Perthshire,  opposite  the  Bite 
of  the  ancient  chapel  of  St.  Fillan.  It  is  Gothic  in 
character. 


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Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


COLOITi  IX  GEEEK  SCULPTURE. 

AT  first  sight,  says  a  writer  in  Slacku-ood^s 
Magazine,  to  those  who  hare  given  no  special 
attention  to  the  subject,  the  idea  of  laying  colour 
on  the  virgin  purity  of  Pentelic  marble  is  cer- 
tainly repugnant.  But  a  little  consideration, 
and,  I  might  add,  a  little  more  faith  in  such 
perfect  masters  of  artistic  taste  as  the  Greeks 
have  otherwise  shown  themselves  to  be,  may 
modify  this  first  impression.  In  the  first  place, 
the  delicate  ornamentation  in  which,  at  any  rate 
Ionic  buildings  abound,  would  without  the  aid 
of  colour,  be  in  many  cases  lost  upon  an  observer 
standing  below  ;  while,  without  such  aid,  elabo- 
rate compositions,  like  the  frieze  of  the  Par- 
thenon, must  in  the  situation  selected  for  them, 
have  lost  greatly  in  value.  But  there  is  another 
point  which  at  once  strikes  the  traveller  who 
stands  beneath  an  Attic  sky,  and  is  brought  face 
to  face  for  the  first  time  with  the  actual  condi- 
tions under  which  the  Greeks  worked.  This  is, 
that  the  intense  clearness,  one  might  almost  say 
radiance,  of  the  air  makes  it  impossible  even  to 
look  at  a  white  glittering  substance  like  marble, 
except  through  some  medium,  such  as  smoked 
glass.  What,  then,  would  have  been  the  use  of 
a  Greek  sculptor  lavishing  his  skill  and  inven- 
tion upon  works  of  which,  when  exposed  in 
open  air  and  to  public  view,  only  the  general 
eifect  could  be  appreciated,  while  the  grace  and 
delicacy  of  design  and  execution  upon  which  he 
prided  himself  was  lost  in  the  glare  of  sunlight  f 
If  the  Greeks  were  an  artistic  nation,  they  were 
also  an  eminently  practical  one ;  and  I  can 
hardly  think  that  they  would  have  been  content 
■with  such  disproportion  of  means  to  ends,  of 
labour  to  the  result  produced.  Xeed  we  wonder, 
then,  that  they  took  the  most  obvious  means  of 
overcoming  this  diflSculty  r  Let  any  one  walk 
in  the  glare  of  noonday  past  some  of  the  new 
houses  which  the  Athenians  of  to-day  have  de- 
corated with  bare  marble,  and  say  whether  these 
men  or  their  ancestors  of  twenty  centuries  ago 
best  understood  the  proprieties. 


THE  ALLEGED  DECADEXCE  OF 
ENGLISH  SCULPTURE. 

IT  would  seem,  says  a  writer  in  the  CornhUl 
Magazine,  as  though  comparatively  few 
people  had  observed  that  the  general  revival  of 
the  arts  amongst  us  has  extended  to  the  domain  of 
sculpture.  In  the  face  of  an  annual  exhibition, 
gradually  but  surely  increasing  in  merit  year  by 
year,  we  are  constantly  confronted  by  the 
dictum  that  sculpture  is  dead  in  England.  When- 
ever English  sculpture  has  breathed  strongly 
after  one  of  its  jieriodical  trances,  whenever  it 
has  stretched  a  limb  or  fluttered  a  pulse,  criticism 
has  hastened  to  as>ure  it  that  it  is  as  dead  as 
a  door-nail,  and  should  permit  itself  to  be  borne 
decently  and  swiftly  to  the  tomb.  Thus  en- 
couraged, it  is  not  wonderful  that  it  fails  to 
gain  strength,  or  to  throw  off  the  sluggishness 
consistent  with  so  complete  a  hypochondria. 
Sculpture  is  not  dead  in  England,  let  us  dis- 
tinctly say  ;  but  whose  is  the  fault  if  it  appear 
to  be  so  ?  The  fault  would  seem  to  lie  with 
three  responsible  bodies,  each  charged  with  the 
duty  of  observing  and  encouraging  contemporary 
art — the  public,  the  critics,  the  Royal  Academy. 
Each  of  these  can  hardly  be  acquitted  of  a  deter- 
mined neglect  of  the  interests  of  sculpture,  and 
each  has  had  a  reflex  influence  in  prejudicing  the 
other  two.  The  body  of  which  artists  complain 
the  most,  and  which  has,  in  fact,  less  fault  in 
this  particular  case  than  any  other,  is  the  Royal 
Academy.  The  painters  do  not  depend  wholly 
upon  the  annual  show  at  Burlington  House  ;  it 
is  but  the  largestand  most  important  of  a  variety 
of  exhibitions  at  which,  throughout  the  year, 
the  public  is  invited  toobserve  their  productions. 
Some  of  the  most  celebrated  painters  of  our  day 
have  never  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  and 
have  successfully  summoned  their  admirers 
around  them  at  other  galleries.  But  the  sculp- 
tor has  no  public  audience  except  at  Burlington 
House,  and  the  critic  who  desires  to  follow  the 
progress  of  sculpture  in  England  has  no  means 
of  doing  so  except  by  a  careful  study,  year  after 
year,  of  the  three  rooms  devoted  to  that  art  at 
the  Academy,  which  becomes  in  this  wav  the 
sole  medium  between  the  public  and  the 
sculptor.  With  all  their  fatilts  it  cinnot  be  said 
that  the  Academicians  have  ever  denied  the 
dignity  of  this  particular  art.  They  have  given 
it  a  measure  of  encouragement  in  their  schools, 
they   have    admitted    its    followers    to   a    fair 


share  of  the  honours  of  their  foundation, 
and  above  all,  whatever  resistance  has 
been  made  to  the  endowment  of  false 
and  meretriciotis  popular  work  has  been  made 
by  the  Academy.  Where  a  just  complaint  may 
be  brought  against  the  Council,  is  in  the  matter 
of  the  space  allotted  to  the  works  in  sculpture 
year  by  year.  "nTien  the  Academy  first  arrived 
in  Burlington  House,  so  few  works  in  this 
branch  of  art  were  exhibited  that  the  three 
rooms,  or  rather  two  rooms  and  a  half,  were  by 
no  means  unduly  crowded.  At  present,  on  the 
contrary,  the  crush  is  veiy  great,  and  most  in- 
jurious to  the  effect  of  each  individual  statue, 
which,  drawn  so  close  as  it  is  to  two  uncongenial 
neighbours,  is  apt  to  lose  much  of  the  harmony 
of  its  proportions.  The  whole  principle  upon 
which  works  of  sculpture  are  now  arranged  at 
the  Academy  is  injudicious.  The  long,  flat  line 
of  busts  set  close  to  one  another  on  a  ledge  half- 
way up  a  blank  waU  is  one  of  the  most  uncomely 
features  of  the  whole  exhibition,  and  the  ar- 
rangement by  which  weary  visitors  are  encour- 
aged to  sit  and  rest  with  their  backs  to  the 
principal  statues  in  the  Central  Hall  must  surely 
be  the  grim  pleasantry  of  some  elderly  painter 
of  past  times.  A  few  ottomans  cosilj-  arranged 
dos-a-ilos  with  Sir  Frederick  Leightou's  nymphs, 
and  a  sofa  wheeled  up  against  Mr.  Poynter's 
" -Esculapius "  would  form  the  best  possible 
comment  on  the  present  manner  of  treating 
sculpture  in  the  Academy.  Every  one  remarks 
the  ease  and  comfort  with  which  sculpture  is 
seen  in  the  garden  of  the  Salon,  and  may  ask 
why  the  Royal  Academy  is  unable  to  contrive 
something  more  creditable  to  its  fine  rooms  than 
the  present  array  of  "wall -flowers  "  in   marble. 


M"t 


OBITUARY. 

JOHX  HEXRT  H.IKEWILL,  archi- 
tect, of  3,  South  Molton-street,  W.,  died 
on  Monday,  the  30th  ult.,  at  his  residence  in 
Inverness-terrace,  Bayswater.  Mr.  Hakewill, 
who  was  in  his  seventieth  year,  was  a  pupU  of 
his  father,  and  had  been  long  connected  with 
the  profession,  and  so  far  back  as  1854  was 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British 
Architects. 

We  also  have  to  record  the  death  of  Mr. 
Charles  Williams  Lee,  F.R.I.B.A.,  the  senior 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Lee,  Sons,  and  Pain,  and 
one  of  the  principal  surveyors  and  valuers  in 
the  metropolis.  Having  passed  some  years 
with  Mr.  T.  Cubitt,  the  buiUer,  Mr.  Lee 
became  an  articled  pupil  in  the  office  of  Mr.  John 
Nash,  and  afterwards  went  into  partnership 
with  Mr.  James  Morgan,  an  engineer,  with 
whom  he  designed  the  old  Haymarket  Theatre, 
and  constructed  the  Regent's  Canal.  He  was 
afterwards  in  partnership  successively  with  the 
late  Mr.  Duesbury  and  the  late  Mr.  T.  Talbot 
Bury,  V.P.R.I.B.A.,  and  since  1SC6  with  his 
sons  and  Mr.  W.  Pain.  Amongst  his  liter  works 
may  be  named  the  rebuilding  of  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre,  in  the  Haymarket,  in  1868-9.  Mr.  Lee 
had  been  obliged  to  reHnquish  business  for 
several  years  past,  and  died  at  his  residence. 
West-hill,  Putney-heath,  on  Saturday  week, 
aged  75.  We  illustrated  a  house  at  Putney 
designed  by  the  firm  on  Nov.  12,  IST.j,  and  sub- 
sequently "the  fireplace  at  Heathfield  House, 
Putney-heath. 

The  death  is  announced  of  a  veteran  German 
artist,  Hermann  Anschutz,  who  died  at  Munich 
on  August  30,  having  just  completed  his  7Sth 
year.  He  was  one  of  the  most  esteemed  paint- 
ers of  the  Cornelius  period,  and  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  pupils  of  that  master.  Having 
studied  under  Hartmann  in  Dresden  and  Corne- 
lius at  Diisseldorf,  he  gave  as  the  first  specimen 
of  his  talent  the  picture  for  the  ceiling  of  the 
Odeon  at  Munich,  representing  the  judgment  of 
Midas,  painted  when  he  was  only  2S  years  of 
age.  The  King  of  Bavaria,  Louis  I.,  was  so 
pleased  with  this  that  he  sent  the  young  artist 
to  Italy  to  study  the  remains  of  ancient  painting 
in  the  Museo  Borbonico,  and  at  Herculaneum 
and  Pompeii.  Returning  to  Munich,  Anschutz 
executed  a  series  of  frescoes  and  encaustic  pic- 
tures in  the  Royal  palace  in  the  ancient  style, 
after  designs  by  Leo  von  Klenze  and  Zimmer- 
mann.  In  this  work  he  was  partly  assisted  by 
Nilson  and  HUtensperger.  He  subsequently  re- 
sumed oil-painting  with  most  brUliant  success. 
Forty  years  ago  he  was  made  Professor  of 
Painting  in  the  Munich  Academy  of  Arts,  a  post 


•11 


which  he   resigned  in   1S7J   on  account  of  en- 
feebled health. 

Mr.  Charles  P.  Hart.shom,  an  architect  in 
active  practice  inProvidence,  R.  I.,  and  Secretary 
ot  the  Rhode  Island  Chapter  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Architects,  died  of  cerebro-spinal 
meningitis,  on  August  14,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven  years,  Mr.  Hartshorn  devoted  himself  to 
architecture  from  the  day  he  entered  the  office 
of  the  late  Thomas  A.  Tefft  (who  died  in 
Florence,  December  12,  1859,  age  32  years) 
about  thu-ty  years  ago,  until  within  a  few  days 
of  his  decease  ;  and,  in  all  these  years  ho  was 
seldom  absent  from  his  work,  even  for  a  day  at 
a  time  His  loss  will  be  felt  very  keeulyamong 
his  fellows  in  the  profession,  becau.se  of  his 
devotion  to  its  interest's,  and  although  liis  suc- 
cessor may  soon  be  elected,  it  will  be  difficult  to 
find  one  to  fit  his  place,  as  Secretary  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Chapter. 


The  contract  for  laying  street  tramways  in  the 
city  of  Bith  has  been' taken  by  Mr.  A.  Krauss,  of 

Colston-street,  Bristol. 

Tlie  Yarmouth  Port  and  Hiven  Commissioners 
are  having  a  concrete  sea-wall  made  at  Oorleston, 
Suffolk,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Teasdel,  their 
deputy  engineer;  but  adverse  to  the  advice  ot  his 
superior,  Sir  John  Coode.  The  wall  is  being  built 
in  frames,  a  considerable  distance  from  the  cliffs, 
with  the  expectation  that  high  tides  will  fill  the 
juterval  with  shingle,  and  so  jirotect  the  cliffs. 

The  plans  for  the  new  post-office  for  Plymouth, 
about  to  be  erected  iu  the  Guildhall-aquare,  have 
been  submitted  to  the  town  couucil  by  Mr.  Rivers, 
the  surveyor  to  H.M.  Board  of  Works.  The  style 
is  Gothic,  harmonising  with  the  adjacent  buildmg 
in  the  square  :  and  the  works  will  be  commcncea 
early  in  the  spring. 

The  patent  office  of  Riuge  Croix  Pursuivant  in 
the  Herald's  College,  Loiidijn,  vacated  by  the 
promotion  of  Mr.  S.  I.  Tucker  to  be  Somerset 
Herat  1,  has  been  conferred  on  Mr.  Henry  Famham 
Burke,  eldest  son  of  Sir  Bernard  Burke,  Ulster 
King-at-Arms. 

The  parish-church  of  Newton  Abbot,  Devon, 
was  reopened  on  Sundiy  week,  after  the  addition 
of  a  new  organ-chamber  and  vestry.  The  work 
has  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  C.  Stevens,  buiUer,  of 
Newtn  Abbot. 

Mr,  G.  C.  Haddon,  the  architect,  informs  us 
that  Beer  stone,  not  Bath  stone,  as  stated  last 
week,  was  used  in  connection  with  the  erection  of 
the  new  church  of  St.  Ann,  Eistboume. 

Two  men.  named  Finch  and  Durrant,  were  at 
work  restoring  the  roof  ot  the  parish-church  of 
Stanningfield,  Suffolk,  on  Thursday  week,  when 
the  supports  gave  way,  and  they  fell  into  the 
church,  the  former  breakmg  an  arm  and  leg,  and 
the  Utter  a  collar-bone. 

The  town  coimcil  of  Dorchester  discussed  the 
subject  of  sewerage  and  sewage  disposal  on  Mon  • 
day,  and  decided  not  to  adopt  the  Aylesbury  or 
any  other  public  company's  plan,  but  to  work  out 
a  scheme  for  themselves.  By  a  majority  ot  6  to  3 
the  borough  surveyor  was  instructed  to  prepare 
plans  on  the  precipitation  system. 

On  Saturday  last,  the  foundation-stone  for  a 
iecond  Biard-school  was  laid  at  Mnrley.  The 
school  will  cost  £G,000,  and  will  be  built  in  the 
Eirly  English  style,  with  local  pitch-faced  wall- 
stones,  with  boasted  dressings,  the  roof  being 
covered  with  Westmoreland  slates.  It  will  be 
divided  into  three  departments,  to  accommodate 
•'70  bovs,  270  girls,  aud  210  infants.  The  work 
bas  bee'n  let  in  one  contract  to  Messrs.  Obank  and 
Son.  of  Idle.  The  architect  is  Mr.  J.  Svkes,  of 
Morley,  and  the  clerk  of  works  Mr.  J.  T.  Brown, 
of  Leeds. 

New  Board-schools  were  opened  on  Monday  by 
the  Ystradyfodwg  School  Board  at  Mardy,  a  ncjr 
village  in  the  Rhonda  Vach  Valley.  Idc  schools 
will  accommodate  300  children,  and,  with  Iilay- 
ground,  occupy  halt  an  acre  of  land  The  »r'^l"l«:t 
ias  Mr.  John  J.  Evans^  9'^.  '  .°' w'J"  /^.T^ 
Mr.  W.  W.  PhilUps,  of  Haford,  took  the  contract 
for  erection  at  £1,500. 

A  new  gasDmetcr  is  being  constructed  at  tha 
Gorleston  and  Southtown  K*^'^''''"'  .VrSXht 
It  is  200ft.  in  circumference,  and  nses  to  a  height 
of  45ft  from  foundations,  which  arc  of  bncki, 
set  on  a  2ft.  layer  of  concrete.  The  floor  and  wall. 
are  of  <^t-iron  plates,  and  the  /I'd'"?  J,""'  " 
carried  oTa  central  square  pillar  ot  trell.sed  iron, 
"fThigh  and  2ft.  square,  with  eight  tension-rods, 
^d  numerous  ties  and  braces,  ^he  capacity  for 
pas  is  about  60,000  cubic  feet.  Messrs.  S.  Cutler 
f^d  Sons"  engiiieers,  of  MiUwaU,  E.,  are  carrymg 
out  the  contract. 


312 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


Buili:iin3  5rntclligtuct 

DrBLix. — On  Wednesday  Treek  tlie  chapel  of 
St.  Columbus'  College,  Rathfamham,  Dublin, 
was  dedicated.  The  internal  dimen.sions  of  the 
chapel  are  SOft.  in  length,  28ft.  in  -(ridth,  .and 
40ft.  in  height ;  -with  the  addition  of  an  organ 
transept  on  the  south  side,  and  a  porch  and  bell 
turret  at  the  north-west  end.  This  porch 
stands  in  direct  line  with  the  cloister  built  by 
the  late  Primate  in  18.52,  which  is  intended  to 
be  carried  on  up  to  the  chapel  at  some  future 
time.  The  chapel  stands  at  right  angles  to  the 
hall  and  schoolroom,  and  is  elevated  on  a  terrace 
cut  in  the  slope  above  the  other  buildings.  The 
exterior  walling  and  quoins  are  of  dressed 
sranite,  quarried  in  the  college  grounds,  with 
Bath  stone  at  intervals  for  bands,  string-course, 
and  copings,  and  for  windows.  The  style  of 
the  building  is  Early  Decorated.  The  chapel  is 
intended  to  seat  1.55  persons.  The  ante-chapel, 
and  the  central  passage  of  the  choir,  which  is 
from  8ft.  to  IQJft.  wide,  and  the  sanctuary,  are 
paved  with  Minton's  tiles,  in  black,  red,  grey, 
yellow,  and  buff  colours,  semi-glazed  and 
unglazed.  The  side  walls  and  western  wall  are 
faced  with  the  same  to  a  height  of  oft.  ;  and  the 
reredos  consists  of  moulded  Bath  stone,  rising 
from  a  slab  of  dark  grey  fossil  marble,  arched 
in  relief  over  coloured  tiles  in  a  mosaic  pattern. 
The  sedilia  ard  the  credence  table  are  similarly 
treated.  The  alabaster  pulpit  has  been  removed 
from  the  old  chapel  and  refitted.  The  lectern. 
of  Caen  stone,  has beenrefitted  also,  and  mounted 
upon  a  solid  block  of  green  marble.  The  roof  is 
of  Memel  fir,  stained  a  light  colour.  A  series 
of  stained-glass  windows  has  been  designed  by 
the  architect;  of  which  several  are  already  exe- 
cuted. The  cost  of  the  building  has  been 
£6,100,  independent  of  special  gifts,  the  value 
of  which  is  very  considerable,  and  apart  from 
sundry  items,  the  cost  of  which  has  not  yet  been 
ascertained.  The  chapel  was  designed  by  Mr. 
Buttei-field. 

FoBT  Augustus. — On  the  21th  ult.  the  com- 
pleted Monastery  of  St.  Benedict,  Port 
Augustus,  was  opened.  The  foundiition-stone 
of  the  College  was  laid  by  the  TVIarquis  of  Eipon 
in  September,  1870.  The  buildings  were  pro- 
ceeded with  with  great  rapidity,  and  in  1S7S  the 
College  was  opened.  The  buildings  now  com- 
pleted consist  of  the  monastery,  which  has 
accommodation  for  forty  or  fifty  monks ;  the 
hospice,  which  is  divided  into  twenty-four 
rooms  ;  and  the  college,  with  dormitories,  halls, 
and  class-rooms,  calculated  to  accommodate 
about  100  pupils.  These  buildings  occupy  the 
three  sides  of  a  quadrangle,  the  remaining  side 
being  only  closed  in  by  the  cloisters,  and  from 
the  centre  of  it  an  arch  opens  into  a  fine  .scrip- 
torium, supported  by  central  arches.  This  is 
the  south  side  of  the  quadrangle,  and  the  inten- 
tion is  to  erect  here  at  some  future  date  a  branch 
to  the  cloisters,  with  an  octagonal  chapter-house 
and  a  church.  The  north  side  of  the  quadrangle 
is  taken  up  by  the  college,  the  west  side  of  the 
ho.ipice,  and  the  east  si.le  by  the  monastery. 
Inside  the  quadrangle  are  the  cloisters,  designed 
by  Messrs.  Pugin,  of  Westminster.  These  are 
Early  Decorated  Gothic.  A  spacious  open 
ambulatory,  accessible  from  the  fiist  floor  of 
the  monastery,  occupies  the  roof  of  the  cloisters. 
The  passage  floors  are  of  tiles,  while  the  wood 
works  inside  are  chiefly  of  pitch  pine  and  oak. 
The  whole  buildings,  as  already  completed, 
represent  an  expenditure  of  about  £05,000,  and 
the  entire  buildings  contemplated  are  estimated 
to  cost  about  £100,000.  The  cloisters  alone 
have  cost  £7,000,  and  the  scriptorium  cost  about 
£1,000.  The  works  have  been  conducted  under 
the  direction  of  the  Benedictine  Fathers,  by 
tradesmen  under  the  immediate  charge  of  a 
clerk  of  works,  the  present  clerk  of  works  being 
3Ir.  Andrew  Cruickshank,  a  Banffshire  man. 

Ielams-o'  -  th'  -  Height.  — The  foundation- 
stones  of  a  new  Wesleyan  chapel,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old  one,  which  was  seriously  injured 
by  fire,  at  Irlams-o'-th'-Height  were  laid  on 
Saturday.  The  new  building  will  stand  on  the 
site  of  the  old  one,  near  the  junction  of  the 
Swinton  and  Pendlebury  roads,  and  accommo- 
dation will  be  provided  for  5.50  people.  Inter- 
nally it  will  measure  6Sft.  by  41ft.,  the  height 
to  the  ceiling  being  Sift.  The  chapel  will  be 
Gothic  in  style,  with  centre  gable  towards  the 
road  and  large  traceried  window  over  the 
entrances.    The  contract  has  been  let  to  Messrs. 


R.  Neill  and  Sons  for  £2,150.  Mr.  R.  K. 
Freeman,  of  Bolton  and  Derby,  is  the  archi- 
tect. 

M.iiDSTONE. — A  new  Roman  Catholic  Church 
erected  in  Week- street,  Maidstone,  will  be 
opened  in  the  early  part  of  next  month  The 
building  consists  of  a  nave  with  aisle  at  each 
side,  about  GOft.  long  and  together  about  42ft. 
wide ;  a  chancel,  side  chapel,  organ-chamber  and 
sacristy,  25ft.  long  and  together  lOft.  wide,  the 
end  of  the  chancel  being  apscd.  A  tower  which 
forms  one  of  the  entrance  porches  is  attached  to 
the  westernmost  bay  of  the  south  aisle,  and  there 
is  another  porch  at  the  west  end  of  the  north 
aisle.  The  style  adopted  is  Geometrical 
Decorated,  the  building  being  constructed  of  red 
bricks,  with  Bath  stone  bands  and  dressings. 
The  architect  is  Mr.  C.  G.  Wray,  of  Regent's 
Park.  The  contractor  is  Mr.  J.  G.  jSTaylar,  of 
Rochester.  The  carving  is  by  Mr.  Boulton,  of 
Cheltenham.  The  altar  is  the  work  of  Messrs. 
Vaughan  Bros.,  of  Maidstone. 

HrLVEBTox. — The  parish-church  of  Old 
Milverton,  near  Leamington,  was  reopened  on 
Thursday,  the  2nd  in-t.,  after  entire  rebuilding 
except  the  base  of  tower.  The  church  now  con- 
sists of  nave,  30ft.  by  20ft.,  with  north  aisle 
oOft.  by  10ft.,  chancel,  25ft.  by  ISft.  The  style 
is  Early  English.  The  walls  are  of  local  stone 
from  Lady  Percy's  quarries,  and  the  quoins  and 
tracery  are  of  Hcillington.  The  nave  and  aisle 
roofs  show  the  timbers  with  plastering  between, 
that  over  chancel  being  of  varnished  pitch-pine. 
The  whole  of  the  seating  and  other  fittings  are 
of  oak,  waxed  and  poUsheel.  The  chancel  is 
paved  with  Minton  tiles,  and  the  nave  and  aisle 
with  Peake's  terra-metallic  tiles  ;  the  heating  is 
by  hot-water  pipes.  There  are  six  memorial 
stained-glass  windows.  The  reredos  and  font 
have  been  executed  from  the  architect's  special 
designs  by  Messrs.  Mabey  and  Co.,  of  London. 
Near  by  is  a  new  vicarage  house.  A  new  organ 
is  .about  to  be  built  by  Hill,  of  Londor.  The 
architect  for  church  and  vicarage  is  Mr.  John 
Gibson,  of  London  ;  the  contractor  Mr.  G.  F. 
Smith,  of  Milverton,  who  recently  built  the 
church  of  St.  Mark  at  New  Milverton.  The 
entire  cost  has  been  about  £7,000. 

Oi.DHi5i. — The  additions  to  the  Olham  School 
of  Art  are  now  completed.  The  School  of 
Science  and  Art  is  built  in  the  Classic  style,  and 
the  cost  of  the  additions  now  made  will  be 
between  £7,000  and  £8,000.  The  building  con- 
sists of  the  following  departments :— On  the 
ground  floor:  Machine  drawing  and  practical 
plane  and  solid  geometry  department  (three 
rooms),  12ft.  9in.  by  20ft.,  42ft.  6in.  by  28ft. 
6in.,  and  12ft.  Gin.  by  27ft.  Gin.;  office  and 
master's  room,  20ft.  by  16ft.  9in.  First  floor  : 
Mathematics  (two  rooms),  13ft.  by  20ft.  and 
12ft.  Gin.  by  2Sft.  Gin. ;  mechanical  drawing, 
12ft.  6iu.  by  27ft.  Gin.  ;  physical  labor.atcry, 
25ft.  by  20ft.  Second  floor :  Building  construc- 
tion, lift.  Sin.  by  28ft.  Gin.  ;  chemical  lecture- 
room,  lift.  3in.  by  20ft. ;  art,  lift.  Sin.  by  27ft. 
9in.  ;  and  chemical  laboratory,  25ft.  by  20ft. 
The  premises  are  provided  with  the  latest 
soiectific  improvements,  and  are  tastefully 
fitted  up.  They  are  heated  by  hot  water,  and 
very  effective  arrangcmeuts  have  been  made  for 
ventilation,  the  whole  of  the  foul  air  being 
carried  away  by  a  powerful  extractioa  shaft. 
The  work  has  been  executed  from  the  designs 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  George 
Woodhouse,  architect,  Bolton,  and  Mr.  Edward 
Potts,  architect,  Oldham. 


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CHIPS. 

It  is  officially  reported  that  more  money  has 
been  expended  this  year  for  new  buildings  and 
substantial  repairs  and  improvements  iu  New 
York  city  than  at  any  time  since  1S73.  The  returns 
of  the  Department  of  Buildings  for  the  six  months 
ending  July  1  show  that  1,100  new  buildingshave 
been  commenced,  at  a  total  estimated  cost  of 
ll,800,000Jols.,  or  nearly  13,500dols.  for  each. 
This  is  3,000,000  dots,  more  than  was  expended 
for  these  objects  in  the  same  period  of  last  year, 
and  double  as  much  as  in  1877. 

Mr.  C.  T.  Gomoszynski,  assistant  in  the  sur- 
veyor's office  at  North  Shields,  has  been  elected 
borough  surveyor  and  engineer  for  the  town,  at  a 
salary  of  £31 0  per  annum. 

The  parish -church  of  Llangeinor,  near  B'ackmill 
railway  station,  Ogmore  Vale,  was  reopened  on 
Monday  after  restoration,  including  partial  re- 
building of  walls,  new  windows,  and  reseating. 


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NOW  EEADY, 
Handsnmelyboundin  cloth,  Vol,  XXXVIII.  of  theBciLD- 
iN-o  News.    Price  Twelve  Shillings.      Order  at  once,  as 
only  a  limited  number  are  bound  up. 

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P.FCEivED.- J.  F.  E.-C.  of  G.— T.  and  E.  B.— J.  C.-B. 
of  O.  D. 

A.  SEVMOtnt.  (Any  of  the  following  are  "sympathetic" 
or  invisible  inks  :— P.ose  colour :  Write  with  a  solution 
of  cobalt  in  spirit  of  nitie.  Green  :  Mix  solutions  of 
nitrate  and  chloride  of  cobalt  ard  chioiide  of  copper. 
Yellow  :  A  solution  of  muriate  of  copper.  Blue :  A 
solution  of  pure  muriate  of  cobalt.  These  all  appear  on 
the  paper  when  heated  and  disappear  if  allowed  to  cool 
in  a  moist  atmosphere.)— J.  LKiMisG.  (We  think 
your  statement  had  better  be  published  in  the  jotu-nal 
in  -which  your  papers  appeared.  At  any  rate,  wc  hesi- 
tate to  insert  it,  as  it  might  involve  an  action  for  libel.) 
— H.  J.  P\WELi..  (We  piefcrnot  to  recommend  makers, 
but  we  have  no  doubt  llessrs.  F.  W.  Reynolds  and  Co. 
would  supply  your  requirements,  and  advise  you  as  to 
the  machine  most  suitable.)— A  Sdbscribkh,  H.  C.  (No 
satisfactory  method,  but  try  drying  the  spots  well  and 
brushing  otf,  then  bleach  w'ith  a  weak  solution  of  chlo- 
ride of  lime  applied  with  a  pencil,  drying  off  carefully 
with  blotting-paper  and  a  hot  iron.) 


Coiatsp0nlicnte. 

— ^^-* — 

QUANTITIES. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  BuiLDEfO  News. 

Siu, —  Ecsumiug,  by  your  kindness,  ray 
remarks  on  "  Quantities,"  I  now  come  to  other 
points  in  the  paper  by  Mr.  Hughes  where  I 
differ  from  him,  and  whatever  may  be  said  by 
builders  and  others,  it  will  be  a  black  day  for 
arcliitects  when  they  permit  the  right  of  taking 
out  quantities,  either  by  themselves  or  properly 
qualified  deputies,  to  be  filched  from  them. 

The  author  of  the  paper  xmder  review  says, 
"That  he  only  knows  one  line  of  argument  in 
favour  of  an  architect  acting  as  his  own  quantity 
surveyor,  viz.,  that  no  other  person  can  know  so 
well  as  himself  what  are  his  requirements,  as 
shown  and  described  by  bis  plans  and  specifica- 
tions, nor  is  any  other  person  likely  to  know 
what  changes  take  place  requiring  measurement 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


313 


as  the  work  progresses.  At  first  sight,  to  a 
novice,  this  argument  appears  plausible,  and 
with  a  first-class  architect,  it  may  be  made  to 
■work  tolerably  well."  Now,  evidently,  he  is 
anxious  to  convince  us  (and  we  are  not  all  novices) 
that  his  argument  is  sound,  for  mark,  it  is  said, 
that  the  practice  with  a  first-class  architect  may 
be  made  to  work  tolerably  well.  But  it  is  a 
fact  that  this  reprehensible  custom  works  ex- 
ceedingly well  for  the  proprietor  ;  for  then  the 
builder  only  receives  the  actual  value  of  the 
work  he  executes,  and  that  is  where  the  sting 
lies  ;  anxious  for  extras,  they  yet  do  not  care  for 
deductions.  There  is,  however,  another  advan- 
tage on  the  side  of  the  architect  who  takes  out 
his  own  quantities.  He  knows  how  faithfully 
they  are  taken,  and  is  thereby  enabled  to  advise 
his  client,  and  can  tell  whether  the  tenders 
which  may  be  sent  in  are  bona  fdc  or  "cooked." 
It  was  no  uncommon  thing  here  in  Liverpool,  a 
year  or  two  ago,  for  builders  to  arrange  their 
tenders,  and  thus  any  advantages  which  could 
be  reaped  from  honest  competition  wore  ruth- 
lessly shunted  aside.  So  largely  was  this  prac- 
tice carried  on,  that  some  architects  who  took 
out  their  own  quantities  also  priced  them,  add- 
ing a  fail  and  reasonable  margin  of  profit  for 
the  contractor,  and  thus  they  were  enabled  to 
judge  if  that  discreditable  ctistom  had  been 
adopted.  I  know  a  builder  who  lent  himself  iu 
an  evil  hour  to  that  system;  but  who  afterwards 
reconsidered  hLs  position  in  the  matter,  and  re- 
pented. For  stepping  back  into  the  paths  of 
duty,  he  received  a  pitiless  castigation  from  some 
of  his  brother-builders.  How  can  an  architect, 
if  quantities  are  taken  ofE  outside  his  office,  know 
•whether  they  actually  represent  the  plans  and 
specifications,  or  are  taken  out  in  a  most  liberal 
manner,  to  the  unbounded  delight  of  the  builder, 
and  if  so  fulty  taken  out,  at  whose  cost 
is  it  ?  Why,  in  the  Building  News  an  instance 
was  given  but  lately,  where  the  frontage 
was  greater  than  shown  on  plans,  and  when  the 
builder  preferred  his  claim  for  the  extra,  it  was 
successfully  resisted.  Had  the  work  been  re- 
measured  and  valued,  we  might  have  witnessed 
the  boiling  of  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish ;  but  con- 
tractor, like  a  wise  man,  perceived  "discretion " 
to  be  "  the  better  part  of  valour."  But  there  is 
yet  another  advantage  gained  when  the  architect 
takes  out  his  own  quantities.  It  assists  him 
most  materially  in  maturing  his  plans  and 
perfecting  his  specification.  It  is  a  training 
which  every  architect  ought  to  strive  after  in 
self-defence,  as  well  as  in  his  client's  interest.  It 
gives  bJTn  a  grasp  of  the  work  in  hand  which 
cannot  be  successfully  attained  by  other  means, 
and  it  enables  him  to  meet  the  builder  on  equal 
terms  on  his  own  ground.  I  therefore  think 
that  only  a  novice  will  be  deceived  by  such  an 
ad  (-aptandtim  argument  as  that  advanced  by  our 
author,  and  thus  I  hold  that  architects  should  be 
perfectly  competent,  and  are  quite  justified  in 
taking  out  their  quantities.  The  hard-headed 
folks  here  in  the  North  too  often  expect  archi- 
tects to  be  "  Admirable  Crichton's,"  and  they 
almost  invariably  want  to  know  what  the  work 
will  actually  cost.  Well,  it  may  be  possible  to 
arrive  at  the  cost  approximately  ;  by  allowing  a 
certain  sum  per  supl.  yard,  or  by  cubing,  one 
may  come  somewhere  near  the  mark  ;  but  the 
road  to  certaintj-  is  to  prepare  quantities  and 
price  them. 

Pioceeding  still  further,  the  author  says,  "  the 
architect,  as  a  rule,  looks  upon  himself  as  the 
servant  of  his  client  only,"  and  a  little  lower 
down,  "where  the  architect  is  young  in  the 
profession,"  he  is  "more  subject  to  the  influence 
that  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  him  by  his 
client.**  We  here  see  the  cloven  foot  peeping 
out  under  a  flowing  dress.  Does  he  wish  ar- 
chitects to  consider  themselves  as  builders'  ser- 
vants, and  simply  to  register  their  doings?  Why, 
that  is  even  going  beyond  the  attempt  to  dictate 
to  proprietors  and  architects,  who  shall  be  the 
derk  of  works  on  a  building.  The  architect  is 
really  the  agent  of  the  client  retained  to  watch 
over  his  interests.  But  there  is  another  side  to 
the  latter  part  of  the  word-painting  held  up  to 
our  view,  and  I  think  the  obverse  may  hold 
equally  good.  The  builder  may  use  his  know- 
ledge and  influence  to  the  prejudice  of  the  chent. 
He  may  pose  as  the  friend,  adviser,  and  mentor 
of  the  young  architect,  and  obtaining  a  hold  over 
him,  pretend  to  take  the  greatest  interest  in  the 
object  of  his  soUcitude.  In  many  cases  this 
interest  degenerates  into  £.  s.  d.,  and  in  the  zeal 
to  grow  rich,  professions  and  protestations  are 
eaten  up.     It  is  wonderful  how  assertions  even, 


when  boldly  stated  by  a  skilled  hand,  if  turned 
round  and  examined,  vanish  into  mid  air,  and 
leave  but  a  fair-t  trace  behind  them  of  their 
previous  existence. 

In  another  part  we  have  at  "  C  "  a  statement 
made  which  has  not  received  due  consideration. 
It  is  there  propounded  that  "  An  architect  in 
good  practice  has  the  usual  daOy  routine  of 
duties  to  attend,  which  will  necessarily  prevent 
him  giving  the  solo  and  undivided  attention 
which  is  absolutely  necessary  while  the  process 
of  abstracting  quantities  is  proceeding,  other- 
wise errors  of  a  more  or  less  serious  character 
are  sure  to  occur ;  nor  can  a  measurer's  duty  be 
properly  delegated  to  assistants,  any  more  than 
can  the  heavy,  responsible  duties  of  eminent 
physicians  or  lawyers  be  delegated  to  unqualified 
clerks."  But  gently  :  is  this  not  proving  too 
much  ■  Here  is  a  "new  Daniel  come  to  pronounce 
judgment."  Pray,  why  cannot  these  duties  be 
delegated  to  assistants  if  they  are  quite  competent 
to  perform  them  f  Are  heavy,  responsible  duties 
tmdertaken  by  eminent  lawyers  always  well 
performed,  and  is  the  advice  they  give  always 
sound;'  If  so,  it  is  a  singular  thing  that  so 
much  litigation  should  always  be  going  on  in 
otir  law-courts.  It  may  be  admitted  that  occa- 
sionally even  an  unqualified  clerk  would  have 
given  soimder  advice  on  disputed  points  than 
the  eminent  professional.  But  does  a  builder 
not  delegate  the  prepiiration  of  very  elaborate 
joinery  or  masonry  to  the  hands  of  workmen 
(and  there  is  nothing  improper  in  so  doing)  'r 
Why,  then,  should  it  be  wrong  in  t'ne  case  of  the 
architect ':  Suppose  architects  demanded  that 
a  piece  of  specific  "work  in  bricklaying,  masonry, 
and  joinery  should  be  undertakeu  and  executed 
solely  by  the  contractor  himself,  what  a  pretty 
stew  even  our  author,  with  all  his  abilities, 
would  find  himself  in  ;  and  the  one  demand  is 
just  as  reasonable  as  the  other.  I  admit  having 
propounded  a  redta'tio  od  absurditm  ;  but  yet  it  is 
not  more  absurd  than  what  has  been  advanced 
by  the  writer  of  the  paper  I  am  dealing  with. 
One  would  suppose,  from  the  words  used,  that 
abstracting  quantities  was  the  most  difiicult part 
of  the  work  ;  but  here  our  critic's  knowledge  is 
all  at  sea.  If  the  items  are  plainly  written  down 
in  the  quantity  book,  no  such  mistakes  as  it  is 
asserted  must  take  place  can  occur :  and  I  assert 
from  practical  experience  that  I  consider  ab- 
stracting to  be  the  easiest  part  of  the  work.  I 
may  fairly  hoist  him  now  with  his  own  petard 
and  leave  him  there. 

Regarding  the  question  of  payment  of  quan- 
tities, there  are  three  plans  adopted  here :  with 
some  the  charge  is  included  in  the  estimate,  and 
the  amount  is  paid  over  by  the  builder  when  he  j 
receives  the  first  instalment ;  with  others  the 
charge  is  added  to  the  estimate,  but  the  amoimt 
is  paid  over  direct  by  the  proprietor  ;  and  there 
are  others  who  charge  it  directly  to  their  clients. 
The  last  method  is  most  decidedly  the  best, 
although  the  second  has  a  good  deal  to  recom- 
mend it;  the  first  has  only  custom  in  its 
favour. 

The  gist  of  the  paper  which  I  have  hut  im- 
perfectly looked  at  is  evidently  intended  to  limit 
architects  to  the  preparation  of  plans  and  specifi- 
cations ;  but  whit  a  fix  many  builders  would  be 
in  if  architects  rounded  on  them,  and  said,  "  We 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  builders  who  pre- 
pare plans,  and  in  many  cases  speak  most  dis- 
paragingly of  us.  Nor  shall  we  have  any  deal- 
ings with  those  contractors  who  put  lime  rub- 
bish from  old  buildings  amongsst  new  mortar 
instead  of  sand,  and  assert  that  it  is  good  ;  who 
build  rotten,  defective,  or  broken  bricks  into 
piUars  intended  to  carry  a  great  weight ;  who 
set  stone  which  speedily  crumbles  away,  and 
who  lay  fungoid  timber  "in  walls.  That  would 
be  carrying  war  into  the  enemy's  camp  with  a 
vengeance,  and  would  spread  the  wilde-st  conster- 
nation in  their  ranks.  Would  builders  then 
make  up  a  goodly  band,  when  they  met  archi- 
tects, to  take  into  consideration  the  best  means 
of  ridding  themselves  and  the  world  of  "im- 
postors ' '  f 

I  now  leave  the  breach  open  for  those  more 
interested  than  I,  in  attacking  or  defending  the 
paper  I  have  criticised  to  some  extent. 

Like  Hal  o'  the  W.ynd,  I  may  again  plunge 
into  the  melcc  when  it  waxes  fiercest,  and  like 
he,  fight  for  my  own  hand  :  but  a  silent  mentor 
bids  me  halt,"  and  brings  to  my  mind  the 
quotation.  "  Nemo  mortalium  omnibus  horis 
sapit."  To  our  author  I  would  just  say.  Peg 
away  till  the  evils  which  exist  are  removed. 
He  is  anxious  to  obtain  good  honest  work,     ^o 


am  I.  When  the  "Antidote"  is  read  at  the 
next  meeting  of  master-builders  we  may  again 
meet  in  friendly  converse. 

There  are  two  shght  errors  in  my  last  letter, 
which  you  will  kindly  allow  mu  to  correct.  I 
suppose  it  is  traceable  to  my  own  careless  pen- 
manship. In  the  middle  column,  page  2SG,  line* 
■46  and  -17  from  the  top,  it  reads  as  follows,  viz., 
"  the  uppermost,  4.5ft.  of  the  lower,"  whereas  it 
should  have  been  "  the  uppermost  4.)ft.  of  the 
tower."  In  the  same  columc,  lino  \b  from  the 
bottom,  the  mistake  occurs  in  the  figures  "  3  to 
1."  AVhat  I  intended  to  show  was  the  amount 
of  work  on  the  faces  of  the  ditlerent  wtautlings 
of  stone,  and  that  the  thinnest  in  its  respective 
value  over  the  others  was  iu  the  ratio  of  3,  2, 
and  1.— I  am,  &c., 

Liverpool,  Sept.  4.  liDWAED  Reid. 

THE  DESIGNS  FOR  THE  NEW  TOWN- 
HALL  OF  GLASGOW. 

Sm, — The  subject  which  during  the  last  four 
months  has  most  fully  engaged  the  thoughls, 
and  most  powerfully  excited  the  interest,  of  the 
civilized  parts  of  the  population  of  Gla.-'fow— 
and  be  it  understood  that  in  this  descrii.tii.u  I 
include  no  Philistines— has  been,  not  the  K,i,-tem 
question,  nor  the  Irish  Laud  question,  nor  .Mr. 
Gladstone's  illness,  but  the  subject  of  the  new 
town-hall,  which  it  has  been  decided  to  erect  ; 
certainly,  not  before  it  was  badly  wanted. 
From  the  outset,  mistakes  and  mismanagemeDt, 
bungling  and  bother,  have  marked  every  step  of 
this  unfortunate  business.  The  city  couijcil,  or, 
rather,  a  majority  therein,  determined  that  the 
sum  to  be  allotted  for  the  charge  of  the  work 
was  to  be  f  1.50,000,  and  afterwards  announced 
that  the  limit  was  not  to  be  strictly  adhered  to. 
by  architects  taking  part  in  the  competition.  If 
this  was  reaUy  intended,  it  was  ob\'ious  that  the 
naming  of  a  particular  sum,  and  one  which 
every  person  at  all  acquainted  with  the  subject 
was  aware  would  be  quite  inadequate  to  obtuia 
an  edifice  likely  to  give  satisfaction  to  the 
inhabitants,  could  only  tend  to  mislead ;  and 
experience  has  amply  shown  the  correctness  of 
this  anticipation. 

After  all  our  perplexities,  do  we  at  length  see- 
our  way  out  of  them?  The  leport  of  Mr.  C. 
Barry  on  the  designs  of  the  competitors,  which 
was  read  to  this  tuwn  council  on  Thursday,  •2nd 
September,  cannot  be  pronounced  a  satisfactory 
document,  and  is  marked  by  a  deficiency  in 
clearness  which  probably  corre.-iponds  to  a  state- 
of  mental  confusion  in  the  writer.  It  shows  one- 
gross  inconsistency  which  is  most  discreditable 
to  any  architect  of  intelligence.  The  allotted 
sum  being  £150,000,  Mr.  Barry  awards  the  pre- 
miums to  three  architects  who.^e  designs  lie 
calculated  would  cost  in  execution,  respectively, 
the  sums  of  £'220,000,  £200,000,  and  £1SS,000, 
the  first  premium  being  awarded  to  the  most 
expensive  design,  which  would  eo^t  nearly  50 
per  cent,  above  the  assigned  limit  '.  He  accom- 
panies this  award  with  a  statement  that  other 
desia-ns  sent  in  are  of  much  superior  merit,  but 
that"  he  is  obliged  to  exclude  them  in  conse- 
quence of  their  exceeding  the  authorised  limit  of 
£150,000.  Beading  a  httle  further,  we  find  that 
the  cost  of  the  designs  so  excluded  "appear  to 
range  from£lS0,000to£250,000."  Can  absurdity 
o-o  further  ?  The  first  premium  is  awarded  to  a 
design  that  is  to  cost  £220,000,  but  designs  of 
muc"h  superior  merit  are  excluded,  because  they 
cost  from  £180,000  to  £250,000  !  Mr.  Barry 
must  have  but  a  poor  ideaof  the  inhabitants  ot  the 
second  city  of  the  empire,  if  he  thinks  they  would 
consent  to  be  put  otf  with  a  second  or  third-rate 
article  for  a  matter  of  £30,000.  But  what  idea 
are  these  said  inhabitants  to  form  ot  the  mteUi. 
^ence  of  this  judicial  Englkh  architect,  who, 
after  two  protracted  visits  to  GlasL-ow,  and  two 
months'  incubation-for  which  the  ■  .uDca  will, 
of  coiu-se,  be  made  "  to  pay  through  the  nose 
-can  produce  nothing  better  than  a  report 
which  carries  a  gross  absurdity  on  Us  face .  Ihe 
council,  on  its  part,  hardly  cuts  a  b-tter  fig^^ 
The  least  thev  could  have  done  woul.!  hare  been 
,o  a.sk  him  "to  specify  the  part.eular  desagn* 
which  he  regudcA  as  absolutely  "-Jlf"'.  ^^ 
an  estimate,  as  uearly  as  could  be  made,  of  thar 
nrobable  cost.  But  instead  of  this,  they  at  once, 
Spon  the  motioa  of  Mr.  CoUias  the  provos^^ 
Tr^ei  to  accept  the  report,  and  of  cour>e  to 
award  the  premiums  as  therein  recommended. 
?ra^pearsto  me  that  the  case  has  ansen  irom 
Sg  upon  the  Lord  Provost  to  redeem  the 
^1  which  he  gave  on  the  last  occasion  when 


314 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


the  council  discussed  the  subject,  to  defray  the 
premiums  out  of  his  own  pocket,  iu  the  event  of 
the  course  taken  upon  his  recommendation  not 
being  found  satisfactory.  As  he  has  himself 
been  the  principal  mover  of  the  council  in  their 
proceedings  throughout,  he  cannot  complain  if 
he  is  now  called  upon  to  redeem  his  pledge. 

A  visit  to  the  designs,  which  are  now  exposed 
to  public  view  in  the  Corporation  galleries, 
arouses  a  feeling  of  melancholy  at  the  amount  of 
industry  which  has  been  expended  by  nearly 
100  competitors,  to  so  little  purpose,  either  for 
themselves  or  for  the  interests  of  architecture. 
There  are  few  so  destitute  of  merit  that  they 
could  be  pronounced  unworthy  of  the  object, 
and  few,  on  the  other  hand,  which  rise  above  the 
level  of  commonplace.  Three- fourths  of  them 
may  be  taken  as  being  on  a  footing  of  equality. 
The  favourite  style,  of  which  the  leading  cha- 
racteristic is  round-headed  windows,  bears  a 
close  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Hidl  Town-haU, 
of  which  a  vcrv  neat  engraving  appeared  in  the 
Compamon  to  the  British  Almanack  for  1867.  The 
lesult  will  be  a  building  of  much  the  same 
general  character,  though  larger,  if  any  of  the 
premiated  designs  are  carried  out,  of  which  I 
think  there  is  little  probability.  It  was,  of 
course,  quite  natural  that  a  Leeds  architect 
sliould  have  this  example  in  his  mind.  The 
Classical  style,  which  has  been  generally  con- 
strued as  including  the  Renaissance,  was  in  a 
manner  forced  upon  the  council  by  the  existing 
architecture  of  George-square,  the  site  of  the 
proposed  new  building,  and  has  been  adhered  to 
by  the  competitors,  except  in  one  instance.  A 
gentleman  who  has  no  other  motto  or  device 
than  "Town  Hall"  has  S;nt  a  design  com- 
pounded of  Venetian  Gothic  and  Flemish  ele- 
ments of  very  considerable  merit.  It  is  at  least  a 
proof  of  liberality  in  the  governing  powers  that 
this  was  not  excluded,  as  it  certainly  might 
have  been  under  the  conditions  prescribed.  But 
as  the  Renaissance — a  wide  and  various  denomi- 
nation— was  held,  and  very  rightly,  to  come 
within  the  terms  of  competition  ;  it  is  rather 
surprising  that  so  little  aptitude  for  handling  it 
should  have  been  displayed  by  the  competitors. 
There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  excellent  models 
might  have  been  found  in  the  Continental  town- 
halls  of  the  later  Mediteval  era,  but  the  designs 
show  no  trace  of  any  acquaintance  with  them. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  assimilate  to 
rich  and  picturesque  varieties  of  French,  Flemish, 
and  German  buildings,  though  some  of  these  were 
successfully  imitated  by  English  and  Scotch 
architects  of  the  Jacobean  and  Carolvian  days. 
For  proof  I  need  not  point  to  Haddon  and 
Longleat,  but  to  the  town-halls  of  two  old- 
fashioned  English  towns,  Abingdon  and  Lynn. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Classical  style 
is  a  most  difficult  one  to  handle  in  such  a  way 
as  to  attain  any  novel  or  striking  effect,  combined 
■n  ith  the  character  of  diguiiied  repose  and  solid 
stability  essential  to  its  worthy  treatment.  The 
last  generation  was  surfeited  with  Greek 
temples,  adapted  for  purposes  differing  as  widely 
as  a  Christian  church  and  a  General  Post  Office  ; 
the  present  has  been  equally  so  with  French  and 
Italian  Renaissance,  not  in  the  grand  style  of 
Blois  and  St.  Germain,  Florence,  and  Genoa, 
but  in  a  poor  imitation  of  the  structures  of  the 
Second  Empire.  It  is  impossible  to  congratulate 
many  of  the  competitors  on  their  successful 
treatment  of  the  style  which  brought  high 
fortune  and  lasting  fame  to  Perrault  and  Man- 
sard. Most  of  the  designs  show  one  or  more 
towers,  which  in  this  style  are  at  best  ex- 
crescences, and  they  are  generally  dispropor- 
tioned  to  the  body  of  the  edifice.  I  shall  not 
occupy  your  space  and  tire  your  readers  by  a 
minute  analysis  of  them,  but  content  myself 
v/ith  specifying  those  which  appear  to  me  most 
distinguished  by  a  union  (apparent  at  least)  of 
elegance  and  solidity,  with  aptness  and  variety 
of  detail.  I  note,  therefore,  those  which 
bear  the  designations  of  "  lona,"  "  Spes 
dulce  malum,"  "Mendelssohn,"  "  Adelensis," 
"Clyde,"  and  "Apropos,"  the  last  especially 
remarkable  for  lavish  and  happy  sculptural 
enrichment,  and  no  doubt  likely  to  be  corre- 
spondingly expensive  if  it  should  eventually  be 
adopted.  Some  whimsies  or  vagaries  of  indi- 
vidu.als  mny  be  mentioned.  "Peace,  Progress, 
and  Plenty,"  is  Egyptian  rather  than  Classical 
in  character.  One  competitor  appeals  to 
"  Justica,"  by  which  he  no  doubt  means 
"Justitia,"  as  the  design  further  bears  the 
emblem  of  the  sword  of  justice.  Another 
plaintively  remarks,  with  a  superfluous  multi- 


plication of  letters,  "  Defficit  pecunia,  defficit 
omne."  Another  declares,  in  a  quotation  from 
Macbeth  :  — 

"  Our  will  became  the  servant  to  defect, 
Which  else  had  freely  wrought." 
Whether  these  epigrams  were  pointed  at  the 
restrictions  of  the  Town  Council,  or  intended  to 
shadow  forth  the  conditions  under  which  the 
designs  mere  completed,  must  remain  a  subject 
for  speculation. 

What,  then,  is  the  result  of  it  all  ?  Present 
general  dissatisfaction;  future  probable  embar- 
rassment. But  this,  I  very  well  recollect,  was  what 
you  predicted  from  the  commencement  as  the  pro- 
bable upshot  when  it  became  known  that  a  public 
competition  was  to  precede  the  selection  of  the 
architect.  So  far  your  prophecies  have  come 
true,  and  who  is  to  prove  the  Dciis  ex  mnchinii 
is  more  than  your  correspondent  can  undertake 
to  declare.  —I  am,  &c., 

VlTEUVroS    CiiEDONIUS. 

In  reference  to  what  I  have  said  above,  I  may 
state  that  the  Hull  Town-haU  was  designed  by 
Mr.  C.  Brodrick,  and  is  stated  to  have  cost 
£28,000.  \\hen  it  is  considered  that  the  sum  of 
£150,000  was  all  that  could  be  afforded  by  the 
Gresham  Committee  for  Sir  William  Tite's 
Loudon  Exchange,  the  finest  of  our  modern 
buildings  in  the  Classical  style,  the  Town 
Council  of  Glasgow  must  not  be  too  severely 
blamed  for  having  fixed  upon  the  same  sum.  It 
is  curious  that  Free  Trade,  which  was  advocated 
as  certain  to  cheapen  all  commodities,  seems  to 
have  had  for  its  result  to  double  or  treble  their 
price. 

PROFESSIOXAL  REFEREES  AND  SUP. 
PLEilENTARY   AND    SECRET  AWARDS. 

SiK, — I  have  always  believed  that  the  graver 
evils  which  have  hitherto  accompanied  the 
system  of  competitions  would  be  obviated  if  in 
every  ease  a  professional  arbitrator  were  ap- 
pointed, but  I  confess  I  am  losing  faith  in  my 
opinion.  If  it  becomes  a  general  custom  for 
arbitrators  to  act  as  Mr.  Charles  Bany  is  re- 
ported to  have  done  in  connection  with  the 
Glasgow  competition,  I  certainly  would  not  com- 
pete. The  arbitrator  is,  iu  my  opinion,  as  much 
bound  by  the  conditions  as  the  competitors,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  Mr.  Barry  seems  to  have 
perceived  and  acted  on  this  axiom.  But  why 
did  he  send  a  supplementary  letter — the  contents 
of  which  are  not  yet  actually  made  public,  and 
which  would  have  remained  secret  but  for  the 
inability  of  the  Glasgow  Town  Council  to  keep 
the  cat  in  the  bag  ? 

I  am  not  much  cancemed  in  the  present  in- 
stance, though  I  think  Mr.  Corson  will  have  just 
ground  for  complaint  if  his  design  is  not  carried 
out.  It  is  all  very  well  to  say  better  de.^igns 
have  been  submitted— but  they  will  cost  more 
money.  Mr.  Corson  and  the  authors  of  the 
other  premiated  designs  may,  it  seems  to  me,  urge 
with  justice  that  otherdesigns  may  be  better,  but 
that  they  have  faithfully  observed  the  conditions, 
and  at  any  rate  it  is  only  fair  that  they  should 
have  the  chance  of  showing  what  they  can  do 
for  the  same  money  that  more  extravagantly- 
minded  competitors  proposed  to  sjiend.  But 
what  I  do  object  to  both  now  and  in  the  future 
as  a  competing  architect,  is  this  new  element  of 
uncertainty,  and  possible  unfairness,  now  intro- 
duced for  the  first  time,  as  far  as  I  am  aware, 
in  connection  with  couipetitions.  I  think  com- 
petitors are  entitled  to  know  all  that  the  profes- 
sional referee  says  about  them,  and  that  secret 
and  supplementary  letters  which  may  influence 
the  ultimate  issue  much  more  than  the  published 
award,  are  unfair  and  unwise.  I  do  not  for  a 
moment  dispute  the  opinion  Mr.  Barry  formed 
as  to  the  superiority  of  other  designs  to  those  to 
which  he  has  felt  himself  compelled  to  award 
the  premiums  at  Glasicow.  His  large  experience 
and  high  position  in  the  profession  are  sufficient 
guarantees  of  Ids  ability  and  ii.tegrity,  but,  in 
the  case  of  a  smaller  competition  with  a  pro- 
fessional referee  of  whose  ability  and  integrity 
the  competing  architects  were  not  so  fully 
assured,  and  with  a  committee  or  corporation 
better  able  to  hold  their  tongues  than  the  Glasgow 
councillors,  would  it  be  well  that  a  secret  and 
supplementary  reocmmendation  beyond  and 
beside  that  made  in  the  published  award,  should 
be  allowed  to  be  submitted  by  the  arbitrator?  I 
think  not,  and  I  think,  moreover,  if  such  a  prac- 
tice became  general,  competitions  would  have  to 
be  altogether  abandoned  by  all  the  best  architects. 
— I  am,  &c.,  ScEtTTATOB. 


JnUrtommunicntiou. 


QUESTIONS. 

[G218.]-CoalTar  for  Felt  Roof. ~T  shall  be  glad 
to  know  the  best  method  of  picpanojj  and  usin^r  cual  tar 
for  rendeiintf  a  flat-pitched  felt-tovertd  roof  watertight. 
-N.  H.  H. 

[G219.]— Abbeys  in  Bucks.— Can  any  reader  of  the 
Building  Nkws  oblige  me  with  any  historical  and  archi- 
tectui-al  notes  respect  iiig  the  Abbeys  once  existing  at 
Notley,  Luttield,  Medweuham,  and  liisham.;— L.  T.  AV. 

[G220.]-Statics.— Would  some  uf  the  able  corre- 
spondents kindly  give  mo  a  few  hints  as  to  good  woiks 
oa  calculating  strains,  &c.,  iu  constructions,  graphic  and 
otherwise.— K.  A.  F.  T. 

[G221.1— "Ventilation.- Having  occasion  to  ventilate 
a  large  building,  and  being  desirous  to  do  so  by  means  of 
vertical  tubes  connected  with  the  outer  air,  the  tubes 
being  made  of  oak,  and  5ft.  lOin.  high,  placed  in  the  angles 
of  the  rooms  or  where  most  desitable,  and  having  a  can- 
vas net  sti'etched  across  with  open  and  shut  valve,  I  am 
anxious  to  know  if  by  so  doing  1  am  infiinging  any  patent  I 
— N.  A.  L. 


REPLIES, 

[620-4.1— Cathedrals.— I  find  my  reply  to  Mr.  Free- 
man's question,  given  iu  your  last  number,  was  not 
quite  accurate.  Mr.  C  II.  B.  King  (so  long  connected 
with  Sii-  Gilbert's  otfice,  and  now  witu  that  of  Mr.  J.  O. 
Scott,  iu  Spring-gardens)  haswiitten  to  say  that  to  Sir 
Gilbert's  design  is  owing,  at  Winchester  CaLliedral,  the 
choir  screen;  at  Yoik  Cathtdial,  a  litany  desk;  at 
Lincoln,  the  pulpit.  It  is  to  be  wished  that  so  good  an 
authority  as  Mr.  King  himself,  or  *'  Scott's  Wyatt,"  the 
well-known  architect,  Mr.  John  Drayton  Wyatt  (now 
perhaps  the  best  and  only  man  alive  who  could  thoroughly 
do  it)  would  give  a  complete  list  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott's 
works,  whether  as  "Scott  and  Moffatt"  or  when  alone  in 
business.— Jas.  T.  Irvine. 

[A  good  suggestion.  We  would  gladly  publish  such  a 
Ust.-Eo.  B.  N.] 

[6212.]— Racket  Courts.— Probably  the  best  racket 
court  iu  England  (at  Prince's  Club,  Chelsea)  is  00ft.  by 
30ft.,  and  the  wall>  are  40ft.  high.  The  floor  is  asphalte, 
and  walls  of  Portland  cement.  The  roof  is  nearly  half 
glass,  of  an  inch  thick,  and  is  fixed  in  the  middle.  It  is 
considered  a  very  dry  court,  and  the  University  and  public 
school  matches  are  played  there  every  year.— K.  G.  S. 

[6214.]— Indian  Ink.— Winsor  and  Newton's"  Super 
Super,"  at  7s.  6d.  per  stick,  stands  colour  well,  and  when 
fresh  rubbed  may  be  relied  on  to  keep  its  good  colour, 
and  if  properly  rubbed  does  not  lun  when  coloured 
over.  Never  attempt  to  work  up  paitly  or  wholly  dried- 
up  ink  when  colour  is  to  be  used.  The  economy  is  small, 
and  the  mischief  often  great.  When  for  delicate  work 
rub  lightly,  and  to  a  good  black.  This  will  produce  a 
thin  and  still  black  ink,  splendid  to  woik.  Wash  over 
drawing  when  well  cleaned  with  soft  brush  and  clean 
water,  to  remove  any  thick  places  likely  to  run,  and  dry 
witli  clean  blotting-paper.  The  ink  will  then  be  found  of 
good  colour,  and  lines  clear  and  sharp.  Colour  may  then 
be  washed  on  to  any  extent  safely.  A  good  shadow  for 
uncoloured  elevations  may  be  obtained  by  pale  paynet 
grey.  Pale  sepia  is  good  for  shadows  where  colour  is 
used,  as  they  thow  thiough  it  almost  unchanged  in  tint. 
— T.  R.  C. 


PARLIAMENTARY  NOTES. 

The  New  Law  Couets.— Mr.  Broadhurst  asked, 
on  Friday  last,  whether  there  was  any  tiuth  in  a 
statement  which  appeared  iu  the  Globe  on  August 
20,  that  a  statue  ot  the  builder  of  the  New  Law 
Courts  was  to  be  placed  on  a  pedestal  iu  that 
buildiug ;  and,  if  so,  whether  there  was  auy  pre- 
cedent for  the  erection  of  a  statue  iu  a  national 
building  to  a  contractor ;  and,  if  not,  whether 
steps  would  be  taken  to  prevent  such  au  erection. 
The  bou.  member  asked  to  be  allowed  to  insert  the 
word  '"obscure"  before  the  word  ''contractor "  in 
his  question.  The  word  had  been  accidentally 
omitted.  Lord  F.  Caveudish  said  the  information 
was  partly  accurate.  The  principal  carver  had 
carved  what  was  intended  to  be  a  likeness  of  the 
architect  on  a  corbel  (laughter)  ;  but  the  architect 
had  not  recognised  the  likeness.  (Renewed 
laughter.)  He  had  no  objection  to  what  had  been 
done,  and  as  there  was  another  corbel  to  be  carved, 
perhaps  one  of  the  builders'  firm  might  be  simi- 
larly immortalised.  There  was  no  statue  on  a 
pedestal,  aud  the  carving  of  figures  as  gargoyles 
was  a  common  practice  with  Gothic  architects. 
There  was,  moreover,  nothing  to  individualise  the 
figures— as  a  roll  of  papers  uud  a  mallet  were 
merely  general  apijendages  to  a  statue. 

CoiiPULSOKY  Purchase  of  Land  fob  Pitblic 
PuEPOSES. — Mr.  Watkiu  Williams  asktd  last  week 
whether  the  Goveruoient  would,  in  the  recess, 
consider  the  propriety  of  amendmg  the  law  so  as  to 
give  facilities  to  the  people  to  obtiiiu  laud  by  com- 
pulsory purchase  for  public  purposes,  such  as 
chapels,  marktts,  and  the  like,  by  some  speedier 
aud  less  expensive  proceos  than  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment. Mr.  Dodsou;  Great  facilities  are  now  given 
for  the  compulsory  purcha&e  of  land  for  sanitary 
purposes,  such  as  sewage  farms,  water  supply,  the 
clearing  of  overcrowded  areas  iu  large  towns,  sites 
for  hospitals  and  mortuaries,  street  improvements, 
cemeteiies,  &c.,  by  means  of  provisional  orders. 
Lands  for  markets  may  also  be  purchased  by  the 
same  process,  which,  except  where  the  confirming 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


315 


Bill  is  opposed  in  Pnrliaraent,  is,  as  a  rule,  a  very 
inexpensive  process.  Parliameiit  has  always 
reserved  to  itself  the  right  of  vetoing  the  com- 
pulsory purchase  of  private  property,  and  at  pre- 
sent there  is  no  authority  to  which  this  power  can 
properly  be  delegated.  At  the  same  time,  there 
are  cases  to  which  the  provisional  order  system 
may  advantageously  be  extended,  and  I  will  not 
fall  to  consider  the  matter  during  the  recess. 


•WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

The  BouitxEJiouTii  Reoulatioxs  Relatixo  to 
House  Dkaixs. — We  have  received  a  copy  of  the 
'regulations  relating  to  house  drains  and  their  con- 
nection with  the  sewers  issued  by  the  district  of 
Bournemouth  commissioners,  in  which  are  some 
judicious  clauses.  We  see  that  every  work  of 
connection  is  to  be  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
snrveyorto  the  commissioners  (Mr.  G.  R.  Andrews), 
and  that  no  drain  is  to  be  covered  up  without  in- 
spection having  been  made  by  the  surveyor  orother 
person.  With  reference  to  the  important  question 
of  ventilation,  the  regulations  are  useful.  Every 
person  who  constructs  a  new  drain  is  to  provide  at 
least  two  untrapped  openings  to  the  drains,  and  in 
the  provision  of  such  openings  he  is  to  adopt  one 
or  other  of  two  arrangements  as  circumstances  may 
render  the  most  desirable.  These  are  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Local  Government  Board,  the  rules 
of  which  we  have  before  published  (see  By-laws). 
Another  provision  is  that  lo  inlet  is  to  be  made  in 
any  drain  connected  with  a  sewer  wit/uii  the  house 
except  that  from  a  water-closet.  Soil-pipes  are  to 
be  4in.  diameter,  and  to  be  continued  up  without 
diminution  and  without  bend  (unless  unavoidable), 
to  give  safe  outlets  for  sewer  air.  No  trap 
is  to  be  inseited  between  such  drain-pipes  and 
the  drains,  or  any  trap  (except  a  water-closet 
apparatus  trap)  in  any  other  part  of  soil- 
pipe.  All  waste  -  pipes  and  overtlow  -  pipes, 
except  slop -sinks,  intended  for  any  soUd  or  liquid 
filth,  are  to  discharge  in  the  open  air,  over  a 
channel  leading  to  a  trapped  gulley-grating,  at 
least,  18in.  distant.  Detail  drawings  lo  a  useful 
scale  accompany  the  regulations.  In  the  plans, 
the  position  of  the  drains,  branches,  air-outlets,  ic  , 
are  shown  for  singleand  double  houses,  and  sections 
are  given  showing  the  same,  and  the  soil-pipe 
ventilators.  The  larger  sections  illustrate  the 
modes  of  constrncting  the  inlets  and  disconnec- 
tions of  drains  ;  the  discharge  of  rain-water-pipes  ; 
method  of  connecting  soil-pipe  with  drain,  the  soil 
pipe  being  external ;  and  the  overtlow  from 
cistern  ;  the  method  to  be  adopted  in  dealing  with 
waste  water  from  bath-room,  and  from  sink- 
wastes  in  basement.  The  fall  for  drains  is  re- 
commended to  be  1  in  20,  never  less  than  1  in  40, 
and  proper  junction-pipes  are  insisted  on.  We 
find  also  a  prohibition  to  the  use  of  D  traps  in  any 
case,  and  a  useful  caution  is  given  that  no  traps 
intervene  betwe;n  siir-inlet  and  airoutlet  for 
ventilation. 

RiTmnxES  AXD  Pembroke,  Co.  DtTBLix.— A 
main  draina^-e  scheme  for  the  townships  of  Rath- 
mines  and  Pembroke,  near  Dublin,  which  has  been 
in  progress  for  two  years  past,  is  now  approaching 
completion.  Hitherto  the  districts  have  been 
drained  by  the  Swan  sewer  into  the  river  Dodder, 
but  in  1877  a  private  Act  was  procured  for  the  pre- 
sent undertakin"?.  The  scheme,  as  carried  out,  con- 
sists of  three  distinct  sewers,  one  a  high  level, 
which  crosses  the  river  Dodder,  and  the  others  luw- 
level  lines,  which  all  unite  near  London  Biidge. 
The  low-level  sewage  is  there  pumptd  up,  and  the 
contents  of  all  three  sewers  are  carried  m  an  em- 
bankment along  the  Strand,  the  upper  surface  of 
which  forms  a  new  road,  from  Irishtown  to  the 
Pigeon  House  Fort,  and  then  bene.-<.th  the  Wall  to 
apoint  half  way  between  the  fort  and  Poolbeg 
Lighthouse,  where  it  will  be  discharged  into  the 
Liftey  on  the  receding  tide,  by  a  penstock  house 
and  valve  chamber.  The  high-level  sewer  from 
Clyde-road  to  London  Bridge  is  circular,  .5ft. 
diameter  ;  from  Loudon  Bridge  to  the  outfall  it  is 
6ft.  diameter ;  the  low-level  sewers  are  egg- 
shaped,  increasing  from  3ft.  9in.  by  2ft.  Gin.  to 
4ft.  by  2ft.  lin. ;  all  are  of  brick  and  concrete,  and 
provided  with  side  entrances  at  short  distances 
and  ventilators.  Mr.  Hassard,  C.E.,  has  designed 
the  works,  which  are  being  carried  out  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  H.  T.  Crook,  resident  engineer ; 
Mr.  J.  H.  Stanford,  of  Dublin,  is  the  contractor, 
and  the  cost  will  be  about  £77,000. 

Naien.— A  drainage-system  has  been  this  season 
completed  at  Nairn,  the  expense  of  the  works 
having  been  about  £.3,000.  Instead  of  running 
the  sewage  into  the  sea,  it  was  resolved  to  apply 
the  sewage  to  the  irrigation  of  a  piece  of  waste 
ground  for  the  growth  of  grass  or  other  )  roduce. 
The  drainage  had  to  be  carried  across  the  river, 
and  for  this  purpose  two  piers,  consisting  of  iron 
cylinders  filled  in  with  concrete,  were  sunk.  The 
pipe — an  18in.  iron  pipe — was  laid  upon  them,  and 
with  footboards  and  handrails  on  the  top  of  it,  the 
pipe  has  been  converted  into  a  handsome  foot- 


bridge, which  has  proved  a  great  convenience.  The 
level  of  the  pipe  being  higher  than  the  ground  on 
the  other  side,  a  large  embankment  was  raised,  in 
which  the  pipe  was  embedded,  and  the  top  of  the 
embankment  is  utilised  as  a  public  walk.  It  is 
intended  to  plant  the  sides  of  it  with  shrubs,  but  in 
the  meantime  a  covering  of  grass  binds  the  soil. 
The  place  selected  for  the  sewage-farm  was  kuown 
as  the  Salt  Marsh.  The  first  work  of  the  engineer 
was  to  devise  means  to  keep  back  the  tide.  This 
he  has  succeeded  in  doing  by  building  in  the  heart 
of  the  embankment  a  dyke  of  clay,  going  down  to 
the  rock.  At  present  only  ten  acres  are  being 
treated  for  the  utilisation  of  the  sewage.  Its  dis- 
tribution is  carried  on  by  a  series  of  channels  cut 
in  the  ground  on  the  ordinary  principles  of  irriga- 
tion, and  is  completely  under  control,  one  part 
being  treated  one  day  and  another  the  next,  the 
turning  of  a  tap  or  two  being  all  that  is  required 
to  direct  the  tlow  to  the  desired  spot.  Provision  is 
made  to  meet  any  emergency  arising  from  a  spate 
or  excessive  flow  of  water  in  the  pipes,  so  that  all 
danger  of  the  pipes  bursting  or  the  water  flowing 
back  is  obviated,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  land 
being  deluged  prevented.  Very  little,  if  any, 
offensive  odour  is  experienced  in  passing  over  the 
ground,  and  one  man  is  at  present  suflicient  to  keep 
the  ground  in  order.  It  is  yet  to  be  seen  whether 
the  utilisation  of  the  sewage  will  be  profitable. 
Patches  of  the  ground  which  were  irrigated  a 
couple  of  months  ago  have  a  most  luxuriant  growth 
of  grass. 

Wakefield. — A  special  meeeting  of  the  town 
council  was  held  on  Friday,  at  which  an  agreement 
was  fo  mally  sealed  between  the  corporation  and 
Mr.  Edward  Filliter,  C.E.,  of  Leeds,  for  the 
carrying  out  of  the  new  waterworks  scheme,  as 
sanctioned  in  the  Wakefield  Corporation  Act,  ISSO- 
Owing  to  the  low  price  of  iron  pipes,  a  committee 
reported  that,  acting  under  Mr.  FUIiter's  advice, 
they  had  obtained  numerous  tenders  for  the  supply 
of  the  pipes  that  would  be  required  during  the 
next  two  years.  There  was  a  keen  competition  for 
the  contract,  and  they  recommended  for  adoption 
that  of  Messrs.  Cochrane,  Grove,  and  Co.,  of 
Middlesborough,  which  was  considerably  below  the 
estimated  sum.  The  tender  was  accepted,  and  the 
council  also  decided  to  carry  out  the  smaller  of  the 
two  alternative  schemes  of  water  supply  sanctioned 
by  Parliament,  that  for  a  supply  of  two  million 
gallons  a  day,  which  is  expected  to  suflice  for 
eight  or  ten  years  to  come. 


STATUES,    MEMORIALS,  &c. 

The  Chambeelain  Mejioeiai,  at  Bieminoham. 
— The  memorial  to  mark  the  municipal  services  of 
the  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  M.P.,  which 
has  been  for  some  time  in  course  of  erection  on  the 
space  between  the  back  of  the  Town  Hall  and  Sir 
Josiah  Mason's  College,  in  Edmund-sireet,  is  ap- 
proaching completion-  The  memorial,  which  was 
designed  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Chamberlain  (Martin  and 
Chamberlain),  is  a  fountain  treated  architecturally. 
The  upper  part  of  the  structure,  from  which  the 
water  will  be  delivered,  is  built  of  stone,  and  is 
square  in  plan,  with  octagonal  projections  at  the 
angles.  These  projections  carry  four  main  shafts, 
which  are  surmounted  by  four  pointed  arches,  over 
each  of  which  is  a  gable.  At  each  angle  of  these 
gables  there  is  placed  a  pinnacle,  and  from  between 
the  pinnacles  an  octagonal  spire  rises  to  a  total 
height  of  about  G5ft.  from  the  ground.  The  spire 
is  ornamented  with  crockets  at  the  angles,  and 
carving  on  a  portitiu  of  the  surface,  the  spaces 
between  the  main  arches  before  described  are  filled 
with  ornamented  panelling,  which  is  partly  decor- 
ated wita  carving  and  partly  filled  with  mosaics  of 
various  designs.  In  a  large  circular  panel  on  the 
south  side,  under  one  of  the  main  arches,  will  be 
placed  the  medallion  of  Mr.  Chamberlain,  which  is 
being  executed  in  Sicilian  marble  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Woolner,  K.A.  Round  the  base  ot  the  fountain 
are  grouped  three  large  basins,  the  lowermost  of 
which  is  from  50  to  CO  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  series  of  three  steps.  The  material 
of  which  the  memorial  is  erected  is  white  Portland 
stone.  The  mosaics  have  befn  executed  by  Mesers. 
Salviati,  Burke,  and  Co.,  and  the  carving  is  being 
done  by  Mr.  S.  Barfield  and  his  assistants.  The 
stonework  and  general  structure  have  been  erected 
by  Messrs.  J.  Bainslay  and  Sons. 


STAINED  GLASS. 

Old  Milveeton  Church,  Leaitingtox.— A 
memorial  window,  containing  two  subjects  of 
Abraham's  servants  journeying  to  Mesopotamia, 
and  meeting  Rebecca  at  the  well,  erected  to  the 
memory  of  a  steward,  has  been  erected  in  the  above 
church,  by  Mr.  Frank  Holt,  Stained  Glass  Works, 
Warwick. 

Llaneoetn. — A  lancet  window  (subject  the 
Good  Shepherd)  has  been  erected  in  Llanegryn 
Church,  Wales,  executed  by  Mr.  F.  Holt,  Art 
Works,  Warwick. 


LEGAL  INTELLIGENCE. 

The  Eiohts  of  MoRTGAriEEa.— An  important 
point  as  to  the  respective  rights  of  first  and  second 
mortgagees  has  been  the  subject  of  a  reference  to 
^™'ration  m  Edinburgh.  A  building  society  held 
a  first  bond  and  disposition  in  security  "  on  cer- 
tain property,  and  the  moitgagor  gave  a  second 
bond  over  the  property  to  a  solicitor.  The  second 
mortgagee,  after  obtaining  a  decree  against  the 
moitgagor  in  an  "action  of  maills  and  duties," 
collected  the  rents  of  the  property,  whereupon  the 
society,  considering  it  had  a  i  rior  and  pieferable 
right  to  the  property,  sued  the  second  moitfagee, 
who  know  of  the  first  U-nd,  for  the  amount  of  its 
claim.  The  defendant  contended  lliat  the  society's 
failure  to  secure  the  rents  hy  action  against  the 
mortgagor  lift  him  open  to  receive  them,  and  that 
he  was  under  no  obligatlou  to  pay  any  debt  other 
than  that  covered  by  his  own  bond ;  and  the 
referee  decided  that  he  was  right. 


CHIPS. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  railway-station  wos 
laid  at  Clacton-on-Sea  with  public  ceremony  on 
Monday  week.  The  station  is  to  be  built  in  red 
brick,  and  will  include  platforms,  each  400ft.  in 
length,  refreshment,  general,  and  ladies'  waiting- 
rooms,  and  a  bookiug-olfice.  The  contract  has 
been  taken  by  Messrs.  Dumard  Brothers,  of  Clac- 
ton,  and  the  work  is  being  executed  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  P.  S.  Bruff ,  C.E.,  of  Ipswich,  who 
is  also  engineer  of  the  line  of  railway  in  course  of 
construction  to  Weeley,  on  the  Tendring  Hundred 
branch  of  the  Great  Eastern  system,  for  which  Mr. 
Boys  is  the  contractor.  After  the  ceremony  a  num- 
ber of  freehold  building  sites  in  the  new  watering- 
place  were  sold  by  public  auction  at  the  pubUc-  hall. 

The  Town  Council  last  week  appointed  Mr.  E. 
X.  Burstall,  till  recently  holding  a  similar  position 
at  Derby,  as  waterworks  engineer  for  the  city.  The 
salary  is  £250  for  the  first  year,  £300  for  the 
second,  and  an  annual  increase  of  £25  till  £100  be 
reached,  together  with  a  house,  gas,  and  filing. 

Another  section  of  the  new  Tunbridge  Wells  and 
Eastbourne  extension  of  the  Brighton  and  .South 
Coast  Railway — that  from  Heathtield  to  Eridge — 
was  opened  on  Wednesday  wetk,  affording  a  more 
direct  communication  between  Tunbridge  Wells 
and  Lewes.     Mr.  Firbank  was  the  contractor. 

The  Durham  rural  sanitary  authority  proceeded 
to  elect  on  Saturday  week  a  surveyor  and  inspector 
of  nuisances  for  the  western  district  of  the  autho- 
rity's area,  in  the  place  of  J.  W.  Spoor,  who  recently 
absconded.  Mr.  George  Gregson,  aged  23,  clerk 
and  book-keeper,  of  Cobham,  Kent,  was  elected  by 
a  large  majority  of  votes,  the  candidate  standing 
second  being  Mr.  George  Ord,  30,  architect  and 
surveyor,  of  Durham.  As  usual,  there  were  a  large 
number  of  candidates. 

A  new  system  of  water  supply  is  being  provided 
at  Dawlish  from  the  plans  and  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  E,  Ellis,  C.E.,  of  Exeter,  engineer  to 
the  local  board.  The  reservoirs  at  the  Burrows 
and  the  Down  at  the  source  are  completed,  the 
rising  main  has  been  laid,  and  although  the  ser- 
vice reservoir  is  not  yet  finished,  it  is  proposed  to 
supply  the  town  direct  from  the  main  in  about  a 
fortnight's  time.  A  scheme  of  sewerage,  with  an 
outlet  at  high  water  into  the  sea  at  Holcombe,  is 
also  in  rapid  progress,  from  Mr.  Ellis's  designs. 

A  steam  saw- mill  has  just  been  erected  for 
Me'sr"!  W  ■\\'ifiiu  and  Co.,  timber  merchants,  in 
the'  station-yard  at  Holsivurthy.  The  sawing 
machinery  is  by  Messrs.  Ronsome,  of  London,  and 
the  steam-engine  by  Messrs.  Tuxford,  of  Boston. 

A  marble  statue  of  Sir  A.  B.  Walker  was  un- 
veiled at  Liverpool  on  Friday.  The  statue  is  the 
workof  Mr.  Warrington  Wood,  and  is  placed  on 
the  upper  landing  of  the  art  gallery  presented  to 
the  town,  two  years  since,  by  .'iir  A.  B.  Walker. 

In  Friday's  Lo>,do„  G.,zcttc  the  name  of 
William  John  Marsden,  architect,  of  Ecclesholl, 
Yorkshire,  appears  io  the  list  of  bankrupts  :J,ept^ 
14,  at  11.30,  IS  appomted  for  surrender  at  the 
district  court. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  is  on  the  point  of  com- 
pletion at  Chester-le-Street  Co.  tarham.  It 
ieats  including  galleries  on  three  sides,  tiOO  per- 
sons%iSd  bcnelth  it  are  schoolroom,  classrooms, 
heatCroom,  and  kitchen.  Mr.  Wm.  Thom,»on 
is  the  architect,  Messrs.  Thompsoa  are  the 
builders,  and  the  heating-apparatus  has  been  fixed 
by  Messrs.  Dinning  and  Cook,  of  Newcastle-on- 

An' extension  of  the  E^t  >'''rf°'k  Railway  from 
Avlsham  to  Cawston  was  inspected  on  Monday 
week  by  Major  General  Hutchinson,  and  was 
wees,  uv         J  ,       afterwards.    The  con- 

Kor  wa^Mr?  J  Wad'dell,  of  Kdinburgb,  who 
has  been  en-aged  in  raising  the  wreckage  of  the 
Tay  brid-e  The  railway  is  being  farther  con- 
tinued from  Cawston  to  Reepham. 


316 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  10,  1880. 


1 


Our  ©ffia  €Mt 


A  COERESPONDEKT  of  the  Gardener's  CJironicJc 
records  a  recent  "visit  to  a  church  which  ought 
to  delight  the  hearts  of  the  Aiiti-Restoratioiii!?ts. 
The  building  is  at  Fairfield,  in  Sussex.  One 
service  is  held  on  Sundays  in  the  summer,  it 
being  in  a  swamp  durinnf  the  winter.  The 
churchyard  was  approached  by  two  foot-bridges 
and  an  ordinary  field-gate  ;  grass  grew  luxuri- 
antly up  to  the  door  without  a  trace  of  a  path, 
and  there  were  no  graves  outside.  Inside  was  a 
single  slab  in  the  floor.  There  were  seven 
roomy  pews  besides  those  for  the  parson  and 
clerk  ;  the  Royal  arms  and  various  texts  in  gold 
on  black  boards  adorned  (?)  the  white-washed 
chancel-beam  and  sloping  roof  :  the  Communion- 
table, under  -t  feet  square,  stcod  covered  with  a 
short  red  cloth  some  3  feet  from  the  wall,  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  with  a  railing  and 
ineeling  cushion.  The  belfry,  the  haunt  of 
owls,  contained  three  bells,  but  only  one  bell- 
rope,  which  threatened  to  piill  down  all  the 
rotten  gearing  on  the  linger's  head  ;  and  all  the 
windows,  including  that  at  the  east  end,  were 
square,  latticed,  and  protected  by  outside  shutters 
The  land  hereabout  belongs  to  the  Dean  and 
Chapter  of  Canterbuiy.  On  the  whole,  the  dis- 
trict does  not  shine  in  ecclesiastical  matters. 
The  shingled  spires  or  square  towers  with  side 
turrets  render  the  exterior  of  the  churches  pretty, 
and  at  Ewhurst  Green,  for  instance,  round  and 
pointed  Norman  arches,  ancient  piscinas  and 
ornamental  oak-work  would  malce  ttie  interior 
so  also,  but  for  three  glass  chandeliers,  re- 
minding one  of  a  London  music-hall.  The 
congregations  are  very  smaU,  the  living  valuable, 
and  Dissent  flourishing. 

Last  week  a  large  public  clock,  which  has 
been  fixed  in  a  tower  of  the  new  Town  Hall  at 
Wakefield  by  Messrs.  Potts  and  Sons,  of  Leeds, 
was  started.  The  cloak  has  been  made 
from  the  designs  and  plans  of  Sir  Edmund 
Beckett,  Bart.,  Q.C.,  and  is  constructed 
on  a  solid  horizontal  cast-iron  bed  frame,  which 
is  planed,  and  room  left  in  the  frame  for  quarter 
train,  should  it  be  thought  advisable  in  the 
future  for  the  clock  to  strike  the  quarters,  which 
could  be  done  at  very  little  expense,  as  there  are 
bells  already  in  the  tower  that  would  do  for  that 
purpose.  The  wheels,  which  are  very  strong, 
are  of  the  best  cast  metal  and  gun-metal.  The 
going  train  has  maintaining  poner  attached,  on 
the  bolt  and  shutter  principle,  by  Sir  E.  Beckett, 
and  all  the  bushes  are  of  gun-metal,  or  the  best 
hard  brass  screwed  into  the  frame,  so  that  each 
or  any  wheel  can  be  taken  out  separately  in  case 
of  alteration  or  accident.  The  double  three- 
legged  gravity,  also  by  Sir  E.  Beckett,  has 
phosphor  bronze  pallets,  and  check  action.  The 
pendulum  is  compensated  with  zinc  and  iron 
rods,  which  will  enable  the  clock  to  keep  uniform 
time  in  variations  of  temperature.  The  bob, 
which  is  cylindrical  in  form,  weighs  two  cwt. 
The  striking  train  is  very  powerful.  It  has 
cams  attached  to  the  main  wheel  for  lifting  the 
large  hammer,  which  weighs  above  one  cwt., 
and  this  strikes  upon  the  hour-bell  in  the  tower, 
which  weighs  about  two  tons  and  a  half.  The 
dials,  which  are  made  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
Thomas  E.  Collcutt,  of  London,  the  architect  of 
the  new  Town  Hall,  are  about  10ft.  in  diameter. 
The  frames  are  made  of  cast  iron,  and  the 
figures  are  of  the  Arabic  pattern.  The  centres 
are  filled  with  strong  plate-glass  of  stone  colour 
and  the  intervening  spaces  between  the  figures 
and  minutes  are  filled  with  the  patent  wliite 
opal  glass.  The  bonds,  which  are  of  strong 
copper,  and  balanced  or  counterpoised  within, 
are  also  made  from  designs  by  the  architect. 

It  has  already  been  announced  that  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of  Ireland  have  awarded 
their  medal  for  the  building  of  cottages  to  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire,  who,  they  say,  has  com- 
bined comfort,  accommodation,  and  economy  in 
building  to  a  high  degree  in  the  cottages  for  his 
labourers  on  his  estate  at  Garranribeen,  County 
Cork.  From  the  details,  which  have  been  pub- 
lished, it  appears  these  houses  ai'e  built  in  pairs, 
with  gai-dens  at  the  front  and  oflices  at  the 
back.  Each  house  has  a  kitchen  12ft.  6in.  by 
10ft.  9in.,  7ft.  Sin.  high,  and  a  room  adjoining 
it  10ft.  by  6ft.  Tin.,  and  a  space  partitioned 
from  this  called  a  store.  In  the  kitchen  are  two 
cupboards  with  shelves  and  doors.  A  mantel- 
piece on  oak  corbels,  pegs  for  hanging  clothes 
on,  these  last  two  items  costing  simply    nothing 


by  being  put  in  at  the  time  of  erection.  A 
staircase  2ft.  4in.  wide  which,  being  closed  in 
imderneath,  forms  a  good  store,  opening  into 
back  kitchen  ;  it  leads  to  the  bedrooms  upstairs, 
which  are  of  the  same  size  as  the  rooms  below, 
and  are  lighted  by  windows  at  the  gables.  In 
addition  to  the  house  there  is  a  pigstye,  a  fowl- 
house,  and  outhouse  covered  with  corrugated 
and  galvanised  iron.  Day  labour  only  was  used, 
and  paid  for  in  the  building  of  thete,  and  the 
cost  was  £90  7s.  Od.  each,  or,  including  offices, 
£100  4s.  Gd.  complete.  The  work  is  of  a 
superior  quality,  and  the  Royal  Society  strongly 
advises  gentlemen  about  to  build  cottages  to 
study  these  plans. 

A  FINE  specimen  of  horological  art  has  been 
lately  added  to  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Niirn- 
berg.  It  has  been  erected  at  the  expense  of  the 
Princes  of  the  Royal  House,  and  is  intended  as 
a  memorial  of  the  Wittelsbach  Jubilee,  celebrated 
a  few  days  ago.  The  clock  is  placed  at  an 
elevation  of  14-2  metres,  or  a  little  over  46ift. 
It  is  surrounded  with  ornamental  work  in 
Medieval  style  and  several  gilt  figures,  most  of 
which  move  by  mechanical  arrangement.  The 
idea  intended  to  be  expressed  is  that  the  Bavarian 
people  at  all  times  reverences  its  king,  who 
governs  under  the  protection  of  God. 

Foe  many  months  the  parish-church  of  Thirsk, 
which  has  been  recently  restored,  has  been  in- 
fested in  its  interior  with  some  scores  of  bats, 
which  not  only  made  fearful  work  of  the  new 
oak  stalling,  but  at  evening  service  might  be 
seen  flitting  to  and  fro  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
rafters  of  the  nave  roof.  For  a  length  of  time 
they  have  been  a  source  of  great  trouble  to  the 
church  officials  and  the  vicar,  and  various  means 
have  been  conceived  to  rid  the  edifice  of  the 
pests.  The  church  has  been  stoved  with  cayenne, 
but  with  no  beneficial  effect,  and  during  the 
past  week  an  owl  has  been  placed  in  the  church, 
and  during  the  past  few  nights  the  officials  have 
paid  regular  visits  to  St.  Mary's  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  what  effect  the  new  inhabitant 
had  on  them,  but  although  they  have  waited 
each  evening  well  into  the  darkening,  not  a  bat 
has  been  seen,  wliere  but  a  few  days  ago  some 
scores  were  visible.  If  the  owl  has  not  destroyed 
them  he  has  had  the  eifect  of  compelling  them 
to  keep  very  close  quarters.  A  few  months  ago 
the  bats  did  damage  to  the  trombone  pipes  of 
the  new  organ.  They  entered  at  the  wide  end, 
and,  the  pipes  being  narrow  at  the  bottom, 
found  themselves  unable  to  get  back.  As  many 
as  seven  and  eight  dead  bats  were  foimd  in  a 
single  pipe. 

An  exhibition  of  oil  and  water-colour  paint- 
ings, engravings,  photographs,  statuary,  carv- 
ings, reUefs,  medallions,  plate,  embroidery,  and 
other  articles  of  general,  artistic,  and  anti- 
quarian interest,  has  been  opened  at  Whitchurch 
bv  the  Countess  Brownlow,  and  will  be  con- 
tinued to  the  end  of  next  week.  The  exhibition 
of  pictures  is  a  good  one,  and  includes  the  prin- 
cipal works  of  the  most  eminent  artists  of  the 
English,  Dutch,  Flemish,  and  Italian  schools. 
The  paintings  have  been  principally  gathered 
from  the  valuable  collections  of  the  seats  of 
Salop  and  neighbouring  counties.  The  exhibi- 
tion has  been  greatly  augmented  by  pictures 
and  curiosities  from  the  South  Kensington 
Museum. 

A  NEW  School  of  Art  is  about  to  be  built  at 
Chiswick,  on  a  site  commanding  a  fine  frontage 
in  the  Bath-road,  Bedford-park,  near  the  rail- 
way station.  The  schools  wiU  be  in  connection 
with  the  Science  and  Art  Department,  South 
Kensington,  and  are  to  be  conducted  under  the 
direction  of  Messrs.  E.  S.  Burchett,  of  the  South 
Kensington  schools,  and  F.  Hamilton  Jackson, 
late  of  the  Slade  schools.  The  classes  are  in- 
tended for  the  use  of  those  who  live  in  the  dis- 
tricts known  as  Acton,  Turnham-green,  Gun- 
nersbury,  and  West  Hammersmith.  The 
president  is  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  and  the 
vice-presidents  are  the  Marquis  of  Bute  and  Leo- 
pold de  Rothschild,  Esq.  The  Rev.  Lawford  W. 
T.Dale,  M.A., vicar  of  Chiswick,  is  the  chairman 
of  the  committee,  which  is  chiefly  composed  of 
architects  and  artists  residing  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  course  of  instruction  comprehends 
the  following  subjects  : — Freehand  in  all  its 
branches  ;  practical  geometry  and  perspective  ; 
architectural  and  mechanical  drawing  ;  painting 
in  oil,  tempera,  and  water-colours,  of  ornament, 
flowers,  objects  of  stUl-life,  &c.  ;  the  figure 
from  the  antique  and  the  life,  and  the  study  of 


anatomy  as  applicable  to  art.  The  buildings 
which  are  about  to  be  commenced  will  harmonise 
in  style  with  the  new  Church,  Stores,  Club,  and 
other  buildings  adjoining.  Red  brick  will 
chiefly  be  used  for  the  external  walls,  with  rough 
cast  plaster  work  on  the  upper  floor,  and  red 
tiles  will  cover  the  roofs.  Mr.  Maurice  B. 
Adams,  A.R.I.B.A.,  is  the  architect  for  the 
new  school. 

The  Gilchrist  Engineering  Scholarships  at 
University  College,  London,  are  the  gift  of  the 
Gilchrist  Trustees  (of  whom  Mr.  R.  Leigh 
Holland  is  the  chairman) ,  and  are  to  he  awarded 
this  session  for  the  first  time.  They  are  of  con- 
siderable value.  After  this  year  there  will  be 
awarded  every  session  a  Junior  (Entrance) 
Scholarship  of  the  value  of  £35  per  anniun  for 
two  years,  and  a  Senior  Scholarship  of  the  value 
of  £40  per  annum  also  for  two  sessions.  In  this 
month,  however,  to  start  with,  tv:o  (entrance) 
junior  scholarships  wUl  be  awarded,  each  of  the 
above  value.  There  is  no  entrance  or  other  fee. 
Notice  of  intention  to  compete  must  be  sent  to 
the  secretary  of  the  College,  with  certificate  of 
age,  on  or  before  the  23rd  inst.  Applicants 
must  not  be  over  IS  on  1st  Oct.  next.  The 
secretary  wiU  send  full  particulars  as  to  Regula- 
tions, &c.,  post-free  on  application.  The 
exanxination  will  be  held  on  the  28th  of 
September. 

The  Sanitary  Institute  of  Great  Britain  will 
hold  its  Autumn  Congress  for  ISSO  in  Exeter, 
from  Sept.  21st  to  the  2oth.  The  President  of 
the  Congress  is  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Northum- 
berland ;  the  President  of  the  Congress  will  be 
Right  Hon.  Earl  Fortescue.  An  exhibition  of 
Sanitai-y  Apparatus  and  Appliances  will  alio  be 
held  in  connection  with  the  Congress.  The 
sections  are  : — I.  Sanitary  Science  and  Preven- 
tive Medicine;  President,  F.  S.  B.  F.  DeChau- 
mont,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  Section  II.  Engineering 
and  Sanitary  Construction  ;  President,  Robert 
Rawlinson,C.B.,M.I.C.E.  Section  I II.  Meteoro- 
logy and  Geology  ;  President,  Sir  Antonio 
Brady,  F.M.S.,  F.G.S.  The  following  will 
be  "the  order  of  proceedings: — Sept.  2l8t, 
public  luncheon  at  the  Guildhall ;  in  the  after- 
noon the  exhibition  will  be  opened  by  the  Mayor 
of  Exeter  ;  in  the  evening  the  first  general 
meeting  will  be  held,  when  the  President,  Earl 
Fortescue,  will  deliver  the  opening  address. 
Sept.  22nd,  second  general  meeting  ;  Section  I., 
address  by  the  president  of  the  section,  foOowed 
by  papers  and  discussions  on  Sanitary  Science 
and  Preventive  Medicine.  In  the  evening  a 
conversazione  will  be  held  at  the  Palace  by  the 
invitation  of  the  Bishop  of  Exeter.  Sept.  23rd, 
third  general  meeting ;  Section  II.,  address  by 
the  President ;  reading  of  papers  and  discus, 
sions  on  Engineering  and  Sanitary  Construction. 
In  the  evening  Dr.  B.  W.  Richardson,  LL.D., 
F.R.S. ,  wUl  deliver  a  lecture  to  tlie  Congress. 
Sept.  24,  foirrth  general  meeting;  Section  III., 
address  by  the  President,  followed  by  papers 
and  discussions  meteorological,  geological,  and 
geographical.  The  closing  general  meeting  of 
the  Congress  will  be  held  in  the  evening,  to  be 
followed  by  a  public  dinner.  Saturday  will  be 
given  up  to  excuraions. 

Am  old  and  valued  correspondent  reminds  us 
of  a  paragraph  which  appeared  in  this  journal 
on  page  8.5,  Vol.  XIII.  (Feb.  3,  lS6o),  and 
which,  he  thinks,  will  be  read  with  interest  in 
connection  with  the  recent  gas  explosion  in 
Tottenham  Court-road,  as  a  corroborating  proof 
of  the  insufficiency  of  valves  in  shutting  off  a 
gas  supply: — "A  Singular  Accident  has  Oc- 
curred in  Paris. — The  gas  and  water-pipes 
were  laid  in  a  gallery  under  the  pavement  of  the 
Pont  d'Austerlitz,  and  the  gas  company  desired 
to  change  their  service-pipe  for  a  larger  one. 
They  consequently  shut  olf  the  gas  by  valves 
upon  the  mains,  respectively,  on  both  sides  of 
the  bridge  ;  and  they  waited  until  the  daytime, 
when  the  gas  was  turned  off  from  the  public 
lamps,  before  commencing  the  works.  Never- 
theless, somehow  or  another,  enough  gas  escaped 
to  fill  the  chamber  that  was  formed  by  the  gal- 
lery with  an  explosive  mixture.  It  was  set  on 
fire  by  some  unknown  cause,  its  explosion  killed 
one  and  wounded  three  others,  blew  up  the- 
pavement  in  the  whole  length  of  the  bridge,  and 
burst  the  water-pipe  that  was  laid  beside  the 
gas-pipe.  It  is  said  that  the  damage  thus 
occasioned  was,  at  least,  equal  to  the  sum  of 
£10,000,  all  which  wUl  fall  upon  tho  gaa  com- 
pany." 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


317 


THE  BUILCma  NEWS. 

ZOXDOy,  FRIDAY,  SEPTE^rSER  17,  1S80. 


IRON  IN  PORTLAND  CEMENT. 

THE  correspondence  on  this  subject,  which 
has  taken  place  in  our  columns  during 
the  last  mouth  or  more,  has  elicited  from 
the  several  correspondents  some  hitherto 
unrecognised  peculiarities  connected  with 
Portland  cemeut.  "Magnet,"  who  intro- 
duced the  discussion,  had  apparently  been 
struck  with  the  quantity  of  iron  found  in  a 
parcel  of  cement  he  had  examined,  and 
asked  very  natiu-ally  information  on  the 
subject,  which  elicited  a  reply  from  a  well- 
known  authority  on  the  question.  We  were 
favoured  with  a  sample  of  the  iron,  which 
was  described  in  a  reply  to  "Magnet"  as 
ground  iron  proceeding  from  some  abnormal 
condition  in  the  grinding  or  reducing  pro- 
cess of  the  cement  manufacture.  This  ex- 
planation, however,  did  not  appear  to  our 
correspondent  "Magnet"  as  quite  satis- 
factory, and  wo  have,  therefore,  with  a 
desire  to  throw  as  much  light  as  we  can  on 
the  important  subject  of  Portland  cement, 
put  together  a  few  particulars  and  examina- 
tions bearing  on  the  question. 

Portland  cement,  we  need  not  say,  is 
produced  from  a  definite  combination 
of  carbonate  of  lime,  sQica,  alumina,  and 
oxide  of  iron,  and  other  subordinate  ingre- 
dients. ^^Tien  made  from  white  or  grey 
cha;k,  there  is  very  little  oxide  of  iron  from 
the  carbonate  of  lime  source,  but  the  clay  or 
river  (Medway)  mud  contains  varying  quan- 
tities of  it.  Tlie  average  analysis  from  three 
reliable  examinations  of  this  mud  exhibits 
the  following  constituents  : — 

Silica 68-09 

Alumina  1681 

Oxide  of  iron  . .  .  .        8'93 

Lime 2-26 

Alkalies,  &c 2-65 

Carbonic  acid  . .  . .       1-26 

100-00 
The  constantly  chant;ing  character  of  this 
deposit  produces,  unfortunately  for  the  care- 
less cement- maker,  a  good  deal  of  trouble 
when  his  manufactiu-e  is  conducted  on  the 
rule  of  thumb  principle. 

The  following  examinations  in  search  of 
iron  have  been  made,  and  we  shall  begin  with 
a  statement  of  the  re  suits  obtained  out  of  good 
high-class  Portland  cements  produced  from 
white  and  grey  chalk  and  Medway  mud, 
under  the  wet,  or  original,  process  of 
manufacture. 

We  shall  preface  our  investigations  by' 
stating  that  all  the  cements  examined  were 
sifted  through  a  2,500  mesh  sieve,  and  the 
iron  was  extracted  by  a  magnet  from  the 
residuum  so  obtained.  In  some  of  the  sifted 
powder  small  portions  of  iron  were  found, 
but  they  were  so  insignificant  in  amount 
that  _we  added  them  to  the  general  results, 
and  in  all  cases,  therefore,  it  is  to  be  imder- 
stood  that  the  matter  extracted  by  the 
magnet  included  the  total  amount  which 
was  withdrawn  by  its  magnetic  agency. 
The  character  of  the  metallic  matter  thus 
obtained  consisted  generally  of  the  mnre 
minute  spherical  particles  of  the  residuum, 
and  in  those  cements  from  which  the  largest 
percentages  were  obtained  it  was  spicular  in 
form.  In  colour  these  were  various  shades, 
from  lightish  grey  to  a  dark  bluish-bl.ack 
tint. 

No.  1  Seeies.— London  Cement. 
No.  1  Cement,  from  white  chalk  (wet  pro- 
cess). 

2  ,,  „ 

3  ,,  grey  chalk 


No.  1  produced  5  per  cent,  residuum. 

-         ..       16       „  ,, 

•^         ..       19t      .,  „ 

^         ..       19^      >, 

The  matter  e.\tracted  by  the  magnet  was 

as  follows :  — 

No.  1,  0-19  percent,  of  the  cement. 

2,  0-205       ,, 

3,  0-25 

4,  0-175       „  „ 

These  results  bore  the  folio-wing  proper" 
tions  to  the  different  residuums  : — 

No.  1,     3  SO  per  cent,  of  the  coarse. 
2,     127 
■'3.     126 
0,     0-S9 

No,  2  SEHrES. — London  Cement. 
No.  1  cement,  from  white  chalk  (semi-wot 
process), 
o 

No.  1  produced  13  per  cent,  of  residuum  from 
a  2,500  sieve. 
2         ,,         1-t 
The  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  was 
as  follows  :  — 

No.  1,     0-20  per  cent,  of  the  cement. 
2,     0-25         ,, 
These  results  bore  the  follo^ving  propor- 
tions to  the  different  residuums  :  — 

No.  1,     1-54  per  cent,  of  the  coarse. 
2,     1-79         „  „ 

No.  3  Series. — Cement  made  in  the  North 
of  England,    with  white   chalk,  and  local 
clays,  being  converted  by  the  wet  process. 
No.  1  produced  23i  per  cent,  of  residuum 

2  „  9"       ., 

3  „         22         ,,  „ 

The  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  was 
as  follows  : — 

No.  1,     100  per  cent,  of  the  cement. 

2,  0-205       ,,  ,, 

3,  0-25 

These  results  bore  the  following  propor- 
tions to  the  different  residuums  : — 

No.  1,     4-25  per  cent,  of  the  coarse 

2,  2-22  ,,  ,, 

3,  1-14 

No.  4  Serie.s — Dry  Process. 

No.  1,  Scotch  cement  from  limestone  and 
shales. 

2,  Worcestershire  cement  from  lime- 
stone and  clay. 

S,  Irish  cement  from  limestones  a.nd 
shales. 

No.  1  produced  2-50  per  cent,  residuum 

2  „         1-50 

3  ,,         7-50        ,, 

The  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  was 
as  follo-ws  : — 

No.  1,     0185  per  cent,  of  the  cemer.t 

2,  0.  25 

3,  0  225 

These  results  bore  the  following  propor- 
tions to  the  different  residuums  : — 

No.  1,   0-74  per  cent,  of  the  coarse 

2,  1  66 

3,  3-00 

No.  5  Series.  —  (Being  "Magnet's" 
samples  marked  1  A,  2  A,  3  A.  The  sources 
of  materials  used  in  the  manufactiu-e  not 
given,  nor  the  process  adopted  in  their  con- 
version— presumably  LondoQ  cements.) 

lA  produced  15  per  cent,  of  residmim. 

2A  „  28 

3A  „  9         „ 

The  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  vras 
as  follows : — 

lA,  0-25  .per  cent,  of  the  cement. 

2A,  0-75 

3A,  0-215       ,, 

These  results  bore  the  following  propor- 
tions to  the  different  residuums  : — 

lA  produced  0-66  per  cent,  of  residuum. 

2A         .,         2-68        ,, 

3A        ,,         0-24 


No.  6  Series. — A  Roman  cement  pro- 
duced from  a  bed  of  argillaceous  limestono 
found  in  the  coal  measures  iioiir  Glasgow. 

The  residuum  obtained  was  5  per  cent,  of 
coarseness,  the  matter  extracted  by  the 
magnet  being  equal  to  2  per  cent,  of  the 
cement,  while  it  bore  a  proportion  of  40  per 
cent,  to  the  residuum. 

The  last  experiment  (No.  G  series)  is  a 
somewhat  instructive  one,  in  it  showa  that 
the  oxides  of  iron,  even  under  the  compara- 
tively low  temperature  used  in  producing 
Roman  cement,  had  been  but  slightly 
changed  in  character.  For  the  better  illus- 
tration of  this  point,  we  give  the  followinf; 
analysis  of  the  stone  from  which  the  cement 
was  produced  :  — 

Carbonate  of  lime                . .  64'04 

Silica 8-60 

Alumina          . .  3-40 

Protoxide  of  u-on       . .          . .  10-20 

Magnesia        6-76 

Phosphates,  &c.                    ..  2  66 

Loss,  &c 3'«4 

100  0(1 
This  cement  weighed  about  84lb.  per 
Imperial  bushel,  set  with  great  rapidity, 
being  of  a  deep  brown  coLair.  Had  tho 
same  temperature  been  applied  which  is 
required  to  bum  a  good  Portland  cement 
the  mass  would  have  been  clinkered,  and  its 
setting  properties  destroyed.  The  result  of 
this  experiment  shows  that  the  pseudo- 
metal  liberated  by  the  heat  action  could 
not  combine  in  a  profitable  manner  with 
any  of  the  other  ingredients  in  the  kiln. 
This  produce  of  metallic  matter  is  not  ap- 
proached in  any  of  our  other  experiments, 
although  cement  No.  1  of  the  3rd  genes 
shows  an  undue  proportion  of  resulting 
metallic  matter.  This  cement  sets  rapidly 
for  a  Portland  cement,  which  may  tc  ac- 
counted for  in  the  character  of  the  clay  U8e<l 
in  its  production.  This  clay  is  of  a  brownish 
colour,  and  of  the  following  analysis  : —  r 

SiHca 06-3& 

Alumina  . .  3-52 

Oxide  of  iron  17-14 

Oxide  of  manganese  1-74 

Lime 4-98 

Magnesia  3  94 

Potash  MO 

Soda 0-37 

Organic  matter  and  water  .     10-82 


100-00 

The  same  cemeut,  howe^ 

•cr, 

when  highly 

burnt,   sets  slowly,  and  is 

of  the  following 

analysis,  viz  :  — 

Lime 

.     61-27 

Magnesia 

1-45 

Carbonate  of  lime  . . 

1-42 

Sulphate  of  lime 

1-98 

Alumina 

0-94 

Oxide  of  iron 

.      11  39 

Oxide  of  manganese 

0-68 

Silica  . 

1818 

Alkalies 

064 

Carbon 

0-78 

Water.  &c. 

1-27 

100-00 

Cement  No.  2  of  the  same  series  is  made 
with  a  brownish  chiy,  having  a  consider- 
able portion  of  oxide  of  iron  in  its  ana.ysn. 

We  may  gather  from  these  cxperimonti 
that  the  average  per  centage  of  met^lic 
matter  eliminated  from  the  cemmt  by  the 
sieve  and  magnet,  amount  in  the  fix 
samples  (Nos.  1  and  2  series)  c.Taminod,  to 
0-21  per  cent.  There  is  not  a  very  «e»t 
difference  between  the  resulU  obtained  by 
the  wot  and  semi-wet  processes.  The 
average,  however,  of  the  cement  (scnes 
No  3)  from  the  North  of  England,  made 
from  white  chalk  and  local  clays,  is  greater 
than  that  obtained  from  the  London  ccmests, 
being  0  485  per  cent,  of  metallic  matter. 
This'svcrage  ia  much  influenced  by  the  ex- 


318 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


ceptionally  high  proportion  of  No.  1,  which 
should  be  considered  in  discussing  this 
question. 

No.  4  series,  being  the  result  of  the  ex- 
aminations of  cements  made  by  the  dry 
process  from  limestones,  shales,  and  clays 
containing  small  proportions  of  oxide  of 
ii'on,  are,  when  set,  of  unusually  fine  colour, 
indicating  that  the  metallic  matter  had 
exerted  ao  i^rejudicial  influence  in  that 
direction. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  that,  even 
in  blue  lias  lime,  a  considerable  amount 
of  matter  capable  of  extraction  by  the 
magnet  exists  without  being  submitted 
during  the  process  of  calcination  to  any 
very  high  degree  of  beat,  we  have  examined 
several  samples,  under  exactly  the  same 
conditions  observed  in  the  other  experi- 
ments, mth  the  following  results  :  — 

Series  No.  7. 
No.  1    Blue   lias  lime   from  Somersetshire. 
,,2  ,,  ,,       Warwickshire. 

Residuum  produced  from  2,500-mesh  sieve. 
No.  1,  35'5  per  cent,  of  coarseness. 
„    2.  165    „       „ 
The  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  was 
as  follows,  viz. — 

No.  1,  "50  per  cent,  of  the  lime. 
„    2,  -45    ,,      ,, 
These  results   bore  the  following  propor- 
tions tc  the  residuum :  — ■ 

No.  1,  1'4  per  cent,  of  residuum. 
,,  2,  2-7  ,,  ,, 
These  metallic  products  could  not  have 
been  iuflu>-nced  to  any  very  appreciable  ex- 
tent by  the  temperature  of  the  kiln,  the  heat 
of  which,  even  at  its  maximum  intensity, 
must  have  been  far  short  of  that  required  to 
extract  iron  from  its  oxides.  Neither  was 
there  in  the  course  of  the  manufacturing 
process  any  difficult  grinding  operation,  for 
lime  so  obtained  is  easily  reduced  to  the 
finest  powder  without  the  aid  of  reducing 
machinery  at  all.  In  this  primitive,  and 
at  best  "rule  of  .thumb,"  process,  the  iron 
matter  must  have  existed  normally,  but 
might  have  been  increased  to  some  small 
extent,  indeed,  from  the  iron  pyrites  of  the 
fuel  used,  for  both  of  the  coals  in  Warwick- 
shire and  Somersetshire  are  very  impure  in 
character. 

These  examinations,  we  trust,  will  lead  to 
some  better  imderstanding  of  the  metallic 
iron  discovered  by  "Magnet,"  and  it  will, 
when  rec  iving  more  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  makers  and  consumers  of  cements, 
lead  up  to  the  rejection  of  such  raw  materials 
containing  an  immoderate  quantity  of  iron 
oxides.  Our  samples  have  been  taken  from 
districts  widely  apart,  and  although  some 
of  the  cements  thus  examined  are  fairly 
good  in  quality,  they  are  still  far  short,  in 
our  ojiuion,  of  what  they  might,  and 
ought  to  be.  Careless  manipulation  of 
raw  materials,  bad  and  improi^er  fuel,  toge- 
ther with  obsolete  and  unsuitable  machinery, 
produce  such  cements  as  are  too  frequently 
used  in  this  country  ;  thus  hindering  con- 
structive progress  in  manj-  directions. 

For  the  purposes  of  what  we  may  hope 
will  prove  a  profitable  comparison,  we  ex- 
tended our  examination  to  a  sample  of 
high-class  German  cement,  with  the  follow- 
ing residts,  viz.  : — 

The  residuum  obtained  from  a  2,500-mcsh 
sieve  was  (io  per  cent. 

The  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  was 
075  per  cent,  of  the  cement,  being  equal  to 
I'lo  per  cent,  of  the  residuum. 

For  the  better  understanding  of  this 
illu^tration  of  good  cement-making,  we  give 
an  analysis  of  the  raw  materials  from  which 
this  cement  was  produced  :  — 

Chalk  marl.  Clay. 
Carbonate  of  lime    .  87.29  — 

Sulphate  of  lime      .  0-37  — 

Lime  in  combination  wi'h 

silica   .  M2  1-45 


Chalk  marl.  Clay. 

1-38  0-82 

7-43  49-52 

0-83  23.85 

1-48  7.02 

trace  2 '88 

—  3-54 

—  3-96 


Magnesia 

Silica 

Alumina 

Oxide  of  iron 

Alkalies 

Bisidphide  of  iron 

Lime ,  . 

Organic        matter         and 

moisture       . .  —  5' 14 

The  cement  produced  from  their  careful 
combination  is  of  the  following  analysis, 
viz.  : — 

SiHca  22-850 

Alumina         .  .  .        5-511 

Oxide  of  iron         .  .  .  .       2-760 

Lime  64-409 

Magnesia    -  .  . .  . .       1-235 

Potash  and  soda    .  .  0-923 

Sulphate  of  Ume    .  .  2-865 

The  process  adopted  in  the  manufacture  of 
this  undoubtedly  good  cement  is  the  wet 
one,  but  with  very  little  resemblance  indeed 
to  the  clumsy  practices  of  the  Thames  and 
Medway  manufacturers.  The  chalk  and 
clay  are  coaxed  by  simple  and  ingenious 
machinery  into  the  most  accurate  contact 
with  each  other,  with  what  may  be  termed 
a  superfluous  water  agency.  When  the 
"  slurry  "  is  dried,  it  is  moulded  -svith  much 
care  into  accurate  forms,  and  placed  in  the 
kilns  where  "  home-made  "  coke  (produced 
from  English  coal)  reduced  to  regular  sizes 
is  used  to  convert  them  into  good  whole- 
some-looking "  clinker."  No  violent  means 
are  used  in  the  reduction  of  this  well-burnt 
clinker,  but  by  intelligent  and  well -arranged 
reducing  machinery  it  is  brought  low  enough 
to  enter  the  millstones,  from  which  it  issues 
into  sieves,  and  passes,  without  being  stored, 
into  the  packages  in  which  it  is  carried  to 
all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  works  at  which  this  cement  is  made 
were  built  originally  on  the  lines  t)f  the  first 
Portland  cement  works  in  England,  and 
although  during  many  years  great  changes 
have  been  made  in  the  "details  of  the  different 
processes  carried  on,  the  kilns  and  coke- 
ovens  are  the  same  as  they  were  twenty 
years  ago.  We  are  told  that  those  who  wish 
to  succeed  in  dealing  with  physical  diffi- 
culties, should  attentively  study  Natm-e,  and 
reverently  recognise,  with  frankness  and  due 
humility,  her  first  claims  to  your  loyalty. 
This  duty  has  been  implicitly  followed  in  the 
production  of  this  German  cement ;  for 
Natm-e  has  been  aided,  not  outraged 
by  any  powerful  attempt  at  resistance  to 
her  laws.  The  chalk  marl  and  clay  are 
wooed  into  the  most  intimate  relationship, 
which  no  subsequent  process  is  capable  of 
disturbing,  and  at  the  completion  of  the 
chemical  stage  of  the  manufacture  they 
enter  upon  the  mechanical  course,  which 
is  equally  carefully  performed,  with  such 
results  as  we  have  described.  There  is  no 
iron  t/riiiilii)</  in  the  German  manufactory, 
neither  do  they  rub  off  the  faces  of  the 
"  burr"  stones  by  keeping  them  in  too  close 
contact  with  each  other.  The  careful  elimi- 
nation of  any  small  particles  of  raw  bricks 
or  coke  protects  against  the  dangers  of 
"  bolts  or  nuts  "  passing  on  to  the  grinding 
mills. 

We  have  said  enough,  we  thiuk,  to 
encourage  further  thought  and  experiments 
in  this  direction,  and  we  hope  to  see  in  the 
not  far  distant  futm-e  the  "constructive" 
binding  agent  produced  without  the  aid  of 
oxide  of  iron  or  alumina.  Both  these  in- 
gredients are  disturbing  agents  in  the 
manufacture  of  a  good  and  reliable  Port- 
land cement,  and  the  sooner  they  are  re- 
jected by  the  producer  the  better  will  it  be 
for  the  unfortimate  and  bewildered  con- 
sumer. 

We  have  made  an  analysis  of  the  matter 
extracted  by  the  magnet  from  the  English 
Portland  cements,  which  may  be  regarded 
as  a  fair  average  of  the  whole  of  the  results. 


Metallic  iron                         . .  0-43 

Oxide  of  iron            . .  9  OS 

Silica 29-69 

Alumina  11-66 

Lime,  water,  &c.      .  .  49- 14 

100-00 
In  conclusion,  we  may  say  that  the  less 
iron  in  Portland  cement  the  better ;  for  its 
presence,   whether  chemically  or  mechani- 
cally, is  productive  of  danger. 


THE  FINE  ART  EXHIBITION  AT 
BEUSSELS.— II. 
"VfO  words  could  describe  the  wonders  of 
X^  the  superb  double  cross  of  the  13th 
century.  No.  117,  of  which  the  Church  of 
Walcourt  is  the  happy  possessor.  It  is  of 
wood,  covered  with  plates  of  silver  gilt, 
exquisitely  ornamented  with  foliage  and 
flowers,  and  adorned  with  niello  subjects  in 
low-relief  ;  not  merely  engraved  as  in  14th 
and  15th-century  work.  The  upper  part  of 
the  front  seems  to  symbolise  heavenly  life 
— the  lower  the  Saints  on  earih.  There 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  regular  sequence 
of  the  subjects.  One  peculiarity  of  treat- 
ment consists  in  the  division  of  a  subject  ; 
for  example,  in  the  flagellation,  Om-  Lord 
is  placed  in  the  centre  medallion,  a  flagel- 
lator  occupying  a  separate  sj^ace  on  either 
side.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  of 
some  of  the  ornamental  patterns  of  this  very 
lovely  work.  It  is  equally  well  finished  on 
either  side.  No.  118,  belonging  to  the  same 
church,  is  a  reliquary  of  the  true  Cross,  of 
the  same  date  and  character.  In  the  base 
are  four  piping  angels  in  niches,  finely 
modelled.  Splendid  as  is  much  of  the  ela- 
borate 14th  and  15th-century  silverwork, 
there  is  nothing  really  to  compare  ^vith 
these  first-rate  specimens  of  the  13th,  either 
for  taste  or  skill.  No.  239,  of  the  beginning 
of  the  14th  century,  represents  the  Virgin 
Mother  with  the  infant  Saviour  on  her  knee. 
It  is  ornamented  -ivith  a  single  amethyst. 
The  infant  holds  a  bird  in  his  hand.  The 
chair  or  throne  on  which  she  sits  is  richly 
ornamented  at  the  back  with  five  arches  of 
two  lights  each — a  most  interesting  example. 
Of  the  work  of  this  century  there  are  a  good 
many  specimens,  some,  of  great  value,  orna- 
mented -with  translucent  enamel.  One  of 
the  finest  is  the  reliquary  of  St.  Ursula,  No. 
222.  The  relics  were  contained  in  a  cylinder 
of  crystal  placed  vertically  on  a  pyramidal 
stand.  The  enamels  represent  figures  of 
angels,  apostles,  and  evangelists.  We  must 
not  omit  to  mention  a  tine  and  engraved 
"  navette  a  encens  "  of  the  13th  century,  in 
champleve  enamel,  from  the  Soltikoff  col- 
lection, almost  as  good  as  that  exhibited  in 
the  Loan  Collection  at  South  Kensington  in 
1862. 

Belgium  has  cause  to  be  proud  of  having 
produced  so  grand  a  work  as  the  great 
polyptych  reliquary  of  the  true  cross,  No. 
315.  It  is  in  silver-gilt.  In  the  larger 
central  compartment  two  angels  support  a 
cross,  richly  ornamented  and  jewelled,  to 
receive  the  relic.  All  round  the  arch  are 
nielli,  alternately  with  rich  and  delicate 
open-work  panels.  The  doors  are  occupied 
by  the  Crucifixion,  and  other  religious  sub  - 
jects.  The  back  is  covered  with  masterly 
engraving  and  chiselling,  with  the  Cruci- 
fixion in  the  centre ;  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul  on  either  side,  i.e.,  on  the  two 
small  wings  which  would  cover  the  sides 
when  the  reliquary  was  shut  ;  and  the 
angel  Gabriel  and  St.  Mary,  which  would 
unite  and  represent  the  Annunciation  on 
the  outside  of  the  front.  This  work  was 
executed  for  the  Abbey  of  Floreffe  by  order  of 
Pierre  de  la  Chapelle  in  the  year  1254.  The 
number  of  works  of  the  15th  century  and  later 
is  legion.  Some  of  the  many  monstrances 
are  most  consp  cuous.  Nos.  120,  belonging 
to  the  Church  of  St.  Jacques  at  Louvain, 
and  121  to  that  of  St.  Gertrude,  in  the  same 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


319 


city,  are  among  the  best.  The  former  has 
been  regilt,  perhaps  several  times,  and  so 
has  lost  the  fine  master-touches  apparent 
in  its  companion.  A  comparison  between 
these  two  once  almost  identical  pieces  should 
show  the  custodians  of  ancient  ax-t-gems  the 
foolishness  of  meddling  with  the  original 
work.  Some  of  the  censers  are  of  great 
beauty,  and  mostly  better  preserved  than 
might  have  been  expected.  Ihe  morses  too, 
or  brooches  to  fasten  the  copes,  are  both 
numerous  and  illustrative  of  the  best  art. 
No.  339,  in  silver  gilt  with  an  ivory 
centre,  surrounded  bj'  roses  solidly  and  finely 
chased,  is  a  capital  specimen  of  the  end  of 
the  15th  centmy.  No.  o49,  a  monstrance, 
is  a  rather  uncommon  example  of  Venetian 
blue  and  white  enamel  of  the  middle  of  the 
16th  century.  It  is  not  very  unlike  the 
earliest  Venetian  enamelled  glass.  The  finest 
Limoges  enamel  of  the  Renaissance  period  is 
No.  211,  by  Peincaud,  in  mo5t  brilliant 
colours,  with  imitation  precious  stones.  It 
came  from  the  de  Norsey  collection,  and 
for  brUliancy  of  colour-  and  beauty  of  design 
could  not  easily  be  matcned.  No.  581,  a 
portrait  of  Jacques  de  Thiennes,  is  a  capital 
work  of  Leonard  Limousin. 

In  addition  to  the  ivories  already  men- 
tioned, we  would  draw  attention  to  a  very 
ancient  horn,  called  the  Horn  of  St.  Hubert 
(No.  316),  the  property  of  the  church  of 
Tervueren.  The  mounting  is  modem.  No. 
144  is  a  good  Crozier  head,  of  the  12th 
century,  which  belonged  to  Cardinal  Jacques 
de  Vitry,  who  died  in  1244.  No.  40S  is  a 
coffer,  of  Oriental  work,  of  the  9th  century ; 
No.  400,  the  centre  of  a  polyptych,  of  the 
very  finest  14th-centm-y  design;  No.  411, 
rather  later,  is  well  coloured.  In  No.  113, 
an  ivory  border,  covered  with  figures,  sur- 
rounds a  portative  altar  of  jasper — 12th  or 
13th  century.  There  are  also  many  good 
specimens  of  combs,  mirror-oases,  &c. 
No.  112  is  a  set  of  writing-tablets,  in  the 
form  of  a  book,  the  first  and  last  leaves 
being  sculptured  with  love-scenes,  the 
centre  ones  covered  with  red  wax.  A 
statuette  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  of 
the  16th  century,  is  of  great  merit,  and 
has  been  attributed  to  ilichael  Angelo.  It 
was  given  by  Cardinal  de  Tourdis  to  the 
Chartreuse  at  Bordeaux  at  the  beginning  of 
the  1 7th  century. 

There  is  a  splendid  exhibition  of  manu- 
scripts, contributed  from  the  Royal,  Uni- 
versity, municipal,  ecclesiastical,  and  private 
libraries.  They  begin  with  a  fragment  of  St. 
Matthew's  Gospel  of  the  5th  century,  and 
continue  to  the  ISth.  Probably  no  such 
complete  series  of  music-books  has  ever 
been  exhibited  before  :  we  see  the  whole  his- 
tory of  musical  notation,  from  the  ancient 
neumes — more  difficult,  one  would  think,  to 
interpret  than  the  cuneiform  writing  on 
Babylonian  cylinders — to  our  present  most 
convenient  mode  of  expressing  musical 
sounds.  One  book  has  its  music  written  on 
the  large  eleven-line  staff ;  some  are  splen- 
didly illuminated,  c.y.,  "  Cantus  Missa?  " 
(115),  from  the  Royal  library,  the  two  first 
pages  of  which  have  portraits  of  Philip  le 
Beau  and  Jeanne  la  Folle.  Most  of  the 
books  of  the  Burgundian  library  are  here. 
Those  who  have  seen  a  few  in  the  library 
itself  -will  be  able  to  judge  of  the  treat  of 
seeing  so  many  of  the  finest  so  arranged  as 
to  enable  comj^arison  to  be  made  inter  se 
and  with  the  other  precious  volumes  in  these 
galleries.  No.  17,  a  book  of  the  Gospels,  of 
the  loth  centuiy,  is  a  surpassingly- excelleixt 
example  of  Belgian  art  of  that  early  date. 
It  was  written  for  the  abbey  of  St.  Lawrence, 
at  Liege.  No.  21,  "Lectiones,"  "Vitro 
b'anctorum,"  &c.,  11th  or  12th,  from  the 
abbey  of  St.  Gerard  de  Brogne,  is  a  work  of 
great  labour.  No.  30  is  a  grand  Bible  of 
the  12th  century.  There  is  another  Bible, 
of  the  date  1402,  that  is  simply  magnificent, 
and,  next  to  it,  "  A  Golden  Legend  "  should 
be  noticed.     Many  of  the  missals  are  of  rare 


beauty.  Nos.  56  and  183,  the  latter  be- 
longing to  Tomnay,  and  of  the  l4th 
century,  are  remarkable.  Many  volumes 
apart  from  their  intrinsic  charms,  have  great 
historical  interest,  such  as  the  albums  of 
Otho  Voenius,  Jacob  de  Wit,  and  others,  but 
more  especially  the  highly-Uluminated  books 
bearing  dates  and  monograms  of  the  people 
for  whom  they  were  executed.  Some  of  the 
richest  are,  as  usual,  the  Horfe  B.  Virginis. 
One  of  this  kind,  the  "  Hours  of  Bruges," 
has  been  taken  to  pieces  and  framed  in  a 
South  Kensington  stand.  It  is  a  great 
privilege  to  be  allowed  to  study  each  page 
of  this  lovely  little  book,  but  we  are  afraid 
that  it  may  be  bought  at  too  high  a  price. 
It  seems  scarcely  possible  that  the  effect  of 
the  light,  especially  if  the  greatest  precau- 
tions are  not  taken  against  damp,  should 
not  in  time  greatl}-  damage  this  delicate  and 
charming  work.  The  hand  of  Hans  Mem- 
ling  is  said  to  be  visible  in  several  of  the 
Hours.  Next  to  them  come  chronicles, 
translations  of  classics,  and  romances.  One 
of  the  finest  is  No.  106,  "  La  Forteresse  de 
la  Foi,"  from  the  library  of  Charles  de  Croj-, 
Prince  de  Chimay.  No.  70,  "  Othca,"  by 
Christine  de  Pisan,  was  done  for  Philip  Le 
Bon  in  1455.  The  Royal  library  of  Copen- 
hagen lends  a  gorgeous  manuscript.  No. 
80,  a  book  of  "  The  Exploits  of  Alexander," 
by  Quintus  Curtius.  No.  74,  "The  Cm- 
quests  of  Charlemagne,"  is  an  extraordinary 
and  most  rare  production.  All  the  minia- 
tures with  which  this  great  folio  abound  are 
in  grisaille.  We  have  not  space  to  par- 
ticularise the  collection  of  printed  books, 
which  contains  an  iuterestmg  series  of  books 
printed  in  Belgium.  The  Antwerp  part 
appears  to  be  most  complete.  There  is  a 
good  sprinkling  of  examples  of  sumptuous 
printing  on  vellum,  &c.  It  would  also  be 
vain  to  attempt  to  give  an  idea  of  the  vast 
collection  of  coins  and  naedals.  Those  of 
Greece,  of  which  there  are  200,  are  in  match- 
less condition,  and  of  the  highest  artistic 
value  ;  the  Roman  medals  ai'e  also  very  fine. 
The  collection  of  embroidery,  tapestry,  and 
loom  work  commences  from  a  very  early 
date.  The  catalogue  is  very  incomplete 
and  unprinted  ;  it  is  contained  in  Section  C. 
Two  mitres,  which  were  once  worn  by  St. 
Jacques  de  Vitry,  Bishop  of  Ptolemais,  and 
are  now  the  property  of  the  sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  Namur,  are  of  the  13th  century. 
The  borders  and  ornaments  of  the  one  are 
of  vellum,  with  illuminated  miniatures  on  a 
gold  ground  ;  the  other  is  of  needlework, 
with  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Ihomas  of  Can- 
terbury on  the  one  side,  and  St.  Lawrence 
on  the  other.  Conspicuous  in  this  class  is  a 
large  case  full  of  fine  vestments,  especially 
C  No.  42,  the  cope  of  St.  Bavou  at  Ghent ; 
the  ground  is  cloth  of  gold.  There  is  one 
peculiarity  :  the  picture  at  the  back  is  not 
separated  as  usual,  but  worked  in  and  con- 
nected with  the  orphreys.  C  37  is  a  beau- 
tiful antependiiun,  from  Liege;  C  110  is  a 
very  interesting  panel  in  gold,  bya  Late  15th- 
century  Italian  artist.  We  have  in  this  por- 
tioa  many  items  of  interest — gloves,  mittens, 
hose,  purses,  and  bags  of  very  early  times  — 
all  worthy  of  examination.  Some  are  said 
to  have  belonged  to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots 
and  other  celebrities.  The  collection  of  lace, 
as  might  have  been  expected,  is  carefully 
selected  and  arranged.  No  pains  have  been 
spared  to  bring  together  the  finest  speci- 
mens procurable  of  tapestry.  B  65  and  fol- 
lowing Nos.,  which  line  the  principal  gal- 
lery, are  a  sumptuous  series,  rivalling  the 
best  we  have  in  this  country  of  the  same 
period  (16th  century).  Nos.  76,  77,  and  92 
may  also  be  named  as  unusually  elaborate 
and  delicate  ;  but  the  most  wonderful  of  aU 
are  Nos.  35,  176,  and  178— the  triumphs  of 
Pallas,  Venus,  and  Bacchus.  They  have  the 
mark  of  Brussels,  two  capital  B's,  divided 
by  an  escutcheon  and  a  monogram,  bcHeved 
to  be  that  of  Francois  Geubels.  The  draw- 
ing and  conception  remind  one  forcibly  of 


the  beautiful  woodcuts  in  Poliphilus.  Like 
them  the  designs  have  been  attributed  to  A. 
Mantegna,  though  without  much  reason.  lu 
design,  fancy,  and  execution,  they  are  in- 
valuable. 

Class  B  comprises  furniture  of  all  sorts, 
from  the  elaborate  jack-towel  roller  to  cabi- 
nets of  nobles  and  princes.  There  is  little 
earlier  than  the  beginning  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury, of  which  rfate  there  is  a  largo  quantity, 
especially  of  cabinets,  chairs,  and  bedsteads 
(some  of  the  last  being  built  up  into  the 
panelling  of  the  rooms). 

The  whole  exhibition  does  great  credit  to 
its  originators,  and  shows  in  a  complete 
manner  ihe  great  artistic  abilities  of  Belgium 
during  many  centuries. 


THE     GLASGOW    MUNICIPAL 
BUILDINGS   DESIGNS. 

[second  notice.] 

LAST  week  we  reviewed  the  chief  designs 
for  the  Municipal  Bmldiiigs,  and  we 
gave  a  list  of  some  of  the  others,  a  few  of 
them  being  of  a  high  order  of  merit.  It 
may  be  of  interest  to  notice  a  few  at  greater 
length  than  we  were  able  to  do  last  week. 
Among  the  more  f.ancifid  designs  we  must 
place  "  Town  llall,"  the  author  of  which  has, 
certainly,  in  the  matter  of  style,  not  been 
boimd  by  the  letter  ot"  the  instructions, 
which  reqiured  a  building  of  Classic  design, 
"  of  a  broad  and  dignified,  rather  than  of  a 
florid  character."  The  main  elevation  is 
particularly  florid,  and  the  stylo  adopted 
rather  difficult  to  define,  seeing  that  Gothic 
features  are  prominently  intermixed  with 
Classic  detail.  We  cannot  call  it  Renais- 
sance, but,  rather,  a  medley  of  Elizabethan 
and  Gothicesque,  both  of  which  elements 
are  present  in  an  eminent  degree.  The 
pointed  arched  windows,  and  the  fantastic 
gables  in  cut  brick  and  stone,  lead  us  to  the 
supposition  that  its  author  has  Southeni, 
rather  than  Northern,  proclivities  ;  and  the 
facades  are  clearly  intended  to  be  built  in 
brick.  The  drawing  is  masterly.  "Justice 
and  Sword"  is  a  florid  columnar  com- 
position of  one  order,  Roman  in  conception, 
with  a  centre  dome  and  pediment.  The 
entablature  is  broken  over  the  columns,  and 
the  drawing  is  sketchy.  "  Desideratum,"  in 
pencil,  is  rather  too  heavy  in  its  Renaissance ; 
there  seems  a  want  of  proportion  and  grada- 
tion ;  the  hall  is  made  an  extem;il  feature. 
"Adelensis"  is  Roman  in  style,  columnar 
of  one  order,  with  an  attic  above,  enriched 
by  statues  over  the  columns.  The  lofty 
tower  is  somewhat  overdone,  and  the  angles 
are  pronomiccd  by  corner  terminals  and 
small  cupolas.  "Light,"  in  brown  ink,  is 
rather  frittered,  and  there  is  a  want  of  rest 
and  breadth  about  the  mam  fagades  ; 
"Valentine"  suffers  from  over-prof  uscncss 
in  detail  and  sculpture,  and  a  lack  of  refined 
detail :  but  the  author  has  been  bold  enough 
to  depart  from  the  sketch  plan,  by  placmg 
his  to^vn-haU  in  the  centre,  so  as  tu  obtam 
a  balanced  facade.  "Old  T  Square  has 
sacrificed  dignity  to  elaboration  of  parts 
and  detail,  a  fault  that  has  bet  n  fol- 
lowed by  several.  A  piUng-up  of  orders 
cupolas,  and  towers  scarcely  constitutes 
grandeur,  or  dignified  architecture ;  and 
the  remark  applies  to  several  elaborately- 
executed  designs.  "Light,  /•  Concordia  et 
FideHtas,"  an  incoherent  pihng  up  of  agony 
of  towers  and  domes;  "Amalgam,  which 
by  the  way,  is  both  heavy  m  mass  as  well  a.s 
tawdry  m  detail  "Major  I>o™°  . -' p^^^^.; 
tatious,  and  seeks  to  v.c  ^"'l' •"^'- .f^.f " 
dome  in  splendour  and  size:  Suum 
Cu^ue,"  on  the  other  hand,  is  more  buarre 
than  imposing,  a  fantastic  roof  and  cupo  a 
of  remarkable  outline  crowning  its  mam 
Lade;  and  "B"  in  circle  is  perhaps 
cquallv  given  over  to  gimcrack  finerj  and 
tawdrinels.  Passing  from  this  class  of 
architecture  we  come  to  several  designs  in 


320 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


wkioli  heaviness  lias  baen  mistaken  for 
massive  and  imposing  qualities  of  design. 
"G"  in  intersecting  circles,  and  "St. 
Mungo,"  with  one  order  of  columns,  look 
extremely  heavy  and  crude;  and  "  Eevi- 
rescam  "  suffers  perhaps  rather  by  its  posi- 
tion with  other  drawings,  than  from  its  o^Tn 
want  of  strilciug  features.  "  Clutha  "  and 
"  Red  Star  "  are  extremely  modest  in  their 
pretensions,  and,  by  contrast,  they  m.ight 
be  assigned  to  the  commonplace  ;  so  "  1880  " 
in  circle,  and  "  Simplex,'"  "  Apropos,"  and 
"Palladio"  are  pompous;  and  "  Civis  " 
glories  in  a  florid  Eeuaissance  exterior,  with 
a  great  dome  over  portico.  "  iSt.  Kentigern" 
is  the  motto  of  another  attempt  at  Eoman 
magnificence.  The  facade  is  dominated  by 
a  comprehensive  portico  and  pediment  of 
one  Older  of  columns,  and  the  author  has 
not  sought  to  heighten  the  effect  by  any 
ex'raneous  features,  such  as  towers. 
"Clyde"  is  a  design  possessing  merit,  as 
shown  b}"  a  good  drawing,  but  the  fronts  are 
rather  broken  and  incoherent ;  there  is  a 
central  tower  towards  the  square.  The  hall 
is  pronounced  by  a  sculptured  attic.  The 
alternative  design  is  better.  Less  omateness 
would  have  been  a  virtue,  as  in  many  other 
designs  where  the  authors  appear  to  have 
lost  sight  of  the  character  of  the  architecture 
of  George's  square,  anditssolid  massive  stone 
character.  A  richly  decorated  building  would 
appear  rather  ridiculous,  and  would  lose 
rather  than  gain  dignity  by  association. 
"  Crescent  in  Square  "  is  a  clever  drawing, 
but  also  conceived  in  a  far  too  ornate  style,  it 
certainly  is  a  medley  of  Venetian  andlloorish 
detail.  "ilottoes  only,"  Italian  with  a 
columnar  treatment  of  one  order  towards 
the  square,  has  a  well  grouped  pediment  and 
angle  cupolas  with  coupled  pilasters  to  the 
other  fronts,  and  on  the  whole  the  design 
exhibits  a  better  scale  than  many  we  hav* 
mentioned  here.  Arcaded  facades,  or  those 
in  which  the  columnar  ti-eatment  has  been 
subordinated,  a'e  represented  by  a  few 
designs  :  we  may  mention,  for  instance, 
"  Fame,"  in  which  design  circular- 
headed  windows  are  the  main  feature 
with  loftj-  angles  and  a  centre  cupola  of 
poor  proportion.  The  detail  is  meagre. 
"  lona  "  is  another  elaborate  conception,  in 
which  an  arcaded  front  with  centre  columns, 
and  a  cup.jla  with  lantern,  has  been  at- 
tempted, but  the  detail  is  far  too  elaborated 
to  successfully  compete  with  the  solid  struc- 
tures of  the  square.  "  Fiat  Lux  "  is  a 
boldly-drawn  composition  with  angle  cupo- 
las, having  a  columnar  treatment  of  a  single 
order.  "  Experience  "  has  no  roof,  but  a 
heayj'  dome  crowns  the  principal  front ;  the 
detaU  is  crowded,  but  confined  to  the  pedi- 
ments. A  cm-ious  dome  with  a  huge  ball 
finish  is  shown.  Several  other  designs  are 
to  be  seen,  but  we  have  mentioned  those 
which  are  the  most  striking  in  conception. 
As  rogai'ds  the  draughtsmanship  exhibited, 
the  competition  at  Glasgow  furnishes  usef  ol 
lessons.  It  shows  that  perspectives  may  be 
discarded  without  disadvantage.  According 
to  the  instructions,  no  p>erspectives  were 
admitted,  the  elevations  were  to  be  drawn 
in  line,  without  colour  or  hatching,  although 
in  the  last  respect  the  rule  has  been  broken 
in  many  instances.  We  see  many  elevations 
where  shading  has  been  attempted,  and 
colour  or  sepia  has  been  used  in  the  windows. 
Simple  outline  only  is  rather  too  severe  a 
ru'e,  and  we  think  no  one  can  object  to 
seeing  the  roofs  lined  in,  and  the  window 
openings  distinguished  by  flat  washes  of 
colour  or  close-hatched  lines.  Several  of 
the  best  designs  are  drawn  in  a  masterly 
manner,  although  they  have  strictly  fol- 
lowed the  instructions,  and  as  a  test  of 
the  architectural  slull  in  Classic  design  the 
exhibition  holds  a  prominent  place  among 
recent  cnmpetitions.  The  only  regret  is  that 
the  architects  were  fettered  in  theii'  notions 
of  arrangement,  and  that  the  plan  issued 
was  considered  to  be  so  far  perfect  as  to 


have  left  the  competitors  ^^'ithout  choice. 
The  last-issued  circular  seems  to  have  in- 
creased the  uncertainty  with  which  some  of 
the  competitors  regarded  the  sketch-plan, 
and  this,  coupled  with  the  remarks  made  by 
some  members  of  the  Council,  which  led  the 
competitors  not  to  strictly  adhere  tj  the 
limit  of  cost  first  specified,  has  tended  to  make 
comparison  of  merit  rather  more  difficult. 


MARGATE. 

IN  the  older  piarts  of  Margate  the  usual 
London  type  of  house  is  met  with : 
stock  and  gault  bricks,  flint,  red  brick,  and 
stone  or  stucco  are  the  common  building 
materials ;  but,  as  we  go  farther  eastwards, 
the  "  west-end,"  as  we  may  paradoxically 
call  it  of  the  old  town,  we  meet  with  red 
brick  and  stone,  half-timbered  framed 
houses,  rough  cast,  and  moulded  brickwork 
disposed  in  a  variety  of  modern  fashions. 
Confining  our  attention  to  a  few  of  the  more 
noticeable  building  improvements  in  the 
locality,  we  remark  here,  as  in  Brighton  and 
other  seaside  places,  a  large  field  which  the 
specu'ative  builder  has  not  been  slow  to 
occupy.  "  Clif tonville,"  as  it  is  called,  is  a 
new  and  increasing  subiu-b  of  Margate, 
situated  at  its  extreme  east  end,  and  here 
may  be  found  a  few  evidences  of  the 
spreading  taste  for  Queen  Anne  and  other 
rtcent  styles.  On  the  main  thoroughfare 
leading  to  this  part,  we  observe,  a  large  and 
important  Gothic  structure  in  red  brick  and 
s'  one  dressings  has  been  erected,  and  some 
recent  additions  are  now  being  made  to  it. 
The  building  in  question  is  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb  Asylum,  a  branch  establishment  of 
that  at  the  Old  Kent-road;  it  stands  in 
extensive  grounds  some  distance  from  the 
road,  and  presents  considerable  fronts  on 
four  sides.  The  principal  facades  are  in  a 
kind  of  Domestic  Gothic  with  mullioned 
windows  having  cusped  heads  and  straight 
stone  lintels ;  the  upper  windows  in  the 
gables  are  pointed,  with  arches  in  brick  and 
stone,  and  the  front  towards  the  road  is 
relieved  by  a  circular  turret  with  conical 
roof  of  two  stages  forming  a  stair-case. 
Gables  break  the  fronts,  and  the  grouping 
of  the  whole  at  a  little  distance  is  pleasing. 
The  I'ed  bricks  and  green  slated  roofs  har- 
monise well.  A  small  lodge  near  the  road 
is  built  in  a  half-timbered  style,  in  which 
rough  cast  has  been  introduced  between  the 
timbers  in  the  dormer  gables,  and  we  notice 
some  excellent  ridge  tiles  and  terra- 
cotta hip-knobs  and  fiuiak.  In  a  similar 
style  is  a  small  building  recently  erected 
as  a  cottage  hospital  on  the  same  road. 
It  is  partly  timber-framed  and  covered  with 
rsd  tiles,  and  is  a  j)leasing  attempt  to  im- 
part a  little  variety  and  feeling  into  these 
too-often  monotonous  abodes  of  the  sick  and 
suft'eriug.  In  this  case  the  square  timbers 
are  painted  of  a  deep  chocolate  shade, 
between  which  the  panels  are  of  rough  cast. 
Rows  of  neat  white  brick  and  stuccoed 
villas  are  to  be  met  with  at  Cliftonville  ; 
some  of  these  are  varied  by  red-tdo  roofs,  a 
certainly  more  agreeable  form  of  covering 
near  the  sea  than  slates.  In  a  row  of  Gothic 
villas,  we  observe  a  very  successful  well- 
groupedinstanceof  acornerbuilding,  in  which 
the  white  brick  has  been  relieved  by  a  bay 
window  constructed  of  dark  framed  timbers 
and  tiling.  It  forms  a  corner  window,  and 
is  carried  up  the  whole  height  of  the  house, 
making  an  internal  feature  of  much  con- 
venience and  comfort,  as  it  gives  an  otrtlook 
towards  the  sea  ;  externally  also  it  relieves 
the  monotony  of  the  buff  brickwork.  The 
timbers  are  stained  or  c  loured  by  a  dark 
tint  where  they  show,  but  the  spaces  between 
the  windows  are  tUe-hung,  by  far  the  safest 
method  of  keeping  a  dry  interior.  Clifton- 
ville Hall  is  a  new  building  in  the  Queen 
Anne  style.  It  is  of  one  story,  covered  by 
a  high  red-tUe  roof,  and  is  buUt  of  stock 
and  red  brick ;    the  latter  used  in  gables, 


string-courses,  copings,  and  arches.  Two 
ornamental  gables  break  the  roof  ;  these 
are  enriched  by  red  cut  and  moxdded  brick, 
executed  in  a  careful  manner;  terra- cotta 
is  introduced  in  panels,  and  the  outline  of 
gables  is  considerably  varied.  On  the  whole, 
the  design  is  a  little  too  fanciful,  and  the 
architect  appears  to  have  done  his  best  to 
squeeze  as  much  showy  detail  as  he  could 
into  the  front,  regardless  of  repose.  Near 
it  we  see  a  site  for  a  proposed  reading-room, 
and  several  plots  of  freehold  land  are  to  be 
let,  suitable  i  t  villas  of  a  good  description. 
The  eastern  esplanade  revels,  as  usual,  in 
stucco -fronted  terraces.  Ve  must  notice 
two  churches,  or  buildings  for  public  wor- 
ship, here.  St.  Paul's  is  rather  a  heavy- 
looking  structure  of  Kentish  rag  (in  random 
masonry  with  dark  joints),  with  nave  and 
aisles  and  tower,  and  some  heavy  flat  tracery 
to  the  windows,  but  the  detail  is  jMSse. 
Close  by  is  a  TVesleyan  chapel,  but  of  con- 
siderably better  architecture  ;  the  masonry  is 
coursed.  By  the  way,  for  architectural  efi'eot 
we  cannotimagine  any  thingmore  detrimental 
than  random  work  with  black  joints.  There 
is  a  bold  traceried  window  in  the  west  gable, 
and  the  windows  have  large  cusped  circles, 
French  in  design,  but  characteristic  and 
effective.  There  is  an  unfinished  tower  and 
a  double  gabled  transept,  and  in  the  east 
end  is  a  circular  window  of  Geometrical 
design,  with  a  series  of  lights  underneath. 
The  detail  is  plain ;  the  j  amb  and  arch-  mould- 
ings consist  of  splays  and  squares,  and  the 
building  has  a  thoroughness  about  it  which 
its  neighbour  has  not. 

In  the  town  of  Margate  itself  few  im- 
provements appear  to  have  been  made  :  the 
High-street  is  still  miserably  narrow,  and 
dangerous  in  p;irts  from  its  st' epness  and 
strips  of  pavement,  and  during  some  hours 
of  the  day  very  unp'eas.ant  smells  are  ex- 
perienced,apparently  arising  from  the  sewers. 
Facing  the  sea,  a  row  of  low,  dirty-looking 
tenements,  occupied  as  restaurants  and 
refreshment-bars  of  various  lands,  still 
detract  from  the  appearance  of  the  espla- 
nade, and  we  wonder  why  the  local  authori- 
ties have  not  long  since  removed  this 
blemish.  Many  cf  the  smaller  houses  are 
only  one  room  deep,  a  mode  of  construction 
which  is  singularly  injudicious  for  a  seaside 
town  exposed  as  Margate  is  to  keen  winds 
and  bright,  hot  suns.  The  rooms  are,  of 
course,  either  intensely  hot  or  extremely 
cold,  and  the  winds  in  winter-time  whistle 
light  through  them.  Though  a  very  low  rate 
of  mortality  is  said  to  prevail,  much  yet  is 
required  to  be  done  before  Margate  can  be 
said  to  be  a  thoroughly  sanitary  town. 
Visitors  occasionally  have  to  inhale  very 
pestiferous  exha'ations,  even  on  the  sea- 
beach,  where  masses  of  putrcfj'ing  seaweed 
accumulate  at  low  tide,  and  are  abominably 
offensive. 

One  towering  structure  of  several  stories 
is  at  present  a  conspicuous  object  in  the 
town  from  almost  any  direction.  The  budd- 
ing, scarcely  finished,  is  situated  in  the 
Hiyh-street,  and  is  intended  for  a  coffee- 
tavern.  Mr.  Bowers,  of  Margate,  is  the 
architect.  It  has  white  brick  facings,  with 
red  brick  dressings,  arches,  and  string- 
coiu'ses,  and  the  front  is  ornamented  by  a 
lofty  dormer  gable  in  red  brick.  It  is  a 
sort  of  Queen  Anne  composition.  The  main 
features  of  the  fa<;ade  consist  of  an  open- 
fronted  coffee-room,  a  moulded  brick 
cornice  with  arched  windows  of  red  brick. 
In  the  upper  part  the  spandrels  of  the  win- 
dows have  a  cliaper  in  red  terra-cotta,  which 
forms  a  band,  and  panels  and  string-courses 
of  the  same  material  are  proposed  between 
the  window-heads  and  sills,  and  other  parts. 
The  roof  is  tiled,  and  the  flank  side  above 
the  roof  of  adjoining  houses  is  relieved  by  a 
wide  stack  with  panelled  face. 

'\Vestgate-on-Sea  is  a  rising  locality,  and 
seems  to  be  patronised  by  the  more  select 
class  of  residents.     New  terraces  are  being 


Sept.  17,  18S0. 


THE  BUILDING  NEW?. 


321 


built  facing:  the  sea  and  near  the  railway- 
station,  and  these  erections  are  partaldng 
of  a  variety  of  forms,  Queen  Anne,  Late 
Gothic,  and  of  the  Swiss  Chalet.  Among  the 
more  striking  new  buildings  we  notice  one 
or  two  villas  in  Queen  Anne  taste,  several 
picturesquely-treated  Gothic  \Tllas,  in  a  late 
half-timbered  style,  built  of  red  brick,  a  pale 
buff  brick  with  red  tiled  roofs,  and  many  of 
these  are  relieved  by  timbering  in  the  gables 
and  upper  parts,  between  which  rough  cast 
panels  are  introduced.  A  small  row  of 
shops,  close  to  the  railway,  in  a  Domestic 
Gothic  style,  is  a  pleasing  instance  of  old 
English  work.  The  window  bays  of  timbered 
work  project  and  are  carried  through  the 
eaves,  and  hipped  back  -n-ith  high  red  tile 
roofs.  Between  the  timbers  the  spaces  are 
stuccoed,  and  stamped  with  neat  plea- 
sing patterns  and  diapers  of  varied  design. 
The  daik  sage-green  timberwork,  and  the 
white  plaster  give  a  remarkably  clean 
and  natty  look  against  the  red  tiling  of  the 
roof  and  upper  stories,  and  the  detail  appears 
to  be  carried  out  with  thoroughness  and 
good  taste.  Another  feature  that  strikes 
one  is  the  covered  balcony,  and  the  belvedere, 
several  forms  of  which  appear,  and  are  made 
featiu-es  to  the  house  fronts.  TheSwisschalets 
are  a  little  tawdry,  with  theu-  overhanging 
fretted  barge  boards,  pendants,  and  finials 
of  the  balconied  fronts,  but  the  wide  one- 
span  roofs  look  fresh,  and  no  expense 
appears  to  have  been  spared  in  their  erec- 
tion. Flint  and  red  brick  are  good  mate- 
rials, and  we  see  a  large  villa  in  Elizabethan 
has  been  buUt  with  them.  The  architects 
of  the  locality  have  certamlj-  a  largo  variety 
of  materials  to  deal  with,  but  red  and  white 
brick,  timber,  and  stucco,  seem  to  be  the 
favouiites  ;  and  at  present  these  have  been 
used  with  more  taste  than  we  should  have 
expected,  and  an  air  of  piquancy  and  fresh- 
ness has  been  given  to  this  little  hamlet  by 
the  sea. 


GEEAT-SPAN   KOOPS. 

OUE  engineers  are  beginning  to  learn 
that  the  larger  the  roof  the  more  in- 
tractable it  becomes.  It  is  more  costly  to 
erect,  difficult  to  repair  and  paint,  it  occupies 
greater  height,  and  is  generally  attended 
with  more  ri.sk.  The  St.  Pancras  roof,  a 
combined  work  of  engineering  and  archi- 
tectural skill,  affords  us  an  example  of  one 
of  the  finest,  iu  this  country,  at  least ;  but 
although  it  springs  from  the  platform,  it 
rises  to  a  height,  and  presents  an  external 
appearance  that  is,  perhaps,  less  satisfactory 
than  Hatter  curves.  A  large  roof,  as  we 
generally  understand  it,  is  a  single  span, 
springing  from  the  walls  and  meeting  at  a 
point  at  the  ridge.  Such  a  form  of  roof 
necessitates  considerable  height  of  ridge, 
and  the  roofing- in  of  a  large  space.  Paxton, 
in  his  ridge-and-furrow  principle  of  roofing, 
taught  us  that  a  great  space  might  be 
covered  on  a  different  principle  :  by,  in 
short,  a  series  of  small-span  roofs,  and  the 
Crystal  Palace  exemplified  the  system 
as  one  of  decided  economy  for  large 
buildings.  Recently  engineers  have  learnt 
the  value  of  an  economical  principle  in 
construction,  namely,  that  the  multipli- 
cation of  small  and  simple  elements  is 
often  more  desirable  than  one  large  and 
complex  structure  ;  and  that  in  repair  and 
cleaning  the  former  system  has  unmistake- 
able  advantages.  Just  now  the  ridge-and- 
furrow  system,  on  a  large  scale,  is  being 
adopted  at  Carlisle,  over  the  new  station  now 
erectiug  by  the  London  and  North-Westem 
Railway  Company  at  that  city.  The  roof  is 
a  series  of  small-span  roofs,  placed  trans- 
versely to  the  line,  and  supported  by  open 
treUis-braced  girdtrs  of  light  construction. 
But  these  girders,  instead  of  being  placed 
wholly  below,  are  in'roduced  immediately 
under  the  ridgts  which  they  help  to  sustain, 
and  the  rafters  and  valleys  are  suspended 


from  them.  In  a  construction  of  such  a 
kind  thrust  is  eliminated,  and  the  whole 
roof  becomes  a  succession  of  straight  gilders 
resting  upon  the  walls,  and  supporting  a 
series  of  gutters  between  them.  Practically, 
the  advantages  offered  in  such  a  roof  are 
great,  curved  jirincipals  are  saved,  height 
of  walling  is  minimised,  there  is  less  weight 
of  iron,  and  each  cross  roof  becomes  a 
simple  one,  quite  independent  of  its  neigh- 
bours, and  capable  of  easy  repair  and  atten- 
tion. The  Carlisle  roof  covers  several 
lines  of  rail,  and  the  open  girders  are 
placed  at  a  good  height  above  the  plat- 
form. Looking  at  the  roof  from  one 
of  the  platforms,  or,  as  we  should  technically 
say,  taking  the  longitudinal  section,  the 
appearance  presents  a  series  of  roofs,  as  in 
the  following  sketch.     It  would  bo  of  value 


to  compare  the  cost  of  erection  of  this  with 
roofs  upon  the  ordinary  plan,  and  the  cost 
of  repair  and  painting  would  be  an  interest- 
ing item.  At  the  Glasgow  terminus  of  the 
Central  railway  station,  a  roof  of  similar 
construction  is  to  be  seen  of  even  greater 
span  ;  but  the  trellis-braced  girders  which 
rest  on  the  walls  of  station  are  entirely 
below  the  roofs,  which  in  this  case  run 
longitudinally  with  the  station.  The  effect 
is  obviously  less  satisfactory  viewed  from  the 
end,  as  the  large  cross-brases,  with  their 
upper  and  lower  flange-pieces  or  booms, 
an-est  the  eye  at  intervals,  and  there  is 
greater  height  occupied  by  the  arrange- 
ment. At  the  Carlisle  station,  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  roof  in  its  main  axis  is  assisted 
by  the  light  open  circles  and  cambered 
ties  shown  in  our  diagram,  if  we  can 
reallycall  them  such,  which  connect  the  great 
cross-girders  longitudinally,  and  stiffen  them 
in  that  direction.  These  are  nothing  more 
than  spandrel-bracings  to  carry  the  cross- 
gutters,  but  they  help  greatly  also  in  the 
effect.  At  the  rdges  of  the  roofs  are  raised 
lights,  or  louvres,  for  ventilation.  One  of 
the  greatest  adva-:tages  of  the  roof  is,  that 
there  is  no  thri;  i  on  the  walls ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  ten  s  to  tie  them  together; 
there  is  no  lost  space ;  the  walling  may  be 
lighter  than  with  roofs  constructed  on  the 
arched  or  bow  principle.  A  span  of  80ft.  to 
90ft.  was  considered  a  great  engineering  feat 
in  roofing  when  first  ii-on  was  employed,  and 
the  great  Liverpool  station-roof  of  looft., 
or,  still  more,  the  joint  station-roof  of  Xew- 
street,  Birmingham,  212ft.  in  span,  spanning 
ten  lines  of  rail  and  four  platforms  and  roads, 
constructed  on  the  bow  principle,  with  cast- 
iron  arched  girders  with  cross-diagonals 
and  struts,  .■appeared  to  accomplish  all  that 
was  required.  But,  though  grand  triumfihs 
of  oonstiiictive  architecture,  they  have  their 
defects,  which  the  ridge-and-furrow  prin- 
ciple in  a  large  degree  removes.  The  Italian 
Opera  House,  Co  vent  Garden,  was  one  of 
the  first  buildings  in  which  the  principle 
was  applied,  the  spans  in  this  case  being 
carried  by  a  series  of  double-trellis  giiders 
9ft.  deep  and  about  20ft.  apart,  but  they 
were  placed  below  the  gutters.  In  the 
Carlisle  example  the  space  is  still  further 
minimised,  and  the  architectural  effect  rather 
improved. 

THE  RUIX3  OF  TEOTIHUACAX. 

THESE  ruins  are  at  a  distance  of  thirty - 
one  miles  north-west  of  ilexico,  on  the 
Vera  Cruz  Railway.  Setting  out  at  6  a.m., 
says  a  contributor  to  the  Sortli  American  Sevicw, 
I  reached  the  place  at  7.30.  From  the  San  Juan 
Station  the  eye  sees  hardly  anything-,  save  the 


grand  silhouettes  of  the  two  pyramidi ;  yet  to 
the  south,  on  the  other  side  of  tin-  riiilway,"ruinB 
seem  to  stretch  as  far  as  the  foot  of  thc'JIatla- 
I  einga  JTountains,  which  constituti'  the  limit  of 
I  the  valley.  To  the  north  are  ruins  extending  to 
the  village  of  San  Martin,  distant  about  two 
mik?.  Hence  Tcotihuncan  wn.s  a  city  upn-ardH 
I  of  nine  leagues,  or  twenty-thrco  miku  iu  lur- 
j  cumft  recce.  At  first  view  one  can  form  no  jiiKt 
j  idea  of  the  grandeur  of  theHo  ruins.  As  with 
j  ruins  in  general,  especially  when  they  aro  over- 
turned and  wrecked  Uke  tboHc  before  im,  ono  «x- 
I  periences  a  grevions  disillusion  whin  he  looks  at 
;  them  for  the  first  time.  It  is  only  after  you 
have  made  a  thoroujrh  study  of  them  in  mam 
I  and  in  detail  that  they  imprcBH  yciu  witli  their 
j  amazing  vastne-ss.  Nowhere  etc  in  Amtriea 
can  yon,  in  my  opinion,  find  a  more  imposing 
mass  of  ancient  mins,  nor  do  I  know  of  atiythiug 
that  can  compare  with  tliih  City  of  th<''Ood«. 
Starting  from  the  south,  near  tlie  boun.lary  of 
this  ancient  dty,  I  took  a  norllievly  direction 
under  the  guidance  of  an  Indian,  ami  u<.  pawed 
nimierous  hillocks,  the  remains  of  edilii.  s  th;it 
have  fuUen.  They  are  now  merely  1»  jp«  of 
small  porous  stones  mixed  with  boU.  l)iit  their 
great  number  is  evidence  that  ii  lar^rc  population 
once  inhabited  this  site.  Still  continuing'  north- 
ward, we  cross  the  Rio  de  .San  Juan  a  little 
muddy  stream  which,  in  the  rainy  seasim,  in  a 
torrent  carrying  in  its  current  frajraient.«  of  ob- 
sidian, of  which  I  will  take  away  some  sp'-(  ima»ii. 
Since  the  abandonment  of  the  ruins,  this  river 
has  cut  a  deep  gorge  whioh  eeparattn  ut«iut  onc- 
j  third  of  the  ruins  on  its  south  side  from  the*c- 
mainder  on  the  north.  But,  while  the  city 
ilouriijhed,  the  river  must  Imve  worn  a  very 
I  diiferent  aspect  to  what  it  does  now.  It  must 
have  been  canalised,  and  bridges  must  liave  «on- 

■  nected  the  two  portions  of  the  city.  Iu  fact,  on 
'  ascending  the  north  bank,  I  found  causewayB 

constructed,  hke  the  walls  of  the  houses,  of  a 
'  Mzontli*  concrete  and  covered  with  cemest. 
The  sui-iace  appears  to  have  h.id  a  layer  of  Ume, 
.ind  at  other  points  are  seen  traces  of  red  paint. 
'  Strange  to  say,  in  some  places  we  find  two  and 
three  causeways  superposed,  the  one,  two,  or 
three  feet  above  the  other,  and  one  uska  tbo 
reason,  the  purpose,  of  ttiese  successive  canae- 
ways,  on  which  promcnaders  and  the  citiz^nBin 
1  general  must  have  walked  in  crossing  from  one 
side  of  the  river  to  the  other.  .  .  Tlie  farther 
we  go  northward,  the  more  do  the  mbbish-beaps 

■  increase  in  number :  we  walk  through  fieUs 
;  bounded  by  hillocks,  and  strewed  with  fragme«t8 
I  of  pottery  of  every  hue,  and  with  little  tiiruresof 

idols  in  every  shape.  The.se  diiirls  grow  still 
t  more  abundant  as  we  approach  the  Pyramid  of 
j  the  Sun.  The  very  soil  seems  made  up  of  these 
materials,  and  we  picked  up  a  quantity  of  npeci- 
mens,  some  of  them  very  fine.     Soon  wc  r-.-it-licd 

■  the  Pyramid  of  the  Sun,  which  rises  abruptly 
from "  the  plain  like  a  volcanic  excre-ceacc, 
haviBE-  no  platform  to  support   it,  ashivothe 

I  pyramids  in  Yucatan.     Its  ba>e  Ls  seven  hundnJ 
I  and  s'xty-one  feet  sqnare,    and  its  lieiirht  two 
i  hundred   and  sixteen    feet.       It   exactly   faces 
the    four    cardinal    points.     Trat-^    n  lu  ui   ..f 
four    esplanades  one  above   t!.' 
summit,  and  there  is  no  sign  of 
Possibly  there  was  originally  nii 
The    body  of    the  pyramid    i- 
volcanic  (fc'4(  is  laid  in  vegetable  i  ; 

no  sign  of  mortar.    But  the  stni< 
with  a  cement,  of  which  large  f\  ' 

in  perfect  condition.     This  coat  - 

overlaid  with  white  stucco  very  ! 
as  were   all   the  hou-se.-i.     At  t . 
erection  of  these  pyramids,  whi: 
ments  and  private  dwillins-*  w. 
whole,  and  with  their  w!/ 
the  sun,  in  the  midst  of  • 
its  rim  of  mountains  tint 
tbo  whole  must  have  p: 
wonderful  spectacle.      ^ 
ments,  temples,  and  dwi  i. 
then  imagine  whnt  - 
of  the  nstonisbc'l  ^. 
everywhere  one  1    ■ 
exte'cJed  across  tl. 
suburbs,  and  you 
tion  given  of  the  ; 
these" temples  and  \ 
round  about,"  say?  Tur  i 

built  of  white  polished  111  '. 

them    from    afar    one    (^:  '       ' 

pleaaure  at  the  sight.    TIm    ....-y^,  :..■-  -'r<J^' 
and  the  plazas  were  of  coloured   and   pohtbf^l 
'A  porous  stone  of  volcanic  on?in. 


322 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  17.  1880. 


cement,  and  so  fair  were  they,  so  cleanly  and  so 
shining,  that  it  seemed  impossible  that  human 
hands  should  have  been  able  to  construct  them, 
or  that  human  feet  durst  tread  them.  And  so 
true  is  this,  that,  all  exaggeration  aside,  my 
report  can  be  believed,  for,  in  addition  to  •n-hat 
others  have  certified  to  me,  I  have  myself  seen 
certain  ruins  that  gave  proof  of  all  I  have  said  ; 
and  amid  these  temples  were  trees  and  flowers, 
magnificent  gardens,  and  parterres  breathing 
fragrance,  all  for  the  service  and  the  ornamen- 
tation of  the  temples."  To  ascend  the  pyramid 
is  a  laborious  undertaking,  and  the  descent 
is  full  of  perU.  .  .  .  Leaving  the  pyramid 
to  the  right,  we  now  pursued  a  northerly 
course  towards  the  Pyramid  of  the  Moon,  along 
a  splendid  broad  road,  over  one  hundred  and 
thii-ty  feet  in  width ,  and  bordered  with  little 
stone  heaps,  which  represent  the  ruins  of  groups 
of  dwellings.  This  roadway,  the  surface  of 
which  is  in  some  spots  still  covered  with  cement, 
was  nearly  four  miles  in  length,  terminating  at 
the  foot  of  the  esplanade  in  front  of  the  Pyramid 
of  the  Moon.  Before  reaching  the  terminus  the 
road  widened  on  both  sides  to  the  extent  of  about 
threehundredandtwonty-eightfeet,  thus  forming 
the  two  arms  of  a  cross,  whereof  the  route  we  had 
followed  was  the  stem,  and  the  Pyramid  of  the 
Moon  the  head;  the  whole  forms  a  Greek  d'«. 
At  the  angle  formed  by  one  of  the  arms  with  the 
stem  is  found  a  mutUaled  statue  of  the  goddess 
that  formerly  had  her  temple  on  the  summit  of 
the  pyramid.  In  front  of  the  groups  of  houses 
which  lined  this  highway,  all  of  which  stood  a 
little  oflt  the  street  on  raised  ground,  are  seen, 
in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation,  the  steps  of 
staii-ways  lying  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  street. 
On  these,  no  doubt,  the  people  and  the  numerous 
visitors  who  came  to  attend  the  pubhc  or  religious 
ceremonies  used  to  assemble.  All  this  reminds 
us  of  the  amphitheatres  of  Chichen-Itza  and 
Uxmal,  and  we  are  disposed  to  give  the  same 
interpretation  to  them  aU.  This  highway  was, 
according  to  tradition,  called  by  the  Toltecs 
"  the  way  of  the  dead  "  {mihotli).  The  Toltecs, 
observe,  are  reappearing  everywhere,  and  if 
they  did  not  found  Teotihuacan  they  lived  there. 
But  at  what  period  r  At  a  time  when  Fate  was 
pursuing  them,  for,  according  to  the  tradition 
cited  by  Senor  Mendozi,  they  came  to  this  holy 
jjlace  to  entreat  the  gods  to  avert  from  them  the 
calamities  which  ha  d  befallen  them.  But  it  so 
happened  that,  in  the  mid.st  of  the  dances  and 
other  ceremonies  they  were  performing  in  honour 
of  these  same  gods,  right  on  this  road  and  in  the 
amphitheatre,  there  suddenly  appeared  a  giant 
among  the  dancers,  and  all  whom  he  touched 
straightway  died.  On  the  morrow  he  came  again. 
His  fingers  were  now  long  and  pointed  ;  again  he 
came  in  among  the  files  of  dancers,  and  so 
wounded  them  \\  ith  his  sharp  nails  that  in  two 
days  there  was  no  end  of  corpses.  On  the  third 
day,  on  the  top  of  the  lofty  mountain  Hueitepetl, 
situate  to  the  west  of  the  pyramids,  appeared  a 
babe,  white  and  fair  to  view,  but  which  gave 
forth  a  deadly  odour.  FUled  with  terrors  by  so 
many  misfortunes,  and  by  the  mortality  which 
was  decimating  them,  the  surviving  Toltecs  re- 
solved to  go  back  to  theirc;ipital,  Tula  or  Tollan, 
and  report  to  their  fellow -citizens  the  outcome 
of  their  expeditiou.  Thereupon  their  priest 
enjoined  them  to  quit  that  h'.nd  for  ever.  Such 
at  least  is  the  accouni  given  by  Torquemada  : 
and  Veytia,  more  conversant  than  he  with  the 
hieroglyphs  and  the  traditions  of  the  country, 
goes  to  a  greater  length  in  detailing  the  misfor- 
tunes which  befell  tha  Toltecs  prior  to  their 
extinction.  These  myths  are  not  difficult  to  in- 
terpret. According  to  the  first-named  historian, 
the  giant  represents  the  heav)' inundations  which 
had  visited  the  country,  laying  it  waste.  The 
giant  with  pointed  nails  represents  the  scorching 
rays  of  the  sun,  which  destroy  everything  when 
they  are  not  associated  with  the  other  elements 
of  life.  The  beautiful  white  baby  represents 
the  frost  that  destroyed  the  feeble  vegetation 
which  had  survived  the  preceding  calamities. 
As  for  the  tati,  which  is  the  principal  figures  in 
these  ruins,  and  which  we  see  repeated  in  the 
great  highway,  archs?ologists  observe  that  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  have  held  that  symbol 
as  sacred  and  as  full  of  deep  mysteries.  .  .  . 
On  the  left,  before  you  reach  the  foot  of  the  es- 
planade fronting  the  Pyramid  of  the  Moon,  is 
seen  an  excavation  recently  made  into  the  side 
of  a  tumulus.  The  entrance  is  narrow,  and  the 
passage  difficult,  and  within  there  if  nothing  to 
be  seen  but  stones.  In  front  of  this  excavation 
is  seen  an  enormou.s  statue  in  the  style  of  all 


Mexican  statues,  but  it  is  noteworthy  on  account 
of  its  great  size.  Originally  it  stood  on  the 
summit  of  a  hill,  but  it  had  been  cast  down, 
sufPering  serious  injury  to  its  nose  in  the  fall. 
It  represents  one,  but  which  one  we  cannot  say, 
of  the  divinities  worshipped  by  the  builders  of 
the  City  of  the  Gods,  the  famous  Teotihua- 
can. The  idol  is  a  trachyte  block  in  the 
shape  of  a  parallelopipedon,  very  rudely 
sculptured,  and  in  all  respects  resembling  a 
multitude  of  other  gods  that  date  from  a  later 
period.  However  great  their  talents,  their  in- 
genuity as  builders,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
the  founders  of  this  city  had  no  artistic  faculty. 
The  block  of  trachyte  is  nearly  ten  and  a  halt 
feet  in  height  and  nearly  sixty-four  inches 
square  at  the  base ;  its  estimated  weight  is 
thirty-six  thousand  pounds— a  rather  ponderous 
.specimen,  and  interesting  withal,  but  very  ugly. 
Their  sculptures,  some  of  them  at  least,  appear 
to  have  been  executed  by  the  process  of  rubbing: 
and  surely  it  were  difficult  to  attain  perfection 
in  that  way,  as  we  can  well  understand.  But  if 
we  examine  specimens  of  their  vases  or  any  of 
those  little  terra-cotta  figures,  fashioned  as  they 
were  out  of  less  refractory  material,  we  shall 
find  them  to  be  true  chefs  d'ceums,  genuine 
works  of  art.  Thus  in  our  first  excavation  at 
Teotihuacan  we  found  some  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  heads  of  idols  or  lores,  and  divers 
other  objects,  among  them  some  perfectly- 
modelled  masks.  Further,  every  type  is  repre- 
sented in  this  little  collection,  which  I  shall 
certainly  duplicate  on  my  next  visit.  Among 
these  Indian  masks  which  appear  to  reproduce 
all  the  races  of  Mexico  from  infancy  to  old  age, 
among  these  terra-cotta  specimens  representing 
truly  or  in  caricature  all  the  social  gradations, 
we  find  two  figures  of  exceptional  interest.  One 
of  these  specimens  is  a  negro's  head  with  thick 
lips  and  woolly  hair,  all  perfectly  designed  :  the 
other  the  face  of  a  woman,  rather  disfigured  by 
a  broken  nose,  but  plainly  of  European  or 
Grecian  type,  and  reminding  us  by  its  features, 
of  the  Venus  of  Milo.  This  looks  like  a  pleasan- 
try ;  but  no — my  photographs  wiU  prove  that  I 
simply  state  facts.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  we  are  here  in  the  land  of  mysteries  as 
regards  history  and  race.  How  many  races 
have  come  together  here  to  blend  into  one  r  Kot 
even  the  most  learned  can  give  th3  answer.  Out- 
side of  the  Mexican  people — I  mean  the  Aztecs — 
we  knov.'  nothing. 


ANCIEIfT  MASONRY  IN  LONDON- WALL. 

A  GOOD  many  Londoners  are  unaware  that  in 
London -wall  an  old  church,  or  rather  a 
fragment  of  one,  is  to  be  .seen.  The  building 
itself  still  does  duty  as  a  City  church,  and 
passers-by  might  have  noticed  nothing  very 
ancient  or  striking  in  the  narrow  biick  entrance 
decorated  with  Roman  Doric  pilasters  of  ISth 
century  design  in  London-wall,  nor  in  the  east 
front,  with  its  commonplace  Classic  pediment 
and  windows  facing  Aldermanbury.  Within 
the  last  few  days,  however,  the  demolition  of  a 
row  of  shops  adjoining  the  gateway  of  Sion 
College  has  revealed  the  western  wall  of  the 
fabric,  and  has  disclosed  some  very  ancient 
masonry  and  three  arches,  evidently  belonging 
to  the  original  structure.  These  blocked-up 
recesses  are  Pointed  archways,  and  were  pro- 
bably the  original  entrances  to  the  church. 
The  largest  is  placed  some  distance  back 
from  the  road  in  what  appears  to  be  an 
old  tower,  for  at  the  south  angle  we  find 
a  mass  of  rough  masonry  and  brickwork, 
which  evidently  formed  a  buttress  of  some 
projection.  The  smaller  arched  recess  bricked 
up,  that  has  been  brought  to  light,  may  have 
been  an  entrance  or  window  to  the  north  aisle 
which  now  does  not  exist,  as  the  space  is  now 
filled  up  by  a  shallowbuilding,  facing  London  WaU 
on  its  longest  side.  The  present  entrance  is 
merely  a  lobby  or  vestibule  which  opens  into  the 
church  so  long  blocked  out  of  sight  by  the  houses 
which  have  been  built  on  both  sides  of  it.  In 
examining  the  arches  more  closely,  we  find  they 
are  simply  splayed  outside  in  the  jambs,  with 
arches  formed  of  two  splays  with  a  square  angle 
between  of  Early  English  character.  From  the 
quoins  of  long  and  short  work  and  the  rough 
rubble  jambs,  they  have  clearly  been  inside 
arches,  such  as  we  might  find  to  a  window  or  to  a 
docrway  with  an  outer  porch.  On  the  south 
side  of  the  tower  is  another  old  archway  of  seg- 
ment-pointed shape,  the  airch  springing  from  the 
splayed  sides  of  the  jambs,  and  similar  in  design 


to  the  two  others.  One  of  the  jambs  shows  a 
vertical  crack  on  its  splayed  face,  and  the 
masonry  on  the  outside  is  of  rough  rubble  and 
flint,  loosely  held  together  as  tlie  mortar  has 
been  washed  out.  The  most  interesting  portion 
of  the  disclosure,  viewed  from  the  outside,  is  the 
square  tower  we  have  mentioned  with  the  two 
archways  in  it.  At  present  it  is  roofed  by  a 
pyramidal  tile  roof  rather  above  the  London- 
Wall  entrance  structure,  to  which  it  seems  to 
belong.  Some  louvre-bearded  openings  appear 
near  the  top,  and  the  rough  masonry  of  the 
original  tower  is  clearly  seen  above  the  roof  of 
entrance.  It  is  clear  that  the  original  building, 
becoming  dilapidated,  was  rebuilt  or  patched 
up,  and  the  present  eighteenth-century  brick 
fronts,  with  painted  stucco  pUasters  and  pedi- 
ments, were  built  on  to  it.  It  is  almost  certain 
also  that  the  doorways,  from  the  style  of  the  arch 
mouldings,  belonged  to  the  original  edifice,  and 
it  is  Slated  on  authority  that  it  belonged  to  St. 
Mary  Elsing,  Spittal,  founded  in  1532.  The 
interior,  as  it  at  present  exists,  is  a  bare  rec- 
tangular-shaped apartment  lighted  by  a  large  side 
window  of  three  lights,  and  an  end  window  of 
Venetian  shape,  besides  two  side-windows  over 
the  porches.  These  are  filled  with  stained  glass. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  rebuilt  in  1777.  On  the 
north  wall  is  a  Classic- designed  moniunent  to  Sir 
Rowland  Hayward,  twice  Lord  Mayor,  bearing 
the  date  1.593.  He  is  shown  kneeling  in  the 
centre  niche  with  his  wives  and  children  on  each 
side.  From  historical  works  we  find  that  the 
Church  of  St.  Alphage  was  dedicated  to  the  Saxon 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  of  that  name,  who 
was  murdered  by  the  Danes  in  the  eleventh 
century.  The  church  is  now  undergoing  re- 
pair. 

On  the  south  side  there  is  a  vacant  piece  of 
ground  now  filled  with  debris,  and  which  will 
soon  be  filled  up.  Its  old  churchyard  is  stiU 
partly  preserved  on  the  opposite  side  of  London- 
Wall  facing  Sion  College,  where  a  neatly-kept 
strip  of  ground,  planted  with  shrubs  and  flowers 
and  decorated  with  rockwork,  and  railed  off,  may 
be  seen.  On  a  stone  let  into  the  wall  is  an  in- 
scription informing  the  stranger  that  the  ground 
was  formerly  part  of  the  churchyard  of  St. 
Alphage,  anil  that  it  was  laid  out  as  a  garden 
by  the  late  vicar,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kemp.  The 
wall  in  which  this  inscription  stone  is  built  Is 
part  of  the  Old  Rt^man  city  walls. 

The  gateway  of  Sion  College  stUl  remains  as  a 
landmark  among  the  new  rows  of  buildings  and 
warehouses.  The  arched  entrance  has  some 
good  brickwork,  the  library  is  an  interesting 
piece  of  workmanship  ;  but  a  group  of  modem 
buildings  call  for  notice,  among  them  the  stone- 
fronted  hall  of  the  Curriers'  Company  rebuilt 
some  years  ago  from  the  designs  of  Messrs.  J. 
and  J.  Belcher,  in  which  a  Late  Flemish  Gothic 
treatment  has  been  adopted,  stUl  striking  in  its 
details,  while  close  to  it  we  find  a  good  specimen 
of  warehouse  architecture,  brickwork  being 
treated  broadly,  and  the  windows  recessed  with 
vertical  muUioDS  of  warm  sandstone,  running 
through  the  stories.  The  stepped  gables  make  a 
picturesque  finish.  As  we  are  speaking  of  im- 
provements, we  may  call  the  attention  of  the 
reader  to  a  few  recent  buildings  showing  a  de- 
cided departure  from  ordinary  design,  as  applied 
to  warehoiLses,  to  be  found  in  the  immediate 
locality  of  London  Wall. 

At  the  comer  of  C'ripplegate-buildings  and 
Fore-street  a  large  block  of  warehouses  with 
stone  fronts,  in  quite  a  new  dress,  has 
just  been  built.  It  is  not  often  that  we  find 
Gothic  successfully  applied  to  buildings  of  this 
class ;  the  style,  as  English  architects  treat  it,  has 
often  a  forced  and  cramped  effect  when  so  many 
stories  of  windows  have  to  be  combined.  In 
these  warehouses  the  architect  has  selected  a  kind 
of  German  or  Flemish  Gothic,  and  has  been  able 
to  impart  a  freshness  of  character  to  the  ranks 
of  openings.  Although  of  four  stories  in  height 
and  with  the  windows  all  square  headed,  the 
architect  has  made  the  most  of  the  fenestration 
by  connecting  the  windows  vertically  by  the 
blank  panel  tracery  or  decoration  so  frequently 
met  with  in  the  Late  Gothic  buildings  of  Ger- 
many. On  the  ground  story  there  is  simply  a 
succession  of  elliptical  shaped  arches  forming 
the  fronts ;  these  have  mouldings  running  round 
and  intersecting  at  the  springing.  This  arcading, 
formed  on  both  frontages  has  carved  span- 
drels, while  between  the  windows  vertically 
the  intersecting  German  tracery  is  intro- 
duced with  piquant  effect,  and  the  upper 
windows       have     ogee      labels      finished      by 


Sept.  17,  1880, 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


323 


huge  carved  finials  of  foliage.  Between 
the  lines  of  the  windows,  narrow  square  pilasters 
are  carried  up,  witV.  carved  caps,  which  mark 
the  vertical  lines,  and  these  are  finished  beneath 
a  plain  moulded  stone  cornice  with  no  visible 
roof.  The  flat,  almost  unfinished,  effect  of  the 
building  at  the  top  is  compensated  for  by  the 
playful  variety  of  surface  tmoery-work  and 
moulding-,  and  the  structure  is  .t  remarkable 
contrast  to  the  brick  buildings  of  the  same  class 
in  this  part.  As  an  instance  of  warehouse 
architecture,  the  building  h;is  special  claim  on 
the  attention  of  the  architect  who  is  anxious  to 
infuse  a  freshness  iut  i  our  commercial  city 
buildings.  In  the  Australian  Avenue,  a  more 
local  rendering  of  warehouse  building  is  seen, 
yet  still  an  improvement  upon  the  common 
stereotyped  architecture  in  this  direction.  The 
brickwork  of  the  fronts  is  reduced  to  ma.ssive 
piers,  having  vertical  openings  for  the  windows, 
and  these  are  .simply  divided  by  warm-coloiu-ed 
stone  lintels,  emphasised  here  and  there  at  the 
points  of  intersection  with  carved  emblems  and 
other  devices.  Directly  facing  Jewin-crescent 
on  one  end  is  a  remarkable  attempt  to  produce 
something  unique  in  the  way  of  commercial  ar- 
eliitecture  :  the  whole  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
buildingisof  reddish  sandstone,  and  the  upper  story 
of  brick.  Wood-street,  long  noted  for  its  commer- 
cial buildings,  has  received  one  or  two  recent 
additions,  one  a  rather  boldly-treated  facade  of 
red  brick  and  reddish  stone,  the  window-heads 
being  vigorously  carved  with  large  labels  and 
finialsin  a  species  of  Late  Flenush  Gothic.  The 
advantage  of  tlis  type  of  treatment  is  that  it 
lends  itself  more  easily  to  square-headed  window 
openings,  admitting  decoration  of  the  spaces  over 
the  heads.  We  cannot  call  this  florid  or  Flam- 
boyant Gothic,  however,  at  all  characteristic  or 
expressive  of  business  purposes  :  yet  we  think 
the  more  sober  varieties  of  German  panel  or 
tracery  work,  if  confined  to  geometrical  and 
strictly  surface  relief,  can  be  usefully  employed 
in  terra-cotta,  and  stone  or  cut  brick- work  in 
the  fronts  of  City  buildings  where  coloured 
materials  have  been  fuimd  by  experience  to  be 
little  better  than  monev  thrown  awav. 


SrGG'S    lilPROVEilEXTS    IX    GA.S- 
BUr.NER.S. 

IMPROVEMENTS  in  the  arrangement  of 
gas-bumers  have  been  recently  patented  bv 
Mr.  W.  Sugg,  of  Vincent-street,  Westminster. 
the  object  of  which,  according  to  the  English 
Mecltatiic,  is  to  construct  a  compound  gas- 
burner  for  use  in  railway  yards  and  other 
situations  where  an  intense  light  is  required, 
and  where  the  use  of  glass  chimneys,  which  are 
needed  for  argand  burners,  is  objected  to.  For 
this  purpose  he  combines  together,  say,  four  or 
more  batwing  or  other  flat -flame  burners  in  such 
manner  that  the  spaces  between  them  will  be 
eqmdistant.  or  nearly  so.  When  constructing  a 
burner  with  four  batwings  he  arranges  three  to 
correspond  to  the  angles  of  an  equilateral 
triangle,  and  the  fourth  is  placed  in  the  centre 
at  a  somewhat  superior  elevation.  The  flames 
of  the  outer  burners  thus  arranged  will  barely 
reach  each  other  at  their  adjacent  edges.  To 
insure  this  result  and  to  remove  aU  tendency  of 
the  flames  to  cml  inwards  and  interfere  with 
the  i>erfect  combustion  of  the  gas,  he  arranges 
within  the  triangular  figure  formed  by  the 
burners  a  metal  guard  of  corresponding  form 
having  its  flat  faces  presented  to  the  burners, 
which  guard  will  guide  cunents  of  air  up  to  the 
inner  side  of  the  flame.  Instead  of  metal  this 
guard  may  be  made  of  talc  or  other  suitable 
material.  The  flame  of  the  central  burner  must 
be  kept  clear  of  the  flames  of  the  exterior 
burners,  either  by  diminishing  the  jet  or  by 
elevating  it  as  above  indicated,  or  by  both 
means.  Transverse  guards  parallel  to  the  cen- 
tral flame  may  also  be  employed  for  directing 
the  air  upwards  to  the  central  burner  so  as  to 
insure  the  flatness  of  the  flame.  He  proposes  in 
some  cases  to  use  two  or  more  burners  within 
the  circumscribing  group,  taking  care  so  to 
arrange  them  in  the  way  above  indicated  that 
the  flames  of  all  the  burners  shall  remain  dis- 
tinct or  be  prevented  from  blending,  as  other- 
wise a  forked  and  irregular  mass  of  flame  will 
be  produced.  It  will  be  understood  that  the 
guard  which  is  inserted  within  the  circum- 
scribing burners  will  take  the  figure  correspond- 
ing to  the  arrangement  of  those  burners, 
whatever  that  mav  be.     A  modification  of  the 


arrangement  above  indicated  is,  in  forming  a  six- 
light  burner,  to  arrange  four  in  a  row  of  cor. 
responding  size,  the  two  outer  ones  representing 
two  angles  of  a  four  sided  figure,  then  for  the 
other  angles  of  this  figure  to  arrange  two 
burners  of  larger  capacity  ;  the  air-guards  or 
guides  in  this  case  will  be"  arranged  parallel  to 
the  flames  of  their  respective  burners. 

In  the  figure   a   fom--lisht   burner  is  shown 


with  three  of  the  jets  at  the  angles  of  an 
equilateral  triangle,  while  the  fourth  is  placed 
at  the  centre,  and  preferably  at  a  supeiior  ele- 
vation. The  guard,  when  of  metal,  will  take  a 
triangular  form  and  leave  a  cross  piece  for  the 
central  burner ;  but  if  of  glass,  for  cheapness,  it 
will  be  made  circular  in  form  as  indicated  by 
the  dotted  line.  The  use  of  compound  burners 
of  this  kind  is  believed  to  give  a  better  result 
than  by  using  the  same  quantity  of  gas  in 
separate  burners  spaced  some  distance  apart ; 
but  it  nny  1  o  cr.es'.ioned  whether  gas  employed 
iu  this  manner  can  compete  with  the  electric 
light. 


THE  NEWCASTLE  FREE  LIBRARY. 

ON  Monday  the  foundation-stoce  was  laid  of 
the  New  Free  Libr.^ry,  at  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne.  In  lS7-t,  at  a  public  meeting,  a  motion 
of  Dr.  Newton  for  the  adoption  of  the  Public 
Libraries  Act,  lS.5-5,  was  carried.  A  proposal 
was  afterwards  made  by  the  committee  of  the 
Mechanics'  Institute  for  the  amalgamation  of 
that  institution  with  the  projected  free  library, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  Free  Library  Com- 
mittee took  over  the  institute,  with  all  its  books, 
class  arrangements,  *tc.  To  the  east  and  north 
of  the  Mechanics'  Institute  building  an  open 
space  of  ground  was  available  for  the  new 
buOding  that  would  be  requii'ed,  and  the  only 
erection  on  this  ground  was  the  old  Carliol 
Tower,  one  of  the  many  towers  of  the  old  town 
wall  that  surrounded  Newcastle  and  withstood 
more  than  one  siege  in  the  time  of  border  feuds 
and  during  the  wars  between  the  English  and 
the  Scots.  After  much  opposition  from  anti- 
quaries in  aU  parts  of  the  country  it  was  decided 
to  remove  the  tower,  despite  its  historical 
associations,  and  plans  were  prepared  and 
approved  for  the  building  which  is  now  in 
progress.  It  is  designed  in  the  Corinthian  and 
Doric  orders  of  Classic  architecture.  The 
facade,  including  the  front  of  tlie  existing 
Mechanics'  Institute  building,  which  the  new 
structure  joins,  will  be  IGTft.  in  length,  arranged 
in  bold  relief  by  bays  30ft.  wide  at  each  end, 
with  the  principal  entrance  iu  the  centre.  This 
entrance  will  be  approached  by  seven  steps 
through  a  portico  with  Doric  columns  supporting 
an  entablature,  which  wiU  be  surmounted  by  a 
balustrade,  and  this  balustrade  will  be  continued 
along  the  whole  length  of  the  building.  The 
whole  of  the  centre  portion  will  be  surmounted 
by  a  pediment,  below  which  will  be  formed  a 
cornice  of  the  Corinthian  order,  with  blocking- 
course  parapet  terminating  at  the  projecting 
bays.  'The  roof  will  be  semi-circular,  and  the 
larger  rooms  will  be  lighted  by  skylights.  The 
building  will  be  three  stories  in  height,  and  will 
be  set  back  from  the  street,  and  protected  by  a 
dwarf  wall  surmounted  by  an  ornamental 
railing.  The  basement  floor  will  be  used  for 
ordinary  working  purposes  of  the  libr.ary,  and 
will  cover  an  area  of  330  square  yards.  The 
lending  library  will  be  60ft.  by  42ft.,  and  17ft. 


Gin.  high.  There  will  also  be  a  reference  Ubrarv 
5Sft.  by  3Cft.,  and  10ft.  lOin.  hij^'h;  aUo  two 
reading-rooms,  ISft.  tin.  by  2Sft.,  and  i.'jft.  by 
19ft.  respectively,  each  17ft.  Gin.  high.  On  the 
hrst  floor  the  front  rooms  wUI  bo  devoted  to 
pictures  and  sculpture,  and  will  be  13oft.  long 
by  2Sft.  wide,  and  fiom  23ft.  to  28ft.  high, 
divided  by  partition  wall.s  with  sliding  doors, 
the  whole  arranged  vii  su,!,:  Four  large  rooms 
will  also  bo  set  apart  for  science  and  art  classes, 
and  approached  from  the  front  street  by  a 
sei)arate  entrance.  The  staircase  and  part  of 
the  walls  of  the  vestibule  or  hall  wUl  be  con- 
structed so  as  to  admit  of  extensions  in  ca«e  of 
further  requirements.  The  liind  and  structural 
works,  it  may  be  mentioned,  arc  otimated  to 
cost  £20,000.  The  building  has  bem  designed 
by  Mr.  Alfred  M.  Fowler,  M.Inst. C.E.,  borough 
engineer  and  property  surveyor  to  the  Corpora- 
tion  of  Newcastle. 


THE  MASON  SCIENTIFIC  COLLEGE  AT 
BIRMINGHAM. 

SIR  JOSIAII  MASON'S  Scientific  CoUegp  at 
Birmingham  wdl  be  opened  on  the  Ut  of 
October.  The  foundation  stone  was  laid  five 
and  a  half  years  since.  Tlie  site  comprises 
about  an  acre  of  land,  but  only  about  half  the 
ground  is  at  present  covered' with  buildings. 
These  are  arranged  around  two  ((uadranglcH, 
the  main  block  fronting  to  Edmund-street,  and 
a  range  of  buildings  of  about  the  same  bulk 
standing  parallel  with  it  at  the  rear.  The  two 
are  connected  by  east  and  west  wings,  and  by  a 
covered  central  corridor  and  out-otticcs,  which 
divide  the  inclosed  space  into  two  open  courts, 
each  of  ample  extent  for  the  purjjoaes  of  light 
and  ventilation.  The  whole  of  the  walls  are  of 
brick  and  stone.  The  elevation  is  symmetrical, 
having  the  principal  entrance  iu  the  centre.  It 
is  in  the  13th  century  style,  with  details  of  a 
somewhat  French  character.  Tlie  ground-floor 
is  raised  seven  feet  above  the  street  level,  and  a 
plinth  of  Bramley  Fall  stone  is  carried  to  this 
height.  The  college  is  entered  by  a  boldly- 
moulded  and  deeply-recessed  arch,  with  shafts 
of  grey  York  stone.  The  entrance  is  closed  by 
WTOught-iron  gates,  sliding  into  grooves  in  the 
jambs.  Over  the  gateway  projects  a  stone 
balcony,  above  which  is  a  bold  oriel  window  of 
two  stories  in  height,  with  geometrical  tracery 
in  the  heads  of  the  lights.  The  central  gable, 
against  which  the  upper  part  of  the  oriel  abuts, 
is  terminated  by  a  mermaid — the  crest  of  the 
founder  of  the  institution— at  a  height  of  122ft. 
above  the  pavement.  All  the  windows— and 
there  are  sixty  of  them  in  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing, besides  the  dormers  and  oriel->— hare  Geo- 
metrical tracery  within  decply-recc.-sed  arches, 
with  effective  moulded  and  shafted  jambs,  the 
latter  haviag  carved  capitals.  A  stone  balcony 
extends  along  the  whole  of  the  front  at  the  level 
of  the  roof,  and  is  stopped  at  the  angles  of  the 
several  blocks  by  cctajtoual  turrets  carried  out 
from  the  lines  of  the  front  on  moulded  corbel-. 
On  the  facade  at  various  points  are  carved  the 
arms  of  Birmingham,  Warwickshire,  Worcester, 
Worcestershire,  and  of  Sir  Josiah  Mason.  The 
roofs,  which  are  of  a  vtry  sleep  pitch,  are  rod 
tiled,  and  are  pierced  by  dormers. 

Entering  the  College  by  the  porch,  which  has 
moulded  ribs,  resting  on  dwarf  columns,  with 
carved  capitals,  the  spaces  between  the  wall  ribs 
being  filled  with  Geometrical  traeory  and  cari-c-d 
spandrels,  the  visitor  finds  a  h md-^m"  o^-ntrnl 
corridor,  about  1  oof  t.  Ion  J  by  !-;? 
transverse  corridors  br.inihiiig  t- 
the  left.     The  latter  coiilu"'  t- 
nectedwith  the  adininisT  ■ 
room  allotted  to  the  Na- 
and  two  professors'  ro<i:i. 
tui-a  northwards  aU--  ■' 
In  the  eastern  wii  -• 
class-room  for  thc 

the  western  two  tl.i-    .  ^ 

room  for  males.  Xhe»o  roouip,  m  i.i.  !i  .^J~  ■'-■-"' 
1.5ft  square,  have  windows  looking  into  the 
quadrangles,  and  ako  receive  light  from  the 
conidors.  ., 

At  the  extreme  end  of  the  central  comdor  are 
two  apartments,  each  4Sft.  by  30ft.  The  one  on 
the  right  is  the  Ubrary  and  readmir-nwm,  and 
has  behind  it  an  ante-room,  which  tin  cither 
be  used  as  a  place  for  conver.->ation,  or  as  a 
separate  reading-room  for  ladies.  The  room  on 
the  left  is  the  phvsics  laboratory.  On  the  nrrt 
floor  the  chief  and  central  room  is  the  chemical 


324 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


lecture  theatre,  49ft.  by  33ft.  fitted  with  eeats 
tier  above  tier,  for  the  aecommodation  of  153 
stadents.  There  is  also  an  ante-room  for  the 
lecturer's  assistant,  a  class-room  for  electricity, 
and  another  for  magnetism,  &c.  In  the  west 
corridor  are  rooms  for  the  biological  professor 
and  demonstrator,  and  adjoining;  them  is  a  room 
for  models  employed  in  the  biological  depart- 
ment, which  occupies  the  adjoining  end  of  the 
north  block.  The  corresponding  corridor  on  the 
east  side  is  that  giving  access  to  three  rooms  to 
be  used  for  apparatus  and  other  purposes  in 
connection  with  the  physics  department.  The 
first  floor  of  the  north  main  block  is  occupied  by 
two  other  lecture  theatres — one  for  biology  and 
mathematics,  and  the  other  for  physics,  the 
latter  47ft.  by  30ft.,  and  the  former  a  little 
smaller,  with  preparation  rooms  at  the  end  of 
each.  The  biological  dep.irtment  is  the  one 
nearest  the  projecting  annexe  mentioned  in  the 
description  of  the  ground- floor,  and  in  this  are 
provided  a  biology  workroom  and  museum. 

The  second  floor,  or  top  story,  is  principally 
devoted  to  the  chemical  department,  for  which 
the  arrangements  are  of  the  most  extensive  and 
complete  kind.  A  large  room,  52ft.  by  33ft.,  in 
the  front  of  the  building,  over  the  chemical 
lecture  theatre,  will  be  used  as  a  general  assem^ 
bly  and  examination-room. 

The  ventilation  and  warming  of  the  College 
are  upon  an  improved  plan.  Near  the  centre  of 
the  area  rises  a  very  large  cliimney  stack  to  a 
height  of  about  ICOft.,  and  it  is  divided  into 
three  flues  by  thin  partitions.  The  central  flue 
carries  the  smoke  from  the  boiler,  and  heats  the 
ail'  in  the  adjoining  flues,  which  are  used  for 
ventilating  the  lectiu'e  theatres.  The  pipes 
from  the  fume  niches  in  the  chemical  luboratories 
also  communicate  with  the  stack  by  means  of  a 
horizontal  flue  round  the  walls.  The  warming 
is  effected  by  a  coil  of  pipes,  containing  4,475 
superficial  feet ;  placed  in  a  vault  in  the  sub- 
basement.  These  are  warmed  by  the  w.ater 
from  the  large  boiler,  and  the  air  from  the 
courts,  pnssing  over  the  pipes,  is  conducted  by 
flues  to  every  room  in  the  building.  In  summer 
cold  air  is  to  be  admitted  into  the  rooms  by  the 
same  means. 

The  architect  of  the  building  is  Mr.  J.  A. 
Cossins,  of  Birmingham,  who  has  had  the  assist- 
ance of  Mr.  Hodgkiss  as  manager ;  the  stone- 
work has  been  executed  by  Mr.  Prothero ;  the 
carving  is  by  Mr.  J.  Smith ;  Messrs.  Camm 
Brothers  have  sujiplied  the  ornamental  glass, 
whii'Ii  is  excellent  in  design  and  quality.  Some 
of  the  mov.ible  fittings  have  been  supplied  by 
the  Midland  Joinery  Company,  the  rest, 
iucliiding  the  fittings  of  the  lecture  theatre  and 
laboratories,  having  been  m».de  in  the  College 
worlc^hops,  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
architect. 


THE  RAILWAY  JUBILEE. 

IT" IFTT  years  ago  last  Wednesday  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  railroad,  which  in- 
augurated a  system  of  travelling  hitherto 
comparatively  unknown,  was  opened  admist 
general  rej  licing,  although  the  complete  success 
and  brightness  of  the  ceremony  was  clouded  by 
the  unfortunate  accident  by  which  Mr.  W. 
Hu.skisson  lost  his  life.  As  e.arly  .as  1824  a  com- 
pany was foiraed  for  the  purpo.se  of  carrying  out 
and  completing  a  railroad  connection  between 
Liverpool  and  Manchester.  A  prospectus  wns 
issued  tow,";rds  the  end  of  that  year,  in  which  it 
was  stated  that  the  estimated  cost  of  the  under- 
taking would  be  £400,000,  the  proposal  being  to 
raise  this  amount  in  4,000  shares  of  f  100  each. 
The  bill  was  rejected  early  in  the  following 
year,  owing  largely  to  the  opposition  of  vested 
interests.  A  new  prospectus  and  an-  altered 
route  betwetn  the  two  great  business  centres, 
published  in  1825,  met  with  better  success,  for 
on  the  27th  April,  1S2G,  the  BiB  pas.sed  its  third 
reading  in  the  House  of  Lords.  A  month  after- 
wards a  general  meeting  of  the  company  was 
held,  at  which  Mr.  Charles  L:-iwrence  was 
appointed  chairman,  Mr.  George  Stephenson 
engineer,  and  the  work  was  set  going  without 
the  least  delay.  The  first  point  of  attack  was 
the  Wapping  Tunnel  scheme,  and  this  section 
of  the  work  was  carried  on  with  energy  and 
determination.  This  section  of  the  scheme 
really  commenced  early  in  1827,  and  occupied 
the  whole  of  that  year  as  well  as  the  greater 
part  of  the  following,  the  entire  expenditure 
amounting  to  £44,768.  Meanwhile  the  con- 
struction of  the  Hue  to  Manchester  from  Liver- 


pool was  also  being  carried  on  with  much 
activity,  .and  on  the  15th  September,  1S30,  the 
directors  were  enabled  to  declare  the  through 
line  open  for  passengers  and  goods  traffic.  In 
the  original  scheme  there  were  63  bridges — 22 
of  brick,  1 7  of  wood  and  brick,  11  of  brick  and 
stone,  11  of  wood,  and  two  of  stone  and  wood. 
In  the  formation  of  the  railway  no  less  than 
three  million  cubic  yards  of  stone,  clay,  .and  soil 
had  to  be  removed,  and  the  weight  of  the  double 
line  of  rails  as  originally  laid  was  altogether 
4,000  tons — both,  at  that  time,  wonders  of 
engineering  skill.  The  entire  expenditure  up 
to  the  31st  May,  1S30,  was  £739,165,  and  the 
directors  in  their  report  in  March  stated  that 
for  the  completion  of  the  whole  work  a  further 
sum  of  £80,834  would  be  required,  thtis  making 
the  total  about  £820,000,  more  than  double  the 
original  sum  named  in  the  company's  prospectus. 
Here  again,  however,  calculations  were  at  fault, 
for  we  now  learn  from  oflicial  sources  that  the 
entire  amount  expended  on  the  30  miles  line  to 
Manchester  from  Liverpool  was  no  less  than 
exactly  one  million  sterling. 

The  Grand  Junction  Railway  from  Newton  to 
Birmingham,  82  mUes  in  length,  was  opened 
on  the  4th  Jvdy,  1837 ;  the  Ijondon  and 
Birmingham  Railway,  112  mihs  long,  was 
opened  throughout  on  the  20th  Sept.,  1838  ;  the 
Trent  Valley  line  on  the  ISth  Sept.,  1847;  and 
the  Runcorn  Bridge  was  opent^d  for  goods 
traffic  on  the  1st  February,  1869,  and  for 
passenger  traffic  on  the  1st  April,  1869.  In 
1845  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  and  Grand 
Junction  lines  were  amalgamated  ;  in  184'),  the 
London  and  Birmingham  and  Manchester  and 
Birmingham  Railways  joined  the  alliance,  and 
these  three  companies  wore  incorporated  afresh 
under  the  title  of  the  London  and  North 
Western  Railway  Company,  having  a  capital  of 
£6,250,000  expended,  and  a  length  of  line  opened 
of  330  miles. 

The  traffic  receipts  of  the  London  and  North 
Western  Company  for  the  first  year  after  the 
amalgamation  (in  1847)  were  £2,'.r.\C  .10,  and 
those  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  June  last 
were  no  less  than  £9,453,000,  the  working  ex- 
penses amounting  to  £4,872,000.  The  capital 
expended  up  to  that  date  was  the  enormous  sura 
of  £91,000,000,  and  the  length  of  line  then  con- 
structed was  1 716  miles.  The  surprising  progress 
of  the  railway  which  reached  its  "  golden  wed- 
ding "  epoch  on  Wednesday,  partly  as  the  result 
of  the  original  scheme's  development  and  partly 
in  consequence  of  amalgamation,  could  not  be 
better  illustrated  than  they  are  by  facts  and 
figures;  and  one  is  inclined  to  ask,  if  such  has 
been  the  rate  of  speed  and  present  proud  position 
of  this  popular  company  as  the  result  of  half  a 
century's  work,  what  will  be  its  position  at  the 
clo.se  of  a  century's  existence  and  active  labour? 
The  capital  authorised  and  created  by  the  com- 
pany, according  to  the  half-yearly  report,  was 
as  follows :  — Stock  or  shares,  £75,090,233; 
loans  or  debenture  stock,  £25,397,616;  total, 
£100,487,849.  The  capital  created  or  sanctioned 
was— stock  or  shares,  £74,905,403  ;  loans  or  de- 
benture stock,  £25,276,861  ;  total,  £100,182,264. 
The  total  joint-stock  capital  received  (credited 
to  the  30th  June  last)  was  £59,564.729  ;  nominal 
additions,  £9,311,621— total,£68, 876, 350  ;  while 
the  unissued  stock  at  the  same  date  was 
£0,029,0-33.  The  total  capital  raised  by  issue  of 
debenture  stock  at  4  per  cent,  on  the  30th  June 
was  £22,292,463,  and  on  debentures  and  by 
debenture  stock  £22,558,527,  showing  an  increase 
on  the  capital  existing  on  the  31st  December, 
1879,  of  £509,281  and  £162,061  respectively. 
The  receipts  for  passenger  traffic  during  the 
first  half  of  this  year  was  £1,694,180;  and  for 
merchandise,  live  stock,  and  minerals,  £2,911,751. 
The  number  of  passengers  carried  during  that 
period  was22, 486, 964;  merchandise andminerals, 
16,251,071  tons;  there  were  run  8,002,673 
mileage  of  passenger  trains,  and  8,993,295  mile- 
age of  goods  and  mineral  trains.  The  total  ex- 
penditure for  the  half-year  was  £963,985.  As 
the  result  in  the  improvement  in  the  traffic 
receipts,  the  directors  were  enabled  to  re- 
commend the  highest  dividend  which  had  been 
paid  at  this  period  of  the  year  since  1873,  thus 
giving  a  satisfactory  climax  to  half  a,  century's 
working  and  progress. 


THE  TRADES  UNION  CONGRESS. 

THE  Thirteenth  Annual  Trades  Unios  Con- 
gress commenced  its  sittings  on  Monday  in 
the  Ajitient  Concert  Rooms,  Great  Brunswick- 


=  treet,  Dublin.  It  is  the  first  time  the  Con  gress  has 
met  in  the  city.  The  sitting  wUl  continue  until 
Saturday.  There  were  150  delegates  present  from 
varioirs  parts  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  24 
from  Ireland.  Mr.  Henry  Broadhurst,  Secretary, 
conducted  the  arrangements.  Mr.  H.  Slatter. 
Secretary  of  the  Typographical  Association  of 
England,  and  Chairman  of  the  Parliamentary 
Committee,  presided  ;  and  there  wore  present 
Mr.  G.  Shipton,  Vice  Chairman  of  the  London 
Trades  Council  ;  Mr.  J.  Burnett,  Treasurer  of 
the  Amalgamated  Engineers  ;  Mr.  J  D.  Prior, 
of  the  Amalgamated  Carpenters  and  Joiners : 
Mr.  G.  M.  Ball,  National  Agricultural 
Labourers'  Union ;  Mr.  W.  Crawford,  Miners' 
National  Union ;  Mr.  J.  Inglis,  Associated 
Blacksmiths  of  Scotlai  d  ;  Mr.  P.  Knight,  Boiler- 
makers and  Iron  Shipbuilders  ;  and  others'. 

On  Tuesday,  the  Employers'  Liability  Aet 
was  the  subject  of  a  long  discussion.  Mr.  J.  D. 
Prior,  Manchester,  representing  the  Amalga- 
mated Society  of  Carpenters  and  Joiners,  moved 
a  resolution  which  affirmed  that  '•  while  accept- 
ing the  Act  passed  by  the  Government  as  an 
instalment,  no  Act  can  be  permanently  satisfac- 
tory unless  it  places  the  workmen  in  the  same 
position  as  regards  compensation  for  injui-ies  as 
any  member  of  the  general  public,  and  at  the 
same  time  precludes  employers  from  contracting^ 
themselves  out  of  their  legal  liabilities  for  com- 
pensation by  conrpelling  their  workmen  to  join 
insurance  societies."  He  said  that  if  workmen 
found  employers  attempting  to  carry  out  this 
course  the  Congress  would  be  prepared  to  take 
such  action  in  Parliament  as  would  i  ender  those 
contracts  illegal.  Mr.  Daniel  Guile,  London, 
representing  the  ironfounders  cf  the  United 
Kingdom,  seconded  the  motion.  Mr.  J.  Owens, 
London,  said  be  represented  the  watermen  and 
lightermen  of  the  river  Thames,  who  numbered 
12,000  or  13,000  working  men,  and  had  been 
told  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Gladstone  they  were 
exempt  from  the  provisions  of  the  Aet,  and  were 
placed  in  much  the  same  category  as  seamen. 
Accordingly  the  Act  could  not  be  accepted  by 
them.  Mr.  D.  Thompson,  North  Leith  (Masons' 
Association),  pointed  out  the  iuadequacy  of  any 
compensation  to  meet  ceitain  accieleuts. 

The  balance-sheet  showed  the  income  of  the 
Union  during  the  year  was— from  Trades 
Unions,  £560  2s.  Oid. ;  balance  from  Edinburgh 
Congress,  £96  123.  2d.  ;  sale  of  Congre.-s  reports, 
£50  10s. ;  from  City  of  Glasgow  Brnk,  £10  ; 
making  a  total  income  of  £789  8s.  The  ex- 
penditure amounted  to  £663  Os.  lid.,  leaving  a 
balance  in  hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  £126  7s. 


OUR  COMMONPLACE  COLUMN. 

OBSEKVATOKY  :    NOTES  ON. 

OESERVATORT  constru-tion  is  one  of  those 
special  branches  of  art  wliich  have  been 
very  meagrely  treated  on,  and  the  architect 
intrusted  with  the  building  of  an  observatory 
must  have  recourse  to  the  papers  of  the  Royfl 
Astronomical  Society,  the  Jiiiglish  Mecliaiiie, 
and  other  journal,-,  in  which  descriptions 
of  observatories  have  appeared.  The  "  Arch. 
Diet."  gives  very  scant  information  upon 
the  subject,  though  it  furnishes  the  student 
with  a  pretty  complete  list  of  available  materials. 
Of  course,  the  kind  of  observations  to  be  made 
will  dictate  the  best  plan  to  be  followed,  and  the 
dimensions  will  be  regulated  by  the  size  of  the 
instruments.  It  is  one  of  the  primary  condi- 
tions of  an  observatory  that  the  ma>onx"y  piers  to 
receive  the  instruments  be  of  massive  construc- 
tion, and  quite  ii^dependent  of  the  walls  of  the 
building;  that  they  should  be  bedded  upon  solid 
foundations  carried  below  any  source  of  dis- 
turbance or  tremor,  such  as  railways,  cuttings, 
tunnels.  They  should  be  constructed  of  one 
block  of  stone,  or  the  beds  kept  extremely 
thin,  as  the  slightest  settlement  is  detri- 
mental to  accuracy.  '  The  observatory  at 
Edinburgh  is  a  cru'-iform  structure,  forming 
a  Greek  cross,  62ft.  long,  its  arms  terminating  in 
hexastvle  porticoes.  Over  the  interoectiou  there 
is  a  cupola  13ft.  diameter  with  an  opening  on 
one  side  which  revolves  horizontally  ;  and  in  the 
centre  rises  a  circular  pier  of  masonry  of  a 
conical  shape  19ft.  high  and  6ft.  diameter  at  its 
base,  intended  for  an  equatorial  instrument  or 
for  an  astronomical  circle.  In  the  east  arm  of 
the  cross,  placed  in  the  axis,  are  two  stone  piers 
for  the  transit  instrument,  and  anotlier  iox  the 
transit  clock,   which  requires  to  be  fixed  with 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


125 


extreme  nicety  upon  a  pier  of  stone  free  from  all 
Tibration.  lii  the  west  arm  is  a  large  pier  for 
the  mural  circle.  The  plan  and  particuliirs  of 
t'ae  Edinburgh  ohservatorr  are  given  in  Gwilt's 
"Encyclopedia."  The  Orwell  Park  Observatory, 
described  by  it3  architect,  Mr.  Uaevicar  Ander- 
laon,  is  published  in  the  sessional  papers  of  the 
Institute,  1S74.  The  Warsaw  Observatory  is  said 
to  be  a  fine  one  (see  also  "Weale's  "Pictorial 
Handbook  of  London,"  1851).  A  dry  situation 
is  necessary,  for  in  the  observing  rooms  no  fire- 
heat  is  allowed. 

OCTAC-ON. 

To  draw  an  octagon  in  elevation  without  a 
plan  may  be  thus  performed.  Divide  the  total 
width  into  12  parts ;  set  off  3^  on  each  side,  and 
produce  the  lines ;  the  proportions  of  the  sides 
will  be  therefore  3j  at  the  sides  and  5  in  the 
centre.  To  find  its  area,  multiply  the  diameter 
by  twice  one  side,  and  its  diameter  is  to  the  side 
as  17  to  7  nearly. 

OGEE  ASCH. 

Feejtch  biflexe  ;  arcade  en  talon. — ^A  contrasted 
arch  formed  by  striking  two  arcs  at  the  spring- 
ing and  two  upper  arcs  above,  reversed.  One 
of  the  earliest  examples  in  England  is  a  tomb 
in  the  north  aisle  of  Salisbury  Cathedral,  about 
1246.  Canterbury  contains,  in  one  of  its 
churches,  a  wiudow  with  an  arch  of  this  form. 
It  was  a  Decorated  feature,  but  continued  to  be 
used  through  the  Perpeudicular  period,  espe- 
cially in  small  ornamental  works,  niches,  and 
small  doorways.  In  Northamptonshire  it  is 
-found  in  the  heads  of  windows.  Constructively, 
this  form  of  arch  is  not  good,  as  the  upper 
■curves  cannot  be  constructid  with  voussoirs, 
and,  hence,  the  form  has  been  confined  to  small 
arched  heads  which  can  be  cut  out  of  one  or  two 
stones.  In  the  Vene;ian  Gothic  style  the  ogee 
arch  is  a  common  feature. 

OOrVALE. 

This  term  is  applied  to  comprehend  the  style  or 
period  in  France  during  which  the  Pointed  arch 
was  used;  it  is,  therefore,  equivalent  to  our 
Gothic  or  Pointed  architecture.  The  term 
"  Ogive"  is  applied  to  the  Pointed  arch  gene- 
rally. 

OIL. 

As  a  preservative  for  stone,  paint  has  been  used 
as  a  coating,  but  it  soon  becomes  impaired  by  the 
atmosphere.  Ansted  says  :  "  In  London,  the 
time  it  lasts  hardly  amounts  to  three  years,  even 
under  favourable  circumstances."  Paint  is  also 
destructive  to  the  architectural  effect  of  stone 
buildings,  and  shoidd  never  be  applied  if  other 
processes  are  available.  OU  has  been  used  as  a 
coating  with  more  success,  as  it  fills  the  pores  of 
the  stone,  and  keeps  out  the  moisture  for  a  time. 
The  objection  is  that;  it  discolours  the  stone. 
Parafiin  oil  is  said  to  be  more  durable ;  but  the 
best  preparation  is  a  foliition  of  softsoap  in  water 
(fib.  soap  per  gallon)  followed  by  a  solution  of 
alum  (Mb.  per  gallon).  DeuT  says,  in  his 
"Chemistry  of  Building  Materials,"  "  Ulb. 
paraffin  to  a  gallon  of  coal-tar  naphtha,  and 
applied  warm,  is  superior  to  both  the  former." 
Linseed  oil  oxidises  atid  becomes  thick  upon 
exposure  to  the  air,  and  this  property  is  in- 
creased by  adding  other  substances  to  it.  "  Raw 
linseed  oil  is  clear,  light  in  colour,  aod  much  used 
for  internal  work,  for  delicate  tints ;  while  boiled 
oil  is  thicker,  darker,  and  more  apt  to  clog." 
It  is  used  for  outside  work,  as  it  dries  quicker. 
Raw  linseed  oil,  when  of  good  quality,  should 
be  pale  in  colour,  perft-ctly  transparent,  free  from 
smell,  and  sweet  to  the  taste.  Boiled  Unseed  oil 
(called  drying  oil)  is  composed  of  linseed  oU 
mixed  with  certain  driers,  and  raised  to  a  high 
temperature.  Boiling  the  raw  oil  simply,  adds 
considerably  to  it^i  drying  qualities.  Fur  full 
information  on  oils  see  "Notes  on  Building 
Construction." 

OXTX. 

This  is  a  material  that  has  recently  been  turned 
to  account  for  ornamental  purposes,  such  as 
vases,  balusters,  pedestals,  chimney-pieces,  &c. 
Its  translucid  appearance,  beauty,  and  variety 
of  tint,  have  brought  it  into  great  repute,  and 
the  Mexican  onyx  marble  has  of  late  been  intro- 
duced largely  into  this  country.  Every  colour 
may  be  found  in  it  in  all  its  gradations.  Chemi- 
cally it  is  a  carbonate  of  lime,  combined  with 
sulphate  of  cupper,  silver,  mercury,  and  gold ; 
its  density  surpasses  all  known  marbles.  It  can 
be  cut  in  slices  as  thin  as  glass,  and  is  nearly  as 
transparent.     Blocks  of  any  dimensions  can  be 


supplied,  and  the  polish  obtainable  is  equal  to 
that  of  the  finest  stones.  See  BuiLDora  News, 
1S67,  and  more  recent  volumes. 

oolites  ok  koestoxes. 
These  are  limestones  in  which  the  grains  re 


and  effective.  Tlie  faijade  of  north  tran.sept  is  a 
reconstruction  of  the  Flamboyant  period.  It  is 
more  than  usually  agreeable,  because  the  elabo- 
rate detail  is  well  subordinated  to  strongly- 
marked  leading  forms. 

t  I     The  works  at  present  in  progress  are  upon  the 

semble  small  eggs.  The  granular  limestones  are  three  western  bays  of  the  nave,  and  the  uarthcx 
liable  to  decay  in  acid  and  smoky  atmospheres,  between  it  and  the  tower,  which  is  at  the  west 
The  principal  building  varieties  are  Chilmark,    end  of  the  church. 

Portland,  Kelton,  Ancaster,  Painswick,  Bath,  &c. ,  The  work  is  being  executed  in  a  hard  fine 
all  of  which  have  been  described  in  the  Buildisg  ,  granite.  The  richly  clustered  .shafts,  with 
News.  See  "Building  Stones,"  also  table  of  earved  capitals  and  moulded  bases— the  deeply 
limestone  quarries  in  "  Notes  on  Building  Con-  moulded  vaulting  ribs— the  tracery  of  wiudons 
struction."     It  has  been   found  that  the   ova-    and  sunk  tracery  upon  sides  of  chapels,  arc  all 


shaped  grains  in  oolites  have  been  formed  in  a 
similar  manner  to  the  large  nodules  of  the  mag- 
nesian  limestone.  The  ooUtic  deposits  are  very  ex 


worked  in  this  stubborn  material,  of  the  same 
designs,  of  course,  as  the  ancient  parts.  And 
these  were  not  anywhere  restricted  becau-e  of 


tensive  in  England,  and  are  generally  dividecl  into  the  difficulty  of  their  execution.  Even  the  rid 
three,  "  the  upper  oolite  resting  on  the  Kimnie-  detail  of  the  elaborate  Flamboyant  faeado  of 
ridge  clay  ;  the  middle  representing  the  O.'ifurd  I  transept  is  all  patiently  carved  in  the  same 
clay,  covered  by  the  coral  rag  ;  and  the  loner  I  material, 
oolite,  composed  of  numerous  bands  of  clay, 
sands,  and  limestone.     The  system  embraces  the 


formation  called  the  'Lias.'"  One  of  the 
purest  oolites  is  the  Ketton,  a  yellow  freestone, 
easily  worked.  Of  buildings  erected  of  oolites 
we  may  mention  Byland  Abbey,  several  Lin- 
colnshire churches,  Grantham,  &c.,  Abbey 
Church  of  Bath.  Glastonbury  Abbey  is  a  good 
instance  of  durability.  Wells  Cathedral,  of  an 
oolite,  is  decomposed  in  parts.  But,  perhaps, 
the  best  instance  we  can  name  is  Salisbury 
Cathedral,  built  of  Chilmark  stone.  The  stones 
which  looks  the  most  compact  are  not  always  so. 
We  refer  the  reader  to  Ansted'a  "  Geology  " 
and  other  works  for  a  thorough  investigation  into 
the  subject. 

CPAQITE  glazes. 

Ix   clay  wares  opaque  glazes  are  restricted  to 
where  it  is  desired  to  give  an  article  an  appear 
ance 
treated 


In  the  new  work  some  of  the  smaller  carved 
capitals  in  narthex  are  being  executed  in  a  lime- 
stone which  is  somewhat  more  tractable. 

The  masonry  of  the  nave  walls  is  up  to  lower 
part  of  clerestory,  and  the  deep  buttresses  which 
rise  through  the  roof  of  chapels  are  nearly  ready 
for  their  horizontal  coping.  The  vaulting 
(which  is  entirely  of  granite)  is  completed  over 
the  chapels  of  two  of  the  bays,  and  they  are 
roofed  in.  Over  the  aisles  the  vaults  are  in 
different  stages  of  advancement.  The  narthex 
is  ready  for  vaidting,  but  is  not  yet  commcncecl. 
This  feature  is  large  and  lofty,  the  vaults  heing 
about  level  with  those  of  aisles.  It  is  a  good 
expedient  for  avoiding  the  junction  of  nave  and 
tower,  which,  as  there  are  windows  in  the  latter 
below  the  level  of  nave  roof,  would  be  awkward. 
The  tower  is  of  the  pecidiar  type  common  to  the 
three  large  churches  of  this  town,  but  rare  else- 


.  1      .--  u      I  where  ;  namely,    a   square  basement  of  two  or 

of   superior  make.      The   article   is   thus    ^^^^^  stories ;    breaking  back  into  an  octagon, 

treated :— It  is  dipped  before  burning  mto  a  slip  ,  pj^ced  with  angles  over  the  centres  of  faces  of 

made  of  superior  clay,  finely  worked,  dried,  and    ^-^^  basement ;  and  with,   upon  the   angles  of 


brought  to  the  coljur  required.  The  use  of 
opaque  glazes  is  frequently  met  with  in  the 
production  of  ornamental  ware,  pans  of 
closets,  itc. 

OECHESTEA. 

S'otes  on  the  Coiisfruetion  of  Orchesfras.  —  The 
front  of  an  orchestra  in  a  concert-room  should 
be  about  5ft.  above  the  level  of  floor,  rising  to 
the  back  at  a  tolerably  steep  inclme.  The  angles 
at  back  of  orchestra  should  be  rounded  off  so 
that  the  sound  should  be  reflected.  Too  great  a 
width  is  to  be  avoided.  The  old  Surrey  music- 
hall,  considered  an  excellent  room  for  soimd, 
was  as  high  as  it  was  wide,  6Sft.,  and  25  times 
as  long,  or  170ft.  The  Free-Trade  Hall,  Man- 
chester, is  also  a  good  room  for  music ;  it  is 
H  times  as  wide  and  2|  times  as  long  as  it  is 
high  ;  or,  on  an  average,  52ft.  high,  72i't.  wide, 
and  130ft.  long.  The  music-room  at  Edinburgh, 
erected  by  Professsr  Donaldson,  is  also  con- 
sidered successful.  Its  dimensions  are  36ft. 
wide,  48ft.  high,  and  90ft.  in  length  ;  or  in  the 
proportion  of  3,  4,  and  'i\. 

In  the  Surrey  Music-hall,  a  large  frame  of 
t^iin  boards,  nearly  of  hemispherical  form,  was 
hung  over  the  orchestra  slightly  tUted  upwards, 
and  was  fousd  very  effective  in  conducting  the 
sound  forward.  In  the  orchestra  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  a  similar  kind  of  reflector  has  been  used 
successfully.  Orchestras  should  be  formed  of 
resonant  materials,  hollow  below ;  thin  pine 
boards  is  a  good  material.  The  seats  may  be 
arranged  on  a  curve  (isacoustic).  (See  "  Encyc. 
Britannica,"  last  edition;  papers  by  Wheat - 
stone,  1S27— 1S31;  Scott  Russell  in  Papers  of 
K.I.B.A,  1847:  and  the  trcatis-s  by  Brewer, 
Puuillet,  Weber,  Saunders,  Wyatt,  T.  R. 
Smith,  i'c.) 

LIMOGES  CATHEDRAL. 
HE  Cathedral  of  St.  Etii^nne  at  Limoges  is  a 


sauare,  octagonal  pinnacles  with  faces  parallel 
with  those  of  square.  These  octagonal  fornv* 
are  continued  thiough  three  similar  stories,  with 
lancet  windows  of  sioiple  design,  and  are  crowned 
with  plain  spires.  The  cathedral  tower  has,  at 
present,  only  a  low  timber-tiled  roof. 

The  comiJeted  portion  of  nave  is  inclosed  by 
a  S"lid  temporary  wall,  against  which  is  an 
Early  Renaissance  organ-loft,  with  spiral  stairs 
in  open  turrets  at  the  angles.  This  work,  some 
parts  of  which  are  very  fiue,  is  probably  too 
dilapidated  for  re-eiection,  even  if  it  be  advi.-a- 
ble.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  neverthe- 
less be  preserved  elsewhere. 

The  works  are  progressing  but  slowly.  They 
have  been  long  in  hand,  something  more  than 
five  Tears,  and  some  ft.ucdations  and  lower  walls 
theuexisted.  But,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  funds 
are  not  forthcoming  sufficiently  to  employ  so 
large  a  number  of  workmen   as  there  is  room 

The  direction  of  the  work  is  in  the  hamls  of 
M  BouUenger,  the  diocesan  architect  of  Lunoges. 
R.  W.  GiKSOs. 


CHIPS. 

The  memorial-stone  of  a  Sundnv-"'         "  ■"  n- 

nection  with  the  Primitive  Metl,  ■ 

George's,  Bristol,  was  laid  c.ii  il  1 

is  of  Pennant  Stem  with  freeatjn  ■ 

was  erected  by  Mr.  T.  Ph.'PP?;  .\-J 'r',, ','    '^li 
George's,  from  designs  surp  led  by  Mr.  K  iiiser.  ot 

London.    At  present  accommodufpn  h  v^'-^-^f 

i,r  ilo,  but  arrangementa    hav, 

which  a  gallery  can  beerccted  « . 

theuumberof  seats  to  70J.    Tac  •  ■ 

the  chapel  and  the  schools  at  pre    ■ 

erection  is  about  £1,S00. 

Theparish-cbarchof  St.  Birtholomcw,  Charch- 
down,  Gloucester,  which  has  be<n  re-tj .1  u..i-r 

rpHE  Cathc dral  of  St.  Etienne  at  Limoges  is  a    ^^e  "Ijreclioa^ of  ^l'-.J^\^^,:'  . 

1     Geometrical  Gothic  edifice,  dating  f roni the  ,  ^P^^^^^^^  ^  ^ill.  and  is  sail  f     •• 
13th  century,  of  considerable  merit,  but  of  which    ^.  ^  ^^^^\^  dedicated  to  T  .  ' 

unfortunate'ly  only  the  two  eastern  bays  of  nave  :  -p.^^an  basilic*.    At  all  ■  ^ 

were  completed  with   the  rest  of  the  structure.  ;  ^,,„,aiu  traces  of  pre-No- 

The  building  consists  of   this  incomplete  nave    ;„  e^ery  succeediua  s'ylc  >-^^--  ^  .,  uetu 

with  aisles,  and  chapeLi  between  the  buttresses,    The 01k  pulpit  of  the  Ime  01  cu.i.i-     • 
tran.'iepts,   and    choir,  aU   of  lofty  proportions,    retained.  .   ,       ,        .   a  l>«.n  n  iced  in 

The  main  arcade,  triforium,  and  clerestory  are  ^  stained-glass  w.n.lowh««*t  been  p.cM^^ 
of  the  same  design  throughout,  except  for  the  .^e  ch.nc.l  of  bt.  M.  v  ,^'f  ^^'.^I^V L"vd 
modifications  of    span  necessary  for  the  vaulting    Cr_^ydon    m  memorj  of  th.  late   in  .^^^ 

of  the  polygonal  apse.     The  apse,   with  aisles   J- P-    The  subject  'S  ^h-  Rf'^'^.^,   g'^^  „  „d 
and   polygonal    chipels,    is    "f    very   pleasmg    -Y^„l'«f''t!„"i-!^,^^ee°:Soiihw«k. 
design,  and  the  eastern  end  externaUy  is  bo.d    uiison, 


326 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Iron  in  Portland  Cement    

The  Fine  Art  Exhibition  at  Brussels. — H 

The  Glasgow  Municipal  Buildings  Designs 

Margate    

Great-Span  Roofs 

The  Ruins  of  Teotihuaean 

Ancient  Masonry  in  London-Wall 

Sugg's  Improvements  in  Gas  burners 

The  Newcastle  Free  Library    

The  Mason  Scientific  College  at  Birmingham    .. 

The  Railway  Jubilee    

The  Trades  L'liioQ  Congress      

Our  Commonplace  Column     

Limoges  Cathedral       

Chips 

Our  Lithographic  Ulustrationa 

A  New  Catholic  Church  in  New  York 

Archaeological 

The    Premiated    Design    for    the    Proposed 

Municipal  Offices,  Glasgow       

Notes  from  Edinjurgh    ...     

The  Glasgow  Municipal  Buildings  Competition 
The  "Westminster  Vestry  Hall  Competition...     .. 

Obituary 

Building  Intelligence    

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Intercommunication    

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

Legal  Intelligence 

OurOfficeTable    

Tenders     


XLLUSTEATIONS. 

FIRST   PKEMIATED   DESIGN'  TOR  THE  NEW  JIUNICIPAL   BUILD- 
INGS,   GLASGOW.— PKOPOSED   BUILDING    FOE    TUI 
HOUSE,   GLASGOW.— SKETCHES    FROM   CAEN   AND 
— *' SANDROCK,*'    HASTINGS. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations, 


FIKST      PKEinATED      DESIGN     FOE      THE      PKOrOSED 
MUNICIPiO:,   OFFICES,    GLASGOW. 

For  description  see  p.  339. 

TKADE3    HOUSE,    GLASGOW. 

This  design,  by  Messrs.  Salmon  and  Son,  of 
Glasgow,  which  was  shown  in  the  recent  Koyal 
Academy  Exhibition,  was  prepared  for  a  new 
building  int  nded  to  be  erected  by  the  Incor- 
porated Trades  of  Glasgow.  The  style  is 
Kenaissance,  and  shows  by  its  masterly  treat- 
ment the  great  resources  of  that  style.  The 
balance  of  parts  and  outline  is  arranged  with 
great  care,  presenting  an  architectural  combina- 
tion of  much  grace  and  beauty.  The  sculpture 
on  the  fagade  is  emblematic  and  historical,  illus- 
trating the  many  memorable  events  connected 
with  the  Trades  House  and  the  city. 

SKETCHES   FKOJI   CAEN  AND   LISIEUX. 

The  sheet  of  sketches  published  this  week  is  a 
reproduction  of  a  few,  selected  from  a  Large 
number,  made  during  a  tour  in  Normandy  in 
1877.  The  tower  shown  is  attached  to  St. 
Gilles,  one  of  the  many  desecrated  churches  to 
be  found  in  Caen.  It  is  situated  near  the  quay, 
and  opposite  to  the  Abbaye  aux  Dames.  The 
spire  is  somewhat  remarkable  for  the  entasis, 
which  is  great  for  so  short  a  spire.  The  arch- 
way shown  immediately  below  the  tower  forms 
a  porch  over  the  south  doorway.  The  small 
sketch  plan  appended  is  sufficiently  explanatory 
of  the  general  arrangement.  The  sketch  iu  the 
right-hand  toiJ  corner  represents  the  termination 
of  one  of  the  six  towers  formerly  existing  in  the 
old  town  wall  of  Lisieux.  Two  or  three  still 
remain,  but  none  in  so  good  a  state  of  preserva- 
tion as  the  one  shown.  'WTiilst  differing  slightly 
in  detaD,  they  agree  fairly  in  general  compo  • 
sition.  Careful  inspection  made  it  ajiparent 
that,  at  some  previous  time,  the  ground-line 
must  have  been  at  least  1.5ft.  below  the  present 
one.  The  dormer  shown  from  the  Eue-au-Fevre 
is  well  known  to  all  visitors  to  Lisieux.  It  is 
but  a  small  portion  of  a  very  elaborately-fronted 
house,  located  in  an  extremely  nai  row  thorough- 
fare. A  measured  drawing,  by  E.  W.  Godwin, 
was  published  in  the  Building  News  a  few 
years  ago.  The  sketch  of  the  house  in  the  Hue 
d'Ouville,  Lisieux,  is  thoroughly  characteristic 
of  the  half-timbered  work  in  this  part  of  Nor- 
mandy, and  is  well  worthy  of  the  most  careful 
study.  The  most  import.ant  parts  of  the  timber- 
work  are  richly  embellished  with  carving,  both  on 
the  plain  an  1  moulded  surfaces.  In  conclusion,  it 
should  be  observed  that  any  sUght  error  of  per- 
spective must  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the 


original  sketches  were  made  entirely  in  ink,  on 
the  spot.— A.  H.  T. 

"SIXDEOCK,"     HASTINGS. 

Sandeock,  of  which  we  publish  a  view  this  week, 
is  a  house  situated  on  the  south  slope  of  the  St. 
Helen's  Valley,  overloolcing  the  towns  of 
Hastings  and  St.  Leonards.  It  was  built  about 
twelve  years  ago  ;  but  not  being  large  enough 
for  the  requirements  of  the  present  owner,  it  is 
now  being  considerably  increased  by  the  addi- 
tion on  the  ground-floor  of  new  kitchens  and  a 
drawing-room,  3'2ft.  by  21ft.,  the  present  dining 
and  drawing-rooms  being  thrown  together, 
making  one  room,  30ft.  by  18ft.  The  general 
arrangement  of  the  plan  is  made  more  convenient 
by  these  and  other  minor  alterations.  Several 
new  bedrooms  have  been  added  on  the  first  and 
second  floors,  and  a  biUiard-room  built,  about 
the  same  size  as  the  drawing-room,  lighted  by 
the  lantern  shown  in  the  drawing.  It  is  kept 
entirely  aj)art  from  the  rest  of  the  rooms  on  the 
floor,  having  a  separate  staircase ;  from  the 
nature  of  the  site,  it  was  undesirable  to  place 
this  room  on  the  ground-floor.  The  view  we 
publish  is  taken  from  the  drawing  exhibited  in 
this  year's  Royal  Academy  ;  all  the  work  .shown 
is  new,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  portion  in 
the  centre.  The  works  arc  being  carried  out 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  architect,  Mr. 
Murray,  of  Hastings,  by  Messrs.  Howell  and 
Son,  builders,  of  the  same  place. 


A  NEW  CATHOLIC  CHUECH  IN  NEW 
YORK. 

(by  a  coeeespondent.) 

A  LARGE  church,  to  be  dedicated  to  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  has  been  in  the  course  of 
erection  for  four  years  on  the  south  side  of 
16th  Street,  near  Cth  Avenue,  New  York.  It  is 
to  be  ready  for  use  on  the  1st  of  May,  1882.  It 
wdl  be  one  of  the  most  expensive  and  elaborate 
Roman  Catholic  churches  in  the  city.  New 
Hampshire  grey  granite  and  red  porphyry  are 
the  sole  materials  used  in  the  front  of  the 
building,  the  style  of  which  combines  the  Early 
Roman  and  the  Corinthian.  Its  height  is  101ft., 
and  its  width  77ft.  The  framework  of  the 
facade  is  of  blui.sh-grey  granite,  and  the  orna- 
mental parts  are  of  mottled  granite  and  por- 
phyry. The  interior  of  the  church  is  approached 
from  the  street  level  by  a  massive  porch,  flanked 
by  strong  pilasters  panelled  with  mottled  granite, 
which  inclose  under  a  slender  cornice  three 
arches  on  two  polished  columns.  On  either  side 
are  similar  pilasters  supporting  the  wings. 
Above  the  triple  archway  are  triglyphs  and  a 
heavy  stone  balustrade,  and  from  the  level  of 
the  balustrade  piers  of  rough-hewn  granite  run 
up  to  support  the  roof.  A  grand  arch  connects 
the  piers  which  ascend  from  the  ends  of  the 
balustrade,  and  inside  is  a  second  arch,  beneath 
which  will  stand  a  marble  statue  of  the  patron 
saint  of  the  church.  These  chief  piers  are 
carried  up  to  the  cornice  of  the  crowning  tym- 
panum, and  will  end  iu  statues  of  saints.  The 
wing  piers  will  also  be  crowned  with  statues. 
In  the  crowning  tympanum  is  a  handsome  bas- 
relief,  over  which  is  a  gilt  cross.  The  effect  of 
the  facjade  is  excellent,  the  outline  is  pleasing, 
the  ornamentation  sufiicient,  and  the  whole 
expresses  grace  as  well  as  solidity. 

All  the  statues  for  the  exterior  and  interior 
will  be  made  by  M.  Froc-Robert,  of  Paris,  and 
the  statues  for  the  exterior  will  be  placed  on 
their  pedestals  during  September,  as  they  are  on 
their  way  to  New  York  now.  The  prevailing 
tint  of  the  interior  will  be  a  faint  green,  and  a 
rich  profusion  of  gilt  and  bright  colours  will  be 
used  in  the  decoration.  All  the  plaster-work 
will  be  painted.  The  interior  of  the  church  is  in 
the  form  of  a  cross,  consisting  of  a  nave  77ft. 
wide,  with  a  dome  roof  73ft.  above  the  floor  of 
the  church,  extending  back  to  a  transept  the 
same  width  as  nave  (18ift.),  andhavingan  equally 
high  roof.  The  choir,  which  is  du'ectly  opposite 
the  nave,  is  73ft.  wide,  and  30ft.  deep,  and  the 
roof  is  a  dome  which  intersects  the  transept 
roof.  Five  aisles,  including  the  side  aisles,  will 
divide  the  body  of  seats,  and  in  each  transept 
wing  will  be  a  single  block  of  pews.  A  large 
vestibule,  with  holy  -  water  fountains,  will 
separate  the  interior  from  the  stone  porch  with- 
out. In  the  sanctuary  there  will  be  three 
marble  altars,  which,  like  all  the  altars  in  the 
building,  will  be  made  in  Rome.  There  will 
also  be  two  confessionals   at   each   end   of   the 


transept,  and  two  more  near  the  rcain  entrance 
to  the  nave.  In  the  sanctuary  above  the  altars 
will  be  a  row  of  large  statues  placed  upon 
highly-ornamented  pedestals.  A  massive  gallery 
skirts  the  nave  walls,  and  above,  on  either  side, 
will  be  statues  of  the  Apostles. 

The  jjainting  of  the  interior  will  be  entirely  in 
oils,  and  many  large  pictures  will  be  on  the 
walls.  The  decoration  of  the  ceiling  will  be 
very  beautiful.  Over  the  centre  of  the  transepts 
is  to  be  a  circular  painting  20ft.  in  diameter, 
representing  the  apotheosis  of  St.  Francis 
Xuvier,  and  from  this  central  figure-piece  will 
run  a  line  of  panel  paintings,  each  measuring 
Sft.  by  10ft.  along  the  entire  length  of  the  nave 
ceiling.  They  will  represent  angels  carrying 
scrolls,  on  which  will  be  inscribed  the  litanies  of 
the  patron  saint.  The  organ-loft  will  be  a 
handsome  structure  just  over  the  main  entrance, 
and  in  it  will  be  put  as  fine  an  organ  as  is  in  the 
city.  Besides  the  organ  in  the  loft — where  the 
regular  church  choir  will  sit — there  will  be  an 
organ  in  the  sanctuary,  where  a  boy-choir  will 
assist  in  chanting  the  Masses. 


ARCH-ffiOLOGICAL. 

Deuidical  Reseaeohes  in  the  South  of 
Feanee. — A  correspondent  from  Arudy  (Basses- 
Pyrenees)  informs  Gahgiunii  that  some  interest- 
ing antiquities  have  been  discovered  in  that 
neighbourhood.  Owing  to  the  railway  extension 
from  Pan  to  Oleron  and  Laruns,  the  dolmen  of 
Le  Buzy  or  Teberne,  near  Arudy,  is  being 
removed.  ' '  The  general  appearance  of  the  relics," 
he  continues,  "is  well  known.  They  have 
usually  been  found  covered  up  with  earth,  ^  in 
order,  do  doubt,  to  protect  them  from  the  action 
of  the  elements,  and  perhaps,  too,  from  human 
hands.  They  are  sepulchral  chambers  formed 
by  oblong  stones  supporting  another  and  larger 
one  in  a  horizontal  position,  each  structure  in- 
closing the  dust  of  several  persons,  probably 
members  of  the  same  family.  The  dolmen  at 
Teberne  is  regularly  constructed,  forming  a 
parallelopipedon  by  means  of  eight  upright 
stones,  si-x  of  which  are  on  each  side  and  two  at 
the  extreme  ends.  The  length  of  the  monu- 
ment is  Cm.  GOc,  and  its  width  between  the 
lateral  supports  Im.  30c.  The  height  of  the 
supports  is  2m.  70c.,  and  the  length  of  the  upper 
table,  wliich  is  elliptical  in  form,  is  rather  more 
than  three  metres.  Traces  of  pottery,  in  the 
form  of  fragments  of  an  um,  have  been  found 
on  one  of  the  inner  sides  of  the  dolmen,  furnish- 
ing additional  proof,  were  any  needed,  that  the 
ceramic  art  was  not  unknown  to  the  people  of 
prehistoric  times.  Stone  rollers,  evidently  used 
in  grinding  com,  have  also  been  brought  to 
light,  and,  lower  down,  the  explorers  have 
found  several  pieces  of  cut  flints.  These  include 
a  stiletto,  ten  knives,  three  scrapers,  three  arrow- 
heads, and  four  rough  and  unfinished  pieces  of 
stone.  Among  these  articles  was  also  a  frag- 
ment of  cut  granite,  with  a  groove  in  the  centre, 
probably  used  to  sharpen  instruments. 

The  Aech-jeological  Society  of  Rome. — The 
antiquarian  world  will  learn  with  regret  that 
the  Archfeological  Society  of  Rome,  which  has 
done  so  much  good  service  in  the  exploration 
of  the  ancient  walls  and  fortifications  of  the  city, 
and  of  its  ancient  churches,  such  as  that  of  San 
Clemente,  is  practically,  if  not  formally,  extinct. 
It  has  lived  a  lingering  existence  for  the  last 
year  or  two — in  fact,  ever  since  the  return  of 
Mr.  J.  H.  Parker  from  Rome  to  Oxford— and 
even  in  its  most  successful  days  it  had  much  to 
contend  with.  The  other  societies  were  jealous 
of  it,  and  there  were  divided  counsels  among  its 
members.  Within  the  last  few  years,  too,  the 
colony  of  Enghsh  residents  in  Rome  has  been 
seriously  diminishing  in  point  of  numbers,  and 
the  railways  have  made  a  complete  revolution  in 
society,  so  that  the  association  would  have  to 
depend  henceforth  on  the  subscriptions  of  casual 
visitors.  Under  the  circumstances  it  has  been 
resolved  to  discontinue  its  subscriptions  and  to 
aUow  it  quietly  to  pass  away  into  the  domain 
of  historv. 


The  name  of  J .  K.  Morley,  architect,  of  Stapen- 
hill,  appears  in  Friday's  Lonrioii  Gazette  in  the  list  of 
liquidations  by  arrangement. 

New  schools  are  in  course  of  erection  for  the 
Carlisle  School  Board,  in  Denton  Holme,  and  will 
be  opened  in  a  month's  time.  Mr.  Daniel  Birkett, 
of  Carlisle,  is  the  architect. 


The  Building  r>Ews,  Sep  17.  I^^O. 


TriivnT     iij      S?  flillfs     V.     i 


HEW  MdrJoii^ 

IJOt    «U   rtVRt, 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


339 


THE  PREMIATED  DESIGN  FOR  THE 
PROPOSED  MUNICIPAL  OFFICES, 
GLASGOW. 

IT  is  only  fair  to  remark,  with  reference  to  the 
illustrations  which  we  publish  to-day  of  the 
first  premiated  des^ign  for  the  new  llunicipal 
Offices  at  Glasgow,  that  they  are  by  no  means  so 
good  as  we  could  wish,  but  they  ^vill  serve  the 
pxirpose  for  which  they  are  intended.  At  the 
present  stage  of  the  competition  any  drawings  of 
the  selected  design  for  the  first  prize  of  £750 
must  be  of  extreme  interest,  and  so  we  have  re- 
produced the  four  elevations  and  two  ptincipal 
plans  from  photo- lithographic  reproductions  of 
the  original  drawings,  kindly  furnished  us  for 
the  purpose  by  Mr.  George  Corson,  architect,  of 
Leeds,  the  author  of  the  design.  In  describing 
his  design,  the  author  says,  after  enlarging  upon 
the  respective  merits  of  the  three  chief  varieties 
of  Classic  architecture —  the  Fenestral,  the 
Roman,  and  the  Palladian,  as  he  calls  them, 
"the  third  variety  is  that  which  I  have  adopted 
as  the  most  suitable  in  every  respect  for  a  civic 
structure  of  many  storiesand  varied  uses.  There 
are  many  examples  of  this  style  in  Italy,  France, 
and  England.  The  Library  at  Venice  and  many 
of  the  palaces  there,  the  Hotel  de  VUle  (de- 
stroyed by  the  Commune)  at  Paris,  the  Ban- 
queting-house  at  Whitehall,  and  the  Carlton 
Club  in  London  may  be  cited.  In  this  style  the 
columns  never  rise  through  the  height  of  two 
stories,  but  each  story  has  its  own  complete 
order  of  columns  with  the  windows  between 
them,  and  the  columns  and  pUasters  are  usually 
attached  to  the  wall.  This  style  has  great 
dignity  of  character,  is  much  more  varied  and 
lively  than  the  Roman,  and  expresses 
admirably  the  character  of  a  building 
which  includes  large  apartments  for  civic 
hospitality  as  well  as  for  civic  business. 
The  general  arrangement  of  the  plans  is  based 
upon  the  city  architect's  arrangement,  but  are 
modified  to  suit  the  architectural  scheme  of  the 
exterior,  and  the  heights  of  the  stories,  floor  to 
floor,  are  as  follow: — Basement  floor,  1.3ft.; 
ground  floor,  2'2ft.  :  first  floor,  17ft.,  and  the 
second  floor  varies  in  height  according  as  the 
rooms  rise  into  the  roof,  or  have  other  rooms  over 
them.  The  entrances  are  placed  as  on  Mr.  Car- 
rick's  plan.  The  principal  one  in  centre  of  the 
George-square  front,  the  entrance  to  telling- 
room  in  centre  of  the  John-street  front,  and  the 
two  carriage  entrances  in  the  centres  of  the  two 
other  fronts  in  a  line  with  each  other.  The  two 
entrances  to  basement  in  .John-street  are  so  con- 
trived as  to  be  kept  below  the  ground- floor,  and 
to  leave  the  windows  above  them  to  light  that 
floor.  The  front  entrance  is  by  a  lofty  archway, 
lift,  wide  by  20ft.  high,  which  will  be  closed  at 
night  by  a  wrought  iron  gate  rising  from  below, 
and  hung  with  counter-balance  weights.  The 
porter's  room  is  on  the  left,  and  passing  through 
swing-doors  in  a  glass  screen  the  vestibiJe  is 
entered.  This  is  2.5ft.  square,  with  large  domed 
niches  in  the  angles,  and  statuary  on  pedestals  in 
each  niche.  The  tower  stands  over  this  vestibule, 
and  ascending  the  steps  the  grand  hall  and  stair- 
case is  entered  bj-  another  archway.  The  carriage 
entrance  in  the  court  is  by  an  open  loggia  or  covered 
arcade,  40ft.  by  r2ft.,  which  gives  admittance  by 
numerous  doors  to  a  vestibule  60ft.  by  23ft.,  in 
which,  on  right  hand  and  left  hand,  are  recesses 
for  the  reception  of  cloaks,  unbrellas,  Sec.  An 
easy  flight  of  nine  steps  leads  up  to  the  grand 
staircase,  meeting  on  a  level  the  approach  from 
George's- square.  I  have  endeavoured  to  im- 
prove upon  the  sketch-plan  in  the  matter  of 
direct  access  to  the  staircase,  and  to  obtain 
greater  standing  area  for  parties  waiting  for 
their  carriages.  The  staircase  being  in  duplicate 
will  give  much  greater  facility  for  crowds  of  people 
entering  and  leaving  the  buUding.  The  grand 
hall  and  staircase.  62ft.  by  34ft.,  Contains  two 
stairs,  right  and  left  of  the  hall,  which  is  divided 
from  them  by  screens  of  columns  and  .arches. 
These  lead  up  to  the  first  floor,  and  are  so 
arranged  that  the  landing  forms  a  spacious 
upper  haU,  34ft.  by  17ft.,  with  the  couneU- 
chamber  at  one  end,  and  the  reception-room  at 
the  other.  The  council -chamber,  4.5ft.  by  37ft., 
is  different  in  proportion  from  Mr.  C'arrick's, 
and  is  arranged  with  semi-circular  ranges  of 
seats  rising  from  the  centre  table.  It  will  com- 
fortably accommodate  the  entire  council,  and  has 
also  recesses,  23ft.  by  9ft.,  at  each  side  for  re- 
porters and  deputations,  with  small  galleries 
over  for  the  public.  The  principal  entrance  to 
the  council-chamber  is  from  the  centre  of  the 


principal  landing,  and  there  are  subsidiary 
entrances  to  the  recesses  for  reporters  and 
deputations  from  the  side  landings.  The 
entrances  to  the  galleries  for  the  public 
is  from  the  landings  over  those  last  named. 
In  convenient  proximity  are  the  Lord  Pro- 
vost's rooms  and  committee-rooms.  The  Council 
office-room  will  also  serve  as  a  robicg-room  for 
the  Council,  and  the  necessary  lavatories  and 
water-closets  are  provided  close  to  it.  The 
reception-room  is  entered  from  the  grand  stair- 
case, and  has  also  an  entrance  from  the  Lord 
Provost's  room.  The  saloons  willform  a  magni- 
ficent approach  to  the  Town  Hall,  and  will  be  of 
their  full  width  of  30ft.  throughout,  expanding 
at  the  angle  into  a  square  of  42ft.  They  are 
divided  from  each  other  by  pillars  and  arches, 
and  when  the  doors  to  the  reception-room  are 
thrown  open,  the  large  mirror  at  the  south  end 
will  prolong  the  vista.  The  ante-room  and 
staircase  interposed  between  the  saloons  and  the 
hall  will  be  of  use  in  allowing  this  hall  to  be 
used  in  connection  with  either  the  upper  or 
lower  saloons.  The  interior  of  the  Town  HaU 
has  a  narrow  gallery  at  the  sides,  forming  on 
one  side  a  series  of  boxes,  and  at  the  west  end  a 
deeper  gallery,  communicating  with  the  upper 
saloons.  The  hall  will  be  lighted  by  two  tiers 
of  windows  towards  George- street,  and  at  night 
by  sunlights,  which  will  also  ventilate  the  hall. 
The  staircase  is  lighted  partly  by  windows  in 
the  side,  over  the  council-chamber,  and  partly 
by  light  from  the  roof  over  stairs.  The  roof 
over  landing  will  not  be  glass  ;  but  the  ceiling 
wUl  be  in  the  form  of  a  waggon-vault,  deeply 
coffered  and  carved.  The  serving-lobby,  stair, 
and  con'idor  are  placed  to  one  side  of  the  saloons, 
instead  of  blocking  up  the  end ;  and  the  kitchens 
are  placed  in  an  entresol  between  the  first  and 
second  floors  of  the  gas  and  water  offices,  thus 
getting  rid  cf  all  smells  of  cooking,  &c.  The 
lift  and  the  stairs  give  communication  with  these. 
Retiring-rooms  for  the  ladies  are  arranged  on 
the  fii'st  floor,  and  also  on  the  second  :  and  for 
the  gentlemen  in  an  entresol  between  those,  and 
also  on  the  second  floor.  The  corresponding 
entresol  over  the  Council  officers' -room  is  ar- 
ranged as  a  retiring-room  for  the  members  of 
council.  •  Retiring-rooms  for  musicians  and 
performers  are  provided  in  an  entresol  on  the 
same  level  as  the  kitchens,  and  access  is  given 
from  the  platform  by  a  stair  in  the  wall  of  cast- 
end,  which  communicates  by  a  separate  and 
distinct  flight  in  the  staircase  adjoining.  In  the 
town  clerk's  department  the  arrangement 
adopted  is  substantially  that  of  the  sketch-plan. 
The  caretaker's  house  is  placed  in  the  basement, 
and  comprises  all  the  accommodation  required. 
AVater- closets  and  lavatories  are  provided  in 
various  places.  Strong-rooms  are  provided  to 
several  of  the  offices,  and  a  large  room  in  the 
basement  for  safes.  The  areas  in  the  court  are 
made  of  ample  size,  so  as  to  allow  of  good  lights 
to  the  various  rooms  and  passages  abutting  upon 
them.  The  telling-room  for  the  collection  of 
rates,  with  the  offices  connected  with  it,  follows 
very  much  Mr.  Carrick's  arrangement.  I  think 
the  latter  is  very  good,  and  I  have  made  only 
trifling  modifications.  A  dressing-room  is  pro- 
vided here  as  in  the  other  departments,  and 
water-closets  are  placed  in  convenient  positions. 
I  do  not  require  to  describe  minutely  the  depart  • 
ments  of  Dean  of  Guilds'  Court,  Office  of  Public 
Works,  Lands  Valuation,  Clerk  of  PoUce,  as  they 
follow  so  closely  the  arrangements  on  Mr.  Carrick'  s 
plan.  Open  fireplaces  are  shown  to  nearly  all  the 
rooms.  I  would, however,strongly  recommend  that 
a  system  of  heating  by  hot  water  should  be 
adopted  for  the  building  generally.  For  this 
purpose,  I  have  arranged  a  boiler-house  under 
the  carriage-way  of  court,  which  will  accommo- 
date six  large  boilers,  two  of  these  to  be  reserve 
boilers,  in  case  of  accident  or  cleaning,  and  four 
of  them  to  be  allocated,  each  to  the  separate 
service  of  a  distinct  section  of  the  buUding. 
Large  coal-stores  are  provided— one  for  boiler 
slack  and  two  others  for  the  open  fires.  These 
are  all  under  the  carriage-way  of  court.  The 
boUer-house  and  coal-cellars  require  to  be  sunk 
to  a  greater  depth  than  the  rest  of  the  basement 
to  give  the  required  height.  Their  floors 
will  be  7ft.  below  the  basement  floor.  I  propose 
to  run  subways  to  the  lifts  from  the  coal-cellars, 
so  that  the  coals  may  be  taken  direct  to  them, 
on  the  level,  without  ascending  stairs. 
I  propose  to  build  the  outer  walls  of  Dunraore 
stone,  with  an  inner  lining  of  brick.  The  mner 
walls  would  be  buUt  of  brick  entirely,  and  the 
walls  fronting  into  open  area  over  telling-room, 


as  also  the  outer  area  walls,  would  be  faced  with 
white  glazed  bricks  to  give  reflected  light.  The 
construction  of  floors  I  propose  to  bo  fire-proof 
throughout,  and  would  consist  of  wrouitht  iron 
beams  and  joists,  filled  in  with  concrete  on 
tetnporary  centering.  The  corridor  floors  may  be 
finished  with  tiles  upon  this  foundation,  and  the 
ceilings  in  plaster.  I  propose  to  construct  the 
roofs  with  wrought  iron  principals  and  purliu.s, 
upon  which  the  spars  will  be  fi.xed,  and  to  cover 
the  roofs  with  dark  Westmoreland  slates.  The 
domical  termination  of  towers,  however,  would 
be  covered  with  lead,  and  the  floors  of  the 
various  rooms  would  be  finished  with  wood, 
carried  upon  joists  placed  over  the  fireproof 
construction.  'The  doors  and  finishings  through- 
out I  propose  to  be  of  pitch  pine,  varnished. 
The  windows  will  be  fitted  with  French  ca-c- 
ments,  and  glazed  -with  plate  glass.  The  total 
cubic  contents  of  the  building  amount  to 
3,00S,79.5ft.,  which,  at  one  shilling  a  foot, 
.amounts  to  £150,432.  Judging  from  recent 
experience  in  the  erection  of  buildings  of  a 
siinilar  class,  which  have  not  cost  so  much  per 
foot  cube  as  I  have  allowed  here,  I  consider  that 
these  municipal  offices  may  be  erected  for  about 
the  sum  named ;  but  a  great  deal  will  depend 
upon  the  manner  in  which  the  interior  fiiii.shings 
are  carried  out.  This  sum  will  cover  the  cost  of 
the  building,  as  shown  on  the  drawings,  with 
a  moderately-finished  interior.  Extra  magnifi- 
cence in  the  town-hall  and  saloons  will,  how- 
ever, eutaU  extra  cost.  In  conclusion,  X  may 
say  that  I  have  endeavoured  to  produce  a  design 
for  this  building  that  will  be  worthy  of  the  city 
of  Glasgow,  and  of  the  magnificent  site  which 
you  have  chosen  for  it."  Mr.  Corson's  motto 
wa.s  "  Carton." 

1    ^  I  ■ 

XOTES  FROM  EDINBURGH. 
^I^HE  architectural  appointments  of  the  cathe- 
X  dr.al  church  of  St.  Mary  may  be  said  to  be 
now  complete,  with  the  addition  (lately  made) 
of  its  sculptured  story  for  the  reredos.  The 
space  set  apart  for  the  choir  includes  that  below 
the  tower,  and  all  its  accessories  are  of  a  costly 
description.  The  stonework  is  in  marble  and 
alabaster.  The  low  parapet  at  entrance  to  the 
choir  presents  a  range  of  richly-carved  panels 
and  medalKons,  and  the  plain  spaces  are  covered 
with  elaborate  mosaic.  Floor  and  steps  are 
marble;  the  simple  pattern  of  the  fonner  is 
much  enriched  by  the  contrasted  colours  and 
variegated  hue  of  the  selected  marble.  The 
commimion-table  is  simple  but  ornate  in 
construction,  and  in  oak,  the  top  being  cf  a  dark 
sreen  marble.  The  ironwork  which  screens 
the  choir  from  the  aisles  is  remarkable,  not  so 
much  for  intricacy  of  design,  as  for  the  exqui- 
site finish  of  the  workmanship  in  its  every 
detail.  . 

The  reredos  forms  a  very  .striking  object, 
meeting  the  spectator's  eye  as  a  large  monument 
in  alabaster ;  hut  placed  at  some  distance  from 
the  wall  behind.  Its  colour  is  in  striking  con- 
trast with  the  stonework  around,  and  the  vacant 
spaces  at  each  side  are  hung  with  dark  olive- 
oreen  curtains,  so  that,  even  at  a  distance,  no 
one  can  mistake  it  for  mural  decoration.  A« 
yet,  there  is  nothing  to  rival  its  glon- ;  and 
even  when  the  windows  behind  it  are  filled  with 
stained  "lass,  and  tell  their  ovrn  story,  too,  the 
sculptur?  will  be  read  with  greater  advantage  as 
to  li°-ht  At  present,  the  best  point  of  view  « 
from"  behind  the  iron  screen  where  the  eye  is 
not    troubled    with    the   glare   of    the   large 

""Thrstructure  nearly  fills  the  central  spaw; 
the  base,  though  mostly  covered  by  the 
table,  is  high  enough  *»  show  its  nchy- 
carve'd  cornice  over  the  /-^k  'uarWe 
The  design  is  very  simple  and  elec- 
tive A  la?ge  c'-o^keted  g.able,  with  fimal  and 
foUated  cross,  with  two  seraphim  on  each  side 
iscarried  on  a  pointed  arch,  buttressed  by  two 
aterXprojections,  each  wide  enough  to  accom- 
modatea  figure  in  its  niche  T'le^  fi^^^ 
represent  St.  Columba  and  Queen  Maru'^.ret. 
B?hfnd  the  first  memberof  thear^h.ng  and  well 
fece  sed,  is  the  scoond-a  1"?«  '^^"'l;  "I"*''? 
carved  These  arches  are  earned  on  shafts  o 
red  and  dark  green  marble.  .  The  mnermn^ 
archin-  forms  the  top  of  the  tripartite  reces.»,  in 
whichthe  principal  piece  of  «^ulP^'^  »  P^^^;^- 
It  is  carried  on  four  dark  green  "-"blf  jl'^^f/ 
the  bases  resting  on  a  pbntb.  ^^"ted  wiA 
four  medaUions  representing  f^gfi"^*^" -A^^ 
shafts  divide  the  sub  ect  into    three  diviMons, 


310 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


each  having  its  own  portion  of  the  story.  The 
largest  and  central  portion  represents  the 
Crucifixion,  with  the  principal  figure  in  high 
relief.  Others  especially  mentioned  in  the  text 
are  placed  with  characteristic  aspect,  and  in  well- 
studied  attitudes,  around  ;  the  whole  making  an 
intelligible  picture  of  the  scene,  from  the  artist's 
point  of  view.  The  work  is  from  the  studio  of 
Miss  Grant.  In  the  side-panel  to  the  left  of  the 
cross  the  centurion  and  other  Eoman  soldiers 
are  seen,  and  its  companion  on  the  other  side 
discovers  the  mocking  priest  and  other  Jewish 
spectators,  the  background  representing  the 
environs  of  Jerusalem. 

The  tone  of  the  alabaster  is  pale  red,  looking 
■white  in  the  gaslight,  when  the  whole  appears 
to  great  advantage  in  the  distance.  This  tint 
forms  necessarily  a  weak  setting  for  the  sculp- 
ture ;  but  the  architectural  effect  does  not 
suffer  on  that  account,  as  at  any  but  the  closest 
distance  the  details  of  sculpture  are  lost,  and 
the  imagination,  in  any  case,  must  fill  up  the 
picture. 

The  interior  lack.s  only  the  stained  glass  for  its 
eastern  lights.  Few  even  of  the  old  abbey 
churches  were  more  richly  decorated  in  the 
stonework  of  construction.  The  perspective 
from  the  western  entrance  is  a  grand  procession 
of  curved  and  moulded  lines.  There  are  no 
clustered  nave-piers  ;  but  above  the  line  of  the 
capitals  we  have  the  lofty  clustered  corbel  shafts 
and  their  intermediates,  the  window-piers  of 
the  triforium,  and  the  Norman  edgings  of  the 
clerestory  lights,  which  serve  as  a  rich  setting- 
to  the  pillared  shafts  of  the  windows.  There 
are  the  lines  of  the  great  tower  piers,  and  richly - 
moulded  arching  of  all  the  great  arches  of  con- 
struction, losing  themselves  in  pleasing  intricacy 
at  the  transepts ;  the  whole  presenting  as  fine 
an  example  as  could  be  wished  of  the  eft'ect  of 
mouldings  in  the  decoration  of  a  bmlding. 

An  interior  such  as  this  teaches  also  something 
of  the  great  value  of  sculpture  in  the  decoration. 
The  eye  wearies  of  the  beauty  of  this  perpetual 
repetition  of  curved  andlinear  lines,  and  ,:^ladly  rests 
on  the  sculptured  foliage  or  faces  which  generally 
an'est  the  eye  at  principal  points  of  support. 
Very  likely,  it  was  this  feeling,  and  not  the 
basket  of  flowers,  which  suggested  the 
Corinthian  capital  as  a  relief  from  the  monotony 
of  Doric  and  Ionic  lines.  It  was  surely  a  happy 
thought  of  the  Gothic  builders  which  stopped  a 
moulding  here  and  there  with  some  suggestion 
of  organic  life,  and  other  forms  of  beauty. 
Natural  analogies  justify  the  proceeding,  for 
Nature  conceals  her  strength  in  many  ways,  and 
structural  supports  are  clad  with  beautiful  and 
tendtr  forms  without  adding  to  the  appearance 
of  her  strength.  There  is  no  reason,  a?^thetic 
or  constructive,  for  banishing  such  sculpture 
from  bosses,  capitx^Is,  and  corbels,  and  confining 
it  to  panelled  surfaces,  as  lately  suggested  by  a 
writer  in  the  Building  News.  The  question  is 
not,  as  be  unfairly  puts  it,  between  bad  sculp- 
ture and  good  mouldings ;  but  between  bad 
sculpture  and  bad  mouldings.  It  is  quite  as 
easy  to  design  mouldings  as  sculpture  thought- 
lessly, and  probably  quite  as  common ;  and  it  is 
more  than  Ukely  that  the  former  might  be  more 
dangerous,  constructively  speaking,  than  the 
latter.  For  sculpture-foliage,  just  in  its  propor- 
tion to  its  exuberance,  is  generally  cut  from  a 
proportionably  greater  amount  of  material  not 
necessary  in  construction.  Nobody  but  the 
writer  alluded  to  ever  dreams  of  the  function  of 
such  ornament  being  anything  but  ornamental. 
The  sculptured  foliage  of  St.  Mary's,  both 
outside  and  inside,  is  utterly  and  entirely 
free  from  the  "  flutheriness  "  of  iU-designed 
sculpture,  and  always  indicates  a  marked  sym- 
pathy with  the  lines  of  pressure  or  resistance. 
In  obtuse  angled  capitals,  it  adheres  even  too 
closely  to  the  plane  of  surfaces  supported.  The 
foliage  is  always  beautiful,  and  never  irration- 
ally placed,  like  the  specimens  in  an  herbarium, 
and  with  no  suggestive  connection  with  the  surface 
it  is  intended  to  adoi-n.  Doubtful  sculpture 
perhaps  as  good,  at  any  rate,  .as  bad  mouldings 
or  odd  argul.ar  stops,  and,  besides,  maybe  justi- 
fied or  preferred  on  the  ground  that  "a  little 
nonsense,  now  and  then,  is  relished  by  the  wisest 
men." 

The  new  University  buUdings  are  making 
rapid  progress  towards  completion  in  the  south- 
ern portion,  which,  it  is  hoped,  may  be  ready 
for  occupation  by  the  close  of  the  coming 
session.  This  is  now  in  the  plasterers'  hands. 
The  north  frontage  makes  some  show  over  the 
hoardings  ;  but  the  builders  have  been  engaged 


lately  in  the  erection  of  a  lofty  chimney-stack, 
which  has  just  been  completed.  This  structure 
is  about  ISft.  diameter  at  the  base,  dwindling 
to  about  12ft.  and  wiU  be  about  200ft.  in  height. 
It  is  built  of  pale  brick,  and  harmonises  well 
with  the  stonework  below  and  around  it. 
Some  parties  arc  possibly  sceptical  as  to  the 
possibility  of  such  an  erection  being  made  con- 
sistent with  the  dignity  of  a  building  conse- 
crated to  the  advancement  of  learning  ;  but  they 
have  only  to  visit  Edinburgh  to  be  undeceived, 
and  possibly  they  may  go  far  and  wide  to  find  a 
better  example  of  architecture  m  a  chimney  of 
the  size.  At  a  distance  probably  of  40ft.  from 
the  top,  there  is  bold  corbel  projection,  marking 
the  base  for  the  ventilating  outlets. 

The  structure  is  not  a  chimney,  pure  and 
simple,  but  a  ventilating  shaft,  with  the  real 
chimney,  an  iron  pipe,  in  the  centre.  These 
outlets  for  the  vitiated  air  are  high  doorways. 
Above  them  is  another  great  projection,  with 
bell-east  weathering,  and  the  mouth  of  the 
chimney,  probably  25ft.  higher,  is  domical  in 
outline,  and  the  whole  of  this  portion  has  the 
appearance  of  an  elongated  beU. 

Stone  is  hardly  anywhere  employed.  The  pro- 
portions of  the  ui>per  portions  and  more  orna- 
mental jiart  of  the  design  give  the  whole  a 
monumental  character,  and  make  it  quite  worthy 
of  its  place  amid  the  towers  andspires  of  the  city. 
There  is  nothing  in  it  to  suggest  any  sudden 
transit  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous,  which 
is  more  than  can  be  said  of  "high"  art  as 
exemplified  in  the  Melville  Monument,  in  which 
the  noble  viscount  is  taking  the  air  140ft.  from 
the  gro-.md,  on  the  top  of  a  Doric  pillar. 


THE  GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS 
COMPETITION. 

THE  following  is  the  copy  of  the  letter  trans- 
mitted by  jMr.  Barry  to  the  Town  Clnrk 
together  with  his  report  on  the  Competitive  de- 
signs, the  tenour  of  which  we  gave  last  week. 


Gextlemkx, — As  I  anticipate  that  my  Report  may 
possibly  be  publi---litcl,  I  have  been  careful  in  it  to  ( 
tine  my  remarks  precisely  to  the  issue.s  referred  to  me  to 
decide',  to  do  -which  ratisfactorily  to  my  ovm  mind  has 
not  only  consumed  much  time,  but  occasioned  me  nj 
anxious  thought,  as  -nrijl  be  evident  from  the  report 
itself. 

There  ai-e,  however,  some  remarks  that  I  should  wish  to 
place  before  the  Coiporation  on  matters  "which  have 
pressed  themselves  on  my  attention duiiiig  the  inquiry. 

1st.  The  Coiporation  will  not  fail  io  s:ather  from  -n-hat 
I  have  said  in  my  report  that  (as  I  think)  the  sum  of 
£250,000  at  least  should  be  expended  on  theii-  new  build- 
injTto  obtain  a  tittiog  resu  t. 

2nd.  It  will  also  be  evident  to  you  that  I  have  had 
practically  to  make  two  separate  examinations  of  the  de- 
signs sent  in— one  as  to  their  relative  merit,  irrespective 
of  cost,  andputtini;  quite  aside  the  £150,000  named  in  the 
Instructions,  for  which  &um  I  feel  sure  that  ilr.  Carrick's 
plan,  if  built  in  any  satisfactory  way,  could  not  itself  be 
carried  out  ;  the  other,  having  as  near  regard  as  I  could 
to  the  proposed  outlay  of  £160,000,  as  it  might  fairly  be 
interpreted  by  Competitors,  and  under  which  considera- 
tion it  is  evident  the  premiums  must,  in  justice,  be 
awarded,  and  have,  therefore,  been  so  by  me  in  my 
Report. 

As  tothe  first  esamination-viz.,  that  as  to  the  relative 
mei-it  of  all  the  designs  submitted,  -n-hich  is  by  far  the 
most  really  important  to  the  Coiporation— Ineed  not  say 
that  if  my  award  is  adoi  ted,  and  after  the  premiums 
therein  recommended  have  been  paid,  I  shall  be  ready  to 
advise  the  Corporaticn,  should  they  request  me  to  do  so, 
or  to  aid  them  in  their  final  action  in  any  way  consistent 
with  professional  etiquette. 

3rd.  One  small  matter  I  would  refer  to  in  this  letter,  as 
it  hjis  been  ah-eady  the  subject  of  correspondence  between 
you  and  Mr.  Caii-ick,  and  some  of  the  Competitors.  It  is 
as  to  putting  a  black  or  neutral  tint  in  the  window  open- 
ings of  the  design,  which  has  been  done  by  some  :  nd  not 
by  others,  who  have  feared  that  they  might  thereby  be 
supposed  to  violate  the  eighth  paragraph  of  the  Instruc- 
tions. As  I  read  that  parag.  aph ,  there  is  nothing  to  f  or- 
bi,.  this  being  none  ;  and,  indeed.  I  thiirk  it  woull  have 
been  well  to  requii-e  all  to  do  it,  just  as  certain  flat  tints 
on  plans  are  needed  to  distinguish  voids  from  solids.  The 
tinting  or  etching  which  is  very  rightly  forbidden  by  the 
eighth  paragraph  of  the  Instructions,  can  onlyhavemcant 
such  casting  of  shadows  in  colour  or  pen  work  as  would 
perhaps  make  sho-wy  effects,  but  which  effects  might  have 
been,  in  reality,  unproducible  by  the  design. 

I  need  har-dly  say  that,  in  my  examination,  the  tinting 
or  not  tintiirg  in  fiat  Indian  ink  of  the  window  openings 
have  not  influenced  my  judgment  in  the  slightest  degree, 
and  I  could  not  but  feel  the  absurdity  of  setting  aside  a 
better  design  for  a  worse,  because  some  of  the  Com- 
petitors have  (I  consider  erroneously)  thought  they  were 
forbidden  so  to  finish  their  drawings. 

Lastly.— As  to  additional  area  which  may,  and  probably 
■will  be,"  required  for  public  uses  arising  out  of  theeieetion 
of  this  new  pile  of  impor-taut  buildings. 

Prepai"atory  to  my  consideration  of  the  designs,  I,  of 
course,  carefully  viewed  the  intended  site,  and  sa^w  the 
Parliamentary  plan  under  which  it  has  been  acquired, 
and,  from  it.  I  observe  that  a  considerably  larger  area  has 
been  scheduled  than  that  supplied  to  the  Competitors  for 
their  designs;  and  further,  that  power  has  been  acquired, 
if  found  necessary  or  desir-able,  to  close  John-street  as  a 


pubhe  carriage  road.  May  I  be  pei-mitted  (without  being 
deemed  presumptuous)  to' express  a  stiong  hope  that  tire 
compulsory  powers  to  acquire  this  further  area  'before 
the  time  named  in  the  Act  shall  expii-e ;  will  be  made  use 
of. 

It  is  obrious  that  if  thi-!  is  not  so,  and  the  new  build- 
ings are  erected,  a  large  additioual  annual  value  will  be 
thereby  given  to  this  fmther  area,  and  the  cost  of  it,  if  it 
be  found  necessary  to  obtain  it  after  the  comprrlsory 
powers  have  lapsed,  will  be  very  largely  increased, 
whereas  it  could  now  be  acquired  on  the  basis  -jf  its 
present  annual  value  (with  10  per  cent,  for  compulsory 
s.ile  and  expenses).  The  rents,  existing  or  improved, 
would,  of  course,  be  receivable  by  the  Cor-poration  until 
it  might  be  so  rtquired.  and  would  yield  a  moderate  but 
increasing  return  on  the  pui-chase  money ;  while,  if  it  be 
found,  with  some  years'  experience,  and  after  th>r  )utr 
huiUhiir/s  shaU  hai-ebeen  erecterl  awl  in  (/5f,  that  it  is  not 
required  for  public  purposes,  it  would  obviously  command 
such  an  increased  price  at  sale  as  would  partly,  and,  per- 
hap,  entirely,  repay  the  Corporation  for  the  cost  of  its 
acquisition,  -with  interest  for  the  intervening  time. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be.  Gentlemen, 
Your  most  obedient  sei^vant, 

(Signed)  CnAErns  Barey. 


THE     WESTMINSTER     ^"I;STE,Y     H.A.LL 
COMPETITION. 

SOME  dissatisfaction  seems  to  exist  ■with  re- 
gard to  the  award  in  this  competition  :  one 
competitor,  who  seems  to  feel  strongly  about  the 
m.itter,  writes  us  to  say  that  Mr.  Barry's  repot  t 
"was  kicked  out  by  15  votes  to  10"  at  the 
Vestry -Committee  meeting  held  on  the  "thinst., 
and  not,  as  we  stated  last  week,  rejected  by  13 
votes  to  10.  The  following  circular  has  been  in 
print  and  circulated  in  Westminster  for  more 
than  a  fortnight :  — 

Some  time  back  a  circular  was  sent  by  your  direction 
to  several  architects,  inviting  them  to  send  designs  in 
competition  for  your  proposed  parochial  offices,  and  1  was 
one  of  those  who  answered  to  the  call.  The  instructions 
set  forth  in  detail  your  reqnh-ements,  which  appeared  to 
have  betn  minutely  studied  even  so  far  as  regards  the 
dimensions  and  heights  of  the  whole  of  the  rooms.  A 
plan  of  the  site  was  supplied,  which,  together  with  the 
circular,  instructed  competitors  that  they  miglit  Vi^jfil 
over  the  land  adjoining  to  the  east.  This  is  a  most  im- 
portant point,  and  to  which  I  beg  to  direct  yom-  especial 
attention.  No  mention  was  made  of  an  arbitrator,  nor 
was  this  surprising,  the  assumption  being  that  those  who 
knew  so  well  what  they  wanted  w  -uld  also  know  when 
the  right  plan  was  laid  before  them  ;  but,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  many,  a  referee  was  called  in,  and  as  his  printed 
report  has  been  made  somewhat  public  his  award  re- 
mains no  longer  a  secret.  The  first  objection  he  makes  to 
several  of  the  designs  is  the  proposition  to  build  to  the 
vei-ge  of  the  site  and  hght  the  rooms  from  the  land  ad- 
joining— a  step,  Isubmit,  beyond  the  limit  of  his  instruc- 
tions, if  the  reports  in  the  periodicals  ai-e  to  be  accredited. 
He  then  proceeds  to  arranL*e  the  designs  in  his  order  of 
merit,  and  places  first  a  design  with  the  wildest  andmost 
misleading  estimates,  with  cne  staii-caseto  sei-venot  only 
for  the  house  but  for  the  gener.al  public— sweep,  coster- 
mongers,  anybody  and  ev  rybcdy  are  to  use  it,  destroying 
all  privacy  and  separation.  Further  on  he  advises  that  for 
this  plan,  whichhe  suggests  may  be  ie-des!gned.youshould 
pay£100audthe  usuwl'percent  age  beyond  what  it  may  cost 
to  'carry  out,  viz  ,  £23,000,  although  the  author  has  eaid 
that  £15,000  will  be  sufficient.  Of  the  design  place.l  second 
I  can  say  nothing,  as  I  do  not  remember  the  public  de- 
scrip  ion  oiit;  but  of  t'-:- r':--'^!  ■'■ird,  the  large  hall  in 
the  rear. 'tis  said,  is  r,  :    '  i  y  a  gallery  at  each 

end,  thatisto  say,  isii>  .,i .  and,  in  addition, 

possesses  the  objection  >:  l- l  ;l  -  ,,t  Xo.  1.  Compact- 
ness is  a  point  with  liic  i.  icici-,  bui  tlie  designs  he  re- 
commends for  premiums  have  the  committee-rooms  at  a 
distance  from  the  hall  instead  of  opening  from  it. 
Damage  to  light  of  scho-jls  is  another  poiut,  yet  the  chief 
mass  (the  vestiy  hall)  the  highest  of  the  group,  is  placed 
centrally  to  the  longest  axis  of  the  site  in  the  referee's 
recommended  plans,  and  must  interfere  very  much  with 
the  light  of  the  schools.  Allow  me  again  to  observe  that 
as  yon  have  been  so  well  able  to  instruct  the  competi- 
tors you  must  be  equally  well  able  to  decide  upon  the 
plan  whi'^h  gives  most  nearly  what  you  have  asked  for, 
and.  in  conclusion,  I  respectfully  invite  you  to  judge  for 
voureelves. 


OBITUART. 
"I'STE  regret  to  record  the  somewhat  sudden 
7  »  death  of  Mr.  John  Messer  Knight,  J. P. 
for  Kent,  of  the  firm  of  Knight,  Bevan,  and 
.Sturge,  cement  manufacturers,  of  Northfleet. 
But  two  hours  before  his  decease  Mr.  Knight 
was  performing  his  magisterial  functions.  He 
had  held  the  office  of  chtiirman  of  the  Northfleet 
Local  Board  since  its  formation,  and  he  was  also 
a  Commissioner  of  Land  Taxes.  He  had  entered 
the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  his  strict 
integrity,  coupled  -with  a  kindly  and  genial  dis- 
position, had  gained  for  him  very  general  esteem 
in  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Liberal,  rendering  a  hearty 
and  consistent  support  to  his  party.  But  a  few 
years  since  he  retired  from  the  active  duties 
omneeted  with  his  position  as  head  of  the  firm, 
being  succeeded  by  Mr.  Thomas  Bevan.  His 
remains  were  on  Thursday  week  interred  in  the 
cemetery  attached  to  the  meeting»house  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  at  Rochester,  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  concourse  of  people. 

One  of   the  most   respected   working-men  in 


8i:pt.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


341 


Exeter  lias  just  pas.-ed  away.  llr.  Stephen  Shute, 
of  Heavitree,  who  di'  d  after  a  few  days'  illness, 
of  cholera,  on  the  3rd  in^t.  at  the  early  age  of 
42 — was  well  tn  iwn  to  many  arcliiteets  as  Mr. 
Harry  Hems'  foreman.  He  hud  only  returned 
home  from  Belgium  a  fortnight  before  his  death. 
His  natural  abilities  and  a  quiet  unassuming 
way,  which  was  peculiarly  his  own,  won  for  him 
friends  in  every  position  in  life.  His  funeral 
was  one  of  tlie  largest  that  has  taken  place  in 
Exeter  for  years.  His  body  was  borne  the 
whole  distance  to  the  "Whiptou  Cemetery,  (2 
miles)  by  tho.se  amongst  wlmm  he  had  toiled  for 
many  years — foUoW'  d  by  many  huudredsiu  pro- 
cession. He  has  left  a  wife  and  nine  children 
behind  him. 


Buil^iuii  5-utcIligtuct 


Beighton. — The  fo<indation-stones  of  a  new 
Wesleyan  chapel  were  laid  at  Beighton,  on 
AVednesday.  It  will  be  a  Gothic  edifice,  built 
of  rock-faced  Yorkshire  stone,  with  drcss'ngs  of 
tooled  Matlock  stone.  In  front  will  be  a  large, 
deeply-recessed  central  doorway,  with  moulded 
pointed  arch,  and  on  either  side  will  be  pointed 
windows.  'The  chapel  itself  will  be  divided 
from  the  schoolroom  at  the  back  by  a  lofty 
arcade,  fitted  with  sliding  partitions,  so  that 
both  may  be  thrown  into  one  room  when  further 
accommodation  is  rFquired.  The  plans  were 
drawn  out  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Kent,  architect,  Ches- 
terfield, and  the  builder  is  Mr.  B.  Fewkes,  of 
Beighton.  The  building  is  estimated  to  cost, 
when  complettd,  about  £1,100. 

CiitBEKWELL,  S.E. — CamberweU-green  Con- 
gregational Church,  a  large  Middle-Gothic 
chapel,  erected  a  quarter  of  a  century  since,  was 
reopened  on  Sunday  week  by  the  pastor,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Clemance,  after  the  completion  of 
works  of  internal  renovation  and  decoration,  and 
the  introduction  of  an  organ.  An  endeavour 
has  been  made  to  lighten  the  effect  of  the  in- 
terior, previously  sombre  and  heavy.  The 
panelling  of  ceiling  has  bt  en  altered  from  a  dark 
oak  to  a  cream  tone,  the  ribs  recoloured  to 
harmonise  therewith  ;  the  walls  have  been 
treated  in  grey,  and  broad  lines  of  light  colour 
introduced  on  matchboard  ceiling  beneath  the 
continuous  gallery.  The  richly- carved  pulpit 
has  boon  brought  forward,  widened,  and  lowered, 
and  behind  it  has  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
about  £.500,  an  organ,  containing  great  CC  to  G 
of  6  stops,  swell  CC  to  G  of  8  stops,  pedal  CCC 
to  G  of  G  stops,  and  three  composition  pedals 
both  to  great  and  ^well  organs.  The  case  is  of 
pitch-pine,  varnished,  and  the  displayed  pipes 
are  decorated  in  seven  secondary  and  tertiary 
colours,  freely  relieved  by  gilding.  Choir-stalls 
of  pitch-pine,  with  large  carved  ends  and  poppy 
heads,  flank  the  pulpit  on  either  side  The 
structural  alterations  and  decorations  have  been 
carried  out  by  Me-srs.  Downs,  of  Walworth, 
under  the  direction  of  a  committee  ;  the  organ 
was  built  by  Messrs.  Foster  and  Andrews,  of 
Hull,  and  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  Keen. 

Carthusian  Moxasteet  in  Sussex. — Between 
Brighton  and  Worthing  there  is  being  erected  a 
large  Carthusian  monastery,  to  be  dedicated  to 
St.  Hugh,  an  otF.shoot  of  the  Monastery  of  the 
Grande  Chartreuse  in  the  mountains  of  Dauphine. 
The  estate  is  about  3.50  ucies,  of  which  I.")  are 
covered  with  buildings.  The  architect  is  M. 
Normand,  and  the  building  is  nearly  as  large  as 
the  parent  house.  To  give  an  idea  of  its  mag- 
nitude, it  may  be  stated  that  the  main  pourt  is 
larger  than  the  Tom  Quad  at  Christ  Church, 
Ctford,  or  the  great  court  of  Trinity  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  is  surrounded  by  a  range  of  cloisters 
with  stone-fretted  vaults.  The  inclosed  area  is 
to  be  laid  out  with  gardens  and  fountams;  and 
a  tower  and  spire  of  enormous  height  will  rise 
above  the  southern  gates.  The  chapel  is  to  be  of 
cathedral-like  dimensions.  The  library,  the 
refectory,  and  the  chapter-house  will  bu  on  a 
grand  scale.  Each  choir  monk  will  have  a  bed- 
room, sitting-room,  two  workrooms,  and  a 
separate  garden.  Fishponds,  a  windmill,  and  a 
lake  are  being  constructed,  and  the  nuileus  of  a 
good  library  is  already  formed. 

DuELix. — Considerable  progTe.«s  has  already 
been  made  with  the  erection  of  the  new  agricul- 
tural buildings  of  the  Koyal  Dublin  Suciity,  at 
Ball's  Bridge,  and  it  is  expected  they  will  be 
completed  by  December  next.     The  length  of 


the  buidings  is  277ft.,  and  their  width  161ft. 
The  internal  covered  space,  exclusive  of  the 
entrance  building,  is  242ft.  by  ICOft,,  and 
covered  by  three  spans  of  roof,  the  central  being 
60ft.,  and  the  two  side  ones  being  50ft.  wide. 
Eiich  span  is  supported  on  cast-iron  columns, 
28ft.  high  and  21ft.  apart,  and  rolled  iron 
girders  rest  on  them,  carrying  the  tru.ssed  iron 
girders  of  the  roof.  The  entrance  building  con- 
tains the  boardroom,  secretary's  and  other  offices, 
cloak  and  ladies'  rooms,  and  the  entrance  hall. 
The  walls  of  the  building  are  of  rubble  granite, 
with  red  brick  quoins  and  red  brick  dressings  to 
windows,  Sec,  the  front  masonry  being  hammer- 
dressed,  with  solid  stone  and  brick  cornice  to  the 
front  and  sides,  and  moulded  stone  and  brick 
pediment  in  the  central  part  of  the  front  eleva- 
tion. The  contractors  are  Messrs.  CoUcn, 
Brothers,  of  Dublin  and  Portadown,  and  Mr. 
Wilkinson,  of  Great  Brunswick-street,  Dublin, 
is  the  architect.  The  amount  of  the  contact  is 
between  £11,000  and  £12,000. 

DcTTFERMLrxE. — The  building  plans  for  the 
Dunfermline  Free  Library — prepared  by  Mr.  J. 
C.  Walker,  architect,  Edinburgh — have  been 
approved  and  passed  by  the  Library  Committee. 
The  plan  chosen  is  one  of  three  which  were 
designed  by  Mr.  Walker.  The  style  is  Domestic 
Tudor.  The  front  is  82ft.  in  length,  and  is 
two  stories  high,  with  ranges  of  square-headed 
windows  with  single  mullions,  the  rebates  of  the 
lower  windows  being  plain  moulded,  and  the 
upper  having  attached  columns,  with  cirved 
capitals.  A  moulded  string-course  runs  along 
the  centre  of  the  greater  part  of  this  front,  and  the 
wall  is  surmounted  by  a  plain  moulded  cornice 
filled  in  underneath  with  blocks.  The  principal 
entrance  is  near  to  the  comer  of  this  front,  which 
at  this  point  is  treated  so  as  to  give  the  appear- 
ance of  a  square  tower,  and  is  carried  a  story 
higher  than  the  rest  of  the  building.  The 
interior  arrangements  consist  of  a  library-room 
measuring  .37ft.  3in.  by  2.5ft.  6in. :  recreation 
room,  26ft.  6in.  by  2.5ft.  6in. ;  gentlemen's  read- 
ing-room, 3ift.  3in.  by  2.5ft.  6in. ;  ladies'  read- 
ing-room, 22ft.  6in.  by  18ft.  lOin.  ;  smoldng- 
room,  2Sft.  by  16ft. ;  and  a  keeper's  house, 
containing  three  rooms  and  kitchen  with 
other  necessary  conveniences.  The  whole  of  the 
premises  will  be  ventilated  by  Bojle's  patent 
veutilators,  and  heated  by  Perkins'  heating 
system  of  hot  water  aud  cjils.  The  site  and 
buUdiugs  are  expected  to  cost  £.5,000. 

EccLES. — The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  town- 
hall  at  Eccles,  near  Manchester,  was  laid  on 
the  13th  inst.  The  building  is  of  the  Clas,-ic 
style  of  architecture,  and  comprises  in  the  base- 
ment a  hall-keeper's  residence,  heating  appa- 
ratus, coal  and  store  cellars.  On  the  ground- 
floor  a  board  and  committee-rooms,  with  ante- 
room, hat  and  cloak-room,  lavatory,  &a.;  adja- 
cent rooms  are  also  prorided  for  clerk,  surveyor, 
collector,  and  inspector.  The  upper  floor 
comprises  a  publicroom,  with  gallery  and  plat- 
form affording  accommodation  for  1,000  persons, 
also  retiring-rooms  and  other  requirements. 
The  principal  elevations  will  be  faced  with  stock 
bricks,  relieved  with  Huddersfield  stone  to  the 
doors  and  windows,  ire.  The  contract  has  been 
undertaken  by  Messrs.  Thomas  Moore  and  Sons, 
buUders,  of  Eccles,  at  a  cost  of  £4,000,  and 
carried  out  under  the  superintendenc-e  of  the 
architect,  Mr.  John  Lowe,  F.R.I.B.A.,  of  Man- 
chester. 

FoKTwxLLiAir.  —  St.  Andrew's  Episcopal 
Church,  FortwiUiam,  was  consecrated  last  week. 
The  building  is  from  the  design  of  Mr.  Ross, 
architect,  Inverness,  and  is  in  the  Early  Decorated 
style,  and  consists  of  a  nave,  a  chancel,  and 
tower  and  spire,  with  a  vestry  at  the  west  angle 
and  a  porch  at  the  north-west  .angle.  The  tower, 
when  complete,  will  be  100  feet  high.  Its  base 
forms  the  organ-chamber.  The  material  of 
which  the  church  is  built  is  red  granite,  with 
freestone  dressings.  The  choir-benches  are  of 
oak,  the  carving  having  been  executed  by  Mr. 
Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter.  The  altar  is  ten  feet 
wide,  the  front  divided  into  three  compartment» 
by  arches  with  columns.  In  the  centre  com- 
partment is  the  St.  Andrew  Cross,  enriched  iu 
alabaster,  and  in  the  south  is  a  pelican  feciling 
her  young.  The  litany-dt'sk  aud  prayer-desk 
are  carved  in  oak  by  Mr.  Hems.  "The  internal 
walls  are  relieved  by  bands  of  white  freestone. 
The  windows  are  fil  eJ  with  stained  glass,  by 
Me-ssrs.  Clavton  and  Bell,  of  London.  The  cost 
has  been  about  £10,000. 

KiEKBY    Malzsabd. — The     church    of    St. , 


Andrew,  Kirkby  Malzeard,  four  miles  from 
Masham,  was  opened  on  Tuesday.  Tin'  nuitora- 
tion  of  the  church  had  long  been  talkwl  of,  but 
it  was  not  until  the  winter  of  I87i-G  that  the 
idea  took  definite  shape,  when  the  chunili- 
wardens  propounded  a  wjhenio  of  reHt-jration, 
suggested  by  Mr.  .Vrthur  \V.  Blomlield.  .M.A., 
architect,  of  London.  The  north  will  WM 
propped  up  by  imiaeUMi  ugly  bultiis'MK,  built 
upon  the  old  ones;  tliiit  has  be.-ri  lalcii  doim 
aud  rebuilt  after  the  original  niiM,  n-i  I  but- 
tresses similar  to  the  ancient  •  i  1 
for  the  unsightly  inuisiM  of  nn 
wall  were  two  fcirly  English  n  :, 
have  been  r.plaeed.  The  cliui.  o  .  .„-■...  .if 
nave,  very  long  chancel —alniont  iw  Imn  as  the 
nave— north  aisle,  and  c  ,utinuaiion  an  '■),  iu<  .1 
aisle;  at  the  ca-st  end  of  thuchme  ■  i  ■•-i  ''■" 
vestry,  with  priest's  chioiber  at 
a  newel  or  spiral  staircane.  1  ! 
chamber  project  slightly  beyond  ■  ( 
the  chancel,  and  in  this  Hinull  pr..j. .  ti'.n  ar>.  »lit 
windows  in  both  vestry  aud  ehambi  r,  I'xiking 
south.  The  walls  have  been  repIiii.t>Ti -l  in  the 
inside  ;  the  roof,  which  wa»  very  low-pilcbed — 
especially  in  the  chancel— has  besm  rebuilt  at 
t  he  same  height,  the  inside,  no  far  on  the  chan- 
cel and  chancel  ais-le  are  concernesl,  beio*'  lin'd 
with  pine,  and  in  the  navo  and  ui«lo.  |i'.i-!nl 
between  wooden  framework.  The  t'Aul  ■•.-t"f 
the  work,  including  glass  and  furniture,  will  bo 
about  £4,000.  Mr.  R.  Woathcrley,  of  York,  was 
the  contractor. 

Laxciiio. — The  consecration  of  t 
dedicated  to  St.  Leonard,  Lan.- 
tion-stone  of  which  was  laid  in  .■>■  , 

in  lieu  of  the  old  structure  emt.  I  ii  I  1 17,  is 
arranged  to  take  place  on  the  2.)ih  ii  st.  The 
church,  which  is  of  Early  Curvilinear  denign, 
from  the  dra\\nngs  of  Messrs.  Paley  and  Aunt^D, 
of  Lancaster,  contains  a  nave,  south  ai.sle.  chan- 
cel, and  organ-chamber  on  the  south  nide,  and 
choir  and  clergy  vestries  on  the  north  side.  The 
cost  of  the  strnctare  so  for  completed  ia  orer 
£4,000. 

LoziiLLS. — The  new  church  of  St.  Paul'*, 
Lozells,  was  consecrated  on  Saturday.  Mr.  J. 
A.  Chatwin,  of  Birmingham,  is  the  architect, 
and  the  builders,  Messrs.  Horsman  and  Co.,  of 
Wolverhampton.  The  church  is  capable  of 
coinfoitably  seating  800  persoiLs,  and  is  built  in 
the  PerpcudiciUar  style.  It  consists  of  a  narr, 
spacious  chancel,  and  north  antl  s  luth  aisles. 
The  nave  is  91ft. Sin.  long  by  21ft. Min.  broad, 
and  the  chancel  is  30ft.  Cin.  by  -Mii  ^!:i.-  this 
making  a  to'al  lenatb  from  thi  ' 

windows  of  121ft.  9in.     The  ai>l 
6in.  wide.     Extemilly  the  noril^ 
of  the  church  are  of  pl.iin  brick,  but  the  prKn  i'  d 
front  is  faced  with  Ham-tead  stone,  with   Bath 
stone  dressings.     The  total  cost  of  the  ehurrh, 
inclusive  of  the  site,  is  upwards  of  £s,"Oi). 

M.A.omix.— On    Wednesday     the    Bi-hop    of 
Liverpool  con.secrated  a  new  rhimli  :il  M  i;:tiu!l. 
built  from  designs  by  Mr.  J.  T.  I ' 
of  Liverpool:  the  contractor  ha  v 
Leslie.     The   church   consi-:- 
chancel   transepts  (the  s..i:'  ; 

for  an  organ-chamber,  a: 
for  school  children),  nave 
tower     (used    as    a    bap- 
vestry.     The  architoctuf 
English  period.     Th-j  r 
l.y  Mr.  Rogerson,       " 
oak,  and  the  altar- 
and  Willis.     Th.  ■ 
were  spcciiUy  di^iL'iia  I  _v  w.-    ■ 

PixxioN,  Debdyshibk.— The  m.-in' rl»l-»tono 
of    new    .-eh.  .1-    ".i<    1"1     ""     .\n-,-..'    '.Mth 
The   grou!. 
bv  2.5ft. 
with  two  I 
200ihildren.      1 
piiiliipals,    St  li'  • 
extemallv    will 
reUevcd  wi  '    ' 
window's, 
intemallv 
b-  i        -    ' 
sb; 


builder,  of  i''"*'""- "i;Vn  V 
of  Mr.  John  Lowe,  F.RI.B.A  , 

RoT-U.  Horn.,  Br-if-KTBiAt 
portion  of  thus  Urije  •Ktjblinhm-  • 
rapid  progress  under  the  hmnd  <■! 


342 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


Bros.,  who  have  the  contract  for  the  huilding: 
■work.  Visitors  to  the  Hotel  will  ascend  by 
hydraulic  lifts  ;  these  are  on  what  is  called  the 
continuous  ram  principle  which  consists  of  a  ram 
or  piston  of  a  length  equal  to  the  whole  height 
to  be  lifted,  this  works  in  a  cylinder  sunk  in  the 
ground.  No  lifting  chains  are  used.  Perfect 
safety  is  thus  insured,  also  ease  and  noiseless 
working,  and  freedom  from  \-ibration.  No  ex- 
pense has  been  spared  to  make  them  perfect  and 
absolutely  safe.  Mr.  E.  A.  Gruning,  F.R.I.B.A., 
is  the  architect  who  has  designed  the  building, 
and  Mr.  Frederick  Colyer,  M.Inst.C.E.,  is  the 
engineer  who  has  designed  the  lifts  and  the 
engineering  appliances,  and  Avill  superintend  the 
erection  of  same  with  the  architect. 

St.  Anne's-ox-tke-Sea,  Laxcashiee. — New 
schools  for  200  chOdren  have  just  been  completed, 
consisting  of  two  departmentsin  an  |_  shaped  form ; 
there  is  a  mixed  school  for  140  boys  and  girls, 
54ft.  by  '24ft. ,  with  two  class-rooms  adjoining, 
a  room  for  60  infants,  28ft.  by  20ft.,  with 
gallery.  The  principal  entrance  between,  with 
laratory  and  cloak-room,  leads  to  both  schools. 
The  rooms  are  loft.  6in.highto  the  wall-plate  and 
29ft.  to  the  ridge,  the  roofs  being  open,  with 
curved  principals.  The  walls  are  of  solid  brick- 
work ISin.  thick,  boarded  inside  for  3ft.  6in. 
high,  and  plastered  above  ;  the  roof  is  plastered 
against  the  spurs.  The  windows  are  glazed 
with  Hartley's  patent  rolled  plate,  cathedral 
tinted,  in  lead  diamond  quarries,  having  coloiu'ed 
margins.  The  design  is  of  simple  Gothic 
character,  in  good  plain  brickwork,  with  splayed 
stone  jambs  and  mullions  to  the  windows  and 
doorways,  and  splayed  weatherings  to  the  but- 
tresses ;  in  the  east  gable  is  a  large  four-light 
tracery  window.  The  roofs  are  slated  with 
Welsh  slates  having  ornamental  red  ridging. 
Ample  pro^'ision  is  made  for  ventilation  by 
grates  in  the  floor,  casements  in  windows,  and 
openings  in  gables.  The  rooms  are  warmed 
by  ordinary  grates  in  bold  stone  chimney- 
pieces.  The  site  (which  was  given  bj^  the  lord 
of  the  manor)  is  very  sp.icious,  and  is  inclosed 
by  brick  walls  neatly  coped ;  the  accommodation 
can  be  doubled  by  erecting  rooms  of  the  same 
size  in  a  reversed  position  so  as  to  form  an  i — ' 
shaped  block,  when  required.  The  works  have 
been  satisfactorily  carried  out  by  local  tradesmen, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs.  Longworth 
and  Gardner,  of  Preston.  The  entire  cost, 
including  all  fittings,  forming  and  enclosing 
playgrounds,  and  architect's  commission,  has 
been  £1,300. 

TrwAEDBEATH.  —  The  parish  -  church  of 
Tywardreath,  near  Par  station,  Cornwall,  was 
reopened  on  the  Sth  inst.  after  entire  rebuilding, 
■with  the  exception  of  the  tower  at  west  end,  and 
a  granite  arcade  of  seven  bays  on  south  of  nave. 
Till  recently  the  church  was  in  dangerous  and 
uninviting  condition  :  high  pews  filled  the  bod}- 
of  the  church  ;  the  old  fittings  had  disappeared, 
one  huge  gallery  blocked  up  the  south  transept, 
and  another  the  tower  arch ;  the  roofs  were 
concealed  by  plaster,  the  walls  and  arcade  were 
all  leaning,  and  confusion  and  dirt  reigned 
supreme.  All  has  been  changed.  The  new 
open  roofs  are  copied  from  the  old  work  and  in 
nave,  transept,  and  a  portion  of  south  aisle,  they 
are  of  pitch-pine.  The  chancel  and  chancel- 
aisle  roofs  are  boarded  and  pancUed  in  oak, 
with  carved  bosses.  The  walls  are  built  of  local 
stone,  the  dressings  are  of  Pentewan  stone,  in 
■which  material  is  executed  most  of  the  internal 
masonry.  The  old  oak  pulpit — apparently  built 
up  from  old  carved  pew-heads — has  been  refixed 
at  the  north  corner  of  chancel  step  on  a  base  of 
Portland  stone.  The  passages  are  laid  with 
encaustic  tiles, by  Messrs.  Minton,HollinsandCo., 
of  Stoke^on-Trcnt.  The  windows  have  been 
filled  with  tinted  and  coloured  glass  by  Mes.^rs. 
Fouracre  and  Watson,  of  Stonehouse.  The 
seating  in  nave  and  aisle  is  of  pitch-pine,  open 
and  with  squ^ire-headed  ends.  The  stalls  and 
the  new  parclose  screen,  shutting  off  the  chancel 
from  the  Rashleigh  or  south  chancel  aisle,  are  of 
English  oak,  and  have  been  carved  by  Mr. 
Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter,  who  also  carved  the 
heraldic  devices  on  seats  in  the  Eashleigh  aisle. 
The  bosses  and  wall-plate  of  roofs  and  the  pulpit 
base  were  carved  by  Mr.  West,  of  Plymouth. 
An  old  stone  altar  was  found  embedded  in  the  floor 
of  tho  Rashleigh  aisle,  and  has  been  reinstated 
and  supported  a  massive  oak  framework.  Mr. 
Goad  was  the  architect. 

York. — On   Tuesday  week   a   floriated   cross 
was  fixed  on  the  gable  of  the  south  transept  of 


York  Minster.  The  cross  is  upwards  of  4ft.  in 
length,  and  is  in  the  thirteenth. century  style, 
to  harmonise  with  the  architecture  of  this  part 
of  the  venerable  pile.  It  occupies  precisely  the 
same  position  which  the  old  cross  did,  of  which 
it  is  a  faithfid  reproduction,  from  a  design  by 
Mr.  Street,  under  whose  supervision  the  restora- 
tion will  be  brought  to  a  termination  at  no 
distant  date.  The  restoration  of  the  south 
transept  was  commenced  in  1871,  by  the 
liberality  and  public  spirit  of  the  late  Dean. 
The  interior  of  the  south  transept  was  restored 
and  its  ceiling  beautified,  this  portion  of  the 
work  being  finished  in  the  autumn  of  1874,  and 
a  grand  opening  ceremony,  extending  over  two 
days,  was  held  early  in  November.  The  exterior 
will  now  be  soon  out  of  the  workmen's  hands, 
when  the  scaffolding  will  be  taken  do'wn,  and 
the  boarding  from  the  entrance  to  the  transept 
to  the  east  end  removed,  when  the  fine  propor- 
tions of  the  southern  portion  of  the  choii'  and 
Ladye-chapelwillagain  be  brought  to  view,  and 
the  inclosed  ground  within  the  barricades  will 
be  cleared  and  properly  laid  out.  As  to  the 
entire  cost  of  the  restoration,  it  will  amount  in 
round  numbers  to  £.50,000.  The  new  floriated 
cross,  although  upwards  of  4ft.  in  length,  looks 
small  when  viewed  from  below.  It  is  the  same 
size  as  the  original  cross,  which  was  taken  down 
by  Archbishop  Blackbiu-ne  about  the  year  1730, 
and  succeeded  by  the  crocketed  pinnacle,  sur- 
mounted by  the  "fiddler,  which  ought  never  to 
have  been  placed  there,  but  is  now  taken  down. 


More   than   Fifty  Thousand   Keplies   and 

Lett'^rs  on  siiliieots  ol  Viiivri>:il  Interest  have  appealed  d'j^ing 
tliel;i5f  t'Ti  vc-rMii  tl-»  FNOI.I^H  MECHANIC  AXU  WOKLll 
VF  s(  '1>.  I  I  r,  i.t  .1  I'll  I.I  from  the  pens 
Sciriit  I  .ties  of  the  day 

or!i.'M.:L,  i  I pers.  and  countless  r 


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Its   the  best  medium 
I  .  ruents  to  be  brought 
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d.    Of 


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QUANTITIES. 

To  t/ie  Editor  of  the  Butldino  News. 
gin, — Instances  of  incompetence,  similar  to 
those  referred  to  in  Mr.  Reid's  two  letters,  are 
common  enough.  Whether  produced  by  architects 
or  quantity  surveyors,  is  a  matter  of  little  mo- 
ment ;  but  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that 
the  work  of  both  brnnches  of  the  profession 
should  be  well  done,  and  the  separation  of  the 
functions  of  architect  and  quantity  surveyor  is  an 
element  of  improvement. 

Whatever  may  be  the  cause,  the  fact  remains 
that  a  bill  of  quantities  produced  in  an  archi- 
tect's office,  ostensibly  by  him,  is,  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  a  bungling  production  partly 
from  the  want  of  the  special  training  of  a  quan- 
tity surveyor,  and  also  because  the  architect  has, 
in  many  cases,  acquired  the  impression  that  the 
quantities  produced  by  an  expert  sirrveyor  are 
needlessly  elaborate. 

We  are  too  apt  too  forget  the  homely  proverb, 
"  Jack  of  all  trades,  and  master  of  none."  The 
condition  of  architectural  design  at  the  present 
time  is  a  good  proof  that  the  art  of  arcliitecture 
is  a  sealed  book  to  many  of  its  practitioners.  The 
tendency  of  .all  the  best  practice  of  the  last 
twenty  years  has  been  in  the  direction  of  a 
separation  into  the  two  branches  before  referred 
to,  and  the  outcry  against  it  almost  invariably 
comes  from  the  incompetent  part  of  the  profes- 
sion. If  the  status  of  architects  and  surveyors 
could  be  raised,  there  would  be  no  need  for  the 
architect  to  supplement  his  architectural  -work 
with  quantity  work,  or  for  the  quantity  surveyor 
to  practise  architecture. 

The  title  of  architect  or  surveyor  is,  tothe 
majority,  synonj'mous  with  pretence  ;  the  facility 
with  which  many  architects  furnish  designs 
gratis,  or  with  small  chance  of  payment,  the 
readiness  with  wliich  they  work  at  all  manner  of 
percentages,  3.  2,  1,  has  led  the  outside  publicto 
form  a  very  singular  estimate  of  the  profession 
generally ;  and,  one  does  not  wonder,  when  one 
knows  that  the  smallest  of  the  before-mentioned 
percentages  is,  in  many  casfs,  not  cheap.  The 
large  number  of  highly- educated,  competent 
men  in  the  profession  of  architect  and  surveyor 
owe  it  to  themselves  and  the  public  to  distinguish 
themselves  from  this  residuum  of  empirics.  The 
way  appears  to  me  plain — a  compulsory  diploma 
for  both  architects  and  sui"vejors,  for,  although  a 
diploma  will  never  insure  art,  it  will  give  us  a 
warrant  of  the  capacity  of  the  practitioner 
which  we  can  obtain  in  no  other  way. 

Mr.  Hughes's  paper  was,  in  my  opinion,  a 
very  temperate  and  true  statement  of  facts,  and 
it  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  me  that  the 
Builders'  Societies  do  not  take  steps  to  producea 
combined  action  for  the  refusal  of  such  quanti- 
ties as  he  describes. — I  am,  &C. , 

John  Leanincj. 


TEEMS  OF  SUBSCEIPTIONS. 
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NOW  EEADY, 
Handsomely  boiind  in  cloth,  Vol.  XXXVm.  of  the  Bt-iLD- 
ING  News.    Price  Twelve  Shillings.      Order  at  once,  as 
only  a  limited  number  are  bound  up. 

Also  may  be  bad,  Vol.  XXXVII.,  price  12s. 
N.B.-  -Cases  and  vols,  must  be  ordered  through  a 
bookseller  or  newsagent,  as  the  regulations  of  the  Post- 
office  prevent  them  from  being  sent  by  post. 

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—V.  P. 
Drawixcs  Eeceived.— Canon  Davies.— H.  W. 


SiK, — I  have  been  much  amused  by  reading  in 
the  last  two  numbers  of  the  BtnLDLNa  News, 
what  professes  to  be  a  criticism  of  my  paper  on 
Quantities,  as  published  by  you  on  the  13th 
August. 

Your  correspondent  Mr.  Eeid,  in  his  second 
week's  letter  admits,  he  has  but  imperfecthj  loohed 
at  nui  paper,  and  jet  he  occupies  seven  columns 
of  your  valuable  space  not  in  criticising  any  of 
the  real  points  in  it,  but  by  indulging  in  the  use 
of  a  vast  amount  of  abusive  and  scurrilous  lan- 
guage, charging  the  master  builders  all  i-ound 
■with  motives  of  the  basest  character  ;  he  makes 
assertions  which  cannot  be  justified,  and  which 
would  be  grossly  libellous  if  made  concerning 
individuals  instead  of  a  class. 

I  don't  know  who  this  Mr.  Reid  is ;  but  I  feel 
quite  certain  he  is  neither  architect,  surveyor,  or 
builder,  and,  as  he  professes  to  write  for  others 
besides  liimself,  inasmuch  as  he  uses  the  words 
"we  "  and  "  us,"  I  think  it  due  to  your  readers 
and  to  myself  that  something  should  be  known 
of  Mr.  Reid's  "  qualific.rtion "  to  vilify  the 
character  of  the  whole  company  of  contractors, 
ridicule  surveyors  and  ynung  architects,  as  being 
subject  to  the  wily  influence  of  builders,  and 
champion  the  cause  of  quack  surveyors,  whose 
work  he  himself  describes  as  "grossly  careless," 
"loose  style,"  "meagre,"  "loose  manner," 
"  unhealthy  state,"  "the  evil  is  ■widespread," 
"imperfect,"  " cannot  be  defended,"  &e.  &-c., 
perhaps  Mr.  Eeid  ■wiU  enlighten  me  stiU  further 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


343 


before  I  decide  -whether  or  not  I  should  reply  in 
detail  to  his  extraordinary  epistles.  I  must 
however,  ask  him,  under  all  circumstances,  not  to 
expect  much  Latin,  no  subtle  charges  of  motives 
and  dishonesty,  unless  I  am  prepared  to  prove 
them  :  and  lastly  I  am  willing  to  show  him  not 
only  my  '■  hand"  but  my  foot,  and  he  will  then 
see  he  was  mistaken  when  he  fancied  he  saw  my 
"cloven  foot,"  and  if  I  do  reply  in  detail  I 
will  try  to  show  him  many  of  his  assertions, 
groundless,  quoting  his  own  words,  "It  is  won- 
derful how  assertions,  even  when  boldly  stated 
by  a  skilled  hand  (I  bow  low  to  you,  Mr.  Eeid), 
if  turned  round  and  examined  vanish  into  mid  air 
and  leave  but  a  faint  trace  beliind  them  of  their 
previous  existence.'" 

To  give  Mr.  Eeid  fair  play,  I  give  him  time  to 
read  my  paper  pei-feclJij,  a  copy  of  which  he  can 
have  by  applying  to  myself  or  Mr.  Knox,  the 
Secretary  of  the  National  Association  of  Master 
Builders.  In  the  mean  time  I  will  brieily  recapi- 
tulate the  points  of  my  paper  as  dealt  with  by 
Mr.  Reid.  If  I  understand  him  he  approves  of 
my  remarks  as  to  the  meaniiiff,  use,  aniadiniiloi/es 
of  a  bill  of  quantities.  Re  ai/,ves  with  me  that 
quantities  are  frequently  taken  in  a  very  slovenly 
hap.hazard  fashion  by  incapable  men,  and  that 
they  ought  to  be  correctly  taken  by  someone 
qualified  or  able  to  do  the  work.  ITe  does  not 
dis(ii)>i:.:  with  me  as  to  the  cost,  or,  as  to  who 
bears  the  cost.  He  sh  iris  the  questions  as  to  who 
appoints  the  surveyor,  who  is  responsible  for  the 
surveyor's  work,  who  oiifflit  to  be  responsible,  or 
whether  or  not  it  is  desirable  that  quantities 
should  form  the  basis  of  a  contract.  Re  agyees 
with  me  as  to  the  mode  of  measuring  work.  Re 
sliir/:s  the  questions  of  the  advisabilitj-  of  reject- 
ing faulty  quantities,  weeding  out  impostors,  or 
of  the  desirability  of  surveyors  giving  some 
proof  or  guarantee  of  their  fitness  for  their  work, 
or  of  the  fact  that  hundreds  of  builders  are  ruined 
by  the  inefficient  work  of  incompetent  and  irre- 
sponsible quantity-takers  such  ashehasdescribed. 
In  fact,  he  agrees  with  most  of  my  arguments  of 
any  importance  and  disagrees  with  none,  but  has 
taken  advantage  of  an  opportunity  for  lettin_ 
off  a  vast  accumulation  of  animosity  towards 
master  builders  generally,  that  must  have  been 
corked  up  for  some  time,  judging  from  the  expio 
sion  last  week. — Yours  faithfully, 

Edwaed  Hughes. 

Liverpool,  Uth  Sept.  1880. 


GLASGOW  Mt-NICIPAL  BriLDrN'GS 
COMPETITION. 

SiK, — The  general  competitors  have  much 
reason  to  complain  of  Mr.  Barry's  report.  In- 
stead of  choosing  the  best  design,  he  simply 
selects  the  cheapest !  He  says  he  felt  bound  to 
base  his  award  on  the  condition  that  the  building 
couldbeerectedfor£l.30,000.  Yet  the  magistrates 
at  their  meeting  had  said  they  knew  this  sum  was 
insufficient,  and  were  willing  to  give  more ;  the 
competitors  knew  this,  and  they  acted  accord- 
ingly. They,  and  Mr.  Barry  also,  of  course, 
saw  the  impossibility  of  a  building  of  such  a 
size,  with  any  reasonable  kind  of  exterior,  being 
executed  for  the  sum  named.  It  was  an  ad- 
mitted absurdity :  yet  on  such  baseless  condi- 
tions he  founds  his  report ! 

As  a  practical  man,  too,  he  ought  to  know — 
must  know— that  a  buUding  with  four  ornate 
elevations  cannot  be  done  at  a  shilling  a  foot,  at 
which  he  calculated.  The  jstone  which  will  be 
used  is  a  hard  sandstone,  and  I  expect  the  ele- 
vations in  the  courtyard,  as  well  as  those  to  the 
streets,  will  be  expected  to  be  of  stone.  It  is 
notj  however,  that  eight  fronts  cannot  be  done 
for  a  shilling  a  foot ;  I  limit  the  assertion  to  four, 
and  say  that  Mr.  Barry  ought  to  know  better. 
Wliat  he  paid  for  the  Art  Union  bmlding  in  the 
Strand  I  should  like  to  know.  If  four  fronts 
cost  a  shilling,  the  Strand  building,  with  one 
front  and  lighter  construction,  should  have  been 
done  for  ninepecce.     Was  it  so  ? 

I  notice  two  acts  of  unfairness  in  the  first 
prize  design.  The  windows  are  tinted,  con- 
trary to  the  instructions,  which  says  no  tinting 
will  be  allowed,  and  the  author  most  unfairly 
ignores,  in  the  elevations,  the  necessary  flues 
for  his  fireplaces. — I  am,  &c.,  M. 


COMPETITIONS  AND  THE  PROFES- 
SIONAL ARBITRATOE. 
Sir, — Mr.  Charles  Barry  seems  to  have  done 
his  best,  in  making  his  awards  in  the  Glasgow 


and  Westminster  competitions,  to  con\-incc  the 
1,300  or  1,400  architects  who  signed  the  recent 
memorial  to  the  Institute  tliat  even  with  the 
benefit  of  a  professional  arbitrator  competitions 
are  not  rendered  any  more  pleasant  or  satis- 
factory to  any  of  the  parties  concerned  than 
they  would  be  were  those  persons  by  whom  the 
buildings  are  required  left  to  select  for  them- 
selves. 

The  reports  appear  to  me  most  astounding 
productions,  and  the  selections  such  as  no  board 
or  committee  could  ever  have  arrived  at.  In  the 
case  of  the  Glasgow  competition,  Mr.  Barry 
commences  his  report  by  snying  ho  was  bound, 
in  the  first  place,  to  consider  the  cost  named  by 
the  Corporation  (£1-50,000),  and  to  make  his 
award  accordingly  ;  in  other  words,  I  presume, 
to  give  the  premiums  to  the  best  designs  which 
could  be  executed  for  something  like  the  sum 
proposed  to  be  expended,  and  to  set  aside  even 
better  designs  if  more  costly.  In  this  the  fair- 
ness, I  think,  everyone  will  agree.  Mr.  Barry 
then  proceeds  to  award  the  first  premium  to  a 
design  which,  he  says,  will  cost  at  least  £220,000. 
He  afterwards  tells  the  sorely-perplexed  Cor- 
poration that  there  are  some  much  better  designs 
ranging  from  £180,000  upwards.  Why  pay 
£220,000.  if  a  superior  building  can  be  had  for 
£180,000;- 

In  the  Westminster  competition  he  seems  to 
have  forgotten  that  he  was  in  any  way  boimd  to 
consider  the  cost  named  in  instructions  to  archi- 
tects (£1.5,000),  or,  perhaps,  he  has  given  it  the 
same  consideralion  as  he  has  at  Glasgow  ;  for  in 
this  case  he  has  selected  three  of  the  most  costly 
designs,  ranging  from  £21,000  to  nearly  £24,000. 

He  also  says  the  designs  submitted  "may  be 
roughly  divided  into  two  principles  of  treat- 
ment, as  far  as  plan  and  bulk  of  building  is 
concerned,  ^-iz.,  those  which  are  so  arranged  as 
to  obtain  their  window-lights  wholly  and  only 
over  the  area  shown  on  the  plan  of  ground 
issued  with  the  instructions,  and  the  other, 
those  who  depend  more  or  less  largely  on  Ughts 
obtained  over  the  adjacent  land  to  the  east"  ; 
and  in  the  next  paragraph  says,  "It  will  be 
ob?ious  that  the  first  class  avoid  any  interference 
with  the  ancient  lights  of  the  schools  on  the 
west  side."  This  may  be  very  obvioiis  to  Mr. 
Barry,  but,  I  must  confess,  I  am  so  obtuse  as  to 
fail  to  see  what  the  east  wall  of  the  new  building 
has  to  do  with  the  ancient  lights  of  the  schools 
on  the  west  side,  or  why,  when  pierced  with 
windows,  it  should  interfere  with  them,  but 
when  built  as  a  blank  wall  it  should  not  do  so. 
Of  course,  as  Mr.  Barry  justly  observes,  it  is 
desirable  not  to  depend  upon  light  from  the 
vestry's  adjacent  land  on  the  east,  becaus3  to  do 
so  would  diminish  its  value  [nnd  thus pra'^ticalbj 
increase  the  cost  of  the  Ijuildlnp).  Do  none  of  the 
designs  recommended  for  premiums  depend  more 
or  less  largely  on  Ughts  obtained  over  the 
adjacent  land  to  the  east— the  very  thing  he 
condemns?  If  the  public  are  at  last  permitted 
to  inspect  the  designs,  we  shall  see. 

Mr.  Barry  further  recommends  that  the  author 
of  the  design  he  places  first  should  receive  a 
present  of  £1C0,  because  it  will  bj  necessary  for 
hisi  to  prepare  "  entirely  new  plans "  !  Such 
are  the  benefits  to  be  obtained  by  the  vestry  with 
the  aid  of  a  professional  arbitrator.  I,  for  my 
part,  decHned  signing  this  memorial  to  the  In- 
stitute, for  of  what  benefit  can  it  be  to  any 
board  or  indiridual  to  have  a  nimiber  of  designs 
submitted,  and  then  not  be  able  to  select  that 
which  they  think  best ':  In  choosing  an  arbi- 
trator they  must  be  prepared  to  have  a  design 
selected  which  it  is  ten  chances  to  one  they  do 
not  like,  and  endure  aU  the  annoyance  and 
vexation  of  setting  aside  others  which  they  do 
approve  of.  Surely  this  is  absurd,  for  if  they 
are  not  to  be  allowed  to  judge  for  themselves, 
it  would  be  far  better  for  them  to  abandon  com- 
petitions altogether,  and  instead  of  choosing  an 
arbitrator,  or  allowing  the  Institute  to  choose 
one  for  them,  to  select  an  architect  in  whom  they 
have  confidence,  and  instruct  him  to  prepare  a 
design.  In  this  way  they  would  have  some 
chance  of  getting  what  they  require.  'VS'ho 
would  think  of  un-iting  a  number  of  tradesman 
to  submit  samples  of  goods,  and  then  asking 
another  of  the  same  trade  to  select  for  themf  Or 
who  would  think  of  taking  the  advice  of  a  num- 
ber of  physicians  or  soUcitors,  and  then  calling  ! 
in  another  to  say  whose  advice  or  opinion  they 
should  take  r  There  may  be  some  who  do  such 
things,  but  they  are  not  over  wise,  I  think,  for, 
as  it  is  evident,  it  is  the  one  who  is  called  in  to 
finally  advise  in  whom  they  have  confidence ; 


theymight  as  well  go  tohim  in  the  first  instance, 
and  thus  save  time  and  money.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  feel  that  they  are  themselves  the  best 
judges  of  what  they  require,  let  them  .wlect  for 
them-selves.  Those  wliodo  not  like  compttitionaon 
these  terms  are  not  bound  to  cuter  into  tlicm. 
Doubtless  many  mistakes  occur,  and  the  beat 
design  is  not  always  chosen,  either  by  board  or 
professional  arbitrator ;  but  this  is  the  caw  in  all 
kinds  of  competitions.  Can  anyone  pretend  to 
suppose,  say,  in  a  Civil  Service  examination, 
that  those  who  obtain  the  highest  nuni'wr  of 
marks  are  always  tbo.se  the  bent  qualified  for  the 
posts  they  are  to  occupy  r  No :  if  wo  are  to 
have  competitions  at  all,  we  uiu.st  be  content  to 
take  them  as  they  are.  There  is  much  to  bo 
said  both  for  and  against  the  system. 

A  young  or  unknown  man,  with  his  reputation 
yet  to  make,  would  argue  in  favour  of  the 
system ;  but  one  who  has  already  m«do  hit 
name  would  be  glad  to  sco  it  aboli.ihed  to- 
morrow. In  fact,  all  the  argument  fur  and 
against  the  system  resolves  itself  intu  thi.-  :  that 
it  is  a  good  thing  fur  men  unknown  to  the  pub- 
lic, as  it  often  enables  them  to  make  a  name, 
which  otherwise  they  might  have  little  chance 
of  doing,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  it  deprive* 
those  who  are  known  of  many  a  good  piece  of 
business. — I  am,  &c., 

Hugh  Roumieu  OoroH. 


THE  ALEXANDRA  PALACE   INDUSTRIAL 
EXHIBITION'. 

SiE,— Having  read  your  review  of  the  Industrial 
Exhibition  at  the  Alexandra  Palace,  I  beg  to  moke 
certain  corrections  so  far  as  regards  my  own  work, 
"  classed  No.  2,''  in  your  description  of  .Sept.  10. 
The  satinwood  bordering  of  the  walnut  lirepUce 
and  over-mantel  is  entirely  painted  by  hand,  not 
stencilled  as  described. — I  am,  \-c., 

JOlCi  BeAUCIUXF. 


OLD  FARM-HOUSE  AT  SALTFORD. 

Sm, — Ks  remains  of  buildings  of  the  Norman 
Transition  period  are  verj-  rapidly  disappearing 
from  this  coimtry,  I  beg  to  call  the  attention  of 
your  readers  to  an  old  farm-house  near  the 
church  at  Saltford,  Bath.  A  large  Transition 
window  remains,  very  perfect,  with  several 
Norman  fragments  in  the  walls  below  it ;  the 
large  window  has  been  partially  blocked  up  by 
a  modem  buttress,  but  enough  remains  exposed 
to  show  the  design,  and  a  careful  examination 
would,  I  think,  probably  prove  the  ground  floor 
and  one  piece  of  the  main  hou.se  to  be  Norman 
strengthened  in  the  early  loth  century  by  ao^le 
buttresses.  The  wing  of  the  house  Ls  either 
Jacobean  or  later  date.  Upon  the  eastern  gable 
a  lion  is  carved  upon  the  apex  stone,  or  rather, 
probably,  upon  examination,  it  woiJd  prove  to 
have  been  removed  there  from  the  earlier  building 
below.  In  the  parlour  is  a  late-period  Gothic 
chimney-piece  with  a  Jacobean  top  of  arm.",  and 
a  date  not  of  the  same  date  as  the  cliimney- 
piece.  Altogether,  the  house  is  very  well  worthy 
a  visit  from  any  antiquarian  tmveUing  that 
way;  it  is  reported  to  have  beloBfed  to  the 
Abbey  of  Keynsham,  and  raiy  possibly  have 
been  the  Grange.  ,       ,       u»    » 

My  visit  was  a  hurried  one  before  brcakloat, 
so  that  I  had  not  time  to  examine  it  carvfuUy. 
Situated  just  below  the  scone  of  the  battle  of 
Lansdown,  the  house  must  have  witnc<»eJ  wme 
exciting  scenes  in  that  eventful  day,  but  my 
object  in  writing  is  to  preserve  the  recoUection 
of  a  very  early  house.— 1  am,  if.  _   „   ^ 

■^  T.  S.  Pope. 


JUSTICE  TO  IKELAKD. 


SiE,— Toiu:  corrcsp- 
donius,"   in   vi.siting 
your  readers    his  di 
sions,  has  offered  no  >■ 
to  Ireland,"  which  a  I. 
mand,  and  it  is  to  )■■ 
profiting  by  '   - 
likewise."   In  - 
tions  of   Iri.-! 
tion  against  Lv.i .    . 
ously  a  matter  of   itii 
loss  to  imagine  how  1 
town,  either  by  rail  •  : 
struck  by  iU  surroui.  . 
eight  hills,  all  over  1 
and  most  of  then^  pr 
of  five  or  six  miles  from  th' 


■ing 


•el. 
vliai 
own; 


ol  nve  or  SIX  mura  ii">"    >...--. 

nor,  how  he   covdd   have    walked  through  lU 


Ui 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


streets  ■without  being-  impressed  by  the  mountain 
wall  which  forms,  apparently,  the  terminus  of 
so  many  of  them.  As  an  Englishman  who  has 
seen  most  of  them,  I  would  incline  to  say  that 
Belfast  will  compare  favourably  with  any  town 
of  the  sanie  size  in  the  British  Islands,  except,  of 
course,  Edinbiirgh,  which  is,  admittedly,  both  in 
picturesque  beauty,  and  in  learned  fame,  the 
tnte  "  Northern  Athens."  It  is  a  little  surprising 
that  your  correspondent,  who  seems  to  have 
been  on  the  quest  for  good  specimens  of  modern 
Grothic,  should  have  overlooked,  whilst  in  Bel- 
fast, Mr.  Lynn's  fine  Carlisle  Memorial  Church, 
and  also  the  late  Mr.  Hevey's  Catholic  Church 
(especially  the  spire)  in  Donegall-street  ;  also 
when  in  Dublin,  whilst  noticing  the  Findlater 
Church,  in  Eutland-square,  he  should  not  have 
somewhat  to  say  in  praise  of  Pngin's  Church  in 
Thomas-street,  which,  if  am  thing,  would  have 
reminded  him  of  Continental  specimens. 

It  is  also  a  pity,  though,  no  doubt,  time  may 
have  been  limited,  that,  as  he  so  justly  admires 
Mr.  Street's  restoration  of  Christ  Church 
Cathedral,  Dublin,  that  he  did  not  visit  the  ex- 
tremely interesting  restoration  of  the  old  13th- 
century  Cathedral  at  Kildare,  now  far  advanced, 
under  the  direction  of  the  same  architect.  Your 
correspondent  has  s-hown  that  there  are  many 
modem  buildings  of  importance  to  attract  archi- 
tectural tourists  to  Ireland ;  may  I,  through 
you,  remind  them  of  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman's  state- 
ment, that,  of  the  minor  Romanesque  styles,  Ire- 
land possesses  the  most  interesting,  the  remains 
of  which  cover  a  peiiod  hardly  represented  in 
England,  and  that,  moreover,  it  has  been  so 
grafted  on  to  native  aiid  original  Celtic  style, 
that  the  two  appear  now  to  be  one  single 
groTnth,  and  offer  a  field  of  study  to  be  found 
nowhere  else  in  Europe. — I  am,  &c., 

F.  W.  LOCKWOOD. 

5,  Corn  Market,  Belfast. 


GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS. 
SiE, — In  your  article  of  last  Friday's  date,  an 
error  has  occurred  ;  the  designs  described  by  you 
under  the  m^tto  '*  St.  Iveutigern,"  are  mine,  and  I 
will  be  glad  that  you  correct  this  in  yoiur  issue  of 
nest  Saturday. — 1  am,  &c., 

WiiLiAii  Landless. 
227,  West  George-street,  Glasgow. 
Sept.  11,  1880. 


CHIPS. 

A  number  of  Boman  remains  have  just  been  dis- 
covered at  Risehow,  near  FUmhy,  during  the  con- 
struction of  a  colliery  railway.  Mr.  Joseph 
Robinson,  of  Maryport,  in  a  Jetter  to  a  local  anti- 
quarian society,  states  thatat  first  bethought  they 
had  come  upon  the  Roman  road  to  Maryport  camp, 
for  which  he  has  made  mi>ny  tries  at  Flimby.  The 
stones  proved,  however,  to  be  parts  of  foundation 
of  a  building.  The  masonry  is  of  fine  blocks  of 
grey  freestone,  well  set,  formiiig  a  3ft.  thickness  of 
wall,  and  extending  13ft.  Tin.  each  way,  from  an 
angle.  Nearby,  a  water-bottle  with  handle  on  one 
side,  and  charcoal  9in.  deep,  and  containing 
small  pieces  of  bone,  proved  that  a  burial  had 
taken  place.  The  proprietor  of  the  Flimby  Col- 
liery has  arranged  for  the  deviation  of  the  pro- 
posed railway,  and  has  adopted  means  for  the 
investigation  of  the  remains,  which  are  presumed 
to  be  those  of  a  watch-tower. 

An  extensive  fire  occurred  on  Friday  evening  at 
the  workshops  of  Messrs.  J.  Brass  and  Co., 
builders,  situate  between  Old-street  and  Willow- 
grove,  St.  Luke's,  and  before  the  flames  could  be 
extinguished,  a  building  of  two  floors  100ft.  by 
30ft.  was  almost  destroyed.  The  cause  of  the  out- 
break is  unknown.  On  the  fol'owing  night  the 
workshops  of  Mr.  Coad,  builder,  situate  between 
High-street  and  George- street,  Camberwell,  were 
burnt  down. 

The  bells  in  the  parish  of  Dawlish  are  being  re- 
hung  with  new  framing,  fittings,  and  chiming 
apparatus ;  the  contract  is  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  W. 
Aggett,  of  Chagfurd,  Devon. 

There  has  been  recently  patented  in  Germany  a 
varnish  for  roofs,  which  is  composed  of  35  parts  of 
clay  slate,  30  parts  mica  slate,  and  35  parts  rosin, 
all  finely  powdered  and  heated  with  50  parts  of 
tar. 

On  Saturday  the  Mayor  of  Liverpool  presented 
to  a  brickmaker,  named  Edward  Parr,  a  silver 
watch  and  about  £4  in  money,  in  recognition  of 
gallantry  displayed  in  saving  a  little  boy  from 
drowning  in  a  deep  clay  pit.  The  memorial  was 
subscribed  to  by  the  Bishop  of  Liverpool,  Lord 
Sandon,  Mr.  Whitley,  M.P.,  Lord  C.  J.  Hamilton, 
and  about  200  others.  Parr  has  been  instrumental 
in  saving  a  number  of  lives. 


5Inttit0mmimtcati0«. 


QUi:STIONS. 

[6222.]— Ancient  Lig-hts.— What  is  the  present  law 
in  relation  to  ancient  lights  ?  An  answer  to  this  and 
to  "Chips"  (6-207,  Au^.27th,  ISSO),  would  be  gladly  wel- 
comed by  many  readers.— "Walter  T.  Feldon. 

[6223.]-Mounting  Drawings. -What  is  the  best 
method  oi  mounting  di-awing^  on  sti-aineis  I  Should  the 
mount  paper  be  pasted  on  the  linen  before  or  after  strain- 
ing I  If  the  former,  should  the  drawing  be  pasted  on 
before  or  after  !  Should  the  drawings  be  pasted  all  over, 
or  only  on  the  edges .'  Is  the  best  material  paste  or 
starch  ?— B.  D. 

[6224.]— New  Roads.— I  should  feel  much  obliged  if 
some  one  could  inform  me  whether  a  decision  has  been 
given  respecting  new  roads,  that  "  frontage"  did  not  in- 
clude sideage  J  I  understand  such  a  case  was  reported  in 
youi-  paper  a  few  months  ago. — Dot. 

[6225.]- Smokeless  Stoves.— Will  some  one  con- 
versant with  stoves  kindly  answer  the  following  ques- 
tions:-!. What  are  the  best  smoke-consuming  stoves  ? 
2.  Are  thy  absolutely  smoke-consuming,  or  only  com- 
paratively J  3.  What  is  the  principle  upon  which  they 
are  constructed  ?  and,  4,  what  is  the  best  method  of  con- 
verting ordinaiT  register  stoves  so  as  to  contsume  their 
own  smoke  ?— B.  J.  J). 

[6226  ]  —  Architects'  Commission.  —  In  the 
absence  of  any  written  agreement  between  architect  and 
proprietor  as  to  charges,  can  the  architect  claim  by  law 
the  usual  5  per  c:nt.  commission  upon  the  outlay?— 
B.  E.  E. 

[6227.]-Burningr  Ballast.— Having  a  large  quan- 
tity of  clay  to  burn  for  ballast,  we  should  feel  obliaed  by 
some  of  your  readers'  oiiinions  as  to  the  best  way  of  doing 
same,  with  the  probable  cost,  and  the  quantity  of  coal 
required  per  cubic  yard;  labour  3s.  4d.  per  day,  coal  16s. 
per  ton.  — Constant  Header. 

[6228.1— Examinations. — Could  any  of  yourreaders 
give  me  the  following  information  : — 1.  A  list  of  the  exa- 
minations that  are  beneficial  to  the  student  in  a  borough 
engineer's  oflSce!  2.  Where  could  I  obtain  particulars  of 
the  several  examiaatiorxs  I  3.  What  books  would  you 
recommend ! — Nemo. 

[6220.]— Indentures.— Will  some  reader  kindly  tell 
me  whether,  if  I  have  my  indentures  cancelled,  it  will  be 
any  detriment  to  me  in  my  future  career  .'  The  architect 
I  am  articled  to  is  giving  up  his  business,  and  offers  to 
cancel  them.  I  have  served  a  little  more  than  7-12ths  of 
my  time.    There  was  no  premium  paid.— Pupil. 

[6230.] -aas  for  Drawing-  Oflace.— What  is  the 
best  way  of  lighting  a  drawing  table  J  The  following 
point-s  seem  to  be  important : — 1,  kind  of  bmrner  ;  2,  fixed 
or  movable  ;  3,  if  movable,  whether  a  jointed  bracket  or 
a  burner  on  a  weighted  stand  connected  to  the  gas-pipe 
by  a  flexible  tube  is  best ;  4,  height  above  drawing-board ; 
5,  shade,  if  any.— X.  X. 

[6231.]  — Duke  of  Devonshire's  Cottages.— I 
notice  in  your  issue  of  the  10th  inst.  some  remarks  upon 
the  cottages  erected  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  on  his 
estate  at  Garrauribeen,  Co.  Cork,  in  which  the  R.  Society 
advise  every  gentleman  about  to  build  cottages  to 
study  these  plans.  Can  any  one  kindly  inform  me  where 
the  plans  can  be  seen,  and  if  published  in  any  fonu  .'— W. 
Herring. 

[6232.] -Sloping  Church  Floor.— While  taking 
some  photographs  of  Badingham  Church,  near  Fjiam- 
lingham.  Suffolk,  last  week,  I  observed  that  the  floor  of 
church  slopes  frcm  east  end  to  west  door  6ft.  The  local 
tradition,  as  related  to  me  by  the  rector,  is  that  there  is 
but  one  other  instance  of  such  an  inclined  plane  to  east  in 
the  kingdom.  Is  this  so  ?  Can  any  readergive  the  other 
example,  or  correct  the  assertion  ?  -  J.  D.  P. 

[6233.]-Grlass  Painting-.— I  shoidd  be  obliged  if 
some  kind  reader,  practically  acquainted  with  the  subject, 
would  inform  me  if  it  is  possible  for  an  amateur  to  make 
the  metallic  colours  used  in  the  above  with  satisfactory 
results.  Are  professional  glass  painters  in  the  habit  of 
making  their  own  pigments  .'  If  so,  are  the  said  pigments 
in  any  way  superior  to  those  procmable  at  the  colour- 
man's  I — AucniTECT  Interested. 

[6234.]— Architects'  Rights.— Will  any  one  inform 
me  as  to  the  legal  aspect  of  the  fo  lowing:— After' tenders 
have  been  procured  for  a  house  the  proprietor  desir-s  the 
cost  reduced  ;  the  lowest  tender  and  the  work  are  '*cut 
do\vB"  to  meet  the  pecaniary  requirements.  When  the 
house  is  ready  for  slating  the  proprietor  objects  to  some 
of  the  work  as  not  being  strong  enough,  expecting  to  find 
this  portion  as  in  the  previous  estimates.  1.  Is  the  archi- 
tect legally  responsible  for  the  so-called  defective  work  ? 
2.  Can  the  architect  re.-^ign  his  position  ;  and,  if  so,  cm  he 
claim  the  percentage  arranged  for  ?  3.  ^V^lat  is  the  legal 
and  right  way  to  proceed  in  the  case .' — J.  D. 

[6235.] -Sub-Contracts. —I  am  building  some  villas 
and  sublet  the  brickwork,  the  bricklayer  finding  his  own 
scaffulding,  and  agreeing  to  let  me  have  use  of  samti'  for 
other  trades  until  roofed  in  and  pointed  down  and  his 
contract  completed,  he  undertaking  not  to  remove,  or 
cause  to  be  removed,  same  until  his  contract  is  tini;-hed. 
He  overdraws  and  threateas  to  take  his  plant  away.  I 
serve  him  with  a  notice  to  say  if  I  require  I  shall  carry  on 
his  work  and  charge  him  with  any  exti-a  expense.  What 
step  can  I  take  to  detain  the  scaffolding !— Old  Scb- 
scbieer. 

[6236.]- Ordnance  Survey. —Will  someone  please 
give  the  title  and  publisher  of  any  work  which  fuliy  ex- 
plains the  ordnance  survey  J — J.  P. 

[6237.] -Dividing  School  Room.— I  am  anxious 
to  divide  a  girl's  schoul-room  from  t-e  infants'  room  by 
means  of  a  movable  partition  or  doors  which,  when 
away  will  allow  the  two  rooms  to  be  used  as  one  for 
meetings  or  lectures.  Will  any  of  your  readers  kindly 
sug-est  the  construction  of  the  partition  that  it  may  be 
sound  proof  ?  The  width  of  opening  is  20ft.,  and  height 
to  flit^  beam  12l't.  6iD.  I  have  space  for  doors  if  folded 
back,  but  not  for  them  to  slide.—  Z. 


JiUFLIJES, 

[6217.]— Band  Saws. —In  reply  to  "An  Estate 
Steward"  for  cutting  hard,  close-grained  woods  such  as 
oak,  beech,  ash,  &c.,tiie  gauge  of  the  band  saws  employed 
should  be  as  follows  : — 

Saws  up  to  14ft.  long  of  any  width  21  gauge. 
„  17ft.  „  „         20    „ 

„  20ft.  „  „  19     „ 

„  24ft.  „  „  IS     ., 

30ft.  „  „  IS     „ 

The  teeth  of  the  saw  should  be  more  upright,  and  spaced 
finer,  and  the  set-gauge  less,  than  those  used  for  cutting 
suft  wood,  such  as  pine.  For  woods  of  a  woolly  fibre,  such 
as  poplar,  the  teeth  of  the  saw  would  be  coarse  in  space 
and  set.  The  saw-wheels  should  not  be  of  too  small 
diameter,  say,  not  less  than  30in.,  as  the  saw  blades  are 
more  likely  to  fiacture  over  small  wheels  than  large, 
owing  to  the  more  acuts  angle  at  which  they  impinge  on 
the  periphery  of  the  wheel.  The  saws  should  b«s€'t  with 
a  bio  win  preference  to  bending,  as  the  teeth  stand  better 
to  their  work.  As  regards  the  amount  of  set  necessary, 
no  arbitrary  rules  can  be  laid  down  ;  but,  loughly  speak- 
ing, the  harder  the  wood  the  less  the  set  required.  As 
regards  the  correct  speed  for  the  saw  to  run  at,  about 
4,000  feet  per  minute  is  the  speed  given  by  Powis  Bale, 
who  is  considered  an  authority.  In  conclusion,  I  can 
strongly  recommend  "  An  Estate  Steward"  to  get  a  re- 
cently published  book,  entitled  "  Woodworking  Machi- 
nery. Management  of  Saw  Mills,"  &c  ,by  M.  Powis  Bale, 
M.  Inst.  M.E..  published  by  Crosby  Lockwood  and  Co. 
He  will  find  in  it  a  lai-ge  amount  of  useful  information. 
— An  Old  Chopstick. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 

EIATTERS. 

BnoatLET.— Mr.  J.  T.  Harrison,  C.E.,  an  in- 
spector of  the  Local  CTOverumeut  Board,  held  an 
inquiry  on  Tuesday  into  an  application  made  by 
the  Local  Board  of  Bromley,  Kent,  for  sanction  to 
borrow  £10,500  to  enable  them  to  construct  the 
Raveusbourne  Valley  Sewer,  designed  to  drain 
Bromley  and  Shoitlands,  in  the  paneh  of  Becken- 
liam.  It  was  explained  that  it  was  proposed  to 
construct  the  sewer  of  an  egg-shape,  'Sit.  by  2ft., 
and  it  would  extend  from  iSti'eamlet-place,  near 
the  station  of  the  London,  Chatham,  and  Dover 
Railway,  to  the  West  Kent  sewer  in  the  Bromley- 
road,  Lewisham.  Mr.  Harrison  intimated  at  the 
close  of  the  inquiry  that  he  should  present  a 
favourable  report  to  the  Local  Government 
Board. 

Ckopstone. — For  some  time  past,  two  new  filter 
beds  have  been  in  course  of  construction  at  Crop- 
stone  in  connection  with  the  Waterworks  belonging 
to  the  Leicester  Corporation.  One  of  these  beds 
was  completed  on  Thursday  week,  and  about  sixty 
gentlemen  assembled  to  inspect  the  works.  The 
filters  are  td  stone  from  the  Duke's  quarry,  What- 
staudwell,  Derbyshire,  the  materials  used  for  filter- 
ing purposes  cousistiug  of  stone  from  Swithland, 
upon  which  is  placed  sand,  from  the  bed  of  the 
Trent,  after  undergoing  a  washing  process.  Mr. 
Thomas  Hawksley,  C.E.,  the  engineer  for  the 
Waterworks  Company  previous  to  the  transfer  of 
the  works  to  the  Corporation,  in  187S,  has  act^das 
consulting  engineer  to  the  latter  body  during  the 
formation  of  the  new  filters,  Mr.  F.  Griffith  having 
discharged  the  duties  of  resident  engineer  and 
manaoer ;  the  contractors  being  Messrs.  John  Wood 
and  Sons,  of  Leeds.  The  total  cost  is  about  ±'8,000. 

Parisian  Sewees.— At  the  end  of  last  year 
Paris  possessed  15G  leagues  of  canalisation  for 
sewage,  comprising  the  large  sewer,  the  medium 
sewer,  and  ordiuary  sewers ;  besides  05  leagues  of 
ramification  of  secondary  importance.  To  com- 
pltte  the  work,  nearly  100  leagues  in  addition  are 
needed ;  that  is  to  say,  the  complete  system  of 
Paris  sewers,  once  achieved,  will  exceed  300 
leagues  in  total  length.  The  Prefectoral  Adminis- 
tration has  prepared  a  long  report  on  the  project 
of  effticting  this  completion ;  and  this  document 
will  shortly  be  considered  at  a  seance  of  the 
principal  c:uncil. 

RiVEE-PoLLUTiox  IX  Sttssex.— Ou  Wednesday 
the  question  of  the  serious  pollution  of  the  river 
Aruu  and  its  adjacent  streams  was  brought  before 
the  Horsham  Guardians  (as  the  rural  sanitary 
authority)  by  Dr.  Kelley,  of  Worthing,  district 
medical  officer  of  health.  The  report,  w  hich  was 
a  long  and  elaborate  analysis  of  the  sewage  con- 
tamination of  the  Aran,  stated,  as  the  result  of 
Dr.  Kelley's  investigation,  that  the  pollution  of 
the  liver,  streams,  and  mill-ponds  near  the  Bro^d- 
bridge  conjunctions  of  the  above  watercourse 
could  be  traced  unmistakably  to  the  defectire  out- 
fall of  the  Horsham  new  sewage  farm.  Along  the 
river,  some  distance  west  of  the  town,  all  the 
water  had  become  a  black,  thick,  offensive  fluid, 
exhaling  dangerous  gases  ;  and  this  was  evidently 
the  cause  of  the  death  of  the  preserved  fish  on  Mr. 
Standford's  estate.  Dr.  Kelley  pronounced  the 
sewage  pollution  of  the  river  very  serious  as  re- 
gards local  public  health,  and  detailed  the  results 
of  his  technical  inspection  as  district  officer  of 
health.  He  had  also  found  that  the  stench  was 
unbearable  in  those  branches  of  tihe  River  Arun 
agitated  by  the  mill-wheels,  and  he  called  upon 
the  Horsham  Rural  Sanitary  Authority  to  lose  no 
time  in  dealing  with  the  pollution  of  the  above 


Sei't.  17,  1880, 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


345 


waters.  The  siiardians  decided  to  co-opprate  with 
the  Horsham  Local  Board  iu  steps  to  be  taken  for 
remedying  the  eviJ. 


LZaAL  INTELLIGENCE. 

How  SuEUBBAi-  DWEIXIXGS  ARE  BUILT.  — HEAVY 

Penalties. — At  the  Eilmontou  Petty  Sessions  on 
Monday  last,  before  Messrs.  Abbiss  and  Howard, 
divisicnal  justices,  Mr.  George  Preedy,  builder,  of 
69,  Majfield-road,  Dalston,  appeared  to  answer 
four  summonses  obtained  at  the  instance  of  the 
Edmonton  Local  Biard,  which  charged  him  with 
infringing  the  by-laws  of  the  said  Board,  which 
provided  that  the  walls  of  new  buildings  "shall 
be  efficiently  and  solidly  bonded  and  put  together 
with  mortar  or  cement."  Mr.  Houlder,  solicitor 
and  clerk  to  the  Board,  conducted  the  proceedings, 
and  having  briefly  mentioned  the  facts,  called  Mr. 
Johnson,  assistant  surveyor,  who  deposed  that  in 
the  coarse  of  his  duties  he  visited  certain  houses 
which  were  bting  erected  by  the  defendant  at 
Jeremy's-green,  Lower  Edmonton.  He  noticed  a 
heap  of  substance  containing  about  82  yards 
covered  with  sand.  He  obtained  a  spade  and  dug 
into  the  heap,  and  found  that,  with  the  exception 
of  a  slight  coating  of  sand,  it  was  comm  n  mould. 
He  called  the  attention  of  the  defendant  to  it,  and 
he  said  he  had  purchased  the  heap  as  it  stood. 
Witness  told  him  that  it  must  not  be  used  for 
building  purposes,  and  ho  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
scrape  off  th-^  sand,  promising  not  to  use  the  soil. 
Witness  visited  the  place  the  next  day  and  found 
that  it  was  not  being  used.  On  a  subsequent  visit 
witness  noticed  that  the  heap  had  been  removed 
from  the  spot  where  he  first  discovered  it  to  another 
place  about  five  yards  off.  He  went  again  the 
next  day,  and  found  that  the  mould  had  been 
covered  with  sand  as  before,  simply  as  a  blind. 
Witness  remonstrated,  and  defendant  said  it  had 
been  covered  by  mistake.  He  was  warned  that 
the  material  must  not  on  any  account  be  used  as 
mortar,  and  he  said  it  should  not.  On  the  23rd  of 
August  witness  found  the  mould  and  sand  being 
screened  together;  on  the  24th  being  mixed ;  and 
on  the  2-5th  being  used  as  mortar  in  the  construc- 
tion of  four  dwelling-houses.  [Samples  of  the 
material  were  produced,  and  were  easily  reduced 
to  dust  between  the  lingers.]  Mr.  Houlder:  Can 
walls  be  solidly  bonded  together  with  that  stuff? 
Witness :  Xo ;  I  could  easily  knock  the  work  down 
with  my  hand.  Mr.  Houlder:  What  do  you  say 
the  stuff' consists  of  r  Witness:  Of  abouteightparts 
of  mould  to  one  of  sand  and  very  little  lime.  In 
reply  to  other  questions,  witness  said  that  loam  is 
not  a  proper  thing  to  be  used  at  all  in  mortar.  It 
must  be  somtthing  in  which  there  was  grit.  He 
also  stated  that  the  material  had  been  used  as 
mortar  to  the  height  of  from  four  to  five  feet  over 
the  whole  area  of  the  four  houses.  Mr.  Grindle, 
chief  surveyor  to  the  Board,  said  he  visited  the 
buildings  on  the  2.5th  of  August  with  last  witness, 
and  took  three  of  the  four  samples  which  had  been 
produced.  Bting  aware  that  they  were  watched, 
witness  had  driven  sharply  up  by  the  back  way  of 
the  buildings,  and  came  upon  the  defendant 
actually  mixing  the  mould  and  sand  together. 
Mortar  should  consist  of  sand  and  lime,  the  pro- 
tions  varying  according  to  the  sharpness  of  the 
sand.  With  good  sand  the  proportions  might  be 
6  to  1.  Mr.  Houlder :  Do  the  samples  contain  six 
of  sand  to  one  of  lime  ?  Witness :  I  should  say  one 
lime  to  sixty  of  foreign  material.  (Laughter.) 
Defendant  said  as  soon  as  his  attention  was  called 
to  the  bad  material  he  pulled  the  work  down  and 
built  it  up  with  better  stuff.  Mr.  Abbiss :  I  sup- 
pose it  would  have  remained  if  you  had  not  been 
found  out  '■  Defendant :  It  would.  Mr.  Abbiss : 
Pulling  down  the  work,  under  such  circumstances, 
is  no  answer  to  the  charge.  You  should  have  used 
proper  material  at  first.  Ton  were  cautioned  more 
than  once;  but  yon  went  on  notwithstandincj. 
You  knew  you  were  doing  wrong.  Defendant 
called  a  witness  who  said  he  was  employed  to 
manage  the  brickwork,  and  that  he  had  ustd  worse 
material  in  larger  jobs.  The  mortar  man  was  also 
eximined,  and  said  his  instructions  were  to  use  all 
sand.  It  was  his  fault  that  any  of  the  mould  had 
been  used.  Mr.  Abbiss  said  the  case  had  been 
fully  made  out,  and  that  the  Local  Board  were 
simply  doing  their  duty  in  seeing  that  houses  were 
built  that  would  be  safe  and  sound.  Defendant 
must  pay  the  full  penalty  of  £-5  in  respect  of  each 
house— £20,  together  with  £1  125.  costs,  and  in 
default,  a  distress  warrant  would  issue. 


On  Wednesday  week  the  foundation -stone  of  the 
new  Government  offices  which  are  in  course  of 
erection  at  the  Docks,  Cardiff,  was  laid  by  Sir 
Edward  Eeed,  M.  V  ,  iu  the  presence  of  a  numerous 
assembly.  The  buildings,  which  will  be  in  the 
Doric  style  of  architecture,  will  contain  accom- 
modation for  the  Board  of  Trade,  Mercantile 
Marine,  Post-office,  and  Telegraph  Departments. 
The  total  cost,  inclusive  of  the  I  rnd,  will  be  abo  ut 
£20,000 


Out  ©fScc  %Mx, 


A  CONSIDERABLE  revival  has  lately  taken  place 
throug-hont  Korway  in  all  department.s  of  the 
timber  and  planed-wood  trades,  which  have 
suffered  severely  from  a  protracted  depression. 
The  wood  pulp  manufacture,  however,  has  fared 
better,  the  demand  from  Great  Britain  and 
France  being  persistently  on  the  increase.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  year  there  were  21 
factories  at  work,  the  production  for  the  last 
three  years  being  as  follows: — 1877,  2!)5,700cwt., 
value  £78,300  ;  1S7S,  386,-lS2cwt.,  value 
£96,000;  1879,  400,000cwt.,  value  £90,000. 
Although  the  production  in  1879  exceeded  that 
of  the  previous  years,  prices  were  lower,  from 
the  great  local  competition  ;  but  as  esparto  grass 
has  risen  in  value,  it  will  vei-y  soon  favourably 
influence  the  price  of  wood  pulp,  the  more  as 
the  English  paper-makers  contracted  pretty 
largely  for  paper  pulp  during  the  winter  to  the 
amount  of  2,000  tons  in  excess  of  the  ordinary 
demand.  The  wood  pulp  used  in  England  con- 
tains about  50  per  cent,  of  moisture,  but  the 
French  paper-makers  prefer  having  it  air-dried, 
containing  only  8  per  cent.  There  are  also  four 
mills  employed  in  making  millboards  from  paper 
pulp.  These  are  used  for  band-boxes,  and  are 
all  sent  to  England.  The  export  dming  1879 
was  700  tons,  of  the  value  of  £7,200. 

A  CoKEESPoxDENT  of  the  AVunaum  says  that 
Audle}'  House,  in  Crane-street,  Salisbury, 
dating  from  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, at  one  time  the  property  of  the  Earls  of 
Castlehaven,  and  more  recently  used  as  a  work- 
house, but  now  for  some  time  unoccupied,  is 
threatened  with  destruction,  the  Corporation 
having  it  in  contemplation  to  sell  it  to  the  Dean 
aud  Chapter,  on  the  understanding  that  a 
grammar-school  should  be  erected  on  its  site. 
It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  interesting  specimens  of  our  early 
domestic  architecture  may  be  saved  from  the 
fate  which  has  unfortunately  befallen  so  many 
of  the  old  houses  in  Salisbuiy. 

The  revised  Directory  of  the  Science  and  Art 
Department  of  the  Committee  of  CouncO  on 
Education  for  1880  has  just  beeu^sued,  and 
contains  some  important  alterations  and  addi- 
tions. W^th  a  view  of  avoiding  any  appearance 
of  fraud  in  connection  with  the  examination 
papers,  it  has  been  decided  to  appoint  an  officer 
or  officers  who  shall  be  charged  v.ith  the  care  of 
the  papers,  and  who  shall  be  personally  respon- 
sible for  their  custody  and  distribution  after 
their  receipt  by  post.  In  future  the  teacher 
must  give  at  le  ist  28  lessons  in  each  subject,  of 
which,  as  heretofore,  the  student  must  attend  at 
least  20.  In  regard  to  endowed  schools  the 
endowment  of  which  exceeds  £300  a  year,  or  in 
which  the  education  is  wholly  or  principally 
provided  by  endowment,  the  question  of  earning 
grants  on  students  of  such  schools  will  be 
specially  considered  in  each  case  by  the  depart- 
ment. The  syllabuses  of  some  of  the  subjects 
have  undergone  modifications.  In  number  the 
changes,  which  are  not  all  enumerated  here,  are 
greater  than  have  been  made  for  some  years. 

Ox  Thursday  week,  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  who 
has  had  the  supervision  of  the  restoration  of  the 
south  transept  of  York  Minster,  paid  his  last  , 
visit  of  inspection  previous  to  the  scaffolding 
being  taken  down  from  the  southern  facade  of 
the  transept.  He  expressed  to  Mr.  Bradley,  the 
clerk  of  the  works,  his  warmest  thanks  for  the  i 
excellent  manner  in  which  the  great  work  had 
been  carried  out  to  its  .successful  termination. 
Mr.  Street  also  congratulated  Mr.  MUbum  upon 
the  satisfactory  execution  of  the  whole  of  the 
carvings,  and  especially  for  the  artistic  hand- 
ling which  he  has  displayed  in  catching  the 
spirit  of  the  old  work.  It  is  not  intended  to 
proceed  with  the  western  aisle  of  the  transept 
until  the  question  of  the  new  Will  Office  is 
finally  decided.  It  is  nine  years  next  November 
since  the  restoration  of  th-  south  transept  was 
commenced.  The  following  have  been  the 
contractors : —Mr.  J.  Eobinson,  plumber,  of 
Little  Stonegate,  for  the  leadwork  of  the  aisle 
and  transept  roof ;  Mr.  Rookledge,  of  Little 
Stoncffate.  for  the  new  boai-ded  ceiling,  ic. ; 
Mr.  .j;  Tlioma.*,  painter,  of  Stonegate,  for  decor- 
ating the  ceiling. 

A  TKiAi.  of  Baxter's  new  stone-breaker  took 
place  last  week  on  the  premises  of  the  Atlas 


Ironworks,  London-road,  Derby.  The  inventor 
of  the  new  machiue  is  Mr.  W.  H.  Baxter,  of 
Messrs.  W.  H.  Baxter  and  Co.,  engineers,  78, 
Albmn-strcet,  Leeds.  Mr.  Baxter's  idea  is  what 
he  calls  a  "knapping  motion,"  and  c'.n.-i>t«  of 
qiuck  movements  which  break  the  stones  with, 
It  IS  said,  50  per  cent,  less  cliippings,  and  makes 
a  better  sample  of  road-metal.  Buxt.  r'»  patent 
IS  worked  by  a  radial  reciproiatiug  bahuico 
motion  between  the  toggles  and  the  dri»-ing 
shaft,  which  greatly  relieves  tho  driving  shaft, 
and  also  gives  a  sudden  action  to  the  movable 
jaw  (hence  tho  terra  knapping  motion;,  which 
greatly  reduces  the  power  rc.iuired  to  work  tho 
machine.  Very  little  oil  is  re.juircd  to  keep  the 
working  parts  cool.  It  is  lukulatcd  that  two  of 
these  machines  can  be  worked  bv  the  same  power 
that  it  takes  to  work  one  of  anv  other  sort,  and 
at  tho  s:ime  time  do  double  the 'amount  of  work, 
which,  if  the  assertion  be  well  foundxl.  mtuit 
mean  an  enormous  saving  to  those  who  uw  thin 
class  of  machine.  The  machine  was  not  ^e«n  at 
its  best  at  the  trial,  but  according  to  a  local 
paper  it  performed  its  work  well.  It  was  driven 
by  the  same  engine  whi.h  was  driving  all  the 
machinery  required  at  the  Athis  Workf,  and  the 
stone  was  slaty  and  bad  for  breaking;  but  not- 
withstanding these  drawbacks,  a  g<  od  sample 
with  a  small  percentage  of  chippinps,  waa 
turned  out.  It  was  st  itcd  that  Baxter's  patent 
will  break  six  tons  of  stone  an  hour. 

The  northern  district  meeting  of  the  associa- 
tion of  Municipal  and  Sanit.iry  Eugimem  and 
Surveyors  will  be  held  at  Darlington  on  Friday- 
next  ;  the  members  will  assemble  at  ll.:i(i  in  the 
Council  Chamber.  Tho.^e  who  purpos-  attend- 
ing the  meeting  are  desired  to  indicate  the  same 
by  post-card  addressed  to  Mr.  P.  W.  Thuinaon, 
C.E.,  District  Honorary  Secretary,  Willington 
Quay,  Northumberland.  Ths  following  papeif 
will  be  read  and  discussed : — "  Sheldon  Sewage 
Disposal,"  by  James  Craggs ;  "Sanitary 
Appliances,  "  by  George  Bell.  During  the  day 
the  Darlington  Sewage  Farm,  the  Darlington 
Ironworks,  the  Park,  aud  the  Darlington  and 
Stockton  Waterworks  will  be  visited. 

The  Church  Congress,  at  Leicester,  opens 
on  September  28  and  continues  till  October 
1.  A  hall  has  been  erected  clo.se  to  the 
railway-station,  of  a  size  sufficient  to  contain 
the  largest  audience  ever  yet  assembled  on  such 
an  occasion,  aud  specially  adapted  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  meetings.  Its  acoustic  properties 
are  considered  to  be  particularly  promising. 
The  town  of  Leicester  is  preparing  to  give  the 
Congress  a  hearty  welcome.  The  Mayor,  Mr. 
John  Bennett,  is  inviting  the  memb-^rs  to  a 
cotntfattzioiu  to  be  held  at  the  close  of  the  pro- 
ceedings. Otters  of  ho.spitality  have  come  in 
from  Churchmen  and  Nonconformists  alike  to  an 
extent  sufficient  to  provide  for  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  expectc-d  visitors.  An  abundant 
supply  of  lodgings  h.as  been  secured  by  the  com- 
mittee in  addition  to  the  accommodation  supplied 
in  the  ordinary  way. 

Me.  Foed  Madox  Beowx  has  all  but  completed 
his  second  fresco  at  the  Town-hall,  Manchester. 
The  first  historical  event  in  councrlion  with 
Manchester  which  can  be  either  known  orreinjcc- 
tured  is  depicted.  The  subject  is  the  building  of 
the  Roman  fort  at  Mancunium— the  prc*nt 
Manchester— under  the  supervision  of  the  K<>man 
Governor  of  Britain.  Due  attention  hsi*  been 
paid  to  archa-ological  .!•■'-  •' ■  '■  '■  ••  -»l.'-e 
name  is  inscribed  on  th-  *^' 

being  the  one  for  who-  - 

ispositivefpigriiphic  e\  -'•" 

through  all  shades  of  !■  n 

to  the  scarlet   of   the   l 

The  waU  is  of  the  ligl  •  ■         "" 

still  found  in  the  neighbour!.^.  J  -f  M  ueh. -ter, 
its  tint  contrasting  pleasantly  with  the  bnghter 
red  of  the  brick  tiles  which  cap  it.  Tbcie  are 
one  or  two  minor  changes  and  additions  stiU 
to  make,  but  in  a  few  days  tho  fresco  wilL  no 
doubt,  be  open  to  in.spection. 

Ox  Wednesdav  the  Yorkshire  Fine  Art 
Society    opened  'its  doors,  in    the    Athcnffom 

Buildings.  Leeds,  for  the  -. -'  "  ■"""   "" 

the  present  occa^i'm  s<  v  ■ 
artists   who   have    alr> 
certainly  making  a  rc)  i. 
are  of  verj-  great  excelleui 


tl  I'llinn.  On 

-hown  by 

1    or   are 

m(  them 

rid  in  the  case  of 


others,  great  progress  Ls  shown,  as  will  be  evi- 
dent on  a  comparison  between  the  exam^ 
hung  now  and  in  the  summc  r.  The  hanging  has 
been  carried  out  by  Mr.  Thoa.  J.  Oullick,  lum- 


346 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  17,  1880. 


self  an  artist.  Every  work  either  atove  or  beneath 
"  the  line "  is  so  placed  that  it  can  be  seen 
with  little  sacrifice  of  the  beauty  of  detail.  The 
new  curator,  Mr.  James  Dallas,  has  also  done 
his  work  well.  The  arrangements  have  been  so 
fully  completed  that  at  the  press  view  on 
Satui'day  all  the  pictures  were  in  their  places, 
and  copies  of  the  catalogue  were  presented  to 
those  who  attended. 

The  Science  and  Art  Department  of  the 
Committee  of  Council  on  Education  has  pub- 
lished the  following  list  of  candidates  successful 
in  the  Competition  for  the  Whitworth  Scholar- 
ships, 1880  : — Arthur  L.  Jones,  20,  engineer's 
apprentice,  Carnarvon,  valne  of  scholarship, 
£150;  Benjamin  Angwin,  21,  engine-fitter,  St. 
Just,  £1.50  ;  Fred.  R.  G-.  Cockey,  20,  engineer 
student,  Frome,  £100  ;  Christopher  J.  Whitlaker, 
20,  pattern-milker,  Accrington,  £100;  William 
J.  Tilbrook,  21,  mechanical  engineer,  London, 
£100  ;  J.  TV.  M'Kenzie,  21,  engineering  student, 
Dublin,  £100  ;  William  H.  Potter,  19,  engineer's 
apprentice,  Nottingham,  £100  ;  Albert  Prankish, 
19,  engineer,  Manchester,  £100  ;  Ch.irles  Svmons, 
19,  engineer,  Dublin,  £100.  The  following  is 
the  result  of  the  examination  for  "WHutworth 
Scholarship  Prizes,  ISSO:— 1.  Schol.ars appointed 
in  1S77;— William  I.  Last,  first  prize,  £100; 
Fred.  Ogden,  second  prize,  £60  ;  David  A.  Low, 
third  prize,  £50  ;  William  S.  M'Kenzie,  fourth 
prize,  £40  ;  Alfred  D.  Ottewel),  fifth  prize,  £30. 
2.  Scholars  appointed  in  1878  .-—William  Groves, 
first  prize,  £100;  .Joseph  E.  Needham,  second 
prize,  £60;  William  H.  Tozer,  third  prize, 
£50  ;  Zachaiy  H.  Kingdon,  fourth  prize,  £40  ; 
Thomas  Mather,  fifth  prize,  £.30  ;  Thomas 
Duckworth,  sixth  prize,  £20.  3.  Final  Com- 
petition of  Scholars  appointed  in  1877: — W.  I. 
Last,  total  marks,  8,602,  first  prize,  £200; 
Fred.  Ogden,  7,788,  second  prize,  £100. 

A  PIECE  of  linen  has  been  found  at  Memphis, 
containing  540  picks  to  the  inch,  and  it  is  re- 
corded that  one  of  the  Pharaohs  sent  to  the 
Lydian  king,  Croesus,  a  corslet  made  of  linen 
and  wrought  with  gold,  each  fine  thread  of 
which  was  composed  of  300  smaller  threads 
twisted  together  '  The  ancient  Egyptians  wove 
a  fabric  called  the  "  linen  of  justice,"  or  "  jus- 
tification." So  beautiful  and  valuable  was  it 
that  it  was  esteemed  the  most  acceptable  offer- 
ing to  the  "  Restorer  of  Life."  A  few  hand- 
looms  can  still  be  seen  at  work  in  the  Eastern 
bazaars  of  Cairo,  the  cloth  woven  in  which 
rivals  in  texture,  colour,  and  design  the  finest 
glass  screens  of  Munich. 

A  Leather  Teades  Exhibition,  which  is  to 
last  a  week,  was  opened  at  the  Agricultural 
Hall,  Islington,  on  Wednesday  morning,  the 
object  being  to  give  the  public  as  practical  an 
idea  as  possible  of  an  article  which  is  used  in 
close  upon  three  hundred  industries,  and  in  the 
preparation  and  manufacture  of  which  consider- 
ably over  300,000  of  our  workpeople  are  em- 
ployed. There  are  on  view  a  large  assortment 
of  manufacttrred  articles,  such  as  leather  port- 
manteaus, hand-bags,  cigar-cases,  fcc.  Among 
the  exhibits  connected,  however  slightly,  with 
leather,  may  be  mentioned  Whight's  musical 
cabinetto,  waiTanted  to  play  any  tune,  requiring 
absolutely  no  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  per- 
former, and  Humphreys'  church  and  house 
building  stall,  the  erector  by  the  way  of  the 
recent  Workmen's  Exhibition  Building  in 
Victoria-street.  A  beautiful  suite  of  Roman 
furniture,  valued  at  £100,  is  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Rawlings,  accountant,  of  London-bridge. 

Me.  T.  J.  GAwrnoRP,  of  Long  Acre,  has  sent 
us  a  copy  of  the  fifth  edition  of  his  book  of 
"Designs  and  Examples  for  Metal  Work  for 
Ecclesiastical  and  Domestic  Purposes."  It  will 
be  found  useful  to  clergymen,  architects,  and 
others,  by  giving  some  general  idea  of  the  work 
he_  produces,  and  in  also  furnishing  a  list  of 
prices  at  which  this  class  of  manufacture  may 
be  obtained  from  him.  The  book  has  been 
revised  and  enlarged,  and  will  be  foimd  to  con- 
tain a  considerable  mimber  of  new  designs,  upon 
which  care  and  time  seem  to  have  been  "bestowed 
in  the  endeavour  to  furnish  only  such  as  shall 
be  correct  in  point  of  taste  and  consistent  with 
the  true  principles  of  art,  and  at  the  same  time 
of  a  generally  useful  character. 

Os  Wednesday  a  letter  of  some  importance,  as 
affecting  the  quinquennial  assessments  now  in 
progress,  was  received  by  the  Hackney  Board  of 
Guardians  from  the  Local  Government  Board. 
The  Board  find  that  in  some  instances  the  Metro- 


politan Workhouses  and  Infirmaries  are  alto 
gether  omitted  from  the  valuation  lists,  while  in 
others  the  amounts  inserted  are  considerably 
below  the  assessable  value  of  the  property,  the 
result  being  that  the  contributions  of  the  unions 
and  parishes  in  question  to  the  metropolitan 
common  poor  fund  are  necessarily  based  upon 
lower  totals  than  they  would  otherwise  be.  With 
a  view,  therefore,  of  remedying  this  anomaly  in 
future,  the  Board  feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  im 
press  upon  the  assessment  committees  the 
necessity  of  taking  steps  dming  the  pendin^ 
revision  of  the  metropolitan  valuation  lists 
for  insuring  that  all  workhouse  and  infirmary 
buildings  and  other  property  used  for  Poor^ 
law  purposes  within  the  parish  or  union  for  which 
they  act  shall  be  duly  entered  in  the  valuation 
lists  and  assessed  therein  at  their  proper  value 
The  Board  remind  the  assessment  committee 
that  under  the  provisions  of  section  32  of  the 
statute  32  and  33  Vict.,  cap.  67,  it  is  competent 
for  any  board  of  guardians  or  assessment  com- 
mittee in  the  metropolis  to  appeal  to  the  Assess- 
ment Sessions,  if  they  should  feel  aggrieved  at 
the  total  amount  of  the  gross  or  rateable  value 
of  any  parish  being  too  high  or  too  low.  In  the 
course  of  the  discussion  which  followed,  the 
chairman  said  the  local  assessment  committee 
had  made  a  valuation  of  the  union  promises,  and 
always  had  done  so,  on  what  they  considered  an 
equitable  basis ;  and  Mr.  Charles  Kemp,  the 
nominee  guardian,  expressed  his  opinion  that  it 
was  a  very  great  pity  that  workhouse  and  in- 
firmary buildings  should  be  required  to  be  rated 
at  all.  The  letter  was  handed  to  the  assessment 
committee,  to  take  such  action  upon  it  as  might 
be  deemed  desirable ;  and  they  were  further 
empowered  to  consult  a  professional  valuer  in 
the  case  of  large  properties  such  as  those  of  the 
gas,  railway,  water,  and  cemetery  companies. 

Might  not  the  society  journals  keep  to  their 
own  attractive  themes,  and  leave  "  engineering 
work"  alone?  Wednesday's  7rorM  has  the  fol- 
lowing : — "There  is  one  improvement  at  the 
Lakes  to  which  I  confess  that  I  am  helplessly 
bUnd — that  which  the  Manchester  Corporation 
is  supposed  or  supposes  itself  to  have  made  in 
Thirlmere.  The  beauty  of  the  little  lake — let 
what  may  be  said,  one  of  the  wildest  and  most 
romantic  of  them  all — is  gone.  I  saw  the  new 
embankment  only  from  the  main  road  at  the 
'  Nag's  Head '  at  Wythburn,  whither  I  had  gone 
for  the  purpose  of  climbing  Helvellyn,  and  from 
the  sides  of  Helvellyn  itself,  as  long  as  it  was 
possible  to  see  anything;  not  near  enough  to 
appraise  it  as  a  bit  of  engineering  work,  but 
quite  near  enough  to  judge  of  its  general  eft'ect." 
The  writer  of  this,  remarks  the  Manchester 
Gunrdian,  has  evidently  been  up  in  a  balloon. 
Not  a  sod  has  yet  been  turned,  nor  a  stone  laid, 
of  the  intended  embankment ;  nor,  from  all  we 
hear,  is  the  beauty  of  Thirlmere  likely  to  be 
"  spoiled  "  for  some  years  to  come. 


Lamplongrh's  Pyretic  Saline  isrefreshine, 

most  asiceablp.iind  the  preventive  of  FEVERS,  BILIOUSNESS, 
SMALL  POX,  SKIN  DISEASES,  and  many  other  spring  and 
summer  ailments.  Sold  by  chemists  throughout  the  world,  and 
the  Maker.  113.  Holboro  Hill.     Vse  no  subatttutc  — {Anvx.l 


stomach,  kidneys,  and  bowels,  giving  tone,  e  .  ^,.  . 
the  whole  system.  They  arc  wonderfully  efficacic 
ments  Incidental  to  females,  and,  as  a  general  fan 
are  unequalled. — _Aovt.] 


CHIPS. 

On  Saturday,  a  new  hall,  built  by,  and  intended 
for  the  use  of,  the  miners  of  Ryhope,  was  formally 
opened.  The  dimensions  of  the  structure  are  70Jt. 
long  by  43ft.,  and  accommodation  is  provided 
within  its  walls  for  700  persons.  The  architect 
was  Mr.  Greener,  of  Sunderland,  and  the  cost  will 
be  about  £1,100. 

The  foundation- stone  of  a  new  parish-church,  for 
Revelstoke,  near  Plymouth,  was  laid  on  Friday. 
The  architect  is  Mr.  J.  Piers  St.  Aubyn,  of  the 
Temple,  London. 

In  connection  with  a  bazaar  and  exhibition  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Cottage  Hospital  at  Xorth 
Ormesby,  Middlesbrough,  opened  on  Wednesday, 
there  was  a  double  exhibition  of  pottery  of  a  novel 
description.  The  ceramic  ware  coming  from  Lin- 
thorpe,  Middlesbrough,  is  now  extensively  known 
throughout  the  country.  In  addition  to  it  there 
were  exhibited  articles  of  terra-cotta  manufacture 
in  artistic  designs,  which  are  perhaps  a  novelty  to 
many.  They  were  shown  in  two  colours,  buff  and 
red,  the  former  having  a  smooth,  silky  surfiice, 
which,  relieved  with  turquoise  enamel,  produces  a 


very  artistic  ceramic  example  of  pottery.  Flower 
vases,  biscuit  jars,  teapots,  candlesticks,  and  other 
articles  were  exhibited,  and  elicited  considerable 
admiration.  They  are  made  at  Commondale,  near 
Whitby,  by  Mr.  Crossley,  formerly  of  Middles- 
brough. 

During  a  thunderstorm  that  passed  over  Stock- 
port on  Tuesday  evening,  the  lightning  wrought 
considerable  havoc  to  the  Teviotd^de  Wesleyan 
Chapel.  A  chimney  stack  was  knocked  down,  and 
several  yards  of  roof  torn  away;  a  gas-pipe  in  the 
vestry  was  pierced,  and  the  gas  ignited. 

A  large  turret  clock  is  being  made  for  the  new 
town-hall  at  Kingstown,  by  Messrs.  Chancellor 
and  Son,  of  Dublin,  whose  tender  has  been  accepted 
by  the  town  commissioners.  Every  part  of  the 
clock  will  be  completed  in  Dublin,  from  the  casting 
of  the  bed-plate  to  the  cutting  of  the  wheels.  The 
clock  has  four  dark  blue  dials,  6ft.  diameter,  with 
gilt  figures  and  hands,  and  is  constructed  on  the 
new  bed  plate  system,  with  separate  movements, 
and  with  a  dead-heat  escapement.  The  bells  by 
which  the  hours  and  quarters  will  be  struck  have 
been  cast  by  Mr.  Sheridan,  of  Church-street, 
Dublin. 

The  foundation-stone  of  Kitching's  memorial 
reading-rooms,  Milnthorpe,  was  laid  on  Friday, 
the  3rd  inst.  The  building  will  cost  over  £2,000, 
and  will  contain  reading-room,  21ft.  by  loft., 
coffee-rooms,  16ft.  by  14ft.  ;  spacious  entrance- 
hall  and  staircase.  On  first  floor  will  be  a  lecture- 
room  or  concert-room,  37ft.  by  2  If  t.,  .approached 
by  a  handsome  staircase  of  pitch»pine ;  on  the 
same  floor  will  be  a  library  and  retiring-rooms, 
&c.  Above  will  be  rooms  for  playing  chess  and 
bagatelle,  &c.  The  building  his  been  designed, 
and  will  be  carried  out  under  the  personal  super- 
visicn  of  Mr.  Eli  Cox,  architect,  Kendal. 

The  twenty-third  annual  report  of  the  Hamp- 
stead  Vestry,  just  printed,  furnishes  some  in- 
teresting particulars  respecting  the  growth  and  the 
sanitary  condition  of  this  favourite  residential 
suburb.  The  period  embraced  is  the  year  ended 
March,  1880.  Mr.  Charles  H.  Lowe,  the  surveyor, 
states  in  his  annual  report  that  the  length  of  roads, 
streets,  courts,  alleys,  and  footpaths  under  the 
control  of  the  vestry  is  34  miles  552  yards.  The 
tot.ll  expenditure  on  account  of  highways,  including 
special  works,  was  .£31,434  17s.  Ojd.  The  charges 
on  account  of  sewers  was  £17,074  53.  i'li.  The 
removal  of  slop,  &c.,  from  the  parish  roads  cost 
£2,444  5s. ;  and  the  removal  of  dust  and  ashes 
from  houses  cost  £1,256  4s.  ;  road-wattring  cost 
£1,081  lis.  9d.  The  report  of  Dr.  Gwynn,  medical 
officer  of  health,  estimates  the  present  population 
of  the  parish  at  45,500,  and  the  approximate 
number  of  inhabited  houses  at  5,600.  The  birth- 
rate was  22  98  per  1,000,  that  of  the  preceding  year 
having  been  21'4.  The  death-rate  was  13  07,  or, 
deducting  non-residents,  the  low  figure  of  12'4,  as 
against  13'25  for  the  preceding  year.  The  death- 
rate  in  1879  for  the  whole  of  London  was  23'3. 


CINDER-SIFTING  ASH  CLOSETS. 

Jupcriorto  Earth  Closets.    For  Gentlemen's  Houses,  Cottage?, 

Schools,  i-c. 

NO  DraED  EARTH  REariRED. 

Tte  Sanitary  Appliance  Co.  (Ltd.),  Salford- 


"THE  BEST  PENS  INVENTED."— ^r^»s. 
Sold  at  6d.  and  Is.  per  box.  by  aU  Stationers. 
"  Thoy  come  as  s  boon  and  a  blessing  to  men, 
The  Pickwick,  the  Owl,  and  the  W.werlev  Pen. 


MACNIVEN  and  CAMERON,  23  to  33,  Blair-street, 

Edinburgh. 
Penmakers  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  Offices.    Estd,  1770.— 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  tlni  tedKingdom,  given  on  applicati-su  to 
CHAHLES  TRASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Timinster,  Somerset. 
—  [Advt.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S.W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters. 

Designs  and  Estimates. 

General   Repairs    and    Alterations   Executed. 

Experienced  "Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country.— [Advt.] 


BOX    GROUND    STONE 


50,000   feet   Cube    in   Stock. 

PICTOE  &  SONS, 

BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt.) 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


347 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


LONDON,   FMIDAY,   SEPTEMBER  24,  18 


CLASSIC    ARCHITECTURE    IN    GLAS- 
GOW AND  LONDON. 

THE  North  of  England  has,  from  various 
causes,  favoured  the  growth  of  Classic 
architecture.  Its  soil  of  rock,  igneous  and 
stratified,  has  promoted  solidarity,  restricted 
the  forms  of  construction,  and  methodised 
and  regulated  the  laws  governing  architec- 
tural composition.  The  climate  of  the  North 
has  induced  regard  to  security  and  comfort  ; 
while  the  rational  habit  of  thought  has  im- 
pressed the  buildings  of  the  great  towns 
with  a  dignified  decorum,  and  a  sobriety  of 
effect,  we  seldom  see  in  the  South.  Going 
northwards,  the  travell  r  from  London  loses 
sight  of  the  flexible  and  varied  methods  of 
construction  common  where  brick  and  stone, 
stucco,  slate  and  tile,  timber  and  thatch, 
prevail  ;  he  becomes  aware  of  a  totally 
different  style  and  feeling  in  the  buildings 
after  he  passes  Rugby  or  t^taflford,  and 
enters  the  red  sandstone  districts  of  Cheshire, 
Yorkshire,  Shropshire,  and  Cumberland — 
indeed,  he  quickly  perceives  that  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  districts  iu  a  great  measure 
becomes  identified  with  their  geological 
strata.  A  truthful  and  localised  architec- 
ture is  invariably  influenced  by  this  funda- 
mental difference  ;  but  there  is  cleai  ly  an  in- 
fluence of  another  kind  which  is  gradually 
tending  towards  breaking  through  the>e  local 
peculiarities,  and  this  is  mainly  the  facilities  of 
intercommunication  by  railway  and  the  press. 
It  is  not  surprising  to  find  sometimes  a  rather 
unmeaning  use  made  of  features  in  stone 
districts  which  have  taken  their  i  iso  in  the 
South  ;  windows  constructed  in  close  imita- 
tion of  those  found  in  brick  and  timber 
localities,  and  chimneys  designed  with  forms 
only  suited  for  brickwork.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  southern  districts,  where  build- 
ing stone  is  scarce,  imitation  has  done  a 
great  deal  to  adopt  forms  which  can  only 
be  suitably  used  in  a  stone  country.  Stucco- 
work  has  largely  favoured  the  imitation  of 
features  which  can  only  be  justifiably  intro- 
duced in  localities  where  stone  of  large 
dimensions  is  to  be  found  to  hand  ;  but  it  is 
a  plastic  material — a  kind  of  cast  work, 
that  hardly  justifies  the  name  of  architec- 
ture. 

There  are  also  differences  in  the  treatment 
of  Classic  buildings  discernible  by  anyone 
who  has  studied  the  great  towns  of  the  North 
and  the  South.  Take,  for  instance,  Edin- 
bm-gh  or  Glasgow,  and  compare  its  build- 
ings with  those  of  London.  Geological 
conditions  have  impressed  themselves  upon 
the  style.  Large  blocks  of  sandstone  and 
granite  take  the  place  of  the  thin  veneering 
of  ashlar  we  find  in  London  and  the  South  ; 
and  these  blocks  of  material  form  a  part  of 
the  solidity  of  the  walls,  and  do  not  merely 
mask  a  wall  of  brickwork  behind.  The  stones 
go  through,  and  form  the  plinths,  jambs,  and 
lintels  of  the  facades,  naturally  imparting 
to  them  a  thoroughness  and  massiveness  of 
character  we  do  not  tind  in  facades  which 
are  merely  faced  with  stone.  This  is  espe- 
cially evident  if  we  look  at  the  buildings 
erected  in  Glasgow  and  other  towns,  and 
examine  the  reveals  of  the  openings,  where 
the  difference  of  treatment  may  be  a^  once 
obseri'ed.  '1  he  sandstones,  such  as  Giffneuk, 
Humbie,  the  grits,  the  Bramley  Fall  stone, 
used  in  large  blocks,  and  the  several  kinds 
of  sandstone  found  in  Yorkshire,  favour  the 
solid  modes  of  construction  which  the 
Classic  style  expresses ;  and  we  cannot 
wonder  that  these    forms    of    architecture 


have  found  intelligent  admirers  and  sym- 
pathisers in  the  North.  The  very  hardness, 
stratification,  and  cleavage  of  the  stones 
seem  to  suggest  the  horizontal  lines 
of  the  Classic  models  in  preference 
to  Gothic  or  Renaissance  ;  the  size  of  the 
stones  procurable  also  lend  a  massive  homo- 
geneous and  monolithic  character  to  the 
structures,  and  favour  the  development  of 
those  sterner  and  severer  types  of  Classic  ex- 
pression into  which  the  late  Alexander 
Thomson  so  ably  succeeded  in  imparting  a 
freshness  and  spirit  of  his  own.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  deny  also  that  a  stone  locality  emi- 
nently favours  those  qualities  most  conducive 
to  good  Classic  work.  The  designer  can 
make  his  basements  solid,  his  columns  large 
and  dignitied,  his  entablatmes  bold  and 
massive  ;  they  can  be  made  to  project  and 
bo  cut,  if  necessary,  out  nf  solid  bloclis  of 
Craigloith,  Penrith,  or  Dunmore  ;  he  feels 
that  he  is  not  stinted  to  thin  quoins,  and  a 
breadth  of  handling  soon  characterises  his 
work.  It  is  impossible  for  a  designer  accus- 
tomed to  the  brick  architecture  of  the  South 
and  to  the  cutting-down  practices  resorted 
to  in  the  use  of  stone  iu  facades  in  London, 
to  work  with  the  same  freedom  as  the  archi- 
tect who  can  use  solid  stone  iu  his  work. 
The  exigencies  of  the  mason's  work  is  con- 
stantly before  him,  and  any  project- 
ing masses  of  stone  have  to  be  cut 
do\vn  to  meet  the  bill  of  quantities, 
or  schemed  rather  ingeniously  round  a  core 
of  brickwork  to  which  they  are  attached. 

It  is  next  to  impossible  to  expect  good 
masonry  under  such  conditions  ;  and  the  ordi- 
nary London  architectural  decorations  in 
stonework  more  frequently  weaken  the  work 
than  add  to  its  durability.  Much  of  the 
ashlar  work  in  London  is  a  mere  skin  of 
stone  four  to  five  inches  thick,  held  on  to 
the  walls  by  bonding-stones  at  rare 
intervals.  Good  architecture  is  impossible 
under  such  conditions.  With  the  exception 
of  a  few  great  public  buildings,  designed 
and  erec'ted  in  a  spirit  of  liberal  thorough- 
ness, under  circumstances  which  forbade  the 
employment  of  flimsy  materials,  London  is 
not  rich  in  examples  of  the  more  solid  types 
of  Classic  design.  St.  Paul's,  and  some  of 
Wren's  churches,  the  Royal  Exchange,  the 
Bank,  the  Post  Office,  National  GaUery, 
London  and  Waterloo  Bridges,  a  few  of  the 
club-houses  in  Pall  Mall,  and  about  a  dozen 
other  buildings  devoted  to  civic  and  public 
uses  in  the  City,  are  the  only  monumental 
edifices  in  which  the  material  has  nut  been 
begrudged  in  the  conception.  And  this 
question  of  solidity  lies  at  the  very 
root  of  good  a'chitecture  of  the  Classic 
styles.  AVe  can  only  attain  to  a  superficial 
semblance  whea  we  imitate  the  columnar 
orders  and  features  in  brick,  or  face  with 
stone.  Mr.  Gibson's  new  bank  iu  Fieet- 
street,  the  Bow-street  police-courts,  and  the 
Liberal  Club,  by  Mr.  Grayson,  in  Wal- 
brook,  are,  perhaps,  as  successful  in  their 
way  as  any  recent  buildings  of  this  class,  and 
yet  we  feel  that  in  the  columnar  facades  of 
those  buildings  a  great  deal  of  costly  material 
has  been  expended  (not  ineffectually)  in  the 
perfection  of  one  front,  for  the  sake  of 
assuming  a  dignitied  exterior.  The  same 
expenditure  might  have  produced  a  whole 
building  of  more  thoroughness  in  brick  and 
terra-cotta,  and  this  thought  rather  tends  to 
take  away  the  satisfaction  and  pleasure  with 
which  we  might  otherwise  view  these  at- 
tempts to  reproduce  grand  CImssic  facades 
in  London.  Where  the  material  of  the 
locality  is  stone,  and  there  is  plenty  of  it  to 
be  got,  there  is  wanting  that  painful  evidence 
of  great  cost;  bes'owed  on  one  front.  The 
RoyalInstituteofEdinburgh,withits  massive 
tireek  Doric  porticoes  and  side  colonnades, 
or  the  High  School,  are  instances  of 
thorough  monumental  effects,  obtained 
legitimately  with  native  material ;  their 
msissive  treatments  we  feel  to  be  the  natu- 
ral outcome  of  a  city  of  granite.     Turning 


to  Glasgow,  tliis  thoroughness  in  the  build- 
ings is  equally  evident,  though  they  are  of  a 
different  order  from  those  of  "  .Modem 
Athens."  In  Buchanan-street,  i' self  a  fine 
promenade,  we  need  only  allude  to  the 
Western  Club-house,  a  sUt<-ly  Italian 
building  ;  auKjng  othcru,  to  the  Comnieroial 
Bank  of  Scotland,  in  Gordon-  tr.-.t,  a 
structure  based  upon  the  I''anuw  I'ulaoo  ; 
the  new  Clydesdale  Bunk,  by  Mr.  .1.  Bur- 
net;  and  the  recent  officoB  of  the  Amicable 
life  Assurance,  by  Messrs.  CainpboU, 
Douglas,  and  Sellars.  Tlio  Greek  fhiirch  in 
St.  Vincent-street,  of  the  IJniU-d  I'r.Hby- 
terians,  is  a  splendid  example  of  th.'  g<-uiuB 
of  the  late  Mr.  Thomson,  and  its  hilly  nit*- 
gives  a  dignity  and  meaning  to  th.>  si-vore 
and  grand,  yet  pleasing,  outliiK-.  ..f  the 
p  rtico  and  tower.  In  this  exain-ih-,  the 
fine  sandstone  of  the  locality  is  inan-iively 
used,  and  the  architi'ct  ha-i  wisely  made  the 
most  of  it,  by  adopting  a  severe  tnilxiiite 
form  of  structure,  as  solid  in  the  flank  and 
rear  as  it  is  in  front.  Tho  Ionic  portii:.>  ro»t« 
upon  ft  solid  basement  of  the  material, 
and  the  detail  and  outline  are  as  eharoe- 
teristic  of  the  hard  stone  employed  as  they 
are  masterly  and  refined.  The  Inslitut*-  and 
Galleries  of  Art,  Sauchichall-street,  by  the 
same  architect,  is  another  grandly-tieatcd 
composition  of  considerable  breadth,  and 
of  a  monumental  character.  In«t.Mid  of 
windows,  its  front  is  a  plain  surface  of  sand- 
stone, relieved  by  sculptured  friezes  in  the 
upper  story,  and  by  a  dignified  columnar 
entrance  ;  the  detail  is  semi-Greek  in  feeling, 
and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  tnie  Clnssic 
spirit  when  left  untrammelled.  The  hoyal 
Exchange,  the  Union  Bank,  and  other 
buildings  may  be  cited  to  show  what  on 
abundant  supply  of  good  sandstone  lias  done 
for  Glasgow,  in  imparting  a  solidity  and 
meaning  to  the  Classic  edifices  with  which  it 
abounds.  On  this  account,  we  hopi-  tho  new 
Municipal  Buildings  will  be  equal  to  tho  silt 
and  the  occa.sion,  and  that  a  dignifinl  scale  be 
given  to  the  main  facades.  It  would  be  an 
irretrievable  mistake  to  select  a  disign  in 
which  the  parts  or  ordinances  are  small  or 
repeated  ;  for  this  reason  we  should  prefer  a 
single  order  of  columns  to  a  suporjHjsition 
of  several,  and  a  breadth  of  treatment  in 
the  main  fronts  and  basements.  The  sub- 
ject is  a  large  one,  and  the  question  of 
material  suggests  the  particular  kind  of 
Classic  or  Italian  design  suitable. 

From  what  we  have  said  it  may  be  inferred 
that  architects  in  London  would  wisely  con- 
sult their  art  by  adopting  the  more  Heiible 
forms  of  the  style,  examples  of  which  are 
furnished  by  tho  Renaissance  in  abundance. 
The  Queen  Anne  is  one  manifestotion  of  the 
style,  and  its  strong  i>oint  is  that  it  is  • 
brick  style,  very  free,  and  may  be  advan- 
tageously used  for  house  building ;  but  it  \% 
certainly  not  tho  style  suitable  for  any  groat 
public  or  monumental  purpose.  Olhor  and 
purer  types  of  Classic  admixtures  a'.'iund  in 
which  brick  and  terra-cotta  might  play  the 
ril,'  of  stone,  and  it  is  this  destiny  whioh 
awaits  the  architecture  of  the  future  in  thia 
country.  

FALL  OF  A  HOD.SE  IN  OXFORD- 
STREET. 
'PHE  fall  of  a  house  last  Friday  mominp 
X  in  Oxford-street  serves  rather  •»  an 
incentive  to  increased  watchfuln.  »«  and  can 
in  building  operations  than  •»  indicating 
a  risk  to  be  wholly  Bvoide<l.  That  tli* 
utmost  vigilance  is  sometimes  of  no  avail 
to  avert  an  accident  we  have  had  |«inful 
experience  of  late  in  connect. on  with 
railway  casualties,  and  so  long  as  build- 
ings are  pulled  down  in  old  street*, 
there  will  be,  in  spite  of  Building  Ac»». 
and  Dangerous  Structures  clause*,  a  lia- 
bility to  unforostcn  dangers  The  par- 
ticulars of  the  accident  in  Oxford-street 
already  published  in  the  daily  papers,  give 


348 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


little  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  real  state 
of  the  case.  It  appears  that  the  Princess's 
Theatre  in  Oxford-street  is  being  rebuilt,  and 
that  for  the  purpose  of  widening  the  en- 
trance from  that  thoroughfare,  the  house  on 
the  east  side  of  the  old  entrance  was  pur- 
chased and  pulled  down.  Soon  afterwards, 
the  next  house  to  the  eastwards.  No.  72, 
in  the  occupation  of  Messrs.  Cooke  and 
Burchett,  jewellers,  exhibited  symptoms  of 
weakness,  and  on  the  evening  previous  to  the 
fall,  signs  of  the  approaching  failure  were 
heard,  and  the  assistants  left  in  charge  felt 
it  necessary  to  make  arrangements  during 
the  night  so  that  they  should  not  be  over- 
taken by  what  they  rightly  conjectured  as 
an  impending  danger.  About  four  o'clock, 
those  who  were  watching  rousf  d  the  others, 
as  the  signs  of  collapse  became  more 
threatening,  and  the  assistants  retreated 
by  a  side-door  just  in  time  to  save 
themselves.  It  is  not  difficult  to  con- 
jecture the  cause  of  the  fall.  The  house 
that  had  been  pulled  down  had  evi- 
dently been  the  main  prop  and  support  of 
the  building,  and  notwithstanding  that 
raking  shores  and  struts  had  been  put  up, 
the  house  fell  in  from  inherent  rottenness  of 
the  side  wall,  which  had  been  temporarily 
shored.  We  have  had  occasion  before  to 
speak  of  some  of  the  sources  of  danger  to 
.•which  all  old  premises  are  exposed.  The 
present  instance  rather  points  to  a  source  of 
weakness  which  lateral  shoring  is  almost 
powerless  to  prevent,  but  which,  by  reason 
of  al'eration  ori-emovalof  adjacent  premises 
often  exists.  It  is  pretty  evident  that  many 
of  the  old  street  houses  are  literally  hungup, 
so  to  speak,  and  receive  as  much  vertical  as 
latfral  support  from  the  adjacent  premises. 
lu  the  case  mentioned,  we  understand 
upon  good  authority,  that  the  wall  between 
the  houses  was  perfectly  rotten,  that  open- 
ings existed  in  it  which  had  been  filled  up 
in  a  careless  manner  with  rubble,  and  that 
the  bond  was  completely  destroyed.  Before 
the  fall,  a  large  mass  of  rubble  fell  out 
between  the  ground  and  first-floor  levels, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  wall  had 
apparently  become  much  impaired.  In  short, 
from  the  facts  we  have  been  able  to  gather, 
the  lower  part  of  the  wall  was  quite  unable 
to  sustain  the  building,  and  its  fall  proves 
that  it  was  a  vertical  subsidence  which  the 
cross  struts  above  and  the  raking  shores  were 
useless  to  arrest  ;  the  wall,  in  fact,  col- 
lapsed below,  and  the  shores  and  struts  fell 
with  it.  ^s  long  as  the  adjoining  house 
stood,  the  wall  clung  to  it,  and  the  bond  was 
sufficient  to  lieep  the  wall  up  ;  but  directly 
the  other  house  was  taken  down  it  lost  the 
support  derived  from  the  partial  bond- 
ing and  adhesion.  The  operations  of 
shoring  tended  perhaps  to  shake  the  wall. 
From  what  we  hear  blame  cannot  be 
Rttached  to  any  one,  and  the  shoring  ap- 
pears to  have  been  sufficient  for  the  purpose. 
Besides  raking  shores  against  the  house  at 
the  front  and  back  corners,  there  were  two 
tiers  of  cross  struts,  three  deep,  between 
the  upper  walls  of  the  adjoining  premises, 
so  that  it  is  clear  there  could  have  been  no 
possibility  of  the  house  giving  way  laterally 
if  the  wall  and  foundations  had  been  sound. 
Nor  do  we  find  that  any  operations  in  any 
manner  atfei'ting  the  footings  of  the  fallen 
house  had  been  made  by  the  workmen  em 
ployed  by  the  contractor,  Mr.  Mauley,  who 
is  engaged  in  carrj'ing  out  the  rebuilding  of 
the  Princess's  Theatre  under  the  siipervision 
of  Mr.  PLipps.  From  our  inspection  of  the 
premises  to  the  eastward  of  the  fallen 
house,  it  is  clear  that  they  too  have  been 
jeopardised  by  the  fall,  as  the  window- 
openings  show  a  settlement,  and  the  sui'- 
veyor  of  the  district  has,  we  believe,  con- 
demned the  house  immediately  adjoining 
the  wrecked  one. 

This  case  adds  another  to  the  list  of  acci- 
dents due  to  worn-out  party  walls  we  have 
lately  had  to  chronicle,  and  we  may  inquire 


whether  the  law  is  not  rather  imperfect  in 
its  operation.  We  have  been  told  by  a  good 
authority  that  in  some  parts  of  London 
there  is  scarcely  a  sound  party-wall  in  a 
whole  street,  and  our  own  observations  have 
quite  convinced  us  of  the  truth  of  the  ob- 
servation. In  the  recent  instance  in  Totteu- 
ham-court-road  the  party-wall  was  in  a 
rotten  state  ;  but  it  had  been  improperly 
tampered  with  below,  and  we  might  point  to 
innumerable  instances  where  party-walls 
are  found  riddled  with  old  openings,  and 
which  are  scarcely  in  a  fit  state  to  touch, 
but  which,  notwithstanding,  undergo  hack- 
ing about.  There  is  a  natural  reluctance  on 
the  part  of  adjoining  owners  to  have  their 
party-walls  removed  and  rebuilt  when  old 
buildings  are  taken  down,  as  the  proceeding 
entails  considerable  inconvenience  and  loss 
of  business  in  many  cases ;  but  it  is 
clearly  a  duty  the  Metropolitan  Board 
of  Works  owes  to  the  public  safety  to 
see  that  these  walls  are  in  a  fit  state  to 
remain.  Some  time  ago  we  recorded  the 
decision  of  a  Metropolitan  magistrate  in 
a  well-known  case  that  has  acquued 
an  almost  historic  interest  in  connection 
with  dangerous  structures,  where  a  wall, 
though  insecure,  was  pronounced  to  be  safe 
from  falling  by  shores.  But  there  are 
numerous  instances,  and  the  Oxford-street 
case  furnishes  a  useful  proof,  that 
shores  do  not  always  render  buUdings 
safe.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  rotten  part  of  a 
party-wall— of  ten  caused  by  cjienings  made, 
and  filled  loosely  up  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  wall — is  beyond  the  reach  of  shores. 
Unless  such  walls  are  closely  examined  at 
the  bottom,  it  seems  almost  a  farce  to  in- 
troduce them.  The  clauses  in  the  Metro- 
politan Building  Act  relating  to  insecure 
walls,  are  limited  to  part  II.  of  the  Act, 
and,  unfortunately,  the  working  of  the  law 
is  not  at  present  verj'  satisfactory.  Directly 
a  house  is  pulled  down  there  should  be  an 
official  inspection  made  of  the  adjacent 
party-walls  ;  now  the  clauses  of  the  Act  are 
not  put  into  operation  till  after  the  Board  of 
Works  have  been  informed  of  the  dunger  of 
the  stmcture,  which  may  be  too  late  for  any 
useful  precautions  to  be  taken.  The  Board, 
by  Clause  72,  has  power,  on  the  certificate  of 
the  district  surveyor,  to  cause  the  buOding 
to  be  "  shored  up  and  otherwise  secured  ;  " 
but  this  operation  may  be  really  inadequate 
to  meet  the  emergency  :  the  shoring  might 
rather  facili'ate  than  prevent  the  fall,  and 
there  is  no  guarantee  that  the  proper  means 
of  security  has  been  carried  out.  Tem- 
porary shoring,  however  inadequate,  is  a 
compliance  with  the  law,  and  no  doubt  saves 
hundreds  of  houses  from  falling ;  but  we 
contend  that  the  meaning  of  the  Act  is  not 
fully  carried  out  till  the  wall  has  been 
repaired  or  secured  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
surveyor,  till  every  source  of  weakness  has 
been  discovered,  and  means  taken  to  prevent 
danger.  Unfortunately,  all  the  recent 
instances  of  accidents  of  this  kind  have 
arisen  during  the  temporary  shoring  of  the 
premises,  or  during  the  operations  of  pulling 
down  and  rebuilding  of  the  adjoining  pre- 
mises, and  there  seams  to  be  no  guarantee 
given  to  an  adjoirang  neighbour  that  wlien 
the  next-door  house  is  being  taken  down  or 
has  been  removed,  he  may  rest  assured  of  the 
safety  of  his  own,  without  fear  of  impending 
destruction  to  his  life  and  property.  Surely, 
if  the  rights  of  citizens  are  to  be  protected, 
the  security  of  one's  house  might  be  readily 
provided  for  by  the  law,  without  en- 
tailing more  cost  or  inconvenience  upon  the 
building  or  adjoining  owner  than  the 
occasion  demands. 


MODERN  CONCEETE. 

THE   name   concrete   has   been  long  and 
beneflciallj'  associated  with  the  Koman 
works  in  this  and   other  countries,  so  much 


so,  indeed,  as  to  claim  for  the  products  of 
the  old  builder  properties  and  excellences 
which  modern  experience  has  to  some  extent 
modified.  There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt 
that  the  care  bestowed  in  concrete  making 
by  the  Homans  has  bequeathed  tons  examples 
of  this  mode  of  construction  worthy  of  imi- 
tation. It  was  for  a  long  time  imagined 
that  the  more  durable  remains  of  such  ruins 
as  are  now  capable  of  i>rofitable  examination 
owed  their  stability  to  a  peculiar  treatment 
of  the  mortar  used  iu  their  construction. 
That  this  ingredient  of  the  concrete  was  used 
in  a  hot  liquid  state  came  to  be  recognised 
as  one  of  the  canons  controlling  the  produc- 
tion of  JRoman  concrete,  and  even  to  this  day 
we  hear  some  writers  bewailing  the  loss  of 
the  "  Roman  art"  of  both  concrete  and 
mortar  making.  The  Roman  builders  were 
not  always  lucky  in  building  imperishable 
structures,  for  the  climate  of  their  location 
had,  as  now.  a  marked  influence  on  their 
longevity.  Roman  buildings  in  the  Nile 
Delta  have  disappeared,  while  the  Egyptian 
monuments  built  many  centuries  earlier 
still  defy  the  destroying  agencies  of  climate. 
But  in  a  more  northerly  situation,  Roman 
buildings  continue  to  exist  after  the  climatic 
destruction  of  the  buildings  of  our  own 
feudal  2)eriod. 

It  may  be  said  with  all  reverence  that  a 
too  rigid  or  literal  adherence  to  Roman  ex- 
amples of  concrete  is  calculated  to  mislead, 
for  the  aids  and  circumstances  which  called 
forth  and  controlled  these  ancient  struc- 
tures are  not  forthcoming  at  the  present 
time.  The  main  factor  undoubtedly  in  the 
production  of  the  good  examples  of  ancient 
concrete,  was  time,  which  in  modern  works 
cannot  be  realised  until  long  after  those 
who  reared  the  structure  have  passed  away. 
The  concrete  works  of  the  Roman  builders 
was  limited  to  structural  eiibrts  only,  for 
their  roadways  were  built  of  substantial 
blocks,  whether  obtained  from  the  lava 
deposits  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
or  from  those  of  Andernach  on  the  Rhine. 
For  road  i^urpcses,  however,  the  modem  en- 
gineer emploj'S  a  variety  of  materials  and 
means,  andconcrete-foi-ming  hasnow become 
a  most  important  ingredient  in  the  best  laid 
streets. 

The  simple  concrete  of  the  ancients,  how- 
ever, admits  of  but  little  difficulty  of  exami- 
nation compared  with  the  many  varieties  of 
the  present  day,  a  short  account  of  which 
we  will  now  endeavour  to  give  in  the  fol- 
lowing remarks : — The  subject  is  now 
becoming  a  most  important  one,  not  only 
from  the  improved  character  of  the  cement- 
ing or  binding  agents,  but  also  from  a  more 
sensible  knowledge  of  the  materials  to  be 
bound,  thus  resulting  in  a  much  bolder 
use  of  the  compound  itself.  The  difficulty, 
however,  has  always  appeared  to  us  of 
really  understanding  what  concrete  is,  and 
what  are  the  best  rules  for  observance  in  its 
production.  If  we  examine  any  amount  of 
engineers'  or  architects'  specifications 
guiding  the  preparation  of  concrete,  we  be- 
come puzzled  at  the  routine  ch'iracter  of  the 
prescriptions,  and  the  utter  want  of  technical 
rules  or  instructiors.  So  much  lime  or 
cement,  as  the  case  may  he,  added  to  a  certain 
ju'oportion  of  sand,  gravel,  stones,  or  any- 
thing else,  is  about  all  the  amount  of  infor- 
mation derivable  from  such  sources,  and  if 
we  look  around  us  and  endeavour  to  get 
instruction  from  an  examination  of  con- 
crete works  in  progress,  we  are  equally,  if 
not  m'lre  unfortunate,  in  obtaining  reliable 
information.  If  we  cannot  find  quality  of 
concrete,  we  certainly  have  no  reason  to 
complain  of  the  quantity  and  varieties  patent 
to  the  most  casual  observer  in  and  around 
London.  We  will  endeavour  to  give  the 
subject  a  little  coherency  by  an  enumeration 
of  the  various  concretes  now  in  common  use 
in  the  metropolis,  and  for  their  more  profit- 
able study  divide  them  into  something  like 
a  tangible  category  :    1st,  structural ;  2nd, 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


349 


substructural ;  and  3rd,  senii-substructural. 
Of  the  first  we  may  render  it  into  many 
classes,  sucli  as  concrete  used  iu  walls  either 
in  a  monolithii!  or  block  form,  of  which 
there  are  an  unlimited  number  of  varied 
degrees  and  qualitj^.  Of  the  second,  we 
may  define  it  as  coiiorete  used  in  foundations 
of  buildings  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the 
vertical  thrust  of  the  superincumbent 
structure,  or  preventing  the  rise  of  damp  iu 
the  lower  walls.  Of  the  third,  we  may  say 
that  under  its  head  can  be  classed  the 
numerous  concretes  used  as  foundations  for 
pavements  and  roadways,  which  would  in- 
clude the  advai  cod  form  of  concrete  used  as 
paving  for  footpaths.  Let  us  first  examine 
No.  1  division,  and  see  what  comfort  or  in- 
formation we  can  reach  through  its  agency. 
The  purposes  for  which  this  class  of  concrete 
is  generally  used  ought  to  secure  the  best 
results,  and  no  doubt  should  exist  as  to  its 
capacity  to  resist  the  damaging  influences 
which,  from  its  circumstances  and  position, 
it  is  liable  to.  The  oldest  examples  of  this 
more  recent  or  modern  class  of  concrete  in 
the  block  form  is  to  be  found  at  the  College 
of  Surgeons  in  Inncoln's  Inn-fields,  built 
when  the  knowledge  of  Portland  cement 
was  in  a  very  confused  and  unsa'isfaetory 
state.  The  cementing  agent  used  was  in 
this  case  grey  lime,  in  the  slaldng  of  which 
hot  water  was  used.  The  result,  con- 
sidering all  the  circumstances  of  its  sur- 
roundings, may  be  regarded  as  a  successful 
one,  and  certainly  for  the  time  of  its  execu- 
tion, a  remarkable  and  creditable  one.  The 
merest  tyro  would  not,  in  these  times,  resort 
to  such  a  plan,  however,  for  building  a  house 
unless  he  was  beyond  the  influence  and 
supply  of  Portland  cement.  Considerable 
progress  has  been  made  in  the  retaining- wall 
direction  of  railways,  and  Portl  lud  cement 
concrete  has  been  used  with  much  advantage 
in  some  of  the  Metropolitan  railway  works. 
During  the  last  ttn  years  many  houses  have 
been  built  with  ftames,  and  the  advancing  or 
increasing  demand  for  buildings  of  this 
class  indicates  th'it  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences which  the  quality  and  character 
of  a  well-built  concrete  house  secure  is 
becoming  appreciated.  The  concrete  used 
for  this  purpose  may  be  regarded  as  good  in 
quality  from  the  unavoidable  ntcessity  of 
being  compelled  to  use  for  such  a  purpose 
cement  and  aggregate  of  the  best  kinds. 
We  may  look  forward  to  a  great  increase  in 
the  quantity  of  work  to  be  done  in  houses 
of  concrete,  both  in  the  monclithic  and 
block  plans,  while  its  free  use  in  the  con- 
struction of  floors  and  roofs,  in  conjunction 
with  iron,  opens  a  vride  andimpjrtant  field 
to  the  architect  especially. 

Ihe  substiuctiu'al  concrele  is  not  of  a  high 
class  character,  and  lime  of  the  hydraulic 
type  is  most  frequently  used  for  such  pur- 
poses in  conjuuetiou  with  river  and  pit 
gravels  or  sand.  The  quantity  used  in  the 
foundations  of  say  one  of  our  modern  city 
warehouses  or  oflicesis  considerable,  and  it 
is  almost  surpr  sing  to  see  with  what  rapidity 
it  is  concocted  and  consigned  to  its  resting- 
place.  Where  in  such  deep  foundations 
water  fr^m  springs  or  river  sources  does  not 
preclude  the  use  of  lime,  a  tolerably  good  and 
sotmd  foiuidation  is  thus  obtained ;  but  it  is 
a  question  whether  lime  concrete,  even  in  its 
best  form,  is  cheapest,  and  we  are  certain  it 
is  not  the  best.  Eecently,  the  relative 
values  of  lime  and  cement  concretes  have 
been  put  to  a  satisfactory  test  in  the  works 
connected  with  the  extensive  dock  opera- 
tions at  Chatham.  The  original  contract 
was  let  under  a  specification  which  required 
the  concrete  to  be  of  lias  lime,  and  in  the 
proportions  of  1  part  of  blue  lias  lime  to  6 
parts  of  river  ballast.  During  the  early 
progress  of  these  important  works,  however, 
it  was  found  that  the  concrete  so  com- 
pounded "  did  not  always  set  well  under 
water,"  and  it  was  resolved  to  substitute  for 
it  Portland  cement  concrete.     The  contract 


was  not  to  be  disturbed  under  the  new 
arrangement,  and  therefore,  the  contractor 
was  to  supply  a  Portland  cement  concrete 
which  would  not  cost  more  than  that  which 
was  to  be  paid  for  the  lime  concrete.  The 
concrete,  therefore,  had  to  be  fined  down  in 
strength,  and  1  of  Portland  cement  to  12  of 
river  ballast  was  used,  much  to  the  comfort  of 
the  engineer  and  all  others  concerned  in  the 
dock  works.  Of  course,  the  values  of  the 
two  concretes  would  fluctuate  occasionally 
from  the  changing  character  of  the  cost  of 
the  lime  and  cement,  but  these  works  of  un- 
doubted excellence  prove  how  much  even  a 
poor  Portland  cement  concrete  is  superior  to 
a  comparatively  fat  lime  one,  and  it  is  for- 
tunate that  the  problem  was  thus  solved 
mider  such  favourable  conditions  and 
guidance. 

Concretes  of  a  semi-substructural  cha- 
racter are  unhappily  of  too  great  and  fluc- 
tuating variety  for  us  to  derive  much,  if  any, 
amount  of  comfort  from  their  study.  They 
exert,  however,  so  considerable  an  amount  of 
influence  for  good  or  evil  to  the  community 
at  large  as  to  warrant  us  in  giving  a  some- 
what lengthened  description  of  their  kinds 
and  varieties.  They  are  of  such  a  character, 
also,  from  their  position  being  in  public 
plices,  as  to  enable  us  with  considerable 
advantage  to  point  out  their  merits  and  de- 
merits from  a  sensible  or  common -sense 
concrete  point  of  view.  We  will,  for  the 
purpose  of  more  clear  description,  resort  to 
an  increased  classification  in  something  like 
the  following  heads,  viz.  :  — 

1st,  Metropolitan  Board  concretes. 
2nd,  City  of  London  ,, 

3rd,  Vestry  Board  ,, 

4th,  Tranway  ,, 

Of  the  first  we  cannot  speak  too  highly,  for 
it  has  always  been  made  of  the  best  materials 
which  engineering  skill  could  select,  and 
their  carefid  exammation  and  test  before 
being  used,  secured  that  both  cement  and 
aggregate  were  unexceptionable.  We  have 
only  to  examine  specimens  of  this  concrete  to 
feel  assured  that  it  is  of  a  high  character, 
and  contiinies  to  improve  in  quality,  ,a 
property  inherent  in  all  good  and  well- 
balanced  cements.  When  "The  Board" 
had  completed  their  first  new  street  (South- 
wark),  and  a  few  days  after  its  dedication  to 
pubHc  use,  the  gas  and  water  companies 
(after  having  refused  to  use  the  convenient 
subway  specially  designed  and  built,  at 
great  cost,  to  receive  their  pipes)  entered 
upon  the  work  of  demolition,  they,  happily, 
met  withastate  of  things  forwhich,  from  their 
past  experience,  they  were  quite  unprepared. 
The  ordinary  "pick"'"  of  the  stalwart  navvy 
was  of  little  use  in  penetrating  the  concrete 
under  the  granite  paving  "  setts,"  and 
they  had  to  employ  steel  tools  of  the  best 
quality  to  get  trench  room  enough  to  Uy 
their  pipes  in.  A  good  example  of  this 
concrete  might  have  been  seen  when  the 
excavation  was  made  on  the  Victoria  Em- 
bankment, wherein  to  place  the  "  Cleopatra 
Needle."  Such  concrete  was  purposely  in- 
tended to  stand,  and  all  the  conditions 
necessary  to  secure  that  desirable  end  were 
forthcoming  in  its  preparation  and  deposi- 
tion. 

The  second,  or  City  of  London  concrete, 
is  perhaps  most  familiar  to  the  City  pedes-  | 
trian  whose  walks  range  from  Temple  Bar 
to  ^Udgate,  for  the  streets  are,  tmfortunately 
frequently  "  up,"  either  to  put  down  some 
new  paving  or  to  repair  the  old.  The 
modem  asphalte  covering  to  many  of  the 
City  streets  involved  the  use  of  a  good  and 
substantial  foimdation  on  which  it 
could  securely  rest,  for  the  bituminous 
compound  had  no  inherent  quality 
of  rigicbdity,  or,  rather,  not  enough  to 
withstand  the  damaging  influences  of  a 
traflSc  such  as  that  of  London.  There  are  i 
a  great  many  examples  of  concretes  under 
both  wood  and  asphalte,  and  a  careful  ex- , 


amination  of  their  composition  will  show 
that  both  wood-paviors  and  asphalte  layora 
appreciate  the  importance  of  sapiiorting 
their  several  coverings  on  good  and  substan- 
tial beds.  Portland  ccmi  nt  is  more  gene- 
rally used  for  City  street  purpo.ses,uii<l  when 
mixed  -(vith  good  and  suitable  river  ballait, 
the  concrete  for  such  work  luny  bo  re- 
garded as  of  undoubtedly  excellent  r|iiality. 
We  are  occasionally  charmed  with  a  look  at 
this  quality  of  concrete  whiin  some  gas  or 
water  communication  h  is  to  be  made,  and 
we  rather  delight  iu  seeing  the  very  liartl 
work  the  labourers  have  to  get  room  enough 
to  lay  their  pipes. 

No.  3,  or  Vestry  Board  concrete,  is,  un- 
happily, not  very  much  worthy  of  any 
lengthened  description,  except  that  it  may 
be  profitable  to  describe  its  general  short- 
comings and  imperfections.  Vestrydom 
does  not  yet  seem  to  have  profit<'d  much  hy 
its  association  with  "  The  Metropolitan 
Board  "  in  the  cement  direction,  for  the  vcu- 
try  concrete  of  to-day  is  much  like  what  it 
was  half-a-century  ago  —  lime  and  livor 
ballast,  the  former  sometimes  in  lump  and 
sometimes  ground,  according  to  the  caprico 
and  whim  of  the  controlling  authority  ;  pro- 
portions specified  are  somewhat  dispro- 
portionate, but  generally  too  much  lime  in 
used,  or  at  least,  is  supposed  to  be  used. 
In  old  foundations  of  the  paving  we  fail  to 
see  any  good  examples  of  concrete,  probably 
owing  to  the  unfavourable  conditions  which 
surrotmded  its  original  deposition.  Befone 
lime  concrete  in  such  situations  could 
possibly  have  become  indurateil,  or  even 
before  any  beneficial  effort  of  setting  had 
taken  place,  the  work  of  the  pavioor 
in  ramming  home  the  "setts"  or  cubes 
j  destroyed  any  chance  of  its  ever  becoming 
I  hard.  We  are  glad  to  see  that  a  little  more 
sensible  attention  is  given  even  to  vestry 
concretes,  and  we  still  hope  that  our 
associated  governors  iu  the  various  metro- 
politan parishes  will  awaken  to  the  import- 
ance of  having  a  good  base  on  which  to  rest 
their  costly  granite  paving.  Liverpool  ha», 
perhaps,  next  to  ''The  Metropolitan  Board," 
given  good  heed  to  the  concrete  question  ; 
and  the  authorities  of  that  city  not  only 
provide  for  the  best  materials,  but  secure 
their  use  by  buying  and  mixing  them  under 
their  own  supervision.  The  concrete  at 
Liverpool  is  sent  out  ready  mixed  (water 
and  all)  in  the  corporation  carts,  luid,  in 
addition  to  this  wholesome  precaution,  th* 
coLcrete  is  not  allowed  to  be  covered  by  the 
paving  setts  until  it  is  at  least  a  furtnight 
old. 

The  4  th  division  of  our  sub-classification, 
or  Tramway  concrete,  is,  perhaps,  the  lowest 
iu  quaUty  which  we  have  referred  to.     The 
best  or  most  suitable  cenunling  agent  is  not 
generally   used,    and    the    nTgrcgatc   with 
which  it"is  mixed  is  a  doubtful  c  )mpound  of 
the  dirty  "  macadam  "  or  other  objectionnhle 
material  excavated  from  the  gr<Mmd  on  a  hich 
the  tram  is  laid.     The  cnli.;htonLd  en;;ine.r« 
controlling  this   sort  of  work   imiigino  wo 
suppose  that  the  weight  of  the  tramway  and 
the  loaded  carriages  will  keep  fh"  <••-"-♦" 
so  ingeniously  laid  quiet  and 
the  future.     We  should  ha^ 
the  vestry  or  parish    author  i- 
power  of  controlment  over  nu. 'i   i- 
sible  d'ings.     Tramways   form   part 
leading  thoroughfares,  an  1  their  stat- 
wet  weather,  caused  by  the  ruts  of  tl;-  ■'■■■■.n 
rails,  is  simply  disgraceful  to  all  conr.ri.ra. 
We  would  recommend  a  %nsit  to  CI  .-.-v. 
to  both  tramway  and  vestrv  nutl.orif 
in  that  city  they  would  find  a  very 
system  from  that  prevailing  in  the  m 
the  "Tcat  aggregotion  of  London  pnri-1:'  • 

Iif  all  these  varieties  of  concrete,  p'  od, 
bad,  and  indifferent,  which  we  have  thus 
referred  to,  there  arc  none  what  may  be 
called  produced  on  accurate  technical  linp* 
The  best  secure  the  most  satisfactory  r«» 
suits  from  the  fact  of  great  care  being  txet^ 


350 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


eised  in  the  selection  of  the  materials,  but 
all  of  them  fail  to  realise  the  best  i^roducts 
from  an  utter  absence  of  careful  admixture 
or  manipulation  of  their  several  parts.  The 
heaps  of  grivel  covered  by  the  fluctuating 
modicum  of  cement,  or  lime  are  vmder  the 
best  condition  of  general  practice  prevented 
from  being  brought  into  intimate  enough 
contact  from  the  unsatisfactory  manner  in 
which  the  water  is  applied.  In  some 
of  the  more  advanced  concrete  works 
the  materials  are  first  mixed  together 
in  a  dry  state,  when,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, the  water,  however  carelessly 
applied,  fails  to  disturb  the  accurate  rela- 
tionshii)  of  the  cement  and  aggregate.  In 
large  dock  or  harbour  works,  or  other  im- 
portant examples  of  concrete  making,  the 
materials  are  mixed  by  machine,  and  thus 
all  the  concrete  particles,  with  the  smallest 
amount  of  moisture,  are  economically  and 
successfully  brought  into  the  closest  contact. 
Some  engineers,  such  as  the  gentleman  in 
charge  oi  the  Chatham  Docks,  prefer  mix- 
ing the  osment  and  ballast  by  hand  twice  in 
a  dry  slate  before  applying  the  water  ;  while 
the  engineer  conducting  the  operations  at 
Dublin  Harbour  mixes  his  concrete  in  a 
simple  machine  before  it  passes  into  the 
moulds  in  which  ho  fabricates  his  mon- 
ster monoliths  of  350  tons'  weight. 

Concrete  is  a  suitable  material  with 
which  to  construct  sewers ;  but  a  recent 
attempt  in  this  direction  has  not  jiroved 
satisfactory,  for,  before  the  sewer  can  be 
dedicated  to  its  destined  use,  the  concrete  of 
which  it  is  composed  has  been  required  to 
undergo  a  process  of  waterproofing,  not  only 
to  fit  it  for  the  work  it  has  to  perform,  but 
to  prevent  its  absorbing  the  water  of  the 
brooks  and  wells  in  the  land  through  which 
it  passes.  That  concrete,  so  signally  un- 
suitable, was  made  of  good  matei'ials  ;  but 
the  guiding  intelligence  was  absent,  and, 
hence,  the  blundering  and  unsatisfactory 
results  we  have  described.  Such  failures, 
however,  will,  in  the  end,  lead  to  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  concrete  question  ;  for  the 
financial  loss  which  such  a  misapplication  of 
men  and  means  occasions  will  be  a  good 
lesson  for  engineers  to  read. 

That  the  art  of  concrete-making  is  not  lost, 
but  rather  gradually  disentangling  itself 
from  the  ignorant  bonds  with  which  it  has 
been  for  so  long  a  time  fettered,  is  apparent 
from  the  satisfactory  progress  in  the  prose- 
cution of  scientific  concrete-making,  in  the 
direction  of  silicated  paving  and  pipes.  In 
these  now  well-known  industries  all  the 
required  conditions  of  success  are  applied 
in  producing  a  quality  of  concrete  all  but 
irreproachable  in  character  and  quality. 
Accuracy  of  quality  in  materials,  and  strict 
attention  to  their  mixture  and  proportions, 
combined  with  the  best  means  of  rendering 
them  homogeneous  in  texture,  succeeds  in 
producing  a  concrete  of  great  density, 
having  the  capacity  of  withstanding  fric- 
tionai  wear  underfoot,  and  proof  against  the 
insidious  action  of  abnormal  atmospheres. 
It  is  fortunate  for  the  future  of  concrete 
that  the  commeriial  success  of  these 
industries  keeps  before  us  the  knowledge 
of  what  a  good  concrete  should  be,  and  we 
cannot  do  better,  in  conclusion,  than  direct 
attention  to  these  modem  high-class  con- 
cretes as  examples  to  study  by  all  and 
Bundry  interested  in  this  most  important 
question. 

Concrete  may  be  made  of  anything  :  old 
plaster,  rotten  and  foul  brickbats,  or  worse, 
according  to  some  would-be  authorities  ;  but 
when  so  made,  there  is  no  better  value 
derived  than  what  might  bo  oxi>ected  imder 
guch  circumstances.  Tne  cementing  agent, 
of  whatever  quality  or  kind,  is  simply 
thrown  away  in  the  futile  attempt  to  render 
profitably  coherent  a  mass  of  such  unsuit- 
able materials.  We  do  not  despond  as  to 
the  concrete's  future,  while  advancing 
science  helps   its  progress  on  true  lines  ; 


neither  do  we  despair  lest  the  art  should  die 
out  while  the  miles  of  Victoria  paving  con- 
tinue to  resist  the  wear  which  a  York  landing 
or  flag  succumbs  to. 


OEIGINAL    SKETCHES    FOR   ART 
FURNITURE.* 

WE  have  received  the  second  edition  of 
"Original  Sketches  for  Art  Furni- 
ture "  by  A.  Jonquet,  a  work  which  we 
noticed  about  a  year  ago,  published  by  Mr. 
B.  T.  Batsford,  of  High  Holbom.  For  many 
of  the  plates  of  designs  in  the  first  edition 
have  been  substituted  others,  and  upwards  of 
twenty  new  plates  have  been  added  in  all, 
making  a  slight  addition  to  the  present 
volume.  The  styles  selected  are  those  which 
still  command  the  appreciation  of  purchasers 
and  others  of  taste  and  judgment,  and  the 
author  has  tak  en  care  to  avoid  the  extremes 
of  fashion.  The  designs  are  printed  in 
brown  ink  in  a  rather  sketchy  stj'le.  Side- 
boards, chimney-pieces,  bookcases,  cabinets, 
and  overmantels  occupy  a  large  space,  and 
many  of  these  designs  indicate  a  quiet  and 
sensible  mode  of  ornamentation,  though  it 
would  be  needless  to  say  we  cannot  admire 
them  in  aU  cases.  Plate  2,  a  chimney-piece 
with  over- mantel  in  a  kind  of  Jacobean  style, 
is  a  trifle  over- done  in  the  panels,  if  we 
are  right  in  supposing  them  carvings  ;  per- 
haps painted  china  is  intended,  in  which  case 
the  same  objection  would  apply.  We  do 
not  like  the  long  bracket  over  the  mantel, 
where  a  mirror  would  be  more  usefully 
placed,  and  the  small  side  brackets  on  the 
jambs  look  meaningless  if  not  rather  in  the 
way.  Plate  3,  a  fireplace,  treated  in  a  mixed 
or  18th-century  style,  is  better,  except  the 
bracket  below  the  mirror,  which  leaves  a 
rather  meaningless  space  between  it  and  the 
mantelshelf.  The  design  at  the  bottom  of 
plate  4  is  unpleasing.  Why  break  up  the 
space  for  deoomtiou  by  a  flat  arch  ?  It  is 
a  distracting  element  in  the  design.  The 
panels  are  intended  to  be  decorated  with 
Wedgwood.  We  like  the  upper  design  the 
best,  and  one  on  the  following  page  conceived 
in  a  sensible  Adams  style,  though  a  close 
imitation.  In  fact,  whenever  the  artist  seeks 
to  introduce  an  innovation  in  this  style  he  is 
on  dangerous  ground,  for  it  is  not  one  which 
can  be  handled  with  any  freedom.  The  buffet 
in  Queen  Anne  style,  plate  6,  is  a  common- 
sense  piece  of  furniture,  though  the  line- 
drawing  hardly  shows  it  to  advantage. 
Plate  7  is  also  simple  and  unpretending,  but 
the  design  on  plate  8  a  little  broken  and 
incoherent  at  the  top,  and  the  pediment 
sprawUug.  Quiet  in  treatment  are  the 
designs  on  plates  9,  10,  and  11.  The  last  is 
simple  and  effective,  and  would  make  a 
useful  sideboard  for  a  dining-room  of 
moderate  size.  The  cove  and  panelling 
at  the  top  in  the  sideboard,  plate  12,  are 
disproportionate  and  heavy  :  the  upper  part 
on  the  following  plate  is  better.  Dinner- 
waggons  should  be  simply  framed,  and  the 
ornamentation  limited  to  outline  and  moulded 
work.  The  designs  shown  for  this  class  of 
furniture  are  unique  ;  we  particularly  note 
one  of  very  simple  construction  on  plate  16 
finished  at  the  top  with  a  broken  pediment, 
but  without  surface  enrichment.  Chairs 
are  illustrated  by  several  sketches  in  the 
Adams  and  Jacobean  styles,  but  the  drawings 
do  scant  justice  to  some  of  them.  Good 
ehair  and  sofa  design  is  not  often  met  with, 
and  perhaps  with  the  whims  of  buyers  and 
the  interests  and  crotchets  of  upholstei-ers,  it 
is  really  difficult  for  an  artist  to  design 
anything  of  merit.  A  few  of  those  shown 
exhibit  marked  improvement  upon  the  ordi- 
nary ugly  shapes  seen  in  the  bazaars.  The 
chairs  on  plate  42,  in  a  plain  Adams  style ,  are 
neat ;  others  in  a  freer  style  (plates  38  and  39) 


*  Original  Sketches  for  Art  Furniture  in  the  Jacobean, 
Queen  Anne,  Adams,  and  other  Styles.  By  A.  JosgiiET 
Second  EdiUon.  London :  B. '  T.  Batsford,  52,  Hi^h 
Holbom,  W.C. 


have  backs  rather  too  elaborated  to  be  dis- 
tinguisfied  for  comfortable  sitting,  and  the 
loungeg  and  couches  are  all  in  the  newer 
styles.  Those  seeking  new  designs  for  fur- 
niture %vill  find  ample  materials  in  Mr. 
Jonquet's  book  in  every  stylo.  Of  course  it 
is  impossible  to  avoid  commo:iplace  in  works 
of  this  kind,  and  a  few  of  the  sketches  are 
chargeable  with  the  repetition  of  some  of 
the  more  objectionable  features  and  tawdry 
ornamentation  of  the  ag.  s  sought  to  be  re- 
produced. Those  who  like  plenty  of  glass 
will  admire  the  over-mantels,  pages  29  and 
32  ;  the  admirer  of  natural  ornament  will  not 
object  to  the  sprays  introduced  in  sma'l 
panels  and  coves,  and  the  connoisseur  in 
French  elegancies  and  refined  decoration 
wUl  find  his  taste  suited  on  pages  26,  28,  35, 
36,  and  the  plates  at  the  latter  partof  the  book 
where  designs  will  be  found  for  a  variety  of 
furniture  of  the  Chippendale,  Sheraton,  and 
Hepflewhite  periods.  The  small  and  light 
tables  for  cards  and  coffee,  composed  of 
turned  moulded  rails  on  plate  44,  the  table 
and  chairs,  plate  48,  and  the  bed-room  fur- 
niture in  the  Chippendale  style,  plates  50  to 
62,  are  all  designed  with  reference  to  the 
requirements  of  modem  house-furnishing 
and  taste,  and  the  inclination  of  the  most 
fastidious  purchaser  cannot  fail  to  find 
something  that  ^vill  suit  in  the  large  collec- 
tion of  sketch  designs  brought  together. 
The  sketches  would  have  been  more  useful 
if  plans  had  in  some  cases  been  added,  and  a 
few  pages  of  description  would  have  en- 
hanced Mr.  Jonquet's  useful  book  of 
designs. 


SANITARY  SCIENCE  IN  AMERICA. 

IN  the  United  States  the  sanitary  con- 
struction of  houses  is  beginning  to  be 
made  a  special  subject  of  inquiry  and  in- 
vestigation, and  Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick,  in  a 
paper  contributed  to  the  Journal  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  throws  a  little  light  upon 
the  errors  committed  in  Boston  and  other 
towns  in  the  United  States.  A  report 
recently  made  to  the  Massachusetts  State 
Board  of  Health,  by  Mr.  Elliot  G.  Clarke, 
assistant  engineer  of  sewerage  works  at 
Boston,  clearly  shows  that  the  old  mistakes 
in  the  construction  of  sewers  and  drains 
under  which  we  so  long  suffered  have  been 
revealed  in  the  States.  In  the  woodcuts 
accompanying  the  report  we  find  sections  of 
conduits  discovered  in  Boston  which,  in  all 
respects,  resemble  those  which  long  dis- 
graced the  sewerage  system  of  London  and 
other  towns.  The  writer  instances  the  non- 
existence of  drains,  as  where  a  drain-pipe 
from  a  dwelling  ran  through  the  walls  and 
there  ended,  and  where  a  block  of  six  ex- 
pensive houses,  occupied  for  months,  with 
all  the  usual  paraphernalia  of  plumbery  and 
waste-pipes,  had  no  drains  beyond  the 
walls.  We  have  heard  of  such  cases  in 
London,  and  it  is  a  clear  justification 
of  the  old  adage,  that  what  is  everybody's 
business  is  nobody's.  One  engraving  tells 
its  own  tale  rather  amusingly.  It  shows  a 
house-drain  stopping  against  a  log  of  wood 
which  the  draiula3er  had  mistaken  (?)  for 
the  sewer.  The  log  was  chopped  and  found 
to  be  hollow,  and  the  drain  was  connected  to 
it.  Drains  of  various  sizes  were  found,  a  few 
of  4in.  diameter,  but  the  largest  number 
from  8  to  12in.  diameter.  Many  that  have 
been  met  with  in  forming  new  sewers  are 
square  in  section,  made  of  plank.  With  re- 
spect to  ^ize,  the  author  of  the  paper  alludes 
to  the  different  ojiinions  on  large  drains,  and 
he  says  truly  that  in  building  a  drain  the 
object  should  be  to  prevent  the  beginning  of 
a  deposit,  one  much  easier  to  accomplish  in 
a  small  than  a  large  drain.  Three-quarters 
of  the  house-drains  of  Boston  are  said  to  be 
too  large,  and  the  forms  illustrated  repre- 
sent a  variety  of  brick  and  timber  conduits, 
from  a  plain  square  section,  made  with  a 
stone  bottom  and  top  and  brick  sides,  to  the 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


351 


ordinary  barre],  oval,  and  angular  sewer 
of  brick.  Half-cylinrtcrs,  with  the  bottom 
made  of  flat  stone,  and  .another  showing  the 
same  reversed,  are  among  the  kinds  of  con- 
struction. It  is  curious  to  find  that  even  in 
America  the  first  constructors  of  sewers 
adopted  the  flat  bottom,  -without  thinking 
of  the  result  of  spreading  out  the  water  into 
a  thin  slu^'gish  stream,  which  filled  the 
angles  with  solid  matters,  and  never  had  suffi- 
cient depth  to  remove  soli  1  obstacles.  The 
result  of  this  mode  of  building  is  strikingly 
explained  in  the  sequel.  Out  of  113  house- 
drains,  4.5  had  flat  bottoms,  and  of  these  '26 
were  choked  with  sludge,  while  of  the  re- 
maining 68  with  round  inverts^  only  12  were 
choked,  and  J6  reasonably  clean. 

A  useful  hint  on  brick-constructed  sewers 
is  worth  noticing  here — namely,  the  desira- 
bility of  leaving  the  lower  half  of  a  brick 
drain  free  from  mortar  droppings.  After 
the  supporting  centres  are  removed,  portions 
of  the  mortar  fall  and  adhere  to  the  bottom, 
and  cause  obstructions  to  the  flow  of  sew- 
age. In  many  draius  of  brick  the  mortar  is 
found  left  projecting  into  the  drain  from 
the  joints;  ihese  should  be  carefully  struck 
in  the  lower  half.  In  pipe-drains  the  mortar 
used  to  unite  the  sections  often  exudes  into 
the  interior,  forming  a  series  of  little  dams  ; 
and  it  is  necessary  to  clean  the  interior  of 
each  pipe  with  a  hoe.  With  respect  t)  in- 
clination of  house-drains,  less  than  half  an 
inch  to  the  foot  is  not  considered  safe, 
though  many  instances  of  level  drains 
are  recorded  at  Boston,  and  some 
pitched  the  wrong  way.  Tight  drains 
are  strongly  insisted  upon,  and  the  author 
mentions  that  55  per  cent,  of  house-drains 
in  Boston  were  defective  from  not  being 
tight.  The  settling  of  the  ground  below 
drain -pipes,  and  the  consequent  fracture  and 
leakage  at  the  joints,  is  a  prolific  source  of 
mischief  not  always  to  be  avoided  by  careful 
laying  and  jointmg  ;  and,  as  Mr.  Theodore 
Clark  observes,  even  where  drains  have 
been  laid  with  the  greatest  care,  water  will 
often  in  course  of  time  make  its  way  out 
around  the  joints  between  the  pipe  and  the 
ring  of  cement.  The  cement  may  have 
taken  a  perfect  mould  of  the  pipe,  but, 
either  from  some  greasiness  or  dust  on  the 
pipe  at  the  time  of  laying,  it  has  failed  to 
adhere,  and  water  has  ultimately  forced  its 
way  through.  Mr.  T.  Clark  remarks  that 
defects  are  more  common  from  this  cause 
than  leaks  in  soil-pipes,  imperfect  traps, 
&c.,  and  he  advises  that  the  earthenware 
drain-pipes  should  be  first  examined  in 
searching  for  the  cause  of  unpleasant  smells 
in  any  part  of  the  house.  Cases  are  even 
mentioned  where  leaks  in  the  drain  have 
•directly  communicated  with  the  cold  air 
supply-pipes  of  the  warming  apparatus, 
and  by  this  means  the  gas  has  been  distri- 
buted. A  common  place  for  a  leak  to  occur 
is  the  point  where  the  pipe-drain  passes 
through  the  wall  of  house  into  made  ground, 
which  of  com-se  settles,  and  cracks  or  dis- 
locates the  pipe,  causing  leakage  into  the 
cellar  and  foundation  walls.  The  superin- 
tendent of  the  Boston  sewers  says  the 
number  of  drains  leaking  under  houses  and 
into  foundations  is  very  large,  and  the 
same  might  be  said  in  London  and  other 
towns. 


ANCIENT  LIGHTS.— I. 

THE  law  as  to  ancient  lights  is  so  bur- 
dened with  legal  learning,  and  so  com- 
pl  cated  by  conflicting  decisions  that  it  is 
difficu't  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  its  present 
position.  Sail,  much  can  be  done  to  aid 
men  of  business  in  judging  of  these  matters 
by  setting  forth  a  few  of  its  plainest  prin- 
ciples, and  pointing  out  how  they  are  applied 
to  practical  purposes  in  our  courts  of  law 
and  equity.  But,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  well 
to  understand  what  we  mean  by  ancient 
lights,  and   to  grasp  the  idea  upon  which 


the  right  to  the  free  access  of  light  and  air 
by  certain  windows  is  really  founded.  Any 
man  may  build  as  and  where  he  likes  upon 
his  own  land ;  but  so  also  may  any  other 
man.  If,  therefore,  he  chooses  to  build  a 
house  at  the  edge  of  his  own  property,  then 
also  may  the  other  do  likewise  and  block  up 
his  windows.  The  right  to  light  and  air  is 
a  natural  right,  and  thus  we  see  that  the 
right  to  the  admission  of  light  and  air 
through  specific  windows  can  only  arise 
when,  by  some  means  or  another,  a  similar 
and  equal  right  has  been  lost  by  the  owner 
of  the  adjoining  property,  for  the  right 
itself  means  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the 
power  of  pre%-enting  someone  else  from 
doing  as  he  likes  upon  his  own  land.  In  law, 
therefore,  this  right  is  spoken  of  as  an  case- 
ment, which  is  defined  to  be  "  a  privilege 
without  profit,  which  the  owner  of  one 
neighbom-ing  tenement  hath  of  another, 
existing  in  respect  of  their  several  tene- 
ments, by  which  the  servient  owner  is 
obliged  to  suflTer,  or  not  to  do,  something  in 
his  own  land  for  the  benefit  of  the  dominant 
owner."  That  definition  cannot  be  improved, 
and  thus  we  see  that  to  constitute  the  tight 
there  must  be  two  tenements ;  one,  the 
dominant,  to  which  the  ri^'ht  belongs  ;  the 
other,  the  servient,  upon  which  the  obliga- 
tion is  imposed,  if  not  interfering  with  the 
enjoyment  of  that  right.  Now,  in  the  first 
place,  it  must  clearly  be  understood  that 
the  law  will  have  notliing  to  do  with  ques- 
tions of  prospect  or  privacy.  It  is  true  that 
property  may  be  injured  by  the  erection  of 
a  building  which  overlooks  its  gardens,  and 
so  ruins  its  former  privacy,  or  still  more,  by 
the  destruction  of  a  pleasant  prospect,  as 
where,  in  one  case,  a  hideous  black  gasometer 
shut  out  a  lovely  view.  But  there  is  no 
legal  right  of  easement  in  such  matters,  and 
the  Court  cannot  order  damages  or  grant 
injunctions  whenever  thej'  may  happen,  or 
however  great  may  be  the  injury  to  pro- 
perty. These  remedies  are  only  applicable 
to  the  obstruction  of  ancient  lights  and  other 
similar  rights  acquired  by  one  man  over  the 
tenement  of  another. 

This  right  to  certain  window  lights  may 
be  acquired  in  three  ways— by  occupancy,  by 
express  agreement,  and  by  implied  agree- 
ment. Strictly  speaking,  the  first  of  these 
is  the  only  one  coming  within  the  meaning 
of  ancient  lights,  but  the  others  will  be 
briefly  considered.  In  early  days,  the  right 
to  window-lights  by  occupancy  was  founded 
on  prescription,  and  followed  upon  proof 
that  the  lights  in  question  hai  been  enjoyed 
since  the  beginumg  of  legal  memory.  This 
was  a  very  vague  rule,  and  got  worse  as 
time  went  on,  so,  in  the  Statute  of  Limita- 
tions of  James  I  ,  it  was  practically  enacted 
that  twenty  years'  occupancy  gave  a  title  to 
ancient  lights.  But  this  was  only  presump- 
tive evidence  that  might  be  upset  by  the 
finding  of  a  jury,  and  it  led  to  some  strange 
results.  In  1832,  however,  the  Prescription 
Act  (2  and  3  Will.  IV.,  c.  71)  was  passed,  by 
which  twenty  years'  posse-sion  became  of 
itself  a  title,  wi  hout  th-  need  of  any  jtiry 
to  make  it  so.  This  is  done  by  the  third 
section,  which  is  so  important  that  wo  cannot 
do  better  than  quote  it  entirely.  "  WTien 
the  access  and  use  ot  light  to  and  from  any 
dwelling-house,  workshop,  or  other  building 
shall  have  been  actually  enjo.sed  therewith 
lor  the  full  period  of  twenty  years  without 
interruption,  the  right  thereto  shall  be 
deemed  absolute  and  indefeasible,  any  local 
usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding, 
unless  it  shall  appear  that  the  same  was  en- 
joyed by  some  consent  or  agreement  ex- 
pressly made  or  g.ven  for  that  purpose  by 
deed  or  writing." 

In  the  great  case  of  "  Tapling  v.  Jones  " 
(34,  Laxr  ./.,  N.S.  C.P.,  342)  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  the  effect  of  this  statute  was  con- 
sidered, and  it  was  decided  tha^,  by  the 
Prescription  Act,  after  twenty  years'  user  of 
lights,  the  owner  of  them  acquires  an  abso- 


lute and  indefeasible  right,  which  so  far 
restricts  the  adjoining  owner  in  the  use  of 
his  own  proi.eriy,  that  lie  can  do  nothing 
upon  his  premises  which  may  liavi-  the  effect 
of  interrupting  them.  In  other  words,  a 
house  having  certain  windows  for  over 
twenty  years,  acquires  fho  right  to  use  them 
as  ancient  lights,  and  becomes  the  dominant 
tenement,  so  that  the  owner  of  the  serWent 
tenement,  over  which  the  light  pusses  to 
those  windows,  Ls  under  the  obligation  not 
to  raise  any  obstruction  up  >n  his  own  pro- 
perty. But  this  result  only  follows  upon 
the  happening  of  certain  coLditious. 
First,  the  enjoyment  mentioned  in  the 
statute  must  have  been  in  the  character  of 
an  easement;  that  is,  thut  it  must  bo  dis- 
tinct from  the  enjoyment  of  (he  land  itself. 
If,  for  instance,  a  man  occuj))'  a  house  for 
over  twenty  years,  and,  at  tlie  same  time, 
rent  the  adjoining  garden,  lie  will  not  have 
acquired  a  right  to  window  lights  over  that 
garden  when  it  pas.sos  into  the  i)osscssion  of 
another,  because  the  tenements  have  not 
been  in  that  position  of  dominant  and  ser- 
^aent,  out  of  which  alone  the  right  can 
spring.  Secondly,  the  occupation  will 
count  for  nothing  if  it  has  taken  place  under 
some  deed  or  agreement  in  icrHing,  as 
the  statute  provides  ;  but  a  verbal  consent 
will  make  no  difference.  In  the  third  place 
the  occupation  must  W,  as  the  Act  says, 
without  interruption  ;  but  thin  interruption 
to  stop  the  right  must  have  lasted  for  one 
year  after  it  came  to  the  notice  of  the  party 
claiming,  and  it  must  be  an  interruption  in 
the  nature  of  an  adverse  obstruction,  »nd  not 
merely  a  cessation  by  the  dominant  owner  of 
the  user  of  the  ancient  lights  claimed.  The 
last  condition  follows  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  is  that  the  twenty  years  relied  upon 
niust  be  the  years  next  before  the  action 
being  brought.  For  the  rest,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  right  to  window-light  may  bo 
acquired,  not  onlj"  without  'he  consent,  but 
also  without  the  knowledge  of  the  servient 
owner,  as  in  cases  where  the  tenement  is  let, 
and  more  than  twenty  years  pass  away 
before  it  returns  to  the  ground  landlord  or 
falls  to  the  reversioner.  The  right  to  win- 
dow-lights can  also  bo  acquired  by  express 
agreement,  as  where  the  owner  of  an  ad- 
joining piece  of  land  covenants  that  he  will 
not  in  any  way  obstruct  the  access  of  light 
and  air  to  the  windows  of  his  neighbour's 
tenement  ;  but  the  more  usual  form  of 
covenant  is  that  such  an  owner  will  not 
build  above  a  certain  height,  which  comes 
to  the  same  thing.  An  implied  agreement 
not  to  obstruct  window-lights  arises  where  a 
man  sells  a  house,  but  keeps  the  surrounding 
land,  and  the  sale  of  the  house,  as  it  stands, 
gives  the  purchaser  a  right  to  the  lights 
coming  in  at  the  winHow.i,  over  the  venoor's 
land,  without  the  necessity  for  proring  a 
tweniy  years'  possession. 

The  right  to  ancient  lights  docs  not  mean 
in  law,  that  the  servient  owner  can  bo  re- 
strained from  any  and  ever>-  obs'rtiction. 
There  must  be  such  an  interference  with 
diminution  of  the  light  as  trenches  upon  the 
comfort  of  its  occupants,  or  as  injures  the 
premises  for  business  purposes.  A  mere 
speculative  exclusion  of  light  wUl  give  no 
trround  of  action, -nd  the  plaintiff  must  prore 
that  his  light  has  been  so  far  leMuned  as  to 
lower  the  value  of  his  proj^-rty  ;  for  this  u 
the  legal  standard  of  damige,  and  not  the 
owner's  personal  comfort.  After  many  con- 
flicting cases  upon  the  point,  it  seem*  to  be 
now  decided  that  the  extent  of  the  right  to 
window-lights  is  the  game  -  whether  the 
tenement  he  in  town  or  country  ;  ss,  by  the 
Prescription  Act,  all  local  customs  have  been 
abolished.  . 

^Vnothcr  question  of  even  greater  import- 
ance is  whether  the  right  to  light  and  oir  u 
limited  to  the  extent  r.<iuir»-d  by  the  sUte 
of  the  leuoiuent  for  the  time  b.ing,  or  can 
be  enlarged  to  an  extent  sufficient  for  pur- 
poses to  which  it  may  hereafter  be  applied. 


oo'^ 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


Here,  again,  there  is  gi'eat  conflict  amongst 
the  authorities.  Some  eminent  judges  have 
held  that  the  possible  future  of  premises 
cannot  bo  taken  into  account,  and  that  the 
only  thing  the  law  can  restrain  is  an  ob- 
struction of  the  light  as  then  being  used. 
But  later  decisions,  and  especially  that  of 
"Yates  V.  Jack,"  in  the  House  of  Lords  (L.R. 
],  Ch.  295),  rule  otherwise.  Lord  Cran- 
worth,  holding  in  this  case  that,  as  the 
Prescription  Act  confers  an  absolute  right  in 
ancient  lights,  the  defence  could  not  succeed 
imless  it  were  shown  that  there  had  been  no 
interference  with  the  plaintiff's  light  for 
whatever  purpose  it  might  by  him  be  used. 
Xor  can  it  be  set  up  in  answer  to  a  claim  to 
restrain  from  blocking-up  the  plaintiff's 
lights,  that  the  obstruction  leaves  him  as 
much  light  and  air  as  other  men  in  the 
same  trade  find  suificient  ;  for  that  is  by  no 
means  the  question.  Neither  can  it  be  said 
by  the  defendant  that  as  the  plaintiff  has 
sometimes  chosen  to  darken  his  own  light  by 
blinds  or  otherwise,  therefore,  an  obstruc 
tion  which  does  no  more  is  illegal  ;  for 
because  he  reduces  his  light  as  occasion  may 
require,  is  no  reason  why  it  should  be  per- 
manently lessened  by  another.  Of  the 
remedies  for  obstructing  ancient  lights,  and 
of  the  defences  that  can  be  raised,  we  shall 
speak  on.  another  occasion. 


THE  rXHEALTHINESS  OF  PUBLIC 
INSTITUTIONS.* 

IN  a  paper  read  at  the  Sanitary  Congress  at 
Croydon  last  year,  I  drew  attention  to  the 
sanitary  defects  which  had  been  found  to  exist 
in  some  of  the  older  public  institutions  in  this 
country.  Special  reference  was  made  to  the 
Manchester  Royal  Infirmary,  which  had  been 
reported  by  Mr.  Netten  Eadcliffe,  of  the  Local 
Government  Buard,  to  be  unhealthy  from  cellar 
to  garret.  The  defective  he;ilth  arriingenients 
at  the  large  lunatic  asylums  were  referred  to, 
and  the  condition  of  the  Couuty  Asylum,  at 
Frome,  was  selected  as  a  typical  example  of  the 
insanitary  condition  of  the  majority  of  such 
buildings.  At  neither  Manchester  nor  Frome 
could  reUable  information  as  to  the  drainage 
arrangements  of  the  buildings  be  obtained,  and 
no  proper  plans  could  be  foimd.  It  was  further 
stated  that  investigation  had  brought  to  light 
the  startling  fact,  that  not  10,  and  possibly  not 
5  per  cent,  of  all  the  hospitals  throughout  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  possess  any  reliable  plan 
of  their  drainage  arrangements.  Even  some  of 
the  most  important  hospitals  in  the  kingdom  had 
no  such  plans,  and  it  would  be  easy  to  give  in- 
stance after  instance  of  the  culpable  ignorance 
which  prevailed  on  this  important  subject. 
Remembering  the  foregoing  facts,  I  asked  what 
is  the  probable  condition  of  the  drains  of  all 
institutions  biult  some  50  years  ago  ? 

Last  year  I  specially  referred  to  old  institu- 
tions as  opposed  to  recent  buildings.  By  a  sub- 
lime act  of  faith  I  took  it  for  granted  that 
buildings  erected  within  the  last  ten  years  would 
certainly  not  suffer  either  from  insanitary  con- 
struction or  defective  di-ainage.  From  the 
amount  of  attention  which  questions  of  hygiene 
have  excited,  and  the  numerous  and  competent 
authorities  who  have  written  and  spoken  on  the 
subject  in  all  its  branches,  it  might  at  fu-st  sight 
have  been  taken  for  granted  that  architects  of 
more  or  less  eminence  would  have  brought  much 
inteUigent  study  to  the  consideration  of  the 
right  construction  of  drains  and  to  that  of  sani- 
tary arrangements  generally.  Unfortunately, 
experience  proves  the  reverse  to  be  the  case,  and 
if  anything,  the  newer  the  building  the  worse 
probably  is  its  sanitary  condition.  Is  it  not 
time  that  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Archi- 
tects took  up  this  question  of  sanitary  construe, 
tion,  and  that  its  council  should  make  regula- 
tions for  the  guidance,  instruction,  and  training 
of  the  rising  generation  of  architects  r  Such  a 
course  will  ultimately  guarantee  the  public 
against  the  defective,  unheahhy,  and  cUsuredit- 
able  condition  of  many  public  and  private  build- 
ings which  have  been  erected  under  the  super- 
vision and  from  the  plans  of  some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  in  the  profession.     It  is  quite  cer- 


•  Aparer.  by  H,   C.   BasDETT,  read  at  the  Saniturv 
Congress,  E  i^jter,  Wednesday,  Sept.  22, 18S0.  [See p.  387.) 


tain  that  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects 
must  declare,  either  that  the  profession  repu- 
diate all  responsibility  for  insanitary  defects  in 
dwelling-huuses  and  large  pubhc  institutions, 
because  hygienic  arrangements  are  no  part  of  an 
architect's  business,  or  they  mu.st  promptly  offer 
adequate  guarantees  to  the  public  which  will 
protect  it  from  the  disastrous  results  wliich  now 
too  frequently  foUow  the  occupation  of  a  newly- 
erected  edifice.  Suppose  a  wealthy  chent  pays 
a  large  sum  for  the  erection  of  a  new  house, 
which  he  has  been  assured  by  his  architect  is 
planned  and  arranged  upon  the  most  perfect 
system  known  to  modem  science.  The  profes- 
sional adviser  cannot  expect  that  such  a  chent, 
however  much  he  may  be  reconciled  to  the 
anxieties  and  increasing  expense  of  each  addi- 
tion to  his  family,  will,  without  remonstrance, 
submit  to  an  annual  and  increasing  outlay  for 
sanitary  alterations  and  drainage  improvements, 
rendered  necessary  by  the  carelessness  or  ignor- 
ance of  the  architect  him.self .  It  may  be  thought 
that  new  buildings  are  as  a  rule  carefully  erected, 
and  that  there  is  no  justification  for  the  fore- 
going remarks.  Unfortunately  for  architect 
and  client,  such  is  not  the  case. 

I  hold  myself  responsible  for  the  accuracy  of 
the  following  desciiptions  of  three  new  buildings, 
a  hospital,  a  convalescent  institution,  and  a 
lunatic-asylum,  all  of  which  have  been  built, 
opened,  and  occupied  within  the  last  seven  years. 
All  names  are  purposely  withheld. 

The  Hospital  had  not  been  in  occupation  for 
more  than  18  months,  when  the  atmosphere  of 
the  building  and  the  health  of  the  inmates 
pointed  to  defective  drainage  and  construction. 
An  examination  of  all  the  drains,  baths,  and 
other  conveniences,  proved  the  sanitary  condition 
of  the  building  to  be  most  unsatisfactory.  It 
soon  became  evident  that  very  considerable 
alterations  were  needed  to  remedy  the  defects. 
This  new  hospital  had  therefore  to  be  closed 
within  tlrree  years  of  the  date  on  which  it  was 
opened.  A  thorough  investigation  brought  to 
light  the  following  facts  : — The  cisterns  were 
placed  so  high  that  the  pressure  from  the  main 
was  seldom  or  never  sufficient  to  fill  them.  In 
consequence  there  was  a  gradual  choking  of  the 
drains  throughout  the  hospital,  and  an  admission 
of  sewer-gas  to  all  parts  of  the  building.  No 
manholes  or  means  of  inspection  were  provided, 
and  the  plans  of  the  th-ains  were  found  to  be  un- 
rehable.  Withfoirrexceptious,  the  drains  were  laid 
outside  the  building,  but  the  levels  were  very  irre- 
gular. Thus  :  the  level  at  the  lower  end  of  a  drain 
was  1  in  60,  higher  up  it  was  1  in  24,  and  above 
this  again  1  in  12.5.  No  wonder  the  drains  were 
found  to  be  choked.  The  pipes  were  also  badly 
laid.  In  some  places  tbey  were  leaky,  and  very 
fold  excrementitious  matter  was  discovered  in 
the  soil  near  them.  All  pipes  were  pointed  with 
clay,  not  embedded  in  cement,  and  few  were 
water-tight.  In  fact,  the  defects  were  serious 
enough  to  guarantee  the  admission  of  sewer-gas 
to  all  parts  of  the  building.  The  hospital  drains 
were  in  direct  communication  with  the  town 
sewer.  The  rain-water  pipes  opened  directly 
into  the  drains,  they  were  untrapped,  and  as 
they  were  only  carried  to  a  level  with  the  upper 
part  of  the  windows  of  the  top  wards,  they  con- 
ducted volumes  of  gas  from  the  sewer  to  the 
wards.  The  soil-pipes  were  all  inside  the 
building,  and  were  trapped  at  the  foot, 
and  ventilated  by  smaller  pipes  carried  up 
a  certain  height  and  then  bent  over. 
These  traps  were  quite  inaccessible,  and 
the  soil-pipes  were  not  properly  ventilated,  as 
they  were  only  open  at  the  top,  so  that  no 
current  of  air  could  pass  tlrrough  them.  As 
there  was  no  inlet  at  the  ground-level,  foul  air 
was  forced  out  through  the  lower  closets  into 
the  hospital,  whenever'any  considerable  volume 
of  water  passed  into  the  soil-pipe  from  the  upper 
floors.  The  slop-sinks  discharged  into  the  soiN 
pipes,  and  were  practically  untrapped,  so  that 
by  their  means  sewer-gas  was  laid  on  to  every 
ward  in  the  hospital.  There  were  other  defects, 
and  no  one  will  be  suprised  that  the  sufferings 
of  the  surgical  patients  and  the  general 
unhealthiaess  soon  compelled  the  committee  to 
close  the  ho.spital. 

The  Convaloicent  Institution  stands  in  its  own 
grounds  of  S  aeres.  It  is  beiudl'uUy  situated. 
It  has  extensive  gardens  and  every  convenience, 
not  to  say  luxury,  that  modern  taste  could 
suggest.  The  cost  of  the  site,  buildings,  &c. 
was  upwards  of  £50,000,  there  is  accommodation 
for  some  200  patients,  and  it  has  been  occupied 
for  less   than  five  years.    -Within  a  year  of  its 


being  opened  there  was  a  sharp  outbreak  of 
erysipelas  amongst  the  patients,  and  the  institu- 
tion was  closed  and  fumigated.  It  was  noticed 
at  the  time  that  all  the  conveniences  opened  into 
the  buUding,  directly  opposite  the  wards,  and  a 
suspicion  of  defective  drainage  arose,  but  was 
not  credited,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  building 
had  been  occupied  for  barely  one  year.  A  few 
months  ago  the  unhealthiness  of  the  institution 
was  so  marked,  that  the  committee  gave  instruc- 
tions for  a  complete  examination  of  the  drainage 
system.  No  plan  of  the  drainage  could  be 
found,  but  one  was  ultimately  furnished  by  the 
architect  which  proved  to  be  incorrect  in  many 
particulars.  All  drain-pipes,  ire,  were  found  to 
be  in  and  beneath  the  building.  The  baths, 
lavatories,  and  sinks  opened  directly  into  the 
sewer,  and  many  were  untrapped.  In  that  por- 
tion of  the  building  allotted  to  the  officers,  owing 
to  an  ingeiuous  aiTangement  of  the  lavatories  and 
the  pipes  connected  with  tbem,  sewer  gas  was 
admitted  at  both  ends  of  each  floor.  The  venti- 
lation of  the  drains  and  sewers  was  so  defective, 
that  during  certain  winds  the  sewer  gas  was 
driven  through  and  into  the  builtUng  by  means 
of  the  ventilators.  Some  of  the  drains  were  laid 
up-hill,  all  were  pointed  with  clay,  and  not  im- 
bedded in  cement,  all  leaked,  and  the  main 
sewer,  as  it  passed  from  the  building,  was  laid 
at  irregular  levels,  and  in  more  than  one  place, 
owing  to  imperfect  workmanship  and  improperly- 
made  ground,  the  pipes  of  which  it  was  composed 
were  not  in  contact  with  one  another.  The 
main  sewer  liad  to  be  entirely  relaid.  AU  the 
drains  were  taken  up,  and,  with  the  soil-pipes, 
were  placed  outside  the  building.  It  is  not  to  be- 
wondered  at,  in  the  face  of  the  foregoing  facts, 
that  instead  of  being  a  convalescent  institution, 
these  defects  of  [construction  compelled  the 
convalescents  to  retui-n,  not  to  their  own  homes, 
but  to  the  hospitals  from  which  they  came ; 
whilst  the  majority  of  the  resident  staff 
were  placed  on  the  sick-list.  Yet  the  archi- 
tect had,  in  this  case,  unlimited  funds  at 
his  disposal,  and  the  fullest  bberty  to  do  all  that 
he  thought  necessary  or  desirable. 

The  Couuty  Lunatic  Asylum  has  been  opened 
for  the  reception  of  patients  for  five  years.  Built 
regardless  of  expense,  it  was  supposed  to  contain  all 
the  most  recent  improvements  in  Imiatic-hospital 
construction.  Almost  from  the  date  of  its  occupa» 
tion  it  has  been  the  scene  of  outbreaks  of  dysentery 
and  erysipelas.  Diu'ing  the  first  eight  month^ 
of  1S79,  cases  of  these  diseases  were  of  constant 
occurrence  on  both  sides  of  the  asylum.  There 
were  twelve  fresh  cases  of  dysentery  and  four  of 
erysipelas  every  month.  Suspicion  having 
fallen  on  the  state  of  the  drains,  ultimately  a 
competent  engineer  was  appointed  to  examine 
them.  Numerous  faulty  points  in  the  system 
were  detected,  and  their  rectification  has  been 
followed  by  the  disappearance  of  dysentery  and 
erysipelas  from  the  estabUshment. 

I  have  here  given  positive  proof,  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  past  twelve  months  alone,  that 
the  architects  who  have  been  entrusted  with  the 
erection  of  these  large  public  buildings  devoted 
to  medical  purposes,  have  shown  an  ignorance, 
or,  if  you  prefer  it,  a  total  disregard,  of  sanitary 
laws  and  requirements  I  refrain  from  com- 
ment, but  I  appeal  to  the  Royal  Institute  of 
British  Archite-cts  to  apply  a  remedy  which  will 
prevent  like  abuses  fe>r  the  future.  If  they  fail 
to  do  this,  then  let  them  boldly  hand  over  all 
matters  afi'ecting  drainage  and  sanitary  con- 
struction to  the  engineer.  By  this  means  they 
can  readily  avoid  a  heavy  responsibUity,  and 
save  their  profession  from  much  discredit. 

It  behoves  the  public  to  take  the  question  up 
from  a  different  point  of  view  entirely.  Private 
houses  and  pubhc  institutions  are  not  free,  as 
they  ought  to  be  free,  from  preventible  impuri- 
ties, and  they  are  too  often  highly  dangeroxis 
abodes  for  anyone  who  has  a  tendency  to 
zymotic  disease.  No  permanent  prevention  is 
likely  to  be  secured  without  a  thorough,  an 
independent,  and  a  periodical  inspection  of  all 
the  structural  and  drainage  arrangements  of 
these  buildings.  A  central  ollice  for  the  safe 
custody  and  registration  of  the  drainage  and 
other  plans  of  all  public  buildings,  hospitals, 
and  private  houses  is  a  much-needed  reform. 
Competent  inspectors  and  a  central  repository 
might  be  secured  for  a  reasonable  outlay,  which 
would  he  over  and  over  again  repaid  to  those  who 
were  sensible  enough  to  avail  themselves  of  its 
facilities.  At  the  present  time  no  one  seems  to 
think  of  drainage  arrangements.  Nearly  every- 
one is  contented  with  a  taking  exterior.     Yet  the 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEW& 


353 


magnificent  elevation  of  the  block  of  new  build- 
ings known  as  the  new  Foreign  Othce  did  not 
protect  its  inmates  from  the  inconvenience  at- 
tending the  presence  of  several  inches  of  liqnid 
sewage,  which  was  found  in  the  basement  of 
the  Home  Office  within  a  few  weeks  of  its  occu- 
pation. CoiJd  the  Congress  b.  tter  employ  its 
time,  than  in  appciii.ting  an  influential  deputa- 
tion to  the  Local  Government  Board,  who  would 
strongly  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  neces- 
sary remedies  for  the  removal  of  the  evils 
brought  out  by  the  facts  detailed  in  the  paper  ? 


THE  CHATHAM  DOCKYARD  EXTEN- 
SION "WORKS. 
TO  the  northward  of  the  Royal  Dockyard  at 
Chatham  lies  what  is  generally  known  as 
St.  Mary's  Island,  which  was  formerly  separated 
from  the  mainland  by  a  creek  of  considerable 
■width  and  depth,  opening  at  either  end  into  the 
river  Medway,  which  here  make's  a  sharp  curve. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  excavations  already 
effected  by  nature,  a  series  of  basins  for  repairing 
and  fitting  out  vessels  belonging  to  the  Royal 
Navy  have  been  designed  and  partially  con- 
structed on  the  Isbind.  These  basins,  which 
with  their  adjuncts  are  known  as  the  Chatham 
Dockyard  extension  works,  were  on  Tuesday 
visited  by  about  SO  of  the  members  and  associates 
•of  the  Society  of  Engineers.  The  visitors  were 
received  by  i£r.  Edwin  A.  Bernays,  the  superin- 
tendent civil  engineer,  who,  with  Mr.  T.  W. 
Newton,  the  executive  officer  in  charge  of  the 
works,  showed  them  over  that  portion  of  the 
dockyard  extension  in  course  of  construction. 

Although  the  undertaking  is  of  but  compara- 
tively recent  date,  the  necessity  for  these  docks 
has  long  existed,  and  has  as  long  been  recog- 
nised. In  18.50,  the  Admiralty  purchased  the 
land  lying  between  the  dockyard  and  St.  Mary's 
Creek",  and  in  18.54  they  bought  St.  Mary's 
Island.  In  ISOl  an  Act  was  pas.«ed  giving  the 
necessary  powers  for  carrying  out  the  works 
proposed  by  the  Govei-nment,  according  to  the 
original  designs  of  Colonel  Greene,  then  Director 
of  Works  to  the  Admiralty.  In  1864  the  general 
■design  of  the  works  was  tinally  settled  by  Colonel 
(now  Sir)  Andrew  Clarke,  who  succeeded  Colonel 
Greene  at  the  Admiralty,  and  the  works  were 
forthwith  ordered  to  be  carried  out.  They  con- 
sist of  three  main  basins,  communicating  with 
«aeh  other,  together  with  four  large  graving 
docks.  The  first  basin  opens  out  of  Upnor  Reach, 
and  is  called  the  n  pairing  basin.  It  has  a  mean 
length  of  1,270ft.,  a  width  of  700ft.,  and  an  area 
of  about  \il  acres,  and  is  mainly  used  for  the 
reception  of  newly  launched  ships  or  of  those 
stripped  for  repair  after  return  from  commission. 
At  the  eastern  end  of  this  basin  is  a  passage 
•opening  into  the  second  or  factory  basin,  which 
is  used  for  the  reception  of  vessels  while  their 
engines  and  machinery  are  being  fitted  and 
placed  on  board,  or  are  in  course  of  removal. 
This  basin  has  a  mean  length  of  l,2i.ift.,  and  a 
width  of  7C0ft  ,  with  an  area  of  20  acres.  This 
basin  will  open  into  the  third  or  fitting-out  basin, 
now  in  course  of  construction.  It  is  of  irregular 
shape,  and  will  have  an  arta  of  about  27  acres. 
Its  breadth  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  other  basins 
—  viz.,  700ft.,  and  this  dimen.sion  was  fixed 
with  regard  to  the  advantageous  working  of  the 
ba.sins,  the  usefulness  of  a  ba.sin  depending  upon 
its  available  wharf  accommodation,  rather  than 
upon  its  mere  supei-fieial  area. 

The  repairing  basin  has  but  one  entrance — 
that  in  I'pnor  Reach,  which  is  closed  by  a  cais- 
son. The  fi'ting-out  basin,  however,  which 
opens  into  the  river  at  GUlingham  Reach,  has 
two  entrances.  Each  of  these  entrances  forms  a 
lock  closed  at  both  ends  by  a  caisson,  and  of 
snffi'-ient  length  to  receive  vessels  of  the  greatest 
length  in  ii.se  in  the  Royal  Navy.  There  will  be 
arrangements  for  pumping  out  these  locks,  so  as 
to  allow  the  examination  of  a  ship's  bottom  to 
be  made  if  necessary.  Provision  is  made  for 
adjusting  the  level  of  the  water  between  the 
river  and  the  basins,  docks,  and  locks,  by  means 
of  large  culverts  closed  by  sluices,  worked  by 
hydraulic  power.  Opening  frt:tm  the  repairing 
basin  on  the  south  side  are  situate  the  four  grav- 
ing docks,  which  are  all  of  the  uniform  length  of 
4Gi>ft.  Gin.  Two  of  these  docks  are  sufficiently 
wide  to  take  any  but  the  latest  of  our  ironclads, 
while  the  other  two  will  accommodate  the  In- 
flexible.  The  floor  of  each  dock  within  the 
entrance  Is  4 1  ft.  below  the  coping  level,  ri.sing 
1ft.  in  the  length  of  the  Boor.  The  docks  can  be 
emptied  of  their  contained  water  down  to  low- 


water  level  in  the  river,  below  which  point  the 
water  has  to  be  removed  by  pumping.  The 
pumps  are  driven  by  compouiid  engines  of  2-*0- 
horse-power,  and  in  the  building  containing  the 
pumping  machinery  is  the  machinery  fur  working 
by  hydraulic  power  the  capstans,  sluices,  &c., 
connected  with  the  docks  and  ba.-ins.  Tlie 
cranes  and  sheers  are  worl;ed  by  steam  power. 
The  sheers  on  the  south  side  of  the  repairing 
basin  are  140ft.  in  height,  and  will  carry  100 
tons.  In  the  factory  basin  are  sheers  of  similar 
construction,  but  of  smaller  power.  As  the 
machinery-shops  in  the  existing  dockyard  are 
not  adapted  for  the  execution  of  a  gr.atly  in- 
creased quantity  of  work,  and  as  they  are,  more- 
over, situate  at  an  inconvenient  distance  from 
the  new  docks,  one  of  the  large  iron  slip  roofs 
formerly  standing  in  Woolwich  Dockyard  has 
been  erected  and  fitted  as  a  mac)iinery-shop  at 
the  head  of  the  two  western  graving  docks,  and 
will  serve  for  the  execution  of  repairs  toiron  sliips 
in  the  docks.  A  similar  shed  has  been  erected 
at  the  head  of  the  two  eastern  docks,  and  serves 
as  a  boilemiakei  s'  shop.  There  are,  besides, 
several  sheds  and  buildings  for  similar  purposes 
at  various  points  at  the  sides  of  the  docks.  In 
the  fitting-out  basin  concrete  has  been  exten- 
sively used  throughout  the  whole  of  these  works, 
and  Mr.  Bemays  has  largely  availed  himself  of 
convict  labour  with  satisfactory  results.  The 
men  of  course  work  in  gangs,  and  different  gangs 
engaged  on  similar  classes  of  work  vie  with  each 
other  in  its  execution.  From  10  to  \b  per  cent, 
of  free  labour  is  also  employ td  upon  the  works, 
but  this  is  of  a  higher  class  and  is  designed  to 
keep  a  check  upon  the  work  perfonned  by  the 
convicts.  The  concrete  walls  of  the  fitting-out 
basin   are   about  20ft.  wide  at  the  base  and  are 


therefore,   to  inquire  whether,  in  your  opinion, 
Mr.  Barry,  iu  the  face  of  tlieoc  clau.seii,  Lus  com- 
plied with  your  conditions  iu  hi.t  placing  of  iLc 
premiatod  designi;-     I  n?M    i>..t    ■  »'  ti,..  ....;..;.... 

that  he  ban  dune  so,  aul 

that  I  may  fairly  cliiim  f' 

Flourish  for  Evi'r  '  tl.  it 

requirements  of 

that  the  estiiDato! 

as  al.so  the  cost  a-  •  ! 

Mr.  Barry,  moru  m^  uly  i^j  ji  ,  [•  •.• 

proposed  to  bo  cxp«ud>  J    by    i 

than     the    de»iguH     mark*  1 

'Fidelity.'     I   may   ul  •• 

pared  to  guarantee  that  r 

out  for  the  amount  of  i. 

these    circumHtuncex,    my    l.'.'i     i  .-   . 

gentlemen,    I  b«'g  most  re-p.-.  tfully  to   ; 

against  Mr.    Barry's  awaul,   and  to  rl-u 

place  and  preuiium  for  my  di^sigti^— I   n-      i   •• 

Ix)rd  Provost  and  gi  nllemen,  your  mo»l  ii>.    ;i.  i.' 

ser\-ant,    Edwd.     Claiisk,    (Jold    Mi-lil!    ■ 

Architecture,  Royal  Academy  of  Arli-,  Lu.J  :.  . 

Author   of  design  '  Let  Gla.«j;ow  Flouri*)i  (or 

Ever.' " 


THE  LONGE.ST  BRIDGES  OF  THE 
WOP>LU. 

THE  new  bridge  which  has  been  built  : 
Orenburg  Railway  over  the  VuU- 
distance  of  I"  vcrsts  from  Sjzran,  in  tip  ^ 
government,  is  now  compbttd,  :  ■ 
length    all  other  bridges  yet  r  • 
the  exception  of  the  Victoria  Bri  ; 
Lawrence  at  Montreal,    which   ■•^    ir^ 
I J  miles  long.     Tlie  great  bridge  nt  >: 
over  the  Holland.-ch  i)i'  p,  mar  the   u. 
the  Maas,  in  the  Netherhind.",  w''- '    ■ 


graduallv   reduced,   by  being  stepped,  to  8ft.  at 

the  top.  "  Their  construction,  however  is  slightly  ;  third  instead  of  ncnd  mtik  an 

modified  at  various  points  to  suit  special  require- ;  hjidj?ps   51'    '.'"^    world,    U    (0 

meuts.     These  walls  have  been  completed,    and 

the   chief    scene   of  operations  at  present  is  the 

two  entrance  locks.     Of  these,  the  north  lock  is 

all  but  completed,  while  the  south  lock  approaches 

completion.     The  concrete  foundations  for   th 


Volga  bridge  by  six  metres.    TL'_  .    .„ 
new  bridge  is  stated  to  be   6DG  bik'^^  ues,   or 
1,48.5  metres  (  =  1023-980  yardo).  _lu  buiMing 
was  commenced  on  August  17,  1877,  so  that  It 
has  takin  jtist  three  years  to  finish.    The  cnrt 


cngiies  and   machinery  here  are  also  well  ad-   ^"^  ^™  *•'"'^^'*;*/'i'^/''"jlt,'^j'„',°^■'|J■'^,fil^^,*"^ 
vanced,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  works  will  be    ^       '         "      *■"••■'■■•■   "■•  "■  ■•-■" 
completed  and  the  basin  ready  for  occupation  by 
the  end  of  next  year. 


Four  hundred  thoasandpudsof  injn,  or6,5.'>2,«00 
kilogrammes  (  =  .5,140  tons  very  nearly),  have 
been  employed  in  the  construction.  The  brid^ 
rests  on  13  arches,  and  the  plan»  wrrc  prrpsred 
by  Profes.sor  Beleloubsky,  nf  S  "  '  _• 
After  this  new  Volga  bridge  un.l  •  ■ 
at  Sloerdyk,  over  the  nollanl- 
mentioned,  thenex'. Ion;:-  -'  ^  ^  ' 


GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS 
COMPETITION. 

MR.   GEORGE     CORSON,    of   Leeds,    has  ^     t^   ■ 

addressed  a  letter  to  the  Lord  Provost  the  two  over  the  Dni-p 
and  Town  CouncU  of  Glasgow,  in  which  he  M-chok  re-pcctively,  m  th. 
defends  his  estimate  of  cost  aarainst  Mr.  the  former  of  which  i- 
Barry's,  and  describes  the  municipal  build-  1,1S2  yards),  and  the  la- 
ings  he  is  now  erecting  for  the  Leeds  Cor- |  yards  21ft.;  long.  Ihei. 
poration,  in  very  simUar  style  (Palladian)  ]  the  Waal,  at  Bnmmel,  n.  ■ 
to  his  design  which  received  the  first  pre-  Gclderland,  01 ,  4  metn - 
mium  at  Glasgow;  these  cost  lOd.  per  foot, 
although  the  stone  used  is  at  least  40  per  cent, 
more  expensive  than  that  employed  in  Glas- 
gow. To  this  price  per  cube  foot  he  added, 
in  his  competition  estimate,  20  per  cent., 
although  Glasgow  prices  are  slightly  lower  than 
those  of  Leeds.  He  therefore  submits  that  he 
has  fulfilled  the  conditions  of  the  competition, 
and  that  it  would  be  unfair  to  select  for  execu- 
tion, in  preference  to  his,  any  of  the  designs 
that  have  broken  the  condition  as  to  cost. 

Mr.  Edward  Clarke  has  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  the  Lord  Provost  and  Corpora- 
tion of  Glasgow  : — 

"6,     Adam-strect,Adelphi,    London,    W.C, 
September  15th,    1880.— To   the   Lord   Provost 
and  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  Glasgow.— 
Gentlemen.— As    the    author   of    design    '  Let 
GLisgow     Flourish    for    Ever,'     placed    third 
of  the  premiated  designs  by  Mr.  Barry,  permit 
me  to  refer  you  to  Clat'ises  7  and  8  of  the  printed 
condirions    issued  to  competitors,   which  make 
it   imperative— 'i;     'That   all    drawings    roust 
be   made   to   a   scale  of   one  inch  in  ten   feet, 
and   be   made    on   sheets   of  plain    paper,    and 
mounted  on  plain  stretchers  without  frames  or 
borders.'     (2)  '  The  elevations  arc  ti  be  shown 
in  geometrical  form  only,  iu  line,  without  <■"]""'■     ((,„„  ^f 
oretchinsr.     No  drawings  in  perspective  will  bo  .  ^^    ^^    ,^ 
received.'     With  rt-gard  to   the  above  clauses   ^  j,--,,,,,,^.^ 
both  'Carton'   and  'Fidelity,'  in  Anolation  of 
the  condition  No.   7,  have  mounted  their  plans  | 
on  coloured  borders  ;  and  with  regard  to  condi- 
tion No.   8,   have  both  etched  and  colour... 
their  drawings,  and  consequently  obtain  a   • 
great  effect,  and  render  them  not  line  draw.- 
but   drawings   shaded    and  coloured.     I   ha-. .  ^ 


length.     Next  in  length 
bridge,  connecting  Ea-t  >' 
which  was  built   l»-twecu   1- 
cost  ten  millions  if  d.jU  ir«,  or 
as  much  as  the  n'>w  Rus-i  ii.  1 
metres  (844  yards'  long.  '■■■ 
the  middle  one  haring  -i 
bridge marthenioii'h    '.  ■ 
in  list  Prussia,  f 
bridge  over  the  1. 
between  Utrecht 
metres    (  =  7G1   .^    ' 
the    Britannia    I^ 
remarkal'le  f'»r  v.~ 
its  length  .  ■  ' ' 
2ft.).     Ti. 
.507-77  ni' 
and  then  - 
last  vear. 
and 'St.    1 
=  417    v.- 
third  of  ihcKn^-!':    .M 
about  a  seventh  of  thmt 

Thegr  •>• 
on  the  ea-' 
is  now  in 


and  the 
The  new  • 


.>u»  to  the   I 
and  will  b« 


354 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Skpt,  24.  1880. 


CONTENTS. 

daesi  c  Architecture  in  Glasgow  and  London     347 

Fall  of  aHov-se  in  Oxfoid-street    347 

Mod  em  Concrete 348 

Origi  nal  Sketches  for  Art  Furtiture     350 

Sanit  ary  Science  in  America     350 

Ancie  nt  Lights.— 1 351 

The  Unhealthiness  of  Public  Institutions    352 

The    Chatham  Dockyai-d  K'ttension  Works 353 

CHasgr  ow  Municipal  Buildings  Competition 353 

The    Longest  BriHpes  of  the  "World 353 

Our  Lithographic  Blustrations 354 

Pwrig ueux  Cathedral ...  354 

Archfeological 354 

The  Sanitary  Congress 367 

U  ortuaries  for  Towns  and  Villages      367 

Th  e  Tay  Bridge  Bill    368 

Building  Intelligence   368 

Sf^oolsof  Art 369 

Corax)etition8 369 

Chips 369 

To  Correspondents 370 

Correspondence     370 

Intercommunication    372 

li^ul  Intelligence 372 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      372 

Our  OfiSceTable    373 

Trade  News    374 

Teudos    374 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

SKETCHES  IN  PARIS.  -  J.  SALMON  AND  SON*S  DESIGN'  FOB 
THE  NEW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS,  GLASGOW.— HOUSE  AT 
STONEYGATE,  LEICEBTEB.  —  CLUB  DESIGN  FOK  BRIDGE 
OVER   PARK    STREAM. 


Our  Lithograph  Id  LLUSTRATiONS- 


FEENOH   SKETCHES. 

We  reproduce  a  series  of  Parisian  and  other 
sketches,  by  M.  Adolphe  Giraldon,  of  Paris, 
which  were  hung  at  the  recent  Black  and  White 
Exhibition  at  th-  Egyptian  Hall.  Beginning 
at  the  left-hand  side,  the  upper  drawing  shows 
the  Fontaine  Louvois,  in  the  Ri:e  Richelieu, 
Paris,  and  beneath  it  is  the  well-known  tower  of 
St.  Jacques  de  la  Boucherie,  as  seen  from  the 
Rue  Rivoli.  In  the  centre  is  a  south-east  view 
of  Notre  Dame,  from  the  Qiiai  Mipntebello,  and 
below  is  the  Pavilion  de  Flore  in  the  Tuileries, 
where  the  Municipal  Council  holds  its  sittings. 
All  these  are  Parisian  sketches  ;  but  to  the  right 
are  a  street  in  Commines,  on  the  Belgian  border 
of  France ;  the  principal  bridge  at  Orthez, 
Basses-Pyrenees,  and  at  the  foot  of  page,  a  view 
of  Como  from  the  pier. 

COMPETITION     DESIGN     FOE     THE     NEW    MTrarrrpAT. 
BUXLDLNGS,    GLASGOW. 

This  design,  by  Messrs.  J.  Salmon  and  Son, 
of  Glasgjw,  was  submitted  under  the  motto 
"Progress,"  and  is  one  of  the  three  or  four  best 
sets  prepared  for  the  recent  competition.  It 
will  be  observed  that  a  Roman  type  of  Classic 
has  been  selected  as  the  style  ;  the  basements 
and  ground-floors  on  each  front  are  kept  abso- 
lutely plain,  with  the  aim  of  increasing  the 
effect  of  the  colonnade,  and  it  was  proposed  by 
the  authors  to  introduce  no  decorations  but  such 
as  possessed  some  historic  or  emblematic  interest 
beyond  their  beauty.  A  tower  was  considered 
unsuitable  to  the  style,  and  was  therefore 
omitted,  the  central  feature  being  the  domical 
roof.  The  plans  in  the  main  follow  those  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Carrick,  the  City  architect,  with 
a  few  modific.itions  of  position  of  entrances,  and 
of  the  height  of  salious  on  second  floor.  The 
cost  was  estimated  by  the  authors,  "at  the 
present  market  rates,"  at  the  sum  stated  in  the 
instructions,  £150,000. 

HOUSE  AT   STONEYGATE,  NEAE   LEICESTEE. 

We  hope  to  publish  next  week  some  particulars 
as  to  this  residence,  which  has  been  erected  for 
Mr.  Charles  Brown,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
Isaac  Barradale,  of  Leicester. 

BUILDING   NEWS  DESIGNING   CLUB— A  FOOT-BEIDGE. 

One  of  our  recent  subjects  for  competition  in 
design  was  a  foot-bridge,  to  be  suitable  for  a 
park  over  a  small  running  streiim.  By  some 
delay  in  tlie  post,  "Sub-Silentio's"  design, 
which  we  publish  to-day,  came  to  hand  after 
date,  so  that  it  was  too  late  to  be  included  in  the 
competition.  We  think,  however,  that  the 
design  is  certainly  well  worthy  of  illustration, 
and  so  have  made  room  for  it.     The  Japanese 


mode  of  treatment  in  the  framing  is  perhaps 
rather  fresh,  though  a  little  over- done  in  parts. 
With  this  drawing  the  published  series  of 
designs  for  the  last  session  of  the  Designing 
Club  closes. 


PERIGUEUX  CATHEDRAL. 

THE  rebuilding  of  the  Cathedral  of  S.  Front, 
at  Perigueux,  and  the  works  in  connection 
with  it  (except  those  to  western  tower),  are  now 
advanced  almost  to  completion.  So  long  ago  as 
1852,  the  restoration  of  this  interesting  monu- 
ment, so  curiously  deviating  in  form  and  style 
from  the  prevailing  type  of  Western  Europe, 
was  projected,  and,  to  some  extent,  put  into  exe- 
cution. But  it  was  a  work  of  considerable 
magnitude,  particularly  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
architects,  it  -was  necessary  that  by  far  the 
greater  part  should  be  entirely  rebuilt  ;  and  it 
has  been  carried  on  deliberately,  by  successive 
portions. 

The  plan  of  the  building  is  in  the  form  of  a 
Greek  cross,  each  of  the  five  squares  composing 
it  having  also  a  cruciform  character,  in  the  plan 
of  their  vaults  and  domes.  These  five  divisions, 
with  their  internal  and  external  domes  and 
cupolas,  are  of  almost  identical  dimensions  and 
design,  the  principal  diffeiences  being  those  oc- 
casioned by  the  apse  to  the  eastern  bay,  and 
chapels,  or  secondary  apses,  to  the  north  and 
south  transepts.  Those  who  wish  for  detailed 
descriptions  of  this  extremely  interesting  struc- 
ture will  readily  find  them  in  the  works  of  Fer- 
guason,  Sharpe,  and  other  writers. 

Four  of  the  five  dome-roofed  bays,  namely, 
the  east,  north,  south,  and  central,  or  crossing, 
with  the  apses,  &c.,  have  been  rebuilt  and  re- 
opened for  public  service.  The  western  arm  of 
the  cross— the  part  corresponding  to  the  usual 
nave,  which  was  the  last  portion  undertaken — 
wiU  shortly  be  ready  for  the  demolition  of  the 
temporaiy  wall  which  now  separates  it  from  the 
crossing,  and  then  the  true  effect  of  the  interior 
will  again  be  appreciated.  At  present,  with  the 
nave  cut  off  from  the  rest,  the  plan  presents  it- 
self in  a  confused  manner.  The  transepts  give 
the  longest  vista,  and,  as  the  principal  entrance 
is  into  the  north  transept,  while,  in  the  south, 
immediately  opposite,  there  is  a  large  and  elabo- 
rate retable  and  altar,  it  is  difiicult  to  properly 
realise  the  value  of  the  eastern  choir  and  apse. 
This  retable  is  an  unfortunate  intruder  of  the 
Renaissance  age,  and  has  been  moved  and  re- 
moved, as  the  works  have  progressed,  from  one 
position  to  another  in  the  church,  and  will 
probably  be  taken  away  altogether  upon  their 
final  completion.  It  is  an  elaborate  work  of  wood- 
carving,  and  is  worthy  of  notice,  even  from  those 
who  do  not  appreciate  the  vagaries  of  its 
style. 

Upon  the  other  side  of  the  tcmporarj-  wall, 
which  is  a  solid  structure  of  stone,  there  is  still 
the  confusion  and  noise  of  building  operation.s. 
But  the  masonry,  which  comprises  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  work,  is  completed,  except  for  a 
small  remaining  portion  of  the  carving,  now  in 
hand  ;  and  the  scafiolding  is  all  down,  save  the 
few  spars  necessary  for  the  carvers.  Some  of 
the  best  preserved  fragments  of  the  ancient  carv- 
ing have  here  been  built  in  with  the  new  work, 
thus  certifying  its  correctness ;  but  in  the 
previously  reconstructed  bays  there  are  some  de. 
tails  which  have  a  very  modem  air.  The  win- 
dows are  without  glass  ;  but  that  will  not  be 
long  delayed.  The  removal  of  the  screen-wall, 
the  clearing  away  of  the  debris  and  materials, 
&c, ,  and  reinstating  of  the  pavement  of  floor, 
need  not  occupy  mure  than  a  few  weeks. 

Externally,  tLe  scaffolding  is  entirely  removed, 
and  the  group  of  scale-worked  domes  and  inter- 
posed cupolas  over  the  piers,  is  now  seen  once 
more  in  its  complete  composition. 

The  works  to  this  last  portion  of  the  Cathe- 
dral have  occupied  nearly  five  years. 

At  the  north-east  angle,  workmen  have  been 
engaged,  for  the  last  two  months,  upon  the 
demolition  of  certain  buildings  which  had  been 
appended  to  the  church  at  various  times,  and 
which,  of  no  great  architectural  value  them- 
selves, masked  the  main  structure  at  one  of 
its  best  aspects.  These  were  principally  massive 
walls,  and  vaults  of  heavy  Renaissance  design, 
so  far  as  can  be  judged  by  the  debris,  Tbere 
are  also  some  fragments  of  the  Geometrical  - 
Gothic  period,  and  of  other  dates.  This  group 
of  buildings  is  already  levelled  to  the  phnth  line, 
and  the  clearance  reveals  the  east  end  of  the 
cathedral  standing    npon  the  slope,   with  the 


crypt,  here,  considerably  above  the  ground- 
floor. 

The  tower,  which  is  contiguous  to  the  church 
at  the  west  end,  yet  remains  in  its  picturesque 
state  of  decay.  Some  features — the  corbel  tables 
to  upper  stages,  the  capitals  of  attached  shafts, 
Sec. — are  almost  unrecognisable.  They  seem  to 
have  been  worked  in  a  softer  stone  than  other 
parts,  probably  because  of  their  greater  elabora- 
tion. The  upper  story  of  closely-placed  shafts, 
bearing  the  high-pitched,  scale-covered,  domical 
roof,  is  also  very  dilapidated,  and  much  dis- 
arranged by  successive  repairs,  ite. 

There  is  an  archway  imder  a  house  in  the 
Place  Marcillac — one  of  the  row  which  conceals 
the  cathedral  from  the  Place— giving  access  to  a 
small  yard  in  front  of  the  tower,  and  thence  to 
the  church  by  a  tunnel-like  entrance  tmder  it. 
Probably  this  was  the  position  of  the  principal 
entrance  to  the  more  ancient  church,  some  traces 
of  which  still  remain.  The  doorway  under  the 
house  is  of  Transition  style,  with  freely-used 
dogtooth  ornament.  The  approaching  works 
will  perhaps  improve  and  reopen  this  ap- 
proach. 

It  has  been  determined  that  the  tower  shall 
be  restored  only,  not  rebuilt,  as  were  the  other 
parts.  No  doubt  the  effect,  artistically  speak- 
ing, will  be  much  the  same,  as  the  decay  is  so 
considerable  that  almost  all  the  decorative  detail 
will  have  to  be  renewed. 

The  works  are  under  the  direction  of  M,  Lam- 
bert, architect,  with  the  supervision  of  M. 
Abadie.  R.  W.  G. 


ARCHiEOLOGICAIi. 

DiscovEEY  or  A  Roman  Villa  neae  Beading. — 
An  addition  has  recently  been  made  to  the 
historical  attractions  of  the  Isle  of  AVight  by  the 
fiuding  of  a  Roman  villa  at  Morton  Farm,  near 
Brading,  the  result  of  investigations  by  Captain 
Thorpe,  of  Yarbridge,  near  Brading,  The 
external  walls,  as  at  jiresent  cleared,  measure 
about  5'2ft,  by  37ft,,  and  enclose  about  six  or 
seven  chambers,  with  passages,  &c,,  connected, 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  with  many  other.  In 
addition  to  tesselated  floors,  remains  of 
hypocausts,  flues,  fresco  paintings,  roofing  tiles, 
coins,  pottery,  and  other  interesting  relics,  there 
are  the  remains  of  a  mosaic  pavement,  with  a 
design  upon  it  of  unusual  character.  The  design, 
though  grotesque,  appears  to  be  symbolical. 
Other  decorated  doors  are  believed  to  exist  in 
the  vicinity.  The  remains  evidently  cover  a 
large  area  of  ground,  much  of  which  is  under 
cultivation  ;  but  every  facility  for  investigation 
has  been  accorded  by  Lady  Oglander,  the  owner 
of  the  land,  and  Mr,  Cooper,  the  present 
occupier.  Excavations  have  been  accordingly 
renewed,  and  are  at  present  under  the  direction 
of  Mr,  John  E,  Price,  F.S,A,,  and  Mr,  F,  G. 
Hilton  Price,  F,G.S.  Work  was  recommenced 
last  week,  aud  already  a  new  chamber  has  been 
opened  up,  enclosing  mosaic,  the  central  design 
ot  which  is  a  representative  of  Orpheus  playing 
on  the  lyre,  and  surrounded  as  usual  by  animals. 
Tlie  border  is  an  unusually  good  example  of  the 
guilloche  pattern.  Pottery,  glass,  and  coins 
have  been  also  found  ;  among  the  latter  several 
examples  in  brass  of  the  reign  of  Victorinus,  a.d. 
2GS,  These  investigations  are  important  in  their 
relation  to  the  occupation  of  the  island  by  the 
Romans,  Its  annexation  to  the  Imperial  power, 
due  to  Vespasian,  in  the  first  centmy,  and  its 
association  in  the  third  century  with  the  fortunes 
of  Carausius  and  Allectus,  are  indications  of  a 
prolonged  conbection  with  the  Empire,  yet  the 
historians  of  the  island  are  sdent  as  to  the  find- 
iug  ot  Roman  remains,  or  speak  of  them  as  un- 
known. Inscriptions  or  other  data  may  yet  be 
found  which  may  shed  considerable  light  on 
what  is  already  known  of  the  history  of  the  Isle 
of  Wight  during  the  Roman  occupation  of 
Britain, 


The  new  town-hall  and  market  at  Royston,  near 
Manchester,  erected  at  a  cost  of  £7,000,  was  opened 
on  the  IGth  iast. 

At  a  meeting  of  'the  general  committee  for  the 
rebuilding  ot  St,  Finn  Barr's  Cathedral,  Cork,  held 
on  the  1.5th  iuat,,  the  Bistiopoi  Cork,  in  the  name  of 
the  committee,  presented  Mr.  John  Delany,  con- 
tractor, with  an  illuminated  address,  expressing 
their  sense  of  the  skill  aijd  ability  with  which  he 
had  earned  out  the  coLtract  for  building  the  three 
towers  and  spires  of  the  cathedral,  under  the  in- 
stiuctiona  of  their  architect,  Mr.  Wm,  Btirges,  of 
Loudon. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


367 


THE    SANITARY    CONGRESS. 

[fEOM    our   own    COREESPONDENT.] 

rpHE  Sanitary  Institute  of  Great  Britain  has 
X  held  its  fourth  Congress  this  week :  at 
Leamington  in  1877,  Stafford  in  1878,  aLd  at 
Croydon  last  year,  the  present  meeting  has  been 
held  at  Exeter.  The  Congress  opened  on  Tues- 
day, and  upon  thiit  day  fellows,  members,  asso- 
ciates, subscribers,  tngi- ther  with  not  a  few  out- 
siders, met  at  the  ancient  city  of  the  West, 
which  scarcely  put  ouher  pleasautest  f  ace  where- 
with to  greet  them,  for  the  weather  was  nut 
particularly  fine.  Still,  wet  or  dry,  Exeter  has 
an  individuality  of  its  own,  sufficient  to  arrest 
and  maintain  the  interest  of  the  passing  stranger, 
whilst  the  Sanitary  Exhibition  itself — although 
situated  in  not  one  of  the  best  chosen  spots  per- 
haps—offers a  wide  field  of  thought  and  study 
for  the  scientific  mind,  as  well  as  for  all  those 
who  make  such  useful  matters  as  sanitary  affairs 
their  hobby. 

Exeter  Cathedral,  with  its  massive  Norman 
towels  and  long  unbrokin  run  of  ridge  from 
west  end  to  eastern  gable  cross,  is  neither  as 
lofty  nor  as  imposing,  from  an  exterior  point  of 
view,  as  are  some  of  its  fellows.  One  thinks  of 
York,  of  Peterborough,  and  of  Gloucester,  and 
for  the  moment  is  disappointed.  It  is  upon 
entering,  especially  from  the  west  door,  that  the 
majesty,  the  glorious  effect  as  a  whole,  and 
the  delicate  manipulation  of  every  item  of 
decoration,  firi-t  bursts,  and  then  fixes  itself, 
to  remain  impressed  for  ever,  upon  the  ad- 
miring eye.  The  long  continuous  lines  of 
groined  roofing,  and  the  beautiful  perspectives 
that  offer  them--elves  from  every  point  of  view, 
are  scarcely  second  in  architecturally  artistic 
power  to  anything  else  m  England.  Apart 
from  the  cathedral,  the  ancient  civil  and  domestic 
architecture  of  Exeter  is  also  particularly  inte- 
resting. The  old  Guildhall  butts  out  over  the 
High-street's  pavement  in  a  curious  fashion.  It 
is,  in  the  main,  Elizabethan,  and  most  of  our 
readers  will  remember  the  clever  set  of  measured 
drawings  that  appeared  in  this  journal  some 
time  ago,*  illustrating  this  building.  They  were 
executed  by  Mr.  James  Crocker,  E.R.I.B.A. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  columns  support- 
ing its  front  are  not  only  each  worked  out  of 
one  stone,  but  the  moulded  caps  and  bases  are 
"wrought  from  the  continuous  block  also.  That 
is,  from  the  bed  of  each  base  to  the  top  mould  of 
the  abacus  above  the  capitals  is,  in  each  in- 
stance, one  piece  of  granite.  The  High  street 
runs  through  the  city  from  east  to  west,  and  is 
about  a  mile  long.  It  reminds  one  of  the  high 
Btreets  of  Winchester  and  of  Southampton,  but 
has  rather  more  of  the  old  world  about  it  than 
either  of  them.  At  the  very  bottom  of  this  main 
thoroughfare,  in  the  part  where  the  oldest  and 
most  curious,  and  the — yes,  we  must  fain  admit 
it — the  dirtiest  of  those  quaint  old  buildings  are 
that  belong  to  three  or  four  centuries  ago,  the 
present  exhibition  is  held.  It  is  down  in  a 
locality  known  as  the  Exe  Island,  and  in  a 
building  to  be  used  as  the  slaughter-house, 
which  has  been  christened  for  the  occasion  the 
"New  Abattoirs."  Close  by  it,  and  amongst 
several  other  pleasant  old  buildings,  may  be 
noticed  with  advantage  an  ancient  house,  show- 
ing a  front  of  particularly  quaint  and  ornamental 
elatework.  It  is  of  Tudor  date,  and  altogether 
unlike  anything  else  we  know  anywhere. 

The  abattoirs  have  been  recently  erected,  at  a 
cost  of  £1,C00,  and  are  not  yet  handed  over  to 
the  city  butchers  for  slaughtering  purposes. 
Designed  by  the  city  surveyor  (Mr.  H.  Percy 
Boulnoifl),  they  snem  well  adapted  for  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  are  intended ;  although,  if, 
as  appears  to  be  the  case,  the  refuse  from  the 
slaughtering  wnll  go  into  a  drain  which  almost 
immediately  afterwards  empties  it  elf  into  the 
adjacent  river,  we  are  not  sure  that  the  sanitary 
arrangements  connected  with  it  are  by  any 
means  perfect  in  that  particular  respect. 

There  was  a  touch  of  the  old  world  in  the 
opening  ceremony.  In  stately  array,  from  the 
Guildhall  to  the  place  of  exhibition  (about  a 
mile),  walked  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  ;  and 
a  number  of  those  met  in  Congress.  And  pre- 
ceding them  marched — Uke  West  Country  beef- 
eaters— the  Sergeants-at-Mace,  each  ovcr-hatted. 
and  carrying  the  gold  maces  that  the  first 
George  presented  to  the  city.  Then  came  the 
swords  that  King  Edward  IV.  and  Henry  VII. 
gave  the  citizens,   weapons  of  singular  beauty 


Se«  the  BaiLDiNO  News  for  April  23, 1875. 


and  value.  Altogether  the  grouping  was  odd, 
and  as  the  cortege  passed  by  the  old  houses, 
whose  gabled  roofs  towered  one  over  the  other, 
the  thought  occurred  that  similar  pa-'cants  had 
oft  been  witnessed  in  days  of  yore  from  those 
self- same  windows. 

In  the  evening  Earl  Fortescue  delivered  his 
presidential  address  in  the  Victoria  Hall.  He 
passed  in  review  the  progress  of  the  cause  of 
sanitation  from  the  time  of  the  report  by  Mr. 
Edwin  Chadwick  in  1842,  adtnitting  that  he, 
together  with  Mr.  Chadwick  and  other  early 
sanitary  reformers,  underrated  the  strength  of 
the  opposition  they  had  to  encounter.  He  spoke 
of  the  reports  made  by  the  Board  of  Health  of 
1848  in  the  metropolis,  and,  remarking  upon 
the  recommendations  of  that  Board  in  regard  to 
interments,  sewerage,  and  water-supply,  said 
that  the  adoption  of  these  reports,  if  it  had  not 
been  imfortunately  prevented  by  the  ignorance 
and  apathy  of  successive  Governments  and  Par- 
liaments, and  the  active  opposition  of  interested 
parties,  would  have  not  only  saved  millions  to 
the  inhabitants  of  London,  since  pocketed  by 
trading  water  and  cemetery  companies,  but 
would  also  have  added  immensely  to  the  wealth, 
comfort,  and  security  of  all  classes.  His  lord- 
ship expressed  some  dissatisfaction  with  the 
proceedings  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works, 
and  concluded  by  suggesting  the  kind  of  repre- 
sentative government  which  in  his  judgment 
should  be  given  to  London  for  the  management 
of  its  own  local  affairs.  The  address,  though 
concerned  to  a  considerable  extent  with  the 
remote  subject  of  the  government  of  London, 
was  nevertheless  listened  to  with  great  attention 
by  a  large  audience,  who  seemed  thoroughly  to  ap- 
preciate the  difficulties  presented  in  the  question. 
On  Wednesday  Mr.  Rawlinson,  C.B.,  offered 
some  valuable  suggestions  for  the  sewering  of 
the  city,  founded  on  a  somewhat  cursory  in- 
spection the  previous  day,  but  having  all  the 
weight  of  his  wide  and  long  experience  as 
the  senior  inspector  of  the  Local  Government 
Board.  He  intimated  that,  standing  as  Exeter 
does  on  a  hill,  it  ought  to  be  easily  sewered,  and 
at  no  very  large  outlay,  and  he  dwelt  upon  the 
importance  of  carrying  out  the  sewering,  when 
it  shoidd  be  decided  upon,  as  expeditiously  as 
possible.  Professor  de  Chnumont,  of  Netley, 
afterwards  read  his  presidential  address,  in  No. 
1  section,  in  which  he  contrasted  the  cleanliness 
of  both  Jew  and  Pagan  with  the  carelessness 
and  dirt  introduced  by  the  misguided  and 
ignorant  early  Christians,  but  expressed  a  hope 
that  the  science  of  preventive  medicine 
was  now  being  understood,  and  was  be- 
ginning to  be  acted  upon.  Mr.  H.  C. 
Burdett,  of  Greenwich  Hospital,  then  read 
a  paper  on  the  "  Unhealthine>s  of  Public  Insti- 
tutions," reprinted  elsewhere,  which  aroused  an 
animated  discussion  ;  the  architects  being  ener- 
getically defended  by  Messrs.  E.  Turner,  Robins, 
W.  White,  and  others ;  while  the  author's  views 
were  supported  by  Lord  Fortescue,  Drs.  A.  Car- 
penter, of  Croydon  ;  B.  W.  Richardson,  Dom- 
eniehetti,  and  others.  The  scheme  of  the 
R.I.B.A.  for  an  examination  of  candidates  for 
associateship  in  knowledge  of  sanitary  require- 
ments. A  paper  was  also  read  by  Mr.  Burdett, 
on  "Mortuaries,"  which  we  reproduce  in  sum- 
marised form.  In  the  evening  the  members  of 
the  congress  had  a  welcome  rest  from  their 
labours,  being  entertained  by  the  Bishop  of 
Exeter  and  Mrs.  Temple  at  a  conversrizione  at  the 
Palace,  the  grounds  of  which  were  illuminated. 
Of  the  exhibition  itself,  which  is  larger  and 
more  complete  than  that  held  at  Croydon  last 
year,  alth'jugh  the  individual  exhibitors  are  less 
numerous,  space  does  not  admit  of  our  saying 
much  this  week.  Local  talent  comes  out  strong, 
and  some  well-known  names  exhibit  also.  We 
observed  that  Mr.  William  White,  F.S.A., 
architect,  of  Wimpole-street,  W.,  shows  his 
excellent  water-closet,  and  Messrs.  Doulton,  of 
Lambeth,  have  some  good  things  on  view.  Mr. 
W.  H.  Lascelles,  of  Bmdiill-iow,  E  C,  exhibits 
some  of  his  concrete.  The  judges  are  I>. 
Bartlett,  of  Grosvenor- square  ;  Dr.  W.  H. 
Corfield,  of  Mayfair;  Mr.  Rogers  Field,  C.E., 
Westminster  ;  and  Mr.  W.  Eassie,  C.E.,  of 
Ari^yle-street,  W.  Dr.  Richardson  is  the  retiring 
president,  and  the  Earl  of  Fortescue  the  presi- 
dent elect.  It  is  rather  curious  that  although 
the  local  committee  is  very  strong,  there  is  not 
the  name  of  a  single  Exeter  architect  upon  it. 
How  is  this  ?  Have  architects  in  the  West  no 
interest  in  sanitary  matters?  Perhaps  someone 
will  say.     The  Congress  closes  to-day. 


MORTUARIES  FOR    TOWNS  AND 
VILLAGES.* 

rriHE  subject  of  mortuaries  is  one  that  has  ro- 
X.  ceivtd  by  far  too  little  attention  ut  the 
hands  not  only  of  those  who  are  responsible  for 
the  pnictical  carrying  out  of  the  public  health 
laws  of  the  kingdom,  but  even  of  ardent  sauitary 
reformers.  Yet  it  holds,  or  ought  to  hold,  a 
prominent  place  in  preventive  medicine;  audit 
differs  from  other  sauitary  appUanuos  in  having 
an  important  moral  and  social  office  as  woU  as  a 
hygienic  one. 

After  quoting  Mr.  C'hadwick's  Report  on  tho 
Results  of  a  Spi-cial  Inquiry  into  tho  I'raotioo  of 
Interment  in  Towns,  1813,  the  author  proooodi 
to  cite  cases : — 

In  a  speech  made  in  January,  187C,  Dr. 
Joseph  Rogers  stated  that  an  old  man  died  in  a 
house  in  St.  James's  let  out  to  lodgers.  Ah  it  was 
thought  his  friends  would  burj'  the  body,  it  was 
allowed  to  remain  several  days;  indeed,  un'il 
decomposition  had  so  far  advanced  as  to  fill  tho 
house  with  eiHuvia.  Tho  H;initiiry  inspector  was 
then  applied  to.  who,  in  his  turn,  applied  to  tho 
master  of  the  Westminster  WorkhouHe  for  per- 
mission to  take  the  body  to  the  workhou.sc  dead- 
house.  The  body  was  so  putrescent  that  the 
workhouse  attendants  had  to  fill  the  sboU  with 
charcoal  ere  they  dared  to  take  it  through  the 
streets. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  West  Derby  Local  Board 
in  March,  1876,  the  sanitary  inspector  reported 
that  in  the  course  of  his  duties  he  had  visited  a 
house  on  the  2:ird,  and  had  found  the  body  of  a 
woman  who  had  died  on  the  19th,  lying  in  one 
of  the  rooms  which  w-ts  us(?d  an  the  sleeping- 
room  of  the  family.  The  hu.sband  stated  that  as 
he  was  too  poor  to  inter  the  body,  ho  had  ap- 
plied to  the  relieving  officer  to  have  it  buried, 
but  the  request  had  been  declined  by  the  Board 
of  Guardians.  He  then  went  to  the  clerk  to  the 
Local  Board,  who,  after  some  delay,  got  an  order 
from  a  magistrate,  and  tho  body  was  buried  six 
days  after  death.  The  husband,  who  was  repre- 
sented to  be  given  to  drink,  and  indiffurent  as  to 
whether  the  body  was  buried  or  not,  had  slept, 
it  was  said,  in  the  same  bed  in  wliich  the  corpse 
lay. 

The  corpse  cf  an  unhappy  youth  at  Milton- 
next-  Sittingbourne,  who  died  in  a  barge  from 
typhoid  feVer,  contracted  through  drinking 
polluted  water,  was  brought  to  his  parents' 
house  through  the  streets  in  an  open  v-m.  On 
the  arrival  of  the  body,  the  coffiu  was  un.screwed, 
and  remained  so  for  two  days  before  the  burial. 
An  outbreak  of  typhoid  fever,  confined  to  tho 
street  m.  which  the  body  lay,  subsequently  broke 
out,  and  may  possibly  have  been  due  to  infection 
from  the  corpse. 

M.  Kcechhn  Schwartz  recently  narrated  to  a 
commission  of  the  French  Society  of  Public 
Medicine— a  society  which  has  lately  devoted 
much  attention  to  the  subject  of  mortuaries— a 
verv  painful  case.  In  a  small  room  rented  by  a 
workman,  the  father,  attacked  by  small-pox,  lay 
dying  on  the  only  bed,  and  round  him,  hu  wife 
and  his  five  children,  without  fire  or  food,  were 
waiting  in  despair  till  their  turn  came  to  be 
struck  down  bv  the  disease.  The  mother,  indeed, 
was  in  the  anguish  of  child-birth  while  her  hus- 
band was  in  extremis.  ....  j 

The  author  next  drew  attention  to  the  remedy, 
viz.,  the  provision  of  reception  or  dead-hou*s, 
in  which  corp.ses  may  remain  pending  inter- 
ment He  said  the  able  and  comprcheu-ive  re- 
port by  Mr.  Chadwick  may  fairly  bo  considered 
as  the  startmg-point.  amongst  other  thing-,  of 
mortuaries.  The  report  was  publu-h.^  in  1813, 
and  evoked  much  attention  and  discussion. 
With  the  more  comprehensive  rciwrt  whr  b  pre- 
coded  it,  on  the  sanitary  state  of  the  lobounng 
population  of  Great  Britain,  it  "n;!'';'";";}; 7 
paved  the  wav  for  tho  pas-sing  of  the  I  ubuc 
Health  .Act  of  -1818.  In  that  Act  there  w«  . 
section  which  provided  that  '"''»•«  r''[> J?"""  »' 
interments  in  di.-trict»  to  which  th  it  Act  ap- 
plied, Local  Boards  might  provide  reoeplion- 
houses  for  the  dead,  and  make  by-laws  with 
respect  «<>  tbe  m..na,em.nt  of  t».c  same  and  on 
application,  m.ke  ""•'^""•■' .^  '"J Jj^'  "i^J^^ 
ment  of  any  corpses  '=°°'»'"'\l''if"'^,. J'','5 
Xuse  was  practicaUy  superseded  by  scc-ion  2, 
of  "he  Sanita|7Act.  1866,  but  was  not  formUly 

•The  VeoessilT  »nd  ImporUncc  of  M  ortuancf  nr  T.-ins 
Exeter,  on  Wednesdv.  Sept-  «• 


368 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


repealed  until  the  Consolidating  Act  of  1875. 
The  law  remained  iu  this  state  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  but  meanwhile  the  subject  had  received  a 
certain  amount  of  attention  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  In  1852  there  was  a  general  Sanitary 
Congress  at  Brussels,  and  part  of  the  third  ques- 
tion for  discussion  was :  "  What  can  be  the  use- 
fulness of  mortuaries,  and,  for  the  cases  iu  which 
this  usefulness  is  recognised,  -what  should  he 
their  organisation  f  "  After  discussion,  the  Con- 
gress declared  the  usefulness  of  mortuaries  iu 
each  parish  ;  and  on  the  motion  of  our  president, 
then  Lord  Ebrington,  it  was  resolved  that  : 
"Convinced  of  the  gr2at  inconvenience  of  the 
keeping  of  corpses  in  inhabited  rooms,  the  Con- 
gress declares  the  usefulness  and  earnestly  re- 
commends the  establishment  of  mortuaries." 
The  Sanitary  Act  of  186C  improved  the  state  of 
the  English  law  as  to  mortuaries.  By  section 
27  of  this  Act  "  nuisance  authorities "  (equiva- 
lent to  our  existing  local  authorities)  were  em- 
powered to  provide  a  proper  place  for  the  recep- 
tion of  dead  bodies,  and  thereupon  a  justice, 
\rith  a  medical  certificate,  might  order  bodies  to 
be  removed  to  it,  and  cause  removal  if  the  rela- 
tions failed  to  obey,  charging  them  with  the 
cost.  The  authorities  were  also  empowered  to 
provide  places  for  post-raortem  examinations. 

Tho  Royal  Sanitary  Commission,  commenting 
upon  section  27,  observed  that  "  although  there 
is  this  power  by  law,  it  appears  to  be  very  little 
exercised,  and  the  evils  of  keeping  the  dead  in 
the  same  room  with  the  living  exists  very  ex- 
tensively amongst  the  poor,  and  this  evil  is 
aggravated  by  the  general  practice  of  wakes 
among  the  lower  classes  of  the  Irish  Roman 
Oatholics,  who  are  very  nximerous  in  some  large 
towns,  such  as  Liverpool." 

The  Commissioners  suggested  that  power 
should  be  given  to  the  Central  Authority  to  com- 
pel a  Local  Authority  to  provide  a  mortuarj' ; 
and  that,  even  where  there  was  no  mortuary,  the 
justice  should  be  enabled,  in  the  cases  specified 
in  section  27  of  the  Sanitary  Act,  to  give  an 
order  for  the  removal  of  the  body  from  the 
house.  To  facilitate  the  acquisition  of  parts  of 
closed  burial-grounds,  or  of  land  in  cemeteries 
for  mortuaries,  the  Commissioners  suggested 
that  the  Local  Authority  should  be  empowered 
in  the  case  of  any  closed  burial-ground,  to  pur- 
chase by  contract  any  part  of  such  burial- 
ground  from  those  in  whom  the  site  and  control 
were  vested,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  thereon 
a  mortuary,  and  (if  needful)  a  residence  for  the 
keeper.  The  Commissioners,  formulated,  how- 
ever, certain  provisoes  to  this  transfer,  and  as 
these  provisoes  contain  much  suggestive 
matter  in  a  small  compass,  I  give  them  in 
full:— 

"  1 .  This  shall  not  authorise  the  purchase  of 
any  piece  of  laud  if  it  necessitates  the  disturb- 
ance of  bodies  already  buried.  2.  Nor  if  the 
piece  to  be  purchased  cannot  be  approached 
without  passing  through  any  other  part  of  the 
closed  burial  groimd.  3.  No  religious  service 
shall  be  held  or  celebrated  in  any  mortuary 
erected  in  any  closed  burial-ground.  4.  Such 
mortuary  and  residence-house  (if  any)  shall  be 
separated  by  a  wall  or  fence  from  the  rest  of  the 
burial-ground." 

The  Consolidated  Puhlic  Health  Act  of  1875, 
whilst  re-enacting  the  sections  of  the  Act  of 
1866  as  to  mortuaries,  made  their  provision  by 
the  local  authority  compulsory  in  cases  where 
the  Local  Government  Board  required.  The 
Act  of  1875  does  not,  however,  extend  to  the 
Metropolis,  which,  in  this  respect,  is  worse  ofl' 
than  the  country,  for  the  Local  Government 
Board  have  not  the  power,  even  if  they  felt  in- 
clined to  exercise  it,  to  compel  the  erection  of  a 
mortuary  in  London.  In  Scotland  legal  power 
is  given  by  section  43  of  the  Public  Health  Act 
of  1867  to  provide  a  place  for  the  reception  of 
dead  bodies,  and  to  remove  bodies  to  it  in  certain 
oases.  Nothing  is  said,  however,  with  regard 
to  post-mortem  rooms.  In  Ireland  provisions 
similar  to  those  in  the  English  Act  are  contained 
in  sections  157,  158,  and  159  of  the  Public 
Health  (Ireland)  Act,  187S,  and  there  is  this  im- 
portant addition  :  ' '  The  body  of  any  person  who 
has  died  of  any  dangerous  infectious  disease  in 
any  hospital  or  place  for  the  treatment  of  the 
sick  shall  not  be  removed  from  such  hospital, 
until  removed  direct  to  a  mortuary  or  cemetery, 
and  any  per.-^on  violating,  or  any  officer  of  an 
hospital  or  other  person  who  knowingly  permits 
the  violation  of  this  provision,  shall  be  liable  to 
a  penalty  not  exceeding  five  pounds.' ' 
(To  be  continued.) 


THE  TAY  BRIDGE  BILL. 

(eEPOET    of     the    select    COJDalTTEE.) 

THE  report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  the 
North  British  Railway  (Tay  Bridge)  Bdl 
was  issued  in  the  form  of  a  Blue-book  on  Friday 
morning.  The  Committee  were  instructed  that 
they  have  power  to  inquire  and  report  as  to 
whether  the  Tay  Bridge  should  be  rebuilt  in  its 
present  position,  or  whether  there  is  any  situa- 
tion more  suitable,  having  due  regard  to  the 
safety  of  the  travelling  pubhc  and  the  conveni- 
ence of  the  locality  ;  they  were  a'so  instructed 
to  pay  special  attention  to  the  interests  of  the 
na^■igation,  and  that  the  height  of  the  bridge 
should  be  so  fixed  as  not  injuriously  to  interfere 
with  the  river  navigation  ;  and  to  consider  gene- 
rally in  what  way  any  bridge  that  may  be 
authorised  should  be  constructed  so  as  to  secure 
its  permanent  safety.  The  following  is  the 
main  portion  of  their  report :  — 

Having  carefully  considered  the  details  of  the 
scheme  proposed  by  the  Bill,  as  well  as  the 
evidence  which  has  been  adduced  by  the  pro- 
moters, they  have  arrived  at  the  following  con- 
clusions on  the  points  referred  to  them :  {a) 
That  the  Bridge  over  the  river  Tay  should,  in 
the  interests  of  the  public  and  of  the  railway 
company,  be  reconstructed.  (4)  That  the  present 
site  of  the  bridge  is,  on  the  whole,  the  mo.st 
suitable.  [f)  That  the  reconstruction  of  the 
bridge  at  the  lower  elevation  of  77ft.  over  four 
spans  of  245ft.  from  centre  to  centre  of  pi'  rs, 
instead  of  88ft.  above  high-water  spring  tides, 
will  occasion  no  undue  interference  with  the 
navigation  of  the  river,  more  especially  as  the 
promoters  have  signified  their  intention,  in  case 
the  bridge  is  rebuilt  at  the  lower  level,  to  pro- 
vide a  tug  gratuitou.'-ly  for  all  vessels  of  and 
above  70  tons  register  passing  up  and  down 
within  a  mile  of  the  bride,  and  to  keep  the 
navigable  channel  clear.  The  Committee  are  of 
opiuion  that  the  safety  of  the  public  might  best 
be  consulted  by  the  bridge  being  rebuilt  upon 
entirely  new  foundations ;  but  evidence  was 
adduced  that,  subject  to  certain  conditions,  by 
sheet  piling  or  otherwi.<e,  the  existing  caissons 
might  be  secured  and  utilised.  This  opinion 
might  be  open  to  reconsideration,  if  hereafter  it 
should  be  proved  that  the  existing  caissons 
had  been  thoroughly  tested  and  found  trust- 
worthy, or  a  carefully-considered  plan  brought 
forward  for  rendering  them  secure.  7.  The 
committee  have  no  doubt  that  a  bridge  properly 
constructed  would  resist  the  lateral  pressure  of 
any  wind ;  but  they  have  not  taken  direct 
evidence  as  to  wind-pressure,  as  this  subject 
was  fully  considered  before  the  Court  of  Inquiry 
on  the  Tay  Bridge  disaster,  and  is  now  under 
the  consideration  of  a  committee  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.  8.  No  provision  for  giving  any  shelter 
to  the  train  from  the  wind  during  its  passage 
over  the  bridge  was  included  in  the  scheme 
before  the  committee.  This  subject  they  consider 
most  important,  and  it  will  no  doubt  receive  the 
a'tention  of  the  company's  engineer  in  preparing 
plans  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  bridge. 
9.  The  committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  under- 
taking given  by  the  promoters  to  remove  the  exist- 
ing railway  junction  from  off  the  bridge  should  be 
embodied  in  any  future  scheme  ;  that  the  gradient 
on  the  north  side  should  be  reduced,  as  proposed, 
from  1  in  74  to  1  in  101,  and  that  it  should  be  a 
statutory  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  railway 
company  to  maintain  a  tug-boat  in  the  manner 
proposed  by  them  for  the  gratuitous  use  of  all 
vessels  of  70  tons  and  upwards,  for  a  mile  on 
each  side  of  the  bridge,  and  also  to  maintain  a 
clear  waterway  under  the  four  spans  of  the 
bridge.  10  In  deciding  to  reject  the  Bill,  the 
committee  have  also  been  in  some  measure  in- 
fluenced by  the  waet  of  independent  engineering 
evidence  adduced  in  its  favour,  and  by  the  great 
discrepancy  between  the  plans  and  estimates 
submitted  to  them  and  those  deposited  in  the 
ofiices  of  Parliament.  11.  In  the  event  of  the 
promoters  coming  to  Parliament  next  session, 
the  committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  passage  of 
the  Bill  would  be  much  facilitated  and  the  in- 
terest of  the  public  best  promoted,  if  the  com- 
pany had  obtained  the  previous  approval  of 
their  scheme  by  two  or  three  independent 
engineers  of  unquestionable  standing  and  experi- 
ence. The  Select  Committee  further  report 
that  they  have  examined  the  allegations  con- 
tained in  the  preamble  of  the  Bill,  but 
the  same  have  not  been  proved  to  their  satisfac- 
tion. 


Builtitus  ]Inttlltgtuct. 


Leeds. — Emmanuel  Church,  Leeds,  was  con- 
secrated on  Wednesday  week.  Mes.srs.  Adams  and 
Kelly,  architects,  Leeds,  prepared  the  designs. 
The  church,  which  is  built  in  the  Early  English 
style,  comprises  a  clerestoried  nave,  with  north 
ai.-les  and  chancel.  The  church  is  built  of  stone, 
faced  externally  with  pitch-faced  stone,  with 
hosted  sand.stone  dressings.  The  cost  of  the 
church  as  at  present  is  nearly  £9,000.  The 
following  are  the  contractors  for  the  several 
works: — Masonry,  Messrs.  Bentley  and  Burn; 
carpenter  and  joiner,  Mr.  WiUi<m  Britton; 
slater,  Messrs.  Watson  and  Wor.snop  ;  plumber, 
Mr.  Thomas  Story  ;  ironfoimders,  Messrs.  Heaps 
and  Robinson ;  plasterer,  Mr.  Henry  Eastwood  ; 
painter,  Mr.  Joseph  Walker.  Mr.  Thorp  exe- 
cuted the  pulpit  and  font ;  the  gas-fittings  are  by 
Messrs.  Thomason  and  Co.,  of  Birmingham; 
who  also  provided  the  lectern  and  other  metal 
work.  The  whole  of  the  works  have  been  carried 
out  from  the  designs  and  under  the  superinten- 
dence of  Messrs.  Adams  and  Kelly,  and  Mr. 
Brotherton  acted  as  clerk  of  works. 

MoxMOUTH. — St.  Thoma.s's  Church  was  re- 
opened last  week  after  restoration,  carried  out 
by  Jlr.  William  Simmouds,  builder,  of  Mon- 
mouth. The  west  and  north  doorways  have  been 
rebuilt  in  local  red  stone.  The  old  tower  has 
been  removed,  and  a  stone  one  in  keeping  with 
the  nave  erected  in  its  place,  the  old  bell  being 
rehung  in  it.  The  roof  has  been  stripped  of  the 
old  stone  tiles  and  Cadbury's  silver  grey  .slates 
substituted.  A  new  window  has  been  inserted 
in  the  east  gable  end.  In  the  interior  the  ceiling 
has  been  rai.-ed  three  feet,  and  has  been  boarded 
with  red  deal,  in  which  is  worked  a  V  sinking. 
This  has  been  polished  and  stencilled  by  the 
contractor's  men.  The  plaster  has  been  stencilled 
to  the  level  of  the  window  heads  by  Mr.  Robarts, 
of  London.  The  nave  is  lighted  by  three  new 
sun  gaseliers,  there  being  another  in  the  chancel, 
in  addition  to  27  lights  round  the  chancel  arch. 
New  altar  rails  have  been  also  fixed  in  the 
chancel.  The  work  has  been  done  at  a  cost  of 
£700. 

Newton  Heath. — Dedication  services  of  a 
new  Wesleyan  chapel  were  commenced  on 
Thursday  week.  The  chapel  stands  on  a  plot  of 
ground  adjoining  the  main  road,  immediately 
opposite  the  old  chapel.  The  body  of  the  new 
building  is  a  parallelogram,  69ft.  by  47ft.,  and 
is  surrounded  by  a  gallery  three  pews  deep. 
Accommodation  has  been  provided  for  890  wor- 
shippers. The  minister's  vestry  and  other  rooms 
occupy  the  rear  of  the  chapel.  The  choir  apse  is 
octagonal,  defined  in  the  chapel  by  a  moulded 
arch,  supported  on  richly  carved  caps,  with 
shafts  and  bases.  The  chapel  roof  is  octagonal, 
in  one  span,  without  the  beams  or  rods.  The 
roof  and  interior  fittings  are  of  pitch-pine, 
varnished.  A  sycamore  band  surmounts  the 
wall  boarding,  and  is  inlaid  with  designs  in  oak 
and  ebony.  The  external  elevation  is  faced  with 
Burnley  parpoints  and  Yorkshire  stone  dressings. 
A  tower  and  spire  rise  to  a  height  of  r25ft.  at 
the  west  of  the  building.  The  chapel  has  been 
erected  by  Mr.  Brown,  of  Hollinwood,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Smith,  architect,  of  Man- 
chester and  Liverpool.  Tt.e  contract  was  let  for 
£6,300,  and  the  cost  of  the  land,  together  with 
the  extension  of  the  schoolrooms,  wUl  raise  the 
total  expenditure  to  £9,000. 

Pexeith. — New  premises  are  in  course  of 
erection  here  for  Messrs.  Graham  in  the  Market- 
square.  The  front  is  of  local  red  stone,  the 
roofing  being  broken  with  half-timber  gables. 
The  new  building,  designed  in  the  OH  English 
style,  will  present  a  picturesque  appearance. 
The  work  is  being  carried  out  by  Mr.  W.  Grisen- 
thwaite,  of  Penrith,  from  the  design  of  Messrs. 
Hetherington  and  Oliver,  of  Carlisle. 

South  Hoesset. — Local  Board  offices  are 
about  to  be  erected  for  South  Hornsey,  on  a 
freehold  site  in  Milton-road,  purchased  for 
£1,600.  The  plans  have  been  prepared  by  Mr. 
Fry,  surveyor  to  the  board,  and  provide  on 
the  first  floor  a  board-room,  43ft.  Oin.  by 
23ft.  lOin.,  and  16ft.  in  height,  and  an  ante- 
room, and  committee-room  aud  lavatories.  On 
one  side  wUl  be  the  surveyor's  residence,  and  on 
the  other  the  fire-brigade  station,  and  a  mortuary 
will  also  be  provid.  ii.  The  principal  elevation 
will  be  faced  with  stone,  and  the  entire  cost  of 
the  block  will  be  £6,500. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


WAiSALL. — The  venerable  church  of  St. 
Matthew,  Walsall,  was  reopeued  oa  Tuesday, 
after  exteuslve  alterations  and  restorations 
In  the  nave,  the  old  cumbrous  "three- 
decker"  pulpit  has  been  removed  from  its  place 
in  front  of  the  chancel-arch,  and  a  carved  oak 
pulpit  and  reading-desk  are  to  be  substituted 
for  it ;  whilst  the  high-backed  pews  have  been 
replaced  by  chairs.  The  chancel- arch  has  been 
cleared  of  the  organ  and  organ-gallery  which 
formerly  blocked  it  up,  and  has  been  rebuilt 
and  widened.  The  eastern  wall,  hitherto  a  dull 
blank,  is  now  pierced  with  a  five-light  stained 
glass  window  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Sister 
Dora;  and  the  windows  of  lead  and  square 
lights  in  the  side  walls  have  given  place  to  others 
of  14tli-century  type,  with  stone  mullii 
and  cathedral  gljss,  being  exact  copies  of  an 
original  window -space  found  blocked  up  by  the 
organ.  An  oak  roof  has  been  erected  in  lieu  of 
the  whitewashed  ceiling ;  the  ancient  stall: 
are  retained,  some  new  ones  being  added;  and 
two  doorways  leading  into  the  crypt,  and  a 
beautiful  canopied  sedilia,  discovered  during  the 
progress  of  the  works,  have  been  restored  to  the 
original  designs.  The  organ  now  opens  to  the 
chancel  with  a  broad  arch,  and  in  its  rear  are 
new  vestries  for  the  clergy  and  choir.  The 
instrument  has  undergone  modernisation  and 
enlargement  by  Messrs.  Bishop  and  Son,  Mary- 
lebone-road,  London.  The  tracery  of  the  upper 
portion  of  the  memorial  east  window  is  tilled 
vrith  representations  of  the  four  Archangels,  the 
twelve  Apostles  beating  a  scroU  inscribed  with 
the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Agnus  Dei,  and  other 
symbols.  The  lower  part  is  occupied  by  ten 
designs,  the  centre  one  in  the  upper  row  being 
a  figure  of  Christ,  and  those  to  right  and  left 
figiu-es  of  the  Virgin  and  St.  John  ;  whilst  the 
others  contain  representations  of  the  seven  cor- 
poral works  of  mercy.  It  is  from  the  works  of 
Messrs.  Burlinson  and  Grylls,  Nev/man-street, 
London.  The  restoration  has  cost  £.5,000.  The- 
architect  is  Mr.  Ewan  Christian,  of  Loudon  ;  and 
the  builder  and  contractor,  Mr.  Thomas  Williams, 
of  Hariington-square,  London. 


SCHOOLS     OF      ART. 

Beiohton. — The  annual  distribution  of  prizes 
to  the  members  of  the  Brighton  Science  and  Art 
classes  took  place,  on  Friday,  at  the  Royal  Pa- 
vilion. Mr.  Fisher,  the  master  of  the  Art 
School,  reported  a  decrease  upon  the  numbers  of 
the  preceding  year,  the  falling  off  from  the  day 
classes  being  from  1S3  in  1879,  to  ISl  last  ses- 
sion ;  and,  m  the  evening  classes,  from  329  to 
296 ;  while  there  was  a  decrease  of  3S  in  the 
number  of  individual  students.  The  receipts 
from  students'  fees  had  shown  a  greater  propor- 
tional decrease,  indicating  a  less  full  attendance. 
He  attributed  this  falling  off  to  disappointments 
sustained  in  the  examinations  for  1S79,  and  also 
to  the  general  depression.  Notwithstanding  a 
diminished  number  of  students,  there  had,  how- 
ever, been  a  marked  improvement  in  the  number 
of  successes  obtained ;  and  the  Government 
grants  had  increased  from  £23i  7s.  Gd.  to 
£269  ios.  Of  the  works  forwarded  to  South 
Eensigton,  2u  obtained  awards  in  the  National 
Competition,  comparing  with  the  previous  year 
as  follows  :— Gold  medal,  1S79,  0;  1880,  1  ;  in- 
crease, 1.  Silver  medal,  1879,  2;  1880,  0  ;  de- 
crease, 2.  Bronze  medal,  1879,  3  ;  1S80,  1  ;  de- 
crease, 2.  Queen's  prizes,  1879,  2;  1880,  4;  in- 
crease, 2.  3rd  grade  prizes,  1879,  20,  and  four 
supplementary  awards  ;  1880,  20  ;  decrease,  i. 
Prizes  have  also  been  awarded  in  the  National 
Art  competidon  to  members  of  the  Science 
Classes  in  Building  Construction,  and  in  Ma- 
diine  Drawing,  namely  : — One  Queen's  prize, 
six  third -grade  prizes,  and  six  second-grade 
prizes,  for  Building  Construction  (the  only  fii-st- 
class  honours  awarded  to  a  school  in  this  class)  ; 
and  one  second-grade  prize  for  Machine  Draw- 
ings. Last  year,  no  awards  of  this  class  were  ob- 
tained. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Desigxs  foe  FnRxiTusE. — The  Council  of  the 
Society  of  Arts  are  trustees  of  the  sum  of  £100, 
presented  to  them  by  the  Owen  Jones  Memorial 
Committee,  being  the  balance  of  the  subscrip- 
tions to  that  fund,  upon  trust  to  expend  the 
interest  thereof  in  prizes  to  "  students  of  the 
schools  of  art  who  in  annual  competition  pro- 
duce the  best  designs  for  household  furniture, 
carpets,    wall-papers    and    hangings,    damask, 


209 


chintzes,  &c.,  regulated  by  the  principleslaiddown 
'oyOwen  Jones,"  the  prizes  to  "consist  of  abound 
copy  of  Owen  Jones's  '  Principles  of  Design,'  a 
bronze  medal,  and  such  sums  of  money  as  the 
fund  admits  of."  The  prizes  will  be  awarded 
on  the  results  of  the  annual  competition  of  the 
Science  and  Art  Department.  Competing 
designs  must  be  marked  "  In  competition  for  the 
Owen  Jones  prizes."  The  next  award  will  be 
made  in  1881,  when  .six  prizes  are  offered  for 
competition,  each  prize  to  consist  of  a  bound 
copy  of  Owen  Jones's  "  Principles  of  Design  " 
and  the  Society's  bronze  medal. 

SwrSDITNO-BATHS   FOK   RICInI0^^),  SuEBET. A 

special  meeting  of  the  Richmond  Sele -t  Vestry 
was  held  on  Tuesday  week,  when,  after  a  heated 
discussion,  the  report  of  a  committee,  who 
unanimously  recommended  the  adoption,  with 
some  slight  modifications,  of  the  scheme  denoted 
by  the  motto  "  Natation,"  was  adopted.  The 
sealed  packet  bearing  the  same  motto  was  then 
opened,  and  found  to  contain  the  name  of  Mr. 
Frank  D.  Lockwood,  of  10,  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields.  Several  members  expressed  satisfaction 
that  the  successful  competitor  was  a  resident  in 
Richmond,  and  the  committee  was  instructed  to 
communicate  with  Mr.  Lockwood.  As  the  plans 
were  estimated  to  cost  considerably  more  than 
the  £1,.300  proposed,  it  was  decided  to  apply  to 
the  Local  Government  Board  for  sanction  to  bor- 
row an  additional  sum  of  £2,000.  On  Thursday, 
however,  the  select  vestry  wa"  resummoned,  Mr. 
Lockwood  having  explained  that  he  was  the 
author,  not  of  the  selected  design,  but  of  a 
second  set  of  drawings  bearing  the  same  motto, 
and  which  had  been  dealt  with  by  the  committee 
as  an  alternative  set.  The  seal  of  the  second 
envelope  entitled  "Natation  "  was  then  broken, 
with  the  result  that  Messrs.  George  Elkington  i 
and  Son,  9.5,  Cannon-street,  London,  E.C.,  were 
found  to  be  the  premiatcd  architects.  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  also  wrote  complaining  that  three  weeks 
after  the  competition  was  announced,  a  second 
set  of  instructions  was  published,  which  neces- 
sitated serious  alterations  in  plans,  and  also  gave 
£1,500  as  the  limit  of  cost,  to  which  he  had 
strictly  adhered ;  had  he  been  aware  more  money 
was  at  the  committee's  disposal  he  could  have 
produced  a  more  elaborate  design.  The  accepted 
design,  it  seems,  is  estimated  to  cost  £3,200,  and 
a  long  discussion  ensued.  It  was  proposed  to 
reopen  the  competition  on  the  ground  that  all 
the  designs  exceeded  the  limit  of  cost,  but  this 
was  pronounced  unfair,  and  the  vestry  clerk 
stated  it  was  illegal.  Mr.  Clarke  said  they  had 
seen  certain  plans  and  accepted  them.  Their 
neighbour,  Mr.  Lockwood,  said  they  were  not 
his,  but  that  did  not  alter  the  plans.  They  had 
accepted  a  design,  and  they  ought  to  accept  the 
person  who  produced  it.  He  thought  they 
ought  not  to  ignore  a  plan  simply  because  it 
was  not  by  Mr.  Lockwood,  a  gentleman  whom 
they  all  knew  and  resjjected.  Eventually,  it 
being  shown  that  further  controvery  was  useless, 
the  design  of  "Natation"  in  red  ink  having 
been  already  accepted,  the  minutes  were  read 
and  confirmed,  and  the  members  separated. 

WESTirrNSTEE  Vestet  Offices. — A  meeting 
of  the  iniited  vestry  of  St.  Margaret's  and  St. 
John's,  Westminster,  was  held  on  Tuesday 
afternoon,  when  a  report  was  presented  by  the 
joint  parochial  offices  committee  submitting  Mr. 
Barry's  report  on  the  competition  designs.  It 
was  proposed  by  Mr.  Baker  that  Mr.  Barry's 
report,  recommending  the  award  of  the  1st, 
2nd,  and  3rd  premiums  to  "Stet,"  "Port" 
cuUis  in  Circular  Strap,"  and  "Black  Star" 
respectively,  be  adopted.  Several  members 
objected  that  none  of  the  competitors  had, 
according  to  Mr.  Barrj-,  kept  within  the  £15,000 
limit  of  cost,  and  that,  therefore,  no  competitor 
deserved  the  premium.  The  gener-al  opinion 
was,  however,  that  £15,000  was  an  insufficient 
sum  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  vestry,  and 
that  it  was  desirable  to  provide  adequate  and 
suitable  offices  even  at  a  oust  of  from  £7,000  to 
£8,000  more  than  was  originally  contemplated. 
Mr.  Cooper  urged  that,  strictly  speaking,  they 
would  be  justified  in  paying  the  fir.ft  premium 
to  "  Stet,"  as  he  estimated  the  cost  of  the  vestry 
offices  proper  at  £10,032,  much  less  than  the 
stipulated  cost,  although  Mr.  Barry  thought  this 
part  of  the  scheme  could  not  be  built  for  less  than 
£15,779.  Mr.  Hamborg  projjosed  as  an  amend- 
ment that  Mr.  Barry's  report  be  not  accepted 
until  the  vestry  decide  whether  they  will  spend 
more  than  the  £15,000  originally  voted.  On  a 
division  theamendment  was  defeated  by  21  votes 


to  13,  and  It  was  decided  by  23  votes  to  7  to  adopt 
the  recommendations  of  Mr.  Barry  and  to  refer 
the  matter  back  to  the  committee  with  instruc- 
tions to  consult  the  author  of  the  first  design, 
and  report  back.  The  sealed  envelopes  contaTn- 
ing  the  candidates'  names  were  then  opened  with 
the  following  result  :-lst,  "Stet,"  Messrs.  Leo 
and  Smith,  7,  Queen  Victoria-street,  E.C.  :  2ud 
PortcuUis,"  Mr.  John  Evelyn  Trollope;  3rd, 
B  ack  Star,"  Messrs.  Hunt  and  Steward.  3 
^  ictoria-street,  Westminster.  It  was  n.'xt  pro- 
posed that  the  sealed  envelopes  eontaiuinjr  tlio 
names  of  the  unsuccessful  candidaU's  bo  opened, 
but  this  was  strongly  objected  to  by  Mr. 
TroUopo,  senr.,  and  Mr.  T.  Verity,  and  on  a 
division  was  defeated.  A  further  resolutioa 
that  the  whole  of  the  designs  be  pubUely  cxhi- 
bited  was  pronounced  by  the  chairman  and 
others  to  bo  inexpedient,  and  it  was  propo.sed 
to  hang  only  the  three  premiatcd  designH,  but 
by  a  majority  the  members  resolved  to  exhibit  aU 
the  designs.  By  a  subsequent  resolution  it  was 
agreed  to  pay  Mr.  Barry  a  fee  of  100  guiucts 
for  his  report.  It  was  stated  that  in  the  event 
of  Messrs.  Lee  and  Smith  being  appuinU-d 
architects  for  the  new  offices,  the  £100  premium 
wUl,  under  the  terms  of  the  conditions,  merge  ia 
the  ordinary  commission.  Mr.  J.  E.  Trollope, 
whose  design  is  placed  second,  is  a  younger  son 
of  Mr.  G,  Trollope,  builder,  of  ParUament- 
street,  Westminster,  an  influential  member  of 
the  Vestry.  We  understand  that  Mr.  J.  E. 
Trollope  was,  till  recently,  a  pupil  of  Mr. 
A.  M.  Blomfield.  We  may  remark  that  in 
our  review  of  the  designs  published  on  July 
9th,  before  Mr.  Barry  had  reported,  wo  placed 
that  by  "  Stet"  in  the  first  place,  describing  it 
as  "unquestionably  one  of  the  boldest  ink 
designs  in  the  room,"  adding  "the  design 
marked  with  a  'Black  Star'  is  also  a  clerer 
English-Renaissance  design." 


CHIPS. 

The  London  and  North -Western  Railway  Com- 
pany are  extending  their  portion  of  the  Victoria 
Station,  Manchester.  The  contract  has  been  taken 
by  Messrs.  R.  Neill  and  Sons,  of  Straugeways, 
Manchester,  and  will  occupy  several  years  m 
execution. 

Sir  Henry  A.  Hunt,  C.B.,  has  just  made  his  final 
award  in  respect  of  properties  to  be  taken  compul- 
sorily  under  the  Wolverhampton  Artisans'  Dwel- 
lings Scheme,  by  which  about  £250,000  will  be 
expended  in  improvements  in  the  centre  of  the 
t'jwn.  The  total  value  of  the  property  arbitrated 
upon  is  about  £60,000,  including  some  valuable 
licensed  premises  and  places  of  worship. 

A  new  church  is  in  course  of  erection  in  Astley- 
street,  Blackburn-road,  Bolton-le-Moors.  The 
church,  which  is  dedicated  to  All  Souls,  is  being 
built  at  a  cost  of  about  £20,000  under  the  will  of 
the  late  Mr.  Nathaniel  Greeuhaigh,  of  Thorny- 
dikes,  Sharpies,  near  Bolton.  The  style  of  archi- 
tecture adopted  is  Transition,  between  Decorated 
and  Perpendicular,  from  the  drawings  of  Messrs. 
Paley  and  Austin,  architect!,  Lancaster.  The 
church  wifi  contain  SOU  sittings. 

A  singular  point  as  to  the  ownership  of  one  of 
David  Cux's  pictures  was  decided  on  Thursday 
week  m  the  Bangor  District  Court  of  Uaukruntcy. 
It  was  whether  the  signboard  of  the  Rival  Ho:el, 
Bettw8-y-Coed,  painted  by  Cox,  belon(,'cd  to  Lady 
Willoughby  D'Eresby,  the  lessor  of  the  h  .t.:l,  or 
to  the  trustees  in  the  lessee's  bankruptcy.  Judg- 
ment was  given  in  favour  of  the  le«or.  It  was 
stated  that  a  connoisseur  was  willing  to  gire 
£1,000  for  the  picture.  The  signboard  wis  puutwl 
by  Cox  in  1847,  and  was  fixed  to  the  outer  wall 
of  the  hotel,  being  retouched  by  the  painter  in 
1849.  In  18G6  it  was  removed  to  one  of  the 
sitting-rooms,  and  subsequently  fastened  to  the 
wall  of  the  hall,  and  had  remained  14  years  iu  that 
position.  —  A  correspondent  calls  atU'ntion  to 
another  celebrated  signboard,  tint  at  Wargrave- 
on-Thames,  near  Henley,  which  m  supposed  to  be 
the  work  of  two  living  Academicians.  The  sign. 
he  says, ' •  represents  'St.  George  and  the  Dragon ; 
on  one  side  '  The  Combat.'  and  on  the  other  'After 
the  Combat,'  where  St.  George  has  de»crodc<l  from 
his  saddle,  and  is  refreshing  himself  with  a  pint  of 
presumably  Wargrave  ale.  The  P'^turt.s  ore  by 
LesUe  and,  I  thmk.  Watts,  and  although  rather 
faded,  are  well  worth  seeiug." 

Mr  George  Rhiud,  suporintendent  of  works  at 
Arbroath  Harbour,  has  resigned  th«t  appointment, 
havin"  been  elected  pngin.-er  of  the  new  harbour 
works  at  Plymouth.  New  Zealand. 

Mr  G  Fagg,  architect  and  surveyor,  of  S,  Old 
Jewry,  h-s  been  appointed  surveyor  to  the  Cipitjl 
and  Counties  Building  Society,  2,  Broed-street- 
buildings. 


370 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


ISIore   than   Fifty   Thousand   Keplies   and 

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Comsp0ntitnee. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Butldino  News. 
COMPETITIONS  AND  THE  PROEES- 
SIONAL  ARBITRATOR. 
Sib, — My  connection  witli  the  memorial  pre- 
fiented  a  few  months  back  to  the  Prisident  and 
Council  of  the  R.I.B.A.,  on  the  subject  of  archi- 
tectural competitions,  is  my  sole  reason  for 
trespassing  once  more  upon  your  space.  Two 
important  competitions  have  recently  been  ad- 
judicated upon  by  Mr.  Charles  Barry,  -who,  it  is 
well  to  note,  was  nut  announced  in  the  original 
instructions  as  the  arbitrator  or  assessor  in  either 
case,  nor  had  he,  I  believe,  been  consulted  upon 
them — a  course  which  would  have  been  more 
desirable,  and,  in  all  probability,  would  have 
mitigated  the  severity  of  the  tea  ot-storms  that 
his  awards  have  called  forth,  though  it  would 
be  hardly  possible,  in  the  case  of  the  "Westminster 
Vestry  Hall  competition,  to  have  had  better 
drawn  instructions,  or  to  take  exception  at  the 
fairness  that  has  characterised  the  conduct  of 
the  promoters  throughout.  I  do  not  propose 
to  discuss  those  awards,  or  to  comment  in  full 
upon  the  letters  that  have  appeared  in  your 
journal  on  tbe  subject.  Mr.  Charles  Barry  is 
perfectly  well  able  tu  defend  himself,  and  is  not 
likely  to  be  shaken  in  his  expressed  opinion 
becaufC  his  action  in  these  matters  meets  with 
disapproval  in  some  quarters. 


It  may,  for  aught  I  know,  be  a  disappoint- 
ment to  the  profes'sion  generally  to  find  that  Mr. 
Huj;h  Roumieu  Gough  did  »u(  sign  the  memorial, 
and  to  learn  liis  reasons  for  so  doing  ;  I  confess 
I  do  not  find  them  convincing,  but  that  is 
merely  ray  opinion,  and  to  any  who  are  depressed 
by  his  letter  I  would  say:  Take  heart;  remember 
the  names  of  the  men  who  have  signed:  and 
they  may  come  to  the  conclusion  that  our  efforts 
to  secure  justice  and  unity  on  this  important 
question  are  not  likely  to  be  shipwrecked  because 
Mr.  Hugh  Roumieu  Gough  stands  aloof. 

But  it  is  well  that  the  public  aud  the  profes- 
sion should  bear  in  mind  what  the  position  of  the 
Memorialists  is.  I  believe  it  to  be  this.  The 
competition  system  exists  :  its  good  as  well  as 
its  bad  points  are  too  well  known  to  need  elabo- 
ration here.  Our  profession  has  so  enormously 
increased  in  numbers,  that  it  is  no  matter  of 
surprise  that  if  the  public  find  they  can  obtain 
drawings  for  any  public  building,  however  insig- 
nificant, and  however  small  the  premium 
offered,  they  should  r.-sort  to  competition.  ^  So  a 
traffic  is  created,  in  many  cases  very  discreditable 
to  promoters  and  architects  alike  ;  this  being  so, 
it  becomes  necessary  to  regulate  this  traffic. 

No  one  acquiiinted  with  the  subject  supposes 
for  a  minute  that  the  appointment  of  a  profes- 
sional expert  is  to  cure  all  evils  and  to  head  all 
the  soreness  that  must  result  from  the  system  ; 
but  what  I  think  the  memorialists  say  to  pro- 
moters of  competition  is  this :— We  have  spent 
years  in  acquiring  what  knowledge  we  possess : 
if  in  reply  to  your  invitation  we  devote  our  ex- 
perience, time,  study,  aud  money,  to  the  pre- 
paration of  designs,  we  have  a  right  to  demand  of 
you  fairness  in  selecting  from  them.  You 
doubtless  know  generally  what  you  require  ; 
but  special  skill  is  required  in  the  preparation  of 
precise  instructions,  so  that  all  may  tender  upon 
intelligent  bases ;  this  can  best  be  done  by  the  man 
who  has  won  his  laurels  as  an  architect  of  esta- 
blished rep  utation ;  and  his  advice  will  be  most 
useful  to  you  here  and  save  a  world  of  trouble 
afterwards.  Secure  such  services,  announce  in 
your  circular  the  name  of  the  architect  you  have 
called  in  to  advise  you.  If  it  be  asked  why  a 
professional  assessor  is  necessary,  the  answer  is 
an  easy  one.  Are  you,  a  body  of  laymen,  com- 
petent to  decide  tipon  the  rival  merits  of  pro- 
fessional skill  ?  Given  the  best  intentions,  will 
you  not  find  it  bewildering  and  full  of  difficulties  ? 
There  are,  perhaps,  laymen  fitted  for  such  a 
task,  but  they  aie  the  exceptions  that  prove 
the  rule.  This  work  of  selecting  is  an 
anxious  one  for  the  expert ;  how  much  more 
difficult  for  a  body  of  men,  not  experts,  but 
probably  ignorant  of  architectural  knowledge  r 
One  likes  one  thing,  one  another  ;  showy  draw- 
ings captivate,  and  trash  is  often  chosen,  and 
the  Dogberries  and  Verges  squabble  among 
themselves. 

But,  Sir,  as  your  columns  have  shown  times 
out  of  number,  the  worst  evils  are  those  result- 
ing from  the  fight  being  often  sold;  that  com- 
petitions are  too  frequently  shams  ;  the  selection 
is  practically  made  before  a  design  is  sent  in, 
and  prizes  are  secured  by  unscrupulous 
means,  employed  both  by  promoters  and  archi- 
tects. 

We  have  seen  that  the  "motto"  is  no  pro- 
tection under  such  a  system  ;  that  touting  goes 
on  all  round,  aud  that,  in  case  after  case,  pre- 
miums have  been  awarded,  not  for  the  merit  of 
the  designs,  but  because  the  authors  of  them 
had  friends  at  court,  local  influence,  and  used 
their  utmost  endeavours  to  snatch  the  prizes,  by 
foul  means  if  not  by  fair. 

Explosions  upon  paper  follow  the  announced 
decision.  Men  fighting  fairly  are  disheartened  ; 
but  the  next  invitation  produces  another  display 
of  drawings,  and  more  explosions  to  follow.  O 
teinpora,  (>  iivres  !  But  what  care  public  and 
irrespnnsiblo  adjudicators  for  such  explosions;^ 
Very  little  indeed.  Now,  if  a  well-known 
professional  adjudicator  be  called  in,  he  consults 
with  and  learns  the  requirements  and  wishes  of 
the  promoters,  he  formulates,  in  precise  terms, 
the  instructions,  and  when  the  designs  are  sent 
in,  brings  all  the  .skill  he  possesses  to  bear  upon 
his  judgment.  Free  from  local  influence,  un- 
approachable by  promoters  and  others,  he  sees 
through  shorldy  work  and  ignorance,  weighs 
the  rival  merits  of  plans,  elevations,  and  sections, 
and  then,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  gives  his 
award.  There  are  many  men  capable  of  ful- 
filling all  these  conditions,  and  the  result  of 
such  a  system  would  be  that  the  pub- 
lic    are     bound      to      be      the      real     gainers, 


as  better  men  will  compete  if  they  know 
that  merit  and  honest  comi>liance  with 
the  instructions  issued  will  be  recognised. 
Incompetent  men  will  hesitate  to  expose  their 
weakness  to  an  eye  skilled  in  the  art  they  but 
dabble  in.  Lastly,  an  assessor  knows  perfectly 
well  that  his  own  reputation  for  skill  and  fair- 
ness is  at  stake,  and  that  woe  be  to  him  if  caught 
giving  an  unrighteous  judgment  ! 

This  safeguard  of  the  professional  assessor  is 
demanded  in  the  name  of  fairness  to  all  concerned, 
as  the  best  remedy  possible  to  check  the  evils  of 
the  system ;  reform  can  only  be  achieved  by 
combination,  and  I  do  not  envy  those  who, 
knowing  and  admitting  the  mischief  of  the 
happy-go-lucky  style  of  selecting  designs,  stand 
aloof,  and  will  not  join  those  whose  desire  is 
that  competitions,  if  they  are  to  exist,  should 
be  put  on  a  better  basis,  and  justice  secured  to 
the  honest  competitors. — I  am,  &c.. 

Cole  A.  Adams. 

11,  Holden-terrace,  Grosvenor  Gardens,  S.W., 
Sept.  22. 


GLASGOW   MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS 

COMPETITION. 
Sm, — As  one  of  the  competitors  who  have 
adhered  to  the  condition  requiring  absence  of 
colour  and  etching,  I  consider  myself  entitled  to 
ask  how  Mr.  Barry  can  justify  evasion  of  this 
stipulaticu  on  the  part  of  so  many  of  the  com- 
petitors. The  condition  was  distinctly  geome- 
trical outline  ;  and  the  shading  of  windows  on 
first  and  second  premiated  designs,  and  in  so 
many  of  the  others,  violates  the  spirit  of  that 
requirement.  I  presume  this  was  not  sanctioned 
in  reply  to  any  query  from  intending  competi- 
tors, otherwise  the  council  would  have  seen  their 
way  to  issue  amended  conditions  to  every 
competitor,  so  that  all  might  be  on  the  same 
footing. 

It  is  true  Mr.  Barry,  or  any  professional  man 
of  skill  and  probity,  would  give  no  weight  to 
the  adventitious  effect  thus  obtained,  but  it  is 
not  in  human  nature  to  avoid  being  influenced 
by  effect  as  well  as  merit,  and  we  all  know  there 
is  such  a  matter  as  the  art  of  putting  things, 
which  in  this  age  of  superficial  judgment  is  by 
no  means  to  be  ignored. 

However  this  may  be,  the  fact  remains  that 
the  first  and  second  premiated  designs  have 
taken  advantages  which  were  by  the  conditions 
inferentially  forbidden.  Another  and  more  im- 
portant point  of  objection  to  Mr.  Barry's  award 
consists  in  the  architecture  of  Mr.  Coriion's 
design,  which  I  should  imagine  scarcely  seconds 
the  wish  of  the  Council,  that  the  style  employed 
should  be  of  a  broad  and  dignified,  rather  than 
florid,  character.  The  style  chosen  may  be  appro- 
priate for  a  comparatively  small  building,  but, 
his  own  design  being  witness,  does  not  easily 
lend  itself  to  an  extensive  subject. 

Note  the  repetition  of  stories,  none  being  in 
reality  dominant ;  the  absence  of  breadth,  the 
repetition  of  similar  parts,  which  of  itself  is  cal- 
culated to  destroy  interest ;  the  fact  that  there  is 
neither  base  or  crown  in  the  proper  sense ;  the 
fact  that  the  style  does  not  afford  a  tower  of  the 
form  employed,  and  Mr.  Corson,  therefore,  has 
had  to  touch  the  borderland  of  Gothic  architec- 
tiu-e  with  a  resulting  incongruity. 

The  fact,  however,  that  Mr.  Corson  has  fol- 
lowed Mr.  Carrick's  plan  in  its  chief  features  is, 
I  think,  a  merit  in  the  light  of  the  conditions 
issued,  apart  from  the  question  whether  that 
plan  was  the  best  or  not :  with  this,  as  competitors 
accepting  certain  conditions,  we  had  nothing  to 
do.  Undoubtedly  a  finer  plan  can  be  produced, 
and  has  been,  by  some  of  the  competitors  (to 
whom  it  would  be  invidious  to  refer),  and  so 
afforded  them  opportunity  of  conceiving  most 
excellent  elevations. 

It  is  gratifying  that  Mr.  Barry  has  recognised 
these  conditions,  and  limited  himself  in  choosing 
to  those  designs  which  adhered  to  it ;  for  it  is 
evident  that  those  who  disregarded  this  stipula- 
tion working  free  of  its  fetters,  enjoyed  an 
advantage  not  really  conferred  by  the  conditions, 
however  desirable  it  may  have  been. — I  am,  &c., 
Mendelssohx. 


SiE,— The  award  by  Mr.  Barry  has  called 
forth  a  good  deal  of  disappointment  and  dis- 
content. One  good,  however,  it  has  done,  is 
that  it  has  given  information,  and  as  "knowledge 
is  power,"  the  citizens  of  Glasgow  are  in  a 
better  position  now  to  be  able  to  judge  the  sort 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


371 


of  building-  to  be  erected  that  would  be  both  a 
credit  to  them  and  an  honour  to  the  city — a  city 
which  aims  at  being  considered  "the  second  city 
in  the  empire." 

That  the  design  which  has  got  the  first  prize 
is  not  worthy  of  Glasgow  seems  to  be  pretty 
clearly  set  forth  in  Mr.  Barry's  report,  and  for 
it,  therefore,  to  be  accepted,  would,  I  consider, 
be  anything  but  either  a  credit  or  an  honour  to 
it  citizens  or  to  the  city. 

Mr.  CorBon  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  Glasgow 
UeraM,  that  because  he  has  stuck  to  the  £  s.  d., 
that,  therefore,  his  design  ought  to  be  chosen 
for  the  proposed  new  buildings.  That  does  not 
necessarily  follow,  however,  and  it  is  not  in- 
cluded in  the  conditions  of  ciintest.  Had  Mr. 
Corson  desired  to  be  the  author  of  not  only  the 
prize  design  but  also  of  the  best  design,  it  was 
equally  open  to  him  as  to  others  to  send  in  two 
designs,  viz.,  one  for  the  ,£1.50,000  expenditure, 
and  another  showing  what  he  thought  worthy  of 
Glasgow. 

Not  having  done  so,  he  is  entitled,  in  my 
opinion,  to  no  more  than  the  £750,  and  Avith 
that  payment  I  consider,  as  a  Glasgow  citizen, 
that  we  should  bid  him  good-bye,  and  take  Mr. 
Barry's  hint  to  choose  one  of  the  other  better 
designs.  In  regard  to  these,  each  one  will  have 
his  own  opiuiou  ;  for  my  part,  I  thought  most 
of  those  by  "Civis  Sum"  and  "Spes  Dulce 
Malimi."  "  Town  Hall "  also  caught  my 
fjmcy,  but  I  fear  Glasgow  is  rather  smoky  for  it. 

Whatever  is  done  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a 
better  choice  will  be  made  for  our  new  Muni- 
cipal Buildings  than  a  range  of  warehouses  with 
a  nondescript  auld  kirk  steeple  in  the  centre  for 
ornament. — I  am,   &c., 

A  GlASQOW  BtJBOESS. 


Sib, — The  feelings  awakened  by  the  report  of 
Mr.  Barry  on  the  designs  submitted  for  the  New 
Municipal  Buildings  of  Glasgow  have  by  no 
means  yet  subsided ;  but  the  tongues  of  the 
architects  here  are,  in  a  measure,  tied  imtil  the 
seleotion  of  the  fortunate  man  who  is  to  be 
intrusted  \vith  the  erection  of  the  building,  since 
every  one  hopes  that  he  may  himself  be  chosen. 
The  principle  of  pn!  nam  qui  meruit  ftrat  has 
been  set  aside  with  disdain  by  the  arbiter  whose 
assistance  and  advice  the  Glasgow  Town  Council 
were  rash  enough  to  call  in.  The  designs  of 
greatest  merit,  though  costing  no  more,  or  even 
less,  than  that  actually  named  for  the  first  prize, 
are  thrust  into  the  background,  and  the  pre- 
mium awarded  to  one  which  is  not  only  esti- 
mated at  nearly  50  per  cent,  more  than  the 
allotted  siun,  but  which  violates  in  several  other 
points  the  terms  assigned  to  competitors  !  As  a 
coniiequence,  demoralisatiou  has  set  in ;  dis- 
guises are  thrown  aside,  influence  is  bting 
brought  to  bear,  and  private  canvasses  are  ac- 
tively prosecuted.  Provost  Collins,  who  has 
been  thi'oughout  the  dux  et  auspex  of  the  Council, 
and  who  evinces  much  determination  of  cha- 
racter, has  erectc'l  workshops  and  oifices  for  his 
wholesale  stationery  and  S'hool-book  business 
Uttle  inferior  in  architectural  pretension  to  what 
the  New  Town  Hall  will  be,  if  completed 
according  to  Mr.  Corson's  designs,  and  is  pro- 
bably bent  upon  indulging  his  own  taste  in  the 
selection  of  the  plans.  He  has  not  yet  given 
any  sign  of  willingness  to  make  good  the  pledge 
he  publicly  gave  of  defraying  the  costs  of  the 
premiums  out  of  his  own  pocket  in  the  event  of 
a  failure  occuTring,  though  it  in  probable  he  may 
be  reminded  of  it  before  the  matter  is  concluded. 
How  it  should  have  happened  that  a  gentleman 
wholly  unconnected  with  the  town,  as  Mr.  Barry 
is,  should  have  had  power  to  throw  everything 
into  confu:-ion,  and  humiliate  the  local  _archi- 
tects,  is  a  question  which  everybody  is  asking, 
but  to  which  nobody  is  able  to  give  a  satisfac- 
tory answer. 

But  what  is  to  be  done  ?  Here  is  evidently  a 
case  for  the  interference  of  the  Glasgow  Insti- 
tute of  Architects  as  a  public  body,  if  they 
should  think  fit  so  to  determine.  A  petition  to 
the  Court  of  Session  to  set  aside  the  award  in 
terms  of  the  Paper  of  Instiuctions,  aud  ordain 
parties  to  begin  agaiu  dc  novo,  would  be  the 
regidar  and  proper  course  of  proceeding  ;  and 
there  is  little  duubt  that,  if  such  a  petition  were 
presented,  the  prayer  would  bo  granted.  The 
Scotch  Courts  possess  a  discretionary  power  of 
interference  in  cases  of  violation  of  contract, 
such  as  is  vested  in  the  Ei'glish  Court  of  Equity. 
Such  a  case  as  the  present,  I  beUeve,  would 
afford  good  grounds  tor  praying  an  "injunc- 
tion,"  and  an  "interlocutor"   or   "decreet  of 


Session"  would  answer  the  same  purjiose.  A 
petition  to  the  above  effect  might  be  presented 
by  any  architect  who  considers  liimself  ag. 
grieved  ;  but  this  is  a  course  open  to  obvious 
objection,  and  much  the  most  dignified  and 
effectual  iiethod  would  be  by  a  public  body,  if 
there  be  unanimity  of  feeliug  and  public  spirit 
adequate  to  that  end. 

About  the  designs,  there  is  Uttle  to  be  added 
to  what  I  have  already  suggested  in  a  previous 
communication.  There  is  a  grievous  want  of 
distinctive  character — an  ab.sence  of  motif  or 
"motivation"  —  in  them  all.  An  essential 
requisite  for  the  plan  of  such  a  biiilding  is  that 
its  public  character  should  somehow  be  indi- 
cated, and  its  style  sufKciently  raised  above  that 
of  adjoining  structures.  This  might  be  easily 
enough  dune  by  a  colonnade  and  open  galleries, 
if  the  design  were  conceived  in  a  spirit  worthy 
of  the  object,  and  carried  out,  as  it  .should  be, 
with  generosity  and  munificence.  The  interior 
quadrangle  would  then  have  its  colonnade,  and 
the  four  sides  of  the  prolonged  fa(,'ades  naturally 
lend  themselves  to  open  galleries  on  the  first  floor. 
Id  the  principal  front  at  least.  This  would  at  once 
indicate  the  public  character  of  the  edifice,  and 
impart  to  it  an  air  of  nobleness  which  is  quite 
wanting  in  the  designs  sent  in.  I  alluded,  in 
my  previous  communication,  to  two  out  of  the 
few  existing  old  English  town-halls,  Abingdon 
and  Lynn.  The  former  of  these  is  stated  by  the 
inhabitants  (I  do  nut  know  whether  correctly  or 
not)  to  have  been  designed  by  Inigo  Jones.  The 
plan  at  all  events  gives  evidence  of  a  municipal 
feeling  and  generous  spirit  existing  in  the  cor- 
poration and  their  architect  two  centuries  and  a 
half  back,  for  the  open  galleries  of  the  front  are 
the  leading  features,  and  are  of  high  merit, 
reminding  us  of  the  buildings  of  PaJua  and 
Vicenza.  In  the  same  way  the  old  Gre.'-ham 
Exchange,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1838,  and  re- 
placed by  the  splendid  structure  of  Sir  Wilham 
Pite,  equally  evinced,  both  in  the  old  and  new 
form,  the  existence  of  a  liberal  and  really  muni- 
cipal spirit.  The  quadrangle  was  not  jealously 
closed  against  public  access,  but  constructed 
with  a  noble  colonnade,  which  is,  in  fact,  the 
main  ornament  and  mo^t  valuable  feature  of  the 
building.  Can  we  and  our  town  council,  and 
the  architect  they  may  employ,  not  take  a  les 
son  from  such  examples  ? 

The  Council  were  warned  by  their  Provost 
against  following  the  precedent  set  by  Man- 
chester. The  C"St  of  that  grand  Town  Hall,  the 
noblest  civic  edifice  yet  reared  in  Britain,  did 
not  exceed  £260,000,  excluding,  of  course,  the 
charge  for  the  site,  which  in  our  case  has  been 
long  since  defrayed.  It  is  evident  that  the 
Glasgow  Town  Council,  under  the  guidance  of 
their  advisers,  self-ionstituted  or  otherwise,  is 
in  a  fair  way  to  spend  an  equal  or  larger  sum  ; 
and  if  the  premiated  design  is  to  be  proceeded 
with,  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  there  will 
really  be  nothing  to  show  for  it.— I  am,  &c., 

Glasgow,  Sept.  20.    Viteuvius  Caledonius. 


buildings  now  erecting— and  not  the  town-hall 
built  over  20  years  since — ooiit  lOd.  per  cubo 
foot,  and  that  be  addid  to  this  in  liis  estimate 
for  the  tllasi^ow  municipal  buildings  20  per 
cent.,  equal  to  Is.  per  cube  foot. — En.  B.  N.] 


GREAT  SPAN  UOOl'S. 

SiE, — I  hope  you  will  give  mc  a  chance  of  cor- 
recting two  errors  in  your  artielo  headed  aH 
above  on  p.  321. 

You  dispo>o  of  the  rather  complex  (lueiition — 
Is  it  best  to  cover  a  largo  area  by  ono  or  itevonU 
spans?  in  less  than  two  columns.  I  remember 
hearing  a  discussion  on  the  same  whi>:h  occupied 
three  nights,  and  then  decided  by  members  pre- 
sent that  every  ease  must  bo  takou  on  its  own 
merits.  So  much  depends  on  the  value  of  land, 
&c.,  and  with  centre  column-i  or  wiilU  in  your 
railway-station  you  lose  a  lino  or  lines  of  raila 
for  ever.  This  alone  is  a  very  grave  considera- 
tion. 

It  is  said  that  Paxton  taught  us  to  cover  over 
great  spaces  on  the  ridge  and  furrow  principle. 
This  is  wrong.  A  Mr.  Sylvester,  an  engineer, 
taught  us,  and  Paxton  applied  it,  as  at  Sydenham ; 
exactly  as  in  the  case  of  road-makiu|f— u  Mr. 
Lockhcad,  of  Glasgow,  first  taught  us,  »ud  Mac- 
adam applied  it  largely,  and,  like  I'uxtoo,  haa 
had  the  credit  tacked  on  to  his  name.  Such  ia 
the  luck  of  this  life. 

Again,  the  article  says  that  the  Birmingham 
New-.strcet  roof  Ls  constructed  on  thu  bow  prin- 
ciple, with  cast-iroQ  arched  girder.  This  ia 
wrong,  it  being  constructed  wholly  of  wrought- 
iron. 

A  good  detail  description  of  the  roof  will  be 
found  in  Mr.  R.  M.  Bancroft's  paper  on  King's- 
cross  and  other  largo  station  roofs,  amongst  the 
Transactions  of  the  Civil  and  Mechanical  Engi- 
neer's Society,  and  also  published  by  the  Build- 
IXQ  News  ten  or  eleven  years  back.— I  am.  Arc., 
J.  BUTLKB. 


SiE,— There  is  a  jocose  old  recipe  given  for 
finding  the  cost  of  a  design  by  taking  the  num- 
ber of  the  first  cab  that  passes  as  representing 
pounds  sterling.  I  was  reminded  of  this  by 
reading  the  recent  letter  of  the  premiated 
architect  to  the  Glasgow  Town  Council  of 
how  his  estimate  was  made.  He  takes  as  his 
basis  the  fact  that  the  Leeds  Town-hall  was 
buUt  at  a  shilling  a  foot;  but  that  not  answering 
his  puipose,  he  assumes  that  building  is  done  at 
Glasgow  twopence  a  foot  cheaper  than  at  Leeds, 
and  so  obtains  the  tenpence  which  his  design 
requires.  This  is  simple  and  ingenious.  Bat 
you  may  perceive,  the  plain  fact  that  building 
operations,  since  the  time  the  Town-  hall  was 
built  (over  twenty  years),  have  mcreased  m  cost 
quite  37  per  cent.,  is  sweetly  ignored  Ihat 
Town-haU  shUling  is  now  Is.  Id.  ;  labour  at 
that  time  was  sixpence  an  hour,  now  it  is  nine- 
pence  ;    bricks,    then   24s.   per   thousand,    now. 

As  to  the  twopence  a  foot  deduction,  those 
beUeve  who  wiU ;  it  is  more  convenient  than 
convincing.  Now,  Sir,  if  this  estimate  were 
correct,  it  proves  a  great  deal  as  it  must  be 
equally  true  for  others,  and  those  better-class 
designs,  referred  to  by  Mr.  Barry,  ought  not  to 
be  set  on  one  side  on  account  of  cost.  A  more 
thorough  muddle  than  this  competition  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive.— I  am,  &c.,  J"- 

rOur  correspondent  is  in  error.  Mr.  Corson 
says,  in  his  circular,  that   the  Leeds  municipal 


"  QUANTITIES  "—CRITICISM. 

SiE,— It  is  not  my  intention  to  criticiie  the 
critic,  for  such  would  be  a  game  FCirce  worth  the 
candle ;  but  some  of  Mr.  Edward  Il-id's  aiwrtions 
are  so  wild  that  many  besides  myself  will  think 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  pass  without  a 
challenge.  First:— Ho  asserts  with  coolueM  that 
"builders  here,  a  year  or  two  ago,  were  in  the 
habit  of  'cooking  '  their  tenders."  Mai.y  Liverpool 
members  of  the  buildiog  trade  will  be  prepircd  to 
consider  such  an  unwarrantable  and  slaudcroiu 
statement  as  an  insult  to  men  of  honour  and  posi- 
tion I  much  doubt  if  E.  R.  has  at  any  tune  been 
in  a  position  (nec.ssarily  confideutian  to  afford  bim 
the  means  of  correctly  acquirmg  such  infoimaUon. 
H  ivin"  myself  had  considerable  experience  as  a 
builder's  clerk,  and  having  for  the  last  doz^n  year* 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  hundr«l«  of  tcndeia, 
I  can  confidently  affirm  that  I  have  never  once 
seen  or  heard  of  a  case  of  combination  ofbuilder»to 
arrange  or  otherwise  "  «<,i"  a  tender  Of  courK 
I  am  speaking  of  the  better-class  builder.  .  of  Oo 
small  fry  I  know  nothing.  Second : -Mr.  Kdwanl 
Hughes's  remarks  upon  joiners grBduatingM  <ju«n- 
ti.y^ clerks,  seem,  to  have  seriously  troubi,-!  Mr. 
Reid.  I  have  perused  a  f.wset^o'q"'"''""^"''}'"- 

called  practical  men,  some  <>'^'"'=''~°'";":;'^,"»^ 
oftheidenticalpcculi..ntiM»ndeccentric.tiM.iu..t«l 

bv  Mr.  HuKhes ;  and  there  was  .n  -byuce  of 
system  Only  a  month  ago,  an  cm.n.nt  London 
s-urveyir  was^down  here,  engaged  m  -e"';''"?^ 
an  important  building  :  wh.l.  '».  "'«rO 
he  casually  remark,  d  that,  although  be  had 
had  2  years'  practic.l  experience  in  o«i- 
suring  "he  waS  constantly  .c.,umog  ad- 
Sal  knowledge  in  hi.  pxrticuUr  branfi 
How  then,  can  it  be  expected  tb.t  J;iuer.  m  ..on^ 
fnd  such  like,  who  assume  the  po«l.on  of  qu«Wy 
surveyors  without  having  had  th-  »--^ 
training,  can,  with  any  degree  of  ^ 

the  necessary  duties  !     t  urtn-  r 
builders'  foremen  are  not  m  the  h  .  . 

up  work  for  their  "<roploy- ".»'•••  ^ 

pound  of   flesh."     ^  ^^J'   ''"  ,^"  ,*"■   '  ,^      I  ixa 
^'"'^'  •'rdTi.h'^.UVrct.n  otaU  .VJr«;'v^ 

3  ^w.^  ahln  til  measure  the  ir»u*t  oi  •D»in«. 

and  none^are  able  to  mea.       ^^^^^^  Macmll. 

Liverpool,  Sept.  18. 

Ti.  H.i,w.iiio»i  .'"^.■'f;:; '"'.I'TSK 

hall,    bo^'d.nK™     ^^H^C',^„,ho«d««. 
well,  are  the  aichiteeti. 


372 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880., 


j:nttrc0mmimicati0n. 


QUi:STIOXS. 

[623S.]— "Weig-ht  of  Iron  Rafters.  — Can  any 
reader  favour  me  witli  full  particulai's  of  the  usual  method 
taken  by  siurveyors  to  ascertain  the  "weight  of  iron  raf- 
teis,  pilasters,  columns,  boxes,  bolts,  &c.,  from  the  ardii- 
tect's  plans  and  specifications  .'—Scotia. 

[6239.] -Tile-Roof  Gauyre  — I  should  feel  obliged  if 
some  of  your  readers  who  huve  had  experience  in  putting 
on  tile  roofs  would  kindly  infui-m  me  what  they  consider 
a  safe  gauge  to  put  (ijiu,  by  lOJm.  Broseley  tiles  on  a 
roof  having  a  pitch  of  -lo.— Plain  Tile. 

[6240.] —Books  on  Building"  Constmction.— 

Would  someone  kindly  inlorm  me  what  are  the  text- 
books usually  used  in  cUissls  on  "Building  Construc- 
tion" under  the  Science  and  Ait  Department  J— Mae- 

SEY. 

[6241.]— Ink-Stains    on  Parchment.— Can  any 

correspondent  inform  me  how  printer's  ink  (recent)  may 
be  discharged  from  paiclmient  J— W.  S.  Q. 

[6242]— Good    Preestone    near    Liverpool. — 

"Would  you  or  aay  of  your  correspondents  kindly  inform 
me  as  to  quality  and  colour  of  good  buildiog  freestone  to 
be  had  fi'om  quarries  near  Liverpool,  and  oblige  l—Jou^ 

COMBIE. 

[6243.]— Yorkshire  Cistercian  Abbeys.— Will 

some  student  of  Cisterian  aichitectuie  give  me  the  num- 
ber of  foundations  of  that  Order  in  Yorkshire  ?  Nineteen 
is  the  number  givt^n  by  some  works,  but  I  cannot  find 
list  of  names,  and  fail  to  collect  traces  of  them.  Name 
of  works  or  any  help  on  the  subject  would  be  of  great 
value  to— A  Yol.ng  Aecuitect. 

[6244.]— Material  for  Concrete.— I  wish  to  know 
if  lime  rubbish,  the  mortar  from  walls  and  plastering  of 
ceilings  of  huuses  taken  down,  without  being  crushed  or 
ground  up  line,  would  du  as  a  material  for  concrete  when 
mixed  with  the  usual  approved  aggregate  of  Portland 
cement.  Also  if  very  line  sea-sand  could  be  used,  as 
such  is  cheap  and  convenient.  I  see  no  reference  to  the 
former  in  any  work,  and  the  latter  appears  to  be  a  doubt- 
ful question.— BuiLDEK. 


[6222.]— Ancient  Lig'hts. — An  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion will  be  fuuud  in  the  ai-ticles  on  thi-s  subject,  the  first 
of  which  appears  on  page  351.— Ed. 

[6223.]— Mounting  Drawing's.- The  mode  I  have 
adopted  is  to  strain  the  lineu  and  to  paste  the  mount 
paper  upon  it,  then  strain  the  whole.  The  drawing  may 
be  best  pasted  on  afterwards.  There  is  no  necessity  to 
paste  the  drawing  all  over.  If  the  edg  es  are  pasted  it  will 
suffice,  of  coiUTse,  fiiat  damping  the  centre  behind.  Paste 
I  prefer.- G. 

[6226.]— Architect's  Commission.— An  architect 
can  claim  a  commia=iou  of  5  per  cent,  on  the  outlay  if  no 
agreement  has  been  made  to  the  contrary.— G.  H.  G. 

[6229.]— Indentures.- 1  do  nut  see  in  what  way  the 
cancelling  of  iudentuies  in  your  case  will  affect  your 
futui'e  career.  Unless  iudentures  are  cancelled  from 
neglect  or  ill-conduct  of  the  pupil,  the  proceeding  Cd.nnut 
injure  him,  but  in  case  of  the  retirement  of  the  master,  it 
would  be  desirable  to  get  the  fact  shown  on  the  docu- 
ment.—G.  H.  G. 

[6231.]  — Duke  of  Devonshire's  Cottages.— 
Plans  and  paiticulars  of  the  above  cottages  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Agra-uKxral  Gazt^ite  of  23rd  August  last. 
They  would  not  suit  an  English  labourer.— C.  ii. 

[6231.]  -  Duke  of  Devonshire's  Cottages.  — 

Drawings  can  be  seen  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's  cot- 
tages in  the  A>/ricuUaral  Gazelle,  Monday,  August  23rd, 
ISSO.— J.  Adkiss. 

[6232.]— Sloping-  Church  Floor.- There  are  many 
instances  of  sloping  church  floors  in  which  the  fall  is 
from  the  east  towurds  the  west.  A  fall  from  the  wt-st 
towards  the  east  is  more  unusual,  but  occurs  at  Hingham 
Church,  Norfolk;  Biuton  Church,  Somerset,  &c.  A  list 
is  given  in  "Noles  on  Sketching  Tours,"  by  Henry 
Taylor,  just  published.— J.  B. 

[6232.]-Sloping-  Church-Floor. -The  floor  of  the 
paiTsh-chuich  of  East  Deieliam,  near  Norwich,  slopes 
considerably  from  the  steps  under  chancel  arch  to  the 
west  door,  but  how  much  cannot  say.  The  floor  of  chancel 
is  level.— M.  S.  K. 

[6234.1— Architects'  Rig-hts.- (l.)  The  architect 
would  be  responsible  for  cutting  down  any  work  to  such 
a  degree  as  tu  weaken  it  or  to  render  it  inefficient  for  its 
purpose,  even  if  the  proprietor  desiied  the  tender  cut 
down  to  meet  his  requiiements.  The  architect  would  be 
responsible  for  any  deticiency  in  timbering  to  bear  the 
slates,  as  he  alone  should  have  exercised  authority  in  the 
matter.  (2.)  It  would  not  be  professional  to  resign  at 
tliis  stage  of  the  work,  and  the  architect  seems  bound  to 
carry  out  a  contract  in  which  hu  is  engaged.  (3)  I  shotJd 
advise  "J.  D."  to  carry  on  the  work,  unless  fuither 
reductions  are  made  by  the  client's  order,  which  he  cannot 
conscientiously  allow.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
architect,  as  prof essional  adviser  of  his  client,  has  a  right 
to  prevent  any  work  being  executed  for  which  he  cannot 
be  answerable,  and  that  it  would  have  been  more  justifi- 
able for  him  to  have  lesigned  at  the  time  the  tender  was 
cut  down  than  at  the  end  of  the  work.  If  he  allows  the 
spedfication.  to  be  reduced,  he,  of  course,  becomes  respon- 
sible for  any  defective  work.— G.  H.  G. 

[6235.]  — Sub-Contracts. —  Is  there  any  written 
agi-eement  in  which  the  terms  of  underletting  the  brick- 
work are  stated  ?  If  there  is,  •*  Old  Subscriber  "  can  cer- 
tainly enforce  comphance  or  sue  for  damages.  The  notice 
given  is  the  light  cum-se  to  puisue.  Take  a  legal  opinion 
if  necessary. — AKciiixEcr. 

[6237.]— Dividing  School-Koom.— Double  doors 
sliding  into  a  cavity  on  each  side  of  wall,  if  any  exists, 
would  probably  be  the  best  mode  to  adopt.  If  a  partition 
foims  part  of  the  opening  of  20ft.  it  might  be  constructed 


of  matched  boards,  hollow,  and  filled  in  with  loose  plaster. 
"Well  etraintrd  canvas  partitions  lined  with  paper  would 
be  also  a  barrier  to  souud.  It  is,  however,  difficult  to 
advise  tmless  more  particulars  or  a  plan  be  seen. — 
Aecbitectus. 

[6237.]  -Dividing  School-E,oom.— I  would  advi&e 
"Z."  to  part  the  room  aud  divide  the  same  by  having  re- 
volving shutters.  I  am  now  adopting  this  method  to  a 
large  school  in  course  of  erection. — W.  C,  Bow,  E. 


LEGAL  INTELLIGENCE. 

In  be  Wllliaji  Peebele.— Bankruptcy  Court, 
Sept.  17- — This  was  a  tirst  meeting.  The  bankrupt 
was  a  builder  and  contractor,  carrying  on  business 
iu  Rifle-street,  Poplar,  under  the  firm  of  Sheffield 
audPrebble.  He  had  filed  a  petition  for  liquida- 
tion, but  the  proceedings  fell  to  the  ground,  and 
an  adjudication  followed.  The  liabiliiies  were  re- 
turned at  £lo,(U8,  and  debts  fully  secured  £7,024  ; 
assets,  £1,266,  after  providing  for  preferential 
claims.  Numerous  proofs  were  admitted,  and  the 
creditors  appointed  IVIr.  Thomas  Masson,  account- 
ant, Leadeuhall-street,  as  trustee,  together  with  a 
committee  of  inspection. 

Alleged  Nuisance  feosi  Bsick-Buexixg. — 
Rachel  Jackson,  the  owner  of  a  brickyard  in  Park- 
lane,  Stockport,  was  summoned  to  the  Stockport 
Pohce-court,  on  Saturday,  under  the  provisions 
of  section  114  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875. 
Complaint  having  been  made  by  a  resident  near 
defendant's  brickyard,  the  medical  officer  of  health 
certified  that  the  smoke  from  the  burning  of  bricks 
was  a  nuisance  iujurious  to  health,  and  the  Sani- 
tary Committee  were  obliged,  thf-refore,  to  order 
these  proceedings.  In  support  of  his  certificate  the 
medical  officer  produced  a  piece  of  glass  taken  from 
a  winiow  of  one  of  the  adjacent  houses,  and  which 
had  been  rendered  opaque  by  the  gases  thrown  off 
from  the  burning  bricks.  It  appeared  that  the 
kiln  was  within  about  20ft.  of  one  of  the  houses. 
The  defendant  gave  au  undertaking  that  any 
future  kilns  should  be  erected  at  a  further  distance 
from  the  houses,  and  the  case  was  adjourned  for  a 
month  to  give  her  an  opportunity  of  carrying  out 
the  undertaking, 

Chlajege  of  Featjd  against  a  Buildee. — At  the 
Central  Criminal  Court,  on  Tuesday,  Henry  Capsey 
surrendered  to  take  his  trial  for  having  unlawfully 
incurred  a  debt  and  liability  to  the  amount  of 
£200,  and  also  with  obtaining  the  same  money 
from  a  solicitor,  named  Parkes,  by  fraud.  The 
charge  was  framed  under  the  Debtors*  Act  of  1869. 
Mr.  Besley  and  Mr.  Grain  prosecuted,  and  Mr. 
Montagu  Williams  appeared  for  the  defendant. 
This  case  was  a  rather  peculiar  one.  The  de- 
fendant carried  on  business  as  a  builder  at  Stoke 
Newington,  and  he  had  built  two  houses  at  that 
place,  on  which  Mr.  Parkes,  the  solicitor  to  the  free- 
holder, hadadvaiiced  somemoney,  aud  thedefendant 
had  deposited  the  leases  upon  these  houses  with  Mr. 
Parkes  as  security.  A  further  sum  of  money  was 
to  be  advanced,  and  Mr.  Parkes  had  prepared  the 
necessary  documents  to  secure  the  advance,  but  it 
appeared  that  the  defendant  had  induced  the 
managing  clerk  of  Mr.  Parkes  to  give  him  up  the 
leases ;  but  Mr.  Parkes,  being  ignorant  of  this 
gave  the  defendant  a  cheque  for  £loO,  beUeving 
that  the  securities  were  still  in  his  possession.  To 
his  surprise,  however,  when  he  looked  for  the 
leases,  he  discovered  that  they  had  vanished,  and 
he  was  left  without  any  security  whatever  for  the 
money  he  had  advanced  to  the  defendant,  who, 
it  appeared,  had  subsequently  deposited  the 
leases  with  his  bankers  as  security  for  advances 
they  had  made  to  him. — The  defendant  pleaded 
guilty  to  that  portion  of  the  indictment  which 
charged  him  with  unlawfully  incurring  a  debt 
without  the  means  of  piiying  the  same. — Mr. 
Montagu  Will  ams,  in  behalf  of  the  defendant, 
urged  that  the  transaction  partook  of  the  nature 
of  a  civil  than  a  criminal  proceeding,  and  the  de- 
fendant was  williog  to  repay  the  money  that  he 
had  obtained  from  Mr.  Parkes.  He  asked  that 
judgment  should  be  postponed  till  the  next  session, 
and  said  that  during  the  interval  some  satisfactory 
arrangement  would  be  made. — The  Common  Ser- 
jeant consented  to  this,  and  the  defendant  was 
discharged  ujion  bail  to  come  up  nest  session  for 
judgment. 

WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Edenbubgh. — On  Tuesday  the  Edinburgh  and 
District  Water  Trustees  visited  the  site  of  the  pro- 
posed Rjsebery  Compensation  Reservoir  on  the 
South  Esk,  required  for  the  completion  of  the 
Moorfoot  Water  Scheme,  as  originally  laid  out  by 
Mr.  Leslie.  This  reservoir  it  is  proposed  to  con- 
struct about  two  miles  below  Gladhouse,  and  the 
effect  of  its  completion  would  be  to  take  in  to 
the  supply  district  an  additional  area  of  about  1,020 
acres,  chiefly  arable,  and  partly  moorland,  the 
water  of  which  at  present — estimated  at  2,02-5,OuO 
gallons  per  day— drains  into  the  South  Esk  by 
several  small  bums.  The  river  here  runs  through 
a  gorge,  across  the  north  end  of  which  would  be 


thrown  an  embankment,  SO  or  90ft.  in  height,  and 
about  200  yards  in  length.  In  the  centre  of  this 
would  be  the  usual  water-tight  core,  carried  down 
to  the  impervious  rock  which  exists  in  the  bottom 
of  the  valley.  The  hills  on  each  side  would  form 
the  sides  of  the  reservoir,  and  these  also  would  be 
made  watertight  by  puddle  trenches.  The  em- 
bankment would  thus  dam  back  the  river  for 
nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  form  a  reser- 
voir with  a  storage  capacity  of  381,250,000  gallons^ 
and  this  would  beentii-ely  devoted  to  compensation 
purposes,  obviating  the  necessity  fur  sending  down 
from  Gladhouse  compensation  water  to  the  amount 
of  1,350,000  gallons  per  day.  But  in  Rosebery,  also, 
the  water  of  the  Black  Bum,  which  runs  at  present 
useless  to  the  sea,  could  be  impounded,  so  that  over 
2,000,000  gallons  of  water  per  day  could  be  added 
to  the  town's  supply.  The  laud  for  the  reservoir 
has  already  been  purchased;  its  construction,  it  is 
estimated,  would  cost  £42,700.  As  the  Moorfoot 
works,  completed,  or  in  course  of  construction, 
have  cost  £375,976,  this  would  mean  that  for  an 
additional  10  per  cent,  of  outlay  the  supply  of 
water  from  this  district  could  be  increased  30  per 
cent.  Edgelaw  reservoir,  on  the  Fullerton  Buin, 
has  now  been  completed,  and  about  sixteen  feet  of 
water  collected  in  it.  This  has  been  constructed  in 
the  same  manner  as  it  is  proposed  should  be  done 
at  Rosebery — a  large  embankment  having  been 
thrown  across  the  course  of  the  bum,  and  the 
valley  in  which  it  runs  turned  thereby  into  a  large 
pond,  capable  of  holding  250,000. QUO  gallons  of 
water.  The  works  have  cost  £30,000.  When  the 
Edgelaw  reservoir,  which  will  likewise  be  used 
solely  for  compensation  purposes,  is  in  full  opera- 
tion, a  further  saving  of  l,6U6,87o  gallons  per  day 
of  Gladhouse  water  wiU  ensue.  Both  together,  the 
Edgelaw  and  Rosebery  reservoirs  would  place  at 
the  disposal  of  the  trustees  an  additional  supply  of 
water  equal  to  twelve  gallons  per  head  per  day  to 
a  population  of  300,000, 

Leecs. — The  members  of  the  Leeds  Town  Coun- 
cil paid  an  official  visit  to  the  Sewage  Purification 
Works  at  Knostrop  on  Wednesday  week,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Mayor  and  Mr.  Morant, 
the  borough  engineer.  Tht-y  were  conducted  first 
to  the  outlet  into  the  river  Aire  of  the  clarified 
sewage  water.  The  effluent  is  generally  much 
clearer  than  the  water  in  the  river :  but,  in  times 
of  heavy  rain,  such  as  during  the  last  few  days,  the 
sewers  have  a  greater  outflow  than  the  purification 
works  can  deal  with,  and,  as  was  the  case  duiing 
the  visit,  the  surplus  water  is  allowed  to  pass  on 
into  the  river.  At  the  works  the  party  saw  the 
whole  process  of  purification  so  far  as  it  has  been 
carried  on  for  a  considerable  time.  It  has  been 
carefully  calculated  that  in  dry  weather  about 
10,000,000  gallons  of  sewage  water  passes  through 
the  works  every  24  hours,  but  this  week  the  quan- 
tity has  increased  to  fifteen  and  seventeen  milUons 
of  gallons.  Lime  only  is  used  for  the  purpose  of 
purifyiug  or  clarifying  the  sewage  water,  one  ton 
being  used  for  every  million  gallons,  aud  this  pro- 
duces an  effluent  sufficiently  clear  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  injunction.  The  work,  includ- 
ing the  pumping,  has  been  carried  on  at  a  cost  of 
somewhat  over  £5,000  per  annum,  whereas  the 
cost  at  one  timeamouuted  to  £14,U00.  The  utihsa- 
tiou  of  the  sludge  remaining  after  piu-ification  is 
still  the  great  difficulty. 

LiTTOx.— This  town,  which  is  in  the  Lea  Conser- 
vancy d:  strict,  has  for  many  years  satisfactorily 
managed  its  sewage  by  means  of  a  Ume  process, 
but  the  rapid  growth  of  the  population  has  neces- 
sitated enlarged  operations.  Continuing  the 
mixing  with  lime  and  deposit  tanks,  a  process  of 
filtration  of  the  sewage  effluent  will  be  adopted. 
On  a  small  scale,  it  has  been  tried  for  several  weeks 
with  t.uccess,  the  water,  after  passing  through 
some  four  feet  of  earth,  coming  out  pellucid,  and 
leaving  no  deposit  on  the  banks  of  the  Lea,  into 
which  it  runs.  The  Local  Government  Board 
sanctioned  a  loan  of  £4,000  for  the  extension  of 
the  works,  and  new  land  has  been  acquh-ed,  making 
iu  all  about  24  acres.  Of  this  at  present  it  is 
intended  to  use  only  five  acres. 


A  large  foUo  volume,  containing  the  original 
drawings  by  John  Carter  for  the  plates  of  his 
well-known  work,  entitled  "The  Ancient  Archi- 
tectui'e  of  England,"  published  in  1795,  has  lately 
been  purchased  for  the  Manuscript  Department  of 
the  British  Museum. 

The  city  of  Cremona,  last  week,  suffered  a  great 
loss,  by  the  total  destruction  by  fire  of  the  large 
building  which  had  been  erected  on  the  Piazza  di 
Roma  to  serve  for  an  industrial  atid  art  exhibition. 
The  violence  of  the  fire  was  so  great  that,  within 
an  hour,  nothing  rem. lined  but  the  iron  pillars 
supporting  th,'  floor.  Some  of  the  objects  which 
have  been  placed  in  the  building  were  saved,  but 
very  many  were  destroyed. 

The  buriLiI  board  of  Derby  affixed,  last  week, 
their  seal  to  a  contract  with  Mr.  Harpur,  of  that 
town,  for  carrying  out  the  works  necessary  for 
the  enlargement  of  Xottingham-road  cemetery. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


373 


Our  (DfRct  Cabk 


Mk.  J.  H.  Pakkee,  C.B.,  has  -written  to  the 
Times,  contradicting  the  apparently  ofiScial 
statement  published  in  our  last  issue  (p.  326)  as 
to  the  practical  extinction  of  the  Archaeological 
Society  of  Rome.  True,  the  rooms  have  been 
changed,  and  no  meetings  were  held  last  session 
before  March,  but  the  oliicerB  were  re-elected  at 
the  annnal  meeting  in  April,  and  the  present 
members  do  not  at  all  think  it  probable  that  the 
Society  will  become  extinct.  Referring  to  the 
invitations  he  has  received  from  members  of  the 
society  to  revisit  Home,  the  veteran  archaeologist 
says: — "I  would  gladly  do  so,  but  my  doctor 
says  emphatically  that  if  I  wish  to  prolong  my 
days  upon  earth  I  must  remain  qiiiet  ia  Oxford. 
He  also  specially  cautions  me  against  railway- 
travelling,  and  I  feel  that  he  is  right.  In  my 
'■Ith  year  I  am  not  equal  to  the  fatigue  and  the 
worry  which  experience  tells  me  that  I  must  go 
through  in  Rome  in  consequence  of  the  endless 
succession  of  persons  wanting  the  same  infor- 
mation." 

In  laying  the  foundation-stone  of  an  addition 
to  an  Established  Church  at  Ballachulish,  near 
the  entrance  to  Glencoe  from  Loeh  Leven,  last 
week,  the  Duke  of  Argyll  remarked  that  he  had 
been  latel}-  visiting  the  old  ecclesiastical  sites  so 
common  in  Scotland,  and  he  was  struck  with 
the  fact  that  the  ruins  of  the  little  chapels  which 
remained  exhibited  an  eye  for  proportion  which 
they  did  not  find  in  the  architecture  of 
the  present  day.  Very  often  these  remains 
were  of  a  very  simple  character — rectangular 
buildings  of  very  modest  proportions,  evidently 
calculated  to  hold  a  very  small  number  of 
people.  They  were  almost  all  on  most  pictur- 
esque sites.  They  had  generally  the  scale  of 
beautiful  proportion  which  could  not  be  mis- 
taken by  those  who  had  studied  the  simplest 
architecture  of  the  middle  ages.  He  wished 
their  architects  of  the  present  day  had  an  eye 
for  that  proportion.  They  seemed  to  desire 
to  eke  out  the  ornamentation  of  the  church 
by  elaborate  windows,  ■whilst  the  general 
proportion  of  the  building  was  deficient  to  the 
eye. 

A  coEEESPo^^)ENT  of  the  Times,  in  describing 
a  recent  ascent  of  the  central  tower  of  Canter- 
bury Cathedral,  complains  of  the  filthy  and 
imcared-for  condition  of  the  two  turrets  by 
which  respectively  he  was  conducted  up  and 
down.  He  says  the  winding  stairs  are  rendered 
dangerous  by  a  great  acctimulation  of  dry  twigs 
and  rubbish  brought  in  by  the  jays  and  other 
birds  as  nest  materials,  who  gain  access  by 
the  air-holes  left  in  the  walls.  These  masses  t"f 
dry  vegetable  debris  not  only  form  a  continue  us 
yielding  slope  difficult  of  ascent  to  the  occasion  il 
visitor,  but  involve  a  serious  perU  of  accidental 
fire.  The  true  safeguard  against  fire  would,  the 
■writer  says,  be  not  to  enforce  the  present  pro- 
hibition to  mount  to  the  platform  of  the  tower 
more  stringently— a  prohibition,  he  admits,  he 
evaded  -without  the  consent  of  the  Dean  and 
Chapter,  by  the  application  of  what  he  euphe- 
mistically styles  a  silver  key — but  to  cleanse  the 
turrets  and  throw  them  open  to  visitors  under 
responsible  guardians. 

"  A  S ixrrAP.Y  Plttmbeb  "  -writes  in  the  Dai!  1/ 
Trkjraph  :^"  I  shall  not  be  far  from  the  mark 
when  I  assert  that  most  of  the  houses  being 
built  in  the  suburbs  of  London  would  be  con^ 
demned  by  any  competent  surveyor.  Uutrapped 
drains,  the  worse  than  useless  bell-traps,  un- 
ventilated  soil  pipes — or,  where  ventilated,  so 
constructed  as-  to  deliver  sewer-gases  into  the 
windows  of  the  upper  rooms — are  to  be  found  in 
many  of  the  new  streets,  terraces,  and  rows  of 
villas.  This  st  ite  of  things  is  not  so  much  the 
fault  of  the  workmen  engaged  in  the  construc- 
tion as  in  the  system.  I  could  furnish  hundreds 
of  instances  quite  as  glaring  as  those  given  by 
Mr.  Flower,  and  many  of  them  carried  out 
under  the  directions  of  architects  and  surveyors. 
Our  various  local  boards  have  much  to  answer 
for  in  the  past  and  present,  in  not  having  insti- 
tuted a  proper  supervision  of  the  sanitary 
arrangements  of  the  houses  '  run  up '  in  their 
respective  districts."  *'Sanitas"  observes:  — 
"  My  house,  which  wotild  be  described  by  an 
energetic  house  -  agent  as  a  '  charming  ■villa 
residence,  situate  in  a  pleasaut  and  healthy 
locality,'  might  be  included  in  the  list  of 
'  whited  sepulchres.'      I   had    not   occupied  it 


long  before  the  usual  indications  of  defective 
drainage  made  themselves  apparent.  Smells 
day  and  night — sometimes  almost  too  atrocious 
to  be  endured,  at  others  hardly  perceptible, 
resulting  in  more  or  less  illness  amongst 
the  children,  and  more  particularly  amougst 
the  servants."  Having  explained  how  this 
state  of  things  arose,  our  coiTespondont 
adds — "  The  present  system  of  calling  in  the 
medical  ofiicer  or  sanitary  inspector  appears  to 
me  to  be  utterly  useless.  What  I  should  suggest 
would  be  the  appointment  of  sanitary  engineers, 
whose  duty  it  would  be  to  have  submitted  for 
their  approval  the  plan  of  every  house,  large 
or  small — that  is,  the  plan  of  the  drainage—  and 
upon  their  being  satisfied  that  the  system  was 
good,  and  had  been  thoroughly  carried  out,  to 
give  a  certificate  of  licence  to  the  owner  to  that 
effect.  Any  man  building  or  letting  an  uncer- 
tificated house  should  be  prosecuted  and  punished 
as  severely  as  the  circumstances  warranted. 
The  letting  of  unhealthy  dwellings  is  only  one 
of  the  many  forms  of  manslaughter  which  go 
unpunished.  Let  the  next  session  see  a  short 
Bill  introduced  for  the  '  better  protection  of  the 
health  of  the  people,'  and  the  greatest  gratitude 
would  be  due  to  its  promoters." 

Last  week,  in  describing  the  second  fresco 
executed  by  Mr.  Ford  Madox  Bro^n-n  in  the 
new  town-hall,  Manchester,  we  remarked,  as  an 
instance  of  the  attention  paid  to  archie  jlogicil 
details  in  the  "  Building  of  Mancunium  "  that 
the  legion  whose  name  is  inscribed  on  a  sack 
(Leg.  ■vi.  Victricis)  was  the  one  for  whose  stay 
in  Manchester  there  is  positive  epigraphic  evi- 
dence. Mr.  W.  Thompson  Watkin,  of  Liver- 
pool, who  has  contributed  papers  on  "Roman 
Manchester"  to  the  Transactions  of  the  Historic 
Society  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  writes, 
pointing  out  that  although  it  is  known  that  the 
Sixth  Legion  were  in  Manchester,  there  is  un- 
disputable  evidence  that  the  Twentieth  Legion 
preceded  them  by  nearly  sixty  years,  and  a 
strong  presumption,  if  no  more,  that  this  legion 
buUt  the  castrum  of  Mancunium.  He  concludes 
by  say'ng : — "I  think  it  may  with  certainty  be 
accepted  as  a  fact  that  Mancunium  was  built 
between  the  accession  of  Vespasian,  a.d.  C9,  and 
the  death  of  Domitian,  a.d.  90,  and  consequently 
fully  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Sixth  Legion  on  the  shores  of  Great 
Britain." 

CHIPS. 

The  second  annual  fine  art  exhibition,  held  at 
the  rooms  of  the  Working  Men's  College,  iu  Upprr 
Kennington-lane,  S.E.,  has  just  been  brought  to  a 
close.  The  financial  results  have  been  unsatis- 
factory, the  expenses  having  been  £-50,  and  the 
receipts,  in  small  donations,  only  £'2. 

The  tender  of  Mr.  Biscomb,  builder,  of  York, 
has  been  accepted  for  the  carrying  out  cf  altera- 
tions of  the  south  side  of  York  Castle  as  deter- 
mined upon  by  the  county  magistrates.  The  works, 
which  will  be'  made  after  designs  by  Mr.  Fisher, 
architect,  of  York,  and  are  estimated  to  cost  be- 
tween £3,000  and  £1,000,  will  consist  of  the  provi- 
sion of  additional  accommodation  for  the  waiting 
witnesses,  improvements  of  the  refreshment-room, 
the  ladies'  gallery,  &c. 

The  improvement  commissioners  of  West  Brom- 
vrich,  at  a  special  meeting  held  on  Wednesday  week, 
approved  a  scheme  for  the  drainage  of  the  town 
prepared  by  their  surveyor,  Mr.  J.  J.  Eiyrs,  C.E. 
The  sewage  and  drainage  will  be  dealt  with  on  the 
separate  plan,  and  the  former  will  be  treated  by 
intermittent  downward  filtration,  on  land  to  be 
acquired  for  the  purpose  near  Bescot  Station.  The 
estimated  cost  of  the  scheme  is  £■')  1,7-26  123. 

A  rearing- supper,  to  celebrate  the  additions  now 
being  made  to  Greenfield,  Thelwall,  near  War- 
rington, the  future  residence  of  Mr.  Henry  Stan- 
ton, J.P.,  was  held  on  Friday  evening.  The 
alterations  consist  chiefly  of  the  addition  of  a  new 
drawing-room,  morning-room,  garden-hall,  bil- 
liard-room, boudoir,  and  an  entirely  new  range  of 
kitchen  offices,  together  with  servants'  sleeping- 
rooms.  The  work  throughout  is  being  executed 
under  the  personal  direction  of  the  architect.  Mr. 
William  Owen,  of  Warrington.  The  builders  and 
contractors  are  Messrs.  Gibson  and  Son ;  and  the 
sub-contractors  for  stonework.  Mr.  Gittens,  Orford- 
street :  for  plymbin^.  Mr  Leigh,  of  Lymm  :  plas- 
tering, Mr.  James  Hinde,  Greenall-street  :  gas- 
fitting,  Mr.  Mason,  Irl.im- street ;  bellhanging,  Mr. 
Jefferson.  Market-street.  The  clerk  of  the  works 
is  Mr.  S.  P.  Silcock,  ono  of  Mr.  Owen's  cffice 
staff. 

The  tender  of  Mr.  William  Cordon,  of  Notting- 
ham, amounting  to  £6,6SO,  was  accepted,  on  the 
13th  iust.,  for  the  execution  of  sewerage  WDrks  for 
the  local  board  of  Arnold,  near  Nottingham. 


A  new  fustian  factory  ia  being  built  nt  Over. 
Cheshire,  on  the  site  of  one  burnt  down  a  few 
years  since.  Mr.  Worrall,  of  Congleton.  ia  the 
contract.ir;  the  building  wdl  occupy  an  area  of 
GOUft.  by  oOUf t. 

"The  death  is  announced,  at  the  early  age  of  44, 
of  Mr.  Jolui  Templeton  Luciig,  uu  exhibitor  at  the 
Koyal  AcaiJemy  aud  tko  Society  of  lintiih  Aitiata. 
He  was  the  eldest  sou  of  the  late  John  Lucaa,  the 
portrait-painter. 

It  is  proposed  to  con.^truc!  a  line  of  atreet  tram- 
ways through  Gravcftud  aud  Uoahorvillo  U,  North- 
fleet  ;  Messrs.  Uuss  aud  Minns,  of  Wvstmiiiater,  are 
the  engine  :;ra. 

A  quaint  letter  has  just  como  to  light  from 
amongst  the  papers  iu  the  oflitc  of  a  profeaaionol 
g'Utleman  iu  Woodbtidge,  and  whp4i  it  ia  ttated 
that  there  is  a  colourc<l  plan  (very  clearly  aud 
carefully  done)  attacheii  to  tbo  letter,  it  will  a.\i\»:a 
that  Mr.  EUiott,  whoever  or  whuUver  ho  Uii([ht 
have  been,  V!ja  singiiliirly  "  moderate  iu  hia 
charges."  The  letter  ia  oa  followa:  — "Sir,  -The 
contents  of  the  four  pieci-a  of  glebe  m'-a/biir  bind 
lying  to  the  westward  of  the  Key  iu  Woodbridge, 
in  tLe  occupation  of  Mr.  NorfulJ,  ia.  arconling  to 
the  mensuration  as  undtrueath  Buverallj-  dncribed. 
Sir,  according  to  yourdisire.  I  a. n>l  you  an  account 
of  my  expense  of  the  Inu,  which  is  a  hhilling.  and 
hkewise  the  charge  of  the  mcaauriug  the  laud, 
which  is  ei^hteenpcuce.  Sir,  I  am  your  ohligoa 
humble  servant,  J  no.  Elliott." 

A  new  esplanade  on  the  Weat  D^y  at  Dunoon, 
N.B.,  was  opened  on  Saturday.  It  bua  b*-eu  con- 
structed, under  contract,  by  Sir.  Cunningham,  of 
Kilbarchan. 

A  cargo  of  fifty-seven  tons  of  Greek  marble  hai 
this  week  been  delivered  iu  London,  free  of  all 
charges,  by  the  Greek  Govemmeut,  for  the  pcdeatol 
of  the  Byron  monument. 

A  commencement  has  been  made  in  the  canrin^f 
out  of  the  long-contemplated  covering  in  t<{  the 
wholesale  vegetable  market  at  Newcastle- on -Tyne. 
The  work  is  being  executed  from  the  dsaigna  of 
Mr.  A.  M.  Fowler,  M.I.CE,  the  borough  engineer, 
aud  consists  of  a  duublu-spanned  ir  n  and  glau 
roof,  supported  on  three  rows  of  eight  iron  columna, 
set  on  stone  bases.  The  contractor  is  Mr.  Jackson, 
who  recently  built  the  gran  warehouse  on  the 
Quay  side. 

A  handsome  stained-glass  window  h«  recently 
been  placed  in  the  west  end  of  Holy  Trinity 
Church,  Coventry,  in  memory  of  the  late  Mr. 
\V.  Chater,  orgaiiist  of  the  church.  The  win- 
d)W,  which  is  a  four- light  one,  illuatratcj  Chri-t'a 
teachings  in  the  two  great  commandments,  "  Uu'^ 
towards  God  and  duty  towards  your  neighbour.  ' 
The  window  was  designed  and  executed  by 
1  Messrs.  Heaton,  Butler,  and  Biyne,  of  Oarrick- 
street,  Loudon. 

The  state  saloons  of  the  Imperial  Roasiin  y.icht 
Liiaciia  have  been  fitted  with  a  novel  adaotatioo 
of  the  French  casement  fastening  supplied  hy  Mr. 
E.  E.  Pither,  of  4,  Newgite-street.  It  u  of 
special  design,  the  handles  and  fittings  being  of 
chased  brass,  and  the  rod  japanned,  t>  harmonise 
with  the  prevailing  tone  of  the  decoration. 

The  very  extensive  charchyarl  a" 
parish-church  of  St.  John.  Fn.ir- 
down,  is  being  converted  into  a  1 
the  benefit  of  the  parishi  mcrs.  ati  1 
open  eirlv    in    the    cooling    yeir.      IL:  _- 
po=sessau  hist  )ric  interest,  occupying  a«  ;      • 
the  site  of  the  old    artilb  ry  frnund;.    wh  :■    ;■.- 
famous  SouthwarkTnin  I:  '        •  /    "" 

They  are  shaded  on  thre-  ■'  0" 

lime-trees,  and  the  chu'.  ■    '  "-' 

with  beautiful  clumjn  of m    '  ■- 

tain  ash,  and  other  floweriUB  ticcJ. 

At  a  meeting  of  th«  Paignton  Local  BoaH  on 
Monday  one  of  Ih-   •  ■  -  '    "  -  '  "  ■  "  "■ '  •'^'^ 
that  he  had  visit' 
Water  Company.    ^ 
the  water  supplied  ' 
pond  on  the  farm  nf  Mr.  I 
received  not  only  the  drsMi 
but  also  the  s^waj-  -f  hi- 

of  the  Boar;  '      ~ 

it  was  dee;  . 
by  the  Wa- 
the  transfer    : 

Cardinal  Manning  laid 
tion  stone  of  a  new  K  -n: 
Nottinghom.    The  buildm  - 
English  style,  and  is  to  cojt  i  .■ 

A  number  of  designs  have  be«i  <nibn.ittr<l  ^ 
sculptors  for  the  propo»«l  broni-^  statae  of  ^ 
R.owland  Udl.  bo  io  erected  at  the  rear  of  the 
Koyal  Exchange,  facing  ComhilL 

Eiten>ive  alteratinns  and    improTeniCTiti  hirn 

just  been  carri.<i  out  in  ^^'  J"^''>'±J"^S!i 
Lhool  for  Co-kery  at  .South  KewmgUio.  taOm 
the  snperrision  of  Sir  Daniel  l,ooper. 


*ctcd 
na  for 


374 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Sept.  24,  1880. 


A  new  system  of  water-supply  is  in  course  of 
constructiou  at  Dawlish,  from  the  plans,  and  under 
the  superintendence,  of  Mr.  Edward  Ellis,  C.E., 
of  Exeter. 

A  new  U.P.  church  was  opened  at  Selkirk  on 
Thursday  week.  It  has  been  built  from  designs 
furnished  by  Mr.  R  Baldie_  architect,  Glasgow. 
and  is  situated  in  Dovecot-park.  The  st>le  of 
architecture  is  Early  G'>thic,  and  there  is  a  spire 
130ft.  high.  Atttiched  there  is  a  hall  for  Sunday- 
school  and  other  meetings,  and  several  other  rooms. 
Inside,  the  woodwork  of  church  is  of  pitch-pine. 
A  gallery  is  carried  round  three  sides,  the  pulpit 
occupying  the  fourth.  The  building  wdl  cost 
about  £5,000,  and  will  accommodate  870  sitters. 

The  parish-church  of  Swymbridge  was  reopened 
on  Tuesday  after  complete  restoration,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Pearson,  R.A.,  of  London, 
and  at  a  cost  of  £2,(;00.  Mr.  Jonathan  Marshall, 
of  Plymouth,  was  the  contractor.  Mr.  C.  Pickard, 
Barnbtaple,  executed  the  carving,  wirh  the  excep- 
tion of  the  stalls  in  the  chancel,  which  are  the 
work  of  Mr.  Robinson,  of  London. 

A  subscription  is  m  foot  to  place  an  altar-tomb 
in  Salisbury  Cathedral,  as  a  memorial  to  the  late 
Bishop  Hamilton.  Upwards  of  £S00  has  been 
raised  privately,  and  another  £100  is  required. 

A  memorial-fountain  is  about  to  be  placed  in 
Elswick-park,  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  Mr.  Craggs 
is  the  sculptor. 

The  Theatre  Royal,  Sheffield,  which  has  been 
re- constructed  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  C.  J.  Phipps, 
F.S.A.,  at  a  cost  of  £8,000,  will  be  reopened  on 
November  lat. 


liamploti^h's  Pyretic  Saline  ia  refreshing, 

most  agreeable,  and  the  preventive  of  FKVKRb,  lllLlOUSNESS, 
SMALL  POX,  SKIN   DISEASES,  and  many  other  spring  anti 


the  Maker.  113,  Holborn  HUl      Use  uo  substtfute  — {Advt.1 

Holloway's  Ointment  and  Pills  afford  com- 
fort, tiiuriiy,  niid  i.fitimes.  recovery  to  the  most  tortun  d 
sufferers.  This  ointment,  when  properly  used,  will  cure  all 
descriptions  of  sores,  wuunds    and  bad    legs,  sprains,  erysipelas. 


biliar;^  and  digestif 


Crabt  #tlios. 


WAGES  MOVEMENTS. 

A  STETEE  has  occurred  amongst  the  Paris  cabinet- 
makers, 2,U0O  of  whom  have  ceased  work.  The 
men  demand  Sd.  per  hour  wages,  and  refuse  to 
work  more  than  10  hours  daily. 

Edinbtxegh.— The  plasterers  employed  at  the 
University  new  buililings  gave  notice  to  Messrs. 
Stuart  and  Co.'s  manager,  on  Friday  afternoon, 
that  they  demanded  4d.  more  per  hour,  and  before 
the  manager  had  time  to  communicate  the  fact  to 
the  firm  the  men  left  the  buildiugs  in  a  body. 
Their  places  were  filled  up  on  Saturday  by  men 
willing  to  work  at  the  existing  rates  of  pay. 


"THE  BEST  PENS  INVENTED."— ^ryii.-^. 

Sold  at  6d.  and  Js.  per  box ,  by  all  Stationers. 

"  They  come  as  a  boon  and  a  blessing  to  men. 

The  Pickwick,  the  Owl,  and  the  Waverllt  Fen. 

Bample  box  of  all  the  kinds  by  post  Is.  Id. 

Just  out.     The  niNUOO  PensXis.  1,2,  3,—diaffon(il  potiils. 

MACNIVEN  and  CAMERON,  23  to  33,  Blair-street, 

Edinburgh, 
Penmnkers  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  Offices.    Estd,1770.— 

:ii>vT.]  ^.„_™.=_* 

Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  Uni  ted  Kingdom,  given  on  appUcatitjin  to 
CHARLES  TRASK, 

Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Uminster,  Somerset. 
-LAnvT.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S.W.  Builders,  Decoratoi-s,  and  House  Painters. 

DesigTis   and  Estunates. 

General    Repairs    and    Alterations    Executed. 

Experienced  Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country.— [Advt.] 


BOX    GROUND    STONE 

Is  the  Be.st  for  Use  in  all   Exposed  Positions,  being 
Wtll-known  and  Tried  Weathei-  Stone. 


50,000   Feet   Cube    in   Stock. 

PICTOE  &  SONS, 

BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt.] 

TENDERS. 

*»*  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblig-e  by  giving 
the  addrL'Sses  of  the  parties  tendering-  at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

Annan.- For  the  supply  of  pipes  for  the  waterworks, 
for  the  Annan  police  conuniesioneiB  : — 
Laidlaw,  R.  and  Son,  Glasgow  (accepted)...  £3,903  14  11 


I.— For  the  restoration  of  St.  Nicholas  Church, 
Mr.  Edwin  Dalhy,  architect : — 


Estimate  No.  1.  Est.  No. 

2.         Total. 

Groves... 

...  £2,0a6    0    0      £470 

() 

0      £2,566     0 

Kingerlee 

...     1,790    0    0        494 

13 

6        2,284  13 

Allen    ... 

...     1,695    DO        540 

(1 

0        2,235    0 

Selby     ... 

...     1,720    0    0        443 

0 

0        2,163    0 

Claridge 

...     1,710    0    0        435 

0 

0        2,145    0 

Jones     ... 

...     1,410    0    0        488 

0 

0        1,898    0 

Wlieeler 

...     1,433    0    0        426 

2 

6         1.857     2 

"WUUams" 

...     1,477     0    0        379 

0 

0        1,856    0 

Kinj?     ... 

..      1,386    0    0        406 

II 

0        1,792    0 

Holland 

...     1,399    0    0        335 
*  Accepted. 

0 

0         1,734    0 

Arnold 

Local  Board    of   Hbalth 

.— Eor  sewera 

works : — 

Cook  and  Bennett,  Spalding 

£9,972    0    0 

Bell,  Ji 

10.,  London 

9  181    0    0 

Pearson,  J.,  Hull     

9,110  11     7 

Smith, 

Peter,  Manchester 

9,043  12    0 

McKenzie  and  Co.,  London 

8,600    0    0 

Coupe. 

Jno.,EipIey 

8,306    0    0 

Rusbworth,  Jno.,  Nottingliam   . 

8,299    7    8 

Dawson,  Frank,  Bui-y 

8,169     0     0 

Thimbs 

,  S., Nottingham    ... 

7.950    0    0 

Knight 

J. .  Loughborough 

7,875  16    7 

Greave 

,  Jno.,  Arnold 

7,788  10    9 

Tomlinson,  Messrs,  Derby 

7,700    0    0 

Meats  Bros.,  Nottingham 

7,538    2    4 

Johnson,  A.,  jun.,  Derby 

7,533     5    8 

Dobb  and  Gummer,  Eotherham  . 

7,347     0    0 

Jeffries 

,  R.,  Conway 

6,967    6    4.J 

Smart, 

Thos.,  Nottingham 

6,924    0    0 

Dovenor  and  Quesnell,  Stoke-on 

, 

Trent           

6,871     1     0 

Cordon 

AVm.,  Nottingham* 

6,680    0    0 

Wayte, 

A.,  Arnold 

•  Accepted. 

6,400    0    0 

Condenser. 
£117  10    0 


Asiitos-in-Mabkesfield. — For  the  erection  of  new 
purifiers  and  condenser  at  the  gasworks,  for  the  local 
board.    Mr.  W.  Gouldsworth,  surveyor : — 

Piuriliers. 

Whitfleld,  J.,  Wigan  (accepted)  £220  10    0 

[Fourteen  tenders  received.] 


MOW 


g-<t-2i 


;  a  §     S   i   :   •   :   i   •   ■   i 


Brighton. — Fur  alterations  and  additions  to  Brighton 
New  Club,  King*s-road,  Brighton,  Sussex.  Mi'.  Thos. 
Lainson,  architect.  Qnantities  by  Messrs.  Fowler  and 
Hugman  ; — 


Nurcombe,  J 

...      £6,014  16 

6 

Kirk  and  Randall    

6,865    0 

0 

Jones,  D.  C 

5,660    0 

0 

Barnes,  J 

6,640    0 

() 

Lockyer,  G.  E 

5,630    0 

0 

Cheeseman,  G.  and  Co.     ... 

5,560    0 

0 

_. I,  N.B  —For  strengthening  the  pier  walls, 

for  the  harbour  board  :  — 

Penny,  P.,Bui-ntisland  (accepted)...    £324  10    0 

City,  E  C— For  rebuilding  warehouses,  31,  Hounds- 
ditch,  and  Duke-street,  for  Messrs.  Samuels  and  Co.  Mr. 
H.  H.  Collins,  architect : — 


Sparks 

Ashby  and  Homer  , 

Marks 

Conder 

King  and  Son.,. 

Kirk  and  Randall 

Outhwaite 

Colls  and  Sons 

Downs 

Croaker 

Merritt  and  Ashby 

Sahey  and  Son 

Bentley 

Abraham 


£6.205  0 

6.170  0 

6.026  0 

5.938  0 

5,882  0 

5,846  0 

5,800  0 

5,760  0 

5,675  0 

5,585  0 

6  550  0 

5,495  0 

5,430  0 

5,384  0 


Chelsea.— For  rebuilding  No.  8,  King's-road,  Chelsea, 

S.W.,  for  Ml-.  E.  W.  Livingstone.      Mr.  Geo.  Fagg, 

architect.    Quantities  supplied  :  — 

Thome 

£2,100    0    0 

H  are  and  Son 

1,998    0    0 

Lnthey  Bros. 

1.973    0    0 

Macey  and  Sons 

1%2    0    0 

Clark  and  Bracey 

1,832    0    0 

Smith,  G.T.   ... 

1,795    0    0 

Richardson     ... 

1,779    0    0 

Craske 

1,730    0    0 

Dalston.— For   cleaning,    repairs,    and   decorations. 

Dalston  Cbapel ; — 

Goodman 

£525    0    0 

Snook      

419    0    0 

Campion 

398    0    0 

Jar\'is  and  Son... 

300    0    0 

Shui-mur... 

279    0    0 

Barber  and  Co.  (accepted) 238    0    0 

Devizes.- For  the 

erection  of  new  town  schools  for 

girls,  cooking  school. 

and  third-grade  school.  Mr.  Henrv 

Weaver,  architect.    Quantities  supplied  :— 

Light  and  Smith, 

Cliippenham  ... 

(too  lite)      ... 

£1,187    0    0 

Long,  W.  and  F.,    Bradfordon- 

1,150 
1,095 
1,091 
1,020 


0    0 


HURLISGIIAI 

laraing  Polo  P 
at  Hurlinghan 
Club,  Fulham 


Chivers  and  Son,  Devizes 

Ash,  H.,  Devizes 

"Webb  and  Powney,  Bromham* 
*  Accepted. 
—For  erecting  smoking-saloon  and  en- 
■ilion,  decorating  dining-ruom  and  saloon 
for  the    committee  of  the  Hurlingham 
Mr.  Joseph  S.  Move,  architect  :— 
Saala,  H.  (accepted). 
Kettering.— For  new   stores,  cottages,  &c.,  in  King- 
street,  for  the  Co-operative  Society; — 
Brickwoik: — 
Henson,  C.  and  F.  (accepted)         ...     £967    6    6 
Woodwork: — 

Ginns,  G.  (accepted) 406    1    3 

Plumbing  and  glazing  : — 

Dorr,  F.  (accepted)    130    0    0 

London.— For  sundi-y  works  at  ofUces,  City  of  London 
Union.  Bartholomew-close  : — 


Ayie 

Larke  and  Son  . . . 

Healing 

Stuiues  and  Son 
Shorey,  G. 
Thomas.  W.      ... 

Howard 

Weekes  and  .Son 
Merritt  and  Ashby 
Jones,  E.T.      ... 
Pitman  and  Son 
Fhill  ps  and  Son 

Conder    

Shurmur 


£690    0    0 
663    0    0 


Coombe ...  629    0 

Johnson  and  Co 525  17 

Ball  and  Wickea         522  15 

Maisland           618    0 

Patten     500    0 

Lamb,  G 490    0 

Benson 488    0 

Barker 483    0 

Derby      474    0 

TaylorandSon 463    0 

Eobb       450    0 

Wadswor.h       450    0 

Bulford 418    8 

Vigor,  F.  G.  and  E 415    0 

Prescott 410    0 

SpencerandCo 4ii9    0 

Grimshaw          383    0 

Fernley,  J.  H 375    0 

Lewis       374  11 

Cocks.  J.  H 357    0 

Powell  and  Co 350  10 

Pitman  and  McCarthy          290    0 

jONDON.— F.-r  the  new  Leadenhall  Market  :  — 

Martin,  Wells,  and  Co £58,258    0 

Crocket          57,200    0 


Garlick 

Shurmur       

Webster       

Shaw 

Conder  

Gaund  

Bull,  Southampton 
Mowlem  and  Co.    ... 

Drake 

Bangs  and  Co. 
TruUope  and  Son   ... 
Perry  and  Co. 

Holland         

Morter  

Vernon  and  Ewins... 

DerUn 

Nightingale  (accepted) 
Green  and  Bui-leigh 
Crabb 


5(i,600  0  0 

65  980  0  0 

55,000  0  0 

63  500  0  0 

52,214  0  0 

52,033  0  0 

61,637  0  0 

5H,950  0  0 

60,650  0  0 

49,995  0  0 

49,877  0  0 

49  776  0  0 

49,734  0  0 

49,493  0  0 

48,240  0  0 

48,148  0  0 

47,518  0  (I 

47.140  0  0 

46,990  0  0 


London. — For  new  school  buildings  for  the  parish  of  St. 

Clement  Danes  (exclusive  of  tiltings).  Mr.  C.  W.  Beeves. 

architect,  102,  Guilfoid-street,  Russell-square  : — 

WngstaffandSon    £3,157    0    0 

Wall.  C 3,150    0    0 

Hobson,  J.  D 3,037    0    0 

Macey  and  Son         2,948    0    0 

Howard  and  Dorrell  2,947    0    0 

Scrivener  and  Co.  (accepted)       ...        «,919    0    0 

London. — For  the  erection  of  offices,  &c.,  for  Mr.  G.  H. 

Powell,  at  35  and  36,  Lime-stieet,  London,  B.C.    Mr. 

Edwai  d  Sharman,  Wellingborough,  architect.  Quantities 

supplied :  — 

Carter.  J  and  Co  .  Lime-street  ...  £5,600  0  0 
Underwood,  J.,  Wellingborough...  4,885  0  0 
AViUiams,  G.J.  and  Son,  Islington  4,446  0  0 
Greenwood,  J.  J.,  Tooley-street...  4.300  0  0 
Eoberts,  L.  and  E.,  Islington'  ...  4,189  0  0 
*  Accepted. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


?75 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


LOXDOX,  FRIDAY,   OCTOBER  1,  ISSO. 


COMPETITIONS  FROM  THE  CLIEXT'S 
POINT  OP  VIEW. 

IT  is  not  surprising  that  competitors  and 
promoters  of  competitions  rarely  agree  ; 
for  it  generally  happens  that  they  have  two 
quite  different  conceptions  of  the  business 
in  hand.  To  the  architect — and  especially 
to  the  very  young  architect — a  competition 
is,  or,  as  he  thinks,  ought  to  be,  a  game  of 
skill  played  according  to  certain  strict  rules. 
The  clients  make  the  rules  :  the  competitors 
ought  rigidly  to  observe  them,  and  he  who 
does  best  withoat  infringing  them  should 
have  the  reward.  This,  no  doubt,  would  be 
a  very  good  summai-y  of  what  ought  to 
happen  if  the  competition  were  instituted 
by  some  public  body,  such  as  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the 
relative  abdity  of  so  many  candidates.  Let 
them  all  work  at  the  same  problem,  under 
the  same  precise  conditions,  and  in  the  issue 
some  sort  of  judgment  can  bo  formed  of 
their  relative  power  to  deal  with  problems 
of  that  particular  class.  The  mistake  which 
too  many  architects  make  with  regard  to 
public  competitions  is  that  of  looking  on 
them  as  if  they  had  this  end  in  view.  It  is 
tacitly  assumed  that  the  Town  Council  of 
A.,  or  the  Testi-y  of  B.,  when  they  advertise 
for  designs,  have  nothing  so  near  to  their 
hearts  as  the  winnowing  of  the  wheat  from 
the  chaiF  of  the  architectural  profession. 
Fired  ivith  this  noble  impulse,  they  oifor  a 
number  of  rewards  to  merit,  and  lay  down  a 
series  of  rules  for  the  guidance  of  those  who 
seek  to  be  rewarded.  To  break  the  rules,  or 
any  of  them,  is  not  only  perdous  but  dis- 
honourable. It  is  a  cheating  of  your  fellow- 
competitors,  and  a  clutching  at  the  piize 
•while  you  evade  the  difficulties  of  the  task. 
If  the  rule-makers  say  the)-  shall  allow  only 
ten  thousand  pounds  for  a  budding  such  as 
elsewhere  costs  fifteen  thousand,  you  are 
bound  in  honour  to  do  the  best  you  can 
■with  the  ten.  If  they  insist  on  a  stone 
building  when  they  have  only  money  enough 
for  a  brick  one,  you  must  design  a  stone 
one,  and  let  them  take  the  blame  of  its 
looking  poverty-stricken.  If  they  allow  too 
little  land  when  they  have  the  power  of 
giving  more,  you  must  crowd  your  plan 
accordingly,  and  not  mind  spoiling  it.  If 
they  desii-e  a  particular  form  of  budding,  as 
they  sometimes  do,  you  must  adopt  this 
form,  no  matter  how  many  better  forms 
may  occur  to  you ;  and  the  same  principles 
which  guide  you  as  to  the  design  must  guide 
you  as  to  the  di-awings.  The  promoters,  it 
maybe,  thought  to  save  competitors  trouble, 
or  themselves  disappointment,  by  having  all 
elevations  in  outline  unshaded;  therefore, 
though  part  of  your  elevation  may  stand  20ft. 
back  or  forward  from  the  rest,  you  must  not 
put  a  particle  of  shadow  to  indicate  this. 
They  prohibited  perspectives,  and,  therefore, 
you  must  not  send  the  slightest  sketch  which 
will  guide  them  as  to  the  real  appearance  of 
the  building  if  erected.  You  must  foUow 
their  instructions  as  if  they  were  the  result 
of  the  profoundest  study  of  every  aspect  of 
the  subject,  instead  of  being,  as  they  usually 
are,  a  vague  statement  of  wants  by  people 
who,  as  yet,  do  not  half-know  what  they 
really  do  want. 

This  is  the  view  commonly  taken  of  com- 
petitiou  rules  by  some  of  the  competitors  ; 
and  when  they  fail,  as  they  are  only  too  apt 
to  do,  they  often  complain  in  umueasured 
terms  of  the  imfaimess  of  the  other  com- 
petitors and  of  the  judges.  If  the  competi- 
tion were  instituted  for  the  mere  purpose  of 


ascertaining  the  relative  merits  of  the  com- 
pering architects,  these  complaints  would 
clearly  be  reasonable ;  and  it  never  seems 
to  dawn  on  their  authors  that  it  was  not  so. 
In  reality,  however,  this  is  the  last  thing 
which  ever  troubled  the  promoters.  Nothing 
was  further  from  their  intention  than  to 
start  a  sort  of  voluntary  examination  of 
architects  as  a  body  ;  they  neither  assumed 
the  ability  to  conduct  it  nor  framed  their 
rules  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  it  faiily. 
What  they  had  in  view  was  something 
totally  different.  Their  rules  were  made 
with  quite  another  purpose  from  that  which 
competitors  are  apt  to  take  for  granted ; 
and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  no  one  would 
so  much  regret  a  too  rigid  adherence  to 
those  rales  than  the  very  people  who  framed 
them.  Take  the  case  of  a  committee  in- 
viting designs  for  some  public  building. 
They  know  little  of  ai'chitecture,  and  less  of 
its  individual  practitioners.  To  them  an 
architect  is  an  architect,  just  as  to  multi- 
tudes of  people  a  doctor  is  a  doctor ;  and 
they  suppose  one  architect  to  be  about  as 
good  as  another.  This  being  so,  they  con- 
sider that  the  fau'est  thing  for  the  architects 
and  the  safest  thing  for  themselves  is  to  let 
everybody  compete  who  wUl.  The  next 
point  is  to  settle  the  rules  of  the  competition. 
Three-fourths  of  the  committee  probably 
never  saw,  and  scrjcely  ever  heard  of,  a 
competition  before.  They  are  in  the  position 
of  a  man  who,  never  having  seen  a  chessboard 
in  his  life,  should  be  made  umpire  at  a  great 
chess  tournament.  Still,  as  Dr.  Johnson 
said,  "What  must  be  done  wUl  be  done," 
and  they  bravely  launch  out  into  the  un- 
known. First,  perhaps,  they  settle  the 
accommodation  required.  Almost  evei-y 
member  of  the  committee  has  some- 
thing to  say  about  it,  and  some  room 
or  corridor,  or  staircase  to  add,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  department  he  happens  to 
be  personally  interested  in.  All  these  little 
additions  mount  up  to  a  good  deal  when 
put  together  ;  but  in  the  mean  time  the  site 
will  not  expand  itself  to  hold  them  ;  and 
the  money  originally  talked  of  is  likely 
rather  to  be  lessened  than  increased.  For 
when  the  next  item,  the  cost,  comes  to  be 
talked  of,  everybody  is  unanimous  that 
architects'  estimates  are  generally  exceeded, 
and  the  natural  remedy  that  suggests  itself 
is,  to  make  a  condition  that  the  work  shall  be 
done  for  so  many  thousand  pounds  less  than 
the  committee  are  really  prepared  to  pay.  If 
the  chosen  architect  can  do  it  for  the  smaller 
sum,  so  much  the  better ;  if  not,  his  in- 
fringement of  the  rules  will  be  a  good  ex- 
cuse for  cutting  down  his  commission,  and 
treating  him  shabbily  in  any  other  way  that 
may  suggest  itself.  Then  comes  the  ques- 
tion of  site.  In  many  cases,  this  of  course 
is  settled  by  circumstances  :  but  even  when 
it  is  otherwise,  it  often  happens  that  the 
area  allowed  is  decided  on  by  the  same 
principles  as  those  on  which  the  cost  is 
specified  ;  and  that  less  space  is  given  than 
it  is  easy  to  foresee  will  be  wanted.  The 
"  conditions  of  competition  "  have  thus  been 
settled  as  to  three  maui  points :  the  accom- 
modation, the  cost,  and  the  area  of  the  site. 
But  two  most  important  questions  evidently 
arise  at  this  stage  :  and  they  are  two  ques- 
tions which  hardly  any  competition  com- 
mittee ever  attempts  to  answer.  If  the 
specified  accommodation  cannot  be  had  for 
the  specified  cost,  is  the  accommodation  to 
be  reduced,  or  is  the  cost  to  be  increased  ? 
And  again  :  If  the  specified  accommoddtion 
cannot  be  got  on  the  site  provided,  is  the 
accommodation  to  be  cut  down,  or  the  area 
added  to  ?  If  architects  would  get  clear 
answers  to  these  two  questions  at  the  outset, 
much  of  the  undignified  -wrangling  which  | 
forms  the  last  scene  of  almost  every  large 
competition,  would  be  fiually  suppressed.  | 
But  the  questions  can  hardly  be  asked  by  , 
any  individual  architect ;  he  would  be 
instantly  marked  as  leaning  towards  extra-  [ 


I  vagauce  both  in  ground  and  money.  To  ask 
I  such  questions  is  the  business  of  societies 
representing  either  the  whole  profession  or 
large  local  sections  of  it;  uud  the  mori! 
ready  they  are  to  do  their  business  in  thu 
and  similar  directions,  the  more  hearty  sup- 
port they  are  likely  to  meet  with. 

If  the  committee  stojiped  horo,  and  made 
no  conditions  beyond  the  throe  jast  noticed, 
their  rules  would  bo  hard  ouough  to  coiiforiu 
to ;  but  very  few  committees  have  the  wis- 
dom to  stop  so  soon.  They  prooeod  to  tin. 
mysteries  of  scales;  and  though  it  is  do- 
sirable  enough  that  tho  scale  should  bo  uiu- 
form  for  all  designs,  wo  sometimes  see  some- 
strange  conditions  even  here.  Oijy  u  fow 
years  ago,  an  advertisomc-n*  ajipcarvl  in  the- 
BmLm.NG  Nkw.s,  amongst  other  [.uperi,  in- 
viting desigi.s  for  a  union  worklmusc,  aud 
requiring  all  the  plans  to  bo  made  to  u  suulo 
of  one  inch  to  a  foot.  Things  like  this, 
however,  aic  triHes,  and  can  easily  bj  sol. 
right  by  letters  from  one  or  two  iiiteudiug 
competitors.  But  other  conditions  are  oftuli 
met  ^vith  which  are  by  no  means  tritlus. 
The  committee,  or  some  of  thorn,  havo  pro- 
bably seen  some  other  buldiug  of  the  same- 
kind  as  their  own,  which  thoy  much  udmirie 
Whether  their  site  will  fit  it,  whether  their 
surroxmdugs  will  suit  it,  whether  tUcu 
specified  accommodation  can  bo  got  into  it. 
are  matters  that  never  trouble  them.  They 
think  (till  their  eyes  are  opened  by  ruk- 
breakiug  competitors)  that  they  have  found 
the  best  possible  model,  and  they  aro  anxioiui 
to  get  something  as  much  hko  it  as  may  bt. 
So  they  go  on,  and  specify  the  style  of  the 
model  as  the  style  in  which  all  designs  are 
to  be  composed :  and  sometimes  even  iti 
plan,  as  the  plan  which  all  architects  are  to 
follow.  The  competitors  were  tied  bin.! 
and  foot,  it  might  be  thought,  by  tli-  li:^■ 
three  conditions ;  but  their  taskmastori  i'  eui 
bent  on  tethering  them  by  as  many  strin;;h 
as  bound  down  Gulliver  in  LiUiput.  Fortu- 
nately for  om-  architecture,  some  of  our 
modem  Gullivers  carry  a  penknife  about 
them,  and,  in  defiance  of  all  propriety, 
sometimes  cut  the  strings,  when  thoy  ore 
pulled  tighter  than  flesh  and  blood  con 
bear. 

Accommodation,  cost,  area,  style,  and 
perhaps  plan,  being  all  settled,  the  com- 
mittee lastly  feel  bound  to  lay  down  rulon 
about  drawing  and  colouring.  Tbey  have 
heard  that  the  non-pri  fessional  mind  is  in 
danger  of  being  imposed  on  by  highly - 
coloured  views  ;  hence  they  decide  to  have 
no  -views  at  all.  As  to  tho  immense  diffi- 
culty which  even  an  accomplished  architect 
finds  in  judging  of  a  complicated  buil'ling 
from  mere  plans  and  elevations,  tbey  knoir 
nothing.  An  elevation,  they  have  heard, 
shows  the  building  as  it  really  is,  from  wlucb 
they  infer  that  a  perspective  mu«t  noed.i 
show  the  building  as  it  really  is  not.  llaJf 
of  them,  perhaps,  do  not  know  an  elevation 
from  a  perspective :  and  when  comi>clitors 
send  in  the  latter  as  well  as  fh.-  former,  we- 
believe  that  committees  have  been  known 
to  accept  them  in  perfect  good  faith,  with- 
out the  least  idea  that  their  own  nil  -  we-r. 
being  transgressed.  I'midly,  ii. 
comes  a  rule  about  having  j. 
the  dravvings  ;  and  this,  if  ful 
pletes  the  work  which  tho  previuii-  rui 
began.  Unless  the  buihiing  is  a  more  fl.it 
block,  -n-ith  no  breaks,  no  r.-!ief,  and  n- 
recessed  or  projecting  portions,  it  «  q-iit<- 
impossible  for  any  committee  to  form  a  true 
idea  of  what  any  design,  drarni  ii  e  .Teiinp 
to  these  last  two  rules,  would  rcaJly  look 

like.  ,    ,      .  ,- 

The  conditions  are  issued,  the  ti'ne     -  i.ill^ 

too  short  by  half)  expires,  and   • 

come  in.  Now  for  tho  ttrst  time,  t'; 

realise,  probably  with  am.izeui 

haps    with  bewilderment,   ih- 

before  them.     Half  the  comj    • 

set   several  of  their  rules  ariJu,  i..-    ...-.-i 

scrupulous  have  been   compelled  to  break 


376 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


UNSAFE  BUILDINGS. 

SINCE  our  comments  were  made  last 
week  on  the  x-eoeut  fall  of  a  house  in 
Oxford-street,  other  casualties  have  hap- 
pened of  a  similar  natiu-e,  though,  happily, 
unattended  with  loss  of  life  ;  one  is  the  fall 
of  a  portion  of  a  building  in  Peter's-hill, 
Knigl.trider-street,  in  the  City,  and  the 
other  the  collapse  of  some  vaults  in  White 
Hart-Street,  Drury-lane.  Unfortunately,  in 
the  case  of  new  buildings,  the  insecurity  of 
a  structure  is  not  discovered  until  after  it 
has  been  erected,  for,  as  we  have  already 


one  or  two,  for  as  we  have  seen,  some  of  the 
rules  clashed  with  each  other ;  but  their 
rules  are  the  last  things  the  committee  think 
of  at  present.  Is  their  town  to  be  hindered 
from  having  the  best  or  finest  or  most  con- 
venient building  they  can  choose  for  it, 
merely  because  they  framed  rules  which 
they  would  not  have  framed  had  they  known 
all  they  know  now  P  When  they  specified 
the  building  at  C.,  as  a  model  for  their 
buUdiug  at  B.,  they  had  no  idea  so  many 
better  types  could  be  found.  When  they 
insisted  on  getting  all  the  accommodation 
on  such  a  slice  of  their  ground,  they  never 
knew  what  a  very  much  better  place  could 
be  built  by  taking  a  few  yards  more.  When 
they  limited  the  cost  to  £20,000,  meaning 
£30,000,  it  was  because  they  thought  that 
quite  enough  for  an  everyday,  humdi'um 
piece  of  building  like  the  model  they  were 
looking  up  to  then  :  but  now  that  there  is 
a  chance  of  doing  something  firstrate,  is  not 
it  worth  while  to  stretch  a  point,  and  pay 
£40,000,  for  what  will  really  be  a  credit  to 
themselves  and  the  neighbourhood  ?  And 
when  they  said  there  were  to  be  no  perspec- 
tives, and  that  the  drawings  were  to  be  in 
outline,  should  not  all  the  architects  have 
known  that  they  would  never  understand 
outline  elevations,  and  do  not  the  architects 
who  had  the  sense  to  foresee  this,  deserve 
to  be  rewarded  rather  than  punished  r  In 
this  way,  the  rules  go  one  after  the  other. 
The  committee  who  framed  them  find  that 
in  meaning  to  tie  down  the  competing  archi- 
tects, they  were  only  twisting  cords  round 
their  own  wrists  ;  and  having  decided  on 
what  they  consider  the  best  design,  the 
greatest  difSculty  they  have  to  contend  with 
is,  how  to  accept  it  in  the  teeth  of  their  own 
"  Conditions." 

Our  remarks  have  no  reference  to  any  of 
the  recent  competitions  in  particular.  A 
multitude  of  comjietitions  have  followed 
some  such  course  as  that  here  sketched  out : 
some  of  their  rules  have  been  conflicting, 
others  imwise,  and  others  again  expressly 
framed,  one  might  fancy,  to  give  the  worst 
designs  as  good  a  chance  of  being  chosen  as 
the  best.  With  such  rules  before  them, 
competing  architects  ai-e  in  a  strait.  Are 
they  to  look  on  the  rules  as  possessed  of  a 
sort  of  verbal  inspiration,  and  follow  them 
minutelj' — or  are  they  to  try  and  discover 
the  real  wants  of  the  riile-makers,  and 
supply  them,  although  this  involves  breaking 
the  letter  of  the  rule  'i  The  architect  who 
does  the  latter  is  likely  to  be  reviled,  and 
the  architect  who  does  the  former  will  hardly 
gain  the  competition.  The  truth  is,  that 
architects  ought  not  to  be  placed  in  such  a 
dilemma.  Either  the  rules  should  be  put 
forward  only  as  recommendations,  which 
any  competitor  maj'  disregard  if  he  likes  to 
take  the  risk  of  it,  or  they  should  be  di-awn 
up  by  an  impartial  and  experienced  pro- 
fessional assessor,  after  full  discussion  with 
the  committee.  Even  in  this  case  it  is  well 
that  they  should  be  as  elastic  as  possible, 
that  neither  the  committee  nor  their  adviser 
may  find  their  own  rules  turn  round  upon 
them  at  the  close,  and  force  them  either  to 
take  an  inferior  design,  or  to  draw  upon 
their  devoted  heads  the  wrath  of  all  the 
law-abiding  competitors. 


hinted,  the  remedy  of  the  law  comes  too 
late.  In  the  case  of  old  rotten  buildings, 
the  machinery  in  the  hands  of  the  Metro- 
politan Board  is  also  insufEciont  to  cope 
with  the  mischief ;  a  building  must  be  dis- 
covered to  be  in  a  dangerous  condition  by 
some  one  before  it  is  examined  by  the 
officials  of  the  Board,  and  pronounced  dan- 
gerous, while  in  most  cases  danger  is  not 
found  out  till  someone  hears  creaking  timbers, 
and  sees  bulging  walls,  or  finds  a  house 
has  actually  fallen  into  the  roadway.  There 
can  be  very  little  doubt  that  there  are  scores 
of  buildings  in  London  in  a  threatening 
condition,  party  walls  that  are  merely  hang- 
ing on  by  the  help  of  their  neighbours,  or 
their  front  walls  in  such  a  tottering  state  that 
very  little  is  requu-ed  to  cause  them  to  fall 
into  the  streets.  In  old  streets  where 
private  houses  have  been  knocked  into  shops 
by  the  insertion  of  breastsummers,  one 
might  count  dozens  of  house-fronts  in  a  very 
queer  and  shaky  state,  and  as  they  merely 
hold  on  by  means  of  the  floors  and  roofs,  it 
only  needs  a  jar  to  shatter  them  outwards. 
Fronts  with  two  windows  and  a  centre  pier 
of  brickwork  between  are  the  most  doubtful, 
as  the  brickwork  often  gets  shaken  by  altera- 
tions, causing  the  window  arches  to  drop  in 
the  centre,  and  to  cast  all  the  weight  on 
the  weakest  point  of  the  breastsummer. 

The  accident,  last  Friday  night,  in  Peter's- 
hill,  which  is  a  short  and  narrow  thorough- 
fareleadingfromKnightrider-streetto  Queen 
Yictoria-street,  is  another  instance  of  an  old 
building  weakened  by  previous  alterations, 
and  impaired  by  decay.  The  premises  which 
have  fallen  form  a  part  of  No.  34,  Knight- 
rider-street,  a  comer  block  of  old  buildings, 
used  but  recently  as  a  coffee-house.  It  was 
very  fortunate  the  house  was  empty  at  the 
time  ;  probably  it  was  its  shaky  condition 
which  caused  the  removal  of  the  tenants.  As 
a  police-officer  was  passing  up  the  hOi  late 
in  the  evening  he  saw  the  whole  of  the  back 
part  of  the  premises  in  Peter's-hill  fall  out 
into  the  street,  blocking  up  the  road,  and 
two  persons  passing  down  the  hill  had  a 
very  narrow  escape.  Our  examination  of 
the  ruin  has  been  sufficient  to  convince  us  of 
the  cause  of  the  failure.  The  premises  are 
clearly  very  old,  and  adjoined  a  vacant  spot 
of  ground  at  the  back  of  a  large  warehouse, 
caused  by  the  removal  of  a  house  between 
them.  The  back  walls  of  the  coffee-house  and 
warehouse  were  thus  left  without  support. 
Clearly  two  causes  operated  to  bring  about  the 
fall  :  one  was  the  inherent  rottenness  of  the 
timbers,  and  the  other  the  removal  of  the 
adjoining  house.  Possiblj'  also  the  building 
had  been  tampered  with  by  alterations.  The 
side  wall  which  has  fallen  bodily  into  the 
street  appears  to  have  had  three  large  win- 
dow casements  on  the  first  floor,  the  frame 
of  which  has  fallen  cu  masse  with  their  head 
and  sill  timbers.  The  walls  look  to  be  com- 
pletely  rotten   and   are   a    combination    of 


The  Dangerous  Structures  clauses  chiefly 
apply  to  buUdiugs  that  are  in  absolute  danger 
of  falling,  but  not  to  those  which  have  lost 
their  support,  and  it  seems  desirable,  when- 
ever amendments  are  made,  to  introduce  a 
provision  for  the  latter.  Mr.  Walker  some 
time  ago  drew  a'tention  to  the  importance 
of  a  proper  definition  of  the  words  ' '  danger- 
ous state  "  used  in  the  Act,  and  if  the  adjec- 
tive were  a  little  more  explicit,  and  made  to 
apply  to  all  s'ructures  that  have  lost  support 
and  are  not  in  a  permanently  sec urecondition, 
we  might  see  a  beneficial  change. 

The  danger  arising  from  the  sudden 
giving-way  of  vaults  is  one  of  which  we 
cannot  plead  ignorance,  and  to  which 
the  publi)  are  hourly  exposed  in  our 
streets.  The  great  promenades  of  the 
Strand,  Holborn,  Oxford-street,  and, 
indeed,  of  all  our  leading  thoroughfares, 
rest  upon  a  succession  of  vaults,  and  if  one 
gives  way  it  not  unfrequently  leads  to  the 
falling  in  of  several  others  on  either  side. 
Accidents  of  a  similar  kind  to  that  which 
occurred  near  Drury-lane  have  happened 
before  in  London,  and  have  been  attended 
with  serious  results.  In  White  Hart-street 
it  was  the  roadway  which  fell  in,  one  built 
on  a  succession  of  vaults,  thus  adding 
greatly  to  the  peril  of  the  traffic.  Luckily 
the  giving-way  of  vaults  is  not  common,  and 
perhaps  it  is  surprising  we  hear  of  so  few 
accidents  from  this  cause.  We  should  like 
to  know  how  many  roadways  are  formed 
upon  arches,  and  how  many  of  these  arches 
have  been  constructed  with  good  sound 
bricks  in  a  proper  manner.  A  house-to-house 
inspection  would  reveal  many  vaidts  in  a  pre- 
carious state  barely  held  up  by  the  support 
of  the  adjoining  vaults.  What  with  dangerous 
structures  threatening  our  heads  along  the 
streets,  and  an  unseen  danger  below  our  feet, 
the  public  cannot  be  blamed  if  they  become  a 
little  disquieted  and  apprehensive.  Some- 
times, however,  this  feeling  of  uneasiness  ex- 
ceeds the  bounds  of  reason.  A  contemporary 
a  day  or  two  ago,  under  the  heading  of  "Dan- 
gerous Structures,"  drew  attention  to  a 
block  of  four  hous.-s  and  shops  at  Hammer- 
smith in  course  of  erection  on  the  north 
side  of  Bridge-road,  which  had  created  some 
excitement  on  Sunday  last  in  consequence 
of  a  rumour  that  the  new  buildings  were  in 
an  unsafe  condition.  The  police  were  com- 
municated with,  and  the  passenger  traffic  on 
one  side  stopped,  under  the  idea  that  the 
building  would  collapse.  A  number  of 
curious  spectators  collected  on  the  spot,  and 
it  is  said  the  district  surveyor  has  condemned 
the  buildings  as  unsafe.  Having  made  an 
inspection  of  the  building,  we  are  bound  to 
say  the  report  has  been  exaggerated,  though 
there  was  some  ground  for  uneasiness.  The 
four  houses  are  built  of  red  brick  and  are 
scarcely  roof  high ;  but  the  work  is  proceeding, 
and  we  were  informed  that  the  surveyor  has 
passed  the  work.     The  front  wall  is  carried 


brick   and   timber.       The    fallen    structure  I  on  rolled  iron  girders  of  9in.  or  lOin.  deep, two 
seems  to  have  been  dragged  away  from  the    under  each  front  wall,  side  by  side,  and  they 


remaining  part,  simply  from  the  incoherence 
of  the  walls.  One  of  the  timbers  we  saw  was 
so  pulverised  from  decay,  that  the  thought 
occurred  to  us  the  walls  may  have  lost  their 
bond  or  have  subsided.  The  part  still  stand- 
ing is  in  a  very  critical  condition  and  is 
probably  securely  shored  up  by  this  time, 
for  the  separation,  as  might  be  supposed, 
has  taken  place  between  the  cross  walls  in  the 
weakest  part. 

The  causes  of  insecurity  are  evident  to  any 
practical  man,  and  the  question  is.  Cannot 
they  be  avoided  by  timely  measures  ?  It 
appears  to  us  a  great  source  of  danger  is  the 
pulling  down  of  adjoining  houses,  particu- 
larly in  old  neighbourhoods,  and  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Building  Act  do  not  meet  the 
risks.  Notices  of  pulling  down  should  not 
only  be  required,  but  an  official  inspection 
demanded  in  every  case  of  the  buildings  on 
either  side.  Till  this  precaution  is  taken  we 
shall  continue  to  hear  of  these  casualties. 


have  wood  flitches  bolted  through  on  the 
outside  for  the  fixing  of  the  fronts.  These 
girders  rest  on  the  party-walls,  which  are 
about  14in.  thick.  To  conform  to  the  line 
prescribed  by  the  Metropolitan  Board,  a 
slight  angle  occurs  in  the  front,  between 
the  third  and  fourth  house,  which  has  per- 
haps weakened  the  bond  by  the  closers,  and 
the  idea  of  instabiHty  may  have  easily 
arisen  from  the  visual  distortion  of  the 
lines  of  the  front  at  this  point.  To  an 
ordinary  spectator  in  the  roadway,  the  front 
looks  naturally  lower  at  this  part,  as  if  it 
had  sunk  ;  but  as  a  good  pier  of  brick  is 
under  it,  and  there  are  no  visible  signs  of 
settlement  above  on  the  outside,  the  illusion 
is  not  borne  out.  There  are,  however,  more 
tangible  signs  of  weakness  in  the  raking 
shores  and  the  upright  baulks  of  timber 
which  have  been  placed  below  the  girders  at 
this  part  on  either  side  of  the  party-wall, 
and  their  presence  here  might  well  suggest 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


377 


the  idea  of  insecurity.  It  -would  appear  an 
ai-ched  entrance  was  intended  to  have  been 
built  here,  but  that  the  architect  had  it  re- 
moved, so  that  the  arch  should  not  cut  into 
or  weaken  the  pier.  Without  expressing  any 
opinion  as  to  the  actual  scantlings  and  super- 
posed weights,  the  piers  supporting  the  ends 
of  the  girders  look  weak  for  their  height.  The 
girders  are  strong  enough  for  their  work, 
as  they  are  double,  and  the  brickwork  over 
them  does  not  rest  as  a  central  weight,  but 
is  broken  by  a  \\'ide  window-opening,  so 
that  only  the  ends  of  the  girders  and  outer 
piers  carry  the  weight  of  the  front.  There 
is  nothing  unusual  about  the  method  of 
construction:  thousands  of  houses  are  built 
in  this  manner,  their  enlire  weight  restuig 
on  the  party- walls,  which  form  so  many 
long  legs,  or  piers,  below  the  breastsum- 
mers.  In  regard  to  constructions  of  this 
kind,  we  confess  we  shoidd  like  to  see  more 
solidity  in  the  piers  and  intervening  cross- 
walls,  good  templates  to  carry  the  girders, 
and  the  brickwork  carried  up  on  a  good 
concrete  foundation  in  cement.  The  piers 
are  the  critical  f)0int3  ;  if  they  are  wide  and 
solidly  buUt  of  good  bricks  there  is  nothing 
to  fear:  but  if  they  are  cariied  up  like 
common  work,  as  they  often  are,  they 
become  a  cause  of  apprehension  directly 
the  whole  weight  of  the  front  wall  is  put 
upon  them.  Btfore  the  shop-fronts  are 
fixed,  houses  of  this  kind  never  look  very 
secure,  particularly  when  they  are  only  one 
room  deep,  as  in  the  case  referred  to  above. 
Standing  as  they  do  on  so  many  transverse 
legs,  the  higher  these  become,  the  greater  the 
risk  and  the  care  required.  A  desirable  altera- 
tion would  be  that  the  piers  carrying  the 
fronts  should  bo  built  wider  than  they  often 
are,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  lateral  buttress  ; 
but,  of  course,  no  precautions  in  building 
win  compensate  for  a  weak  foundation. 


AXCIEXT  LIGHTS.— II. 

BESIDES  the  acquisition  of  a  right  to 
Ancient  Lights  by  an  occupancy  of  at 
least  twenty  complete  years  under  the  Pre 
scription  Act,  there  is  another,  and  a  more 
roundabout,  way  of  obtaining  the  same  re- 
sult. If  one  man,  either  by  his  express 
agreement  or  tacit  acquiescence,  allows  and 
induces  another  to  go  to  expense  in  openin^ 
a  new  window  or  enlarging  an  old  one,  he 
will  be  restrained  by  a  Court  of  Equity 
from  afterwards  blocking  up  that  window 
on  the  ground  that  it  is  not  an  ancient  light 
This  is  one  of  the  many  cases  in  which  the 
Court  of  Chancery  has  used  its  power  to 
prevent  that  injustice  which  would  have 
happened  had  the  law  had  its  way  ;  as  in 
this  supposed  state  of  affairs  there  would 
have  been  no  legal  title  to  the  window,  and, 
but  for  equity,  the  man  so  acting  would  have 
been  able  to  go  back  upon  his  agreement. 
Since  the  Judicature  Act,  however,  the 
principles  of  law  and  equity  are  equally 
administered  in  aU  courts  ;  though  for  many 
reasons  of  convenience,  litigation  as  to 
such  matters  as  ancient  light  is  still 
carried  out  in  the  Chancery  Division. 
To  support  the  right  in  this  last  way  there 
must  always  be  distinct  evidence  of  consent 
to,  or  acquiescecce  in,  the  opening  of  new 
windows,  and  there  must  also  be  some  ex- 
pense incurred  by  the  dominant  owner  in  so 
doing,  and,  generally,  some  consideration 
received  by  the  servient  owner.  In  one  case, 
a  landlord  granted  a  lease  of  certain  pre- 
mises, with  the  ancient  lights,  in  considera- 
tion of  certain  improvements,  one  of  which 
was  the  opening  of  new  windows  ;  he  after- 
wards let  the  adjoining  land  to  another  per- 
son, who  proceeded  to  block  up  these 
^vindows.  But  the  Court  held  that  the  case 
did  not  stand  only  upon  the  footing  of 
ancient  Ughts,  but  upon  the  agreement  also  ; 
and,  therefore,  that  neither  the  landlord  nor 
any  one  claiming   under  him   could  build 


against  the  new  windows  that  had  so  been 
opened.  Then  there  is  the  more  recent  case 
of  "  Cotching  V.  Bassett"  (32  Law  J.  Eep  : 
X.S.  Chy.;  286),  where  the  owner  of  a  domi- 
nant tenement,  in  the  course  of  rebuilding, 
altered  certain  ancient  lights.  He  had, 
however,  onl}' done  this  after  communication 
with  the  servient  owner,  and  with  the  know- 
ledge of  his  surveyor,  though  without  any 
express  agreement.  But  the  Court  held 
that  the  acquiescence  was  enough,  and 
granted  a  perpetual  injunction  to  restrain 
the  servient  owaier  from  obstructing  the 
lights  as  altered. 

Presuming,  then,  that  the  owner  of  pre- 
mises has  acquired  a  right  to  certain 
windows  either  as  being  ancient  lights 
under  the  Prescription  Act,  or  in  virtue  of 
some  agreement  or  acquiescence  such  as 
that  last  mentioned,  what  are  his  remedies 
against  a  neighbour  who  is  .about  to  block 
up  those  ^vindows  or  has  already  succeeded 
in  so  doing  'r  Originally  there  were,  and 
theoretically  there  still  are,  three  modes  of 
obtaining  redress.  It  is  a  maxim  of  English 
law  that  a  person  injured  by  a  private 
nuisance  may  himself  abate  that  niusauce 
But  then  he  must  not  injure  anyone  in 
so  doing,  nor  can  he  pull  down  anobstruc 
tion  until  it  is  completed,  and  so  altogether 
this  theory  is  of  little  practical  value 
nowadays  when  no  wise  man  will  run  the 
many  risks  of  taking  the  law  into  his  own 
hands.  Then  there  is  the  remedy  by  action 
at  law  for  damages;  but,  seeing  that  the 
courts  of  law  could  not,  until  lately,  grant 
an  injunction  to  stop,  or  to  pull  down,  an 
obstruction,  this  again  was  not  what  was 
wanted.  So  -jilaintift"  went  to  a  court  of 
equity,  where  he  was,  in  time,  able  to 
get  both  damages  and  an  injunction,  and 
so  it  came  about  that  the  Chancery  Division 
is  now  the  proper  tribunal  in  which  to  seek 
a  remedy  for  the  blocking  up  of  ancient 
lights.  As  to  the  parties  who  can  sue  and 
be  sued  in  such  actions,  these  are  one  or  two 
points  to  consider.  Anyone  in  possession  of 
the  premises  as  tenant,  though  but  for  a 
short  time,  and  even  from  year  to  year,  may 
sue  for  the  injury  done  to  his  comfort  and 
enjoyment  of  the  same  ;  and  this  although 
the  injury  be  but  of  a  temporary  character. 
But  if  the  injury  be  permanent,  and  such 
as  to  affect  the  property  and  its  inheritance, 
the  reversioner  may  also  bring  an  action ; 
and  he  will  be  able  to  do  so  in  cases  where, 
though  the  obstruction  is  but  a  small  matter, 
it  may  affect  his  title  or  afford  evidence  that 
could  be  afterwards  used  against  the  exist- 
ence of  his  right  to  the  lights  in  question. 

The  point  of  the  party  liable  to  be  sued 
for  an  obstruction  raises  other  questions, 
which  can  only  be  answered  by  considering 
the  facts  of  each  case.  Of  course  an  action 
can  be  brought  against  the  person  who 
causes  the  obstruction.  So  also  is  the  person 
who  continues  the  obstruction  liable  if  he 
has  had  notice  of  its  character  before  such 
continuance.  Again,  if  an  owner  of  pre- 
mises block  up  his  neighbjur's  ancient 
lights,  and  then  let  the  place,  he  remains 
liable  if  the  obstruction  be  continued  by  his 
tenant.  Difficulties  sometimes  arise  where 
a  person  purchases  the  reversion  of  premises 
then  let  upon  lease.  If  at  the  time  he  so 
buys  them  there  be  an  existing  nuisance  in 
the  shape  of  an  obstruction  to  ancient  lights, 
then,  though  he  cannot  abate  it,  he  is  never- 
theless liable  to  an  action.  But  if  the 
nuisance  arises  after  the  purchase,  then,  of 
course,  he  is  nut  liable,  and  the  only  person 
to  be  sued  is  the  occupier  ;  yet,  even  in  such 
a  case,  if  the  term  be  short,  and  the  land- 
lord chooses  to  renew  the  tenancy  after  the 
obstruction  has  been  erected,  he  would  be- 
come liable,  as  he  must  not  lot  his  land  with 
a  nuisance  thereupon.  Delicate  questions 
as  to  habUity  for  blocking  up  ancient  liglits 
also  crop  up  where  contractors  are  engaged 
to  do  certain  works.  But  the  general  rule 
is  short  and  sensible  enough.  If  the  obstruc- 


tion follows  as  the  direct  and  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  orders  given  to  the  contractor, 
then  the  employer  alone  will  bo  held  liable. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  nuisance  is  caused 
through  the  default  or  negligence  of  the 
contractor  in  executing  the  works,  ho  will 
bo  the  party  solely  responsible. 

Having  decided  upon  the  party  to  suo  and 
to  be  sued,  and  determined  to  apply  for 
such  an  injunction  as  may  bo  necessary,  to- 
gether with  damages  for  the  injury  already 
done  him,  the  plaintiff,  and  his  advisers, 
will  have  to  consider  what  evidence  they 
can  g(-t  to  support  their  case.  In  the  Chan- 
cery Division,  this  evidence  is  generally 
given  by  affidavit,  though  it  is  usual  for 
both  parties  to  give  notice  that  they  wish  to 
cross-examine  the  witnesses  who  have  made 
these  affidavits,  or  such  of  them  as  they  may 
think  desirable.  Of  course  the  first  point  to 
be  proved  is  the  existence  of  the  ancient 
light  fcr  over  twenty  years ;  and  hero  the 
evidence  of  any  aged  people  who  knew  the 
place  is  very  valuable.  If  the  plaintiff  bases 
his  case  either  solely,  or  in  part,  ujion  a 
written  agreement  under  which  he  was  in- 
duced to  open  the  window  in  question,  or 
upon  the  acquiescence  of  the  defendant  or 
his  predecessor  in  title,  this  must  bo  proved 
likewise.  Then  we  come  to  the  evidence 
which  he  can  bring  forward  ^v^th  a  view  of 
showing  that  his  supply  of  light  and  air 
win  be  so  reduced  by  the  defendant's  act  of 
obstruction  as  to  make  his  house  less  com- 
fortable for  occupation,  or  to  render  his 
premises  less  tit  for  carrying  on  his  accus- 
tomed business.  This  evidence  falls  into 
two  divisions.  There  is,  firstly,  the  testi- 
mony of  witnesses  as  to  the  actual  effect 
that  has  been,  or  will  be,  produced  by  the 
defendant's  wrongful  action  ;  and,  secondly, 
evidence  as  to  the  amount  of  sky  area  of 
which  the  plaintiff  will  be  deprived  in  the 
same  manner.  It  is  impossible  to  give  any 
hints  as  to  the  former  of  these  classes,  for 
everything  depends  upon  the  special  facts  of 
each  particular  case.  The  latter  branch 
consists  of  evidence  to  prove  the  height  and 
width  of  new  and  old  buildings,  and  the 
deductions  drawn  from  fcicntitic  men  as 
to  the  reduction  in  the  amount  of  sky  area 
that  will  be  open  to  the  plaintiff  after  the 
proposed  alterations.  It  is  usual  to  produce 
a  model  proving  aU  these  points,  and  one 
so  constructed  as  to  show  the  changes  that 
have  been,  or  are  to  be,  made  is  the  best. 
In  one  case  an  experiment  was  tried  as  to 
what  would  be  the  effect  if  the  defendant's 
buildings  were  completed  by  rai.-ing  sack- 
cloth or  tarpaulin  on  poles,  and  then  lower- 
ing it  again  to  the  old  position  ;  but  such 
thfngs  should  always  be  done  in  the  presence 
of  both  parties,  or  the  results  will  be  of 
little  or  no  value  at  the  hearing. 

It  is  very  common  in  cases  of  this  kind  for 
the  plaint'iff  to  apply  for  an  injunction 
while  the  suit  is  pending,  and  before  it 
comes  on  for  trial.  This  interlocutory  ap- 
plication is  often  made  immediately  after 
issuing  the  wri',  and,  in  fact,  as  soon  as  the 
plaintiff  finds  that  the  defendant  means  to 
proceed  with  his  obstruction,  supi>osing  one 
to  have  been  threatei.td  or  commenced.  In 
Equity,  it  is  always  the  «luty  of  a  party 
seeking  relief  to  come  to  the  court  without 
dehns'and,  for  this  reason,  an  interlocutory 
application  may  often  be  advisable.  But  in 
granting  such  an  injunction  the  coiut  wiU 
first  consider  the  balance  of  conveni- nee  ; 
and  unless  a  strong  case  is  made  out,  it 
usuaUy  orders  the  matter  to  st.and  over  untU 
the  cause  comes  on  for  hearing:  :iiaking  the 
defendant  agree  to  use  all  diligence  m  his 
pleadings,  and  undertake  to  remove  the  ob- 
struct on  if  ordered,  or  not  to  po  on  any 
further  with  his  buUdings,  according  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  case.  At  the  hearing, 
presuming  the  plaintiff  to  succeed,  it  l>cco«nf 
a  question  whether  an  injuncUon  shaU  be 
granted,  or  damages  awarded,  or  lx)th.  It 
must  be  borne   in  mind  that  there  are  two 


378 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


kinds  of  injunctions  ;  one  restraining  a  thing    sundry  Eussian  eagles  in  bronze,  placed  in 


from  being  done,  the  other  commanding  a 
thing  to  be  undone.  This  latter  is  termed  a 
mandatory  injunction,  and  it  is,  obviously, 
3  much  stronger  proceeding  than  the  for- 
mer, which  merely  stops  the  erection  of 
buildings  that  are  but  just  begun.  It  may 
be  taken  as  a  general  rule  that  no  manda- 
tory injunction  vill  be  granted  upon  an 
interlocutory  application.  2^or  ■will  (he 
court,  even  at  the  hearing,  grant  suih  an 
injunction,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  to 
make  the  defendant  pull  down  the  obstruc- 
tion, whether  it  be  a  wall  or  a  house;  un- 
less it  is  so  serious  and  extreme  a  case  that 
full  justice  cannot  be  done  by  damages 
alone.  But  where  the  building  is  in  pro- 
gress, then  the  usual  remedy  is  by  way  of 
injunction  to  restrain  the  defendant  from 
going  on  ynth  it  so  as  to  block  up  the  plain- 
tifi's  ancient  lights.  Sometimes  when  the 
case  has  been  heard,  and  the  plaintiff  has 
been  successful,  a  course  is  agreed  upon  by 
ihe  parties  as  to  altering  the  new  building 
and  paying  damages  and  the  like  ;  but,  of 
course,  all  these  matters  vary  with  the  facts 
of  each  particular  case,  and,  therefore,  the 
possible  combinations  are  almost  endless. 
If  damages  be  awarded  by  the  Court,  the 
amount  thereof  will  be  decided  according  to 
ihe  evidence  which  each  party  may  bring 
forward.  But  there  are  cases  in  which  the 
j)lainliff  does  not  succeed,  as  where  the 
right  to  windows  which  he  claims  has  been 
lost  after  its  acquisition :  and  this  point, 
with  other  forms  of  defence,  and  some  recent 
cases  in  which  injunctionshave  been  granted, 
we  shall  consider  in  our  next  article. 


A  RECENT  TISIT  TO  RUSSIA. 
{Continui'il  from  p.  2Go.) 

IN  concluding  our  review  of  the  buildings 
crowding  the  interior  of  the  Kremlin 
at  Moscow,  we  must  note 

THE  AESEX.U-, 

standing  with  an  east  frontage,  and  occupy- 
ing the  left-hand  side  of  the  northern  apex  of 
the  inclosure.  The  ground  it  occupies  was 
formerly  a  meeting  and  residential  place  of 
the  Russian  nobles.  This  building,  the 
erection  of  which  ranges  from  ITCl  to  1736, 
is  upon  the  model  of  the  arsenal  of  Venice. 
It  is  a  long  plain  building  of  two  stories, 
with  a  portico  and  pediment  in  the  centre. 
The  ground-floor  in  the  interior  is  vaulted, 
and  aiTanged  on  the  principle  of  our  Tower 
of  London,  the  contents  being  old  flags  and 
accoutrements  of  war.  One  portion  of  this 
building  was  blown  up  by  the  French  in 
1812,  but  the  damage  has  been  made  good. 
The  detail  this  buUding  is  most  celebrated 
for  is  the  base,  which  is  built  up  about  four 
feet  high,  and  brought  out  before  the  face 
of  the  main  walls  about  three  yards.  On 
this  base,  wh'ch  runs  the  full  length  of  this 
great  building,  broken  only  by  the  entrance 
steps,  are  symmetrically  placed  the  whole  of 
the  bronze  cannon  left  in  the  snow  by  the 
grand  army  of  Napoleon  in  their  fatal  re- 
treat of  1S12.  As  a  military  trophy  there 
is  nothing  to  equal  it  in  the  world  :  it  be- 
speaks, not  a  war  of  nations,  but  one  of 
great  and  mighty  races,  and  its  contempla- 
tion gives  the  traveller  a  better  idea  of  the 
gre.at  struggle  of  the  Russians  with  Napo- 
leon than  does  that  of  any  other  monument. 
These  cannons  and  mortars  are  all  of  bronze, 
and  the  value  of  the  same  even  as  old  metal 
must  be  enormous.  The  total  number  of 
pieces  is  875,  consisting  of  .365  pieces  French, 
189  Austrian,  123  Prussian,  70  Italian,  40 
NeapoHtan,  34  Bavarian,  and  lesser  numbers 
of  Dutch,  Saxon,  Spanish,  Polish,  &a.,  Ac, 
the  recapitulation  of  which  shows  the  hold 
Napoleon  had  obtained  over  the  armies  of 
Europe,  which  upon  this  occasion  were 
pressed  into  his  service.  Ihe  only  orna- 
ments   associated  with  these  cannons  are 


an  attitude  of  triumph  over  these  their 
fallen  enemies.  This  string  of  cannon,  half 
buried  as  it  was  in  snow  at  the  time  of  the 
writer's  visit,  and  guarded  by  tall  grey- 
coated  Cossacks,  pacing  to  and  fro  with  their 
formidable  arms,  is  a  sight  that  no  traveller 
can  readily  forget,  and  one  that  associates 
the  arsenal  of  the  Kremlin  with  the  most 
terrible  event  in  history. 

Having  reviewed  the  principal  buildings 
in  the  Kremlin,  we  will  pav  a  short  visit  to 
the 

CniXESE   CITY, 

which  is  the  trading,  or  old  port,  of  Moscow 
— a  suburb  as  it  were  attached  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Kremlin,  and  protected  by  a 
great  wall  pierced  by  six  gates.  These 
walls,  alike  of  brick,  were  erected  about 
1535  by  Petroe,  an  Italian  architect,  and 
although  not  so  imposing  as  the  Kremlin 
walls,  they  are  equally  as  picturesque. 

The  ancient  entrances  through  these 
walls  were  small,  and  remind  one  of  those  of 
the  city  of  York  ;  these  where  retained,  are 
used  by  foot  passengers,  and  large-arched 
openings  for  modern  traffic  are  pierced 
through  the  adjoining  brickwork.  The  one 
nearest  to  the  junction  with  the  Kremlin 
walls, 

THE  VOSKKESENSKI  GATE, 

being    the    principal     entrance    into     this 
Cipafas,  has  two  such  archways,  and  against 
the  broad  pier  dividing  them  is  placed  a  vo- 
tive chapel,  dedicated  to  the  Iberian  Mother 
of    God,    so   called  from  the   shrine   being 
brought  from  I^  eria.    In  this  is  a  miraculous 
picture  of  the  Virgin,   the  value  of  which, 
as  a  shrine,  is  greater  than  probably  that  of 
any  other  work  of  art  in  the  world.     This 
little  chapel,  -with  its  worshippers  trooping 
in  and  out,  is  literally  a  human  hive,  where 
in  the  form  of   money  is  deposited  no  small 
portion  of  honey,  for  the  gifts  or  collections 
of   the  faithful  at  this  shrine  amoimt  to  a 
fixed  income  of  £10,000  per  y.  ar,  £7,000  of 
which  constitutes  the  pay  of   the  Metropo- 
litan of   Moscow.     It  is  a  curious  feature  in 
the  Russian  Church,  one  well  exemplified  in 
the  case  of  the  Metropolitan  Chiu-ch  iu   the 
Kremlin,  and  this  little  chapel,  p'anted  in 
the  busiest  part  of   this  great   and  wealthy 
city,  that  the  one  is  still  and  silent,  and  in 
itself  capable  of  furnishing  much  in  the  way 
of  income,  and  the  other,  a  satellite,  which 
represents   an  altar  or  shrine   moved  to  a 
place  where  the  people  most  do  congregate, 
is  ever   busy,  and   furnishes  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  the  Church.  This  system  is  adopted 
on  all  hands,  it  is  reflected  in  the  chapels  on 
either  side  of  the  Holj'  G-ate  of  the  Kremlin, 
in   the  chapel  on  the    Neva-bridge  at  St. 
Petersburg,  and  in  connection  with  most  of 
the   orthodox  chirrches  which  have  chapels 
of  this  character,  planted  in  the  corners  of 
what  we  should  call  the  churchyards,  where 
they  abut    upon    the    principal   thorough- 
fares.    Pondering  for  a  moment   over  the 
influence  of  these  votive  chapels,  placed  at 
every  point  of  vantage  in  the  great  cities  of 
Russia,  we  are  led  to  compare  the  import- 
ance of  the  national  altars  of   Russia  with 
those  of   oirr  own   country,  and  to  remark 
that  ours  have  lost,  through  the  influence 
of  the  Protestant  Reformation,   or  through 
the   action  of   the  Puritans,  a  great  deal  of 
their  reverential  awe,  and  their  hold  upon 
the  mass   of  the  people.      That    a   system 
identical  with  the  Russian  one  formerly  ob- 
tained in  England  we  have  ample  proof  ;  it 
was  reflected  in  such  shrines  as  that  of  St. 
Thomas   ;i   Beckett   at  Canterbury,  and  in 
the  bridge,  the  wayside,  and  the  holy-well 
chapels  common  throughout  the  land.      It 
is  not  OUT  office  to  trace  the  cause  of   their 
decline   in   Enghand  ;  but  their  suppression 
was  undoubtedly  a  great  loss  to  the  revenues 
of  the   Established    Church.     The  effect  of 
such  a  repressive  measure  in  Russia  would 
be  to  cut  the  mass  of  the   people  loose  from 


the  orthodox  faith,  and  to  sacrifice  the 
principal  source  of  ecclesiastical  revenue. 
Amongst  the  quaint-looking  shops  in  the 
vicinity  of  this  gate,  the  doors  of  which  are 
open  in  the  most  inclement  weather,  the 
shopkeepers  trusting  more  to  their  fur 
clothing  than  to  fires,  was  one  devoted  to 
the  sale  of  drysaltery.  Here  might  be  seen 
circular  blocks  of  white  and  yellow  wax, 
piled  one  on  another,  after  the  manner  of 
our  grindstones,  a  detaU  that  reminded  one 
of  the  proportions  of  this  wax  trade,  conse- 
quent upon  the  retention  of  this  primitive 
form  of  illumination  in  the  orthodox 
churches,  and  their  associated  chapels.  Ad- 
joining was  one  of  the  many  marts  devoted 
to  the  sale  of  lamps  and  shrines.  These  are 
rude  in  art,  and  manufactured  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  for 
in  every  house,  in  every  room,  and  iu  every 
bank,  counting-house  or  office  throughout 
the  country,  one  or  more  of  these  shrines  are 
fixed,  their  position  in  these  cases  being 
near  the  ceiling,  and  in  the  angle  of  the 
walls.  The  subjects  of  these  shrines  are 
saints  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Russian  Church, 
that  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  being  the  most 
popular.  Like  everything  Russian,  they  are 
gaudy  with  gold.  The  groimd  of  these 
pictures  are  mostly  embossed  on  gilded 
paper,  with  the  figures  painted  on  in  oil  or 
distemper.  The  frames  are  broad  plaia 
movddings,  with  the  angles  or  mitres 
rounded  in  composition  before  gilding. 
These  frames  have  the  appearance  of  being 
laquered  on  silver  after  the  manner  of 
German  mouldings  ;  but  their  finished  ap- 
pearance is  that  of  common  gold.  The 
lamps  are  of  coloured  glass  fixed  in  brass 
frames,  and  each  provided  with  three  brass 
chains,  to  admit  of  their  being  suspended 
from  the  ceiling.  Of  the  mass  of  these 
shrines,  but  few  possess  any  merit  in  the 
way  of  art;  the  style  followed  is  conventional, 
of  the  order  kno\vn  to  us  as  pre-Raphaelite, 
the  principle  of  working  on  old  models 
being  rigidly  observed.  Here  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  this  gate  we  may  see  itinerants 
of  every  class  ;  the  most  curious  are  those 
vending  the  national  drink.  These  men 
carry  kettles  of  hot  tea,  on  their  shoulders 
are  strings  of  perforated  cakes  or  white 
bread,  and  around  their  waists  are  fitted 
wooden  frames,  constructed  to  hold  about  a 
dozen  glasses.  At  the  east  side  of  this  gate, 
and  occupying  the  site  of  the  old  wall  that 
formerly  connected  this  gate  with  the 
Kremlin,  is  one  of  the  largest  modern  build- 
ings in  Moscow.  This  is  of  brick,  and  de- 
signed in  the  old  Russian  style  ;  its  purpose 
is  that  of  a 

NATIO>'AL  MUSErit, 
but  although  it  is  covered  in,  it  is  standing 
in  an  unfinished  state  for  want  of  funds.  In 
dealing  with  the  architecture  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, we  noted  this  revival  of  the  old  Rus- 
sian style  of  art  as  being  a  parallel  one  to 
that  of  our  Queen  Anne  movement.  We 
saw  it  in  St.  Petersburg  associated  with 
other  introduced  styles  ;  but  in  Moscow  it  is 
carried  to  greater  excess,  and  it  appears  to 
admit  of  no  rival  in  this  city.  As  a  style, 
it  was  that  adopted  in  old  times  in  the 
domestic  buildings  of  the  noHes  ;  it  has  the 
appearance  of  being  grounded  on  Classic 
lines,  and  to  have  been  first  applied  in 
Russia  when  the  material  of  construction 
was  wood.  The  leading  features  of  the 
windows,  which  are  verj'  small,  are  blocks 
at  the  ends  of  the  sills,  on  these  are  placed 
columns,  swelled  out  in  the  centre,  counter- 
parts of  those  of  our  so-called  Saxon  Era  ; 
these  support  heavy  pedimen's,  and,  as  the 
window  heads  are  not  always  square,  some 
partaking  of  the  Gothic  or  Saracenic  feeling, 
they  are  strange  and  incongruous  in  appear- 
ance. The  groimd  is  brickwork,  carefully 
pointed  at  completion.  The  strings  are 
plastered,  and  enriched  with  coloured  orna- 
ments, mostly  of  red  and  green  arabesque, 


Oct.  I,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


379 


which  at  fiist  sight  gives  one  the  impression 
of  being  wrought  in  English  tiles,  as  it  does 
the  belief  that  there  is  room  for  their  intro- 
duction. The  cornices  are  heavy  and  void  of 
character ;  the  wall  facing  is  broken  up  in  a 
manner  that  can  only  suggest  that  the  orig'i- 
nals,  from  which  the  designs  were  drawn,  were 
executed  in  wood.  The  roofs,  in  some  cases, 
are  low,  in  others  they  are  of  the  Mansard 
tj'jje,  the  smaller  features  being  graced  with 
high-pitch  coverings  in  the  form  of  spires. 
In  connection  with  this  style,  it  is  interesting 
to  observe  that  domes,  or  other  features  per- 
taining to  the  Ecclesiastical  architecture  of 
the  countrj',  are  wanting. 

The  interior  of  this  civic  portion  of  the 
heart  of  Moscow,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Great  or  Red-square  surrounding  the  Holy 
Gate  of  the  Kremlin,  is  composed  of  narrow 
streets  and  blocks  of  trading  marts.  These 
streets  are  lined  with  shops,  the  character  of 
which,  although  on  a  smaller  scale,  resembles 
those  of  our  English  towns  more  than  other 
Continental  cities.  Here  we  see  a  church, 
gaudy  with  the  most  barbaric  colouring  of 
scarlet,  yellow,  or  green,  theie  an  hotel,  or 
an  exchange,  the  elevations  of  which  are 
ordinary,  or  commonplace.  The  crowded 
state  of  the  streets,  and  the  mass  of  produce 
from  all  parts  of  the  old  world,  remind  us 
that  we  are  in  the  heart  of  a  great  trading 
city,  and  that  we  are  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  far-famed 

BAZAAES    OF  MOSCOW. 

The  rights  of  fixing  marts  or  places  of 
trade  appear  to  have  been  vested  in  the 
hands  of  kings  and  rulers  throughout  aU 
historic  times.  This  was  the  case  ia  Eng'and, 
where  the  monks,  and  lords  of  manors,  sued 
before  our  kings  for  charters  or  grants  of 
fairs  and  markets.  The  policy  regulating 
these  staples  was  that  of  the  trading  com- 
munity coming  to  the  seat  of  local  or  other 
government  to  vend  or  exchange  their 
goods.  It  was  a  concentration  for  the  more 
ready  mode  of  supervision  and  taxation  in 
the  form  of  market  tolls,  &c.,  and  thus  be- 
came the  source  of  revenue  in  primitive 
times. 

Of  this  great  market  or  mart  of  Moscow, 
we  learn  that  it  existed  in  its  infant  state 
within  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin,  and  that, 
growing  too  large  for  its  accommodation,  it 
was  removed  to  its  present  site,  which  may 
be  looked  upon  as  an  enlargement  of  the 
Kremlin,  not  for  state,  military,  or  eccle- 
siastical considerations,  but  for  "simple  pur- 
poses of  trade.  As  if  in  proof  of  this  we  find 
the  heart  of  this  inclosm-e  composed  of 
bazaars,  which,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
necessity  of  the  Great  or  Red-square,  devoted 
to  regal  and  ecclesiastical  displays  when 
politic  for  the  same  to  be  made  in  the  face 
of  the  people,  would  have  extended  to  the 
walls  of  the  citadel,  or,  in  other  words,  from 
occupying  the  KremUu  would  have  moved 
outwardly  to  the  shadow  of  its  waUs. 

In  passing  through  St.  Petersburg  we 
failed  to  notice  the  bazaarsormarkets,  as  those 
of  Moscow  were  of  a  mure  national  type, 
and  hence  it  foUows  that  these  interesting 
features  are  so  far  un described. 

The  ground  plan  of  the  city  at  this  point 
is  a  series  of  black  squares,  separated  by 
narrow  white  lines,  the  latter  forming  an 
interminable  labyrinth.  These,  on  the  one 
hand,  are  the  shops  or  stores,  and  on  the 
other  the  alleys  dividing  or  separating  them. 
Entering  one  of  these  passages,  you  are 
struck  with  theii-  Oriental  character.  The 
shops,  on  either  side,  are  about  1:2ft.  square, 
mostly  unglazed,  with  a  counter  separating 
the  buyers  or  passers  by  from  the  noisy 
fur-clad  sellers  or  venders.  These  alleys  are 
devoted  to  certain  trades,  that  of  the  gold 
and  silver  dealers,  who  expose  their  goods  in 
glass  cases,  being  the  most  iateresting.  The 
rear  of  these  shops  look  into  private  squares 
or  stores  for  packages,  &c.,  some  of  which, 
like  our  Smithfield  market,  have  another  and 


a  wholesale  class  of  dealers  beneath.  The 
shops,  as  we  have  noted,  are  almost  exclu- 
sively attended  to  by  the  Jew-looking  male 
sex.  At  the  close  of  the  business,  ti.e  open 
fronts  of  these  shops  are  closed  with  light 
folding  shutters  of  sheet-iron,  and  they  are 
secured  with  padlocks.  In  every  case  a 
string  is  threaded  through  two  staples ;  this 
is  tied  at  the  ends,  and  sealed  with  soft 
wax,  worked  by  the  finger  and  thumb  ;  the 
seal  being  the  private  mark  of  the  owner, 
usually  carried  on  his  iinger-ring.  Return- 
ing in  the  morning,  the  first  office  is  to 
e.Kamine  the  seal,  as  the  shop  could  not 
possibly  be  entered  without  its  removal. 
This  custom  of  sealing  their  places  of  busi- 
ness is  one  of  undoubted  antiquity,  and  one 
actively  pursued  in  all  the  Russian  centres  of 
trade. 

The  passages  of  these  bazaars  are  all 
covered,  the  system  followed  being  very 
quaint.  jVcross  these  alleys,  about  12ft. 
above  the  pavement,  beams,  cased  with 
sheet-iron,  are  placed,  the  object  of  which, 
we  were  told,  was  to  preserve  them  from 
decay ;  but  which  we  thought  was  to  guard 
them  against  fire.  Across  these  beams,  and 
about  2tt.  in  width,  are  continuous  gutters, 
and  from  the  edges  of  the  same,  and  sloping 
back  to  the  walls  of  the  store-rooms  above 
the  shops,  are  glazed  lights,  the  whole  of 
which  form  great  troughs  over  the  lines  of 
these  alleys.  At  the  intersections,  these 
gutters  are  stopped,  and  a  kind  of  dome  is 
formed,  the  water  of  the  gutters  being  con- 
veyed by  pipes  to  a  hopper,  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  same,  from  whence  it  is  dis- 
charged by  drojjping  on  to  the  pavement 
beneath.  The  floors  of  these  allej'S  or 
passages  are  paved  with  stone,  and  they  are 
furnished  -svith  well  defined  gutters  in  the 
centre,  which  are  covered  over  with  boards 
hung  in  suitable  irons.  Our  impression  was 
that  these  bazaars  were  older  constructions 
than  1S12,  but  we  were  assured  that  such 
was  not  the  case  ;  we  must  hence  infer  that 
they  were  rebuilt  after  the  burning  of  the 
city  on  au  old  or  primiti\  e  plan. 


CHUECH-HU^'TIXG  UST  SUSSEX. 

THE  ecclesiologist  of  to-day,  the  Satiirdai/ 
SiiUic  remarks,  is  a  veiy  different  being 
from  the  ecclesiologist  of  thirty  or  even  twenty 
years  ago.  His  sympathies  come  down  to  a 
period  very  much  more  recent  than  the  thirteenth 
century.  He  openly  professes  a  regard  for  Inigo 
Jones,  and  can  admire  Wren  on  occasion.  A 
good  piece  of  Stuart  panelling  fixes  his  atten- 
tion more  surely  than  decorated  sediha.  The 
Lombardic  character  has  no  charms  for  him  in 
comparison  with  a  punning  but  pious  epitaph  of 
Cromwell's  time.  He  copies  the  early  entries  in 
the  parish  register,  though  it  goes  no  farther 
back  than  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  asks  anxiously  after  Georgian 
forms  "of  special  prayer.  He  looks  with  won- 
derful tolerance  on  pewing,  and  insists  on 
stripping  oii  the  altar-cloth  in  hopes  of  finding 
an  Elizabethan  oak  table.  He  has  a  strange 
habit,  too,  of  carrj-ing  a  guide-book  with  him 
always,  but  not  for  the  pm-pose  of  consulting  it. 
Guide-books  do  not  contain  the  kind  of  in- 
formation he  seeks,  but  he  uses  them  to  find 
out  what  has  not  been  noticed.  When  the 
guide  says  such  a  place  is  not  worth  a  visit, 
thither  he  wends  his  way  ;  and  true  happiness  is 
his  when  he  discovers  a  region  unknown  to 
jiurray  and  Stanford.  Churches  immentioned  in 
the  books  are  to  him  what  editions  unnoticed  by 
Lowndes  are  to  the  bibUomaniae,  or  a  new  old 
fossil  to  the  geologist. 

His  ideal  of  the  happy  hunting-grounds  may 
perhaps  be  found  in  the  delta  of  the  Anm.     He 
has  an  eye  Uke  a  himtsman's  for  "  a  country," 
and  observes  at  once  that  behind  the  coast-line 
which  stretches  from   Bognor  to  Worthing,  or  I 
about  ten  miles  on  either  side  of  the  mouth  of  i 
the  Aruu  at  Littlehampton,   there  is  a  depres-  , 
sion  which,  not  long   ago,  as  an  old  map  tells 
him,  was  a  swamp.     Between  this  and   the  sea 
are  a  number  of  very  small,  very  old,  .and  very 
pretty  churches.     The  parishes  are  microscopic 
in  their  minuteness,  as  they  are  in  Essex  near 


the  coast-hnc.  pomting  prub.ablv  to  nn  earlvand 
dense  settiemtnt  of  the  immigrunt  Sa.xons",  and 
by  consequence  the  churclies  are  numcrouB. 
W  ithm  a  few  miles  he  finds  church  after  church 
—discovers  them,  as  he  puts  it— on  which  no 
arelueological  papers  have  been  read,  and  of 
which  no  handbook  notices  more  than  the  name. 
He  sets  steadily  to  work,  looking  forward,  as  Uti 
"Ote-book  gradually  fills,  to  liuppy  hours  with 
Dahawuy  in  the  liuseum  ou  his  return  to  tuwu. 
He  passes  Clympiug  willi  a  eish,  Clymj.iiig  of 
which  he  has  heard  eo  much.  Its  almost  Doric 
simplicity,  the  plain  hmcets,  the  soUdeifictof 
""■'^'^t  -n'^'^ei,  of  blank  wall,  the  unusual  slope  of 
the  roof,  all  are  points  of  momentary  juterest 
only.  CljTupmg  has  been  "done."  Clympiug 
has  attamed  celebrity.  It  has  been  "tho- 
roughly restored "  ;  but  even  this  docs  not 
mterest  him.  The  curious  niche  in  the  tower 
with  its  ,-:ig-zag  mouldings  seems  to  him  to  huvo 
no  look  CI  ago  left,  and  he  refuses  to  acooot  an 
ancient  what,  he  asserts,  is  but  a  modem  archi- 
tect's interpretation  of  ancientucsa.  But  at 
Ford  he  warms  up.  Though  the  place  is  in  tlio 
books  the  church  is  hardly  mentioned.  It  stands 
in  a  low  meadow  surrounded  by  wooden  ieucta. 
There  is  no  road  to  it,  only  a  grassy  pathway. 
Small  as  it  ia — so  small  that  a  neighbouring 
house  seems  to  tower  above  it— every  style  of 
English  architecture  seems  to  liave  Uft  a  mark 
ou  it.  There  are  Xorman  features  in  the  little 
round-headed  windows  of  the  chancel.  There 
are  Fir=t  Pointed  lancets, and  '•  cottajje-htaded  " 
windows  besides,  and,  most  interesting  of  all, 
there  is  a  porch,  which  contrasts  in  its  ruddy 
mellowness  of  Uchen-coited  brick  with  the  grey 
flint  walls  of  the  older  building,  as  well  as  in  its 
curved  gable,  speaking  of  the  "restoration," 
which,  we  are  told,  took  ]>Uce  in  the  days  of 
Archbishop  Laud.  Not  h.df  a  mile  farther  is 
Tortington,  almost  suiTOunded  with  the  woods 
which  here  ijut  forth  an  aim  from  the  neighbour- 
ing park  at  Arundel.  The  priorj-  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalen  has  disappeared,  and  the  vicar,  who 
used  to  have  "  corrody  "  for  himself  and  hi» 
servant  with  the  canons,  now  lives  in  the  neigh- 
bouring town.  The  church  is  full  of  objects  of 
interest,  though  scarcely  larger  than  Ford,  tbfc 
chief  feature  being  the  chancel  arch,  so  often 
described  and  figured  as  an  e.tample  of  the 
grotesque  ornament  of  the  Later  Norman  sty  It. 
The  church  -  hunter  dots  not  long  delay  at 
Arundel.  Is  it  not  fully  described  in  numberleai4 
book> ':  The  new  Romanist  church,  not  longp 
finished  by  the  Duke,  impresses  liim  fuwiurabiy 
from  a  distance,  but  unfavourably  on  a  mau-T 
view.  The  situation  is  magnificent;  but  thei 
architect,  wishing  perhaps  to  make  the  most  (rf 
it,  has  made  too  much.  Obtrusive,  vulgar,  aro 
the  adjectives  which  rise  to  our  ecclesiologitt's 
somewhat  prejudiced  Ups,  and  when  he  visits 
the  interior  the  chromohthoprapbs  on  the  walls 
and  the  decorations  of  the  altar  make  liim  add 
the  word  "tawdry."  0/  the  parish-church  he 
has  heard  too  much  lately,  and  hurrying  down 
the  hdl  ani  across  the  bridge,  he  seeks  once 
more  the  tluckly-strewn  churches  of  the  coast. 

Leominster,  in  spite  of  its  high-sounding  name, 
does  not  keep  him  long,  for  it  is  both  thoroughir 
restored  and  well  described.  At  Eustington  Ik 
pauses.  The  lych-gate  at  a  comer  of  tho 
churchyard,  the  two  wooden  porches  with  their 
massive  oak  beams,  the  Transitional  Norinau 
windows  of  the  tower,  the  frequent  hineets,  puro 
the  place  a  great  charm  in  his  eyes ;  nor  dotn 
the  interior  disappoint  him,  with  its  numtrouit 
tablets  and  the  fragments  of  one  very  auciuit 
monument,  perhaps  of  one  of  the  Bohuns,  w  hour- 
co-heiresses  divided  East  Preston  and  lii^tiujr- 
ton.  or  West  Preston,  between  them  som.-  tiui.> 
in  the  twelfth  century;  but  he  seeks  in  vaui  lor 
any  memorial  of  Thomas  Baker,  who  was  ■  ■  of 
Rilstingtou,"  and  whose  grandson,  the  great 
John  Selden,  probably  often  sojuumed  at  tba 
manor  house  ou  the  other  tide  of  the  roil,  rox 
a  rather  shabby-looking  farmhou-e.  At  i..--. 
Preston  he  is  told  by  a  villager  th.it  the    ■■.urci. 

is  the  oldest  in  the  country,  a  s'; '      '  •  •■ 

he  receives  at  first  with    incr< 

inspection  of  the  chancel,   whii! 

from  tba  road,  justifies  it.     Tl: 

he  ided  windows  date  from  tbo  ^ 

of  English  architeo;ure.     Angm 

fresh  to  attract  him.  though  lb  • 

of  interest  in  it  which  even  a  vinuo:  rcijui-aiug 

thirty  years  ago  has  not  obliterated.     Patching 

had  cr.ce  a  shingle  spire  and  a  north  aisle;  but 

a  tablet  over  the  door  records  the  gratitude  of 

the  parishioners  to  a  certain  Sir  Richard  HunUr 


380 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


:OcT.  1,  1880. 


who  "repaired  and  beautified"  the  church  in 
1835.  To  him,  probably,  we  may  attribute  the 
whitewashed  ceiling,  half  hiding  the  roof -beams, 
and  the  thick  coat  of  yellow  paint  which  covers 
the  pulpit.  This  pulpit  is  a  joy  to  the  modern 
ecclesiologist.  It  is  of  the  ordinary  wine-glass 
pattern,  but  worked  into  it  are  five  panels,  in 
■which  thick  coats  of  paint  cannot  disguise  the 
exquisite  carving  or  the  Holbeinesque  design. 
What  is  the  Perpendicular  choir-screen,  what 
the  curious  double  miserere  seats,  to  this  series 
of  panels ':  But  the  day  is  waning,  and  hours 
would  not  suffice  to  copy  patterns  as  intricate  as 
an  ornamental  engraving  of  Beham,  and  the 
town  parson  rushes  off  to  Clapham.  There  is  a 
steep  hill  do^vn  and  a  steeper  hill  up  through  a 
■\'illage-streGt  of  cottages  too  well-built  for 
picturesqueness,  add  he  turns  in  at  a  gate  and 
across  two  fields  to  a  wood  through  which  the 
pathway  climbs  the  hiD.  On  his  right  is  a 
picturesque  farmhouse  of  considerable  antiquity, 
and  immediately  before  him,  half-hidden  among 
the  oaks,  is  the  church.  It  somewhat  resembles 
Clymping ;  but  its  Early  English  features  are 
many  of  them  the  result  rather  of  a  recent 
' '  thorough  restoration ' "  than  the  genuine  article. 
He  cannot  but  admire  the  western  lancets  from 
under  the  new  lych-gate,  and  can  well  believe 
it  when  he  is  told  that  at  the  opening  service 
after  the  restoration  the  music  within  was 
answered  by  the  nightingales  without.  In  the 
churchyard  on  the  left  is  a  monument  to  the 
mother  of  that  genial  novelist,  Frank  Smedley, 
but  memorials  of  greater  literary  interest  are 
within.  In  the  centre  of  the  nave,  just  below 
the  chancel  step,  is  a  brass  in  exquisite  preserva- 
tion. It  was  long  hidden  away  under  the  pave- 
ment, to  which  fact  its  preservation  intact  may 
perhaps  be  attributed,  for  the  curious  and 
delicately-designed  representation  of  the  Trinity 
between  the  figures  could  not  long  have  sur- 
vived a  Puritan  visitation,  however  mild.  In 
152G  the  knight  Sir  John  Shelley  died,  having 
married  Elizabeth,  the  heiress  of  the  Michel- 
groves,  to  whose  inheritance  he  owed  his  tr.ans- 
plantation  into  Sussex  out  of  Kent.  The 
Michelgroves  had  themselves  come  from  Kent, 
where  they  had  figured  as  Fauconers  of  Faucon- 
hurst,  and  though  they  changed  the  name,  the 
hawk  remains  on  the  coat-of-arms  which  the 
lady  wears  in  brass.  From  her  second  son 
descended  the  poet,  who  was  born  at  Field 
Place,  a  few  miles  off  across  the  hills.  The 
Shelleys  continued  at  Michelgrove  till  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century,  and  the  chancel  is  full 
of  their  tombstones.  There  is  the  judge,  with 
his  wife  and  his  chUdren,  in  alto  reliero,  under  a 
canopy,  and  there  is  the  epitaph  of  his  wife's 
sister,  "Bona  et  virtuosa  GresUdis,"  wife  of 
John  CaryU.  The  Carylls  were  seated  at  West 
Grinstead,  and  it  was  to  one  of  them  that  Pope 
dedicated  the  "  Rape  of  the  Lock" — "  this  verse 
to  Caryl,  Muse,  is  due." 


NOTRE   DAME  DE  FOURVIERE,  LTON. 

WHERE  the  Saune  emerges  from  the  maze 
of  hills  which  beset  the  last  part  of  its 
course,  and  enters  the  broad  open  valley  of  the 
Rhone,  the  confluence  of  these  two  noble  streams 
is  overlooked  by  the  heights  of  La  Fourviere, 
which  rise  prominently  among  the  lesser  hills 
near  by. 

This  elevated  position  was  .selected  by  the 
Romans  for  their  fortified  town  of  Lugdunum, 
and  later  on  (in  the  9th  century)  the  early 
Christians  built,  with  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
forum,  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  de  Bon 
Conseil,  and  the  * '  f oro  vetere  "  originated  the 
name  of  Fourviere.  When  the  town,  deserting 
the  summit  of  the  hill,  oocupied  the  lower  slopes 
upon  which  the  thirteenth-century  cathedral 
stands,  Fourviere  bjcame  a  renowned  pilgrim- 
age, and  such  it  is  still,  when  thj  city  of  Lyon 
has  covered  the  strip  of  land  between  the  parallel 
rivers,  and  .spread  a  magnificent  town  far  away 
into  the  plain  beyond  the  Rhone. 

The  number  of  devotees  coming  to  this  cele- 
brated .shrine  having  so  largely  increased  beyond 
the  accommodation  available,  it  was  lately 
determined  to  erect  a  church  of  grand  propor. 
tions  to  replace  the  existing  building,  and  this 
edifice  is  now,  so  far  as  concerns  the  exterior, 
approaching  completion.  The  external  scaffold- 
ing is  all  removed,  except  to  the  west  front,  and 
the  church  towers  above  the  city,  visible  from 
every  part  of  it,  in  nearly  its  final  form. 

It  is,  on  plan,  a  great  parallelogram  with  an 


octagonal  tower  at  each  angle  and  a  circular 
apse  at  east  end,  which,  from  the  steep  slope  of 
the  hUl,  has  the  crypt,  and  also  another  story 
below  it,  visible  above  the  ground  line. 

The  whole  is  designed  upon  a  very  large  scale, 
probably  out  of  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  site ; 
but  it  is  doubtfid  whether  this  characteristic  is 
not  somewhat  exaggerated,  as,  in  the  fewness  of 
parts,  the  actual  size  is  not  realised,  and  the 
hill  itself  appears  diminished  by  the  large- 
featured  edifice. 

The  style  is  altogether  modem.  It  has  some 
resemblance  to  the  Romanesque  and  transition 
periods  in  certain  effects,  but  this  is  only  par- 
tial. The  northern  and  southern  facades,  each 
about  200ft.  long,  are  divided  into  three  bays  by 
two  massive  projections,  piers  rather  than  but- 
tresses, which,  breaking  through  the  heavy  cor- 
belled cornice  and  crenellated  parapet  of  the  wall, 
to  finish  a  few  feet  higher  in  the  same  manner, 
give  a  fortress-like  appearance  to  the  structure. 
The  four  towers  at  angles  rise  one  story  of  open 
arcade,  now  in  course  of  construction,  above  the 
cornice,  and  are  to  have  low  roofs  (which  will 
not  be  seen  above  the  parapet),  and  finials  and 
flagstaff.  The  low  pitched  roof  of  the  church 
itself  will  also  be  entirely  concealed.  In  each 
bay  there  is  a  gigantic  three-light  window  with 
pointed  arch,  and,  in  tj'mpanum,  a  rectilinear 
star- shaped  opening.  The  total  height  of  these 
windows  is  about  40ft.  The  windows  to  crypt 
form  a  continuous  colonnade  above  the  ground 
line  and  below  the  plinth,  with  strangely  novel 
forms  of  decoration.  The  apse  is  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  circle  on  plan,  with  seven  obtusely 
pointed  arches  around,  upon  lofty  shafts,  with 
lancet  openings  between.  One  of  the  effects  of 
these  arches,  circular  on  plan,  is  to  apparently 
augment  the  projection  of  the  upper  works  of 
carved  angles,  corbels,  and  cornices.  The 
pierced  parapet  of  the  external  walls,  which,  at 
a  distance,  has  the  effect  of  battlements,  and 
which,  in  fact,  would  be  very  serviceable  as 
such,  is  in  great  stones  of  foliated  form  weigh- 
ing some  twelve  hundredweight  each.  The 
sketch  of  these  (Fig.  1)  will  give  some  idea  of 
the  large  scale  of  detail  adopted. 


Below  the  principal  story  of  the  apse,  of 
which  the  arcade  before  mentioned  is  about 
50ft.  high,  an  open  arcaded  gallery  contains  a 
double  staircase,  conducting  to  a  portal  below 
the  crypt  level,  the  roof  of  the  gaDery  forming 
a  terrace  which  commands  a  magnificent  view 
of  the  city  below.  (This  lately-completed 
terrace  was  this  year  [September  Sth]  the  scene 
of  the  ancient  annual  ceremony  of  the  dedica  - 
tion  of  the  town  of  Lyon  to  the  Holy  Virgin.) 

The  west  front,  which  is  away  from  the  town, 
is  not  so  far  advanced.  It  is  to  have  a  great 
portal  of  three  arches,  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
front  between  the  towers,  upon  columns  (already 
fixed)  of  polished  grey  granite  with  elaborately 
ornamented  pedestals  of  the  same  material. 
Over  this  is  to  be  a  smaller  continuous  arcade 
with  a  gable  of  the  low  pitch  of  the  roof.  The 
lower  part  of  all  facades,  up  to  the  plinth,  which 
is  at  about  the  principal  floor  level,  is  executed 
in  a  hard  grey  limestone ;  the  remainder  of 
walls  is  in  white  sandstone,  somewhat  softer. 

Internally,  the  crypt  is  clear  of  scaffolding, 
and  complete,  except  for  the  carving,  of  which 
a  great  abundance  is  intended.  The  general 
effect  of  this  part  is  fine,  yet  strange.  The 
church  is  dirided  longitudinally  into  nave  and 
pseudo-aisles  ;  and  transversely,  into  three  bays 
separated  by  short  sections  of  waggon  vault 
upon  pairs  of  columns.  Under  these  the  piers 
and  columns  in  the  crypt  are  grouped  in  a 
manner  which  Figure  2  wUl  best  explain.     The 


coliunns  are  of  Doric  proportions,  diminished 
and  fluted,  with  capitals  and  entablature  of 
Romanesque  character  of  detail,  in  the  one 
which  is  carved  and  completed.  On  the  cornice 
over  each  column  are  little  paired  colonnettes 
carrying  segmental  vaidting  ribs.  This  com- 
bination has,  in  the  multiplication  of  parts  for 
purely  decorative  purposes,  an  effect  which  re- 
minds one  of  the  Hindoo  temples  of  Buddha. 
The  diagonal  ribs,  springing  from  corbels, 
diminish  toward  the  bosses,  which  are  composite 
and  elaborate,  of  large  radiating  design.  Win- 
dows of  an  ordinary  form,  opening  above  the 
ground  level,  give  light  to  this  great  chamber, 
which  is,  to  the  crown  of  vault,  about  30ft. 
high. 


The  church  above  is,  at  present,  filled  with 
the  scaffolding,  a  workmanlike  yet  economical 
structure  of  timber,  with  three  complete  stages 
or  floors,  foi-med  with  an  open  passage  way 
down  the  centre  of  the  full  height,  for  the  work- 
ing of  the  travelling  crane,  and  furnished  with 
various  tramways  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
ponderous  stones  used.  The  roof  is  now  being 
covered  in,  and  it  is  of  so  novel  a  construction 
that  a  detailed  description  may  be  useful. 

It  is  of  wrought  u'on,  in  one  span  from  wall 
to  wall,  independent  of  the  internal  columns. 
The  trussed  lattice  purlins  and  principals  carry 
lighter  rafters,  also  of  iron,  and  upon  these  are 
fixed  the  wrought-iron  laths  for  the  slates.  The 
covering  is  of  sawn  slate  slabs,  one  centimetre 
thick,  and  one  metre  square,  laid  diagonally 
with  a  lap  of  1 2  centimetres  :  and  each  secured 
with  two  small  copper  bolts,  passing  through 
drilled  holes,  the  heads  of  which,  in  a  sinking, 
are  covered  by  the  next  slab.  The  laths  of 
wrought  iron  are  double  bars,  1  5  centimetre 
square,  with  a  space  between,  through  which 
the  bolt  passes  and  is  sectu'ed  with  the  nut 
below  (see  Fig.   3).     No  cement  is  used  to  the 


W  /  LAT  V.    ^ 


joints,  but  the  slabs  being  truly  sawn,  lie  very 
close.  The  drawings  of  the  interior  show 
diminished  columns  of  decorated  forms,  upon 
elaborately  designed  pedestals,  carrying  pointed 
arches,   with  tliree   domical  ribbed  vaults   over 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


S81 


nave,  with  short  sectiocs  of  waggon  vault 
between,  a^i  in  crypt.  The  aisles  are  to  he 
vaulted  with  transverse  waggon  vaults,  with 
open  arcade  work  under  springing  to  lessen  the 
height  of  the  arch.  The  columns  and  pedestals 
are  upon  the  works,  and  about  to  be  fixed  :  the 
former  are  of  grey,  the  latter  of  white  Italian 
marble,  polished,  and  are  in  unnsually  large 
blocks,  and  of  splendid  quality. 

There  is  no  indication  externally  of  this 
loagitudin.ll  divi.sion  of  the  church  into  nave 
and  aisles.  The  west  front,  the  apse,  and  the 
roof  suggest  one  vast  chamber  "within. 

There  is  a  general  prevalence  of  those  free 
curvilinear  forms  and  outlines  in  main  fe.'.tures 
which  dislinaruish  much  of  modem  French  archi- 
tecture, and  which,  upon  such  a  scale,  and  in 
such  a  work  as  this,  lack  the  repose  and  dignity 
of  the  right-lined  shafts  and  compact  detail  of 
the  ancient  Christian  architecture.  The  orna- 
ment is  sometimes  open  to  critici.sra,  also  for  its 
uneonstructional  motive,  and  for  the  want  of 
sympathy  between  various  portions. 

The  general  dimensions  are  about,  length 
(including  apse)  2.5-5ft.,  breadth  120ft.  (to  out- 
side of  towers),  heights,  crypt  30ft.,  church,  to 
tie  of  roof,  SOft.,  a  total  of  about  12-)ft.  from 
floor  of  crypt  to  ridge.  The  tower,  like  east 
end  overlooking  the  town,  has  a  height  of  about 
l-50ft.  The  old  cliurch,  with  its  tower  scarcely 
exceeding  the  height  of  the  new  walls,  is  to 
remain,  connected  by  a  passage  with  the  new 
building. 

This  great  work  has  already  cost  some 
3,000,000fr. ,  and  wiU  require  at  least  another 
million  to  complete  it. 

The  works  were  commenced  in  1S72,  and  are 
being  executed  from  the  designs  and  under  the 
direction  of  II.  Bossont,  architect,  of  Lyon. 

E.  "W.  GiBsox. 


EXHIBITION'  OF   SCOTTISH  PAINTIXG3 
IN  EDIXBrRGH. 

THE  Royal  Scottish  Academy  proposes  to  open, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  present  month,  a 
representative  collection  of  the  works  of  Scottish 
painters.  The  object  kept  in  view  was  to  pro- 
cure a  representation,  not  merely  of  what  might 
be  considend  best  in  Scottish  art,  but  of  all 
phases  of  Scottish  art  of  which  presentable  ex- 
amples were  obtainable.  Moi-t  of  the  portraitists 
whose  work  formed  the  chief  development  of 
early  Scottish  painting  "will  be  found  well  repre- 
sented, and  will  show  that  the  national  art  in 
the  one  depiirtraent  for  which  at  that  time  there 
was  any  demand,  attained  in  the  hands  of 
Jamesone,  Aikman,  and  their  successors  a  quality 
not  unworthy  to  be  compared  with  the  average 
of  contemporary  EngUsh  work.  Jamesone's 
portraits  are  generally  in  so  frail  a  condition  as 
renders  it  dangerous  to  move  them ;  but  the  ex- 
hibitioQ  will  offer,  at  least,  one  good  example  of 
the  Scottish  Vandyck,  in  his  own  likness.  Of 
Allan  Ramsay's  art  there  will  be  found  an  at- 
tractive selection,  including  a  portrait  of  Lady 
Inglis  of  Cramoad,  lent  by  Sir  John  Don  Wau- 
chope.  A  number  of  works  by  Ramsey's  pupil, 
Martin,  may  show  that  the  latter  was  a  more 
capable  artist  than  is  generally  imagined. 
George  Watson,  the  first  President  of  the 
Scottish  Academy,  will  be  represented  by  several 
head.s,  specially  interesting  being  thit  of  his 
mother,  who  was  also  the  grandmother  of 
another  President  of  the  Academv,  Sir  John 
Watson  Gordon.  SU-  David  Wilkie's'  full-length 
of  George  IV.  has  been  obtained  from  Holyrood, 
and  his  portrait  of  the  Earl  of  KcUie  from 
Cupar  ;  while  his  art  will  be  further  illustrated 
by  a  small  p'.cture  of  "  The  Gentle  Shepherd." 
DaWd  Sc(.tt's  "  Queen  Elizabeth  at  the  Globe 
Theatre,"  "Machiavelli  and  the  Beggar,"  the 
**  Vision  of  Life,"  and  other  notable  examples 
will  be  hung.  Thomas  Duncan  will  be  repre- 
sented by  several  works,  including  his  '■  Queen 
Mary  signing  her  Abdication,"  Robert  Lauder 
by  the  "  Effie  Deans,"  as  well  as  by  "Glee 
Maiden."  The  exhibition  will  embrace  John 
Phillip's  powerful  "  La  Gloria,"  and  other 
specimens  of  tliat  able  painter's  style,  and  several 
fine  portraits  by  Raeburn,  not  hitherto  exhi- 
bited, besides  the  admirable  head  of  Bailie 
Galloway,  from  the  Merchant  Company's  col- 
lection. The  collection  will  also  comprise  a 
number  of  heads  by  Geddcs,  while  the  more 
recent  portrait-painters  —  Sir  John  Watson 
Gordon,  Mr.  Graham  Gilbert,  and  Mr.  Colvin 
Smith  —  will  be  represented.  Among  the 
landscapists,  Alexander  Nasmyth  will  appear  to 


advantage,  and  so  will  other  members  of  the  |  tropolis.  A  deputation  from  that  body  waited 
Nasmyth  family.  As  much  may  be  said  of  the  |  upon  Mr.  Sdatir-Booth  in  January,  ISTO, 
Rev.  Mr.  Thomson,  of  Duddingston ;  and  i  when  Dr.  IiOitcr.s  made  a  telling  speech  in 
Horatio  Macculloch  is  to  be  represented  by  |  favour  of  the  oxlensi.m  of  mortuaries,  winding 
"  Loch  Aneilan,"  and  "Kikhurn."  The  art  of  j  up  by  formulating  the  points  that  bhould  bo 
the  late  Sam.  Bough  will  be  favourably  displiiyed    attended   to  with    reforeii 


in  three  of  his  best  oil  pictures,  together  with  a 
number  of  water-colours.  The  specimens  secured 
of  G.  P.  Chalmer's  work  will  not  discredit  liis 
reputation.  The  hanging  ol  the  exhibition  is 
now  in  progress,  and  it  is  intended  that  the 
galleries  shall  be  opened  to  the  public  on  Wed- 
nesday next.     Mr.   Fettes  Douglas,  F.S.A.,  i; 


tlic     question. 


These  were:  "1.  Tliat  it  i-hijuld  !»■  made  com- 
pulaon,-  on  every  local  b-jard  tu  i»tablish  a 
suitable  mortuary  on  a  o.inimun  plan,  to  bo 
approve  d  of  by  the  Local  Guvemnuiit  ituard  or 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Work-.  2.  Tlmt 
the.-^e  inortunricK  should  be  in  the  proportion  of 
not  less  than  one  to  ever)'  60,000  iuh.ibitautn.  3. 
engaged  in  preparing  a  catalogue,  which  will  j  That  powers  should  be  provided  for  the  com- 
enibrace  brief  biographical  notices  of  the  princi-  pulsory  purchase  of  property  under  tlie  pro 
pal  painters  represented.  visions    of    the   Lands    Clauses   Ai  t,    and   for 

enabling    parishes    or      portions    of     pariithoo 

*     "     *  ~  I  favourably  situated  for   sueli   purposes  to  com- 

„„,,^^  .^,„   ,,  .  ^-.rr,  „  e<-rT^r^-r~-,r  ^T<  ,~. T  .  CO  '  ^""> '°  ^o""  mortuar^•  districts  ;  su.  h  mortuaries 
RENDLE'S  "ACMEI^^YSTEM  OF  GLASS  ,  ^  be  maintained  at  their  joint  exp.n«e.  and  for 

their  common  use.     4.  Th  it  the  midical   oflioer 
Poor   Law   medicul  ofliccn>.  or 


ROOFING. 

MR.  W.  E.  RENDLE,  weU  known  as  the  |  of  health,  or  tl 
introducer   of  the   improved    system    of  j  the  relieving  officer,    shoald  bo  empowered  and 
glazing  without  putty,  has  recently  patented  an  ,  directed  to  order  tlie  removal  of  a  corpse  to  the 
fmprovement    in    connection    therewith   which    ^'"t''^*-,  mortuary   in    all    cases   where   it   wo« 


secures  several  very  important  advantages.  The 
nature  of  the  improvement  will  be  readily  under- 
stood from  the  sketch  appended.     C  is  the  new 


patent  "acme"  horizontal  bar;  E  the  new 
patent  "acme "  vertical  bar  ;  G  is  the  glass  ;  J 
the  wood  purlin,  showing  the  method  of  fixing 
bar;  and  IC  a  channel  iron  purlin  dispensing 
with  wood.  The  advantages  are:  1st,  The  lap 
is  greater,  on  account  of  the  clip  securing  the 
glass  being  narrower ;  2nd,  There  being  no  clips 
the  rain  runs  away  freely  ;  3rd,  The  channels  of 
the  vertical  bars  are  square,  thus  filling  the  slot 
in  the  horizontal  bar,  and  giving  greater  strength 
tj  the  glass;  4th,  The  purliLS  are  narrower; 
•5th,  The  "acme"  bars  can  be  used  without 
wood  (see  Fig.  K))  a  great  consideration,  espe- 
cially in  troijical  climates,  where  wood-destroy- 
ing insects  abound.  The  new  system  has  already 
been  used  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital, 
Messrs.  Howell  and  Jame^',  in  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard,  and  elsewhere,  with  satisfactoiy 
results. 


found  that  the  fumily,  at  the  time  uf  such  death, 
occupied  only  one  room,  and  in  such  other  in- 
stances where  it  appeared  desirable  to  these  offi- 
cials to  direct  the  same.' 

Not  much  of  promise  was  cxtracte>d  from  Mr. 
Sclater-  Dooth  ;  but  he  undertook  to  confer  on 
the  subject  with  Mr.  Cross,  who  as  Morao  Se- 
cretary had  more  control  over  the  vestries  than 
the  Local  Government  Board  had.  In  the  iU- 
fated  Public  Health  (Metropolis)  Bill  of  1877, 
which  Mr.  Sclatcr-Booth  introdu^-ed  with  the 
view  of  making  the  public  health  law  uniform 
for  the  metropolis  and  country,  clauses  were 
inserted  re-enacting  the  clauses  in  the  Sanitary 
Act,  18CG,  bearing  on  the  question,  but  making 
the  provision  of  a  mortuary  compulsory,  if  the 
Local  Government  Board  so  directed.  The  fate 
of  this  Bill  is,  however,  well  known  ;  and  we  are 
now  in  the  Metropolis  almost  as  badly  otf  a.-  ever, 
certainly  as  badly  off  for  any  reasonable  system 
of  the  disposal  of  the  dead,  pending  interment. 
Might  it  not  be  expedient  and  useful  fi.r  the 
Institute  to  take  up  the  question  where  it  was 
left  in  1S7G,  and  endeavour  to  induce  the  new 
Government  to  make  a  move  with  regird  to 
this  important  branch  of  public  health 
machinery  r 

Proceeding  to  offer  suggestions  for  the  estab- 
lishment and  management  of  mortuaries,  the  au- 
thor wen  t  on  to  say :  The  word  mortuary  doo>  not  ap- 
pear in  theindextoany  book  on  hygiene  with  which 
I  am  famiUar.  I  have  therefore  had  to  rely  very 
muchuponthefacts  which  I  have  been  able  to  pick 
up  in  the  course  of  my  reading,  and  up>n  ray 
practical  experience  of  the  requirements  of  such 
erections.  . 

Mortuaries    have    been      provided    m     this 
count rv  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.      "There  are, 
fir.-t  of  all,  the  .separate   erections,    with   p  -•• 
mortem  room  aud  coroner's  court,  .>mch      - 
mortuaries  in  the  City  of  London,  at   I.-'ui    ■ 
Clerkenwell,  and  in  some  of  our  !   r  -. 
There  are  the   mort\iaries  provi " 
th 


MORTUARIES    FOR    TOWNS   AND 

VILLAGES.* 

(^Coiithiuerl  fioiii  p.  3GS.} 

SEEING  the  unsatisfactory  state  of  the  law,  .         „„,,,i,>n  »r,th 

Dr.  Joseph  Rogers,  whose  services  in  con-    authont.es  in   «'^°°«''7  *'"' 
nection  with  sanitary  work  are  well  kno^-n,  and    pitaU  that  they  h»ve  '*>abl'^' .^ 
who,  some  twenty-four    years   before,  had  the    mortuanes  provided  at  cemctenes.r^n. 
principal      share'    in     the     establishment     of  '  b»"''l:?™»''<l;:    '^"^ '''y,'^  "^.,,'7  "^^ 
the    mortuary    at    St.    Anne's,     Soho,    ^^hich  |  if  such    hey  can  aUaj.  !■.    -.I.    I.  I^ 
was    for   several   yenrs   the    only   one    in    the    ^n'^ral  hospi  a  s  for  the 
metropolis,   moved,   in    the    year    187.5,    «'  'he    >"   he  instit   tion   but  r,  r 
Strand  Eoird  of  Works,  that,'    "With  the  view    outs.de  pubhc.     Of  the  1 
of  the  more    effeetuallv    and    economically   se-    speak.     Jhe^  are  not  ] 
curinsthe   establishment   of  mortuaries   in   the    real  sense  of  the  word 
different  parishes  of  the   metropolis,   this  Board    "'shed  for  the  con^c.  .. 
do     memorialise      the    MetropoUtan    Board   of    authorities,  and  f.. 
Works,  urging  that  Board  to  apply  for  poxers  |  "e  intenae'd    in 
in  the  next  Session   of    Parliament,  authori-ing    keeping  the  torj 
that  body  to   undertake  their   erection   in   such 
parts  of   the  metropolis  as    may    be  considered 
necessary."     The  Metropolitan  Board  declined, 
however,  to  take  up  the  subject,  on  the  grounds 
that  the  mortuary  question  is   beset   with  diffi- 
culties in  London,  and  is  one  which  should  be 
dealt  with  by  the  Local  Boards,  and  not  by  the 
Metropolitan    Board.       The   Strand    Board   of 
Works  interviewed  the  then    president   of  the 
Local   Government  Board,  for    the  purpose  of 
securing  the  aid  of  his  department   in  cstabli.sh- 
ing  mortuaries 


time  comes  for  bur 
be  said  tliat  no  m  ■ 
sense  of  the  wop! 

Ofmorlu.' 
from  the  ■ 
£12,000,  1 ;. 
in  Golden-; 
with  twel 
offices,  c  • 
room,    cjii- - 


us  department   in  csiaun.-^n-    P°'  ''''°^'J''i'^J''',' 

different    parts  of   the   m^-    -'-;„  ^f  d!wn  . 

•  TheXecessitvand  Importance  of  Mortuaries  forTown-s  |  pe.-t-hou.se,  which  hi-.  ■■■■ 
and^W  J^fih  soi,"^Sug?csUons  for  their  £^Ubl»h-  1  li.^  for  the  purpo^.  anu  : 
ment  and  Management.      A  paper  reiid  by  llF.sii\  •-•  I  destitute  of  all  fumitur.  . 
BuEDKTT,  Member  of  Council,  at  the  Sanitarj-  Congre-ss,  |  .  ^^^    y^   j.j    be  found  at  I 
E.-ccter,  on  Wednesday,  Sept.  22.  ,  nouses   ls 


382 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


stands  in  thfi  churchyard,  to  the  disgrace  of  tha 
local  health  authority. 

I  proceed  then  at  once  to  sketch  out  certain 
features  of  a  mortuary,  as  regards  its  establish- 
ment, situation,  and  regulation. 

And  first,  as  to  its  establishment,  I  have  al- 
ready mentioned  in  a  former  section  that,  under 
the  Public  Health  Act  of  1875,  any  local  au- 
thority may,  and,  if  required  by  the  Local 
Government  Board,  shall,  provide  a  mortuary, 
and  may  make  by-laws  with  respect  to  the 
management  and  charges  for  its  use.  They  may 
provide  for  the  decent  and  economical  interment 
of  any  dead  body  received  into  a  mortuary.  To 
this  mortuary  a  justice  may,  in  certain  cases, 
ordfT  the  removal  of  a  deadb:dy.  The  local 
authority  may  also  provide  a  place  for  post- 
mortem examinations  {''otherwise  than  at  a 
■workhouse  or  a  mortuary").  Thus,  it  is  to 
local  sanitary  authorities  that  we  must  mainly 
look  for  the  establishment  of  these  temporary 
resting-places  for  the  dead. 

When  the  local  authority  is  unwilling  to 
perform  this  necessary  duty,  or  has  ditficulty  in 
procaring  a  suitable  site,  another  method  might 
be  devised  for  securing  the  establishment  of  a 
mortuary.  Most  hospitals  make  some  sort  of  a 
provision  for  deaths  occurring  within  their 
walls ;  and  if  sanit  iry  authorities  felt  disposed 
to  help,  hospital  managers  would  often  be  found 
willing  to  erect  a  somewhat  more  pretentious 
mortuary  than  they  would  otherwise  have  done, 
and  to  throw  it  open,  under  certain  regulations, 
to  the  general  public.  The  rapid  extension  of 
cottage  hospitals  leads  one  to  hope  that  this 
method  of  securing  mortuaries  would  satisfy  the 
demands  of  a  large  and  increasing  number  of 
places.  It  is  a  common  practice  for  local  au- 
thorities to  subscribe  to  ho*pit;ils — especially  te 
infectious  hospitals — provided  by  private  enter- 
prise :  and  I  am  not  aware  of  any  legal  objection 
to  the  same  power  of  subscription  being  exercised 
in  tlie  case  of  mortuaries. 

Another  method  in  which  mortuaries — espe- 
cially on  the  Continent — are  provided,  is  to  erect 
them  in  cemeteries.  There  is  much  to  recommend 
this  plan,  both  on  the  score  of  economy,  and  of 
regard  for  the  public  health.  Such  mortuaries 
are,  of  course,  provided  by  burial  boards,  who 
need  not  be,  and,  as  a  rule,  are  not,  the  sanitary 
authority  of  the  place.  Whilst,  however,  section 
142  of  the  Public  Health  Act  grants  the  power 
of  the  compulsory  remos-al  of  dead  bodies  to  a 
mortuary  provided  by  a  sanitary  authority,  it 
does  not  do  the  same  in  the  case  of  a  mortuary 
provided  by  a  burial  board. 

It  may  be  worth  consideration  whether,  in  the 
est.ablishment  of  all  new  cemeteries,  provision 
should  not  be  made  in  the  plans  fcr  a  building, 
of  a  nature  of  a  mortuary,  to  receive  dead  bodies 
preceding  interment. 

We  have  next  to  consider  the  question  of 
sUnuiiiii.  On  this  much  needs  to  be  said. 
Whenever  possible,  the  mortuary  fhould,  of 
co^^r^c,  be  separated  by  a  belt  of  air  from  all 
dwelling-houses  ;  but  no  injury  has  been  found 
to  follow  the  use  of  those  in  very  crowded 
neighbourhoods,  even  when  they  abut  on  the 
ftroet.  The  mortuary  in  Drury-lane,  the  walls 
of  which  are  brought  up  ilu>h  wiih  the  pave- 
ment, is  an  instance  of  this.  The  Drury-lane 
mortuary,  like  a  great  many  others  in  the 
metropolis,  has  been  bviilt  on  an  old  disused 
baxial-ground :  and,  ccrtaiuly,  these  spaces, 
occurring  as  they  do  in  the  most  crowded  parts 
of  the  town,  afford  a  very  convenient  site  for 
mortuaries,  a  site,  too,  which  the  ordinirry  pre- 
judices of  peoi)le  against  the  establishment  of 
receptacles  for  the  dead  in  their  midst  can  hardly 
re.ich. 

Wherever  possible,  a  mortuary  should  be 
screened  from  the  road  by  trees  or  shrubs,  and 
should  be  approached  by  a  winding  path  also 
1  lanted  with  shrubs. 

The  internal  arrangements  and  fittings  are 
moot  important.  There  should  be  ample  means 
of  vtntilation  provided  for  every  part  of  the 
building  ;  and  the  mortuary,  though  not  made 
Joo  bright  by  window  space,  should  not  be 
gloomy  or  depressing  in  appearance. 

Though,  of  course,  a  mortuary  proper  would 
consist  merely  of  a  dead-house,  it  is  very  desira- 
ble, and  indeed  essential,  that  connected  with  it 
should  be  a  room  inr  post-mortem  examinations, 
and  another  for  the  holding  of  coroners'  inquests. 
For  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  certain,  and 
in  some  cases  not  inconsiderable,  portion  of  the 
bodies  brought  into  a  mortuary  will  be  for 
identification  andlegal  inquiry,  asof  personsfouud 


drowned,  or  dead  in  the  streets,  murders, 
suspected  suicides,  unknown  strangers  at  hotels, 
&c. ,  and  suitable  provision  must,  therefore,  be 
made  not  only  for  a  skilled  medical  examination 
of  the  body  to  discover  the  cause  of  death,  but 
also  for  the  coroner  and  jui-y  to  hold  inquests  on 
the  bodies. 

The  size  of  the  mortuary-room  proper  must, 
of  course,  be  large,  and  will  depend  upon  the 
population  of  the  district  for  which  it  is  to 
serve.  Space  for  some  twelve  bodies  has  been 
held  by  Dr.  Hardwicke,  the  able  and  energetic 
coroner  for  Central  Middlesex,  to  be  quite  suffi- 
cient for  a  large  town.  The  bodies  may  be 
placed  in  shells  or  coffins  resting  either  upon 
tables  covered  with  zinc  or  other  impermeable 
material,  or  upon  trestles,  or  upon  movable  iron 
brackets  fixed  round  the  walls.  At  some  of  the 
London  hospitals  catacombs  the  size  of  the  coifin, 
and  made  of  slate  or  brickwork,  are  used  :  and 
for  certain  purposes  these  may  be  found 
useful.*  Since  some  of  the  bodies  are  certain  to 
be  brought  in  an  advanced  state  of  decompo- 
sition, a  stock  of  charcoal  and  disinfectants 
should  be  kept.  Cloths  for  covering  the  dead, 
which  should  be  frequently  saturated  with  dis- 
infectants, should  be  provided. 

The  post-mortem  room  may  adjoin,  but  should 
be  quite  distinct  from,  the  mortuary.  This 
separation  Ls  needful  in  order  to  comply  with  the 
terms  of  Section  143  of  the  Public  Health  Act, 
which,  whilst  giving  powers  for  the  erection  of 
post- mortem  roo-uis,  distinctly  requires  that  they 
must  bo  provided  "other  than  at  a  workhouse 
or  a  mortuary."  It  is  only  necessary,  however, 
to  take  care  that  t'-e  post-mortem  room  is  dis- 
tinct from  the  mortuary  {i.e.,  that  it  is  walled 
off  from  it,  has  a  separate  entrance,  and  is  cut 
off  from  it  in  other  ways),  to  comply  with  the 
Act  of  Parliament.  As  to  the  fittings  of  the 
post-mortem  room.  Dr.  Hardwicke  recommends 
that  the  post-mortem  room  should  be  used  only 
for  the  uncofRned  or  unclaimed  bodies  awaiting 
identification,  and  ought  to  be  kept  cool  in  sum- 
mer by  a  supply  of  cold  water;  the  corpse  having 
sometimes  to  be  preserved  as  long  a  time  as 
possible  from  decomposition.  This  room  should 
be  furnished  with  special  appliances  necessary 
for  post-moi'tem  examinations  ;  a  marble  or  slate 
slab,  with  sides  sloping  towards  the  centre,  con- 
verging into  a  drain  below,  .so  that  fluids  may 
not  run  over  the  edges  ;  a  .'•ink  with  a  plentiful 
supply  of  cold  vi-ater;  an  iron  bowl;  a  coarse 
sponge  ;  a  jack  towel,  a  wooden  yard  measure ; 
and,  for  the  weighing  ot  organs  and  structures, 
a  set  of  weights  and  scales  ;  a  .slated  footboard 
around  the  slate  table,  on  which  medical  men 
making  post-mortem  cxaiidnations  may  stand 
free  from  the  damp  or  co'd  floor.  Gas  should 
be  laid  on,  so  as  to  procure  warm  water,  or  as  it 
may  be  found  necessary  to  make  the  examination 
at  night,  or  when  the  darkness  of  winter  days 
m^j'  obscure  the  view  of  the  subject. 

Speaking  of  the  regulation  of  mortuaries,  the 
subjoined  rules  in  fores  at  the  mortuary  provided 
by  the  Islington  Vestry  in  the  Chapel  of  Ease 
grounds,  HoUoway-road,  were  quoted: — "The 
dead  body  shall  be  iuciosed  in  a  proper  shell  or 
coflin,  such  being  the  shell  or  coflin  in  which  the 
body  is  to  be  buried,  and  shall  be  conveyed  to 
the  mortuary  chamber,  and  also  removed  there- 
from in  a  hearse,  or  otherwise  in  a  decent  and 
proper  manner,  and  the  undertaker  or  friend 
shall  remove  the  dead  body  for  interment  within 
an  ordinary  specified  time.  In  case  the  under- 
taker or  friend  fail  to  remove  the  dead  body 
within  the  time  specified,  notice  shall  be  given  to 
the  relieving  ofiicer  of  the  parish  to  bury  such 
body  at  the  expense  of  the  poor-rate,  such  ex- 
pense being  subsequently  recoverable  from  the 
parties  legally  responsible.  A  body  having  been 
brought  or  sent  by  any  person  whatsoever  to  the 
mortuary  in  a  shell  or  coflin,  such  shell  or  coffin 
shall,  under  no  circumstances,  be  removed  other 
than  for  the  burial  of  the  body  contained  therein, 
unless  such  shell  or  coffiu  with  the  lid  be  properly 
lined  with  tinned  copper.  Should  any  shell  or 
coffin  sent  with  a  body  i)rove  to  be  in  a  defective 
condition,  a  thoroughly  sound  and  larger  shell 
must  upon  notice  be  supplied,  in  which  the 
defective  shell  can  be  inclosed,  or  in  default  the 
sanitary  superintendent  shall  order  a  proper 
shell  to   be   provided,  and  the  expense  will   be 


•  In  certain  cities  of  the  Continent  there  are  mortuar-y 
chambers  in  the  form  of  separate  cells  completely 
isolated,  in  which  it  is  contemplated  that  families  can 
mourn  and  watch  their  dead  until  the  time  comes  for 
inttrnient. 


recovered  from  the  party  sending  such  defective 
coffin." 

As  to  the  reception  of  cases,  Mr.  Burdett  says 
there  is  a  useful  rule  at  the  mortuary  at  Dean- 
street,  Soho,  empowering  the  attendant  to 
receive  a  body  without  an  order  (otherwise  neces- 
sary from  a  member  of  the  Burial  Board),  if  it 
be  accompanied  by  a  policeman  or  known  in- 
habitant. At  the  mortuary  in  Drury-lane  there 
is  a  rule  forbidding  the  admission  of  any  public 
procession  or  large  assemblage  of  persons  into 
the  grounds  on  the  occasion  of  the  admission  or 
removal  of  the  body.  Only  the  immediate  rela- 
tives, the  undertakers,  and  bearei-s  are  allowed 
on  the  prerrises  A  commendable  rule,  which 
deserves  imitation. 

Practically  it  would  be  found  best  to  impose  no 
limitation  on  the  hours  of  reception  when  the 
bodies  are  to  be  received,  psit  may  often  happen, 
especially  during  epidemic  periods,  that  it  is 
essential  that  the  body  of  a  person  dead  of  infec- 
tious disease  should  be  removed  instantly. 

Xo  charge  should  be  levied  on  the  relatives  of 
the  persons  whose  bodies  are  deposited  in  the 
mortuary,  as  it  is  very  important  to  encourage 
its  use  as  much  as  possible. 

Lastly,  comes  the  tjuestion  whether  or  not  it  is 
necessary  in  providing  mortuaries  to  have  a 
separate  chamber  for  infectious  cases.  This 
separation  will  not  usually  be  found  necessary, 
thoitgh  there  is  an  additional  precaution  when  it 
is  done.  All  infectious  corpses  ought  certainly 
to  dealt  with  as  at  Hackney,  and  should  be 
screwed  down  as  soon  as  possible,  a  piece  of 
glass  being  let  into  the  lid  of  the  coffin  in  cases 
where  it  may  bo  considered  expedient  or  be 
desired  by  the  relatives.  The  public  ought  to 
have  easy  access  to  the  mortuaries,  and  every 
reasonable  facility  should  be  ofiered  them  f oi  so 
doing. 

THE  TEMPLE-BAR  MEMORIAL. 

WE  print  below  a  correspondence  which  ha* 
taken  place  between  Mr.  G.  E.  Street 
and  the  Chairman  of  the  City  Lands  Committee, 
respecting  the  alleged  approval  by  the  architect 
of  the  new  Law  Courts  of  the  design  aeloptedfor 
the  useless  and  imhaiidsome  memorial,  oi- 
refuge,  which  is  in  futm'c  to  block  the  thorough- 
fare in  the  Strand.  If  anything  of  the  nature 
of  a  "refuge"  had  been  wanted,  the  proper 
place,  as  Mr.  Street  persists,  was  a  hundruel 
feet  further  westward,  where  the  thorough- 
fare is  wider,  and  where  passengers  entering  the 
principal  entrance  of  the  Law  Courts  would  be 
likedy  to  use  it.  Everybody  knows  very  well 
that  it  will  be  useless,  in  the  way,  and  inarti-^tic. 
Its  ultimate  fate— if  it  is  not  blown  up  bel'oi-:; 
by  a  conspiracy  of  enraged  omnibus-drivti.-. 
will  be  that  of  a  similar  piece  of  folly — the 
Welliugton  Clock  Tower,  which,  uft«r  a  use'.e.-B- 
existence  of  some  years'  duration  at  tha  southti-u 
end  of  London -bridge,  was  at  last  removed 
piecemeal. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  of  Common  Council 
on  Thursday  week,  Mr.  Bedford,  the  Chairmai> 
of  the  City  Lands  Committee,  in  reply  to  some 
inquiries,  made  a  statement  v.-ith  regard  to  thc- 
memorial.  Thegreatest  care,  so  he  asserted,  had 
been  taken  to  consult  the  public  interest  in  the 
matter,  the  subject  having  been  submitted  to  n 
conference  of  all  the  bodies  concerned.  At  tbi* 
conference  the  Government  were  represented  by 
Mr.  Street,  the  architect  of  the  new  Law  Courts, 
as  well  as  the  Messrs.  Child  and  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Sewers,  and  it  had  been  unanimously 
agreed  that  the  memorial  should  be  erected.  It 
would  be  useful  as  a  refuge  to  foot-passengers, 
and,  he  believed,  v.-ould  in  no  way  interfere  v.ith 
the  traffic.  There  would  be  room  for  two  car- 
riages on  each  side  of  the  memorial,  whereas 
under  Temple  Bar  there  was  only  room  for  two 
altogether.  The  memorial,  besides  being  hand- 
some, and  a  really  beautiful  work  of  iirt,  woukl 
mark  the  boundary  of  the  city.  The  following 
correspondence  has  since  appeared  in  the 
2'imes  : — 

Sir,— Mr.  Bedf  oi-d's  statements  on  this  subject  require 
correction  at  my  hand.  At  the  meeting  to  which  be  i  efers 
—held  some  three  or  four  year's  ago— the  memorial  now 
in  course  of  erection  was  not  so  much  as  suggested.  At 
that  time  we  were  told  that  some  ornamental  lamp-posts 
would  suffice,  and,  to  such  a  proposal.  I,  of  course,  had 
no  objection  lo  ofier.  It  is  very  surprising,  therefore,  to 
be  told  bv  Mr.  Bedford  that  the  memorial  now  being 
erected  was  "  agreed  with  complete  unanimity  to  be  the 
very  best  in  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,"  and  that  I 
was  of  that  opinion. 

Not  less  surpiising  are  Mr.  Bedford's  statements  about 
the  space  for  carriage  traffic.  Xo  provision  was  ever 
made  for  the  five  lines  of  traUic  of  which  he  speaks.  But 


Oct.  1,  1880." 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


383 


proTision  vru£  made  out  of  the  land  pnrchased  for  the 
Coarts  of  Justice  for  an  addition  of  six  feet  to  the  road- 
way in  the  Strand  ;which  gave  space  for  four  lines  of 
vehicles  ,  and  of  live  feet  t^  the  foot  pavement,  the  latter 
bein^  intended  to  be  15  feet  in  width— not  an  inch  too 
much  for  a  pavement  which  has  to  accommodate,  not 
only  the  crowd  ordinarily  passing  along  the  Sti-and,  but 
also  the  people  having  business  in.  and  the  inevitable 
loungers  in  front  of,  the  Courts  of  Justice  when  the 
Courts  are  sitting.  The  simple  fact  is,  I  regret  to  say, 
that  the  whole  of  the  space  for  the  proposed  memorial— 
five  feet — has  been  taken  out  of  the  foot  pavement  on  the 
north  side,  which  will  now  be  reduced  to  ten  feet  in 
width,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  appearance  of  the  new 
Courts  of  Justice,  and  to  the  areat  inconvenience  of  the 
public.  The  right  place  for  a  ref  oge  is  undoubtedly  about 
lOOft.  to  the  west  of  the  memorial.  The  roadway  at  %his 
point  being  wider,  would  admit  of  a  larger  i-efuge,  and  it 
would  much  better  serve  'he  convenience  of  passengers  to 
the  most  important  entrance  of  the  new  courts. 

I  have  never  had  any  chance  of  seeing  the  design  for 
the  proposed  memorial.  I  am  glad,  however,  to  bel 
that  it  will  be,  as  Mr.  Bedford  says,  a  beautiful  work  of 
art :  and  I  only  wish  that  it  could  be  erected  with  as 
much  regard  to  convenience  as  to  beauty  and  sentiment. 
—I  remain.  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Geobge  Edstund  Street, 

14,  Cavendish-place,  W.^  Sept.  24. 

Sib,— I  have  read  Mr.  Street's  letter  in  The  Timfs  of 
to-day  relative  to  the  memorial  in  course  of  erection  on 
the  site  of  Temple  Bar,  and,  as  one  of  those  present  at 
the  meering  in  the  MiddTe  Temple  referred  to,  I  wish  to 
■confirm  jifr  Street's  statement  that  the  merits  or  demerits 
of  such  a  building  as  is  now  being  erected  were  not  in 
.any  way  discussed  on  that  or  any  other  occasion  that  I  am 


iof. 
Had  such  a  proposal  been  suggested  there  would  most 
<Krtainly  not  have  been  that  unanimity  boasted  of  by  Mr. 
Bedford,  as,  unless  my  memory  very  much  deceives  me, 
the  majority  of  those  present  appeared  to  think  that  a 
post  and  chain  which  could  be  put  up  and  taken  down  at 
pleasure  on  occasions  when  such  obstnictions  were  re- 
<3uired  at  City  ceremonials,  would  answer  the  purpose  of 
sufficiently  marking  the  City  boundary  at  this  spot.  In 
fact,  the  whole  affair  connected  with  this  memorial  has 
been  a  hole-and-eoraer  business  between  certain  City 
officials,  and  this  has  been  the  first  opportunity  the  public 
has  had  of  expressing  any  opinion  on  the  subject.  Why 
has  no  one  been  permitted  to  view  this  **  wonderful  work 
of  art"  !  "Wlien  once  erected,  like  the  "Wellington  horse 
astride  Burton's  arch,  the  public  will  be  told  it  is  too  late 
to  express  an  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  that  it  must  now 
remain  where  built  at  such  a  fabulous  cost,  to  be  the  laugh- 
ing-stock ot  ages  to  come. 

It  is  simply  di^TacefuI,  after  having  rid  ourselves  of 
the  old  Bar,  and  after  the  sacrifice  of  valuable  space 
gratuitously  made  by  Messrs.  Child  and  Co.  for  the  benetit 
of  the  public,  that  the  r-iadway  gained  shoidd  be  appro- 
priated for  the  glorification  of  certain  City  officials,  and 
occupied  by  another  ob'^troction— namely,  the  memorial 
in  course  of  erection. — Your  obedient  servant, 

September  25.  C  F. 

Sir,— Mr.  Street  his  evidently  not  a  r3tentive  memory, 
or  iie  could  not  pos-?ib'y  have  made  the  statements  con- 
t^ned  in  his  letter  of  Saturday.  He  states  that  at  the 
meering  alluded  to  '*  the  memorial  now  iu  course  of 
tion  was  not  so  much  as  suggested,"  and  t^at  he  was  told 
"  that  some  ornamental  lamp-  posts  would  suffice." 

Anything  more  astounding  I  have  scarcely  ever  read 
memorial  such  as  that  now  being  erected  was  not  only 
suggested  and  approved,  but  even  some  of  its  details  d* 
cussed.  To  prove  this  was  the  case,  I  have  now  before  me 
a  letter,  dat^d  March  23,  1877,  from  Mr.  Pownall,  Messrs 
Child's  surveyor,  in  which,  alluding  to  what  took  place  at 
the  meeting  held  at  the  Temple  on  the  "ith,  be  says : 
"The  undei^tanding  is  that  a  rest  will  be  formed  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  for  the  erection  of  a  pier  or  column  of 
an  ornamental  chnracter  as  a  memorial  of  its  being  the 
site  on  which  the  Bar  stood."  Not  only  so,  but  I  remem- 
ber very  distinctly  that  I  myself  expressed  a  hope  that  its 
architectural  details  would  be  in  eutire  harmony  with  the 
^jacent  Law  Courts.  I  even  suggested  that  tlie  finished 
design  should  be  submitted  to  Mr.  Street  for  his  appr'.val 
as  regarded  details,  but  this  was  overridden  on  a  question 
of  professional  etiquett-'.  One  suggestion  was  that  it 
should  be  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  Queen  Eleanor 
cross,  but  eventually  the  design  was  left  to  the  City 
architect. 

I  do  not  very  clearly  follow  Mr,  Strfet's  statement  about 
the  foot  pavement ;  but  even  supposing  it  to  be,  as  it  pos- 
sibly is,  quite  correct,  I  think  all  will  agree  with  me  that 
a  refuge  of  oft.  in  width  in  the  middle  ol  the  roadway  will 
be  more  protective  of  life  and  limb  than  an  addition  of 
5ffc.  to  the  footpath  opposite  the  Law  Courts.  As  the 
memorial  will  be  finished  in  a  very  few  weeks,  it  is,  of 
course,  needless  to  express  any  further  opinion  as  to  its 
probable  results,  but  I  do  know  that  the  intention  was,  and 
the  hope  of  the  Corporation  is,  to  use  Mr.  Street' .s  words, 
"  that  it  should  be  ei-ected  with  as  much  regard  to  con- 
venience as  tobeautv  and  sentiment." 

*'C.  F."  does  not  give  his  n^ime,  but  a  Mr.  Fane  at- 
tended the  meeting  at  the  Temple,  representing  with  Mr. 
Pownall,  Messrs.  Child.  If  '*  C.  F."  be  that  gentleman, 
perhaps  the  above  extfict  from  their  surveyor's  letter  will 
convince  him  that,  as  he  seems  to  fear,  "  his  memory  has 
very  much  deceived  him." — I  am,  &c., 

Guildhall,  Sept.  27.  Jonx  T.  Bedfokd. 

Sir, — Mr.  Bedford  says  I  have  not  a  retentive  memory. 
He  gives  tis  the  dite  of  the  meeting  which  I  attended 
the  Middle  Temple,  and  1  have  been  able  now  to  refresh 
my  memoiy  by  an  enti*y  in  my  diary  made  the  same  day. 
It  is  as  follows  ;  — '*  Then  to  meeting  at  Treasury  of  ilid- 
dle  Temple  to  meet  City  authorities  about  Temple  Bar. 
They  are  prepared  to  move  the  Bar,  and  only  put  a  post 
to  mark  their  boundary."  My  memoiy  is  not,  therefore, 
at  fault,  and  I  recollect  that  the  chief  spokesman  on  be- 
half of  the  City  was  Mr.  Rudltin,  and  that  he  spoke  of  a 
highly  ornamental  lamp-post  or  posts. 

On  •■  he  other  more  important  point  Mr.  Bedford  admits 
that  I  am  right,  and  that  he  was  wrong  in  his  statemeut 
naade  to  the  Common  Council.  If  he  does  not  follow  me 
exactly  it  mu:*t  be  because  he  has  only  learnt  a  few  of 
the  facts  from  others.  He  will  find  on  further  inquiry 
that  the  pavement  on  the  north  side  of  the  Strand  for  a 


length  of  170ft.  will  have  to  be  reduced  from  15ft.  to  10ft. 
in  width,  in  order  to  allow  of  two  vehicles  passiug 
abreast  eastward  from  the  Strand  to  Fleet-street,  and 
that  this  reduction  in  width  is  solely  caused  by  the  desire 
to  erect  the  memorial  on  the  exact  site  of  the  Bar,  in- 
stead of  on  the  most  convenient  spot.  In  one  of  Sir. 
Bedford's  letters  I  see  that  he  regards  the  memorial  as 
an  erection  which  will  be  a  "  joy  for  ever."  If  so,  it 
will  surely  require  some  protection  from  the  rude  attacks 
of  heavy  waggons,  and,  in  addition  to  the  5ft.  which  the 
memorial  is  to  measure,  there  must  be  another  deduction 
from  the  carriage-way  for  posts  of  some  sort  outside  its 
base.  Mr.  Bedford  evidently  mixes  what  was  riroposed 
at  the  meeting  of  March  17  and  what  was  afterwards 
elsewhere  talked  of  and  su?sested,  and  of  whichlhave 
no  knowledge.  The  letter  of  ''  C.  F."  in  the  Times  entirely 
supports  my  positive  contradiction  of  Mr.  Bedford's 
statement,  that  anything  like  the  memorial  now  in  course 
of  erection  was  suggested  and  agreed  to  with  complete 
unanimity  by  us.  The  meering  was  attended  by  a  num- 
ber of  professional  men.  Xo  plan  or  design  of  any  sort 
was  produced,  and  we  had  to  trust  to  ilr.  Rudkin's 
words  for  cur  ideas  of  the  proposal.  It  is  absurd  to  sup- 
pose that  any  body  of  men  would  unanimously  approve 
a  scheme  so  vaguely  described  that  while  some  of  us 
thought  it  was  for  ^n  ornamental  lamp-pott,  others 
thought  it  was  a  solid  structure  adorned  with  statues  and 
other  elaborate  details : 

In  his  speech  to  the  Common  Coimcil,  Mr.  Bedford  in  - 
accurately  said  that  I  attended  the  meeting  at  the 
Tem-_le  as  representative  of  Her  Majesty's  Offire  of 
Works.  If  he  was  pre.sent  at  the  meeting  he  ^ught  tj 
know  that  I  most  distinctly  disclaimed  any  such  position. 
and  stated  that  I  had  no  authority  from  the  First  Com- 
missioner to  attend  or  express  any  opinion.— I  remain 
Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Geoege  Edhcxd  Street. 
14,  Cavendish-place,  W.,  Sept.  2S, 


KEW  SADLER'S  WELLS. 
"VTTE  can  coufidently  recommend  tbose  of  our 
T  Y  readers  who  may  desire  a  real  dramatic 
and  artistic  treat  to  ^o  and  see  OtheUo  at  the 
New  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre.  We  regret  to 
learn  that  it  is  only  to  be  continued  for  a  few 
days  longer,  as  the  manner  in  which  ITrs.  Bate- 
man  has  presented  it  on  that  stage  is  as  excellent  as 
it  is  unique,  and  fully  deserves  a  longer  and  a 
successful  career. 

Miss  Isabel  Bateman,  as  Desdemona,  and  Mr. 
Hermann  Vezin,  as  lago,  perform  admirably 
their  several  parts  in  this  grand,  if  not  the  most 
pleasing,  of  Shakespeare's  tragedies.  Mr.  Charles 
Warner  acts  well,  and  is  a  striking  personifica- 
tion of  the  noble  Moor,  save  that  his  face  is 
blacked  rather  like  that  of  a  ne^ro  than  of  the 
"tawny*'  Othello,  and  Mr.  Walter  J.  Brooks 
is  good  as  Koderigo.  It  is,  however,  in  respect 
of  some  of  what  Mrs.  Bateman  modestly  calls 
"  those  minor  essentials,"  scenery,  costume,  and 
appointments,  of  which  we  desire  to  speak  in 
terms  of  high  commendatioD.  Of  the  scenery. 
indeed,  we  could  say  nought,  if  not  critical, 
and  Erabantio  makes  a  comic  appearance  at  a 
Venetian  balcony  above  a  doorway,  to  the  key- 
hole of  which  at  least  his  extremities  must 
reach.  The  best  has  perhaps  been  made  of 
what  was,  and  the  council  chamber  at  least  has 
a  quiet  and  dignified  character,  and  forms  a 
suitable  background  with  its  subdued  dado  and 
hanging:  tapestry  above  for  the  splendid  group 
of  the  Doge  on  his  Throne  and  Senators  arotmd 
him. 

The  costumes  have  been  arranged  by  M!r. 
Edward  W.  Godwin,  and  are  both  archseologi- 
cally  correct  and  sumptuous  and  refined  in  eft'ect. 
There  is  an  entire  absence  of  the  theatrical  tinsel 
and  gaudiness  which  seem  to  spoil  most  attempts 
to  reproduce  on  the  stage  the  dresses  of  olden 
days.  The  figures  resemble  those  in  the  Vene- 
tian portraits  "of  the  period,  and  are  in  harmony 
one  with  another.  Brabantio  is  clad  in  a  digni- 
fied cloak  of  black-figured  damask,  with  long 
sleeves;  and  lago  aud  Roderigo  in  well-con- 
trasting suits,  the  former  with  dark  red  hose, 
crimson  sleeves,  shaded  with  deep  puce,  showing 
through,  and  quiet  grey  v^st,  with  white 
buttons,  though  objection  might  be  taken  to  the 
apple  green  hose  of  the  latter  as  rather  too  crude 
in  colour. 

The  Doge  in  Council  is  superbly  but  simply 
attired,  and  properly  without  the  ermine  cloak, 
which  is  an  outdoor  official  garment,  in  a  refined 
long  crimson  dress,  riuhly  figured,  with  white 
buttons  to  the  seam  in  front,  from  neck  to  feet, 
and  on  his  head  the  gold  and  white  broidered 
crown  familiar  to  us  from  the  fine  portrait  m 
our  National  GalleiT- 

On  either  side  of  this  central  figure  are 
senators  in  varied  scai^et  and  crimson  and 
black  dresses,  and  with  black  caps,  forming 
a  splendid  combination  of  colour  difficult  to 
arraoge,  but  happily  accomplished;  and  the 
attendants  in  the  chamber  are  in  the  garb 
of  the  Kuights  of  St.  Mark,  than  whom  no 
lower  rank  of  official  could  be  permitted  in  that 


presence.  Desdemona  is  clad  in  a  rich  dress  of 
a  subtle  golden  brown  with  shot  sheen  melting 
into  pui-ple  in  the  shadows,  with  pearls  for 
diadem,  and  festooned  round  hsr  neck.  To  this, 
again,  the  dress  of  Emilia  is  an  excellent  con- 
trast, being  of  black  velvet,  coveriag  a  broidered 
golden  robe  below.  And  last,  but  not  least, 
Othello's  majestic  form  is  finely  draped  with 
damask  of  powerful  design,  which,  though  but 
stencilled,  lacks  no  richness  in  general  effect. 

We  have,  in  fact,  throughout,  a  combination 
of  quiet  and  subdued  but  charming  colours, 
toned  into  richness,  and  heightened  by  concen- 
tration, which  might  afford  a  gf>od  lesson  to 
those  would-be  colourists  of  the  day  who  revel 
in  sad  and  sober  tints  without  being  able  to 
rescue  them  from  dull  and  tedious  monotony. 


CHIPS. 

The  Limbeth  vestry  has  resolved  upon  applying 
for  a  faculty  to  remove  certaiu  gravestones  in  the 
Lambeth  burial-ground,  and  upon  taking  other 
step?,  with  a  view  to  forming  the  place  into  a 
recreation- ground  for  the  parish. 

The  memorial-stones  of  a  new  EogUsh  Wealeyau 
chapel,  now  in  course  of  erection  at  Conway,  were 
placed  on  Friday.  The  style  is  timbered  modera 
Gothic,  the  external  matt-rials  being  freestone, 
from  theBryncorarch  quarries,  with  random-work. 
The  external  dimensions  of  the  chapel  will  be  48ft. 
by  30ft.,  there  being  in  the  rear  a  schoolroom  40ft. 
by  24ft.,  a  vestry  20ft.  square,  and  a  house  for  the 
caretaker.  The  en  trance -porch  is  surmounted  by 
a  small  spire  in  half-timber  werk.  Accommo- 
dation will  be  provided  for  some  150  worshippers ; 
but  the  schoolroom  is  so  constructed  as  to  be  opened 
out  to  form  a  transept,  to  be  utilised  for  another  50 
during  the  summer  months.  The  approximate  cost 
is  about  £1,000,  and  the  contract  is  being  carried 
out  by  Messrs.  Hugh  Thomas  and  Kllis  Hugbes, 
Mr.  Eraser  acting  as  the  clerk  of  the  works.  Mr. 
Curwen,  juu.,  is  the  architect. 

On  Thursday  week  the  foundation-stone  of  St. 
Peter's  Church,  in  Yarm-road,  Stockton,  was  laid 
by  the  Marchioness  of  Londonderry.  The  plans 
of  the  new  church  have  been  prepared  by  Mr,  E. 
Clephan,  of  Stockton,  the  style  being  that  of  Early 
English.  It  will  cost  £3,000,  and  will  seat  720 
persons. 

New  school  of  art  buildings  are  being  erected  at 
Penzance.  Messrs.  J.  N.  Julian  and  Sons,  of 
Truro,  are  tbe  contractors,  and  the  premises  will 
be  opened  with  a  fine-art  exhibition  early  in  tbe 
new  year. 

Professor  Tyndall  will  deliver  an  address  on  the 
25th  iust  ,  at  the  inauguration  of  the  Glasgow 
Sunday  Society,  for  the  opening  of  museums,  art- 
galleries,  and  libraries. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Milton-next-Sitting- 
bourne  Kural  Sanitary  Authority,  reports  were 
read  from  the  health  officers  upon  the  state  of  the 
huts  at  Lower  Halstow,  erected  by  Messrs.  Sutton 
and  Ratcliffe,  and  which  have  beeu  the  subject  of 
repeated  complaints.  The  huts  aie  situated  in  a 
low  swampy  sp  t,  and  are  built  of  wood,  with 
black  felt  roofs;  there  are  no  chimneys, _  the 
cookino-  being  done  by  means  of  smoke  pipes, 
which  are  carried  through  the  roofs.  The  heat  of 
the  places  during  the  summer  months  has  been 
intolerable,  and  there  are  al«-ays  pools  of  stagnant 
water  lying  close  to  the  huts.  The  board  directed 
that  a  pere^mptorv  n-tice  hhould  be  served  upon 
Messrs  Sutt  u  and  Ritcliffe  to  put  the  huts  ma 
proper  sanitary  state  forthwith,  failing  which 
application  will  be  made  to  the  jusUces  to  close 
them. 

Ou  Wednesdav  week  a  contractors*  engine  ran 
off  the  new  line  of  the  London  and  Xorth  ^\  tsteru 
Railway  Companv,  now  being  made  between 
Eugby  and  Xortharop'on.  Three  men  werr- 
injSred,  and  one  of  these,  Mr  ^\  alter  S'ott, 
iunior,  the  second  sou  of  the  well-known  railway 
iontractor  of  Xewca.-tle-on-Tyne.  died  the  nex^ 
day  in  Rugby  Hospital.  The  deceased  was  unly 
22  years  old. 

A  bazaar  was  held  last  week  at  St  Kew  on  the 
norti  coast  of  Cornwall,  in  aid  of  he  r^toration 
of  the  parish-church,  which  has  fa  len  into  a  fUte 
of  disrepair  that  necessitates  res  oration.  Th» 
work  it  i.  proposed  to  carry  out  early  next  year  «t 
Tprobable  cost  of  £1,  lUO,  and  will  mclude  rebuild- 
ing of  roof  and  reseating. 

In  reference  to  tbe  article  on  -The  Largw* 
Brid-es  of  the  Woild,**  published  on  page  3.>i  UK 
week"  Mr.  James  Brunlees,  C.E..  writes,  pointio- 
out  that  we  lave  in  Great  Britain  a  longer  bridge 
than  that  ju.t  built  for  the  Orenburg  Radway 
over  the  Volga.  This  is  the  radway  ^.ndge  over 
the  estuary  -f  the  Solway,  near  Annan,  which  w 
17740  yards  in  length,  whereas  the  new  Rustiau 


bridge  is  scarcely  1,624  yards  long 


384 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Competitions  from  the  Client's  Point  of  View  

Unsafe  Buildings 

Ancient  Lights.— II 

A  Recent  Visit  to  Russia    

Church -Hun  ting  in  Stissex       

Notre  Dame  de  Foun'it're.  Lyon     

Exhibition  of  Scottish  Paintings  in  Edinburgh 

Eendle's  "Acme"  System  of  Glass  Roofing    

Mortuaries  for  Towns  and  Villages       

The  Temple-Bar  Memorial       

New  Sadler's  Wells      

Chips 

Our  Lithographic  Illnstrations 

The  Association  of  Municipal  and  Sanitary  Engineers 

and  Surveyors    

The  Sanitary  Congress  at  Exeter    

The  Social  Science  Congress     

The  Lai-ge  Picture  at  the  Guildhall       

A  Steam  Laundiy  at  Battersea       

Schools  of  Art 

Architectural  and  Archieological  Societies 

Competitions 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Intercommunication    

Stained  Glass 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

Our  Office  Table    

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      

Tenders    


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

SIR  FREDERICK  LEIOIITOn's  HOUSE  AT  KENSINGTON.— 
SKETCHES  FROU  LISIEUX  AND  BAYEUX.  —  VILLAGI 
SCHOOLS   IN   BERKSniEE. — DESIGN   FOR   A    CHUBOII. 


OurLithographicIllustrations- 


AKTISTS'  H03IES,  NO.  7. — SIR  FEEDEEICK  LEIOHTOJj's 
HOUSE  AND  STUDIO. 

The  private  house  and  studio  of  the  President 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  illustrated  by  us 
to-day,  can  scarcely  be  deemed  to  be  a  pure 
example  of  one  architectural  style,  while,  in 
its  decoration  and  furnitiire,  not  only  several 
styles,  but  several  periods  of  the  history  of 
art  are  represented.  The  main  idea,  of 
course,  in  the  planning  here,  as  in  all 
painters'  houses,  has  been  the  studio.  The 
greater  part  of  the  first  floor  is  devoted  to  its 
appointments,  and  the  chief  or  garden  elevation 
of  the  house  is  governed  by  its  requirements.  No 
care  seems  to  have  been  spared  in  providing  a 
grand  approach  to  it,  and  a  small  ante-chamber, 
or  painting-room,  as  it  is  called,  immediately 
adjoining  its  chief  entrance,  adds  apparent  size 
by  contrast,  giving  at  the  same  time  a  luxurious 
air  to  the  entire  arrangements.  The  studio 
itself  is  58ft.  long,  and  2.5ft.  wide,  and  has  a 
gallery  at  the  east  end  for  statuary  and  hang- 
ings. A  model's  stair  is  conveniently  arranged 
at  this  same  end,  having  an  entrance-door  most 
suitably  placed,  as  will  be  seen  on  the  ground- 
floor  plan,  at  the  side  of  the  house.  Under  the 
gallery  Sir  Frederick's  colours  and  materials 
are  carefully  arranged  in  a  purpose-made  sort  of 
cabinet,  with  endless  compartments  and  pigeon- 
holes. A  raised  dais  below  the  great  north 
window  occupies  the  central  recess  on  that  side 
of  the  studio,  and  at  the  west  end  an  apsidal 
recess  continues  the  arrangements  of  the  semi- 
circular bay  of  the  drawing-room  below.  The 
general  colouring  of  the  walls  in  the  studio  is 
Indian  red,  the  woodwork  hero,  as  in  the 
rest  of  the  house,  being  black  and  gold.  The 
chimneypicces  throughout  are  marble,  inlaid 
in  geometrical  design,  and  the  cabinets  at 
the  east  end,  in  front  of  the  gallery,  are  from 
the  special  designs  of  the  architect.  The  large 
■window  already  referred  to,  and  of  which  we 
give  several  details,  is  glazed  with  two  thick- 
nesses of  glas.-*,  both  in  the  top  and  side-lights, 
the  object  being  to  prevent  the  too-rapid  cooling 
of  the  air  in  cold  weather.  The  sunlights  are  so 
arranged  that  no  air  can  come  in  except  when 
they  are  lit.  The  heating  of  the  room  is  by 
three  open  fireplaces,  and  the  blinds  of  the  large 
window  are  of  dense  canvas  (of  the  same  colour 
as  the  walls)  and  fixed  on  rollers.  The  chief 
interest  in  the  studio  will  be  found  in  the  large 
scries  of  sketches  in  oil,  arranged  on  the  walls, 
illustrating  scenes  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  recording  reminiscences  of  the  most  varied 
character,  but  here  hung  side  by  side,  while  on 
easels,  placed  here  and  there,  are  portraits  more 
or  less  in  a  completed  stage,  but  all  remarkable 
likenesses  of  important  people.     Of  these  the  un- 


finished  portrait  of  Sir  Frederick Leighton  him- 
self, now  being  painted  by  his  own  hand,  at 
once  attracts  notice.  It  is  a  life-Uke  and 
truthful  picture,  showing  how  its  author  has 
aged  since  Mr.  Watts  painted  the  same  portrait 
some  three  or  four  years  ago.  The  top-lit 
painting-room  outside  the  studio  adjoins,  as  we 
have  said,  the  main  landings,  and  beyond, 
through  the  lattice  gallery  shown  on  our  plan, 
most  interesting  peeps  are  obtained  of  the 
sumptuous  Arab-hall  beyond.  The  rest  of  the 
first-floor  is  occupied  by  Sir  Frederick 
Leighton's  bedroom  and  private  apart- 
ments. The  servants'  bedrooms  are  over  these, 
and  are  reached  ly  the  back  staircase. 
On  the  ground- floor  a  large  tntrance-hall  com- 
municates with  the  library  and  staircase-hall.  A 
very  good  view,  showing  the  Moorish-like 
columns  and  corbelled  girder  to  the  landing  and 
staircase,  was  published  in  the  Building  News 
for  December  22,  1S76,  when  we  also  gave  views 
of  Sir  Frederick  Leighton's  dining-room  and 
studio.  Just  now  the  ante-room  adjoining  the 
inner  hall,  as  well  as  the  painting-room  over, 
are  being  lined  with  old  Persian  tiles  of  extreme 
beauty  and  admirably  copied,  for  the  making- 
good  of  the  deficient  parts  and  border  by  Mr.  l)e 
Morgan,  of  Chelsea.  The  Arab-hall  is  certainly 
a  splendid  building  inside,  well  worthy  of  the 
favourable  descriptions  given  by  those  who  have 
seen  it,  and  doing  credit  to  the  several  artists 
engaged  in  its  completion.  The  hall  was  built  as 
an  adjunct  to  the  house  for  the  purpose  of  exlii- 
biting  on  its  walls  Sir  Frederick's  large  collec- 
tion of  old  tiles  from  Cairo  and  Constantinople, 
and  Eastern  woodwork,  as  well  as  some  stained 
glass  windows  from  Damascus,  and  in  this  re- 
spect it  is  a  very  remarkable  museum.  The  whole 
interior  is  thoroughly  well  done,  and  is  finished 
with  marble,  gold  mosaic,  painting  and  gilding 
harmoniously  combined  in  the  true  spirit  of  Arab 
magnificence.  The  capitals  of  the  marble  shafts 
are  from  Mr.  Aitchison's  designs,  and  were 
modelled  by  Mr.  Boehm.  The  large  gilt  caps 
were  by  Mr.  C'aldecott,  and  the  frieze  of  gold 
mosaic  is  from  characteristic  designs  by  Mr. 
Walter  Crane.  The  marble  work,  including  the 
fountain  in  the  centre  of  the  hall  below 
the  dome,  has  been  executed  by  Messrs. 
White  and  Sons,  of  Vauxhall,  the  mosaic 
being  the  work  of  Messrs  W.  H.  Burke  and  Co. 
Messrs.  Harland  and  Fisher,  of  Southampton- 
street,  carried  out  the  painted  decorations,  from 
the  architect's  designs.  The  plaster  wort  was 
by  Mr.  Riche,  and  the  painted  glass  by  Mr. 
Ross,  of  Harrow.  The  general  building  was 
the  work  of  Messrs.  Woodward,  of  Finsbury, 
the  builders.  Next  week  we  propose  to  publish 
two  drawings  of  the  Arab-hall,  taken  from  those 
which  Mr.  Aitchison  exhibited  this  year  at  the 
Royal  Academy,  and  showing  the  decorations  as 
completed.  The  ante-corridor  to  the  Arab-hall 
to  which  we  have  already  referred  will  have  a 
black  dado  below  the  mural  tiles  now  being 
fixed,  and  the  ceiling,  like  the  cornice,  will  be 
gilt.  A  mosaic  pavement  has  been  prepared  for 
the  floor,  in  the  centre  of  which  a  pedestal  of 
brocatcUo  will  be  placed  supporting  a  Roman 
figure  in  bronze.  The  drawing-room  was  de- 
signed for  the  exhibition  of  four  fine  panels  of 
' ' Morning,"  "Evening,"  ' ' Noon," and ' ' Night," 
and  of  a  circular  sketch  by  De  la  Croix  in  the 
ceiling.  The  chimney-pieces,  cabinets,  some  of 
the  chairs  and  bookcases,  were  specially  designed 
for  this  room  by  the  architect  to  the  house,  who 
also  designed  the  large  sideboard  and  hooded 
mantelpiece  in  the  dining-room.  The  exterior  is 
faithfully  shown  by  our  view  to-day,  while  the 
geometrical  drawings  carefully  illustrate  the 
planning  and  details  of  the  house.  The  big  window 
to  the  studio  is  chiefly  of  iron  construction,  with 
mahogany  sash-bars  and  frames.  The  cornice 
lassively  built  of  stone,  of  which  material  the 
main  string  and  projecting  balcony  on  the  right 
are  alone  exclusively  composed,  the  chief 
material,  both  for  the  Arab-hall  and  house,  being 
red  brick  for  the  walls,  with  red  tiles  for  the  roof. 
Stone,  however,  is  far  more  freely  used  in  the  road 
front  of  the  house,  where  the  building  has  a 
forecourt  of  about  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  facing 
the  Holland-park-road.  A  large  garden  extends 
to  the  bnck  of  the  house  and  to  the  rear  of  Mr. 
MarcusStone's  house  and  groundsin  the  Melbury- 
road,  and  it  adjcinsthe  plot  occupied  by  Mr.  Val 
Prinscp,  A.R.A.,  whose  studio  by  Mr.  Philip 
Webb  will  form  the  .subjectfor  thenext  illustration 
of  "  Our  Artists'  Homes  Series."  In  conclusion, 
we  may  mention  that  two  or  three  additions  to 
the  original  design  for  this  house  have  at  different 


times  been  made.  For  instance,  the  gallery  and 
projecting  end  has  been  added  to  the  studio,  and 
the  north  window  for  light's  sake  was  changed 
from  a  similar  structure  of  stone  to  the  iron 
arrangement  as  we  now  see  it.  The  Arab-hall 
has  since  also  been  entirely  added.  A  good 
photograph  of  the  house  has  been  taken  by 
Bedford  Lemere,  and  the  architect  has  likewise 
lent  us  several  from  the  interior,  so  that  by  the 
aid  of  these  and  the  working  plans,  we  have  been 
enabled  to  present  our  readers  with  a  rather  un- 
usually complete  set  of  illustrations  of  this  re- 
markable house,  especially  if  the  drawings  now 
given  are  taken  together  with  those  illustrated 
by  us  in  1876,  already  referred  to,  and  those  to 
be  published  next  week.  Mr.  George  Aitchison, 
B.A.,  of  Harley-street,  was  the  architect  to  the 
house,  and  the  decorations  throughout  have 
been,  and  are  still  being  continued,  under  Ids 
immediate  superintendence. 

SKETCHES   FEOM   LISXEITX    AND   BAYEUX. 

The  sheet  of  sketches  herewith  publit-hed  is  the 
second  of  a  scries  made  in  Normandy  in  1877,  of 
which  the  first  appeared  in  the  Building  News 
for  Sept.  10th.  "The  first  is  a  larger  sketch  of 
the  gable  to  House  in  Rue  d'OuviUe,  Lisieux, 
illustrated  in  the  first  sheet.  The  second  sketch 
shows  the  tower  between  nave  and  chancel  of 
the  church  at  ViUier-le-Sec,  about  S  miles  from 
Bayeux.  The  third  is  a  sketch  of  a  portion  of 
the  Priory  buildings  of  St.  Gabriel,  about  Ij 
miles  from  Villier-le-Sec.  The  chapel  here  is  a 
very  perfect  and  rich  specimen  of  Norman 
work,  which,  when  I  was  there,  they  were 
restoring  for  no  apparent  reason.  The  last 
sketch  is  that  of  a  dwelling  near  GIos,  about  2 
miles  from  Lisieux,  used,  I  believe,  as  a  farm- 
house. A.  H.  S. 

VILLAGE   SCHOOLS,    EEEKSHIEE. 

These  two  village  schools,  which  we  illustrate 
to-day,  were  erected  a  short  time  since  from  the 
designs  and  under  the  superintendence  of  the  late 
Mr.  WilUam  Penstone,  architect,  from  whose 
drawings  exhibited  this  year  at  the  Royal 
Academy  our  lithographic  illustration  is  taken. 
Tlie  school  illustrated  at  the  top  of  the  page  is 
at  Stanford-in-lhe-Dale,  and  is  u.sed  in  connec- 
tion with  the  parish-church  there.  The  building 
is  in  stone.  'The  other  school  was  bmlt  by  the 
School  Board  forCholsey,  near  Wallingford,  the 
materials  being  brick  and  tOe. 

queen's   PEIZE   DESIGN   FOE  A  CHUECH. 

Me.  Gilbert  S.  Doughty  is  the  author  of  the 
design  for  a  church,  illustrated  by  us  to-day, 
and  for  which,  as  a  student  of  the  Nottingham 
School  of  Art,  he  was  awarded  the  Queen's  prize 
for  architectural  design  in  the  National  Compe- 
tition last  year. 

HOUSE  AT  STONEYGATE,  LEICESTER. 

OuE  illustration  last  week  of  this  building  was 
taken  from  a  drawing  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Academy  this  year.  There  are  commodious 
stores,  wash-house,  and  wine  and  beer  cellars  in 
the  basement ;  the  ground-floor  contains  dining, 
drawing,  and  breakfast-rooms,  with  spacious 
kitchen  offices ;  the  first  floor  contains  bath- 
room, w.c,  housemaid's  closet,  three  bedrooms, 
and  dressing-room ;  the  attic  floor  contains  a 
billiard-room  and  servants'  bedroom.  The 
lower  portion  of  the  building  is  faced  with  red 
tapped  bricks  ;  the  upper  portion  is  constructed 
with  timber  framing,  coated  with  Stockholm 
tar,  the  spaces  between  being  filled  in  with 
brickwork,  finished  with  a  coat  of  rough  bronze 
plaster.  'The  roofs  are  covereA  with  Broseley 
strawberry-colour  tiles.  Tiie  works  have  been 
carried  out  by  Mr.  Nicholas  EUiott,  builder, 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Isaac  Barradale, 
F.R.I.B.A.,  Leicester. 


An  extension  of  the  Wigan  tramways  from 
Queen-street  to  the  centre  of  the  Market-place  has 
just  been  opened  for  traffic,  after  inspection  by 
Major- General  Hutchinson,  R.E.,  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.  It  has  been  constructed  from  the  designs 
of  Mr.  Charles  H.  Beloe,  C.E.,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  Bolton,  borough  engineer  of 
Wigan. 

Mr.  A.  Arnold,  one  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  inspectors,  held  on  Friday  an  inquiry  at  the 
Public  Hall,  Rusholme,  into  the  application  of  the 
Ruaholme  Local  Board  for  a  loan  of  £6,000  for 
street  improvements  in  the  widening  of  Wilmslow 
and  Dickenson-roads,  about  to  be  earned  out  under 
the  supervision  of  Mr.  Mangall,  the  surveyor. 


The  B^ii-DiM^^  Rews,  Oct  I    I^^O. 


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QUEENS  PRIZE  AWARDED 


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The  Building  I^ews,  Oct  \    ]^^(} 


SKETCHES    FROM    LISIEUX  8.  BAYEUX 


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The  Building  r>Ews,  Qct  ]    I^^O. 


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Stcuifi>rd-  in  the  7^  (C^Sj      slone 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


397 


THE  ASSOCIATIOX  OF  MU^TICIPAL  A>T) 
SAXIT.\l{r  ENGINEEhS  ^^'D  SUR- 
\'EYOES. 

AXORTHERX  district  meeting  of  this  asso- 
ciation -was  held  at  Darlington  on  Friday, 
nnder  the  presidency  of  Mr.  A.  "W.  Morant, 
Leeds,  President  of  the  association.  The  first 
business  was  the  appointment  of  a  secretary  for 
the  district,  and  to  this  ofBce  Mr.  P.  W.  Tho.np- 
son,  Willington  Quay,  was  unanimously  elected 
A  paper  was  read  bylTr.  J.  Craggs,  ofShildon, 
on  "  Shildon  Sewage  Disposal."  The  subject 
was  aranged  under  three  heads — the  main  drain, 
the  subsiding  tank,  and  the  surface  preparation. 
The  main  drain  conducted  the  sewage  into  the 
subsiding  tanks.  Under  drains  were  formed 
some  six  feet  deep.  The  sewage  was  conveyed 
from  the  tanks  on  the  high  plots  in  a  l'2in.  carrier, 
from  which  it  was  let  onto  the  land  by  Craggs's 
junction  blocks,  bmlt  into  small  cesspools,  and 
thereby  dispersed  over  the  whole  or  any  portion 
of  the  five  acres  by  a  trench  ploughed  parallel 
to  the  carriers.  As  the  system  was  not  yet 
working,  criticisms  were  limited  ;  but  in  reply  to 
questions,  3Ir.  Craggs  stated  that  the  land  was 
rented  at  £7  10s.  per  acre,  and  the  total  cost  of 
the  work,  according  to  the  contracts,  was  £3,800. 
In  the  district,  they  had  to  deal  with  about 
120,000  gallons  of  sewage.  The  farmers  were 
anxious  to  obtain  the  refuse  from  the  tanks.  The 
soil  was  clayey,  and  he  had  tested  a  model  tank 
for  seven  months  and  found  it  to  work  most 
satisfactorily. — A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Bell,  of 
Felling,  on  "  Sanitary  Appliances."  He  dealt 
with  the  self-actiag  water-closet  designed  and 
patented  by  Mr.  .\.  M.  Fowler,  of  Xewcastle. 
which  he  claimed  had  all  the  advantages  of  the 
ordinary  water-closet  without  the  intricate 
machinery.  In  this  system  there  were  three 
receptacles,  one  for  garbage  and  two  for  dust ; 
and  it  was  held  that  by  thus  separating  the 
liquid,  the  garbage,  and  the  dry  ashes,  the 
nuisance  connected  with  water  closets  was  done 
away  with. — Some  of  the  speakers  questioned 
the  wisdom  of  having  these  receptacles,  believ- 
ing that  people  would  not  take  the  trouble  to 
separate  the  refuse,  and  that  there  was  no  law 
to  compel  them  to  do  so,  but  Mr.  Fowler  said 
the  system  had  worked  a  great  change  in  the 
sanitary  condition  of  Salford,  and  had  been 
successful  wherever  tried.  After  the  discussion 
had  ceased,  the  meeting  adjourned  to  inspect  the 
Darlington  Iron  Company's  works,  the  Darling- 
ton sevrage  farm,  the  Park,  and  the  waterworks. 


THE  SAIJITART  CONGRESS  AT  EXETER. 
~1TTE  closed  our  report  of  the  Sanitary  Con- 
T  V  gress  at  Exeter  in  our  last  issue  with  the 
conversazione  held  on  "Wednesday  evening,  and 
now  complete  it  with  a  summary  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  following  days.  Thursday's 
business  opened  with  a  temperance  breakfast 
and  meeting  at  8  a.m.,  and  at  10  o'clock  Mr. 
Rawlinson,  C.B.,  gave  an  address  in  the  Victoria 
Hall,  as  president  of  the  Engineering  and  Sani- 
tary Construction  Section.  He  indicated  the 
hidden  dangers  that  might  exist  in  the  cleanest- 
looking  country  house  or  village,  and  urged 
that  these  concealed  perils  were  far  more  deadly 
than  exposed  filth.  Having  shown  the  value  of 
sewering  in  preserving  the  piirity  of  air  and  soil 
in  inhabited  districts,  he  gave  practical  infor- 
mation as  to  the  formation  of  sewers,  and  con- 
tended that  perfect  sewering  required  perfect 
street-paving  and  street-cleansing,  and  that 
these  should  never  be  contracted  for,  but  should 
be  worked  by  the  local  governing  body.  Turning 
next  to  the  question  of  water-supply,  he  dwelt 
upon  the  danger  of  that  derived  from  wells  for 
drinking  purposes,  and  insisted  upon  the  necessity 
of  the  water-supply  being  sufficient  to  afford 
water  for  personal  cleanliness ;  he  considered 
that  all  waterworks  should  be,  like  the  scaveng- 
ing, in  the  hands  of  the  local  governing  body. 
Amongst  the  papers  read  in  the  section  was  one 
by  Mr.  G.  E.  Waring,  of  Xewport,  I'.S.A.,  on 
the  "  Sewerage  of  Memphis,"  carried  out  on  the 
separate  system,  and  which  led  to  a  discussicn 
on  the  merits  and  disadvantages  of  this  method. 
Mr.  H.  P.  Boulnois,  city  surveyor  of  Exeter, 
contributed  a  paper  on  "Sewer- Gas  Annihila» 
tion,"  and  Major-General  Scott,  C.B.,  some 
suggestions  on  the  cleansing  of  sewers,  in  which 
he  recommended  the  use  of  lime  in  sewers  for 
breaking  up  the  slimy  material  of  sewage  and 
for  absorbing  its   gases.     In  the  evening,  Dr. 


B.  W.  Richardson,  F.R.S.,  delivered  a  lecture 
on  "Woman  as  a  Sanitary  Reformer."  He 
impressed  on  his  hearers  the  necessity  for  making 
woman  the  active  domestic  health  reformer,  and 
said  that  the  prevention  of  disease  was  a  noble 
occupation,  which  could  best  and  could  only  be 
performed  by  woman.  The  process  of  training 
by  which  women  could  so  govern  domestic  life 
that  diseases  might  be  prevented  wholesale  was 
very  simple.  A  woman  could  master  physiology, 
could  make  herself  acquainted  with  its  nine 
systems,  could  teU  the  names  and  characters  of 
the  more  common  diseases,  and  know  by  sight 
those  which  were  contagious,  their  period  of 
incubation,  and  treatment  in  the  sick-room. 

On  Friday  the  section  of  "  Geology  and 
Meteorology"  was  opened  by  an  address  from 
Sir  Antonio  Brady,  the  president,  in  which  he 
dealt  at  great  length  with  the  poisoning  of  the 
air  in  large  towns,  and  with  the  failure  of 
modern  sanitary  legislation  in  England,  a  failure 
which  he  attributed  to  the  pemicioiis  permissive 
principle.  He  described  how  manure-makers, 
blood-boilers,  chemical  works,  and  other  noxious 
trades  had  been  driven  from  the  East  of  London 
by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  into  the 
adjacent  and  now  densely-popiilated  district  of 
West  Ham  ;  and  insisted  that  such  trades  should 
be  restricted  from  passing  noxious  and  offensive 
gases  into  the  air  of  populous  places.  Legisla- 
tion should  be  compulsory,  not  permissive,  and 
sanitary  officials  should  be  appointed  and  pro- 
tected in  the  discharge  of  their  duties  by  the 
State.  Mr.  T.  Andrews  read  a  paper  on  "The 
Water  Supply  of  Exeter,"  and  was  followed 
by  one  on  "The  Deficiency  of  Knowledge  Re- 
specting Health  Resorts,"  by  Professor  G. 
Symons,  F.R.S.,  who  suggested  the  compilation 
of  a  standard  work  containing  information  on  aU 
mineral  springs  and  seaside  towns  and  villages. 
A  general  meeting  of  the  Congress  was  held 
afterwards,  at  which  Sir  Stafford  Northcote 
delivered  an  address,  in  which  he  pleaded — 
possibly  from  a  vivid  recollection  of  a  Govern- 
ment which  came  into  power  avowing  a  policy 
of  sewage  based  on  the  jingling  solecism  saiiilas 
sauitattiii,  but  which  did  next  to  nothing  to 
justify  the  profession — that  neither  Parliament 
nor  sanitary  authorities  could  usefully  outstrip 
the  education  of  the  people  in  sanitary  matters, 
which  was  the  primary  duty  of  such  a  congress. 
In  the  evening  a  dinner  was  held. 

On  Saturday  some  excursions  to  the  seaside 
were  organised,  and  in  the  evening  Dr.  Bartlett 
delivered  a  lecture  to  the  people  on  "Health 
Questions,"  in  which  he  emphasised  the  necessity 
for  removing  the  sewage  of  Tiverton  and  other 
towns,  including  Exeter,  from  the  river — the 
source  of  water-supply  to  the  city. 

THE  SOCI.\-L  SCIENCE  CONGRESS. 

THE  annual  Congress  of  the  Social  Science 
Association  will  be  opened  at  Edinburgh 
on  Wednesday  next,  by  a  special  serrice  in  St. 
Giles's  Cathedr.al  :  and,  in  the  evening,  the  in- 
aut'ural  address  will  be  delivered  at  the  Free 
Assembly  Hall  by  Lord  Reay,  the  President  of 
the  Association.  The  sectional  meetings  will  be 
opened  for  the  reading  of  papers  and  discussions 
on  Thursday,  and,  on  the  evening  of  that  day, 
the  exhibition  of  paintings  of  the  Scottish 
School,  which  has  been  organised  by  the  Royal 
Scottish  Academy,  will  be  inaugurated.  The 
discussions  at  the  Congress  will  be  crnducted 
under  seven  sections  and  departments.  That 
devoted  to  Health  will  be  opened  on  Saturday, 
the  9th  inst.,  by  an  address  by  Dr.  JohnBeddoe, 
the  Departmental  President,  and  the  special 
questions  set  down  for  consideration  are  as  fol- 
lows : — 

1)  TVlmt  are  the  best  areas  for  sanilary  purposes,  and 
how  far  should  there  be  a  levision  of  the  mode  of  electing 
and  continuing  the  services  of  the  offlcei-s  under  the  I  ub- 
lic  Health  Acta  '.  {2|  What  is  the  best  mode  of  am;  nding 
the  present  laws  with  reference  to  existing  buiWin^s. 
and  also  of  improving  their  sanitary  condition  so  as  to 
render  them  more  healthy,  havmg  due  lesaid  to  eco- 
nomical considerations  ;  '3)  Whatare  the  means  which 
should  be  adopted  for  the  prevention  of  the  pollution  o 
streams,  without  undue  interference  with  mdustnal 
operations,  and  for  the  preservation  of  pure  sources  of 
water  supply ! 

The  Art  Department  is  under  the  presidency 
of  Mr  W.  B.  Richmond,  the  Slade  Professor  of 
Fine  Arts  in  the  fniversity  of  Oxford,  who 
will  deUver  his  address  on  Tuesday  week,  the 
12th  inst.,  andthe  list  of  special  questions  is— 

(1)  Ought  there  to  be  a  school  of  dramatic  art  ^bsid_is»i 
l.T  private  subscription  or  endowment,  or  by  the  bt,.le  .  -J 
How  far  would  the  revival  of  ths  old  system  of     JIaster 


and  Pupils  "  be  of  udvantaf^,  and  tend  to  promote  the 
growth  of  historical  art  in  the  coimtrf,  and  the  fitting  \ise 
of  painting  and  sculpture  in  our  public  buildings!  (3) 
How  can  the  musical  education  of  the  middle  claiiSO«  be 
improved ! 

The  business  of  the  Congress  will  be  wotind 
upon  Wednesday,  tho  13th,  and  on  that  and 
the  following  day  a  number  of  excursions  will  b« 
arranged. 


THE    LiVRGE    PICTURE   AT   THE 
GUILDHALL. 

LAST  week  a  monster  painting  was  exposed 
to  view  at  the  Guildhall,  after  having  lain 
in  an  out-of-the-way  comer  of  the  Mansion 
House  for  many  years.  Occasionally,  it  is 
stated,  the  picture  had  been  used  a«  a  screen  at 
the  Mansion  House,  where  it  had  been  neglected 
among  other  civic  lumber.  If  this  be  true,  tho 
Corporation  of  Londtn  arc  as  hopelessly  blind  to 
works  of  art  as  the  corporations  of  iLsi;'nificaut 
boroughs  are  reputed  to  be,  and  the  le».i  they 
affect  the  promotion  of  art  works  tho  better. 
The  present  Lord  Mayor,  by  whoso  order  tlio 
painting,  or,  rather,  pieces  of  it,  have  been 
collected,  has  set  an  example  to  his  successors, 
and  deserves  the  thanks  of  the  public  for  bring- 
ing to  light  so  important  a  painting.  The  sub- 
ject is  the  "  Battle  of  Agincourt."  It  measures 
100ft.  in  length  by  30ft.  in  height,  has  lieen  cut 
or  torn  into  three  sections,  of  unequal  sizes,  and 
was  painted,  it  is  said,  by  Sir  Robert  Kerr 
Porter,  when  19  years  of  age.  In  1S19  tho 
artist  presented  it  to  the  Corporation  of  tho 
City  by  whom  it  has  been  so  sacredly  preserved  ! 
The  condition  of  the  picture,  only  about  GO 
years  old,  is  disgraceful.  The  large  fragment 
shows  the  battle  between  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish armies  ;  it  is  crowded  with  spirited  figures 
of  soldiers  in  the  thick  of  battle ;  some  have 
fallen  under  the  flight  of  arrows,  and  others  are 
fighting  with  great  vigour.  One  of  the  smaller 
pieces  on  the  left  is  particularly  noticeable  for 
the  bold  scenery,  with  a  castle  situated  on  an 
eminence,  and  a  well-painted  group  of  horsemen 
in  the  foreground  in  deadly  contest.  The  paint- 
ing of  the  other  portions  exhibit  a  winding 
river  among  fertile  meadows,  and  hills  in  the 
distance,  with  figures  in  the  foreground.  One 
section  shows  the  retreat  of  the  French  army, 
and  the  other  an  advancing  column  of  the  Eng- 
lish passing  through  a  wooded  country.  Many 
of  the  larger  groups  of  figures  are  well  com- 
posed, and  a  good  deal  of  animationis  expressed. 
Through  long  neglect  in  damp  and  dirt  the 
colours  have  become  dull,  but  if  restored  the 
picture  would  rival  many  of  its  age  A  com- 
mittee, we  hear,  has  been  appointed  to  consider 
the  best  plan  of  restoring,  and  again  exhibitmg 
it,  and  it  is  proposed,  owing  to  iU  great  sue,  to 
mount  it  in  sections. 


A  STEAM  LAUNDRY  AT  BATTLRSEA. 

A  NUMBER  of  architects,  sanitary  engineers, 
and  medical  men,  together  with  some 
ladies  responded  on  Wednesday  to  an  inviUlion 
to  visit  a  new  steam  laundry  in  the  Battersea 
Park- road,  said  to  be  the  largest  of  the  kind  yet 
opened  The  works  have  been  erected  for  tho 
London  and  Provincial  Steam  Laundry  Co., 
which  is  affiUated  to  the  .\jTny  and  Navy  Co- 
operative Society,  and  occupy  a  "to  ff  U  aere^ 
They  consist  of  several  blocks  of  buUdings,  all 
top-lighted,  and  erected  of  stock  bn.  ks.  An 
effort  has  been  made  to  relieve  the  street  f  r.  .nt.nge 
by  breaking  up  the  constructional  Uncs,  by  he 
uL  of  dressings  of  red  bnck,  and  by  the  in,-,  ni..n 
at  intervals  fn  the  blank  walls  o  P""^';  '' 
Brown's  terra-cotta  bricks,  dceoratcl  with  foh- 
age  and  flowers,  and  the  figure  [^'^"^^ 
repeated  of  a  washerwoman  -t  her  tub.  Tho 
mT;  prominent  gables  are  ""-^^.f /'^^^^^'^^ 
timber  work  and  rough  c^ist.  The  wn  k.<  are 
entered  at  their  western  extremity  by 
double  gates,  ginng  admussion  to  a  co- 
vered courtyard,  under  which  "ns  can  bo 
Cded  and  liloaded.  To  the  west  i..  a  deUched 
bi^dfng,  consisting  of  office,  with  lar.-.  dinuig- 
rooma&ve,  and  ad  ummg  on  the  nr,t  floor, 
s^tTs  of  apartments  for  the  manaeore«  and 
Xr  employes ;  andgeneral  kit.  hen.  dm.ng.  and 
ItZ^^l.  Above  are  dormitones,  >■  p.rate 
wa^g  utensiLs  a   bath-ro-.m  and  »;■  '-■"^ 

Sd  longitudinally  into  a  kmd  of  nave  and 


398 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


aisles.  Each  side  is  on  plan  exactly  a  duplicate  of 
the  other,  and  is  arranged  so  that  it  may  be  used 
independently  in  the  dull  season.  When  in  full 
-irork,  however,  the  articles  to  be  washed, 
passing  to  the  right,  will  make  a  complete 
circuit  of  the  building,  and  the  Ti.sitors  saw,  in 
progress,  the  several  processes  of  examining, 
cheeking,  marking,  sorting,  washing,  rinsing, 
wringing  hy  twirling  in  wire  cages,  mangling, 
calendering,  ironing,  drying,  re-examination, 
and  packing.  The  whole  of  the  machinery  has 
been  made  by  Jlessrs.  Thomas  Bradford  and  Co., 
of  Manchester  and  London,  much  of  it  being 
said  to  be  specially  designed  for  this  laun- 
dry. Each  operation  is  conducted  in  a 
separate  room,  well  lighted  from  a  ridge  lantern 
extending  the  whole  length  of  "centre  of 
room,  and  having  louvred  wood  or  swinging 
glass  sides,  according  to  the  degree  of  heat 
required  to  be  kept  up.  All  the  doors  slide, 
economising  space,  and  a  scries  of  tram-raUs 
traverse  the  building  on  which  the  laden  bins  of 
clothes  travel.  The  internal  walls  are  through- 
out of  brick,  lime  washed.  The  central  haU, 
which  measures  80ft.  by  "Oft.,  and  is  20ft.  high, 
is  provided  with  26  tables,  heated  from  beneiith 
by  steam,  and  used  for  ironing,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  general  scheme,  it  can  be  shut  off 
into  two  separate  rooms  if  needed.  Beneath 
the  eastern  end  of  the  building  are  the  boilers, 
and  over  these  are  placed  the  drying  frames, 
each  12ft.  in  length  by  7ft.  high,  and  containing 
narrow  iron  "clothes'  horses,"  which  run  in  and 
out  on  small  wheels  set  in  grooves.  From  the 
boilers  a  series  of  steam  pipes  and  coils  are 
carried  over  the  drying  and  packing  portions  of 
the  laundry  running  beneath  the  shelves  and 
tables.  The  engine-room  below,  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  building,  contains  two  H  horse- 
power horizontal  engines,  driven  by  the  pair  of 
20  horse-power  Cornish  boilers  already  leferred 
to,  and  the  system  of  duplication  is  so  carried  out 
that  either  engine  and  boiler  can  work  separately. 
In  the  engine-house  is  also  a  four-horse-powcr 
engine  for  pumping,  and  outside  is  the  well, 
which  is  just  completed.  The  boring  is  carried 
to  a  depth  of  4inft.,  chiefly  through  blue  clay  and 
chalk ;  the  greensands  were  pierced  at  200ft.,  with 
but  a  scanty  result  in  that  stratum.  The  water 
rises  to  within  40ft.  of  the  surface,  and  to  pro 
vide  against  failure  and  accidents,  a  company' 
water  is  also  laid  on  from  the  main.  To  the 
east  also  are  the  stables  and  van-sheds,  with 
horsekeeper's  rooms  above,  and  a  small  detached 
block  for  the  exclusive  de;iling  with  infected 
linen,  which  is  received  and  despatched  by  a 
separate  eastern  entrance  in  special  zinc-lined 
vans.  To  the  north  and  west  is  an  area  as  yet  un- 
built upon,  and  used  as  a  drying-ground.  The 
buildings  have  been  practically  completed,  and 
the  work  in  partial  operation,  for  nearly  two 
months  ;  but  Wednesday  was  stated  to  be  the 
■first  day  on  which  the  whole  of  the  machinery 
was  set  in  motion.  Employment  will  be  given 
to  20  male  and  l.iO  female  hands,  of  whom  32  are 
lodged  on  the  premises.  Mr.  Ernest  Turner,  of 
Uegent-street,  was  the  architect,  and  Messrs. 
W.  Scrivener  and  Co.,  of  Regent's  Park,  were 
the  contractors,  Mr.  A.  J.  Gale  acting  a.-  clerk 
of  works  ;  the  quantities  were  taken  out  by  Mr. 
Riddett. 


SCHOOLS     OF      ART. 

Walsall. — The  10th  annual  meeting  of  the 
Science  and  Art  Institute  took  place  onMonday 
week,  when  the  prizes  and  certificates  were  dis- 
tributed. The  report  set  forth  that  the  com- 
mittee rejoiced  in  the  facts,  that  out  of  Biiming- 
ham  the  institute  was  the  largest  and  most 
promising  in  the  Midland  Counties ;  the  art 
school  and  premises  replete  with  every  appliance, 
and  the  master  fully  qualified  under  the  Govern- 
ment to  teach  in  every  department.  The  num- 
ber of  students  waa  greater  than  at  any  previous 
year,  the  number  of  works  sent  up  to  the  De- 
partment at  South  Kensington  for  competition 
had  increased,  and  tlie  works  were  of  a  liightr 
character.  The  result  of  the  May  examinations 
brought  a  higher  grant  than  last  year,  and  the 
fees  from  students  also  showed  an  improved 
total.  The  Science  Department  had  been  from 
the  beginning  the  more  succes^ful  and  popular 
of  the  two.  The  fact  that  more  than  1,000 
young  men  and  women  of  Walsall  and  district 
had  availed  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  the 
institution,  and  were  stiU  in  some  sense  attached 
to  it,  augured  well  for  the  future  of  the  town. 


ARCHITECTtrHAL  &  AECH-ffiOIiOGICAI 
SOCIETIES. 
Bebes  AECH.EOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. — An  excur- 
sion was  made  on  Wednesday  week,  by  about  40 
members  of  this  society,  to  Padworth  and  Vfton 
Court.  At  the  former  village  the  parish-chui-ch 
was  visited.  It  contains  much  12th-ceutury 
work  of  good  character,  some  of  it  evidently 
executed  by  the  hatchet.  The  chancel  is  apsidal, 
is  covered  by  a  stone- bareel  vault  now  covered 
with  plaster  and  yellow  wash,  and  at  the  east- 
end  a  tomb  dated  1711,  and  incircled  by  iron 
railings  let  into  the  centre  of  the  inner  wall, 
where  the  reredos  should  be.  .'Ul  the  windows 
have  been  altered,  those  of  the  nave  being  Tudor, 
and  those  in  the  chance]  a  modem  restoration. 
From  Padworth  the  members  walked  to  Ufton 
Court,  formerly  a  manor-house  belonging  to 
Reading  Abbey.  It  is  a  timber-built  mansion 
dating  from  the  1.5th  century,  and  largely 
altered  by  the  Perkyns  family  who  have  owned 
it  for  240  years. 

COMPETITIONS. 

Brighton. — A  new  church,  with  a  tower  and 
spii-e  in  brick,  is  about  to  be  built  at  Brighton, 
at  the  east  end  of  the  town.  A  limited  com- 
petition among  four  local  architects,  viz.,  Mr. 
E.  E.  Scott,  of  Brighton  :  Mr.  Currey.  of  Lewes  ; 
Mr.  J.  Norton,  of  Old  Bond-street,  W. ;  and  Mr. 
Somers  Clarke,  junr.,  of  Westminster,  was  held, 
and  the  award  has  just  been  made  in  favour  of 
Mr.  E.  E.  Scott's  design.  The  west  front  is  boldly 
treated,  and  the  church  wiU  hold  its  own,  even  at 
Brighton,  where  some  remarkable  churches  have, 
during  the  last  few  years,  been  erected,  notably 
those  by  Mr.  Somers  Clarke,  junr.,  Mr.  W. 
Emerson,  and  Messrs.  Carpenter  and  Ingelow. 
The  new  church  will  be  dedicated  to  St. 
M)tthew. 

MoxrjTEXT  TO  VicTon  Ejemant-el. — The  Com- 
mission,  appointed  by  Royal  decree,  to  carry  into 
effect  the  intention  of  erecting  a  grand  public 
monument  in  Rome  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  have 
decided  to  throw  the  competition  open  to  sculptors 
of  all  nations.  According  to  the  regulations 
published  in  Ihe  ofBoial  gazette,  no  conditions  as 
to  design,  style,  or  selection  of  site  are  imposed, 
the  only  stipulation  being  that  the  total  cost  of 
the  monument  when  completed  shall  not  exceed 
9  ,000,000f.  The  model,  wliich  may  bear  the 
name  and  address  of  the  sculptor,  or  a  motto  on 
the  cover  of  a  sealed  letter,  are  to  be  sent  in, 
addressed  to  the  secretary  of  the  Royal  Commis- 
sion at  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  not  before 
the  2.3th  of  August  and  not  later  than  the  2.5th 
of  September,  1881.  Three  prizes  of  50,000f., 
SO.OOOf.,  and  20,000f.  wiU  be  given  respectively 
to  the  authors  of  the  three  best  models,  which 
are  to  remain  the  property  of  the  State ;  but  the 
Royal  Commisioners,  in  conferring  these  prizes, 
are  not  necessarily  bound  to  give  the  commis- 
sion for  the  monument  to  any  of  the  prize  win- 
ners. 

ScULPTLItE  ON  Blackfeiaes  Bbidge. — At  the 
meeting  last  week  of  the  City  Common  Council 
Mr.  James  Edmeston,  F.R.I.B.A.,  introduced 
the  subject  of  the  proposed  competition  for  the 
four  groups  of  sculpture  to  be  placed  at  the 
extremities  of  Blackfriars  Bridge,  and  moved 
"  that  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  Bridge  House 
Estates  Committee,  to  report  their  opinion  and 
recommendation  on  the  following  points :  the 
material  or  materials  to  be  used,  the  total  sum 
to  be  expended,  and  tlie  course  they  propose  to 
adopt  in  defining  the  principles  of  the  comple- 
tion, with  the  view  of  in.suring  a  response  from 
sculptors  of  eminence."  The  enterprise  would 
cost  from  £24,000  to  £2.5,000,  and  it  was  there- 
fore, he  contended,  most  important  that  every- 
thing should  be  m.ade  public  and  done  in  the 
fairest  and  most  open  way.  The  committee  had, 
however,  chosen  to  consult  on  sculpture  a  painter. 
Sir  Frederick  Leighton.  That  had  "  created  a 
great  deal  of  uneasiness,  and  apprehensions  were 
felt  that  the  whole  affair  miglit  drift  into  a  kind 
of  job  for  a  .society  of  which  Sir  Frederick 
Leighton  was  president."  This  last  sentence 
aroused  loud  cries  of  opposition,  and  the  Chair- 
man of  the- Committee  having  pointed  out  that 
the  President  of  the  Royal  -\cademy  was  a 
sculptor  as  well  as  a  painter,  Mr.  Edmestou's 
motion  was  declared  to  bo  lost  on  a  show  of  hands' 


Mr.  Frederick  Jackson,  civil  ensineer,  Notting- 
ham, is  the  engineer  for  the  Arnold  sewerage 
works,  the  list  of  tenders  for  which  appeared  lalt 


Bristol. — Tlie  foundation-stone  of  the  new 
chapel  for  the  Bristol  Borough  Lunatic  Asylum, 
Stapltton,  was  laid  on  Friday.  The  plans  of 
Mr.  E.  H.  Edwards,  of  Clare-street,  were  se- 
lected, in  a  competition,  from  among  those  of 
several  other  locil  architects.  M<  ssrs.  Forse  and 
Ashley,  Marlborough-street  and  Dighton-street, 
are  the  builders.  The  style  i.s  Norman  Gothic, 
and  the  building  will  afford  accommodation  for 
350  patients,  and  their  attendants,  at  a  cost  of 
about  £2,000.  The  chapel  will  consist  of  nave, 
7Gft.  6in.  by  27ft.  ;  transepts,  13ft.  7in.  by 
2.3ft.  3in.;  and  chancel,  40ft.  3in.  by  22ft.  The 
nave  and  chancel  will  be  under  one  roof  from 
end  to  end.  The  total  internal  length  is  116ft. 
9in.  ;  and  the  measurement  from  the  floor  of 
nave  to  centre  of  roof  will  be  about  4.5ft.  The 
chancel  arch  will  rest  on  either  side  upon  two 
disengaged  columns,  carried  upon  corbels,  and 
the  wall  above  the  chancel  arch  will  terminate 
with  a  parapet  running  from  north  to  south, 
instead  of  being  continued  in  the  usual  way  to 
the  roof.  The  medical  superintendent's  gallery 
will  be  over  the  vestry,  and  will  be  approached 
by  a  newel  staircase  from  the  outside.  Oppos-ite 
this,  on  the  south  .side  of  chancel,  will  be  placed 
the  organ.  The  floors  will  be  laid  with  encaustic 
tiles,  and  the  steps  in  the  chancel  will  be  of  local 
and  blue  Ptnnant  stone.  The  rcofs  throughout 
will  be  open  timbered,  and  at  the  junction  of  the 
transepts  there  wUl  be  the  flc-che,  which  will  be 
open  to  the  top,  and  will  be  SOf  t.  high  from  floor 
to  finial.  At  the  western  end  is  a  porch,  and  north 
and  south  rooms  for  any  patients  who  may  bo 
taken  during  the  service  with  epileptic  fits.  The 
building  will  be  constructed  of  Pennant  stone, 
with  freestone  dressings,  &:c,,  and  the  internal 
walls  will  be  stuccoed.  The  present  chapel  is 
being  thrown  into  the  dining-rooms. 

Christ  Chuech,  Newgate-stkeet,  E  C. — ^This 
i  church  was  re-opened  last  week  after  renovation 
{  and  partial  restoration.  The  stone  columns  in 
the  arcades  (abou;  30ft.  high),  previously  all 
coloured  over,  have  been  scraped  and  restored 
to  the  original  stone,  which  is  Portland  ;  the 
clerestory  window  openings,  from  which  the 
principal  light  to  the  church  is  derived,  have 
been  filled  with  new  cathedral  glass  in  lieu  of 
the  old  lead  lights  ;  the  vaulting,  which  is  only 
of  timber  and  plaster,  has  been  all  recoioured, 
with  the  ornamental  portions  picked  out.  The 
back  portions  of  the  heavy  galleries  have  been 
removed,  and  the  internal  apisearance  of  the 
church  is  thereby  considerably  improved.  The 
pewing,  which  is  of  solid  oak,  has  been  all 
scraped,  cleaned,  and  varnished.  The  works 
have  been  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Hay  ward  and 
Son,  under  the  supervision  and  direction  of  Mr. 
Henry  S.  Legg,  of  Christ's  Hospital.  It  is  in 
contemplation,  should  the  Blueooat  School  (the 
boys  of  which  now  fill  the  gaUeties  every  Sun- 
day) be  removed  to  the  country,  to  remove  the 
heavy  galleries,  and  also  tore-pew  the  church. 

EDiNTjrEOH.— The  Barclay  Free  Church  was 
reopened  on  Sunday  after  internal  renovation  and 
alterations.  The  whole  of  the  seats  in  the  area, 
which  formerly  had  an  upward  slope  to  the  pulpit, 
have  b?en  placed  upon  a  level  floor,  and  a  new 
choir  seat  constructed.  The  pulpit  has  been 
lowered,  and  reconstructedof  Caen  .stone,  ornately 
panelled,  while  the  reredos  at  the  back  of  it  has 
been  considerably  enlarged.  The  elders'  seat 
below  the  pulpit  is  now  separated  from  the  area 
pews  by  a  carved  rail  of  pitch-pine,  with  quatre- 
foil  ornamentation.  The  heating  and  ventilating 
arrangements  have  also  been  overhaul* d.  In- 
stead of  hot  air,  the  church  is  now  to  be  heated 
with  hot-water  pijies — 4,400  feet  of  which  have 
been  introduced,  chiefly  in  coils  in  the  passages 
and  coiTidors.  Fresh  air  will  be  introduced  into 
the  building  through  a  system  of  pipes  capable 
of  regulation,  the  vitiated  air  being  carried  oft' 
into  the  tower.  This  part  of  the  work  has  been 
effected  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Russel  and 
Dr.  Smart.  The  other  alterations  have  been 
earned  out  from  plans  by  Mr.  Pilkingtou,  the 
architect  of  the  building.  The  cost  has  been 
over  £500. 

Glasgow. — At  a  meeting  of  the  Glasgow  Dean 
of  Guild  Court  on  Friday,  the  retiring  Lord 
Dean  (Mr.  Mirrlees)  made  a  statement  regarding 
the  work  of  the  Court  for  the  year  ended  31st 
August.  He  said  there  had  been  three  years  of 
great  depression  in  the  building  trade,  and  last 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


599 


year  liad  Leen  the  worst  of  ail.  La.st  year  the 
value  ot"  the  linings  granted  was  £335,430,  as 
against  £700,717  two  years  ago.  The  average 
of  the  last  three  years  was  .£514,000,  whereas 
the  average  of  the  five  years  preceding  came  to 
£l,G12,00"o.  In  other  words,  the  entire  value  of 
the  building  operations  in  Glasgow  during  the 
List  three  years  did  not  come  up  to  the  average 
of  a  single  year  of  the  five  years  preceding  that 
time.  That  was  a  very  deplorable  state  of 
matters,  and  whether  it  arose  from  over-building 
in  previous  years  or  from  a  diminution  of  the 
population  of  the  city,  it  was  hard  to  say. 
Probably  both  these  influences  were  at  work. 
The  diminution  in  building  appeared  to  be 
chiefly  in  the  small  class  of  houses,  and  chiefly 
those  of  one  or  two  apartments.  The  greatest 
diminution  of  all,  however,  was  in  the  shops. 
No  new  streets  had  been  sanctioned,  while  in 
1877  two  miles  had  been  made.  The  disti-ict  in 
whicli  there  had  been  the  greatest  change  was 
the  northern  district.  The  next  worse  district 
was  the  central.  In  the  western  district  there 
was  but  a  slight  falling  off. 

Leicester.— Tlie  parish-church  of  St.  3Iar- 
garet  is  imdergoing  extensive  repairs  from  de- 
signs by  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  R.A.  It  is  a  church 
of  considerable  interest,  standing,  as  it  does,  on 
the  site  of  the  ancient  cathedral  of  the  bishopric 
of  Leicester,  which  was  iu  esistence  from  fiSO  to 
870.  At  the  latter  date  the  two  isees  of 
Leicester  and  Lindsey  were  united  in  the  see  of 
Dorchester-on-the-Thames,  the  see  being  again 
removed  to  Lincoln  in  1067.  Although  Lei- 
cester is  now  in  the  diocese  of  Peterborough,  St. 
Margarefs  still  preserves  its  connection  with  the 
older  see  by  the  fact  that  it  furnishes  a  prebeudal 
stall  in  Lincoln  Cathedral.  The  oldest  part  of 
the  existing  church  consists  of  the  bays  at  the 
east  end  of  the  nave,  which  d.ate  from  a.d.  1200, 
when  the  church  was  cruciform,  with  narrow 
aisle,«.  Transepts  were  added  and  the  nave 
heightened  and  the  ai.-les  widened  in  the  follow- 
ing century,  while  in  the  1  oth  the  tower,  chancel, 
clerestory,  and  porch  were  added.  In  the 
chancel  is  an  exejuisitely-worlied  alabaster  efSijy 
of  John  Penny,  a  former  abbot  of  Leicester,  and 
subsequently  Bishop  of  Bangor  and  Carlisle. 
Leland  speaks  of  St.  Margaret's  as  the  fairest 
parish-church  of  Leicestershire,  and  Brand 
speaks  of  the  bells  as  a  noble  peal  of  ten. 

Poet  Setos,  N.B. — The  memorial-stone  of  the 
new  harbour  works  at  Port  Seton,  in  the  Fiith 
of  Forth,  was  laid  by  Lady  Elcho,  on  Friday. 
The  enterpiise  now  completed  is  virtually  a 
restoration  of  an  old  harbour  wrecked  by  a  heavy 
ground-swell  in  1803,  and  since  allowed  to  fall 
into  ruins.  The  .-ite  has  been  granted  at  a 
nominal  rent  by  the  Earl  of  Wcniyss,  who  also 
contributed  £2,000  towards  the  cost  of  the  con- 
struction, the  remaining  £9,000  being  borne  by 
the  fishermen  in  weekly  payments.  The  new 
harbour  embraces  an  area  of  about  seven  acres, 
providing  anchorage  for  200  boats.  In  carrying 
out  the  plans,  which  were  prepared  by  Messrs. 
D.  and  T.  Stevenson,  C.E.,  of  Edinburgh,  the 
principal  work  has  been  the  erection  of  break- 
waters that  shelter  the  harbour  on  the  east  and 
west.  The  pier  on  the  east  side  is  carried  out 
200  yards,  and  at  its  seaward  extremity  is  curbed 
round  so  as  to  face  the  north,  and  run  in  towards 
the  western  breakwater,  which  is  only  130  yards 
in  length,  and  from  wliich  it  is  separated  by  a 
distance  of  12oft.,  forming  the  entrance.  In  the 
construction  of  these  breakwaters  Portland 
cement  concrete  has  been  used,  the  material 
being  run  in  a  lieiuid  state  into  huge  moulds 
formed  of  wood  on  the  site  itself,  .so  as  to  con- 
struct an  entire  pier  as  one  great  block.  Along 
the  top  of  the  piers,  which  are  25ft.  in  bieidth, 
lines  of  rails  have  been  laid,  iu  anticipa'ion  of 
the  development  of  a  mineral  trade.  In  the  ba.sin 
of  the  harbo'ir  much  blasting  had  to  bo  under- 
taken after  the  sand  that  lay  on  the  top  of  the 
rock  had  been  removed — the  excavations  thus 
accomplished  haviug  amounted  to  about  30,000 
cubic  yards.  At  spring- tides  the  water  in  the 
harbour  will  reach  a  maximum  depth  of  lO.'ft. 
The  contractors  for  the  work  were  Messrs. 
A.  Morrison  and  Son,  Edinburgh. 

Thokpe,  itEAE  SowERiiY." — The  new  church  of 
St.  John  the  Divine,  at  Thorpe,  in  the  Kipponden 
valley,  was  consecrated  on  Thursday  week  by 
the  Bishop  of  Ripon.  Ic  has  been  built  at  a 
cost  of  nearly  £6,000,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
W.  S.  Barber,  of  HaUfax.  The  style  is  Per- 
pendicular,  and   the   plan   consists  of    a   nare 


,  without  aisles,  Sift,  by  31ft.,  chancel,  34ft.  by 
2.5ft.,  organ  chamber,  and  vestries  for  the  choir 
and  clergy.  There  is  accommodation  for  300 
I  persons.  The  seats,  pulpit,  &c.,  are  of  oak; 
the  reredos  is  in  Caen  stone,  by  Me-ssrs.  Emms 
and  Martin,  of  Cheltenham,  representing  Christ 
•  bearing  his  Cro.ss,  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Re- 
surrection ;  and  the  font  is  an  excellent  piece  of 
work,  entirely  of  serpentine  of  various  colours. 
The  floor  throughout  is  mosaic.  All  the  windows 
except  three  are  filled  with  memorial  glass, 
from  the  manufactory  of  Messrs.  Heaton,  Butler, 
and  Bayne.  The  east  window,  in  seven  lights, 
;  and  the  rest  of  the  chancel  windows,  relate  to 
I  the  life  of  Our  Lord  ;  those  in  the  nave  relate  to 
I  St.  John,  in  whose  name  the  church  is  dedicated  ; 
and  those  iu  the  apsidal  vestry,  which  is  placed 
at  the  west  end,  are  filled  with  appropriate  sub- 
jects. The  organ  is  supplied  by  Messrs. 
Conacher  and  Co.,  of  Huddersfield.  The  con- 
tractors have  been — Mason,  Mr.  Crowthcr,  Brig- 
house  ;  joiners,  Messrs.  Marsh,  Jones,  and 
Cribb,  Leeds ;  plasterers,  Messrs.  Rushworth 
and  Firth,  Halifax ;  plumber,  Mr.  Naylor, 
Halifax ;  and  tUer,  Mr.  Rust,  of  Lambeth. 

CHIPS. 

The  Viking  ship  recently  discovered  in  the  fiord 
of  Christiania — or,  at  lea^t,  so  much  of  it  as 
remains  entire— has  been  transplanted  from  the 
place  where  it  was  found  to  Christiania,  and  it  is 
now  inclosed  in  a  shed  specially  set  apart  for  its 
reception  in  the  museum  ef  that  city. 

Congresbm'y  parish-church,  Somersetshire,  was 
reopened  on  the  23rd  ult.,  af  ter  undergoing  restora- 
tiou.  The  unsightly  olJ  pews  have  been  replaced 
hy  open  benches  of  Euglish  oak.  The  reseating  of 
the  church  will  increase  its  accommodation  from 
420  to  470  persons.  The  work  has  been  earned  out 
from  designs  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Ferrey,  Spring-gardens, 
London,  by  Messrs  Hutchings,  of  Honiton,  the 
contract  price  being  ,£000.  The  private  chapel  on 
the  south  side  of  the  church,  the  property  of  the 
De  Merle  family,  has  also  been  restured  in  memory 
of  the  late  Mr.  \V.  H.  De  Merle  by  his  widow— the 
work  being  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Berkeley  and 
Co.,  of  Wells-street,  London,  at  a  cost  of  £.500. 
The  interior  walls  and  roof  of  the  chapel  have  been 
decorated  in  colour,  and  the  east  window  has  been 
filled  with  stained  glass,  representing  four  French 
saints.  In  the  south  window  is  a  representation  of 
the  Transfiguration.  The  screen  dividing  the 
chapel  from  the  chancel  has  also  undergone 
thorough  restoration. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new -church  of  St. 
Joseph  was  laid  on  Wednesday  week  at  Wetherby, 
by  Dr.  Comthwaite,  the  lioman  Catholic  Bishop  of 
Leeds.  The  building  consists  of  nave  49ft.  6in.  by 
24ft.,  apsidal  chancel  1.5ft.  Sin.  by  14ft.,  with 
narrow  chancel  aisles,  and  vestry  12ft.  Sin.  by  lift. 
Gin.,  and  porch  towards  the  south-west  corner  of 
the  nave.  The  cost  is  estimated  at  £730.  The 
building  is  being  erected  by  Mr.  William  Plows,  of 
Ilkley,  from  the  designs  and  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  Edward  Simpson,  of  Tyrrell-street, 
Bradford. 

A  new  Primitive  Methodist  chapel  was  opened 
at  The  Obley,  iu  the  parish  of  Ciunbury,  talop, 
last  week.  It  has  been  built  by  Messrs.  Jones  and 
Son,  of  Bishop's  Castle,  from  "the  designs  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Evans,  architect,  of  Brampton  Brian. 

The  foundation-stones  of  a  new  Baptist  chapel 
were  laid  in  Commercial-road,  Hereford,  on  Mon- 
day. Mr.  J.  Johnson,  of  London,  and  Mr.  C. 
Haddon,  of  Hereford,  are  acting  as  joint  architects, 
and  the  contractor  is  Mr.  W.  Bowers. 

On  Wednesday  week  the  promoters  of  the  Bill 
for  the  construction  of  a  railway  between  Maid- 
stone and  Ashford  he!d  a  banquet  at  Maidstone,  in 
celebration  of  the  passing  of  the  measure  through 
Parliament.  The  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  George 
Hopkins,  C.E.,  the  engineer  to  the  scheme,  aud 
amongst  those  present  were  Mr.  J.  S.  Forbes,  the 
chairman  of  the  London,  Chatham,  and  Dover 
Railway,  by  which  company  the  Hue  will  be  worked. 

Considerable  alarm  has  been  occasioned  at  Few- 
fton,  near  Otiey,  by  the  rapid  subsidence  of  laud. 
During  the  past  fortnight  cracks  in  the  walls  ot 
houses  have  manifested  tlieniselves  and  increased 
daily,  aud  tenants  are  fast  quitting  dwelUugs 
which  are  becoming  uninhabitable.  In  the  fields 
and  gardens  lar^^e  openings  have  gaped  a  foot  or 
two  wide,  and  several  feet  in  depth,  and  in  some 
cases  more  th.an  100  yards  in  length,  and  boundary 
walls  have  fallen.  The  subsidence  is  attributed  to 
the  formation  of  the  new  lower  reservoir  con- 
structed below  Fewston,  for  the  corporation  of 
Leeds. 

Mr.  Wm.  Fraser,  S.S.C,  a.^'sist.int  keeper  of  the 
Register  of  Sasines,  and  a  well-known  Scotti-h 
antiquarian,  has  been  appointed  Deputy-keeper  of 
the  Records  in  the  Register  House,  Edinburgh. 


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DiiAwixGS  Keckived.— Rev.  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcalt. 
"BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

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(?r0ntspoiilrcitcc. 

IROX  IX  rORTL.VXD  CEMEXT. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bcildixo  Xews. 

SiE, — I  have  read  with  much  interest  your 
article  on  "  Iron  in  Portland  Cement." 

As  far  as  I  understand  it,  it  refers  principalijr 
to  the  presence  of  metallic,  free  or  uncombiood, 
iron  in  cement  which  is,  afc<r  all,  I  heg  leave  to 
think,  only  a  somewhat  secondary  matter. 

But  there  are  certain  passages  in  the  body 
and  towards  the  end  of  your  article  which  seem 
to  touch  upon  a  much  larger  question — a  tjue*- 
tion  which,  to  numerous  producers  and  con- 
sumers, is  almost  a  vital  one.  The  importance 
of  this  question  must  be  my  plea  for  venturing 
a  remark  or  two  upon  the  language  of  your 
article.     You  say,  "  we  hope  to  see  in  the  not 


400 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


fardistant  future  the 'constructive' binding  agent 
produced  without  the  aid  of  o.ride  of  iron  or  alu- 
mina .  Both  these  ingredients  are  disturbing  agents 
in  the  manufacture  of  a  good  and  reliable  Port- 
landcement."  Andagaiu:  "We  may  say  that!  he 
less  iron  in  Portland  cement  the  better  ;  for  its 
presence,  "whether  chemically  or  mechanically,  is 
productive  of  dano-er." 

In  these  passages  you  appear  utterly  to 
condemn  the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron  in 
cement,  not  merely  in  a  free  or  uncombined 
state,  but  mainly,  if  not  solely,  in  that  state  of 
chemical  combination  (more  or  less  perfect)  in 
■which  it  is  found  in  varj-ing  proportions  in  nil 
Portland  cements.  Now  this  is  obviously  a  very 
important  question  to  a  large  class,  if  not  to  the 
public  at  large,  and  it  is  this  to  which  I  referred 
as  "almost  vital." 

The  reference  to  alumina  I  pass  by  for  some- 
one more  qualified  than  myself  to  deal  with. 

The  expression  "almost  vital,"  may  seem  to 
some  too  strong,  but  I  justify  it  in  tbis  way  : 
Fir.st — That  there  are  no  Portand  cements  which 
do  not  contain  oxide  of  iron  to  an  appreciable 
extent ;  and,  further,  that  there  are  very  many 
(probably  the  majority)  good  and  useful  Port- 
land cements  which  do  contain  oxide  of  iron  in 
considerable  proportions. 

If  the  analyses  of  the  cements  of  Nos.  1  and  2 
series  (which  should  be  as  free  from  iron  as  any) 
had  been  given,  they  would  probably  have  shown 
such  percentages  of  iron  oxides  as  would  have 
amply  borne  out  my  statements.  Even  the 
German  cement,  which  is  so  highly  eulogised, 
has  2-76  per  cent,  of  iron  oxides  in  its  composi- 
tion, while  the  cement  No.  1  of  the  3rd  series 
(of  which  the  analysis  is  given)  contains  no  less  a 
proportion  than  11 '39  per  cent.  But  it  is  super- 
fluous for  me  to  point  out  that  numerous 
cements  of  good  reputation  and  quality  contain 
quantities  of  iron  oxides  ranging  from  5  to  10 
percent. 

If  these  things  he  so,  and  if,  as  appears  from 
the  above  quotations,  your  condemnation  is  ab- 
solute, then  I  am  justified  in  the  use  of  the 
term  "vital,"  for  would  not  the  results  of  the 
general  endorsement  and  can-yingoutof  yourcon- 
demnation  be  to  exclude  from  the  practical 
world  a  vast  amount  of  sound,  useful  material, 
and  the  aboUtiou  of  many  large  industries 
which  are  at  present  a  source  of  wealth  to  the 
nation ': 

In  further  confirmation  of  this  view  I  pro- 
ceed. 

In  another  part  of  your  article  you  use  the 
words  "it  will,  when  recei\ing  more  considera- 
tion at  the  hands  of  makers  and  consumers  of 
cements,  lead  up  to  the  rejection  of  such  raw 
materials  containing  an  immoiltraie  quantity  of 
iron  oxides."  This  bears  out  what  I  say :  that 
to  carry  out  your  condemnation  would  be  to 
reject  vast  quantities  of  the  abundant  stores  of 
Nature  which  she  has  so  prolifically  scattered 
abroad.  I  do  not  know,  of  course,  what  your 
idea  of  a  rnvhrah'  quantity  may  be,  but  I  think 
I  may  safely  assume  that  it  will  not  exceed  S'93 
as  given  for  the  London  clay,  and  most  probably 
not  7 '02,  as  in  the  German  clay.  These  limits, 
as  you  know,  would  exclude  many  extensive 
deposits  of  valuable  cement -making  materials, 
espeoiaDy  in  the  north  of  England,  where  most  of 
the  clays  and  shales  contain  large  proportions  of 
iron. 

And  for  trhnt  is  this  great  revolution  to  take 
place  ?  Chiefly,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  for  the  sake 
of  a  theoretical  perfection.  Let  us  see  whether 
the  sacrifice  is  worth  making.  A  cement  con- 
taining oxide  of  iron  may  not  be  theoretically 
perfect,  but  it  is  none  the  less  most  valuable  and 
useful  as  a  constructive  agent.  For  all  practical 
purposes,  for  all  the  reasonable  requirements  of 
this  work-a-day  world,  a  cement  containing 
oxide  of  iron  is,  I  maintain,  as  good  as  any  other. 
The  only  objections  brought  against  iron  in 
cement  appears  to  be  as  follows : — 

1st.  Colour.  That  it  has  a  tendency  to  make 
the  cement  brownish  instead  of  grey.  In  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  in  constructive  works  this  is 
perfectly  immaterial. 

2nd.  Slowness.  That  it  has  a  tendency  to 
make  the  cement  slower  in  setting.  This  is  only 
a  very  temporary  drawback,  and  is  often  the 
indication  of  a  superior  cement. 

3rd.  That  the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron 
being  unnecessary,  it  is  to  that  extent  dele- 
terious. 

That  its  presence  is  not  necessary  remains  I 
think  yet  to  be  proved  :  but  even  if  so,  it  will  not 
affect  the  strength  of  the  cement  in  any  serious 


degree.  But  it  would  not  be  suflicient  even  to 
prove  that  oxide  of  iron  is  negatively  detrimental; 
to  bear  out  the  strength  of  your  remarks  when 
you  speak  of  it  as  a  "  disturbing  agent"  and  as 
"productive  of  danger,"  it  would  be  necessary 
for  you  to  prove  that  it  is  active/!/  injiiriotis.  And 
to  this  end  I  do  not  believe  a  tittle  of  evidence 
has  been  brought  forward.  This  being  so,  I  fail 
to  see  that  any  good  purpose  is  to  he  served  by  a 
wholesale  condemnation  of  such  cements  for  the 
sake  of  an  unrealisable  dream  of  theoretic  per- 
fection. 

A  word  or  two  upon  another  point. 

In  the  paragraph  last  quoted  and  context  you 
seem  to  imply  that  the  amount  of  free  iron  ex- 
tractable  from  a  cement  depends  in  some  way  on 
the  proportions  of  ii'on  oxides  contained  in  the 
ingredients  of  which  it  is  composed. 

This,  I  think,  is  not  borne  out  by  facts. 

In  my  opinion,  the  free  iron  is  contributed 
mainly  during  the  process  of  manufacture.  And 
this  may  well  be,  seeing  the  verj'  small  relative 
amounts  of  iron  eliminated  by  sieve  and  magnet 
and  the  evenness  of  the  averages  from  cements 
made  of  diverse  materials  and  from  widely 
different  localities.  But  whether  this  be  so  or 
not,  the  results  in  any  ease  are  perfectly  insignifi- 
cant and  imworthy  of  prolonged  attention.  The 
average  matter  extracted  from  the  15  British 
Portlands  is  C-306,  orl-327th  part  of  the  cement. 
But  excluding  No.  1,  3rd  series,  which  is  evi- 
dently an  exception,  seeing  that  the  other  two 
North  Country  cements  show  even  results,  and 
No.  2,  of  "Magnet"  series,  which  also  appears  to 
be  a  faulty  cement,  we  get  an  average  for  the  13 
remaining  British  cements  of  0"219,  or  l-4o7th 
of  the  whole,  from  which  the  various  samples  do 
not  widely  vary,  and  which  I  cannot  help  think- 
ing is  a  just  and  reliable  average.  But  from  the 
analysis  given  at  the  end  of  the  article  I  find 
that  only  9ol,  or  to  speak  roundly,  10  per  cent, 
of  the  matter  extracted  by  the  magnet  was  iron 
in  any  form.  We  must  then  divide  the  fractions 
given  above  by  10  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  rela- 
tive proportions  of  iron  thus  extracted  from  a 
given  cement.  Taking  the  average  of  the  whole 
of  the  British  cements,  we  find  that  the  iron  ex- 
tracted by  the  magnet  only  amoimtsto  l-3270th 
part  of  the  cement  operated  upon — a  per- 
fectly insignificant  amount,  and  for  all  practical 
purposes  of  no  consequence  whatever.  But  when 
we  take  the  juster  avt-rage  of  the  13  cements,  we 
get  l-4570th  part,  as  the  amount  extracted  by 
the  magnet,  and  if  the  former  result  was  insig- 
nificant, how  much  more  so  is  this  ? 

From  the  Germai  cement,  however,  the  iron 
extracted  only  equalled  about  one-third  of  this 
ridiculously  small  amount,  or  1-13, 710th  part  of 
the  cement.  This  result,  upon  the  supposition 
that  the  metallic  iron  in  cement  arises  from  de- 
fective processes  of  manufacture,  certainly  goes 
to  show  the  hiah  excellence  of  manufacture  at- 
tained in  tho  German  manufactory.  And  this 
appears  to  me  to  he  the  only  point  of  import- 
ance to  be  learnt  from  these  inquiries — viz., 
that  more  care  is  required  in  the  processes  of 
manufacture  to  prevent  the  admixture  of  free 
iron  with  the  cement  ;  and  upon  a  review  of 
the  whole  question,  I  can  but  repeat  the  remark 
in  the  opening  of  my  letter,  that  I  considered 
the  question  of  free  iron  in  cement  as  only  a 
somewhat  secondary  one.  Of  how  much  greater 
importance  is  the  question  of  the  presence  of  iron 
oxidesand  the  rejection  of  impregnated  materials, 
which  is  so  strongly,  yet  so  cursorily,  dealt 
with  by  you. 

There  is,  I  find,  one  other  thing  that  these 
experiments  seem  pretty  well  to  establish,  and 
that  is,  that  the  sieve  may  be  trusted  to  extract 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  metallic  ii-on,  thus 
providing  a  very  easy  way  out  of  the  diffi- 
culty. 

With  regard  to  the  experiments  upon  natural 
cements  (Nos.  G  and  7  series),  it  is  certainly 
very  remarkabl-  that  so  large  an  amount  of 
metallic  iron  should  be  found  ;  but  I  do  not 
think  they  form  any  guide  whatever  on  the 
question  of  the  presence  of  metalHc  iron  in  a 
highly  artificial  product  like  Portland  cement. 
While  on  this  point,  I  would  just  ask  whether, 
in  the  third  paragraph  referring  to  No.  C  series, 
the  sense  would  not  have  been  more  perfect 
with  the  word  "  even"  left  oufr  Also,  whether 
I  am  right  in  supposing  you  to  maintain  that 
when  oxide  of  iron  is  in  large  quantity  in  an  in- 
gredient, a  portion  of  it  will  not  be  able  to 
**  combine  in  a  profitable  manner,"  and  that  that 
portion   will,    under    the  action   of   heat,    tend 


to   swell    the    metallic    iron    in   the    resulting 
cement ': 

Referring  to  the  analysis  of  clay  given  (No.  3 
series) ,  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would  point  out 
the  distinctive  features  in  the  character  of  the 
clay  that  may  be[supposed  to  render  the  resulting 
cement  cjuicksetting :  And  also  whether  it  is  not 
more  likely  to  be  the  result  of  light  burning,  as  in 
your  next  paragraph  you  proceed  to  show  that 
when  more  highly  burnt,  it  is  not  quicksetting, 
and  give  its  analysis  ? 

Tou  say  that  this  clay  is  of  a  brownish  colour, 
and  the  analysis  shows  that  it  contains  17'H 
oxide  of  iron.  Do  you  attribute  the  colour  to 
the  oxide  of  iron  f  And  do  you  infer  that  the 
large  percentage  of  free  iron  extracted  by  the 
magnet  resulted  from  this  ? 

The  clay  used  in  cement  No.  2  of  the  same 
series  you  also  say  is  a  brownish  clay,  having  a 
considerable  portion  of  oxide  of  iron  in  its 
analysis  ;  in  fact,  I  should  judge  from  your 
words,  a  very  similar  clay  to  the  foregoing.  But 
"n  this  case  the  iron  extracted  by  the  magnet  is 
below  the  average.  Does  not  this  fact  tend  to 
negative  the  idea  that  the  free  iron  depends  (in 
any  degree)  on  the  oxides  in  the  clay  r 

In  conclusion,  I  would  beg  that  if  you  cannot 
find  space  for  my  letter,  you  would  take  an 
opportunity  of  explaining  in  your  columns  some 
of  the  points  I  have  raised  for  the  benefit  of 
your  readers  and  myself. — I  am,  ifcc, 

T.  H.  DuEE. 

Dove  Hole,  Stockport,    Sept.  2.5. 


WESTMINSTER    VESTRY  -  HALL     COM- 
PETITION. 

SrE, — In  your  comments  upon  the  awards  in 
this  matter  you  take  reasonable  credit  for  having 
in  your  review  of  the  drawings,  pronounced 
that  of  "Stet  "  to  be  unquestionably  one  of  the 
boldest  ink  designs  in  the  room. 

I  dispute  not  its  boldness,  nor  its  ink,  but  its 
right  to  selection. 

Tou  also  remarked  as  to  my  two  designs 
("L'nitas,"  A  and  E)  "that  the  author  has 
fairly  studied  the  requirements."  I  ask  you 
then,  in  the  name  of  all  fairness,  to  allow  me  to 
point  out  that  the  work  should  be  given  to  some 
one  of  the  competitors  who,  like  myself,  did 
study,  and  not  disregard,  the  requirements,  and 
especially  those  as  to  cost. 

The  competitors  were  limited  by  the  conditions 
to  £15,000,  inclusive  of  such  a  large  hall  as 
they  could  provide  within  that  sum. 

Now  the  authors  of  the  other  two  premiated 
designs  naively  acknowledge,  in  their  report, 
that  they  had  not  been  able  to  include  this  hall 
at  all  within  this  limit,  and  it  is  obvious  that  the 
design  of  "Stet"  failed  as  to  this  point  even 
more  egregiously. 

Having  refrained  myself,  as  doubtless  other 
competitors  did,  from  all  expensive  features,  in 
order  to  comply  with  this  requirement,  and 
having  also  fulfilled  all  other  conditions,  I  feel 
that  I  am  only  acting  justly  to  my  brother-com- 
petitors and  myself  in  asking  a  reconsideration 
of  the  judgment  based  upon  the  misleading  re- 
port of  Mr.  Charles  Barry.— I  am,  ire, 

Joes  P.  Seddon. 

1,  Queen  Anne's-gate,  Westminster,  Sept.  29. 


THE  GLASGOW  MXTNICIPAL 
COMPETITION. 

SiE, — I  heartily  agree  with  Mr.  Clarke's  pro- 
test as  to  the  violation  of  the  conditions  in 
the  "getting-up"  of  the  above  plans  by  the 
authors  of  the  two  first  premiated  designs. 

I  was  simple  enough  to  read  the  conditions 
literally,  as  he  did ;  but  to  make  doubly  sure  I 
wrote  twice  to  the  City  surveyor  to  ask  if  the 
windows  might  be  lightly  washed  in,  pointing 
out  the  great  improvement  that  would  be 
thereby  ell'ected.  I  had  replies  distinctly  and 
clearly"  saying  that  "no  deviation  from  the 
instructions  would  be  permitttd  "  ;  and  yet  the 
Council  have  apparently  allowed  Mr.  BaiTv  to 
ignore  what  I  consider  in  so  close  a  contest  to  be 
a  most  important  matter.  If  this  is  allowed  to 
pass  with  an  arbitrator,  I  am  inclined  to  be  con- 
tent with  the  old  style,  and  do  as  a  worthy 
member  of  the  Institute  recently  remarked  lo 
me — "Never  to  go  in  for  a  competition  unless 
you  have  enough  friends  to  win  it  for  you." — I 
am,  ire,  A  Coiipetitok. 

GREAT  SPAN  ROOFS. 
SiE, — The  "  corrections"  made  by  Mr.  Butler 
do  not  touch  the  principle  which  I  mentioned  in 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


4  01 


writing  the  article.  He  almost  finds  faiUt  with 
its  brevity,  hut  I  did  not  intend  in  it  to  discuss 
a  subject  so  thoroughly  understood  by  all  engi- 
neers, and  upon  which  they  are  likely  to  differ 
as  long  as  roofs  are  built.  I  thank  him  for  one 
correction  of  a  misprint  in  mentioning  the 
Birmingham  Station  roof  ;  it  should  have  been 
roUc'ti-ixon  arched  ribs,  and  I  may  stuto  here 
these  are  loin,  deep  and  11-lGths  of  an  inch 
thick,  having  angle  irons  at  the  top  and  bottom 
forming  fl.inges. 

As  regards  the  other ' '  correction ,"  it  is  of  little 
concern  who  invented  the  "ridge  and  furrow  " 
roof.  Let  us  award  Sylvester  the  merit ;  at  all 
events  "Paxton"  has  the  credit  of  it,  and  first 
applied  it  to  a  large  bmlding. — I  am,  &o., 

Wkiter  of  Aeticle. 


PROFESSIONAL    REFEREES     IN    COM- 
PETITIONS. 

SiE, — Now  that  some  architects  are  trying  to 
prove  that  the  appointment  of  an  architect  of 
eminence  produces  unsatisfactory  results,  taking 
as  examples  the  recent  competitions  at  Glasgow 
and  in  Westminster,  I  think  it  well  to  call  your 
attention  to  a  case  in  which  the  result  has  been 
perfectly  satisfactory.  Referring  to  the  tenders 
published  in  the  professional  joui-nals  last  week 
for  the  erection  of  a  New  Market  Hall  at  Over 
Darwen,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  accepted  tenders 
amount  to  £13,417,  or  about  £1,500  less  than 
the  estimate  of  Mr.  Charles  BeU,  the  architect. 
The  competition  designs  were  invited  last  year, 
and  Mr.  A.  Wuterhouse  drew  up  the  condition, 
as  well  as  a  report  on  the  designs.  The  corpora- 
tion accepted,  without  question,  the  award  of 
Mr.  Waterhouse.  Mr.  BeU  was  formally  ap- 
pointed architect,  and  the  amount  of  pnmium 
did  not  mcraf  into  the  commission. 

Such  a  result  is  creditable  to  Mr.  "W'aterhouse 
for  his  judgment  in  selecting  the  design,  to  the 
architect  for  his  estimating,  and  to  the  corpora- 
tion for  fair,  honest,  and  liberal  conduct.  I 
may  add  that  aU  conditions  as  to  style,  size,  and 
finish  of  drawings  were  rigidly  adhered  to  by  all 
the  competitors. 

May  other  public  bodies  be  induced  to  imitate 
the  example  of  the  corporation  of  Over  Darwen. 
I  think  that  memorials  to  the  R.I.B.A.,  by  Mr. 
Cole  Adams  and  his  colleagues,  can  do  but  little, 
although  I  was 

OxE  "Who  Sign'ed  it. 

P.S. — W*hat  a  dreadful  disappointment  to  the 
Richmond  Vestry,  after  selecting  a  design 
marked  "  Natation,"  believed  to  be  by  a  local 
resident,  to  find  "  two  Richmonds  in  the  field." 


locality  as  a  proof  that  I  have  not  advanced  any- 
thing I  cannot  sustam,  and  in  one  case  I  enclose  a 
portion  of  a  document  in  support  of  my  stitemeiits. 
If  I  have  libelled  the  buil  iers  as  a  budy,  I  think 
Mr.  Machell  has  cast  a  slur  on  the  foremen  of 
Liverpool,  which  is  not  in  accordance  with  fact.  I 
have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  even  he  has  re- 
ceived a  list  of  extras  from  the  nicu  of  whom  ho 
speaks  so  contemptuously  ;  and  I  would  just  re- 
mind that  gentleman  that  the  foremen  of  to-day 
are  the  builder-'  of  to-morrow,  and  in  the  same 
way  the  draughtsmen  of  to-day  blossom  out  into 
the  full-blown  architects  and  surveyors  of  to 
morrow. 

Turning  now  to  Mr.  Loaning,  I  would  ask,  Is  it 
wise  to  use  a  terse  and  expressive  proverb  too 
rashly,  seeing  that  it  may,  uufoitunately,  ho  run  to 
earth  and  left  there ':  Can  he  not  perceive  that  if 
architects  are  not  justified,  even  if  competent,  in 
being  surveyors,  that  the  same  rule,  when  applied, 
undermines  the  whole  fabric  of  the  modern  build- 
ing c:)ntract-'r,  and  brings  it  to  the  ground.  Pray 
do  not  hit  too'hard  the  architectural  ability  of  the 
present  day  :  temper  your  blows  with  mercy,  and 
remember  that,  in  many  cases,  clients  persist  in 
having  certain  things,  both  in  design  and  con- 
struction, carried  out  which  are  anything  but 
plaasing. 

Mr. Hughes  asks.  Who  is  this  Mr.  Reid  ?  But  who 
I  am  or  what  I  am  can  have  little  bearing  on  the 
points  at  issue.  I  have  not  slurhcd  certain  points. 
Mr.  Hughes  knows,  or  ought  to  know,  that  iu 
Liverpool  quantities  are  practically  the  basis  of 
contract.  If  the  quantities  are  short  in  any  re- 
spect, a  claim  is  made  for  the  extra  work  done,  and 
it  has  to  be  paid — at  least,  that  is  my  experience- 
however  small  it  may  have  been.  How  to  deal 
with  faulty  quantities  can  be  so  easily  answered 
that  I  never  expected  to  be  poHtely  told  I  had 
s/iirAcrf  the  question.  Three  words,  "Decline  to 
tender,"  sum  up  its  whole  merits.  We  are  told 
by  an  eminent  authority  that  it  is  easy  to  know 
when  quantities  are  properly  taken  out,  and  the 
remedy  suggested,  if  drastic,  is  simple  and  effec- 
tual. 

When  Mr.  Hughes  asserted  that  I  "shirked" 
the  question  of  the  competency  of  quantity-sur- 
veyors, he  made  a  statement  difficult  to  prove,  for 
I  admitted,  in  my  first  letter,  that  some  sort  of  an 
examination  was  necessary,  and  further  suggested 
that  huUders,  before  being  allowed  to  practise 
shonld  also  give  proofs  of  competency.  I  think 
he  must  have  overlooked  tha*.  paragraph,  quite 
unintentionally.  Let  him  be  just,  even  ijE  fearless, 
in  his  criticism. — I  am,  kc, 

Edwaed    Reid 

16,  Portia-street,  Bankhall,  Liverpool,  Sept.  28. 


J:nttvcommunication, 


[0245.] -Boundaries. -Could  any  one  rroumnipfid  a 
book  on  JuincyinfT.  or  a  (S.-ap  one  ua  I.tnd,  whi-sh trwU 
fully  oil  buunJaric-a  I  -  I,a:«d. 

a  pump  l>^  (T'lt  that  U  workable 


A    BI'LLDER'S    ACCOUNT,    1571. 
£>IE, — The  following  bill  fur  pointing  part  of 
the    tower    of    Newark   Church   in   1571    may 
interest  some  readers  in  ISSO  :  — 

NEWAEKE  SUPER  TREXTE,  IX  COM.  XOTT. 
The  whole  charges  for  pontinge  the  steple  to  the  battle- 
ments downe  and  begonne  in  Easter  weke,  and  ended 
the  weke  before  Crosse  weke,  in  the  yere  of  our  Lord 
God  a  thousand,  five  hundreth,  seventy  and  one,  and  in 
the  thirtenth  y^re  of  the  Keign  of  our  Sovereism  Ladye 
and  Quene  Elizabeth  and  in  the  tyme  of  ilr.  John 
Brignell,  then  Alderman. 

£.   s.  d. 

Itm.  One  grette  rope  for  the  cradell  puUy 0  15    0 

Itm.  6  strike  of  roalteto  make  worte  to  blend 

with  the  lyme  and  temper  the  same  ...    0    7    2 

Itm.  7  quarter  lymc  0    4    0 

Itm.  Three  hundreth  and  a  halfe  eggs  to  temper 

the  same  lyme  with    0    4    S 

Itm.  A  lode  of  sand  and  smithe-come 0    16 

Itm.  A  rope  to  draw  up  the  cradell  with   0    16 

Itm.  For  a  rope  making 0    3    4 

Itm.  A  rope  to  draw  up  his  morter  with  0    0    5 

Itm.  Paid  totho  ma*on  for  workmaishipe  of  the 

same  steple   4    0    6 

Itm.  Given  hym  in  rewarde  besydes  his  wages...    0  11    8 

Itm.  For  bming  the  malte  0    12 

Itm.  Paid  to  his  laborer  for  27  daies   0  13    6 

Itm.  Forsouthering  the  wethercoke    0    3    4 

£.  s.  d. 
Summe  totalis  7    7    0 

Cross  week  was  the  Rogation  days  before  the 
Feast  of  the  Ascension.  The  Alderman  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  Guild  was  the  chief  personage 
nntU  the  town  was  incorporated  under  a  mayor. 
—I  am,  &c.,  Mackexzie  E.  C.  Walcott. 

QUANTITIES. 
Sib, — I  only  wrote  concernint?  what  I  knew,  and 
any  ignorance  displayed  by  others   on  that  score 
makes  but  little  difference  to  the  facts  of  the  case 


(O'.'l. 

!-Pump8.— Can  a  pui« 

by  on.. 

ii'in  U)  dr»w  WAb-r  it  .U\ 

ncil,  wliutLi  the  (fri'aU"'    '      ' 

Ifthir 

•  i*  Buch  a  XMiinr.    • 

ticuUr 

)  of  it,  and  wlR-n 

[02 17 

■  '-Komoval  of  I'  i. 

to  hea 

o(  ttiu  Uat  metliKl  ..(  . 

st.miw 

irk  itf  an  ancU.iit  buildin 

..t  c\m 

oollte- 

-1£.  11. 

■  W  If.  If!    .1. 


ItUJ 
utile 

-war 


THE    AECBLi:OLOGICAL    SOCIETY    OF 
ROME. 

f  IE,— As  a  memher  of  the  committee  of  the 
Archce  jlogical  Society  of  Rome,  and  as  oue  who 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  its  proceedings  for 
three  or  four  years,  and  has,  consequently,  an 
interest  iu  its  welfare,  I  heg  to  state,  ou  the 
authority  of  the  treasurer  of  the  Society,  Mr. 
Hooker,  of  Rome,  that  the  paragraph  in  your 
paper,  copied  from  the  Tlhu^  of  lath,  intimating 
that  the  Society  was  extinct,  is  erroneous. 

Mr.  Hooker  is  the  only  ofli:er  of  the  Society 
resident  in  Rome  all  the  year  round,  and  had  there 
heen  any  intention  of  closing  the  Society,  he  natu- 
rally would  have  heen  the  first  person  to  hear 

of  •'•  .  ,        •     .v 

We  have  certainly  sustained  a  great  loss  in  the 
enforced  absence  of  Mr.  Parker  (on  account  of  the 
state  of  his  health)  for  the  last  three  years :  but 
the  Societv  is  still  carrying  on  the  work  which  he 
commenced  with  much  success,  and  carried  on  for 
a  period  of  about  fifteen  years  with  much  cntr;:y. 
1  hope,  therefore,  you  will  do  me  the  favour  : 
giving  pubUcity  to  this  contradiction  of  a  rcpm' 
which  is  calculated  to  injure  materiilly  the 
interests  of  a  Society  which,  I  hope,  will  flounsh 
for  many  years,  notwithstanding  the  attacks  of 
inimical,  anonymous  writers  in  the  papers.— I  am. 

4.-0.,  RlCHAED  POPPLEWEIX  PtXLA-V. 

Villa  Webb,  Bagia  di  Lucca,  Sept.  22. 

About  £170  having  been  accumulated  by  th 
Edinburgh  Town  Council,  as  a  surplus  on  fees  f  r 
admission  to  the  Scott  Monument,  it  has  be.  i. 
decided  to  devote  the  fund  to  the  placing  ■  : 
additional  statuary  in  the  remaining  vacant  uicl.  - 
of  the  memorial.  Designs  will  be  invited  fr  ■ 
Scotch  sculptors  for  the  tilling-up  of  from  20  to 
of  the  empty  niches,  leaving  the  others  ta  be  dca. 
with  at  a  future  time. 

Owing  to  the  want  of  safe  landing-places  in  tl 
island  of  Cyprus,  the  British  Government  is  al.  '. 
to  erect  a  large  screw  pile  pier  on  the  island  ' 


:i;.'lH  ;-yorkahlre   Abbe 
tour    in  Yorkihire,  itartiug  ti  < 
Will  some  oni'  kiDdly  jnv--  m- 
route,  4:c.T     WtiulJ  a  ifiiT'  -■' 
Geol't^uil  Suirey,  be  *<i  - 
books  publi«li(Hl  of  tlif  H-'  . 


iimp  proof  courno,  and  what  Ibe  eott  will  br  prt  •qiarv 
l\i.jt!-rLrnBUii.E. 

'fi2y>.^  —Perspective.— Can  any  of  thp  tammpoa- 
lltnt-i  uf  the  III  iM'lV'i  N'>M«  kln'll}'  lot'irm  ma  Um  ht* 
und  simplest  l>ook  on  pcrapccUVL-  .'-A  lloulisaa. 

:ivr)l  ;-Sewace  In  Country  Dlatrlet  -Itnv 

to  firmnpe  for  tl.     '  '    '  '  "        ^ 

11  settling  tank.  : 

ditch,  undl.h    . 

practical  cxpcr;' 

he  considers   u 

the  best  way  ci 

what  would  bf  . 

tity,  and  how  oi'.-ii  tu-    in  ■  i  .  •■>  it 

the  latter,  how  muuU  UuJ  oouii  .   .  .  aol 

know  of  any  ioexpen-nivc  book  .  tbl* 

to  such  a  case,  but  perhaps  •om  :.i«y  — 


;62-2l.]— Ventilation  -■  N 
ho  wishes  to  carry  out  \     ■ 
placed  in  the  anprlcs  of  ' 
Now,  "  vertical  tubes  "  i 
seems  to  claim  Iv  In-  ■ 
lost,  price  U'l 
has  no  proper  l 
were  used  foi 
Tobin,  howev.-i . 
tion  s)  much  to  t!ivir  v  I'.U' 
Tobin's  (iind  now  public  pn; 
Boyle's,  of  txmdon,  Xo.  lOii'. 
Sd.,  weread  that  ventilatii.tr  ti 
the  outer  walls  of  a  hoii- 
or  analofrous  places,  ari  1 
building  by  this  mean.-  : 
tions  or  conduct'^  hy  ■ 
and  it  further     r 
or  without  '*  i.: 
Bounds  a  good  '■ 
after,  put  int.   '; 
or  obmnches"  in  Mr 
sion  tubes,  as  per  Th  ■ 
that  tlio  latter  cliim-  : 
fresh  ail ;  in  any  due  • 
Mr.  Tobin  has  to  st<^p  i: 
you  are  free  to  Mell 


I    U! 


■ertical."  os  /am 
fourb.*n  years 
Uii.-'  year,  so  Mr.  Tob 
full  time.  As  to  its 
prevent  people  using 


a  diilerent 
fere  with  Sir. 
that  they  stioi 
from  the  wall 
air  more  awa> 
of  the  room, 
and  would  I. 
i.Jea.  and  he  " 
an.lupntl.. 


itl. 


I  know  prominent  Liverpool  builders  (not  "  small  I  Limasol.     The  contract  has  been  taken  by  M 
fry")  who  regularly  trust  their  foremen  to  see  that    Cochrane  and  Co.,  of  "tt  oodside  Ironworks,  i>ua 
the  extras  ore  duly  claimed  and  duly  measured, 
and  1  inclose,  for  the  Editor's  information  (not 
for  publication),  the  names  ef  a  few  builders  in  this 


v^oeuraiie  auu  vu.,  oi  ••  wwu.;..^.,  -.--     ,  ^ 

who  built  the  bridges  over  the  Thames  at  nn  c- 
minster,  Charing-cross,  and  Cnnon-street.  li 
work  is  to  be  executed  with  aU  possible  despatch. 


402 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


of  more  importance,  orare  more  generally  neglected,  than 
the  inlets.  After  giving  "N.  A.  L."  a  chance  to  reply, 
I  may  say  something  regai-ding  efficient  outlets. — B . 

[6226.]— Architect's  Commission.— ".(Jiarchit  ct 
can  claim  a  commission  of  5  per  cent,  on  the  outLiy  if  no 
agreement  has  been  made  to  the  contrary."  Of  course  lie 
can,  but  is  he  legally  entitled  to  it  I  Can  '*G.  H.  G." 
quote  legal  decisions  corroborating  his  assertion  J— 
A.  E.  J. 

16232.]— Sloping  Churoli  Floors.— St. Brannock's 
Churcii,  Braunton,  near  Barnstaple,  North  Devon,  has  a 
sloping  tloor,  higher  by  the  screen  than  the  centre  of  the 
nave.  The  book  rests- and  uprights  to  support  them  are 
4Un.,  and  most  of  the  woodwork  is  equally  ponderous. 
The  carved  bench-ends  ai'e  known  as  examples  of  oak  ex- 
cavations.— I.  "W". 

[6232.1— Sloping  Church  Floors.  — In  reply  to 
"  J.  D.  P.,"  I  will  say  that  the  floor  of  the  large  p.^rish 
church  of  St.  Nicholas,  East  Dereham,  slopes  very  con- 
eidenibly  towai-ds  the  west,  and  the  seatiEg  con-esponds 
■with  the  slope  of  the  floor.- Ed.  Gaskix. 

[6232.] -Sloping  Church  Floors  —The  steepest 
gradient  from  west  to  east  is  in  Ashbumhani  Chui-ch, 
Sussex,  with  flights  of  stairs,  and  the  effect  is  very  tine, 
kadiug  the  eye  instinctively  to  the  altar,  which  stands 
prominent   on  its    lofty    platform. —Mackenzie    E.    C. 

WiiCOTT. 

[6232.1— Sloping-  Church  Floor.- Thefloorof  nave 
and  aisles  of  Bruton  Church,  Somerset  (late  loth  century 
work),  inclines  about  loin,  from  W.  to  E.  The  sill  of 
each  window  in  the  aisles  is  a  few  inches  higher  in  level 
than  its  neighbour  westward,  thus  showing  the  slope  to  be 
original  and  intentional.  I  believe  it  follows  the  natural 
inclination  of  the  ground  from  W.  to  E.,  but  not  from  N. 
to  S.,  the  flijor  being  level,  and  the  ground  sloping  from 
S.  to  N.  rapidly.  The  slope  may  have  been  taken  advan- 
tage of  to  save  steps  at  the  chancel  arch  (thei-e  .-u-e  several 
still),  and  to  give  a  more  imposing  effect  to  processions. 
But  is  "J.  D.  P."  right  in  stating  that  the  slope  is  so 
much  as  6ft.  ?  This  wo-ald  make  the  floor  a  very  steep  in- 
cUne.-K.  J.  W. 

[6238.1— Weight  of  Iron  Rafters.— The  methods 
.adoptedfor  ascertaining  the  weight  of  iron  rafters  vary 
according  to  circuni-^tances.  Perhaps  the  most  satis- 
factory mode  is  to  obtain  the  weight  of  one  foot  in 
length  of  the  rafter  for  a  given  section,  and  then  multiply 
by  the  number  of  feet  in  each  rafter  for  the  whole 
weight.  To  obtain  the  weight  by  calculation,  it  is  neces« 
Bary  to  add  the  web  and  flanges  together,  if  they  are  of 
the'  same  thickness,  and  consider  them  as  a  plate  of 
metal.  Then,  by  multiplying  the  sum  by  the  length  of 
rafter,  a  superficial  quantity  is  obtained,  which  can  be 
priced  at  so  much  per  foot.  Or  the  solidity  of  the  rafter 
can  be  calculated  by  taking  tire  sectional  area  in  inches 
and  multiplying  by  the  length,  which  -will  give  the 
solidity  ;  after  which,  the  weight  can  be  readily  ascer- 
tained'by  consulting  a  table  of  the  weight  of  iron.  In 
handbooks,  it  is  usri.al  to  give  the  weight  per  foot  of 
plates  of  certain  thicknesses,  the  weight  of  bars  of  different 
sections,  by  which  mean  calculation  is  saved.  The  weight 
of  iron  lin.  thick  is  401b.  Tables  of  the  weights  of  rolled 
iron  arc  given  in  '*  Engineer  and  Architect's  Pocket- 
book"  (I^ckwood  and  Co.).  The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of 
■wrought  iron  is  4S01b.-G.  H    G. 

[6-240.]— Books  on  Building-  Construction —In 
answer  to  '*  Marsey,"  I  think  he  wiU  tind  "Notes  on 
Building  Construction"  (published  by  Rivingtons,  and  to 
be  had  of  Eatsford,  o2j  High  Holborn)  answer  his  pur- 
pose well,  as  they  are  compiled  in  order  to  assist  students 
preparing  for  examimrtions  in  building  construction 
(Science  and  Art  Department).  The  1st  and  2nd  parts 
Ss.  9d.  each ;  3rd  part,  17s.  6d.— T.  J.  B. 

[6240.]— Books  on  Building-  Construction  — 
The  text-books  generally  used  in  the  science  schools  are 
Kiviiigton's  "  Notes  on  Building  Construction."  They 
are  in"3  volumes,  the  first  being  applied  to  the  elementary 
stage,  the  second  to  the  advanced  stage,  and  the  third  to 
the  honours  staa-e.  They  may  be  obtained  through  any 
bookseller.- F.E.  H. 

[6212.]— Good   Freestone   near   Liverpool.— I 

would  reoommeud  you  to  see  the  stone  procured  from  the 
new  (juarry  at  liougk  Park,  UphoUand.  The  colour  of 
the  6^ one  is  an  exoelleat  yellow,  and  for  durability  and 
quality  cannot  be  sm-passed  in  England.  It  is  a  splendid 
stone.— O.  P.  a. 

[6242.]— Good  Freestonenear  Liverpool.— Some 
good  sandstones  are  to  be  obtained  in  Lancashire  and 
Cheshire.  Bedstone  is  a  warm-tinted  stone,  much  used 
in  Shrewsbui-y.  The  Runcorn  sandstone  is  a  good  stone 
of  dark  red,  so  is  the  Stanley  stone.  For  a  complete  list 
of  building  stones,  I  nuay  refer  J.  Comrie  to  "Notes  on 
Building  Materials,"  Vol.  III.,  where  the  qualities  will 
be  found  described. — G.  H.  G. 

(6211.)— Materials  for  Concrete.— Lime  rubbish, 
if  mixed  tvith  a  proper  proportion  of  clean  ballast,  might 
be  used.  As  regards  sea-sand,  I  should  certainly  hesitate 
to  employ  ituirless  thoroughly  washed.— G.  H.  G. 

[6214.]— Materials  for  Concrete.— Lime  rubbish 
and  plaster  from  old  walls  or  ceilings  ar-e  quite  unsuitable 
for  mixing  with  Portland  cement  to  make  concrete,  and 
so  also  is  line  sea-sand.  "Writers  on  concrete  who  under- 
stand the  subject  know  too  well  the  dangers  attending 
the  use  of  such  materials,  and,  except  in  words  of  warn- 
Dg,  make  little,  if  any,  allusion  to  them. — H.  R. 


"A  Disappointed  F.S.A."  writes  complain 
that  the  Fitzalau  Chapel  at  Arundel,  which  was 
recently  anuouuced  to  be  thrown  open  to  visitors 
on  Mondays  aud  Fridays,  was  a  week  later  again 
closed  to  the  public.  He  adds:  "  It  certaiuly 
seems  marvellous  that  access  should  thus  be  posi- 
tively prohibited  to  th'S  most  interesting  building, 
containing  some  of  the  finest  monuments  iu  Eug- 
laud,  as  it  cm  be  visited  without  the  slightest 
intrusion  on  the  privacy  of  the  noble  owner  of  the 
castle,  and  the  expense  of  maintaining  a  special 
attendant  could  easily  be  defrayed  by  a  small  fee, 
to  be  exacted  from  each  visitor." 


STAINED  GLASS. 

Cheist  Cuuhch,  Sotn-HPOET. — Tire  large  five- 
light  east  window  in  th'S  church  has  been  filled 
with  stained  glass  of  a  very  beautiful  character. 
The  window  contains  five  life-size  figures— in  the 
centre  light,  St.  John  Baptist,  on  the  left  St.  Peter 
aud  St.  Andrew,  and  on  the  right  St.  Philip  aud 
Nathaniel.  These  figures,  with  their  richly 
diapered  robes  aud  backgrcuuds  of  deep  foliage, 
form  a  band  of  grand  aud  harmonious  colour 
across  the  window,  which  is  otherivise  hght  in 
treatment.  The  ornamental  portions  of  the  window 
are  leaded  in  quarries,  and  the  lights  are  treated 
alternately  with  apple  and  vine  foliage,  pierced 
with  medallions  of  full  colour  bearing  the  mono- 
grams Alpha  and  Omega,  and  "I.  H- S."  :  the 
medallion  iu  the  centre  light  is  larger,  and  con- 
tains the  "Agnus  Dei,"  which  forms  the  key  of 
the  design — this  comes  below  the  figure  of  St. 
John,  with  the  appropriate  text,  "  IJehold  the 
Lamb  of  God."  'The  interest  of  the  window  is 
sustained  in  the  tracery  by  angels  bearing  scrolls. 
The  wtndow  has  been  designed  and  executed  by 
Messrs.  Shrigley  and  Hunt,  John  O'Gaunt's  Gate, 
Lancaster,  and  28,  John-street,  Bedford-row, 
London,  W.C. 

WELLiNGBOEOUon.— On  Thursday  a  memorial 
window  in  the  south  chancel  aisle  of  St.  Luke's 
parish-church  was  completed.  The  window  is 
erected  iu  memory  of  the  late  Mr.  aud  Mrs.  W. 
GUI,  and  consists  of  five  lights.  The  subject  is 
our  Saviour,  as  the  Good  Shepherd,  holding  a  lamb 
in  His  arms,  as  the  central  figure,  aud  the  side- 
lights are  occupied  with  figures  of  the  four  Evan- 
gelists. These  are  of  life  size.  Tlrere  are  numerous 
smaller  figures  aud  emblems  as  adjuncts.  Along 
the  bottom,  in  Old  English  text,  is  ;.u  iuscriptii'n. 
The  work  was  done  by  Mr.  Drake,  of  the  Cathedral- 
yard,  Exeter. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

LiEEETON,  N.B. — Works  of  sewage-disposal  and 
irrigation  have  j  ust  been  carried  out  in  the  village 
of  Liberton,  from  plans  and  under  the  supervision 
of  Messrs.  Stewart  and  Meuzies,  civil  engineers,  of 
Edinburgh.  Siu-face-waters  are  excluded  from  the 
sewers,  which  are  furnished  with  flushing- 
apparatus  and  ventilators,  and  have  their  orrtlet  in 
a  large  concrete  tank,  near  Libertun  South  Mains 
farm  buildings.  On  this  farm  the  solid  matters 
will  be  separated  from  the  liquid,  and  the  sewage 
from  the  tank  will  be  distributed  over  the  surface 
of  the  ground  by  means  of  iron  pipes,  with  the 
requisite  valves  aud  hydrants,  aud  will  be  utilised 
for  growiug  vegetables. 

New  Yoek  Watee  Supply. — The  present  con- 
sumption of  water  iu  Kew  York  is  at  the  rate  of 
100  million  gallons  per  day  ;  but  as  it  is  felt  that, 
should  auy  accident  happen  to  the  Croton  Aque- 
duct, very  serious  conser^ueuces  would  ensue,  it  is 
proposed  to  build  a  new  cunduit  one-half  larger, 
which  will  be  capable  of  delivering  130,000,000 
gallons  per  day,  whereby  the  present  service  and 
the  projected  one  from  the  Bronx  and  Byram  rivers 
would  be  increased  to  a  daily  supply  of  '2.dO,000,OUO 
gallons.  The  cost  of  the  new  conduit  is  estimated 
at  10,000,000  dels.,  which  does  not  include  addi- 
tional storage  reservoirs.  Another  scheme  is  to 
tap  the  water  of  the  Housatouic  river,  which  rises 
in  the  Berkshire  Hills  of  Massachusetts,  and 
by  this  meaus  a  stream  could  be  diverted  into  the 
Croton  at  the  rate  of  100,000,000  gallons  per  day, 
at  a  more  moderate  cost  than  the  former  scheme. 
From  whichever  source  the  new  supply  is  to  be 
obtained,  a  new  aqueduct  will  have  to  be  built. 


CHIPS. 

The  foundation-stone  of  anew  parish-church  has 
been  laid  at  Bangor,  near  Belfast.  It  will  be 
Gothic  in  character  and  cruciform,  the  principal 
dimensions  being  90ft.  by  7'2ft.  The  materials  are 
local  stone  and  red  saudstone  dressings,  and  the 
walls  inside  will  be  finished  with  sandstone 
dressings  aud  tinted  plaster.  The  seats  will  be 
open,  aud  of  pitclr-pine.  Mr.  W.  H.  Lynn,  of 
Belfast,  is  the  architect,  Messrs  Harvey  and 
M'Loughlin  are  the  contractors,  and  the  estimated 
cost  of  the  building  is  £10,000. 

At  a  vestry  meeting  held  at  Market  Drayton  on 
Friday  it  was  decided  to  appoint  a  committee  for 
the  restoration  of  the  parish-church,  with  instruc- 
tions to  select  an  architect  who  should  draw  up 
plans,  to  procure  a  faculty,  and  to  advertise  for  and 
accept  tenders  for  the  works.  It  was  announced 
that  the  subscriptions  amounted  to  the  sum  of 
£3, '572  133.  besides  some  conditional  promises. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Primitive  Metho- 
dist Chapel  was  laid  at  Hasland,  near  Sheffield, 
ou  Monday.  It  will  seat  -300  people,  and  is  not 
expected  to  cost  more  than  £800.  Mr.  James 
Kerridge,  of  "Wisbech,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
J.  Fiddler,  of  Eckiugtou,  the  contractor. 


(Bill  (B^tt  €Mt 


At  a  vestry  meeting  of  St.  Giles's,  Cripplo- 
gate,  E.G.,  held  on  "Wednesday  week,  a  report 
was  read  from  the  Church  Improvement  Com- 
mittee, recommending  that  the  font  bhoidd  be 
raised,  and  that  the  western  portion  of 
the  church,  now  being  1  .id  with  ordinary 
stone,  should  be  relaid  with  te.sselated 
paving,  as  iu  other  parts  of  the  building. 
A  sharp  discussion  took  place  as  to  the  paving ; 
the  chairman  (the  vicar)  and  others  objecting  to 
the  manner  in  which  this  had  been  carried  out, 
and  complaining  that  the  passages  in  the  eastern 
part  had  been  laid  in  tesselated  work,  and  the 
vacant  space  at  the  western  part  iu  diamond 
pattern  Jlr.  Woodthorpe,  the  architect  for  the 
restoration,  defended  what  had  been  done,  and 
objected  to  this  part  of  the  committee's  report. 
He  objected  to  see  a  large  space  like  that  at  the 
west  end  of  the  church  covered  in  one  uniform 
pattern,  lilce  a  gigantic  cai-pet,  and,  in  his 
opinion,  they  could  have  too  much  tesselated 
pavement.  He  would  like  the  vestry  to  see  the 
present  effect  before  they  passed  a  resolution. 
The  members  then  visited  the  church,  and  on 
their  return  there  appeared  to  be  a  large  pre- 
ponderance of  opinion  in  favorir  of  the  paving  as 
arranged  by  the  architect.  The  recommendation 
relatiugtothe  font  was  adopted,  Mr.  Larke'sten- 
der  being  acceptedforthe  work,  the  second  recom- 
mendation being  dropped,  in  spite  of  the  vicar's 
expressions  of  regret   and   declaration   that  he 

had  never  seen  a  more  hideous  thing "  than 
this  paving. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  South- 
ampton, held  last  week,  a  member  asked 
whether,  considering  the  article  that  recently 
appeared  in  the  Athenieiun,  and  the  letter  of  the 
Society  for  the  Protection  of  Antient  Baildings, 
both  protesting  against  the  restoration  of  the 
paintings  on  the  Bargate,  the  committee  would 
reconsider  the  matter  before  having  the  pictures 
of  giants  and  the  shields  painted.  The  mayor 
replied  that  the  question  had  already  been 
decided  upon.  As  to  the  shields,  there  "would 
be  no  vandalism,  for  they  were  being  j  udiciously 
touched  up,  and  wouldsoon  tone  do^Ti  andlookall 
right.  The  giants  wereadiilerentmatteraltogether 
— they  had  been  taken  away.  He  considered  the 
appearance  of  the  Bargate  had  been  greatly  im- 
proved bj-  their  removal,  and  they  would  not  be 
replaced  without  a  special  vote  of  the  conneU. 
An  alderman  complained  that  whereas  the 
original  resolution  had  referred  equally  to  the 
renovation  of  the  shields  and  giants,  yet 
the  mayor  had  implied  that  the  one  class  of 
paintings  would  be  restored  and  replaced,  and 
that  the  other  class  would  not ;  but  the 
subject  dropped  without  any  further  expression 
of  opinion. 

We  mentioned  last  week  (p.  373)  the  com- 
plaint made  by  "Redux"  of  the  accumulation 
of  dry  sticks  and  rubbish  in  the  staircase 
turrets  of  the  central  tower  of  Canterbury 
Cathedral,  and  his  suggestion  that  the  tower 
should  be  kept  tidy  and  thrown  open  to  "visitors. 
The  Dean  of  Canterbury,  Dr.  Payne  Smith,  has 
replied,  admitting  that,  throughout  the  spring, 
a  close  time  is  maintained  for  the  jackdaws  who 
build  in  the  cathedral  towers,  when  they  collect 
such  a  quantity  of  rubbish  that,  at  the  end  of 
the  breeding  season,  a  cartload,  or  more,  is 
often  removed  from  the  central  tower.  The 
birds  build  platforms  in  the  tuia-ets,  rising:  the 
height  of  two  stairs  to  obtain  sufficient  width. 
The  nests  are  removed  every  autmnn  :  but  this 
year  the  cleansing  was  unusually  delayed. 
The  central  tower,  the  Dean  adds,  may  be  as- 
cended on  p  tyment  of  a  fee  which,  though  it 
may  seem  large,  is  no  equivalent  for  the  dis- 
arrangement of  work  by  taking  a  workman  oil 
from  his  duties.  Dr.  Payne  Smith  does  not  ex- 
plain whether,  on  payment  of  this  apparently 
large  fee,  the  tower  turrets  are  opened  before 
the  birds'  nests  are  removed  from  them.  If 
they  are,  and  at  least  "Redux"  obtained  ad- 
mission during  the  close  season,  the  charges  of 
insecurity  to  the  visitor  from  the  slippery  foot- 
ing, and  to  the  cathedral  from  a  careless.y- 
dropped  match,  -would  appear  to  be  estab- 
lished. 

A  NEW  ' '  Visitors'  Handbook  to  Gloucester 
Cathedral,"  just  written  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Billett 
(Gloucester  :  E.  I.  Billing,  1880),  is  a  shilling 
guide.     The    work    seems   to   have   been  care- 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


403 


fully  done,  and  the  minster  is  described  with 
a  minuteness  of  detail  and  :i  fulness  Tvhich 
will  prove  very  acceptable  to  the  vijitor.  The 
restoratirins  ett'eeted  a  quarter  of  a  rentury  since 
by  Mr.  F.  S.  Waller,  of  Gloucester,  then  the 
cathedral  architect,  and  those  carried  out  in  the 
choir  since  1SG7,  the  date  of  the  appointment  as 
architect  of  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  are  sum- 
marised. Speaking  of  the  results  of  these  works, 
the  author  admits,  with  regret,  that  an  ap- 
pearance of  "  newness "  forces  itself  on  the 
att-ention  of  the  visitor  to  Gloucester  Cathedral, 
a  defect  nowhere  more  apparent  than  in  the 
somewhat  gaudy  marble  and  tile  floor  of  tho 
choir.  While  much  of  the  information  is  cor- 
rected up  to  the  present  date,  we  notice  that  the 
published  dimensions  «  f  the  cathedral  follow  tho 
figures  given  in  Murray  and  elsewhere,  whereas, 
a  few  months  since,  the  Koyal  Engineers  en- 
gaged in  the  Ordnance  Survey  issued  the  results 
of  remeasurements,  which  slightly  differ  from 
these.  Thus  the  height  of  central  tower  is  still 
stated  as  iiOft.,  whereas,  from  surf  ace  of  ground 
to  summit  of  pinnacles,  the  corps  of  engineers 
found  it  to  be  22.5ft.  lOin.  A  ground-plan  of 
the  cathedral,  which  forms  a  frontispiece,  adds 
considerably  to  the  value  and  utility  of  tho 
handbook. 

Me.  NicnOLS,  of  Leeds,  has  just  completed  a 
piece  of  his  "  Eureka  concrete  "  in  the  0.xford . 
street  end  of  Cavendish -street,  for  the  Mary- 
lebone  ve>try  board.  It  is  put  down  as  a  foot- 
path, and  is  of  a  very  superior  kind,  being  made 
of  specially- prepared  materials  used  in  this  con- 
crete, and  '\\Tiite's  best  Portland  cement.  It  is 
the  first  time  that  concrete  of  this  description 
has  been  laid  in  London,  although  large  quan- 
tities have  been  <ised  in  the  North.  Mr.  Nichols 
claims  for  this  concrete  greater  durability,  at 
less  cost,  than  asphalt  or  York  paving.  It 
would  be  an  excellent  material  for  stables, 
warehouse  basement  and  other  floors,  where 
there  is  much  traffic,  or  fireproofing  buildings, 
and  for  Sreproof  construction.  For  use  in  stables 
or  yards,  it  is  arranged  so  as  to  give  a  turn  foot- 
hold to  the  hor.ses.  It  can  be  laid  where  heavy 
traffic  is  constantly  passing  with  perfect  safetj', 
and  with  good  results,  so  far  as  wear-and-tear  is 
concerned. 

Me.  John  H.  Webbep.,  of  70,  Finsbnrj'- 
pavement,  has  published  a  sheet  of  drawings 
representing  the  tombs  of  the  principal  histori- 
cal characters  buried  in  BonhiU-fields  burial- 
ground.  Many  will  be  glad  to  possess  a 
soiireitir  of  the  last  resting-place  of  such  well- 
known  men  and  women  as  Kichard  Cromwell, 
John  Bunyan,  Isaac  Watts,  Mrs.  We-sley,  and 
others,  whose  gravestones  are  depicted  on  the 
sheet.  It  is  a  pity  they  are  almost  vrithout 
exception  so  ugly  that  no  one  can  contemplate 
them  with  any  other  wish  than  that  they  may 
decay  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  leave  the  fame 
of  those  who  sleep  below  them  to  the  custody  of 
the  nobler  memorials  wrought  by  their  own 
works. 

A  LIVELY  discus.sion  on  water-closet  ventila- 
tion and  the  independent  responsibilities  of  cor- 
porate officials  was  caused  at  the  Tuesday's 
meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Town  Council,  by 
the  receipt  of  a  report  from  the  public  health 
committee.  Tliis  report  recommended,  on  the 
advice  of  the  burgh  engineer,  that  that  official  be 
instructed  to  call  upon  the  owners  of  certain 
common-stair  property  to  have  their  water- 
closets  ventilated  to  the  open  air.  Upon  this, 
Mr.  McLachlan  asked  on  what  system  the 
Coimcil  were  proceeding,  seeing  that  the  Dean 
of  Guild  Court  sanctioned  plans  of  houses  with 
water-closets  in  them,  constructed  up^n  the  very 
principle  cow  condemned  by  the  burgh  engineer. 
The  Dean  of  Guild  exclaimed  that  this  was  not 
true,  whereupon  Mr.  McLachlan  added  that 
only  last  week  ho  saw  approved  plans  which  did 
not  provide  for  the  ventilation  of  the  water- 
closes  into  the  open  air.  The  Dean  of  Guild 
again  contradicted  the  statement,  saying  he  had 
insisted  that  each  w.c.  should  be  ventilated  by  a 
lin.  pipe  :  but  another  member,  Mr.  Gowans, 
confirmed  the  statement,  and  observed  that  no 
closets  should  be  put  into  the  centre  of  houses. 
^Vn  architect  must  be  very  ignorant  of  the 
principles  of  his  profession,  and  be  a  very  poor 
planner,  if  he  could  not  place  the  closets  outside. 
The  pipe  mentioned  by  the  Dean  was  not  a 
proper  method  of  ventilation,  for  if  a  candle 
were  put  to  the  mouth  of  one  of  those  pipes 
the  draught  would  often  bo  downwards,  and 
not  upwards.    That  wan  only   what  might '  be 


anticipated  if  the  interior  of  the  house  was 
hotter  than  tho  oiiter  atmosphere.  The  Dean 
of  Guild  pleaded  that  if  the  burgh  engineer 
put  his  initials  upon  plans,  the  Dean  of  Guild 
Court  coidd  not  help  itself,  but  several  members 
urged  that  he  had  ample  discretion  in  tho 
matter.  Ultimately,  the  committee's  recom- 
mendation was  pa.^sed.  Tho  discussion  will 
probably  awaken  the  attention  of  architects  and 
builders,  for  a  few  weeks  at  least,  to  the  sanitary 
necessity  for  planning  closets  next  the  external 
walls  of  dwellings. 

Liamplough'a  Pyretic  Saline  Is  retreshlnir, 

most  asneabli'.aiiii  the  pi.  v.nliv,- ut  HiVKItS,  IIILIOUS.NESS, 
8M.VLL  POX.  SKIN  DISE.VSKS.  and  muny  other  •prtnj  tU 
Bummer  ailment?.  Sold  hy  clieiiiista  throuKhout  the  world,  aoi) 
the  Maker.  113.  Uolborn  HiU      i'lt  no lubiiHutt  — (Adtt.I 

HoUoway's    Ointment    is   rot  only    fitted    for 

hpaline  sores,  n-iiunds.  and  ii-lu-vinK  rxtrmol  ailments,  hut 
rubbed  upon  the  abdomen,  it  aetn  as  a  deriratlTP,  and  thus  dis- 
plays the  utmost  stlutjiry  influence  over  siomachic  olsorders.  de- 
increments  of  theliver.  irreculirities  of  the   twweU,  and  other 


inconveniences  which  r 


B  comfort. 


CHIPS. 

It  is  intended  to  erect  a  public  laundry  at  Bedford 
Park,  for  the  use  of  those  resident  on  the  estate 
and  their  friends.  Mr.  Norman  Shaw  is  the 
architect. 

The  Temple  Libiary  is  about  to  be  built,  from 
the  designs  of  Mr.  K.  W.  Edis,  F.S.A.,  who,  wo 
believe,  has  succeeded  to  the  post  of  architect  to 
the  Middle  Temple,  left  vacant  by  the  late  Mr.  E. 
M.  Barry,  R,.\.  The  style  chosen  is  Late  Gothic, 
in  red  brick  and  stone  dressings,  freely  and  very 
picturesquely  treated.  The  main  front  will  face 
King's  Walk,  and  will  join  the  tower  built  some 
years  since  by  Mr.  Arthur  Gates. 

The  chairman  and  several  members  of  the  City 
Lands  Committee  of  the  City  Comoration  have 
inspected  Coulsdon  Common,  Surrey,  with  refer- 
ence to  a  proposal  that  the  Corporation  should 
acquire  it  as  an  "  open  space.'* 

The  Leeds  Town  Council  decided,  on  Thursday 
week,  to  erect  at  a  cost  of  £6, .500,  baths  and  wash- 
houses  on  land  belonging  to  the  Corporation  in 
Lemon-street,  from  plans  and  estimate  prepared 
by  the  borough  engineer. 

The  Great  Grimsby  Provincial  Tramway  Com- 
pany are  now  layiug  about  four  miles  of  line. 
Messrs.  Davis  and  Emanuel,  of  London,  are  the 
engineers  for  the  works,  which  are  being  executed 
under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs.  Maughan 
and  Cuxson,  of  London  and  Grimsby  (as  resident 
engineers),  by  Messrs.  Reggall  and  Havins,  con- 
tractors, of  Grimsby.  It  is  expected  that  the  lines 
will  be  opened  early  in  January  next. 

We  notice  that,  in  addition  to  the  medals 
awarded  at  the  Sydney  Exhibition,  Messrs.  F.  W. 
Reynolds  and  Co.,  of  -Acorn  Works,  Blackfriars, 
have  received  a  special  prize  at  the  Brisbane 
Exhibition. 

At  a  vestry  meeting  held  at  Church  Stretton,  on 
Thursday  week,  it  was  decided  to  reconstruct  the 
upper  part  of  the  tower,  including  the  erection  of  a 
conical  roof,  and  the  lowering  of  the  pinnacles,  as 
recommended  in  a  report  by  Mr.  S.  Pountncy 
Smith,  architect.  The  contract  for  the  work  has 
been  taken  by  Mr.  Richard  Price,  of  Shrewsbury. 

The  Corporation  of  Ipswich  resolved,  at  Iheir 
meeting  last  week,  to  entrust  the  examination  and 
re -arrangement  of  the  municipal  charters,  records, 
and  manuscripts  to  Mr.  J.  Ci'rdy  Jeaffreson,  who 
has  been  making  an  examination  and  report 
upon  the  muniments  for  H.M.  Historical  IISS. 
Commissioners. 

Mr.Caspar  Pardon  Clarke  has  been  deputed  by  the 
Science  and  Art  Department  to  make  purchases  of 
Indian  art  objects  to  complete  the  collection  ex- 
hibited at  the  India  Museum,  South  Kensington. 
A  fund  of  about  £S,000  has  been  placed  at  Mr. 
Clarke's  disposal,  and  amongst  the  special  objects 
of  his  tour  are  the  mttalwork  of  Madras  and  Cash- 
mere, the  wood  carving  if  Abmedabad  and 
Canara,  the  pottery  of  Madura  and  Slooltan,  and 
the  textile  fabrics  of  Masulipatam,  Jeypore,  D-iccn, 
Lucknow,  Delhi,  Ahniedabad,  Sindh,  Bangalore, 
Malabar,  and  Central  India.  Mr.  Clarke  will  sail 
for  India  ou  Thursday  next. 

A  new  church,  dedicated  to  St.  John,  which  has 
been  erected  in  Waenfawr,  a  chapelry  of  Carnar- 
von, and  the  centre  of  a  large  mining  population, 
was  opened  on  Tuesday.  The  cost  of  the  budiling 
is  about  £  I, '200,  and  the  works  hare  been  carried 
out  by  Mr.  Elias  Davies  from  tlie  designs  of  Mr. 
Kennedy,  architect,  Bangor. 

In  accordance  with  the  resolution  passed  at  the 
Dublin  Trades  Union  Comfresa— viz.,  that  the 
secretary,  (Mr.  Broadhurst,  M.P.)  should  have  an 
advance  of  salary— the  Parliamentair  Committee 
have  decided  to  increase  the  salary  from  £130,  to 
£200,  per  annum. 


Thosculpturo  dopartmontof  tho  British  Museum 
has  latily  been  innche.l  hy  tbo  nift  of  a  lino  white 
niarblo  bust  of  the  c»let.r»iu<l  OriiiTul  John 
Churchill,  Hrtt  Uukn  of  Mutlboroiiah.  Tho  bust  is 
a  lino  spcciineii  by  Uo>;iibruch,  aiidnow  occupits  a 
conspicuous  nituatiou  in  tho  ciitmnce-hall  of  the 
niuieum. 

The  foiin,lition-p,tone'f  (he  nrwitomtn  Citholic 


church 
was  Bolemiily  l.|i--..l 
the  church  bI. 
sidc'ChapelH. 
Gothic  cUr. 
style   of    atil.i' 
with  stono  drt-<iui;s. 
pool,  is  tho  architect. 


ill    l'.iul  lit  .Ne 


ItHehton 

•n,.-  i.Ui..  f 


Mi.  IaIuiuuJ  i^iLy,  Litut- 


A  correspondent  of  tho    Timri  rrplin   to   the 
strictures    of    Mr.    Rawlin«..ii,    C.ll,,  at    ICjxUt 
last  week,  ou  tJio  coiiditiou  of  (inTiTumexit  btulU- 
ings  in  London.      While  tho  writ  r  n.ln.it,  thit  "it 
is  pcrfecllv  true,   mi  a    iii." 
Somerset   llouso  ami    lln-    \ 
'  terrible  (-xamples  nf  Lad  .h 
Mr.  Rawliiison  thi.t  he  ouj;l 

to  add  thit  "  the  Goremoi'  i  .v<li- 

tifying  the  di'ftcUiu  all  th'it  War 

Oflice  notably  was  thr«>o  yeni  ..ly  r»- 

modelled  as  regards  lauititi'ni,  mipI.  i  in.  a.ivico  of 
a  committee  over  which  Sir  Willuin  Jrun>r  pro- 
sided  ;  and  that  similar  works  are  now  m  progreai 
at  Someraet-house." 

A  committee  proposr^l,  as  n  memotinl  lo  the  Isle 
Alderman  Guest,  F.S.A.,  of  Knlherham,  a  wt>l|. 
known  antiquary,  who  did  much  to  bunrtit  the 
town  in  which  ho  lived,  to  mtnro  tho  old  rhipa^l  oo 
the  bridge  in  that  town,  and  to  conrort  it  ulo  ■ 
museum,  Tho  feoffees  hare,  howvTpr,  derliurd  to 
permit  the  proposed  restoration,  and  tho  o<niniit- 
tee,  who  experienced  somo  tj>rdin<«s  in  the  neeipt 
of  subscriptions,  liavc  resigned  iu  diaffuat. 

Largo  street   excavfttinni  li  vio  in 

the  Mile  end-road  and  olh' ;  'iRh- 

fares   on  account  of  tho  dif^  .  con- 

siderable  quantity   of   pas   ■  uime 

points  of  the  gas  maim  lut' I  Tho 

opening  up  of  Btreet-1  has  Cii-  ■■  dis- 

turbance to   business  and    •■''■'  ii  '1  the 

inhabitants  are  moving  with  th''  'fj  ' '.  '■!  itilacins 
the  Legislature  to  make  tho  gfncntl  adoption  of 
the  subway  system  for  water  oud  gas  mains  com* 
pulsory. 

Mr.  J.  Charles  Cox,  J.P.,  of  Bolper,  the  well- 
known  archiBologist  and  author  of  "Chureheeof 
Derbyshire"  has  been  ordained  aa  a  doaeon  at 
Lichheld  Cathedral. 

Some  yerrs  have  passed  since  tho  late  Count  of 
Syracuse,  brother  of  Fcrdinund  II.,  "'eru|iir<l  him- 
self  in   exploring  the   Nt-cr  ,  The 
work  has  lately  l>e»n  recomir                         ■■  sider- 
able  success.     Several  toml^^                              'var^ 
with  or  without  pavements  ^  : 
plete  ruin.     In  the  preat  pr 
tons  were  found  more  or  le.*- 
(>7>(Tr/ii),  dice,  bronze  mont  y. 
pots,  plates,  cups,  perfumo  Ta-«i 
of  a  similar  character. 

The  Lancashire  and   ■Voikh 
pany  are  about  to  erect  a  1 1: 
counecticn  with  their  good-* 
ham-road.  Manchester.    T! 
for  which  have  been  r- 
the  compmy's  arcK; 
for  the  stoiago  cf  p 
and  ou  the  groun'1-ll 
for  the  delivery  and  1 
house  will  meature  i 
treme  height  will  b*^  ~ 
run  into   the   i 
around  the    * 
The  contraC  : 
Neill  and   S  i    . 
mound,  a  timhcr  jjautry.  :ir, 
being  provided  to  mwt  Ih 
made  upon  the  cnmpary  in  ! 

Tho  great  work  <  f  '  .rr.om 

railway    auspfnaion- 
river  has  ju»t  b-^- 


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!!ii!»rir  Com- 


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tion  cf  trafli  - 
months  ago  I 
many  prnmii 
of  the  plon.  1 
and  steel  bmiKi'    "'• 
cess  of  nubslitulu.n 
si'ghtfst    iutoirupti 
observer  would  nev 
more  than  a  liltio  p 
Kew  bath«  and   ; 
built  at  Jacob's  W. 
St.   Augustine  di'tr 
Josei'h  Thomas,  citj 

Th- 
the'. 
Mr.  I 
mit  A 
of  the  colony. 


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X 


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naad 
i  Mr, 


404 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  1,  1880. 


CHIPS. 

Royle's  Head,  a  service  reservoir  intended  to 
supply  the  district  of  Halifax  west  of  Queen's- 
road,  is  completed.  It  holds  about  six  million 
gallons,  and  has  cost  some  £7,000.  Mr.  Paskin 
has  heen  the  engineer,  and  Mr.  J.  Brook,  the  con- 
tractor. The  reservoir  was  brought  into  use  on 
Tuesday  week. 

Five  men  were  killed  by  noxious  gases,  whlie 
clearing  the  junction  of  sewers,  under  the  Bou- 
levard Rochechoumart,  Paris,  on  Sunday  morning. 
The  sudden  influx  of  bad  air  into  the  sewers  is 
supposed  to  have  been  caused  by  workmen  who  had 
been  emptying  a  cesspool  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  who,  contrary  to  the  regulations,  poured  the 
contents  of  their  vans  into  the  sewer. 

The  Manchester  meeting  of  Friends  has  author- 
ised the  Hall  Committee  to  expend  a  sum  of 
£12,000  in  the  erection  of  a  permanent  and  speci- 
ally-designed hall  of  residence  for  Quaker  students 
of  Owens  College.  A  plot  of  land  has  been 
secured  in  an  open  situation  in  Victoria  Park,  and 
plans  have  been  prepared  by  Mr.  G.  T.  Redmayne, 
the  architect  of  the  new  School  of  Art.  The  con- 
tract has  been  let  to  Messrs.  Southern  and  Sons. 
The  new  building  is  to  contain  a  residence  for  the 
Principal,  and  rooms  for  30  students.  The  culinary 
department,  the  dining- hall,  the  library,  class- 
rooms, bathrooms,  offices,  &c.,  are  upon  a  scale 
larger  than  would  be  needed  for  present  require- 
ments. 

A  Catholic  Apostolic  Church,  erected  at  the 
comer  of  Edmund-street  and  Lansdowne-place, 
Bradford,  was  opened  on  the  2'2nd  ult.  The  style 
is  Early  English.  The  church  consists  of  a  wide 
nave  with  chancel  of  less  width,  provision  being 
made  for  the  future  erection  of  a  transept.  At 
the  west  end  is  a  small  baptistry.  Internally  the 
church  is  plastered,  the  roof  being  open  and  con- 
structed of  pitch-pine.  The  altar  is  of  marble 
(executed  by  Mr.  Joseph  Clark  and  Son).  The 
contractors  for  the  works  have  been — Masons, 
Messrs.  Kitchin  Brothers  ;  carpenters  and  joiners, 
Wm.  Ives  and  Co. ;  slaters.  Hill  and  Nelson ; 
plasterer,  Benjamin  Dixon;  plumbers  and  glaziers, 
D.  Higginbotham  and  Sons.  The  architect  is  Mr. 
W.  James,  of  London ;  Mr.  John  Coates  being  the 
foreman  of  the  works. 

The  Government  of  the  Sultan,  on  Tuesday 
week,  definitely  approved  a  concession  for  a  line  of 
railway  connecting  the  towns  of  Tripoli,  Horns, 
Hamath,  Damascus,  Aleppo,  and  Bagdad  to  an 
English  firm. 

The  parish-church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  New- 
port Pagnell,  was  reopened  last  week,  after  resto- 
ration, including  the  substitution  of  open  seats  for 
pews,  and  the  addition  of  gas-jets  round  each 
pillar  of  the  nave.  Mr.  John  Odell  carried  out  the 
latter  works  and  Mr.  E.  D.  Michell  the  reseating. 

A  sanitary  association  was  inangurated  at 
Westgate-on-Sea  on  Saturday,  when  Professor 
Erasmus  'n'ilson,  P.R.S.,  was  appointed  as  chair- 
man, and  Mr.  W.  Q.  Orchardson,  R.A.,  as  vice- 
chairman  ;  the  nuisance  caused  by  decomposing 
seaweed  was  discussed,  and  a  letter  was  ordered  to 
be  sent  to  Mr.  E.  F.  Davis,  requesting  his  attention 
to  the  subject. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Primitive 
Methodist  chapel  and  school  was  laid  on  Saturday, 
at  Low  Fell,  nearXewcastle-on-Tyne.  The  edifice 
will  be  built  of  stone,  will  measure  4Sft.  by  34ft.  ; 
the  schoolroom  will  be  beneath  the  chapel,  and 
each  will  seat  about  250  persons.  Mr.  Edward 
Jameson,  of  Gateshead,  is  the  architect ;  Mr.  T.  H. 
Hutchinson,  Gateshead,  the  contractor  for  masonry ; 
and  Mr.  John  Eippon,  Gateshead,  contractor  for 
the  other  trades. 

Memorial- stnes  of  new  Wesleyan  Sunday  and 
day  schools  were  laid  at  Bilstou  on  Wednesday 
week.  The  school  is  to  be  a  brick  structure,  57ft. 
by  2aft.  outside,  and  33ft.  in  height,  the  total  cost 
of  erection  being  about  £700.  Messrs.  Hickman 
and  Johnson  are  the  builders. 

Mr.  Isaac  Sutton,  of  Dalston,  who  for  more 
than  half  a  century  had  been  surveyor  to  the 
Phoenix  Fire  Assurance  03i;e,  was  fatally  injured 
by  a  street  accident  when  leaving  the  Great 
Eastern  Riilway  City  terminus  on  Friday.  Mr. 
Sutton  was  in  the  77th  year  of  his  age. 

The  restoration  of  the  parish-church  of 
Llanrhaiadr-yn-Moohnant  is  proceeding,  after 
having  been  at  a  standstill  for  some  months.  The 
contractors  are  Messrs.  Edwards  and  Davies,  of 
Oswestry. 

Opening  services  in  connection  with  a  Welsh 
Wesleyan  Methodist  chapel,  which  has  been 
erected  at  Abergele,  were  held  on  Sunday.  The 
style  of  architecture  is  the  Renaissance,  partaking 
somewhat  of  the  RDman-Doric  in  detail.  The 
materials  used  are  lime  and  Ruabon  stone.  The 
external  dimensions  are  .53ft.  bv  HJf  t.  In  the  rear 
is  a  lecture  or  schoolroom  41ft.  by  30ft.,  two 
commodious  class-rooms,  and  the  necessary  offices. 


Accommodation  is  provided  for  600,  and~the  pews 
and  other  fittings  are  of  pitch-pine.  The 
ceiling  is  divided  into  compartments  by  moulded 
ribs  and  an  embossed  centre.  Mr.  Richard  Davies, 
Bangor,  is  the  architect,  and  the  contract,  let  at 
£2,500,  has  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  James 
Copping,  Abergele. 

Memorial-stones  of  a  new  Wesleyan  Chapel  at 
Polruan,  Cornwall,  were  laid  last  week.  It  will 
be  Early  English  Gothic  in  style,  constructed  of 
Plymouth  limestone,  faced  with  Bath  stone,  and 
roofed  with  blue  slate.  The  inside  fittings  of  the 
chapel  and  the  rostrum  will  be  of  pitch-pine.  Be- 
hind the  rostrum  will  be  spacious  vestries.  The 
internal  dimensions  of  the  building  will  be  54ft. 
bv  Soft.,  and  25ft.  high,  and  will  accommodate 
320  persons.  The  total  cost  will  be  £1,100.  Mr.  J. 
Hicks,  of  Redruth,  is  the  architect  ;  Messrs. 
Penter  and  Cossentine,  of  Polruan,  are  the  con- 
tractors. 

The  Palace  of  Hoh-rood  is  being  're-roofed  for 
the  first  time  during  200  years.  The  woik  is  bein^' 
done  by  instalments,  which  have  extended  over 
the  autumn  of  each  year.  The  north  wing  and  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  building  having  been  iiist 
dealt  with,  the  roofing  of  the  "Queen's  Apart- 
ments," on  the  south  side  of  the  quadrangle,  is 
now  in  progress.  This  section  of  the  work  will  be 
completed  by  the  end  of  the  year.  The  whole  of 
the  roofing  will  then  have  been  renewed,  at  the 
cost  of  something  like  £5,000.  Mr.  Robertson,  of 
the  Board  of  Works,  is  superintending  the  work. 

A  new  Baptist  chapel,  seating  1.30  persons,  wa< 
opeced  at  Little  Coxwell,  near  Faringdon,  on 
Thursday  week.  Messrs.  Sheppard  and  Davis,  of 
Faringdon,  were  the  contractors. 

The  fifth  half-yearly  report  on  the  progress  of 
Xewhaven  harbour  was  submitted  by  the  engi- 
neers, and  read  at  the  company's  meeting  on 
Wednesday.  It  stated  that  the  capital  expenditure 
now  amounts  to  £98,060  10s.  4d.  Fair  progress 
has  been  made  with  the  new  works.  The  concrete 
wall  on  the  west  side  of  the  harbour  has  been 
nearly  completed,  and  the  foreshore  at  the  back 
has  been  filled  in  with  material  excavated 
from  the  cliffs.  About  180ft.  of  the  breakwater  up 
to  the  full  height  have  been  completed,  and  the 
works  in  connection  with  the  new  quay  on  the 
eastern  side,  and  the  construction  of  a  new  western 
pier,  are  inactive  progress. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Llandudno  School  Board, 
held  on  Tuesday,  a  report  of  the  special  committee 
was  read,  stating  that  at  an  interview  had  with 
the  architect  of  the  new  schools,  Mr.  A.  Foulkes, 
he  expressed  himself  ready  to  accept  4  >  per  cent, 
commission  on  all  outlay,  exclusive  of  building 
site,  leaving  the  Board  to  allow  him  anything  in 
addition  for  extra  trouble  with  the  designs.  The 
committee  requested  Mr.  Foulkes  to  send  this 
agreement  of  4i  per  cent,  to  the  Board  in  writing  : 
but  instead,  he  sent  to  say  that,  considering  all  the 
trouble  he  had,  he  was  entitled  to  5  per  cent.  The 
members  of  the  committee  thought  Mr.  Foulkes 
had  scarcely  cariied  out  what  was  intended,  and  it 
was  resolved  by  the  Board  tD  write  him  to  the 
effect  that  his  letter  could  not  be  submitted  to  the 
Board,  as  it  was  not  in  uniformity  with  what  had 
been  agreed  upon  at  the  committee. 

The  Liverpool  City  Council  discussed  on  Wednes- 
day whether  it  should  utilise  a  recently  cleared  site 
known  as  Nash-grove  for  the  building  of  labourers' 
dwellings,  or  wholesale  markets,  or  should  let  the 
laud  without  restrictions.  It  was  decided  to  adopt 
the  first  proposition  as  recommended  by  the  borough 
engineer.  Dwellings  of  four  and  five  stories  each, 
suited  to  the  working  and  labouring  classes,  will 
be  erected  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £60,000,  and  it 
was  held  out  by  Alderman  A.  B.  Forwood,  wh  i 
moved  the  resolution,  that  the  money  could  1" 
borrowed  by  the  corporation  at  from  3^  to  3^  pt  i 
cent.,  while  the  d  A  elliugs  will  bring  in,  after  making 
all  necessary  deductions,  at  least  0  per  cent,  on  the 
outlay. 

Plans  for  a  new  detached  infirmary  of  40  beds 
have  been  prepared  for  the  committee  of  the  Royal 
Albert  Asylum  for  Idiots  and  Imbeciles,  by  their 
architects,  Messrs.  Paley  and  Austin,  of  Lancas- 
ter. 

Mr.  Edward  Mackenzie,  of  Fawley-court, 
Henley  -  on  -  Thames,  died  on  Monday,  at 
the  age  of  seventy.  He  was  the  youngest 
son  of  the  late  Mr.  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
C.E.,  of  Fuirburn,  in  Ross-shire,  and  leaves 
behind  him  a  colossal  fortune,  made  as  a  civil 
engineer  and  contractor.  H-3  was  a  man  of  mark 
in  connection  with  his  elder  brother,  the  lato  Mr. 
William  Mackenzie,  and  the  late  Mr.  Brassey,  in 
the  early  and  palmy  days  of  the  railways,  they 
being  the  contractors  for  gigantic  works  in  France 
and  England.  They  were  all  men  of  grejt  ad- 
ministrative powers.  Mr.  Edward  Mackenzie 
lived  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  at  Fawley-court, 
which  estate  he  purchased  ou  retiring  from 
business.  The  house  abounds  with  valuable  paint- 
ings and  works  of  art  ;  it  was  built  by  Sir 
Christopher  Wren,  after  the  demolition  of  the 
former  mansion,  during  the  great  Rebellion. 


lAET'S  PATEIT 
CYCLIC  ELEVATOR, 


ArPLT  TO  THE 

PAT  E  N  T  E  E, 
52,  QUEEN  VICTORIA  STREET,  E.G. 

OE   TO   THE 

Sole    Makers 

J.  &  E.  HALL, 

Engineers,  Millwrights,  Founders, 

and  Boiler  Makers, 

DARTFORD,     KENT, 

OE 

21,ST.  SWITHIN  LANE,  LONDON. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


405 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


LONDON,  FRIDAY,   OCTOBER  8,  1S80. 


NEW  BUILDIXGS  AT  THE  EAST  END 
OP  LONDOX. 

AT  the  East-end  manj-  enterprising  trades- 
men hare  lately  rebuilt  their  premises 
upon  a  larger  scale.  The  Bethnal  Green- 
road  at  the  City  end  presents  a  busy  appear- 
ance ;  and  the  thoroughfare  is  in  a  stage  of 
metamorphosis.  Several  plots  of  building 
land  are  to  let  on  lease  by  the  Metropolitan 
Board,  not  long  since  occupied  by  dilapi- 
dated houses ;  while  several  n^w  premises 
and  warehouses  have  been  erected.  We 
must  particularly  mention  in  the  list,  the 
Great  Eastern  new  goods  station  and  ter- 
minus, a  very  extensive  range  of  sheds  and 
buildings.  The  main  station  is  built  of  red 
brick  and  terra-coita,  and  will  form  an 
imposing  structure,  though  as  to  its  finished 
appearance  we  should  not  Hke  to  hazard  an 
opinion.  There  are  some  heavy  girders  of 
■RTOught  iron  employed,  and  the  buildings 
■will  be  in  a  kind  of  Italian  style.  Messrs. 
Wells  and  Co.'s  immense  warehouse  and  pre- 
mises in  !~horeditch  called  the  "Commercial 
Ironworks  "  are  quite  original  of  their  kind. 
The  architect  has  been  emboldened  to  depart 
from  the  usual  warehouse  type,  and  has  given 
the  front  a  sort  of  railway  station  elevation. 
Two  lofty  towers  with  high  roofs  flank  the 
fa(;ade,  which  is  partly  of  red  brick  and 
warm  -  coloured  sandstone,  enriched  by 
enamelled  tiles  in  the  gables.  The  lower 
story  is  spanned  by  two  wide  arches,  and 
these  comprise  the  shops,  and  the  arched 
fronts  are  tilled  with  rather  commonplace 
iroEwork,  which  it  would  be  mere  flattery 
to  say  adds  to  the  effect.  Perhaps  the  most 
noticeable  feature  in  the  composition,  after 
the  arched  entresol  arrangement,  is  the 
lavish  use  of  ornamental  tile  as  a  facing. 
The  design  has  certainly  a  character  about 
it:  we  could  not  mistake  it  for  anything  else 
but  a  warehouse  or  a  station,  but  the  details 
are  crude  and  meagre.  The  firm  have  very 
extensive  warehouses,  and  every  conceivable 
requisite  for  the  house-builder  .and  furnisher 
may  be  obtained  here,  from  stoves  and  fen- 
ders to  the  most  fashionable  decorations. 
Queen  Anne,  Late  Old  English,  French,  and 
other  styles  of  chimney-pieces  and  furniture 
form  a  special  branch  of  Messrs.  Wells' 
business. 

On  the  north  side  of  Finsbury- square 
consideritble  alterations  and  street  improve- 
ments have  been  made,  and  several  blocks 
of  industi-ial  dwellings  have  been  built. 
Great  Eastern-street  is  a  new  road  ;  here  is 
to  be  seen  a  block  of  "  flats  "  in  a  Gothic 
style,  the  materials  used  being  redbrick  and 
stone  in  the  entrances.  The  design  is  a  trifle 
better  than  the  very  s'ereotyped  blocks  of 
dwellings  in  the  rear  erected  by  the  Improved 
Industrial  Dwellings  Company.  It  has  been 
named  Chichester  House.  The  Gladstone 
buildings,  by  the  above  company,  appear  to 
be  fully  tenanted  ;  in  these  the  staircases  are 
arranged  on  the  open  orba'conyplan,  but  at 
Chichester  House  the  staircase  is  encUsed 
and  lighted  by  windows  ab.ve  the  entrance, 
and  the  steps  are  of  patent  concrete.  We 
might  stop  to  wonder  why  it  is  these  blocks 
of  dwellings  have  not  been  more  artistically 
treated,  were  it  not  that  the  promoters  of 
them  have  thought  it  necessary  to  rigorously 
follow  a  pattern ;  but  even  in  this  case,  the  open 
staircase  might  be  made  a  far  more  pleasing 
feature  than  it  is  in  these  buildings,  e.rj.,  by 
a  dormer  roof  and  emphasised  balconies. 
As  they  are  managed  the  open  staircase  gives 
.a  kind  of  warehouse-hoist  look  to  the  front, 
and  the  level  roofs  and  monotonous   details 


have  almost  a  prison-like  aspect.  It  would 
be  desirable  if  in  building  .any  more  ou  this 
plan  the  compajiy  could  try  a  change  in  the 
elevation.  Such  buildings  might  be  jjlcas- 
ingly  built  iu  a  Queen  Amie  or  Old  English 
style  if  the  excesses  of  the  school  were 
avoided.  Nothing  is  more  deadening  to  art 
or  more  repugnant  to  the  occupants  than 
the  repetition  of  the  same  type  of  elevation, 
as  if  they  were  all  from  the  same  mould  ; 
but  this  seems  to  be  the  rule  followed  in  all 
Government  and  other  buildings  where 
regulation  plans  are  provided. 

In  averydifferent  spirit  is  the  new  building 
which  Mr.  Sedding  has  added  to  the  hospital 
of  St.  Mary-at-the-Cross,  in  Leonard-square. 
The  style  that  has  been  selected  is  more 
domestic  in  feeling  than  the  original  Gothic 
buildings  by  Mr.  J.  Brooks,  though  the  new 
work  has  besn  blended  with  the  old  in  a 
masterly  way.  We  muht  call  Mr.  Sedding's 
work  Late  Flamboyant  or  Flemish  Gothic, 
iu  the  main  features  in  the  fronts  to 
Leonard-square  and  to  the  courtyard.  The 
faoiide  cuts  off'  the  angle  between  two  streets 
and  forms  with  the  old  hospital  at'iangular 
enclosure  which  has  been  treated  in  a 
thoroughly  Continental  manner.  An  arcaded 
cloister  surrounds  this  internal  court,  in 
which  the  arched  openings  are  of  stone  with 
flat  arches  of  ogee  form,  producing  a  quaint 
contrast  with  the  earlier  and  Geometrical 
openings  of  the  old  cloister.  Red  brickwork 
has  been  agreeably  blended  with  the  stone 
in  the  piers  where  diagonal  courses  of  stone 
are  worked  ■ndth  the  red  brick.  Square 
lights  subdivided,  form  the  heads  of  the 
cloister  arcading,  and  above  this  is  a  deeply 
moulded  corbelling  over  which  the  upper 
story  projects.  The  front  is  equally  piquant, 
broad,  and  simple.  Three  dormers  break 
the  main  part ;  these  are  close  slated  and 
project  with  boarded,  ribbed,  pointed  soffits 
underneath,  and  look  thoroughly  English 
and  homely  in  character.  The  upper  story 
is  corbelled  out  by  a  stone  corbeUing  from 
the  lower  part,  and  the  latter  is  pierced  by 
openings  within  square  heads  filled  with 
Late  Flemish  tracery.  The  brickwork  is 
relieved  by  bands  and  diagonal  courses  of 
stone,  and  the  mixture  of  the  green-toned 
roof  and  neat  slate  dormers  is  particularly 
hnppy.  On  one  of  the  return  sides  of  the 
front  is  the  entrance,  carried  up  as  a  tower 
with  open  arched  stories  or  landings,  and 
finished  above  with  a  saddle-back  roof  of 
s'ate  projecting  boldly  in  front  over  stone 
corbels.  The  entrance  has  a  flat  ogee-shaped 
arch,  and  is  divided  from  the  outer  lobby  by 
a  stone  traceried  screen.  Internally  the  pljn 
follows  the  original  scheme  of  Mr.  Brooks, 
whose  design  was  illustrated  in  the  BriLD- 
IXG  News,  1875,  Vol.  SXIX.,  p.  5S<3. 
The  wards  partake  of  the  form  of  the 
boundary,  ani  will  be  finished  with  high 
dadoes  having  Dutch  painted  tUes.  On  the 
whole,  the  work  is  less  heavy  in  character 
than  the  original.  Mr.  Bone,  of  Cornwall,  is 
the  builder,  and  Mr.  Longden,  engineer,  of 
Sheffield,  we  hear  is  carrying  out  the  heating 
arrangements.  As  an  attempt  to  produce 
external  colour  a  new  warehouse  recently 
built  in  Eopcmaker's-street,  leading  from 
Fiasbury-place,  calls  for  a  passing  word. 
The  building,  of  several  stori-s  in  height,  is  a 
combination  of  materials,  the  piers  between 
the  windows  form  large  pilasters,  and  are 
faced  with  white  and  grey  enamelled  bricks 
of  four  and  three  courses  alternately.  These 
are  relieved  by  the  panels  of  terra-cotta 
modelled  in  relief  between  the  windows 
forming  the  recessed  face  of  the  buildiug. 
The  openings  are  divided  by  cast-iron  pillars 
and  the  cornice  and  upper  story  are  built  of 
terra-cotta,  in  large  blocks  of  a  warm  buff 
colour.  The  frieze  over  the  pUasfers  is  arched 
in  large  blocks  of  the  same  material.  Ihe 
ground-story  is  finished  with  dark  enamelled 
bricks  of  a  chocolate-colour,  and  the  lower 
entablature  is  of  the  same  material.  A  pleas- 
ing result  is  obtained;  the  grey-tinted  bricks 


with  the  white  and  daik-rcd  panels  make  a 
harmony  of  colour  without  gari>h  effect;  but 
the  chief  question  is  whe  lier  the  colours  will 
long  survive  the  London  atmosjihcre.  Some 
enamelled  bricks  have  been  fouml  to  peel  on 
the  surface,  and  it  may  be  of  interest  to 
watch  the  effects  of  smoko  upon  tliem.  The 
experiment  is  a  useful  one,  and  may  load 
to  other  attempts  to  apply  enamiUed  bricks 
of  different  tints.  The  work  is  credit- 
ably turned  out  by  Mr.  Woodward,  of  Fins- 
bury. 


STABILITY  OF  WATEU-TAKKS. 

THE  recent  catastrojiho  wliich  has 
occurred  at  the  Crystal  I'ulaco,  from 
the  sudden  bursting  of  a  Inrjjo  iron  tank, 
may  well  draw  public  attention  to  the 
dangers  arising  from  the  storage  of  water 
in  vessels  of  (his  description.  Nearly  all 
the  principal  railway  stations,  a.s  well  as 
immerous  factories,  theatres,  and  other 
public  buildings,  are  provided  with  huge 
iron  tanks,  placed  at  a  considerable  eleva- 
tion, for  the  supply  of  water  to  engines,  or 
for  security  against  tire,  and  unless  these 
are  well  looked  after,  and  kej)!  in  good 
repair,  they  may  prove  a  source  of  danger 
both  to  life  and  property.  In  the  present 
article  we  propose  to  consider  the  mecbanical 
principles  involved  in  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  water-tanks,  in  order  that 
the  cause  of  their  bursting  may  bo  clearly 
ascertained,  and  due  precautions  taken 
against  the  occurrence  of  such  disasters. 

In  the  first  place,  we  have  to  ascertain 
the  amount  of  pressure  produced  against 
the  sides  of  a  tank  when  tilled  with  water, 
and  the  position  of  the  rciultant  of  the 
forces ;  iu  the  next  plice  to  consider  how 
the  pressure  can  best  be  counteracted,  and 
the  strength  of  the  materials  to  Ije  cmidoyed 
in  the  construction  of  the  tank. 

To  find  the  pressure  on  the  vertical  side 
of  a  tank  filled  with  v.-ater,  we  m.ike  use  of 
the  following  principle  in  hydrostatics,  viz., 
the  pressure  of  a  fluid  on  any  surface  is  the 
weight  of  a  column  of  the  fluid  whose  base 
is  equal  to  the  area  of  the  surface  prcsscf', 
and  whose  height  is  equal  to  the  depth  of 
the  centre  of  gravity  below  the  surface  of 
the  fluid.  The  depth  of  the  centre  <f 
gravity  of  the  side  of  the  tank  being  half- 
way b?tween  the  top  and  bottom,  the  pres- 
sure on  the  side  must  be  the  area  of  the  side 
in  square  feet  multiplied  by  half  the  depth 
in  feet,  multiplied  by  the  weight  of  a  cubic 
foot  of  water,  or  02-olb.  Now,  the  tank 
which  burst  at  the  Crystal  Palace  is  reported 
in  the  public  journals  to  have  been  48ft. 
square  and  20ft.  deep;  consequently,  the 
horizontal  pressure  upon  one  side  of  it  when 
filled  with  water  would  amount  to 
02-.J  ;<  48  X  20  X  10  =  G00,000lb.,or2G.9ton8. 

The  resultant  of  all  the  horizontal  pres- 
sures on  the  side  of  a  tank  acts  at  a  point 
called  the  "centre  of  pressure,"' or  that  at 
which  a  single  force  can  be  made  to  counter- 
act the  whole  pressure,  provided  the  side 
maintains  perfect  rigidity.  This  i>oint  is 
ascertained  by  mathematical  investigations 
to  be  at  one-third  of  the  height  of  the  side 
from  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  an<l  would  bo 
in  the  Crystal  Palace  tanK  Oft.  Sin.  from  the 
bottom  when  it  was  full  of  water. 

From  the  principle  first  stated,  it  will  bo 
seen  that  the  pressure  on  the  bottom  of  the 
tank  is  the  same  as  the  weight  of  aU  the 
water  in  the  tank  ;  but  as  the  Iwttom  is 
always  made  to  rest  on  a  solid  basw.  we 
need  not  trouble  ourselves  about  any  other 
part  than  the  sides. 

The  thickness  to  be  given  to  the  metal 
forming  the  sides  is  the  first  thing  to  be 
considered,  but  when  ir^n  i.i  uscl  it  wouJd 
involve  a  great  waste  of  material  if  the 
sides  were  to  be  made  sufficiently  thick  to 
resist  the  pressure  of  the  water  without  any 
extraneous  help  ;  they  are,  therefore. 
generally  made  of  moderately  thin  pUtes  ot 


406 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8.  1880. 


cast  or  -wrought  iron,  1  oltctl  or  riveted 
together,  and  the  pressure  counteracted  by 
irou  tie-rods  placed  across  from  side  to  side. 
The  thickness  of  the  plates  ought  thforetically 
to  be  proportioned  to  the  pressure  they  have 
to  sustain,  and  as  this  is  greatest  at  the 
bottom,  and  diminishes  regularly  towards 
the  top,  where  it  is  zero,  the  section  of  a 
plate  should  properly  be  in  the  form  of  a 
triangle  with  the  base  do\^^lwards.  Prac- 
tically, however,  it  is  found  more  convenient 
and  less  expensive  to  have  the  plates  uni- 
form in  thickness  throughout,  and  to  trust 
to  tie-rods  to  counteivail  the  pressure  out- 
wards. 

There  are  several  different  ways  in  which 
tic-rods  are  fixed  by  makers  of  large  tanks  : 
by  some  they  are  placed  horizontally  at  the 
top,  as  EF  (see  Fig.)  ;  by  others  diagonally, 
as  E  C  and   F  T> ;  while  by  others   they   are 


placed  horizontally  at  the  centre  of  pressure, 
as  A  B  ;  and  this  last  is  the  most  scientific 
and  effective  position  for  the  tie-rods.  Let 
us  just  consider  how  the  forces  will  act  in 
ail  three  of  the  above  casts.  In  the  first, 
where  the  tie-rod  is  at  E  F,  the  sides  are 
held  tiru.ly  together  at  top  and  bottom,  but 
the  resultant  of  the  outward  pressures  acting 
at  A  will  tend  to  bulge  out  the  side  at  that 
part,  and  a  great  thickness  of  plate  will, 
therefore,  be  necessary  to  prevent  this. 

Taking  I  to  represent  the  length  of  a  side 
ill  foct,  d  its  depth,  P  the  horizontal  pressure 
in  lbs.,  we  have 

P  =  62  5  X  I  X  id' 
the  resultant  of  which  acts  horizontally  at 
one-third  of  d  from  the  bottom.  Let  T  be 
the  tension  in  the  rodE  F,  and  if  we  suppose 
D  to  be  immovable,  then  by  taking  moments 
of  the  forces  P  tud  T  about  D,  we  have, 

PX  AD  =  T  X  ED,  orT  =  P  -^ 
ED 
which  gives  the  tension  in  the  rod. 

To  find  the  outward  pressure  (Q)  at  D, 
we  take  moments  of  P  and  Q  about  E,  so 
that 

P  X  AE  =  Q  X  DE 

-«  =  ^^1 
which  is  the  force  tending  to  wrench  away 
the  sides  from  the  bottom. 

Next,  suppose  the  tie  rods  to  be  fixed 
diagonally  as  EC,  FD,  and  let  T  te  the 
tension  in  E  C  ;  draw  D  H  perpendicular  to 
CE;  then,  taking  moments  about  D,  we 
have, 

P  X  AD  =  TX  HD, 

which  gives  the  tension  in  each  of  the  rods. 
When  the  tics  are  placed  at  the  centre  of 
pressure  as  A  B,  there  will  be  the  maximum 
.strain  (P)  in  the  rods,  but  much  less  ten- 
dency to  bulge  in  the  plates  than  if  placed 
in  either  of  the  other  ways  ;  as  the  pressure 
diminishes  upwards  from  A  towards  E,  and 
therefore  the  fop  of  the  plate  will  not  re- 
quire to  be  held  in  ;  while  at  the  bottom,  D, 
it  is  held  firmly  by  the  plates  forming  the 
bottom  of  the  tank.  The  strtng'h  of  the 
ties  should  be  sufficient  to  support  the  whole 
of  the  thrust  of  the  water  on  the  sides  ;  and 
also  that  they  should  not  stretch  in  any 
]>erceptible  degree  when  strained.  If  ore 
square  inch  of  section  be  given  to  the  rods 
for  every  5  tons  df  strain,  their  strength 
will  penerally  suffice,  provided  it  is  not 
diminished  by  any  olher  cause,  such  as  the 
corrosive  action  of  air  and  water,  which,  by 
rcilucing  the  dimensions  of  the  rods  and 
plates,  proportionally  weakens  their  pjwer 


of  resistance ;  and  it  is  to  this  cause  that 
the  bursting  of  such  tanks  is  probably 
owLug.  It  will,  therefore,  be  advisable,  in 
order  to  secure  safety,  either  to  make  the 
iron  much  stronger  than  would  otherwise  be 
necessary  at  the  first,  in  order  that  allow- 
ance ma5'  be  made  for  corrosion  ;  or,  better 
still,  to  inclose  each  rod  in  a  thin  tube  of 
iron  or  lead,  which  would  entirely  protect 
it  from  decay,  and  the  effects  of  neglect. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY'S 
EXHIBITION. 

''PHE  gallery  of  the  Photographic  Society 
JL  of  Great  Britain,  now  open  at  5a,  Pall 
Mall,  East,  shows  an  advance  in  several 
branches  of  photographic  art.  Some  of  the 
photographs,  such  as  the  views  taken  during 
the  second  Dutch  Arctic  Expedition  of  1S79 
upon  gelatine  plates  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Grant, 
Nts.  3  and  17;  the  instantaneous  views 
exhibited  by  W.  Mayland,  for  which  a  medal 
has  been  awarded ;  the  Bm-nham  Beeches, 
by  Lieut.  L.  Darwin,  E.E.;  the  lustan- 
tancoas  Studies  of  Swans,  by  Marsh 
Brothers,  w-hich  have  gained  a  medal  for 
extraordinary  and  beautiful  results,  are  in- 
stances of  the  value  of  that  process  in  produ- 
cing rapid  jiotureF,  marvellous  for  vigour  and 
exquisite  detail.  But  the  visitor  will  be  re- 
warded by  .seeing  other  developments  of  the 
art.  The  Woodbury  type  process  has  reached 
almost  perfection  in  the  hands  of  the  Wood- 
bury Permanent  Printing  Company,  and  the 
reproductions  of  works  in  which  delicacy  of 
tone,  depth  and  permanency,  are  prominent, 
are  a  flattering  testimony  to  the  value  of  this 
art.  The  Piatinotype  process  is  another 
method  of  printing  of  which  we  see  vaiious 
exceedingly  artistic  productions  in  the  pre- 
sent exhibition.  But  let  us  rapidly  review 
the  more  striking  reproductions  of  the  art  ; 
and  we  may  observe  that  our  survey  will  be 
chiefly  limited  to  those  works  which  ex- 
hibit artistic  qualities,  and  we  shall  not 
attempt  to  pass  an  opinion  upon  the  relative 
merits  of  different  processes  in  a  technical 
sense.  Mr.  Charles  Sand's  View  of  St. 
Paul's,  taken  by  Fothergill's  collodion- 
albumen  process,  is  a  pleading  group  of 
buildings ;  but  our  eyes  quickly  alight  on 
Yernon  Heath's  fine  enlargements — Fore- 
ground Studies,  Nos.  7,  16,  IS,  of  bramble, 
furze,  and  ferns,  &c.,  vigorous  transcripts  of 
Nature  well  adapted  as  studies  for  the  artist 
of  landscape.  Ko.  11  is  a  frame  of  consider- 
able interest  to  the  architect  and  engineer, 
as  it  contains  several  excellent  views  of  the 
Tay-bridge  disaster.  The  large  girders 
before  and  after  the  disaster  throw  much 
light  upon  the  details  of  the  ironwork.  The 
fallen  girders  and  the  wrecked  pier  are 
minutely  transcribed,  and  such  aid  as  photo- 
graphy can  throw  upon  that  imhappy  event 
is  here  admii-ably  exemplified.  We  have  also 
a  view  of  the  wrecked  engine  and  carriage 
of  the  luckless  train,  as  they  were  found 
after  the  accident.  Messrs.  J.  Yaleatine 
and  Sons  are  the  exhibitors.  Mr.  Mayland's 
Marine  Yiews  (gelatine  plates)  are  admirable 
examples  of  instantaneous  printing,  and  the 
lines  under  them — 

'■  And  from  tlie  bosom  of  the  busy  stieatn. 
These  iu  the  fraction  of  a  second  snatched," 

are  singidarly  appropriate.  Mr.  Mayland 
receives  a  medal.  The  .Autumnal  Yiews  (20) 
by  Mr.  T.  M.  Brownrigg,  are  brilliant  in 
finish  ;  the  views  of  thicket  and  pond  in 
Surrey  are  also  soft  and  truthful  pictures. 

The  visitor  cannot  pass  by  the  Hermit's 
Tree  (No.  22),  nor  some  excellent  work  by 
K.  E.  Brown,  John  SpUler,  &c.  An  interest- 
ing series  of  views  of  architectural  subjects 
is  contributed  bj'  Mr.  H.irvey  Barton,  who 
takes  a  medal,  and  we  single  out  the  St. 
John's  Church,  St.  Peter's  Hospital,  St. 
Stephen's  Church,  Bristol,  among  the  build- 
ings illustrated,  many  of  them  striking  pho- 


tographs taken  by  the  gelatine  plate  and 
wet  collodion  processes.  A  Woodland  Cot 
(37)  is  a  vigorous  and  charmingly-toned 
pictirre  ;  so  are  Nos.  41  and  42.  E.  Dun- 
more's  %-iews  at  Eamsgate  and  other  jilaces 
are  noteworthj'  examples  or  the  gelatine 
plate.  The  School  of  Military  Engineering 
send  some  effective  photographs  (wet 
collodion),  and  the  gelatine  riverside  sketches 
of  C.  A.  Fei-neley  are  clever.  As  sijecimens 
of  autotype  prints  from  gelatine  plates,  we 
must  bestow  a  word  of  praise  on  Mr.  Charles 
Bennett's  Susses  churches  ;  and  the  land- 
scapes and  views  in  Leicestershire,  Derby- 
shire, Staffordshire,  &c.,  sent  by  Kichard 
Keene,  are  clear  and  exquisitely  printed.  To- 
the  representation  of  interiors  photography 
has  not  lent  itself  with  any  great  success, 
owing  to  the  difficulty  in  the  management 
of  the  light.  Mr.  Hanfield's  views  of  the 
interiors  of  Haddcn,  Ely,  and  Lichfield 
(gelatine  plates)  are  reassuring  however.  As 
showing  what  photography  can  do  in  artistic 
grouping,  the  tine  photographic  portraits 
and  studies  by  R.  Faulkner,  chiefly  of 
children,  Nos.  95,  96,  146,  are  extremely  in- 
teresting. The  prints  are  in  red  colour,  and 
the  gradation  of  tone,  light,  and  shade,  and 
vigour  of  execution  are  equal  to  water-colour 
or  crayon.  The  prints  of  St.  Mary  Red- 
cliffe,  and  St.  Werburgh's,  Bristol,  are  clear 
and  vivid  representations  in  the  wet  collodion 
process ;  near  these  we  find  some  lovely 
views  (gelatine  plates)  of  Welsh  scenery  ; 
those  of  the  Lledr  Yalley  are  sharp  and  de- 
fined, and  all  the  variations  of  rock,  the- 
light  and  shade,  the  pearly  tint s  of  distance- 
are  rendered  with  a  power  which  almost 
equals  the  artist's  pencil  in  breadth.  Mr. 
A.  Clout  is  the  exhibitor.  Mr.  Whaite  re- 
ceives a  medal  for  his  studies  in  a  bedroom, 
Xo.  101 ,  showing  some  capital  work  on  gela- 
tine plates. 

A  recent  development  of  photographic- 
art  is  shown  by  the  Autotype  Company  (US) 
in  the  centre  of  the  gallery.  It  is  a  large- 
frame  of  Keramic  photographs,  or  jihoto- 
graphs  burnt  in  on  imperishable  materials, 
such  as  china,  tiles,  and  plaque=,  and  some 
beautiful  pictures  and  portraits  are  to  be 
seen.  One  is  a  -\varm-toned  portrait  of  Mr. 
Bright.  By  this  process  miniaturts  cau  be 
t.tken,  and  photographs  may  be  copied. 
The  same  company  show  what  can  be  done 
in  the  printing  press  to  render  this  art 
artistic  in  its  results.  The  portiait  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  from  an  oil-painting-  by  Girandot ; 
the  enlargements  printed  in  the  oidiiiary 
press  by  the  callo'ype  process  (149),  Xos. 
157,  159,  164  are  good  examples  of  auto- 
type enlargement.  Those  from  negatives  by 
Mr.  J.  Thomson  are  vigorous  and  bold. 
AVick  Hall,  Brighton,  is  a  view  by  wet  col- 
lodion taken  direct ;  Xo.  121  shows  a  win- 
some face  in  bonnet,  looking  out  of  the 
corner  of  one  eye,  by  Mendelsohn  ;  these  are 
studies  after  Eembiandt,  and  show  striking 
effects  of  light  and  shade.  Some  fidl-size 
portraits  are  to  be  seen;  among  these  wo 
notice  No.  133,  an  enlargement  printed  in 
carbon  by  T.  R.  Annan,  of  the  late  Dr. 
Barclay,  of  Glasgow  University.  Three 
nice  figures  are  shown  by  Messrs.  Fry, 
gelatine  plates  ;  and  Messrs.  Lock  and  Whit- 
field exhibit  a  large  bright  ptrtrait  in  14S, 
a  carbon  priiit.  'The  Steam  Launch  (140), 
photographed  while  going  at  full  speed,  the 
exposure  being  only  1- 150th  of  a  second,  is 
an  instance  of  what  may  be  done  on  a  sensi- 
'  ive  plate.  Many  examples  of  instantaneous 
photography  are  to  be  seen ;  the  "  Henley 
itojal  fiegatta''  (2SS)  is  a  clever  instance  of 
an  "exposure  of  l-130th  of  a  second.  The 
result  is  admirable,  the  boats  and  the  flash  of 
oars  are  rendered  clearly,  even  the  glitter 
and  sparkle  of  the  water.  Mr.  G.  W. 
Williams  (170),  Marsh,  Bros.  (246),  and  T. 
M.  Brownrigg  exhibit  mar-vellous  specimens 
of  instantaneous  work.  Ihe  "  Flying 
Dutchman"  (246),  the  steamship  "  Carham  " 
(251),  Nos.  261,  and  264  are  creditable,  if  we 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


cannot  view  them  as  artistic  successes.  In 
this  connection  we  may  mention  Cadett's 
patent  instrument,  manufactured  by  Marion 
and  Co.,  called  the  "  Instantaneous  View 
shutter,"  by  which  ingenious  invention  a 
view  can  be  regulated  to  any  degree  of  ex- 
posure from  half  an  hour  to  lOOth  part  of 
a  second.  The  shutter  can  be  thus  moved 
with  a  rapiditj'  which  dazzles  the  eye.  By 
its  means  and  the  gelatine  plates,  which  are 
very  sensitive,  any  exposure,  according  to 
the  light,  may  bo  secured,  and  the  artist  cjui 
catch  the  very  glitter  and  sparkle  of  the 
ripple  as  in  the  view  of  swans,  by  Marsh 
Bros.  No.  143  is  a  finely  developed  head,  a 
carbon  print  untouched  ;  1 JO,  a  group  of 
portraits  (gelatine).  The  views  of  Norwich 
by  the  Autotype  Company,  especially 
Erpingham  Gate,  cloisters,  and  Norman 
arches  of  cathedral,  are  remarkable  for  deli- 
cacy and  gradation  of  tone.  No.  1G2,"  Views 
in  Herts"  (gelatine  emulsion,  untouched) ; 
and  166,  sketches  from  Tiutem,  soft  and  deli- 
cate, almost  likesejaa,  are  noteworthy.  On  the 
screens  we  find  some  clever  work  ;  the  photo- 
gravures of  Turner's  Liber  Studiorum,  exhi- 
bited by  the  Autotype  Co.,  are  interesting 
copies  of  artistic  work,  and  almost  defy  de- 
tection. No.  ooi  is  a  fine  interior,  by  H. 
Manfield,  and  the  views  of  Old  London,  by 
Henry  Dixon,  are  worth  the  attention  of  all 
architects.  AVe  congratulate  the  "  Society 
for  Photographing  Relics  of  Old  London  " 
on  the  Glh  year's  issue  of  views,  which  are 
to  be  found  in  a  portfolio  on  the  table. 
These  views  comprise  various  prints  from 
the  Charter  House,  besides  the  "Oxford 
Arms  "  Inn,  Warwick-lane  ;  old  houses  in 
Drury-l;ine  and  Lincoln's  Inn  ;  Shaftesbury 
House,  Aldersgale- street  ;  Sir  Paid  Pindar's 
house,  and  others  in  Lcadenhall-street, 
Cray's  Inn-lane,  &c.  Many  of  these  photo- 
graphs ought  to  find  a  place  in  the  port- 
folios of  the  architect's  studies ;  but  their 
value,  archfeologicaUy,  is  of  even  greater 
importance  now  that  the  old  relics  of  London 
arc  dis;ippearing  so  fast.  The  photographs 
are  permanent,  and  the  size  lOin.  by  8Ln  ,  on 
mounts  18in.  by  Urn.  Mr.  Dixon,  of  112, 
Albany-street,  Regent-street,  is  the  photo- 
grapher, and  Mr.  Alfred  Marks,  of  Long 
Ditton,  the  treasurer.  Other  photographs 
of  architectural  interest  are  to  be  found  in 
the  gallery.  The  views  in  Brittany  and 
JToruiandy,  by  J.  Gale  (256),  are  sharp  and 
artistic.  G.  Nesbitt  contributes  fine  figure 
subjects  (187,  188).  The  Platinotype- 
printing  is  represented  in  a  few  excellent 
works.  Mr.  Holyer  shows  (oOl)  a  copy  of 
the  "Golden  Stairs"  by  L.  Bume  Jones, 
and  several  specimens  of  permanent  platino- 
type  printing  are  exhibited  by  the  company 
■of_that  process  (,32C  to  336).  Nos.  326  and 
327  are  charming  views  in  oak  frames,  and 
there  is  a  pleasing  greyi.sh  tone  to  the  prints; 
the  lilies  and  lilacs  from  negatives,  by  F. 
Holyer,  are  also  brdUant  pictures  of  nature. 
On  the  screen  we  notice  samples  of  gelatine, 
instantaneous,  the  wet  collodion,  and  other 
processes ;  and  printing  with  various  metals 
on  plain  paper,  by  T.  Werge,  as  the 
brown  tints  produced  by  the  ammonia 
nitrate  of  silver  and  nitrate  of  uranium. 
H.  P.  Robinson,  Andrew  Pringlc,  Sil- 
vester Parrj-,  the  Berlin  Photo  Co.,  receive 
mcd.ils. 

To  the  student  of  photographic  art  the 
Exhibition  is  particularly  instructive  ;  ex- 
ampUs  of  the  various  pi-ocesses  may  be 
found,  from  the  wet  collodion  to  the  rapid 
dry  gelatine  plates,  and  the  most  obstinate 
admirer  of  the  old  process  cannot  fail  to  re- 
mark that  the  later  work  equals  the  finest 
and  most  delicate  of  the  wet  collodion  pic- 
tures. He  will  also  find  the  progress  made 
in  instantaneous  photography ;  the  dry  plates 
wiU  be  foimd  to  fix  as  readily  as  wet  collo- 
dion, and  the  processes  for  permanent 
printing  wiU  be  hailed  by  aU  who  desire  to 
see  photography  become  an  art  of  more  than 
ephemeral  value. 


407 


ANCIENT  LIGHTS.— III. 


AS  the  right  to  certain  window-lights 
may  be  acquired  by  occupancy,  so  may 
it  bo  lost  by  abandonment.  '\Ve  have  seen 
that,  imder  the  Prescription  Act,  a  twenty 
years'  user  of  lights  gives  an  absolute  and 
indefeasible  title  to  their  enjoyment.  In 
the  same  way,  a  twenty  years*  non-user 
will  destroy  that  statutory  title.  When  a 
Ax-tndow  has  been  shut  up  for  twenty  years, 
the  case  stands  as  though  it  had  never 
existed.  For,  during  that  period,  the  ser- 
vient tenement  has  acquired  an  easement 
similar  to  that  enjoyed  by  the  dominant, 
and  so  their  rights  are  equal  as  against  each 
other.  In  this  case  the  intention  of  the 
parties  is  immaterial,  the  mere  length  of 
time  being  all  that  we  have  to  consider. 
But  a  far  shorter  period  of  non-user  vnll 
also  operate  as  an  abandonment  of  the  right, 
if  therebe  evidence  that  there  was  an  intention 
that  it  should  be  so  abandoned.  In  settling 
the  question  whether,  in  any  particular  case, 
such  an  intention  existed,  regard  must  be 
had  to  all  the  facts,  and  the  position  of  the 
parties.  But  it  is  important  to  bear  in 
mind  that,  if  a  man  do  an  act  which  looks 
like  an  abandonment  of  his  ancient  light : 
the  burden  of  proof  of  showing  that  such 
was  not  his  intention  falls  upon  himself. 
The  whole  theory  of  the  right  being  founded 
upon  enjoyment,  the  cessation  of  that  enjoy- 
ment is  prima  fade  evidence  of  its  abandon- 
ment. If,  for  instance,  the  owner  of  the 
dominant  tenement  pull  down  his  house  and 
build  up  a  blank  wall  where  formerly  he 
had  windows  ;  then,  it  will  be  for  him  to 
prove  that,  in  so  doing,  he  had  no  inten- 
tion of  abandoning  the  right  to  ancient 
lights  which  he  had  acquired.  It  comes, 
therefore,  to  this:  that  any  temporary  disuse 
of  a  window  may  be  evidence  of  its  abandon- 
ment, according  to  the  whole  facts  of  the 
case  as  they  may  be  interpreted  by  a  judge 
or  a  jury,  wi'h  whatever  aid  they  may 
receive  in  so  doing  from  the  conduct  of  b  ih 
parties  in  the  matter.  H-  re  we  see  that  the 
intention  is  everything  ;  but  there  is  yet 
another  way  in  which  the  right  may  be 
legally  abandoned,  even  though  there  be  no 
proof  of  any  such  intention.  For,  if  the 
dominant  owner  acts  in  such  a  way  as  to 
lead  the  servient  owner  to  believe  ho  has 
abandoned  his  right  to  ancient  lights,  and 
theieb\  induces  the  latter  to  incur  expense 
in  building  and  altering  his  position  upon 
the  faith  of  this  belief,  the  Court  of  Equity 
wdl  prevent  that  dominant  owner  from  ever 
claiming  his  right  a^ain.  This  is  obviously 
the  converse  proposition  of  that  already  laid 
down  as  to  the  acqmrement  of  a  right  by 
the  acquiescence  of  the  servient  o\vncr,  and 
is  equally  founded  upon  equitable  doctrines, 
which  are  now  of  universal  application. 
The  points  to  be  proved  in  such  a  case  are 
the  conduct  of  the  dominant  owner,  the 
belief  of  the  servient  owner,  and  the  fact  of 
his  incurring  expense  and  ch.anging  his 
position  upon  the  hoiia  fide  idea  that  the 
ancient  right  had  been  abandoned. 

The  next  qriestion  to  be  considered  is  that 
of  alteration,  which  comes  so  near  to  that  of 
abandonment  as  t'>  have  caused  much  con- 
fusion in  the  cases.  But  all  this  was  swept 
away  by  the  decision  of  the  House  of  Lords 
in  "Tapley  v.  Jones"  (34  Law  J.  Rep. 
N.S.,C.F.  312),  already  mentioned,  wherein 
the  lines  of  principle  were  lucidly  laid  down 
for  future  guidance  in  practice.  The 
plaintiff  bought  a  house,  with  ancient  lights 
on  all  thrte  stories,  overloking  the  de- 
fendant's premises.  He  enlarged  two  of  | 
these  lights,  but  1-ft  the  third  unaltered.  \ 
The  defendant  then  built  up  a  wall  oh-  | 
stmcting  all  the  lights,  as  he  could 
not  block  the  new  windows  without 
also  blocking  the  old.  The  plaintiff, 
thereupon  restored  his  ancient  lights  to  their 
old  position,  and  went  to  the  Court  for  an 
injimction   against   the   defendant    to  pull ! 


down  his  building.  It  was  a  very  punling 
question  what  was  to  be  done;  for  tlio 
defendant  had  clearly  a  right  to  obgtrnet 
the  pluintiff's  new  windows,  though,  on  tho 
other  hand,  he  had  aa  clear  a  right  to  reoeivo 
light  and  uir  through  the  old  onus  ;  and  the 
defendant  could  only  block  uji  altogether  or 
leave  them  all  alone.  Lord  Westbiiry  began 
by  cleariog  away  two  fulliicie§,  which,  how- 
ever, ore  slill  always  croj)j.ing  uji  in  thu 
discussion  of  this  question.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  "  right  to  obstruct,"  for 
every  man  has  only  u  right  to  build  njjmi 
his  own  land,  subject  to  such  rightii  an  his 
neighbour  may  have  acquired  osvt  it.  Nor 
is  there  any  legal  wrong  in  the  so-calleil 
"  invasion  of  privacy  by  ciiicning  windows," 
nor  any  legal  remedy  fur  the  grieranco.  If, 
therefore,  a  man  has  acquired  an  ulMolnte 
and  indefeasible  right  to  an  ancient  light, 
he  cannot  lose  it  by  o{>ening  two  new  on«i. 
These  new  windows  are  no  injurj-  lo  hU 
neighbour,  who  may  block  th<  in  u\\  if  he 
can  d'>  so  by  building  on  bin  own  ground; 
but  the  fact  that  they  are  tlicre  gives  him 
no  right  to  block  uji  the  old  window,  as  ti 
which  the  right  has  become,  by  iitatat*, 
absolute  and  indefeasible.  '1  he  mum:  ar||^- 
ment  applies  to  the  enlirgpment  of  a  former 
window.  This,  in  itself,  is  an  innocoot  act. 
and  cannot  lead  to  the  loss  of  the  acquired 
right  to  the  ancient  light.  But  if  tlm 
servient  owner  can  block  up  the  new  jiart 
part  without  injuring  the  olil,  ho  may  do 
so,  and  if  not,  he  mu>t  let  it  alone.  No  ono 
can  be  said  t<j  have  abandoned  an  ancient 
light  by  enlarging  it,  for  on  the  contrary, 
this  is  clear  evidence  of  a  wish  for  its  more 
extended  enjoyment. 

Where  a  house  is  burnt  down,  or  pulled 
down,  questions  may  arise  as  to  the  aban- 
donment of  the  anci'  nt  lights,  and  also  ai  to 
whether  the  right  is  applicable  to  the  new 
windows.  If  the  land  be  used  for  tillage 
during  some  years,  this  would  be  stron)^ 
evidence  of  an  intention  to  abandon  the  old 
window-lights,  but  not  so  if  it  were  merely 
left  idle.  Thus,  as  to  cases  in  which  tli" 
building  is  rebuilt,  the  modem  rule  is  that 
the  ^vindows  m'lst  be  substantially  thosamr. 
They  need  not  bo  ojieaed  in  the  identical 
places  of  the  old  ones,  nor  of  exactly  equal 
size ;  but  their  area  must  bo  pretty  nearly 
the  same.  The  principle  that  wdl  be  appliail 
in  practice  is.  that  the  new  windows  mu«' 
not  impose  either  an  additional  or  a  different 
servitude  upon  the  servient  tenement  to  that 
wh  ch  formerly  existed.  But  trivial  changw^ 
will  not  take"  away  the  right  to  andoiit 
lights  which  was  acquired  by  the  old  win- 
dows, and  there  must  bo  sorao  matmal 
alteration  in  the  nature  or  quantity  of  li^ht 
to  bring  about  this  result.  On  the  othor 
band,  where  the  servient  owner  is  r>  in:,  i 
ing  his  premises,  it  is  the  duty  of  tli.'  ;  m 
nant  tenant  to  look  at  the  plan»,  if  t!  \  1 
then  offered  for  his  insi«vtMn.  Sh  .u  i  :. 
not  object  to  the  alterations  projo^i-  : 
allow  the  buihli""  t  .  l- ■  "h.  he  v 
afterwards  be  a' 

in  any  way  ol  '       ' 

ceeds  upon  thii' 
acquiescence  t.' 
ferred,  and  is  t 
mon  justice.     I'i.    ■■ 
to  incur  exiK-ns"  in    tr 
afterwards   t.)  !>•'   jx-r; 
ask  that  work  -': 
of  which   he  1 
encouropt"!.     !• 
conduct  •  :' 
while  p  :i 
had  an  ■  : 
OS  i:i 
th- 
by  t. 
mise?. 

J  he  form  of  defence  to  an  action  for  an 
injunction  to  restrain  the  blocking  up  of 
ancient  lights,  or  for  dania«;c>,  must,  ol 
course,  vary  with  the  (acU  of  crery  paiti- 


408 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


cular  case.  In  g  neral,  there  will  be  a  denial 
that  the  lights  are  ancient  as  alleged  by  the 
plaintiff ;  and,  upon  this  point,  there  is 
always  plenty  of  contradictory  evidence 
forthcoming.  Where  it  is  stated  in  the 
daim  that  the  window  in  question  was  en- 
larged with  the  consent  of  the  defendant's 
predecessor,  that  also  will  be  controverted 
in  the  defence.  Ihen,  again,  very  important 
points  may  arise  if  the  owner  of  the  ancient 
tenement  be  a  recent  purchaser,  for  the 
plaintiff  will  have  to  prove  that  he  bought 
with  notice  of  such  an  agreement.  Courts 
of  Equity  have  lately  shown  a  disposition  to 
carry  the  doctrine  of  construc'ive  notice,  or 
a  knowledge  arising  from  facts  that  can  be 
seen,  somewhat  too  far.  But  this  tendency 
was  greatly  checked  in  the  recent  case  of 
"  Allen  v.  Seckham "  (Law  Kep.  H.  Chy. 
Div.  790),  where  the  Court  of  Appeal  re- 
versed the  Vice-Chancellor's  decision,  and 
held  that,  the  mere  fact  of  there  being  win- 
dows in  an  adjoining  house  which  over- 
looked the  purchased  property  was  not  con- 
structive notice  of  any  agreement  giving 
the  right  of  access  of  light  and  air  thereto. 
All  that  has  been  said  as  to  the  loss  of  the 
right  by  abandonment  is  matter  for  a  de- 
fence, and  will  have  to  be  stated,  and  sup- 
ported by  evidence  at  the  hearing,  if  it  be 
relied  upon  to  justify  an  obstruction  of  win- 
dows that  are,  or  were,  admittedly  ancient 
lights  at  some  time  or  other.  It  was  at- 
tempted in  the  recent  case  of  ''  Theed  v. 
Debenham  "  (Law  Eep  2,  Chy.  Div.  165)  to 
argue  that  the  Metropolis  Local  Manage- 
ment Act  Amendment  Act,  which  regu- 
lates the  height  of  buildings  in  the  streets, 
limited  the  right  to  ancient  lights. 
But  the  Court  held  that  th-s  had 
nothing  to  do  with  .such  a  right 
as  acquired  by  prescription,  and  that  the 
question  to  be  decided  depended  upon  the 
amount  of  o^scu^ation  in  each  particular  in- 
stance. Still  more  important  was  the  case 
of  "Moore  v.  Hall  "  (Liw  Eep.  3,  2,  B.  D, 
178),  which  laid  down  the  rule  to  be  that 
the  proper  measure  of  the  right  was  not  only 
the  purpose  for  which  the  light  was  then 
actually  being  used,  but  also  any  purpose  for 
which  it  might  hereafter  be  made  applicable. 
It  was,  therefore,  in  defence  to  show  that 
the  obstruction  did  not  prevent  the  plaintiff 
from  carrying  on  his  business,  if  it  were  such 
as  to  interfere  ■with  the  carrying  on  of  any 
other  business  for  which  more  light  would  be 
required.  This  decision  proceeds  upon  the 
principle  that  the  damage  to  the  premises  is 
the  point  to  be  considered,  and  not  alone  the 
purpose  for  which  they  are  then  being  used, 
but  the  possible  purposes  for  whicli  they 
may,  in  the  future,  come  to  be  employed. 

As  to  the  cases  in  which  injunctions  have 
been  granted,  they  are  endless  in  their 
variety,  but  we  may  quote  a  few  examples. 
"Where  a  drawing-room  window  was  faced 
by  a  wall  lOlt.  high  at  a  dstance  of  12ft., 
and  it  was  proposed  to  raise  this  wall  to 
48ft.,  an  injunction  was  at  once  granted. 
The  backs  of  the  houses  of  plaintiff  and  de- 
fendant were  in  a  straight  line.  Plaintiff's 
windows  looked  into  an  area  27ft.  wide. 
Defendant  proposed  to  build  out  a  bow  10ft. 
in  length  by  the  side  of  this  area,  but  an  in- 
junction was  granted.  In  another  case  it 
was  held  that  the  raising  the  opposite 
houses  in  a  street  only  20ft.  wide  from  36  to 
60ft.  was  such  a  material  interference  wath 
the  plaintiffs  enjoyment  of  his  premises  for 
business  purposes  as  to  entitle  him  to  an  in- 
junction. It  has  been  decided  that  the  pro- 
vision of  the  Building  Act,  14  Geo.  3,  c.  78,  s. 
43,  afford  no  protection  to  a  person  who,  by 
raising  a  party- wall  in  compliance  therewith, 
has  obstructed  his  neighbour's  lights.  Com- 
ing to  the  question  of  alteration,  we  find  an 
important  decision  in  the  recent  case  of  The 
National  Provincial  Plate  Glass  Co.,  and  The 
Prudential  Assurance  Co.  (Law  Eep.,  6,  Ch. 
7,  D.  757),  where  a  building  containing 
ancient  lights  was  pulled  down  and  replaced 


by  another  in  which  the  front  was  set  back 
and  a  dormer  window  converted  into  a  sky- 
light, and  it  was  held  that  the  right  to  access 
of  light  had  not  been  lost.  With  regard  to 
the  rule  by  which  the  claimant  wiU  be  guided 
as  to  granting  au  injunction,  the  latest  au- 
thority is  that  of  "  King  v.  Eudkin  "  (Law 
Eep.  6  Chy.  Div.  160),  which  was  decided 
since  the  Judicature  Acts,  and  whei'e  it  was 
held  that  the  plaintiff,  in  au  action  to 
restrain  an  alleged  obstruction,  cannot  ob- 
tain an  injunction  unless  he  proves 
substantial  damages.  It  was  further 
laid  do'wn  in  this  case  that  where  a  plaintiff 
has  opened  a  claim  for  substantial  damages 
and  failed  to  prove  it,  the  Court  will  not 
direct  an  inquii'y  as  to  damages.  This  really 
means  that  the  plaintiff  would  lose  the  whole 
benefit  of  his  action  by  having  claimed  too 
much,  and  it  shovdd  act  as  a  warning  to  in- 
tending litigants.  But  in  this  respect  the 
whole  law  of  window- lights  is  a  dangerous 
quagmii-e  for  the  unwary,  and  however 
clear  may  seem  to  be  his  case,  no  man  would 
be  wise  to  take  it  into  Court  without  having 
first  carefidly  consulted  his  solicitor.  We 
have  endeavoured  to  put  together  a  few 
hints  that  may  help  men  of  business  in 
arriving  at  some  conclusion  upon  a  most 
perplexing  subject  ;  but  seeing  that  the 
legal  theory  of  ancient  lights  is  so  technical, 
while  its  practical  application  depends  so 
greatly  upon  the  facts,  we  desire  to  end  with 
a  word  of  caution  to  those  who  may  hastily 
be  meditating  an  action. 


A   COXCEETE   DOIIE   FOE   INDIA. 

AN  unusually  interesting  example  of  con- 
crete construction  has  just  been  com- 
pleted at  Bromley-by-Bow.  The  instance  re- 
ferred to  is  the  large  dome  intended  to  cover 
the  central  hall  of  the  Takhtsingji  Hospital, 
Bhavnagar,  India,  which  is  now  being  built 
from  the  desisrns  of  Mr.  WUliam  Emerson, 
architect,  of  Westminster-chambers.  Concrete 
domes  are  common  in  India,  but  no  facilities  are 
available  for  the  building  of  an  elaborately- 
detailed  interior  in  concrete,  such  as  "was  desired 
in  this  instance  to  construct,  while  the  cost  of 
so  rich  a  style  of  architectural  enrichment,  if 
executed  in  stone,  precluded  the  use  of  that 
material  for  the  domes  of  the  buildings  now 
referred  to,  to  say  nothing  of  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  stone  in  sufficiently  large  blocks  for 
the  purpose. 

In  a  style  depending  so  largely  as  Hindoo 
architecture  does  upon  a  repetition  of  elaborately 
intricate  detail,  concrete  furnishes  an  admirable 
material  in  which  such  parts  may  be  advan- 
tageously composed  ;  the  balusters,  for  instance, 
some  sod  in  number,  were  all  made  by  Mr.  Las- 
celles  in  his  concrete,  and  eent  over  ready  to  be 
fixed  in  the  positions  they  now  occupy,  and 
we  think  Mr.  Emerson  has  done  wisely  in 
adopting  the  admirable  material  in  question. 
The  fine  dark  red  colour  wliieh  has  been  obtained 
completely  to  match  the  local  stone  used  for  the 
walls  of  the  Hospital  at  Bhavnagar,  is  also  a 
primary  recommendation  to  its  use,  and  we  are 
assured  that  the  colouring  coat,  which  is  about 
|in.  in  depth,  is  in  perfectly  permanent  colour, 
and  entirely  free  from  any  likelihood  to  fade 
after  exposure  to  the  sim — a  failing  peculiar  to 
several  of  our  red  building  stones  in  England. 
The  dome,  which  we  have  inspected  this  week, 
is  about  '27  ft.  in  diameter,  and  constructed  with 
ribs,  wliieh  form  a  kind  of  centring  in  them- 
selves, and  it  Is  upon  the  ribs  that  the  rings  of 
roofing-slabs  are  laid,  without  the  aid  of  centres. 
Each  rib  on  the  under  side  consists,  as  it  were, 
of  a  series  of  consoles  or  trusses,  inverted,  and 
gradually  diminishing  in  size  as  they  approach 
the  crown,  after  the  characteristic  manner  of 
Hindoo  domical  roofs,  wilh  pendants  at  each 
interval  between  the  divisions  of  the  rib  The 
rib  constructively  is  in  three  pieces,  having  a 
strong  core  of  iron,  which  material,  in  a  lighter 
form,  passes  through  all  the  chief  portions  of 
the  concrete  work.  The  slabs  groove  and  tongue- 
joint  all  round  into  each  other,  with  a  wea- 
thered surface  at  the  jointings  outside,  the 
soffites  being  elaborately  enriched  with  an  effec- 
tive diaper  design,  which  in  its  ium  diminishes 
towards  the   apex  of  the  drum.     The  ribs  and 


lower  rings  of  the  covering  slabs  are  made  of 
concrete,  which  is  as  heavy  as  Portland  stone  : 
the  upper  rings  and  lantern,  with  lions  at  the 
angles,  being  as  Ught  as  pumice-stone,  so  that 
when  the  dome  is  put  together  a  well-balanced 
and  solid  piece  of  construction  is  the  result  •. 
while  from  an  artistic  point  of  view  the  effect, 
in  the  strong  reflected  sunbght  of  India,  wiU, 
we  should  say,  entirely  realise  the  intentions  of 
the  architect,  whose  experience  of  building  and 
success  in  India  are  so  well  known.  The  hospital 
is  being  built  by  His  Highness  Thakore  Sahib 
for  the  use  of  his  subjects,  and  the  work  has 
now  been  in  progress  since  January  last  year. 
Mr.  E.  Procter-Sims,  the  executive  engineer  of 
Bbavnagar  State,  is  supervising  the  execution  of 
the  buildings,  from  Mr.  Emerson's  details  and 
general  drawings.  The  hospital  on  plan  is  a 
long  parallelogram,  having  a  domical  pa^-ilion 
at  each  of  the  four  extreme  comers,  with  the  big 
dome  already  described  as  a  central  feature. 
The  construction  is  entirely  fire-proof,  excepting 
the  roofing  timbers.  The  building  provides 
accommodation  for  fifty  beds,  and  these  are 
aiTanged  on  two  floors,  in  various  wards  for 
males  and  females,  verandahs  being  prorided  all 
round  the  several  sides  of  the  rooms,  and  these 
verandahs  take  the  place  of  our  corridors  and 
passages.  Bath  and  water-closet  provisions  are 
made  in  the  four  low  angle  towers  at  the  ends 
of  the  building,  and  are  disconnected  from  the 
wards  by  verandahs.  The  small  domes  over 
the  angle  towers  are  constructed,  like  the 
central  one,  in  Mr.  Lascelles'  concrete.  The 
design  departs  from  the  more  usual  Maho- 
metan tj'pe  of  Indian  architecture,  which 
has  been  so  continuously  employed  of  late 
years  for  a  large  proportion  of  new  Indian 
buildings,  and  a  more  Hindoo  character  is 
introduced.  The  facilities  afforded  by  the 
Mahometan  pointed  arch  for  treatment  of 
verandahs  are,  no  doubt,  a  great  adv.antage,  and 
render  a  use  of  the  more  lintel-like  style  of 
Hindoo  work  proportionately  difficult.  Mr. 
Emerson  has  arranged  the  lower  range  of  open- 
ings with  square  columns,  carrying  massively- 
projecting  corbels,  in  three  stages,  which  sup- 
port doweled  lintels  of  stone.  Instead  of  horse- 
shoe arches  in  the  upper  tier  of  openings,  a 
many.cusped  arch  is  introduced,  with  a  view  to 
afford  suitable  spaces  for  carving,  as  it  was 
desired  to  render  the  building,  in  these  parts  of 
the  fronts,  especially  rich  in  carved  ornamenta- 
tion ;  and  the  spandrels  of  these  arches  seemed 
to  offer  an  admirable  opportunity  for  the  display 
of  such  work.  The  modelling  for  the  big  hons 
to  the  lantern  of  the  central  dome  has  been 
vigorously  done  by  Mr.  NichoU,  the  sculptor, 
who  has  modelled  all  the  other  figure-work  for 
this  buHding.  One  chief  item  of  expense  is,  of 
course,  the  carriage ;  and  it  is  very  necessary 
that  the  conciete-work  should  be  most  carefully 
packed  for  its  passage  to  India.  For  the  re- 
erection  of  the  domes  which  we  have  now 
described,  an  EngUsh  workman  will  accompany 
the  work,  in  order  to  insure  its  proper  final 
adj  ustment. 


NEW  DOCK  WOEKS    AT    GEANGE- 
MOUTH,    N.B. 

DUEING  the  past  spring  and  summer  the 
new  dock  works  which  are  being  executed 
for  the  Caledonian  Eailway  Company  at 
Grangemouth  have  been  making  substantial 
progress.  The  main  entrance  to  the  new  docks 
and  timber  basin  is  about  half  a  mile  lower 
do-n-n  the  River  Carron  than  the  entrance  to  the 
present  docks,  and  will  be  much  more  conveni- 
ently situated  for  vessels.  An  entrance  chan- 
nel, about  700ft.  long  by  '200ft.  broad,  leads 
from  the  Carron  to  the  entrance  lock,  which  is 
.55ft.  broad  and  350ft.  between  the  gates,  and 
will  have  a  depth  of  water  at  high  tide  of 
26ft. 

The  new  dock  is  1,320ft.  long  and  400ft. 
broad,  and  -will  contain  an  area  of  11  acres  of 
water,  26ft.  deep.  With  the  exception  of  a 
small  extent  of  coping  on  the  south  wall,  the 
dock  is  complete,  and  ready  for  the  sheds, 
causewaying,  and  rails.  The  new  timber  basin, 
which  is  simply  a  continuation  of  the  dock,  with 
the  earth  taken  out  to  a  less  depth,  and  of 
course  without  walls,  is  also  finished,  and  will 
contain  8  acres  of  water,  and  Sft.  deep.  A 
channel,  70ft.  broad  at  the  bottom,  leads  from 
the  new  dock  through  the  timber  basin  to  the 
existing   dock.     This   channel  is  15ft.  deep,  and 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


409 


will  enable  vessels  to  pass  from  one  dock  to  the 
other,  and  at  the  same  time  will  permit  timber 
vessels  to  discharge  their  cargoes  at  once  in  the 
timber  pond.  A  second  channel,  20ft.  wide  and 
14ft.  deep,  branches  off  the  main  one  at  the 
"west  end  of  the  timber  basin,  and  passes  under 
the  railway  sidings  and  the  Grangemouth  and 
Bo'ness  turnpike  road,  the  sidings  and  road 
being  accommodated  with  a  swing  bridge.  A 
small  lock  is  buUt  in  this  channel  between  the 
two  swing  bridges,  to  join  the  levels  of  the  two 
timber  basins,  the  existing  basin  being  si.^  feet 
higher  than  the  new  one.  The  channels  into 
the  timber  basins  are  finished,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  railway  swing  bridge  ;  but  as  regards 
the  channel  into  the  dock  a  good  deal  of  work 
has  still  to  be  done.  A  cofferdam  is  being  buUt 
to  enable  the  junction  to  be  m.ade  with  the 
present  dock  walls,  and  the  foundations  for  a 
swing  bridge  for  siding  accommodation,  and 
part  of  the  walls  of  the  channel  are  still  to  exe- 
cute. 

As  part  of  the  contract  for  the  dock  works,  the 
railway  from  Grahamston  to  Grangemouth  has 
been  doubled,  a  new  goods  .shed  built  at  Grange- 
mouth, and  an  addition  made  to  the  passenger 
station.  The  Bo'ness  road,  the  main  thorough- 
fare from  the  old  town  to  the  new,  has  been 
carried  by  a  bridge  over  the  Grahamston  and 
Grangemouth  Railway,  thus  doing  away  with 
the  level  crossings  at  the  station.  The  walls  of 
the  dock,  locks,  and  channels,  and  the  founda- 
tions for  the  swing  bridges  have  b:en  built  in  a 
style  similar  to  that  adopted  at  the  Albert  Dock 
in  London,  recently  opened  by  the  Dake  of  Con- 
naught.  Instead  of  the  usual  stonework,  they 
are  built  almost  entirely  of  Portland  cement  con- 
crete. About  100,000  cubic  yards  of  concrete 
have  been  used  in  the  construction  of  the  walls 
and  foundations  of  bridges.  The  walls  are  all 
coped  with  granite,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
granite  and  freestone  is  also  used  in  the  quoins, 
sills,  roller-paths,  ko.,  of  the  two  locks.  In 
emptying  and  filling  the  lock  the  water  is  taken 
through  pipes  in  the  side  walls,  instead  of  the 
old  plan  being  followed  of  using  sluices  in  the 
gates.  The  works  have  been  designed  by 
Messrs.  Blj-th  and  Cunningham,  C.E.,  Edin- 
burgh, Sir  Wm.  Armstrong  supplying  the  hy- 
draulic machinery,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
work  has  been  executed  by  Messrs.  Charles 
Brand  and  Son,  Glasgow. 


WATERPROOF   CO"S"ERIXGS. 

AMOXG  the  needs  of  the  builder,  some 
waterproof  covering,  cheaper  and  more 
generally  useful  than  slate  or  asphalte,  and 
more  reliable  than  bituminous  compounds,  ap- 
pears to  be  required.  The  Society  of  Civil 
Engineers,  in  America,  have  been  discussing 
the  subject  of  waterproof  coverings,  from  which 
it  Ls  evident  there  exists  considerable  doubt  as 
to  the  best  protecting  substance.  Most  of  the 
substances  used  for  covering  are  open  to  objec- 
tions :  they  expand  and  contract  with  the  tem- 
perature, and  soon  become  of  little  use  in 
keeping  out  the  wet,  by  the  cracks  which  take 
place ;  others  are  not  durable.  Among  sub- 
stances of  these  kinds  we  may  mention  coal-tar, 
felt,  bitumen  and  sand,  and  asphaltes.  Coal-tar 
roofs  do  not  last  long ;  the  volatile  oils,  which 
give  elasticity,  gradually  evaporate  and  leave 
them  absorbent.  The  material  gets  at  last  like 
a  brittle  substance,  and  easily  cracks,  as  may  be 
observed  by  examining  roofs  coated  with  coal- 
tar. 

Mr.  F.  Colling  wood's  paper  on  waterproof 
coverings  furnishes  some  useful  tests  that  were 
made  upon  materials  sent  by  various  competi- 
tors. Impermeability  to  water  at  all  tempera- 
tures and  durability  were  the  main  require- 
ments. Wooden  moulds  with  grooves,  having 
enlargements  at  the  end,  were  filled  with  certain 
mixtures.  The  long  pieces  cracked  when  exposed 
to  a  freezing  mixture  for  48  hours.  Plates  of 
the  same  material  were  also  tried,  and  dropped 
to  sse  whether  they  would  breik,  and  their 
hardness  and  degree  of  brittleness  were  in  this 
manner  discovered.  For  durability,  the  mate- 
rials were  exposed  in  a  sand-bath  to  a  tempera- 
ture of  212"  for  48  hours,  and  the  percentage  of 
loss  noted  ;  afterwards  they  were  subjected  to 
soaking  in  water,  to  find  out  if  any  absorption 
takes  place,  noting  the  increase  in  weight.  The 
various  samples  offered  for  experiment  were 
classified:  "  1,  Alternate  layers  of  coal-tar  and 
felt ;  2,  mixture  of  soapstone,  crude  petroleum, 


and  resin;  3,  Trinidad  bitumen  (refined),  and 
coal-tar,  with  admixture  of  sand  ;  4,  asphaltic 
mastics,  consisting  of  various  mixtures  of  Val 
de  Travers  or  Limmer  asphaltes,  with  Trinidad 
bitumen,  residuum  oil,  limestone,  sand,  kc. ;  5, 
Trinidad  bitumen  with  paper  or  felt  in  layers  ;  C, 
ditto,  mixed  with  about  10  percent,  of  residuum 
oil  put  ouin  consecutive  layers."  Tlietcstsshowed 
the  coal-tar  and  felt  quite  unreliable  for  perma- 
nent work  ;  that  Xo.  2  (soapstone  and  petroleum) 
was  a  good  fire-proof  roofing  material,  thougli 
there  was  a  loss  by  boiling,  and  the  price  was 
too  great.  The  best  samples  of  the  asphalts 
were  found  excellent,  but  were  rather  hard  at 
low  temperatures;  the  poorer  mixtures  failed 
by  cracking,  and  others  by  absorption,  while  the 
best  were  expensive.  No.  G  was  accepted — a 
mixture  of  'Trinidad  bitumen  (refined)  mixed 
with  10  per  cent,  of  residuum  oil.  A  larger 
quantity  of  oil  was  found  to  make  the  material 
soft,  but  10  per  cent,  gave  substance  not  too 
soft  when  warm  nor  too  brittle  when  cold,  and 
was  entirely  non-absorbent,  losing  nothing  when 
boiled.  The  price  being  lower  than  that  of  any 
other  compound,  the  material  was  used  in  three 
layers  to  protect  the  concrete  over  some  arches 
of  a  bridge.  The  total  thickness  of  the  layers 
was  iin. 

Though  these  experiments  are  valuable  in 
testing  the  merits  of  any  material,  we  doubt 
whether  they  were  exactly  the  tests  an  architect 
or  engineer  should  accept.  To  test  a  certain 
material  for  a  specific  purpose,  we  contend  it 
should  be  used  in  precisely  the  same  manner  it 
is  intended  to  be  in  the  structure,  namely, 
laid  in  a  certain  thickness  over  brickwork  or 
concrete,  and  exposed  to  the  hot  sun.  Even 
with  the  thick  layer  of  sand  placed  over  the 
bitumen,  the  heat  caused  the  latter  to  rise 
through  the  sand  and  begio  to  flow,  from  the  evi- 
dence given  by  the  author  himself.  We  have 
probably  at  present  no  material  of  an  imperme- 
able kind  so  reliable  as  asphaltic  mastic  for 
covering  structures,  flats,  or  roofs.  In  France 
it  is  largely  employed  for  this  purpose,  and  is 
used  without  the  addition  of  grit.  It  has  also 
considerable  tensile  strength,  though  this  quality 
is  of  less  consequence  to  the  builder  than  its  free 
yielding  to  settlement,  and  its  non-liability  to 
crack  from  changes  of  the  weather.  Several 
sorts  of  asphalte  are  to  be  obtained ;  there  is 
the  '-Seyssel,"  laid  at  from  64d.  to  9jd.  per  foot 
for  half -inch  layers;  the  "Val  de  Travers,'' 
from  OS.  per  yard  ;  Claridge's  and  Bamett's,  all 
good  substitutes  for  slates  and  cements.  Can- 
not some  enterprising  manufacturer  find  out  a 
material  offering  the  same  advantages,  equally 
durable,  and  also  cheaper  r 


ORKNEY. 

(From  T/ie  Times.) 
OHETLAXD  for  scenery;  Orkney  for  anti- 
O  quities.  This  distinction  marks  off,  in  a 
broad  and  general  way,  the  characteristic  fea- 
tures of  the  two  groups  of  islands.  The  great 
attractions  of  Shetland  are  the  eUffs  and  preci- 
pices, the  chasms  and  caverns,  the  natural  arches 
and  pillars,  the  voes  and  skerries  and  holms.  In 
Orkney,  the  chief  objects  of  interest  are  the 
works  of  prehistoric  man  —the  brochs,  or  round 
towers,  the  chambered  vaults,  or  tumuli,  and  the 
stone  circles  in  a  more  or  a  less  perfect  state. 
Kirkwall,  the  capital  of  Orkney,  is  in  every 
respect  a  more  interesting  place  than  Lerwnck, 
the  capital  of  Shetland.  In  some  aspects  the 
two  towns  are  very  much  alike.  The  principal 
street  of  Kirkwall,  in  which  the  chief  buildings 
stand,  is  a  narrow  lane,  paved  throughout  its 
length  and  breadth  with  broad  fligs  ;  but  it  has 
a  causeway  of  small  stones  iuthe  centre,  which 
affords  a  reasonably  sure  footing  to  the  horses 
and  ponies.  The  streets  that  diverge  from  this 
one  are  broader  than  the  corresponding  lanes  of 
Lerwick  ;  roads  leading  towards  the  country  are 
sooner  reached ;  and  altogether  the  town  htis  a 
more  modern  appearance.  The  hotels  in  Kirk- 
wall are  a  little  in  advance  of  those  in  Lerwick, 
but  only  a  little. 

The  object  of  greatest  interest  in  Kirkwall  is 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Magnus,  which  dates  from 
the  12th  century,  and  is  still  entire  and  in  an 
excellent  state  of  preservation.  In  the  10th 
century  it  was  extended  both  towards  the  east 
and  towards  the  west,  the  .same  material  being 
used  as  in  the  original  structure— namely,  old 
red  sandstone,  which  abounds  in  the  islands. 
Haco,  King  of  Norway,  who  died  in  the  adjoining 


Bishop's  Palace  in  1203,  was  buried  here,  ae 
was  also  Margaret,  the  Maid  of  Norway,  who 
died  hero  on  her  way  to  Scotland  in  1290.  Ono 
of  the  finest  features  of  the  cathedral  is  tho 
western  doorway,  in  which  there  arc  the  rcraain.s 
of  some  very  fine  carving  much  effaced  by 
atmospheric  action.  A  striking  effect  in  pro- 
duced by  alternating  yellow  with  red  mmdatone 
in  the  pillars  and  mouldings.  Tho  interior  is 
bold  and  plain.  The  eastern,  or  "  ro^c  "  window 
is  very  fine,  and  so  is  th  it  iu  the  south  transept. 
A  fund  exists  for  the  maiutcuanco  and  n  pair  of 
the  fabric  ;  but  it  might  surely  be  u.scd  to  better 
effc-ct  than  in  whitewashing  the  stone  ceiling 
and  in  painting  the  walls  of  the  choir.  Tho 
chancel  is  partitioned  off  by  «n  ugly  wooden 
screen  and  is  fitted  up  as  a  parish-church,  with 
box.pews  on  the  floor  and  projecting  galleries 
between  the  pillars.  The  general  effect  i.^-  simply 
hideous,  and  the  whole  of  the  ugly  cicres  ■cnce 
should  be  cleared  off  with  the  ica«t  possible 
delay.  There  is  hero  a  good  opportunity  for 
.some  patriotic  Orcadian,  animated  by  the  hp'"' 
of  Dr.  William  Chambers,  to  do  a  real  service  Uj 
his  land  and  people.  Let  him  do  for  St.  Magnus 
what  Dr.  Chambers  has  done  and  is  doing  for 
St.  Giles's,  Edinburgh,  and  all  men  of  tanU.-'will 
rest  his  debtors.  A  number  of  curious  tomb- 
stones found  in  different  part*  of  the  building 
are  now  ranged  along  the  walls  of  the  ai.sles. 
From  the  top  of  the  great  tower  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent view  of  Kirkwall,  Kirkwall  Bay,  and 
the  surrounding  islands. 

Close  to  the  cathedral  are  two  interesting  ruins 
— that  of  the  Bishop's  Palace  and  that  of  the 
Earl's  Palace.  In  the  Bishop's  Palace,  or  in  tho 
building  which  afterwards  received  that  name, 
probably  from  its  having  been  enlarged  by 
Bishop  Reid  in  l.'jtO,  King  llaco  resided  after 
his  defeat  at  the  Battle  of  Largs,  and  there  he 
died.  Its  most  striking  feature  is  a  massive 
round  tower,  built  of  rough  stone  and  crowned 
with  an  irregular  conical  roof.  A  little  to  tho 
east  of  the  Bishop's  Palace  is  the  still  morn  inter- 
esting ruin  of  the  Earl's  Palace,  which  forms 
three  sides  of  a  square,  and  contains  some  striking 
arc-hitcctuiiil  fi-aturus  iu  corner  lurrf-Ls  and 
projecting  round  windows.  The  palace  was 
built  by  the  same  notorious  Earl  Patrick  who 
erected  the  castle  at  Scalloway,  in  Shetland,  and 
who  gratified  his  unquestionably  fine  tast«  by 
oppressing  his  people  and  compelling  them  to 
furnish  both  the  labour  and  tho  materials  for  his 
mansions  in  different  parts  of  his  earldom.  The 
great  banqueting-hall,  the  splendid  proportions 
and  mural  decorations  of  which  may  still  be 
traced,  forms  the  central  feature  of  the  ruin,  as 
it  doubtless  did  of  the  castle  in  its  perfect  state. 
Both  in  the  interior  of  the  hall  and  in  the  towers 
and  turrets  there  is  a  wealth  of  ornamentation 
which  is  unusual  in  old  Scottish  houses.  There 
is  a  fine  Gothic  window  at  the  south  end  of  the 
hall,  and  on  the  western  side  there  is  in  the 
chimney-place  as  go  d  a  specimen  of  the  level 
arch  as  can  be  seen  anywhere  in  Scotland.  Of 
course,  the  level  arch  is  merely  an  architectural 
trick ;  it  is  simply  an  arch,  the  stones  of  which 
are  continued  downwards  till  they  reach  a  hori- 
zontal line;  but  the  contrivance  is  ingcnioiu, 
and  there  could  not  be  a  better  model  from  which 
to  study  its  peculiarities.  The  O.-cadians  descrre 
credit  for  the  pride  which  they  take  in  theae 
relics  and  for  the  care  with  which  they  are  pro- 
served.  .    ^,      ,  J 

Another  ruin— thatof  tho  King  s  Castle— used 
to  stand  to  the  north-west  of  the  Cathedral.     It 
was  in   its  day   the   strongest   fortrcs.s   in   the 
northern   i.-les;  but   as   it-s  po-so«sors  u-o.1  their 
power   to   the   detriment  of  the  lipgi-s.  it  was  in 
1614  demolished  by  order  of  the   Privy    Council. 
In  the  following  century  the  stones  of  tho  c-ixtle 
were  used  in  building  a  town-hou-e    and    gaol: 
and  in  186')  the  last  remaining  frai-i:i  i.'   •  f    the 
ruin  was  removed  to  make  way  f^r  . 
ments.     Some  good  specimens  ..f  • 
family  mansion,  with  an  int.  re  t 
which  acces- is  obtained  throug'i 
gattfwav,  may  still  be  .seen  in  lh>  ■ 
of  Kirkwall ;'  but  the  number  of  ; 
rapidly  reduced. 

There  are  many  points  of  interest  in  thenngb- 
bourhood  of  Kirkwall  to  whici  riaU  may  be 
paid.  There  is  CromwcU's  Fort,  on  the  ewt 
side  of  tho  harbour,  bmlt  by  some  of  the  Pro- 
tector's soldiers  who  visited  the  Lsland  in  lb.)0, 
in  consoiuenre  of  a  rLsing  there  under  >  i«»^ 
Montrose-the  last  in  which  that  lU-.tantd 
Jacobite  took  part.  There  U  the  GallowhiU,  a 
hill  south  of  the   town  on  which  witchee  were 


410 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


used  to  I e  treated  with  tbe  extreme  penalty  of 
the  IsiVf,  and  there  is  Wideford  Hill,  two  miles 
lo  the  north-west,  an  eminence  72Cft.  high,  from 
which  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  most  varied 
views  in  the  Orkneys  may  be  obtained.  A  green 
mound  seen  over  the  brow  of  the  hiU  toward  the 
north-west  is  what  is  popularly  called  a  Pict's 
house,  though  whether  it  was  the  house  of  a  Pict 
or  a  dwelling-place  at  all,  is  a  moot  point  on 
which  it  is  'well  not  to  express  a  dogmatic 
opinion.  The  circumference  of  this  mound 
measures  liOft.,  and  it  is  12ft.  in  height.  It 
contains  four  separate  chambers,  to  which  access 
is  obtained  by  a  passage  hardly  '2ft.  high.  The 
chambers,  of  which  the  largest  and  central  one 
IB  about  9ft.  high,  are  built  of  stone,  covered 
■with  earth  and  turf.  "UTien  this  mound  was 
opened  some  years  ago  there  were  found  amid 
the  'rubbish  which  it  contained  bones  and  teeth 
of  the  horse,  the  ox,  the  she;  j),  the  deer,  and  the 
bear;  but  tt ere  were  no  human  remains.  There 
are  two  other  and  similar  tumuli  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  KirkwaU ;  but  the  most  perfect 
and  most  famous  and  interesting  specimen 
of  the  class  is  that  called  Mesehowe,  near 
Stennis. 


.iVN  IMPROVED  DISTEMPER. 

AN  improved  kind  of  distemper  for  coating 
walls  and  other  surfaces  has  been  recently 
patented  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Ingram,  of  113,  Fin- 
boroug-h-road,  S.  AV.  The  invention  consists  in 
the  use  of  tapioca  flour  or  some  similar  farina- 
ceous substance  of  a  glutinous  nature  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  size  in  the  preparation  of  distemper, 
and  it  is  prepared  in  the  following  form: — For 
white  the  ingredients  consist  of  a  mixture  of 
whiting  in  powder,  tapioca  flour,  or  some  similar 
I'aiinaceous  substance,  and  ultramarine  blue  in 
powder,  and  in  about  the  following  proportions, 
say  : — One  hundred-weight  powdered  whiting, 
four  pounds  tapioca  flour,  one  quarter  of  a 
pound  ultramarine  blue.  This  may  be  varied 
by  omitting  the  ultramarine  blue  and  substituting 

other   etainora    flooorcliiify  to    the  colour  required. 

The  mixture  only  requires  tho  addition  of  boil- 
ing water  to  render  it  fit  for  u.se.  The  advan- 
tages of  this  invention  are,  that  it  renders  the 
separate  treatment  of  size  or  glue  as  a  substitute 
unnecessary  ;  that  it  is  more  convenient  in  form, 
and  that  it  retains  its  effective  properties  for 
a  length  of  tim-?  in  any  climate,  whereas  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  size  has  always  been  a 
drawback  to  its  use,  and  has  in  many  parts 
led  to  the  substitution  of  glue,  which  also  requires 
sepoi'ate  treatment,  and  is  equally  inconvenient 
to  prepare. 


j\P! 


MODERN  ARTISTIC  FURNITURE. 

ESSRS.  W.  WALKER  and  SONS,  of 
19,  Bunhill-row,  E.G.,  have  just  issued 
an  illustrated  catalogue  of  their  designs  of 
manufactured  furniture,  which  are  superior  in 
many  respects  to  ordinary  work.  Although 
we  have  little  faith  in  illustrations  of  fui'niture, 
however  well  executed,  they  yet  serve  to  indicate 
the  class  of  work  turned  out.  In  the  20  sheets 
of  illustrations  Messrs.  Walker  give,  printed  in 
brown,  we  have  a  variety  of  designs  for  domestic 
fui'niture,  beginning  with  the  fittings  of  the 
hall,  .such  as  umbrella-stands,  and  ending  in 
the  requisites  of  the  bedroom  and  boudoir.  The 
first  illustration  shows  a  dining-room  fitted  up 
with  Queen  Anne  fui'niture,  as  exhibited  by 
this  firm  at  the  Sydney  International  Exhibi- 
tion, ISSO,  and  which  won  a  gold  medal  and 
first  special  prize  for  e-xcellence  of  design  and 
construction.  The  buffet  and  overmantel  are, 
perhaps,  rather  Renaissance  than  Queen  Anne, 
but  arc  of  good  shape.  Another  sheet  shows  a 
oarved  wood  chimney-piece  in  American  walnut, 
panelled  dado  and  door,  panelled  wooden  ceiling, 
and  parquet  floor  in  hard  woods.  The  first 
article  is  priced  at  £32  10s.,  and  is  eftective  in 
design.  Tho  designs  for  economic  art  library 
furniture  are  not  all  of  equal  merit  :  the 
cut  ends  of  the  ch'mney-piece  and  bookcase 
are  over- worked,  and  plainer  outlines  would  have 
been  in  better  taste.  The  chairs  and  tables 
are  preferable.  Wood  chimney-pieces  in  walnut, 
oak,  and  ebouised  woods  are  given  in  variety, 
80  that  the  most  moderate  taste  may  be  gratified. 
Dining-room  furniture,  from  the  plainest 
to  the  more  costly  descriptions,  is  illustrated  in 
several  sheets  ;  the  cost  of  a  small  dining-room 
or  bachelor's  chamber,  fitted  with  oak  or  Ameri- 


can walnut,  is  quoted  m  one  sheet  at  £47  10s.  ; 
this  includes  a  5ft.  buffet,  an  overmantel  with 
bevelled  glass,  a  small  dining-table,  of  expand- 
ing construction,  a  side  table,  4  chairs,  with 
seats  covered  in  embossed  Utrecht  velvet,  and  2 
arm-chairs.  Some  sensible  dining-room  sofas 
and  easy-chairs  are  illustrated,  and  sheet  il 
shows  a  quietly- designed  drawing-room  suite, 
suitable  for  American  walnut  or  ebouised  wood. 
We  also  recommend  for  simplicity  and  lightness 
the  economic  bedroom  furniture  shown  on  plate 
16,  made  of  ash  or  walnut.  Some  of  the  other 
designs  lose  in  effect  by  overcrowding,  and  a  few 
of  the  details  are  wanting  in  quietness,  as,  for 
instance,  the  ends  of  the  Duchess  toilet-table, 
plate  19.  The  catalogue  will  be  found  useful 
by  all  who  wish  to  furnish  with  good  taste  and 
economy.  The  designs  are  chiefly  in  the  Queen 
Anne  and  Georgian  styles. 


FRENCH    ART    AND     ITS    RELATIONS 
WITH  THE  STATE. 

THE  Lecture  Session  of  the  Birmingham  and 
Midland  Institute  was  commenced  on 
Monday,  when  Mrs.  Matk  Pattison  lectured  on 
*' The  Relations  between  Art  and  State  created 
in  France  by  Richelieu. ' '  The  lecturer  said  that, 
varying  with  the  temper  of  nations  and  the  con- 
dition of  the  times,  painting  and  sculpture  had 
been  seen  now  under  one  and  now  under  another 
of  three  different  aspects.  They  had  been 
purely  imitative,  or  decorative,  or  poetic,  as  one 
or  the  other  phase  answered  best  to  the  needsand 
tendencies  of  the  moment ;  but  it  was  reserved 
for  one  of  the  rulers  of  I^'rance,  as  late  as  the 
seventeenth  century,  fully  to  realise  their 
immense  importance  in  connection  with  the  well- 
being  of  a  commercial  nation.  The  policy  pur- 
sued by  Colbert  in  this  respect  derived  its  im- 
pulses directly  from  the  State  policy  inaugurated 
by  his  great  predecessor  Richelieu  ;  and  in  order 
to  understand  the  relations  between  the  State 
and  the  Arts  which  were  created  in  France  by 
Colbert  it  was  necessary  to  review  the  circum- 
stances which  led  Richelieu  into  the  arbitrary 
courses  which  he  invigorated  with  his  splendid 
talent,  and  which  were  alternately  the  object  of 
extravagant  blame  or  extravagant  admiration, 
because  the  conditions  under  which  he  had  to 
work  were  so  little  understood.  When  the  reigii 
of  Henry  IV.  came  to  its  fatal  close,  men, 
weary  of  combat,  were  eager  to  barter  liberty 
for  law.  The  ideal  which  had  involved  the 
Uberation  of  human  life  from  all  the  restraints 
w^hioh  prevented  its  harmonious  development 
was  replaced  by  the  vision  of  order.  The  love 
of  order  was  the  passion  of  the  day,  and  in  the 
name  of  order  all  tyranny  was  justified.  The 
work  of  estabUshing  this  tyranny  fell  to  the  lot 
of  Richelieu.  RichcUeu  was  deeply  imbued 
with  the  importance  of  truths  diametrically 
opposite  to  those  embodied  in  the  Renaissance. 
The  latter  had  proclaimed  that  the  most  noble 
fruits  of  life  were  produced  only  when  complete 
scope  was  allowed  to  the  development  of  the  in- 
dividual, but  Richelieu  remembered  that  the  in- 
dividual counted  for  very  little  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  people.  The  affirmation  of  the 
supreme  rights  of  the  individual,  having  been 
carrieel  to  its  extreme,  had  ended  in  reaction. 
The  day  had  not  yet  come  for  a.sking  in  what 
way  individual  liberty  might  be  secured,  whiUt 
at  the  same  time  there  should  be  created  in  the 
mass  that  unity  of  purpose  which  alone  ensured 
collective  action  and  led  to  national  greatness. 
The  task  of  the  hour  was  only  the  simple  task  of 
creating  that  uuity  of  purpose  and  of  realising 
that  ideal  of  collective  action.  To  this  task 
Richelieu  devoted  the  most  splendid  energies 
which  ever  inspired  a  suffering  human  body,  and 
that  which  he  set  himself  to  do  he  accomplished. 
The  h:cturer  briefly  traced  the  course  pursued  by 
Richelieu  in  welding  all  the  forces  of  the 
national  life  into  one  giant  whole,  and  pointed 
out  that  his  policy  should  lie  judged  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  hour,  and  not  by  the 
standard  of  fixed  principles.  The  principles  of 
his  policy  imposed  themselves  on  after-genera- 
tions, and  although  the  royal  power  which  was 
put  in  his  hands  became  a  scourge  to  those  who 
followed  him,  yet  its  utmost  excesses  could  not 
destroy  the  bond  into  which  he  had  knitted  the 
very  nerves  and  sinews  of  France.  The  lecturer 
pointed  out  how  Richelieu's  policy  of  union, 
direction,  and  protection  was  left  to  those  "sx'ho 
came  after  him ;  and  went  on  to  show  how  his 
successor,  Colbert,  carried  out  these  principles 


in  relation  to  the  Fine  Arts.  An  interesting 
description  was  given  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  new  Academy  of  Paris,  under  Governmental 
regulation,  superseded  the  ancient  maiiyisr,  or 
coi-poration  of  painters  and  sculptors.  Colbert 
had  no  more  love  of  the  arts  for  their  own  sake 
than  any  other  leading  man  of  his  day,  but  he 
saw  the  services  which  they  might  render  to  in- 
dustry, and  the  welfare  of  French  industry  was 
a  point  of  supreme  impoitance  in  his  general 
scheme  of  maintaining  the  predominance  of 
France  over  the  rest  of  Euroije.  To  the  Academy 
was  now  confided  the  future  of  French  art,  and 
to  it  was  wholly  entrusted  the  education  of  the 
young  generation,  while  to  the  chief  of  the 
academicians  w'as  allotted,  not  only  the  direction 
of  the  Academy  itself,  but  also  that  of  all  the 
branches  of  French  iuelustry  in  so  far  as  they 
demanded  the  co-poration  of  art.  As  controller 
of  the  Royal  household  and  of  all  works  under- 
taken by  the  Crown,  Colbert  found  additional 
reasons  for  upholding  and  securing  the  position 
of  the  Academy.  He  was  now  free  to  organise 
as  he  would  all  the  various  forms  of  art  activity 
throughout  the  kingdom,  to  connect  them  with 
one  another,  and  place  their  direction  in  one 
absolutely  guiding  hand.  Henceforth  one  and 
the  same  system  should  embrace  in  its  meshes 
the  administration  of  public  works,  of  the  Royal 
galleries  and  collections  of  all  art  industrial 
enterprises — should  connect  and  constitute  all 
art  bodies,  direct  the  teaching  in  their  schools, 
and  control  even  the  arrangements  of  their 
annual  exhibitions.  This  system,  which  involved 
a  code  of  the  most  arbitrary  measures, 
was  brought  into  organic  unity  by  the  single 
purpose  of  enhancing  French  social  and  political 
importance.  To  this  end  Colbert  fostered 
French  industry,  and  forced  it  into  novel 
channels,  bringing  glassworkers  from  Venice 
and  lacemakers  from  Flanders,  that  they  might 
yield  to  France  the  secret  of  their  skill ;  and  to 
this  end  he  provided  for  the  French  artisan 
means  of  instruction  such  as  he  had  never  before 
enjoyed.  The  art  treasures  of  the  King  were 
lavishly  increased,  not  for  his  private  pleasure, 
but  that  they  might  be  the  more  useful  in  refin- 
ing the  taste  of  those  to  whom  they  were  to  be 
thrown  open;  palaces  and  public  buildings  were 
to  afford  commissions  to  French  artists,  and  a 
means  of  technical  and  artistic  education  to  all 
those  employed  upon  them.  An  establishment 
created  for  the  making  of  the  necessary  furniture 
of  State  apartments  became  at  once  a  great 
national  school  of  cabinet-makingand upholstery, 
which,  coupled  with  the  training  received  in  the 
State  manufactories  of  Gobelins  and  Sevres, 
immediately  influenced  every  branch  of  produc- 
tion, whilst  the  oificially  organised  corporations 
of  artists  wliich  spread  themselves  over  the 
country  under  the  protectorate  of  the  central 
Academy  of  Paris,  and  the  facilities  afforded  for 
foreign  study  by  the  foundation  of  the  School  of 
France  at  Rome,  secured  the  interests  of  art 
education  in  its  highest  and  most  complete  form. 
With  Le  Brun  as  director  of  the  Academy,  that 
imity  of  authority  which  had  been  the  precept 
of  Richelieu's  policy  imposed  its  extreme  eon- 
sequences,  and  prevented  in  France  that  elivorce 
between  art  and  industry  which  took  place  at 
that  moment  in  almost  every  other  country  in 
Europe.  Although  the  caprices  of  the  power 
which  Richelieu's  and  Colbert's  principles  had 
rendered  sovereign  ultimately  brought  about 
financial  distress  through  foreign  wars ;  and 
although  many  parts  of  Col'oert's  scheme  fell  to 
the  ground,  the  s])irit  in  which  it  originated  stiU 
animated  France.  His  great  provincial  school 
of  industrial  art  at  Bievre-Vache  was  suppressed, 
but  the  principles  upon  which  that  establishment 
was  conducted  still  prevailed  in  the  great  national 
manufactories,  and  the  workmen  of  the  GobcUus 
and  Sevres  went  forth,  like  their  forefathers 
from  Biovre-Vache,  to  enrich  the  resources  and 
raise  the  level  of  private  enterprise.  The 
autocratic  tyranny  of  Le  Brun  still  bore  fruit,  for 
the  conditions  created  under  his  auspices  pre- 
served sound  traditions  of  teaching  and  training 
ready  to  hand  against  the  day  when  the  sources 
of  artistic  production  might  again  prove  fertile ; 
and  in  spite  of  wars  ancl  revolutions,  the  con- 
nection between  the  aits  and  industry — which 
other  nations  were  now  seeking  painfully  to  re- 
establish— had  never  been  lost  in  France.  French 
provincial  cities  still  maintained  their  academic 
schools,  and  they  might  even  now  see  the 
municipal  councils  of  poor  country  towns  taxing 
their  slender  funds  with  noble  public  spirit  to 
give  the  boy  whom  they  hoped  might  one  day 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


411 


distinguish  himself  a  st  irt  on  his  way  to  Paris,    rise,  and   for   the   principal   stairs  this  is  wholly    "  but  there  was  such  a  lowing:  and  disturbance 
The  lecture  was  listened  to   with  attention  and  |  inadmissible.     The   other   extreme,    a  fault   not    amongnt  them  the  dny  and  night   followin<i 


appreciation  ;  and  at  its  close  a  hearty  vote  of 
thanks  was  passed  to  the  lecturer. 


DECORATION  OFST.PANCIIA.S'  CHURCH. 

DI'RIKG  the  last  two  months  this  well- 
known  church  has  been  in  the  hands  of 
Messrs.  Crace.  It  was  open-id  for  service  oa 
Sunday  last.  An  important  change  has  been 
effected  in  the  aspect  of  the  interior,  which,  with 
its  walls  of  Pompeian  red  no  longer  produces 
that  gloomy  impression  which  it  before  shared 
with  many  of  its  "classic"  sister  churches  in 
London.  A  building  with  a  flat  ceiling  117ft. 
long  by  60ft.  broad,  and  only  -lOft.  high,  maybe 
said  to  present  distinct  difficulties  to  the  de- 
corator ;  but  these  have  been  boldly  met.  and 
not  without  success.  Tlie  ceiling  in  question  is 
originally  divided  by  very  wide  margins  into  a 
great  number  of  very  small  panels  or  shallow 
coffers,  containing  at  intervals  pendant  rosettes. 
The  margins  are  kept  light,  of  a  quiet  stone- 
tint,  and  the  panels  mostly  blue  with  a  green 
star  in  each,  only  those  being  coloured  red  which 
emphasize  the  general  design.  The  proportions 
of  the  panels  are  improved  by  carrying  the  blue 
or  red  somewhat  beyond  their  own  limit.  The 
cornice,  which  has  the  demerit  of  consisting  of  a 
great  number  of  small  mouldings  without  any 
frieze  or  leading  feature,  has  been  well  brought 
out  with  firm  colour  and  pretty  solid  gilding. 
The  walls  above  the  galleries  are  painted  a 
bright  luminous  red,  whilst  below  the  galleries 
so  much  of  the  wall  as  is  not  occupied  by  the 
numerous  marble  tablets  is  of  a  darker  tone  ;  the 
window  and  door  dressings  throughout  being 
kept  light.  The  gallery  fronts  are  also  light, 
with  bronze  and  gold  mouldings,  and  are  divided 
by  ornaments  into  spaces  which  accord  with  the 
columuiation  below  them.  The  dsvarf  columns 
which  support  the  galleries  are  also  treated  as 
bronze,  and  relieved  with  gilding.  The  apse,  or 
"tribune"  (which  ali-eady  contained  three  good 
but  somewhat  dark  staiaed  windows)  is  now 
made  rich  and  effective  by  a  series  of  wide  hori- 
zontal bands  of  fiue  Greek  ornament  on  gold 
groimd,  which  well  relieve  the  six  heavy  wood 
antique  scagUola  columns.  These  columns  are 
said  to  be  the  largest  ever  made  in  scagliola,  and 
will  be  remembered  by  those  who  know  St. 
Paneras  as  the  leading  feature  of  the  interior. 

The  topmost  of  these  gold  bands  bears  the 
■words,  from  Isaiah,  "Come  ye  and  let  us  walk 
in  the  light  of  the  Eternal.""  The  high  plinth 
below  the  columns  is  decorated  principally  in  a 
rich  maroon  colour  and  gold  ornament,  which  is 
made  to  connect  and  frame  the  white  marble  tables 
of  the  decalogue,  prayer  and  creed  which  already 
existed.  The  oak  seating  remains  and  has  been 
renovated.  New  warming  apparatus  on  Grundy's 
system  has  been  introduced,  and  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Salter,  architect,  the  surveyor 
of  the  fabric,  other  general  repairs  have  been 
executed.  The  cost  of  the  works  has  been 
undertaken  by  a  committee  of  the  congregation, 
who  have  relied  entirely  upon  private  subscrip- 
tion. The  church  was  designed  by  luwood  and 
built  in  1820-22  at  a  cost  of  £76,000.  There- 
novation  will  cost  over  £2,000.  The  Rev.  the 
Hon.  Canon  Spence  is  tbe  present  vicar,  who 
has  actively  promoted  the  work. 


STAIRS. 

STAIRS  (writes  a  contributor  to  the  American 
Architect)  caubemadeanattractive  feature  in 
a  house.  Every  architect  knows  this ;  but  no 
man  can  build  a  flight  that  will  be  comfortable, 
or  even  safe,  in  a  cramped  or  narrow  hall. 
Stairs  are  exacting  in  their  demands,  and  if 
these  demands  arc  not  complied  with  we  shall  be 
reminded  of  the  neglect  eveiy  time  we  use  them. 
We  may  resort  to  make-shilts  (if  inclined  to  do 
so)  in  other  parts  of  the  house,  but  we  cannot 
put  oft  the  stairs  with  anything  and  say  "it 
will  do,"  and  no  coaxing  will  bnng  an  ill-con- 
trived or  badly-arranged  flight  of  stairs  into  use 
on  any  possible  terms.  A  good  run  is  what 
every  "flight  of  stairs  requires.  If  the  run  is  not 
long  enough,  then  we  mu.st  increase  the  height 
of  the  risers  ;  and  the  rise,  after  it  has  reached  a 
certain  point,  becomes  trying  when  difficult,  and 
at  last  dangerous.  In  many  houses,  in  almost 
all  cheap  houses,  tlie  rise  is  eight  inches.  Even 
the  back   stairs  should  not  have  a  more  rapid 


often  committed,  is  to  have  the  rise  too  low.  Any 
thing  below  six  inches  is  almost  as  trying  as  the 
other  extreme,  but  it  is  not  so  dangerous.  The 
most  satisfactory  rise  is  six  and  a-half  inches, 
and  from  that,  if  crowded,  we  may  go  on  to 
seven  inches  without  drawing  attention  to  the 
tread  ;  but  above  that  point  the  rise  begins  to 
fatigue  us.  A  rise  of  six  and  a-half  inches  re- 
quires a  tread  of  at  least  fourteen  inches,  and  for 
one  of  nine  inches  a  tread  of  eight  inches  will 
suffice.  But  I  cannot  believe  that  any  one 
would  put  a  rise  of  that-  height  into  any  dwell- 
ing. One  might  as  well  resort  to  a  ladder,  and 
indeed,  a  ris-3  of  this  kind  would  bo  but  little 
better  than  such  a  contrivance  to  reach  the 
chamber  floor.  Whether  the  risers  arc  high  or 
low,  they  must  all  be  of  a  imiform  height.  Any 
departure  from  this  rule  is  always  attended  with 
mischievous  results.  If  all  the  risers  in  a  flight 
are  seven  inches,  with  one  exception,  and  that 
one  is  either  six  or  eight  inches  high,  every 
person  who  passes  up  or  down  wiU  trip  at  that 
stair.  No  matter  how  often  he  goes  up  or  down, 
he  will  always  trip  at  that  point. 

Stiirs,  to  be  effective,  should  be  wide  between 
the  wall  and  rail,  with  one  or  two  flats  or  land- 
ings ;  and  in  no  instance  should  they  be  dis- 
figured by  the  introduction  of  winders.  The 
rail  must  be  heavy,  the  balusters  something 
more  than  "dipper  handles,"  and  at  the  foot  let 
there  be  a  newel,  on  which  the  architect  may 
display  his  taste  and  skill.  It  need  not  be  ela- 
borate, but  it  is  a  conspicuous  object,  and  it 
should  have  something  more  to  recommend  it 
to  our  notice  than  the  cheap  and  stereotyped 
forms,  which  may  bo  bought  at  the  turner's  by 
the  hundred. 

It  is  pleasant  to  mount  up  stairs  properly 
planned,  especially  if  they  are  well-lighted  and 
ventilated.  And  if  on  the  first  landing  the 
architect  can  contrive  a  bay,  deeply  recessed  and 
provided  with  seats  beneath  the  wide  windows, 
he  will,  by  so  doing,  add  another  charm  to  the 
house.  Here  those  who  are  advanced  in  years, 
and  who  find  it  difficult  to  climb  the  whole 
flight  at  a  time,  may  rest  awhile,  or  sit  and  chat. 
Here  t':e  little  ones  love  to  pause  in  their  pas- 
sage up  and  down,  and  here  flowers  growing  in 
a.janliniire  in  front  of  the  window,  may  send 
their  fragrance  through  the  house. 


struck  the  people  with  terror  and  amazement, 
and  caustd  them  to  bring  back  the  stone  to  its 
former  place,  and  then  all  was  quiet  again.  This 
was  attested  by  the  minister  of  the  parish,  and 
several  of  his  neighbours  of  good  credit,  in  thei 
year  1680."  We  find  an  interesting  note  on 
Todenham  parish-church,  recently  restored  by 
Mr.  E.  J.  K.  Cutts,  of  London.  Fragments  of 
Norman  and  an  Early  English  arcade  are  prc- 
sen-ed.  The  description  of  Cheltenham  CO  years 
ago,  and  the  quotations  from  parish  registers, 
will  bo  read  with  interest  by  the  antiquary,  and 
already  the  editor,  the  Rev.  B.  H.  Blacker, 
M.A.,  has  rescued  from  dust  and  neglect  many 
scraps  of  informatioa  from  recondite  sources, 
which  the  future  historian  of  Gloucestershire 
mav  tui-u  to  good  account. 


SIODERN  STEELS  AS  STRtTCTURAL 
MATERIALS. 
T  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Engineen, 


A 


Society's  hall,  Victoria-street,  Westminster, 
Mr.  Joseph  Born'iys,  President,  in  the  chair,  a 
paper  was  read  by  Mr.  W.  Worby  Beaumont, 
C.E.,  on  "  Modem  Steels  as  Structural 
Materials."  The  object  of  the  paper  was  to 
call  attention  to  the  structural  inferiority  of 
the  modern  very  soft  steels  as  compared  with 
the  structural  value  which  steel  made  \>y 
the  Bessemer  and  other  modem  processci  pro- 
mised to  i^ossess  ten  years  or  so  ago.  At  that 
time,  the  high  tenacity  of  steel  then  being  pro- 
duced seemed  to  indicate  that  it  would  aiford 
engineers  considerable  facility  for  building 
lighter  structures  than  was  possible  with  iron. 
Attempts  to  employ  this  steel  for  bridge  and 
boiler-work,  however,  showed  that  it  was  ncces- 
s.iry  to  impart  greater  toughness  to  these  Steele, 
and  since  then  stccl-makers  have  laboured  to 
effect  this  by  producing  very  soft  and  ductile 
steels.  The  result  of  this  has  been  that  very 
mild  steels  of  low  elastic  limit,  though  of  con- 
siderable ultimate  strength  and  of  great  nmge 
of  extension,  have  been  produced,  some  of  these 
steels  offering  very  little  structural  advantage 
over  ordinarily  good  iron,  and  some  inferior  to 
best  iron.  In  the  endeavour  to  impart  toughness 
to  the  steels,  great  ductihtyhad  been  obtained, 
which,  if  necessarily  accompanied  by  a  low 
elastic  limit,  was  a  loss  in  efficien-^y.  It  thus 
appeared  tliat  constructors  were  in  danger  of 
losing  aU  the  advantages  which  the  application 
of  steel  to  structural  purposes  promised  a  dozen 
years  ago  to  secure,  though  steels  may  now  be 
obtained  of  greater  uniformity  and  trustworthi- 
ness than  was  possible  at  that  time. 


"  GLOUCESTERSHIRE    NOTES    AND 
QUERIES."* 

THE  last  part  of  "  Gloucestershire  Notes  and 
Queries"'  quite  equals  its  predecessors  in 
the  variety  of  matter.  We  have  a  very  interest- 
ing transcript  from  the  lata  Sir  Gilbert  Scott's 
"  Personal  and  Professional  Recollections  "  on 
Gloucester  Cathedral  (pp.  336,  339),  in  which 
the  restoration  and  decoration  of  the  choir- 
vaulting  are  made  the  subjects  of  remark.  The 
polychromatic  treatment  of  the  intricate  ribbed 
vaiiting  of  choir  is  one  that  would  not  please 
eveiybody,  but  our  own  recollection  of  it  dis- 
poses us  to  agree  -with  the  opinion  of  the  late 
eminent  restorer.  Another  note  speaks  of  the 
font,  a  massive  design  by  Scott  in  tlie  Norman 
style.  The  -writer  says  "it  harmonises  well  with 
the  general  features  of  the  nave,  though  not 
exactly  with  the  architecture  of  that  portion  of 
the  building  where  it  is  placed,  near  the  moulded 
columns  and  -n-est  front  added  by  Abbot  Mor- 
wentin  the  middle  of  the  1.5th  century."  It  is 
wrought  in  Inverness  granite,  which  is  as  hard 
as  steel,  and  of  a  mottled  red  colour,  not  unlike 
Lizard  marble.  It  stands  on  steps  ' '  fine  axed  " 
of  pal->  blue  colour.  At  the  corners  are  shafts 
with  carved  capitals,  and  the  four  sides  of  font 
have  carved  panels,  3  to  each  front,  in  low  relief, 
surrounded  by  foliage.  These  contain  heads  of 
St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke,  the  heads  of  the  prophets 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel,  and  also  St. 
Matthew,  St.  John,  and  Isaiah,  with  other  de- 
rices.  The  caning  is  said  to  be  exceedingly 
fine  for  the  material.  Its  cost  was  £7-30.  On 
page  2.56  is  an  account  of  some  curious  stone 
figures  atNotgrove  Church,  quoted  from  Rudder. 
An  ancient  freestone  figure  in  the  north 
cross- aisle,  in  a  long  robe,  and  in  the  church- 
yard two  other  similar  figures  of  stone,  in  full 
proportion,  are  described.    About  the  year  16.30 

so  savs   the   tradition,  one  of  these  stones  wa.s    .  ■ ,  „^ -,,„  ,       .'    » ■_  „_^ »„     Tk„ 

removed   and  turned   into  a  trough  for  cattle,  |  d^^age  -? .fj^^^^-^^^'^^P-J^X^liel 

" '  the  nature  of  the  proposed  improTements. 


CHIPS. 

The  Town  Council  of  Bristol  decided,  on  Tuesday 
week,  consequent  on  a  report  by  Mr.  Howard,  C.E., 
to  reconstruct  the  Bedminster-bridge.  Theexisting 
one  is  an  early  iron  structure,  which  has  long  been 
reputed  to  he  shaky,  and  which  was  described  in 
the  course  of  the  discussion  as  an  "  engiueering 
curiosity." 

The  annual  report  as  to  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Extension  Fund  shows  that  during  the  past  year 
ninety-one  chapels,  providing  additional  accommo- 
dation for  U,.507  persons,  have  been  assisted  by 
grants  amounting  to  £7,-3-52.  The  fund  hasaided 
during  the  pa.st  six  years  in  providing  53,855 
additional  sittmgs  in  Wesleyan  chapels. 

"The  Auld  Clay  Biggin"  at  Ayr,  in  which 
Robert  Burns  was  born,  hitherto  occupied  as  a 
public-house,  is  about  to  be  transferred  to  the 
trustees  of  the  Ayr  Bums'  Monument,  and  con- 
verted Into  a  tort  of  Bums'  museum.  There  is  a. 
conaiderable  area  of  ground  attached,  and  this  is  to 
be  attractively  laid  out. 

A  now  minion-church  of  St.  Michael  and  AU 
Angels  was  opened  at  Ponsanooth,  thrt c  miles  from 
Penryn,  on  Wednesday  week.  It  has  wooden 
muUions  and  bell  tu  ret"copied  from  the  picturesque 
church  of  Crowfield,  ncarUoddcnh.am.  Suffolk,  llr. 
H.  Baunetts,  of  Penryn,  was  the  builder. 

An  inquiry  wai  held  at  the  town-ball,  Stratford- 
by-Bow,  on'Tue-day  week  before  Mr.  S.  J.  t^mith. 
Inspector  to  the  Local  G  ivemment  Bi.ard,  respect- 
ing an  app'ica'ion  frcm  the  West  Ham  local  board 
for  s  inction  to  b  rrow  £10,000  for  woiks  of  si:rface 


London  :  W.  Kent  and  Co.,  Pattmoster-row. 


412 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


New  Buildings  at  the  East  End  of  London  ... 

Stability  of  "Water-Tanka 

The  Photographic  Society's  Exhibition 

Ancient  Lights.— Ill 

A  Concrete  Dome  for  India      

New  Dock  "Works  at  Grangemouth,  N.  B.   ... 

Waterproof  Coverings , 

Orkney     

An  Improved  Distemper    

Modem  Artistic  Furniture 

French  Ait  and  its  Relations  with  the  State 

Decoration  of  St.  Pancras'  Churcb 

Stairs 

"  Gloucestershire  Notes  and  Queries  " 

Modem  Steels  as  Structural  Materials 

Chips 

Our  LithograpMc  Dlustxationa 

Competitions 

Schoolsof  Art , 

Archaeological , 

The  Rhind  Lectures  on  Archaeology      , 

Stability  and  Strength  of  Stone  Arches 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Intercom  rauni cation    

Legal  Intelligence 

Stained  Glass 

Statues,  Memorials,  &c 

"Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

Our  Office  Table     

Tenders     


ILLUSTKATIONS. 

INTERIOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MICHAEL,  CAMDKS- 
TOWN.— SIR  FRED.  LEIGHTOn'S  HOUSE  :  THE  ARAB  HALL. 
— MAISON  HTDEAULIQUE,  ANTWERP. — MEMOHIAT-  HALL 
AND  SCHOOLS,  DOVER.  —  PRIVATE  HOTEL,  AEUNDEL- 
STBEET,    STRAND. 


Our  LithographicIllustrations- 


CHTJECH  OF    ST.    MICHAZL,    CAiCDEN  TOWN. 

This  fine  example  of  cliurcli  architecture,  de- 
sigrned  by  Messrs.  Bodley  and  Gamer,  architects, 
is  now  in  course  of  erection,  and  our  lithographic 
illustration  is  taken  from  Mr.  W.  S.  Weather- 
ley's  beautifully-executed  pen-and-ink  drawing 
from  the  last  Royal  Academy  Exhibition  at 
Burlington  House.  The  foundation-stone  of 
this  church  was  laid  about  three  months  ago  by 
the  Marquis  of  Camden. 

AETISTS'      HOMES. — NO.     "  :    THE    AEAB     HAIL,     SIE 
FEEDK.    LEIGHTON's  HOUSE. 

Last  week  we  fully  described  this  interesting 
house,  at  the  same  time  giving  plans,  elevations, 
and  a  general  perspective  view.  To-day  our 
double-pag(<  plate  illustrates  the  elaborate  in- 
terior decorations  of  the  Arab  Hall.  The  dome 
is  decorated  on  a  gilt  ground,  and  the  windows 
are  glazed  with  stained  glass.  The  small  shafts 
to  the  side-openings  are  entirely  of  white 
rcarblo,  and  the  caps  to  the  large  columns  on 
either  side  of  the  entrance  are  gilt.  The  wall- 
tiles  to  the  window-reveals  are  dark  blue.  In 
other  respects,  the  black-and-white  drawing 
furnishes  as  fairly  a  good  idea  of  the  decorative 
effect  as  any  drawing  of  the  kind,  simply 
in  line,  can  (iive.  Mr.  George  Aitchison,  B.A., 
was  the  areliitect  for  the  work.  The  marble- 
work  was  by  Messrs.  White  and  Sons,  of  Vauxhall 
Bridge-road,  Pimlico.  The  drawings  from  which 
GUI'  illustration  is  taken  were  exhibited  this 
year  at  the  Royal  Academy. 

MAISOX   HYDBAUUQUE,    ANTWERP. 

One  of  our  lithographic  pages  is  devoted  to  some 
useful  details  from  the  Maison  Hydraulique  at 
Antwerp.  The  sketches  were  made  on  the  spot 
by  Mr.  J.  Alfred  Gotch,  who  has  furnished  many 
very  valuable  particulars  on  the  drawing  itself 
with  several  figured  dimensions.  The  sheet 
includes  drawings  of  the  staircase,  with  its  re- 
markably-carved balustrade  ;  an  old  oak  bench  ; 
some  fireclay  tiles  and  glazed  tile  linings  to  an 
open  hearth :  and  details  of  a  hanging  lamp  in 
iron. 

MEilOKIAL   HALL   A^■I)    SCHOOLS,    DOVEE. 

This  building  is  situate,  with  the  main  entrance 
in  Priory-road,  having  a  right  of  entrance  also 
in  Biggin-street.  It  has  been  erected  for  the 
requirements  of  a  congregation  gathered  together 
by  the  labours  of  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Frewin.  The 
great  peculiarity  of  the  site — a  narrow  frontage 
of  about  '20ft.,  widening  out  behind,  and  again 
narrowing  to  a  mere  slip — rendered  special 
planning  necessary.     The  difficulty  was  farther 


increased  by  the  circumscribed  area,  necessitating 
the  covering  of  every  inch  of  available  ground 
to  obtain  the  required  accommodation.  The 
hall,  being  surrounded  by  adjoining  buildings 
and  property,  the  light  had  to  be  obtained, 
almost  entirely,  from  the  roof.  The  front  build- 
ing is  devoted  to  class-rooms,  &c.,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a  Sunday-school.  The  front  is  built  of 
red  brick,  with  Bath  stone  dressings ;  the  roofs 
are  slated  with  Bangor  slates.  The  Hall  is 
heated  on  Purritt's  f-ystem  of  an  underground 
stove.  Provision  is  made  for  a  gallery  at  end, 
and  one  at  side,  to  be  erected  at  a  future  time. 
The  cost  of  the  buildings,  including  fittings,  is 
slightly  under  £2,000.  The  works  have  been 
very  satisfactorily  carried  out  byMr.W.  Bromley, 
builder,  of  Dover,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  A.  T.  Taylor,  A.R.I.B.A.,  architect,  of 
Moorgate  Chambers,  72,  Finsbury  Pavement, 
E.G.  The  illustration  is  a  reproduction  of  a 
drawing  in  this  year's  Royal  Academy. 

PEIVATE  HOTEL,    AHUIfDEL-STKEET. 

We  publish  an  elevation  of  the  above  hotel, 
which  is  about  to  be  erected  upon  the  sites  of 
Nos.  25  and  26,  Arundel-street.  It  will  be  of 
redbrick,  stone  dressings,  and  tiled  roof.  It  will 
contain  over  40  bed-rooms  for  visitors,  and  will 
be  fitted  with  every  modern  convenience.  A  lift 
will  communicate  with  each  floor.  The  architect 
is  Mr.  J.  Dunn,  1,  John-street,  PaU-mall,  S.W. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Caediff. — Plans  are  invited  for  the  erection 
of  a  public  haU  on  the  site  of  the  old  Theatre, 
Crockherbtown.  The  street  frontage  is  100ft.; 
sitting  accommodation  must  be  provided  for 
2,000  persons,  with  an  orchestra  for  200  persons, 
and  the  limit  of  cost  is  £10,000.  A  premium  of 
£100  is  offered  for  the  best  plan,  and  designs  are 
to  be  sent  in  before  January  3rd,  1881. 

LivEEPOOL. — New  Conseevatite  Club. — On 
Wednesday,  September  29th,  the  date  fixed  for 
the  delivery  of  the  plans  by  the  competitors, 
twenty-seven  sets  of  plans  were  sent  in  to  the 
committee.  It  is  believed  that  they  intend  to 
liire  a  suitable  set  of  rooms  near  the  Exchange 
for  the  exhibition  of  the  drawings  ;  after  which 
no  doubt  Mr.  Alfred  Waterhouse,  who  drew  up 
the  conditions,  will  inspect  the  drawings,  and 
make  his  report  for  the  final  consideration  of  the 
committee. 


SCHOOLS     OF      ART. 

Aye. — The  annual  distribution  of  prizes  to 
successful  students  in  the  science  and  art  classes 
was  made  by  Col.  Alexander,  M.P.,  at  the  New 
Academy,  Ayr,  on  Saturday.  The  report  showed 
that  in  the  art  classes  13  students  earned  the 
highest  grant  for  works  sent  to  South  Kensing- 
ton, 5  third-grade,  and  11  second-grade  prizes 
had  been  token.  At  the  May  examinations,  16 
prizes  and  51  passes  were  gained  in  the  second- 
grade — in  all,  28  prizes  falling  to  the  art  classes. 
The  science  classes  had  also  been  satisfactory, 
and  in  building-construction  5  passed — 2  first- 
class  and  3  second — and  a  similar  result  was 
attained  in  the  applied-mechanics  class. 

Gatesheid. — A  meeting  was  held  on  Monday 
week  in  the  Town-hall,  Gateshead,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  presenting  the  prizes  to  the  successful 
students  who  last  winter  attended  the  Science 
and  Art  Classes  of  the  Gateshead  School  Board. 
The  meeting  was  addressed  by  Professor  Ede 
and  others.  The  following  were  the  prizes  and 
cfrtificates  awarded:  —  Barn  Close  Schools: 
Students  registered,  10-t;  examined,  87;  Queen's 
prizes  won,  26 ;  certificates  taken,  82.  Alex- 
andra-road Schools:  Students  registered,  57; 
examined,  43;  Queen's  prizes  won,  IS;  certifi- 
cates taken,  78.  North  -  Eastern  Railway 
Literary  Institute :  Students  registered,  29 ; 
examined,  17  ;  Queen's  prizes  won,  C  ;  certifi- 
cates taken,  21.  Prior-street  Schools:  Students 
registered,  16;  examined,  12;  Queen's  prizes 
won,  3  ;  certificates  taken,  10. 


A  new  private  chapel  at  Wynyard  Park,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  was  conse- 
crated by  the  Bishop  of  Durham  on  Sunday.  Tlie 
chapel  has  been  built  at  a  cost  of  between  £4,000 
and  £5,000.  Mr.  James  Brooks,  of  Wellington- 
sti'eet,  Loudon,  W.C,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
Sanderson,  of  Durham,  the  sole  contractor. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL. 

IxTEEESTixa  Aechjeoloqical  Discoteeies  at 
Kiekbale  Chuech. — A  short  time  ago  the  au- 
thorities of  the  University  of  Oxford,  as  rectors 
and  patrons  of  the  living  of  Kirkdale,  North 
Yorkshire,  commenced  to  restore  the  chancel  of 
the  ancient  Saxon  church  at  that  place,  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  interesting  ecclesiastical 
buildings  in  the  country.  It  was  intended  to 
put  a  new  roof  on  the  chancel,  and  to  make 
several  other  improvements,  which  we  detailed 
about  a  month  ago.  Since  then  the  work  has 
been  commenced,  but  the  walls  have  proved  to 
be  so  decayed  and  unstable  as  to  be  quite  inca- 
pable of  sustaining  the  weight  of  the  oaken  roof 
intended  for  the  chancel.  Consequently  more 
extensive  alterations  and  excavations  have  been 
found  necessary,  and  in  the  progress  of  this 
additional  work  some  very  curious  specimens  of 
sepulchral  work  have  been  discovered.  Under 
the  wall-plate  on  the  north  side  of  the  chancel 
was  found  a  stone  supposed  to  indicate  the  rest- 
ing place  of  an  archer,  as  on  its  surface  were 
distinctly  visible  the  remains  of  a  bow  and 
arrow,  whilst  at  the  junction  of  these  two,  on 
what  was  intended  for  the  string,  was  seen 
carving  supposed  to  represent  the  hand  of  the 
archer  in  the  act  of  pulling  the  bow.  How  the 
stone  became  fixed  where  it  was  found  has  not 
yet  been  satisfactorily  explained.  A  similar 
stone  is  said  to  be  visible  in  Coxwold  Church. 
In  the  opposite  wall  of  the  chancel  was  found 
embedded  what  had  evidently  been  used  as  a 
stoup.  Another  discovery  was  made  by  the 
workmen  in  the  corner  of  the  north-east  wall, 
where  they  found  a  curious  stone,  completely 
covered  with  Runic  inscriptions.  Similar  stones 
have  been  preriously  found  here,  and  are  now 
built  up  into  the  south  and  west  walls  of  the 
church,  one  of  them  showing  (as  translated  by 
the  Rev.  D.  H.  Haigh,  of  Erdington)  that  it 
was  the  tomb  of  Ethelward,  King  of  Deira,  a.d. 
651  to  660.  Six  lead  coffins  of  more  modem 
date  have  also  been  disinterred,  probably  con- 
taining the  remains  of  some  of  the  Robinson 
family,  former  owners  of  the  Welbum  estate, 
and  who  lived  at  Welburn  Hall,  a  fine  old 
Elizabethan  mansion  now  in  ruins,  about  a  mile 
south  of  Kirkdale  Church.  These  have  probably 
been  interred  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years. 


CHIPS. 

'iTie  Pontypi-idd  urban  sanitary  authority  re- 
ceive d  on  Friday  a  report  by  Mr.  Lomas,  engineer, 
explaining  his  sewerage  scheme  for  that  town.  He 
proposes  to  adopt  the  quiescent  principle,  and  to 
consti-uct  works  m  Taff  Vale,  and  to  discharge  the 
effluent  from  the  filter-beds  into  the  liver. 

The  death  is  announced  of  Mr.  Thomas  Carline, 
county  surveyor  for  North  Toikshire,  and  brother 
of  the  surveyor  to  the  Lewisham  district  board  of 
works. 

A  memorial  driuklng-fouutiin  is  about  to  be 
erected  in  St.  Leonard's  Public  Gardens  in  com- 
memoration of  the  late  James  Burton,  architect, 
and  founder  of  the  town  of  St.  Leonard's-on- 
Sea. 

A  shocking  accident  occurred  on  Sunday,  at  the 
Roman  CathoUc  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Aloysius, 
Ardiviok,  Mane'  ester.  Whilst  the  congregation  of 
between  four  and  five  hundrtd  persons  were  leav- 
ing the  upper  room,  one  of  the  beams  running  from 
wall  to  wall  collapsed,  and  a  large  portion  of  the 
fl  :or  gave  w.ay,  precipitating  eighty  or  a  hundred 
persons  into  the  school-room  beneath,  a  dis'ance  of 
nearly  twenty  feet.  One  woman  died  directly,  and 
twenty  other  persons  were  conveyed  to  the  infir- 
mary. 

The  Church  of  St.  Elizabeth,  Ashley,  erected  at 
a  cost  of  £3,000,  by  Lord  Egerton  of  Tatton,  from 
the  designs  of  the  Hon.  Wilbraham  Egerton,  M.P., 
has  been  opened.  It  will  seat  250  people.  This 
building,  with  the  exception  c-f  the  belfry,  wliich 
is  of  Euucoru  stone,  is  of  brick  and  terra-cotta. 
The  style  cf  the  church  is  Early  Decorated.  The 
contractor  for  the  fabric  was  Mr.  H.  Ormson,of  Bow- 
don,  and  for  the  iutei  nal  fittings  Messrs.  Jonfs  and 
Willis,  of  London. 

The  Semper  Museum,  lately  opfned  in  Zurich  as 
a  racmoiiai  to  the  great  architect,  owes  its  founda- 
tion to  a  ccmmittee  of  bis  scholars  and  admirers. 
Another  memorial  is  being  prepartd,  in  the  shape 
of  a  complete  edition  of  his  .architectural  and  other 
artistic  writings,  which  will  be  illustrated  by  130 
copper-plate  engravings.  His  son,  Manfred  Semper, 
is  charged  with  the  editorship. 

A  new  Roman  CathoUc  Church  was  opened  at 
Maidstone,  on  Monday.  The  contractor  for  the 
building  was  Mr.  Naylor,  of  Rochester. 


K) 


The  Building  Rews,  Oct  ^   I^^O. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEW& 


425 


THE      EHIND     LECTURES     OX 
ARCELEOLOGY. 

DECOEATITE     METAIWOKK. 

ON  ITonday  the  first  of  another  course  of  the 
Eliiiid  Lectures  in  Archaeology,  in  connec- 
tion (vith  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scot- 
land, was  given  in  the  Freemasons'  Hall, 
Ediaburgh,  by  Mr.  J.  Anderson,  curator  of  the 
Acciquarian  Museum. 

Mr.  ^Vndtrson  said  that  in  his  lai-t  course  of 
lectures  on  Scotland  in  early  Christian  times,  he 
described  those  relics  which  were  exclusively 
ecclesiastical.  In  the  present  course  the  general 
subject  would  be  continued,  and  brought  to  a 
conclusion,  by  the  descriptii^n  of  objects  which, 
though  not  exclusively  ecclesiastical,  yet  con- 
nected themselves  with  those  that  were  so,  by 
the  character  of  their  art  and  associations.  In 
the  autumn  of  IS'26,  a  shepherd  passing  alon"- 
the  hillside  of  H\intcr.stou.  about  six  miles  from 
Largs,  pii  ked  up  a  flattened  ring  of  metal  which 
he  observed  partially  protruding  from  the  soil. 
A  square-headed  pin,  broken  at  the  point,  was 
attached  to  the  ring  by  a  loop  at  the  back.  The 
article  was  thus  evidently  a  brooch,  but  it  was 
remarkable  for  its  size,  its  ptculiarform,  and  the 
excessive  richness  and  beauty  of  its  ornamenta- 
tion. Having  passed  into  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Hunter,  of  Hunterston,  the  brooch  of  Hunterston 
was  now  recognised  as  an  example  of  artistic 
work  in  gold  and  silver  which  had  few  equals  of 
its  kind,  .iitcr  indicating  the  dimensions  of 
the  brooch  and  describing  its  appearance,  Mr. 
Anderson  said  that  the  decorative  metalwork  of 
the  brooch  was  peculiar  both  in  its  workman- 
ship and  in  the  character  of  its  art.  It  was  a 
species  of  granulated  work,  having  the  appear- 
ance of  filagree  implanted  on  gold  plates.  The 
character  of  the  art  was  zoomorphic,  the  patterns 
consisting  chiefly  of  serpents  or  lacertine 
creatures  twisted  and  interlaced  in  the  manner 
so  characteristic  of  that  school  of  Celtic  art 
which  produced  the  illuminated  decorations  of 
the  manuscripts  of  the  Gospels.  That  this 
correspondence  in  the  style  of  decoration  might 
be  more  clearly  exhibited,  not  onlj-  in  this  par- 
ticular instince,  but  in  every  instance  in  which 
the  comparison  might  be  necessary,  Mr.  Ander- 
son exhibited  enlarged  representations  of  charac- 
teristic pages  selected  from  the  manuscripts — 
one  being  a  page  from  the  Gospels  of  Durron, 
attributed  to  the  hand  of  St.  Columba  ;  another 
from  a  manuscript  of  the  Gospels  preserved, 
with  the  other  Celtic  manuscripts,  in  the  Monas- 
tery of  St.  Gull,  in  Switzerland,  founded  by  an 
Irish  missionary  in  the  beginning  of  the  7th 
century ;  a  third,  an  initial  letter  from  the  Gospels 
of  Lindisfame  ;  and  a  fourth,  a  copy  of  one  of 
the  decorated  pages  of  the  Gospels  of  Lindis- 
fame  written  in  the  end  of  the  7th  century,  for 
which  he  was  indebted  to  Mr.  W.  Stevenson,  a 
student  in  the  School  of  Design.  There  was, 
Mr.  Anderson  went  on  to  remark,  no  feature  of 
design  in  the  decoration  of  the  brooch  of 
Hunterston  which  was  not  also  found  in  the 
decoration  of  the  Celtic  manuscripts  of  the  Gos- 
pels. The  art  of  the  brooch  was,  therefore,  the 
art  of  the  Christian  period.  But  there  was  more 
to  be  said  of  it  than  that.  The  elegance  of  its 
design  was  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  best 
manuscripts.  The  skill  of  its  workmanship  was 
such  that  it  was  questionable  whether  it  could 
be  greatly  surpas.sed  by  the  most  skilful  art 
workman.^hip  of  the  present  day.  It  was  only 
when  its  details  are  examined  with  a  magnifyiug 
glass  that  the  fitness  and  beauty  of  their 
minutest  rendering  became  fully"  apparent. 
Whether  they  considered  it  in  its  relation  to  this 
peculiar  school  of  art,  or  in  relation  to  the  know- 
ledge of  technical  processes,  and  the  delicacy 
and  skill  of  its  workmanship,  it  was  a  work  of 
art  of  no  common  merit.  It  was  true  that  it 
might  not  commend  itself  to  existing  tastes  as 
an  article  of  dress  ;  but  its  qualities  as  a  work 
of  art  were  to  be  judged  by  the  rules  of  art,  and 
not  by  the  freaks  which  moulded  the  fleeting 
forms  of  fa.sliion.  Its  design,  its  ornamentation, 
and  its  workmanship  all  alike  told  of  a  time  when 
there  was  a  feeling  for  art  so  pure,  and  a 
capacity  for  art  workmanship  so  high,  that  if  it 
were  difficult  to  estimate  their  comparative  rela- 
tion to  those  of  the  present  day,  it  was,  at  least, 
impossible  to  say  of  their  manifestations  that 
they  were  weak,  ineffective,  or  contemptible. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  possible  to  say  of  them, 
and  to  say  it  with  confidence,  that  they  were  far 
from  being  devoid  of  merit,  that  they  possessed 
in  no  inconsiderable    degree  all  the  qualities 


which  gave  excellence  to  either  art  or  to  work- 
man.ship,  and  to  affirm  that  he  would  now  be 
considered  an  artist  of  eminence  who  should  pro- 
duce a  design  of  equal  merit,  and  he  a  workman 
of  uncommon    skill   who   should   render  it  with 
equal  delicacy  and  effectiveness.     But  there  was 
another  point   of   high  interest  connected  with 
this  brooch.     It  bore  on  the  plain  portion  of  the 
back  of  the  flattened  ring  the  autographs  of  two 
of  its  former  owners  scratched  with  a  point  in 
the   surface   of   the   silver.      Both    inscrijitions 
were  in  the  later  and  more  local  variety  of  the 
Runic  alphabet,   which   was  known  as  Scandi- 
navian,  and    was   thus   distinguished  from  the 
earlier  and  more  widely-diffused  variety  known 
as  Old  Northern.     It  could  even  be  said  of  the 
letters  thus  scratched  on  the  back  of  the  brooch, 
that   they   belonged   to  a  local   variety   of   the 
Scandinavian  Runes  which  was  confined  to  an 
area  so  circumscribed  as  to  comprehend  only  the 
islands  of  the  west  coast  of  Scotland.     Passing 
to   the   consideration   of  the   question  whether 
this    special     form    of    brooch     was   Celtic   or 
Scandinavian  —  in     other    words,    whether    it 
was  a  form  which  was  typical — Mr.  Anderson 
narrated  the  circumst  ances  under  which  a  hoard  of 
brooches  was  found  under  a  boulder  by  one  of  the 
workmen  in  the  course  of  the  formation  of  the 
Sutherland  railway  through  the  parish  of  Rogart 
in  1SG8,  and  described  in  detail  the  three  brooches 
of  that  hoard  which  were  now  known  to  exist, 
adding  that  the  rest  had  probably  been  melted 
as  bullion.     Nothing,  he  said,  could  arrest  the 
continued  destruction  of  similar  objects  but  the 
wide  dissemination  of  the  knowledge  that  their 
value  as  bullion  was  exceeded  by  their  interest 
and  value  as  works  of  art — that  they  revealed  to 
them  a  lost  style  of  art,  which  it  might  be  to  the 
ultimate  advantage  of  the  decorative  artificer  of 
modem  times  to  study  and  to  imitate,  and  that 
they  showed  them  how  effectively  the  simplest 
modes   of  decoration  might  be  associated  with 
beauty  of  form  and  purity  of  design.     But  they 
posssessed   a   still   stronger   interest — not    of   a 
technical   kind,    and    therefore   not   necessarily 
confined  to  a  single  class  of  individuals — an  in- 
terest arising  from  the  fact  that  they  disclosed 
to   them   the   existence   in  Scotland   of   an   art 
faculty,    of   which,    without   them,    they   could 
have  had  no  conception ;   and  therefore  an  in- 
terest  which  must   necessarily   diffuse  itself  as 
widely  as  the  existence  of  culture  and  taste  in 
the  commimity.      (Applause.)      Having  briefly 
noticed  other  specimens  of  the  same  description 
of  ornamental  work  known  to  exist  in  Scotland, 
Mr.  Anderson  directed  attention  to  the  fact  that 
they  had  been  dealing  with  a  kind  of  brooch 
which    possessed    a    marked     individuality     of 
character,    both   as  regarded   its   form   and   its 
tyle  of  ornament.     Its  form  was  no  less  peculiar 
than  the  style  of  ornament  with  which  it  was 
associated.     It  was  not  a  disc,  like  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  brooches,  nor  oval  and  bowl-shaped  like 
the    Scandinavian    brooches,    nor    harp-shaped 
like  the  Roman  brooches,  nor  a  flattened  circular 
ring    like    the    later    Highland   brooches.      It 
was    penannular — that    was,     it    was    a    ring 
which     was     not     continuous,      but     had     an 
opening,  real  or  apparent,  between  its  two  ends. 
This  was  the   special   feature  which  made  this 
special  form  of   brooch   a  typical  form.     Even 
when  the  two  ends  of  the  ring  were  joined,  as  in 
the  Hunterston  brooch,  the  expanded  ends  were 
treated  with  reference  to  their  ornament,  not  as 
if  they  formed  part  of  a  continuous  ring,  but  as 
if  they  were  two  symmetrical  endings  which  did 
not  require  to  be  joined.     Having  next  discussed 
the  question  of  the  area  of  their  typical  form, 
Mr.  Anderson  said  that  the  outcome  of  the  de- 
tailed examination  of  the  objects  which  he  had 
described  was — (1)  that  there  was  a  special  form 
of  brooch  which  was  Celtic  and  of  the  Christian 
time  ;   (2)  that  this  special  form  was  penannular 
with  expanded  ends,  having  a  long  pin  loosely 
looped  on  the  ring  of  the  brooch  ;   (.3)  that  this 
form  occurred  abundantly  within  the  Celtic  area, 
rarely  outside  of  it,   and  then  only  in  circum- 


they  had  still  to  make  acquaintance  with  as  the 
dLstmgui.shing  cliaracteristic  of  the  sculptured 
monuments  which  fi.nued  such  a  remarkable  fea- 
ture in  the  history  of  ChtUtiun  art  as  associated 
with  our  country.  Pus-sing  to  the  consideration 
of  another  group  of  objects  in  metal,  characterised 
by  the  same  art,  but  exhibiting  a  different  phase 
of  Its  development,  and  dihclosing  their  connec- 
tion with  the  system  of  .symbolism,  whiuli  was  at 
once  the  most  prominent  feature  and  the  pro- 
foundest  my.-tery  of  the  cla.ss  of  mouumenU 
with  which  they  had  to  deal,  Mr.  jVnderson  gavo 
a  detailed  desciription  of  the  articles  found  by 
some  workmen  in  the  artificial  mound,  on  the 
estate  of  Largo,  in  Fife,  known  as  Norrio's  Law, 
and  said  that  the  conclu«ion.s  which  emerged 
from  an  examination  of  the  evidence  relating  to 
the  silver  relics  in  question  were— (1)  that  tho 
hoard  was  deposited  in  the  »andy  soil  at  tho  base 
of  the  Pagan  gravcmound  ;  and  (2)  that  tho  art 
which  they  exhibited  was  the  same  art  which 
they  had  now  traced  upon  the  inanuscriptu,  tho 
book-covers,  tho  bell  flhrines,  tho  croziern  and 
reliciuaries,  and  lastly,  on  the  brooches  and  per- 
sonal ornaments  of  the  Early  Christian  time  in 
Scotland.  There  wercother  objects  in  silvcrand 
bronze  which  exhibited  this  art,  but  less  pro- 
minently, such  as  tho  massive  silver  chaina  of 
circular  double  links  which  bore  upon  their 
terminal  links  several  of  the  symbols  of  wliich  ho 
had  spoken,  occasionally  filled  with  enamel.  In 
closing,  Mr.  Anderson  remarked  that  the  logical 
outcome  of  all  this  description  of  decorated 
manuscripts,  decorated  metal- work,  and  deco- 
rated stone-work  could  be  nothing  less  than  the 
disclosure  of  a  national  school  of  decorative  art, 
presenting  qualities  and  characteristicji  which 
were  by  no  means  destitute  of  merit  and  sug- 
gestiveness,  and  might,  therefore,  possess  a 
higher  value  and  wider  utility  than  mere  curio- 
sities in  the  history  of  art. 


STABILITY  ^VND  STRENGTH  OF  STONE 
^VRCHES. 

THERE  isone  article  in  the  current  nnmbor 
of  Van  Nostrand's  "  Engineering  Maga- 
zine," on  the  stability  and  strength  of  the  stone 
arch,  which  has  some  interest.  The  author  is 
Mr.  George  F.  Swain,  Providence,  R.I.  An 
attempt  is  made  to  discuss  this  vexed  problem 
of  construction  from  a  new  point  of  view,  though 
how  far  the  author  has  done  so,  we  leave  our 
readers  to  judge,  after  we  have  furnished  them 
with  his  main  conclusions.  Mr.  Swain  bases 
his  treatment  of  the  arch  on  a  theorem  demon- 
strated by  Professor  Dr.  Winkler,  of  Berlin, 
published  in  the  Zeilschrift  da  Architekten  und 
Iiigcnicur  Vcrcins  :ii  Hannover  iu  1879.  Ho  does 
not  profess  to  say  the  method  is  new  or  perfect, 
but  thinks  it  enables  us  to  test  the  stability  and 
strength  of  stone  arches,  with  at  least  sufficient 
accuracy.  A  similar  theory,  in  all  essential  re- 
spects, has  been  laid  down  by  the  late  Professor 
Rankinein  his  "Applied  Mechanics,"  and  Canon 
Moscly's  theory  has  also  much  in  common  with 
it ;  but  the  writer  does  not  allude  to  these  authors. 
The  method  is,  in  short,  the  old  one  of  con- 
structing a  line  of  resistance  within  the  middle 
third  of  the  arch  ring  ;  but,  it  L-*  believed,  the 
only  basis  for  such  a  theory  is  Professor 
Winkler's.  This  savant  has  advocated  tho 
clastic  theory  of  the  stone  arch,  and  it  U  con- 
tended that,  theoretically,  it  is  the  only  one  ad- 
missible; though  the  author  of  the  paper  we 
are  reviewing  believes  there  are  practical 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  entire  acceptance, 
and  that  a  simpler  method  can  be  used  in  prac- 
tice. 

Mr.  Swain  enters  at  length  into  an  explana- 
tion of  the  line  of  resi-stance.  n"  crnnllv  imdcr- 


tood,  and  defines  it  as  a  en: 
the  arch  ring,  or  as  "  the  lo 
pressure  on  each  section,  i 
p'ane  of  the  outer  force.-",  ari': 
axis  of  the  arch  ring."  Its  ■ 
aid  of  determining  the  re.iul' 
is  described  ;  but  we  shall  n 


stances  which  showed  that  these  outlying  speci- 
mens were  stragglers  from  the  principal  group  :  n       j 
and  (4)  that  while  the  area  of  the   tvpe  included  i  repeat  a  proces.^  weU  under-- 
both  Scotland  and  Ireland,  the  special  variety  of  [  matical  reader,  nor  can  we 
the  type  with  which  they  had  been  deahng  was  i  solution  of  other  points  in  r 
more  Scottish  than  Irish.     In   the  course  of  the  |  nection   between   the   stres-sta 


■of 
-  of 
the 
tho 
the 


•lie- 
the 


ani    thi 
Tho 


.  i^jsition 
point    of 


examination  it  had  also  become  apparent  that  the  I  of    the    Unc    of    resistance 

art  which  usuaUy  decorated  this  tvpe  of  brooch  '  grt^atest    importance,     indeed,      in     all     these 

was   the  Celtic  art  of  the  Christ'i.in  time-the    attempts  is  to  determine  the  position  of  the  cen 


same  art  which  they  had  found  to  be  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristic  of  the  manuscripts  and 
shrines  of  the  early  Celtic  Church,  and  which 


tres  of  the  pressures  in  the  joints.  If  the 
pressure  approaches  near  the  edge,  the  question 
becomes   one   of   the  crushing  strength  of  the 


426 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  188D. 


material ;  if  it  fall  outside  the  joint,  the  arch  is 
unstable,  and  its  remaining  strength  is  that  of 
the  mortar,  whose  tensile  strength  is  disregarded. 
Hence  it  is  necessary,  for  an  arch  to  be  in  equi- 
librium, that  the  line  of  resistance  must  fall 
within  the  arch  ring  at  every  point ;  for  its 
strength,  that  it  must  not  approach  near  enough 
to  either  edge  of  the  arch  ring  to  crash  the 
stone.  Accordingly  it  has  been  found,  and 
has  been  stated  by  Rankiue  and  others,  that  the 
true  line  of  resistance  should  everywhere  lie 
within  the  middk-third  of  the  arch  ring.  Of 
course  it  is  possible  for  an  infinite  number  of  such 
lines  to  be  drawn  according  to  the  external 
forces  applied  to  the  arch,  but  the  true  line  of 
resistance  is  that  which  gives  the  smallest  pres- 
sure on  any  joint ;  in  other  words,  the  line  which 
lies  between  the  two  extremes  of  minimum  and 
maximum  horizontal  thrusts.  The  author  pro- 
ceeds to  argue  that  the  true  line  of  resistance 
will  have  a  fixed  position  determined  by  the 
elasticity  of  the  material,  though  this  is  ac- 
knowledged to  be  almost  a  practical  impossi- 
bility to  determine,  as  the  modulus  of  elasticity 
in  a  stone  arch  is  not  constant,  the  stone  and  the 
mortar  vaiy  for  almost  every  voussoir.  To 
meet  these  difiiculties  the  author  proceeds  to 
demonstrate  a  theorem  founded  on  Winkler's. 
The  theorem  is  as  follows: — "For  an  arch  of 
constant  section,  that  line  of  resistance  is  ap  - 
proximately  the  true  one  which  lies  nearest  to 
the  axis  of  the  arch  ring,  as  determined  by  the 
method  of  lea^t  squares."  The  demonstration 
assumes  that  the  loading  is  vertical,  and  that 
the  line  of  resistance  maybe  taken  to  coincide 
with  the  equilibrium  polygon ;  but  these  as- 
sumptions do  not  create  sufficient  errors  to 
invalidate  the  method  for  practical  purposes. 
The  three  equations  given  are  those  to  determine 
the  position  of  the  true  equlibrium  polygon  for 
flat  arches  of  constant  section  with  fixed  ends,  as 
deduced  by  the  theory  of  elasticity.  Without 
(Uagram  it  would  be  useless  to  enter  into  the 
investigation  minutely,  or  the  construction  pro- 
posed by  the  author  for  the  curve  representing 
the  load  on  the  arch.  The  author  observes:  — 
' '  The  proof  of  Winkler'o  theorem  is  not  changed, 
while  the  errors  due  to  it  are  partly  got  rid  of.  . 
Assuming  the  truth  of  Winkler's  theorem  in 
the  case  of  arches  subjected  to  forces  slightly 
inclined,  and  whose  section  is  not  exactly  con- 
stant, we  arc  enabled  to  state  generally  the 
theorem  :  If  any  line  of  resistance  can  be  con- 
structed inside  the  arch  ring,  the  true  line  of 
resistance  lies  within  it  also  ;  hence,  the  arch  is 
stable.  For  if  any  line  of  resistance  can  be  so 
constructed,  we  can  construct  the  maximum  and 
minimum  lines,  and  some  intermediate  line  will 
be  nearer  the  axis  than  either  of  these  two." 
Graphically,  the  strength  of  an  arch  may  be 
tested  by  the  foUowiug  method: — Draw  an 
average  line  through  the  centres  of  joints  at 
crown  and  springing  for  a  given  load,  calculate 
the  smallest  value  of  the  centre  of  pressure  from 
the  edge  of  joint,  and  lay  it  off  at  each  joint 
from  both  extrados  and  iutrados  ;  then  between 
the  two  curves  thus  found  the  true  line  of  re- 
sistance must  be  made  to  lie.  Hence,  the  author 
concludes  that  the  stability  and  strength  of  a 
stone  arch  depends  upon  finding  the  position  of 
the  true  lino  of  resistance  by  the  theory  of 
elasticity ;  that  its  exact  deterniination  is  impos- 
sible, from  various  causes,  though  it  can  be  found 
within  certain  limits,  these  being  governed  by 
the  crashing  resistance  of  the  material. 


CHIPS. 

A  suggestion  for  an  exhibition  of  portraits  of  uu- 
knoivu  origin  has  been  submitted  to  the  South 
Kensiugtou  Science  and  Art  Department,  and  the 
department  h:xs  promised  to  give  due  cous'dera'ion 
to  what  it  terms  a  "  useful  suggestion."  A  sugges- 
tion for  an  exhibition  of  any  Isiad  always  saems  to 
find  favour  at  South  Kensington. 

A  coffee-tavern  was  opened  at  Bury  -  St.-  Ed- 
mund's last  week.  The  premises  have  been  rebuilt 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  H.  F.  Bacon,  architect,  of 
that  town,  by  Mr.  J.  Robinson. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Poole,  Dorset,  last  week,  it 
was  decided  to  take  s  eps  for  the  formation  of  a 
local  School  of  Ait,  aud  Air.  \V.  Lankester  was  ap- 
pointed hon.  sectc'arj-. 

At  a  parish  meeting  held  at  Framlingham  on 
Monday,  it  was  decided,  in  accordance  with  the 
suggestion  made  by  a  Local  Government  Board 
inspector,  to  adopt  the  deodorising  principle  at  the 
outfall  of  the  town  sewers,  in  order  to  abate  an 
existing  nuisance. 


Builbiufl  raittlligtnct 

Bedfokd. — Holy  Trinity  Church  was  reopened 
on  Sunday  week,  after  internal  renovation.  The 
whole  of  the  interior  has  been  distempered  in 
colour,  and  the  chancel  and  sacrarium  hive  been 
paved  with  Maw's  tesselated  encaustic  tiles.  The 
pulpit  has  been  reduced  in  height  and  the  panels 
removed  from  the  sides,  and  a  brass  pulpit  desk 
erected,  new  pitch-pine  lectern,  prayer- desk  and 
seat,  and  oak  credence  table  erected,  new  brass 
gas  fittings  erected  throughout  the  church ; 
chairs  are  substituted  for  benches  in  the  centre 
of  area,  the  heavy  capping  removed  from  side 
galleries,  and  heating  apparatus  by  hot  water 
introduced.  Mr.  John  Day,  of  Bedford,  was  the 
architect ;  the  painting  and  decorative  works 
were  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Clarke  and  CarUng ; 
the  gas-fittings  and  re-lighting  by  Messrs. 
Ivilpin  and  Billson ;  the  woodwork  by  Mr.  John 
Hull,  all  of  Bedford;  and  the  paring  by  Messrs. 
Maw  and  Co.,  of  Broseley,  Salop. 

BLACKBUiiN. — The  church  of  St.  Peter  was  re- 
opened on  the  22nd  ult.  after  considerable 
alterations.  A  chancel  has  been  formed  at  the 
cast  end  by  removing  five  rows  of  pews,  and 
constructing  a  raised  platform  14in.  above  the 
level  of  the  nave  floor,  as  far  as  the  first  nave 
pier,  and  inclosed  by  a  parapet  wall  of  limestone 
and  various  marbles.  The  pulpit  has  been  fixed 
upon  a  stone  base  in  a  position  from  which  the 
north  gallery,  previously  blocked,  can  be  well 
seen.  In  the  centre  of  the  chancel  wall  are  two 
steps  of  St.  Anne's  marble  treads,  with  rouge 
Malplaquet  risers ;  a  third  step  rises  to  the 
sacrarium,  having  the  tread  of  rouge  Girote 
marble,  with  Bardilla  marble  riser,  and  the  altar 
stands  upon  a  fourth  step,  having  a  black  and 
gold  marble  tread  and  a  riser  of  Dent  fossU 
limestone.  The  whole  of  the  marble  and  stone- 
work have  been  executed,  as  well  as  the 
foundations  for  the  chancel  and  choir  stalls,  by 
Messrs.  J.  Varley  and  Sons,  of  Blackburn.  The 
floor  of  sacrarium  and  chancel  has  been  laid 
with  encaustic  tiling  of  quiet  design,  in  harmony 
with  the  colours  of  the  marble  ;  it  was  supplied 
and  laid  by  Messrs.  Minton  and  Co.,  of  Stoke- 
upon-Trent.  The  choir  stalls  are  of  Dantzic 
oak  with  carved  and  panelled  bench  ends. 
Separate  lockers  are  provided  for  the  choir,  and 
special  seats  for  the  clergy.  The  whole  of  the 
joiner's  work  has  been  executed  by  Messrs.  H. 
and  A.  Duckworth,  Blackburn.  A  new  inm 
staircase,  with  brass  standards  and  handraQ,  has 
been  fixed  to  the  pulpit  by  Messrs.  T.  Thomason 
and  Co.,  of  Birmingham,  who  made  the  ironwork 
to  the  organ-front.  The  heating  apparatus  has 
been  renovated  by  Messrs.  Mercer  Bros.,  Black- 
burn. The  cost  of  the  alterations  (exclusive  of 
organ-screen)  wiU  amount  to  about  £5.50. 
The  "  singing  gallery  "  in  front  of  the 
organ  has  been  removed  and  an  organ-screen  of 
Dantzic  oak  filled  in  with  gilded  organ  pipes, 
with  bracketed  coved  panelling  under,  and 
carved  pendants  and  ornamental  ironwork,  has 
been  substituted.  This  work  has  been  carried  out 
by  Mr.  Charles  Porter,  builder.  The  entire 
restoration  has  been  executed  from  the  designs 
and  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  A.  R.  Simpson, 
of  Blackburn. 

Be-veelzt  Min'Stee. — A  new  screen  diriding 
the  nave  from  the  chancel  of  Beverley  Minster  is 
completed,  and  replaces  one  of  stone  and  Chissic 
in  character.  The  new  screen  is  of  oak,  and  was 
nearly  the  last  of  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott's  works. 
The  design  resolves  itself  into  three  dirisions  or 
bays,  with  the  principal  bay  in  the  centre,  a 
narrow  bay  on  each  side,  and  a  half-bay  at  each 
end  of  the  screen.  Each  of  these  divisions  has  a 
groined  roof,  the  arches  whereof  rest  on  clustered 
columns,  each  pillar  being  in  three  stories  or 
heights.  lu  the  second  story  of  the  pUlars  are 
alternate  Tudor  shafts,  and  in  the  story  above 
are  alternate  niches  and  smaller  columns.  The 
niches  are  reserved  for  statues.  Above  the  bays 
the  screen  is  finished  with  a  bold  parapet,  divided 
into  sections  and  faced  with  the  usual  mouldino-s, 
enriched  with  running  designs  in  conventional 
foliage.  Pinnacles,  rising  from  foliated  trusse«, 
mark  the  parapet  into  sections,  each  ooDtainin" 
a  niche  presenting  a  draped  statue  already  in 
position.  Each  figure  is  nearly  three  feet  hiu-h. 
They  represent  King  Athelstane,  St.  Nichofas, 
St.  Mary,  St.  John  the  Evangehst,  St.  Martin, 
and  St.  John  of  Beverley.  The  screen  has 
been  carried  out  by  a  local  artist — Mr.  J.  E. 
Elwell,   Beverley,   who  took  the   work  in  hand 


rather  more  than  four  years  ago.  The  tender 
was  £2,800,  but  eome  additional  work  has  been 
necessitated. 

^  BtTEY  St.  Edstoxd's. — The  chancel  rcof  of 
St.  Mary's  Church  has  just  been  restored.  The 
roof  is  a  waggon-headed  structure  of  the  style 
of  the  first  part  of  the  loth  century  ;  it  measures 
56ft.  by  24ft.  across,  and  is  divided  into  five 
rows  of  panels,  eleven  in  each  row  by  half  ribs, 
with  half  panel-,  a  rich  moulding,  and  elaborate 
coved  cornice  beneath,  and  all  tbe  intersections 
are  marked  by  carved  bosses,  the  ribs  being  ex- 
tended half  way  between  each  boss  into  a 
lozenge.  Scarcely  two  of  the  panels  are  exactly 
of  the  sime  proportiois,  and  the  mouldings  vary 
greatly.  Each  of  the  IIG  lozenges  showed 
traces  of  a  distinct  subject,  carved,  gilded,  and 
coloured,  and  the  60  bosses  were  similarly  treated, 
the  subjects  being  varied — including  sacred, 
heraldic,  floral,  humorous,  and  grotesque.  In  the 
cornice  were  angels  alternately  attired  in  tunics 
and  clothed  in  feathers,  each  bearing  a  scroll  in- 
scribed with  a  portion  of  the  Latin  version  of  the 
"  Te  Deum."  All  the  colours  and  gilding  have 
been  carefully  renewed  in  accordance  with  the 
original  designs  and  colours,  and  those  porrions 
which  were  found  blank,  the  result  of  former 
repairs,  have  been  treated  in  harmony  with  the 
old  work.  Messrs.  Burlison  and  GryUs,  of 
Newman-street,  Loudon,  W.,  have  carried  out 
the  work ;  the  actual  artists  being  Mr.  A.  Macin- 
tosh, assisted  by  his  brother.  At  the  same  time 
various  structural  repairs  have  been  made  in  the 
chancel  by  Mr.  Jackaman,  of  Bury,  who  recently 
accomplished  the  removal  of  the  galleries  from 
the  nave. 

Chideock. — The  loth-century  parish  church 
of  St.  Giles,  Chideock,  Dorset,  has  been  re- 
opened, after  restoration  effected  at  a  coat  of 
£1,300.  The  works  included  the  removal  of 
west  gallery,  reparation  of  belfry,  rebuilding  of 
north  wall  of  nave  and  of  the  east  and  west 
walls  of  a  north  transeptal  chapel,  insertion  in 
north  nave  wall  of  two  new  Perpendicular 
windows,  the  reflooring,  reglazing,  and  re- 
roofing  of  the  entire  church,  covering  the  south 
aisle  roof  with  new  lead,  laying  6iu.  bed  of 
concrete  beneath  the  new  wooden  floor,  building 
of  new  transeptal,  chancel,  and  aisle  arches, 
with  supporting  buttresses,  and  fresh  mortaring- 
of  interior  and  pointing  and  renewing  the 
decayed  stonework  of  exterior,  including  the 
restoration  of  the  cusping  in  the  einquefoil  head 
of  south  aisle  windows.  Mr.  G.  R.  Crickmay,  of 
Weymouth,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  John 
Beer,  of  Wareham,  the  contractor ;  the  new 
stiiiued  glass  is  by  Messrs.  Lavers,  Barraud, 
and  Westlake,  of  Endell-street,  Loudon,  W.C. 

Haxifax. — The  new  Wesleyan  chapel  of  St. 
John,  Halifax,  has  been  opened.  The  chapel 
consists  of  a  nave  with  clerestory,  east  and  west 
aisles,  east  and  west  transepts,  and  organ 
chapel  adjoining  west  transept.  The  length  of 
the  nave  is  7"ft.  42in.,  the  width  (including  side 
aisles)  being  50ft.  Sin.,  and  the  width  across 
transepts  SGft.  The  principal  entrance  is  by 
three  arches  at  the  north  end,  which  open  into  a 
vestibule  of  cleansed  ashlar.  The  eaves  and 
clerestory  have  embattled  parapets.  There  are 
three  galleries  in  the  chapel — one  over  the  vesti- 
bule, and  one  in  each  transept,  and  the  total 
accommodation  is  for  900.  The  columns  are  of 
Aberdeen  grey  granite.  All  the  windows  have 
tracery,  and  are  filled  with  rolled  plate  cathe- 
dral glass,  except  a  large  rose  window  over  the 
pulpit,  which  has  been  fiUed  with  stained  glass, 
supplied  by  Messrs.  Powell  Bros.,  Leeds.  The 
mural  decoration  at  this  end  is  also  done  by 
Messrs.  Powell.  On  the  ground-floor  are  a 
preaching-room,  30ft.  by  2Sft.,  four  class-rooms, 
an  infant  school,  and  minister's  and  steward's 
vestries.  Mr.  Henry  Wilson  has  been  clerk  of 
works.  Mr.  W.  S.  Barber  is  the  architect,  and 
the  cost  of  the  work  is  about  £16,000. 

Haetest. — The  parish  church  of  All  Saints, 
Hartest,  West  Suffolk,  was  reopened  on  Tuesday 
week,  after  restoration.     The  building  is  of  Per- 
pendicular type,  but  is  unusually  square  in  pro- 
portions,   the   nave   being  but    three    baj's    in 
length,  and   the  aisles  being  continued  one  bay     ' 
into  chancel.     The  chancel  arch,  which  had  been 
shored  up,  and  the  south  aisle  wall,  which  was     i 
supported  at  this  point  by  a  modern  brick  but- 
tress, have  been  rebuilt  in  accordance  with  the 
original  design — a  panelled  ceiling  of  oak,  with 
moulded  cornice  and  ribs  has  replaced  the  plaster    ' 
and  whitewash   over  the  chancel.     Two  modem 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


427 


lancets  in  the  east  wall  of  chancel,  which  were 
out  ol  keeping  with  any  other  portion  of  the 
church,  have  bten  replaced  by  a  Perpendicular 
window  of  five  lights.  This  is  being  iiUed  with 
stained  glass  by  Alessrs.  Borlison  and  Grylls,  of 
London,  the  .subject  being  the  Crucifixion,  with 
the  Virgin  Maiy  and  St.  John  ou  cither 
side.  The  extcrual  east  wall  of  white  bricks 
is  left  for  the  present  unaltered,  without 
buttresses  or  stone  dressings.  A  now  open- 
timbered  roof  has  been  placed  over  the  nave,  the 
old  one  huring  become  insecure,  and  the  aisle 
roofs  have  been  repaired.  Open  benches  of 
pitch-pine  hare  been  erected,  and  curious  panels 
and  devices  found  in  the  old  pews  have  been 
worked  into  thera.  The  Jacobean  pulpit  has 
been  repaired,  but  the  prayer-desk,  altar-rail, 
and  ch.incel  fittings  generally  .are  all  new,  and 
of  oak.  Xew  stone  steps  and  tile  paremcnts 
have  been  laid  throughout,  the  chancel  tilts 
being  specially  designed,  and  a  new  stone  font 
and  two  Mu.sgravo  stoves  supplied.  Mr.  J. 
Drayton  "U'yatt.  of  Ilolloway,  London,  was  the 
architect ;  and  Jlr.  Thomas  'Cadge,  of  Ilartest, 
the  contractor.  The  carving  was  done  by  llr. 
Spurgeon,  of  Stowmarket,  from  the  architect's 
designs. 

Heytheop  Paee,  Oxox.— On  Tuesday  last,  the 
:2Sth  ult.,  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  consecrated 
a  new  church,  which  lias  been  built  in  Hcythrop 
Park  by  Mr.  ^Ubert  Brassey,  of  Heythrop,  the 
ancient  edifice  having  for  some  time  been  found 
too  small  for  the  requirements  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  edifice  has  cost  about  £6,000  to  erect, 
and  in  addition  to  his  other  munificent  gifts  to 
the  parish,  Mr.  Brassey  is  building  a  rectory- 
house  at  an  expense  of  about  £4,000,  besides 
having  in  1S77  provided  a  commodious  school- 
room and  Master's  house.  The  new  church 
consists  of  a  nave  and  south  aisle,  with  a  tower 
forming  a  porch  at  the  west  end  of  the  aisle,  a 
chancel  with  an  organ-chamber  on  the  south  and 
a  vestry  on  the  north,  and  there  is  accommoda- 
tion for  from  ISO  to  190  persons.  The  style  of 
the  church  is  Decorated,  of  the  Geometrical 
period,  from  designs  of  and  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  A.  "W.  Elomfield,  M.A.  It  is 
hiult  partly  of  the  materials  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
chapel  which  formerly  stood  near  the  house, 
and  partly  of  new  stone,  quarried  on  the  estate. 
JSIilton  stone  has  been  used  where  a  material  of 
finer  and  more  even  quality  was  required,  for 
carving,  &c.  The  general  dimensions  of  the 
building  are  as  follows : — Nave  length,  .50ft.; 
width,  -liit.  -lin.  ;  chancel  lensth,  30ft. ;  width, 
20ft.;  height  of  tower,  y^lft.  "The  roofs  are  of 
pitch-pine  throughout,  and  covered  with 
Broseley  tiles.  The  chancel  and  sanctuary  is 
floored  with  a  pavement  of  Italian  marble  mosaic, 
by  Messrs.  Burke,  of  Newman-street.  The 
chancel  seats,  the  altar  and  pulpit,  which  are  of 
oak  and  walnut,  and  the  vestry  screen  of  oak, 
were  executed  by  the  contractor,  Mr.  ^Ufred 
Groves,  of  Milton-under-Wychwood,  who  has 
carried  out  the  whole  of  the  works  (and  is  the 
contractor  employed  in  erecting  tbe  rectory 
house).  The  clerk  of  works  was  Mr.  Callaway, 
of  Heythrop,  and  Mr.  Jostph  Buckingham  was 
foreman  of  works.  The  carving  is  by  Mr.  T. 
Earp,  of  Lambeth.  The  church  is  heated  by 
Grundy's  apparatus. 

Meteopolttax  Boakd  of  "Woeks. — This  Board 
restimed  its  meetings  ou  Friday,  after  a  recess, 
when  Dr.  Brewer  inquired  if  they  had  anything 
to  do  with  the  erection  of  the  Temple-bar  memo- 
rial. The  chairman  confessed  he  was  unable  to 
answer  the  question  without  notice.  Mr.  J.Jones 
said  the  Strand  District  Board  of  Works  had  had 
some  correspondence  with  the  Corporation  on  the 
subject,  in  which  the  Strand  Board  had  offered  a 
gentle  protest  against  the  want  of  taste  dis- 
played by  the  City  anthorities,  especially  in  re- 
gard to  the  height  of  the  memorial,  and  had 
suggested  a  material  change  ic  the  design  and 
structure  of  the  erection.  Mr.  Deputy  R.  Tay- 
lor, on  behalf  of  the  City,  asserted  that  the 
refuge  woiUd  be  not  only  ornamental,  but  ex- 
tremely useful.  Mr.  Deputy  Lowman  Taylir 
spoke  to  similar  effect.  The  members  were  very 
evenly  divided  ou  the  subject,  but  a  proposition  to 
refer  the  matter  to  the  works^committee,  in  order, 
as  the  seconder  explained,  to  justify  the  position 
of  the  Metropolitan  Board  in  the  eyes  of  the 
public,  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  one.  A 
letter  was  read  from  the  Home  Secretary  with 
reference  to  the  difficulties  attending  the  provi- 
sion of  accommodation  for  the  labouring  classes 
dispossessed  under  the  Metropolitan  Streets  Im- 


provements Act  of  1S77.  Sir  W.  V.  Harcourt 
wrote  thiit  there  appeared  to  him  only  two  pos- 
sible modes  by  which  those  difficulties  could  be 
solved — Ut.  that  proposed  by  the  Metropolitan 
Board,  to  bring  forward  next  year  a  Bill  to 
amend  the  3.3rd  section  of  the  -Vet,  and  to  obtain 
a  full  inquiry  into  the  Avhole  matter  before  a 
select  committee  ;  'indlj-,  while  the  law  remained 
unaltered  he  would  be  willing  to  consider  an  ar- 
rangement whereby  successive  portions  of  land 
might  be  cleared  so  soon  as  hoU!.es  had  been 
erected  sufficient  to  provide  for  a  number  equal 
to  those  displaced.  The  letter  was  referred  to 
the  works  committee.  A  communication  was 
read  from  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Arclii- 
tects,  stating  that  they  are  desirous  of  improving 
the  character  of  the  statutorv'  examination  of 
candidates  for  certificates  of  competency  to  ])er- 
form  the  duties  of  a  district  surveyor  in  Lon- 
don ;  that  they  had  discussed  the  ad\'isability  of 
imposing  a  moderate  fee  upon  each  candidate, 
and  inquiring  whether  the  Board  would  acqui- 
esce in  sui  h  a  course.  This  letter  was  referred 
to  the  Building  Act  Committee. 


CHIPS. 

On  Saturday,  the  foimdation-stone  was  laid  of  a 
new  bmlding  now  being  erected  by  the  Corporation 
of  Glasgow,  across  the  Kelviu,  in  the  West-end 
Park.  It  will  be  of  lattice  gu'der  construction,  of 
^vrought  iron,  resting  on  freestone  abutments.  The 
span  is  90ft..  the  breadth  arross  carriage-way  and 
footpaths,  24fi.,  and  the  height  above  water-level 
19ft.  It  has  been  designed  by  Mr.  Carrick,  the 
city  architect,  who  has  also  provided  for  a  re- 
arrangement of  the  roads  in  the  jiark.  Mr.  Watt  is 
the  contractor. 

Memorial-stones  of  new  Sunday-school  buildings 
were  laid  at  the  rear  of  the  Walworth  Wesleyan 
Chapel,  Camberwell-road,  S.E.,  on  Friday.  The 
chief  room  is  to  be  32ft.  by  60ft.,  with  open- timber 
roof,  and  special  measures  are  adopted  to  deaden 
the  soimd  from  the  adjacent  railway.  There  arc 
also  provided  class-rootns,  a  Hbrary,  a  chapel- 
keeper's  house,  and  oflRces.  Mr.  Chas.  Bell,  of 
Loudon,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Goad,  of  Cam- 
beiwell,  the  builder.  The  cost  is  estimated  at 
£2,30C. 

The  last  stone  of  the  new  headmaster's  residence, 
now  being  added  to  the  College  at  Dover,  was  laid 
by  Earl  Sydney  on  the  2-5th  ult.  The  house  is  in 
the  Norman  stjie,  and  besides  the  headmaster's 
apartments,  contains  some  50  rooms  for  the  accom- 
modation of  60  borders,  a  large  class-room,  and 
other  school  adjunct;.  The  facing  materials  arc 
flint,  with  Eath-stone  dressings,  and  the  cost  has 
been  about  £7,000.  Messrs  Hansen  and  Walker 
are  the  architects,  and  Mr.  W.  J.  Adcock,  of  Dover, 
is  the  builder. 

In  the  description  accompanying  our  recent 
illustration  o£  tbe  new  buildings  at  Uaiversity  Col- 
lege, London,  the  name  of  the  contractors  for  the 
engineering  and  chemical  fittiugs,  Messrs.  Rosser 
and  Russell,  was  spelt,  wrongly,  as  Roper  and 
Rupel. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  floods  committee, 
held  at  Market  Deeping,  letters  were  read  from  Mr. 
J.  B.  WiUiams,  offering  to  make  a  survey  of  the 
river,  aud  to  prepare  sections  and  estimates  for  tlie 
sum  of  £70,  and  from  Messrs.  Kingston  and  Har- 
rison, offering  to  do  the  s;ime  work  for  £-50.  The 
latter  offer  was  accepted,  and  Messrs.  King-t  'U 
and  Harrison  were  instructed  to  make  a  report  and 
l^roceed  forthwith. 

The  new  tower  attached  to  Bathford  Church, 
near  Bath,  was  publicly  dedicated  on  Wednesday 
week.  In  place  of  au  insigniticaDt  builder's  steeple 
has  been  erected  one  of  the  well-kuo«-n  Somerset- 
shire type,  square  on  plan,  with  a  stair-turret  at 
the  south-west  angle.  On  the  west  front  is  sculp- 
tured the  figure  of  St.  Swithin,  and  the  west  window 
has  been  tilled  with  stained  glass,  by  Messrs. 
Cliyton  and  Bell,  of  Loudon,  representing  Our 
Lord's  Burial,  and  Appearances  after  the  Resurrec- 
tion. In  the  tower  is  a  peal  of  six  bells,  cast  by 
Messrs.  Warner  acd  Sons,  London.  Mr.  Preedy, 
of  Bith,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Newman  the 
contractor,  and  the  total  cost  ha9  e.Tceeded  £1,.500. 

A  pilots'  house,  confaiuing  accommodation  for 
12  pilots,  aud  having  a  flig-tower,  has  just  been 
erected  on  Cain  Island,  for  the  Limerick  Harbour 
Commissioners,  fr.im  the  plans  and  under  the 
snptrintendence  of  Mr.  W.  Hall,  their  engineer. 
The  cf&cial  inspection  took  place  on  the  30th  ult. 

Christ  Church,  Spa,  near  Gloucester,  has  bpcn 
reopened,  after  renovation  and  internal  decoration 
carried  out  by  Mr.  Hyett,  of  Gloucester. 

The  Walsall  Town  Council,  on  Monday,  agreed 
to  raise  the  salary  of  the  assistant  borough  sur- 
veyor, Mr.  J.  H.  Shaw,  from  £130  to  £1.50  per 
annum. 


,  Kore  than   Fifty  Thouaand   Replies   and 

Utl.T..,li   .ubjicl.  Ol    liiiv<r.^l    li,l.t,.l  ha.r  „i.n,..io.l   dLrlnB 
thr  la>t  Kn  yeari  In   tlie   E.NIiLISIf    MKcllAMC  .V.Ml  WDIlI.li 


T,i,[ 

' 

^ 

Ti.,. 

fpird 

" 

W 

c. 

1 

TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

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"BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 
Castello.    (Your  suggestion  shall  be  coBi«df«d.) 


Cnmspantitnrc. 

THE  EVILS  OF  TR.vrnxa  IX  rOXNEC- 
TION  WITH  CLOSET.':  aXD  DR.MXS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BuiLDESo  Nsws- 
SiE  —Owing  to  the  impurity  of  the  content* 
conveyed   by    hou.«o-Hnin-    and    -ewer., ^tbar 

interior  surfaces  ar-  .......... 

giving"   off  what  i> 
fra.s,    and    to     ellt '  ' 

entrance    into    the    u ■ 

euemv  i-s  the  de.^^ideratum  .iimjil  »l  '■*  'ur  .ore- 
most  kanit-arians  of  the  day.  Tt  1,«.  ho™  l.tnrrly 
the  practice  to  rely  "»•"  ■'•  "■■'•r--  ilo!  a 
trap  to  accompli.'h   '  .  ".^ 

its  passa^  into  the  !  '■  '. 

Inspector  to  the  L-  '     !•'" 

his  official  suggestions  u;.  li  •■  li  ■■  ir.par»t«on 
of  Plans  for  Drainage  works,  .Vc,  wy*. 
"  wherever  a  trap  is  pl««^  m  a  ."cwer  or  drain 
there  should  also  be  means  for  sewer  and  dram 
ventilation  piorided  to  relievo  such  a  trap,  as 


428 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


traps  are  only  safe  and  useful  in  conjunction 
with  full  and  permanent  means  for  sewer  yenti- 
lation."  Now  the  sole  purpose  of  a  trap  is  to 
effect  a  seal  entirely  prereuting  the  passage  of 
sewer  gas,  whil^t  a  ventilating  pipe  is  intended 
to  form  a  means  for  its  extraction  or  escape,  if, 
therefore,  the  water  in  the  trap  imperfectly  per- 
forms its  duties  as  a  seal,  and  it  Lecomes  neces- 
sary to  carry  off  and  relieve  it  from  the  gas 
which  has  been  either  forced  through  under 
pressure  or  absorbed  by  the  water  on  one  side 
and  given  off  again  on  the  other,  it  is  obvious 
that  no  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  it.  A  trap 
unless  constantly  and  freely  flushed  is  a  source 
of  nuisance  in  many  respects,  obstructing  the 
continuous  flow  of  the  sewage  and  generally 
becoming  a  receptacle  retaining  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  sewage  in  the  drain  just  beyond  the 
particular  inlet  it  is  intended  to  guard,  fre- 
quently silting  up  altogether  and  disseminating 
those  deleterious  gases  it  is  its  object  to  inter- 
cept. 

A  really  trapless  water-closet  recommends 
itself  as  the  most  preferable  description  of 
apparatus  on  account  of  the  following  advan- 
tages it  possesses  over  its  trapped  brethren. 

1st.  Greater  simplicity  of  construction. 

2nd.  Less  cost  than  a  trapped  closet  of  similar 
quality. 

3rd.  There  is  no  water  seal  to  get  emptied  out, 
either  by  evaporation  or  siphonage  ;  neither  is 
there  any  trap  to  be  stopped  up  by  the  frost  or 
choked  with  solids. 

4th.  No  communicatiijn  between  the  pan  and 
the  soU  pipe  (other  than  the  sealed  plug)  as  in 
the  case  of  some  closets  having  trapped  over- 
flows. 

5th.  There  are  fewer  parts,  thus  rendering  it 
less  expense  to  keep  in  working  order. 

6th.  A  more  forcible,  direct,  and  efficient 
scour  is  obtained. 

Several  good  specimens  of  the  trapless  appa- 
ratus are  now  in  the  market,  though,  by  the 
bye,  is  it  not  rather  paradoxical  on  the  part  of 
certain  manufacturers  to  advertise  a  trapless 
closet  having  trapped  overflow  ?  The  overflow 
from  the  pan  should  not  be  connected  into  the 
soil  pipe,  but  carried  through  to  the  outside  of 
an  external  wall,  terminating  with  a  light 
hinged  trap  flap,  and  empty  over  a  grating, 
although  by  using  water-waste  preventers  this, 
is  almost  unnecessary.  It  is  a  weU-known  fact 
that  the  water-seal  of  a  trap  is  practically  use- 
less when  there  is  any  great  pressure  of  sewer- 
gas,  which  generally  manages  to  work  its  way 
through,  whereas  the  solid  seal  of  the  sealed 
plug  in  the  trapless  closet  effectually  prevents 
this,  and  the  ilu-h  of  water  taking  with  it  all 
impurities  is  con.^iderably  more  powerful  and 
direct  when  there  is  no  tortuous  passage 
through  a  trap,  besides  insuring  a  more  perfect 
and  efficient  scour  for  the  soil-pipe.  Excreta 
appears  to  have  a  natural  affinity  for  lead,  and 
adheres  to  it  with  wonderful  tenacity.  I  have 
seen  4iu.  soil  pipes  of  lead  which,  when  new, 
■were  as  clean  and  smooth  as  the  interior  of  a 
telescope  and  fixed  vertically,  fairly  choked  and 
stopped  up  after  two  years'  use,  whereas  some 
pipes  of  galvanised  iron,  under  similar  condi- 
tions, were  not  nearly  so  foul.  The  drain,  soU, 
and  ventilating  pipes  should  form  one  continu- 
ous flue  from  the  cesspool  or  sewer  to  the  roof 
of  the  house,  no  disconnection  whatever  should 
be  formed  in  the  shape  of  a  trap  anywhere 
between  them  ;  but  a  hinged  flap  fixed  at  the 
end  of  the  house-drain  would  prevent  any  great 
amount  of  sewer-gas  from  passing  up  through 
it  to  the  soil-pipe,  whUst  the  trapless  closet,  as 
previously  stated,  effectually  prevents  its  en- 
trance into  the  dweUing,  and  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  no  foul  atmosphere  can 
enter  up  through  this  apparatus  when  the  plug 
is  lifted,  the  flush  of  water  always  carrying 
with  it  a  strong  duwn  rush  of  fresh  air  each  time 
it  is  used,  which,  with  a  trapped  closet,  would 
be  impossible  whilst  the  ventilating  tube,  con- 
tinued up  from  the  soil-pipe,  its  full  diameter, 
would  fjrm  the  most  natural  outlet  for  any 
dangerous  gases  arising  from  below.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  the  extracting  or  drawing 
powers  of  a  ventilating  pipe  when  heated  by  the 
sun  shining  on  it  are  very  considerable,  "fully 
equalling  the  best  mechanii;al  contrivance  yet 
invented,  whilst  under  ordinary  circumstances 
it  abundantly  fulfils  its  mission.  By  adopting  the 
foregoing  method,  all  traps  between  the  closet 
and  the  receptacle  (either  sewer  or  cesspool)  are 
entirely  dispensed  with. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  such  an  arrangement  is 


not  in  accordance  with  the  model  by-laws  of 
the  Local  Government  Board,  but  it  has  been 
found  from  practical  experience  that  it  is 
admirably  adapted  to  meet  the  ends  in  view. 
lite  Ainfrican  Sanitari/  Engineer^  reporting  on 
the  regulations  of  the  New  York  Board  of 
Health,  says,  "  the  Board  enforces  that  there 
be  no  traps  on  vertical  soil-pipes,  air  admitted 
by  ventilation  above  the  seal  and  passed  all 
through  a  trapped  house-drain  is  found  by  ex- 
perience to  be  fouler  than  air  drawn  from  a 
sewer,  and  Mr.  Bailey  Denton  in  his  excellent 
work  on  Sanitary  Engineering  says,  "  there  is 
so  much  probability  of  an  evil  arising  sooner  or 
later  from  the  use  of  a  trap  disconnecting  the 
soil-pipe  of  water-closets  from  the  sewer,  which 
would  in  itself  be  as  great  as  that  which  it  is 
intended  to  remove,  that  I  consider  it  better  not 
to  break  the  continuity." 

The  water-seal  of  traps  can  be  unintentionally 
removed  altogether  from  three  separate  causes, 
thus  leaving  the  house  in  direct  communication 
with  the  sewer  and  causing  the  very  evil  they 
are  intended  to  obviate. 

1st.  By  evaporation,  when  it  is  little  used; 
and  what  is  more  common  than  to  find,  after  a 
house  has  been  vacated  if  only  for  a  short  time, 
that  the  water  in  the  traps  has  evaporated  ? 

2nd.  By  siphoning,  through  a  continuous 
current  running  full  bore,  and  also  by  a  down- 
coming  stream  of  water  compressing  the  air  in 
front  and  making  suction  behind. 

3.  By  capillary  attraction,  the  contents  of 
traps  may  be  entirely  sucked  out  by  these  means 
through  the  agency  of  a  piece  of  rag  or  other 
absorbent  material  lying  partly  in  and  partly 
out  of  the  trap. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  a  hinged  flap  at 
the  extremity  of  the  house-drain  would  allow 
a  certain  quantity  of  sewer-gas  to  pass  through 
to  the  soil-pipe,  it  would  naturally  be  carried  up 
and  out  at  the  top  by  the  ventilator,  and  as 
previously  explained,  on  no  account  could  it 
enter  the  dwelling  through  the  solid  seal  of  a 
trapless  water-closet,  assuming  however  for  the 
sake  of  argument  that  a  portion  had  by  some 
means  effected  an  entry  into  the  house,  the  air 
from  a  well  ventilated  sewer  or  cesspool  would 
be  greatly  preferable  and  considerably  less 
dangerous  than  that  from  putrefying  deposits 
which  had  accumulated  in  a  trap,  silting  it  up 
and  developing  and  giving  off  those  foul  gases 
so  detrimental  to  life  and  health.  My  own 
opinion  is  that  traps  are  to  be  condemned,  and 
ought  not,  under  any  circumstances,  to  be  used 
in  conjunction  with  water- closets _  and  soil- 
drains,  but  are  only  safe  and  useful  when 
applied  to  wastes  from  sinks  and  baths,  &c., 
where  there  is  no  pressure  of  sewer  gas,  and 
not  even  then  unless  frequently  flushed  and 
easily  accessible.  By  a  judicious  use  of  solid 
seals  to  the  water-closet  apparatus,  which  when 
necessary  can  easily  be  renewed,  combined  with 
a  thorough  and  efficient  ventilation  of  the  drains 
as  well  as  destroying  the  foul  gases  by  a  free 
use  of  disinfectants,  thus  purifying  the  atmo- 
sphere and  neutralising  and  rendering  the  im- 
purities harmless —those  sources  of  continual 
annoyance,  traps,  can  in  a  great  measure  be 
dispensed  with. 

In  conclusion,  a  word  respecting  the  present 
rage  for  patent  sanitary  appliances  may  not  be 
out  of  place.  This  seems  ever-increasing,  and 
the  competition  is  now  remarkably  keen  between 
the  numerous  makers,  some  of  whom  pirate  and 
adopt  each  others'  ideas  and  inventions  in  the 
most  serene  manner ;  and  it  is  surprising  to 
notice  the  trivial  and  in  some  instances  almost 
siUy  things  for  which  patents  are  taken  out. 
True  there  are  some  really  good  and  useful  in- 
ventions in  the  market,  but  the  majority  consist 
of  imitations  and  slightly  altered  adaptations, 
some  utterly  worthless,  and  the  public  are 
induced  to  purchase  through  the  puffs  and 
plausible  but  apocryphal  statements  contained  in 
many  of  the  circulars  and  advertisements  of 
these  contrivances  for  house-sanitation,  so-called 
sanitary  appliances,  frequently  unsightly  and 
seldom  attaining  their  professed  ends,  a  good 
and  useful  invention  is  sure  to  have  a  host  of 
imitators  who  alter  and  modify  (and  sometimes 
do  actually  improve  upon  it) ,  that  although  the 
principle  remains  the  same,  the  component  parts 
differ  so  that  it  is  scarcely  recognisable,  and  the 
result  is  So-and  Su's  improved  registered.  Their 
different  points  must  be  carefully  considered  and 
their  advantages  determined  and  utUised  by 
the  engineer,  according  to   their  qualifications 


in   meeting   the  essential  requirements  for   the 
maintenance  of  health. — I  am,  &c., 

Cheltenham.  G.  A.  FosiEE. 


IKON  IN  POKTLAND  CEMENT 

SiE, — Tour  correspondent,  Mr.  T.  H.  Duke 
seems  to  be  much  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  the 
future  Portland  cement  being  made  without  an 
admixture  of  oxide  of  iron,  and  appears  to  treat 
its  presence  in  a  metallic  condition  as  a  "  secon- 
dary matter."  If  Mr.  Duke  will  look  about 
him  and  seriously  examine  with  a  critical  eye 
the  various  building  stones,  he  will  find  that  the 
most  durable  are  those  which  have  the  smallest 
c|uantity  of  iron  in  their  analysis.  The  best 
building  stones  being  those  which  are  purely 
silicious,  while  others  having  oxide  of  iron  in 
their  paste  or  matrix  are  liable  to  premature 
disintegration.  The  Cathedrals  of  Carlisle  and 
Chester  have  suffered  decay  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  Lincoln  or  York  minsters,  simply 
because  the  stones  of  which  the  former  were 
built  have  a  much  larger  percentage  of  oxide  of 
iron  in  their  composition  than  the  latter.  Hence 
careful  builders  who  have  any  regard  for  the 
permanency  of  their  structures  preferthose  stones 
which  are  freest  from  an  admixture  of  meta.lic 
oxides 

In  the  cement  direction,  experience  has  shown 
that  puzzolanas  and  trass  used  so  freely  by  the 
ancients  and  Komans,  mastic  and  "  iron"  cements 
by  the  modern  builders,  are  no  logger  regarded 
as  reliable  binding  agents,  because  of  their 
having  an  excessive  proportion  of  oxide  of  iron, 
in  comparison  with  the  lime,  in  their  analysis. 
If  oxide  of  iron  in  a  very  small  and  almost  in- 
appreciable extent,  exists  either  by  accident,  or 
nat(U'ally,  in  plaster  of  Paris,  or  its  artificial  com- 
pounds of  Parian  and  Keene's  cements,  they  be- 
come practically  valueless,  and  much  damage 
and  loss  has  frequently  arisen  owing  to  the 
presence,  from  careless  manipulation,  of  a  very 
small  quantity  of  free  iron  becoming  mixed  with 
the  powder  during  the  grinding  process. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  refer  to  iron  and 
glass,  so  familiar  to  every  one  ;  but  it  is  notorious 
that  the  greatest  care  bestowed  by  the  use  of 
protective  paints  on  the  iron  fails  to  preserve  it 
from  oxidation,  while  the  other  maintains  its 
normal  condition  comparatively  free  from  waste 
or  deterioration.  We  find  but  few  traces  of  the 
iron  used  in  old  buildings,  while  the  sandstones 
of  which  the  walls  were  built  remain  in  a  more 
or  less  perfect  condition. 

These  are  lessons  which  may  be  read  and 
understood  by  the  most  ordinary  intelligence, 
and  the  first  duty  of  the  constructive  agent, 
whether  cement-maker,  quarrier,  or  brick- 
maker,  therefore,  is  to  reject  in  all  their  opera- 
tions that  natural  material  which  most  readily 
succumbs  to  atmospheric  influences.  Air,  one 
of  the  elementary  principles  of  the  ancient,  is 
not  the  only  destructive  agent,  for  fire,  another 
so  classed  clement,  while  readily  burning  iron 
fails  to  destroy,  except  under  special  and  excep- 
tional conditions,  a  "  Dinas  "  fire-brick,  which  is 
composed  of  nearly  pure  silica. 

All  careful  experience  in  Portland  cement 
manufacture  and  use  has  proved,  that  when 
that  material  is  of  a  brown  colour,  it  never 
attains  to  a  high  position  of  profitable  indura- 
tion. The  cause  is  due  to  an  excess  of  aluminium 
in  combination  with  oxide  of  iron,  and  hence  the 
desire  of  the  intelligent  maker  to  obtain  the 
purest  clay  with  which  to  impart  ta  the  carbon- 
ate of  lime  the  desired  property  of  hydraulicity. 
Those  engineering  tests  made  during  the  last 
twenty  years  illustrate  this  point  in  a  very  con- 
vincing manner,  for  while  the  tensile  value  of 
Portland  cement  increased,  it  was  accompanied 
by  an  improvement  in  its  colour.  Some  cement 
makers,  like  your  correspondent,  Mr.  Duke,  had 
formed  the  erroneous  impression  that  * '  for  all 
practical  purposes,  for  all  the  reasonable  require- 
ments of  this  work-a-day  world,  a  cement  con- 
taining oxide  of  iron  is,  I  maintain,  as  good  as 
any  other,"  and  accordingly  pressed  their  over- 
clayed  cements  in  competition  with  those  having 
exact  proportions  of  that  ingredient.  They 
signally  failed,  however ;  for  while  their  products 
passed  with  success  the  water  and  weight  mem.  , 
bers  of  the  triple  test,  they  failed  to  reach  the 
moderate  tensile  value  at  that  time  required  of 
them.  It  is  the  general  complaint  of  manufac- 
turers, that  to  compete  in  the  constantly  in- 
creasing demand  for  cement  of  high  tensile 
value,    they    are    compelled    to     increase   the 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


429 


carbonate  of  lime  proportions,  or  in  other  words, 
lessen  the  quantity  of  the  clay  or  silica  agent. 

These  facts  should  be  thought  over  by  your 
correepondent,  who  does  not  seem  well  posted  up 
in  recent  Portland  cement  progress,  or  he  would 
not  resist  so  speciously  the  elimination  of  iron 
from  the  raw  miterial  of  which  it  is  composed. 
If  Mr.  Duke  reits his  argument  for  the  continued 
use  of  oxide  of  iron  on  the  "abundant  stores  of 
Nature,  which  she  has  so  prolifically  scattered 
abroad,"  it  can  readily  be  answered  by  the  well- 
known  fact  that  silica  is  much  more  plentiful, 
and  as  it  is  better  suited  for  cement-making  pur- 
poses, it  should  have  the  preference.  Besides  I 
have  endeavoured  to  show  that  while  on  the  one 
hand  Nature  is  incessantly  at  work  to  destroy 
the  oxide  of  iron,  it  harmlessly  (at  least  within 
moderate  periods)  assails  the  silica. 

The  "almost  vital"  question,  as  Mr.  Duke 
puts  it,  rests  more  with  the  consumer  than  the 
producers,  and  if  the  Utter  "  can  combine  in  a 
profitable  manner"  the  oxide  of  iron  for  which 
yuur  correspondent  seems  to  hive  such  special 
ii-'ard,  all  the  better.  The  tendency  of  the  pre- 
sent wave  of  improvements  in  the  Portland 
cement  industry  and  use,  is  to  increase  its 
strength,  and  it  is  found  thit  success  in  that 
direction  is  incompatible  with  a  large  propor- 
tion of   oxide  of  iron  in  the  clay  from  which  in 


Kntiitommunicatiou. 


QUESTIONS. 

[6252.1— Groined  Ceilings.— Could  any  one  inform 
me  of  a  ^od  work  upon  the  above,  especially  with  re^rd 
to  the  proper  way  iu  getting  out  the  "Jackriba"  from 
angle  to  angle !— A  NiiivE. 

[6253.]  —  Half-Timbered  Building.  —  Grateful 
thanks  to  subscriber  who  will  kindly  inform  me  about 
price  per  cube  foot,  say,  for  a  cottage  building  to  height 
of  first  floor  (10ft.)  of  walls  of  concrete  14in.  thick, 
chamber-floor  about  Oft.  high  to  roof  plate  of  wood, 
framed  work  and  vertical  tiled  !~P.  Roltns. 

[6254.1— Roof  Tiles.— "What  are  the  usual  descrip- 
tion and  size  of  roof  liles,  and  what  gauge  !  Should  ver- 
tical tiling  be  bedded  in  mortar,  and  what  gauge  !  Also 
price  per  square  laying  only.  — Ocld  Irelasd. 

[6255.1- "Warming  Conservatory.— Wanted,  th^ 
best  and  cheapest  means  of  warming  a  small  conscr^-a 
tory,  size  about  12ft.  by  10ft  ,  otherwise  than  by  mean'* 
of  hot  air  or  water  pipes,  or  llu^j.  If  a  stove,  which  sort 
and  name  is  best  suited  for  the  purpose !— "W.  H. 

[6256  1 -Internal  Walls  of  DweUinsr  Houses 
— 1  have  remarked  that  in  the  dwelling  houses  illustrated 
in  the  Bcildisg  News  from  time  to  time  1hat  the  internal 
division  walls  which  have  to  support  the  floors  and  roofs 
are  mad.i  only  9in.  thick,  in  smalihouses  4^in.  thick.  The 
provincial  architect  that  I  served  my  time  with  always 
used  good  thick  internal  walls,  and  the  floor  joists  could 
be  placed  according  to  the  shape  of  rooms.  I  would  feel 
very  much  obliged  to  some  kind  reader  who  would  inform 
me  if  the  9in.  walls  are  the  proper  thing.  It  strikes  me 
that  in  a  one-brick  wall,  if  there  be  only  one  pl.ate  for 
joists,  and  these  run  through  walls,  that  the  work  will  be 


at  each  side 
of  plate,  insufficient  for  a  half-brick,  and'  should  there  be 
two  plates  (or  one  wide  one)  the  wall  would  be  divided  by 
a  layer  of  wood,  which  would  be  liable  to  rot.  I  ask  this 
query  as  many  of  the  houses  I  allude  to  are  by  eminent  ar- 
chitects, and  I  would  not  expect  them  to  use  inferior  con- 
struction.— One  in  Doubt. 


combination  with  carbonate  of  lime  it  is  pro       ^^^^^  »uu  u^^ov. . ~^, .. , - 

duced.  The  fact  of  the  great  difference  between  |  un5ljMe"li^!^Vo15yrspa°c'e  ofaboutlj 
the  German  cement  which  I  used  in  my  experi- 
ments and  some  of  the  English  samples,  show 
that  where  the  smallest  quantity  of  oxide  of  iron 
exists  the  highest  tensile  values  are  obtained.  1 
did  not  show  this  in  my  "  iron  in  cement"  exami- 
nations ;  but  it  is  notoriously  so,  and  a  reference 
to  some  of  the  recently  published  lists  of  experi- 
ments will  prove  to  your  correspondent  the 
advisability  of  using  as  little  oxide  of  iron  as 
possible  in" the  manufacture  of  Portland  cement. 
There  are  very  strong  but  expensive  silicious 
cements,  and  excellent  artificial  stone,  made  en- 
tirely of  silica,  with  a  binding  agent,  in  which 
oxide  of  iron  forms  no  part. 
That  all   Portland  cements  hare,  more  or  less, 

oxide  of   iron  in  their  constitution,  is  no  reason 

■why  the  practice,  if  it  militates  against  its  im- 
provement,   should    be    continued.      Cast    and 

wrought  iron  were  for  many  years  regarded  as  the 

only  condition  in  which  the  m^tal  could  be  used 

for  constructive  purposes ;  but  advancing  science 

has  led  to  their  being  superseded   by  the  more 

valuable  preparation  of  steel. 

That  free  iron  is  present  in  but  limited  quan- 
tities  in  Portland  cement  is  apparent  from  my 

examination,  and  under  ordinary  circumstances, 

may  he  attributed  to  the  wear  of  machinery  by 

which   it  is   prepared  and  reduced.     He  might 

as  reasonably  compLiin,  however,  of  the  "wear  of 

OUT  teeth  in  the  exercise  of  their  special  duty  in 

the  human  economy,  as  to  blame  the  machinery 

which  brings  down  the  obdurate  cement  clinker 

to  the  marketable  powder  of   commerce,   and  in 

the  process  of  reduction  leaves  finely  comminuted 

portions  of  the  metal  of  which   it  is  composed 

behind. 
Tour  correspondent  does  not  seem  to  realise  the 

scope  and  object  of  the  article  "  Iron  in  Portland 

Cement,"  or  he  would  not  siy   that  it  amounted 

to   "a  wholesale  condemnation  of  such  cements 

[meaning,  of  course,  those  that  were  examined 

for  the  purposes  of  the  article]  for  the  sake  of  an 

unreahsable  dream  of  theoretic  perfection." 

Let  Mr.  Duke  set  about  the  study  and  exami- 
nation of   Portland  cement  from  its  chemical  as 

well  as  its  constmctive  points,  and  I  venture  to 

predict  that  he   will  soon  get  reconciled  to  the 

absence  of  oxide  of  iron,  about  which  he  seems 

to  have  imbibed  more  than  ordinarily  irrational 

ideas  ;  at  least,  such  is  the  opinion  of 

The  Weiter  of  the  Abticle. 


The  third  session  of  St.  Paul's  Ecclesiological 
Society  will  be  opened  on  Thursday,  November 
4th,  by  a  lecture  at  St.  Paul's  Chapter-house,  from 
theEev.  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcott,  B.D.,  F.S.A.. 
upon  "  Old  St.  Paul's."  A  fortnight  afterwards, 
tneRev.  J.  B.  Powell,  M.A.,  will  read  a  paper 
upon  "  Ecclesiasticil  Coloui-s,"  and  the  eofn-er>a- 
zione  is  arranged  to  tike  pUco  on  Thursday,  De- 
cember 9th. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  to%vn  councU  of  New- 
port, Hon.,  held  on  Tuesday  week,  it  was  decided 
to  carry  out  a  scheme  of  street -improvements  at  ;u] 
estimated  cost  of  £10,000.  Au  inquiry  into  the 
application  for  a  loan  for  the  purpose  will  take 
place  on  Tuesday  next  before  Mr.  J.  Thornh'll 
Harrison,  C.E.,  an  inspector  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board. 


2i£FlIi:S. 
[6221.]— Ventilation.— I  have  once  or  twice  before 
advocated,  in  these  columns,  the  use  of  simple  3^in.  iron 
elbows  for  the  admission  of  fresh  air  to  rooms.  They, 
of  course,  can  only  be  employed  where  you  can  get  direct 
communication  with  the  outer  air.  In  other  positions 
tubes  have  to  be  used.  The  aiivantage  of  having  an  l^ 
shaped  pipe  of  this  sort  is  that  they  are  not  in  tbe  way  of 
tables  or  sofas,  &c,,  like  the  ordinary  tubes  or  cases  are. 
I  build  the  socket  end  of  the  elbow  horizontally  in  the 
wall,  enlarging  the  opening  to  about  6in.  outside,  where 
I  put  a  cast-iron  grating,  at  the  back  of  which  I  fit  a  piece 
of  perforated  zinc.  At  the  other  end  of  the  elbow,  which 
shows  vertically  in  the  room,  I  fit  a  piece  of  wire  netting, 
with  a  mesh  of  about  Jin. ,  not  less,  because  it  is  important 
not  to  obstruct  the  inlet  of  air.  The  only  object  of  this 
netting  is  to  pi  event  anything  being  put  into  the  pipe. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  consider  it  necessary  to  place  the  top  of 
these  pipes  more  than  3ft.  from  the  floor.  The  air,  like  a 
jet  of  water,  expands  gradually  as  it  leaves  the  m  mth  of 
the  pipe.  The  objection  to  placing  the  pipes  higher  is 
that,  unless  the  rooms  are  lofty,  the  cold  air  strikes  against 
the  ceiling  and  is  felt  by  persons  in  the  room.  Pipes  for 
the  admission  of  fresh  air  should  be  placed  on  all  sides  of 
a  room,  the  pipes  on  each  side  having,  where  possible, 
communication  with  a  different  front  of  the  house.  By 
this  means  air  is  admitted,  no  matter  what  quarter  the 
wind  is  m.  It  strikes  me  that  in  situations  where  you  can 
only  admit  air  at  the  front  and  back  of  a  house,  it  would 
be  a  good  plan  to  have  pipes  turning  to  the  right  and 
left  so  as  to  catch  t!ie  wind.  As  regards  outlet  ventilators, 
I  have  always  found  Boyle's  talc  ventilators  answer  the 
best.  They  are  usually  placed  in  the  smoke-flue  near  the 
ceiling.  In  one  or  two  instances  where  they  have  been  lixed 
by  inexperienced  or  careless  workmen.  I  have  known  the 
ceiling  to  become  blackened  by  smoke  finding  its  way  out 
The  cause  has  generally  been  that  the  talc  flaps  have  got 
injured  before  being  fixed,  but  once  I  found  that  too  much 
putty  had  been  used  for  bedding  the  plate  which  contains 
the  talc  flaps  to  the  rebate  of  the  box  or  frame.  Some  of 
this  superfluous  putty  had  got  under  one  of  the  flaps  and 
thus  prevented  its  closing  flat  agaiu:t  the  plate.  — 
C.  F.  M. 

[625S.1— 'Weight  of  Iron  Eafters.- Ascertain  tlie 
sectional  area  in  square  inches,  and  multiply  by  3.^.  The 
product  will  indicate  the  weight  of  1ft.  run  in  pounds. 
To  obtain  the  sectional  area  without  calculation,  make  a 
mould  of  the  section  in  sulphur  or  plaster,  say  l-16th  of 
an  inch  deep,  and  well  cover  the  bottom  with  a  sinirle 
layer  of  flne  mi-xed  shot.  Then  place  the  same  shot  into 
a  rectangular  mould,  and  by  measuring  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  surface  covered  by  the  single  layer,  you 
can  find  the  square  ar  a  required.— C.  Baassch, 

[6216.''— Pumps— "Hector"  inquires  about  pump  for 
one  man  for  lOOlt.  in  depth.  If  not  better  suited  let  him 
inquire  of  Messrs.  J.  Tylor  and  Sons.  2,  Newgate-street, 
London,  E.C.  Their  No.  215  rotary  action  would  pro- 
bably suit  his  wants  perfectly,  as  being  easier  in  action 
than  the  handle  arrangement  on  face  of  plank,  either 
directly  over  the  well  or  with  horizontal  shafting  when 
the  well  is  at  a  little  distance.  Roughly  the  articles  would 
cost  about  £20,  without  labour  of  fixing  I  presume.  Their 
artesian  pumping  apparatus,  Ordnance  pattern,  seems  to 
be  a  little  dearer,  although  apparently  much  stronger  in 
make.  The  goods  are  of  first-class  quality  all  through.- 
Deep  "Well. 

[624S.)— Yorkshire  Abbeys.- A  very  good  map  of 
the  abbeys  and  castles  of  Yorkshire  is  published  by  Mrs. 
Watson  Chapman,  the  Minster.  Yard,  York.  Also  I  see 
there  are  two  useful  Yorkshire  tours  given  in  "  Notes  on 
Sketching  Tours,"  by  Henry  Taylor,  pubhshed  by  Bats- 
ford,  of  Solbort..— 'W.  S.  CuiECUiLL. 

[6249.]— 'X'orkshire  Abbeys —"North  "  will  find 
■   &.  Map  of  the  Abbeys  and  Castles  of  Yorkshi 


LBQAIi  INTELLIGENCE. 

District  Surveyoe's  Fees  Disallowed.— At 
Marlborough-street  Police-court  on  Wednesday, 
the  Gth  iuat.,  Mr.  Edward  Cock,  builder,  137, 
Wardour-street,  ajipearcd  before  Mr.  Mansfield,  in 
answer  to  a  summons  taken  out  against  him  by 
Mr.  Robert  Kerr,  district  surveyor  for  the  parish 
of  St.  James's,  for  the  non-payment  of  £1  I-os., 
which  the  complaiuaut  allef^ed  was  due  to  him  as  a 
fee  in  connection  with  the  surveying  of  some 
repairs  done  to  the  liouse  4oa,  Camaby-street.  Mr. 
Alsop  appeared  for  the  defendant.  The  com- 
plainant stated  that  the  house  in  ({uestion  was 
condemned  as  unsafe  by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works,  and  that  the  defendant  made  the  necessary 
repairs.  There  was  due  to  witness,  as  district 
surveyor,  a  fee  of  £1  1.5s.  In  cross-examination  by 
Mr.  Alsop,  witness  said  that  the  repairs  done  were 
not  simply  the  filliug-up  of  one  or  two  cracks 
under  one  of  the  windows ;  the  repairs  were 
much  more  serious  than  that.  He  considered 
that  he  was  entitled  to  what  he  had  charged, 
in  accordance  with  the  clauses  of  the  Metro- 
politan Building  Act.  Mr.  Alsop,  for  the 
defendant,  said  that  the  repairs  which  ho  made, 
and  which  consisted  simply  of  the  filling  up  of  two 
small  cracks  under  the  window,  only  came  to 
£2  .5s.  The  defendant  had  already  paid  £1  Is.  6d. 
to  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  and  the  com- 
plainant now  sought  to  recover  £1  los.  for  sur- 
veying the  building,  which  he  (Mr.  Alsop)  con- 
tended he  had  no  right  to  recover,  as  he  had 
already  had  a  proper  allowance  from  the  Metro- 
politau  Board.  In  reply  to  the  magistrate,  Mr. 
Alsop  said  that  th,-  house  was  built  23  years  ago. 
Mr.  Mansfield,  after  looking  at  the  Act  cf  Parlia- 
ment, said  that  it  was  never  intended  to  apply  to 
the  case  in  question,  or  that  it  shoul  i  be  put  in 
force  for  the  purposes  of  extortion.  He  would  dis- 
miss the  summons,  and  the  complainant  could,  if 
he  thought  fit,  take  the  case  to  a  superior  court. 


STAINED   GLASS. 

Krxo's  NoETOS. — A  stained-glass  memorial  win- 
dow will  shortly  be  fixed  in  the  east  end  of  the 
north  aisle  at  King's  Norton  Church.  The  window 
is  of  three  lights,  the  subject  being  "The  Ascen- 
sion," and  in  its  treatment  the  artist  has  travelled 
out  of  the  ordinary  course  by  omitting  the  ortho- 
dox canopy  tmder  which  the  figures  are  placed.  In 
the  head  of  the  centre  light  is  a  figure  of  the 
ascending  Saviour,  and  the  heads  of  the  two  side- 
Ughts  and  the  tracery  of  the  window  have  groups 
of  angels  representing  the  heavenly  chorus.  The 
eleveu  Apostles  are  represented  at  the  foot  of  each 
of  the  lights,  and  in  the  intervening  spaces  are 
clouds,  which  have  been  treated  in  as  natural  a 
manner  as  the  material  would  permit.  The  pose  of 
the  Saviour  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  floating  up- 
wards. The  Apostles  are  represented  in  various 
atti'ud.;s  of  adoration.  The  window  has  been 
treated  in  realistic  manner,  in  accordance  with 
the  wish  of  the  committee,  by  the  artist,  Mr. 
Swaine Bourne,  of  King's  Edward-road,  Birming- 
ham. 

MoEECAiiBE.— A  two-light  stained-glass  window 
has,  during  the  past  week,  been  erected  in  the  parish- 
church,  Morecambe.  Thewindowisof  thestyleof  the 
13th  century.  The  subject  of  the  right-hand  light 
is  th-^  "  Raising  of  Lazirus,"  in  a  panel  beneath 
which  is  a  seated  figure  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah, 
who  bears  on  a  scroll  a  text  sympathetic  with  the 
subject  above.  The  subject  of  the  left-hand  is  the 
"Raising  of  Jairus'  Daughter,"  and  m  the  panel 
corresponding  with  that  of  the  Prophet  Isamh  is  a 
seated  figure  of  King  David,  whose  scroll  bears 
the  text,°P8alm  23,  4  verse.  The  panels  b  aring 
figures  of  the  prophets  are  divided  from  the 
pnncipal  subjects  by  small  arcaded  canopies,  a 
similar  feature  again  dividmg  the  subjects  from 
the  grisaille  work  which  fills  the  head  and  base  of 
the  window,  and  which  is  pierced  with  medallions 
in  rich  colour,  bearing  emblems  of  the  Four 
Evangelists.  The  window  has  been  designed  and 
executed  by  Messrs.  Shrigley  and  Hunt,  of  John 
0-Gaunt'sGa.e,  Lancaster,  and  28,  John-street, 
Bedford-row,  London,  W  .C. 

CnEisTCnrscn.UrBLix.-Four-  - 

io  tliis  church  have  recently  been  : 
<»lass,  introduciug  figures  of  tin   1 
The  windows  have  bcentxecuteli.:.  -■'''■■  ■-    -'V- 
Butler.  andBavDC,  of  Loudon,  uuder  the  !.ui„.rw- 
rion  of  Mr.  J.  Rawson  Carroll,  architect,  of  Dubhn. 


pub- 


lished bv  Mrs.  Watson  Chapman,  the  Minster  Yard.  Y'ork, 
price  on*  BhilUng,  give  him  the  information  he  requires. — 
L.  S. 


STATUES,  MEMOBIALS,  &c. 
Majoe  Wu^te  Mhlv.lle.-A  fountain  erect^ 
at  <t  Andrews  in  racmor\-  ol  the  late  Major  «  hyte 
Melvilt  hL  been  eomp1ete.l.  The  stone  u«d  15 
,,riiicip.aily  Dumfries  reJ  sandstone,  contrast  being 
Lcurei  bv  the  intpxiuction  of  columns  and  copings 
oi-  imUslicHl  DalboatUe  granite.  The  lower  ba^^n  of 
"he'fountaiQ,  which,  hke  the  two  higher,  is  of  red 
sandstone,  but  has  a  gramtc  <^V^-,^^"^ 
preached  by  a  step  of  the  same  material,  measures 


430 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


Hft.  ill  diameter  and  rises  3ft  4in.  above  the 
groimd.  From  the  centre  of  this  l>asin  theie  lise  a 
clus'er  of  five  granite  columns,  four  of  them,  about 
6iu.  ill  diameter.  surroUiidi:ig  the  fifth,  which  is, 
as  it  were,  the  bearing  column,  and  is  IJft.  in 
tliickno'B.  These  shafts  are  surmounted  by  carrod 
capit;ds  of  sandstone,  which,  in  twa,  support  the 
Beccnd  basin.  On  this  basin,  whicli  is  quatrefoil  in 
plan,  a  great  d^al  of  work  has  been  bestowed,  the 
stone  being  elaborately  carved  in  de.signs  represent- 
ing water  plants.  On  each  face  of  the  quatrefoil 
there  is  placed  a  medallion  in  wliite  marble  — one 
showing  a  bust  in  bas-relief  of  the  la*e  Major 
■\Vhvte-MelviUe,  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Boelim.  A.E.A.  1  he 
third  stage  of  the  foimtain  is  a  reproduclion  of  the 
second  on  a  smaller  scale.  Above  this  there  rises  a 
liaudsome  moulded  fioial  of  red  sandstone,  caiTjing 
the  fountain  to  the  height  of  about  Uft.  from  the 
ground.  Water  will  be  discharged  fi-om  gurgoyles, 
four  of  which  are  disposed  round  the  second 
and  four  round  the  third  basin,  as  well  as  from 
five  je's,  four  of  which  are  on  the  second  stage, 
while  the  fifth  is  concealed  within  the  tiuial. — A 
tombstone  has  also  been  erected  at  Tetbury,  estimated 
cost  £170,  consisting  of  a  large  slab  of  white  marble, 
bearing  an  inscription,and  having  crosses  at  citherend 
— one  6ft.  high,  decorated  with  carving  of  laurel 
leaves  and  passion-flowers,  and  the  other  3ft.  Gin. 
in  height,  showing  the  letters  I.H.S.,  with  other 
appropriate  emblems. — A  memoiial  in  the  Guards' 
Chapel,  Wellington  Barracks,  on  which  the  same 
sum  has  been  expended  as  on  the  tombstone,  is  a 
piece  of  mosaic  work,  10ft.  in  height,  repri-senting 
the  fight  of  St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  and 
having  appended  the  inscription — "  So'dier,  sports- 
man, author  :  George  John  V.'hyte  Melville's 
memory  is  here  recorded  by  his  old  ft  lends  and  com- 
rades of  the  Coldstream  Guards."  The  designs  for 
all  three  monuments  were  prepared  by  Mr.  Edis, 
F.S.  A..  Loudon  :  the  ciiving  was  executed  by  Mr. 
Earji.  sculptor,  London  ;  and  the  work  of  erecting 
the  t^t.  Andrews  fountain  is  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  G^ 
Wallis,  London. 

Newcastle-ox-T-tn-e.— On  Thursday,  the  3Dth 
idt.,  the  memorial  erected  by  pubUo  subscription  to 
the  memory  of  Charles  Larkin  in  Elswi'k  Cemetery 
was  unveiled  by  Mr.  Joseph  Cowen,  M.P.,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people.  The 
memorial  is  Classic  in  style.  Jt  consists  of  a  broad 
base  anau^ed  in  step  form,  upon  which  is  placed  a 
square  pedc.-tal,  panelled  on  all  four  sides,  and 
fiiiished  with  curved  ogee  pediments  and  a  dentil 
course.  Above  this  is  the  bust  of  the  late  orator 
surmoimted  by  a  pedimented  canopy  carried  on  four 
groups  of  clustered  columns  with  ionic  caps.  The 
canopy  is  domed  internally,  and  externally  finished 
with  a  richly  carved  and  moidded  monumental  urn. 
The  whole  has  been  executed  in  Denwick  stone  by 
Mr.  G.  Bum.  Messrs.  Oliver  and  Leeson  were  the 
ai'chitetts. 

MoxUitEXT  TO  THE  LATE  JaJIES  CaSSIE.  E.S.A. 

—The  monument  to  the  late  James  Cassie,  E.S.A. , 
which  a  mmber  of  friends  agreed  should  be  erected 
by  means  of  private  subscriptton,  over  the  grave  in 
the  Dean  Cemetery,  Edinburgh,  was  placed  in  posi- 
tion on  Tuesday.  Designed  by  Mr.  George  Eeid, 
E.S.A.,  and  executed  iu  red  granite  bv  Mr. 
Alexander  Macdonald(of  Macdonald,  Field, "&  Co.. 
Aberdeen),  the  memorial  resembles  in  f.'rm  one  of 
those  crosses  frequently  met  with  in  the  West  High- 
lands. 'Ihe  monument  will  rise  to  a  height  of 
eleven  feet  from  the  ground.  The  span  of  the  arms 
of  the  cross  measures  3ft.  9in.,  and  the  diameter  of 
the  wheel  connecting  these  with  the  upright, 
2ft.  Sin. 

Remeeton.— A  memorial  to  the  late  Arch- 
deacon Thorpe,  who  difd  in  1S77,  has  juit  been 
placed  in  Kemerton  Church,  near  Bristol,  iu  a 
recess  left  for  the  purpose,  when  the  chancel  was 
re  built  in  ISio.  The  back  of  Ihii  leoess  lias  been 
filled  with  diaper  work,  copied  from  an  example  in 
Cauterbury  Cathedral,  and  on  the  floor,  raised  a 
ffw  inches  above  it,  is  a  recumbent  figure  of  the 
late  archdeacon,  vested  in  surplice,  stole,  and  hood, 
and  bearing  between  his  hands  a  chalice  resting  on 
his  breast.  The  figure  is  treated  in  an  unusual 
manner,  bemg  iocised  in  bold  lines  on  a  slab  of 
lied  Emperor  marble;  the  hues  are  filled  iu  with 
blick  nia?tic,  the  larger  spaces,  such  as  the  stole 
and  shoes,  being  of  black  marble.  Bound  the 
figure  is  a  diaper  in  yellow  Siena  and  black  marble, 
while  the  head  reposes  on  a  diapered  cu-hion.  The 
wl^o'e  surface,  which  is  perfectly  flat,  bears  a  high 
polish.  The  work  has  been  done  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Mr.  E.  Hert^ert  Carpeu'er,  of  London, 
whose  late  father  restored  the  church.  Mes.srs. 
Clayton  and  Bell,  of  London,  designed  Ihe  incised 
si  lb,  and  the  who'e  work  has  been  can-ied  out  bv 
Mr.  George  Hill,  of  Chelsea. 


■WATEB    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
HATTERS. 

Sewer  Ventilation.  —  The  Cornish  town  of 
Padstow  furnishes  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  ven- 
tilation of  sewers.  Acting  on  the  recommendation 
of    the  Local   Government  inspector,   the.   Local 


Board  have  during  the  last  eighteen  months  put 
into  practice  the  course  advocated  by  the  sanifaiiaLs 
recently  assembled  at  Exeter— that  of  ventilating 
sewers  so  as  to  permit  sewage  gas  to  escape  into  the 
atmosphere  as  soon  as  it  is  generated,  and  before  it 
becomes  dangerous  to  the  public  health.  As  a  re- 
sult, the  towh  has  during  the  la^t  twelve 
months  enjoyed  complete  immunity  from  zj-motic 
diseases. 


CHIPS. 

Xcff  Board  schools  at  theLyng.  West  Broniwich, 
were  opened  on  Monday.  They  are  planned  iu 
three  departments,  and  accommodate  8'J6  chilelren. 
Thfy  are  erected  in  Domestic  Gothic  style  of  plain 
cbaiacter,  of  brickwork,  relieved  bj'  stone  dress- 
ings and  bands  of  blue  brick.  The  contractors  were 
Messrs.  Jones  and  Son,  of  Sedgley,  and  the  cost 
has  been  £3,960,  the  total  outlay,  including  cost  of 
site,  being  about  £6  12s.  per  bead.  The  ilesigns 
were  by  Mr.  E.  J.  Etwell,  of  West  Bromwidi,  and 
were  selected  in  competition. 

An  inquiry  was  held  on  Thursday  week  at  Epsom 
before  Mr.  Henley,  a  Local  Government  inspector, 
into  an  application  that  had  been  made  by  the 
rural  sanitary  authority  for  cerla'n  powers  for  the 
parish  of  Ewell.  Dr.  Jacob,  the  medical  officer  of 
health,  and  Mr.  Eichardson,  sanitary  inspector, 
supported  the  proposal,  shov^ing  that  about  80  or 
90  new  houses  are  about  to  be  erected  in  the  parish, 
which  has  no  public  scavenging,  and  is  filled  «ith 
cesspools.  Considerable  opposition  was  manifested 
by  residents,  and  it  was  stated  thit  the  new  houses 
would  be  supplied  with  Moule's  earth-closets,  aud 
would  be  semi-detached. 

Two  new  branch  lines  of  tramway  in  Derby 
through  Ashbourne-road  and  Osmastou-road,  were 
inspected  by  Major-General  Hutchinson,  E.E.,  on 
Thursday  week,  and  have  since  been  opener  for 
traffi'.  The  lines  have  been  constructed  by  Messrs. 
Moseley  and  Co..  contractors,  of  Clifton,  and  the 
engineers  were  Messrs.  Kincaid. 

The  town  comm'ssioners  of  Armagh  received,  on 
Monday,  the  sanction  of  the  Irish  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  to  a  loan  of  £S.OOO.  for  the  construction 
of  works  cf  water-supply  for  that  town. 

St.  George's  pirish-church,  Wolverhampton, 
was  reopened  on  SuLdiy,  after  internal  renovation, 
and  decoration  in  colour.  The  inside  walls  are 
now  fawn  colour,  the  ceiling  tinted  in  turquoise- 
blue;  and  the  ribs  are  picked  out  with  cream 
colour  and  buff,  aud  the  bosses  and  caps  of  columns 
with  turquoise-blue,  gold,  and  veroiilion,  and 
stencilled  ornament  is  applied  to  the  didoes.  The 
work  has  been  cirried  out  by  Mr.  George  Lewis, 
of  Wolverhampton. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  William 
Salt  (Staffordshire)  Archaeological  Society  it  was 
decided  to  publish,  in  1881,  the  Pipe  Kolls  for 
Staffordshire  during  the  reigns  of  Eichard  I.  and 
John— early  charters  (s.  d.)  from  1060  to  end  of 
John's  reign,  and  some  of  the  earlier  rolls  of  the 
Curia  Regis.  The  annual  meeting  was  fixed  for 
December  29th. 

Mr.  E.  Argile  was  reappointed  engineer  to  the 
local  board  of  Eipley,  Derbyshire,  last  week,  and 
at  the  same  meeting  Mr.  C.  Shelton  was  appointed 
sanitary  inspector. 

The  Corporation  of  Dublin  decided,  on  Monday, 
to  invite  the  Social  Science  Association  to  hold  its 
congress  for  ISSl  in  that  city.  The  congress  was 
held  in  Dublin  in  1861. 

A  new  We.tleyan  chapel  was  opened  at  Shifnal 
on  Wednesday  week.  It  is  Geometric  Gothic  in 
style,  and  is  built  of  red  brick,  relieved  with 
Grinshill  stone  aud  red  terra-cotta  dressings,  and 
the  roof  is  covered  with  Broseley  tiles.  Internally 
the  chapel  is  C_2ft.  6in.  loEg  by  3Sft.  wide,  and  ac- 
commodates 350  on  the  ground-floor,  and  a  pro- 
posed end  gallery  will  provide  100  other  sittings. 
A  stone  turret,  80ft.  high,  is  placed  on  one  tide  of 
the  main  gable.  At  the  rear  are  a  schoolroom  and 
two  vestries,  and  adjoining  is  a  minister's  house. 
Mr.  J.  H.  Fleeming,  of  Wolverhampton,  was  the 
architect,  and  Mr.  Yates,  of  Shifnal,  the  builder; 
the  hot-air  apparatus  is  by  Mr.  Truswell,  of  Shef- 
field.   The  total  est  has  b:en  £3,000. 

A  Local  Government  B->ard  inquiry  was  held  at 
Epsom  on  Tuesday  with  reference  to  a"n  application 
from  the  local  b larJ  of  health  for  leave  to  borrow 
the  sum  of  .£1,200  for  the  jjurpose  of  cam  iug  out 
draiuage  works  on  the  commou. 

Extensive  timber  works  and  stores  at  Shield- 
field,  Newcastle-on-Tjne,  belonging  to  Mr.  Xathan 
Watson,  timber-merchant,  of  that  town,  were 
destroyed  by  fire  on  Wednesday  week. 

The  parish-church  of  Featherstone,  near 
Knaresborough,  is  imdergoing  restoration,  includ- 
ing the  rebuilding  of  the  south  sulc.  the  lowcrin" 
of  the  floor,  and  the  substitution  of  Kuches  for 
pews.  The  work  is  being  carried  out  by  Mr.  Free- 
1,  of  Featherstone.       "  | 


(Bxix  (BWdt  €:Hblt 


The  City  and  Gmlds  of  London  Institute  has 
announced  that  it  is  prepared  to  award  a  limited 
number  of  free  admissions  to  certain  technologi- 
cal classes  at  University  College  and  King's 
College.  The  subjects  of  instruction  at  Uni- 
ver.iity  College  embrace  Chemical  Technology, 
under  Prof.  Graham,  and  Mechanical  Tech- 
nology, under  Prof.  Kennedy.  The  laboratory 
instruction  in  Chenical  Technolog'y  includes  the 
chemistry  of  the  alkali  trade,  soap,  glass,  pottery, 
cements,  brewing,  and  agricultural  chemistry, 
and  in  the  award  of  these  free  studentships 
already  engaged  in  chemical  works  who  possess 
an  elementary  knowledge  of  organic  chemistry. 
Prof.  Kennedy's  class  aud  laboratory  instruction 
will  be  occupied,  the  first  term,  with  machinery 
and  plant  used  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and 
steel,  preference  will  be  given  to  candidates  who 
are  with  special  reference  to  modern  processes  iu 
steel-making  ;  and,  during  the  second  term, 
with  machinery  and  apparatus  used  for  testing 
strength  of  materials,  and  for  measuring  strains. 
In  awarding  studentships  to  these  courses,  the 
Institute  will  give  preference  to  foremen  and 
others  engaged  in  mechanical  works.  At 
King's  College  free  admission  will  be  given  to 
the  classes  on  Metallurgy,  under  the  dii'cction  of 
Prof.  A.  R.  Huntington.  The  laboratory  for 
instiu^tion  is  open  from  10  till  4,  on  Friday 
evenings  from  7  till  9.  Among  the  subjects 
treated  in  this  course  will  be  the  principal 
properties  of  m=tals,  preparation  of  alloys,  and 
methods  of  assaying.  Free  admissions  will  also 
be  given  to  the  classes  iu  practical  Fine  Art, 
under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Delamotte,  and 
here,  as  in  the  other  courses,  the  awards  will  be 
made  to  students  belonging  to  the  industrial 
class's  who  migiit  otherwise  bo  prevented  by 
the  expense  of  the  fees  from  attending  these 
clases.  We  are  requested  to  state  that  applica- 
tion for  these  free  studentship.s  should  be  sent, 
in  the  first  instance,  to  the  Diif.-ctor  and  Secre- 
tary of  the  City  and  Guilds  of  Lotidon  Institute, 
Grcsham  College,  E.G. 

TnEexperiment  of  paving  withasphalte  bet  ween 
and  outside  the  rails  of  a  street-tramway  having 
proved  in  Kewington,  S.E.,  a  co.^tly  and 
dangerous  failui'e,  the  London  Tramways  Co., 
the  owners  ot  the  system  of  raUs,  are  now  having 
the  roads  so  treated  repaved  with  wood  blocks 
and  granite  rail  margins.  A  general  con- 
tr.act  has  been  made  with  Mr.  James  Watt,  of 
Peckham,  for  tlie  execution  of  this  work  at  the 
rate  of  £8,000  per  mile,  and  it  is  being  done 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  "Welling, 
acting  on  behalf  of  the  tramway  company.  The 
first  .section  undertaken  is  the  upper  part  of 
the  Walworth-road,  some  350  yards  length  of 
thoroughfare  between  the  hotel  and  the  railway- 
station  severally  loiown  as  the  Elephant  and 
Castle,  and  since  Monday  week  a  large  staff  of 
men  have  been  employed  on  the  work.  The 
asphalting  has  been  entirely  removed,  and  a 
foundation  of  Portland  cement  and  ballast  con- 
crete, in  the  proportion  of  two  to  one,  laid.  The 
longitudinal  planking  on  which  the  rail  formerly 
rested  having  been  found  insecure  aud  liable  to 
sink,  this  is  replaced  by  cross-sleepers,  to  which, 
steel  raUs  of  improved  pattern  are  secured  by  the 
usualiron  chairs  and  fish-plates.  Within  and  with- 
out the  rails  a  single  row  of  granite  pitchers,  6in. 
by  3in.  by  3in.,  is  laid,  breaking  joint  on  either 
side  with  the  prep  ired  blocks  of  the  Improved 
W'ood  Paving  Company.  The  Newington  Vestry 
are  at  the  same  time  repaving  with  these  blocks  the 
spaces  between  the  rails  and  foot  pavements.  As 
soon  as  this  street  is  finished  and  reopened  for 
trafBc,  a  portion  of  the  New  Kent-road  will  be 
deah  with  in  the  same  way. 

The  new  session  of  the  Eoyal  Inatitate  of 
British  Architects  will,  be  opened  on  Monday, 
the  1st  November,  by  an  address  from  the  Pa-e- 
sident,  Mr.  John  Whicheord,  F.S. A.  Amongst 
the  other  business  of  the  evening  will  be  the 
election  of  an  hone^rary  secretary,  in  succession 
to  the  late  Mr.  T.  H.  Wyatt;  Mr.  J.  Macvicar 
Anderson  has  been  nominated  by  the  Council  to 
fill  the  vacancy,  and  is  now  acting  pru  Inn. 
The  first  Institute  meeting  for  the  reading  of 
papers  is  fi.xed  for  the  15th  prox.,  but  the 
subject  has  not  yet  been  announced.  The 
Architectural  Association  will  inaugurate  their 
session  by  a  conversazione,  at  9,  Conduit-street, 
on  this  day  three  weeks,  the  29  th  inst. ;  and  on 
the  following  Friday,  the  5th  November,  Mr. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


I'll 


Ernest  C.  Leo  will  deliver  hU  presidential 
address,  the  first  meetini?  for  the  reading  of 
papers  being  arranged  for  Friday,  the  19  th 
prox. 

The  Corporation  of  Dublin  have  recently 
discussed  the  desirability,  or  otherwise,  of  intro- 
ducing' wood  paving  into  the  city,  and,  this 
week,  Jlr.  Parke  Neville,  the  city  engineer,  has 
forwarded  the  members  an  elaborate  report  on 
the  subject.  In  tliis  document  ho  enters  at 
great  length  into  the  cost  and  durability  of  the 
rarious  descriptions  of  wood  pavements  laid  in 
London  streets.  Ho  states,  as  his  conclusion, 
that,  although  wood  pavement  is  a  most  pleasant 
roadway  to  drive  over,  and  is  easily  kept  clean 
and  watered,  yet  its  real  durability  has  not  at 
present  been  tested  ;  we  know  enough,  however, 
to  show  that  its  outaide  life  cannot  be  set  higher 
than  from  five  to  seven  years ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, as  compared  with  a  pavement  of  square 
setts,  it  is  three  or  four  times  more  expensive. 
Mr.  Neville  does  not  object  to  the  use  of  wo(  d 
pavement  opposite  churches  and  hospitals,  to 
deaden  sound,  but  he  regards  its  general  u.se  .as 
a  most  expensive  luxury,  not  suited  for  adoption 
until  the  corporate  funds  permit  the  poorer  parts 
of  the  city  to  be  properly  cared  for  as  to  road 
repairs  and  scavenging.  In  an  appendix,  an 
official  report  by  Mr.  Van  Xort,  city  engineer  of 
New  York,  is  quoted.  Mr.  Van  Nort's  opinion 
is  extremely  adverse  to  wood  paving,  which  is 
regarded  by  him  as  almost  useless  when  the  traffic 
is  heavy.  In  New  York,  Mr.  Van  Nort  says 
there  have  been  a  great  many  kinds  of  wooden 
pavements  laid,  but,  so  far,  all  have  proved  very 
expensive  to  lay  and  maintain  ;  and  he  thinks  it 
doubiful  if  any  form  or  preparation  of  wood  can 
be  made  or  maintained,  save  at  great  expense, 
as  all  suffer  from  the  same  organic  defect — 
speedy  decomposition. 

The  Sunday  Society  intends  to  be  active 
daring  the  coming  winter.  It  will  be  represented 
at  the  Social  Scienc-^  Congress,  and  in  one  of  the 
departments  a  paper  will  be  read  on  its  behalf, 
by  the  Rev.  Robert  B.  Drummond,  entitled 
"  Sunday  Reform."  During  the  .sitting  of  the 
Congress  a  public  conference  will  be  held  in 
Edinburgh,  in  support  of  the  opening  of 
museums  on  Sundays ;  and  on  the  2.5th  inst 
Profe.ssor  Tyndall  will  preside  over  a  public 
meeting,  in  the  lirgest  hall  in  Glasgow,  in  sup- 
port of  the  Sunday  Society. 

The  Parkes  STuseum  of  Hygiene  was  re- 
opened last  Monday  (after  the  usual  vacation)  in 
connection  with  the  introductory  conrersazione  of 
the  Medical  School  at  Univer.-ity  College.  There 
was  a  good  attendance  of  gentlemen  and  students, 
who  manifestc-d  much  interest  in  the  collection 
of  sanitary  appliances,  to  which  several  addi- 
tions have  recently  been  made,  including  con- 
crete and  stoneware  goods  from  the  Poole  pottery 
district ;  Messrs.  Tonks  and  Son  have  added  to 
their  contribution  a  model  of  a  new  ventilator, 
called  "the  Arcliitrave  Ventilator,"  desigm d  by 
Mr.  Mark  H.  Judge  for  the  purpose  of  making 
an  architectural  feature  of  the  provision  for 
ventilation.  The  Parkes  Museum  will  continue 
to  be  open  free  on  Tueedays,  Thursdays,  and 
Saturdays. 

Ax  exhibition  of  art  was  opened  on  Monday, 
at  Leek,  in  aid  of  the  funds  of  the  Leek  Ai-t 
School.  Besides  the  pictures  lent  by  resident-! 
of  the  digtrict — enough  in  themselves  to  form  a 
respectable  exhibition  —  the  committee  have 
secured  -a  good  number  from  outsiders,  and 
among  these  are  the  lenders  of  Miss  Thompson's 
celebrated  "  Quatre  Bra.s"  and  "  Biilaclava," 
which  are  the  leading  attractions  of  the  gallery. 
Altogether  there  are  nearly  .500  pictures  and 
other  works  of  art  on  view,  and  of  these  2-12  are 
oil-paintings,  47  water-colours  ;  o  specimens  of 
embroidery,  and  ten  of  bronzes  and  metal-work  ; 
a  collection  of  96  water-colours,  illustrating  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  art  in  England  from 
1710  ;  and  35  original  drawings  for  the  publica- 
tions of  the  Arundel  Society.  Among  the  old 
masters  who  have  a  place  are  Canaletto,  Car- 
racci,  Correggio,  t;asper  de  Grayer,  Durer, 
Peter  de  Hooge,  Hnysman,  Sir  Peter  Lely, 
Mytens,  Van  Ostade.  Paul  Potter,  Rembrandt, 
Reubens,  Ruysdacl,  Schali:ken  Jan  Steen,  Van 
Stry,  Teniers,  Terburg,  Titian,  Vandyck,  Van 
de  Velde,  and  AVouvermans.  Among  motern 
painters  represented  are  Mi.-s  Thompson,  Ann- 
field,  Constable.  E.  W.  C  .ok-,  R.A.,  C.  W. 
Cope,  R.A.,  Etty.  R.A.,  Sir  John  Gilbert, 
Gainsborough,  Herring,  Hogarth,  Leslie,  B-.A., 


Ma.son,  Mulrcady,  R.A.,  Sir  Joshui  R.-ynolds, 
Turner,    Vcmet,    Watson,     R.    Wilson,     T{  A  .' ' 
Woodforde,  R.A.,  Joseph  Wright,  A.I!   \ 
Among  the  general  wator-colour  naii.' 
productions  of  G.orgo  Ciittormolo.'cha- 
tcrmole,  Sidney  Cooper,  R.A.,  David  C..-.  ;.,. 
kett  Eostor,  A:u.  The  South  Keu»iugt<in  Muwun. 
contributes  largely.     The  tot-.il  vuluo  of  the  col- 
ection  is  stated  to  bo  £10,000. 

The  death  is  recorded  of  one  of  tlie  m  i 
widely  -  respected  /.mcrican  arohitcct-i,  Mi 
Charles  Dexter  Gambrill,  of  New  York,  whi.  I, 
took  place  in  that  city  on  Monday,  Septuinli. : 
13.  Mr.  (iarabrill  was  bom  in  Uoxbnry,  now  . 
part  of  Boston,  in  1S32,  his  father  having  bwn  . 
surgeon  in  the  Navy.  He  was  edueatrd  in  lioi- 
ton,  and  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in 
the  class  of  1854.  After  graduation  he  studied 
architecture,  first  in  Boston,  under  Mr.  George 
Snell,  and  subsequently  in  New  York,  under 
Mr.  Richard  M.  Hunt,  "and  has  since  continued 
to  practise  in  New  York,  at  first  in  partnership 
with  Mr.  George  B.  Po>t,  and  later  with  Mr. 
Henry  H.  Richardson.  Shortly  before  his  diath 
he  had  formed  a  new  as-woiation  with  Mr.  H.  E. 
Ficken.  He  w.as  one  of  the  curliest  Fellows  of 
the  American  Institute  of  ArchitectH,  holding 
various  offices  in  that  body,  and  had  long  been  a 
prominent  member  of  the  government  of  the 
Century  Club. 

The  lectures  on  Architecture  and  Constnic- 
tion,  formerly  given  by  Prof.  Donaldson,  and 
more  recently  by  Prof.  Hayter  Lewis,  will  be 
given  this  years  by  Mr.  T.  Roger  Smith,  who  has 
lectured  for  the  last  two  sessions.  Mr.  Roger 
Smith's  lectures  on  Professional  Practice  will 
also  be  repeated  this  session,  bcirinning  on  Mon- 
day evening,  the  2.)th  in.-it.  The  class  for  the 
study  of  this  subject  met  for  the  first  time  la.-t 
session,  and  both  the  attendance  and  work  done 
were  very  encouraging.  Any  student  desirous 
of  hearing  a  single  lecture  in  cither  of  these 
clas.ses  can  be  admitted  as  a  visitor  on  applying 
to  the  attendant  at  the  College. 

O.N-  Wednesday,  at  the  Shire-hall,  Hertford, 
Lord  Lytton  opened  the  Herts  Cotmty  Fine  Arts 
E.^hibition.  The  loan  collection  is  valuable  and 
interesting,  and  includes  many  articles  of  great 
beauty  and  antiquity,  some  of  which  were 
collected  in  India  by  Lord  Lytton.  There  are 
water-colour  drawings  by  eminent  masters, 
ancient  needlework,  bronzes,  Indian,  Chine-se, 
and  Japanese  work  in  gold,  silver,  ivory,  stone, 
and  wood,  and  ancient  tapestry,  &o.,  exhibited 
by  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  from  Hatfield - 
house;  Earl  Brownlow,  Ashri'ige-housc;  Eirl 
Cowpcr,  Panshanger  ;  and  the  Earl  of  Clarendon. 
Mr.  John  Evans  and  3Ir.  Robert  Hanbury  also 
contribute  to  the  collection.  In  the  art  depart- 
ment upwards  of  200  drawings  are  exhibited  for 
competition.  The  art-needlework  department 
gives  evidence  also  of  skill  in  design  and  execu- 
tion. The  prizes  awarded  in  these  sections  will 
be  presented  to  the  successful  competitors  by 
Viscountess  G-imston  in  the  Com  Exchange 
to-day,  when  the  Earl  of  Verulaai  will  preside, 
and  a  School  of  Art  for  Hertford  will  Ik;  con- 
stituted.    The  exhibition  closes  on  the  12th  inst. 

A  J£0VE1IE>"T   is   in   progress  in   the  west  of 
London  to   induce   the   Metropolitan   Board  of 
Works  (in  the  BUI  for  which  it  is  expected  the 
requisite  Parliamentary    notices  will   be   given 
next  month),   to   provide  for  a  new  and  wide 
street,  from  the  Cadogan  Mansions,  in  Sloane- 
square,  to  Sydney-place,    Onslow-squarc._   The 
road  from  Buckingham  Palace  down  to  Eaton- 
square  and  Wtstboume-place  into  Sloane-square 
is  wide  and  perfectly  straight,  but  the  pmpo-i  1 
new   thoroughfare,    commencing   from   Sloan- 
square,  would  have  to  pass  through  and  in  p  i: 
demolish  the  existing  Symon's-street.  corner  - 
Lincoln- !-treet,     Cumberlind-place^    the    sou:  . 
ends  of   Marlborou-,'h-road   and    Kcppel-strC' • . 
College-place,  Cile-street,  and  Pond-place.   Tli 
access  from  the  Fulham-road  and  Chelsea  to  t'> 
portion  of  the  Thames  Embankment  at  Chi^-l-ea  i  • 
knowntobemi^erablyiuadeqaate.anditi-    ' 
that  the  long  disused  churchyard  of  St. 
Chelsea,  might,  uuder  a  faculty  from  tli 
of  London's  Court,  be  with  advantage  ■ 
into  an  agreeable  pleasure-ground  forth 
and  that  Irom  the  proposed  new  thoroii 
hand.*ome  avenue  might  pass  immedia-'  ;. 
the    Embaakment    by  utilising   a    strip    ■;    ^ 
vacant  ground  at   the  back,  or  ei-<t  side,  "f  .'" 
Luke's   Church,    Chelsea.       If    the   .-...■ti.n    ■  : 
Chelsea,      lying     between     Sloane-square    anJ 
Onslow-square  could  be  judiciously  opened  out. 


building  nil.  , 

^""1.    nt    tl,. 


gas  to  cinv. 
sigiiiiU,    i, 
HtoVf  f..r    , 
I'ettil 
uod  .•-- 
Youii.- 
cxhibiLi. 


A  ni<>mari  il  ('atu" 

i«tO»K-..nv.ilr<|  :lt  \ 

bcin    ■. 

In  i 
the  I. 


■vr 


iii 


ft  1S>.  ,jd., 
teacher*'  ro 
walls,  an-l  V 


-    .      M  af 
.    MP. 


iinurr   uf   lltt* 


by  M 
Uur  ■ 
heihn 


llic  =^Lk. 


llowanl,  hu  bc<«  fimifA  M 
Tba  nil>J«ct   la  CtxwI. 


.:■  h. 


A  series  of  s'rrM  tramwsja  an  baac  Ut4  !• 
Cambri'ige  for  a  lonU  cnmnuir.  Mr.  T.  T\nfi  <• 
the  engineer,  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Mp<<oa  ta  Um  eo«. 
tractor;  the  wurk  will  bo  oom|4cted  ia  a  (•« 
days. 

Mr.  J.  Ci;  T  ' 

Tvnc,  a  wc!!- 
standird  w.'- 
bo  .k-i  relatoi 

has  bccu  n')ni  u»*.« -:  a.^ 

I  Knglisli  Prc> 

neirAlden-li  '"•'** 

people,  and  K  '  'I. 

'  .Mr.  Kau(?<T,  '  »'■ 

Junes,  boilil 

I      At  the  la,'  ''''*: 

I  mrinil,  S.irr. -.  '  '"^ 

I  Son,  of   Ci.r. 

J  and  rcdm-eil 

I  coromitto*^  w 


Ifuld. 

I     Tl. 
to-d,.>  i  .  - 
fornorth-w- 
hel  1  as  one  < 

I       A    l:-'- 

If  recti 

BeM. 
I  C.     ^'> 
I  Ofov- 

coat  a 


U«rJ  o{  WorkiwiU 


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432 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  8,  1880. 


Au  atldilioual  line  of  siiihon  japes  is  about  to  be 
carried  across  the  Talley  of  the  Ducbray,  about 
five  miles  west  of  Aberfoyle,  on  the  line  of  the  great 
aqueduct  from  Loch  Katrine  to  Glasgow.  The  new 
siphon  wiU  consist  of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
length  of  42iu.  cast-iron  pipes,  with  lengthy  ap- 
proaches on  either  side.  The  works  are  to  be 
carried  out  for  tlie  Water  Comissioners  of  Glasgow 
Corporation,  and  from  the  desigus  of  tbeii'  engineer, 
Mr.  Gale,  of  Miller-street,  Glasgow. 

The  Cambcrwell  Vestry  received  last  week  a  re- 
port from  the  sanitary  committee  suggesting  the 
desirabihty  of  obtaining  a  depot  for  the  deposits  of 
dust  from  ashbins.  It  was  stated  that  the  vestry 
for  the  past  two  years  had  removed  refuse  from 
houses  themselves  at  a  cost  per  annum  of  almost 
exactly  £2,000  a  year,  or  about  .'s.  6d.  per  load.  In 
1877  and  previous  years,  under  the  old  contractinir 
system,  the  cost  was  about  5s.  6d.  per  load,  and  in 
the  year  of  the  change,  187S,  the  lowest  tender  re- 
ceived for  the  work  was  that  of  Mr.  Reddin,  which 
was  £3,400,  more  than  £1,400  beyond  the  ultimate 
cost  to  the  vestry.  The  report  was  adopted,  and 
the  committee  were  empowered  to  negotiate  for  a 
depot. 

On  Thursd.iy  week  the  roof-rearing  supper  to  the 
artificers  and  employes  at  the  Sheffield  New  Com 
Exchange  Buildings  was  given.  Mr.  Charles  Had- 
field  (of  the  firm  of  M.  E.  Hadficld  and  Son),  pre- 
sided. A  similar  entertainment  took  place  at 
Leeds  for  the  workmen  engaged  at  the  extensive 
establishment  of  Messrs  TomUnson  and  Son,  the 
contractors,  where  the  oak  roof  fur  the  New  Com 
Exchange  and  the  joiners'  work  are  being 
executed.  Mr.  Tomlinson  gave  some  interest- 
ing details  of  the  quantities  of  materials  in  the 
building,  remarking  that  amongst  the  rest  upwards 
of  two-and-a-haLf  miUions  of  bricks,  150  tous  of 
oak  timber,  and  200,000  Broseley  tiles  had  been 
supphed  up  to  the  present  time.  The  health  of  Mr. 
Paj-ne,  the  clerk  of  the  works,  was  given  and  duly 
acknowledged  :  while  the  toast  of  "the  Foremen," 
by  the  Chairman,  was  appropriately  replied  to  by 
Mr.  Teule,  the  seuior  foreman. 

The  workhouse  schools  at  Pontef  raet  have  j  ust 
been  altered  and  enlarged  from  the  designs  and 
undt  r  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Malcolm,  the 
architect  to  the  board  of  gu&rdians. 

That  portion  of  the  Tuileries  which  escaped 
destruction  at  the  hands  of  the  Communists,  the 
Pavilion  de  Flore  (illustrated  in  one  of  Mr.  Giral- 
don's  sketches  a  fortnight  since)  caught  fire  on 
Satiuday  night,  and  alarm  was  created  as  the  wind 
blew  in  the  direction  of  llie  Louvre.  The  fire, 
which  is  supposed  to  liave  broken  out  in  the  care- 
taker's rooms,  was  extinguished,  but  not  until  the 
second  story  had  been  almost  burnt  out. 

A  new  Masonic  ball  has  been  built  and  opened  at 
Rushmills,  near  Dublin.  The  honorary  architect 
was  Brother  W.  A.  Traill,  C.E.,  chairman  of  the 
committee. 

St.  Stephen's  Church  Schoolrooms,  Sulby,  near 
Eamsey,  Isle  of  Man,  were  reoiitned  on  Friday 
week,  after  rebuilding.  Mr.  Thomas  Walker  was 
the  architect,  and  Mr.  Kelly,  of  Michael,  the  con- 
tractor. 

Lamploag-h's  Pyretic  Saline  isretreshin?, 

most  agrefablp,  and  the  preventive  of  FEVERS,  BILIOUSNESS, 
SMALL  POX,  SKIN  DISEASES,  and  many  other  spring  and 
summer  ailments.    Sold  by  chemists  throughout  the  world,  and 


I  disturbance 
s,  ajid  how  readily 
purifying  and  regu 


Erps's  nocoa  —Grateful  and  Comfort  ins-. 


piopiily  nmnislied  fmiii,^."— Ch  i7  S'<rt  kv  f!iiZ''llt\~-^o\d  only  ill 
Packets  labelled—"  James  Epi-s  and  Co.,  Homoeopathic  Chemist... 
London."— Also  makers  of  Epps's  Chocolate  Essence  for  afteinoon 


DoultiDg  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  application  to 
CHAJILES  TEASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Tlminster,  Somerset. 
—  [Advt.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S.W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters. 

Desig:ns  and  Estimates. 

General   Repairs   and   Alterations   Executed. 

Experienced  "Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country. — [Advt.] 

BOX    GROUND    STONE 

Is  the  Best  for  Use  in  all  Exposed  Positions,  beinfj 
Well-known  and  Tried  Weather  Stone. 


50,000  Feet  Cube    in  Stock. 
PICTOE  &  SONS, 

BOX,  WILTS. 
[Advt.] 

TENDERS. 

•«•  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering—  at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

AsERLEV,  S.E.— For  alterations  and  additions  to 
*'Fern  Villa,"  Anerley-road  (Palace  Brewery),  for 
Messrs.  Edie  Bros.    Mr.  Joseph  S.  Moye,  architect : — 

Saala,  Henry £867    0    0 

Marr,  Robert 7-20    0    0 

Fox,  William 695    0    0 

Hollidge  and  Stuart  (accepted)     ...        687    0    0 

BoGxoR.— For  the  erection  of  four  houses  at  Bognor, 

Sussex,  for  the  Bognor  Hotel  and  Residences  Company, 

Limited.    Mr.   G.  Gard  Pye,  architect,  Colchester,  and 

32,  Bedford-row,  W.C.    Quantities  by  Mr.  C.  Stanger  : — 

French,  C,  Lisson-grove £5,425    0    0 

Nichols,  W.  F.,  Brockley,  S.E.  ...        4,976    0    0 
Lissam.an,  W.,  Leamington        ...        4,813  13    4 

George's  road,  S  E 4,677    0    0 

Longley,  J.,  Worth 4,599    0    0 

Ennor,    Julians,    and     Co.,    St. 

Smith,  A.,  Bognor 4,540    0    0 

Everett  and  Sons,  Colchester     ...        4,400    0    0 

Huey,  G.,  Parkstone  4,376    0    0 

Garrod,  J,  SpitalUelds      4,083    0    0 

Bull,  R,  Chelsea    3,995    0    0 

Cooper,  W.  H.,  Slinden-common        3,559    0    0 

Vaughan,  E.,  Acton 3,438    0    0 

Lacy,  W.  K.,  Westminster  ...        3,300    0    0 

Bray,  Co.  Wicklow. — For  works  of  kerbing,  &c.,  for 
the  town  commissioners.    Mr.  Comber,  engineer  ;  — 

Brady,  Bernard  (accepted) £251    0    0 

Bbav,  Co.  Wicklow. — For  building  a  retaining-wall 
at  the  docks  for  the  town  commissioners.    Mr.  Cumber, 


Di; 


,  G.,  of  Dalkey  (accepted) 


£05    0    0 


Bristol.— For  altering  and  adapting  premises  in  Ru- 
pert-street, Bristol,  for  printing  and  pubUsbing  offices  for 
Messrs.  J.  Wright  and  Co.  Mr.  Herbert  J.  Jones,  archi- 
tect :— 

Saville  (accepted)       £516    0    0 

For  new  concrete  floor  :  — 
Williams  (accepted) £73    0    0 


5S9    0    0 


Bristol.— For  alterations  at  No.  17,  SmiU- street, 
Bristol,  for  Messrs.  K.  B  Javeiy  and  Co.  Mr.  Herbert 
J.Jones,  architect:  — 

Saville      :      £134    o    0 

Johnson 390    0    0 

Krauss  (accepted.)      330    0    0 

Bristol.- For  alterations  at  No.  12,  Bridge-street, 
Bristol,  for  Messrs.  Wm.  Summers  and  Co.  Sir.  Herbert 
J.  Jones,  architect : — 

Estabrook  and  Sons  £910    0    0 

Humphreys      883    0    0 

Passeo     804    0    0 

Cowlin  and  Son  779    0    0 

Beaven 740    0    0 

Krauss  (accepted)       720    0    0 

Bristol.— For  restorations  at  Roseville,  Sydenham- 
hUl,  Bristol,  for  Eustace  Bulton,  Esq.  Mr.  Herbert  J. 
Jones,  architect : — 

Johnson  (accepted) £110    0    0 

Deptford.— For  building  22  and  23,  Evelyn-street,  with 
shop,  bakehouse,  stabling,  &c.,  tor  Mr.  J.  J.  Pitt.  Mr. 
Henry  Roberts,  architect  and  surveyor,  3,  Sandfleld- 
ten-ace,  Lewisham-road,  S.E.  :  — 

Mr.  F.  Glock,  Deptford  (accepted) . 
Edgware.— For  erection  of  lodge,  stables,  and  cow- 
house buildings,   Edgware.    Mr.  James  George  Buckle, 
architect.    Quantities  by  Mr.  Charles  L.  Cadney  :— 

French,  Charles         £2,295    0    0 

Harries,  James 2,195    0    0 

Childs,  C.  J 2,169    0    0 

Sawyer,  J.  W 2,136    0    0 

Donne,  J.  P 2,125    0    0 

Holloway,  James     2,050    0    0 

Parker,  George         2,000    0    0 

Hussey,  Wilham     1,956    0    0 

Awgood,  James        1,890    0    0 

Evans,  R.  and  E 1,890    0    0 

Beale,  W.  J.,  Battersea  (accepted)        1,650    0    0 
Greenwich. — For  bringing  out  seven  shops,  Mount- 
pleasant,  Lewisham-road,   for   Mr.    Luck.    Mr.  Henry 
Roberts,  architect   and    surveyor,  3,  Sandfield-terrace, 
Lewisham-road,  S.E. :  — 

Mr.  H.  F.  Todd,  Greenwich  (accepted). 
Guildford.- For  making-up  Dapdtme-road  and  Mar- 
kenfleld-road,  for  the    Guildford    Town    Coimcil.    Mr. 
Henry  Peak,  borough  surveyor  ;  — 

Swayne,  T £256    0    0 

Patrick,  W.      ..         230    0    0 

Burdett  and  Son  (accepted!  ...        225  10    6 

Hastings. — For  painting  and  plumbing  works  at  the 
borough  cemetery  chapels,  for  the  town  council  :  — 
Hide,  C.  S.,  Old  London-road  (accepted)     £54  10    0 

[Lowest  of  six  tenders  received.] 
Hastings.— For  the  supply  of  about  1,500  yards    of 
fencing  at  the  Park,  for  the  town  council : — 
Main  and  Co.,  of  London  (accepted)  10s.  3d.  per  yard. 

Inverness.— For  the  erection  of  an  iron  foot-bridge 
across  the  Ness,  midway  between  the  present  suspension 
bridge  and  the  old  wooden  bridge  ; — 

Northern  Foundry  Co.   (accepted)      £1,950    0    0 

Lambeth,  S.E. —For  the    enlargement    of  the  South 

Lambeth-road    School    by    400  places,  for  the  lyondon 

School  Board.  Mr.  E.  R.  Robson,  F.S.A.,  architect  to  the 

Board : — 

Dows,  W.,      £4,329    0    0 

Kirk  and  Randall 4,276    0    0 

Braid  and  Co 4,203    0    0 

Thompson,J.  4,171    0    0 

Shepherd,  W 4  096    0    0 

Nightingale,  B.E., 4^073    0    0 

Chapped,  J.  T 4,059    0    0 

Tyerman.J.  4,042    0    0 

Higgs  and  Hill         4,018    0    0 

Grover,  J 3,994    0    0 

Jerrard,  S.  J.,  of  Loampit  Vale, 

Lewisham*  3.824    0    0 

*  Recommended  for  adoption. 
This  school  was  not  planned  for  extension,  and  the 
tender  includes  the  cost  of  rebuilding  the  w.c.'s  for  the 
entire  school,  necessary  to  make  room  for  the  enlarge- 
ment. Cost  of  [a]  School  buildings  only,  £3,01J5  ;  llA 
Tar  pavement,  playground  and  drains,  £189  ;  (c) 
Teacher's  room,  £I0O.  For  special  expenses  :— («?)  Special 
works  to  present  school,  £93  ;  and  (p)  Rebuilding  w.c.'s 
for  entire  school,  £377  :  total,  £3,824.  Cost  per  head  of 
(.7)  and  (i) ,  £8  2s.  8d.  ;  total  cost  per  head,  £9  lis.  2d. 


NOTICE  OF  REl«iOVAL  TO  51,  CLERKENWELL  ROAD,  E.G. 


g^ 


ifi 


M 


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and  One-inch 

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•      ,,        .,  5d.  ,,  ,,  lin.      ,, 


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si 


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(Opposite  the  Italian  Church',  Hattou  Garden).  i''S?,*"*!!?^^^*^||^^^^'~^^'tS^^I"""^^!^S'£! 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


433 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


LOXDOX,  FEIDAT,   OCTOBER  15,  1880. 


THE  PRICE  OF  AECHITECTUEE. 
I.— In  Time. 

A  MULTITUDE  of  reasons  havo  been 
given  by  different  A\Titers  to  explain 
why  modem  architecture  does  not  improve 
more  rapidly.  One  critic  thinks  the  evil  lies 
in  not  copying  ancient  work  closely  enough : 
another  feels  sure  it  would  cease  if  wo  cut 
ourselves  adrift  from  ancient  work  alto- 
gether ;  while  a  third  goes  a  step  further, 
and  has  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  archi- 
tectui'e  would  grow  up  of  itself,  if  he  could 
only  get  rid  of  all  architects.  A  writer  on 
this  subject  is  nothing  if  not  paradoxical ; 
and  speculations  which,  if  they  belonged  to 
science,  wovdd  be  scouted  as  absurd  on  the 
face  of  them,  find  a  place  in  respectable 
periodicals  when  they  only  deal  with  art. 
This  fact  at  once  shows  how  little  the  arts, 
including  architecture  as  the  chief  of  them, 
are  really  understood  or  cared  for  by  the 
public  at  large.  And  here  we  como  upon  a 
main  reason  why  they  do  not  flourish  more. 
As  regards  architecture  in  particular,  the 
public  do  not^and,  generally  speaking, 
probably  will  not — pay  the  necessary  price 
for  it :  either  the  price  in  time  or  the  price 
in  money.  We  need  look  no  further  to 
ascertain  why  its  progress  is  comparatively 
slow. 

To  know  what  is  the  price  of  real  archi- 
tecture in  time,  we  have  only  to  remember 
the  time  occupied  in  building  our  ancient 
churches  and  monasteries— those  portions  of 
them,  namely,  which  were  built  consecu- 
tively, and  without  any  abrupt  break  in 
style.  It  would  hardly  be  an  exaggeration 
to  say  that  works  of  this  class  then  took  as 
many  years  as  they  now  take  months.  Even 
when  building  went  on  continuously,  it  is 
the  commonest  thing  in  the  world  to  find 
that  some  such  structure  as  a  cathedral 
choir  was  ten,  twenty,  or  even  thirty  years 
in  hand ;  it  is  quite  the  exception,  indeed, 
to  learn  that  the  building  went  on  faster. 
At  th's  rate,  there  was  ample  opportunity  to 
consider  every  det.ail.  Features  inherited 
from  the  past  coidd  bo  thought  over  and 
cautiously  improved,  while  new  forms  could 
be  modelled,  experimented  on,  and  subjected 
to  the  general  criticism,  before  they  were 
permanently  embodied  in  stone.  The  suc- 
cesses of  architecture  in  its  golden  age  were 
the  result  of  no  magic  :  they  were  the 
natural  reward  of  cultivating  art  under  the 
right  conditions,  and  if  we  could  only 
secure  the  right  conditions  again,  we 
might  succeed  as  weU.  First  of  all, 
architectural  artists  were  united.  Instead 
of  illustrating,  as  our  profession  in  modem 
times  illustrates  so  ably,  the  worse  side  of 
the  fable  about  the  bundle  of  sticks,  they 
held  to  one  another  and  to  their  art 
through  every  difficulty,  and  thus,  instead  of 
having  conditions  dictated  to  them,  they 
themselves  dictated  the  conditions  on  which 
alone  they  had  foimd  that  architecture  could 
be  successfully  practised.  Among  the  first 
of  these  conditions  was  evidently  time,  so 
that  a  hurried  building  seems  to  have  been  a 
thing  almost  unknown  in  the  better  part  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  And  yet,  if  time  was  the 
most  pressing  of  all  wants  then,  it  is  a  still 
more  pressing  want  now.  In  the  Middle 
Ages,  buOdings  were  of  few  kinds  :  each 
kind  followed,  in  the  main,  a  well-known 
type,  and  in  planning  and  composition,  as 
distinguished     from     det:iU,     the    artist's 


chief  business  was  to  refine  this  Ivpc  un.l   iicarly  fvm- ar.l,if.-.-»  w!. 

bring  it  nearer  aud  nearer  to  pcrficticm.   hiw  I  ' 

Now,  on  the  contrarj-,  our  buildings  arc  of   sipriii, 

kinds   almost    innumerable.     For    most   of   The  i 

them   there   is   no   established  type,   or,   if   the  1 

there  is,  it  is  too  often  a  type  which  needs   tcctu. 

to   be   disestablished,   and   the   soontr   the'tinii   : 

better.     The  architect   must   begin   at   th. 

beginning,  and  think  out  the  very  elemein 

of   each   probleui  for  himself,     lie  has   H' 

guide,  except  the  failures  of  his  contcmpo 

raries;  no  chance  of  making  experinii  uts  u 

he  goes  on,  for  he  is  compelled  to  predict  1 

beforehand  all  that  ho  means  to  do,  in  order    ■ 

to  get  it  contracted  for  at  a  lumj)  sum  ;  and,    soni-    •■ 

worst  of  all,   he  has  no  time  either  to  think   of   l.i:   ; 

or  experiment  in.     His  first  ideas  havo  to  be   over  U,v  y. m,  v, . 

his  last ;  and  he  is  bound  down  by  custom,    applying  it.     IJut 

by  his  clients,  and  by  all  the  conditions  of   ' 

modern  life,  to  build   in  haste  and  repent  at 

leisure. 

To  those  who  know,  as  every  practical 
architect  does  know,  the  truth  of  this  de- 
scription, it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  our 
secular  buildings  do  not  show  a  higher  class 
of  design.  Here,  where  there  is  most  need 
of  original  study,  all  things  conspire  to 
make  that  study  impracticable.  In  places  of 
business,  delay  means  loss  of  money ;  and 
everything  that  hinders  bricks  from  being 
laid  and  stones  from  being  set  as  fast  as 
hands  can  move  them,  is  called  delay.  To 
put  up  something  ,is  showy  as  possible,  as 
quickly  as  may  be,  is  usually  the  client's  all- 
absorbing  passion  ;  and  woo  to  the  architect 

who  stands  in  its  way.     Here  is  one  ])lttin 
reason  for  the  ugliness  and  vulgarity  of  our 

streets  :    not,  indeed,   a  full   excuse,  but  a 

tolerable  explanation  of  it ;    and   there  is 

something  ludicrous  in   observing  one   in- 
fallible adviser  after  another,  as  be  misses 

this  most  palpable  evil,  close  under  his  eyes, 

and  searches  miles  away  for  some  preriously 

unheard-of  cause  why  architecture  does  not 

flourish.     The  real  causes  are  too  obvious, 

too  simple,  too  clear,  to  make  a  sensational 

article   about;    and   it    is   the   unfortunate 

habit  of  writers  on  this  subject  to  care  far 

more   about  being  sensational  than  about 

being  trustworthy.     Pugin  set  the  bad  ex- 
ample   of     criticising    architecture,     so    to 

speak,  in  a  scream ;  Mr.  Euskin,  with  a  far 

more    tuneful    and    more    powerful  voice, 

followed  at  the  same  unnatural  pitch  ;  and 

since   then,    every  writer,    from   the   most 

accomplished  historian  of  art  down  to  the 

smallest  Eight  Honourable  lecturer,   feels 

bound  to  give  us  his   opinions  in  falsetti: 

To  anyone  who  is  bent  on  thus  acting  the 

Hero  as  art-critic,  on  o'erdoing  Termagant, 

and  out-heroding  Herod,   it  must  be  dis- 
tasteful  enough   to   trace   effects    to    their 

real     origin.      To     show     that     one     main    ..^...~ 

reason  for  the  difference  between  ancient  and   artistic  cl  i 

modem  architecture  lies  in  the  undeniable   effect  of 

fact  that  the  ancient  architects  had  ten  times 

as  long  to  study  their  work  in  as  the  modern 

ones,  and  twenty  times  as  many  opportuni- 
ties of  experimenting  on  and  perfecting  it 

before  it   was   finally  fixed,   would  bo   to 

throw  away  a  multitude  of  excuses  for  vir- 
tuous indignation   and  a   thousand  chances 

of  displaying  the  writer's  rhetoric  at  the 

cost  of  his  veracity.    A  journal  like  thi.'S, 

however,  has  to   do  far  less  with  rhetoric 

than  facts.     To  its  readers,  architecture  is  a 

subject  for  serious  study,  not  a  mere  theme 

for  an  exercise  in  eloquence.     If  the  causes 

which  hinder  the  revival  of  their  art  can 

be    found    and    even    partially    reme-liiHl, 

they  will  feel  a  deeper  interest  in  the  mattor, 

we  may  assume,  than  in  the  most  forcible 

vituperation  of  cither  individuals  or  cla.^-"' 

and  hence,  though  the  statement  maj-  s"'; 

tame  enough   after  the  screaming  critu  i 

to  which  we  are  now  accustomed,  we  v.: 

ture  to  assert  that  one   great   cause  of   • 

inferiority  of  modem  to  ancient  art  is  w 

of  time. 

In  the  golden   age  of  art,  competiti 

wore  almost,  if  not  quite,  unknown.     > 


•  hi 

tinr- 


it  can  rarely  I   i:,i 

once  an  1  !■ . 

Ciwe  that  1. 

adapting, 

in— even  n 

idea,  than 

Moreover, 

commodat 

than  a  gen 

boforehan^l       .i.. 

himself  very  f.rtiu 

so  much  ai  u  gi'ii- 

composition  t   r  a  r.iu.u 

not  siw'C'ally  irejianxl. 

detail   bef  >r'Lanil,    i'    i 

qucstioB ;  and  it  i-   '  ' 

far  the  gri.;it<.r  j  . 

tect's  till!"       II 

still  furth 

of  the  Ml 

far  suppr 

whether  a: 

to   the  a\] 

"  Spain,' 

si>on8ible 

building* 

is  this  will 

the  endless   v.ui 

church.  Ilu»,  the  w 

a  multitud-   of   ; 

left  to  subijrdino* 

design  them,  unl' 

general   forms,    t 

trolled  them,  an'!  ■ 

should  all    t'lid    ■ 

frustrate,  h'.'  •■  ' 

trary,  th>' 

Xotadet  , 

be  left  to  am   -- 

whose  work  is  1im 

fore  least  fit   '^  ' 

man  who  •  > 

he  can  d.  > 

tory.    H' 

workmen . 


London  v 
years  Bgii 
to  their  1 
that  then 
apart  froi 
fact,  thn' 
was  orcli. 
other   :ir  ' 


••y 
lb* 


nrkinK  out 


.-H   i«i»  lit* 
.«  erf 


SOM'i' 


434 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


into  architecture  by  turning  carvers  loose  on 
it.  The  carvers  carved  it  at  their  own  sweet 
will ;  they  brought  their  stock  patterns  from 
Notre  Dame.  Paris,  from  Chartres,  from 
Wells,  from  Salisbury,  and  stuck  them  by 
the  mile  over  City  shop-fronts  and  ware- 
houses. Now  and  then  they  went  to  Nature, 
and  repeated  it  without  the  life  ;  a  feat 
much  glorified  when  the  Oxford  Museum 
was  buUt.  And  the  result  of  the  whole  is 
that  the  street-buildings  on  which  the  pro- 
cess was  tried  arc  abuut  the  most  sickening 
to  contemplate  of  any  which  the  world  has 
seen.  The  architect,  as  we  have  said, 
effaced  himself,  and  this  was  bad  enough  : 
but  the  carver  exhibited  himself,  free  and 
uncontrolled,  and  this  was  worse  :  and  when 
the  exhibition  shall  at  length  terminate,  as 
it  seems  now  to  be  on  the  point  of  doing, 
we  devoutly  hope  it  may  never  take  place 
again. 

In  this  matter  of  time,  therefore,  the  dif- 
ference between  the  ages  when  architecture 
flourished  and  the  xjresent  age  seems  to  be 
as  follows.  Then  it  took  twenty  or  thirty 
years  to  build  part  of  a  church  ;  now  it  takes 
two  or  three  years  to  build  a  whole  one. 
Then  the  architect  only  had  to  invent  the 
general  scheme  and  composition  ;  now  he  has 
to  make  drawings  for  every  detail  down  to 
the  smallest.  Then  he  only  had  to  deal  with 
some  half-dozen  species  of  buildings,  every 
species  of  which  had  a  customary  form,  found 
by  experience  to  be  good  in  the  main,  and 
only  needing  to  be  further  refined,  improved 
on,  and  adapted  to  the  special  features  of  the 
case  ;  now  he  has  to  deal  with  countless 
species  of  buildings,  many  of  them  never 
dealt  with  by  anyone  before  him.  Then  all 
his  time  could  be  given  to  the  building  he 
was  actually  at  work  on,  and  engaged  in 
superintending ;  now  a  great  part  of  his  time 
has  to  be  spent  in  competing  for  buildings 
which  he  will  never  have  anything  to  do 
with.  As  the  sum  of  it  all,  he  needs,  if  his 
buildings  are  to  bear  comparison  with  ancient 
ones,  to  give  as  muchthought  to  the  perfect- 
ing of  each  new  species  which  he  deals  with 
as  generations  of  men,  one  after  the  other, 
had  given  to  the  perfecting  of  the  Mediteval 
type  of  church  or  hall  ;  and  in  addition  to 
this  he  needs  afterwards  to  give  all  the  fur- 
ther thought  which  all  the  subordinate 
artists  employed  on  each  ancient  budding 
gave  to  it.  The  task  set  him  is  to  do  the 
thinking  of  twenty  generations,  and  of  fifty 
men,  at  least,  in  each  generation,  and  the 
time  allowed  him  to  do  it  in  is,  perhaps  the 
tenth  part  of  what  was  allowed  to  each  one 
of  these  men  over  .a  similar  building.  How 
strange  that  modern  architects  do  not 
always  do  something  fresh  !  How  singular 
that  they  do  not  strike  at  new  styles,  and 
display  invention  and  originality  at  every 
turn  !  How  shameful  that  they  should  ever 
employ  assistants,  even  assistants  as  well 
qualified  as  themselves  ;  when  all  that  is  ex- 
pected of  them  is  to  do,  each  one,  the  work 
of  a  thirtet  nth-century  architect  and  aU  his 
subordinates ;  to  strike  out  at  once,  by  in- 
spiration, ideas  as  good  as  those  which  the 
thirteenth-century  architect  and  his  pre- 
decessors evolved  by  the  slow  labour'  of  cen- 
turies :  to  get  their  works  designed  and 
biult  in  about  as  many  months  as  the  said 
architect  took  years,  and  concurrently  with 
each  work  in  hand,  to  make  drawings  for  a 
good  many  works  which  they  never  will 
have  in  hand,  with  the  penalty,  in  ease  of 
failure,  of  getting  no  more  work  to  do.  Or 
is  not  the  shame  rather  on  the  other  side — 
and  should  it  not  fall  on  those  who,  know- 
ing better,  seek  to  persuade  the  public  that 
they  can  have  architecture  without  paying 
its  price  ;  who,  conscious  of  being  unequal  to 
the  gigantic  difficulties  of  the  modern 
architect,  do  not  try  to  help  in  his  work  ; 
but  whose  sole  idea  of  the  noble,  the  wise, 
and  the  heroic,  is  to  stand  by,  abusing  and 
maligning  all  who  bear  the  burden  and  heat 
of  the  day  ? 


THE      LITEEPOOL      CONSERVATIVE 
CLUB  COMPETITION. 

IIVERPOOL  has,  within  the  last  three  or 
-i  four  years,  given  its  attention  to 
clubs.  The  movement  was  started  by  the 
inauguration  and  erection  of  the  Reform 
Club  in  Dale-street.  The  Conservatives  took 
the  hint  from  their  riv.als,  and  are  acting 
upon  it,  with  the  result  which  we  now 
chronicle.  As  stated  in  our  last  issue  con- 
cerning this  competition,  27  architects 
sent  in  plans,  amounting  in  all  to  upwards 
of  three  hundred  drawings.  The  conditions 
state  the  competition  to  be  limited  to  archi- 
tects professing  Conservative  politics,  and 
having  an  office  in  Liverpool.  The  site 
fronts  Dale-street,  and  is  nearly  100ft. 
square,  three  sides  facing  streets,  the  fourth 
or  south-east  side  abutting  against  neigh- 
bouring buildings,  consequently  without 
light.  Views  and  plans  are  all  to  one-eighth 
scale,  and  a  fixed  point  is  given  from  which 
to  take  perspective.  Roughly,  the  accommo- 
dation requh'ed  was — in  basement :  offices  let 
to  Constitutional  associations  and  club 
cellars;  ground-floor,  reception-room,  morn- 
ing-room, and  libr.ary,  and  a  note  is  made 
for  more  than  ordinary  provisions  for 
lavatories,  &c.  The  first  floor  to  comprise 
coffee-room,  smoking-room,  stranger  dining- 
room,  luncheon-room,  and  private  dining- 
room.  The  second  floor  comprises  billiard- 
rooms,  and  the  upper  part  of  building 
kitchens,  larders,  &c.  An  external  building 
for  addressing  meetings  was  also  suggested. 
The  drawings  are  well  exhibited  in  the 
Stock  Exchange  buildings.  The  list  of 
competing  architects  is  as  follows: — • 


Aliiiidge  and  Deacon. 
Banner,  E.  H. 
Ban-j-,  T.  D,  and  Son. 
Bi-adbury.  G. 
Bromilow  and  Clievea. 
Clarke,  Jno. 
Culshaw,  Alfred . 
Can-oil,  G.  E. 
Dovbry,  James. 
Ellison,  C.  O.  (Colonel.) 
Fry,  H.  and  A.  P. 
Gruvson,  G.  E. 
Gregory,  V.,  &  J.  N.  Crofts. 
Hartley,  Hy. 


Holme,  Messrs.  F.  and  G. 
Hoult  and  Wier. 
Hornblower,  F.,  and  Sons. 
Hesketh,  W. 
Mercer,  T. 
O'Byrne,  J. 
Reeve,  J.  E. 
Shelmerdine,      Messi-s.    E. 

andH. 
Smith,  Messrs.  A.  &  A.  W. 
Sykea,  R.  O. 
Slierlock,  G. 
Tliomas,  W.  W. 
Walker,  David. 


The  design  to  which  the  first  premium  of 
£100  has  been  awarded,  that  by  F.  and  G. 
Holme,  certainly  desei-vcs  its  pre-eminence. 
The  arrangement  of  putting  the  entrance  at 
the  side  of  the  front  elevation  affords  excellent 
play  to  the  disposition  of  the  frontages.  A 
large  entrance-hall  leads  ,it  once  into  recej^- 
tion  or  cloak-rooms,  and  to  the  central 
staircase  hall.  The  service  entrance  on  this 
floor  is  also  good.  On  the  fii'st-floor,  an  |_- 
shaped  coffee-room,  Ooft.  long,  runs  along 
one  side  of  the  building,  the  short  side  of 
the  L  being  the  stranger's  luncheon-room. 
Fault  must  be  found  with  the  service-room, 
which  is  too  small,  and  should  include  the 
plate-room.  The  basement  in  part  is  dark  ; 
note  the  stairs  from  it  to  the  club.  Leaving 
the  basement  for  the  street,  we  find  ourselves 
next  to  the  club  grand  entrance.  In  election 
times,  the  nuisance  of  a  crowd  of  messengers 
by  a  club-entrance  woidd  be  intolerable. 
The  style  of  architecture  is  Italian,  with 
Pavdion  roofs.  The  balcony  angle  with 
more  study  would  make  a  gracefid  composi- 
tion ;  less  heavy  chimneys  might  prove 
adviintagoous.  There  are  710,000  cubic  feet 
in  this  design,  and  the  author's  estimate  of 
cost  was  -128,100. 

Second  prize  (£75)  C.  O.  EUison,  exhibits 
careful  study  in  arrangement,  and  excels  in 
all  what  may  be  called  the  machine: y  of  the 
club,  such  as  rooms  for  outside  waiters,  good 
service  rooms,  having  the  various  dining- 
rooms  well  in  reach.  The  general  grouping 
of  the  large  rooms  is  satisfactory  ;  but  it  is 
somewhat  surprising  to  find  dressing-rooms 
with  borrowed  lights,  w.c,  and  larder  in 
the  centre  of  the  building,  and  scullery  only 
18f  t.  Gin.  by  14ft.Gin.;thislatter  may  have  been 
crushed  into  small  dimensions  by  a  desire  to 
bring  down  the  kitchen  accommodation  from 
the  third  to  the  second  floor.     In  the  per- 


spective view,  the  design  is  dwarfed  by  the 
prominence  given  to  neighbouring  buildings. 
It  is  difficult  to  give  a  name  to  tbe  style  of 
this  design — perhaps  Queen  Anne  might 
serve  ;  still,  with  the  attempt  to  group  with 
more  jjurity  of  style,  an  effective  elevation 
might  have  been  the  result.  Compared  with 
most  of  the  others,  this  design,  like  the  first 
prize,  has  low  rooms,  that  is,  the  coffee- 
room,  78ft.  by  ooft.,  measures  some  17ft. 
from  floor  to  floor.  Small  cubical  area  is 
the  result,  viz.,  645,000  cubic  feet,  and  cost 
£2G,S75. 

The  third  prize  (£50),  G.  Bradbury,  com. 
prises  two  sets  of  plans,  Nos.  1  and  2,  the 
latter  with  alternative  elevation.  No.  1  in 
a  well-tinted  view  shows  the  best  elevation, 
and  the  style  remindsoneof  thoSt.  Stephen's 
Club,  AVestminster.  No.  2  plan  is  the  better 
in  arrangement ;  ground-floor  lavatories  too 
far  back  from  front,  library  in  the  noisy 
street.  A  fine  coffee-room  stretches  the 
length  of  the  principal  street  on  the  first 
floor,  and  with  the  smaller  dining  rooms  is 
grouped  well  with  the  serving  room.  The 
etching  of  the  two  perspectives  of  this  design 
is  very  good,  and  displays  the  building  in 
Italian  style.  The  cubical  contents  of  this 
design  are  776,502ft.,  and  the  cost  £32,354. 

G.  E.  Graj-son  follows  close  to  the  prizes, 
bringing  to  his  aid  his  experience  from  the 
City  Liberal  Club  in  making  his  well-con- 
sidered plans.  'Ihe  priucij^al  or  coffee-room 
floor  develops  well,  service  being  ample  and 
well  situated.  Elevations  quiet  (rather 
effeminate)  Parisian  Italian ;  illustrated  by 
a  well-etched  perspective.  One  of  the  best 
got-up  set  of  plans  belong  to  J.  Doyley, 
position  of  entrance  resembling  that  of  first 
prize,  the  general  allotment  of  main  rooms 
good,  but  service  bad.  Italian  elevation 
well  carried  out  in  side  streets.  View  shown 
by  a  fair-etched  drawing. 

Alfred  Culshaw  gives  a  contrast  in  dismal 
inartistic  drawings  (but  club-like  withal), 
and  containing  less  cubical  contents  than 
any  other  of  the  plans.  And  J.  O'Byrne, 
■with  cubic  economy,  reports  the  lowest 
expeneliture  of  any.  Nearly  the  -whole  of 
the  remaining  designs  have  been  too  liberal 
for  the  committee's  requirements  in  the  size 
and  number  of  their  rooms  ;  some,  including 
basement,  reaching  six  stories  high  in  eleva- 
tion. C.  Sherlock  spoils  a  well-balanced 
Classical  design  by  a  badly-arrarged  plan, 
placing  coffee-room  89ft.  6in.  by  31ft.  6in. 
at  the  back,  lighted  only  at  the  ends  by 
side  streets.  WiUiam  Hesketh,  in  excellent 
drawings,  produces  the  most  stately  arrange- 
ment of  hall  and  staircase  in  the  competi- 
tion, but  thereby  loses  in  economy  of  space. 
A  good  perspective  displays  a  Classical 
design. 

H.  and  A.  P.  Fry  send  good  drawings ; 
the  principal  entrance  is  too  naiTOw,  and 
lavatories  inconveniently  placed.  The  coffee- 
room  arrangement  appears  simdar  to  Con- 
servative Club  in  Manchester.  Perspective 
art  islically. coloured. 

Aldridge  and  Deacon,  like  the  preceding, 
suffer  Tjy  not  giving  sufficient  importance  to 
the  entrance.  The  elevati in  is  bold,  the 
balcony  window  badly  managed,  but  the 
whole  is  made  to  look  well  by  a  broadly- 
etched  perspective. 

Hornblower  and  Son  give  much  labour  to 
their  plans,  and  D.  WaUcer  sends  good 
drawings,  but  faulty  as  to  light  in  centre  of 
building  and  service. 

There  is  a  billiard-room  with  two  tables, 
only  6ft.  apart.  AVithout  making  further 
selection  ot  names,  may  call  attention  to 
several  of  the  remaining  designs,  as  being 
distinguished  by  more  than  ordinary  neat- 
ness and  care  in  their  execution.  In  con- 
clusion, although  some  well-known  locil 
names  do  not  enter  the  list,  the  exhi- 
bition is  creditable  to  the  architects 
of  Liverpool.  The  points  where  most 
of  the  competitors  have  erred  are  the 
following  ; — 1st.   Much    valuable    ground- 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


435 


space  has  been  lost  by  making  too  largo  a 
reception-room  ;  perhajjs  tbe  conditions 
migbt  have  been  more  explicit  had  it  been 
called  waiting-room.  2nd.  Sufficient  atten- 
tion has  not  been  given  to  the  dignity  of  the 
entrance-hall.  3rd.  The  requirements  and 
necessities  of  the  service,  in  connection  with 
the  dining-rooms,  and  also  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  kitchens,  &c.,  as  to  size,  have 
been  generally  neglected.  Again,  the  ma- 
jority have  fixed  upon  about  21ft.  for  the 
principal  rooms  from  floor  to  floor,  whereas 
the  winning  plans  have  adopted  about  ITft. 
for  the  same  rooms  from  floor  to  floor,  thus 
gaining  a  material  advantage  in  cubing  up 
the  cost.  WhUst  mentioning  this,  we  should 
advise  a  reconsideration  of  Mi-.  Holmes' 
heights,  for  the  sake  of  dignity,  of  his  bed- 
rooms. Excejjting  two  inferior  Gothic  eleva- 
tions, those  exhibited  affect  either  a  Renais- 
sance or  Italian  treatment  of  style,  in  order 
to  harmonise  with  the  adjoining  municipal 
buildings ;  and  with  the  exception  of  one  or 
two,  as  already  pointed  out,  the  elevations 
are  not  above  an  average  character  in 
design.  The  prizes  were  awarded  by  Mr. 
Waterhouse,  the  assessor,  and  the  com- 
mittee have  coincided  with  his  decision, 
which  has  given  general  satisfaction. 


THE  TUEXEES'  EXHIBITIOX. 

LAST  Tuesday,  the  tenth  annual  exhibi- 
tion of  the  Worshipful  Company  of 
Turners  was  opened  at  the  Mansion  House, 
and  the  display  of  specimens  was  quite  equal 
to  that  of  former  years.  The  exhibition 
includes  three  sections  of  work,  namely, 
handtuming  in  wood,  in  ivory,  and  precious 
stones,  including  engraving  in  intaglio.  In 
the  specimens  of  turning  in  wood,  both 
hard  and  soft  wood,  we  find  many  of  the  ex- 
hibits show  capacity  for  the  higher  qualities 
of  design.  In  awarding  the  prizes,  the 
judges  have  taken  into  account  various 
qualities,  such  as  beauty  of  design,  sym- 
metry of  shape,  fitness  for  intended  purpose, 
ability  to  turn  circular  or  oval  in  both 
classes  of  wood,  novelty  and  general  excel- 
lence in  workmanship  and  finish  ;  but  though 
these  qualities  were  categorically  stated,  the 
competitor  was  left  to  make  his  own  selec- 
tion. The  names  of  the  judges  in  wood- 
turning  are  Mr.  J.  J.  Holtzapftel,  A.I.C.E. ; 
Mr.  C.  H.  Gregorv,  C.M.G.,  past-president 
Inst.  C.E.  ;  Mr.  H.  Law,  and  Mr.  E.  E. 
Eobson. 

Making  our  own  observations  on  the 
merits  of  the  specimens,  we  think  the 
judges  have  judiciously  bestowed  the 
two  chief  prizes,  though  in  the  numbering 
of  the  others  we  take  exceptions  to  the 
ordr.  To  begin  with  the  first  prize— the 
Silver  Medal  and  Freedom  of  the  Company 
and  City — the  -svinner,  F.  Nickolay,  -i'i, 
Eupert-street,  Haymarket,  has  produced  a 
pair  of  imique  vases  in  ebony,  relieved  by 
ivory  and  a  bright  yellow- coloured  wood. 
The  design  consists  of  a  tall  oviform  body, 
■with  fine  base  and  neck ;  the  handle  and 
mouth  are  extremely  elegant  in  outline,  and 
forsymmetry  and  excellence  of  workmanship 
the  work  is  not  to  be  surpassed.  The  second 
prize  (a  bronze  medal,  and  HoltzapfFel's 
volumes  of  "  Turning  and  Mechanical 
Manipulation  ■■)  has  been  given  to  John  S. 
Coulson,  of  Thiisk,  for  a  pair  of  vases  and 
card-dish.  The  vases  are  of  good  outline, 
and  are  turned  in  acacia,  a  rich  yellow- 
grained  wood,  in  which  are  inlays  of  purple 
woid  in  the  form  of  oval  medallions  in  the 
body  of  the  vase.  Eound  the  base,  a  ring 
of  the  same  dark  wo-id  is  inserted,  with 
small  dots  between  the  lines  of  inlay.  These 
inlays  are  in  good  taste,  and  are  all  hind- 
tumed  by  the  iathe  ;  the  oviform  medallions 
admirably  fill  up  the  body  of  vase,  and  the 
margin  of  circles  and  dots  are  rich  and 
effective  as  a  decoration.  In  point  of  design, 
these    vases   equal    the    first.      The    third 


prize  goes  to  Thos.  Macdoiiuld,  of 
Millwall,  for  a  pair  of  carved  vases 
in  ebony,  walnut,  and  white  wood. 
The  shape  of  these  is  hcnvj- ;  the  body  of 
vase  is  set  too  close  to  the  base.  The  winner 
of  the  fourth  prize  certificate  has  produced  a 
far  more  creditable  design  in  the  shajK!  of  an 
ebony  urn,  a  chastely  outlined  form,  of 
Etruscan  type ;  the  artist  is  Ansel  Loo,  of 
Canonbury.  It  forms  an  elongated-shaped 
vessel,  a  pointed  ovalini)lun,  with  well -shaped 
handles,  and  the  whole  is  turned.  Mr.  E. 
Freeman,  Marylebone,  wins  nnotlier  jirize 
for  a  pair  of  ebony  vases,  relieved  by  light,  r 
wood.  The  oak  tray  is  a  clever  specimen  of 
hand-turning  and  design  ;  the  tray  is  about 
18in.  diameter,  and  is  turned  in  segments 
put  together ;  the  rim  thus  formed  is  pierced 
by  trefoils  in  cii-cular  discs,  and  a  painted 
china  bowl  forms  tlie  centre  dish. 

We  notice  on  the  tables  several  other 
specimens  of  wood-turning  of  extreme  accu- 
racy, many  of  novel  design.  The  tazza  and 
cups  signed  "  H.  T.,"  with  branches  in  white 
wood  ;  the  tobactco-stand  by  W.  Arnold,  of 
Coventry,  in  white  and  black  woods ;  and 
the  centre  flon-er-stand  and  two  vases  in 
white  deal,  inlaid  with  rose-wood,  are  highly 
creditable  to  their  makers.  The  work  of  W. 
Gleeson,  of  Cardiff,  who  gets  the  !*th  prize, 
is  deserving  of  a  higher  reward.  His  clever 
mahogany  turned  candlesticks  claim  atten- 
tion for  ingenuity  of  handling  and  design, 
and  show  what  a  clever  artist  can  do  by 
eccentric  turning  to  produce  variety.  The 
candlesticks  in  one  case  have  square  stems, 
each  side  of  which  is  enriched  by  cutting 
away  portions  with  the  lathe,  every  part  being 
produced  by  shifting  the  object.  The 
eccentric  patterns  produced  in  this  way  are 
marvellous,  and,  as  an  example  of  dexterous 
manipulation,  it  shows  to  what  a  variety  of 
purposes  the  lathe  can  be  put.  Another 
pair  is  even  still  more  novel  and  artisti'; : 
the  foot  of  candlestick  is  circular,  but  the 
upper  jjart  is  enriched  by  a  series  of  cuttings 
or  half -circles  ;  the  stem  was  also  adorned  by 
eccentric  cuttings.  The  boxwood  and  ma- 
hogany vases  are  good  specimens,  but  not 
so  striking  as  specimens  of  exact  copying ; 
yet  all  the  works  are  highly  creditable. 

Passing  to  the  ivory  hand-turning,  we 
observe  a  few  wonderfully  clever  feats  of 
workmanship,  but  iu  whichmechanical  mani- 
pulation is  the  uppermost  merit.  Exceed- 
ingly expert,  for  instance,  must  have  been  the 
manipulator  of  the  ivory-turned  cups  and 
glasses  in  miniature,  exhibited  in  one  of  the 
side-cases.  So  thin  and  delicately  turned 
are  these  specimens,  that  they  are  alm"st  as 
transparent  as  the  finest  china,  and  we  must 
look  upon  thfm  as  examples  of  what  the 
lathe  can  do  -n-ith  highly  skilled  hands.  We 
look  in  vain  for  any  artistic  work  in  this 
class,  however,  and  the  judges  have  not  foiind 
a  competitor  worthy  even  t )  receive  the  first 
prize.  The  second  prize  has  been  awarded 
to  a  pair  of  ivory  cups,  by  John  Hegley, 
Hoxton  ;  and  the  third  has  been  taken 
by  G.  Freeman.  In  the  wood-turned  speci- 
mens we  notice  a  few  balusters,  by  T. 
McErie,  of  St.  John's  Wood ;  s.me  others 
under  motto,  "  Truth,"  and  a  jewel-casket 
in  oak,  sycamore,  and  rosewood,  by  B. 
Leach,  of  "Leeds,  all  creditable  specimens  of 
theart.  The  taMeof  materials  used  in  turning 
is  an  interesting  and  instructive  addition  to 
the  exhibition  ;  we  here  seeevcrj-  substance, 
vegetable  and  animal,  used  by  the  tumor— 
king's  wooj,  cocoa  wood,  satin  wood,  box, 
rosewood,  ebony,  tortoiseshell,  vegc'able 
ivory — and  these  are  turned  in  the  rough. 

The  works  in  precious  stones  command, 
as  usual,  a  large  number  of  admirers.  Those 
are  divided  into  four  classes,  beginning  with 
rubies,  sapphires,  emeralds,  topizos,  and 
crystals,  and  finishing  with  diamonds  and 
briUiants.  The  highest  prize  in  Class  C 
(silver  mediil  and  Freedom)  was  awarded 
to  Louis  Islar,  of  Oval-roid,  Regent  fl- 
park,    and    the  bronze  medal    and   £5  to 


f   •ooJ 

•a- 
»ith 

I  1>  tho 

.art 

m-nt 

til. — 

um; 

.    llrr. 

,Ting 

•um ; 

fur- 

■'r«c- 

..  the 

ity  of 


Renter  and  Warner,  of  Wunluuritroct. 
Alexander  Wallace's  manipulation  enrat 
a  bron/e  medul ;  the  work  of  F.  Vin- 
cent Abertoldi,  City-road;  ouj  the  boro- 
logical  B]«cinien<i  »eiit  bv  K.  Warwick 
(Islington;,  U.  T.  f'livt.;  '■•,,;,.,,„  ..ip. 
well  Uercrvo  reci.,' 
Southgato,  takes  . 
excellent  cutting 

The    HrnziUan-cr-.  -liun 

witli  facetit,  and  li  .  ai„l 

basket    iu   one    p.  with 

movable  bandli-,   are  bLuutif-l   .  i  .i.ipli*  of 
syiiimctry    unci    accuracy    of    cutlinjf    and 
brilliancy  of   finiKh.       In   •.!..    ,  !  ,- . 
stones,  such  a.s  ganiet».  • 
the  designs  are  variou- 
!uire  tho  ta»t«  in  the   r:  \ 
heads  of  dogs  and  other  . 
award  of  the  prizei  to  tli 
possessed   the  siTvic"! 
gentlemen  in  their  jmrti. 
Mr.  Herbert  Gniclxr.  ni    ' 
Mr.  J.  N.  Hunt,  Mr.  J. 
and  Prof.  Tcnnaiit.     Tl. 
on  precious  stones  in  will 
but  we  have  no  space  t 
ther.  One  special  exhibit  • 
tion  of  the  Turners'  col. 
casket   recently   present'-'i    i  ,    tn- 
London  to  Sir  Henr)-  Heisemor. 

The  judges,  in  making  their  awonla,  My 
"  that  the  majority  of  the  exhibitji  dijii>Uy 
much  excellence  of  workmanshiji ;  in  many 
cases,  novelty  of  design  ;  and  in  scrprol 
considerable  appreciation  of  fonii  and  de- 
sign." It  is  to  be  regretted  the  Imt-namwl 
qualities  are  not  more  marked  in  wcxxl- 
tuming :  good  outline  and  jiro]iortion  art- 
certainly  not  absent,  but  in  ivory  we  cannot 
say  so  much.  For  mcchnnicul  e\c<ll.nce  the 
specimens  are  all  that  can  be  de<tir«l,  and 
iu  tho  management  of  the  lothe  the  exhibi- 
tion gives  evidence  of  skill  and  exjx  rienco, 
both  of  workman  and  apiircntico,  duo  largely 
to  the  liberal  encouragoniont  offord<-<i  by  tho 
Company. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  arg-.ie<l  that  thc»o  com- 
petitions encourage  rather  the  mechanical 
art  of  turning  — manipidatire  exjKrtnMB — 
than  the  artistic  side  of  the  subji-ct.  It  may 
be  so ;  but  it  would  be  unwis.'  fur  the  Com- 
pany not  to  take  into  their  tint  r.-g«rd  the 
more  utilitarian  objects  of  the  tunicra'  art. 
Hand-turning  ulone,  without  ih<-  aids  of 
slide-rests  or  tixod-too!  "•  '  •■■■''•  '•  •"'• 
of  tho  conditions  of  th' 
so  long  as  this  rule  i»  ol  - 

or  apprentice  knnv    *'  

is  most  highly  }'■  '  .  '" 

the  reward  of  th    j  »^- 

portant  of  t*.e  conaiti  ■:  "M 

be   kept  in   view.      Or  ■_^' 

workmen  of  one  class  ti  • 

over-rate  the  importanc 

and  it   is    evident   that 

carried  too  far  in  th<'  f 

Any  attempt   to   ■ 

how  much  the  hit: 

it  can  be  logitiui.i' 

left  to  the  good  t  . 

judges,  and   we   i 

well   worthy    of 

adjudicators. 


how 
vrrll 


ROOFS  AND  I 

THE  cajiacity  of  nc%. 
a  rainy  season  mn. 

by  a  steady  rain    of  a 

When  oak-  timber  was 

was  done  under  tin'       n 

system,  there  wa* 
'  the  roof  till  the  1 
'out  and  the  gutt- 
;  carry  off  the  surj 
i  gutters  and  flats  « 

less  than  J^lb.  to  ; 

ings  wore  covcrci 
I  fra  of  spcculativ 

tenures  have  broujrM .   "  i 


■  •.•1 


436 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


new  system.  In  these  days,  houses  built  to 
live  in,  and  those  intended  to  let,  are  of 
(ikerent  qualities,  and  there  is  no  more 
certain  method  of  judging  of  a  well-built 
house  than  the  examination  of  its  roof.  To  a 
non-professional  person  this  may  be  difficult, 
but  he  has  always  one  never-failing  means 
at  command,  namely,  the  condition  of  the 
upper  ceilings.  These  may  show  signs  of 
damp  spots  near  the  front  or  side  walls,  if 
they  do  not  more  plainly  and  undisguisedly 
reveal  other  glaring  imperfections  in  the  roof. 
In  the  consti-uction  of  small  houses,  the 
utmost  carelessness  is  manifested :  the 
rafters  are  generally  made  to  span  from 
front  to  back,  and  are  of  the  meagrest 
description  ;  there  are  no  purlins  or  struts  ; 
the  slates  are  brittle  and  porous  in  quality, 
they  do  not  give  out  a  metallic  sound  when 
struck,  nor  bear  being  easily  "holed."  In 
examining  the  roofs  we  find  them  improperly 
bonded,  some  slates  placed  lengthwise,  no 
sufficient  lap,  no  double  courses  at  the  eaves, 
no  filleting  of  cement,  and  the  slates  secured 
by  inferior  naUs  of  mixed  metal. 

The  operation  of  covering-in  houses  in 
London  is  one  very  rapidly  performed,  and 
the  si  iter  is  left  pretty  much  to  his  own 
devices.  If  there  be  an  architect  employed 
he  is  not  always  free  from  blame.  A  house 
may  be  roofed  badly,  the  timbers  may  be 
disposed  awkwardly  and  imeconomically  ; 
instead  of  the  rafters  springing  from  the 
walls  they  may  be  placed  without  any  refer- 
ence to  them ;  the  ridges  and  gutters  may 
be  disposed  so  as  to  form  a  great  i-eceptacle 
for  rain-water  and  snow  on  the  roof,  and 
flats  may  be  employed  unnecessarily.  The 
weakest  points  in  roofs  are  those  where  the 
slating  joins  a  stack  of  chimneys,  where 
gutters  are  formed,  as  behind  a  paxapet,  and 
wherever  an  interruption  takes  place  to 
the  flow  of  water.  A  gutter  in  the  middle 
of  a  ceiling,  a  case  of  constant  occurrence  in 
the  metropolis  where  the  party-walls  form 
the  ridges,  is  a  direct  source  of  mischief.  An 
incessant  do^vTlpour  is  sure  to  find  out  the 
weak  points  of  the  middle  gutter,  the  defec- 
tive "filleting''  or  "flashing";  the  lead 
may  be  worn  in  holes,  the  cement  fillet  may 
have  cracked  or  have  never  been  properly 
formed,  and  the  flashing  may  be  an  apology 
for  one,  yet  they  all  may  have  answered 
under  the  ordinary  shower  of  rain.  The 
perfectibility  of  our  roofs  must,  in  a  great 
measure,  depend  on  the  slater  and  plumber, 
and  their  skill  and  integrity  are  the  only 
guarantees  the  builder  or  tenant  has. 
When,  by  the  covenants  of  the  lease, 
the  tenant  undertakes  to  keep  the  roof 
watertight,  a  bad  roof  becomes  a  serious 
infliction  upon  him ;  even  where  the 
landlord  agrees  to  keep  in  repair  the 
outside  of  a  house,  and  the  roof  is  con- 
stantly needing  mending,  the  tax  is  one 
which  bears  heavily  upon  the  comfort  of  the 
one  and  the  pocket  of  the  other. 

But  the  roof  has  another  function  besides 
that  of  throwing  off  the  rain  in  a  perfect 
manner  :  it  might  be  made  the  gathering- 
ground  for  the  household  supply  of  water. 
For  country  districts,  the  value  of  storage 
has  been  urged  by  our  leading  sanitarians, 
and  in  towns  its  collection,  in  properly-con- 
structed reservoirs,  would  diminish  the 
amount  of  surface-water  which  deluges  the 
areas  and  back  yards  of  our  houses,  or 
floods  our  sewers.  If  we  take  London,  very 
few  houses  are  provided  with  tanks  or  rain- 
water butts,  and  an  immense  rainfall  must 
necessarily  be  drained  off  by  the  sewers, 
i;ither  directly  entering  them,  or  indirectly, 
by  first  running  over  our  areas  and  roads. 
The  inconvenience  resulting  from  a  large 
accession  of  rainfall  is,  therefore  twofold  ; 
it  deluges  our  areas  and  roadways,  as  well 
as  choking  our  sewers.  A  few  days'  con- 
tinuous rain  at  once  forces  upon  us  the 
serious  nature  of  the  matter.  Basements 
are  flooded  with  a  dilution  of  rain  and 
sewage  matter,  for  there  is  no  separate  con- 


duits for  surface-water,  as  there  should  have 
been,  and  our  roads  are  rendered  impassable 
in  nearly  all  the  low  districts.  If  this  im- 
mense rainfall  could  be  caught  and  stored, 
or  even  partially,  the  sewers  would  not  be 
so  overburdened,  and  the  w.ater  might  be 
used  for  many,  if  not  all,  of  the  pm-poses 
of  the  household.  If,  as  we  are  give*i  to 
understand,  the  average  rainfall  over  the 
British  Isles  is  from  25in.  to  oOin.  annually, 
we  can  by  an  easy  calculation  find  out  how 
much  might  be  collected  for  a  house  of 
a  certain  size.  Of  course  allowance  has  to 
be  made  for  certain  losses  in  collecting.  A 
tiled  roof  wastes  about  20  per  cent.  ;  a 
slated  roof  about  10  per  cent.  This  loss  is 
partly  by  absorption,  and  by  the  capillary 
attraction  between  the  slates,  and  partly  by 
the  splashing  over  the  edges  of  roofs  and 
gutters.  If  we  take  a  house  of  moderate 
size  in  a  town,  say  20ft.  by  oOft.  deep,  we 
have  1,000  squtire  feet,  and  at  30in.  rainfall, 
deducting  for  loss,  a  mean  daily  yield  of 
water  of  about  36  gallons  may  be  es- 
timated. In  dry  years  this  would  be 
reduced,  but  stOl  there  might  be  calculated 
a  supply  of  over  20  gallons,  sufficient  for  aU 
ordinary  purposes,  or  as  a  supplementary 
supply  to   other   sources. 

The  question  of  storage  need  not  be 
one  to  present  any  difficulty;  an  \m- 
derground  tank  is  the  best,  as  not 
liable  to  great  changes  of  temperature, 
hot  suns,  and  other  impurities  to  which 
the  butt  or  cistern  overground  is  exposed. 
Where  an  underground  tank  cannot  be 
constructed,  one  might  be  obtained  under 
the  roof  of  the  low  buildings  or  offices  of 
sufficient  capacity,  in  which  case  galvanised 
iron  would  be  a  good  material ;  but  where 
there  is  ground  enough  for  a  reservoir  below 
the  surface,  a  concrete  or  brick  tank  hned 
with  2 in.  of  Portland  cement  to  prevent  all 
possibility  of  infiltration,  and  provided  with 
an  intercepting  chamber  for  the  pipe  from 
the  roof,  with  manhole,  is  the  best  receptacle 
for  storage.  For  a  house  of  the  size  we 
have  imagined,  a  cistern  of  a  cubical 
capacity  of  "oOft.  would  suffice,  and,  for 
rough  calculation,  a  shilling  a  cubic  foot 
may  be  taken  as  the  cost.  It  has  been 
recommended  that  instead  of  one  large 
reservoir,  two  or  more  smaller  ones  would 
be  desirable,  and  one  of  such  tanks  might 
be  placed  in  the  roof  of  house,  or  sufficiently 
high  to  supply  the  upper  floors.  We  have 
said  nothing  about  the  pitch  of  roof,  though 
the  steeper  it  is  the  quicker  the  raia  runs 
off,  and  there  is  less  disturbance  by  the 
action  of  the  capillarity  between  the  slates  ; 
the  aspect  of  the  house  is  the  main  element  in 
calculating  for  a  supply.  Facing  a  wet 
wind  a  roof  will  catch  a  good  deal :  according 
to  one  authority  (Mr.  WaUis,  F.M.S.)  a  flat 
roof  will  catch  most  water  in  a  sheltered 
position,  and  a  steep  one  in  an  exposed 
position.  The  main  conclusion,  however,  we 
wish  to  draw  is  that,  with  a  well-organised 
system  of  roof -collection ,  the  rainfall  instea  d 
of  becoming  a  source  of  flood  and  devasta- 
tion, carrying  with  it  wretchedness  and 
disease  to  our  large  town  populations, 
might  be  usefully  housed  to  supplement  the 
present  water  supply. 


THE    SOCIAL    SCIENCE    CONGRESS. 

TH  h;  iith  aanual  congress  of  the  Xational 
Association  for  the  promotion  of  Social 
Science  was  held  last  week  at  Edinburgh.  Among 
the  proceedings  likely  to  interest  our  readers, 
was  an  interesting  discussion  by  the  Health 
Department  on  Thursday  week,  under  the  presi- 
dency ot  Dr.  John  Beddoe,  F.K.S.,  on  the 
subject  of 

SiNITABT  ABMCJISTBATION. 

The  President  having  stated  that  the  special 
question  for  discussion  was: — "What  are  the 
best  areas  for  sanitary  purposes,  and  how  far 
should  there  be  a  revision  of  the  mode  of  electing 
and  continuing'  the  services  of  the  officers  under 
the  Public  Health  Acts  r " 


Sheriff  Spens  introduced  the  discussion  of  the 
question  by  reading  a  paper  on  the  defects  of  the 
sanitary  system  of  Scotland,  with  respect  toore 
p.irtieularly  to  the  urban  and  rural  health  dis- 
tricts. About  four  years  ago,  he  said,  he  made 
an  inquiry  into  the  working  of  the  public  health 
bodies,  and  the  executive  machinery  they  had  to 
work.  An  inquiry  into  Public  Health  adminis- 
tration divided  itself  into  two  heads — the  subject 
matter  of  the  law,  and  the  administrative  and 
executive  machinery  by  which  its  provisions  fell 
to  he  carried  out.  The  last  was  probably  the 
most  difficult  to  deal  with.  But  he  thought  it 
was  clear  that  there  must  be  a  ceEtral  health 
authority  intrusted  with  the  superintendence  of 
the  local  health  authorities  ;  secondly,  there  must 
be  urban  district  authorities :  and  thirdly,  there 
must  be  rural  district  authorities.  Then,  again, 
it  was  necessary  that  there  should  be  officials 
under  these  administrative  bodies  to  see  that  the 
provisions  of  the  law  were  being  systematically 
enforced  upon  the  people.  The  conclusions  at 
which  he  had  arrived,  as  the  result  of  his  in- 
quiries, were: — (1)  That  there  shoxild  be  a  recon- 
stitution  of  our  present  health  authorities.  (2) 
That,  whilst  having  reference  to  the  provisions 
of  local  health  government,  it  seemed  necessary 
that  the  administration  of  public  health  should 
be  retained  to  the  town  councillors  or  police 
commissioners  in  large  towns,  there  should  be 
certain  districts  forced  to  take  upon  themselves 
the  burdens  of  administration  whenever  popula- 
tion arrived  at  certain  amounts  within  certain 
areas  ;  and,  further,  that  very  considerable  power 
should  be  given  to  the  central  authorities  to 
insist  upon  the  public  health  provisions  being 
carried  out  in  an  efficient  way.  (3)  That  the 
present  rural  local  authorities  were  perfectly 
unfit  for  the  work  committed  to  them,  and 
should  be  replaced  by  others.  (4)  That  the 
central  authority  shall  have  central  sanitary  in- 
spection to  a  much  greater  extent  than  now  was 
the  case.  (.5)  That  there  should  be  sanitary 
inspectors  and  a  medical  officer  of  health  in 
every  parish.  Referring  to  urban  health  dis- 
tricts, he  thought  that  in  the  larger  towns  the 
law,  as  it  was,  was  administered  as  well  as  it 
could  well  be,  generally  speaking  :  but,  in  the 
smaller  burghs,  it  was  greatly  a  sham.  With 
regard  to  these,  besides  having  skilled  local  in- 
spection, he  hoped  to  see  a  central  sanitary  in- 
spection, and  he  would  provide  that,  in  cases  of 
neglect  of  duty  by  the  district  authorities,  the 
court  of  session,  on  the  application  of  the  cen- 
tral authority,  should  have  power  to  appoint  one 
or  more  commissioners,  for  whose  salary  the 
town  should  be  taxed.  There  should  be,  in  par- 
ticular, a  law  regulating  the  sanitary  condition 
of  burghs  springing  up  around  large  populous 
places,  such  as  Glasgow.  He  did  not  think  any 
house,  in  town  or  country,  should  be  allowed  to 
be  put  up  without  some  proper  system  of  sanitary 
inspection.  With  regard  to  rural  health  authori- 
ties, his  inquiries  had  convinced  him  of  the  utter 
apathy  and  inefficiency  of  these  authorities  in 
Scotland.  Generally,  tmless  compelled  by  an 
outbreak  of  disease,  or  the  action  of  the  Board  of 
Supervision,  the  duties  of  these  authorities  were 
apathetically  and  perfunctorily  discharged.  It 
had,  he  contended,  been  proved  by  experience 
that  the  rural  authorities  of  Scotland  had  proved 
themselves  unfitted  for  the  discharge  of  pubhc 
health  duties  ;  and  he  submitted  that  new  rural 
health  authorities  should  be  constituted.  He 
would  prefer  to  see  a  change  altogether  in  the 
constitution  of  the  parochial  boards,  and  to  see 
them  transformed  into  popularly  elected  bodies. 
But,  apart  from  that,  he  thought  that  a  central 
authority  or  commissioners,  appointed  under  the 
PubUc  Health  Act  for  the  purpose,  should  make 
inquiry,  having  special  reference  to  drainage 
and  water  supply,  into  the  rural  districts  of 
Scotland,  so  as  to  group  them  into  public  health 
areas  ;  and  that  the  local  authorities  of  these 
districts  should  be  elected  by  the  parochial 
boards  of  the  parishes  grouped  together  in  the 
district — preferably,  as  he  had  already  said,  by 
differently  constituted  parochial  boards  than  those 
now  existing. 

Subsequent  papers  were  read  on  "Medical 
Officers  of  Healths'  Duties  and  Responsibili- 
ties," but  the  discussion  generally  was  not  of  a 
very  practical  character,  with  the  exception  of 
the"  remarks  made  by  Mr.  S.  W.  Hastings,  and 
Dr.  Russell. 

Mr.  S.  W.  Hastings,  M.P.,  President  of  the 
CouncU,  pointed  out  that  the  recommendation 
of  the  Royal  Commissioners  in  favour  of  the 
adoption  of  the  union  as  the  rural  sanitary  area, 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE  BITILDINa  NEWS. 


437 


on  which  the  last  Public  Health  Act  was  framed, 
had  been  carried  only  by  a  majority  of  one.  The 
minority  had  been  in  favour  of  the  county  as  the 
s;initary  area.  Now,  the  result  of  adopting  the 
union  had  been  to  make  it  impossible  for  rural 
sanitary  authorities  to  pay  their  medical  officers 
salaries  whicli  could  under  any  circumstances 
induce  them  to  give  up  private  practice,  and 
devote  themselves  to  sanitary  work.  In  his 
opinion  it  was  a  fatal  error  to  cause  a  medical 
officer  of  health  to  engage  in  private  practice ; 
first,  because  sanitary  functions  at  the  present 
day  were  such  as  demanded  not  only  all  the 
time,  but  also  all  the  thought  and  energy,  of  the 
medical  officer  who  imdertook  them  ;  and  second, 
because  very  often  his  duties  as  a  public  officer 
conflicted  with  his  own  private  interests  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  own  private  practice.  Accord- 
ingly, this  adoption  of  the  union  as  the  sanitary 
area  was  one  of  the  first  things  which  the  Legis- 
lature should  imdo.  (Applause.)  Even  if  no 
other  thing  was  done,  this  alone  would  be  pro- 
ductive of  great  good.  In  his  own  county  of 
Worcester  they  had  ten  rural  unions,  and  be- 
tween them  and  the  smaU  boroughs,  from  CSOO  to 
£1,000  could  easily  be  paid  tc  one  skilled  and 
efficient  medical  officer,  who  could  do  the  whole 
sanitary  work  of  the  county.  In  answer  to 
Sheriff  Spens,  Mr.  Hastings  said  he  would  give 
the  sanitary  administration  of  a  county  to  any- 
body that  Parliament  thought  fit  to  trust  with 
the  general  administration  of  the  county.  But 
at  the  same  time,  he  thought  that  if  Parliament 
wanted  to  do  what  was  right,  it  would  provide 
at  the  earliest  date  an  elected  body  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  county  affairs. 

Dr.  Russell,  Glasgow  medical  officer  of  health, 
said  it  was  much  easier  to  get  amendments  to 
our  present  Acts  from  Parliament  than  to  get 
these  Acts  properly  put  in  force.  One  necessity 
to  this  end  was  to  secure  the  independence  of 
the  medical  officer.  He  condemned  Dean  of 
Guilds  Courts  as  being  quite  incapable  of  dealing 
with  the  sanitary  requirements  of  houses. 

Sheriff  Spens,  in  reply,  said  that  practically  in 
England — the  President  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  having  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet — there 
was  a  Minister  of  Health.  His  idea  in  the  event 
of  such  a  central  authority  being  permanent, 
was  that  there  should  be  in  Scotland  a  Sanitary 
Inspector-general,  if  he  might  so  term  him,  to 
whom  the  local  sanitary  inspectors  and  medical 
officers  should  report. 

The  President,  in  summing  up  the  result  of 
the  discussion,  said  that  in  England  about 
£64,000  a  year  was  paid  to  medical  officers  of 
health,  besides  various  amounts  paid  by  various 
districts  who  did  not  accept  Government  aid. 
That  sum,  if  judiciously  divided,  should  provide 
the  services  of  a  suffiuiont  number  of  competent 
medical  men,  "who  should  give  their  entire  time 
to  the  work.  It  was  worthy  of  notice  that  in 
the  last  few  years  the  mortality  in  the  seven 
largest  towns  was  considerably  less  than  that  in 
the  towns  next  below  them. 

Professor  Fraser  moved,  and  Councillor 
Gowans  seconded  the  motion — "That  the  meet- 
ing strongly  recommends  that  the  Council  should 
consider  the  question  of  the  sanitary  rural  areas 
of  Scotland,  with  a  view  to  an  amendment  of 
the  law  by  their  extension." 

Mr.  Hastings  suggested  that  the  words  Great 
Britain  should  be  substituted  for  Scotland  ;  but 
upon  Sheriff  Spens  and  Dr.  Acland,  Oxford, 
pointing  out  that  the  English  question  was  a 
complicated  one,  and  could  not  be  competently 
judged  of  on  the  consideration  it  had  there  re- 
ceived, the  motion,  as  originally  worded,  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

SANITAET  EEGUIATIOX  OF  BUILDIXGS. 

On  Friday,  in  the  Health  Department,  the 
special  question  for  discussion  was  : — "What  is 
the  best  mode  of  amending  the  present  laws 
with  reference  to  existing  buOdings,  and  also  of 
improving  their  sanitary  condition  so  as  to  render 
them  more  healthy,  having  due  regard  to  econo- 
mical considerations  ?  " 

Councillor  Gowans,  Edinburgh,  opened  the 
discussion.  There  were,  he  submitted,  radiceil 
flaws  in  our  present  system  of  regulating  the 
erection  of  buildings.     The  Public  Health  Act  of 


caution,  but  of  the  scare  from  time  to  time  pro-    l.r  .n 
duced  by  some  frightful  vidtation  of  contagious  [  tii-'. 
disease.      Progress,   therefore,    had  ncce.ssarilv   th- 
been    spasmodic    and   unsatisfactory.      At    the   of 
present  day  the  conditions  of  sanitary  well-being  i  I"-   ■ 
were  becoming  better  undei-stood;  and  he  sub-   i^  ■' 
mitted  that  the  following  reforms  should  be  given    eai  1 
effect  to : — ( 1 )     There  should  be  drawn  up  a  codu  |  W !  ■ 
of  public  law  on  the  subject  of  health  applicable    ali--, 
to     the     United     Kingdom,     and     compulsory- |  oil; 
throughout.     (2)  There  should  bo  appointed  a  '  <h' 
Minister  of  State  for  Public  Health,  with  a  seat  I  O"- 
in  the  Cabinet,  to  whom  local  authorities  should    '"/-'  i"..i 
be  directly  responsible  for  due  administration  of   qucntly  w  . 
the  law.     And  (3;  that  no  person  other  than  an    m:uitcrs,  ' 

architect,  educated,  examined,  and  qualified  aa  a    that  work  ; ,  „. , 

lawyer    or   a   doctor    now    was,    and    under  a    reflects   sf-riou-iv   upon 
corresponding  responsibiUty,  should  be  permitted    under  con.iiJeration .     t 
to  submit  plans  to  a  Court.     Whilst  economical    at  the  verr  !.■    ■  ...m,  •  , 
considerations    must   not    be  overlooked,    they    the   finiil ' 
must  not  be,  as  at  present  they  were,  nearly  the    seeing  "  ,. 
main  consideration ;  and   Parliament   ought  to    »''"  littl-.-  1 
step  in  and  enact  that  no  mere  money  considcra-    another  m  u  V 
tions  should  interfere  to  prevent  proper  sanitary  '  dividu.ilii  y   m  t : 
appliances  for  the  preservation  of  the  public  1  the  art- mfn.l.  I 


health. 

Professor  Fleeming  JenWn,  E;Unburgh,  read 
a  paper  giving  an  account  of  the  Sanitary  Pro- 
tection Association,  founded  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  writer  in  the  spring  of  IS78,  to  effect  the 
objects  indicated  as  de.sirable  in  the  question  be- 
fore the  Congress.  In  consideration  of  an 
annual  payment — usually  of  a  guinea — the 
member  obtained:  1st,  a  report  on  the  condition 
of  his  house  ;  2d,  inspection  of  alterations  made  ; 
3d,  an  annual  experimental  test  of  the  conditions 
of  the  drainage  system.  The  society  was  a 
mutual  benefit  society,  closely  analogous  to 
steam-boiler  associations.  The  association  num- 
bered about  .500  members,  and  had  worked 
smoothly  and  effectively.  Much  stress  was  laid 
on  the  fact  that  annual  superintendence,  after 
houses  had  been  put  in  excellent  order,  was  the 
main  business  of  the  Association  ;  also,  that  this 
superintendence  involved  experimental  testing  of 
the  pipes  and  drains,  not  mere  ocular  inspection. 
The  Association  could  only  deal  with  the  houses 
of  well-to-do  people,  and  was  most  popular  with 
owners  who  occupied  their  own  houses.  To 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  whole  town,  com- 
pulsory inspection  based  on  similar  principles 
was  required.     This  inspection  could  he  afforded 


and  cannot  lx'  ^t■.l.  n,  t".,r  tli^   !•■ 

another  mnnV  orinrinalily  of  l.t^ 

tation.      The    highest    m>  n' il 

originality  and  loftine**  ■■ 

pear  la-t.     Cunitidcring,  • 

which  ar.j  attivo  at  v.  r . 

imitative,  anil  Kicrinir  in 

of  masti-r-)  anil  j.upil.-  . 

those  qualitie-  iilmi)!!t  ■ 

not  strange  that  thr*-.-  .■"• . 

are    fixed    for   later     •! 

lamentably  imjH-ded  in  t' 

life.      The  »yi,tem  ret;ir  1 

qualities  that  make  the  ] 

is  one  great  iiuw.     An  • 

the  syttem   in  that  of  th',  ,    , 

the  wrong  mwter;  that  it,   u;i  . 

nistic  in  all   hi.s  ideas  and  aim- 

closely-hidden  tastes  of  the   r.-  . 

the   late   Frederick  Walkvr  put  l 

Surely  Walker,  whose  char:irt<.ri»t 

out  the  tendere-t  pas-agco  of  natu 

had  the  natural  bent  of  hia  in, 

chafed.     A^  it   was,  he  viw   ]  i'. 

little  artificial  tuition,  tindir  -i'  •■■: 

told  to  draw  h»  much  in  thontvle  "f .'  hn  <..:--.n 

as  possible.     Tlien  he  had  to  draw  on  woo-l  tin- 


der   M-u.lial;. 

wax  t't  drs* 
,  w-.uM  l.are 

U.1 


by  a  moderate  increase  in  the  staff  of  the  medical  ]  sketches  of  Thurkeray  for  hi--  "  I"h 


nirfo! 


drawings — and   Walk- 
some   original  illustrati 
out      Thackeray's     car; 
suggeste^l  it,  tried  it,  aii^i    i 
traces  of  having  imitated  John  ■ 
originality   thit   was  in   hi'   i 
highly    nerv..u-,    sensitive     n. 
showed  his  work  whilst  in  pm.- 
models  who  sat  for  him,  an'i 
been  the  last  man  in  tb'-  »    • 


officers  of  health ;  but  the  requirements  to  be  in 
sisted  upon  would,  under  compulsory  inspection, 
be  necessarily  meagre,  owing  to  the  great  expense 
which  very  thorough  reform  would  entail  on  the 
l)wer  class  of  households  or  house  proprietors. 
The  Professor  urged  that  the  Association,  by  its 
successful   action,  supported   the   arguments  of 
those  who  wished  to  introduce  compulsory  in- 
spection of  the  same  kind,    and   concluded   by 
urging  that  new  members  should  join  the  Asso- 
elation,  mentioning  that  outlying  towns  might    around  him.  aotually  1 -i- 
be  affiliated  if  they  could  provide  fifty  members,  [  school.  Frum  his  life  a^ 
and   also   urging   t-he   desirability  of   founding  1  First,  that  thi-  pimter  w 
similar    associations    elsewhere,   now  that    the  |  greater   ^perliaps  notlung  , 
completely  practical  nature  of  its  action  had  been  j  been  placed  under  a  master 
proved  by  experience.  vouid  not   have    ,  !■  r-i~  •! 

Sir  Robert  Christison  supplemented  Profe.ssor  |  than  he  did  by  I.  ■ 
Fleeming  Jenkin's  paper  by  stating,  as  President  |  been  ful.   of  i  •■: 
of    the    Association,    that    the    inception    and  |  further  iUu--truM-;^  ^ 
successful  results  of  the  Association  were  owing  !  of  masters,  the  wnr.  r 
to  the  Professor.     He   had  large  experience  of  [  the   ^f  f""-   ' '   P^^"'  _"■ 
the  great  good  which  the  Association  had  abready    greater  ir.fl;i'  r."-  y.'r^r.  ■■ 
done.     His  only  surprise  was  that,   instead  of  [  sonal  tin' 
thfir  now  having  .500  subscribers  in  Edinburgh,  ,  ing  and  ■ 
they  sho-old  not  have  5,000.  .       "  ^J^'- 

A  discussion  ensued,  the  re.sult  of  which  ,  artists  a  ■ 
showed  that  the  object  of  the  Association  of  Pro- 1  we  hav^ 
fessor  Fleeming  Jenkin  had  met  with  uniform  ,  tnt  wj 
approval,  whilst  the  idea  of  extendmg  it  to  the  ftro°?  .' 
poorer  classes  by  Government  action  had  not  met  [  maividi. 
with  such  general  approbation.  The  suggestions  happ.v  :• 
made  in  the  discussion  did  not  admit  of  any  '-  r'  ■ ;  - 
general  resolution  being  passed. 


THE  EDUCAnOX"   OF  ASTISTg.  5i.,;..     - 

In  the  Art  Department  the  same  day,  Mr.  |  »?"""•'• 
Hubert  Herkomer;  A.R.A,  opened  the  discussion  bid  jo 
on   the   special  question,  "How  far  would  the  ]  charact- 

...^u.,.^  v..  ^uii^iug^.     J.11B  X  uouc  xieaitu  jicL  oi    revival  of  the  old  system  of  '  master  and  pupils      ^P^^^^. 

1S67  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  but  it  was  I  be  of  advantage,  and  tend  to  promote  the  CTOWth  ,  me  i. 

intended  chiefly  to  apply^to  small  towns,  and  was  \  of   historical  art  in  the  country  and  the  fi"J".S   T\'f^^ 

largely  permissive.     Therefore,  one  communitv    use   of    painting   and  sculpture  in    our    public  ^  looi^  ^^ 


might  observe  proper  precautions,  while  another 
was  permitted  totally  to  neglect  them.  Hitherto 
advances  in  sanitary  science  in  large  cities  had 
almost  invariably  been  the  result,  not  of  pre- 


He  had,  he  said,  modified  the  tiUe   ?^»' 
OI    ms  paper  as  foUows:—"  How  far  would  tb:  I  .C  Blow  „      ■..    ■•.    ■ 

revival  of  the  old  system  of  '  master  and  pupUs    ,  oniy.  J     -   _        ;_  j^nu,,- 
be  of  advantage  in  the  present  day,  and  tcn^  to   cause  of  the  wot*     ietnag 


b^g  mi^^istdrr- 


438 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


btood.  MUIais's  head  of  Gladstone  was  full  of 
profound  learning,  and  so  was  his  hastOy-painted 
portrait  of  Mrs.  Jopling.  Learning-  comes  with 
practice:  originality  neyer  by  practice,  but  it 
must  be"  awakened  by  exercise.  There  is  a 
danger  in  too  early  attempts  at  picture-painting ; 
but  this  is  otly  dangerous  to  the  weak,  and  that 
only  in  case  their  first  efforts  are  successful,  so  as 
to  cause  thera  to  get  into  one  groove,  and  work 
only  for  money.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  a  sig- 
nificant  fact  that  of  tho.se  students  who  draw  and 
paint  such  admirable  studies  from  the  life,  and 
win  gold  medals,  very  few  ever  become  eminent 
painters.  Their  mistake  lies  in  simply  doing 
what  is  placed  before  them,  and  in  not  being 
obliged  to  exercise  originality,  so  as  to  make 
every  study  a  picture.  A  master  either  forces 
the  student  into  imitation  or  of  similarity  to  his 
art ;  for  in  most  casos  the  master  allows  the 
student  to  work  upoti  his  paintings,  and  the 
styles  must  meet.  It  is  as  difficult,  however,  to 
define  the  difference  botweeu  similarity  and  imi- 
tation as  it  is  to  find  the  exact  point  where 
borrowing  ends  and  .stealing  begins.  If  the 
pupU  is  to  be  a  reflection  of  the  master,  the 
master  must  be  unapproachable  in  his  greatness, 
and  there  must  be  but  one  kind  of  art,  and  that 
his.  We  have  yet  to  .see  the  work  of  art  that 
will  positively  satisfy  all  intelligent  minds,  and 
we  have  yet  to  find  the  master  capable  of  train- 
ing students  of  every  variety  of  mind.  Some 
sort  of  tuition  or  instruction  is,  of  course, 
necessary ;  hut  its  efftct  is  only  felt  in 
the  art  of  the  time,  when  the  highest 
grade  of  studentship  is  paid  much  attention  to. 
Good  schools,  with  the  best  masters,  might 
raise  a  higher  level  of  art ;  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  a  higher  level  would  produce  more  great 
men. 

Mr.  Edward  J.  Watherston,  London,  in  a 
paper  entitled  ' '  The  Essence  of  Art  :  Is  it 
Genius  or  Ingenuity  ? '  *  condemned  the  modern 
system  of  encouraging  artists  by  means  of  art 
unions  and  prizes. 
A  discussion  ensued  :  among  others — 
Mr.  George  Burnett,  advocate,  discussed theedu- 
cation  of  architects  in  this  country  and  in  Prance, 
and  said  he  thought  the  result  of  the  Con- 
tinental system  was  that  they  had  there  a  living 
school  of  architecture,  which  he  did  not  think 
we  had  in  this  country.  He  knew  of  no  build- 
ing in  this  city,  with  perhaps  one  exception, 
which  appeared  to  be  designed  as  a  natiiral  re- 
sult of  the  feeling  of  beauty  in  the  artist,  work- 
ing upon  the  plan  which  was  required  by  his 
employer,  and  upon  his  materials. 

Mr.  Herkomer  having  made  a  brief  reply,  iu 
which  he  referred  chiefly  to  the  question  of  his- 
torical art, 

The  President  (Professor  Richmond,  of  Ox- 
ford) woimd  up  the  discussion.  Touching  in 
the  outset  of  his  remarks  upon  the  question  as  to 
what  should  be  the  education  of  the  student 
before  his  powers  of  .selection  had  been  formed, 
he  pointed  out,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  tech- 
nique of  art  was  enormously  difficult.  The  hand 
had  to  be  trained  to  express  what  the  eye  saw  or 
the  mind  conceived.  Mr.  Herkomer  appeared 
to  think  that  it  was  rather  detrimental  than 
otherwise  for  a  young  i)ainter  to  be  placed  under 
a  master  with  whom  Ke  did  not  entirely  sym- 
pathise. With  that  he  ventured  to  disagree.  A 
student  might  have  a  great  turn  for  form,  and 
in  that  case  the  best  master  for  him  would  pro- 
bably  be  one  whose  strong  point  lay  in  colour, 
so  that  the  student  would  have  prominently 
brought  before  him  that  in  which  he  was  most 
deficient.  He  did  not  agree  with  the  idea  that 
learning  was  not  necessary  to  art.  By  learning 
he  meant  knowledge  of  construction,  and  par- 
ticularly of  the  construction  of  the  human  form. 
That  knowledge  could  only  be  got  by  being 
taught  intimately  and  in  the  studio  of  a  man 
who  was  conversant  with  it.  Then  there  were 
such  things  as  laws  relating  to  drapery,  which, 
if  known  and  understood,  were  of  immense 
assistance  to  any  painter.  He  could  not  see 
why  both  anatomy  and  those  laws  governing 
drapery — simple  enough  things  to  learn—  should 
not  be  taught  by  a  master  to  his  pupil,  and  why 
that  sort  of  teaching  .should  not  he  of  infinite 
value.  He  had  often  had  occasion  to  lecture 
upon  the  question  of  art  schools,  and  he  had  al- 
ways made  it  a  point  that  it  was  quite  absurd  to 
teach  men  about  the  human  figure  by  putting 
up  a  model,  and  making  them  do  stupid  draw- 
ings from  this,  very  likely,  extremely  ugly  indi- 
vidual. What  he  would  do  was  this :  He  would 
take,  in  the  first   instance,   some  beautiful  ex- 


ample in  antique  sculpture.  Side  by  side  with 
that  he  would  place  a  model,  and  he  would  then 
make  the  students  draw  the  two,  one  after  the 
other,  and  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  taste 
would  be  guided,  and  the  spirit  of  analysis  and 
selection  between  beautiful  and  ugly  forms, 
which  they  all  knew  to  be  so  necessary,  would 
be  c.iUed  out  and  developed.  Such  a  course 
would  prevent,  in  after  life,  the  errors  of  taste 
which,  though  committed  almost  unconsciously, 
were  so  disgusting  to  others.  Then,  with  regard 
to  action,  he  ■U'uuld  hare  a  motive  given  for 
every  figure  that  was  drawn,  and  he  woidd  not 
allow  any  student  to  work  for  more  than  ten 
minutes  at  an  action  at  a  time.  In  regard  to 
wall-paintings,  the  art  of  the  world,  he  re- 
marked, had  been  done  on  walls,  and  he  thought 
that  was  the  sort  of  education  that  was  neces- 
sary in  England  to  enable  men  to  paint  on  a 
large  scale.  Unless  they  got  some  system  of 
art  which  would  enable  them  to  paint  large  sub- 
jects upon  walls,  he  thought  their  art  would  de- 
generate into  mere  genre  painting.  As  to  the 
master  and  pupil  question,  it  was  clear  that  they 
could  not  create  originality ;  but  they  could  f  lu-- 
thcr  it  by  educating  students  in  such  a  work- 
manlike manner  that,  when  it  came  to  them  to 
express  themselves,  they  shoidd  be  able  to  do  so 
in  clear  language.  They  should  know  the 
grammar  of  their  art,  and,  if  they  possessed  any 
originality,  it  would  come  out.  Rather,  he 
should  say  that  a  man  was  not  original,  as  a 
rule,  till  he  was  educated.  If  they  took  the 
growth  of  a  man  like  Shelley,  they  saw  that  his 
early  poetry  was  inartistic.  It  was  emotional  to 
a  degree  that  was  impleasant.  There  were  too 
many  imageries  in  it.  It  was  overcrowded ;  it 
was  unselected.  But,  as  the  poet  became  more 
and  more  conversant  with  the  great,  noble,  un- 
restrained Greek  poetry,  he  eliminated  an  enor- 
mous deal  of  that  matter  which  was  reallyof  no  ac- 
count whatever ;  and  as  he  grew  older,  as  he 
became  more  educated,  his  poetry  became  more 
beautiful  and  artistic,  while  it  lost  none  of  its 
spontaneity  or  originality.  This  was  what  edu- 
cation did,  and  he  did  not  see  why,  if  education 
did  that  in  poetry,  it  should  not  do  so  in  art. 
They  had  been  talking  about  historical  art. 
That  was  a  very  difficult  subject  to  deal  with. 
He  was  very  miich  inclined  to  agree  with  Mr. 
Herkomer  that  true  historical  painting  was  con- 
temporary painting,  but  he  would  be  inclined  to 
go  further  and  say  that  true  historical  painting 
was  portrait  painting.  He  thought  their  ideas 
of  what  Charles  I.  was  like  or  what  they  fancied 
he  looked  like  under  certain  circumstances,  was 
of  little  value.  It  might  be  an  admirable  work 
of  art,  yet  it  could  not  be  historical.  A  portrait 
of  Charles  I.  by  even  an  inferior  artist,  woiild  be 
of  more  real  value  as  a  historical  painting.  The 
truth  was  that  in  so-called  historical  works 
artists  had  desired  to  paint  the  dresses  rather 
than  the  people.  After  alluding  to  the  influence 
of  allegorical  painting,  Mr.  Richmond,  reverting 
to  the  subject  of  education,  said  that  what  they 
wanted,  after  all,  was  to  further  the  cause  of 
art.  They  did  not  care  how  the  education  was 
got,  they  wanted  the  education.  On  the  whole, 
he  believed  they  were  indiued  to  think  that  the 
teaching  gained  under  the  direction  of  a  master 
was  better  than  that  gained  under  the  direction 
of  an  academy.  After  all,  the  larger  education 
came  after  a  man  was  in  a  sense  done  learning 
his  grammar  ;  but,  he  would  say  to  him,  let  him 
bo  taught  liis  grammar  fii-st. 

StmVEILLANCE    OF   STEEET   AECHITECTTJBE. 

Mr.  Robert  Morham,  City  Superintendent, 
Edinburgh,  read  a  paper  on  this  subject,  in 
which  he  sought  to  show  how  far  it  was  desira- 
ble, and  how  far  practicable,  that  there  should  be 
rested  in  the  Local  Authority  or  in  some  public 
body,  power  of  control  over  the  manner  of  dealing 
with  the  designs  of  buildings  likely  to  form  pro- 
minent features  or  otherwise  affect  the  amenities 
of  towns. 

DK.     BEDDOE    ON    HEALTH. 

On  S.aturday  Dr.  Beddoe,  the  President  of  the 
Health  Pepartment,  delivered  his  address.  Dr. 
Beddoe  said  the  duty  of  the  section  was  to 
ascertain  the  condition  of  the  public  health, 
and  those  measures,  whether  in  the  nature  of 
Governmental  action  or  private  eft'orts,  which 
are  likely  to  maintain  and  promote  it.  He  re- 
ferred to  the  improved  conditions  of  life  now  as 
compared  with  what  it  had  once  been.  He 
argued  that,  in  order  to  preserve  the  public 
health,  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  style  of 
I  building    dwelling-houses,    to    their    thorough 


ventilation,  and  to  the  adoption  of  the  most 
approved  sanitary  methods.  He  asserted  that 
statistics  amply  proved  that  mortality  increased 
the  towns  -vnth.  the  density  of  the  population, 
and  physical  degeneration  in  inaptitude  for  mili- 
tary service,  so  far  as  Great  Britain  was  con- 
cerned, was  an  affair  of  the  towns.  He  advo- 
cated careful  juvenile  training  in  the  principles 
of  health,  and  special  care  should  be  taken  to 
secure  efficient  instruction  in  athletics.  We  re- 
produce in  fuU  his  remarks  en  the 

HOUSE     ACCOSESIODATION    TOE     THE     WOBKINO 
CLASSES. 

To  the  nature  of  the  houses  in  which  the  people 
live  we  can  hardly  attribute  too  much  import- 
ance. In  the  early  part  of  this  century  there 
were  very  great  provincial  differences  in  this 
respect,  but  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  popu- 
lation is  now  housed  in  dwellings  of  compara- 
tively recent  erection,  and  approaching  in  some 
degree  towards  a  uniform  type.  Contrast,  for 
example,  the  average  Highland  hovel,  built  and 
managed  on  the  principle  that  ' '  the  clartier  the 
cosier,"  but  which,  if  small  and  dirty,  is 
ustially  warm,  and  in  wliich  much-needed  venti- 
lation is  provided — unintentionally,  indeed — 
by  the  numerous  chinks  in  the  walls ;  contrast 
this  with  the  Cumberland  house — large,  roomy, 
and  clean,  but  apt  to  be  cold,  and  only  prevented 
from  being  colder  still  by  the  almost  hermetical 
sealing  of  the  windows.  The  worst  kinds  of 
tenements  in  large  towns,  and  notably  in  the 
wynds  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  combine  the 
worst  features  of  both  these,  the  dirt,  the  crowd- 
ing and  the  want  of  ventilation  ;  while  there 
are  favoured  districts  known  to  me  in  the 
Sout*!  of  England,  where  the  cottages,  generally 
half-timbered  or  built  of  pise,  were  at  once 
warm,  dry,  roomy,  and  tolerably  clean.  The 
subject  of  modern  houses  for  the  working  classes 
— how  they  are  built,  and  how  they  ought  to  be 
— has  frequently  been  debated  in  this  Section, 
and  would  furnish  material  for  a  dozen  addresses 
.such  as  mine.  I  will  make  but  two  or  three  re- 
marks on  it  in  passing.  Landlords,  whether 
from  philanthropy  and  a  sense  of  duty  or  influ- 
enced by  public  opinion,  have  done  much  to 
improve  the  dwellings  on  their  estates,  and  specu- 
lative builders  have,  to  some  extent,  been 
coerced  by  Building  Acts  and  bye-laws  ;  but  I  do 
not  think  the  improvement  is  so  great  as  is 
usually  supposed.  If  it  wore,  one  would  expect 
to  see  a  decided  improvement  in  the  death-rate 
from  phthisis,  from  pulmonary  diseases,  and 
from  rheumatism  ;  for  warmth,  dryness,  and 
proper  ventilation  ought  to  act  favourably  upon 
all  these ;  whereas,  iu  fact,  if  phtliisis  has 
decreased,  other  pulmonary  diseases  have  quite 
made  up  the  difference;  and  there  is  no  im- 
provement in  rheumatism.  I  should  say  that, 
as  a  rule,  the  requirements  of  decency  are  more 
studied  than  they  used  to  be,  and  that,  perhaps, 
dryness  of  site  and  foundation  is  more  looked 
to  ;  moreover,  by  the  persistent  action  of  medi- 
cal men  and  sanitarians,  including  many  names 
well  known  in  this  Section,  much  has  been  done 
for  water  supply  and  sewerage,  and  disposal  of 
refuse,  so  that  the  great  scourge  of  enteric  fever 
is  being  gradually  abated  ;  but  thin  walls,  bad 
mortar  and  flimsy  roofing  cannot  make  warm 
and  dry  houses.  One  curious  and  unexpected 
result  of  building  improved  cottages  has  been 
brought  to  my  notice.  I  am  infoi  rued  that  in  a 
certain  Highland  district  where  the  proprietors 
have  exerted  themselves  to  build  decent  and  air- 
tight dwellings  for  their  small  tenants,  crofters, 
and  labourers,  instead  of  any  improvement  in 
health  following,  consumption,  formerly  un- 
common, became  very  rife  and  deadly.  Simi- 
larly, the  natives  of  New  Zealand,  though  their 
ordinary  mode  of  lodging  is  about  as  ill- con- 
trived and  unwholesome  as  can  be  conceived, 
are  said  to  suft'er  in  health,  and  specifically  to  be- 
come more  phthisical  when  they  take  to  living 
in  houses  of  the  European  pattern.  In  the  case 
of  the  Highlanders  it  is  probably  want  of  venti- 
lation which  is  the  fault  of  the  new  and 
comfortable  houses.  On  the  whole,  it  would 
probably  be  well  to  adapt  to  cottage-building 
the  primary  rule  of  British  politics,  correcting 
the  evils  of  the  local  type  of  dwelling,  whatever 
it  may  be,  rather  than  seeking  to  introduce  tn 
entirely  new  one.  The  present  Earl  of  Derby, 
in  an  address  delivered  to  this  Association 
several  years  ago,  recommended  that  the  diffi- 
culty put  in  the  way  of  constructing  workmen's 
dwellings  in  towns  by  the  exorbitant  price  of 
sites  should  be  met  by  increasing  the  vertical 


Oct.  15,  1880 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


J  39 


eleration  of  the  buildi"gs.  And  we  see  that 
elevation  of  buildings  is  constantly  being  in. 
creased,  though  not  so  much  in  the  case  of 
workmen's  dwellings  as  of  upper-class  houses, 
hotels,  and  warehouses.  The  change  is  not  one 
to  be  commended.  A  street  5Uft.  wide,  with 
houses  soft,  high,  is  scarcely  more  pervious  to 
sun  and  wind  than  a  lane  of  '2Qft.  with  houses  of 
32ft.  The  population  on  the  same  area  will 
probably  be  about  the  same,  and  Dr.  Farr  has 
shown  us  that,  netviix  jjivibus^  the  rate  of  mor- 
tahty  increases  as  the  density  of  population. 
Lofty  staircases  tell  unfavourably  on  the  health 
of  those  who  frequently  ascend  them  ;  hence  the 
ana?mia  and  functional  affections  of  the  heart 
which  are  the  plague  of  London  housemaids. 
And  there  are  other  evils  connected  with  over- 
lof  t}-  houses  well  kno  wn  to  the  citizens  of  ' ' Auld 
Reekie  " 

BTJILDEES   AND    PLU-MDEKS   GUILTT  OF 
JCANSLVUGIITEK. 

Groing  on  to  consider  the  best  moans  of 
ameliorating  public  health,  Dr.  Beddoe  said : 
Three  ways  of  doing  this  are  before  us  for 
special  consideration  during  the  present  meeting, 
viz.,  the  best  modes  of  organising  and  officering 
our  sanitary  forces,  the  best  ways  of  applying 
their  work  to  existing  buildings,  and  the  best 
ways  of  preserving  or  restoring  the  purity  of  our 
streams  and  water  supplies.  I  shall  not  presume 
to  enter  on  these  questions  in  the  few  minutes 
that  remain  to  me  ;  but  I  would  like,  before  we 
separate,  to  say  a  few  words  on  what  may  be 
done  towards  the  improvement  of  dwellings 
and  of  schools.  As  for  dwellings,  though  the 
multiplying  of  enactments  is  bad,  and  the  multi- 
plying of  officials  is  worse,  increasing  expense 
and  making  openings  for  jobbery,  I  am  dispo-cd 
to  favour  a  moderate  extension  of  legislation, 
especially  in  the  direction  of  prohibition  of  what 
is  certainly  known  to  be  mischievous  or  unsafe. 
Thus  it  seems  monstroiis  that  men  should  be 
allowed  to  build  new  houses  within  ordinary 
flood  mark,  as  has  been  done  in  hundreds  of 
cases  within  my  own  knowledge  of  late  years. 
There  are  other  offences  against  the  laws  of  na- 
ture which  are  so  clearly  proved  to  be  such  tliat 
they  are  almost  criminal,  such  as  carrying  a 
soU-pipe  under  a  house,  or  placing  a  watercloset 
in  the  middle  of  it,  neglecting  to  trap  a  main 
drain,  and  so  forth.  Surely  the  perpetrators  of 
these  things  ought  to  be  hold  responsible  in 
purse  or  in  person.  When  an  over- worked  or 
muddle-headed  signalman  or  pointsman  com- 
mits a  blunder  which  his  fatal  consequences,  he 
is  amenable  to  criminal  law  ;  much  more  she  aid 
the  artisan  be  so  who,  by  scamping  his  work 
brings  death  into  an  unsu-pecting  household.  I 
cannot  agree  with  those  who  say  that  the  public, 
the  house-tenants,  are  generalh-  indifferent  to 
these  things,  because  they  avoid  putting  them- 
selves to  an  expense  they  cm  often  but  ill  afford 
in  investigating  their  house-drains  for  the  sake 
of  a  doubtful  benefit.  I  should  say  that  among 
the  upper  and  middle  classes,  at  least,  there  is  a 
great  though  vague  horror  of  "bad drains,"  but 


they  have  not  usually  the  skill  nor  the  power  to 
protect  themselves,  the  masons'  anl  plumbers' 
work,  good  or  bad,  being  covered  up  and  con- 
cealed. Few  principles  in  building  seem  to  be 
more  valuable  than  this— that  the  whole  work 
connected  with  the  drainage  of  a  house,  sinks, 
soil-pipes,  ejects,  and  so  forth,  should  be  so 
placed  as  to  be  readily  inspected  and  investi- 
gaited.  Meanwhile,  as  the  public  are  incompe- 
tent to  protect  themselves,  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  liberty  of  builders  and  plumbers  to  do  mis- 
chief should  be  closely  restricted.  Nevertheless, 
after  all  this  has  been  done,  it  will  continue  to 
be  necessary  to  educate  the  community  (I  will 
quote  here  a  Cincinnati  sanitarian.  Dr.  Minor) 
"as  to  the  necessity  that  exists  for  guarding 
against  those  special  causes  of  disease  due  to  the 
collection  of  large  numbers  of  people  on  limited 
areas.  The  possibilities  of  public  hygiene,"  he 
continues,  ' '  depend  on  such  education,  and  to 
promote  it  should  be  one  of  the  main  objects  of 
health  authorities,  whether  raimicipal.   State,  or 


the  best  experts ;  but,  in  view  of  the  progress  of 
democracy.  Dr.  Minor's  advice  as  to  the  educa- 
tion of  the  masses  becomes  more  important.  But 
education  is  needed  in  mmy  matters  pertaining 
to  health  which  concern  iiidividuals  rather  than 
the  public.  The  need  of  ventilation  in  houses  is 
one  of  those.  Dr.  Grejiory  was  aceust  jnicd  —to 
Sir  Robert  Christison  tells  me — to  carry,  when  on 
his  roimds,  a  good  stout  cane  or  stick ;  and  when 
he  had  to  visit  a  case  of  fever  among  the  poor  of 
Edinburgh  this  stink  was  very  apt  to  bo  carried 
in  a  horizontal  position.  So  "the  end  of  the  stick 
was  very  apt  to  poke  itself  through  the  window  ; 
and  the  window  was  very  apt  to  remain  uu- 
raended  until  the  termination  of  the  case,  when 
the  worthy  doctor  would  send  a  glatier. 

SEWAGE  AND  WATEI!  SUPPLY. 

On  Monday,  in  the  Health  Department, 
Dr.  Stevenson  Mdcadam  introduced  the  special 
question  of  the  day,  which  was:  — "What  are 
the  means  which  should  be  adopted  for  the  pre- 
vention of  the  pollution  of  streams,  without 
undue  interference  with  industrial  operations, 
and  for  the  prescrvtition  of  pure  sources  of 
water  supply  ?  "  This  subject,  he  said,  was  of 
national  importance. 

Sir  James  Alexander  r<  ad  a  paper  on  the  same 
subject,  in  which  he  explained  that  the  Anti 
Pollution  of  Rivers  Association,  of  which  he  was 
president,  hoped  to  take  the  owners  of   publii 
works  along  with  them,    and  to  convince  them 
that  their  interests  would  not  sutler  if  thej   did 
their  best  to  prevent   the  pollution  of  our  cnce 
fish-producing  rivers.     They  shoidd  make  everj' 
allowance  for  gentlemen  who  had  succeeded  to 
public  works,  who  should  be  allowed  ample  time 
to   apply  means  for  the  removal  of  the  pollu- 
tion.    But  no  new  works  should  be  opened  with- 
out every   means  being  adaptid  to  prevent  them 
polluting  the  water  of  our  streams.      Some   of 
the  small  towns,  as  Dollar  and  Alva,  -ftere show- 
ing a  good  example  in  adopting  means  for  doing 
away    with    town    pollution.       Major-General 
Scott,   C.B.,   F.R.S.,  in  a  third  paper  on  this 
subject,  said  he  could  not  forbear  to  again  urge, 
as  he  did  six  years  ago  at  the  Glasgow  Congress, 
that  nothing  would  be  done  unless  some  definite 
and  moderate  standard  of  purity  were  prescribed. 
He  would  make  it  imperative  upon  towns   to 
provide  tanks  in    which  all  sewage   should  be 
clarified  by  simple  subsidence,   before  it  was  cast 
into  the  river.     If  the  analyses  of  the  most  emi- 
nent living  chemists  were  to  be  relied  upon,  the 
matters  obtained  from  water-carried  sewage  by 
simple  subsidence,  and  immixed  with  bulky  pre- 
cipitants,  could  readily  be  converted  into  a  port- 
able manure  of  great  value  to  the  farmer.     The 
various  reports  of  the  Rivers  Pollution  Commis- 
sioners, showed   that   in  the  pollutions  arising 
from  woollen  and  dye-works,  paper-mills,  mines, 
collieries,  china-clay  works,   and  coal-washing, 
the  mere  fact  of  impounding  the  liquid  refuse 
products  in  tanks  for  a  spaf.e  of  a  few  hours  was 
sufBcient  to  eft'ect  a  marked  degree  of  improvement 
in  the  effluent.     Indeed,  in  s  .me  cases,  after  this 
simple  treatment,  the  clarified  water  was  found 
to  be  even  more  pure  than  the  river  water  pre- 
vious to   its  use    for  such  industrial    purposes. 
Nearly  every  one  was  now  thoroughly  convinced 
that  sewage   sludge  was  a  perfectly   woithless 
and  unmanageable  commodity,  which  would  not 
even  pay  the  cost  of  carting  to  the  fanner    Such 
he  stated,  was,  however,  quite   a  mistake,     it 
could  be   thoroughly   deodorised   and   prepared 
for  the   farmer    bv  treating  it    with  lime  and 
superphosphate.     He  wished  also  to  point  out 


'.f  Ih.    -u.    .  -fill  M./rkinjf  of 
iikii   pMi-rly   nrraii)ftHl   wcro 


It 


>,  h« 
(lion 


.d   wl. 


(inliT,    Iho   Boanl 

i!    f.,r    ll,.  ....  <,u.\ 


land,  and  eian.pli- 
it,  by  mcanH  of    tu 
becoming     iiumcrou"     in    iliit-lii 
them   a   ]»nniinent    in<th..d  of  ►- 
ind  DUO  whiih  c.iuld  Ui   w 
at  all  tinicB,  nomntl.rh.iw  iii-l.-n. 
which  wa^  not  the  i-am-  wilh  tli..  . 
terns.      The  pr.-ii.i,l   Ktnl..  ..(    th. 
thought,  ini'fll.i.iit  t.)  v,»r<-  t-.n- 
in  the  public  interi-t .      ,,  ii,    !  ,, 
properly  carrio<l    •■ 
urged  that  the  L  . 
Imvo  the  power  to 
all    pollution  to  i  .■ 
glectod  to    rnmply    with  the 
should  hiivo  the  power  t>i  d  . 
charge  the  oireiiiliTs  with  i!  I 

systeiHof  ])uriHcalioii  wa-,  1 
applicabli'  to  the  raw  if 
Glasgow,  forthc  piirifiiiiii 
20  acres  of  hind  would  > 
requisite  tanks.     Hin  i»|- 

ash   and  Umo    were  Ihi-  )■' -i    ji'inu'rK  .li   i'..ii 
water. 

A  disciLssion  cnmied  and  tho  following  rtaola- 
tion  was  adopted  :  ^ 

"Than  it  be  a  recommendation  to  the  muneU 
of  the  association,  that,  in  order  Vi  prawnrv  Um 
purity  of  rivers  and  ntrinniK,  G.ivi"  m.  i,i  .t.i.nlil 
provide   for  the  appi.iiitminl   <.f  I 

inspectors  for  certain  iHirti.m.  of  ■ 
river  basins,  who  sli'iiild  have  th-    : 
ing  certain  effective  meajturo*   for    |.r>:\i;ntm({ 
pollution  1  V  rrquirinif  local  authoritie*   t/i  take 
action,  with  aa    i, -""al  from  »ufh  !i,-[»l.ir»  !n 
the  case  of  Scotland  t.)  tho  Conrt    :  I 

of   England  to  the  Higher   C"  .  ■ 

that  the  .salaries  or  charge*  of 
should  be  defrayed,  like  tho»c  of   in-j.''   r^     f 
mines  and  manufactures  and   under  the  Alkali 
Act,  by  Government,  the  purity  of  rivcru  l-iiix 
for  the  general  good." 

WATEB     ASAlTltU. 

Dr.  Drinkwater  read  a  paper  on  tho  rarioo* 
methods  of  stating  the  resulU  i.f  wnti  r  analjrn* 
for  sanitary  purposes,  in  which  he  advocatxl  tJw 
desirability  of  analysts  stating  tho  re«ulu  of 
analyses  in  the  same  language.  In  tho  «iar»o 
of  the  di.scussion  which  tixik  place  on  the  paper, 
Dr.  Aitken  said  he  thought  that  what  wa»  moro 
required  was  that  analysta  should  adont  the 
same  interpretation  of  tho  rotult*  of  Ihtir 
analyses.  

TUE  SDND.IY  SOCTETT. 

In  the  Art  Department, 

The  Rev.  K.  B.  Drummond  re-id   i  p«rT  on 
the  special  question,  tho  object  ■  i 
served,  was  to  say  a  few  word« 
movement  promoted  by  tho  .Sun 
the  opening  of  museums,  ort  gti 
and  gardens  on  Sundays.     A  t 
sion  indeed  ensued,  and  at  In-' 
Professor  Richmond,  had  to  ronV 
ous  effort  to  restore  order.     U'-- 
ceeded,  he  remarked  that  it  ah  ... 
weakness  of  their  caso  when  g.n;..  ......    -.-..J 

to  put  him  down,  and  did  not  w.iil  f>  h«r  what 
was  to  be  said,  pro  and  fo-i.,  on  the  .|oe.tion. 

AST  ANT)  rrS  BELATIOS   TO   f  - 

formed  the  subject  of  Pr^f. - 
presidential  addn-s..  in  the  .\n 
day.     The  Professor   ».iid    1..^    ; 


connection  with  this  question,  that  in  towns 
such  as  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  where  fcecal 
matters  were  coUected  in  t"bsor  pails  a  manure 
of  a  much  richer  character  could  be  obt^iined  for 
mixing  with  the  sludge  manure,  and  thus  a 
compolind  of  far  higher  value  could  b^  f^P^'^^, 
In  conclusion,  he  desired  to  remind  them  tha 
the  compulsory  adoption  of  the  P\""  °f  f  ^'".'^^ 
ing  the  subsidence  matters  in  tt.nks  need  not  in 
any  way  prevent  towns  from  having  recoursj  to 
any  more^erfect  methods  of  purification  nor 
„i,i,i   if  interfere   with  existing  laws  for  the 


It  would,   in  fact,  serve 


_  __  would  it  interfere   w 

nationalTfo;wkhout"it";herha;;"n"ofirmfoun-  P™t««.t'°'^°f,^,VonToanf  improved  proce^s.^MV: 

dation  in  a  country  having  either  a  ,'-cP"Wican  as  an  mtroduct  on  to  an)  imprm^    p  .^ 

or  a  democratic  fo™  of  Government.'       Of  the  John  H^'"se^   'n  «  f  ^^^    i;Xe  merits  of  the 

need  for  such  education  in   Cincinnati  we  "".^y  t^«  ^i"^*' \°^f'f '^'^ '  ;?XT"^^^ ,, 

judge  from  the  fact  that  a  large  part  of  the  city  three  "".^'l^^f  ^tatfon      dow.  «^rd    intermittent    human   mec J  . 

-     "       ■  •       "•■       ■         above    the   pubbc  -namely,     ''^"S*""^';,':":"  The    first   two   r^^^^ 


with  art  on  that  o.-ca'i.m   ra 

point  of  view  than  fn.m  >•-  ■ 

point.     Referring   in    t 

tecturc,  he  pointed  out  • 

easy   means  of  cmtir.- 

telegraph  whicli    ' 

vears  had,  in     i 

those  local  char  i 

esting  in  the  Engl  111  1 

old  could  not  la.«t  f"r 

mu.st  be    built.     |Ih.-.T 

built  as  well  ni.  ; 

they    succecde-l 

well  roofi-d,  th. 

without  theov.  t 

would  never  1- 

applied   to  wo- 

mcnts.     Noon. 

exerci.«ed,   evei 


drains    into    the   Ohio   river 


waterworks.     In  this  country,  at  present,,  local    titration,     ^°^.  P^i^-Pf  ^^'  ™fti.ient  and  ineffec- 1  very  large  cUv^  •. 

govemme=t  works  pretty  fairiy,  the  lack  of  edu-  I  methods,  hesaid,    wer^^;^,^",";; -  — .-  I ...  various  r.vi^s. 

cation  being  supplied  by  1 


^ov  ^rnelt  work^p^Kt;  fairly,  the  lack  of  edu-    methods   he  said     ---  -^"Sfor  th^ir  work-    to  v-ious  c.n^s  ^..^ 
?ation  bein^  sunnlied  by  the  control  of  a  central    tual,  and  required  too  mu  hi.  na  ^.^^^^   ^^,,„^^,_,  ,^„h,n  .1*  re 


body,  which  can  avail  itself  of  the  knowledge  of  |  ing 


The  third    required   comparatively 


440 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


palleric-3  of  pictures  or  attending:  lectures  upon 
subjects  of  ;e=tlictic  iaterest.  Sinoo,  however, 
the  Education  Act  had  been  brought  into  full 
operation,  a  chimce  presented  itself  to  get  at  the 
very  class  which  stood  most  in  need  of  being 
educated  to  love  what  w.is  beautiful  and  refined, 
and  that  class  would,  he  ventured  to  think,  be 
o-reatly  improved,  even  morally,  by  early  contact 
with  beautiful  objects.  Photography  being  the 
cheapest  and  most  exact  means  at  hand  for  the 
purpose,  he  would  suggest  that  our  Board 
schools,  as  well  as  our  parish  and  Sun- 
day-schools, should,  under  the  guidance  of 
a  committee  of  taste,  provide  them- 
selves with  photographs  of  fine  works 
of  art,  which  should  not  be  confined  merely  to 
reproductions  from  pictures,  but  should  include 
architectural  details,  furniture,  patterns  and 
designs,  of  all  sorts.  Further,  he  would  have 
casts  from  fine  carvings,  which  could  be  pur- 
chased at  a  very  moderate  rate,  hung  with  the 
photographs  on  the  school-room  walls,  so  that 
every  child  who  could  learn  to  write  might  learn 
to  draw  up  to  a  point  which  would  be  of  great 
service  in  after  life.  What  difficulties  to  many 
artisans,  he  would  ask,  woiild  not  have  been 
overcome  if,  when  young,  their  hands  had  been 
cultivated  even  up  to  a  limited  point  of  control 
and  sensitive  delicacy  of  touch?  Besides  health- 
ful amusements,  occupation  for  the  eye  and  hand 
were  the  enemies  of  vice  and  the  strong  armour 
of  probity.  At  present,  he  believed,  board- 
school  children  could  learn  to  draw,  although  in 
accordance  with  a  routine  which  was  net  satis- 
factory ;  but  the  real  question  wis  w hether  the 
scholars  would  not  be  improved  and  for  their 
lifetime  refined  by  being  accustomed  in  early 
childhood  to  liave  constantly  before  their  eyes 
art  in  some  of  its  foremost  poetic  and  practical 
phases ;  and  whether,  being  thus  trained  to  see 
beautiful  works,  the  taste  and  workmanship  of 
the  coming  generation  would  not  be  likely  to  be 
elevated,  and  the  n=ed  for  better  art  become  a 
part  of  its  natural  existence.  It  might  be  very 
justly  asked  how  such  a  scheme  of  teaching  could 
be  carried  out  with  success,  and  the  answer  to 
the  question  was  not  simple.  The  Government 
schools  of  design  were  constantly  educating  men 
as  art-teachers,  and  where  those  had  been  edu- 
cated others  could  be  educated.  We  had  an 
inspector  of  plays,  too  ;  why  should  we  not  have 
an  inspector  of  moral  tastes  for  our  public 
streets  ?  What  a  means  might  not  the  system  of 
large  advertisiug  pictures  by  such  agency  be 
made  for  the  education  of  the  lower"  classes  I 
Professor  Eichmond  concluded  by  expressing  a 
hope  that  good  concerts  would  become  cheaper 
and  cheaper,  so  that  the  people  might  become 
more  and  more  instructed  in  music,  and  by  wish- 
ing success  to  Mr.  Irving,  whose  efforts  in  the 
direction  of  dramatic  art  entitled  him,  he  said,  to 
be  regarded  as  a  pubUc  benefactor. 

THE  AET   OF  THE    ASIATIC  AKD   EOITIN  PEKIODS. 

InthesamesectionDr.  Phene'spaperwasin  con- 
tinuation of  papers  read  at  the  three  preceding 
congresses.  After  sketching  the  art  of  the 
Asiatic  and  Roman  periods  and  examining  that  of 
the  lonians,  he  condemned  the  exhibition  of 
uudraped  statuaiy  and  paintings  in  public,  where 
they  were  seen  by  the  ignorant  and  by  those 
wanting  in  art  education.  Art  should  concern 
itself  with  the  life  of  the  present  day.  In  the 
discussion  which  followed.  Professor  Richmond 
said,  with  reference  to  the  nude  in  art,  that  most 
of  the  subjects  of  the  ancient  schools  were  highly 
moral  and  extremely  beautiful.  If  the  world 
was  of  such  a  prurient  nature  that  it  could  not 
stand  the  sight  of  the  nude  in  art,  ho  was  very 
sorry  for  it,  but  the  treatment  of  the  nude  in 
art,  he  was  free  to  admit,  entirely  depended  on 
the  purity  of  the  individual  who  treated  it. 
Much  damage  had  been  done  in  modern  times  by 
French  art. 

SCULPTUBE. 

Mr.  H.  P.  McCarthy  read  a  paper,  in  which 
he  contended  that,  under  the  capricious  influ- 
ence of  fashion,  sculpture  was  utterly  neglected. 
He  suggested  that  copies  of  the  best  examples  of 
ancient  and  modern  statuary  should  be  placed  in 
our  public  parks  and  girdens,  and  also  the  ap- 
pomtment  of  a  Minister  of  Pine  Arts,  eiupowered 
to  prevent  the  incongruities  in  architecture  fre- 
quently disfiguring  cities. 

The  concluding  meetings  of  the  Consrrefs  took 
pIa_oe_  on  Wednesday.  The  only  department 
which  assembled  for  the  reading  of  papers  was 
that  of   Health,  which  met  iu  the  Parliament 


House,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Beddoe,  and 
listened  to  the  reading  of  two  papers,  one  by  Mr. 
T.  Ivoiy  on  "The  Edinburgh  Water  Supply," 
and  the  other  by  Dr.  Norman  Kerr  on  "  Music 
Halls  "  The  usual  congratulatory  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Council  Chimber.  The  next  sitting 
of  the  Congress  was  fixed  for  Dublin.  No  invi- 
tation was  received  for  1SS2,  but  negotiations 
are  in  progress  for  holding  the  meeting  in  Not- 
tingham. 

THE  AET  EXHIBITION. 

In  connection  with  the  congress,  the  President 
and  Council  of  the  Royal  Scotch  Academy  orga- 
nised an  exhibition  of  the  works  of  deceased  and 
living  Scottish  artists.  The  exhibition  was 
thrown  open  on  Wednesday  week,  and  will  re- 
main open  during  the  congress  and  for  some 
weeks  afterwards.  The  collection  is  an  excellent 
representation  of  Scottish  art,  during  the  past 
two  generations  especially.  It  consists  for  the 
most  part  of  Scotti.sli  landscapes,  portraits  of 
distinguished  Scotch  men  and  women,  scenes 
from  Scottish  history  and  from  the  pages  of 
Scottish  fiction.  There  are  two  or  three  pic- 
tures of  religious  subjects ;  R.  S.  Lauder's 
"  Head  of  Christ"  and  Sir  Noel  Paton's  -'Man 
of  Sorrows"  ;  twoor  three  imaginative  creations; 
David  Scott's  "  Triumph  of  Love,"  and  Sir  Noel 
Paton's  "Fairy  Raid";  but  Classical  subjects 
are  conspicuous  by  their  absence,  almost  the 
sole  instance  in  the  galleries  being  David  Scott's 
' '  Sappho  and  Anacreon.' '  Besides  busts  of 
"Dr.  Stella"  and  "Hamlet,"  and  "Corinua" 
and  "Dante,"  there  are  statuettes  of  "  Wallace  " 
and  "  Bruce,"  and  a  statue  of  "David  Living- 
stone," and  Mr.  Brodie's  statuette  of  "The 
Maid  of  Lorn  disguised  as  a  page."  In  por- 
traiture the  present  exhibition  is  rich.  It  con- 
tains a  specimen  of  Scotland's  earliest  portrait- 
painter  of  any  reputation,  George  Jameson,  of 
Aberdeen,  who  died  in  1G44.  The  picture  is  a 
portrait  of  the  artist.  Of  the  men  of  the  present 
century  there  are  many  examples.  The  historical 
and  genre  pictures  are  limited  in  range  of 
subjects.  Scott  Lauder's  "  Trial  of  Effie  Deans  " 
is  one  of  the  best  specimens.  All  the  leading 
Scottish  landscape  painters  of  the  century  are 
represented.  There  are  several  examples  of 
"Grecian"  Williams,  including  his  "Mara- 
thon" and  "Parthenon."  The  Rev.  John 
Thomson  is  represented  by  three  coast  scenes. 
There  are  two  sea  pieces  by  John  Wilson,  sen. 
Both  Patrick  and  Alexander  Nasmyth  are  fairly 
represented.  It  is  in  the  recent  men  that  the 
collection  is  strongest — Horatio  MaccuUoch, 
William  Simson,  D.  O.  HUl,  Sir  George  Harvey, 
Samuel  Bough,  and  George  Chalmers.  The 
exhibition  contains  some  excellent  water-colours 
and  several  specimens  of  miniature  painting  by 
Thorburn  and  W.  J.  Thomson.  The  sculpture 
is  contributed  chiefly  by  living  artists,  Mr.  John 
Hutchinson  and  Mr.  W.  Brodie  being  the  most 
extensive  exhibitors.  Of  the  other  works  the 
mest  noteworthy  are  busts  of  the  late  D.  O.  Hill 
and  the  late  Sir  J.  Watson  Gordon,  by  Patrick 
Park,  and  a  bust  of  the  late  Sir  WUliam  Fette.=, 
by  Samuel  Joseph. 


RHIND  LECTURES  IN  ARCHAEOLOGY. 

DECOEATIVE  STONEWOEE. 

THE  second  of  the  Rhind  lectures  in  Archfeo- 
logy,  was   delivered  at  Edinburgh  on  the 
7th  inst. 

Mr.  Joseph  Anderson,  the  lecturer,  said  he 
meant  that  day  to  deal  with  "  Decorative  Stone- 
work." The  St.  Yigeans  group  first  occupied 
his  attention.  In  the  course,  he  said,  of 
repeated  alterations,  and  latterly  of  a  very  exten- 
sive reconstruction  of  the  fabric  of  the  church, 
it  was  found  that  the  12th  century  builders  had 
utilised  a  large  quantity  of  fragments  of 
sculptured  monuments  as  building  material. 
After  describing  in  detail  the  features  of  the 
various  remains,  the  lecturer  said  he  would 
group  the  points  of  interest  of  one  of  these  re- 
markable monuments.  It  bore  the  cross  on  the 
obverse  side,  symbols  and  flgure  subjects  pie- 
torially  treated  on  the  reverse.  The  cross  was 
long  shafted,  and  the  full  length  of  the  stone. 
It  was  also  peculiarly  formed.  The  lono- 
shafted  cross  was  often  called  the  Latin  cross 
in  contradistinction  to  the  cross  with  four  arms 
of  equal  length,  which  was  the  common 
Eastern  or  Greek  cross.  But  the  lines  of  the 
Latin  cross  always  make  angles  at  the  intersec- 
tions of  the  arms.    The  cross  he  spoke  of  was 


not  of  the  usual  form  of  the  Latin  cross.  It  had 
semicircular  hollows  at  the  intersections  of  the 
arras  with  the  shaft  and  summit.  This  was  a 
peculiarity  specially  Celtic.  The  stone  also  bore 
an  inscription  in  the  Celtic  language  written  in 
the  alphabet  used  in  the  Celtic  manuscripts.  It 
presented  pictorial  representations  which  in- 
cluded thehuman  figure,  and  a  variety  of  animal 
forms,  some  of  which  were  true  to  nature,  while 
others  were  wholly  imaginary.  It  presented 
pictorial  representations  of  objects  such  as  the 
mirror  and  the  comb,  whioh  were  true  to  the 
reality,  and  also  of  objects,  such  as  the  double 
disc  or  crescent,  which  were  found  frequently 
recurring  with  a  remarkable  persistency  of  foiin 
on  other  monuments,  although  it  was  utterly 
impossible  to  give  them  names  or  fell  their 
significance.  Apart  from  the  ornamental  work 
on  this  monument,  there  were  two  distinct 
phases  of  art  — a  pictorial,  whioh  followed  nature 
and  reality,  and  a  conventional,  which  followed 
arbitrary  and  unknown  iniles.  After  considering 
briefly  what  mode  should  be  followed  in  the 
inductions  from  these  rules,  the  lecturer  said 
that  from  these  features  and  these  consideration? 
to  which  they  gave  rise  it  was  erident  that  in 
contemplating  the  monument  as  a  whole,  we 
stood  in  the  presence  of  a  work  of  art  which 
did  not  link  itself  on  with  any  custom  or  usage 
existing  in  the  locality  at  the  present  time.  The 
Celtic  language  stUl  surrived  in  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  place-names  of  the  parish,  but  not 
one  in  a  hundred  of  those  to  whom  these  names 
were  familiar  had  any  suspicion  of  their  Celtic 
origin,  and  this  inscription  was  now  the  only 
surviving  witness  of  the  fact  that  the  Celtic 
alphabet  as  well  as  the  Celtic  speech  was  once 
known  in  the  lowlands  of  Angus.  The  charac- 
teristic ornamentation  of  the  monument  was 
unfamiliar  to  modern  eyes,  and  perplexing  to 
modern  ideas.  Its  symbolism  was  even  less 
familiar  than  cuneiform  inscriptions  and  Egyp- 
tian hieroglyphs.  The  stone  remained,  but  the 
ideas  which  its  art  embodied  have  passed  away 
with  the  culture  which  produced  them.  It  had 
outlived  that  culture  so  long  that  the  language 
it  was  intended  to  speak  was  now  unintelligible. 
Yet  that  it  once  spoke  eloquently  to  all  eyes, 
who  could  doubt?  Men  did  not  make  monu- 
ments without  a  meaning,  unless  when  their 
poverty  of  invention  obliged  them  to  have 
recourse  to  obsolete  forms,  and  to  appropriate 
the  symbols  of  a  dead  faith.  In  St.  Yigeans 
they  had  a  very  remarkable  group  of  monuments, 
remarkable  alike  as  regarded  their  number  and 
their  character,  for  thirty  such  monuments  was 
a  very  large  number  as  compared  with  all  the 
others  existing'.  If  they  pictiu-ed  this  group  of 
thirty  such  monuments  clustered  round  the 
pre-Norraan  church  on  its  isolated  mound,  if 
they  considered  the  quality  of  the  art,  the  inter- 
est of  the  one  fragmentary  inscription  that 
remained,  and  the  mystery  of  the  .symbolical 
representations  that  occur  among  them,  they 
could  not  but  regret  that  a  group  of  memorials 
so  singularly  interesting,  impressive,  and  instruc- 
tive, should  thus  have  suilered  irretrievable 
destruction.  They  could  judge  of  what  had 
been  lost  by  what  remained  of  these  mutilated 
products  of  a  national  school  of  sculpture,  to 
which  the  special  culture  of  the  present  day  did 
not  disdain  to  tuin  for  instruction  and  for 
inspiration.  (Applause.)  He  could  only  draw 
their  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  memorials 
were  neither  poor  in  design  nor  feeble  in  execu- 
tion— that  they  were,  on  the  contrary,  the 
productions  of  able  minds  and  practised  hands. 
Mr.  Anderson  then  went  on  to  speak  of  the 
form  and  characteristics  of  the  Aberlemno  group, 
and  their  relation  to  that  of  St.  Vigeans,  passing 
on  to  describe  the  Meigle  group,  and  the  general 
features  common  to  the  three  groups.  Special 
attention  was  directed  to  the  intense  Celticism  of 
their  decoration.  The  transition  from  the  purity 
of  Celtic  art  to  12th  century  types  was  then 
sketched,  followed  by  a  consideration  of  the 
special  features  of  the  pure  Celtic  tyjje,  the  area 
of  the  type  (which  is  extremely  limited),  the 
rudertype  which  became  associated  with  it,  lead- 
ing on  to  the  period  of  incised  symbol  stones. 
The  relati^•e  sequence  of  the  two  types,  and 
theirassociation  with  a  third,  brought  the  lecturer 
to  deal  with  the  two  varieties — earlier  and  later 
— of  free-standing  crosses.  Speaking  of  one  of 
the  specimens  at  lona,  Mr.  Anderson  said  it 
presented  no  figure-subjects,  but  was  decorated 
in  the  purest  style  of  Celtic  art  with  such  inimit- 
able beauty,  intricacy,  and  harmony  of  design, 
that  he  was  safe  in  saying  of  it  that  no  finer 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


441 


specimen  of  art  •svorkmauship  in  btone  oxif^ts  in 
Scotland.  (Ajjplause.)  Somewhat  similar  in 
style,  and  not  inferior  in  workmanship,  was  the 
beautiful  cross  at  Kildalton  in  Islay.  The 
special  feature  of  its  ornamentation  was  the 
intense  Celticism  of  its  art.  No  other  specimen 
exhibited  this  in  such  a  striking  maimer.  Its 
two  panels  filled  with  divergent  spirals  and 
trumpet  patterns,  and  mingled  with  circles  en- 
closing groups  of  spirals,  and  wherever  they 
might  be  found,  and  in  whatever  material  they 
might  be  executed,  would  be  certainly  recognised 
as  products  of  Celtic  art.  Nothing  like  them 
could  be  instanced  among  the  art  products  of 
any  other  people  or  any  other  time. 


stituting  the  whole  artistic  wealth  of  a  country    of     i: 


The  Rhind  lecture  delivered  on  Monday  was 
devolved  to  the  above  subject.  Beginning  with 
a  detailed  account  of  the  various  figure  subject 
and  sjTnbols  having  decoration  as  their  special 
feature,  the  speaker  referred  to  the  i^revailin 
forms  of  ornament  and  the  relation  of  their  art  to 
that  of  the  Celtic  MSS.  of  the  Gospels.  On  tlus 
pointhe  remarked  thatitwas  only  when  the  art  had 
been  brought  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence  that  it 
began  to  be  generally  applied  to  monuments  and 
metal  work.  Tliere  was  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  course  of  its  development  was  different 
in  Scotland,  and  hence  it  must  be  inferred  that 
where  we  had  such  a  wealth  of  decoration  ia 
stone  there  must  have  been  previously  a  greater 
wealth  of  design  and  a  higher  style  of  execution 
on  the  pages  of  books  that  had  perished.  The 
lecturer  then  described  the  forms  of  interlaced 
work  and  fretwork,  glancing  at  the  Celtic  spiral, 
and  the  general  character  of  Celtic  decoration — a 
decoration  which,  in  his  opinion,  implied  a 
culture  of  the  imagination  and  great  refinement 
of  taste.  He  next  traced  the  process  of  its 
development,  and  related  the  story  of  its  growth, 
showing  its  latest  phase  as  most  fully  developedjin 
Scotland.  Interlacing  designs  he  showed  to  be 
not  indigenous  to  the  Celtic  area,  and  consider- 
able time  was  devoted  to  an  indication  of  the 
extensive  range  of  these  and  other  elements  of 
Celtic  art  in  space  and  time.  After  considering 
the  Celticism  of  the  art  of  the  Scottish  monu- 
ments, and  comparing  them  with  the  Welsh, 
Cornish,  and  Irish  groups,  the  lecturer  dwelt 
upon  the  sequence  of  the  types  of  monuments 
established  by  their  art  characteristics,  showing 
how  the  Scottish  monuments  differ  from  aU 
others  everywhere.  Speaking  of  Pagan  art  and 
the  art  of  Christian  times,  Mr.  Anderson  summed 
up  in  the  following  terms  : — They  are  monu- 
ments of  Christian  character  and  Christian  time. 
There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  there  was 
amongst  our  forefathers  any  pre-existing  ^or 
Pagan  custom  of  erecting  such  sculptured  monu- 
ments in  honour  of  the  dead.  The  art  of  the 
pre-Christian  sculpture  is  more  usually  concealed 
than  displayed.  We  may  find  the  cover  of  the 
cist,  a  rude  unshapely  block,  sculptured  on  its 
under  side.  But  we  have  never  found  in  Scot- 
land any  Pagan  monuments  erected  over  a  grave 
which  exhibit  the  least  approach  to  a  truly 
artistic  decoration.  The  custom  of  erecting 
such  monuments  is  Christian,  and  Christian 
only,  so  far  as  Scotland  is  concerned,  and  the  art 
they  exhibit  and  the  letters  they  bear  were 
brought  into  this  country  with  the  copies  of  the 
Gospels  from  which  Christianity  was  taught  to 
the  people.  The  art  of  the  monuments  was  a 
peculiar  development  of  the  art  of  these  manu- 
scripts confined  to  an  unusually  resti-ieted  area. 
But  within  that  area  it  was  largely  developed. 
We  have  no  means  of  judging  of  the  extent  of 
its  practice,  except  by  reckoning  up  the  sparsely 
distributed  examples  that  are  left.  It  is  clear 
that  the  number  thus  computed  from  casual  and 
accidental  discoveries  must  fall  far  short  of  the 
whole  number  that  originally  existed.  Yet  up- 
wards of  300  separate  monuments  can  still  be 
enumerated.  Three  hundred  examples  of  an  art 
like  this  represents  a  collection  of  art  materials 
such  as  has  not  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  nation  of 
Northern  Europe.  These  specimens  of  art- 
workmanship  are  not  such  despicable  productions 
that  we  need  to  be  ashamed  of  them.     They  are 

works  of  such  merit — art-materials  of  such  in 


whicli  cannot  be  said  to  under-ostimate  tht 
value  of  artistic  materials  Uo  Hcattortd  in 
neglected  graveyards,  stand  grey  and  weather- 
beaten  on  lonely  hill-sides,  are  existing  ou 
sutlcrance  in  cultivated  fiL-lihi,  arc  built  into 
dykes  by  roadsidts,  converted  into  gatepost*, 
utilised  as  tomb-stones,  door-eteps,  or  garden 
seats,  and  broken  up  as  buUdiug  miiteriuU  or 
macadamisingforroads.  The.su wasted,  mutilated, 
maltreated  remnants  of  a  school  of  art,  which 
flourished  in  Scotland  in  the  dawning  time  of  her 
national  history,  if  now  rescued  from  the  de- 
struction wliich  is  gradually  and  inevitably 
overtaking  them,  would  still  form  a  raagniliceut 
gallery  of  art  materials — materials  of  the  very 
art  which  our  designers,  our  jewellers,  and  our 
sculptors  are  endeavouring  to  imitate,  of  the  only 
art  that  is  inaccessible  to  students  on  account  of 
the  costliness  and  rarity  of  the  works  in  wliich  it 
is  illustrated. 


nUKn 
to  I. 

wl...  .. 
lif.., 
t,.-l.ii 
On  i; 

•■  II 
.In.,,.  , 

nnd  I 

l..'r",  > 


.   fuU- 
tutha 

uarbU 

-   i.y. 

■.lOin, 


A  hlill  lu.re  mriuiis  lu^iij.ii 
Parbwk  lUab  in  tlio  conivr  of  tin 
It  runs:  — 


*'  Tu  llie  ploiu  and  wcU  il<^ 

S  AT 

"we  rrrtrrr  V 


'  1  rvcmrjof 


TRURO   CATHEDRAL. 

THE  new  temporar)-  wooden  chunh — a  bam 
like  affair,  designed  to  hold  some  fivi' !  ;  i  . 
hundred  worshippers,  and  buUt  close  by  tl. 
cathedral  that  is  to  bo — being  now  complete,  t):' 
old  church  of  St.  Mary  has  been  handed  over  ti  . ,_. , 
Mr.  James  Bubb,  the  chief  artificer,  and  his  i.u.i 
staff  for  destruction.  Practically,  this  work,  in  ]''"'  ■ 
part,  has  been  in  hand  several  weeks,  for  all  the  ^^ 
spire,  and  a  greater  portion  of  the  tower,  arc 
already  down.  All  that  Mr.  Bubb  has  directions 
to  preserve  of  the  building  is  a  portion  of  the 
south  arcade  and  the  south-cast  wall,  whose 
ornate  detail,  our  readers  will  remember,  is  con- 
spicuous in  Mr.  Pearson's  elevation  of  the  new 
cathedral  into  which  it  is  to  be  incorporated. 
The  pulling  down  of  the  spire  created  some  little 
excitement,  for  although  little  more  than  100 
years  old,  it  had  been,  of  course,  a  feature  that 
every  living  inhabitant,  and  his  father  before 
him,  had  known  from  childhood.  Spires  are 
very  rare  in  Cornwall,  the  beautiful  one  at 
St.  Bartholomew's  Church,  Lostwithitl,  being 
almost  the  only  one  we  know.  As  for  the  clock, 
it  is  recorded  that  as  soon  as  it  was  lowered  to 
mother  Earth,  several  ancient  Comishmen  col- 
lected, and  s/iook  Us  hands,  whilst  one  of  them 
exclaimed,  "What  a  take  down,  and  I,  who 
have  known  the  fmc  of  'er  all  my  life,  a  living 
here  to  see  it !  "  The  masonry  of  the  tower  and 
spire  has  been  all  numbered,  and  carefully 
stowed  away  ;  it  is  all  of  grey  granite,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  observe  how  strongly  atmospheric 
influences  have  worked  upon  this  material,  and, 
in  a  comparatively  very  short  space  of  time, 
eaten  away  the  angles  and  various  surfaces  of 
the  ashlar,  and  destroyed  the  arrises  of  the 
moulds.  Granite,  as  we  all  know,  is  composed 
of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica,  more  or  le?s  per- 
fectly crystalised  and  united  together.  A  cursory 
examina"tion  of  the  Truro  spire,  now  it  ie  upon 
the  ground,  shows  that  whilst  the  mica  stands 
strong  and  hard,  the  feldspar  disintegrates 
rapidfy.  A  straight  edge  put  over  any  c.int  of 
the  spire  proves  that  the  surface  of  the  granite 
has  been  eaten  away  half  an  inch  or  more.  We 
hear  a  good  deal,  especially  in  suburban  districts, 
of  the  villainous  mortar  used  upon  modem 
buildings.  It  does  not  seem  that  this  is  alto- 
gether a  modern  invention,  for,  at  least  "down 
West,"  the  same  sort  of  thing  was  thoroughly 
understood  durintr  the  middle  of  last  century. 
The  "  mortar  "—we  me  this  word  m  its  accepted 
sense-used  in  the  original  buildingof  the  Truro 
tower,  was  simply  earth,  nothing  more  or  les.<.. 
and  with,  as  Mr.  Dan  Delabole,  tlie  cathedral 
foreman,  remarked  to  us,  "not  so  mu 
as  a  smell  of  lime  about  it  !  ^or  . 
poor  bond  the  onlv  bad  feature  in  the  constn; 
tion.  The  base  of  this  tower,  instead  of  havi: 
its  foundation  upon  the  solid  rock  is  can: 
down  but  a  few  feet  under  the  ground,  and  r, 
upon  a  mi.xtiu-e  of  stone  and  clay,  probably  i 
old  bed  of  the  river.  This  has  led  to  s-: 
serious  settlements  from  time  to  time,  and:  • 
many  of  the  vertical  cracks  one  may  rea.. 
thrust  a  hand.  .    i„    i 

The   church   was  reseated  with  03k  bene 
some  few  years  ago.     These  are  to  be  nm'^ 


Ac. 
Ipniufj... .  . . 

The  pulpit  is  i 
probably    of   Dm 
veueere<l,  ■  ••  ' 
represent  ill  • 
the  dovi',  -A 
with   '  ' 
a  -■ 
IM 
old  .1 

It luay  : 
has  Dot    > ' 
John  L<iu).'i. 
architect,  rec.i'. 
works      from     tl 
already  stated,  M: 
the  spot   by  Mr. 
clerk  of  works,  hi 
the  working'  --tTV 
porary  sh-i 
to  whicli  \' 
by  Mr.   1! 
Mr.  Tretb..,,  ..,,  ... 


A  Local  '  - 
Acton  on  1 
tor.  with  r. : 
theBe.lf..r,i  i 
and  it.i  iii.i. 
applicatii.!,  . 
and  supp  .ri.  u  .■..  . 
eatate,  who  hud  p- 

On  TuesJiT.  »t  ' 
pointed   f  r  •  ■ 
tine  art-;;i! 
subscripti  ! 
ceived.     1* 
and  t)Opi' 

The  no. 
was  const-  ' 
.\.lbW».  It 
bujf.  nortl, 
ITtt.  I"n7 


i  tilt 


!)w  lalaiwa 


trinsic  value  and  suggestiveness-that  our  de-  1  into  the  new  temporary  bmldmg- 
signers,   sculptors,  and  jeweUers  are  willing  to  ^  old  monuments,    the   bcU-,   ana  .e^i^'      f. 
bsrrow  inspiration  from  them.     I  believe  I  am    arch:cological  and  architectural  '"'^"J;  " 'j' , 
correct  in  saying  that  no  variety  of  ancient  art }  carefully  preserredm  a  secure  place  prepare 
workmanship  is  more  generally  imitated  at  the   them  upon  the  site.  _„,„.„  (),,r. 

pre--ent  time,   and  that  the  closer  the  copy  the       Upon  the  north  side  of  the  f^°^"»ry  '"*.,  ^, 
better  the  work.     And  yet  the  originals  con-  |  a  large  alabaster  monument,  dated  ion- 


442 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880., 


CONTENTS. 


The  Price  of  Architecture— I 

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Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 

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XLLUSTRATIONS. 

CHATEAU  DK  LA  JOVABDAYE.— NORTnAMPTOXSHIKE  UN'IO 
BANK,  WELLINGBOROUGH. — NOBTIIAMPTONSHIRE  BANKIN' 
COMPANt'S  bank,  WELLINGBOROUGH.— the  O'brIEN  OB 
PHANAGE,  MARINO,  CLONTABF.  —  A  SIDEBOARD  FOB  . 
DINING-KOOM. — DESIGN  FOB  A  CATHEDRAL  ORGAN  CAS 
AND   SCREEN. 


OURLITHOGRAPHIC  ILLUSTRATIONS- 


CHATEAU  DE  LA  JOVAKDATE. 
The  Chateau  of  La  Jovardaye,  which  vre  illus- 
trate, i.s  situate  in  the  district  of  Brittany  known 
as  the  Morbihan.  It  is  an  interesting  example 
of  a  semi -fortified  residence.  The  entrance- 
court  is  inclosed  by  a  lofty  wall,  with  angle 
bastions,  having  a  clum'm  dc  rond^^  and  openings 
for  firearms.  A  lofty  tower  rises  to  the  north 
and  advances  beyond  the  line  of  building,  so  as 
to  enfilade  the  rear  of  the  house.  The  garden 
and  orchard  are  also  inclosed  by  lofty  walls.  In 
the  former  stands  the  domestic  chapel  of  the 
chateau.  The  earliest  portion  of  the  hoiase  may 
date  circa  1530.  Drawings  for  the  north  win 
were  made  many  years  ago  by  Mr.  Goldie,  sen.^ 
who  also  built  the  tower  and  spire  of  the' 
adjoining  village-church.  The  present  design 
for  restoring  the  east  wing  is  by  Mr.  Edward 
Goldie,  and  after  his  drawing  exhibited  in  the 
Royal  Academy  this  year. 

NOETHAMPTONSHIBE        ITNION       BANK,        WELLTNG- 
BOEOUGH. 

This  building  was  erected  in  1S78-9,  from  the 
designs  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Edward  Sharman,  architect,  of  Wellingborough, 
by  Messrs.  Green  and  Hull,  of  the  same  place, 
Mr.  H.  H.  Packer  acting  very  efficiently  as 
clerk  of  the  works.  The  outer  walls  are  built  of 
the  local  red  sandstone,  lined  internally  with 
bricks.  The  parapet,  cornices,  string-course, 
and  window  and  door  dressings  are  of  Bath 
stone,  alternated  with  red  Duston  stones  in 
arches.  The  moulded  bases  of  piers  are  of  red 
Mansfield,  with  red  Aberdeen  granite  sub-bases. 
The  tills  cf  bank  windows  are  of  tooled,  and  the 
shafts  of  columns  of  polished  grey,  granite, 
supplied  by  Messrs-  Macdonald,  Field,  and  Co. 
The  carving  was  executed  by  Mr.  S.  Barfield, 
of  Leicester.  The  whole  of  the  joiner's  work 
in  bank  is  of  EngUsh  oak.  The  ceiling  is 
divided  into  panels  by  moulded  and  enriched 
oak  ribs.  The  lock  furniture  to  oak  doors  is  of 
bronze,  supplied  by  Smith  and  Son,  of  Bir- 
mingham. The  roof  is  covered  with  green 
slates,  and  finished  with  ornamental  cast-iron 
ridge-crcoting,  supplied  by  Messrs.  Macfarlane 
and  Co.,  of  Glasgow. 

NOETHAMPTONSHIKE   BANKING    COMPANY'S   BANK, 
WELLINGBOEOUan. 

Tms  building  was  erected  in  1878-0,  from  a 
design  by  Mr.  Edward  Sharmun,  of  Welling- 
borough, selected  in  a  limited  competition.  The 
piers  between  bunk  wmdows  are  of  red  Mans- 
field on  moulded  grai  ite  bases,  and  the  heads 


are  of  red  Ketton  ;  the  architect's  original  in- 
tention being  to  use  red  Ketton  ashlar  for  the 
whole  of  the  front,  but  in  accordance  with  the 
wish  of  the  directors,  Derbyshire-stone  was  sub- 
stituted. The  parapet,  cornices,  and  window- 
dressings  are  of  Bath  stone.  The  stone  carving 
is  by  Mr.  Harry  Horns,  of  Exeter,  and  the 
carved  panels  to  front  doors,  by  Mr.  Barfield, 
of  Leicester.  The  walls  of  bank  internally  are 
lined  with  hexagonal  grey  glazed  tiles,  and  an 
inlaid  panelled  oak  dado.  Angles  of  recesses 
are  finished  with  moulded  rouge  royal  and  green 
marble,  to  receive  glazed  tiles  of  walls.  The 
doors,  desks,  and  counter-front  are  of  oak,  with 
inlaid  panels  to  match  dado.  Moulded  pitch- 
pine  ribs,  resting  upon  carved  Caen- stone  cor- 
bels, divide  the  ceiling  of  bank  into  deeply -sunk 
panels,  which  are  filled  in  with  pitch-pine  dia- 
gonal boarding.  The  builder  was  Mr.  A\'.  H. 
Henson,  of  Finedon  ;  his  son,  Mr.  G.  Henson, 
of  Wellingborough,  acting  as  manager  through- 
out. 

o'beien  oephanage,  maeino,  clontaef. 

We  this  week  illustrate  the  second  i^remiated 
design  in  the  above  competition,  particulars  of 
which  will  be  found  on  p.  52,  ante.  One  of  the 
principal  conditions  was  that  "  The  school 
should  be  capable  at  its  opening  to  accommo- 
date 50  boys,  but  to  be  so  arranged  that,  if  funds 
permit,  it  may  be  enlarged  hereafter,  to  give 
accommodation  to  50  additional."  As  maybe 
seen  from  the  key  plan,  the  portion  to  the  right 
of  the  central  block  being  for  advanced  pupils, 
was  to  constitute  the  ifuture  extension.  The 
upper  plan  provided  four  large  domitories,  with 
bath-rooms,  w.c.'s,  master's  apartments,  and  a 
large  prayer-hall  or  oratory,  for  morning  and 
evening  prayer.  The  materials  proposed  were  a 
dark-coloiu-ed  lime.-^tone  for  the  general  body  of 
the  walls,  with  white  or  bluish  limestone  dres- 
sings. The  estimated  cost  was  £15,000.  The 
author  of  the  design  is  Mr.  John  L.  Robinson, 
Great  Brunswick-street,  Dublin. 

A   DINING-EOOJI  SIDEEOAED. 

The  drawings  of  this  dining-room  sideboard  so 
fully  illustrate  the  design  that  little  really  re- 
mains to  be  said.  It  simply  pretends  to  be  an 
ordinary  piece  of  furniture,  with  useful  cup- 
boards, drawers,  and  shelves.  It  is  made  in  hard 
woods  by  Mr.  Wm.  Watt,  of  Grafton-street, 
W.C.,  and  the  design  was  furnished  by  Mr. 
Edward  W.  Godwin,  F.S.A. 

CATHEDEAL   OEGAN-CASE   AND   SCEEEN. 

I  INTENDED  the  '*  Screen*'  to  be  a  west-end 
gallery,  and  the  organ  to  stand  against  the  west 
wall,  as  is  the  case  in  all  the  foreign  cathedrals 
and  churches — a  position  which  is  undoubtedly 
the  best  for  a  big  organ,  both  for  ai^pearance 
and  acoustical  excellence.  The  majority  of  the 
foreign  cathedrals  have  a  small  organ  in  the 
choir,  for  the  purpose  of  accompanying,  while 
the  great  instrument  is  placed  at  the  west  enH. 
But,  of  course,  these  are  well-known  facts, 
though  this  arrangement  is  almost  invariably 
rejected  in  England — a  very  unfortunate  thing, 
in  my  opinion  ;  though,  perhaps,  organs  on  the 
scale  of  the  Continental  ones  could  not  be  placed 
at  the  west  end  of  our  ordinary  English 
churches,  on  account  of  the  west  windows 
coming  down  so  near  to  the  ground,  stiU, 
instruments  of  moderate  size  and  imposing 
appearance  could  be  put  in  such  a  position. 
The  instrument  in  my  drawing  is  meant  for  a 
large  church,  as  I  have  shown  the  great  32ft. 
pedal-pipes  in  the  large  towers.  The  screen,  of 
course,  is  solid,  the  panels  not  being  pierced. 
Such  an  organ  would  scarcely  hide  any  archi- 
tectural feature  in  a  building  of  the  size  of 
Westminster,  where  the  west  window  has  some 
50ft.  of  wall  below  it. — Aethue  G.  Hill. 

A  report  was  received  by  the  Lambeth  Vesfrv 
last  week  from  the  sanitary  committee  as  to  the 
quality  of  bricks  used  in  the  inside  walls  of  the  new- 
buildings  on  the  Elm  Park  estate.  Brixton  Hill,  in 
which  it  was  recommended  that  the  vestry  call  the 
attention  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  AVorks  to 
the  brickwork,  which  was  stated  to  be  contrary  to 
the  Amendment  Act  of  1878.  Mr.  Fowler  stated 
that  the  material  was  extremely  bad,  and  alleged 
that  the  builelers  had  not  been  interfered  with  in 
conseejuence  of  the  el'strict  survej-or  (a  bed -ridden 
old  gentleman)  being  unable  to  attend  to  his  duties. 
The  recommendation  was  agreed  to.  It  seems 
elesirable,  iu  the  jniblic  interests,  that  Mr.  Fowler's 
allegation  as  to  tlie  incapacity  of  the  district  sur- 
veyor should  be  strictly  inquired  .into. 


METROPOLITAN  BOARD  OF  WORKS. 

AT  Friday's  meeting  of  this  Board  a  report 
was  read  from  Mr.  G.  VuUiaray,  super- 
intending architect,  on  a  letter  from  Mr.  R.  L. 
Sibley,  district  surveyor  of  Clerkenwell,  request- 
ing the  Board  to  determine  the  amount  to  be 
paid  to  him,  as  interim  surveyor  of  West  IsUng- 
ton,  by  the  incoming  surveyors.  Sir.  Vulliamy 
reported  that  Mr.  Sibley  had  acted  fur  10  weeks 
since  the  death  of  Mr.  Moseley  ;  last  year's  re- 
ceipts were  £1,050,  but  considering  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  district  had  been  added  to  Clerkenwell, 
it  would  be  eqiutable  that  the  new  surveyor  for 
North- West  Islington  should  pay  Mr.  Sibley 
£100,  and  that  for  South-AVest  Islington  £90, 
in  consideration  of  receiving  all  fees  that  may 
have  accrued.  The  Board  then  proceeded  to  the 
election  of  district  sm-veyors  for  the  divided  elis- 
trict.  Thirty-three  candidates  offered  themselves 
for  either  appointment.  The  elections  were 
conducted  on  the  "exhaustive"  principle,  the 
candidates  being  reduced  to  six  in  number  by  a 
preliminary  show  of  hands.  The  following  list.s 
give  the  dctaUs  of  voting,  a  dagger  indicating 
the  first  half-dozen  in  the  preliminary  list,  and 
an  asterisk  the  candidates  dropped  at  successive 
votings :  — 

North-west  Islington.— Preliminary  vote  :  t  Ham- 
mond, F.,  29  ;  ■(■  McDonell,  G.,  -.M  ;  -I-  Bridgman,  H.  H., 
2-2  ;  +  Street,  E.,  22  ;  t  Stenning,  A.  E.,  21 ;  t  Dale,  Dr. 
R,20-,  Large,  W.  A.,  20:  Ashbridge,  A.,  19;  Carritt, 
E.,  18  ;  Todd,  F„  17 ;  Brooks,  C.  W.,  15  ;  Scrymgour,  W. 
H.,  15;  Conder,  A.,  14;  Hunter,  P.,  13;  .James,  Jas.  W., 
13  ;  Elkington,  G.,  jun.,  12 ;  Hewitt,  E.  E.,  12  ;  McLach- 
lan,  H.,  12;  Notley,  F.  C,  12  ;  Quilter,  J.  S.,  11 ;  Lees, 
W.  H  ,  10 ;  Ferguson,  G.  M.,  9 ;  Edmeston,  J.  S.,  8 ; 
Karslake,  L.,  8  ;  Mundy,  T.  E  ,  7 ;  Smallpeice,  W.,  7  ; 
Pownall,  E.  E..  4;  Taylor,  A.  T.,  4;  OreUier,  W.,  3: 
Stone,  T,,  3 ;  Buxton,  W.  J.,  1 ;  and  Hanbury,  C,  0.  In. 
deciding  tie  for  lowest  place  in  six.  Dale  received  19  votes 
and  Large  14.  2nd  vote  :  Hammond,  28  ;  McDonell,  24  i 
Street,  19;  Dale,  16;  Stenning,  16;  'Bridgman,  9.  3rd 
vote  :  Hammond,  29  ;  McDonell,  20  ;  Stenning,  17  ;  Dale, 
16;  'Street,  12.  4th  vote:  Hammond,  29  ;  McDonell,  20; 
Dale,  18 ;  ^Stenning,  16.  6th  vote :  Hammond,  29  ; 
McDonell,  23;  *Dale,  16.  Final  vote:  Hammond,  22  ; 
•'McDonell,  12. 

SouTn-"WEST  Islington.— Preliminai-y  vote:  -f  Carritt, 
22 ;  -i-  Dale,  22 ;  \  McDonell,  22 ;  t  Large,  19  ;  t  Bridgman, 
18  ;  t  Street,  IS ;  Stenning,  17  ;  Todd,  15  ;  Conder,  14  ; 
Hunter,  14;  Ouilter,  14;  Elkington,  jun.,  13;  Hewitt, 
13;  Lees,  13;  McLachlan,  13 ;  Ashbridge,  12;  Scrymgour, 
12;  Edmeston,  11;  Brooks,  10;  James,  10;  Notley,  10; 
KarsLake,  7 :  Ferguson,  6  ;  Smallpeice,  6  ;  Taylor,  6  ; 
Mundv,  5;  Stone,  5;  Buxton,  2;  Grellier,  2;  Waine,  2 ; 
Pownall,  I ;  and  Hanbury,  0.  2na  vote :  McDonell,  21 ; 
Dale,  20  ;  Large,  17  ;  Carritt,  IG  ;  Street,  15  ;  'Bridgman, 
10.  Si-a  vote  :  McDoneU,  21 ;  Dale,  19 ;  Street,  17  ;  Large, 
14 ;  -Carritt,  11.  4th  vote  :  McDonell,  23  ;  Dale,  23  ; 
Large,  14 ;  'Street,  13.  5th  vote  :  McDonell,  21 ;  Dale, 
17  ;  Large,  17.  In  deciding  tie  :  Dale,  20  ;  'Large,  15. 
Final  vote:  McDonell,  20;  Dale,  14. 

Messrs.  Hammond  and  McDonell  having 
answered  the  usual  cjuesl  ions,  and  further  agreed 
to  pay  Mr.  Sibley  the  remuneration  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Vulliamy,  were  elected.  Pour 
tncoiirnger  Ics  uutrcs,  it  was  decieled  not  to  grant 
an  application  of  the  Shoreditch  Vestry  for_a 
contribution  towards  the  cost  of  improvements  in 
Curtain-road  and  Mintern- street,  because  they 
were  carried  out  previously  to  such  appUcation 
being  made.  Mr.  H.  T.  Wakefield  was  ap- 
pointed, at  a  salary  of  £130  a  year,  to  fill  a 
vacancy  in  the  engineers'  department,  caused  by 
the  death  of  Mr.  J.  McCleary.  The  following 
applications  for  permission  to  borrow  were 
granted:— LsUngton  Vestry,  £2,800,  for  pur- 
chasing freehold  site  and  erecting  stables- 
keeper's  house  thereon ;  Kensington  Vestry, 
£10,657,  for  wood-paving  works;  AVestminster 
District  Board,  £7,500,  for  wood-paving  works  ; 
and  a  loan  of  £4,000  for  paving  works  was 
granted  to  the  Vestry  of  MUe  End  Old  Town.  A 
long-standing  di.spute  was  brought  to  a  close, 
it  being  reported  by  the  Building  Act  Committee, 
with  reference  to  the  letter  from  Mr.  K.  Walker, 
district  surveyor,  as  to  the  construction  of  the 
stores  of  the  Civil  Service  Co-operative  Society, 
at  No.  28,  Haymarket,  that  certain  works  have 
been  carried  out  for  giving  additional  strength 
to  the  building,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  super- 
intendent architect  ;  and  the  reference  to  the 
conmiittee  was  accordingly  discharged,  subject 
to  certain  minor  conditions  being  complied  with. 
It  was  decided  to  grant  Mr.  R.  Chard's  applica- 
tion for  a  certificate,  under  the  Boards  Act  of 
IS 78,  for  a  concert-hall  and  assembly-room,  to 
be  called  Brixton  Hall,  Acre-lane,  Brixton  ;  and 
a  similar  certificate  was  also  granted  as  to  the 
Royal  Victoria  Coffee  Music  Hall,  late  the  Vic- 
toria Theatre,  in  the  New  Cut.  subject  to  enlarge- 
ment of  exits  in  Waterloo-road  from  3ft.  4ln._to 
5ft.  each,  and  the  straightening  of  gallery  stair- 
case. 


Oct  15,  IZwSO. 


The  Building  1}zws,Qct  \S,  I^ZvO. 


Scale    of"    feel 

V-*^-     t-l  H  H  H  H  W  r  -^^i.d 


A-  Sideboard  •  for-  a  •  Dining  •  Room  •  by  •  E  W- Godwin  f.s.a. 


MADE       BY      wr  .     WATT 


Corn t re   C 


•5cole   to  DelciiU 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


455 


ST.  ALBAN'S  ABBEY. 

ME.  HENRY  J.  TOULMIN,  Hon.  See.  St. 
A'lban's  Abbey  restoration  committee, 
states,  in  a  letter  to  the  Tunes:  "That  Sir  Edmund 
Beckett  hasno  w  given  orders  under  a  faculty  lately 
granted  to  him  to  destroy  Abbot  "VYheathamp- 
stead's  west  window  (of  the  date  of  Uemy  VI.), 
and  to  replace  it  with  a  window  of  his  own  com- 
position, which  may  be  exceedingly  effective  to 
those  who  admire  the  high  art  of  the  19th  cen- 
tury, but  extremely  distasteful  to  those  who 
respect  bygone  times  and  the  historical  associa- 
tions of  this  ancient  Abbey. 

"  If  the  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Ancient 
Monuments,  aided  by  a  small  public  subscription, 
would  now  proceed  against  and  obtain  an  in- 
junction, they  would,"  in  Mr.  Toulmin's  opinion, 
"prevent  this  iniquitous  proceeding,  as  Sir 
Edmund's  faculty  was  to  repair  the  west  front, 
and  not  to  destroy  any  portion  of  it.  Sir 
Edmund  is  carrying  out  hrs  own  wilful  way 
against  the  remonstrance  of  his  bishop  and  the 
wish  of  the  archdeacon,  rector,  churchwardens, 
and  sidesmen  of  the  Abbey  church ;  and  a 
petition  signed  by  the  Lord-Lieulenant  and 
many  of  the  leading  inhabitants  of  the  city  of 
St.  Albans  and  its  neighbourhood  has  lately 
been  sent  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  requesting 
him  to  interfere.  Even  a  lavish  expenditure  of 
money  from  ample  resources  in  this  pseudo- 
restoration  will  hardly  recompense  the  men  of 
Hertfordshire  for  the  injury  done  to  their  great 
county  church.  A  sum  of  £400  to  £.500  would 
be,  I  believe,  sufficient  to  repair  the  window  to 
make_  it  last  for  a  great  many  years  to  come.  I 
may  say  Mr.  John  Scott,  whom  Sir  Edmund 
promised  to  consult  (but  on  such  terms  as  no 
leading  architect  could  submit  to),  deprecates 
and  deplores  this  iconoclasm  as  much  as  we  do." 


released  instantly  by  a  touch  of  the  lever.  It  is 
superior  in  many  respects  to  the  old  bench  dogs 
in  present  use. 

It  consists  of  a  very  small  bedplate  (having 
two  pins  on  the  underside  to  drop  into  holes  in 
the   top   of  bench),    and   an   arm   or  knife   for 


CHEPSTOW    CASTLE. 

IN  an  antiquarian  paper,  a  writer  in  the 
Saturday  liciivir  remarks  :  The  castle  stands 
on  the  irregularly  sloping-edge  of  a  lofty  lime- 
stone cliff,  that  rises  perpendicularly  from  the 
Wye,  by  which  river  it  is  defended  on  the 
north  ;  the  other  sides  being  secured  by  a  deep 
diy  moat.  The  noble  architectural  remains, 
though  the  towers  and  haUs  are  roofless  and 
floorless,  are  sufticiently  entire  to  recall  the  walls 
that  in  16.56  confined  Jeremy  Taylor,  the  Chry. 
sostom  of  English  divinity.  Of  the  former 
strength  of  the  fortress  there  is  yet  vi-ible  evi- 
dence. The  outer  walls  contain  enough  com- 
pleteness to  prevent  entrance  except  by  the 
massive  eastern  gateway.  This  is  of  the  period 
of  Edward  I.  ;  and  entering  between  its  bold 
round  towers,  we  find  a  grass-covered  court, 
sixty  yards  long  by  twenty  broad,  which  is  suc- 
ceeded by  three  other  courts  of  narrower  pro- 
portions, the  whole  fortress  having  been  con- 
structed in  adaptation  to  the  natural  ridge  on 
which  it  stands.  Though  there  is  some  Roman 
masonry  in  the  structure  of  the  great  west  gate, 
we  need  give  no  more  credence  to  Stowe's  asser- 
tion that  the  castle  was  first  built  by  Julius 
Cajsar  than  to  Leland's  report  that  a  tower 
called  Longine  was  "  erected  by  one  Longinus, 
a  Jew,  father  of  the  soldier  whose  spear  pierced 
the  side  of  Christ."  To  the  right  of  the 
eastern  or  principal  gatehouse  are  the  offices, 
including  the  kitchen  and  lesser  hall  (temp. 
Edward  II.),  some  of  which  apartments  are 
inhabited  by  the  custodian  of  the  ruins.  To 
the  left  is  an  ivy-draped  building,  outwardly 
perfect,  called  Morten's  Tower.  This  is  an 
Early  English  work,  and  contains  in  its  upper 
chamber  the  lord's  oratory — a  beautiful  13th- 
century  chamber,  with  a  fine  window  enriched 
with  rose  ornament.  Beyond  the  second  court, 
which  has  been  planted  as  a  garden,  stands 
FitzOsbern's  Nonnan  keep,  or  what  remains  of 
it,  a  good  deal  of  Early  English  work,  including 
some  fine  details  in  the  clustered  columns  of  the 
windows  of  the  great  banqueting-hall,  having 
replaced  the  earlier  structure.  Beyond  the 
great  hall  is  another  courtyard,  and,  finally,  the 
back  gatehouse. 


JOINERS'  PATENT  BENCH-KNIFE. 

MESSRS.  SALMON  BARNES  AND  CO., 
of  Ulverston,  are  introducing  a  very 
useful  tool  under  the  above  name.  It  is  compact, 
cheap  and  secure,  and  can  be  used  without  any 
loss  of  time,   as  the  work  can  be  secured  or 


"^-"WuL 


Ifc.fii 


S"' 


holding  the  work  fiimly  bttween  itvelf  and  the 
bench-hook  ;  this  arm  or  knife  is  pushed  against 
the  work  by  the  action  of  the  small  lever  handle 
and  cam.  The  dimensions  are  only  3iin.  in 
width,  by  9in.  in  length,  over  all,  and  as  the 
knife  is  made  in  a  very  compact  form,  it  is  not 
in  the  least  in  the  way  on  the  bench.  The  weight 
is  only  21b.  so  that  it  can  be  comfortably  carried 
in  an  ordinary  joiner's  kit. 


battens  are  made  3ft.  long  by  .3in.  and  .'liu.  wide. 
As  the  squares  are  already  grooved  round  tho 
edges,  a  skilled  joiner  can  readily  lay  a  floor 
without  the  inconveniences  attending  tlio  use  of 
glue. 

The  old  Jerusalem  Coffee  House,  now  "The 
Bodega,"  in  Cowper's-court,  Comliill,  has  been 
lately  rebuilt,  and  the  basement,  set  apart  for  tho 
wines,  has  been  laid  with  marble  mosaic  paving, 
by  Mr.  J.  F.  Ebncr.  The  main  area  is  of  white 
tesserte,  and  the  border  has  been  laid  of  har- 
monious mixed  colours  (meschiato),  producing 
an  extremely  durable  and  pleasing  floor,  not  the 
least  merit  of  which  is  tho  reflection  of  tho  light 
from  the  surface.  The  advantage  of  mosaic 
paving  for  public  restaurants  and  bars  over  wood 
floors,  and  even  tile,  is  obvious :  it  is  impervioiLs 
to  damp,  does  not  wear  hollow  like  tile  floors, 
and  cjn  be  kept  clean  with  less  labour 
than  other  kinds  of  paving.  AVe  observe 
other  improvements  in  the  luncheon-bar ;  one  of 
these  is  an  ingenious  method  of  railing  the  bar- 
rels from  below  by  the  use  of  hydraulic  power, 
so  that  a£  each  barrel  becomes  empty,  another 
one  takes  its  place  on  the  stand  witliout  the 
labour  and  inconvenience  of  lifting  the  barrel 
otf,  and  rolling  another  to  its  place.  One  ad- 
vantage of  the  arrangement  is  that  the  ales  arc 
not  shaken.  The  "  champ.igne  refrigerator," 
also  an  invention  of  Mr.  Hayes,  the  manager, 
forms  a  novel  feature  in  the  bar.  It  is  a  circular 
rack  for  bottles,  having  a  cylinder  up  its  centre 
containing  a  spiral  tube,  through  which  water 
(iced)  is  made  to  ascend  and  trickle  over  a  bcU- 
shaped  spreader  at  the  top  through  the  variouK 
tiers  of  bottles.  The  arrangement  of  the  racks 
and  casks  along  the  side  walls,  and  a  very  plea- 
sing chimney-piece  with  tilts  and  over-mantel, 
add  to  the  effect. 


PARQUET  AND  MOSAIC  FLOORS. 

AS  a  recently  revived  industry,  the  manufac- 
ture of  parquetry  has  made  great  progress 
of  late  years.  But,  Uke  other  decorative  manu- 
factures, we  have  real  and  sham  kinds  of 
parquetry.  Architects  and  builders  are  indebted 
to  their  brethren  in  Hungary  and  Gemiany  for 
improved  methods  of  timber  flooring  without 
nails,  and  the  Hungarian  parquet  flooring, 
which  has  lately  forced  its  way  into  the  market 
by  its  quality  and  low  price,  deserves  the  atten- 
tion it  is  receiving.  We  have  just  had  occa- 
sion to  inspect  some  capital  solid  Hungarian 
parquetry  which  has  been  laid  in  the  great  hall 
of  the  Merchant  Tavlors'  Company,  in  Thread- 
needle-street,  by  Mr.  Jos.  F.  Ebner,  of  51, 
Clerkenwell-road.  This  parquetry  is  manufac- 
tured abroad  by  steam-machinery  at  a  very 
reasonable  price,"  and  is  one  inch  solid.  The 
pattern  in  the  centre  of  hall  consists  of  squares 
sub-dirided  into  panels  and  placed  diagonally, 
entirely  of  oak,  with  a  parquet  border  of  the 
same  desio-n,  but  laid  square  and  reUeved  by 
marginal  inlavs  of  walnut.  A  very  excellent 
and  effective  "floor  has  been  produced  at  a  low 
price— we  think  about  Is.  7d.  a  foot  super.  The 
squares  are  grooved  together  with  tongues  with- 
out glue,  and  the  work  is  wax-pohshed  Mr. 
Ebner,  on  his  new  premises  opposite  the  Italian 
Church  Hatton-garden,  has  a  large  assortment 
of  patterns  for  parquetry  floors  and  borders, 
suitable  for  every  purpose  the  architect  can 
desire,  from  the  plainest  oak  batten  or  herring- 
bone pattern  to  the  richer  geometrical  design  of 
inlaid  walnut  and  white  ash.  Nothing  can  be 
more  true  and  perfect  than  some  of  the  exam- 
ples of  this  soUd  grooved  work.  The  borders 
manufactured  are  as  various  as  the  centres.  We 
see  specimens  of  plain  panels  formed  by  dark 
walnut  and  white  Hungarian  ash,  8in.  wide 
from  Is.  lid.  per  foot  super  ;  ribbon,  and 
fret,  and  interiacmg  patterns  from  2s.  Od.  to 
3s  Sd  The  Greek  fret  pattern,  with  ash 
lines  on  the  oak,  is  a  very  pleasmg  border, 
suitable     for    a    hall    or    nassage.       We 


find 
the 


the  price  is  marked  23.  2d.  a  foot^ 
same  pattern,  with  dark  walnut  hues,  is  2s  fad 
Plain  oak  polished  parquetry  can  be  laid  at  a 
cost  of  12s.  a  yard  ;  while  for  2s.  and  2s.  2d  per 
foot  square  a  handsome  floor,  superior  in  manu- 
facture, of  geometrical  design  in  oak  walnut,  and 
white  ash,  can  be  laid.  Some  of  the  star  pat- 
terns, and  those  with  ashand  walnut  intersecting 
squares,  are  very  effective  floorings.  We  -"ay  add 
that  prepared  batten  flooring  can  be  laid  on  joists 
and  the  price  in  oak  is  9d.  per  foot.  The  squares 
of  parquetry  can  be  supplied  to  any  reqmre- 
meuts  or  design,  but  the  stock  patterns  are  to  be 
had  made  u|  from  1ft.  to  3ft.  super,  and  the 


UNHEALTHY  HOUSES. 

ON  Monday  night  Dr.  A.  Maxwell  delivered 
the  second  of  a  .series  of  "  Medical  Talks" 
at  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  18C, 
Aldersgate-street,  the  subject  being,  "Dangers  to 
Health  ;  or.  Unhealthy  Houses."  Dr.  Maxwell 
said  some  years  ago  this  country  was  afllictcd  by 
what  wascalled  the  black  death,  swcatingsickness, 
and  plague.  These  diseases  were  not  known  at  the 
present  time,  but  we  did  stiU  occasionally  bear  of 
cholera.  People  used  generally  to  trace  these 
terrible  epidemics  to  a  supernatural  origin,  but 
they  would  find  the  explanation  much  nearer 
home  in  the  habits  and  surroundings  of  the 
people.  Amongst  the  diseases  generated  by  un- 
healthy houses  were  typhoid  fever,  diphtheria, 
diarrhoea,  headache,  and  rheumatism,  and  in  case 
of  epidemic,  those  occupying  unhealthy  houses 
were  much  more  Ukely  to  succumb  than  others. 
Having  referred  to  the  evils  arising  from  damp 
houses,  the  lecturer  said  there  were  three  condi- 
tions to  be  fulfiUed  in  a  healthy  dwelling-first 
it  must  be  dry;  second,  there  must  be  no  foui 
air,  but  plenty  of  fresh  air  ;  third,  there  must  be 
no  foul  water,  but  plenty  of  good  water.  He 
dirtcted  attention  mainly  to  the  question  of 
drainage,  which  he  said  was  a  subject  very  much 
ne-lected,  as  unplca.sant  to  dwell  upon,  but  which 
wa'sreallv  far  more  important  than  the  artL,t.c 
mouldings  of  the  draw  ng  rooni,  »«  «"^ovU 
health  the  peace  and  comfort  of  'l'«  I'"™'- jT™ 
destroyed.  With  the  aid  of  diagrams  Dr.  Jlax- 
weU  iUustrated  the  usual  sanitary  arrangements 
J.a  house,  and  explained  how  it  was  that  di.-case 
freauentr  arose.  As  a  rule  there  was  only  one 
cistern  so^ that  the  noxious  gases  generated  in 


"introduced  to  the  house. 


hich  should 
and  household  purposes 
to  have   a  ventUating  pip- 


wns  thus  introducei  lo  rue  ...u.-.     It  was  most 

c  connected  with  the 
dra^T^oTharthe  foul  air  could  l^carri^^^^^ 
at  the  top  of  the  ^ou-'C.  He  oo°au  '■  . 
ferring  to  the  question  "f  7°''''";°i°;,^^i  at  the 
vote  of  thanks  was  Pa*^-l,">„^^ber  o^  aniuvry 
close  of  the  1-^^'"%  i,tt  by  Messrs.  DoJ^^^^ 
appliances  were^kindlykntby^^^^  J   Tyler  and 

|t^°of   Newfafe-kreet,   for  the  purpose  of 
iUostrating  the  lecture. 


456 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


COMPETITIONS. 
Batswateb. — In  a  limited  competition  for 
rebuilding  St.  Matthew'.s  Church  and  vicarage, 
Bayswater ;  the  committee  unanimously  selected 
the  design  submitted  under  the  motto  "  Columns 
Avoided,"  the  author  being  Mr.  John  Johnson, 
archit-eet,  9,  Queen  Victoria-street,  Mansion 
House,  E.G.  It  is  proposed  to  proceed  with  the 
church  as  soon  as  possible,  the  estimated  cost  of 
which,  with  tower  and  spire,  is  £16,000,  and  the 
vicarage  £3,000.  The  existing  church  and  ves- 
try will  be  retained  for  use  as  long  as  possible,  to 
avoid  the  cost  of  erecting  a  temporary  church  or 
dispersing  the  congregation.  Messrs.  Dove, 
Bros.,  biulders,  of  Islington,  London,  wiU  carry 
out  the  works  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
architect.  Mr.  H.  S.  Legg,  architect,  of  Christ's 
Hospital,  was,  we  believe,  the  other  competitor, 
Mr.  Wm.  Emerson,  and  Mr.  Pearson,  A.R.A., 
having  declined  to  engage  in  the  competition. 

Dtxn'dalk  Watee  Sutply. — The  town  im- 
provement commissioners  have  offered  to  civU 
engineers  a  premium  of  £100  for  the  set  of 
plans  proposing  the  best  source,  and  least  ex- 
pensive in  execution,  for  a  water  supply  to  a 
population  of  about  20,000.  The  competition 
will  be  decided  by  the  Improvement  Commis- 
sioners themselves,  subject  to  the  appointment 
of  the  cngineer-in-chief  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board,  and  it  is  expressly  provided  that 
the  premium  will  only  be  paid  in  the  event  of 
the  source  and  plan  being  adopted  by  the  Com- 
missioners, and  finally  approved  by  the  Local 
Government  Board's  engineer.  Plans,  reports, 
and  estimates  of  total  cost,  and  supply  per  head, 
are  to  be  sent  in  by  to-morrow  (Saturday). 

Glasgow  Municipal  Buildexgs.  —  At  the 
meeting  of  the  Glasgow  Town  Council  on  the 
7th  inst.,  the  Municipal  BuQdings  Committee 
reported  that  they  should  refer  the  question  to 
the  Town  CoimcU  for  instructions  before  pro- 
ceeding in  the  matter.  The  Lord  Provost  then 
moved  that  the  discussion  on  the  designs  and 
report  be  adjourned  for  a  week,  and  Bailee 
Scott,  in  seconding  this,  amidJst  impatient 
protests,  offered  a  correction  as  to  the  probable 
cost  of  the  enterprise.  It  had  been  said  that  the 
municipal  buildings  would  only  cost  £1.30,000, 
according  to  the  conditions  of  the  competitions  ; 
but  the  real  cost  would  be  between  £100,000  and 
£500,000,  as  the  sum  of  £160,000  had  been  ex- 
pended on  the  purchase  of  site,  and  it  would 
cost  £100,000  to  furnish  the  buildings.  The 
discussion  was  then  adjoiu^ed. 

Letton  Public  Offices.— The  local  board  of 
Leyton,  E.,  agreed  last  week  to  have  a  limited 
competition  for  the  proposed  public  offices.  The 
chief  feature  is  to  be  a  hall  containing  from 
1,.500  to  2,000  superficial  feet,  and  the  cost  of 
erection  of  this  and  the  board-rooms  and  offices 
is  limited  to  £4,000.  Premiums  of  25,  15,  and 
10  guineas  are  offered  respectively  for  the  three 
best  designs,  the  first  of  these  to  be  merged  in 
the  commission  of  5  per  cent,  should  the  build- 
ing be  carried  out  by  the  author  of  the  selected 
design. 

The  RowtAUD-HrLL  Memoeiai,  Stattte. — At 
a  meeting  of  the  Rowland-HUl  Memorial  Fund 
Committee  held  on  Friday,  it  was  announced 
that  the  following  sculptors  have  been  selected 
to  compete  for  the  statue  proposed  to  be  erected 
at  the  south-east  comer  of  the  Royal  Ex- 
change: Messrs.  Birch,  A.R.A.,  Eli  Johnson, 
E.  R.  Mu'lins,  J.  H.  Thomas,  Charles  Bacon, 
Adams-Acton,  Ktyworth,  WUliamson,  E.  0. 
Ford,  Bruce-Joy,  and  Forsyth. 

Whitbt  Haebouf.  Impeovement  Scheme. — 
Last  week,  at  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the 
"Whitby  Piers,  the  c  erk  (Mr.  P.  G.  Coble)  re- 
ported that,  in  compliance  with  the  Board's  in- 
structions, he  had  invited  Mr.  Messent,  engineer 
for  the  Tyne  Commissioners,  to  inspect  the 
various  plans  sent  in  for  competition  for  the 
premium  offered  by  the  trustres  for  the  best 
plans,  with  sections,  reports,  and  estimate  of 
costs  for  improving  the  harbour  at  Whitby,  and 
that  gentleman  had  promptly  agreed  to  do  so. 
Mr.  Coble  produced  the  report  of  Mr.  Messent, 
in  the  course  of  which  he  said  he  was  guided  in 
liis  judgment  as  to  the  plan  best  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  "miitby,  namely  :  —  1st.  To 
remedy  the  dangerous  entrance  by  preventing  or 
largely  reducing  heavy  seas  entering  the  har- 
bour and  the  range  of  the  sea  within  it ;  2nd.  To 
increase  the  depth  of  the  entrance,  so  as  to  en- 
able the  harbour  to  be  taken  more  safely,  and 


thereby  save  loss  of  life  and  property  in  bad 
weather  and  strong  seas  ;  3rd.  To  stop  sand 
from  washing  into  the  harbour,  especially  from 
the  westward,  and  being  as  at  present  injuriously 
deposited  within  it  between  the  entrance  and  the 
Scotch  Head  :  4th.  To  rectify  the  crooked  channel 
from  the  bridge  to  the  entrance,  and  substitute 
a  safer  and  deeper  one  to  sea  ;  the  amount  cal- 
culated for  expenditure  not  to  exceed  £40,000. 
These  were  the  principles  on  which  he  had 
grounded  his  decision,  which  was  that  the  plan 
best  adapted  for  the  reqiurements  of  Whitby 
was  No.  4.  This  proved  to  have  been  sent  in  by 
Mi-.  Sandemau,  engineer,  of  Newcastle-on-Tvne. 
On  the  motion  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Elliott,  M".P., 
seconded  by  Mr.  Falkingbridge,  the  Board 
unanimously  agreed  to  adopt  Mr.  Messent's  re- 
cammendation,  and  Mr.  Sandeman's  scheme  was 
accepted  accordingly,  and  the  secretary  was  in- 
structed to  forward  that  gentleman  the  £50 
which  they  offered.  In  the  event  of  Mr.  Sande- 
man's plan  being  approved  by  the  Public  Works 
Loan  Commissioners  and  the  Board  of  Trade, 
and  a  loan  being  granted  by  the  said  Commis- 
sioners to  carry  out  the  works,  the  successful 
competitor  will  have  a  further  sum  of  £50  for 
his  plans,  and  be  retained  as  engineer  to  super- 
intend the  carrying  out  of  the  works  on  the 
usual  terms. 

SCHOOLS    OF     AKT. 

GuiLDFOED. — The  distributiou  of  prizes  and 
certificates  in  connection  with  the  Guildford 
Science  and  Art  classes,  took  place  at  the  Eastern 
Hall  on  Wedne.-day  week.  The  report  stated 
that  good  prizes  had  been  made  in  the  past  year, 
and  that  the  teacher,  Mr.  Famfield,  had  quali- 
fied for  a  bronze  medal  of  the  Department  in 
1  st  class  honours  for  agriculture.  300  attended  the 
classes  during  the  year,  and  218  candidates  took 
part  in  the  May  examinations  ;  there  were  !»3 
successes,  14  of  which  were  in  art  classes,  and 
one  candidate,  Ernest  Marshall,  of  Godalming, 
had  passed  in  all  four  art  subjects  during  the 
year.  A  number  of  local  prizes  had  been  sub- 
scribed for,  and  were  distributed  by  the  Mayor. 

Newcastle-o.n--Tyxe.  — On  Monday  night  the 
annual  distribution  of  prizes  in  connection  with 
the  Bath  Lane  Science  and  Art  School  was  mace 
by  Mr.  Joseph  Cowen,  M.P.  Dr.  Rutherford 
read  the  report  of  the  scliool  for  1879-80,  which 
stated  that  the  day-school  had  steadily  increased 
in  numbers.  There  were  ISO  on  the  registers, 
of  whom  more  than  90  had  passed  the  sixth 
standard.  The  results  of  the  science  and  ail 
examinations  in  May  last  would  bear  compari.son 
with  those  of  any  secondary  school  in  the  North 
of  England.  The  report  referred  to  the  fine  art 
and  industrial  exhibition  held  during  the  holi- 
days, and  the  thanks  of  the  committee  were 
accorded  to  the  Mayor  and  Sheriff  of  Newcastle, 
and  others,  for  their  invaluable  services.  The 
progress  of  the  School  of  Science  for  the  year 
was  seen  in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Cowen  had"  135 
Queen's  prizes  and  172  certificates  to  present,  as 
against  SG  and  163  presented  last  year  by  the 
Marquis  of  Hartington,  and  53  and  129  presented 
in  the  preceding  year  by  the  Earl  of  Ravens- 
woith.  The  London  University  Matriculation 
classes  had  been  attended  by  fifteen  students. 
Since  the  commencement  of  the  School  of  Science 
and  Alt,  three  years  ago,  1,257  names  of  students 
had  been  entered  on  the  general  register. 


ARCHITECTURAL  &  ARCH-ffiOLOGICAl 
SOCIETIES. 

GlASOOW     AECniTECTTEAL     ASSOCIATION.  —  At 

the  usual  monthly  meeting  of  the  above  Asso- 
ciation, held  on  the  5th  inst.,  the  secretary  read 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Honeyman,  honorary  president, 
stating  that  he  had  succeeded  in  obtainino'  the 
names  of  six  gentlemen  for  the  series  of  lectures 
on    practical    subjects    to    be   commenced   this 

winter.     The  following  is  the  programme : 

1880. 
Nov.  16.    Mr.  Jas.  Thomson    ...    "Foundations" 
Dec.  21.    Mr.  John  Honeyman      "  The  Buiiaing  of 
Walls." 
18S1. 
Jan.  18.    Ur.  Jas.  Salman  "  Drainage  and  Ven- 
tilation." 

Feb.  15.    3Ir.  John  Baird "Hoofs." 

Mar.  15.    Mr.  John  Burnet "Fiooi-s  and  Parti- 
tions." 
April  19.    Mr.  David  Thomson       "  Interior    Arrange- 
ments." 
All  the  lecturers  are  Fellows  of  the  Royal  In- 
stitute of  British  Architects. 


Builbiufl  Inttllifltuct. 

T!i;TN->M-\fiv,  C.iEiiAiiTHEXsniEE. — The  foun- 
dation-stone of  the  new  church  about  to  be 
built  here  has  been  laid.  Tlie  plan  of  the  build- 
ing consists  of  a  uave  55ft.  by  25ft.,  18ft.  high 
to  plate,  and  30ft.  to  ridge,  the  pitch-pine  roof 
being  open  all  the  way  up,  and  plastered  between 
the  rafters,  the  principals  arched  and  supported 
on  Bath  stone  moulded  corbels,  a  chancel  26ft. 
by  16ft.,  with  arched,  ribbed,  and  boarded  ceil- 
ing, a  vestry  with  heating-vault  below,  and 
organ-chamber  ;  also  a  porc;h,  ve.'.tibule,  and 
baptistry  arranged  side  by  side,  forming  a  kind 
of  narthex  at  the  west  cud,  which  will  have  a 
suitable  bell-turret  above.  Tlie  walls  ar«  to  be 
built  of  local  stoue,  with  Wcstwood  ground 
dressing.',  and  the  roofs  covered  with  grey 
Whitland  Abbey  slates.  The  pitch-pine  seata 
will  be  of  open  description  on  wooden  platforms, 
the  passages  and  chancel  being  laid  with  en- 
caustic tiles.  The  whole  outlay  will  be  £1,500, 
and  the  number  to  be  accommodated  300.  The 
architect  is  Mr.  E.  U.  Lingen  Barker,  and  the 
contractors  Messrs.  Balcombe  and  Price,  of 
Pembroke  Docks. 

Cawooi),  near  Selby. — The  union  rural  sani- 
tary authority  of  Selby  are  constructing  a  new 
cemetery,  consisting  of  chapel,  lodge,  entrance 
gates,  boundary  walls,  and  the  laying-out  of  the 
grounds.  The  plans  have  been  prepared  by 
Messrs.  William  Lewis  and  Son,  of  46J,  Stone- 
gate,  York,  architect*",  and  the  contractor  for 
the  whole  is  Mr.  Thomas  Hinsley,  of  Carlton, 
near  Selby.  The  style  of  the  chapel,  &c.,  is 
Early  English  ;  the  chapel  is  divided  into  two 
parts  by  a  cross  wall  running  up  to  the  roof, 
making  two  distinct  chapels  inside.  Labels, 
with  ornamental  terminations  round  the  whole 
of  the  doors  and  windows,  the  carving  of  which 
will  be  executed  by  Mr.  G.  Milbum,  of  York, 
from  the  de.-igns  of  the  architects,  and  will 
represent  some  of  the  Ecclesiastical  history  of 
the  town,  Cawood  being,  at  one  time,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Archbishops  of  York,  who  had  a 
magnificent  palace,  in  wluch  Cardinal  Wolsey  was 
arrested. 

East  AnnsLn. — The  foundation-atone  of  the 
new  church  of  St.  Michael,  East  Ardslcy,  near 
Leeds,  was  laid  last  week.  The  new  building 
will  consist  of  nave,  chancel,  and  north  and 
south  aisles.  There  wiU  be  a  tower  at  the  west 
end,  an  organ-chamber  on  the  north  side  of  the 
chancel,  and  clergy  and  choir- vestries  on  the 
south  side.  An  old  font,  dated  1G63,  will  be 
again  u.-<.d.  The  dimentions  of  the  new  building 
will  be  as  f olio ws :  — Na  ve,  5hft.  2in.  by  20ft.  2in.  ; 
aisles,  58ft.  2in.  by  10ft.  Gin. ;  height  of  nave, 
from  floor  to  apex  of  roof.  34ft.  ;  chancel,  25ft. 
9in.  by  17ft.,  height,  29ft.  Gin.  The  stylt  of 
architecture  will  be  Pci-pendicular  Gothic,  Hth 
century.  The  new  church  is  being  erected  from 
designs  prepared  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Barber,  of 
HaUfax. 

GL0t;cEaTEB  JLSD  BmsTOL  Diocesan  Assocxa.- 
■non. — At  the  autumn  meeting  of  this  associa- 
tion held  at  the  Royal  Hotel,  Bristol,  on  Tuesday 
week,  the  following  grants  in  aid  were  made: — 
Churches— Wbitisliill,  £80;  New  Swindon, 
(new  church,  first  portion)  £180;  Hartpurv, 
£S0 ;  Brimscombe,  £50  ;  Boston  St.  Mark, 
Bristol  (mission-chapel),  £80;  Crudwell,  £60; 
Bristol,  St.  Jude  (mission-chapel),  £50,  total 
£180.  Schools- Gloucester,  St.  James,  £40; 
Blunsdon,  St.  Leonard,  £15;  Minchinhampton, 
£20  ;  Bristol,  St.  Luke,  20 ;  Oakridge,  £5 ; 
Cheltenham,  St.  John,  £25  ;  Colernc,  £10  ;  total, 
£135. 

Httnoeefoeo. — Fur  some  months  past  the 
parish-church  of  Hungerford  has  been  under- 
going renovation.  The  pews  have  given  place 
to  open  seats.  New  arcades,  pillars,  clerestory 
walls  and  window  have  been  built,  the  latter 
being  filled  with  foreign  glass.  A  new  organ 
has  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  £510.  The  altera- 
tions and  improvements  have  been  carried  out  by 
Messrs.  Morris  and  Stallwood,  architects,  of 
Reading,  Me.-.srrt.  Wooldridge  and  Son,  of  Hun- 
gerford, being  the  contractors.  The  total  esti- 
mated expenditure,  including  the  cost  of  the 
organ,  is  £2,917. 

Lla.vewst,  North  Wales. — A  new  bank  for 
the  North  and  South  Wales  Bank  has  lately 
been  erected  by  Mr.  Samuel  Parry,  builder, 
Llanrwst,    at    the    north-west    corner    of    the 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


457 


Martet-place.     Abore   the  bank  are   arranged  ■  reseated  with  pitch-pine  polished  benches.     The  ]     More   than   Fifty  Thousand   Replies  and 
suites  of  offices,  and  a  large  public  hall,  devuted    aisles  are  ornament  ally  tUed,  and  the  waUs  covered    th"St™jSln  ti>J'ENlljsu'MECHl!Nic''lKU^^^ 

*    ■'  ■        ^ :-i„i-,>  I  _:^i 1 — 1 . —  ,1 .. A _i_ 1  I  OF   SCIESCE,  most  of  them   from  the  pens  of  "the  leadlni: 

iNcientiflc  and  Technical  Authorities  of  the  dnv.  Thousands  of 
original  articles  and  scientiic  papers,  and  countless  receipts  and 
in-mliles  cmtracins  almost  cvcrj  subject  on  irhich  it  is  possible 
rn  desire  information  have  also  appeared  durine  the  same  nerlod 
,»  ...,1,.^  ..J  — ..  accurate  information  respectii 


to   the   use   of   the   county   court,    magnstrates     -snth  polTchromatie  decorations.  An  apse-shaped    y^  ^S^^*-?-  ™"'^'  "'  "'e™  '*<>«'  ""^  P<!i>8  of  the  leading 

.  Xi  ii-.i.'  A.  rriii,  ll*.„j- 11  ■-  i_i         Scientific  and   Technical   AllthnHtie«  nf  thh  .I..V     .ri..........!.  J* 

meetings,  and  also  pubuc  entertainments.     Ihe  |  chancel  ana  two  oiagonaUy   cruciiorm   chapels 
style  of  the  building  is  Engli.sh  Domestic  Gothic.  !  hare  been  built.    The  former  east  wall  has  been 


The  materials  ■ased  were  local  stone  for  the 
walling-stones,  and  Kuncom  stone  for  the 
dressings.  Half-timber  work  has  been  em- 
ployed in  the  upper  stories.  Mr.  Edmimd 
Kirby,  architect,  Liverpool,  supplied  the  designs 
and  superintended  the  works. 


pierced  with  three  Early  English  arches,  opening 
chancel  to  the  body  of  the  church,  and  the  t  wo  side 
arches  partly  filled  into  the  springing  with  tra- 
cery and  carved  screens.  Similar  arches  and 
screens  are  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  aisles 
and   chacccl.     The  north  chapel   is   used   as   a 


T  rr\.    s       J)  .• ,i.„„o„fr,o-„-.„„'m;o    choir  and  clergv  vestry,  and  the  south  chapel  is 

LoxGTON. — The  foundation-stone  ot  new  pui5iic  ,  v.    "v.        >  j      i       i  -^ 

IT   "       i  ,   .  J     XT » T>i„„o  ff.,  »!,.:>    used  as  an  organ-chamber.  A  carved  oakpulpit, 


baths  has  been  laid  at  Longton.  Plans  for  the 
building  were  prepared  by  3Ir.  Arden  Hard- 
wicke,  C.E.,  the  borough  engineer.  The  style 
of  the  building  will  be  Gothic.  Provision  is 
made  for  three  good  swimming-baths,  two  being 
devoted  to  gentlemen  ani  one  for  ladies.  The 
roofs  of  the  swimnung-baths  will  be  lighted  from 
above  by  Shelly's  patent  system  of  glazing. 
The  general  work  in  the  laundry  department 
will  be  done  by  Messrs.  Bradford  and  Co.,  of 
Salford,  under  "contract,  for  £750.  The  tank- 
room  is  situated  above  the  laimdry,  and  will 
contain  three  large  tanks.  The  superintendent's 
apartments  will  be  on  the  first  floor.  The 
builders  are  Messrs.  H.  and  R.  Inskip,  of  Long- 
ton,  whose  contract  is  £5,900. 

OvEE  Darwex. — The  foundation  stone  of  a 
new  market-house  at  Over  Dirwen  was  laid  on 
Saturday  week.  The  architect  of  the  new  market- 
hall,  whose  designs  were  selected  from  a  number 
of  others  sent  in  for  competition,  is  Mr.  C.  Bell, 
of  Union-comt,  Broad-street,  London.  There 
will  be  four  entrances  to  the  building — one  from 
School- street,  one  from  Market-square,  and  two 
from  the  wholesale  market  on  the  left  side — but 
the  principal  front  will  face  Market-square. 
The  market  itself  wUl  have  an  area  of  60ft.  by 
r20ft.,  and  will  be  covered  by  a  light  iron  roof 
in  semi -circular  spans.  On  the  north  side  there 
will  be  six  butchers'  shops,  facing  the  market 
area,  and  on  the  south  side  six  shops  will  be  pro- 
vided for  various  trades.  At  the  west  entrance 
space  wUl  be  left  for  six  fish-stalls.  Over  the 
shops  there  will  be  an  extensive  suite  of  rooms, 
with  a  separate  staircase  entrance  from  Market - 
square.  The  principal  entrance  to  the  hall  will 
have  a  projected  oriel  window,  and  a  bell  turret 
will  rise  to  a  height  of  SOft.  from  the  ground. 
The  work  is  being  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Orrell 
and  Sons,  builders,  Darwen.  We  illustrated  the 
building  at  the  time  of  the  competition. 

Pabtick,  N.B — The  memorial-stone  of  Dow- 
anvale  Free  Church,  now  in  course  of  tr  ction 
at  Partick,  near  Glasgow,  was  laid  on  Saturday- 
afternoon.  It  is  Early  English  Gothic  in  style, 
and  is  being  built  of  square  dressed  rubble.  On 
the  ground  floor  are  planned  a  suite  of  rooms 
16ft.  in  height,  including  a  hall  seating  300 
persons,  session-house  for  100  persons,  vestry, 
ladies'  room,  and  lavatories.  Over  these  rooms 
is  erected  the  church  proper,  which  \\-ill  seat 
on  the  area,  and  300  more  on  a  gallery  carried 
round  three  sides.  Mr.  Petro  is  the  architect. — 
The  memorial-stone  of  a  new  We-sleyan  church 
in  course  of  erection  at  Dumbarton-ro,ad,  Par- 
tick,  was  laid  on  Monday.  The  style  of  the 
building  is  13th-century  Gothic.  The 
architect  is  Mr.  McGibbon,  of  West  George- 
street,  Glasgow,  and  the  clerk  of  works  Mr. 
James  Mair. 

Eamsbottom.  —  The  church  of  St.  Joseph, 
Eamsbottom,  was  opened  on  Thursday,  Sept. 
30,  by  his  eminence  C^irdinal  Manning. 
It  is  a  clerestoried  building  designed  in 
the  Early  Gothic,  Geometric  period,  and  when 
completed  will  consist  of  nave,  north  and  south 
aisles,  chancel  and  sacristies,  with  tower  and 
spire  at  the  south-west  comer  ;  at  present  only 
the  nave  and  aisles  have  been  erected.  The 
nave  is  "Oft.  Ion?  by  21ft.  wide,  and  42ft.  high 
to  the  ridge  of  the  vaulted  roof,  and  tho  aisles 
lift.  6in.  wide,  which  arc  divided  from  the 
nave  by  an  arcade  of  four  arches,  supported  on 
Torkshire  stone  columns  with  moulded  caps  and 
bases.  The  church  is  seated  with  open  benches 
and  will  accommodate  about  500.  The  cost  of 
the  church,  as  at  present  erected,  is  about 
£2,500.  The  whole  of  the  works  have  been 
carried  out  from  the  designs  and  unier  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Clifton  W.  Whittenbury, 
of  the  firm  of  Bird  and  Whittenbury,  architects, 
of  King-street,  Manchester. 

ScisjETT.— St.  Augustine's  Church,  Scissctt— 
which  has  been  undergoing  alterations  and  ad- 
ditions—wasrecently  reopened.  Thenavehasbcen 


executed  by  Mr.  Burton,  of  Clayton  West,  from 
the  architects'  designs,  stands  out  prominently. 
The  whole  of  the  alteratious  and  additions  have 
been  carried  out  from  designs  by  and  under  the 
superintendence  of  Messrs.  John  Kirk  and  Sons, 
architects,  Huddersfield  and  Dewsbnry,  and, 
exclusive  of  the  gifts,  will  cost  about  £1,100. 

Waxtox-le-Daxe. — Last  Sunday,  a  new 
Catholic  church,  at  Walton-le-Dale,  was  opened 
by  the  Eight  Eev.  Dr.  Hedley,  O.S.B.  It  con- 
sists of  nave,  chancel,  side  chupels,  and  aisles, 
and  the  style  is  of  the  Early  Decorated  period. 
It  is  built  with  hollow  walls,  the  inside  being  of 
brick,  the  outside  faced  with  Torkshire  pier- 
points.  The  whole  of  the  dressings,  both  ex- 
terior and  interior,  are  of  Stourton  stone.  The 
total  length  is  96ft.,  the  width  across  nave  and 
aisles,  53ft.,  and  the  height  to  ridge  is  52ft.  It 
has  been  erected  from  the  designs  of  Messrs. 
Pugin  and  Pugin,  by  Mr.  W.  Hothersall,  con- 
tractor, of  Preston.  It  will  accommodate  over 
500  people.  The  amount  of  the  contract,  in- 
cluding benches,  was  £5,223.  The  altar  and 
marble  floor  in  chancel  have  been  executed  from 
the  designs  of  the  architects  by  Mr.  Isaac 
Sherratt,  sculptor,  of  Preston. 


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CHIPS. 

The  cooncil  of  Cambridge  considered  on  Thurs- 
day week  a  report  as  to  the  lighting  and  ventilation 
of  the  large  chamber"  at  the  GuUdhall,  prepared  by 
Mr.  F.  W.  Porter,  of  Russell-square,  London,  W., 
and  adopted  the  greater  part  of  his  recommenda- 
tions at  an  estimated  cost  of  £300.  The  correspond- 
ence read  at  the  meeting  included  an  inquiry,  by 
the  committee,  if  Mr.  Porter's  attention  had  been 
specially  directed  to  Tobin's  system  of  ventilation, 
and  a  reply  from  the  architect  slating  that  he  had 
adopted  the  method  many  yeai-s  before  he  heard  of 
Mr.  Tobin's  name  in  connection  ivith  it,  and  that 
amongst  the  contrivances  he  proposed  for  ventilat- 
ing the  orchestra  was  one  which,  in  effect,  was 
"  the  system  known  as  Tobin's."' 

The  Antiquari{  has  commenced  a  series  on  "  The 
Victorian  Revival  of  Gothic  Architecture,"  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  Parker,  C.B.  He  has  "no  hesitation  in 
saving  that  the  restorations  of  the  Victorian  era 
ha"ve,  oil  the  uliolc,  done  a  great  deal  more  good 
than  harm." 

Professor  Churchill  Babineton  has  announced 
his  intention  of  resigning  the  Disney  professorship  of 
Archaeology  in  the  University  of  Cambridge.  He 
has  held  the  post  since  I860.  The  election  of  a 
professor  to  the  vacant  chair  will  take  place  on  the 
■'Sth  inst  The  Professorship  of  Archasology  was 
founded  in  1S51  by  Mr.  John  Disney,  of  the  Hyde 
In»atestone,  who,  during  his  lifetime,  nominated 
the  professor.  The  appointment  is  now  vested  in 
the  Vice-Chancellor  and  the  heads  of  houses,  or 
their  /oci<m  teiieiitcs.  The  professor  must  be  a 
.Master  of  Arts  of  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
and  his  dutv  is  to  deliver  six  lectures  at  least  during 
the  academ'ical  yerr  on  the  subjects  of  classical, 
mediiev.il,  and  other  antiquities,  the  fine  arts,  and 
all  matters  and  things  connected  therewith.  The 
professorship  is  tenable  for  five  years,  but  the 
holder  is  capable  of  being  re-elected.  The  value  of 
the  professorship  is  about  £96  per  annum. 

The  Architectural  Association  Sketch-hook  Com- 
mittee, having  just  completed  the  12th  volume,  have 
determined  to  start  a  new  series,  though  some  were 
inclined  to  terminate  the  sketch-book  pubhcation 
altogether,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  which  has 
for  some  time  been  experienced  in  obtaining  suit- 
able sketches  lithographed  ready  for  insertion. 
A  new  editor  has  been  appointed,  and  a  series  ot 
sketches  bv  new  members  who  have  not  hitherto 
contributed  seems  to  have  given  new  life  to  tne 
work. 

A  new  Presbyterian  church  ."*  "^f 'J'°°'°^' 
Ballymacarret,  erected  at  a  cost  of  £2,bUU,  was 
opened  on  Sunday. 

The  new  bridge  at  Soutbease,  erected  by  the 
Xewhaven  harbour  trustees,  has  just  been  com- 
pleted. It  is  of  iron,  is  constructed  to  bear  a 
moving  load  of  20  tons,  and  has  cost  i..:,Uo.  aii. 
Henry  Wallace  was  the  engineer. 


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QUANTITIES. 
To  the  Iditor  of  the  BunniXG  News. 
SiE  —The  paper  on  this  subject,  read  by  Mr. 
Hu-hcs,  and  the  correspondence  thereon,  possess 
considerable  interest  for  quantity  surveyors,  and 
are  therefore,  mv  excuse  for  troubhng  you 
:^h  tMs  coiAmunicatiou,  ^ovi^j^erebyjo 
contribute  something  towards  solvrng,  at  Icart 
one  of  the  difficulties  connected  with  the  suD 

S"dtr;rasm^aTbLen,form^^^^^^^^^ 

a  portion  of  the  co"'=.^P«°'l^"^.l'':'\?!Vreach 
does  no  good,  in  fact  .t  only  widens  the  breach 
between  tie  respective  parties,  and  lowers  all  m 

'""I'^^or^TZ^  that  if  archi^ts,  snr- 
veyor^Tnd  contractors,  who  are  the  pe^ns 
;rt  interested  in  the  -^"et,  were  to  ^aW 
united  effort,  the  prmcipal,  if  not  aU,  tne  ouu 
^■^Xr^re'tL^iUTi^ties?    We  may  take  it 

£BS-ts:^^ss 


458 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


builders  taking  their  own  as  unworkable.  This 
being  so,  the  questions  of — Who  shall  prepare 
them  ?  AVho  shall  pay  for  them  ?  "Who  shall 
be  responsible  for  their  accuracy?  And  upon 
what  system  shall  they  be  prepared  ?  require  to 
be  settled,  and  it  is  in  the  settlement  of  these 
questions  that  the  difficulties  arise. 

I  will  not  occupy  your  valuable  space  at  pre- 
sent with  discussing  the  first  three  questions, 
though  they  are  full  of  interest ;  but  beg  to 
draw  attention  to  the  question  "T'pon  what 
system  shall  they  be  prepared?  "  believing  this 
to  be  the  one  that  should  be  settled  first,  and 
that  if  it  were  settled  many  of  the  difficulties 
surroimding  the  others  would  be  solved. 

When  we  consider  the  wide  differences  pre- 
vailing throughout  the  country  in  modes  of 
measui'ing,  allowances,  technical  terms,  &c.,  all 
of  which  have  taken  root  in  their  respective  lo- 
calities, it  seems  almost  hopeless  to  attempt  the 
task  of  reconciling  them.  It  is  needless  to  give 
instances  of  the  different  systems  of  measuring, 
for  the  absence  of  anything  like  uniformity 
cannot  be  denied.  But  it  may  be  asked  :  Why 
should  there  be  imiformity  ?  I  would  answer 
that  measuring  is  not  a  matter  of  taste  ;  there 
should  be  only  one  right  way — not  half  a  dozen. 
The  want  of  uniformity  leads  to  confusion  and 
litigation  ;  it  also  places  contractors  tendering 
for  work  out  of  their  own  district  at  a  disadvan- 
tage, while  the  advantages  that  would  follow 
the  adoption  of  a  uniform  system  of  measuring 
are  that  we  should  have  better  bills  of  quan- 
tities, contracting  would  be  on  a  surer  basis, 
and  there  would  be  less  litigation. 

The  class  most  interested  in  this  question  are 
the  contractors,  for  they  are  the  principal 
sufferers ;  hence,  they  should  take  the  initiative 
in  whatever  is  to  be  done.  I  would  suggest 
that  the  National  Association  of  Master 
Buiders  collect  evidence  of  the  various  modes  of 
measuring  from  the  quantity-surveyors  through- 
out the  country ;  that  they  should  print  and 
distribute  these  to  the  architects  and  the  build- 
ing trades  by  means  of  their  associations,  and  to 
the  quantity  surveyors  who  supply  the  informa- 
tion. 

This  being  done,  let  them  summon  a  confer- 
ence of  the  three  bodies  to  decide  all  matters  in 
which  there  is  a  want  of  uniformity  :  let  the 
result  of  this  conference  be  embodied  in  the  form 
of  a  handbook  ;  if  necessary,  apply  to  the 
E.  I.  B.  A.  for  its  approval,  and  then  put  it  into 
a  publisher's  hands,  for  sale  tliroughout  the 
country.  Were  some  such  scheme  as  this  adopted 
and  thoroughly  carried  out,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that,  in  a  short  time,  a  more  uniform 
system  of  measuring  would  begin  to  show  itself. 
The  book  would  be  welcomed  as  an  authority  by 
all  those  who  take  out  quantities,  and  by  the 
building  trades  in  general.  Perhaps  some  other 
correspondent  may  suggest  a  better  scheme,  or 
improve  upon  this. — I  am,  &c. 

Quantity  Stjevetoe, 


Sib, — Since  your  publication  of  my  paper  on 
this  subject,  a  good  deal  of  attention  has  been 
given  to  it  by  your  correspondents  and  others, 
and  a  certain  amount  of,  I  was  going  to  say, 
criticism,  but  I  can  scarcely  call  it  criticism,  be- 
cause, so  far  as  the  real  questions  at  issue  are 
concerned,  an  almost  universal  approval  has 
been  expressed  of  the  arguments  I  briefly  and 
imperfectly  used  in  advocating  a  builder's  view 
of  the  subject  discussed. 

As  the  matter  has  now  been  fairly  well  venti 
lated  in  your  columns  since  the   appearance  of 
my  paper,  you  will,   perhaps,   allow  me  to  offer 
a  few  concluding  remarks  in  reply  to  your  corre- 
spondents. 

1st.  In  your  own  editorial  article,  dated  20th 
August,  while  you  favourably  notice  my  paper, 
you,  through  some  misapprehension,  do  me  a 
slight  injustice  by  saying  "It  is  not  generally 
true,  however,  that  each  unsuccessful  builder  is 
called  upon  to  spend  in  cash  a  surveyor's  fee,  in 
consideration  of  his  having  haj  one  chance  out 
of  six  to  obtain  the  contract."  I  made  no  as- 
sertion of  this  nature,  which  will  be  seen  at  once 
on  reference  to  my  paper.  Again.  I  have  not  said 
builders  always  refuse  to  compete  unless  quanti- 
ties are  delivered  to  them  free  of  expense ;  neither 
have  I  objected  to  builders  giving  their  own 
time  _  free  in  preparing  estimates.  As  to  Mr. 
Reid's  seven  columns,  I  have  a  difficult  task  in 
replying  to  him— first,  because  he  really  agrees 
■with  me  as  to  all  the  real  points  in  my  paper  ; 
secondly,  because  he  is,  as  I  suspected  on  read- 


ing his  letters,  neither  an  architect,  surveyor, 
nor  builder  ;  therefore,  in  one  sense,  he  is  out 
of  court.  However,  Mr.  Reid  and  possibly  others 
might  misinterpret  my  meaning,  if  I  treated  his 
assertions  on  various  matters  with  silence.  Mr. 
Reid,  while  condemning  bad  quantities  as 
severely  as  I  do,  partially  excuses  such  in  Lan- 
cashire and  Cambridge,  because  he  can  point  to 
equally  bad  work  from  the  banks  of  the  Thames 
— whereas  I  condemn  the  defective  quantities 
wherever  they  come  from,  and  I  am  well  aware 
that  bad  and  good  work  of  the  kind  is  sent  out 
of  both  London  and  Lancashire;  but  I  have  only 
acted  fairly  in  giving  the  preference  to  the  well- 
known,  regtilar  London  quantity  surveyors,  as  a 
class,  as  being  immensely  superior  to  the  same 
class  in  the  provinces  :  this  fact  is  patent  to  all 
men  of  experience  in  such  matters. 

After  describing  the  slovenly  and  ignorant 
manner  in  which  quantities  are  taken  in  archi- 
tects' own  offices,  Mr.  Reid  adds,  "He  (the 
architect)  knows  how  faithfully  they  are  taken.'' 
Can  anything  be  more  inconsistent  ? 

Mr.  Reid  next  asserts,  as  a  fact,  that  a  year 
or  two  ago  builders  in  Liverpool  commonly 
"cooked"  and  "arranged  their  tenders"  ruth- 
lessly shunting  aside  honest  competition,  &c.  I 
have  had  nearly  forty  years'  experience,  and  I 
say  I  have  not  only  never  known  of  such  an 
occurrence,  but  I  saj'  such  a  practice  could  not 
be  common  or  even  occasional  without  my 
knowledge,  and  I,  therefore,  denounce  the  state- 
ment as  untrue.  We  are  asked  by  Mr.  Reid, 
'  How  can  an  architect  know  whether  quantities, 
taken  off  outside  his  office  actually  represent  his 
plans  and  specifications,  or  whether  or  not  they 
are  taken  in  a  manner  to  give  unbounded 
delight  to  the  builder?"  He  thus  insinuates  that 
high-class  professional  men,  whoso  reputation 
and  success  in  their  profession  depend  upon  their 
trustworthiness,  are  not  so  fit  to  be  trusted  to 
honestly  perform  their  duties  as  arc  men  acting 
in  a  subordinate  capacity  as  architects'  clerks. 
Mr.  Reid  must,  indeed,  be  a  novice,  notwith- 
standing his  denial,  if  he  really  believes  such 
nonsense.  Mr.  Reid  proceeds  to  pay  architects 
a  poor  compliment  when  he  says  that  every 
architect  should  strive  after  taking  out  his  own 
quantities,  "  in  self-defence,"  as  well  as  in  his 
client's  interests,  so  a^  to  assist  him  in  maturing 
his  plans  and  specifications. 

Now,  I  imagine  architects  wiU  not  admit  that 
their  abilitj-  to  prepare  well-matured  plans  and 
specifications  is  to  be  gauged  by  the  extent  of 
their  practice  in  extracting  quantities,  and,  if 
time  and  space  permitted,  many  reasons  can  1)6 
advanced  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Reid's  theory. 
As  a  builder,  however,  I  have  no  objectien  to 
an  architect,  nor  to  a  surveyor,  or  a  joiner, 
taking  out  quantities,  if  the  client  who  employs 
and  pays  for  the  work  guarantees  such  work, 
and  places  the  builder  in  his  proper  position, 
namelj',  as  a  tradesman  supplying  goods  to  the 
order  of  the  client  or  his  agent  who  supplies  the 
order.  In  my  paper  I  have  advocated  the 
method  which  I  think  is  the  wisest  and  best  for 
all  tiie  parties  concerned,  as  likely  to  work 
smoothly,  and  to  obviate  disputes  and  litigation  ; 
and,  from  long  experience,  I  know  that  nearly 
all  disputss  in  building  contracts  arise  in  con- 
sequence of  inefficient  and  unqualified  quantity 
surveyors  being  employed.  Mr.  Reid  next  asks 
if  I  "wish  architects  to  consider  themselves  as 
builders'  servants,  and  simply  to  register  their 
doings."_  No,  Mr.  Reid  ;  I  don't  wish  anything 
of  the  kind  ;  nor  can  anything  in  my  paper  be 
twisted  by  any  reasonable  mind  as  suggesting 
an  insinuation  of  this  nature.  Mr.  Reid  in- 
sinuates that  builders  "attempt  to  dictate  to 
proprietors  and  architects  who  shall  be  clerk  of 
works  on  a  building."  On  this  point  Mr.  Reid 
seems  to  write  feelingly,  and  he  appears 
to  have  had  experience  with  a  queer  set  of 
builders.  I,  for  one,  have  never  heard  of 
any  builder  attempting  to  dictate  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  clerk  of  works,  and  I  question 
if  Mr.  Reid  can  point  to  one  such  case.  I  have, 
indeed,  heard  of  a  few  instances,  and  possibly 
Mr.  Reid  may  have  also,  of  builders  objecting  to 
work  under  men  who  had  become  notorious, 
whether  rightly  or  wrongly ;  but  I  see  nothing 
very  unreasonable  in  a  contractor  refusing  to 
commence  an  important  contract  when  he  dis- 
covers that  the  proprietor  or  his  architect  has 
appointed  over  him  a  man  who  is  personally 
obnoxious  to  him,  or  who  has  a  bad  reputation, 
and  Mr.  Reid  himself  will  doubtless  admit  that 
there  may  be  some  men  who  are  unfit  to  be 
trusted   to   act   righteously   and   honestly  as   a 


clerk  of  works.  There  are  cases  known  where 
architects  have  been  subordinate  to  the  clerk  of 
works,  when  that  important  individual  has  been 
independently  appointed  by  the  client  without 
consulting  the  architect,  who  has  been  obliged 
"  simply  to  register  his  (clerk  of  WDrks)  doings." 
I  have  known  of  one  drunken,  swearing,  prizr- 
fighting,  wife-beating,  dog-fancier,  while 
acting  as  clerk  of  works,  boast  of  having  got 
three  architects  "sacked,"  and  if  the  fourth 
opposed  liim  he  would  suffer  the  same  fate.  Mr. 
Reid,  I  presume,  will  admit  the  right  of  .1  ri>n- 
tractor  to  refuse  to  degrade  himself  a  seii.ud 
time  by  service  under  such  a  man.  Mr.  Kcid 
has  made  much  of  his  difference  with  me  as  to 
the  meaning  of  the  word  "abstracting."  If  I 
had  used  the  word  "  extracting,"  he  would  hive 
been  saved  half  a  column  of  your  space  trying  to 
show  that  I  intended  to  convey  a  meaning  which 
both  the  word  itself  and  the  context  should 
prove  I  did  not  mean.  If  he  will  consult  a 
dictionary,  he  will  find  the  word  used  perfectly 
correct,  although  he  confuses  it  with  the  tech- 
nical term  "abstract,"  the  meaning  of  which  I 
need  not  explain  to  your  readers.  I  have  no 
objection  to  Mr.  Reid  acting  as  a  quantity 
"clerk'"  to  assist  a  surveyor  in  abstracting 
from  his  employer's  dimension-book  the  skilled 
work  he  finds  therein  ;  but  I  do  objict 
to  unskilled  men  "  abstracting  or  extracting 
quantities  from  plans,"  and  I  do  not  speak  dis- 
paragingly of  joiners  and  others  when  I  say,  as 
a  rule  they  are  utterly  imfit  to  perform  the 
duties  of  a  s urvt-yor.  It  would  bo  no  reflection 
upon  a  surveyor  or  a  doctor  if  I  said  they  could 
not  earn  their  wages  or  properly  scrN'e  me  as 
joiners  or  masons.  I  next  come  to  the  most 
ridiculous  of  all  Mr.  Reid's  theories— viz.,  that  it 
is  quite  as  necessary  for  builders  to  conform  to  a 
test  before  being  allowed  to  qualify  as  builders. 
Can  anything  bo  more  absurd  ?  The  builder's 
test  is  patent  to  every  one — that  is,  he  must  per- 
form his  work  before  ho  is  paid  for  it.  What 
other  test  docs  Mr.  Reid  want  ?  Ho  has  to  per- 
form his  work  to  the  satisfaction  not  only  of  the 
gatisfaction  of  the  customer,  but  also  of  liis  cus- 
tomer's clerk  of  works  and  his  architect,  to  each 
of  whom  he  grants  almost  absolute  power  to  re- 
ject or  accept  what  they  please  and  to  grant  him 
what  price  they  please  as  the  reward  for  his 
work.  If  he  fails  through  his  own  fault,  no  one 
but  himself  suffers.  Now,  how  is  it  with  the 
unqualified  clerks  who  act  as  surveyors  ?  They 
act  under  the  shelter  of  their  employer's  signa- 
ture, have  no  responsibility  themselves,  and  in 
the  cases  I  object  to,  their  employers  have  so 
little  confidence  in  their  work  that  they  carefully 
warn  all  contractors  that  they  will  not  be  respon- 
sible for  the  accuracy  of  their  assistant's  work 
issued  in  their  name.  The  contractor's  eyes  arc 
closed.  He  has  no  means  of  knowing  who  has 
taken  such  quantities,  or  what  is  the  reputation 
or  qualification  of  the  surveyor.  Who  suffers 
the  loss  causL-d  by  inefficient  work  so  done  ? 
Either  the  builder  or  his  customer,  except  in  such 
cises  (and  I  admit  they  are  numerous)  when 
architects  are  so  honeit  and  just  that,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  contract  saddles 
the  builder  with  everyone's  mistakes  as 
well  as  his  own,  in  practice  the  architect  does 
his  best  to  set  matters  right  in  the  end,  by  ig- 
noring the  terms  of  contract,  and  allows  the 
builder  to  be  paid  what  is  fairly  due  to  him. 
This  discussion  has  not  arisen  to  guard  the 
builder  against  the  faults  of  such  men,  but 
against  those  who  oceasioniUy  insist  upon  the 
stipulated  contract  "  pound  of  flesh,"  setting 
aside  what  is  reasonable  and  just  towards  the 
builder,  and  letting  off  the  culpable  surveyor 
scot-free.  Mr.  Reid,  in  his  last  letter,  repeats 
the  st.atement  that  builders  trust  their  foremen  to 
measure  extras,  but  he  now  modifies  his  state- 
ment by  saying  the  foreman  hands  in  a  "list  of 
extras ' ' ;  this  is  a  very  different  thing  to  "  mea  - 
suriug  extras,"  even  though  it  was  confined  to 
one  trade  only  ;  but  I  would  ask  what  builder 
was  ever  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  a  foreman 
capable  of  acting  as  a  surveyor  to  measure  work 
of  all  trades  and  all  descriptions  throughout  a 
building  ?  Mr.  Reid  writes  unfairly  in  accusing 
Mr.  Machell  of  speaking  contemptuously  of 
foremen  because  he  questions  their  capacity  for 
perft.rming  duties  that  no  reasonable  empluyer 
would  exact  from  them.  I  have  as  h'gh  an 
opinion  of  good  foremen  and  workmen  as  Mr. 
Reid  has,  and  his  insinuations  to  the  contrary 
are  unfair,  and  outside  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion. 

When   Mr.    Reid   asserts   that   quantities  are 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


459 


"practically"  the  basis  of  contracts,  he  weU 
knows  that  this  is  partially  true,  and  when  the 
principle  is  carried  out  it  is  done  in  many  cases 
by  the  architect  ignoring  the  strict  terms  of  the 
contract,  and  acting  conscientiously  as  though 
no  -written  contract  existed.  I  admit  this  is  done 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  but  not  always,  and  at 
best  it  is  only  a  make-shift  method  of  doing  the 
right  thing  in  a  roundabout,  unbusiness-Uke 
way. 

In  conclusion,  I  have,  at  the  call  of  my  brother- 
builders,  treated  this  important  subject  of  quan- 
tities in  no  unfriendly  spirit  towards  any  person 
or  class  ;  my  object  has  been  to  throw  some  light 
upon  the  subject,  with  a  view  to  an  improve- 
ment of  the  system  which  would  alike  benefit  all 
persons  interested,  be  they  clients,  architects, 
.surveyors,  or  builders  ;  believing  that  business 
done  on  the  best  principles  will,  in  the  end,  be 
the  most  prosperous  and  safe  to  all  concerned. 
Thanking  you  for  your  space,  and  for  the  in- 
terest you  have  taken  in  the  subject, — I  am,  &c., 
Edwaed  Hughes. 

Liverpool,  Oct.  12. 


OF    TRAPPING    IN 
WITH        CLOSETS 


CON- 
AND 


THE  EVILS 
NECTION 
DRAINS. 

-I  have  read   the    communication  upon  1  should  be  fitted  with  an  air-pipe  from  off  the 


"  trapless  closet "  they  would  not  bo  worth  a 
farthing  in  keeping  out  both  sewer  and  drain 
gases  from  the  house  if  a  hole  or  leaking  joint 
existed  one  inch  or  more  from  his  closet. 

He  is  a  false  prophet  who  says  that  the  soil- 
pipe  shoidd  act  as  the  ventUator  for  either 
the  sewer  or  a  large  cesspool :  doing  so  is  equiva- 
lent to  keeping  a  barrel  of  gunpowder  in  the 
cupboard. 

It  is  perfectly  laughable  to  read  Mr.  Foster 
writing  about  the  extracting  power  of  a  venti- 
lating pipe  "  when  heated  by  the  sun  .shining  on 
it"  ;  it  would  be  more  to  the  purpose  to  get  the 
moon  to  do  the  trick,  as  it  would  be  more  useful 
when  people  were  in  their  beds.  To  get  the 
benefit  of  "the  sun,"  too,  all  soil-pipes  would 
have  to  face  the  south. 

As  to  the  references  to  the  New  York  Board  of 
Health  and  Mr.  Bailey  Denton,  the  statement 
implied  by  the  former,  that  drain-air  plus  sewer- 
gas  is  fouler  than  drain-air  plus  fresh  air,  will 
not  stand  examination  ;  moreover,  house-drains 
may  be  foul  owing  to  leaky  joints,  which  it  is 
absurd  to  blame  the  disconnecting-trap  for. 
There  are  also  traps  and  traps.  A  good  trap, 
with  its  water-surface,  say,  two  inches  or  so 
lower  than  the  drain  coming  into  it,  is  no  i})ipedi~ 
ment  to  the  flow-off  of  the  water ;  and  as  regards 
the  latter,  his  iJlustration  of  how  a  water-closet 


Sib,- 


this  subject  from  Gr.  A.  Foster,  which  appears 
on  pp.  427-428. 

A  great  part  is  taken  up  in  praise  of  the  so- 
called  "  trapless  closets"  ;  but  the  experience  of 
other  plumbers  as  well  as  my  own  condemns 
them  as  dangerous  and  expensive  sanitarj-  mis- 
takes, owing  in  part  to  the  filth  that  accumulates 
out  of  sight  where  the  valve  works,  and  this  upon 
the  house  side  of  the  valve. 

Farther,  the  valve  often  does  not  shut,  owing 
to  paper  sticking  in  it,  and  especially  in  such 
prolonged  dry  weather  as  we  have  had  in 
many  places  of  late,  when  the  water  will  be 
turned  off  for  the  greater  part  of  the  twenty -four 
hours. 

In  this  case  the  "trapless  closet"  becomes  a 
great  nuisance,  owing  to  foul  air  from  it  blowing 
freely  into  the  house  from  the  soil-pipe,  and, 
where  Mr.  Foster's  plans  are  carried  out,  also 
from  the  drain  and  sewer,  while  the  lifting  of 
the  handle  often  causes  a  "  Bull's  Run  "  on  the 
part  of  the  puUer.  With  the  lead  siphon-trap 
this  is  not  so  readily  the  case  ;  moreover,  the 
lead  siphon-trap  with  water  in  it  retains  the 
disease-germs,  and  does  not  allow  them  to  pass 
through  it,  even  when  it  may  allow  some  .sewage 
gas  to  pass  through  it.  With  the  "  trapless 
closet,"  again, disease-germs  can  blow  freelyinto 
the  house  ;  consequently,  such  a  disease  as  I 
diphtheria  would  be  much  more  liable  to  be 
caught  where  "trapless  closets"  are  in  use 
than  where  the  much  cheaper  hopper  form  of 
closet,  with  nothing  but  the  water  in  the  siphon, 
is  used. 

The  most  scientific  paper  I  have  either  heard 
oforread  as  yet  upon  the  Trap  and Water-Closet 
System  is  that  by  Dr.  Neil  Carmichael,  Glasgow. 
Of  water-traps  he  says  :  — "  A  simple  trap 
excludes  all  injurious  substances  which  the  soil- 
pipe  may  contain."  And  as  regards  closets  he 
says: — "A  basin  with  its  outlet  so  curved  as  to 
form  a  siphon-trap,  the  deepest  part  of  which  is 
seen  from  the  basin,  the  whole  formed  of  one 
piece  of  glazed  earthenware,  fulfils  all  the  con- 
ditions of  a  simple,  clean,  safe,  and  cheap  water- 
closet."  In  this  sort  of  closet  the  whole  of  it  is 
above  the  floor,  and  there  are  no  working  parts 
about  it  to  get  out  of  order  as  in  the  "trapless 
closets"  with  their  machinery,  and  as  the  soil- 
pipe  should  be  fitted  with  a  disconnecting  venti- 
lating trap  at  its  foot,  where  the  simple 
closets  I  refer  to  are  fitted  in,  no  bad  air  from 
either  the  drain  or  sewer  can  get  near  them, 
which  is  quite  the  opposite  of  Mr.  Foster's 
plans. 

I  fitted  up  these  simple  earthenware  closets  in 
one  piece  about  twenty-foiu-  years  ago,  and  they 
were  recommended  by  me  in  this  journal  eight 
years  ago.  Mr.  S.  S.  Hellyer,  of  London, 
author  of  one  of  the  best  treatises  upon  plumber- 
work  as  connected  with  the  sanitary  fittings, 
lately  brought  out  an  improved  closet  termed 
the  "Vortex"  in  this  style,  while  two  by 
another  party  are  at  present  in  use  and  on  trial 
versus  the  earth-closets  at  the  Gas  Exhibition, 
now  being  held  at  Glasgow  jmder  the  auspices  of 
the  Philosophical  Society  there 


house-side  of  the  trap  led  hack  into  the  soil-pipe 
is  simply  a  nnstake. 

As  to  Mr.  Foster's  flap-valve  for  the  drain, 
and  his  "  free  use  of  disinfectants,"  the  recom- 
mended use  of,  or  necessity  for,  these  proves  the 
utter  fallacy  of  his  plans. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  state  that  plumber- 
work  and  house-drainage,  executed  on  Mr. 
Foster's  plan,  would  be  exceedingly  dangerous 
for  the  inmates.  Only  a  few  days  ago,  I  read  in 
a  public  newspaper  that  the  attempt  to  do  with- 
out water-traps,  tried  at  Guy's  Hospital,  London, 
had  "  ended  in  failure." — I  am,  &c., 

W.  P.  BucuAN,  Sanitary  Engineer. 


a  trap  below,  this  is  the  simplest  and  best  form, 
ihe  quantity  of  water  takes  away  nil  fear  of  it« 
becoming  untrapped  or  8iphoned,"and  outs  oflf  all 
draught  and  communication  with  the  eoil-pipe, 
which  (with  the  best  of  ventilation)  is  never  free 
from  smell. 

Any  frost  which  would  affect  this  would  aUo 
freeze  up  a  plug ;  and  the  plug  can  hardly  be  free 
fi-om  danger  of  leakage,  obstruction,  and  wear. 
But  apart  from  this,  there  is  the  liibillty  of  its 
being  used  at  times  with  an  insufficient  quantity 
of  water,  to  the  danger  of  corroding  tlio  pipe 
and  drain.  Mr.  Foster  must  excuse  rac  if  I  can- 
not understand  a  plug  to  be  timpler  or  loss 
liable  to  der  ngemcnt  than  a  mere  eiphon  out- 
let ;  which  latter  Sir.  llawlinson,  at  the  Exeter 
Congress,  strongly  advocated.  The  force  of  the 
flush  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  thin 
flush  is  let  in. 

Supposing  the  pipesmay  be  sufficiently  flushed 
and  ventilated  to  be  free  from  gas,  all  may  be 
well  with  the  plug  ;  but  the  probability  is  in 
favour  of  any  gas  rising  up  through  the  water 
rather  than  being  forced  down  by  it,  during  the 
opening  of  the  plug. 

The  trapping  of  a  basin  such  as  I  have  re- 
ferred to  is  quite  a  different  thing  to  a  trap 
which  is  out  of  sight,  and  is  not  liable  to  the  ob- 
jection which  was  urged  against  them  generally, 

lam,  &c.,  WiLLiAJi  White,  F.S.A. 


SiE, — In  reference  to  doing  away  with  traps — 
to  cut  off  sewer-gas  from  houses  and  insert  flaps 
in  lieu  thereof  to  drains  outside,  as  well  as  plugs 
to  w.c.  apparatus,  would,  I  fear,  be  attended 
with  evil.  The  plugs  in  w.c.  apparatus,  I  have 
seen  in  a  London  hotel  and  at  a  provincial  station, 
sometimes  show  themselves  liable  to  be  choked 
by  paper,  or  other  foreign  matter ;  and  in  case 
of  there  being  no  outlet  ventilators  to  soil-pipes 
the  sewer- gas,  I  surmise,  would  be  subject  to 
escape  into  apartments.  This  would  be  doubly 
serious  where  there  is  a  suction  strain  upon 
closets  on  this  principle,  in  houses  not  provided 
with  sweeter  inlets  and  many  fires,  requiring  air 
for  their  effective  working.  The  flap  in  dram- 
pipe  would  also  be  open  to  the  objection  of  its 
not  always  tightly  fitting,  by  reason  of  solid 
matter  sticking  between  flap  and  rim  of  liram. 
In  case  of  a  plug-closet  pan  being  used,  would 
it  not  be  better  to  have  a  prolonged  or  after- 
flush,  so  as  to  allow  time  for  the  plug  to  regain 
its  bearing,  leaving  water  over  same  after  using  i 
Additional  water  would  help  to  flush  and  cleanse 
soil-pipe  from  accumulations  to  the  sides.  In 
case  of  plug  getting  out  of  order,  would  not  air 
in  passing  over  accumulations,  as  well  as  sewer- 
gas  arising  from  same,  prove  unsavoury  and  m- 
jurious  to  health,  in  ca.se  of  inefiiciency  of  trap- 
seal  ?  Perhaps  long  upright  arm  above 
apparatus  and  leading  to  roof  would  have  sufii- 
cient  pumping  power,  by  having  self-acting 
ventilator  at  the  top,  to  draw  air  down  through 
leakage  of  basin  plug,  and  thus  prevent  nmsance 
How  would  plug  and  trap  combined  act,  so  that 
if  plug  did  not  fit  tight,  water  in  trap  would 
still  seal  ? — I  am,  &c., 


GLOUCESTER  CATHEDRAL. 

SiE, — I  observe  (B.  N.,  p.  403)  that  you  say  : 
. — "  We  notice  that  the  published  dimensions  of 
the  Cathedral  follow  thefigures  given  in  Murray 
and  elsewhere,  whereas,  a  few  months  since,  the 
Royal  Engineers  engaged  in  the  Ordnance  Sur\-ey 
issued  theresultsofremeasurements  which  slightly 
differ  from  these.  Thus,  the  height  of  central 
tower  is  still  stated  at  229ft.,  whereas,  from  sur- 
face of  ground  to  summit  of  pinnacles,  the  corps 
of  engineers  found  it  to  be  225ft.  lOin."  In  my 
"  English  Minsters,"  Vol.  1,  page  l.')9,  I  gave 
the  height  22.5ft.;  at  Vol.  2,  page  13,  apian 
gives  the  relative  positions  of  all  the  English 
Minsters. — lam,  &c., 

Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcott. 


Toiop. 


Sib,— I  see  that  Mr.  Foster  advocates  the  abo- 
Ution  of  a  trap  altogether  for  w.c.'s,  and  recom- 
mends a  closet  with  a  plug.  CordiaUy  agreemg 
with  most  of  his  remarks,  I  cannot  see  the  aa- 
vantage  of  the  plug  over  the  trap,  supposing  tlie 
trap  to  be  merely  the  outlet  of  a  hopper  basm, 
the  soil-pipe  and  the  top  of  the  siphon  being 
fully  ventilated.  ,        ,  ,,  „ 

The  objection  to  this  hitherto  has  been  the 
form  of  the  basin,  which  would  hold  only  a 
smaU  quantity  of  water  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep 
hopper.  But  with  the  improved  form  of  basm, 
which  holds  as  much  water  as  an  ortUnary  pan  or 


Mr:  Foster  seems  quite  oblivious  to  the  fact    valve-closet.andwMchhasmerelyatrappedout^c 
that,  supposing  he  had  half  a  dozen  locks  on  his  |  without  the  contents  havmg  to  be  wasneaoutm 


THE  LATE  MAJOR  WHYTE  MELVILLE 

MEMORIALS. 

Sm,— I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  allow  me  to 
correct  two  slight  errors  in  the  notice  of  these  me- 
morials in  your  last  week's  issue.  The'fouutam  at 
St.  Andrew's,  and  the  monumcutal  cross  at  Tct- 
bury,  were  both  designed  by  me;  lutthe  hamsome 
memorial  tablet  in  the  Guards'  chajiel  at  "eUing- 
ton  barracks  was  designed  by  Mr.  George  Edmund 
Street,  R.A.,  and  not  by  myself. 

The  stone  of  which  the  memorial  fount,im  at  St. 
Andrew's  is  constructed  is  from  the  Corncockle 
quan-ies  on  the  Applegirth  estates,  belonging  to 
Sir  Alex.  Jardine,  Bart.,  and  is  much  fanor  than 
that  known  as  the  ordinary  red-sandstone  of  Dum- 
frieshire.— I  am,  &c., 

EOBEBT  W.  EdI3,  *  .O.A. 

14,  Fitzroy- square,  W.,  Oct.  12. 

NEWBURY   GRAMMAR-SCHOOL 

COMPETITIOX.  .         . 

SiE-See  tho    enclosed   pDSt-card    received    in 

reply 'to  an  application   for  Pa"-"<="'-"?.f\'\'°! 

compe  itionforthe  above  schools.     Architects  have 

evidently  to  undergo  st.ll  further  fleecing  in  these 

™Xf  was  the  semblance  of  fairness  in  the 
advertisement,  that  a  professional  man  would  be 
consulted  in  the  award.  ,,. 

This  however,  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  nulli- 
fied by  the  receipt  of  the  post-card  enclosed. 

Either  the  coinmittee  or  the  secretary  are  deUr- 

r-r,   nr  the  commission  to  do  tne  worn. 

fX:  but  a-^aUiTshU  f-  the  ,artio«Ur,  of 
^°?^i^te  latest  dodge  in  competiti<ms.j^m. 

"•■"iSO,  Radford-road,  New  Ba.ford,  Notts,  Oct.  13. 
[Copy.] 

VEWBTTBY  OEA3DIAE-SCH0OL  COMPETmO-T. 

The^oations  for  particulars  relatmg  to  the 


460 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15.  1880. 


above  are  so  numerous  that  they  will  ouly  bi 
forn-arded  on  receipt  of  one  shilling  in  postage 
stamps.  H.  Bueke  Godwin. 

Newbury,  11th  October. 


$nto0mmutttcHtt0n, 


QUi:STJO^-S. 

[6257.1— Yellow  Deals.— Canany  correspondent  tel 
me  where  the  12ft.  and  2ift.  yeUow  deal  planks  come 
from  ?  The  ones  I  refer  to  are  9in.  wide  and  Sin.  thick. 
Also  the  average  number  cut  out  of  a  tree,  and  the  average 
distance  such  trees  stand  apart  in  their  native  forests  l  — 
H.  A. 

[62')S.]  —  Valuations.  —  Will  some  reader  of  the 
BuiLDi.vG  News  kindly  informmeof  some  work  on  Valua- 
tions?—Esquiher. 

rG259.]— R.I.B.A.  Proficiency  Examination' 
— Would  any  fellow-student  kindly  answer  the  following 
queries  respecting  the  above  examination: — Istly.  Can 
you  go  in  for  it  without  going  in  for  the  preliminary 
before  ?  2ndly.  What  is  expected  in  mathematics  and 
physics.  3rdly.  In  the  form  of  application,  what  is  meant 
by  matters  left  to  the  option  of  candidate  1  4thly.  Are 
the  subjects  given  in  the  class  of  distinction  compulsoi-y  .' 
Sthly.  Is  there  no  syllabus  published  I  I  have  rul-^s,  exa- 
mination papers,  and  form  of  appl  cation,  and  I  think 
they  are  not  quite  explicit  enough.-  Subsckibee. 

16260.]  —  Surveyors'  Examinations.  —  Would 
any  of  your  readers  acquainted  with  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works  examinations  before  the  Royal  Institute 
of  British  .\rchitects  obbge  by  giving  particulars  of  exa- 
minations, and  by  suggesting  how  a  person  wishing  to 
pass  may  best  prepare  himself  !  A  list  of  books  bearing  on 
the  course  of  examinations,  or  a  note  of  the  soxirces  from 
which  the  necessary  information  may  be  gained  would  be 
very  acceptable.  Would  also  like  to  know  if  the  passing 
of  the  above  examination  is  of  great  advantage  to  sur- 
veyors outside  of  the  neighbourhood  of  London,  and  if 
one  well  up  in  the  duties  of  a  borough  surveyor  should 
have  any  very  particular  disadvantages  to  contend  with.— 
C.  E. 

[6261.]— Foundations.— A  church  was  erected  some 
60  years  ago.  Tower  (forming  porch)  and  spire  were  in- 
tended, but  then  carried  up  only  ground-story  high,  but 
with  foundations  sufficient  for  completed  work.  Ten 
years  ago  a  railway  tunnel  was  formed  some  40ft.  from 
porch,  rail  level,  say,  30ft.  from  surface.  It  is  now  pro- 
posed to  complete  tower  and  spire.  Will  existing  foun- 
dations be  suiheient !  If  not,  what  should  be  the  special 
characteristics  of  new  ones !— A  Ju.\-I0E. 

[6262.]— Hill-Side.— A  hill-side  meadow  land,  clay, 
height,  say,  160ft.,  slopes  regularly  about  Ij  to  1,  to  pond 
at  foot.  Portion  (about  two-thirds  up)  has  slipped 
away,  leaving  a  gap  some  6ft.  deep.  Owner  wants  the 
ev(  n  surface  permanently  restored.  How  can  it  best  be 
done!— A  Junior. 

[6263.]— Door.— May  I  ask  a  reply  to  the  following 
question:— What  is  meant  by  a  IJin.  ledged  door  !  The 
drawings  furnished  to  me  are  marked  Hin.  ledged  doors, 
and  m  the  quantities  are  described  the  same.  The 
doors  hung  are  .fin,  matched  boards,  and  Jin.  ledges  or 
braces.  Upon  my  telling  the  contractor  he  has  made  a 
mistake  in  putting  these  doors,  I  am  told  by  him,  greatly 
to  my  surprise,  th.at  this  is  according  to  the  plans  and 
quantities,  and  these  are  1  Jin.  ledged  doors.  May  I,  there- 
fore, ask  for  information  from  your  numerous  readers 
their  opinion  on  the  subject  ?— A  Pczzled  O.xe. 

[626-1.]— Wall  Ties.— Can  some  reader  give  me  the 
benefit  of  bis  experience  in  the  above  !  Are  the  wrot. 
iron  wall-ties  a-ivertised  by  Chambers,  Monnery,  and 
Co. ,  5-16th  of  an  inch  square,  strong  enough  to  tie  a  4.'.iu 
wall  30ft.  high  to  an  inner  9in.  wall,  and  how  far  apart 
should  they  be  horizontally  and  in  height  ?  Are  the  cast- 
iron  ones  ever  used,  and  if  so,  how  far  apart  !— Novice. 

[6265.1- County-Courts.— Can  any  reader  of  the 
Buitoi.vG  News  give  me  any  information  regarding  the 
planning  of  county-courts,  or  refer  to  any  published 
plans  ?— Sphixx, 


HEFZIES. 

[6230.] -Tile  Roof  Gauge.— A  4in.  gauge  is  suffi- 
cient for  Broseley  tiles  on  a  roof  having  a  pitch  of  45'  — 

W.  ASD  P.  J. 

[6252.]— Groined  CeUings— Nicholson's  "Princi- 
ples of  Carpentry,"  Newland's  "  Carpenters'  and  Joiners' 
Assistant,"  published  by  Blackie  and  Son,  will  give  all 
the  needful  information.— G. 

[6253.]— Half-timbered  Building'.— The  price 
per  foot  cube  for  a  cottage  such  as  P.  Holyns  makes  in- 
quiry about,  will  much  depend  on  the  locality  and  labour. 
If  gravel  or  ballast  can  be  obtained,  and  the  framed  work 
is  of  an  inexpensive  character,  8d.  a  foot  cube  would  be  a 
fair  price,  tit  nerally,  the  cost  is  about  a  third  more  than 
plain  brickwork,  though,  if  several  houses  weri  built, 
and  the  concrete  could  be  made  on  the  spot,  the  cost 
would  be  considerably  reduced.- G.  H.  G. 

[6251.]-Roof  Tiles.— The  size  of  Broseley  tiles  is 
lOJin.  by  64'in.  Vertical  tiling  should  have  3  nibs  and  2 
holes  for  nails,  and  not  bedded  in  mortar.      The  gauge 

P.T 


tivc  apparatus,  one  requiring  little  or  no  attention,  and 
the  size  and  power  of  the  same  can  be  made  to  suit  all 
circumstances.  The  writei's  attention  was  attracted  to 
these  inventions  at  the  late  exhibition  of  gas  appliances 
at  Bradford,  and  he  has  seen  nothing  so  effective  or 
generally  applicable  to  warming  purposes. — W.  S. 

[«'2.55.]— 'Warming  Conservatory.— It  would  be 
almost  invidious  to  single  out  any  one  stove  suitable  for 
this  purpose,  as  there  are  so  many  in  the  market  all  well 
adapted  ;  but  I  should  be  inclined  to  adopt  a  terra-cotta 
stove,  such  as  Roberts's  patent,  orDoulton's  radiating  tile 
stoves,  as  there  is  no  unpleasant  vapour  or  smell  from 
these :  and,  for  a  small  conservatory,  the  absence  of  these 
results,  almost  inseparable  from  ii'on  stoves,  is  a  con- 
sideration.— G,  H.  G. 

[6256.]— Internal  "Walls  of  D-welling-Houses. 
—In  reply  to  query  of  "  One  in  Doubt."  9iu.  interior 
walls  are  considered  good  walls  for  brick  houses  of  large 
size.  With  regard  to  the  position  of  the  plate,  what 
"One  in  Doubt"  says  is  very  true,  but  the  middle  posi- 
tion of  plate  is  perh.aps  the  best,  as  it  enables  the  brick- 
work to  be  built  up  on  each  side,  though  only  2jin,,  while 
if  the  plate  is  put  entirely  on  one  side  of  the  wall,  as  com- 
monly done,  the  decay  of  the  timber  would  render  the  wall 
unstable.  Two  plates,  of  course,  ai-e  worse  than  either. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  the  defect  in  the  system  ;  but  the  evil 
can  only  be  remedied  by  adopting  boxes  to  receive  the 
ends  of  joists  which  form  at  the  same  time  the  plate  or 
rest  for  the  joists.  The  latter  sentence  of  the  query  sounds 
ironical.  Peihaps  it  is  intentionallyso.  "  Onein  Doubt" 
has  served  his  time  with  a  provincial  architect  "who 
always  used  good  thick  internal  walls,"  and  placed  the 
joists  according  to  the  shape  of  rooms,  but,  alas,  he  finds 
our  "  eminent  architects"  adopting  another  plan,  and  he 
says  na'ively  "  I  would  not  expect  them  to  use  inferior 
construction."  I  am  afraid  the  writer  will  learn  by  ex- 
perience that  it  is  better  I0  expect  nothing,  for  if  he  looks 
to  some  eminent  architects  f .  r  enlightenment  in  this 
matter,  it  will  be  the  blind  leading  the  blind.— G.  H.  G. 


#ur  (BMtt  ^Mt 


should  be  about  4in.    Price  per  square,  12s.— ■\V.  axi 


16255.]— Warming  Conservatory.— The  best  and 
cheapest  mode  of  warming  the  small  conservatory  named 
by  "W.  H."  is  by  a  gas-stove  boiler  and  coil  pipes, 
taking  care  that  the  air  of  combustion  is  conveyed  from 
the  bmlding.  The  best  boilers  I  am  acquainted  with  are 
those  of  copper,  manufactured  by  Messrs.  Verity  Bros 
gasengmeers,  London,  which  are  heated  by  their  atmos-^ 
pnenc  fire-clay  gas-burners.  These  stove  boilere  have 
connections  for  coU  pipes,  the  best  form  of  which  are  the 
hollow  -wing  pipes  (Byram's  patent),  manufactured  by 
«  ?^^;,^PP'^^y'  ^  Eenshaw  Iron  Works,  near  Chester- 
neia.    uiiese  two  inventions  combined  form  a  most  effee- 


CHIPS. 

A  new  gjnmisiiim  was  opened  at  the  premises 
of  the  Young  Men's  CLri'fiau  Associatiou,  Bristol, 
oa  Wednesday  week.  It  lias  been  constructed  at  a 
C03t  of  £400,  from  the  plans  and  under  the  super- 
iutendeuce  of  Mr.  Joseph  Foster,  •who  acted  as 
honorary  architect. 

Extensive  works  of  S2wer,age  and  drainage  are  in 
progress  f.ir  the  East  Grius'ead  rural  sanitary 
autliority,  from  the  plans  of  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Austin,  engineers,  and  under  the  supervision  of 
the  board's  surveyor,  Mr.  J.  Turner.  At  the  last 
moetiug  of  the  authority  it  was  decided  to  apjily 
to  the  Local  Goverument  Board  for  a  further 
loan  of  £2,000,  making  £13,000  up  to  the  present 
time. 

Loughborough  Park  Congregational  Ch.apel, 
Brixton,  was  reopened  on  Sunday  after  alteration 
and  improvement.  A  pla^n  tower,  15ft.  scjuare  at 
base,  and  80ft.  m  height,  has  been  built  on  the 
street  frontage,  in  wliite  Suffolk  brickwork,  -with 
Bath  tli'essings ;  this  is  finished  with  slated  spire,  and 
contains  a  staircase  to  new  gallei'y,  "which  is  seated 
for  1.50  people  and  to  which  the  chapel-organ  has 
been  removed.  Tlie  alterations  have  been  cariiod 
out  by  Messrs  Hooper,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
Manning,  architect,  at  a  cost  of  £600. 

The  local  board  of  Stapleton,  near  Bristol,  have 
adopt  d  the  plans  for  the  drainage  of  Stapleton, 
prepared  by  Mr.  Cuttis,  their  surveyor,  subject  to 
modifications  suggested  in  the  report"  upon  them  by 
Mr.  Frederick  Ashmead,  of  Bristol :  the  estimated 
cost  of  carrying  out  the  tporks  is  £18,000. 

The  governors  of  Portsmouth  Grammar-school 
opened  on  Tuesday  week  tenders  for  the  erection  of 
a  new  wing  at  "the  school  to  accommodate  100 
scholars.  Ei^ht  tenders  were  received,  raugin" 
within  remarkably  narrow  limits,  from  £8  Os.  6d° 
to  £8  10s.  per  head,  and  the  lowest,  that  of  Mr. 
Lewis,  was  accepted. 

A  new  pumping- engine  for  the  drainage  of  the 
Southtowu  mai-shes,  near  Yai-raoulh,  was  publicly 
started  on  Monday  week.  The  engine  and  boile"r 
were  made  at  the  Yareside  Ironworks,  Y'armouth, 
for  the  Earl  of  Lichfield,  who  owns  the  marshes. 

Memorial  stones  of  a  new  Primitive  Methodist 
chapel,  at  Swanick,  near  Alfreton,  were  laid  on 
Tuesday  week.  It  replaces  an  older  building  on  the 
same  site,  will  be  Gothic  in  style,  the  facing  materials 
being  brick  and  stone ;  300  sfttings  will  be  provided, 
and  the  cost  ilwl  be  about  £1,000.  Messrs.  Brown 
and  Simpkin,  of  Eastwood,  are  the  contractors. 

The  Chesterfield  rural  sanitary  authority  have 
obtained  the  sanction  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  for  the  borrowing  of  £'2,900  for  carrying  out 
works  of  water-supply  in  the  villages  of  Uustone, 
Killamarsh,  Eckington,  Droufield,  Coal  Aston,  and 
Holmfield. 

A  quantity  of  Eoman  remains  have  just  been 
disinterred  in  a  private  garden  at  Glyde-path  hill, 
Dorchester,  the  latest  and  most  interesting  being 
portions  of  a  tessfUted  pavement,  the  patterns 
being  of  red  and  white  bands.  The  coins  that  have 
been  foimd  are  cliiefly  of  the  period  of  Allectus  and 
Antoninus  Pius. 

The  town  council  of  Burnley  have  decided  to  ex- 
tend the  waterworks  for  that  town  at  an  estimated 
expenditure  of  £80,000. 


In  a  most  sensible  letter  to  the  Times,  Mr. 
■William  "U'hite,  F.S.A.,  says:— "The  reform 
most  urgently  required  at  the  present  moment  is 
the  extension  of  the  Act  which  is  desired  to 
allow  tenants  and  sanitary  authorities,  even  in 
the  absence  of  agreement,  to  compel  landlords  to 
amend  defects  in  the  drainage  of  rented  houses. 
The  Act  is  almost  inoperative  on  account  af  tha 
difficulties,  or  supposed  difficulties,  of  exercising 
the  coercive  power  without  expensive  litigation ; 
but  apart  from  this  it  contains  no  adequate  pro- 
visions for  the  correction  of  defective  soil-pipes 
and  water  service.  I  have  recently  endeavoured 
in  vain  to  induce  the  landlord  of  a  house,  in 
which  I  am  interested,  to  proride  a  "water  service 
for  domestic  purposes  apart  from  the  only  one 
which  is  supplied  from  a  cistern  over  the  "water- 
closet  :  this  closet  being;  served  by  the  customary 
spindle  valve,  with  the  water-box,  which 
inevitably  releases  the  bad  air  from  beneath  into 
the  water  at  the  bottom  of  the  cistern.  I  have 
appealed  to  him  further  to  remove  and  to 
ventilate  the  decayed  and  constantly  leaking 
lead  soU-pipe  (occasionally  eaten  tlirough  by  rats 
from  the  drain)  which  runs  down  inside  the 
house,  adjoining  one  of  the  sitting-rooms,  leav- 
ing it  in  an  almost  chronic  state  of  stench.  And 
more  than  this,  I  have  appealed  to  the  sanitary 
inspector,  but  could  get  no  redress  La  these  mat- 
ters." 

The  Rev.  Brooke  Lambert,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Times,  referring  to  a  report  that  Whitechapel 
Church  is  to  be  lebuilt  on  the  old  model,  as  a 
former  vicar  in  one  of  the  district  churches,  and 
as  one  who  has  done  duty  in  the  above  church, 
feels  that  public  opinion  ought  to  be  brought  to 
bear  on  those  in  whose  hands  the  matter  rests. 
"Wlicn  the  church  was  burnt  down,  he,  in  com- 
mon with  many,  "while  regretting  the  irreparable 
loss  of  old  memorials,  felt  at  least  some  satisfac- 
tion in  the  thought  that  one  of  the  most  costly 
bhmders  of  niodei'n  times  could  be  repaired. 
The  churcli,  so  Mr.  Lambert  declares,  was,  for 
aU  purposes  of  elocution,  simply  abominable ; 
and  he  remarks  further  that  it  is  useless  to  re- 
build churches  if  the  people  who  attend  them 
cannot  hear,  and  no  parish  prejudice,  no  private 
influence  or  professional  feeling  shoiild  be 
allowed  to  perpetuate  a  blunder  atfecting  in  the 
results  the  edification  and  the  usefulness  of  the 
people  and  the  parsons  of  the  future.  The  rector 
of  the  church,  in  another  letter  to  the  Times, 
says  that : — "In  point  of  fact,  nothing  whatever 
has  been  decided  with  reference  to  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  church.  No  one  is  at  all  likely 
to  have  a  voice  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  church 
who  is  not  anxious  that  its  acoustical  properties 
should  have  the  first  consideration  :  and  it  is 
conceded  on  all  sides  that  this  will  involve  some 
departure  from  the  '  old  model.'  "  The  rector 
adds,  "  That  the  problem  which  awaits  solution 
is  not  quite  so  simple  as  it  looks.  To  cover  a 
large  area  with  a  building  which  shall  be  per- 
fect for  speaking  and  hearing  is  by  no  means 
ea.sy,  and  there  is  no  authority  to  which  "we  can 
turn  for  absolute  guidance  in  this  matter."  He 
invites  a  discussion  as  to  what  was  the  cause  of 
the  comparative  failure  in  the  church  just  de- 
stroyed. "  Was  it  the  height  of  the  nave,  78ft. 
from  the  floor  to  the  ridge  ?  Was  it  the  barrel- 
shaped  roof ':  "Was  it  the  apsidal  chancel,  or 
was  it  the  west  gallery  F  Or  was  it  all  of  these, 
and,  if  so,  in  what  proportions?  " 

In  proof  of  the  possibiUty  of  churches  being 
buUt  entirely  of  concrete,  "without  even  timber 
for  the  roof,  the  Atitiqiiai-ij  mentions  that 
there  is,  or  was  till  lately,  such  a  building,  which 
was  originally  intended  for  religious  jjurposes. 
It  is  a  very  small  chapel,  situated  on  the  Den- 
bighshire coast,  near  the  Colwyn  station  on  the 
Chester  and  Holyhead  Railway.  Close  to  it  is  a 
"weir  on  the  sands,  and  the  chapel  was  built  for 
the  parish  priest  to  say  mass  in  daily  for  the 
success  of  the  fishery.  Its  dimensions  are  of  the 
smallest— perhaps  about  10ft.  by  Cft.— thereof 
and  walls  are  alike  of  concrete.  It  is  cxuite  dis- 
mantled, and  has  not  been  used  from  time  im- 
memorial. The  vicar  of  LlandriUo-yn-Rhos 
receives  a  rent-charge,  in  lieu  of  the  tithes  of 
the  fish,  for  officiating. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  last 
week,  another  effort  was  made  to  avert  the  all 
but  consummated  scandal  of  the  new  Temple 
Bar  obstruction.     The  city  architect  stated  that 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINa    NEWS. 


461 


the  nuisance  'will  cost  "  only  six  thousand 
guineas,"  with  a  trifle  for  extras  of  some  £i,000 
more.  Of  the  three  extras,  two  would  be 
statues  of  the  Queen  and  Prince  of  'U^alcs,  at  a 
cost  of  £1,200  a-piece.  These  are  to  be  of 
marble — they  might  as  well  be  of  sugar-candy, 
as  far  as  their  appearance  goes,  aftera  12mouths' 
exposure  to  Loudon  soot  and  dust.  The  third 
is  a  griffin,  on  the  top,  at  a  thousand  guineas. 
Ultimately  the  question  was  adjourned  to  another 
meeting.  There  seems  to  be  little  hope  of 
common  sense  prevailing  at  present,  but  it 
must  do  so  ultimately.  Everybody  will  recol- 
lect how  the  Corporation  tried  hard  to  spoil 
London  Bridge,  and  how  very  nearly  they  suc- 
ceeded. Just  such  another  check  now  must  be 
administered  to  the  City  Fathers  if  we  are  to  be 
saved  from  the  latest  consequences  of  their 
foUy. 

The  Liverpool  Engineering  Society  held  its 
usual  fortnightly  meeting  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, the  6th  inst.,  at  the  Koyal  Institution, 
Colquett-street,  Mr.  A.  Ross,  president,  in  the 
chair.  A  paper  on  the  "  Construction  and 
Maintenance  of  Highways,"  by  Mr.  Windon, 
the  reading  of  which  had  been  adjourned  from 
the  last  meeting  of  the  Society,  was  read  and 
discussed.  The  President,  announced  that  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Society  would  be  held  on 
the  27th  October,  when  a  paper  by  Mr.  H.  A. 
Dibbin,  M.  Inst.  C.E.,  "  On  the  Combination  of 
the  Block  and  Interlocking  Systems  on  Rail- 
ways," would  be  read. 

De.  Alfbed  Caepestee  proposes  to  do  away 
with  fog  in  London  by  the  adaption  of 
the  following  means  :  — 1.  A  tax  upon 
ooal-consuming  grates  ;  2.  Gas  retailed  at 
a  price  not  exceeding  2s.  to  23.  3d.  per 
1,000ft.;  and  3.  The  enforcement  of  the  law 
against  chimneys  not  consuming  their  own 
smoke  :  whUe  London  raUway  companies  should 
be  compelled  to  use  similar  precautions  with 
their  engines.  "  Soot,"  says  the  doctor,  ''would 
not  then  be  a  part  of  our  daily  food.  We  should 
not  have  to  burn  gas  when  the  mid-day  sun  is 
shining  without  a  cloud  above  our  chimney- 
tops  ;  our  public  buildings  woidd  not  be  dis- 
figured by  black  mantles,  or  rapidly  destroyed 
by  the  sulphurous  atmosphere  which  renders 
their  destruction  now  inevitable." 

A  co^TEREXCE,  under  the  aaspices  of  the  Sun- 
day Society,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
desirability  of  extending  the  Society's  organisa- 
tion in  Scotland,  particularly  as  regards  Edin- 
burgh, was  held  on  Monday  afternoon  in  the 
Royal  Hotel,  Edinburgh,  the  Rev.  John  Glasse, 
Old  Grey  Friars,  presiding.  There  was  a  pretty 
large  attendance,  and  the  proceedings  on  the 
whole,  passed  ofi:  much  better  than  in  the 
Art  Department  of  the  Social  Science  Congress, 
in  which  the  subject  of  the  Society's  programme 
was  introduced  the  same  day. 

The  summer  that  has  just  passed  is  said  to 
have  been  remarkable  for  a  considerable  increase 
in  the  death-rate  of  New  Tork,  specially  attri- 
butable to  an  unusual  moitality  among  the 
inhabitants  of  tenement  houses.  The  limited 
space  on  the  island  on  which  residences  could  be 
built  has  induced  the  erection  of  buildings 
capable  of  holding  a  large  number  of  families, 
and  the  packing  of  these  together  in  a  manner 
that  has  shut  them  out  from  the  chance  of  light 
and  ventilation.  In  many  places  similar  houses 
are  buUt  in  the  rears  of  the  front  ones,  on  the 
same  building  lot  of  2.5ft.  by  100ft.,  thus 
effectually  shutting  out  light  and  air  from  all. 
The  result  of  this  crowding  of  the  tenement - 
house  districts  has  given  Xew  York  in  some  blocks 
a  population  of  7-30  souls  to  the  acre.  "ftTiile 
there  are  in  London's  most  densely-poptdated 
neighbourhoods  17-5,000  people  to  the  square 
mile,  there  are  in  parts  of  the  Fourth  Ward  of 
New  York  290,000,  or  over  60  per  cent.  more. 
As  a  natural  consequence  of  this  overcrowding, 
cleanliness  has  become  impossible.  The  regu- 
lations of  the  Building  and  Health  Departments 
are  disregarded,  laws  and  ordinances  are 
violated,  and  badly-drained  houses,  without  the 
required  means  of  disposing  of  ashes  and  gar- 
bage, with  scarcely  the  conveniences  demanded 
by  common  decency,  have  been  supplemented 
by  filthy  neglected  streets.  The  people  who 
live  in  these  places  have  nowhere  else  to  go. 
They  are  compelled  to  pay  in  such  dens  rents 
that  would  secure  them  a  decent  house  in  any 
other  city,  because  there  are  no  cheap  suburban 
residences  in  New  York,  no  cheap   apartment 


hotises  in  healthy  localities  where  working  people 
may  Live. 

CHIPS. 

The  tapestries  from  St.  Mary's  Hall,  Coventry. 
are  being  repaired  for  the  town  council  of  the  city 
at  Messrs.  Baitlett's,  Blenheim-street,  Loudon. 
The  canvases  are  being  cleansed  from  the  accumu- 
lated dust  of  centuries,  bringing  out  the  colours  and 
outlines  more  brightly  and  distinctly,  and  the 
ragged  edges  made  good.  The  work  will  be  another 
sis  weeks  in  hand,  and  it  is  said  will  make  the 
tapestry  capable  of  lasting  a  couple  more  cen- 
tm-ies. 

The  Brighton  Beard  of  Guardians  on  Tuesday 
week  instructed  Mr.  Maynard,  surveyor  to  the 
Board,  to  prepare  plans  for  the  extension  of  the 
workhouse,  by  the  erection  of  buildings  on  the  south 
side  for  120  female  adult  imbeciles  and  30  children, 
and  on  the  north  side  accommodation  for  100  male 
vagrants. 

A  new  peal  of  eight  bells  were  dedicated  at 
Crawley  parish- church,  Sussex,  on  Wednesday 
week.  They  were  cast  by  Messrs.  Gillett,  Bland, 
and  Co.,  of  Croydon,  and  are  huug  on  oak  framing, 
and  furnished  with  chiming  apparatus.  The  total 
cost  has  been  £600,  and  the  work  has  been  carried 
out  tmder  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  H.  Boswell, 
in  the  employ  of  Messrs.  Gillett  and  Bland. 

St.  John's  Church.  Stratford-by-Bow.  was  re- 
opened on  the  2nd  inst.,  after  internal  renovation, 
including  the  colouring  of  walls  and  arcades,  and 
the  filling  of  the  margins  of  windows  with  stained 
glass.  The  work  has  been  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
T.  Norton  and  Sons,  of  Stratford.  The  tower  and 
spire  are  still  tmdergoing  repairs,  the  contractor 
for  this  being  Mr.  J.  Morter. 

New  schools  at  Cwmffnvdoer  have  just  been 
erected  for  the  School  Board  for  Trevethin,  near 
Pontypool,  and  will  be  opened  about  a  fortnight 
hence.  Messrs.  Morgan  and  Evans  were  the  con- 
tractors. 

A  new  organ  in  Berwick-on-Tweed  parish- 
church,  built  at  a  cost  of  £570,  by  Messrs.  Harrison 
and  Harrison,  of  Leeds,  was  opened  on  Thursday 
week. 

Ml'.  Mirrless  has  been  re-elected  Lord  Dean  of 
Guild  for  Glasgow,  for  1S80-1. 

The  Cardiff  School  Board  on  Thui'sday  week 
adopted  plans  and  designs  by  Mr.  P.  Price,  of  that 
town,  for  the  proposed  new  schools  in  Staoey-road, 
and  those  of  Messrs.  Habershon  and  Fawckner  for 
the  new  schools  in  Splotlzuids. 

The  town-council  of  Stockton-on-Tees  last  week 
appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the  desirability 
of  providing  a  public  park  for  the  town.'^people. 

The  parish-church  of  Great  Oakley,  near  Man. 
ningtree,  Essex,  has  been  reopened  after  restora. 
tion :  the  uneven  dilaiiidated  walls  have  been 
made  sound  and  seemly,  the  galleries  have  been 
removed,  and  the  pews  are  replaced  by  open 
benches. 

The  final  act  in  the  transfer  of  the  undertaking 
of  the  Strood  Waterworks  from  a  company  to  the 
Coipora*ion  of  Rochester,  took  place  on  Wednesday 
week,  when  the  deeds  of  transfer  were  signed.  The 
sum  paid  bv  the  citv  for  the  undertaking  is  £7,945 
15s.  4d.  It  is  the  "intention  of  the  town  council  to 
extend  the  works  so  as  to  affoid  an  ample  water 
supply  for  the  whole  of  Strood  and  Frindsbury. 

Prince  Leopold  has  accepted  the  invitation  of 
Mr.  W.  Busbridge  to  deliver  to  the  students  of  the 
Metropolitan  Drawing  Classes  the  Queen's  pilzes 
awarded  by  the  Science  and  Art  Department.  The 
Lord  Mayor  ^•n]l  preside,  and  the  ceremony  will 
probably  take  place  in  the  Guildhall  about  the  first 
week  in"  November. 

The  Council  of  the  Eojal  Historical  Society 
havinc  resolved  to  institute  regular  courses  of  lec- 
tures "On  the  Science  of  Geneial  History,'  and 
elected  Dr.  G.  G.  Zerffi,  F.E.S.L.,  F.R.Hist.S.,  to 
deliver  the  first  course  of  30  lectm'es  dm-mg  the 
sessions  of  1S80  and  ISSl.  Arrangements  have  been 
made  for  the  dehvery  of  the  lectures  m  the  lecture- 
theatre  of  the  South  Kensington  Museum  on  Satur- 
day afternoons  at  3  o'cluck,  commencmg  with 
Saturday  next. 

The  memorial-stone  of  a  new  Weslejau  chapel 
at  Alan-road,  Ipswich,  was  laid  last  week.  lUe 
cost  -ivill  be  £1,077.  Mr.  Hubert  is  tlie  architect, 
and  Mr.  A.  Coe,  the  builder. 

A  new  Congregational  chapel  at  Nacton  was 
opened  on  Wednesday  week.  The  cost  will  be  about 
£400.  Mr.  Coe,  of  Ipswich,  is  the  builder,  and  Mr. 
A.  Conder,  of  London,  the  architect. 

Mr.  Charles  Walsh  has  been  appointed  surveyor 
to  the  rural  sanitary  authority  of  Halstead,  Essex. 

The  town  council  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne  received, 
on  Wednesday  week,  a  report  from  Mr.  Alfred  M. 
Fowler,  M.I.C.E.,  borough  engineer,  as  to  tie 
proposed  new  thoroughfare  from  the  Milk  Market  to 


^'f '™-sh'eet,  the  net  cost  of  which  ho  estimates 
at  ±84,000.  The  scheme  has  already  been  sanc- 
tioned m  pnnciple  by  the  town  cou'ucil,  and  the 
matter  stands  over  for  considemtion  iu  detail, 
bhould  It  be  carried  out,  an  estimated  sum  of 
il.1,000  will  be  saved  from  tlin  £.SI,i)flO,  as  an 
Artisans  Dwellings  Act  scheme  will  br  obviated  by 
thecuttuig  thiough  of  an  "unhealthy  area"  in 
Paudon. 

The  plans  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker,  Kurvcyor,  Hornby, 
have  been  adopted  bv  the  rural  Kinitar}-  autliority 
of  Lunesdale,  for  the  sewering  of  the  village  of 
Halton. 

The  Wigton  urban  sanitary  authoritv  opened,  on 
the  I  th  mst.,  13  appUcations  for  the  cilice  of  sani- 
tary  inspector,  the  salaries  required  var)iug  from 
£3C  to  £150  a  year.  The  authority  appointed  the 
man  who  asked  least  money— a  local  jomer  named 
T.  TifEen. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Godalming.  on  Tuesday 
week,  before  Major  Hector  Tulloch,  U.E.,  an  in- 
spector of  the  Local  Government  Board,  relative 
to  a  complaint  from  certain  memorialists  at  the 
Charterhouse  school  ar.d  the  neighbouring  village 
of  Farncombe,  that  the  Godalming  rural  sanitary 
authority  had  made  default  in  providinj;  sulticiout 
sewers  for  the  district.  The  coinp'aint  appeared 
to  arise  out  of  a  dispute  between  the  masters  of 
Charterhouse  and  the  sanitary  authority  as  to  who 
was  responsible  for  the  cost  and  plans  of  the 
sewering  of  the  Cliarterhouse  estate. 

The  Chiswick  commissioners  have  accepted  the 
tender  of  Messrs.  Mowlem  aLd  Co.,  Grosvenor 
Wharf,  Westminster,  for  the  kerbing  and  channel- 
ling of  the  main  road  with  Abeidecn  granite,  a 
distance  of  1^  miles,  through  Tumham-green. 

The  Chelmsford  highway  board  received  on 
Friday  a  report  from  a  committee  as  to  the  advi- 
sability of  adopting  the  contract  system  for  the 
repair  of  highways.  Foity-eight  replies  had  t>cen 
obtained  to  circulars.  As  a  result,  the  committee 
recommended  the  board  to  appoint  one  surveyor 
for  the  whole  district  at  a  salary  of  £250  per 
annum,  that  his  exclusive  services  be  given  to  the 
board,  and  that,  on  his  appointment,  it  be  explained 
to  him  that  the  board  proposed  to  !•  t  out  the  re- 
pairs of  the  highways.  Tlio  repoit  was  adopted, 
and  it  was  decided  to  retain  Mr.  Whitmore  as  sur- 
veyor till  the  end  of  the  financial  year  in  March 
next. 

The  Keswick  local  board  received  and  accepted, 
last  week,  notice  of  resignation  from  Mr.  Till,  their 
surveyor. 

For  the  proposed  hotel  opposite  the  new  railway 
station  at  Preston,  the  directors  of  the  London 
and  North  Western  and  the  Lancashire  and  York- 
shire Railway  Companies  have  accepted  the  tender 
of  Messrs.  Neild  and  Co.,  Manchester. 

Works  of  water  supply  are  in  course  of  comple- 
tion for  the  villages  of  Arlecton  and  Frizington, 
for  the  Whitehaven  rural  sanitary  authority.  Mr. 
Gardine,  of  St.  Helen's,  is  the  contractor,  and  the 
work  is  being  executed  from  the  plans  and  under 
the  supervision  of  Mr.  Eenney,  surveyor  to  the 
authority. 

A  plan  for  a  new  post  ofBce  at  Hereford  has  been 
prepared  by  Mr.  Rivers,  the  Government  surveyor. 
The  new  building  will  be  of  stone,  with  orna- 
mental dressings  on  the  front.  The  cost  will  be 
between  £4,000  and  £5,000. 

On  Sunday  morning  fire  broke  out  in  the  Guild- 
hall at  Arbroath.  ITie  properly  was  completely 
destroyed.  The  damage  done  will  amount  to 
several  thousand  pounds. 

Considerable  additions  have  been  made  to  the 
Bible  Christian  Chapel  in  Bam -street  Lisfceard, 
from  the  designs  and  under  the  skiUul  dirccti™  of 
Mr  W.  A.  E.  Skentlebcrrv.  architect,  of  fcjst 
Looe.  The  edifice  is  of  fiarly  English  Gothic 
character,  local  stone  being  used  for  the  walling, 
and  Bath  stone  for  the  vanous  diessmgs.  TTie 
carved  work  is  by  Mr.  Harrv  Hems,  of  Exeter. 
Mr.  Nicholls,  of  Liskeard,  is  the  general  contrac- 

'°The  new  hostel  for  the  residence  of  the  students 
anXtoi^of  the  Schoto  CanceUarii,  Lmcoh,  was 
onened  S-  the  Bishop  on  Friday.  The  bnddmg 
w?s  till  recently,  thi  county  hospital  and  w« 
Wht  for  £4.000;  the  alterations  have  b«n 
effected  at  a  cost  of  £3,000.  from  tlie  designs  of 
Me^Goddard  and  S^n,  of  Lincoln  Ko-'-^^f"! 
3?  s^dents  and  two  tutors  arc  provided  lu  the  old 
wnrd7and  the  former  bo-ard  room  aijd  disj^nsary 

of  Lincoln, 

The  local  board  of  Oxford  recj-ived  a  rcport  .''' 
their  last  meeting  from  the  drsmage  eommmee 
tneu  ia»t  f  ^.^^.o^v^,  v,.i  ..Iroa^v  tjecu  borr oWt-l 
stating 
and  exp 

a  halance  itwasdeci.iea  co  air'jr 

irA'^t  S'otzS^nt  Board  for  permission  to 
borrow  a  further  sum  of  £ .  ,00". 


462 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  15,  1880. 


CHIPS. 

Our  atle  coutomporary  EiHjiiuering,  has  just 
added  a  new  feature  to  its  pages,  -viz.,  au  illustrated 
record  of  patents,  which  will  be  of  very  great  ser- 
vice to  inveutors,  patentees,  and  the  public  gene- 
rally. 

At  Eotherham,  on  Friday  last,  the  principal,  Mr. 
E.  Norris,  of  Westbourne,  opened  a  spacious  new 
schoolroom.  It  is  wanned  and  TentUated  by  one 
of  ShorUnd's  patent  open  fireplace  ventQating 
warm-ail'  stoves. 

A  Roman  Catholic  church  at  Court  wood,  about 
five  miles  from  Portjrlington,  was  dedicated  on 
Sunday.  The  church  is  Gothic  in  character,  and 
has,  with  the  adjoining  presbytery,  cost  over  £9,000, 
exclusive  of  the  high  altar  which  is  coustructed  of 
gi-anite  and  marble,  and  cost  the  dunors  £C00.  The 
architect  was  Mr.  William  Hague,  of  Dawson- 
street,  Dublin,  and  the  builder,  Mr.  Harris,  of 
Mouasterevan. 

A  new  reredos  has  just  been  placed  in  the  old 
parish-church  of  St.  Nicholas,  Brighton.  It  is  a 
carved  oak  frame,  containing  three  paintings, 
representing  "The  Adoration  by  the  Magi,"  "The 
Annunciation,"  and  "The  Baptism  of  Our  Lord." 
The  artist  was  Mr.  Corbett,  of  London,  and  the  cost, 
incluiUng  framework,  wainscot,  and  painting,  was 
£230. 

Extensive  works  of  water  supply  are  approach, 
iug  completion  at  Dunfermline  for  the  town  councils 
Messrs.  J.  and  A.  Leslie,  of  EJiuburgh,  are  the 
engineers. 

The  Guisborough  highway  board  resolved  last 
week  to  build  a  new  bridge  at  Commoudale,  from 
the  plans  of  Mr.  Paver,  their  surveyor,  and  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  £340. 

At  the  thirteenth  .annual  meeting  of  the  Powys- 
land  Club,  held  at  the  museum  and  library  in 
Welshpool,  on  Monday,  the  question  of  association 
with  the  Cambrian  Arcbaological  Association  was 
discussed,  it  being  mentioned  that  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  central  museum  for  Welsh  antiquities 
was  to  be  found  in  the  Powjtland  Museum,  in 
which  they  were  assembled,  and  which  has  just 
been  enlarged .  It  was  resolved  to  open  negotia- 
tions with  the  council  of  the  Cumbrian  Arcluco- 
logical  Association,  with  the  object  of  making  the 
Welshpool  Museum  a  general  and  central  one,  in 
antiquarian  matters,  for  the  Principality. 


l4amplongh's  Pyretic  Saline  is  refreshins, 

most  agreeable,  aud  the  preTentlre  of  FEVERS,  HILIOUSNESS, 
8MAI,£  POX,  SKIN  DISEASES,  and  many  ither  spring  and 
summer  ailments.  Sold  by  chemists  tliroughout  the  world,  and 
the  Maker.  113.  Holborn  ma     I7«  nomlxIilVKj -fAoTi.l 

Holloway  s  well-tnown  and  hishly-csteemedPills 

put  the  power  or  removing  his  infirmity  witliin  the  frasp  of  evei-y 


invalid.   Martyri 


TENDERS. 

*,*  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

Abeedare.— For   making   a    culvert   over   the    Dare 
Felhania  North-street,  for  the  Aberdare  local  board  :  — 
Thomas,  T.,  Aberdare  (accepted^    ...     £172    2    0 
[Lowest  of  three  tenders  received.] 

Allesheads.— For  the    erection   of   p.arsonage  house 
and  boimdary  walls  at  Allenheads,  Northumberland,  for 
the  Rev.  J.  M.  Lister.    Mr.  Edward  Shewbrooks,  archi- 
tect,   2,    Market-street,   Newcastle-on-TjTie.    Accepted 
tenders  ; — 
Excavator,  bricklayer,  mason,  slater,  and  plasterer  :  — 
Charlton,  •.,  Northumberland       ...      £917  10    0 
Carpenter  and  joiner,  plumber,  painter,  and  glazier  :— 
Fairlamb,  T.,  Northumberland      ...      £667    0    0 
Boundary  walls  :— 

Charlton,  J 160    0    0 

Bakmoutii.— For  extension  of  promenade,  and  works 
connected  therewith.  Mr.  Thomas  Roberts,  engineer, 
Portmadoc  : — 

Evans  and  Jones,  Dolgelley        ...      £1,893  19    n 

Owen,  Portmadoc i,»J3    0    ii 

Jones,  Barmouth     1,63G    0    o 

Daries,  Portmidoc 1,552    0    0 

Williams,  R,  Harlech       1,534    0    0 

Davies,  Waenfawr 1,500    0    0 

Hughes,  Portmadoc 1,475    0    0 

Pritchard,  Portmadoc        1,349    0    0 

Jeffreys,  Colwyn  Bay         1,138    2    8 

Wilhama,  O.,  Harlech  (accepted;        1,113    1    C 
Batteesea.— For  alterations  at  "Magpie,"  Battersea 
Park-road.     Mr.  H.    I.    Newton,  architect,  27,    Great 
George-street,  Westminster;— 

Blenkame         £205    0    0 

Beale       196    0    0 

Walkley ng    o    0 

Lamble i.i7    o    0 

Taylor,  Brixton-road  (accepted)    ...        143    0    0 

Bedford.— For  new  bu.sines3  premises,  Harpur-street, 
Bedford,  for  Mr.  Chas.  Bryant,  poulterer  and  dealer  in 
game.    Mr.  John  Day,  architect ; — 

Spencer,  T.,  Bedlord £590    0    0 

Hull,  J  ,  Bedford        576    0    0 

Corby,  J.  and  Son,  Bedford 560    0    0 

Foster,  S.,  Kempiton 660    0    0 

Warton,  J.,  Bedlord 645  10    0 

Bedford.- For  new  coach-house  and  stable  with  hay- 
loft over,  ic,  at  Wadsworth  House,  Kimbolton-road, 
Bedford,  for  Mr.  Thos.  Bull.  Mr.  John  Day,  architect 
and  surveyor : — 

Haynes,  O.,  Bedford £119  10    0 

BHionxox.— For  erecting  a  wall  on  the  western  and 
southern  boundary  of  the  workliouse  extension  site,  for 
the  Brighton  board  of  guardians  :  — 

Barnes,  J £360    0    0 

Patching  and  Son       298    0    0 

Cheeseraan  and  Co 290    0    0 

Lockyer,  G  B, Brighton  (accepted)       285    0    0 
Bristol.— For   the    reconstruction    of   St.   Geoi^'s 


HAET'S  PATEIT 
CYCLIC  ELEVATOR, 


sewers,  for  the  St.  George's  local  board 
Yalland,  T,  K.  (accepted) 


£757  10    0 


Throat  Irritation.— Soreness  and  dryness,  tick 

Img  and  irritation,  imlucinj:  L-oush  and  aftVrtinff  the  Toice.  Fo' 
these  symotonis  use  Epps's  Glvcfiine  Jujubes.  Glvceriue  ii 
these  aKreoable  confections,  bcni:.'  in  nr.Kimltv  to"  the  eland' 
at  the  moment  they  are  excited  liv  tlif  ;i.  t  mI  ^Ul  kin"  hecomc- 
actively  healing.  Sold  onlv  in  bi.\.  .,.  7. 1  ,ni.(  l,  Hd"  htbollcd 
•*  James    Epps    and    Co.,  Honio^niMtlii.    i  li.nit-ls.   tondon."     J\ 


cleansmg  i 


ithout  medical  treat- 


CINDER-SIFTING  ASH  CLOSETS. 

i-uperiorto  Earth  Clusets.    For  Gcntlemciis  Houses    Cott.a''C? 
Schools,  &c.  °     ' 

KO  DRIED  EARTH  REQUIRED. 

The  Sanitary  Appliance  Co.  (Ltd.),  Salford. 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  ajipUcatiau  to 
CHARLES  TEASK, 

Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Uminster,  Somerset. 
—  LAdvt.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S.W.  Builders,  Decoratoi-s,  and  House  Painters. 

Designs  and  Estmiates. 

General   Eepairs    and   Alterations   Executed. 

Experienced  Workmen  alwavs  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country.— [Adtt.] 


BOX    GROUND    STONE 

IstheBMt  for  Use  in  all  Exposed  Positions,  being 
>V  ell-known  and  Tried  Weather  Stone. 


50,000   Feet  Cube    in  Stock. 
PICTOE  &  SONS, 

BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt.] 


CuALFONT  St.  Giles's.— For  additions  to  mansion  and 
new  stablmg  at  the  Grove,  Chalfont  St.  Giles's,  for  G. 
H.  Salisbury,  Esq.  Mr.  W.  T.  Sams,  architect.  Quanti- 
ties by  Messrs.  J.  and  A.  E.  Bull  :— 

Knignt  and  Sons,  Chertsey  (accepted)  ...    £4,210 

For  stable  fittings  :— 

Musgrave,  Bond-street,  W.  (accepted)    £627    1    i' 

Ceiswick,  S.W.— For  dust  removing,  cleans! 
slopping,  for  the  Chiswiek  Improvement  Commis: 
Mr.  H.  C.  Smith,  engineer  :  - 

For  Tumham  Green  and  Brentford-roads  :— 

Wum,  J ._  £250    0    0 

Burford  &  Ball,  C.iiswick  (accepted)        160    0    0 
For  all  the  other  roads  in  the  parish  ;  — 

Winn,  J.--       £-214    0    0 

Hancock,  J 210    0    0 

Stroud,  J.,  Acton        190    0    0 

Burford  and  Ball  (accepted)  ..'.        160    0    0 

Clapham— For  construction  of  roads  and  sewei-s  upon 
the  Broomwood  Park  Estate,  Clapham  Common.  Messrs. 
Hamojack  and  Lambert,  suiTeyors  :  — 

5"^"*^,         JV.      £9>960  0  0 

Neale,  H.  and  C 9,500  0  0 

g?™''^ 8,990  0  0 

S"???  V 8,932  0  0 

Neale'  J 8,600  0  0 

I?       B>j     8,292    0    0 

Bioomfield     7  682    0    0 

Dawlish.— For  the  extension  of  the  town  watersunnlv 
for  the  Dawhsh  local  board  :  —  «-»-  j  ■ 

Shapter  and  Son,  Dawlish £1  37S    0    0 

Tripe,  W.  P.,  Dawlish       I'sii    0    0 

PortburyandCo,  E.xeter 1,012    0    0 

Johns,  E.,  Dawlish 915    0    Q 

Soper  and  Salter,  Exmoutli        ...  899    0    0 

Hawkins  and  Best,  Dawlish        ...  818    0    0 

Taylor,  Bros.,  Teignmouth         ...  720    0    0 

Epsom.— For  extending   a  wood-cutting   shed  at  the 
workhouse,  for  the  Epsom  board  of  guardians  ■— 
Walker,  F.,  Leatherhead  £59    0    0 

Warr,  Croydon 66    0    0 

^■•-f%'TS. 55    0    0 

J?^'J-_ 53    0    0 

Stone,  F 49    7    r 

Hards,  G.,  Ewell         ...        .;.'       ;;;       49    5    0 

Stred wick,  Epsom  (accepted)  ...       48  10    0 

EisTox-noAD.  N.W.— For  alterations  and  repairs,  for 

Ml-.  F.  H.  Warr     Mr.    Edwin   T.  Hall,  architect,  57 

Moorgate-street,  E.C  :—  •^•■<,o', 

Hiddell,  G.  and  T.,  Newingtoh  Butts  (accepted;  £600. 

„/#°'^l'  w^f  ^'"-''^r ^''^  ""■  'ebuildrng  and  renovatio? 
of  Feock  Wesleyan  Chapel.  Mr.  Silvanus  TrevaU,  archi- 
tect, Iruro  : — 

Julian,  J.  H.  and  Sons  (accepted)...     £250    0    0 


PATE  NTE  E, 
52,  QUEEN  VICTORIA  STREET,  E.C. 


OE  TO  TIIK 


Sole    Makers 

J.  &  E.  HALL, 

Engineers,   Millwrights,  Founders, 
and  Boiler  Makers, 

DARTFORD,      KENT, 

OE 

21,STSWITHIN  LANE,  LONDON. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


LOKDOX,  FRIDAY,   OCTOBER  22,  1880. 


463 


THE   PRICE   OF  AECHITECTUEE. 
11.— In  Mojtey. 

IT  is  wortli  considering,  that  almost  every 
civilised  nation  has  found  it  possible, 
often  for  centuries  together,  to  treat  all  its 
buildings  architecturally.  Every  race  has 
at  all  times  had,  as  our  own  race  has  at  the 
present  time,  to  deal  with  works  of  all 
classes,  temporary  and  permanent,  costly 
and  cheap  :  and  has  found  no  insuperable 
difHculty  in  making  each  and  all,  in  their 
proper  ways,  artistic.  In  this  sense,  archi- 
tecture is  not  a  matter  of  money.  All  the 
world  has  had,  at  one  time  or  another,  a 
■cheap  architecture — not  the  less  refined 
because  of  this — for  cheap  building,  and  a 
temporary  architecture — not  the  less  genuine 
because  of  this— for  temporary  purposes. 
True,  it  has  also  had  a  costly  architecture 
where  costliness  was  fitting,  and  a  per- 
manent architecture  where  permanence  was 
wanted ;  but  its  buildings  were  all  har- 
monious, and  there  were  no  discords  in  the 
ascending  scale  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest.  The  bams  and  cottages  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  for  instance,  were  not  more 
vulgar  or  commonplace  than  its  cathedrals. 
The  wooden  chalets  of  Switzerland  are, 
many  of  them,  v.-orks  of  art,  as  well  as  the 
churches  of  Lausanne  and  Freyburg.  The 
most  temporary,  and  cheapest,  perhaps,  of 
all  architecture — that  of  Japan — is  genuine 
in  its  way,  as  well  as  the  permanent  and 
costly  works  of  Egypt  and  Rome.  It  is  a 
great  misfortune  for  us — though  one  which 
was  inevitable,  from  the  nature  of  the  case — 
that  the  cheap  and  temporary  buildings  of 
our  own  Medioeval  period  have,  with  few 
exceptions,  passed  away.  "We  know  well 
what  the  higher  class  of  works  were,  for 
they  are  still  to  be  seen ;  but  we  can  only 
infer  from  a  few  lingering  remains,  and  a 
number  of  post-Mediseval  imitations,  what 
the  commoner  ones  resembled.  In  addition, 
moreover,  to  this  inevitable  lack  of  know- 
ledge, the  workers  in  the  Gothic  revival,  or 
some  of  them,  suffered  from  a  constant  mis- 
direction which  was  not  at  all  inevitable. 
Art-critics,  with  their  boundless  eloquence 
and  self-confidence,  assured  them  that,  as 
the  Gothic  style  sprang  out  of  the  con- 
structional necessities  of  vaulting,  no  build- 
ings but  vaulted  ones  were  t7-uly  Gothic.  A 
sort  of  half-to'eration  might,  indeed,  be 
given  to  the  mass  of  English  churches, 
which,  if  they  had  no  vaults,  had  plenty  of 
pointed  arches,  buttresses,  and  other  features 
of  the  true  Gothic  style ;  but  as  for  the 
domestic  work  of  the  same  periods,  with  its 
wooden  floors  and  square-headed  windows, 
it  was  not  worth  the  slightest  study  or  the 
smallest  imitation.  Of  late  years  we  have 
heard  the  same  argument  over  again,  used, 
this  time,  to  prove  that  Gothic  work  is  quite 
unfit  for  modern  purposes.  The  style  arose 
from  vaulting,  we  are  told,  and  can  only  be 
carried  out  perfectly  with  vaulting.  Now, 
it  is  out  of  the  question  to  vault  our  town 
buildings  generally,  to  say  nothing  of 
houses  and  cottages ;  therefore  Gothic 
architecture  is  unfit  for  town  buildings, 
houses,  and  cottages.  The  first  inventor  of 
this  argument,  whoever  he  was,  had  clearly 
studied  Gothic  in  nothing  but  its  cathedrals. 
In  the  best  Jlediojval  times,   according  to 


Mediffival  builders  erected,  for  any  one  of 
these  purposes,  a  building  that  was  not 
vaulted  and  buttressed,  they  were  traitors 
to  their  principles,  and  false  to  the  very 
style  they  invented.  This  is  what  the 
argument  leads  us  to  :  and  it  makes  us  ask 
whether  its  inventor  is  prepared  to  apply 
the  same  measure  to  other  styles,  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  Greek  p  The  essence  of  the 
Greek  temple  style  lies  in  its  shadow- 
casting  colonnades  and  porticoes ;  but  does 
anyone  suppose  that  every  Athenian  felt 
bound,  on  true  art  principles,  to  make  his 
house  into  a  miniature  Parthenon  ?  We 
know,  on  the  contrary,  that  Athenian 
dwelling-houses,  in  the  golden  age  of  Greek 
art,  were  exceedingly  slight  and  unpre- 
tending :  and  yet  every  fragment  of  Greek 
pottery  and  jewellery  teaches  us  that  all  the 
art  of  that  age,  civil  and  domestic,  as  well 
as  rehgious,  must  have  been  perfect  in  taste 
and  keeping. 

The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  every  style, 
and  the  Gothic  style  amongst  the  rest,  had 
one  mode  of  treatment  for  grand  monu 
mental  works ;  and  another  mode,  quite 
different,  and  yet  quite  harmonious,  for 
everj'day  purposes.  If  anybody  likes  to  say 
that  the  everyday  style  of  the  Middle  Ages 
was  not  Gothic,  so  be  it.  At  any  rate,  it 
was  the  style  which  the  Gothic  designers 
evolved  as  most  fit  to  harmonise  \vith  their 
monumental  works  ;  it  was  the  architectural 
prose  which  they  felt  ought  to  go  along 
with  their  architectural  poetry.  The  great 
weakness  of  the  modern  Gothic  revival  has 
been  its  neglect  to  study  the  prose,  and  its 
attempt  to  put  everything  into  poetry ;  till 
now,  in  revulsion  from  it,  we  see  another 
and  smaller  reviv.al  which  would  put  every- 
thing into  prose.  The  strength  of  this  latter 
revival,  absurdly  called  that  of  the  "  Queen 
Anne  style,"  is,  that  instead  of  aping  in 
taverns  and  dwellinghouies  the  features 
which  fitly  belong  only  to  permanent 
national  works,  it  accepts  the  conditions  of 
humbler  life,  and  tries  to  make  something 
artistic  out  of  them.  In  spite  of  all  the 
gratuitous  follies  and  puerilities  of  its  detail, 
it  is,  in  the  best  examples,  more  truly  in 
harmony  with  good  Mediaeval  buildings 
than  nine-tenths  of  the  civil  and  domestic 
edifices  of  the  Gothic  revival.  It  is  nearer, 
in  fact,  to  the  "prose  style  "—the  style  for 
cheap  and  temporary  buildings — of  the 
Middle  Ages,  than  are  all  those  combina- 
tions of  shapeless  general  form  with  pre- 
tentious ornament,  which  have  been  palmed 
upon  the  world  as  adaptations  of  the 
Pointed  style  to  secular  requirements. 
However  imperfect,  and  even  _  positively 
objectionable,  it  m.ay  be,  it  is,  in  this 
respect,  an  effort  in  the  right  direction ;  an 
attempt  to  provide,  as  every  age  of  living 
architecture  has  provided,  a  graceful  way  of 
doing  common  things,  to  supplement  its 
noble  way  of  doing  great  things.  It  will 
not  be  a  final  attempt,  for  nothing  is  final ; 
it  will  be  followed  by,  or,  far  better,  will 
transform  itself  into,  more  genuine  and  more 
satisfying  attempts  at  the  "prose  stj-le  " 
which  we  have  so  long  been  wanting— 
simp'er,  truer,  and  more  natural ;  but  the 
lesson  once  learnt  will  not  be  lost,  and  we 
u?ay  count  in  the  future  on  having  once 
more  a  cheap  and  temporary  manner  of 
building  for  cheap  and  temporary  struc- 
tures, as  well  as  a  costly  .and  permanent 
manner  for  dignified  and  durable  monu- 
ments. .  ,. 

Coming  round,  then,  to  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  paper— the  price  of  architec- 
ture in  money— it  would  seem  that  its  price 
must  depend  very  much  on  what  it  aims  at. 
A  vast  quantity  of  modern  building  amis  at 
being,  not  only  more  than,  for  pecuniary 
reasons,  it  can  be,  but  more  than  it  o"S'J*  \° 
be,  even  were  money  no  object  at  all.  i-bis 
is  true  of  a  multitude  of  the  designs  wnicti 


him,   everybody  ought  to  have  lived  in   a 

cathedral,  Icught  and  sold  in   a  cathedra',    is  xrue  ui  a  iiilhhiu'-.c  i/i   ^^v,  ^.^^■^-- 

put  their  com  into   a  cathedr.al.   and  kept    get  chosen  in  competitions,  especially  wnere 

their    cows    and    pigs   in   a   cathedral.     If  I  there  is  no  professional  adviser,  or  whore  ms 


advice  is  not  taken.     And  even  where  there 
is  no    competition,    as  in    London    stroet- 
builduigs  generally,  this  is  the  sort  of  design 
which  pubUcity-huntiiig  clients  are  apt  to 
seek  for,  and  too  often  to  obtain.     The  price 
IS    high   enough— higher  than  that  of  real 
architecture— and  incomparably    too    high 
for  work  whose  evcrj'  attempt   at  art   only 
makes  it  more  vulgar  and  repulsive.     Half 
the  banks  and  offices  in  London  might  have 
been  built  with  real  taste  and  beauty  for 
twenty  per  cent,  less  than  it  cost  to  make 
them  flashy  and  obtrusive:    and  half  the 
houses  in  the  suburbs  might  have  been  made 
homelike,  refined,  and  attractive,  at  a  con- 
siderable  saving  on  the  amount  it  took  to 
render    them    drear)',    commonplace,     and 
wearisome.     The  fact  is,  modem  architec- 
ture, like  modem  society,  is  nearly  all  stand- 
ing on  tiptoe.     The  cottage  wants  to  pass 
for  a  house,  and  the  house  for  a  mansion, 
and  the  mansion  for  a  palace.     Instead  of 
trj  ing  to  be  the  summit  and  flower  of  its 
own  class,  everything  prefers  to  be  the  sedi- 
ment and  refuse  of  the  class  above  it.  Where 
such  an  aim   as  this   exists,  no  money  can 
ever  be  enough.      If  ten   thousand  pounds 
are  provided,   the   constant  effort  is  to  do 
something  which   could  only    be   properly 
done   for    twenty    thousand ;    and    if    the 
twenty  thousand  were  forthcoming,  ambi- 
tion would  rise  proportionately,  and  stretch 
upwards  to   something    that    would  really 
need  thirty  or  forty  thousand.     In  our  times 
money  is  tco  often  lavished  whore  it  would 
be  better  withheld,  and  grudged  where  it  is 
urgently   wanted.      Private  and  relatively 
temporary  buildings  are  covered  with  mis- 
placed ornament   stolen   from  monumental 
structures ;    while   our  monumental  struc- 
tures  themselves  are  dwarfed  and  stunted 
for  want  of  the   funds  which  work  of  the 
highest  class  demands.      In  short,  we  need 
more  money  fur  most   of   our  public  build- 
ings, and  less  money  for  many  of  our  private 
ones  ;  and  we  need,  at  the  same  time,  to  put 
every   sort   of  building  into  its   right  and 
natural  class,   and  to   keep   it  there.     The 
price  of  architecture,  as  regards  the  mere 
cost  of  its  construction,   was  not  too  high 
for  ancient  Greece,  or  l;3th-ceutury  Britain 
to  pay ;  and  thej    were  both  poor  indeed, 
compared  to  modem  England.    Its  price,  in 
this   sense,    ought  to  be  the  price  which  it 
takes  to   carry   out   a  building  thoroughly 
well  in  the  manner  best  fitted  to  it;  to  biiild 
a  great  public  edifice  in  marble  and  granite, 
with  sculpture  and  painting    as    good    as 
living  artists  can  make  them  ;    to  put  up  a 
London  street-dweUing  in  brick  and  terra- 
cotta,   with   omaments  fit  but  few  ;  to  mn 
up  a  country  cottage  in  tiles  and  concrete, 
or  it  may  be,  in   wood  and  plaster  ;  but  to 
do  each,  in  its  way,  as  perfectly  as  the  rest. 
It  is    in  short,  the  price  which  it  costs  to 
reah'se  in  art  the  maxim  once  followed  m 
life- 

"  Honour  .ind  shame  from  no  condition  "«  I 
Act  well  your  part-there  aU  the  honour  Ues."  ^ 
Thus  far,  we  have  considered  the  "  price 
of  architecture"  as  meaning  the  money 
which  it  takes  to  erect  tnily  architectur^ 
buildmgs  ;  the  sum  laid  out  in  materia  s  and 
labour  °to  shape  them  from  the  ideal  into 
the  actual.  But  what  about  the  cost  of  the 
ideal-a  thing  as  much  more  valuable  than 
^ere  bricks  and  stones  as  mind  is  more 
precious  than  inorganic  matter .'  Is  not  this 
Mea  the  very  essence  of  'h«.,f"^J'^<^t-^« 
hing  which,  if  it  is  absent,  «nll  ti™aU  the 
honed-for  architecture  into  mere  finery,  and 

is  3  per  cent,  on  the  value  of  t^e  work  ihc 
work  may  require  much  thought  or  'ittle. 
li  the  thought  may  be  of  the  highest 
Vf^  J  the  lowest:  but  it  is  all  valued 
^like^GotoanTEaffaele,  if  they  were 
alive;  would  receive  their  5  per  cent.,  and 


464 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


so  also  would  Batty  Laiigley  and  Peter 
Nicholson.  It  ^vould  cost  o  per  cent,  to 
design  Westminster  Abbe}',  and  5  per  cent. 
to  design  the  theatre  in  the  New-cut.  For 
5  per  cent,  you  can  get  a  plan  for  the  mass 
of  sheds  and  chimneys  constituting  some 
rough  factory,  which  requires  no  details  at 
all;  or  you  can  get  the  drawings  for  a 
tower  like  those  of  Laon  or  Kheims,  which 
require  an  infinity  of  details  from  bottom  to 
top.  For  5  per  cent,  you  can  get  the  advice 
of  the  last-fledged  pupU  who  has  put  a 
brass  plate  on  his  door  and  has  begim  to 
gain  experience  at  his  client's  cost :  of  the 
last  speculatmg  builder  whose  speculations 
have  failed,  and  who,  rising  in  his  fall,  has 
dubbed  himself  "  architect"  :  of  the  pushing 
individual  who  calls  himself  auctioneer, 
surveyor,  architect,  and  estate  agent  all  in 
one— or  of  the  accomplished  artist,  perfected 
by  years  of  experience  and  a  lifetime  of 
study.  In  modern  architecture,  as  in  death, 
all  men  are  equal.  The  painter,  as  his  work 
improves,  or  as  his  abilities  are  recognised, 
raises  his  price  :  the  barrister  expects  higher 
and  higher  fees  as  his  name  becomes  known : 
the  author,  if  he  is  a  rising  man,  is  re- 
munerated by  the  larger  and  larger  circula- 
tion of  each  successive  work  ;  but  the  only 
reward,  with  rare  exceptions,  that  comes  to 
the  most  successfirl  architect,  is  to  get  at 
last  twice  or  ten  times  as  much  work  as  he 
can  personally  manage,  all  paid  for  at  the 
same  rate  which  he  received  at  the  outset  of 
his  career.  By  renouncing  all  care  for  his 
art,  by  doing  his  work  just  well  enough  to 
keep  it  coming  in,  and  by  making  himself, 
in  short,  a  mere  "man  with  a  muck-rake," 
a  specially  fortunate  architect  may  at  last 
get  some  compensation  for  the  expense 
of  his  training  and  the  unremunerated 
labour  of  his  earlier  years.  But  what  of 
architecture  all  this  time ''  Is  that  likely 
to  flourish  while  the  only  way  in  which  its 
practitioners  can  make  a  decent  living  is  by 
fir&t  putting  up  two  or  three  good  buildings 
to  show  that  they  <ytn  design,  and  then  by 
having  to  hurry  over  all  the  rest  on  pain  of 
finding  their  way  into  the  Bankruptcy  Court!' 
And  again,  what  can  be  expected  of  it  while 
the  highest  class  of  v.-ork  is  incomparably 
the  worst  paid,  and  while-  each  architect,  as 
a  rule,  only  gets  work  of  some  one  particular 
class?  Five  percent.,  no  doubt,  is  plenty 
for  arranging  and  superintending  such 
things  as  factories,  storehouses,  and  sheds  ; 
but  it  hardly  pays  for  paper  and  office  rent 
in  the  case  of  small  schools  and  village 
churches.  If  architects  generally  were  em- 
ployed on  buildings  sometimes  of  one  class 
and  sometimes  of  another,  things  would 
equalise  themselves,  and  on  the  average 
might  be  bearable ;  but  as  it  is,  nearly  all 
the  work  of  one  sort  goes  to  one  set  of  men 
and  nearly  all  that  of  the  other  sort  to 
another  set.  In  quality,  the  difference  in 
the  work  of  the  woist  of  one  set  and  the  best 
of  the  other  is  something  like  that  between 
the  work  of  a  Transpontine  scene-painter 
and  that  of  Leighton  and  Millais  ;  and  the 
effect  is  very  much  what  it  would  be  if  these 
two  classes  of  painters  were  jjaid  all  their 
lives  long  at  one  uniform  price  per  square 
yard.  The  scene  painter,  no  doubt,  would 
live  in  clover,  but  the  PR. A.  and  B.A. 
woiild  have  hard  work  to  live  at  all. 

We  noted  in  the  previous  article  how, 
apart  from  all  questions  of  making  his 
professional  duties  pay,  the  modern  archi- 
tect is  compelled  to  do  his  work  in  a  small 
fraction  of  the  time  which  it  ought  to  take. 
His  clients,  as  we  saw,  were  nearly  always  in 
a  hmTy,  and  not  unnaturally  so,  for  time  is 
money,  in  modern  life.  But  we  now  see  a 
still  further  cause  which  reduces  the  pitiful 
remnant  of  time  which  is  left  him— the 
necessity  of  carrying  on  his  work  at  a  profit 
instead  of  a  loss.  This,  indeed,  scarcely 
affects  the  architect  whose  work  is  of  the 
lowest  and  roughest  class.  On  the  one 
hand,  he  needs  far  less  time  to  study  it  in, 


and  on  the  other  hand,  it  pays  so  much 
better,  that  he  can  afford  to  give  far  more 
time  to  it.  The  more  purely  architectural 
anyone's  practice  is,  the  more  he  is  hurried 
over  it  and  the  worse  he  is  paid.  If  the 
present  system  had  been  devised  for  the 
purpose  of  suppressing  architecture  al- 
together, it  could  not  have  been  more 
ingeniously  adapted  to  its  end.  First  of 
all,  the  public  will  not  now  pay  the  price  of 
architecture  in  time  ;  and  next,  they  do  the 
very  opposite  of  paying  the  price  of  it  in 
money,  since  the  least  architectural  work  is 
paid  for  the  best,  and  the  highest  class  of  work 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  paid  for  at  all. 

MEECANTILE  ARCHITECTURE  IN 
THE  CITY. 

THE  demolition  of  old  property  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Farringdon-street  has 
afforded  a  favourable  opportunity  for  the 
erection  of  warehouses  on  a  more  extensive 
scale  than  was  jjreviously  found  possible 
within  the  City.  The  "  Queeu  Anne" 
promises  to  insinuate  itself  here  and  there. 
Though  there  is  nothing  veiy  striking  or 
original  in  that  direction,  yet  a  block  of 
three  houses  and  shops  in  red  brick, 
pretending  to  follow  that  style,  is  in  course 
of  construction,  from  the  designs  of 
Messrs  Taylor  and  Locke,  architects,  of 
Basinghall-street.  The  red  brick  front  is 
plain  and  sensible ;  the  upper  stories  are 
relieved  by  brick  pilasters  corbelled  out,  and 
these  support  some  moulded  red  brick 
cornices  between  the  windows.  A  triple 
pilaster  occurs  between  the  houses,  and  a 
Mansard  roof,  with  dormers,  crowns  the 
building.  It  is  rather  a  pity  such  a  naiTow 
strip  of  budding-ground  as  that  on  the  west 
side  near  the  Viaduct  should  have  been 
buUt  upon  ;  but  Mr.  F.  Beeston,  of  Lincoln's 
Inn-fields,  has  done  his  best  to  utilise  the 
space.  The  building  is  a  narrow  slice  of 
considerable  elevation,  having  its  narrow 
front  to  Farringdon-street,  and  facing  Hol- 
bom  Viaduct.  It  is  a  block  of  warehouses 
built  in  red  brick,  with  stone  pilasters,  and 
entablatirre  to  the  grormd-story.  The  only 
attempts  at  ornamentation  are  the  vertical 
panels  in  the  front,  and  the  circular  gable  ; 
the  panels  have  carved  red  brick  foliage 
spiritedly  done  ;  the  stone-work  is  plain,  and 
the  horizontal  bands  of  stone  lintels,  &c.,  are 
continued  round  and  form  some  relief. 
A  total  floor-space  of  15,500  teet  is  obtained  ; 
the  buildings  are,  we  understand,  fitted 
with  every  convenience  for  warehouse 
purposes.  A  very  valuable  site  near  is  to  be 
let  for  premises,  the  plans  for  which  have 
been  prepared  to  suit  the  requirements  of 
tenants,  by  Mr.  Vickery. 

Between  Snow-hill  and  Charterhouse- 
street,  on  the  east  side,  a  lai-ge  area  of 
ground  has  been  filled  up  by  a  row  of 
houses  and  shops,  for  the  new  Vegetable 
Market,  in  a  more  pretending  style  of 
architecture,  which  we  might  fairly  desig- 
nate as  French  Italian  of  a  rather  less 
ambitious  kind  than  that  of  the  Meat  Market. 
The  houses  have  shops  towards  Farriugdon 
and  Charterhouse-streets,  aud  in  the  centre 
of  the  former  frontage  they  are  carried  up 
four  stories,  the  lower  wings  being  roofed 
with  high  Mansard  roofs,  having  stone 
dormers,  of  oval  shape,  carved.  Faced  with 
red  brick,  the  relief  is  entirely  confined  to 
the  narrow  pilasters  of  stone  which  divide 
the  houses,  above  which  runs  a  stone 
entablature  or  cornice,  and  stone  architraves 
around  the  windows.  The  entrance  to  the 
market  will  be  by  a  comer  archway  of  stone 
facing  Charterhouse-street.  When  finished, 
these  buildings  will  form  part  of  the  Corpora- 
tion scheme  ;  though  why  the  Meat  Market 
should  have  been  so  grand,  and  the 
buildings  set  apart  to  Pomona  so  plain,  is  a 
mystery.  We  cannot  pass  by  the  structure 
of  red  brick  and  stone  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Dresser  and  Holmes,  the  art-furniture  manu- 


facturers. Its  design  has  evidently  been 
inspired  by  Messrs.  CoUinson  and  Lock's 
front  in  the  same  thoroughfare.  It  is  gabled, 
and  has  a  wide  pointed-arch  recess,  partly 
filled  by  a  stone  mullion  window,  but  left 
open  below  for  a  vestibule  and  balconj'. 
In  the  brickwork  are  introduced  panels  of 
tiles  of  Oriental  design,  but  we  prefer  the 
plainer  and  broader  treatment  of  its  original. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  architecture  of 
this  class  is  not  indebted  for  improvement  to 
the  efforts,  sympathy,  or  taste  of  the  architect 
who  affects  high  art.  As  mercantile  building 
it  is  suffered  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  those 
whose  first  ruleis  practical  common-sense.  The 
absolute  demands  of  site,  light  and  air,  and 
adjoining  rights,  the  requirements  of  business 
have  to  be  considered,  and  if  these  are  duly 
met,  the  architect  has  earned  and  can  fairly 
claim  as  much  praise  from  the  public  as  if  he 
had  to  carry  out  the  most  costly  structure  of 
pure  fancy  untrammelled  by  utilitarian  wants. 
The  structural  requirements  resolve  them- 
selves into  a  few  definite  forms.  The  piers 
of  brickwork  must  be  massive  and  well-con- 
nected together,  the  windows  must  be  widt- 
and  serviceable,  and  the  architecture  must  bo 
entirely  governed  by  the  position  of  the 
floors  and  the  openings.  Ironwork  neces- 
sarily enters  largely  into  the  construction 
not  only  of  the  floors  but  of  the  windows, 
and  if  the  architect  can  irajjart  a  little  taste 
to  the  constructive  details,  which  means  a 
little  more  study  and  time  expended  upon 
them,  he  will  not  have  laboured  in  vain. 
Among  the  plainer  buildings  in  Farringdon- 
street,  must  be  mentioned  a  warehouse  now- 
building  at  the  corner  of  ClerkenweU-road. 
by  Messrs.  Colls  &  Sons.  'I  here  is  one 
effective  warehouse  style  dictated  by  the  re- 
quirements we  have  mentioned.  AVe  may  call 
it  the  "  Continuous-pier  style"  In  this  form 
of  buUding  the  openings  naturally  arrange 
themselves  in  the  vertical  spaces  between  the 
piers,  and  the  windows  can  be  separated  by 
horizontal  lintels  or  interfenestral  woodwork 
or  panels  recessed  from  the  outer  face  of  the 
budding.  An  example  of  this  is  seen  in 
Messrs.  Brett's  premises  in  Holbom ;  but 
there  are  many  other  instances  to  be  met  with 
in  the  city.  The  horizontal  divisi  ins  art- 
made  subordinated  to  the  ver  ical,  and  the 
architect  has  an  excellent  material  ready  to 
his  hand  in  terra-cotta  which  can  be  cast  in 
panels.  Flemish  Gothic  adapts  itself  well  in 
the  way  of  ornamentation,  especially  in  the 
fenestration,  but  the  trabeate  .styles  of  con- 
stmctionequally  suit  the  warehouse, and  might 
be  made,  in  competent  hands,  very  character- 
istic. In  Aldersgate-street,  opposite  Man- 
chester Hotel,  the  vertical  or  pilaster  style 
may  be  noticed  in  some  new  bmldings,  the 
peculiarity  of  which  is  the  .small  amount  of 
walling  introduced. 

A  considerable  addition  to  the  oflice 
accommodation  in  Chancery-lane  has  been 
made  by  Mr.  Clark,  architect,  of  20,  South- 
ampton-buildings, by  the  erection  of  a  large 
block  of  chambers  facing  Lincoln's-Inn. 
The  front  is  of  Portland  stone,  of  five  stories, 
with  strongly  marked  horizontal  divi-ions, 
between  which  the  windows  are  made  the 
prominent  features.  These  in  fact  are  not  sub- 
ordinated to  any  order,  but  give  the  key- 
note to  the  elevation  in  a  manner  rather 
obtrusive  than  architectural.  Every  story 
has  its  own  species  of  window  ;  the  ground- 
floorhas  circular  arches  rusticated,  with  large 
keystones  and  carved  heads,  the  first  floor 
has  square-headed  windows  ;  above  this  the 
changes  are  rung  %vith  segment  and  square 
heads.  The  variety,  if  not  charming,  is 
vigorous.  Each  row  is  united  as  it  were  by 
the  horizontal  c  mice  over  it ;  but  the  eft'ect  is 
spotty  and  the  details  lumpy,  and  breadth  is 
lost  by  the  multiplicity  of  carved  pilaster 
caps,  consoles,  and  keystones.  In  tha  centre 
the  I'aeade  is  broken  by  a  slightly  canted  bay 
over  the  entrance,  the  windows  being 
returned  without  modification.  The  red 
granite  shafts  to  the  ground-floor  windows 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


465 


are  meagre,  and  the  capitals  hearj',  and  the 
carver  of  the  keystone   heads  to  the  arches 
has  endeavoured  to  impress  the  beholder  by 
the  size  of  his  work — one  of  the  imfort'-mate 
results     attending    architectural    sculpture. 
We  enter  the  building  by  a  central  doorway 
between  polished  red  granite  jambs,  a  series 
of  shafts  of  this  material  forming  the  pilasters 
of  the   windows   to    the    ground-story.     A 
straight  coiTidor  leads  from  front  to  back, 
opening   from   which   are    the   offices.      In 
front,    on  ea-h   side  of   corridor,  is  a  large 
room  of   considtrable    length,    and    behind 
this  are  two   smaller  rooms   or  offices,  well 
lighted,  which  are  planned  so  as  to  admit 
of  being  let  together  or  singly.      Thus   on 
each  side   of  the  main  corridor   we   get   a 
suite  of  three  chambers   well   adapted  for 
legal    or  other  professional   or  meroantUe 
pm-poses.     Light  to  the  centre  rooms  in  the 
rear  is   obtained  by  an  area  on  each  side, 
■which  thus  reduces  in  width  the  size  of  room, 
while  the  rearmost  offices  are  lighted  at  one 
end  and  the  side.  Ascending  by  a  stone  stair- 
case from  the  corridor,  we  alight  on  the  first 
floor  ;    the   level  of  the  chambers  in  the  rear 
is  reached  from  the  first  landing,  a  few  addi- 
tional step3  leading  to  the  rooms  in  the  front. 
The  back  rooms   are  of   moderate  size,   and 
disposed  in  a  like  manner   to  those   below, 
and   can  bo  let  as   suites   or   singly,   while 
there  are  four  front  rooms,  two  on  each  side, 
well- lighted  by  wide  three-light  windows  of 
plate-glass.      There     appear     to   be   seven 
stories  of  chambers  behind,  and  six  floors  of 
large  rooms  in  front,  or  about  fifty  rooms  in 
all  available  for  offices.     Each  floor  has  the 
same  central    corridor     approach,    and  the 
architect  has  ingeniously  contrived  the  door- 
ways of  the  offices  in  the  rear,  which  on  plan 
form  splayed  notchesintherooms,  an  arrange- 
ment allowing  the  doors,  by  being  set  at 
an  angle,  to    front   the   corridor  approach. 
Greater  space  in  the  corridor  is  thus  afforded, 
and  a  kind  of  small  lobby  made  to  each  en- 
trance.    To  afibrd   ample   light  to  this  part 
glazed    lights    are     introduced     along   the 
office  partitions  close   to  the   ceiling.     Each 
office  has  a  fireplace,  so  that  partitions  be- 
tween them   would   render   each   complete. 
The   walls   and    ceilings   are  finished   with 
plaster,    but    no    decoration    has    been  at- 
t'^mpted.     Sanitary  arrangements  have  been 
<  irieJ  out  in  a  complete  manner  in  the  base- 
I  .eut.     Below  the  pavement  in  front  of  the 
building,  a  wide  area  lighted  by  pavement 
lights  traverses  the   whole   frontage,    and  a 
series  of  water-closets  are  obtained  vaulted 
underneath  the  footway.     The   corridor  or 
area  forms  a  well-lighted  space  in  front,  and 
is  paved  with  white  and  black  tiles  laid  in  a 
diagonal  pattern  ;  the  walls  are  lined  with 
white    glazed     bricks.      Chancery-lane    is 
gradually   throwing    off  its   old   smoke-be- 
grimed    aspect,     and    facades      of    formal 
design   have   arisen  in  the  place    of   dingy 
brick    premises ;     offices   Ul-ventilated    and 
badly  lighted,  choked  with  the  dust  and  cob- 
webs of  ages,  have  disappeared  ;  but  as  yet 
modem  archite.turehas  only  made  a  change 
^^•ith  little  improvement,    so   far  as  the  art 
displayed  in  the  new  building  is  concerned. 


ST.     PANGEAS    rNT)USTEIAL 
EXHIBITION. 

THE  second  St.  Pancras  Industrial  Exhi- 
bition, opened  last  Saturday  at  the  In- 
stitute in  Drummond-street,  is  a  decided 
improvement  on  the  last  annual  display. 
Two  classes  of  exhibitors  send  their  handi- 
work— professional  and  amateur  ;  and  a 
third  class  of  articles,  the  work  of  appren- 
tices and  others  under  IS  years  of  age, 
belong  to  both  ranks.  Taking  the  lower 
and  smaller  room,  we  are  agreeably  struck 
by  the  large  number  of  articles  in  metal 
and  cabinet  work,  wood-carving,  and 
decorative  furnishing.  Wrought  iron  has 
not  a  few  workers,  who  have  done  their  best 


to  show  that  we  have  not  altogether  lost 
the  art  of  the  Mediaeval  workman.  An 
ornamental  stand  for  flowers,  made  of 
wrought  iron,  with  hammered  foliage,  by 
E.  A.  Mais,  of  Liverpool-road,  Islington,  is 
one  of  the  most  noticeable  of  the  articles  in 
this  class.  TiMiile  we  can  accord  praise  for 
the  technical  skill  and  power  of  design 
manifested  in  it,  we  may  regret  that 'so 
much  skill  has  been  spent  on  a  design  faulty 
in  the  principles  of  ornamentation.  The 
back  and  side  panels,  with  theii-  branches 
and  leaves  bent  in  natural  positions,  are  too 
imitational ;  they  might  be  the  stems  and 
tendrils  of  the  plants  they  imitate  so  well ; 
but  they  are,  nevertheless,  out  of  place  for 
the  purpose  th?y  serve.  Altogether,  there  is 
wanting  a  ;/;vf(r'ui  the  design.  The  model  of 
ornamental  gates,  by  J.  T.  Aldis,  of  Fitzroy- 
square,  and  the  iron  shield,  by  B.  Hum- 
phreys, a  smith,  of  Burton-crescent,  are 
creditable  productions. 

Repousse  work  finds  some  able  representa- 
tives of  the  art  in  A.  W.  Austin,  A.  de  Caes- 
maeker,  and  W.  J.  Allard.  The  panel  in 
silver  repousse,  by  A.  W.  Austin,  Stoke 
Newington,  is  spirited  in  execution.  Henry 
Irving,  as  Macbeth,  by  A.  de  Caes- 
maeker,  is  also  clever  in  manipu- 
lation. Embossed  and  chased  metal,  copper, 
and  brass-work  are  to  be  seen.  The  pair  of 
finger-plates.  No.  12,  are  vigorous  Ln  design  : 
but  we  cannot  admire  the  heavy  mounted 
casket,  in  an  architectural  style,  by  T.  H. 
Wj'att,  brass-finisher. 

Several  very  creditable  specimens  of 
cabinet-work  show  that  the  artists  in  this 
class  of  work  have  taken  up  the  later  and 
better  types  of  design.  We  may  refer  to 
the  suite  of  bedroom  furniture.  No.  Gl,  exhi- 
bited by  W.  M.  Holdom,  of  Old  Ford-road, 
manufactured  in  walnut,  relief  being  given 
by  s'mple  incised  lines.  The  wardrobe  and 
toilet-table  are  effective  and  simple  in  out- 
line. S.  Kendall's  model  of  "Early" 
English  (query  Late  English)  cabinet  is  also 
pleasingly  simple.  Another  quietly-con- 
ceived cabinet,  called  an  "  ebonised  Early 
English  cabinet,"  by  J.  Flattely,  also  took 
our  fancy  for  its  simplicity  and  breadth  of 
treatment,  it  is  relieved  by  brass  furniture,  of 
good  design,  and  a  coved  shelf  at  the  top. 
The  cabinet  in  walnut,  with  painted  satin- 
wood  border  round  the  glass,  shown  by  J. 
Beauchamp,  of  Gray's  Inn-road,  and  the 
toilet-table.  No.  57,  by  W.  H.  Davies,  with 
light  wood  drawer-fronts,  are  both  well 
made  and  effective.     The  study  of "  "'' 


jood  old 


blue  ground  is  pleasing  in  colour  ;  but  wo 
cannot  admire  the  over-mantel  in  ebony 
and  sycamore  (No.  31)  overladen  with  crude 
ornament,  and  sadly  wanting  in  breadth 
and  meaning.  The  book-covers,  carved  in 
oak,  by  Maria  L.  Irwin,  Lower  Norwood 
(2S),  and  Miria  E.  Uoeks,  CLoLtwi,  are 
praiseworthy  as  the  work  of  lady  urti.st<i ;  so 
are  the  treatment  of  birds  in  oak,  No.  32, 
and  the  book-covers.  No.  l.!.  Generally 
there  is  less  of  that  mcnningless  natural 
imitation,  even  in  this  branch  of  nrtiHtic 
handwork,  than  we  are  accustomed  to  •tee. 

Fancy  fret-work  is  a  production  which 
always  greets  us  at  these  iudustrial  collec- 
tions. It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  remark 
that  there  is  not  much  to  commend  in  tliis 
particular  kind  of  art,  further  than  the 
ingenuity  and  perseverance  in  the  worker. 
Cutting  out  of  thin  wood,  figures  and  other 
shapes,  animal  and  vegetable,  is  a  harmless 
way  of  occupying  one's  spare  time,  but  bs  an 
artistic  handicraft  it5eenisalmost]irijfitU-s<i,  if 
notpuerile.  Atany  rate,  we  have  a  large  space 
devoted  to  vases,  brackets,  frames,  and  other 
specimens.  Fret-work  illustrating  the 
Seven  Ages  of  Man,  by  J.  Sj)arrow, 
Hampstead-road,  is  clever,  and  the  outlines 
good.  Eugene  Golonya  also  sends  some 
neatly-cut  objects.  In  turnery,  F.  Frond's 
vases  in  ebony  and  tulip-wood,  J.  Watzak's 
smoking-table  (51),  and  the  work  of  J.  W. 
Watkins,  call  for  notice. 

Painting  on  glass  and  china  is  not  a  well- 
represented  class.  Y.K.  Haile,  Kennington- 
road,  sends  a  panel  of  f-ix  tiles,  and  two 
plates  painted  in  subdued  colours,  of  good 
design.  The  series  of  tiles  representing 
Cinderella,  by  C.  J.  Parks  (No.  8l»)  is  rather 
bright  in  colouring.  The  tiles  exhibited  by 
E.  Sears,  Lisson-grove,  Nos.  84,  93,  are 
clever,  and  represent  the  well-known  fables 
of  JEsop ;  we  also  notice  some  plaques  with 
figure  subjects.  J.  W.  Chapman,  Euston- 
square,  shows  a  stained-glass  panel  of  some 
promise,  and  Nathaniel  Sears,  an  apprentice, 
Lisson-grove,  a  glass  panel,  with  Msop'n 
fables,  rather  spoilt  by  the  blue  comers.  A 
few  oil-paintings  are  hung  on  the  walls, 
but  these  scarcely  call  for  any  remark.  In  the 
water-colours  we  notice  a  view  of  church  at 
Chingford,byT.E.Jeffers(107),andHendon- 
road,  Hampstead,  by  the  same  artist. 

Passing  to  mechanical  models,  we  have  a 
large  collection  of  horizontal  and  vertical 
engines :  the  names  of  R.  Nasmyth,  Ber- 
mondsey,  and  G.  F.  Laccy,  Rotherhithe, 
are    again  conspicuous   as   exhibitors.^      A 


callnet-woVkisevidentlyleadingtoaplainer   model ^safet^^^^^^^ 

where  before.     The  object  is  a  good  one,  as 


and  more  sensible  mode  of  ornamentation, 
depending  on  truthful  outline  and  the  natural 
relief  of  the  material,  without  extraneous 
aids.  The  inlaid  cabinets,  by  W.  Gray,  of 
St.  John's  Wood,  and  W.  Langsdale,  car- 
penter, are  clever  in  workmanship  ;  but  the 
effort  in  No.  72  to  produce  something  elabo- 
rate has  resulted  in  flashiness  of  a  vulgar 
kind.  The  best  inlaid  work  are  tue 
two  panels  by  W.  Clayton,  Waraour- 
street  (Nos.  65,  66)  ;  the  first,  the 
Decalogue,  is  a  work  of  which  we  spoke 
in  commendation  in  our  notice  of  the 
Alexandra  Palace  Exhibition.  Several 
specimens  of  marble  and  glass  mos-aic  have 
been  sent  bv  J.  Curtis,  mosaicist,  of  Kent- 
ish  Town.     We  mi V  mention  J.os.  6..  ana 


the  cat'C  is  arrested  directly  any  breakage 
takes  place.  We  must  also  menHon  a  fern 
case  No.  145;  a  portable  sclf-snpplymg 
lavatorj-  (139),  by  T.  Barralet.  Finsbary  ;  a 
nickel-plated  bicycle  ;  some  air  and  water- 
tight boxes  of  tin,  by  G.  Niepold,  Uamp- 
stead-road;  patent  steam-screw  ventila- 
tor (W^'-  by  J.  B.  Pupier :  new  lock  for 
carriage-doors(151),  by  S.  A.  ^ay.  Old  Kent- 
road  S.  Smith.  Dalston.  sends  a  large  col- 
lection of  imitation  woods  and  marbles  and 
T  Holtou,  Lambeth,  a  four-p.inel  door, 
decorated  with  chemical  stain.,  clever  as  an 
appUcation,  but  overcrowded  in  df"8^-  !;« 
must  not  forget  in  this  e'-"'  «>;  '"J^ 
chairs  and  other  ingenious  applumces  wind. 


G8,  also  some  inlaid  panels  by  A.  Tourbillon^  i  «^"^^"^;^  by"Thomas'  MclUoy,  of  Fitzroy 

■•  —  ,•'  ,         The''"  larger  room,   occupied  by  amateur 

attemptsare  to  be  seen.  ^  The  large  panels  ;  ^^^l^e_^  ^„^^^  ^^^.^^  ^^  ^^^7 


of  Newman-streit,    Oxford-street 

specimens  of  wood-carving,  many  admu-able   square. 


of     wood-carving      by   Grinling 


_^     _  ^     Gibbons,    worK,  IS  oew.u....a- ^-,^.^^^  ,^  „^^ 

restored  by  G  H.  Bull,  Stanjiope-street  1 0  objects  tro.  ^.^^  the  cab.nct- 
and  two  very  elegantly  carved  P^nf  ^  m  |  ^^^  we  notice'a  lady's  inlaid  cabinet,  by 
Ume-tree  wood,  one  an  adaptation   of  thejWOri^^wen  ^^^^^      Th'"  ■^'^'SIT' 

oak,  and  the  other  of  the  crocus,  by  tije  i^UarK  ,  ^^y^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^  artist. 
same  ariist,  are  noteworthy  designs.  \\  • 
Aumonier,  Tottenham  Court-road,  con- 
tributes a  carved  oak  panel  in  low  reUet 
ItaUau  in  spirit  :  and  W.  F.  Jenkms, 
Euston-square 
cabinet.' 


The'  sycamore  carved  Cupid  on 


seems  to  have  been  imbued  »ith  the  appm- 
iateness  of  a  ^ 

d  we  should  never  have  

cabLt.     The   decoration  ,8  even  m 
tX;  it  is  crowded  with  inhiys  and 


seems  to  have  oeen  imuu._.. .-- ■      . . 

^ri^Less  of  a  porti  o  and  'teeple  forj^ 
^_  J oV^nU  never  have  taken  his  wori  v> 


be   a    cabinet, 
worse 


466 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880, 


applique  work,  whicli  gives  it  a  very  spotty, 
gimcrack  appeanince.  Inlaid  workboxes 
are  numerous,  but  we  can  only  mention  a 
chest  of  drawers  by  a  Freucb  polisher  (200), 
and  three  panels  by  a  furnitiu'e  Uner  (203)  ; 
specimens  of  wood-carving  abound.  One  of 
the  most  striking  exhibits  is  a  chest  of 
drawers  (436),  by  O.  R.  Plummer,  an  ap- 
prentice under  18.  The  foliage  is  bold,  but 
the  work  suffers  from  heaviness,  and  the 
carved  upright  sides  are  outre.  The  panels  in 
oak  (207),  and  the  fretwork  specimens  (214, 
215)  show  that  genius  in  art  is  not  con- 
fined to  professional  workers  ;  but  we  must 
pass  on  to  the  oil-paintings.  In  this  class 
of  work  we  find  a  few  creditable  productions. 
No.  221,  "  btill  Life,"  No.  224,  No.  22S,  are 
clever  studies,  though  by  artists  in  another 
field,  a. C.  Blatchley,  policeman,  Hampstead, 
whose  works  we  have  before  noticed,  stUl 
finds  time  to  dabble  with  his  brush,  and 
shows  a  decided  talent,  only  needing  culti- 
vation. "Currants"  (235),  by  a  house- 
painter,  are  clever  in  the  reflected  lights  and 
half-tints.  No.  253  is  also  a  clever  study  of 
Peonies,  by  a  wood- carver.  The  water- 
colour  drawings  are  less  successful  than  we 
have  seen  them.  Gertrude  Duffield's  "Study 
of  a  Helmet"  (281),  and  the  flowers  in  a 
cup  (300),  by  a  wood-carver,  are  two  of  the 
best  works  in  this  class.  Pen  and  ink, 
pencil,  and  crayon  drawings  abound,  but 
few  are  worthy  of  mention ;  they  are  only 
instructive  as  indicating  the  value  of  our  art 
schools.  Every  conceivable  occupation  is 
represented,  from  silver- chasers  to  brush- 
makers  and  hair-cutters.  Needlework 
abounds ;  we  notice  some  good  colours  in 
357,  a  work  by  a  pensioner,  N.  Brixton. 
Some  cleverly-executed  crewel  work  and 
quilts  may  also  be  mentioned.  Class  III.  is 
interesting  as  being  the  work  of  youths 
under  18.  We  mention  at  random  (441) 
some  fret-carved  brackets  by  Dodimead ; 
No.  514,  stained  glass  ;  519,"  four  painted 
plaques  cleverly  conventionalised,  and  No. 
520,  with  foliage  and  birds,  chiefly  the  work 
of  apprentices.  The  names  of  Langsford, 
Stacey,  and  Eyan  stand  well.  Models  of 
machinery  are  numerous,  as  Nos.  524,  525  ; 
and  in  ornamental  work  538,  542  are 
noticeable  productions,  displaying  technical 
skill  and  artistic  discernment. 


ON   ST.    ALBAN'S    CATHEDRAL    AVEST 
FRONT.* 

[wrm   LITHOQEAPHIC   rLLTTSTRATIONS.  ] 

WHEN  I  received  a  kind  invitation  to  come 
to  Lincoln  for  this  Congress  of  the 
Archaeological  Institute,  followed  by  the  inquiry 
whether  I  could  bring  with  me  a  paper,  it  struck 
me  that  a  subject  iu  which  I  personally  was 
much  interested,  and  had  spent  some  time  in  the 
study  of,  and  which  also  had  risen  to  much 
national  importance,  might  find  favour  on  such 
an  occasion ;  and  I  therefore  made  ready  a 
paper  on  St.  Alban's  West  Front,  which  for 
some  time  had  occupied  my  thoughts,  and  which 
I  shall  now  read,  merely  prefacing  the  remarks 
which  it  will  contain  with  the  proviso  that,  what 
I  shall  say  comprises  such  information— and  it  is 
hy  no  means  small,  as  present  known  facts  and 
discoveries  will  warrant— on  which  I  have  bmlt 
certain  theories,  which  may  hereafter  be  some- 
what modified  by  discoveries  expected  to  be  made 
in  the  future  ;  of  my  broad  outlines,  however,  I 
have  little  doubt,  and  such  modifications  as  may 
hereafter  be  looked  for  will  be,  therefore,  chiefly 
matters  of  detail.  In  deaUng  with  St.  Alban's 
1  have  dealt  with  it  as  its  present  remnants 
suggest,  and  as  its  recorded  architectural  history 
warrants ;  but  for  the  general  elucidation  of  its 
design  It  must  he  compared  with  paraUel 
examples,  and  for  the  explanation  of  its  extra- 
ordinary splendour,  we  must  consider  the  pro- 
bable motives  of  those  who  were  its  designers. 

In   former   days    at    Cambridge    it   was  my 
privilege   to    listen    to    some    most   interesting 


tute  at  thf™"'V^  before  the  Royal  Archaolosfical  Insti- 
OwEv  W  D^v^'i-^p'"  Lincoln,  July,  ISSO,  by  the  Rev. 
m^thlmprteld'  ^'"'™''*  St.Albaa's,  and  Rector  of 


lectures  by  one  whose   name   and  memory  will 
ever  be  cherished  in  the  Archojological  Institute, 
Professor  Willis,    upon    Church    Architecture, 
and  I  remember  being  particularly  struck  with 
his     description    of     the     oldest     ecclesiastical 
building   on    record,    namely,    the    Temple   at 
Jerusalem.*    We  are  all  familiar  with  a  general 
outline  of  the  plan  of  that  remarkable  structure, 
and   the    Professor  was   able    to   lay   down  its 
measurements     with     extraordinary     accuracy, 
reminding  his  hearers  of  some  important  infor- 
mation  hitherto  much    overlooked  in   the  later 
chapters  of  the  Prophet  Ezekiel ;  but  the  portion 
of  that  lecture  which  arrested  my  attention  the 
most  was  a  skilful  effort  to  obtain  some  clue  to 
the   elevation    of    the    building,    of    which   no 
particulars   have   been    preserved.      The   great 
central  block  of  the   structure  was  represented 
in  a  model  as  being  much  like   a  large  oblong 
basilica,   with  the  Holy   of   HoUes   at   one  ex- 
tremity and   a   couple   of   towers   enclosing  an 
enriched  entrance   between   them  at  the  other  ; 
the  towers  in  character   being    much   hke   the 
examples  still   left  us    among   the  antiquarian 
treasures  of  Egypt ;  of  course  the  space  between 
this  was   conjecturally  fiUed   up ;    but,  if  I  re- 
member rightly,  my  late  friend  and  instructor 
went  so  far  as  to  regard  it  as  forming  Solomon's 
porch  or  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple.   The 
ground-plan  measures   gave    the    bases  of   the 
towers,  and  the  Professor  explained  that  one  of 
thesemust  havebeen  thexrfpr/iortranslatedinoui' 
English  Bible  "  pinnacle,"  but  really  small  tower 
upon  which  our  Lord  was  set  at  His  temptation. 
We  arrive   thus   at  an  idea  something  like  the 
rough  one  before  you  of  the  loftiest  and  most 
imposing  portions  in  the  elevation  of  a  building  of 
which   every   feature   was   directed    by  Divine 
inspiration.     The  chief  use  which  the  Professor 
made  of  the  conjectural  restoration  of  a  build- 
ing  which,    if    more    of    its    particulars   were 
known,     would     be      of      surpassing     interest 
to   the   student   of    architecture,    was   to  show 
that  in  all  human  probability  our  Mediaeval  fore- 
fathers knew   just   as   much,   or  just  as  Utile, 
about  this  great  building  as  we  do  ;  but  that  they 
had  certainly  grasped  the  idea  of  its  lofty  front, 
had  realised  the  existence  of  its  side  towers,  had 
localised  its   "beautiful   gate,"  and  from  this, 
the  greatest  of  architectural  authorities,  because 
its  Architect  was  divine,  had  copied  the  design  of 
a  great  and  magnificent  front  to  their  churcheSj 
with  portals   of  entrance  which  might  well  vie 
with   a   portal  whose   name   was    emphatically 
"beautiful."      Whether  this  was  so  or  not  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  prove  by  argumentative 
reasoning  ;  the  idea  is  a  happy  one,  and  it  may 
well   be   credited  to  the  praise   of    those   who, 
with   a   less   direct,    but    still   with   an   almost 
spiritual  instruction,  designed  many  of  the  fronts 
of  our  great  churches  in  the  Middle  Ages.     It 
has  often   been   said   that   days   of    mere  hard 
business  could  never  have  produced   the  exqui- 
site designs  left   to   us  now  to  marvel  at ;  that 
they  grew  out  of   an  age  of   contemplation,  of 
seclusion,  and   of   prayer ;  that  they   were  the 
residt  of  communings  with  the  Divine  Architect 
of  all  things  ;  and  so  have  a  spiritual  character 
about  them  which   a   more  worldly  spirit    has 
failed  to  catch ;  it  may  be  so  ;   I  do  not  sup- 
pose that  any  man   nowadays  would  be  able  to 
design  a  Cologne,    a   Strasburg,  a  Rheims,  or, 
coming  nearer  home,  a  AVells,  a  Peterborough, 
or    even    a    St.    Alban's,  as    they    weie   then 
designed  :    happy  is  it    that   so  many  of  them 
remain  for   us  to   admire   and  to  love  ;  happy 
that  so  many  traces  of   a  master  hand  remain, 
in  some  now  ready  to  perish,  that  revived  affec- 
tion and  an  enkindled  zeal  may  follow  them  out 
with  tender    solicitude,    in   the   almost   certain 
hope  of  reproducing  with  exactness  the  missing 
parts     and    the    ruined    portions,  so   that   our 
children  may  see  once  again  in  their  perfection 
the  glorious  works  which  have  come  down  to  us 
from  our  fathers. 

I  shall  now  endeavour  to  trace  the  history 
of  one  of  the  noblest  of  the  church  fronts 
which  was  designed  in  England,  a  front 
now  in  a  state  of  degradation,  but  re- 
taining providentially  still  traces  of  nearly 
every  _  feature  required  to  suggest  and 
determine  its  restoration  and  reproduction. 
I  will  ask  those  who  are  so  kind  as  to  listen 
to   me   to   go   as  far  back  in  our   present  re- 


•  The  sketch,  which  was  exhibited,  and  which  space 
does  not  permit  us  to  reproduce  here,  showed  a  front  of 
Egyptian  character,  flanked  by  towers,  between  which 
was  a  portal  of  entrance. 


searches  into  antiquity  as  the  Norman  Conquest. 
There  came  over  at  that  time  an  ecclesiastical 
architect  since  well  known  at  St.  Alban's,  one 
Paul  from  Caen,  who  rivalling  his  superior,  Lan- 
franc,  at  Canterbury,  set  to  work  to  build  a 
church  which  he  meant  to  be  the  grandest  in 
England.  He  buUt  with  the  Roman  bricks  of 
Vendam,  which  he  found  hard  by,  and  such  was 
his  assidiuty,  good  fortune,  and,  I  suppose,  the 
liberiiUty  of  his  subscription-list,  that  he  actu- 
ally finished  the  whole  church,  and  had  the  joy 
of  beholding  it  completed  in  his  life-time,  a  joy 
permitted  to  very  few  builders  beside,  on  so 
magnificent  a  scale.  Of  this  great  church  large 
portions  (as  you  well  know)  stUl  remain,  in  the 
great  central  tower,  the  transepts,  the  choir,  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  nave,  and  the  foun- 
dations of  the  western  towers.  From  these 
foundations,  described  on  page  87  of  Buckler's 
valuable  "History,"  and  seen  again  during 
some  recent  excavations  on  both  .sides,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Abbot  Paul's  front  was  of  a 
breadth  unusual  at  the  time  of  its  erection,  and 
only  to  be  seen  in  rare  examples  of  later  date  in 
England.  To  obtain  this  breadth  (which 
Buckler  measures  at  1.55ft.,  just  10ft.  less  than 
Peterborough),  the  towers  do  not  stand  at  the 
western  ends  of  the  nave  aisles,  as  at  Canterbury, 
York,  and  Lincoln,  for  instance,  hut  are  placed 
on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  westernmost 
bay  of  the  .aisles,  as  seen  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  Early  English  west  front  of  the  exquisite 
Cathedral  of  Wells  at  the  present  moment.  I 
shall  explain  this  arrangement  best  by  the  plan 
and  elevation  which  I  have  placed  before  you. 
Of  the  ground  plan  there  is  no  doubt  ;  of  the 
central  tower  which  suggests  the  details  of  the 
smaller  western  towers  there  is  no  doubt,  for, 
though  lately  ready  to  fall,  it  has  now  been 
skilfully  and  hajipOy  preseired  for  our  admira- 
tion ;  of  the  pitch  of  the  western  gable  and 
slope  of  the  aisle  roofs  there  is  no  doubt ;  all 
these  have  left  marks  to  insure  their  own  iden- 
tity ;  three  doors  leading  into  the  nave  and  its 
aisles  there  must  also  have  been,  but  as  to 
the  filling  up  of  details,  though  I  believe 
what  I  have  sket:;hed  to  be  substantially 
correct,  any  person  is  perfectly  at  lilx-rty 
to  ai  range  them  otherwise,  if  he  considers 
it  worth  while.  I  have  followed  Mr. 
Buckler  in  the  probable  completion  of  the 
Norman  parapets,  and  conical  treatment  of  the 
angle-turrets,  as  well  as  in  some  details  of  the 
transept-gables,  which  may  suggest  the  arcading 
of  the  west  front. 

This  front,  when  completed,  must  have 
been  one  of  the  grandest  of  its  time  in  Eng- 
land ;  Canterbury  was  then  finished  with  a 
splendid  front,  the  north  tower  of  which 
was  spared  by  the  Perpendicular  architects  of 
the  more  recent  fa<,-ade,  and  only  fell  a  victim  to 
the  unwise  zeal  for  uniformity  displayed  by  a 
comparatively  recent  Dean  and  Chapter.  Alas  ^ 
for  the  loss  of  that  noble  and  invaluable  tower  ; 
where  was  the  Society  for  the  Preservation  of 
Ancient  Monuments  then?  But  at  Southwell 
we  have  three  Norman  towers  slUl  left,  but  more 
highly  enriched  than  were  those  at  St.  Alban's, 
for  their  builders  had  the  best  of  stone  easy  of 
access  ;  but  their  size  is  inferior  to  the  St.  Alban's 
tower,  and  the  Southwell  western  towers  stand 
within  the  aisles,  thus  giving  only  the  breadth 
of  the  three  aisles  of  the  nave  to  the  front.  The 
noble  cathedral  of  Lincoln,  too,  had  Norman 
west  towers,  much  of  which  still  remain,  hut 
they  are  situated  like  those  at  Southwell ;  so 
that  at  St.  Alban's  we  have  probably  the  first 
design  in  England  which  gives  the  magnificent 
breadth  afterwards  obtained  at  Wells  and 
Peterborough,  and  by  another,  though  different, 
subsef[uent  arrangement  at  Lincoln. 

The  noble  Norman  front  of  St.  Alban's  only 
stood  for  about  100  years.  Matthew  Paris,  as 
quoted  by  Buckler,  mourns  over  its  loss,  and 
rallies  its  destroyer  in  a  tone  which  shows  that, 
in  an  age  which  moved  rapidly  in  architectural 
development,  there  were  yet  some  who  Uked  old 
things  better  than  new ;  probably  St.  Alban's 
never  again  looked  so  noble  or  complete  as  it  did 
during  the  century  when  the  grand  front  of  its 
Norman  builder  remained ;  they  were  deter- 
mined, however,  to  be  content  with  nothing 
short  of  the  grandest  of  work  at  St.  Alban's; 
as  decorative  art  advanced,  these  men  must  see 
it  in  its  perfection  ;  a  laudable  ambition  infected 
its  very  atmosphere.  John  de  Cella  then,  at  this- 
period  succeeded  one  Abbot  Warren,  who  had  a 
new  front,  evidently,  in  view  before  he  died. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


467 


ior  he  left  a  legacy  of  100  marks  to  his 
^uceessor  to  begin  it,  but  John  de  C'ella  had  a 
run  of  ill  luck  ;  his  work  seemed  never  to  prosper, 
though  anything  more  exquisite  than  his  design 
had  never  entered  human  heart  or  brain  before  ; 
and  after  interruptions  and  disappointments  the 
work  was  left  to  a  more  practical  though  less 
elaborate  constructor,  William  de  Trumpiugton, 
by  whom  the  Early-English  front  was  made  to 
inclose  the  west  end  of  the  church,  though 
whether  the  upper  stages  of  the  western  towers 
were  then  put  on  we  have  no  means  of  knowing. 
Early-English  foundations  laid  on  the  Xorman 
remains,  retained  the  plan  as  seen  in  the  earlier 
front,  and  arches,  one  tf  which  still  remains  per- 
fect, on  the  south  side,  led  out  of  the  aisle  into 
their  lower  stories  ;  my  own  idea  is  that  one  tower 
certainly  must  have  been  carried  high  enough 
to  contain  bells,  but  we  have  no  traces  of  these 
towers  now  higher  than  the  line  of  the  upper- 
most arcade  but  one  of  the  front.  But  the  great 
feature  in  the  design  of  this  new  front  was 
the  addition  of  three  magnificent  porches, 
designed  for  working  in  Purbeck  marble, 
the  remains  of  which  are  among  the  most 
elaborate  work  which  has  come  down  to 
us  from  the  middle  ages.  No  other  church  in 
England  can  boast  of  portals  such  as  these, 
Ely  has  one  well  known  poreh  of  exti  aordinary 
beauty,  Peterborough  three  arches  of  stupendous 
magnificence,  but  St.  Alban's  alone  possesses  the 
three  great  portals  which  are  the  glory  of  the 
chief  great  Continental  cathedrals,  and  are  seen 
with  sueh  admiration  now  at  Eheims,  Amiens, 
and  other  well  known  beautiful  fronts  abroad. 

St.  AJban's  west  front,  then,  as  designed  by 
John  de  Cella,  pnd  carried  out  more  econo- 
mically by  WUliam  de  Trumpington,  was 
arranged  much  as  I  have  here  represented  it. 
The  E.  E.  towers  might  well  be  of  much  the 
same  character  as  the  matchless  central  tower  of 
Lincoln,  for  I  have  heard  somewhere  that  builders 
from  St.  Alban's  were  employed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  that  tower,  and  its  rich  and  elegant 
details  correspond  in  many  particulars  with 
the  remains  we  have  discovered  at  St.  Alban's. 
But  at  this  point  necessity  drives  us  from  the 
field  of  proof  into  the  land  of  conjecture.  We 
have,  however,  enough  left  to  restore  with  accu- 
racy up  to  the  belfry  stage  of  the  Early  English 
towers. 

But  another  alteration  befell  this  noble  front. 
Abbot  John  of  Wheathampstead,  who  lived  in 
the  days  when  the  Perpendicular  style  prevailed, 
set  to  work  to  enrich  the  interior  of  his  great 
church  by  means  of  painting,  and  stained  glass, 
and  at  considerable  loss  to  the  external  effect  of 
the  building,  lowered  the  aisle  roofs,  filling  the 
Norman  trif  orium  with  tracery  and  rich  glass,  and 
inserting  large  windows  at  its  transept  ends,  and 
in  the  central  division  of  the  west  front.  It 
would  be  necessary  in  a  strictly  conservative 
restoration  to  retain  this  western  Perpendicular 
window,  and  fortunately  this  might  be  done 
without  interfering  with  the  Early  English 
porches  and  arcading  behind  them. 

I  must  now  refer  you  more  directly  to  the 
illustrations  which  I  have  prepared  in  refer- 
ence to  the  past  and  future  liistory  of  the  west 
front  of  St.  Alban's.  I  have  already  pointed 
out  to  you  tha  Norman  west  front,  and  from 
this  I  must  pass  to  the  changes  which  its  re- 
moval involved.  At  this  time,  the  nave  was 
roofed  with  oversailing  oak  shingles,  the  usual 
form  and  covering  of  roofs  of  the  Norman  period. 
The  line  of  that  roof  is  distinctly  marked  now  on 
the  great  tower,  and  no  change  appears  to  have 
been  involved  in  its  form  by  the  change  of 
design  at  the  west  front.  The  gable,  then,  of 
the  Early  English  west  front  must  have  taken 
the  same  form  as  its  Norman  predecessor,  unless 
some  greater  enrichment  than  that  of  a  plain 
gable,  stepping,  and  pinnacles,  for  instance,  as 
at  Wells,  concealed  the  line  of  roof  behind  it.  I 
should  imagine,  however,  that  as  the  upper  part 
of  this  west  front  was  completed  under  pecuniary 
difficulties,  the  plain  form  was  used,  and  that  it 
was  enriched  with  lancet  windows  and  the  usual 
ornamentation  of  the  Early  English  period ; 
perhaps,  as  suggested  by  Buckler,  much  after 
the  manner  of  the  coeval  west  front  of  Llandaflt. 
In  front,  ho^\  ever,  of  this  central  gable  came  a 
highly- enriched  wall,  against  which  the  eastern 
ends  of  the  roofs  of  the  three  great  porches 
were  received ;  this  would  appear  to  have 
been  carried  out  with  a  straight  parapet  on 
each  side  of  the  great  Early  English  buttresses 
which  still  remain,  until  received  by  the  tower 
buttress,  which  also  remains,  and  in  the  oppo- 


site angle  of  which  are  the  shafts  of  the  continua- 
tion of  the  same  arcade  as  it  ran  over  the  face  of 
the  south  tower,  also  one  arch  of  the  lower 
arcade  as  lately  discovered.  The  curious  square 
abutments  on  each  tide  of  the  present  central 
compartment  are  thus  seen  to  be  a  pottion  of 
the  original  front,  and  on  the  south  the  gable 
line  of  the  great  porch  is  still  visible.  AVe  have 
thus,  on  the  walls  themselves,  and  in  the  magni- 
ficent fragments  found  in  removing  the  stopping 
of  the  various  porches,  sufficient  to  obtain  a  very 
accurate  clue  to  the  true  restoration  of  this  noble 
front  up  to  the  straight  parapet  which  I  have 
alluded  to,  and  completing  the  remaining  por- 
tions, as  we  have  every  reason  to  conclude  they 
were  completed,  or  intended  to  be  completed, 
we  get  upon  paper,  which  is  harmless  compared 
with  stone,  a  west  front,  much  like  the  one  before 
you,  on  which  you  may  retain  the  present  west 
window  if  you  please. 

Now  we  have  clear  evidence,  and  we  may 
regard  its  discovery  as  one  of  those  valuable 
facts  which  have  come  out  of  the  interesting 
architectural  controversy  which  the  restoration 
of  the  high  pitched  roof  of  the  nave  has  elicited, 
that  in  Decorated  times  the  Abbots  of  St.  Alban's, 
like  the  Abbots  of  Peterborough,  became  dis- 
satisfied with  their  over- saihng  roofs  of  shingles, 
and  determined  to  have  parapets,  with  the  more 
noble  covering  of  lead.  At  Peterborough  the 
fall  of  the  Norman  central  tower  led  to  the 
reconstruction  of  the  abutting  roof  against  its 
Late  Decorated  successor  ;  at  St.  Alban's 
possibly  a  less,  but  still  a  very  great,  failure  of 
the  ancient  work,  in  the  fall  of  the  southern 
compartments  of  the  nave  so  nobly  rebuilt  by 
Abbot  llentmore,  suggested  the  same  change  ; 
the  result  was  a  roof  as  seen  at  Peterborough, 
all  but  the  lead,  and  now,  I  rejoice  to  say,  seen 
again  at  St.  Alban's,  lead  and  all.  We  need  the 
lead  all  the  more  at  St.  Alban's,  as  our  parapets 
are  long,  unbroken,  and  plain,  while  at 
Peterborough  the  parapets  are  highly  enriched, 
and  the  forest  of  glorious  spires  and  pinnacles 
at  the  west  end  make  many  people  come  away 
forgetting  that  the  covering  of  the  roof  is 
inferior  to  the  original.  This  change  of  roofing 
did  not,  however,  necessitate  a  change  in  the 
gable  of  the  west  front  any  more  than  it  did  at 
Peterborough,  where  the  new  roof  falls  at  a  less 
acute  angle  against  the  original  gable,  and  no 
disturbance  seems  to  have  thus  occurred  to  the 
form  of  the  west  front  till  the  insertion  of  the  west 
window.  If  one  man  from  Whealhampstead  then 
let  down  the  Mgh-pitched  gable  of  the  front,  I  am 
here  for  the  credit  of  the  parish  to  rejoice  in  its 
restoration.  J.  W.,  marked  on  a  corbel,  which 
seems  an  integral  portion  of  the  flat  roof  of 
later  times,  seems  rather  a  dangerous  witness 
against  our  Abbot  John,  unless  Mr.  Street,  whose 
evidence  on  the  other  side  was  given  during  the 
recent  controversy,  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  very  in- 
fluential court,  can  get  him  off.  If  Abbot  John, 
and  not  some  successor  just  before  the  Reforma- 
tion as  believed  by  the  eminent  architect  whose 
authority  I  have  just  quoted),  did  lower  this 
roof,  he  "did  it  to  match  his  lowered  aisle  roofs, 
and  he  lowered  them,  as  we  have  seen,  to  gain 
the  power  of  greater  internal  enrichment. 

But  I  shall  weary  you.  Tou  will  see,  however, 
that  I  have  ventured  upon  a  subject  which  cannot 
be  very  briefly  disposed  of.  If  we  are  to  see  the 
west  front  of  St.  Alban's  take  its  original  rank 
among  the  great  west  fronts  of  our  English 
Cathedrals,  we  have,  you  will  observe, 
authority  for  the  accurate  reproduction  of  its 
lower  portions,  the  gable  over  the  west  window, 
the  uppermost  arcade  of  the  front,  and  the 
towers  alone,  unless  further  discoveries  of  their 
fragments  can  be  made,  being  left  for  adap- 
tation from  coeval  examples.  Just,  however, 
as  these  matters  were  engaging  my  verj-  serious 
attention,  I  found  that  what  had  appeared  likely 
to  wait  long  before  it  could  pass  from  the  phase 
of  inquiry  and  .speculation,  was  about,  without 
loss  of  time,  to  enter  upon  the  region  of 
practical  work,  through  the  munificence  of  Sir 
Edmund  Beckett.  As  far  as  I  understand  the 
intentions  of  my  talented  friend,  it  is  bis 
wish  to  undertake  the  restoration  of  the 
ancient  portals,  which  the  Freemasons  of  Eng- 
land at  one  time  hoped  to  be  able  to  do, 
and  to  carry  out  the  Early  EngHsh  arcades  of 
the  west  front  according  to  the  remains  of  them 
which  have  been  brought  to  Ught ;  he  wUl  also 
complete  the  great  gable  of  the  west  front,^  with 
Early  EngUsh  details.  I  should  have  rejoiced 
had  he  found  it  possible  to  raise  even  the  south 
tower,   of    which  the   particulars    have    been 


discovered  up  to  the  level  of  tl.e  uppermost 
arcading  of  the  front,  thu.t  reproducing  the 
magnificent  breadth  which  gave  thin  west  front 
Its  special  dignity  ;  but  wo  must  not  aik 
one  so  willing  to  give  for  too  much  ut  a 
time.  Constructive  reawons  will,  it  apix-arM,  make 
some  substantial  angle  turrets  nocos«ary  ;  allthat 
we  can  a,k  is  that  tliey  may !«  «o  constructij  m  to 
necessitate  the  rem  .val  of  no  old  work,  oiid  may 
hereafter  give  place  to  towere,  nhould  it  over  bo 
found  possible  to  build  lliein.  Tlic  fa/-t  tliat 
^ir  Edmund  has  placed  his  plan  in  tho  hand*  of 
Jlr.  Clinpplc  (our  ctccUent  clerk  of  wf,rk«.  and 
now  Mayor  of  our  city,  wh0"C  uuavoijabl. 
absence  to-day  I  deeply  regret)  to  work  out 
in  detail,  is  an  earnest  that  the  utm..sl  care 
wiU  be  taken  to  preserve  all  ancient  traces, 
and  carry  out  the  undcrlaking  as  fur  ax  prac- 
ticable on  the  old  lines.  We  liavc  Buff.red  greatly 
at  St.  Alban's  hitherto  from  over-much  advice. 
True,  the  building  is  one  of  great  national  im- 
portance, but  the  advice  wo  have  hitherto  re- 
ceived has  generally  been  -u.  h  an  to  show  how 
best  to  do  nothing  to  preserve  our  great  church 
than  how  best  to  bring  it  again  to  it«  former 
glory.  Had  our  funds  been  larger  we  could  hare 
done  our  work  with  greater  satisfaction.  Never- 
theless I  believe  that  what  we  have  done,  after 
careful  thought,  and  the  best  cotmsel  wc  couM 
obtain,  has  been  well  done,  and  I  trust  that  we 
may  be  permitted  to  hand  down  to  genera- 
tions yet  to  come  one  of  the  noblest  churf;h'  s  we 
have  received  from  our  ancestors,  secun-  in  its 
structure,  perfect  in  its  details,  and  adapted  for  a 
renewed  life  of  work  and  of  glorioiu  worship, 
to  the  praise  of  Him  whose  house  it  is,  and  for 
whose  great  glory  His  servants  designed  it  in 
the  days  of  old. 


ST.  AIBAN'S  CAXnKDlUX. 

The  following  is  Sir  Edmund  Beckett's  reply 

to  Mr.  Toidmin's  letter  to  the  Tinit",  which  we 
reproduced  last  week  on  p.  405 : — 

"Poor  Mr.  Toulmin,  of  ChiMwii kbiirj'.  nfar  here,  i* 
sufferin*  from  a  complication  of  disappointments.  The 
other  day  he  summoned  the  committoc  fn  who./- 1-  hjilf  f.r 
professes  to  write,  and  which  only  sur.;       *    '  '      '■ 

thehopeless  debt  which  he  hdr-f-l  tl'"' 
lastyearbyalittlemistakeoffl.iXJO.i  I 

not  one  of  them  would  come,  as  he  n  • 
incur  another  debt,  coupled  with  .» t.-- 
undertaking  the  restoration  of  tho  i  ;  ' 

vile  west  window.    He  pretended  to  !  . 
about  £400  for  it,  as  he  says  to  you,  k  ii^  -' 
the  very  able  clerk  of  the  work.-,  wl.i    : 
ten  Years  and  whom  he  had  always  t-  ■ 
estimated  it  .it  £2,000,  and  the  buililcrV  ■ 
more,  for  what  must  be  done  by  wh.  - 
make  it  stand.    No  doubt  he  thinks  !.•  . 
preat  man  in  this  country  is  quoted  for  -.. 
'  whatever  he  wants  he  bcheves,'  and,  I 
He  then  wrote  a  letter  accusin?^  the  .<  •  . 
heartedness  and  lukewarmne?**.'  enb^"  : 
do^^orel  verses,  which  he  delights  in.     .' 
he  sends  off  his  dirty  linen  to  be  waste ; 
the  Timfs.    As  he  does,  I  have  no  oby  •. 
for  him.    I  know  nothing  of  >■-'-  •-'  ' 
who  has  no  more  power  in  tb' 
except  bv  report  and  from  1-: 
weeks  pestering  people  of  all  >. 
to  him,  and  some  of  them  h^c. 
savinjr  that  they  knew  that  it  ■.' 
sent  it  he  confessed  that  he  V. 
pood  reason  to  believe  that  :. 
dozen  of  the  sixers  have  ever, 
dow  they  profess  to  diahk.- 
exhibited  here  and  deposit«I 
of  window-tracery,  and  cvpi' 
anv  details  presening  the  iKi 
persons  in  this  city  have  told  i 
tion  the  other  way  sipnol  by  t« 
many  of  his,  in  a  few  days,  ii 
that  it  was  not  worth  lb.   t:  ' 
been  the  joke  of  Um 
course,  disclose  tho  t 
for  nearly  a  year,  w!.: 
what  benow  preteni- •       ^ 
to  restore  such  a  viU  win.  ^ 
trarv,  to  destroy,  not  only  ;^ 
anv'ereat   west  window,  an  . 
centniv  '  lancets  as  a  purely  c 
unknown  ones  of  the  van 
naming  pretends  to  knowUi.  ;t 
anything  about  them,    when 
that  I  did  not  mean  to  .if.. :. 
turned  round  witliin    : 
nouncing  that  he  w  l- 
to   m.ake  mc  restoi-- 
knowsth.atallhe  tap-  • 
has  meddled  with  s.)nn  '!!• 
p.artic.d,irly   that    be    lias_  v 
This  alTO  is  \-anity  and  '™»- 

nuotes  the  Bishop.  I  must  sa>  __  j 

tJiat  the   liishop   in   several  _^_  _^^ 

late  in  the  bu.sini*s,  h.J»  Ja.  ■  ^^.^   ,^ 

whiob  he  forwarded     he  fa.  j.  __  ^,  ^ 

spoken  as  disre-yctfullyol^  „ndow 

Toulmin  himself .    Thatdcsi"  ^    .,  . 

that  fe  going  to  l«  executed   .■ 

present  one  was  found  too  rui  . ,  , . 

repaid.    The  new  one  has  b-.'..  .  ;.rr-..n- 


468 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


conJemueLi  the  present  one.  At  least  20  times  ".s  many 
pe'-aons  have  done  so  as  all  who  have  seen  it  and  signed 
hisftbsuid  petition.  As  he  lugs  in  Mr.  J.  O.  Scott,  evi- 
dently with  his  consent,  I  am  obliged  to  teU  that  it  wa-s 
tlie  exhibition  of  a  copj-  of  a  rival  design  for  the  whole 
weat  front  by  liim  that  brought  over  all  tho  )oc;i!  oppo- 
nents of  my  faculty,  saving  always  the  impJacalle  arch- 
dojwon,  who  prefen-ed  that  the  nave  should  fill  to  having 
it  saved  by  me,  and  tliat  nobody  was  so  loud  in  piefeiiing 
my  design  as  this  new  ;>.gitator  against  it.  And  yet  he 
haa  the  face  now  to  complain  of  my  oiily  ofTeiing  the  job 
to  Mr.  Scott  on  condition  of  his  carrj-ing  out  the  approved 
and  authorised  design.  Having  now  got  all  the  drawings 
done,  I  can  only  say  I  am  very  glad  he  refused  my  offer. 
Hia  assertion  that  my  faculty  only  authorises  'lepaii's' 
ifi  A  somewhat  striking  .sp^^imen  of  believing  lor  the  time 
whatever  he  wishes,  seeing  that  he  was  pi^sent  at  the 
Chancellor's  judgment,  and  was  reminded  ly  r.-?  verj- 
li!tely  of  what  the  faculty  is,  and  knows  pei-fecti,,  .  -  1  ".'i  i1 
any  restomtion  of  the  West  front  must  be  an  in  .  i  :  .  .  - 
all  except  the  middle  is  flat  brick  walls  with  :  ; 

d^Hjr  or  a  window  at  present.  The  one  thin^-  .,'■  .  li  i- 
ttoc-  whole  tnith  and  nothing  but  the  truth  in  all  hi.s 
letter  is  that  the  work  was  duly  ordered  as  soon  as  the 
drawings  were  sufficiently  complete,  so  that  it  will  go  on 
if  I  am  murdered  to-night  in  compliance  with  a  printed 
invocation  circulated  by  some  anonymous  doggeirl  verse- 
Tfriter  for  another  Fitzurse,  who  disposed  of  my  namesake 
in  Uie  early  days  of  abbey -building,  and  if  all  the  crazy 
societies  in  England  pass  some  more  resolutions  and 
move  for  the  injunctions  which  Mr.  H.  J.  Toulmin 
thiaks  he  undei'stands  as  well  as  ardiitectur-, ;  ind  so  he 
4ocs,  no  doubt.  I  have  only  to  say  to  the  few  J  w-pectable 
people  who  hone.^tly  think  that  all  futuie  gtnaations 
ought  to  be  condemned  to  gaze  on  modem  copit^,  called 
restorations,  of  vile'  and  ugly  fabrics,  beciiuse  they  have 
'  associations '  with  their  recollections  all  then-  liv^.«;.  that 
.  I  do  not  agree  with  them— or  argue  with  them ;  mly  that 
I  am  not  going  to  spend  £20,000  or  £30,000  to  gratify 
whims  of  that  kind  ;  nor  would  I  let  them  spcil  a  de-sign 
which  has  received  such  tmusual  approbation  if  they 
offered  to  pay  for  .^qjoiUng  it  themselves,  which  they  have 
not  the  smallest  idea  of  doing.  Much  less  shall  I  gratify 
guch  a  meddler  as  tliis  by  letting  him  have  to  say  that  he 
h'aa  meddled  with  success.  Dogs  that  go  out  to  bait 
quiot  bulls  must  not  be  surprised  if  they  get  t<;^ed  and 


RHIND    LECTITHES    IN  ARCHEOLOGY. 

THE  SYMBOLISM   OF  THE  MONtTMENTS. 

mHE  fourth  of  the  Rhind  lectures  by  Mr. 
i  Joseph  Anderson,  keeper  of  the  Mu.seum 
of  t!ie  Scotti.-h  Society  of  Antiquari*.^,  was 
delivered  on  Thursday  week. 

Mr.  Anderson  having  intimated  tha;  he  pro- 
posed in  this  lecture  to  speak  of  the  symbolism 
of  the  monuments,  said  the  conditions  of  the 
question  to  be  discussed  vyould  be  best  under- 
eitood  if  attention  were  first  turned  to  the  most 
prominent  and  striking  feature  of  the  Christian 
monuments  of  our  own  age.  Was  it  not,  he 
aaked,  a  striking  feature  of  those  modern  monu- 
ments that  the  elements  of  their  symbohsm  were 
not  wholly  and  exclusively  Christian  in  character 
and  origin  i"  The  obeUsk,  the  pyiamid,  the 
broken  column,  the  um  artistically  draped — 
these  and  other  form.s  borrowed  from  paganism 
continued  to  be  used  in  our  churchyard?.  This 
might  be  taken  as  proof  that  the  sys:em  of 
Christian  monumental  symbolism  did  not  neces- 
sarily consist  solely  of  forms  and  representations 
that  had  exclusive  reference  to  the  fai;h  and 
hope  inculcated  by  the  Christian  cieed.  He 
meant  to  show  further,  that,  as  matter  of  fact, 
so  far  as  we  had  positive  evidence,  and  as  mat- 
tor  of  inference,  so  far  as  such  evidence  was 
■wanting,  the  earlier  systems  of  symbolism 
exhibited  similar  features,  and  therefore  that 
there  had  existed  in  past  ages,  as  there  existed 
now,  a  feeling  for  monumental  symbolism,  ex- 
pressing itself  in  modes  regulated  by  popular 
preference  irrespective  of  the  influence  of  church 
or  culture.  It  was  admitted  that  Rome  was  the 
cradle  of  the  Christian  art  and  symbolism  that 
spread  gradually  over  Europe.  In  different 
areas  we  found  it  modified  by  the  quality  of  the 
culture  on  which  it  was  engrafted,  but  in  its 
essence  and  spirit  it  was  always  recognisable  as 
the  art  and  symbolism  which  passed  throttgh  its 
initial  stages  in  the  Catacombs.  Their  most 
remarkable  feature  was  their  deccvaticn  ;  the 
special  feature  of  that  decoration  v.-av  its  sym- 
bolic character,  and  the  most  remarkable  feature 
of  that  character  was  that  it  carried  on  the  pre- 
viously existing  pagan  decoration,  rejecting  cer- 
tain forms  and  subjects  as  unsuitable,  altering 
others,  and  adopting  a  number  without  modifi- 
cation or  alteration.  This  was  especially  the 
case  with  ornamental  accessories.  Symbolic  per- 
sonifications of  rivers,  cities,  day  and  night,  the 
sun  and  moon,  the  winds  and  seasons,  &c.,  which 
were  so  common  in  pagan  art,  were  aUo  carried 
down  into  the  system  of  Christian  symbolism. 
Thus,  in  Scripture  .'jubjects,  the  Jordan  was 
found  still  represented  as  a  river  god.  the  whale 
as  a  sea  monster ;  while  representations  of 
Orpheus  charming  the  beasts  were  frequpntly 
faund  associated  with  figures  of  tt)9  <Jeoil  Shep- 


herd .Tnd  other  scenes  from  sacred  history- 
These  sacred  scenes,  and  especially  Christiun 
sj-mbols,  such  as  the  fish,  the  anchor,  the  .ship, 
the  dove,  the  lamb,  &c.,  of  course  predominated ; 
but  the  significant  fact  was,  that  the  sy.stem  of 
Christian  symboUsm  in  its  very  earliest  stages 
was  not  tmmixed  with  forms  and  representations 
which  were  not  Christian,  but  pagan,  in  their 
origin  and  original  application.  .Such  being  tlie 
character  of  Christian  symbolism  at  Rome,  it 
was  not  surprising  that  such  should  also  be  the 
case  in  the  later  stages  of  local  development  of 
the  same  .system  throughout  the  provinces.  If 
the  Christian  sjTnboHsm  of  the  provinces  was  not 
:in  independent  system,  separately  developed  in 
.  I'.h  separate  area,  we  ought  to  find  it  exhibit- 
ing the  same  general  features  everywhere  :  and 
in  so  far  as  it  was  derived  from  the  parent  sys- 
tem, presenting  the  same  forms  and  representa- 
tions, modified  or  supplemented  by  the  special 
culture  of  the  different  areas.  But  as  the  ctil- 
ture  which  produced  those  modifications  was 
lower  in  the  provinces  than  in  Rome,  and  most 
of  all  in  those  remote  provinces  which  bordered 
on  barbarism,  it  necessarily  followed  that  the 
further  the  system  of  symbolism  became  re- 
moved from  its  source,  the  greater  was  its 
departure  from  its  original  purity  of  art  and 
unity  of  composition.  And  this,  in  point  of 
fact,  was  what  we  found  in  almost  every  area  of 
Europe  in  which  it  appeared.  The  earliest  sym. 
holism  of  Christian  art  was,  in  its  main  features, 
manifestly  derived  from  the  same  earlier  symbo- 
lism in  use  in  the  common  centre  from  which  it 
was  disseminated  ;  but  the  subjects,  copied  from 
copies  unintelligently  and  inartistically  repro- 
duced, became  gradually  disguised  and  degraded 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  ultimately  tinrecognis- 
able  unless  where  the  whole  series  of  steps  of 
degradation  was  demonstrable.  If,  therefore, 
the  whole  number  of  the  monuments  existing 
in  any  given  area  had  sufifered  diminution, 
through  lapse  of  ages,  we  must  be  prepared  to 
find  among  those  that  remained  examples  of 
this  process  of  alteration  of  type  by  degrada- 
tion. Among  these  there  might  occur  in- 
stances in  which  the  process  had  not  gone  so 
far  as  to  obliterate  the  original  character  of  the 
type,  but  there  almost  certainly  would  be  others 
in  which  the  alteration  has  gone  so  far  as  to 
render  them  obscure  and  unintelligible.  While, 
therefore,  a  system  in  no  way  remote  from  the 
source  of  original  development,  was  in  the 
main  and  necessarily  a  derived  system,  it  did 
not  follow  that  in  all  its  manifestations  it  was 
capable  of  being  explained  or  imderstood  from 
simple  comparison  with  the  original  system,  if 
the  links  were  wanting  that  originally  bridged 
the  distance  between  them.  But,  further,  it 
was  clear  that  a  system  in  the  main  derived, 
consisting  of  simple  variants  of  universal  types, 
might  be  associated  with  and  supplemented  by 
a  series  of  types  which  were  of  independent 
origin.  In  this  case,  so  far  as  its  derived 
characteristics  had  not  been  obliterated  by 
degradation,  the  system  would  be  capable  of 
explanation  from  external  evidence  ;  but  so  far 
as  it  was  of  independent  origin,  if  it  was  to  be 
explained  at  all,  it  must  either  contain  the 
explanation  within  itself,  or  the  key  must  be 
furnished  by  contemporary  record.  It  was 
plain,  from  the  most  cursory  inspection  of  the 
Scotch  monuments,  that  their  symbolism 
possessed  this  double  character.  They  were 
crowded  with  .symbols  which  did  not  occur  in 
any  instance  out  of  Scotland,  and  were  there- 
fore of  independent  origin  ;  but  they  were  also 
covered  with  symbolic  representations  which 
were  plainly  simple  variants  of  imiversal  types, 
and  hence  the  significance  of  those  subjects 
might  be  assigned  to  them  by  their  analogous 
use  and  significance  in  other  ways  and  other 
associations.  For  instance,  it  was  at  once 
apparent  that  the  figtrres  of  the  cross,  of  angels, 
and  evangelists  were  strangely  associated  with 
figures  of  centaurs  and  sirens,  griflSns  and  fabu- 
lous monsters  derived  from  Greek  and  Roman 
paganism.  In  this  re.spect,  however,  these 
Christian  monuments  of  Scotland  did  not  differ 
from  the  Christian  monuments  of  the  early 
Church,  either  in  Italy  or  in  any  other  area. 
But  we  were  not  hastily  to  conclude  that  those 
symbols  were  present  on  those  Christian  monu- 
ments in  their  primitive  pagan  significance. 
That  would  imply  not  only  incongrtiity  of  asso- 
ciation, and  unfitness  of  significance,  which 
could  not  be  assumed,  but  it  would  also  imply 
that  they  had  been  derived  from  their  pao-an 
source  directly,  axid  not  mediately  through  t\ 


general  system  of  symbolism  into  which  they 
had  been  incorporated  with  special  applicaticjns 
suited  to  its  Christian  character.  After  com- 
paring the  treatment  in  the  Catacombs  of  such 
subjects  as  the  Temptation,  Daniel  and  tiie 
Lions,  and  Jonah  and  the  Whale,  with  the 
representations  of  these  found  on  Scotch  and 
other  monuments,  the  lecturer  said  it  was  clear 
that  among  the  Scotch  pictorial  groups  there 
were  a  number  which  were  certainly  of  the 
same  type  of  Scripture  subjects  as  was  found  on 
early  Christian  monuments  in  Italy  and  Gaul. 
They  were  modified  in  their  treatment  by  the 
peculiar  art  instinct,  and  usages  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  were  found,  but  they  were 
not  so  greatly  disguised  by  this  peculiar  treat- 
ment as  to  be  xmrecognisable.  It  followed  from 
this  that  among  the  pictorial  gi'oups  left  unex- 
plained there  might  be  other  scriptural  subjects 
with  respect  to  which  this  peculiar  treatment 
might  have  gone  so  far  as  to  render  them  unre- 
cognisable. This  consideration  must  operate  as 
a  caution  against  the  hasty  adoption  of  the 
inference  that  all  the  subjects  which  we  could 
not  refer  to  a  Scripture  origin  must  necessarily 
be  secular  or  historical,  or  representative  of  the 
every-day  life  of  the  people  of  the  times.  He 
did  not  except  from  this  caution  the  great  slab 
at  Forres.  No  monument  was  known  to  bear 
any  commemorative  representation,  sculptured 
or  inscribed,  of  any  historical  event  occurring 
within  the  country  in  early  Christian  times ; 
and  the  establishment  of  such  an  interpretation 
of  the  scidpturcs  on  the  Forres  monument 
would  be  the  establishment  of  an  exception  to 
the  general  rule,  and  could  thus  have  no  influ- 
ence on  the  question  of  the  interpretation  of 
other  moniunents.  It  was  true  there  were 
apparently  scenes  from  real  life  on  many  of 
them,  and  that  they  were  treated  in  such  a 
realistic  manner  that  the  costumes  and  weapons 
might  be  accepted  as  those  of  the  country  and 
time  ;  but  this  was  what  happened  everywhere, 
and  aft'ected  only  the  artistic  accessories  of  the 
subject,  not  the  nature  of  the  subject  itself, 
^'hile  we  might  accept  the  dress  and  weapons 
of  the  man  tearing  the  jaws  of  a  lion  on  a  St. 
Andrews  monument  as  real  representations,  we 
could  hardly  accept  the  subject  itself  as  a  sub- 
ject that  ever  happened,  or  could  have  happened, 
in  Scotland.  So  when  we  found  the  representa- 
tion of  a  stag  hunt,  we  might  accept  the  costume 
and  accessories  as  conceived  in  the  manner  of 
the  time,  but  wo  were  not  required  to  regard 
the  subject  itself  as  having  any  realistic  refer- 
ence to  the  life  history  of  the  individual  com- 
memorated. In  like  manner,  when  we  found  a 
.ship  sculptured  on  a  monument,  we  might 
accept  the  form  and  rig  of  the  vessel  as  realistic 
representations  of  those  in  u.se  at  the  time,  but 
we  should  not  be  warranted  in  connecting  the 
subject  itself  with  any  incident  in  the  life  of 
the  individual,  any  more  than  in  so  connecting 
each  of  the  other  separate  subjects  on  the  same 
montiment,  most  of  which  were  manifestly 
symbolic  and  sacred.  The  interpretation  which 
a.s.sum£d  that  those  pictorial  subjects  were  liis- 
torical  was  supporte'd  by  no  external  evidence. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  knew  that  from  the 
earliest  times  the  ship  and  the  stag  were  com- 
mon popular  symbols  of  Christian  monumental 
art.  The  range  of  this  popular  form  of  sym- 
bolism was  wide,  and  it  held  its  place  for  many 
centuries ;  and  in  this  view  there  was  no  incon- 
gruity in  the  appearance  of  such  forms  among 
pictorial  representations  of  gospel  histories. 
There  existed  a  popular  system  of  spiritualising 
the  facts  and  fables  of  natural  history,  as 
natural  history  was  then  known.  This  was  set 
forth  in  the  Divine  Bestiaries  of  the  early 
Middle  Ages ;  and  the  explanation  there  given 
of  the  significance  of  certain  animals  completely 
removed  the  idea  of  their  incongruity  on  monu- 
ments, and  showed  them  to  be  appropriate 
elements  of  divine  symbolism.  It  was  clear 
that  pictorial  groups  and  processions  of  animals, 
real  and  fabuJous,  bad  a  .symbolical  meaning, 
and  that  it  was  for  this  reason,  and  not  because 
they  were  merely  pictorial  representations,  that 
they  were  fitly  placed  on  the  porches,  capitals, 
and  walls  of  churches,  as  well  as  sculptured  on 
monuments.  He  did  not  say  that  the  system  of 
symbolism  described  was  ever  formally  sanc- 
tioned by  the  ancient  Church,  any  more  than 
the  system  now  or  formerly  so  prevalent  in  our 
clnrrchyards  was  ever  formally  approved  by  the 
modeni  Chirrch.  So  early  as  the  .jth  century 
the  tendency  to  this  species  of  symbolism  was 
viewed  with  displeasure  by  the  a-utere  f«theTs 


Oct.  23,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


469 


cf  the  Church  ;  but  pictures  had  been  said  to  be 
joor  men's   boofc,    and  in  all  ages,   and  under 
rvery  form  of  culture  in  which   pictorial  repre- 
sentations had  been  used,  systems  of  symbolism 
had  been  common  and   popular.     It  might  not 
be   easy  for   us  to  see   the   appropriateness   of 
such  a  system,  or  appreciate  the  significance  of 
the  moral  allegory  that  underlay  this  conven- 
tional   mode    of    representation :     but    it   was 
enough  for   us  to  know  that  those  subjects  were 
so  used  in  JISS.  and  in  churches  from  the  6th  to 
the    12th  centuries   in    all   the    most   cultured 
countries  in  Europe.     Knowing  this,   we  knew 
also  that  they  were   not   inappropriate  or  des- 
titute of  significance  when  we  found  them  on 
monuments   associated  with  more  common  and 
obviously  symbolic  sculptures.     They  did  not, 
however,     occur     on    monuments,     unless     in 
Scotland,      at     least      with      the      same     fre- 
quency and   persistence ;  but  this   was  not  out 
of  harmony  with  the   general  character  of  those 
monvmients  because  they  were  in  most  of  their 
features  entirely  unlike   the   monuments  of  any 
other  area.     This  nnlikeness  was  specially  appa- 
rent in  the  fact  that  they  bore  a  series  of  symbols 
which  had  never  appeared   on  any  other  monu- 
ments.     These   were   associated   with   pictorial 
subjects,  but  were  not  themselves  pictorial ;  they 
were  conventional  figirres,  bearing  no  necessary 
resemblance  to  natural  objects ;  they  were,  how- 
ever, associated  and  conjoined  in  symbolic  use 
with  other  symbols  which  were  representative  of 
natural  forms,    such   as   the   fish,   serpent,   &c. 
The  most  common  figure  was  a  crescent.  Another 
was  in  the  form  of  two  circles  connected  by  a 
band ;  and  this  was  sometimes  combined  with  a 
rod  doubly   bent    and   floriated  at  the  ends.     A 
third   was  a  rectangular   oblong,  bearing   some 
resemblance  to  a  house   with   the   door   in   the 
centre ;  and  a  fourth  took  the  form  of  an  arch- 
way.    There  was  no  evidence   that  these  figures 
represented   personal   ornaments  ;  nor   did  they 
appear  to  have  been  insignia  of  rank  or  heraldic 
devices.     After  pointing  out  that  the  symbols  in 
question  were  found  in  conjunction  with  symbols 
known  to  be  of  sacred  character,  the  lecturer  said 
that,  whatever  might  have  been  the  significance 
attached  to  them,  it   could  not    have  been  of  a 
trivial   or   unimportant   character.     From  their 
place  in  the  front  rank  in  the  system  of  symbols, 
and  the  wide  range  of  applicatii:)n  they  eshibited, 
their   arbitrary   sigLificance    appeared   to   have 
been  considered   of   primnry   importance — of  an 
importance  almost   equal   to   that   veUei  in  the 
similitude   of   the     cross  itself,  with  which  they 
were  so  often  associated.     Further  than  this  he 
could  not  proceed. 

{To  he  continued.) 


EECEXT  JIETHODS  OF  TESTING  PORT 
LAND  CEMENT. 

AT  the  meeting  of  the  Manchester  Association 
of  Engineers,  on  Saturday  last,  Mr.  W.  H 
Bailey,  of  the  Albion  Works,  Salford,  read  a 
paper  on  Some  Recent  Methods  of  Testing  Port 
land  Cement. 

Mr.  Bailey  said  Portland  cement  as  a  material 
of  construction  had  increased  in  popularitv  dur 
ing  the  last  twenty  years,  but  especially  so  dui-ing 
the  past  five  or  six  years,  owing  entirely  to  the 
scientific  methods  used  both  in  its  manufacture 
and  in  the  methods  of  testing  the  material  by 
those  engaged  on  Government,  municipal,  and 
other  large  works.  At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers  a  communication  was 
read  from  Mr.  Higgin,  who  has  charge  of  the 
extensive  operations  at  Buenos  Ayres  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Bateman  as  engineer-in-chief. 
The  sum  of  £'2,000,000  sterling  has  been  spent 
in  city  improvements  there,  and  the  spending 
of  this  money  has  afforded  a  good  opportunity  of 
showing  what  can  be  done  with  cement  concrete 
in  almost  every  form  that  could  be  de^Tsed.  No 
stone  was  to  be  obtained  in  Buenos  Ayres ;  in  a 
radius  of  two  hundred  miles  not  a  pebble  coxild 
be  found.  '^\Tien  the  works  were  begun  the 
province  produced  no  bricks  fit  for  use,  and 
recourse  to  concrete  became  imperative.  About 
eleven  miles  cf  large  subterranean  conduits  had 
been  built  almost  entirely  of  concrete,  as  well  as 
twelve  mUes  of  intercepting  sewers  and  twenty 
to  thirty  miles  of  coUectiug  sewers.  Concrete 
has  been  used  for  the  workmen's  houses,  for  the 
roofs  of  engine  houses,  in  the  copings  of  wall.-, 
tops  of  colunms,  retaining  walls,  filters,  settling 
beds ;  indeed  for  every  conceivable  purpose. 
Mr.  Higgin  etates  that  for  all  the  fine  work  the 


mixttue  used  was  one  part  of  Portland  cement  to 
sis  parts   of   course   sand.     Portland   cement  is 
composed  of   silica,    alumina,   and   carbonate  of 
Ume.     This  is  produced  by  mixing   clays  and 
limestone  or  chalk  in  combination  with  water, 
which  mixture,   after  being  baked  and  calcined 
iu  a  ki'n,  is  ground  to  fine  powder.     Mr.  Henry 
Reid,  who  has  written   many  books  on  the  sub- 
ject, insists  that  it  is   absurd  to  send  this  usefid 
material  many  miles  anywhere,  as  the  ingredients 
for  its  manufacture   can  nearly  always  be  found 
at  one's  el'oDW  if  we  only  look.     In  many  rivers 
and  creeks  the  raw  material  exists.     Common 
flint,  pit  clay,  marine  clay,  the  shales  and  sand 
of    Warwickshire,    Derbyshire,    Northampton- 
shire, and    Somersetshire    should    be    used  for  ] 
cement  making.     For  the  like  purpose  Mr.  Reid 
names  the  basaltic  columns  of  the  Giant's  Cause- 
way, the  limestone  formation  at  Kendal,  and  the 
various  lavas  and  slate  deposits  in  different  parts 
of    this    country.     The    strength    of    Portland 
cement   increases   with   its  fineness.     The  most 
popular  method  of  testing  the  cement  is  by  sub- 
jecting it  to  a  severe  tensile  strain,  but  much  can 
be  said  in  favour  of  testing  by  compression,  and 
the  latter  would  be  more  in  use  but  for  the  cost- 
liness of  the  apparatus.     Mr.  Bailey  described  a 
simple  hydraulic  compressor  for  the  testing  of 
Portland   cement,   which   he  had  designed.     It 
was  possible,   however,    that   cement  should  be 
tested  both  for  tensile  strength  and  resistance  to 
crushing.      Professor    Thurston    (America)  has 
introduced  a  method  of    testing    by  torsion  or 
twisting.     The  Thurston   Tester  not  only  gives 
the   torsional  resistance,  but   also   the  limit   of 
elasticity  and  the  exact  angle  of  torsion.    The 
limit  of  elasticity  is  t'ae  amount  of  twist  a  ma- 
terial wiU  bear  without  becoming  permanently 
distorted.     The  quality  of  elasticity  is  of  con- 
siderable importance    in    a    cement,    especially 
where  it  is  used  for   concrete  work  in  footpaths 
and  roads.     Mr.    Arthur    Jacob,    the   borough 
engineer   of   Salford,    has    given   considerable 
attention  to  the    tensile    testing    of    Portland 
cement.     He  has  introduced  cylindrical  moulds. 
The  shape  is  perfect,  and  by  a  careful  filling  of 
the  moulds  and  exact   measurement  of  the  water 
used  in  each  case,  tests  are  made  under  conditions 
which  seemed  to  him  (Mr.   Bailey)   to  be  rigidly 
equal  in  every  particular.     Mr.  Jacob's  machine 
has  the   weight — which    consists   of   a  long  can 
into  which  a  small  stream  of  water  flows — placed 
at  the  end  of  a  lever.     This  enables  the  test  to 
be  applied  in  a  veiy   gradual  and  nearly  imper- 
ceptible manner,  without  any  vibration  ;  in  fact, 
the    operator    may    sit    down    and    watch  the 
machine,  after  the  tap  has  been  turned  on,  until 
the  fracture  is  efiiected.     The  height  of  the  water 
in  the  cistern  is  indicated  by  means  of  a  glass 
tube  similar  to  the  water-gauge  glass  of  a  steam 
boiler,  the  graduation  being  painted  down  the 
can  or  cistern.     When  the  material  is  broken  a 
small  trigger  closes  the  tap,  and  prevents  any 
further  supply    of    water.     Si>    uniform  ai-e  the 
tests  by  Mr.  Jacob's   system  that,  with  good  ce- 
ment,  the  figures  obtained  scarcely  vary.     On 
September  20,  six  samples  were  taken  from  one 
bag  and  were  tested  with  the  following  residts  : — 
810,  815,  820,   820,   820,   820.     Mr.   Bailey  said 
he  had  had  considerable  experience  of  testing, 
but  with  any  other  form  of  clip  and  imder  the 
most  careful  conditions,  no  results  like  these  had 
ever  come  under  his  observation;  and  if  tensile 
strain  is  the  proper  one  to  place  on  Portland  ce- 
ment,  Mr.  Jacob,  he  thought,  had  introduced 
the  most  perfect    form    of    testing.     But  it  was 
desirable  to  caution  those   who  consider  a  high 
tensile  strain  the  best,  that  this  mode  may  result 
in  the  manufacture  of  a  dense  and  treachercus 
cement,  and  elasticity    was    a  quality  which  in 
future  would    have  "to    receive    quite  as  much 
attention.     In  past  years  Portland  cement  has 
been  iU- treated.     Ignorant    and    unscrupulous 
persons  have  sold  and  used   cement  under  that 
name  and  have  brought  it  into  undeserved  dis- 
favour.    .For  workshop  use  it  is  invaluable.     It 
preserves  iron  ;  indeed,   it  is  used  for  preserving 
the  insides  of  iron  boats.     Its  uses  and  applica- 
tions are  innumerable— tanks,  walls,  foundations, 
piers,  and    soUd    lighthouses    in    one  piece  are 
built  of  it.     As  its  qualities  become  better  knowi'. 
to  n;echanieal  engineers,   it  will  be  more  exten- 


way,  and  cement  had  eventually  taken  its  place, 
and  with  great  succes-.  From  the  description 
given  by  Mr.  Bailey  he  felt  convinced  that  upon 
the  propei-  mixing  of  the  cement  deiionded  its 
success  or  failure.  The  applicatioti  of  ccmcuit 
was.  u.  l.ii)  opinion,  still  in  its  infancy. 

Mr.  W  II.  Bailey,  replying  to  seitral 
questions  raised,  said  that  eand  intended  to  be 
used  in  the  mixing  should  be  dry  and  the  peoatm 
of  mixing  carried  out  under  cover.  Thequiui- 
tity  of  witer  used  in  mixing  was  { lb  to  every  lb. 
of  concrete.  Too  much  care  could  not  be  takes 
m  themi  <ing,  and  in  many  instanuMwht  ru  cemunt 
had  failed,  such  failure  had  Ix-onclcarlv  tr,ii»*lo 
some  w.int  of  attention  in  tliis  particular.  'I'hw 
had  been  proved  by  the  entire  destruction  of  a 
large  breakwater  in  the  Soutli  of  Ent'land  froiii 
the  simple  reason  of  a  few  nLsty  nulls  ^.'cttmj.' 
into  the  cement  during  the  mixing.  Re|>lTine 
to  the  auestion  as  to  whether  old  cement  i:  puld  be 
renewed  by  heating  in  furnaces,  he  said  ho  wan 
not  aware  that  such  had  ever  been  trird.  No 
doubt  some  cement  in  its  unmanufactured  ftate 
did  detsriorato  in  quality  if  exposed  to  the  at- 
mosphere, bat  when  once  made  into  concrete, 
provided  the  mixing  had  been  performed  in  a 
proper  manner,  its  strength  and  quality  woidd 
continually  b3  improving.  Cement  which  took 
the  longest  to  set  generally  proved  the  slrongebS. 
He  regretted  that  time  had  prevented  liim  from 
making  the  paper  so  complete  as  he  could  ha»e 
wished  but  at  some  future  time  he  hoped  to  be 
able  to  io  so,  when  he  would  endeavour  to  nay 
something  about  Jlr.  Thurston's  system  of  t««t- 
ing  by  torsion,  not  only  as  applied  to  metaU,  bat 
also  to  cement. 


CHIPS. 

The  tovm  commiesionei-s  of  Weston-supcr-Marc 
have  re-eived  a  reply  from  the  Local  Government 
Board  to  an  application  for  consent  to  8ub«titutf 
cement  concrete  pipes  for  a  half-brick  sewer  to  the 
sewage  scheme  for  "Weston-super-Mare,  now  in 
course  of  construction.  The  Board  state  that,  alter 
considering  the  local  report  of  their  inspector,  Mr. 
J.  S.  Smith,  that  concrete  pipes  are  lial'le  to  bate 
the  enii  injured  in  transit,  and  that,  with  pipoflo 
injurei.  it  is  difficult  to  make  perfectly  KXiaiJ 
joints.  The  Board  had,  however,  already  allowed 
the  Uj-_'  of  such  pipes,  and  the  comm  ssicBcs 
could  uie  them  on  their  own  responsibility. 

The  local  board  cf  Noimanton,  Yorit,  baw; 
adopted  a  report,  as  to  sewering  the  distritt,  pre- 
pared by  their  surveyor,  Mr.  Kcid,  ond  iustroited 
him  t)"  devise  plans  and  specifications  for  tkc 
execution    of   the    work.    The  estimated  cost  is 

At  the  Somersetshire  Quarter  Seanons,  btid  at 
Wells,  on  Tuesday,  elections   took   place  to  tue 

offices  cf  assistant  county  surveyor  aud  county 
analyst.  For  the  fon:ier  appointmtut  there  were 
17  can iidates,  of  whoia  the  committee  rec ommtnrtcd 
to  th-  court  three,  but  all  the  names  were  vctwl 
upon.  Mr.  Charles  E.  Norman,  civil  engm^i.of 
Taunton,  n-as  elected,  receiving 


.54  votes.  M.  T. 


sively  employed  than  at  present. 

In  the  discussion  which  foUowed  Councdlor 
Asquith  said  that  water  engineers  generally 
gave  it  as  their  decided  opinion  that  puddlmg  by 
cement  was  much  more  trustworthy  than  clay 
jiuddling,  and  more  durable,  -it  the  reservorrs 
at  Woodhead  clay  puddling  had  repeatedly  given 


J.  Hickes.  district  bigtway  surveyor,  of  bh^n 
Malleit,  coming  second  with  20  votes.  Dr.  H.  J 
Alford.  01  Taunton,  was  elected  as  analyst. 

A  restiT  meeting  was  held  at  Cromer,  ov.  Thuft- 
dav  week,  to  consider  a  prehminarj-  estinnto  from 
Mr  E»  an  Christian  for  re-building  tie  climoel  of 
thelar-'ePerpendiculir  parish-church.  Only  ii^t 
ruins  of  this  chancel  exist  at  present,  and  it  m 
traditionally  asserted,  as  in  most  other  uistantea  of 
mutilatiou  of  East  AngUan  cburche?,  to  have  b««n 
destrov^d  bv  Cromwell.  The  estimate  amounted 
to  £9."«,  with  10  per  ceLt.  "j^^ '°V"°"n  C^ 
Considerable  discussion  ensued,  Sir  Fowcll  Biaton 
declaring  that  he  wcJd  rather  not  have  U>» 
chanr-el.  as  it  would  render  it  d'fficult  to  hear  ui 
the  church,  which  was  already  too  large  for  thr 
population,  and  the  glare  of  light  would  t*  «r7«r^ 
it  was  stited  that  Mr.  Christian  bad  '<•[«'  «1»^ 
the  acoustic  propeitios  would  be  unproved,  b^ 
was  decid-d  to  leave  the  matter  m  ao*-ya«ce  unl^i 
tte  committee  can.obl^  ^^*t?h  m!"  clCtS;.^ 
justify  them  in  going  forward  with  Mr.  Cluutui.  « 

plan. 

The  directors  of  the  London  ¥"i  North-\V«U»» 
and  Lancishire  aud  Yorkshire  KaUway  Comp—^ 
S?e  decided  to  erect  ^xtensive  gccd,  war^«« 
near  Whitehall-road,  Leeds.  The  pluis »'"«  «• 
p^ared  by  Mr.  S.  B.  Wcrthmgtou,  engineer,  of 
Manch.'sler.  ....,,  x-    n 

The  local  board  of  Stainland-cum-OId-Lmd^y. 
near  Huddersfield,  last  week  aiT-mtcl  «'• 
Joshua  HelliweU  as  their  surveyor. 

The  Tc.wn-hall  at  Sowerby  Bridge  has  J»'t  »^ 
.r.U{nT  ii  400  bv  thehmited  company  to  whom  it 
riong'l  toTe' Joint-Stock  Banking  Cora,«iy, 
for  the  eillargement  of  the  bank  premiaes 


470 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Price  of  Architecture.— II 

Mercantile  Architecture  in  the  City       

St.  Pancras  Industrial  Exhibition 

On  St.  Alban's  Cathedral  West  Front 

Rliind  Lectures  in  Archieolo^y       

Recent  Methods  of  Te>tinj  Portland  Cement 

Chips 

Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 

Colog-ne  Cathedral        

Architectural  Photogrraphs  from  Norfolk     ... 

A  "  Spiht  Fi-esco  "  Paintingr    

Meeting  of  Metropoli  tan  Brickmakers 

Suggestions  for  Creo.yo  ting  Timber 

Competitions 

Archittctui-al  and  Archaeological  Societies  ... 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents . . . 
The  "  Building  Nii\ 
Correspondence     ... 

Intercommunication    

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters 

Legal  Intelligence...    

Our  Office  Table    

Trade  News    

Tenders    


i  *'  Designing  Club 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

WEST  FRONT  OF  ST.  ALBAn's  ABBEY.— ST.  MARY's  PEIORY, 
FULnAM-ROAD. — inON  SCREEX,  CADBURY  HOUSE,  SOMER- 
SET. —  B0II.DING9  IN  TUREADNEEDLE-STREET  FOR  THE 
MERCHANT  TAYLORS*  COMPANY.— BOARD  SCHOOLS  AT 
BATLET. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations. 

\VEST  FRONT,    ST.    ALBAn's    ABBEY. 

Foe  a  descriptlou  of  these  sketches  see  Canon 
D.ivy's  article  on  p.  4G6. 

ST.  MAKY's  rKIOKY,  FUIHAH-EOAD. 
This  is  an  addition  to  very  plain  buildings 
which  have  hitherto  served  as  the  monastery  of 
the  servite  monks,  or  servants  of  Mary,  founded 
in  Florence  in  the  13  th  century.  The  site  is 
unmbered  264,  Fulham-road,  close  to  the  south 
end  of  Redcliffe-gardons.  Owing  to  the  want 
of  space,  the  Catholic  Church,  built  in  1873, 
which  the  monks  serve,  had  to  be  placed  in  the 
rear  of  the  old  house  ;  later  on,  a  small  addition 
was  made  in  front  of  the  old  house,  and  this 
building  now  forms  the  communication  between 
the  old  house  and  the  building  shown  in  our 
view.  Besides  providing  what  accommodation 
was  required  by  the  growth  of  the  order,  it 
serves  to  direct  the  eye  to  the  situation  of  the 
church,  which  had  hitherto  been  difficult  to  find 
by  strangers.  The  accommodation  provided 
consists  of  three  reception  rooms  on  the  ground 
floor,  a  community  room  and  three  cells  on  the 
first  floor,  and  a  noviate  and  four  cells  on  the 
second  iioor.  The  corridors  are  all  over  6ft. 
wide,  to  serve  the  purpose,  in  a  small  way,  of 
cloisters,  which  cannot  be  obtained  on  such  a 
limited  area.  The  walls  are  buUt  of  ordinaiy 
stock  bricks,  with  Ham-hill  stone  dres.siiigs,  the 
same  as  the  church,  which,  likewise,  is  in  the 
Early  English  style.  The  building  is  unfor- 
tunately over-topped  by  adjoining  buildings. 
All  the  new  buildings  on  the  site  are  from  the 
designs  of  Itfessrs.  Joseph  A.  Hansom  and  Son, 
of  27,  Alfred-pUcc,  W.,  South  Kensington, 
under  whose  supervision  this  last  addition 
was  built  by  Mr.  Frank  Wilkins,  of  32,  Fulham- 
voad,  the  cost  being  £1,620,  which  also  includes 
several  changes  in  the  old  buildings.  The 
Ham-hiU  stone  was  supplied,  ready  worked, 
from  the  quarries  of  Mr.  Charles  Trask,  at 
Norton-sub- Hamdom.  The  joinery  is  of  pitch- 
pine,  and  the  roof  slated.  The  ground-floor 
corridors  are  laid  with  tiles.  Orer  the  front 
door  are  carved  the  insignia  of  the  Servite  order, 
the  letters  M.  and  S.,  for  Maria  Servi,  forming 
part  of  a  sevenfold  Uly  eradicated,  representing 
the  seven  founders  of  the  order,  the  whole 
crowned.  The  elevation  is  a  welcome  addition 
to  this  part  of  the  Fulham-road. 

lEOX  SOBEEN. 

This  screen,  tl.c  drawing  of  whic'j  was  ex- 
hibited at  the  Royal  Academy,  was  designed  by 
Mr  Walter  Lane,  for  Messrs.  Conrath  and  Sons, 
of  North  Audley-street. 


CADBUEY   HOUSE,    S0MEE3ET. 

This  heuse,  the  residence  of  the  Rev.  J.  W. 
Hardman,  LL.D.,  situated  in  the  high  country 
overlooking  Clevedon  and  low-lying  land  west 
of  Bristol,  built  about  seven  years  ago,  may  be 
said  to  be  jointly  the  work  of  the  architect, 
Mr.  T.  Drew,  and  the  owner,  an  ingenious 
arch.=pologist.  The  house  embraces  a  portion  of 
a  small  villa  house,  previously  existing,  which 
has  been  gabled  and  worked  into  the  general 
design.  Tlie  newer  portion  of  the  house,  con- 
sisting of  the  porch,  screened  hall,  solar,  stair- 
case, dining-room,  &c.,  is  arranged  on  lines 
familiar  in  many  plans  of  old  English  manor 
houses.  Taken  in  connection  with  the  circum- 
stances that  it  has  been  built  up  in  great 
measui'e  of  miscellaneous  derelict  gatherings  of 
the  owner,  saved  from  destruction  by  him  about 
his  neighbourhood  in  past  years,  consisting  of 
old  fire  places,  mullioned  windows,  oak  panel- 
ling, &c.,  all  introduced  with  skill  and  ingenuity, 
it  would  easily  be  mistaken  by  many  skUled  ones 
for  a  very  genuine  old  English  manor-house. 
It  seems  a  legitimate  use  enough  of  many 
interesting  things  which  would  otherwise  have 
been  lost,  and  this  picturesque  reproduction  of  an 
average  old  English  house  harmoniously  con- 
tains an  extensive  and  valuable  collection  of 
old  English  furniture,  curiosities,  and  articles 
of  rirtt,. 

NEW   BUILDINGS  TOE  THE  MEECHANT   TAYLOEs' 
COMPANY. 

These  buildings  have  recently  been  erected  on 
the  east  and  south  .sides  of  the  garden  in  the 
rear  of  the  Merchant  Taylors'  Hall  in  Thread- 
needle-street.  The  ground  floor  contains  a 
court-room,  a  committee-room,  and  a  library, 
and  on  the  other  floors  are  various  offices  and 
apartments.  The  windows,  strings,  &c.,  are 
executed  in  Portland  stone,  the  walls  are  faced 
with  Spinkwell  stone,  oat  tooled  with  vertical 
strokes,  with  margins  of  horizontal  strokes,  and 
the  roofs  are  slated  with  Eureka  green  slates. 
The  buildings  have  been  designed  by  Mr. 
Edward  I' Anson,  and  Mr.  George  Shaw,  of 
Page-street,  Westminster,  was  the  contractor. 
The  drawings  were  on  view  at  the  recent 
Academy  exhibition. 

C.iELINGHOW  BOARD  SCHOOLS,  BATLEY. 

My  object  in  having  these  drawings  illustrated 
is  to  show  the  great  difference  in  cost  of  buQd- 
ings  now  and  .si.x  years  ago.  In  your  con- 
temporary the  Architect  of  August  16th, 
1S70,  drawings  of  mine  were  illustrated  of  a 
school  I  am  now  completing,  and  I  gave  the 
comparison  of  cost  in  various  ways,  which  fioni 
the  corresiJondence  it  created  afterwards,  proved 
to  be  interesting.  This  per.spective  drawing 
was  prepared  before  the  plans  were  sent  to  the 
Education  Department  for  approval,  and  does 
not  show  the  exterior  exactly  as  it  is  now  beinf 
built,  as  the  plans  were  returned  with  a  request 
that  part  of  the  ashlar  and  ornamental  masonry, 
such  as  architraves,  centre  pediment,  gable 
fillings,  &c.,  should  be  struck  out,  which  was 
done ;  and  by  a  careful  calculation  since  the 
design  was  reduced,  I  find  the  saving  in  cost  in 
accei)ted  scheme  is  £1-19,  priced  out  at  the 
accepted  contract  schedule.  These  schools  con- 
tain three  departments,  as  sliown  by  the  plans  ; 
the  infants'  school  contains  in  school  and  class- 
rooms 2,2.30  super,  feet,  and  accommodates  250 
children,  being  exactly  9  super,  feet  per  child. 
The  girls'  and  boys'  school  each  contains  2,000 
super,  feet  and  accommodates  200,  which  gives 
10  super,  feet  each.  The  schools  were  let  by 
public  competition,  and  the  accepted  tenders  are 
as  follows,  viz :  — 

Masons' and  bricklayers' work £1.870    0  0 

Carpenters' and  joiners' work 738    0  0 

Pluinbers' and  glaziers' work  .........  93    0  0 

Plasterers' work    112  10  0 

Ironfuunder  and  smiths' work    60    0  0 

Sl.iteis' work 143  12  0 

Painters'  and  stainers'  work 40    0  0 

£3,057  2  0 
These  contracts  include  all  excepting  the  hot- 
water  apparatus  and  gas-fittings.  The  total 
cost  being  £3,037  2s.,  and  the  accommodation 
650,  it  gives  the  cost  upon  these  contracts  as 
£4_  143.  per  head  only.  The  quality  and 
weight  of  material  are  siniUar  to  what  I  used 
for  Board  Schools  seven  years  ago.  The  whole 
of  the  external  walls  are  of  stone,  three  of  the 
fronts  being  of  the  brst  pitched  dolph,  one  of 
the  hardest  and  best  wallstones  in  the  countrj-. 
The  ashlar  is  the  best  white  from  Iloliufirth. 


The  whole  of  the  joiners'  work  and  floor-boards  j 
throughout  are  of  pitch-pine,  with  pitch-pine  i 
wainscot  round  all  rooms.  The  roof  is  partly  , 
camp  ceiled,  with  part  of  each  binding  exposed, 
which  is  again  of  pitch-pine.  All  internal  doors 
are  If  thick  and  have  glass  top  panels.  The  top 
part  of  every  window  is  hung  to  open  inwards. 
The  slating  is  Bangor,  24"  x  12".  The  ventila- 
tion will  be  effected  by  a  perforated  board  on 
top  side  each  tie-beam,  admitted  in  the  false  roof 
by  doors  worked  by  cords  from  below  and  from 
thence  to  the  outside  by  open  lou\Tes  in  gables. 
I  have  adopted  this  system  in  a  score  similar 
buildings  before,  and  so  far  have  found  nothing 
to  answer  better.  All  the  rooms,  lobbies, 
passages  &c.,  will  be  effectually  warmed  by 
Perkins' system  of  wrought-iron  hot-water  pipes. 
The  following  particulars  are  copied  from  a  daily 
paper  of  August  6th,  1874,  which  gives  a  long 
account  of  eight  Board  Schools  just  completed 
for  the  Bradford  School  Board,  and  are,  as  the 
figures  will  show,  some  of  the  most  expensive  of 
any   erected   in   England. 


Name  of  School. 

II 
1"" 

Cost  of 
Land, 

Total 
cost. 

Cost  per 
head. 

50O 
600 
480 
800 
200 
GOO 
800 
600 

£ 
3,460 
2,21)0 
2,300 
8,750 

700 
3,350 
2,S0O 

£ 
14,976 
13,659 
12,300 
23,832 
6,208 
15,150 
18,029 

£    s.  d. 

Bowling  Back-lane 

Dudley-hill    

Fevershani-street. . . 

27    6    4 
25  12    6 
29  15    0 
31     0    9 

25    5    0 

22  10    8 

Whetley-lane    

3,6C0 

12,275 

20    9    2 

I  may  add  these  schools,  as  far  as  I  have  seen, 
are  of  the  most  substantial  character  and 
cobtly  finish. — Walter  Hanstoce,  A.R.I. B. A, 
Batley. 


CHIPS. 

The  parish-church  of  Woodhouse-Eaves,  Derhy- 
shire,  was  reopened  on  Wednesday  week  after  re- 
storation, effected  at  a  cost  of  £2.000.  The  church 
has  been  reseated,  the  west  gallery  removed,  the 
tower- arch  opened  out.  new  floors  laid,  and  the 
whole  building  re-roofed.  A  sou*h  transept,  and  a 
new  organ  within  it,  are  the  gift  of  Sir  Titus  Salt ; 
a  north  transept  has  also  been  thrown  out,  and 
contains  four  stained-g'ass  windows  in  memory  of 
the  Herrick  family,  of  BeaumauorPark,  by  Messrs. 
CUyfcon  and  Bel),  of  Regent-street,  Loudon.  Mr. 
EvFan  Christian,  of  London,  was  the  architect, 
and  Mr.  Black,  of  Barrow,  was  the  contractor. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  Taun- 
ton, a  report  was  made  on  the  progressof  the  works 
for  increased  water  supply,  which  have  been  car- 
ried out  at  Leif^h-hill,  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  J.  H.  Smith,  surveyor.  When  the  works  were 
purchased  a  year  or  two  since  for  £20,000,  the 
minimum  supply  was  52  gallous  per  head.  About 
£8,000  has  since  been  spent  on  the  works,  with 
the  result  that  the  minimum  had  been  raised  from 
■yl  to  70  gallons  per  minute,  and  there  is  reason  to 
expect  a  further  large  increase  in  yield. 

The  parish-church  of  Hartshead-cum-Clifton, 
near  Halifax,  is  in  course  of  restoration,  from  the 
plans  of  Mr.  W.  Swinden  Barber,  of  Halifax.  A 
new  porch,  Norman  in  character,  to  harmoijise 
with  the  ancient  inner  doorway,  and  an  organ- 
chamber,  are  being  added ;  the  north  aisle  wall  is 
being  rebuilt,  and  the  whole  of  the  roofs  rebuilt. 

The  Dudley  school  board  on  Monday  adopted 
plans  by  their  architect,  Mr.  Davies,  for  the  en- 
largement of  Netherton  board  schools. 

Mr.  Frederick  Edwards,  jun.,  is  preparing  for 
publication  a  new  and  revised  edition  of  his  book 
on  "The  Ventilation  of  Dwelling-houses  and  the 
Utilisation  of  Waste  Heat  from  Open  Fire-places." 
with  a  chapter  on  the  ''  Country  Parson's  Grate,'' 
and  other  modern  fire-places. 

There  are  two  candidates  for  the  Disney  Pro- 
fessorshijD  of  of  Archceology  at  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity, vacant  by  Ihe  resignation  of  Dr.  Chuuhill 
Babington,  viz.,  Mr.  Percy  Gardner,  of  the  British 
Museum,  formerly  Fellow  of  Christ's,  and  the  Kov. 
S.  S.  Lewisj  Fellow  of  Corpus  Christi. 

Pumping  was  restarted  in  the  shaftof  the  Severn 
Tunnel  ou  Thursday  week,  ia  the  presence  of  Sir 
John  Hawkshaw  and  Son,  the  engineers.  The 
engine  now  employed  is  one  of  the  largest  of  its 
kind  at  work  in  Ei'gland;  the  cylinder  is  6ft.  3in. 
in  diameter,  and  the  pipes  are  3ft.  Sin  ,  the  total 
throwing  power  beiu^  equal  to  2,2-30  gallons  of 
water  per  minute.  Three  smaller  pumps  have 
also  been  set  to  work  in  the  shaft,  and  the  water  is 
being  rapidly  got  under. 


r. 

X. 

o 


The  Building  J^ews.Oct  22.  I^oO. 


West  Front- SALBAN  5 -ABBEY  •  ilMroHnd  paper  by  Canon  Davys 

Plir>toXitlicgMpIi«!iIVint«Jby  Jan»cEAltmn«n.6.Qu»ea  Square.WC 


The  Building  Rews.Oct  22.  I7>7vO 


PkololnhoJiaphe<ilfti»lrffcyJ««e8Alicrmui,6  Queen  Scioiue.W  C 


The  Building  [^ews.Oct  22.  IaZvO. 


^^^  -^Tf^nfry^-i^    ^'-Mn^^-^^  ■^■^^' ^t-  ^^i^^vi^^M^" 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


483 


COLOGNE   CATHEDRAL. 

rpHE  completion  of  the  Cathedral  of  Cologne 
X  was  celebrated  on  Friday  last  by  a  grand 
ceremony,  in  -n-hich  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
of  Germany  took  a  leading  part.  So  much  has 
been  -written  dm-ing  the  past  week  about  the 
building,  its  strange  history  and  vicissitudes, 
that  we  need  do  little  more  than  refer  our 
readers  to  an  article  on  the  cathedral  published 
in  the  Builing  News  for  April  12,  1S7S,  and 
indicate  the  outlines  of  its  progress.  More  than 
G32  years  hare  elapsed  since  the  foundation- 
stone  was  laid  of  the  cathedral  now  but  com- 
pleted in  the  rough,  on  the  site  of  an  older 
Baailican  structure.  The  architect's  name  can 
only  be  conjectured  from  casual  references  to 
the  building  in  contemporary  chronicles.     The 


60ft.  higher  than  the  highest  part  of  the  interior 
of  Westminster  Abbey.  Tet  at  CologT\o  the 
width  of  the  nave  and  choir,  without  the  aisles, 
is  very  little  over  tOft.,  and  in  that  immense  in- 
terior there  is  positively  no  space  clear  of  pillars 
larger  than  a  square  of  40ft.  The  extra  width, 
therefore,  is  obtained  by  double  aisles,  and  the 
result  is  a  forest  of  tall  pillars.  Tourists  with  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  to  utilise  generally  spend 
most  of  it  in  trying  to  see  the  roof,  and  make  out 
some  bosses  of  special  beauty  and  interest ;  but 
the  mere  distance  of  that  vaulting  from  the  eye 
interferes  with  its  effect  as  a  vista  stretching 
before  the  spectator,  as  well  as  above  him.  But 
there  are  graver  faults  even  than  these,  or 
even  than  the  dumpy  and  crowded  effect  of  the 
exterior.  The  design  wants  originality.  It 
wants  free,  inventive,  and  creative  grace.     It  is 


present  current  of  opinion  sets  in  favour  of  I  an  endless  repetition  of  the  same  identical  forms 
ascribing  the  credit  to  one  Gerard  Von  Eiehl,  — the  same  pillars,  the  same  windows,  the  same 
as,  in  a  document  of  1257,  it  is  stated  :  "Magister  |  niches,  the  same  mouldings,  the  same  pinnacles. 


Gerardus   lapicida   rector  fabricre  ecclesia>  ma- 
joris."     The  story  of  erection  seems,  from  the 
first,  to  have  been  one  of  a  spasmodic,  but  when 
resolved  upon,   systematic,    begging   for   funds 
throughout  Europe  ;  a  fitful  execution  of  repairs 
that  little  more  than  counterbalanced  the  natural 
decay   of   the   fabric,  followed   by   alternating 
periods  of   neglect  and   restoration.     How  the 
choir  was  consecrated  in  1322  ;  how,  for  a  few 
years,  progress  was  made  with  the  foundations 
of  nave  and  west  front ;  ho w,  1 1 5  years  after  the 
opening  of  the  choir,  the  bells  were  raised  to  the 
south-west  tower;    how    at   the   beginning   of 
the    I6th    century,    just     after     the    insertion 
of    painted    glass    in    the    north   aisle   of    the 
nave,  the  wave  of  the   Reformation  swept  over 
Germany,  diverting  attention  from  the  Cathedral 
at  Cologne  for  three  centuries  ;  and  how,  in  the 
second  quarter  of  the  current  century,  the  work 
of  building  was  taken  up  as  a  matter  of  national, 
rather  than  religious  pride  and  duty,  and  carried 
forward  with   increasing   energy  to  its  comple- 
tion ;  aU  this   has   been   told  ofttimes  and  well. 
The  superintending  architects   ("  Dombaumeis- 
ters")  since  the  re-commencement  of  the  works 
in  1823,  have  been  Albert,    who   acted  on   the 
reports  of  Schinkel;  Ernst  Zwirner,  who  suc- 
ceeded at   Albert's   death   in   1833  ;    and  more 
recently  Voigtel,     The  outlay  from  1842,  when 
the  Dombauverein,  or  association  for  the  restora- 
tion and  completion  of  the  Cathedral,  was  esta- 
bUshed  to  the  end  of  1878,  was  £380,000,  and 
from  1822  to  the  present  time  about  half  a  mil- 
lion pounds  sterling  have  been  expended.     The 
works  of  the  past  two  or  three  years  have  been 
restricted  to  the  raising  of  the  twin  stone  spires 
on  the  western  towers,  and  the  redressing  of  the 
entire  masonry  in  the  southern  tower,  erected 
during  the  14th  century.      In  the  first  .story  of 
this    tower,  a   great   clock,    by  Mannhardt,   of 
Munich,  has  been  placed,  and  within  it  are  hung 
a  peal  of  five   bells,  of  which  the   largest,  the 
"Emperor"    bell,     cast     from    cannon    taken 
during      the      Franco-Prussian     war,     weighs 
twenty-iive  tons.     The  ceremony  performed  last 
Friday  included  in  its  essentials  a  procession,  in 
which  were  represented  the  workmen  in  the  cos- 
tumes of  the  different  periods   during  the  whole 
six  and   a   third  centuries  through  which  the 
building  has  been  in  course  of  erection  ;  followed 
by  the  affixing  in  the  Dom  Platz  of   the  signa- 
tures of  the  Emperor  and  Empress  and  all  the 
Federal  princes  and  dignitaries  of  the  Empire  to 
a  deed,  which  was  then  drawn  up  by  machinery 
to  the  top  of   the   southern   spire,  and  inclosed 
within  the  capstone.     The  chief  architect,  Herr 
Voigtel,  and  the  President  of  the  Dombauverein 
are  reported  to  have  made  long  speeches  in  reply 
to  the  congratulations  of  the  Emperor.     In  con- 
ception, Cologne  Cathedral  marks  an  early  period 
of  the  Gothic  style  ;   only  a  score  of  years  later 
than  Salisbury,  it  shows  a  considerably  more  ad- 
vanced stage  of  architecture.     A  writer  in  the 
Thncs,  after  claiming  for  this   building  that  it 
has  done  more   than  any  other  to  sustain   the 
character  of  that  style  throughout  the  times  of 
the   PaUadian  revival,  and  to  bring  about  the 
change  back   to    the  Gothic  style,  criticises  its 
weak  points  in  words   that  justify  quotation  :  — 
The  proportions  seem  rather   mathematic   than 
really  .-esthetic.     The  towers— over  five  hundred 

feet are  as  high  as  the  cathedral  is  long,  which 

is  not  long  enough  for  either  internal  or  external 
effect.  The  external  height  of  the  roof  is  about 
equal  to  the  width  of  the  transepts— that  is, 
more  than  230ft.  The  internal  height  of  the 
building  is  over  160ft.,  which  is  twice  the  usual 
inlernal  height  of  our  first-class  cathedrals,  and 


the  same  ornamental  features.  "When  you  have 
seen  a  part  you  have  seen  all — that  is,  so  far  as 
the  details  are  concerned.  This  seems  to  reduce 
the  edif.ce  to  an  enormous  exaggeration  and 
multiplication — a  mere  feat  of  ambitious  arith- 
metic, instead  of  a  work  of  true  art. 


ARCHITECTURAL  PHOTOGR.iPHS 
FROM  NORFOLK. 

A  COLLECTION  of  photographs  is  now  on 
view  at  the  Royal  Architectural  Museum, 
representing  every  building  (with  one  or  two 
exceptions)  visited  by  the  Architectural  Associa- 
tion during  their  recent  excursion  in  Norfolk,* 
while  of  the  larger  and  more  important  buildings 
several  illustrations  are  given ;  thus  exemplifying 
almost  all  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  archi- 
tecture of  Nom'ich  and  its  neighbourhood. 

The  photographer  was  Mr.  John  L.  Robin- 
son, architect,  of  Dublin,  who  has  placed  his 
negatives  in  the  hands  of  a  firm  of  professional 
photographers  in  Dublin,  who  have  agreed  to 
supply  members  of  the  Association  and  their 
fiiends  at  cheap  rates.  As  we  have  already 
described  more  or  less  at  length  most  of  the 
buildings  here  represented,  we  can  only  now 
allude  to  some  few  of  the  points  of  interest 
specially  shown  by  the  more  important  photo- 
graphs on  view  at  Westminster,  as  typical  of 
the  rest.  The  series,  fully  numbered  and  named, 
is  mounted  on  twelve  large  sheets  of  cardboard, 
and  starts  with  several  news  at  Norwich, 
concluding  with  some  fine  pictures  from  Ely  and 
Peterborough,  in  which  places  Mr.  Robinson 
continued  his  holiday. 

Sheet  No.  1  includes  a  good  S.  view  almost  in 
elevation  of  the  cathedral,  which  gives  the  spire 
to  the  best  advantage.  A  large  interior  of  the 
nave  from  a  scaffolding  half-way  up  the  tri- 
forium  arcade  level,  presents  an  unusually  vast 
and  unbroken  view,  chiefly  secured  by  the  fact 
that  the  choir  and  apse  are  seen  from  this  height 
above  the  ugly  organ  and  its  massive  screen, 
which,  from  more  usual  points  of  view,  quite 
block  out  all  beyond  the  crossing.  The  water- 
o-ate  and  three  other  gateways  to  the  Cathedral 
Close  and  Bishop's  Palace  Grounds  figure  here 
and  furnish  good  examples  of  cut  flint  work.  1  lie 
specimen,  however,  over  the  north  Close  entrance 
from  Tombland,  the  Ethelbert-gate,  is  qmte  a 
comparatively  recent  restoration.  _  The  sheet 
also  includes  a  group  of  the  excursionists  taken 
at  North  Walsham.  A  fine  bright  view  from 
the  cloisters  shows  the  spire  on  the  angle,  and 
the  hitherto  unshown  Lady-chapel  entrance 
with  late  restorations,  are  illustrated  with  a 
view  from  the  organ-screen  of  the  choir  Ihe 
GuUdhaU  door,  which  was  reaUy  taken  not  long 
since  from  an  old  house  in  London-street,  now 
demolished,  figures  also  on  sheet  No.  2,  with  the 
much-debated  ruin  in  the  Palace  garden,  said  to 
have  served  as  a  halting- place  for  processions  a 
piu-pose  for  which  there  seems  to  be  but  little 
authority.  A  nice  view  of  the  weH-served 
Church  of  St.  John,  Maddermarket,  with  a 
good  detail  of  one  of  its  side  screens  curious 
for  having  an  entrance  on  either  side,  figures 
next  a  view  of  the  badly  -  restored  and 
hideously-staUed  chancel  of  St.  ^'^^""""llh^t 
its  gimcrack  modern  screens.  A  somewhat 
distorted  photograph  comically  represents  the 
excursionists  at  Trunch  on  sheet  ^o  3,  and 
here  are  seen  views  of  St  Andrew  s  HaU 
Norwich,  both  inside  and  out,  with  some  back 
ftreetview^^howing_Jh^typical^^^^ 

•  See  BciLDisG  News,  Aug.  13,  20,  and  27,  ISSO. 


dormers,  as  in  Bor-strcot,  or  tlio  view  up  a  hill 
looking  at  the  prominent  tower  of  St.  Gilon'a. 
Worstead,  Attlclxirough,  and  CiiWHton  form  three 
fine  interiors  side  by  side,  tlie  compariiion  in- 
creasing, if  possible,  the  beauty  of  the  magni- 
ficent roof  of  the  last-named  buflding.  The  flno 
rood-screen  crammod  against  tho  west  w«U  of 
Attloborough  church  remainn  08  an  example  of 
tho  vandalism  of  some  of  tho  clergy.  Tho  fontii 
at  Knapton  (now  unused  to  make  way  for  u  slop- 
basin),  Trunch,  Salle,  Ea»t  iJerehiim,  Cuwuton, 
and  Worstead  are  hero  ubly  photoijruphed  with 
some  unconmioidy  fine  details  in  three  nhoeta  of 
the  stalls  at  Trunch.  Tlio  sediliu,  or,  aa  some 
call  it,  altar-tomb,  at  Wyniondliam,  utems  of 
similar  character,  though  later  date,  to  thin 
"  baptistery,"  and  bears  some  conNiderublc  like- 
ness to  a  tomb  in  ono  of  the  Norwich  churthcn. 
Of  tombs,  the  principal  one  is  the  larxo  altar 
tomb  of  Lord  Morley,  who  died  in  113.)  at 
Ilingham,  and  it  well  deserves  a  place,  though 
unfortunately  the  jhotograph  hero  hardly  dixn 
it  justice.  In  screens,  several  photograpim,  a« 
might  be  expected,  are  rich,  specially  thoDO  at 
Tnmch,  Worstead  (west  end),  Attloborough 
(ah'eady  referred  to),  Edingthorpo,  and  Knapton. 
No.  6  gives  a  sheet  of  entrances  and  south 
porches,  headed  by  the  fine  specimens  of  flint- 
work  from  Worstead  and  Ay  If  ham,  and  N. 
porch  example  at  Wymondham,  which  ht 
entirely  of  stone,  hereabouts  unusual.  The 
lychgate  from  Aylsham,  aud  the  elaborate 
doors,  with  traceried  detail,  from  Deopham, 
should  be  secured  in  makinjf  a  selection.  NVal- 
singham  and  Bromholm  I'riory  aro  carefully 
and  well-represented  by  views  46,  4S,  49,  .M, 
J,  51,  52,  and  53,  all  of  which  should  be  chosen, 
especially  that  of  tho  gateway  at  Walsingham. 
the  last-named.  Some  fine  carvings  in  the 
way  of  guTgoyles  aro  here  seen,  and  also 
the  peeping  heads.  The  etairca,se  to  the 
refectory  at  Walsingham  is  also  shown.  The 
Chapel  of  Houghton-in-the-Dalo  is  a  very- 
interesting  photograph.  East  Barsliam  Hall 
is  illustrated  not  less  fully  than  it_  deserves 
to  be  by  views,  numbered  54,  5G,  57,  K,  and  58. 
The  general  -view  K  is  a  very  good  photograph. 
Sheet  No.  9  is  devoted  to  a  series  of  interiors, 
all  of  interest,  and  a  set  of  exterior  views  are 
arranged  on  sheet  No.  10.  These  latter  include 
Salle,  with  its  open  bclfrj'  and  ringing-stage 
piercing;  East  Dereham,  Deopham,  Attle- 
borough,  Knapton,  and  E  Jingthorpe,  aU  of  which 
are  well  worth  havmg,  for  more  reasons  than 
one  With  this  sheet  the  excursion  sencs  of 
photographs  concludes.  Sheets  II  and  12  are 
devoted  to  Peterborough  and  Ely.  Of  the 
former,  an  entirely  fresh  view  of  the  west  front 
is  obtained  by  photo  Ka,  while  L  and  0  furm..h 
fine  details.  The  first-named  show.s  the  cathe- 
dral from  the  cloister  garth;  and  the  last- 
named  gives  a  piece  of  the  cloister,^  with  the 
well-known  gateway.  Twoviewaof  the  intenor 
and  porch  complete  the  sheet,  and  the  Market- 
hou3-3  at  Peterborough  is  quamtly  shown  on  tho 
next  series  of  views,  where  also  fomc  fine 
wrou-ht-iron  work  in  the  palace  g«"len  .^ 
o-iven"  Of  Ely  a  good  mtcnor  shows  Mr. 
Gambler  Parry's  ceiling  to  the  nave,  anf  ^^^^ 
nice  bits  from  the  exterior.  Jhese  photogroph 
will  remain  on  view  at  the  Koya  Arch.teotun. 
Museum  during  the  week,  and  wUl  be  exhibite-i 
at  the  A.A.  conrcrsa:ioiie  on  Friday  next. 


A  "SPIRIT  FRESCO"  PAINTING. 
TE  have  seen  a  fresco  painting  f^iif^^^^r. 


"IT7  £.  nave  seeu   ■>  »'^- —  i  ■•      .„„,i,:il 

>\        PhiUp  Harry   Newman    of    Ampthil  - 
square,  has  jist  completed  on  the  ^^^^^?^f_ 
'       i!  J  p.-ter  8   Church,    iJeisizc- 

"^1  ^''T.l :  .hfect  repented  by  the  artU.  .< 


Ch 


St.  Luke  vi.  ch.. 


ii<r<rpsted  bv  the  verse    .-    — -  --  , 

ofh  verse,  describing  the  multitude  wh-  soogb 


to  touch  him.     "."""  ^'''"  "'"Tt '   ick    h.ilt,   and 
.  i.:_        Hohind  her  is  a  .«Kk 


on  her  knees  before  hun_  ^^^^^  ^, 

man  Inng   on   a  bed,  over  »"  ,^,j  j, 

tenderly  matching,  while  on    he  e^ 


blind 


man    being    '^^^  •«"- ^  b^'hi^d    the 


" '""hand:  an"d  with  the  other 


Saviour.     Here ' 

leaning  f"«'"'^<*^  ??f„^";";"the  hem  of  Christ's 
*r^"7totherigh?VaU  Another  figun.  is 
robe,  and  to  the  rigni  background  are 


481 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


and  grouping  the  picture  is  a  success ;  the  figures 
are  ■well  balanced :  to  pick  holes  we  might  be  dis- 
posed to  find  fault  with  some  of  them.  There  is, 
perhaps,  a  want  of  distinctness,  or  relief  of  light 
and  shadowand  gradation  here  and  there,  though 
every  allowance  has  to  be  made  for  the  artist 
who  has  to  produce  his  effect  under  a  side  light 
of  a  richly- tinted  and  imperfect  kind.  The  east 
window,  filled  with  stained-glass  subjects,  is 
the  nearest  light  available,  and  Mr.  Newman  has 
has  had  to  contend  with  the  bright  luminous 
colouring  of  the  glass,  so  often  fatal  to  interior 
wall  paintings.  The  colouring  of  the  fresco  is 
consequently  in  high-light  tones,  and  is  best  seen 
in  the  morning. 

As  a  recent  instance  of  the  use  of  Mr. 
Crambier  Parry's  new  ^'spirit  fresco"  pro- 
cess, recently  described  in  the  BtJiLiirN'o  News 
{see  Vol.  XXXIX..  p.  92),  this  fresco  has  more 
than  ordinary  interest  to  the  artist.  Mr.  Parry 
claims  the  following  among  other  advantages  of 
ihe  process :  durability ;  power  to  resist  damp 
and  change  of  temperature  ;  luminous  eifect ;  and 
a  dead  surface.  Good  common  porous  stucco  is 
the  material  Mr.  Newman  has  had  to  work  upon, 
and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that,  in  spite  of 
conditions  not  favourable  to  pictorial  effect,  his 
work  speaks  well  for  the  process,  andthe  handling 
is  thoroughly  decorative.  The  chancel  walls  and 
roof  are  richly  coloured,  bands  of  stencil  patterns 
occupying  the  f-pace  bttween  the  fresco  and  the 
choir-seating,  and  on  the  north  side  painted 
figures  occur  in  the  spandrels.  The  spaces  be- 
tween the  rafters  are  also  relieved  by  bright 
colours,  which  have  tended  to  impair  the  effect 
of  a  fresco  painting.  Kound  the  picture,  which 
is  1.5ft.  by  8ft.  liigh,  is  a  border  of  gold,  en- 
riched by  a  pattern.  Those  who  are  anxious  to 
see  the  effect  of  the  "  spirit  fresco "  mode  of 
painting  so  highly  recommended  by  Sir  F. 
Leighton,  P.E.A.,  who  has  recently  adopted  it 
in  the  large  new  lunette  at  South  Kensington, 
cannot  do  better  than  examine  the  luminous  and 
highly-creditable  decorative  fresco  Mr.  Newman 
has  just  completed  in  St.  Peter's  Church. 


MEETING   OF  METROPOLITAN  BEICK- 
M^VXEES. 

THE  brick  manufacturers  supplying  the  Me- 
tropolitan districts  having  no  organised 
association,  a  meeting  of  the  chief  makers  is  con- 
vened about  Michaelmas  in  each  year  at  the 
Malt  and  Hop  Exchange  in  Southwark-street,  to 
talk  over  matters  affecting  the  trade.  That  for 
ISSO  took  place  yesterday  (Thursday),  three 
weeks  later  than  usual,  when  Mr.  Wragge  (of 
Messrs.  Eastwood  and  Co.)  was  called  to  the 
chair.  About  a  hundred  persons  were  present 
Tlie  chairman  said  the  seasons  of  1S7S  and  1879 
had  been  very  unfortunate,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  rains  which  penetrated  brick,  but  also  be- 
cause of  the  depression  in  trade,  so  that  both 
supply  and  demand  were  simultaneously  re- 
duced. There  seemed,  however,  to  have 
been  a  general  improvement  this  year  :  in  the 
early  months  the  weather  was  exceedingly  fine, 
the  moulders  did  good  work,  and  the  output 
turned  out  was,  he  estimated  from  all  accounts 
he  had  heard,  equal  to  a  20  per  cent,  increase  on 
1879,  equivalent  to  120  miUion  more  bricks  in 
ihe  districts  supplying  London.  Theraius,  how- 
ever, of  the  past  few  weeks  had  been  generally 
calamitous,  and  woiJd  occasion  loss  to  those 
who  went  on  making  till  late  in  the  season 
While  there  "wus  every  prospect  that  the  good 
harvest  would  give  trade  a  fillip  next  spring, 
there  seemed  little  doubt  that  wages  must  be 
reduced.  Mr.  AViUiani  Eichardson  thought  the 
increased  output  of  this  over  last  year  had  been 
overestimated  ;  he  believed  it  was  only  about 
10  per  cent.  His  own  firm  had  made  22 
in  place  of  17  millions,  and  had  lost  about 
two  millions  of  bricks  by  the  recent  rains. 
Letters  were  read  from  makers  in  two  districts 
of  Kent,  speaking  of  the  great  damage  caused 
by  the  recent  rains,  which  was  corroborated  by 
Messrs.  Minter  (Tilsley's  and  Minter,  of  Cowley), 
Axton,  Smecd,  and  others,  while  Mr.  Stroud 
said  his  firm  had  escaped,  having  ceased  making 
early.  It  was  generally  considered  there  would 
be  mmy  "shutt's''  found  as  the  result  of  the 
sudden  change  of  weather.  Stocks  which  were 
at  the  lowest  last  spring  were  rather  heavy  till 
they  were  thus  reduced.  As  to  prices,  Mr. 
Richardson  had  known  bricks  sold  from  the  river 
at  27s.  per  thousand,  a  price  which  could  not  pay 
interest  on  capital.     Several  makers  said  they 


had  lately  so'd  at  2Ss.  and  29s.,  but  it 
was  agreed  that  the  price  to  be  remimora- 
tive  should  not  range  below  from  2Ss.  Cd. 
31s.,  and  as  stocks  were  now  lowered, 
Mr.  Minter  said  they  had  only  to  be  finu  to 
obtain  fair  prices.  An  animated  conver- 
sation took  place  as  to  the  wages,  the  unanimous 
feeling  being  that  they  are  no-n-  higher  than  can 
be  afforded.  It  appeared  that  in  the  Shepherd's 
Bush,  and  North-West  Metropolitan  districts, 
the  wages,  which  are  now  .5s.  Gd.  per  thousund, 
are  on  the  point  of  being  lowered  by  9d. ,  and  so 
pro  rot II  through  ttie  trade  ;  that  in  the  Cowley 
district  there  vri)!  be  an  effort  to  reduce  from 
4s.  8d.  per  thousand  to  4s.  ;  that  in  the  Sitting- 
bourne  district  a  similar  reduction  will  be  offered : 
that  in  South  Essex  8d.  was  proposed  by  the 
masters  on  an  average  of  5s.,  and  6d.  accepted 
by  the  men  ;  and  the  reduction  on  the  mould 
would  be  almost  uniformly  6d.  per  thousand.  It 
having  been  agreed  to  hold  a  similar  meeting 
next  year,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman 
closed  the  hour's  proceedings. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOE  CEEOSOTING 
TIMBER. 

THE  value  of  creosoting  timber  is  attested  by 
Mr.  Putnam,  an  Associate  of  the  American 
Society  of  Ciril  Engineers,  who  plainly  says 
timber  saturated  with  coal-tar  oil  is  practically 
indestructible,  and  as  durable  as  iron  or  stone, 
and  this  statement  he  verifies  by  actual  obser\'a- 
tion.  He  placed  pieces  of  timber  treated  v/ith 
coal-tar  oil  in  water,  where  the  Tindo  XuvaVts 
abounded,  and  he  found  that  while  the  worms 
entered  the  untreated  portions,  the  creosoted 
parts  were  untouched  by  them.  The  teredo 
would  attack  and  destroy  the  parts  not  satui'ated 
with  the  oil ;  but  wherever  it  came  in  contact 
with  the  creosoted  parts  it  turned  away.  The 
bottoms  of  boats  may  be  protected  by  the  appli- 
cation of  creosote,  and  piles  properly  done  have 
stood  30  and  40  years,  and  are  still  good.  One 
or  two  useful  suggestions  are  made  for  the  selec- 
tion of  timber  to  be  treated.  jMr.  Putnam  says, 
in  effect,  that  the  rules  adopted  by  engineers  in 
selecting  timber  should  be  set  aside  in  the  use  of 
creosoted  timber.  Compact  solid-heart  timber, 
such  as  would  be  selected  for  dui'ability,  is  clearly 
not  the  best  kind  to  saturate.  "The  soft  and 
imripened  growth  or  sapwood  more  readily  ab- 
sorbs oil,  and  becomes  the  more  durable.  I  am 
satisfied,"  says  the  author,  "that  the  more 
porous  and  destructible  classes  of  timber  now 
considered  nearly  worthless  will,  when  creosoted, 
become  the  most  valuable.  Fir,  swamp-ash,  old 
field  pine,  when  treated,  will  outlast  the  best 
white  oak,  yellow  pine,  or  cedar  uncreosoted." 
The  architect  or  engineer  who  has  to  prepare 
specifications  for  creosoted  timber,  ought  to  take 
a  hint  from  this  new  doctrine.  However  un- 
tenable the  advice  appears,  there  is  some  founda- 
tion in  the  statement  ;  to  confirm  which  the 
author  mentions  the  fact  that  he  has  in  his  pos- 
session pieces  of  yellow  pine,  the  sap-wood  of 
which  was  partly  saturated  with  creosote  oO  in 
1872,  and  which  h.id  been  exposed  to  the  earth. 
"Where  the  sapwood  was  treated,  it  is  perfectly 
sound,  but  the  part  left  untreated  and  a  poi-tion 
of  the  heart-wood  are  entirely  rotten.  If  the 
facts  we  have  mentioned  are  verifiable,  it  will 
lead  to  an  important  change  in  the  use  of  the 
lighter  varieties  of  timber  we  have  named,  es- 
pecially for  engineering  purposes.  A  more  ob- 
vious suggestion  is  that  the  cutting  and  framing 
of  timber  should  be  done  before  treatment, 
though  this  is  not  always  possible. 

The  author  proceeds  to  describe  the  method 
adopted  to  treat  timber  at  West  Pascagoula, 
Miss.,  for  bridge-construction.  The  main 
features  of  this  process  may  be  described  to  be  the 
extraction  of  the  sap  in  the  tunber  by  the  appU- 
cation  of  steam,  wliich  vaporises  and  condenses 
the  moisture,  after  which  the  tank  is  filled  with 
oU,  and  a  pressure  applied  by  a  pump  of  from 
1.50  to  200  pounds  per  square  inch.  To  assist  in 
expelling  the  moisture  super-heated  steam  is 
passed  through  coils  of  smaU  pipe  in  the  tank. 

Extensive  additions  and  altei-ations  are  about  to 
be  made  to  the  Congregational  chapel  at  Stubbin, 
near  Sheffield,  from  the  plans  of  Messrs.  Innocent 
and  Brown,  of  Sheffield. 

At  the  StifVordshire  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions, 
on  Monday,  a  vote  of  £35,000  was  granted  for 
enlarging  the  county  pauper  lunatic  asvlum  at 
Stafford. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Glaboow. — The  Peoi-osed  Mi-otcipal  Builu- 
INGS. — On  Thursday  week  a  .special  meeting  of 
the  Glasgow  Town  Council  was  held  to  consider 
the  report  by  Mr.  Charles  Barry,  London,  on 
the  competitive  designs  for  the  neff-  municipal 
buildings.  Lord  Provost  Collins  moved  "that 
it  be  remitted  to  the  Municipal  Buildings  Com- 
mittee to  consider  the  several  designs  lodged  in 
competition,  and  to  report  whether  any,  and  if 
.-o,  what  designs  are  specially  worthy  of  the 
consideration  of  the  Council,  and  express  such 
opinion  thereon  as  they  consider  expedient,  with 
power  to  take  such  professional  assistance  as  the 
committee  may  consider  to  be  necessary.' '  He 
said  that  if  that  motion  was  adopted  it  would 
commit  the  Council  to  nothing,  as  it  kept  the 
matter  open  for  the  new  Council.  Mr.  Osborne 
seconded.  Mr.  Mathieson  thought  it  was  of  no 
use  remitting  the  matter  to  the  committee  again, 
mitil  the  disputed  points  in  connection  with  it 
were  settled,  and  he  moved  as  an  amendment — 
"  That  Mr.  Barry's  report  lie  on  the  table  for 
consideriition  b)-  the  Council  meeting  in  Decem- 
ber, and  that  we  do  not  make  any  remit  to  the 
Municipal  Buildings  Committee."  Bailie  Scott 
seconded.  Mr.  W.  R.  W.  Smith  supported  the 
amendment.  Treasurer  Hamilton  suggested  a 
method  on  which  a  new  competition  might  be 
carried  out.  Mr.  Jackson,  Mr.  Shaw,  Bailie 
Colquhoun,  and  Bailie  Finlay  supported  the 
amendment.  After  further  discussion  the  Lord 
Provost  offered  to  withdraw  his  motion.  A  dis- 
cussion arose  on  the  point  whether  it  had  been 
declared  that  no  decision  shoidd  be  arrived  at  by 
the  present  meeting.  The  Clerk  said  that  wa;r 
the  understanding.  Mr.  Smith,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Yoimg,  moved  the  adjournment  of  the 
debate,  and  on  a  vote  being  taken  15  voted  for 
the  adjournment  and  25  to  go  on,  the  Lord 
Provost  declining  to  vote.  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Mathieson  protested.  Calls  were  then  made  for 
the  vote  to  be  taken  between  the  motion  and 
amendment,  and  further  discussion  took  place  as 
to  whether  a  decision  should  be  come  to.  The 
vote  was  taken  as  between  the  original  motion 
and  amendment,  Mr.  Mathieson  and  Mr.  Smith 
stating  that  as  they  had  protested  they  would 
not  vote  ;  and  Mr.  Mathieson  desiring  his  sup- 
porters also  to  decline  to  vote.  On  the  roll 
having  been  called,  the  result  was  declared  as 
follows: — For  the  motion,  25;  for  the  amend- 
ment, 0;  declined  to  vote,  IG.  Mr.  Smith  and 
Mr.  Mathieson  protested  against  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings, but  ultimately  the  motion  was  declared 
carried. 

Wateefoed. — In  an  open  competition  among 
ai'chiteots  the  design  of  Mr.  Walter  G.  Doolin, 
architect,  of  Dublin,  has  been  selected  for  the 
Waterford  City  Markets.  There  were  thirteen 
competitors.  The  site  presents,  nevertheless, 
some  difficulties,  owing  to  irregularity  both  of 
boundary  and  surface.  By  the  introduetion  of 
the  range  of  shops  or  stalls  in  Peter-street,  and 
the  ring  of  stalls  round  Market-hall,  roofed  at  a 
different  level  from  the  main  roof  of  the  Market- 
hall,  many  difficulties  in  dealing  with  the  main 
roof  are  avoided.  The  site  is  inclosed  on  four 
sides  by  stalls  opening  on  a  central  hall,  or 
covered  hall,  size  74ft.  by  143ft.,  dii-ided  into 
bays,  which  also  mark  the  spaces  for  the  ordi- 
nary open  stalls  by  the  columns  supporting  the 
main  roof,  which  is  in  five  spans.  The  stalls 
suiTOunding  the  Market  hall  will  be  of  the 
nature  of  shops.  The  author  has  made  the 
Market-hall  as  lofty  as  seemed  desirable.  Ven- 
tilation is  secured  by  the  louvred  lantern  ex- 
tending the  whole  length  of  each  span  of  roof. 
It  is  intended  to  face  the  exterior  of  stalls  of 
brickwork — Youghal  and  English  briokes  mixed, 
using  Waterford  bricks  on  the  inside  of  wall. 
All  internal  division  walls  to  be  of  concrete,  as 
also  the  open  stalls  and  floor  of  Market-hall. 
No  limit  of  cost  was  laid  down  in  the  instruc- 
tions to  competitors. — The  same  architect's 
designs  for  the  new  church  of  St.  Carthagb, 
Lismore,  Waterford  Co.  have  also  been  selected. 
The  church  will  cost  about  £8,000,  and  the 
works  will  be  proceeded  with  immeiEately.  A 
simple  elevation  has  been  chosen  for  the  exterior 
of  Eomanesque  character. 


The  town  council  of  Beccles  have  adopted  a  ro- 
jiort  l-y  the  sewage  committee  recommending 
that  the  plans  of  Mr.  T.  Miller,  C.E.,  of  Ipswich, 
be  adopted  for  the  utihsationof  the  town  sewage, 
and  that  45  acres  of  the  Corporation  land  near 
Puttock-hill  be  granted  for  that  purpose. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


485 


ARCHITECTURAL  &  ARCH-SIOLOGICAJC 
SOCIETIES. 

Glasgow    Institltte     of     ARCinTECTS. — The 
tliii-teenth  annual  meeting-  of  this  Institute  was 
held  on  Tuesday— Mr.   Campbell  Douglas,  the 
president,   in   the    chaii-.     The    di=tribution   of 
prizes   took  place.     The  competition  had  been 
open  to  draughtsmen  and  pupils  in  the  office  of 
members   of  the   Institute,    and   the    president 
handed    the    rewards    to    the   successful  com- 
petitors.    The    annual    report   and   treasurer's 
statement   were   approved   of.     The   council  of 
management  for  the  3-ear  was  chosen,  consisting 
of— Messrs.  Campbell  Douglas,  John  Honerman" 
R.  A.  Brvden,   William  Landless,  Hugh  Bar- 
clay,   T.    L.     Watson,     Huah     H.    M'Liu-e, 
James    Sellars,     jun.,     Robert    Tumbull,    and 
James   Thomson.      A   meeting   of   the   newly- 
elected  council  took  place  immediatelv  after  the 
general   meeting   of   the   Institute.    "Mr.    John 
Honeynian  was  elected  president;  Mr.    James 
Sellars,  jun.,  vice-president;  Mr.  John  Bui-net, 
auditor :   Mr.  WiUiam  Landless,  treasurer  ;  Mr. 
William^  MacLean,  secretary.     In  the  report,  it 
is   stated   that   the   Institute   members   on   the 
register    number    46.      Two    members   of    the 
Institute    died     during    the     year,     Wz.— Mr. 
Matthew    Forsj-th,   a  member  of    council,  and 
Mr.  James  Carmiehael.     Mr.  Hugh  H.  M'Lure 
was    chosen    in    room    of    Mr.    Forsyth    as   a 
member   of    councO.      No   new   members   were 
admitted     during     the    past     year,     and     the 
council  earnestly  trust  that  the  members   will 
do   all  that  lies   in   their  power    towards   ex- 
tending    the     membership     of    the     Institute. 
Mr.    John  Burnet,  and   Mr.  Jas.  Thomson  (the 
late  president)  were  appointed  trustees  of  Hal- 
dane's  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts  for  lSSO-81. 
It  has  been  resolved  not  to  award  the  Institute 
gold  medal  offered  this  year  for  the  best  design 
for  a  town  residence,  as  only  one  set  of  drawings 
were  submitted,  viz.,  by  D.   B.  Bumie,   in  the 
office  of  Messrs.  Baird  and  Thomson.    However, 
it  has  been  agreed  to  award  three  guineas  in 
recognition  of  the  meritorious  character  of  these 
drawings.     The  Coimcil  regret  that  their  invi- 
tation did  not  meet  with  a   heartier  response. 
With  regard  to  the  president's  prize,  the  Council 
commended  the  whole  of  the  dra-\vings  sent  in, 
and  it  was  only  after  careful  consideration  that 
they  were  able  to   arrive  at   their  decision,   and 
award  the  prize  to  Mr.  Alfred  J.  Brown,  in  Mr. 
J.  L.  Cowan's  office.     The  book  given  was  Mr. 
Stevenson's   work    on  "House   Architecture." 
The    council,    a.s    tnistees   of   the  "Alexander 
Tliomson    Memorial,"    have    held  no   meeting 
since  their  last  report.  The  funds  then  amounted 
to  £.523  19s.  3d.,  after  defraying  the  cost  of  the 
bust  of  the  late  Mr.  Thomson,   presented  to  the 
city  authorities,  and  placed  in  the  Corporation 
Galleries.     A   committee,    of  which   Mr.    John 
Shields  is  convener,   was  appointed  for  raising 
further   subscriptions;    and    it   was    agreed   to 
delay  holding  the  first  competition  till  the  funds 
are  in  a  more  satisfactory  state.     It  was,  there- 
fore^  peculiarly    gratifying    to    the  trustees   to 
receive  early  this  year  an"  intimation  from  the 
trustees    of   Haldano's   Academy   of    the   Fine 
Arts,  that  they  had  "agreed  to  contribute  £.50 
to  aid  in  estabUshina    the  Alexander  Thomson 
Travelling  Art  Studentship." 

RoTAi.  Aeciu.ological  Association-  of 
iKELAjfD.— A  meeting  of  this  Association  was 
held  at  Cork,  on  Saturday,  Mr.  J.  Bennett  in  the 
chair.  Dr.  Caulfield  exhibited  a  stone  celt  I2in. 
in  length,  which,  with  eleven  others,  had  been 
foimd  along  with  rubbish  and  copper  ore  in  a 
cave  at  Ballyrirard-hill,  West  Carbeiy,  County 
Cork.  The  discover}*  pointed  to  mining  opera- 
tions carried  on  during  the  stone  age,  and  was 
probably  the  last  link  between  the  stone  and 
bronze  periods.  On  the  hiU-side  ten  or  twelve 
parallel  lodes  of  copper  had,  since  1S54,  been 
known  to  exist  on  Ballyrirard-hill,  but  although 
a  company  was  once  started  to  work  the  mines, 
they  still  remain  neglected.— The  Rev.  Canon 
Hayman  read  a  paper  on  "Knightly  Effigies," 
which,  although  common  on  monuments  in 
England,  were  very  rare  in  Ireland,  the  only 
known  examples  being  restricted  to  the  counties 
of  Dublin,  Kerrj-,  Cork,  Kildare,  Kilkennv, 
Roscommon,  and  Tipperarv.  He  also  exhibited 
a  stone  relic,  found  about  ISin.  below  the  surface, 
.at  Balh-noe,  by  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  clerk  of  works  at 
Li.smore  Castle.  It  was  hollow  at  both  ends, 
and  was  believed  to  have  been  used  in  some  sort 
of  game,  as  with  the  only  other  kniown  example 
were  found  some  stone  balls  which  fitted  into  the 


hollow  at  [either  end.— Mr.  W.  Ringrose  Atkins 
exhibited  a  rubbing  of  a  marble  tombstone 
which  he  had  lately  discovered  in  tho  crypt  of 
Christ  Church,  Cork ;  it  was  of  the  Elizabethan 
period,  and  was  elaborately  decorated,  but  much 
mutUated.— Mr.  Robert  Day,  F.S.A.,  exhibited 
a  bronze  seal  of  tho  ICth  century,  found  at 
MuUingar,  and  bearing  the  inscription  "  .signum 
comune  de  Mollingar,"  enclo-sing  a  representa- 
tion of  a  water-wheel  and  tearing-hacklo,  and  a 
rude  view  of  the  town,  with  embattled  tower, 
church  spire,  and  a  tented  field. 


BuSHEY.— On  Tuesday  week,  the  Bishop  of 
St.  Albans  consecrated  the  new  churcli  of  St. 
Matthew,  Oxhey,  which  is  intended  to  meet  the 
growing  spiritual  needs  of  part  of  Bushey  parish 
and  South  AVatford,  and  of  which  the  Rev. 
Newton  Price  is  the  first  vicar.  The  church, 
which  is  designed  to  accommodate  nearly  .500 
persons,  is  cruciform  in  plan.  It  consists  of  an 
apsidal  chancel,  having  north  transept  as  organ 
chamber  and  south  transept  as  vestrj' ;  a  four- 
bayed  nave  with  aisles,  clereston,  "tower,  and 
spti-e;  entrance  at  the  north-west  angle.  In- 
ternally, the  building  measures  104ft.  in  length 
by.52ft.  across, the  nave,  and  aisles.  In  style  the 
architecture  belongs  to  the  Early  English  period, 
and  has  [been  carried  out  chiefly  in  brickwork. 
The  exterior  is  of  red  brick,  having  darker  bands 
of  a  purple  hue.  The  octagonal  spire,  also  of 
red  brick,  is  now  in  course  of  erection.  The 
eastern  window  is  enriched  with  stained  glass 
illustrating  Christ  as  the  Good  Shepherd, 
executed  by  Messrs.  Heaton,  Butler,  and  Bayne, 
and  the  gift  of  the  architect.  The  work  has 
been  carried  out  by  Messrs.  G.  and  I.  Waterman 
from  the  design  and  under  the  superintendence 
of  Mr.  W.  H.  Syme,  A.R.I.B.A.,  architect, 
Watford ;  Messrs.  Tidcombe  and  Son  have 
carried  out  the  heating  apparatus  ;  Mr.  Coney 
the  mason's  work  ;  and  Mr.  Pitkin  is  clerk  of  the 
works. 

GiTT  OP  LoxDON  School.  —  The  foundation- 
stone  of  the  new  buildings  of  this  school  was 
laid  last  week.  The  site  has  a  frontage  of  136ft. 
on  the  Victoria  Embankment,  and  is  in  extent 
about  one  acre  and  a  half  :  53  architects  responded 
to  the  invitation  of  the  Corporation  to  submit 
plans  for  a  new  school,  and  that  of  Messrs.  Davis 
and  Emanuel  was  selected.  The  building  is  to 
be  in  the  Italian  Renaissance  style,  the  front 
entirely  of  stone,  with  a  wing  extending  along 
the  street  which  is  to  be  constructed  from  Tudor- 
street  to  the  Thames  Embankment.  The  main 
portion  will  be  three  stories  high,  a  covered 
playground  with  the  necessary  offices  and  ad- 
ministration rooms  occupying  the  ground  floor. 
On  the  first  floor  of  the  front  building  will  be  a 
large  hall,  100ft.  long  by  4.5ft.  wide,  whUe  the 
class  rooms  will  be  placed  in  the  wing.  The 
estimated  cost  is  £.55,000,  but  at  present  a  con- 
tract has  not  been  drawn  up  with  any  firm.  By 
the  change  of  site  an  open  and  a  covered  play- 
gi-ound  will  bo  provided.  The  school  will  afford 
accommodation  for  6S0  boys.  For  some  months 
past  Mr.  Seward,  agent  to  Messrs.  Higgsand  Hill, 
has  had  a  large  niunberof  men  at  work  excavating 
the  ground  and  filling  in  the  foundations  with 
concrete  to  a  depth  of  from  18  to  22ft;  all  this 
having  been  done  under  the  immediate  super- 
vision of  Mr.  W.  J.  AUen,  the  architects'  clerk 
of  the  works. 


Crete,  while  tho  inner  walls  arc  of  brick 
and  Portland  cement.  Tho  new  theatre  \vill 
accommodate  in  all  2,758  ponsons,  of  whom  1,000 
will  be  seated  in  the  pit,  312  in  the  dress  circle, 
300  in  tho  upper  circle,  300  in  the  amphitheatre, 
and  the  remainder  in  private  boxes  and  a  gallery 
10  rows  in  depth.  The  general  dimensions  are : 
curtain  line  to  dress-circle  front  40ft.,  to  upper- 
circle  front  48ft.,  to  amphltheatro-frout  .50ft., 
to  gallery-front  .59ft.,  to  back  wall  of  pit  CSpt. ; 
width  of  stage  72ft.,  height  of  stage  to  gridiron 
floor  00ft.,  and  depth  to  cellars  20ft.  ;  the 
ceiling  is  Gift,  above  pit,  and  the  proscenium 
opening  is  31ft.  wide  and  3eft.  high.  The 
stage  has  been  constructed  by  Mr.  Owen,  of 
London  ;  and  on  tho  Hope-street  front  are  the 
windows  lighting  the  dressing-rooms.  The  in- 
ternal decorations  and  fittings  are  French 
Renaissance  in  character.  The  roof  terminates 
in  a  coved  ceiling  having  a  sun  burner  in  the 
centre.  On  either  side  of  the  proscenium  open- 
ing are  the  private  boxes,  wliich  are  indostd  by 
moulded  and  fluted  columns  having  enriched  caps. 
Over  tho  proscenium  is  an  allegorial  figure- 
subject  representing  the  various  arts  allied  to 
the  drama,  painted  by  Harford,  of  London. 
The  ceiling  has  a  ground  of  a  light  cream 
colour,  on  which  are  painted  in  eight  panels 
elaborate  ornaments  in  gold  and  colours,  and 
the  cornice  below  the  ceiling  is  richly  moulded 
and  gilded.  The  cream  colour  of  decorations  is 
darkened  as  the  lower  parts  of  the  auditorium 
are  approached.  The  walls  of  this  auditorium 
are  covered  with  crimson  paper,  while  those  of 
the  private  boxes  will  be  of  sage  green  and  gold 
with  crimson  curtains.  The  painted  decorations 
and  gildings  are  being  executed  by  Mr.  E.  Bell, 
of  London,  and  Messrs.  Jackson  and  Sons,  of 
London,  have  constructed  tho  box  fronts,  pro- 
scenium, and  ceiling  in  their  patent  fibrous 
plaster.  The  vestibule  is  laid  with  marble 
mosaic  by  Me.wrs.  Burke  and  Salviati,  of  London 
and  Venice.  The  stalls  and  dress  circle  are  fitted 
with  folding  chairs  invented  by  the  architect 
and  made  by  Mr.  Wadmans,  of  Bath.  The 
constructive  portions  of  the  building  have  been 
executed  by  the  following  contractors,  all  of 
Glasgow  : — Messrs.  Stevenson  and  Son,  masons 
and  bricklayers ;  Messrs.  Ross  and  Son,  car- 
penters and  joiners  ;  Messrs.  Morrison  and  Son, 
concrete  builders  and  fitters  ;  Messrs.  M'Gregor, 
GUmour  and  Co.,  and  Stevens,  ironwork ;  Mr. 
Bremner,  plasterer  ;  Mr.  Rae,  plumber ;  and 
Messrs.  Chalmers  and  Tosh,  gas-fitters.  The 
theatre  has  been  rebuilt  in  eight  months,  Mr. 
William  Browne  acting  as  in-spcctor  of  works. 


FiiANT. — The  parish-church  of  Frant,  Su.ssex, 
has  been  reopened  after  restoration.  Outside 
the  roof  has  been  new  leaded,  repointed,  and 
other  repaii-s  made.  Into  all  the  windows, 
with  the  excepiion  of  that  over  the  Marquess  of 
Abergavenny's  pew,  and  in  the  chancel,  fresh 
glass  has  been  put,  which  has  lately  been  found 
in  some  loft.s  and  stables  in  close  proximity  to  the 
church.  The  glass  is  of  English  make,  and 
dates  from  the  13th  to  16th  centuries.  Tlie 
church  has  been  redecorated  in  keeping  with  the 
period  of  its  building.  The  decorations  are 
from  drawings  by  Mr.  John  O.  Scott,  and  have 
been  carried  out  by  Mr.  MUner  Allen,  of  Fulham, 
London.     The  work  has  cost  £1,100. 

GL.iscow. — The  Theatre  Royal,  in  Hope- 
street,  rebuilt  from  the  designs  and  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  C.  J.  Phipps,  F.S.A.,  of 
London,  will  be  opened  on  Tuesday  next.  All 
the  floors  and  passages  are  of  fire-proof  con- 


Waeefield. — On  Monday,  at  Wakefield,  the 
Mayor  formally  opened  the  buildings  which 
have  been  provided  as  the  Town  Hall  and 
municipal  buildings  for  the  borough.  Early  in 
the  spring  of  1877  the  Corporation  decided  to 
erect  a  Town  Hall,  and  they  offered  £300  in 
three  prizes  for  the  best  three  sets  of  designs. 
About  40  architects  took  part  in  the  competition, 
and  ultimately  the  Corporation,  acting  under 
the  advice  of  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  R.A.,  decided  to 
adopt  the  plans  of  Mr.  T.  E.  Collcutt,  of  Lon- 
don. There  is  still  much  to  be  done  in  connection 
with  the  internal  fittings  and  furnishing  of  tho 
new  premises ;  but  as  Munday  was  the  third 
anniversary  of  the  laying  of  the  foundation- 
stone,  it  was  determined  that  the  opening  cere- 
mony should  take  place  on  that  day.  The 
building,  the  accepted  design  for  which  was 
illustrated  by  a  perspective  in  the  ^Buildiso 
News,  is  in  the  Renaissance  style,  with  a  lofty 
square  tower,  in  which  a  clock  has  been  in.«erted, 
supplied  by  Messrs.  Potts  and  Sons,  of  Leeds. 
The  buildings,  which  occupy  2,041  Mjuare  yards, 
have  been  built  of  stone  from  the  Spinkwell 
Qiuirries,  near  Bradford.  The  block  extends 
from  Wood-street  to  King-street  at  the  rear, 
and  there  arc  narrow  streets  on  each  side.  The 
buildings,  which  h.ave  cost  about  £70,000  (in 
addition  to  £10,000  for  the  new  police  build- 
ings), .stand  on  high  ground,  and  the  clock- 
tower  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  features  in 
Wakefield.  The  internal  arrangements  of  the 
building  are  excellent,  and  the  fittings  and  fur- 
nishings magnificent.  The  Borough  Court  is  a 
fine  room,  and  the  Council  Chamber  and  bane 
queting-hall  are  also  noble  apartments.  The 
various  works  have  been  carried  out  by  the 
following  contractors: — Builders,  Messrs.  Holds- 
worth,  Bradford,  £43,700  ;  plastering,  Mr. 
Dixon,  of  Bradford  (sub  -  contractor  under 
Jlessrs.  Holdsworth)  ;  clock  for  tower,  Messrs. 
Potts  and  Sons,  Leeds,  £250. 


486 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS, 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


More   than    Fifty   Thousand    Replies    and 

LetU'"  on  subjects  ot  Universal  IiUoie^t  have  appc;.icd  (Imiii" 
th"l.T^4t"n  years  in  the  ENGLISH  MECII.VNIC  -VND  \VOUI,n 
OP    SCIENCE,    most    of  them    from   the    pens   of  the    Itading 


wrmkles  embracing  almost  every  subject 
to  desire  informiition  have  also  app_      " 
The  earliest  and  '      "         '" 

scientific  discove: 
its  pages,  and  its 


which  il 
cd  during  the  si 
urate  mfonnation  respecting 


the  best  medium 

.,  wish  their  announcements  to  be  brought 

under  the  notice  of  manufacturers,  mechanics,  scientific 


for  all  adve 


lea  and  mechanical  inventioi 
large  circulation  render  f" 


find  amateurs, 
vendors.  Pos 
garden  "W-C.  

TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

[We  do  not  hold  ourselves  responsible  for  the  opinions  of 
our  correspondents.  The  Editor  respectfully  requests 
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as  possible,  as  there  are  many  claimants  upon  the  space 
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TAVISTOCK-STItEET,  COVENT-GAKDEN,  W.C. 


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•'BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

WE  begin   to   day   a  new   series  of    subjects, 
and  herewith   publish   the   rulea   of   com- 
petition:— 

EULES  OF   COMTETITION. 

1.  Drawings  to  be  sent  in  28  clays  after  the  pub- 
lication of  the  list  of  subjects. 

2.  Usually  two  subjects  will  be  given  every 
month,  from  which  a  competitor  may  choose. 

3.  The  clrawiuf^s  to  be  executed  iu  firm  black  lines 
on  white  drawing-paper,  in  sheets  of  the  absolute 
size  of  22in.  by  I4in.,  with  no  washes  or  tinting  in 
colour  watever.  Outline  to  be  the  first  considera- 
tion ;  but  drawings  may  be  slightly  shaded  with 
shadows  executed  wholly  in  line.  Sectional  parts 
to  b9  shown  in  ruled  "hatching,"  or  blocked  in. 
The  scale  to  be  used  will  be  given  with  each  sub- 
ject. 

4.  Drawings  to  be  forwarded  unmounted,  by 
post,  care  being  taken  to  roll  the  short  way  of  the 
drawing,  as  packages  over  IHin.  long  are  not  trans- 
missible through  the  post. 

5.  On  entering  the  class  (which  may  be  done  at 
any  time)  each  competitor  is  required  to  furnish 
his  name  and  address,  which  must  be  written  legi- 
bly on  the  back  of  each  drawing,  as  a  guarantee  of 
good  faith,  the  nom  dt  phone  the  author  intends  to 
adopt  being  boldly  marked  on  the  front  of  each 
separate  drawing. 

G.  Prizes  of  £10  lOs.,  ,£o  os.,  and  £3  Ss.,  will  be 
awarded  to  the  best  series  of  desigms,  such  series 
not  to  consist  of  lees  than  twelve  subjects.  Our 
decision  to  be  final. 


7.  Before  awarding  the  prizes  any  contributor 
will  be  expected  to  furnish  proof,  if  necessary,  as 
to  his  age,  and  the  time  duriug  which  he  has  been 
engaged  iu  professional  pursuits,  though  no  candi- 
date need  be  strictly  an  architectural  student. 

S.  We  reserve  the  right  of  arranging  the  draw- 
ings for  publication  in  any  manner  we  deem  uects- 
sary. 

9.  A  critical  notice  of  the  designs  sent  in  of  each 
series  will  be  givtn  in  an  early  issue  following  the 
receipt  of  the  drawings. 

LIST   OF  SUBJECTS. 

A.  An  artist's  studio,  including  a  house  for  the 
residence  of  the  aitist.  The  studio  to  be  30ft.  loug 
by  19ff.  wide,  and  loft,  high,  placed  on  the  fii'st 
floor,  part  of  the  height  being  obtained  in  the  roof. 
The  house  to  contain  a  drawing-room,  dining- 
room,  and  4  bedrooms,  with  the  usual  offices. 
Materials,  brick  and  tile.  Plans  of  each  floor,  cue 
elevation  and  sketch,  and  a  section.  Scale,  8ft.  to 
the  inch. 

B.  An  overmantel,  -Ift.  wide,  finished  at  a  dado- 
rail  7ft.  from  floor.  Materials,  deal,  }»aiuted  white 
and  eniiohed  wilh  f>old.  Elevation  and  sketch, 
also  de*ails.     Inch  scale  and  large  tize  details. 


Comspaulicnce. 


IRON    IN    PORTLAND    CEMENT. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Butleiso  News. 

SiE, — lam  much  obliged  to  the  "Writer  of 
the  Article"  for  the  courteous  manner  in  which 
he  has  noticed  my  former  letter.  I  was  in  hopes 
also,  that  some  of  your  correspondents  who  are 
well  versed  in  the  .subject  would  have  given  us 
the  benefit  of  their  experience  in  your  columns ; 
but  as  this  does  not  appear  to  be  forthcoming, 
and  having  in  my  former  letter  fully  stated  my 
opinion,  I  think  (so  far  as  I  am  concerned)  the 
correspondence  may  close. 

I  will,  however,  venture  to  restate  the  main 
points  of  my  contention,  which  I  think  the  letter 
of  the  "  Writer  of  the  Article,"  although  excel- 
lent in  its  information,  does  not  affect. 

The  position  I  took  wa.s  essentially  a  practical 
one.  I  do  not  pretend  to  high  scientific  attain- 
ments like  those  evidently  pos,«essed  by  the 
"  Writer  of  the  Article,"  neither  am  I  alarmed  at 
the  prospect  of  the  future  Portland  cement  being 
made  without  oxide  of  iron.  I  think  I  am  too 
sincerely  desirous  of  rv,al  progress,  and  have  too 
much  confidence  in  the  good  sense  of  my  country- 
men, to  be  "  alarmed"  at  any  proposed  changes 
that  are  likely  to  be  of  real  benefit.  WTiat  I 
argued  was,  that  the  rejection  of  all  materials 
containing  oxide  of  iron  was  impracticable  and 
unnecessary.  In  proof  of  the  latter  I  will  quote 
from  a  very  eminent  authority,  who  says — 
"  Oxide  of  iron  is  found  in  almost  all  clays 
.  .  .  . ;  it  is  nner,  however,  present  in  such 
quantities  as  to  materially  interfere  with  the 
strength  of  the  cement  itself." 

This  is  clear  and  definite. 

The  "Writer  of  the  Article "  adWses  me  to 
study  Portland  cement  from  its  chemical  as  well 
as  its  con.structive  points  ;  but  I  should  remind 
him  that  it  is  the  latter  that  is  of  all  importance, 
and  if  satisfied  in  its  requirements  (durability 
not  overlooked)  it  matters  little  what  may  be  the 
chemistry  of  the  compound.  The  praclical  test  in 
building  operations  is  the  true  one,  whether  it 
accords  with  the  theorj-  or  not.  Architects  do 
not  ask  whether  the  materials  they  use  contain 
the  exact  amount  of  this  or  that  ingredient,  but 
whether  they  will  do  the  work  required  of  them. 
And  this  is  precisely  what  I  contended,  vi?. :  — 
'•that  for  all  practical  purposes  cements  con- 
taining oxide  of  iron  were  as  good  as  any  other," 
i.e.,  as  good  for  the  work  required,  which  in  the 
bulk  of  cases  is  simply  to  last  as  long  as  the 
materials  with  which  they  are  associated  ;  or, 
until  the  mutations  of  time  have  rendered  obsolete 
the  structure  of  which  they  form  a  part.  That 
"iron"  cements  are  abimdantly  equal  to  this 
task  is  matter  of  every-day  experience. 

The  early  decay  of  building  stones  containing 
iron  which  the  "writer"  brings  forward  as  an 
argument  that  the  same  process  wUl  take  place 
in  cement,  cannot,  I  think,  be  regarded  as  in  any 
way  a  parallel  case ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
have  in  my  own  experience  seen  brickwork  buUt 
with  an  "iron"  Portland  cement,  (in  water- 
tanks  and  other  works  in  damp  situations)  which 
has  stood  for  years,  and  yet  has  not  shown  the 
slightest  indication  cf  disintegration  or  decay. 

Then  as  to  the   impracticabiUtij  of  rejecting 


impregnated  materials.  It  appears  to  me  that 
if  cement  free  from  iron  is  to  be  obtained,  one  of 
two  things  must  take  place:  eithertheiron  must 
be  carefully  elimiuated  from  all  materials  now  in 
use  for  the  manufat  ture  of  cement,  or  cement 
must  be  manufactured  from  none  but  pure  clays. 
Let  us  considtr  the  Ijttcr  alternative  first.  In 
the  quotation  before  given  it  says,  "Oxide  of 
iron  is  found  iu  almost  all  clays,"  and  the 
"Writer"  is  probably  aware  of  this.  It  is  tnie 
that  silica  is  one  of  the  most  abundant  materials 
in  nature,  but  it  is  also  true  that  almost  invari- 
ably it  is  found  in  combination  with  alununa, 
(which  is  also  condemned  by  the  "Writer")  and 
oxide  of  iron.  Only  in  flints  aiid  the  celebrated 
fireclays  can  it  be  found  to  any  great  extent  in  a 
state  of  purity  in  this  country.  We  see,  then, 
that  a  pure  silica  is  a  rare  material ;  but  we  nuist 
remember  that  .something  more  is  required  for  the 
manufacture  of  Portland  cement,  viz.  : — Car- 
bonate of  lime,  and  it  is  also  necessary  that 
these  two  materials  should  be  in  somewhat  close 
proximity.  To  illustrate  this  point  I  will  venture 
to  give  another  quotation  from  the  same  authority. 
He  says:  "  On  a  site  commanding  carbonate  of 
lime  only,  and  remote  from  the  clays  or  shales, 
involving  thereby  cost  of  carriage,  works  could 
not  be  carried  on  profitably."  And  much  more 
so  would  this  be  the  case  if  the  carbonate  of  lime 
had  to  be  conveyed  to  the  silica.  But,  if  cement 
is  to  bo  made  only  of  pure  clay  one  of  these 
plans  would  have  to  be  adopted.  -•'.  nd  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  the  result  of  this  procedure  would  be 
most  disastrous  in  an  economical  sense — raising 
the  price  of  cement,  curtailing  the  production, 
and  rendering  its  use  in  country  di.stricts  almo.st 
outof  the  question.  Passing  to  the  other  alterna- 
tive, \\y..,  that  of  eliminating  the  iron  from  the 
raw  materials,  I  will  only  say  that  it  appeal's  to 
me  quite  impracticable,  and  particularly  so  from 
the  largely  increased  cost  it  would  entail  in  the 
manufacture  ;  resulting  in  the  same  disiistrous 
conseqviences  as  the  former  alternative.  What  a 
revolution  it  would  create  in  the  great  works 
along  the  Thames  if  the  fiat  went  forth  that  all 
the  clay  going  into  the  wash-mill  must  be  free 
from  iron!  Of  course  if  the  "Writer"  is  pre- 
pared with  a  scheme  for  the  economical  accom- 
plishment of  the  desired  object,  that  might  alter 
the  state  of  affairs ;  but  at  present  I  can  but 
conclude  that  the  rejection  of  "iron"  materials 
is  both  unnecessary  and  impracticable. 

It  is  a  maxim  of  political  economy  that  the 
cheaper  any  article  can  be  produced  the  more 
widely  will  its  use  be  extended ;  and  I  think 
that  to  produce  in  every  district  where  materials 
can  be  obtained  a  sound,  useful  cement,  will  be 
of  greater  advantage,  than  to  aim  at  a  perfection 
which  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  superfluous,  and 
the  effect  of  ^^hi^h  would  be  to  inerea.se  the  cost, 
and  render  the  manufacture  almost  an  exclusive 
one. — I  am,  &c. , 

T.  H.  Duke. 


TRAPLESS  CLOSETS  AND  DRAINS. 
SiE,  — Mr.  G.  A.  Foster,  pp.  427-42S,  appears 
to  be  writing  the  result  of  honest  conviction  :  but 
before  the  readers  of  the  Buii.kino  News  will 
accept  the  soundness  of  his  views  they  will,  I 
feel  sure,  be  glad  to  see  Mr.  Foster's  answers  to 
the  following  questions :  — 

1.  Has  Mr.  Foster  any  direct  or  indirect  in- 
terest in  the  sale  of  anj  form  of  "  traplcss 
clcset"  'i 

2.  How  many  trapless  closets  (approximately) 
has  he  had  fixed  ': 

3.  How,  in  any  case,  the  continuity  of  the 
drain  was  not  broken  ? 

4.  For  what  length  of  time  have  the  closets 
been  fixed  !- 

•5.  Has  Mr.  Foster  discovered  any  disadvan- 
tages of  trapless  closets,  and  if  he  has,  what  are 
they? 

As  Mr.  Foster  has  quoted  Mr.  Bailey  Denton, 
I  refer  him  to  pp.  71  and  7'2  of  "Sanitary  En- 
gineering" where,  breaking  the  continuity  of 
the  pipe  from  the  closet  to  the  sewer,  if  it  can  be 
effected  without  nuisance,  is  distinctly  advocated, 
and  where  a  mode  of  disconnection  Tkithout 
nuisance  is  referred  to  ;  this  work  was  published 
in  1877,  and  since  that  date  many  architects  and 
engineers  have  adopted  the  still  more  simple  ex- 
pedient of  a  siphon,  open  channel  and 
manhole  (no  patent  being  reejuired),  which, 
when  properly  constructed  is  apparently  free 
from  objection.  I  shall  be  exceedingly  obliged 
if  any  of  your  readers  can  give  an  instance  of 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


487 


failure  of  this  method  of  discoLnection. — I  am, 
4(,  Ernest  TtrEjTEK. 

•2iG,  Kegent- street,  I6th  Oct. 

SiE, — After  a  earefiil  and  considerate  perusal 
of  Mr.  Buchan's  tirade,  which  just  manages  to 
escape  being  entertaining  and  reliable,  I  find 
there  is  very  little  in  it  bearing  any  weight  upon 
mine  of  the  Sth  inst.,  andstiU  less  requii-iug  a 
reply.  The  extraordinary  statements  he  makes 
concerning  the  subject  generally,  and  trapless 
closets  and  their  water  supply  in  particular, 
naturally  lead  one  to  suppojc  he  knows  very 
little  of  the  matter  ;  possibly  the  trapless  w.c.s 
he  alludes  to  were  fatilty  through  bad  workman- 
ship, or  materials,  or  both,  or  there  may  be  some 
tilterior  motive  in  view.  I  have  myself  used  a 
trapless  w.c.  for  over  three  years,  and  with  the 
exception  of  a  new  indiarubber  sealing  to  the 
plug,  it  has  required  nothing  whatever  in  the 
way  of  cleaning  or  repairs.  My  experience  is 
that  they  are  far  preferable  to  trapped  closets, 
and  I  stOl  maintain  that  the  solid  seal  of  a  sealed 
plug  is  infinitely  superior  in  every  respect  to  the 
hydraulic  seal  of  a  water-trap ;  traps  of  all 
descriptions  (with  the  exception  of  Bower's  and 
Banner's,  which  have  solid  seals)  being  more  or 
less  a  continual  source  of  nuisance. 

Contrasted  with  Mr.  Buchan's  outburst^^  the 
courteous  communication  of  Mr.  William  White 
is  quite  refreshing,  and  I  hasten  to  reply  to  it. 
The  advantage  of  a  solid  plug  over  a  trap,  even 
in  the  arrangement  described  by  him,  is,  that  it 
is  absolutely  certau^  no  sewer-gas  can  enter 
through  it  into  the  house  ;  whereas  it  is  possible 
for  the  hydraulic  seal  of  the  water-trap  (although 
there  may  be  no  pressure)  to  absorb  it  on  the  one 
side,  and  give  oil  again  on  the  other,  and  as  the 
soil-pipe  is  also  used  for  ventilating  the  drain,  it 
is  best  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  Any  frost  affecting 
the  trap  would  certainly  also  affect  the  plug,  but 
in  the  latter  case  it  could  be  easily  guarded 
against  and  protected.  As  regards  danger  froin 
leakage,  obstruction,  and  wear,  the  first  evil 
would,  in  all  probability,  be  caused  by  the  last, 
and  a  new  indiarubber  seating  to  the  plug  is  an 
easy  and  inexpensive  repair,  whilst  a  proper  and 
sufficient  flush  of  water  effectually  carries  away 
all  obstructions  in  the  shape  of  excreta,  paper, 
&c.  Respecting  the  entrance  of  any  sewer-gas 
during  the  raising  of  the  plug :  there  is  a  con- 
stant upward  current  through  the  soil  and  ven- 
tilating pipe  by  air  entering  an  inlet  at  the  foot 
and  being  carried  out  at  the  top,  so  that  when 
lifting  the  plug  an  additional  inlet  is  thus 
formed,  which  can  be  easily  and  amply  proved 
with  a  taper,  the  flame  of  which  is  drawn  rloicn 
by  the  inrush  of  air  ;  at  the  samj  time  no  offen- 
sive smell  can  be  perceived  arising  from  the 
opening. — I  am,  tfcc., 

Gr.  A.  Foster. 


being  made  for  the  postage  of  the  particulars  sup- 
plied to  architects. 

I  wish  to  state  that  the  trustees  have  no  know- 
ledge of  this  circumstance,  such  matters  bring  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  clerk  to  the  trustees,  to 
whom  I  would  advise  your  correspondent  to  apply 
if  he  feels  any  grievance. 

Ihe  trustees  are  most  desirous  to  act  with  all 
fau-ness  and  consideration  to  the  architects  who 
may  compete. — I  am,  tJcc, 

OxE  OF  THE  Trustees  op  the  Newbuby 
MuxiciPAi.  Charities. 

Newbury,  Oct.  19. 

Sir, — Intending  comx>etitors  will  do  wellto  com- 
pare the  accommodation  required  with  the  limit  of 
Ihe  outlay  desired  by  the  trustees,  and  the  condi- 
tion upon  which  the  successful  architect  wUl  he 
employed. 

I  think  it  will  he  seen  at  once  by  those  experi- 
enced in  the  cost  of  such  buildiugs,  that  these 
cannot  be  erected  for  £7,000.  So  in  the  end  the 
trustees  would  probably  maiutain  the  right  they 
reserve  to  retain  the  selected  plans  and  discharge 
their  liahitity  to  the  successful  architect  by  the 
payment  of  £-30 ;  and  the  further  history  of  the 
matter  will  resemble  the  history  cf  many  another 
competition. — I  am,  i:c., 

Oxford,  Oct.  19.  "  NoN  Siei." 


tion  of  old  tower  rest  on  a  solid  ht-i  of  concrete,  I  should 
not  have  much  fear.  On  the  lontraiy,  if  examination 
shows  a  poor  foundation,  or  if  the  soil  i.s  of  a  shifting  sand 
or  loose  character,  additional  precautions  ini|;kt  bo  taken 
bcfoi-e  proce«ling  «ith  the  tuwur.  As  a  saffguaixl,  all 
excavation  mipht  be  made  round  the  existing,'  foundations 
and  a  lar^e  body  of  concrete  throv.-n  in  so  as  to  e.\t'-nd  tlio 
bearing,  though  the  surest  plan  would  be  to  rebuild  the 
tower,  carrjing  down  the  footings  to  a  solid  bod,  or,  if 
necessary,  to  some  distance  below  the  crown  of  tunnel. 
Inspection  shoiUd  be  the  only  guide.— O.  II.  O. 

;626I.'— Foundatlona.— "A  Junior,"  in  Ids  i|uestion 
about  adding  the  weight  of  a  spire  to  a  lower  cns'tol  in 
proximitj-  to  a  railway-tunnel,  must  look  for  hiii  answer, 
either  for  or  against  the  practieabilitv  of  sueli  an  net, 
in  the  nature  of  the  ground.  The  tunnel  will  dmin  the 
adjoining  land  in  the  same  manner  as  a  euttin;;,  and  tap 
or  break  the  uniform  flow  of  water  in  the  stnita  of  the 
ground.  Now,  as  this  strata  is  never  found  in  a  level 
.state,  it  follows  that  the  water  will  Bow  to  the  low  side,  or 
point.  In  its  course  it  may  be  cut  bv  a  tunnel,  or  an  oiwn 
excavation,  where  its  water  would  ^te  cast  or  shed.  Tliis 
accoimts  for  tlie  fact  in  railway  cuttings  of  wet  and  drj 
banks,  the  wet  being  the  seat  of  land-slips  and  depres- 
sions, and  unsafe  for  building  on,  the  dA'  bein^  pructi- 
c.ally  uninjured  by  the  excavations ;  see  diiigiiim.    A  is 

C 


Sir,— In  a  letter  signed  "  W.  P.  Buohan, 
sanitary  engineer,"  of  your  last  week's  impres- 
sion on  "The  EvUsof  Trapping  in  Connection 
with  Closets  and  Drains,"  a  statement  is  there 
made  "that  in  a  '  public  newspaper '  the  attempt 
to  do  without  water-traps,  tried  at  Guy's 
Hospital,  London,  had  ended  in  failure."  Allow 
me  to  state  that,  so  far  as  the  above  hospital  is 
concerned,  the  water-closets,  sinks,  and  baths, 
&c.,  remain  precisely  in  the  same  state  in  which 
they  were  left  by  Mr.  Banner  in  the  autumn 
of  1876,  now  upwards  of  four  years  ago,  the 
water-closets  having  only  the  water-traps  in 
bottom  of  basins,  and  the  water  from  baths  and 
sinks  simply  siphoned  off  by  bending  the  waste- 
pipes  in  each  case. 

My  impression  is  that,  had  the  whole  of  the 
quotation,  and  not  a  part  only,  been  given  from 
the  "public  newspaper,"  it  would  not  lead  to 
the  idea  that  the  whole  system  adopted  at 
"Guy's"  was  an  "utter  failure,"  which  in 
reading  these  concluding  lines  is  the  impression 
it  certainly  might  convey.  I  wUl  only  add  that, 
imtil  a  better,  and,  if  possible,  more  simple  plan 
(which  I  greatly  doubt)  can  be  devised,  I  should 
be  very  sony  to  have  any  alterations  made  in 
the  existing  arrangements,  which  certainly 
cannot  be  considered  in  any  way  a  failure.— I 
am,  &c.  Arthur  Bllling,  F.R.I.B.A. 

(Surveyor  to  the  Hospital.) 
Surveyor's  Office,  Guy's  Hospital, 
London,  S.E.,  Oct.  20. 

NEWBURY  GRAMMAR-SCHOOL  COMPETI- 
TION. 
Sir, — My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  letter 
from  an  architect  complaining  of  a  certain  charge 


lnttrc0mmunication. 

— ♦■♦-« — 

QirHSTIONS. 

[6266.1— "Weight  Carried  by  Brick  Pier.— What 
weight  m.ay  a  brick  pier,  23in.  by  nin.  and  !)ft.  high,  built 
in  cement,  be  expected  to  cany  with  safety !— G.  M. 

[6267.J— Ice-House.— '\\'hat  is  the  best  way  of  con- 
structing an  ice-house  in  a  cellar!— W.  Z.  X. 

[Descriptions  and  dlustrations  of  methods  of  construct- 
ing ice-houses  will  be  found  in  the  Buildi.sg  News  of  Jan. 
3, 1868;  Aug.  2.5,  1S71  ;  and  in  the  JCnghsh  Mechanic  of 
Oct.  8,  1869.— Ed.  B  N  ] 

[6268.]- Spotty  'Walls.- Perhaps  some  of  your 
numerous  readers  can  give  a  reason  for  ihe  follow- 
ing •— All  the  internal  walls,  including  the  bedrooms, 
of  a  gentleman's  residence  in  the  country,  have  been 
coloured  in  distemper  two  or  three  times  since  the 
house  was  rebuilt,  fifteen  years  ago.  Two  or 
three  months  after  each  time  they  were  done  the 
colouring  universally  turned  spotty,  just  like  damp  would 
show  but  in  no  case  is  the  colouring  loosened.  It  is  just 
as  firm  on  the  walls  as  the  parts  not  discoloured.  Per- 
manent colours  were  used,  so  it  is  not  faded.  It  shows 
more  in  damp  weather  than  at  any  other  time.  Uiiit.s  ,a.s 
to  what  is  the  cause,  and  how  it  can  be  prevented  will 
oblige.— PEBPtEXED. 

'fi2ii9  ^-Sea-sand  in  Mortar.-Good,  clean  sand 
is  so  diUicult  to  obtain  near  London,  that  oui-  attention 
has  been  directed  to  the  offer  of  a  certain  Railway  Com- 
pany to  bring  sta-sa«rf  to  London,  at  a  cost  of  42s  for  7 
tons-  We  have  seen  the  sand,  and,  certamly,  it  is  better 
to  look  at  than  the  loamy  stuff  loften  containing  2a  per 
cent  of  gravel)  sold  as  pit  and  nver  sand.  We  are  m- 
formed  by  a  builder  at  Hastings  that  they  use  sei-sand 
just  as  -we  use  pit-sand,  without  an;/  particular  washing 
to  remove  the  sa;r,  and  without  any  objecbonable  result 
Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  can  inform  us  "  Mere  is 
any  rFal  objection  to  the  use  of  sea-sand  m  mortar  and 
plastering  stuff.- Thos.  and  Wm.  Stose. 

[6270.1 -Kemoviner  Cement  from  Encaustic 
Tilp<j  —What  will  effeetuallv  remove  cement  from  tne 
snufa?e  of  encaustic  tiling  !-Walter  T.  Felooji. 
■6271.]-Rights  of  Architects' Assistants.-^^ 

it  lawful,  or  is  it  conti-aiy  to  rule,  for .™ '";^'^^f„^ 'V'",'^*e 
•int  to  nractiee  on  his  own  account,  if  he  takes  gooa  c.ire 
Sat^^y  wk  of  liis  own  in  noway  interferes  with  hini 
performing  properly  liis  duties  towai-ds  hisempl 
in  his  office !- T.  P.  F. 


the  diy  bank,  B  the  wet  bank,  upon  which  the  water  w 
shed  or  cast,  a  bank  subject  to  land-slips  and  depressionii. 
C  is  a  site  upon  which  it  is  uniformly  safe  to  build,  and  D 
one  upon  which  that  operation  would  be  attended  with 
danger.— W.  S. 

'6262.]  -  HiU-Side— The  sUpping  of  the  earth  in  thii 
in.stance  is  parallel  with  the  one  explained  in  answer  6261 
[Foundations).  It  is  a  case  of  the  wet  side  of  a  bank,  the 
low  edge  of  the  strata,  from  which  point  the  water  is  dis- 
chai-ged.  It  is  one  familiar  to  us  in  cutting  thinuirh  clay 
for  railway  purposes.  The  only  effectual  mode  of  detding 
with  the  case  in  point  is  to  sink  a  series  of  pits  in  the 
gi-ound  to  intercept  this  flow  of  internal  water,  and  to 
connect  the  pits  at  the  bottom  by  a  layer  of  drain  pipes, 
such  as  are  used  for  draining  land.  The  pits  would  iwiuirc- 
to  be  hned  with  dry  bricks,  that  is,  with  bricks  without 
mort.ar,  and  gathered  over  at  the  top.  Tlie  lowest  of  these 
would  require  a  diain  to  can-y  the  water  down  to  the  [Kind. 
As  a  system  of  drainage  this  would  be  inopenitivc,  except 
in  i-ainy  seasons,  which,  of  course,  are  the  sea.sons  of  land- 
sUps.  Upon  this  being  done  the  present  breaks  in  the 
liill  might  be  made  good,  and  a  small  catihwatcr  drain 
foi-med  in  the  ttu-f  above  the  line  of  fracture  to  thniw  off 
to  the  right  and  left  the  surface  water,  winch  would  other- 
wise become  water  of  saturation  in  the  damaged  ground 
See  diagram.    A,  the  water  sti-ata,  the  .actmty  of  which 


r  while 


REPLIES. 


.-  fr^ 


rcooT  1 -Yellow  Deals  are  not  necessarily  12  an( 
24  t.toni,  ?r  3in.  by  9in.  in  scantling.    They  re..ch    h 
English  market  in  aU  lengths  and  sizes.     Theyaie  tn 
J  ^  . .      p.    ,.  ..,,7, ,,,.., ,-,\.   commonlv  known  to  US  a_ 

produce  of  the  Pinus  si/lBti,t,  ,^,  commoui,  »  t,„i,j(,  ond 
the  "Scotch  fir,"  and  are  shipped  f™™,  *''^Jx'°,  ™ t 
White  Sea  provinces.  The  average  number  of  deals  cu 
frnm  a  tree  dcuend  on  the  size  and  length  or  tne  lOoS, 
wS'hVa^  wl-riocality,  and  with  the  rules  or  ^stnc- 

f:^^  ~t ^L°a?^  nn'^t^ieTSt^tfe 
presumably  "as  old  as  tne  nuis.      ji'  -  ,,,„,iiing 

trees  mayhesufflciently  apart  to  adiin!  i  ii-  i-i  '  ',|^^,,f 
the  ground,  and  for  a  grazms'    1  '  '  ,  a.nse 

whilst  in  another  it  may  be  daik  a!  1.  , ,     ,i   -udi 

heading  of  interlocked  fohage  ".  ';,;'„!'  .,i„,vcthc 
trees  would  not  exceed  ISin.  m  'l'»'i''. '"^f  ,'i„t,;„  'earer 
ground,  and  they  would  not  approach  one  another  neaier 
than  an  average  of  6tt.— W.  S. 

[6258.]-Valuations.-There   is  a  goo'l  *'■■■■•'■;';,'"; 
valuations    pubUshed    in    Lockwood  s      ■■ 
"House  Property."     For   general   infoin.M 
"  Encvclopredia "  may  be  consulted.    lO'^i'  ;    '    ,  .,^ 

is,  perhaps,  the  most  comprehensive  work  v..  i..-  ■  ■ 
generally.  — G.  H.  G.  ^ 

shS^xSf^^^SlrSis^ 

ground  on  the  side  of  porch    a^d  between  it  a°d  tu" 

if  they  are  weU  spread  and  sufficiently  deep.  11  tne  louu      j 


caused  the  lancbUp;  B.  one  of  theJnt^eeptin^itj^C. 
the  catchwatcr  dram  sunk  intne  tun  ,  i^. 
the  lowest  pit  to  the  pond.-W.  & 


le  lowesi,  Itti,  1"  ""-  r . 

[6263.)-Doors -One  can  give^J^^^^'J^^"'^^ 

Ss^tllet-tl^Srbe^'.'Tck.obe  iSin-ledged 
doors.— Jack  Plase. 

day  tenns  of  ^and^jkdge  doors,  j^^^^,    .j.,_^ 

.create  tne 
;>eakin2:  of 


SOI  J  ana  !!  icugt  """  3   ,_i 
them  to  mean  3  batten^  »d  ^^«i,»'-,/„-:,„-„o  the 
answers  itself,     ine    f  "j'^''       i„„ored  in  s;ieaking  of 
thickness  of  a  « ja9''''°»l {''''t't^s  a Ifdl  undcnJlood  point 
Ihethicknessof  thedoor.    Itisawel^         ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^, 

that  needs  no  «.Plf ^^f-jii"  Jhick  in  certain  p;rt» 
framed  doors,  bem^  f°°ami'  edge  door  is  spccitl.-^  ■ 
(the  panels  .  It  a  I2  ",'''"St,„j  ,?„  with  J  biarda  nnd  { 
Scans  a  1 J  door,  ^e  centre  filled  upwi^n^.  ^^ 

rails  (lodges)  instead  of  panel  .^^_j^^^  ,,„^ 
ther  illustrated  ^r /yrcbit'^^  ,y,i„p^,,  ,hc  led^ 
Jft^eTal' nTbeinf  cTi^ldirS  when  speaking  0,  .U. 
.l„-,.VTie.»s.— W^.  ^      ^ 

^t  the  annual  -ecH.fof fie  Arch^^eac-ry 
Church     Budding     SocetjteU  ^^^^ 

S^ro^ftl^v"nheatb,nearNaylana. 


488 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Caediff  Water  Supply.— Ulr.  John  Taylor, 
C.E.,  has  furnished  a  report  to  the  town  council  of 
Carditi  on  the  water  supply  of  the  borough,  and 
the  best  mode  of  carrying  out  the  works  sanctioned 
by  the  Act  of  187S.  Mr.  Taylor  states  that  the 
result  of  the  present  year  has  proved  that  the 
existing  works  are  insufficient  to  maintain  the 
proper  water  service  to  the  district,  and  that, 
should  a  similar  dry  season  occur  next  year,  with 
the  additional  demand  for  water,  owing  to  the 
ordinary  increase  of  population,  the  present  works 
wiU  be  found  to  be  dangerously  inadequate.  He 
recommends— first  the  construction  of  filtering  cul- 
verts and  works  connected  therewith  at  Ely; 
second,  the  construction  of  new  filters  and  works 
at  Cardiff;  and  third,  the  construction  of  a  store 
reservoir  at  Cardiff.  These  extensions  would,  he 
estimates,  increase  the  storage  capacity  at  the 
service  of  the  town  from  200  to  --'TO  miUions  of 
gallons,  or  by  90  days'  supply  of  three  million  gal- 
lons per  day,  irrespective  of  the  dry  we  ither  yield 
of  the  springs,  and  the  total  cost  would  be  about 
£So,000.  Mr.  Taylor's  report  was  received  at 
Monday's  meeting  of  the  Cardiff  town  council,  and 
ordered  to  be  printed  and  circulated,  the  water- 
works committee  being  also  instructed  to  consider 
the  question  of  sinking  new  artesian  wells. 

Glasgow.— A  report  has  just  been  issued  bv  a 
deputation  appointed  by  the  magistrates  and  to'wn 
council  of  Glasgow,  into  the  treatment  of  sewage 
in  various  towns  in  England.  The  deputation  do 
not  venture  to  recommend  a  definite  scheme  for  the 
disposal  of  the  sewage  of  Glasgow,  but  express  a 
decided  opinion  that  the  sewage  of  the  north  and 
south  sides  of  the  liver  should  be  treated  sepa- 
rately ;  that  on  the  north  being  taken  to  Dalrauir 
by  a  high-level  and  a  low-level  sewer,  while  that 
on  the  south,  the  whole  of  which  would  requiie  to 
be  puniped,  should  be  taken  as  far  down  the  river 
as  possible.  They  are  decidedly  favourable  to  Ihe 
intermittent  system  of  precipitation  as  distinguished 
from  the  constant  flow  process  ;  but  inasmuch 
as  the  same  construction  of  tanks  and  other  appa- 
ratus is  required  for  all  systems  of  precipitation, 
they  suggest  that  the  nature  of  the  precipitant  should 
be  left  for  future  consideration.  In  an  appendix 
to  the  report.  Dr.  Wallace,  the  medical  officer  of 
health,  gives  the  results  of  experiments  which 
were  made  diuiug  July  and  August  on  the  oxi- 
dising power  of  river  water  on  purified  sewage. 
These  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  Glasgow 
sewage,  properly  defecated  and  introduced  into  the 
Clyde  at  a  point  below  the  city,  will  not,  under  any 
circumstances,  give  rise  to  a  "nuisance.  As  to  the 
best  agent  for  the  precipitation  of  sewage,  he  re- 
ports that,  although  alumina  produces  a  somewhat 
more  satisfactory  result  than  lime,  the  advantages 
obtained  by  its  use  are  not  sufficient  to  compensate 
for  the  increased  cost  of  purification,  wliich  is  equal 
to  four  times  the  outlay  on  lime.  If  the  cost  of 
some  sulphate  of  ahimiaa,  or  of  a  mixture  of 
alumina  and  oxide  of  iron,  could  be  approximated 
to  that  of  lime,  he  should  hav?  no  hesitation  in 
recommending  its  use  in  preference  to  lime. 

LoN-DON  "R'atee  Supply — A  meeting  of  dele- 
^tes  from  various  vestries  and  distiict  boards  of 
fhe  metropohs  was  held  on  Wednesday  in  St. 
Mai-tin's  HaU,  to  consider  what  steps  ought  to  be 
taken  ia  the  next  Session  of  Parliament,  in  the 
interests  of  the  ratepayers,  with  regard  to  the 
question  of  water-supply.  It  was  agreed  that,  as 
the  report  of  the  committee  on  the  subject  recom- 
mended that  the  Government  should  inh'oduce  a 
Bill  to  constitute  a  water  authority  of  a  repre- 
sentative character,  in  order  that  the  supply  in 
London  should  be  under  the  control  of  some  public 
body  representing  the  interests  of  the  consumers,  a 
comniimication  should  be  addressed  to  the  Home 
Secretary,  asking  whether  notice  of  such  a  measure 
would  be  given  by  the  right  hon.  gentleman,  and 
limited  to  such  object. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

Extras  and  Delays.— At  the  Leeds  Couut5-- 
court  on  Monday,  before  Mr.  W.  T.  Greenhow 
(the  Judge),  Charles  Wilson,  builder,  Cambridge- 
roid,  sued  Samuel  Pickard,  bricklayer,  Camp- 
road,  to  recover  £10  16a.  6d.  for  damages  sustained 
in  consequence  of  an  alleged  breach  of  contract  by 
the  defendant  in  the  erection  of  two  houses  in 
Servian-road;  also  £2  7s.  6d.,  being  the  amount 
paid  to  defendant  in  excess  of  the  amount  for 
whicn  he  had  contracted  to  do  the  brickwork.  Mr. 
«  arren,  who  appeared  for  the  plaintiff,  explained 
that  when  disputes  arose  between  the  parties  as  to 
the  works,  especially  on  the  point  of  delay,  the 
plaintiff  employed  other  persons  to  complete  the 
contract,  and  the  amount  now  claimed  as  damages 
Teptesented  the  amount  so  paid  to  finish  the  wo?k. 
Mr.  Middleton  appeared  for  the  defendant,  and 
cross-examined  several  of  the  witnesses  as  to  extra 
work  not  mclnded  in  the  plans,  which  explained 
the  alleged  delay  and  caused  additional  expense. 


He  said  the  plaiutiff  had  first  violatjil  the  agree- 
ment by  Calling  in  other  workmen  without  giving 
the  defendant  an  hour's  notice,  and  that  the 
defendant  was  hindered  from  proceeding  with  the 
V4"ork  owing  to  the  absence  of  delinite  instructious 
from  the  plaintiff.  The  Judge  decided  in  favour 
of  the  plaintiff'  for  the  amount  of  £10  lOs.  6d. 

The  Meteopohtan  Building  Acts.- At  Mary- 
leboue  Pohce-court.  on  Monday  week,  John  Allen, 
builder,  of  24,  Kilburn-park-road,  was  summoned 
by  Mr.  Alexander  Peebles,  district  surveyor,  for 
neglecting  to  give  notice  to  him  of  certain  building 
works,  and  executing  such  works  before  giving  any 
notice.  Mr.  Peebles  stated  that  on  September  30th 
he  visited  Abbey-road  Chapel,  St.  John's-wood, 
and  found  that  the  defendant  was  carrying  out 
some  alterations  to  the  building.  An  apse  or 
alcove  was  being  formed,  and  the  wall  of  the 
gallery  had  been  consideraoly  reduced  in  thickness. 
No  notice  of  the  work  had  been  given.  Mr. 
Sampson,  solicitor  for  defendant,  said  that  a  new 
organ  was  being  put  into  the  chapel,  and  they 
were  going  to  add  externally  the  strength  they 
had  taken  away  internally.  The  defendant  had 
been  away,  and  left  it  with  his  workpeople  to  give 
the  proper  notices.  Mr.  De  Rutzen,  the  magistrate, 
said  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  these  jre'lmi- 
naries  should  be  complied  with.  The  dtfendant 
would  be  fined  £3  and  lis.  6d.  costs. 

The  Leajiixgton  Wateewobks  a^-d  the  Cok- 
roEATiox.  —  The  dispute  between  Messrs.  Young 
and  Co.,  the  contractors  for  the  Leamington 
Waterworks,  and  the  Leamington  Corporation  was 
on  Wednesdav  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  Mr. 
Watkin  WiUiim-s  Q.C.,  M.P.,  at  the  Surveyors' 
Institute,  Westminster.  Mr.  Edwin  Junes,  in 
opening  the  case,  s.iid  he  appeared  for  Messrs. 
Young  and  Co.,  who  were  plaintiffs  in  an  action 
in  which  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Leaming- 
ton and  Mr.  George  Bestall  Jerram  were  the  de- 
fendants. The  action  was  brought  to  recover  the 
balance  of  a  total  amount  of  £1-3,209  9s.  4d.  for 
work  done.  The  plaintiff's  had  been  paid  £S,4.oO 
on  account,  leaving  a  balance  unpaid  of  £0,7.59 
93.  4d.,  for  which  amount  the  action  was  brought. 
The  account  began  mth  a  contract  dated 
November  9,  1S7S.  This  was  a  contract  entered 
into  by  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Leamington 
with  Messrs.  Charles  Powis  and  Co.,  to  do  work 
and  supply  machinery,  and  had  reference  to  the 
l.)th  section  of  an  Act  which  enabled  the  Corjiora- 
tion,  in  a  certain  event,  to  take  the  work  out  of  the 
contrators'  hands  and  finish  it  themselves  ;  and 
went  on  to  allege  that  in  June,  1S78,  Mr.  Jriram 
was  appointed  as  surveyor.  But  ia  July,  1S78,  on 
a  report  being  made  to  the  Mayor  and  Corporation, 
a  resolution  was  passed  by  that  body  requiring  the 
surveyor  to  take  energetic  measures  to  complete 
the  work,  and  the  work  of  completion  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Jerram,  the  borough  surveyor. 
Subsequently  an  arrangement  was  made  by  which 
the  plaintiffs  were  to  complete  the  work  begun  by 
Messrs.  Powis  and  Co.  for  a  fixed  sum.  They  com- 
pleted this,  .and  did  other  work.  The  undertaking 
was  accepted  by  defendants,  and  certain  sums  were 
paid.  The  defendants  denied  that  they  entered  into 
the  contract,  as  alleged,  with  plantiffs ;  that  Mr. 
Jerram  was  the  agent  for  the  purpose ;  that  there  was 
nothing  due  from  them  to  the  plaintiffs  ;  and  that 
there  was  no  contract  under  the  common  seal.  Mr. 
JeiTam  admitted  the  gi-eiter  pjrt  of  the  statement 
of  claim,  but  urged  that  he  entered  into  the  con- 
ti-act  as  agent  for  the  defendants,  relying  upon  the 
first  section  of  the  Public  Health  Act  of  1875.  He 
thought  that,  in  the  event  of  his  being  considered 
liable,  he  had  the  right  of  passing  his  liability  on  to  the 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Leamington.  A  lengthy 
discussion  followed,  in  the  course  of  which"  the 
arbitrator  made  a  suggestion,  which  was  acceded 
to  by  counsel  on  both  sides,  tbat  the  further  bear- 
ing of  the  present  inquiry  should  stand  over  until 
a  specuil  case  had  been  put  before  the  Court  as  to 
how  far  the  contract  between  the  Corporation  and 
the  plaintiffs,  in  the  absence  of  the  Corporate  seal, 
was  binding  upon  that  body.— The  proceedings 
then  terminated. 


A  new  cemetery,  four  acres  in  extent,  at  Kirkley, 
next  Lowestoft,  was  consecrated  by  the  Bishop  of 
Xorwich  on  Saturday  week.  The  building  of  the 
chapels  and  the  laying  out  of  the  grounds'^  begun 
by  Mr.  Brett,  were  completed  by  Messrs.  Lucas 
Bros.,  contractors,  Lowestoft.  Mr.  J.  Youn",  of 
Xorwich,  built  the  lodges,  and  Mr.  Gaymer,'  of 
Lowestoft,  built  the  lychgate.  Mr.  J.  L. 
Clemence,  of  Lowestoft,  was  the  architect,  and  the 
total  cost  was  £3,300. 

The  annual  meeting  of  (he  Wiltshire  Archa?olo- 
gical  Association  was  held  on  Friday,  when  the 
annual  report  was  read,  showing  a  slight  increase 
in  members,  the  number  now  being  392,  and  re- 
ferring at  length  to  the  visit  of  the  British  Archajo- 
logical  Associtfion  to  Devizes  in  August.  Lord  E 
Fitzmaurice,  M.P.,  was  re-elected  president,  and 
Mr.  W.  H.  Butcher,  of  Devizes,  as  hon.  secre- 
tary. 


©uv  (DfRc^  ^Mt 


A  DEPur.vTiON  on  Saturday  waited  on  the 
Lord  Mayor,  at  the  Mansion  House,  to  urge  on 
him  the  importance  of  placing  bridges  across 
crowded  thoroughfares,  and  it  was  argued  that 
the  police  now  engag-ed  in  assisting  passengers 
across  the  road  could  be  dispensed  with,  and  the 
money  thus  saved  might  go  toward  the  expense 
of  the  bridges.  His  Lordship  quite  dissented 
from  the  views  expressed.  He  did  not  think 
that  people  generally  would  use  the  structures  if 
they  were  erected,  and  for  his  own  part,  though 
occasionally  suffering  from  the  gout,  and  getting  in 
years,  he  would  prefer  the  old  way  of  crossing  the 
road.  He,  however,  recommended  the  deputa- 
tion to  wait  on  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers. 
The  deputation  should  have  waited  a  week  or 
two.  His  present  Lordship  is  too  favourably 
inclined  to  "refuges"  of  the  new  Temple  Bar 
memorial  sort  to  see  any  merit  in  suggestions 
which  have  been  repeatedly  ui-ged  by  all  who 
really  know  anything  about  the  dangers  of  Lou- 
don traffic,  and  which  the  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Street  Accidents  are  doing  well 
to  bring  again  before  the  attention  of  the 
public. 

A  COEEESPOXEENT  WTites  to  the  Times  to  ques- 
tion the  correctness  of  the  statement  of  the 
correspondent  of  that  paper  at  Cologne,  that  the 
Dom  of  Cologne  is  called  "  Dom"  emphatically, 
the  ordinary  name  of  other  German  cathedrals 
being  Miinster.  He  says : — "  Dom  is  the  cathe- 
dral ;  Miinster,  the  moiiasteriion,  or  English 
minster,  the  monks'-place.  As  in  England,  so 
in  Germany,  the  cathedral  may,  here  and  there, 
have  been  served  by  monks,  and  '  Miinsio' '  have 
got  the  better  of  '  Dom.^  But  the  cathedrals 
called  Miinstcrs  are  very  few — Freiburg,  in 
Breisgau,  Strassburg  (with,  however,  a  Doin- 
p/at:),  Basel,  Berne,  Constance,  are  probably 
all ;  the  Miinsteys  at  Bonn  and  Aix-la-Chapelle 
not  being  cathedrals.  The  immense  majority  of 
the  German  cathedrals,  as  many  of  your  readers 
will  remember,  are  Boms.  There  is  a  Dom,  with 
generally  a  Domplat:  or  Domlmf  for  the  open 
space  surrounding  it,  at  Miinster,  Trier,  Mainz, 
Worms,  Speyer,  Frankfurt-on-the-Main,  Wnrz- 
burg,  Regensburg,  Hamburg,  Passau,  Magde- 
burg, Brunswick,  Fulda,  Erfurt,  Berlin,  Bre- 
men, Lubeck,  Breslau,  Posen,  Kbnigsberg, 
Graz,  Pressburg,  and,  I  think,  Osnabruek, 
Paderborn,  Hildesheim,  and  Limburg.  Suoli 
names  speak  for  themselves,  and  pretty  well 
exhaust  the  German  bishoprics,  past  and  present. 
Occasionally  a  cathedral  is  better  known  by  its 
titular  name — St.  Stephen's,  in  Vienua ;  the 
Frauenkirche,  in  Munich  ;  St.  Veit's  (or  Dom), 
in  Prague.  But  Dom  is  the  recognised  German 
for  cathedral,  and  Dom-licrr  (cathedral-lord)  for 
a  cathedral  canon,  not  Miinster  or  Miinster -herr. 
The  supposed  rivalry  between  Duomo  and 
Basilica  is,  I  think,  quite  a  fancy  of  your  corre- 
spondent's. Basilica  is  nowhere  synonymous 
with  cathedral,  which  Duomo  or  Dom  invari- 
ably is."  "0.  S.,"  however,  write."  again:  — 
"  '  R.  H.  B.'  is  mistaken  when  he  says  (in 
wishing  to  correct  me)  that  the  Frauenkirche,  at 
Munich,  is  not  a  cathedral,  and  that  '  the 
Metropolitan  of  Bavaria'  is  jVrehbi.shop  of 
Freisingen.  The  Frauenkirche  is  the  cathedral 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Munich  and  Freisingen 
[Monaceiisis  et  Frisiiigensis  in  Latin — see  the 
'  Gerarchia  Cattolica,'  &e.  Roma,  1S79),  and 
there  are  two  Metropolitans  in  Bavaria — the 
Archbishop  of  Munich  and  he  of  Bamberg,  each 
with  three  suffragan  bishops.  Munich  is  another 
Liverpool — a  new  see — which,  however,  unlike 
Liverpool,  in  its  birth  almost  proved  fatal  to 
itsparent.  .  .  'R.  H.B.,' however,  illustrates  my 
contention  that  churches  do  not  lose  their  old 
names  by  becoming  cathedrals." 

The  Cifizin  states  probate  of  the  wUl  of  Mr- 
ThomasHenry  Wyatt,  F.R.I.B.A.,lateofNo.77, 
Great  Russell-street,  Bloomsbury,  architect,  who 
died  on  the  oth  of  August  last,  was  granted  on 
the  6th  ult.  to  Messrs.  Matthew  Wyatt,  and 
Thomas  Henry  Wyatt,  the  only  sons,  the 
executors,  the  personal  estate  being  sworn  under 
£30,000.  The  testator  bequeaths  the  goodwill 
of  his  business,  the  lease  of  liis  offices,  and  all 
liis  architectural  drawings  and  books  to  his  son 
Matthew  :  to  his  daughter,  Constance,  in 
a.ddition  to  other  provisions,  £6,000  for  life  ;  at 
her  death,  such  sum  is  to  go  among  his  eon 
Thomas  Henry's  children  ;  and  there  are  many 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


•489 


oiiei  bequests  to  Ms   children  and  others.     He    ments.     Mr.  'W.  Hait  moved  a  resohition,  wliicli  I 


also  bequeaths  to  the  Architects'  Benevolent 
Institution,  the  Incorporated  Society,  the 
Middlesex  Hospital,  and  the  Royal  Institute  of 
British  Architects,  £100  each ;  and  upon  the 
death  of  the  daughter  of  his  old  friend,  Gtorge 
Moore,  a  certain  trust  fund  of  £500  is  to  be  paid 
either  to  the  treasurer  of  the  E.I.B  A.  or  to  the 
Architects'  Benevolent  Institution.  One-third  of 
theincomeof  theresidueofhispropertyistobepaid 


red    w:iinscot-oak    i  boir    hlall«    are    beiiin 


was  adopted,  expressive  of  approval  with  the  erected  in  the  chancel  of  St.  Anne's  church,  Bur- 
suggcstion  of  the  Works  Committee  of  the  'infe'ton-stnet,  Brigttou.  The  eight  lieu(ih-eud« 
Metropolitan  Board  of  "Works  to  apply  to  Par-    are  each  curichcd  by  a  boldly-cariffd  fiBuro  of  au 


liament  for  powers  to  erect  dwellinjfs  in  the 
place  of  those  destroyed  under  the  Arlibaus'  and 
Labom-ers'  Dwellings  and  Streets  Improvements 
Acts ;  and  pointed  to  the  profits  realised  by 
Industrial  dwellings  companies  in  disproof  of 
the  fallacy  that  the  erection  of  artisans'  dwel 


tohisdaughter-in-law,lfrs.  Charlotte  Wyatt,  and  j  Ungs  by  public  bodies  woidd  be  tantamount  to 
the  other  two-thirds  to  his  son,  Thom.is  Heniy,  j  subsidising  the  people.  The  vestry  of  St.  Luke's, 
and  on  the  latter's  death  to  his  wife,  Mrs.  Julia  the  mover  remarked,  had  invited  tenders  for  the 
"Wyatt ;  ultimately  the  said  residue  is  to  be  building  of  artisans'  dwellings  on  vacant  land 
divided  between  his  grandchildren,  the  children 
of  his  said  sons. 

Peofessor  Mosieb  "WnxiAMS,  in  a   letter  to 


belonging  to  them.  The  meeting  alsoby  resolu 
tion  expressed  its  wa^me^t  thanks  to  the  Home 
-^«-i^»  ..^^.....^.^  „  ..  ^^u.^.  u„  Secretai-y  for  the  solicitude  he  has  displayed  in 
-he  iv'ii«ir>i'rge8"the  adoption  of  mOTe'systemat  ic  !  *''«  interests  of  the  poor,  who  had  been  and  were 
efforts  for  the  preservation  of  the  Roman  villa  '  ^.'"^^'^  '°,  "^^  displaced  by  operations  under  the 
-ecentlv  found  near  Bradins,  which  he  conjee- j  f^"^=*-°'*^  Ewelhugs  Act;  and  the  meeting 
tures  may  have  been  the  residence  of  the  Roman  I  further  drew  the  attention  of  the  Govenuuent 
-ovemor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight.  The  work  is  and  municipal  bodies  to  the  fact  that  thousands 
already  suffering  from  the  autumnal  storms,  and  ^  °l  ^\<^  workmg  cla,ss  were  injuriously  affected  by 
-■  -■       •         «..        ,       ,«  the  demolitions  whi;h  had  taken  place,  inasmuch 

as  they  had  been  driven  into  already  overcrowded 
and  insanitary  dwellings. 


the  designs  and  colouring  of  the  tesselated  floors, 
"whichare  uowasperfectaswhenhiddenfrom view 
10  centuries  ago,  wQl  soon  be  irreparably  injured 
■unless  some  covering  is  speedily  erected.  The 
remains  are  crossed  by  a  boundary-line  of  two 
properties,  and  6d.  i^  charged  for  admission  to 
either.  The  writer  suggests  that  both  should  be 
brought  under  one  roof,  and  thinks  that  if  Is. 
were  paid  by  each  person  for  admission,  enough 
money  ought  to  be  forthcoming  without  any 
general  subscription.  Messrs.  J.  E.  and  F.  G. 
H.  Price,  who  have  conducted  the  excavations, 
have  replied,  stating  that  a  contract  has  been 
made  with  Mr.  Moses  Cooper,  of  Brading,  to 
erect  substantial  sheds  over  all  the  principal 
floors  on  Lady  Oglander's  property,  joining  the 
shed  erected  by  the  neighbouring  farmer.  They 
end  by  appealing  for  "large  funds  and  contribu- 
tions from  antiquarian  societies  and  the  public 
generally,"  declaring  that  the  slight  fee  neces- 
sary to  prevent  cvercrowdins  will  be  insiiflicient. 
A  subsequent  letter  states  that  both  sheds  will 
be  thrown  into  one,  and  an  inclusive  charge  of 
6d.  made  for  admission.  Mr.  John  Dore  writes 
TO  the  Samps/lire  Independent,  expressing  sur- 
prise that  the  remains  of  another  Roman  viUa 
at  Combley,  near  Arreton,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
lie  buried  and  neglected,  although  they  were 
discovered  seven  years  ago. 

The  death  is  announced  at  Rome,  at  the  age 
<f  eighty,  of  a  most  celebrated  collect-or  of 
antiquities — the  Marquis  Campagna.  Under  the 
reign  of  Gregoire  the  Sixteenth  the  Marquis 
Campagna  was  director-general  of  the  Mont-de- 
Piete.  A  victim,  it  is  said,  of  the  hated  Cardinal 
Antonelli,  he  was  accused  of  defalcations  in  the 
administration  of  this  e:?tablishment,  and  dis- 
missed from  his  office,  and  saw  his  rich  Etruscan 
collection,  which  was  of  great  value,  pass  into 
the  bands  of  the  Pontifical  government.  Of  this 
collection,  known  under  the  name  of  Campagna, 


Lamplough's  Pyretic  Saline  la  refreshing' 

_ist  asre^able,  and  the  ii;t-\entive  of  FEVEHS,  BILIOUSNESS- 
SMALt  POX.  SKIN  DISE.^SES,  anij  many  other  spritif  and 
ner  ailments.  Sold  by  chemists  throughout  the  world,  and 
the  Maker.  113,  Holborn  Hill.     Vae  no  suhtUtuU  — TAdvt.I 

HoUoway's  Pills  possess  the  power  of  expelling 

all  pestilential  humours  from  the  hnman  system,  wherefore  thej 
become  necessaries  in  every  household  at  those  times  when  f.ig, 
And  uther  atmospheric  impurities  taint  the  blood,  during  'm 
passage  through  the  lungs  The  purification  effected  by  these 
fills  will  prevent  pleurisy  and  chest  complaiuts. 


CHIPS 

New  buildings  for  the  Elae-coat  School  at 
Wolverhampton  have  been  opened.  The  buildiogs 
are  being  erected  in  red  brick,  with  moulcUd 
brick  bancis  and  stiiogs.  The  architect  is  Mr,  T, 
H,  Fleemiug,  and  the  builder  is  Mr,  Henry 
Lovatt. 

The  Birmingham  Society  of  Artists'  lecture 
arrangements  for  the  preseut  season  are  of  special 
interest.  Mr.  J.  H.  Chamberlain  opens  it  by  two 
lectures  on  "Art  Ghosts."  He  is  to  be  followed 
immediately  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Hunt,  the  well-known 
painter,  who  "takes  for  his  sabject  "Turner  in 
Yorkshire."  Eaily  in  December  Mr.  WilUam 
Morris  closes  the  season  with  a  lecture  entitled 
"Hints  on  Home  Decoratii  n." 

A  new  dry  dock  constructed  at  Cabitt-town, 
Poplar,  was  publicly  opened  OQ  Saturday.  It  is 
390ft.  loDg  by  84tt.  wide,  aud  when  filled  with 
water  has  a  depth  of  22ft.  Mr.  Mackonochie  was 
the  engineer  of  the  works. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  is  in  course  of  erection 
in  the  Eestoi-mel-road,  Lostwithiel.  The  style  is 
Early  EngUsh,  and  the  architect  is  Mr.  James 
Hicks,  of  Redruth.  The  coutiacts  have  been 
taken  by  Mr.  Philp,  mason,  aud  Mr.  Brown,  car- 
penter. 
C01.BCC10U,  i^oiM.  UU.IO.  tuc:  ua.ue  ...  ^.^L^i.a^^,.,  Xew  banking  premises  are  about  to  be  erected  in 
but  Httle  remains  at  Rome  at  the  present  time.  St.  Mary-street  Cardiff,  for  the  London  and 
The  gi-eater  part  of  it  found  its  4ay  to  France  Provmcial  Bank.  The  style,  will  be  Italian 
aud  Russia. 


For  .some  days  considerable  crowds  have 
gathered  before  the  new  Hotel  de  Ville,  in  Paris. 
The  architect  is  trying,  by  means  of  models,  the 
pjrobable  effect  of  the  statuary  with  which  it 
is  proposed  to  adorn  the  building.  Above  the 
parapet  of  the  centre  block  of  the  Hotel  de  ^  iUe 
two  statues  have  been  placed  in  position.  They 
represent  heralds-at-arms  in  the  costume  of  the 
period  when  for  the  first  time  the  limits  of  the 
functions  of  municipal  bodies  were  fixed.  The 
statues  are  of  natural  size,  and  are  almost  touch- 
ing one  another.  In  order  to  judge  of  the 
decorative  effect,  two  others  have  been  set  up  at 
the  opposite  angle  of  the  central  pavUlon.  A 
small  flag  is  attached  to  the  halberd  of  one  of  the 
heralds-at-arms  and  serves  as  a  weather-cock. 
The  retention  of  this  appendage  is  not  however 
vet  decided  upon.  Though  the  question  of  cost 
would,  no  doubt,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  be 
a  complete  bar,  at  all  events  in  the  present  state 
of  the  mind  of  the  general  public,  to  our  adoption 
of  the  system  so  common  in  France  of  testing  the 
effect  of  sculpture  before  its  execution,  yet  in 
some  cases  it  would  be  possible  and  advisable. 

A  jcEExnco  of  the  working  classes  of  London 
was  held  on  Wednesday  evening  at  the  Mission 
Hall,  Great  Arthur-street,  St.  Luke's,  with  a 
view  to  securing  dwellings  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  people  in  the  stead  of  the  houses 
demolished  to  efiect  street  and  other  improve- 


Eenaissauce,  harmouising  witti  the  town-ball,  post- 
office,  and  West  of  England  Bank  m  the  same 
street.  The  architect  is  Mr.  W.  D.  Blessley,  of 
Cardiff. 

A  new  Presbyterian  church  is  about  to  be  buUt 
at  Woodside,  Glasgow,  from  the  d-signs  of  Mr. 
Henry  Higgins,  junr.  The  style  is  Romanesque  of 
severe  type,  and  the  plan  cousis's  of  nave  with 
aisles,  hoUjw  transepts,  and  cLancel.  Galleries 
will  be  provided  in  the  transepts  aud  at  west  end 
of  nave,  in  each  case  below  the  line  of  clerestorv 
lancets  which  will  be  made  continuous  round 
the  church.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  church  is 
about  £9,000. 

The  memorial -stone  of  St.  Paul's  Working  Men's 
Club,  in  the  Bohemia-road,  Hastmgs,  was  laid  on 
Saturday.  The  building  will  mc.ude  a  bar,  bar- 
parlour,  and  biUiard-roomonground  floor  anda 
large  room  above,  seat  300  peis ms,  and  divided  by 
a  movable  partition,  Mr,  W  J,  Grant  is  the 
architect,  and  Messrs,  D.  and  F.  RusseU  are  the 
builders ;  the  co3t  wdl  be  about  £900. 

The  London  and  North  Western  RaUway  Com- 
pany propose  to  construct  a  covered  bridge  ana 
passage  somewhat  similar  lo  those  from  the 
Charing  Cross  hotel  over  Viliiers-street,  from  the 
Euston  hotel  to  the  terminus  over  Drummond- 
street,  which  is  to  he  loweied  m  level  at  this 
point.  The  plans  have  been  prepared  by  Mr. 
Stansby,  architect  to  the  railway  coinpany,^d 
Messrs:  kirk  and  Randall  have  t^ken  the  contract 
but  some  local  opposition  his  been  aroused,  and 
the  vestry  of  St.  Pancras  have  not  at  present  given 
their  consent. 


angel  in  full  relief,  the  four  wxX  llio  orKUi  hoUl- 
iug  a  harp,  a  trumpet,  a  violoncello,  aud  u  boll. 
the  latter  instrument  bein;;  carried  in  the  hand  and 
struck  upon  the  outiide.  Oii  the  (.pposite  bonch- 
endi  the  angeU  are  clad  in  partial  armour  ropre- 
seiitin-  the  "  Sword  of  the-  .Spirit,"  the  "Shield  of 
Faith,  'the  "  Breastplate  of  Ki({hl.'m»iica»,"  aud 
the  •■  Helmet  of  Salvation."  Thedeik-frontji  baT« 
panels  of  foliated  tracery.  Tho  caning  ■•  beiOK 
fxeciited  by  Messrs.  Farmer  and  Brindl«y,  of 
Westminster-bridge-road,  London. 

At  Norwood,  Surrey,  on  Saturdiy  week,  the 
fouudation-stone  wa.s  laid  of  Iho  batb^  now  in 
course  of  construction  in  Biri  hangcr-ro.id,  liy  the 
Croydon  Local  Board  of  Health.  The  &ickitcct  h, 
Mr.  Lambert. 

A  memorial  cross,  nft,  Oin„  hs«  ju»t  heen  placed 
ill  the  churchyard  of  South  Rettou,  Lincoliuhixe, 
in  memory  of  Joseph  Hoodlam,  who  for  more  than 
40  yuai-s  was  the  p.irish-clerk.  It  has  been  creet«d 
from  a  rough  design  by  the  di-cea.-ed,  put  into 
shape  by  Mr.  James  Fowler,  architect,  of  Louth. 

The  new  church  of  St.  Saviour,  at  Erintokc, 
near  Devizes,  was  consecrated  on  Widtioday 
week.  It  has  been  built  at  a  coat  of  i'G.ODO  from 
the  designs  of  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  K.A.,  and  i<  Per- 
pendicular Gothic  in  style. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chupel  and  schoolroom  were 
opened  at  Thorpe  St.  I'eter,  near  .Spibhury,  on 
Tuesday  week.  The  buildings  are  of  red  biick 
with  white  brick  dressings,  and  the  fittinn  are  of 
pitch-pine,  Mr.  John  Holmes,  of  Wainneet,  wai 
the  biulder. 

The  new  church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  at  F'rad- 
hoe  was  consecrated  on  Monday.  Th  e  entire  cost 
of  the  building  will  be  about  £2,000.  The  church, 
of  whichMr.  F.  W.  Rich,  Newcastle,  has  bt.n  the 
architect,  is  designed  in  the  Early  Kugliah  style.  It 
is  built  of  stone,  and  seats  a  congregation  oi  300. 

A  new  reredos  was  opened  at  St.  Jade's  Church 
South  Kensington,  on  Souday  week.  The  subject 
is  the  "Adoration  of  the  Lamb,"  Rot,  t,  Fhe 
s.icred  symbol  occupies  the  central  pane!  ;  on  either 
side  are  the  living  creatures,  and  on  the  north, 
south,  and  east  walls  of  the  sacrarium  are  repre- 
sentations of  the  prophets,  apostles,  and  other 
heavenly  choir,  in  fresco.  The  sculpture  in  ala- 
baster and  marble,  is  by  Mr,  Earp,  of  Kennington, 
and  the  mosaics  are  by  Messrs.  Salvia!  i  and  Burke, 
of  London  and  Venice.  The  whole  design  i? 
by  Mr.  Frampton,  of  Southampton-street,  Strand. 

Memorial-stones  of  a  new  Baptist  school -chape  I 
were  laid  at  Cathays,  near  Cardiff,  on  Wednesday 
week.  The  building  will  accommodate  200  per- 
sons, and  will  cost  £700,  forming  the  first  p  •rtion 
of  a  scheme  for  a  chapel  and  schooU.to  co«t  in  all 
£.1,000.  The  architect  is  Mr.  J.  V.  Jones,  and  the 
builder  Mr.  Howard. 

Au  illustration  of  the  extent  to  which  boildio;; 
operations  are  being  carried  oat  in  the  northern 
suburbs  of  London  is  found  in  the  fact  that  at  the 
monthly  meeting  of  the  Tottenham  local  board  of 
health  last  week,  2.53  plans  for  new  housM  were 
passed,  of  which  number  IC^  are  proposed  to  be 
erected  ou  Leschella's  estate,  at  Page-green, 

Au  exhibition  of  competitive  designs  for  Chriat- 
mas  and  New  Year  card.f.  is  now  open  at  the 
Dudlev  Gallery,  It  has  been  inaugurated  bj  n 
Fine  Art  publisher,  who  has  placed  £.jOO  a*  the 
disposal  of  the  judges,  to  be  awarded  in  fourUcii 
prizes  for  the  best  and  mo«t  onginal  «J  of 
SesiTOS.  The  judges  are  Sir  Coutta  LmdjviT.  Mr, 
H  "S  Marks,  and  Mr,  Boughton.  Nearly  a 
thousand  designs  are  exhibited,  and  "ore  were 
re'dv  if  thev  could  have  been  aibuittcd.  All  the 
receipts  over  the  expenditure  are  to  be  paid  over 
to  the  trustees  of  the  Artists'  Bcnevo.ont  Fund. 

The  new  church  of  St.  Maurice.  York,  u  rich  in 
•he  possesion  of  an  old  stone  font  ^Ud  m 
imitation  of  Caen  stone,  aud  recently  a.ind«i.  It 
hnotamere  relic  of  the  vandalism  of  p~rt  age, 
but-  specimen  of  the  art  of  the  present  day  A 
comspondent  .assures  us  that  it  i.tbn  re^nltof  an 
^niment  bet^veen  an  old  parishioner  and  an 
^fesfaTtical  decorator  (?)  who  undortxxk  to 
execute  the  wonderful  transformation  for  the  sum 
of  ten  diUlings  and  sixpence : 


Epps's  Cocoa.-Gratcful 


•  bre.kt>.«t  table- 


.uhUe  maUdie*  ar"" 
........rthen-iiawnk  r^';' 

shaft  t.y  '"•P^f  ""T^'I?  "A,  J 
nrrincrlr  nourxhrd   frame    -''•'■ 


I'SS'il'enofEpV.-s  Cl.oct.atr  E.^ 


490 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Oct.  22,  1880. 


MEETINGS  FOB  THE  ENSTJINa  "WEEK 

FniDW.— Ai'chiteohuul  Association.  Opening  conver- 
Siiaioue  at  the  galleries,  9,  Conduit- 
street,  "W. 


Cratrt  ©t&js. 


WAGES  MOVEMENTS. 

Beabfoed. — The  engineers'  strike,  which  com- 
menced on  March  lath,  1S79,  has  terminated,  the 
last  of  the  men  who  have  been  on  strike  returning 
to  work  on  Monday  morning.  Two  hundred  of  the 
men  who  struck  are  now  iu  America. 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.    Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  applicatisn  to 
CHAELES  TEASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Ilmiuster,  Somerset. 
— [Advt.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

eti-eet,  S."W.  Builders,  Decoratora,  and  House  rainters. 

Designs  and  Estimates. 

General   Repairs    and   Alterations   Executed. 

Experienced  "Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  coimtry.— [Adtt.] 


BOX    GROUND    STONE 


50,000   Feet  Cube    in  Stock. 
PICTOR  &  SONS, 

BOX,  "WILTS. 

[Advt.] 

TENDERS. 

•«*  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender — it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

BisHopsTOKE. — Forworks  in  stabling,  club-room,  &c., 
at  the  "  Cro'mi  Inn,"  Bishopstoke,  Hants,  for  Sir  Fredk. 
Perkins.  Mi".  "William  Burrough  Hill,  architect.  Quan- 
tities suppUed  by  the  architect ; — 

£524  8  6 
44T  10  0 
420  0  0 
419    5    0 


Crook      

Cole         

Harrison  and  Reading 

Martin    

Batten     

Searle       


397  10  0 
390  7  0 
385    0    0 


Blackheath. — Tendei-s  for  a  house  at  AVestcombe- 
paik,  Blacklieath,  for  Capt.  Ai-msb-ong,  E.E.  Messrs.  J. 
and  J.  S.  Edmeston,  lu-chitects.  Quantities  by  G.  N. 
Mclntyi'c  North : — 

Holland,  J £3,0G1    0    0 

Boyce,  T 3,013    0    0 

Grimwood,  G.,  and  Sons 2,990    0    0 

Lucas  and  Son  2,850    0    0 

Kiik  and  Kandall 2,843    0    0 

Smith,  J.,  and  Son 2,577    0    0 

Qrover,  J 2,552    0    0 

GotUd  and  Brand     2,484    0    0 

BouF.NEiiouTH. — For  stoneware  pipe  sewers,  Bourne- 
mouth western  extension  sewerage  works,  for  the  Bom-ne- 
mouth  commissioners.  Mi*.  G.  R.  Andrews,  surveyor. 
Quantities  supphed :  — 

Saunders  &  White,  Bournemouth     £1,801    0    0 

Sharland,  Wimbome         1,046  11    0 

Etheiidge  and  Co.,  Manchester  ...  859    3    0 

Hoare,  Bros,  &  ■Walden,B'mouth  748  19    0 

Bell,  Wood-green,  London,  N.   ...  680    0    0 

Pontifes&  Wood,  Shoe-lane,  E.G.  678    5    0 

Leylands,  Ix)ndon 583  10    0 

Meats,  Bros.,  Nottingham  (accepted)      550    0    0 
(Surveyor's  estimate,  £591.) 
For  cast-iron  outfall  pipe  sewer  : — 
Bell,  Wood-green,  London,  N.    ...      £2,580    0    0 
Etheridge  and  Co.,  Manchester  ...        2,290    0    0 
Pomifex  &  Wood,  Shoe-lane,  EC.        1,480    0    0 

Leyland,  London     1,346    0    0 

HoweU,  Poole  1,145    0    0 

Hoai-e,  Bros.,  &Walden,B'mouth  936    0    0 

Meats,  Bros..  N'iugham  (accepted)  760    0    0 

(Sm-veyor's  estimate,  £1,600.) 
Bournemouth. — For  roads  under  150th  section  PubUc 
Health  Act,  1875,    for  kerbing  and   guttering,  for  the 
Bournemouth  commissioners.    Mi'.  G.  R.  Andrews,  sur- 
veyor.    Quantities  supphed :  — 

Saunders  &  White,  Bournemouth     £2,216    S    9 

Leyland,  London     2,066  15    6 

Pond,  Wimborne     2,010    0    3 

Meats,  Bros.,  Nottingham  ...        1,988    6    4 

Knight,  Wanstead  Park 1,968    0    0 

Gibson,  Exeter         1,948  18    0 

Free,  High  Wycombe,  Bucks      ...        1,850  11    8J 

Buttv-,  Bromley-by-Bow  (accepted)      1,7C«    5    0 

Hoare,  Bros.,  &Walden,B'mouth        1,670    4    5 

(Surveyor's  estimate,  £1,899.) 

Beighton. — For   pulhng     down     and   re-erection    of 

premiaes   in    Queen's-road,    Brighton,    for   Messrs.    J. 

Fieldus,  Son,  and  Co.    Mr.  T.   Lainson,  architect.    No 

quantities :  — 

Howard,  Geo.  (accepted) £7,845  17    8 


.Bournemouth. — For  surface  draining  for  the  Queen's- 
road  and  tlie  Cambridge-road,  for  the  Bournemouth  com- 
missioners. Mr.  G.  K.  Andrews,  surveyor.  Quantities 
supphed :  — 

Saunders  &  White,  Boiu-nemouth...      £217    0  10 

Pond,  Wimborne  accepted)  ...        195    0    2 

Hoare,  Bros.   &   Waldcn,  B'mouth        117    6    4 

(Sm-veyor's  estimate,  £224.) 

Bristol.— For  new  road  and  sewers  at  CUfton  Wood, 

Bristol,  for  Joseph  Baitlett,  Esq.    Mr.  Herbert  J.  Jones, 

surveyor  : — 

Humphreys       £535    0  -0 

TaUand 447    0    0 

Johnson 424  12    0 

CowlmandSon  395    0    0 

Mereweather 390    0    0 

Krauss 390    0    0 

Bromley,  Kent.— For  an  addition  to  the  porter's  lodge 
at  Bromley  workhouse  : — 

Warr,  Croydon £64    0    0 

Wood,  Greenwich         45    0    0 

Lowe,  Chislehurst        3800 

Gascoyne,  Beckenham 32    0    0 

P.^yne,  Bromley 32    0    0 

Penfold,  Sydenham     27  11    0 

Balding,  Bromley        27    0    0 

Laslett,  Famborough 26  10    0 

Haismen,  Cray  (accepted)      25    0    0 

Clapton.— For  erection  of  AH  Souls'  Mission  House, 
Overbury-street,  Clapton  Park.  Mr.  Francis  T.  Dollman, 
architect : — 

PeiTyandCo.  £2,550    0    0 

Bovce 2,529    0    0 

Dove,  Bros 2,475    0    0 

OuthwaiteandSon 2,470    0    0 

Shurmur         2,448    0    0 

La-nTance       2,404    0    0 

Hunt,  J.  E 2,381    0    0 

Clapton. — For  soup  kitchen  and  boundaiy  wall.  All 
Souls',  Clapton  Park.    Mr.  Francis  T.   Dollman,  archi- 

PenyandCo £308    0    0 

Boyce      263    0    0 

Outhwaite  and  Son 260    0    0 

Dove,  Bros 245    0    0 

Shurmm- 213    0    0 

Lawrancc  241    0    0 

Hunt,  J.  a 228    0    0 

CoATEsBACH,    LEICESTERSHIRE.  —  For   alterations  and 

additions  to  Cotesbach  House,  for  Charles  Marriott,  Esq. , 

J. P.     Contract  No.  1  :  — 

Pamell  and  Son,  Eugby       £800    0    0 

Herbert,  H.  H.,  Leicester    720    0    0 

Liuv  and  King,  Lutterworth*        ...        680    0    0 

•Accepted. 

Devonport. — For  effecting  alterations  at  Rocky-hill, 

for  the  town  council : — 

Street,  Devonport  (accepted)  ...    £110    0    0 

[Lowest  of  four  tenders,  the  highest  being  £344.1 

Lowestoft. — For  works  at  the  beach  outlet,  for  the 
improvement  commissioners  ;  — 

For  iron  pipes  : — 

Spittle,  J.  (accepted)     £5  15s.  per  ton. 

For  Memel  timber  : — 
Enghsh,  Bros.,  Wisbech  (accepted)  Is.  4Jd.  per  foot. 

[Total  Estimated  outlay,  £6,000.] 
Dublin. — For  laying  a  loin,  water-pipe  from  Stillorgdn 
reservoir  along  the  roadway  to  Dundrum.  a  distance  of 
5,734  yards,  to  supply  the  township  of  Eathmines,  for 
the  Dubhn  town  council.  Mr.  Parke  Neville,  city  engi- 
neer : — 
Cochi-ane,  Grove,  and  Co.    (accepted)     £10,500    0    0 

[Lowest  tender  received.] 
East  Dereham.— Eor  works  in  connection  with  the 
waterworks,  for  the  local  boai"d  :  — 
For  brickwork,  for  water  shaft,  chimney,  stores,   and 

fence  walls : — 

Hubbard,  W.,  East  Dereham  (accepted)  ...    £1,582    0    0 

For  construction  and  ei'ection  of  cast-iron  water-tank 

and  girder  in  the  said  tower :  — 

Pearse   and    Knowles,    Coal   and  Iron  Co.,  Wanington 

(accepted)  £495. 

Edgw.are-road. — For   roads   and  sewers  on  the  Oak 

Lodge  Estate,  Edgware-road,  the  property  of  the  United 

Land  Company   (Limited),  mcluding  Aberdeen  granite 

curb:— 

Watts,  W.H £5,910    0    0 

Pizzey,  J 4,545    0    0 

Kceble,  F.  W 4,474    0    0 

Boyer,  W 4,392  13    0 

Cooke  and  Co 4.310    0    0 

Bell,  J.  4,282    0    0 

Crockett,  W 4,258    0    0 

Nowell  and  Hobson 4,226    0    0 

Thompson  and  Son 4,149    0    0 

Mears,J 3,610    0    0 

Killingback,  C.  (accepted)  . . .        3,598    0    0 

FiNciiLEV.— For  the  supply  of  4,000  tons  of  Enderby 

granite,  for  the  Finchley  local  board  :  — 

Per  ton. 

Jones  and  Fitzmam'ice 12s.    Sd. 

Dodd,  H 12        4 

Nowell  and  Eobson         12        4 

Mowlem  and  Co.  12        2 

Brooks  and  Co.,  Finchley  (accepted) ...    12        0 
HoxTON,  N. — For  alterations  to  a  school  in  Cliureh- 

street,  Hoxton,  for  the  London  School  Eoai-d : — 

Boyce,  T £746    0    0 

Grover,  J 746    0    0 

Sargeant,  J.  F. ...  737    0    0 

Cox,  C,  Commercial-road,  E.,*     ...       71S    0    0 

"Accepted. 

Hull.— For  raising  the  tower  ISft.  at  Springhead  water 

supply  extension  works,  for  the  Hull  town  council.    "Mr 

D.  Maxwell,  engineer  to  the  council : — 


Musgrave,  B 

Coulson,  G 

Sei"geant,  R 

Southern,  T.  (accepted) 


£210    0  0 

207    0  0 

168    0  0 

161  15  0 


Fulmodeston.— For  new  church  at  Fubnodeston,  Nor- 
folk. Mr.  William  Smith,  10,  John-street,  Adelphi, 
architect : — 

Eust,  Norwich  £2,430  10    0 

Brown,  Lynn 2,099    0    0 

Hubbard,  Dereham 2,092  10    0 

Chapman,  Hanworth         2,053    0    0 

Coi-nish  &  Oaymer,  N.  Walaham*       1,994    0    0 
•  Accepted, 

Herts. — For  additions  and  alterations  to  house  and 
stables,  "Cuekmaus,"  St.  Stephen's,  near  St.  Alban's. 
Mr.  James  N.  King-Chm"ch.  Southainpton-sti"eet,  Blooms- 
bury,  London,  ai-chitect.    No  quantities  supphed  ; — 

Rayment  and  Son,  Hertford    . 

Battley,  London aai       az(        oo* 

Watciman,G.  and  J.  Watford  ...    378        220        598 

Miskin,  St.  Alban's  (accepted)  ...    349        227        576 

Battley  afterwards  coiTected  his  tender  for  stables  to  £227. 

High  Wycombe. — For  i-e.storation  and  enlargement  of 
Little  Market  House,  High  Wycombe,  Bucks.  Mr.  Al-thiu* 
Vernon,  an-hitect,  26,  Great  Gcoi"ge-street,  Westminster, 
and  High  Wycombe  : — 

Woodbridge      £640    0    0 

Lacey      659    9    0 

Taylor  and  GiTst  (accepted) 620    0    0 

Hove.— For  the  construction  of  two  concret*  groynes  on 
the  old  front,  for  tlie  Hove  town  commissioners : — 

Cheeseman  and  Co.,  Brighton  (accepted!)  ...    £1,410    0    0 

Knighton.— For  the  erection  and  completion  of  new 
house  and  stables  at  Knighton,  near  Leicester,  for  Mr. 
G.  H.  Ellis.  Mr.  Edward  Burgess,  architect.  Quantities 
by  Mr.  W.  Thomicraft  :— 


£6,500    0    0 

Leicester.— For  the  erection  and  completion  of  new 
Ixjard  schools  in  Hazel-street,  Leicester,  for  the  Leicester 
school  board.  Mr.  Edward  Burgess,  architect.  Quanti- 
ties by  Mr.  "W.  Thomicraft : — 

Kirk  and  lUndall     £8,660    0    0 

liland,  T.  and  Son 7,739    0    0 

Herbert,  T.H 7,607    0    0 

Hutchinson,  J.  and  Son    7,059    0    0 

Clark  and  Garrett 7,019    0    0 

Kellett,  J.  C 6,959    0    0 

London. — For  rebuilding  No.  1,  Monument-yard,  Fish- 
street  Hill,  City,  for  E.  Davis,  Esq.  Mr.  W.  Smith,  arclii- 
tect.  Quantities  supplied  by  Mr.  E.  J.  Pain,  19,  Bucking- 
ham-street, Strand  : — 

Including  party  wall.  Deducting  party  wall. 

SeUer £6,538  5  6  £6,5  8    6  6 

Dunford  &  Langham    6,639  0  0  5,246    2  0 

King  and  Sons        ...    6,615  0  0  5,217    0  0 

Harper           6,256  0  0  5,031    0  0 

Crabb 6,148  0  0  4,918    0  0 

Burman         6,100  0  0  4,771    0  0 

Anlcy 4,620  0  0  4,195    0  0 

Shurmur        4,590  0  0  4,265    0  0 

LarkeandSon        ...    4,570  0  0  4,190    0  0 

Steele,  Bros 4,490  0  0  4,185    4  0 

Mattock,  Bros.        ...    4,377  0  0  4,120  11  0 

London.- For  girls*  middle-class  school,  Chenies-street, 
W.C.  Messrs.  Davis  and  Emanuel,  2,  Finsbury-circus, 
City,  ai-chitects.  Quantities  by  Mr.  Fredk.  Downing,  7a, 
Whitehall-yard  :— 

Cubitt,  W.  and  Co £7,994    0    0 

Holland  and  Hanncn         7,937    0    0 

Lucas,  Bros 7,916    0    0 

Trollope  and  Sons 7,743    0    0 

London.— For  !the  erection  of  a  pair  of  ^-illas  in  Nor- 
wich-road, Sti*atford,  E.  Mr.  .1.  Moore  Smith,  architect. 
No.   121,  Bishopsgntc-strcct,    E.G.,  and    at    Stratford, 


Gentry,  Mark 

Heiser,  H.  O. 
Waterman,  T.L. 

Webb,  J 

Martin,  W.  H. 
North,  Bros. 
England  &  Thompson 
Crispin  and  Tomlm 


£2,905  0  0 

2,854  0  0 

2,775  0  0 

2,749  0  0 

2,539  0  0 

2,475  0  0 

2,372  0  0 

2,223  0  0 


Chelfins,  J.,  Stratford  (accepted)...       2,150    0    0 

London.— For  proposed  alterations  and  additions  to 
the  Exeter  Hall,  Strand,  exclusive  of  large  hall.  Mr. 
Alfred  R.  Pite.  architect,  44.  Bloomsbury-square.  Q-;an- 
tities  supphed  by  Mr.  Joseph  Eookwood  ; — 

Kirk  and  Eandall £12,880    0    0 

Condor         12,695    0    0 

Brass 12,485    0    0 

Chappcll        12,353    0    0 

Booth  and  Sons     11,980    0    0 

Patman  and  Fothehngham       ...       11,845    0    0 

Braid  and  Co 11  800    0    0 

Nightingale 11,598    0    0 

Hobson  11,470    0    0 

Higgs  and  Hill       11,120    0    0 

(Architect's  estimate,  £12,000.) 

Maidenhead. — For  new  tavern.  Maidenhead,  Berks. 
Mr.  Arthur  Vcmon,  architect,  28,  Great  George-sti-eet, 
Westminster,  and  High  Wycombe,  Bucks  ;— 

Silver  and  .Son  £1,443    0    0 

Woodbridge 1,383    0    0 

Looslcy  1,.300    0    0 

Hunt  (accepted)       1,195    0    0 

MiLLOM-iN-FiTRSESs. — For  the  erection  of  a  bridge  over 
Haverigg-pool,  for  the  Millom  local  boArd  : — 

Dodd,  J.  (accepted) £170    0    0 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


491 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


LOXDOS,  FRIDAY,   OCTOBER  29,  ISSO. 


DAIET  HOMESTEADS  AT  THE  DAIRY 
SHOW. 

THIS  year  fewer  competitors  have  re- 
sponded to  the  invitation  of  the  British 
Dairy  Farmers'  Association  than  last  year, 
only  four  having  entered  the  lists.  Three 
prizes  were  offered,  and  the  conditions 
required  designs  for  a  dairy  homestead  for 
50  cows.  Drawings  had  to  be  coloured,  and 
the  scale  was  not  to  be  less  than  Sft.  to  the 
inch,  and  details  of  .Jin.  A  specification 
and  estimate  had  to  accompany  each  set.  In 
examining  the  four  designs,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  but  that  the  judges  have  fairly 
awarded  the  silver  medal  and  £15  to  the 
design  marked  •'Shorthorn"  (Mr.  Eichard 
Waite,  architect,  Duffield,  Derbyshire),  the 
author  of  which  has  evidently  shown  judg- 
ment and  good  taste  in  the  disposal  of  his 
buildings.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr. 
"Waite  was  winner  of  a  special  prize  in  the  last 
Exhibition,  and  has  taken  other  silvermedals. 
See  BriLDixo  News,  p.  5S0,  Vol.  XXXVII. 
In  the  plan  of  "  Shorthorn,"  the  principal 
merit  of  which  is  compactness  and  economy, 
avoiding  long  tramways,  the  tie-up  stalls  are 
in  two  double  byres,  side  by  side,  each 
42ft.  lon^  and  about  27ft.  wide,  placed  on 
the  west  side  of  the  area,  each  having  a 
feeding-passage  in  the  centre  and  in 
direct  communication  with  the  food- 
preparing  sheJs,  which  are  placed  next  the 
stackyard  on  the  north  side.  On  the  south 
side,  sheltered  by  the  cow-stalls  on  one  side 
and  by  the  implement-shed  on  the  other,  is 
the  covered  yard  for  young  stock,  42ft.  by 
43ft.  This  area  is  partly  covered  to  the  ex- 
tent of  25ft.  from  the  back,  and  is  roofed 
in  two  bays,  supported  by  a  row  of  cast-iron 
columns  in  the  centre.  By  this  arrange- 
ment, the  objection  made  by  some  farmers  to 
covered  yards,  that  they  reduce  the  hardiness 
of  the  cattle,  has  been  met.  The  details  of 
Mr.  Waite's  plan  are  also  noteworthy.  VTe 
find,  for  instance,  that  there  is  a  central 
feeding-passage  6ft.  wide  between  stalls,  six 
stalls  in  each  row  "ft.  ■wide ;  the  calving-boxes, 
14ft.  by  10ft.  each,  have  also  two  doors,  a 
feeding  one  besides  an  entrance  to  cow-stalls ; 
the  mixing-room  is  convenient  to  the  root 
store  and  stalls,  and  by  a  judicious  arrange- 
ment the  stall  divLsions  are  so  constructed  as 
to  give  free  ventOation,  and  to  provide  easy 
means  of  feeding  from  the  central  passage 
between  the  lower  rails.  These  rails,  or 
battens,  are  fastened  by  screws,  and  can  be 
raised  or  lowered,  and  each  headpost  to  the 
divisions  is  cast  -with  flanges  to  receive  the 
battens— a  plan  at  once  economical  and  sani- 
tary. Then  we  iind  all  the  doors  are  hung 
in  "two  heights  ;  the  loft  over  mixing- 
room  is  obtained  under  a  wide  roof 
with  skylights  at  the  side,  the  purlins  being 
trussed  ;  an-i  ample  ventilation  is  secured 
by  louvred  skylights  along  the  ridges, 
combined  with  openings  running  along  the 
roof  and  overlapping  eaves.  Another  fea- 
ture in  the  author's  section  is  the  improved 
kind  of  trough,  made  of  blue  bricks,  which 
prevents  waste  of  food  ;  the  drinking-troughs 
are  raised,  and  the  author  prefers  to  supply 
them  by  pipes  from  a  higher  level.  Covered 
gangways  surround  the  yard,  and  the  drains 
are  well  detailed.  The  dairy  is  not  far  from 
house  and  cow-stalls  ;  moderate  stabling  is 
provided,  and  the  author  appears  to  have 
solvfd  the  problem  of  providing  for  50  cows 
by  bringing  all  the  departments  in  close 
relation,  so  as  to  avoid  tramways  and  ex- 
pensive  walling.      The   estimate  is  £1,.300 


for  homestead  and  piggeries,  and  £900  for 
the  house.  Externally  the  buildings  are  in 
red-brick  and  slate,  -n-ith  partially-tiled 
farmhouse,  and  a  clever  iuk  perspective, 
drawn  by  Mr.  Lethaby,  accompanies  the 
set. 

The  second  prize,  of  £10  and  a  bronze 
medal,  has  been  awarded  to  a  set  of  plans 
under  the  motto  of  "  Xero,"  by  another 
former  successful  competitor,  Mr.  Gilbert 
Murray,  Elvaston  Estate  Office,  Derbv. 
The  plan  we  have  illustrated,  so  we  need 
hardly  add  to  our  previous  remarks  upon  it, 
though  in  justice  to  the  competitors  we  may 
observe  the  design  shows  provision  for  80 
cows  and  40  young  cattle,  and  thus  exceeds 
the  requirtments  of  the  committee.  Possibly 
they  had  in  view  the  principle  of  planning, 
in  giving  the  second  prize  to  the  design, 
which  is  arranged  on  the  double  quadrangle 
system,  with  two  covered  yards,  separated 
by  a  wide  cow-house,  with  a  double'row  of 
stalls,  and  two  parallel  blocks,  one  occupied 
partly  as  stabling  and  implements,  and  the 
other  as  piggeries  and  cow-sheds  ;  these 
three  buUdings  being  united  on  the  north  side 
by  the  food-preparing,  waggon,  and  cart- 
horse sheds.  The  only  objection  we  have  to 
make  to  the  plan,  as  carrying  out  the  present 
requirements,  ii  that  the  tramways  are  long, 
and  the  corner  turnings  awkward.  The 
buildings  and  yards  are  covered  by  a  series 
of  five  parallel  roofs,  with  round  skylights, 
supported  in  the  yards  by  cast-iron  columns  ; 
there  are  footpaths  on  the  shed  sides  of  the 
yards,  and  the  details  are  carefully  shown. 
The  section  shows  iron  tie-rods,  and  struts 
with  timber  principals,  and  the  cost  is  es- 
timated at  £2,706. 

"  Once  Again  "  is  the  work  of  another 
practical  homestead  buUder  (Mr.  Thomas 
Potter,  Grange-park,  Alresford, Hants), whose 
plan  on  the  last  occasim  we  illustrated. 
Mr.  Potter  has  been  less  successful  this 
time ;  the  plan  covers  a  larger  area  than 
necessary,  and  we  find  the  whole  length  oc- 
cupied by  the  buUdings  is  224ft.  The  main 
feature  in  the  plan  is  a  through  roadway 
between  the  stables,  piggeries  and  food- 
preparing  house,  and  the  cow-house ;  the 
latter  is  placed  with  an  open  yard  and 
covered  shed  on  the  south,  the  former  mea- 
suring 97ft.  by  35ft.  Cow-boxes  form  short 
buildings  on  either  side,  and  stalls  for  52 
cows  are  shown,  with  a  centre  tramway 
running  through  the  cow-house,  and  con- 
tinued to  the  milk-room  on  the  east  side. 
The  arrangements  of  the  dairy  are  good, 
and  there  is  a  useful  courtyard  between  the 
dairy  on  the  north  side  and  house  on  the 
south.  We  also  consider  the  shed  on  one 
side  the  yaid,  covering  about  a  third,  is  a 
desii-able  feature,  and  practically  it  amounts 
to  a  partly- covered  area.  The  details  are 
well  considered,  and  an  isometrical  perspec- 
tive in  ink  is  sent  in,  showing  plain  buildings 
with  slated  roofs.  An  elaborate  set  of  notes, 
specification,  and  bill  of  quantities  accom- 
pany this  set,  in  which  the  author  alludes 
to  the  old  homesteads  built  to  suit  the  ideas 
of  several  successive  tenants,  and  to  the  re- 
gret felt  in  losing  so  much  that  is  picturesque, 
which  we  share  with  him.  The  external 
treatment  is  unpretentious  and  suitable. 
Estimate,  not  including  house,  dau-y,  and 
outbuildings,  is  £1,089  9s.  8d. 

A  monogram  "M.  C."  (by  Primrose 
McConnell,  Lymm,  near  Warrmgton) 
distinguishes  another  set  of  drawings, 
though  the  author  has,  by  adopting 
his  own  initials,  disqualified  himself^ 
The  pl<!n  indicates  a  practical  acquamtanoe 
with  homestead  construction.  The  byre  for 
48  cows  has  two  feeding-passages,  with  food- 
house  and  bam  at  one  end.  The  stables 
adjoin  the  byre  along  one  side,  with  piggenes 
on  the  other,  and  a  large  yard  is  obtained. 
The  dairy  is  in  direct  communicatioa  with 
the  food-pr.-paring  house  and  byre,  and  the 
cart-sheds  form  a  separate  range.  The  upper 
sties  are  utUised  for  calves.      The  cattle  are 


fed  from  tni  ks  running  on  wheels,  and  the 
troughs  are  shown  to  project  into  feeding 
passage.  The  section  shows  a  loft  supported 
by  iron  pillars  over  the  byre,  the  duiigstcad 
forms  a  lower  building  on  one  side  of  the 
byre,  and  the  details  are  jjractical.  We 
cannot  say  we  think  the  location  of  th.:  cow- 
house, in  reference  to  the  other  buildings, 
economical.  The  plans,  though  extremely 
neat,  are  feebly  executed,  and  a  perspective 
is  sent  in  which  docs  Uttle  justice  to  the 
design,  clearly  executed  by  some  one  who 
did  not  understand  isometric  i)rojection,  as 
the  walls  are  not  shown  vertical,  but  are 
twisted  round  so  as  to  make  the  chief  lines 
conform  to  the  paper.  It  is  to  be  regr.'tted 
that  the  conditions  published  by  the  Com- 
mittee are  so  indefinite.  In  this  instance  no 
instructions  as  to  area  of  land,  locality,  or 
levels  were  furnished,  and  we  are  sure  that 
a  more  satisfactory  competition  would  bo  the 
result  if  conditions  were  assumed  or  the 
Committee  s\ipplied  a  small  scale  plan  of  a 
site  from  Ordnance  Survey,  with  the  situation 
and  levels  marked,  so  that  thecompoti'ors 
might  work  from  actual  instead  of  imaginary 


THE    EESCISSION    OF    BUILDING 
AGREEMENTS. 

HOWEVER  carefully  and  cautiously  the 
clauses  and  conditions  of  a  building 
agreement  may  be  drawn,  disputes  will 
continually  arise  as  to  their  application 
under  certain  states  of  fact.  It  seems  easy 
enough  to  the  unthinking  to  put  down  upon 
paper  a  string  of  provisions  which  will  meet 
every  possible  combination  of  circumstances. 
But  even  when  the  agreement  is  so  cleverly 
conceived  as  to  be  thus  aU-embracing,  there 
remain  the  construction  of  its  various  terms, 
and  the  consideration  of  the  way  in  which 
the  powers  given  thereby  to  each  pirty  can 
be  enforced  against  the  other.  Thus  it 
comes  that  many  contracts  have  been 
brought  before  our  courts  of  law,  not  so 
much  because  they  were  ill-drawn  or  in- 
complete, as  that  difficulties  arose  as  to 
their  application  in  the  tangled  state  into 
which  the  facts  had  fallen.  A  case  of  this 
kind  lately  came  before  the  Chancery 
Division,  which  is  most  instructive  reading 
as  an  example  of  what  frequently  happens 
when  the  parties  fall  out  and  go  to  law  over 
their  agreement.  In  "  Marsden  v.  Sam- 
beU"  (43  Lav:  TiiMs  Eep.  N.S.  120;  both 
sides  were,  as  usual,  somewhat  in  the  wrong, 
though,  of  course,  each  thought  himself 
absolutely  right.  The  facts  were  verj"  simi- 
lar to  the  common  run  of  such  disputes, 
and,  as  several  legal  points  of  practical 
utility  were  made  plam  by  Mr.  Justice  Fry 
in  the  course  of  his  judgment,  we  propose 
briefly  to  direct  attention  to  the  cffcfs  of 
this  decision,  and  their  general  application. 
The  agreement  entered  into  between  the 
°mplove?and  the  contractor  provided  that 
the  latter  should  completely  finish  for  habi- 
tation certain  houses  then  m  carcase  by  the 
■Mth  day  of  June:  and  it  was  mutually 
a-reed  that,  in  aU  things,  time  shoul.l  bo  of 
the  essence  of  the  contract.  I  nder  one  of 
the  clauses  the  buUder  was  not  to  re- 
move any  of  the  materials  brought  by 
him  upon  the  premises  without  the  written 
license  of  the  employer  or  his  sur- 
Tevor  •  while,  in  a  cumbrous  an'.  c-mpU- 
cated  clause,  a  right  of  eiitrj-  ^as  .g-ven  to 
the  landlord  in  case  of  the  budder  s  fad^g 
to  finish  the  houses  as  a; reed,  or  breafang 
any  other  condition  of  the  contract.  Money 
was  duly  advanced  in  th.  usual  «,«>••.  ;"'lh« 
houses  4ere  not  completed  by  the  -1th  of 
June,  in  consequence,  according  to  the 
builder,  of  the  had  weather.  On  the  ..th 
of  June,  however,  the  employer  made  a 
tther  Advance  of  £15  ^o  onMeJho ^^n- 
tractor  to  pay  bis  men,  and  this  latt.  r  went 
on  w?th  the  works  without  ?"!  i"**^"^"?! 
fro^  his    emplover,    notwithstanding    the 


492 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


non- completion  of  tbe  houses.  But,  uijon 
the  5th  of  July,  a  man  who  was  engaged 
upon  property  close  by,  was  asked  by  the 
landlord  to  "  keep  his  eye  on  "  the  builder, 
and  he  did  so,  while  the  work  went  on,  down 
to  the  2jth  of  July,  when  it  was  stopped  in 
consequence  of  a  claim  made  by  the  employer, 
at  an  interview  with  his  contractor  about 
the  15th  of  July,  that  the  premises  were  for- 
feited to  him  from  the  preceding  24th 
of  June.  Upon  the  3 1st  of  July  the 
builder,  against  the  wiU  of  the  care- 
taker, entered  upon  the  premises,  and  re- 
moved a  quantity  of  building  materials, 
and,  again,  on  the  26th  September  he  did 
the  same  thing.  The  emp'oyer  then  brought 
his  action,  claiming  a  forfeiture  as  from  the 
24th  June,  carried  into  effect  by  his  appoint- 
ment of  the  man  whom  he  had  asked  to  look 
after  his  property,  and  further  claiming,  as 
an  allernative,  that  if  this  forfeiture  had 
not  been  effected,  or  had  been  waived,  then 
that  the  removal  of  the  materials  was  a 
fresh  forfeiture.  He  therefore  prayed  an 
injunction  against  the  defendant  contractor 
to  restrain  him  fri^m  trespassing  upon  the 
premises,  and  for  damages.  To  this  the 
defendant  pleaded  that  the  forfeiture  had 
been  waived  ;  that  the  time  of  completing 
had  been  verbally  extended,  though  this  fell 
through  for  want  of  evidence  ;  and  that  he 
did  not  know  the  terms  of  his  own  agi'ee- 
ment,  with  other  matters  equally  useless  and 
beside  the  point. 

Now,  there  are  no  less  than  four  different 
and  distini  t  questions  to  be  answered  in  this 
case,  questions,  too,  that  must  be  of  con- 
stant occurrence  in  disputes  upon  building 
agreements.  In  the  first  place,  there  had 
been  a  clear  breach  of  the  contract  upon  the 
defendant's  failure  to  complete  the  houses 
within  the  time  stated  :  and  there  was  thus 
a  forfeiture  of  which  the  plaintiff  could  take 
advantage  and  rescind  the  contract  alto- 
gether. But  then  came  the  query.  Had  not 
the  plaintiff'  waived  that  forfeiture  by  his 
own  conduct  ?  It  is  both  law  and  common 
sense  that  a  man  cannot  have  a  thing  both 
ways.  When  the  defendant's  failure  to 
complete  in  time  happiened,  then  the  plain- 
tiff had  a  right  of  entry.  Ho  must,  how- 
ever, act  upon  that  right  or  waive  it ;  he 
must  at  once  elect  to  do  either  one  or  the 
o!her.  Here  the  employer  not  only  ad- 
vanced money  after  the  forfeiture,  but  he 
allowed  the  buUdor  to  go  on  as  before.  Then 
when  he  did  take  action,  he  merely  asked 
some  one  to  give  an  eye  to  the  affair.  In 
neither  way  had  he  compjlied  with  the  law. 
It  seems  that,  even  now,  at  what  time  the 
right  to  avoid  a  contract  is  legally  lost, 
remains  stQl  doubtful.  But,  upon  the 
authorities,  a  man  must  elect  to  do  so  within 
a  reasonable  time  afterwards,  or,  at  all 
events,  before  the  other  party  has  been  in- 
duced to  alter  his  position  on  the  faith  of  its 
continuance.  In  this  case  the  pilaintiff  was 
wrong  a.11  round.  Having  the  right  to  avoid 
the  contract  and  claim  the  forfeitm-e  on  the 
24th  .June,  he  made  no  election  until  the 
oth  July,  which  was  an  unreasonable  delay. 
E'sen  then,  moreover,  he  did  not  signify  his 
election  to  rescind  in  a  plain  and  unqualified 
manner,  by  taking  possession  of  the  premises 
as  he  was  entitled  to  do,  and  should  have 
done.  The  plaintiff  was  still  more  wrong  in 
allowing  the  defendant  to  go  on  with  the 
work  after  the  forfeiture,  and  so  change  his 
position  ;  and  this  alone  would  have  pre- 
vented his  successfully  claiming  under  the 
first  forfeiture. 

But,  upon  the  other  part  of  the  case,  the 
defendant's  conduct  was  equally  erroneous 
and  illegal.  For  if  the  contract  was  sub- 
sisting, then  he  had  no  right  to  remove  the 
materials  as  he  did,  and  upon  these  breaches 
of  the  agi-eement  a  forfeiture  followed. 
Seeing  this  dilemma,  the  defendant's  coun- 
sel strove  to  argue  that  the  contract  had 
been  put  an  end  to  by  the  plaintiff  himself 
at  the  interview  upon  the  loth  July,   and 


here,  he,  in  his  turn,  wanted  to  have 
things  both  ways.  But  though  inge- 
nious, this  view  was  held  by  the  judge 
to  be  untenable.  From  this  aspect  of  the 
case  the  defendant  also  had  failed  to  make 
his  election  at  the  proper  time.  It  is  true 
that  the  i.laintift"s  refusal  to  treat  the  con- 
tract as  subsisting  gave  him  good  ground  to 
rescind  it  then  and  there  ;  but  he  had 
omitted  thus  to  claim  its  rescission,  and  had 
himself  gone  on  doing  work  under  it  and 
treating  it  in  all  things  as  subsisting.  He 
could  not,  therefore,  turn  round  afterwards 
and  say  he  wanted  it  the  other  way.  Xor 
was  the  defendant's  last  point  of  any  value. 
Claiming  to  have  rescinded  the  contract 
himself,  he  founded  upon  that  a  right  to 
remove  the  materials  from  the  premises. 
But  the  judge  ruled  otherwise,  according  to 
clearly-established  law,  and  so,  even  upon 
this  supposition,  there  was  an  end  of  the 
defence.  j\Ir.  Justice  Fry  then  held  that  the 
removal  of  materials  without  plaintiff's  per- 
mission was  a  breach  upon  which  forfeiture 
followed,  and  he  accordingly  granted  the 
injunction  asked  with  £30  damages  and 
costs  ;  the  defendant  being  so  wholly  in  the 
wrong  as  regarded  the  latter  part  of  the 
controvers}-  between  the  parties. 

The  great  principle  at  the  root  of  this, 
and  many  preceding  decisions,  is  that  a  man 
must  act  uprightly  and  at  once  ;  and  that 
the  law  will  n..t  allow  him  to  blow  hot  and 
cold,  and  have  things  both  ways.  Had  not 
the  defendant  behaved  so  unwisely  in  seizing 
the  materials,  the  plaintiff  would  undoubt- 
edly have  lost  his  action  upon  the  first 
point.  For,  although  the  defendant  had  by 
his  breach  of  contract  in  not  finishing  the 
houses  as  agreed  brought  himself  within 
the  clause  as  to  forfeiture,  the  plaintiff  had 
lost  his  right  to  claim  it  and  avoid  the  con- 
tract by  the  dilato:  v  and  uncertain  way  in 
which  he  h;id  aC  d  afterwards.  A  man 
who  means  to  claim  his  legal  rights  must  do 
so  in  a  plain  and  straightforward  manner. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  law  will  not  en- 
courage any  delay,  neither  will  it  allow  one 
to  prejudice  another  by  pursuing  a 
com-se  of  conduct  which  may  induce 
that  other  to  alter  his  position  for 
the  worse.  These  are  simple  and  e'e- 
mentary  principles  of  justice,  and  in 
this  last  case  they  were,  curiously  enough, 
called  into  action  by  both  sides  of  the 
dispute.  For  the  defendant  also  tried  to 
turn  round  and  go  back  from  his  original 
standpoint.  The  moral  of  the  whole  dispute 
is  one  of  very  general  application.  It  is 
merely  that  men  of  business  should  act  in  a 
business-like  manner,  and  both  abide  by, 
and  carry  out,  the  terms  of  all  agreements 
into  which  they  may  enter.  The  day  has 
gone  by  when  little  tricks  and  technicalities 
wi'd  succeed  in  defeating  justice  in  our 
courts  of  law.  At  one  time  the  art  of 
playing  fast  and  loose  with  clauses  and 
conditions  of  contracts  was  brought  to  a 
state  of  high  perfection,  by  long  practice, 
amongst  certain  acute  lawyers.  In  these 
matters,  however,  we  are  now  under  the 
guidance  of  equitable  doctrines,  and  one  of 
the  greatest  of  these  is,  that  "  He  who  seeks 
equity  must  do  equity."  No  one  who  acts 
upon  contracts  by  the  light  of  this  motto 
will  fail  to  come  out  successful,  whatever 
may  be  the  dispute  in  which  he  is  engaged, 
or  the  court  in  which  he  is  made  a  party, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  rescission  of  con- 
tracts, where  so  much  depends  upon  the 
conduct  of  individuals. 


BAEET'S  PICTUEES  IN  THE  SOCIETY 
OF  AETS. 

NOT  many  besides  the  members  and 
visitors  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 
John's-street,  Adelphi,  are  probably  aware 
of  the  fine  pictures  which  adorn  the  upper 
part  of  the  walls  in  the  meeting-room  of  that 


institution.  They  had  become  very  dirty, 
and  few  even  of  those  who  were  wont  to 
attend  the  meetings  and  congresses  of  the 
Society  were  disposed  to  examine  them.  The 
coating  of  dust  and  dirt  had,  moreover,  ob- 
scured the  painting  :  it  looked  dull  and 
colourless,  and  the  lighting  did  not  add  to 
the  effect.  We  think,  therefore,  the  coimcil 
of  the  Society  wisely  undertook  the  process 
of  cleaning.  Mr.  H.  Trueman  Wood,  the 
secretary,  in  his  interesting  description  of 
the  pictures,  says — "  The  amount  of  cleaning 
which  has  been  bestowed  upon  them  has 
been  only  suflicient  to  remove  the  accumula- 
tion of  dirt  which,  in  the  course  of  the  past 
IT  years,  has  gathered  upon  them.  The  work 
has  been  very  successfully  carried  out  by  Mr. 
F.  W.  Andrew,  the  chief  repairer  in  the 
South  Kensington  Museum.  The  pictures 
have  been  merely  washed  over,  and  nothing 
has  been  done  to  them  which  would,  in  the 
slightest  degi-ee,  affect  their  surface."  Our 
inspection  of  the  pictiu'es  bears  out  Mr. 
Wood's  statement.  Few  will  say  the  pic- 
tures have  not  repaid  for  the  cleaning.  The 
removal  of  the  dingy  brownish  coating  of 
soot  has  revealed  the  colours  to  a  greater 
extent  than  we  had  anticipated  ;  there  is  a 
brilliancy  in  some  of  the  groups  which,  as 
Mr.  Wood  says,  will  surprise  those  who 
knew  them  in   their  recent  condition. 

Mr.  Wood  furnishes  a  few  descriptive 
notes  of  the  pictures  of  James  Barry,  pre- 
faced by  an  ac;count  of  the  painter  himself. 
Bora  at  Cork  in  1741,  Barry,  it  seems,  early 
gained  the  notice  of  Burke,  who  gave  him 
an  allowance  of  £50  a  year  to  visit  Rome. 
His  first  picture  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Academy  was  the  "  Adam  and  Eve,"  now 
belonging  to  the  Society.  In  1774,  when 
the  Society  moved  into  their  present  house, 
they  resolved  on  the  decoration  of  the  great 
room  ;  and  eight  artists  were  asked  to  com- 
pete upon  the  condition  that  they  should 
paint  each  an  hiotorical  picture,  and  t  wo 
others  were  invited  to  send  in  allegorical 
subjects,  it  being  iinderstood  that  the  pic- 
tures should  be  exhibited,  and  the  profits 
distributed  among  them.  The  historical 
painters  were  Angelica  Kauffmaim,  Sir 
Joshua  Eeynolds,  West,  Cipriani,  Dance, 
Mortimer,  Barry,  and  Wright ;  the  alle- 
gorical painters,  Eomney  and  Penny.  The 
invitation  was  met  with  a  refusal,  owing, 
it  is  said,  to  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds ;  but  in 
1777,  BaiTy  authorised  Mr.  Green,  the  en- 
graver and  member  of  the  Society,  to  inform 
the  council  that  one  of  the  I'oyal  Academi- 
cians was  willing  to  take  the  whole  work 
upon  himself,  and  to  decorate  the  great 
room  with  a  ' '  series  of  pictures  analogous 
to  the  views  of  the  Institution."  this 
offer  was  accepted  by  the  committee,  and 
upon  opening  the  letter,  it  was  found  the 
offer  had  been  made  by  Barry.  The  cost  of 
canvas  and  colours  was  estimated  at  £100 
and  a  further  expense  of  £30  for  models, 
which  the  artist  offered  to  pay,  but  which 
was  eventually  paid  by  the  Society.  It  was 
decided  to  paint  eight  historical  pictures  and 
two  allegorical  ones.  Barry  commenced  his 
task,  it  is  said,  with  only  sixteen  shillings  in 
his  pocket,  and  supported  himself  while  it 
was  in  progress  by  etching.  By  1778,  the 
pictures  were  well  advanced,  and  in  1781 
the  artist  was  allowed  the  entire  use  of  the 
room.  An  exhibition  of  the  pictures  took 
place  in  1783,  after  they  were  finished,  for 
the  painter's  benefit,  and  the  proceeds 
amounted  to  £503  12s.  Praise  poured  in 
upon  the  artist ;  but  he  complained  bitterly 
of  the  want  of  taste  on  the  part  of  the 
pubUc,  and  died  at  last  in  miserable  circum- 
stances. 

A  description  of  the  pictures  is  given  in 
Barry's  work  ;  but  Mr.  Wood  furnishes  an 
explanation  of  the  subjects  represented. 
The  series  is  intended  to  illustrate  the 
maxim,  "  That  the  obtaining  happiness,  as 
well  individual  as  public,  depends  on  cul- 
tivating   the  human    faculties."    The  first 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINg    NEWS. 


picture  shows  mankind  in  a  savage  state  ; 
the  second  represents  a  harvest-home  or 
thanksgiviug  to  Ceres  and  Bacchus ;  the 
third  the  victors  at  Olympia ;  the  fourth 
Navigation  ;  the  fifth,  the  Distribution  of 
Eewards  by  the  Society  ;  and  the  sixth, 
Elysivmi,  or  the  State  of  Final  Eetribution. 
On  entering  the  room  the  first  picture  is  on 
the  left  hand  on  the  west  side,  and  repre- 
sents Orpheus  explaining  the  advantages  of 
culture  to  a  group  of  savages ;  the  com- 
positions and  mountainous  background  are 
masterly.  A  Grecian  harvest-home  on  the 
second  half  of  the  wall  shows  a  landscape,  in 
the  foregi-ound  of  which  maidens  are  en- 
gaged in  a  dance ;  it  represents  the  second 
or  agricultural  stage  of  ci\Tlisation.  On  the 
wall  facing  the  entrance  is  certainly  the 
grandest  composition  ;  it  occupies  the  whole 
length  of  -wall,  and  is  entitled  the  "Victors 
at  Olympia."  On  the  right  are  a  group  of 
■victors  receiving  prizes  from  the  judges. 
Two  of  the  athletes  are  seen  carrying  an  old 
man,  Diagoras,  their  father.  In  another 
group,  Pericles,  with  the  face  of  the  Earl 
of  Chatham,  is  depicted,  and  above  is  a  view 
of  the  Parthenon.  On  the  left  hand  is  a 
chariot,  with  Hiero  of  Syracuse,  forming  a 
separate  group  ;  and  at  either  eud  are  statues 
of  Minerva  and  Hercules,  while  at  the  feet 
of  the  latter  sits  Barrj',  the  painter.  This 
pictures  combines  the  poetic  aud  historical 
elements.  The  fourth  i)icture  on  the  east 
■waU  called  "The  Thames,"  is  typical 
modem  commerce  and  navigation.  A  figm'e 
emblematic  of  the  Thames  is  seated  in  a  car 
drawn  by  illustrious  navigators,  Drake,  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  Cabot,  and  Captain  Cook  ; 
while  figures  representing  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa,  and  America,  are  in  front.  Following 
the  car  are  XereiJs,  the  sportive  appearance 
of  some  of  them  being  suggestive  as  show- 
ing that  extensive  commerce  is  •'  sometimes 
subversive  of  1  he  foundation  of  virtue."  In 
the  midst  of  the  sea-nymphs  the  jjainterhas 
shown  Dr.  Biu-ney,  as  a  personification  of 
Music — certainly  a  ludicrous  introduction,  a 
whim,  as  one  writer  calls  it,  which  no 
raillery  or  good  counsel  would  induce  Bariy 
to  dismiss  from  his  canvas.  In  the  back- 
ground is  a  tower  or  lighthouse,  and  a 
figure  of  Mercury  is  shown  at  the  top.  The 
fifth  picture,  occupying  the  same  wall,  repre- 
sents "The  Society,"  and  is  crowded  vdth 
personages  connected  with  it,  a&ong  them 
Lord  Eomney,  the  president,  William  Ship- 
ley, the  originator,  and  other  officers,  Mrs. 
Montague,  a  beneficent  patron,  and  a  host 
of  other  celebrities.  Over  the  entrance  is 
Elysium,  or  the  State  of  Final  Retribution, 
a  remarkably  fine  canvas,  crowded  with 
figures  representing  the  great  men,  philo- 
sophers, navigators,  poets,  aud  painters  of 
all  time,  in  which  composition,  however,  we 
see  that  the  uiuties  of  time  and  place  have 
not  been  preserved,  as  we  find  Thales  and 
Archimedes  in  the  same  group  as  Roger 
Bacon  and  Sir  Isaac  Xewton  and  Columbus. 
These  figures  have  been  an-anged  to  classify 
the  different  orders  of  genius.  In  the  lower 
right  comer,  ihe  artist  has  depicted  Tartarus 
and  a  fierj'  gulf,  wherein  figures  personating 
War,  Gluttony,  Cruelty,  and  other  vicfs 
are  seen  entwined  bj-  serpents.  West  and 
Mulready  at  difl:erent  times  have  reported 
on  the  condition  of  these  pictures ;  the 
Society  have  had  the  frames  regilded,  the 
canvases  were  re-lined  and  stretched ;  but 
the  present  recleaning  has  brought  out  the 
long-hidden  beauties  of  colour.  On  the 
staircase  are  a  number  of  etchings  by  Barry 
and  the  Society  possess  etchings  of  the  six 
great  pictures  on  the  walls.  Admirers  of 
grand  historical  composition  and  vigorous 
etchings  will  be  well  repad  by  a  visit  to  the 
.Society's  rooms,  which  contain  the  most  im- 
l^ortant  of  Barry's  works. 

Mr.  Bell  has  been  appointed  surveyor  and  in- 
spector 01  nuisances  to  the  urban  sanitarv 
authority  of  Cockenuonth. 


493 


A  RECENT  VISIT  TO  RUSSIA 

[Cmtinucd  from  page  3T9.) 
THE  CnilECUES. 
'T'HE  churches  in  the  Chinese  town,  or 
-L  trading  quarter  of  Moscow,  are  truly 
national.  These,  with  the  exception  of  the 
one  dedicated  to  St.  Basil,  have  been  rebuUt 
smce  the  fire  of  1812.  'J  he  old  walls  in  these 
cases  must  have  been  reused  as  far  as  they 
held  good,  for  one  of  their  number,  standino- 
near  a  gate  or  entrance  into  this  intern.^ 
city,  is  said  to  be  th?  work  of  Peter  the 
Great— a  statement  that  adds  another  hun- 
dred years  to  its  history.  I  licse  buildings 
are  rough-plastered  on  the  outer  face,  and 
set  off  with  barbaric  doors,  windows,  domes, 
and  spires,  many  features  of  which  are 
Indian  mixed  with  others  of  a  Saracenic 
type.  The  colouring  indulged  in  is  savage, 
and,  as  this  detail  is  kept  in  first-class  (rder^ 
we  come  upon  them  as  we  tum  the  streets 
with  somewhat  of  a  shudder.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, one  with  the  walls  a  bright  scarlet, 
relieved  in  the  window-dressings,  pilasters, 
&c  ,  v.-ith  white,  bright  green  roofs,  and 
white  domes ;  another,  Indian  red,  with 
white  facings,  and  the  domes  and  spires 
painted  green.  The  whole  of  these  build- 
are  minor  details  compared  with  the 

cnmcH  OF  ST.  basii, 
which  occupies  a  part  of  the  Great,  the  Red, 
or  Beautiful  square,  an  area  that  separates 
the  immense  cluster  of  bazaars  from  the 
Kremlin  walls  near  the  Holy  Gate.  As  a 
building  it  is  remarkable  frum  the  fact  of 
escaping  the  great  fire  of  the  city  and  the 
carrying  out  of  Napoleon's  orders  for  its 
destruction  by  his  artillery.  This  church 
was  commenced  by  an  Italian  architect,  to 
the  order  of  John  the  Terrible,  in  iJoO,  as  a 
thank-ofiering  for  the  subjugation  of  the 
Tartar  City  of  Zazan  by  Russian  arms.  Its 
site  was  the  grave  of  St.  Basil,  a  man  whose 
only  claim  to  canonisation  was  that  of  being 
an  idiot,  a  "  Simeon  Stylites"  of  Moscow, 
who  went  bare-footed,  carrying  heavy  iron 
chains  ani  crosses  as  penance  for  "  Christ's 
sake." 

This  church,  which  is  introduced  into 
most  of  the  views  of  Moscow,  is  strange  and 
grotesque  in  its  details,  being  designed  in 
an  Eastern  style,  the  leading  features  of 
which  on  the  one  hand  are  splendid,  and 
on  the  other  barbaric.  Tradition,  that  lies 
so  often,  says  the  king  was  so  pleased  with 
the  work  of  its  architect  that  he  ordered  his 
eyes  to  be  put  out,  with  th';  view  of  rendering 
him  incapable  of  exc  lling  or  surpassing  the 
beauty  of  this  church .  The  jjlan  of  the  nave  is 
square,  and  in  the  centre,  carried  on  theortho- 
dox  four  columns,  is  a  great  spire-like  pagoda 
of  Indian  or  Tartaric  design.  The  plan  of 
this  feature,  which  terminates  with  a  neck- 
ing of  ornament,  surmounted  by  a  bulbous 
dome,  is  octagon,  and  the  enricbments  are 
strings  and  circular  gablets,  richly  inter- 
laced and  crowded  with  gold  and  colour. 
At  the  four  comers  of  the  nave,  the  seats  of 
which  are  affected  by  the  octagonal  form 
of  the  central  towsr,  rise  other  pagodas  or 
minarets,  the  base  of  which  are  circular 
gablets,  the  short  shafts  being  pierced  with 
narrow  ligh's,  and  the  whole  crowned  with 
highly-enriched  bulb-shaped  domes.  These 
are  covered  vdih.  scale-like  shingles,  or  with 
interlacing  bands,  the  squares  being  sunk 
and  pointed,  or  ribbed,  the  line  of  the  same 
being  perpendicular,  or  twisted  after  the 
manner  of  an  Indian's  turban.  Built  as  a 
lean-to  on  every  side  of  the  nave  is  a  two- 
story  erection,  the  details  of  which  arc 
Italian  :  the  lower  stage  is  a  part-blind  and 
part-glazed  arcade  ;  the  higher  one,  which 
resembles  a  stately  gallery,  is  a  series  of 
upper  chapels.  The  centre  of  each  of  these 
faces  is  cut  by  an  octagonal  tower,  the 
lower  part  of  which  is  uniform  with  the 
adjoining  buildings;  the  upper,  ^hich 
rises  in  two  important  stages,  is  enriched 


f   M 


ti  or 
tin 


.      .Uf-t 

tliat  iLey  arc 
uuiir.  Coin- 
wliich  up  to 


with  cornices,  loop-lights,  and  steep-i>ointcd 
and  cu-cular  gablets.  These  four  towers. 
the  one  eoveniig  the  eastern  chap*l  b<.inp  the 
largest,  are  covered  w  th  great  buftious 
domes,  one  being  eiirichid  with  pointed 
squares,  m  which  respect  it  resembles  a  pino- 
cone  ;  the  others  being  ribbed  titbor  iu  i*r- 
pendicular  cr  twisted  line,  Uie  Utter  uot  a 
lorm  to  be  admi'cd,  as  it  reminds  one  of  tiio 
old  sj.iro  of  Chestertiled  Chureh.  The 
metal- work  of  these  domes  ii^  n.,t  of  tl.e  bast  ■ 
the  Imes  of  the  romidcd  ribs  arc  n.,t  smooth 
and  uniform.  They  are  a  n<  r 
angles,  the  natural  itwult  <A  1 
sheet  iron.  To  these  witl. 
details  of  construction,  this  , 
is  not  pleasing,  from  the  fiic; 
in  part  out  of  the  true  porpen  J 

pleting  the   domes   and  spiio.-,   

this  point  are  niue  in  numlxjri  we  have  two 
small  domes,  on  the  eastern  tnglea  ol  tkix 
lean-to  construction,  and  two  low  spin!!i 
over  the  western  comers,  the  latter  mkrking 
the  porches  or  ontrnuces  into  t^c  churoh. 
Occupying  a  central  position  in  theea?t  £«cc 
is  a  chajKil  crowned  by  a  bell-tower  of  octa- 
gonal form,  capped  with  an  ordinary  gpire. 
This  tower  is  pierced  oa  each  face' with  ii 
large  arched  opening,  in  v.-hich  uuiucrovi 
bells  are  hung,  the  openings  being  re- 
peated in  three  tieis  of  spire  liyhtd,  which 
gives  the  whole  a  verj- light  and  «>  ri.il  effect. 
Ihe  walls  of  the  entire  building  are  of  brick. 
faced  with  plaster,  and  by  way  cf  onioment 
they  are  overlaid  with  raised  joints,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  give  the  fabric  the 
appeaiancr  cf  being  constructed  of  rubble- 
masonry.  The  groimdwork  in  this  case  is 
colomed  iu  imitation  of  slone,  and  the 
joints  are  iiuished  red.  In  thi:  spandrels  of 
the  second  tier  of  windows,  rude  ornaments. 
illustiative  ot  foliage  springing  from  pots 
or  vessels,  aio  introduced  ;  these  are  worked 
in  the  sime  plastic  matoriHl.  aud  highly 
coloured.  The  reader,  from  this  description 
of  the  parts  of  this  remarkable  church,  will 
form  some  idea  of  its  strange  outline  ;  but 
he  can  form  none  of  its  decoration,  which 
embraces  the  whole  of  the  primary,  «nd  no 
few  of  t'lie  secondary  colours.  The  effect  of 
this  colour  is  heightened  by  a  lavish  expen- 
diture of  gold  in  the  domes  and  other  con- 
spicuous parts.  The  interior  is  in  one  way 
different  to  the  churches  we  have  alre.T'ly 
visited,  its  most  marked  feature  being  » 
great  number  of  small  chapols,  and  other 
apartments.  As  we  find  notSing  further  of 
special  interest  in  this  innermnst  part  of 
Moscow,  we  will  pay  a  visit  to  the  open 
spaces  abutting  upon  the  outer  fn'--  "*  '> 
walls.     These,  two  in  nvmibcr,  are 

THE  WINTER  MARKETS. 

One    has   a  large  circular  conduit   in   the 
centre,  which  is  a  buiy  spot  for  the  w»t«r- 
carriers,   who  come  here  by  hundreds  with 
their  casks  fitted  on  sledgfs  ;  these  latter, 
from  the  leakage  of  the  c»sk»,  are  one  ma«!< 
of  ice  disposed  in  fantastic  and  faiiy  form". 
These  winter  markets  follow  ni>on  th.'<«ettirg 
in  of  the  long  frost,  when  an  invu"'!-"  «f<v* 
offish,  flesh,  and  fowl  is  ki"    '     "^ 
once  exposed  to  the  biting  ai 
which  it  assumes  a  form  th  : 
all  through  the  winter-one   ^^  M  U  .  ii.i' j<=^ 
it  to  travel,  as  it  often  does,  upon  sledges  for 
a  thousand  miles   without   su^tiinir,?  nr,y 
damage.     Here  maybe  sefii  ■  -. 

fish  froE^  the  White  Sea,  ■ 
from  Northern  Siberia,  .''■: 
shores  or  the  Caspian  Sea. 
the  Crimea.     The  bulk  of  th  ' 

about  the  cities  of  Russia  ts';  J 

these  great  frozen  markets,  a:\-.  l.i.,'  n  •;.;■ 
stores  of  food,  to  meet  domestic  reqare- 
mects  during  the  long  if  mters.  Thi*  cunr^ 
of  food  bv  frost  is  a  system  strongly 
reflected  in  "that  of  curing  by  salt,  a  custom 
common  to  the  Teutonic  people.  «e  men- 
tion this  fact  because  it  gives  us  a  graphic 
illus^t  on  of  the  climate  of  Kussio,  and  it 


491 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


throws  a  powerful  Ught  upon  the  conditions 
under  which  the  building  and  other  trades 
of  the  country  are  pursued. 

Abuttmg  upon  the  largest  square  are  two 
of  the  many 

THE.i.TKES. 

It  is  exactly  a  century  since  the  Drama  on 
the  European  system  was  introduced  into 
Moscow  by  the  building  of  a  theatre  ;  this 
was  the  work  of  an  Englishman  of  the  name 
of  Maddos.  The  smaller  of  the  two  theatres 
under  notice,  an  estabUshmeut  devoted  to 
the  Russian  drama,  is  capable  of  seating 
500  persons  ;  but  as  this  building  possesses 
few  details  of  interest,  we  will  pass  on  to  the 
larger  one,  which  maybe  called  the  "Im- 
perial Italian  Opera  House."  This  building, 
which  is  Imperial  property,  has  an  imposing 
facade,  not  milike  that  of  our  Eoyal  Ex- 
chajige,  except  that  the  shafts  are  not  fluted. 
The  building  is  of  brick,  plastered  on  the 
face,  and  coloured  a  pale  red.  The  columns 
ranging  along  the  front  are  of  sandstone  ; 
but,  strange  to  say,  these  are  coloured  in 
the  same  manner.  We  were  curious  about 
the  quarries  from  whence  these  blocks  were 
hewn  ;  but  we  were  not  fortunate  enough  to 
satisfy  ourselves.  Our  guide,  a  most  intel- 
ligent gentleman,  who  was  born  in  the  city, 
but  who  learnt  the  English  language  in 
America,  assured  us  it  was  a  material  intro- 
duced in  the  city  from  Finland,  being 
■brought  up  from  the  north  by  the  rail- 
way ;  but  our  guide-book  (Murray's)  assures 
us  there  are  extensive  quarries  of  this  sand- 
stone in  the  neighbourhood  of  Moscow.  The 
present  building,  which  dates  from  1852- 
1856,  is  capable  of  accommodating  an 
audience  of  1,500  persons,  .and  some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  its  size  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  furnished  with  six  tiers  of  boxes.  The 
origin  of  this  theatre  was  the  burning  of  an 
older  one  that  occupied  its  site,  an  event 
that  occmTcd  in  1852. 

The  next  most  important  edifice  is  the 

GREAT  EIDING-SCnOOL, 
a  large  hut  plain  building  situate  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  to  the  east  of  the  Ki-emlin. 
Prior  to  the  construction  of  the  St.  Pancras 
station  by  the  Midland  Railway  Co.,  this 
■was  the  largest  covered  space,  unsupported 
by  central  pillars,  in  the  world.  Its  internal 
length  is  given  as  560ft.  (four-fifths  of  St. 
Pancras  station),  and  its  width  as  15Sft. 
(two-thirds  that  of  St.  Pancras),  the  height 
of  the  flat  ceiling  being  42ft.  The  framing 
of  this  enormous  roof  is  of  wood,  and  it  is 
described  as  a  forest  of  beams  and  rafters 
above  the  level  of  the  ceiling.  We  were  not 
fortunate  enough  to  inspect  this  remarkable 
specimen  of  Russian  carpentry,  as  a  special 
order  is  required  before  a  visiter  can  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  roof,  nor  were  we  able  to  see 
any  drawings  or  sections  of  the  same. 
The  object  of  this  building  is  to  furnish  a 
covered  space  for  the  exercise  of  troops, 
when  the  cold  is  so  intense  as  to  render  the 
operation  impossible  in  the  open  air,  the 
area  being  sufficient  for  the  accommodation 
of  two  regiments  of  cavali-y. 

The  ornamentation  of  the  inteiior  consists 
of  simdry  bas-reliefs,  consisting  of  men  in 
armour,  warlike  trophies,  &c.,  and  the 
heating  or  warming  is  carried  out  by  some- 
thing like  twenty  porcelain  stoves  fixed 
along  the  walls.  These  are  of  great  size, 
and  rise  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  ceiling. 
During  our  visit  to  Russia  in  December  last, 
we  witnessed  the  coldest  period  of  the  year 
when  the  temperature  sank  to  20  degrees  of 
frost  (Reaumur) — II  degrees  below  zero,  and 
we  saw  the  provision  made  by  the  military 
authorities  for  the  sentries  in  such  a  tem- 
perature. As  this  has  a  bearing  upon  the 
bmlding  under  notice  we  make  free  in 
giving  details  of  the  same.  The  soldier  has 
on  his  ordinary  winter  clothing  of  cloth,  and 
the  long-skirted  grey  overcoat ;  over  this  he 
has  a  dark  cloth  cloak  lined  with  sheep's 


wool,  even  to  the  ends  of  the  sleeves.  On 
his  feet  he  has  a  pair  of  clogs  lined  with 
felt ;  round  his  neck  he  has  a  brown  cloth 
hood  with  ends  a  yard  long ;  these  ends  he 
wraps  roimd  his  neck  in  the  form  of  a  scarf, 
the  hood  itself  being  on  his  back  or  drawn 
over  his  head.  His  hands  are  bm-ied  in  long 
felt  gloves,  tied  with  a  baud  across  the  arm, 
and  if  he  is  exposed  to  a  biting  wind  the 
collar  of  his  outer-coat  is  turned  up,  an  act 
that  literally  buries  or  obscures  the  head; 
in  this  guise  he  paces  his  beat,  carrying  his 
musket  as  best  he  may.  The  impression  we 
form  is  that  the  first  consideration  of  the 
military  authorities  is  the  care  of  the  men 
forming  the  rank  and  file,  or  bone  and  sinew, 
of  the  army,  and  the  very  reversal  of  this 
detail  sliows  how  far  short  our  authorities 
were  in  their  reckoning  when  they  sent  our 
soldiers  to  winter  in  the  Crimea. 

In  our  next,  we  propose  to  visit  the  New 
Church  of  the  Redeemer — the  "  St.  Isaac's 
of  Moscow,"  and  to  afterwards  close  our 
notes  of  travel  in  Russia  with  a  few  general 
remarks. 


DECORATIVE  FURNITURE  AXD  HOUSE- 
HOLD APPLIANCES. 
AMONG  the  few  est.ablishments  in  the  City 
where  art-furniture  is  made — not  the 
tasteless  show-room  inanities  which  often  go 
under  that  name — is  that  of  Messrs.  Walker  and 
Sons,  of  119,  BunhUl-row.  The  manufactory 
itself  is  an  imposing  building  in  size,  but  its  in- 
terest lies  chiefly  in  its  completeness.  Entering 
through  an  archway,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  large 
court-j'ard,  on  each  side  of  which  are  the  blocks 
— one  devoted  to  the  manufacture,  and  the  other 
to  the  show  rooms,  while  a  large  office,  lighted 
from  the  same  court  at  the  end,  is  used  as  a 
draughtsmen's  office,  for  we  find  Messrs.  Walker 
employ  their  own  artists.  The  ground-floor 
of  the  show-rooms  is  set  .apart  for  the  larger 
and  heavier  sorts  of  furniture,  such  as  wood 
chimney-pieces,  sideboards,  and  other  dining- 
room  appointments.  Messrs.  Walker  probably 
have  here  as  large  a  collection  of  wood  chimney- 
pieces  as  will  be  foimd  anywhere  in  the  Metro- 
polis ;  not  that  we  attribute  any  virtue  to  mere 
quantity  in  artistic  work.  Large  stocks  are 
often  accompanied  by  inferiority  in  design  | 
and  workmanship,  and  quality  is  oftener  than  f 
otherwise  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  quantity.  ( 
But  this  is  not  the  case  with  Messrs.  Walker's 
show-room,  for  we  find  superior  workmanship, 
unknown  to  many  of  the  large  manufactories  in 
Tottenham  Court-road,  in  almost  every  article, 
and  tliis  is  found  along  with  good  design  in  very 
many  instances.  We  notice  a  few  handsome 
American  walnut  chimney-pieces, including  over- 
mantels in  a  style  that  would  compete  with  many 
specially  designed  by  well-known  artists,  vary- 
ing in  price  from  £30  to  £G0.  These  are  gene- 
rally of  Old  English  design,  varying  from  Jaco- 
bean to  the  liter  forms  of  Renaissance.  In  some 
of  these  the  chimney-glass,  set  in  a  frame  of 
American  walnut,  is  made  the  principal  featm-e, 
to  meet  the  taste  of  customers,  who  have  still  a 
strongly-rootedprejudice  for  the  chimney -mirror, 
while  in  others,  the  glass  occupies  but  a  small 
part  of  the  space  above  the  mantel-piece,  and 
the  sides  are  devoted  to  tiers  of  shelves  for  china. 
The  display  of  mirror  or  faience  depends  on 
something  more  than  personal  taste  or  vanity  ; 
a  close,  heavily-furnished  apartment  is  often  re- 
lieved and  considerably  lightened  by  a  mirror  ; 
and  with  all  our  disUke  for  the  gilded  and 
tawdry  splendour  of  the  popular  gilt  "pier- 
glass,"  we  may  still  discern  correct  taste  in  a 
moderate  use  of  the  mirror  framed  in  the  darker 
and  more  serviceable  matei'ial.  In  this,  as  in 
other  matters  of  taste,  "extremes  meet,"  and 
often  lead  to  a  common-sense  moderation. 

A  veiy  useful  and  cheap  kind  of  chimney  de- 
coration is  now  manufactured,  and  we  see  a  few 
neatly-made  examples  in  these  show-rooms.  Let 
us  take  Nos.  787,  790,  791,  and  795,  in  the  cata- 
logue. One  of  these  consists  of  a  low  oblong 
panel  of  bevelled  silver-plate  glass  with  a  narrow 
ledge  or  shelf  above  it,  as  well  as  the  usual  mantel- 
shelf ;  the  splayed  sides  of  mantel-piece  may  be 
decorated  with  tiles  or  merely  carved.  Another 
form  is  more  broken  in  outline  :  the  plate-glass 
panel  is  square  or  circular,  and  the  woodwork 
above  mantel  is  finished  with  mordded  cornices, 


which  form  ledges  for  ornaments  or  bric-a-brac. 
A  third  is  quite  plain,  without  glass  p.inel, 
and  its  price  is  £1  Vis.  6d.  Who  would 
prefer  the  heavy  console  mantel-piece  in  marble 
to  one  of  these  useful  chimney-pieces?  Messrs. 
Walker  provide  for  the  drawing-room  as  well  as 
the  librai'y  or  dining-room.  Their  walnut  and 
gold  chimney-pieces  possess  the  merit  of  relief 
upon  the  dark  material.  In  some  the  orna- 
mentation was  most  simple,  and  was  obtained  by 
incised  lines  and  carving  on  the  surface,  these 
being  gUded.  The  inlaid  cabinets  in  almost 
every  form  from  what,  in  the  trade,  is  called 
"Early  English"  to  the  style  of  the  Adams 
Brothers,  present  enough  variety  to  satisfy  the 
most  fastidious.  Another  speciality  of  this  firm 
is  the  sUk  and  wool  tapestries  with  plush  borders, 
a  tasteful  kind  of  covering  for  chairs  and 
couches.  We  have  no  space  to  describe  the 
ebonised  drawing-room  suites  in  the  most  unique 
styles,  from  Jacobean  to  the  Georgian ;  the 
artistic  joinery,  another  speci.al  branch  of  manu- 
facture— doors,  overdoors,  wall-Unings,  dadoes, 
nor  suites  of  bedroom  furniture.  The  Himgarian 
ash  veneered  toilet-table  with  tile  back,  and  the 
cant-sided  wardrobe,  the  American  light  wood 
and  walnut  relief  furniture,  and  the  stoves  with 
repousse  bronze  cheeks,  are  well  worth  inspection 
by  architects  and  others.  Messrs.  Walker  are 
certainly  setting  an  example  in  the  way  of  good 
art  workmanship  to  our  colonies,  whither  they 
send  large  supplies  of  their  goods. 

Passing  from  furniture  in  which  the  raw 
material  is  wood,  let  us  turn  to  other  manufac- 
tures in  which  u-on,  terra-cotta,  and  faience, 
have  been  brought  into  artistic  combination. 
Messrs.  Barnard,  Bishop,  and  Barnard,  of  Nor- 
wich and  Queen  Victoria-street,  the  manufac- 
turers of  the  well-known  "slow-combustion 
stove,"  have  an  interesting  show  of  stoves, 
mantel-pieces,  woodwork,  and  other  kinds  of 
decor.ative  furniture,  which  deserve  an  architect's 
attention.  The  construction  of  a  stove  that  shall 
give  out  the  largest  amount  of  heat  by  radiation, 
require  little  attention,  and  shall,  at  the  same 
time,  limit  the  amount  of  smoke,  is  a  problem 
that  deserves  the  best  consideration  of  the  manu- 
facturer and  sanitarian.  The  increasing  smoki- 
ness  of  London  and  other  great  coal-burning 
cities,  is  a  subject  growing  every  year  and 
calling  for  urgent  attention.  Just  now  a  joint 
committee  of  the  National  Health  and  the 
Kyrle  Societies,  held  at  the  ofiices  of  the  former 
body,  in  Bemers-street,  W.C,  are  engaged 
in  investigating  the  subject  of  smoke-consump- 
tion, and  propose  taking  evidence  on  the  most 
desirable  kinds  of  apparatus  and  fuel  that  shall 
limit  the  production  of  smoke.  Messrs.  Barnard 
and  Bishop's  slow-combustion  stoves  are  a  step  in 
the  right  direction,  and  as  it  can  be  shown  that 
this  stove  burns  less  coal  by  50  per  cent., 
it  follows  as  a  natural  consequence  that  they 
throw  out  less  smoke.  Dense  rolling  volumes  of 
black  smoke  are  impossible  by  the  use  of 
stoves  of  this  construction,  and  we  believe  if 
every  householder  in  London  were  obliged  to 
use  them,  50  per  cent  of  the  smoke  which  now 
renders  the  •ndnter  season  unendurable  and  vitiates 
our  atmosphere  would  be  saved.  They  are  also 
clean,  and  fuel  of  any  description  can  be  burnt. 
Their  construction  is  exceedingly  simple.  It 
consists  of  a  soUd  basket  of  fire-  brick,  sloped  at 
the  back  with  bars  in  front,  through  which  the 
air  passes.  A  larger  heating-surface  is  presented 
to  the  room,  while  a  register  door  is  provided  to 
regulate  the  draught  in  the  chimney.  As 
artistic  stoves  they  are  fiir  superior  to  the  old 
"register  grate,"  the  fire-opening  is  rectangular, 
and  the  sides  are  splayed.  In  many,  these  are 
decorated  with  painted  tiles  ;  in  others  the  splays 
are  formed  of  cast  metal  of  a  pleasing  Japan- 
esque pattern.  In  some  the  tiles  .are  introduced 
as  a  margin  in  the  same  plane  as  the  stove-front. 
The  mantel  -pieces  are  of  almost  every  description 
of  wood,  from  satinwood  to  pitch-pine.  Some 
of  the  painted  chimney-pieces  are  unique  ;  one 
we  saw  was  of  peacock-blue,  relieved  by  lighter 
shades  in  the  mouldings ;  the  colour  of  the 
woodwork  can  bo  made  to  form  a  pleasing  con- 
trast with  the  Berlin  black,  brass,  or  bronzed 
fronts  of  the  stoves,  and  many  of  the  brass  fronts 
with  the  reeded  f  name,  and  splayed  sides  fiUed  with 
conventional  ornament  of  tile  or  metal,  have  a 
highly  decorative  appearance.  We  must  not 
forget  to  mention,  in  speaking  of  stoves,  the 
"Diamond  cooking.range  "  made  by  this  firm  ; 
they  are  supplied  from  ISin.  to  36in.  in  width. 
The  smaller  ones  are  about  12in.  deep  and  27in. 
high,  and  contain  a  wrought  iron  oven,  shelves, 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


495 


damper,  blower,  wrouglit  hinges.  See.  The  fire 
13  contained  in  a  solid  tire-brick  lining  "with  the 
oven  below  it  :  they  thus  save  room  and  econo- 
mise fuel,  as  they  are  on  the  slow-combustion 
principle,  and  can  be  fitted  in  the  usual 
brick  fireplace,  or  be  supplied  in  a  portable 
form.  Nothing  could  be  better  adopted 
for  cottages  than  the  21  -  inch  range  we  saw  ; 
the  oven  being  below  the  fire,  is  of  good  size, 
and  the  whole  can  be  introduced  into  a  small 
opening.  The  price  varies  from  35  shillings  up- 
wards. "We  understand  they  are  to  be  introduced 
in  the  New  Lambeth  Dwellings.  Another 
speciality  of  this  firm  is  their  "  slow-combustion 
mantel  register  stove."  This  is  a  complete  stove 
and  mantel  combined,  suited  for  the  smallest  fire 
openings,  and  we  can  recommend  them  for  bed- 
rooms, attics,  and  other  purposes  where  a  small 
■fire  is  desirable.  They 'ire  made  18  inches  and 
24  inches  wide,  with  painted  wood  fronts,  and 
are  provided  with  open  grated  or  solid  fire-brick 
bottoms.  The  "  jardiniere  "  m  cast-bra.s3  is  a 
pleasing  novelty.  It  is  in  fact  a  flower-box  of 
metal,  which  can  be  hung  on  to  the  bars  of  a 
rgratc  in  summer-time  when  the  tire  is  not  in  use. 
Decorative  woodwork,  over-mantels,  &c.,  are 
another  manufactiire  of  which  numerous  speci- 
mens are  to  be  seen  here.  The  oak  staircase 
leading  from  the  lower  to  upper  show-room 
shows  a  sensible  variation  upon  the  common 
■wrought-iron  balustrade.  This  is  of  solid  oak 
perforated  in  panels  of  oval  shape,  and  filled  with 
WTOught-iron  scrollwork. 

The  principle  of  storing  and  radiating  heat 
has  been  carried  by  some  manufacturers  farther 
than  mere  utilitarian  considerations  suggest ;  we 
instance  the  introduction  of  terra-cotta  for  the 
entire  mantel-piece  and  fireplace,  as  those 
recently  manufactured  by  Messrs.  Doulton  in 
red  and  buff  terra-cotta.  There  is  a  decided 
advantage  in  applying  terra- 3otta  in  this  way  : 
it  has  not  the  objections  that  might  be  urged 
against  wood  as  a  material  in  :?lose  proximity  to 
the  fire ;  it  is  free  even  from  those  which  might 
be  made  to  stone  or  marble,  and  it  moreover 
retains  heat.  In  the  open  fireplaces  of  Messrs. 
Doulton,  the  fire  is  made  on  the  hearth,  kept  in 
position  by  an  iron  hurdle  ;  the  sides  are  well 
■splayed,  and  these  are  decorated  with  tiles  or 
■mosaic.  Artistically,  we  think  some  of  the 
■designs  a  little  too  extravagant  iu  decoration,  to 
which  the  material  readily  lends  itself ;  but 
architects  have  the  material  in  their  own  hands. 
Perhaps  a  still  more  useful  application  of  tile  or 
glazed  fire-clay  is  this  firm's  new  "  Radiating 
Tile  Stoves."  These  are  constructed  iu  rectan- 
gular and  other  shapes,  with  tiles  all  round, 
and  they  have  an  enamelled  slate  top.  In 
some,  glazed  fli-eclay  corners  are  introduced. 
Decoratively  they  admit  of  almost  unUmited 
variety  :  eorac  have  hand-painted  tiles  in  buff, 
brown,  and  green  glazes  ;  others  are  in  a  quite 
plain  tint,  but  almost  any  kind  of  modelled  or 
painted  decorations  may  be  obtained.  We  might 
even  hope  for  some  improvement  in  form  if  not  in 
colour  .-  }-tt  we  are  boimd  to  say  these  stoves  are 
preferable  to  iron  for  aaany  purposes  where  little 
attention  and  a  moderate  heat  is  required,  with- 
out the  objections  (as  the  over-heating  of  the  air) 
almost  inseparable  from  the  use  of  iron  heated 
surfaces.  Their  surfaces  are  glazed,  and  can  be 
easily  wiped  over,  and  the  variety  of  design  and 
colour  that  can  be  got  make  them  valuable  as 
liall-stoves  or  for  the  heating  of  studios,  shops, 
show-rooms  and  conservatories.  They  can  be 
placed  on  a  stone  or  tile  hearth,  and  may  be 
■connected  with  the  outer  air.  The  sizes  are 
Tarious  :  some  are  4ft.  Sin.  high,  1ft.  oin,  wide, 
and2ft.  lin.  long;  the  smallest  size  is  3ft.  oin.  by 
ift.  -Sin.  by  1ft. 


IMPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  TESTING   OF 
CEMENT. 

AN  important  contribution  on  the  tensile 
test  of  cement  appears  in  the  current 
number  of  the  Traxsuctmis  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers.  Mr.  D.  J.  Whitte- 
more,  the  author  of  the  paper,  has  for  some 
time  been  endeavouring  to  arrive  at  a  more 
satisfactory  unit  of  measure  than  that  generally 
used  in  determining  the  actual  tensile  strength 
of  a  cement  briquette.  It  is  well  known  there 
are  several  foi-ms  and  sizes  of  briquettes ;  the 
French  engineers  adopt  an  area  of  rupture  of  4 
by  4  centimetres,  while  in  England  and  America 
the  usual  size  is  iMn.  by  Uin,  but  the  form  of 
briquette  is  often  changed.     The   author,    in  a 


preUmmary  remark,  justly  says :— "  It  is  knowni 
to  many  experimenters  that,  iu  tensile  tests  par- 
ticularly, the  apparent  strength  per  square  unit 
of  ruptured  area  is  greater  in  small  than  in 
large  briquettes,  and  in  an  endeavour  to  deter- 
mine the  ratio  of  this  apparent  variation,  I  have 
made  certain  tests,  iu  which  investigation  I 
employed  cylindrical  briquettes  of  two  sizes,  the 
larger  ono  having  a  breaking  section  of  2  sfjuaro 
inches,  and  a  form  and  clutch  appliance  similar 
to  that  shown  in  my  notes  on  Alfred  Noble's 
paper  last  year."  The  smaller  briquette  and 
clutch  is  engraved ;  its  breaking  area  is  one-half 
of  1  square  inch,  and  its  form  and  clutch  is 
said  to  possess  marked  features  of  excellence. 
If  we  may  describe  Mr.  A\'hitteniore's  bri(iuctte 
without  a  diagram,  we  may  call  it  a  cylinder 
with  three  longi.udinal  ribs  or  enlargements,  each 
rib  in  section  compri.'-ing  an  arc  of  about  58  de- 
grees. In  the  centre  of  the  briquette  a  channel 
is  turned  by  which  the  area  of  rupture  is  reduced 
to  a  cii-cular  section,  and  the  ribs  or  projections 
are  rounded  off  to  a  spherical  shape,  the  centre 
of  which  is  upon  the  axis  of  briquette.  This 
briquette  is  held  by  a  gimbal-clutch,  purposely 
designed  by  the  author.  The  head  of  the 
briquette  is  introduced  into  an  inner  "  gemel- 
ring,"  whose  inner  surface  is  turned  to  fit  the 
surface  of  the  briquette  enlargement.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  convey  by  description  a  notion 
of  the  appliance ;  we  may  observe,  however, 
the  effect  of  the  clutch  is  to  prevent  any  strain 
other  than  tensile,  and  to  give  the  briquette 
perfect  freedom  of  movement  in  reference  to  the 
pulling.  The  author  also  illustrates  an  ingenious 
press  to  secure  uniformity  iu  the  moulding  of 
specimens,  by  which  apparatus  the  mortar  or 
cement  is  acted  upon  by  plungers  at  the  ends  of 
the  mass,  so  as  to  secure  homogeneity.  The 
author's  experiments  prove  beyond  doubt  an 
uniformity  of  results  not  found  by  the  usual 
means  of  testing.  The  samples  were  all  made  of 
neat  cement  mixed  thoroughly,  all  were 
brought  to  the  same  degree  of  plasticity,  moulded 
under  the  same  pressure,  and  when  set  were 
removed,  placed  in  water  for  seven  days,  and 
then  tested.  The  table  given  shows  a  very  small 
variation  from  the  mean,  less  th-tn  one-half  that 
ordinarily  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  circular 
briquette  of  2  square  inches  breaking  area  and 
cup  clutch.  The  principal  brands  of  American 
hydraulic  cements  and  English  Portland  were 
used. 

Without  going  into  the  tables  of  analysis  of 
the  cements  given,  we  may  allude  to  an  im- 
portant table,  recording  the  average  of  several 
tests,  from  which  it  is  evident  that  the  strength 
per  square  inch  of  the  smaller  briquette  is  double 
that  of  the  larger.  The  author  inquires  :  "  What 
measure  of  the  breaking  section  of  the  two  sizes 
of  briquettes  is  then  most  nearly  proportional  to 
their  strength  "  ?  It  appears  that  the  diameter 
or  circumference  of  the  breaking  section,  and  not 
its  area,  is  more  directly  proportional  to  the  re- 
sistance. With  this  idea,  Mr.  Whittemore  insti- 
tuted other  tests,  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
whether  the  peripheric  strength  really  existed. 
For  this  purpose,  hollow  circular  briquettes 
were  made,  having  a  peripheric  measurement 
inside  and  out  50  per  cent,  greater,  and  an  area 
25  per  cent,  lesi  than  the  solid  one  of  the  same 
exterior  dimensions.  The  specimens  were  simi- 
larly moulded,  and  kept  in  water  seven  days ; 
but  the  tests  showed  that  there  is  no  great  diffe- 
rence iu  the  absolute  strength  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  mass.  The  explanation  fumi.shed 
by  the  author  is  reasonable  ;  that  in  all  tensde 
tests  the  stress  at  the  clutch  is  at  the  surface  of 
the  specimens.  Rupture  first  takes  place  at  the 
surface,  which  reduces  the  section  to  the  area  at 
which  complete  separation  takes  place.  The 
author  proceeds  to  express  his  deduction  from 
these  experiments,  and  he  gives  the  foUowmg 
formula.  Let  P  represent  the  periphery  of 
breaking  section  of  known  strength  S  per  square 
unit.  The  strength  S'  per  square  unit  of  bri- 
quette of  similar  form  and  material,  havmg  a 
periphery  P',  ■will  be  :  — 

S     -  ^^ 

s   -  pr 

The  experiments  from  which  this  is  deduced 
applied  to  briquettes  with  a  rupturing  area  ot 
from  i  to  4  square  inches,  kept  iu  water  seven 
days.'  The  tables  furnished  by  the  author, 
showing  the  strength  per  lineal  inch  of  peri- 
phery of  the  breaking  section,  and  that  per 
square  inch,  indicates  that  while  the  latter 
varied,  the  strength  per  lineal  inch  closely  ap 


proximatcd  in  all  the  tvnt*,  and  appeani  to  bear 
out  the  concliuion  ubuvu  (jivon. 

A  discuiwion  of  foiiio  iutcn-nt  followed,  in 
which  the  author  i.f  the  pajicr  ri'i>lii-d  to  sa'vinil 
questions  niiscl.  Alludiiiff  to  tln>  Icniftli  <.f  timi- 
during  whicli  the  ►p.-einienii  weri>  cipoM-d,  llio 
author  said  seven  dayn  w.-m  the  limit.  CrBDl'ii 
experiments  in  bin  work  "On  the  StrruKth  "f 
CumcutH"  wore  said  to  \m  numibomlive,  ixtond- 
ing,  Iu  ono  KcrieH,  to  novon,  and,  in  anotlii-r,  to 
thirty  days  ;  the  latt.  r  «h.>win(f  alrnoul  ximiUr 
nsulLs.  Mr.  Ahhbel  Welch,  and  Mr.  W.  P. 
Skinn,  both  thouBlit  that  thrun  •'xprrimrata 
should  bo  extended  over  l.mjf  pi'riiMln  of  limo  ; 
another  spcukir,  Mr.  J.  It  Kranrij.,  »p<,ko  of  tha 
value  of  mixing  theccmeut  with  waU-rof  a  high 
temperature,  to  cause  qulik  wllinjf  ;  Mr.  Jaraca 
B.  Eads  alluded  to  th-  cWtirllv  of  f-ment  nj 
being  probably  tlic  WL-ret  u(  lh<''pli.nominon  of 
the  greater  strength  of  Mriall  briiimll. «.  Mr. 
Norton  said  that  «evon  dnyit  of  I'ortUnd  ocmcnt 
will  show  from  three  to  live  lime-«  the  ntrrnffth 
of  American,  and,  at  wvon  d«y»,  rortlaml  haa 
two-thirds  of  itfl  maximum  ntn  n^th.  Another 
point  of  interest  brought  forward  wa«  the  ad- 
vantage of  mixing  cements  of  ditfi-n-nt  kincU. 
Mr.  Che.sbrough  alluded  to  a  cajw>  in  which  tha 
best  cement  was  mixij  with  another  o(  inferior 
quality,  the  result  beinjf  that  the  mixture  waa  a 
better  cement  than  tho  bent  mrt  uwd  aUmc. 
Mr.  Whittemore  curruboralcd  the  adrantsge  of 
mixing. 

RHIXD    LECTURES   IN  AnCtt«OLO0Y. 
{ConclmUd  from  p.  469.) 

OSCEIBED  EAEtY  CIIEISTHS    SOOTTUn    XOXU- 
JIEXT8. 

THE  fifth  lecture  was  deliverrd  on  Monday. 
The  subject  was  "The  In-^ribod  Monu- 
ments of  the  Early  Christian  Time  in  Scotland." 
Such  monuments,  said  the  lecturer,  wire  few  in 
number,  hut  the  fact  of  their  bearing  in^rriptioita 
invested  them  with  spec  ial  iniimrtanco.  Tha 
chief  question  which  lie  had  to  answer  with  re- 
gard to  them  was,  what  were  the  types  of  the 
inscriptions  existing  on  undateil  monumonta, 
which  might  be  of  the  12 -century  date  or 
earlier  ?  In  the  endeavour  to  frame  an  answer 
to  that  question  an  unexpected  difficulty  pre- 
sented itself.  The  materials  failed  junt  at  tha 
very  point  where  their  testimony  would  have 
been  most  useful  in  the  attempt  to  establish  a 
point  of  departure  from  which  they  might  work 
their  way  backwards,  by  tracing  tho  transition 
from  the  dated  to  the  undated  monuincnfg.  It 
was  a  very  remarkable  fact  that,  though  .Scot- 
land was  exceptir  nally  rich  in  monument*  that 
yielded  no  definite  monument  J  story,  »hc  wa«al- 
mostcompletely  destituteof  monument* that  were, 
in  a  precise  sense,  historic.  The  art  and  interert  of 
such  monuments  had  not  sufficed  to  nave  them 
from  a  destruction  which  wa«  all  l"i'  iiV.«nhit»lT 
complete.      Among  2.000  insorij-     "  "     '    ' 

from  gravevards  in  the  north-ca-- 
Scotland,  the  late  Mr.  JerviK>  ; 
which  he  could  .a-ssign  with    pr.!  .   .     .•    ;       • 
12th  century.     It  was  a  rccumlx-nt    lUnb  m   lie 
churchyard  of  Insch,    Aberdeen*hire,   with  an 
inscription  in  Latin,    to  which  w.i-    it.  I:xcl   a 
small    Malte.se  cross— 0.-,t^c  pr 
s.iorihth.     This  was  one  of   the 
inscriptions    in   Scotland,    po*"  • 
might  call  the  European  character  .t  :!.■   u.  ;-_l 
slab  laid  flat  on    tho   grave,    and  iK-annK  tha 
formula,   "  Pray  for  the  soul  of.  '    pre«.lcd  hy 
the  sign  of  the  cro.ss,  and  followed  by  the  namo 
and  profession  of  the  deceased.      At  lona  there 
were  four    inscribed    monuraenl.    whirh   werr. 
undated.     The  languairc  of  the  i: 
Gaelic,   and  the    lettering    the 
char.acters  of  the  p.riod.     On<-  ■ 
bore  the  inscription,    "I"'''" 
and,  therefore,  fell  inwitl  ' 
tnry  type.     The  other  Ih- 

this  oiie.  ina.-much  as  tli. ;.  -    •  i. 

of  Celtic  form  .as  a  prin.  i;  i  ■.',  "in- 

a  sizlum  pr.fixcd  to  th.  ^^^ 

scriptions   were   in   the    i  .v,„  .;,nl  of 

showed  the  same  formula- 1  .ay   •-^^':  "V"^ 
someone.     In  these  monument,  they   h«l,«f* 

transition  from  the  European  f..r.u   ;   ;•  ^ 

centurj-  to  the  Celtic  form  whi 

Following  up  the  line  of  invrir 

the  ordinary  character  of   the   L- .  ' 

found  that  in  all  Scotland  there  •  x;-  .^.  r.u.    ..•- 


496 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


Ireland,  this  inscription  would  hare  been  re- 
ferred, by  its  jjalasograpliical  peculiarities,  to  a 
period  not  far  distant  from  the  close  of  the  9th 
century.  But  it  possessed  no  features  to  enable 
them  to  determine  its  date  viith  greater  pre- 
cision. The  type,  character,  and  legibility  of 
the  inscription  having  been  minutely  con- 
sidered, the  lecturer  noticed  the  reading  given 
of  it  by  the  late  Sir  James  Simpson,  who  be- 
lieved the  stone  to  be  a  monument  to  a  Pictish 
king  of  the  Sth  century — viz.,  "  The  stone  of 
Drost,  son  of  Voret,  of  the  race  of  Fergus,"  and 
gave  his  reasons  for  not  accepting  it,  as  in  his 
opinion  there  was  nothing  against  its  being  the 
work  of  the  10th  or  11th  century,  and  purely 
commemorative  of  men,  not  buried  there,  but 
Tencrated  there.  Drostan  and  Fergus  were  both 
names  of  saints  venerated  in  Angus.  The  lec- 
turer next  went  on  to  consider  another  variety 
of  Celtic  inscription  which  was  not  written  in 
any  of  the  literary  alphabets  of  historic  times, 
but  was  associated  with  the  same  kind  of  monu- 
ment as  this  at  St.  Vigeans,  bearing  the  cross  on 
the  obverse,  and  figure  subjects  and  symbols  on 
the  reverse.  Stones  of  this  type,  known  as  the 
Ogham  inscribed  monuments,  were  found  at 
Scoonie,  Aboyne,  Logic  (Aberdeenshire)  and 
Golspie — these  four  being  all  that  were  known 
to  exist  on  the  mainland  ;  but  there  were  other 
seven  examples  in  Orkney  and  Shetland.  The 
basis  of  the  epigraph  on  these  stones  was  a  stem 
line,  on  which  other  short  lines  or  digits  were 
arranged  in  four  relative  positions — to  right,  to 
left,  across  at  right  angles,  or  across  at  an  oblique 
angle.  From  an  examination  of  these  digits, 
which  occurred  singly  and  in  collocated  groups 
of  twos,  threes,  fours,  and  fives,  an  alphabet  of 
25  letters  had  been  found  to  be  represented.  It 
was  therefore  possible  that  in  this  series  of  epi- 
graphs they  might  be  dealing  with  collocations 
of  signs,  which  were  capable  of  trans- 
literation into  vocables  representing  the 
ancient  speech  of  the  men  who  carved  them. 
Whatever  that  speech  was,  it  extended  over  the 
area  ranging  along  the  east  coast  from  Fife  to 
Shetland.  This  type  of  inscription  was  associated 
with  the  earliest  style  of  art  which  was  pure 
Celtic,  not  with  the  more  recent,  which  was 
characterised  by  the  prevalence  of  foliageous 
scrolls.  In  Shetland  it  was  associated  with  the 
cross  within  the  circle,  which  was  the  earliest  of 
all  the  foiTns  of  the  sacred  symbol,  and 
occasionally  on  monuments  which  had  no  cross 
and  no  art.  They  found  that  the  distribution  of 
this  peculiar  class  of  inscriptions  was  widely  ex- 
tended over  the  Celtic  area.  Upwards  of  one 
hundred  monuments  bearing  this  peculiar  type 
of  inscription  occurred  in  Ireland,  twenty-five  in 
Wales,  and  two  in  Devonshire.  Outside  of  the 
Celtic  area  there  was  not  one.  The  inference 
was  decisive— they  were  Celtic,  and  Celtic  ex- 
clusively. Each  group  had,  however,  certain 
characteristic  features  illustrating  the  principle 
to  which  he  had  so  often  adverted,  that  special 
areas  had  special  types,  and  showed  that  the 
element  of  area  must  always  control  the  applica- 
tion of  the  deductions  of  arohteology.  Proceeding 
to  demonstiate  that  these  "Ogham"  inscriptions 
were  not  exclusively  monumental,  he  remarked 
that  this  peculiar  form  of  writing  also  occurred 
occasionally  in  M.S.  and  on  metal-work.  In 
the  M.S.  copy  of  Priscian,  which  bore  internal 
evidenceof  having  been  written  towards  the  end  of 
the  ninth  century,  eight  of  the  glosses  were  written 
in  this  peculiar  style.  In  the  Book  of  Ballymote, 
a  compilation  from  various  ancient  MSS.,  written 
at  Ballymote,  iu  Sligo,  in  1391,  there  was  a 
treatise  on  thj  alphabets  of  the  ancient  Irish,  in 
which  the  invention  of  this  peculiar  form  of 
writing  was  asc-ribed  to  Ogma,  sou  of  Elatham, 
"  who,  being  a  man  much  skilled  in  dialects  and 
poetry,"  invented  the  system  of  Ogham  writing, 
"  for  signs  of  secret  speech  known  only  to  the 
learned."  That  legend,  however,  was  of  no 
importance  in  their  inquiry.  Keys  to  this 
alphabet  were  eiven  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote 
and  in  the  Book  of  Leinster  written  in  the- 
twelfth  century,  but  the  explanations  -were  as 
obscure  as  the  text  itself.  Ko  progress  having 
been  made  in  deciphering  the  monumental  in- 
scriptions by  means  of  the  MS.  key,  Bishop 
Graves  constructed  a  key  from  the  monument^ 
themselves,  the  correctness  of  which  wa> 
demonstrated  beyond  all  doubt  by  another  class 
of  monuments  of  which  they  had  only  one  ex- 
ample in  Scotland.  The  solitary  .'■pecimen  of  it> 
type  was  a  rude  unshapen  pil  ar  of  a  dark  blue 
wone,  granitic  in  its  nature,  which  stood  now  at 
Newton  of  Insch,  Aberdeenslire.    On  its  flattest 


side  it  bore  an  inscription  in  exceedingly  debased 
Roman  Minuscular  forms,  and  on  the  edge  of 
the  stoue  there  was  an  Ogham  inscription.  But 
the  area  of  this  type  of  bi-lingual  inscriptions 
was  not  confined  to  Scotlaml.  They  occurred  in 
Ireland  and  in  Wales.  Taking  one  of  these 
moniunents,  on  which  both  the  inscriptions  were 
quite  distinct,  such  as  that  at  St.  Dogmatis, 
they  found  the  inscription  on  the  face  of  the 
stone  reading  plainly,  Sar/rnni  Jlli  cunotami. 
Apph'ing  the  orelinary  Ogham  key  of  the  MSS 
to  the  Ogham  inscription,  it  read  as  clearly, 
Siigramul  niaqi  cunatanii.  It  was  clear  that  if 
the  one  inscription  meant  to  those  who  could 
read  the  Roman  characters  that  this  stone  was 
the  monument  of  Sagranus,  the  son  of  Cunotamus 
the  Ogham  inscription  had  the  same  meaning 
to  those  who  could  read  it.  In  the  whole  Celtic 
area  there  were  fifteen  such  bi-lingual  stones — 
one  in  Scotland,  one  in  Ireland,  eleven  in  Wales 
and  two  in  Cornwall  or  South  Devon.  The 
type  was  therefore  British  rather  than 
Scottish.  They  formed  an  intermediate  link 
between  the  types  which  were  characterised 
by  Celtic  inscriptions  and  Celtic  art,  and 
those  which  were  characterised  by  Roman  in- 
scriptions and  bore  no  traces  of  Celtic  art.  It 
was  easy  to  disparage  the  study  of  these  scanty 
remains  of  a  literary  language,  which,  though 
it  was  not  dead,  was  more  of  an  unkno^\Ti 
tong-ue  to  their  modern  men  of  letters  than  al- 
most any  other.  But  no  one  now  decried  the 
importance  of  the  scientific  study  of  cuneiform 
inscriptions  or  hieroglyphic  monuments,  and  the 
memorials  which  he  had  described  stood  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  relation  to  the  language,  litera- 
ture, and  history  of  Scotland,  that  these  bore  to 
the  language,  literature,  and  history  of  Assyria 
and  Egypt.  It  seemed  not,  therefore,  unreason- 
able to  indulge  the  hope  that  the  pcrfirrUhim 
ingcnium  Seotoriim,  stimulated  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Celtic  Chair  in  the  chief  University  of 
the  countrj',  might  yet  accomplish  for  the  le- 
gends of  these  Og-ham  monuments  what  Zeuss 
did  for  the  langiiage  of  the  MSS. 

liOMAN  AND  EITNIC  JNSCEIPTIONS. 

The  sixth  and  concluding  lecture  was  delivered 
on  Thursday,  Oct.  21.  In  this  lecture,  said  Mr. 
Anderson,  three  classes  of  inscribed  monuments 
had  still  to  be  dealt  with.  The  first  of  these 
was  still  bi-lingual,  but  in  a  different  sense  from 
those  previously  described.  As  type  of  these 
the  lecturer  chose  for  description  the  RuthwcU 
Cross,  which  was  found  in  fragments,  and  pieced 
together  by  the  late  Dr.  Hemy  Duncan,  the 
minister  of  the  parish.  The  whole  height  of  the 
cross  was  about  ITWt.,  the  shaft  being  2ft.  in 
breadth  at  the  base  and  1.5in.  in  thickness.  The 
material  was  sandstone.  It  stood  in  the  old 
church  at  Ruthwell  until  1642,  when  the 
General  Assembly  of  that  year  issued  an  order 
for  its  destruction  as  a  monument  of  idolatry.  It 
seemed  to  have  been  only  thrown  down,  and  to 
have  lain  on  the  floor  of  the  church,  close  to  the 
former  site  of  the  altar.  In  1S02  it  was  removed 
to  the  garden  of  the  old  manse,  where  it  still 
remains.  The  monument  was  sculptured  on  its 
broad  faces  with  figure  subjects  taken  from 
Scripture  and  the  legends  of  the  saint j,  and  on 
its  sides  with  scroll  work  repreienting  a  vine, 
with  birds  and  beasts  lodging  iu  the  con- 
volutions of  its  branches  and  eating  of  its 
fi-uit.  The  figure  subjects  were  in  panels,  with 
flat  borders,  on  which  were  incised  the  inscrip- 
tions which  gave  to  the  monument  its  special 
interest.  They  were  in  two  languages  and  two 
alphabets,  one  set  being  carved  in  Roman 
capitals  and  the  other  in  Runes.  The  inscrip- 
tions in  the  Roman  letters  were  for  the  most 
part  Scripture  texts  from  the  Vulgate  explana- 
tory of  the  figure  subjects,  the  sculpture  of 
which,  says  Dr.  Duncan,  would  not  have  dis- 
graced a  classic  age.  The  inscriptions  were  al.'-o 
exceedingly  valuable  in  connection  with  the  ex- 
planation of  groups  of  sculptures  on  other 
monuments  which  bore  no  explanatory  inscrip- 
tions. On  the  raised  borders  of  the  narrow  sides 
of  the  monument  were  the  inscriptions  in  Runes 
— that  was,  the  alphabetic?.l  characters  used  by 
the  Teutonic  nations  of  the  Continent  before 
they  conformed  to  the  general  usage  of  European 
literature.  These  inscriptions  belonged  to  the 
Old  Northern,  or,  as  they  ware  often  termed  in 
this  country,  Anglo-Saxon  Runes.  The  storj- 
the  lecturer  told  of  the  decipherment  of  thei-e 
Rimes  was  exceedingly  interesting — some  at- 
tempts at  their  transliteration,  as  he  showed. 
ha-\-ing  been  productive  of  singular  results.     It 


was  not  till  1S40,  when  the  attention  of  Mr.  J. 
M.  Kemble,  an  accomplished  Anglo-Saxon 
scholar,  had  been  turned  to  the  inscription  that 
its  true  import  was  ascertained.  The  inscription 
on  one  side  of  the  cross  commenced  with  the 
worels,  "Christ  on  the  Rood,"  and  the  whole 
inscription  turned  out  to  be  a  poetical  description 
of  the  Passion  of  oui'  Lord.  A  remarkable  con- 
firmation which  Mr.  Kemble's  reading  subse- 
quently received  invested  it  with  an  interest  that 
was  almost  unpai'alleled  in  the  history  of  literary 
discoveries.  Two  years  after  he  had  deciphered 
the  inscription,  in  turning  over  the  leaves  of  a 
book  bearing  the  impromising  title  of  ' '  Appen- 
dix B  to  Mr.  Cooper's  Report  on  Fecdera,"  Mr. 
Kemble's  eye  was  an-ested  by  certain  lines  in  an 
Anglo-Saxon  poem,  which,  on  comparison,  he 
found  to  be  identical  with  those  on  the  cross. 
The  lines  were  from  a  poem  entitled  the 
"Dream  of  the  Holy  Rood,"  which  had  been 
written  in  the  South  AngUoan  dialect  before  the 
tenth  century.  The  passage  carved  ou  the  cross 
was  iu  a  North  Anglican  dialect.  If  they 
judged  the  wide  area  over  which  it  had  been 
traced,  it  must  have  been  a  poem  which  was 
popular  and  liighly  esteemed.  The  MS.  gave 
no  clue  to  its  authorship,  but,  according  to  Pro- 
fessor Stephens,  the  cross  did.  On  the  upper 
part,  over  the  inscription,  he  read  the  words, 
"  Caedmon  made  me,"  and  reads  them  not  as  of 
the  cross,  but  of  the  poem.  Caedmon,  who  died 
in  CSO  A.D.,  was  well  known  as  the  father  of 
English  poetical  literature.  Such  was  the  story 
of  the  Ruthwell  Cross.  He  knew  nothing  iu 
the  whole  range  of  monumental  history  that 
surpassed  it  in  interest.  It  was  not  only  a  fin- 
ger-post, but  a  land- mark,  in  the  history  of 
English  literature.  It  was  a  monument,  imique 
of  its  kind,  bearing  witness  to  the  existence  of 
an  .artistic  culture,  which,  for  its  age,  was  high, 
and  of  a  literary  culture  which  few  of  other 
succeeding  ages  have  greatly  surpassed.  It  was 
a  monument  of  which  the  nation  of  whose  his- 
tory it  formed  a  conspicuous  part  might  well  be 
proud.  Yet  look  at  its  pitiable  history.  De- 
molished, broken,  buried  ;  restored  and  recon- 
structed by  private  enterprise,  deciphered  and 
demonstrated  to  be  of  national  importance  as  a 
literary  and  historic  monument,  anel  yet  left  to 
weather  and  decay.  Had  it  been  covered 
with  Asian  bi- Unguals  or  African  hiero- 
glyphs, it  might  at  least  have  had  the  chance  of 
being  acejuired  at  great  expense  and  brought  to 
this  country  in  triumph,  w'ith  much  public  re- 
joicing over  its  acquisition.  For  it  could  still  be 
said  of  them  that  while  they  acquir-ed  and  pre- 
served the  monuments  of  other  nations,  and 
grudged  no  outlay  which  helped  to  illustrate 
the  liistory  of  literature  and  art  in  many  lands, 
they  consigned  the  few  that  time  had  spared  to 
them  in  their  own  land  to  oblivion  and  decay. 
(-■Vpidause.)  Having  thus  followed  the  line  of 
Celtic  inscriptions  up  to  a  point  at  which  they 
became  bi-hngual,  the  lecturer  next  invited 
attention  to  inscribed  monuments  iu  the  par- 
tially-debased style  of  the  Roman  alphabet. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  was  the 
Catstone  on  the  banks  of  the  Almond,  near 
Edinburgh,  which  bore  this  inscription — UJ  oc 
TvjrvLO  lAciT  TETTA  f[iijvs]  victi  (in  this  tumulus 
Hes  Vetta,  son  of  Victus).  It  presented  three 
speciiil  features  which  they  should  find  to  be 
characteristic  of  Christian  inscriptions  alone — (1) 
the  use  of  the  formula  in  hoc  tumu^o  ;  (2)  the 
use  of  the  formula >i(<;  and  (3)  the  use  of  the 
formula  giving  the  name  and  patronymic  of  the 
deceased.  All  these  were  features  which  were 
not  found  on  Roman  monuments  of  heatheu 
origin.  Among  1,3U0  inscriptions  of  the  Roman 
time  iu  Britain  previous  to  the  prevalence  of 
Christianity,  collected  by  Hubner,  tbere  was  not 
one  that  presented  any  of  these  formuhe.  The 
place  where  this  monument  stood  had  been 
examined  by  Mr.  Hutehinton,  of  C'arlowrie,  in 
I860,  and  was  found  to  be  an  ancient  Christian 
cemetery.  No  fewer  than  -A  graves  were  found 
arranged  iu  rows — the  heads  to  the  west,  and 
the  feet  to  the  east — this  orientation  in  burial 
being  explained  by  Durandus  to  be  due-  to  a 
desire  that  the  dead,  when  they  rise  in  the  re- 
surrection, may  face  their  Lord  as  He  comes 
from  the  east.  No  other  monument  of  that 
early  time  could  be  found  in  Scotland  still  stand- 
ing "like  the  Catstone  in  the  midst  of  its  graves. 
Another  of  the  same  class  existed  at  Yarrow 
Kirk,  in  Selkirkshire.  The  stone  of  the  Apostle 
Peter  at  Whithorn  was  next  described.  The 
cross  upon  it,  formed  by  the  intersection  of  four 
arcs  of  circles,  was  one  of  the  oldest  types  of  the 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


497 


sacred  symlinl  in  Scotland.     That  it  Tvas  so  in 
this  ease    was    proved   by    the    fact    that  it  had 
attached  to  the  left  upper  comer  of  the  summit 
the  sign  which  distinguished   the   Chrisma,   or 
the  conventional  form   of   monogram  known  as 
the  cross  of  Constantine.     They  could,  therefore, 
say  with  certainty   that   this   moniiment  could 
not  be  earlier  than  the   end  of  the  fourth,  and 
that  it  might  be  as  late  as  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixth  century.     The  inscription  upon  it  was,  Loei 
STI    PETRI    APVSTOLi,    and,    consequently,  not  a 
sepulchral    monument   at    all.     The    raising  of 
memorial  crosses  in  honour  of  saints  was  a  com- 
mon custom  in  the   early  Church.     At  Kirkina- 
dine,     "Wigtownshire,       there     were   also     two 
remarkable     monuments,     performing,    or    till 
quite  lately    performing,    the    humbie    duty  of 
gate-posts  to  a  disused  burying-ground.     Both 
bore  the  incised  monogram   of  the  Chrisma.    On 
one,  in  legible  Latin,   was  the  inscription, ' '  Here 
lies  the  holy  and  excellent  priests,  to  wit,  Viven- 
tlus  and  Jlavorius."     On    the    other,    the  only 
■words  legible   were   et   floeentivs.     With  that 
type  of  monument,  inscribed  in  Roman  characters 
which  were  but  slightly  debased,  and  presenting 
no  indications  of  Celtic  art,    the  line  of  Christian 
inscriptions  in  Scotland  ended.     They  had  traced 
it  back  to  a  point  at    which    another  step  would 
bring  it  within  the  period  of  the  Roman  domin- 
ation, and  among    forms    ro    longer  Christian, 
but  pagan.     The  last  group  of  inscriptions  to  be 
dealt  with  were    exceptional    in   character,  and 
restricted  to  the  area  which    was  conquered  and 
colonised  by    the    Norsemen    in    the   eight  and 
ninth    centuries,    comprehending    the   isles    of 
Shetland,  Orkney,  Hebrides,  and  Man.     The  art 
in  these  monuments,  it    was    shown  by  the  lec- 
turer, was  purely    Celtic,    but    the  inscriptions 
were  in    Scandinavian    Runes.     Here   was  eiH- 
dence  that  the  Celtic  art  held   its  ground  while 
the  language   failed — a   striking  testimony    to 
the  intensity  of   the   character   of   the    art  and 
the  power    of    its    absolute    indi%-idua'ity.     In 
ccuclusion,  Mr.  Anderson  remarked  that  he  had 
now  set   before   them,  as   briefly  as   was    com- 
patible with  clearness  of    description  and  classi- 
fication, the    various    types    of    existing    relics 
which  gave  testimony  to  the  nature  and  quality 
of  the  art  and  culture  developed  and  brought  to 
maturity  in  connection   with    the  civilisation  of 
the  early    Christion    time   in   Scotland.     If    he 
had  succeeded  in  demon.strating  the  existence  of 
a  series  of  art    relics   and   directing  attention  to 
the  remains  of  an  early  cultiu'e  hitherto  but  little 
known  and  less  regarded,    he    trusted  that  they 
would  lose  no  portion  of  their  interest  if  he  had 
also  shown  that  they   were,    for  the  most  part, 
products  that  had  been  peculiar  to  an  area  which, 
though  it   might   be   geographically    defined  as 
North  Britain,     history     and     arch,ieology  alike 
mrLst  always  recognise  as  Celtic  Scotland. 


the  smaller  out-of-the-way  girder  bridges 
which  cross  turnpike  roads  and  lanes  in  country 
districts. 

Many  of  these  structures  hare  been  erected 
for  half  a  century,  and  the  question  at  once 
arises,  if  they  are  still  in  so  good  a  state  for 
traffic  as  they  were  formerly.  It  would  be  a 
physical  impossibility  that  they  should  be.  In 
the  first  place,  time  has  weakened  them  ;  if  of 
timber,  decay  has  commenced  its  work,  and,  if  of 
iron,  the  oxidation  going  on  must  have  con- 
siderably reduced  their  marginal  strength  ;  in 
the  next  place,  they  were  erected  when  the 
weight  of  our  engines  was  considerably  less 
than  it  is  now  ; — in  fact,  not  more  than 
half  their  present  weight.  Both  these  causes 
have  operated  seriously  in  impairing  the 
strength  of  the  bridges,  and  they  appear  to 
us  to  suggest  serious  misgivings  about  the  safety 
of  the  neglected  and  earlier  structures  of  iron. 
It  is  fortunate  that  in  many  cases  the  girders  of 
the  smaller  bridges  were  made  deeper  and 
stronger  than  the  necessity  of^the  hour  required  ; 
but  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  this  margin 
or  factor  of  safety  has  been  considerably  reduced 
by  oxidation  and  increased  work.  "WTiat  is  true 
of  the  girders  and  their  connections,  due  to 
cracks  and  corrosion,  is  true  also  of  the  support- 
ing brick  piers.  We  have  come  across  several 
bridges  where  the  piers  have  undergone  settle- 
ment or  fracture  ;  now  these  fractures  lead  to  other 
consequences  than  the  subsidence  of  the  masonry. 
They'maylead  to  the  weight  of  passing  loads  fall- 
ing on  afew  or  even  a  single  girder,  thus  straining 
it  to  a  greater  extent  than  is  safe.  Some  of  the 
large  templates  on  which  the  gii'ders  rest  may 
be  seen  cracked.  These  defects  do  not  occur 
probably  in  the  adttii'ably  maintained  lines  of 
railway  northwards  from  London,  but  will  be 
found  in  some  of  the  lesser  lines  and  branches. 
Many  of  the  iron  girders  over  which  thousands 
travel  every  day  to  and  from  the  metropolis  and 
other  large  towns,  may  be  found  in  a  very 
critical  condition,  and  close  inspection  would, 
we  doubt  not,  reveal  defects,  cracked  rivet-holes, 
&c.,  of  an  alarming  character.  Many  of  them 
are  a  mass  of  corrosion,  and  look  as  if  they  hid 
not  received  attention  for  years,  and  the 
stations  with  their  galvanised  corrugated  roofs 
are  worn  into  holes. 


survey  of  all  liou..^e-draiiis  to  old  housea  would 
bo  a  valuable  source  of  sanitary  c-vidcuee,  and 
the  local  authorities  ou^'ht  to  Ik-  inveufcd  with 
powers  for  this  purpose.  If  our  sowers  are  worth 
mapping  with  accuracy,  our  howto-drainssuiely 
are  worth  tlie  trouble  of  uiinivelliug. 


OUR  RAILWAY  BRIDGES. 

ATIJIELY  warning  is  better  than  a  sermon 
after  the  event ;  and  one  may,  therefore,  do 
some  good  by  calUng  attention  to  the  necessity 
for  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  those  who  have 
charge  of  many  of  the  smaller  structures  which 
carry  our  lines  of  railway,  not  only  in  large 
towns,  but  in  country  and  remote  districts.  Re- 
metalling  the  railways  is  constantly  going  on, 
but  it  is  a  work  the  immediate  consecxuences  of 
which  are  felt  by  the  companies  in  more  ways 
than  one.  New  and  larger  stations  are  con- 
stantly being  carried  out,  for  the  same  reasons  ; 
but  there  is  one  class  of  structures  we  are  in- 
clined to  think,  which,  because  they  are  out  of 
sight,  are  liable  to  be  neglected  or  forgotten  alto- 
gether ;  and,  the  larger  tlie  company's  traffic 
may  be,  the  greater  the  mUes  travelled  over,  is 
the  risk  propoi'tionately  increased.  We  do  not 
f  peak  so  much  of  the  larger  structures  which 
span  our  rivers  and  roads,  but  of  the  smaller 
bridges.  It  often  occurs  to  us,  for  instance, 
when  we  are  travelling  over  or  under  them, 
whether  they  have  been  retested  since  their  first 
construction ;  how  often  they  have  received  official 
inspection;  how  long  since  they  were  painted.  A 
writer  in  a  contemporary,  the  other  day,  .sug- 
gested that  many  of  the  small  railway  bridges 
must  be  in  a  dangerous  condition ;  we  simply 
ask,  how  often  have  they  been  attended  to,  and 
whether  they  receive  periodical  inspections  r 
Many  of  the  girder  bridges  in  London  are  in  an 
extremely  rusty  condition  underneath  ;  but  we 
seldom  find  they  get  a  coat  of  paint;  if  these  re- 
main so  long,  what  must  be  the  state  of  many  of  |  of  course,  greater.     A  thorou; 


HOITSE-DRAINS  AND   THEIR  RECORD. 

THERE  is  little  unanimity  of  opinion  respect- 
ing the  sizes  and  inclinationof  house-drains, 
and  it  would  be  a  pubUc  benefit  if  certain  rules 
were  obeyed  in  this  respect.  Some  engiuefrs 
adopt  the  smallest  possible  pipes  :  they  consider 
a  4in.  stoneware  pipe  equal  to  perform  the  duty 
of  several  houses ;  while  others  as  strongly  con- 
tend that  a  6in.  pipe  is  not  too  large  to  carry  off 
the  drainage  of  the  smallest  tenement.  One 
eminent  engineer  says  a  9in.  i)ipe  is  much  too 
lara-e  for  considerable  houses.  Then,  again,  as 
to  inclination,  the  question  of  size  depends  on 
fall,  and  the  inclination  in  its  tirrn  often  on  the 
depth  of  sewer.  An  inch  in  10ft.  is  snfficierit 
when  the  drain  can  be  well  flushed,  but  it  is 
seldom  there  are  meaas  for  this  purpose,  yet 
Field's  self-acting  siphon  might  be  used  with 
advantage.  A  fall  of  1  in  30  is  recommended  by 
some  engineers,  and  may  be  taken  as  a  good 
inclination  for  common  house  drains.  A  Cm. 
drain  laid  to  as  flat  a  fall  as  1  in  200  has  been 
found  to  answer  weU  when  flushed.  Now  the 
rainy  season  has  set  in,  the  advantages  of  both 
size  and  inclination  may  be  estimated,  for  it  is 
quite  certain  a  large  number  of  our  houses  are 
drained  by  pipes  of  quite  inadequate  capacity  for 
their  falls.  With  a  good  faU  a  4in.  dram  is 
sufficient  for  half-a-dozen  small  houses,  but  it 
would  be  foUy  to  use  it  with  a  flat  mchnation. 
When  several  small  pipes  join,  of  course  a  large 
iunclion  proportiouale  to  their  coUective  capa- 
cities is  necessary;  it  would  be  easy  to  prove 
that  this  is  ne-lected  in  many  districts  whicb,  ol 
course,  suffer  from  periodical  overflows. 

From  the  evidence  furnished  before  the 
Sanitary  Section  of  the  last  conference  on  l-ubUc 
Health,  it  appears  that  out  of  numerous  case.s. 
very  few  drain  plans  of  properties  exist.  Is  il 
not  time  that  a  regulation  should  make  it  com- 
pulsory for  every  house-owner  to  produce  apian 
showing  the  position  and  levels  of  his  drams . 
Very  few  of  the  houses  tenanted  m  new  localities 


CHIPS. 

The  pnrish-church  of  St.  Putar,  Colon,  wm  ru- 
opened  by  the  Binlio))  of  lily  on  Wcdnrs  lay  wwk, 
after  the  restoration  of  the  chancel.  Mr.  H. 
Fowler,  of  Durham,  won  tbo  an  hitw-t,  snj 
Mr.  burton,  of  Nuwcastlc-on-Tj-na,  the  con- 
tractor. 

The  Governors  of  Carlisle  Gmmmar  School  ha?* 
purchased  a  site  iu  Sprhiit-fjard'-ns  for  tll.WIO,  lui'* 
have  invited  sevtu  arobitectt,   thrto  or    four  o 
whom  reside  in  that  city,  to  compete  for  the  projioHd 

new  sthool-buildiugs. 

The  Wesleyau  chapel  at  Lanivot,  near  Bodmin, 
was  reopened  last  week,  after  entire  internal  r«coit- 
structiou,  from  the  designs  of  |Mr.  W.  J.  Jeokini, 
of  Bodmin.  A  new  floor  has  been  laid,  and  l«»n- 
back,  open  seats,  with  carved  cnda,  hare  taken  th« 
place  01  the  old  pew«,  and  a  r"strum  haxbccn  »ub- 
atituted  for  a  hieli  pulpit.  All  the  &tliu'.(<  ate 
of  pitch-pine.  A  granite  portico  hu  l<ecn  thrown 
out. 

A  meeting  of  the  County  of  Duiliam  Sur»cvor>' 
and  Sanitary  Inspectors'  Association  was  hefd  at 
Spennymoor,  last  week,  under  the  chairmuubip  of 
Mr.  W.  Eobson,  C.E  ,  Bishop  Auckland.  Mr. 
George  Bell  read  a  paper  on  "  A  SeK-actiuK  Com- 
biued  Water-closet  and  Ashpit,"  and  the  cliiiiruijii 
followed  with  a  paper,  exiilanatory  of  tin;  sewagts- 
works  for  Bishop  Auckland,  at  Midd!»'town  Moor, 
where  laud  irrigation  is  adopted,  before  pissinc 
the  effluent  into  the  river  Wear.  At  a  la'.er  period 
of  the  day,  these  works  were  visited  hy  the  mem- 
bers, who  dined  together  in  the  evening. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Board-»chooI  vai 
laid  at  Shap,  on  Thursday  week.  It  will  provido 
acconnnodiition  for  o~  girls  an<l  'M  infanta  at  a  tr.tal 
cost  of  £870.  Messrs,  Euddick  aid  Sons,  of  Sbui. 
have  taken  the  contract  for  luasonrr  ;  Mr.  w. 
Leighton,  Shap,  that  for  joinery ;  and  Mr.  T.  Miu- 
son,  Carlisle,  that  for  slating. 

The  new  Theological  CiUcgo  at  Camhri.lja, 
called  Bidley  Hall,  will  be  opened  by  the  Vic*- 
Chancellor,  for  the  reception  of  studen's,  noit 
week.  As  built,  it  consists  of  cijiht  sets  of  rooma, 
alecture-h.all,  measuring  4lft.  by  2-2{t.,  and  20it.  ia 
blight,  and  a  principal's  lodge,  coutiiiiingniue bed- 
rooms, dining-room, diawing-ronm. study, ic.  Ke  1 
Suffolk  bricks  have  beeu  usi-d,  with  Aucostcr  ston« 
for  dressinas.  The  site  of  tho  ball  is  oppoaiti- 
Newnhara  Hall. 

The  chancel  of  Stow  parish-church,  Hunts,  baa 
been  reopened,  after  partial  rebuilding.  A  new 
roof  has  bcu  pi  iced  upou  it,  of  oak,  opoi- 
timbtred,  end  covt-red  with  plain  tiles;  new  choir- 
stalls  and  altar  rail  of  oak  are  provided,  the  Littw 
being  supported  hv  brass  stmdarda.  Tlie  wirdoir. 
are  filled  with  tii,tcd  cathedral  glais,  and  th.-  tl-r 
is  laid  with  Miuton's  tiles.  At  the  same  nni".  '  '" 
roof  over  east  part  of  nave  has  benn  renewed.  31r. 
Ewan  Christian,  of  Loudon,  wu  the  architect  . 
the  works  have  been  carried  out  by  ^'^-  "'.'"^V" 
Wade,  and  Messrs.  Edey  and  bon,  ol  &t.  i^eoa. 
Hunts. 

A  new  count 
added  to  the  Shii 

si^us  of  Mr.   Cory,  the  county  surveyc 
re'cords  and  documents  arc  about  tu  be  remored  to 
it,  and  arranged  and  scheduled. 


V^"r7f^  of  thrho^^stTnlntedinnewlocaUtie.  ^o.k.  The  f  ^^S  .AuVn.  or.i.eT^. 
hav^plans  prepared ;  with  regard  to  old  house-  L'°ndon.'i'a.,''tb3  i^rh.  e.t,  an/ilr.  Earp.  ol  Lu.- 
the  difficulty  of  obtaimng  access  to  thejkamsu^    toi  the''"'^""' 


nty  muniment-room  has  jmt  be«a 
;hire  Hall,  at  Catlislo.  from  the  <l«- 
Cory,  the  countv  surveyor,  anllhi 
ocunients  arc  about  tu  be  remored  to 
jed  and  scheduled. 
The  disirict'highway  board  of  Wobora,  Bed«. 
accepted,  on  Thursday  week,  the  '<T,^^Zrl 
Jlr.  Adkins,  their  surveyor,  and  resolved  to  olTer  > 
salary  of  £2-'0  to  his  successor. 

Ithis  b-ea  de -ided  to  replace  the  prcMnt  char-h 
itStokeDanierel,  near  pUouth.  b?  -  "j'f^ 
fice  to  bebuit  from  tho  d.."»;gns  of  Mr.  J.  1 1« 
St  Aubyn,  of  London,  and  estimntol  t>  cort 
£18,000. 

ojt   l)een   compIeUd   at 


?°ry"^tf  cSl'  or£l:00."   from  the  d».^s  oj 

tects'  estimate. 
A  new  font  has  just  be^n  placed  m  the  Lawyer 

rrfnr.- Chapel  "^  ^^'f  ^'''''Xtct"?' -S'-b    " 

DC  removed  to  a  h.imlet  c^^fj"  '    .  „-2gm%\ 

of  Hclv  Trin  tv.    The  new  font  is  J""   "-'•fi    ., 
^Lfnail  pedestal  o«    I""-"- V^K^.  i'^^" 

coiums  of  p-i'f  "^^"^  :,\?p  i^  ,:i..r<iiap^- 

-  ""'^Xlle^a^r-  «  atepofVork^ 


h  inspection  and  |  both,  the  sculptor. 


498 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Dairy  Homestcids  at  the  Dairy  Show    

The  Eesdssion  of  Building  Agreements      

Barry's  Pictures  in  the  Society  of  Arts 

A  Recent  Visit  to  Eussia  ^.     ...     ...     ... 

Decorative  Furniture  and  Household  Appliances     ... 

Improvements  in  the  Testing  of  Cement    

Bhmd  Lectures  in  ArchseJlogy       

Our  Railway  Bridges    

House-Drains  and  their  ReCM-d      

Chips 

Our  Lithographic  Blxlstrations 

St.  Alban's  Abbey        

The  Architectural  Association 

Artists'  Homes.— No.  8  :  Mr.  Val.  C.  Prinsep's  Hoxise, 

Kensington 

New  Harbour  at  Sunderland    

Books  Received      

Archseological 

Architectural  and  Archteological  Societies 

Schoolsof  Art 

Competitions 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Intercommunication    


Statues,  lIemori.als.  &c 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters 

Our  Office  Table    

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  "Week 
Tenders    


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ARTISTS*    HOUES  :    NO.    8,    UE.    VAL.    PEINSEp'S 


■PAKK.  — NEW     TAVERN, 
NATIONAL     PENNY     BANK     A] 


CLEEKENWELL.- 


DWELLINGS, 
JAMES'S    CHURCH,   CROYDON. — NAVE 


-  OLD     EMBROI- 


OuR Lithographic  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ABTISTS'     HOMES. — NO.    8  :     ME.    TAL.    C.    PEINSEP'S 
HOUSE,    KENSINGTON. 

For  description  see  p.  511. 

NEW  TAVEEN,    VICTOEIA  DOCKS. 

This  tavern  is  one  of  several  about  to  be  erected 
for  the  London  and  St.  Katharine  Docks  Com- 
pany, at  the  new  Eoyal  Albert  Docks,  by  their 
architects,  Messrs.  Vigfers  and  "W'agstaffe,  of  4, 
Frederick's-place,  Old  Jewry,  E.G.  The 
materials  will  be  picked  Bracknell  red  brick 
facing  for  the  gi'ound-floor,  and  framing  of 
English  oak  for  tlie  upper  portion,  the  spaces 
between  the  timbers  being  filled  in  with  *'  rough- 
cast." On  the  ground-iioor  will  be  a  spacious 
bar  and  public  room,  with  ample  kitchen  accom- 
modation; and  on  the  first  floor  a  club-room 
and  reading-room,  besides  private  sittingrooms 
and  bedrooms.  The  contractor  for  the  works  is 
Mr.  George  Shaw,  of  Page-street,  Westminster. 
Our  illustration  is  taken  from  the  drawing  hung 
in  this  year's  Exhibition  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

NATIONAI.  FENNY  BANK  AND  AJITISAUS'  DWELLINGS, 
CLEEKENWELL. 

This  block  of  buUdings  has  been  erected  by  the 
National  Penny  Bank  Company  (Limited),  as  a 
branch  office,  and  to  provide  comfortable  rooms 
for  artisans  and  others  in  this  populous  and 
busy  district.  On  the  ground-floor  are  the 
bani  and  three  commodious  shops.  In  the  base- 
ment are  the  kitchens,  &c.,  to  the  shops,  and  a 
large  fireproof  workshop.  On  the  first  floor  are 
the  bank  collector's  rooms,  and  living  and  sleep- 
ing rooms  in  connection  with  the  shops.  The 
four  floors  above  consist  each  of  2  sets  of  3 
rooms,  and  2  sets  of  2  rooms.  The  roof  is  a 
flat,  formed  of  iron  joists  and  concrete  covered 
with  asphalte,  and  is  available  for  clothes-drying 
and  as  a  playground  for  children.  There  is  a 
washhouse  on  the  roof,  though  not  as  shown  on 
the  drawing,  this  having  been  altered  in  execu- 
ion  to  reduce  the  cost.  A  wide  and  easy  stair- 
case of  York  stone  (well  open  to  the  air  and  well 
lighted,  yet  secured  from  the  rain)  gives  access  to 
1  he  various  floors  and  the  roof.  The  materials 
used  are  for  the  facings,  picked  stocks  with  a 
few  bands  and  arches  of  red  brick.  Brown's 
moulded  bricks  for  string-courses,  etc.,  and  buff- 
coloured  terra-cotta  dressings.  The  badge  of 
the  bank  in  red  terra-cotta  has  been  used  under 
the  crowning  cornice,  and  as  a  string  at  the 
second-floor  level.  The  work  has  been  carried 
out  at  a  cost  of  about  £7,000,  by  Messrs. 
Aitchison  and  Walker,  builders,  of  St.  John's 
Wood,  from  the  designs  and  under  the  superin- 


tendence of  Messrs.  Henman  and  Harrison, 
architects,  of  64,  Cannon-street,  E.G.  The 
clerk  of  the  works  was  Mr.  F.  Dashwood. 

NEW  CHANCEL,  &C.,  ST.  JAMES'S  CHTECH,   CKOYDON- 

The  Church  of  St.  James's,  Croydon  Common, 
was  erected  about  forty  years  since.  It  is  a  brick 
buUding  (in  a  style  which  then  very  generally 
passed  current  as  Gothic)  which  for  baldness 
and  meanness  of  appearance  and  incongruities 
in  the  details  could  hardly  be  surpassed. 
There  are  galleries  to  three  sides  of  the  nave  ; 
the  organ-chamber  was  in  the  tower,  and  the 
dimensions  of  the  chancel  were  17ft.  wide,  by 
10ft.  deep.  The  considerable  advance  which 
has  of  late  years  taken  place  amongst  the  general 
public  in  knowledge  of  architectural  style  and 
in  artistic  taste  caused  many  of  the  congrega-  ] 
tion  to  become  dissatisfied  "with  the  building, 
and  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  church.  The  original  intention  was 
merely  to  modify  the  present  building,  and 
drawings  were  got  out  accordingly ;  but  it  was 
considered  that  their  execution  would  certainly 
be  costly,  and  probably  unsatisfactory  ;  so  itwas 
determined  to  have  plans  prepared  for  an  entirely 
new  church,  to  be  built  by  instalments,  as  fimds 
would  permit.  The  illustration  we  give  in  this 
week's  issue  shows  the  first  portion  erected, 
consisting  of  a  chancel  Sfift.  long,  21ft.  wide, 
and  36ft.  high  to  the  underside  of  the  boarded 
ceiling,  internal  dimensions  ;  at  south  aisle  to 
chancel,  an  organ-chamber,  vestry  and  heating 
chamber.  The  cost  of  this  portion,  which  is  be- 
ing carried  out  by  Messrs.  D.  Laing  &  Co.,  of 
41,  Parliament -street,  is  about  £2,200,  exclusive 
of  fittings  and  warming  apparatus.  Messrs. 
Benham  and  Son  have  the  latter  in  hand  for  the 
whole  church.  The  materials  for  the  new 
building  are  coursed  Kentish  rag  facings,  with 
Bath  stone  dressings  and  tracery,  and  Stafford- 
shire tiles  on  the  roofs.  The  east  window  is  to 
be  fiUed  with  stained  glass  as  a  memorial  to  the 
Rev.  H.  C.  Watson,  M.A.,  the  late  Vicar. 
This  has  been  designed  by  Mr.  Walter  H. 
Lonsdale.  The  clerk  of  the  works  is  Mr.  S. 
A.  Clark.  The  architect  is  Mr.  Charles  Hen- 
man,  A. R. LB. A., of  Croydon,  and  64,  Gannon- 
street,  E.G. 

EOCHESTEB  CATHEDEAL,  NAVE  STALLWOEK. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  stall- 
work  recently  placed  in  the  nave  of  Rochester 
Cathedral,  as  a  memorial  to  the  late  Philip 
Cazenove,  Esq.,  by  his  son,  the  Rev.  Arthur 
Gazenove,  vicar  of  St.  Mark's,  Reigate,  Surrey, 
They  were  executed  in  pitch-pine,  from  the 
designs  and  under  the  suiJerintendence  of  Mr, 
John  P.  Seddon,  architect,  of  No.  1,  Queen 
Anne's-gate,  Westminster.  They  were  exe- 
cuted by  Messrs.  Belh  am,  of  155,  Buckingham 
Palace-road.  The  bishop's  stall,  to  the  east- 
ward of  the  rest,  was  commissioned  at  the  same 
time  by  the  Very  Rev.  the  Dean  and  the 
Chapter  of  Rochester  Cathedral. 


ST.  ALBAN'S  ABBET. 

T\/rR.  H.  J.  TOrLMIN,  in  a  letter  to  the 
JJX-  Times,  thinks  it  is  due  to  the  committee 
and  himself  to  say  a  few  words  in  answer  to  Sir 
Edmund  Beckett's  letter : — 

Sir  Edmund  is  doubtless  a  great  master  of 
invective  ;  but  I  think  the  public  who  are  in- 
terested in  St.  Alban's  Abbey  would  have  pre- 
ferred his  keeping  to  the  architectural  points  at 
issue,  instead  of  making  personal  remarks  and 
abusing  me. 

1 .  It  is  perfectly  true  that  at  one  of  the  com- 
mittee meetings  an  estimate  for  works  under- 
taken was  asked  for  rather  suddenly,  and  some 
extra  works  were  omitted  by  mistake.  This  was 
rectified  at  the  next  meeting,  but  it  is  quite  a 
mistake  that  it  led  the  committee  into  any  debt. 
The  debt  was  caused  solely  and  entirely  by  the 
construction  of  the  new  roof  for  the  nave. 

2.  Mr.  Chappie,  an  able  clerk  of  the  works,, 
for  whom  I  have  as  great  friendship  and  regard 
as  ever,  has  told  me  more  than  once  that  the 
tracery  of  the  west  window  can  be  repaired  for 
about  £400,  and  Mr.  John  Scott  mentions  even 
a  less  sum  ;  this  of  com-se,  does  not  include 
spandrels  and  buttresses  and  other  extra  work. 

3.  It  is  also  true  that  I  have  often  expressed 
my  wish  to  Sir  Edmund  and  others  that  we 
might  restore  the  Early  Lancet  windows  of  the 
time  of  King  John  and  Henry  III.,  the  best 
period  of  English  Art.  As  Mr.  Chappie  has 
found  portions  of  the  dog-tooth  mouldings  and 
jambs  of  those  early  windows,  there  would  have 
then  been  an  excuse  for  taking  out  the  large 
Perpendicular  window  inserted  by  Abbot  Wheat- 
hamstead  in  the  time  of  Henry  VI.  But  Sir 
Edmund  prefers  his  own  independent  line,  and 
will  have  "the  west  front  filled  in  with  Decorated 
details  and  a  large  Decorated  window,  although 
he  knows  perfectly  well  there  never  was  a  scrap 
of  Decorated  work  in  the  whole  of  that  portion  of 
the  Abbey. 

This  would  therefore  be  an  innovation,  not  a 
restoration. 

Sir  Edmund  ends  his  letter  very  amusingly, 
and  likens  himself  to  a  patient  buU  and  me  to  an 
aggressive  dog.  I  am  afraid  my  letter  was 
rather  like  a  red  rag  to  this  patient  buU.  But 
still,  if  English  buU-dogs  on  the  watch  are  able 
to  prevent  headstrong  bulls  of  Bashan  tossing_  to 
the  winds  historical  and  interesting  remains 
which  never  can  be  replaced,  I  think  our  British 
architects  and  the  public  generally  will  not  say 
I  have  written  in  vain. 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    ASSOCIATION. 

THE  programme   of  proceedings  during  the 
session  of  1880-1  is  as  foEows:  — 


OLD    EMBEOIDEET. 

The  sketches  of  embroider}  were  obtained  from 
a  private  collection  exhibited  at  the  Man- 
chester Art  Treasures  Exhibition.  The  colours 
of  the  Italian  embroidered  border  in  wool  are : 
outer  border  line,  light  purple ;  middle  line, 
yellow ;  inner  line,  dark  salmon ;  stem,  green 
edges  and  light  yellow  centre ;  left-hand  leaf, 
white,  shaded  into  light  blue  at  centre,  and 
dark  purple  edges ;  flower,  white,  shaded  into 
dark  dull  red ;  right-hand  leaf,  dark  salmon 
centreSj'shaded  into  light  salmon  edges.  The 
Salonica  silk  scjuare  has  outer  border-line,  and 
divisions  of  squares  of  dull  green  Hues ;  border 
ornament,  alternate  brown  and  red,  joining 
lines  and  stars,  the  former  stars  having  plain 
centres,  the  latter  dull,  slightly  reddish  yellow 
centres ;  the  left-hand  square,  red  lines,  stars 
reddish  yellow  centres,  centre  of  diagonal 
square  and  corner  ornaments  light  blue  ;  the 
right-hand  square,  brown  lines,  stars  plain 
centres,  centre  of  diagonal  square  and  comer 
ornaments  yellow,  as  before.  The  description 
of  colours  used  can  oulj'  be  approximate,  the 
general  efi^ect  depending  considerably  on  the 
peculiar  tints  of  colour  used. — John  B.  Gass, 
Bolton. 


At  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire  Quarter 
Sessions,  held  at  Wakefield  last  week,  it  was 
agreed  to  purchase  27  acres  of  land  at  Wadsley 
Hall,  EcclesBeld,  for  the  purposfs  of  the  South 
Yorkshire  Pauper  Limatic  Asjlum. 


Mr.  Gilbert  E.  Red- 


Mr.  Ernest 


Oct.  29,  1880,  to-night  (Friday),  Opening  Conversazione. 

Nov.  5,  Address  fi-om  the  President.     Mr.  Ernest  C. 
Lee. 

Nov.  19,  The  Use  of  Cements, 
grave. 

Dec.  3,  Furniture.    Mr.  C.  G.  Vinall. 

Dec.  17,  The  Architectiu-al  Treatment  of  Small  Stau- 
cases.    ilr.  Aston  Webb. 

Jan.  7,  1881,  AWeek  in  Norfolk.   Mr.  C.  E.  Piuk  (Hon. 
Sec.  Excursion  Sub.  Com.) 

Jan.  21,  Parsonages.    Mr.  Lacy  W.  Ridge. 

Feb.  4,  The  Sanitai-y  Work  of  an  Architect. 
Turner. 

Feb.  18,  In  Lombardy  with  the  Architectural  Associa- 
tion.   Mr.  Edward  J.  Tan-er. 

Marcli  4,  Cheap  Churches.    Mr.  William  White,  F.S.A. 

Mari'h  IS.  Holland.    Mr.  R.  I'henC  Spiers. 

April  1,  Swimming-Baths.    Mr.  L.  C.  Riddett. 

April  29,  Members'  Soiree  (Assemble  at  8  p.m. 
bers  onlv  admitted) . 

May  13,  Queen  Anne  Al'chitecture.    Mr.  W.  Surges. 

May  27,  The  use  of  Marble  and  similar  materials  m. 
English  Architecture.    Mr.  T.  G.  Jackson,  M.A. 

June  10,  Colour  Decoration  as  ^appHed^to  Architecture, 
from  a  Painter's  point  ofi"         "    -^"'-"■ 


Mem- 


Mr.  R.  Corbett. 


Extension  works  and  improvements  are  being 
carried  on  at  the  North-wall,  Dublin,  from  the 
plans  and  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Stoney, 
eDgiueor  of  the  poit.  The  quay  now  pennits  of 
vessels  of  2,500  tons  being  unloaded  direct  into 
railway  waggons.  New  warehouses  have  just 
been  erected  alongside  by  the  North  Dublin 
Warehouses  Co.,  which  have  a  capacity  of 
700,000  qrs.  of  giain.  In  place  of  hydraulic  or 
steam  power,  the  machinery  for  elevating  and 
storing  the  grain  is  moved  by  Otto's  silent  gas 
engines,  which  are  also  utilised  for  power  for 
turning  the  grain  so  as  to  reduce  manual  labour  to 
a  minimum.  The  buildings  and  machinery  are 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  E.  H.  Leask,  consulting 
engineer,  Dublin,  and  the  warehou.ses  have  been 
erected  by  Mr.  Joseph  Kelly,  of  Tbomas-slreet,  in 
the  same  city. 


The  Building  Rews.Oct  29.  I^IO. 


STIAME5.C"  CROYDON. NEW. CHANCEL  \TSTRY.\-.ORGAN.CHAMBER 

CHARLES       HENMAN    .      ARCHITECT 


FROn®      ELEVftS 


EITD    EIjEVATIOn  TOWARDS   niOjE  «EOTIOn 

J.P.SEDDON       ARCHITECT 


PholoL.lloJrapll»JIiIhlll»JbrJ.m.  Altrmui.b.QuilSoSq 


The  B^'ilding  r^Ews.OcT  29.  I^^O. 


HENMAN  S.HARHISON 

ABCHITECTS 


The  B^'ilding  I^ews.Oct  29.  I^^O. 


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Jwth    $'icl(>^    (ilfJ^c 
J8tli .  c^e^n/uri/  > 


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llsth.  rpniiirrt   •  • 
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■  0aln)on  m'h  gil/dT" 


OuKr  parr  cF  f/oii  arf 
0ci!mon     ■   ■ 


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holli  ,<ifl<'^  'Ml'''  ■ 
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Square  _        .. 
^  ho/h  jsidc.s  (J''r 


Old  Emhroidejy  ■  ■    ./"/OT7?.o«r*/v-7K/r  . 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


AETISTS'    HOMES.— No.  8:    MK.  VAL.  C, 
PRINSEP'S  HOUSE,  KENSINGTON. 

TV]  ±1XT  to  SirFrederickLeighton'shousej-wluch 
JAI  furnished  the  subject  for  our  last  "Artists' 
Homes"  drawings,  is  the  interesting  studio 
■which  vre  illustrate  to-day.  This  residence 
and  studio  for  Mr.  Val.  C.  Prinisep,  A.R.A., 
was  built  some  fifteen  years  ago  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Philip  Webb,  an  architect  whose 
connection  with  the  revival  of  simple  brick 
architecture  for  domestic  purposes  dates  prob- 
ably earHer  than  that  of  many  whose  names 
are  more  generally  associated  with  the  move- 
ment. This  house,  in  fact,  was  the  first  artist's 
house  of  its  kind  erected  in  London,  and  there- 
fore our  illustrations  of  it  have  a  special  interest. 
The  general  character  of  the  design  facing 
Holland  Park-road  is  well  suited  to  a  street- 
frontage,  and  is  conspicuous  for  an  entire  ab- 
sence of  ornament,  depending  chiefly  on  the 
singularly  recessed  oriel  over  the  arched  area, 
which  continues  up  to  the  first  floor,  and  on  the 
pointed-arch  entrance-porch,  for  its  effective- 
ness, the  whole  design  on  this  elevation  being 
governed  by  a  projecting  cove  or  cornice,  which 
is  covered  by  red  pantiles  in  a  singularly  original 
manner.  Of  the  garden-front  we  need  say  but 
little,  inasmuch  as  the  view  herewith  published 
will  enable  our  readers  to  study  it  for  them- 
selves. The  plans  accurately  illustrate  the  house, 
and  show  an  ingeniously  worked- out  example  of 
what  may  be  developed  within  the  lines  of  a 
rigidly  square  plan.  The  chief  entrance  is  by 
the  acutely-pointed  arched  porch  already  re- 
ferred to,  and  rising  up  a  flight  of  some  seven 
stone  steps.  This  porch  is  vaulted  over  in  red 
brick,  and  has  a  quaint  little  window  on  the  east 
side.  The  front  door  is  simply  of  plaiu  board- 
ing on  the  face,  without  panels  or  apparent  con- 
structive framing.  A  fine  old  bronze  knocker, 
enriched  by  dolphins,  and  a  nude  statuette,  of 
Italian  character,  in  its  centre,  form  the  only 
relief  or  furniture  provided  beyond  the  thin 
brass  loop  handle  with  which  the  door  may  be 
pulled  to  on  leaving.  Entering  the  lobby, 
a  waiting  or  garden-room  is  conveniently 
placed  for  visitors,  or  for  business  transac- 
tions. The  back  staircase,  well  screened,  is 
planned  for  ready  service  both  to  the  dining- 
room  as  well  as  entrance.  Leaving  the 
lobby,  a  spacious  and  well-Ut  hall  otfers  a 
thoroughly  homelike  reception,  furnished  as  it 
is  with  quiet  hangings  and  parlour-like  chairs 
and  side-tables.  In  the  centre  a  well-grown 
Indiarubber  plant  floui  ishes  in  a  remarkably  big 
Jap,anese  pot  in  blue,  and  on  the  walls,  besides 
a  series  of  large  photographs  from  the  old 
masters,  is  hung  a  handsome  collection  of  old 
plaques  in  blue  as  well  as  colour.  Indeed,  Mr. 
Prinsep  has  made  old  china  a  very  favourite 
hobby,  and  the  specimens  which  he  has  brought 
together  show  to  advantage  in  his  hall  and  stair- 
case at  Kensington.  This  latter  feature  in  the 
house  may  be  said  to  be  specially  successful, 
and  notwithstanding  the  many  winders,  the 
stairs  are  "easy  going  "  and  spacious.  On  the 
angle  shelves,  or  rather  small  comer  landings, 
stand  two  handsome  brass  pots,  of  grand  dimen- 
sions, and  instead  of  a  balustrade  below  the 
handrail,  the  space  is  fiUed  in  with  plain  board- 
ing and  covered  with  Japanese  leather-paper. 
Mr.  Prinsep  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  use  this 
material,  and  obtained  it  specially  from  Japan, 
nsing  it  throughout  the  house  for  the  principal 
room-door  panels  and  for  dadoes.  At  that  time 
Japanese  leather-paper  could  only  be  had  in 
small  squares,  and  so  its  original  quaintness  for 
large  surfaces  is  greatly  increased  by  the  varied 
character  and  colour  which  the  many  small 
sheets  insure — a  variety  which  is  almost  entirely 
lost  when  continuous  paper,  such  as  that  now 
imported  from  Japan,  is  used.  Plain  clear  glass 
is  employed  for  the  staircase,  as  to  all  the 
windows,  which  are  everywhere  draped  with 
Morris-like  patterned  stuffs  and  short  cottage 
or  hour-glass  blinds.  Beyond  the  staircase  a 
doorway  is  built  in,  for  future  extension.  The 
drawing-room  occupies  the  apartment  originally 
used,  and  so  figured  on  our  plan  as  dining-room. 
This  chamber  is  of  good  size,  being  18ft.  Sin. 
by  1.5ft.  lin.,  exclusive  of  the  deeply-recessed 
bay,  which  is  most  happily  treated  with  seats 
and  a  cupboard  by  the  side  of  the  fire-place.  The 
walls  are  hung  entirely  by  rich  and  old  Italian 
tapestry,  bought  by  Mr.  Prinsep  whentravellingin 
Italy.  Blue  plates  are  arranged  over  the  opening 
to  the  bay  recess,  and  wood  brackets  and  a 
girder  form  a   sort  of   alcove   at   the   entrance 


end.  The  furniture  agrees  with  the  character 
of  the  room,  but  calls  forno  special  rem  irk  beyond, 
perhaps,  the  little  point  which  strikes  one  as 
being  unusual  in  houses  of  this  kind— namely, 
that  the  framing  of  the  cane-bottomed  chairs 
is  entirely  gilt.  The  mantel-piece  is  of  painted 
wood,  in  dark  green,  like  the  restof  the  j.iinery, 
and  one  of  Mr.  Philip  "Webb's  well-known 
grate-fronts  and  tiles  complete  the  fireplace. 
The  side  cabinets  and  tables  are  used  for  the 
display  of  many  choice  works  of  art,  old  china, 
and  nick-nackeries,  collected  in  India  and  from 
all  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  from  Japan.  The 
small  room  next  the  last,  called,  on  the  plan  wo 
give,  a  bedroom,  and  at  first  so  u.sed,  is  now 
occupied  as  a  dining-room.  It  is  of  snug  pro- 
portions, and  with  its  old  Chippendale  chairs 
and  sideboard,  is  exceedingly  comfortable.  The 
bedroom  on  this  floor  is  roomy  and  spacious,  the 
bed  being  cosily  recessed  in  the  inner  division, 
as  it  were,  of  the  room.  The  main  idea  of  the 
house  concentrates,  of  course,  in  the  studio, 
which  is-lOft.  long  by  2.5ft.  broad,  having  be- 
sides this  an  adjoining  room,  connected  by  big 
folding-doors,  reaching  the  entire  height.  Con- 
siderable extra  space  is  thus  available,  and  it 
was  here  that  Mr.  Prinsep's  huge  picture,  exhi- 
bited this  year  at  the  Royal  Academy,  of  the 
"Delhi  Imperial  Assemblage,  held  by  Lord 
Lytton,"  was  painted.  The  canvas  in  that  case 
had  to  be  fixed  to  a  strainer,  composed  of  three 
distinct  frames,  so  that  each  portion  of  the  pic- 
ture might  be  brought  directly  towards  the 
light  to  be  painted,  and  this  was  managed  by 
folding  the  three  frames  backwards  triptych 
fashion,  and  when  completed,  the  picture  was 
opened  out,  and  tightly  strained  by  means  of 
raUs  behind.  The  upper  parts  of  the  canvas 
were  painted  from  the  gallery,  the  drawbridge 
allowing  the  work  to  be  carried  through  both 
rooms,  while  the  gallery  front  at  this  part  folds 
back,  as  shown  by  our  second-floor  plan  and 
C.  D.  section,  leaving  a  clear  passage.  The 
studio  has  three  large  windows  on  the  north 
side,  with  an  oriel  at  the  end,  and  all  these  are 
seen  in  our  perspective  view.  A  top  light  is 
arranged  over  the  central  north  window,  and  a 
second  skylight  is  provided  in  the  centre  of  the 
ceiling,  but  this  latter  is  not  often  used.  A 
siore-room,  for  artists'  properties  and  studio 
lumber,  is  arranged  on  the  second  floor,  and 
reached  from  the  gallery.  The  third  window  to 
the  east  is  made  to  take  8ut,  for  the  removal  of 
large  paintings.  A  dressing-room  adjoins  the 
ante-room,  and  the  back-stairs  to  the  servants' 
rooms  are  planned  behind.  Models  usually 
come  up  the  main  staircase.  The  woodwork  in 
the  studio  and  house  throughout  is  painted 
a  dark  brown,  of  no  particidar  tint,  and  the  walls 
are  papered  with  Morris  papers.  The  studio  walls 
are  distempered  salmon-red,  and  the  gallery- 
front  and  columns  are  of  oak,  unvarnished.  The 
heating  is  by  means  of  open  grates,  hot-water 
pipes  having  been  given  up  as  a  failure.  The  gas- 
lii;hting  is  by  two  sun-burners,  and  a  second 
gliizing  in  large  sheets  is  used  for  the  big 
windows,  to  exclude,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
cold  air  in  winter.  The  kitchen  and  offices  are 
arranged  in  the  basement,  which  is  carefully 
shown,  both  by  the  sections  and  plan.  Red 
brick  is  entirely  used  for  the  walls  of  the  house, 
and  red  tiles  fo"r  the  roofs.  The  external  wood- 
work is  coloured  white,  and  the  ironwork  a  dark 
brown.  The  railing  next  the  street  is  very 
massively  treated,  and  looks  unquestionably 
well,  although  it  is  entirely  plain.  Some  altera- 
tions have  been  made  since  the  house  was  built ; 
but  as  now  illustrated  it  cost  rather  less  than 
£3,000.  Our  view  is  from  a  photograph  taken 
for  us  specially  by  Mr.  Bedford  Le  Mere,  and 
we  are  indebted  to  the  architect  for  the  par- 
ticulars from  which  our  general  drawings  were 
made. 

NEW  HARBOUR  AT  SUNDERLAND. 

ANEW  lock  and  deep-water  channel,  which 
have  been  constructed  by  the  River  Wear 
Commissioners  in  connection  with  the  Port  of 
Sunderland,  were  opened  last  week.  The  works 
consist  in  the  conversion  of  the  southern  outlet 
from  a  half-tide  basin  to  a  lock,  with  a  channel 
to  match,  through  which  vessels  m.ay  enter  or 
leave  the  docks  at  aU  times  and  under  aU  con- 
ditions as  to  weather.  The  new  lock  is  4S0ft. 
long  and,  for  the  axeater  part  of  its  length, 
95ft.  wide.  The  depth  of  water  in  it  is  30ft.  at 
ordinary  tides,  and  it  is  fiUed  and  emptied  by 
means  of   sluices.     The   inner  gateway  formmg 


511 

the  connection  between  the  lo<-k  and  the  dock 
has  a  sioglo  pair  of  gau-n,  and  ii.  «.5fi.  in  width 
with  a  depth  of  water  in  ordinary  tid.i.  of  .'5(1. 
Cm.  The  outer  end  of  the  lock  i,  conn.-.t«l  with 
the  sea,  and  hero  there  are  1  sin.  more  w»t.r,  and 
a  double  pair  of  ^aU-«,  Hupi»,rt.4  bv  -trut  ^u.«, 
which  arc  Baid  to  po»se«,  gr.-ttt  adianta^-,  over 
the  old  system  of  »heering  up.  An  n.ldili.iuaj 
protection  against  tho  mm  i»  provid.J  by  tho 
erection  of  two  wavc-ncro'.nB  cxU-ndini.'  "oaw.inU, 
curvin)?  towards  each  other,  aod  tini..hint'  with 
round  heads,  between  which  thero  i^  a  channel 
80ft.  in  width.     Tlie  lock  wall»  are  from  Hft.  to 

ICft  in  thickness,  are   faced   with  (frazil j-J 

with  heavy  freestone    copings,    and    I 

with   concrete.     In   addition   U)   thc- 

massive  hydraulic  swing-bridgo  hu  U  ■ 

acro.ss  the  inner  gateway,  and  tho  south. m     nt- 

Ict  channel  has    been    deepened,    so    that  lartpj 

vessels  miy    not    run    any    risk    in  arriving  or 

sailing. 

BOOKS  recei\t:d. 

Becoration  ia  tho  title  of  a  new  «iip<-nny 
monthly,  published  by  McHsrs.  S^impiMiii  I^'jw, 
Jlarston,  and  Co.  It  is  illustrat<.<l  by  Victor 
Barthe,  T.  E.  CoUcutt,  F.  G.  Knight,  J. 
Moyr  Smith,  B.  J.  Talbert.  and  othcn. 
and  deserves  to  succeed.  Tlio  ritv  of  tb« 
page  might  have  been  larger  with  advan- 
tage.  Tlie   Rev,  John  Twi.sdcn's   Klrmmlarf 

Iiilroduetion  to  fraelical  Mrchamn  i  lymdon : 
Longmans,  Green,  and  Co.)  is  the  sixth  edition, 
considerably  improved,   of  a  ino.<t   u-ful   and 

reliable  manual. Thi-  Uir<  <,f  Ilt<itth.  bv  W. 

H.  Corfield,  M.A.,  M.D.,  F.R.C.P  ilxndon: 
Longmans,  Green,  and  Co.),  is  ii^ucd  as  ono  of 
the  London  Science  Class-books — a  new  wivntific 
series  edited  by  G.  Carey  Forstcr,  F.R.3.,  and 
Philip  Magnus,  B.Sc.,  B.A.  It  is  simply  written 

and    comprehensive. DiceUing    Jlviuri  ;  rketr 

Sftiiitary  Construction  and  ArrangtmrnU,  by  the 
same  author  (London :  H.  K.  Lewis),  is  a  re- 
print of  the  recent  series  of  Cantor  Lecture* 
delivered  by  Dr.  Corfield  before  the  S'tciety  of 

Arts. A  European  edition  of  IlarpT'i  itaf- 

:iiic  is  projected,  to  bo  published  by  Mown. 
Sampson  Low  and  Co.,  London.  The  illustra- 
tions are  a  chief  feature  of  this  monthly,  which, 
in  its  160  pages,  gives  commonly  from  70  to 
100  wood  engravings  of  a  high  art  standard,  aa 
well  as  of  popular  interest.  The  magazine  i<  to 
be  issued  here  at  a  shilling,  which  is  much  1cm 

than    the    American    price. fjuanli'i",    by 

Banister  Fletcher  (London:  B.  T.  Bi'-'     '     - 
a   third   edition  of  Mr.   Fletcher's  »■ : 
Text-book  for  Surveyors.     It  has  be>  !i 
and   four     supplementary   chapters     a;  .■  .      .. 
Cubing,  Priced  Schedules,  Forms  of  Fnir  liiiis, 

and  the  Law  as  it  affects  Quantitii-s. Tkt 

riumbcr  and  Sanilan/  Ilomri.  by  S.  Stcveni 
Hellyer  (London  :  B.  T.  Batsford),  his  reached 
a  second  edition.     Some  new  matter  is  added. 


CHIPS. 

The  total  cost  of  restoration  of  Hi'ifix  Psnth- 
chmch  was  paid   off  last  week,  i:  '  -    ■  Vi 

nearly  £-20,000.  Of  this  sum,  it  i 
balance-sheet,  that  £13.-JiXI  was  ; 
tract'r,  Mr.  J.  Thompson,  ri 
£1,800  for  organ,  to  another  finii 
in"  and  heating  apparatus :  ro«' 
and  sundries  £:i,000.  Thj  anliit^ 
Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  and  more  recur  .    .>■•-     '    '>. 

The  parish-charch  of  Soarineton.  .'^t.  M.iry.  wiQ 
h- reopened  by  the  Bishnp  of  B«th  and  WcUn  on 
Thursday  next,  after  tho  completion  of  rMMong 
and  other  works  of  reatoralion. 

A  picturesque  ancient  dwrPing,  known  at  ^wee- 
bury  House,  at  the  top  of  •nmber-.trect.  FIIukI 
one  of  the  building*  il(Q.tr.t«l  «>y  f, '■'■:'  •"^  » 
his  rerently-puhhsbcd  -  \icw.  of  OM  H  m  h«  la 
Halifax  "  !■<  bting  demolished  at  the  pr--nt  time. 
?hef"ntwaspa^i»lly  of  o,k  half-tim--^  work, 
but  had  recently  shown  «ipi«  oi  ifxj. 

The  Corporation  of  Dorchc»t<TT  ■      ■   nr 

week,  an  official  insi>ection  of  tl. 
water  supply.    These  ineluJe  a  I  ^ 

power,   engine,   snd   mvtunTy.    ■  ■ 

the  Coalhrook.UIe  Ir^n  Company,  «:.  \,  •■_.',  ' 
reservoir  holding  liW.t'^i  £»'■-■"■  A"  »-'  '"'V 
have  been  carried  out  under  the  '^V^^^"^^  '[^l; 
Thomas,  bDrough  snrvoyor.  at  a  co.t  <>'  /,^'°J 
io  000.  ^d  the. apply  i.  ample,  «d  cspat.e  of 
reaching  the  highest  points  of  the  town. 

A  new  pMsen^er-station  has  iuit  been  c-mrlrte. 
at  Jar^ron-fees.  Mr.  wtaley,  of  Durham 
was  the  contractor. 


.!•; 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


AKCH-ffiOLOGICAL. 

KorSAY,  Orkxey. — Some  researches  have  just 
been  made  on  the  farm  of  Corquoy,  in  the  valley 
of  Sourin,  Island  of  Kousay.  Immediately 
above  the  farm  house  a  group  of  mounds 
is  situated,  locally  known  as  "Manzie's" 
mounds — a  corruption  of  Magnus— and  supposed 
to  mark  the  site  of  a  burial-place.  These  are 
five  in  number,  the  largest  being  irregularly 
surrounded  by  four  smaller.  On  carefully 
trenching  the  mounds,  each  was  found  to  con- 
tain a  stone  burial-place,  consisting  in  every 
case  of  a  top  and  bottom  stone,  with  four  side 
stones,  the  whole  neatly  cemented  with  tempered 
red  clay,  probably  from  the  Sourin  Burn.  The 
stones,  which  were  of  a  flat  but  massive  de- 
scription, had  partly  their  edges  roughly  chipped 
into  form,  possibly  with  some  stone  implement. 
The  fresh  appearance  of  the  stones  and  work- 
manship was  especially  noticeable,  and  the 
firmly-set  masonry  was  further  strengthened  by 
irregidar  blocks  placed  as  buttresses  to  support 
the  superincumbent  weight.  The  measurement 
of  the  largest  mound,  which  was  the  most  inter- 
esting, and  with  the  internal  details  of  which 
the  others  closely  corresponded,  was — outside 
circumference,  50ft.,  and  top,  bhtt.  from  base; 
inside  of  biu-ial-place,  2jft.  by"2ft.,  and  lift, 
depth.  The  centre  of  the  cavity  was  almost 
filled  with  what  seemed  to  he  clay  mixed  with 
very  minute  fragments  of  bone,  and  the  action 
of  fire  was  clearly  visible  on  the  stones,  as  well 
as  on  some  calcined  substance — probably  peat. 
Imbedded  in  this  clay  an  oval  vessel  waB  foimd, 
heaped  also  with  similar  fragments  of  bones,  &c., 
and  resting  mouth  upwards,  lengthways  north 
and  south.  Thomaterial  of  the  vessel  is  imcertain. 
Two  of  the  other  mounds  contained  burial- 
places  rather  squarer  in  fonn  than  the  above. 
The  smallest  one  measured  only  12  by  6  inches, 
and  no  cement  seemed  to  have  "been  used  in  its 
construction. 

ARCHITECTTJRAL  &  AECH-SOLOGICfl  L 
SOCIETIES. 

British  Aece.'eologicai  AssocIATIo^•. — A  visit 
to  London  in  the  autumn,  to  partake  more  of  a 
private  nature  thau  a  public  one,  having  been 
proposed  at  the  late  congress  of  the  above  society 
at  Devizes,  to  enable  the  country  members  at- 
tending that  meeting  to  inspect  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  antiquities  of  the  City  and  immediate 
neighbourhood,  a  large  party,  under  the  guidance 
of  Mr.  John  Reynolds,  were  met  on  Monday  at 
the  Chapter-house,  "Westminster  Abbey,  by  a 
Bub-committee  of  the  association  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  general  body.  Mr.  Micklethwaite 
proceeded  to  point  out  the  most  ancient  archi- 
tectural featui-es  of  the  Abbey  buildings  and  its 
precincts,  and  led  the  party  to  the  remains  of  the 
old  fratery,  the  infirmary  chapel,  and  Jerusalem 
Chamber,  besides  other  parts  of  the  famous 
monastic  establishment,  illustrating  each  place 
vi.sited  by  historical  and  clearly-expressed  de- 
scriptions. At  the  close  of  the  lecture  in  the 
Dormitory,  and  after  a  lengthened  visit  to  the 
Abbey  itself,  where  Edward  the  Confessor's 
shrine,  Henry  VII. 's  Chapel,  and  the  Royal 
tombs,  i'c.,  were  inspected  and  described  by  Mr. 
Jlicklethwaite,  and  some  remarks  made  by 
Mr.  Loftas  Brock,  F.S.A.,  on  the  earliest  build- 
ing of  the  Abbey,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr. 
Micklethwaite,  proposed  by  Mr.  Wright,  F.S.A., 
was  carried  imanimou.sly,  and  tlien  the  party,  led 
by  Mr.  George  Patrick,  the  acting  hon.  secretary 
of  the  sub-committee,  proceeded  to  pay  a  short 
visit  to  St.  Margaret  s  church  close  by.  After 
•sisiting  the  crypt  of  St.  Stephen's  chapel  the 
archseologists  proceeded  to  Lambeth  Palace. 
Here  they  were  met  by  the  librarian,  and  con- 
ducted through  the  edifice.  A  ^-isit  was  also 
paid  to  the  parish-church  of  St.  Mary.  In  the 
evening  the  members  dined  at  the  Freemasons' 
Tavern,  Earl  Js'clson,  President  of  the  Associa- 
tion, occupyingthechair.  On  Wednesday  morning 
the  members  of  the  party  assembled  with  some  of 
their  London  friends,  to  continue  iheir  inspection 
of  the  City  antiquities,  and  commencing  at  11 
o'clock  with  the  Church  of  St.  Saiiour,  South- 
wark,  which  was  described  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Loftus 
Brock,  F.S.A.,  they  proceeded  to  complete  their 
day's  progTamme.  Visiting  the  Guildhall  and 
the  crypt  of  loth  century  date,  wliich  Mr.  Brock 
exemplified  as  one  of  the  few  now  remaining  in 
London  to  which  access  was  possible,  they  next 
visited  the  church  of  St.  Bartholomew,  in  Smith- 
held,  Mr.  Brock  again  acting  as  cicerone.  After- 


wards the  party  preceded  to  the  Charter-house, 
where  Mr.  George  Lambert,  F.S.A.,  gave  an 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  Carthusian  Orders, 
and  then  described  the  special  features  of  the 
buildings  and  the  historical  episodes  connected 
with  them.  The  visitors  next  proceeded  to  the 
old  gateway  of  St.  John's  Priory,  in  Clerkenwell, 
where  Mr.  G  eorge  Patrick  read  a  short  account 
of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  priory,  and 
described  the  architecture  and  armorial  bearings 
surmounting  the  arch  on  both  the  north  and 
south  fronts.  Mr.  Patrick  then  conducted  the 
party  to  inspect  the  crj'pt  beneath  the  present 
church  of  St.  John,  and  which  he  said  originally 
formed  a  part  of  the  crypt  of  the  choir  of  the  old 
Priory  church.  An  interesting  discussion  arose 
as  to  the  date  to  be  rightly  assigned  to  this  fine 
work,  which  was  generally  admitted  to  be  of  a 
very  early  period,  probably  the  remains  of  an 
earlier  building  incorporated  with  the  Priory 
Church  by  the  Knights  Hospitallers.  A  visit  to 
the  Temple  Church,  where  Mr.  Brock  gave  a 
sketch  of  its  fouudation  and  history,  brought  the 
day's  work  to  a  close. 

Sussex  AKCHxoLOCricAi  Society. — The  autumn 
excursion  of  the  Sussex  Archseological  Society 
took  place  on  Monday,  when  the  parish-church 
of  Our  Lady,  West  Chiltin^ton,  was  visited. 
Mr.  Thos.  Jesson,  of  Nutboume,  read  a  paper, 
in  which  he  traced  the  history  of  parish  and 
church,  which  shows  examples  of  every  style, 
from  Early  Norman  to  full-developed  Perpen- 
dicular. The  building  is  now  dismantled  for 
restoration  ;  the  roof  is  removed  from  chancel, 
the  galleries  are  being  pulled  down,  whitewash 
and  plaster  are  being  scraped  ofl  the  walls, 
revealing  some  interesting  mural  paintings,  and 
the  pews  have  been  cleared  away  to  make  room 
for  the  intended  new  benches.  The  work,  which 
wUl  involve  an  outlay  of  £700,  is  being  carried 
out  by  a  local  builder  under  the  direction  of  the 
joint  architects,  Mr.  R.  Creed,  of  London,  and 
Mr.  Dalby,  of  Steyning,  the  latter  of  whom  ex- 
plained to  the  visitors  the  architectural  features 
of  the  building,  and  the  nature  of  the  proposed 
works. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 

Eeigate. — The  annual  meeting  for  prize  acd 
certificate  distribution  was  held  on  Mondav 
week,  at  the  Reigate  public  hall.  The  annual 
report  commenced  with  a  reference  to  the 
serious  loss  the  classes  had  sustained  by  the 
death  of  life.  Robert  Hesketh,  F.R.I. B. A., 
the  late  chairman  of  the  classes,  to  whose  im- 
tiring  energy,  persoual  interest,  and  attention, 
their  present  position  was  largely  due.  The 
results  of  the  May  examinations  were  that  in  the 
art  classes  of  45  presented  for  examination,  13 
obtained  passes,  and  4  were  certified  as  excel- 
lent ;  in  science,  74  were  presented,  of  whom  50 
passed  in  the  second,  and  11  in  the  first  class. 
Two  third-grade,  and  six  second-grade  prizes  were 
taken  in  the  class  for  building  construction. 
There  had  been  a  fulling  off  in  the  art  cla.sses, 
but  a  s'eady  increase  both  in  numbers  and  in 
successes  in  the  science  classes.  The  prizes  and 
certificates  were  then  distributed  by  the  chair- 
man, Mr.  R.  Lempriere  Hesketh. 


COMPETITIONS. 

CnoYDON  BoAED  SCHOOLS. — The  school  board 
for  Croydon,  on  the  19th  inst.,  agreed  to  in- 
structions for  a  limited  competition  for  proposed 
new  schools  on  the  Limes  Estate  ;  accommoda- 
tion must  be  provided  for  720  children,  and  the 
cost  of  erection  is  not  to  exceed  £5,400.  Each 
member  of  the  board  having  named  an  architect, 
the  following  were  announced  to  have  been 
.selected  for  invitation  to  compete :— Messrs. 
Simpson,  Rutley  and  Blackwell,  CecU,  Brooks, 
Bell,  Matthews,  Elliott,  Greenhouse,  PauU,  Steelj 
and  another. 

Halifax  Higher  Board  School. — The  school 
board  for  Halifax  met  in  committee  on  Monday 
week  to  examine  the  plans  submitted  in  compe- 
tition for  the  proposed  Higher  Board  School, 
when  those  sent  in  under  the  device  "Blue 
Cross"  were  selected.  The  board  afterwards 
formally  adopted  the  plans,  which,  on  opening 
the  sealed  envelope,  proved  to  be  by  Mr.  Richard 
HorsfaU,  of  George-street,  Halifax. 

Westiunsteb  Vestry  Offices. — At  a  meeting 
of  the  united  vestry  of  St.  Margaret  and  St° 
John  the  Evangelist,  Westminster,  held  on  Mon- 


day afternoon,  a  report  was  presented  by  the 
parochial  ofiices  committee  stating  that  they 
have  returned  aU  the  competition  designs  for  the 
new  offices  to  their  authors,  except  the  premiated 
ones,  and  that  the  incidental  expenses  of  the 
competition  amounted  to  £391  7s.  lid.  Having 
had  an  interview  witli  Messrs.  Lee  and  Smith, 
to  whom  the  fii-st  premium  was  awarded,  they 
recommended  that  Messrs.  Lee  and  Smith  be 
employed  by  the  vestry  as  architects  for  the  pro- 
posed parochial  offices,  at  a  commission  of  5  per 
cent,  upon  the  total  amount  cf  the  work  to  be 
executed  under  their  direction,  such  sum  to 
cover  the  premium  for  the  designs  submitted,  and 
to  be  inclusive  of  any  preparation  of  new  plans 
which  the  vestry  or  the  parochial  offices  com- 
mittee may  require.  They  also  recommended 
that  the  plans  submitted  by  Messrs.  Lee  and 
Smith  be  forwarded  to  the  Local  Government 
Board  as  a  general  outline  of  the  buildings  con- 
templated by  the  vestry.  These  recommenda- 
tions gave  rise  to  considerable  discussion,  several 
members  protesting  against  intrusting  power  to 
a  committee  to  materially  alter  the  selected  de- 
sign ;  but  the  chaii'man  of  the  committee  said 
that  no  deviations  were  contemplated  other  than 
those  necessary  to  adapt  any  mere  competition 
design  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  buUder  as 
working  drawings,  and  by  23  votes  to  8  the  re- 
port was  adopted  in  its  entii'ety. 


CHIPS. 

The  annual  distribution  of  prizes  to  successful 
students  in  the  Sherborne,  Dorset,  School  of  Science 
and  JlTt  took  place  on  Monday  week.  The  report 
showed  that  by  the  75  students  23  Queen's  prizes 
and  51  certificates  had  been  gained  at  the  May 
examinations. 

The  united  Vestry  of  SS.  Margaret  and  John, 
Westminster,  on  Monday  accepted  the  tenas  of 
Messrs.  Hunt  and  Steward,  Westminster — viz., 
100  guineas — for  the  vnbiation  of  parochial  pro- 
perty in  Marloes-road,  Kensington.  It  was  stated 
that  the  original  offer  of  M*?gsr3.  Hunt  and  Steward, 
15s.  per  cent,  on  the  valuation,  would  have  in- 
volved an  outlay  of  between  £400  and  .£500,  but 
that  a  proposal  to  invite  other  estimates  resulted  in 
the  tender  now  accepted. 

The  Croydon  school  board  held  their  meeting  on 
Tuesday  week,  in  the  recently-erected  ofiicea.  Mr. 
Hobbs  was  the  contractor,  ^nd  the  furniture  was 
supplied  by  Mr.  A.  C.  Ebbutts :  the  total  cost  wajs 
£3,064. 

The  foundation-stone  of  St.  James's  Episcopal 
Church,  at  Springhead,  N.B.,  was  laid  on  Saturday. 
The  church  is  Gothic  in  style,  and  is  being  built  of 
red  bricks,  with  black  brick  bands  and  string- 
courses, and  door  and  window  jambs  of  moulded 
red  bricks.  The  architect  is  Mr.  S.  Gibson,  of 
Glasgow. 

The  foundation  of  the  new  free  library  and 
schools  of  science  was  laid  in  Trinity- street,  by  the 
Mayor  of  Cardiff,  on  Weduesd  ly.  The  jjlans  were 
chosen  iu  a  canipetitiou,  in  which  about  100  archi- 
tects took  part,  and  are  by  M'-ssrs.  James,  Seward, 
and  Thomas,  of  Cardiff.  The  contractor  for  the 
buildiugs  is  Mr.  Richard  Roberts,  of  Cardiff,  whose 
tender  was  accepted  at  £7,S9n,  the  competition 
limit  of  cost  haviug  been  £S,000.  We  illustrated 
the  buildings  on  April  23rd  of  the  present  year,  by 
a  perspective  and  ground  and  first-floor  plans. 

A  Local  Government  Board  inquiiy  was  held  at 
the  Town  Hall,  Tunbridge  Welis,  on  Thursday 
week,  before  Mr.  Arnold  Taylor,  inspector,  con- 
cerning the  proposed  erection  by  the  local  board  of 
a  bridge  across  the  South-Eastern  Kailway,  near 
the  goods  station,  so  as  to  afford  direct  communi- 
cation between  the  Camden  and  Upper  Grosvenor- 
roads  districts.  Mr.  W.  H.  Brentnall,  engineer  to 
the  I  ;>cal  board,  produced  the  plans  and  designs,  and 
stated  that  actual  tenders  for  the  erection  of  the 
bridge,  which  would  be  34ft.  wide,  showed  that  the 
total  cost  would  be  £10,000,  the  chief  items  being 
biickwork,  £4,643  14s.  8d.,  and  ironwork, 
£3,794  4s.  9d.  No  opposition  was  raised  to  the 
scheme. 

The  parish-church  of  Great  Ness,  near  Oswes- 
try, was  reopened  on  Thursday  week  after  restora- 
tion, effected  at  a  cost  of  £800.  The  roofs  have 
been  retiled,  the  walls  strengthened  by  buttresses, 
and  hilf  an  unsightly  gallery  removed. 

A  new  reservoir  has  just  been  completed  at 
Abbeyst,»ad  for  the  waterworks  committee  of  the 
Corpurdtion  of  Lancaster.  The  work  has  been 
carried  out  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Fleeming, 
the  waterworks  manager. 

A  staiued-glass  window,  having  as  its  subject 
"  Christ  healing  the  Sick,"  and  a  brass  tablet  have 
just  been  placed  in  Hurstmonceaux  Church  to  the 
memory  of  Major  Grecnaway  and  his  children. 
The  work  wai  executed  by  Messrs.  Gibbs  and 
Howard. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE  BITILDING  NEWS. 


il3 


BuilMntj  HuttlUflntct 


P.iPN-n-T-i.T.,  Gloucestee. — At  the  Gloucester- 
shire Quarter  Sessions,  held  ou  Tuesday  week,  a 
report  was  presented  with  reference  to  the  pro- 
posed County  Lunatic  AsyUim  at  BamweU,  for 
■which  the  designs  of  Messrs.  Giles  and  Gough, 
of  London,  were  selected  in  competition.  It 
stated  that  the  approach- road  was  nearly  com- 
plete, ilr.  King  being  the  contractor,  and  a 
contract  had  been  made  with  Mr.  Coleman,  at 
£1,243,  for  the  erection  of  four  cottages,  the  first 
expenditure  on  building.  The  architects  had 
received  instructions  for  the  immediate  alteration 
of  the  existing  farm  buildings,  so  as  to  accom- 
modate IS  patients,  and  the  drawings  and  speci- 
fications for  the  main  buildina'  were  now  nearly 
ready  for  tenders  to  be  advertised  for.  The 
committee  of  visitors  were  authorised  to  accept 
tenders,  and  sums  amounting  to  £12,000  were 
placed  at  their  disposal. 

Ipswich. —  The  foundation-stone  of  the  new 
Com  Exchange  was  laid  at  Ipswich  on  Friday  last. 
The  contract  for  the  ertction  of  the  buildings 
has  been  taken  bv  Mes-srs.  Grimwood  and  Sons, 
of  Sudbury,  at  £21,9.50.  The  design  is  that  of  Mr. 
Bright  wen  Binyon,  of  Ipswich,  having  been  chosen 
by  the  committee  of  the  Corporation  from  1 5  sets  of 
plans  sent  in  in  competition.  It  providt  s  not  only 
for  a  large  Corn  Exchange,  and  for  municipal 
offices  in  connection  with  the  Town  KaU,  but 
also  for  a  belt  of  shops  roimd  the  main  building. 
The  styk  of  the  buildings  is  Italian  Renais- 
sance. The  Exchange  will  be  r20ft.  long  by 
o8ft.  broad.  The  walls  will  be  of  white  brick, 
divided  into  bays.  The  floor  will  be  Homan's 
patent  flooring,  iron  girders,  and  concrete,  with 
a  pavement  of  wooden  blocks.  For  ventilating 
purposes  four  large  Boyle's  extractors  will  be 
placed  in  the  roof,  and  there  will  be  inlets  at 
the  windows.  We  have  illustrated  the  building 
by  a  perspective  of  the  King-street  front  and  a 
view  of  interior  of  exchange. 

Metbopolitan  Boaed  of  "Woeks. — At  the 
recent  meetin,'  of  this  ooard  a  deputation 
from  the  'Local  Eights  Association  for  the  Pro- 
motiou  of  Rental  and  Sanitary  Reform,  pre- 
sented a  mi  mcrial  on  the  subject  of  dwellings 
for  the  working  classes,  in  which  it  was  stated 
that  the  benefits  proposed  to  be  conferred  on  the 
working  classes  by  the  Artisans'  Dwellings  Act 
of  1S7-5  had  not  been  obtained,  in  consequence  of 
the  limited  power  conferred  on  the  board,  and 
the  delegation  of  the  responsibiUty  of  bxiilding 
dwellings  for  artisans  to  speciilative  builders. 
They  urged  the  board  to  apply  for  Parliamentary 
powers  to  enable  them  to  erect  suitable  dwel- 
lings and  to  hold  such  dwellings  in  per- 
petuity, letting  the  same  to  tenants  at  the 
lowest  possible  rental.  Mr.  Keates,  a  working 
man,  supported  the  memorial  in  an  address  in 
which  he  dwelt  upon  the  hardships  occasioned 
to  his  class  by  the  demolition  of  artis  ms'  dw  1- 
lings,  and  asked  the  board  to  remedy  the  defects 
in  the  Artisans'  Dwellings  Act.  The  memorial 
was  referred  to  the  works  committee,  as  was  also 
one  having  reference  to  the  Deptford  Bridge 
improvements.  A  report  was  received  from  this 
committee  as  to  the  Temple  Bar  memorial, 
stating  that  the  site  was  under  the  control  of  the 
City  authorities,  and  that  the  board  had  there- 
fore no  jurisdiction  in  the  matter.  Dr.  Brewer 
moved  an  amendment  deprecatiug  the  erection 
of  the  memorial,  and  in  reply  to  a  question  as  to 
how  the  board  could  make  its  pov,-er  felt  by  the 
City  authorities  suggested  that  they  shoxdd 
refuse  money  in  aid  of  improvements.  A  dis- 
cussion ensued  in  which  the  memorial  was 
generally  condemned,  and  the  de^irability  of 
having  one  supreme  authority  for  the  metropolis 
was  suggested ;  the  amendment  was,  however, 
negatived  by  21  to  6,  and  the  committee's  report 
•was  adopted.  The  works  committee  brought  up 
a  report  on  the  recent  letter  of  the  Home  Secre- 
tary as  to  the  working  of  the  Artisans'  Dwellings 
Act,  in  which  they  recommended  that  board  to 
make  application  in  the  next  session  of  Parlia- 
ment for  power  to  enable  the  board  to  erect 
dwellings  for  the  accommodation  of  persons  of 
the  labouring  classes  dispossessed  by  the  said 
Act  and  also  for  an  amendment,  alteration,  or 
repeal  of  Section  33  in  the  Metropolitan  Streets 
Improvements  Act,  1877,  by  which  section  the 
board  are  precluded  from  taking  more  than  1.5 
houses  imtil  sufficient  accommodation  is  produced 
elsewhere  for  the  labourers  displaced.    The  report 


gave  rise  to  a  discussion  which  was  adjourned  for 
a  week.  On  Friday  a  joint  deputation  from 
LewishamandPlumstead  District  Boards  of  Works 
presented  a  memorial  on  the  subject  of  the 
drainage  of  the  districts  atfectcd  by  the  risiuir  of 
the  Ravensbourne  and  Quaggy  rivers.  The 
deputation  stated  that  the  local  authorities  could 
not  agree  as  to  the  best  course  of  action,  and 
had,  moreover,  no  compulsory  ]>owers  of  pur- 
chase :  and  urged  the  Metropolitan  Board  to 
take  the  matter  in  hand,  and  provide  a  scheme 
for  remedying  the  tioodings.  The  matter  was 
referred  to  the  works  committee.  The  debate 
was  resumed  ou  the  report  by  the  works  com- 
mittee on  the  difficulties  attending  the  provision 
of  accommodation  for  the  working  classes  dis- 
placid  under  the  MotropoUtau  Streets  Improve- 
ments Act,  1877.  The  works  committee  re- 
commended that  the  Board  apply  "  for  power 
to  erect  dwellings  for  the  accommodation 
of  persons  of  the  labouring  class  displaced  by  the 
operation  of  the  above-named  Act,"  and  also  for 
the  amendment,  alteration,  or  repeal  of  tho  33rd 
section  of  the  Act.  Mr.  Selway  pr  jposed  as  an 
amendment  that  the  words  enclosed  above  in 
inverted  commas  be  omitted,  and  this  was  carried 
by  19  votes  to  17,  the  majority  of  the  members 
being  unwilling  that  the  Board  should  enter 
upon  building  speculations.  As  to  the  Artisans' 
Dwellings  Act,  it  was  resolved  to  lie  undesirable 
to  submit  any  more  schemes  to  the  Home  Secre- 
tary till  the  Board  had  recommended  such 
amendments  of  the  Act  as  may  appear  necessary. 
A  report  was  presented  by  the  Bridges  Commit- 
tee as  to  the  proposed  reconsti'uction  of  the 
bridges  at  Battersea,  Putney,  and  Deptford- 
ereek,  and  it  was  resolved  (o)  that  the  new 
bridge  at  Battersea  be  built  as  near  to  the  site 
of  the  existing  bridge  as  is  practicable,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  £220,000;  (i)  that  the  new 
bridge  at  Putney  be  built  near  to  and  parallel 
witlTthe  present  aqueduct,  at  an  estimated  cost 
of  £376,000.  The  former  bridge  is  to  be  4-lft. 
wide  and  the  latter  4 Oft.,  and  the  aqueduct  of 
the  Chelsea  Water  Company  is  to  be  rebuilt  in- 
side the  new  Putney-bridge.  A  letter  was  re- 
ceived from  tie  town  clerk  ttating  that  the 
system  of  fire-hydrants,  which  number  SIS,  in 
the  City  of  London,  is  now  complete;  referred 
to  the  fire  brigade  committee. 


Shefftexd. — The  parish -church  of  Sheffield 
was  reopened  on  Tuesday  after  restoration. 
The  cost  of  the  work  has  been  about  £1G,0U0. 
Mr.  Flockton,  the  surveyor  to  the  church  bur- 
gesses, prepared  a  report,  which  was  submitted 
to  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  and  ha\-ing  received 
his  approval,  the  alterations  and  additions 
therein  recommended  have  been  carried  out. 
The  improvements  have  comprised  the  complete 
removal  of  all  the  old  galleries  and  pewing,  and 
the  substitution  of  a  more  modem  style  of  teat ; 
building  of  two  new  transepts,  one  on  the  south, 
and  another  to  correspond  on  the  north, 
each  22ft.  4in.  by  17ft. :  extension  of  the 
nave  towards  the  west  2.5ft.,  giving  a  total 
length  to  the  church  of  175ft.  ^It  also  m- 
cludes  two  porches,  north  and  south, fand  another 
in  the  centre  ;  raising  of  the  chancel-floor 
srveral  inches,  and  paving  the  greater  portion 
■nith  encaustic  tiles;  removal  of  the  org.an  mto 
the  space  formeriy  occupied  by  the  vestry  and 
church  burgess  room,  in  the  north-east  comer  of 
the  chancel ;  building  of  new  vestries  and  bur- 
.'css  room  at  the  north-east  cornerof  the  church ; 
removal  of  the  plaster,  and  the  renovation  of  all 
tl.e  stone-work.  The  Shrewsbury  chapel  and 
the  monuments  it  contains  have  been  thoroughlv 
cleaned  and  made  good,  by  the  instructions  ol 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk.  Messrs.  Chadwick  and 
Co  of  Masborough,  are  the  contractors  for  the 
whole  of  the  builder's  work,  the  carving  having 
been  executed  for  them  by  Mr.  Milburn,  of 
York.  The  oak  fittings  in  the  chancel  have 
been  furnished  by  Messrs.  J.  and  G.  Shaw,  of 
New  Mills  ;  the  gas- fittings  by  Mr  AA  ilson,  of 
Sheffield;  the  elaborate  standards  of  bra.ss 
having  been  made  for  him  from  the  «",»'""' ^ 
desigi^sby  Messrs.  Smith  and  Son,  of  Den'end 
Works,  Birmingham.  The  wai-ming  apparatus 
is  hv  Mr.  R.  R.  Gibbs,  of  Liverpool :  the  tiles 
are  from  Minton,  HoUin.s,  and  Co.:  the  organ 
with  its  elabor.ite  oaken  case,  " /f"™  ^^ 
establishment  of  Messrs.  Brmdiey  and  Foster,  of 
Sheffield 

The  New  Pkixcess's  TnEAiKE.-This  theatre 
the   rebuilding   of   which   is    now  .approachiru 


suptrintendcnco  of  Mr.  C.  J.  I'hi).Il^,  V.fi.A., 
arehitt-ct.  The  oixnin);  of  thu  new  hoiue  u> 
adverti«.'d  for  Saturday,  OotoUir  30th.  Th» 
theatre  proiicr,  that  in  tV.  Bin  thr  ;ui.lii..:\ ,  will 
not  occupy  a  larpcr  an     ■  tho 

stage,    uud   all   thu   a:: 

rooms  entirely  externa!  ... 

crtiused  in  area  fourfoM  .o 

buildiupi  may  bo  thu-  '.r 

form    dj.stin<t    b'.fx-k'-,  a 

other  by  solid  wnlU,   ;  ■  « 

to  lessen   the  rink  of  1::  .  || 

an   event   MiouM   evi  t  to 

profier,  including  audi'  .  ; 

2,    the    appruuches    fi  U 

saloons  aim  utaircaan-  ji 

Win.-ley-strK-t,  f..r  pi'    • 

ing-rooiM    M<x;k    in    i  .1 

area  rjf  ground  c^n-erni  f 

buildings  in  21,000ft.  (•.■ 

le.",s  than    the  area  of  !  i, 

Covcnt-gardiu.      A  •  .o 

arrangemcnta  is  a  ixj  .  o 

from   tlio   highest   level   •■!   \)  •  .■? 

ground  level  of  the  pit.     Uu  >  •- 

ever,  the  audience  hare   ari/  it 

lea.st  three  distinct  sl.i;:  I 

leading  directly  intot'  -l 

arrangements,  therefoi  j 

of  the  audience.     The  .  1 

f r<  'in  the  stjige  by  a  H  '. .  ■  .  o 

feet  thick,  and  thi.s  i."  ■  < : 

and   there   are  numerv'.  u« 

various  corridors  all  <  hari^vl ;  •- 

sure  mains  in  the  »>r«'t.-i.      1  %• 

mentation  of  the  theatre  i«  Fr.  ••, 

the  fronts  to  tlic  sevcm!  tiiri  U-l^-  nJily 
moulded  and  gilded,  tlio  prowcnium  boxr^  bcicg 
specially  rich  both  in  deijgn  an!  omamrat*- 
tioD.  "The  general  arrsngemftit  of  i"I<mr  i«  a 
cream  ground,  light  on  the  ceiling,  on  whi'  h  th« 
decorative  ornament  is  j»aint«<l  n  '-'I'u-*.  and 
gradually  deepening  toward"''  •  •( 

the  auditory.     Tho  wallit  nr^  a 

crimson  flo<J;-paper,  wldli-  l! 
vat?  boxes  are  of  green  and   .  ■ 

and  curtains  being  silk  t.-ipc-t  ■ 
The  general  colour  of  the  sea'  - 
Over  the  pr.jsccnimn,  and  it. 
drels  on   either  side,    is    an  .'o 

subject  roprc.-^ntingthe  Art>  .  ■  v, 

painted  by  Ballard.     The  tni  1  "■• 

tain    will    be    adopteel,    and     Mr.     i^-.n.-iy    i» 
painting,   as  an  act-drop,   a   tapt-slry  i-urUin. 
The  frontage  in  Oxford-strct.   -'ifl 
Portland   stone.     It  has   w: ': 
ground  floor,  the  cntram^  !•  f- 

wide.  Mr.  Mark  M.inley  has  1-  '■• 

tractor,  Messrs  Drake  have  . :  f 

staircases,   Messrs  Geo.   J.t  k  '• 

prepared  the  box-fronts,  pr  -'It 

in  their  fibrous  plas'..  r     "'  "/• 

Smith  have  executed   '  .'  * 

glass  for  the  entrance  ■  '• 

smoking-rooms  and  ^  '^ 

theentrancevestibulc  !' 
marble  mosaic  by  W.  11 

man-street.  The omam.i.... ■  ,   ,    '^ 

Cott.im  and  Co..  of  Wiwiry-"" '•  *•'•  *!»*"* 
NighUngale  has  been  the  clerk  o(  tLt  worto  !•* 
the  architect.  ^ 

Wiixixoii-vm-iit-Stow.— T" 
Helen,  WUlingham-by-Sto«  ^ 

been    reopened    after    rebu:. 
church  consists  of  nave,  lift 
24ft.  by  I'jft. :  trantept,  to 
and   organ-chamber,    an  1    i 
which  was  a  low  one.  ■ 
church,  has  been  rai- 
four  Decorated  two-i 
the  belfry  stage,  and  - 
pinnacles  have  been  r 
internal   arch   arc   ca' 
Helen,  with  the  H.ly 
St.  Mary.     The  roofr  ur 
shire  tiles,  and  the  ir.-j'i 
and  st-ained  and  vami-!.    • 
moulded    cornice.      TV' 
encaustic  tiles  througl' 
glared.     The   pulpit   '  ■ 
the  i:pper  part  being 
rail.     The  altar-rail.   - 
and  brackets  are  al^ 
executed  by  Meaais.  Hart, 
of  London.     The    c«den<^ 
stone,  .ind  richly  carvel.      1 
Messrs.   Dennison  and  Son 


M.     i.  of 


1. 

•7 

^  •  r. 

Id 

>4 

;  ID 

:  ill* 

f'U  toth* 

o«  a(  St. 

>-  1    and 

-1- 

•I. 

,r.4 

.  '.h 


reouiicuug  ox --        ..  ^     „„hitects  Mes.<r8.  SmiUi  »d  Brodw*.  oi  «*«» 

completion,^  has  been   erected  for  Mr    G^^h,  ^  ^^^^^^^  ^^ 


Cm^lhrkeS^isr-d    -der    the   immediate: 


514 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  39.  1880. 


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Edwaed  Reid.  (We  see  no  good  likely  to  result  from 
continuing  the  controversy  further, } — J,  P,  (Good 
plans  before  everything,  then  good  elevations ;  but  an 
architect  woilh  the  name  will  give  you  both  together, 
and  not  distort  plans  to  suit  elevations,  or  vice-versa.) 

Comspfonlicnte. 

— »-*-» — 

TEAPLESS  CLOSETS  AND  DRAINS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BuiLDiNa  News. 
SiE, — My  third  question  in  to-day's  Btjlldejg 
News  is  not  correctly  printed.     It  should  be 

3.   How   many   where   the   continuity  of  the 
drain  was  not  broken  ? 

Kindly  correct  and  oblige. — I  am,  &c., 

Ekxest  TrENEH. 
London,  264,  Regent-street,  Oxford-circus,  W. 
22nd  October,  1880. 


SiH, — I  am  obliged  to  Mr.  Turner  for  the 
friendly  tone  of  his  letter  of  the  16th  inst.,  and 
in  reply  to  his  inquiries  beg  to  lay  before  him 
the  following  information. 

1st.  I  have  no  interest  whatever  in  the  sale 
of  any  description  of  trapless  closet,  my  previous 
statements  being,  as  he  justly  remarks  "the 
result  of  honest  conviction,"  based  upon  practical 
experience. 

2nd.  I  have  had  fixed  over  60  trapless  water- 
closets,  after  previously  taking  down  and  doing 
away   with  the   old   pan   apparatus,  with  their 


containers  and  detestable  lead  D  and  P  traps, 
principally  in  the  dwellings  of  medical  prac- 
titioners, and,  in  two  instances,  as  many  as  four 
in  each  house.  I  have  also  had  numerous 
opportunities  for  seeing  and  ascertaining  the 
reliability  of  these  closets  which  have  been 
fixed  by  others. 

3rd.  The  continuity  of  the  drain  was,  and 
should,  not  be  broken  in  any  case  whatever.  A 
water-trap  fixed  between  the  house  and  the 
sewer  is  perfectly  useless,  the  gases  from  the 
sewer  being  either  forced  through  under  pres- 
sure, or  absorbed  by  the  water  on  the  sewer  side, 
and  discharged  on  the  house  side  of  it.  If  the 
continuity  of  every  house-drain  emptying  into  a 
public  sewer  was  preserved,  such  drains  would 
form  ventilating  flues  for  the  escape  of  the  gases 
of  decomposition  accumulating  in  the  sewer, 
which  would  be  carried  off  at  a  higher  level  by 
the  ventilating  pipes  above  the  house-tops,  and 
afford  greater  facilities  for  the  gases  to  be 
diluted  and  blown  away,  than  it  would  obtain 
from  openings  at  the  ground  level.  Dr. 
Coi-field,  in  his  admirable  work  on  "The  Treat- 
ment and  L'tilisation  of  Sewage,'' p.  153,  says: 
"  In  Southampton  gratings  in  the  road  gave  off 
such  offensive  effluvia  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbouring  houses  stopped  them  up  with 
pieces  of  wood,  the  result  being  that  the  gases 
forced  themselves  up  through  the  imperfect 
traps  into  the  houses."  Taking  all  things  into 
consideration,  if  the  gas  from  the  sewers  is 
conducted  towards  the  house,  whether  there  be 
a  disconnecting  trap  or  no,  where  is  the  benefit 
of  it  ?  In  addition  to  the  numerous  disadvan- 
tages already  mentioned,  it  also  tends  to 
obstruct  the  ventilation  of  the  sewers.  Mr. 
Stidder,  in  his  system,  ventilates  the  sewer  by 
means  of  vertical  tubes  at  the  sides  of  the  house ; 
but  there  appears  to  be  a  multiplicity  of 
pipes  with  his  arrangement,  whereas  practical 
experience  proves  one  to  be  abundantly  suffi- 
cient for  the  purpose.  One  tube  of  4in.  or  .3in. 
diameter  acting  as  a  soil  and  ventilating  pipe 
(above  the  topmost  water-closet,  it  ceases  to  act 
in  the  capacity  of  a  soil-pipe  and  becomes  a 
ventUator  only),  continued  up  its  full  diameter 
above  the  roof  of  the  house,  terminating  with  a 
plain  T  top,  and  having  an  inlet  for  fresh  air  at 
its  foot,  will  be  amply  supplied  with  a  sufficient 
upward  current  to  prevent  the  formation  of  foul 
gases  in  the  pipe  itself,  and  also  to  carry  off 
those  which  are  formed  in  the  drain.  A  few 
small  pieces  of  paper  inserted  at  the  inlet  were 
carried  up  and  seen  to  fly  out  at  the  top,  effectu- 
ally proving  the  strong  up-rush  without  the  aid 
of  any  mechanical  contrivance,  which  is  always 
more  or  less  liable  to  get  out  of  working  order, 
and  become  not  only  noisy  but  a  nuisance. 

4th  and  otb.  The  closets  alluded  to  have  been 
fixed  for  periods  varying  from  about  four  years  to 
one  month,  during  the  whole  of  which  time,  with 
the  exception  of  a  new  indiarubber  seating  or  so 
(easy  and  inexpensive  renewals),  and  a  basin 
being  cracked  through  a  careless  housemaid 
throwing  some  hot  water  into  it  in  frosty 
weather,  nothing  whatever  has  been  needed  in 
the  shape  of  repairs  or  adjustments.  Fortunately 
the  closet  was  one  of  Mr.  George  Jennings' 
manufacture,  and  the  jaii  was  easily  replaced 
without  disturbing  the  rest  cf  tl'.e  apparatus. 
I  have  never  experienced  the  slightest  disadvan- 
tage, or  had  any  complaint  made  against  these 
trapless  closets  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  appear  to 
have  given  unexceptionable  satisfaction.  1  may 
just  mention,  however,  I  have  notiiod  that  some 
closets  having  a  flat  plate  valve  at  the  bottom  ol 
the  pan,  not  only  catch  and  throw  up  a  poiticn 
of  the  contents  of  the  trap  underneath  it,  but 
also  hit  back  the  incoming  water  in  a  very 
disagreeable  manner  to  the  user  if  he  lets  the 
handle  drop  suddenly,  whilst  the  slightest 
obstruction  between  the  valve  and  the  bottom 
of  the  pan  lets  out  the  aft;r-flush,  which  is  not 
the  case  with  the  plug  of  the  trapless  water- 
closet. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  add  that  unless  the 
strictest  personal  supervision  is  exercised,  any 
system,  however  good  and  correct  in  theory,  is 
always  liable  to  failure  in  practice  through  the 
carelessness  or  ignorance  of  the  workman,  many 
a  good  and  useful  invention  has  frequently 
fallen  into  disrepute  from  this  cause  alone,  and 
not  from  any  fault  in  itself. — I  am,  ic, 

G.   A.    FOSTEE. 


escape  of  any  foul  air  from  the  drain  when  the 
plug  is  lifted.  He  seems  to  forget  that  the  dis- 
charge down  the  soil-pipe  would  have  precisely 
the  same  effect  and  prevent  any  air  rising ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  draw  fresh  air  doKti  the  soil- 
pipe,  which  is  left  open  at  the  top.  Mr.  Beattie, 
the  plumber,  takes  advantage  of  this  fact,  and 
uses  this  pipe  for  the  inlet  of  fresh  air  ;  the  pipe 
for  the  outlet  of  foul  air  being  placed  at  the 
other  end  of  the  drain,  and  not  used  for  any 
other  purpose. — I  am,  iScc, 

Chaples  F.  Moxoy. 
61,  Bedford -gardens,  Campden-hiU,  W., 
October  25th 


Ser, — Mr.  Foster  says,  page  428,  that  "the 
flush  of  water  always  carries  with  it  a  strong 
down-rush  of  fresh   air,"  and   so   prevents   the 


SiK, — I  have  read  Mr.  Foster's  remarks  at 
p.  487,  and  beg  to  observe  that  some  of  his 
statements  are  incoirect — e.g.,  the  closing  re- 
mark in  his  letter,  where  he  states  that  if  a  soil- 
pipe  be  ventilated  at  top  and  bottom,  then  no  air 
wUl  come  into  the  house,  although  the  plug  of 
the  trapless  closet  "  be  lifted."  Now  I  have  to 
state  that,  as  closets  are  generally  fitted  up, 
lifting  the  handle  would  allow  a  certain  quantity 
of  foul  air  to  rise  up,  more  or  less,  according  to 
circumstances,  and  especially  if  the  water  hap- 
pened to  be  off. 

The  rush  off  of  the  water  would  cause  a  tem- 
porary rush-down  of  air  after  it ;  but,  especially 
with  a  deficient  water  supply,  that  would  soon 
cease,  and  then,  unless  the  valve  or  plug  were 
put  back  quickly  and  ticilitlij  into  its  place,  the 
pull  of  the  chimneys  would  suck  sewer-air  into 
the  house. 

I  have  said  "sewer-air,"  because  at  p.  428 
Mr.  Foster  very  fooUshly  asserts  that: — "The 
drain,  soO,  and  ventilating  pipes  should  form  one 
coLtinuous  flue  from  the  sewer  to  the  roof  of  the 
house."  In  other  words,  that  the  soil-pipe 
should  ventilate  the  public  sewer,  and  the  only 
safeguard  betwixt  the  house  and  th3  sewer 
which  Mr.  Foster  would  allow  is  his  wonder- 
working "plug,"  which  he  candidly  tells  us 
required  renewing  in  the  short  space  of  three 
years ! 

I  hardly  think  such  a  safeguard  worth  much 
in  general  practice,  seeing  it  would  entirely  fail 
when  the  water  happened  to  be  oft',  and  a  piece 
of  paper,  &c.,  stuck  under  the  plug  ;  while,  also, 
as  I  said  before,  this  plug  would  be  of  no  ser- 
vice as  a  safeguard  if  a  hole  happened  to  be 
made  in  the  pipe  below  the  plug.  Mr.  Foster  is 
silent  as  to  the  effect  this  would  have. 

In  "trapless  closets,"  again,  with  water- 
trapped  overflows,  the  word  "trapless"  is  a 
misnomer  ;  and,  out  of  sight,  the  part  where  the 
plug  works  gets  often  furred,  and  stinks  badly 
in  time.  Some  of  these  "trapless  closets"  are 
also  very  high-priced,  and,  I  consider,  not  worth 
half  the  money. 

A  simple  wash-down  closet,  with  siphon  water- 
trap  attached,  and  aU  above  the  floor,  and  with- 
out an}-  working  parts,  may  work  satisfactorily 
for  twenty,  or  twice  twenty  years,  without 
any  repairs,  and  be  quite  safe,  in  fact,  far  safer 
for  the  inmates  than  the  more  expensive  plug  or 
valve-closet  without  traps.  Only  I  approve  of  the 
soil-pipe  being  trapped  and  ventilated  per  se,  in 
which  case,  even  although  the  sewer  and  drain 
be  contaminated  with  particulate  contagia,  &c., 
none  can  get  access  to  either  the  soil-pipe  or 
closet  from  them. 

To  my  own  knowledge,  many  first-class  en- 
gineers, plumbers,  medical  men,  chemists,  &c., 
are  dead  against  ventilating  the  public  sewer  up 
their  soil-pipes,  and  in  first-classdrainage  works 
which  I  have  been  executing  of  late,  the  house 
drain  has  a  special  blow-oft"  ventilating  pipe — ■ 
or  pipes  for  itself. 

Mr.  Foster's  statement,  that  siphon  water- 
trafs  are  a  continual  source  of  nuisance,  is 
untrue,  especially  if  they  are  properly  shaped 
and  properly  put  in.  In  this  case  they  are  a  con- 
tinual source  of  safety,  and  I  put  down  my 
twenty-eight  years  practical  experience  against 
Mr.  Foster's  mushroom  theories. 

In  rep!y  to  Mr.  Arthur  Billing,  re  Guy's  Hos- 
pital, I  readily  admit  that  both  now  and  for 
some  3  ears  back,  the  "  existing"  fittings  may  be, 
and  have  been,  working  satisfactorily  ;  but  all 
that  is  since  alterations  ivcre  made,  as  stated  in 
the  newspaper  I  referred  to.  Mr.  Billing  finds 
fault  with  me  for  only  quoting  a  part  of  the 
communication  referred  to.  With  your  permis- 
sion, I  beg  to  give  the  whole  of  it. 

DRAINAGE  AT   THE  COAST. 
(To  the  Editor  of  the  Gtasqow  Eveninr/  Cilizfn.) 

(irecnlands,  Egham,  Sept.  29,  1880. 
Sin,— In  the  Evening   Citizen  of  21st  Sept.  is  a  letter 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


515 


signed  "Ozone,"  the  gist  of  -which  is  to  advocate  the 
abolition  of  all  and  sundry  traps  under  w.c.'s,  sink.^. 
teths,  basins,  &c.  If  such  a  pLan  were  adopted  "  Ozone  " 
would  soon  tind  his  nom  df^  plume  a  misnomer,  for  mo^t 
assuredly  the  reverse  of  ozone  would  tind  its  way  up  the 
various  pipes  into  the  different  chambers  where  un trapped 
sanitaiy  appHances  were  fixed.  I  tried,  according  to 
orders,  this  panacea  for  all  the  evils  resultant  from  the 
nse  of  many  traps,  in  a  modified  form,  using  one  trap  at 
the  base  of  soil-pipe,  leading  wastes  from  sinks  on  alter- 
nate floors  into  same  untrapped,  and  this  at  a  no  less  im- 
portant place  than  Guy's  Hospital,  It  cniiai  in/ailur'\ 
and  need  I  say  since  that  day  I  have  not  only  abandoned 
the  now  exploded  "one-trap"  theory  for  a  whole  house, 
but  should  regard  as  akin  to  aberration  of  intellect  the 
alternatives  suggested  by  "  Ozone."  It  would  occupy  too 
much  of  your  space  to  enter  into  a  scientific  discussion  of 
the  utter  impracticabihty  of  such  a  plan  as  advocated  by 
your  correspondent ;  but  he  should  remember  that  in  partly 
or  wholly  tide-locked  sewers  there  is  an  everdxanging 
barometric  pressure  going  on,  also  that  the  perimeters 
of  sewers  are  alternately  wet  and  dry,  and,  further,  that 
as  water  rises  in  them,  reducing  the  air  space,  if  only  to 
one-half,  it  brings  to  bear  upon  the  air  a  pressure  equal 
to  a  column  of  water  ^t.  in  height,  and  this  pressure 
would  at  once  reheve  itself  up  the  untrapped  pipes.  I 
,  would  say  more,  but  hope  I  have  said  enough  to  deter 
anyone  from  trying  this  Kayi  Karu  system  of  terminating 
his  existence.— I  am,  ifcc, 

R.  B.VEXES  AcsTlx,  M.S.C.E. 


I  am,  &c., 


W.  P.  BuCHAJf. 


IRON   IN   CEMENT. 

SiE, — If  you  are  not  tired  of  "Iron  in  Port- 
land Cement"  I  would  fain  say  a  fewword^ 
in  reply  to  Mr.  Duke's  letter  in  your  last 
number. 

Your  correspondent  disavows  all  feeling  of 
alarm  at  the  prospect  of  Portland  cement  being 
made  without  oxide  of  iron,  and  insists  that  its 
rejection  by  the  manufacturer  is  impracticable 
and  unnecessary,  and  quotes  **  a  very  eminent 
authority"  to  support  his  case. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  show  that  Portland 
cement  is  best  when  it  contains  the  least  amount 
of  oxide  of  iron,  and  this  is  confirmed  by  all 
reliable  experience  in  this  and  other  countries. 
Mr.  Duke  seenus  to  imply  that  architects  are 
indifferent  about  the  materials  they  use  :  but  I 
fear  he  pushes  this  doctrine  somewhat  too  far 
when  he  insists  that  cements  "  in  the  bulk  of 
cases  are  simply  to  last  as  long  as  the  materials 
with  which  they  are  associated."  The  late  Mr. 
Charles  L.  Francis  (cement  manufacturer),  at 
the  discussion  before  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers,  in  December,  1 865,  said  (contending 
against  the  desire  to  improve  the  quality  of 
Portland  cement) : ' '  Portland  stone  crushed  easier 
than  the  lowest  experiments  with  Portland 
cement,  ^"here,  then,  was  the  practical  use  of 
having  a  cement  stronger  than  the  material 
which  had  to  be  joined  together?  If  the  stone 
decayed  what  were  the  joints  good  for !-  "  The 
cement  test  at  that  time  was  only  about  a  third 
of  the  present  requirements.  Sir  Joseph  Bazal- 
gette  followed  Mr.  Francis  in  the  discussion  and 
said  : ' '  Then  it  had  been  argued  that  if  the  cement 
was  stronger  than  the  materials  which  it  had  to 
unite,  it  was  not  surprising  that  the  mantifac- 
tnrer  should  be  unwUling  to  raise  the  standard 
of  quality.  But  he  had  yet  to  learn  that  any 
cement  had  been  obtained  which  was  '  too 
good.'  When  that  pitch  was  arrived  at,  itcotild 
readily  be  diluted  with  a  larger  amount  of  sand, 
and  its  cost  and  its  strength  could  be  reduced  at 
pleasure.  It  was  the  engineer's  duty  to  raise 
the  standard  of  quality  ;  and  when  it  had  fairly 
been  determined  what  was  the  best  material,  it 
would alwayscommandits  price  in  the  market,  and 
that  wotild  determine  the  question  which  was 
the  most  marketable  article  to  produce." 

I  trouble  you  with  these  quotations  in  case 
any  of  your  readers  should  be  mi  led  by  Mr. 
Duke's  proposition  for  a  retrogressive  course  in 
assessing  the  quality  of  cement  by  CMnparison 
with  inferior  materials  of  construcrion. 

Mr.  Duke'sbuilding  experience,  like  his  cement 
practice,  must  be  confined  within  a  limited  circle, 
for  it  ia  opposed  to  all  ideas  of  progress.  Because 
iron  is  in  cement  now,  it  does  not  follow  that  it 
must  continue  to  be  a  damaging  ingredient  for 
all  time.  The  potter  who  desires  to  make  the 
highest  class  porcelain  or  pottery  carefully  elimi- 
nates all  iron  in  the  clay  under  treatment,  and 
by  this  comparatively  inexpensive  process 
secures  a  high  price  for  his  wares.  Let  the  intel- 
ligent cement-makerfollow  the  potter's  example, 
and  strive  to  improve  the  quality  of  cement 
by  some  similar  operation.  Mr.  Duke  may,  by 
some  special  knowledge,  be  able  to  produce  an 
**  iron "  cement  which  can  compete  with  the 
best  Portland  in  the  market ;  and,  if  so,  I  trust 
that  he  may  reap  the  reward  which  his  intelli- 
gence in  that  case  deserves. 


The  interchange  of  materials  from  one  point ' 
to  the  other  does  not  affect  the  question  at  issue,  \ 
for  if  a  manufactory  is  wrongly  placed,  the  j 
sooner  it  is  shut  up  the  better.  Economical  | 
reasons  are  in  favour  of  producing  the  best ' 
article,  which,  in  the  case  of  cement  especially,  | 
would  secure  the  highest  price  ;  and  as  the  cost 
of  carriage  is  as  much  for  a  bad  quaUty  of  cc-  i 
ment  as  a  good  one,  it  is  folly  to  produce  that 
which,  in  consequence,  would  be  loaded  witli  I 
greater  transit  charges,  while  having  a  lower ! 
market  value.  The  simple  carriage  of  a  ton  of  I 
gold  costs  no  more  than  a  ton  of  silver ;  but  the 
spending  value  of  the  one,  at  its  point  of  distri- 
bution, is  much  greater  than  the  other. 

Mr.  Duke's  nearness  to  Manchester  may  have 
caused  him  to  imbibe  the  cotton-spinner's  ideas 
of  cheap  cost,  and  disregards  weighting  his 
cement  with  iron,  so  long  as  it  pays.  His  brother 
manufacturers,  however,  do  not  use  clay  for 
weighting  their  cloths  which  contains  iron  ; 
otherwis:  their  dishonesty  would  ruin  the  fibre 
of  the  material,  conveying  to  distant  parts  the 
adulterant  that  sometimes  weighs  more  than  the 
cotton  itself.  Such  conduct  of  the  cotton-spinner 
has  shut  him  out  of  some  markets,  which  are 
now  only  accessible  by  representing  cloth  from 
Manchester  as  being  made  in  America.  Do  not  let 
us  encourage  a  faulty  manufacture  of  Engli.sh 
cement,  which  may  eventually  lead  to  our  resort- 
ing to  the  necessity  of  calling  it  German  to 
insure  its  reception  in  distant  markets. 

It  is  rather  curious  that  this  correspondence 
originated  in  the  desire  of  an  engineer  to  protect 
himself  against  "  iron  in  cement,"  and  closes 
(which  I  presimie  it  will  now  do)  by  the  deter- 
mination of  a  manufacturer  to  insist  upon  it« 
presence  being,  if  not  advantageous,  at  least 
imobjectionable. — I  am,  &c., 

The  Wetiee  of  the  Abticle. 


GLASGOW  MI-NICIPAL  OFFICES 
COMPETITION. 
SiE, — I  see  that  Mr.  Barry's  report  is  directed 
to  lie  on  the  table,  and  there  it  lies,  whilst  the 
committee  try  themselves  to  do  what  Mr.  Barry 
was  employed  for.  I  give  them  credit  for  their 
earnestness.  A.  duty  is  now,  I  think,  incumbent 
on  all  the  competitors  who  sought  to  obey  the 
instructions,  namely,  to  protest  against  Mr. 
Corson's  design  being  allowed  in  the  competi- 
tion. He  has  disobeyed  the  instruction  by 
colouring  and  shading.  Not  only  was  the  rule 
explicit  and  positive  concerning  the  style  of 
drawings,  but  those  persons  who  wrote  to  the 
ofKcials  on  the  subject  were  told  imperatively 
that  this  rule  must  be  adhered  to.  We  should, 
therefore,  protest  against  any  favouritism  towards 
Mr.  Corson  or  any  other  per.son,  and  demand 
that  the  committee  or  magistracy  abide  by  the 
rules  which  they  themselves  set  up.  Of  course, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  rule  as  to  cost  has  been 
broken.  So  it  has,  by  all,  Mr.  Corson  included. 
This  rule  was  broken  by  the  magistracy  them- 
selves saying  that  the  money  was  not  enough, 
&c.,  at  theix  meetings.  Mr.  Barry,  instead  of 
supporting  the  rules,  practically  pooh-poohs 
them  ! — I  am,  &c., 


M. 


FARM-PLANS  AT  THE  DAIET  SHOW. 

SiE,— The  instructions  of  the  Dairy  Farmers' 
A.ssociation  to  competitors  in  this  class,  although 
brief,  were  clear  and  concise,  the  full  text  being 
as  follows  : — 

"  Models  or  drawings  of  dairy  homestead  for 
a  dairy  of  fifty  cows :— First  prize,  silver  medal 
and  £15  ;  second  pilze,  bronze  medal  and  £10  ; 
third  prize,  certificate  and  £5.  Entry  fee: 
Members,  £1  Is.  ;  non-members,  £2  'is.  If  a 
model,  notice  of  the  size  must  be  given  before- 
hand, and  stands  will  be  provided  ;  if  drawmgs, 
the  set  must  be  coloured,  and  include  plans, 
sections,  and  isometrical  view.  In  either  case, 
the  farm-house,  pisgeries,  and  a)l  out-buUdmgs 
must  be  given.  Scale  for  drawings  to  be  not 
less  than  {in.  to  the  foot,  detaUs  ^in.  Specifi- 
cation and  estimate  to  be  suppUed." 

It  may  seem  somewhat  strange,  therefore, 
that  after  such  very  simple  instructions  the 
second  prize  should  be  awarded  to  a  design  for 
a  farmstead  with  accommodation  for  SO  cows 
and  with  a  proportionate  amount  of  other 
buildin.'s :  but  such  is  the  fact,  the  exhibitor 
—one  of  the  council  of  the  society— hai-mg  re- 
ceived first  prize  for  the  same  plan  in  l^,», 
when  the  conditions  were  that  the  accommoda- 
tion should  be  for  not  less  than  fifty  or  more 


than  a  hundred  covrn,  and  which  plan  wan  re- 
produced in  tho  Bi-iLM-Na  News  for  Januarv  IT 
1879.  ' 

The  Dairy  Famiera'  AiKKxiation  nhould,  I 
submit,  Wo  extremely  cartful  tlml  in  the  matter 
of  competing  dewgnii  fur  fann-tuildiu)pi,  do 
deviation  from  the  ci.nditium  i.h..ulJ  !<«>  per- 
mitted. The>iJco  at  Kilhuni  io  1  ST'J  wan  fullowcj 
by  slill  worre  treatment  uf  ioniiH-titor»  at  the 
Dublin  Show  in  the  Kiuue  yiur,  win  ii  no  pri/.  • 
were  awarded,  the  gr.aU»t  ilillimlty  euiti-d 
in  getting  the  [ilann  n->uni(d,  nnd  n-pliw  to 
letters  of  inquiry  were  quite  out  cf  the  iiuention, 
and  may  possibly  aciuuiit  fcrr  the  indilfinmc 
shown  since  that  limo  by  dc«i(fn>T»  of  fans- 
steads.  At  any  rate,  thia  would  aiii>i»r  lo  bo 
the  case,  if  we  may  judjfe  fr.im  lln-  fact  that 
although  the  Dairy  rarmem'  A»<»j<ialirin  i/llen-d 
double  the  amount  of  muuiy  iu  priiEi'*  \\m  year 
that  they  did  bst  year,  the  rt>.ull  wan  oijjr  four 
entries  against  scveuttin  in  I.ST'J. 

But  a  formal  proteot  hun  bty-n  locltrid  af^aiiut 
the  decision  of  the  judgeniotheprpMnt  inatann-, 
the  result  not  yet  b.ing  di t.rmiaid.  If  t)ie 
council  uphold  the  award,  and  if  in  the  future 
a  matter  of  .)0  per  cent.,  more  ut  h-iw,  <»f  a^xv^m- 
modation  is  to  bo  at  tho  diMcntiim  of  lomtieti- 
tors —although  the  conditioni  Ktute  d>fimtelr 
what  accommodation  \»  to  be  pruvijwl  — a  pre- 
cedent will  bo  established  that  niUKt  end  io  the 
said  competitors  being  albjvt-<l  to  mm  the 
words  of  quite  a  different  comixtitiun  that takeo 
place  in  the  same  building  at  tiinca— to  "  go  a> 
they  like." — I  am,  lie.         TnoJLia  roma. 


CHIPS. 

The  Devonshire  Ho<i{iita1  at  Duxtoo  ii  io  coaiM 
of  enlargement,  by  which  the  a  rnii.  !»ti  .n  will 
be  increased  from  150  to  3iJ*)  1  *.<.    A 

feature  of  the  work  is  tho  i  r  '.'ine 

to  cover  the  open  apace  in  *.  ho«- 

pital.     Tliedome  is  l-')Oft,  iu 1  in  iti 

construction  about  COO  tons  of  iruu,  U»,.U«  timber 
and  other  materials,  have  been  used;  it  it  »<l 
upon  a  low  and  substantial  building.  The  total 
outlay  will  be  about  £30,000. 

The  town  council  of  Bath  decided  lutwiektn 
add  the  Roman  Baths,  rocentlv  .li-'ov.  ?■  l_bylh« 
borough  surveyor,  to   the  r  lb' 

care  of  the  committee  of  t!  y  an-l 

Scientific  Institution,  it  t-  ^  ■  ''^ 

facility  would  be  given  f or  •  'Wic. 

The  ciist  dy  of  the  Ruswll  ■  an  I 

plans,  which  have  been  pur.  itioo, 

was  accepted  by  the  town  c    1  i  ctlon 

has  been  deposited  at  the  InsM-.'    n. 

New  Sunday-schools  are  beins  addc<t  liy  tlieadt 
of  the  CoDRregational  church  in  the  Hi(?h-ro««l, 
Lewis-ham  ;  the  buildings  are  being  conitmclmJ  of 
Kentish  rag  with  freestone  dressmgi,  and  ar»  in 
character  with  the  church.  Me»sr».  .St.imM  an  I 
Sons,  of  Great  Eastem-stiett,  Shoreditcb,  are  the 
builders. 

A  memoiial  stained-glass  window  ha»  ju.t  been 
placed  in  the  Martyn  chapel  of  Long- Malfotd 
parish-church,  West  S.H-.lk.  The  lubi  rt  i.  tbj 
"Ascensicnof  Our  Lord,"  and  it  u  I  be  work  oC 
Messrs.  Clayton  and  Bell,  cf  London. 

A  corre.=pondent  of  the  Suis^t  -"y''"ZJ'^ 
that  a  new  window  now  in  count  of  ronifmctioo 
at  St.  Michael's  Church,  Lewcv  l.i.  'n  .   :.un».»-  t 
destroyed  a  portion  of    an 
coloured  flints rnnningalon;;  • 
church.    Tho  characters  ca;. 
be  deciphered,  but  an  old  i  ;.;•..    ■    •   .      -j, 
the  words  as    "Hail    Marv  ■  fu.l  .(  ct*.*.     TU 
Lord  be  with  Thoe." 

A  church  do.;i.atcd  to  the  Holy  ""i^'^ 
Rhosygwelia,  Bala,  erect..  ' VT  S'fJI^'Ii 
been  rebuilt  and  re-o,~-nc.l.  STr.  E.  B.  Ferny,  of 
London,  was  the  arihit..-t. 

A  report  bv  Mr.  B.  Baker.  (•£..->(«*-«»■ 
square-pla-e.■^Ve.•min.ter.  was  mri^red^by^ 
Qlonrestershirc    majI'^Ti'-    '>:     .  ';,  al 

quarter  sessions,  re- 1  T.,^ 

Over,  one  of  Tell,  r ;  . 

that  the  thrust  won,  1  ^^ 

owing  to  the  failor.     :  ,^, 

quoted  from   the    '  ^  .  yar- 

scnttnce,  ••  I  t'l-ime  i  -1  (to 

simony  of  omittine  ,^ 

foundation  of  taster'  ^■, 

case  as  a  useful  r.a  •■  ..^. 

He  proposed  protect  '  -j^ 

sible  contractor  had  m.^i     ■     ' .' ,      .^fn- 

matter  was  referred  to  a  o,mm...-  i  •  -  -^^ 
tion  and  report. 

Tho  Ossett  local  b^rd  ^"t^o^c^' 
bv  Mr.  ratenon    ')^''?r^^l"j^[^U<^ 
dkinage  scheme  for  Oawthorpc,  at  a  rem««« 
of  3  per  cent,  on  the  outlay. 


516 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


j:«Uit0mmutticati0n. 


QUESTIOXS. 

[6272.]— Coloured  Dra-wings.— What  are  tlie  lepal 
cliargres  an  ai-chitect  cdn  luake  for  coloured  design  for 
building,  without  any  specification,  irc.pre-sumingrhedoes 
not  the  job  I  Is  there  any  law  or  legal  decision  on 
this  question  ? — Arcuitect. 

[6273.]  —  Imitation  of  Hand  -  Painted  or 
Stained  Glass.— Ai-e  there  any  transferable  paintings 
mad3  "which  would  be  suitable  to  transfer  to  a  glass  fan- 
light over  front  door  and  staircase  windows,  &c.,  and 
which  would  admit  of  bein^  washed  ?— J.  L.  Cole. 

[6274.]— Surveyors'  Charges. —I  have  laid  out  a 

Eiece  of  ground  ;3S  acres)  in  streets  and  terraces  for 
uildiug  purpos  s.  The  plan  has  been  lithographed  for 
circulation.  The  gi-ound  w;xs  purchased  for  £25,000. 
Would  any  one  inform  mc  a  fair  cliarge  to  make  for  my 
labours  ?—  Scoxi  a  . 

[6275.]-Guttering-  Altar-Candles. -I  have  built 
a  small  E.C.  chapel,  and  the  oHiciating  priest  tells  me 
that  the  candles  lighted  on  the  altar  during  Mass  mn  and 
gutter  as  if  a  strong  eun-ent  of  air  wad  passing  over 
them.  At  week-day  services,  when  the  congregation  is 
email,  this  does  not  occur.  The  chapel  is  cruciform,  about 
50ft.  from  front  to  back  of  altar,  by  18ft.  in  -width,  short 
transepts.    Could  any  reader  kindly  ^-q  me  a  remedy .' — 

IilEDI.EVAL. 

[6276.1  — Se-wage  Disnosal.— Having  a  gravel  bed 
of  6  acres  in  extent,  and  averaging  6ft.  in  depth,  and  on 
the  slope  so  that  a  number  of  flat  filter-beds  could  be  easily 
formed,  how  would  this  answer  for  .se-wage  disposal !  If 
suitable,  the  sewa^-e  of  how  many  persons  per  acre  should 
be  calculated  .'  —  tjEWAOE. 

[6277.]— Party-Walls.— Has  one  of  the  joint  owners 
of  a  par-ty-wall  the  li^ht  to  luild  same  higher  than  re- 
quired by  the  other,  of  course  paving  full  cost  of  extra 
height,  not  merely  when  flj-st  building,  but  in  case  of  any 
alterations  he  may  wish  to  make  .'  If  one  wishes  to  builii 
liigher  than  the  other,  how  about  cost  of  fla-^hings,  i-c, 
caused  by  difference  of  height !  In  the  case  of  building- 
land  being  sold  off  to  different  buildeis,  awkward  cases 
arise  as  to  payment  for  party-walls,  when  they  do  not  both 
reqnii-e  the  same  walls  the  same  height,  and  I  should  be 
much  obliged  if  some  correspondent  would  give  me  some 
reliable  infoi-mation,  not  merely  private  opinions,  on  the 
laws  relating  to  same,  or  could  refer  me  to  any  authorities 
on  the  subject,  which  seems  involved  in  confusion  and 
doubt.  —  Paetv-Wall. 

[6278.]— Architect's  Commission— I  some  time 
ago  saw  two  vei-y  ciuious  items  in  a  schedule  of  quanti- 
ties, and  should  like  vei-j-  much  if  any  of  your  readers 
could  inform  me  if  such  items  are  or  are  not  included  in 
an  architect's  commission  of  5  per  cent.  The  job  is  a 
large  Mansion  House,  now  being  erected  in  the  West  of 
Scotland,  and  the  schedules  were  issued  by  a  known 
firm  of  smveyors  in  Edinburgh.  At  the  end  of  the  joiners' 
sohej.uIe  occurred  the  folio-wing:— "Allow  for  second  set 
of  plans  for  contractor's  use  during  progress  of  works 
payable  off  first  instalment,  £000.  AUow  for  expenses  iii 
connection  with  clerk  of  works  department  (correspond- 
ence and  looking  over  reports  I  presume),  £B00."  At 
the  end  of  the  mason  work  most  probably  the  same 
occurs,  and  also  sums  in  proportion  at  each  of  the  other 
trades.  Taking  the  schedules  all  over,  say  £1,000  is  thus 
netted  by  the  architect  over  and  above  his  commission, 
and  I  should  like  to  ask  your  readers  if  these  charges  are 
sanctioned  by  the  E.I.B.A.  scale  (as  the  architect  is  a 
member  of  this  body),  and  if  not,  what  ter.n  can  most 
appropnately  be  used  to  this  -wholesale  way  of  making 
money !— VA.viri-  Fair. 

[6279.1— Cubical  Contents.— What  is  the  best  and 
most  accui-ate  method  of  getting  out  the  cubical  content 
of  earth  in  a  manhole  lift,  deep,  3ft  at  the  bottom,  wliich 
IS  square,  and  tapei-iug  to  2ft.  at  the  top  \  Also,  what 
method  is  used  for  getting  out  the  quantity  of  brickwork 
m  same,  the  walls  to  be  Sin.  thick,  at"  so  much  per 
squai-e  yiird;     Also,  the  quantity  of  bricks   required 


SEPIIES. 

[6263.]— Doors.- 1  take  a  IJin.  ledged  door  to  be  a 
door  that  should  properly  be  specified  as  a  Ijin.  ledged 
lin.  door,  which  would  be  a  door  vei-y  generally  used.  A 
Ijin.  door  with  IJin.  ledges  I  never  saw  used  or  heard  of 
in  25  years'  experience  in  the  building  trade.— J.  H.  M. 

[6264.]  —  "Wall  Ties.— Chambers  and  Monneiy's 
wrought-rron  w,aU  ties,  placed  2ft.  apai-t  every  way.  wUI  be 
S?'J  ^  v''^"f  f  """^''^  ^""^  connecting  a  4i  to  a  9in.  wall 
dOlt  high  I  have  used  them  for  a  great  roaav  buildings, 
and  find  them  a  very  good  article.  I  have  not  used  cast- 
lion  ties.— L.  Euiio.v,  Southampton. 

[6264.]--WaU  Ties.— Either  wrought  or  cast-iron,  if 
used  3ft.  apart  and  2ft.  in  height.  As  far  as  I  know  of 
*i™  ™,"*™f  i^*"™'  '''^y  ^^^'^  oaiTied  walls  near  upon 
40t.j  hig-h,  and  I  would  use  them  double  that  height  if  the 
buildmg  had  paity-walls  and  joists  to  support  it  against 
rough  winds.  Say,  rooms  in  clear  20ft.  each  way  and  t-svo 
4jiii.  walls  -with  about  2iin.  or  3in.  cavity,  weil  bed  the 
ties  each  end,  and  avoid  cutting  the  bricks  over  the  tic< 
but  make  the  ties  quite  firm  with  the  first  course  on  ton 
ot  ties.— J.  C. 

.[6-260.]— "Weig-ht  Carried  by  Brick  Pier.— If  the 
pier  IS  pettectly  ti-ue  and  plumb,  it  might  sustain  safely  a 
weight  ot  16  tons;  but  as  the  height  of  pier  exceeds  its 
brctdih  so  much,  I  sliouldnot  Uketo  place  more  than  half 
tna.upon  it.  Care  must  be  taken,  however,  tliat  the 
weight  earned  is  qmte  vertical,  and  truly  built  of  good 
liai-d  bricks.  -  G.  H.  G. 

[6268  ]-Spotty  -Walls.-The  spottiness  and  damp 
which  have  so  discomfoited  '■  Peiplc-sed  "  are  due  to  sea- 
sand  m  the  plaster,  which  notliing  but  hacking  off  the 
spotty  parts,  or  lining  the  wall  with  tinfoil  or  linoleum, 
SireTeffJjt.-G.  H^T'  "'  l'^'*^'"!'^-''"^  will  have  the 

tbl'^T!?''"'®®?-,"^^"'^  inStortar.— As  an  old  reader  of 
the  Blildixo  Ne-.vs,  and  an  old  customer  of  sea-sajid,  I 


have  built  about  30  or  more  lodging-houses  -within  40 
yards  to  high  water,  and  have  used  no  other  sand  for 
masonry  cementing,  2.  Plastering,  haveused  it  the  same 
hour  as  it  came  from  the  shore,  and  had  no  complaint  of 
damp  in  any  way.  London  ai-chitects  specify  it  to  be 
clean  from  salt,  and  the  sand  to  be  washed,  but  I  have 
seen  it  to  be  unnecessary. — T.  J.  C. 

[6269.1— Sea-Sand  in  Mortar.  —  Sea-sand  is  un- 
doubtedly better  and  sharper  than  pit-sand,  if  the  s.iliue 
matter  can  be  removed  ;  but  this  is  the  difiicultj-,  and  in 
nearly  all  cases  where  I  have  known  it  used  the  evils 
recorded  by  "Perplexed  "  have  been  the  result.  It  is,  of 
course,  possible  to  -wash  it  all  over  in  fresh  water,  and  in 
this  case  nothing  could  be  better  for  mortar  or  plastering 
stuff.  There  is  no  real  objection  to  it  other  than  the  risk 
attending  imperfect  wasliing.  Hig-g-ins  and  aU  authorities 
since  his  time  forbid  the  use  of  sea-sand.  Dr.  Higgins, 
if  I  remember,  excludes  it  from  any  other  purpose  than 
that  of  hydrauhc  work.  The  mort.ar  made  from  it  never 
hardens,  and  readily  imbibes  damp  from  the  atmosphere. 
Eoad  drift,  if  properly  cleaned,  is  a  good  substitute  for 
river  or  pit-sand.  -  G.  H.  G. 

[6271.]- Rights  of  Architects'  Assistants.- It 
is  quite  lawful  for  an  architect's  assistant  to  practise  on 
his  own  account,  though  it  is  not  cu.stomary  to  do  so.  If 
his  private  work  does  not  interfere  -with  the"  duty  he  ov^-es 
to  his  employer,  we  cannot  see  any  valid  objection  to  his 
doing  so.  As  a  rule,  however,  employers,  especially  archi- 
tects, are  jealous  of  what  they  might  consider  to  be  an 
encroachment  upon  theii-  privileges,  and  we  tliink  it 
rather  objectionable  for  an  architect's  assistant  to  set  up 
and  practise  witliin  the  locality  of  his  employer.  Many 
architects  would  certainly  object  to  his  doing  so.  Ther'e 
is,  moreover,  an  etiquette  in  the  matter  wliich  cannot  be 
altogether  set  aside.— G.  H.  G. 


STAINED    GLASS. 

HxTNOEEFOED. —  A  three-Iigbt  window  has  re- 
cently been  placed  in  the  jiarish-church,  Hunger- 
The  subject  represented  is  the    "Sermon  on 


ford. 


the  Mount,"  onr  Lord  occupj^iiifr  the  centre  light, 
with  figures  of  His  disciples  in  the  two  side- lights. 
The  upper  and  lo-wer  parts  of  the  lights  are  tilled 
with  architectural  canopies.  The  window  has  been 
designed  and  executed  by  Messrs.  Heaton,  Butler, 
and  Bajne,  of  Loudon. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

IMemoeial  to  the  LatePeixce  Ijiperial.— The 
memorial  to  the  late  Prince  Imperial  is  now  nearly 
completed,  and  will  shonly  be  erected 'on  Cbisle- 
hurst  Common.  The  memorial,  a  Eunic  cross, 
which  is  made  of  gray  granite,  27ft.  high,  rests  on 
a  eolid  granite  base  led  up  to  by  steps. "  In  front  is 
the  iubcription,  and  on  the  back  an  extract  from 
the  will  of  the  Prince.  The  granite  is  from  the 
quarries  of  ISIessrs.  Shearer,  Field,  anl  Co.,  De 
Lank,  Cornwall,  who  have  executed  the  workfrom 
the  design  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Eobson. 

Saiisbuet.— A  canopied  tomb,  wi  ha  recumbent 
figure  of  the  late  Bl^h■>p  Hamilton,  will  shortly  be 
erected  on  the  south  s  de  of  the  altar  in  the  cathedi'.-il. 
The  desigQ  is  by  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  and  the  fisriire 
is  the  work  of  the  Eon.  and  Etv.  Beitram  Pley- 
d  11-Bouverie. 

SiAT-OES  OF  Euens.— On  the  16th  inst.  a  colcssal 
statue  of  the  poet  Burns  was  unveiled  at  Dundee, 
in  presence  of  some  30  000  persons.  The  statue, 
which  is  in  bronze,  was  executed  by  Sir  John  Steell, 
E.S.  A.,  and  represents  the  poet  sitting  on  the  stump 
of  a  tree.  A  replica  of  this  status  has  been  set  up 
in  the  Central  Park,  New  York,  and  was  unveiled 
on  the  2ud  inst. 


"WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Bajjdon.— The  board  of  guardians  of  the  Bando^ 
Union  (Co.  Cork,  Ireland)  have  approved  of  the 
plans  of  proposed  water-supply,  prepared  by  liat. 
Jackson,  C.E.  The  reservoirs  will  contain  about 
5,000,000  gallons  of  water— 42  days'  supply,  at  20 
gallons  per  day  for  each  head  of  the  population. 
The  estimated  cost  is  £t,G00. 

Doxcastee.— On  Wednesday  the  new  reservoirs 
which  bare  been  erected  by  "the  Doucaster  Cor- 
poration at  Thrybergh,  about  four  mUes  from 
fiotherham,  were  opened.  The  water  is  brouubt 
to  the  Thrybergh  reservoir  by  a  conduit  from  The 
Conisboroush  biook.  a  distance  of  about  a  couple 
of  miles.  This  reservoir  occupies  about  -ITaores  of 
land,  and  is  capable  of  holding  2.54,000,000  gallnrs 
of  water_.  Yesterday  it  contained  ab  .ut  2 10, 000. OOnl 
The  engineer  of  these  works  is  Mr.  P.  S.  Brundeil" 
C.E.,  of  Doncaster,  and  for  about  four  j'ears  thc-y 
were  carried  out  under  the  supeiiuteudence  of  Mr. 
J.  F.  Tyler.  About  two  years  ago  that  gentleman 
received  an  appcintment  under  the  Wigau  Cor- 
poration, and  since  then  the  works  at  Thryberoh 
have  been  superintended  either  by  the  engineer  or 
his  assistants.  The  c  .st  of  ihe  works  is,  up  to 
the  present  time,  about  £120,000,  and  about  £60  OOO 
has  been  expended  as  compensation.  The  con- 
tractor for  the  works  Was  Mr.  James  Ttiane  of 
Marj-port.  ' 

LniEEicE. — The  corporation  received,  last  week, 
a    report    from    the    ci'y    svirveyor,    Mr.    W.   E. 


Corbett,  a  report  as  to  the  better  provision  of 
water-supply  to  the  city,  for  which  schemes  were 
recently  invited,  in  competition,  from  civil  engl- 
ueers.  Mr.  Corbett,  reviewing  the  several  designs, 
recommended  that  the  present  -water  company's 
works  be  purchased,  and  that  the  supply  be  sup- 
plemented  from  the  Eiver  Shannon.  The  intuka 
pipe  should  be  extended  above  the  mouth  of  the 
tributary  Cxroonin  river,  aud  new  immping-works 
and  reservoir  should  be  formed  at  Newcastle-hill, 
-with  a  12iu.  supply-main  from  thence  to  the  city. 
His  estimate  of  cost  was  £4.5,000  for  new  works, 
and  £19,500  capitalisation  of  extra  annual  outlay. 
It  was  resolved  to  send  the  report  and  schtiae  to 
the  Local  Government  Board. 


CHIPS. 

The  bridge  over  the  rirer  Hindburn,  in  Sorath 
Lonsdale  hundred,  has  been  rebuilt  for  the  county 
magistrates  of  Laucushire.  Mr.  Cumberland,  of 
Bentham,  was  the  contractor;  and  the  work  was 
done  from  plans  by,  and  under  the  supervision  of, 
Mr.  E.  G.  Paley,  the  county  bridgemaster. 

Extensive  additions  to  the  parish-chrach  of  North 
Ormesby,  Middlesbro',  have  recently  been  made, 
consisting  of  new  south  aisle,  south  transept,  and 
the  lengthening  of  the  whole  building  westward. 
The  architect  was  Mr.  C.  Noel  Armrteld,  of  the 
firm  of  Ariufield  and  Bottomley,  Whitby  and 
Middlesbro',  and  the  works,  have  been  carried  out 
by  Messrs.  Allison,  Brothers,  Middlesbro'. 

The  Hove  Commissioners  last  week  decided  to 
allow  their  surveyor,  Mr.  E.  B.  EUice-Clark, 
£100,  asremuueratiou  for  extra  work  in  preparing 
plans  and  designs  for  the  chapels,  lodge,  walls,  and 
other  works  iu  counectiou  with  the  new  cemetery. 
A  new  reading-room  and  cocoa-taveru  is  about 
to  be  erected  at  Ingletou,  from  the  plans  of  Mr. 
John  Hewitsuu,  of  Lancaster. 

Jlesfrs.  Protheroe  and  Morris  are  going  to  sell 
on  Wednesday  next,  at  Woking  station,  a  quantity 
of  nursery  stock  which  soems  wortli  attention  from 
planters  and  others.  The  ground  is  afterwards  to 
be  offered  for  building  purposes. 

A  memorial  reredos  has  jnst  been  p'aced  in 
Evershot  parish-church,  Dorset.  It  is  the  work  of 
Jlr.  J.  C.  Kempe,  of  Loudon,  and  is  of  dark  oak, 
divided  into  five  panels,  of  whicdi  the  centre  one 
contains  a  brass  cross,  and  the  others,  shields  of 
brass,  bsaiing  each  an  emblem  of  one  of  the 
Evangelists.  Outside  these  panels  are  rich  red 
civet  hangings  and  oa'f  pauelliu»,  picked  out 
with  gilding.  Anew  altar-cloth  of  olive-green  silk, 
emliroidereci  in  gold  and  silks,  has  been  worked 
aiid  placed  in  the  church  by  the  donor  of  the 
reredos,  Mrs.  W.  AVyndham  Baiiug. 

Two  memoiial-stones  of  a  new  Wesleyan  Me- 
thodist school  and  school  chapel,  to  be  built  in 
Crookesraore-road,  Sheffield,  were  laid  on  Monday. 
The  building  will  be  of  the  Perpendicular  style  of 
architecture,  biult  of  Oughtibiidge  wall  stone, 
with  dressings  of  ashlar  stone  from  Grenoside. 
The  laud  ami  the  schools  will  together  cost  £2,000. 
Mr.  J.  D.  Webster  is  the  architect. 

■The  first  stone  of  a  memorial,  to  be  erected  in 
Wisbech,  in  honour  of  Thomas  Clarkson,  the 
advocate  of  negro  emancipation,  was  laid  on  Mon- 
day. This  earnest  opponent  of  slavery  was  bcru 
iu  that  town  in  1760.  The  memorial  will  chiefly 
consist  of  a  statue,  designed  by  the  late  Sir  Gilbert 
Scott,  E.A. 

A  new  Congregational  church,  to  accommodate 
•500,  is  .about  to  be  commenced  at  Heaton,  a  suburb 
of  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  The  church  will,  when 
completed,  consist  of  a  cave  with  double  tran- 
septs, and  there  will  be  a  small  west-cad  gallery. 
At  the  east  end  will  be  a  schoolroom  and  class- 
room vestry,  with  other  conveniences.  Tbc 
materials  to  be  used  are  stone,  ^vith  ashlar 
dressings  and  slated  roof.  Evtutually,  the  erecliou 
of  a  tower  and  spire  is  contemplated.  Messrs. 
Oliver  and  Leeson,  of  Newcastle,  are  the  archi- 
tects. 

The  Glasgow  City  Improvement  Trust  Lost  week 
adopted  a  recommendation  of  a  committee  based 
on  a  report  and  plans  by  Mr.  Carrick,  C.E.,  the 
city  engineer,  to  erect  on  an  area  now  being  cleared 
in  the  Salt -market,  shops,  having  over  them  liouses 
buitt  as  workmen's  tenements  of  one  and  two 
rooms  and  kitchen  "that  would  be  a  crecht  to  the 
city  and  a  model  to  buildei-s."  It  was  ftated  that 
the  rentals  would  yield  a  fair  retiuru  on  the  outlay. 
The  tru<t>es  also  considered  four  alternative  plans 
prepared  by  Mr.  Canick  for  lajing  out  the  ground 
belonging  t"o  the  Trust  at  Towiihead,  aud  adopted 
No.  2,  by  wliich  the  land  will  be  laid  out  iu  GOft. 
wide  streets,  with  spaces  between  t'ne  backs  of 
tenements  of  from  110  to  140ft.,  and  let  out  to 
builders.  Tie  retuiu  is  esiimated  at  .£71,301,  and 
the  probable  number  of  persons  housed  2,640. 

Plans  for  a  lodge  at  Ihe  new  cometet  v  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  Horfliam  burial  board  by  their 
architect,  Mr.  E.  Aldridge,  on  Monday,  aiid  were 
adopted. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


517 


Our  (^W.tt  €Mt 


EoBEET  BoTTJ3  AXD  SoN  having  re- 
cently applied  their  patent  self-acting  air-pump 
ventilators  to  the  chapel  of  Cains  CoUeg-e,  Cam- 
bridge, under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Alfred  Water, 
house,  some  experiments  were  made  to  test  theii- 
efficiency,  and  though  subjected  to  very  trying 
conditions,  they  were  found  to  be  acting  in  a 
most  elBcient  manner,  the  air  being  extracted 
through  each  ventilator  at  the  rate  of  about  700 
cubic  feet  per  minute,  whilst  there  was  not  the 
slightest  down-draught  experienced  during  the 
whole  time  the  experiments  lasted.  Those  pre- 
sent expressed  themselves  thorouglily  satisfied 
with  the  result  of  the  experiments,  and  also 
with  the  marked  purity  of  the  atmosphere  of  the 
chapel,  and  the  entire  absence  of  currents.  These 
ventilators  are  to  be  extensively  adopted  at 
another  college  in  Cambridge,  to  the  Guildhall 
of  which  town  they  have  also  lately  been 
applied. 

The  First  Ordinary  Meeting  of  the  Session 
1880-81  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Archi- 
tects will  be  held  on  Monday  evening  next,  when 
the  opening  address  of  the  session  vnil  be 
delivered  by  Mr.  John  Wliichcord,  F.S.A. ,  jire- 
sident.  A  special  general  meeting  of  members 
only  will  be  held  at  the  close  of  the  ordinary 
meeting  (probably  at  9.30  p.m.),  to  elect  an 
honorary  secretary  in  place  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Henry  Wyatt,  deceased  the  3rd  of  August, 
1880.  A  memorial,  signed  by  33.5  members  of 
the  Institute  of  British  Architects,  and  1,000 
non-members,  is  about  to  be  presented  to  the 
President  and  Council  on  the  question  of  the 
present  state  of  public  architectural  competitions. 
The  memorialists  say  that,  in  the  interests  of  the 
whole  prof ession,  it  is  desirahle  that  the  Coun- 
cil should  devise  a  remedy  which,  while  insiu-ing 
greater  adva.ntages  to  the  public,  will  at  the 
same  time  place  the  competition  sj-stem  on  a 
more  satisfactory  ba-is.  The  memorialists  fiu'- 
ther  state  that  the  necessities  of  the  case  call  for 
united  action  on  the  part  of  the  profession,  and 
that  the  most  effectual  way  of  insuring  this  will 
be  to  devise  some  scheme  whereby  all  members 
of  the  profession  can  agree  not  to  take  part  in 
any  public  coaipetition  unless  a  professional  ad- 
judicator of  established  reputation  is  appointed. 
To  such  a  condition,  if  generally  accepted,  the 
memorialists  are  prepared  to  bind  themselves. 

The  Glasgow  branch  of  the  Sunday  Society 
was  inaugurated  on  Monday,  when  an  address 
was  delivered  by  Professor  Tyndall.  Professor 
Tyndall  said  that  in  all  times  what  was  called 
the  objective  character  of  religion  had  never 
been  changed.  There  were  many  instances  of 
this,  but  the  difference  which  most  concerned 
them  was  as  to  the  binding  power  of  the  Jewish 
law  in  reference  to  the  dissensions  "which  broke 
out  among  the  Apostles  themselves.  Nobody 
who  read  with  attention  the  Epistles  of  Paul 
could  fail  to  discern  that  the  mighty  propa- 
gandist had  to  carry  on  a  life-long  struggle  in 
order  to  maintain  his  authority.  As  a  minister 
of  Christ  he  fought  for  freedom — a  freedom 
wWeh  it  might  be  said  they  were  still  contending 
for.  Nobody  more  than  he  would  fight  against 
the  making  of  the  Sabbath-day  into  a  common 
working-day.  The  following  motion  was  agreed 
to: — ''That  this  meeting  heartily  approves  the 
action  of  the  Sunday  Society,  and  trusts  that 
both  Houees  of  Parliament  wiU  next  session 
adopt  the  following  resolution,  viz.,  'That,  in- 
asmuch as  all  opposition  to  the  action  of  Her 
Majesty's  G-ovemment  in  opening  on  Sundays 
the  national  museums  and  galleries  in  the  sub- 
lurban  distr  cts  of  London  and  in  Dublin  has  en- 
tirely ceased,  owing  to  the  good  results  which 
have  followed  such  opening,  this  House  is  now 
of  opinion  that  the  time  has  now  arri\  ed  for  ex- 
tending this  action  to  all  national  institutions  of 
alike  character.'  " 

The  people  in  the  City  who  are  answerable 
for  the  present  position  of  the  Temple  Bar 
Memorial  seem  determined,  if  possible,  to  show 
that  the  outcry  against  it  as  an  obstruction  to 
the  traffic  was  a  most  legitimate  one.  They  are 
now  making  more  room  on  the  north  side  of  the 
structure  for  vehicular  traffic  by  narrowing  the 
pavement  originally  given  for  the  benefit  of 
foot-traffic  in  front  of  the  New  Law  Courts.  Not 
content  with  this,  it  is  said,  they  were  also  pro- 
ceeding to  do  the  same  on  the  south  side,  when 
they  received  a  reminder    from  Messrs.  Child 


and  Co.  that  the  pavement  they  were  so  quickly 
appropriating  had  been  given  by  the  bank  when 
the  new  premi.-e8  were  erected,  on  the  exprc.ss 
understanding  that  it  was  to  remain  a  foot- 
way. On  AVednesday  the  City  Lands  Committee 
of  the  City  Corporation  waited  upon  the  Strand 
District  Board  of  Works,  for  the  purjjose  of 
appealing  to  that  body  to  reconsider  the  resolu- 
tion they  had  come  to  opposing  the  erection  of 
the  Temple  Bar  Memorial,  and  withholding  their 
sanction  to  the  construction  of  a  rest  for  pedes- 
trians on  the  west  side  of  the  memorial.  One  of 
the  deputation  pleaded  that  if  the  Strand  Board 
continued  to  refuse  their  sanction  there  would  bo 
but  one  rest,  and  the  memorial  would  look  "  like 
a  pig  with  one  ear."  A  member  of  the  Strand 
Board  moved  that  the  sanction  of  the  Board  be 
given  to  the  application.  The  chairman,  how- 
ever, ruled  this  out  of  order.  The  first  thing  to 
be  done,  he  pointed  out,  would  be  to  rescind  the 
resolution  already  passed,  and  that  could  be 
done  only  by  nrtice  of  motion.  The  matter, 
therefore,  was  ordered  to  stand  over  until  next 
week. 

A  MEEirxG  of  the  Associitiou  of  Municipal  and 
Sanitary  Engineers  and  Surveyors  will  be  held 
at  Salford,  on  Friday  next.  The  members  will 
assemble  at  11  a.m.  at  the  "Swan"  Inn,  uear 
to  Weaste  station,  on  the  Manchester  and  Liver- 
pool Railway.  Those  who  require  further  in- 
formation are  desired  to  address  their  communi- 
cations to  Mr.  R.  Vawser,  M.Inst.C.E.,  District 
Honorary  Secretary,  2,  Cooper-street,  Man- 
chester. The  members  will  first  proceed  to 
Mode  Wheel,  where  Mr.  Arthur  Jacob, 
M.Inst.C.E.,  borough  engineer  of  Salford,  will 
show  them  the  concrete  sewage  tanks  now  in 
course  of  construction,  and  describe  the  system 
of  intcrcept'ng  sewers  adopted  and  carried  out  at 
Salford.  If  time  permits,  members  may  likewise 
visit  the  iron  bridge  in  course  of  construction 
over  the  river  Irwell,  and  the  health  committee's 
depot  at  Holt  Town,  Manchester,  where  the 
night-soil  of  the  town  is  converted  into  a  native 
guano. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  127th  session  of  the 
Society  of  Arts  is  announced  for  the  17th 
November,  when  the  opening  address  will  be 
delivered  by  F.  J.  Bramwell,  F.R.S.,  ch,ainnan 
of  the  council.  Before  Christmas  there  will  be 
four  ordinary  meetings,  in  addition  to  the 
opening  meeting,  at  which  the  following  papers 
will  be  read:  — November  21th — "Barry's  In- 
fluence on  English  Art,"  by  J.  Comyns  Carr. 
December  1st— "The  Photophone,"  by  W.  H. 
Preece.  December  Sth— "London  Fogs,"  by 
Dr.  A.  Carpenter.  December  1.5—"  The  Use  of 
Sound  for  Signals,"  by  E.  Price  Edwards. 
Among  the  papers  down  on  the  list  for  reading 
after  Christmas  are  : — "The  Present  Condition 
of  the  Art  of  Wood-carving  in  England,"  by  J. 
Huno-erford  Pollen,  and  "  The  Discrimination 
and  Artistic  I'se  of  Precious  Stones,"  by  Prof. 
A.  H.  Church.  Five  courses  of  lectures  are 
announced  under  the  Cantor  bequest : — First 
course — Five  lectures  on  "  Some  Points  of  Con- 
tact between  the  Scientific  and  Artistic  Aspects 
of  Pottery  and  Porcelain,"  by  Prof.  A.  C. 
Church.  Second  course— Three  lectures  on 
"  Watchmaking,"  by  Edward  Rigg,  _  M.A. 
Third  course- Four  lectures  on  "  The  Scientific 
Principles  involved  in  Electric  Lighting,"  by 
Prof.  W.  G.  Adams,  F.R.S.  Fourth  course-^ 
Three  lectures  on  "The  Art  of  Lace-making," 
by  Alan  S.  Cole.  Fifth  coui-se- Three  lectures 
on  "  Colour-BUndness  and  its  Influence  upon 
Various  Industries,"  by  E.  Brudenell  Carter. 

A  MEETrs-G  of  the  Fog  and  Smoke  Committee 
appointed  by  the  National  Health  and  Kyrle 
Societies  was  held  on  Wednesday  week  at  the 
society's  rooms,  41,  Berners-street,  Mr.  Ernest 
Hart  in  the  chair.  Several  schemes  for  tlie 
introduction  of  smokeless  fuel  were  considered, 
and  it  was  decided  to  appoint  a  sub-commtttee 


view  to  an  exhibition  beiiiff  or«aniiiod  of  Hin..ke- 
proyentiou  uppariitun  ;  uud  Mr.  K.  CUudwiuk 
having  iisKurnI  the  Committee  that  iu  tliis matter 
the  Society  of  Arts  would  iilford  auv  help  it 
could,  exprts.wd  the  opiuion  thnt  it  iui(fht  alao 
bo  well  to  have  an  ciliibitiou  which  woiJd  thow 
the  relative  warming-  power  of  ilitfenrnt  itn»- 
stoves.  The  clminnaa  nuggcKted  that  a  cjm- 
mumcation  .-liould  !«  ttddrewed  to  Mr  Edmunil 
Henderson  askiug  liim  whither  he  coulJ  favour 
the  Committee  witli  any  details  ui  to  tho 
organisation  by  wliich  tlie  Act  wjn  atteniptwl  to 
bo  put  into  operation  in  tlie  niilr..jM)li»,  und  aa 
to  whoso  duty  it  wa.t  to  suiMriuteiid  unj  corry 
out  its  provisions ;  and  whether,  in  hit  opinlun, 
it  would  not  be  desirable  to  cniiti-  f^ir  Lundoo  a 
separate  organisation,  attuehud  lillier  to  tho 
Homo  Office  or  the  LociJ  i;ovinim«nt  Buanl, 
for  the  purpose  of  puttio)^  the  (■totul*  more 
generally  in  force.  Tbie  suggwitii  m  wu»  adopud ; 
and  the  meeting  adjourned  for  a  week. 


Lamplongrh's  Pyretic  Su 

nn.!  .,::,,,  .M,-,,iTi.I  th.-  iir.-».nti*.-  ■  ' 
(MAI.l.   rcix.  SKIS    1)1SK.\»1',S, 

,Ue  Mattr.  113.  Uuli>ora  I'lUl.  '  l"«  ...  . 

HoUowa'v's  Pm8.-T)-phM 


-hlnir. 


I'ilU. 


iiodic 


rly   alan--. 


h'.t    pri 

thr  cxc 
toDguc,  and  restore  to  health. 


ment  on  Monday  « ''I'a'^v   f^  r  .mLUt**  tha 

tr/«.^l  2."Ia;2y '^e'ongiu,.  c     t  ...   in  o.n- 

siderationof  the  payment  b)    the  tni-tc 

additioBil  £9.000.  ^^^ 

^f  ^x^ertTt^^exTmine  and  report  on  the  different       j,  „ew  station  >,' "'.'""^h^'^'^'' o\  ™TW 

inventions  for   the   prevention   of   smoke    such    juncUon    c,ns^ueot^thc^r.mn«^___^  ^^  ^^ 


CHIPS. 

Ivingston  Bagprizo  chorcli  hu   be«n   rvwatad 

and  otherwise  renovated.  All  the  «!!»tj  are  of 
English  eak ;  those  in  the  chancel  havo  carrtd 
end^.  New  floors  have  been  laid,  and  a  niiw  altar 
and  font  have  been  ti.^ed.  The  warmiog  if  by  one 
of  Messrs.  Mu'igrAve's  patent  ?flow-combu.^tion 
stoves  with  warm  and  cold  air  flues,  spadaHy 
arranged  from  the  architect's  design.  The  woru 
have  been  executed  by  Mr.  John  Wheeler,  o( 
Wantage,  from  the  designs  o£  Mr.  Edwin  Dolby, 
of  Abingdon. 

The  workmen  of  Mts^rs.  D.  C.  Jones  and  Co.> 
builders,  of  Gloucester,  now  (■mployed  upon  the 
new  municipal  buildings  at  Haitiop,  in  courw  nt 
erection  from  the  plans  of  Mr.  Andrews,  horough 
surveyor,  had  a  tea  and  meeting  on  Fi  idny  even- 
in".  In  the  course  of  llio  proceedings  .1  carrinRe- 
clock  and  gold  chain  and  locket  were  presented,  on 
behalf  of  the  workmen,  to  Mr.  James  U«aTcaa, 
foreman  of  works. 

Tlie  Workmen's  Hall  in  West  Him-Iane,  Strat- 
ford, E.,  is  in  cours!  of  enlargement.  Tlio  tender 
of  Mr.  HoflduR  has  been  accepted  for  the  cxsra- 
tion  of  the  contract. 

New  infant-schools  erected  in  cnnneelion  wilk 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  of  St.  Francu  Xincr, 
Livenwol,  were  solemnlv  blessed  on  Monday  wtek. 
Accommodation  has  been  prov.def  for  .i'"!  childrca 
at  a  cost  of  £2,000.  Tho  work  rt  ercrhnn  has 
been  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Holme  and  Nicol, 
Liverpool,  from  plans  prepare  i  by  one  ot  tia 
Fathers  of  the  Society. 

Mr.  Robert  Hutchison,  of  Hillwood,  was  onFn. 
day  elected  dean  of  S'^^'\ioi,P}}''^'"il'*7\2z 
votes  to  91  given  for  Mr.  W  1  liam  McGregor, 
builder,  of  that  city. 

A  new  line  of  railway,  connectinpBaMTaurtle  on 
the  coist  of  Antrim,  with  tho  >orthem  Couato- 
of  Ireland  EaUjray  at  Ballymoney.  waa  openadoa 
Monday. 

TheNew  Inn  premiss,  E.i>tbouir.e.  wore  opqi'*. 
Rftar  enlafemcnt  and  rebaildin?.  inth  .1  nooae- 
wl™ingdim..r.la.tw.ck.  ■>.  -1"==^ '.^  P~- 
The  architect.  Mr.  C.  W^  Tom.,  aad  tb.  baikkr. 
Mr  Keabcn  Climpson,  both  of  hastboonic. 

The  harbour  trns^ce,  of  Cardiff  ma-if-.PJJ- 

^r.t  nil  Monday  with  Mr.  1..  A.    »•  «/■    ^f' 


Eub-committee  to  consist  of  Dr.  Siemens,  Pro 
fessor  Chandler  Roberts,  Captain  Galton,  Mr. 
Hoole,  Mr.  Statham,  and  Mr.  Eassie;  ako  that 
steps  should  be  taken  for  holding  in  London  an 
exhibition  of  smoke-prevention  apparatus.  A 
second  meeting  was  held  on  Wednesday  last, 
when  the  Chairman  stated  that  further  communi- 
cations had  been  received  containing  suggestions 
for  the  prevention  of  smoke,  and  these  (^onim'ini- 
caHons  were  ordered  to  be  referred  to  the  Sub- 
committee of  Experts.  The  Chairman  observed 
that   communications  were   in  progress  witn  a 


direct  line  to  E*stbounic. 

contractor.  , 

At  the  Court  of  Common  Conned  lor  the  City  of 

Lotdor.t  was  reportel  that  thirty  ->r^-^-:: 

to  be  l.laced  on  BUckfnars-bndge. 
The  workhouse  schools  at  Caed;on  "«  »b?»»  |» 


518 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Oct.  29,  1880. 


CHIPS. 

At  the  Loudou  Bankruptcy  Court  yesterday  au 
application  was  made  for  the  appointment  of  a 
receiver  and  manager  of  the  estate  of  George 
Stevens,  who  has  petitioned  the  Court  for  the 
liquidation  of  his  affairs,  describing  himself  a'!  of 
St.  Mark's-road  and  Oxford-gardens,  Notting-hiU, 
builder,  lately  carrying  on  business  in  partnership 
with  George  Colls,  under  the  style  of  Stephens  and 
CoUs.  The  debts  secured  and  unsecured  are  stated 
at  £.50,000.  The  assets  are  expected  to  reahse  a 
considerable  surplus.  His  Honour  appointed  Mr. 
F.  B.  Smart,  accountant,  receiver  and  minager  of 
the  estate. 

The  Lambeth  Board  of  Guardians  received,  on 
Friday,  a  report  from  the  solicitor  as  to  the  long- 
pending  arbitration  between  the  guardians  and  Mr. 
James  Taylor,  the  contractor  for  the  new  infirmary. 
Mr.  Taylor  claims  £6,000,  and  the  guardians  have 
offered  him  £1,000  in  settlement.  The  arbitration 
has  been  suspended,  owing  to  the  continued  illness 
of  the  arbitrator,  Mr.  Stephenson,  and  already  the 
guardians  have  incurred  £550  costs,  in  addition  to 
the  architect's  claim  and  arbiti-ator's  fees.  The 
solicitors  for  Mr.  Taylor  now  offer  to  accept  £3,000 
in  settlement  of  all  claims.  The  Board  resolved, 
after  discussion,  to  offer  £2,000  in  settlement. 

At  Fakenham,  on  Friday  last,  the  first  sod  was 
cut  of  the  Norwich  Extension  of  the  Lynn  and 
Fakenham  Railway.  The  new  line  will  be  30  miles 
in  length,  the  contractors  being  Messrs.  Wilkinson 
and  Jarvis,  who  have  undertaken  to  complete  it 
by  August,  1SS2. 

The  parish-church  of  Reigate  is  in  course  of  re- 
storation, from  the  plans,  and  under  the  supervi- 
sion, of  Mr.  E.  Larmer,  architect,  the  contractor 
being  Mr.  Bagley. 

Mr.  Alexander  Speed  Livingstone,  civil  engi- 
neer, died  from  heart  disease  on  Tuesday  week, 
whilst  engaged  in  a  game  of  chess,  at  his  own 
house  in  Sydenham.     He  was  68  years  of  age. 

The  Leic?&ter  Town  Council, at  a  special  meeting 
held  on  Tuesday,  adopted  a  scheme  for  the  pre- 
vention of  floods  in  the  borough,  estimated  to  cost 
at  least  £80,000.  It  involves  deepening  and  widen- 
ing the  upper  Soar  river,  the  formation  of  a  new 
canal,  and  the  reclamation  of  much  corporation 
land.  The  scheme  has  been  prepared  by  Mr. 
Griihths,  borough  engineer,  and  approved  by  Mr. 
Hawsley,  hydraulic  engineer.  The  town  cjuncil 
are  now  expending  about  £oO,000  on  improvements 
to  the  lower  Soar  river. 

The  rebuilding  of  Depfford-bridge  has  bee'' 
commenced  by  the  contractors,  Messrs.  Gammon 
and  Co.  The'  work  of  rebuilding  and  enlarge- 
ment is  being  done  for  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works. 

The  east  window  in  the  south  aisle  of  Pensford 
Church  is  being  filled  with  stained  glass  as  a 
memoiial.  It  is  of  two  lights,  the  subjects  being 
"  Christ  as  the  Good  Shepherd"  and  ''Our  Lord 
healing  the  Bhnd  Man."  The  work  has  been 
executed  by  Messrs.  Joseph  Bell  and  Son,  of 
C'oUege-green,  Bristol. 

A  new  organ  placed  in  St.  Andrew's  Hall, 
Norwich,  by  public  subscription,  and  presented  to 
the  city,  was  opened  on  Fiiday  night.  It  has  been 
built  by  Messrs.  Bryceson  Bros,  and  Ellis,  of 
Charlt  jn  Works,  Islington.  The  old  oak  case  has 
been  enlarged  and  adapted  from  the  designs  of 
Mr.  Edward  Boardman,  architect,  of  Norwich. 


nd  dryness,  tick- 
itii,'  the  voicp.  For 
ill-  Glycerine,  in 
unity    to    the  glands 


know  that. 
Jit.iubes  of  c 


L.R.C.P.E.,  Senior  Physician  to  the  Municipal 


Tluoat  and  Ear  Intinuary. 


MEETINGS  FOB  THE  ENSUING  'WEEK. 

Monday. — Eoyal  Institute  of  Britisli  jVj-chitects.  Inau- 
gural address  by  the  Pi'esideut,  Ml'.  J. 
Whichcord,    8  p  m. 

Society  of  Engineers.  "  Engineering: 
Notes  on  Cj-prus."  By  C.  J.  Alford. 
7.30  p  m. 

London  and  Mjd<ilesex  Archteological 
Society. 

TuuESDAY.— St.  Paul's  Ecclesiologicul  Society.  Paper  on 
"  Old  St.  Paul's."  Bv  the  Eev.  E.  C. 
MacKeime  Walcott,  B.t).,  F.S.A. 

Friday. — Architectural  Association.  Presidential  address 
by  Ernest  C.  Lee.    7.30  p.m. 


CINDER-SIFTING  ASH  CLOSETS. 

Superior  to  Earth  Closets.    For  Gentlemen's  Houses,  Cottaees. 

Schools,  &t. 

NO  DRIED  E.UITH  REQUIRED. 

The  Sanitary  Appliance  Co,  (Ltd.),  Salford- 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  appUcatif^n  to 
CHARLES  TRASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Hminster,  Somerset. 
—  [Advt.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St  James's- 

sti-eet,  S.W.  Builders,  Decorators,  a'nd  House  Painters. 

Designs  and  Estimates. 

General   Repairs    and   Alterations   Executed. 

Experienced  Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country. — [Advt.] 

BOX    GROUND    STONE 


50,000   Feet   Cube    in   Stock. 

PICTOK  &  SONS, 

BOX,  "WILTS. 

[Advt.] 

TENDERS. 

*,*  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  an^  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

Bedfordshire.— For  erecting  a  bridge  between  Flit- 
wick  and  Maulden,  for  the  Woburn  District  Highway 
Board.    Mr.  Adkines,  survevor  :— 

Randall  (accepted)         ..'.         £44    5    0 

Bethnal  Green.— For  alterations  at  the  *'  Prince 
Albert,"  Mape  street,  for  Mr.  R.  Hillier.  Mr.  Edward 
Brown,  architect,  5,  Church-street,  Spitaltields  ; — 

Salt       £1,145    0    0 

Marr 1,113    0    0 

Skipper  (accepted) 1,015    0    0 

Gasfitter's  work : — 

Stedman  (accepted) 125    0    0 

Brentford.  —For  erection  of  granary,  &c.,  High-street, 
Brentford,  for  Messrs.  Jupp  and  Sons.  Messrs.  Smithies 
and  GJadman,  architects  :— 

Adamson  and  Sons £995    0    0 

Nye  995    0    0 

Beauchamp       975    0    0 

Brunsden  900    0    0 

Brentford.— For  alterations  and  additions  to  bar  of 
"Plough  Inn,"  High-street,  Brentford  (exclusive  of 
fittings),  for  Montague  Ballard,  Esq.  Messrs.  Smithies 
and  Gladman,  architects  : — 

Beauchamp  (accepted)  £160    0    0 

Erownhills. — For  the  erection  of  new  offices,  for  the 
local  board  of  Browobills,  near  "Wolverhampton  :  — 
Lowe  and  Flint,  Dudley  (accepted)...    £2,462  10    0 
Falmouth. — For  the  erection  of  a  new  organ  in  the 
parish-church  of  Falmouth:  — 

Hele  and  Co.,  Plymouth   (accepted)    £700    0    0 

[Seven  tenders  were  received.] 

Hackney  "Wick.— For  the  erection  of  new  schools  at 

Sidaey-road,  Hackney  "Wick,  for  the  School  Board  for 

London.    Mr.  E.  R.  Robson,  architect.    Quantities  sup- 

phed  by  Mr.  T.  Thornton  Green  :  — 

Stiiines  and  Son     £18,273    0    0 

"Wood,  Bros  17,912    0    0 

Booth  and  Sons      16,414    0    0 

Brass 16,257     0    0 

Higgs  and  Hill       15,998    0    0 

Braid  and  Co 15,994    0    0 

Hook  and  Oldrey 15,519    0    0 

Kirk  and  Randall 14,940    0    0 

Nightingale 14,882    0    0 

Pritehai-d     14,726    0    0 

Grover  14,48-3    0    0 

Cox     14,460    0    0 

Boyce 14,460    0    0 

Ilfracosibe.— For  ii-on  framing  to  roof  of  swimming- 
bath,  for  the  Hfracombe  Hotel  Co.  (Limited).  Mr.  "W. 
M.  Bobbins,  architect :  — 

Maclellan,  P.  and  W.,  Glasgow  ...  £371  6  0 
Gardner,  J.  O.  and  Co.,  London  ...  297  0  0 
Isca  Foundry  Co.,  Newport,   Mon.        295    0    0 

King,  J.,  Hfracombe 275    0    0 

Avery,  J.,  llfracombe  (accepted)  ...        248    0    0 

Kerslake,  J.,  Exeter 242    0    0 

For  joiner's  work  to  said  roof :  — 
Kibby,  Gloucester  (accepted)  ...      £250    0    0 

Ilfracombe.— For  pair  of  villas,  Fortescue-place,  for 
Mr.  G.  E.  Russell.    Mr.  W.  M.  Robbins,  architect:— 
Collins,  R.,  Ilfracombe  (accepted). 
Inverness-shire.— For   reconstructing  the    Findhom 
bridge,  for  the  road  trustees  of  Inverness  countj".    Mr. 
Wm.  Paterson,  C.E.,  Edinbui^b,  engineer  : — 
Oliver  &  Arroll,  Leith-walk,  Edinbui-gh  (accepted)  £1,507. 
Camberwell,  S.E.— For  the    erection   of  7  shops   in 
Albany-road,  5  stables  in  Albany  Mews,  and  building-  5 
shops  on  fore  couits  on  Camber  well-road,  for  Mi-.  °A. 
Stedall.     Mr.    George    Edwa:ds,  architect.      Quantities 
supplied  by  Mr.  Heni-y  Lovegrove  :— 

Allow  for  old 
Materials. 

Ashby,  Bros £11,193    0    0     £80    0    0 

"Woodward       10,757    0    0        15    0    0 

Colls  and  Sons 10,750    0    0      100    0    0 

Nightingale     9.7S3    0    0      200    0    0 

Downs  and  Co 9,655    0    0        56    0    0 

Mortar 9  608    0    0      125    0    0 

Hobson 9,573    0    0        30    0    0 

Sciivenerand  Co.  ...  9,372  0  0  50  0  0 
Lidstone  and  Son       ...      9,365    0    0        50    0    0 

Thompson        9,333    0    0        80    0    0 

Terrant  and  Sons  ...  9,160  0  0  100  0  0 
Stimpson  and  Co.       ...    -8,877    0    0        90    0    0 

Goad       8,790    DO        50    0    0 

Cullum 8,599    0    0        60    0    0 

Martin,  "Wells,  andCo.  8,430  2  0  81  0  0 
Green  (accepted)       ...      7,946    0    0      186    0    0 


Poplar,  E.— For  the  pa^-ing  and  making-up  of  streets, 
for  the  Poplar  district  board  of  works  :  — 
Bishopsgate-road  :— 

Knight,  L.  (accepted)  £205    0    0 

Ireton-street  :— 

Rutty  (accepted)         205    0    0 

NoiTis-road:— 

Rutty  (accepted)         110    0    0 

Ramsgate.— For  Smack  Boys'  Home,  Royal  Harbour, 
Ramsgate.  Mr.  Alfred  R.  Pite,  architect,  44,  Blooms- 
bury-square,  'W.C.  Quantities  by  Mr.  Joseph  Rook- 
wood  :  — 

Newby £2,777    0    0 

Paramor         2,320    0    0 

MitcheU  2,300    0    0 

Hooper 2,280    0    0 

Evans 2.165    0    0 

Nichols  2,139    0    0 

Shrubsale       1.948    0    0 

Denne 1,940    0    0 

Mai-tin 1.S80    0    0 

SoHo. — For  alterations  to  the  "  Hamp.sbire  Hog,"  Ber- 
mck-street,  for  Mi-.  Stanton  Mr.  Edward  Brown,  archi- 
tect, 5,  Church-street,  Spitalfields  :— 

Gritton £855    0    0 

Marr        777    5    0 

"Wood      692    0    0 

Jenkins,  Reading  (accepted)  ...        482    0    0 

Pewterers:— 


0    0 
6    0 


74  15 

£155    0    0 


Rogers,  J.  (accepted) 

Gasfittfiis : — 

Winn       

Christian 

Stedman  (accepted)    ;...        ^.        ...  78    0    0 

Soi'THAiiPTON.— For  new  shop  and  dwelling-house,  St. 

Mary's- street.    Mr.  Arthur  Martin,  architect.  Quantities 

by  the  architect : — 

Sanders £525    0    0 

Laver       459    0    0 

Rowland  lacceptedj 420    0    0 

SocTHWARK.— For  alterations  of  Nos.  21  and  23,  Neff- 

iugton  Causewav.    Mr.  George  Edwards,  architect : — 

Martin,  Wells,  and  Co £419    0    0 

Laidler 435    0    0 

Richardson       350    0    0 

Stimpson  and  Co.  (accepted)  ...        321    0    0 

SouTHWARK  —For  the  erection  of  a  warehouse  in  St. 

Thomas's-street,  Borough,  S.E.,  for  Messrs.  G.  R.  Herron 

and  Son.    Mr.  "William  Winable,  architect  :— 

Falkner  £6.835    0    0 

Brass 6,463    0    0 

Scrivener        6,345    0    0 

Lawrance       6,181    0    0 

Ashbv  and  Homer 6,172    0    0 

Croater  6,042    0    0 

Morter 5.943    0    0 

Spitalfields. — For  pulling'down'and  rebuilding  No.  1, 

Green-fetreet,  for  Mr.  Edward  Tilney.  Mr.  Edward  Brown^ 

architect  : — 

Hawkins £375    0    0 

Skipper 333    0    0 

Belcher  and  Ullmer  (accepted)      ...        284    0    0 
Steeple    Clatdon.— For    new     ^^lla     residence   and 

stabling,  &c.,  at  Steeple  Claydon,  Bucks,  for  Mr.  John 

Gross.    Ml-.  F.  H.  Bai-tield,  architect  :— 

Franklin,  Deddington         £1,188    0    0 

Marshall  and  Boyer,  Buckingham        1,028    0    0 

Cooper,  Aylesbury  (accepted)      ...  806  10    0 

St.   Leonard's.— For    reinstating    *'  Faii-lawn,"    St, 

Leonard's-on-Sea,  after  fire,  for  W.  "W.  Berkley,  Esq. 

Messrs.  Fowlerand  Hill,  architects.  Quantities  by  Messrs. 

Fowler  and  Hugman  : — 

"White,  St.  Leonard's         £1  443  15    8 

Rodda,  St.  Leonard's        1.400    0    0 

Cnittenden,F.,  St.  Leonard's     ...        1,290    0    0 
Eldridge     and     Cruttenden,    St. 

Leonard's  (accepted) 1,130    0    0 

St.  Martchurch,  Toequav.— For  new  guest-house  and 

completion  of  the  cloister  of  St.  Mary's  Prioiv,  for  the 

Nuns  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dommic.    Messrs.  Josh. 

A.  Hansom  and  Son,  27,  Alfred -place  West,  South  Ken- 
sington, architects: — 

Eddies,  W.  and  J.  (accepted)      ...      £1,714    5    6 
[First  section,  £503  5s. ;  second  section.  £590 10s. ;  third 

section,  £620  10s.  6d.     Total,  £1,714  5s.  6d.] 
Wandsworth,    S.W.— For    works     of    kerbing    and 

channelling  in  Northcote-road,  for  the  Wandsworm  Dis- 

ti'ict  Board  of  Works  : — 

Cooke  and  Co.  (accepted)     £960    0    0 

[Lowest  tender  received.] 
Westminster. — For  offices  and   residentiil  chambers,^ 

Westminster,  for  Messrs.  R.  C.  and  J.  B.  Nicliols.    Mr. 

W.  L.  Baker,  architect.    Quantities  supplied  by  Mr.  T. 

Nixon :  — 

Hatton  and  Co £17,900    0    0 

Foxley  17,900    0    0 

Ashbv.  Bros 16,940    0    0 

Higgs  and  HiU       16,690    Q    0 

Condor  16,100    0    0 

Chappell       15,886    0    0 

Macey  and  Sons     15,799    0    0 

Morter  15,743    0    0 

McManus      15,700    0    0 

Fish 15,520    0    0 

Kirk  and  Randall 15,240    0    0 

Erratum. — In  the  list  of  tenders  published  last  week 

for  Cotesbach  House,  Leicestershire,  Mr.  H.  H.  Herbert's 

tender  was  incorrectly  printed  £720,  instead    of  £739. 

Messrs.  Tomltoson  and  Cowdell  are  the  architects. 

BEST    BATH    STONE. 

Wesfwood  Ground,  Box  Ground, 
Gombe  Down,  Gorsham  Down, 
ond  Farleigh  Down. 

RANDELL.  SAUNDERS,  &  CO.,limited, 

CORSHAM,  WILTS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


.19 


THE  BUILDma   NEWS. 


LOXBOX,  FRIDAY,  XOVFJrHJER  5,  I8S0. 


THE  OPENING  ADDRESS  AT  THE 
INSTITUTE. 

IF  there  was  nothing  very  fresh,  the 
address,  delivered  on  Monday  night 
was  certainly  more  practical  in  tone 
than  others  which  have  been  given  by  some 
of  Mr.  Whichcord's  predecessors.  The 
question  of  the  architect's  education  is  a  very 
old  one,  and  nothing  which  Mr.  "Whichcord 
said  has  not  been  said  years  ago  ;  indeed,  it 
seems  to  us  that  it  is  only  the  impetus  given 
to  education  in  connection  with  other  pro- 
fessions that  has  urged  the  Institute  to  any 
effort  in  this  direction.  What  the  President 
said  with  respect  to  the  architect's  usual 
acquirements  was  perfectly  true  ;  the  archi- 
tect has  in  too  many  cases  become  a 
decorator  rather  than  a  constructor,  and  the 
quotation  from  Eondelet  to  that  effect 
shows  that  even  iu  his  day  there  was  a 
strong  presumption  that  the  architect  was 
not  exactly  all  he  should  be.  But  why  has 
not  the  Institute  been  able  to  do  any  thing 
to  remove  the  reproach  levelled  against 
architects  ?  This  is  the  point  about  which 
the  President's  address  leaves  us  in  the  dark. 

Mr.  Whichcord's  protest  seemed,  cer- 
tainly, to  suggest  that  the  Institute  was 
powerless  to  effect  the  reform  it  has  now  at 
heart.  Why  has  it  not  done  more  ?  As  a 
writer  in  the  Times  justly  observes,  speaking 
from  an  outside  point  of  view  :  ' '  The  public 
will  scarcely  be  of  opinion  that  the  Institute 
is  at  all  extreme  in  its  demands  ;  rather,  it 
will  be  the  sirrprise  of  many  that  the 
elements  pointed  out  by  the  President  are 
in  any  need  of  being  restated."  We  are  very 
much  of  opinion  that  the  Institute  is  not  at 
present  iu  a  position  to  demand  compulsory 
education  ;  its  members  have  not  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  the  confidence  of  the 
profession  iu  the  British  Isles ;  for,  even  on 
the  showing  of  the  President  himself,  the 
large  majority  of  architects  do  not  belong 
to  the  Institute  at  all. 

It  is  extremely  galhiig  for  a  president 
of  an  institute  of  architects  to  have  to 
tell  unpleasant  truths ;  but  Mr.  Which- 
cord very  plainly  hinted  that  architects 
were  not  what  they  ought  to  be :  they 
were  decorators  ;  they  did  not  take  sufficient 
trouble  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  build- 
ing materials,  and  he  might  have  added, 
sanitary  construction ;  and  were,  in  short, 
devoted  too  much  to  the  attempt  to  make 
things  pretty.  In  France  large  works,  the 
laying-out  of  cities  and  thoroughfares,  are 
legitimately  regarded  as  the  work  of  the 
architect;  but  iu  this  country  he  is  con- 
tented to  design  carpets,  cabinets,  coal- 
scuttles, and  "  cosy  corners." 

The  President's  remarks  seem  to  sup- 
port the  idea  that  architects  busy  themselves 
more  with  art  than  they  ought  to  do.  He 
drew  rather  a  sharp  line  of  distinction 
between  the  requirements  of  utility  and  the 
demand  for  art,  as  if  the  one  was  incompati- 
ble with  the  other.  This  is  a  common  vie.v 
prevalent  in  the  works  of  those  writers  who, 
like  Rondelet,  could  not  regard  them  as 
being  both  essential ;  it  is  the  view  also  of 
a  great  many  of  the  older  school,  whose 
education  was  restricted  to  the  more  usefid 
branches  of  an  architect's  business.  But  it 
is  not  a  view  that  will  take  now.  It  is  well 
contended  that  it  is  the  business  of  the 
architect  to  produce  buildings  with  architec- 
tural effect ;  if  he  cannot  do  this  he  ought  to 
be  content   to   call  himself  a  builder  only. 


Education  can  no  more  unmake  an  artist  than 
itcan  make  him  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
wise  to  make  such  a  great  deal  of  what 
shoiild,  after  all,  be  only  the  A  B  C  of  archi- 
tectural knowledge.  No  one  doubts  the 
value  of  a  knowledge  of  both  geometrical 
and  freehand  drawing,  aud  of  the  elements 
of  building  materials,  but  both  are  within 
the  capacity  of  anyone  who  will  only  give 
himself  to  their  attainment.  Use  and  beauty 
have  also,  by  the  very  training  of  the  stu- 
dent,been  kept  so  far  apart  and  so  distinct, 
that  it  is  almost  thought  to  require  an  effort 
to  keep  them  in  due  relation.  To  promote 
their  union  it  is  not  wise  to  utter  a  protest 
against  what  is  thought  to  be  a  cry  for  more 
art,  but  to  endeavour  to  reconcile  them  both. 
There  is  a  certain  amount  of  sentiment 
which  passes  for  art-exaltation,  and  the 
phrase  ''high  art"  is  one  that  has  been 
coined  of  late  years  to  express  the  tendency 
to  transcend  the  commoner  uses  and  quali- 
ties of  artistic  objects.  Some  architects 
have  caught  the  phrase,  and  have  widened 
the  breach  between  utUity  and  art,  and  it  is 
possibly  this  class  to  which  Mr.  Which- 
cord was  referring.  Toung  enthusiasts  in 
the  art  will  probably  be  led  to  regard  the 
Institute's  compulsory  examination  with 
disfavour,  and  it  is  this  feeling  the  Insti- 
tute will  be  wise  not  to  promote  indirectly. 
Mr.  Whichcord  seemed  surprised  to  find 
that  less  than  a  fourth  of  the  practising 
architects  in  the  United  Kingdom  belong  to 
the  Institute.  It  is  certainly  astonishing  to 
hear  such  an  admission  from  the  President  ; 
and  has  he  only  just  discovered  that  there 
are  3,000  persons  engaged  in  some  form  of 
architecture,  and  only  about  TOO  enrolled  as 
members  r  On  reference  to  Kelly's  "  Direc- 
tory "  he  might  long  ago  have  found  that 
such  a  state  of  things  is  not  new.  When 
he  asks.  For  what  reason  do  these  practi- 
tioners stand  aloof  ?  he  touches  a  more  im- 
portant question,  which  the  Institute  Coun- 
cil will  do  well  to  ponder.  Has  it  ever  been 
truly  a  representative  body  ?  Is  it  not  only 
lately  that  it  has  thrown  off  its  exclusive 
policy,  and  assumed  a  less  autocratic  man- 
ner ?  Tlie  records  vrill  answer  the  question. 
Times  have  changed,  and  the  Institute,  after 
adopting  a  more  conciliatory  tone,  wonders 
how  it  is  so  large  a  number  of  the  profes- 
sion remain  independent  of  it.  Can  any 
one  wonder  that  the  majority  outside  that 
"  charmed  circle  "  are  not  as  yet  impressed 
with  the  conclusion  that  the  interests  of 
the  public  and  the  honour  of  the  pro- 
fession are  linked  -ndth  the  control  and  in- 
fluence of  the  Institute  of  British  Architects  ? 
One  evidence  of  increased  liberality  cer- 
tainly was  the  proposal  that  the  library 
should  be  open  free  to  honci  fide  students  of 
architecture  under  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  though,  why  the  age  is  so  limited  is 
not  very  apparent.  The  list  of  students  of 
the  Academy  and  the  Association  who  avail 
themselves  of  the  facilities  offered  during 
the  last  year  or  two  is  not  so  long  that  the 
Council  iieed  fear  an  overwhelming  influx  of 
readers,  as  a  consequence  of  setting  the 
library  door  a  little  wider  aj  ir. 

One  announcement  that  will  be  received 
with  satisfaction  in  the  reforms  contem- 
plated, is  that  the  number  of  papers  will  be 
diminished,  and  their  quality  improved  : 
let  us  hope  that  they  wiU  be  reduced  m 
leno-th,  as  well  as  in  number.  Not  less 
gratifying  is  the  proposal  to  shorten  what 
we  have  ventured  to  call  the  "  parochial 
busmess  "  of  the  meetings,  which  has, 
hitherto,  occupied  an  important  part  of  the 
time  with  prolix  details  of  no  interest  to  the 
profession.  Cannot  the  discussions  bo 
limited  also  ;  or,  at  any  rate,  lengthy  para- 
l^hrases  of  the  address  en  paper,  such  as 
were  heard  on  Monday  evening,  be  avoided  r 
A  remarkable  statement  was  made  by  the 
President  as  to  ihe  charges  of  architect. 
The  by  -  laws  have  generally  operated  to 
exclude  those  who  value  their  services  at  less 


than  the  customary  cbarjfo  of  5  i>or  cent., 
notwithstanding  Uio  obvioim  aiioMiuIy  of  cii^ 
forcing  a  umforin  tariff  \x\Mm  l.nlli  tlu>  young 
and  inc-xj>erionccd,  as  well  lu.  old.  i.riujti. 
tioner.  Wo  quite  agree  that  mn  h  ui  If.riuity 
in  tlie  chiirgo  u  Ixjth  illri(,ri,  ,1 
and  the  Iii.stitut*},  llirougli  it'.  I 
now  announced  that  no  imtn  w  ■,.. 

declaration  of  a  Fellow  or  A«v .^  ,.iU:  ui- 
curstho  obligutiou  to  abide  l.v  any  r.HtniiiiU 
of  professional  charges."  If'thii't...  x..  owi 
groat  barrier  againut  udmiii.iion  into  tho  In- 
stitute has  boon  reiuovf<l.  It  in  a  concoMJon 
which  appears  only  rtasonublo  in  tlio  foco  of 
irregularitiLS  committed  by  tiu>%o  who 
avowedly  owe  allcgiiinco  t-.  tlif  chiirU-r  inU 
by-laws  of  tho  Institute.  Thin,  ami  kiD<lr«<l 
questions  relating  to  comixtition«  and 
quantit'os,  have  been  referred  to  th>-  oou- 
ference  to  bo  held  in  May  next.  We  tnut 
they  may  receive  tho  consideratii.n  thi'y  di'- 
serve,  and  that,  as  a  result,  Uie  IiutituUon 
may  widen  its  own  basil,  and  increate  lliu 
dignity  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  pro- 
fession. 


THE  INSTITUTE  OF  ABT. 

THIS  exhibition  of  ladies'  art  work  ooq- 
tinues  to  imprOTC  in  quality.  In  tUa 
class  of  needlework,  the  prestcnt  coUcction 
shows,  if  anything,  a  higher  a]i|ireciatioa  of 
the  principles  of  good  design  and  colour  ; 
competitors  have  begun  to  cstimiite  their 
capabilities  in  the  contest,  and  a  liett'-r  clau 
of  work  is  tho  result.  Looking  at  random 
over  the  collection,  we  notice  that  a  pruo 
has  been  awarded  to  a  boautifuUy-workcd 
pair  of  fire-curtains  with  peacock  jilumag) . 
conventionalised,  on  rich  cream-eoljure'l 
atin  shoeting.  The  border  is  i>articularly 
handsome  and  quiet  in  rluirign.  The 
curtains  exhibited  by  another  lady,  Mrs. 
J.  Park  Sweetland,  a  dark  green  wo'Ucn 
fabric  embroidered  with  flowers  of  red  and 
white  datura,  taken  from  mturo,  and 
the  same  lady's  curtains  with  sunflowers  aud 
stove-plants,  are  bold,  and  tho  colours 
striking.  Miss  B.  Pigott's  fire-curtains,  witii 
sunflowers  worked  upon  a  clar«?t-eol.jurcd 
material,  and  her  manttl-bonler  with  tho 
same  design,  are  handsome  and  it •■■  '■ 
designs,  and  this  sort  of  dec>). 
likely  tobocome  very  general. 
it  can  be  applied  to  nianttl-j'' ••  -  ■  ■  ••■- 
ordinary  kind.  Miss  Barker  sends  a  inin'.ci- 
border  worked  with  white  flowers  on  n  d.irk 
bro-wu  satin  cloth,  and  we  see.*'    "  "■' 

of  decorative  needlework,   ev; 
for  harmonious  and  subduoii 
table-cover,  worked  with  a  bvri.  r  in  ..  .;  ,i 
hawkeswf  cd  has  been  introduct^l,  is  j.lo.viiig. 
Miss     Bumand     Haiikey,     wh^i      ro-  !t.-4 
■'honourable  mention,"  exhili' 
tea-cloth  embroidered  with  «ii 
a  panel-sh.ined  insertira   of 
and  tlie  same  distinction  ha-s  ! 
Miss  Edith  Scrivener  for  tabl 
notice  also  some  richly  worke.i  ; 
by  Mrs.  Gordon,  with  crewcl-w  irk  1-  ;  .  ■: 
treated  in  a  naturalesquc  manner  upon  an 
oatmeal  doth.  , 

Screens  form    an   it;  ■ 
artistic  needlework  in  ;i 
we    find    in    the    pro- 
designed     on    true    pnuci(<j. 
tion.     A    small    screen,  wntli 
ornament  .  on     a     dark     pr 
serge  or  twill,   drew  our  af 
painted    screen    by  Mrs.  H.n 
is  too    coarse  an    imitation 
please  us  as   a    decoration,    ' 
painting,  the  sunflowcM  ond  1 
ngorously  executed.  Juc''"'-      -      .  .    ,_ 
screen     bv    M.    E.    Benham.     «    c....rly 
worked  and  in  good  taste  :  but  w,  h»v.>  no 
space    to   distingu'sh   other    ■    •  " 
decorative  needlework,  nor  o  . 
than  mention  that   a   largo    ; 
tables  are  covered  unth  f.''"'!-  .  •„' V^- 
work  of  a  mor«  useful  kind,  rocn  a.  ciui 


520 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


dren's  o-arments  aud  houseliold  articles.  Miss 
B.  Pio-ott  i^  a  contributor  to  this  class. 

In  designs  for  needlework,  we  may  men- 
tion some  spii'ited  acd  boldly-painteJ 
cartoons,  intended  for  screens,  hy  Mrs. 
Earnshaw.  The  subjects  represented  are 
chiefly  animal  and  vegetable  life ;  the  de- 
si<»n  with  birds  and  rushes,  intended  for 
wasbstand  back,  and  the  ciu'tain  and  dado 
designs,  are  appropriate  and  possess 
charactfr.  Lace-work  is  one  of  the  special 
classes  encouraged  by  the  Institute. 
We  do  not  notice  any  prize  design  this  year, 
though  many  of  the  specimens  of  Italian, 
Honiton,  and  point -lace  are  extremely  rich 
in  design. 

Painted  china  has  received  attention. 
There  is  a  large  display  of  plates  and  other 
china,  decorated  with  floral  designs.  The 
dish,  with  lily,  by  Mrs.  Talbot  Coke,  is  a 
bold  and  vigorous  design  ;  the  colours  arc 
quiet.  We  must  award  a  word  of  praise 
also  to  her  elegant  set  of  painted  jug  and 
glasses  in  clear  glass.  The  pair  of  vases, 
with  tiger-lily  on  Mack  ground,  by  another 
lady,  are  also  tasteful.  Red  lerra-cotta  plates, 
&c..  painted  with  various  devices  and  folial 
ornament,  are  numerous.  As  specimens  of 
decorative  china-painting,  we  must  particu- 
larly call  the  visitor's  attention  to  the  specie 
mens  on  the  screen.  The  panel  representing 
"  Narcissus,"  with  birds  and  apple-blossom, 
is  pretty  and  refined  in  drawing  and  colour, 
upon  a  light  blue  ground.  The  original 
designs  of  panels  showing  children  in 
sportive  attitude,  by  Miss  Ida  Welch,  are 
decorative  in  tone,  and  the  outlines  fairly 
drawn. 

Woodwork,  inlaid,  painted,  and  carved,  is 
another  section  of  the  exhibits.  Among 
the  more  striking  articles  we  notice  several 
inlaid  tables,  executed,  in  a  very  skilful 
manner,  by  an  amateur  artist,  Mr.  K. 
Arkwright.  The  small  square  and  round 
tables,  with  inlays  of  ebony,  walnut, 
and  satinwood,  are  remarkable  for  pleasing 
design  and  colour :  some  of  these  are  copies 
of  old  tables.  They  have  turned  ebonised 
legs.  The  painted  cabinets  and  corner  cup- 
board, by  Mrs.  Elcho  Spon,  are  noteworthy 
as  specimens  of  painted  pinewood.  Fret- 
work, and  various  fancy  articles  are  too 
numerous  to  mention ;  but  we  may  draw 
attention  to  some  clever  panels  of  flowers  on 
gilt  leather,  the  work  of  Miss  Forster.  Leather- 
work  imitation  is  not  surpassed  by  an 
exhibitor  who  this  year  contributes  a  dead 
dove,  a  group  of  fruit  copied  from  nature. 
As  imitational  work,  nothing  can  be  closer, 
yet  we  can  hardly  call  it  legitimate  decora- 
;ion.  The  photograph  frames  on  the  table 
are  pretty,  but  scarcely  what  we  think 
suitable  to  enclose  photographic  pictures. 

In  the  gallery  devoted  to  oil  and  water- 
colour  painting,  we  met  with  many  masterly 
performances.  Miss  Hortense  Wood  still 
contributes  a  few  of  her  quiet  scones, 
such  as  the  "  Moonlit  Sea,"  and  also  another 
entitled  "  Tr.anquiUity,"  which  we  have  seen 
before.  Mr.  O.  D.  Scullard  sends  also  one 
or  two  marine  pieces,  remarkable  for  the 
brilliance  of  atmospheric  efftct,  and  the 
jmpasto  treatment.  Miss  H.  Power's  picture 
of  a  Skye  terrier,  to  which  a  prize  has  been 
given,  is  a  truthful  and  forcible  render  inf.  of 
nature ;  the  handling  is  bold.  Honour- 
able mention  has  been  bestowed  on  a  picture 
of  a  fisherman  reading  a  newspaper,  by  F. 
Morrish,  a  clever  study  of  character,  and 
Miss  Hortense  Wood's  "  Sunset"  deservedly 
obtains  a  similar  mark  of  distinction ;  it  shows 
a  setting  sun  behind  a  swamp,  and  is  painted 
with  much  force  and  glow  of  colour.  Miss 
ScammeU  also  wins  "honourable  mention" 
for  a  pleasing  study  of  a  girl's  face.  We 
have  seen  "  Waiting  for  a  Dance"  once 
before — a  lady  attired  in  a  low  silk  dress  of 
Georgian  age,  painted  with  considerable 
effect  in  water-colour.  A  clever  oil  sketch 
by  John  Beale,  of  Tenezia,  is  on  the  screen, 
and  the  sunflowers  painted  by  E.  E.  Hue 


are  vigorously  executed  studies.  A  screen 
with  a  few  black  and  white  studies  is  worth 
attention.  Miss  Violet  Lindsay's  pencil- 
sketch  of  a  girl's  face  is  tender  and  pathetic  : 
and  Louis  Godifroi's  study  from  the  lines — 
'■In  garret  high,  choked  up  with  books, 
A  scholar  saf  above  the  crowd," 

is  a  pleasing  rendering  of  the  poet.  Among 
the  other  subjects,  Emily  Bariswell's  small 
pen-and-ink  drawings  of  Watermeet,  Devon- 
shire, finished  in  the  style  of  an  etching, 
display  depth  of  tone.  In  the  water-colours, 
"  honourable  "  mention  is  awarded  to  Miss 
Beauchamp's  "Abbot's  Hospital,  Guildford." 
a  fine  old  piece  of  domestic  architecture, 
with  some  dark  panelling,  and  a  peep  of 
the  staircase  through  an  open  doorway.  The 
drawing  is  vigorously  coloured ;  the  dark 
brown,  and  the  light  and  shade  are  telling. 
Genl.  MacBean  also  sends  a  forcibly-drawn 
sketch  of  the  leaning  spire  of  Lahore, 
Brittany,  characterised  by  boldness  and 
depth  of  tone.  It  also  receives  honourable 
mention.  The  flower-pieces  are  various ; 
many  are  studies  of  colour,  as  Miss  Walton's 
White  Chi-ysanthemums,  the  Narcissus  and 
Broom,  &c.  Lloyd  Jones's  "Morning  on 
Shore  "  is  a  sparkling  bit  of  colour  and  study 
of  a  pebbly  beach,  and  we  may  also  casually 
name  the  contributions  of  Lady  Dunbar, 
Mrs.  Medlycott,  Mrs.  AUiott,  Mrs.  Blades, 
and  other  lady  artists,  who  adorn  the  walls 
of  the  gallery  by  works  of  considerable  merit. 
Much  is  due  to  the  enterprise  of  Commander 
Niven  and  his  coadjutors,  in  promoting  the 
Institute,  and  to  the  management  gene- 
rally, for  the  discrimination  shown  in  the 
award  of  prizes. 

PORTLAND  CEMENT  AT  THE  INSTI- 
TUTION OF  GITIL  ENGINEERS. 
THE  subject  of  Portland  cement,  and  its 
cognate  branch  of  concrete,  have  now  for 
many  years  had  much  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  civil  engineers,  and  their  federated 
society  encourage  its  members  to  record  their 
experience  and  ideas  on  these  important 
questions.  The  last  session  is  more  than 
usually  prolific  of  papers,  and  their  reading 
has  called  forth  from  many  points  much 
information,  although,  we  think,  of  a  some- 
what conflicting  character.  The  papers 
prepared  by  Major-General  Scott  and  his 
colleague  Mr.  Redgrave,  and  that  by  Mr. 
Grant,  may  be  regarded  as  strictly  referring 
to  Portland  cement,  while  Mr.  Bernays,  inhis 
contribution,  treats  fully  of  his  experience 
in  the  concrete  direction.  In  the  present 
condition  of  the  Portland  cement  question 
in  England,  it  is  somewhat  disappointing  to 
find  so  much  reference  to  German  experi- 
ence, which  now,  and  much  to  our  discredit, 
seems  to  have  outstripped  English  practice 
and  knowledge.  Our  continuous  efforts 
daring  the  last  tweutj-  years  to  improve  the 
quality  of  Portland  cement  by  imposing 
certain  tests,  has,  it  appears,  so  far  failed 
to  impart  the  desired  confidence  to  either 
producer  or  consumer.  This  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
tests  imposed  by  engineers  are  various  in 
kind,  and  in  many  cases  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  most  reliable  experience.  Thd  proiuin- 
ence  given  to  the  early  schemes  of  "  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  '  gave  an 
impetus  to  the  use  of  Portland  cement  in 
drainage  and  Embankment  works,  which 
brought  forth  much  discussion  on  the  merits 
of  this  now  well  known  cement,  and 
therebj-  producing,  all  romid,  a  more  reliable 
knowledge  of  its  valuable  constructive 
properties.  Sir  Joseph  Bazelgette,  who 
spared  no  effort  to  produce,  in  carrying  out 
his  designs,  the  best  quality  of  workmanship 
at  his  comruand,  insisted  that  the  Portland 
cement  should  be  submitted  to  proper  and 
reliable  tests.  He  instructed  his  subordinate 
staff  of  engineers  to  impose  certain  defined 
examinations,  and  one  of  these  oflicials,  Mr. 
Grant,  gave  the  "  Institution"  the  results  of 


these  tests,  in  papers  read  before  it  in  Decem- 
ber, 1S65,  and  April,  1871.  The  period  which 
has  elapsed  since  that  time  has  witnessed  the 
preparation  of  many  papers  and  more 
substantial  works,  from  various  authorities 
and  sources.  The  lead  which  the  "  Metro- 
politan Board "  engineers,  took  in  the 
cement  direction,  obtained  for  them  a  repu- 
tation at  home  and  abroad  which  to  some 
extent  became  misleading,  for  it  led  to  a 
recognition  of  what  has  been  called  a 
"  Board  of  Works  test "  whatever  that  may 
mean. 

The  original  test,  imposed  under  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Henry  Eeid,  was  at  the  time  of  its 
introduction,  a  tensile  strain  of  4001b  on  the 
2J  square  inches  section,  and  from  such  a 
modest  although  at  the  time  considered  an 
onerous  test,  it  has  reached  a  value  of  more 
than  double  that  amoimt.  Such  progress 
may  be  considered  satisfactory  ;  but,  owing 
to  the  indefinite  and  fluctuating  character  of 
the  more  recently  imposed  tests,  much  con- 
fusion now  begins  to  prevail.  Testing  has 
becomemorefashionable%\'ith  engineers;  but, 
unfortunately,  every  engineer  almost  having 
works  of  any  magnitude  under  his  control, 
wanders  into  some  new  scheme  of  testing, 
which  he  regards  as  the  best  adapted  for 
developing  the  virtues  of  Portland  cement. 
Various  methods  of  testings  have  introduced 
a  variety  of  machines,  resulting  in  a  complete 
congestion  of  one  and  the  other,  stopping 
the  way,  and  preventing  all  sensible  progress 
in  this  country.  In  the  absence  of  any 
authoritative  recognition,  by  any  of  the 
professional  societies  of  which  we  are  in- 
deed well  stocked,  the  most  erratic  tendencies 
have  become  developed.  In  the  midst  of  this 
jumble  of  no  doubt  well-meant  zeal  of 
engineers  and  others,  a  slight  glimmer  of 
hopeful  settlement  of  this  vexed  question 
breaks  upon  us  through  the  production  of 
these  useful  and  instructive  papers.  It  is  at 
last  beginning  to  dawir  upon  our  intelligence 
that  testing,  to  be  reliable,  should  have  the 
virtue  of  uniformity  ;  otherwise  its  records 
must  be  deceptive  and  misleading,  ^\^^ile 
in  England  dmdng  these  many  years  our 
efforts  have  been  more  in  the  direction  of 
discord  than  harmony,  the  constructive 
profession  in  Germany  has,  for  more  than 
three  years,  established  by  almost  unani- 
mous consent  a  uniform  and  inflexible 
system  of  Portland  cement  testing.  Mr. 
Henry  Reid,  in  his  work  on  Portland  cement, 
published  in  1877,  described  most  fully  the 
German  system,  and  recommended  its 
adoption  in  this  country.  It  now  appears 
that  even  at  this  late  hour  the  authors  of 
these  papers  regard  the  adoption  of  the 
German  system  of  testing  as  the  most 
appropriate,  and  it  may  be  said  that  in  the 
voluminous  records  of  the  discussion  and 
correspondence  which  followed  from  many 
scirrces  that  the  desirability  of  such  a  test 
is  beyond  question.  But  the  unanimity  about 
the  method  does  not  extend  to  the  machinery 
by  which  it  should  be  performed.  It  is, 
however,  agreed  that  a  mortar  instead  of  a 
neat-cement  test  is  more  likely  to  prove  the 
capacity  of  the  cement  to  bind  the  sand 
with  which  it  has  to  be  associated.  Again, 
slight  differences  arise  in  the  opinion  of  some 
as  to  the  character  of  the  sand  to  be  used, 
and  anticipations  of  difficulty  in  the  agree- 
ments as  to  its  quality.  In  Germany, 
however,  this  difficulty,  if  it  may  be  so  con- 
sidered, has  been  met  by  the  preparation, 
through  sifting  agency,  of  what  is  termed 
"  normal  sand  "  with  which  the  cement  is  to 
be  mixed  in  the  desired  proportions.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  unanimity  will  at  last  be  reached, 
and  that  we  shall  speedily  enter  into  the 
comfortable  stage  of  really  understanding 
what  is  the  standard  by  which  Portl.and 
cement  is  to  be  gauged.  In  Mr.  Grant's 
paper  especially  we  are  bewildered  by  a  mass 
of  tabular  results,  more  or  less  contradictory 
in  character,  and  calculated,  if  seriously 
considered,     to     deter    the    student    from 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


entering  upon  a  subject  fraught  with  so  much 
error  and  disagreement.  It  is  needless  for 
us  to  refer  particularly  to  these  inconsist  ■ 
encies  both  of  English  and  German  origin, 
but  we  will  shortly  allude  to  the  confusion 
resulting  from  different  forms  of  briquettes, 
and  which  seems,  from  its  importance,  to 
deserve  particular  notice.  The  Germans 
have  decided  and  fixed  on  the  form  of  their 
briquette,  but  we,  unhappily,  are  disunited  on 
this  point.  There  appears,  however, 
to  be  a  desire  to  adopt  the  double  wedge- 
shaped  briquette,  which  Mr.  Henry  Reid 
characterised  at  the  discussion  of  these 
papers,  as  an  evidence  of  the  "  survival  of 
the  fittest,"  for  ho  had  recommended  that 
form  to  Mr.  Grant  many  years  ago.  It 
appears  that  Mr.  Grant  has  for  some  time 
adopted  the  form  in  question,  and  Mr.  Faija 
apologises  in  the  reported  discussion  for 
having  unconsciously  pirated  what  he  calls 
"  Mr.  Grant's  pattern."  There  is  much  in 
the  form,  and  this  particular  one  realises 
higher  tensile  results  than  any  of  the 
numerous  patterns  now  in  use. 

Mr.  Bemays,  during  the  interval  between 
the  reading  of  these  papers  and  his  reply, 
which  was  prepared  after  the  discussion, 
made  some  experiments  which  strongly 
illustrated  the  different  values  obtained  by 


manufacturers  have  invariably  opposed  all 
attempts  to  meet  the  requirements  of  fine- 
ness, for  under  the  existing  mechanical 
arrangements  of  their  works,  the  de8ire<l 
standar  1  is  unattainable. 

The  test  of  weight  is  proposed  to  be 
reduced,  and  substituted  for  fineness  of  pow- 
der, and  we  trust  that  the  necessary  means 
will  soon  be  forthcoming  to  produce  cement 
as  fine  in  texture  as  that  uow  apparently 
produced  with  ease  in  Germany. 

The  papers  on  Portland  cement  are 
amusingly  interlaced  with  hints  to  cement- 
manufacturers  as  to  the  conduct  of  their 
industry,  as  if  the  question  of  quality  and 
testing  of  cement  was  not  enough  to  absorb 
all  the  ability  of  the  authors.  The  chemistrj- 
of  Portland  cement  is  also  much  dwelt  upon, 
although  without  clearing  away  any  of  the 
mists  with  which  that  branch  of  the  subject 
has  been  hitherto  tantalisingly  associated. 
This  chemical  question  has  not,  it  is  true, 
received  the  required  attention  in  this 
country,  and  although  foreign  chemists  have 
for  the  last  half-century  speculated  and 
theorised  as  to  the  behaviour  of  cements 
under  different  circumstances,  no  reliable 
results  have  been  forthcoming. 

The  chemical  combination  is,  as  we  are  now 
well  aware,  the  final  outcome  of  the  mechanic 


blue  lias  lime  :  stili  in  t.-   htli 
its   thoroughly   fine   grinding 
quautitiex,  and  to  pn'MTvo  it. 
in  good  condition  fill  r.,, 
was  uNo  f.Miiid  Unit  blu. 
even  when  the  limf  Wll^    ■ 
oud,  an  fur  ox  wuk  known,  j 


U 

rot«>, 

.    KXl. 

{ruund 


various  forms  of  briquettes.     The  tests  were  I  ally  arranged    raw  material  proportion,  and 


seven-day  ones,  and  foirr  different  shapes 
were  used.  The  briquette  in  the  form  of  a 
double  wedge  gave  oO  per  cent,  higher 
results  than  that  derived  from  the  original 
French  briquette,  which  Mr.  Grant  started 
with  in  the  beginning  of  his  experiments, 
and  25  per  cent,  more  than  the  form  used  by 
theexperimentalisthimself , onthedock  works 
at  Chatham.  There  need  not,  therefore,  be 
any  doubt  about  reasonable  men,  untainted 
with  the  desire  for  eccentricity,  adopting 
what  is  there  and  elsewhere  proved  to  be  the 
form  from  which  maximum  results  are 
obtained.  The  testing  machine  itself  is, 
however,  amongst  the  unsettled  and  ill- 
defined  details  of  this  veyed  question, 
although  the  desire  seems  to  be  prettj' 
general  to  adopt  the  double  lever  German 
model.  There  is  not,  however,  so  much 
difficulty  about  this,  for  we  may  feel  assured 
that  our  mechanical  ingenuity  is  quite  com- 
petent to  overcome  whatever  obstacles  stand 
in  the  way  in  that  direction.  The  cost  of 
the  machine,  however,  should  be  made  as  low 
as  possible,  without  sacrificing  accuracy  or 
efficiency,  so  that  all  and  every  one  interested 
may  be  in  a  position  to  test  the  cement  for 
themselves,  and  get  bej-ond  the  influence  of 
speculative  experimenters  and  testers .  One 
would  suppose,  from  the  elaborate  tables 
resulting  from  painfully-  laborious  research, 
that  the  qualities  of  Portland  cement  were 
still  unknown  ;  whereas  it  should  be  regarded 
as  a  simple  compound  of  intelligible  deriva- 
tion, and  devoid  of  danger  when  being  used, 
if  ordinary  intelligence  is  forthcoming  to 
challenge  and  reject  its  spurious  qualities. 

The  manner  of  filling  the  briquette  mould 
is  another  fruitful  source  of  discord,  and  the 
amount  of  water  used  in  mixing  up  the 
cement  comes  in  for  a  large  amount  of 
attention  as  well  as  the  temperature  of  the 
room,  in  which  the  experiments  are  made. 
While  these  and  other  less  important  differ- 
ences continue  to  receive  so  much  considera- 
tion at  the  hands  of  our  engineers  and 
architects,  it  is  impossible  that  the  cement- 
makers  can  make  satisfactory  progress.  How 
can  the  manufacturer  be  expected  to  improve 
his  cement,  when  the  lines  on  which  he  is  to 
travel  for  the  ascertainment  of  its  value  are 
so  badly  defined,  and  in  some  cases  incon- 
sistent with  each  other '' 

Fineness  of  powder  is  receiving  its  proper 
attention  in  the  new  departure,  for  under 
the  old  system  of  testing  this  important 
point  was  disregarded.  We  would  call  our 
readers'  particular  attention  to  this  point, 
because  it  must  in  the  future  receive  much 
greater  consideration  than  it  has  done.     The 


the  accuracy  of  the  result  depends  pretty 
much  on  the  character  of  the  chalk  and  clay 
used  in  the  manufacture.  The  author  of 
one  of  the  papers  arrives  at  a  somewhat 
arbitrary  measure  of  the  carbonate  of  lime, 
which  Mr.  G.  F.  White,  an  experienced 
manufacturer,  disagrees  with.  One  would 
have  thought  that  the  subject  of  the  use  of 
Portland  cement,  would  have  been  quite 
enough  for  the  genius  of  the  professional 
element  of  the  "  Institution,"  without 
infringing  on  the  domain  of  the  manufac- 
turiug  associates,  from  whom  the  practical 
details  of  their  business  would  be  more  reliable 
and  trustworthy.  Mr.  G.  F.^^'hitehasalready 
contributed  to  the  literature  of  the  Institu- 
tion one  of  the  best  and  earliest  papers  on 
Portland  cement,  which  for  many  years  has 
been  regarded  as  the  most  reliable  paper  on 
the  subject  that  has  been  published  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers. 

From  the  study  of  the  Portland  cement 
contributions,  we  will  shortly  refer  to  the 
paper  of  Mr.  Bemays,  which  deals  with  the 
subject  of  concrete  ;  and  from  its  being  the 
experience  of  his  own  constructive  opera- 
tions at  the  Chatham  Docks,  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  most  valuable  of  this  triple 
contribution.  There  is  nothing  of  a  specu- 
lative character  about  these  records  of 
concrete  engineering,  although  we  are 
almost  startled  at  the  amount  of  aggregate 
used  for  the  main  walls  of  the  Chatham 
Docks.  The  proportions  used  are  one  of 
Portland  cement  and  1 2  parts  of  river  shmgle, 
which  Mr.  Bemays  puts  at  a  cost  of  ,  s.  2d. 
per  cubic  yard,  the  cement  value  bemg  .is. 
Id.,  and  the  gravel  or  shingle  2g.  jd.,  the 
ba'ance  being  labour,  &c.  Such  is  the  cost 
of  the  bulk  of  the  concrete  ;  but  a  facing  of 
slag  concrete  (proportions  6  slag  and  1 
cement\  costs  12s.  2d.  per  cubic  yard  or  a 
flint-faced  concrete  Hs.  2d.  per  yard,  it 
these  figures  had  been  furmshed  by  an 
amateur,  we  would  have  received  them  with 
suspicion  ;  but  being  the  practical  results  of 


and   mixc«l   in    tl„.   U^i  '  lunnii.r,''  .(ij  not 
always  set  wrll  under  water." 

The  works  for  tin;  cxnutruotijn  of  tba 
dicks  hud  been  let  utipulatinR  Ui»t  th«  con- 
crete should  be  comiKMMHl  of  1  .■(  bluo  li*i 
lime  and  r,  i,f  pruvfl,  ami  it  wan  umI.  there- 
fore, considfrinl  advi^isblo  to  diiit\irl.  the 
contract,  and  the  contractor  wm  .U-<irT«l  (o 
estimate  what  quality  of  I'.irlliuid  '<'mcnt 
concrete  he  could  nupiilv  in  Iku  ■■'.  thkt 
specified.  It  wua  fouud  by  ualcaluti.  n  tl»»t 
a  cement  concrete  having  prop  irti.jin  of  I 
Portland  cement  t»  12  bolla/d  ^o  ild  !"•  lub- 
stiluted.  Of  thin  arrangement  Mr.  II'Tnajr* 
speaks  as  follows — tiz.,  "  Coiiii«ratirc  ex- 
periments were  tried  with  the  uiatenUt  in 
these  respective  proportion* ;  ind  it  w«« 
found  beyond  all  question,  that  concrtrte 
made  of  1  part  of  Portland  cement  and  I'i 
parts  of  ballast,  was  in  all  r<-t]x-cf«  bott«r 
and  more  uniformly  trustworthy  than  the 
lias  concrete  of  the  original  iix-cifitatiyn." 

The  cement  used  by  Mr.  Bemavi  wu 
specified  to  be  of  the  quality  of  U2lb. 
weight  per  bushel,  and  a  briquette  of  'i\io. 
section  had  to  bear,  without  breaking,  * 
weight  of  tjjdlb. 

Mr.  Bemiys  attaches  no  importance  to 
fineness  of  powder,  unless  the  teni<>nt  is  of 
great  weight,  and  in  that  ca<e  be  thinks 
that  the  extra  cost  of  g^nilinc  will  out- 
weigh the  advantage  derivable  from  iU 
fineness. 

We  need  not  say  that  much   difference  of 
opinion   exists  on  this  point,   and   the  in- 
formation sccureil  from  the  variom  table* 
in    these    papers,    of     both    Enpi-'.     aiel 
German    exi)erience,    indicJit' 
value  is  secured   from  fincn-  ■ 
Indeed,     some     recent    exp<  - 
Portland  cement  fine  enough  t 
a  sieve  haring.32,0<»0  meshes  ' 
inch,  prove  that,  even  at   tl.  . 
practicable    limit     of    fineni  ■ 
results  have  been  realise<l  in  : 
concrete  direction.     Xoit-cei. 
such  cement  are  not,  howcve: 
as   it  is  difficult   to  impart 
moisture,    for    when   water         .,  , 
cement    forms    itself   into   tauul   ^iu\Mlv4, 
and  behaves  something  hke   mercury  when 
scattered. 

Although     the     themicil 
which   have  been  made  clo   : 
practical  valjc  to  very  :-■ 
leading   t^e  way  to  :i  : 
ledge  of  whit  the  par; 
the  cement  ex-^rts  in  . 

gravfl.       Some    time  ' 

writer  on  oement  and 
the  inUirating   v.i'ce 
assessed  from  the    r. - 
of  the  mass  in  wh.  h 
influence.     Thi'^  • 
time  receive  mn 
to  find    that    it 
Profcs.sor   Haytor  L-  •> 
cussiou  en  these  poi"''- 
that   fineness   wi*     f 
value,  because    ^ 
would  not  give  : 
of   sand    whicb 


Uke  Chatham,  we  are  _  ^   .       .,      

remarkable  economy  displayed  by  the  con- 
trolling engineer.  .  .  , 

Mr.  Beraavs  describes  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  use  of  Portland  cement  concrete 
in  the  Chatham  Docks,  and  as  it  is  very  in- 
structive we  quote  from  the  papers  as 
follows — viz  :  ,  ,, 

"  Shordy  after  the  commencement  of  the 
works,  it  was  found  difficult  to  secure  steady 
and   continuous    supplies  of  freshly-burnt 


rather  curious  pr^P-; 
cemfnt,  and  he  nnd  : 
the  best  mineralogist" 
iningit  with  the  niicr 
tests.  The  conclus:on  «;  » 
arrived  at  was.  that  it  was  • 
or  imperfect  crystallisation. 

We  shou'd  aay  that  th»- 
question  about  this,  for  an  • 
many  of   our  scdimtntwT  • 


Li--    :.•     '  • ' 
kind  :f  ''u.i 


522 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


tliat  much  of  their  value  consists  in  the 
beneficial  influence  of  their  cementing  paste 
which  has  become  crystallised. 

If  there  is  nothiu?  strikiiiglj-  novel  ui 
these  papers  and  theii-  discussion,  there  is 
much  that  is  contradictory,  which  was  in 
some  degree  unavoidable,  due  in  a  great 
measui-e  to  the  desire  of  the  Institution  to 
focalise  all  available  information  from  Eng- 
lish and  foreign  soui'ces.  The  time  allotted 
to  the  discussion  of  these  what  may  be 
characterised  as  important  papers,  was  qviite 
inadequate  to  do  them  justice,  or  enable 
those  practical  men  who  were  iavited  to 
partake  of  this  "  Portlmd-cement  ban- 
quet," to  do  more  than  silently  acquiesce  in 
the  forms  of  reading  and  discussing.  The 
replies  by  the  authors  of  the  papers  were 
impossible  under  such  circumstances  ;  bu 
they  appear  in  extenso,  as  well  as  long  re- 
ports of  discussions  which  those  present  on 
the  occasion  do  not  recollect  to  have  heird. 

Portland  cement  is  essentially  an  en- 
gineers'question,  and  the  absence  of  any  re- 
marks by  the  President  of  the  Institution  of 
Civil  Engineers  or  any  of  the  vice- 
presidents  or  members  of  the  Council, 
strikes  us  as  somewhat  singular.  The  lead- 
ing engineers,  who  control  and  direct  the 
great  works  of  construction  in  this  and 
other  countries,  might  have,  on  such  an  oc- 
casion, favoured  their  members  and  the 
public  generally  with  some  observations  as 
to  their  experience  of  this  important  con- 
structive material.  Their  sUenoe  on  this 
occasion  is  to  be  regretted,  as  it  indicates  a 
want  of  appreciation  and  sympathy  ^vith 
their  fellow-members  and  associates,  who 
were  at  such  pains  to  put  before  the  Insti- 
tution residts  of  their  valuable  experience 
and  suggestions  for  the  future. 


DOMESTIC  DESIGN  AND  PL^^TNISG. 

THERE  is  no  reason  why  an  artistically- 
designed  house  shoiald  not  be  fairly 
perfect  in  all  sanitary  respects ;  why  it  should 
not  bo  well  and  scientifically  constructed, 
and  be  not  only  comely  in  appearance,  biat 
comfortable  to  live  in.  We  think  it  was  Sir 
Henry  Wotton,  in  his  old  treatise  on  architec- 
ture, who  said  a  bui  ding  shouli  possess 
three  conditions — utility,  firmness,  and 
delight.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  age 
which  artists  are  now  so  fond  of  looking 
back  to  for  inspiration  was  intent  aipon  con- 
venience and  comfort  as  the  first  considera- 
tion ;  the  Jacobean  and  Queen  Anne  have 
been  justly  called  homely  styles,  and  archi- 
tects and  decorative  artists  are  never  weary 
of  preaching  homilies  about  the  virtues  of  the 
modes  of  building  2(10  years  ago.  Can  we 
say  however  that  the  revival  is  as  good  or  as 
honest  in  its  intentions  as  the  original  art  'f 
We  are  very  much  inclined  to  hesitate  in 
drawing  the  conclusion  that  our  architects 
are  in  all  eases  prompted  by  the  motive  which 
actuated  our  forefathers  in  arriving  at  the 
style  they  did.  We  might  almost  go  so  far 
as  to  deny  that  the  plan  of  the  house  bas 
anything  to  do  with  the  external  architec- 
ture. Is  it  not  rather  evident,  from  the  kinds 
of  houses  we  see  erected  in  many  of  the 
metropolitan  suburbs,  that  we  have  been 
just  reversing  the  method  of  the  seventeenth- 
century  architect :  instead  of  giving  a  conve- 
nient and  comfortable  house  a  plain-speak- 
ing exterior,  we  have  been  taking  its  ex- 
terior, and  then  have  tried  to  fit  a  dif- 
erent  kind  of  house  to  it.  For  any  one 
seriously  to  say  that  we  can  arrive  at  the 
whimisical  and  elaborate  details  of  Oueen 
Anne  as  we  see  it  at  Holland  Park,  Hamp- 
stead,  or  any  of  our  fashionable  suburbs, 
by  a  simple  and  honest  study  of  the  plan,  is 
to  ask  more  than  the  most  credulous  can 
believe. 

The  fact  is,  tile-hung  gables,  quaintly- 
bracketed  windows,  over-doors,  and  pedi- 
ments constitute  the    very  poetry  of    the 


style,  and  must  be  introduced,  at  any  cost 
to  internal  convenience.  They  give  the 
"  piquancy  of  artistic  flavour  "  to  the  work, 
and  the  architect  is  satisfied  if  he  can  give 
a  freshness  to  the  ordinary  appointments  of 
the  house. 

One  of  the  expedients  resorted  to  is  to 
contrive  the  staircase  in  a  corner  of  the 
building  by  ha-^dng  as  many  landings  or 
"half-spaces"  as  possible,  the  object  being 
to  exhibit  turned  and  cut  newels  and 
balusters.  We  do  not  mean  to  deny  that 
landings  are  better  than  long,  ladder-like 
flights,  so  fondly  cherished  by  the  subui'ban 
builder  who  afl^ectsthe  "  genteelresidence"  ; 
but  let  common-sense  dictate  that  where 
landings  are  numerous  there  should  bo 
corresponding  width  in  the  staircase.  In 
some  of  the  new  houses  near  Primrose  Hdl, 
Dulwich,  and  other  parts  we  are  constantly 
reminded  of  the  disingenuousness  of  this 
device;  the  imita'ion  of  a  handsome  stair- 
case in  some  manor-house  has  been  at- 
tempted, with  the  result  of  bringing  ridicule 
upon  the  copyist.  The  same  want 
of  thoroughness  is  seen  in  the  cramped 
hall ;  in  the  forced  manner  in  which  the 
dining-room  door  is  thrust  between  the 
corner  of  stairs  and  angle  of  wall,  and  the 
irksome  fashion  in  which  a  person  coming 
out  of  one  room  would  have  to  dodge  to 
prevent  a  collision  in  the  hall.  If  the  otfi.ces 
are  on  the  same  floor  the  difficulty  of  avoid- 
ing the  unpleasant  passage  through  the  hall 
from  kitchen  to  dining-room  ought  to  be 
lessened  by  the  adoption  of  an  ii'regular 
plan ;  on  the  contrary,  we  find  that  in 
many  new  houses  no  trouble  has  been  be- 
stowed to  meet  it. 

Then  we  notice  several  houses  where 
windows  have  been  thrust  in  awkward 
comers  for  the  purpose  of  picturesqueness, 
as,  for  example,  in  the  comers  of  rooms,  the 
only  advantage  which  such  curious  posi- 
tions secure  being  that  a  blank  space  of 
walling  may  be  utUised  for  furnitui'e ;  but 
the  only  thought  the  designer  had  in  his 
mind  was  the  irregularity  of  the   exterior. 

We  fancy  as  regards  windows,  future 
builders  and  tenants  will  find  it  rather  diffi  - 
cult  to  obstruct  some  of  the  window-lights, 
the  right  to  which  will  be  acquu-ed  by  occu- 
pancy ;  we  speak  of  those  which  are  often 
introduced  in  the  side- walls  of  houses.  The 
spoiHng  of  room  s  by  canted  corners  and  breaks 
is  a  common  modeof  making  an  accepted  de- 
sign fit  thearrangement  of  interior.  Closets  are 
useful,  but  they  ought  not  to  be  made  to 
conceal  bungling  planning,  as  we  have 
sometimes  noticed.  Differences  of  floor- 
level  are  best  managed  at  the  staircase  by 
adjusting  the  landings;  but  in  many  houses 
the  difference  is  marked  by  dangerous  steps 
in  long  passages,  where  a  borrowed  light 
only  perpetuates  danger  and  discomfort. 
If  in  Classic  buildings  symmetry  influenced 
the  plan  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause  incon- 
venience, it  may  be  said  with  equal  truth 
the  genuine  (jueen  Anne  was  primarily 
influenced  by  plan,  and  the  counterfeit  is 
influenced  by  something  of  less  merit  than 
either.  Let  us  take  a  few  instances.  The 
aspect  and  distribution  of  rooms  is  sadly 
sinned  against  by  the  fashionable  builder. 
We  sometimes  see  drawing-rooms  north- 
east, and  dining-rooms  with  western  aspects. 
In  regarding  the  elevation,  he  generally 
manages  to  plaoo  his  entrance  towards  the 
front,  with  the  object  of  presenting  an  at- 
tractive exterior,  but  with  the  frequent  dis- 
advantage of  not  securing  the  best  aspects 
for  the  principal  rooms.  The  builder  of  the 
17th  century  distributed  his  rooms  upon 
recognised  principles,  the  south,  south-east, 
or  south-west  invariably  were  given  to  the 
main  elevations,  and  the  entrance  was 
placed  on  one  side,  or  on  the  front  least 
eligible. 

The  proportions  and  sizes  of  rooms  are 
generally  dictated  by  the  breaks  and  other 
irregularities  of  the  exterior;  seldom  by  the 


width  of  tables  and  other  furniture,  the 
number  of  occupants  likely  to  be  seated  at 
table,  &o.  In  dining-rooms  it  is  usual  to 
consider  the  width  of  table  and  the  space 
for  chairs,  allowing  space  for  sideboard  or 
fireplace  and  a  walking-passage.  This 
found,  the  length  can  be  determined  by  the 
consideration  of  the  number  of  guests,  or 
be  regiilated  by  testhetic  considerations. 
Drawing-rooms  are  not  necessarily  re- 
stricted. They  may  be  made  of  almost  any 
proportion  or  form,  allowance  being  made 
for  comfortable  seats.  Recesses  and  bays 
form  agreeable  loiuiges  in  these  rooms.  The 
lighting  and  prospect  are,  of  course,  a 
primary  consideration.  A  "dismal  deso- 
lation "  frequently  reigns  over  the  modern 
drawing-room,  with  its  gilt  mirrors  and 
monotonous  primness  ;  but  much  of  this  is 
due  to  the  mode  of  its  construction,  and 
its  want  of  relation  to  the  library,  con- 
servatory, or  other  more-frequented  apart 
ment. 

Again,  one  may  constantly  see  such 
things  as  a  large  bay  cut  in  half  by  a  wall, 
the  corners  of  rooms  canted  off  to  obtain 
entrance,  and  in  fact,  every  device  resorted 
to  which  the  old  planners  strictly  avoided. 
The  comfort  of  town-houses  much  depends  on 
their  quietness— namely,  the  imporviousneas 
of  the  walls  to  sound.  Thick  walls  are  one 
means  of  securing  so  desirable  a  condition  ; 
they  also  are  useful  in  keeping  up  an  equable 
temperature.  But  as  sound  passes  most 
quickly  through  homogeneous  substances,  a 
hoUow  space,  or  wall  with  a  cavity  in  it,  is 
much  more  sound-proof  than  one  of  solid 
materials  of  the  same  density.  Thecontinua- 
tion  of  joists  from  one  house  to  the  next 
is  an  admirable  means  of  conducting  sound 
as  well  as  tire,  and  should,  for  both  reasons, 
be  avoided.  Good  construction,  as  much  as 
the  proper  location  of  rooms,  contributes  to 
the  essentials  of  comfort  in  a  house;  but  as 
long  as  the  system  of  sketching  a  design 
proceeds  on  the  same  principle  as  making  a 
slop  garment,  we  cannot  expect  to  find  more 
than  the  artistic  sense  gratified. 


THE  ARCHITECTURAL  ASSOCIATION 
PRIZE  DRAWINGS. 

THE  Architectural  Association  medal  and 
prize  drawings  were  on  view  at  the 
opening  conversazione  last  Friday.  The 
medal  has  been  awarded  this  time  for  a 
design  for  a  coffee-tavern  on  a  corner  site 
in  a  town.  The  frontages  were  given,  and 
it  was  to  comprise  a  bar  and  eating-room, 
smoking-room  on  the  ground-floor,  club 
and  billiard  rooms  above,  reading  and  secre- 
tary's room  &c. ;  the  whole  to  be  built  in 
conformity  with  the  Metropolitan  Building 
Act.  The  winner  of  the  prize  is  Mr.  E. 
M.  B.  Taughan,  of  Cardifl',  and  it  is  some- 
what remarkable  that  a  provincial  student 
should  have  carried  it  off  from  am"ng  so 
many  London  students.  The  drawings  show 
a  Gothic  building  of  stone,  rather  more 
French  ihan  English  in  detail.  The  plan- 
ning indicates  study  of  requirements  ;  the 
bar,  placed  along  the  short  frontage,  has  a 
comer  entrance,  and  is  conveniently  related 
to  the  eating-room,  divided  into  six  com- 
partments for  tables  and  seats,  also  to  the 
serving-room,  lift,  and  stairs.  The  smoking- 
room  is  provided  at  the  inner  end  of  si'e, 
and  has  a  separate  entrance ,  with  lavatory  and 
convenience  attached.  The  staircase  to  upper 
floors  is  cramped  and  the  space  would  have 
been  better  saved.  It  is  lighted  by  a  sky- 
light, and  there  are  ample  conveniences.  The 
author,  however,  has  not  well-lighted  the 
billiard-room :  the  drawings  only  show  one 
end  -window,  and  a  little  more  space  roimd 
the  table  would  have  been  desirable.  The 
club-room,  as  shown,  would  have  been  infi- 
nitely better  for  it.  A  'a-go  jin.  scale  ele- 
vation of  front  is  shown  with  some  good 
detail,  but  the    elevations    suffer    from    a 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


523 


crowded  appearance  ;  and  a  little  less  fritter, 
and  more  breadth  of  treatment,  in  the  upper 
story  would  have  been  preferable.  A  per- 
spective view  is  sent  in  from  which  we  gather 
that  the  effect  of  the  canted  angle  entrance 
would  be  rather  weak.  The  jambs  are 
narrow  and  feeble-looking  ;  and  wo  think  the 
angle  pinnacles  springing  from  carved 
corbels,  and  the  heavy  stilted  arch  in  the 
upper  story  are  not  quite  in  keeping  with 
the  other  portions  of  the  work.  The  draw- 
ings, which  we  shall  shortly  illustrate,  are 
neatly  executed,  and  the  workmanship 
is  highly  creditable  to  its  author. 
In  the  Association  class  of  design,  Mr.  J.  L. 
Landsell  carries  away  the  first  prize.  His 
drawings  are,  as  usual,  distinguished  for 
originality  and  freshness.  We  particularly 
mention  among  them  the  design  for  a  stone 
pulpit,  intended  for  open-air  preaching.  It 
stands  against  the  angle  of  the  building, 
circular  in  plan,  and  supported  on  .a  massive 
base  with  large  engaged  shafts.  The  ros- 
trum of  the  pulpit  is  enriched  by  canopied 
niches  ■with  figures.  The  sketch  design  for 
subm-ban  residence,  half-timbered  and  tQe 
hung,  is  clever.  The  entrances  are  well 
airanged,  though  the  stairs  appear  som;:- 
what  narrow.  The  rooms  are  well  disposed, 
and  generally  the  plan  has  much  that  is 
meritorious.  Another  sketch,  for  a  cottage 
in  a  row,  is  Gothic  also  in  style,  but  a  little 
heavy  in  detail,  and  probably  the  plan  is  the 
most  creditable  part  of  the  performance. 
The  staircase  is  central,  well  placed,  and  is 
lighted  from  a  skylight  over  the  first  flight. 
The  dining-room  side  with  fireplace  shows 
the  author  to  be  equally  capable  of  designing 
decorative  work.  The  dado  is  decorated  with 
subjects  representing  the  four  seasons  and 
English  sports,  and  the  drawing  is  spirited, 
in  brown  ink.  AVe  note,  besides  these,  a 
sketch  for  a  village-church,  consisting  of  a 
short  nave  of  two  bays  and  one  aisle — the 
nave  is  rather  lofty  ;  also  a  bank,  in  a  Late 
florid  style,  French  in  detail,  drawn  freely  in 
pencil,  and  vigorous  in  style  ;  and  an  un- 
finished sketch  of  a  Grothic  villa,  spirited  in 
execution,  showing  some  fair  planning. 

Mr.  R.  J.  Lovell  wins  a  second  prize  with 
a  design  for  a  London  bank,  in  the  Italian 
style,  the  chief  feature  of  which  is  an  order 
standing  upon  a  rusticated  basement,  with  an 
attic  and  small  dormers  above^;  the  latter  are 
rather  insignificant  in  scale.  The  design  for 
a  chm-ch  to  seat  200,  is  a  lengthened  struc- 
ture, and  the  sketches  for  suburban  villa  in 
brick  and  tHe,  and  the  house  in  a  road, 
indicate  study  and  improvement.  Honour- 
able mention  is  awarded  to  H.  W.  Burrows 
for  several  drawings  showing  undoubted 
merit.  The  sketch  for  •\-illage-churcb  in 
sepia  is  the  best,  a  broadly  treated  design 
design  with  apsidal  end  ;  the  suburban  cot- 
tage and  bank  buth  show  breadth  in  composi- 
tion and  knowledge  of  Gothic  detail ;  but  the 
piilpit  is  too  florid,  and  the  colouring  garish. 
The  drawing  of  gates  is  lacking  in  unity  of 
design ;  the  panels  of  pointed  form  look 
rather  out  of  place ;  in  the  dining-room 
recess  some  clever  detail  and  drawing  are 
shown  ;  but  we  think  the  detail  rather  restless 
and  wanting  in  quietness. 

The  Architectural  Union  Company's  first 
prize  seems  to  have  gone  begging,  for  we 
only  see  the  second-prize  drawings,  executed 
by  T.  L.  Houston,  on  the  walls.  These  show 
the  fine  Perpendicular  church  of  St.  Mary, 
Gidney,  Lincolnshire,  a  structui-e  jiossessing 
some  remarkable  features  :  a  nave  and  two 
large  aisles  of  nearly  equal  width  to  it,  a 
deep  chancel,  and  western  tower.  We  can- 
not admire  the  details,  and  we  question  the 
drawing  showing  the  nave-arch  springing, 
the  mouldings  of  which  are  shown  to  spring 
in  a  line  with  the  shaft. 

The  sketches  of  colour  decoration,  made  by 
members  of  the  Association,  have  been  hung 
on  the  wall  in  a  promiscuous  fashion  within 
a  very  limited  space,  and  resemble  rather  a 
huge  patchwork    than  a   series   of   studies 


arranged  with  some  regard  for  the  colours, 
and  with  a  little  eye  t)  sequence.  This 
higgledy-piggledy  selection,  however,  com- 
prises a  fe\y  clever  studies,  in  which  tuste 
in  both  design  and  colour  harmony  are  con- 
spicuous. Wo  may  note  the  prize  sketches 
of  S.  E.  Smith,  showing  a  variety  of  studies, 
and  a  good  sense  of  colour  as  in  his  boudoir 
decoration.  The  ceiling  of  theatre,  by  Mr. 
Hulbeit,  and  the  same  student's  concert- 
room  and  dairy  treatments,  in  low  tints,  are 
classical  in  taste  and  feeling;  the  boudoir 
study,  by  Maurice  Hulbert,  is  a  clever 
Japanese  sketch,  and  H.  W.  Roberts  has 
contributed  some  clever  work,  as  his  ceiling 
in  the  Louis  Seize  style.  A.  L.  Lovegrove's 
tesselated  pavement  is  also  quiet  in  colom-. 
In  the  half-house  sketches  we  must  bestow 
praise  on  the  studies  of  Messrs.  Smith, 
Hulbert,  and  Roberts. 

Glancing  at  the  work  exhibited  by  the 
Elementary  Class  of  Design,  we  find  the  first 
prize  has  been  given  to  Cecil  Haden  Stock, 
for  some  creditable  drawing.  His  study  for 
an  Itahau  cortQe,  the  details  of  vaulting 
timber  roof,  &c.,  are  praiseworthy.  G. 
Blizard's  drawings  receive  the  second  prize 
in  this  class  for  an  open -timbered  roof,  a 
Roman  triumphal  arch,  and  a  nave  of 
church,  all  neat  and  painstaking  in  execu- 
tion. The  work  of  C.  C.  Bradley  in  this 
class  is  also  worthy  of  the  distinction  it  has 
received. 


OLD  ST.  PAUL'S.* 

T  HE  p.iper  which  Ihave  the  pleasureof  submit- 
ting to  you  is  founded  upon  the  authority  of 
the  Register  of  Statutes,  Dugdale's  History, 
Whartcin's  Lives,  the  fragmentary  notices  in  the 
Chroniclers  and  Leland's  Collectanea,  and  the 
diaries  of  the  Grey  Friars,  Wriothesley,  and 
Machyn,  with  a  few  notes  from  Stowe.  I  have 
pieced  them  together  like  the  broken  fragments 
of  a  tesselated  floor ;  the  outlines  are  often 
bliu'red  and  faint,  the  colours  worn  and  faded, 
the  patterns  in  many  parts  imperfect  and  de- 
fective, but  with  the  exception  of  Hollar's  draw- 
ings, these  authorities  exhaust  the  materials  at 
our  disposal  for  reconstructing  a  view  of  Old  St. 
Paul's.  Documentary  evidence  is  all  that  sur- 
vives for  our  purpose,  but  I  hoped  that  even  a 
reconstruction  on  paper,  shiidowy  though  it 
must;  needs  be,  would  be  acceptable,  since  the 
glorious  substance  is  irrevocably  lost. 

I. 

At  the  very  outset  we  are  confronted  with  a 
difficulty,  which  it  is  not  possible  to  solve 
decisively.  The  dimensions  of  the  cathedral  are 
a  matter  of  dispute.  The  Short  Chronicle,  edited 
by  Dr.  Sparrow  Simpson,  states  that  a  survey 
made  in  1314  gives  them  thus  : 

Longitude  continet,  690  pedes. 
Latitude,  130. 

Altitude  testitudinis  occil.  •  ■'  ' '  ■ 
Altitude  testitudinis  Nov..    1 
Cumulus  ecclesise  contiii.-L  la  !-'. 
Altitude  tunis  campanili^  loul.i.. 

pedes. 

Altitude  fatrietc  lignese  campamlis,  274  pedes. 
Altamen  in  toto  non  excedit,  500  pedes. 

Wharton  (n)  gives  these  measurements,  the 
tower,  270ft.,  the  spire,  274ft.,  the  cross,  Lift. : 
addino-  that  "Murimuth"  gives  the  height  of 
the  nave  (cumulus)  150ft.,  the  height,  190ft.  {':), 
&c.,  as  above.  Murimuth  was  a  canon  of  St. 
Paul's.  ,    ,  , 

We  may  conclude  that  the  cathedral  measured 
somewhat  less  than  600ft.,  so  that,  in  size  and 
dignity,  which  spaeiousne.ss  never  fails  to  confer, 
it  was" the  largest  in  Christendom,  and  in  beauty 
inferior  to  none. 

Wilham  of  Wyroestre  contributes  a  new 
mensuration — 

The  length  of  the  nave,  ISO  paces.  ,i,  im 

The  breadth  of  the  arms  (transept),  north  te  south,  IbO 

The  breadth  of  the  nave  and  aisles.  48  paces. 
The  length  ef  the  choir  and  Lady  Chapel,  130  paces. 
The  brtadth  thereof,  48  steps.    [Itiner.  166. J 
Lastly,  Mr.  Edmund  B.  Ferrey  affords  another 

estimate — 


te,  102. 

'I  pedes. 

la.  terra,  260 


Il-wMu|.l.j  _ 
ll-lt'lil  111  l.iwtr 
Uiirlil  i.i  -i.iri; 


Height  up  U)  vnulUnR  navi.  "."".■■    gj  n 

lliiflil  up  to  viiultiim  rlioir ..  101  0 

"■"k  M  a 

■ •*&  0 

9jh    0 

Pcpys  Ka)n  llmt  the  tower  wan  ri«kun«l  to  Ui 
about  2701t.  high. 

The  length  of   the  p«co  u«cd   l.v    W.ii,   f 

Wyrcostre  vurien,  but  ou  the  n  \ . 

fi.ted  at  about  1ft.  lOin.,  no  that  ■ 

tion  to  ilr.  Ferroy'i  lici  titv  i  )  .      _i 

as  he  has   founded   it  oo  HolUr'.  wUji,  n  u  uu 

doubt  utnr  tlie  mark. 

The  Short  Chronicle  iiUt«*:  ToU  ecfltiia 
contmet  uifrii  limitoi  huu-  3 J  acr»»  ttme  i) 
rodam  et  C  virga».  Six  K.  Dcui«.n  lie  kt-lt  inti- 
mates the  area  in  square  (out  ftt  Va.ioo,  and  Uu> 
dimcnsionK  thua : 


Loufrth 


•  A  paper  by  Mackenzie  E.  C.  W-ilcott,  B.D.. 
F.S  A.,  Precentor  of  Chichester  ;  re,ld  betore  the  mm- 
bers  of  St.  Paul's  Ecclesiological  Society,  Nov.  4tl),  isw. 


TruiM-iii 

WidOi    

IIi'iL-lii,  vault  of  nare  .. 
Ueiifhtof  Dtctpic 


n. 

The  architectural  dotaiU  may  l,o  fitly  1.  ft  in 
the  hands  of   the  profcKpional   miiiib.r,      ■    tl. 
society  ;  my  concern  is  wholly  with  tlr 
ofiUs   building.     In   the  episcopate  i.f  .\l     ..•■i, 
Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  built  the  fir*!  i  hur.  h 
St.  Erkcnwakl  bestowed  much  on  the  eiilarjjt- 
ment  of  the  fabric  (4).     In  002  it  was    r.-'iml 
after  a  disastrous  fire.     Itwa.s.:.    ' 
John  Baptist,  when  flames  wet' 
the  west  gate  of  the  city,  anil 
church  towers ;  no  effort  of  the 
out  of  their  midnight  sleep,  coui  ; 
It  seized  the  wooden  circlings, 

consumed   the    ornaments;  thi     ; 

shivered  the  floors  (r).  On  July  7,  lvi7,  ite 
cathedral  and  all  that  was  in  it  were  buroed 
up.  Bishop  Maurice  conuncniwl  its  compltU: 
restoration,  designing  a  work  which  in  the  <jt» 
of  many  seemed  incapable  of  romiileti"n,  oit 
which  be  purposed  should  bo  the  honnur  imii 
glory  of  London.  He  laboured  on  it  during 
twenty  years,  completed  the  crypU  and  jiart  cf 
the  superstructure,  and  bequeathed  the  <im- 
pletion  to  his  successors.  Bishop  Ricltird  Jc 
Behneis  I.,  1108-U28  (rf),  devoted  his  revenues 
to  the  work,  and  procured  from  the  King  a 
grant  of  the  ditch  of  the  Castle  PaUtinc  to 
eidargc  its  site.  He  added  to  the  ri-ing  walii 
in  a  marvellous  manner,  bought  up  the  road- 
ways near  it,  which  were  blocked  by  the  houses 
of  the  townsfolk,  at  his  own  cost,  and  girdliU 
the  close  with  a  strong  wall  >). 

"Verilv,''  says  WiUiamof  jf:' '  "— "       ''• 

Cathedral  of  St.   Paul  is  an. 

generous  spirit  of  Maurice ;  so  l 

nificence  of  its  fair  beauty  that  .  • 

a  place  among  famous  structuri-s.     It^  <zyyta 

are   so  spacious,   its  upper  church  is  fi  largr, 

that  the  densest  crowds  could  fiii  I  r     •  i  aim.ih 

its   compass."     Though  Biehu' 

.>; owing  all  the  revenues  of  1  ■ 

maintaining  himself  and  his  h- 

means,  no  progress  was  appari 

which  he  had  manifested  at  ll' 

of  his  episcopate,   as  years   w.  i. 

languished  and  died  out  {/'■ 

In  11.17,  again,  the  cathedral  was  bun 
Bishop  Gilbert  Universali-.   !!2*i-inf 
before  his  accession,  t"  ' 
smoothed  all    the    rou^' 
six  tapers  over  bumir.L- 
mentioueJ.    The  repai.-  ' 
forth  a  distinction  o-'cr 
and  eastern  portions  of  i ! 
being  known  as  the   i  . 
work,  and  both  placed 
or  warden>.   and  supp-  r 
Bishop  Eustace  dc  Fal. 
restuned  the  work  on  ;1. 
was  com]iUted  in  1221  : 
the-V<i'-  (7,.,.;-(/.)  were  li       ■  . 

place    of    the    Norman   ba;.i.:;ij    '■     •'■■  ■  ■ 
which  had  suffered  by   fire       .     It   r.^^r  .»iv 
escaped  destruction  in  tl'    ■■';•  :•    ''   ' 
stalls  were  in  course  of  ( ■■■ 

A  terrible  storm  brok' 
Paul's  day,  1230,  when  • 
at  the  high  altar,  and  tb 

read  :  a  darkness  like  a  i  | 

crowd,  so  that  one  coul'i 

feUow.  Then  the  thunder  lur.-i  «....  »  i--^'~ 
loud  that  church  and  the  tower,  struck  by  a 


524 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


tliunderbolt,  seemed  falling  upon  their  heads, 
followed  by  lightning  so  vivid  that  the  building 
appeared  to  be  on  fire  ;  for  half  an  hour  lambent 
flames  played  round  wall  and  pillar  like  a  gj-eat 
veil  or  banner  waved  by  a  strong  wind.  A  fear- 
ful stench  pervaded  the  aisles,  and  all  present 
incontinently  tied,  treading  down  and  killing 
each  other  in  their  wild  haste,  save  the  brave 
bishop  with  his  single  deacon,  who,  when  the 
sun  shone  out  again,  recommenced  his  solemn 
office  [Matt.   Par.  II.  321.]     (Ann.  Dunst.  s.a.) 

On  Oct.  1,  12i0,  the  new  choir  was  consecrated 
by  the  bishop  in  the  presence  of  King  Henry  III. , 
the  Legate  Otto,  the  primate,  six  prelates,  and 
many  noblemen,  who  were  invited  to  a  banquet 
on  that  auspicious  day.  (Matt.  Par.  II.  43S. 
Dugd.  II.  Oxenedes  186.) 

Bishop  Fulke  Basset,  1244-12.39.  who  found 
all  the  roofs  in  a  state  of  dangerous  decay,  owing 
to  a  succession  of  violent  storms,  began  the  erec- 
tion of  St.  Faith's  church,  an  extension  of  the 
crypt  eastward,  on  the  site  of  the  new  market, 
which  had  been  granted  by  King  John  in  1205. 
The  same  year,  12.50,  saw  the  commencement  of 
the  transept ;  but  the  foundations  of  the  entire 
eastern  development  of  the  cathedral,  Nova 
Fabricse  Beata?  Virginia,  including  the  feretory 
of  St.  Erkenwald  and  the  Lady-chapel,  had  been 
actually  laid  in  12-51.  As  Pope  Innocent  III. 
said,  the  chapter  designed  to  fini.sh  a  -work 
begun  in  a  very  sumptuous  style.  In  1300,  all 
offerings  made  in  the  cathedral  were  de  voted  to 
tills  building,  but  sixty-one  years  passed  away  j 
before  its  completion  (/,).  Bishop  Ralph  de 
Baldock,  1305-1313,  before  and  after  his  acces- 
sion to  the  episcopal  throne,  toiled  on  the  ae-  | 
complishment  of  the  new  work  of  the  Blessed  I 
Virgin,  founded  and  begun  at  the  head  of  the 
famous  ehiirch  of  St.  Paul  on  the  east,  giving  200 
marks  yearly  towards  it.  In  1312,  the  marble 
pavement  was  laid  down,  and  within  three  years 
a  great  portion  of  the  spire  (/},  which  had 
become  decayed,  was  rebuilt  after  a  nobler 
fashion,  and  capped  with  a  large  cross  and  ball, 
which  Bi.shop  Gilbert  de  Segrave  blessed  on 
Oct.  4,  1314.  On  May  21  in  the  same  year  he 
dedicated  the  altars  of  Our  Lady,  St.  Thomas 
Martyr,  and  St.  Dunstan  in  the  new  work  («i). 
In  1331  the  bell  of  St.  Mary  in  the  campanile 
was  consecrated  by  the  Suffragan  Bishop  of 
Corbana  at  Pentecost  («) ;  in  1316  the  old  work 
and  bell  tower  had  required  costly  repairs  (o), 
and  in  1339,  the  latter  being  completely  restored, 
a  solemn  procession  with  lights,  walking  in  silk 
copes  and  barefoot,  can-ied  the  relics  which 
were  placed  as  a  talisman  against  fire  in  the 
cross  {p''.  On  March  24,  1339,  Bishop  Richard 
de  Bynteworth  consecrated  the  high  altar  (7)  in 
honour  of  St.  Paul,  with  two  collateral,  called 
the  capitular,  altars,  that  of  St.  Ethelbert  on  the 
north,  and  that  of  St.  Mellitus  on  the  south  side. 
On  May  21,  1382,  an  earthquake  shook  down 
the  cro.s3  ()■}.  On  Feb.  1,  1444  (j),  the  roofs  and 
steeple  caught  fii'c  from  lightning,  and  though 
it  was  quenched  by  the  brave  Morrad,  mass 
priest  of  Bow,  the  damage  was  not  completely 
repaired  before  I4C2.  At  3  p.m.  on  June  4, 
1501,  lightning,  or  a  plumber's  carelessness,  set 
the  church  on  fire  (/) .  In  1666  came  the  Great 
Fire,  and  "  the  miserable  sight  of  the  church 
with  all  the  roofs  fallen,  and  the  body  of  the 
quire  fallen  into  St.  Faith's  Church."  Then 
the  destroyers  set  to  work  pulling  down  church 
and  tower;  and  it  was  seen  how  "the  late 
church  was  but  a  case  wrought  over  the  old 
church,  for  yoii  might  see  the  veiy  old  pillars 
standing  whole  within  the  walls  of  this."  The 
battering-ram  and  gunpowder  mine  finished  the 
work  of  demolition. 

In  a  slight  sketch  on  the  margin  of  an  MS. 
in  the  British  Museum,  outlined  by  a  monk  of 
St.  Alban's  in  the  14th  century,  the  soaring  sjiire 
of  St.  Paul's  is  seen  over  a  superb  Decorated 
west  window  flanked  by  narrow  towers,  which 
are  covered  with  low  spires.  One  of  these  was 
Lollard's  Tower  ;  an  Elizabethan  writer  («)  says 
that  "he  passed  through  Paul's  up  to  the  Lol- 
lard's Tower,  and  after  that  turned  along  all  the 
west  sides  of  Paul's,  through  the  wall,  and  pass- 
ing through  six  or  seven  doors  came  to  a  tower 
right  on  the  other  side  of  Lollard's  Tower,  as 
lugh  almost  as  the  battlements  of  Paul's ; 
whoso  walketh  in  the  bishop's  outer-gallerj- 
going  to  his  chapel,  might  see  the  prison 
window."  Before  entering  the  church  I  may 
premise  what  are  its  peculiarities:  — 

Ist.  The  equal  length  of  the  western  and 
eastern  arms,  as  at  Worcester,  and,  consequently, 

2na.  The  central  position  of  the  steeple. 


3rd.  The  deflection  of  the  axis  of  the  eastern 
arm,  as  Mr.  Penrose  has  pointed  out. 

4th.  The  continuous-roof  over  the  whole 
eastern  arm,  as  at  York,  Lincoln,  Ely,  Selby. 

.5th.  The  aisles  both  on  the  west  and  east  of 
the  transept,  as  at  York,  Westminster,  WeUs. 

Outside  the  great  western  doors,  opened  only 
to  admit  a  royal  or  episcopal  procession  (r),  the 
tombstone  of  Bishop  Michael  de  Northbm-g(1361) 
by  its  inscription  and  position  put  passengers  in 
mind  to  pray ;  in  the  nave  were  buried,  in  .the 
centre  toward  the  west.  Bishop  William ;  his 
tomb  was  yearly  visited  even  in  the  17th- 
century  by  the  citizens  of  London  in  gratitude 
for  his  services  in  prooming  for  them  a  charter 
of  their  privileges  from  William  I.  A  noble 
shrine  was  afterwards  erected  above  his 
grave  («■) ;  Bishop  Kempe,  the  builder  of  Paul's 
Cross,  buried  in  the  Trinity  Chapel,  between 
two  pillars  on  the  north  side  in  the  second  bay 
from  the  crossing  ;  Bishop  Hill,  buried  in  1496, 
and  Bishop  Fitzjames,  1521  (.r),  in  a  chapel  of 
wood  next  the  steeple  ;  on  June  4th,  15G1,  when 
the  steeple  was  struck  by  liglitning,  "  the  belles 
fell  below  wher  the  grett  organes  stod  beneathe 
the  chapelle  wher  the  olde  byshope  was  bered 
ondur."  (y). 

We  now  pass  in  front  of  the  rood  loft,  with 
its  two  lateral  altars,  one  of  the  Holy  Rood  ;  its 
canopied  niches  filled  with  imagesof  kings,  and  its 
Rood,  Mary  and  John,  springing  from  delicate 
bands  of  open  tracery  above  the  cornice  (--) .  Near 
it  probably  was  the  clock,  ' '  having  the  image 
of  an  angel  pomting  the  hour  both  of  the  day 
and  the  night "  («') . 

On  the  south  side  of  the  nave,  facing  the 
Trinity  Chapel,  was  the  Chapel  of  St.  Mary  in 
the  nave,  between  two  pillars,  opposite  the 
Chapter-house  door ;  that  is,  the  N.E.  pro- 
cessional door  to  the  cloister,  "  above  the  altar" 
stood  the  glorious  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
A  lamp  burned  before  it  at  night  and  an  anthem 
of  our  Lady  sung  after  matins ;  to  the  adjoining 
pillar  an  iron  box  for  oblations  was  attached. 
[Dugd.  19,  27,  36,  39,  Wharton  10.3].  Bishop 
John  de  Chishull  founded  a  chantry  here. 

In  the  adjoining  bay  next  to  the  crossing  was 
the  tomb  of  Sir  John  de  Beauchamp,  [1374]  with 
his  recumbent  effigy  sheathed  in  armour.  [Dugd. 
36,  52.]  His  chantry  was  kept  at  "that  little 
altar  situate  neer  "  to  it.  His  tomb  was  known 
as  "Duke  Humphrey's,"  although  that  ill-fated 
prince  is  buried  at  St.  Alban's  ;  and  the  dinner- 
less  loungers  of  the  time  of  Elizabeth  were  said 
to  dine  with  Duke  Humphrey.  At  the  base  of 
one  of  the  pillars  was  carved  the  foot  of  Algar, 
the  first  prebendary  of  Islington,  and  the  Pes  S. 
Pauli  became  the  standard  measure  for  legal 
contracts  in  land,  as  the  arms  of  Henry  I., 
Richard  I.,  and  John  furnished  the  length  of  the 
ell.  L'pon  the  floor  of  the  aisles  a  single  line, 
and  up  the  central  avenue  two  parallel  lines, 
marked  the  pathway  of  processions  which  vested 
in  copes  and  lea%"ing  seven  feet  between  each  file, 
were  guided  by  them  in  keeping  due  distance  and 
directness  in  movement.  Similar  lines  may  be 
traced  on  the  pavements  of  Chichester  and  among 
the  ruins  of  Dale  Abbey.  What  a  noble  space 
did  they  traverse  between  those  twelve  stately 
arches  on  either  side,  as  grand  as  those  of  Win- 
chester, Bury  St.  Edmund's,  and  Canterbury  ; 
more  regular  than  St.  Alban's,  with  finer  propor- 
tions than  Norwich,  vaulted  with  stone,  and, 
therefore,  outvying  its  other  Norman  rivals  of 
Peterborough  and  Ely,  and  equalling  in  height  the 
soaring  aspirations  of  Westminster  and  exceed- 
ing that  of  York. 

The  view  from  the  western  portal  was  magnifi- 
cent ;  beyond  the  double  range  of  clustered 
columns,  standing  like  colossal  warders  on  either 
side,  were  the  broad,  deep- set  triforium,  the  lofty 
clerestory  and  continuous  shafts  supporting  the 
arched  vaulting.  A  flood  of  light  was  poured 
down  from  the  tall  windows  of  the  lantern  of 
the  central  tower  upon  the  crossing,  the  im- 
posing flight  of  stairs  necessitated  by  the 
crypt  below  the  choir,  and  rivals  of 
those  of  Canterbury  and  Winchester,  which  led 
up  to  the  rood-loft,  beyond  which,  in  the  misty 
distance,  appeared  the  upper  curves  and  bril- 
liant glazing  of  the  rose  window,  40ft.  in  dia- 
meter, which  had  only  two  parallels — those  of 
Lynn  and  Durham.  To  its  tracery  and  that  of 
the  adjoining  windows  Chaucer  alludes  in  his 
description  of  Absolon,  the  parish-clerk 

"  With  Paule's  winJows  cirven  onhi.s  shoe.s." 

Two  canopied  doorways,  of  fine  design,  gave 
aoees  to  the  ehoir-aisles  from  the  transept.     "  In 


the  Lower  Church  were  St.  John's  Chapel,  Morn- 
ing Prayer  Chapel,  Long  Chapel,  St.  Katharine's 
Chapel,  Bishop  Kempe' s  Chapel,  one  place  under 
the  clock-house,  and  a  chamber  in  the  clock- 
house  which  the  bell-ringers  lodged  in  times 
past,  two  severed  places.  The  chapels  below 
the  steps  were  St.  John's  Chapel,  Long  Chapel, 
and  St.  Katheriue's  Chapel"  (i').  Hollar's 
ground-plan  shows  two  chapels  in  the  east  aisles 
divided  by  parcloses. 

The  Chapel  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  stood 
near  the  great  south  door  (c ') . 

St.  Catherine's  Chapel  (rf')  contained  a  chan- 
try, founded  by  Bishop  Basset  1244—1259,  and 
was  newly-built  by  Dean  de  Bruera  in  1354  (<■'). 
In  1332,  its  altar-keeper  of  St.  Catherine  was 
specially  exempted  from  giving  the  offerings 
made  there  to  the  New  Work,  to  which  all  other 
collections  in  the  alms-boxes  were  devoted. 
Her  day  was  celebrated  with  special  honour,  as 
on  it  "  the  light  (with  torch  and  taper)  went 
about  the  steeple  at  night,  and  the  singing-men 
of  the  quior  with  the  children  singing  an- 
themes"  (y).  As  the  access  to  the  tower  was  on 
this  side,  the  altar  probably  stood  in  this  wing. 

In  the  north  wing  was  the 

Chapel  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  newly  built,  it  is  said 
in  1364,  near  the  north  door,  behind  the  cross 
in  the  north  arm  towards  the  great  door,  (y') 
It  had  a  chantry  for  seven  chaplains,  founded 
by  Chancellor  Hobne.  "Where  this  altar 
stood,"  Bishop  Bonner's  chaplain  said,  "the 
new  bishops  sat  in  the  judgment  of  such 
as  be  Catholic."  (/i')  There  was  also  a  Ghapel 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist  (/'),  connected  with  a 
Chantry  of  Beatrix  de  Roos  next  the  north  door. 
It  was  founded  by  Lord  Mayor  Poulteney  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  III.  (.;')  In  it  the  choristers 
daily  sang  an  anthem  of  Our  Lady  after  Com- 
pline. (/.')  Here  there  was  also,  it  would  seem, 
an  altar  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  in  the  new  work 
on  the  south  side,  which  is  mentioned  in  1320.  (?') 
Richard  de  Gravesend  founded  a  chantry  at  the 
altar  of  the  Baptist,  and  was  buried  near  Bishop 
Sandwich,  {w^) 

The  principal  object  in  this  wing,  as  at  St. 
Alban's,  was  the  famous  cross  («'),  before  which 
stood  an  altar  with  a  taper  always  burning. 
Oblations  for  the  use  of  the  dean  and  chapter 
were  freely  given  to  its  offering-box  or  pyx. 
Near  it  was  the  tomb  of  Bishop  Martin,  of  St. 
David's,  where  the  choristers  sang  the  anthem, 
"  Sancte  Deus  Fortis."  The  miraculous  cross  was 
said  to  have  been  found  by  King  Lucius  during 
a  Thames  flood. 

The  Altai-  of  St,  James  is  mentioned,  1141- 
llol,  as  "  situate  under  the  cross  in  the  north 
part  of  the  church."  (o'j 

The  following  altars  also  occur,  which  may 
have  been  placed  between  or  against  pillars,  but 
their  sites  are  not  traceable :  — 

St.  Andrew'' s.  [p'^) 

St.  Ypolite's,  a  very  rare  dedication. 

St.  Ceaddc's,  founded  under  a  local  dedication 
by  treasurer  Swereford  before  1247.  (^') 

Si.  Edmund  the  Archbishop's,  mentioned  with 

St.  Edward  the  King's  in  the  13th  century.  (>■') 
In  1458,  Canon  Sherryngton  founded  a  chantry. 

St.  Nicholas',  in  1247,  in  a  chapel  of  SS.  Mary 
and  Nicholas,  near  the  north  door. 

St.  Si/leesfer's,  in  the  time  of  Edward  II.,  a 
verj'  rare  dedication.  (»') 

The  altars  in  the  Presbytery  were  the — 

High  Altar  of  St.  Tanl,  the  Capitular  altar  of 
St.  Ethelbert  ((')  [patron of  Hereford],  mentioned 
in  1247,  and  the  other  collateral  altat  of  St  Mel- 
litus («')  [a  local  dedication],  each  with  a  shrine 
above  it. 

The  Presbytery  called  the  Sanctuary  in  the 
Register  appears  in  later  days  as  the  Upper 
Oioir,  as  the  New  Work  became  the  Chaun- 
ccU.  (!■')  Bishop  Savage,  in  1447,  was  buried  in 
the  presbytery.  Pitzhugh  ()(■')  was  buried  in 
the  midst  of  the  choir,  southward,  a  little 
above  the  bishop's  see,  imder  a  marble 
stone  inlaid  with  brass,  (j;')  Bishop  le 
Noir's  tomb  {if)  stood  in  the  enterclose 
on  north  wall  of  the  Presbytery  (i'),  a  little 
above  the  quire.  Bishop  ChishuU  was  interred 
in  the  north  wall  opposite  the  choir ;  the  tombs  of 
Kings  Sebba  and  Ethelred  were  recessed  behind 
a  stone  screen  in  an  adjoining  bay  near  the  Gaunt 
Chapel. 

The  high  altar  had  a  fine  reredos,  and  sediha 
adjoined  it  on  the  south  side  facing  the  canopied 
tomb  of  John  of  Gaunt,  upon  which  were  sus- 
pended his  cap  of  maintenance,  helmet,  lances 
and  "targe  of  born."     The  following  extract, 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


-.25 


illustrate    the  original   arrangement,    with  the 
lateral  metal  screens. 

1549.  "Wliit^wndiue  the  canons  and  pettie  canons  in 
raules  left  off  their  gi-ey  and  calabre  amyces,  and  tlie 
canons  wore  hoods  on  their  surplices,  after  the  decrees  of 
the  Univereities,  and  the  pettie  canons  tippets,  like  other 
priests— Wriotliesley  n.  14. 

1519,  June  3.  -VU  the  gvcy  ammasse.  with  tlie  calahre 
in  Powlles  were  put  down.— Grey  Fi-iiir's  Chron.  59. 

1550,  April  19.  All  the  Comunyon  tyme  tlie  ln>l.fipe 
commanded  the  h-tt  of  the  aulter  to  be  put  oute,  or  he 
came  in  to  the  qwere.— Grey  Friar's  Cliron,  66. 

1550.  S.  Barnabas  day  at  ny^ht  was  the  aultoi-  in 
Powlles  puUvd  downe.  and  as,  at  that  day,  tlie  Vaylle  was 
hengyd  benethe  steppes,  and  the  Tabrell  set  up  there.— 
Grey  Friar's  Chron.  67. 

1550,  June  13.  Tliis  year  ag-.iin.-t  Easter  the  Bishop  of 
London  altered  the  Lord's  Table  that  stood  wheix'  the 
high  altar  was.  and  he  removed  the  Table  beneatli  the 
steps  into  the  midst  of  the  upper  quii-e  in  Paul's,  and  at 
the  ends  east  and  west,  the  Priest  standing  in  the  midst 
at  the  Communion  on  the  south  .side  of  the  boai-d.  After 
the  creed  sunsr,  he  caused  the  veil  to  be  drawn,  that  no 
person  should  see  but  he  that  received,  and  he  closed  the 
iron  grates  of  the  choir,  on  the  noi-th  and  .south  side,  with 
brick  and  plaster  that  none  might  remain  in  at  the  choir. 
-Wriothesley  U.  47. 

1550.  The  xxi j .  day  of  Slarche  was  the  grattes  besyde 
the  Hye  Alter  in  PawUes  closed  up,  that  the  pepull  sho'lde 
not  loke  in  at  the  t-snne  of  the  Cammunyon  tyme.  and  the 
Veyle  handed  up.  The  xxviij.  day  was  Ester  Evj-ne.  and 
then  was  the  Tabelle  remeyved  and  sette  beneth  at  the  Veyle 
uorth  and  south. 

1551.  The  xx\i.  of  September;  the  stondj-n^  at  the 
Tabelle  in  PawUes  was  removed  into  the  sowth.— Grey 
Friar's  Chron.  69.71. 

1552.  After  the  feast  of  All  Saints,  the  upper  quire  in 
S.  Paul's  where  the  his-h  altar  stood  was  bi-oken  down, 
and  all  the  quire  thereabout,  and  the  Table  of  Communion 
■wiis  set  in  the  lower  quii-e  where  the  priests  sing.— Wrio- 
thesley 79. 

The  XXV.  day  of  October  was  the  plucking  down  at  the 
commandment  of  the  Bishop  N.  Ridley,  of  all  the  goodly 
stone  wall  that  stood  behind  the  high  altar  and  the  place 
for  the  priest,  deacon,  and  sub-deacon.— Grey  Friai-'s 
Chron.  75. 

1552,  Sept.  4.  The  queer  of  PawUes  had  a  command- 
ment from  the  dene  from  Cambridge,  at  the  bysshope  of 
Cantobere's  visitation,  that  he  shoulde  leve  the  playinge 
of  organs  at  the  De\-yne  Senys,  and  soo  lefte  it.— Grey 
Friar's  Chron.  75. 

1552,  Nov.  1.  The  prebendaries  of  Pawles  left  off  their 
hoods,  and  the  bishops  theii-  crosses,  so  that  all  priests  and 
clerks  should  none  other  vestments  at  service  or  com- 
munion, but  suj-plice^  only. — "Wriothesley  II.  79. 

1559.  Saturday,  the  12th  of  August,  the  aulter  in 
Panic's,  with  the  Roode,  and  ilary  and  John  in  the  rood 
loft  were  taken  down,  and  the  rrebeodaries  and  pettie 
Cinons  commanded  to  leave  off  the  grey  amices  of  fur, 
and  to  use  only  a  sui-plesse  in  the  service  time,  by  the 
oommanement  of  Dr.  Grindale,  Bishop  of  London  elect. 
Dr.  May,  the  new  Deane  of  Paules,  and  others  of  the 
Commissioners.  —"Wriothesley  U.  146. 


This  new  rood  was 
the  object  of  a  profa 


set  up  in  Q.  Mary's  time,  and 
le  jest  related  by  Foxe.— Actes  III. 


o,  \  itie,  116.  i,  A.  8.  Cliron.,  S.  A. ;  Lcland  Cillcl, 
I.,  21.  e,  Rcgistr.,  77;Dupl.,4.  ./,  ^Vharton,  4S ;  Dupl  , 
5.  6.  f,  Lcland,  I.,  21.  /,  Ve-til,  Pontif.  lib.  II.,  |  873  • 
Dugd.,  5;  Registr.  u.s.,  Ulaod  u«.,  Uuk.1.,7  o,  Ann 
Dunst,  B.  a.  *.  ^\nuut«n,  S.1.  i,  DuRd  ,  li  i,  llivi»tr 
91;  AVharton,  03,  91;  Duuil.,  \i.  k,  Sliort  fliron  .  f- 
Dngd.,  14;  Wharton,  111.  (,  Wharton,  IIB  .,..  s'lior't 
Chron.,  6.  n,  Ibid,  14.  o,  Dutil  .  14.  j..  Snort  Chnm  , 
15.  J,  Ibid,  "miarton,  l'i7.  r,  Whart.m,  129.  j,,  Dugd 
96  ;  Polychron.  Lib.  S,cap.  rxiii.  t,  Pcpys'  Dian-,  3*)  u, 
Philpot,87;  Foxe,  II, 12;  rilkington,MO.  r,  Dugd  M- 
Wharton,  132.  ir.  Godum,  140;  Wliarton,  91 ;  Diiipl  ! 
51.  jr.  Godw,  IW;  WUl.  Vox.  33;  Uodw.,  IM;  Un. 
Ms,  249;  "Wharton,  18).  y,  JLichvn,  259.  :,  Foxe  Actc,, 
m.,  114;  Wriothe.sle>-'s  Diary.  li„  140.  a',  Dugd,  k' 
4',  Registr,  277.  c',  Uegi.str.27K.  Ji,  \Vliarton,  !H  <>, 
Registr.  101.  />,  Wriothesky's  Dian-,  llM ;  Pilkingt-in. 
ji>,  Dugd,  35,  36.  ;,'.  Pilkington,  4S3.  i',  Sloanc  M.S.. 
4.938,  to.  91.  >',  Dugd,  31.  ;.',  Dugd.,  28,  29,  »).  (', 
'Wharton,  104.  mi.  Bale.  89.  n',  Dugd.,  21 ;  I>-lanii 
Collect,  II.,  314.  ->',  Dugd.,  8,  11,  28,  33.  p>,  Dugil  ,  41 
.;',  Dugd,  26.  r',  Dugil.,  14,  150.  .',  Duid,  29.  I', 
Dugd,  25.  ri',  Leland  Coll.  n,  362.  k',  "Wharton,  17S 
K-',  "Wharton,  163.  x\  Godwin,  152.  v',  Godwin,  145 
zK  "Wharton,  88;  "Wharton,  103.  n',  "Wharton,  18.  (.', 
Short  Chron.,  I.,  6.  c*,  Godwin,  150.  (P,  Registr  ,  777. 
f»,  Dngd.,  37. 

{To  lie  continued.) 


HOLIDAYS  rs  HOME  COrXTIES.' 

LAST  summer  -we  noticed  in  these  columns  a 
collection  of  short  historical  and  typo- 
graphical articles,  written  by  the  author  of  "Our 
County  Families,"  and  of  the  greater  portion  of 
"Old  and  New  London,"  and  published  as 
"Pleasant  Days  inPlea.sant  Places."  Mr.  Wal- 
ford  has  again  selected  an  alliterative  title,  and 
in  a  second  and  some"n-hat  bulkier  companion 
volume,  treats  in  pleasant  style  on  a  number  of 
interesting  towns,  rillises,  and  districts  within  a 
day's  excursion  from  Lond'>n. 


It  was  during  these  changes  that  the  so-called 
tcmb  of  St.  Erkenwald,  to  be  paralleled  only  with 
that  of  the  "  overthwart  bishop  "  of  Salisbury, 
was  set  up  in  its  anomolous  position,  defiant  of 
ancient  Christian  precedent,  north  and  south  at 
the  back  of  the  new  altar  i  iece.  St.  Erkenwald 
was  at  first  buried  in  the  nive,  and  translated 
into  a  shrine  on  Feb.  16,  1140.  (m)  On  Nov. 
14,  114S,  he  was  translated  into  the  east  end 
and  laid  in  a  superb  shrine.  Ou  March  21, 
1314,  Bishop  Scgrave  '/rj  laid  the  first  stone  of  a 
new  shrine  in  the  new  chapel  of  .St.  Mary, 
whither  he  was  removed  on  Feb.  1,  132.5.  from 
near  the  high  altar,  as  great  inconvenience  had 
resulted  from  the  crowding  of  devotees. 

The  shrine  of  St.  Erkenw.ald  "  stood  on  the  east 
side  of  the  wall  above  the  high  altar,"  that  is 
the  reredos  in  the  feretory,  and  had  its  oivn 
altar  on  the  west  side,  ft  blazed  with  gold, 
s'llver,  and  precious  stones,  and  the  offerings  of 
royal  and  other  visitors.  The  iron  gate  tinned 
over,  made  H4S  by  Stephen  Clampard,  cost 
£G41.  The  parclose  of  metal  which  inclosed  it 
stood  .5ft.  lOin.  above  the  floor.  A  guild  or 
fraternity  attended  the  altar  [Dugd.  •23-"2S]. 
The  shrine  thus  occupied  a  paralled  position  to 
those  of  Canterbury,  Winchester,  "Westminster, 
Ely,  Lincoln,  Durham,  and  Bridlington. 
Bishop  CUffurd  was  buried  (r-)  near  the  place 
where  the  shrine  of  St.  Erkenwald  stood,  to- 
wards the  south.  The  names  of  the  chapels,  in 
1598,  in  the  chauncel,  the  uovJ  appellation  of 
the  new  work,  were  the  Lady  Chapel,  St 
George's  chapel,  St.  Dunstan's  chapel,  the  Duke 
of  Lancaster's  chapel,  the  dean's  chapel :  •/', 
there  were  ;tlso  "  severed  places"  including  the 
vestry  and  chamber  office.  Three  chapels  on  the 
south,  and  one,  the  Lancaster  or  Gaunt  chapel, 
on  the  north,  were  erected  between  buttresses 
as  at  Canterbury,  St.  Alban's,  and  Lichfield,  {ft] 


The  Norfolk  Burnhams,  Chiswick,  Dover,  Chert- 
sev,  St.  Alban's,  and  Gorhambury,  Ely,  Stoke 
Poges,  and  Boxgrove,  are  amongst  the  places  dealt 
with  in  the  fre.sh  andchattv  manner  which  charac- 
terises Mr.  Waif  Old's  works.  The  aim  has  been 
to  suit  a  popular  rather  than  a  scientific  taste : 
but  the  architectural  descriptions  are  accurate  so 
far  as  we  have  tested  them,  and  although  the 
papers  bear  traces  of  having  been  written  some 
vears  since,  the  information  is  throughout  cor- 
"rected  to  the  present  date.  "A  Day  at  Harold  » 
Tomb"  furnishes  a  heading  to  an  interesting 
chapter  upon  ■Waltham  Abbey,  in  which  the 
theon-  that  it  marks  the  restmg-place  of  the 
last  S'axon  kinf  is  maintained,  the  growth  of  the 
convent  and  of  "the  little  tjwn  around  it  is  trace.}, 
and  a  description  is  given  of  Mr.  W  .  Bur8|e»/ 
restoration  of  the  abbev,  carnea  out  in  l'"*"-'- 
The  castle  and  cathedral  of  Rochester  arc  the 
subjects  of  another  paper,  and  the  recent  Uyuig- 
out  of  the  castle-grounds  as  a  plea.sure-gardcn, 
and  the  restoration  of  the  choir  of  the  cathedral 
are  duly  chronicled.  Speaking  of  the  chapter- 
house doorway  in  this  min.stcr-a  feature  almos 
as  well-known  as  the  rich  Transitional  west  wrUl 
—the  author   condemns  the  manner  in  which  tne 

•  HoUdays  in  Home  Counties.    By  Ep"^*."  ^iiT'^*"' 
M.ir  I^ndon ;  David  Bogue,  3,  St.  MniUn  »  place. 


ca*t  at  thi-  Cry-t.il  ' 
mentionii  thai  an.  • 
KeuhiniftoD.     Til 
Clicncyii,    "  mark, 
plendour  and  ni , 
En);lnnd,  w>r-  it  \' 
for  a  ll.ip!  I 
Bramblilv 
and  rriiiap: 
Urt  Whi- 
other  iiit- r 
trut«d  by  . 
dcHcribiH], 
known  pi' ' 
for  the  pur; 
manner,    t) 

mined.  A  c  ijiy  .,(.i  Jrj-A. 
limned  in  hi«  early  ani-' 
poMoswion  of  the  ]!■  V    11 
IrontinpiiTo ;  thi- 
ond  Homi'what   i<! 
Norman  tower  of 
seen  acmsx  an  op.  ■ 
by  the  puUinhcr'- 
strictly   an  liitfit'. 
Late   Uth-e<-ntur\ 
"embattled")  II  . 
The  hall  i.i  now 
lavatory,  which  a.ij   ,.. 
in  an  inner  room,  arnl  i 
has  been  dencrilH^i  by  - 
water  stoup,  althi.u.-). 
has   ever  had   oi! 
There  i»  no  arkii 
book  ;  but  welx-lh 
appeared   in  the   pa.-'.  ^     ' 
serial     journals.       II"-*- 
pleas.intly  written  and   a-  ■  - 
will  doubtless  afford  «!;.';.-•-•' i  i. 
many  a  summcr'a  holf-holidajr. 


ROYAL    INSTITl'TE  OF   BRITISH 
ARCUITK'TV. 

THE  first    ordinary  n 
ISSO-Sl   was   held 
the    President,    Mr.    ' 
chair.     Numerou- 
announced,  and  :• 
President  makin_- 
collection  of  the  ori,'iinl  drawp 
late    Mr.   Owen    Jonen    for    1 
"  Grammar  of  Ornament,"  w?:- 
sented  by  his  M.sters.     ('  • 
obtained  in   the  recent 
were  awarded,  by  the  I'r 
Bradshaw    Ga-s.    FraiiK 
Henry  Hardy  Kemp,  ri.; 
Lawrence    Georire    Sun. 
made  a  corrccti'i:  ■•   •' 
dates  for  the  .'<  >  i- 
the  Council  that   ■ 
a     county-courT, 
and  instead  of  r 
square  feet,"  i-h 
of  site  to  K>  r-  ".   • 
feet."  The  foil. 
.ship: — AsFellon 
Guildford-stn-c' 
Picton,  F.8.A..  - 
pool.     As  A»-»Tr 
Department  of  1' 
toria  ;     Alfred     \ 
Augustus      Rov- 
W.C.:  Chirle^M; 
Rus.sell-s'liiar*'.      '' 
Loadenhall-^-trt'  • 
Guormanpro7.     I 
S.W.  :  Sydney    \  ..    ...  .  ,    i  .  i 

John  Edward  Bale  «.-.p<.  l*»  «'•-  '~^''  '  ■. 
Sierra  I>-ne  :  and  Hoih  S♦«a.tt^  K«n^^  •• 
Park-r>ad,  S.E. 


The    Presid^Tit    th'n     1  !;>■•?*•' 
address.     In  rrl-  r- 
E    M.   Barrv,    I 
HM.rv  Wv.-.' 


1-; 

n-.w  in  r. 
In.stitnt. 
relief  •■f  " 
Mr.  Wy, 
a  fund,  k- 
Society  r 
founded  bi 


526 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


a  short  time  ago,  and  at  the  same  time  the  ori- 
ginal trustees  were  replaced  by  three  new  ones, 
viz.,  the  eldest  sons  of  \Vyatt  and  Ferrey,  and  the 
present  President  of  the  Institute.  Having 
alluded  to  the  election  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Pearson,  the 
latest  recipient  of  the  Royal  Gold  Medal,  as  a 
Bojal  Academician,  the  President  dwelt  upon 
the  invidious  duty  devolving  upon  the  Council 
in  making  a  recommendation  for  this  medal,  and 
reminded  the  fellows  of  the  power  the}-  possessed 
to  recommend  and  nominate  some  other  person. 
Should  such  a  step  he  taken,  the  Council  would 
either  withdraw  their  own  candidates,  or  submit 
the  two  names  for  election  to  the  general  body  of 
fellows.  During  the  ensuing  session,  important 
modifications  of  the  proceedings  at  their  meetings 
would  be  tried.  The  preliminary  business,  which 
now,  as  on  that  evening,  often  took  up  more  than 
half  an  hour,  and  which  he  was  told  had  been 
irreverentlycalled their  "parish"  business,  would 
be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Balloting  for  new 
members  would  only  take  place  at  four  of  the 
fourteen  sessional  nights.  At  the  meetings 
devoted  to  the  reading  of  papers  and  discussions, 
the  paper  would  be  begun  immediately  after  the 
reading  of  the  minutes,  and  it  would  be  possible 
to  adjourn  discussions  to  the  following  meeting. 
The  papers  would  be  reduced  in  number  from  10 
to  six,  or  at  most  eight ;  and  two  evenings, 
January  3rd  and  February  2Sth,  would  be 
devoted  to  the  consideration  of  professional 
questions,  and  of  observations,  protests,  or  sug- 
gestions relating  to  the  interests  of  the  Institute 
and  the  profession  which  might  emanate  from 
the  general  body  of  members.  The  annual 
election  of  members  and  of  the  board  of  exami- 
ners, under  the  Metropolitan  Building  Act,  as 
well  as  the  debate  on  the  Council's  report,  would 
take  place  during  the  General  Conference  of 
Architects.  The  Conference  meetings  will  thus 
occur  at  an  interesting  period  of  the  session, 
instead  of,  as  before,  at  the  fag-end  of  its  work, 
and  the  final  sessional  nieetiug  will  have  been 
held  before  Whitsuntide.  He  expressed  a  hope 
that  by  the  reduction  in  the  number  of  papers 
a  better  class  of  paper  than  it  had  been  for  some 
years  possible  to  obtain  would  be  offered.  At 
the  same  time,  he  did  not  admit  that  the  use  of 
tho  Inatitiute  was  impaired  because  only  a  small 
minority  of  members  attended  the  meetings.  To 
oarry  on,  at  the  recognised  headquarters  of  the 
profession,  official  duties  affecting  their  interests 
as  a  corporate  body  ;  to  promote  and  facilitate 
uniformity  of  professional  practice ;  to  secure, 
as  far  as  possible,  integrity  of  practice  ;  to  con- 
solidate step  by  step  the  foundations  already  laid 
of  that  examination  which  he  thought  would 
raise  the  character  of  an  architect  in  public 
opinion,  and  debar  unfit  and  ill-educated  per- 
sons from  the  profitable  exercise  of  their  calling 
^these  foimed  silent  and  eiiicacious  work  done 
by  the  Council  and  committees.  A  report  and 
scheme  for  the  compulsory  examination  had  been 
prepared  by  a  committee,  and  would  be  brought 
before  the  members  for  discussion  at  the 
meeting  on  Januaiy  3rd.  The  next  exami- 
nation, to  be  held  in  June  next,  would 
be  the  last  of  a  voluntary  character,  and 
all  new  candidates  would  have  to  jiass  in  both 
the  artistic  and  scientific  sections,  while  those 
who  had  passed  in  one  section  must  pass  in 
the  other  next  June,  in  order  to  obtain  a  certifi- 
cate. Tho  report  would  recommend  that  the 
compulsory  examination  should  have  reference 
to  professional  study  and  practics  only ;  the 
difficulty  of  dtcidinir  on  the  artistic  capacity  of 
a  candidate  wt  uM  be  reduced  to  a  minimum ; 
and  the  progrome,  as  drawn  up,  not  only  in- 
cluded practical  tests  of  both  geometrical  and 
freehand  drawing,  but  the  probationary  work 
required  from  each  caodidatewas  bkely  to  aSord 
means  for  testing  his  natural  aptitude  for  the 
arts  of  invention  and  design.  He  was  also 
pleased  that  it  was  proposed  to  devote  an  entire 
day  to  examination  on  the  nature,  qualities,  and 
value  of  buOding  materials.  He  believed  that 
every  requirement  which  a  person  seeking  to 
be  an  architect  should  possess  was  embraced  in 
the  proposed  requirements  ;  nor  did  he  see  in 
their  tenour  anything  to  deter  the  "heaven- 
bom  artist"  from  obtaining  admission  to  the 
Institute.  On  this  last  point  Mr.  Whichcord 
quoted,  with  approval,  Eondelet,  who,  at 
tho  beginning  of  this  century,  described  the 
arehittot  of  his  day  as  a  decorator  rather 
than  a  constructor,  and  asked :  Would  Eondelet, 
if  he  lived  at  the  present  time,  define  an  archi- 
tect in  language  more  palatable  to  our  own  sense 
of  what  he  sLoidd  be  r    Aie  we  quite  sure  that 


the  cry  for  art,  more  art,  in  wliicli  I  admit  this 
country  was  long  deficient,  has  actually  pro- 
vided us  with  what  we  recjuired  ?  Has  not  the 
tendency  in  England  of  late  years  been  to  un- 
duly exalt  the  art  at  the  expense  of  the  science 
of  architecture  ?  Architectural  science  is  gra- 
dually becoming  the  speciality  of  men  who  are 
not,  and  who  do  not  pretend  to  be,  architects. 
The  construction  of  aqueducts,  roads,  terraces, 
gardens,  fortresses,  bridges,  seaports,  viaducts, 
was  once  and  still  lies  within  the  domain  of 
architecture ;  yet  few  in  England  employ  an 
architect  on  such  works.  In  France,  the  best 
Parisian  architects  still  edit  works  on  the  build- 
ing legislative  enactments  of  their  country,  and 
ad\-ise  upon  such  subjects  ;  in  this  island  there 
is  a  growing  tendency  to  leave  matters  connected 
with  building  legislation  to  surveyors.  In 
France,  the  planning  of  new  thoroughfares,  the 
laying  out  of  public  places,  the  daily  charge  of 
architectural  monuments,  the  care  of  great 
estates  both  public  and  private,  is  retained  by 
qualified  members  of  our  profession  ;  in  England 
such  duties  are  often  relegated  to  aU  sorts  of 
persons.  Our  local  governments  and  munici- 
palities, indeed  many  great  owners  of  the  soil, 
prefer  to  be  advised  by  men  who  ostentatiously 
discard  connection  with  the  picturesque  and 
artistic  elements  of  professional  practice.  We 
are  more  or  less  to  blame  for  this  state  of  things. 
Though  thirty  years  ago  there  was  plausibility 
in  the  successful  efforts  to  stimulate  the  pursuit 
of  architecture  as  an  art,  the  necessitj'  for  such 
stimulus  has  now  in  some  measure  ceased,  and 
the  object  of  all  thoughtful  practitioners  should  I 
be  to  reclaim  much  bon'i  fide  practice  diverted 
from  its  legitimate  course — to  foster  in  younger 
men  a  regard  for  that  scientific  learning  and 
mental  e.xeellence  with  Philibert  Delorme 
preached,  and  which  our  own  Sir  Christopher 
Wren  demonstrated  to  be  worthy  the  pursuit  of 
an  artist.  The  efforts  of  others  to  accomplish 
the  work  which  would,  in  earlier  days,  have 
been  entrusted  to  architects,  might  be  viewed 
with  doubtful  satisfaction.  The  system 
adopted  in  fonuing  new  thoroughfares  in  the 
West-end  of  London,  for  example,  was  to  con- 
nect a  series  of  existing  streets  by  removing 
blocks  of  old  houses  which  divided  them  ;  by 
pulling  down  one  side  only  of  such  existing 
streets,  and  driving  the  new  thoroughfare  along 
a  necessarily  tortuous  and  irregular  line — a  line 
formed  by  the  untouched  sides  of  streets,  often 
of  nuserable  dwellings  originally  erected  without 
regard  to  either  convenience  or  salubrity.  Such 
was  the  mode  in  which  the  new  street  connecting 
Oxford-street  and  Old-street  had  been  made  ; 
such  was  the  mode  in  which  the  purlieus  of  Soho 
were  about  to  be  penetrated.  The  result  would 
be,  he  predicted,  that  there  would  remain  on  one 
side  of  the  way  for  thirty  and  more  years  after 
the  roadway  of  these  new  thoroughfares  had 
been  completed,  or  at  least  until  existing  terms 
of  leases  have  fallen  in,  an  irregular  line  of  dis- 
jointed blocks,  huge  and  lofty;  on  the  other 
side  of  the  way  rows  of  old  and  dingy  tene- 
ments, with  here  and  there  a  new  building  raised 
in  the  air  over  its  squalid  neighbours,  and  ac- 
quiring in  due  covu'se  prescriptive  rights  over  the 
land  on  whichsuch  neighbours  rested.  Moreover, 
the  squalid  neighbours  themselves  already  pos- 
sessing powei's  acquired  by  similar  prescriptive 
rights,  were  likely  to  be  in  skilful  hands  fertile 
of  obstruction  to  individual  improvement  and 
public  embellishment.  He  admitted  that  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  were  in  a  position 
of  unexampled  difficulty,  that  the  method  of 
improvement  was  dictated  by  financial  necessi- 
ties ;  but  he  feared  that,  ho\vever  much 
pubUe  opinion  might  be  educated  and 
broadened,  there  would  still  be  fo-ond  wanting 
in  metropolitan  administration  that  initiative 
faculty,  that  directing  power  which  would  see, 
suggest,  and  plan  the  needed  improvement. 
Turning  to  a  new  topic,  the  President  said  the 
Council  of  the  Institute  had  taken  steps  to 
improve  the  character  of  the  examination  for 
certificates  of  competency  to  hold  the  office  of 
district  surveyor.  Instead  of  one  sitting  of  four 
hours  for  the  written  examination  there  wore 
now  two  sittings  of  three  hours  each,  and  in  the 
latter  of  these  the  candidate's  skill  in  makin" 
working  drawings  would  be  tested.  An  oral 
examination  remained  as  before.  They  had 
also,  after  consultation  with  the  Metropolitan 
Board,  determined  to  impose  a  fee  on  each 
candidate  for  examination — a  rule  which 
would  take  effect  at  the  beginning  of  next 
year.    He    had    asked    himself    whether    the 


usefulness  of  the  library  might  not  be  ex- 
tended by  throwing  it  open  to  all  bond  Jidc 
students  of  architecture,  and  he  had  great  satis- 
faction in  announcing  that  steps  had  been 
taken  to  open  the  library  free  to  young 
men  who  were  engaged  in  the  study  or  even 
practice  of  architecture,  and  who  produced  satis- 
factory evidence  of  the  fact.  Their  late  friend 
Thomas  Henry  Wyatt  had  bequeathed  a  legacy 
of  £100  to  the  library,  and  he  had  been  informed 
by  Professor  Donaldson  that  it  was  the  intention 
of  the  Misses  Jones,  sisters  of  the  late  Owen 
Jones,  to  bequeath  to  the  Institute  such  a  sum 
of  money  as  would  found  a  studentship  of  the 
value  of  £.50  per  annum,  to  be  tenable  for  two 
years,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  meritorious 
students  to  travel,  in  order  to  advance  their 
knowledge  of  architecture  and  of  colour  appUed 
to  architecture.  They  would,  consequently,  one 
day  possess  an  Owen  Jones  Studentship — one 
that  would  probably  be  not  less  popular  among 
students  than  the  medals  and  prizes  we  annually 
otter  in  connection  with  the  names  of  Soane, 
Pugin,  Tite,  Asphitel,  and  others.  In  conclu- 
sion, the  President  said  : — It  does  not  come 
within  the  powers  of  the  Council  to  do  all  that 
many  well-intentioned  practitioners  think  ought 
to  be  done.  I  have  heard  it  seriously  maintained 
that  the  only  use  of  the  Institute  of  Architects  is 
to  enforce  observance  of  a  uniform  tariff  of  .5 
per  cent,  commission  to  be  charged  by  old  and 
yoimg,  experienced  and  inexperienced,  capable 
and  incapable  practitioners  of  architecture  ;  and 
that  nothing  short  of  expulsion  xmder  the  by- 
laws should  await  the  youthful  or  diffident  prac- 
titioner who  places  upon  the  value  of  his  pro- 
fessional services  a  lower  figure  than  that 
charged  by  his  elder  or  more  fortunate  brethren. 
I  cannot  conceive  anything  more  illogical  or 
more  suicidal.  The  clauses  in  the  Institute 
paper,  entitled  the  "Professional  Practice  and 
Charges  of  Architects"  represent  simply  the 
custom  of  the  profession  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  in  India  and  the  British  Colonies. 
Where  doubts  crop  up  as  to  the  amount  of 
charges  due,  where  no  previous  agreement  hat^ 
been  made  and  disputes  occur,  where  death 
intervenes,  when  a  court  of  law  asks  for  in- 
formation as  to  the  custom  of  the  profession — 
then  the  paper  of  Professional  Practice  and 
Charges  is  rightly  and  necessarily  cited.  But  no 
man  in  signing  the  declaration  of  a  Fellow  or  an 
Associate  of  the  Institute,  and  in  accepting  the 
terms  of  our  charter  and  bye-laws,  incurs  the 
obligation  to  abide  by  any  restraints  of  pro- 
fessional charges.  Ail  such  commercial  and 
professional  restraints  are  opposed  in  more  ways 
than  one  to  the  laws  of  the  realm  ;  and  would, 
at  the  best,  encourage  action  on  our  part  not 
dissimilar  of  its  kind  to  that  of  ill-adrised  trade- 
unionists.  I  admit  that  there  are  questions  of 
professional  practice  requiring  a  great  deal  of 
thoughtfid  consideration — questions  which  may 
very  fitly  be  discussed  this  session — particularly 
the  complications  connected  with  the  taking-out 
of  cjuantities,  and  the  best  means  of  ob- 
tainmg  a  fairer  adjudication  in  architectural 
competitions  than  appears  to  exist.  These 
are  matters  that  should  occupy  the  serious  at- 
tention of  the  conference  to  be  convened  in  May 
next,  when  I  tnist  that  a  large  number  of  those 
architects  who  signed  the  memorial  on  competi- 
tions will  do  us  the  favour  to  be  present.  I  also 
hope  that  the  numerous  quantity  surveyors  now 
practising  in  London  and  some  provincial  cities 
will  afford  us  assistance  in  the  discussion  of 
several  important  points  which  are  likely  to  be 
raised  on  the  subject  of  quantities :  the  cli\-ision 
of  labour  connected  with  them  and  the  present 
mode  of  paying  for  them.  Perhaps  nothing 
about  this  memorial  on  competitions  aiiorded  me 
more  astonishment  than  the  fact  that  there  are 
in  the  United  Kingdom  more  than  l.SOO  profes- 
sional architects,  for  at  the  present  moment  the 
Fellows  and  Associates  of  the  Institute,  to- 
gether, only  reach  a  total  of  716.  Indeed,  at 
the  close  of  the  last  session  the  numbers  stood 
thus: — 

F.     A.  I  F.    A. 

Australia . .  . .  4  2  Ireland  . .  . .  (J  o 
Colonies        and  |  London        aud 

abioad..  ..  4  12  I  suburbs  ..  209  2J3 
Euglishcouuties  110  82  Scotland..  ..  lo  4 
Indian  Empire  3  3  |  Wales  ....  0  G 
3.51  Fellows,  305  Associates,  making  a  total  of  71C. 

But  I  am  still  more  astonished  to  iind  that  there 
are  in  this  island  nearly  3,000  jxjrsons  i>ro- 
fessing  to  be  engaged  in  the  practice  under 
some    form    or    other    of    architecture.      Now 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWa 


I  know  of  course  that  a  vast  number  of  the 
gentlemen  whose  names  are  put  down  in  direc- 
tories as  architects,  and  who  are  so  called  by 
theii-  neighbours,  could  not  and  ought  not  to  be- 
come members  of  our  body.  But  when  you  cun- 
siderthat  of  the  many  memorialists  on  the  subject 
of  competitions  less  tlian  a  third  are  members  of 
the  Institute,  the  very  pertinent  question  arises  : 
For  what  reason  do  these  practitioners  stand 
aloof  from  the  corporate  body  of  the  profession  ? 
Are  they  unable  or  do  they  fear  to  incur  the 
obligations  which  we  have  accepted  i  Some  no 
doubt  are  prevented  from  entering  our  ranks  bj- 
tlie  expense,  slight  as  it  is  of  so  doing;  afow 
others  perhaps  by  caprice.  But  that  the 
majority  are  ostracised  in  consequence  of  con- 
scientious reasons,  I  cannot  for  one  moment 
suppose  ;  nor  do  I  think  that  there  is  anytldng 
in  the  declaration  of  a  fellow  or  of  an  associate, 
or  anything  in  our  charter  and  by-laws,  which 
an  honourable  practitioner,  having  at  heart  the 
good  of  his  profession  and  of  himself,  ought  to 
refuse  to  accept.  Indeed  it  is  only  due  to  the 
public  as  well  as  to  ourselves  to  direct  serious 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  number  of  archi- 
tectural practitioners  who  submit  to  no  recognised 
professional  discipline— who  take  no  obligation 
designed  to  secm-e  integrity  of  practice,  and 
eliminate  all  pecuniary  interest  in  building 
materials  or  participation  in  the  commerce  of 
building — is  legion.  It  is  only  due  to  myself  as 
your  president  to  state  that  the  published  names 
of  such  practitioners  in  this  island  alone  exceed 
by  much  more  than  2,000  those  on  the  roll 
of  the  corporate  body.  I  shall  doubtless  be 
reminded  that  those  of  them  who  are  members  of 
local  societies  do  accept  obligations  and  do  com- 
bine to  resist  evils  and  abuses  which,  at  the  very 
formation  of  the  Institute,  it  was  the  object  of 
our  founders  to  root  out,  and  which  they  largely 
succeeeded  in  abolishing.  But  I  need  no  such 
reminder.  I  ara  aware  that  the  constitution  of 
two  or  three  of  the  provincial  institutes  and 
associations  does  not  seriously  differ  from  the 
purport  of  our  own  ;  but  are  such  societies  en- 
dowed with  the  powers  which  the  corporate 
body  of  British  architects  possesses?  'I  doubt  it. 
I  venture  to  maintain  that  the  interests  of  the 
public  not  less  than  of  the  honourable  practi- 
tioner of  architecture  are  linked  with  the 
prosperity  and  influence  of  the  Royal  Institute 
of  British  Architects ;  such  interests  are  linked 
with  the  legitimate  control  the  Instituteexercises 
over  the  conduct  of  those  who  accept  the  sys- 
tematic discipline  it  is  authorised  to  impose. 

Mr.  CH-UiLES  Baeey  proposed  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  President  for  his  practical  and 
eminently  business-like  address,  one  which 
woidd,  he  believed,  prove  useful  to  members 
personally,  professionally,  and  sncially.  Amongst 
the  many  questions  on  which  the  President  had 
touched,  a  number  of  experiments  by  which 
it  was  hoped  the  working  of  the  Institute  would 
be  improved  and  its  usefulness  facilitated,  the 
most  important  of  these  changes  was  the  com- 
pulsory examination  :  and  while  the  speaker 
hoped  it  would  prove  useful,  members  must  not 
be  unprepared  for  partial  success  or  ill-success. 
The  proposal  to  reduce  the  niunber  of  papers 
read  during  the  session  might  possibly  be  an 
engine  of  great  good,  but  it  was  also  capable  of 
effecting  much  mischief.  It  was  to  be  hoped 
that  at  the  meetings  for  the  discussion  of 
professional  business,  questions  necessarOy 
personal  in  character  would  be  discussed  with 
the  calmness  necessary  in  approaching  such 
subjects,  and  that  there  would  be  "shown 
the  willingness  to  co-operate  recpiired  to  give 
the  Institute  the  influence  all  desired.  He 
thought  the  customs  had  so  changed,  and  edu- 
cation had  so  advanced  since  Rondelet  wrote, 
that,  were  he  living  now,  he  would  not  charge 
architects  with  studying  art  in  preference 
to  science.  With  rcferenee  to  the  metro- 
politan improvements,  what  London  needed 
to  effect  comprehensive  improvements  was 
anl  arbitrary  ruler  of  the  Haussmann  type. 
In  the  allusions  to  professional  remuneration,  he 
could  not  agree  with  the  President  that  members 
might  reduce  their  charges  below  the  scale  of 
the  publislied  instructions  :  the  .5  per  cent,  was 
little  enough,  and  if  this  were  departed  from  the 
public  would  play  off  one  architect  against 
another,  and  beat  them  down  to  4  J,  1,  or  even 
3i  per  cent.,  and  induce  amongst  architects  a 
spirit  of  rivalry  in  charges  which  was  most 
tremendously  to  be  deplored. 

Mr.  C.  h.  Eastulke  .seconded  the  vote  of 
thanks,  which  was  carried  by  acclamation. 


r>27 


The  election  of  an  honorary  secrctarj-  in  tho 
stead  of  the  late  Mr.  T.  II.  Wyalt,  then  took 
place,  when  Mr.  John  Macvicar  Anderson,  wlio 
has  been  performing  tho  duties  pro.  Ian.,  wiui 
unanimously  chosen. 


LEEDS  ARCHITECTXTRAL  SOCIETY. 

THE  first  meeting  ,4  the  fifth  session  of  tin; 
Leeds  Architectl)i-ul  Society  was  liold  ot 
their  Rooms,  iutho  Leeds  Mcohauics'  Institution 
last  week,  Mr.  Henry  A^'alker,  F.R.I.B.A.,  pro- 
sided.  Tho  report  rcgrcted  tho  retirement  of  the 
late  President,  Jlr.  A.  Crawford,  and  stated  that 
tho  result  of  the  competitions  for  tho  prizes 
offered  was  as  follows  :— Set  of  measured  draw- 
ings :  Silver  medal,  Mr.  A.  Gaunt ;  extra  book 
prize,  Mr.  F.  Rancy.  Design  for  town  church  : 
First  prize,  Mr.  A.  'UTiitehead ;  second  prize, 
Mr.  Joseph  HaU.  For  one  of  the  prizes  the 
work  submitted  was  not  considered  to  be  of 
sufficient  merit  to  warrant  the  prize  being  given. 
At  the  meeting  for  the  election  of  officers  ,Mr. 
H.  Walker  had  been  elected  President ;  Mr.  T. 
Ambler  ,and  Mi;.  S.  E.  Smith,  Vice-Presidents. 
The  President,  in  his  opening  address,  speaking 
of  the  question  of  quantities,  ho  referred  to  a  re- 
cent paper  read  before  the  builders  of  Bristol, 
and  a  reply  to  the  same  from  a  Liverpool  gentle- 
man. Mr.  Walter  described  quantities  as  a 
complete  list  of  items  representing  the  various 
materials  and  labour  needed  in  the  proposed 
building.  They  arc  arranged  under  headings  of 
the  different  trades  in  the  form  of  a  bill,  haring 
£  s.  d.  colurons,  in  wliicli  the  person  tendering 
inserts  a  price  ojiposite  each  item,  and  these 
when  totalled  represent  tho  amount  of  his  tender. 
He  laid  great  stress  on  qtiantities  being  taken 
out  accurately  to  represent  the  finished  work, 
and  the  practice  of  independent  surveyors  taking 
them  out  full,  in  order  to  co%er  the  risk  of  any 
accidental  omission,  for  which  they  are  usually 
made  responsible,  he  condemned,  and  suggested 
as  the  only  remedy  for  the  present  system — that  a 
clause  should  be  inserted  in  the  conditions,  to  the 
effect  that  the  quantities  would  form  part  of  the 
contract,  as  well  as  the  prices  attached  thereto, 
by  the  person  whose  tender  was  acepted ;  also 
that  any  omission,  di.screpancy,  or  other  error 
found  in  the  drawings,  specification,  or  quantities, 
shall  be  allowed  for  either  way  on  the  basis  of 
the  contractor's  tender  and  price  list  if  discovered 
before  the  settlement  of  the  accounts,  and  that 
deviations  from  the  original  design  made  during 
the  progress  of  the  works  should  be  similarly 
dealt  with.  Mr.  AValker  thought  that  if  this 
course  were  generally  adopted  disputes  and  costly 
arbitrations  would  be  r;ire,  while  it  would 
matter  little  to  the  client  or  builder  whether  the 
architect  or  quantity  surveyor  took  out  the 
quantities,  so  long  as  the  work  was  properly  done 
He  condemned  immercifidly  those  who  accepted 
illicit  commission,  and  referred  to  a  case  which 
cropped  up  about  two  years  ago  at  the  Leeds 
Assizes,  saying  that  such  persons  might  well 
afford  to  take  work  so  much  below  the  usual 
professional  charges  to  the  disadvantnge  of  the 
more  honest  and  hard-working  members  of  the 
profession.  He  next  pa.ssed  on  to  the  question 
of  competitions,  and,  after  complimenting  Mr. 
Thomas  Porter,  F.R.I.E.A.,  for  the  thorough 
way  he  had  brought  the  subject  before  the 
R.I.B.A.,  said  the  recent  memorial  presented 
by  Mr.  Street,  R.A.,  to  that  body  on  behalf  of 
no  less  than  1,270  practising  architects,  prayiiiL- 
that  Institute  to  take  the  subject  into  its  .seri-ii 
consideration,  was  the  outcome  of  Mr.  Porter  ■ 
endeavours.  Mr.  Walker  quoted  letters  sent  !■• 
Mr.  Porter,  giving  their  experiences  of  the  pre- 
sent hateful  system,  whicli  is  wasteful  to  the  pr.i- 
fession,  besides  being  tlic  cause  of  much  jealou-y 
and  many  and  bittir  di.sappointmcnts.  T) 
public  view  of  eompvtitions  he  thought  due  t 
young  and  zealous  architects  being  eager  to  ru:. 
before  they  wcr  •  able  to  w,alk ;  also  the  want  of 
consent,  mutu  il  sympathy,  and  common  aims 
amongst  architects' themselves.  Under  the  pre- 
sent system   competitions   have  become    but 


GlMifow  Munldpol  Oni.y,,  »„a  Trut 

oud   r.i,..  for  «,mr    v!!,,    „t     I',  i.  ,1 

exnn:;  '         '  •' 

tna' 


with   ,. 
uj  po..».l,!, , 
that  ouo  lit  I 
prize  uwanl'  :  i 
buti<mugi;l"l  '■■'  i.'' 
dcnignu  w«r>i  I.  ti  , 
beiu^;  an  iipri^'ht  n. 
justice  UiuK'  d'.rir 
the  whol..  of  the  ' 
alliiwi-d  him   (..   . ' 
done  a  tery    ' 
result,      ri 
fair  tlie  <■■■■.. 
up,  thingi 
more  int.  r. 
than  in  tL>  i 
the  best  uh  . 
get  over  tlj.    i  • 
want  of  coiiti  !  :    . 
Walker  mi-.- 
selves  couM 
abuses  of  lli 
while  impr 
people  of  M:i!.' !,( 
con-sideratiuri  fur  tl. 
comiMitilion  fur  tli. 
orchitecta  practiniiiK'  i:. 
said    thi*   r'inind'-d    lii 
apparently    an   ur  Iji!. 
y  orb-hire,  fit  to  U- 
of  tho  York.-ihiro  (. 
said   of   other   bu. 
had  seen   nothin;.'   . 
not   bo   produci-<l   1 
long  as  there  is  ay. 
town  of  go<'!  >••!■■ 
eniploycU,  >■■ 
design  or  s": 
where.    Tl. 
was  next  T'  : 
less  prompt  : 
will  in  a  f'  " 
heap  of  stiiiK.^.     1 
restoration  of  .\di ! 
tion  to,  Mr.  Walk, 
of  tho  church  had  i 
the  east  window   t  • 
ceedings  he  thougl 
one  of  tho  first  to  >■'' 
other  hands  but   h. 
the  church  now  v.i-. 
gave  it. 


CtthMfml, 

■.r..UKh.    .. 


-n  lb* 
Mr 

■  S'^m. 

TU 

»Mi 
-•llM 

U  la 

'     Dot 


Xew  refr.i 
Shoredilrl:  • 
L*;e  and  yii.;' 
of  Ou.irdL»ii«. 

The    miuurial-iton')  of  >  D«w  to' 


M. 


'    tarO 


means  as  would  be  produced  if  the 
architect  were  employed  in  the  usual  w.t 
Committees  were  often  very  unreasonable  ;■ 
asking  for  needless  drawings,  haring  no  weitr 
in  deading  a  competition.  He  referred  to  th 
competitions  for  Manchester  Town  Hall,  Over 
1  Darwen   Town   HaU   and  Markets,  Leeds  and  , 


528 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Opening  Address  at  the  Institute I 

The  Institute  of  Art    ' 

Portland  Cement  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  1 

Domestic  Desig:n  and  Planning       _ i 

The  Architectural  Association  Pi'ize  Drawings ! 

Old  St.  Paul's ■ i 

Holiday-*  in  Home  Counties      i 

Royal  In-jtitute  of  British  Architects    i 

Leeds  Architectural  Society     I 

Our  Lithographic  Hlustrationg I 

St.  Paul's  Ecclesiological  Society    I 

Chips '• 

The  Mechanics  of  Brackets      I 

Architectural  Association i 

Birmingham  Architectural  Association i 

Birmingham  Master  Builders' Association { 

Pointing  Rubble  Walls       ! 

The  Late  Sir  Thomas  Bouch     ! 

An  Improved  Sewer  Section      l 

Competitions t 

Schoo!sof  Art f 

Bttilding  Intelligence   I 

To  Correspondents ! 

Correspondence     ' 

Intercommunication    i 

Stained  Glass I 

Statues,  Memorials,  &c ! 

"Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      i 

Legal  Intelhgence ! 

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  "Week      i 

Tenders    J 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PKESnSES  IN  LIVERPOOL  FOR  COPE  BROS.  AXD  CO.  —  RESI- 
DENCES AT  BOURNEMOUTH. — A  GOTHIC  TABLE  AND  QUEEN 
ANNE  OVER-DOOR.  —  CRICKET  PAVILION,  BEDDINGTON- 
PAEK.— ST.   GILLES,  CAEN. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations. 


NEW  PREMISES  FOE  MESSES.  COPE  BEOTHEES  AXD 
CO.,  LIVEEPOOL. 

The  tobacco  factory  of  Messrs.  Cope  Brothers 
&  Co.  is  situated  on  a  site  north  of,  and  immedi- 
ately adjoining,  the  terminus  of  the  London  and 
Northwestern  Railway.  A  vi.sit  to  the  manufac- 
tory has  long  been  one  of  the  sights  of  Liverpool, 
and  some  idea  of  its  size  and  importance  may  be 
formed  when  it  is  stated  that  the  premises 
occupy  the  whole  of  the  land  between  the  railway 
station  and  Lord  Xelson- street  to  the  north,  and 
Saint  Vincent-street  to  the  East.  The  different 
workrooms  are  all  spacious,  and  well  warmed 
and  ventilated,  and  for  the  comfort  and  conve- 
nience of  the  two  thousand  people  employed, 
dining-rooms  are  provided,  fitted  up  with  all 
necessary  cooking  utensils.  The  portion  of  the 
buildings  shown  in  our  illustration  is  in  Saint 
Vincent-street,  the  side  elevation  looking  on  to 
the  platform  of  the  station,  whieh  is  on  a  much 
lower  level.  The  main  block  contains  the  time- 
office,  workmen's  entrance,  store-rooms,  keeper's 
house,  &c.  The  gateway  is  the  general  entrance 
to  the  works  for  goods,  &c.  The  walls  are  built 
of  local  grey  bricks,  red  Euabon  bricks  being 
used  for  the  windows,  strings,  Sec,  the  roofs 
are  covered  with  red  tiles,  and  all  the  windows 
are  glazed  with  plain  lead  lights.  The  works 
have  been  carried  out  by  the  firm  themselves, 
with  their  own  workmen,  from  the  plans  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  John  Douglas, 
of  Chester. 

house,  BEANESOME    PAEK   estate,    BOUENESIOnTH. 

This  house  stands  on  an  eminence  overlooking 
the  sea,  and  occupies  some  .5  acres  of  land  covered 
with  pines  and  Scotch  firs.  The  exterior  is 
executed  in  yellow  stocks  with  special  red  dress- 
ings, the  chimneys  also  being  in  red  bricks.  The 
gables  are  constructed  of  solid  half  ■  timber  work, 
and  the  roof  covered  with  Brosoley  tiles.  The 
windows  are  arranged  to  produce  the  effect  of 
casements,  with  the  convenience  of  the  ordinary 
sash  and  frame,  the  transom  being  made  use  of 
for  the  purpose  of  ventilation.  The  interior  has 
been  carried  out  in  character  with  the  exterior, 
the  woodwork  in  entertaining  rooms,  hall,  stair- 
case, mantels,  &c.,  being  executed  in  pitch-pine 
from  special  designs.  The  drawing-room 
averages  24ft.  by  19ft.  dining-room  22ft.  by 
19ft.,  morning-room  19ft.  by  171't.,  kitchen  16ft. 
square,  and  servants  hall  l-ift.  by  10ft.  The 
kitchen  and  offices  are  all  on  the  ground-floor. 
Every  care  has  been  taken  with  the  sanitary 
arrangements  and  ventilation.  The  whole  ha,s 
been  executed  by  day-work  and  piece-work,  all 
materials  being  supplied  by  the  owner.  Mr. 
Faggetter  has  acted  as  clerk  of  works  under  the 
superintendence     of     the     architect,      Mr.     J. 


Xixon  Horsficld,   10,    Knightrider- street,  E.C. 

HOUSE  AT  EOUENEIIOUTH. 

It  is  proposed  to  build  this  house  on  about  two 
acres  of  land.  It  wUl  be  carried  out  in  the  same 
way,  and  with  similar  materials  as  the  above. 
The  balcony  is  so  arranged  as  to  get  a  view  of 
the  sea,  the  space  behind  being  used  as  a  smoke- 
room. 

FtlRNITUEE   BY   E.    W.    GODWIN,    F.S.A. 

A  Gothic  piece  of  furniture  is  rather  an  un- 
usual subject  just  now  for  illustration,  and  so 
the  di'a  wing -room  centre  table,  which  we  pub- 
lish to-day,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Edward  W. 
Godwin,  F.S.A.,  has  aa  air  of  freshness  about 
it,  while  the  pedimented  Queen  Anne  "  over- 
door"  accords  rather  more  with  the  present 
taste  in  furniture  matters.  Both  the  above  are 
made    by   Mr.    Wm.   Watt,    of   Grafton-street, 

w.c. 

CEICKET  AND  AECHEEY  PAVILION,  BEDDIXGTON  PAEK. 

This  private  pavilion,  erected  at  a  cost  of  over 
.£3,000,  stands  in  an  enclosure  of  .several  acres  in 
the  midst  of  Beddington  Park.  It  comprises, 
besides  the  covered  verandah  with  raised  seats 
in  front,  and  railed  round — a  large  dining  hall 
with  the  proper  culinary  requirements  at  the 
rear,  pantries,  ice-well,  »tc.  The  ladies  and 
gentlemen' s  dressing  rooms,  with  lavatories,  and 
water  laid  on,  are  on  the  ground  floor,  and  wdth 
the  dining  hall  are  pannelled  and  ceiled  in  pitch 
pine ;  there  are  ranges  of  lockers,  hanging- 
closets,  and  every  requirement  for  comfort  and 
use.  'The  furniture  of  the  hall  and  throughout 
is  .solid  and  in  character.  The  towers  comprise 
smoking  and  store  rooms,  with  large  tanks 
supplied  by  force  pumps  for  the  piu-pose  of 
watering  by  hose  the  cricket  groimd.  There 
are  beautiful  views  from  these  towers,  over  the 
park,  with  the  river  Wandle  running  through,  and 
the  surrounding  country.  Tliere  is  a  range  of 
offices  with  convenient  sheds  for  carriages  and 
horses,  besides  arrangements  for  servants  at  the 
back  of  the  pavilion.  The  building  is  con- 
structed on  a  brick  foundation  with  concrete 
under,  having  stone  quoins,  and  the  chimneys 
also  in  red  brick,  with  solid  timber  framing 
filled  in,  combined  with  oak  rustic  work  to  the 
open  verandah  and  elsewhere  :  the  floors  are 
planked ;  the  roofs  are  covered  with  Norfolk- 
reed.  Everything  has  been  carried  out  in  the 
most  substantial  manner  from  the  designs  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Clarke,  F.S.A.,  13,  Stratford-place. 
The  builders  were  Messrs.  Roberts,  of  Islington ; 
the  clerk  of  works  being  the  late  Mr.  thos. 
Booth.  The  whole  of  the  extensive  ground  is 
enclosed  by  oak  park-paling.  A  lesser  pavilion 
has  also  been  erected  from  the  designs  of  the 
same  architect  in  a  separate,  but  adjoining 
cricket  ground  in  the  park,  for  the  village  and 
other  local  clubs,  having  the  usual  arrange- 
ments, dressing  rooms,  offices,  Sec. 

ST.    OILLES,    CAEX. 

This  small  church,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Abbaye  aux  Dames,  will  be  so  well  known  to 
most  of  your  readers  that  little  description  will 
be  necessary.  With  so  many  others  of  the 
smaller  churches  of  Normandy,  and  especially  of 
Caen,  it  is  now  only  used  for  lumber,  being, 
however,  more  happy  than  most  of  its  brethren 
in  that  it  is  lumber  ecclesiastical,  and  not  lumber 
equestrian,  &c.  This  has  saved  it  from  the 
damage  caused  by  the  constant  presence  of  care- 
less workmen.  Some  years  ago,  the  church 
naiTowly  escaped  being  wholly  swept  away,  and 
this  undoubtedly  would  have  been  its  fate  had 
not  its  uses  as  a  store-house  for  the  f  urnitui-e  of 
the  Abbaye  ceremonials,  &c.,  justified  its  re- 
maining, in  the  eyes  of  those  in  authority,  for  a 
few  years  longer.  The  choir  was  unfortunately 
at  this  time,  or  somewhat  earlier,  taken  down  for 
so-called  "street  improvements."  The  perfect 
preservation  of  the  remaining  portions  is  very 
striking,  and  the  beauty  of  its  proportion,  com- 
bined with  its  extreme  simplicity, points  it  out  as 
a  model  of  what  a  small  country  church  should 
be.  The  nave  pillars  and  arches,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  drawings,  being  so  unusually  low, 
allowing  ample  space  for  a  triforium  arcade, 
give  the  interior  this  air  of  simplicity  and 
solidity,  whichissovery  striking,  and  unrivalled  in 
my  experience  by  any  church  of  a  similar 
character.  The  tower,  and  exceptionally  fine 
treatment  of  the  south  door,  were,  I  noticed, 
illustrated  by  you  on  September  17th  last. — 
W.   H.  WOOLEE. 


ST.   PAUL'S  ECCLESIOLOGICAL 
SOCIETY. 

THE  new  session  of  this  society  was  opened 
last  (Thursday)  night,  by  a  general  meet- 
ing, held  at  the  Chapter  House,  St.  Paul's 
Chuchyard.  A  paper  on  "  Old  St.  Paul's"  had 
been  written  by  the  Rev.  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Wal- 
cott,  B.D.,  F.S.A.,  precentor  of  Chichester,  but 
owing  to  his  absence  through  serious  rUness,  it 
was  read  by  Canon  Shuttleworth,  Chairman 
of  Council.  The  paper,  which  we  publish  on 
page  523,  was  illustrated  by  two  original  plans 
of  the  cathedrals,  one  a  ground  plan  of  the 
two  buildings,  showing  the  alterations  in  axes  of 
the  older  one,  ascertained  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose, 
the  cathedral  surveyor,  two  years  since ;  the 
other  a  larger  plan  of  Old  St.  Paul's,  exhi- 
biting the  several  .shrines  and  chapels.  We 
published  a  series  of  views,  plans,  and  elevations 
of  the  old  and  new  cathedrals  on  July  25,  and 
Aug.  6,  1873. 

The  following  is  the  Society's  programme  for 
the  ensuing  sessioE,  it  being  announced  that  the 
dates  after  Christmas  are  only  approximate.  The 
meetings  are  held  on  Thursday  evenings,  com- 
mencing at  7.30,  at  the  Chapter  House,  St. 
Paul's. 

November  18th,  paper  on  "  Ecclesiastical  Colom-s,"  by 
the  Rev.  J.  B.  Powell,  M.A. 

December  9th,  the  Annual  Conversazione,  in  the 
Galleries  of  the  Society  of  British  .\i-tists,  Suffolk- street, 
Pall  Mall.  Music  by  Gentlemen  of  the  St.  Paul's  Cathe- 
dral Clioir. 

January  13th,  "  Ecclesiastical  Heraldry,"  by  Mr. 
Stephen  Tucker,  Somereet  Herald. 

January  29th,  Annual  General  Meeting. 

February  3rd,  Fii-st  Annual  Dinner. 

February  17th,  "  The  Cathedrals  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul  Compared,"  byMr.  Somei-s  Clarke,  jun.,  M.E.I. B. A. 

March  Srd,  "  Suggestions  for  the  Fabric  of  the  Churell 
in  the  Present  day,"  by  Mi-.  Edmund  B.  FeiTCy, 
F.R.I.B  A. 

March  17th,  "  Altjir  Furniture  and  Decorations  in 
■^'c-itern  Europe,"  by  Major  Alfred  Heales,  F.B.A. 

March  31st,  "Baal  worship  and  Baalitic  practices  con- 
nected with  modern  times,"  by  the  Rev.  S.  M.  May- 
hew.  M.A. 

Other  papers  and  visits  will  follow. 


CHIPS. 

Mr.  Hugh  Smitn,  C.E.,  of  Southpoit,  has  been 
unanimously  appointed  engineer  and  survej'or  to 
the  local  board  of  Great  Crosby,  near  Liverpool, 
at  a  salary  of  £200  per  annum.  There  were,  we 
understand,  176  candidates. 

New  sewajte-disposal  works  at  Birkdale,  carried 
out  upon  Hiile's  system  of  chemical  treatment  and 
filtration  through  five  beds  used  in  rotation,  were 
opened  last  week.  The  works  cover  nearly  five 
acres  of  land. 

A  memorial  reredos  was  unveiled  in  the  col- 
legiate church  of  St.  Peter,  Coggeshall,  on  Monday 
week.  It  is  of  alabaster,  with  figures  of 
Caou  stone.  It  consists  of  an  arcade  of 
three  large  and  four  smaller  openings  arranged 
alternately.  In  the  centre  is  carved  the  Cruci- 
fixion, with  SS.  Mary,  John,  and  Mary  Magdalen, 
and  oil  either  side,  in  a  small  niche,  a  statuette  of 
an  archangel.  On  the  north  side  is  represented 
Abraham  offering  up  Isaac ;  on  the  south,  the 
Israelites  at  the  First  Passover  in  Egypt,  and  out- 
side either,  a  second  statuetteof  an  archangel.  Mr. 
Christian  designed  the  memorial,  the  carving  was 
executed  by  Mr.  Forsyth,  and  the  total  cost  was 
about  £300. 

New  auxiUary  buildings  are  being  added  to  the 
General  Hospital,  Birmingham,  on  an  adjoining 
piece  of  land.  They  include  a  nurses'  home  for 
100  nurses,  two  detached  wards  of  14  beds  each  for 
cases  of  burning,  and  at  the  further  end  of  grounds 
a  mortuary.  Mr.  YeoviUe  Thomasou  is  the  archi- 
tect, and  Messrs.  Jeffrey  and  Sou  are  the  builders ; 
the  cost  will  be  about  £10,000. 

It  liad  been  proposed  to  erect  a  second  county 
lunatic-asylum  for  Essex  at  Wickham  Bishops, 
near  Witham,  and  land  had  been  purchased  for  that 
purpose,  but  no  water  can  be  obtained  on  the  site, 
although  £7,000  had  been  expended  upon  boring 
operations,  and  at  the  Essex  Quarter  Sessions  last 
week,  the  asylum  committee  were  instructed  to 
have  plans  prepared  for  a  new  block  of  buildings 
on  tile  present  asylum  grounds  at  Warley,  near 
Brentwood. 

A  short  paragraph  on  p.  518,  respecting  the  re- 
building of  Deptford  Bridge  is,  we  are  informed, 
not  quite  correct.  The  Count;/  of  Kent  is  making 
the  improvements,  the  MetropoUtan  Board  _  of 
Works  is  widening  the  road  through  the  district, 
and  the  county  is  rebuilding  the  bridge  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  F.  W.  Euck,  the  county 
surveyor.  The  contractors  are  Messrs.  Ball  and 
Gammon,  of  Loudon  and  Gillingham,  not  Gammon 
ami  Co.  We  printed  a  list  of  tenders  for  the  wo:k 
a  few  weeks  back. 


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Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


541 


THE  MECHjVNICS  OF  BRACKETS. 

THERE  are  few  features  more  coniraoii  in 
every  style  of  arcbitectiire  than  the  pro- 
jecting of  certain  of  the  upper  portions  of  a 
building  beyond  the  face  of  the  main  wall,  as  in 
balconies,  oriels,  cornices,  itc,  which  are  sup- 
ported by  means  of  brackets,  cantilevers,  con- 
soles, or  corbels.  The  mechanical  principles  in- 
volved in  these  different  methods  of  carrying  a 
load  beyond  the  face  of  the  supporting  wall  are 
very  nearly  alike  in  character  and  mode  of 
action,  the  resistance  offered  to  the  strains  differ- 
ing only  in  degree  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  materials  employed. 

Let  us  suppose  a  bracket  consisting  of  three 
pieces  of  timber  framed  together  in  the  form  of 
the  right-angled  triangle  A,  B,  C,  to  be  fixed 


nature  of  the  material.     The  compression  down 
the  strut  will,  in  this  case,  be  only  half  the  load 

Cos.  9 

When  the  load  acts  at  the  point  B,  the  com- 
pression in  the    strut  B  C  has  been  shown  above 

to  be  represented  by  the  quantity     "     which  is 

Cos.  9 
evidently  diminished  by  increase  of  cost  or  by 
the  decrease  of  the  angle  9,  which  the  strut 
makes  with  the  vertical,  or  by  moving  the  point 
C  lower  down  the  face  of  the  wall,  being  least 
when  9  =  O,  or  the  strut  is  vertical,    ia  which 

case, =  W,  and  increasing  towards  in- 

Los.  9  ° 

finity  as  C  approaches  A,  or  the  angle  5  ap- 
proaches a.  right  angle.  The  resistance  to  com- 
pression in  a  strut  of  wood  "die-square"  varies 
directly  as  the  fourth  power  of  the  diameter, 
and  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  length,  so  that 
we  must  have  the  relation 
W 


Cos.  9 


<k4^ 


against  the  face  A  C  of  the  wall,  through 
which  the  bearer,  A  B,  penetrates  to  the  back. 
The  sloping  piece,  B  C,  or  strut,  supports  the 
outer  end  B  of  the  bearer  to  which  the  weiifht 
W  is  suspended.  If  the  strut  B  C  were  removed, 
the  load  W  would  cause  the  bearer  A  B  to  bend 
downwards,  and  tend  to  bre.ak  it  short  off  at  A, 
provided  it  was  firmly  fixed  in  the  wall  and  held 
down  by  the  weight  (P)  of  the  wall  above  it.  It 
is  evident,  however,  that  the  bearer  wiU  be  able 
to^  carry  a  certain  amount  of  load,  say  u\  at  B, 
without  any  sensible  bending  being  produced  in 
it ;  if,  then,  the  total  load  W  at  B  is  equal  to 
'<-'  +  Wi,  the  strut  B  C  wiUonly  be  affected  by 
the  portion  Wi,  the  weight  «■  being  counteracted 
by  the  strength  of  the  bearer  itself.  We  may, 
therefore,  consider  the  load  W  which  strains  the 
bracket  at  B,  as  being  the  effective  load,  or  the 
actual  load  less  the  amoimt  w. 

To  find  the  relative  strains  on  the  bearer  and 
strut,  take  the  length  B  D  to  represent  on  any 
scale  the  effective  weight  W  ;  then,  by  drawing 
the  parallelogram  it  l>,  we  have  B  a  representing 
on  the  same  scale  the  horizontal  tensile  strain  in 
B  A,  and  B  d  the  compressive  force  produced  down 
the  strut  B  G.  We  have,  then,  by  resolution  of 
forces, 

tension  inBA:W:  :Bn:BD, 


where  K  is  a  constant  depending  on  the  nature 
of  the  material ;  from  which  the  scantling  (il)  of 
the  strut  can  be  determinined  for  any  given 
length  (/),  for  we  have 

d,>  _JL^  il 

Cos.  9  K 
There  is  another  important  point  which  is  too 
often  overlooked  in  corbelling  out  the  upper  por- 
tions of  a  building,  namely,  the  tendency  of  the 
end  of  the  bearer  at  A  where  it  enters  the  wall 
to  lift  up  the  portion  of  the  wall  above  it 
by  the  load  at  B,  turning  the  bracket  about  the 
lower  point  C,  this  tendency  being  represented 
by  the  moment  of  W  about  C,  or  W  by  A  B. 
In  order  to  coimteract  this  moment,  we  must 
have  a  great  moment  of  the  weight  of  the  wall 
(P)  above  the  point  A,  taken  about  the  same 
point  C.  If,  then,  we  call  t  the  half-thickness 
of  the  wall  at  C,  in  order  to  have  stabOity  in  the 
bracket,  it  will  be  necessary  to  have 
P.  t  >  W.  AB, 
AB 


or,  tension  in  B  A  =  W 


BA 
ATcT 


W,  tan.  9 


9  being  the  angle  A  C  B  which  the  strut  makes 
with  the  vertical.     Also, 

compression  down  B  C  :  W  :  :  B  3  :  B  D 

or,  compression  in  B  C  =  ^   ^  C    _    W 

A  C      Cos.  9 

The  bearer  being  supposed  to  be  firmly  fixed 

m  the  wall  at  A,  the  tensile  strain   W  tan.  9,  to 

which  it  is   subjected,   must  be  provided  for  in 

the  scantling  of  the  beam.     Let  h  d  be  the  area 

of  section  in  inches,   T  the  tensile  strength  per 

square  inch  of  the  material;  then  we  must  have 

T  «  rf  >  W.  tan.  9 

or,  ^<;>  Vf  ^^^J 
T 
which    determines    the    sectional    area    of   the 
bearer  A  B. 

If  the  load  W  is  distributed  equally  along  the 
bearer,  as  is  most  generally  the  case  in  buildings, 
the  strain  at  B  which  it  produces  will  only  be 
half  what  it  is  when  all  collected  at  that  point, 
but  the  bearer  itself  must  be  made  stronger  in 
order  to  be  able  to  support  the  load  without 
bending,  according  to  the  formula  for  a  beam 
supported  at  both  ends,  namely, 

W  =  S.  i£L 
I 
where   4,  d,    and  I  are   its   breadth,  depth,  and 
length,  and  S  is  a  constant  depending  on  the 


orP>  W 

t 
which  determines  the  minimum  weight  of  wall 
that  will  be  required  above  the  point  A.  In  the 
case  of  heavy  cornices  jjlaced  near  the  top  of  a 
wall  which  is  corbelled  out,  this  condition  is 
seldom  fulfilled,  and,  consequently,  other  methods 
have  to  be  resorted  to  of  securing  the  projecting 
structure,  such  as  tying  through  the  wall,  and 
holding  down  by  iron  cramps  to  a  lower  portion 
of  the  wall,  so  as  to  get  a  greater  hold  upon  it, 
all  of  which  methods  are  unscientific  in  principle 
and  often  result  in  the  wall  being  pulled  over  by 
the  overhanging  structure. 

In  cases  where  the  bracket  or  corbel  is  made 
of  soUd  material,  as  b:ick,  terra-cotta,  or  stone, 
and  is  bmlt  its  entire  depth  A  C  into  the  wall, 
there  will  be  a  strain  caused  by  the  leverage  of 
W,  tending  to  tear  asunder  the  material  along 
the  line  A  C,  where  it  enter  the  wall,  the  moment 
of  which  is  W  X  A  B,  and  the  moment  of  re- 
sistance is  S  X  A  C-  for  a  unit  of  breadth,  so 
that  we  must  have  for  stability 

W  X  A  B  <  S  X  A  C- 
where  W  is  the  load  upon  a  unit  of  breadth  of 
the  corbel  measured  horizontally  along  the  wall 
face,  and  S  is  the  constant  experimentally  deter- 
mined for  the  particular  kind  of  material  em- 
ployed. A  common  example  of  this  kind  of 
structure  is  seen  in  stone  staircases  which  have 
the  ends  of  their  steps  built  into  a  wall,  and  the 
outer  ends  unsupported  ;  for  the  ordinary  traffic  of 
a  staircase  this  method  gives  sulficent  strength  ; 
but  when  the  staircase  of  a  public  building  be- 
comes crowded  with  people,  considerable  dangerof 
fracture  arises,  and  fatal  accidents  have  not  been 
unfrequent  in  this  kind  of  staircase ;  so  that 
where  the  width  is  considerable,  an  iron  string 
is  generally  fixed  at  the  outer  edge  to  give 
greater  stability  to  the  stairs. 


ARCHITECTUR-iL  ASSOCIATION. 
^r^HE  39th  session  of  this  Association  was 
-L  inaugurated  on  Friday  evening  by  a  cun- 
versazione,  at  the  Architectural  ITuion  Co.'s 
premises,  in  Conduit-street,  W.  In  the  lower 
galleries  the  Exhibition  of  the  Institute  of  Art 
was  on  view,  so  that  the  special  loan-display 
was  almost  restricted  to  Mr.  Robinson's  sheets 
of  architectural  photographs  from  Norfolk  and  a 
few  water-colour  drawings.  In  the  west  gallery 
the  band  of  the  Royal  Engineers  performed  a 


selection  of  music.  The  attendance  of  members 
and  their  lady  friends  was  so  numerous  that  the 
perambulation  of  the  rooms  became,  as  the 
evening  advanced,  a  serious  difficulty  ;  but  the 
refreshment  and  cloak-room' arrangements  were 
better  adapted  to  reduce  the  inconveniences  of  a 
crush  than  has  been  the  ease  m  previous  years. 
The  premiated  drawings  were  hung  on  the  walls 
of  the  Institute  meeting-room,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  this  was  fiUed  to  overflowing.  The 
President  for  the  new  session,  Mr.  E.  C.  Lee, 
occupied  the  chair,  and  opened  the  proceedings 
by  reading  a  letter  from  Mr.  Decimus  Burton, 
one  of  the  few  survivors  of  the  founders  of  the 
Institute,  who  regretted  his  inability,  through 
age  and  infirmity,  to  be  present,  and  inclosed  a 
cheque  for  ten  guineas,  to  be  added  to  the  prize- 
fund.  Mr.  Lee  tlien  distributed  the  prizes, 
annoimcing  that,  as  only  one  essay  had  been 
received,  and  that  of  insufficient  merit  to  justify 
the  award  of  a  prize,  the  Essay  Prize  would  be 
withheld.  Forthe  Architectural  Union  Co. 'sprize, 
the  drawings  under  the  motto  "Gipsy"  were 
placed  first,  subject  to  the  settlemenent  of  the 
question  whether  it  could  be  given  to  them,  they 
having  been  submitted  on  some  other  occasion ;  the 
second  prize,  value  £2  1  Os. ,  fell  to ' '  lincohishire," 
Mr.  J.  L.  Houston.  The  Arcliitectural  dissocia- 
tion's sUver  medal  and  £.3  were  awarded  to 
'•  Detur  Digniori,"  Mr.  E.  M.  B.  Vaughan.  In 
the  Class  of  Design,  Mr.  M.  J.  Lansdell  took  the 
first,  and  Mr.  R.  J.  LoveU  the  second  prize,  Mr. 
Burrows  receiving  honourable  mention.  In  the 
Elementary  Class  of  Design,  Mr.  Cecil  H.  Stock 
received  the  first,  and  Mr.  G.  Blizard  the  second 
prize,  and  Mr.  C.  C.  Bradley  honourable  men- 
tion. In  the  Class  of  Construction,  Mr.  J.  Shill- 
cock  was  first,  and  Mr.  Clifton  second,  Mr.  Yetts 
obtaining  honourable  mention.  In  the  Class  of 
Colour  Decoration,  Mr.  S.  R.  Smith  gained  the 
only  prize.     The 


INAUGtrKAI.    ABDKESS 

was  then  delivered  by  the  President.     He  traced 
the  history  of  the  Association,  commencing  with 
the   year  1842,  when  an  attempt  was  made  by 
some   young   men   belonging   to  a  registration 
society  of  architectural  draughtsmen   to  give  to 
it,  in  addition,  an   educational  character,  under 
the  title  of    "  The  British  Association  of   Archi- 
tectural Draughtsmen."  It  was  not  till  1847  that 
the  present  name   was  adopted,  and  from  that 
period  they  would  be  more  correct  in  computing 
their  sessional  existence.     Professor  Kerr  filled 
the  chair  for  the   first  time,  the  meetings  being 
held     at     Lyons-irm-haU,     and    amongst     the 
names   of   early  members  and  originators  were 
found     those     of     Collin,    Deane,     Edmeston, 
Fletcher,    Garbett,    Hayward,  NichoUs,  Cubitt- 
NichoU,    Nesfield,    Randall,    Rickman,  Robins, 
Roger    Smith,    Seddon,    Norman,    Shaw,    and 
Truefitt.     It   had  many  struggles  for  existence, 
and  in  1856  Mr.  Rickman  had  the  hardihood  to 
propose   dissolution,   a    drastic  proposal   which 
awakened  the  association  to  some  of  its  short- 
comings.    In    18-53   a    syllabus   of  papers   was 
settled,  and  in  the  following  year  the  rules  were 
reconstructed  to  very  nearly  their  pre  ent  form, 
and  the  library  was   started.     The  first  '' Brown 
Book  "  was  published  in  1850,  and  enumerated 
130  members,  of  whom  but  seven  belonged  to  the 
Institute  and  one  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 
The  number   of   members  rose  to  330  in  1866,  to 
670  in  1876,  and  at  the  present  time  exceeded 
800.     It  had  now  been  decided  to  endeavour  to 
institute  a  yearly  prize,  worthy  of  its  position  as 
an  educational  body  ;  a  sub-committee  was  about 
to  report   on   the   question,    and   although   the 
scheme  had  not  been  officially  accepted,  it  was 
hoped  that  the  new  year  would   see  it  in  course 
of  execution.  The  proposal  of  the  sub-committee 
was — 1st.  To  raise  £400  amongst  past  and  present 
members  of  the  Association  to  endow  a  travelling 
studentship  named   after  the   Association.     To 
avoid  apparent  competition  with  other  travelling 
studentships,   the   age   of   candidates  would  be 
fixed  at  23,  and  design  as  well  as  draughtsman- 
ship would  be  considered  in  the  award.     2nd.  To 
form  a  special  prize  fund  committee  to  raise  a  fund 
for  the  increase  of  the  value  of  the  annual  prizes. 
During  its  brief  life,   continued  the  President, 
the  Architectural  Association  has  seen  the  public 
made  acquainted  with  the  possibilityof  a  Gothic 
revival,  by  the  efforts  of  the  late  Pugin,  Barry, 
Scott,  Lamb,  and  Ferrey,  the  last  of  whom  will 
long  be  remembered  as  much  for  his  ever-ready 
kindness  in  word  and  deed  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion of  architects,  as   for  the  good  work  he  did 
in  promoting  the  cause  of  architectural  art  in 


542 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


this  country.  The  public  interest  being  aroused, 
now  began  to  clamour  for  a  new  style,  and  many 
attempted  to  supply  this  demand  with  but  in- 
different success.  The  Strand  Music  Hall  was 
one  resiJt.  Victorian  Gothic  then  became  the 
cry,  but  it  did  not  live  to  develope  into  a  style. 
The  Law  Coui-ts  competition  brought  a  more 
healthy  atmosphere  into  the  architectural  firma- 
ment, and  Mr.  Burges'  design  was  paraphrased 
all  over  the  country  with  more  or  less  accuracy 
and  appreciation  of  feeling.  Now  waged  the 
battle  of  the  styles.  The  Classicists  began  to  be 
alarmed,  and  took  up  arms.  With  the  upholders 
of  the  new  revival,  they  indulged  in  many 
a  wordy  combat,  and  the  halls  of  Conduit-street 
oftentimes  rang  again  with  the  mighty  din  of 
conficting  opinion.  The  Gothic  array,  though 
like  the  old  Crusaders,  showing  a  united  front 
•while  facing  the  common  foe,  like  them  again 
suffered  from  schism.  The  self -installed  disciples 
of  Scott,  Street,  Burges,  Shaw,  Xesfield,  God- 
win, Butterfield,  and  Blomfield,  and  late  prophets 
not  without  honcur,  added  fuel  to  the  flame  of 
discussion  in  their  enthusiastic  support  of  each 
special  champion.  Many  were  the  suggestions 
hazarded  concerning  that  great  Crux,  the  style 
of  the  future,  and  whUe  we  yet  maiweUed  at 
Shaw  and  Nesfield's  Lodge  in  the  Eoyal  Gardens 
of  Kew,  school  boards  sprung  up  like  mush- 
rooms all  over  London  and  broke  the  monotony 
of  the  sky-line  in  most  unexpected  places.  Queen 
Anne  began  to  hold  sway.  '\\TiiIe  we  slumbered 
Cheyne-walk,  HoUaud  and  Bedford  Parks 
became  painters'  colonies,  and  studios  developed 
into  a  special  study.  Houses  of  honest  material 
but  bucolic  colour  crowded  into  Kensington 
and  defied  the  .sumptuous  stucco  on  its  own 
ground .  It  is  to  the  varied  genius  of  our  archi- 
tect3  that  we  have  to  be  grateful  for  making 
London  a  unique  city.  Nowhere  else  can  such 
a  complexity  of  style  be  found.  Side  by 
side  we  see  the  polychromatic  grandeur  of 
the  new  Natural  History  Museum  and 
the  retiring  rusticity  of  Lowther  Lodge. 
The  Modern  Colosseum  of  the  Albert 
Hall  acts  as  a  foU  to  the  Gothic  Memorial  of 
the  Prince  Consort.  Down  a  by-street,  and 
pinned  in  by  a  row  of  stucco  tenements,  we 
come  upon  a  red  brick  front,  of  charming,  if  a 
little  immoral  design,  by  Norman  Shaw.  This 
part  of  South  Kensington  is  a  fair  typeof  London 
generally,  but  carried  out  in  the  big.  The  same 
curious  incongruity  with  the  surroundings— the 
same,  so  to  speak,  selfishness  of  de.'-ign,  is  to  be 
seen  on  every  side.  The  architect  of  the  present 
day  seems  to  consider  few  things  more  desir- 
able in  our  London  streets  than  the  breaking  of 
a  long  tame  sky-line  ;  and  straightway  each 
goes  and  does  it  in  his  own  manner.  Perhaps 
it  is  better  so ;  it  is  only  through  the  extreme 
that  we  shall  get  to  the  means  of  a  national 
style ;  and  a  national  style  we  must  have, 
sooner  or  later.  There  is  a  continual  striving 
after  better  things,  a  longing  for  the  tastefid 
and  the  true  in  art,  that  leads  us  not  to  rest  and 
be  thankful,  but  rather  to  work  and  be  hopeful. 
But  in  tMs  desire  for  better  things  what  we 
have  to  be  most  grateful  for,  and,  as  English- 
men, most  proud  of,  is  the  vast  change  that  has 
come  over  the  taste  of  the  general  public  as 
regards  the  interior  decoration  of  its  dwel- 
lings . —  a  change  due  to  no  man  more 
than  to  Charles  Eastlake,  and  to  one  fact  more 
than  the  immense  importation  into  this  countrj- 
of  the  varied  artistic  produce  of  Japan .  Call  it 
fashion,  or  affectation,  or  what  you  will,  we  can 
be  sure  of  one  thing :  that,  however  that  taste 
may  alter  its  direction  from  time  to  time,  it  will 
be  progressive — we  shall  not  soon  come  back  to 
the  wall-papers  of  hideous  colours  and  ignorant 
design ;  the  furniture  of  marvellous  contour  and 
unmeaning  carving ;  the  carp?ts,  coverings,  and 
curtains  that  infected  the  atmosphere  of  our 
youth.  It  is  true  we  must,  most  of  us,  inhabit 
the  dreaiy  stucco  structure  that  speculative 
mania  has  left  a  legacy  to  the  country ;  but 
when  we  have  passed  the  threshold,  it  is  our 
own  fault  if  its  interior  appearance  fulfils  the 
ideal  of  the  constructor.  Having  described  an 
ideal  house  furnished  in  the  falso  taste  of  twenty 
years  since,  Mr.  Lee  remarked  that  what  is 
vaguely  termed  ' '  good  taste  "  will  not  do  the 
•educational  work  unsupported.  It  is  the  expe- 
rience of  the  past,  the  knowledge  of  what  to 
avoid  and  what  to  seek,  the  recognition  of  true 
principles  of  design  and  study.  The  heaven- 
born  genius  may  no  doubt  venture  to  walk 
alone,  and  all  he  does  be  good ;  but  such 
are  not  common — more  ordinary  mortals  must 


use  more  ordinary  laeans,  and  they  are 
at  hand.  On  every  book-stall  we  find  ap- 
peals to  the  public,  in  little  books  on  the 
drawing-room,  the  dining-room,  and  every  other 
room,  written  by  enthusiastic  converts  to  the 
new  order  of  things  ;  which  little  books,  if  not 
very  clever,  and  not  very  deep,  distinctly  have 
their  educational  use,  and  do  much  towards 
leading  the  neglected  British  householder  into 
the  right  way  of  thinking.  And  if,  as  appears 
probable,  this  class  of  work  continues  to  be 
freely  oiiered  to,  and  accepted  by  the  world  in 
general,  we  may  look  forward  to  a  time,  not  far 
distant,  when  the  old  type  of  Philistines  -will 
become  as  rare  as  is,  in  the  present  day,  the 
good  old  Tory. 

Mr.  T.  EoGEE  SiHTH  remarked  upon  the  con- 
trast between  the  present  brilliant  gathering  in 
the  Institute-room,  and  the  early  days  of  the 
Association,  when  he  and  others  met  in  a  sanded 
parlour  before  a  large  fireplace,  with  other  sur- 
roundings having  an  air  of  simplicity  and  im- 
couthness,  at  Lyon's-inn-haU.  Mr.  Lee  had 
dwelt  on  the  past  of  the  Association,  and  he, 
while  congratulating  members  on  the  changed 
circumstances,  would  invite  attention  to  a  ques- 
tion of  the  future,  a  hobby  which  the  speaker 
had  trotted  out  for  many  years,  that  of  a 
diploma  for  architects,  as  a  means  for  obtaining 
a  status  and  recognised  position  for  members  of 
the  profession.  He  would  remind  members  that 
in  and  after  188'2,  admission  to  the  rank  of 
Associate  in  the  Institution  would  ojly  be  ob- 
tainable after  examination.  This  was  an  im- 
portant step  towards  a  real  and  authoritative 
diploma  such  as  marked  other  professions,  for 
membership  of  the  R.I.B.A.  was  a  badge  which 
would  be  increasingly  looked  up  to  and  striven 
after.  The  Association  was  to  a  great  extent 
an  educational  body,  and  the  proposed  compul- 
sory examination  ought  to  prove  a  great  stimu- 
lus to  members  to  avail  themselves  of  its  classes, 
an  incentive  which  should  be  far  greater  than 
that  of  mere  prizes.  He  trusted  that  the  scheme 
would  spur  and  encourage  the  members  to 
redoubled  exertions,  and  he  looked  upon  the 
attendance  of  the  evening  as  a  happy  augury 
for  the  future. 

Mr.  T.  Chatfeile  Claeke  said  the  chief 
question  for  consideration  by  young  men  at  tte 
present  moment  was  how  best  to  meet  the  com- 
petition of  the  age.  It  had  been  said  in  that 
room  that  young  men  must  push  themselves  in 
lite.  He  altogether  dissented  from  this  view, 
and  believed  the  true  way  for  a  young  architect 
to  rise  was  not  merely  to  surrender  himself  to 
the  rules  of  professional  etiquette,  but  to  main- 
tain a  standard  of  high  personal  honour  and 
l_oneyty.  They  had  been  recently  saddened  by 
the  deaths  of  two  men,  Thomas  Henry  Wyatt 
and  Benjamin  Ferrey,  whose  high  rank  in  the 
profession,  and  esteem  amongst  its  members,  was 
due  to  strict  adherence  to  this  rule.  Indeed,  he 
held  that  if  an  architect  pursued  his  work 
honestly,  earnestly,  and  well,  he  would  be 
bound  to  succeed.  He  must  not  bate  one  jot  of 
heart  or  hope — he  must  take  all  the  advantage  of 
educational  facilities  possible  to  him,  and  by  so 
acting,  in  due  time  he  would  reap  the  reward  of 
a  professional  career  in  which  he  would  find 
everything  to  gratify  the  instincts  of  an  artistic 
and  cultivated  mind. 

After  a  few  congratulatory  words  from  Mr. 
R.  Phene  Spiers,  the  members  and  visitors 
adopted  the  suggestion  of  the  President,  and 
"  adjourned  to  a  lower  level "  to  seek  the  attrac- 
tions of  music,  pictures,  and  refreshments. 


BIRMINGHAM  AECHITECTTRAL 
ASSOCIATION. 

THE  annual  meeting  of  the  members  of  this 
association  was  held  on  Tuesday  evening. 
The  President  (Mr.  C.  Ingall)  occupied  the  chair. 
The  report  showed  that  the  roll  of  members  was 
now  41 — 27  being  ordinaiy  and  14  honorary 
members.  The  President,  in  his  address,  said 
that,  he  ventured  to  think  no  young  practitioner 
could  form  any  idea  of  the  wonderful  facilities 
for  the  practice  of  their  art  which  had  been 
opened  up  to  them  during  the  past  thirty  years. 
Nor  did  that  apply  specially  or  chiefly  to  any 
one  department  of  their  work.  It  applied  to  the 
accelerated  speed  at  which  large  and  important 
structures  were  now  raised,  to  the  improved 
means  of  construction,  to  the  readier  means  of 
production,  and,  lastly,  to  the  architect  himself, 
as  to  the  marvellous   facilities   opened  for   his 


professional  instruction.  In  order  to  illustrate 
his  address  more  clearly,  he  referred  to  the 
threefold  departments — construction,  production, 
and  instruction.  With  regard  to  the  former, 
the  President  pointed  out  that  thirty  years  ago 
the  great  raO way  system  •was  in  its  infancy,  many 
of  the  most  important  engineering  works  being 
only  then  about  commencing.  From  183.5  to 
1850  there  were  great  efforts  in  invention,  in 
order  to  produce  machinery  and  other  appliances 
for  the  rapid  and  easy  construction  of  all  kinds 
of  works.  Everything  that  could  lighten  labour 
and  lessen  time  was  resorted  to.  Some  inventions 
had  been  employed  in  the  machinery  which  now 
enabled  the  architect  to  complete  ■work  in  a  few 
years  that  would,  hali'-a-cent'ory  ago,  have 
occupied,  most  probably,  his  lifetime.  St.  Patd'a 
Cathedral  was  thirty-five  years  in  course  of 
erection  ;  but  he  believed,  with  their  modem 
appUauces,  it  might  have  been  built  in  half  the 
time.  As  regarded  production,  there  were 
greater  means  now  at  the  architect's  disposal 
for  producing  to  his  own  special  design,  both  as 
to  the  material  to  be  used  and  the  skilled  labo'ar 
required.  Tliirty  years  ago  the  difficulty  of 
finding  labour  for  working  any  exceptional 
design  or  pattern  was  immense,  but  now,  how- 
ever, there  were  great  facilities  for  carrying  out 
any  particular  design.  In  eveiy  thing  that  could 
contribute  to  the  perfecting  of  the  artistic  work- 
man they  were  all  most  interested,  and  he  hoped 
the  day  was  not  far  distant  when  in  Birmingham 
the  prayer  of  its  architects  and  art-workers 
would  have  its  answer  in  the  possession,  as  a 
part  of  the  contents  of  the  new  Art  Gallery,  of 
all  such  collections  as  would  help  to  form  sound 
taste,  teach  the  eye,  and  guide  the  hand  of  every 
eai-nest  student  in  art.  In  reference  to  instruc- 
tion, he  said  he  believed  in  no  age  of  the  world 
had  the  architect  enjoyed  such  facilities  for 
mental  culture,  and  the  acquisition  of  Icnowledge 
essential  to  his  art,  as  in  the  present.  Books, 
railways,  museums,  newspapers,  all  conspired  to 
lay  at  "his  feet  the  treasures  of  art.  There  was 
perhaps  no  building  in  the  world  that  had 
exceptional  merit  or  historical  fame,  but  that 
the  libraries  of  the  present  age  would  furnish 
illustrations  of.  There  was  scarcely  a  beautiful 
work  of  art,  be  it  metal-work  or  carving,  stone 
or  wood,  which,  by  model  or  drawing,  ■R-as  not 
reproduced  within  the  reach  of  the  architectural 
student.  He  believed  all  the  influences  of  the 
age  were  with  them.  Among  other  things,  he  be- 
lieved the  great  increase  of  national  wealth  was  in 
their  favour.  Men  were  no  longer  content  with  a 
mere  house,  a  warehouse,  or  a  shop  that  would 
simply  afford  shelter  and  light,  but  in  all  these 
things  they  wished  to  express  a  wholesome  rivalry, 
and  to  manifest  their  increased  means  in  all  the 
structures  they  used  or  occupied,  and  to  surround 
themselves  with  the  fitting  expressions  of  their 
increased  wealth.  In  conclusion,  he  refeiTed  to 
an  element  of  the  future  of  their  practice,  and 
pointed  out  the  absolute  liberty  which  was  con- 
ceded to  architects  as  to  style. 


BIRMINGHAM    MASTER    BUILDERS' 
ASSOCIATION. 

THE  annual  meeting  of  the  members  of  tbia 
association  was  held  on  Wednesday  after- 
noon, at  the  Great  Western  Hotel,  Birmingham ; 
Mr.  W.  H.  Parton  presiding.  The  secretary 
(Mr.  W.  Clulee)  presented  the  annual  report, 
which  stated  that  many  of  the  questions  affect- 
ing the  trade,  and  alluded  to  in  the  report  of 
last  year,  had  been  adjusted.  The  reduction  of 
wages  and  the  modification  of  the  working  rules 
— matters  strenuously  resisted  by  the  operatives 
from  time  to  time  -with  great  determination — 
had  at  length  been  settled,  \rith  the  aid  of  the 
Mayor  of  Birmingham,  who  kindly  acted  as 
arbitrator,  and  it  -was  the  sincere  wish  of  the 
committee  that  they  would  now  be  allowed  to 
rest  until  such  period  that  the  state  of  trade  or 
other  cuTumstances  would  absolutely  justify  one 
or  the  other  branch  of  the  trade  in  again  seeking 
alterations.  Animated  by  a  desire  not  to  dis- 
turb the  trade  on  small  matters,  the  committee 
had  not  served  any  notices  for  alterations  of  the 
working  rules  on  the  operatives  this  autumn, 
although  they  did  not  succeed  in  entirely 
effecting  theh-  object  last  year  with  the 
notices  then  given.  It  was  generally  hoped 
that  a  reduction  of  wages,  and  in  the  price 
of  materials,  would  tend  to  stimidate  opera- 
tions in  the  building  trade,  but  the  com- 
mittee  much   regret   they  were   not    yet    able 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


543 


to  congratulate  the  association  upon  that  result. 
The  council,  at  a  meeting  held  at  Derby  on  the 
13th  inst.,  had  decided  to  defend  aetionsbrought 
against  any  member  under  the  Employers' 
Liability  Act  at  the  expense  of  the  association, 
so  far  as  the  legal  costs  only  go,  in  such  cases  as 
the  council  considered  should  be  defended,  until 
the  23rd  Jauuaiy,  18S1,  when  future  action 
would  be  decided  upon  by  the  general  meeting 
of  the  association,  to  be  held  at  Manchester. 
The  committee  requested  any  member  against 
whom  proceedings  might  be  commenced  to  at 
once  communicate  with  the  secretary  of  this 
association.  The  standing  committee  had  met 
on  one  occasion,  and  disposed  of  a  minor  dispute. 
Conciliation  meetings  had  been  held  -svith  each 
branch  of  the  trade,  also  general  meetings  of  the 
same  coUectirely,  to  endeavour  to  settle  the 
working  rules  without  recourse  to  arbitration, 
but  these  were  eventually  settled  in  this  manner! 
The  balance-sheet  showed  total  receipts  for  the 
year  £129  4s.,  which,  added  to  last  year's 
balance  of  £129  ICs.  2d.,  made  a  total  of 
£2.59  Os.  2d.  ;  and  the  various  disbursements, 
including  secretary's  salary,  to  £140  Us.  lid., 


POIXTIXG   RUBBLE  WALLS. 

THERE  is  one  piece  of  folly,  writes  Mr.  J.  H. 
Parker,  C.B.,  in  the  Antiquai-i/,  in  which 
the  Victorian  architectshave  indulged  during  the 
last  ten  years  (1S70-1S80)  to  an  enormous  extent, 
and  for  which  they  wUl  be  certainly  heartily 
laughed  at  by  their  successors,  and  perhaps  of- 
ten accused  of  Joibcrt/  also  ;  I  mean  the  pointing 
of  rubble  walls.  Iso  more  childish  folly  can  be 
imagined !  Such  walls  were  never  intended  to  be 
seen  by  the  persons  who  built  them ;  they  were 
always  intended  to  be  plastered  over  both  out- 
side and  inside — outside  to  keep  the  wet  out, 
because  some  kinds  of  stone  will  absorb  an  enor- 
mous quantity  of  water,    and  when  a  wall  three 


urban  Railway,  7  miles  in  length,  which  was 
sanctioned  in  last  session  of  Parliament,  and  is 
estimated  to  cost  £22.3,000.  He  planned  and 
carried  through  many  lines  on  this  side  of  the 
Border,  including  the  Darlington  and  Barnard 
Castle  Railway,  20  miles  ;  Kouth  Durham  and 
Lanrashire  XTnion  Railway,  50  miles ;  Eden 
Valley  Railway,  20  miles  ;  Cookermouth, 
Keswick,  and  Penrith  Railway,  25  miles  ;  Lan- 
cashire "Union  Railway,  2-5  miles ;  and  Seven- 
oaks  and  Maidstone  Railway,  20  miles.  In 
1S6S-9  Mr.  Bouch  laid  out  the  London  Tram- 
waysand  the  London  Street  Tramways  (Limited). 
Succeeding  sessions  found  him  promoting  the 
Glasgow,  Edinburgh,   and    Dundee  tramways, 


or  four  feet   thick   has  'become    saturated  with    ^'^^  ¥   "^'"'^  '»'fo    employed  as  consulting  engi 


moisture,  it  is  very  difScult  to  get  it  dry  again 
On  the  inside  they  were  intended  to  be  plastered 
for  the  purpose  of  being  painted  upon. 

Painting  the  walls  was  part  of  the  design  of 
every  Medifeval  church,  quite  as  much  as  paint- 
ing the  windows :  modern  architects  have 
generally  restored  the  latter,  but  have  almost 
universally  neglected  the  former.  It  is  true  that 
these  paintings,  which   were  generally  of  Scrip- 


leaving  a  sum  of  £118    .5s.  3d.  to  the  credit  of  U,  ^T^*°  1        ^-    •         -11 

the  association.    In  consequence  of  the  reduction    tural  subjects,  _were_  almost  umversally  white 

that  had  taken  place  in  the  prices  of  labour  and 


materials,  the  committee  had  compiled  and 
pubUshed  a  revised  schedule  of  day-work  prices. 
The  association  now  numbered  73  members. 

The  members  subsequently  dined  together  at 
the  hotel ;  Mr.  "\V.  H.  Parton  again  presidins. 
Amongst  those  present  were  Messrs.  J.  Webb 
(treasurer),  J.  Garlick,  J.  Moffatt,  T.  Surman, 
J.  Horsley,  J.  Bowen,  "W.  Sapcote,  C.  W.  Bar- 
ker, W.  T.  Bennett,  G.  Barfield  (Leicester).  R. 
Dennett  (Nottingham),  J.  Heath  (Kidder- 
minster), G.  Moore,  (Walsall),  W.  Robinson, 
J.  T.  Butt,  and  G.  Higham  (Wolverhampton), 
E.Mann,  R.  Sapcote,  J.  Bunkle,  W.  G.  Bowen, 
E.  Nicks,  B.  Simcox,  Matthews,  jun.,  G. 
Shelley,  Hubbard,  and  W.  Clulee  (secretary). 
The  usual  loyal  toasts  having  been  drunk,  Mr. 
J.  Garlick  proposed  "The  Town  and  Trade  of 
Birmingham."  He  was  sorry  to  say  that  trade 
wasnot  in  a  satisfactory  condition,  and  he  was 
afraid  there  was  not  much  chance  of  improve- 
ment. He  found  the  same  state  of  affairs  in 
every  part  of  the  country.  They  were  aU 
trying  which  could  be  the  lowest  for  a  job, 
and  not  which  could  obtain  the  most 
money.  Having  made  a  few  practical  sug- 
gestions to  the  members,  he  said  the  associa- 
tion must  be  utilised,  not  only  in  defending  its 
members  against  workmen's  infringemeuts,%ut 
in  the  as.-istance  of  each  member  in  many  ways, 
particularly  in  giving  information  to  one  another. 
Mr.  G.  Shelley,  whose  name  was  coupled  with 
the_  toast,  responded.  The  President,  in  pro- 
posing "Success  to  the  Birmingham  Builders' 
Afisociation,"  said  the  association  had  been 
established  about  twenty-five  years,  ar.d  during 
that  time  it  had  acted"  on  the  defensive.  The 
tables  were  turned  last  year,  in  consequence  of 
the  wages  of  the  operatives  having  so  gi-eat!y 
advanced  that  they  were  obliged  to  give  notice 
of  a  reduction.  Conciliation  meetin<rs  were  held 
with  each  branch  of  the  building  trade,  and 
what  appeared  likely  to  turn  out  as  a  long  and 
disastrous  strike  was  averted,  through  the  kind- 
ness of  the  Mayor  in  consentingto  act  as  umpire 
between  them.  The  anard  was  believed  to  be 
eminently  satisfactory  both  to  the  operatives 
and  the  employers.  He  said  "  eminently  satis- 
factory," because  since  the  Mayor's  award  the 
standing  committee  had  not  been  called  to- 
gether on  any  occasion,  whereas  previously  to 
that  they  were  frequently  holding  meetings. 
Notices  had  now  been  received  from  the 
carpenters  and  bricklayers  for  an  increase  in 
wages.  The  carpenters  were  asking  three 
farthings  an  houi-,  and  the  bricklavcrs  ^d. 
per  hour,  and  alterations  in  the"  work- 
ing rules.  He  really  did  not  know  how  to  de- 
nounce that  act  on  behalf  of  the  operatives. 
The  very  least  he  could  .say  of  it  was,  that  it  was 
iU-timed,  very  injudicious,  and  calculated  to  do 
great  injury,  just  as  they  might  reasonably  ex- 
pect an  improvement  in  trade.  The  demand 
would  be  opposed  by  the  committee  to  the  utter- 
most, and  he  hoped  they  would  be  able  to  give 
a  good  report  upon  a  future  occasion.  In  refer- 
ling  to  the  Employers'  Liability  Bm,  he  said  the 
National  Association  of  Jlaster  Builders  had 
done  everything  they  could  in  the  interests  of  the 
employers  of  labour,  and  through  their  exer- 
tions clauses  fai'ourable  to  the  trade  had  been 
inserted  in  the  BUI. 


waslied  over  by  the  ignorant  and  bigoted 
Puritans  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  but  surely 
one  of  the  great  objects  of  nstoration  is  to  do 
away  with  the  mischief  that  has  been  caused  by 
ignorance  and  bigotry.  The  remains  of  the  old 
painting  have  been  found  when  sought  for 
almost  universally  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
So  long  as  the  plaster  was  left  on  the  rubble 
walls  there  was  a  chance  of  finding  the  remains 
of  paintings  upon  them  ;  but  when  the  plaster  is 


neer  m  connection  with  other  tramway  schemes. 
In  the  carrj'ing  out  of  the  various  railways  with 
which  he  had  to  do,  Mr.  Bouch  had  extensive 
experience  in  the  construction  of  bridges. 
About  22  years  ago  he  erected  over  the  Tees  a 
structure  of  stone  piers  and  lattice  girders,  some- 
what similar  in  design  to  the  south  section  of  the 
Tay  Bridge.  This  viaduct  embraced  five  spans 
of  120  feet  each,  their  greatest  height  from  the 
river  being  130ft.  Among  the  other  bridges  he 
designed  were  the  Deepdale  Viaduct,  consisting 
of  eleven  spans  of  60ft.  each,  the  greatest  height 
above  the  water  being  IGOf  t. ;  the  Beelah  Viaduct, 
with  sixteen  spans  of  60ft.  each,  and  an  extreme 
height  of  19Gft.,  the  piers  consisting  of  cast  iron 
columns ;  the  Redhaugh  Bridge  over  the  Tyneat 
Newcastle,  comprising  two  spans  of  260ft." each, 
and  two  of  240tt. ;  and  the  Bikton  Burn  Viaduct, 
where  lattice  girders  are  carried  on  brick  piers. 
It  was,  howev^er,  as  designer  of  the  ill-fated  Tay 


THE  LATE   SIR   THOMAS  BOUCH. 

SIR  THOMAS  BOUCH,  civil  engineer,  and 
the  designer  of  the  unfortunate  Tay  Bridge, 
died  on  Saturday  morning  at  Moffat,  where  he 
had  been  staying  for  the  benefit  of  his  health  for 
several  weeks.  The  deceased  was  fifty- eight 
years  of  age.  For  thirty-two  years  he  had  been 
connected,  more  or  less,  with  the  North-British 
Railway.  He  was  the  first  to  devise  and  per- 
fect the  great  improvement  in  transhipping  over 
the  Forth  and  Tay  ferries  loaded  waggons  by 
large  steam  ships.     He   was  als 


Bouch' s   name   was  best  known, 
was  knighted  about  twelve  mouths  since. 


aU'scraped  ofi  for  the  purpose  of  putting  good  '  ^"^S^:  anl  of  the  Forth  Bridge,  which  stUl  re- 
mortar  between  the  joints  of  rough  stones,  which  ,'  J?'^^/"  Ri;!?K?f°!IJl  '^!''i'!fH,^°*f!:^  w^ 
is  called  pointing  them,   our  successors  will  be  ""'     °   "■>■""   ■^■'=     "=    ,.,.,„-„ 

under  the  necessity  of  plastering  over  our 
pointed  walls  in  order  to  paint  them,  for  the 
restoration  of  painted  walls  in  the  next  genera- 
tion is  a  certainty.  Forty  years  ago,  who  would 
have  thought  of  restoring  painted  windows  :  yet 
this  has  now  been  done,  or  is  being  done,  every- 
where. The  importance  of  "teaching  by  the 
eye"  is  getting  to  be  generally  understood. 
Educated  people  see  that  ignorant  persons  under- 
stand much  better,  and  remember  much  better, 
anything  of  which  they  have  seen  a  representation 
than  what  they  have  only  heard  of  or  read  about. 


AN  IMPRO\'ED  SEWER  SECTION. 
4  N  ingenious  method  of  constructing  the 
j\_  curve  or  section  of  an  egg-shaped  sewer 
is  recorded  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Juurnal  of 
the  American  Society  of  Ci\'il  Engineers.  The 
design  proposed  was  adopted  by  Mr.  C.  G. 
Force,  at  Cleveland,  in  consequence  of  the 
failure  of  some  sewers  that  had  been  constructed 
according  to  the  usual  egg-shaped  section  used 
in  this  country.  In  this  form,  published  in  most 
engineering  treatises,  the  arched  crown  is  a 
semicircle,  and  it  follows  the  greatest  breadth  of 
the  sewer  is  at  the  spring-line.  The  vertical 
diameter  is  one  and  a  half  times  the  transverse 
diameter,  hence  the  spring-line  is  two-thirds  of 
the  vertical  diameter  above  the  base,  and  the 
radii  of  the  side  arcs  are  equal  to  the  vertical 
diameter,  and  the  invert  arc  a  fourth  of  the 
transverse  diameter.  By  this  construction  the 
sides  are  very  slightly  curved,  indeed,  nearly 
straight,  and  it  was  found  difficult  to  keep  the 
side  walls  and  invert  in  jiropcr  shape  until  the 
arch   could   be   completed    and    loaded,    as   the 


—  ^ ^..     —    identitied  with        .  ,         ,        ,  -  .     ,     ,  , 

the  laying  down  of  many  local  lines  in  the  East  i  quicksand  and  water  exercised  a  lateral  pressure, 
and  North  of  Scotland,  which  have  now  become  ,  '^"^^  several  faUures  oeeuiTed  in  large  sewers 
part  of  the  North  British  svstem.  |  of    <Jft.     by     4ft.,    with     Sm.     walls     laid    m 

Leaving   the   .senice   of '  the   Edinburgh  and    tydrauKc     cement.      To     obviate     this     cause 
Northern  Railway  Company  in  the  end  of  18.J0 


or  beginning  of  1851,  Mr.  Bouch  commenced 
business  in  Edinburgh  on  his  own  account  as  a 
ci^Tl  engineer.  Up  till  that  time  the  coru^truc- 
tion  of  railways  had  been  excessively  costly,  and 
Mr.  Bouch  was  one  of  th.e  first  to  promote  a 
more  economical  system.  Taking  advantage  of 
the  increased  power  of  traction  obtained  by  the 
improvement  of  the  locomotive,  he  introduced 
steeper  gradients  than  had  previously  prevailed, 
and  in  that  way  reduced  the  cutting  and  tunnel- 
ing which  had  formed  so  expensive  a  feature  of 
railway  engineering.  The  adoption  of  this 
principle  gave  a  great  stimulus  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Scotch  railway  system ;  and  Mr. 
Bouch  successively  acted  as  engineer  for  the 
Peebles  line,  20  mUes  in  length  ;  the  Leven  line, 
of  6  miles ;  the  Leslie  Une,  of  5  miles ;  the 
Kinross-shire  line,  of  8  miles  ;  and  the  Lead- 
burn,  Linton,  and  Dolphinton  line,  of  10  miles. 
He  also  designed  the  KiiTiemuir  and  Blairgowrie 
line,  the  Crieff  Junction  line,  the  Crieff  and 
Methven  line,  the  Penicuik  line,  the  Edinburgh, 
Loanhead,  and  Roslin  line,  the  St.  Andrews  line, 
the  Glasgow  and  Coatbridge  line,  the  Leith  and 
Granton  new  connections,  the  Newport  line,  the 
.\i-broath  and  Montrose  Railway,  17  miles  long, 
which  is  now  on  the  eve  of  comoletion,  having 
cost  about  £200,000  ;  and  the  Edinburgh  Sub- 


of  weakness,  the  author  adopted  another 
form  of  section  which,  while  retaining  a 
small  invert,  gave  more  curvature  to  the  side- 
walls  below  the  crown  and  decreased  their 
height — an  important  point  in  large  sewers 
consti'ucted  in  treacherous  ground.  This 
section  may  be  described  as  follows :  — 
Draw  a  circle,  and  divide  its  circumference  into 
six  parts,  allowing  a  vortical  line  to  pass  through 
two  opposite  points  in  the  division.  Draw  two 
hues  indefinitely  through  the  three  upper  points, 
and  also  two  lines  joining  the  extremities  of  the 
first  and  through  the  lower  point  in  the  circle, 
so  astoformlimitingradii.  From  the  lowest  point, 
with  radius  equal  to  that  of  the  circle,  describe  the 
arc  between  the  radii,  and  from  the  other  three 
points,  with  radii  determined  by  the  fii-st  aro, 
complete  the  oval.  By  this  construction,  the 
springing-line  is  more  nearly  central,  and  there- 
fore the  most  expensive  part  of  the  sewer  is  re- 
duced. We  think  the  method,  which  is 
analysed  at  some  length  in  the  paper,  is  an  im- 
provement on  the  form  of  sewers  constructed  in 
loose  ground,  as  it  more  closely  approaches  tho 
circular  form. 


The  theatre  at  Douglas,  Isle  of  Man,  is  being 
reconstructed  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  E.  Watton, 
of  Leeds. 


544 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Manchestek. — After  a  delay  of  about  eig-ht 
months,  and  a  great  deal  of  undignified  squab- 
bling, the  second  and  third  premiums  oflered  for 
designs  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Chorlton 
Union  Offices  have  been  awarded  by  the  Board 
of  Guardians  as  follows  :  2.  Mr.  J.  llottram  ; 
3.  Mr.  J.  Lowe,  both  of  Manchester. 

St.  Maey  Ceav  Ceiteteet,  Kent. — The 
Burial  Board  of  St.  Mary  Cray  have  approved  and 
awarded  thefirstplacein  the  cemetery  competition 
to  Mr.  Edward  Clarke,  Adam-street,  W.C.,  and 
instructed  him  to  prepare  plans  and  obtain  esti- 
mates for  the  erection  of  the  chapel,  mortuary- 
lodge,  and  fencing  at  once. 

Yeovil. — Messrs.  Robert  Boyle  and  Son's  sys- 
tem of  ventilation,  has  been  selected  by  the 
directors,  from  the  competition  plans  submitted 
for  the  veutUation  of  the  Town  Hall,  Yeovil. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 

NoTTiNOHAM.  —  The  annual  meeting  of  the 
Nottingham  School  of  Ai-t  was  lield  last  week. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  dwelt  at  some 
length  with  regret  on  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Eawle,  who,  after  fourteen  years'  most  able  ser- 
vice at  Nottingham,  has  recently  accepted  the 
Head -Mastership  of  the  West  London  School  of 
Art.  Mr.  Rawle  is  to  be  .succeeded  by  Mr.  Dag- 
leish  from  South  Kensington.  Mr.  Rawle's  re- 
port stated  that  the  position  taken  by  the  school 
is  as  gratifying  as  in  former  years.  In  the  ex- 
amination of  the  highest  grade  the  results  are 
greater  than  they  have  been  in  any  prievous 
year.  In  all  stages  of  instruction  the  students 
have  continued  to  show  the  utmost  zeal  and  in- 
dustry ;  and,  notwithstanding  that  the  standard 
of  excellence  adopted  by  the  Science  and  Art 
Department  is  higher  than  it  has  ever  been 
before,  the  students  have  maintained  a  proud 
position  ;  and  the  honours  of  the  Nottingham 
School  have  been  obtained  by  fewer  students, 
with  a  smaller  number  of  works.  Last  year  491 
students  submitted  4,689  works  for  the  criticism 
of  the  Government  Examiuei-s  at  South  Kensino-- 
ton.  This  ye.ar  4.34  students  sent  up  3,839  works. 
One  hundred  j,nd  fifty-one  Schools  of  Art 
entered  the  National  Art  Competition.  Notting- 
ham obtained  4  of  the  43  silver  medals ;  7  of  the 
73_bronze  medals;  and  9  of  the  loo  Queen's 
Prizes— making  a  total  of  20  awards,  against 
23  last  year.  The  examiners,  in  their  printed 
official  report,  allude  specially  to  the  lace  designs 
in  the  following  words  : — "The  designs  for  lace 
again  call  for  admiration  for  their  execution 
and  propriety  of  delicate  treatment."  The 
Committee  of  Management  of  one  of  the  Con- 
tinental Schools  of  Art  expressed  a  desire  to  pur- 
chase three  of  the  Nottingham  students'  works, 
in  this  year's  competition,  viz:— A  design  for 
lace,  a  design  for  a  wall  paper,  and  an  architec- 
tural design.  Twelve  students  obtained  "  Gov- 
ernment Free  Art-studentships,"  being  eight 
more  than  last  year.  In  the  ' '  Government 
Payments  on  Results,"  for  works  executed  by 
the  students  during  the  twelve  months,  there  is 
a  marked  improvement  upon  the  previous  year. 
This  year  35  artisan  students  earned  the  full 
grant  for  elementary  works,  against  28  last  year, 
and  40  earned  the  full  grant  for  advanced  works, 
against  26  last  year.  'This  year  64  students  had 
their  advanced  works  marked  for  ' '  Government 
Third-grade  Prizes,"  against  .59  last  year.  In  the 
"  Advanced  Third-grade  Government  Examina- 
tions," which  are  of  the  highest  grade  held  in 
Schools  of  Art,  Nottingham  has  this  year  gained 
greater  results  than  have  ever  yet  been  obtained  by 
any  school  in  the  kingdom,  having  won  8  Queen's 
prizes  (in  addition  to  those  gained  in  the  national 
competition),  against  7  last  year.  The  students 
acquitted  themselves  thus  in  the  following  sub- 
jects:— In  ornamental  design,  4  Queen's  prizes, 
6  goods,  10  passes;  in  advanced  per.apective, 
3  Queen's  prizes,  4  goods,  1  pass;  in  architecture, 
1  Queen's  prize,  1  pass  ;  in  drawing  from  the 
antique,  1  pass  ;  and  in  painting  stUl-life  from 
nature,  4  passes.  The  results  of  this  year  show, 
with  44  candidates,  totals  of  8  Queen's  prizes 
for  excellence,  10  goods,  17  passes,  and  9  failures  ; 
whereas  last  year,  with  .50  candidates,  there 
were  7  Queen's  prizes,  6  goods,  21  passes,  and 
16  failures.  There  is  a  like  improvement  shown 
in  the  "  Second-grade  Government  Examina- 
tions." This  year  232  candidates  sat  for 
340  papers,  gaining  46  excellents  and  115  passes. 
Last  year  230  candidates  sat  for  340  papers, 
gaimng  35  excellents  and  112  passes. 


Builbtufl  jlnttllinitnct 


Castle  Howard. — The  renovation  of  the  seat 
of  the  Howards  has,  after  thirteen  years  of  con- 
stant labour,  been  completed,  and  the  structure 
is  now  almost  as  compact  as  when  it  left  the 
hands  of  Sir  John  Vanbrugh.  Some  idea  of  the 
cost  of  renovation  may  be  gathered  from  the 
fact  that  over  100  tons  of  lead  have  been  used  in 
repairing  the  roofs  alone  ;  and  upon  the  decora- 
tion of  the  private  chapel,  a  room  about  60ft.  by 
30ft.,  over  £15,000  has  been  expended.  The 
frescoes  and  other  mural  decorations  in  this  part 
of  the  building  are  by  Mr.  Kemp,  of  London, 
and  the  stained-glass  windows  have  been  de- 
signed by  Mr.  William  Morris.  The  large 
statues  on  the  north  and  south  fronts  are  between 
8  and  Oft.  high,  and  many  of  them  had  become 
so  worn  by  the  weather  as  to  make  their  re- 
moval imperative.  Those  have  been  replaced  by 
others  executed  in  blocks  of  stone  from  Whitby, 
by  Mr.  Roddis,  of  Aston. 

DoCKLOw. — The  parish- church  of  Docklow, 
near  Leominster,  has  been  reopened  after  re- 
storation from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Nicholson, 
of  Hereford .  The  work  comprises  the  rebuilding 
of  the  porch,  of  the  upj^er  stage  of  the  tower, 
and  of  the  south-east  walls  of  the  nave  and 
chancel.  The  nave  and  chancel  has  been  re- 
roofed  with  pitch-pine.  The  stone  used  in  the 
main  walls.  Sec,  is  Luston  stone,  and  the  sculp- 
turing inside  is  the  work  of  Mr.  Boulton,  of 
Cheltenham.  The  chancel  floor  has  been  laid 
with  Godwin's  encaustic  tiles.  Mr.  Hodnett,  of 
Dockley,  was  the  contractor.  The  cost  of  the 
restoration  was  £1,080. 

EvERTON. — A  residence  for  Colonel  Goff  has 
just  been  completed  at  Everton,  near  Lymington, 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Geo.  R.  Crickmay,  of 
Westminster  and  Weymouth.  The  style  is  a  free 
rendering  of  the  Elizabethan  Domestic.  The 
house  is  built  of  red  brick,  with  Bath  stone  dress- 
ings. Red  tiles  are  also  utilised  in  the  walls, 
whUst  the  gables  are  of  half-timbered  work.  The 
building  rests  upon  a  Portland  stone  plinth.  The 
oniamental  carved  work  in  wood  and  stone  upon 
the  building  has  been  executed  by  Mr.  Harry 
Hems,  of  Exeter.  The  contractor  for  the  whole 
of  the  works  is  Mr.  A.  H.  Preen,  of  Blandford. 
The  foreman  is  Mr.  Martin. 

rOT,H.ui. — A  new  convent  and  chapel  for  the 
nuns  of  the  Carmelite  Order,  situated  in  LUlie- 
road,  Fulham,  was  opened  by  Cardinal  Manning 
on  Friday  week.  The  building  is  from  the  designs 
of  Messrs.  Goldie  and  Son,  of  Kensington,  and 
follows  strictly  the  lines  of  Continental  monastic 
establishments.  Fronting  the  road  are  the  con  • 
vent  chapel  and  out-cloisters,  the  cloisters  and 
necessary  offices  forming  the  other  sides  of  a 
quad  around  an  open  court.  The  chapel  is  in 
the  Early  Pointed  style  ;  the  external  materials 
are  red  brick  and  Bath  stone  dressings,  and  the 
roof  is  covered  with  light  grey  slates,  laid  in  an 
unusual  pattern,  and  in  its  centre  is  a  spirelet. 
The  woodwork  of  the  interior  is  of  stained  oak, 
and  provision  has  been  made  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  a  small  secular  congregation.  Messrs. 
Lucas  and  Sons,  of  Kensington,  were  the  con- 
tractors, and  the  cost  has  been  over  £11,000. 

LrvEEPOOL. — The  foundation-stone  of  a  new 
home  for  aged  mariners  was  recently  laid 
at  Egremont,  Liverpool.  The  main  elevation, 
which  is  170ft.  in  length  by  a  depth  of  05ft,  and 
a  height  of  36ft.  to  the  eaves,  possesses  a  well- 
broken  outline.  A  projecting  central  bay,  hav- 
ing a  circular  oriel,  rises  above  a  wide  and 
deeply-recessed  principal  entrance.  The  greater 
portion  of  the  moulded  features,  chimney  stacks, 
&c.,  are  being  executed  of  specially- designed 
moulded  bricks.  The  roofs  will  be  covered  with 
an  unfading  green  slate.  The  tower,  rising  to 
a  height  of  82ft.  to  the  spring  of  the  roof,  is 
finished  with  a  slated  spire,  with  angled  turrets. 
The  whole  of  the  walls  are  encased  externally 
with  brick  similar  to  the  terra-cotta.  The  con- 
tractor for  the  works  is  Mr.  Richard  Beckett,  of 
Hartford,  Cheshire,  the  amount  of  the  contract 
being  about  £10,000.  Mr.  Edw.ard  Roberts  is 
the  clerk  of  the  works,  and  the  architect  Mr. 
David  Walker,  of  11,  Dale-street,  Livei-pool. 

Maidenhead.- The  now  town  hall  buildings, 
and  other  .borough  offices  at  Maidenhead,  were 
opened  on  Thursday  week.  Messrs.  Cooper  and 
Davy  are  the  architects,  the  contractor  being  Mr. 


T.  H.  Kingerlee,  of  Banbury.  The  total  cost 
has  been  about  £4,000.  The  Town  Hall  measures 
6oft.  by  30ft.,  and  is  24ft.  in  height.  The  Coun- 
cil Chamber— 23ft.  6in.  by  16ft.  4in.— adjoins  ; 
and  retiring  rooms  are  also  provided.  The  roof 
has  been  restored  and  brought  out,  and  means  of 
access  to  the  summit — which  commands  a  fine 
view — are  provided.  A  new  police-office  and 
lock-up,  at  the  rear,  are  to  be  at  once  commenced, 
at  a  cost  of  £030,  the  amount  of  Messrs.  Wood- 
bridgd's  tender. 

SouTHBURGii.  —  The  parish  -  church  of  St. 
Andrew,  Southburgh,  was  recently  reopened  by 
the  Bishop  of  Norwich  after  restoration  effected 
at  a  cost  of  £4,000.  The  church  has  been  re- 
built, with  the  exception  of  a  small  portion  of 
the  east  wall,  the  old  lines  having  been  followed. 
During  the  restoration  two  frescoes  were  found 
— one  of  St.  Christopher  in  its  usual  position  on 
the  north  wall  of  nave,  the  other  a  representa- 
tion of  our  Lord.  The  remnant  of  a  chancel- 
screen,  with  its  traces  of  colour  and  gilding,  has 
been  preserved,  and  the  defective  portions  re- 
newed, and  an  Easter  sepulchre,  double  piscina, 
and  sedilia  are  retained  in  their  original 
positions.  Mr.  J.  A.  Reeve,  of  Great  James- 
street,  Bedford-row,  W.C,  was  the  architect; 
and  Mr.  John  Goss,  ofShipdham,  the  contractor. 
South  Shields. — Two  Board- schools  for  in- 
fants have  recently  been  opened  by  the  School 
Board.  In  each  case  accommodation  is  provided 
for  350  children,  and  in  each  school  there  is  a 
large  room  with  a  gallery  recess,  and  four  class- 
rooms. These  rooms  are  so  arranged  that  the 
head  mistress  at  her  desk,  or  taking  a  class 
seated  in  the  gallei-y,  can,  at  the  same  time,  have 
complete  supervision  of  the  whole  school.  It  is 
intended  shortly  to  erect  boys'  and  girls'  schools 
in  (xtensi'n  of  both  of  these  groups,  and  for 
which  the  preliminary  arrangements  have  been 
made.  The  contractors  were  Mr.  Robert  Alli- 
son, of  Whitburn,  and  Mr.  John  Grisdale,  of 
Newcastle  -  on  -  Tyue.  Messrs.  Oliver  and 
Leeson,  of  Newcastle,  were  the  architects. 

Steetley. — The  Norman  church  of  Steetly, 
situate  three  to  four  miles  from  Worksop,  has 
been  reopened  after  restoration.  The  building 
sonsists  of  a  nave  and  chancel,  terminating  in  an 
apse,  the  two  collectively  being  56ft.  long.  The 
nave  and  chancel  had  for  many  years  been 
roofless.  The  church  has  been  restored  as  nearly 
asposi-ible  to  its  original  state  by  Messrs.  Shilleto 
and  Morgan,  builders,  of  Hull,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  architect  (Mr.  J.  L.  Pearson,  R.A.). 
The  ivy  has  been  removed  from  the  walls, which 
have  been  thoroughly  cleaned  and  renovated, 
many  of  the  carved  heads,  &c.,  having  to  be  re- 
placed ;  the  outer  portion  of  the  porch  (nearly 
the  whole)  has  been  reconstructed,  an  oak  door 
has  been  affixed,  and  an  entirely  new  roof, 
supported  by  masi-ive  oak  beams,  put  on.  The 
contract  for  the  work  was  £1,151  Is.  6d.,  about 
.£106  of  which  has  yet  to  be  collected,  besides 
£174  for  other  expenses.  The  church  is  not  ca- 
pable of  seating  more  than  80  persons. 

Sydney  (N.S.W.)— The  works  of  St.  Mary's 
cathedral  arc  being  carried  out  with  a  consider- 
able degree  of  activity,  and  it  is  antici- 
pated that  the  building  will  be  fit  for  occupation 
by  the  6th  of  January,  IS 82.  Archbishop 
Vaughan,  soon  after  Lis  arrival  in  the  colony, 
.signed  a  contract  for  .£21,000,  in  order  to  enable 
the  work  to  be  carried  out,  and  of  this  amount 
£11,000  has  already  been  paid  off,  leaving  a  debt 
of  £10,000.  A  second  contract  has  just  been 
signed  for  the  completion  of  the  building,  so  as 
to  render  it  fit  for  service,  the  amount  of  the 
contract  being,  in  round  numbers,  £20,000,  so 
that  there  is  now  an  existing  debt  on  the  build- 
ing of  £30,000.  The  four  walls  are  to  be  built  up 
4ft.  higher  than  they  are  at  present,  and  the 
cathedral  will  be  temporarily  roofed  in.  A 
large  portion  of  the  work  to  be  carried  out 
under  the  present  contract,  however,  will  be  of 
a  peiTu.anent  nature,  such  as  the  building  of  the 
chapter-room,  courts,  and  sacristy. 

Walkeen. — The  fine  old  rood  screen  has  been 
restored  in  the  parish  chui-ch  of  St.  Mary 
Walkern.  Some  parts  of  the  church  are  very 
old,  dating  probably  as  far  back  as  the  early 
part  of  the  13th  century.  Mr.  Hugh  Roumieu 
Gough,  F.R.I.B.A.,  of  Queen  Anne's  Gate, 
Westminster,  S.W.,  was  the  architect  employed. 
Interesting  as  an  excellent  example  of  Perpendi- 
cular Gothic  woodwork,  this  screen  is  some 
twelve  or  thirteen  feet  high,  and  reaches 
right  across  the  chancel.     The  lower  panels  are 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


545 


filled  with  traceried  and  carved  work.  Above, 
pierced  open  work  bursts  out  from  the  support- 
ing standards,  and  exhibits  much  delicate  and 
refined  detail  thereon.  The  main  cornice  above 
is  deeply  moulded  and  has  its  hollows  enriched 
by  detached  patera.  A  new  moulded  cill  has 
been  put  in  as  a  footing,  and  the  main  uprights, 
which  were  in  a  bad  state  of  decay,  have  been 
scarfed  and  morticed.  On  either  side  of  the 
central  doorway  are  buttresses  surmounted  by 
earved  pinnacles,  and  similar  buttresses  are 
in  similar  positions  upon  the  other  uprights. 
The  screen  had  been  bedaubed  with  a  variety  of 
coats  of  paint,  whitewash,  varnish,  graining, 
&c.,  by  successive  generations  of  churchwardens. 
These  have  all  been  removed,  and  the  old  brown 
oak  stands  out  in  all  its  beauty.  The  work  was 
entrusted  to  Mr.  Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter. 

West  Vale. — The  foundation-stone  of  a  new 
church  of  St.  John  was  laid  at  West  Vale, 
Halifax,  on  Saturday  week.  The  edifice  is 
situate  behind  the  Board-schools,  and  is  being 
erected  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Eushworth,  of 
Carlton-chambers,  Regent-street,  London,  the 
style  being  a  modification  of  Transitional  Nor- 
man. It  will  consist  of  a  nave  and  aisles 
70ft.  6in.  in  length  by  o2ft.  Tin.  in  width, 
chancel  27ft.  9in.  (long,  baptistery  at  west  end 
of  north  aisle,  organ-chamber  and  vestry  for 
clergyman  at  east  end  of  same  aisle,  choir- 
vestry  at  east  end  of  south  aisle,  and  a  tower 
17ft.  square  at  south-western  angle  of  nave. 
Accommodation  will  be  provided  for  about  500 
persons,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £3,.')00.  The 
contractors  are  : — Mason's  work,  Mr.  F.  Eiley, 
Ripponden  ;  joiner's,  Mr.  E.  Fumess,  Greet- 
land;  plasterer's  and  slater's,  Mr.  D.  Smithies, 
Brighouse;  and  plumber's,  Mr.  S.  Calvert,  of 
West  Vale. 

Woolwich. — H.E.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
publicly  laid  the  memorial-stone  of  a  new 
Coffee  Tavern  and  Public  Hall  at  Wool- 
wich on  Saturday.  These  buildings  are  now 
in  course  of  erection.  In  a  half  basement 
is  a  elub-room,  44ft.  by  24ft.,  well  lighted 
and  ventilated,  with  a  distinct  entrance, 
and  provided  with  ample  cooking  conve- 
nience; a  manager's  room,  kitchen,  scuUery, 
and  store  rooms,  lavatory,  and  offices.  The 
whole  of  the  ground- floor  is  devoted  to  the 
coffee-tavern  proper,  embracing  an  area  of  2,600 
superficial  feet.  The  one-pair  floor  is  of  the 
same  size,  and  contains  a  board-room,  ladies' 
refreshment-room,  and  12  sleeping-rooms,  with 
bath  and  lavatory  in  connection.  The  top-floor 
is  devoted  to  a  public  hall,  41ft.  by  68ft.,  with  a 
gallery  at  one  end,  affording  accommodation  for 
nearly  1,000  persons.  The  internal  finishings 
throughout  will  be  of  stained  and  varnished  deal 
or  pitch-pine.  The  windows  of  the  hall  will  be 
glazed  with  coloured  and  ornamental  glass,  and 
the  ground- floor  with  plate-glass  and  ornamental 
quarries.  The  sashes  and  facias  of  the  coffee- 
tavern  are  of  mahogany  and  oak,  French-polished, 
with  Suffolk  brick  pilasters  dividing  same,  with 
red  bases  and  black  plinths  ;  the  caps,  cornices, 
window-heads,  and  mullions,  are  of  red  Mans- 
field stone,  with  minor  members  of  Bath  stone. 
The  facings  of  yeUow  malms,  with  ornamental 
bands  of  red  and  black  bricks.  The  contract 
price  for  the  building  is  £6,000,  in  addition  to 
£2,000  for  purcha.se  of  lease,  furniture,  &c. 
Messrs.  Lonergan  and  Sons,  of  Plurastead,  are 
the  builders :  and  Mr.  AV.  Eickwood,  also  of 
Plumstead,  the  architect. 


New  banking  premises  have  been  erected  at 
Haltwhistle,  for  the  Carlisle  City  and  District 
Banking  Company  (Limited).  The  buildings 
comprise,  on  ground-floor,  banking-rooms  and 
county-court  offices,  &c.,  and  above,  a  residence 
for  bank  manager.  Tlie  contractor  for  mason- 
work  was  Mr.  George  West  garth  ;  the  joiner,  Mr.  J. 
McAdam,  both  of  Shotley  Bridge.  Mr.  Ormerod 
was  the  plasterer,  Messrs.  Thompson  and  Sous, 
plumbers,  Messrs.  Smith  and  Son,  slaters,  and  the 
painter  was  Mr.  Canning ;  all  the  last-named 
being  Carlisle  tradesmen.  Messrs.  Hethrington 
and  Oliver  were  the  architects,  and  the  building 
has  Iieen  erected  under  their  immediate  super- 
intendence. 

Tlie  newly  -  erected  "Dolphin"  coffee-tavern, 
situate  in  the  Market-place,  Newton  Abbot,  was 
opened  on  Saturday  week.  The  tavern  has  been 
erected  from  the  designs,  selected  after  competition, 
of  Mr.  C.  Jenkin  Jones,  architect  to  the  London 
Coffee  Tavern  Company,  by  Messrs.  Stacey  and 
Babbage,  the  contract  price  being  close  upon 
£1,370. 


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C0ntsp0nlrt«cc. 


TRAPLESS    DRAINS     AND    WATER- 
CLOSETS. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Buildino  News. 

SiE, — I  cannot  j^rofess  to  be  so  wholly  dis- 
interested in  a  special  kind  of  trapped  hopper 
basin  as  Mr.  Foster  appears  to  be  in  the  plugged 
■wasteless  closet  which  he  advocates  ;  still,  I  can 
truly  say  that  my  convictions,  after  tedious  and 
expensive  experiments  in  various  directions, 
were  the  moving  cause,  not  the  consequence,  of 
my  pecuniary  interest.  A  very  practical,  know- 
ing man,  at  Birmingham,  told  me,  last  week, 
that  the  plugs  arrc  liable  to  leakage  under  the 
slightest  obstruction.  I  would  prefer  something 
that  did  not  require  periodical,  or  even  occa- 
sional, removal  or  renewal,  as  all  indiarubber 
work  is  apt  to  do. 


The  inevitable  plumber,  with  the  smell  and 
other  inconveniences  pending  his  arrival,  how- 
soever rarely,  is  surely  a  needless  vexation, 
whilst  a  hopper  basin,  such  as  I  advocate,  is  not 
liable  to  derangement. 

This,  however,  is  not  the  special  point  in  Mr. 
Foster's  letter  in  your  last  niunber,  which  seems 
to  demand  explanation.  He  says,  "The  con- 
tinuity of  the  drain  should  not  be  broken  in  any 
case  whatever."  But  he  says  also,  that  the 
soil-pipe,  continued  up  for  ventilation,  should 
have  "  an  inlet  for  fresh  air  at  its  foot."  How 
are  these  apparently  contrary  statements  to  be 
reconciled  ?  My  own  experience  tells  me  that 
an  upward  draught  cannot  be  insured  under  all 
conditions  of  the  atmo.sphere  ;  and  I  know  how 
difficidt  it  is  to  avoid  smell  under  such  circum- 
stances.— I  am,  &c., 

Wimpole-street.     'Wiluaii  ■White,  F.S.A. 


SiE, — Referring  to  Mr.  Moxou's  remarks  on 
p.  514,  he  appears  to  have  overlooked  the  inlet 
for  fresh  air  at  the  foot  of  the  soil-pipe.  The 
only  difference  between  the  arrangement  he 
describes  and  my  own,  in  the  matter  of  ventila- 
tion, is  that  in  the  former  the  inlet  is  at  the  top 
of  the  soil-pipe  nath  the  outlet  some  distance 
off,  whilst,  with  the  latter,  wliich  I  consider  the 
best,  the  inlet  is  at  the  bottom  and  the  outlet  at 
the  top  of  the  soil-pipe.  In  reply  to  Mr. 
Buchan,  respecting  a  certain  quantity  of  foul 
air  entering  through  a  trapless  closet  when  the 
plug  is  lifted,  if  the  soil-pipe  be  acting  also  as  a 
ventilator,  he  certainly  cannot  have  tried  it,  or 
he  would  not  make  the  mis-statements  he  does. 
Concerning  his  remarks  as  to  a  deficient  water 
supply,  no  closet,  if  the  supply  was  properly 
arranged  by  a  competent  man,  with  water-waste 
preventing  cisterns,  woidd  ever  be  deficient  of 
water,  no  matter  from  what  source  the  .supply 
to  the  house  was  derived. 

Alluding  to  the  plug  of  a  trapless  water- 
closet,  Mr.  Buchan  goes  onto  say  "this  plug 
would  be  of  no  service  as  a  safeguard  if  a  hole 
happened  to  be  made  in  the  pipe  below  the 
plug."  In  trapless  closets  where  the  portion 
under  the  plug  is  of  galvanised  iron  there  are 
not  likely  to  be  any  holes  made,  unless  pur- 
posely drilled,  which  no  sane  person  would  think 
of  doing,  and  providing  that  on  examination 
there  should  prove  to  be  a  crack  or  flaw  in  the 
apparatus,  it  would  naturally  be  rejected  at  once, 
and  it  woidd  scarcely  redound  to  any  maker's 
credit  to  send  out  imperfect  and  faulty  manu- 
factures ;  assuming,  however,  that  any  of  the 
portion  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Buchan  was  of 
earthenware,  it  should  be  protected  from  frost, 
and  if  it  became  cracked  from  this  or  any  other 
cause  after  fixing,  it  would  necessitate  a  new 
pan,  etc.,  being  substituted;  but  any  cause  that 
is  liable  to  injure  the  earthenware  portion  of  a 
trapless  water-closet  would  be  more  likely  to 
damage  a  trapped  closet.  Any  holes  that 
happened  tn  he  made  in  the  soil-pipe  below  the 
plug  would  be  external  and  not  internal,  and  as 
Mr.  Buchan  has  facetiously  supposed  a  hole 
under  the  plug  inside  the  house,  it  will  be  equally 
fitting  and  less  absurd  to  suppose  one  in  the 
bottom  of  one  of  those  water-closet  traps  that  he 
is  so  infatuated  with.  He  goes  on  to  say  "  in 
trapless  closets,  again,  with  water  trapped  over- 
flows, the  word  '  trapless  '  is  a  misnomer."  This 
idea  is  simply  copied  from  my  own,  on  p.  428. 
There  is  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  his  re- 
mark that  some  of  these  trapless  closets  are  also 
very  high-priced,  and,  in  his  opinion,  not  worth 
half  the  money.  It  does  not  follow,  because  Mr. 
Buchan  considers  trapless  water-closets  sani- 
tary mistakes,  and  his  own  theories  everything 
that  could  be  desired,  that  they  are  so  :  these  are 
merely  his  opinions,  which  he  has  perfect  right 
to  ;  but  then  others  have  an  equal  right  to  theirs. 
Mr.  Slagg,  C.E.,  on  "  Sanitary  Engineering," 
p.  103,  says,  "  As  the  pan  closet  is  the  worst 
form,  so  the  best  is  that  kind  which  is  wholly 
of  earthenware  and  has  a  plug  valve,  the  motion 
of  which  is  vertical  and  direct,  and  is  situated 
at  the  side  of  the  basin."  Trapless  closets  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  the  reverse  of  mistaies, 
and  an  apparatus  of  good  reliable  make  is  less 
costly  than  a  trapped  closet  of  equal  quality,  as 
Mr.  Buchan  will  find  on  referring  to  the  litts  of 
some  manufacturers  who  are  makers  of  both 
descriptions  of  water-closets. 

Mr.  Buchan  has  previously  aired  his  opinions 
before  the  pabUc  respecting  certain  systems  of 
sanitation  that  were  not  exactly  in  accordance 
with  his  own  ideas,  and  I  beg  to  suggest  that 


546 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


it  would  be  as  well  for  him  to  esamiue  and  test 
before  declaiming'  against  anything  of  which 
he  has  had  no  practical  experience.  Mr.  John 
P.  Seddon  pointed  out  the  importance  of  this  to 
him  in  January,  1876  ;  vide  his  letter  to  the 
BuiLDnro  News  of  that  date. 

jVf ter  28  years'  experience  Mr.  Buchan  states 
he  has  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  traps  are  a 
continual  source  of  safety.  Xow,  competent 
judges  condemn  them,  and  my  own  experience, 
as  well  as  that  of  other  engineers,  is  directly  the 
opposite  to  his.  T  think  this  subject  of  trapping 
has  now  been  pretty  well  ventilated,  and  in  con- 
clusion I  will  just  quote  the  words  of  an  eminent 
practical  sanitary  engineer  of  over  forty  years' 
standing  who  says,  "A  very  general  opinion 
prevails  that  these  '  traps '  are  the  guardians  of 
public  health.  To  be  so,  they  should  be  perfect 
in  principle,  certain  in  action,  permanently 
efficient,  and  capable  of  resisting  every  influence 
that  would  impair  their  efficiency.  For  years  I 
have  held  they  do  not  meet  the  requirements  of 
health,  and  this  I  will  endeavour  to  make  clear. 
Traps,  however  much  they  may  vary  inform,  are 
all  the  same  in  principle  ;  all  are  hydraulic,  and 
in  all  an  inch  of  water  at  most  constitutes  the 
trap,  any  greater  dip  or  bend  would  rander  the 
trap  more  liable  to  choke  than  at  present,  con- 
sequently this  film  of  water  may  be  said  to  stand 
between  health  and  disease." — I  am,  &c., 

Cheltenham.  G.  A.  Fqsiee. 


OUE  RAILWAY  BRIDGES. 

SlE, — Your  article  on  the  above  subject  is  well 
timed,  and  correct  in  every  particular. 

Amongst  insecure  bridges — and  their  name  is 
legion — one  of  the  worst  is,  or  at  lesist  was,  a  small 
bridge  between  Leek  and  Rudyard,  on  the  North 
Staffordshire  Railway. 

If  your  "  timely  warning  "  is  acted  upon,  I  am 
assured  it  will  effect  a  considerable  saviog  in  killed 
and  wounded,  destruction  of  rolling-stock  and 
permanent-way,  and  consequent  depreciation  in 
dividends. — Yours,  i:c., 

Manchester,  Oct.  30.  F 


A  WONDERFUL  STOVE. 

SiE, — May  I  venture  to  draw  your  attention  to 
the  inclosed  advertisement,  which  appeared  in 
last  Thursday's  Dai/;/  Tdegri'ph  ? 

The  stove  in  question  appears  almost  too  good 
to  be  true.  The  writer  declares  he  has  seen  it, 
and  as  he  does  not  sign  his  name,  I  cannot  write 
and  ask  him  where  the  said  stove  is  to  be  in 
spec  ted. 

As  he  professes  to  be  an  architect,  and  as,  of 
course,  all  architects  see  the  Bullddjo  News,  it 
strikes  me  that  a  letter  in  your  paper  may  perhap; 
bring  forth  the  required  infarmation  from  him 
or  from  some  other  of  your  subscribers. 

What  I  want  to  know  is — 

1 .  Does  this  stove  do  aU  the  things  ascribed 
to  it. 

2.  Where  is  the  stove  to  be  viewed  ?  —I  am,  itc. , 

W.  BtTKOES. 

15,  Buckingham-street,  Strand,  Nov.  3. 
LONDON  SilOKE. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Daily  Tekgiaph. 

out, — Seeing  the  present  »gitatioa  on  the  subject  of 
London  smoke  and  fog,  the  following  account  of  a  most 
clever  invention  of  a  smoke-consuming  grate  I  saw  some 
time  back  may  be  interesting.  It  is,  in  the  first  place, 
self-feeding,  so  that,  without  attention,  it  will  bum 
twenty-foiu:  hours.  No  fireirons  are  required,  but  it  is 
reguUited  by  two  handles,  making  in  a  few  minutes  either 
a  brilliant  red-hot  fire  or  a  dull  one.  It  consumes  its  own 
smoke,  but  at  the  same  time  will  make  a  bright  fire,  and 
as  all  the  heat  is  utilised,  as  it  cannot  pass  up  the  fiue,  it 
is  also  impossible  for  the  chimney  to  smoke.  Again,  the 
size  of  the  fire,  by  a  simple  mechanical  contrivance,  can 
be  made  either  large  or  small,  remaining  the  size  desired 
— an  inconceivable  advantage  in  a  sick-room  where  a 
certain  temperature  is  rejuired  all  ni^ht,  or  in  schools, 
&c.  Fresh  heated  air  can  also  be  introduced  to  the  room 
from  the  outside.  It  is  in  appearance  Uke  an  ordinary 
grate,  and  will  biun  any  sort  of  coal  or  coke,  but  does 
best  with  the  sort  called  nut  coal— the  cheapest  sold— and 
will  maintain  a  good  fire  for  twelve  hom^s  for  about  three- 
halfpence.  It  was  called  "  Eussell's  Patent  Grate,"  and 
I  believe,  owing  to  want  of  money  and  opportunity,  was 
never  yet  put  before  the  public ;  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be 
a  ver^  valuable  invention,  and  t)  be  very  interesting  at 
this  time.    I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Oct.  25.  Ax  Architect, 

New  police-station  buildings  are  about  to  be 
erected  at  Strathbun^o,  south-east  from  Glasgow, 
by  the  Police  Committee  of  the  countv  of  Ren- 
frew. The  style  is  Scotlish.  The  i.laus  hive  been 
prepared  by  Mr.  Davidson,  architect,  Paisley  ;  the 
cost  will  bo  about  ,£l,SOO. 

t'^'^i-?'''""^'^  Valley  Railway,  a  branch  of  the 
laff-^  ale  Radway,  has  just  been  commenced.  Mr. 
iJilupps  is  the  contractor. 


jruttitommuttication. 


QUESTIONS. 

;62SO.:-Lieliting^  Schools  of  Art.— Wanted  (1) 

the  best  method  of  ligbtiug  Antique  rooms  in  schools  of 
art  by  side-windows  to  noith  or  roof  light.  (2)  "Would 
light  from  the  roof  answer  the  same  purpose  as  a  north 
hght,  and  is  it  as  good  f— Pcpil. 

;62S1.] -Plaster  for  fialf-Timber  Work.-Can 

any  reader  inform  me  as  to  the  best  composition  of 
cement  or  plaster  to  be  used  extei-nally  in  half-timbered 
work  ?  It  must  be  durable  and  proof  against  weather  in 
a  damp  and  cold  district,  and  it  must  also  have  a  shght 
tinge  of  yellow  in  its  colouring.  The  workmen  to  be  em- 
ployed are  not  accustomed  to  half-timbered  work. — Wel- 
lington'. 

[6282.] — Commission. — For  a  commission  of  7  per 
cent.  I  conti-acted  to  supply  plans,  specifications,  quan- 
tities, detail  drawings,  and  superintendence  for  a  villa 
residence.  .VHt  rtiR'  >]<..-t.iicshad  been  approved,  and  the 
whole  uf  i!,  -1  drawin^rs  finished,  also  speci- 

fications ^\  -tile  estimates  submitted,  my 

client,  b>  .  with  the  site,  .abandoned  the 

project  tit  I  \.         I'.ii-tion  of  thecommission  am  I 

entitled  to  .Lmji  .'— W.  1. 

[6283.]— Horseshoe  Arch.— Does  any  reader  know 
of  any  examples  of  an  arch  sei-ving  the  purpose  of  an 
entrance  to  a  blacksmith's  foi-ge,  and  made  after  the 
shape  and  pattern  of  a  horeeshoe  '  I  am  getting  out  a 
design  for  a  blacksmith's  shop  for  a  village,  and  mv 
client  desires  that  I  should  make  use  of  anarch  after  that 
description  for  the  entrance  to  the  shoeing  shed.  I  shall 
be  much  obhged  for  any  information. — John  M.  Stcb- 

GESS. 

[6281.]  -  Liability  for  Quantities.  —  Who  is 
Uable  for  errors,  deficiencies,  or  inaccuracies  in  quantities 
which  have  the  following  notice  attached  to  them :  *'  The 
quantities  have  been  taken  by  a  competent  surveyor,  but 
the  architects  will  not  incur  any  liability  as  to  their  accu- 
racy, although  they  believe  them  to  be  correct.  The  con- 
tiactor  wUl  have  to  satisfy  himself  on  this  point."  Pay- 
ment for  the  quantities  'in  question  was  taken  by  the 
architcrt.  but  they  are  not  alluded  to  in  the  contract,  the 
stipulation  therein  being  that  the  conti-actor  is  to  carry 
out  the  work  in  accordance  with  the  drawings  and  speci- 
cations.— F. 

[6285.]— Surveyors'  Responsibility.— Can  any 
of  your  readers  give  me  an  instance  whei-e  a  surveyor  has 
been  called  upon  to  pay  the  loss  incurred  by  a  mortgagee, 
who  advanced  money  in  the  smTeyor'a  valuatiou  .' — 
Alpha. 

[62.86.]— "Warminir  Rooms.  — I  shall  be  much 
obhged  if  any  reader  can  suggest  a  method  of  warming  a 
room  which  has  no  fii-eplace,  without  injury  to  health  ? — 
Alpha. 

[6287.]— Custody  of  Drawings.— Can  an  archi- 
tect be  compelled  to  leod  the  client  the  contract  drawings 
for  the  purpose  of  defending  an  action  brought  against 
the  client,  the  architect  h.aving  ceased  to  be  employed  and 
the  building  completed  ? — Alpha. 

;62SS.]  -Power  of  Proprietor.— Has  the  proprietor 
legal  power  to  prevent  a  contractor  measuring  up  the 
whole  of  a  job  in  order  that  he  may  test  the  accuracy  of 
the  quantities  supplied  f  The  work  in  quest"  "  " 
occupied  by  the  proprietor,  but  is  not  completed, 
much  as  he  holds  the  conti-octor  responsible  until  certain 
works  are  a'tered,  and  the  balance  of  the  contiuct  amount 
h.as  not  yet  been  p^lid  to  the  conti-actor. — F. 

;62S9.  ]  —Measuring  Brook  —Along  one  of  the  sides 
of  a  field,  and  at  outside  side  of  fence  is  a  brook  about 
lift,  wide  from  centre  of  fence  to  opposite  bank.  Could 
anyone  tell  me  how  much  of  the  brook  should  be  mea- 
sured in  with  the  field  I — Mowbbay  Vale. 


EEPLISS. 
[6264.]  — "W'all  Ties.  — We  herewith  inclose  you  a 
reply  from  Messi-s.  J.  Simpson  and  Son,  Marylebone,  "W"., 
which  please  insert  in  your  next  edition.— Cuambebs, 
SIoNNERY  AND  Co.  "  Xo.  48.  Paddingtou-strcet,  St 
Marylebone,  W.,  25  October,  1880  Dear  Sirs,— We  are 
of  opinion  that  your  cast-iron  nibbed  wall-ties  are  well 
adapted  for  the  purpose  intended.  We  have  iised  a  con- 
siderable quantity,  and  allow  9  to  a  vard  super  of  brick- 
work.—Tours  obediently,  J.  Sisipso.v"  and  Son.— Messrs. 
Chambers,  Monnery  and  Co.,  41,  Bishops'Tite-street 
Without,  E.C." 

[6264.]— Wall  Ties.— Tbewrought  iron  waU-ties  should 
be  placed  about  2ft.  apart  vei-tically  and  4ft.  apart  hori- 
zontally, at  which  distance  they  should  be  strong  enough 
to  hold  the  w.ill  mentioned.  -Jonas  Xichols. 

[G269.1— Sea-Sand  in  Mortar.-"G.  H.  G."  says 
the  mortar  made  from  sea-sand  never  hardens.  This 
m.ay  be  the  case  when  made  up  with  chalk  lime,  but  cer- 
tainly is  not  when  stone  lime  is  used.  Some  of  the 
hai-dest  moi-tar  I  have  ever  seen  was  made  with  imwashed 
sea-sand  and  stone  lime.  I  should  not  scruple  to  use  sea- 
sand  for  brickwork,  provided  the  bricks  are  not  red,  for 
when  that  is  the  case  the  efflorescence  shows,  but  should 
certamly  not  use  it  for  internal  plasterers'  work,  for  any. 
at  any  rate,  but  of  the  very  commonest  description.  'I 
have  never  known  a  case  in  which  the  salt  in  the  sand  did 
not  take  the  colour  from  the  wall-paper,  or,  if  the  walls 
were  distempered,  show  damp  at  certain  times.  I  have 
no  experience  of  what  washing  may  do  for  sea-sand,  but, 
as  far  as  the  expense  goes,  if  much  of  this  has  to  be  done, 
the  price  would  very  soon  be  equal  to  pit  or  river-sand,— 
C.  F.  M. 

[6272.] -Coloured    Drawingrs- —  An  aichitect,  if 

aployed  to  design  a  building,  can  charge  no  more  for  a 

loured  than  he  can  for  an  uncoloured  drawing,  unless 

•  was  instructed  to  prepare  a  specially-coloured  view. 

If  no  other  than  the  colom-ed  design  has  been  prepared, 

an  architect  can  charge  1}  per  cent  on  estimate  ;  but  if  in 

addition  general  drawings  have  been  also  prepaied,  he  can 

fairly  claim  2  per  cent. — G.  H.  G. 

[6274.J— Surveyors'   Charges.— It  is  difficult  to 


s,iy,  without  knowing  the  labour  undertaken,  and  the 
exact  circumstances,  what  "  Scotia"  should  charge.  If  the 
land  was  sold  for  £25,000  after  his  plan  had  been  prepared 
to  show  its  capabihties,  he  would  not  be  overpaid  if  he 
received  100  guineas.  If  the  labom-,  including  laj-ing  out 
the  roads  and  staking  the  plots,  &c.,  will  also  be  done,  a 
percentage  of  1  per  cent,  would  be  fair.  Some  surveyors 
make  a  charge  on  each  house,  or  on  the  ground  rental, 
but  as  every  case  is  governed  by  its  own  ciicunistances  the 
surveyor  should  charge  accordingly,  if  no  agreed  commis- 
sion has  been  arranged.— G.  H.  G. 


CHIPS. 

On  Tuesday  week,  a  new  Wesleyan  chapel  was 
opened  for  public  worship  at  Deighton,  near  York. 
The  style  is  Gothic,  and  the  materials  used  have 
been  Scarbro'  yellow  bricks ;  the  front  being  re- 
lieved with  stone  dressings.  Mr.  E.  Taylor,  of 
Stonegate,  York,  has  been  the  architect,  and  Mr. 
Shepherd,  of  Escrick,  the  contractor. 

The  foundation-stone  has  been  laid  of  a  new 
school  mission-church  at  EastviUe,  near  Bristol. 
The  style  will  be  Early  English,  and  the  front  will 
be  of  Pennant  stone,  with  freestone  dressings.  Mr. 
Henry  Williams,  Clare-street,  Bristol,  is  the  archi- 
tect, and  the  builders  are  Messrs.  Eastabrook  and 
Sons. 

A  new  English  Congreoational  Chapel  was 
opened  at  Cardigan  on  'Tuesday  week.  It  is 
Gothic  in  style,  and  is  built  of  dressed  Cilgerran 
(local)  stone,  with  Bath  stone  dressings.  The  seats 
ofvamished  yellow  pine.withtopmoulding  of  pitch- 
pine.  Sittings  for  VIQ  persons  are  provided  at  a 
cost,  for  erection  and  materials,  of  £l,4So.  Mr. 
Peter  Price,  of  Cardiff,  was  the  architect,  and  the 
building  has  been  erected  by  day-work  under  the 
superintendence  of  a  committee. 

The  river  "Wear  Commissioners  last  week  voted 
their  engineer  £400,  in  consideration  of  special 
services  rendered  in  connection  with  the  new  lock 
at  Sunderland,  opened  on  the  '21st  ult.,  as  described 
by  us  on  p.  .511  a  fortnight  since,  and  also  increased 
his  salary  to  £600  per  annum. 

The  Hackney  board  of  guardians  decided,  last 
week  to  build  an  additional  wing  at  the  workhouse 
at  an  estimated  cost  of  £10,000. 

A  schoolroom  and  other  additions  have  just 
been  opened  at  Hope  Baptist  chapel.  Canton,  a 
suburb  of  Cardiff.  Messrs.  D.  and  J.  P.  Jones 
were  the  architects,  and  Messrs.  Jones  Brothers 
the  builders,  and  the  seating  was  contracted  for  by 
Messrs.  Williams  and  Co.,  of  Spotlands.  The 
total  outlay  has  been  £2,100. 

The  first  section  of  the  proposed  street- 
tramways  at  Cambridge  was  inspected  by  Major- 
General  Hutchinson,  on  Monday  week,  and  opened 
for  use  two  days  afterwards.  The  rails  are  of 
steel,  laid  to  a  itt.  gauge,  and  are  spiked  into 
transverse  sleepers,  laid  on  a  Gin.  bed  of  concrete ; 
granite  sets  are  laid  next  the  rails,  the  inter-space 
being  paved  "with  tarred  macadam.  The  lines  ex- 
tend from  the  railway-station  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary  the  Gireat,  a  distance  of  1  mile,  73  chains. 
Mr.  Floyd,  C.E.,  was  the  engineer,  Mr.  J.  F. 
Meaton  the  contractor,  and  Mr.  W.  Hart  the  clerk 
of  works. 

A  new  Congregational  church  was  opened  at 
Carnforth,  on  Thursd.ay,  the  2Sth  ult.  The  struc- 
ture seats  200  on  the  ground-floor,  and  a  gallery 
is  also  provided  over  the  class-rooms  on  the  souUi 
side.  "The  mason-work  has  been  executed  by  Mr. 
McFarlane,  and  the  carpenter-and- joiner  work  by 
Mr.  Grime,  of  Settle  ;  the  remaining  trades  have 
been  executed  by  local  tradesmen.  The  new 
structure  is  in  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture, 
and  has  been  designed  and  carried  out  under  the 
superintendence  of  Messrs.  Hethrington  and  Oliver, 
of  Carlisle. 

The  Ilkeston  local  board  have  decided  to  borrow 
£12,000  for  sewerage  works,  and  £2,000  for  an  ad- 
ditional supply  of  water.  A  Local  Government 
Board  inquiry  will  be  held  respecting  the  applica- 
tion before  Mr.  Robert  Morgan,  C.E.,  inspector,  on 
Wednesday  next. 

Last  week,  during  excavations  for  the  Dover  and 
Deal  Railway,  in  the  former  town,  the  fotmdations 
were  found  of  one  of  the  two  round  towers  by 
which  the  entrance  to  the  old  harbour,  now  re- 
claimed and  built  over,  were  defended.  These 
towers  are  shown  in  an  old  picture  of  ''The  Em- 
barkation of  King  Henry  YIII.  at  Dover,"  but  for 
many  years  antiquarians  had  doubted  their  exist- 
ence. Traces  of  one  of  the  towers  were,  however, 
found  when  the  London,  Chatham,  and  Dover  line 
was  beiug  made,  and  now  the  second  has  been  ex- 
humed. They  are  built  of  masonry,  roughly 
hewn. 

The  rural  sanitary  authority  of  Hexham  has 
received  and  referred  to  a  committee  a  report  and 
scheme  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Hodgson,  C.E.,  of  Durham, 
for  supplying  the  districts  of  Prudhoe,  Mickley, 
and  West  Wylani  with  water  ;  the  cost  is  estimated 
at  £11,216,  and  the  mode  of  supply  is  by  gravita- 
tion. 


Nov.   5,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


547 


STAINED    GLASS.  ties  should  be  reiuDved,  was  an  indispensable  pre- 

IPSWICH.— The    western  window  in  the   north  K""? ,'?,  discharge    into    the    river.      They    were 
aisle  of  St.  Mary-le-Tower  Church,  Ipswicli,  has    decidedly  lavourable  to  the  intermittent  system  of 
just  been  filled  with  stained  glass,  in  memory  of  |  precipitation,    but  would  leave  the  nature  of  the 
the  late  Mrs.  J.  Chevalier  Cobbold.    The  subject  :  Precipitant   to  be  employed  for  future  considera- 
is  the  "  Presentation   of  the  Infant  Christ  in  the    """ 
Temple."      The  dexter  light  is  occupied  by  the 
figui-e  of  Simeon  with  the  Infant  Saviour  in  his 
arms  ;  in  the  centre  light  is  the  figure  of  the  Virgin, 
and  in  the  sinister  light  is   tJxe   figure   of  Joseph, 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE- 

A  BuiLDEES'  Dispute.— At   the  Ashton  County- 
_,      •  •        -        11      •  1     -V     1    i.i       ■•      court,  ou  the  2Sth  ult.,    Eobert   Booth   and  James 

who  IS  carrying  in  a  smal  wicker  basket  the  pair    Gledhill,  builders,   of  Sfalybridge,    s  ,ught  to  re 
of   turtle   doves   for   the  ottering.     Beneath  is  the  '  ,,0^5^  j,.-—  ^.i-- i-  ^     .     ■' .  J.  °  '.  °;'^5"''    ^V '.'- 


inscription,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant 
depart  in  peace."  Tlie  lower  part  of  each  light  is 
filled  ia  with  a  scene  in  the  life  of  Christ. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

ExETEE. — Some  of  the  parishioners  of  St.  Sid- 
weil's  have  erected  a  memorial-cross  within  the 
raifc  of  St.  Sidwell's  parish  churchyard  to  the 
metcioij  of  their  late  rector.  It  rises  to  an  altitude 
of  20ft.  from  the  adjacent  pavement.  Standing 
upon  a  broad  basement,  composed  of  tri}ile  steps, 
in  red  Dumfries  stone,  the  upper  portion,  iu  the 
main,  is  of  PortIan<l  stone.  Tliis  gradually  runs 
off  spirally,  the  higher  portions  being  enriched  by 
diapered  work.  The  whole  terminates  by  a 
foliated  cross.  This  cross,  like  the  lower  steps,  is 
wrought  in  Dumfries  stone.  The  work  was  en- 
trusted to  Mr.  Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter. 


•WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

BoVEY  Tkacet  Watee  Supply.— An  inquiry 
was  held  at  Bovey  Tracey,  Devon,  on  Thursday 
week,  before  Mr.  J.  Thomhill  Harrison,  an  in- 
spector of  the  Local  Government  Board,  respecting 
an  application  from  the  rural  sanitary  authority  of 
Newton  for  power  to  borrow  £1,750  to  provide  a 
water  supply  for  Bovey  Tracey.  Plans  prepared 
by  Mr.  John  Chudleigh  were  exhibited,  and  it  was 
stated  that  the  water  supply  was  at  present  in- 
adequate, and  chiefly  from  an  open  stream,  which 
wasf  requently  fouled.  Eight  hundred  persons  would 
be  supplied  with  water  at  a  cost  of  £1,700.  An  alter- 
native scheme  was  submitted  by  certain  ratepayers, 
which  had  been  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Pinn,  and 
by  which  it  was  estimated  a  good  supply  could  be 
brought  from  the  Lower  Down  at  an  estimated 
cost  of  £1,1.50;  and  the  inspector  requested  that 
further  particulars  as  to  this  scheme  be  forwarded 
to  the  Local  Government  Board  as  soon  asjjossible. 

L'lteeston. — On  Thursday  week  an  inquiry  was 
held  at  Ulverston  before  Mr.  Samuel  Joseph  Smith, 
C.E.,  commissioner  for  the  Local  Government 
Board,  respecting  an  application  by  the  rural  sani- 
tary authority  for  permission  to  borrow  £1,200 
instead  of  £000,  as  at  first  asked  for,  to  carry  out 
sewage  and  water-supply  works  at  Swarthmoor. 
Mr.  G.  E.  Farmer,  of  the  firm  of  Settle  and  Far- 
mer, engineers,  explained  the  plan  he  had  prepared, 
and  admitted  that  additions  had  been  made  to  the 
scheme.  It  was  elicited  from  Mr.  Greenwood, 
surveyor  to  the  rural  sanitary  authority,  that  a 
12in.  pipe  1,800ft.  in  length,  had  been  laid  from 
the  irrigation  field  into  the  Ulverston  Local  Board 
district,  and  other  works  done  without  the  consent 
of  either  the  Local  Government  Board  or  the  local 
board  of  Ulverston,  and,  therefoie,  illegally;  and 
that  some  of  the  charges  now  sought  to  be  covered 
by  the  town  had  been  paid  for  out  of  current  rates. 
Mr.  Smith  expressed  grave  doubts  whether  under 
the  circumstances  the  rural  authority  -would  obtain 
the  sanction  they  desired ;  for  in  the  course  of  his 
large  experience  as  an  inspector,  he  had  never  at 
any  place  found  things  in  such  a  muddle  as  at 
the  Ulverston  rural  authority,  and  they  seemed 
to  get  more  involved  at  every  step  taken. 

London-  Water  Supply.— The  delegates  of  th* 
vestries  and  district  boards  of  the  metropolis 
held  an  adjourned  meeting  on  Wednesday  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  the  Water  Supply.  A  letter 
from  the  Home  Secretary  was  read,  in  which  he 
expressed  bis  willingness  to  receive  any  represen- 
tation upon  tlie  subject,  but  declined  to  say  what 
the  Government  intended  to  do  nest  session.  A 
sub-Committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  sugges- 
tions in  reply  to  the  Home  Secretary  and  to  report 
to  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  delegates. 

PuEiFiCATiON  OF  THE  Clyde. — A  long  and  in- 
teresting report  has  been  made  by  a  deputation 
appointed  by  the  magistrates  and  council  of  Glas- 
gow to  inquire  into  the  treatment  of  sewage  in 
various  towns  iu  England.  The  deputation  visited 
Bradford,  Leeds,  Leicester,  London,  Windsor, 
Brighton,  Tottenham,  Aylesbury,  Coventry,  Bir- 
mingham, and  Bolton,  and  inspected  the  pneumatic 
system  of  Captain  Liemur,  at  Amsterdam.  The 
sole  object  iu  view  in  uudertakiuga  gigantic  system 
of  sewage  disposal  for  Glasgow  is  the  restoration 
of  the  Clyde  to  a  state  of  purity.  The  deputation 
arrivetl  at  the  conclusion  that  some  clarifving  pro- 
cess, whereby  the  whole  of  the  suspended  impuri- 


Orlando  Cook  and  Son.  builders,  of  the 
same  place,  £20  13s.  .5d.,  of  which  £9  was  paid  into 
court.  Plaintiff  tendered  at  £108  to  do  certain 
carpenters'  work  at  four  houses  which  detend.ant 
was  building,  but  the  tender  was  reduced  to  £100 
in  consideration  of  plaintiffs  having  the  mortising 
machine,  as  to  which  there  was  now  a  contention"! 
£10  was  also  claimed  for  paint  and  oil.  The 
defence  was  that  the  cost  of  mortising  machine 
was  to  be  deducted  from  the  last  draw  of  money, 
and  also  that  pKaintiffs  had  had  some  old  material 
for  which  there  was  a  set-off.  The  judge  con- 
sidered that  defendants'  witnesses  were  mistaken 
as  to  the  machine,  and  gave  judgment  for£Il  4s. 
7d. 

Defective  Moetak— Mr.  John  Synnett,  a 
builder,  was  summoned  last  week  at  Wandsworth 
Police-court  by  Mr.  Woodward,  district  surveyor, 
for  using  mortar  composed  of  earthy  matter  in  the 
building  of  houses  in  RoUo-street,  Battersea-park- 
road.  The  complainant  said,  after  receiving  notice 
of  the  building  of  the  houses,  he  inspected  the 
mortar  and  fourd  an  absence  of  sand.  He  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  defendant  giving  him  notice  that 
the  mortar  must  not  be  made  with  earthy  matter. 
He  inspected  the  mortar  again  and  found  it  very 
bad,  not  any  alteration  having  been  made.  In 
cross-examination,  the  witness  said  there  was 
lime  in  the  mortar,  but  it  contained  a  large  pro- 
portion of  earthy  matter.  Mr.  Hansom,  the  dis- 
trict surveyor  cf  North  Bittersea,  produced 
samples  of  the  mortar  which  he  had  taken  from 
the  buildings.  He  said  he  had  dried  one  sample, 
which  he  found  contained  one  portion  of  lime  and 
the  remainder  earthy  matter  and  grit.  Other 
evidence  having  been  given,  Mr.  Paget  imposed  a 
penalty  of  £3,  with  £2  costs. 

Value  OF  Peopep.ty  nj  THE  City.— The  case  of 
the  trustees  of  the  Parish  of  St.  Peter-upon-Com- 
hiU  V.  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London  w.a3 
heard  before  the  Recorder  on  Thursday  week.  The 
claimants  are  the  freeholders  of  the  land,  upon 
which  stand  two  shops,  one  with  a  frontage  to 
Gracechurch-street  aud  the  other  facing  Half- 
moou-pas?age,  known  as  89,  Gracechurch-street. 
This  property  is  now  required  by  the  City  for  the 
improvement,  rebuilding,  and  extension  of  Leaden- 
hall  market ;  and  the  claimants  sought  to  recover 
from  the  Corporation  the  sum  of  £13  842.  Ou  the 
part  of  the  plaintiffs  Mr.  Fox,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs. 
iidwin  Fox  and  Bousfield,  with  Mr.  Thorne,  Mr. 
Andrew,  and  Mr.  Collins,  Surveyors,  estimated 
the  property,  which  consisted  of  a  superficial  area 
of  7S0ft.  at  £1  per  foot  for  the  premises  facing 
Gracechurch-street,  and  IO3.  per  foot  for  that  part 
facing  Half-moon-passage.- On  the  part  of  the 
Corporation  Mr.  Farmer,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs. 
Debenham,  Tewson,  and  Farmer,  with  Mr.  Vigers, 
valued  it  at  an  average  of  12s.  per  foot,  and  "said 
£9,6.53  was  sufficient. — The  jury  found  for  the 
plaintiffs  for  £11,900. 


CHIPS. 

Mr.  Chappie,  clerk  of  works  at  the  Abbey,  and 
Mayor  of  St.  Alban's,  was  re-elected  to  the  council 
on  the  1st  inst.,  being  returned  at  the  head  of  the 
poU. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  visited  Mr.  Herbert,  R.A., 
on  Tuesday,  to  view  the  picture  "The  Judgment 
of  Daniel,"  painted  for  the  House  of  Lords.  The 
work,  in  the  course  of  some  few  weeks,  will  be 
placed  on  the  walls  of  the  Peers'  Conference- 
cliamber,  already  decorated  with  an  example  of 
Mr.  Herbert's  Scriptural  subjects,  "Moses  De- 
scending from  the  Mount." 

The  parish-church  of  St.  Mary,  Brook,  East 
Kent,  was  reopened  on  Tliursday  week  after  re- 
storation, effected  at  a  cost  of  £070.  The  Xorraan 
tower  and  the  walls  have  been  repaired,  the  outer 
beams  in  the  roof  opened  out,  and  benches  sub- 
stituted for  pews,  oud  a  large  two-light  •window 
replaced  by  one  more  in  harmony  with  the  struc- 
ture. Mr  J.  Piers  St.  AubiTi,  of  London,  was  the 
architect,  and  Messrs.  Steddy,  Joy,  and  Steddy, 
of  Ashford,  were  the  builders. 

A  new  lodge  and  entrance-gate  have  been  erected 
at  the  Bearhurst  approach  to  Broome  Hall,  near 
Dorking,  the  seat  of  Mr.  Pennington,  M.P.  The 
lodge,  of  seven  rooms,  is  built  partly  of  stone 
raised  ou  the  property,  with  weathertihng,  timber, 
and  plaster- work  ;  the  gate  is  of  moulded  oak  and 
WTought  iron,  with  piers  and  walls  of  local  stone, 
and  Bath  for    dressings,      "'  "       —  -    - 


A  OOOB  example  of  art  metal  work  has  just 
been  produced  by  Jtossrs.  Thos.  Brawn  and  Co.,  64, 
Clement-street,  Birmingham,  in  the  shape  of  a 
pair  of  wrought-iron  gates  for  tho  principal  en- 
trance to  the  Xorth -Western  Bank  at  Liverpool. 
The  gates  mca.sure  together  about  12ft.  in  height 
and  Sft.  in  width  ;  every  portion  i.s  from  the  hand 
of  the  smith  or  the  worker  iu  repou.s»c.  The 
composition  is  divided  vertically  into  four  panels, 
which  are  again  subdivided  horizontally  by  en- 
richments of  bands,  upon  which  are  elaborately 
worked  platres.  The  four  lower  panels  are 
squares  filled  iu  with  somewhat  massive  ecroU 
work  and  bosses.  Above  this  are  four  solid 
panels,  with  representations  in  repousse  of  floral 
subjects.  The  upper  centre  portion  is  lighter, 
and  consists  of  a  scroll  work  base  in  each  of  the 
four  divisions,  from  which  rise  comucopiae  and 
foliage,  supporting  repousse  heads  and  wings, 
typical  of  the  four  seasons.  Over  the  heads  is 
an  arch  of  double  bands,  and  further  convolu- 
tions of  foliated  scroUs,  into  which  birds  are  intro- 
duced. The  gates  clo.so  against  a  rich  repoussfi 
frieze,  above  which  is  a  bold  grill  of  scrollwork 
and  foliage,  supported  by  two  griffins. 

The  director  of  the  South  Kensington  Museum 
has  just  returned  from  an  official  visit 
to  the  museums  aud  to  the  Imperial  and 
other  collections  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow, 
undertaken  by  desire  of  the  Lord  President  of 
the  Council,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  examples 
of  gold  and  silver  smiths'  work  in  these  collec- 
tions might  be  reproduced,  to  add  to  the 
facsimile  of  art  treasure,  already  at  South 
Kensington.  A  selection  was  made  of  about  2.50 
objects,  ranging  from  gold.-<miths'  work  of  early 
Greek  art  exhumed  at  Kertch  through  medijeval 
times  vo  English  plate  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  and  exceUent  pieces  of 
French  art  of  the  period  of  Louis  XV. ,  aud  there 
appears  good  ground  to  anticipate  an  interesting 
and  valuable  addition  to  the  reproductions  now 
stored  in  South  Kensington  Museum. 

A  JTEETINO  was  held  on  Monday,  at  the 
Langham  Hotel,  to  consider  the  desirability  of 
forming  a  Sanitary  Assurance  Association,  ' '  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  to  its  members,  at  a 
minimum  cost,  those  advantages  which  the  pro- 
gress of  sanitary  science  has  made  available." 
The  chair  was  taken  by  Sir  Joseph  Fayrer, 
K.C.S. I.,  and  the  proceedings  were  opened  by 
Mr.  Mark  H.  Judge,  who  said  that  this  was  an 
attempt  to  bring  medical  men  and  architects 
together  on  the  great  question  of  house  sanita- 
tion.-— After  a  discussion,  in  which  Mr.  Venning, 
Dr.  Longstaff,  Mr.  Chatfeild  Clarke,  Mr.  Edwin 
Chadwick,  C.B.,  and  Professor  Corfield  took 
part,  it  -was  unanimously  decided — "That  we 
cordially  approve  the  formation  of  the  Sanitary 
Assurance  Association ;  that  Professor  De  Chau- 
mont,  F.E.S.,  Profe.«sor  Hayter  Lewis, 
F.R.I.B.A.,  Mr.  H.  Rutherford,  Professor  TV. 
H.  Corfield,  M.D.,  Mr.  George  Aitchison, 
F.R.I. B. A.,  and  Mr.  MarkH.  Judge  be  appointed 
a  professional  committee,  with  Professor  Cor- 
field as  chief  sanitary  officer,  and  Mr.  Judge  as 
surveyor  ^ru  tein.  ;  and  that  they  be  requested  to 
organise  the  Association,  and  to  report  to  a 
future  meeting." 

Me.  J.  H.  Paekek,  C.B.,  calls  attention  in 
the  Times  to  a  remarkable  historical  monument 
which  has  been  commonh-  overlooked,  and  which 
Sir  John  Lubbock  now  mshes  to  be  added  to  the 
list  of  those  to  be  specially  protected  by  law 
when  his  Act  passes.  This  monument  is  the 
earliest  Norman  keep  in  existence,  and  in  aU 
probability  the  earliest  that  ever  was  built,  the 
construction  of  the  walls  being  of  earlier  cha- 
racter than  any  Norman  keep  in  Normany  itself 
or  in  Britain.  '  It  is  called  St.  Leonard's  "Tower, 
at  Mailing,  in  Kent.  This  manor  -n-as  given  by 
WiUiam  the  Conqueror  to  one  of  his  Norman 
followers,  Gundulfus,  or  Gundulph ;  whose  first 
object  was  naturally  to  secure  an  abode  for  him- 
self, in  which,  with'a  small  band  of  followers, 
he  could  be  safe  againt  any  number  of  assailants. 
He  was  a  brave  man  and  a  clever  man,  and  an 
arcUtect,  and,  not  daunted  by  the  danger  of  his 
position,  he  saw  how  he  could  secure  this  object. 
This  was  by  building  a  house  on  an  entirely  new 
plan  ;  the  walls  was  built  of  rubble-stone,  found 
on  the  spot  or  near  at  hand  ;  the  lower  part  was 


-—     J,-.      Mr.    John    Birch,    of  -  ,  .  .  -,,    . 

London,  was  the  architect,  and  the  builders  were    built  solid,  so  that  no  battcnng-ram  could  have 


Messrs.  Laing  and  Sons,  of  London. 


any  effect  upon  it,  and  the  doorway  was     10ft 


548 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  5,  1880. 


from  the  ground,  with  a  short  ladder,  which 
could  be  easily  drawn  up.  The  principal  apart- 
ments were  at  the  top  of  the  tower,  and  round 
it  was  a  sort  of  wooden  gallery,  technically 
called  a  hourd,  which  could  be  easily  thrown  out 
when  wanted,  and  archers  stationed  upon  this 
huurd  could  make  it  impracticable  for  any  one  to 
get  up  to  the  door.  As  soon  as  these  arrange- 
ments were  completed,  a  score  of  men  could  de- 
fend themselves  againt  any  number  so  long  as 
their  provisions  and  their  arrows  held  out.  This 
was  exactly  such  a  house  as  was  wanted  by  aU 
the  Norman  settlers  in  Britain  ;  it  was  very  soon 
copied  in  all  directions :  the  fame  of  Gundulph 
spread  far  and  wide,  and  a  few  years  afterwards 
he  was  employed  by  the  Conqueror  to  build  the 
Tower  of  London,  a  Norman  keep  on  the  same 
principle,  only  on  a  much  larger  scale,  and  built 
of  good  ashlar  masonry  instead  of  rubble. 

SiENCiLLiNa,  when  used  with  discretion,  is  an 
admirably  effective  method  of  decorating  flat 
surfaces  at  a  minimum  cost ;  but  the  bright 
colours  on  white  grounds  affected  by  some 
"  decorators  "  should  be  eschewed  where  gaudi- 
ness  is  not  sought  after.  The  metal  stencils 
usually  employed  add  somewhat  to  the  cost  of 
the  process,  and  in  some  cases  will  not  lie  close 
enough  to  the  work  to  ensure  sharpness.  Mr. 
E.  Leaf,  of  Grimsby,  has  sent  us  some  speci- 
mens of  stencUs  cut  in  a  specially-prepared 
paper  which  may  be  used  for  work  in  oil,  water, 
or  distemper,  without  absorbing  the  vehicle. 
The  stencils  lie  closer  to  the  work  than  metal 
ones,  and  they  are  about  a  quarter  the  cost.  Mr. 
Leaf  informs  us  that  he  has  over  five  thousand 
designs  in  stock,  and  that  he  is  constantly 
adding  examples  in  all  styles  by  the  best  decora- 
tive artists.  The  sharpness  of  the  stencUs  is 
especially  worth  notice,  and  their  low  cost  has 
doubtless  ensured  a  large  sale. 

The  directors  of  the  Natural  History  Museum, 
in  Paris,  are  about  to  take  possession  of  the  new 
quarters  which  have  been  constructed  for  them 
in  the  Rue  Bufflon,  to  replace  the  old  buildings 
which  literally  fell  into  ruins,  and  which,  besides, 
were  insufficient  for  the  requirements  of  the 
Institution.  On  the  occasion  of  the  trausfer- 
ment,  imitating  the  example  of  private  indi- 
viduals, the  authorities  will  get  rid  of  a  number 
of  objects  incapable  of  further  use,  and  which 
are  a  greater  inconvenience  than  they  are  worth. 
A  good  deal  of  interest  seems  to  have  been 
evoked  by  the  announcement  of  the  sale,  though 
care  has  been  taken  to  mention,  in  the  particu- 
lars which  have  been  issued,  that  the  subjects  are 
in  a  bad  state. 

FoixowrNO  the  precedent  of  late  years,  the 
Coimeil  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers 
haTe_  issued,  with  the  usual  notice  of  the 
meetings  for  the  next  session,  a  list  of  subjects 
for  papers,  to  which  is  prefaced  a  statement  of 
the  nature  of  the  funds  administered  by  the  In- 
stitution available  for  the  award  of  premiums  to 
meritorious  original  communications.  These 
consist  of  the  Telford  fund,  now  producing  £260 
annually  ;  the  Manby  Donation,  £10  ;  the 
Miller  Fund  (exclusively  for  students),  £150; 
and  the  Howard  Bequest,  producing  £16  annu- 
ally, and  which  is  allowed  to  accumulate  for  five 
years,  "for  the  purpose  of  presenting,  periodi- 


cally, a  prize  or  medal  to  the  author  of  a  treatise 
on  any  of  the  uses  or  properties  of  iron,  or  to  the 
inventor  of  some  new  and  valuable  process  re- 
lating thereto."  The  list  contains  several  new 
subjects,  such,  for  instance,  as  "  The  Action  of 
High  Winds  on  Lofty  and  Exposed  Structures  "  ; 
"  The  measures  necessary  for  the  Relief  of  the 
Midland  and  Eastern  Counties  of  England  from 
Floods,"  &c.  The  first  meeting  for  the  session 
1880-81  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  iust., 
at  8  p.m.,  when  a  paper  by  Mr.  B.  Walker, 
M.  Inst.  C.E.,  of  Leeds,  will  be  read  on 
"  Machinery  for  Steel-Making  by  the  Bessemer 
and  the  Siemens  Processes.' '  Thereafter  the  meet- 
ings will  be  continued  weekly,  on  the  same  day 
and  time,  until  the  end  of  May.  Mr.  Walker's 
paper  will  be  followed  by  one  on  "The  Erection 
of  Metallic  Bridges,"  by  Mr.  T.  Seyrig, 
M.Inst.C.E.,  of  Paris,  after  which  a  di.scussion 
wUl  be  held  on  "Mountain  Railways,"  based 
upon  papers  by  two  Colonial  members.  The 
annual  general  meeting  wUl  be  held  on  the  21st 
of  December  next. 

A  MEETING  of  the  Fog  and  Smoke  Committee, 
in  connection  with  the  National  Health  and 
Kyrle  Societies,  was  held,  on  Wednesday,  at 
41,  Berners-street.  The  chair  was  taken  by  Mr. 
Ernest  Hart,  who  said  he  was  in  receipt  of  a 
large  nnmber  of  communications,  most  of  them 
confirming  statements  already  made  to  the  Com- 
mittee as  to  the  burning  of  anthracite  or  smoke- 
less coal  in  London.  He  read  extracts  from 
some  of  the  letters,  several  of  which,  including 
one  from  Dr.  Siemens,  ofltered  assistance  to  the 
Society  in  conducting  experiments,  and  making 
practical  suggestions  as  to  the  use  of  various 
kinds  of  grates  and  patent  stoves.  Mr.  Owen 
Thomas  offered  to  erect  stoves  for  domestic  use 
at  any  suitable  place,  and  to  send  a  couple  of 
Welsh  maids  to  show  the  Londoners  how  to  use 
them,  or  if  any  manufacturer  woidd  agi-ee  to 
conduct  an  experiment,  he  would  send  a  stoker. 
Most  of  the  communications  were  referred  to  the 
Committee  of  Experts  to  deal  with.  Mr. 
Whittle  stated  that  since  the  last  meeting  he 
had  been  further  looking  up  the  legal  aspect  of 
the  matter.  At  present  there  were  three  Acts — 
viz.,  the  Smoke  Nuisance  Act,  the  Nuisance 
Removal  Act,  and  the  Public  Health  Act,  none 
of  which  went  far  enough  completely  to  cope 
with  the  difficulties  of  the  situation.  The 
learned,  gentleman  detailed  the  various  processes 
of  law  that  could  be  brought  to  bear,  and  con. 
demned  the  present  system,  under  which  it  was 
necessary  that  the  poHce  should  take  proceedings. 
He  would  suggest  that  the  present  Acts  should 
be  consoUdated  and  extended,  giving  them  power 
oyer  a  greater  radius,  and  punishing  the  stoker 
direct,  instead  of  the  master,  where  convictions 
took  place.  The  public  ought  also  to  be  able  to 
•nstitute  prosecutions,  and  half  the  penalty 
should  go  to  the  informer.  At  present  he  did 
not  think  they  could  deal  with  private  houses, 
except  by  their  own  individual  examples,  and 
liy  the  establishment  of  local  committees  of  an 
Anti-smoke  Association  to  carry  on  experi- 
ments. 

Lamplough's  Pyretic  Saline  Is  refreshing', 

most  agree.itilp,  aud  the  preventive  of  FEVERS  KTTTni'svp<< 
SMALi,  POX,  SKIN  dIsEASES,  anS  many  ithe"?prta^  a^,i 
summer  ailments.  Sold  bv  chemists  throu-'hout  thewnrirf  -  ■ 
the  Maker.  113.  Holbornliu.     -•  inrou-nouttfte  world 


no  iubstitute  -^Advt.1 


CHIPS. 

The  first  stone  of  the  Smack  Boys'  Home,  Rams- 

fate,  was  laid  by  the  Marchioness  Conyngham  on 
uesday  last.  The  building  is  arranged  to  accom- 
modate 60  boys.  The  contract  is  being  carried  out 
by  Mr.  Martin,  builder,  of  Yalding,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Alfred  R.  Pi'te,  architect, 
London. 

The  parish-church  of  St.  Mary,  Burnham  West- 
gate,  Norfolk,  was  reopened  on  Wednesday  week, 
after  complete  restoration.  The  chancel  has  been 
partially  rebuilt ;  there  are  new  Minton  tile  pave- 
ment, east  window,  roof,  carved  oak  seats,  and 
other  fittings.  The  nave  and  aisles  have  been  re- 
paved  with  Minton's  tiles,  and  furnished  with  sub- 
stantial open  seats  of  pitch-pine,  and  carved  oak 
pulpit  and  reading-desk,  and  additional  windows. 
Lighting  is  by  oil- lamps,  suspended  from  the  roof. 
All  the  stone -work  has  been  repaired.  The  old 
chapel  of  St.  John  has  been  restored,  and  fitted 
with  open  seats,  a  new  roof  of  lead  put  on,  and  the 
chapel  openesl  out  to  the  north  aisle.  Mr.  R.  M. 
Phipson,  of  Norwich,  was  the  architect ;  and 
Messrs.  Deiu,  of  Burnham,  were  the  builders.  It 
is  proposed  to  restore  the  tower  and  porch  when 
funds  permit. 

Anew  Wesleyan  school- chapel  in  Sutton  Court- 
road,  Tumham  Green,  was  opened  on  Tuesday, 
It  is  Gothic  in  character,  and  is  huUt  of  brick  with 
stone  facings,  and  the  roof  is  of  slate,  in  blue  and 
green  bands.  The  chapel  measmes  .')6ft.  by  36ft., 
and  28ft.  high  ;  half  the  floor  space  is  pewed,  ami 
the  rest  furnished  with  movable  seats  with  re- 
versible backs  ;  the  roof  is  open.  A  gallery,  1.5ft. 
by  36ft.,  is  provided  for  infants,  and  there  are  two 
class-rooms.  Mr.  J.  Coverdale  Bilton,  of  Gunners- 
bury,  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  H.  G.  Whitman, 
of  Turnham  Greeu,  the  contractor. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  first  portion  of  a 
permanent  church  of  St.  Paul  was  laid  at  Swindon 
by  Lady  Gooch  on  Thursday  in  last  week.  The 
church  wdl  eventually  accommodate  about  800 
persons,  and,  together  with  parsonage,  will  cost 
£10,000.  The  contract  for  the  first  section  has 
been  taken  bv  Mr.  W.  Jones,  of  Gloucester,  at 
£3,600.  Mr.  Edmund  B.  Feney,  of  Spring- 
gardens,  London,  is  the  architect. 

A  window  of  three  lights  at  Newington  parish- 
church,  East  Kent,  has  been  filled  with  stained 
glass  by  Messrs.  Heat  on,  Butler,  and  Bayne,  of 
Garrick-street,  London.  The  subject  is  the 
"Nativity." 

A  new  district  hospital  dispensary  was  ojjened  at 
Sheptou  Mallet  on  Saturday.  It  is  situate  in  the 
Waterloo-stree'',  is  in  the  Gothic  style,  and  con- 
tains four  wards,  containing  12  bed's.  Mr.  G.  J. 
Skipper  is  the  architect,  and  Messrs.  J.  and  S. 
Emery,  of  Shepton  Malltt,  the  contractors;  the 
cost  has  been  £2,000. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  select  vestry  of  Rich- 
mond, Surrey,  held  on  Tuesday  week,  a  joint 
letter  of  resignation,  signed  by  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  water  supply  committee,  was  received, 
owing  to  ditficult'es  in  connection  with  the  pro- 
posed new  well.  It  was  decided  to  refer  the  whole 
question  to  the  opinion  of  some  eminent  engineer 
to  be  hereafter  selected  by  the  vestry. 

A  stained-glass  three-light  window  has  just  been 
placed  in  the  aisle  of  Crawley  Church,  Sussex,  to 
the  memory  of  the  late  Mark  Lemon. 

An  extension  of  the  East  Norfolk  line  of  railway 
from  Cawston  to  Keepham  has  been  let  to  Mr. 
Waddell,  and  the  contract  for  the  station  at  the 
latter  village  has  been  taken  by  Mr.  Bennett,  of 
Downham  Market. 


COLLINSOM  &  LOCK, 

MODELLERS,     WOOD-CxVRVERS,    AND    DECORATORS. 

MODELLED     PLASTER     WORK     foi-Ceiluigs.WallPanels,  and  Friezes,  as  in  the  best 

:>^Kj  J.  j^Ai.       T  T  V^XV  J.\.     Old  English  Manor  Houses. 

WOOD  CARYmO 
PAINTING  k  DECORATING. 


in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance,  and  used  construc- 
tively in  the  enrichment  of  Interior  Woodwork  and 
Furniture. 

of  an  artistic  kind.  Richness  of  Colour  and  Effect 
produced  by  Simple  and  Inexpensive  Methods. 

Specially  Designed  and  Coloured  Wall  and  Ceiling 
Papers, 


109. 


FLEET    STREET,    &    3,    ST.    BRIDE    STREET,    E.G. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


549 


THE  BUILDINCt   NEWS. 


LOXDOy,  FEIBAT,  XOVEMBER   11,  1S80. 


of  physical  conditions.     The  physical  con-    upon  themselves  the  same  form.    It  is  need- 
ditioiis  were  alike  for   the  Gothic  and  the   less  to  indicate  the  way  in  which  every  other 


THE  REQUISITES  FOE  A  LIVING 
STYLE. 

IT  is  possible  for  genuine  architecture  to 
exist  even  in  times  and  places  where  there 
is  no  living  style.  No  one,  for  instance,  can 
look  at  Wren's  City  churches,  and  especially 
at  their  towers,  and  then  honestly  deny  that 
they  are  real  works  of  architecture,  bearing, 
in  many  cases,  the  strongest  marks  of 
original  genius.  Living  style,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  have  none,  unless  it  be  in  such 
things  as  a  bit  of  post-Mediseval  ironwork, 
and  a  fragment  of  carving  by  Gibbons  or 
some  one  of  his  school.  Their  detail, 
observed  eloselj',  is  a  mere  poverty-stricken 
imitation  of  Classic — though,  seen  from  a 
distance,  it  all  fits  into  its  place  and  plays 
exactly  that  part,  in  bringing  out  the 
general  scheme,  which  the  great  composer 
designed  it  for.  Wren,  in  short,  was  the 
very  opposite  of  many  modem  Gothic  re- 
vivalists. His  works,  in  their  inmost 
essence,  are  Gothic,  Komantic,  picturesque, 
and  it  is  only  their  detail  which  is  formal 
and  Classic.  Their  works,  on  the  contrary, 
are  often  formal  enough  in  plan  and  feeling, 
and  it  is  only  their  detail  which  is  Mediieval. 
This  detail,  indeed,  is  far  from  being  in  all 
cases  as  tame  as  it  is  sometimes  said  to  be. 
Not  a  little  of  it  might  stand,  undisgraced, 
beside  detail  of  the  13th  or  14th  centuries, 
and  prove  itself,  if  only  a  copy,  at  least  a 
copy  made  -svith  something  like  spirit,  ap- 
preciation, and  delight.  But,  in  spite  of  all 
the  care  that,  for  the  last  -40  years,  has  been 
given  to  detail,  living  style  we  have  none. 
There  is  some  reason  to  think  that  at  the 
present  moment  we  may  be  nearer  to  having 
one  than  we  have  hitherto  been :  but  the 
the  whole  course  of  architecture  through  the 
last  half-century  shows  that  the  possession 
has  not  been  ours  as  yet.  The  distinction 
of  a  living  style  is  that  it  grows  :  not  that 
one  variety  of  style  after  another  is  tried 
and  suddenly  abandoned.  It  is  the  latter 
process,  not  the  former,  which  has  thus  far 
marked  the  history  of  the  Gothic  revival. 
At  .ts  commencement  it  followed,  most 
frequently,  the  Perpendicular  style  ;  re- 
nouncing this,  it  afterwards  adopted,  in  its 
most  successful  works,  Early  English  and 
Geometrical :  then  it  ransacked  the  Con- 
tinent for  Italian,  Venetian,  and  French 
Gothic  ;  and  now,  coming  home  again,  it 
has  taken  up  with  what  was  once  set  down 
as  "  Debased,"  or  semi-Classic.  There  is  no 
growth  in  this,  for  growth  implies  gradual 
modification  ;  it  is  a  mere  digging  up  of  one 
flower,  and  a  substitution,  at  short  intervals, 
of  another  and  another.  The  first  requisite, 
in  such  a  state  as  this,  is  not  to  observe 
what  points  of  detad  are  successful  and  to 
perfect  them,  but  to  forget  as  fast  as  possible 
those  that  have  become  unfashionable,  and 
to  learn,  as  quickly  as  may  be,  the  way  in 
which  architects  a  la  mode  are  ' '  makin, 
things"  now. 

It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  a  living 
style  that  it  should  be  universal  in  the  time 
and  place  where  it  is  found.  There  were 
times  and  places  in  Spain  where  Eoman 
esque  and  Gothic,  and  Moorish  in  some  of 
its  forms,  were  both  living  styles  together, 
One  set  of  men  were  building  in  the  one 
style,  and  another  set  of  men  in  the  other ; 
put  both  styles  were  growing  and  flourish- 
ing simultaneously.  This,  of  course,  was  an 
exceptional  case :  and  it  shows  that  archi- 
tecture—even the  most  real  and  genuine 
is  something  more  than  a  mere  outgrowth 


Moorish  builders  :  they  had  the  same  cli- 
mate, the  same  building  materials,  and  in 
many  cases,  no  doubt,  the  same  structural 
knowledge ;  yet,  though  neighbours  and 
contemporaries,  they  chose  to  build  in  two 
very  difi'erent  ways.  Shall  we  say  that, 
since  these  two  ways  could  not  both  be  the 
best  rnider  the  given  circumstances,  that 
one  of  them  ought  to  have  been  suppressed  'f 
And  shall  we  wish  in  our  own  times,  if  not 
for  such  a  rough-and-ready  measure  as  an 
architectural  Act  of  Uniformity,  at  least  for 
the  uniformity  which  all  parties,  artistic  as 
wcU  as  religious  and  political,  are  apt  to 
hope  for — the  uniformity  which  \vill  result 
when  all  the  world  is  converted  to  our  own 
particular  way  of  thinking  ?  Alas  !  to  gam 
such  a  uniformity  we  must  first  conquer 
human  nature,  and  next  must  overcome 
what  is  stronger  than  human  nature  itself, 
that  is — Time.  For,  if  men  would  have 
uniformity.  Time  will  have  none  of  it.  The 
men  of  one  generation  in  the  same  country 
may  conceivably  think  alike  in  art  matters  ; 
such  a  thing  has  been,  and  perhaps  might  be 
again.  But  the  men  of  successive  genera- 
tions, even  in  the  same  town  or  village,  will 
never  think  alike.  In  China  itself  there  is 
diflerence  between  the  art-forms  of 
different  cent\u-ies,  much  more  where  men 
look  before  and  after,  and  sigh  for  what  is 
not."  But  the  work  of  the  past  lasts  down 
to,  and  stands  amongst  the  work  of  the  pre- 
sent ;  and  the  work  of  the  jjresent  will, 
much  of  it,  stand  side  by  side  with  the  work 
of  the  future.  If  we  could  attain  uniformity 
of  architectural  practice  to-morrow,  that 
would  not  make  our  streets  uniform.  If  we 
could  get  all  our  contemporaries  to  agree, 
we  should  be  no  nearer  to  bringing  our 
ancestors  into  the  arrangement.  Their 
works  would  still  stand  out  as  irreconcile- 
able  as  ever,  and  our  own  works,  in  a 
century  or  so,  would  themselves  break  up 
the  uniformity  of  that  future  day. 

A  visible  uniformity  of  style  in  our  street 
architecture,  then,  is  a  thmg  which  we  never 
need  hope  to  see.  It  is  a  thing  which  could 
only  exist  in  a  town  buUt  all  at  once,  and 
ceasing  to  floiu-ish  thenceforth  and  for  ever. 
It  is  a  thing  which  would  go  along  with 
grassgrown  streets  and  silent  pavements, 
and  that  absence  of  voluntary  change  which 
everywhere  means  death.  Yet,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  desire  for  uniformity  of  architec- 
tm-al  practice,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  most 
important  truth.  Architectm-e,  unlike  easel- 
painting  and  poetry,  is,  or  ought  to  be,  a 
co-operative  art.  To  make  the  very  best  of 
a  large  architectural  work,  many  artists  are 
needed  ;  for  the  details  give  opportunity  for 
more  thought,  more  invention,  more  design, 
than  one  man  is  well  able  to  lavish  upon 
them.  In  general  composition,  indeed,  one 
man,  the  head  architect,  as  we  may  call  him, 
should  have  it  all  his  own  way  ;  and  Wren's 
works,  to  name  no  others,  show  us  that  a 
true  architect  is  quite  able,  unaided  and 
alone,  to  do  great  and  permanently  success- 
ful things  m  the  planning  and  grouping 
which  constitute  architecture  proper.  In 
the  case  of  detail  it  is  very  different ;  and 
architectural  style  is  mainly  an  affair  of 
detail.  To  speak  more  accurately,  the 
labour  of  evolving  an  architectural  style  is 
a  labour  chiefly  concerned  with  details.  The 
kej'note  of  the  style  is  struck  by  some  one 
man,  probably  far  above  his  fellows  in 
foresight  and  penetration ;  and  then  they, 
in  their  subordinate  places,  spend  then-  lives 
in  bringing  every  minor  feature  into  har- 
mony with  this  ruling  note.  So  it  seems  to 
have  been  at  the  origin  of  the  Pointed  style. 
Its  keynote  was  the  pointed  cross-vault ;  and 
at  first  this  appeared  in  the  midst  of  elabo- 
rate Romanesque  detail.  The  main  arches 
soon  began  to  follow  in  shape  the  crossrib 
of  the  groining ;  and  by  slow  degrees  the 
minor  arches,    down  to  the  smallest,  took 


feature — from  towers  and  spires  down  to 
mouldings  and  sculpture,  all  went  through 
a  corresponding  change— till,  by  the  middle 
of  the  13lh  centm-y,  there  was  hardly  a 
detail  in  any  new  building  of  the  same 
general  character  as  in  the  middle  of  the 
12th.  We  seldom  realise,  in  those  days  of 
hurry  and  thoughtlessness,  the  almost  infi- 
nite amount  of  original  invention  which,  in 
that  one  centm-y,  was  brought  to  bear  on 
architectural  problems.  All  those  details, 
which  we  copy  so  freely — and  to  copy  which 
with  anything  like  spirit  and  accuracy,  is 
almost  enough  to  make  a  modern  architect's 
reputation — were  once  original  ideas,  pro- 
duced by  some  hard  thinker  or  another 
after  years  of  earnest  observation  and  ex- 
periment. Everybody  knows  this,  but 
hardly  any  one  seems  to  realise  it.  We  look 
on  the  past  styles,  be  they  Gothic  or  Greek, 
or  Oriental,  as  if  they  grew  up  with  no 
more  human  aid  than  the  pine-forests  we 
make  our  floors  and  roofs  of ;  or,  if  we 
recognise  that  they  were  created  by  volun- 
tary agents  at  all,  we  feel  like  the  modern 
Arabs,  who  believe  that  the  monuments  of 
Egypt  were  raised  not  by  men,  but  by  the 
genii  of  the  "  Arabian  Nights." 

The  mistake  of  the  Ai-abs  is,  at  bottom, 
much  the  same  mistake  that  is  made  by  the 
moderns  generally,  when  they  consider  the 
past  successes  of  architecture ;  both  alike 
forget  what  can  be  done  by  time  and  by 
combination.  The  soUtary  Bedouin  sees 
clearly  enough  that  he  alone  could  never 
build  a  pyramid  ;  ho  sees  that  thousands  of 
men  could  not  do  it  unless  they  worked  at 
it  for  a  lifetime  ;  and  he  cannot  conceive  of 
any  power  which  could  bring  so  many  men 
together  for  such  a  pm'pose  and  keep  them 
there  so  long.  So  the  solitary  architect 
knows  very  well  that  he  could  not  develop 
a  style,  and  invent,  even  were  life  ten  times 
as  long  as  it  is,  the  countless  details,  all  in 
perfect  harmony,  which  go  to  make  one. 
He  looks  back  to  his  favourite  era  of  living 
art,  and  says  despaudngly,  ' '  There  were 
giants  in  those  days."  Yet  the  men  who 
reared  the  pyramids  were  no  stronger  in 
body,  and,  in  all  probability,  the  men  who 
invented  the  highest  styles  of  the  past  were 
no  stronger  in  mind,  than  men  are  now. 
The  secret  was,  that  they  worked  together, 
and  took  as  long  over  their  work  as  was 
needed  to  do  it  well.  This  is  the  great 
advantage  of  rmiformity  in  style  :  that  it 
enables  architects  to  work  together  and  to 
avail  themselves  of  each  other's  improve- 
ments .'  As  long  as  each  architect  tries  his 
best  to  invent  a  manner  of  his  own  and  keep 
it  to  himself,  the  first  step  towards  the 
development  of  a  living  style  cannot  be 
taken.  He  can  borrow  nothing  from  others 
that  wiU  harmonise  with  his  work  ;  he  can 
lend  nothing  to  others  that  will  harmonise 
with  theirs.  No  doubt  there  is  plenty  of 
borrowing  traceable  at  present :  but  it  is 
just  the  fact  of  its  being  so  easily  traceable 
that  shows  it  to  be  borrowing  of  the  wrong 
sort.  The  workers  in  every  li\-ing  style 
would  seem,  indeed,  to  have  had  all  things 
in  common.  Every  fresh  solution  of  a 
problem — no  matter  who  deserved  the 
honour  of  it — was  speedily  at  the  service  of 
everybody  else.  But,  imder  those  con- 
ditions, everybody  else  could  use  it,  and  use 
it  to  the  improvement  of  their  work,  be- 
cause all  were  looking  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, composing  in  the  same  key.  The 
style  was  thus  enriched  and  added  to 
by  the  best  thoughts  of  hundi-eds  of 
able  men :  its  secrets  were  too  widely 
known  to  be  lost  by  the  death  of  their  first 
discoverers ;  and  so  it  went  on  transform- 
ing, perfecting,  and  slowly  modifying  itself 
from  generation  to  generation.  Just  the 
opposite  of  all  this  happens  when  every 
architect  tries  to  patent  a  style  of  his  own. 
Except  so  far  as  it  is  a  repetition  of  BOme 


550 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  I88O0 


ancient  style,  first  developed  by  the  means 
just  noted,  it  contains  the  thoughts  of  only 
one  man  ;  and  even  these  thoughts,  few  and 
hurried  as  they  are  likely  to  be,  are  of  no 
use  to  other  \vorkors  in  the  same  province. 
The  consequence  is  that  an  individual  man- 
ner like  this  ends  as  it  began,  with  the  man 
who  produced  it.  No  matter  how  able  and 
industrious  he  may  be,  it  will  be  a  poor 
style,  since  it  holds  no  new  thoughts  but  his 
ovra ;  and  were  it  as  admirable  as  it  is  likely 
to  be  unsatisfactory,  the  world  must  lose  it, 
for  it  cannot  outlast  him. 

At  the  present  moment  it  may  be  safely 
said  that  there  is  more  architectural  know- 
ledge, and  even  skill,  in  England  than  there 
has  been  at  any  time  since  the  fall  of  the 
Mediaeval  system.  The  misfortune  is  that 
the  owners  of  this  knowledge  and  skill  are 
not  an  army  but  a  mob.  Instead  of  ad- 
vancing together  in  wisely-planned  order 
against  the  enormous  difficulties  which 
architecture  now  has  to  deal  with,  they  fight 
every  man  for  his  own  hand.  Or,  to  change 
the  figure,  instead  of  all  uniting  to  raise  a 
"  stan-y-pointiiig  pyramid"  outlasting  the 
ages,  each  one  is  content  to  heap  up  his  own 
little  cairn  of  stones — to  be  levelled,  per- 
haps, by  the  first  ass's  heel  that  may  chance 
to  pass  that  way.  For  the  sake  of  art,  and 
for  the  sake  of  architects,  combination  is 
the  most  urgent  want  of  the  day.  There  is 
ability  enough  around  us  to  do  great  things, 
if  that  ability  were  only  concentrated,  in- 
stead of  being  scattered  on  all  sorts  of  dis- 
cordant objects.  Architecture,  as  we  said 
before,  is  a  co-operative  art.  No  one  man 
is  great  enough  to  make  a  style  by  himself, 
although  he  may  be  great  enough  to  produce 
distinguished  works  in  that  style  when  it 
has  once  been  formed.  This  is  the  true  line 
for  personal  ambition.  Unity  in  style  does 
not  prevent  individuality  in  design,  any  more 
than  the  use  of  a  national  language  prevents 
individualityinideas.  On  the  contrary,  it  pro- 
motes it,  by  taking  away  the  thin  disguises 
under  which  old  thoughts  are  passed  upon 
the  world  over  and  over  again  as  something 
fresh.  The  same  worn-out  plan  or  eleva- 
tion, ill-fitted,  perhaps,  at  first  for  the  wants 
of  oirr  time,  is  sent  forth  now  in  an  Early 
Gothic  dress — now  in  a  Late  Gothic  one — 
now  in  semi-Classic — and  now  in  stiffly- 
starched  Italian  ;  and  non-professional 
critics,  though  they  feel  there  is  something 
wrong,  do  not  recognise  that  they  have  been 
hearing  the  same  old  tale,  time  after  time, 
in  different  languages.  Keep  to  one  lan- 
guage, and  the  trick  would  be  exploded ; 
thoughts  would  be  in  demand,  since  words 
would  then  no  longer  serve.  Co-operation 
in  style,  again,  would  do  something  to 
remedy  that  want  of  time  which,  as  we  saw 
not  long  ago,  is  one  of  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties which  architects  now  have  to  contend 
with.  The  general  scheme  and  composition 
of  a  building  once  settled  by  the  head  archi- 
tect, many  of  its  details  might  be  worked 
out  by  subordinate  architects,  equally  at 
home  in  the  common  style.  Every  large 
building  would  thus  get  the  thoughts  of 
many  men,  each  competent  to  do  something 
harmonious  and  interesting,  if  not  great ; 
and  we  should  have  the  best  parallel  which 
present  conditions  allow  to  the  manner  of 
working  which  prevailed  on  the  great  build- 
ings of  the  Middle  Ages. 

But  what  hope,  or  what  possibility  is 
there,  it  ^viU  immediately  be  asked,  of  get- 
ting all  modern  architects  thus  to  think 
alike  in  the  matter  of  style  ?  No  hope  and 
no  possibility  at  all,  we  answer,  of  getting 
all,  or  even  a  majority,  to  unite  in  this  way. 
We  have  seen,  however,  from  the  case  of 
Mediaeval  Spain,  that  a  style  may  be  living 
and  growing  while  it  is  far  from  universal. 
If  a  suificient  number  of  competent  men  will 
join  to  work  in  the  same  direction,  it 
matters  little  how  many  or  how  few  out- 
siders there  may  be  who  refuse  to  aid  them. 
It  is  far  better,  indeed,  that  those  should 


not  join  who  coidd  not,  or  would  not, 
work  earnestly  in  the  agreed  direc- 
tion. Let  them,  if  they  will,  unite 
amongst  themselves  and  try  to  make  pro- 
gress in  the  j^ath  to  which  their  taste  natu- 
rally load  them.  Once  united,  they  will 
give  ujj  by'degrees  many  crotchets  and  learn 
many  truths  which  as  individuals  they  would 
never  have  lost  or  gained.  It  is  not,  after 
all,  a  matter  of  such  unspeakable  import- 
ance what  type  of  ai'chitecture  may  be  fixed 
on  as  a  starting-point ;  the  great  thing  is 
to  get  a  sufficient  number  of  able  men  to 
keep  resoluttly  and  harmoniously  at  work  on 
one  type,  whatever  it  is,  so  as  to  adapt  it, 
in  an  artistic  way,  to  modern  needs.  All 
through  this  century,  architects  have  been 
hesitating  and  debating  as  to  what  style 
they  should  start  from.  Every  mode  of 
working  which  Europe  has  seen,  from  that 
of  the  age  of  Pericles  to  that  of  the  time  of 
Queen  Anne,  has  been  praised,  condemned, 
recommended,  and  abused  by  turns ;  no 
mode  has  been  seriously  taken  up  as  a  basis 
for  combined  effort,  though  all  modes,  one 
after  the  other,  have  had  a  multitude  of 
isolated  copyists.  The  admii-ers  of  each, 
apparently,  have  been  waiting  to  convert 
the  admirers  of  all  the  rest,  and  have  thought 
it  premature  to  make  the  first  move  till 
everybody,  all  through  the  kingdom,  should 
be  ready  to  join  them.  It  would  be  much 
grander,  no  doubt,  if  we  coidd  all  march  off 
together ;  but  as  that  striking  event  is  not 
likely  to  happen  at  present,  might  it  not, 
after  all,  be  best  if  the  few  dozen  who  hap- 
pen in  the  main  to  think  alike,  were  to  start 
by  themselves  as  soon  as  possible  ?  We 
have  seen  what  comes  of  isolation  in  archi- 
tecture ;  but  England  has  not  seen  for  cen- 
turies what  may  be  done  by  combination- 
even  the  combination  of  a  few. 


SCIENTIFIC  rENESTEATION. 
SCIENTIFIC  fenestration,  that  is,  theas- 
►^  certainment  of  a  trustworthy  rule  to 
regulate  the  forms  and  dimensions  of  win- 
dows, and  their  number  and  position,  in  re- 
lation to  the  light  required  in  the  interiors 
of  buildings  for  various  purposes,  is  a 
matter  of  almost  insuperable  ditfioidty.  The 
textbooks  of  architecture,  indeed,  say  that 
nothing  seems  so  much  to  disallow  of  gene- 
ral law  ;  and,  in  default  thereof,  the  archi- 
tect is  usually  advised  to  err  on  the  side  of 
providing  an  excess  of  light,  because  it  is 
always  easier  afterwards  to  diminish  than  to 
increase  it.  Although  the  difficulty  is  thus 
got  over  in  a  rough-and-readj',  practical 
way,  a  certain  rule  would  be  none  the  less 
valuable,  if  it  were  only  to  supply  an  ad- 
mitted deficiency  in  architeotmal  science. 
But  the  subject  assumes  very  much  higher 
importance  when  we  are  assured  by  all  the 
eminent  physicians  of  the  day  that  defective 
eyesight  is  largely  on  the  increase  among 
the  people  of  this  and  othercountries,  and  that, 
among  other  causes,  the  most  powerful  and 
most  clearly  ascertained  is  the  commonly 
injurious  arrangement  of  the  window-lights  in 
rooms  wherein  we  live  and  work.  These  re- 
marks apply  more  particularly  to  school- 
rooms, and  the  impetus  which  the  educa- 
tional movement  has  lately  received  has  at- 
tracted increased  attention  to  the  matter. 
While  it  is  found  that  short-sightedness 
{mi/fipia),  dimness  of  sight  {amhlijopin),  and 
weakness  of  sight  [fiiflitnnjjia)  are  increasing 
generally  in  Germany,  Russia,  America,  and 
England,  in  proportion  as  the  chUdreu  of 
those  countries  are  compelled  to  attend 
school  for  a  certain  number  of  years  (for  sta- 
tistics see  a  paper  on  "  School  Hygiene,"  by 
Dr.  F.  F.  Lincoln,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  in  Dr. 
Buck's  recent  "  Treatise  on  Hygiene  and 
Public  Health,"  Vol.  II.,  pp.  6O0,  COG),  we 
are  assured,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  per- 
centage is  much  greater  in  schools  where 
defective  window  arrangements  prevail,  than 


in  others ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  same  causes  produce  similar  results,  al- 
though in  less  degree,  from  the  greater  sen- 
sitiveness of  the  eye  in  childhood,  in  build- 
ings for  adults.  Perfect  vision  is,  in  fact,  a 
rarer  blessing  than  those  who  enjoy  it  are 
apt  to  suppose  ;  and  those  who  have  it  not 
fail  to  realise  how  much  of  the  defect  is  due 
to  an  imperfect  regidation  of  the  light  by 
which  they  work.  Excess  or  deficiency  of 
light,  cross  lights,  light  falling  at  an  im- 
proper angle,  and  light  refltcting  various 
colours,  are  all,  in  their  degree,  more  or  less 
injurious  to  the  eyes,  and  it  is  the  business 
of  the  architect  to  get  as  near  an  approxi- 
mation to  a  certain  rule  as  possible  (we  con- 
fess at  the  outset  that  an  absolutely  certain 
ride  has  not,  as  yet,  been  devised),  to  illu- 
minate his  buildiugs  so  as  to  provide  against 
all  these.  The  light  admitted  into  our  build- 
ings requires  regvdation  in  three  main  re- 
spects, viz.: — (1)  Quantity;  (2)  Angle  of 
incidence  ;  (3)  Quality. 

(1)  The  Qnantlty  of  light.— The  main 
difficulty  in  regulating  this  arises  from  the 
variations  of  natural  light  itself.  Artificial 
light  can  be  always  exactly  measured  and 
regulated.  It  is  a  well-ascertained  law  that 
the  illuminating  power  emanating  from  any 
source  of  artificial  light  always  diminishes 
in  intensity  exactly  as  the  square  of  the  dis- 
tance from  the  source  of  light  increases  ;  and 
hence,  we  can  always  regulate  the  quantity 
which  shall  fall  upon  an  apartment,  or  any 
part  of  an  apartment,  from  any  given 
number  of  sources,  and  by  the  very  simplest 
means,  we  can  also  regulate  its  quantity  and 
its  angle  of  incidence.  But  Hot  so  with 
natural  light.  Practically  speaking,  all 
points  of  the  earth's  surface  are  at  an  equal 
distance  from  the  source  of  light,  the  Sun. 
In  the  open  air,  the  quantity  of  light  is  di- 
minished only  by  shadows,  such  as  those  of 
clouds,  trees,  or  buildings,  and  by  vapours 
in  the  atmosphere  ;  and  it  is  seemingly  in- 
creased by  reflection,  and  by  the  apparent 
height  of  the  sun  in  the  sky,  according  to 
which  it  must  pass  through  a  greater  or  less 
thickness  of  the  atmosphere,  which  absorbs 
a  part  of  the  light  in  proportion  to  itself, 
and  leaves  a  greater  or  less  quantity  to  fall 
upon  a  given  spot.  The  light  falling  directly 
upon  every  spot  is  thus  a  quantity  varying 
with  the  sun's  course  in  the  heavens  at  every 
moment  of  the  day ;  and  this  fact  renders 
any  mle  founded  upon  the  direct  light  of 
the  sun  absolutely  impossible.  But  an 
average  law  is  not  equally  impossible.  The 
atmosphere  is,  in  itself,  a  great  reservoir  (so 
to  speak)  of  light,  absorbing  a  comparatively 
small  portion  as  it  comes  from  the  sun,  and 
radiating  the  rest  in  every  direction.  Hence 
a  sufficient  approximation  to  a  general  law 
may  be  attained  by  assuming  the  sky  (that 
is,  strictly  speaking,  the  atmosphere)  to  be 
a  hemisphere,  uniformly  illuminated  in  all 
its  parts,  and  then  calciJating  how  much  of 
its  light  will  enter  an  aperture  of  given  di- 
mensions, and  in  a  given  situation. 

The  very  best  light  possible  has  been 
proved,  experimentally,  to  be  that  derived 
from  a  horizontal  skylight,  or  from  a  simple 
aperture  in  the  roof.  The  reason  for  this  is, 
that  the  light  is  poured  into  the  apartment 
from  every  part  of  the  great  natural  hemi- 
sphere of  light  by  which  it  is  surrounded 
no  appreciable  quantity  being  lost  by  ab- 
sorption, reflection,  or  refrac'ion.  A  crucial 
example  of  the  efficiency  of  this  mode  of 
lighting  is  found  in  the  Pantheon  at  Rome. 
This  ancimt  building  has  a  clear  internal 
diameter  of  142ft.  Gin.,  with  a  height  of 
71ft.  to  the  springing  of  the  semicircular 
dome,  and  may,  therefore,  be  taken,  in 
round  numbers,  to  inclose  a  space  of  about 
1,934, 460  cubic  feet.  But  the  whole  of  this 
vast  space  is  most  efficiently  lighted  by  one 
single  aperture  in  the  cro-wn  of  the  dome 
(commonly  called  the  eye)  which  is  only 
27ft.  in  diameter,  and  has,  therefore,  an  area 
only  of  a  little  above  572ft.  ;  whence  it  fol- 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


551 


lows,  that  each  superficial  foot  of  this  aper- 
ture efSciently  il'iimiiiatesno  less  than  about 
3,-iSO  cubic  feet  of  space.  Apart  from  all 
considerations  of  climate,  this  one  example 
clearly  shows  the  wonderful  superiority  of 
vertical  illumination  where  it  is  possible. 
But  this  kind  of  window  is  possible  only  to 
a  very  limited  extent.  In  most  cases,  light 
has  to  be  admitted  through  windows  in 
vertical  walls.  In  considering  the  quantity 
of  light  such  windows  will  admit,  it  is,  of 
course,  necessary  to  treat  the  question,  in 
the  first  instance,  as  if  an  entirely  unob- 
structed space  were  in  front  of  the  aperture, 
and  to  leave  the  effect  of  obstructions  for 
after-treatment.  Now,  it  is  found  that  the 
rays  of  Hght  which  enter  such  an  aperture 
are  very  consider.ably  modified  by  the  degree 
of  obliquity  with  which  they  strike  upon  its 
surface  ;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  bj'  the 
angular  distance  between  the  horizon  and 
the  zenith  from  which  they  proceed.  A  ray, 
for  example,  that  strikes  horizontally  on  a 
window,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sun  rising  or 
setting  exactly  opposite  to  it,  will  arrive  at 
the  far  end  of  the  interior  with  the  same  de- 
gree of  intensity  with  which  it  leaves  the 
glass,  so  far  as  we  can  appreciate  it  by  our 
sensations.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  rays 
that  proceed  from  near  the  zenith  strike  the 
surface  of  the  window  very  obliquely,  and 
with  a  very  great  diminution  of  illuminating 
effect.  The  reason  of  this  is,  that  the 
breadth  of  a  beam  of  light  entering  hori- 
zontally is  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  aper- 
ture, and  it,  therefore,  loses  none  of  its  illu- 
minating effect ;  but  the  breadth  of  an  ob- 
lique beam — and,  therefore,  its  illuminating 
effect,  is  diminished  in  proportion  to  the  sine 
of  the  angle  at  which  its  rai/s  are  iiicliiied  fu  the 
(qycrture.  When  the  angle  is  small,  its  sine 
is  small,  and  the  lighting  power  is,  there- 
fore, insignificant.  The  angle  at  which  a 
beam  of  light  falls  upon  a  perpendicular 
aperture  is  thus  the  measure  of  its  illumina- 
ting power,  and  this  has  been  computed 
with  considerable  exactness,  as  shown  in  the 
following  table  : 

EELATIVE  ILLDinSATINO  EFFECTS  OF  EVEET  TEN 
DEOEEES  OP  SKY     MEAStTKED  PE03I  THE    ZENITH. 

Number  of  rays  out  of 
every  100  which  the 
aperture  receives  from 
each  arc. 


Ai'cs  of  10°  each. 


I 


90^  a: 

ad  80°  . . 

...   1-5 

80 

,70   .. 

...   4-5 

70  , 

,60   .. 

...   7  0 

(iO  , 

,50   .. 

...  10-0 

50  , 

,40   .. 

...  130 

40  , 

,30   .. 

...  140 

30  , 

,20   .. 

...  16-0 

20  , 

,10   .. 

...  17-0 

10  , 

,   0   .. 

...  170 

In  estimating  the  quantity  of  light  re- 
ceived from  a  given  arc  of  the  sky,  according 
to  this  table,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
all  those  (ihoee  it  are  to  be  added  to  it. 
Thus  the  light  received  at  from  70-  to  60'-' 
=  7  +  4-5  +  1-5  =  13,  and  that  from  10°  to 
0°  =  100.  But  these  principlts  and  com- 
putations are  more  useful  in  calculating  the 
question  of  the  effect  of  artificial  obscura- 
tions of  light,  than  for  establishing  the  rule 
of  which  we  are  in  quest. 

If  we  take  the  average  size  of  windows 
practical!}'  constructed  in  most  London 
houses,  we  shall  find,  as  a  common  enough 
example,  in  an  ordinary  room,  say  20ft.  by 
loft.,  lighted  by  two  windows  of  ordinary 
height,  3ft.  wide  in  the  glass,  with  the  hght 
received  at  an  angle  of  45°  aU  along  the 
front,  indefinitely  (for  example,  a  groimd- 
floor  window  in  a  street  whose  width  equals 
the  height  of  the  houses),  that  the  amount 
of  light  is  barely  sufficient  for  ordinary 
residential  purposes,  and  this,  therefore,  is, 
according  to  ihe  e/icl urn  of  Professor  Kerr, 
an  instance  of  the  standard  minimum  of 
necessari/  lir/htiiiij.  Proceeding  from  this 
point,  and  taking-  as  standard  conditions 
that  the  sill  of  a  window  is  about  2if t.  from 
the  floor,  and  the  head  about  1ft.  from  the 


ceiling.  Professor  Kerr  suggests  the  fol- 
lowing scale  of  widths  of  wind'iw-space  with 
corresponding  dimensions  of  rooms  at  ran- 
dom proportions,  heights  being  immaterial, 
and  the  angle  of  light  being  in  all  cases  4.>', 
as  a  minimum  of  domestic  light : — 

Total  wiodow  space  3ft.  wide;  room  12ft.  by  12ift. 

„  4  „  „  16  „  liitt. 

5  ,,  „  17  „  14Ut. 

0  „  ,,  20  ,,  15ft. 

S  „  „  20  ,,  20ft. 

10  „  „  25  „  20ft. 

»  12  „  „  SO  „  20ft. 

That  is  to  say,  in  ordinary  cases  about  1ft. 
of  window-width  (of  standard  height)  to  50 
superficial  feet  of  floor,  with  the  lighting 
intercepted  at  45"  along  the  front  indefi- 
nitely. Professor  Kerr  adds  that  it  seems 
of  little  moment  what  may  be  the  shape  of 
the  room  or  the  position  of  the  windows, 
and  in  this  we  hardly  agree  with  him.  Every 
ray  of  light  that  enters  an  apartment  is 
deflected  from  its  path  by  entering,  and 
again  by  leaving  the  glass  of  the  window, 
and  for  this  reason  a  much  larger  quantity 
enters  the  part  of  the  room  nearest  the  win- 
dow, than  I  caches  the  farthest  part  of  the 
room,  and  this  quantity  is  in  a  great  degree 
in  proportion  both  to  the  size  of  the  window 
and  the  position  of  the  observer.  Hence  we 
naturally  move  our  book  or  paper  nearer  to 
the  window  as  daylight  diminishes.  If  the 
problem  be  as  it  really  is,  how  to  illuminate 
the  apartment  uniformly,  that  is  from  near 
the  window  to  the  farthest  point  from  it,  at 
the  usual  height  of  an  observer's  eye,  seated 
or  standing,  say,  from  3ft.  to  oft.  6iu.,  we 
find  the  position  and  shape  of  the  windows 
of  great  importance.  Rays  cast  from  below 
the  level  of  the  eye,  as  from  a  window  near 
the  floor,  not  only  strike  upward  to  the 
ceiling  and  fail  to  light  the  room  perfectly, 
but  are  positively  injurious  to  the  organs  of 
vision.  If  anyone  wish  to  test  this,  let  him 
only  try  to  read  with  a  lamp  placed  on  the 
floor.  The  eyes  of  mankind  are  constructed 
with  brows  and  eyelids  to  shade  them  from 
above,  whence  light  naturally  comes,  but 
none  to  shade  them  from  below.  By  all 
means,  therefore,  let  no  windows  be  made 
down  to  the  floor,  but  always  from  2\ft.  to 
3ft.  from  it  at  the  least.  In  rooms  where  it 
is  not  desired  to  look  out  from  the  window, 
even  a  greater  height  would  be  as  weU.  The 
best  light  is  always  that  which  comes  in 
from  near  the  ceiling.  Artists  prefer  to 
work  by  a  light  from  the  perpendicidar  part 
of  a  lantern  in  the  roof,  and  this  is  also  the 
best  light  for  picture  galleries  and  museums. 
These  two  facts,  viz.,  that  the  worst  light  is 
from  the  bottom  of  a  window,  and  the  best 
from  the  top,  lead  us  to  a  principle  as  to 
shape.  If  we  compare  two  windows,  each 
containing,  say,  40ft.  superficial  of  glass, 
the  one  15ft.  high  by  2ft.  Sin.  wide,  and  the 
other  10ft.  high  by  4ft.  wide,  one  might 
suppose  the  illuminating  effect  to  \he  the 
same.  But  it  is  not  so.  The  first  window 
would  reach  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling, 
the  second  from  the  ceiling  to  within  3ft.  or 
4ft.  of  the  floor.  Now,  all  the  light  below 
this  level  in  the  first  window  is  practically 
wasted,  and  the  second  admits  more  useful 
light  in  the  proportion  of  40  to  28 '6. 

In  the  case  of  an  apartment,  long  as  com- 
pared with  its  width,  it  is  found  in  practice 
that  it  is  more  effectually  lighted  by  win- 
dows at  either  of  the  narrow  ends  than  if 
the  same  area  of  light  were  admitted  on 
either  of  the  long  sides,  and  most 
especially  so,  if  it  should  happen  that  on 
such  long  side  there  be  a  pier,  instead  of  a 
window  in  the  centre  of  such  side.  In  illus- 
tration of  this  we  quote,  from  Gwilt,  the 
example  of  the  ball-room  at  Windsor  Castle, 
90ft.  long,  34ft.  wide,  and  33ft.  high.  This 
room  is  lighted  from  the  northern  narrower 
side  by  a  window  nearly  occupying  the 
width,  and  is  supplied  with  an  abundance ol 
light.  But  had  the  same  quantity  been 
admitted  from  either  of  the  long  sides  of  the 


room,  so  many  masses  of  shadow  would  have 
been  introduced  through  the  interposition 
of  piers,  that  its  effect  would  havo  differed 
most  widely  from  the  cheerful  and  airy 
aspect  it  now  presents.  In  default  of  an 
absolute  ascertained  law  of  proportion 
between  the  sizes  of  windows,  aTid  the  area 
of  apartments,  certain  rules  havo  been 
framed  from  experience.  The  practice  in 
ordinary  London  houses  we  havo  just  men- 
tioned ;  the  practice  of  Sir  Wm.  Chambers 
was  to  add  the  depth  and  width  of  the  rooms, 
and  take  one-eighth  part  of  the  result  for 
the  width  of  the  window,  and  GwUt  pre- 
scribes 1ft.  superficial  in  a  vertical  wall  for 
100  cubic  feet,  if  the  light  he  placed  cen- 
trally in  a  square  room,  and  the  building  is 
free  from  obstructions.  Another  rule  has 
also  been  given  in  the  following  words  : — 
"Multiply  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
room  together,  and  that  product  multiply 
by  the  height,  and  the  square  root  of  that 
sum  wiU  be  the  area  or  superficial  contents 
of  the  light  required."  These  arc  the  nearest 
approximations  to  a  rule  yet  made,  and 
though  practically  useful,  wo  have  not  been 
unwilling  to  point  out  some  of  the  points 
and  difiiculties  in  the  way  of  attaining  more 
completeness,  and  to  set  our  readers  on  the 
task  of  investigating,  and,  perhaps,  largely 
assisting  in  the  solution  of,  a  very  interesting 
problem. 

The  subject  of  scientific  fenestration, 
however,  includes  much  more  than  a  mere 
regulation  of  the  quantity  of  light.  Its 
angle  and  direction  are  of  great  consequence 
to  the  comfort  of  the  worker  and  the  pre- 
servation of  his  eyesight ;  and  this  is  a 
matter  wherein  the  architect  and  physician 
should  work  hand  in  hand,  each  learning 
the  other's  reqiui'cments  and  appreciating 
each  other's  ditficidties,  so  as  to  arrive  at  the 
maximum  of  possible  adaptation  of  our 
buildings  to  the  delicate  organs  of  human 
vision.  Space,  however,  fails  us  to  enter 
fully  into  all  the  wide  bearings  of  this  sub- 
ject, and  for  the  present  we  must  confine 
ourselves  to  reproducing  for  the  considera- 
tion of  our  readers,  the  latest  statement  of 
the  requirements  of  the  medical  profession 
in  relation  to  the  architecture  of  windows. 
Though  primarily  addressed  to  the  architects 
of  schools,  they  embody  principles  adapted 
to  all  buildings  where  men  live  and  work.. 
We  compile  principally  from  a  valuable 
paper  on  "  School  Hygiene,"  written  by  Dr. 
D.  F.  Lincoln,  of  Boston,  in  the  United 
States.  A  scholar  must  have  a  perfect  light 
in  whatever  part  of  the  room  he  sits.  The 
requisites  to  this  end  are  as  follows  : — ■ 

The  sill  had  better  be  placed  4ft.  above  the 
floor.  Light  entering  at  the  level  of  the 
eyes  only  dazzles,  and  is  almost  useless  for 
illuminating  the  tops  of  desks.  Make  the 
interior  of  the  room  pleasant,  and  the  pupils 
will  not  want  to  look  out  of  the  window. 
The  top  of  the  window  must  come  as  near 
as  possible  to  the  ceiling.  By  the  use  of  iron 
girders  it  can  be  brought  within  Sin.  of  it, 
and  this  should  be  required.  The  reason 
for  this  requisition  is  that  the  most  usefid 
light  for  a  scholar's  purpose  is  that  which 
strikes  his  desk  at  a  right  angle  or  something 
near  it.  This  is  furnished,  first,  by  the  upper 
part  of  the  windows  ;  and  second,  by  the  ceil- 
ing ;  hence  the  propiiety  of  using  every  means 
to  secure  the  thorough  illumination  of  the 
latter — a  point  which  is  neglected  in  most 
dwelling-houses,  churches,  and  schools. 
Evidently  the  heads  of  the  windows  must 
be  square,  and  not  roimded  or  pointed,  as  is 
the  case  in  certaiu  picturesque  styles  of 
architecture.  Neither  is  a  pier  of  masonry 
dividing  a  window  desirable.  The  roof 
must  not  project  so  as  to  cut  off  any  appre- 
ciable light,  nor  are  verandas  at  all  allowable 
in  the  quarter  whence  light  is  supplied. 
There  must  be  no  wing  or  projection,  no 
pier  or  column,  in  the  way  of  light.  These 
restrictions  set  a  limit  to  the  indulgence  of 
the  architect's  taste ;  but  they  leave  room 


552 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


cnougli  -witlim  the  limit.  If  projections  are 
forbidden,  flat  decoration  and  ornamental 
brickwork  are  admitted ;  and  shafts,  wide 
doors,  and  gronps  of  -windows  are  features 
which  can  be  seized  upon  to  give  a  charac- 
teristic style  to  the  building,  which  need  be 
neither  ecclesiastical,  Hellenic,  nor  com- 
mercial. 

The  proper  position  of  the  windows  is 
tolerably  well  settled.  No  window  should 
be  placed  in  front  of  the  scholar,  for  the 
light  thus  entering  is  worse  than  wasted, 
blinding  him  at  his  work,  and  tending 
directly  to  produce  near  sight.  Windows 
on  the  right  are  slightly  objectionable,  as 
throwing  a  shadow  on  the  page  whenever 
the  hand  is  used  in  ciphering,  drawing,  or 
writing.  Windows  at  the  back  throw  the 
pupil's  own  shadow  on  his  book  ;  but  this  is 
not  a  serious  matter,  except  for  those  who 
sit  next  a  window,  and  they  have  light 
enough,  at  any  rate,  while  for  writing  they 
are  extremely  well-placed,  as  it  is  usual  to 
turn  partly  to  the  left  in  this  exercise. 
"Windows  at  the  left  are  entirely  free  from 
objection,  as  far  as  they  can  bo  free.  The 
ideal  light  should  come  from  over  the  left 
shoulder,  or  the  right  shoulder  if  one  is 
sitting  up  and  reading  ;  but  if  looking  over 
a  desk,  this  is  rather  inconvenient,  and  the 
best  is  then  a  very  high  light  from  the  left, 
and  a  little  in  front.  In  brief,  the  rule  for 
placing  windows  is :  neve>'  in  front,  alwsi/s 
on  the  left ;  at  the  back  also,  if  you  choose  ; 
but  not  at  the  right,  if  you  can  help  it. 
Light  from  the  left  and  the  back  at  once  does 
not  harm  the  eye,  and  practically  is  quite 
admissible  ;  the  only  person  to  find  fault  is 
the  teacher,  in  whose  eyes  the  light  will 
fall  directly. 

The  German  authorities  agree  substanti- 
ally with  these  remarks,  though  they  differ 
among  each  other  in  the  degree  of  emphasis 
with  which  they  forbid  the  rear  and  right- 
hand  windows.  Dr.  Eiissmann  says  em- 
phatically :  "  The  light  must  be  taken  from 
the  left  side  only.  A  room  which  cannot  be 
sufficiently  lighted  from  that  side  is  unfit 
for  a  schoolroom."  English  schools  are  pe- 
culiar ;  and,  from  the  shape  of  the  rooms  and 
the  presence  of  galleries,  are  often  hard  to 
light. 

The  size  of  the  windows,  taken  collec- 
tively, should  equal,  at  least,  one-sixth  of 
the  floor-space.  Cohn  requires  one-fifth,  or 
30in.  to  the  foot.  Less  than  this  will  pros 
bably  be  insufficient  in  many  cases.  It  is 
alsc  stated  by  the  highest  authorities  in 
school  hygiene  that  300  or  350  square  inches 
of  glass  are  required  for  each  pupil,  and  this 
requirement  is  nearly  coincident  with  Cohn's 
in  the  German  schoolrooms,  which  hardly 
exceed  7  metres  in  depth.  In  those  of 
greater  depth,  it  woiild  not  be  nearly 
enough. 


RESTORATIONS  AT  HAMPTON  COURT 
PALACE. 

HAilPTON  COURT  PALACE  has  re- 
cently undergone  restoration,  and  dur- 
ing the  past  year  or  more  we  find  consider- 
able progress  has  been  made.  Visitors  must 
have  piH^viously  observed  that  decay  had 
commenced  in  many  of  the  buildings  ;  the 
brickwork  needed  repair  and  repointing, 
the  parapets  were  in  a  dilapidated  condition, 
and  the  stonework  and  carvings  were  in 
many  instances  in  a  crumbling,  obliterated, 
and  insecure  condition.  Closer  inspection 
revealed  the  inroads  time  and  negligence 
had  made,  and  the  Government  authorities 
in  charge  of  the  Palace  commenced  the  work 
of  repair  not  a  day  before  it  was  necessary. 
Under  the  architect  of  the  Office  of  Works, 
Mr.  J.  Lessols,  and  under  the  immediate 
superintendence  of  the  resident  clerk  of  the 
works,  Mr.  Edwin  Chart,  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  particulars,  the  restorations 
of  the  principal  internal  coiu-ts  and  facades 
have  now  assumed  something  like  complete- 


ness, though  there  stUl  remains  a  good  deal 
to  be  done. 

The  three  great  courts  of  the  Palace  have 
all  undergone  careful  examination  and  repair, 
though  little  has  yet  been  done  to  the  main 
entrance  of  the  western  facade,  the  old  gate- 
way of  w-hich  still  retains  its  miserable 
plastered  and  whitewashed  ceiling  and  walls, 
a  sorry  entrance  to  so  grand  a  group  of 
buildings.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  in 
the  eastern  angles  of  the  gateway,  shafts, 
with  their  springers,  yet  remain,  indicating 
that  this  gateway  must  originally  have 
been  groined.  We  hope  that  very  shortly 
the  interior  will  receive  attention,  and  that 
the  poverty-stricken  look  which  at  present 
pervades  the  entrance — due,  no  doubt,  to 
some  18th  century  plasterer — will  give  place 
to  a  groined  ceiling  and  to  brick-faced  walls, 
in  harmony  with  the  rest  of  the  front. 
Entering  the  kitchen-court,  the  visitor  will 
be  much  pleased  to  find  the  old  and  decayed 
chimneys  and  brickwork  have  been  here  and 
there  reinstated.  This  court  is  perhaps  unique 
as  a  specimen  of  picturesque  grouiiing,  the 
semicircular  bay  window  of  the  drawing- 
room,  the  play  of  light  and  shade,  and  the 
square-headed  mullion  windows,  grey  with 
age,  the  whole  set  off  by  the  sombre  and 
mellow  colouring  of  the  brickwork,  produce 
an  effect  only  realised  in  works  of  Tudor 
architecture.  The  Fish  Court  is  another 
piquant  bit  of  old  work  ;  the  decayed  walls 
have  been  restored  to  harmonise  with  the 
ancient  portions,  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  old  chimneys  have  been  reproduced  may 
be  seen  by  the  admirable  restitution  of  the 
cut  and  rubbed  brick  chimney-shafts  in 
Seymour's  Court,  in  which  elaborate  chevron 
and  honeycomb  patterns  have  been  executed. 

Tennis-Court  Lane,  on  the  north  side, 
retains  its  ancient  character,  though  here 
the  archreologist  may  observe  a  blending  of 
modern  with  old  that  will  repay  observa- 
tion. The  insertions  of  flat-gauged  arches 
of  red  brick,  with  white  painted  window- 
frames  and  sashes,  show  that  considerable 
additions  were  made  to  this  part  of  the 
palace  in  the  ITth  century  ;  but  of  course 
the  most  interesting  jjarts  are  the  Gothic, 
of  which  several  fragments  of  good  bays 
and  chimneys  yet  remain.  Little  has  been 
done  here,  but,  we  understand  from  Mr. 
Chart,  this  portion  will  be  taken  in  hand  in 
due  time,  and  the  decayed  stone  mullions, 
string-courses,  and  chimneys  made  good. 

The  West  Court  presfrves,  probably,  the 
original  appearance  it  possessed  in  Wolsey's 
time  more  than  any  other.  It  is  a  large 
quadrangle,  and  possesses  the  quiet,  hospit- 
able air  so  characteristic,  also,  of  genuine 
Tudor  times.  The  surrounding  buildings 
are  of  two  stories,  pierced  by  the  typical 
three-light  square-headed  mullion  windows, 
and  surnmunted  by  a  lofty  parapet  battle- 
mented.  Recent  restorations  here  compare 
most  favourably  with  those  undertaken 
about  30  years  ago,  as  may  be  seen  on  look- 
ing at  the  coloured  brick  par.apet  on  the 
north-west  angle,  and  the  new  brickwork 
la'ely  executed.  The  gable  of  the  great 
h.all,  seen  here  to  advantage,  has  been 
undergoing  much-needed  repair  ;  we  find 
new  gurgoyles  have  replaced  the  old  ones, 
which  were  dangerously  decayed,  and  the 
griffins  up  the  copings  have  been  renewed 
by  Mr.  Ruddock,  of  Pimlico,  who  has  exe- 
cuted the  whole  of  this  work  in  a  thorough 
manner,  following  closely  the  original  free- 
stone models. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  gateway, 
nhicli  leads  to  another,  though  smaller, 
quadrangle  called  the  Clock  Court.  Here 
the  visitor  will  find  that  the  elaborate  fan- 
groined  ceiling,  about  18ft.  square,  which 
covered  the  lobby  at  the  foot  of  the  great 
hall  staircase,  has  been  restored.  The  old 
ceiling  to  the  gateway  had  so  far  decayed 
.as  to  be  dangerous  to  those  who  entered, 
and  the  ribs  and  cuspings  were  crumbling 
away.      We   find,  on   examining    the  new 


ceiling,  that  the  old  one  has  been  conscien- 
tiously followed,  the  ribs  and  details  having- 
been  scrupulously  reproduced.  There  ap- 
pears  to  be  little  doubt  that  this  gatewav 
belonged  to  the  age  of  Cardinal  Wolsey  or 
Henry  VIII.,  as  on  a  close  inspection  of  it 
we  find  the  usual  heraldic  badges,  the  Tudor 
rose,  Fleur-de-Lys,  portcullis,  the  initials  of 
Anne  Bolyn  in  the  quatrefoils  of  the  panel. 
The  centre  forming  the  keystone  is  carved 
as  a  large  Tudor  rose  of  bold  proportions, 
and  Mr.  Ruddock  has  carried  out  this  im- 
portant part  of  the  restoration  in  a  very 
satisfactory  manner.  The  ribs  and  tracery 
are  sharply  cut,  and  the  ceiling  is  carried 
out  in  Bath  stone.  The  walls  of  the  stair- 
case leading  to  the  great  hall  have  been 
restored  to  their  original  state,  the  plaster- 
ing has  been  removed,  and  the  walls  refaced 
with  new  red  brickwork,  in  addition  to 
which  the  ceiling  has  been  repaired  and 
trussed  beams  introduced  across  the  stair- 
case. The  quadrangle  which  forms  the 
second  from  the  entrance  is  about  134ft. 
square  ;  the  hall  forms  the  north  side.  The 
most  important  feature  in  this  court 
is  the  astronomical  clock,  said  to  have 
been  erected  in  1540,  which  has  lately 
undergone  renovation,  .and  has  been  de- 
scribed in  the  Building  News.  Its  face  is 
a  series  of  concentric  circles,  ha-ving  the 
signs  of  the  Zodiac  and  various  otherde-vices, 
The  eastern  front  shows  traces  of  Classical 
work,  and  it  is  said  that  Kent  was  employed 
to  restore  it,  the  date  1732  appearing.  The 
pseudo-Gothic,  or  rather  Batty  Langley 
details,  the  window  with  ogee  arch  mould, 
are  striking  anachronisms,  and  we  should  not 
be  sorry  to  see  these  unsightly  innova- 
tions removed. 

Passing  through  to  the  court  known  as  the 
Inner  or  Pountain-court,  in  which  the  work 
of  Wolsey  and  his  successors  has  given  place 
to  the  fine  Classic  buildings  and  cloisters  of 
Wren,  we  perceive  that  considerable  reno- 
vations have  been  made.  On  one  of  the 
sides  the  a+tic  has  been  restored,  the  new 
red  brickwork  of  which  has  been  made  to 
harmonise  with  the  time-stained  walls.  This 
atlic  is  pierced  with  square-shaped  openings, 
surrounded  by  stone  architraves,  and  siu-- 
mounts  the  circular  or  bull's-eye  -windows, 
over  the  lofty  range  of  pedimented  -n'indows. 
From  the  range  of  circular  openings  it  is 
di-\ided  by  a  deep  stone  string.  To  the  ad- 
mirer of  the  Italian  revival,  this  court  claims 
attention,  and  possessesmuoh  that  is  striking, 
if  not  grand.  The  circular  arches  forming 
the  arcade  of  the  cloisters  are  particularly 
noticeable  for  their  drop  arches  carved  in 
front,  and  for  the  decorative  carving  round 
the  bull's-eye  openings,  which  latter  is  a 
clever  conventional  adaptation  of  the  flayed 
lion's  skin,  the  head  forming  the  key-stone. 
The  west  side  is  the  Mantegna  Gallery. 
The  fountain  still  remains,  but  the  statuary 
of  Fanelli  are  absent.  The  cloisters  them- 
selves h.ave  been  restored,  the  walls  have 
been  refaced  with  red  brick,  and  the  stone 
pilasters  carrying  the  groining  have  been 
rebuilt  here  and  there. 

In  the  Chapel  Court,  one  of  the  battle- 
men  ted  parapets  has  leen  rebuilt,  and  some 
brick  shafts  added,  in  character  with  the 
old.  Of  the  roofs,  covering  three  or  four 
acres,  much  has  been  releaded  in  a  substan  • 
tial  manner. 

The  sanitary  arrangements  have  under- 
gone reconstruction  also  ;  we  hear  that  all 
drains  and  closets  have  been  cut  off  from 
the  sewers,  and  the  soil  and  discharge- 
pipes  have  been  left  open  at  the  fop  without 
the  addition  of  any  offensive  cowls  or  ter- 
minals. A  new  engine-house  has  been  bmlt 
in  a  shnibbery  at  the  north  side  of  the 
garden-front  of  the  palace,  and  the  archi- 
tect has  successfully  endeavoured  to  make  it 
harmonise  in  style  with  the  later  Tudor 
buildings.  It  is  a  square  erection  of  red 
brick  relieved  by  mullioned  -windows  of 
stone,  covered  -with  a  nicely-toned  tile  roof. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


553 


out  of  which  springs  a  ventilator,  of  good 
design,  constructed  on  the  dcflecting-iilate 
principle. 

SCULPTUEAL  DECORATION. 

IT  is  a  common  reproach  that  we  have  no 
sculpture  worthy  of  the  age  ;  and  cer- 
tainly if  we  look  to  recent  buildings  for 
evidences  of  the  decorative  sculptor's  art,  we 
are  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  there  is 
some  ground  for  that  opinion.  The  most 
obvious  defect  in  decorative  work  of  this 
kind  is  that  it  lacks  character.  There  is  no 
school;  but  what  is  done  is  copied  from  some 
old  building,  or  is  the  crude  attempt  to 
carry  out  a  design  that  has  been  drawn  in 
outline,  but  never  modelled.  If  it  is  abas- 
relief,  there  is  aflatnessand  want  of  salience 
to  certain  figures  or  groups ;  if  a  figure  from 
the  round,  the  material  has  not  beeu  suffi- 
ciently considered.  These  faults  spring 
from  the  absence  of  modelling,  also  the 
tendency  just  now  to  teach  our  artists  from 
the  flat  instead  of  from  the  round.  The 
outline,  important  as  it  is,  does  not  fairly 
represent  the  appearance  of  a  design  which 
is  raised  in  relief,  much  less  does  it  jjreseut 
the  isolated  figure  from  the  round  divested 
of  all  background,  and  subject  to  the  ever- 
changing  efl'ects  of  light  and  shade.  In 
works  of  modelling  and  sculpture,  we  find 
the  modern  aitist  sometimes  totally  forget- 
ful of  the  material  he  is  using.  To  take  one 
glaring  instance  of  this,  it  is  not  uncommon 
to  find  bronze  ti-eated  in  precisely  the  same 
way  as  stone.  The  substance  and  durability 
demanded  by  the  latter  matoriiil  are  copied 
in  the  bronze  statue  or  group,  notwith- 
standing the  very  different  qualities  of  the 
material.  In  dealing  with  bronze,  the  artist 
is  not  called  upon  to  give  support  to  limbs 
or  drapery  as  ho  would  in  a  brittle  fragile 
material ;  he  can  dis^^lay  more  tour  df  JXin-e, 
as  in  a  poised  figure  of  Mercury.  On  the 
other  hand,  good  outline  is  more  necessary 
in  a  bronze  than  a  stone  group ;  the  contour 
is  everything  in  a  dark  materia],  which  re- 
ceives no  aid  from  light  and  shadow  half- 
tints,  and  gradation  of  tone.  The  late 
Professor  Weekes,  E.A  ,  has,  in  his  recently- 
published  lectures,  inculcated  this  principle. 
He  says  a  work  of  bronze  has  to  depend 
almost  wholly  upon  what  is  termed  its  sky- 
line ;  "  the  idea  must  be  expressed  by  what 
we  understand  by  the  word  silhouette — that 
is,  a  marginal  line  or  contour  filled  up  by 
blank  space,  with  all  inner  forms  omitted. 
This  arises  from  the  dark  colour  of  bronze 
hiding  the  inner  details,  so  much  so  that  iu 
certain  lights  they  become,  in  large  works 
seen  from  a  distance,  almost  invisible."  He 
goes  on  to  show  that  many  compositions 
well-suited  to  marble  are  quite  unfit  for 
bronze,  as,  for  instance,  draped  figures 
sitting  in  chairs,  where  the  outline  is  ob- 
scured or  lost.  The  statue  of  Havelock,  in 
Trafdlgar-sijuare,  is  condemned  for  having 
at  its  back  a  tree  for  the  purpose  of  support. 
Such  subjects  as  Apollo,  Hercules,  the  em- 
braces of  a  Cupid  and  a  Psyche,  naturally 
approve  themselves  to  the  artist  as  being 
suited  to  bronze  more  than  to  marble. 
Flaxman  again  has  given  the  sound  ads'ice 
that  "  attention  to  the  materials  of  sculpture 
will  naturally  lead  us  to  the  selection  of  its 
legitimate  subjects."  When  much  animation 
is  not  wanted,  where  the  dominant  emotion 
is  a  dignified  decorum,  an  embodiment  of 
simplicity  orof  some  virtue,  marble  or  stone 
seems  to  be  admii-ably  capable  of  expressing 
the  ideas  of  the  sculptor  ;  but  when  vigorous 
action  and  movement  are  required,  as  in  the 
heroic  class  of  compositions,  and  in  dramatic 
subjects,  bronze  seems  peculiarly  appro 
priate. 

We  may  point  to  an  exceptional  class  of 
works  in  stone,  to  which  it  appears  to  us 
the  above  distinction  does  not  apiply,  though 
we  do  not  remember  anyone  has  particularly 
noticed    it.     We    allude  to   the  bas-relief. 


Here,  as  the  sculptured  figures  are  only 
raised  above  the  ground  of  the  stone,  the 
fragility  of  material  does  not  apply,  and  the 
most  animated  composition  is  compatible 
with  a  legitimate  use  of  the  material.  Lot 
us  example  the  Battles  of  the  Atlienians 
and  Amazons,  and  Persians  in  t'lo  ancient 
basso-relievos  of  the  temples  of  Jlinerva 
and  Theseus  at  Athens,  and  other  sculpture 
in  the  British  Museum. 

Tlie  efFoct  of  illumination  upon  sculptural 
ornament  is  another  of  the  means  by  which 
the  ancient  artist  has  surpassed  the  modem 
worker.  Not  only  did  ho  express,  by  tlie 
general  lines  of  the  limbs  and  draperies,  the 
movement  of  his  figures,  but  he  made  them 
telling  features  in  relieving  the  surface  of 
his  stone  by  the  effect  of  light  and  shadow. 
How  immeasurably  superior  in  this  respect 
was  the  work  of  the  Greek  sculptor,  may  be 
seen  by  comparing  the  sculptural  decoration 
on  some  of  our  recent  buildings,  and  the 
architectonic  sculptures  of  the  Athenian 
friezes,  as  for  instance  the  Panathenaic  pro- 
cessions, and  the  contests  of  the  Centaurs 
and  Lajiithte  iu  the  metopes  of  the 
Parthenon.  Here,  it  will  be  found,  the 
Greek  sculptor  employed  artifice  to  throw 
out  the  outlines  and  features  of  his  figures. 
The  light  came  from  below,  or  from  between 
the  columns,  and  the  features  and  draperies 
were  so  sharply  cut  as  to  catch  the  light,  and 
giveexpiression  to  the  figures.  In  the  metopes, 
the  figures  in  combat  are  distinct  and  clearly 
defined  in  outline,  there  is  a  breadth  o! 
stone  between  the:n  with  this  object  in 
view.  Does  the  modera  sculptor  take  these 
points  into  his  consideration  ?  We  thi;ik 
not  :  it  would  entail  too  much  labour  ;  more 
labour  than  his  personal  interest  iu  the 
work  warranted.  He  does  not  reap  the 
reward — never  the  praise;  it  is  the.  con- 
tractors. 

Sculijtural  decoration,  to  be  seen  at  a 
distance,  may  be  aided  by  dark  grounds  or 
colour,  though  the  latter  ought  never  to 
become  obtrusive.  Perhaps  a  light  blue  or 
Pompeian  red,  of  pale  tint,  is  the  least  ob- 
jectionable form  of  figure -relief .  There  are 
several  conventions  that  have  been  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  throwing  out  friezes  and 
other  kinds  of  sculptured  figures  ;  and  this 
late  Sir  Matthew  Digby  Wyatt  has  alluded 
to  these  in  his  "Lectures."  One  of  these 
is  raising  the  figures  so  that  the}'  may  be  as 
much  as  possible  detached  from  the  surface 
— or  alto-relievo,  as  it  is  termed  — and  here 
the  sculptor  can  counter-sink  his  design 
partly,  or  sink  the  ground  behind  it.  The 
same  writer  says,  alluding  to  this  method : 
— "  In  such  cases,  the  work  may  still  be  re- 
garded as  alto-relievo  (comple'e  detach- 
ment being  frequently  designated  as 
altissimo-relievo),  until  one-half  in  depth 
is  absorbed  from  back  to  front.  In  that 
case,  it  reaches  a  stage  which  is  known  as 
mezzo-relievo,  and  in  all  varieties  of  depth 
from  back  to  front,  e.xtcnding  from  h.alf  the 
substance  of  the  rounded  parts  down  towards 
that  flatness  which  is  characteristic  of  wh  it 
is  known  as  medallic  sculpture,  the  work  re- 
mains in  the  coniition  of  what  is  known  as 
basso-relievo."  Few  of  our  modem  sculp- 
tors are  experts  in  this  kind  of  relief,  which 
requires  a  conventional  scale  to  be  applied 
to  the  various  depths  of  the  figures,  so  that 
each  may  preserve  a  proper  relation  to  the 
natural  scale.  In  the  flatter  kinds  it  may  be 
necessary  to  resort  to  artifice,  such  as  to 
raise  the  parts  which  meet  the  background 
more  than  the  middle  portions  of  the 
figures,  or  to  define  by  sinkings  the  outline 
of  the  composition.  Sir  C.  Eastlake,  speak- 
ing of  bas-reliefs,  elucidates  a  prineijile  of  the 
utmost  importance,  namely,  that  as  "pro- 
portion commands  thadow,  so  flatness  com- 
mands light  "  ;  hence  the  flattest  relief  is 
best  in  dark  situation.  To  insure  distinctness 
of  outlines,  another  expedient  is  to  abruptly 
sink  the  edges  of  the  figures  on  the  ground, 
thus    foxTuing    a    rectangu'ar    projection. 


Sometimes,  indeed,  the  sculijtures  of  this 
kind  are  a  little  undercut,  eo  as  to  ])resent  a 
di'cp  line  of  sliadow.  In  dark  situations,  an 
etfect  of  even  rotundity  in  the  design  may  be 
thus  obtiiined  in  flat  relief. 

Extra  salience  must  be  given  to  prominent 
figures  in  compositions  of  this  kind  ;  but  we 
have  noticed  in  many  recent  soidptures  that 
the  artist  has  made  all  his  figiu'es  of  equal 
prominence,  and  ttiereby  the  plot  of  the  de- 
sign is  confused,  and  a  bewildering  intricacy 
is  the  result.  Again,  how  often  do  we  find 
attitudes  in  bas-reliefs  which  conceal  parts 
of  the  figures,  such  as  a  log  or  an  arm  hid- 
den by  another.  The  over-laying  of  figures 
must  bo  done  with  considerable  discretion, 
so  that  the  leading  actor  is  presented  in 
outline  with  tolerable  isolation.  There  are 
other  exi)edients  to  produce  relief,  depend- 
ing on  the  texture  or  surface  of  the  ground- 
work and  the  manner  in  which  the  draperies 
are  made  to  express  the  natural  movement 
of  theflgures.  In  low  relief,  the  tooling  of  the 
stone  background  is  of  much  consequence.  To 
produce  half-shade  or  shadow,  the  .sculptor 
leaves  roughness  or  toolings  on  the  sur- 
face, the  effect  of  which  is  to  give  relief 
to  the  smoother  figures  ;  in  fact,  in  this  art 
of  relief,'  the  sculptor  has  to  manipulate 
his  chisel  much  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
painter  uses  his  brush. 

We  have  said  enough  to  show  the  tech- 
nical qualities  required  to  produce  successful 
relief  decoration  in  stone  or  other  material, 
and  we  hope,  before  long,  to  find  our  art 
societies  encouraging,  by  competitions  and 
prizes,  the  architectural  sculptor's  work, 
rather  than  allow  it  to  drift  into  the  unsatis- 
factory condition  of  contract-carving,  of 
which  our  modern  public  buildings  can 
mainly  boast.  The  architects  and  sculptors 
of  the  Italian  Renaissance  were  skilled  as 
architectural  modellers,  and  the  study  of  re- 
finements such  as  we  have  noticed  were  com- 
mon, if  we  can  trust  Vasari  and  other 
authorities  of  the  period.  But  the  works 
themselves  attest  the  skill,  and  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  rules  were  n.t  confined 
to  the  studios. 

BUILDINGS  IN  SOUTH    LONDON. 

THE  dwellers  in  the  suburbs  south  of 
the  Thames  have  not  been  idle  lately 
in  public  improvements.  Not  to  mention 
several  estates  which  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  speculative  builder  within  the 
last  two  years,  we  should  be  omitting  to 
chronicle  architectural  progress  if  Ave  did 
not  record  the  erection  of  a  few  buildings  of 
more  than  ordmary  importance.  One  of  the 
most  conspicuous  structures  barely  com- 
pleted, is  a  large  school  known  as  the  Mary 
Datchelors'  School  for  Girls,  a  middle- 
class  establishment,  at  the  bottom  of  Grove- 
lane,  Camberwell.  The  design  is  by  Mr. 
ChatfeUd  Clark,  and  the  work  has  been 
carried  out  in  a  creditable  manner.  Exter- 
nally the  building  of  three  stories  is  of  red 
brick,  relieved  by  stone  dressings,  and  is  in 
a  mixed  style.  Late  Gothic  windows  being 
freely  blended  with  Eenaissance  details. 
There  is  a  prominent  centre,  the  main  fea- 
tures of  which  are  the  entrance  and  window 
above  it.  These  are  of  stone  ;  the  entrance 
is  dignified  by  fluted  columns  supporting 
a  broken  pediment,  in  the  design  of  which, 
by  the  way,  the  keystone  of  the  square  door- 
head  takes  a  somewhat  undue  part,  being 
grotesquely  large.  The  wings  have  nmllion 
windows,  above  which  are  dormer  gables ; 
the  general  effect  is  bold,  and  the 
features  well  arranged.  Ascending  the 
flight  of  steps  to  the  entrance,  and  passing 
through  a  short  vestibule,  a  main  corridor 
right  and  left  runs  from  end  to  end  of  the 
front  building  with  a  double  flight  of 
stone  stairs  in  the  centre,  on  either  side  of 
which  is  a  doorwaj' leading  into  a  large  hall 
or  schoolroom,  about  50  by  40ft.,  which 
extends  behind  at  right  angles  to  the  main 


b5i 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


front  block.  The  proportions  of  this  hall, 
which  has  a  gallerj'  at  one  end,  are  imposing. 
It  is  well  lighted  on  each  side  by  lofty 
mullion  -n-indows,  covered  by  a  roof  of  var- 
nished deal,  constructed  with  two  cants  on 
each  side,  springing  from  wooden  brackets, 
and  with  a  flat  ceiling  below  the  collar. 
The  ribs  or  principals  divide  the  roof  into 
compartments,  and  iron  tie-rods  are  intro- 
duced. The  hall  is  heated  by  hot-water 
pipes  on  each  side.  Below  this  hall  is  a 
large  dining-room  of  the  same  size.  The 
corridor  we  have  mentioned  leads  to  other 
rooms,  in  the  wings,  devoted  to  class-rooms, 
mistresses"  apartments;  thekitohen  forms  the 
basement.  The  administrative  arrangement 
appears  satisfactory,  and  the  dormitories 
are  commodious.  The  corridor  walls  are 
coloured  buff,  with  a  dado  of  dark  Pompeian 
red ;  the  floors  are  paved.  The  straight 
moulded  labels  or  cornices  running  over  the 
internal  doorways  look  meaningless  with- 
out a  frieze,  but  the  general  details  are 
plain  and  usefully  effective. 

The  vast  and  increasing  population  of 
Lambeth  has  created  a  demand  for  cheap 
dwellings  of  a  superior  class,  and  perhaps 
the  "  Albany  "  Improved  Dwellings  in  the 
Albany-road,  erected  by  the  enterprise  of 
Messrs.  Sutton  and  Dudley,  are  equal  to  the 
largest  experiments  of  the  kind  to  be  found 
in  London.  These  consist  of  private  houses 
and  model  dwellings,  and  contain,  with 
the  dwellings  in  the  New  Kent-road,  fifteen 
hundred  distinct  residences  of  three,  four, 
and  five  rooms.  The  Albany  comprise  four 
blocks  of  dwellings  of  six  stories  in  height, 
the  rents  of  which  are  from  5s.  6d.  a  week 
upwards,  including  all  rates  and  taxes. 
Upon  each  story  we  find  three  or  more 
tenements,  each  consisting  of  a  kitchen, 
sitting  and  bedrooms.  The  kitchen  has  a 
range  with  oven  and  boiler  ;  a  sink  with 
water  supply  enclosed,  and  a  coal-closet ; 
the  dust-shoots  are  provided  in  each  landing. 
Wash-houses  are  obtained  on  the  flat  roof. 
Unfortunately,  like  other  buildings  of  this 
class,  the  architectural  design  has  been  left 
to  the  budder,  and  the  blocks  present  rather 
a  forbidding  monotony  in  their  lines.  Their 
lofty  flat  roofs  and  the  want  of  breaks 
in  the  faoades,  the  small  insignificant 
entrances,  and  the  meagre  details  of  the 
windows,  might  lead  the  tenant  with  any 
sense  of  taste  to  a  humbler  dwelling,  or  one 
of  the  older  brick  houses  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. Bay  windows  of  three  stories  in 
height,  with  three-light  windows  above,  are 
introduced  throughout  the  huge  flat  fronts 
of  stock  brick  and  cement  dressings,  pro- 
ducing a  wearisome  sense  of  repetition.  The 
blocks,  however,  have  provided  a  better  class 
of  apartments  than  many  of  the  old  houses, 
and  so  they  are  nearly  all  let.  A  court 
or  area  gives  light  and  air  to  the  back 
rooms  ;  but  these  areas  are  too  narrow,  and  it 
is  a  pity  the  same  capital  has  not  been 
spent  in  providing  a  smaller  number  of 
dwellings  two  or  three  stories  high  with  a 
little  more  garden  room.  The  new  Board 
Sch'iol,  adjoining  these  buildings,  is  another 
addition  to  the  public  schools  of  the  locality, 
and  is  carried  out  in  a  less  e.xpensive  man- 
ner than  some  of  greater  pretensions  to 
style. 

A  pleasing  contrast  to  the  model  dwellings 
of  the  Albany-road  is  the  newly-erected 
block  of  dwellings  in  the  Kennington-road, 
from  the  design  of  Mr.  Hoole,  architect,  an 
illustration  of  which  appearedintheBriLDIXG 
News  of  last  year.  Begun  about  a  year  ago,  it 
is  now  a  finished  pile,  and  we  may  without 
fiittery  say  it  is  a  striking  feature  in  the 
localit)'.  The  work  surpasses  our  e.xpecta- 
tions  of  it  from  the  drawings  ;  the  colour  of 
the  dark  red  brickwork,  almost  unrelieved 
by  stone  or  bands  of  any  kind,  is  maintained 
throughout ;  even  the  angle  octagon  to  the 
two  roads  has  a  red-tile  roof,  and  the  whole 
relief  consists  in  the  outUne  and  design  of  the 
detail.  The  shops  are  obtained  under  pointed 


arches  ;  the  spaces  above  the  shops  included 
within  the  arches  form  a  mezzanine.  The  brick 
voussoirs  are  relieved  bj'  being  built  in  two 
sections,  one  slightly  recessed  from  the  upper, 
and  their  lower  edges  are  worked  in  a  kind 
of  dog-tooth  pattern.  The  arches  spring 
from  piers  built  of  glazed  bricks  red  and 
yellow  alternately  in  courses,  and  immedi- 
ately rest  on  stone  carved  caps.  Above  a 
range  of  connected  windows,  in  a  kind  of 
Venetian  Gothic  framework  of  brick,  are 
effective  and  cleverly  destroy  the  monoton- 
ous effect  the  windows  would  have  had  if 
isolated.  The  upper  ledges  formed  by  the 
projecting  architraves  serve  as  a  balcony  to 
the  top  windows.  The  gabled  treatment 
of  the  latrines  in  the  centre  is  made  a  good 
feature,  but  looks  rather  weak  above.  A 
row  of  small  cottages,  with  tiled  gable;,  face 
a  side  road,  and  are  built  in  characteristic 
taste,  and  generally  we  must  attribute  much 
of  the  success  of  the  design  to  the  thorough 
way  in  which  the  brick  details  have  be  en 
executed.  Mr.  W.  Smith,  of  Harleyford- 
road,  S.E.,  is  the  builder.  We  cannot  con- 
clude these  notes  of  new  works  without 
noticing  that  a  new  neighbourhood  has 
sprung  up  covering  the  site  of  the 
old  Surrey  Gardens.  Entering  the  new 
estate  through  the  old  thoroughfare  known 
as  Manor-place,  we  find  several  new  roads 
have  been  formed,  and  blocks  of  three-storied 
houses  have  been  built.  As  a  rule,  there  is 
little  we  can  call  architectural  ;  the  houses  are 
of  stock  brick  with  bands  of  red  brickwork 
along  the  window  heads,  and  this  is  varied 
by  a  white  stamped  brick.  Cement  dressings 
of  a  vicious  kind  rather  mar  the  elevations, 
and  we  cannot  avoid  expressing  regret  that 
this  estate  should  have  been  covered  by 
dwellings  of  such  inartistic  construction. 


ARCHITECTURAL  AS30CIATI0X. 

THE  first  business  meeting  of  the  session  was 
held  on  Friday  evening ;  the  President, 
Mr.  Ernest  C.  Lee,  in  the  chair.  Upwards  of  fifty 
nominations  for  election  were  read  out.  Pro- 
fessor T.  Hayter  Lewis  was  nominated  by  the 
President,  seconded  by  the  senior  hon.  secretary, 
Mr.  R.  C.  Page,  and  was  elected  by  acclamation, 
the  usual  interval  between  nomination  and 
election  being  specially  waived.  The  adoption 
of  the 

AXNTJAL  EEPOET 

was  moved  by  the  President.  It  expi-essed 
satisfaction  that  the  prosperity  of  the  Associa- 
tion in  its  different  branches  continues  to  in- 
crease ;  as  testified  by  the  successful  results  of 
the  work,  and  the  efforts  of  its  members  to 
develop  what  had  now  become  a  recognised 
society  for  the  professional  education  of  young 
architects.  The  numerous  opportunities  offered 
for  study  and  improvement  during  past  years 
had  been  turned  to  good  account  by  many,  and, 
judging  from  the  nmubers  who  had  attended 
the  classes  and  the  fortnightly  meetings,  and 
the  merit  of  the  work,  the  committee  felt  folly 
justified  in  stating  that  the  Association  was  now 
in  a  very  healthy  condition.  During  the  session 
papers  were  read  by  Messrs.  Cole  A.  Adams,  R.  L. 
Cox,  Basil  Champneys,  Robert  Walker,  W.  H. 
Brewer,  W.  Dawes,  S.  W.  Kerslnw,  M.A., 
E.  Ingress  Bell,  T.  Roger  Smith,  W.  Scott,  and 
C.  G.  Maylard.  Visits  to  buildings  of  interest  were 
made  on  alternate  Saturday  afternoons  to  the  fol- 
lowingpUces : — Bedford  Park  Estate,  church  and 
houses;  St.  Mary  Abbotts'  new  tower,  Merchant 
Taylors'  HaU  and  buildings,  Knightsbridge 
Barracks,  Westminster  Abbey,  North  London 
Collegiate  School  for  Girls,  Bow-street  New 
Police  Courts,  and  Hampton  Court  Palace.  These 
visits  were  uniforndy  well  attended.  Negotiations 
arependiugby  which  the  Association,  will  receive 
on  loan  from  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Archi- 
tects, a  number  of  valuable  books,  many  of  which 
duplicate  those  already  in  the  Association  library. 
Messrs.  J.  D.  Mathews  and  H.  L.  Florence, 
past-Presidents,  had  been  chosen  to  act  as  re- 
presentatives on  the  Committee  of  the  Royal 
Institute  of  British  Architects,  engaged  in 
preparing  a  general  scheme  for  an  examination 
for  membership  of  the  Institute.  References 
were  made  to  the  exctirsions  to  Norfolk  and  the 


North  of  Italy.  Considerable  increased  accom- 
modation had  been  obtained  in  the  Ubrary 
and  committee-rooms,  and  the  Association  now 
holds  the  whole  of  the  second  floor  of  No.  9, 
Conduit-street,  on  lease,  sub-letting  a  portion. 
The  premium  of  five  guineas,  offered  for  a 
design  for  a  title-page  for  the  first  volume  of 
the  second  series  of  the  Sketch-Book,  had  been 
awarded  to  Mr.  E.  W.  Polej.  The  Birmingham 
bratich  continued  to  work  efficiently  in  con- 
nection with  the  Association,  and  had  availed 
itself  fuUy  of  aU  the  privileges  of  membership. 
Amongst  the  honours  taken  by  members  of 
the  Association  during  the  past  year  had  been  : 
— At  the  Royal  Academy :  F.  Baggallay,  gold 
medal ;  J.  Ince,  medal  of  merit  in  same  compe- 
tition ;  and  R.  Gibson,  travelling  studentship. 
At  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects : 
L.  Stokes,  Pugin  travelling  studentship ;  F, 
Hemings  and  M.  J.  LandseU,  medals  of  merit 
in  same  competition  ;  E.  Harnor,  Soane  medal- 
lion ;  L.  B.  Broun,  the  Tite  prize  ;  and  G.  H. 
Blagrove,  prize  essay.  In  conclusion,  the 
committee  strongly  urged  upon  the  younger 
members  the  importance  of  devoting  a  part 
of  their  spare  time  to  cultivating  theii-  abilities, 
by  joining  one,  at  least,  of  the  classes,  which 
were  open  to  all,  and  which  would  be  found  to 
be  most  serviceable  aids  to  their  professional 
progress. 

Mr.  J.  Douglass  Mathews,  in  seconding  the 
adoption  of  this  report,  referred  to  the  active 
steps  taken  by  the  Association  in  urging  upon 
the  Institute  the  necessity  of  imposing  a  com- 
pulsory examination  upon  all  future  candidates 
for  admission  to  th  e  ranks  of  the  latter  body. 
The  Association  was  the  nursery  not  only  of 
the  Institute,  but  of  the  profession,  and  it 
behoved  all  members  to  see  that  the  compulsory 
examination  was  not  a  failure.  To  prevent  the 
possibihty  of  such  an  unfortunate  occurrence 
he  hoped  that  special  classes  would  be  started 
without  delay  to  aid  members  in  preparing  for 
the  examination.  He  detailed  the  operations 
of  the  special  committee  appointed  by  the  Insti- 
tute to  consider  this  matter,  and  mentioned 
that,  besides  the  representative  members  men- 
tioned in  the  report,  the  committee  included 
Messrs.  Roger  Smith,  Lacy  Ridge, Watson,  and 
other  weU-known  members  of  the  Association. 
The  report  havmg  been  unanimously  adopted, 
Mr.  Mathe^.-s,  as  treasurer,  moved  the  adoption 
of  the  balance-sheet.  This  was  of  a  satis- 
factory character,  and  showed  total  expenditure 
of  £603  lis.  4d.  The  cash  in  treasurer's  hands 
had  been  reduced  from  £124  17s.  Sd.  to 
£.51  13s.  lOd.  The  arrears  of  members'  sub- 
scriptions and  rents  were  estimated  at 
£140  ;  the  value  of  the  library  furniture, 
&c.,  was  estimated  at  £700;  and  these 
items,  with  a  ftw  miaor  ones  of  credit  and 
liabihties  in  connection  with  the  prize  Usts, 
showed  a  total  balance  in  favour  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  £859  Us.  Mr.  Mathews  congratulated 
the  members  on  the  result  of  the  recent  altera- 
tions of  the  premises,  and  stated  that  although 
the  rent  was  now  higher  than  formerly,  the 
Association  obtained  much  better  accommoda- 
tion, and  by  letting  the  rooms  the  ultimate  ex. 
pense  was  little  more,  while  they  possessed  a  21 
years'  lease  in  place  of  being  yearly  tenants. 
The  report  was  unanimously  adopted.  The 
Ubrary  report  was  moved  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Peatt, 
Ubrarian.  It  stated  that  the  attendance  had 
been  good,  especially  amongst  new  members, 
and  an  average  of  42  volumes  were  changed  each 
night.  Owing  to  the  increase  of  volumes,  which 
now  numbered  1,040,  additional  bookcases  had 
been  necessary.  Great  inconvenience  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  neglect  to  return  books  at  the 
proper  time,  no  fewer  than  45  per  cent,  of  the 
members  taking  out  books  having  been  fined. 
This  report  having  been  adopted,  Mr.  L.  C. 
RiDDETT  proposed  that  the  reports  be  printed 
and  circulated  amongst  the  members.  Three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  had  been  spent,  and  there 
were  nine  more  reports  to  be  passed,  for  which 
fair  consideration  and  discussion  was  impossible 
owing  to  the  impatience  of  members  to  hear  the 
address  of  the  evening.  Messrs.  Claekson  and 
Stan-sts  objected  to  this,  on  account  of  the  ex- 
pense involved  :  while  Messrs.  Floeexcb, 
Mathews,  and  others  considered  that  the  reports 
related  to  a  primary  work  of  the  Association, 
and  that  they  ought  to  be  entered  in  its  archives. 
The  promise  was  made  that  in  future  the  reports 
should  be  pubhshed  in  the  "  Brown  Book,"  and 
the  consideration  of  the  others  were  postponed 
till  after  Mr.  Lee  had  read  his 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


555 


PEESroEXTIAL  ADDEES3. 

Having  outlined  the  history  of  the  Associa- 
tion at  the  recent  conrersazioae,  the  President 
said  he  proposed  that  evening  to  deal  with  the 
inunediate  past  with  the  aim  of  seeing  what 
could  be  done  to  increase  the  usefulness  of  the 
organisation.  The  continued  depression  in 
trade  had  probably  affected  the  Association,  for 
although  the  members  had  increased,  the  classes 
had  scarcely  been  so  well  supported  as  in  past 
years,  with  the  exception  of  the  Class  of  Con- 
struction, where  the  attendance  had  been  quite 
exceptional.  The  general  depression  ought  to 
be  but  an  incentive  to  harder  work  and  increased 
application,  and  th?  committee  desired  to  see 
proofs  of  a  more  vigorous  spirit  in  the  younger 
members  than  was  evinced  by  their  predecessors. 
There  was  a  general  lack  of  energy  in  the  com- 
petitions for  the  Association  prizes,  many  of 
which  had  of  recent  years  to  be  withheld,  as 
the  drawings  were  not  up  to  the  standard.  It 
was  true  that  the  wjnt  the  Association  first 
supplied  had  since  been  recognised  by  other 
bodies,  and  that  various  schemes  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  youth  in  architectural  offices  had 
been  set  on  foot  by  South  Kensington,  the 
architectural  class  at  the  Royal  Academy, 
Schools  of  Art,  "Univeri-ity  College,  the  R.I.B.A. 
Voluntary  Examination  Class,  the  BtjiLuixG 
News  Designing  Club,  and  the  Architectural 
Museum  Sketch  Book.  These  were  not  rivals,  but 
co-trustees,  for  the  education  of  students,  and 
the  development  of  these  institutions  and  the 
inducements  they  offered  were  not  enough  to 
account  for  the  falling  off  in  these  classes.  The 
Class  of  Design  had  been  almost  ecUpsed  by  the 
Elementary  Class  of  Design.  It  seemed  that  the 
mass  of  architectural  students  in  the  present 
day  found  it  much  easier  to  sit  down  and  be 
taught  and  crammed,  than  to  work  out  their 
own  conceptions  in  a  more  independent  manner. 
To  send  designs  up  to  the  Btjildino  News  and 
obtain  notoriety  by  having  them  published  in  its 
pages,  had  naturally  an  infatuation  for  the 
youthful  mind,  and  it  was  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  many  should  prefer  such  occasional  fame 
to  the  more  healthy,  if  outspoken,  criticism  of 
their  fellow-men.  By  so  doing,  students  lost 
more  than  half  the  advantages  the  Class  of 
Design  especially  afforded  ;  for  (added  the  Pre- 
sident) I  myself  was  for  many  years  a  member, 
and  consider  that  in  that  class  I  learned  how 
to  design,  and,  more  than  that,  to  criticise  and 
receive  criticism,  and  to  be  able  to  reason  out 
my  own  design.  In  making  my  drawings  I 
was  always  put  on  my  mettle  to  anticipate 
what  the  other  members  of  the  class  would 
object  to,  and  to  have  my  argument  ready  to 
refute  them  if  possible;  and  this  system  has,  I 
believe,  since  been  of  great  use  to  me  in  deal- 
ing with  my  clients.  He  urged  the  neophyte, 
by  all  means,  to  join  the  elementary  class,  and 
there  leam  about  the  past  styles  of  architecture, 
but  when  he  was  thus  furnished  for  the  fight, 
why  should  he,  he  asked,  AchiUes-Ltke,  go  and 
sulk  in  his  tent  or  skulk  behind  a  motto  in  the 
BuTLDiXG  News  r  To  win  the  prize  in  the  Class 
of  Design  ought  to  be  harder  work  than  to 
gain  any  other  honour  awarded  by  the  Asso- 
ciation, not  excepting  the  silver  medal ;  and  if 
the  class  showed  signs  of  raising  itself,  he  felt 
sure  the  reward  for  the  successful  competitor 
would  be  increased  to  a  sum  more  worthy  of  its 
old  establishment.  'While  they  were  pleased  to 
note  the  success  of  the  Class  of  Construction, 
which  numbered  more  than  double  the  members 
in  all  the  other  classes  put  together,  he  would 
ask :  Did  their  students  intend  to  call  themselves 
.surveyors  or  architects  in  after-life,  or  were  they 
to  have  a  new  profession  of  "Building  Con- 
structors.-" Did  they  imagine  that  if  they 
were  well  up  in  specifications,  were  acquainted 
with  the  secret  of  the  mason's  craft,  and  could 
circumvent  the  wiles  of  the  plumber,  that  design 
would  come,  a  Mioerva  springing  ready-made 
from  the  brain  of  the  specification-maker  ready 
to  conquer  the  world  of  Art  ?  He  believed  that 
mauy  members  joined  the  -4.ssociation  for  one  of 
three  reasons  :  1st,  because  many  of  their  friends 
were  members  ;  2nd,  because  ilr.  So-and-So,  to 
whom  they  were  articled,  thought  they  had  better 
join,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  their  present 
usefulness  and  for  their  subsequent  good  ;  and 
3rd.  to  attend  classes  for  the  specific  purpose  of 
self- education  and  with  a  determmation  of 
going  in  for  hard  work ;  but  of  the  last  class  he 
feared  there  were  but  few.  He  invited  the 
younger  members  to  take  a  mjre  active  part  in 


their  meetings,  but  suggested  that  it  would 
be  desirable,  first  of  all,  to  study  the  subjects 
which  had  already  been  published  as  the 
titles  of  the  papers.  Small  cliques  or  inner 
societies  might  be  formed,  meeting  at  each  others' 
houses,  to  discuss  these  questions  in  private. 
The  Association  had  not  been  unsuccessful  as  a 
whole  during  the  past  session,  for  the  report 
had  shown  that  most  of  the  prizes  offered  by  the 
Academy  and  Institute  had  been  taken  by  their 
members.  The  programme  of  the  coming 
session  included  a  varied  list  of  papers  ;  six  of 
them  were  essentially  domestic,  two  were  de- 
scriptive of  the  Association  tours,  and  two 
practical,  one  was  ecclesiastic,  and  the  list  was 
closed  with  a  purely  artistic  paper,  dealing  with 
colour-decoration  from  a  painter's  point  of  view. 
He  would  appeal  to  the  members  generally  to 
support  the  Sketch-Book  committee  in  the  new 
series  of  that  important  work,  remarking  that 
were  the  -Association  to  cease  to  exist  to- 
morrow, the  twelve  volumes  of  sketches 
already  published  would  be  a  lasting  monu- 
ment of  its  energy  and  earnestness.  Recurring 
to  the  prizes  offered  by  the  Association, 
he  thought  that  one  reason  why  more  members 
did  not  compete  was  because  the  rewards  were 
intrinsically  inadequate  to  the  labour  expected, 
and  a  sub-committee  would  present  to  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Association,  at  their  next  meeting, 
a  report  on  the  subject,  in  which  it  was  pro- 
posed :  1st,  to  raise  a  sum  producing  annually 
£20  for  founding  a  travelling  studentship, 
limited  to  members  not  more  than  23  years  of 
age,  and  election  to  which  should  be  based  on 
powers  of  design  as  well  as  draughtsmanship  ; 
2nd,  to  endeavour  to  considerably  increase  the 
value  of  the  present  open  prizes.  He  trusted 
the  members  would  each  support  this  scheme  to 
the  extent  of  their  power.  The  proposed  com- 
pulsory architectural  examination  about  to  be 
established  by  the  Institute  was  heartily  com- 
mended as  a  prelindnary  step  towards  the  issue 
of  an  architectural  diploma,  by  which  unqualified 
persons  woiUd  be  prevented  from  trading  in  the 
name  of  "  architect."  In  conclasion,  he  said  he 
trusted  that  during  the  present  session  the  har- 
mony of  the  Association,  notwithstanding  its 
ponderosity,  would  be  maintained  ;  that  in  their 
social  connection  members  would  all  be  ever 
ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  less  successful 
brethren ;  and  in  their  labours  together  in  that 
house  he  hoped  they  would  strive  by  all  means 
in  their  power  to  f  alfil  the  aspirations  of  their 
motto,  and  learn  so  to  order  their  ways  that  pos- 
terity would  at  least  allow  that  the  architects  of 
the  19th  century,  whatever  else  their  short- 
comings, did,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power, 
"Design  with  beauty  and  build  in  truth." 

Mr.  Eai.ES,  hon.  sec,  read  in  succession  the 
reports  of  the  various  classes,  which,  after  a 
general  discussion  and  protests  against  the  sand- 
wiching of  the  address  between  them,  were 
adopted  oi  masse.  That  of  the  Class  of  Design 
spoke  of  a  falling  off,  owing  to  other  attractions, 
to  the  extent  of  2.5  per  cent,  in  attendances  and 
work  accomplished.  The  Elementary  Class  of 
Design  was  more  satisfactory,  and  equal  in 
every  respect  to  the  average  of  the  past  few 
years.  The  Colour  Decoration  Class  was  but 
fairly  good,  there  being  a  decrease  in  numbers, 
attendances,  and  sketches.  The  Class  of  Archi- 
tectural Science  had  shown  an  advance  upon  the 
previous  3  ear,  but  the  committee,  thinking  that 
its  popularity  and  usefulness  were  diminished  by 
the  high-sounding  title,  had  reconstructed  it 
under  the  name  of  the  Advanced  Class  of  Con- 
struction and  Practice.  The  Class  of  Construc- 
tion and  Practice  was  the  most  successful  and 
popular  class.  There  were  109  members,  but  it 
was  complained  that  members  did  not  attend 
regularly,  especially  those  who  sent  in  replies. 
A  Surveying  Class  had  been  organised  under  the 
instruction  of  Mr.  A.  T.  AYalmesley,  C.E.,  and 
had  been  a  thorough  success.  The  members 
visited  Hampstead  Heaih  on  Saturday  after- 
noons for  practical  instruction  in  the  use  of  in- 
struments, and  on  the  following  Thursday  nights 
met  in  class  to  disMiss  the  work  done,  and  to 
study  the  theory  of  the  subject,  to  examine  new 
and  modified  instruments,  &c.  The  Sketchbook 
report  stated  that  a  new  series  was  about  to  be 
commenced,  and  that  younger  men  had  been  put 
on  the  committee  iu  order  to  infuse  new  bio  id 
into  the  undertaking.  Reports  were  also  read 
as  to  the  Norfolk  and  Lombardy  excursions, 
conducted  respectively  by  Messrs.  Pmk  and 
Stannus,  and  it  was  recommended  that  an 
Italian  excursion  be  organised  every  two  years. 


Mr.  Lacy  W.  Ridge  proposed  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  President  for  his  practical  address 
of  that  evening,  and  at  the  con rersazione ;  and 
Mr.  Blashiix,  in  seconding  this,  said,  as  an  old 
Past-President,  he  was  struck  with  the  widening 
work  of  the  Association,  which  rendered  it  ne- 
cessary for  a  President  who  devoted  himself,  as 
Mr.  Lee  had  done,  to  a  consideration  of  the 
work  of  the  Association,  to  introduce  into  his 
address  an  ever  increasing  range  of  topics.  It 
seemed  inevitable  that  each  new  occupant  of 
the  chair  should  find  a  little  fault  with  the 
younger  men  for  their  want  of  energy  in  class- 
work.  This  was  probably  well,  as  a  good  deal 
of  time  was  lost  by  young  members  before 
settling  into  work.  Within  certain  limits,  the 
creation  of  inner  cliques  within  the  Association 
was  desirable,  and  these  might  be  usefully 
organised  by  members  for  assisting  one  another 
to  spend  short  holidays  on  the  Continent, 
in  seeing  for  themselves  celebrated  build- 
ings and  other  modes  of  life.  The  pro- 
proposed  studentship  would  involve  a  large  ex- 
penditure, and  its  details  would  need  careful 
consideration  in  committee,  but  he  would  sug- 
gest that  a  grant  in  aid  be  made  at  once  by  the 
-Association,  so  that  it  could  be  organised  next 
summer. 

Mr.  .S.  F.  Claekso^t,  ex-president,  said  he  had 
put  down  the  number  and  value  of  the  prizes 
now  offered  to  architectural  students  by  Asso- 
ciation, Institute,  and  other  bodies.  Having 
assessed  the  value  of  medals  and  books,  he  found 
that  almost  £400  was  annually  distributed  in 
between  30  and  40  premiums,  no  inconsiderable 
amount  for  an  industrious  student  to  set  before 
him,  as  times  were  with  architects,  although,  of 
course,  this  calculation  included  some  second 
and  third  prizes.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  sup- 
ported the  proposal  to  establish  a  studentship, 
and  believed  it  would  be  productive  of  con- 
siderable benefit.  The  vote  of  thanks  was  also 
spoken  to  by  Mr.  Riddeit,  and  was  carried  by 
acclamation.  In  acknowledging  it,  the  Peesi- 
DEXT  said  ho  felt  justified  in  what  Mr.  Blashill 
had  referred  to  as  fault-finding,  as  he  comiidered 
the  classes  should  increase  at  least  commensu- 
rately  with  the  growth  of  the  Association, 
whereas  he  found  that  while  since  about  1S75 
their  numbers  had  been  raised  from  600  to  800, 
the  classes  had  absolutely  fewer  members,  and 
these  attended  less  frequently  than  then. 


OLD  ST.  PAUL'S.' 


{Conliiiiied  from  page  52.5.) 
fl^HE  Lady  Chapel  is  mentioned  in  the  middle  of 
JL  the  13th  ceutury  {{-) ;  in  13IS,  by  order  of 
the  dean,  seven  tapers  burned  at  the  celebrations 
therein  in  honour  of  God,  our  Lady,  and  St.  Law- 
rence. These  -^ere  furnished  by  otleriDgs  to  the 
imaa-es  of  St.  Lawrence  and  John  the  Baptist  in 
the  chapel  or  that  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  on  the 
outside  thereof  to  the  east. 

An  altar  of  Ht.  :danj  Maijdalene  and  one  of  St. 
Martha  and  &t.  Mary  MagdaUHe,SiTemeiiiionedL{h-), 
as  well  as  .SY.  Lawrence's  Chapel  opposite  the 
Sacristy.  A  chantry  at  St.  Lawrence's  altar  was 
founded  by  dean  de  St.  Marie  I'Eglise,  1241- 
1243,  and  two  deans  had  chantries  in  the  Chapel 
ofSS.  Stephin  and  Lawrence  (i^),  the  earlier  being 
Ijeoffrey  de  Lucy,  1231-41.  Another  incident 
connects  these  chapels  with  this  part  of  the 
church.  On  the  south  side  of  the  choir,  towards 
the  upper  end  thereof,  was  a  certain  oratory, 
with  images  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  SS.  John 
B.,  Lawrence,  and  Mary  Magdalene  (A"),  the 
Celestial  Hierarchy,  and  the  Joys  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  on  the  vault  and  elsewhere,  the  Nativity 
within  a  glorious  tabernacle  on  the  South  wall, 
with  images  of  St.  Catherine  and  St.  Margaret. 
The  founder  was  Canon  de  \\'altham,  in  1320. 

The  Saci  isty  contained  an  altar,  a  furnace  for 
baking  altar  breads,  a  lavatory  for  washing 
altar  linen,  and  three  distinct  chambers  (domus.) 
The  Treisiin/  {k'),  with  three  chambers  (domus), 
for  storing  the  ornaments,  jewels,  and  plate  is 
more  than  once  mentioned,  and  in  the  chMi^>er 
office  we  may  recognise  the  chamberlain's 
chequer,  who  was  bursar,  collector  of  levenufej 
paymaster  of  stipends,  and  furnisher  of  neces\ 
saiies  for  divine  service. 

A  rang-e  of  parcloses  divided  off  the  two  eastern 
bays  of  the  new  work;  the  central  chapel  was 


•  A  paper  by  JIackexzie  E.  C.  Walcott,  B.D., 
F  S  A.,  Precentor  of  Cliichester  ;  read  before  the  mem- 
b  Ts  ol  St.  Paul's  Ecalesiological  Society,  Nov.  4th,  1880. 


556 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


that  of  St.  Mary  :  on  the  north  was  the  Chapel 
of  St.  George  (P),  and  on  the  south  the  Chapel  of 
St.  Vimstan  (in'')  divided  from  the  Lady  Chapel 
by  the  fine  tomb  of  Henry  Lacy,  Earl  of  Lincoln. 

Bishop  Ealdock,  as  so  great  a  furtherer  of  that 
stately  building  eastward  from  the  quire  called 
the  Kew  AYork,  was  buried  under  a  brass 
in  the  midst  of  the  Lady  Chapel  («-).  At  his 
feet  Bishop  Braybroke,  in  1404  [o'),  was  laid 
under  a  fair  marble  stone  inlaid  with  letters  made 
every  one  of  a  several  piece  of  brass.  Bishop 
Stokesley,  in  1539,  wa.s  buried  afore  the  altar  of 
our  Lady  Chapel  behind  St.  Erkenwald's 
shrine.  (/)')  Bishop  Eustace  de  Faulconbridge, 
who  died  in  1228,  was  buried  in  the  south  wall 
of  the  New  Work,  and  Bishop  Wengham  was 
entombed  near  him.  {q') 

Three  other  altars  occur  here  ;  one,  close  to  this 
spot, 

The  altar  of  St.  Michael,  at  which  these  two 
bishops  founded  chantries  (r") ;  and  two  at  the 
other  end  "above  the  vaults  of  the  western 
church "  [that  is,  St.  Faith]  having  the  same 
founder  Bishop  Nigel,  or  Le  Noir  (1229-1241), 
(s2),  and  endowed  with  older  chantries  by  Bishop 
Eichard  de  Ely  or  FitzNeale,  (1189-9S),  who 
was  buried  under  a  beautiful  tomb  (I?).  These 
were  the  altars  of  (i?) 

St.  Thomas  of  Cnnterhurij  and  St.  Denis, 
and  Dean  de  Newport,  c.  1260,  had  a  chan- 
try; and  they  were  removed  from  another  site 
when  the  apsidal  choir  of  Maurice  was  rebuilt, 
and  the  work  of  reconstruction  eastward  led  to 
the  translation  of  several  altars  and  bishops' 
tombs. 

The  Crypt,  of  four  alleys,  and  eight  bays,  ex- 
tended from  the  old  Norman  crypt  of  Maurice, 
below  the  flight  of  stairs  in  the  upper  choir 
at  the  entrance  of  the  presbytery,  and  therefore 
was  loftier  than  the  earlier  work  into  which  two 
doors  opened.  There  Bishop  Theodred,  in  a 
still  more  ancient  subterranean  church,  had  beeu 
buried  near  the  window  of  the  crypt,  so  that  his 
tomb  was  visible  to  the  passers-by  (c'),  as  in  two 
similar  instances  at  Canterbiiry  and  St.  Neot's. 
The  new  Craodes  or  Shraodes  were  divided  by  a 
fccreen  into  two  paits  :  the  Chapel  of  Jesus  on  the 
cast,  and  St.  Failh^s  Church  on  the  west  ;  a 
vestry  was  formed  in  one  bay  of  the  south  aisle, 
from  which  a  chapel  projected. 

The  Jesus  Guild  t  from  1459,  every  night  after 
Compline  sang  three  Salves  "before  Jhesu, 
Our  Ladie,  and  St.  Sebastian"  («'),  probably 
altars  with  images  with  those  dedications. 

We  have  some  interesting  particulars  con- 
nected with  the  Guild  which  assembled  here ; 
they  light  up  the  subject  with  curious  glimpses 
of  ancient  life  and  customs.  Their  days  of 
iissembly  were  the  feasts  of  the  Transfiguration 
and  Name  of  Jesus.  Six  waits  with  banners, 
painted  cognisances  embroidered  with  the  sacred 
monogram,  went  through  all  the  streets  and 
suburbs  of  London,  playing  with  tlieir  instru- 
ments, to  give  knowledge  and  warning  to  the 
people ;  the  altars  were  garnished  ;  a  cresset 
light  and  bonfii'e  burned  in  the  evening  before 
the  north  door  of  the  Craodes  ;  herbs,  and  gar- 
lands, and  modest  fare  of  bread,  and  some 
barrels  of  ale,  gladdened  the  day  time  after  the 
solemn  service  sung  [Regist.  457-458.]  We 
hear,  also,  of  ringing  and  tolling  of  bells,  blow- 
ing organs,  tapers  and  torches,  as  became  a 
fraternity  which  had  for  its  rector  the  dean. 

There  was  also  an  altar  of  St.  Ehadeijmut, 
which  had  a  cross,  and  iron  gate  or  carol,  with  a 
lamp  hanging  in  a  floriated  crown.  It  was 
founded  by  Bishop  Kicliard  (.r-).  The  dedication 
is  rare,  but  occurred  in  the  Abbey  of  Bradsole 
and  Exeter  Cathedral. 

The  matin  mass  was  said  daily  at  5  a.m.  at 
the  altar  of  <S'/S'.  Peter  and  Faul,  mentioned  in 
llOS-27,  01  Altar  of  the  yiposths,  whence  it  was 
called  the  Apostles'  Mass,  for  which  in  1559 
matins  were  substituted.  The  minor  canons 
sang  it.  In  1229,  Dean  Pateshull  founded  a 
chantry  here  (;/-) . 

The  inventories  tell  us  of  a  store  of  rich  vest- 
ments, a  goodly  array  of  ornaments,  and  costly 
trappings,  with 


Tmnsresof  anU  sf' 
And  more  ri'ln:  t,i' 

Andmni,  ,    i  , 
Andqualn;.    inni 


in  suidrjr  stages, 

yurc-s  of  golde  work,    (z- 


Having  "built  up  again  that  ancient  ami 
famous  monument  the  church  and  steeple  of  St. 
Paul's"  («'),  we  ni'iy  pass  on  to  rt'i'ive  its  icnei 
life. 


They  whilan  used  duly  every  day 
Theu'  service  and  theii-  holy  things  to  pay  : 
At  morn  and  eve  beside  their  anthemes  sweet, 
Their  Memories,  Masses,  and  their  Complines  meet.  (?'■') 
Customs  and  liite.  The  nave  was  an  open  walk, 
and  subject  to  many  irreverent  and  profane 
abuses.  Stones  and  arrows,  launched  at  coniioe- 
haunting  martlet  and  other  birds,  harmed 
images  and  windows  ;  filthy  practices  made  the 
door  almost  inaccessible  ;  beggars  and  disrepu  - 
table  persons  haunted  the  aisles.  Twelve 
writers  for  the  public  service  waited  employ- 
ment at  certain  stations.  The  sacristi-,  who 
were  forbidden  to  wear  their  hoods  in  slovenly 
fasliion  hanging  about  their  necks,  or  walk 
covered  in  the  choir,  were  required  to  remove 
"  common  women,  bearers  of  merchandise,  sale- 
men  who  occupied  the  porches,  mendicants  who 
claimed  certain  spots  as  their  own,  and  minstrels 
making  an  unholy  noise  round  the  altars  of  St. 
Mary  and  the  Rood  "  [e').  "  The  south  alley 
was  for  usury,  the  north  for  simony,  and  the 
horse-fair  in  the  midst  for  all  kind  of  bargains, 
and  the  font  for  ordinary  payments  of  money" 
{d').  In  the  centre  "the  midst  alley  was  their 
large  censer,  reaching  from  the  roof  to  the 
ground"  (<■').  On  Sundays  all  the  City  churches 
sent  hither  their  congregations,  at  9  a.m.,  to 
hear  the  Word  of  God.  On  Whitsun  Monday 
all  the  country  parishes  of  the  diocese  came  with 
cross  and  banner  ;  on  Tuesday  the  Archdeacon 
of  Middlesex ;  on  Wednesday  his  brothers  of 
Essex  and  Colchester,  and  the  rest  on  the  fol- 
lowing days,  led  their  people  with  hymn  and 
praise  and  procession  to  offer  at  the  high  altar. 
There  were  several  daily  masses,  the  matin  or 
Apostles'  mass,  mass  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
Missa  Familiaris,  mass  for  the  dead  and  bene- 
factors, chapter  mass  on  Saturdays  and  at  meet- 
ing's of  the  chapter,  sung  by  minor  canons,  high 
mass  on  Sundays  and  festivals  at  the  high  altar. 
Besides  thi  se  were  chantry-masses,  and  the  pri- 
vate masses  of  the  dignitaries  and  canons  at  the 
collateral  or  capitular  altars,  and  the  masses  of 
the  Guilds,  three  of  which  were  connected  with 
the  cathedi'al.  These  collateral  altars  were 
served  by  the  canons  for  private  masses ;  the 
Benedictines  had  others  of  peculiar  sanctity  at 
Worcester  and  Canterbury.  A  shrine  of  each 
saint  stood  on  the  respective  altars. 

The  obsequies  of  the  Emperor  Ferdinand, 
Charles  IX.  of  France,  and  others  were  held  in 
the  presbytery. 

The  stalls  were  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
the  prebendary  and  the  antiphon  of  one  of  the 
five  Psalms,  which  every  occupant  was  bound  to 
recite  daily  by  the  ordinance  of  Bishop  Maurice. 
The  bishop,  in  great  feasts,  at  matins,  and 
vespers,  occupied  the  dean's  stall,  but  did  not 
wear  his  pontificials  (p) ;  two  acolytes  in  albe 
and  amice,  holding  lighted  tapers,  stood  before 
him,  waiting  until  he  went  to  cense  the  altars 
at  the  Benedictus  and  Magnificat  [y").  At  each 
corner  of  the  choir  stood  two  boys  of  the 
almonry,  and  scted  in  turn  as  taper- bearers. 
Vicars  were  forbidden  to  hang  about  the  choir 
doors  at  Teirce,  expecting  the  arrival  of  their 
masters.  The  habit  of  a  canon  in  choir  was  a 
rochet  (colobium),  or  surplice  of  linen,  worn 
under  a  black  cope,  except  when  the  silk  choir- 
cope  was  used  on  festivals  after  processions,  and 
with  a  grey  "  amess."  The  minor  canons  wore 
amesses  of  black  fur  called  calabre,  and  lined 
with  minever,  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
chaplains  and  vicars,  whose  almuce  was  made  of 
black  cloth.  A  double  cap  was  permitted  at 
matins.  On  the  great  festivals  four  boys,  sur- 
pliced,  sang  the  versicles  at  matins  and  the 
hours;  two  priests  censed  the  altars  at  Bene- 
dictus and  Magnificat ;  the  procession  was  made 
with  two  cross -bearers,  two  thuriblers,  three 
deacons  and  three  sub-deacons,  and  three  aco- 
lytes; four  candles  burned  on  the  altar;  the 
choir  wore  copes  at  mass  ;  three  deacons 
sang  the  grail,  and  three  minor  canons  the 
Alleluia.  As  at  Chichester,  festivals  were 
classed  in  five  orders  of  dignity  or  rank. 
Canons  and  clerks  entered  by  the  two  proces- 
sional doors,  which  opened  from  the  aisles  on 
the  presbytery  platform  above  the  choir  steps 
[over  ;which  hung'  the  Lenten  veil],  and  there 
bowed  to  the  altar,  and  the  bishop.  They  might 
also  come  in  by  the  v,-est  door,  and  then  bowed 
to  the  altar  and  the  dean.  The  ceremony  was 
repeated  in  leaving  the  choir.  All  stood  except 
during  the  Psalms  at  Nocturns,  and  at  Mass 
when  the  Lessons,  Grail,  Alleluia,  and  Tract 
were  sung.  At  the  Gloria  Patri  all  turned  to 
the  altar,  and  also  in  the  Creed  at  the  Incarna- 
tus,  and  at  its  closing  clause  ;  and  three  times 


in  the  Gloria  in  ExceLsis,  when,  as  at  the  Gloria 
Tibi  Domine,  they  used  the  sig-n  of  the  cross. 

The  order  of  the  Procession  on  Great  Feasts, 
when  the  altars  extra  chorum  were  censed  at  the 
Benedictus  and  Magnificat,  during  Matins  and 
Vespers,  indicates  the  position  of  the  Shrine  and 
other  monuments.  Two  canons  vested  in  silk 
copes  left  the  sacristy,  compassed  St.  Erken. 
wald's  shrine,  and  proceeded  to  the  Lady-altar 
and  font.  Then,  separating,  one  censed  the 
altars  on  the  north,  and  the  other  those  on  the 
south  side,  until  they  met  again  at  the  altar  of 
St.  John  Baptist  on  the  north  side ;  thence  they 
passed  through  the  north  door  of  the  presbytery, 
visiting  the  tomb  of  Bishop  Roger  le  Noir  in 
the  north  aisle,  and  finally  arriving  before  the 
high  altar.  They  then  passed  down  the  choir 
as  far  as  the  lectern,  and  returned  to  their 
stalls. 

The  ceremony  of  the  Boy  Bishop  imitating 
"  Him  Whom  the  Innocents  foUow  whitherso- 
ever He  goeth,"  had  led  to  great  crowding  and 
disturbance,  so  that  strict  decency  and  order  were 
enforced.  The  boys  personated  the  bishop, 
dean,  and  choral  dignitaries,  the  archdeacon, 
and  residentiary  canons.  They  observed  their 
ancient  rite,  made  out  their  table  of  services,  and 
read  in  chapter.  The  thuriblers  and  taper- 
bearers  and  servers  were  furnished  by  members 
only  of  the  second  and  third  foimis.  At  Salis- 
bury the  canons  resigned  their  stalls  to  those 
who  personated  them,  but  it  was  not  so  here. 
The  bishop  was  pontifically  habited,  and  sang 
all  the  office  except  the  secret  of  the  mass,  the 
rest  wore  the  choral  habit ;  the  bishop  was  at- 
tended by  two  chaplains,  two  taper-bearers,  and 
five  clerks,  with  censer  and  chant,  in  the  pro- 
cession, which  was  headed  by  the  vergers. 
Supper  was  seiTcd  after  the  first  vespers  of  St. 
John  for  the  bishop  in  the  palace,  for  the  dean 
and  four  companions  in  the  deanery,  for  the 
dignitary  and  three  fellows  in  the  dignitary's 
manse,  and  for  the  canon,  with  two  other  boy- 
guests,  in  the  residentiary  house.  Supper  and 
dinner  were  provided  on  Holy  Innocents'  Day, 
after  which  they  met  in  the  parvise,  and  mounted 
horses  provided  by  each  of  the  chapter  who  was 
personated  ;  the  bishop  finally  giving  his  bene- 
diction. 

Another  curious  local  custom  was  the  wearing 
of  garlands  of  red  roses  by  the  canons  at  the 
installation  of  a  bishop,  and  on  other  occasions ; 
when  the  reception  of  a  doe  and  buck  was 
solemnly  performed  at  the  steps  of  the  qiure  by 
the  canons  of  the  cathedral,  attired  in  their 
sacred  vestments,  and  wearing  garlands  of 
flowers  on  their  heads,  and  the  hams  of  the  buck 
carried  on  the  top  of  a  spear  in  procession  round 
about  the  body  of  the  church  with  a  great  noise 
of  hornblowers. 

Owing  to  the  restricted  sp.tce  on  the  south 
side  of  the  cathedral,  the  cloisters  erected  on  the 
gardens  of  the  dean  and  canons  were  of  a  pecu- 
liar form,  being  erected  in  two  storeys  ;  in  the 
centre  stood  the  polygonal  chapter-house,  as  in 
the  Benedictine  priory  of  Belvoir,  the  only  other 
parallel.  Below  the  chapter-house,  as  at  Wells, 
was  an  under-croft,  appiirently  used  as  a 
sacristy. 

The  tapers  which  were  offered,  burning, 
before  the  image  of  St.  Mary  in  the  nave, 
were  extinguished  by  the  chamberlains  aud 
bell-ringers,  and  carried  to  a  room  below  the 
chapter-house  to  be  melted  [Dugd.  19].  The 
recovery  of  the  remains  of  chapter-house  aud 
cloisters  by  Mr.  Penrose,  are  among  the  most 
interesting  restorations  on  record. 

In  the  chapter-house  the  new  canon  was  re- 
ceived before  his  installation,  and  invested  by 
the  tradition  of  the  Book  of  the  Statutes  with  a 
loaf  of  white  commune  bread  laid  upon  it  [Re- 
gistrum  25].  The  statutes  were  characterised 
by  a  peculiar  embodiment  of  portions  of  the 
Rule  of  Metz  for  Regular  and  not  Secular 
Canons,  and  in  parts  are  word  for  word  with  St. 
Osmimd's  Use  at  Sarum,  and  those  of  Lincohi, 
which  were  founded  in  their  turn  on  Rouen. 
Dean  Ralph  de  Diceto  built  the  deanery  and 
chapel  [Wharton  203]  [Dugd.  7]  ;  the  chancel- 
lor's house  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  close 
[Dugd.  10]. 

Houses  allotted  to  the  dignitaries  and  preben- 
daries, and  a  house,  attached  to  the  fabric,  in 
the  angle  towards  the  brew-house  stood  in  St. 
Paul's  Yard  [atrivun]  [Registr.  13]. 

The  older  residentiaries  .are  found  occupying 
the  Earl  of  Hereford's  house  in  Oldenesse  Lane ; 
Dian's  Chamber  and  Rosamund's  Bower  on 
Paul's  Wharf -hiU,  where  the  chtu'ch  peal  may 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


557 


hayp  suggested  to  Shakespeare  the  ringing  of 
St.Benet's  bells.  They  were  fortunately  excused 
from  the  banqueting  and  costly  expenses,  the 
dancing  and  singing  through  street  and  lane 
which  attended  the  first  year's  experience  of  a 
new  residentiary.  A  %-iear  lived  with  him  who 
did  the  honours  and  issued  invitations.  Every 
morning  at  prime  he  fed  the  residents'  squires 
and  such  as  listed  to  come  ;  daily  at  three  refec- 
tions he  entertained  two  minor  canons,  two 
chaplains,  four  vicars,  two  boys  of  the  almonry, 
the  vergers  and  the  bell-ringers,  who  every 
night  woke  him,  and  continued  knocking  at 
the  door  for  fear  of  his  oversleeping  himself  and 
60  missing  attendance  at  matins.  A  special 
dinner  to  liis  brethren  every  quarter ;  two  great 
feasts  in  the  first  and  last  quarter  of  residence, 
followed  by  an  entertainment  of  the  choir  on  the 
morrow  on  the  remnants,  his  guests  being  duly 
invited  in  chapter  some  days  beforehand ;  lesser 
suppers  after  compline  in  Advent,  and  provision 
of  a  minor  banquet  on  ale,  wine  of  Candy  and 
home  made,  wine  red  and  white,  cakes  and 
spices  served  before  a  good  pie ;  were  easy 
burdens  compared  with  the  reception  of  the 
Bishop,  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  Aldermen,  the 
Sheriffs,  Justices  and  Officers  of  the  City  court, 
in  order  to  maintain  the  honour  and  liberties  of 
the  church,  a  good-feeling  between  the  City  and 
the  Close,  and  respect  to  the  administration  of 
the  law.  It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder  that  resi- 
dence was  evaded  as  a  burden  and  the  highest 
authorities  interposed  to  enforce  it. 

The  chaplains  in  1391  occupied  a  manse  called 
the  Preste-house,  containing  a  common  hall  and 
chambers  [Eegistrum  1-19].  It  was  also  called 
the  College  of  St.  Peter  [Reg.  236-211],  and  we 
leain  its  position  from  a  chance  entry  1549-.50, 
Jan.  7.  "  The  house  that  was  sometyme  the  Peter 
College  nexte  the  Dene's  place  in  Paulas  Cherche 
Yerde ' '  [Grey  Friars'  Ch  Ton] .  Each  had  his  altar : 
Tested  in  "white  surplices  they  approached  it, 
and  there  put  on  the  priestly  habit"  [Registr. 
23.5].  There  were  at  least  .55  chmtries,  some  so 
richly  endowed  that  many  a  rector  and  country 
vicar  leaving  their  benefices  [Registr.  142  Fuller 
Ch.  Hist.  III.,  209,  271]— 

"  Ran  unto  London,  unto  Saint  Pauls, 
To  seeken  him  a  chantery  for  souls." 

—Chancer  Prol .  511. 

The  vicars,  for  each  canon  formed  the  choir, 
they  had  their  own  house  and  common-table. 
Some  resided  with  their  masters.  Their  dress 
was  a  surplice  and  cope.     [Registriun  234.] 

The  petty  canons,  12  in  number,  had  anciently 
their  habitations  in  distinct  houses,  some  within 
the  precinct  of  the  church  and  some  without, 
but  in  1367,  dined  in  a  common  hall  which  stood 
•on  the  north  .side  of  the  church  adjoining 
Pardon  Church,  Haugh  [Dugd.  24].  The  house 
■was  caUed  Peter  Canons.  The  only  cathedral 
which  possessed  minor  canons  was  Chichester. 
The  sub-canoniei  of  Hereford  were  an  invention 
of  Laud. 

Tlie  cemetery  had  a  postern  towards  West 
Cheap  :  the  north  and  south  gates  of  the  greater 
cemetery  were  opened  only  for  the  passage  of  a 
bier,  on  festivals  and  in  Lent.  On  the  south 
and  east  sides  chains  were  placed  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  vehicles  [Registr.  73].  The  western 
part  of  the  close  was  the  Parvise  (atrium).  In 
1191  a  great  meeting  of  the  king  and  his  council 
assembled  to  condemn  the  Lord  Chancellor 
[Hoveden  III.,  140].  Here  the  boys  of  London, 
in  1400  [Trokelaw,  3.52],  playing  at  Scotch  and 
Engli.sh  in  their  struggle  to  crown  the  mock 
monarch  were  so  carried  away  by  their  game 
that  they  trod  each  ether  to  death. 

The  Pardon  churchyard,  with  its  central 
chapel,  resembled  the  cloisters  of  "Winchester 
College. 

Thomas  iloore  was  buried  in  the  cloisters  of 
the  Pardon  churchyard,  on  the  north  side,  in 
which  he  rebuilt  a  beautiful  chapel  which  had 
been  erected  by  Gilbert  Becket,  the  portreeve, 
in  the  time  of  Stephen,  jiround  the  waDs  was 
painted  the  Dance  of  3Iachabray,  a  Dance  of 
Death,  commonly  called  the  Dance  of  Paules. 
It  was  destroyed  AprU  10,  1.549,  by  the  Duke  of 
Somerset,  except  the  library,  which  stood  over 
the  east  alley. 

"1-548  was  puUed  doune  the  chappell,  with  the 
chaneell  house,  in  PawUes  churchyerde  "  iGrev 
Friars'  Chron.,  57.)  ■:         ■      \       i 

"  1549,  AprU  10.  Was  pulled  down  the  cloister 
in  PawLles  that  was  callyd  the  Pardon  church- 
yerd,  with  the  chappell  that  stode  in  the  mydde=  " 
{Rid,  58.) 


Tlie  eight  boys  were  lodged  and  boarded  in 
the  almonry,  and  treated  with  marked  kindness. 
After  supper  on  Innocents'  day  the  new  resi- 
dentiary led  one  of  them  (his  child,  as  they  called 
them  at  Winchester,  in  election  week)  to  the 
almonry  with  torches,  dancing  and  leaping, 
where  tlie  companj'  was  entertained  with  rolls, 
spices  and  wine,  until  another  canon  arrived 
with  his  child.  On  the  Octave  the  resident  had 
to  entertain  the  lay  bishops  and  all  his  following, 
and  dismissed  them  w  ith  gifts,  sometimes  at  so 
late  an  hour  that  he  was  excused  matins.  On 
some  occasions  the  boy  had  to  sit  on  the  floor, 
and  not  at  the  residentiary' s  table,  in  order  to 
repress  any  unseemly  conceit,  or  disorderly 
behaviour  in  the  freer  atmosphere  of  the  almonry. 

The  bell  -tower  and  library  are  mentioned  in 
the  reign  of  Heni-y  I.  The  Custor  Operis 
was  forbidden  to  reside  in  the  belfry,  which 
must  be  distinguished  from  the  Campanile  j  uxta 
Chorum,  where  the  birds  collected  to  the  sore 
discomfiture  of  the  services.  Chaucer's  host 
swears  "  by  St.  Panic's  bell." 

The  south  side  of  the  churchyard  was  claimed 
in  10  Edward  II.  by  the  citizens,  as  the  place 
of  their  folkniote,  in  which  the  steeple  contain- 
ing their  c-mmon  bell  to  summon  them  stood  ; 
and  also  the  west  side,  that  with  the  lord  of 
Baynards'  Castle  they  might  view  their  armour 
for  the  defence  of  the  city.  The  south  and  north 
sides  had  been  inclosed  by  Bishop  Beaumeis,  and 
now  the  King  made  a  grant  of  walling  the  rest 
on  account  of  robberies  and  murders  committed 
therein  {Stou;  121). 

1551,  Feb  26.  Was  hinged  at  Tower  Hvlle,  Sii-Mylcs 
Partryg^e,  the  whych  played  with  King  Henry  the  VIII. 
afcD>-pe,  for  the  grett  Belferry  that  stuodein  Pawle's 
cliurc'hyard. — Xbid.  74. 

It  was  on  the  north  side,  and  had  a  leaded 
spire,  with  a  figure  of  St.  Paul  on  the  top,  and 
held  the  four  great  Jesus  Bells. 

There  was  a  hospital  founded  by  Henry  de 
Northampton,  in  the  decanate  of  Diceto. 

On  the  gates  of  the  palace  Felton  affixed  the 
bull  of  excommunication  issued  by  Pius  V.,  and 
atoned  for  his  temerity  with  his  life. 

Dr.  Sparrow  Simpson  has  pointed  out  how  we 
may  trace  the  ancient  close  by  the  names  of 
existing  streets,  tliree  of  which  took  name  from 
the  wares  vended  by  limners  and  text- writers  of 
Paternosters,  Ave  Slarias,  and  Credos.  Sermon 
Lane,  however,  is  a  corruption  of  Sliiremonger's 
or  Sheremoniers  Lane,  and,  possibly,  Godliman 
Street  may  be  added  to  his  Ust.  It  has  never 
yet  been  pointed  out  that 

"  For  all  souls 
Set  in  their  bederoUa, 
Pater  noster  qui 
With  an  Ave  Maria 
And  with  the  Conner  of  a  crede," 

were  said,  hence  their  sale  here.  Moreover,  all 
lay  folk,  man,  woman,  and  chUd,  were  required 
to  say  them.   (Cardw.  Doc.  Ann.  I.  154.) 

The  chief  church  of  the  capital  of  England 
had  a  formidable  rival  in  the  Benedictine  monas  ■ 
tery  of  West  Minster,  so  called  in  distinction  to 
the  minster  of  St.  Paul's  in  the  east.  Nearer  the 
palace,  it  absorbed  coronations,  obsequies, 
marriages,  and  visits  of  state,  and  I  need  not 
spend  time  in  giving  a  mere  outline  sketch  of  the 
memories  of  St.  Paul's. 

We  might  have  seen  in  imagination  the  march 
of  history  round  those  sacred  walls  ;  or  mingled 
in  the  royal  visits,  couneUs,  and  acts  of  State 
processions  forcing  their  way  through  the  nar- 
row streets,  with  stalls  of  stationers,  bead- 
makers,  and  text-writers,  who  penetrated  even 
the  nave  ;  and  across  the  cemetery,  'with  its 
groups  of  mendicants ;  but  we  should  have 
turned  aside  from  the  scenes  round  the  cross, 
and  the  miserable  desecration  of  the  nave, 
related  many  a  time  and  oft,  and  never  heard 
without  a  fresh  sense  of  shame,  untd  the  place 
was  purged  with  lire.  I  have,  however,  care- 
fully, and  with  discretion,  refrained  from 
traversing  the  historic  ground  already  described 
so  beautifully  by  Dean  Milman,  nor  have  I  ven- 
tured to  trespass  on  the  architectural  domain  of 
Mr.  Penrose  and  Mr.  Ferrey,  or  the  minuter 
details  supplied  by  the  local  researches  of  Dr. 
Simson.  I  have  simply  endeavoured  to  build 
again  the  fallen  stones  from  among  the  rubbish, 
and  to  revive,  what  Stowe  might  well  have 
more  f  ull}-  described  in  quaint  old  prose,  rivalling 
the  sublime  verse  of  Milton  when  alluding  to  the 
church  so  familiar  to  his  boyliood,  he  wrote  in 
lines  seldom  applied,  as  is  their  due,  to  their 
real  subject,  St.  Paul's,  London. 

L'nder  the  shadow  of   the  new  dome,  I  dare 


only  say  that,  wantonly,  a  golden  opporttmity 

was  lost  to 

"rebuild 
The  great  Cathedral  of  St.  Paul's  with  porphyry. 
And  clap  so  bright  a  sph-e  upon't,  shall  make 
The  seaman  afar  oft"  wonder  what  new 
And  never-setting  star  heaven  hath  erected 
To  make  the  day  eternal  in  this  island." 
(.fi/iirlei/Soiioria  and  Mammon,  Act  II.  Se.  1.) 

KEFERENXES. 

T-^''  P'i?'!;'  ^^  "''  °"""^'  20.    *2,  Duffd.,  41.  ;«, 

Sf,  «  ^"":'  n-  S61.  /S  Dugd.,  29.  t?  Eegistr., 
223.  P,  Ef^str,  277.  m-',  Dugd.,  35.  nS  Dugd,  28.  o«! 
Wharton,  )43;  Godwin,  150.  p^,  Wriothesley,  I.,  106 
•i,  Godwin,  144,  147.  r-,  Registr.,  13,  182;  Dugd  ,  28, 
29  ;  Wharton,  S3,  Sfi.  s-.  Keg.,  182 ;  Dugd..  24, 29,  39  f. 
Wharton,  71.  k-,  Wharton,  209.  i-^,  AVharton,  30  icS 
Leland  Collect,  I.,  HI.  z^,  Dugd.,  626;  Eegistr.,  458.  v«, 
JeweU,  n.,  630;  Dugd..  7,  25,  27;  Pilkington,  541: 
llachyn,  212;  Wharton,  206.  z^.  Chancer;  o^,  Eem»mbr  , 
327.  l",  Spenser,  c',  Eegistr,  72,  79.  rp,  Pilkington, 
541.  f3,  Pilkington,  540 ;  Jly  Trad,  and  Custom-i.  /^, 
LchindCoU.,n.,355;  Eegi-str.,  31.    j',  T     '  '      "" 


CHIPS. 

At  a  ratepayers'  meeting  held  at  Binjley,  ia  the 
West  Riding,  on  Wediiesdav  week,  it  was"  decided 
almost  unanimously  that  the  improvement  com- 
missiouers  be  empowered  to  promote  a  bill  in  Par- 
liament for  the  construction  of  waterworks,  and 
for  other  improvements  in  the  town  cf  Bingley. 
The  estimated  cost  of  the  waterworks  scheme  is 
£55,.500. 

The  local  board  of  Barkisland,  near  Halifax 
have  appointed  Mr.  Ralph  Rawstron,  a.;,  surveyor. 

The  "ttTiitby  harbour  commissioners  on  Wednes- 
day weekreceived  a  letter  from  Mr.  Sandeman, 
C.E.,  of  Newcastle,  the  successful  competitor  for 
the  new  harbour,  agreeing  to  the  alterations  in  his 
plans  suggested  by  the  referee,  Mr.  Messant,  of 
the  Tyne  Commission.  It  was  decided  that  detailed 
plans  be  made  out  and  forwarded  to  the  Public 
Works  Loan  Commissioners. 

The  parish-church  of  Blakeney,  Gloucestershire, 
was  reopened  on  Thursday  week  after  restora'ion, 
including  reseating,  increased  lighting  by  gas- 
standards,  and  decoration. 

A  large  cotton-mill  at  Lockhill,  nec.r  Sowerby- 
bridge,  has  just  been  rebuilt  for  Messrs.  J.  Wood 
and  Son,  after  destruction  by  fire,  from  the  plans, 
and  under  the  superintendence,  of  Messrs.  Utley 
and  Gray,  of  Halifax.  It  is  five  stories  in  height, 
and  measures  U4ft.  by  lOJft.,  and  72tt.  iu  height. 
Mr.  C.  H.  Hebblethwaite,  of  Halifax,  was  the 
clerk  of  works,  and  the  undertaking  has  been 
carried  out  by  local  contractors,  that  for  masonry 
being  taken  by  Mr.  Thomas  Parr,  of  Greetland, 
and  that  for  carpentery  and  joinery  by  Mr.  Johu 
Greenwood,  of  Ripponden. 

A  new  puljrit  in  St.  Nicholas'  parish-church 
Great  Yarmouth,  has  just  been  completed  by  the 
erection  of  five  statues,  carved  by  Flemish  artists. 
It  is  proposed,  as  thenext  step  in  the  restoration  of 
this  great  church,  to  remove  the  children's  gallery, 
which  is  in  a  bad  state  of  repair. 

During  the  congress  of  the  British  Archreological 
Association  at  Devices  in  August  last,  the  remains 
of  a  Roman  villa  were  uncovered  in  a  field  at 
Bromham.  It  was  decided  to  make  further 
explorations  of  the  site,  and  these  were  commenced 
last  week  under  the  personal  superintendence  of 
Mr.  George  R.  N.  Wright,  F.S.A.,  of  London, 
general  congress  secretary. 

The  memorial- stone  of  the  Cobien  Working 
Men's  Club  and  Institute  in  Kensal-road,  N.W., 
was  laid  by  Lord  Ljttelton  on  Saturday.  The 
street  frontage  is  of  deep  red  and  white  brick.  Thg 
building  contains,  on  the  ground-floor,  a  library, 
reading-room,  smoking-room,  and  refreshment 
bar,  aud  on  the  first-floor  a  large  hall  for  meetings. 
Messrs.  Pennington  and  Brigden  are  the  architects, 
and  the  club  are  their  own  builders. 

Our  paragi-aph  last  week,  on  p.  xv.,  respecting 
the  reopening  of  Chapel  Field,  Norwich,  was  in- 
correct in  two  or  three  particulars.  Mr.  Daynes  is 
a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  not  the  city 
surveyor,  who  ia  Mr.  W.  Lake.  The  manufac- 
turers of  the  iron  pavilion  were  Messr?.  Barnard, 
Bishop,  and  Barnard,  of  Norwich— not  Barnard, 
Bishop,  and  Bolton. 

Mr.  H.  I.  Newton,  architect,  27,  Great  George- 
street,  Westminster,  has  been  appointed  architect 
and  surveyor  to  the  Incorporated  Society  of 
Licensed  "N'ictuallers.  There  were  nearly  60  can- 
didates for  the  appointment. 

At  a  recent  examination  held  by  the  Sanitary 
Institute  of  Great  Britain,  9,  Conduit-street,  W., 
seven  candidates  were  present,  and  certificates 
were  awarded  to  H.  P.  Bouluois,  M.Inst.C.E., 
W.  K.  Burton,  A.  Harland,  C.  Innes,  M.Inst.C.E., 
who  passed  the  examination  for  local  surveyors ; 
and  a  second  certiticate  was  awarded  to  A.  Har- 
land, who  also  passed  examination  for  inspector  of 
nuisances. 


558 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12.  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Eequisites  for  a  LiTing  style    

Scientific  Fenestration 

Ecstorations  at  Hampton  Court  Palace... 

Sculptural  Decoration 

Buildings  in  South  London       

Architectural  Association 

Old  St.  Paul's 

Chips 

Out  Lithographic  IlIujstratiouB 

The  Drainage  of  New  Houses 

Practical  Geometry  and  Proj  ection 

Wiildo\rsand  Fireplaces    

Ventilation  or  Draught       

Axchseological 

Archittctural  and  Archieological  Societies 

SchoolsofArt 

Competitions 

Building  Intelligence    

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

Intercommunication     

Stained  Glass 

Statues,  Memorials,  &c 

"Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters 

Legal  Intelligence 

Our  Office  Table    

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      

Tenders    


ILLirSTEATTONS. 

DETAILS,  RAWDOS  ROCSE,  HEBTS. — ALMSHOUSES,  SPEIXG- 
FIELD,  ESSEX. — COTTAGE  BESIDENCE  AT  MAIDSTONE. — 
ST.  PETEe's  CHOKCH,  PLYMOUTH.— C0M3IEBCIAL  SALE 
BOOM  BUILDINGS,   LIVEEPOOL. 


OurLithographic  Illustrations 


THE  STAIECASE,    EAWBON    HOUSE,     HEETS. 

The  carved  baJustrading  here  is  naturally  treated 
muoli  more  broadly  than  the  work  in  the  ' '  Oak 
room,"  and  is  almost  more  suggestive  of  a  stone 
than  an  oak  staircase.  Any  apparant  stiffness 
in  the  design  is  softened  in  execution  by  an 
avoidance  of  rigidly  straight  lines  in  detail, 
though  the  main  lines  are  true  enough — this  is 
particularly  noticeable  on  the  newel-posts.  The 
balustrading  to  fecond  flight  of  stairs  is  carved 
■with  grote  que  panels  of  Scripture  subjects. 
The  animals  on  the  newel-posts  suffered  muti- 
lation some  few  years  ago,  when  the  house  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  used  as  a  ladies'  school. 
The  perspective  view  of  the  house  as  restored  by 
Messrs.  Ernest  George  and  Peto,  was  exhibited 
at  the  Academy  and  illustrated  on  July  2nd. 
During  the  progress  of  the  restorations,  by  the 
permission  of  H.  R.  Ricardo,  Esq.,  I  was 
enabled  to  make  on  the  spot  measured  drawings 
of  some  of  the  fine  old  work  about  the  house. — 
John  B.  Gass. 

ALSISHOUEES,     SPEINOITEIJ),    ESSEX. 

These  alms-houses  have  been  erected  by  two 
ladies  as  a  memorial,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
Joseph  Clarke,  F.S.A.  They  are  built  of  red 
brick,  flint  walls,  and  timbered  gables,  with  an 
open  porch  provided  with  seats  in  front,  leading 
to  each  almshouse— the  roofs  are  tiled  and  the 
rooms  are  fitted  with  the  usual  conveniences  to 
make  the  last  days  of  the  old  people  happy  and 
comfortable. 

COTTAGE  EESIDENCE,  MAIDSTONE. 

This  is  the  first  of  a  group  of  houses  being 
erected  on  the  Manor  House  estate.  It  contains, 
besides  the  accommodation  shown  en  the  plan, 
five  bed-rooms,  dressing-room,  bath-room  and 
box-room,  with  housemaid's  and  linen  closets, 
&c.  The  walls  are  of  red  brick  with  dressings 
of  Dumfries  stone,  the  half-timber  work  being 
of  oak.  The  house  has  been  built  for  the  owner 
of  the  estate,  Frederick  Scudamore,  Esq.,  at  a 
cost  of  £1,200,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Hubert 
Eensted 

ST.  Peter's  church,  PLyiiouTH. 
The  building  that  has  been  known  by  this  name 
for  some  40  years  was  originally  built  for  Rev. 
John  Hawker,  as  a  kind  of  Free  church.  The 
building  was  secured  to  the  Church  of  England 
shortly  after  Mr.  Hawker's  death.  In  184S,  the 
Rev.  Geo.  R.  Pryune  was  appointed  to  the  new 
parish  by  the  late  bishop.  Dr.  Philpott.s.  In 
1849,  a  sacrarium  was  added  to  the  building, 
and  choir  stalls  and  screen,  arranged  from  de- 
signs of  Mr.  Geo.  E.   Street,  R.A.     Although 


all  that  could  be  done  was  done  to  improve  the 
original  ugly  edifice,  the  want  of  a  better  and 
more  spacious  building  has  long  been  felt,  and 
recently  some  hberal  donations  have  justified  the 
commencement  of  the  work.  The  new  St. 
Peter's  will,  in  the  main,  be  cruciform  in  shape. 
A  characteristic  of  Devonshire  churches  has  been 
followed  in  putting  barrel  roofs  to  both  aisles 
and  nave.  The  one  fault,  want  of  height, 
usually  so  conspicuous,  has  been  avoided  by 
naising  the  nave-roof  to  the  height  of  60ft.,  and 
thus  allowing  space  for  mural  decoration  over 
nave  arcade  and  clerestory  above.  By  special 
request,  the  sanctuary  and  present  vestries  had 
to  be  retained.  The  retention  of  these  portions, 
and  at  the  same  time  working  them  into  the  new 
design,  so  as  to  get  pleasing  harmony  and 
grouping,  has  been  one  of  the  principal  difficul- 
ties with  which  the  architect  had  to  contend . 
The  sacrarium  being  low,  and  the  fault  of  the 
site  being  want  of  length,  it  was  thought  wise 
to  keep  the  sacrarium,  as  such,  entire,  and  the 
choir  is  therefore  placed  under  nave-roof ;  the 
continuity  of  the  roof  being  thus  unbroken,  more 
apparent  length  is  obtained.  The  two  arches  on 
either  side  of  choir  wUl  be  filled  in  with  an  open 
traceried  stone  screen.  The  chief  entrance, 
under  a  massive  western  tower,  has  a  tympanum, 
on  which  will  be  a  representation  of  "  The 
Majesty,"  with  adoring  angels  on  either  side. 
The  tower  is  to  be  about  12.5ft.  to  top  of  para- 
pet, and  will  be  capped  with  a  lead-covered  roof, 
cresting,  and  cross.  The  south  double  transept 
will,  as  it  were,  form  the  nave  to  the  small 
apsidal-ended  chapel.  A  graceful  fleche,  sur- 
mounting the  roof,  will  indicate  on  the  exterior 
the  limits  of  chancel,  and  serve  as  a  bell-turret. 
The  fleche  will  also  be  used  as  a  means  of  venti- 
lation, the  various  ventilators  in  nave  roof  com- 
municating with  it.  The  stone  used  for  the 
exterior  facing,  as  well  as  the  interior  ashlar, 
will  be  the  local  limestone,  better  known  as 
"  Devonshire  marble."  The  effect  of  this  stone 
internally  is  very  beautiful.  Corsham  Down 
stone  will  be  used  for  all  soft  stone  internal  work  ; 
Beer  stone  being  used  for  tracery,  window  and 
door-jambs,  kc.  ;  and  Doulting  stone  being  re- 
tained for  all  external  strings  and  weathering. 
The  church  will  be  heated  with  Mr.  Grundy's  hot- 
air  apparatus.  The  present  outlay  will  amount 
to  over  £10,000,  but  the  total  cost  when  com- 
pleted will  probably  be  about  £14,000.  The 
foundation-stone  was  laid  by  the  Earl  of  Devon, 
April  let,  1880.  The  present  contract  is  to  be 
completed  by  August,  1881.  Tlie  architect  is 
Mr.  Geo.  H.  Fellowes-Prynne,  of  11,  Adams- 
street,  Strand,  W.C.  ;  the  builder  is  Mr.  Alfred 
Guy,  of  London. 

COMMEKCIAL   SALE-EOOJI  BUTLDINGS,    LTVEEPOOL. 

This  building,  erected  for  the  sale  of  fruit  and 
provisions,  comprises  a  sale-room  built  in  the 
form  of  an  amphitheatre,  with  gallery  round 
three  sides,  over  40ft.  square,  occupying  the 
S.E.  angle  of  the  site ;  the  frontages  to  the  N. 
.and  W.  being  adapted  for  offices  occupied  by  the 
fruit-brokers.  The  basement  is  used  far  storing 
the  samples  of  fruit,  the  samples  being  projected 
into  the  sale-room  by  means  of  hydrauhc  lifts. 
The  fittings  of  the  sale-room  are  of  oak.  The 
external  face  of  the  building  is  erected  with  a 
base  of  Shap  granite.  The  dressings  of  Cef  n 
stone,  the  plain  surfaces  of  the  walls  with 
speciall}' made  Ruabon  brick  2in.  thick.  The  walls 
of  staircase  and  landing  are  lined  with  marble. 
The  works  have  been  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
Haigh  and  Co.,  contractors,  under  the  directions 
of  the  architect,  Mr.  J.  F.  Doyle,  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Gunning,  clerk  of  works.  The  hydraulic  hf ts,  of 
which  there  are  five,  are  from  the  well-known 
works  of  Sir  William  Armstrong  and  Co.,  New- 
castle-on-Tyne. 


A  new  Wesleyan  church  at  Greenwich  was  dedi- 
cated on  "Wednesday  week.  It  is  situate  opposite 
the  railway  station,  and  is  in  style  a  free  treatment 
of  13th  century  Gothic.  It  consists  of  nave  85ft. 
by  4.5ft.,  with  semi-octagonal  ch,incel20ft.  by  ISft., 
and  shallow  quasi- transepts,  and  a  gallery  sur- 
rounds three  sides  of  the  building.  The  nave  roof 
is  open,  with  hammer-beam  tiusses,  while  the 
chancel  has  a  plasterer!  waggon  ceiling.  The  prin- 
cipal elevation  is  of  Kentish  rag  stone,  with  Bath 
stone  dressings.  The  heating  is  upon  Grundy's 
hot-airsj-stem.  Xearly  1,000  sittings  are  provided. 
Mr.  T.  Lewis  B.anks,  of  Finsbury  Circus,  is  the 
architect,  and  Messrs.  Kirk  and  Randall,  of  "VVool- 
wich,  are  the  builders. 

Devonport  has  decided  to  adopt  the  Public 
Libraties  Act. 


THE  DRAINAGE  OF  NEW  HOUSES. 

THE  drainage  of  new  houses  is  a  matter  which 
at  present  is  largely  left  to  the  tender  care 
of  the  bricklayer.  Though  stoneware  pipes  are 
used,  they  are  not  unf requently  laid  imperfectly, 
with  a  bad  fall,  and  with  joints  defectively 
luted.  An  examination  of  the  drains  laid  down 
to  a  large  number  of  new  houses  in  the  metro- 
polis would  reveal  many  startling  irregularities. 
Many  of  the  drains  wotdd  be  fotind  level,  and 
not  a  few  with  a  fall  the  wrong  way.  Such  a 
glaring  inconsistency  is  not  always  due  to  care- 
lessness or  wanton  mischief,  as  some  suppose, 
but  to  the  settlement  of  the  groimd  near  the 
house.  A  recently-buUt  mansion,  according  to 
the  e'vidence  given  before  the  late  Sani- 
tary Section,  was  actually  discovered  with  its 
drains  quite  level  underneath  the  servants'  rooms 
in  the  basement,  the  consequence  of  which  was 
that  beneath  the  floors  the  sewage  had  accumu- 
lated, giving  rise  to  unpleasant  smells.  Again, 
to  save  expense,  the  builder  often  makes  use  of 
old  barrel-drains,  which,  forming  a  large  cess- 
pool under  the  house,  give  rise  to  the 
most  deadly  gases.  Another  of  the  prevailing 
mistakes  is  the  employment  of  large  drain -pipes, 
which,  by  preventing  the  quick  passage  of  the 
sewage,  gives  more  opportunity  for  the  accumu- 
lation of  noxious  gases  beneath  the  house,  and 
the  saturation  of  the  soU.  Drains  are  also  very 
intecurely  jointed  as  a  rule  ;  we  have  noticed 
pipes  with  clay-luting,  a  good  deal  of  which 
had  dropped,  allowing  escape  of  both  the  liquid 
and  the  gaseous  poison.  The  value  of  encasing 
under-house  drains  "with  concrete,  by  filhng  up 
the  trenches,  is  unfortunately  unheeded  in  the 
building  of  ordinary  houses,  and  the  use  of  bell- 
traps  continues,  notwithstanding  the  adWce  of 
all  sanitary  authorities.  Ventilating  pipes  are 
still  the  exception  in  houses  of  the  middle-class 
stamp,  and  disconnection  of  waste-pipe,  over- 
flow of  cisterns,  &c.,  from  the  soil-pipe  system, 
is  very  rarely  carried  out. 

With  regard  to  the  closets,  the  Q-trap  is  not 
an  extinct  contrivance  yet,  though  its  gradual 
abandonment  is  almost  certain,  and  there  are 
few  sanitary  engineers  who  allow  it  to  remain. 
The  "pan"  closet,  even  more  objectionable, 
still  finds  customers.  Into  the  question  of  trapped 
or  trapless  closets  we  will  not  enter  here ;  the 
merits  of  both  have  been  lately  discussed  in  our 
pages,  but  we  venture  to  say  that  no  trap  is 
perfect  unlesj  the  drain  is  also  ventilated  or  dis- 
connected. Dip-traps  still  largely  exist  between 
the  house  and  sewer,  and  in  many  cases  they 
act  as  cesspools.  It  is,  perhaps,  useless  to  lament 
the  tardiness  with  which  improvements  are 
made  in  buildings  intended  to  be  let  as  soon  as 
built,  and  tmtil  such  a  measure  as  Mr.  Cress- 
well's,  for  the  inspection  and  classification  of 
dwellings,  is  made  law,  we  fear  sanitary  ser- 
mons will  not  be  heeded.  Architects  can  exer- 
cise some  authority  in  specifying,  and  seeing 
that  they  obtain  good  drainage,  but  there  is 
unfortunately,  a  large  class  of  builders  who  are 
satisfied  with  old  arrangements,  and  who  need 
the  exercise  of  some  outside  authority.  In  the 
mean  time,  we  venture  to  call  attention  to  the 
rules  issued  by  some  local  boards,  and  to  inquire 
how  far  the  suggestions  carried  into  effect  in 
some  towns  can  be  enforced  in  the  districts  of 
the  metropolis. 

■     ^w     I 

CHIPS. 

The  church  of  St.  Stephen's,  Castle  Hill,  EaUnp, 
has  just  been  enlarged,  by  a  new  fouth  aisle,  south 
transept,  organ-chamber  (with  chou'- vestry  under), 
and  south  porch,  giving  an  addition  of  224  sittings 
to  the  church.  The  work  has  betn  carried  out 
from  the  designs  and  under  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  Eovedino,  architect,  of  19,  Craven-street, 
Strand,  the  builder  being  Mr.  Nye,  of  Ealing. 

A  new  school-church,  at  Bank  Quay,  "R'arringtou, 
was  opened  last  week.  The  cost  was  £800.  Mr. 
W.  Owen  is  the  architect,  and  Messrs.  Jehu  Collier 
and  Son  the  builders. 

The  Foresters'  new  Hall,  in  the  High  Street, 
Canterbury,  was  opened  on  Monday  week.  The 
hall  has  been  erected  imder  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  J.  E.  Wiltshier,  who  had  the  contract,  from 
designs  by  Mr.  John  Cowell,  architect.  Its  (U- 
mensions  are  68ft.  in  length  by  32ft.  wiJe,  and  a 
height  of  21ft.  The  total  cost'of  the  purchase  of 
the  projjeity,  and  the  erection  and  furtishiug  of 
the  new  building,  will  be  about  £.3,000. 

The  faiish-church  of  Edburton,  Weft  Sussex, 
was  reopened  last  week,  after  restoration.  Th& 
work  has  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  Irish,  of  Lavanfc_ 
from  the  plana  of  Mr.  K.  Norman  Shaw,  R.A. 


The  Building  Rews,  Roy.  12   I^^O 


Phola  Ltiojiafkej  4  Pnoiea  W  Irajs  Aipr 


Church  of  S  Peter-  Plymouth 


CEO.H.FELLOWES   PRYNNE    ARCHITECT 

THE  SANCTUARY  WAS  ERECTED  FROM  THE  DESIGNS    OF 

Ml' C.E. STREET  R.A. 


ljaa>gj,pl>«d*ftuiitl  tjj 


Church  of  S  Fcter-  Plymouth 


The  Building  r>EW3,  l}ov.  [2   I7v7,{) 


6  >..«2:..j.  W- 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


671 


AND 


PRACTICAL   GEOMETRy 
PROJECTION.* 

"VTTE  possess    several    treatises   on   Practical 
W       Geometry,  many  of  a  useful  kind,   but 
in  the  larger  number  c.f  them  the  requirements  of 
the  drawinir-oiKce  and  the  workshop  do  not  form 
a  recognised  place.     The  courses  of  study  in  the 
Science   and  Art   Dep.artment,   and  the  v.ariou9 
schools     of     engineering-,    demand     test-books 
■which  shall  teach  principles  and  show  their  re- 
lation  to   the   practical  pursuits   of   engineers, 
architects,  and  artisans ;  and  of  late  years  we 
have  noticed  an  increased   importance  given  to 
these  matters.     In  the  preparation  of  working 
drawings,  the  value  of  a  practical  knowledge  of 
projection   cannot   be  overrated,  and  the  work- 
man and  artist,  in  whatever  branch  of  art,  ought 
to  be  familiar  with  methods  of  geometrical  con- 
struction, it  they  intend   to  become  intelligent 
adapters  or   economisers   of  material.     Messrs. 
Collins,    Sons,   and  Company,  the   well-known 
publishers  of   an  advanced  science  series,  have 
just  brought  out  a  text-book  for  students  who 
desire  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  practical  geometry 
that  shall  be  useful   to  them  in  the  drawing- 
office    or   the    workshop.      Mr.    Henrj-   Angel, 
author  of  an  elementary  treatise  on  plane  and 
Bolid  geometry,   has  undertaken  the  task,   and 
the  result  is  a  useful  addition  to  the  small  stock 
of  text-books  which  treat  of  these  subjects.  The 
problems   given  have  been  those   which  many 
years  of  teaching  have  dictated,  and  they  are 
progressive,    and    lead    the    student   from    the 
simplest  to  the  most  elaborate  propositions.  They 
have    been    arranged,    moreover,    to   cover   the 
courses  pursued  at  the  Royal  School   of  Mines, 
the  Royal  Military  Academy,  and  the  Engiaeer- 
ing  CoUege    at  Cooper's-hill.     Part  I.  treats  of 
plane  geometry,  and  Part  II.  of  solid  geometry, 
or  orthographical  projection.     The  problems  in 
the   first   part   include   all  the  chief   methods ; 
proofs  are  given  of  the  leading  ones,  and  exer- 
cises  for   the   pupU  follow  at  the  end  of  each 
chapter.     In  this  part  wUl  be  foimd  problems  in 
the  proportional  division  of  straight  lines,  the 
use  and  construction   of  scales,  as  the  diagonal 
scale,  scale  of  chords,  sector,  i:c.     To  construct 
parallelograms   and  triangles   equal  in  area  to 
other  figures   of   the  same  kind,  and  to  divide 
triangles  and  polygons  into  any  number  of  pro- 
portional parts,  are  useful  in  land  surveying  and 
other  arts,  but  are  unknown  to  a  large  number 
of  our  draughtsmen  and  artificers.     This  part  of 
the  treatise   might   have   contained  a  few  prob- 
lems relating  to  hmlding  construction,  such  as 
the  construction  of  curves  for  mouldings,  arches, 
but  we  find   a  paucity  of  examples  of  this  kind. 
The  second  part  of  the  book  is  by  far  the  most 
important   to    the    artist    and   workman.     The 
student   is  first   initiated  into  the  principles  of 
projection  by  an  explanation  of  the  co-ordinate 
planes  assumed  in  defining  the  points,  lines,  and 
planes    of   a   soUd.     These   initial  elements  are 
discussed   at   some   length,    but  not  more  than 
their   importance   requires,   for  it  is  one  of  the 
first   acquisitions   of    any   student   engaged   in 
architecture  or  engineering  to  comprehend  with 
cleame.'-s   the   intersection   of  lines  and  planes. 
VntU  this  knowledge  is  acquired  no  satisfactory 
progress  can  be  made,  for  solid  geometry  is  not 
a  study  that  can  be  dipped  into  here  and  there, 
as  every  probltm  depends  upon  a  previous  defi- 
nition.   Some  of  the  solutions,  as  that  "to  draw 
the  projections  of  a  straight  line  of  given  incli- 
nation contained  by  a  given  plane,"  are  rather 
tedious,  the  diagrams  too  complicated  to  enhst 
the    student's    attention,    and    we    could   have 
wished   a   little  less  proUxity.     Half   the  lines 
might  have  been  saved  with  advantage.     In  the 
earlier  steps  we  consider  brevity  desirable,  and 
the  diagrams  should  rather  indicate  the  simplest 
principles  of  construction.     Problems  involving 
the  uje  of  a  variable  plane  of  projection  contam 
many  useful  cases  to  the  architectural  draughts- 
man   in     roofing.       After    the     projection    of 
simple  solids,  the  projection  of  flat  and  curved 
surfaces  intersected  by  planes  is  considered,  and 
these  are  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  student  of 
architecture.     Not   less  important  in  value  are 
the  problems  on  the  interpenetration  of  soUds. 
Many  blunders  in  draughtsmanship  arise  from 
ionorance  of,  or  imperfect   acquaintance   with, 
the  principles  of  these.     The  lines  of  interpene- 
tration of  cyUnders,  those  of  cones  and  cylmders, 


of  spheres  and  cones,   and  also  of  prisms,  arc  of 
immense  use  to  the  draught*^man,  and  we  arc  not  | 
underrating  the  ability  of  the  average  artistic 
draughtsman  when  wo  say  he  has  usually  very 
imperfect  knowledge  of  these  rules.     The  second 
volume  of  examples  furnishes  accurate  construc- 
tions of  these  problems  drawn  to  a  large  scale  ; 
for   instance,    in    Plate    LIT.,   the    method   of 
determining    the   interpenetration    of  a  vertical 
pyramid      with     a     triangular     prism     in     a 
horizontal   position   is   given — one  of   the  most 
useful  cases   that   can  arise  in  rooting.     In  the 
working  details  of  mouldings  and  masons'  work, 
the  methods  of  obtaining   the  interpenetrating 
lines   of   prisms,    of    cylinders,    and   of   curved 
solids  with  rectilinear   ones  are  in  constant  re- 
quisition.    Chapter   XV.  furnishes  the  student 
with  several  elementary  problems  in  the  projec- 
tion of  shadows  which  will  be  found  useful,  and 
a  chapter  on  isometric  projection  follows,  com- 
prising a  clear  statement  of  this  useful  form  of 
delineation.     These  problems  are  well  illustrated 
in  the   atlas   of   plates,   where    several   slmded 
examples  are   found  of  the  stock   pyramids  and 
prisms,  cylinders  and  cones.     A  few  illut-trations 
of   the   shadows    cast    on    roifs    by   chimneys, 
towers,  and  spires  would  have  been  more  useful. 
There  are  SO  plates  in  all  in  the  second  volume, 
and  these  are  well  drawn  and  neatly  engraved, 
and  wUl   be   found   a    considerable    aid   to  the 
student.     The  lettering   to  some  of    the^  wood- 
engraved  diagrams  needs  rerision.      We  have 
pleasure  in  sajing  that  the  volumes,  together, 
form  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  treatises  on 
practical   geometry   and    projection    that  have 
been  published,  and   its   author  has   spared  no 
labour  to  make  intelligible  to  the  beginner  every 
step  of  the  subject. 


of  Mr.  Burchelt'»  trroti«e.  In  tlir  ltc  titer  num- 
ber of  bookn  on  ]>ractiral  ^  .*■  *  aro 
not  treated  with  ihu  fulm  '  .  ■•• 
however  simple  tliiir  con»ti  .  .  very 
few  pco|>U',  even  with  a  fair  i^iui  iin'.Ti.  i  on  naa 
tlii'in  (quickly. 

The  upiM.'iidix  cm  ProjiTtioii  outrni  into  Iha 
clcnieutury  cniipii  of  i<)iowiii|^  in  projo-tion  aolid* 
such  as  pyramid*,  cuUii,  from  nu'li  <lala  a»  the 
angle  of  one  edp-  or  fiKo  to  tho  vertical  or  hori- 
zontal plane.  The  method  of  ilrawini;  nrrlion" 
of  HoUiu  is  alio  clearly  pxplsintxl,  atnl  will  bo 
found  of  service  to  the  bcffinoer.  The  work  U 
confined  to  the  ronnidemtion  of  ]ilanr  flgvm 
and  solids,  and  docH  not  vulfT  into  t)i«  more 
advanced  prubleras  of  diwriplivi'  (fi-ometry  ; 
but  the  htudent  will  find  .\.ry  iri,i.orl«nt 
construction  in  pnu-tiral  . 
and  tlie  pnicticol  archilw  I 
sidt  the  work  with  advuii 
where  the  memory  )iai>  (ail-^l. 

'as   that    to   prolong    the    arc ..   .     - 

1  the  centre  is  inacce«nible  (pUti'  XXXI  .  or  llio 
division  of  a  line  in  u  (fiven  ratio,  i«  nyt  In  l>c 
forgotten;  but  by  the  aid  of  cliarly-ilrawn 
diagrams,  they  arc  r<-adily  recalli'l  t<>  the 
memor)-.  AVc  (car  theri-  i«  a  gn'Ot  dral  of 
hard  mechanical  hib<iur  undertakin  l>v  drau»(ht»- 
men and  young  anhitccta  which  miKnt  Uy  nrrd 
by  a  study  of  the  eliTOintu  o(  gi-ometrr.  A»  » 
handy  text-bcok  to  tlie  Btudcnl  •>(  an  hit'-cturo 
and  its  allied  art*,  Mr.  Burchelt's  tntiliiw  will 
bo  welcome.  VpwarJ»  of  70  wcll-cnifT»red 
plates  of  construction.H  arc  given,  and  a  U»t  ol 
those  required  for  pa-wing  in  the  w-cond  grwlo 
is  prefixed  to  the  volume. 


^t<^, 


1   I  pr^lilrm 
ir  I"  whi-n 


A  complete   text-book,*  treating  of  the  sim- 
pler   problems    of    plane    geometiy    has    been 
published  by  William  Collins  and  Co.     It  is  a  , 
new  and  revised  edition  of  the  treatise  by  E.  S. 
Burchett,  lecturer  on  the  subject  at  the  National 
Art  Training  School,  South  Kensington,  pub- 
lished a  few  years   ago,    and  will   be  found  of 
use   to   students   preparing   for   an  elementary 
examination,  and  the  extended  "  second-grade 
exammations."     The  elements  of  orthographic 
projection  have   been  added  to  the  work  as  an 
appendix,    and   is   a  good   introduction  to  the 
more  advanced  text-book  pubUshed  by  the  same 
firm   we   have   just    noticed.      Mr.    Burchett  s 
work  is  weU  printed  and  full  of  plates,  and  the 
solurions  are  printed  on  the  page  facmg  each 
plate  of  diagrams  ;  the  advantage  of  which  is 
that  the  problem  can   be  studied  in  one  opening 
of  the  book.     Pari;s    1  and  2  deal  with  the  ele- 
mentarv   problems,    and   these   are    very  fuUy 
iUustrated  under  various  sections.  The  bisection 
of  lines  and  angles,  raising  perpendiculars,  draw- 
ing paraUels,  division  of  Unes  into  any  number 
of  parts   the  construction  of  triangles,  squares, 
and   polygons,   take  up  a  large    portion,   after 
which  curves  are  treated  in  which  section  all 
the   problems   of   finding  curves  by  points  and 
other  data  are  given.     Among  these  problems 
are  to  be  found  methods  for  descnbmg  ellipses 
from  foci  and  through   given  pom ts,  parabolas, 
conchoid  curves,    Ionic   volutes,    cycloids,    tro- 
choids ire    Thefourthsection,  onCucles,  isyery 
fullv  treated,   after  which  problems  are  given 
for  inscribing   figures,    and  those  having  refer- 
ence to  areas,     the  descriptions  are  short,  and 
the  letters  of  reference  clear  Part  3,  on  Appt'ed 
Geometrv.wiU   be   found  of  g'=°'i|^' "f '"f ", 
signers  ^d  decorative  artists.     The  method,  of 
covering  surfaces  with  geometric   figures,  sucn 
as   eauUateral   triangles    and   other  forms   arc 
Tsefu'l    ani  the  princ%les  for  the  ela^ration  0 

the  most  intricate  patterns  depending  on  series 
of  trTao.'lcs,  squares,  &c.,  are  shown  by  clear  y- 
dra^  iBustrarions.  Greek  and  Roman  mould- 
hi-r^are  described,  and  various  geometrical 
bales  of  Gothic  tracery.  The  ^^'noCn 
tracery  based  on  the  circle  and  the  pohgfms 
are  sSf  evident  applicaUons  of  geometry,  and 
the  work  proceeds'^trom  the  elements  to  com- 
binations  of  form. 


•  Practical  Plane  Geometry  and  I''<']«''<"'„f''':?«"™5J 
Class^  and  Schools.  By  Hesdv  Asgel,  Certjflcated 
Science  Teacher,  &c.  2  Vols.  Loniion  and  Glasgow. 
"William  Collins,  Sons,  and  Company. 


•  Practical  Tlane  Ocometpr^By  E^S- T^CRcntyr^^ 
Sons*  and.  Co. 


WINDOWS  AND  FIREPLiVCES. 

IN  planning  roomn,  the  relation  lietwecntho 
door  and  the  fireplace  ha«  to  be  eonuderrf, 
80  that  the  one  may  not  interfere  with  the  *(Tcct 
to  be  derived  from  the  otlicr.  A  door  on  lh« 
same  side  as  the  fireplace  is  often  un<l«iir«ble— 
it  creates  a  direct  draught,  and  intorfcn'  with 
the  space  immediately  round  the  fire.  A  door- 
way on  the  side  opposite  the  fire  is  a  (rfqurnt 
arr.ingement,  but  it  is  bttter  a  little  on  one  nde, 
not  directly  opposite  the  fire.  P.rhap«  the  hmt 
position  of  aU  is  where  the  doorway  i«  pl«f«l  m 
a  side  waU.  It  is  not  possible,  however  to  lay 
down  a  hard-and-fast  rule,  as  so  much  d-f-  ft' 
on  plan,  the  aspect  of  the  house,  and  ctliir  <  ■  :.- 
siderations.  With  regard  to  windows,  th.  a.-] . .  t 
of  the  house  should  be  the  main  thing  to  ol«r»^-. 
and  it  would  not  bo  practicable  to  follow  aU  the 
ideas  written  and  preached  on  the  .uMect. 
Thus  in  one  book  the  author  says  :  '  «  milowt 
should,  if  possible,  bo  arranged  »  a»  to 
take  advantage  of  the  wind  ^^  •'^ 
a  thorough  blow  through.  Now  tU> 
rule,  admirable  in  hospiul  -  wards,  wculd 
not  be  very  desirable  in  sitting-nwrns;  (ortAe 
windows  would  have  to  be  placed  on  op,KHUtB 
or   adjacent  walls,    an    imiH.sMb.IitT   in   mort 

houses.  I-nagi""  "."'""'^■'^Tv'"'-!'?";"" 
in  opposite  waUs;  there  would  be  no  pnr^ 
in  such  a  room  ;  every b..dy  could  bo  «^n  >;'« 
one  side  or  the  other,  and  such  re-""  "^^'T 
tolerable  in  summer  time  or  when  a  .-^"-•"V 
torv  is  attached  to  them.  Ano  her  ..hioc  .,  more 
practicable,  and  that  is  that  Jl  window,  .hnuW 
S  ^eli  up  to  the  ceiling.  M'-T  -'<»;™ 
houses  are  built  with  wmdow-l>.  . 
below  the  ccUinp,  and  no  mean  - 
for  the  escape  of  the  heat"!    ■■  | 

the  reservoir  or   space    ■ 
rooms  where  gas  i»  I'"' 

vcntil.ition  ij  mwt  imp  _ 

prnsive  houses   it   is   n  ' 
made  obsenation  may  • 

value  of  having  outUt*  r  ^ 

gas-lights   arc  burnt.     1 
table  in  a  room  that  h.n- 

and  observe  the  warm.  -  ..^ 

ducts    of    combusuon  1. 
cannot  escape,  but  gradu-iUy  .--1 
rebrcalhc<l.  ,j_.^  , 

The  ordinary  op.  Ti    .-.ro  r.i     .    ■     • 

that   it  admiu   : 
necessary  for  f 
diation,  an  1   i-  ' 
of   the   .:■ 
only  get- 
objccta   'i 

draughts   »-.l   'm   kv    r  -    ^-      . 

ckU^stovcs.  it  is  of  »^me  ^-^^^^^ 
into  the  best  forms  of  open  grate* 


•«  fault. 


•h 
.  ii,j-iiie 
We  h«T» 


572 


THE    BUILDING   NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


recE-ntly  advocated  tlic  construction  of  certain 
Btoves,  depending  on  a  shallow  fire  made  of  fire- 
brick, -with  splayed  tides,  Tvith  no  aperturesbelow, 
so  that  the  incandescent  fuel  is  exposed  to  the 
room.  Messrs.  Barnard,  Bishop,  and  Bamards' 
"  Parson's  Grate  "  fulfils  these  conditions  ;  and 
some  others  may  be  mentioned,  such  as  the  Man- 
chester ventilating  grates.  The  common  grate 
utilises  only  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  coal,  and 
the  room  may  register  70  degrees  on  one  side 
and  only  50  degrees  on  the  other  side. 
Fuel  is  lost  by  being  converted  into 
smoke  and  the  fresh  air  is  wanaed  only 
after  it  reaches  the  throat  of  the  chimney. 
But  those  who  build  might  obviate  a  good  deal  of 
this  waste,  if  they  could  be  brought  to  under- 


Anothcr  important  principle  has  to  be  boi-ne  in  ARCH  JEOIiOG-ICAL. 

mind  by   those  who  seek  to  Tentilate  so  as  to        _^  Eoman  Town  is  Hungakt. — The  ruins  of 
secure   a  gradual    change  of    air  throughoirt  a    ^^jjg  ancient  Aquiueum  of  the  Romans,  the  im- 


room.  A  large  supply  of  air  cannot  be 
obt.ained  in  a  room  of  small  cubic  space.  If 
it  is  srught  to  be  done  there  is  draught,  as 
a  quick  movement  air  at  50'  is  intoler- 
able. It  is  found  from  experience  that 
a  change  of  air  in  a  room  at  the  rate  of 
five  times  per  hoivr  renders  it  cold  and  draughty, 
and,  to  secure  comfort,  a  change  of  about  three 
times  an  hour  is  desirable.  So  that  an  architect 
in  designing  a  room  for  assembly  purposes, 
whether  a  concert-room,  a  lecture-room,  or 
a  hospital  ward,  must  bear  in  mind  the  unit  of 
cubic  space  for  each  individual.     If  the  place  is 


stand  a  few  of  the  leading  facts  of  the  pheno-    small  a  quicker  change  of  air  becomes  desirable, 
mena  of  warming.     One  thing  to  remember  is  I  entailing    with    it    draught    or    a    passage   of 


that  we  can  avoid  draught  by  admitting  the  cold 
air  near  or  below  the  fireplace,  so  that  it  will  not 
require  to  come  across  the  room  and  chill  every- 
body who  sits  in  its  passage.  Or  the  inlets  may 
be  introduced  in  opposite  walls  on  both  sides  of 
the  fireplace,  by  which  the  currents  may  meet 
and  produce  a  more  equable  effect.  We  consider 
there  is  yet  wanted  a  cheap  grate  for  tenements, 
on  the  principle  of  supplying  its  own  air  and 
radiating  the  heat  into  the  room.  The  smoke 
nuisance,  if  it  is  ever  to  be  abated,  must  be  by 
the  adoption  of  an  open  grate  that  will  throw 
out  all  the  heat,  and  reduce  the  quantity  of  fuel 
burnt ;  meanwhile,  if  intelligent  stoking  and 
fire-making  were  taught  in  our  schools,  a  con- 
siderable advance  would  be  made  hi  that 
<lirection. 


^•ENTILATION  OK  DRAUGHT. 

IN  many  of  the  systems  of  ventilation  no 
account  is  taken  of  the  proper  admixture  of  the 
incoming  fresh  air  with  the  air  in  the  apartment : 
and  there  may  be  the  remarkable  anomalj''  that 
while  a  current  of  air  is  passing  through  the 
room  an  occupant  in  one  particularpart  or  comer  is 
receivingnobenefit  from  the  change.  We  have  had 
practical  verifications  of  this  condition  of  imper- 
fect ventilation  in  examining  large  rooms  where 
a  system  of  ventilation  has  been  applied.  It  is 
very  necessary  that  the  whole  body  of  air  in  a 
room  should  be  in  a  constant  state  of  circulation, 
that  the  air  coming  in  shall  be  well  mixed, 
producing  uniform  temperature  and  composition. 
To  produce  this  evenness  in  the  air  it  is  necessary 
that  the  entrance  and  exit  openings  should  be 
small  and  well  divided  and  placed  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  room.  Kllison's  conical  apertures  answer 
this  purpose  well.  When  the  openings  are  large 
and  near  each  other  a  current  of  air  will  be  found 
to  go  straight  through  from  one  to  the  other. 
X.arge  volumes  of  cold  air  naturally  have  an 
initial  force,  and  take  a  long  time  to  subdivide  or 
mix,  especially  when  aided  by  the  presence  of  a 
fire.  If  we  have  a  room  with  a  fireplace  at  each 
end  and  one  opening  in  the  ceiling  for  the  egress 
of  foul  air,  a  very  opposite  state  of  things  takes 
place  to  what  the  ordinary  theorist  would  expect. 
The  outlet  becomes  an  inlet  through  which  a 
column  of  cold  air  enters,  first  falling  to  the 
ground  and  then  di\'iding  into  two  .streams 
whose  points  of  exit  are  the  fireplaces,  and  this 
action  will  continxie  so  long  as  the  upper  opening 
is  the  only  means  of  inlet ;  but  directly  openings 
are  made  at  the  floc^r-level  of  sufiicient  capacity, 
the  currents  are  altered  entirely,  streams  of  fresh 
air  traverse  the  lower  strata  of  the  room  to  the 
fireplaces,  or,  becoming  warm,  gradually  ascend 
and  mix  with  the  air  of  the  room,  while  the 
upper  opening  serves  its  true  purpose  as  an  exit. 
A  very  instructive  experiment  elucidating  the 
eifects  of  impartial  ventilation  was  made  in  a 
French  hospital  some  time  ago.  The  ward  had 
beds  placed  as  usual  next  the  outer  walls,  and 
below  these  the  fresh  air  entered,  while  in  the 
ceiling  in  centre  of  ward  were  openings  for  the 
outlet  of  vitiated  air.  Careful  observations  were 
made  in  the  ward  by  instrumental  means  to  test 
the  movement  of  the  air  in  different  parts  of  the 
room,  and  the  records  made  showed  that  the 
streams  of  cold  fresh  air,  as  they  entered  below 
the  beds,  took  an  upward  obUque  direction  to  the 
outlet  in  the  ceiling,  leaving  spaces  of  compara- 
tively stagnant  ail-  over  the  beds  and  in  the  centre 
of  the  ward-floor.  It  will  be  seen  the  advantage 
of  this  ventilation  was  but  slight  to  those  of  the 
patients  who  were  stiU  breathing  the  air  confined 
between  the  heads  of  their  beds  and  the  ceiling. 
The  remedy  for  this  state  of  things  would  be  by 
a  more  distributed  number  of  inlets  with  open- 
ings above  the  heads  of  the  beds. 


colder  air  than  is  agreeable  to  the  body.  A  room 
of  one  thousand  feet  cubic  capacity  ought  to 
have  the  air  changed  not  more  frequently  than 
four  times  an  hour,  which  would  allow  a  space 
of  nearly  SOO  cubic  feet  per  head.  The  readiest 
way  for  an  architect  to  give  the  necessary  cubic 
allowance  is  to  make  his  rooms  a  trifle  higher, 
which  is  also  frequently  less  expensive  than  to 
give  a  larger  area. 

A  well-known  sanitary  authority.  Dr.  Russell, 
of  Edinburgh,  advocates  the  connection  of  both 
inlets  and  outlets  with  the  space  above  the  heads 
of  occupants,  which  he  calls  a  mixing  chamber, 
into  which  fresh  air  can  be  brought  to  be  mixed 
and  warmed.  This  theory  might  be  well  carried 
out  by  the  vertical  tube  or  Tobin  ventilator, 
which  may  be  made  to  open  into  the  strata  of  air 
just  above  the  head.  Others  propose  the  inlets 
should  be  near  the  ceilings,  so  as  to  allow  gentle 
dift'usion  and  descent  through  the  upper  strata 
of  air,  and  this  position  is  better  for  ventilation 
in  winter  time,  if  we  desire  to  avoid  contact  with 
rapid  currents  of  cold  air.  Vertical  pipes  or  flues 
opening  below  the  windows,  built  in  walls,  or  in 
casings  with  deflecting  apertures,  appear  to  meet 
all  th.at  is  needed ;  and  we  would  mention, 
among  others,  Shillito  and  Shorland's  arrange- 
ments, Sheringham's  valve,  Jenning's  air  inlet  as 
methods  easily  applied  for  the  purpose  of 
directing  currents  of  air  upwaids  to  dift'erent 
classes  of  buildings.  "With  respect  to  the 
outlets  for  Urge  rooms,  nothing  is  better  than 
foul-air  flues  at  the  side  of  chimney-flues,  with 
stoneware  pipes  connecting  near  or  at  the  ceiling, 
with  valves  such  as  Crossley's  cloth  valve,  or 
Boyle's  flap  valves.  Other  noiseless  modifi- 
cations of  Arnott's  valve  we  have  previously 
described  in  the  Botlding  News,  and  there  are 
some  outlets,  such  as  Weaver's,  depending  upon  a 
sensitive  balanced  valve. 

There  is  another  matter  upon  which  the  venti- 
latiouof  a  house  largely  depends,  and  the  architect 
has  quite  neglected  it  among  the  more  pressing 
physical  properties  of  his  materials.     It  has  been 


portant  Danubian  towu,  have   been  found  and 
partly  excavated  at  Old  Buda,  one  of  the  outer 
suburbs     of     Budapest.       The     archreological 
societies  of  Hungary  have  for  years  been  en- 
gaged in   the  pursuit  of   seeking  the  tomb  of 
Arpar,  the  founder  of  the  Hungarian  Empire. 
No  tomb  has  as  yet  been  discovered,  but  this 
fruitless   search   has  led  to  a  discovery  of  less 
national,  but  much  more  universal  interest.  Mr. 
de  Tomia  has  seen   his   efforts  crowned  by  dis- 
overing  in  the  eoursa  of  this  autumn,  in  Old 
Buda,  the  remains  of  the  amphitheatre  of  Aqui- 
ueum, and  soon  afterwards  of  a  chapel  of  Nemesis, 
as  well  as  of  an  aqueduct  of  considerable  dimen- 
sions.    Hundreds  of  workmen  are  now  engaged 
in    excavating  these   lofty   remains  of    bygone 
times,  and  every  day  results  in  new  and  interest- 
ing  discoveries.     Of    the    amphitheatre    itself, 
enough  has  been  uncovered  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
large  and  noble   proportions  of  the  edifice.^    It 
consists  of  a  double  range  of  walls,  built  in  a 
h.alf-eircle,  whose   inner,   oval  part  formed  the 
arena;  whilst  the  outer,  more  elevated  one, con- 
tained three  nanges  of   seats  for  the  spectators, 
those  seats  being  separated  by  raylike  walls.  The 
inner  part  of  the  amphitheatre  measures  about 
fifty  metres,  less  than  that  of  the  Colosseum  of 
Rome,  and  more   than  that   of   the  Theatre  of 
Verona.     Judging  by   the   proportions  of   this 
cirque,  Aquineum  must  have  h.ad  about  100,000 
inhabitants.     The  entrances  and  galleries  of  the 
amphitheatre  are  still  well  preserved ;  not  so  the 
arena  itself,  which  has  been  submerged  by  the 
damp  soil.  Several  chapels  leaning  to  the  western 
side  of  the  amphitheatre,  as  well  as  stone  seats 
with  inscriptions,  have  been  discovered,  but  the 
most  valuable   of  these   smaller   discoveries  is 
a    large     stone,     whose     inscription     gives    a 
diminutive    history    of     the     town    itself  : — 
"  Deas     Dianje    Nemesi     Augusta;,    honoribus 
C.  Tuli  Victorini  equo  publico,  aslili  II.  curuli 
et  T.  Flavio  Luciano  quinquennali  II.  curali, 
pontificibus,  quinquennalibus,colonni;e  Aquinei, 
PupUius  Hylatianus  Antestis  numiui  eiusdem 
dea3  posuit  V.   Kalcndas   Julias,  ^Emiliano  et 
Raso  Consulibus."     So  Aquineum  was  aRoman 
colony ;    its  inhabitants  enjoyed   the   rights  of 
Roman  citizens,   and  delivered   judgment  after 
the  rules   of   the    "jus  Roraanum."     So  much 
says    this    stone   which    Pupilius    Hylatianus 
Antestis  deposited   at   the  feet  of  the  statue  of 
Diana.     On  the  square  before  the  amphitheatre 
a  chapel  of   Nemesis  has  been  excavated,  with 
the  statues    yet    in  place,    and  frescoes   with 
well-preserved   colours,    which,  unfortunately, 
crumbled  to   dust   on   the   mere   touch   of  the 
hand.     The  largest  of  these  statues  is  wonder- 
fully well   preserved.     At  its   feet   was   found 
a  sacrificial  vessel  with  bones,  and  not  far  from 


pointed  out  by  Pettenkofer,   and   other  experi-  it  the  mutilated  head   of  the   goddess  Nemesis, 

mentalists,  that  different  substances  allow  the  This   goddess,    whose  name   is   to  be   read   on 

passage  of  air  through  them  at  certain  rates,  and  almost   every  stone  of  Aquineum,  seems  to  have 

that  the  walls  of  our  our  houses  allow  of  a  kind  been  the  tutelar  deity  of  the  town.     Cold  days 


of  transpiration  to  go  on  through  them.  The 
architect  of  course  cannot  very  often  dictate  the 
material  of  liis  w.alls ;  he  has  to  build  with  the 
most  convenient  material  the  locality  affords  him ; 
but  he  can  always  regulate  the  thickness  of  his 
walls,  and  thus  he  might  avert  the  evil  of  a  cold 
house.  It  is  well  known  that  wind  blowing 
ag.ainst  a  wall  of  thin  porous  brickwork  will 
q\uckly  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  room ;  and 
a  house  with  a  wet  aspect  will  always  be  cold 
and  damp  unless  the  walls  are  built  solidly  of 
stone  or  constructed  with  a  cavity.  But  solid 
brick  walls  can  be  battened  or  lined  inside,  and 
it  is  imperative  on  the  careful  builder  that  he 
.should  provide  means  to  check  the  too-rapid 
transmission  of  heat  or  cold  and  moisture.  Pro- 
vided there  is  good  ventilation,  impervious  walls 
are  the  most  desirable.  There  is  one  objection  to 
them,  namely,  the  condensation  of  moisture  on 
their  inner  surface,  due  to  their  being 
good  conductors  of  heat;  but  this  may  be  largely 
prevented  by  hollow  construction,  or  by  the  use 
of  a  lining  of  cork, — a  method  that  has  been 
attended  with  success  in  some  of  our  ironclads. 
A  porous  wall  does  not  altogether  absorb  the 
watery  vapour  in  the  air,  as  some  believe  ;  but 
being  a  bad  conductor,  it  does  not  condense  the 
moisture  inside. 


The  New  North  IT.P.  Church  at  Perth,  built 
from  the  designs  of  Mr.  T.  L.  Watson,  of  Glasgow, 
at  a  cost  of  £7,000,  was  opened  for  worship  on 
Sunday. 


having  set  in,  the  excavations  will  soon  be 
suspended  till  next  spring,  when  they  will  be 
resumed  with  energy. 

YoEK. — A  few  days  ago  the  workmen  em- 
ployed in  digging  the  foundation  of  a  new  wing 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  convent  at  York,  came 
upon  a  large  statue  of  sandstone,  nearly  life- 
size,  two  small  Roman  altars,  and  a  third  block 
of  stone,  which  would  appear  from  its  inscrip- 
tion to  have  been  also  an  altar.  The  neck  of 
the  statue  was,  unfortunately,  severed  in  raising 
it  to  the  surface,  and  its  feet  also  are  gone,  but 
otherwise  it  is  tolerably  perfect.  The  face  and 
head  are  fine,  and  the  first  impression  of  those 
who  saw  it  when  brought  to  light  was  that  it 
represented  a  Roman  patrician.  The  inscrip- 
tion,   so   far   as  it  can   be  deciphered,   runs — 

"  C.  JULIl-S  rEESCENTIUS  (ol'  CEESCEX.s),  MATEIBUS 
D05IESTICIS   VOTFM    SOLVIT    MEEITO     LIBEKS    A.U.C., 

10-50."  The  altar  on  which  this  inscription  is 
rudely  cut  is  17in.  in  height  by  Sin.  in  width. 
The  whole  is  of  smooth,  polished  stone,  fluted, 
and  coloured  at  the  tides.  The  second  altar, 
like  the  figure,  is  of  sandstone,  in  height  ri^^in., 
by  .7in.  wide,  and  on  it  nothing  can  be  de- 
ciphered except  the  word  "  aeti,"  probably  the 
last  four  letters  of  the  word  "  Marti,"  implying 
that  the  altar  was  dedicated  to  the  god  Mars. 
The  third  stone  is  of  lesser  dimensions,  being 
only  lOiin.  high,  by  .'jin.  wide,  and  3 Jin.  deep. 
Its  inscription  is  scarcely  legible.  Canon  Raine 
prouoimces  the  figure  to  be  that  of  the  god  Mars, 


Nov.   12,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


573 


and  the  sandstone  pedestal  to  te  an  altar 
belongmg-  to  it,  the  God  of  War  being  repre- 
sented in  the  dress  of  a  Roman  warrior  under 
the  Empire.  It  is  considered  that  these  relics 
belong  to  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era. 


ARCHITECTURAL  &  ARCHJEOLOGICAL 
SOCIETIES. 

Dorset  Anikjuaman  Field  Crnii. — The  ses- 
sion of  this  EOciety  was  brought  to  a  t-Iuso  on 
Wednesday  week  by  a  meeting  at  Weymouth. 
The  fir  it  place  visited  was  the  Roman  pavement 
at  Preston,  originally  uncovered  in  1871,  which 
is  still  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation,  the 
tesserfe  being  firm  and  compact,  and  the 
colours  very  distinct.  Professor  Buckman  gave 
an  address  in  which  he  stated  that  the  villa  of 
wliich  this  formed  the  floor  was  not  of  the  first 
class,  for  there  were  no  arrangements  for 
w.arming  the  room  ;  it  appeared  to  have  been  a 
bath,  and  further  research  ought  to  reveal 
several  others  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 
These  tesselated  pavements  were  the  work  of 
Roman  ladies  who  occupied  their  time  in 
arranging  the  pieces  of  tiles  in  much  the 
same  manner  as  our  ladies  did  with  Berlin  work. 
"  The  Roman  bridge,"  an  ashlar  stone  struc- 
ture in  good  preservation,  was  next  visited,  and 
was  pionounced  by  Professor  Buckman  to  have 
no  marks  identifying  it  with  the  Roman  period. 
The  works  of  the  Weymouth  Water  Company 
were  then  inspected  under  the  guidance  of 
jNIr.  G.  Crickmay,  jun.,  the  son  of  the  engi- 
neer, who  said  the  supply  gained  by  tapping 
the  chalk,  was  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of  a 
town  8  times  the  size  of  Weymouth ;  the  yield 
had  varied  during  the  past  ten  years  from 
110,000  to  224,000  gallons  per  hour. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 


Metbopolitan  Dr.Awixo  Classes.  —  The 
Queen's  Prize,  awarded  by  the  Science  and  Art 
Department  to  the  successful  students  of  the 
Metropolitan  Drawing  Classes,  under  the  in- 
struction of  Mr.  Walter  Busbridge,  were  pre- 
sented last  week  at  the  Guildhall,  by  Piince 
Leopold.  The  object  of  the  Classes  is  to  prepare 
working  men  for  advancement  in  their  respective 
trades.  The  subjects  for  instruction  are  solid 
geometry,  machine  drawing,  and  building  con- 
struction. The  fees  for  the  whole  course  of 
seven  months  are  13s.  Gd.  for  working  men  who 
make  not  less  than  20  attendances  and  attend 
the  May  examination,  including  registration  and 
examination  fees,  certificates,  &c.  ;  and  £2  2s.  for 
those  not  attending  examinations,  and  middle- 
class  students — persons  who  receive  above  £200 
per  annum.  Notwithstanding  the  great  increase 
in  the  difficulties  of  the  examination,  the  success 
of  the  students  had  been  altogether  satisfactory. 
Of  the  952  students  who  attended  the  16  classes 
at  work  during  the  year,  under  the  instruction 
of  Mr.  Busbridge,  in  the  metropolitan  area,  6S4 
were  successful  at  the  May  examination,  and  158 
obtained  Queen's  prizes. 

Sheffield  School  of  Akt.  —  The  annual 
meeting  of  the  subscribers  to  the  School  of  Art 
was  held  on  Monday,  Mr.  M.  E.  Hadfiold,  the 
president,  in  the  chair.  The  Head  Master's 
report  stated  that  the  total  number  of  students 
attending  during  the  year  was  350,  a  decrease  of 
seven  from  the  previous  year.  The  work  for  the 
past  year  sent  to  South  Kensington  in  April  for 
examination  made  a  total  of  2,289  works,  being 
a  decrease  of  -423  from  last  j-ear.  The  decrease 
was  in  the  number  of  elementary  drawings,  the 
works  sent  up  in  the  advanced  stages  being 
more  numerous  than  in  any  previous  year  during 
the  past  seven  jears.  The  prizes  awarded  to 
these  works  had  been — 39  third  grade  prizes,  10 
local  free  studentships,  and  in  the  national  com- 
petition, 10  national  medals  and  prizes.  These 
numbers  showed  an  increase  of  10  third  grade 
prizes,  and  of  one  free  studentship,  and  a  de- 
crease of  two  national  prizes,  compared  with  last 
year.  In  the  results  of  the  second  and  third 
grade  examinations  an  improvement  over  last 
year  was  shown.  In  closing  his  repoit  Mr.  Cox 
expressed  regret  that  it  should  be  the  last  he 
should  have  the  privilege  of  preparing. 


The  annual  Fine  Art  and  Industrial  Exliibilion 
at  Stockten-on-'i'tes  was  cjeiied  by  Mr.  Pease, 
M.P.,  cu  Holiday.     The  nuuiLer  of  eihibits  i3  584. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Gloucestee.— The  committee  of  tlie  proposed 
Centenary  Memorial  Cliurch  in  honour  of 
Robert  Raikes,  the  founder  of  Sunday  scIiooIh, 
received  upwards  of  200  applications  from  archi- 
tects for  particulars  of  the  competition,  and  of 
these  40  have  scut  in  designs  under  mottoes. 
The  drawings  have  been  opened  and  examined 
by  the  committee  this  week. 

Newtown  Cuuecii,  Exeteb. — The  Exeter 
Church  Extension  Society  have  selectod  Mr.  C. 
Medley  Eulford,  A.R.I. B.A.,  The  Close,  Exeter, 
as  architect  for  the  proposed  Church  in  New- 
town. Seven  sets  of  designs  were  sent  in  under 
motto  by  the  Exeter  architects,  to  whom  the 
competition  was  confined,  and  they  were  all  sub- 
mitted to  Mr.  Robson,  architect,  of  Loudon, 
who  reported  strongly  in  favour  of  Mr.  I'ulfurd's 
design,  bearing  the  motto  of  "Laus  Deo,"  as 
worthy  of  the  first  place,  and  Mr.  Webb  second. 
It  is  proposed  to  proceed  with  a  portion  of  tlio 
work  if  funds  will  not  admit  of  the  whole  being 
carried  out  at  present.  The  church  is  to  be 
erected  behind  the  Board  Scliools  at  an  estimated 
cost  of  about  £6,000,  and  will  accommodate  800 
adidts. 

Poxtefhact. — The  Corporation  of  Pontefract 
have  been  contemplating  erecting  a  new  Assem . 
bly  Room,  or  Town  Hall  for  now  several  years 
past,  and  having  advertised  for  plans,  oft'eriug  a 
premium  of  .£50  and  £25  for  the  two  best,  they 
have  received  some  si.^ly  sets  of  designs.  In  the 
new  erection  to  be  built  provision  is  to  be  made 
for  a  new  post-oflice,  county  court  accommoda- 
tion, borough  offices,  and  other  conveniences, 
besides  a  large  room  to  scat  700  or  800  persons. 
The  old  moot  or  town  hall  is  not  to  be  disturbed. 
A  local  paper  says,  "  There  is  a  great  objection 
to  the  site  fixed  upon  even  in  the  council,  as  well 
as  amongst  the  ratepayers  generally,  and  it 
remains  to  be  seen  as  to  whether  or  not  the  new 
town  hall  scheme  will  become  a  reality."  That's 
comforting  for  the  competing  architects  to  st^irt 
with  1 

Sewage  Disfosal  Schejie  for  Norwood. — 
The  lease  of  the  Norwood  Sewage  Farm  having 
nearly  expired,  the  Croydon  Board  of  Healtli 
recently  invited  schemes  from  engineers  for  the 
future  disposal  of  the  sewage  of  Norwood. 
Messrs.  Bailey-Denton,  Baldwin  Latham, 
Lundie,  and  Fuchus  competed,  and  the  Board 
have  resolved  to  adopt  the  scheme  of  Mr.  Bald- 
win Latham,  formerly  engineer  to  the  rural 
sanitary  authority  of  Croydon.  This  scheme 
provides  that  the  sewage  shall  bo  t.aken  to  Bed- 
dington  farm  by  gravitation,  and  there  dealt 
with  by  irrigation— the  same  process  as  is  at  pre- 
sent in  use  in  regard  to  the  Croydon  sewage. 
Mr.  Latham  estimates  the  cost  of  his  scheme  at 
£26,000,  and  besides  this  between  £1,000  and 
£5,000  will  have  to  be  expended  on  the  Bedding- 
ton  farm  to  prepare  it  for  receiving  the  addi- 
tional sewage. 


CHIPS. 

Last  week  the  restored  northern  aisle  of  St. 
Chart's  Church,  Staft'crd,  was  reconsecrated.  The 
work  has  bten  done  by  Mr.  \V.  Moss,  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  E.  Griffiths,  who  adopted  the 
design  of  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott  in  every  par- 
ticufar  except  that  he  earned  the  aisle  a  little 
further  back  than  Sir  Gilbert  intended  to  do.  The 
total  cost  of  the  restoration  has  been  about  £4S0. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Board-school  .at 
Newcastle,  Staffordshire,  was  laid  on  Saturday. 
The  schools  will  be  iu  three  departments,  to  accom 
modate  400  boys,  350  girls,  and  250  infints,  and 
will  be  constructed  of  brick  work,  m  Queen  Anne, 
the  main  waUs  bting  faced  with  dark  bricks,  re- 
lieved by  red  brick  dressiugsand  terra-cotlapaueU, 
the  roofs  covered  with  brindled  tdo  surmounted  by 
bell  turret.  The  ventilation  has  been  well  studicil. 
the  fresh  air  being  admitted  by  ElUson'a  cona-a 
ventilators  underneath  the  wuidows,  and  the  foul 
air  'extracted  by  means  of  wooden  troughs  con- 
structed above  the  ceiUngs  and  connected  t  j  Boyle  s 
air-pump  ventilators.  The  plans  have  been  jire- 
parcd  bv  Messrs.  Chapman  and  Suajje.  of  New- 
castle, and  were  selected  iu  open  competition;  ana 
the  contract  has  been  undeitakeu  bv  Mr.  Gallimor^ 
of  Newcastle  (the  present  Mayor),  for  the  sum  of 
£3  887  The  total  cost,  iucluiliui;  purchase  of  site, 
architecfa'  commission,  and  all  other  txpeuscj, 
will  be  £5,000,  or  £5  per  head. 

A  coflFee-taveru  in  High-street,  WaUinghom 
No.f.lk,  was  opened  on  the  4th  mst.  Ii  h«  been 
built  bv  Mr.  E.  Haiold,  builder,  ol  U  ulsiDgham, 
from  plans  by  Mr.  Charles  Beck,  ol  Back-chambers, 
Norwich. 


BuilbiuQ  luttllitjcncc. 

Bl,vi.ki)Uu.\.— The  inw  imboili-wimb.  at  tho 
Blackburn   union  workhounc,  whii  li  were  com- 
mciK'ed  iu  May,  IsT'.i,  have  now  Uxju  coio|ilul«J. 
The  building  cumiinl.i  i,f  two  wiiign  iu  tbo  forui 
of  parallulogniniN,  and  are  upj.rupriatcU  by  Uiu 
female  uud  male- ward*,  with  eouut-ctiiiif  corri- 
dors  and   adniiiiiHtralivij    block    iu  cfiiire,    mad 
rccreatiou    grounilH   and   thvilt   behiuJ.      Eooh 
ward  consinlji  of  four   hir(?o   day-rojuw,  bath- 
room, aud  clohets  on  llio  gruuiid-flu'jr,  uiJ  twu 
separate  dormiluries  and  wurk-ruum  ou  llio  flnl- 
floor,     with     accummodatiun    for    about     190 
imbccileti.     The  admiuijitrutivt<  Mm  k  conijjitauf 
male  and  female  nunca'  roomn,  iiud  thu  uaual 
oflicea  for  culinary  iliupcDKitiun.     'th>-  biiilJin((« 
throagliout     are     faced     with   i  icr;.  u.!'   fnm 
Ilahliiigdcn  Graue;   the  iiuiide  lini 
are  built  up  to  5(t.  Cin.  high   wi!; 
bricks,  from   Meiura.  Cliff   and   ." 
near  Leeds,  the  rent  of  the  wulli    : 
The  whole  of  tliu   work«,  from 
have  been  sutinfaiturily  curried  o  . 
Fawcett,  joiner  and  builder,  ut  u 
ever  £10,000.     The  exeavutiou»  i 
walling  have  been  perfnniied    by 
the   workhouse,    and   the   wholl 
ings   have    been   e.toiited    from    tlm   d>.<ug-ui, 
and  under  the   suiM-rinti  ndcnce,  of  Mr.  Jame* 
Aspinall,  architect,  Itlackbum. 

BraufieU). — A  mannion  in  the  Qu^-n  Aano 
tjle  has  just  been  completed  for  Um  Tallock, 
on  a  tite  formerly  o<  cupied   by  a  furmliouMi  at 
Branifield,    near    Haleitworth,    Sutlolk.      Tliu 
hou.sc  is  6e|Uaro  on  plan,   facing  thu  four  {loinU 
of  the  compass,  and  is  built  of  KpcciallT-mado 
Halcsworlh  red   bricks,  with   the  dctp  pitdu-U- 
roof,  stacked  chimney-shafts,   gablu,  and  dor- 
mers, and  tlie  many  string-courMs,  moalJiuga, 
and  cut  brick  pediments  charactfri-stic   of  iho 
style  adopted.     A  broad  terrace  is  prividwl  on 
the  south  and   west  side.'f,  and  on  t'i>'  ii"rth  nn 
open  and  half-timbered   porch  •  j 
vestibule,  and  thence  into  the  ;■■■ 
by  26ft.  Oin.     This  apartment   i 
oak  in  partpittry  work,  and  ha- 
with  walnut  panels ;  to  the  right 
to  the  left  the  grand  8tairca.te,  at: 
municating  with    the  K-rvants' i,-...  ■         -■ 
drawing-room  measures  30ft.  by  1  Jli.,  iAnu.'Mio 
of  a  circular  bay  at   the  south  end,  aiil  a  wijo 
bay   on   the  west  side ;  it  is  14ft.  h  gh.     The 
flooring  is  iu  parquetry,  of  oak,  ash  and  walnut, 
laid  in  an  interlacing  jMittem.      The  virandah 
into   which    this    ojiens    is    laid    with    Iniliau 
mosaics.     On  the  opposite  side   of  the  hall  i»  a 
morning-room,  and  next  this   the  diiiinif  apart- 
ment, 30ft.  by  I'Jft.,  which  is  furnished  in  dark 
pollard  oak.      To   the  east  arc  tho  mTranta' 
apartments,   including   largo   kit«hcn,   butkr'a 
pantiy,  servants'  hull,  and  offin-^.     Th<^  iipprr 
part    of   the   building  is  pUnie  '. 
Mr.  E.  F.  Bisshopp,  of  Ipswicli, 
tect,    and    specially   designed   t! 
furniture,  which  were  chiefly  supp..'  .     •    ■■       _-• 
Meadows  and    Bennett,    of  Ipswicli.       Mr.   K. 
Uiriiiiir,  of  Ipswich,   was  the  contra.tor.     Mr. 
Ebner,    of    London,    execuU-d     the    p.ni«'trT. 
which  was   laid   bv  Italian    workmen,  and  Iho 
mosaics  laid   by    iliingarinn    workcncn.      Tho 
wood  carving  is  by  Mr.  Groom,  of  Ipswich. 

Broad  ni.vrox.-Thc  Chanhof  St.  Peter  ,A 
Vincula,   at  Broad  Hiaton.  was    rr<.pened  laat 
Monday  week,  after  rest  t-'  ••       ■  "•■  ""  biv^t 
emplnvwl  wa.s  Mr.  Ponlii 
the  builder  Mr.  Barrett, 
difficult   part  of    tho   w  • 
the  tower,  one  leg  of  which,  ~  1- 
be  taken   away,  tho   building  .i 
supporti-d  by  wooden  .ihor.-.     1 
wliich  was  very  small,  at,  . 
the  oriirinal    arch,    was  r 

and  higher  one,  of  Early    i  _ 

sub^titutcl,  tho  old  ar>'h  !•  ing  ■-  i  ■•  i  nu.n. 
theorgan  chamWr.  A  S«on  window  was  du- 
covered  during  the  alUraUona. 

Holme  wer«  opened  nn    \\  e.ln«.Uy   wr-k.   It 

Mr.  K.  Ferguson,  M.l.     l''y  ' 

date  310  infsnt.t  in  a  cent  r 

in  one  wing  and  250  ir 

principal  room  in  infant- 

and  there  are  three cla.w-r.-m-. 

bv   22ft.,   and   a   teachers     n>  : 

schoolrooms  are  67ft.  by  2ift., 


v\M  a 


574 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


three  girls'  and  two  boys'  class-rooms,  each 
23ft.  by  ISft.,  w.th  movable  partitions.  The 
floors  are  composed  of  a  layer  of  concrete,  6in. 
thick,  on  which  are  laid  woodblocks,  13in.  by 
13iin.,  and  the  roofs  are  panelled  with  wooden 
ribs  and  distempered  interspaces,  the  principals 
being-  of  pitch-pine.  There  are  two  playgrounds, 
each  laid  with  cement,  by  Mr.  R.  M.  Ormerod, 
on  a  principle  which  he  has  developed ;  sheds 
and  gymnastic  apparatus  are  provided.  The 
schools  are  built  of  Kingstown  machine-made 
bricks,  with  Howrigg's  white  stone  dressings, 
and  the  roofs  are  covered  with  green  slates  from 
Coniston.  The  heating  is  by  Boyd's  hot-air 
ventilating  grates,  and  the  ventilation  upon 
Westmoreland's  patent  exhaust  system.  The 
site  cost  69.  6d.  per  yard,  in  all,  £1,178  '2s.  6d. 
The  cost  has  been,  for  buildings,  £4,663  4s. ; 
about  £7  per  head.  Mr.  Birkett,  of  Carlisle, 
was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Dodd  the  clerk  of 
■works.  The  bricklaying  and  masonry  contracts 
were  taken  by  Messrs.  G.  and  J.  Armstrong,  at 
£2,194  14s. ;  the  desks  and  fittings,  and  car- 
penter's work  generally,  by  Messrs.  Batey  and 
Forster,  of  Carlisle  ;  the  slating  by  Mr.  Irving  ; 
plumbing  by  Mrs.  Johnson  ;  and  smith's  work 
by  Mr.  John  Wharton. 

Castle  Howaed. — We  noticed  briefly  in  our 
last  number  some  of  the  works  executed  here 
during  the  last  few  years  ;  but,  independently  of 
the  castle  itself,  a  large  amount  of  work  has 
been  done  to  the  other  important  buildings 
which  form  parts  of  the  great  group.  The 
mausoleum,  one  of  the  first — and  by  no  means 
the  least  important — of  Nicholas  Hawksmoor's 
works  after  his  separation  from  Vanbrugh,  was 
in  such  a  dilapidated  state  a  short  time  ago  as 
to  cause  serious  anxiety  for  its  safety.  This 
structure  has  been  thoroughly  restored  from  roof 
to  basement,  though  extreme  eare  has  been 
taken  to  remove  as  little  of  the  old  work  as  pos- 
sible. Standing,  as  it  does,  in  a  very  exposed 
position,  great  trouble  was  experienced  from  the 
constant  growth  of  weeds  in  the  joints  of  the 
stone  terrace- walks  which  surround  it ;  but  these 
interstices  were  all  plugged  with  sheet-lead  about 
two  years  ago,  since  which  time  they  have  been 
entirely  free  from  vegetation.  The  "Temple  of 
Diana,"  an  architectural  gem  in  its  way,  has 
also  been  restored,  and  with  equal  care.  In 
delicacy  of  detail  this  is,  perhaps,  the  most  re- 
fined portion  of  the  whole  group.  The  exterior 
is  richly  moulded  and  carved ;  the  walls  of  the 
interior  are  composed  of  scagliola  and  inlaid 
marbles,  the  floor  of  floriated  and  scroll  designs 
set  in  mosaic.  Nor  has  the  sph-it  of  renovation 
been  confined  to  the  castle  and  its  appurtenances 
alone.  In  every  village  on  the  estate  the  low- 
roofed,  unwholesome  cottages  are  being  gradu- 
ally eliminated,  giring  place  to  others,  well- 
planned,  with  good  airy  rooms  and  picturesque 
appearance  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
new  farmsteads  at  present  built,  and  in  course  of 
construction.  With  the  exception  of  the  private 
chapel,  mentioned  in  our  last,  the  whole  of  the 
work  has  been  carried  out  under  the  personal 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Charles  Ware,  the  resi- 
dent surveyor.  The  interior  of  the  chapel  was 
entrusted  to  Messrs.  Austin  and  Johnson. 

Meteopolitan  Boaed  of  Woeks. — On  Friday 
this  Board  received  a  deputation  from  the  Vestry 
of  Camber  well,  who  presented  a  memorial  asking 
the  Board  to  take  over  Peckham-rye,  Goose- 
green,  and  Nunhead-common.  The  petition 
was  referred  to  the  works  committee  for  con- 
sideration, as  was  a  second  one  from  inhabitants 
of  Peckham  as  to  Peckham-rye.  Permission  was 
granted  to  the  Vestry  of  Rotherhithe  to  borrow 
£2,700  to  defray  the  cost  of  granite  cube  re- 
pairing, and  one-half  the  net  cost,  estimated  at 
£6,875,  was  voted  to  the  City  Commissioners  of 
Sewers  for  proposed  improvements  in  Silk-street, 
Chapel-etreet,  Upper  Thames-street,  Pancras- 
lane,  and  Little  Bridge-street  in  the  City.  A 
debate  was  resumed  on  the  petition  of  the  Kyrle 
Society,  praying  the  Board  to  take  over  Liucoln's- 
inn-fields  and  maintain  them  as  an  open  space 
for  the  public  benefit.  It  was  d.-^idud  to  reply 
that  the  Board  are  not  prepared  to  accede  to  the 
request  at  the  present  time. 

Lo^^>o^'.— The  Court  of  Common  Council  of 
the  City  of  London,  on  Thursdav  week,  were 
recommended  by  a  committee  to  accept  the 
tender  of  Messrs.  John  Mowlem  and  Co.,  at 
£74,438,  for  the  superstructure  of  the  City  of 
London  School,  on  the  Victoria  Embankment. 
In  reply  to  inquiries,  it  was  stated  that  the 
architects,    Messrs.   Davis  and  Emmanuel,  had 


exceeded  the  original  e-stimates  by  £1.5,000  or 
£16,000,  but  this  arose  from  the  determination 
by  the  committee  to  substitute  stone  for  red 
brick  on  both  the  frontages,  to  make  the  build- 
ing fireproof,  and  to  cover  the  walls  of  the 
court  with  white  glazed  bricks.  The  whole  cost 
would  be  about  lOd.  per  cube  foot.  Mr.  Shaw 
complained  that  the  original  proposal  in  the 
competition  was,  that  the  school  should  not  cost 
more  than  £50,000,  whereas,  with  the  founda- 
tions and  superstructure,  it  would  cost  £84,000, 
without  fittings.  The  tender  was  then  accepted. 
At  the  same  meeting  it  was  resolved  to  apply  to 
Parliament  for  power  to  raise  £500,000,  on  the 
security  of  the  rates,  for  artisans'  dwellings 
improvement  schemes.  The  sum  of  £280  was 
voted  for  filling  with  stained  glass,  "in  the 
highest  style  of  art,"  the  east  window  in  the 
Lady-chapel  of  St.  Alban's  Abbey,  which  window 
is  about  to  be  restored  at  the  cost  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Council. 


CHIPS. 

The  Biograph  for  the  current  month  is  strong  in 
architectural  biography.  It  contains  sketches  of 
the  careers  of  Messrs.  T.  B.  Smith,  C.  J.  Phipps,  J. 
Wliichcord,  and  William  White.  There  is  also  a 
biography  of  Mr.  H.  S.  Marks,  R.A. 

A  course  of  lectures  is  about  to  be  delivered, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Trades  Guild  of  Learning, 
at  the  hall  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  in  John-stieet, 
Adelphi.  The  first  of  these  will  be  given  to- 
morrow (Saturday)  evening,  by  Mr.  William 
Morris,  his  subject  being:  "Hints  on  House 
Decoration." 

A  new  pavilion  was  opened  in  the  public  park  at 
Wigan  last  week.  It  has  been  built  at  a  cost  of 
£1.800,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Maclean,  of 
Derby,  under  whose  directions  the  grounds  have 
been  laid  out. 

A  Local  Government  Board  inquiry  was  lieltl  at 
Lowestoft  on  Friday,  before  Mr.  Morgan,  with 
reference  to  an  appUcation  from  the  improvement 
commissioners  for  sanction  to  borrow  £6,000  for 
works  of  sewerage.  The  town  surveyor,  Mr.  R. 
H.  Inch,  explained  the  plans  of  the  proposed  works. 
These  were  opposed  on  'behalf  of  Messrs.  Lucas 
Brothers,  contractors,  the  largest  ratepayers  in 
Lowestoft,  by  Mr.  Law,  C.E.  (of  the  firm  of 
Bazalgette  and  Law),  who  urged  that  the  sewer 
should  be  one -third  larger,  and  that  the  estimates 
of  Mr.  Inch  were  50  per  cent,  too  low  for  the 
works  a?  proposed ;  South  Lowestoft  ought  to 
have  b?en  included  in  the  scheme.  In  this  he  was 
supported  by  other  professional  witnesses. 

The  memorial- st^ne  of  a  Wesleyan  school  at 
Nechell's  Park-road,  Birmingham,  was  laid  last 
week.  The  total  cost  of  the  schools  when  complete 
will  be  £750.  The  architect  is  Mr.  Ewen  Harjjer, 
of  27,  Bennett's-hill,  Birmingham,  and  the 
builder,  Mr.  Wm.  Stafford,  of  Birmingham. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Wyke  Regis,  Dorset,  on 
Wednesday  week,  before  Captain  Hildyard,  R.E., 
on  behalf  of  the  Local  Government,  with  respect  to 
an  application  from  the  Weymouth  rural  sanitary 
authority  to  constitute  a  special  drainage  district  of 
a  portion  of  the  parish  of  Wyke,  and  to  borrow 
£1,750  for  works  of  sewerage  and  water  supply.  It 
is  proposed  to  lay  sewers  in  place  of  the  present 
open  ditches  for  the  conveyance  of  the  sewage  to 
th-i  sea.  So  much  opposition  was  aroused  by 
statements  as  to  the  uuhealty  state  of  the  village, 
that  the  inspector  threatened  to  abruptly  close  the 
nquiry. 

At  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  the  upper 
portion  of  the  scaffoldiug  erected  some  months 
since  for  the  repairs  of  the  west  front  has  been 
struck,  and  the  work  of  refacing  with  Oxford 
stone,  which  is  being  carried  out  unler  the  super- 
vi.-ion  of  Mr.  Nutt,  clerk  of  works  to  the  Dean 
and  Chapter,  is  nearly  completed.  The  masonry, 
which  is  greatly  exposed,  had  become  very  much 
decayed,  and  to  protect  the  new  work  the  faces  of 
the^  stones  have  been  dressed  with  a  composition 
wliioh  is  expected  to  have  a  preservative  effect. 

The  prizes  and  certificates  gained  by  students  in 
the  Folkestone  Science  and  Art  classes,  conducted 
by  Mr.  Ullyett.  were  distributed  by  Sir  E.  W.  Wat- 
kin,  M.P.,  at  the  Town-hall,  Folkestone,  on  Mon- 
day night. 

At  special  meetings  of  the  Town  Council  of 
Stockton-on-Tees  and  the  Local  Board  of  South 
Stockton,  held  on  Monday,  formal  votes  of  approval 
were  passed  in  favour  of  the  proposed  application 
to  Parliament  for  sanction  to  construct  a  new 
bridge  across  the  river  Tees,  at  an  estimated  cost 
of  £35,000. 

Sewer- works  hive  just  been  completed  in  Brix- 
ton-road  for  the  vestry  of  Lambeth.  The  work 
was  carried  out  by  Mr.  Mayo,  contractor,  under 
the  supervision  of  the  surveyor  to  the  vestry,  at  a 
cost  of  £1,100. 


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"BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 
Drawings  Received.— Will,  Boy  Bill,  Domus,  Reginald, 
K.  in  circle,  B.  J. 

The  Mechanics  of  Brackets. — Several  printer's  blunders 
occur  in  this  article  on  p.  541.  1.  The  figure  has  been 
inverted.  The  wall  line  A  C  should  be  vertical,  and 
not  horizontal.  2.  At  line 26  from  b  ittom  of  1st  eolutnn 
omit  the  comma  between  W  and  tan.  9.  3.  At  line  7 
from  top  of  2nd  column,  for  "cast"  read  "cos.  Q.'* 
4.  At  line  34  from  top  of  2nd  column,  for  "  great "  read 
"  gi-eatcr." 


CoiTCspottticnce. 


TRAPLESS    DRAINS    AXD    WATER- 
CLOSETS. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  BuiLDiNa  News. 

SiH, — Surely  Mr.  Foster  is  "  reckoning  with- 
out his  host,"  when  he  .says  that  "no  closet,  if 
the  supply  was  properly  arranged  by  ,i  compe- 
tent man,  with  water-waste  preventing  cisterns, 
would  ever  be  deficient  of  water,  no  matter  from 
what  source  the  supply  to  the  house  was 
derired." 

I  believe  mine  to  be  the  simplest  and  mo^t  se- 
cure waste  frevrnler  yet  invented;  but  even 
supposing  it  to  be  fitted  in  the  best  manner,  and 
by  the  most  competent  and  careful  of  workmen, 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


675 


I  am  quite  at  a  loss  to  see  how  I  can  insure,  for 
instance,  an  idle  serrant,  or  even  an  industrious 
one,  always  keeping  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water 
pumped  up  into  a  cistern,  or  its  never  running 
short  from  other  reasons,  in  the  absence  of  a 
"  constant  service." 

This  possibility  of  running  short  of  water,  and 
consequent  danger  of  derangement,  getting  the 
side  of  the  plug  plastered  perhaps  with  a  bit  of 
paper,  is  quite  enough  to  make  me  content  with 
the  trapped  hopper  basin.  Moreover,  I  cannot 
see  how  a  bad  gas  or  smell  would  be  so  likely  to 
pass  into  the  house  tlirough  a  trapped  basin  as 
it  is  to  pass  through  the  plug,  especially  under 
these  circumstances.  And  supposing  the  soil- 
pipe  in  either  case  to  be  properly  ventilated,  the 
water  in  the  trap  is  surely  not  so  likely  to  absorb 
the  gas  as  the  gas  would  be  in  its  rapid  passage 
upwards  or  downwards,  as  the  case  may  be,  to 
absorb  some  of  the  moisture.  It  is  not  as  though 
the  water  were  subjected  to  contact  with  stag- 
nant or  confined  gas  under  pressure. — I  am,  ..tc. , 
WiiXLi-M  "White,  F.S.A. 

TVimpole-street,  "W. 


SiE, — My  experience  of  plugged  closets  is 
.similar  to  that  of  your  correspondents,  viz., 
that  they  are  liable  to  leak  under  the  slightest 
obstruction,  besides  having  disadvantages  when 
slops  are,  as  in  many  houses,  thrown  down  the 
closet ;  such  cannot  be  said  of  those  with  basin 
and  siphon  trap  wholly  of  earthenware,  when 
in  addition  to  the  soil-pipe  being  carried  up  of 
full  size  for  ventilation,  a  smaller  pipe  is  taken 
from  top  of  the  trap.  I  have  never  experienced 
any  difficulty  when  a  siphon  trap  has  been 
placed  between  the  house-drain  and  sewer  as 
closely  as  possible  to  the  latter,  provided  there 
is  an  air  inlet  close  to  and  on  the  house  side  of 
trap,  and  the  soil-drain  properly  laid  to  empty 
after  each  discharge,  the  slop  and  soU-drains 
being  connected  with  the  house-drain  by  a  Y 
junction,  and  the  former  flushed  with  some 
such  arrangement  as  a  tiush  tank,  and  provided 
with  a  second  ventUating  pipe. — I  am,  &c. 

W.  Baens  Kinset,  C.E. 


Sm, — At  p.  514  Mr.  G.  A.  Foster  says; — "  A 
water-trap  fixed  between  the  house  and  the 
sewer  is  perfectly  useless,  the  gases  from  the 
sewer  being  either  forced  through  under  pres- 
sure or  absorbed  by  the  water  on  the  sewer  side, 
and  discharged  on  the  house  side  of  it."  Now 
in  general  practice,  and  especially  with  venti- 
lated drain-traps,  the  notions  above  expressed 
are  in  part  untrue,  and  in  part  exaggerated 
imagination  ;  in  fact,  as  I  stated  in  this  journal 
about  two  years  ago,  "a  sanitary  scarecrow." 

The  water  in  the  trap  prevents  the  passage  of 
gases  to  any  harmfid  extent,  and,  further, 
entirely  prevents  the  passage  of  rats  and  par- 
ticulate contagia,  which  important  use  Mr. 
Foster  appears  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of.  See 
Professor  Tyndall's  experiments,  p.  99,  Vol. 
XXVII.,  of  the  r,-oicedui(js  of  the  Eoyal 
Society  (London).  Although  small  pieces  of 
paper  may  fly  up  a  soil-pipe,  especially  in  the 
day  time, — just  as  likely  as  not,  at  night,  in  fact, 
more  likely,  they  would  fly  into  the  house  if 
there  was  a  hole  in  the  soil-pipe,  or  the  valve  of 
closet  was  open,  to  let  them. 

In  regard  to  Mr.  Foster's  remarks  at  p.  .543, 
a  soil-pipe  acting  as  a  ventilator  for  the  sewer, 
and  with  an  air-pipe  at  its  foot ;  may  generally 
have  a  current  up  its  interior ;  but  let  an 
opening  be  made  in  the  soil-pipe  upon  which 
the  draught  of  the  tires  can  act,  and  then  the 
fires  and  chimneys  wiU  pull  part  of  their  air 
supply  out  of  the  soU-pipe,  and  so  vitiate  the 
air  of  the  house. 

As  to  Mr.  Foster's  assertion  that:  "Xo 
closet,  if  the  supply  was  properly  arranged  by  a 
competent  man,  with  water-waste  preventing 
cisterns,  would  ever  be  deficient  of  water,  no 
matter  from  what  source  the  supply  to  the 
house  was  derived."  The  statement  is  all  non 
sense.  At  Cambuslang,  where  I  have  been  re 
siding  since  May  last,  the  water  supply  has 
been  cut  oQ  for  twenty-two  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four  for  the  last  two  months,  owing  to 
the  long-continued  dry  weather ;  consequently 
many  houses — my  own  amongst  the  number — 
have  had  no  water  for  the  closets  except  what 
was  put  down  by  hand,  so  the  sooner  Mr. 
Foster's  "competent  man"  is  here  the  better. 
At  Greenock  and  Dumbarton,  and  I  suppose 
many  other  places  I  know  not  of,  the  water- 


supply  wUl  also  be  deficient,  so  Mr.  I'Dster's 
'  waste-preventing  cisterns"  are  of  little  or  no 
use. 

It  is  a  plug-valve  closet  that  is  in  my  house  ; 
but  as  there  is  a  lead  siphon  trap  underneath  I 
have  no  fear  of  any  bad  gases  from  the  soil- 
pipe  coming  through  the  water  ;  but  had  there 
teen  no  lead  trap,  as  with  the  ' '  trapless  closets," 
then  I  would  require  to  fix  down  the  closet- 
valve  and  prevent  the  closet  being  used,  lest 
some  of  the  children  especially  should  be 
poisoned. 

I  should  also  fee  afraid  of  the  sewer- ga.ses, 
&c.,  were  it  not  that  I  got  the  landlord  to  put 
in  one  of  my  ventilating  drain-traps,  which  I 
presented  him  with,  between  the  liouse  and  the 
sewer.  Owing  to  the  want  of  sufficient  water 
both  drains  and  eewer  must  be  foul,  but  with 
no  holes  in  the  soU-pipe  the  water-traps  keep 
the  house  safe. 

Mr.  Foster  says  of  the  soil-pipe  under  hia 
"  trapless  closet "  that  holes  in  it  "would  bo 
external  and  not  internal."  That  is  a  mistake, 
as  a  foot  or  more  of  pipe  might  be  between  the 
wall  and  the  turnup  of  the  soil-pipe,  and  a 
hole  large  enough  for  a  man's  hand  to  get  into 
might  be  eaten  by  a  rat,  e.g.,  or  an  open  joint 
might  occur,  or  a  hole  made  by  a  nail,  &c. 

I  have  Mr.  Slagg's  book,  but,  unfortunately 
for  Mr.  Foster,  Mr.  Slagg  shows  both  a  plug 
and  a  trap  I  I  give  no  opinion  here  upon  Mr. 
Slagg's  proposed  alteration  of  Jenuing's  closet. 

Instead  of  quoting  from  a  book  so  far  back 
as  1876,  Mr.  Foster  night  have  quoted  from, 
say,  Mr.  Baldwin  Latham' s  "  Sanitary  Engi- 
neering," of  A.D.  187S,  or,  newer  stUl,  from  Mr. 
S.  S.  HUlyer's  "  The  Plumber  and  Sanitary 
Houses,"  published  in  October,  1880.  I  will 
excuse  him  for  not  referring  to  the  latter,  but 
he  ought  to  have  referred  to  the  former  if  he 
wished  to  go  in  for  "  the  truth,  the  whole  truth, 
and  nothing  but  the  truth."  Mr.  Latham,  at 
p.  510,  condemns  "the  ancient  deviceof  a  trapless 
closet,"  and  says  : — "  The  water-trap  does  pre- 
vent direct  communication  between  sewers  and 
houses  ....  and  washes  or  filters  any  sewer 
air  that  may  pass  the  trap."  Mr.  HeUyer,  at 
pp.  148,  215,  &c.,  strongly  condemns  trapless 
closets,  and  speaks  of  "the  stinking  way"  in 
which  they  may  allow  bad  air  to  pass  into  the 
house. 

Mr.  Foster  says  it  would  be  "  as  well  for  Mr. 
Buchan  to  examiue  and  test  before  declaiming 
against  anything  of  which  he  has  had  no  prac- 
tical experience."  Now  that  remark  is  some- 
what curious.  I  fear  it  is,  however,  only 
"drawing  the  bow  at  a  venture,"  for  it  strikes 
me  that  as  regards  sanitary  appliances  and  their 
applications  in  houses  it  would  be  difficult  to 
o-et  a  pai-ty  who  had  "examined  and  tested" 
more  than  myself,  during  the  last  six  years 
especially. 

If  any  one  wishes  to  fit  up  trapless  closets  so 
as  to  be  as  safe  as  possible  for  the  inmates,  let 
him  turn  back  to  the  Buildin-q  News  for 
January  31st,  1S79,  and  there  see  the  plan 
illustrated  and  described  by  me.  If  Mr.  Foster 
can  reaUv  improve  upon  my  plan  there  pub- 
lished, le"t  him  favour  us  with  a  drawing  ;  only 
any  plan  is  bad  which  allows  the  sewer-air  to 
pass  into  the  house  if  the  valve  is  open,  and 
such  is  also  opposed  to  the  regulations  of  the 
Local  Government  Board,  and  should  not  be 
allowed. 

May  I  ask  who  the  "  competent  judges  are 
who  condemn  traps?  I  know  of  none.  Mr. 
Foster  pppms  to  have  been  reading  the  experi- 
ments made  by  Dr.  Fergus  about  gases  passing 
through  water;  but  it  so  happens  that  Dr. 
Fergus  has  a  trap  between  his  own  house  and 
the  sewer,  and  when  I  was  last  working  at  his 
house  a  trap  at  each  closet  and  sink,  &c.  Mr. 
Foster  says  traps  should  be  "perfect,"  or  they 
are  of  Uttle  real  value.  I  fear  none  of  us  will 
see  perfection  tiU  we  get  to  heaven,  and  there  it 
is  supposed  no  traps  will  be  needed.— I  am,  ire, 
W.  P.  BucHA>-,  Sanitary  Engineer. 


that  it  ia  i>ossible  to  test  this  factor.  Tliero  ue 
several  known  appliances  used  in  Bciontific  re- 
search which  might  bo  used  fur  thi«  end.  It 
will,  however,  sufiico  to  mention  one. 

Huppo.se  all  the  cemoiit«  to  In-  tfstcU  bo 
moulded  in  the  shape  of  long  cyliudcra  {in.  dia- 
meter and  1ft.  long,  at  the  wiiue  time,  by  run- 
ning, just  as  beads  on  a  comico  uro  run,  then 
after  seven  days'  immcrHiun  in  water,  tkeao 
samples  are  supposed  to  bo  tCBtod  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:— Tlio  cement-cylinder  iji  firmly 
fixed  at  one  end,  a  Htrciw  weight  (part  of 
which  is  a  vibrating  tuning-fork  with  an  index 
bristle  attached)  ia  auapended  over  the  other  end 
in  such  wise  that  the  energy  of  the  atrem  weight 
can  be  applied  to  the  free  end  of  the  cement- 
cylinder  without  concussion.  Wlien  thia  orent 
takes  place,  a  smoked  disc  of  plate  gloiw,  in  rapid 
revolution,  is  supposed  to  be  in  auoh  a  p^jnition, 
that  at  every  vibration  of  the  tuning-lurk,  the 
bristle  touches  the  smoked  surface. 

Again,  when  the  atreaa  weight  ia  removed 
from  the  free  end  of  the  cemont-cylindor, 
another  rotating  disc  of  smoked  glom  ia  lup- 
posed  to  be  placed  in  position  so  that  the  briatlo 
again  touches  the  smoked  surface.  Now,  we 
are  supposed  to  have  two  graphic  rcproacotations 
of  a  bending  strain,  giving  (say  in  1- 1000th 
of  a  second)  the  velocity  and  magnitude  of 
the  strain.  These  graphic  rcprescntationa  will 
be  in  the  form  of  a  dotted  spiral  line,  and  if  need 
be,  photographic  transfers  can  be  made  of  them. 
An  examination  of  these  repreaentationa  will 
correctly  indicate,  not  only  the  relative  atrengtha 
of  each  sample  of  cement,  but  aLvj  give  the  per- 
centage of  growth  from  the  plastic  to  the  cry- 
stalline formation  in  each,  because  the  velocity 
of  a  strain  is  influenced  by  the  amount  of  elas- 
ticity in  the  sample,  or  in  other  words,  its  plas- 
ticity. 

It  also  appears  to  me  a  more  scientific  method 
of  testing  fine  grinding  might  be  adopted,  and 
that  would  consist  in  obserring  the  capacity  of 
the  cement  powder,  which  could  be  contained  in 
a  given  cy Under,  under  a  defined  streiw ;  or  the 
stress  necessary  to  force  the  powder  into  a  given 
capacity.  For  example;  suppose  the  sp<xific 
gravity  of  the  Portland  cement  be  first  known, 
and  that  then  one  pound  weight  of  it  be  placed 
in  a  cylindrical  mould,  say  4in.  diameter,  and 
that  a  very  accurately  fitting  piston  bo  placed  on 
the  top  of  the  powder,  and  be  subjected  to  a 
given  stress,  it  will  follow  that  the  finer  the 
powder  the  larger  will  its  capacity  be  in  the 
cylinder,  and  consequently,  the  position  of  the 
piston,  say  in  1-lOOOth  of  an  inch,  would  indi- 
cate this  "capacity.  Furthermore,  it  might  be 
found  easier  to  increase  the  stress  on  the  powder 
until  it  reached  a  standard  capacity,  and  it 
would  be  found  the  finer  the  powder  the  greater 
the  stress  required,  and  the  measurement  of  the 
stress  would  be  the  indication  of  this  fincnea*.— 
1  am,  &c.,  .op 

Parkstonc,  Dorset,  Nov.  8.  A.  t^.  i . 


TESTING  PORTLAND  CEMENT. 
Sm— From  the  descriptions  of  the  various 
methods  of  testing  Portland  cement  m  your 
issues  of  October  29  and  November  4,  it  appears 
to  me,  however  possible  it  may  be  to  get  over 
the  discrepancies  by  means  of  similar  conditions, 
vet  there  is  one  factor  which  the  present  system 
of  testing  does  not  touch,  and  that  is  the  various 
rates  of  crystaUisation  possessed  by  diUereni 
samples  of  cement,  and  it  is  my  object  to  show 


OUR  RAILWAY  BRIDGES. 

Sm,— My  attention  has  thU  day  been  called  t  J 
a  letter  signed  "  F."  in  your  edition  of  >ov.  5, 
stating  that  a  bridge  between  L"<>k  and  Kad- 
vard,  on  the  North  StatlonUhire  Railwar,  is  in 
a  dangerous  state.  The  wliole  of  the  bndgea  on 
thLs  line,  excepting  such  as  are  under  ni>^ir,uv 
in  very  good  condition  indeed,  and  no  bnoge 
between  Leek  and  Rudyard  ia,  or  haa  bc«3i,  m  a 
dangerous  state.  ,,. 

The  one  probably  referred  to  by  your  corre- 
spondent has  had  the  planking  '^"•''^^ ^  "°5« 
being  a  very  superficial  obser>er  haj  Judged  t^ 
bridge  to  be  insecure  because  of  a  few  dtcaycd 
planks;  whereas  in  these  repairs  "  'T  3„ 
quite  unnecessary  to  renew  anv  of  the  main 
timbers  supporting  the  bridpe.-I  am.  He. 

North  Staffordshire  RaiUay  and  Jrvn:  and 
Mereey  Narigation  _  Engineer  a  Oft  c. 
Stoke-npon-Trent,  Nov.  9. 

A  WONDERFl'L  STOVE. 
Sm— I  have  seen  "a  wonderful  atove"  u 
menUoned  bvMr.  Burgc..  and  by  careful  m- 
rpection  satisfied  my^lf  that  it  did  do  ^b. 
it  nroDOsed  to  do.  The  mventor,  Mr.  Samuel 
Rui^eTIs  a  friend  of  mine,  by  whom  m-iny 
ott^r  v'ah^ble  and  ingenious  i»«°|"7,^" 
Wn  brought  to  perfection,  but  moat  of  wloch 
have  becn^  bnrk^  by  the    apparently   almoet 


576 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,   1880. 


insurmountable   difiiculty   of    getting    a    good 
thing  taken  up  by  the  trade. 

Mr.  Russell's  admirable  locks,  the  handles  of 
Tvliich  ean*t  come  off,  have,  however,  been  at 
last  taken  up  by  Messrs.  Archibald  Smith,  and 
I  have  used  them  to  everyone's  satisfaction  in 
the  banking  premises  I  have  j  ast  completed  for 
the  North  and  South  Wales  Bank  at  Birken- 
head. 

I  was  most  anxious  to  tise  in  the  same 
building  some  of  his  grates,  and  entreated  to  bo 
able  to  do  so.  But  as  no  manufacturer  had 
been  found  by  him  to  take  them  up  hitherto  I 
was  balfled.  I  hope  my  more  persistent  friend 
Mr.  Surges  may  succeed,  and  introduce  them  to 
the  profession. — I  am,  &e., 

John  P.  Seddon. 

i,  Queen  Anne's  Gate,  "Westminster,  Nov.  5. 


CHIPS. 

The  new  district  church  of  St.  Paul,  in  the 
hamlet  of  Beutley,  South  Weald,  Essex,  was  con- 
secrated by  the  Bishop  of  St.  Albau's  .  n  Wednesday 
week.  The  style  is  Early  Euglish.  The  materials 
used  are  ilint  fai  iugs  with  dressings  of  Westwood 
stone,  and  for  all  mternal  work,  Corsham  stone. 
Sittings  are  pioviJed  for  250  persons,  and  the  cost 
of  church  and  adjoining  paraon.age  has  becu  about 
£10,000.  Mr.  Ernest  C.  Lee.  P.A.A  ,  is  the  archi- 
tect, and  Mr.  Hammond,  of  Bomford,  the  builder  ; 
the  carving  is  by  Mr.  Earp,  of  Kennington,  and 
the  stained  glass  by  Messrs.  Clayton  and  Bell.  We 
illustrated  the  church,  by  a  peispective  sketch  from 
X.E.,  on  May  7th  of  the  present  year. 

A  stained -glass  window  is  about  to  be  placed  in 
Lichfield  cathedral,  to  the  memory  of  officers  and 
men  of  the  SOth  legiment  killed  in  South  Africa. 

New  lines  of  tramway  from  the  Piccadilly,  Man- 
chester, to  Eusholme,  Stretford,  Old  Trafford  and 
Oldham,  were  opened  for  traffic  last  week. 

An  iuijuiry  was  held  at  Kidderminster  on  Friday 
week  before  Mr.  Arnold  Taylor,  inspector,  into  an 
application  to  the  Local  Government  Board  by  the 
town  council  for  sanction  to  a  loan  of  £3,000  for 
works  of  sewage  disposal.  Mr.  Taylor  intimated 
at  the  close  of  the  inquiry  that  he  should  recom- 
mend the  application. 

The  town-council  of  Cardiff  accepted  on  Monday 
the  offer  of  Mr.  G.  B.  Marks,  to  paint  and  present 
to  the  town  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Peter  Price,  architect, 
to  be  placed  in  the  new  free  library,  of  which  Mr! 
Price  was  the  originator. 

The  Archbishop  of  Dublin  held  his  visitation  of 
the  clergy  of  Kildaie  in  the  newly- restored  south 
trans'pt  of  St.  Brigid's  Cathedral,  at  Elddare. 
The  work  of  restoration  in  this  cathedral  has  been 
forrauny  ytars  in  progress,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
G,  E.  bticet,  B.A. ;  the  centnal  tower  and  south 
transejit  are  completed,  the  north  transept  and  nave 
are  being  roofed  in,  and  the  operations  ate  ap- 
proaching completion. 

The  Dublin  Corpora' i -in  received  on  Monday  a 
letter  fro  u  Mr.  A.  Montgomery  Moore,  tendering 
for  the  South  City  paving,  and  offering,  if  his 
tender  were  accepted,  to  abandon  an  action  he  has 
brought  against  the  corporation  in  reference  to 
previous  tenders  made  by  him.  It  was  proposed 
that  the  letter  be  marked  "  read,"  and  suffered  to 
Ire  on  the  table,  and  a  personal  discussion  ensued, 
the  Lord  M.ayor  explaining  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  previous  tenders  for  the  South  paving 
were  abandoned  after  the  acceptance  of  that  of 
Messrs.  Spaight  and  fresh  ones  invited.  In  the 
end,  (he  offer  was  referred  to  a  ccmmiiteo  of  the 
whole  corporation. 

The  parish-church  of  Seavington,  near  Ilminster, 
has  been  reopened  after  restoration.  The  church 
has  been  reseated,  new  pulpit  and  desk  erected, 
and  the  walls  repaired,  and  two  fresh  windows 
opened  out.  The  chancel  has  also  been  restored, 
a  new  roof  placed  over  it,  with  closed-boarded 
ceUing,  and  new  paving  laid  down.  Mr.  Hall  was 
the  architect,  and  Messrs.  Vaux  and  Parkhouse,  of 
leavington,  were  the  builders. 

Christ  Church,  Folkestone,  has  recently  been 
much  improved  by  the  addition  of  a  clerestory  to 
the  nave,  and  by  the  eutire  remodelling  of  the  roof. 
Ihe  arcades  bemg  formed  of  too  slight  construc- 
tion to  bear  the  weight  of  a  masonry  story  on 
them,  it  was  determined  to  construct  the  addition 
in  timber.  The  additions  have  been  carried  out  by 
Mr.  Brooks,  of  Folkestone,  from  designs  of  Mr. 
A  E  Barker,  of  11,  Buckingham-street,  Strand, 
JUr.  Burgess  Beeves,  of  Folkestone,  acting  as  clerk 
of  the  works. 

The  church  of  St,  Mary  the  Virgin,  Barnet,  has 
recently  been  enlarged,  by  the  restoration  of  its 
chancel.  The  work  nas  been  carried  out  by 
Messrs.  Vernon  and  Ewens,  from  the  designs  of 
Suknd'  "''"''    °*    "'   ^"'^tingham-street, 


Jnttrcommunication. 


QUESTIOXS. 

[6290.1— Surveyor's  Charfjes  for  Quantities.— 
Will  some  of  yoiu-  readers  loudly  tell  me  the  foUo-n-infT 
queiy  : — Where  a  quantity  surveyor  has  been  engaged  to 
take  off  quantities  by  a  builder,  and  the  latter  i^  nut  suc- 
cessful in  getting  the  job  for  -which  the  quantities  were 
taken  out,  can  the  surveyor  recover  the  usual  commission, 
or  does  any  custom  exist  by  which  tlie  builder  is  entitled  to 
"         ■     less  charge  I— E-sguiREa. 


of  25 


[629l.]-Rain-Water  Tank.— I  : 
underi!  round  storage  tank  to  take  the  rainfaU 
squares  (measured  horizontally)  of  slate  rooting.  Our 
rainfall  may  be  averaged  at  3uin.  annually,  which  gives 
approximately,  37,500  gallons  a  year.  I  wish  to  draw  out 
100  gallons  every  day.  "What  proportion  of  the  whole 
yearly  rainfall  should  I  provide  in  the  capacity  of  my 
tank,  and  how  should  it  be  calculated  ?—E. 

[6292.]  —  Honours  Building--  —  "  Rivington's 
Notes,"  Part  III.,  gives  the  mateiials  only  for  Honoiu-s 
Examination  in  building  construction.  What  is  the  best 
work  for  the  other  subjects,  \'iz.,  solving  simple  problems 
in  theory  of  construction,  safe  dimensions  of  beams  sub- 
jected to  dead  loads,  to  trace  the  stresses  in  roof  tiusses, 
&c.,  conditions  necessaiy  to  stability  in  ordinary  and  re- 
taining walls.  The  books  recommended,  too,  have  no  re- 
ference to  trigonometry !  Al^o  recommend  woik  on 
modern  styles,  which  would  help  to  design  buildings  from 
given  conditions.— Strained. 

[6293.]— Gable.— A  client  of  mine  bought  a  house,  one 
gable  of  which  is  built  up  to  a  neighbour's  garden.  The 
ramilrivr;  tin  ti;-h  the  said  gable,  and  the  owner  of  the 
gavil-n  M  tn  -  !  I  illow  my  client  tj  enter  his  property  so 
till,  i  ;  ,,  i  I  tifected.  Can  we  demand  admittance 
inti'  L.  i.]|  -Hiiiij  laopcrty  to  make  good  the  gable,  and, 
if  su,  ^.iu  we  cu\  ri  with  slate  or  cement,  providing  we  do 
not  let  it  project  beyond  the  footii^  course  on  the  garden 
side  ?    A  trustTS'orthy  reply  will  be  appreciated.— Lux. 


jREPLIES, 
Coramissiou.  —  A   ] 


"W.J."  t. 
quantities,  iL'  i  1  'It  .wa 
the  estimate,  i ; 
ings  and  snr  in  .•  i  .;. 
per  cen*.,  reservin-  1  |  [.. 
fact,  he  has  done  quitf  \ 
would  have  be-n  moio  -. 
which  shall  c 


paring  plans,  specification.-^, 
juld  be  i^  to  5  per  cent,  on 
rule  to  charge  for  the  draw- 
procuring  tenders  atpout  41 
it  fur  superintendence.  In 
■i.'iutiisof  the  work,  but  it 
I't.ii  ■,■  to  agree  to  take  a  car- 
case of  the  build- 


all  Lib 


—What  connection,  ex- 
a  horseshoe  arch  and  a 
,  but  the  idei  i^  sue-es- 


iug  falhng  through.— ti.  H.  G. 

[62S3.1— Horseshoe  Arch 
cept  in  form,  there  is  between 
smith's  forge  it  is  difficult  to  see 

tive  at  any  rate,  and  J.  M.  Sturg , , 

such  arches  m  many  large  towns.  It  -a  umr.  tLtre 
is  no  diffifulty  in  forming  one,  nor  is  th  .ir  any  n  ^tu^ cj  i^ 
to  be  used,  but  a  brick  arch  of  that  form  would  be  le-st 
constructed  of  purpose-made  bricks,  properly  set  out  to 
a  template,  or  the  inverted  springings  of  the  arch  might  be 
of  stone  or  terra-cotta  cast  of  the  size  from  the  impost  to 
the  level  joints  of  the  arch.— G.  H.  G. 

[628  i.l -Horseshoe  A^-ch.— An  example  of  an  arch 
to  a  blacksmith's  forgo,  built  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe, 
maybe  seen  m  the  small -pillage  of  Tinwell,  Rutland. - 
Derwent  E.  Newman*. 

[62S3.]— Horseshoe  Arch.— Lord  Powerscourt built 
some  years  ago  a  veiy  pretty  foi^e  witlx  a  horseshoe  arch 
a^  entrance,  at  the  picturesque  village  of  Enniskeriy,  Co 
Wicklow.  and  recently  Lo:d  Brabazon  has  copied  the 
idea  on  his  estate,  close  to  Rathdrum,  Co,  Wicklow.— 

[628:l.]-Horseshoe  Arch.— At  Ford,  in  Northum- 
berland, near  the  border  town  of  Coldstream,  there  i^  h 
blacksmith's  shop,  with  an  enti'ance  formed  by  a  well- 
irch,  of  the  "shape  and  pattern"   of 
oe.— oTur 

IG2S3.] -Horseshoe  Arch.  — At  Trentham  Hall, 
Staffs.,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland,  the  entrance 
to  the  smith's  shop  is  a  stone  arch  in  the  shape  of  a  horse- 
shoe, studded  with  nails,  designed,  I  believe,  by  the  late 
bu-  Charles  Bany.— Staffs. 


STAINED    GLASS. 

Crawley.— Mr.  Joha  Davis,  of  W>le  Cop, 
Sbrewsbui-y, Las  j ust  completed  aset of  stained-glasS 
windows,  i^itended  to  be  placed  iii  Crawley  Church, 
Sussex,  which  has  recently  been  restored.  A  short 
time  ago  he  sent  for  the  same  churcli  a  large 
quantity  of  stained  gla?s  for  the  chancel  ■nindow, 
which  consists  of  three  lighfs,  in  the  centre  of 
which  is  the  Cruiifision,  with  a  figure  ou  each  side 
representing  the  Virgin  Mary  and  St.  John,  mth 
ornamented  quarry  work  as  a  background,  and 
richly  oruamenttd  borders.  Those  now  about  to 
he  sent  are  for  the  ai&le.  and  consist  of  10  compart- 
ments, each  one  contaiulng  some  Scrii)!ural  sub- 
ject. 


STATXTES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

Pauis.— The  Municipal  Council  of  Paris,  at  its 
last  sitting,  voted  the  sum  of  7-o,000  francs  for 
statuary  and  carving  at  the  nevi'  Hotel  de  Ville. 
The  sculptors  who  are  to  execute  the  work  were 
also  chosfu.  These  works  consist  of  106  statues  of 
celebrated  persons  born  in  Paris,  which  are  to  be 
placed  in  the  niches  in  the  facade,  three  monu- 
mental chimneypieces,  two  marble  statues  in  the 
great  salle  a  manger,  four  groups  in  stone  in  the 
prefet'a  staircase,  and  caryatides,  tympana,  medal- 
lions, &:c. 


[02S4.]— Liability  for  Quantities.— If  the  con- 
tract wua  signed  with  the  knowledge  imphed  by  the  notice 
attached  to  the  quantities,  the  conti-actor  cannot  obtain 
redress  for  errors  of  quantities  from  the  architect ;  but  I 
believe  the  contractor  can  require  the  name  of  the  sur- 
veyor.— G. 

[6286.]— "Warming  Rooms.— One  of  the  simplest 
modes  of  warming  a  room  is  to  have  a  small  stove,  pre- 
fei-ably  eaithenware,  fixed  in  a  convenient  position. 
Doulton's  radiatmg  tile  stove,  which  is  cased  in  fireclav 
and  decorated  with  faience,  is  a  recent  improvement  and 
It  IS  said  to  be  qmte  free  from  smell.  Another  stove 
cylindrical  m  shape,  and  made  of  terra-cotta,  into  which 
a  fu-e-box  is  introduced,  is  simple  and  effective  It  i^ 
r   H  ft '^^        ''  to  bring  an  air-pipe  from  the  outside. - 

16286.]— "Warming  Rooms.— If  "Alpha"  would 
adopt  the  Shorland  patent  back  to  his  firegrate  and  con 
duct  the  warm  air  generated  by  it  to  his  room' without  a 
hre,  as  I  have  done  in  mine,  he  will  find  no  dilficultv  in 
warming  if  without  injury  to  health.  I  found  on  testin-* 
the  other  day  tliat  the  inflow  of  warm  air  to  mv  room 

Wlfhmit   n     i\ra    -n-ac-     in03     I.\.1.  „1*-1 ■!_      -^      ■        .  '     .         . 


WATER    STXPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Stdbkham,  Oson,— Important  drainage  -works 
have  latelj'  been  completed  at  the  Vicarage,  Syden- 
ham, for  the  Kev.  J,  G,  Heisch,  from  the  plans  of 
Mr.  W.  Barns  Kinsey,  C.E  ,  Southwatk-street, 
London,  having  for  their  object  the  prevention  of 
pollution  of  the  village  brook,  which  is  a  tributary 
of  the  Thame,  and  forms  the  water  su2)ply  of  a 
poriiou  of  the  village.  The  rain-water  from  the 
roofs  has  been  stored  after  passing  through  a  per- 
colator, the  surplus  and  surface  waters  al  ->ne  going 
to  the  brook.  The  slop-water  and  sewage,  after 
the  solids  have  been  separated  by  a  novel  mechani- 
cal arrangement  before  decomposition  has  com- 
menced, is  utilised  by  sub-irrigating  a  portion  of 
the  glebe  cultivated  as  garden-groimd.  A  simple 
form  of  ash-closet  has  been  erected  to  serve  as  a 
model  for  those  of  the  cottages,  and  it  has  been 
found  that  the  fine  dust  from  the  screened  ashes  of 
one ordinaiy  cottage  fire,  applied  once  in  the  day, 
will  deododse  and  form  the  excrement  of  the  pre- 
vious d.ay  into  a  portable  manure,  a  fiied  ash- 
screen  and  shallow  water-tight  pit  being  alone  re- 
quired. The  draiLS  are  all  laid  with  glazed  pipes 
and  Stanford's  pateut  joints,  in  straight  lints,  with 
inspection-cp'nings  at  every  change  of  direction, 
and  with  a  '•  Field's  "  self-acting  flush-tank  at  the 
head,  have  been  found  to  run  empty  with  a  fall  of  1 
in  120.  The  sub-soil  is  gault,  but  no  inconvenience 
has  been  experienced  during  the  late  heavy  rains. 
Ventilation  is  provided  for  by  air-inlets  at  the  out- 
falls, and  by  ventilating  pipes  carried  up  at  the 
heads  of  the  drains,  a  steidy  current  of  air  having 
been  found  to  traverse  their  entire  length  without 
regard  to  the  direction  of  the  wind.  The  arrange- 
ment has  been  designed  with  a  view  of  ttsting  the 
possibiUty  of  dealing  with  the  sewage  und  slop- 
water  of  villages  and  country  mansions  at  a  low 
cost,  and  more  particularly  to  abolish  wasting  cess- 
pools, which,  from  their  proximity  to  the  shallow 
wells,  have  been,  to  an  extent,  the  cause  of  a  high 
death-rate  in  the  village. 


An 


LEGAL    INTELLIGENCE. 

Aechitect's     Chaeoes.  —  At     'Wakefield 


Cormty  Court,  on  Tuesday  week,  before  Mr.  W. 
T.  Greenhow,  judge,  A.  Himerton,  architect, 
Horhury,  and  formerly  of  Wakefield,  sued  Ash 
and  Co,,  maltsters,  Birdbush,  Agbrigg,  for  £3  43., 
his  fees  for  plans  and  making  measurements  and 
calculations  for  the  building  of  a  4o-quarter 
rniUkin.  Plaintiff  stated  that  he  received  instruc- 
tions for  preparing  plans  for  a  75-quarter  and  a 
45-quarter  maltkin,  his  remuneration  to  be  at  the 
rate  of  2}  per  cent,  on  the  outlay.  The  larger 
kiln  was  carried  out,  but  he  had  never  been  able 
to  find  out  what  was  the  cost  of  the  erec- 
tion. The  4.5-quirter'  kiln  was  abandoned, 
and  it  was  in  respect  to  consultations  and 
attendance  regarding  this  kiln  that  the  action 
was  brought.  For  the  defence  it  was  contended 
that  it  was  never  the  intention  of  the  defendants 
to  erect  more  than  one  kiln,  which  was  to  occupy 
nithm.t  n  firo  -^v^^  in.5=  i^f "  ~,'.i,"""T  "."■ ""  ""'  '"""^  ^^'^  ^'''^  °^  ^^  °^'^  "n^  already  in  existence,  at  the 
^^TZ^^^l7t^'^^'^iirTi^i-Zi'  iZ™  S  .'•"'  T^ten  plaintiff  was  first  'called  in  for  cocsulta- 
thSseShorlaad  backs  in  u?e  f^r  ufwISs^f  fo^  vir,  iT  '"  1"^^'^  ^^''^^  ^^  attended  several  times  to 
and  find  them  most  excellent  for  warming  staircases  and  prehmmary  measurements  and  consult  Messrs. 

,„„„,«  ^„t  ,.„„™„,„„.  .„  1 « —  _■__  tii(.ju  _j^  Siiipso.v     ^^^  "^  *°  "^®  probable  cost  of  building,  and  the 


Dient  to  have  tires  i_ 
ny  Side,  Ajshbourne,  Derbyshii'e. 


Works  of  water-supply  are  about  to  be  under- 
taken by  the  local  board  of  Leyland,  near  Man- 
chester, from  the  plaus  of  Mr.  A."  de  Ean'-e  C  E 


I  defendants  then  agreed  to  erect  a  75-quarter  kiln 
according  to  the  patent  of  Mr.  Free,  of  Manning- 
tree,  Essex.  Two  of  the  defendants,  along  with 
the  plaintiff,  went  down  to  Essex  to  view  the  patent 
iu  operation,  and  plaintiff  then  drew  out  the  plans 
and  specifications  for  the  kiln,  which  was  carried 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


577 


out  from  those  plans.  £45  was  deposited  with  hira 
before  the  work  was  begim,  and  he  had  also  re- 
ceived some  moneys  since.  His  Honour  considered 
that  plaintiff  was  not  entitled  to  a  verdict,  as  he 
had  not  prepared  plans  for  the  4-5-quarter  kiln  in 
respect  to  which  he  was  seeking  to  recover,  and 
nothing  definite  appeared  at  any  time  to  have  been 
decided  about  it.  He  would,  therefore,  direct 
judgment  to  be  entered  for  defendants. 

Ahchitects'       Ceettficates.  —  Schulte     and 
Another  v.  Hopkins  and  Others. — This  case,  tried 
in  the   Qaeen's  Bench   DMsion,   before  Justices 
Manisty  and  Bowen,  on  Tuesday,  raised  a  question 
of  considerable  importance  as  to  the  conclusiveness 
of  a  certificate  given  by  an  architect,  engineer,  sur- 
veyor, or  inspector,  under  a  great  mercantile  con- 
tract.    The  plaintiffs  are  merchants  at  Hamburg, 
and  the  defendants  are  ironmasters  at  Middles- 
borough,  in  Yorkshire.    In  February,  1870,  a  con- 
tract was  entered  into  between  the  parties  for  the 
sale  by  the  defendants  to  the  plaintiffs  of  -2,000  tons 
of  wrought-iron  rails,  the  price  being  £11  15s.  per 
ton,  and  the  price  to  be  paid  on  inspector's  certifi- 
cate for   such  delivery  of  the  iron.     The   contract 
was  made  subject  to"  the  condition  that  the  whole 
of  the  rails  should  be  subject  to  inspection,  and 
everj-  facility  be  given  to  the  inspector  for  carrying 
out  his  iijstructions.  By  the  contract,  one  per  cent. 
of  the  rails  was  to  be  tested.     After  the  delivery  by 
the  defendants  of  all  the  rails  contracted  for,  the 
inspector,  who  was  the  engineer  of  the  railway  for 
which  the  rails  were  intended,  and  who  acted  in 
the  inspection   of  the  rails  with  the  siuction  and 
acquiescence  of  the  plaintiffs,  gave  to  the  defend- 
ants a  certificate  that  the  rails  were  made  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  contract.      It  was  admitted  for  | 
the  purposes  of  the  case  that  a  considerable  portion 
of  the   rails  were  not  according  to  contract,  owing 
partly  to  defects  which  could  have  been  ascer- 
tained   by    inspection     and    testing,    and    partly 
to    defects    which   could   not   have    been    ascer- 
tained  either  by  inspection  or  testing.     The  de- 
fendants contended  that  the  inspector's  certificate 
was  binding  and  conclusive  on  both  patties,  and 
precluded  the  plaintiffs  from  saying  that  the  rails 
were  not  according  to  contract.    The  plaintiffs  con- 
tended that,  in  spite  of  the  certificate,  the  defend- 
ants were  liable  to  the  plaintiffs  for  the  breach  of 
the  contract  in  not  delivering  rails  according  to 
contract,  which,  for  the  purposes  of  the  case,  was 
admitted  to  be  the  fact.      The  Court,  after  a  long 
argument,  gave  judgment  in  favour  of  the  plain- 
tiffs, the   buyers,  on  the  ground  that  the  contract 
did  not  expressly  make  the  certificate  final  and  con- 
clusive. 

The  TTrcS-iNTTAET  Dwellts-gs  ix  Lon"don.— Last 
week  at  the  GuiUlhall,  before  Alderman  Sir  T. 
Gabriel  and  Mr.  Alderman  Nottage.  several  ad- 
jonrned  summonses  were  heard  concerning  the 
sanitary  condition  of  certain  houses  in  Ely-court, 
Holborn.  The  summonses  were  issued  at  the  in- 
stance of  Dr.  W.  S.  Saunders,  the  medical  officer 
of  health  f.^r  the  City,  on  behalf  of  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Sewers,  against  the  freeholders,  lease- 
holders, and  occupiers  of  eight  houses  in  the  court, 
to  show  cause  why  they  should  not  be  puUed 
down,  as  thev  were  in  such  an  unwholesome  state 
as  to  be  utterly  unfit  for  human  habitation.  After 
a  long  discussion  the  Alderman  adjourned  the 
summons  relating  to  No.  7  sine  die  :  that  relating 
to  No.  11  to  January  7th;  and  with  respect  to 
Nos.  8,  9,  10,  and  12,  made  an  order  that  these 
should  be  pulled  down  within  sis  weeks. 


Our  OMct  €Mt 


At  a  general  meeting  of  the  South  London 
■Workincr  Men's  CoUege,  held  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing, at  the  Horns  Assembly  Rooms,  Kenmng- 
ton,  under  the  presidency  of  Professor  Tyndall, 
F.R.S,,  Mr.  Wyke  Bayliss  gave  a  lecture  on 
' '  The  Studv  of "  Poetry  and  Art.' '  The  lectiu-er 
said  art  was  not  for  the  artist  alone,  but  for  all 
men,  and  helped  to  raise  them  from  the  pursuit 
of  baser  pleasures  to  the  realisation  of  what  is 
beautiful  and  true.  Art  was  a  message  from  the 
Kin"  to  His  children  about  the  beautiful.  Having  | 
traced  the  history  of  art  from  the  earliest  times, 
through  the  Clas"sical  and  Mediaeval  periods,  Mr. 
BayUsR  pointed  out  that  twice  had  tnis  message 
of  the  beautiful  been  interpreted  to  the  world  by 
master  minds-first,  by  the  Greek,  who  fashioned 
the  cold  and  senseless  marble  into  every  phase  ot 
beauty  and  Ufe  of  which  the  human  form  is 
capable  ;  secondly,  by  the  Christian,  in  pictures 
of  the  saints  and  the  representation  of  the  pas- 
sionate love  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  It  might 
be  added  that  the  modem  school  of  art  had  found 
a  new  life  in  the  study  of  nature  in  aU  her  varied 
aspects.  Professor  Tyndall  expressed  the  g-atiti- 
cation  with  which  he  had  listened  to  Mr.  Bayliss 


and  watched  the  faces  of  those  before  hira.  Tlic 
human  mind  was  still  intent  upon  the  mastery 
of  the  hidden  laws  and  principles  which  govern 
the  various  processes  of  nature.  But  man  was 
not  only  endowed  with  knowledge  and  intellect, 
he  was"  influenced  by  emotions,  and  here  art, 
poetry,  painting,  architecture  stepped  in  with 
their  magic  influences.  "Wisdom  and  under- 
standing must  go  hand  in  hand  with  knowledge, 
and  the  emotions  must  influence  the  moral  tone 
of  man.  Science,  poetry,  art  combined  to  make 
man  better  and  more  complete. 

The  restoration  of  the  Tay  Bridge  was  last 
week  before   the  directors  of  the  North  British 
Railway  Company.    Mr.  Barlow,  C.E.,  London, 
who  was  some  months  ago  requested  to  prepare 
plans  for  the  work,  was  in  attendance.     Though 
there  are  some  details  still  requiring  adjustment, 
the  general  features  of  the  bridge  were  approved. 
It  is  proposed  that   the  bridge  shall  be  of  suffi- 
cient breadth  to  admit  of  a  double  lino  of  rails  I 
beino-   laid,    the   extension   being   made   on  the  | 
west°side  of  the  old   structure,  where  the  bed  of 
the  river  has  been  tested  by  means  of  boring  by 
Mr.  Barlow's  assistants,  with,  as  it  is  stated,  the 
most   satisfactory  results.      Another  important 
respect  in  which  the  new   structure  will  differ 
from  the  old  is  in  ihe  character  of  the  piers.     In 
re^rard  to  these,  the  only  question  has  been  as  to 
whether  they   should   be   of  malleable   iron   or 
brick  ;  and  it  has  now  been  determined  that  the 
latter  material  shall    be    used,   so  that  in  this 
I  matter  the  original  designs,  in  which,  it  will  be 
remembered,  the  specification  was  for  brick,  wUlbe 
reverted  to.     The  height  wiU  .also  be  altered,  by 
being  lowered  lift.      In  the  arrangement  of  the 
girders,  the  old  plan  will  be  followed  of  laying 
the  raiLs  partly  along  the  lower  and  partly  along 
the  upper  booms,  but  a  new  feature  will  be  the 
erection  of  a  strong  iron  parapet  along  each  side 
of  the  bridge. 

A  MEMOEiAL  to  the  Homc  Secretaiy  on  the 
subject  of  the  Artisans'  Dwellings  Act  was 
adopted  at  a  conference  of  delegates  from  Metro- 
politan Vestries  and  District  Boards  held  at  St. 
Martin's  Vestrv,  last  week.  The  views  expressed 
in  the  memorial  were  adverse  to  that  Act,  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  Conference,  should  not  be 
put  in  force  until  the  provisions  of  Mr.  M'  CuUagh 
Torrens's  Act  had  been  exhausted  by  the  local 
authorities  throughout  the  metropolis.  It  was  also 
uro-ed  that  the  cost  of  anv  operations  under  the 
Acl;  should  be  borne  by  the  parties  interested  and 
not  by  the  r.atepayers.  A  request  is  to  be  made 
to  the  Home  Secretary  to  direct  an  exhaustive 
inquiry  into  the  working  of  the  Acts  m  ques- 
tion, and  to  give  the  delegates  an  interview  on 
the  subject. 

Me.  Joseph  Lucas,  F.G.S.,  F-M-S-,  has  pub- 
Ushed  a  pamphlet  on  the  London  Water  Supply 
entitled  •'  "What  the  Ratepayers  really  want  tbe 
Government  to  do."  His  conclusions  are  (1) 
That  the  Villager  pays  for  quality,  (2)  I  hat 
London  has  not  yet  spent  enough  money  on 
Water  to  obtain  a  good  article  ;  (3)  That  London 
can  weU  afford  to  go  further  afield  in  search  of 
pure  water;  (4)  That  London  does  not  know 
where  to  go  for  it;  (5)  That  the  Government 
ou-ht  to  make  a  proper  survey  of  the  sources  of 
supply,  not  onlv  for  London,  but  in  the  interest 
of  the  nation  at  large;  (6)  That  when  proper 
sources  have  been  thus  found,  London  still  has  a 
lar<re  mar^'in  left  before  spending  so  much  on 
Water,  in  proportion  to  rateable  value,  as  has 
actually  been  disbursed  by  many  of  our  poorest 

^of  Saturday  last,  Mr.  J.  GaUimore,  the 
Mayor  of  Xewcastle-under-Lyme,  entertained  at 
dinner,  in  the  Town  Hall,  the  ^^^o'^  °f  t^« 
workmen  employed  by  l^^'?,/^%^'''^'!'nf 
his  extensive  business  as  a  builder  Mr  G^l^- 
more  presided,  and,  dinner  over,  ¥■:.  H.  WUies 
one  of  the  foremen,  rose  and  said  he  tho"?"' 
they  should  at  least  be  allowed  to  give  the 
heaUh  of  their  respected  -<!.  ]'-°-^ 
emplover.  The  proposition  was  hearhly  ap 
plauded,  and  the  toast  as  he^t.ly  drunk  In 
restjonse  Mr.  GalUmore  said  he  had  lately 
attended  banquets  of  various  kinds,  and  .at  none 
had  he  enjoyed  himself  more  than  onAa  occa- 
sion, becaise  he  was  sure  it  ^r^ly^P'^''''^^^  '^^^ 
kindly  feeling  entertamed  by  1^}^^%^^.JI, 
workmen,  and  by  them  t°7'*.^'i^^"^-,,^*and 
success  he    had    achieved    in    the   trade— ana. 

Tom^lilS It  t^uih  Ms  efforts  being  readily. 


ably,  and  faithfully  sccondi-d  by  Iii<  men.  Ho 
trusted  they  would  all  be  able  to  go  on  together 
and  attain  still  prreat<"r  succckh.  He  would  Jo 
his  best  to  obtain  tlieui  work,  and  lio  hoped 
they  would  continue  to  enable  liim  to  got  through 
it  so  as  to  win  credit  and  give  MitiHfaotion. 
Some  singing  by  the  men  heightened  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  evening. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Lanciuliire  and 
Cheshire  bninili  of  the  AsHociutiun  of  Municipal 
and  Sanitary  Knginecra  v.in  lnld  at  Sulfurd  lli»t 
Friday.  The  membtrs  a'-inibli il  lit  cleren 
o'clock,  and  proceeded  to  Jf.i.li.  \\'hei'l,  where 

they  wore  shomi  the  cnn'T  •  '<'  now 

in  course  of  formation  by  .^'  b,  tho 

borough   engineer.      Mr.  1   tho 

development  of  the  dr»iii;i^  .  ..  .~^  dford, 
described  the  constnntimi  w(  ili.-  iiii.nipting 
sewer  from  Broughton  to  Moilc  Whrcl,  and  the 
nature  of  the  works  ut  tho  latter  plu-c  The 
works  were  commenced  two  yriirs  ag^i,  and  it  u 
expected  that  another  year  will  nulK'^o  to  »eo 
them  in  full  operation.  The  plans  in  tho  firrt 
instance  were  prepared  by  Mr.  Alfred  Fowler, 
late  borough  engineer,  but  they  have  ainee 
undergone  considerable  modili<:ition  nt  the 
hands  of  the  present  engineer,  Mr.  Jacob,  nnder 
whose  supervision  the  works  are  now  bfing  con- 
structed. A  meeting  fur  tho  transaction  of 
business  was  subsequently  held  in  one  of  tho 
offices  adjoining  the  Mode'Wlicol  Worku,  under 
the  presidency  of  Mr.  A.  Moraut  'prcnident), 
borough  surveyor  of  Lee<ls.  Mr.  K.  VawMr, 
C.E.,  of  Manchester,  was  re-elected  di^<triet 
honorary  secretary.  In  the  afternoon  a  few  of 
the  members  visited  thcHcalthCommitte*'*  dt-p.'.t 
at  Holt  Town. 

The  announcements  for  the  coming  winter  art 
season  do  not  reveal  any  remarkable  novelty. 
The  old  masters  will  again  appear  at  the  Royal 
Academy,  and  a  special  feature  will  be  the  serioa 
of  designs  by  Flaxraau  which  arc  to  be  lent  by 
the  authorities  at  L'niveraity  College.  At  the 
Grosvenor  Gallery  the  u.sual  water-colour  draw- 
ings wUl  embrace  a  representative  collection  of 
the  modem  French  school,  while  the  room  that 
has  upon  previous  occasions  been  devoted  to 
studies  in  black  and  white  will  this  year  contoin 
some  specimens  of  decorative  dejign  by  Mr. 
Burae  Jones,  Mr.  Walter  Crane,  and  other 
artists.  Some  of  tho  smaller  exhibitions  hare 
already  opened  their  doors.  Tho  Fine  Art 
Society  has  this  year  hit  upon  material  that  u 
likely  to  attract  considerable  attention.  Iho 
work  of  Bewick,  the  wood  engraver,  holdn  an 
important  place  in  the  hi.story  of  English  Ulm- 
trative  design.  His  original  drawings  arc 
shown   side  by  side  with  impressions  from  tbc 

engraved  blocks.  

,.,. V    T7;7t„tin,v-"'.,.'n.-  :.n.l  .'rrr-..,  liok- 


tiDKit  and  Ear  Infirniarr." 

Lamploo^h's  Pyretic  Saline  ,1»  reft;e.hln». 

iiio»it  affrccahl»'.a'id 'he  prf-v*-.  ^^^ 

SMALL  POX.  SKIS   W^i-y  4 


MEETINGS  FOB  THE  ENSTHNO  WEHK. 

8  p.m.  .,     .-iwu. 

MosBAV.-Koy»l  Jiwtitntc    ■ 

nu-k-,       I  .   ,a. 

WeDXKSDAT.— S"  : 


TarESDAV.— Bt.  1' 

M 
Fbidav.  —  Archi; 


■•The    Vt    o* 
p..    BMjmTf. 


CINDER-SIFTING  ASH  CLOSETS^ 

The  Sanitary  Appliance  Co.  (Ltd.\  SalCord- 


578 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  12,  1880. 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

cf  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  applicatisn  to 
CHAELES  TKASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Uminster,  Somerset. 
— [Advt.] 


McIACHIAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

ttreet,  S.W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters. 

Desijjna  and  Estunates. 

General   Repairs   and   Alterations  Executed. 

Experienced  Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country.— [Advt. J 


BATH    STONE. 

SUMMER     DRIED, 

CORSHAM     DOWN, 

155,000  Feet  Cube. 
PICTOE  &  SONS,  BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt.] 

TENDERS. 

•»•  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 


Aylesbury. — For  building  additional  cells  at  the  head- 
quarters police  station,  and  alterations  to  the  deputy 
chief  constable's  residence,  for  Her  Majesty's  Justices  of 
the  Peace,  ilr.  W.  F.  Taylor,  county  surveyor,  Ayles- 
bury.   Quantities  supplied  :  — 

Green,  ■W.Y £407    9  11 

Green,  T 889    4    0 

JIayneandSon 364    0    0 

Cooper,  Geo.* 349  17    0 

^For  additional  height  of  cells  as  required  by  Secretary  of 

State,  £40  3s.  Od.  (accepted). 

Ayb. — For    the    following   woika    of   decoration   and 

furnishing  at  the  new  town-hall,  for  the  corporation  of 

Ayr  : — 

For  painting  and  decorating  :  — 
Wiloock,  W.,  Ayr  (accepted)  ...     £246  12    5 

For  stained-gLass  windows : — 
Keir  and  Co.,  Glasgow  (accepted)  ...    £233    3    6 

For  ironmongery  : — 
U'Oloch  and  Co.,  Glasgow  (accepted)   £101    7    0 

BlEsiiNGHAM. — For  the  erection  of  three-story  work- 
shops, &c.  Mr.  Ewen  Harper,  architect.  Quantities 
supplied  by  the  architect  :— 

Dowse     £983    0    0 

Eowbotham      939    0    0 

Price       899    0    0 

Hyde      874    0    0 

BiBjnxGHAM.— For  the  erection  of  a  \-illa  at  Penns 
near  Birmingham.  Quantities  supplied  by  Mr.  Ewe 
Harper  :— 

Taylor 

Smith  and  Son         

Hands 

Eowbotham 


£1,750  0  0 

1,350  0  0 

1,295  0  0 

1,249  0  0 


Br 


.  N-EAB  "Walsall.— For  the  erection  of  new 
public  offices,  assembly-rcom,  and  surveyor's  residence, 
lor  the  Brownhills  local  board.    Mr.  J.  SiddaUs,  ai-chi- 
tect.    Quantities  supplied  by  the  architect : — 
Cxesswell,  T.  and  E.,  Walsall  Wood  (accepted)     £2,700 

Daetford.— Revised  tenders  for  a  new  classroom  at 
St.  Alban's-road  school,  for  the  Deptford  School  Board  : - 

Gumbell,  W £245    o    0 

Waller,  T 234    0    0 

Waite,  W.  (accepted) 134  15    0 

E.YETEB. -For  house  in  Polsloe-ro.ad,  E-^teter,  for  Mr. 
J.  Sampson.  Mr.  E.  H.  Harbottlc,  A.R.I.B.A.,  architect, 
County  Chambers,  Exeter  :— 

Oibbard,  J.  E  ,  Exeter       £1,304  16  0 

Crocker,  R.  J.,  Bristol       1,300    0  0 

Luscombe  and  Son,  Exeter          ...  1,250    0  6 

Bowden,  Barnstaple  (accepted)  ...  1,200    0  0 

Gibson,  W.,  Exeter 1,120    0  0 

Eali.ng.— For  new  dormitory,  &c.,  EaUng  House,  Girls' 
Industrial  Home,  for  Mr.   W.  Williams,  and  the  com- 
mittee.  Mr.  E.  P.  Loftus  Brock,  F.S.A.,  architect:— 
Grover,F.  (accepted  in  part)        ...    £1,195    0    0 

Green  Lases.— For  the  erection  of  houses  at  St,anlcy- 
road,  Harringay  Xew  Park,  Green  Lanes,  for  Mr.  B 
Barter.  Mr.  W.  Seckham  Witherington,  architect,  79, 
Mark -lane;  — 

For  five  houses  :— 

^ale £2,333    0    0 

Taylor  and  Parfltt 1,990    0    0 

Partridge  and  Henderson 1,545    0    0 

Coney,  Liverpool-road       1,490    0    0 

For  ten  houses  :— 

»»hale 4,1540    0    0 

Taylor  and  Parfitt 3,780    0    0 

Pai-tridge  and  Henderson 3,000    0    0 

2,940    0    0 


Coney 


HiouBCBY.-For  making  «p  Highbury  quadrant,  for 
the  vestr>-  of  St.  Mary,  Islington  :— 

Williamson,  H £1,250  0  0 

Butty,  G.  0 1  050  0  0 

WaJier,A.               933  0  0 

Jackson,  F.  A.  and  Son    ...        .  943  0  0 

Irons,  W 913  0  0 

Bell,  J.,  Wood-green  (accepted),,.  737  0  0 


nEDSESFORD. — For  alterations  and  additions  to  West 
Hill  Schools,  for  the  Cannock  School  Board.  Mi-, 
Benjamin  Baker,  architect,  Willenhall.  Quantities  by 
the  architect  :— 

Butler,  Darlaston £2,379  10  0 

Tildcsley,  Willenhall         2,190    0  0 

Punfleld,  Willenhall  2,173    0  0 

Watton  and  Sons,  Tamwoith      .,,        2,163  16  8 

Whittome,  Stafford 2,149    0  0 

Lovatt,  Wolverhampton 2,100    0  0 

Jones  and  Sons,  Scdgley 2,095    0  0 

Grosvenor,  Stafford 2,070    0  0 

Bedford,  Wolverhampton 2,050    0  0 

Bennett,  Bii-mingham       2,033    0  0 

Bradney  &  Co  ,  Wolverhampton        1,995    0  0 

Barton.  Hednesford  1,994    0  0 

Teece,  Darlaston     1,927    0  0 

Guest,  Stourbridge  (accepted)     ...        1,825    0  0 

Tracey,  Stafford      1,801    0  0 

HoxTOS, — For  alterations  to  "White  Hart"  pubUc- 
hou.se,  Hoxton-street,  for  Mr.  E.  J.  Eose.  Messrs. 
Wilson,  Son,  and  Aldwinckle,  architects : — 

Marr     £1,795    0    0 

Hearle 1,775    0    0 

Cocks 1,770    0    0 

Andrews         1,757    0    0 

ShurmuT  (accepted) 1,638    0    0 

Palmer 1,497    0    0 

Hull. — Accepted  tenders  for  shops  and  warehouse. 
Bridge-street,  Hull.  Messrs.  W.  Botterill  and  Son, 
architects.  Quantities  not  supplied.  Iron  columns, 
girders,  &c,,  and  all  ironmongery  supplied  to  contractors 
free  of  cost  hy  the  proprietor  : — 
Excavators  and  bricklayers  ; — 

Drury  and  Harper,  Hull. 
Stonemason : — 

Sweeting,  F,,  Hull. 
Carpenter  and  joiner  : — 

Lison,  W.,  Hull. 
Plumber,  &c.  ;  — 

Halliday,  J.,  Hull. 
Slater  :— 

Hunter,  E  ,  Hull. 
Painter  :— 

Lowthrop,  E.  J.,  Hull. 

Total  amount        £1,331    2    0 

Lakabk,— For  the  construction  of  a  reservoir  at  Loch- 
lyoch,  for  the  police  commissioners.  Mr.  Watson,  water- 
works engineer ; — 

Wilson,  W,,  Bothwell   (accepted)     £1,885    8    2 

IiAtj.vcESTox.— For  the  erection  of  municipal  buildings, 
for  the  town  council ;  — 

Conglon,  C.  (accepted)       £1,265    0    0 

Llantrissaxt.— For  the  restoration  of  Llantrissant 
Church,  Mon.  Mr.  E.  A.  Lansdowne,  architect,  New- 
port, Mon.  :— 

Howard,  E.,  Cardiff £680    0    0 

Jones  and  Son,  Newport      547    0    0 

Linton,  J.,  Newport 520    0    0 

Richards,  Newport 490    0    0 

White,  Abergavenny 4SS    0    0 

Burgoyne,  Blaenavon           475    0    0 

Morgan  and  Evans,  Pontypool      ...  459    0    0 

Giles,  E,,  Pontrilas 455    0    0 

Blackbume,  Newport           433    0    0 

Lewes,— For  surveyor's  office  at  White  Hill,  for  the 
borough  commissioners : — 

Knight,  J.  (accepted) £43  10    0 

[Lowest  of  eight  tenders,  of  which  the  highest  was  £60.] 

London.— For  the  superstructure  of  the  City  of 
London  Schools,  for  the  Court  of  Common  Council. 
Messrs.  Davis  and  Emanuel,  architects  :— 

Mowlem,  J.  and  Co.  (accepted)  ...    £76,438    0    0 
[Lowest  but  one  of  14  tenders,  of  which  the  lowest  and 

one  other  did  not  comply  with  the  conditions.] 
London. — For  additions    and  alterations    to    No.  87, 

Tottenham  Court-road,  for  Messrs.  Menegilli  and  Co 

Mr.  Charles  Sewell,  architect  :— 


Bolding  and  Son 
Stimpson  and  Co. 
Pack,  Bros. 
Neighbour  and  Scott . 


...  £849  0  0 
848  0  0 
716  0  0 
617    0    0 

London,— For  additions  to  premises.  Love-lane,  City 
Messrs,  Ford  and  Hesketh,  architects  :— 


Simpson  and  Sjns ,,, 
Colls  and  Sons 
Scrivener  and  Co,  ,.. 
Kirk  and  Eandall  ,,, 
McLachlan  and  Sons 

Shaw,  G 

Perrj' and  Co. 
Adamson  and  Sons 

Peto,  Bros 

Brass.  W 

Conder,  R 

Lawrance,  E. 


...      £22,891  0  0 

20,604  0  0 

20,535  0  0 

20,467  0  0 

20,249  0  0 

20,213  0  0 

20,182  0  0 

19,988  0  0 

19,707  0  0 

19,531  0  0 

19,390  0  0 

18,896  0  0 

London.— For  alterations  to  "Weavers'  Arms"  public- 
house,  London-wall,  for  Mr.  Sheen.  Messrs.  Drury  and 
Lovejoy,  architects  :— 


Hockley 

Marr       

Shurmur  (accepted) 


£449  0  0 
408  0  0 
396    0    0 


London.— For  foundation,  &o.,  of  proposed  new  build- 
ing, Th.ames  Embankment,  for  S.  Parry,  Esq  Messrs 
Fowler  and  Hill,  architects  ;  — 


Kelletand  Bentley  ... 
Kilhngback,  C.     *  ,,, 

Batch,  J 

Cooke,  B 

Dicki.isua,  C 

Crockett,  W 

Kirk  and  Randall    ... 
Eeddin,  E.      ... 

Bell,  J 

Ford,  J.  and  Co. 

Prout,  W 

Cardus,  J.  (accepted) 


£3,689  0  0 

3,696  0  0 

3,354  0  0 

2,700  0  0 

2,6S8  0  0 

2,558  0  0 

2,519  0  0 

2,460  0  0 

2,354  0  0 

2,339  0  0 

2,195  0  0 

1,979  0  0 


Lower  Norwood. — For  the  erection  of  a  villa  at  Lower 

Norwood,  Surrey,  for  Mr.   G.  Shrewsbury.    Mr.  E.  T. 

Shrewsbury,  architect.    Quantities  supplied  : — 

Woodbridge      £989    0    0 

Goad        965    0    0 

SUver       940    0    0 

CrabbandSon 933    0    0 

Jenkins 925    0    0 

Bowyer,  T.  Sc  C 877    0    0 

Pack,  Bros 849    0    0 

Taylor  (accepted)        846    0    0 

Mabylebone,  W.— For  laying  the  grounds  of  the  new 

infirmary,  including   wood-paving  for  the  same,  for  tlie 

Marylebone  board  of  guardians  : — 

Wall,  Bros,  (accepted)        £2,431    0    0 

Newark-on-Tbent. — For  alterations  and  additions  to 
building,  and  converting  same  into  two  residences,  for 
Mr.  Thos.  Hunt,  Eldon-street,  Newark,  Notts.  Mr.  E. 
W.  G.  Hayward,  architect  and  surveyor,  6,  Bar  Gate, 
Newark,    Part  material  provided  by  proprietor  : — 

Dobney,  Newark         £198    0    0 

Crossland,  Newark     197  10    0 

Lane,  Newark 160    0    0 

Cosham,  Newark  (accepted) 149    0    0 

Pop 

)plar  district 

For  Eeeve's-road  :— 
Knight,  D £462    0    0 

For  Tibbatts-road  :— 

Knight,  D 322    0    0 

[Lowest  tenders  received  for  either.] 
R1CH310ND.— For  erection  of  public  baths,  Richmond, 
Surrey.  Messrs.  Geo.  Elkington  and  Son,  architects,  95, 
Caimon-street,  E.G.  Contract  No.  1.  builder's  work  :— 
£7,280  0  0 
7,223  0  0 
6,995  0  0 
6,850  0  0 
6,797  0  0 
6,750  0  0 
6,650  0  0 
6,478  0  0 
6,440  0  0 
6,346  0  0 
6,327  0  0 
6,300  0  0 
6,273  0  0 
6,090  0  0 
5,880  0  0 
5,593  0  0 
5,493    0    0 

Lucas,  J.  M 4,228    5    3 

Contract  No.  2.    Engineer's  work  :— 

Clarke,  F.J 2,068    0    0 

Fraser  and  Eraser 1,872    0    0 

Benham  and  Sons 1,735    0    0 

Rosser  and  Russell 1,699    0    0 

Reynolds  and  C' 1,600    0    0 

Fraser,  W,  J,  and  Co 1,680    0    0 

May,  J,  and  F 1,660    0    0 

Goddard  and  Massey  1,494    0    0 

Hamilton,  Wood,  and  Co 1,388    0    0 

Bradford,  T,  and  Co 1,369    0    0 

Chadderton  Ironworks  Co,  ,,.        1,150    0    0 

St.  Maetin-ix-the-Fields.— For  alterations  and  addi- 
tions to  .almshouses  at  Bayham-street,  Camden  Town. 
Mr.  Henry  Jacques,  architect.     Quantities  supplied  :  — 

Shaw £5,850    0    0 

Mowlem  and  Co 5,714    0    0 

Manley 5,557    0    0 

LaingandSon  5,435    0    0 

Eider  and  Son  6,380    0    0 

Howard  and  Dori'eU 5,280    0    0 

Dove,  Bros 5,155    0    0 

Adamson        4,975    0    0 

Wall,  C 4,950    0    0 

Clemence        4,947    0    0 

Toms,  Camden  Town  (accepted)...       4,469    0    0 
Steeathau. — For  the  erection  of  residence,  Streatham 
Park,  Surrey,  for  W.  L.  Hooper,  Esq.    Messrs.  Osbom 
and  Eussell,  architects  : — 


Perry  and  Co 

Crockett,  W 

Dr.ake,  T.  .and  F.      ... 
Eeynolds  and  Co.     ... 

Prout,  W 

Higgs,F 

Julian  and  Co. 
Bowyer,  J .  and  Co.  ... 
Priestley,  E,  W. 
Sweet  and  Loder 

Osborne,  J.  J 

Augood,  J 

Battley,  E.  J 

Beale,  W.  J 

Watson,  W 

Pack,  Bros 

Bull,  Bros,  and  Cooper 


Boweyer 

Brown 

Wontner,  Smith,  and  Co. 

Woodward     

Jarrett 

Tongue 

SabeyandSon 

Barnes 

Jerrard 


£2,595  0  0 

2,569  0  0 

2,479  0  0 

2,404  0  0 

2,396  0  0 

2,360  0  0 

2,329  0  0 

2,300  0  0 

2,298  0  0 


ITpTON.— For  two  cottages  at  Upton,  Essex.    Mr.  J. 

Moore  Smith,  architect,  121,  Bishopsgate-street,  Comhill, 

E,C„  and  at  Stratford  :— 

Waterman         £639    0    0 

Webb,  J 579    0    0 

North,  Bros 565    0    0 

Baxter,  J 540    0    0 

Martin,  W,H 539    0    0 

Brown,  H,,  Stratford  (accepted)    ,„        525    0    0 

WoLvEBHAMPTox.- For  the  construction  of  a  sluice  at 
the  lake,  for  the  town  council  ;  — 

Norman  and  Co,  (accepted)    £86  10    0 


BEST    BATH    STONE. 

Wesfwood  Ground,  Box  Ground, 
Gombe  Down,  Gorsham  Down, 
and  Fa  Heigh  Down. 

RANDELL,  SAUNDERS,  &  CO.,limited, 

CORSHAM,  WILTS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


579 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


LOXDOX,  FRIDAY,  XOVEMBER    19,  ISSO. 


one  set  of  people  to  self-examination,  and  nro  bound  to  vwit  it  with  their  sevcrfst  coii- 
another  to  self-deception.  The  one  c'ass(leinnation.  But  now  hui)|)wii  that  some 
would  be  always  asking  themselves,  "  Is  geologist  finds  in  the  conl-mi-anuros  or  eUc- 
thislineor  this  colour  found  in  Nature  ?"  where  the  same  i-lentieal  tyiMi  in  u  foMii 
and  if  not,  would  be  forbidding  themselves  |  fern  ;  the   form   wbicli,   a    moment   bcforo, 


IS  ART  THE  IMITATION  OF  NATURE  ? 

IT  will  soon  be  a  generation  ago — as  the 
chronologist  reckons  generations — since 
the  -world  first  heard  tbe  oracular  statement 
that  "Art  is  the  expression  of  man's 
delight  in  God's  work."  The  announcement 
at  once  captivated  people  of  all  sorts  and 
kinds.  The  well-meaning  religious  classes 
were  impressed  with  the  seeming  piety  of 
the  assertion ;  while  the  literary  and  culti- 
vated class  were  overpowered  by  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  style  in  which  it  was  set  forth. 
Only  those  persons — few  and  far  between  at 
that  time — who  happened  to  know  some- 
thing about  art  from  their  own  personal 
study  of  it,  hesitated  to  give  their  assent. 
They  were  in  a  hopeless  minority,  and  the 
world  went  its  way  v\-ithout  tbem.  If,  as 
they  said,  no  previous  art  could  be  found 
which  was  simply  the  expression  of  men's 
delight  in  Nature,  then  it  was  quite  time, 
the  majority  thought,  to  make  new  forms 
of  art  which  should  be.  They  set  about  it ; 
and  the  result  will  long  remain  to  nauseate 
every  beholder.  In  architecture,  we  are  at 
last  escaping  from  it ;  but  it  may  make  the 
escape  more  sure  if  we  look  back  at  the 
reasoning  which  misled  se  many,  and  con- 
sider calmly  how  much  of  truth  and  how 
much  of  falsehood  there  has  been  in  it  from 
the  first. 

It  must  be  allowed  at  starting,  indeed, 
that  the  persuasiveness  of  this,  as  of  Mr. 
Euskin's  assertions  generally,  does  not  lie 
chiefly  in  the  reasons  he  gives  for  them. 
When  the  so-called  electro-biologist  teUs 
his  "  subject  "  that  the  water  he  is  drinking 
is  champagne,  or  that  the  umbrella  he  holds 
is  a  red-hot  poker,  the  instantaneous  belief 
he  produces  is  not  the  result  of  argmi-ent. 
It  is  produced,  Dr.  Carpenter  tells  us,  be- 
cause the  mind  of  the  biologised  subjecrt  is 
entirely  dormant :  because  he  is  powerfully 
impressed  by  the  authoritative  tone  of  the 
operator  ;  and  because,  having  suffered  him- 
self to  become  a  mere  thinking  automaton, 
he  is  given  up  to  the  domination  of  any 
idea  which  maybe  sirongly  suggested  to  him. 
So  it  has  been  with  a  multitude  of  Mr. 
Euskin's  readers.  His  first  condition  for 
operating  on  them  is  that  they  should  sub- 
mit their  minds  and  wills  to  his ;  and  this 
done,  he  can  give  them  an  ardent  reHeh  for 
ditch-water,  and  a  deadly  fear  of  something 
harmless  as  a  ginghiim  umbrella.  The  man 
who  can  do  all  this  by  the  mere  fascination 
of  style  is,  doubtless,  an  extraordinary  one  ; 
but  the  mental  benefit  to  his  followers  is 
little  greater  than  that  which  accrues  to  the 
"subjects"  of  the  professional  mesmerist. 
A  mere  conscious  following  of  rules,  as  Mr. 
Euskin  himself  sees  clearly  enough,  will 
never  make  anyone  an  artist,  even  were  the 
rules  unalterably  true  and  universally  appli- 
cable. Every  real  artist,  from  the  greatest 
to  the  least,  does  his  work  as  seems  good  to 
himself.  Done  thus,  it  is  natural,  organic, 
homogeneous,  which  it  never  can  be  if 
he  tries  to  do  it  only  as  shall  seem  good  to 
someone  else.  It  may  be  high  or  low,  strong 
or  weak  ;  but  if  it  shows  forth  the  worker's 
personality,  it  will  fill  a  place  in  the  world 
which  would  else  be  empty.  AH  individuality 
is  valued,  sooner  or  later;  the  only  worth- 
less thing  is  copyism  of  others.  If,  there- 
fore, it  were  as  certain  as  it  is  questionable 
that  art  is  the  expression  of  men's  delight  in 
Nature,  to  make  the  statement  would  help 
HO  one  to  be  an  artist.    It  would  only  urge 


its  use,  in  spite  of  a  clear  perception  that  it 
was  the  right  thing  for  the  place.  The  other 
class,  feeling  an  honest  pleasure  in  natural 
objects,  would  delude  themselves  at  once 
into  the  belief  that  they  were  real  artists, 
though,  all  the  while,  art  might  be  as  im- 
possible to  them  as  Nature  was  delightful. 
Art  is  a  living  thing,  and  all  these  books 
which  attempt  to  dissect  it  and  tell  us  what 
it  is  composed  of,  do  not  bring  us  nearer  by 
a  moment  or  an  inch  to  the  making  it  live 
again. 

But  though ,  for  the  practical  worker,  a  true 
account  of  the  laws  by  which  he  ought  to 
work  might  have  little  help  in  it,  a  false 
statement  of  them  may    have    much   hin-  I 
drance  ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  worth  consider- 
ing  how  far   this  particular   definition    is 
borne  out  by  facts.     The  definition,   as  Mr. 
Euskin    and   his    followers   understand    it, 
amounts  to    this :    that  aU  good  art  is  an 
imitation  of  Nature.     And  they  not  simply 
mean — what  may  very  often  be  true— that 
the  works  of  man  have  to  be  designed  on 
the  same  principles  as  the  works  of  Nature. 
This,  in  many  cases,  they  must  be,  without 
any  wish   for  imitation  at  all.     When,   for 
instance,    an     engineer    builds    a    factory 
chimney  widest   at  the  base,   and  tapering 
upwards,  he  does  not  do  it  in  imitation  of  a 
pine-tree  or  an  oak-tree,  although  they  do 
the  same  ;  it  is  simply  that  the  pine-tree  and 
the  chimney  both  have  to  standagainst  storms 
and  tempests,  and  that  this  is  the  best  way  of 
making  them  stand.     The  works  of  Nature 
and  the  works  of  man  have  to  exist  amongst 
similar  mechanical  conditions,  and  the  best 
way  of  dealing  with  the  conditions  having 
long   ago   been  found  out,  so   to  speak,  by 
Nature,  men  coming  later,  must  often  either 
seem  to  imitate  Nature,  or  must  put  up,  for 
the  sake  of  not  imitating  her,  with  some  other 
way  which  is  quite  inferior.    This  simple  fact 
is  at  the  bottom  of  an  immense  number  of 
the    so-called     imitations    on    which    Jlr. 
Euskin  and  his  disciples  rely  so  confidently. 


It    explains    a    great    part    of    what    Mr.  ;  and  dissolution 


was  "  hateful,  liorriblo,   not  to  Ik.  Iwrne," 
becomes  nt  once  beautiful,  nobh-,  iiii  I  pro- 
cious.     What  sort  of  iirinciplu  in  thin,  which 
condemns   the  same  ttiinjf  ti-d  .y  and  ap- 
plaudu  it  to-morrow  ;      It  in   n  trick  litUo 
bettor  than  that  by  which  Bcnviticniiil  review 
writers  judge  of  architecture— liy  oAcorttin- 
ing,  namely,  which  building<t  are  olil,  and 
which  arc  new— and  then  Bmothorinff  tho 
former  with  uninte'ligent  pminc,   aiid  the 
latter   \vith   unintelligent    abus-.       Ai^n, 
though  Nature  offers  to  our  view  hero  >nd 
there  almost  every  possible  variety  of  lino 
and  curve,  and  since,   therefore,   it    oft4m 
approaches  a  mathematical  iiiipimsibility  to 
use  forms  which  she  bail  not  uiiod  already, 
it  is  worth  notice  that  the  highi'st  iityln  o( 
architecture     use    most    the    fomn    which 
Nature  uses  least — straight  lines  and  circular 
curves.     The  columns  in  a  Greek  temple,   it 
is  true,   have  varjnng  curvaturri  in    thtir 
entasis  ;    but  all  the  other  main  line*  arc 
straight,  or  have  subtle  corrections  intended 
to  make  them  look  straightir  tlian  s'raight- 
ness  itself.     The  tracery  in  an  Early  Gothic 
church   may,   or   may   not,  have  been  «ugf-^ 
gested  by  leaves  and  flowers  ;  but  every  liac 
of  it,   in  the  best  examples,  is  circular  or 
straight :  though  Nature  hardly  exhibits  a 
straight  line  save  in  the  distant  horiion  at 
sea,  and  hardly  a  circle  save  in  the  gun  or 
moon  above  it.     It  is  not  stylos  in  vigour 
and  purity,  but  styles  in  the  lost  stage  of 
debasement  and  decay,  that  como  nearest  to 
nature  in  their  use  of  lines.     The  decajring 
Greek  introduced   the  closest  imitation  of 
foliage ;    the  decaying    Gothic  substituted 
ogee  curves  for  straight  lines   and  circles ; 
and  the  decaying  Renaissance,  in  \ia  Hococo 
and  other  forms,  like  Nature  herself,  nearly 
got  rid  of  them  altogether.     It  would  not 
be  difBcult,  in  short,   to  give  plausible  rea- 
sons for  reversing  Mr.   Euskin's  a.s,«ertion. 
and  for  avowing  that  the  more  closely  an 
architectural  style  keeps  to  Nature,  the  more 
surely  it  has  arrived  at  the  period  of  disease 


Garbett,  in  that  singular  mixture  of  sug- 
gestive thought  and  incredible  paradox 
which  makes  up  his  work  on  "  Design,"  has 
called  "generalised  imitation."  But  this — 
the  mechanical  necessity  by  which  Nature 
and  man,  working  in  the  same  world,  and 
contending  in  each  individual  work  with  the 
same  general  forces,  are  alike  constrained — 
does  not,  as  we  are  quite  ready  to  admit, 
by  any  means  exhaust  the  subject.  No  one 
can  deny,  or  wish  to  deny,  the  large  part 
which  the  intentional  copying  of  Nature  has 
played  in  many  architectural  systems.  But 
what  we  do  deny  is,  that  this  copy  is  essen- 
tial to  art  ;  that  no  art  is  good  which  refuses 
to  copy  Nature ;  and  above  all,  that  the  art 
is  highest  which  copies  Nature  most  closely. 
Three  propositions  more  flatly  negatived  by 
the  past,  and  more  fraught  with  mischief  to 
the  future,  could  scarcely  be  put  forward. 

Mr.  Euskin's  method  is  to  take  some 
architectural  form,  and  placing  beside  it  a 
natural  form  bearing  some  general  resem- 
blance to  it,  to  assume  at  once  that  the  one 
owes  its  beauty  to  being  a  copy  of  the  other. 
The  first  thought  which  strikes  his  readers. 
as  soon  as  calm  reflection  leaves  them  capa 


We  have  no  wish,  however,  to  utter  so 
hard  a  saying  as  that  the  architect  should 
avoid  imitating  Nature.  Our  purfjose  is 
rather  to  propose  a  "working  hypothesis' 
which  may  be  tested  by  its  application  to 
the  pfist  and  its  adaptability  to  the  future. 
It  is  briefly  this  :  that  the  indisp'  nsable  part 
of  art  is  arraiignixitt,  and  that  the  things 
arranged  may  be  either  natural  objects, 
copies  of  natural  objects,  inventfd  forms, 
copies  of  invented  forms,  or  mixtures  of 
these  in  various  proportions.  To  arrange 
natural  objects  with  a  view  to  making  an 
artistx  whole,  is  a  form  of  art,  but  a  low 
one.  Savages  do  it  with  shells  and  ftather«, 
and  bedding-out  gardeners  with  gemniumi 
and  calceolarias.  To  arrange  cojiies  of 
natural  objects  so  as  to  make  an  .ir'i.ti. 
whole,  is  a  higher  thing,  but  by  no:,  ir; 
the  highest.  Still,  a  great  degrw  ••:  -ki;i 
may  be  employed  in  making  the  copiri.  and 
this  skill  is  what  the  public  in  general  mis- 
take for  art.  As  rcgnnls  f.mn,  howfver,  a 
photographic  c.imcra  would  have  done  it 
better ;  and  even  as  regards  colour  b1«o.  it 
may,  perhaps,  do  it  bettor  some  day.  This, 
such  as  it  is.  is  the  art  of  most  modem 


ble  of  thought,  is  that  the  varietv  of  nature,  :  painters  and  sculptors,  and,  as  far  a»  feeble 
even   as   we  see  it   in  this  one  world,  is  so   natnrahstic  carvmj  conld  make  it  so,  hu 

nearly  infinite,  that  it  is  difiicult  to  devise 


any  simple  form  which  Nature,  somewhere 
or  other,  has  not  devised  before  us.  But 
how  does  this  afford  the  slightest  proof  that 
the  having  been  done  before  is  the  cause  of 
its  beauty?  An  architect,  we  will  say. 
invents  a  new  type  of  conventional  foliage, 
like  nothing  that  grows  between  the 
Equator  and  the  Poles.  Not  being  imitated 
from  Nature,  Mr.  Raskin  and  his  followers 


been  the  art  of  some  minor  architects  also. 
The  art  which  both  invents  noble  objects 
and  also  arranges  them  is  the  highest  of  all, 
and  though  it  comes  out  in  the  bfst  periods 
of  architecture  more  unmistakably  than 
anywhere  else,  it  characterises  eqnaUy  the 
greatest  works  of  poetry,  of  painting,  and 
of  sculpture.  By  its  constitution,  indeed, 
architectare,  like  music,  may  be  said  to 
be   8  creative    art,  /while   the    three  jort 


580 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


named  are  mainly  repress ntative  arts.  But 
the  sujpreme  masters  of  them,  scorumg  to 
be  content  with  the  mere  copying  of  Xatiire, 
and  ever  s'rinng  to  invent  something 
superior  to  Nature,  have  made  tbem  creative 
too  :  and  by  their  creation  rather  than  by 
their  copyism,  have  gained  for  themselves 
an  everlasting  name.  Homer  and  Milton 
did  not  describe  the  men  they  saw  around 
them;  Phidias  and  Raphael  did  not  carve  and 
paint  their  everyday  contemporaries  :  it  was 
because  they  created  something  nobler  than 
the  work-a-day  woild  that  this  very  world 
refuses  to  forget  them.  And  in  architecture 
this  is  truest  of  all.  The  ages  iu  which 
architecture  seems  to  have  been  inspired 
were  those  in  which  it  copied  least  and 
created  most.  There  is  no  close  copying  of 
Nature  in  the  Transitional  and  First  Pointed 
styles  :  this  came  later,  when  the  inspiration 
■was  fading,  and  when  there  was  soon  to  be 
an  end  to  the  glory  and  the  dream.  The 
fourth  species  of  art — that  which  arranges 
copies  of  invented  forms,  or,  in  other  words, 
copies  of  human  work — occurs  at  nearly  all 
periods,  mixed  with  the  other  species  in 
various  proportions.  In  representations  of 
drapery,  for  instance,  it  plays  a  very  im- 
portant i:)art  in  painting  and  sculpture,  and 
a  part  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
at  all  uncongenial  even  to  the  greatest 
artists  in  those  departments.  In  poems, 
from  the  "  Iliad  "  downwards,  descriptions 
of  human  work  are  only  less  frequent 
than  descriptions  of  human  nature ;  while, 
in  architecture,  from  the  best  and  purest, 
down  to  the  latest  and  most  degraded  stj-les, 
human  workmanship  is  the  one  and  only 
thing  that  never  ceases  to  be  copied.  Mr. 
Euskin,  indeed,  in  summing  up  the  history 
of  Gothic  art,  tolls  us,  in  effect,  that  there 
was  "  progress  as  long  as  men  copied  God's 
work,  and  decline  as  soon  as  they  copied 
their  own."  To  contradict  such  a  pietistic 
utterance  looks  half -irreverent :  but  truth  is 
never  irreverent  :  and  the  truth  is,  that  men 
copied  human  work  as  much  in  the  first  and 
purest  Gothic  period  as  they  did  in  the  last 
and  feeblest  one.  What  is  every  jamb-shaft 
of  an  Early  English  doorway,  but  a  copy, 
for  ornament's  sake,  of  that  human  inven- 
tion, the  column  ?  AVhat  is  every  canopy, 
but  a  copy  of  that  other  human  invention, 
the  gable  ?  What  is  the  head  of  every  light 
in  the  earliest  tracery  windows,  but  a  copy 
of  that  third  human  invention,  the  arch  ? 
and  would  the  architecture  have  been  better 
had  this  been — as  in  Late  German  work  it 
sometimes  is — a  copy  of  two  interlacing 
boughs  instead  ?  What  is  the  ornament 
which  covers  the  south  spire  at  Chartres, 
both  sjjires  at  Coutances,  and  a  multitude  of 
spii-es  and  fiiimacles  elsewhere,  but  an  imita- 
tion of  roofing-tiles  ?  We  might  fill  pages 
with  a  list  of  the  human  works  which  are 
copied  as  ornaments  in  Romanesque  and 
Early  English  buildings  :  and  a  considera- 
tion of  the  whole  subject  would  probably 
show  that  the  vice  of  the  later  styles  did 
not  lie  so  much  in  copj-ing  human  works  for 
ornament,  as  in  copying  masonry  details  for 
woodwoik,  and  outside  details — like  but- 
tresses and  pinnacles — for  inside  decoration. 
If,  then,  we  take  Mr.  Euskin' s  assertion 
to  mean  that  true  art  consists  in  the  accu- 
rate copying  of  Nature,  it  may  safely  be  said 
that  a  more  misleading  doctrine  was  never 
set  forth  with  equal  eloquence.  The  mere 
copying  of  Nature  is,  m  strictness,  not  art 
at  all.  Alt  comes  in  when  natural  facts  are 
condensed,  generalised,  and  arranged  ;  and 
still  more  when  great  inventions — not  in 
Nature,  and  yet  after  the  manner  of  Nature 
— are  grouped  into  a  noble  whole.  The 
imitation  of  Nature  which  is  traceable  in  the 
highest  work  is  not  such  a  crude  and  childish 
thing  as  the  traoing-off  a  leaf-edge,  or  a 
mountain  profile,  and  making  it  into  a 
moulding  or  a  vase.  It  is  a  working  in  the 
spirit  of  Nature,  and  the  filling  our  work 
vnth  the  highest  tbing^n  nature— Ufe.     The 


earliest  and  purest  part  of  every  great  style 
is  full  of  life.  Evfii  where  its  ornament  is 
a  suggestion  of  nature— as  in  foliage-car- 
ving— it  does  not  copy,  and  is  not  memt  to 
copy,  any  one  natural  form.  But  it  has  all 
the  life  of  nature,  and  of  en  more  by  far 
than  Nature  is  apt  to  show  us.  It  seems 
growing  as  we  look  at  it,  and  ready  to  push 
upwards,  rather  than  to  sink  under,  the  fea- 
tures it  supports.  It  is  the  same  with  human 
and  animal  sculpture,  both  Gothic  and 
Greek,  in  the  early  times.  But  soon  there 
comes  a  cry  for  something  more  natural, 
more  commonplace,  more  on  the  general 
level.  The  sculptor  yields  to  it,  and  finds 
ease  and  popularity  united.  Instead  of  in- 
venting architectural  foliage,  he  copies 
natural  foliage  ;  he  gives  up  striving  at  life, 
which  is  hard,  and  carves  grapes  and  straw- 
berry leaves,  which  are  popular  and  pretty. 
He  knows  himself  to  have  sunk,  though  the 
crowd  assures  him  he  has  risen  ;  and  while 
he  and  his  style  go  on  the  downward  road 
together,  it  is  amidst  a  universal  chorus 
that  the  true  and  only  end  of  art  is  to  make 
the  closest  possible  copy  of  Nature. 


CONTRACT  WORE   AND   LOW 
TENDERS. 

A  GLANCE  at  the  weekly  lists  of  ten- 
ders leads  to  the  pretty  safe  assump- 
tion that  the  lowest  tenderer  is  the  successful 
competitor.  Cheapness  is  stiU  the  con- 
sideration which  rules  in  building,  over  all 
others  ;  but,  unfortunately,  this  cheapness  is 
bought  dearly.  Everyone  who  builds  now- 
adays, appears  to  adopt  the  maxim  of 
getting  as  much  as  he  can  for  his  money, 
rather  than  the  more  moderate  and  reason- 
able course  of  reducing  his  requirements  to 
the  least  he  can  do  with.  He  wants  the 
most  expensive  luxuries,  but  he  is  willing 
only  to  pay  the  price  of  the  cheapest  labour 
in  the  market,  and  herein,  we  take  it,  lies 
the  root  of  the  modern  contract  system. 

In  old  times,  when  the  workman  never 
aspired  to  become  a  master  of  all  trades,  or 
to  combine  them  all  into  one,  like  a  "  con- 
tractor," each  trade  found  a  separate 
existence;  it  asserted  itself  in  the  building, 
and  really  formed  a  separate  contrac*'.  The 
old  work  we  now  so  fondly  imitate  was 
done  in  this  manner ;  each  artificer  had  a 
personal  interest  in  the  building.  Then  the 
bricklayer  was  not  a  roving  tradesman  going 
from  one  locality  to  another  in  quest  of 
work,  and  endeavouring  to  obtain  the 
shortest  hours  and  the  highest  wages,  but 
a  workman  who  could  always  obtain  a  fair 
wage  for  his  skilled  labour.  There  was  very 
little  "  scamping,"  and  no  cheap  tendering. 
So  it  was  with  the  carpenter,  the  joiner, 
the  mason,  the  smith,  and  the  plasterer.  We 
are  not  saying  it  is  the  workman's  fault :  he 
cannot  help  himself  nor  the  age  ;  he  is  in 
the  hands  of  those  of  his  craft  who  have 
given  up  work,  who  think  it  is  more  respect- 
able to  take  a  middle  position  and  become 
agents  between  employer  and  employed 
than  to  work  themselves.  Contracts  for  a 
"lump"  sum  have  been  found  convenient, 
and  hence  has  sprung  up  the  "  contractor," 
who  prefers  to  buy  the  labour  of  others  in 
the  cheapest  market,  and  to  sell  it  in  the 
dearest.  This  individual's  position  is  no 
fault  of  his  own  ;  he  simply  supplies  a  de- 
mand, and  the  evil  must  be  sought  nearer 
its  source — the  desire  for  cheapness  on  the 
part  of  the  client.  Again,  that  workman 
is  most  thought  of  who  can  turn  his  hand  to 
a  variety  of  labour,  not  him  who  feels  a 
pride  in  his  skUl  as  an  artist.  The  accept- 
ance of  the  lowest  tender  has  created  thi^ 
state  of  things;  it  is  the  tender,  not  the  work, 
that  is  regarded  by  the  bulk  of  those  who 
employ  labour  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
average  workman  estimates  the  value  of  his 
work  by  the  price  he  can  get  for  it,  not  by 
the  time  and  thought  expended  on  it,  nor 


even  by  the  old  scale  of  prices,  which  were 
based  on  the  cost  of  materials  and  work- 
manship with  a  fair  profit.  How  seldom  a 
tradesman  or  builder,  for  example,  when  he 
is  asked  to  give  a  tender,  will  go  to  the 
trouble  of  finding  the  quantity  of  material, 
the  number  of  bricks,  and  their  cost  per 
thousand,  the  cost  of  sand  and  lime,  and  the 
quantity  required  to  cover  a  certain  area  of 
wall ;  he  will  content  himself  with  a  rough 
and  ready  mode  of  measurement,  based  on 
the  time  it  will- take  to  do  work  of  the 
kind.  In  the  carpenter's  work,  he  will 
seldom  ascertain  the  cost  of  timber  per  foot 
cube  from  the  prime  cost  at  the  timber-yard, 
adding  the  sawing  and  carting,  but  he  will 
roughly  estimate  by  the  "  square  "  for  the 
floors  and  roofing.  The  result  of  all  this  is 
plain.  Workmanship,  in  such  hands,  must 
deteriorate,  for  it  has  lost  its  original  signi- 
ficance. 

Architects  have  shared  the  degeneration. 
They  seek  and  accept  work  on  the  same 
footing,  and  competition — or  at  least  the 
abuse  of  competition — among  them  has 
opened  the  door  to  a  large  class  of  men  who 
manufacture  designs  for  others.  We  talk 
about  art ;  but,  after  all,  there  is  not  much  of 
it  left  after  the  cheapest  design  has  been  ac- 
cepted and  the  lowest  tender  carried  out. 
The  architect  smothers  his  design  with  orna- 
ment to  make  it  successful,  while  the  builder 
has  to  reap  a  profit  upon  a  tender  which  is 
frequently  insufficient  to  erect  the  bare 
carcase.  Can  we  wonder  at  the  result,  after 
this  double  process  of  cheapening  ?  Then 
the  payment  of  the  professional  architect  is 
an  artful  device  to  secure  quantity  rather 
than  qualit}^  If  he  can  add  a  few  thousands 
iu  decorative  accessories,  so  much  better  is  he 
paid  ;  but  in  the  same  degree  the  contractor 
suffers,  or,  more  generally,  the  building  itself. 
Low  tenders  will  alwaj-s  be  ac  epted  ;  but 
the  architects  who  profess  allegiance  to 
the  by-laws  of  the  Institute  might  set 
a  higher  standard  by  adopting  a  rule  to 
the  effect  that  they  decline  to  accept  any 
tender  which  is  more  than  a  certain  per- 
centage below  their  own  protecting  esti- 
mate. If  architects  would  use  more  dis- 
cretion, and  refuse  to  accept  a  tender  which 
they  know  must  either  ruin  the  contractor 
or  entail  increased  trouble  or  bad  work,  they 
would  be  helping  a  reform  that  would  im- 
prove their  own  position  by  lessening 
their  responsibilities  and  promoting  the 
value  of  their  own  designs,  not  for 
the  amount  of  work,  but  for  its  excellence. 
If  they  ceased  tj  employ  workmen  for  their 
tenders  instead  of  for  their  work,  they 
would  be  inaugurating  a  new  system  of 
labour  by  giving  back  to  the  artificer  the 
interest  in  his  skill  he  is  now  deprived  of. 
No  man  will  do  good  work  at  a  loss,  and  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  profession  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  working  artist,  so  as  to 
make  him  feel  that  the  interests  of  architect 
and  artificer  are  identical.  If  manufac- 
turers and  large  employers  of  labour  were 
also  to  adopt  a  co-operative  scheme,  by 
which  the  workman  might  derive  some  profit 
from  the  increase  of  the  business,  as  some 
fair  proportion  of  the  profits,  we  might  ex- 
liect  to  see  a  return  to  the  spirit  of  true  art, 
and  a  step  made  towards  the  rectification  of 
the  limits  which  now  divide  labour  from 
capital.  It  may  bo  contended  that  contract 
work  relieves  the  architect  of  a  great  amount 
of  attention  to  details ;  but  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  supervised  low  contract  work 
is  disappointing.  A  skilful  joiner,  for 
instance,  under  the  old  system  will  relieve 
the  architect  of  an  immense  amount  of 
labour ;  but,  under  the  contract  or  lump 
system,  the  responsibility  is  shared  with  a 
dozen  other  workmen,  or  rests  entirely  upon 
the  contractor,  who  has  no  direct  personal 
interest  in  another  man's  labour.  At  present 
each  man's  work  is  another's  profit,  the  arti- 
ficer is  reduced  to  a  mere  tool,  and  the  only 
chance  of  his  success  is  the  renouncement  of 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


581 


his  art  for  the  gains  to  be  derived  on  the 
barter  of  the  work  of  others.  This  is  a  traffic 
in  labour  of  which  the  result  is  bad  work 
and  dissatisfaction  to  all  concerned. 


THE  ENGINEERING  EXHIBITION 
AT  ISLINGTON 

THE  Exhibition  of  Engineering,  opened 
last  Monday,  at  the  Agricultural  Hall, 
Islington,  is  a  good  step  towards  the  pro- 
motion of  a  popular  interest  in  engineering 
appliances.  Taking  first  a  few  objects  of 
more  particular  value  to  the  architect  and 
builder,  we  find  several  exhibits  of  worth. 
In  the  main  avenue,  we  observe,  near  the 
entrance,  "  Munu's  Exhaust  Ventilators  and 
Smoke  Cowl,"  manufactured  by  J.  McHaffie 
and  Co. ,  of  Glasgow,  in  which  an  arrangement 
ofplatesorlouvres,{)lacedhorizontally,  secure 
the  object  of  creating  an  up-current.  The 
inventor  claims  superiority  over  those  cowls 
which  have  vertical  louvres,  and  which  are 
alleged  to  act  only  when  the  wind  blows 
horizo  ntally  ;  and  the  present  invention  is 
said  to  answer  equally  upon  chimneys  ob- 
structs d  by  higher  buildings,  or  when  the 
wind  sweeps  do\vn  over  an  obstruction,  as  a 
roof.  The  specimens  show  a  somewhat  heavy 
projecting  head,  octagonal,  hexagonal,  or 
circular  in  shape,  made  of  galvanised-iron, 
painted.  Near  them  we  find  a  rather  clever 
adaptation  of  the  lattice  principle,  by 
Maryon  and  Co.,  Bickerton-road,  N.  It  is 
a  self-acting  shutter  for  shop  or  private 
windows,  and  can  be  easily  pulled  up  or 
down  by  the  aid  of  a  counterweight.  A  con- 
spicuous stall  in  the  middle  avenue  is 
occupied  by  Messrs.  Moser  and  Sons,  of 
High-street,  Borough,  who  send  samjjles  of 
iron  and  steel,  and  a  large  assortment  of 
engineers'  tools.  Messrs.  Moser's  chief 
exhibit  is  the  H.P.  Nugget,  an  iron  possess- 
ing great  tensile  strength  and  ductility. 
We  saw  some  fine  wire  made  from  it,  drawn 
from  No.  14  to  No.  35  gauge,  without  anneal- 
ing. The  specimens  of  cast-steel  welded  to 
iron,  the  planing  and  drilling  machines,  vices, 
and  lifting-jacks,  forges,  and  a  host  of  other 
mechanical  tools,  are  well  worth  inspection 
for  quality  and  workmanship.  Another 
striking  stall  in  the  main  avenue  is  that 
occupied  by  Messrs.  Boyle  and  Sons,  of 
Holborn  Viaduct  and  Glasgow.  We  find 
an  assortment  of  Messrs.  Boyle's  patent 
' '  Self-acting  Air-pumpVentilators' '  in  several 
patterns,  an  apparatus  too  well-known  by 
our  readers  to  need  description.  The  square 
and  circular  forms  shown  are  admirably 
suitable,  and  do  not  mimic  mere  architec- 
tural features,  though  they  can  be  adapted 
to  suit  any  style  of  building.  One  is  a  large 
Gothic  ventilator  in  the  form  of  a  turret  or 
fieche  ;  but  they  are  made  of  all  sizes, 
suitable  for  large  churches,  halls,  schools, 
dwelling-houses,  bUliard- rooms,  hospitals, 
warehouses,  varj'ing  in  price  from  £150  to 
£3  10s.  Specimens  also  of  soil-pipe  ven- 
tilators are  exhibited.  One  lOin. ,  for  3  to  4in. 
soil-pipes  ;  double-action  soil-pipe  ventila- 
tors, chimney-cowls  for  preventing  blow- 
down,  smoke-extractors,  &c.,  is  displayed, 
and  Boyle's  system  of  sanitation  can  be 
intelligibly  explained  by  the  models  ex- 
hibited. The  "  inlet"  shown  in  the  form  of 
a  small  pilaster  of  wood  or  iron  GJ  by  3in. 
in  the  aperture,  and  5ft.  Sin.  high,  with  valve 
for  regulating  supply,  for  the  admission  of 
air  in  buildings,  will  commend  itself  to  all 
architects  ;  it  is  in  fact  the  application  of 
what  is  known  as  "  Tobin's  system,"  and  the 
upright  tube  may  either  be  concealed  or 
sho'ivn,  to  suit  any  style  of  internal  decora- 
tion. There  are  various  other  sanitary 
appliances,  which  it  would  bo  impossible 
for  us  to  mention  here,  though  we  strongly 
recommend  a  visit  to  stand  No.  24.  Messrs. 
S.  &  E.  Ransome  and  Co..  of  Essex-street, 
Strand,  have  a  large  display  of  hoists,  self- 
sustaining  rope-pulleys,  and  other  useful 
mechanical  aids  to   the  bxiilder  and    con- 


tractor, and  we  must  not  pass  by  Samuel- 
son  and  Co.'s  moulding  machine,  which 
may  be  seen  in  operation,  the  advantages  of 
which  are  that,  by  the  perpendicular  raising 
of  the  pattern  plates,  accuracy  of  casting  is 
insured,  and  mending  of  the  mould  avoided. 
Messrs.  Smeaton  and  Sons  have  a  large 
collection  of  their  "  Eddystonc  closet  with 
trapped  overflow,"  and  their  now  "  plug- 
valve  closet,"  made  of  one  piece  of  earthen- 
ware. The  cast-lead  Eclipse  trap  is  a  decided 
improvement  on  the  old  D-trai),  and  in  truth 
combines  the  advantages  of  the  clean-flush- 
ing action  common  to  the  siphon-trap,  but 
does  not  siphon  out  as  the  latter  is  apt  to 
do.  We  see  also  a  good  bath  with  shower 
combined. 

Those  who  are  engaged  in  solving  the  im- 
portant question  of  smoke-j)revention  will 
do  well  to  inspect  Mr.  A.  C.  Engert's  in- 
genious models  of  apparatus  adapted  for 
furnaces,  by  which  means  the  ordinary  fur- 
nace can  be  fitted  with  a  kind  of  hood  or 
shutterregulating  the  admission  of  cold  air, 
and  thereby  preventing  smoke.  Various  kinds 
of  stoves  for  heating  are  exhibited  ;  we  may 
ospecially  draw  attention  to  Messrs.  Ewart 
and  Sons'  (Euston-road)  "  Crown  Instan- 
taneous Water  Heater,"  by  which  boiling 
water  can  be  quickly  obtained  for  domestic 
purposes,  their  "  Amethj-sta  or  pure  air- 
stove,"  smoke-preventer,  baths,  &c.  ;  and 
Mr.  Harry  Hunt's  anthracite-coal  stove,  for 
halls  and  dwelling-rooms,  a  very  attractive 
looking  stove,  with  open  tire.  It  is  an  Ameri- 
can invention,  and  is  called  the  "  Crown 
Jewel."  The  smallest  stove  (No.  21), 
consumes  371b.  of  anthracite  coal  in  24 
hours,  and  there  is  said  to  be  no  impleasant 
smell.  Other  exibits  in  the  same  class  are 
Webster  and  Co.'s  gas-stove,  andComforth's 
smoke-consuming,  cooking,  and  domestic 
apparatus,  made  in  Birmingham. 

Spence's  metal  for  jointing  gas  and  water- 
pipes,  and  for  making  moulds,  is  worth 
remark  for  the  sharp  castings  produced  in 
cement,  concrete,  plaster,  &c-,  and  several 
medallions  and  panels  are  shown  by  the  in- 
ventors, Messrs.  Spence,  of  Lombard-street. 
Architects  and  others  who  are  seeking  to 
introduce  light  in  dark  cellars,  basements, 
and  corners,  will  feel  interested  in  Messrs. 
Hamilton  and  Co.'s  (Leadenhall  House, 
E.C.)  display  of  prismoidal  pavement  and 
floor- lights,  various  kinds  of  which  are 
shown.  Vertical  and  side-light  can  be  ob 
tained  simultaneously  by  their  use ;  the  lenses 
are  hexagonal  and  rectangular  in  shape, 
and  are,  by  a  well-known  optical  principle, 
made  to  reflect  light  at  any  required  angle. 
Their  illuminating  stall-boards,  and  equili- 
brium-motion pavements,  are  admirable 
inventions  suited  for  all  business  premises, 
and  the  stand  of  the  manufacturers  at  the 
exhibition,  is  well  worth  a  visit. 

Turning  to  mechanical  appliances,  the 
scientific  visitor  will  be  struck  with  the 
working  model  running  on  rails  along  the 
floor  of  hall,  showing  an  improved  contin- 
uous footboard  for  railway  carriages, 
exhibited  by  J.  Taylor  and  Co.,  of  Leaden- 
hall-street.  The  footboard  is  hinged  on 
pivots  supported  by  brackets,  aud  can  be 
operated  by  the  guard.  When  the  doors  of 
a  carriage  open,  it  assumes  the  horizontal 
position,  and  covers  the  space  between 
carriage  and  platform,  preventing  thereby 
the  frequent  danger  to  passengers  slipping 
between.  As  the  doors  close  the  footboard 
assumes  adiagonal position,  and  throws  off  all 
wet  and  snow.  It  can  be  easily  fixed  to  any 
carriage.  Mr.  W.  Bevitt,  Romford,  is  the 
inventor.  Sir.  J.  Hardhige,  of  Brixton,  ex- 
hibits a  variety  of  ingenious  models,  among 
them,  a  woodworkuig  machine  formortising, 
mitring  and  tennoning  at  any  angle;  a 
beautifully  turned-out  working  model  of 
locomotive  passenger-engine  in  glass  case 
a  clever  nail-driver  with  floor-cramp  ;  and  a 
perfect  model  of  engineers'  factory,  with 
every  machine,  appliance,  and  tool. 


The  Reading  Iron  Works  «how  a  10  h.-p., 
horizontal  engine,  and  a  .i  b.-j).  engino  in 
combination  with  a  patent  un/./.li;  vertical 
boiler,  one  feature  of  which  in  thiit  the  \tod- 
pluteand  main  crank- Nhuft  hiive  a  bearing 
in  one  cast  piece ;  the  Lubricutive  I'lickine 
Co.,  also  exhibit  their  "  special"  horizonUQ 
engine,  the  "Laun('h"engine,wat<>r<letoctor, 
gully-traps;  and  Ilod.son's  high-'iiM.'ed  direct- 
acting  rotary  jiunip,  by  Mr.  N.  Earlo,  of 
Cannon-street,  deserves  mention  an  a  unoful 
and  ingenious  contrivance  fur  driving 
electric-lighting  a])pariitu«,  iVc.  Tho  viiiitor 
should  not  uiisa  Ifessrs.  Croisloy  lirotbon 
(Manchester),  working  "(nt-j"  ailent  gas 
engine,  an  admirable  substitute  for  Hteuin- 
powcr,  avoiding  lioiler-explonioin  and  woll 
adapted  for  printing,  organ-blowin;;,  and 
sundry  puri)Oses  ;  lluhnc  and  Lund'ii  noiio- 
less  steam-pumps,  the  "Water  Witch"  pump, 
shown  by  BlundcU  Brothers,  of  LimohouM ; 
the  emery  wheels  and  labour-saving  machine* 
of  Thomson,  Sterne,  and  Co.,  of  Gliuii^w  ; 
Vernon  and  Ewcn's  patent  multitubular 
boiler,  for  presenting  large  heating  surface, 
and  claiming  rapidity  in  generating  at<-aiD 
besides  freedom  from  incrustation,  ulno  their 
ventilating  manhole,  and  street  gully ; 
Asquith's  drilling  and  boring  machines; 
Batcman's  models  of  stcam-enginc!)  and 
metal-fire  stove ;  Ellis's  friction  hoist ; 
Wizzel's  hydraulic  engines  ic.  ;  David  Hart 
and  Co.'s  weighing  machines  without  loose 
weights  ;  Schaffir  aud  Badenher/.'s  (Glas- 
gow and  Manchester),  hydraulic  gauges, 
engine-fittings,  i!\:e.  At  the  upper  end  of  tho 
hall,  C.  W.  Jloiter  and  Co.,  of  Graco- 
church-strcet,  display  aimmlxT  of  Col.  de  la 
iSala's  "  folding,  unsinkable  Ijoatii,  canoes, 
Jtc,"  a  clever  invention  suitable  for  cither 
sporting,  pleasure,  or  exploration  purposes. 
C.  Kite  and  Co.,  Chalton-street,  N.W.,  have 
a  collection  of  ventilators  for  factories  and 
houses,  and  smoke  i)revcnting  caps;  the 
ridge  ventilator  is  a  good  form  for  stables, 
workshops,  &c.  Balmain's  luminous  point 
is  shown  in  a  small  room.  Among  other 
objects  of  a  general  c'ass,  we  mift  with 
apparatus  for  air-heating  by  Ewart  and  Son  ; 
workshop  appliances,  band-saw  machines, 
by  Lusty  and  Co. ;  a  clcvi  r  chimney- 
sweeping  apparatus  by  W.  Ross  ;  domestic 
appbances  by  J.  Beesley ;  electric  light 
apparatus  by  J.  Hardinee  ;  tools  and  forge* 
of  aU  descriptions,  hoists,  gas-making 
apparatus,  wood-working  machinci,  and  a 
variety  of  contrivances  which  it  \yould  be 
impossible  to  describe  in  this  notice.  We 
are  sjrry  the  catalogue  is  not  a  claviificd 
one  ;  but  there  is  one  feature  in  it  worth 
recording,  namely,  the  blank  column  on 
each  page  for  visitors'  notes,  the  use  of 
which  every  appreciative  critic  will  acknow- 
ledge. 


HINTS   ON    HOrSE-DECORATIOX 

UNDER  this  title  Mr.  William  Morrin,  M.  A., 
delivered,  on  Saturday  cveriintr,  the  fi^^t 
of  a  series  of  lectures  to  bo  (fiven  in  tbv  ."Society 
of  Arts'  large  hall,  \mdcr  the  «u«l'irc«  >.t  tho 
Trades  Guild  of  Leamingr.  Thcie  woe  anorer- 
flowinir  attendance.  rrofe««r  HalcK,  of  Kinj  » 
College,  occupied  the  chair,  and  intn>hi«-<l  Mr. 
MonTs  es  one  of  the  chitf  p<x  >  of  tl.''  d»T.  M 
u  lover  and  protector  of  old  biuldinp*  t-.lh  inm 
hasty  restoration  and  from  the  inlniwon  of  in- 
appropriate monuments,  a«  a  bumanjUrian.  and 
as  a  kxturer.  _ 

Mr.  Morris  said  he  was  there  :     • 

talk  about   some   ideas   which  •  ' 
craft  had  led  him  to  formulate  ij 
for  guidance  in  practice.     Wbcr.      .. 
were  being  formed  in  a  number  "f  mini- 
s.ime  time,  they  led  to  the  dcTisinK  of  r-. 
these  to  the  origination   of   «chf-:.Iii.     ^  : 
iiiereajcd  the  amount   of   skill  d)«plav.'. 
distinctive   work   on   which   tho»e  mii. 
cniploved,   for   the   more  inteiu*  the  i.  - 

the  more  vigorous  would  be  the  life  ..i-; -ij..! 
in  the  craft.  Such  rules  might  stem  arbitrary,  bnt 
thcv  had  their  roots  deep  down  m  the  nccda  of  the 
human  mind.    He  was  not  there  as  the  repre- 


583 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


sentative  of  any  particular  school,  yet  he  felt 
conscious  of  impulses  he  could  not  help,  and  it 
■would  be  mere  assumption  to  suppose  he  stood 
alone  in  the  world.  Nor  could  he  claim  to  re- 
present any  particular  craft ;  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  learn  many,  and,  according  to  the  old 
proverb,  was  therefore  forbidden  to  master  any. 
This  experience  had  made  him  very  discontented. 
He  should  hold  his  peace  on  all  art  subjects  if  he 
did  not  hope  that  this  discontent  would  produce 
good  results,  since  he  was  a  rebel  not  against 
laws,  but  against  mere  follies  of  custom.  He 
proposed  to  consider  how,  by  thought  and  fore- 
thought, we  could  make  the  houses  in  which  our 
stupidity  and  necessity  compelled  us  to  live, 
better  and  more  pleasant.  He  should  be  forced 
to  confine  his  subject  to  the  middle-class  house, 
in  which  he  liimself  lived,  and  to  employ  as  a 
unit  a  room  rather  than  a  house.  These  houses 
might  be  roughly  divided  into  three  classes.  A 
few  remained  of  the  hoiises  built  by  our  fore- 
fathers, when  beauty  of  appearance,  good  style, 
nobility  of  character,  and  solidity  of  workman- 
ship, was  apparent  throughout.  Of  these  Hol- 
land House  was  almost  the  only  example  left  to 
us  in  the  metropolis  ;  there  were  till  within  the 
last  few  years  a  group  of  others  in  Lime-street, 
in  the  Ci'y,  but  these  belonged  to  a  very  poor 
landlord,  the  Fishmongers'  Company,  who  could 
not  appreciate  them.  He  wovdd  suggest  nothing 
for  improving  such  houses  as  these,  except  to 
preserve  unaltered  for  the  benefit  of  future 
generations.  There  were  other  houses  which, 
less  ignoble  and  more  solid  than  the  majority 
of  our  dwellings,  had  little  or  no  beauty, 
and  dated  from  the  early  Georges;  to  these 
the  name  '  •  Queen  Anne ' '  was  often  given,  but 
it  ante-dated  these  houses.  They  were  difficult 
enough  to  decorate,  because  they  had  still  some 
style,  a  mode  which  it  was  impossible  not  to 
recognise,  but  which  no  one  now  living  could 
fully  sympathise  with.  The  rebellion  which 
they  had  met  that  night  to  further  had  already 
begun.  Here  and  there  in  London  were  ex- 
perimental houses  born  of  the  same  thought  and 
principle,  and  great  powers  of  design,  which 
made  the  "Queen  Anne"  what  they  were; 
these  experiments  were  gifts  to  the  nation  which 
woidd  always  be  respected.  Incidentally  he 
might  remark  that  the  London  School-Board 
had  shown  in  their  buildings  that  education  and 
art  might  go  hand-in-hand,  and  he  thought 
London  was  to  be  congratulated  on  the  results 
of  their  endeavour.  "^Tien  the  old  houses  of 
good  style,  the  square  and  s:)lid  Georgian  ones 
and  the  few  designed  by  the  ringleaders  of  the 
new  rebellion  had  been  enumerated,  there  re- 
mained the  gi'eat  mass  of  dwellings  in  which 
there  was  not  alone  no  regard  for  beauty,  but  no 
care  for  convenience.  True,  these  sordid  houses 
— these  mere  congeries  of  rooms — were  no  longer 
considered  integral  parts  of  people's  Hves, 
but  that  was  what  he  wanted  to  shame  men  out 
of.  The  first  endeavour  must  be  to  get  people 
to  make  the  best  of  these  makeshift  habitations, 
so  as  to  increase  their  comfort,  enjoyment,  and 
self-respect,  and  to  induce  in  their  minds  a 
longing  for  art  for  its  own  sake.  In  his  attempt 
to  teach,  he  should  be  compelled  to  give  much 
negative  advice  and  endeavour  to  instruct  by 
nearly  always  stiying.  Don't.  He  proposed 
to  begin  with  the  consideration  of  what  was 
called,  by  town  dwellers,  a  garden,  possessed 
by  all  who  lived  in  the  suburbs  except  the  verj- 
genteel  and  the  very  poor.  Suburban  gardeners 
generally  made  the  worst  and  not  the 
best  of  the  little  strips  the  builders  were  obliged 
by  by-laws  to  leave  them.  They  cut  them  up 
into  as  many  and  as  "Rending  paths  as  possible, 
and  then  filled  them  with  masses  of  colour  on  a 
formal  plan.  He  should  say:  Fence  the  garden  in 
as  much  as  possible,  lay  it  out  in  an  orderly  way, 
and  stock  it  with  the  best  of  flowers,  that  will 
grow  amidst  town  smoke.  B^  very  shy  of  all 
double  flowers,  sophisticated  and  distorted  by 
the  florist's  art ;  avoid  ferns  p.nd  such  plants, 
"which  give  a  dreary  appearance,  and  refuse  all 
cactuses  and  like  monstrosities  imported  from  hot 
countries  where  man  is  an  intruder.  The  colours 
should  be  harmouised  and  well  mingled,  not  sepa- 
rated into  distinct  beds  ;  two  of  the  most  un- 
sightly plants  were  scai'let  geraniums  and  yellow 
calceolarias,  and  these  the  town  gardener  fre- 
quently mixed  together.  Above  all,  the  garden 
should  be  treated  as  a  part  of  the  dwelling.  The 
outsiJeof  a  London  liouse  was,  he  feared,  too  ugly 
to  detain  them  long.  Let  what  painting  had  to 
be  done  be  as  simple  as  possible,  and  let  it  be 
■white  or  whitish  in  colour.    Don't  pick  out  the 


unsightly  details  'with  hot  colours ;  let  them  be  as 
unobtrusive  as  possible.  The  sash-windows 
ought,  whatever  the  colour  of  the  walls,  to  be 
kept  white.  Chocolate  and  similar  brown  reds 
should  on  every  account  be  avoided  as  wall- 
coloiirs.  Xow  he  would,  in  imagination,  euterthe 
house,  and,  as  the  walls  of  rooms  were  the  most 
important  part  to  be  decorated,  he  would  re- 
serve their  consideration  to  the  last.  As  to  the 
arrangement  of  windows,  he  must  again  grumble. 
In  most  decent  houses  the  windows  were  much 
too  large,  and  let  in  a  flood  of  light  which  had 
to  be  shut  out  again  by  Venetian  shutters, 
blinds,  curtains,  and  other  means.  They  were 
almost  always  brought  too  low  down,  and  too 
often  were  big  rectangidar  holes  in  the  walls, 
apparently  divided  only  by  a  sash-bar.  He 
should  make  their  purpose  clear  by  filling  them 
with  moderate-sized  panes  of  glass.  Looking 
next  upon  the  floors,  doctors  were  beginning  to 
tell  them  that  the  custom  of  covering  the  whole 
surface  with  an  immovable  woollen  covering, 
was  as  nasty  and  unwholesome  as  it  lo  jked.  The 
fashion  was  changing  for  the  better,  and  carpets 
were  being  replaced  by  rugs.  He  would  go 
further,  and  say  that  even  rugs  were  unneces- 
sary in  summer.  As  this  new  custom  spread,  it 
would  have  several  good  effects ;  our  floors 
would  have  to  be  made  of  better  materials,  and 
in  a  more  sound  manner  than  had  been  the  case, 
and  there  being  less  covering  material  required, 
people  would  be  able  to  provide  superior  quality 
in  their  substitutes  for  carpets.  He  confessed 
that  the  treatment  of  a  London  ceiling  was  a 
sore  point  with  him.  The  simplest  and  most 
natural  mode  was  to  show  the  joists  of  floor 
above,  or  the  rafters  of  roof,  and  these  might  be 
relieved  by  colour.  Where  the  quality  or 
construction  would  not  permit  this,  an 
alternative  was  to  cover  the  wood  with  plaster, 
and  work  tliis  in  the  rough  into  pat- 
terns. But  no  art  had  fallen  to  low  as  that  of 
the  plasterer,  and  our  ceilings,  with  their  smooth 
surfaces  and  east  "ornament"  in  the  centres 
and  at  cornices,  were  never  supposed  to  be  looked 
at  by  any  well-educated  person.  The  very  ma- 
terial was  wrong — too  smooth  and  too  shiny.  It 
was  often  proposed  to  paper  our  ceilings,  but  he 
coidd  not  agree  with  thit.  People  would  not, 
and  ought  not  to,  be  shut  up  in  a  papered  box. 
There  remained  nothing  for  it  but  to  paint  the 
surface  cautiously,  or  to  leave  it  plain  and  forget 
it.  Of  course,  the  suggestion  to  use  painted 
decoration  implied  that  his  hearers  would  never 
use  gas  in  their  rooms.  Now,  ha^'ing  disposed 
of  the  upper  and  lower  surfaces  of  room,  he 
would  de;il  v.'ith  its  sides.  If  a  room  were  small 
the  walls  had  better  not  be  divided  at  all ;  if  of 
good  size,  the  worst  that  could  happen  to  it 
would  be  to  be  divided  into  exactly  equal  parts. 
Where  the  room  was  tall,  panelling  woiUd  be 
fittest,  and  in  this  ease  the  frieze  should  be  made 
a  prominent  feature.  In  a  room  of  moderate 
height,  a  dado,  about  4ft.  Gin.,  above  the  floor, 
might  be  used,  and  the  upper  portion  papered. 
Not  more  than  one  pattern  shoidd  be  used  in  the 
same  room.  Pattern  upon  pattern  in  paper- 
hanging  had  always  an  'ansatisfactory  effect.  A 
recurring  pattern  should  be  employed  very 
sparingly.  In  dealing  with  a  very  lofty 
apartment  it  was  best  to  put  nothing 
that  attracted  the  eye  more  than  about 
Sft.  above  the  floor,  but  to  leave  everything 
above  that  line  as  air  and  space.  He  must  next 
deal  with  the  woodwork  in  a  room.  No  wood 
should,  strictly  speaking,  be  introduced  that 
required  flat  painting;  but  unless  a  noble 
material  were  used  this  could  not  be  avoided. 
Deal  was  such  a  poor  substance  that  it  must  be 
hidden,  in  a  roof  or  ceiling  by  distemper,  on  walls 
by  paint.  If  they  were  able  to  use  oak,  let 
them  leave  it  as  it  came  from  the  plane,  and 
found  the  decoration  of  the  room  upon  its  tone. 
This  led  him  to  speak  of  the  tints  available  for 
wall  decoration.  Although  it  was  a  sign  of 
disease  in  an  artist  to  have  a  violent  objection 
to  a  particular  colour,  yet  many  could  only  be 
used  in  very  limited  quantities.  Tellow,  for 
example,  could  not  be  introduced  in  masses ; 
even  when  broken  up,  the  colour  could  only  be 
employed  in  some  materials  affording  a  play  of 
light  and  shade.  Primrose  and  other  tints  were 
only  fit  for  use  on  silks.  Eeds  also  were  diffi- 
cidt  to  manage  unless  the  tones  were  helped  by 
beauty  of  material.  Hot  brown  reds  were  very 
ungrateful  to  the  eye,  and  the  tint  now  kno'wn 
as  magenta  could  only  be  introduced  to  a  very 
small  extent  in  combination.  Scarlet  and 
russet  were  dyera'  or  woollen    colours.     Pink 


should  in  decoration  tend  rather  towards 
orange.  Purple,  if  introduced  at  all,  should 
not  be  bright,  and  should  tend  towards 
russet.  Green  was  not  so  much  used 
by  Nature  as  was  generally  supposed.  The 
very  light  tones  were  only  seen  for  a  very 
short  time  at  the  burst  of  spring,  and  owed 
their  charm  to  their  tender  and  transient  cha- 
racter. While  he  would  caution  his  hearers 
against  trying  to  outdo  nature  by  using  too 
bright  a  tone,  he  would  equally  warn  them 
against  the  exclusive  use  of  those  cold,  dull  tones 
which,  he  was  told,  he  was  supposed  to  have 
largely  brought  into  vogue.  'While  green  was 
the  workaday  colour,  blue  was  the  holiday 
colour,  and  in  these  the  pure  pale  tints  were  the 
most  useful.  In  decoration,  it  should  be  recol- 
lected that  if  you  used  bold  and  deep  colours,  they 
would  tempt  you  into  using  deeper  and  yet  deeper 
colours  to  hai'monise  ■with  these,  and  for  this  rea- 
son he  recommended  the  use  of  but  little  yello^w, 
but  more  freely  of  deep  reds,  pale  golden  pinks, 
quiet  shades  of  green,  and  pale  blues.  Soberness 
of  tone  was  necessary  to  gain  the  moderation  re- 
quired in  decorating.  A  yet  worse  fault  than 
the  use  of  too  vivid  colours  was  to  allow  all  the 
tints  to  get  dingy  and  muddy.  If  his  colouring 
was  not  pure  and  clear,  a  decorator  had  not 
learned  his  business.  Next  as  to  the  design  of 
pattern  which  would  form  the  decoration.  The 
first  step  from  a  plain  tint  was  to  place  dark 
upon  light,  or  light  upon  dark,  of  which  the  first 
was  the  best  and  easiest.  Eed  was  the  colour  in 
which  the  tones  must  be  nearest  to  each  other  ; 
green  held  a  middle  place,  and  in  blue  they  could 
be  most  widely  separated.  If  the  colour's  were 
deep  in  tone  it  would  try  all  the  decorator's  skill, 
and  he  would  be  almost  compelled  to  advance 
another  stage,  and  add  a  third  colour.  Skill 
would  be  displayed  in  obtaining  relief  of  forms, 
harmonious  arrangement,  and  softness  of  tones. 
Superposed  colours  need  not  all  be  upon  the 
same  apparent  plane,  and  this  gradually  led  to 
the  separation  of  colour  from  colour  by  a  distinct 
line  of  yet  another  colour,  which  completed  the 
harmony.  This  method  of  treatment  was  almost 
an  art  in  itself.  It  was,  indeed,  the  most 
difficult  of  all,  and  might  be  termed  the  Oriental 
mode  of  working.  In  Persian  work  they  had  at 
its  best  this  use  of  colours  which  interpenetrated. 
The  employment  of  colour  for  colour's  sake  was 
not  natural  to  us,  and  would  never  take  a 
genuine  hold  upon  our  civilised  minds.  He 
warned  decorators  against  the  abuse  of  dotting 
and  specking  their  backgrounds,  an  error  which 
vulgarised  a  pattern  irremediably.  He  must 
pass  on  to  consider  the  moral  qualities  of 
decoration — order  and  meaning.  Without  the 
first,  decoration  could  not  exist ;  without  the 
second,  it  had  better  not  be  introduced.  The 
principle  of  order  was  one  which  could  not  be 
ignored  even  to  the  limited  extent  permitted  to 
the  painters  of  pictures ;  but  it  afforded  no 
excuse  for  want  of  observation  or  diligence  in 
designing.  Conventionalism  was  comjtulsory 
upon  the  decorator,  but  the  convention  must  be 
his  own,  made  so  by  a  thorough  understand- 
ing of  the  material  worked  upon  and  the 
subject  you  are  using.  The  more  obvious 
the  geometrical  character  of  the  pattern  , 
the  less  might  the  treatment  tend  towards 
naturalism.  All  materials  offered  certain  diffi- 
culties to  be  overcome,  and  presented  certain 
advantages  ;  the  endeavour  would  be  to  master 
the  material  so  far  as  to  express  the  aims  and 
subserve  beauty,  but  the  decorator  must  not  go 
beyond  that  point,  or  he  will  not  produce  a  work 
of  art  but  a  mere  toy.  This  had  been  the  history 
of  mosaic,  in  which  the  mode  of  building  up  a 
design  had  been  ignored,  and  the  fatal  mistake 
made  of  attempting  to  produce  a  picture  and  not 
a  pattern.  A  work  of  decoration  must,  except 
the  work  is  on  a  small  scale,  be  constructed  on  a 
geometrical  basis.  The  pattern  shovdd  gro'W 
strongly,  every  part  or  stem  should  be  trace- 
able to  its  source,  but  the  geometrical  character 
of  the  design  should  not  be  too  apparent  at  firat. 
If  the  plan  of  the  design  was  at  once  clear,  and 
the  eye  glanced  readUy  from  line  to  line,  a  rest- 
less effect  was  produced.  It  was  a  mistake  to 
use  a  very  small  pattern.  However  beautiful 
arabesques  might  be,  their  use  was  absurd  in 
the  hands  of  an  alien  race.  The  designer  must 
cover  the  ground  equally  and  richly,  and  no 
amount  of  eare  in  first  getting  the  leading  lines 
of  a  pattern  satisfactory  was  wasted.  Like_  a 
fortress,  a  pattern  was  no  stronger  than_  its 
weakest  part.  The  second  quality  of  decoration, 
meaning,  was  the  soul  of  the  art ;  the  imagination 


Nov.   19,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


583 


of   the   artist   conferred   on  liis   work  qualities 
Tvhich  were  absent  from  the  mere  form.    Beauty 
must  not   be  saeriGcod   to  oddity  or  caprice,  but 
no  pattern   shoidd    at   heart  be   without   some 
purpose.      Imitation     would    not   suffice  ;    the 
designer  must  find  something  for  himself,   even 
in  a  carpet  or  a  paper.     There  mu.st  be,  besides 
thought,  a  hope  of  change  in  the  design.     The 
originator  must  further  be  able  to  make  someone 
else  understand  him,  remembering  that  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  genius  and  the  madman,  was 
that  the  former  could  get,  at  least,  a  few  people 
to  comprehend  him,  while  the   latter  could  not. 
Returning  to  the  every-day  makeshift  hous?,  he 
recollected  that  he  had  not  as  yet  said  anything 
about   the   fireplace,    than   which  nothing   was 
more  distinctly  diffictilt  to  treat   than  this.     If 
they  did  not  know  how  to  decorate  the  hearth, 
the  defence  of  which  was  now   a  mere  figure  of 
speech,  he  would  suggest  that  they  should  have 
some  sort  of  hole  in  the  wall,  a  basket  for  the 
fire,  and  as  little  fender  or  guard  as  they  thought 
was  safe.     Don't,  he  would  add,  mix  up  wood 
and  tile  :  let  the  latter  be  part  of  the  fireplace, 
and   the  former  part   of   the  wall.     A  dining- 
room  ought  not  to  look  like  a  dentist's  parlovir, 
nor  a   drawing-room  like  a  room   in  which  no 
work    can    be"  done    but   that   of     boring   one 
another.     The   drawing-room  should  of  course 
he    tidy,    very   tidy  ;  but    it    could    be   made 
too    tidy,     and    too    often,    especially   in     the 
houses  of  the  rich,  was  it  made  a  place  of  luxury 
and  grandeur  without  comfort.     In  such  a  place 
Art  was   sick   and   could   not   recover  except  in 
more  simple  places.     It   was   not  true   that  the 
rich  man  could  have  art  and  the  poor  man  could 
not.     The   thing   implied   in   the  term    '-cheap 
art  "  had  no  existence.    Unlike  law  and  religion, 
there  was  not   in   art   one   l-vw   for  the  rich  and 
another   for   the   poor.      What    was   meant  by 
people  who  talk   of   art  for  the  million  was  that 
some  educated  Pecksniff  should  squint  at  a  scrap 
of  paper,  and   they   further   conceived   that  the 
result   of   the   squint   should  be  a  design  which 


w 


GE^VIIMAR  OF  JAPANESE  ORNAMENT.* 
T^E  have  received  part  IV.  of  the  "  Gram- 
mar of  Japanese  Ornament  and  Design." 
by  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Cutler,  F.R.I.B.A.,  which 
appears  to  complete  tl.e  work.  It  will  bo  un- 
necesiary  to  add  to  our  former  testimony  of  the 
value  of  Mr.  Cutler's  perfonnanec,  which  Mr. 
B.  T.  Batsford,  the  publisher,  lias  so  well 
brought  out.  The  Grammar  is  a  selection  of  clui- 
raeteristic  examples  of  Japanese  ornament,  in- 
tended for  the  use  of  the  decorative  artist,  and 
Mr.    Cutler  ha.s   brought    together    fifty-ciglit 


.,/. 


most   opp)-!;!©  ni.iterial».     V.t   1 
Irnci,  a  docorative  artint  fimt :  '  ^tw 

from  irall-puperit  andnilk  br  u 

an  examph- of  this;    nlno   at-  ;  l.ito 

showing  li.ih  and  water,  from  an  uUl  i  uiLi  -i  Jcry, 
plate  18;  the  Ii'-rnldie  hid^'on  on  pluto  lit ;  nud 
the  groups  of  irii  in  water,  fnini  n  liwqufrwl 
tray,  plato  SI,  wlicrc  fky,  wator,  ami  pl«nt  arc 
introduced  in  surh  a  maniiiT  n-i  to  pro<liir<'  d«co> 
rativc  effect,  notwitli-tandinif  the  nntural  imita- 
tion of  the  ohii<:t<.  I'robalily,  if  |KrHii«-tive  w«» 
understood,  tlii»  [xiwcr  of  producing  dicorstlTo 
iilatesV  besides  various  woo'dcut  iUu.sti-atio^ns.  f"""^^  7""'^'^  J^'."""-  "  there  i«  any  ground 
chiefl;  copies  from  oriu'inal  works.     The  plates    f"' f"^''  «  ""';'"';?,•,•»''>  \'''.''-:  "."''•  J"!-"— 


chiefly  copies  from  original  works.  The  pi; 
are  photo-lithographs  by  C.  F.  Kell,  and  appear 
to  preserve  the  spirit  of  th,,-  originals.  In  the 
present  part  the  letterpress  i.s  furnished,  con- 
taining a  preface,  index  of  plate-s,  an  intro.luc- 
tion,  in  which  the  subjects  of  architecture,  j 
sculpture,  painting,  lacquer,  ceramics,  textile 
fabrics,  metal-work,  enamel,  and  decorative  art 
are  described  ;  also  an  analysis  of  Japanese 
ornament.  The  plates  given  with  the  present 
part  contain  diagrams  illustrating  the  various 
combinations  of  straight  lines,  curves,  and 
natui'al  forms  which  form  the  elements  of 
Japanese  design,  besides  plates  showing  the 
studies  of  trets  and  plants,  insects,  birds,  and 
fi.shes.  These  are  characteristic  and  suggestive, 
rather  than  complete,  examples  of  ornament, 
and  admirably  serve  to  show  the  niulif  of  the 
artist,  and  how  he  treated  natural  forms  and 
rendered  them  decorative.  The  plates  given  to 
illustrate  the  analysis  are  particularly  useful  in 
this  way,  and  the  author,  in  his  remarks,  makes 
a  few  oijservatious  that  are  worth  remembering. 
We  are  all  struck  with  the  charming  irregu- 
larity, and  almost  studied  want  of  symmetry 
in  Japanese  ornament,  and  Mr.  Cutler  well  re- 
marks that  one  of  the  principles  which  underlie 
the  decorative  art  of  Japan  is  the  avoidance  of 
the  appearance  of  symmetry,  while  producing 
symmetrical  effects,  a  suggestion  of  variation. 
A  Japanese  artist  proceeding  to  decorate  a  given 


would  employ  a  multitude  of  well-fed  operatives    gpace,"  says  Mr.  Cutler,  "  would  not  mark  out 


working  for  twelve,  or  perhaps,  in  their  benevo- 
lence, ten  hours  a  day,  in  turning  out  copies  after 
a  manner  which  should  bring  in  moderate  wages 
for  the  operative  machines,  comparative  riches 
for  the  gifted  squinter,  and  enormous  wealth 
for  the  benevolent  capitalist,  who  organised  the 
movement.  "Cheap  art"  was  one  of  the 
schemes  for  keeping  one's  cake  after  eating  it, 
for  skinning  a  flint  for  its  oil,  for  boiling  a  flea 
for  his  tallow.  Tridy  cheap  art  would  be  aided 
by  men  ever  striving  to  do  better,  and  refusing 
to  turn  out  bad  work  or  even  that  which  was 
indifferent.  Such  a  man  he  should  call  a  work- 
man ;  but  to  the  money-coining  capitalist  he 
would  be  a  troublesome  fellow — a  mere  grit  in 
the  machinery.  In  conclusion  he  said.  If  we 
want  real  art  we  must  be  prepared  to  pay  the 
due  price  for  it.  That  due  price  is  money  enough 
to  the  worker  to  keep  him  from  degradation,  lei- 
sure enough  to  allow  him  time  to  read  and  to 
think,  work  enough  of  a  kind  to  keep  him  em- 
ployed, and  lastly  as  much  art  in  his  home  as 
nature  will  allow  if  we  do  not  turn  her  out  of 
doors.  If  the  price  be  offered,  and  the  world 
want  such  a  man,  the  man  will  be  found  ;  if 
not,  art  must  be  damped  to  death.  When  life  in 
art  like  the  sun  begins  to  rise  from  below,  all 
trouble  and  vexation  will  be  forgotten,  all  folly 
and  vexation  will  be  forgiven.  When  the  dawn 
of  art  comes,  as  it  will  come,  let  it  find  that  we 
have  been  worling  for  and  looking  forward  to  it 
while  yet  we  were  slaves.  It  is,  now  both  our 
right  and  our  duty  to  rebel  against  everyday 
life.  We  have  art  enough  in  our  lives  not  to 
content  us,  but  to  make  us  long  for  more.  Little 
by  little,  art  will  go  on  increasing  until  at  last 
every  man  will  enjoy  a  share  of  it.  As  with  all 
experiments  of  reform,  at  iirst  few  men  heed  it ; 
then  most  men  condemn  it ;  lastly  all  men  accept 
it,  and  the  cause  is  won. 

The  CHAiEjtis,  in  proposing  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  Mr.  Morris  for  his  wise  and  eloquent  lecture, 
remarked  that  he  had  shown  how  the  pursuit  and 
possession  of  riches  were  opposed  to  true  art, 
how  we  each  could  make  our  lives  artistic  by 
bringing  beauty  into  our  everyday  existence,  to 
brighten  it  with  colour  and  fill  it  with  the  per- 
ception of  graceful  form :  none  the  less  were 
these  thanks  due  to  Mr.  Morris  because,  unlike 
another  great  prophet,  he  had  not  despaired  of 
our  future. 


the  centre  and  place  his  ornament  there,  nor 
would  he  divide  it  into  equal  parts  ;  but  he 
would,  most  probably,  throw  his  design  a  little 
out  of  the  centre,  and  cleverly  balance  the  com- 
position by  a  butterfly,  a  leaf,  or  even  a  spot  of 
colour."  Another  instructive  peculiarity  about 
Japanese  rnr.m':nt  is  the  rare  occurrence 
of  the  ht-.  '.an  fiu-ure,  and  the  preponderance 
given  to  v.getr.blj  and  animal  Ufe,  as  flowers, 
trees,  birds,"  and  fishea,  upon  which  the  utmost 
power  of  the  pencil  is  lavished.  We  have 
before  mentioned  the  striking  resemblance 
of  many  of  the  simpler  geometrical  forms  and 
frets  used  to  Greek,  Hindoo,  Persian,  and 
other  Oriental  styles,  and  the  author_  points 
some  of  these  out.  The  fret  is  a  particularly 
common  border,  and  many  of  the  diapers  are 
exceediuffly  beautiful  and  varied.  The  diapered 
surface,  o"verlaid  with  medallions  and  otherforms, 
is  another  common  mode  of  decorating  surfaces, 
and  several  examples  of  this  are  given.  Another 
plate  illustrates  curvilinear  forms  done  by  the 
brush,  scrolls,  and  various  sorts  of  flourishes 
seen  on  lacquer  and  china.  The  ends  of  tim- 
bers in  buildings  are  often  adorned  by  scroll- 
work. Studies  of  the  bamboo,  in  which  the 
various  stages  of  its  growth  are  shown  ;  flowers 
and  their  component  parts,  birds  and  their 
plumage,  and  water,  are  illustrated  to  aocom- 
nanv  this  part  of  the  Grammar,  many  copied 
^     -^       ,■       ■,   _■ 1 1.,      r^^ — ,«.^„^;„n.  oTir! 


A  coffee  hotel  is  beinj 
Mr.  Samson's  designs. 


built  at  Taunton  from 


work  such  as  that  ilhi-trntel  in  ihc  book  Ufun 
us  would  be  enhanced.  For  nutUn«  and  colour 
nothing  can  be  more  pU-ahing  than  tlie  group  of 
cranes,  frtjm  old  cmljroidcry,  <in  plate  12,  butwc 
have  no  spa'C  further  to  annlyx'.  Oni'  o(  the 
earlier  chapters  <!e.ils  witli  architcttun*,  but 
examples  are  not  given— an  omimion  unavoid* 
able,  pcrhap.'^.  but  one  the  autlmr  might  fill  up 
another  day.  Decorative  woodwork,  whrtber 
pierced  or  carved,  or  simply  painted  and  gilt,  U 
almost  a  unique  art  amongst  the  Jupanono.  A 
handsomely -designed  title-page  in  given  with 
the  present  part ;  the  work  \h  viedioatcd  to  Ih* 
Princess  Louine,  Marcliione-w  of  Lnmo,  and 
those  engaged  in  art-work  will  do  well  to  Iwcotnc 
possessors  of  a  volume  which  will  impart  to 
them  the  elements  of  Japanene  dckign,  and  pro- 
bably help  to  infuse  into  their  work  some  (rt-«h- 
ness  and  character. 


IMPROVED  STREET-LTGirnXO  IX 
BIRMINGUAM. 

I]^OR  some  time  past  the  G:u  Commttte*  of 
the  Corporation  of  Birmingham  have  bran 
experimenting  at  their  Windsor- strtit  Wnrka 
with  all  the  improved  lumps  which  have  be«n 
tried  at  London  and  Paris,  with  the  view  of  com- 
peting with  the  electric  light  for  illuminating 
large  spaces.  The  aim  has  been  to  a.«tc<rt*in 
two  points— the  most  effective  burner  rtlatively 
to  the  quantity  of  ga^  consumed,  and  the  form 
of  lantern  which  best  diffuses  the  light  atlurded. 
On  the  former  point  the  couimittce  have  decided 
in  favour  of  a  ti-iple  cluster  of  Bray's  fUt-flamo 
burners,  and  upon  the  latt'r  th-j  experiment* 
have  conclusively  demonstrated  the  8up<ri ority 
of  a  globular  form  of  lantern  over  any  of  the 
angular  patterns.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Conncil- 
house  and  Town-hall  a  number  of  these  lamps 
have  been  erected,  single  posts  being  distribuU-d 
at  inter*-als  of  50  or  60ft.,  while  st.anJttrd» 
bearing  three  globes  each  ore  plac(<l  alngthc 
frontages  of  the  Council- hou-w,  and  a  st.indard 
with  a  group  of  five  globes  on  the  refuge  by  the 
Town-hall ;  each  globe  is  27in.  in  diameter,  and 
the  ribs  are  as  thin  .as  possible,  so  a»  cot  to 
obstruct  the  light  ;  the  inside  of  the  upper  part 
is  lined  with  opal  plates,  the  reflection  fr,.m 
which  will  dissipate  to  some  extent  the  shadow 
of  the  post,  and  each  globe  has  a  spo.-ial  con- 
struction of  chimcev  to  carry  off  the  h.  at  and 
prevent  down-draught.  The  lanterns  are  fitted 
with  a  special  form  of  tap  di-nigncd  hy  Mr. 
Hunt,  the  engineer  at  the  Wind.""r-«trMt 
Works,  by  whom  the  trials  have  been  principally 
conducted.  -     ,  ,  i 

Upon  each  tap  four  burners  are  fixed,  bu.  only 
three  are  intended  to  bo  aliaht  when  the  greattrt 
iUumination  is  Eceded.  The  centrtj  one  is  to 
.serve  two  purposes- m  the  fir>t  it^wiU  allord  ^ 
flashlight."    or  small  jet  to  '' 


hum  all  ditr,   and 


from  native  drawing-books.     The  grouping  and    lli^^"  -s-".      -'  ■■"■•■■•  '"  _  li^.ht.-'l    .ind 

varied  positions  given  to  the.crane   the  hawk       -™  rttd'^Ce'it^'rtu™"^^ 


falcon,  peacock,  and  other  birds,  are  particu 
larly  noticeable  in  decorative  work,  associated 
■n-ith  a  spray  of  bamboo,  and  other  favourite 
kinds  of  foliage.  What  a  wealth  of  invention 
is  there  in  the  ehrysanlhcmum  or  "kiku,"  as 
treated  by  the  Japanese  artist ;  with  how  few 
lines  of  his  brush  can  he  portray  it  in  every 
conceivable  aspect  ;  so  also  of  the  peony,  cherry, 
and  the  plum.  In  the  native  books,  the  leaves 
and  blossoms  are  delineated  with  the  greatest 
nicpty,  and  in  various  stages  of  growth,  and  we 
find  one  of  the  plates  gives  a  reproduction  from 
one  of  these.  . 

The  Japanese  artist  is  a  great  convention.abser, 
though,  as  the  author  hints,  he  does  not  proceed 
on  any  recognised  principle  of  the  treatment  of 
different  materials,  as  marveUous  reproductions 
of  birds  and  insects  and  flowers  are  found  on  the 


•  A  Grammar  of  Japanese  Ornament  and  Design.  Br 
Thomas  W.  Cctlee,  i'.E.I.BA.  London  :  B.  T.  Bats- 
ford,  High  Holbom. 


in  the  second  plare  i.   _ ■  . ,     v^ 

itself  during  the  later  honrs  of  the  night  when 
the  others   are  lnmc<l  out.     ]-Uchbunicr  con- 
suming   10ft.  of.  gas  per    hour,    has    » _B^ 
measuring  4in.  in  height  and  3}iii.   i-        ■  •'^. 
and    haring    illuminating   p-iwcr 
sperm  candles.     The  three  jets  m 
though  close  together,  bum  ~  p- 
blending,  and,  therefore,  -.I 
power  of  each  globe  will  : 
as  the  result  of  bumini- 
It  will  thus  be  ea-i: 
five  such  lamps  tv 
ligiit.      The  st.iml 

signed,  and  are  by  >!■-;-..-..-•■•••  •    _^ 

Co    of  London  and  Birmingbam.     i*^  ""■''** 
of  this  new  .lystf  m  is  dec'arcd  to  be  perfect. 

The  eranite  work  of  the  Temple  Bar  Mcmorijl 
w«  BufTlied  by.Me»m.  Alex,  jtacdonald.  Field, 

i  and  Co. 


581 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


KOi'AL  IXSTITITE  OF  BRITISH 
ARCHITECIS. 

THE  first  ordinarj-  meeting  of  the  Institute 
for  the  present  session  was  held  on  Mon- 
day evening.  Professor  T.  Hayter  Lewij,  Vice- 
Pre.'idcnt,  in  the  chair.  The  Secretary  an- 
nounced the  death,  on  the  30th  ult.,  of  Mr. 
Edward  M.  Forster,  of  Great  Marlborough- 
street,  W.,  Associate. 


Afr.  E.  Ingeess  Bell  read  a  paper  on  this 
subject.  He  coramenced  by  a  reforeuce  to  the 
power  conferred  bj-  the  ''Military  Forces  Loca- 
lisation Act"  of  1S72  for  building  barracks  and 
othem-i.-c  effecting  the  localisation  of  the  Home 
Forces.  It  was  desired  to  maintain  the  perma- 
nent identification  of  particular  regiments  with 
particular  localities.  Since  the  passing  of  the 
Act  old  barracks  had  been  enlarged  or  new  ones 
built  at  fifty-four  different  stations  in  the 
United  Kiigdora,  accommodating  a  total  force 
of  12,000  men  and  costing  no  less ^han  2i  millitns 
sterling,  exclusive  of  the  land  upon  which  they 
stand.  He  then  dealt  with  the  great  barrack- 
buOding  movement,  which  marked  the  close  of 
the  last  century — using  the  defects  of  the  system 
then  inaugurated  as  a  scale  by  which  to  test  the 
improvements  exhibited  by  the  barracks  of  the 
present  day.  He  dwelt  upon  the  unvarying 
ugliness  of  the  typical  barrack  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, and  traced  "the  causes  of  its  defective  pUn 
to  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  built. 
After  the  establishment  of  the  army  on  a  legal 
footing,  at  the  Restoration,  no  barracks  were 
built  with  the  esL-eption  ofthose  at  Whitehall  for 
the  Hor^e  and  Foot  Guards,  and  a  few  in  Scot- 
land. The  reason  was  the  antipathy  of  the  na- 
tion to  a  standing  army,  and  the  consequent 
repugnance  of  the  Parliament  to  vote  the 
required  funds.  Meanwhile  the  army  increased 
in  numbers,  and  suffered  in  health  from  exposure 
and  privation.  The  mortality  amongst  the 
troops  was  so  alarming  that  various  expedients 
were  adopted  ;  but  stiU  barracks  were  refused. 
Even  so  late  as  1766,  Blackstone  wrote:  — 
"Nothing  should  be  more  guarded  against  in  a 
free  State  than  making  the  military  foi-m  a  body 
distinct  from  the  people.  The  soldiers  should 
be  intermixed  with  the  people.  No  barracks 
should  be  allowed."  The  crowning  objection  to 
their  erection  was  the  use  to  which  they  had 
been  put  in  Ireland.  At  length  it  became  essen- 
tial that  some  recognised  plan  for  housing  the 
troops  should  be  adopted,  and  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  century  Mr.  Pitt  proposed  a  measure  for 
building  the  necessary  barracks.  An  enormous 
number  of  barracks  was  commenced  simul- 
taneously all  over  the  country ;  they  were  based 
on  one  defective  and  hastily-considered  model, 
and  to  thit  period  (1793-97)  we  owed  the  dreary 
pile  whose  very  name  had  become  a  synonym 
for  ugliness  and  which  was  seen  in  most  of  our 
more  important  towns.  The  first  step  to  sys- 
tematise the  construction  of  barracks  on  a  better 
plan  was  taken  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean  war. 
Committees  and  Royal  Commissions  undor  the 
auspices  of  Lords  Panmure  and  Herbert  inquired 
into  and  reported  upon  the  condition  of  every 
barrack  in  the  United  Kingdom ;  and  long  and  sad 
wag  the  list  of  their  shortcomings.  The  architec- 
tural rofessiou  wasinvitedtocompeteforthe  erec- 
tion of  an  infantry  and  a  cavalry  barrack.  Those 
at  Chelsea  and  at  Knightsbridge  were  the  in- 
direct result ;  but  in  both  cases  the  competition 
plans  were  set  aside,  and  the  actual  plans  of  the 
buildings,  though  not  theelevations,  were  designed 
by  the  authorities  at  the  War  Office.  The  defects 
of  the  old  system  were  due  to  complicated 
planning;  9ver-crowdingon  the  ground ;  build- 
ings interfering  with  the  ventilation  of  one 
another,  containing  too  many  rooms  and  too 
great  a  number  of  stories,  built  round  enclosed 
courts  or  too  near  boundary  walls  ;  and  to  defec- 
tive sanitation  in  all  its  brandies.  It  was  found 
that  the  excessive  mortality  amongst  the  troops 
—no  less  than  twice  that  of  the  civil  population 
—was  traceable  to  specific  diseases  directly  in- 
duced by  the  unhe:ilthiness  of  barrack  rooms, 
by  want  of  ventilation,  by  defective  water-sup- 
ply and  sewerage.  The  result  was  the  promul- 
gation of  a  series  of  recommendations- (1)  pre- 
scribing the  superficial  and  cubical  space  to  be 
aUotted  to  each  man;  (2)  abolishing  the  old 
ottensiye  urine  tubs  from  the  barrack  rooms;  (31 
provuliDg  separate  quarters  for  married  men'. 
DatUs,     washing     establishments,      workshops, 


reading  and  recreation  rooms,  skittle  alleys,  &c.; 
(4)  regulating  tlie  wanning,  ventilation,  water- 
supply,  and  drainage.  The  regulations  which 
followed  were  directed  to  an  improvement  of  the 
general  system  of  barrack  plan,  and  to  the 
proper  remedy  for  each  particular  defect  in  con- 
struction, warming,  ventilating,  &c.  Conse- 
quently, at  the  present  day,  there  is  no  one  of 
Her  Majesty's  subjects  who  is  more  scientifically 
provided  for  in  all  that  conduces  to  health  and 
physical  well-being  than  the  common  soldier. 
The  type  of  barrack  which  was  accepted  in  the 
eighteenth  century  was  exhibi'ed  in  the  plans  of 
a  vast  unexecuted  project  for  Hyde  Park,  and 
the  want  of  provi.-ion  for  the  decencies  and 
necessities  of  barrack  life  was  shown  therein. 
The  difficulties  of  acquiring,  at  reasonable  rates, 
sites  for  Government  buildings  having  been 
touched  upon,  Mr.  Bell  adverted  to  the  condi- 
tions necessary  to  be  observed  in  the  disposition 
of  the  barracks  as  a  whole,  namely: — The 
want  of  a  clear  space  around  the  bar- 
rack wall ;  of  an  ample  parade  ground  ; 
the  proper  placing  of  the  officers'  quarters ; 
the  keep  andstore  accommodation  ;  guard  house ; 
hospital ;  canteens,  and  the  other  items  in  a 
barrack  establishment.  The  separate  accommo- 
dation of  each  and  their  proper  mutual  relation 
were  discussed  aud  described  in  particular.  The 
means  of  lighting  and  proportion  of  window 
space;  the  arrangements  for  warming  and  ven- 
tilating; the  admission  of  fresh  air  aud  the  ex- 
traction of  foul  air ;  the  proportions  of  inlets 
and  exits  ;  and  the  special  provisions  and  pre- 
cautions rendered  necessary  by  the  habits  of  the 
soldier  were  described.  It  was  necessary  that 
the  soldier's  rooms  should  be  pro-idded  with  in- 
destructible fittings.  With  him,  valves  were 
simply  things  to  be  fastened  down,  and  ventila- 
tion openings  only  things  to  be  stopped  up. 
Long  experience  of  his  idiosyncrasies  and  of  the 
exigencies  of  barrack  occupation  went  to  prove 
that  of  all  the  methods  of  warming  barrack 
rooms  that  of  the  open  fireplace  was  the  best, 
and  the  best  open  fireplace  was  one  perfected 
upon  suggestions  furi,ished  by  earlier  models  by 
Captain  Gallon.  Under  the  old  sjstem,  fresh- 
air  inlets  were  undreamt  of,  and  the  rooms  were 
warmed  at  the  expense  of  the  purity  of  the  air 
within  them  ;  under  the  new  system,  the  con- 
trary, in  some  instances,  had  proved  the  case  ; 
and  the  rooms  had  been  over- ventilated. 
It  was  easy  to  warm  a  room,  equally  easy  to 
ventilate  it,  but  not  easy  to  both  warm 
aud  Ventilate  it  at  t^e  same  time.  The  problem 
was  no  other  than  that  of  applying  a 
constant  system  to  various  atmospheric  con- 
ditions, and  all  that  could  be  looked  for  was  a 
reasonable  compromise,  which  experiment  alone 
would  dictate.  Mr.  BeU  stated  that  a  sit'3  for 
an  ordinary  barrack  must  comprise  ten  acres, 
exclusive  of  a  training-ground  and  an  en- 
camping-ground  for  the  militia.  Instances 
were  given  of  departure  from  the  typical  plan, 
caused  by  special  conditions  of  site,  iSrc,  and 
the  scope  left  for  ingenuity  of  planning  in  in- 
dividual cases,  notwithstanding  the  necessity 
for  conforming  to  settled  rides  and  principles. 
Each  barrack-room  was  designed  to  hold  one- 
eighth  part  of  the  rank  and  file  composing  a 
brigade  depot,  viz.,  2S  men.  720ft.  of  cubical 
space  were  aUotted  to  each  man.  The  married 
men  had  each  a  living-room,  a  bed-room,  and  a 
kitchen.  The  non-commissioned  officers'  quarters 
constituted  a  little  club,  furnished  with  comforts, 
aids  to  study  and  means  of  wholesome  recreation, 
for  the  like  of  which  the  city  chrk  scarcely  knew 
where  to  look.  The  officers'  quarters  called  for 
no  special  remark.  The  average  cost  per  head  of 
a  barrack  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century 
was  £12;  the  cost  of  the  n' w  Chelsea  barracks 
was  about  £22.5  per  head,  and  of  the  brigade 
depots  £200  per  head.  The  average  cost  per 
cube  foot  was,  for  barrack  buildings,  o|d.  ;  for 
married  people's  quarters,  OiJ.  ;  and  for'officers' 
quarters,  about  8d.  The  improvements  effected 
by  somewhat  similar  means  in  the  arrangement 
of  stable  buildings  ;  the  system  of  ventilation  ; 
of  drainage  ;  and  other  matters  relating  thereto 
were  explained.  Cavalry  stables  were  now 
arranged  in  two  rows  of  stalls,  the  heads  of  the 
horses  in  each  case  being  asrainst  an  outer  side 
wall.  Every  horse  was  allowed  1,200  cubical 
feet  of  space.  A  window  was  placed  over  every 
stall  and  Sft.  above  the-  floor,  and  all  the  stable 
windows  were  made  to  open.  When  rooms  were 
built  over  stables,  foul  air  shafts  were  carried  up 
to  abave  the  roofs.  These  shafts  had  a  sectional 
area  of  ISin.  per  horse.     The  stalls  were  drained 


by  surface  channels  only  ;  these  were  carried  to 
a  distance  of  12ft.  outside  the  stable.  The  loose 
boxes  were  17ft.  by  12 ft.  and  r2ft.  high,  allowing 
2, .300  cubical  feet  per  horse.  The  parallel  move- 
ment towards  ameliorating  the  barracks  of 
France,  in  which  the  English  lead  has  been 
followed,  and  with  due  acknowledgments,  was 
then  described — elucidated  by  the  reports  of  M. 
Emi'e  Trelat,  and  some  useful  and  interesting 
extracts  from  the  report  were  given  in  substance. 
The  "Systeme  Toilet,"  tried  experimentally  at 
Bourges,  Maccn,  Autun,  and  elsewhere — based 
mainly  upon  English  experience  and  found  to  be 
quite  successful — was  referred  to  and  its  main 
features  were  elucidated.  In  conclusion,  an 
appeal  as  to  the  improved  character  of  the  exterior 
appearance  of  the  modem  barrack  was  made  to 
new  buildings  at  Inverness,  Reading,  and  else- 
where. Some  deductions  from  Government  ex- 
perience and  investisation  bearing  upon  the 
larger  civil  buildings,  such  as  workhouses,  model 
dwellings,  cSrc,  were  submitted  to  the  members. 
The  whole  subject  was  fully  illustrated  by  draw- 
ings of  old  barracks  and  of  barracks  bmlt  or 
building  by  the  War  Department,  drawings 
which  were  placed  at  the  service  of  the  author — 
together  with  other  facilities — by  the  courtesy  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  War. 

Mr.  C.  Baeey,  in  proposing  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  Mr.  BeU  for  his  paper,  remarked  that  much 
of  the  information  would  be  of  use  to  the  pro- 
fession in  the  designing  of  workhouses  and 
similar  large  buildings.  It  was  to  be  regretted 
that  the  only  times  when  the  War  Office  seemed 
to  have  sought  the  assistance  of  architects,  in 
the  competition  for  the  Chelsea  and  Knights- 
bridge barracks,  the  results  were  so  unsatis- 
factory, owing  to  the  attempt  to  plaster  the 
accepted  designs  on  to  plans  prepared  by 
officials.  He  thought  the  cost  per  cubic  foot  of 
barracks  was  remarkably  low,  as  compared  with 
that  of  artisans'  dwellings.  He  was  told  that 
all  contracts  were  submitted  to  competition,  and 
presumed  that  the  ordinary  number  of  builders 
were  ruined  in  the  process.  At  the  same  time,  the 
cost  per  head,  £200,  and  £22.3,  would  be  regarded 
as  high,  even  in  public  schools. 

Dr.  Baltoite,  Inspector-General  of  Army 
Medical  Corp^,  referred  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
secretary  to  a  Parliamentary  Commission  on 
barracks  many  years  since,  and  dwelt  upon  the 
great  contrast  in  the  sanitary  condition  of  our 
barracks  which  had  been  effected  of  recent 
years.  The  date  of  the  commencement  of 
reforms  might  be  carried  back  to  the  middle  of 
the  present  century.  When  he  was  in  the  Horse 
Guards,  many  years  ago,  the  barracks  at 
Winchester  and  Chichester  were  well  ventilated, 
and  much  better  than  the  old  type  of  buildings- 
There  were,  however,  some  very  tad  cases.  Thus, 
in  Hyde-park,  he  was  quartered  in  a  building 
still  existing  of  three  stories,  of  which  the  lower 
rooms  were  occupied  by  a  store-keeper  and  a 
sentinel,  and  above  these  all  the  soldiers  had  to 
sleep.  Paillasses  were  placed  ne.\t  each  other, 
down  each  side  of  the  room,  and  another  row 
were  placed  in  the  centre.  It  was  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  mortality  and  sickness 
were  very  great.  Representations  were  made 
by  which  "the  two  lower  rooms  were  also 
converted  into  dormitories,  and  oven  now  the 
accommodation  was  too  small.  He  agreed  with 
the  encomiums  on  the  Gallon  stove,  but  care 
should  be  taken  to  see  that  it  was  complete. 
Recently,  when  he  was  at  Netley  Hospital,  he 
found  that  in  the  corridors  both  the  air-chamber 
and  the  H-ivre  were  omitted  to  save  space,  and 
although  he  made  a  very  strong  representation 
to  head-  quarters,  he  did  not  know  if  these  de- 
fects were  remedied.  Great  vigilance  was  neces- 
sary to  prevent  soldiers  from  stopping  up  all 
ventilation  ;  they  greatly  feared  a  draught,  and 
never  thought  a  sleeping-room  too  close.  The 
only  effectual  proiection  to  the  health  of  the 
soldier  he  had  found  was  to  put  all  the  ventilating 
apparatus  under  the  charge  of  a  non-commis- 
sioned officer.  Our  stables  now  compared 
favourably  in  ventilation  and  arrangement  with 
those  of  other  nations.  Our  mortality  in  horses 
was  at  the  rate  of  2  per  cent,  per  annum,  while 
even  in  France  the  rate  was  between  3  and  4  per 
cent.  The  best  protection  against  glanders  was 
to  have  plenty  of  fre.sh  air  in  the  stable,  and  to 
give  warmth  by  clothing.  In  his  recent  visits 
to  French  military  stables,  he  was  surprised  to 
note  the  excessively  bad  construction  ;  the  best 
arrangements  were  in  the  stables  of  the  gen- 
darmerie in  Paris. 

Mr.  T.  PoKTEE  said,  when  he  was  in  the  'War 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


r,H;, 


Office  department  at  Portsmouth,  the  system  of 
ignoring  the  architectural  profession  prevailed 
juat  as  the  lecturer  had  shown  was  the  case  at 
Whitehall :  a  Royal  Engineer  got  out  the 
regulation  drawings,  and  it  wis  left  to  the 
practical  clerk  of  works  to  do  the  rest.  Vnlike 
Mr.  Barry,  he  thought  the  cost  of  barracks  very 
high.  £21b  per  head  appeared  enormous,  and 
even  5^d.  per  cubic  foot  was  by  no  means 
moderate  for  enormous  buildings  so  plain  iu 
character  and  so  little  divided  as  barracks  were. 
He  was  sorry  Mr.  Bell  had  not  given  more 
details  as  to  the  mode  of  ventilation  adopted  in 
the  barrack-room. 

Mr.  E.  C.  RoBixs  also  asked  for  particulars  as 
to  the  ventilation  of  rooms,  and  whether  any 
other  stoves  than  Galton's  were  used.  He 
had  not  always  found  them  effective,  although 
they  usually  were.  He  thought  that  the 
designing  of  such  large  national  buildings  ought 
to  be  entrusted  to  architects. 

Mr.  Wm.  WnrrE  said  the  cost  of  the  old 
barracks,  £12  per  head,  was  incomprehensibly 
low,  even  allowing  for  the  lower  price  of  labour 
and  materials  two  generations  since. 

Mr.  Dawsox  said  the  cost  per  cubic  capacity 
and  per  head  could  not  be  reconciled.  On  the 
measurements  given  he  did  not  see  how,  at  Cd. 
per  foot,  the  barrack  could  cost  more  than  one - 
tenth  or  even  one-twentieth  part  of  the  sum  stated 
by  Mr-  BeU. 

The  Chaiej£AN  said  he  knew  that  in  the  c 
of  the  Chelsea  barracks  the  cost  was  enormously 
increased  by  the  nature  of  the  site.  Part  of  the 
barracks  stood  on  porous  gravel,  but  another 
part  more  on  what  seemed  to  be  the  old  bed  of 
the  river,  and  it  was  found  that  piles  disappeared 
after  b  ing  driven  dovm  COf t.  Ultimately  an 
immense  bed  of  concrete  was  prepared  to  cover 
the  whole  site,  and  on  this  platform  part  of  the 
barracks  stood. 

Me.  Bell  acknowledged  the  vote  of  thanks 
which  had  been  heartily  accorded,  and  replied  to 
the  various  points  in  the  discussion.  The  cost 
per  head,  he  admitted,  seemed  very  large,  but 
this  was  owing  to  the  numeruus  and  expensive 
accessories  —  gymnasia,  bath-rooms,  canteens, 
&c.  The  c>ld  barracks  were  nothing  but  large 
rooms,  and  were  scarcely  provided  with  the 
barest  necessities.  The  stoves  of  Captain  Gal- 
ston  were  universally  used  and  worked  well.  He 
faad  been  careful  to  guard  himself  against  the 
eissumptinn  that  all  the  improvement  in  the 
health  of  our  troops  was  due  to  construction ; 
and,  indeed,  there  were  several  other  causes  tend- 
ing to  the  same  desirable  result,  and  his  aim  had 
been  to  show  the  great  alteration  for  the  better 
that  had  been  effected  during  the  past  few 
years. 


MR.  H.  H.    ST.\TH.4.M  OX  ARCHI- 
TEGTL'RE. 

OX  Tuesday  night,  before  the  Edinburgh 
Philosophical  Institution,  Mr.  Henry 
Heathcote  Statham,  of  London,  delivered  the  first 
of  two  Lectures  on  "Architecture  in  Design 
and  Ornament.'"  Setting  out  with  a  definition 
of  architecture,  in  the  course  of  which  he  re- 
marked that  it  differed  from  other  kinds  of  ar- 
tistic expression  in  not  copying  the  forms  of 
nature,  and  in  being  governed  by  practical  re- 
quirement?, and  being  amenable  to  practical 
iaws,  the  lecturer  mentioned  certain  principles 
to  which  the  art  must  conform  in  order  to  be 
true  and  logical,  and  proceeded  to  illustrate 
these  in  a  discussion  of  the  Doric  and  Gothic 
Ktyles.  These  styles,  he  said,  represented  the 
most  complete  expression  of  the  two  most  im- 
portant farms  of  construction  —  that  which 
bridged  an  opening  with  a  lintel,  and  that 
which  bridged  an  opening  with  an  arch.  The 
design  of  the  Doric  temple  was  briefly  ex- 
plained, and  it  was  shown  how,  in  course  of 
development,  its  various  features  had  grown  out 
of  structural  requirements,  and  how,  as  a  matter 
of  expression,  the  fluting  of  the  columns  empha- 
sised the  fact  of  their  carrying  a  downward- 
b^'aring  weight.  The  Roman  period  was  next 
referred  to  as  that  in  which,  through  centuries 
of  transition,  Greek  architecture  was  gradually 
fused  into  Gothic  architecture.  The  Romans,  it 
was  pointed  out,  were  the  first  to  introduce  the 
arch  on  a  great  scale  for  the  purpose  of  bridging 
over  wide  spaces.  In  doing  so,  however,  the 
lecturer  remarked  they  showed  themselves  bad 
artists,  never  attempting  to  find  a  correct  archi- 
tectural expression  for  it.  They  admired  the 
Greek  architecture  and  adopted  it,  but  in  a  way 


which   indicated  a  perfect  misconception  of  it. 
For   instance,    they    would  construct   buildings 
with  columns  sp;iced  at  such  a  distance  that  no 
stones  could  carry  from  one  to  the  other  ;  hut  they 
would  imitate,  all  the  same,  the  Greek  architrave 
and   cornice,    and   put   an   arch   underneath  to 
carry  them.     Then,  when  they  wanted  columns 
to  support  an  arch,  they  could  not  be  content  to 
spring  the  arch  from  the  capital  of  the  column  ; 
they   had    always    been    accustomed    to    think 
of  a  column  as  it  was  in  the  Greek  architecture 
— something   with    an   architrave,    frieze,    and 
cornice ;    and   therefore   they   placed   over   the 
capital  a   slice  of   the  architrave,  a   slice  of  the 
frieze,  and  a  slice  of   the   cornice,  without  any 
reason  whatever.     The  lecturer  went  on  to  show 
how,  in   the   development   of    vaulting,    cro,ss- 
arches  were  adopted  as  a  means  of  distribuiiog 
the  thrust ;  how,  in  the  adjustment  of  these  to 
the  main  vault,  there   arose   a  difficulty  which 
was   ultimately   solved   by   the  introduction  of 
pointed  arches,  which  could  be  kept  to  the  same 
height  from  different   widths,    with   curves  so 
nearly  the  same  as  to  work  well  together.     In 
tracing  the  further  prOL'ress  of  vaulting,  it  was 
shown  that,  while  the  Romans  did  not  mark  the 
lines  of   intersection  of   the   arches,   the  Gothic 
architects,    with   truer   instinct,    marked   those 
lines  with   grooved   ribs,    which  had  the  same 
artistic  value  as  the  fluting  of  the  Greek  enlumn 
in  emphasising  the  structural  character.  Ending 
this  had  a  pleasing  eliect,  they  began  to  carry 
it   further,   by  introducing   intermediate   ribs; 
and  with  this   there  came   a  curious  change  in 
the  construction,  for,   instead   of   the  vaulting 
consisting     of     intersecting    arches,     it    came 
to   be    really   a    structure    of     ribs    with  sur- 
faces   filled     in    between.      The    introduction 
of    bosses    was    traced    to     the    desirableness 
of  concealing  the  awkward  meeting  of  the  ribs 
at  the  top;  while  the  further  difficulty  of  getting 
a  number  of    mouldings  to  join   each  other  at 
different  angles  over  the  capital  was  referred  to 
as  the   origin   of    that   beautiful   fan-vaulting, 
which  is  to  be  seen   in   Henry  Seventh's  Chapel, 
Westminster    Abbey,    and    in    King's    College 
Chapel,  Cambridge.     The  lecturer  proceeded  to 
describe  the  development  of  the  Gothic  buttress 
from  the  Roman   pilaster,  as  a  means  of  resisting 
outward   thrust :  and    to   indicate  the   gradual 
progress  from  the  simplest    mouldings  to  that 
elaborate  system  in  which  every  moulding  of  arch 
has  its  appropriate  shaft   in  the  pier  supporting 
it.     In  illustration    of    the    principle    that   the 
grouping  of  a  building  must  :irise  out  of  its  plan, 
it  was  contended  that  an  edifice  with  two  wings, 
differing    internally,    but      showing    the    same 
external  features,  was  an  architectural  falsity. 
And  yet,  the  lecturer  said,  this  falsity  was  com- 
mitted over  and  over  again,  whereve  r  an  archi- 
tect treated  the  outside   of   a   building  without 
reference     to    the    iuterior,    instead   of  making 
the     outside     express  the   nature     and  internal 
grouping    of    the     structure.      In     this     con- 
nection, the    plan   of     the    Houses   of  Parlia- 
ment    was     commended,     inasmuch     as     the 
central  point  of  the  interior  was  indicated  by  an 
appropriate   external    feature,  and    the    Royal 
entrance  by  the  great  west  tosver,  while  the  east 
tower  was  "properly  designed  for  its  special  pur- 
pose of  carrying  a  clock.      Touching   next   on 
scale    in    architecture,   Mr.    Statham    said    St. 
Peter's  did  not  look  so  big  as  it  really  was ;  and 
the  fact  that  it  did  not  wa.s  one  of  the  greatest 
faults    that     a     great     building     could    have. 
Michael   Angelo,  instead    of   breaking   up    the 
front  into  stages,  as  San  Gallo  originally  pro- 
posed,   introduced   great   pilasters   100ft.   high, 
with  an  enormous  attic  above,  and,  as  the  eye 
was  not  accustomed  to  take  in  features  of  that 
enormous   s'ze,   the   consenuence   was  that  the 
whole  building  was  dwarfed,  and  one  did  not 
realise  how  large  it  w.as.     .tVfter  some  remarks 
on  logical  treatment  in  architecture,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  characterised  the  upper  part  of  the 
wall    of    St.  Paul's    as    nothin„'    but  a  sham, 
intended     to     conceal     the     real    construction, 
Mr.  Statham,   in    concluding,    said    the  build- 
ings of  the  two  great  periods  he  had  referred 
to"  were    what   people    invented    because   they 
wanted  them.     Xow,  however,  we  had  come  to 
the   repetition   age.     Edinburgh    had,    on    the 
Calton  HUl,   its   effort  to  be  Greek ;  just  as  if 
the  Greeks  had  built  on  the  .\cropoUs  an  Egyp- 
tian  temple,  which  we   should   have  called  an 
absurd  sham.     If  an   architect,    unfettered  by 
precedent,  were  told  to  buUd  a  large  church  in 
the  best  form  for  modem  worship,  he  would  n^t 
evolve  the  Mediteval  type  of   cathedral.     Vie 


raiM-d  Kucli  Hlruiture-a  out  .f  «,  nUmmt.  L'.<jkin(f 
back  up'in  the  piwt  ciurno  of  «rihiu>clure.  wo 
hould  WB  that  nil  wo  now  udmir.-!  waa  built  bv 
pe'oplo  who  built  it  with  practical  inila  in  view, 
nut  excluding  art ;  and  it  wax  not  likely  wo 
should  get  urchititturf  wlii  h  future  gpunratiunji 
Would  udmirv,  or  whiih  would  fxpn-iu  iho  wanU 
of  our  gencrution,  uutil  wi.  did  th.-  •«me.  lo 
order  to  that  f-nd,  iin  intclligrnl  j.ii>!i"  ..;,ii,i.,n 
was  one  of  the  ino«t  impirtant  f  .  ■  ' 

to  thin  wc  muntloiik,  iu  gruat  m^ 
ing  the  progr.si  of  login  and  r 

the  architecture  of  the  period.      1 .,».«..,». 

illustrated  with  numerous  drawioKi. 


INSTITUTION  OF  SmviCVORS. 
'pHE  opening  nddrcM  for  the  new  M^on  of 
JL  the  luslilution  of  Surve'jom  waa  ilolivtred 
on  Monday  week  by  Mr.  hMirard  Uyd».  Tmi- 
dent.  In  it  ho  dwelt  upon  the  d.  «irabilily  of 
the  purchaw,  for  the  public,  of  the  worka  of 
companies  now  hupplying  I.,<indnn  with  water, 
and  defended  the  l.nrguin  whieli  their  I'aal- 
President,  the  late  Mr.  Ivlmi:nd  Jamia  Smith, 
made  for  Mr.  Cro.ss.  He  do<  hired  that,  in  hi* 
judgment,  "no  better  tenni,  or  even  ao  K"'x'i 
for  the  purchaser  will  ever  )>o  mads  a«  thoM 
which  were  arranged  by  Mr.  Smith.  The  baala 
of  those  terms  vraii  the  p»ymciil  in  pajM-r,  by  a 
3J  per  cent,  stock,  of  the  sum  of  £.'11,30:), 000. 
spread  over  a  period  of  1 2  yearn.  If  the  nominal 
amount  of  that  payment  had  been  just  half  the 
amount  of  7  per  cent,  stock,  the  purrhiu>«  would 
have  probably  appeared  to  the  public  a  \crT 
moderate  one,  whde  the  security  and  value  of 
the  stock  to  the  holders  would  have  Imtu  pre- 
cisely the  same.  The  interest  would  have  Ixtn 
met  by  the  water  rental,  and,  in  the  event  of  any 
insufficiency,  the  deficit  was  to  be  made  up  by 
the  rates  of  London.  No  es'der  terms  c  juld 
ever  have  resulted  from  arbitration,  and  thert- 
fore  it  may  be  ultimately  found  that,  in 
throwing  over  the  agreements  and  Mr.  K.  J. 
Smith,  the  interests  of  the  ratepayers  m>y 
not  Iiave  been  promoted  —  although  thoao 
of  the  In.stitutionof  Surveyors  will  bo."  The 
President  dealt  at  great  length  with  the  present 
agricultural  depression  and  with  the  Iri^h  land 
(ju^stion,  as  to  which  ho  held  that  the  first  in- 
epiiry  to  be  made  should  be  whether  it  would  be 
equitable  to  assume  that  the  tenant  had  •ome 
material  interest  in  the  land  ho  occupied; 
and  if  he  had,  the  proper  remedy  would  en- 
able the  landlord  to  compensate  the  tenant 
for  term'nation  of  tenure,  and  not  that  the 
tenant  should  be  able  t<j  compel  Itie  Uiidl-  rJ 
to  sell  his  lease.  He  advocated  some  chansres 
in  the  mode  of  making  parochial  valui- 
tions,  and  spoke  with  quahfied  apppnal  of 
the  Government  Bill  defenU^  U»t  scsoioa  by 
want  of  time,  which  will  probably  le  reintro- 
duced. 'The  Oidnauce  Surrey  map",  now  being 
published,  would  do  much  to  faciiit.ite  valua- 
tions, but  were  inaccurate  in  wvexal  par- 
ticulars. Thus,  in  every  cafo  of  the  dm- 
sion  of  propeitv  by  m-ans  of  a  bmk  and 
ditch,  the  bunk 'and  ditch  mu.«t,  of  ncoeswlT. 
belong  to  the  land  which  was  on  the  inner  aide 
of  the  bank,  becau.se  the  owner.  »ho  had  to 
make  the  bank  and  ditch  originally,  had  to  dig 
the  ditch  and  throw  the  bonk  u:>  k;  :,  !.i.  ..wn 
land  ;  the  outer  edge  .)f  the  dit. :  ■■   r 

boundary  of  his  property.     Xe.v 
and    they   were   extrem  h  i.  :• 
nance  Surveyors  had   1 1 
hank  .as  the  line  shown 
the  line  up  to  which   ' 
quantities  cjnt  lined  in  t 

Further  th.in  this,  mu  | 

.scribed  as  "  arable  "  ;    •  ' 

Surrcv,  everything  whieii   »  >-  \ 

hou-scs  and  gardeus,  wa«  set  d    ■ 
Amongst  iiiipr.ivements  e.f  th' 
which    would    l>0   desirable,    h 


,ich    would    1>0   .leMratilc.    !.■  • 

compulsory  enfranchisement  of  ».l  .  ijLo.ds, 
cominutition  of  .ill  tithe,  and  re  lernplion  of 
the  land-Ux,  and  finally  and  ro.»t  important, 
scheme    for   faoUiUting   the  tr»n»f«r    of 


some 

landed  property. 


■R-OODEN  HOUSES  AND  MODERN 
COPIES. 

THE  old-fashiooed  "poet  and  pan"  work, 
seen  in  the  old  hou-c«  and  ihurche.  of 
tssex,  and  in  miny  of  the  c  tlage-  m  Kent. 
which  some  of  our  reriralists  have  b.-en  tifing 


586 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


Nov,  19,  1880. 


so  mudi  to  bring  into  use  again,  promises  to  be 
developing  in  some  parts  into  a  species  of  cast 
work.  The  pargetting  or  rough-cast  is  retained, 
but  the  timbers  are  giving  way  to  imitations  in 
cement.  In  many  buildings  on  the  South  Coast, 
we  tind  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce 
this  kind  of  relief,  and  the  effect  is  quite  satis- 
factory where  a  close  imitation  of  timbering  is 
not  reported  to.  Nothing  would  be  in  worse 
taste  than  to  paint  the  cement  framing  to  re- 
semble wood,  though  we  find  this  method  has 
been  appUed.  A  stamped  pattern  in  the  parget 
work  produces  a  rich  relief  where  such  orna- 
ment is  used  with  moderation,  but  the  rough- 
cast is  equally  effective.  There  is  perhaps  one 
reason  why  the  modem  timber-work  fails  :  the 
houses  built  in  imitation  of  old  half-timbered 
work  are  generally  devoid  of  the  substance 
and  character  of  the  originals,  and  in  many 
works  we  have  seen  the  timbers  are  reduced  to 
small  scantlings,  or  they  are  simply  superficial, 
and  do  not  extend  through  the  thickness  of  the 
wall.  The  employment  of  small  timbers  has 
rather  thrown  discredit  on  the  work,  for  unless 
substantial  framings  are  used  the  whole  thin^ 
becomes  a  meaningless  mockery,  and  imworthy 
of  the  architect.  Concrete  and  cement  open  a 
new  field  of  decoration,  but  it  would  be  a  mis- 
fortune to  take  the  timbered  cottages  as  models  ; 
the  treatment  might  be  more  legitimately  re- 
garded as  panel-work.  For  upper  stories  this 
plan  of  relief  may  be  employed  with  advantage, 
and  has  a  more  finished  appearance  though  less 
modest  and  picturesque  than  tile-hanging, 
which  last  was  originally  used  as  a  protection 
to  brick  walls,  and  not  simply  as  an  ornamenta- 
tion. 


BUILDERS'   BENEVOLENT  INSTITU 
TION. 

THE  thirty-third  anniversary  of  this  Institu- 
tion was  celebrated  by  a  dinner  at  the 
Freemasons'  Tavern,  on  Thursday,  the  11th 
inst.,  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Rider,  president,  in  the 
chair. 

The  chairman,  in  proposing  "  Success  to  the 
Builders'  Benevolent  Institution,"  entered  into 
the  history  of  the  formation  and  growth  of  the 
Institution.  The  pensions,  continued  the  ch; 
man,  have  now,  through  the  indomitable 
perseverance  of  my  predecessor  (Sir.  F.  J.  Dove) , 
been  raised  to  £39  for  men  and  £30  for  women, 
necessitating,  of  cour?e,  a  much  increased  out- 
lay. One  hundred  and  eighteen  persons  have 
enjoyed  the  benefit  of  the  pensions,  and  there 
are  now  more  than  fifty  on  the  books.  For  the 
next  election,  on  the  25th  inst.,  there  are  nine 
candidates,  five  men  and  four  women.  Gentle- 
men, on  behalf  of  this  Institution,  I  now  appeal 
to  you.  Strikes  and  lock-outs — those  barbarous 
inventions  for  settling  quarrels  between  masters 
and  men — fierce  and  unhealthy  competition,  the 
bane  of  all  our  commercial  pursuits  ;  accidents 
through  the  carelessness  of  men,  and  many  other 
similar  matters,  combine  to  render  the  building 
trade  one  of  the  most  uncertain  in  existence.  In 
proof  of  this,  I  may  state  that  one  of  the  appli- 
cants for  the  benefit  of  the  charity  is  the  widow 
of  a  former  member  of  the  committee,  a  liberal 
subscriber  to  our  funds,  and  we  very  soon  ex- 
pect to  receive  an  application  from  the  widow  of 
a  partner  in  one  of  the  largest  building  firms  in 
Loudon,  who  was  ruined  by  carrying  out  a  large 
contract  at  the  West-end.  I  therefore  appeal  to 
the  master  builders  of  London  to  support  this 
charity  on  the  ground  that  some  of  them  may 
some  day  or  other  require  its  assistance,  and  I 
appeal  to  them  on  the  common  ground 
that  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  same 
business  as  one's  self  have  a  prior  claim  on  our 
charity,  and  I  appeal  to  you  to  make  the 
Builders'  Benevolent  Institution  one  of  the  best 
charities  of  the  charitable  metropolis  of  the 
world.  With  the  toast  I  have  much  pleasure  in 
coupUng  the  name  of  our  excellent  friend  Mr. 
George  Plucknett. 

Mr.  Plucknett  having  briefly  replied,  the 
secretaiy  (Major  Bruttou)  announced  a  list  of 
subscriptions  and  donations  amounting  to 
£1,01-1  16s.,  of  which  sum  the  chairman's  list 
alone  (including  £.52  lOs.  given  by  himself  and 
£52  10s.  given  by  Mrs.  Rider)  accounted  for 
£602  ISs. 

Mr.  Edward  I' Anson,  in  proposing  "The 
Chairman  and  President,"  stated  that  during 
the  fifty  years  he  had  had  business  relations 
with  the  Ifcssrs.  Rider,  he  had  learnt  to  highly 
steem  them. 


The  remaining  toasts  were  "  The  Vice- 
Presidents  and  Trustees,"  proposed  by  Mr. 
Glanvill  and  responded  to  by  Mr.  F.  J.  Dove ; 
"'The  Architects  and  Surveyors,"  proposed  by 
Mr.  Ex-Sheriff  Burt  and  responded  to  by  Mr. 
I' Anson  and  Mr.  Franklin;  and  "The  Com- 
mittee and  Stewards,"  proposed  by  Mr.  Grim- 
wood,  and  responded  to  by  Mr.  T.  G.  Smith  and 
Mr.  RandaU. 

[It  will  be  seen  by  advertisement  on  front 
page  that,  as  a  result  oi  the  large  donations  re- 
ceived at  the  dinner,  the  committee  will  be 
enabled  to  elect,  at  the  meeting  to  be  held  next 
Thursday,  two  men  and  two  women,  instead  of 
one  man  and  one  woman  as  originally  proposed.] 


A  NEW  STO\"E. 

DR.  C.  W.  SIEMENS  has  made  many  ex- 
periments with  gas-stoves  and  with 
difi'erent  kinds  of  fuel,  with  a  view  to  the  pre- 
vention of  smoke  and  the  economy  of  heat,  and, 
in  an  article  contributed  to  JS'ntior,  he  has 
shown  that  it  is  cheaper  to  burn  the  constituents 
of  coal  in  their  separated  state  than  as  they  exist 
naturally  ;  that  is,  afire  consisting  of  coke  ren- 
dered and  maintained  incandescent  by  a  supply 
of  coal-gas  is  cheaper  than  one  in  which  coal 
pure  and  simple  is  consumed.  A  gas-grate 
arranged  in  his  bUliard-room,  in  which  the  pipes 
were  covered  with  pumice-stone,  presented  not 
only  a  cheerless  appearance,  but  filled  the  room 
with  fumes.  ' '  The  products  of  combustion  set 
up  by  the  gas-flames  ascend  no  doubt  so  long  as 
they  are  intensely  hot,  but  in  giving  off  their 
heat  to  the  inert  pumice-stone  they  rapidly  cool, 
and,  being  heavier  than  atmospheric  air,  descend 
through  the  grate  between  the  lines  of  gas- 
flames,  and  thus  reach  the  apartment."  This 
use  of  pumice  or  lump  asbestos  has  become  very 
fashionable  where  gas-fires  are  preferred  to 
coal,  and  when  the  stove  is  properly  constructed 
so  as  to  carry  away  noxious  fumes,  the  fires  are 
not  only  cheerful  but  economical.  According  to 
Dr.  Siemens  the  first  condition  to  be  reahsed  in 
an  efScient  gas-grate,  consists  in  suppressing 
all  gas  orifices  except  immediately  behind  the 
bottom  bar,  while  the  grate  is  made  as  a  solid 
dead-plate.  Instead  of  using  pumice-stone,  he 
prefers,  as  beingmore  economical  and  efficacious, 
to  transfer  the  heat  of  the  gas-flames  to  coke  or 
anthracite,  which,  when  once  heated,  helps  the 
gas  to  increase  and  maintain  a  sufficient  tem- 
perature for  radiation  through  its  own  slow- 
combustion.  This  use  of  the  gas  in  the  front  of 
the  fire  gives  the  cheerful  appearance  so  much 
desired,  and  the  hot  carbonaceous  matter  through 
which  it  passes  on  its  road  to  the  chimney,  in- 
sures its  complete  combustion,  and  the  minimum 
of  wasted  heat.  The  coke  or  anthracite  under 
these  conditions  is  practically  in  a  very  slow 
combustion  stove,  but,  notwithstanding  the 
absence  of  grate-bars,  the  mass  of  fuel  becomes 
red  throughout,  and  heat  is  lost  at  the  back,  or 
is  not  utilised  as  it  might  be.  To  remedy  this 
defect.  Dr.  Siemens  has  devised  an  arrangement 
which  yields  the  remarkable  results  above  men- 
tioned, and  which  is  thus  described  in  the 
Enfiliih  Miclianic  : — An  iron  dead -plate  is 
riveted  to  a  plate  of  copper  |in.  thick  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  copper  plate  extends  oin.  above 
and  below  the  point  of  junction.  This  copper- 
plate forms  the  hack  of  the  fire-grate,  and  the 
iron-plate  is  the  bottom.  The  latter  extends 
to  within  lin.  of  the  lowest  bar,  and  its  lower 
surface  is  level  with  the  upper  edge  of  the  bar 
which  fits  close  to  the  iron  bottom  of  the  stove. 
This  bottom  plate  is  fitted  with  a  trap-door 
opening  downwards  for  the  removal  of 
ashes,  and  at  the  back  it  is  bent  down- 
wards for  a  few  inches,  forming  a  pas- 
sage for  a  eiurent  of  air.  It  will  be  under- 
stood that  tliere  is  thus  a  hollow  bottom  to  the 
grate,  and  in  the  front  part  of  this,  just  behind 
the  lowest  bar,  is  a  Jin.  gas-pipe  with  holes 
about  l-20in.  in  diameter,  spaced  zigzag  about 
|in.  apart.  Thus,  when  the  gas  is  ignited,  the 
jets  play  over  the  edge  of  the  dead-plate  through 
the  inch  space  left  between  that  and  the  lowest 
bar.  As  the  mass  of  coke  or  coal  becomes  hot, 
the  heat  is  imparted  to  the  copper  plate  forming 
the  back  of  the  stove,  and  here  is  the  great  merit 
of  the  device.  The  portion  of  the  copper  plate 
beneath  the  dead-plate^that  is  the  part  in  what 
would  be  the  ash-pit— is  fitted  with  a  fiill  of  thin 
copper,  that  is,  a  corrugated  sheet  which  is 
riveted  to  the  stout  plate,  and  fills  up  the 
space   left   between    the   portion    of    the     iron 


plate  which  is  bent  down  and  the  copper 
back.  Copper  being  a  good  conductor  of 
heat,  the  frUl  soon  becomes  hot,  and  the 
corrugations  or  frQls,  which  are  arranged  verti- 
cally, impart  heat  to  the  air  which  passes  up 
through  them  to  the  hoUow  bottom  of  the  grate, 
where  it  impinges  against  the  gas-jets,  and 
increases  their  brilliancy.  A  piece  of  lead, 
about  half  a  pound  in  weight,  placed  in  this 
hollow  bottom  or  air-passage  through  the  trap- 
door, melted  in  five  minutes,  proving  that  the 
temperature  exceeded  619°  Fahr.  An  ordinary 
stove  can  be  modified  to  suit  gas,  by  simply 
placing  a  close-fitting  ash-pan  beneath  the 
grate-bars  and  running  the  gas-pipe  behind  the 
lowest  bar ;  but  the  fire  will  be  less  brilliant 
than  when  the  hot-air  arrangement  above 
described  is  adopted.  The  consumption  of  gas 
and  coke  per  day  of  9  hours  was  found  to  be  62 
cubic  feet  of  gas  and  22Ib.  of  coke,  which,  at 
33.  Gd.  per  1,000  cubic  feet,  and  ISs.  per  ton 
respectively,  give  a  total  of  4'725d.,  or  •o24d. 
per  hour.  The  same  grate  before  conversion 
consumed  about  471b.  of  coal,  which,  at  23s.  per 
ton,  ecpials  5-7d.,  or  -633^.  per  hour.  "The 
alteration  thus  gave  an  economy  of  one  penny 
per  day  ;  but  what  is  of  more  importance,  there 
is  now  no  difficulty  in  keeping  the  temperature 
of  the  room  at  60°  F.,  -which  never  could  be 
done  when  the  fireplace  was  a  coal- grate.  Add 
to  those  facts  another — that  the  fire  is  no-w 
smokeless,  and  the  advantages  of  Dr.  Siemens' 
stove  are  apparent.  The  first  cost  of  such  a 
grate  will,  of  course,  he  considerable,  but  it  -will 
probably  not  be  more  expensive  than  many  of 
the  stoves,  patented  and  otherwise,  which  at 
present  are  soliciting  public  patronage.  Dr. 
Siemens  has  taken  up  the  question  without  the 
idea  of  profit,  and  he  will  supply  builders  and 
others  with  the  necessary  directions  to  insure 
success. 

TESTS  FOR  GOOD   IRON. 

A  FEW  clear  rules  are  necessary  to  prevent 
misapprehension  as  regards  the  quality 
of  iron.  A  hard  iron  is  generally  brittle,  and 
will  soon  snap  under  a  sudden  strain.  A  good 
iron  for  building  pm-poses  ought  to  be  ductile, 
or  capable  of  stretching  before  it  gives  way ; 
and  this  ductility  can  be  measured  by  the 
amount  of  elongation  of  the  bar,  or  by  the 
amount  of  contraction  of  area  of  section  due  to 
the  tensile  strain.  Mr.  Kirkaldy's  conclusion? 
on  this  point  ought  to  be  kept  in  view  by  all 
engineers  and  architects.  He  obseri-es,  in  short, 
that  the  tensile  resistance  of  a  piece  of  iron  is 
not  a  fair  measure  of  quality.  The  experiments 
made  by  that  gentleman  have  conclusively 
shown  that — "  1,  the  breaking  strain  does  not 
indicate  the  quality ;  2,  a  high  breaking  strain 
may  be  due  to  the  iron  being  of  superior  quality, 
dense,  fine,  and  moderately  soft,  or  simply  to  its 
being  very  hard  and  imyielding  ;  3,  a  low  break- 
ing strain  may  be  due  to  looseness  and  coarse- 
ness in  texture,  or  to  extreme  softness,  though 
very  close  and  fine  in  quality  ;  4,  the  contraction 
of  area  at  fracture,  previously  overlooked, 
forms  an  essential  element  in  estimating  the 
quality  of  specimens  ;  5,  the  respective  merits 
of  various  specimens  can  be  correctly  ascer- 
tained by  comparing  the  breaking  strain 
jointly  -with  contraction  of  area."  The  engineer 
or  architect,  therefore,  may  rely  mainly  upon 
the  contraction  of  area  or  the  measurement  of 
the  elongation;  the  last,  perhaps,  is  the  easiest 
method  of  testing.  In  specifying  iron  for 
structures  it  is  not  sufficient  to  state  the  amoimt 
of  tensile  stress  it  can  bear ;  the  least  elonga- 
tion must  be  stated  also  in  terms  of  the  original 
length  of  the  specimen.  The  specification  may 
run  thus: — "All  iron  used  to  be  tested  by — 
[here  state  name  of  testing  establishment],  and 

to  be  capable  of   resisting  a  tensile  stress  of 

per  square  inch  with  a  minimum  elongation  of 
so  much  per  cent."  The  table  of  tests  used  by 
the  India  Office  show,  under  class  C,  an  ultimate 
stress  for  round  or  square  bars  per  square  inch 
of  27  tons,  and  a  contraction  of  area  of  45  per 
cent. ;  under  class  D  an  ultimate  stress  of  26  and 
contraction  of  area  of  35  ;  under  E  a  stress  of 
25  tons  and  a  contraction  of  30  per  cent. ;  under 
F  a  stress  of  24  and  a  contraction  of  25,  and 
under  class  G  a  stress  of  23  and  a  contraction 
of  20  per  cent.  Flat  bars  are  given  a  trifle  less. 
Taking  class  G,  the  ultimate  "stress  is  22,  and 
contraction  at  fracture  16  ;  angle  and  T-iron 
of  the  same  class  shows  a  test  of  21,  and  a 
contraction     of      12     per     cent.      For    plates 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINa    NEWS. 


587 


•with  the  grain  lengthwise,  the  tests  range  in  all 
the  above  classes  from  24  tons  per  square  inch  to 
20  tons ;  those  with  grain  crosswise,  22  tons  in 
■class  C  to  1 7  in  class  &.  If  the  iron  is  wantcil 
for  a  particular  purpose,  it  should  stand  testing 
onder  class  E,  which  is  the  average  :  and  the 
all-good,  or  EB  irons,  are  capable  of  undergoing 
it.  Ordinary  B  iron  might  be  specified  to  stand 
the  lowest  tests  given  above,  or  those  recorded 
under  class  G  :  and  the  best  Yorkshire  might 
stand  the  highest  test  we  have  mentioned.  It 
is  usual  to  specify  it  for  all  important  works 
subjected  to  unusual  stress  or  sudden  shock. 
But  there  are  so  many  varieties  in  the  market, 
that  the  only  sure  plan  is  to  test  all  specimens, 
and  not  to  trust  to  particular  brands.  Even 
bending  a  plate  of  iron,  hot  or  cold,  with  and 
across  the  grain,  is  a  good  means  of  testing  for 
ordinary  purposes.  The  Admiralty  directions 
on  this  point  may  be  followed.  Thus,  the  best- 
best  plate-iron  with  grain  lengthwise,  lin. 
•thick,  should  bend  125"  when  hot,  when  cold 
1.5°:  sheet-iron  may  be  tested  to  bend  to  90° 
when  cold.  ^Tien  the  grain  is  crosswise  the 
angle  bent  for  plate-iron  is  given  at  90'  when 
hot,  and  .i'  when  cold.  These  angles  are  of 
<^ourse  those  through  which  the  iron  should  bend 
without  cracking. 


CONVERSION    OF     DWELLINCxS    INTO 
SHOPS. 

THERE  are  many  old  houses  in  London, 
originally  built  for  private  dwellings, 
which  are  yearly  absorbed  in  the  ever-growing 
demand  for  shops.  These  houses  are  found 
more  especially  in  the  suburban  districts,  where 
new  accessions  of  buUding  in  the  outskirts 
gradually  draw  residents  farther  out,  thus 
creating  vacancies  in  the  older  thoroughfares 
which  become  devoted  to  trade.  In  the  districts 
of  HoUoway,  Islington,  Finsbury-park,  Camden, 
town.  Hammersmith,  and  Kensington,  as  well 
as  in  the  southern  suburbs  of  Camberwell  and 
Brixton,  old  well-built  houses  of  several  stories 
are  to  be  seen,  which,  one  after  another,  fall  a 
prey  to  the  insatiable  shopkeeper.  Many  of 
these  rows  are  some  feet  from  the  thorough- 
fare ;  they  often  stand  back  within  a  small  fore- 
court, and  having  been  built  when  land  was 
cheaper,  and  speculative  builders  were  scarce, 
possess  a  good  piece  of  garden-ground  in  the 
rear.  The  process  of  conversion  is  after  this 
fashion : — The  fore-courts  are  inclosed  by 
boarding,  and  the  few  shrubs  and  trees  which 
long  attordcd  shelter,  are  rooted  up  ;  where  the 
party  fences  stood,  huge  walls  of  brick  14in.  in 
thickness  take  their  place,  and  these  are  carried 
up  to  the  height  of  the  first  story.  Upon  them 
cross-beams  of  timber  or  rolled  iron  girders  are 
placed  to  support  a  flat  skylight ;  a  shop-front 
is  introduced  at  the  pavement,  a  floor  laid 
upon  the  scantiest  of  joists,  the  space  below 
being  partially  excavated  for  cellars,  and  the  shop 
is  now  finished  for  occupation.  In  some  cases,  the 
skylight  is  raised  just  above  the  windows  of  the 
ground-floor  room  to  Ught  it,  but  in  many  cases 
the  wall  of  this  story  is  removed  and  tbrowu 
into  the  shop,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  old 
house-front  is  supported  on  a  bressummer.  It 
would  bo  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  ready  way 
of  converting  a  house  into  shop  premises  ;  the 
house  remains  \-irtuaUy  the  same  while  the  shop 
is  added  to  it  as  a  front  building.  The  etJect  of 
this  kind  of  construction  may  be  seen  in  Edg- 
ware-road,  Euston-road,  Walworth-road,  and 
Camberwell-road,  where  miles  of  old  houses 
once  built  for  private  residences  are  yearly  trans- 
formed. 

But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  cannot  the  builder 
make  these  front  erections  a  little  more  sightly ': 
In  the  examples  we  have  mentioned,  they  look 
more  Uke  a  row  of  temporary  sheds  ihan  any- 
thing else ;  they  spoU  the  rooms  behind  them, 
and  in  very  few  instances  do  we  find  that  private 
entrances  are  left  to  the  houses  which  they  partly 
conceal.  It  is  well  worth  consideration,  seeing 
eo  many  old  streets  are  being  left  to  the  mercy 
of  the  builder.  Cannot,  also,  the  MetropoUtan 
Board  of  Works  exercise  a  little  authority  over 
the  kind  of  front  inserted  and  the  mode  of  roof- 
ing ?  To  throw  out  a  suggestion,  why  cannot 
the  roofs  be  turned  to  some  account  f  Let  the 
flat  be  substantially  laid  down  with  asphalte 
upon  concrete  arches  or  slabs  with  prismatic 
lights,  in  preference  to  timber  or  iron  ;  let  the 
space  be  raUed  oflf  for  recreation,  or  converted 
into  a  small  garden  to  cheer  the  eyes  of  those  who 


have  to  dwell  behind  them.  If  a  little  more 
ingenuity  wore  exercised,  and  plate-glass  were 
not  so  persi^k  ntly  demanded,  the  fronts  mi^'lit 
be  treated  aitistically.  In  a  long  lino 
of  street,  a  c^tloanado  or  covered  passage 
along  the  fronts  might  be  constructed,  pos- 
sessing the  double  advantage  of  affording 
shelter  from  the  sun  and  rain.  But,  as  Sir. 
Barry  said  the  other  evening,  wo  are  not  likely, 
under  our  system  of  metropolitan  government,  to 
get  anything  like  uniformity  in  the  remodelling 
of  our  streets ;  English  ta»tcs  are  controlled  by 
individual  wants  and  fancies,  although  we  may 
hope  for  the  day  when  a  committee  of  taste  will 
exercise  a  control  over  the  remodelling  of  our  old 
thoroughfares  as  well  as  the  reconstruction  of  new 
streets.  The  clauses  touching  projections  and  | 
shop-fronts  in  the  Building  Act  are  too  incom-  \ 
plete  to  be  of  any  service  in  improving  buildings  j 
of  this  kind,  and  the  architect  is  restricted  to  the  I 
barest  requirements  of  his  employer. 

In  the  remodelling  of  old  buildings,  as  for 
example  the  insertion  of  a  new  front,  people  are 
inclined  to  follow  in  the  groove.  They  arc  [ 
content  to  do  what  their  next  neighbour  has 
done.  Hence  it  is  not  strange  that  terra-ootta 
has  found  so  few  to  introduce  it  as  a  building 
material  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  of 
a  small  front  with  large  openings.  In  the 
introduction  of  a  new  front  to  an  old  build- 
ing, the  pilasters  or  supports,  the  transom  and 
upper  lights,  might  be  easily  cast  into  a  few 
pieces,  and  fixed  together  like  a  frame  of  timbers. 
The  bressummer  itself  might  be  formed  of 
concrete,  with  iron  bars  inserted,  and  the  end- 
piers  or  muUions  of  the  same  material  or  terra- 
cotta, avoiding  the  construction  of  brick  or 
decaying  stone  piers,  and  saving  a  good  deal  of 
the  wooden  framing.  In  case  of  fire  they  wotUd 
be  more  indestructible  than  iron  beams  or 
wooden  story-posts,  and  they  are  materials  that 
would  be  free  from  the  unsightly  settlements  and 
fractures  so  frequently  seen.  We  might  imagine 
a  front  completely  filled  in  with  moulded  terra- 
cotta windows,  to  suit  Queen  Anne  or  any  other 
style,  and  we  express  a  conviction  that  if  ar- 
chitects were  to  employ  this  material  instead  of 
wood,  some  architectural  freshness  might  be  im- 
ported into  our  streets. 


tlic  part  of  the  ntadentt,  and   that  Iho  xhool 

still    maintiiiiii  the   hiifh  poitition   •mont.'^l  \\\e 

art  scliooUof  th- kintfj.mi  whi.h  it   In.  ^-,  Imif 

occupied.     Tli.- lli^tri^JUlirm  of  1) 

prizes  and  cerliliiateH,  ai  will  n- 

took  i.l.K-e  on  the  cv.nin-  ,.f  Thui 

of  Salisbury   (Mr.  ]■;.  I'.  Keli-v  1 

opening   tlio   jro<-e<-<lin(fii,     llij.-! 

report-,  of  iho  SchooU  of  Art  ui. 

read  by  Mr.  W.  Junan   Wilt.m,  .  :. 

sees,  of  the  Hcliooln,    after    wlii.h  ihi-   I  ■ 

Salisliury,  in  ni'.ving  \\v  iii!n|,iii,n  cf  tli 

delivered  nn  addrcM  on  the  f\\\,ytX  of  or' 

tion,  and  itH  importani*-  purticularlT  in  1 1 

and  refining  the  tusten  of  tho  |>o<ip(o.      1 

Mayor   socoiided    the   a'ln]iii.>n    ..f    t!,. 

which,  on  bein;.'t)«t  from  the  rhi: 

unanimously.     The  pri/r-«  and  ■ 

presented   by   the    I)eau.      Thi'    i 

medal    wa.s  awarded   to   Gidi-<m    I  jU.  r,    f  .r   n 

carpet  design  ;  and  the  national  bronzo  rrn-dal  to 

Jane  J.  Collis,   for  munlin  dcnignn.     After  th« 

presentation     some    onelli-nt     adJrt«M.'S     were 

delivered  by  other  gentlemen  prcwnt  in  moving 

and  seconding  the  usual  nsolutionn. 


ARCHITECTURAL  &  ARCHiEOLOGICAL 
SOCIETIES. 

LrvEEPOOL  Akchiiectohal  Soctety. — The 
annual  dinner  of  this  society  was  held  on  Tues- 
day, October  .5th,  at  the  Alexandra  Hotel,  D.ale- 
street,  forty-four  members  and  guests  being 
present.  The  first  ordinary  meeting  of  the 
society  was  held  on  the  following  day,  October 
6th,  the  President,  Mr.  Charles  Aldridge, 
F.R.I.B.A.,  in  the  chair.  After  the  election  of 
members  and  other  business,  the  report  of  the 
visitors  on  last  session's  work  by  members  of  the 
class  of  construction  and  design  was  re.ad,  the 
first  prize  being  awarded  to  Leonard  J.  Pilking- 
ton,  and  the  2nd  to  Constantine  Phillips.  The 
President  then  read  his  opening  address. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 

Chesteefield.— The  third  annual  distribution 
of  prizes  to  the  students  in  the  science  and  art 
classes  took  place  at  the  Stephenson  Memarml 
Hall  on  Thursday  week.  The  report  .stated  that 
the  finances  and  work  of  the  schools  contmued 
to  flourish  under  Mr.  T.  C.  Simmonas,  also 
head-master  of  the  Derby  School  of  Art.  The 
attendance  had  not  been  so  large,  but  the  results 
were  much  greater  ;  -50  out  of  70  candidates  at 
the  AprU  Examinations  were  successful  ;  31  as 
excellent,  and  two  obtained  3rd  grade  prizes  ; 
1  4S1  drawings  were  sent  up  for  examination, 
but  only  7  were  returned,  and  these  obtained  one 
free  scholarship  and  three  third-grade  prizes. 
The  grant  this  year  was  the  largest  yet  received, 
£99  17s.  6d. 

Sausbtot.— in  exhibition  of  the  works  of  the 
art  pupils  of  the  Salisbury  School  of  Art,  waf 
opened  in  the  CouncU-chamber,  Salisbury,  on 
Thursday  week  and  two  followmg  days,  and 
attracted  a  lar<re  number  of  the  fnemU  of  the 
pupUs  and  supporters  of  the  school.  The  worRs 
comprised  those  which  had  been  sent  up  to 
South  Kensington,  as  well  as  those  sent  in  tor 
the  local  prize  competition.  Altogether  the 
exhibition  was  an  admirable  one,  the  prize  and 
other  drawings  showing  considerable  talent  on 


COMPETITIONS 

Broadstaip-'i. — At   the    la«t    v.. 
local   board   seventeen    planit    \-. 
which  had  been  sent  in  by  corap'  ' 
for  the  drainage  of  the  district . 
of  cost  varied  from  £1,001    t/'  ■ 
considerable    dtsoiLssion,    in     n : 
opinion  was  exprcwed  against  lii-  .. .  ....    i... 

sewage  of  a  watering-place  like  liroa'inuin 
into  the  sea,  it  was  de<:id'>d  to  diitcuM.  at  thi 
next  meeting  of  the  board,  the  four  ncherae* 
providing  for  the  utilisation  of  the  soira^c. 

Peoposed  School  of  Art,  LrvEarooL. — ^Tbe 
drawings  for  the  above  competition  wen-  sont  in 
on  Monday,  the  1.5th  inst.  The  large  nunitx.r  of 
ninety-six  sets  of  designs,  compri-ing  'I'.'i  draw- 
ings, have  been  received.  The  mottuca  nubmitli.'d 
with  the  design  are  as  follows: — 

Apollo,  Oio  Sara  Sam.  Let  thiTf  lie  Liaht  (1!,  lire  in 
Hope,  I..  8.  A  ,  tX-onomy,  Full.,  i  mi  .\iu.,!. .  s; . ;  .  l'r»- 
gi-es3,  Yirens  in  AixIulh,  M-  ; 

tiijue.  Loco,  I  strivf  for  At*.  ■  ^ 

Excelsior,  Finem  Kcspice.  A  ! 

Boy,  Lux,  0^-51.  Straighlfoi 
Sans  Peur,  Dc-ndero  conti-- 

School  of  Art,  Scuola  dell'.\  ' 

.\ir,  Deltii,   Grosrenor,  An  ' 

Gout,  Half  Moon,  Ara  l«n^ 
N'obis  hffic  Otia  Fecit,  Ligh: 
Onwani,  K.  N.  E.  bv  X..  - 
Fi.it  Justitia,  Cum  Marti. 
tYau,  Norr,  Noo  Gn^.  S|.  -.  - 
< 'a veto,  Excel>-ior  iti  ■  - 

Main,  Simplex  ,  r .  ■• 
.\orth  Light  (2.  N 
in  circle,  .\urora  li": 

QtTEEXSTOWS,   SOLTU    .Vir.ICA.      Tho    pr'-lni'im 

for  the  best  design  submitted  in  public  compt'ti- 
tion  connected  with  the  rebuilding  of  8t. 
Michael's  Church,  ha-i  been  awarded  to  Mr.  W. 
II.  Reid,  architect,  "f  Cain.-  Town,  and  f'rmc'J/ 
of  Newman-street,  Oxford-«trctt.  London,  \V  . 
Tenders  will  shortly  bo  invited,  and  the  work 
commenced   at   an   early  daU'   in    the  enduing 


committee  for  the   erection    of 

cei%-ed  more  than  forty  fctsof  il  - 

ings,    of  which  eleven  have  t- 

further  consideration.     The  m 

not  seem  to   be  adopted,  for  t  • 

mention  that  amnng-t  the  eleven  < 

for  further  consideration,  are  tho~    ~:.:  i:i  I'.r 

Messrs.  Waller  and  Son,  .^J-^Kn..   Me.U.nd  »n> 

Son,  Mr.  Capel  Ninkivcl   Tripp,  and  Mr.  J.  P. 

Moore,  all  of  Glonccster. 

Stbatfoiu>-on-.\^vox.— In   %    coinpeUlJon  for 
plansforanewc-". -rv   ,•  S:rAtl   :  l-r.-.Vvoc^. 
20  sets  were  w'l" 
by  Messrs.  \\'o'  ■  i 

wich,  has   been  ■•  '       '^ 

.Stratford-on-.\von,   ii>  pUc=:i  s-.con  ., 
Lettisacr's  tHird.  

At  a  meeting  held  mt  Hi  •  ^■ 

under  the  presidency  of   ; 

the  question  of  Ih'-  ^'Mr  j 

shot   Church    wi' 

th.it  better  chur  .' 

nccesxarj-,  and   ti  f 

report  on  the  pri      •■  .i    ,,.r..ii». 

thrcost  of  t.u.l.l..i^  a  ...  *  no  t;.  ■•  it  1  '^-^^^ 
ind  for  restonnff  the  pre.eiit  on.  A  <»^™«f 
was  appointed,  with  t£e  Royal  Dak.  as  pr«- 
d^nt. 


1   Mr. 


588 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


679 


Is  Art  the  Imitation  of  Nature  ?      

Contract  Work  and  Ix)W  Tenders  .       -«„ 

The  Engineering  ExhiDition  at  Islington     osi 

Hints  on  House-Decoration      5S1 

Grammar  of  Japanese  Ornament 5S3 

Im-roved  Street-Lighting  in  Birmingham 583 

Eo'al  Institute  of  British  Arcliitccts     5S4 

Mr.  H.  H.  Statham  on  Architecture      585 

Institution  of  Surveyors    SS5 

Wooden  Houses  and  Modern  Copies       58i 

Builders' Benevolent  Institution    586 

A  New  Stove 686 

Tests  for  Good  Iron     586 

Convereion  of  Dwellings  into  Shops      587 

Archittctural  and  Archaeological  Societies 587 

Schoolsof  Art 587 

Competitions 587 

Onr  Lithographic  Illustrations 5S8 

The  Newtown  Church  Competition  at  Exeter    588 

Chips 6S8 

Church  Notes  On  and  Off  the  East  Coast  Line 601 

Building  Intelligence 603 

To  Correspondents 604 

Correspondence      604 

Intercommunication     606 

Statues,  Memorials.  &c       606 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      606 

Our  Office  Table    606 

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      607 

Tenders    607 


rLLUSTBATIONS. 

NEW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDI.NGS,  HASTINGS.— PLAS  LLASTCHil 
—  BALLYCULTER    CHUECn.  — nRIGADS     HEPOT,    OXFORD.- 
,   WOOLWICH. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 


HASTINGS  MmnCIPAI.  BUILDINGS. 
These  buildings,  of  which  we  give  geometrical 
drawings  this  week,  are  being  carried  out  under 
the  direction  of  the  borough  surveyor— Mr. 
WiUiam  Andrews— for  whom  the  designs  have 
been  made  by  Mr.  Hy.  Ward.  The  plan  pro- 
vides accommodation  for  all  oflicers  connected  with 
the  town,  including  police  court,  oOft.  by  30ft., 
waiting  and  witnesses'  rooms,  jury  room,  grand 
jury's  room,  and  magistrates'  rooms.  On  the 
first-fioor  are  council  chamber,  uOft.  by  30ft., 
committee  room,  27ft.  by  ISft.,  and  offices  for 
the  borough  surveyor.  A  mayor's  private  room 
in  connection  with  the  council  chamber  is  also 
provided,  and  cloak-room  and  lavatory  accommo- 
dation on  each  floor.  Six  large  spare  offices  for 
future  use,  if  required,  arc  provided  over  the 
main  building,  but  these  will  not  be  completed 
at  present,  except  so  far  as  the  floors  are  eon- 
csmed,  as  it  is  not  likely  they  -n  id  be  required 
for  considerable  time.  At  the  rear  of  the  main 
building,  and  approached  from  Station -road,  is 
the  police  department,  provided  with  private 
offices  for  the  superintendent,  charge  room,  con- 
stables' day  room,  and  sixteen  cells.  On  the 
first-floor  of  this  department  are  rooms  for  the 
use  of  a  caretaker,  besides  some  smaU  spare  offices. 
The  apex  of  triangle  next  St:ition-road  is  occu- 
pied by  offices  for  inspector  of  weights  and  mea- 
sures, and  borouah  surveyor's  pay  office,  with 
two  good  spare  rooms  over.  The  style  of  the 
building  is  Gothic,  the  outside  walls  being  con- 
structed of  a  local  blue  stone  with  Bath  stone 
dressings.  The  finishing  to  principal  rooms  will 
be  in  pitch-pine.  The  roofs  will  be  covered  in 
permanent  green  slates.  Messrs.  D.  C.  Jones  and 
Co.,  of  Gloucester,  are  the  contractors. 

PLAS   LLANTCHAM-. 

Plas  LLAMTCHANhas  been  rebuilt,  on  the  founda- 
tion of  an  old  house  which  was  in  a  dilapidated 
condit'on,  for  John  Taber,  Esq.,  of  Claremont, 
near  Ruthin.  The  work  has  been  carried  out 
by  Mr.  John  Price  Williams,  of  Ruthin,  from 
designs  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Arthur  Baker,  architect,  of  14,  Warwick- 
gardens,  Kensington,  at  a  cost  of  £2,000. 

BALLYCULTEK  CHUECH,  DIOCESE  OB.  DOWN,  IKELAND. 

The  usual  type  of  country  chui'oh  found  through- 
out Ireland  is  not  interesting,  to  say  tke  least. 
It  is  a  barn-like,  poverty-stricken  build- 
ing, mean  in  its  materials,  and  with  no 
greater  pretensions  to  architectural  character 
than  it  can  astume  on  the  strength  of  some  Car- 
penter's-Gothic  wooden  niuUioned  windows, 
with  cast-iron  lozenge -shiped  glazing,  rough 
dashintr  without,  plain  plastered  walls  within, 
and  a  flat  plastered  ceiling.  The  existing  church, 
8ho\»n  as  remodelled  in  the  illustration,   is  no 


exception  to  the  rule,  being  an  ill-proportioned, 
cruciform  structure,  with  a  rude  tower  and 
rubble-built  spire.  It  has  been  desired  to  trans- 
form it  into  a  building  worthy  as  a  memorial  of 
the  late  Dowager  Countess  of  Bangor,  without 
obliterating  all  remnants  of  the  old  church,  in 
which  she  was  interested  during  a  long  life. 
Some  ingenuity  has  been  exercLsed  in  wholly 
changing  the  plan  and  proportions,  while  pre- 
serving the  existing  walls.  The  centre-line  of 
the  nave  has  been  shifted  over  to  the  north  2ft., 
dividing  the  old  east  end  into  chancel  and  organ- 
chamber,  and  extending  eastward,  while  an 
arcade  is  introduced  on  the  south  side,  with  an 
aisle- passage  outside  it.  This  leaves  the  old 
south  transept  »f  its  present  dimensions,  while 
the  north  transept  is  curtailed  into  a  side -chapel 
for  the  Bangor  family.  The  tower  at  the  west 
end  will,  under  the  altered  plan,  not  come  in 
centrally  with  the  nave  ;  but  by  introducing  a 
ringers'  gallery,  or  screen,  at  the  west  end, 
formed  by  a  double  arch,  the  irregularity  is  pro 
rided  for,  one  arch  central  with  the  tower  being 
the  entrance,  and  the  other  forming  a  baptisie"y. 
This  arrangement  does  not  appear  upon  the 
sketch-plan,  as  it  is  to  be  executed.  The  mate- 
rials used  will  he  Bath  Corsham  Down  stone  for 
the  interior  ;  red  Dumfries  stone  for  exterior, 
and  red  tile  roof.  The  contract  has  not  yet  been 
let.  The  architect  is  Mr.  Thomas  Drew, 
R.H.A.,  of  Dublin,  diocesan  architect  for 
Down,  &c. 

BEIGADE   DEPOT,    OXTOED. 

Apbopos  of  Mr.  Ingress  Bell's  paper  on  *'  Bar- 
racks," read  on  Monday  at  theR.I.B.A  ,  we  are 
■able  to  give  an  illustration  of  the  New  Keep 
forming  part  of  the  Brigade  Depot  at  Oxford. 
It  comprises  the  guard-room  and  accessories,  and 
the  store  for  ar.rs  and  accoutrements.  It  is  a 
type  which  has  been  used  generally  in  the  new 
brigade  depots  built,  or  building,  under  the 
Military  Forces  Localisation  Act  of  1872.  The 
architecture  is  severe,  as  befits  its  purpose,  and 
the  structure  is  effective  from  its  mass,  whicli  is 
considerable,  and  from  the  simplicity  of  its  parts 
and  inclosing  lines.  We  hope  hereafter  to  be 
able  to  give  further  particulars  of  tliis  interesting 
and  unique  class  of  buildings,  of  which  so  many 
examples  have  been  recently  constructed. 


COFFEE   TAVEEX   AMD   PUBLIC   HALL,    WOOLWICn. 

This  building  which  has  been  erected  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  W.  Rickwood,  architect,  of 
Plumstead ,  was  opened  by  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
on  the  30th  ult.,  and  was  fully  described  on 
p.  5-t.i,  attte.  Messrs.  Lonergan  and  Sons,  of  Plum- 
stead,  are  the  bu  Iders. 


THE  NEWTOWN  CHirRCH  COMPETITION 

AT  EXETER. 

IN  our  last  issue  we  announced  that  Mr.  Rob- 
son,  architect,  of  London,  in  his  award  in 
this  competition,  had  placed  the  designs  of  Mr. 
R.  Medley  Fulford,  first;  and  those  of  Mr.  E. 
Webb,  second.  Five  of  the  seven  sets  originally 
Bent  in  were  on  view  one  day  last  week  in  the  old 
College  Hall  at  Exeter,  and  the  public  generally 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  judging  for  them- 
selves as  to  the  respective  merits  of  the  various 
works.  The  other  two  competitors  declined  to 
exhibit.  Four  out  of  the  five  are  of  a  Geometri- 
cal or  Early  Decorated  character,  the  other  being 
of  the  Byzantine  or  Romanesque  style — the 
design  reminding  one  somewhat  of  Wyatt's  well- 
known  church  at  Wilton. 

This  design,  shown  under  the  motto  of  "Cui 
Bono, "received  thesecondpremium  of  £25, and  was 
the  work  of  Mr.  Edward  Webb,  architect,  of  the 
Cathedral-yard,  Exeter.  The  elevations  show  a 
tall  campanile  at  the  north-west,  and  from  it  a 
passage  along  the  west  end,  with  a  semi-circular, 
on  plan,  baptistery  in  the  centre.  The  clerestory 
has  large  windows  in  couplets.  The  design  is 
well  suited  for  a  brick  church,  and  the  drawings, 
although  in  an  unfinished  state,  show  much 
tjste. 

"Omnia  diligentia  suhjiciuntur"  (Mr.  Ed- 
ward A.sh worth),  in  a  series  of  six  neat, carefully 
got-up  drawings,  shows  designs  for  an  excellent 
church  of  Geometrical  character.  Thetransepts, 
like  those  of  the  cathedrals  of  St.  Peter's,  Exeter, 
and  St.  Stephen's,  Vienita,  as  also  the  interesting 
old  church  of  Ottery  St.  Marj ,  in  Devonshire, 
form  the  base  of  the  towers,  save  that,  in  Mr. 
Ashworth's  design,  a  north  tower  only  is  pro- 
vided. This  terminates  with  a  wood  spire  covered 


with  lead — a  treatment  that  has  many  local  pre- 
cedents. 

Altogether  the  design  is,  both  as  regards  plan 
and  elevation,  an  excellent  one,  and  such  a  church 
would  be  admirably  adapted  for  congregational 
purposes.  Provision  is  made  for  a  west  gallery, 
reached  from  the  western  doorway,  the  adoption 
of  which  would  be  optional.  The  whole  might 
very  well  be  built  for  the  £(5,000. 

"Si  fortuna  juvat"  (Messrs.  Hayward  and 
Son)  shows,  like  the  other  competitors,  the  usual 
nave,  aisles,  transepts,  chancel  aisles,  &c  ,  and  i& 
also  of  Geometrical  character.  There  is  a  north- 
west tower  of  good  proportions  having  a  large 
stair-turret  surmounted  by  a  spirelet  on  the 
anirle,  and  a  pyramidal  roof  over  the  battlements. 
Tliis  tower,  although  of  earlier  detail,  has  much 
of  the  feeling  about  it  of  the  west  country  towers. 
The  tran  ept  gables  include  porches,  whilst  the 
length  of  the  nave  clerestory  is  reheved  by  two 
gablets  rising  at  intervals,  each  containing  two 
windows.  A  ventilating  fleche  breaks  the 
monotony  of  the  nave  roof  ridge.  A  narthex 
runs  along  the  western  end  from  the  tower. 
This  gives  access  to  the  western  duors.  The 
arcades  are  supported  by  Devon  marble  columns. 
These  drawings  were  well  got  up  in  brown,  and 
apparently  in  no  way  exceeded,  by  what  they 
proposed  to  do,  the  cost  namtd. 

The  successful  plans  btar  the  motto  of  "  Laus 
Deo,"  and  are  in  the  Early  First  Pointed  style. 
The  walls  are  of  red  brick,  relieved  by  Ham  Hill 
and  Bath  stone  dressing*.  The  brickwork  will 
.show  on  the  interior  walls,  and  provision  is  made 
for  bands  of  tiles  therein,  with  figure  subjects 
painted  thereon.  Tlie  nave  arcades  of  four  bays 
are  carried  by  monoliths  of  red  Devon  (Dart- 
moor) granite.  The  plan  is  nearly  a  parallelo- 
gram showing  double  transejjts  of  not  very  great 
projection.  There  is  a  tower  at  the  north-west 
angle,  surmounted  by  a  steep  saddle-back  roof, 
witii  a  tall  spirelet  rising  again  from  out  of  it. 
Over  the  arcades  is  a  simple  clerestory  of  two 
light  windows.  The  roofs  are  of  pitch-pine  and 
slated.  At  the  north  and  south  of  the  chancel 
are  priests'  atd  choir  vestries  connected  by  a 
corridor.  The  arrangement  for  communicants  is 
good.  Mr.  Robson,  in  his  report  in  awarding 
the  first  premium  of  Mr.Fulford's  designs,  spoke 
well  of  them  generally,  but  especially  dxew 
attention  to  the  excellence  of  the  planning, 
which,  whilst  in  some  respects  of  unusual  cha- 
racter, he  defined  as  among  the  very  best  he  had 
overbad  an  opportunity  of  seeing.  As  for  cost, 
he  thought  that,  so  far  from  being  in  excess  of 
the  £6,000,  the  edifice  might  be  buit  for  some 
hundreds  less.  The  total  length  of  the  church 
inside  is  llSft.,  width,  G3ft.,  and  the  height  to 
the  ridge  -SOft.,  with  accommodation  for  SOO. 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  quiet  set  of  draw- 
ings Mr.  Fulford  and  the  others  we  have  men- 
tioned sent  in,  were  the  series  of  S  exhibited  by 
"  Confidence  "  (Mr.  E.  H.  Harbottle) ;  a  Late 
Early  English  church,  having  a  bold-looking 
tower  with  lofty  stone  spire  at  the  south-  ivest 
end,  and  bold  transepts  ;  the  nave  roof  is  arched 
with  plain  boarding  and  moulded  tie-beams  and 
king-posts.  The  chancel  aisles  are  wide,  and 
the  chancel  has  a  semi-octagonal  termination. 


CHIPS. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Wesleyan  school 
chapel  was  laid  in  Boltou-road,  Darwen,  on  Satur- 
day week.  It  is  Gothic  in  style,  and  is  being  built 
of  local  parpoints,  with  stone  dressings,  the  whole 
of  the  intern.al  fittings  being  of  pitch  piue.  Ac- 
commodation for  400  adults  is  provided  in  the 
principal  rooms,  and  two  classrooms  and  two 
vestries  adjoin.  Messrs.  Thackeray  and  Woods 
are  the  architects  ;  the  cost  will  be  £1,000. 

At  Tamworth,  on  Tuesday  week.  Captain  Hild- 
yard,  an  inspector  of  the  Local  Government  Board, 
h»Id  an  inquiry  int )  an  application  by  the  urban 
and  rural  authorities,  to  borrow  conjointly  £7,000 
for  the  completion  of  the  waterworks  now  in  course 
of  construction.  Mr.  M.arten,  C.E.,  of  Wolver- 
hampton, the  engineer,  stated  in  the  course  of  his 
evidence,  that  he  rarely  ever  knew  a  scheme  of  so 
great  a  capacity  to  bj  carried  out  at  so  small  a 
cost;  it  was  exp  cted  to  raise  a  million  gallons  of 
water  per  day  at  an  initial  cost  of  £22,000. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  local  board  of  Brownhills, 
near  Wolverhampton,  held  last  week,  the  tender 
of  Mr.  A.  Palmer  was  accepted  for  the  construc- 
tion of  works  of  sewerage  for  the  district,  from  the 
plans  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Ship- 
w^y,  engineer  to  the  board.  At  the  same  meeting, 
Mr.  Tickle,  of  West  Brcmwich,  was  elected  as  clerk 
of  works  during  the  construction  at  a  salary  of  2J 
guineas  per  week. 


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Nov.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


601 


CHURCH    NOTES    OX   AND  OFF  THE 
EAST     COAST     LINE. 

(■n'lTH  THREE  rLA>'3.) 

COLCHESTER  retains  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  brick-built  Priory  of  St. 
Botolph,  which  belonged  to  the  Austin 
Canons.  The  soil  has  risen  many  feet  deep 
round  the  bases  of  the  piers.  The  west 
front  is  shorn  nf  its  gable  and  a  Lirge  por- 
tion of  one  side;  it  is  also  in  a  deplorab'e 
condition  of  neglect  and  decay.  A  frag- 
ment of  the  south  arcade,  and  six  bays  of 
that  on  the  north  side,  with  the  aisle  wall 
remain.  The  cloistral  buildings  and  eastern 
arm  have  disapjieareJ  wholly.  Traces  only 
of  the  abutment  of  the  Cellarer's  hall  are 
now  perceptible.  There  was  no  triforium, 
but  a  very  lofty  clerestory  gave  dignity  to 
the  interior  of  the  church. 


which  are  quartered  to  food  in  them,  and  pas- 
ture in  the  garth  and  gardens.  Tha  brick- 
work "glorietto"  of  the  abbot's  lodge  is 
slowly  giving  way  to  the  influence  of  time 
and  nejjlect.  The  abbey  is  about  a  mile  from 
the  village  station. 

Jivrij  St.  Kdmund's,  with  its  two  grand 
gates  and  satellite  churches  of  St.  Mary  and 
St.  James,  retains  externally  somewhat  of 
its  ancient  grandeur.  The  west  front  is 
parcelled  out  into  private  dwellings;  it 
must  have  been  of  great  magnificence,  and 
by  comparing  the  remains  with  those  of 
Peterborough,  Lincoln,  St.  Alban's,  and  Ely, 
an  approximate  reconstruction  of  its  appear- 
ance when  complete  may  be  made  by  a  prac- 
tised observer.  It  formed  a  gigantic  screen, 
with  three  central  portals,  and  a  western 
tower ;  on  either  side  a  lower  doorway 
opened  into  a  large  apsidal  chapel,  and  was 


the  great  g.itehouse,  portions  of  the  court 
gate,  and  its  adjacent  buildings  directly 
facing  it,  and  broken  portions  of  the  church, 
which  had  a  largo  lateral  Luly-chnpel,  re- 
main. The  site  ia  covered  with  mounds, 
hillocks,  and  a  wild  growth  of  thick  herb- 
age, with  a  waste  of  weeds. 

WyindinVtain  is  always  a  splendid  feature, 
close  at  hand  or  at  a  distance ;  the  groat 
west  tower  of  the  noble  parochial  nave,  the 
octagonal  story  of  the  convontunl  lantern, 
once  central,  witli  its  traces  of  porches,  give 
an  exterior  dignity  which,  when  duly  cared 
for,  must  have  been  unequalled  within.  The 
sculptured  font,  the  8ui)erb  ceiling  of  the 
central  avenue,  one  of  only  less  beauty  in 
tlio  north  aisle,  the  two  doors  of  the  rood- 
loft,  and  the  remarkable  sedilia,  probably  a 
Marian  reconstruction,  are  portions  which 
demand  attention.     There  are  traces  of    a 


k 


GREAT 
GATE. 

SERVANTS                             1 

XIWE 

BSKlLR 

ES                GARNER             STASLE^^ 

«. 

The  fine  gateway  and  precinct  wall,  well- 
buttressed  like  that  of  Battle,  are  all  that 
survive  of  the  great  Benedictine  Abbey  of 
St.  John.  Dates  and  other  matters  appear 
in  my  "English  Minsters"  (Chatto  and 
TVindus). 

By  taking  the  railway  through  Ipswich, 
and  changing  at  Sasmundham,  LiAstmi  falls 
within  a  day's  excursion.  It  was  a  Clxmiac 
abbey;  the  ruins  are  included  in  a  farm- 
stead. The  north  arcade  of  the  nave  walled 
up,  the  transept,  and  eastern  arm  remain. 
The  place  of  the  sedilia  is  distinctly  marked. 
In  place  of  a  north  aisle  there  is  a  large 
lateral  Lady-chapel.  The  east  front  has 
decorative  flintwork,  but  the  gable  and 
upper  part  of  the  great  w-indow  are  gone. 
The  whole  of  the  conventual  buildings  are 
standing  in  a  condition  more  or  less  perfect, 
but  covered  with  weeds,  wreck,  and  the  very 
perceptible  marks  of  the  cattle  and  stock 


flanked  by  grand  octagonal  turrets.  The 
ruins  of  the  church  are  contained  in  private 
gardens,  and  every  care  is  taken  to  preserve 
them ;  the  walls  of  the  north  transept, 
several  pillars,  and  a  curved  fragment  of 
the  apsidal  chapel  of  St.  Saba,  used  by  the 
novices,  at  the  extrtme  east  end,  remain. 
The  Lady-chapel,  as  at  Ely  and  Peter- 
borough, lay  parallel  with  the  north  choir 
aisle.  The  ruins  of  the  conventual  buildings 
(except  the  refectory)  may  be  seen  in  the 
IBotanic  Gardens ;  they  include  disjointed 
portions  of  the  eastern  range  of  the  elaustral 
buildings,  some  detached  buildings,  the 
curious  bridge  leading  to  the  vineyard,  the 
dovecot,  and  the  precinct  wall  on  the  north. 
Thetford  and  'Wymoudham  now  become 
only  too  familiar  stations  to  those  who  make 
Bury  their  centre  and  starting-point,  using 
a  wise  discretion.  The  ruins  of  Tlut/urd, 
a   Cluniac   abbey,  lie  in   private  grounds ; 


transept  wing,  the  slype  and  chapter-house, 
of  which  the  mass  of  rubble  work  formed  the 
core  of  the  east  window. 

Through  Thetford,  by  Swaflfham,  Ca-^tle 
Arre  is  reached,  distant  four  miles.  The 
gatehouse  stands  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  from 
which  a  rapid  fall  of  the  ground  declines  to 
the  church.  The  rich  west  front,  with  the 
prior's  lodgings  adjoining  it,  gives  a  promise 
not  redeemed  within.  The  elaustral  arrange- 
ments may  be  clearly  made  out,  as  consider- 
able portions  are  standing,  but  little  more 
than  fragments  of  the  navo  and  transept 
have  been  left ;  a  careful  investigation  of 
the  ground,  however,  will  enable  the  eccle- 
siologist  to  supply  what  is  wanting. 

By  way  of  Wymondham,  and  the  raQ  to 
Wells,  "VS'alsiiigham,  shown  only  on  Wed- 
nesdays, as  it  stands  in  private  grounds, 
may  be  visited.  The  gatehouse  ia  nearly 
perfect.   The  refectory,  with  its  rich  western 


602 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


window,  and  four  bays  of  its  soutliern 
ai'cade,  with  remains  of  the  stairs  and  wall 
pulpit,  is  only  inferior  in  interest  to  the 
superb  east  front,  with  side  turrets,  and  the 
fragment  of  a  glorious  window,  bearing  a 
striking  resemblance  to  Guisboroiigli,  ^vith 
fragments  of  tracery  clinging  to  the  case. 
A  partial  disinterment  of  the  west  end  of  the 
nave  inspires  an  ardent  wish  that  a  complete 
revelation  of  the  whole  i)lan  should  be 
made,  even  at  tlie  sacrifice  of  the  trim 
lawns  and  pretty  flower -beds  which  cover 
the  site.  It  is  the  more  desirable  as  it  had 
a  large  lateral  tower  to  the  nave,  which  had 
only  one  parallel  at  St.  Ehadegund's, 
Bradsole,  near  Dover,  which  belonged  to 
the  Eegular  Canons  of  Promontre,  while 
Walsingham  was  a  house  of  their  brethren 
under  tlie  rule  of  St.  Augustin.  The  Fran- 
ciscan Priory  is  roofless,  but  is  a  very  com- 
plete example  of  its  class. 

Five  miles  distant  is  Binbam,  a  Benedic- 
tine abbey.  In  sore  neglect  are  sadly  seen 
the  fragments  of  a  noble  nave,  the  tracery 
of  the  west  window  represented  by  coarse 
brickwork,  and  the  ancient  fittings  and 
decent  furniture  conspicuously  absent 
within.  The  ground-plan  of  the  remaining 
portions  of  the  church,  and  the  outline  of  the 
claustral  buildings  could  be  reproduced ; 
and  there  are  yet  clearer  evidences  of  a 
remarkable  slype  parallel  to  the  south  nave- 
wall.  Portions  of  the  gate-house  remain. 
I  regret  to  say  that  to  the  internal  condi- 
tion of  this  fine  building,  the  well-founded 
observations  onWymondham  which  recently 
appeared  in  your  columns  are  equally  per- 
tinent. I  trust  they  will  bear  fruit ;  every 
true-hearted  English  Chui'chman  must  blush 
for  such  a  disgraceful  condition  of  things. 
Dale  is  equally  dishonoured,  and  set  off  with 
an  inscription  to  a  noble  earl  as  "  lay- 
bishop  "  and  a  vulgar  upholsterer's  chair  for 
his  representative. 

By  the  way  of  Norwich,  Bromholme  Abbey 
may  be  visited  from  North  Walsham,  from 
which  it  is  distant  five  miles.  The  Gate- 
house frames  the  ruins  which  lie  neglected  in 
a  farmstead.  The  north  transept,  the  chap- 
ter-house, which  was  arcaded,  and  consider- 
able portions  of  the  dormitory  over  a  com- 
mon house,  a  fragment  of  the  refectory, 
and  parts  of  the  south  nave  wall,  will 
exercise  the  ingenuity  of  the  re-constructor 
•of  the  original  ground- plan.  The  key, 
however,  as  in  the  case  of  other  Norfolk 
minsters,  may  be  found  in  the  well-known 
work  of  Mr.  Harrod,  but  for  Walsingham  I 
have  had  the  advantage  of  using  the  ex- 
haustive plan  furnished  by  the  Eev.  James 
Lee  Warner. 

Lynn  is  rich  in  ancient  houses,  some  with 
chevroned  brickwork,  carved  doorways,  cool 
entries  showing  a  perspective  of  trim  gar- 
dens fuU  of  flowers  .and  bosky  arbours. 
Thomley's  College,  the  Red  [Rood  ?]  Mount 
Chapel,  St.  Nicholas  Church,  the  South 
Town-gate,  and  the  Guildhall  deserve  notice ; 
but  the  Benedictine  church  of  St.  Margaret 
has  the  prior  claim  on  the  traveller.  Its 
western  towers,  the  fragment  of  a  vast  Per- 
pendicular north  aisle  (when  the  entire 
breadth  of  the  nave  was  not  less  than  llSft.), 
and  beautiful  eastern  end,  with  a  Late  rose 
window,  reminding  the  eye  of  Durham  and 
old  St.  Paul's,  sixteen  ohoir-st  ills,  parcloses, 
and  splendid  brasses,  cannot  fail  to  interest ; 
but  a  doorway  north  of  the  altar  may  escape 
notice.  Its  history  is  peculiar.  The  Early 
English  apse  was  removed  and  supplanted 
by  an  eastern  platform  over  a  short  under- 
croft, approached  by  external  doors,  and 
also  by  an  internal  staircase  through  the 
triforium,  and  a  gallery  along  the  east  wall, 
which  communicated  -svith  the  door  which  1 
have  mentioned.  There  is  a  similar  stage  at 
Tunstal,  near  Norwich,  and  the  object  in 
both  may  have  been  for  the  representation 
of  Miracle  Plays. 

The  train  to  Spalding  enables  one  to  reach 
a   point  within  eleven   miles  of   Crowland 


Abbey.  All  the  claustral  buildings  have 
disappeared.  The  vaulted  north  aisle  of  the 
nave,  consisting  of  six  bays  with  two  lateral 
chantries,  serves  now  as  a  parish-church ; 
the  place  of  the  original  altar  is  marked  by 
two  doorways  in  the  rood-screen,  which  is 
richly  panelled  on  its  eastern  face.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  observe  similar  ornament  on  the 
buttresses,  of  Perpendicular  date,  which 
were  introduced  to  support  the  central 
tower,  and  the  traces  of  the  Norman  arches 
of  the  triforium  and  base  arcade,  which  in 
the  eastern  bay  alone  survived  the  rebuild- 
ing of  that  period.  1  have  di-awn  attention 
at  other  times  to  the  close  resemblance 
borne  by  distant  minsters  to  each  other,  like 
that  which  notably  subsists  between  Durham 
.and  Noi'wich.  But  in  no  instance  is  there  a 
nearer  likeness  than  at  Crowland  and  St. 
Alban's.  Dr.  Stukeler  made  a  plan  of  the 
Lincolnshire  abbey,  which  was  published  in 
a  very  limited  issue  by  Mr.  Gresley.  It 
difi^ers  from  another  jilau,  which  represents 
the  infii'mary  with  an  arcaded  hall,  and 
chapel  eastward  of  the  chapter-house,  and  a 
bell-tower  eastward  of  the  great  apse.  The 
chapter-house  appears  to  have  been  apsidal : 
but  the  learned  antiquary  has  made  it  of 
extravagant  size,  which  I  have  not  ventirred 
to  reproduce.  The  church  required  some 
little  correction  on  existing  and  traditional 
data ;  but  the  group  of  buildings  on  the 
west  side  of  the  cloister  clears  up  a  mass  of 
difficulties  which  attended  the  identification 
of  the  MS.  plans,  and  the  description  of  the 
chroniclers  all  disappear  in  the  clear  light 
afforded  by  the  testimony  of  Crowland. 

The  remaius  of  the  Grey  Friars,  Linceln, 
deserve  attention.  The  curious  .arrangement 
of  aumbries  in  the  chou-  transept-chamber 
of  the  Minster  has  no  reference  to  a  late 
archdeacon's  theory  of  a  medicine  dispen- 
sary, but  was  connected  "nath  the  muniments 
and  building  accompts. 

Thontfdit  Abbey  is  we'l  known  for  its 
magnificent  gatehouse,  .approached  by  a 
fortified  bridge.  The  outlines  of  the  church 
may  be  traced  in  a  meadow,  the  south  wing, 
with  a  window  containing  rich  blind  tracery, 
in  part  is  standing,  with  an  arcaded  parlour, 
and  portions  of  a  vestibule  as  at  Bolton, 
opening  into'  a  decagon.al  chapter-house,  of 
which  two  sides  of  considerable  architectural 
beauty  remain,  choked  with  an  overgrowth 
of  weeds  .and  rubbish. 

I  was  in  hope  of  finding  some  clue  to  the 
declination  of  the  double  staircase  in  Benrhy 
Minster  among  the  Torre  MSS.  It  can  hardly 
have  afforded  access  to  a  chapter-house  ; 
I  think  that  it  is  more  likely  to  have 
formed  the  approach  to  a  great  relic-cham- 
ber, as  in  many  similar  instances,  the  pil- 
grims ascending  on  one  side  and  descending 
by  the  opposite  stair.  At  an  early  date, 
thrice  every  year,  the  relics  of  St.  John  were 
carried  in  solemn  procession  through  the 
town.  I  found,  however,  the  arrangement 
of  the  stalls  : — 


North  Side. 
Prebendary  of  St.  Peter. 

„  „    St.  Catha- 

rine, 

2  Parsons  (clerks  of  Bere- 
feU). 

IIebdomad.ary. 

Preb.  of  St.  James. 
„     St.  Michael. 

2  Parsons. 

Sacrist. 

2  Vicars. 


South  Side. 
Archbishop,  Preb.  of   St, 

Leonard. 
Preb.  of  St.  Martin. 

„      St.  Mary. 

Chancellor. 
A  Parson. 

The  Archbishop's  Vicar. 
Hebdomadary. 
Preb.  of  St.  Stenhen. 
„    St.  Andrew. 
2  Parsons. 
2  Vicars 


The  other  vicars  sat  in  front  of  theii 
domini :  and  choristers  in  the  third  form. 
The  prebendal  titles  were  those  of  altars, 
there  were  also  others  dedicated  to  SS.  l^Iary 
and  Christopher.  At  an  early  date  there  was 
an  oratory  of  St.  Martin,  for  nuns,  erected  in 
the  west  end  of  the  church  ;  and  the  namt 
of  the  Maiden's  Tomb  reaches  back  at  least 
to  1609.  The  fridstool  formerly  stood  or 
the  south  side  of  the  altar,  the  inscription 


r.an  :  "  II sec  sedes  lapidea  fredstole  dicitirr, 
id  est.  Pacts  cathedra,  ad  quam  reus  fugi- 
endo  perveniens  omnimodam  habct  securita- 
tem."  The  constitution  was  peculiar:  the 
archbishop  was  president  when  present ; 
there  were  three  officers  (the  precentor, 
chancellor,  and  treasurer)  and  seven  parsons, 
called  of  old  time,  berefellarii,  clerks  of  the 
Berefeld  in  1290,  and  Clerks  de  Berefell  in 
1337  ;  the  name,  as  it  tickled  w.aggish  ears, 
was  laid  aside.  The  provost  had  no  stall  or 
voice  in  chapter,  acting  simply  as  the  pay- 
master. I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  gene- 
rally known  that  the  seiUia  are  of  oak. 
At  Hawdeii  the  arrangement  was  :  — 

Preb.  of  Thorp.  Preb.  of  Bameby. 

.,      Saltmarsh.  ,,       Lanj^on  and  Skelton . 

Priest  of  St.  Paucras.      Pi-iest  of  St.  Mary. 

,,       St.  Katharine. 

Subsequently  there  was  a  Prebendary  of 
Skipworth. 

Ouisbnrough  Abbey  is  fortunate  in  its  pre- 
sent owner.  Admiral  Chaloner,  who  has 
cleared  the  site,  laying  it  down  with  a 
carpet  of  soft  green  turf.  The  ends  of  the 
aisles  at  the  west  front  and  several  bases  of 
pillars  have  also  been  exhumed,  and  the 
foundation  of  the  rood-screen  is  laid  bare. 
The  turret-stair  at  the  side  of  the  splendid 
east  front  contains  the  missing  portion  of 
the  Bruce  tomb.  The  s'des  line  the  porch 
of  the  parish-church ;  the  top  forms  the 
altar  slab.  The  western  part,  figured  in  the 
"Monasticon,"  hasbeenlost.  Theeastendwas 
recovered  from  a  distant  farm-house,  and 
represents  the  Blessed  Virgin  holding  the 
Bruce  arms  in  the  centre  of  a  group  of 
Austin  canons,  showing  them  in  surplice 
and  c>pe,  and  shaven— not  with  beards,  as 
Dugdale  has  misled  so  many  unsuspicious 
followers  to  believe.  A  fragment  of  the 
undercroft  of  the  refectory,  the  roofless  great 
gate-house,  and  the  Poor  Man's  Hostel,  built 
by  Bishop  Pursglove  in  the  town,  remain, 
with  portions  of  the  precinct  wall,  and  a  de- 
tached building.  From  the  rental  lent  to 
me  by  Admii-fil  Chaloner  I  find  that  the  Prior 
had  a  town-house  in  York  in  "  Aldewerk, 
near  St.  Helen's  Church."  Besides  the  usual 
altars  of  Holy  Cross  and  St.  Mary,  there 
were  others  of  St.  Katharine  and  St ,  Thomas. 
The  church  measured  376ft.,  and  the  eastern 
g.able  is  still  98ft.  in  height,  the  frame  of 
the  great  window  being  60  by  24ft.  There 
were  two  gate-houses,  through  which  the 
guests  came  to  partake  of  the  splendid 
hospitality  which  made  the  Priory  a  house- 
hold word  in  Cleveland. 

Sout/nvell  has  one  of  its  new  timber  spires 
erected ;  the  fellow  is  ready  framed.  There 
remain  six  stone  stalls,  wood-lined  and 
returned  against  the  rood-screen.  The 
effigy  of  Archbishop  Sandys  is  vested  in  a 
chasuble.  I  cannot  help  a  regret  that,  in 
view  of  the  changes  wrought  in  our  cathe- 
dral system  and  their  adaptation  to  modem 
requiiements,  the  glorious  parish-church  of 
Newark,  with  its  furniture  complete — spa- 
cious, lofty,  luminous,  and  placed  in  an 
important  town — was  not  selected  as  the 
cathedral  church  of  a  new  see,  in  preference 
to  the  minster  which  was  sufficient  for  a 
collegiate  establishment  in  a  large  village. 
The  constitution  was  peculiar  :  it  consisted 
of  16  prebendaries  and  16  vicars  in  1379; 
the  latter  were  housed  in  a  college,  instead 
of  in  the  Priestgate,  at  the  east  end  of  the 
minster,  and,  so  late  as  27  Eliz.,  they  were 
required  to  sit  at  the  residentiary's  table  or 
board  in  some  honest  house.  In  1172  chrism 
was  brought  from  York  to  the  rural  deans 
;issembled  in  synod,  and  distributed.  All 
the  clergy  and  faithful  of  Notts  came  in 
procession  at  Whitsuntide,  and  the  Pente- 
costal offerings,  or  deniers,  in  1460  were 
paid  at  the  high  altar.  The  altars  were 
those  of  SS.  John  Ev.angelist,  Peter,  Cuth- 
bert,  Nicholas,  Thom.as  M.  in  the  new  work  ; 
Mary  Magdalen,  Stephen,  Vincent,  and  John 
B.  en  the  south  side  of  the  nave,  buUt  by 
Archbishop     Booth     as     his     burial-place ; 


Nov.  19,  18S0. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


003 


Laurence     and     Margaret,    adjoining     tlie 
"Pyte,"  St.  Mary,  in  her  sorrow. 

Selhy  is  greatly  improved  by  the  removal 
of  the  hideous  wall  which  parted  off  the 
choir,  and  the  replacement  of  the  remaining 
stall  work.  Some  stone  parclosesare  awaiting 
re-erection.  Glorious  Kievaulx  and  Bylaud 
are  simply  uncared  for ;  the  latter  is  in  a 
slough  :  both  are  cumbered  with  masses  of 
ruin.  Why  have  not  Kii'kstall  and  Foim- 
tains  roofs  ?  1  have  no  sj-mpathy  with 
sentimentality,  or  art-worship.  Welcome 
the  day  which  will  make  them  again  peopled 
houses  of  God.  We  have,  alas !  ruins 
enough  for  architectural  students,  and, 
happily,  some  "  unrestored  "  churches.  I 
have  heard  words  which  would  make  the 
ears  of  possessors  of  such  sites  tingle  ;  would 
they  could  penetrate  so  far,  and  hasten  the 
auspicious  day  which  will  preserve  re- 
ligiously all  that  is  sacred  to  history  and 
art,  even  if  they  are  not  to  be  given  back  to 
their  original  destination. 

I  have  carefuUy  abstained  from  giving 
any  cuttings  from  my  "  English  Minsters  "  ; 
and  in  the  case  of  Norfolk,  the  excellent 
account  given  by  your  con-espondent  of  the 
progress  of  the  Architectural  Association, 
has  rendered  any  further  detail  quite  super- 
fluous. Gainsborough  trenches  on  Domestic 
architecture ;  but  I  would  urge  travellers  to 
visit  the  singularly  picturesque  old  Hall. 
Mackenzie  E.  C.  Waicott. 


CHIPS. 

A  new  coffee-tavern  at  New  Elvet,  in  the  city  of 
Durham,  was  opened  ou  Thursday  week.  Ad- 
joiuing  the  refreshment-room  is  a  coffee  and  news- 
room, 4.3ft.  by  loft.  wide,  and  ou  the  first  floor  is  a 
meeling-hall,  COft.  by  13ft.  Mr.  Henry  Kobsou, 
builder,  of  Durham,  was  the  contractor. 

A  new  meat,  fruit,  and  dairy  market  was  opened 
at  Sunderland  ou  Friday.  It  is  close  to  the  central 
station,  and  is  built  of  red  bricks,  with  cornices, 
mouldings,  and  dressings  run  in  cement.  The 
principal  dimensions  are  97ft.  by  (i6ft.,  16ft.  high 
to  wall-plate,  and  Sift,  to  apex  of  root.  Messrs. 
J.  and  T.  Tiltman,  of  Sunderland,  were  the  archi- 
tects, and  the  contractor  for  brickwork  and  joinery 
was  Mr.  Mark  Howarth,  of  the  same  town. 

A  ptovincial  lecturer  says,  the  entire  area  of  the 
metropolis  is  rated  at  £24, .500, 000,  while  Liverpool 
is  only  rated  at  less  than  one-twelfth  of  that 
amouLt.  The  water  space  of  the  Loudon  docks 
covers  otO  acres,  while  that  of  Liverpool  covers  483 
acres.  There  are  in  London  no  less  than  15,000 
professional  thieves  living  in  235  houses  known  to 
the  authorities:  and  the  piolice  force  numbers 
12,000  men.  In  the  S.OOO  streets  of  Loudon,  mea- 
suring 2,S0O  miles  in  length,  there  are  ■3,()C0  public 
houses,  or  as  many  as  would  cover  both  sides  uf 
the  load  from  Biikenhead  to  Chester. 

The  Holbom  I  card  of  guardians  on  Friday  ap- 
proved of  a  site  at  Upton,  Essex,  on  which  they 
will  hereafter  build  au  additional  workhouse, 
acconmodating  1,S(jO  inmates.  Mr.  H.  Saxon  Snell 
is  the  architect. 

Mr.  E.  P.  Bell  and  Mr.  George  Aikman  were 
elects  d  on  Friday  associates  of  the  Eoyal  Scottish 
Academy. 

At  a  vestry  meeting  held  at  Hove,  next  Brigh- 
ton, last  week,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to 
reseat  the  parish-churcb,  purchase  a  new  organ, 
aid  in  other  ways  to  restore  the  building. 

Canon  Gregory  appeals  to  the  public  to  raise 
funds  for  a  new  and  "  a  really  big  bell "  for  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral. 

The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  on  Friday 
received  a  deputation  of  Islington  tradesmen,  who 
petitioned  the  board  to  obtain  power  to  widen 
Upper-street,  IsliLgton,  which  was  stated  to  be 
dangerously  narrow,  and  the  scene  of  frequent  ac- 
cidents. The  deputation  were  informed  that  the 
board  had  decided  not  to  apply  for  Parliamentary 
powers  next  session  to  make  this  improvement.  It 
was  determined,  ou  the  ground  of  expense,  not  to 
accede  to  memorials  from  Fulham  and  Putney  that 
the  new  Putney  bridge  be  made  .50ft.  wide,  but  to 
adhere  to  the  engineer's  plan,  44ft. ;  nor  to  seek 
powers  to  widen  the  approaches  on  the  Surrey 
tide.  The  board  decided  to  send  circulars  to  the 
so-called  "delegates"  of  local  boards  and 
vestries  who  recently  communicated  with  the 
Home  Secretary  as  to  the  water  supply  of  the  me- 
tropolis, in  Older  to  ascertain  if  they  were  author- 
ised to  take  the  action  they  did. 


BuiliJins  ^luttlligcuct 


BiGEiGO. — A  chapel  of  ease  to  Egremont 
Church  was  consecrated  by  the  Bishop  of  Car- 
Hsle  on  Tuesday  week.  It  is  of  Decorated 
Gothic  character,  and  is  built  of  the  red  sand- 
stone of  the  neighbourhood.  It  consists  of  nave, 
62ft.  6in.  long  by  25ft.  wide  ;  chancel,  20ft. 
wide  and  30ft.  long,  with  vestry  and  entrance- 
porch  on  the  south  side.  A  sy.stem  of  harmonic 
proportion  has  been  adopted  in  the  planning 
and  arrangement.  250  sittings  are  provided. 
The  organ  is  of  the  Scudamore  type,  and  was 
built  by  Mr.  W'illis ;  the  case  is  of  teak,  specially 
designed  by  the  architect.  The  chancel  seats 
are  of  the  same  wood,  and  were  carved  by  Mr. 
Daridson,  of  Carlisle.  The  reredos  hangings 
were  by  Messrs.  Morris  and  Co.,  London.  Mr. 
Charles  J.  Ferguson,  F.S.A.,  of  Carlisle,  was  the 
architect ;  Mr.  Smith,  of  Egremont,  the  builder, 
and  the  stone  carving  was  executed  by  Mr. 
Nelson,  of  Carlisle.  The  total  cost  has  been 
£2,300.  We  illustrated  the  building  about  12 
months  since. 

GtnraisLAKE. — The  new  church  of  St.  Anne, 
at  Gunnislake,  near  Caldstock,  was  opened  on 
Tuesday  week  by  the  Bishop  of  Truro.  It  is 
Early  English  in  style,  and  consists  of  nave, 
chancel,  north  and  south  aisles,  and  entrance 
porch,  over  which  a  tower  will  hereafter  be 
erected.  The  nave  measures  S3ft.  by  43ft.,  and 
seats  300  persons.  A  novel  feature  in  the  con- 
struction is  the  gradual  lowering  of  the  floor 
towards  the  chancel,  which  is  again  elevated. 
Beneath  the  church  are  clergy  and  choir  vestries, 
each  20ft.  by  1 5ft.  The  pulpit,  open  benches, 
choir  seats,  and  open  roof  to  nave  are  of  pitch 
pine,  and  the  roofs  are  covered  with  Delabole 
slates.  On  south  side  of  chancel  sedilia  and 
piscina  are  provided.  The  steps  and  base  of 
pulpit  and  the  font  are  of  granite,  from  the 
Phcenix  works.  The  Hghting  is  by  cathedral- 
glass,  supplied  by  Messrs.  Fouracres,  of  Stone- 
house,  next  Plymouth.  Heating  is  by  Reming- 
ton's apparatus,  pipes  bemg  laid  in  the  aisles. 
The  cost  has  been  £2,000.  Mr.  J.  Piers 
St.  Aubyn  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Eosekilly 
the  contractor. 

KzLLEAEN. — On  Saturday  the  memorial- stone 
was  laid  of  a  new  parish-church  at  Killeam. 
The  edifice,  which  is  designed  by  Mr.  John 
Bryce,  F.R.I. B.A.,  Edinburgh,  is  in  the  early 
type   of   English   Gothic,    and   is   cruciform  in 


shape,  the  aims  of  the  cross  being  foi-med  by  the 

transepts,  while  at  the   south-east  comer  rises  a  r  opposite  side,  where  it  is  seen  under  an  advan- 


PETEKBOEOUGn. — A  new  Sunday-school,  in 
connection  with  Trinity  Congregational  church, 
was  opened  on  the  2nd  inst.  The  building  ac- 
commodates about  500  children.  The  exterior 
is  built  of  Whittlesey  mingled  brick.^',  relieved 
with  dressings  of  Bath  stone  and  raoidded 
bricks.  The  interior  of  schoolroom  is  finished 
in  white  brick,  with  a  few  red  bricks  introduced 
in  arches  and  bands  ;  the  roof  is  ceiled  at  the 
collar;  the  main  trusses  are  of  pitch-pine,  ex- 
posed to  vic;w,  and  have  bold  curved  ribs  spring- 
ing from  Bath  stone  corbels.  The  contract  was 
undertaken  for  £1,152  by  Messrs.  Gray  Brothers, 
of  Peterborough.  The  work  has  been  carried 
out  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Hampden  W.  Pratt, 
architect,  of  3,  Long-acre,  London. 

Pfdsey. — A  new  Mechanics'  Institute,  at 
Pudsej'i  was  opened  on  Wednesday  week.  The 
style  is  Gothic,  and  one  of  the  principal  features 
is  a  signal-tower  placed  at  the  corner  of  the  two- 
chief  points,  which  rises  to  a  height  of  1 10ft. 
On  the  basement  floor  i.s  a  large  room  43ft.  by 
24ft.  On  the  Low  Town-road  .side  three  class- 
rooms, each  of  them  13ft.  Sin.  by  IGft.  3in.,a 
larger  class-room,  23ft.  by  13ft.  8in.,  and  a 
large  lavatorv-.  The  accommodation  on  the 
ground-floor  consists  of  a  spacious  reading-room 
30ft.  by  24ft.,  a  Ubrary  29ft.  by  16ft.,  a  com- 
mittee-room 23ft.  by  13ft.  Sin.,  a  secretary's 
room  16ft.  Sin.  by  13ft.  Sin.,  and  threeclass- 
rooms  similar  in  size  to  those  on  the  basement. 
On  the  first  floor  is  the  pubUc  hall,  which  is  56ft. 
by  40ft.,  and  is  capable  of  seating  about  700 
persons.  There  is  also  a  smaller  lecture-hall,  to 
be  used  for  science  lectures,  &c.,  capable  of 
accommodating  150  students.  The  contracts- 
amount  to  about  £3,200,  and  the  building  has 
been  erected  under  the  the  superintendence  of 
the  architects,  Messrs.  Hope  and  Jardine,  of 
Bradfort,  whose  plans  were  selected  in  open 
competition. 

PxJDDLETEEXTHTDE,  DoESET.  —  The  parish- 
church  of  Puddletrenthide  was  reopened  on 
Monday  week  after  complete  restoration  of  the 
chancel,  carried  out  by  Messrs.  W^ellspring  and 
Son,  of  Dorchester,  from  the  plans  of  Mr.  Ewau 
Christian,  architect  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Com- 
missioners. The  floor,  which  was  formerly 
paved  with  stone,  is  now  laid  with  Minton's  en- 
caustic tiles  ;  and  a  new  barrel-boarded  roof  has 
been  erected,  haxdng  moulded  ribs,  with  carved 
emblematical  devices  on  the  intersections.  A 
feature  of  the  work  was  the  removal  of  a  huge 
marble  and  stone  monument,  which  formerly 
blocked  a  south  window  of  the  chancel,  to  the 


tower  with  spire,  100ft.  in  height  from  the 
ground  to  the  vane.  It  will  accommodate  about 
600  sitters,  and  will  cost  between  £5,000  and 
£6,000. 

Neebham  Market. — The  ch.ipel-of-ease  of  St. 
John,  in  the  small  Suffolk  town  of  Needham 
Market,  was  reopened  on  Friday  after  restora- 
tion. The  building  was  re-erected  during  the 
episcopate  time  of  Dr.  Carey,  26th  Bishop  of 
Ely,  who  died  in  1478,  and  consists  of  a  nave  and 
chancel,  which  prior  to  the  restoration,  werenotto 
be  distinguished  from  each  other,  and  the  build- 
ing was  then  in  a  dangerou-^ly  dilapidated  con- 
dition. The  new  puipit  is  of  carved  oak, 
with  open  panel-work  sides,  and  the  lectern  is 
also  of  oak,  and  the  new  font  of  Bath  stone.  The 
chancel  roof  was  in  so  unsound  a  condition  that 
its  complete  removal  was  found  to  be  necessary  ; 
it  has  been  replaced  by  another  like  the  old  one, 
which  was  of  simple  construction.  The  great 
featmre  of  the  restoration  has  been  the  opening 
up  of  the  handsome  nave  roof,  formerly  hidden  by 
the  white-washed  ceiling,  but  now  exposed. 
This  roof  is  almost  unique  in  constmction,  the 
rafters  not  being  carried  up  to  the  apex,  as  is 
usual  in  a  hamraer-beam  roof,  but  being  framed 
into  the  upright  struts,  which  cany  the  higher 
part  of  the  roof,  and  support  on  the  south  side  a 
timber  -  built  clerestory.  The  deep  cornice, 
which  had  been  removed  when  the  plaster  ceiling 
was  put  up,  has  been  replaced,  and  most  of  the 
hammer-beams  have  rec|uired  renewal,  the  junc- 
tions of  the  hammer-beams  with  the  lower  part 
of  the  struts  having  been  cut  away  ;  but  the  de- 
tails which  were  remaining  have  been  followed, 
and  the  richly -moulded  tie-beams  which  span 
the  church  have  been  preserved.  The  clerestory 
on  the  south  side  has  been  restored,  and  windows 
have  been  placed  on  the  north  side  also,  where 
there  was  before  no  clerestory.  The  work  has  been 
carried  out  by  Mr.  R.  Tooley,  Bury  St.  Edmund's, 
from  plans  of  the  late  Mr.  J.  H.  Hakewill. 


tageous  light.  The  monument  is  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  John  Budge,  a  City  merchant,  and  a 
native  of  this  parish,  who  died  in  1834,  and  cost 
700  giuneas;  the  design  was  by  Cockerell,  and 
the  statuar}'  by  Nichols  ;  the  removal  has  been 
effected  without  causing  a  crack  in  the  work. 

Eetfoed. — Last  week  the  Wesleyans  of  Ret- 
ford opened  a  new  chapel  at  that  place.  The 
contract  for  the  building  was  £4,S50.  The 
pews  in  the  chapel  are  on  the  semi-amphitheatre- 
form,  with  a  slight  incline,  with  passages 
radiating  from  the  Communion  platform.  The 
total  accommodation  for  ordinary  services  is  900, 
The  ceihngis  formed  into  deeply-moulded  anden- 
riched  caissons  or  ribs,  the  panels  of  which  are 
decorated  with  a  pierced  ornamental  guilloche, 
serving  for  ventilation,  extending  down  the 
walls  and  springing  from  foliated  corbels.  The 
exterior  is  executed  in  Bath  stone  and  redbrick 
in  the  Lombardic  st j  le,  and  comprises  a  central 
entrance  with  a  four-hght  window  over,  sur- 
mounted by  a  cantahvered  gable,  supported  by 
piers  and  buttress.  To  the  right  and  left  are 
the  secondary  entrances  forming  wings.  The 
work  has  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hop- 
Idnson,  contractor,  of  Retford,  from  the  draw- 
ings and  under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs. 
Bellamy  and  Hardy,  of  Lincoln,  who  were  also- 
the  architects  of  the  Retford  Town  Hall. 

Spaldesg. — The  new  church  of  St.  Paul, 
Spalding,  was  consecrated  on  Wednesday  week. 
It  is  built  from  the  designs  of  the  late  Sir  Gil- 
bert Scott,  R.A.,  and  is  in  style  a  pure  treat- 
ment of  Early  English.  It  consists  of  a  nave, 
with  north  and  south  aisles  ;  the  south  aisle 
being  continued  to  midway  of  the  chancel. 
At  the  west  end  of  the  nave,  and  connected  with 
it  by  a  corridor,  is  a  tower  with  broach  spire, 
rising  to  the  height  of  135ft ;  it  contains  a  peal 
of  eight  beU.s,  cast  by  Mr.  Lewis,  of  Brixton, 
the  tenor  weighing  lOcwt.     The  bells  bear  each 


60i 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


a  sijaiificant  inscription.  On  north  side  of  chan- 
cel fs  the  priest's  vestry,  and  over  that  an  organ 
gallery  ;  adjoining  ia  a  choir  vestry,  and  below 
a  heating-chamber.  A  door  from  this  vestry 
leads  to  offices  belonging  to  the  church,  and  into 
the  vicar's  garden  ;  also  by  a  covered  cloister  to 
the  school,  which  is  effectually  shut  off  from 
access  to  the  church,  when  desired,  by  a  grill 
gate.  The  materials  are  red  brick,  with  An- 
caster  stone  dressings.  The  whole  of  the  high- 
pitched  roofs — nave,  chancel,  ai.sles,  and  porch 
—are  covered  with  lead.  The  internal  treatment 
of  the  main  arcade  of  nave  is  peculiar ;  it  is 
supported  on  each  side  on  three  principal  piers 
by  detached  columns  carrying  the  three  semi- 
circular arches,  which  are  each  divided  into  two 
pointed  arches,  springing  from  more  slender 
columns  between  the  main  piers.  The  altar  is 
raised  seven  steps  above  the  floor-level  of  the 
nave,  the  steps  within  the  sacrarium  being  grey 
fossil  marble,  polished.  The  stalls  and  screens 
are  of  carved  English  oak,  massive.  The  sedilia 
and  piscina  are  hooded,  and  recessed  in  the 
thickness  of  the  south  wall.  The  font  is  in 
Mansfield  Woodhouse  stone,  with  Purbeck- 
marble  shafts.  The  whole  of  the  church  build- 
ing is  elevated  about  3ft.  above  the  ground 
level,  and  is  carried  throughout  upon  Dennett's 
arching.  It  is  thoroughly  ventilated  undtmeath. 
The  ironwork  of  the  chancel  ?ereen  is  by  Skid- 
more,  of  ITcriden,  Coventry,  as  are  also  the  gas 
standards  in  the  nave  and  the  pulpit  rail.  The 
pulpit,  in  carved  oak,  on  a  stone  base,  is  by 
Farmer  and  Brindley,  Westminster,  and  also  the 
carved  work  in  the  chancel.  The  church,  vicar- 
age, and  school,  form  three  sides  of  a  quad- 
rangle, which  is  the  vicarage  garden.  Gas  is 
introduced  into  all  the  buildings.  The  church 
will  accommodate  500  worshippers.  The  whole 
of  the  works  have  been  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
Patticson,  contractors,  Ruskington,  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Scott,  as  architect,  and  Mr. 
Hannaford,  as  clerk  of  the  works. 

ToLLESHUi'T  D'Akcy. — The  parish-church  of 
Tolleshunt  D'Arcy,  near  Maldon,  Essex, 
was  reopened  on  Sunday  week,  after  having 
been  restored.  The  old  high  pews  have  been  | 
replaced  by  pitch-pine  benches  throughout  the 
church,  these  being  supplemented  in  the  chancel 
by  choir-stalls,  also  of  pitch-pine;  the  halls 
throughout  have  been  painted  and  decorated  ; 
the  chancel  and  passages  have  been  laid  with 
Minton's  tiles  in  black,  red,  and  yellow  ;  heating 
apparatus  introduced ;  a  new  prayer- desk  and 
pulpit  in  carved  oak  replace  higher  and  larger 
old  ones,  and  a  lectern  has  been  added  to  the 
furniture.  The  east  window  has  been  filled 
with  stained  glass  as  a  memorial ;  the  central 
-Subject  is  Our  Lord's  Sermon  on  the  Mount  ;  on 
the  left  hand  is  the  Healing  at  the  Pool  of 
Bethcsda,  and  on  the  right  Jesus  Blessing  Little 
Children.  Mr.  A.  Gibhs  was  the  artist.  The 
works  have  been  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Gardner 
and  Son,  contractors,  of  Coggeshall,  from  plans 
by  Mr.  H.  W.  Hayward,  of  Colchester. 

Waeeington. — New  offices  for  the  Warrington 
Guardi'in^  opposite  the  town-hall,  were  opened 
by  Lord  Winmarleigh  on  Saturday.  The 
building  is  designed  in  the  Gothic  style.  The 
fronts  are  of  red  pressed  brick,  with  terra-cotta 
•dressing  and  stone  window-sills.  A  deeplj-- 
recessed  centre  doorway  forms  the  principal 
■entrance  in  Sankey-street,  with  a  moulded  arch 
supported  on  polished  red  granite  columns, 
ha\"ing  carved  caps  and  moulded  bases.  The 
.entrance  to  the  works  is  in  Springfield-street, 
and  has  been  elaborately  treated  with  terra- 
cottacorbels,  key-stone,  and  moulded  tympanum. 
The  building  consists  of  a  publishing  office  30ft. 
by  21ft.,  an  ofSoe  for  advertisements  COft.  by 
soft.,  dirided  off  by  dwarf  glazed  screen  par- 
titions into  public  office  30ft.  by  28ft. ;  private 
offices  32ft.  by  39ft.  ;  sub-editor's  office  and 
reporters'  room,  36ft.  by  29ft.  These  rooms 
are  30ft.  high,  with  open-timbered  roof  of 
pitch-pine,  with  framed  Queen-post  principals. 
The  offices  are  heated  by  open  fireplaces,  a  large 
Musgrave's  stove,  and  steam-pipes.  Spacious 
cellarage  has  been  provided  below  for  general 
stores,  with  lavatories,  w.c.'s,  and  strong  room. 
At  the  back  is  the  large  printing-room  to  be 
used  as  the  works,  which  measures  126ft.  in 
length  by  94ft.  wide  in  the  clear  of  walls,  and  is 
divided  into  three  spans  by  means  of  two  rows  of 
cast-iron  columns.  The  room  is  lighted  by  side 
■windows,  skylights,  and  continuous  lantern 
lights.  Ventilation  will  be  by  vertical  flues  and 
outlets,  a.nd  by  HLU  and  Hey's  patent  siphon 


ventilators.  At  the  comfr  of  Springfield-street 
will  be  a  publishing  office,  with  doorway  at 
angle.  At  the  extreme  end  of  premises  are  a 
damping-room,  paper  store,  foundry,  boiler- 
house,  lavatories,  w.c.'s,  &c.  The  whole  of  the 
terra-cotta,  executed  from  thearchitect'sdesigns, 
has  been  supplied  by  the  Knutsford  Terra- 
Cotta  Company.  The  granite  columns  are  from 
Messrs.  MacPonald,  Field,  and  Co.,  Aberdeen. 
The  carving  was  executed  by  Essenheigh. 
Messrs.  Collin  and  Son  are  the  contractors,  and 
Messrs.  A.  Williams  and  J.  Ratcliffe  have  acted 
as  clerk  of  the  works.  The  work  has  been  exe- 
cuted from  the  designs  and  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  T.  Beesley,  of  Warringtcn. 


More   than   Fifty   Thousand  Replies   and 

Letters  on  subjfi:ts  ol  Universal  Interest  have  appeared  d'.ring 
the  last  ten  Tears  in  the  ENGLISH  MECHANIC -VnD  WOKLIt 
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Scientific  and  Technical  Authorities  of  the  day.  Thousands  of 
oripinal  articles  and  scientific  papers,  and  countless  receipts  and 
wrinkles  embracing  almost  every  subject  on  which  it  is  possible 
nformation  have  also  appeared  during  the  same  period 


The  earliest  and  most  accurate  infonnation  respecting  all 
scientific  discoveriea  and  mechanical  inventii  -  •"  '—  '"" 
its  pages,  and  its  large  ( 


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advertisers  who  wish  their  announcements  to  be  brought 
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N.B.- -Cases  and  vols,  must  be  ordered  through  a 
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oliice  prevent  them  from  being  sent  by  post. 

Received.— H.  and  C.  Ey.  Co.— A.  and  Son.- J.  B.— 
C.  G.— J.  P.  M.-B.  S.— J.  S.— M.  and  Co  —  W.  P.— 
H.  B.  and  Co.— W.  and  L.— 3.  F.  W.-C.  B.  and  T.  Co. 
G.  M.  and  Son. 

W.  W.  (Best  bedrooms  in  the  description  may  mean 
only  one  to  each  of  the  four  houses,  but  the  plans  and 
specifications  wotdd  rule  in  any  case  Under  the  clause 
you  are  bound  to  carry  out  the  architect's  intention.)  — 
G.  B.  (We  think  the  committee  would  have  the  right 
to  keep  all  the  premiated  drawings  under  the  condi- 
tions.)—Commission.  (No,  but  few  architects  wotdd 
cultivate  such  relations,  because  they  could  not  honestly 
afford  such  remuneration.)— Y.  ("The  Carpenter  and 
Joiner's  Assistant,"  Blackie  and  Co.. — A.  G.  Scott. 
(You  had  better  write  to  the  secretary.  We  know  very 
little  about  these  ex.aiuinations)—AitcHiTECT.  (Gwilt's 
is  as  good  as  any.) — Tobv.  (Claridge'swillsuityoueveiy 
way.  It  is  especially  adapted  for  roofs  and  terraces.)  — 
A.  A.  (Write  the  Sec  etai-y  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  John- 
street,  Adelphi,  W.C.) 

"  BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

LIST  OF  SUBJECTS. 

A.  A  chapel  to  a  public  school,  to  accommodnte  120,  in 
the  Late  Gothic  style,  gallery  at  the  west  end,  altar  to  be 
raised  7  steps.  Plan,  two  elevations,  and  sketch.  Draw- 
ings to  be  ^th  of  inch  to  foot. 

B.  A  cabinet  for  boolcs  and  china,  in  oak  or  walnut. 
Size,  6ft.  X  4ft.  Elevation  and  sketch.  Inch  scale, 
with  details. 


Contsponlicuce. 

HOUSE-DRAINS  AST)  THEIR  RECORD. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Buildino  News. 
SrE, — At  p.  407  of  your  issue  for  October  29, 
and  under  the  above  heading,  you  refer  to  the 
si'es  of  drain-pipes.  For  houses  these  sizes 
are  generally  4iu.,  6in.,  and  9in.  diameter.  I 
coincide  with  the  idea  that  the  latter  size  is 
generally  unnecessary,  and  often  used  where  a 
smaller  size  would  make  a  better  job.  I  do  not 
care  for  4in.  drain-pipes  for  dirty  water,  as  from 
sinks,  &c.,  especially  if  the  distance  is  in  yards. 
Instead  of  4in.,  Gin.,  and  9in.,  I  think  5in.,  6in., 
and  7in.  pipes  would  be  better,  4in.  being  only  used 
for  short  lengths,  as  for  pipes  coming  through 
walls,  say  into  traps  and  such  like,  as  from  sinks 
and  baths,  and  for  rain-water. 

I  happen  to  be  sorting  the  drains  for  a 
gentleman's  new  house  just  now,  standing  In 
its  own  grounds  ;  the  house  has  been  about  three 
years  occupied  ;  a  4in.  drain-pipe  about  27ft. 
long  came  from  the  sink,  and  joined  into  a  6in. 
pipe.  The  latter  was  quite  clear,  but  the  4in. 
one  was  choked  up  nearly  solid,  although  it  had 
ft  fall  of  about  2iu.  to  the  yard.  I  took  it  out 
and  put  in  a  6in.  pipe  instead,  and  also  a  trap 
outside. 

In  many  houses  the  drain-pipe  from  the  sink 
is  far  worse  to  keep  clean  than  the  water-closet 
drain. 

As  to  plans  ot  drains,  many  people  will  not 
take  the  trouble  to  keep  them,  but  more  interest 
is  being  taken  of  late  than  formerly.  In  the 
new  style  of  ventilated  and  trapped  drainage 
the  position  of  the  gratings  and  lids  helps  to  tell 
the  position  of  the  drains,  and  by  looking  down 
into  the  traps  the  depth  of  the  drain  is  seen, 
and  also  with  a  good  trap  some  knowledge  of 
its  state  can  be  got.  This  is  a  great  improve- 
ment upon  the  old  mode  of  hiding  everything  in 
the  Lord  Lovel  style.  The  great  point  to 
secure  good  house  drainage  is  good  authorita- 
tive supervision  when  the  house  is  building.  In 
connection  with  a  fashionable  range  of  buUdings 
erecting  not  a  hundred  miles  from  Glasgow,  my 
own  name  was  put  into  some  of  the  agreements 
as  referee,  but  I  was  to  be  tied  down  only  to 
report  upon  the  "workmanship,"  and  to  have 
no  business  w  ith  the  plans.  I  took  the  liberty, 
however,  upon  examination,  to  condemn  the 
plans,  which  showed  the  drains  leading  through 
the  house  without  any  good  excuse  for  doing  so, 
more  especially  as  I  found  them  leaking  even 
before  the  work  was  finished.  I  was  told  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  plans,  whether  they  were 
good  or  bad,  so,  having  no  authority,  I  could 
do  noth'nj;  but  this  incident  is  one  among 
many  pointing  to  the  necessity  for  an  alteration 
in  the  law.  A  showy  front  is  the  principal 
thing  that  speculative  builders  care  for,  and 
even  the  public  or  the  purchasers  require  to  be 
protected  from  themselves.  Their  servants  also 
require  protection,  and  it  is  just  pos-ible  that 
nowadays  were  a  female  servant  to  get 
diphtheria  or  typhoid  fever  in  her  master's 
house,  and  the  doctor  was  able  to  certify  that 
it  was  the  bad  state  of  the  drains  that  caused 
her  to  get  the  disease,  then  she  might  have  good 
grounds  for  an  action  of  damages,  or,  if  she 
died,  her  parents  might  take  the  case  up.  A 
hundred  pounds'  damages  granted  in  a  case  of 
this  sort  would  have  a  wonderful  effect  in 
stimulating  improvements  in  house-drainage. — 
I  am,  ka., 

W.  P.  BucnAM,  Sanitary  Engineer. 


ED.— Ralph.  Kismet,  X.  N.,  Tom  Tit,  A.  L.  Hus- 


band. 

Drawings  Received. — J.  L.,  Fiat,  Maltese  CrOss.  Hornet, 
Little  Wooden  Soldier,  Puck,  Darney,  Earnest,  Jiick, 
Milvertop,  (Put  yjur  di'awin^s  outside  the  roller,  not 
pasted  inside.  We  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  cutting 
the  drawing  out.)  Tyke,  Saowflake,  Nam,  York,  Idea, 
Oilbertus,  Kismet,  Subjudice,  G.  W.  W.,  Hubert, 
Arnold,  X.  N.,  H.  F.,  Ephraim,  B.  J., Peter,  Re.Y,  Boy 
Bill.  Domtis,  Will.  Vignette,  R,  in  circle.  Motto  A., 
Ralph,  Reginald,  Beta,  *■  Con"  in  circle. 


TRAPLESS    DRAINS    AND    WATER- 
CLOSETS. 

SiE,— Having  made  a  particular  study  of 
house  sanitation  for  many  years,  and  after  try- 
ing innumerable  experiments,  I  cannot  let  the 
correspondence  now  going  on  pass  without  a  few- 
remarks.  In  the  first  place,  I  do  not  agree  with 
those  writers  who  advocate  the  non-trapping 
system,  because  a  trap,  although  not  perfect, 
really  does  prevent  the  passage  of  sewer  gases  to 
a  great  extent,  though  it  should  not  be  entirely 
depended  upon,  but  should  be  assisted  by  venti- 
lating shafts  which  relieve  the  traps  from  any 
undue  pressure.  The  suggestions  of  Mr.  W.  B. 
Kiusey  come  the  nearest  to  my  practice ;  but 
instead  of  the  siphon  traps,  he  mentions  a  guUey 
trap  with  means  of  access  over  it  at  the  surface, 
which  is  much  better.  The  siphon  trap-i,  so-called, 
are  a  complete  nuisance,  always  liable  to  be  choked. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


605 


I  have  removeu  numbers  of  them.  At  inlets  to 
drains,  traps  of  S-form  may  be  used,  which 
clear  themselves  much  better ;  no  more  useful 
trap  can  be  u;>ed  for  foot  of  soil-pipe  than 
"Buchan's."  AVith  this  trap  and  a  ventilated 
soil-pipe,  avoiding-  that  abominable  article  the 
"Pan  Closet,"  it  is  impossible  to  have  anything 
deleterious  pass  into  the  house.  The  plug-valve 
closet  I  have  frequently  seen,  both  in  and  out  of 
repair,  but  have  never  used  it,  and  I  consider  it 
liable  to  all  the  objections  mentioned  by  your 
correspondents ;  nothing  can  possibly  be  so  clean 
and  efficient  as  the  S-trap,  with  proper  ventilation 
above  the  base  of  building.  On  several  occasions 
within  the  last  year  or  two,  I  have  had  to  con 
nect  house -drains  with  sewers,  and  the  workmen 
have  complained  of  the  nauseous  effluvium  which 
followed  them  as  they  put  in  the  drain  ;  but  it 
did  not  occur  to  them,  until  they  were  directed,  to 
fill  up  the  intercepting  trap  with  water  ;  when 
that  was  done,  everything  objectionable  was  at 
once  remedied,  and  when  examined  from  time  to 
time,  no  offensive  smell  could  be  perceived.  I 
know  many  instances,  in  spite  of  stringent  by- 
laws, where  the  house-drains  are  nothing  Uss 
than  conductors  for  passing  sewer  gases  into  the 
houses.  The  ventilation  and  trapping  of  house- 
drains  should  be  strictly  investigated  by  the 
authorities,  and  the  ventilation  of  sewers,  .still 
imperfectly  dene,  should  be  effected  by  them  and 
not  by  the  owners  of  property. 
Eastwood,  Notts.  S.  J.  Bakbf.e,  C.E. 


OUR  RAILWAY  BRIDGES  AXD  IRON 
STRUCTURES. 

Sib, — Your  contributor  in  the  Buildixg  News 
of  the  29th  ultimo,  gave  a  very  correct  account 
of  what  is  going  on  among  our  railway  bridges, 
and  was  most  careful  in  avoiding  any  direct 
mention  of  particular  systems  :  in  this  he  was 
mdike  your  correspondent  of  last  week  upon  the 
same  subject,  which  brought  forth  a  reply  from 
the  engineer  of  the  line  mentioned.  He  no  doubt 
knew  to  which  bridge  on  the  North  Staffordshire 
Railway  he  referred,  and  Mr.  Stubbs  may  be 
congratulated  on  the  way  he  answered  the  com- 
plaint. At  the  same  time,  however,  there  is  a 
doubt  (at  least  in  my  mind)  as  to  whether,  if  the 
matter  were  further  gone  into,  the  complaint 
made  would  be  found  to  be  correct. 

As  an  engineer  of  over  20  years'  experience, 
particularly  in  the  class  of  work  under  consider- 
tion,  I  think  f  may  be  allowed  to  express  an 
opinion  upon  our  railway  bridges  and  iron 
structures  generally,  not  only  from  a  technical 
point  of  view,  but  from  actual  practice :  and, 
were  it  not  for  taking  up  too  much  of  your  valu- 
able space,  I  might  fill  columns  with  actual  tests 
of  both  new  and  old  works  on  some  of  the  largest 
railway  systems  in  England. 

There  is  not  the  serious  necessity  for  the 
thorough  examination  of  iron  work  generaUv  as 
there  is  for  the  iiiuler  bridges  which  have  been 
«onstructed  for  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century ; 
these  are  the  great  source  of  danger  to  the 
travelling  public,  who  have  some  idea  of  their 
existence,  but  not  of  the  very  extraordinary 
extra  duty  imposed  upon  them  in  their  capacity 
as  structures  for  carrying  a  rolling  load.  I  know 
of  hundreds  of  bridges  of  this  class,  principally 
of  wrought  and  cast  iron,  and  also  some  of 
timber,  which  have  been  in  use  for  this  term  of 
years,  and  which  have  had  no  additional  strength 
given  them,  and  if  any  paint  at  all,  in  such  spar- 
ing quantities,  and  of  the  very  vilest  description, 
as  to  be  almost  useless — in  fact,  the  first  shower 
of  rain  washes  it  oft.  I  may  here  state,  as  an 
example  of  this,  that  some  time  ago  I  had  a  con- 
tract for  painting  to  let  for  one  of  our  largest 
railway  companies,  such  contract  to  be  carried 
out  with  the  best  materials  and  workmanship, 
and  to  have  three  coats.  The  whole  of  the  work 
was  in  iron  lattice  bridges  and  iron  roofs,  re- 
quiring a  large  quantity  of  scaffolding.  Although 
I  protested  against  the  acceptance  of  the  tender, 
which  I  maintained  was  ridiculously  too  low,  and 
wliich  I  insisted  could  not  be  carried  out.  yet  the 
directors  accepted  a  tender  of  2id.  per  super- 
ficial yard  for  the  completion  of  this  work. 

X  need  hardly  say  that  the  work  was  (notwith- 
standing the  great  extra  supervision)  wretchedly 
done,  and  would  have  been  better  not  done  at 
all,  for  the  rubbish  put  on  ran  off  as  quickly  as 
applied.  Great  care  was  also  exercised  that"  the 
white  lead  was  what  was  required  ;  but  with  all 
this  the  work  was  scamped,  and  the  contractor 
failed  to  complete  it.  In  a  case  of  this  kind,  I 
think  the  directors   are  very  much  to  blame  for 


wishing  a  contractor  to  do  what  they  know  to 
be  an  impossibility,  or,  not  being  able  to  judge 
themselves,  at  least  might  have  taken  the  advice 
of  their  engineer.  • 

This  is  the  class  of  paint  which  is  commonly 
used  on  railway  bridges  when  they  get  a  coat  of 
paint ;  but  I  have  known  them  go  for  seven  or 
eight  years,  or  even  ten  years,  without  even 
this. 

Is  it  to  be  wondered,  then,  that  there  should 
be  a  feeling  of  alarm  spreading  among  the 
travelling  public  ?  and  is  it  not  surprisinr  that 
engineers,  who  are  aware  of  these  things,  and 
the  consequences  of  such  overstraining  and  neg- 
lect, should  allow  the  parsimony  and  construc- 
tional ignorance  cf  railway  directors  (I  once 
heard  one,  now  chairman  of  a  large  company, 
say  that  he  did  not  understand  a  plan,  in  fact, 
did  not  know  the  top  from  the  bottom)  to  inter- 
fere with  the  carrying  out  of  what  is  their  duty 
to  the  public,  and  which  ought  to  be  insisted 
upon  by  the  Board  of  Trade. 

Locomotive  superintendents,  no  doubt,  arc 
compelled,  owing  to  the  extra  demand  laid  upon 
them  by  the  increased  railway  traffic  of  the 
country,  to  make  their  locomotives  of  such  addi- 
tional weight  as  to  give  the  necessary  adhesive 
power,  enabling  them  to  carrj'  the  extra  ton- 
nage required  of  them.  Owing  to  this  (as  your 
correspondent  states),  re-metalling  the  road  is 
constantly  going  on.  It  is  not  only  re-metalling, 
however,  for  the  engineers  consider  it  necessary 
to  have  not  only  an  increased  sectional  area  of 
rails  and  chairs,  but  also  to  have  the  former  of 
steel,  giWng  nearly  50  per  cent,  greater  strength 
iu  a  bearing  of  about  3ft.,  or  the  distance  be- 
tween the  sleepers. 

If  it  is  necessary  to  jive  this  increased  strength 
in  a  span  of  3ft.,  how  much  more  so  must  it  be  in 
spans  of  much  larger  dimensions,  say,  from  20ft. 
to  GOft.  ( J'ide  my  report  to  the  Board  of  Trade 
in  July  last.) 

These  bridges  have,  as  above  mentioned,  been 
constructed  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  at 
the  time  of  their  construction  were  made  four 
and  a  quarter  times  the  strength  required  for 
the  greatest  load  then  passing  over  them.  Note 
what  follows.  Deterioration  goes  on,  wear  and 
tear,  oxidation,  elongation  of  the  fibre,  or  de- 
tachment of  the  grain,  caused  by  the  continuous 
strain,  generally  equal  to  a  blow  on  the  struc- 
ture, and,  more  serious  than  all  the  rest,  the 
locomotives  are  made  nearly  twice  as  heavy  as 
those  calculated  for  in  the  first  instance,  viz., 
80  tons,  instead  of  40  or  4.5  tons,  thus  increasing 
the  rolling  load  nearly  100  per  cent.,  and,  con- 
sequently, reducing  the  strength  of  the  bridge 
.50  per  cent. 

It  docs  not,  I  think,  require  an  engineer  to 
see  that  these  bridges  are  reduced  from  four  and 
a  quarter  times  their  breaking-weight,  or 
greatest  load  put  on  them,  to  about  one  and  a 
half  times,  thus  showing  that,  w'th  .50  per  cent, 
more  load  on  them,  entire  failure  would  be  the 
result.  The  verj'  smallest  amount  of  marginal 
safety  is  here,  and  this,  even,  may  be  still 
further  reduced  by  some  little  defect  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  girders. 

There  is,  however,  some  little  satisfaction  in 
that  the  quality  of  the  materials  tised  in  these 
old  bridges  is  much  superior  to  that  now  used  in 
our  structures,  23  aud  even  30  tons  per  square 
inch  being  the  amount  which  the  wrought  iron 
would  stand  then,  whereas  now  it  is  a  difficult 
matter  to  get  more  than  17  or  IS  tons  in  iron 
generally  used  for  bridge  construction. 

I  am  afraid  I  am  trespassing  too  much  on 
your  space  ;  but  I  will  just  briefly  state  that, 
some  time  ago,  in  preparing  the  ironwork  of  a 
goods-warehouse  floor,  in  ilanchester,  for 
painting  (it  had  been  constructed  three  years 
and  a  half,  and  all  completely  painted),  I  had 
scraped  off  three-quarters  of  a  hundredweight 
per  square  of  oxide  of  iron  in  corrosion  only. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  go  further  into  this  matter 
at  another  time,  but  I  think  this  may  probably 
draw  the  attention  of  the  authorities  on  our 
railway  systems  to  these  serious  matters,  and 
which  attention  may  be  exercised  in  a  direction 
soothing  to  the  nerves  of  the  general  travelling 
public  and  of — Yours,  &c., 

W.  Geaham  Lees,  C.E. 
ISO,  Radford-road,  New  Basford,  Notts. 


BURTON    MARKET.  HALL    COMPE- 
TITION. 
Snt, — Can    any  of    your  readers   inform  me 
what  is  being  done  in  connection  with  the  above. 


Tlio  drawings  were  sent  in,  I  think,  last  July, 
and  nei'er  a  word  has  been  heard  of  them  since, 
or  even  of  the  guinea  that  was  charged  for  par- 
ticulars.— I  am,  &c.,  B. 


THE  R.  I.  B.  A. 

SiK, — I  cannot  help  thinking  that  some  of  the 
recent  changes  made  by  the  Council  of  the  Royal 
Institute  of  British  Architects  are  very  unwise — 
for  one,  that  of  issuing  the  Transactions  in  one 
volume  at  the  close  of  the  8e,s.sion  ;  another, 
that  of  devoting  several  evenings  to  routine 
business.  The  meeting  rooms  of  the  R.  I.  B.  A. 
are  in  a  very  inconvenient  position,  being  a  very 
long  distance  from  any  railway  station,  and  it 
can  hardly  bo  expected  that  members  residing  in 
the  suburbs  will  take  the  trouble  to  go  to 
Conduit-street  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  a  dis- 
cussion on  business,  or  the  election  of  members. 

One  portion  of  the  President's  inaugural 
address  required  correction,  or  qualification,  as 
it  certainly  appea-  s  that  the  President  advises 
that  charges  are  to  be  based  upon  "the  get- 
what-you-oan  principle,"  instead  of  the  5  per 
cent,  charge.  If  the  authorities  of  the  society 
really  mean  this,  there  is  nothing  now  to  prevent 
a  Fellow  or  Associate  from  tendering  his  ser- 
vices for  any  job  with  builders'  clerks,  house 
agents,  &c.  I  know  many  instances  in  which 
members  of  the  Institute  have  refused  to  com- 
pete for,  or  take  work  for  2j  or  3  per  cent.,  and 
if  by  the  new  regulation  a  number  of  country 
members  are  secured  (it  is  in  the  provinces  that 
the  low  commission  system  abounds),  all  I  can 
say  is,  let  such  men  be  kept  out  of  the  society, 
and  its  old  diguity  and  status  preserved. — I  am, 
&c.,  Associate. 

CHIPS. 

Mr.  James  Fowler,  F.E.I.E.A  ,  architect,  of 
Louth,  Liucolushire,  has,  within  the  last  few  diys. 
been  elected  mayor  of  that  town.  Mr.  Fowler  held 
the  same  office  for  two  consecutive  years  on  a  for- 
mer occasion. 

A  course  of  Cantor  Lectures  is  about  to  be  de- 
livered before  the  Society  of  Arts  by  Prof.  Church, 
F.C.S.,  on  "Some  Points  of  Contad  between  the 
Scientific  and  Artistic  Aspect  of  Pottery  and  Por- 
celain." The  course  will  cons'st  of  five  lectures, 
the  fir  t  of  which  will  be  given  on  Monday  evening 
nfxt  at  8  p.m.,  and  the  remaining  lectures  on  sub- 
sequent Monday  evenings  at  the  same  hour. 

An  exhaustive  report  as  to  the  paving  of  "New 
Streets  "  was  prepared  by  the  Parliamentary  com- 
mittee of  the  Hackney  Vestry  last  summer,  and 
appeared  in  full  in  the  BuTLDUJO  News  of  July  16th 
(p.  .58  of  preseatVol).  This  report,  which"  con- 
demned the  past  action  of  the  District  Board  of 
Works  in  paving  certain  "new  streets  ''  out  of  the 
public  rates,  and  advocated  that  those  rates  should 
be  recouped  from  the  money  so  expended,  came 
before  the  latter  board  on  Wedaesd.ay  week,  and 
provoked  an  animated  discussion.  It  was  moved 
that  the  report  be  only  received,  inasmuch  as  for 
the  members  to  adopt  it  would  be  self- condemna- 
tory ;  but  it  was  eventually  agreed  to  refer  it  to  the 
general  purposes  committee. 

At  Salisbury,  cm  Monday,  new  Sunday-school 
buildings,  erected  at  the  rear  of  the  United 
Methodist  Free  Church  in  Milford-street,  were 
formally  opened.  The  buildings  consist  of  a  central 
hall  4Sl"t.  by  26ft.,  with  class-rooms,  infants'  room, 
cloak-rooms,  and  lavatories  opening  off  on  three 
sides,  acconimodatim  being  provided  for  3.50 
children.  The  forms,  tables,  chairs,  and  other 
tittings  were  specially  designed  by  the  architect, 
Mr.  John  Wills,  of  Derby.  The  style  of  the  build- 
ing is  Italian,  in  harmony  with  the  proposed  re- 
constructed chapel.  Messrs.  E.  Young  and  Sons, 
of  Gigant-street,  Sa'isbury,  were  the  builders,  and 
the  cost  has  been  £1,400. 

A  new  cbi'dren's  home,  at  Barclay-road,  Walt- 
hamstow,  was  opened  by  the  Bishop  of  London 
last  week.  Mr.  Brossey  was  the  architect,  amd  Mr. 
Arber  the  builder  of  the  premises. 

Mr.  Hubert  Herkomer,  A.R.A.,  on  Tuesday 
night,  distributed  the  prizes  to  students  at  the 
Leicester  School  of  Art,  and  afterwards  dehvered 
an  address. 

The  town  council  of  Chard,  Somersetshire, 
adopted,  last  week,  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  Whit- 
taker,  their  engineer,  for  the  drainage  and  water 
supply  of  the  borough  and  parish.  ITie  estimated 
cost  of  the  work  is  £5,422,  and  three-fifths  of  the 
outlay  will  be  within  the  borough  limits. 

Mr.  Down,  senior  partner  in  the  firm  of  Down 
and  Son,  architects  and  surveyors,  Bridgwater, 
died  at  his  re^id^nce,  at  Eastover,  Somerset,  on 
Wednesday  week.  The  deceased  gentleman  was 
an  Aldfrman  of  the  borough,  and  also  a  member 
of  the  School  Board. 


606 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  19,  1880. 


5ntcrtflmmuuicuti0n. 


slipbtly  discoloured.  By  what  means  can  they  be  restored 
tn  their  oritrinal  -whiteness .'— Ivoitv. 


QU£STIOXS, 

[6294. ]- Discoloured  Scales.-My  ivory  scales  s 
lipbtlyd  "    ".      ' 

to  their  original  -whiteness .' 

,-(;o95-)_ Joists  on  Girder.  — "Will  some  practical 
reader  tell  me  the  best  -way  to  support  the  ends  of  joists 
on  the  lower  flange  of  an  iron  girder  projecting  only  about 
2in.  !~Cl'R1ous. 

[6*296.]— Damp  "Walls.— Two  years  ago  a  house  was 
plastered  on  old  walls.  Nine  months  ago,  in  same,  tlie 
two  sitting  rooms  and  staircase  were  painted  four  coats 
iu  oil.  Th-'  piiint  now  is  discoloured  and  wet  to  the 
bottom,  in  pa'th.-s;  other  portions  ai-e  quite  nice.  Can 
any  of  your  readers  assiga  a  reason !— Decorator. 

[6297.]— Building:  Estate  Charges.— A  surveyor 
Irishes  to  know  from  some  of  the  experienced  readers  of 
the  Building  News,  what  the  usual  charges  are  for  sur- 
ve\-ing  and  laying  out  a  building  estate,  preparing  plans, 
letting  lots,  and  setting  out  same,  the  ground  rents  being 
fiom  40s.  to  50s.  per  lot.  "What  fees  are  usually  paid  by 
the  builder,  and  what  charges  should  be  made  to  the 
owner  of  the  land?— Hision. 

[6298-]— Party  "Wall.- A.  and  B.  are  o-wners  of  ad- 
joining dwelling  houses  in  London,  and  A.  pulls  down 
bis  house,  rebuilding  it,  raising  on  the  party-wall  about 
6ft.  without  giving  notice  to  B.,  as  required  by  the  Build- 
ing Act.  B.  has  apphed  to  his  solicitor,  and  an  eminent 
barrister  gives  an  opinion  that  B.  has  no  remedy  against 
A.  beyond  the  extent  of  actual  damage,  consisting  of  a 
ceiUng  shghtly  injured  by  wet.  As  the  Building  Act 
contains  a  number  of  clauses  about  the  building  owner 
giving  notice,  it  is  rather  odd  that  nothing  is  mentioned 
as  to  the  adjoining  o-wner's  icmedy  if  such  notice  is  not 
given.— Bub  vEToa. 

[6299.]— Felt  on  Church  'Roof.— I  am  getting  a 
churcii  rebuilt  -with  an  open-timbered  roof  and  diagonal 
boarding  on  backs  of  rafters.  On  top  of  the  boarding  I 
am  putting  a  coating  of  felt  under  the  slates.  Another 
architect  is  getting  a  church  built  in  a  neighbouring 
parish,  and  the  clei^yman  of  that  parish  seeing  the  felt 
on  my  roof,  wished  to  have  his  church  done  in  a  similar 
maimer.  This  liis  architect  refused  to  do  and  condemned 
the  use  of  felt,  and  alleged  that  it  would  rot  off  in  a  very 
ehort  time.  Could  anyone  direct  me  where  to  find  an 
authoritative  statement  on  the  subject  ?  Any  informa- 
tion -would  be  thankfully  received  by  a  young— Mcdi- 

.SVALIST. 

[6300.]- Ventilation.— Can  any  of  your  fellow- 
readers  acquaint  me  with  their  experience  of  tlie  "  Tobin" 
system  of  ventilating  school  rooms  !  The  one  I  have  to 
ventilate  has  a    flat  ceiling,  having  a  room  above.— 

BOAZ. 

[6301.1— Main  Drains.— "What  is  the  minimum  size 
and  fall  of  amain  di-ain  for  a  population  of  l.OCO?  Names 
of  any  books  treating  of  sewers,  their  size,  fall,  construc- 
tion, "tfcc,  suitable  for  a  small  hamlet  would  be  acceptable 
to-A.  ~ 

[6302.]— Fence.— I  shall  be  gladif  any  of  youi-  readers, 
who  have  had  experience  of  such  matters,  could  adWse 
me  how  to  act  in  a  question  that  arises  as  to  a  fence  di\'id- 
ing  two  properties.  Both  parties  agree  that  the  fence 
must  be  erected  at  their  joint  expense,  but  disagree  as  to 
cost,  or,  rather,  as  to  whether  it  shall  be  an  erection  that 
will  last  ten  months  or  one  that  will  last  ten  years,  the 
cost  in  the  one  case  being  about  thi'ce  times  that  of  the 
other,  I  being  in  favoiu"  of  the  more  durable  one.  The 
ground  landlord,  unfortunately,  -will  not  interfei-e. — E. 
Price. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 


to  be  empowered  to  make  arrangements  with  the 
existing  Companies  for  the  purchase  of  their 
rights,  and,  failiiig  that,  to  procure  an  independent 
supply. 

Our  O^fRct  Cable. 


formed  ou  a  tasis  similar  to  that  on  which  elections    (3)  Separate  cisterns  shall  be  constructed  fertile 
to  the  London  School  Board  proceeded,  this  Jjody  |  -n-ater- closets  and  for  the  general  p^u'foses  of  the 

building.  No  tap  or  "draw-oti"  shall  be 
affixed  to  any  pipe  communicating  with  a  cistern 
supp'ying  a  water-closet  or  lu'inal.  (4)  All 
waste  pipes  or  overflow  pipes  of  cisterns  shall 
terminate  in  the  open  air,  and  be  cut  off  from  all 
direct  communication  with  drains,  (o)  Great 
attention  shall  be  paid  to  insuiing  thorough 
ventilation  in  all  rooms.  Booms  so  high  that 
their  ceilings  shall  be  more  than  2ft.  above  the 
top  of  the  windows,  corridors,  staircases,  and 
other  open  spaces  shall  be  specially  ventilated  so 
as  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  stagnant  air. 
(6)  All  main  drains  should,  where  practicable, 
be  formed  outside  the  building.  In  the  event  of 
its  being  necessary  to  carry  a  main  drain  under- 
neath a  building,  it  must  be  trapped  immediately 
outside  the  main  wall,  and  a  ventilating  pipe 
must  be  carried  from  that  point  to  the  highest 
part  of  the  roof,  as  under  rule  2. 

It  is  perhaps  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  so 
many  different  opinions  have  been  given  respect- 
ing LncUnations  of  sewers,  as  engineers  are  not 
unanimous  on  the  question  of  rainfall,  and  so 
many  circumstances  have  to  be  taken  into  _ao- 
/^,^tiT.+  •     \\ft¥   iy,f>   ■fntlnwiTio'   are    a    few    leadinET 


EDrsECEGH. — There  is  about  to  be  placed  in  the 
Dean  Cemetery,  Edinburgh,  a  monument  in 
memory  of  the  eminent  landscape  painter  Nasmjth, 
by  the  distinguished  inventor  to  whom  is  due  the 
credit  of  having  iirst  successfully  applied  the  steam- 
hammer  to  the  work  of  the  forge.  The  monument, 
which  was  designed  by  Mr.  John  Rhiud,  sculptor, 
Edinburgh,  and  has  been  executed  by  him  in  Biuny 
freestone,  takes  tne  form  of  a  massive  Eunic  cross, 
rising  22ft.  6in.  from  the  ground,  and  being  entirely 
covered  with  carving. 

St.  Etheldeed.1,  Ely-place.— Two  life-size 
statues  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  have  recently 
been  placed  iu  position  in  this  ancient  chape],  on 
the  carved  stone  corbels  of  the  wall  arcadiug 
undtr  the  arched  gabling  between  the  windows. 
It  is  intended  tu  reinstate  the  whole  series  of  the 
twelve  Apostles  and  four  Evangelists.  The 
sculptor  is  Mr.  Doherty,  Blackfriars. 

LivEBPOOL. — Mrs.  Tumor,  the  wife  of  the  late 
Charles  Turner,  M.P.  for  S.W.  Lancashire,  and 
formerly  a  Liverpool  merchant,  has  formed  the 
intention  of  commemorating  her  husband's  memory 
by  erecting  a  tower,  iu  a  prominent  position,  by 
tneEiver  Mersey,  just  about  the  centre  of  the  pier- 
head, opposite  the  landing-stage.  The  designs  for 
the  tower  have  been  made  by  Mr.  A.  "Waterhouse, 
A.E  A. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Meteopolitaij  Wateb  Supply. — An  adjourned 
Conference  of  Delegates  from  Vestriea  and  Dis- 
trict Boards  ou  the  question  of  the  water  supply 
of  Loni;on  was  held  ou  Tuesday  in  St.  Martin's 
Testry  Hall,  when  a  memorial  was  adopted  praying 

or  the  creation  of  a  water  trust  in  the  Metropolis, 


A  LiEGE  and  inftuential  Deputation  of  Peers, 
M.P.'s,  landowners,  and  occupiers  waited  on 
Mr.  Dodson  last  week,  at  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board,  to  urge  on  him  the  necessity  of 
introducing  the  necessary  legislation  in  the  next 
Session  of  Parliament  to  enable  local  action  to 
be  taken  for  dealing  with  floods.  The  Duke  of 
Bedford  introduced  the  Deputation,  and  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  as  represen- 
tative of  a  county  that  suffers  greatly  from 
inundation,  urged  that  as  the  question  was  one 
which  affected  more  or  less  every  watershed  in 
the  kingdom,  it  could  only  be  dealt  with  bya 
general  Government  measure.  Mr.  Dodson,  in 
reply,  admitted  to  the  full  the  pressing  character 
of  the  evU,  and  promised  to  lay  the  matter 
before  his  colleagues,  with  the  assurance  that  it 
would  receive  at  their  hands  the  attention  its 
importance  demanded. 

The  Bishop  of  Manchester  in  his  visitation 
charge  gives  some  good  advice  as  regards  the 
preservation  of  the  material  fabric  of  the  church. 
His  exhortation  to  the  churchwardens  to  be 
always  on  the  watch  for  the  firat  appearance  of 
dry  rot  is  universally  applicable,  and  will  be 
accepted  as  a  timely  hint  by  all  who  have  to  do 
with  the  construction  of  houses  or  churches.  The 
Bishop  not  only  draws  attention  to  this  insidi- 
ous disease,  so  apt  to  assail  institutions  as  well 
as  timber ;  he  also  points  out  the  infallible 
remedy.  Let  in  plenty  of  air.  Provide  for 
thorough  ventUatiou.  His  Lordship  objects  to 
£3,000  as  too  large  a  sum  to  be  spent  on  an  or- 
dinary parsonage,  and  directs  attention  to  one 
that  has  lately  been  erected  at  Rishton,  near 
Blackburn,  as  a  model  to  be  copied.  It  contains 
three  sitting-rooms  and  seven  bedrooms,  with 
plenty  of  good  cupboards,  and  has  cost  only 
£1,600. 

No  greater  boon  could  ba  given  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  London  and  other  large  cities,  than  the 
means  of  preventiugsmoke,  andit  is  satisfactory  to 
notice  auynewiaventionwith  that  object  in  view. 
Mr.  A.  C.  Engert,  the  inventor  of  recent  im- 
provements in  the  distribution  of  sound,  lately 
described  in  these  pages,  has  proposed  a  remedy 
which  will  largely  prevent  the  formation  of 
smoke  from  our  furnaces.  Many  of  the  inven- 
tions that  have  been  brought  out  are  too  compli- 
cated or  expensive  ;  but  Mr.  Engert's  apparatus 
is  one  which  can  be  fixed  to  any  furnace  ;  it  is 
moreover  exceedingly  simple,  and  can  be  applied 
without  much  expense.  Mr.  Engert's  app-tratus 
is  constructed  on  the  principle  of  regulating  the 
admission  of  cold  air  into  a  furnace,  and  thereby 
preventing  the  formation  of  smoke.  The  appa- 
ratus consists  simply  of  a  combination  of  shutters 
— one  hanging  down  in  front  of  the  furnace,  and 
another  hanging  down  about  30ins.  within  it ; 
and  as  the  front  shutter  is  raised  to  regulate  the 
fire,  the  shutter  Avithin  the  furnace  descends,  by 
which  action  the  admission  of  cold  air  is  reduced 
or  entirely  checked.  By  regulating  the  admission 
of  cold  air  into  the  furnace,  smoke  can  be 
diminished,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
cause  of  smoke  is  the  admission  of  cold  air,  and 
that  if  we  can  prevent  the  cond-nsation  of  the 
gases  given  out  by  fresh  coals,  we  can  prevent 
the  formation  of  smoke.  I5y  Mr.  Eugert's 
patent,  the  gases  as  soon  as  they  arise  are 
consumed.  Another  serious  objection  to  the  com- 
mon arrangement  is  that  every  time  the  fur- 
nace door  is  opened,  the  space  is  filled  with 
cold  air,  which  rushes  under  the  buUer  and  robs 
it  of  heat  by  carrying  it  up  the  chimcney. 

The  following  rules,  to  be  observed  in  the 
construction  of  aU  buildings  erected  under  Her 
Majesty's  Office  of  Works,  have  been  prepared 
and  issued  by  the  Secretary  to  the  Office  of 
AVorks: — (1)  ^Ul  water-clcsets  and  urinals  shall 
be  constructed  so  that  one  wall  at  least  of  such 
closets  and  urinals  shall  be  an  outer  wall  of  the 
building.  (2)  All  soil-pipes  shall  be  carried 
outside  the  building,  and  ventilated  by  means  of 
pipes  leading  the  foul  gases  above  the  highest 
point  of  the  building.  Such  pipes  to  be  carried 
to    points    removed     from     chimney    stacks. 


count;  but  the  following  are  a  few  leading 
opinions : — Sir  J.  Bazalgette  thinks  a  mean 
velocity  of  U  miles  per  hour  sufficient  when  it 
is  running  half  full ;  Mr.  Beardmore  thinks  IJ 
miles  per  hour  enough ;  Mr.  Baldwin  Lathanr 
gives  his  opinion  that  no  sewer  should  have  a 
less  velocity  than  2ft.  per  second,  while  2^ft.  to 
3ft.,  in  very  small  sewers,  would  be  better;  Mr. 
Wickstead  states  that  with  a  bottom  velocity  of 
16in.  per  second,  or  0'90  miles  per  hour,  heavy 
pieces  of  brick,  &c.,  will  be  removed,  and  that  a 
velocity  of  1  -24  miles  per  hour  is  sufficient  as  a 
minimum ;  Professor  Kankin  says  the  velocity 
of  current  in  sewers  should  not  be  less  than  1ft. 
per  second. 

The  Manchester  Society  of  Architects,  iu  their 
report  for  the  past  year,  which  has  just  been 
issued,  state  that  they  have  for  many  years  pas* 
been  endeavouring  to  induce  the  Corporation  of 
Manchester  to  consolidate  and  amend  their  by- 
laws relating  to  building,  ' '  but  they  have  found 
their  efforts  so  coldly  treated  by  that  body  that 
they  have  unwillingly  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  exists  neither  a  knowledge  of  the 
shortcomings  of  such  regulations  as  are  to  be 
found  here  and  there  in  various  local  Acts  of 
Parliament,  &o.,  nor  a  willingness  to  accept 
assistance  towards  remedying  theii-  defects  from 
those  who  are  quaUfied  to  advise ;  and  that 
further  efforts  in  this  direction  must  be  spared 
tOl  some  combination  of  circumstances  arises 
giving  a  fair  hope  of  success." 


CHIPS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Gateshead  School  Board  on 
the  10th  inst.,  the  plans  of  Messrs.  Oliver  and 
Leeson,  architects,  Newcastle-on-Tyue,  for  pro- 
posed group  of  schools  at  Durham-ioad  were  ap- 
proved; the  same  architects  were  instructed  to 
prepare  designs  for  another  group  of  schools  at 
Askew-road. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Ci'y  Commissioners  of 
Sewers,  held  on  Tuesday,  it  was  resolved  that 
tenders  should  be  accepted  for  the  electric  lighting 
of  the  City  on  three  systems,  the  area  of  lighting 
to  include  Blackfriars  -  bridge,  Bridge  -  street, 
Luddgate-hiU,  St.  Paul's-churchyard,  and  Cheap- 
side  to  King-street ;  Southwark  Bridge,  Queen 
Victoria- street,  and  Queeu-street  ;  London 
Bridge,  Cheapside,  King-street,  Mansion  House- 
street,  and  King  William-street.  The  cost  of 
lii'htin.-'  for  twelve  months  from  next  February 
willbe°£S,06J. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  Christ 
Church,  Addiscombe,  near  Croydou,  held  last 
week,  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  Johu  Sulmau,  of 
Furnival's-inu,  were  approved  for  the  proposed 
permanent  church  to  be  built  in  Canumg-road. 
The  style  adopted  is  Gothic,  and  the  external 
walls  will  be  of  red  brick,  with  stone  dressings. 
The  church  will  consist  of  nave,  with  clerestory 
and  side  aisles  and  chancel  ;  C3.5  sittings  mil  be 
provided,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £o,000. 

Muckamore  Abbey,  a  place  of  considerable  an- 
tiquarian interest,  situate  between  Antrim  and 
Dunadry,  iias  been  totally  destroyed  by  fire,  to- 
gether with  a  valuable  collection  of  old  furniture 
within,  and  the  woodwork  of  a  new  mansion  in 
course  of  erection  beside  it. 

The  town  council  of  Carlisle  decided  last  week, 
on  the  motion  of  Mr.  E.  S.  Ferguson,  toinvite 
the  Royal  Archaeological  Institute  to  visit  that 
city  either  in  1882  or  1883. 


Nov.   26,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


607 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


LOXDOy,  FRIBAY,  XOVEMBER   26,  1880. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  CEMENT. 

INCREASED  interest  Las  of  late  years 
been  manifested  in  the  manufacture  and 
nse  of  Portland  cement,  and  our  own 
columns  have  shown  that  good  cement  must 
eventually  bo  employed  to  a  larger  extent 
than  it  is  now.  Mr.  Redgrave's  paper,  read 
at  the  Association  last  Friday,  and  given 
elsewhere  ia  ixtcnsu,  dealt  mainly  with  the 
chemical  properties  of  limes  and  cements, 
into  which  we  do  not  propose  to  enter  ;  but 
the  latter  part  of  his  paper  proposes  an 
innovation  which  will  be  read  with  some 
misgiving  by  architects  who  have  invariably 
speciried  lime-mortar  for  their  buildings, 
and  especially  by  one  school  of  revivalists. 
The  doctrine  that  Mr.  Redgrave  sets  forth 
is  that  cement  is  better,  and  more  economical 
than  lime  for  mortar-making,  and  to  estab- 
lish this  proposition  he  enters  into  some 
details  to  which  it  is  not  necessarj'  to  refer, 
as  they  are  already  elementary  truths.  In 
the  first  place  the  author  shows  the  capacity 
of  cement  for  uniting  larger  quantities  of 
sand  and  building  materials  than  lime,  and 
he  thereupoa  argues  its  economy.  Mr. 
Colson's  experiments,  cited  by  the  lecturer, 
demonstrate  at  least  with  some  degree  of 
cogency,  the  superiority  of  cement-mortar 
mixed  with  loam  over  grey  lime  mortar, 
although  they  do  not  establish  the 
absolute  necessity  for  using  a  more  adhe- 
sive mixture  for  ordinary  building  purposes. 
The  experiments  prove  generally  that  the 
adhesive  power  of  mortar,  mixed  in  the  pro- 
portions of  8  of  sand  to  1  of  cement,  with 
the  addition  of  loim,  was  superior  to  grey 
lime  mortar  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  2  of 
sand  to  1  of  lime,  the  ordinary  specification 
proportion.  If  the  experiments  recorded  in  the 
first  table  we  publish  are  correct,  the  break- 
ing strain  on  a  briquette  of  2'2o  square  inches 
shows  double  the  strength  for  sand  and  ce- 
ment than  for  sand  and  lime  ;  but  the  ad- 
dition of  loam  instead  of  lime  shows  a  ratio 
compared  with,  lime  mortar  of  from  1'(I4  to 
1,  to  1  "04  to  1.  The  object  of  these  experi- 
ments was  to  find  what  proportion  of  Port- 
land cement  and  sand  would  produce  a 
mortar  equal  in  strength,  and  as  convenient 
to  work,  as  grey  lime  mortar,  mixed  in  the 
ordinary  proportions.  A  working  consistency 
was  tbe  necessary  requirement  in  each  case. 
Taking  the  second  table  of  results,  which  we 
print,  it  also  appears  that  Portland  cometit 
and  loam  mortar  costs  less  per  cubic  j'ard 
than  grey  lime  mortar  by  a  considerable 
percentage.  It  is  well  known  that  the  hy- 
draulic limes  yield  less  mortar;  but  we  leave 
these  facts  to  the  consideration  of  the  profes- 
sion, though  weare  disposed  to  ask  the  ques- 
tion, before  we  abandon  mortar:  Is  there 
any  actual  advantage  derived  from  using 
a  cement  of  greater  adhesive  power 
in  our  walls  ?  No  builder  questions 
the  superiority  of  cement  for  foundations, 
structures  exposed  to  damp,  marine  and 
other  purposes,  copings,  piers,  arches,  and 
everywhere,  in  short,  where  hydraulic 
properties  and  greater  tenacity  are  required ; 
but  for  ordinary  wall-building,  good  hy- 
draulic lime,  mixed  with  sharp  sand,  burnt 
clay,  or  cinders,  produces  a  mortar  quite 
equal  in  power  of  resistance  to  good  bricks. 
Regarding  the  structural  conditions  of  a 
wall,  it  does  not  appear  to  us  any  economy 
to  reqiiire  that  the  mortar  joints  should  be 
of  greater  strength  than  the  bricks  them- 
selves, as  in  that  case  there  would  be  no 
advantage  gained.  Of  course,  wearespeaking 


of  walls  buUt  with  o-dinary  bricks,  and 
not  assuming  the  cement-concrete  Mr.  Red- 
grave proposes.  No  doubt,  in  theory,  the 
strength  of  mortar  should  bo  sufficient  to 
produce  equality  of  resistance  throughout 
the  wall,  so  that  the  materials  will  break  in 
a  str.aight  fracture  and  not  follow  the 
joints  :  this  would  be  the  perfection  of  wall 
buUdhig,  .and  we  believe  well  buUt  walls,  with 
mortar  joints,  would  fulfil  this  condition. 

Fat-lime  mortar  is  decidedly  objection- 
able, and  we  quite  agree  with  M.  Vicat 
and  Sir  C.  Pasley  that  its  use  ought 
to  be  prohibited.  Tbe  weakness  of 
lime  is  increased  often  by  the  use  of  bad 
sand  or  sand  of  too  fine  a  character.  As 
Mr.  Kedgrave  truly  observes,  mortar  of  this 
kind  never  sets  in  the  interior ;  it  is  only  the 
external  skin  that  hardens,  which  prevents 
the  further  absorption  of  the  carbonic  acid 
in  the  air  necessary  to  indurate.  Both  in 
damp  situations  and  also  where  weights 
have  to  be  carried  the  use  of  mortar  of  this 
description  ought  to  be  vigilantly  rejected. 
In  the  use  of  fat  or  feebly  hydraulic  lime 
the  admixture  of  clayey  earth,  puzzolana, 
(  r  calcined  silicious  clay  appears  to  be  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  the  bricklayer  can 
always  avail  himself  of  burnt  c'ay  or  pounded 
bricks,  which  will  produce  an  effect  re- 
sembling those  materials.  Sharp,  coarse 
sand  also  is  sadly  neglected  by  the  ordinary 
builder,  but  its  use  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance in  mortar  prepared  with  fat  limes. 

One  of  the  advantages  of  using  lime 
mortar  which  the  bricklayer  would  not  be 
disposed  to  forego  is  that  any  quantity  may 
be  made,  as  it  does  not  become  injured  by 
btring  kept  or  disturbed  in  the  work,  but  in 
quick  setting  cements  only  a  small  quantity 
can  be  prepared  at  once. 

I  Mr.  Kedgiave  not  only  proposes  to  sub- 
stitute cement  for  lime  mortar,  but  says  we 
should  abandon  bricks  for  building,  and  use 
in  their  stead  cement  concrete.  He  suggests 
that  we  should  calcine  our  brick-earth  in 
heaps,  as  ballast,  and  unite  this  burnt  clay 
into  monolithic  structures  with  Portland 
cement.  The  idea  is  not  new,  but  the  very 
tardy  substitution  of  cement  concrete  for 
bricks,  and  the  results  hitherto  attained, 
have  scarcely  warranted  the  profession  in 
making  si  sudden  a  change.  Prejudice  and 
traditional  practice  have,  no  doubt,  together 
operated  in  blinding  architects  to  the  use  of 
concrete ;  yet  we  cannot  unconditionally 
affirm  there  are  not  some  grounds  for  their 
retention  of  brickworl'.  One  of  these  is  the 
difficulty  experienced  in  manufacturing 
cement  of  ihe  right  quality  fur  architectural 
purposes,  and  another  the  advantage  de- 
rived in  being  able  to  construct  features  in 
brick  or  terra-ootta  of  a  variety  of  descrip- 
tions, such  as  windows,  arches,  chimneys, 
giving  them  at  the  same  time  any  form  the 
necessity  of  the  case  required.  The  methods 
required  in  constructing  monolithic  walls, 
or  in  casting  concrete  into  different  forms, 
rather  tend  to  deter  the  builder — at  present, 
at  least — from  venturing  upon  a  new 
path. 

On  artistic  grounds  the  architectural  pro- 
fession have,  it  must  be  acknowledged, 
some  slight  reason  for  withholding  their 
sympathy  for  cement  as  a  decorative  mate- 
rial. The  ago  of  "  compo  "  still  retains  its 
unpleasant  associations  in  the  mind  of  the 
"  art  "  architect ;  the  reign  of  stucco  created 
a  fictitious  kind  of  style,  which,  unfor- 
tunately, has  left  a  bad  name,  and  there  is  a 
strong  conviction  that  all  salient  features 
ought  to  be  constructed.  But  deeper  than 
this  is  the  conviction  that  moulded  and  cast 
work  destroy  all  individuality  and  charm, 
and  reduce  to  a  dead  level  the  ideas  of  the 
artist.  Till  this  belief  is  eradicated,  we  are 
much  inclined  to  doubt  whether  concrete 
building  will  ever  obtain  the  hold  its  ardent 
supporters  desire  upon  the  artistic  mind. 
That  the  artistic  mind  is  always  right  in 
these  matters  it  would  not  be  safe  to  assert ; 


the  influence  of  precedent  has  an  irresistible 
power  over  some  m?u,  and  we  think  the 
apostles  of  cement  concrete  can  well  afford 
to  wait  a  change  in  architectural  feeling. 
Machine-made  concrete  lintels  and  sills, 
window-heads,  &c.,  may  at  present  sicken 
the  devotee  of  painstaking  hand-labour  ;  he 
may  feel  disgusted  at  seeing  the  miles  of 
artificial  stone  in  model  dwellings,  prisons, 
and  barracks  ;  but  this  feeling,  we  venture 
to  say,  will  yield  when  the  artist  once  begins 
to  understand  the  material,  and  to  model  it 
to  his  requirements.  Much  uiay  be  done  to 
render  cement  decorative  ;  for  purposes  of 
surface  ornament  a  great  deal  has  already 
boon  accomplished  ;  and  we  have  still  hopes 
that  some  efforts  wiU  be  made  to  introduce 
colour  to  heighten  the  relief.  One  manu- 
facturer, Mr.  Lascelles,  has  already  been 
successful  in  making  cement  bricks  and  tiles 
of  the  colour  of  red  brick,  and,  if  this  can 
bo  done,  we  do  not  despair  of  seeing  cement 
architecture  again  coming  into  fashion  with 
stronger  recommendations  than  it  has  up  to 
the  present  offered. 


DESIGN  IN  ARCHITECTURAL  MOSAIC. 

IN  our  series  of  articles  on  "  Architectural 
Mosaic"  last  year,*  wo  confined  our- 
selves for  the  occasion  to  a  very  full 
description  of  the  materials  and  various 
technical  processes  employed,  both  in 
ancient  and  modern  times.  The  subject, 
however,  woidd  be  incomplete  without  some 
further  remarks  upon  the  peculiar  principles 
which  should  regulate  its  design  and  appli- 
cation. Good  workmanship,  even  when 
employed  on  good  materials,  is  not  neces- 
sarily enough  to  insure  perfection  in  mosaic. 
The  craft  of  the  mosaicist  is  artistic  as  well 
as  mechanical,  and  a  good  design  is  abso- 
lutely essential  to  success.  But  although  a 
good  design  is  perhaps  more  necessary  fi.'r 
mosaic  than  any  other  of  the  decorative 
arts,  for  reasons  we  shall  presently  show, 
there  is  a  natural  tendency  to   make  it  a 

!  mere  matter  of  copying  manufacture   and 

I  mechanism.  This  tendency,  indeed,  operates 
in  other  arts,  but  attaches  itself  more  espe- 

[  cially  to  mosaic,  through  the  dangero-is 
facility  wherewith  copies  may  bo  repro- 
duced by  ordinary  workmen,  which  not  only 

I  in  appearance,  but  in  actual  fact,  are  quite 
undistinguishable  from  originals.  Nothing 
can  more  seriously  endanger  its  prospects  ot 

(  general  acceptance.  Mosaic,  when  used 
for  decoration  of  a  building,  is  so  entirely 
dependent  for  its  due  effect  upon  its  relation 
to  the  lines  of  the  architecture,  upon  the 
chromatic  effect  of  adjacent  colours,  upon  the 
incidence  of  light  on  its  surface,  upon  dis- 
tance from  the  eye,  and  upon  its  general 
harmony  with  the  prevailing  tone  and  style 
of  the  building,  that  special  designs  are  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  tvery  structure  of  any 
pretensions.  Copied  mosaics  will  hardly 
evtr  be  found  suitable  in  all  respects  to 
buildings  or  apartments  other  than  those  for 
which  the  originals  were  designed,  except 
indeed  on  a  very  small  scale,  and  in  com- 
paratively unimportant  positions.  The  de- 
sign of  a  mosaic  is,  in  fact,  almost,  though 
not  quite,  everything.  Mechanical  defects 
are  often  unperceived  from  the  distances  at 
which  mosaics  are  usually  seen  ;  but  defects 
of  design  always  come  into  glaring  pro- 
minence in  spite  of  the  most  perfect 
mechanical  execution.  The  adaptation  of 
every  decorative  design  to  architecture 
should  be  subject  to  the  spcciil  control  of 
the  architect,  and  of  him  alone.  The  mind 
which  designed  a  buQding  is,  as  a  rule,  the 
best  qualified  to  give  an  air  of  unity  of  pur- 
pose and  completeness  to  its  permanent 
decoration.  This  principle  applies  to  all 
forms  of  art,  but  in  a  higher  degree  to 
mosaic   than  to    others,   not  only  because 

•  See  BriLDix.:  Xews  for  March  2tst,  2Sth,  April  11th, 
ISth,  and  25t]i,  1S79. 


608 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


it  forms  aa  integral  and  inseparable  part  of 
the  architecture,  but  also  because  its  mode 
of  constructiou  aproaches  very  closely  to 
that  of  the  edifice  itself.  Unlike  an  easel- 
painting  -svhich  can  be  removed,  or  a  fresco 
•which  fades  or  peels  off,  it  is  built  into  the 
substance  of  the  structure  as  effectually  as 
the  bricks  and  stones  themselves,  and  is, 
with  them,  incapable  of  destruction,  re- 
moval, or  alteration,  without  mutilation  of 
the  fabric  as  long  as  it  stands.  One  writer 
has  very  aptly  compared  the  union  of  mosaic 
•with  a  building  to  that  between  husband 
and  wife,  and  thence  has  di-awn  the  infer- 
ence, that,  like  a  good  -wife  to  her  husband, 
mosaic  ought  to  enhance  all  the  good 
(juaHties  of  the  structure  to  which  it  belongs, 
and  conceal  its  defects.  For  example,  it 
may,  by  a  preponderating  number  of  vertical 
lines,  give  the  appearance  of  height,  where 
height  is  necessary,  or  where  length  is 
wsmted,  it  may  give  the  appearance  of 
length,  by  a  predominance  of  horizontal 
lines.  It  may  do  so  much  in  common  with 
other  coloured  decorations,  but  in  a  higher 
degree  than  they  ;  it  may  brighten  the 
obscurity  of  some  parts  by  its  glowing  and 
unfading  colours,  or  it  may  render  dark 
places  luminous,  by  its  gold  grounds  and 
lustrous  surfaces,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  may  subdue  the  dazzling  effect  of  excess 
of  light  by  a  design  in  which  shadows  and 
deep  quiet  tones  predominate. 

There  are,  however,  special  limitations 
and  technicalities,  arising  from  the  nature 
of  mosaic  itself,  which  must  be  carefully 
kept  in  mind  in  the  preparation  of  every 


First  and  foremost  of  these  is  simpUcifij. 
This  is  an  absolute  necessity  imposed  upon 
mosaic,  not  only  by  the  great  costliness  of 
minute  and  complicated  work,  but  also 
because  small  touches  of  art,  whatever  be 
their  intrinsic  merits,  are  lost  to  sight  from 
the  great  distances  at  which  mosaics  are 
usually  seen.  The  subject  must  be  simple 
and  its  treatment  simple  also.  The  figures 
must  not  bo  too  many,  nor  too  crowded,  and 
much  must  be  dispensed  with  that  would  be 
perfectly  possible  and  legitimate  in  painting. 
For  example,  foreshortening  and  perspective 
caa  be  used  scarcely  at  all,  and  energetic 
action  of  the  figures,  which  would  involve 
much  complication  of  light  and  shade,  must 
be  introduced  very  sparingly.  The  principal 
figures  to  be  aimed  at  are  breadth  of  design, 
beauty  of  proportion,  and  harmony  of 
colouring.  It  has  been  well  said,  that  in 
relation  to  painting, mosaic  is  what  painting 
itself  is  to  Nature,  not  its  copy,  but  its 
sense— a  translation  of  its  language  into  the 


of  the  designer.  AVe  have  been  in  churches 
where  the  dazzling  light  reflected  from 
the  gold  background  of  a  mosaic,  at  a 
right  angle  to  our  eye,  was  the  first  thing 
that  met  us  upon  entrance,  and  this  glitter 
not  only  obscui'ed  the  design  of  the  mosaic 
itself,  and  of  objects  close  to  it,  but  pro- 
duced an  absolutely  painful  effect  on  the 
eye.  We  fidly  believe  that  a  want  of  proper 
adjustment  of  mosaic  to  the  angle  of  inci- 
dence of  light  has  been  one  of  the  main 
causes  of  its  too  partial  adoption  as  a  wall 
decoration  up  to  the  present  time ;  whilst, 
on  the  other  hand,  its  perfect  adjustment  to 
the  light  falling  with  varying  brilliance,  and 
at  different  angles  during  successive  hours 
of  the  day,  forms  one  of  its  chief  glories  in 
the  Mediipval  structures  of  Italy,  where 
mosaic  is  to  be  seen  in  its  highest  perfec- 
tion. 

One  of  the  most  eloquent  passages  in  Mr. 
Ruskin's  writings  upon  St.  Mark's,  Venice, 
is  a  description  of  the  glorious  effects  of  the 
light  falling  upon  its  different  mosaics  at 
various  hours  of  the  day,  rendering  it  at  no 
period,  morning,  noon,  or  evening,  glitter- 
ing or  painful,  but  always  beautiful,  rich, 
bright,  and  harmonious. 

To  the  same  purpose  are  the  remarks  of 
Sir  Digby  Wyatt  upon  the  cathedral  of 
Monreale,  in  Palermo.  "  Havmg  dra-svn 
and  studied  hard  in  it  for  many  a  day,  from 
da'ivn  to  sunset,  I  can  bear  humble  testimony 
to  its  invariable  beauty  under  every  changing 
condition  of  light  and  shade.  Whether 
bathed  in  sunshine,  and  all  alive  with  glow- 
ing colour,  or  almost  dark  at  closing  day, 
retaining  to  the  last  some  lingering  gleam 
upon  its  gilded  wall-faces,  its  aspect  is  one, 
not  of  gaudiness  nor  gloom,  but  of  serene 
and  dignified  magnificence." 

Within  the  above  limits,  and  frankly 
accepting  the  technicalities  and  conventions 
of  his  art,  the  mosaic  designer  has  stUl  a 
very  fau-  field  before  him.  Of  one  thing 
should  specially  beware,  and  that  is  of  being 
a  mere  imitator  of  any  of  the  styles  of  the 
past.  Mannerism  and  affectation  should  be 
especially  avoided,  and  the  designer  must 
steer  clear  of  the  Scylla  and  Chai-ybdis  of 
too  much  and  too  little  academic  knowledge. 
True  art  is  very  eclectic,  and  knows  how  to 
refuse  the  evil,  as  well  as  how  to  choose  the 
good,  from  among  the  examples  of  the  past. 
For  example  :  if  the  good  designer  aims  at 
the  breadth  of  decorative  effect,  the  nice 
proportionment  of  scale  to  dist'j-noe,  the 
judicious  use  of  architectural  bands,  margins, 
and  string-courses,  and  the  just  accentua- 
tion of  leading  architectural  features,  which 
distinguish  the   Byzantine   school,   he  will 


conventional  language  of   another   art,  and    none  the  less  avoid  its  utter  conventionality. 


intended  to  be  employed  for  a  distinct  pur- 
pose. Pictures  worked  with  so  much  elabo- 
ration and  skill  as  to  rival  the  productions 
of  the  easel,  may  be,  and  are,  produced  by 
mosaic  workers,  but  they  are  entirely  outside 
the  province  of  the  architect,  and  are  no 
more  to  be  considered  architectural  decora- 
tions than  the  canvases  hung  in  the 
National  Gallei-y.  There  are,  it  is  true,  in 
St.  Peter's  at  Homo  and  elsewhere,  mosaic 
copies  of  the  works  of  the  great  masters  of 
painting,  which  are  truly  wonderful  as 
examples  of  the  great  perfection  of  which 
mosaic  is  capable;  but  their  cost  is  fabulous, 
and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  not 
executed  as  architectural  decorations,  but 
with  a  view  of  copjing  and  preserving  tbe 
colom-s  and  designs  of  the  originals,  which 
it  was  believed  were  in  danger  of  perishing. 
A  true  relation  and  adjustment  of  a  design 
to  the  lights  and  shadows  of  a  building  is 
also  of  very  great  importance.  This  point 
requires  very  peculiar  and  careful  study, 
owing  to  the  extreme  •vividity  of  reflection 
from  the  vitreous  surfaces  of  mosaic,  and  the 
many  angles  at  which  it  is  possible  for 
the  Ught  to  be  reflected.  To  attain  a 
perfectly  satisfactory  result  in  this  re- 
spect will  tax  aU  the   skill  and  judgment 


which  in  course  of  time  crystallised  into 
hardness,  under  the  influence  of  which  the 
style,  losing  its  soul,  life,  and  vigour,  be- 
came more  and  more  didl  and  lifeless  until 
it  faded  away.  Equally  will  he  avoid  the 
mistakes,  and  adopt  the  good  points,  of  the 
Itaban  school  which  succeeded  to  the  Byzan- 
tine. With  the  artists  of  that  school,  he  will 
go  to  Nature  for  his  models  ;  but,  unlike 
them,  he  will  not  aim  at  the  direct  imitation 
of  painting,  which  the  materials  he  uses  can 
never  be  expected  satisfactorily  to  attain. 
He  will  enter  upon  the  study  of  his  art  with 
the  object  of  adapting  it  to  the  varying 
circumstances  and  needs  of  the  epoch  when 
it  is  executed,  and  in  the  employment  of 
historic  symbolism,  and  the  adaptation  of 
the  styles  of  various  nations  and  periods ; 
he  will  enter  rather  into  their  spirit  than  try 
to  copy  their  letter,  and  in  seeking  newness 
and  variety  will  be  careful  to  avoid  extrava- 
gance and  eccentricity,  as  well  as  everything 
that  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  tone  of  the 
building,  to  which,  after  all,  the  mosaic  is 
only  subservient. 

The  designer  of  mosaic  should  also  be  half 
a  mechanic.  He  should  know  all  the  capa- 
bilities of  the  material,  and  the  difficulties  of 
construction,  and  all  the  special  technicali- 


ties which  arise  from  tbe  exceptional  nature 
of  mosaic  material.  First  among  these  is 
the  cement  jointing.  At  first  sight  it  ap- 
pears a  great  bmitation  of  the  art  and  a 
special  difficulty  ;  but  in  the  hands  of  a 
true  artist,  who  is  thoroughly  imbued  ■with 
the  spirit  of  his  work,  it  becomes  a  most 
useful  means  of  heightening  and  improving 
the  expression  of  the  effect  he  desires  to  pro- 
duce. The  jointing  is  to  a  mosaic  designer 
exactly  what  the  lines  and  reticulations  of 
an  engraving  or  etching  are  to  an  engraver ; 
and  the  rules  of  taste  which  apply  to  the 
one,  apply  equally  to  the  other.  For  in- 
stance, as  the  engraver's  lines,  by  convexity 
or  concavity,  exj^ress  the  undulations  of 
drapery,  and  the  modelling  of  surfaces  ad- 
vancing to  or  retreating  from,  or  above  or 
below,  the  spectator's  eye,  so  precisely 
should  the  directions  of  the  jointing  of  a 
piece  of  pictorial  mosaic.  Again,  as  the 
regular  ruling  or  cross-hatching  of  an  en- 
graved half- tint  is  made  to  give  value  to  the 
broken  lights  and  shades  of  the  leading 
figures,  to  which,  by  their  vivid  contrasts, 
attention  has  to  be  attracted — so  should  the 
uniformity  of  tbe  jointing  with  even-sized 
tesserre  diminish  the  brilliancy  of  a  mosaic 
background,  breaking  up  tbe  light  which 
would  otherwise  be  so  strongly  reflected 
from,  say,  a  white  or  golden  background — 
as  to  quite  kill  the  effect  of  the  figures  or 
ornaments  to  be  relieved  upon  it. 

Another  point  which  shoidd  always  be 
attended  to  in  arranging  the  jointing,  is  to 
allow  a  row  of  tesserse,  of  the  same  colour 
as  the  ground,  to  always  follow  every  lead- 
ing contour  profiled  upon  the  background. 
The  use  of  this  rule,  which  is  invariably 
followed  by  all  good  mosaicists,  is  to  prevent 
the  directions  of  tbe  generally  horizontal 
and  vertical  jointing  lines  of  the  background 
from  cutting  awkwai-dly  against  the  profiles, 
which  the  eye  should  be  allowed  to  follow 
without  being  led  off  into  other  channels,  or 
distrac'ed  by  tbe  occurrence  of  irregularly- 
shaped  tessera;  next  to  leading  forms.  This 
reduplication,  as  it  were,  of  mosaic  outline 
has  almost  the  effect  of  the  lead-line  in 
stained  glass,  and  is  not  much  less  essential 
to  good  effect. 

Every  mosaic  requires  an  inclosing  frame 
of  some  Icind  or  other,  and  the  design  of  this 
frame  is  worthy  of  almost  as  much  con- 
sideration as  the  picture  itself.  Being  a 
permanent  adornment  of  a  biulding,  the 
lines  of  architecture,  string-courses,  archi- 
volts,  imposts,  bands  and  friezes,  form  a 
natural  and  inseparable  framework.  But 
there  are  principles  which  apply  even  here. 
Compositions  of  a  serene,  statuesque  nature 
require  very  thin  lines  to  surround  and  sepa- 
rate them  from  each  other.  In  the  very 
calm,  quiet  works  of  tbe  Byzantine  school, 
the  lines  dividing  them  are  very  thin,  some- 
times formed  only  by  the  simple  shaft  of  a 
tall  palm-tree  ;  but  in  the  Later  Eoman- 
esque  and  other  styles,  in  which  the  action 
of  the  picture  is  agitated  and  lively,  and  full 
of  bright  and  varied  coloirrs,  a  stronger 
boundary  is  necessary,  and  a  more  massive 
framework,  of  vivid  and  contrasted  hues,  as 
a  corrective. 

MOSAIC  DESIGNS  FOE  PAVEMENTS. 
In  a  large  building,  one  pattern  covering 
the  whole  floor  is  unquestionably  bad  in 
principle,  because  its  tendency  is  to  lessen 
the  apparent  size  of  the  building.  A  pave- 
ment of  this  kind,  however  beautiful,  is  a 
beautifid  thing  misplaced.  A  similar  re- 
mark applies  to  every  subject  whatever  in 
wlich  pictorial  effect  is  aimed  at.  If  a  pic- 
ture be  good  its  proper  place  is  not  where  it 
wiU  be  trodden  underfoot.  The  Eomans 
were  great  sinners  in  this  respect.  We  find, 
in  all  parts  of  their  ancient  empire,  the  re- 
mains of  pictured  pavements,  which,  how- 
ever valuable  to  the  arch;i?ologist  and  how- 
ever interesting  as  abstract  works  of  art,  are 
to  the  practical  mosaicist  examples  only  of 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


609 


what  he  should  avoid.  Every  pattern  that 
represents  a  raised  or  uneven  surface  is  out 
of  place  on  a  floor- surface.  Geometrical 
patterns,  and  a  flat,  conventional  use 
of  the  outlines  of  natural  objects  are 
the  best.  In  St.  Mark's,  at  Venice  itself, 
there  are  designs  representing  raised  sur- 
faces, and  at  Sienna  Cathedral  there  are  pic- 
torial representations  of  birds,  flowers,  and 
fruit ;  but  wherever  found  in  floors,  such 
pictures  are  out  of  place,  and  not  to  be  imi- 
tated. The  most  successful  and  beautiful 
mosaic  pavements  of  the  Mediieval  epoch 
that  remain  to  us  are  treated  in  a  remark- 
ably simple  way.  Much  surface  is  brightly 
covered  mth  small  diaper  patterns  in  a  few 
colours,  and  low  quiet  tone,  in  which  the 
patterns  are  frequently  varied,  or  the 
colours  interchanged.  The  separation  of  the 
pattern  is  not  effected  by  elaborate  borders, 
but  where  they  are  not  boHly  carried  up  to 
one  another,  the  separation  is  made  by  a 
simple  band  of  marble  or  stone,  as  in  St. 
Mark's.  The  colours  used  must  either  har- 
monise 'vvith  those  on  the  walls,  or  a  neutral 
gray  tone  must  pervade  the  whole. 


THE  WINTER    ESHIBITIOJ^    AT   THE 
DUDLEY   GALLERY. 

ONE  of  the  first  Winter  Exhibitions  of 
Pictm-es  to  open— that  of  the  Dud- 
ley Gallery — is  generally  remarkable  for  a 
number  of  studies  in  oil  of  much  merit. 
Some  of  them  probably  maybe  pictures  that 
have  not  been  successful  enough  to  obtain 
admission  into  the  Royal  Academy,  others 
are  the  work  of  the  past  season  ;  but  they 
have  all  an  interest  to  the  lover  of  what  is 
known  as  (icni\-  painting.  The  manners  of 
everyday  life  supply  an  exhaustless  fund  of 
material  to  the  contributors  of  this  favourite 
little  gallery,  and  we  have  only  to  mention 
the  names  of  Barrable,  H.  Maceallum, 
E.  F.  Brewtnall,  J.  B.  Burgess,  A.R.A, 
A.  Ludovici,  P.  K.  Mon-is,  A.R.A.,  Leslie, 
R.A.,  Leon  Lhermitte,  Barraud,  and  a  few- 
others,  to  convince  the  reader  of  the  quality 
of  the  present  year's  programme.  Common- 
place incident  in  the  hands  of  the  true  artist 
can  be  rendered  very  attractive  at  times,  as 
in  Miss  Maiy  L.  Waller's  charming  Httle 
picture  entitled  "  The  First  Violin,"  where 
the  juvenile  performer,  a  little  fair-haired 
girl_  in  black,  is  amusing  herself  with  a 
violin.  The  green  background  of  park 
would  doubtless  have  better  harmonised 
with  any  other  colour  than  black. 
"  Y'  Brig  "is  the  title  of  an  unpretending 
sketch  of  homeliness,  a  peep  of  a  white  trim 
little  house  between  a  foreground  of  trees, 
vigorously  painted  by  ili-.  Cyrus  Johnson ; 
another  touching  but  simple  study  is  Mr. 
E.  F._  Brewtnall's  •'  Footbridge  "  (18), 
in  which  a  young  maiJen  is  painted  lean- 
ing over  a  rustic  rail,  \\-ith  a  basket  of 
flowers  in  her  hand,  pensively  watching  the 
stream  rurming  beneath  her.  Perhaps  the 
idea  is  a  httle  sentimental ,  but  the  painter  has 
divested  it  of  feebleness.  T.  Danby's  "Fisher- 
man's Home,"  near  it,  is  almost  Claude-like 
in  manner — a  little  hard,  but  certainly  quiet 
and  serene.  Mr.  R.  W.  Macbeth  this  year 
gives  us  a  sunny  thinly-painted  figure,  "  A 
Brittany  Waitress,"  in  a  style  common  to 
many  modern  painters,  a  shadowless  kind  of 
treatment  in  which  half -shades  are  freely 
indulged  in.  Passing  Mr.  E.  A.  Waterlow's 
"  Spring  Time,"  which  is  clever,  we  come 
to  a  canvas  in  which  the  artist,  Mr.  G.  F. 
Munn,  has  chosen  an  amusing  theme.  In  a 
stately  room,  furnished  in  a  style  of  the 
Georgian  era  ;  seated  near  a  table  spread 
with  a  cloth,  on  which  are  the  remnants  of  a 
repast,  is  a  chUd  in  a  large  arm-chair,  being 
diverted  by  a  young  lady  attired  in  a  salmon- 
coloured  satin  dress,  who  is  going  through 
the  steps  of  a  dance.  The  accessories  are 
highly  finished,  and  the  colours  harmonious. 
One  of  the   most   striking  flower-pieces   is 


No.  o3,  "  Paiiier  de  Fleur  d'Autonine,"  by 
H.  Fantin,  a  vigorously  painted  group 
of  bright  blossom  carelessly  strewn  over 
a  hamper.  The  colouring  and  features  of 
"  A  Spanish  Lady,"  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Burgess, 
A.R.A.,  are  all  that  the  most  fastidious 
admirer  of  the  brunette  could  desire ;  and 
Mr.  A.  Parson's  view  of  "  Morning  on  the 
Kennet,"  is  equally  pleasing  as  a  broadly- 
treated  river  running  through  meadows. 
Verj'  chaste  in  drawing  and  colour  is  Miss 
Letitia  Parson's  "  Climbing  Clematis,"  a 
delicate  study  of  this  popular  English 
creeper,  on  a  grey  ground.  Mr.  Arthur 
Severn,  a  frequent  contributor  to  this 
gallery,  sends  two  pictures,  one  a  largo 
canvas,  "  Westminster  at  Sunset,"  a  truth- 
ful representation  of  that  favourite  view  of 
the  Thames.  The  shadowy  mass  of  the 
Legislative  Palace  stands  out  from  a  sunset 
sky  veiled  in  a  hazy  mist,  and  the  artist  has 
not  fallen  into  errors  of  proportion.  Below 
this  picture  is  another  clever  marine 
composition  by  Mr.  Hamilton  Macallum 
"  Luring  a  Tide-left  Conger."  Nothing  can 
be  more  satisfactory  than  the  three  urchins, 
one  lying  on  a  rock,  intent  on  catching 
the  stranded  conger  in  a  pool  of  water. 
The  ruddy  glow  reflected  on  the  faces,  the 
blue  ripples  of  the  seain  the  background,  are 
inimitably  painted.  Hung  rather  high  is  an 
expressive  study  of  a  woman  at  prayer, 
"A  I'Eglise,"  by  W.  Lomas.  "Braiding  a 
Pennon,"  is  aclassically-conceived subject — a 
sedate-looking  maiden  dressed  in  a  richly  em- 
broidered fabric,  with  pearl  head-piece, 
painted  in  the  poetic  strain.  Mr.  John  Scott, 
the  painter,  has  evidently  caught  the  manner 
of  the  Burne- Jones  School.  "  The  Lace 
Maker"  is  another  carefully -finished  cabinet 
picture  by  Mr.  F.  G.  Cotman,  pathetic  in 
sentiment  ;  and  the  visitor  cannot  overlook 
Mr.  P.  R.  Morris's  "  Premiere  Communion, 
Dieppe,"  a  procession  of  young  girl  clad  in 
white  veils,  painted  with  much  feeling. 
Mr.  G.  Clausen,  a  talented  artist,  has,  with 
his  usual  felicity  painted  a  moral  in  the 
simple  figure  of  a  choir  boy  behind  a  screen 
apparently  eating  an  orange  in  his 
"Harvest  Festival,"  while  close  to  it  is  a 
remarkable  picture  by  Mr.  J.  MacWhtrter, 
A.R.A.,  called  "Thunderstorm  on  the  Grand 
Prairie,"  where  a  tempestuous  sky,  illu- 
mined by  lightning,  and  a  train  tearing 
through  the  storm,  are  the  chief  features, 
reminding  us  rather  vividly  of  Turner's 
famous  picture  in  the  National  Gallery. 
One  of  the  few  subjects  of  architectural 
interest  is  Mr.  E.  W.  Waite's  truthful 
piotmeof  " Old Tangley Manor."  Thebrick- 
work,  tiled-roof,  pargetted  gables,  and  the 
garden  in  front  are  cleverly  painted ;  but  it 
is  hung  too  high. 

Decorative  subjects  are  few.  We  notice 
one  ideal  study,  by  Mr.  E.  Matthew  Hales, 
"  Scarlet  Ibis  "  (12S),  showing  much  refine- 
ment in  drawing  and  colour'.  Mr.  G. 
Hindley  has  given  us  a  spirited  and  forcible 
sketch  of  an  old  Cavalier  dressed  in  the  short 
trousered  breeches,  and  green  doublet  of 
Charles's  time,  playing  a  violin  in  front  of 
an  old-fashioned  fireplace;  the  furniture 
and  details  of  the  room  are  in  good  keeping, 
and  the  title,  "  Music  hath  Charms,"  is  no 
less  happy.  A  more  every-day  incident  is 
depicted  by  Mr.  C.  B.  Barber  in  "  A  Narrow 
Escape  "  ;  a  large  tabby  cat  has  just  sprung, 
and  has  managed,  with  her  claws,  to  bring 
down  a  few  feathers  from  a  bird  just  on  the 
wLng ;  the  cat  is  marvellously  life-like  in 
her  movement  and  expression  ;  Mr.  E.  H. 
Fahey's  "  Titbit "  is  also  excellent  in  the 
water,  and  the  leafless  trees  in  Frank 
Walton's  picture,  No.  141,  are  exceedingly 
truthful.  Few  artists  can  make  a  picture 
out  of  such  api>arently  hopeless  and  unin- 
teresting objects  as  a  wall  and  a  road,  but 
Alfred  do  Breanski,  has  certainly  done  so  in 
his  "  Monastery  Wall." 

The  end  wall  of  the  gallery  displays  not  a 
few   clever  oil   studies.     Mr.   G.  D.  Leslie, 


R. A., contributes  two  plotless  subjects  from 
home-life.  The  girl  peeling  apples  for 
dumplings  (IJO),  audthe  companion  picture 
(1()"2),  "Cherry  Pie"  are  too  tamely  real  in 
execution  and  commonplace  in  sentiment 
to  entitle  them  to  the  rank  of  ideal  pictures, 
yet  we  cannot  but  admire  the  care  shown  in 
the  painting  of  the  kitchen  and  its  ac- 
cessories, and  the  winsome  faces  of  the  young 
cooks,  nor  the  quiet  colour.  Mr.  E.  H. 
Godard  has  been  equally  clever  in  depicting 
"My  Wood  Engraver's  Bench  at  the 
O'l-dphir"  Natural  scenery  abounds  :  A.  de 
Braenski's  (171). 

' '  The  river  glideth  at  its  own  sweet  will ' ' 
is  boldly  painted,  and  the  foliage  vigorous ; 
but  perhaps  one  of  the  most  popularly 
attractive  pictures  of  this  wall  is  Mr.  S.  E. 
Waller's  thrilling  canvas  "The  King's 
Highway."  As  we  look  at  the  well-dressed 
bandit  on  horseback,  and  the  terror  stricken 
foot-passenger  thrusting  his  hand  in 
his  pocket,  we  are  at  a  moment's  loss 
to  know  which  is  the  highwayman  except 
for  the  pistol  which  he  steadily  points  to 
the  hapless  gentleman.  Of  course,  the  plot 
is  sustained  by  the  costume,  the  cocked  hat, 
knee-breeches,  and  silk  coats  of  the  Regencv. 
"  October  "  is  the  title  of  an  oblong  picture 
by  Mr.  Tom  Lloyd,  a  study  of  weeds  and 
gorse  rendered  with  considerable  power. 
G.  H.  Barrable's  "  La  Perichole  "  and  two 
subjects  by  Leon  Lhermitte  (No.  190), 
"  Le  Calvaire  de  Mont  St.  Pere"  and  "  Le 
Dejeuner,"  are  also  excellent.  The  grey- 
toned  street  and  memorial  cross  in  No.  190, 
and  the  cottage  interior  and  figures  in  the 
last  are  in  Mr.  Lhermitte' s  well-known 
forcible  style.  Mr.  E.  G.  H.  Lucas  is  in- 
imitable as  a  painter  of  still-life.  His 
suggestive  picture  "  Should  aiild  acquaint- 
ance be  forgot  ?"  is  really  pathetic  in  appeal. 
Here  is  a  group  recalling  our  schoolday 
life — a  bag  of  marbles,  some  old  lesson- 
books,  bat  and  wicket,  and,  not  less 
amusing,  a  slate,  with  a  figure  of  the  old 
schoolmaster,  bringing  back  pleasant  though 
almost-forgotten  days.  Mr.  J.  Mac- 
Whirter's  "  Summer  Storm,  Venice,"  with 
the  palaces  like  pearls  against  the  dark  sky 
and  blue  water;  Mr.  11.  Moore's  cleverly- 
painted  sky,  21S  ;  Mr.  H.  Sticey  Marks' 
"  The  Miller  of  the  Dee  "  ;  Mr.  Stracey's 
"Old  Bachelor,"  Mr.  Joseph  Knight's 
"April  Weather,"  a  sparkling  bit  of  light 
and  shade;  Mr.  E.  Armitage's  "Souvenir 
of  Algiers,"  Mr.  F.  Dillon's  sunny  landscape, 
"  A  Lock  and  Mill  on  the  Rother  "  ;  Mr.  C. 
J.  Lewis's  masterly  and  solidly-painted  sun- 
set landscape  with  a  bright  stream,  and  Mr. 
E.  S.  Kennedy's  humorous  picture  of  two 
ladies  who  have  taken  refuge  on  a  seat  with 
a  mouse  on  the  floor,  entitled  "  Master  of 
the  Situation,"  are  all  deserving  notice. 

Flower-pieces  are,  as  usual,  numerous  at 
the  Dudley.  Besides  Miss  Parson's  deli- 
cately-painted "Climbing  Clematis"  we 
have  noticed,  we  may  di-aw  attention  to  the 
same  lady's  "  Snowdrops  "  (88),  H.  Fantin's 
"Nasturtiums"  (116),  Mrs.  H.  Thorny- 
croft's  "Study  of  Roses,"  (20S) ;  Mrs. 
Sheuck's  "Honeysuckle"  (342);  "Chry- 
santhemums" (311),  "Rhododendrons'' 
(301),  "Blackberries"  (376). 

Mr.  J.  H.  Midgley  has  succeeded  in  repre- 
senting a  pebbly  river-bed  in  335  ;  and  as  a 
work  of  poetic  sentiment,  we  must  award 
praise  to  Mr.  T.  M.  Rooke's  picture  of  "  The 
Ended  Tune,"  a  young  girl  closing  her 
pianoforte,  with  a  half-saddened,  half- 
rapturous  expression.  Humour  and  quaint 
drollery  are  well  told  in  Mr.  Stock's 
"Pons  Asinorum,"  a  school-girl  before 
the  black  board,  attempting  to  demoo- 
strate  that  puzzUng  proposition  of 
Euclid;  in  the  "Old,  Old  Story,"  by  Mr.  T. 
W.  Wilson,  a  young  fisherman  at  an  open 
cottage  window  with  sea  beyond,  saying 
sweet  words  to  a  girl  at  crochet  work ;  and 
especially  in  Mi-.  J.  C.  DoUman's  clever  bit 
of  humour,  "  Carriage  Talk,"  where  a  little 


610 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


girl,  with  a  MotLer  Hubbard  bonnet,  is 
seated  in  a  wheelbarrow,  her  companion 
being  a  black  kitten,  and  her  ensign  a  huge 
sunflower,  while  behind,  on  the  ground,  sits 
a  humble  dejected-looking  dog,  wistfully 
gazing.  A  weird  picture  of  the  "impres- 
sionist" school  is  Mr.  W.  H.  Overend's 
"Towing  Home."  We  must  pay  a  passing 
word  to  the  following  : — "  Yue  de  Eouen," 
hard  and  stiff;  "Beyond  these  Fogs,"  an 
ileal  by  Pepys  Cockerell  ;  "The  Last 
Load,"  by  P.  Macquoid  ;  "  January,"  by  J. 
H.  Snell ;  "The  Escape,"  an  historical 
reminiscence  of  the  Royalists,  besides  a  few 
clever  cabinet  subjects  on  the  screen.  A 
touching  incident  is  Mr.  Armitage's  small 
study,  "  After  the  Arena,"  Mr.  Turner's  No. 
411,  Mr.  Hindley's  sketch,  "TheChallenge," 
and  a  clever  figure  study  of  a  girl  before  a 
screen  of  gilt  leather  by  Mr.  Walter  Crane, 
a  pleasant  harmony.  "  Off  Rotterdam," 
has  some  good  grouping.  We  may  also  pick 
out,  before  le.iving  the  gallery,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Hill's  "  Riverside  Meadows"  (No.  9),  Mr. 
Stock's  "Among  the  Sheaves".  Mr.  .1. 
O'Connor's  "  Paiil's  Wharf,"  from  the 
crowd,  nor  can  the  visitor  take  his  departure 
■wdthout  bestowing  a  glance  at  the  sculp- 
ture. Mr.  Lawson's  "  Jeannie  Deans,"  and 
Mr.  Calcott's  "Dorothy,"  are  particularly 
■worth  notice. 


they  left  the  hands  of  the  ma=on.  The  archi-  in  motion  in  the  apartments,  are  alike  nn- 

tect,   a  native   of  the  city,  has   drawn  his  known,    and    the    heating    is    effected    by 

inspiration   from  the   models    aroxmd  him,  gigantic  stoves  of  brick,  cased  with   sheet 

and  hence,   artistically,  it   is  not  up  to  the  iron,    or  wholly  constructed    of    porcelain, 

standard  of  the  new  church  we  noticed  as  The  principle  followed  in  these  stoves  is  to 

being   erected  in  Riga ;    nor   is   it  by  any  provide   a   large    face    or     warming    area, 


A  RECENT  VISIT  TO  RUSSIA. 

[Concluded  from  page  494.) 

THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  EEDEEIIER, 

OTHERWISE  the  "  Temple  of  our  Sa- 
viour," at  Moscow,  is  a  building 
worthy  of  a  passing  note.  Its  site  is  on  a 
neighbouring  hQl  to  the  south-west  of  the 
Kremlin,  in  which  position  it  is  a  conspicuous 
object  in  the  city.  From  the  fact  of  its 
being  on  the  bank  of  the  Moskva,  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  a  road  or  quay,  it 
has  a  pleasing  effect  when  viewed  from  the 
south  side  of  the  river. 

Its  object  is  to  commemorate  the  French 
invasion  of  the  city  in  lcS12,  to  which  the 
inscription  over  the  door  "  God  with  us," 
may  be  traced.  Some  miles  to  the  south  of 
the  city  stand  the  "  Sparrow  hUls,"  the  spot 
from  which  the  French  first  drank  in  the 
sight  of  Moscow,  the  place  of  their  great 
errand,  and  here,  on  the  vei-y  ground  that 
bore  the  footprints  of  Napoleon,  the  founda- 
tion of  this  chirrch  was  laid  upon  the 
Emperor  Alexander  returning  from  Paris, 
1815,  and  the  works,  supported  by  contribu- 
tions of  the  whole  nation,  were  pushed  on 
on  imtd  the  walls  were  about  14  feet  above 
the  ground,  at  which  stage,  owing  to  the 
sandy  character  of  the  site,  the  works  had  to 
be  suspended,  and  the  project  of  completing 
the  church  on  this  site  abandoned. 

The  building  on  the  new  or  present  site 
was  commenced  in  1S44,  and  for  the  last  3.3 
years  its  erection  has  been  in  progi'ess.  Its 
opening  was  fixed  for  the  2.Jth  of  August, 
1878  ;  but,  as  they  decided  to  constructaseries 
of  steps  and  terraces  leading  down  to  the 
water,  so  that  the  river  could  be  blessed  in 
the  orthodox  manner,  the  ceremony  was 
postponed  until  the  August  of  1879.  This 
delay  was  matter  of  regret  to  M.  Torr,  the 
architect,  who,  being  far  advanced  in 
years,  was  afraid  he  should  never 
be  spared  to  witness  its  completion. 
This  building,  for  a  Russian  church,  may  be 
termed  large  ;  its  style  is  Byzantian,  and  its 
form  is  square,  with  a  large  central  dome  and 
four  smaller  ones.  These  domes  are  covered 
or  faced  with  metal  and  gUded,  and  here 
we  have  a  note  of  great  interest,  one  that 
gives  us  a  true  estimate  of  the  climate  and 
the  purity  of  the  atmosphere,  for  these 
domes  have  been  gilded  for  the  last  eighteen 
years,  and  they  are  as  fresh  and  bright  as  if 
the  work  of  yesterday.  The  same  remark 
applies  to  the  walls,  which  are  of  sandstone, 
for  these  are  as  clean  and  fresh  as  the  day 


means  on  a  par  with  the  work  of  Mons 
Montferrand  in  St.  Isaac's  Church  at 
St.  Petersburg.  Moscow  is  essentially  a 
city  where  Byzantian  architecture  is 
largely  indulged  in,  and,  as  th'S  is  not 
handled  with  the  artistic  feeling  that 
characterises  the  works  of  Classic  artists  in 
St.  Petersburg,  it  lacks  in  features  worthy 
of  admiration. 

The  sandstone,  the  material  of  constmc- 
tion  of  the  church  in  question,  is  the  same 
as  we  noticed  in  the  facade  of  the  Italian 
Opera  House,  and  we  regret  to  saj-  we  have 
the  same  conflicting  testimon)'  as  to  the 
situation  of  the  quarries  from  which  it  has 
been  drawn.  This  building  is  remarkable 
as  being  the  only  one  we  saw  in  the  country 
that  is  wholly  wrought  in  native  sandstone. 
Of  the  interior  we  can  say  but  little,  access 
to  the  same  not  being  readily  obtained  ;  but 
we  learn  that  it  is  rich  in  gilding  and  in 
marble  work.  A  groat  part  of  the  polished 
stone  is  said  to  have  been  drawn  from 
Labrador,  but  this  statement  we  should 
doubt,  as  Russia  itself  is  very  rich  in  native 
marbles. 

Having  exhausted  our  notes  upon  Mos- 
cow, it  is  useless  entering  upon  a  series  per- 
taining to  other  towns,  as  they  would  only 
be  parallel  in  their  character,  and  hence  we 
purpose  to  terminate  our  review  ■with  a  few 

GENTIEAL   EEM.iEKS. 

As  geology  shapes  the  trades,  and  sug- 
gests the  localities  of  great  or  small  popula- 
tions or  congregations  of  people,  so  do 
climates  shape  the  manners,  customs,  and 
habits  of  a  people.  England  is  a  country 
where  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  prac- 
tically unknown,  and  provisions  for  or 
against  the  same  are  but  partially  or  super- 
ficially made.  Russia  possesses  a  climate 
more  pronounced  in  its  extremes,  and  more 
positive  in  its  action.  In  the  summer  sea- 
son the  heat  is  intense,  and  the  duration  of 
light  is  such  as  to  render  the  term  "  night  " 
a  misnomer.  In  winter  this  order  is  re- 
versed, as  the  country  is  then  subject  to 
a  season  of  frost,  and  an  absence  of 
light,  the  day  being  contracted  to 
five  or  six  hours.  It  naturally  follows 
that  a  system  of  greater  seclusion  in  the 
houses  obtains  in  the  winter  time,  and  of 
exposure  in  the  summer,  than  is  comruon 
■with  us,  and  hence  it  follows  that  the  houses 
of  the  great  towns  and  cities  are  constructed 
to  meet  these  special  requirements.  The 
walls,  as  a  whole,  are  far  thicker  than  is 
common  to  us,  and  these  are  cemented  or 
stuccoed  on  the  face  with  the  object  of  keep- 
ing out  the  heat,  the  rain,  and  the  frost,  and 
hence  brickwork,  so  common  with  us  for  the 
face  or  finish  of  a  building,  is  practically 
unknown.  The  windows  are  larger  and 
more  in  number  than  in  England,  and,  as 
they  are  invariably  formed  of  four  case- 
ments to  open  outwards,  the  amount  of  air 
almitted  in  the  hot  season  is  double  that 
which  can  be  obtained  in  the  case  of 
sUding  sashes.  The  frames  of  these  windows 
are  rebated  for  an  inner,  a  second,  or  winter 
sash,  which  effectually  checks  the  entrance 
of  the  outer  air,  and  forms  a  tilm  of  neutral 
air  between  the  inner  and  outer  atmo- 
spheres. The  doors  are  folding,  so  that  in 
the  summer  a  larger  opening  is  piresented, 
and  in  winter,  when  one  flap  only  is  used,  a 
smaller  one  than  is  common  to  us.  The 
staii'case,  the  heart  of  the  house,  never  com- 
municates with  the  outer  air,  as  a  lobby 
with  single  or  double  doors  is  always  pro- 
\'ided.  Sleeping  -  apartments  above  the 
level  of  the  eaves  are  unknown,  the  space  in 
the  roof  being  set  apart  as  a  storeroom. 
Open  fires,  from  the  currents  of  air  they  set 


and  to  gently  warm,  and  not  bum,  the 
atmosphere.  The  ventilation  is  a  real 
diflicidty,  and  in  most  cases  none  whatever 
exists.  In  private  houses,  from  the  fact 
that  stoves  are  provided  in  every  room  and 
every  landing  or  passage,  a  summer  atmo- 
sphere obtains,  and  the  doors  being  set 
open,  the  principle  of  dilution,  which  is  the 
next  best  to  perfect  ventUation,  is  well 
carried  out.  In  such  houses,  where  the 
number  of  the  family  is  but  small,  a  degree 
of  comfort  obtains  in  the  severest  weather 
that  is  wholly  luiknownto  us  in  oiu' English 
homes  during  an  English  winter.  The  e^vils 
of  this  system  are  most  present  in  the 
domiciles  of  the  working-class,  or  the  lower 
orders  of  the  people  ;  in  these  abodes,  mostly 
of  one  room,  in  which  they  live  during  the 
day,  and  sleep  during  the  night,  the  atmo- 
sphei-e  is  literally  putrid,  as  the  only 
principle  they  pursue  is  that  of  ex- 
cluding every  draught  of  fresh  or  cold 
air.  A  parallel  to  this  may  be  found  in 
many  of  the  hotels,  where  a  traveller's  room 
is  his  castle.  In  it  he  takes  his  food,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  dinner  ;  here  he  sees  his 
customers  or  his  friends  ;  and  here,  on  a 
half-developed  bed,  almost  void  of  clothing, 
he  sleeps.  The  air  is  seldom  changed,  and 
its  purity  is  not  improved  by  the  stove  L£ 
any  leakage  exists  therein.  The  tempera- 
ture in  this  case  is  seldom  under  his  control, 
as  the  firing  of  the  stoves  is  done  in  the 
passage  ;  and,  under  the  impression  that  an 
Englishman  requires  to  be  kept  warm,  the 
stokers  give  you  that  attention  which 
amounts  to  a  roast.  In  the  mansions  of  the 
great,  hot  air  generated  in  the  basements  is 
supplied  to  e.-ery  apartment ;  but  being  so 
highly-dried  it  is  dangerous  to  constantly 
inhale  the  saiue,  and  hence  the  better-class 
people  are  subject  to  throat  disease,  a  com- 
plaint common  ^\^th  the  whole  populations 
of  Germany,  Denmark,  and  Norway,  where 
iron  stoves  are  used,  but  one  less  notice- 
able in  Sweden  and  Russia,  where 
earthenware  stoves  are  in  common  use. 
The  principle  adopted  in  the  houses  is  to 
wear  light  clothing  in  the  winter  time,  and 
never  to  sleep  in  cold  rooms,  and,  upon 
entering  the  open  air,  to  wrap  themselves 
up  in  furs  and  felts,  so  that  the  animal  heat 
of  the  body  earmot  escape.  In  t' is  direc- 
tion it  is  curious  to  note  the  habits  of  the 
lower  orders.  The  watchmen  guarding  the 
doors  in  St.  Petersburg  during  the  state  of 
siege  in  December  last,  were  a  heap  of 
sheepskin  and  felt,  and,  iiistead  of  exercis- 
ing themselves,  as  we  should  be  inclined  to 
do,  they  sit  on  blocks  of  wood,  or  on  the 
frozen  doorsteps,  and  sleep  for  hours,  the 
only  precaution  they  take  being  to  turn  theti 
faces  from  the  wind.  Again,  the  Laplanders 
will  camp  upon  the  ice  of  the  Neva,  and, 
protected  by  this  animal  clothing,  make 
their  beds  upon  a  few  boards  Idd  on  the 
ice.  Clothing  of  cloth  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, as  the  animal  heat  wou'd  m^ke  its 
e.\it,  and  the  frost  its  entrance,  through  such 
a  medium. 

The  difficulty  of  moving  about  in  the 
■winti-r  is  very  great,  from  the  fact  that 
you  have  a  doub  e  suit  of  clothes  upon  you, 
even  down  to  your  boots,  the  outer  suit 
being  much  larger  and  much  heavier  than 
the  inner  suit  ;  buried  in  such  clothing,  you 
are  bound  to  make  your  progress  by  the  aid 
of  sledges,  as  an  hour's  walk  on  a  bitter 
cold  night  would  get  your  body  in  such  a 
steam  that,  upon  gaining  the  hotel,  you 
would  have  to  divest  yourself  of  your  damp 
underclothing.  This  difficulty  of  moving 
about  applies  to  both  male  and  female,  and 
hence  the  streets  of  the  cities  are  fUled  with 
sledges,  and  the    tram-lines  are  cut  out  of 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE    BUILDING   NEWS. 


Oil 


the  snow  and  iue  at  any  cost.  The  impres- 
sior.  you  form,  after  residing  in  Russia  for  a 
few  weeks  in  the  winter,  is  that  this  season 
is  got  over  with  less  discomfort  than  is  the 
case  in  Enghind.  and  that  the  English  house, 
the  English  clothinu,  the  English  travelling, 
and  the  English  climate,  might  be  improved 
up  an. 

The  detail  that  most  impresses  the  stranger 
is  the  wealth  and  jplendour  that  surrounds 
every  member  of  the  Imperial  family.  These 
are  all  provided  with  great  ralaces,  those 
belongins:  to,  and  occupied  by,  the  Czar  of 
All  the  Russias  being  the  finest  and  the 
costliest  in  the  world.  Judging  from  the 
surroundings  of  the  old  Eoiperors  at  Mos-  I 
cow,  the  present  ones  at  St.  Petersburg  I 
have  made  unheard  of  progress  in  the  accu-  ! 
mulation  of  wealth,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see 
where  this  absorption  will  end,  for  the 
acquisition  of  fresh  empire  increases  the 
property  of  the  crown,  that  of  the  conquered 
kiiigs  passing  to  the  personal  estate  of  the 
gi-eat  autocrat.  Of  a  middle  class  you  see 
little  e.xcept  at  St.  Petersburg.  This  is  a 
growing  power  in  the  latid,  arising  out  of 
the  pursuits  of  trade  and  manufactures, 
which  are  fostered  by  the  government  from 
their  ability  to  employ  the  labour  of  the 
people,  which  is  such  a  drug  in  the  winter 
season.  The  drawback  to  the  lise  and  de- 
velopment of  this  class  is  the  fact  that  these 
trades  are  mainly  pursued  by  people  of 
English  and  German  nationality,  who, 
despising  the  country  for  all  but  its  yield  of 
wealth,  return  to  their  own  lands  upon  the 
the  acquisition  of  ample  fortunes. 


ARCHITECTI'RAX,  ASSOCIATION. 
'^I^HE  second  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Asso- 
_L  eiatim  was  held  on  Fridav  evening, 
the  President,  Mr.  E.  C.  Lee,  in  the  "chair.  The 
following  new  members  were  elected  : — F.  SI. 
Tullock.  A.  Richards  C.  Hunt,  W.  Cooper,  W. 
M.  Mitchell.  F.  H.  Goddard,  W.  Bennett,  W. 
Mills,  .John  R.  Smith,  G.  Gilbert  Woodward,  G. 
Hmson  Sale,  G.  "\V.  Ward,  A.  Walmisley,  R. 
Astley,  J.  Adkins,  A.  Clapton,  A.  Crow",  W. 
P.  English,  F.  PuUam  GuUiam,  H.  H.  Kemp, 

E.  H.  Selbv,  R.  H.  Tebb,   H.  T.   A.   Chidgev, 

F.  R.  Oirlebv,T.  A.  Andrews,  R.  Barker,  E.  J. 
Rand.  B.  A.  GoUey,  A.  B.  Few,  A.  K.  Stephens, 
F.  W.  Muncey,  A.  "W.  Tribe,  A.  C.  Houston, 
O.  F.  Byron,  F.  Huntley,  W.  Gilbruth,  E.  H. 
Pritchett,  Pereival  Vernon,  F.  S.  Capon.  B.  F. 
Simpson,  F.  Rountree,  F.  Wlcoeks,  T.  H. 
Roberts,  J.  R.  Younger,  R.  M.  Keams.  H. 
Ling,  F.  Lovell  Lee,  W.  Parker,  and  E.  E. 
Cjrpenter.  The  Librarian  having  announced 
three  gilts  of  books  to  the  library,  a  vote  of 
thanks  was  passed  to  the  donors,  Mr.  T.  Roger 
Smith,  Jlessrs.  Vi'.  and  A.  Audsley,  of  Liver- 
pool, and  Mr.  Henry  Taylor.  Mr.  J.  S.  Qun-TER 
informed  the  members  that  the  memorial  work 
to  the  late  Mr.  Elmund  Sharpe,  M..i.,  w:vs 
almost  ready  for  publication  :  the  whole  of  the 
plates,  sixty  in  number,  had  been  lithographed, 
and  the  letterpress  only  needed  final  r.-^ision. 
The  memorial  committee  wished  to  know  Iiow 
man}'  copies  should  be  printed  off ;  np  to  the  pre- 
sentonly  134  subscribers  had  spnt  in  their  names, 
and  it  was  hoped  this  would  be  raised  to  at 
least  2.30.  In  reply  to  a  question,  Mr.  Quilter 
said  the  price  of  the  work  was  \h  guineas.  The 
Peesident  announced  that  Mr.  C.  G.  ^■inall 
would  be  unable  to  read  his  promised  paper  on 
"Furniture  ''  at  the  next  fortnightly  meeting  of 
the  Association,  and  that  Mr.  W.  Hilton  Xash 
would  fill  the  vacancy  with  a  paper  entitled, 
"  Architecture  and  Architects  of  the  16th  Cen- 
tury." 

THE  USE   OF   CESIEXTS. 

Mn.  GiLBEET  R.  Reikjeave  then  read  a  paper 
upon  this  subject.  There  is  probably,  he  re- 
marked, no  more  deeply  -  rooted  conviction 
prevalent  among  architects  than  the  firm  belief 
we  cherish  in  the  excellence  of  Roman  mortar. 
The  Romans  distinguished  themselves  among  all 
the  conquering  nations  of  antiquity  as  mighty 
builders  and  throughout  every  country  which 
they  subdued,  we  find  the  rmains  of  public 
works  and  buildings,  more  or  le.ss  perfect,  as 
evidences  of  their  occupation,  and  monuments  of 
the  skill    and    enterprise   of    their   architects. 


The  builders  of  Rome  undoubtedly  made  use  of 
the  limestones  of  the  countries  in  which  they 
worked  ;  sometimes  they  came  across  good 
limes  of  a  cementitious  character,  and  at  others 
they  found  only  fat  or  rich  limes.  In  the 
former  case  we  find  the  structures  which  have 
escaped  destruction  at  the  hands  of  man  still 
extant ;  in  the  latter,  where  the  moitar  was 
made  of  bad  or  unsuitable  lime,  the  b\iildings 
have  crumbled  away,  and  havebecomeobliterated 
by  natural  causes.  The  secret  of  the  excellence 
of  Roman  mortar,  so  often  and  so  laboriously 
sought  after,  is,  to  a  great  extent,  a  delusion, 
and  we  praise  the  mortar  of  the  ancients  only 
because  all  the  bad  mortar  has  long  since 
perished.  Nevertheless,  we  indirectly  owe  to 
the  Romans  the  discovery  of  all  our  modern 
cements,  for  it  was  in  consequence  of  researches 
made  respecting  the  reason  for  the  durabilitj-  of 
ancient  mortars  that  what  has  been  termed  the 
hydraulicity  of  limes,  was  explained  early  in  the 
present  century.  To  our  own  countryman, 
Smeaton,  the  builder  of  the  Eddystone  Light- 
house, and  to  Vicat  and  others,  on  the  Continent, 
must  be  assigned  their  due  share  of  credit  for 
these  discoveries  ;  and  their  labours  have  since 
been  ably  supplemented  by  the  investigations  of 
Pasley,  John,  Fuchs,  and  Pettenkofer.  It 
seems  astonishing,  in  these  days  of  rapid  build- 
ing, to  read  the  specifications  of  even  100  years 
ago,  and  to  learn  the  amount  of  labour 
then  bestowed  on  the  preparation  of  the 
powdery  or  chalk-lime  nioitar  of  that  period. 
Batty  Langley,  writing  in  17-tS,  said  : 
"  The  best  terrace  mortar  is  made  with  two 
bushels  of  hot  lime,  and  one  bushel, 
&c.,  of  terrace-  [sand  probably  brought  from 
Holland],  well  ncorporated  by  beating.  ^Vnd 
which  quantity  to  beat  well  is  a  good  day's  work 
for  a  labourer  "  !  It  was  from  no  disrespect  for 
the  white  chalk  lime,  but  rather  from  some 
strange  beHef  in  the  colour  of  grey  lime,  that 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a  fondness 
arose  in  London  for  what  was  called  "  stone 
lime,"  such  as  that  of  Dorking  or  Merst- 
ham.  The  only  reason  for  the  choice  was  that 
this  lime  wai  supposed  to  be  of  a  stone  colour.  It 
was  a  fallacy  dating  back  to  the  time  of  Vitru- 
vius,  that  the  harder  or  denser  the  stone  from 
which  a  lime  was  burned  the  harder  would  the 
mortar  made  from  it  eventual!}-  become. 
Smeaton  was  the  first  to  demonstrate  this  to  be 
a  mistake.  So  strongly  was  this  en-or  heM, 
however,  that  Smeaton  tells  us  advantage  was 
taken  of  it  to  introduce  the  Surrey  and  Med  way 
limes  under  false  pleas  by  terming  them  stone, 
to  convey  the  impression  that  they  had  been 
burned  from  limestone  rock.  The  rise  of  the 
grey  lime  in  public  favour  was  partly 
due  a'so  to  the  increased  facilities  of 
carriage,  by  means  of  which  the  better  limes 
were  able  to  compete  with  the  fat  limes  which 
had  been  hitherto  more  readily  obtained  around 
London.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason 
for  this  preference,  practical  builders  doubtless 
soon  found  that  the  grey  chalk  lime  yielded  a  far 
better  mortar,  and  would  set  harder  with  more 
sand  than  that  made  from  the  white  chalk  and 
pure  lime  ;  but  -'Dorking  stone-lime  "  contains 
to  this  day  a  favourite  piece  of  specification- 
idiom.  The  natural  cement  stones  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  London  were  discovered  by  Dr. 
Parker,  and  specified  for  cement  -  making  by 
Messrs.  Wyatt  and  Parker  in  1796.  They 
patented  the  mode  of  making  what  was  called 
"Roman  cement"  by  means  of  calcining  the 
septaria  or  masses  of  nod  alar  limestone  found  in 
the  London  clay.  In  course  of  time  it  be- 
came known  that  very  simdar  results  could 
be  obtained  by  combining  mixtures  of  clay 
and  lime  or  chalk  mechanically,  and  artificial 
cements,  such  as  tho.se  of  Vicat  and  Pasley 
became  largely  employed.  This  manufac- 
ture paved  the  way  for  Aspdin  with 
his  Portland  cement,  patented  in  lS'2t ; 
but  it  was  not  till  1847  or  thereabouts  that  the 
manufacture  of  Portland  cement  was  perfected, 
and  that  what  we  now  regard  as  Portland  cement 
was  made  use  of  upon  any  scale.  Thus  much 
for  the  history  of  cements.  We  will  now  inquire 
into  one  mode  of  using  these  cements,  and  glance 
at  the  extent  to  which  they  have  supplanted 
lime.  This  may,  perhaps,  enable  us  to  ascertain 
the  causes  of  our  failures,  and  properly  to  ap- 
preciate the  advantages  we  should  gain  from  the 
more  extended  use  of  cements  I  am  going  to 
maintain  that  in  good  Portland  cement  we 
possess  the  best  building  material  of  the  day. 
infiaitelv  better  than  half  the  rubbish  we  make 


our  houses  of  or  pave  our  streets  with,  and  a 
hundredfold  superior  when  used  as  mortar  than 
the  compound  we  still  go  on  specifying,  as  if  we 
knew  no  more  than  did  our  grandfathers  of  the 
properties  of  limes  and  cement".  So  firmly  con- 
vinced am  I  that  lime,  as  now  emj)loyed,  will 
become  obsolete,  or  nearly  so,  that  I  speak  out 
boldly.  Let  me  be  clearly  understood  with  rc- 
specttothemeaningof theterm  "cement."  Byit 
is  implied  a  substance  which,  when  treated  with 
water,  will  set  or  indurate  without  change  of 
form.  Limes  of  every  variety  show  more  or  less 
energy  in  alteration  of  physical  condition  when 
water  is  poured  over  them.  Pure  limes,  such  as 
those  made  from  Carmra  marble  or  white  chalk, 
instantly  unite  with  the  water,  beceming  "hy- 
drated,"  expand  to  two  or  three  times  their  bulk, 
and  develop  intense  heat,  falling  to  a  powder. 
Very  hydi'aulic  limes,  under  the  influence  of 
water,  show  at  first  hardly  any  sign  of  action  ; 
they  are  termed  by  builders  very  "dead,"  and 
only  after  the  lapse  of  hours,  or  even  days, 
crumble  into  coarse,  gritty  fragments.  Such 
limes,  it  groimd  or  mechanically  reduced  to  an 
impalpable  powder,  may  solidify  without  heat  or 
apparent  expansion,  and  actiuire  a  set  of  the 
same  nature  as  Portland  cement.  These 
limes  are  true  natural  cements.  Between  the 
active  pure  limes  and  the  natural  cements  are 
an  infiiiity  of  hydraulic  or  partially  hydraulic 
limes,  some  of  which,  viz.,  those  of  a  dangerous 
type,  will  at  first  set  under  water,  as  the  term 
implies,  or,  in  air,  and  gradually  fall  to  pieces, 
wluleothers,  on  the  contrary,  will  at  first  crumble 
to  a  fine  powder,  which  powder,  however,  on 
being  workedupnithmore  water  will  set  after  the 
manner  of  cement.  Limes  of  this  kind  are 
termed  by  Vicat  "intermediate  limes."  The 
eminently  hydraidie  limes  of  the  Lias  formation, 
which  are  ground  ,ar.d  sold  as  "has  cements," 
are  natural  cements  of  the  former  class,  while 
all  argillaceous  limes  which  will  go  abroad  when 
treated  with  water,  and  subsequently  set  when 
made  up  with  sand,  belong  to  the  latter  class. 
Portland  cement,  which  is  of  the  very  highest 
quaUty  when  properly  made,  sometimes,  owing 
to  defects  in  its  manuiacture,  presents  more 
the  characteristics  of  an  intermediate  lime 
than  those  of  a  true  cement.  Although  its 
manufacture  has  now  betn  brought  to 
great  perfection,  Portland  cement  is  not 
wholly  free  from  fluctuations  in  composition, 
which  in  former  time  brought  great  discredit 
upon  the  material,  and  which,  during  the  early 
days  of  its  employment,  caused  it  to  suffer  by 
contrast  even  with  Roman  cement.  Our  next 
consideration  must  be  the  cau^e  of  cement 
action.  Why  do  some  lines  swell  up  and  fall 
to  pieces  when  treated  with  water,  while  others 
remai  J  wholly  inert  r  The  cause  of  hydraulicity 
was  to  some  extent  explained  by  Smeaton,  who 
found,  by  exposing  the  Aberthaw  lime  to  the 
action  of  acid,  that  he  obtained  a  residue  of 
clay,  and  that  all  good  "  water  limes ''  examined 
by  him  left  this  residue,  whUe  pure  Umes,  which 
were  devoid  of  hydrauUc  properties,  were  entirely 
dissolved.  He  rightly  attributed  this  peculiar 
action  to  the  presence  of  the  clay,  but  did  not 
know  the  reason  of  this  action.  It  remained  to 
Sassure  to  aimounce  that  this  property  depended 
solely  upon  the  presence  of  the  clay,  while 
Descotils,  in  1813,  pointed  out  that  the  pheno- 
menon was  caused  by  the  presence  of  a  large 
quantity  of  silicious  matter,  disseminated  in  very 
fine  particles  throughout  the  texture  of  the 
mineral.  Ihe  chemistry  of  the  action  of 
cements,  and  the  formation  of  silicates  in 
the  kiln,  which  silicates  become  hydrated,  and 
rearrange  themselves,  in  couseqiimce  of  the 
difference  of  their  aflinities,  in  the  presence  of 
the  water,  was  first  thoroughly  explained  by 
John,  and  the  theory  was  perfected  by  Fuchy, 
of  Munich.  The  study  of  this  branch  of  the 
subject  can  be  further  pursued  in  the  essay  on 
LimeinKnapp's"Technology."  Although  this 
action  is  mainly  a  chemical  one,  it  can  be 
greatly  influenced  by  purely  phy.sical  causes. 
The  aviditv  of  quick-Umefor  water  is  oneof  the 
strongest  we  know  of,  and  the  rapidity  of  the  com- 
bination of  the  Ume  causes  so  much  warmth  to 
be  evolved  that  the  particbs  are  immediattly 
raised  to  a  red  heat.  Conflagrations  often  occur 
from  what  is  termed  the  "slaking"  of  lime. 
Now,  let  quick-lime  be  reduced  to  powder  in  a 
pestle  and  mortar,  and  let  this  powder  be  tightly 
rammed  into  a  hollow  cylinder,  perforated  with 
minute  holes,  and  fitted  with  screw  caps,  to 
close  the  ends.  On  placing  this  lime  cylinder 
in  water,    the    moisture  can    only    reach    the 


612 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


inclosed    qiiick-lime     Tery    gradually,     and    in 
very    small    quantities.      The    result    is    that, 
instead  of    slaking    to   a    powder    the    lime  is 
converted  by  its  hydration  into  a  very  hard  and 
solid  mass,  as  different  as  can  well  be  imagined 
from  ordinary  slaked  lime.     Some  chemists  have 
thought  that   in  the  case  of   mixtures  of  limes 
and  sihcates,  i.e.^  in  those  limes  which  are  more 
or   less   hydraulic,    the  particles  of   quick-lime 
being  coated  over  with   an   envelope  of  silicious 
matter,  the  water  is  only  permitted  to  approach 
the  lime  very  gradually,  as  in  the  case   of  the 
cylinder  experiment.      A  German   chemist  has 
propounded  the  theory  to  explain  the  peculiar 
action  of   General   Scott's   or   selenitic   cement. 
These  chemical   considerations   will   enable   us 
better  to  appreciate  the  action  of   cements,  and 
to  sum  up  briefly,  the  facts  arrived  at  are  these  : 
—  Pure  limes,  which  after  falling  into   a  powder 
are  made  up  into  a  paste  and  mixed  with  sand, 
yield  mortals  which   have  no  inherent  setting 
power,  and  can  only  become  indurated  by  the 
slow  and  gradual   recombination  with  carbonic 
acid.     This  re-formation  of   the   carbonate  can 
enly  proceed   where  atmospheric  air   or  water 
chai'ged  with  carbonic  acid  gas  can  penetrate, 
and  the  centres   of  thick   walls,  even   after  the 
lapse   of   centuries,  are    often   found   with   the 
mortar  in  the  state  of  putty,  as  when  first  used. 
Cements,  on  the  contrary,  owe  but  little  to  the 
atmosphere  ;    indeed,    true     cements    indurate 
better  beneath  the  water  than  in  the  air.     They 
possess  in  themselves  the  power  of  solidifying, 
and  attain  their  greatest  strength  in  a  few  years 
at   the   most.     How   long   cements   continue  to 
harden    is     a     question    not     finally     settled ; 
cements  vary  so   much  in   this   respect  that  the 
time  differs  in  almost  every  example,  according 
to   the  composition   and   the   degree   of  firing. 
Cements  of  the  Roman  type  stand  at  one  end  of 
the   scale,  many   of   them   attaining   their   full 
degree  of  hardness  or    tensile  strength  in  from 
20  to  30  days ;  whereas  dense  well   made  Port- 
land cement  of  the  highest  quality  would  seem, 
from    ITr.    Grant's     experiments,  to    continue 
to^  improve   for    seven    years,    and    these   con- 
stitute   the     other    extreme   of   the   scale.     In 
speaking  of  cements,  I  have  purposely  avoided 
mention    of   that    class    of    substances    which, 
when  added   to   rich   or   fat    Kmes,    impart    to 
them  hydraulic  properties.     These  materials  are 
puzzuolana,  trass,  arenes  or  volcanic  sand,   and 
many  kinds  of  calcined  argillaceous  earth.     jVll 
these  substances  owe  their  influence  as  mortars 
to  the  soluble  or  gelatinous   silica  contained  in 
them.      Mortars   compounded   with  pure   limp, 
and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  substances  capable  of 
converting  them  into  cements,   become,  for  the 
pm-poses   of   argument,    equivalent   to  cement- 
mortars.    Unfortunately,  however,  these  mortars 
are   rarely  employed,   except   by  engineers,  for 
docks,  foundations,   and  other  similar  purposes 
where  the  solvent  action  of  water  is   dreaded. 
Occasionally,  when,  owing    to   the   difficidty  of 
obtaining  good  sand,  the  builder  employs  with 
fat  limes,  burnt  ballast,  or  broken  bricks,  which 
are   artificial    puzzolani,    a  mortar  which   sets 
surprisingly  hard  is  obtained.  Such  good  mortars 
are  exceptional,  and  their  excellence  is  due  only 
to  the  action  of  the  aggregate,  and  not  in  any 
way    to    the     quality    of    the    lime.       I    now 
propose     to     place     before      you     the     argu- 
ments   in    favour    of    employing    cements    in- 
stead   of    lime,    for     mortar- making.       First, 
cements  wUl  unite  much  larger  quantities  of  sand 
and  building  materials  into  a  homogeneous  mass 
than  limes,  and  they  are,  therefore,  more  econo- 
mical to  u.se  than  liu.es.     The   plea  of  economy 
is  one  of  the  very  strongest  arguments  of  the 
present  day,  and,  therefore,  though  not  the  best 
argument,  it  is  placed  foremost.     Rather  than 
take  the  price-book  values  of  lime  cement  and 
sand,  and  with  them  construct  an  imaginary  set 
of  tables  to  show  how  the  prices  would  work  out, 
I  will  avail  myself  of  the  admirable  series  of  ex- 
periments recorded  by  Mr.  Colson  in  a  paper 
presented  to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers 
in  187S,  and  published  in  Vol.  .54  of  their  Tram- 
uctlons,  for  he  has,  with  painstaking  care  and 
accuracy,  not  only  given  us  the  cost  of  different 
mortars,  but  also   the  actual   strength  of  each 
mixture.     "The  object  of  these  experiments," 
he  tells  us,  "was  to  asceitain  what  proportion 
of  Portland  cement  and  sand  would  produce  a 
mortar  equal   in  strength,  and  as  convenient  to 
work,  as  grey  lime  mortar,  nuxed  in  the  pro- 
portions ordinarily  adopted  for  coni-tructive  pur- 
poses.    The  mortar  in  each  case  wa.s  mixed  to 
a  workable  consistency,   equal,  in  fact,  to  the 


condition  to  which  it  could  be  used  in  the  work. 
TLe  testing  was  carried  out  by  means  of  bri- 
quettes, similar  to  those  used  in  ascertaining  the 
strength  of  Portland  cement,  having  a  neck  of 
Ij  square  inch,  equal  to  a  sectional  area  of  2:^ 
square  inches.  The  mortars  remained  in  the 
moulds  untQ  sufficiently  hard  to  admit  of  re- 
moval. At  the  expiration  of  six  months 
the  blocks  were  treated  for  tensUe  strength. 
.  .  With  respect  to  the  samples  of 
common  lime  mortar,  the  induration,  or 
chemical  set,  had  penetrated  only  to  the 
extent  of  v  to  3-16thsof  an  inch,  but  in  the 
majority  of  cases  only  ^iu.  The  remainder  of 
the  area  of  the  fracture  had  only  dried,  and  could 
be  crushed  in  the  hand  without  any  great  exer- 
tion of  force.  The  cement  mortar  with  G,  S, 
and  10  parts  of  sand,  was  of  such  a  raw,  harsh 
character,  that  it  would  be  practically  impossible 
to  use  it  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  render  it  more  convenient  for  work- 
ing, a  small  quantity  of  lime  or  yellow  loam  was 
added,  thus  rendering  the  mortar  more  plastic 
and  tenacious.  .  .  .  The  result  of  further  ex- 
periments showed  that  the  addition  of  lime  and 
loam  reduces  the  initial  strength  of  cement - 
mortar  considerably;  the  reduction  due  to  the 
addition  of  loam  being  more  marked  than  by  the 
addition  of  lime.  The  quantity  of  unslaked 
Ume  or  loam — l-12th  the  bulk  of  the  sand — was 
found  to  be  as  small  a  proportion  as  could  be 
used  to  give  the  necessary  tenacity."  Mr.  Colson 
gives  the  results  in  the  following  table  : — ■ 


The  second  argument  in  favour  of  asing 
cement  in  lieu  of  lime,  is  that  cement  possesses 
an  inherent  chemical  set,  or  power  of  induration, 
whereas  fat  Umes  can  only  become  indurated 
either  by  the  slow  and  gradual  influence  cf  the 
carbonic  acid  contained  in  the  atmosphere,  or  in 
consequence  of  the  materials  mixed  with  it  to 
make  the  mortar.  Cement-mortar  has,  in  itself, 
everything  necessary,  in  whatever  position  it 
may  be  placed,  to  become  hard ;  all  that  it  re- 
quires is  a  reasonable  amount  of  moisture.  In 
the  centre  of  walls,  in  trenches  and  foundations, 
and  even  under  water,  the  induration  of  cement 
proceeds  steadily  until  the  mass  acquires  the 
hardness  of  stone.  Lime  mortar,  when  fat  limes 
are  used,  soon  gets  a  thin  skin  of  carbonate 
formed  at  the  surface  and  joints,  and  the  very 
formation  of  this  exterior  skin  or  coating  pre- 
sents a  formidable  obstacle  to  the  interior  layers 
of  the  mortars.  These  merely  dry  into  a 
crumbling  porous  powder,  with  little  or  no 
strength,  and  if  the  air  cannot  reach  them  are 
no  harder  in  a  hundred  years  than  in  a  twelve- 
month. Albert!  states  that  he  had  seen  in  an  old 
ditch  that  had  been  abandoned  about  .500  years 
"  which  was  still  as  moist,  well  tempered  and 
ripe,  that  not  honey,  or  the  marrow  of  animals 
coiild  be  more  so."  On  the  other  hand,  a 
week  or  two  back,  while  unloading  a  barge  of 
cement  at  some  works  at  which  the  author  was 
engaged    in  Staffordshire,  a   sack   of   Portland 


fell  into  the  water.  It  could  not  be  fished  up  for 
a  day  or  two,  but  when  recovered  it  had  become 

COHPAEATIVE     STEENGTH     OF     GEEY   LDIE    AJfD    POETLAND     CE1IE^^;     MOETAK,    ALSO     POETLANT)    CE3IE2IT 
ilOETAE   WITH    THE    ADDITION    OF   LUTE    AND    StOETAE. 


Proportions. 


Sand.    Cement.    Lime.  :  "Water, 


600 
8-00 
1000 


100 

100 

100 

100 

I'OO 

1-00 

1-00 

0-50 

1-00 

0-66 

1-00 

0-83 

Loam. 

1-00 

0  50 

1-00 

0-66 

1-00 

0-83 

1-00 
1-33 
2-00 


Breaking     Breaking ,     Ratio  as  !     Ratio  as 

strain  on   jWeightper  compared      eompai-ed 

:'25  sq.  in.  sq.  in.  in  ,  with  lime  with  cement 

in  lbs.  lbs.      .     mortar,  i     mortar. 


233-53 
15i-80 
112-88 

165-31 
132-62 
95-27 

136-80 
86-48 
64-50 


73-47 
58-94 
42-W 


2-81  to  1 
1-86  to  1 
1-36  to  1 

2-00  to  1 
1-60  to  1 
114  to  1 

1-64  to  1 
104  to  1 
0-77  to  1 


0-70  to  1 
0.85  to  1 
0-84  to  1 

0-58  to  1 
0-55  to  1 
0-57  to  1 


Three  samples. 
Grey  lime. 
Water  includes  that 
required  for  slaking 
lime. 


[Water  includes  that 
required  for  slaking 
lime. 

Yellow  loam,  fresh 
dug,  and  rather 
damp. 


Mr.  Colson  tells  us  that  the  experiments  made 
■with  these  mortars  in  brick  joints  ' '  were  not  alto- 
gether satisfactory,  inasmuch  as  the  appliances 
at  hand  were  not  sufficiently  accurate  and  deli- 
cate to  justify  a  ratio  of  comparison.  It  may, 
however,  be  stated,  that  the  general  result  went 
to  prove  that  the  adhesive  power  of  mortar 
mixed  in  the  proportions  of  S  of  sand  to  1  of 
cement,  with  the  addit-on  of  loam,  was  superior 
to  grey  lime  mortar  mixed  in  the  proportion  of 
2  of  sand  to  1  of  lime."  The  seconi  table  shows 
the  comparative  cost  of  these  different  descrip- 
tions of  mortar.  As  Mr  Colson  points  out,  such 
estimates  must  be  received  with  caution,  because 
difference  of  locality  would  exert  a  great  influ- 
ence upon  the  cost  of  production.  The  following 
statement  is  a  close  approximation  to  the  cost  of 
the  several  descriptions  of  mortars ;  the  charge 
for  labour  and  water,  and  also  the  bulk  of 
mortar  produced,  being  in  each  case  the  mean 
results  of  experiments. 


converted  into  a  stone-like  mass,  moulded 
into  the  exact  form  of  the  sack.  It  may  be 
said  that  mortar-joints  are  not  by  any 
means  such  worthless  connections  as  cement 
advocates  describe  them.  Even  when 
white  chalk,  lime,  or  mountain  limestone 
is  used,  the  crystallisation  of  the  hydrate  of 
Ume  round  the  particles  of  sand  presents  the 
appearance  of  some  slight  induration.  Thia 
trifling  induration  is,  however,  due  to  the  sand 
employed  in  forming  the  mortar.  Lime  has  the 
power  of  slowly  attacking  silica,  even  in  the 
form  of  quartz,  and  most  sands  pre.seut  other 
bases  favourable  to  the  formation  of  compound 
silicates.  And  when  a  sufficient  quantity  of  sub- 
stances like  puzzolana  are  mingled  with  the  lime 
we  get  a  cementation  differing  but  little  from 
that  of  true  cements.  It  had  been  supposed  that 
it  might  be  cheaper  and  more  convenient  to  form 
cement  by  compounding  a  mortar  of  a  fat  lime 
with  the  requisite  quantity  of   calcined  silicious 


STATEMENT  OF   COMPAEATrVE    COST  OF  MOETAES. 


Lescriptio: 


Pi-oportions  i 

ncube 

■aa-ds. 

1 IS 

-^  3 

M 

1     riri 

Igl 

si 

-§3 

1  ^i 

Grey  lime  moitar        

100 

Portland  cement  mortal- ; 

No.  1 

1  00 

No.  2 

100 

No.  .3 

1-00 

Portland  cement  and  lime  mort;ir ; 

No.  1 

1-00 

0-50 

No.  2 

1-00 

0-66 

No.  3 

100 

0-83 

Portland  cement  and  loam  mortar  : 

No.l .'. 

1-00 

No.  2 

1-00 

No.  3 

1-CO 

050 
066 
0-83 


2  00  1  20-00 

6  00  62-19 

800   I  67-69 

1000   I  73-19 


600 
800 
1000 

6-0O 
800 
10-00 


69  44 
77-27 
85-22 

63-56 
69  53 
75-47 


6-23 
803 
9-97 


26  62 

c.  yds 
2-25 

68-23 
75  49 
82-76 

5-9D 
7 -GO 
9-30 

78-12 
88-48 
99-00 

6-40 
8-25 
1015 

69-79 
77-58 
83  44 

GIO 

7-90 
975 

11-56 
9-93 
8-8S 

12-20 
10-72 
9-75 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE  BTTILDINa  NEWS. 


613 


clay ;  but  this  plan,  after  having  been  tried  on 
the  Cmtincnt,  has  been  abandoned  in  favour  of 
the  node  patented  by  Vicat  and  St .  Leger,  of 
makiig  an  artificial  hydraulic  lime  from  a  mix- 
ture if  chalk  and  clay.  This  manufacture  is 
still  carried  on  upon  a  considerable  scale  round 
Paris  It  cannot  be  said  that  in  England  we 
have  taken  to  heart  the  lessons  we  h;ive  Icamt, 
and  ;he  unscientific  use  of  lime  burned  from  the 
hard  limestones  of  the  north  of  England,  and 
fron  the  white  chalk  in  our  southern  and  eastern 
counties  still  continues  unchecked. 
{To  6i'  continued.) 


OLD  TAPESTRY  FROM  ST.  MARY'S, 
CO^"ENTRY. 

A  MOST  important  and  interesting  example 
of  tapestry  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the  room 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  at  Burlington 
House,  open  to  fellows  of  the  society  and  their 
friends.  It  is  the  well-known  tapestry  from  St. 
Mary's  Hall,  Coventry,  and  has  been  sent  to 
London  to  clean  and  repair.  Kothing  can  sur- 
pass the  design  and  colour  ofthis  artistic  piece  of 
weaving,  while  its  good  state  of  preservation 
adds  much  to  its  value  as  one  of  the  finest  woven 
pictures  we  possess  in  this  country,  second  only, 
perhaps,  to  the  Hampton  Court  tapestries,  and, 
of  course,  in  age,  to  the  famous  Bayeaux 
tapestry,  the  latter  of  which,  the  work  of  Queen 
Matilda,  is  a  comparatively  rude  production. 
The  tapestry  of  St.  Mary's  Hall  is  30ft.  long  by 
10ft.  deep,  and  filled  the  space  under  the  large 
north  window  of  the  hall,  a  window  of  very 
short  proportion,  and  there  is  no  doubt  the 
tapestry  was  expressly  weaved  for  this  space. 
This  assumption  is  supported  by  the  fact  that 
the  framework  diWding  the  subjects  corresponds 
with  the  window  muUions.  lu  the  Archieohgid, 
Vol.  XXXVI.,  in  a  paper  by  Mr.  George  Scharf, 
junr. ,  F.S.A.,  an  elaborate  description  is  given 
of  this  work,  from  which  we  find  that  several 
conjectures  exist  as  to  the  subjects  represented. 
It  would  seem  to  have  been  wrought  at  the 
close  of  the  loth  or  beginning  of  the  16th 
century,  and,  according  to  Mr.  Scharf,  the 
scenes  portrayed  reprfejnt  Henry  VI.  and  his 
Queen  being  admitted  as  brother  and  sister  to 
the  guild.  From  this  opinion  Mr.  John  Gough 
Isicholls  dissents,  in  a  short  paper  following  that 
of  Mr.  Scharf 's,  where  he  inclines  to  the  view 
that  the  figures  in  the  principal  lower  compart- 
ments represent  Henry  VII  and  his  queen,  great 
benefactors  of  Coventry,  being  admitted  as 
members  of  the  guild  in  'l-(99,  and  it  is  thought 
with  some  reason  that  this  date  agrees  better 
with  the  fashion  and  costumes.  Mr.  Scharf,  on 
the  other  hand,  points  to  strong  eridence  for 
proving  it  to  represent  Henry  VI.  and  queen, 
one  of  the  chief  diificuUies  being  the  colours  of 
the  roses  in  the  border,  which  are  Lancastrian  in 
form. 

AVithout  attempting  to  solve  this  question,  we 
may  here  simply  describe  the  tapestry.  It  is 
divided  into  six  compartments,  the  two  centre 
ones  being  rather  smaller.  The  central  com- 
partment below,  between  the  chief  groups, 
represents  the  glorification  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
She  is  drawn  as  a  full-length  figure,  with  her 
hands  in  prayerful  attitute,  having  on  a  rich 
embroidered  dress  of  the  pineapple  pattern, 
with  blue  mantle  over.  Her  hair  is  long  and 
dishevelled,  and  her  feet  rest  on  the  sh  )ulders  of 
an  angel  who  holds  the  crescent  moon.  Above 
her  head  are  four  angels  in  the  air,  while,  on 
on  either  side,  six  Apostles  kneel.  In  the  miin 
compartment  on  the  left-hand  are  sen  Henry 
%  I.  and  his  Court  before  an  open  book,  over  which 
is  an  arched  crown  crocketed  and  jewelled. 
Behind  him  is  a  figure  with  a  beard,  another 
representing  a  cardinal,  either  Cardinal  Beau- 
fort or  Morton,  and  several  other  personages, 
while  on  the  corresponding  side  is  the  queen 
end  her  retinue,  also  taking  a  declaration 
oroiith.  Above  in  the  centre  over  the  glori- 
fication, is  a  figure  of  Justice,  which  Mr.  Scharf 
thinks  has  been  put  over  or  substituted  for  an 
original  figure  of  Christ  in  full  robes.  The 
larger  compartments  on  each  side  contain  groups 
of  patron  saints,  male  on  one  side  and  female  on 
the  other.  The  framework  itself  is  interesting  ; 
it  consists  of  small  pillars  with  lozenge-shaped 
pattern  on  the  shafts,  with  caps,  out  of  which 
springs  a  small  bracket  or  cusped  curve  joining 
the  horizontal  division.  It  is  certainly  German 
indesdgn.  The  pattern  of  the  diaper  in  the 
background,  which  is  blue,  and  the  drawing  and 


colour  of  the  draperies  are  in  an  excellent  state  ; 
the  composition  itself  is  marked  by  a  degree  of 
refinement,  and  every  figure  Ls  a  portrait. 
Coventry  was  always  distinguished  for  its 
textiles,  and  St.  Mary's  Hall,  commenced  in  139 1 
and  finished  in  1414,  is  well  known  to  the  archi- 
tect and  antiquary,  not  only  for  the  tapestry, 
but  its  fine  roof.  All  admirers  of  woven  fabrics 
in  London  have  now  an  opportunity  of  in- 
specting a  particularly  fine  example,  interesting, 
both  on  account  of  the  historic  incident  it 
records,  and  also  for  the  design  and  workman- 
ship. We  understand  it  wiU  shortly  be  exhibited 
at  the  South  Kensington  Museum. 


MR.  H.  H.  STATHAM  OX  ORNAMENTAL 

DESIGN. 

LAST  week,  in  Queen-street  Hall,  Edinburgh, 
Mr.  Henry  Heathcote  Statham  delivered 
his  second  lecture  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Philosophical  Institution — the  subject  in  this 
instance  being  *' Ornamental  Design."  Defining 
ornament  as  whatever  design  was  applied  to 
any  object  to  give  additional  interest,  beauty, 
or  expression  to  that  object,  but  which  design 
would  not  be  classed  as  art  by  itself,  the  lecturer 
proceeded  to  divide  it  into  two  classes,  called 
respectively  natural  and  abstract  ornament. 
Natural  ornament  he  described  as  consisting  in 
the  imitation,  more  or  less  faithful,  of  forms  in 
nature ;  abstract  ornament  as  consisting  in 
what  might  be  called  a  metaphysical  imitation 
of  nature — the  adoption,  for  instance,  of  regular 
repetition  of  geometrical  or  other  forms.  Abstract 
ornament,  again,  he  said,  might  be  considered 
under  two  subdivisions — that  which  was  geome- 
trical, and  that  which  dealt  with  the  repetition 
of  objects  or  forms.  The  Greek  fret  was  referred 
to  as  a  typical  specimen  of  the  former,  its  design 
being  that  of  a  square  broken  up  so  as  to  engage 
the  eye.  Celtic  ornament,  consisting  of  inter- 
lacing bands,  was  on  the  same  principle  giving 
the  eye  a  certain  puzzle  to  unravel.  So  also 
were  some  forms  of  Saracenic  ornament.  The 
other  fona  of  abstract  ornament  in  some  points 
touched  very  closely  on  nature,  in  some  other 
points  very  closely  on  the  use  of  merely  artificial 
forms.  In  illustration  of  this,  reference  was 
made  to  an  omaniEnt  produced  by  repetition  of  a 
form  which  might  have  been  derived  from  the 
fir  cone ;  and  it  was  shown  how  this  might  be 
enriched  by  making  the  forms  alternately  larger 
and  smaller,  or  by  introducing  a  central  form, 
and  so  ebtaining  something  like  the  so-called 
honeysuckle  ornament.  This  latter  device,  the 
lecturer  remarked,  had  nothingto  do  with  nature, 
but  was  a  general  ornamental  expression  of  what 
was  a  principle  in  nature,  that,  namely,  of 
growth  from  a  centre  to  each  side.  Passing  on 
to  consider  ornament  in  its  applicfition,  Mr. 
Statham  divided  it  into  functional  and  superficial. 
By  superficial  ornament,  he  meant  ornament 
simply  employed  to  diversify  and  give  interest  to 
an  expanse  of  surface,  which  would  otherwise  be 
plain  ;  by  functional  ornament,  he  meant  orna- 
ment applied  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  emphasis 
to  the  important  parts  of  the  object,  or  to  its  u,se, 
or  to  its  construction.  An  example  of  the  latter 
kind  was  to  be  seen  in  the  u;ouldings  and  rolls  of 
the  bise  of  a  Corinthian  column,  which  gave 
weight  and  strength  at  a  point  where  it  was 
wanted.  As  to  the  principles  upon  which  tho.se 
two  classes  of  ornament  should  be  used,  in  the 
case  of  the  superficial  cluss  there  were  some  very 
simple  kinds  of  ornament  which  might  be  applied 
to  a  surface  without  much  consideration ;  but 
when  one  came  to  anything  in  which  there 
was  thought  or  drawing,  then  logic  and  good 
taste  required  that  the  form  of  the  object  should 
be  suited  to  the  form  and  boundary  lines 
of  the  surf  ace  on  which  it  was  placed.  By  way 
of  illustration,  the  lecturer  compared  the  design 
of  a  Japanese  plate,  which,  he  said,  was  splashed, 
not  omamentel.  with  that  of  a  Persian  plate, 
where  the  sev-jral  parts  were  specialised  by  the 
ornament :  as  were  also  shown  to  be,  by  functional 
ornament,  the  rim  and  other  import  mt  partsof  a 
vjse.  Anotherpointinsistedon  wasthatthe  Greek 
style  of  the  ornament  must  have  reference  to  the 
material  in  which  it  was  executed  ;  and  must  not 
in  any  way  contradict  the  character  of  that 
material.  'This  was  illustrated  by  some  good 
examples  of  Arabian  ornament.  After  further 
remarking  that  value  in  emphasising  construction 
belonged  especially  to  functional  ornament,  Mr. 
Statham  next  called  attention  to  a  form  of  orna- 
ment -which  consisted  not  so  much  in  the  appli- 


cation of  any  design,  as  in  a  decorative  way  of 
constructing  the  object ;  and,  as  an  example  of 
this,  he  referred  to  an  old  Greek  vase,  beautifully 
adapted  for  being  held  with  both  hands  in  drink- 
ing, and,  when  not  in  use,  being  made  to  stand 
upon  its  rim.  Having  adduced  in  this  connection 
several  other  specimens  of  good  and  bad  design, 
and  having  alluded  to  what  ho  styled  artificial 
ornament  as  out  irely  bad,  ho  went  on  to  speak  of 
the  relation  of  natural  ornament  to  nature. 
Looking,  he  said,  at  Greek  natural  ornament, 
one  always  found  that,  in  adapting  nature,  they 
preserved  also  a  sense  of  geometrical  fitness :  all 
the  curves  arose  out  of  each  other.  AVhen  the 
Romans  applied  the  same  kind  of  thing,  they 
made  a  cabbage-like  curve,  which  was  not  nature, 
and  had  not  the  refinement  of  art.  In  the  Cinque 
Cento,  there  came  in  a  kind  of  foliage  prettier 
than  the  Roman,  and  with  a  good  deal  of  the 
quality  of  the  Greek,  but  marred  by  the  intro- 
duction of  heterogeneous  objects.  In  taking  up 
fresh  natural  types,  the  question  was  how  to 
imitate  them,  and  tliat  depended  on  the  material, 
the  composition  of  the  ornament,  and  the  use  to 
be  made  of  it.  Here  Mr.  Statham  referred  his 
audience  to  a  set  of  drawings,  copies  of  which 
had  been  plac.d  in  tlieir  hands  on  entering,  and 
pointed  out  how  the  same  natural  fcrms  might 
be  applied  to  various  ornamental  purposes.  He 
urged  the  desirableness  of  endeavouring  in  this 
way  to  devise  original  ornament,  instead  of 
continually  repeating  old  forms,  and  concluded 
with  a  plea  for  the  cultivation  of  the  sesthetio 
perceptions  as  a  most  valuable  aljunct  to  the 
serious  business  of  life. 


RAIN-WATER  DRAINAGE. 

SOME  time  ago  we  referred  to  the  desirability 
of  constructing  rain-water  tanks  to  each 
house,  instead  of  allowing  the  water  to  over- 
charge the  sewers  and  drains.  The  recent  rains 
have  shown  the  necessity  of  proWsion  of  this 
kind,  and  many  houses  in  Lambeth  have  been 
flooded  with  water,  which  might  have  been 
collected  from  their  own  roofs.  If  it  is  impos- 
sible for  every  house  to  have  its  own  tank,  the 
water  might  be  collected  at  intervals  in  suitable 
reservoirs,  constructed  so  that  the  inliabitants, 
or  those  engaged  in  wateiing  roads  or  flushing 
sewers,  could  conveniently  use  them.  Another 
advantage  to  be  secured  by  such  a  system  would 
be  the  reduction  of  the  rates  now  levied  for  these 
purposes,  and  we  beUeve  if  it  were  generally 
adopted,  the  rate  would  soon  cease  altogether, 
and  the  householders  and  the  pubUc,  instead 
of  the  water  companies,  would  reap  the  benefit. 

Another  consideration  of  some  importance  is 
that  the  cost  of  irrigation  and  the  purchase  of 
land  would  be  lessened,  by  storing  the  rain- 
water and  so  diminishing  the  quantity  of  sewage 
to  be  discharged.  It  would  not  only  allow  of 
the  sewers  being  made  smaller,  but  the  area  of 
irrigation  would  be  reduced  also.  Many  have 
urged  against  the  separate  system  of  drainage, 
the  cost  entailed  by  having  a  separate  set  of 
sewers,  but  these  objections  are  too  trivial  to  be 
placed  against  the  advantages  we  have  men- 
tioned. Special  rain-water  drains,  which  might 
be  mere  surface  drains  about  2ft.  below  the  sur- 
face of  ground,  would  be  laid  along  the  streets 
connected  with  the  gullies  and  rain-water  pipes 
from  the  houses.  For  this  purpose  Sin.  or  4in. 
pipes  would  be  sufficient,  the  cost  of  which 
would  be  but  trifling.  Great  relief  would  bo 
felt  by  all  low-lying  districts  such  as  those  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Thames,  in  the  rainy  season, 
as  the  sewers,  which  have  now  more  than  their 
work  put  upon  them,  would  be  relieved  of  sur- 
plus water,  and  we  should  hear  le.ss  often  of 
basements  flooded,  not  with  rain-water  only,  but 
diluted  sewage  matter,  "backwater"  as  it  Ls 
called.  The  MetropoliUn  Board  ought  t'l 
gladly  set  about  this  reform  in  the  interests  of 
their  sewers. 


The  town  council  of  G1b5eow  accepted  on  Mon- 
day tenders  amounting  to  £9,521  49.  10.1.  lor  tha 
erecti<)D  of  new  public  baths  and  wasbhouses  at 
North  Woodside,  to  be  built  from  the  des'gua  of 
Mr.  Carrick,  city  suneyor. 

The  town  council  of  the  City  of  Cork,  at  their 
meeting  on  Moud.iV,  tbo  22nd,  elected  Mr.  M.  J. 
McMuUen,  B  E.,  Member  of  the  Institute  of  Civil 
Eugineera,  Ireliud,  as  city  engineer.  Eleven 
candidates  proaented  themselves  for  election,  seven 
of  whom,  i.ncludinp  Mr.  McMullen,  passed  the  ttst 
examination  requited  by  the  council. 


614 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880, 


CONTENTS. 


The  Future  of  Cement 

Designs  in  Architectural  Mosaic     ...  

The  Winter  Exhibition  at  the  Dudley  Gallery    

A  Eecent  Visit  to  Russia    

Architectural  Association 

Old  Tapestry  from  St.  Mary'e,  Coventry      

Mr.  H.  H.  Statham  on  Ornamental  Design 

Rain- Water  Drainage 

Onr  Lithographic  Illustrations 

Boyle's  Patent  Chimney-Cowl 

Chips 

The  New  West  Front  of  St.  Alban's      

The  "  Building  News  "  Designing  Cliib    

The  Prospects  and  Position  of  the  Architectural  Pro- 
fession   

The  Law  as  Affecting  Quantitj'-Sutveyora 


Books  Received 

Schoolsof  Art 

Architt  ctural  and  Archaeological  Societiea 

Competitions 

Building  Intelligence    

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence      

Our  Office  Table     

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week       

Tenders     


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

SAINT  ALBAn's  abbey,  THB  NEW  WEST  FRONT.— DESTG 
OF  A  PAINTED  CEILING— ALL  SAINTS*  CHUECH,  BRANK 
SOME  :  PROPOSED  ADDITIONS.— NEW  BOARD  OF  TRAD 
OFFICES,   CARDIFF. 


OurLithographicIllustrations- 

THE  XBW  WEST  FKONT  OF  ST.  AlBAx's. 

For  description  see  p.  627. 

a  painted  oeilino  in  the  japanned  koom  in  the 

qxteen's  house. 
This  double-page  plate,  illustrating  a  painted 
ceiling  by  Robert  Adam,  architect,  is  reproduced 
from  the  celebrated  "Works  in  Architecture," 
published  between  1778  and  1822,  by  the 
talented  Brothers  Robert  and  James  Adam,  of 
the  Adelphi,  and  we  have  chosen  our  plat«  from 
the  volume  of  reproductions  which  has  just  been 
published  by  Mr.  Batsford.*  Twenty-six  plates 
comprise  the  selection  before  us,  and  these  may 
be  fairly  said  to  embody  well-nigh  all  that  is 
BOW  of  value  in  the  work  as  at  fixst  published, 
although  really  they  represent  only  about  a 
fourth  of  the  original  number  of  plates.  The 
remainder  consist  chiefly  of  external  elevations 
and  details,  with  general  plans  of  not  much 
interest  to  the  practical  designer  ;  indeed,  the 
Adams  style  is  chiefly  worthy  of  admiration  for 
its  treatment  of  interior  decoration  and  plaster- 
work,  and  not  for  the  plans  or  exterior  facades 
which  the  architects  who  originated  the  style 
designed.  The  most  important  public  building 
which  they  erected  was  the  College  at  Edin- 
burgh, and  certainly  none  of  their  designs  were, 
on  the  whole,  nearly  so  satisfactory  as  that 
prominent  example.  Of  country-houses,  Ked- 
dlestone  Hall,  in  Derbyshire,  was  their  most 
successful  production,  though  of  this  Dr.  John- 
son said,  ' '  It  would  do  excellently  well  for  a 
Town  Hall."  In  London  several  of  the  houses 
in  the  Adelphi  remain  still,  exhibiting  some 
interesting  examples  of  interior  work  in  the 
Adams  style,  and  two  sides  of  Fitzroy-square, 
Portland-place,  and  Finsbury-square  also  exist 
to  show  the  characteristics  of  the  style  and  the 
peculiar  mode  of  fenestration  introduced  by 
these  architects.  Sir  Watkin  William  Wynn's 
house  in  St.  James's- square  may  be  taken  as  a 
very  good  example  of  an  ordinary  street-front 
by  the  Brothers  Adam,  and  it  here  forms  the 
first  plate  in  Mr.  Batsford' s  book,  the  beautiful 
ceilings  of  the  library,  music-room,  and  Lady 
Wynn's  dressing-room  being  well  illustrated  in 
the  three  following  sheets.  Lord  Derby's 
house,  in  Grosvenor-square,  shows  a  grander 
style  of  treatment  in  the  view  given  of  the 
drawing-room,  where  the  ceiling  is  vaulted  and 
elaborately  enriched.  The  next  five  plates  give 
sections  of  the  second  drawing-room,  the  ceiling 
of  Lady  Derby's  dressing-room,  and  several 
fireplaces  from  the  same  building,  while 
the  final  plate  of  this  section  includes  a  series 
of  girandoles,  curtain  cornices,  doors,  and  fur- 
niture. Plate  XI.  shows  the  library  at  Ken- 
wood,   Lord   Mansfield's  house,    and  is  a  very 


*  The  Architecture,  Decoration,  and  Furniture  of 
EoBEETand  James  Adam  ;  selected  from  "  Works  in  Archi- 
tecture "  (published  1778-1822),  and  photosraphed  from 
the  originals.    B.  T.  Batsford,  52,  High  Holbom.    1880. 


interesting  sheet,  as  also  is  the  next,  which 
gives  a  plan  of  the  ceiling  to  the  same  apart- 
ment, and  shows  a  barrel  vault,  having  an 
apsidal  termination  at  each  end.  The  dining- 
room  sideboard  and  pier-glasses  are  also  of 
interest,  even  it  not  adapted  for  imitation  in  a 
literal  sense  now.  Sion  House,  the  seat  of  the 
Duke  of  Xorthiimberland,  furnishes  five  sheets, 
which  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  illustration  of  the 
library,  with  its  recessed  bookcases  and  elabo- 
rately pilastered  walls.  The  ceiling  is  less 
distinctively  "Adam"  in  character  than  some 
of  the  designs,  though  possessing  all  the  freedom 
of  the  style  which,  of  course,  was  essentially 
original  if  not  classically  pure.  Plates  19,  20, 
and  21  show  various  pieces  of  furniture,  de- 
signed for  Lord  Bute  and  others,  and  plate  22 
is  the  one  which  we  have  illustrated  to-day. 
Tills  ceiling  is  equal  to  any  in  the  book,  and 
seems  to  commend  itself  in  every  way  to  the 
purposes  and  position  for  which  it  was  designed. 
The  chimney-pieces  from  St.  James's  Palace,  on 
the  next  sheet,  are  also  admirable ;  while  the 
sedan  chair,  as  executed  for  the  Queen  (1773), 
though  out  of  date  as  a  means  of  conveyance, 
suggests  much  that  is  worthy  of  imitation  for 
modem  furniture  enrichment.  The  same  remark 
applies  of  the  harpischord  on  plate  2'),  though 
we  do  n  jt  admire  the  standards  or  Imperial 
ornament  in  the  centre.  The  upper  part  is, 
however,  far  more  to  the  purpose  than  the  style 
usually  now  chosen  for  our  pianofortes  and 
furniture.  The  book  closes  with  Lady  Bute's 
dressing-room  ceiling,  which  is  a  typical,  though 
less  elaborated,  design  than  some  before  men- 
tioned, and  for  this  very  reason  will  probably 
be  more  valued  and  suggestive.  We  commend 
Mr.  Batsford"  s  collection  of  plates  to  our  readers, 
as  they  are  well  chosen,  and,  we  think,  cannot 
fail  to  be  appreciated.  The  illustrations  have 
been  reproduced  by  photolithography,  by  Mr. 
James  Akerman,  in  a  clear  and  bright  manner, 
so  that  aU  the  engravings  are  equal  to  the 
originals,  while  the  book  is  both  well  printed 
and  well-bound. 

ALL  saints'  CHTTECH,  BKANKSOJIE. 

This  church,  which  was  built  a  few  years  back, 
stands  in  one  of  the  prettiest  parts  of  Branksome, 
a  suburb  of  the  now  celebrated  watering-place 
Bournemouth.  The  neighboui'hood,  rapidly  in- 
^■reasing,  will  soon  demand  more  church  accom- 
modation, and  the  design  for  the  proposed 
additions,  shown  by  the  drawing  we  publish  this 
week,  was  made  at  the  request  of  the  former 
vicar  of  the  church ;  for  the  present,  however, 
the  matter  is  in  abeyance.  The  architects  are 
Mr.  Cole  A.  Adams  and  Mr.  H.  P.  Homer. 

NEW  offices   foe  TELEGRAPHS  AND  MEBCANTILE 
ILiltlNE  (bOAED  op  TKADE)  ,  CAKDIFF. 

The  offices  illustrated  this  week  are  to  be 
devoted  to  the  use  of  the  Postal  Telegraph  Ser- 
vice, and  the  Mercantile  Marine  Department  of 
the  I3oard  of  Trade,  and  aresiiuated  near  the  Bute 
Docks,  Cardiff.  The  accommodation  is  as  fol- 
lows : — Telegraph  Office  :  On  the  ground-floor, 
to  the  front,  is  the  public  office,  37ft.  din.  by 
2Sft.  Towards  the  rear  are  the  messengers' 
room,  battery  and  lineman's  room,  store-rooms, 
and  sanitary  oiEces ;  on  the  first  floor  are  the 
engineer's  office,  and  retiiing-rooms  for  the  staff 
of  female  clerks  ;  on  the  second  floor  is  the 
instrument-room,  52ft.  by  3Sft.  Mercantile 
Marine  Office :  On  the  ground-floor  are  the  dis- 
charge office,  31ft.  by  30ft.  ;  engagement  office, 
40ft.  by  26ft.  ;  together  with  superintendent's 
and  clerks'  rooms,  and  waiting-rooms  for  seamen 
and  officers  of  the  out-door  staff.  On  the  fii-st- 
floor  are  two  large  examination-rooms,  general 
office,  and  tonnage  office,  together  with  effects, 
and  store-rooms  in  the  rear.  The  second-ffoor 
will  be  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  care-taker,  and 
for  storage  purposes.  Provision  has  been  made 
in  the  discharge  office  for  the  wives  of  seamen 
attending  to  cash  pay-notes.  The  building 
materials  are  as  follows : — For  the  walling,  local 
red  bricks  have  been  used ;  for  the  dressings, 
cornices,  &c.,  shalk  stone  (a  deep  red  sandstone), 
from  near  Carlisle;  and  for  the  columns  and 
pilasters,  Penrhyn  granite.  The  roofs  are 
covered  with  Welsh  slates.  The  contractors  are 
Messrs.  Kirk  and  Randall,  of  Woolwich,  by 
whom  the  work  is  being  executed  in  a  highly- 
expeditious  and  satisfactorv  manner.  The  archi- 
tect is  Mr.  E.  G.  Rivers,  C.E.,  of  H.M.  Ofliee 
of  Works,  Whitehall-place,  S.W.  The  work  is 
being  carried  out  under  the  immediate  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  M.  6.  Nasmyth. 


BOYLE'S  PATENT  CHIMNEY-COWL. 

MESSRS.  ROBERT  BOYLE  &  SOU,  of 
Glasgow  and  London,  have  introduced  a 
chimney-cowl  which  is  a  modification  of  their 
air-pump  ventilator,  and  bids  fair  to  solve  that 
troublesome  problem,  "How  to  cure  a  smoky 
chimney."  In  construction  it  is  simple,  and  the 
cost  very  moderate.  As  will  be  seen  from  the 
accompanying  diagram,   the  cowl  is  a  fixture. 


having  no  movable  parts  about  it  to  clog  up, 
wear  down,  or  get  out  of  order  in  any  way,  and 

is  noiseless.  Besides  creating  a  powerful  up- 
draught  in  a  sluggish  cliimney,  it  is  also  an 
effectual  preventive  of  dottTi-draught,  as,  no 
matter  from  what  direction  the  wind  may  play 
upon  it — upward,  horizontal,  vertical,  or  at  any 
angle  whatever — the  effect  is  always  the  same  ; 
it  will  act  equally  as  well  surrounded  on  every 
side  by  higher  buildings,  or  placed  under  a  wall 
or  cliff,  with  the  wind  swirling  down  on  the  top 
of  it,  as  it  will  in  a  position  entirely  unob- 
structed. The  wind,  entering  between  the  two 
bottom  plates  at  the  angle  shown,  gets  com- 
pressed at  the  narrow  slot  at  the  top,  acting  on 
the  same  principle  as  the  blowpipe,  creating  an 
induced  current,  and  taking  the  pressure  off  the 
top  of  the  vacuum  chamber,  and  is  further 
assisted  by  the  deflected  current  blowing  across 
the  top  of  the  upper  plate.  The  vacuum  cham- 
ber, which  is  one  of  the  most  essential  features 
of  the  air-pump  ventilator,  pennits  the  ascend- 
ing smoke  to  expand,  and  accelerates  to  a  con- 
siderable degree  the  up- draught.  The  conical 
top  prevents  any  of  the  elements  passing  down, 
and  from  the  angle  at  which  it  is  placed,  when 
the  wind  is  beating  down  on  the  top  of  it  a 
strong  up-draught  is  the  result  instead  of  a  blow- 
down.  It  is  easily  cleaned,  there  being  nothing 
to  obstruct  the  sweep's  brush,  or  get  choked  up. 
It  is  also  applicable  for  the  ventilation  of  soil- 
pipes  and  railway  carriages.  As  a  soil-pipe 
ventilator,  Messrs.  Boyle  affirm  it  to  be  the 
most  powerful  and  cheapest  that  is  at  present  in 
existence,  and  are  prepared  to  prove  this  by 
actual  test  against  any  other  cowl  that  may  be 
brought  forward. 


CHIPS. 

At  a  vestry  meeting  held  at  Washington,  CO.  Dur- 
ham, last  week,  it  was  decided  that  the  parish- 
church,  which  was  erected  about  half  a  century  since, 
be  enlarged  in  accordance  with  plans  submitted  by 
Messrs.  Austin,  Johnson,  anJ  Hicks,  architects,  oi 
Newcastle -on-Tyne. 

The  memorial-stone  of  a  village-club  was  laid  at 
Holbrook,  near  Ipswidi,  last  week,  by  Lady  Henni- 
ker.  It  is  to  be  built  by,  and  from  the  designs  of,  Mr. 
Wagstaff,  of  FrestoD,  in  local  red  brick,  will 
measure  33ft.  by  30£t.  bj'  12ft.,  and  will  cost 
£220. 

The  Slade  Professor  of  Fine  Art  (Mr.  W.  B.  Rich- 
mond, M.  A.)  will  deliver  public  lectures  on  Thurs- 
day and  Friday,  December  2  and  3,  at  2  p.m.,  in 
the  museum  at  Oxford ;  again  on  Tuesday  and 
Wednesday,  December  7  and  8,  in  the  same  place 
and  at  the  same  time.  Subject:  Michael  Angelo  in 
the  Sistine  Chapel." 


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Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS, 


627 


THE    NEW    WEST    FRONT    OF 
ST.    AEBAN'S. 

BY  Sir  Edmund  Beckett's  permiesion,  we  give 
an  elevation,  or  a  fnll-lront  view  as  from  a 
considerable  uistance,  of  his  desig-n  for  the  new 
west  front  of  St.  Alban's  Cathedral,  which  is 
now  under  orders  for  execution  by  ATessrs. 
Longmire  and  Burge,  who  have  done  all  the  late 
restorations  there,  and  the  new  rectory,  of  which 
we  printed  elevations  and  plan  last  year,  also 
designed  by  Sir  E.  Beckett,  and  given  by 
him  and  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners.  By 
referring  to  the  copy  of  Canon  Davys's  picture  of 
the  present  west  front,  in  our  number  of  Oct. 
22,  it  will  be  seen  that  any  restoration  must  be 
an  invention  of  everything  except  the  very  late 
Perpendicular  window,  which  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  a  lively  controversy  in  the  Turns  lately, 
aa  no  traces  remain  of  the  design  of  the  original 
Early  English  front.  The  window  is  in  such  a  state 
of  decay  that  any  restoration  of  it  would  be 
only  rebuilding  a  modern  copy  of  what  has  been 
pronoimced  by  as  high  an  authority  as  any  in  the 
world,  "a  very  bad  specimen  of  a  very  bad 
style."  At  any  rate.  Sir  E.  Beckett,  who  has 
become  legal  master  of  the  position,  through  the 
cessation  of  other  subscriptions,  and  the  restora- 
tion committee  being  left,  not  only -nithout  funds, 
but  in  considerable  debt,  has  determined  not  to 
rebuild  it,  nor  to  attempt  an  imaginary  restora- 
tion of  the  unknown  Early  English  design, 
but  to  adopt  the  Early  Decorated  or  Geo- 
metrical style,  the  earUest  which  would  admit  of 
a  large  window,  and  which  prevails  in  various 
parts  of  the  nave  and  choir  and  in  all  the  best  win- 
dows in  the  church,  and  which  Sir  GUbert  Scott 
always  maintained  to  be  the  climax  of  the 
Gothic  styles.  The  new  roof,  on  the  old  high- 
pitch  lines,  which  wa.s  the  subject  of  a  longer 
and  more  violent  controversy  two  years  ago,  is 
now  completed,  but  has  no  gable  to  finish  it, 
and  the  present  west  front  is  quite  incapable  of 
carrying  one  without  entire  reconstruction. 
The  wall,  which  had  been  thinned  considerably 
when  the  Perpendicular  window  was  built,  is  to 
be  thickened  again,  so  that  the  glass  will  be 
3}ft.  deep  from  the  face  of  the  wall.  The  but- 
tresses also,  which  were  manifestly  too  smaU  for 
their  work,  and  cracked  in  various  places,  will 
be  greatly  inci  eased,  to  10ft.  by  4ft.  in  the  lowest 
stage.  The  new  window  retains  substantially 
the  outline  of  the  present  one,  and  the  same 
number  of  lights  ;  but  the  stonework  wiU  be 
much  more  massive.  It  is  26ft.  wide,  or  just 
the  same  as  the  celebrated  west  window  of  York 
Minster,  which  however  is  taller  and  somewhat 
later  in  style,  and  has  only  eight  lights.  The 
elevation  cannot  show  that  the  great  gable 
will  be  3ft.  behind  the  face  of  the  wall 
below  it,  with  a  passage  and  entrance  to  the 
roof  behind  the  pierced  parapet  over  the  window, 
as  at  Winchester,  and  as  it  probably  was  origin- 
ally here.  The  buttresses,  therefore,  do  not 
touch  or  "  stop  "  the  gable,  as  usual,  but  stand 
clear  in  front  of  it.  The  present  ones  do  not 
reach  so  high.  The  central  porch  gable 
does  not  run  up  into  the  window,  as 
It  necessarily  appears  to  do  in  an  elevation  ; 
but,  being  r2ft.  in  advance  of  the  glass,  will  b? 
eloped  off  behind,  like  half  a  pyramid,  to  let 
light  come  through  the  bottom  of 'the  window  ; 
and  the  sill  is  slightly  arched,  to  make  it  carry 
the  weight  ef  the  window,  which  now  rests  on 
the  thin  vaulting  of  the  porch.  The  turrets 
take  the  place  of  the  original  towers  beyond  the 
aish  s ,  of  which  Canon  Davi's  gave  two  imaginary 
restorations  (unfortunately  to  no  scale,  and 
much  exaggerated  in  height),  one  Norman 
and  the  other  Early  English,  nothing  whatever 
being  known  of  their  design.  The  arch 
into  the  south  tower  alone  remains,  of  course 
waUtd  up.  It  should  be  mentioned  that 
the  working  design  (a  section  of  which  we  give 
below),  C,  for  all  the  external  comer  shafts  of  the 
turrets  contains  more  members  than  are  shown  in 
the  elevation,  though  the  others  have  only  one 
om.  shaft  in  front,  but  in  other  respects  are 
the  same  as  this.  The  turrets  wUl  be  nearly 
90ft.  high  ;  the  exact  height  will  be  fixed  bv 
tnal  with  models.  The  aisle  fronts  are  -SGlt, 
high,  ..nd  the  main  gable  100ft.  The  entire 
width  above  the  plinths  is  lOoft.,  or  exactly 
the  same  as  Salisbury,  which  however  is  (on- 
siderably  higher,  and  of  different  design,  as  is 
weU  known.  Before  the  west  front  can  be 
touched,  it  has  been  necessary  to  rebuild  about 
60ft.  of  the  north  aisle  wall,  with  large  buttresses 
tocarry  flyingbuttressesto  support  the  clerestory, 


which  was  left  leaning  over  lOin.  when  the 
opposite  clerestory  was  pulled  up  2Sin.  under  Sir 
G.Scott.  It  is  evident  that  both  might  have 
been  more  easily  done  together.  Now  that  the  roof 
is  on,  the  north  clerestory  must  remain  leaning, 
which  is  not  of  much  consequence  ;  but  it  was 
also  cracking,  and  requires  these  supports.  A 
high  roof  will  be  built  over  them,  as  it  was  over 
the  restored  lOOft.  or  five  bays  of  the  south  aisle. 
Other  repairs  are  visibly  needed  all  along  the 
south  aisle,  including  the  Decorated  windows 
and  the  rest  of  the  roof,  which  we  suppose 
will  be  continued  as  a  high  one  ;  but  on  the  north 
side  there  are  windows  in  the  Norman  triforium 
of  the  nine  eastern  bays,  which  it  is  not  thought 
desirable  to  obscure  by  a  high  roof,  aad  the  flat- 
roof  there  is  new,  and  in  good  repair. 

Sir  E.  Beckett  has  already  inserted  windows 
in  the  four  dark  bays  at  the  west  of  each  aisle, 
which  Sir  G.  Scott  objected  to  because  there 
were  none  before,  either  while  they  were  im- 
possible by  reason  of  some  abbey  buildings 
standing  there,  or  after  they  had  fallen  audlet 
down  the  walls  and  vaulting,  and  the  walls  had 
been  re-built  roughly  and  with  no  architecfural 
character,  like  those  which  close  up  the  west 
fronts  of  the  aisle,  cutting  right  throusjh  the 
porches.  Now  that  the  windows  are  in,  they  are 
universally  considered  a  great  improvement.  They 
resemble  the  others  generally,  but  with  small 
variations    of    pattern  and  thicker     stonework. 


Four  or  five  of  the  pillars  have  had  to  be  almost 
rebuilt,  being  cracked  all  o\er  and  in  a  danger- 
ous condition,  though  they  are  the  youngest 
pillars  in  the  nave.  Besides  the  new  roof  the 
committee  have  put  up  a  new  flat  ceiling,  of  oak 
panels,  like  the  original  ones,  of  which  some 
ribs  were  found — not  the  miserable  lime-washed 
modern  imitation  of  them,  which  caused  so  much 
disturbance  untU  it  was  taken  down  and  its  real 
character  revealed.  Remains  of  it  may  still  be 
seen  used  for  some  workmen's  hoarding,  and  also 
some  specimens  of  the  timbers  of  the  old  flat 
roof,  so  rotten  that  it  seems  a  miracle  how  they 
escaped  falling.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  nave  can 
be  completed  and  fitted  for  service  again  in  much 
less  than  three  years.  But  there  is  daily  service 
in  the  middle  or  cathedral  part  of  the  church, 
which  contains  as  large  a  congregation,  and 
received  a  good  deal  of  restoration  about  ten 
years  ago,  when  the  tower  was  saved  fiom 
falling  very  soon,  through  Mr.  Chappie,  the 
clerk  of  the  works,  observing  the  danger.  The 
transept  ceilings  still  have  a  very  suspicious- 
looking  convexity  downwards,  though  they  then 
underwent  some  repair.  The  Lady-chapel  is 
also  gradually  being  restored  by  benevolent 
individuals  undertaking  parts  of  it,  especially 
Mr.  H.  H.  Gibbs,  who  is  now  doing  the  most 
beautiful  part  of  the  arcading.  The  windows 
have  been  restored  by  ladies  in  the  neighbour- 
hood and  the  Corporation  of  London.  But 
there  is  still  a  vast  deal  of  absolute  ruiu  to 
repair,  as  every  bit  of  ornamental  work  had  been 
destroyed  while  the  building  was  used  for  a 
school. 

'•BUILDING  NT:WS"  DESIGNING  CLI'B. 

EEVIEW  OF   DESIGX3    FOE   ARTISt'S  STUDIO,  itc. 

TTTE  are  glad  to  see  such  an  overwhelming 

*  V  response  to  the  first  subject,  and  from  a 
general  review  of  the  designs,  we  may  con- 
gratulate the  competitors  upon  the  success  of 
their  efforts.  Acceding  to  a  suggestion,  we 
shall  in  future  number  the  first  twelve  designs 
in  order  of  merit.  It  is  some  satisfaction  to 
place  our  old  member  "Jack"  first  this  time, 
though  his  plan  is  not  perfect,  and  there  are 
some  points  of  his  design  we  disapprove  of.  He 


is,  however,  not  quite  so  fidgety  in  style  as  he 
has  hitherto  been  ;  nevertheless,  we  should  like 
his  work  more  if  he  tried  to  be  still  less  restless 
in  manner.  The  plan  shows  study  of  require- 
ments; the  hall  leading  direct  by  a  side- stairs 
to  the  studio  above,  the  little  conservatory  mid- 
way, and  the  spacious  upper  landing  opposite 
studio  door  arc  good  features,  while  the  small 
room  for  models  leading  from  the  latter,  and  the 
general  airangcment  of  domestic  part  of  house 
with  the  kitchen  and  offices,  shut  off  from  the 
ha'il-entrance,  commend  themselves  to  us.  The 
nooked  fireplace  in  drawing-room  is  quaint  ;  but 
we  should  not  like  to  live  in  the  room  in  winter 
time  ;  the  other  recesses  and  the  proximity  of 
kitchen  to  dining-room  are  good  points.  But  a 
point  of  even  greater  importance  to  a  studio  is 
the  lighting.  "Jack"  prorides  sloped  and 
top  lights,  and  obtains  light  also  on  two  sides, 
necessities  for  the  painter  which  we  find  have 
been  overlooked  by  many  competitors.  Tlie  size 
of  studio  is  soft,  bj-  19ft.  6in.,  the  materials 
are  brick  with  tile-hung  upper  story,  and  the 
treatment  Old  English  with  mullioned  windows. 
The  section  of  roof  showing  the  sloped  lights  is 
not  quite  satisfactory.  f2;  "  Cui  Bono"  is  a 
pleasingly-grouped  building,  with  a  high 
pyramidal  roof,  out  of  which  the  studio  projects 
as  a  gable-structure,  though  we  are  at  a  loss  to 
see  the  value  of  the  hipped  portions,  which 
would  be  awkward  to  ceil  internally.  There  is 
an  open-timber  verandah  over  lobby,  lavatory, 
&c.  As  regards  plan  there  are  some  defects  : 
the  canted  passage  between  hall  and  kitchen  is 
not  good,  the  diting-room  isof  bad  proportion, 
and  not  near  the  kitchen ;  but  the  author  is 
careful  to  obtain  a  lofty  north  window  to  the 
studio.  We  query  the  lighting  of  the  upper 
passages  to  bedrooms.  (3)  "Veronese"  is  a 
well-treated,  half-timbered  study,  with  good 
detail.  The  studio  is  30  by  20,  is  lighted  from  the 
roof,  and  also  by  a  large  bay  and  end  windows. 
The  basement  floor  is  undesirable,  and  the 
domestic  arrangements  and  stairs  to  studio  un- 
satisfactory. The  winders  and  landing  are  par- 
ticularly objectionable.  J4)  "Pupil  J  "  sends  a. 
design  not  wanting  in  merit.  The  entrance - 
hall  and  stairs  to  studio  are  convenient 
and  well  -  lighted  ;  there  is  a  back- 
entrance  to  studio  and  w.c.  at  one  comer,  which 
is  desirable  for  ' '  models'  ' '  use,  and  a  gallery 
at  one  end  ;  north  light  is  obtained.  The 
domestic  arrangements  are  passable,  but  we  do 
not  like  the  one  sided  gable,  including  the 
drawing-room,  bay,  and  garden-entrance  ;  it  is 
a  purposeless  projection  as  shown.  There  is 
something  quiet,  suggestive,  and  suitable  about 
the  elevation  of  "  Fiat  "  (-5),  who  expresses  his 
studio  by  a  gable  and  large  window  in  a  sen- 
sible style  ;  but  the  kitchen  is  small  and  badly 
placed,  the  stairs  are  narrow,  and  the  hall  would 
be  nearly  dark;  the  beJrooms  are  all  too  small. 

(6)  "Ralph"  is  also  a  quiet  sensible  treatment 
of  brick,  though  we  observe  omission  of  dormers 
to  studio  in  the  perspective  sketch  ;  the  windows 
shown  are  too  low  for  studio  requirements,  and 
as  regards  the  plan,  in  spite  of  good  points,  too 
much  domestic  comfort  is  sacrificed  t  j  the  hall, 
which  is  larger  than  the  dining-room,  and  the 
relarive  positions  of  the  latter  and  kitchen  would 
entail  traversing  the  hall.  The  studio  is  placed 
by  the  author  on  the  ground-floor,  entered  from 
the  hall;  there  is  also  a  back-door  and  lavatory, 
and  the  staircase  is  made  an  external  feature.  A 
gallery  is  obtained  on  the  first  floor,  over  hall„ 
but  it  is  too  large  for   a  residence   of  this  sort. 

(7)  "Rex"  has  a  good  haU  and  fairly-planned 
studio, lighted bytwonorth-east  bays,  andhaving 
a  o-oodback  entrance  and  landing,  but  the  ground- 
floor  domestic  arrangements  are  defective.  Brick 
and  tile-hung  upper  story  are  adopted  ;  but  the 
elevation  lacks  character,  and  the  studio  might 
have  been  made  more  a  feature.  (S)  "Edgar"" 
has  evidently  been  inspired  by  the  architecture 
of  Bedford  "Park,  some  features  of  which  are 
reproduced.  We  cannot  commend  the  plan ;. 
the  studio  is  not  pronounced,  and  the  entrance 
is  contracted:  The  balcony  is  a  good  feature. 
'9)  "Frank''  has  a  good  entrance  to  the  studio  ;. 
the  stall  case  is  made  a  dignified  feature,  hut  the 
open  comer  porch  is  weak,  and  the  offices  badly 
placed.  AVhy  should  the  kitchen-door  directly 
face  the  hall  and  staircase  ?  The  lighting  of 
studio  is  not  happily  managed ;  but  a  useful 
back  t^itrance  for  models,  a  lavatory,  and  easel- 
room  are  added  at  one  end.  Brick,  stucco,  and 
tile  are  used,  and  the  style  has  a  Jacobean  cha- 
racter. (10)  "A  Bundle  of  Rue"  is  a  Late 
Gothic  attempt,  with  well-drawn  detail,  but  not 


628 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov,  26,  1880. 


skilfully  combined.     Here,   as  in   the  last,   the  is  a  clever  plan,  with  a  well-approached  and 

haU  and  main  stah-3  to  studio  are  unpleasantly  Ughted  studio. 

near  the  kitchen,  and  the  principal  rooms  are        There  is  a  still  larger  number  of  designs  which 

not  well   arranged.     'Why    a    bedroom   on   the  we  may  place  in  a  second  rank,  and   wliich   it 


oTound-fluorV  The  studio  has  a  large  bay  win- 
dow at  one  end  and  a  gallery  above ;  but  the 
landing  is  rather  cramped,  and  the  lighting  not 
satisfactory.  (U)  "Motto  A"  faUs below  the  re- 
quirements in  the  domestic  arrangement,  the  cor- 
ridoron  ground-plan  is  not  economical,  the  kitchen 
and  offices  are  cramped,  and  the  dining-room 
rather  awkward  in  shape.  The  upper  floor  and 
studio  are  convenient,  the  model's  side-stair,  and 
the  conveniences  on  landing  are  fairly  obtained, 
but  the  bedi'ooms  are  too  small,  and  the  means  of 
lighting  studio  imperfect.  The  elevation  in 
Queen  Anne  is  rather  too  pretentious.  (12)  In 
"  Black  and  WTiite  "  everything  is  sacrificed  to 
the  large  hall  ;  the  ground-plan  covers  double 
the  area  of  many  others,  owing  to  the  bedrooms 
having  been  partly  provided  for  in  it.  We  can- 
not see  how  the  inner  passage  is  to  be  lighted. 
The  studio  is  made  a  conspicuous  feature  ;  it  is 
lighted  by  a  bay  window  facing  east,  and  there 
is  one  north  window,  but  these  are  inadequate. 
The  balcony  shown  between  dormers  is  a  pleasing 
addition,  and  a  well-grouped  building  is  shown 
by  the  sketch,  though  extravagant.  "  Bobby 
Dalby  "  is  quiet  and  simple,  half-tiled,  with  fair 
detail  and  a  high  roof,  but  scarcely  suitable. 
There  is  a  fair-sized  hall,  but  a  cramped  landing 
to  studio :  the  winders  are  objectionable,  and 
tie  domestic  arrangements  though  tolerably 
perfect,  might  be  improved  ;  the  bedrooms  are 
all  smjill.  ''^Damey,"  in  a  kind  of  mixed  Gothic 
style,  has  a  few  good  points  in  plan,  such  as 
the  recesses,  the  serving-room,  hall,  and  office 
arrangements,  but  the  studio  entrance  at  one  cor- 
ner is  awkwardly  managed,  and  the  lighting  and 
accommodation  of  studio  defective.  "Alpha," 
rather  high-pitched,  has  an  iU-digested  plan,  and 
the  elevation  with  the  flat  one -ended  bay 
is  clumsily  treated  ;  there  is  also  a  lack  of 
coherency  in  the  parts  of  the  elevation.  The  studio 
has  a  north  and  a  top  light,  but  the  elevations 
do  not  show  the  treatment.  "Star  in  circle" 
has  not  made  the  best  of  the  studio  ;  the  details 
are  meagre  and  not  well  drawn,  though  there  is 
a  modest  quietness  in  the  front  elevation.  The 
plan  has  Uctle  to  recommend  it ;  the  bed-rooms 
are  awkwardly  disposed,  though  the  opening 
for  large  canvases  in  studio  is  a  point  few  have 
considered.  Nor  can  we  say  "  Black  and 
White  "  has  been  more  successful  in  the  plan  ; 
the  domestic  part  of  house  falls  below  the  mark, 
and  the  studio  is  not  well  lighted,  nor  has  it  a 
becoming  entrance. 

There  is  a  large  number  of  well-drawn 
designs,  which  have  not  carefully  considered 
the  domestic  arrangements  or  have  followed  the 
ordinary  villa  type.  Some  of  these  are  be- 
wilderins  in  plan,  others  are  costly,  and  not  a 
few  of  them  have  neglected  to  provide  the  re- 
quirements of  an  artist's  studio.  "  Ephraim," 
"Puck,"  "Nam,"  "Beta,"  "  Tempus  Fugit," 
"I  wiU  either  make  a  Shaft  or  a  Bolt  of  it," 
"Cove,"  "Alpha,"  "Application,"  "  W. 
in  W,"  "Keapie,"  "Epcrgos,"  "St.  John," 
"T."  in  circle,  "Tom  Pinch,"  and  a  few 
others  may  be  mentioned  in  this  class. 
"  Ephraim"  has  awkwardly  disposed  his  rooms, 
and  the  design  has  a  heavy  exterior  with  little 
characteristic  of  a  studio ;  "  Puck  "  shows  a  want 
of  study  in  his  plan,  wliich  has  no  method  in  its 
i  Tegularity ;  yet  there  is  some  good  detail.  ' '  Nam ' ' 
is  ostentatious  in  style,  and  the  last  remark  is  also 
true  of  it ;  "  Beta ' '  is  confused,  with  a  singular 
comer  entrance,  and  the  style,  though  rather 
fresh,  is  too  fanciful.  "Cove"  sacrifices  un- 
necessary space  to  his  halls,  and  the  servants 
would  have  to  cross  the  hall  every  time  to  the 
dining-room.  In  "Alpha"  we  find  an  expen- 
sive and  scattered  plan,  with  a  grand  flight  of 
stairs,  but  with  a  poor  entrance  to  studio.  "I 
will  either  make  a  shaft,"  &c.,  is  somewhat 
better  in  the  studio  arrangements ;  a  recess,  a 
balcony,  a  retiring-room,  easels,  and  con- 
veniences are  provided ;  thr^re  is  some  freshness 
in  the  exterior,  and  the  planning  is  ingenious. 
"  W.  in  W."  also  shows  a  faii'ly-arranged 
ground-plan,  but  the  studio  entrance  is  small ; 
the  plan  "Application"  is  wanting  in  study, 
and  is  hardly  equal  to  the  feeling  sketch  which 
accompanies  it.  There  is  some  merit  also  in 
'*  Keapie's  "  sketch,  though  the  details  and  plan 
do  not  bear  criticism.  "St.  John,"  "T"  in 
circles,  have  also  good  points  in  elevation.  A 
very  economical  plan  is  that  of  "Epergos," 
though  the  studio  is  not  well  lighted.  ' '  Timset ' ' 


more  than  ('/it' sheet.  Many  of  the  designs  are 
shown  on  three  or  more  sheets  of  paper,  which 
entails  increased  labour  in  sorting  and  packing. 


would  be  impossible  to  criticise  in  detail,  but  we 
may  point  to  defects  in  them.     Taking  a  few  of 
the  leading  ones  first,  "  Domus "   has  a  little 
character   about   it ;    the   central   tower   rising 
from  the  hall  is  picturesque,  and  the  grouping 
artistic,    but    the    domestic    arrangements    are 
defective,  as  the  positions  assigned  to  the  dining- 
room   and   kitchen.     The   studio   has  two  large 
bay-windows  on  one  side,  and  a  balcony  leading 
from  one  end.     "Hubert's"  plan  shows  capa- 
bUity,  but  the  elevation  and  details  are  against 
it.     "Boy   BiU,"    a   kind   of  Venetian   Gothic 
study,  is  neatly  drawn  with  some  good  points  ; 
"  Spero  "  is  piquant  and  cottage-like,  having  a 
studio  lighted  by   two   flat  bay-windows,   with 
two  stairs,   but  not   equal   in  domestic  require- 
ments ;   "  Lancaster  "  spoils  his  arrangement  by 
making  a  bedroom  where  the  dining-room  should 
have  been ;   "  Harry  "  shows  a  creditable  eleva- 
tion, but  the  planning  admits  of  improvement ; 
"  Endymion,"  has  sent  also  a  pleasing  exterior 
study,  Jacobean  in  style,  but  the  plan  is  some- 
what confused;   "Norman"    scarcely   hits   the 
mark,  his  domestic  planning  is  rather  meagre, 
and   what   beauty  is  there   in   the   ornamental 
framing  to  gable  ?     "  Snowflake  "  is  pretentious 
in  style,  but   ill-planned  in  the  private  part  of 
house  ;   ' '  Milverton  "  shows  a  plan  that  is  rather 
ingenious    in   its    entrance   arrangements,    and 
might  have   been  better  ;  the  studio  lauding  is 
narrow;   "Vignette"    has  awkwardly  planned 
his  rooms,  and  the  corner  porch  is  unnecessary, 
and  its  roofing  not  good  ;  studio  is  hardly  well 
lighted;  "Edmund  "  has  the  germ  of  success,  the 
studio  is  made  prominent  by  large  vrindows,  but 
the  details  and  stupid  bays   spoil  the   design  ; 
"  Arnold  "  is  heavy,  and  studio  ill-lighted,  fjut 
the   work  has    promise ;  why   take   your  point 
of   sight  above  the   roofs?     "Maltese  Cross," 
Late  Gothic,  plan  of  section  crude;  lighting  of 
studio  faii-ly  obtained;   "Will,"  plan   not  eco- 
nomic d,  detail  meagre  ;  "Ernest"  too  fantastic, 
and  plan  lacks  study;   "Nil  Desperandum  "  is 
not  good  in   entrances  to  rooms,  perspective  not 
true;   "Ki-smet"    has  too  large   a  studio,  and 
the  plan  is   not  convenient;   "  Con  "  in  Circle, 
perplexing  in  plan,  lacking  in  method.  We  have 
only  space  left  to  enumerate  others.     Some   of 
these  display  care  in  drawing,  though  the  detail 
of  many  show  the  need  of  a  little  more   study  of 
good   examples ;  in  others  the  plans  are  crude 
and  ill  digested,  or  the  stu'iio  lighting  has  been 
neglected.       Pierre,   Tweedie,    H.C    in    circle, 
Ambition,  Hexagon  in  circle,  Captain    Nemo, 
Trial,    Cygnet,    B.    J.,   Gilbertus,  K   in  circle, 
X.N.,  Hornet,  Subjudice,  Idea,  have  failed  from 
one  or  the  other  of  these  causes.     We  have  also 
received  Harry.  F.P.  in  circle,  Cui  Bono,  H.F., 
and  one  or  two  others  which  are  unsuited  or  un- 
finished. 


AK  OVEKMAIfTEL. 

We  award  the  first  mark  to  "  G.  W.  W."  for 
the  simplicity  of  the  design,  but  the  drawing  is 
crude  and  scarcely  equal  to  the  occasion.  It 
consists  of  a  bracketed  locker,  with  gilt  leaded 
lights  and  figure-subjects  in  the  centres ;  corner 
shelves  are  reserved  for  china,  and  there  is  a 
good  spice  over  shelf  for  glass  and  ornaments. 
Details  are  refined.  "  Reginald  "  sends  a  pretty 
sketch  with  bevelled  glass  mirror  in  centre  and 
side  spaces  for  china  ;  stamped  leather  is  used  as 
a  background,  and  details  are  suitable.  "Per." 
This  is  a  clever  sketch  for  white  and  gold,  show- 
ing two  designs  :  the  glass  design  is  the  better 
of  the  two  ;  the  details  are  rather  coarse  in  the 
mouldings.  "  Cui  Bono  "  i.s  more  of  a  fireplace 
than  an  overmantel ;  we  like  the  tcrra-cotta 
panel  treatment  below  ;  the  overmantel  is  simply 
a  bracketed  cornice  over  a  bevelled  mirror,  but 
it  is  effective ;  white,  relieved  by  gold,  is  pro- 
posed. Details  ai'e  good.  "Noah"  is  too 
heavy  in  the  pediment  and  mouldings;  "Fide- 
lis,"  good  in  detail,  is  over-bracketed,  solid 
ones  would  have  looked  better  ;  "Endymion"  is 
original  but  rather  tawdry.  We  name  the  fol- 
lowing in  the  order  of  their  merits  :  Lex,  Tyke, 
Puck,  Lux,  Nemo,  Motto  A,  Little  Wooden 
Soldier,  Peace,  Peter,  York,  H  in  circle.  Boy  BiU, 
Hubert,  H.C  in  circle,  "Con"  in  circle.  Many 
of  tlie  latter  designs  show  mouldings  either  too 
heavy  or  unsuitable,  for  work  close  to  the  eye. 
The  members  should  be  small,  and  good  exam- 
ples ought  to  be  studied.  We  must  again  repeat 
our  request  that  competitors  should   not    send 


THE  PROSPECTS  AND  POSITION  OF  THE 

ARCHITECTURAL  PROFESSION.* 

By  John  McLachlan. 

THE  position  and  prospects  of  the  architec- 
tural profession  are  of  much  interest  to  all 
of  us.     AVhatever  is  derogatory  to  the  dignity 
and  honourableness  of  our  calling,  whatever  in 
the  conduct  of  any  of   our  own  members,  or  of 
others,  tends  to  lower  us  in  the  eyes  of  the  pub- 
lic, whatever  obstacles  stand  in  our  way  to  pro- 
fessional   improvement    and    advancement — all 
such  considerations,  hostile  to  our  calling,  wiU 
be  naturally  deplored ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
whatever  tends  to  raise  the  status  of  architects, 
to  elevate  their  position  in  society,  to  improve 
their  opportunities  of  professional  training,^  to 
encourage  a  cordial  sympathy  and  fellow-feeling 
among    the   members — I   say,    whatever   tends 
in  the  direction  of  these  objects  will  naturally 
excite  your  appproval.     A  general  observation 
may  be     made   which   will   find  nobody    bold 
enough  to   controvert.      Within   the  last   half 
century — in  fact,  within  a  much  shorter  period, 
an  enormous  stride  has  been  taken  both  by  our 
own   and  other   countries  in  all  that  relates  to 
art.    Artistic  ideas  prevail  now  in  regions  where 
they  were  never  dreamed  of  before.     Furniture, 
dress,   hangings,  wall-papers,  crockery,  and   a 
thousand  other  departments  are  regulated  now 
by  the  same  canons  of  taste  which  guide  art  in 
the  longer  acknowledged  fields  of  architecture, 
painting,  and  sculpture.     If  we  look  around  us 
for  a  moment,  evidences  of  this  truth  crowd  upon 
us.     In  the  matter  of  furniture,  for  example,  a 
glance  at  the  windows  of  some  of  our  best  fur- 
niture dealers,  or  a  visit  to  some  recently-fur- 
nished houses,  indicate  to  us  the  greatest  diver- 
sity of  design  in  all  articles  of  furniture — the 
healthy  spirit   of    competition    and    emulation    ■ 
among  the  manufacturers,  and  the  sound  prin- 
ciples of  design  which,  as  a  rule,  guide  them  in 
their  work.    "There  is  not  now  the  depressing 
uniformity  of  design  which  pervaded  the  furni- 
ture  of    fifty   years    ago,   nor    the    pernicious 
attempts  of  falsehood,  which  consisted  in  making 
wood  look  like  marble  or  stone.     How  often  do 
we  come  across  in  the  houses  of  50  or  100  years 
ago,   mantelpieces    of    mahogany,   with  pillars 
either   Doric  or  Corinthian,   fluted  and  carved 
with  all  the  details  of  the  Greek  or  Roman  ori- 
<rinals,  including  dentils,  blocks,  and  egg  and  dart 
ornaments,  orsofasand  sideboards, with  elaborate, 
heavy,  useless  scrolls  and  details,  copied — and 
not  well  copied   either— from  the  marble  work 
of  the  Temple   of   Lysicrates  or  the   Tower  of 
the  Winds.     Contrast  with  such  work,  with  all 
its  pretentiousness  and  painful  attempt  to  appear 
what  it  is  not,  and  the  utter  poverty  of   design 
displayed — and  be  it  remembered  that  this  kind 
of  stuff  was  all  that  could  be  got  50  years  ago, 
there  was    notliing  else  to  be  had— I  say,  con- 
trast this  furniture  with  what  we  saw  at  the 
Paris  Exhibition  the  other  year,  where,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  demands  of  educated  taste,  India, 
Japan,  and   all   the  realms   wherein  good   and 
tasteful  stuffs   are  produced,  were   called  into 
play  in  the   service  of    upholstery    and   house 
decoration;  or  indeed,  contrast  the  furniture  of 
our  grandfathers  with  what  we  see  in  our  best 
shop- windows  now — and  we  have  much  reason  to 
be  thankful  for  the  past    and  hopeful  for  the 
future.      I    venture    to    think    that    we    find 
in    furniture    and    house    decoration    a    great 
advance.    Simplicity  of  design,  no  desire  shown 
to  make  wood   appear   any  ether  material,  no 
huo-e  scrolls   and   other   decoration  where  they 
are°  not   needed,  but    the   sound  principles   of 
construction   which    apply    to    wood   carefully 
attended  to,  parts  kept  all   in  due   harmony,  a 
directness   of   purpose   visible    in    making   the 
article  of  furniture,  whatever  it  may  be,  clearly 
and  cleverly  serve  the  object  of   its  existence; 
and  when  ornament  is  applied,  it  is  applied  with 
reticence     and     good    taste.      The     attention 
bestowed  by  architects  on  the  whole  subject  of 
internal  decoration  has  been   so  great  of  recent 
years  that   a  fear   has  been  expressed   in  high 
quarters,  and   from  many  sides,   that  if  things 
proceed  as  they  are   doing,   the   architect  will 
shoi-tiy  merge  in  the  house  decorator,  that  in 


*■  Pi-esidential  Address,  delivered  .it  the  meeting  of  t'a 
Edinburgh  ArcMteitural  Assaciation  oa  the  17th  inst. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


629 


I'lie  devotion  of  his  energies  to  designing  side- 
liu;irds,  dadoes,  dresses,  carpetjs,  and  "  cosy- 
C'jrners,'"  ho  will  lose  altogether  the  mil  and 
tile  power  to  design  and  currj'  into  execution 
the  larger,  more  masculine,  and  more  important 
s\ilijccts  which  come  mthin  his  professional 
sicipo.  Aqueducts,  bridges,  sea-ports,  terraces, 
Lrardeus,  fortresses,  and  viaducts,  on  the  Con- 
tiiRUt,  are  still  within  the  architect's  realm,  but 
ii  is  without  doubt  that  they  are  so  in  this 
e  iuiitry.  Without  entering  into  the  subject, 
which  is  a  very  important  one,  and  one  well 
worthy  of  prolonged  consideration,  of  the  trans- 
ference of  various  kinds  of  work  from  architects 
to  the  comparatively  youthful  profession  of 
civil  engineer,  the  point  on  which  I  wish  to 
press  at  present  is  the  vast  attention  now 
bestowed  on  the  tasteful  decoration  of  buildings 
internally,  on  such  matters  as  the  colour  and 
material  with  which  the  walls  are  to  be 
covered,  the  patterns  of  paper,  the  carpeting, 
and  so  on.  There  is  a  recognition  of  the 
canons  of  taste  displayed  by  even  the  most 
careless  of  housekeepeis  on  such  subjects,  which 
is  greatly  encouraging  to  those  who  have  a  love 
for  art.  Glass-staining  is  a  subject  which 
naturally  claims  our  attention  in  this  connection. 
It  is  a  subject  of  great  congratulation,  I  think, 
that  good  stained-glajis  is  confined  not  to  otir 
churches  and  public  buildings  as  heretofore,  but 
has  found  its  way  into  our  private  houses.  In 
Edinburgh  and  other  portions  of  Scotland,  one  is 
certain  to  find  in  the  hall  and  staircase  of  our 
good  houses,  well-designed  and  executed  stained- 
glass,  giving  an  air  of  refinement  and  art  which 
nothing  else  can  give.  A  window  is  more  potent 
as  an  artistic  medium  than  any  dead  surface  can 
possibly  bo.  Obtuse  people  may  ignore  the 
beauty  of  a  wall-paptr,  or  the  lines  of  a  fresco, 
simply  because  there  is  no  compulsion  to  look  at 
them,  but  no  person,  even  the  most  unnoticing, 
can  fail  to  take  cognisance  of  the  stained- glass 
window  of  a  hall  or  staircase.  The  very  use  of 
one's  eyes  is  dependent  upon  the  rays  which  come 
through  the  glass,  every  article  or  object  looked 
upon  is  tinged  with  the  colour  of  the  medium — 
and  perforce  the  attention  of  the  most  phlegmatic 
is  called  to  the  window.  It  is  of  vast  importance, 
therefore  a  matter  of  great  congratulation,  that 
this  important  feature  of  a  house  is  becoming 
more  and  more  artistically  treated.  The  universal 
arrangement  for  a  hall  or  stair- window  of  20  years 
ago,  of  a  diaper-pattern  of  ground  .sheet  in  the 
middle,  with  ruby  border  4 in.  bread,  with  a 
Vitru^-ian  scroll  picked  in  the  red,  and  with 
never-failing  blue  pateras  at  the  comers,  is 
rapidly  dying  a  natural  death.  Such  an 
arrsingement  is  confined  as  a  nde  now  to 
the  semi-detached  villas  of  speculative 
builders,  whose  object  in  building  houses  is  not 
to  produce  anything  beautiful  to  look  upon,  bnt 
simply,  like  the  scissors-seller  in  the  "Vicar  of 
Wakefield,"  to  produce  an  article  that  wiU  sell. 
I  do  not  say  that  the  orthodox  arrangement 
above  described — with  its  red  periphery — is  an 
ugly  one.  It  very  often  is  not  ugly  :  but  the 
objectionable  thing  is,  that  it  was  a  universal 
arrangement,  indicating  an  utter  deadness  and 
torpor  in  the  treatment  of  this  important  fea- 
ture. Let  us  rejoice  that  the  torpor  has  passed 
away,  and  that  in  the  active  application  of  well- 
designed  stained  glass  we  are  seeing  the  indica- 
tion of  more  artistic  times.  In  the  recently- 
revived  Queen  Anne  architecture  stained  glass 
and  coloured  glass  of  various  kinds  plays  a  very 
important  part  for  the  upper  portions  of  win- 
dows, above  the  broad  transom  of  wood  or  stone 
which  is  a  common  feature  of  the  architecture. 
It  is  not  the  least  likely  that  the  Queen  Anne 
style  will  take  much  root  here.  It  is  essentially 
a  style  suitable  for  brick,  while  our  building 
material  all  over  Scotland  is  stone — good  free- 
stone. The  difference  of  material  must  and 
ought  to  exercise  a  vast  influence  on  the  designer. 
The  lines  and  proportions  suitable  for  the  use  of 
small  rectangular  blocks  of  brick  are  totally  out 
of  keeping  with  the  more  colossal  proportions 
which  are  becoming  with  huge  blocks  of  stone  or 
marble.  The  style  of  design  which  is  right  and 
suitable  and  beautiful  in  the  one  case  is  totally 
out  of  keeping  in  the  other.  'While  this  is  so. — 
I  am  quite  satisfied  that  this  exceedingly  quaint 
style  of  laiilding,  with  its  thick  astragals,  lead 
lights,  and  beautiful  small  and  well-proportioned 
mouldings  will  never  come  so  far  north  to  any 
appreciable  extent, — I  think  it  a  subject  well 
worthy  of  attention  whether  we  might  not,  in 
imitation  of  its  love  for  stained  glass  introduce 
iijto   otir   windows,   both   of    liiiTng-rooms   and 


bed-rooms,  a  great  deal  more  variety  and  glory 
than  we  iLsually  think  of.  In  an  architect's  prac- 
tice, here  and  now,  aftor  he  fills  a  window  of  a 
dining-room  or  bed-room  with  the  best  British 
plate,  one-quarter  inch  thick,  or  2Ioz.  sheet,  he 
thinks  his  duty  is  completed  there.  Now  I  think 
we  might  very  well  and  profitably  bestow  a 
little  more  time  and  consideration  than  this 
summary  procedure  indicates  upon  our  win- 
dows. AVhere  light  to  the  rooms  is  not  of 
supreme  importance,  as,  for  instance,  in  a  villa 
with  no  immediately  contiguous  dwelling,  it 
might  very  well  be  considered  whether  a  little 
stained  glass  in  the  upper  sashes  or  borders 
might  not  be  advisable.  The  feature  is  a  very 
pretty  one,  and  I  see  no  reason  why  Queen  -Vnne 
should  have  a  monopoly  of  a  feature  which  may 
be  made  to  apply  to  all  architecture.  The  im- 
provements in  all  departments  of  industiy  where 
knowledge  of  the  beautiful  can  be  shown  is  un- 
deniable. The  source  to  which  we  more  directly 
trace  this  great  advance  is  naturally  our  schools 
of  art.  Our  carvers  in  wood  and  stone,  our 
engravers,  our  modellers,  our  designers  for  furni- 
ture, crockery,  ani  ironwork,  have  all  had  their 
hands  and  eyes  trained  under  able  teachers,  and 
with  the  best  models  of  antiquity  before  them. 
Such  schools  are  not  confined  to  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow,  but  are  to  be  foimd  in  all  the  important 
towns  of  Scotland.  Their  influence  within  the 
last  2.5  years  has  been  enormous.  All  those  of 
us  who  have  undergone  the  training  of  such 
schools,  can  testify  to  the  influence  exercised  by 
them  on  individual  character.  Brought  in  con- 
tact with  the  best  work  of  past  times,  and  under 
the  tuition  of  able,  energetic  masters,  whose 
hearts  aie  in  their  work,  if  there  is  any  latent 
art-talent  within  us,  any  burning  love  for 
things  beautiful,  it  is  sure  to  take  fire  under 
such  circumstances.  It  is  a  subject  of  congratu- 
lation that,  in  addition  to  the  numerous  schools 
and  lectiu-eships  of  art  throughout  the  country, 
we  are  now  to  have  a  chair  of  art  in  our  Edin- 
burgh University,  the  funds  for  which  are 
insured  by  the  provisions  of  Sir  John  "Watson 
Gordon's  will.  This  chair  will,  without  doubt, 
give  great  impetus  to  all  artistic  subjects  among 
us.  It  is  not  to  be  anticipated  that  immediate 
effects  will  appear.  Home  was  not  built  in  a 
day,  but  the  leavening  influence  of  a  professor- 
ship of  art  in  an  intellectual  centre  like  that  of 
Edinburgh  will  soon  render  itself  felt.  This  is 
our  first  professorship  of  art  in  Scotland,  and  i*- 
is  to  be  hoped  that  the  influence  on  a  hard- 
headed,  close-fisted,  metaphysical,  matter-of- 
fact  people  will  be  encouraging.  We  labour  at 
great  disadvantage  in  Scotland  in  all  matters  of 
art  as  compared  with  such  favoured  countries  as 
Italy,  where  the  very  air  is  laden  with  artistic 
ideas  ;  where  the  common,  blue-bloused  work- 
man will  criticise  you  a  work  of  Michael  Angelo 
or  Titian  in  no  ignorant  babble,  but  in  good  set 
terms.  Or  I  might  take  an  example  from 
the  cognate  field  of  mu.sic,  from  an  incident 
which  happened  under  my  own  eyes  in  Florence. 
An  audience  composed  of  plain  people,  the 
burghers  or  shopkeepers  of  the  city,  at  an 
operatic  performance  united  in  condemning  a 
prima  donna's  bad  note,  and  would  in  no  wise 
permit  her  to  proceed  till  after  three  attempts 
she  accompli.shed  the  faulty  note  to  their  satis- 
faction. Such  an  incident  is  impossible  in 
Scotland  ;  we  have  no  such  artistic  training  here. 
The  day  is  just  dawning  upon  \is.  In  Italy  the 
people  have  been  under  training  in  such  matters 
for  centuries.  Art  runs  in  their  blood.  The 
great  men  of  their  coimtry,  of  whom  even  the 
common  people  are  proud,  are  not  so  much  their 
kings,  their  warriors,  and  their  statesmen,  but 
their  architects,  sculptors,  and  painters,  their 
Tintorettos,  Veroneses,  Michael  Angelos, 
Palladios.  A\'hat  a  contrast  this  is  to  our 
Scotland.  In  a  bleak,  unfertile,  rocky  country 
our  ancestors  had  enough  to  do  to  wrest  a 
living  from  the  sterile  rocks.  No  time  was 
theirs  for  the  amenities  of  life,  for  those  arts 
which  render  life  worth  living  for,  the  painting, 
the  sculpture,  and  the  architecture.  A  better 
day  is  drawing  upon  us,  the  country  is  becoming, 
by  the  sturdy  energy  of  her  sons,  more  and  more 
wealthy.  The  eiiltured  leisured  class  are 
increasing  in  number,  and  the  arts  of  peace  are 
flourishing.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
as  we  proceed  in  our  race  of  artistic  life,  our 
taste  should  be  wisely  guided,  that  true  canons 
of  art  should  regulate  us  both  in  designing  and 
criticising.  It  is  from  this  point  of  view  that 
the  appointment  of  a  profesorship  is  of  national 
imp  ortance.  The  prelections  of  thec'ass-room  will 


influence  the  whole  people,  stirring  up  thought, 
discussion,  and  controversy.  Our  national  lord 
for  combat  and  metaphysics  will  find  ample  play 
in  rival  theories  of  art-opposing  styles  of  archi- 
tecture— different  canons  of  taste — but  contest 
indicates  life,  and  as  these  subjects*  of  art  are 
discussed  among  us  with  more  and  more  vigour 
and  knowledge,  the  more  docs  the  subject  itself 
become  part  of  the  life  and  soul  of  the  people. 
Having  said  so  mucli  on  several  incidents  and 
features  which  seem  to  be  entirely  favourable  to 
our  profession,  which  appear  to  tend  to  con- 
solidutc  our  honourable  position  in  society, 
and  which  tend  to  the  enlarging  and  ex- 
tending of  O'JT  professional  knowledge,  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place  to  lake  note  of 
things  which  lower  us  in  the  eyes  of  tho 
world,  .some  characteristics  of  modem  archi- 
tects which  do  not  raise  them  in  the  eyes  of  men. 
It  is  not  wise  to  be  too  self-complaisant,  to  bo 
perpetually  Kinging  pagans  of  self-gratulation 
over  our  progress.  It  is  well  to  look  in  the 
mirror  occasionally  to  see  where  stains  and 
soiling  are,  so  that  a  cleansing  remedy  may  be 
applied  to  remove  defects  where  they  are  found 
to  exist.  Among  the  subjects  affecting  our 
profession  which  are  perpetually  cropping  up  in 
law  courts  or  elsewhere,  is  that  of  commission. 
I  do  not  mean,  of  course,  the  legitimate  fee  of 
5  per  cent.,  which  is  nothing  more  than  fair 
remuneration  for  the  arduous  and  responsible 
work  of  the  architect.  The  commission  which 
appears  in  so  many  lawsuits  as  being  paid  to 
architects  is  the  surreiititious,  underhand, 
disgraceful  bribe  applied  by  manufacturerf, 
patentees,  and  other  proprietors  of  building 
appliances  to  have  their  goods  introduced  into 
buildings.  There  can  be  but  one  opinion  among 
honest  members  of  our  profession  about  thi-s 
species  of  commission,  and  I  think  it  is  not 
unbecoming  an  association  like  this  to  set  its 
face  against  such  practices,  which  assuredly 
tend  to  disgrace  our  calling.  The  leaven  of  this 
corruption  works  in  divers  ways,  and  I 
think  it  is  well  that  every  upright  practitioner 
should  lend  a  helping  hand  to  its  exposure. 
One  test  is  sufficient  to  blow  all  the  plausible 
theories  advanced  for  accepting  commission  such 
as  I  speak  of  into  the  clouds.  If  the  architect 
wUl  in  plain  words  inform  his  employer  that  on 
the  £100  roof  which  he  has  just  designed  he  has 
pocketed  £2.5  of  commission  irrespective  of  his 
fee,  then,  but  not  till  then,  I  shall  believe  that 
the  architect  is  acting  as  an  honest  man.  There 
are,  however,  other  and  grosser  forms  in  which 
commission  is  sometimes  taken,  or  in  which  I 
have  heard  it  was  taken,  which  only  require  to 
be  mentioned  to  receive  the  hearty  condemna- 
tion of  such  an  association  as  ours.  I  have 
heard  that  some  men  caUing  themselves  archi- 
tects have  in  taking  estimates  so  manipulated 
the  offers  of  the  tradesmen  as  to  secure  the  work 
for  creatures  of  their  own  ;  have  so  arranged 
the  figures  of  the  offers  by  opening  them  before- 
hand and  adjusting  them  with  contractors  on 
whom  they  wished  to  confer  the  work,  that  large 
slices  of  emolument  should  be  hidden  in  the 
estimates,  ultimately  to  pass  into  the  pocket  of 
the  architect.  Such  a  form  of  wickedness — for 
it  can  be  called  nothing  eke — is  little  liable  to 
become  common  unless  among  men  who  aie 
bent  on  being  rogues.  It  is  conscious  of  its 
blackness  and  so  keeps  out  of  sight.  Let 
us,  then,  visit  with  righteous  indignatior, 
wherever  we  find  them,  such  mean  and 
dastardly  attempts  to  lower  an  honour- 
able calling.  As  long  as  we  accept  and  act 
upon  the  sound  and  healthy  principle  that 
the  architect  should  in  connection  with  his  woi  k 
receive  no  nmuneration  uhalrrcr  except  what  he 
receives  directly  and  immediately  from  his  em- 
ployer, there  is  no  danger  of  our  profession 
falling  into  disrepute.  Let  us  act  as  upright 
men  receiving  no  back-hand  gifts  or  commissions 
or  douceurs  or  bribes,  and  visit  with  exposure 
and  contempt  all  attempts  to  the  contrary  mode 
of  dealing,  and  I  venture  to  think  that  in  course 
of  time  we  shall  take  a  higher  and  more  honour- 
ble  position  in  society.  An  aspect  of  this  com- 
mission question  presents  itself  which  is  of  vital 
consequence  to  the  outside  public  who  employ 
architects.  These  members  of  our  profession 
who  li%e  by  their  legitimate  fees  may  often  be 
twitted  with  the  largeness  of  our  recognised  fee 
of  .3  per  cent.,  and  be  told  that  many  prticti* 
tioners  work  for  less.  I  have  no  desire  to  lay 
down  a  hard  and  fast  line  on  this  point,  and  say 
that  in  some  instances — such  as  in  the  case  of 
large  plain  buildings,   stores,    or    warehouses, 


630 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


■where  there  are  hundreds  of  pillars  of  the  same  I  must  he,  under  given  conditions,  seek  the  other '- 
dimensions,  -windows  all  the  same  and  so  on — I  1  His  obligations  may  be  briefly  summed  up.  He 
say  in  such  a  case  our  fee   may  with  fairness  be    must  have  a  competent   degree  of  knowledge, 


modified  very  much.  There  is  no  possibility  of 
laying  down  a  hard  and  fast  line  of  remuneration. 
-lEaeh  case  must  be  decided  upon  its  own  merits, 
and  with  a  fair  spirit  on  both  sides, — there  is  no 
danger  of  any  serious  collision  between  client  and 
architect.  Butspeakiuggenerally,  I  am  satisfied  I 
am  expressing  the  feelings  of  all  architects  who 
have  been  in  business  for  any  length  of  time  that 
the  ordinary  recognisedfee  is  as  fair  and  moderate 
remuneration  as  could  be  stated.  A  less  fee  will  not 
remunerate  any  professional  man  adequately,  if 
he  discharges  his  duty  faithfully  and  energeti- 
cally- to  his  client.  And  it  is  here  that  this 
question  of  commission  works  mischief.  Some 
architects  offer  their  services  for  3,  2,  even  1 
per  cent.  I  have  heard  of  some  cases  where 
architects  offered  even  to  work  for  nothing.  I 
would  warn  all  clients  to  look  with  much  sus- 
picion on  such  offers,  because  it  is  scarcely  jos- 
sible  that  the  architect  can  be  acting  in  good 
faith.  He  finds  his  fee  inadequate,  and  inevi- 
tably betakes  himself  to  devious  ways  of  com- 
missions and  bribes  from  contractors  to  eke  out 
"his  li\ing.  This  is  so  palpable  that  it  is 
astonishing  the  outside  public  who  employ 
architects  do  not  see  it.  But  it  is  within  my 
own  knowledge  that  there  are  men  belonging  to 
our  profession  who  habitually  undertake  work 
for  a  nominal  fee  to  the  client,  but  who  make 
that  same  client  pay  the  amount  of  three  or  four 
fees  by  manipulating  the  items  in  the  schedules 
-with  the  contractors  in  such  a  way  as  no  client 
■can  detect.  The  thing  is  scandalous  and  dis- 
graceful, and  we  cannot  do  better  towards  our 
profession  than  by  denouncing  such  courses  of 
procedure,  and,  in  our  own  practice,  preserving 
clean  hands.  Depend  upon  it,  honest,  upright 
•dealing  will,  in  course  of  time,  receive  its  due  re- 
•ward. 

The  President  concluded  his  address  by  a 
reference  to  the  meeting  to  be  held  in  May  next, 
in  London,  under  the  auspices  of  the  E.  I.  B.  A., 
and  expres>ed  a  hope  that  good  to  the  pro- 
fession might  result  therefrom,  especially 
in  connection  with  the  matter  of  competi- 
tions. 


THE  LAW  AS   APFECTIXa  QUANTITF- 
SURVETOES. 


which  he  must  exercise  with  reasonable  care  and 
skill.  This  reqiiirement  of  "  competent  know- 
ledge and  skill"  has  all  the  merits  and  all  the 
demerits  of  general  rules.  It  is  so  true  that  no 
one  can  dispute  it,  and  so  vague  that  no  one  can 
determine  whether  a  particular  case  comes 
within  it.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  qu' stion  of 
fact  for  the  jury,  to  be  decided  on  a  considera- 
tion of  the  nature  of  the  work,  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  the  experience  of  the  surveyor-,  and 
the  representations  he  may  have  made  as  to  his 
own  qualifications.  He  is  not  bound  to  reach 
the  very  highest  standard  of  professional  excel- 
lence, but  he  is  bound  to  possess  a  reasonable 
amount  of  natural  capacity,  and  to  have  culti- 
vated his  powers  with  reasonable  diligence. 
The  obligation  as  to  care  and  skill  in  the  per- 
formance of  a  particular  work  must  be  stated  in 
very  similar  terms.  It  is,  of  course,  open 
to  any  quantity-surveyor  to  warrant  his 
quantities,  vouching  their  absolute  accu- 
racy, and  undertaking  to  make  good  the 
loss  which  any  inaccuracy  may  occasion 
to  builder  or  building-owner.  But,  in  practice, 
such  warranting  is  very  rare,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  is  ever  advisable.  In  every  set  of 
plans  and  specifications  there  will  be  many  items 
which  different  persons  will  dift'erently  construe, 
and  as  to  ■which  the  quantity-surveyor  must 
exercise  a  certain  amount  of  discretion.  He 
must  not  be  a  mere  measui-ing  and  calculating 
machine.  He  is  bound  to  take  out  his  quantities 
"with  brains"; — to  bring  his  knowledge  of 
architectural  detail,  and  of  the  properties  of  dif- 
ferent materials,  to  bear  upon  the  work  in  hand. 
Even  in  carefuUy-prepared  plans  and  specifica- 
tions, there  will  be  occasional  ambiguities  and 
inaccuracies,  for  which  the  quantity -surveyor 
must  make  allowance  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
And  when  he  has  done  his  best  and  his  utmost, 
there  will  remain  the  inevitable  residuum  of 
mortal  frailty,  which  will  crop  out  somewhere 
and  somehow,  when  the  work  in  hand 
necessitates  hundreds  or  thousands  of  minute 
calculations.  Humanum  ist  errare ;  but  the 
point  at  which  the  error  ceases  to  be  venial, 
and  becomes  evidence  of  lack  of  reason- 
able care  and  skill,  is,  like  lack  of  reasonable 
competence,  a  question  of  fact  for  the  jury.  Pre- 
cise definition  is  the  more  impossible,  because, 
while  competence  may  bo  with  each  individual 
something  like  a  fixed  quantity,  the  measure  of 
care  and  skill  may  be  affected  by  many  circum- 
tances.  The  materi  ils  provided  for  the  quantity- 


AT  the  meeting   of   the   Institution  of  Sur- 
veyors    on    Monday    evening,     Mr.    F. 
Turner,    barrister,    read   a     paper    upon    this 

subject.  The  author  defined  a  quantity-  surveyor  may  consist  of  plans  hastily  drawn  . . 
•surveyor  as  one  employed  to  ascertain,  by  the  I  more  hastily  adopted  from  other  buildings  in 
oversight  of  another's  project  for  buildings,  .  which  they  have  already  done  duty ;  they  may 
or  other  constructive  works,  the  quantities  of  i  have  been  finished  without  proper  care  or 
material,  and  of  certain  kmds  of  labour,  required  perhaps  not  finished  at  aU  ;  some  portions  of 
tor  their  accomphshment.  As  a  distinct  and  in- i  them  may  involve  structural  diftereuces  of 
dependent  vocation,  said  Mr.  Turner,  the  pro-  which  no  sufficient  account  has  been  taken  ■ 
:fession  is  so  nearly  of  yesterday,  that  a  much-  '  the  specification  may  be  loosely  and  inadequ-itely 
respectedmemberof  the  Institution  of  Surveyors  I  worded,  and  the'  time  between  the  first 
IS  often  described  as  "  the  Father  of  Quantity-  instructions  and  the  day  on  wliieh  the  bills  of 
burve.img.  And  yet  he  has  a  kinship,  if  he  quantities  are  to  be  ready  for  the  builders  may 
*'?"°V...'''''<^''."°'^''1  descent,  from  the  "  men  i  be  entirely  insufficient.  When  work  is  performed 
cunnynge,"  who,  according  ]  under  such  conditions,  the  Cjuantities  should 
the     First     Edward,  were    form  part  of  the  contract,   as   then  the  buildin" 


land  and  by  the  higher  laws  of  morality.  It 
cannot  be  too  clearly  understood  that  decision 
after  decision  has  firmly  established  the  doctrine 
that  all  profit,  secretly  made  by  a  confidential 
agent,  belongs  to  the  principal,  even  ■when  he 
has  suffered  no  actual  damage  from  its  improper 
receipt,  while,  if  damage  does  result  from  any 
such  bargaining,  neither  judge  nor  jury,  when 
dealing  out  penalties,  wUl  weigh  in'  golden 
scales  the  sum  payable  by  the  agent  who  has 
thus  betrayed  his  trust. 

{To  he  continued.) 


of 


of 


skill     and 
to     a     Statute 

busiest  when  "  castelles  and  other  buyld-  I  owner  will  not  have  to  pay  for  what  he  does  no"t 
ynges  were  doomed  to  destruction.  The  I  get,  nor  will  the  builder  have  to  supply  anythin" 
modern  quantity-surveyor  is,  however,  chiefly  for  which  he  is  not  paid.  It  may  be  said  thai 
wanted  when  a  man  who  desu-es  to  bidld  a  such  a  course  tends  to  make  the  quantity- sur- 
house  sits  down  to  count  the  cost  whether  he  veyor  careless,  and  consequently  to  injure  the 
will  be  able  to  finish.  The  endless  and  ever-  profession  by  lowering  its  standard  of  exceUence 
increasmg  details  of  extensive  buUdlng  opera-  This  may  be  so  when  the  materials  and  time  are 
tions  have  made  such  prehmmary  calculation  a    both  sufficient.  But  the  quantities  wiU  be  stipu- 


work  of  immense  labour,  which  the  architect  is    lated  as  a  part  of  the  contract  by  every  surveVor 

•generally  unwilling— which  many  builders  are    -^ u  _-_i.- ■l_-        ,,      ,     „•'       ,  •'       ,    .-^ . 

but   indifferently  qualified — to  undertake.     To 
fill  the  gap,  the  quantity-surveyor  came   into 


separate  existence,  by  a  process  of  natural  selec 
tion,  in  the  course  of  which  the  architect  or 
surveyor  who  had  the  best  head  for  figures 
•developed,  by  survival  of  the  fittest,  into  the 
quantity-sun-eyor  pure  and  simple.  This  separa- 
tion, though  now  sufficiently  pronounced,  was 
gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly  accom- 
plished. The  builder  originally  estimated  quan- 
tities for  given  works  in  a  rough-and-ready 
way,  by  memory  and  the  ride  of  thumb,  with 
results  neitli 


are  •  who  would  make  himself  safe,  for  when  a  build 
ing  fails  to  fulfil  expectations,  lie  who  has  hurried 
on  or  scamped  his  part  is  precisely  the  man  ■nho 
is  most  likely  to  find  fault  with  the  conse- 
quences of  his  own  mistakes,  and  attribute 
them  to  the  quantity-surveyor's  neglio-ence. 
In  addition  to  these  three  qualities,  of  reason- 
able competence,  care,  and  skill,  the  quantity- 
surveyor,  like  all  other  persons  in  confidential 
capacities,  is  bound  to  the  strictest  good  faith 
and  the  highest  honour.  Mr.  Eve  spoke  in 
that  room  in  April  last  of  charges  for  litho- 
graphy, multiplying  the  real  cost  manyfold  ;    of 


results  neither  more  nor  less  snti..factory  than  j  quantities  "loaded"  with  a  fancy  price' for 
-genera  ly  attend  that  process,  until,  in  course  of  \  abortive  plans ;  of  "  the  privilege  of  tendeiin<r  " 
time,  the  quantity -surveyor  had  vindicated  his  '  purchased  by  adding  a  percentage  to  the  cSn- 
ow;     f  ^"""^m.,^"'"'  ■'?'  "^^''"   are   his    tract,    which   buUder   or   building-owner   must 

obligations,  responsibdities,  and  remedies?     To    pay.     Any   such   deflection   from   the  !straT"h 
whom   does  he   owe   the   one,  and  from  whom    lin'e  of  duty  is  forbidden,  alike  by  the  law  of  the 


BOOKS  KECEIVED. 

MeiliiTval  Trade-Cards  (London:  Marlborough 
and  Co.)  are  patterns  of  a  series  of  superior 
trade-cards,  almanacs,  kc.  There  is  nothing 
particularly  Media?val  about  them,  but  they 
are  generally  of  decent  design — principally 
foliage  or  conventionalised — and  very  well 
executed ;  quite  superior  to  the  usual  run  of 
such  things  a  dozen  years  back,  and  better  than 

a     good    deal     tui-ned     out    now. Domestic 

Pliiin/iiity  Olid  n'ater  Screice,  by  "William  A\'hite, 
F.S.A.,  F.R.I.B.A.  (London:  Lockwood  and 
Co.)  is  a  readable,  useful  treatise.  It  seems 
principally  written  to  recommend  the  sanitary 
appliances  manufactured  by  a  Midland  firm,  in 
which  Mr.  '\\^lite  has,  as  he  says,  an  obrious 
interest,  but  that  interest  is  not  unduly 
obtruded ;  the  author's  conclusions  are,  ■we 
think,  sensible  and  fair,  and  wc  are  glad  to  see 
a  leading  architect  like  Mr.  White  moving  in  a 
matter  to  which  many  among  us  have  hereto- 
fore given   by  far   too   little   attention. The 

Elements  of  Mn-hanisiii,  by  T.  M.  Goodeve, 
M.A.  (London  :  Longmans  and  Co.)  is  a 
new    edition,     rewritten    and     enlarged,   of   a 

standard  text-book   of    its   subject. London 

Smoke  and  Fog,  by  Frederick  Edwards,  jun. 
(London:  Longmans,  Green,  and  Co.),  is  an 
interesting  additional  chapter  to  the  author's 
well-known  book  on  the  Ventilation  of  Dwelling 
Houses.  We  are  not  inclined  to  agree  with 
Mr.  Edwards  in  some  of  his  strictures  on  open 
fireplaces  ;  but  he  is  fully  entitled  to  be  heard  on 
the   subject,    because   he    writes    well,    and  is 

practically    aoquainted    with    his   subject. 

Slatioiiari/  Emjine  Drivhiff,  by  Michael  Reynolds 
(London :  Lockwood  and  Co  ),  is  a  practical, 
well- written,  and  well-illustrated  manual,  which 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  everybody  in 
charge  of  an  engine.  There  are  nowadays  so 
many  places  where  engines  are  at  work  and 
where  an  engineer,  properly  so  called,  is  never 
seen,  that  the  book  ought  to  have  a  large 
additional  circulation  outside  the  circle  to  which 
the  author  more  especially  ajipeals. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 

Dudley.— Ou  .Saturday,  Mr.  G.  W.  Hastings, 
M.P.,  distributed  the  prizes  to  the  succes.-ful 
students  of  the  above  school.  The  annuU  report 
showed  that  14.5  students  had  attended  the  art 
and  IS  the  science  classes  during  the  year. 
This  was  an  increase,  and  the  fees  had  amounted 
to  £171  liSs.  The  Government  grant  had  been 
£91  7s.,  and  the  subscriptions  £.51  5s.  The 
lack  of  subscriptions  showed  a  want  of  interest 
in  the  objects  for  which  the  schools  were 
founded.  It  was  stated  that  out  of  50,000  in- 
habitants only  twenty-five  subscribed  to  the 
funds  of  the  school,  and  that  only  two  members 
of  the  Corporation  gave  anything. 

Perth.— The  prizes  and  certificates  gained  by 
successful  students  in  the  Perth  school  of  aic 
were  distributed  on  Monday  night  by  Mr.  C.  S. 
Parker,  M.P.,  who  gave  an  address,  in  which  he 
dwelt  upon  the  advanced  place  amongst  the  men 
of  science  and  inventors  taken  by  Scotchmen, 
and  expressed  the  hope  that  something  more 
would  be  done  in  a  national  way  for  the  develop- 
ment of  art  in  Scotland.  The  annual  report 
showed  that  £06  students  attended  the  art 
classes  last  session,  being  an  increase  of  3S  over 
the  number  of  the  previous  year.  Of  these,  01 
sat  at  the  local  examinations,  with  the  result 
that  10  prizes  and  42  ctrlificates  were  gained. 
Besides  this,  one  advanced  certificate  was  gained 
in  solid  construction,  7  pas.-ed  in  machine  con- 
struction, and  8  in  building  construction.  In 
the  science  classes  proper,  1  prize  and  7  cer- 
tificates were  taken,  in  mathematics  1  prize, 
and  7  certificates  in  chemistry. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


eni 


AKCHITECTTTRAL  &    ACH-ffiOLOGICAL. 
SOCIETIES. 

Beitish  Aechxological  Association.  —  The 
t]^oniiig  meeting  of  the  new  session  was  held  on 
^\\'dnesday  last,  the  Rev.  S.  M.  Mayhew  in 
the  chair.  The  Rev.  Prebendary  Scarth  de- 
-r  ribed  an  early  font,  apparently  Saxon,  in  Stanton 
Church,  Gloucester.  The  Rev.  J.  A.  Lloyd 
I'cported  the  discovery  of  Saxon  carved  work 
luring  the  recent  restoration  of  his  church  at 
r.ioad  Hinton,  Wilts,  and  exhibited  a  full-sized 
drawing.  Sir.  Loftus  Brock,  F.S.A.,  reported 
tlie  discovery  of  a  Roman  pavement  of  beautiful 
liiign  in  the  Close,  Winchester,  of  which  the 
i;  ;v.  C.  Collier  sent  a  dra-n-ing.  Mr.  Walker 
jiroduced  and  described  the  matri-x  of  the  old 
Cliapter  Seal  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter,  Wol- 
verhampton, which  has  replaced  an  earlier  one 
r.f  silver  now  lost.  Mr.  Lewis  described  a 
kitchen-midden  at  the  Roman  Castle  of  Pevensey, 
iii.d  exhibited  several  fragments  of  very  early 
pottery.  He  exhibited  a  rubbing  of  a  Saxen 
ijSin.lid,  found  at  Bexhill  church,  where  much 
Saxon  w.aUing  has  been  found  above  the  Norman 
irches  during  recent  repairs.  Mr.  W.  Myers, 
F.3.A.,  produced  a  vast  number  of  flint  imple- 
ments from  Cissbury  Camp,  and  described  the 
circumstances  of  their  discovery  upon  the  surface 
■f  the  ground  where  large  quantities  may  be 
f  iund.  Mr.  C.  Brent,  F.S.A.,  exldbited  a 
Hebrew  phylactery,  and  a  rtmarkable  Etruscan 
pu/zle  case  without  any  aperture.  The  chair- 
man produced  several  beautiful  specimens  of 
early  pottery  found  in  London,  including  a  13th- 
LOiitury  green  ware  jug  of  large  size.  Also  an 
jarly  Chinese  carving  in  jasper,  found  in  exca- 
vations at  Bishopsgate.  Mr.  Thos.  Morgan, 
F.S.A.,  read  a  paper  on  the  results  of  the  recent 
ingress  at  Devizes,  and  reviewed  the  principal 
jbjects  inspected,  alludmg  especially  to  the  dis- 
cussion at  the  meeting  at  Stonehenge.  The 
second  paper  was  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Compton,  on 
the  Castle  Tower  in  the  Tower  of  London,  which 
lias  recently  been  opened  out  and  freed  from  the 
modem  buildings  that  surrounded  it.  The  roof  is 
beautifully  groined,  and,  as  the  reader  observed, 
the  Tower  afforded  access  from  the  moat  to  the 
Queen's  apartments.  The  whole  has  been 
thoroughly  repaired  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Taylor,  of  H.M.  Office  of  Works.  A  large 
Roman  brick,  from  the  recently-discovered  wall, 
was  exhibited  and  described.  A  paper  by  Mr. 
Loftus  Brock,  on  the  Roman  Wall,  was  post- 
poned on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour 
when  the  proceedings  terminated. 

CaMBEIDGE  AxlIQUiEIAN  SOCIETY. — At  the 
last  meeting  of  this  society,  held  on  the  1.5th 
inst..  Professor  Hughes  exhibited  some  Roman 
objects  found  under  a  stone  in  CwniUech,  near 
Blaencwmpennantmoelangell,  in  Denbighshire  : 
they  consisted  of  an  intaglio  in  sardonyx,  with 
the  device  of  a  lion  passant,  set  in  an  ornamental 
Lfold  ring,  with  a  torque  cable  border.  AVith 
them  were  foimd  two  Roman  brass  coins  of  the 
Emperors  Caius  Victormus  and  Gallienus 
2G0-S  A.D.)  The  exliibitor  showed  that  there 
was  abundant  evidence  that  the  Romans  ad- 
vanced far  into  the  eastern  valleys  of  the  Ber- 
wvns.  He  also  showed  c  small  token,  found  in 
'xcavating  for  foundations  at  Trinity  Hall,  Cam- 
bridge, having  on  the  obverse  a  stag  passmii  and 
the  name  "  William  Li(m)ber,"  and  on  the  re- 
verse, "Lover  W.D."  and  the  legend  "In  Ches- 
terton." A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  AV.  K.  Foster 
on  his  recent  excavations  at  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Cemetery  at  Barrington,  Cambs.  During  Mayand 
•June  last  he  opened  114  graves,  which  yielded  a 
harvest  of  Anglo-Saxon  relics,  including  fibulce, 
heads,  clasps,  spears,  and  swords.  On  the  same 
>ite  was  a  fosse,  and  within  its  area  a  number  of 
nits,  all  filled  with  a  dark  greasy  earth,  inter- 
spersed with  fragments  of  rough  pottery,  bones, 
and  teeth  of  animals.  The  fosse  and  pits  he  re- 
garded as  earlier  than  the  Anglo-Saxon  ceme- 
tery. Among  the  objects  exhibited  were  four 
pairs  of  bronze-gilt  iibulie,  saucer-shaped,  and 
having  detached  rings ;  two  pairs  of  bronze-gilt 
la.sps,  said  to  be  unique  :  and  two  ale-  --ats  of 
wood,  one  with  bronze  rings,  the  other  hooped 
with  iron.  The  Vicar  of  Barrington  showed 
uther  objects  recovered  from  the  same  spot,  and 
regarded  the  earlier  fosse  and  ditch  to  have  been 
the  site  of  an  Anglo-Romano  dwelling-place. 
Jlr.  Redfarn  showed  an  English  terra-cotta  lamp, 
and  Mediaeval  pottery,  found  at  the  back  of  a 
uouse  in  Petty  Cury,  Cambridge. 

EdIN-BCEGH     AECniTECTtTEAI.     AssociATioy. — • 
The  first  meeting  of    the   23rd  session  of  the 


above  Association  was  held  last  week,  when  the 
inaugural  address  was  delivered  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  John  M'Lachlan,  which  we  give  in 
another  form  elsewhere. 

The  LrvEEPOoL  Arciiiteciitea.l  Society.— Tlie 
second  ordinary  meeting  of  the  thirty- third 
session  was  held  at  the  Royal  Institution, 
Colquitt-street,  on  the  evening  of  Nov.  3rd,  the 
President,  Mr.  C.  Aldridge,  F.R.I.B.A.,  being 
in  the  chair.  There  was  a  good  attendance, 
and  the  paper  of  the  evening,  entitled,  "Two 
Faces  under  a  Hood  ;  or,  Hypocriticism  in  Art," 
was  read  by  Mr.  Joseph  Boult.  A  discussion 
ensued  upon  the  merits  and  demerits  of  the 
Queen  Anne  stvle  of  architecture,  in  which 
Messrs.  J.  F.  Doyle,  Wm.  Parslow,  F.R.I.B.A., 
Joseph  Boult,  and  the  President  took  part. 
Previous  to  the  ordinary  meeting  a  meeting  of 
the  class  cf  design  and  construction  was  held  in 
the  small  library,  under  the  guidance  of  Jfr. 
C.  E.  Deacon  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Doyle,  when  13 
sets  of  designs  for  a  "sideboard"  were  handed 
in.  The  second  meeting  of  this  cla.ss  was  held 
Nov.  17th,  when  Mr.  Aldridge  delivered  the  first 
of  a  series  of  lectures  on  construction,  the  sub- 
jects for  the  first  being  : — The  Local  Building 
Acts  ;  choice  of  site  ;  soil,  aspect,  and  levels  ; 
excavations,  and  concrete. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Poxtefeact. — The  Corporation  of  Pontefract, 
in  answer  to  adverllsemeut,  have  received  no 
less  than  59  sets  (averaging  from  o  to  9  sheets 
in  a  set)  of  plans,  under  various  mottoes,  for  an 
addition  to  the  very  old  Town  HaU.  They  have 
been  forwarded  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  the  cost  and  trouble  some  of  the  designs 
have  taken  in  execution  is  extraordinary  when 
we  consider  that  the  first  prize  is  only  £.50,  and 
the  second  £2.3,  and  tends  strongly  to  show  the 
present  stagnation  of  trade.  The  vote  in  council 
restricts  the  sum  to  £7,000  as  the  cost  of  the 
new  building,  but  some  of  the  perspectives  will 
take  that  amount  to  complete  the  main  front, 
and  probably  bring  up  a  total  of  £20,000,  and 
we  are  assured  by  a  coiTesjiondent  it  would  be  a 
difficidt  matter  to  get  a  respectable  builder  to 
undertake  the  work  of  building  half  a  dozen  sets 
out  of  the  whole  lot  for  the  amount  specified. 
The  Corporation  will  do  well  to  call  in  the  aid 
of  a  professional  arbitrator  before  giving  their 
final  decision. 


The  North  British  Railway  propise  to  construct 
a  new  tidal  basin  at  Silloth.  It  will  be  six  acres 
in  extent,  being  one -half  larger  than  the  old  dock 
at  that  port,  and  will  have  an  entrance  from  the 
south  end  of  the  old  dock  COft.  in  width,  with  one 
pair  of  gates.  Messrs.  Meek  and  Son,  civil  engi- 
upers,  of  Edinburgh,  have  been  requested  to  pub- 
lish a  report  on  the  proposal,  and  they  visited 
Sdloth  list  week,  accompanied  by  Mr.  C.  Boyd, 
the  railway  company's  resident  engineer. 

The  memorial-stone  of  new  Sunday-school 
buildings,  about  to  be  added  to  Couduit-strect 
chapel  Plumstead,  was  laid  on  Tuesday  week.  1  he 
buildings  will  accommodate  .500  children,  and  in- 
clude a  lecture-hall,  seated  for  200  adults,  .infants 
room,  and  clas3-room3.  Mr.  Johuson,  of  Powis- 
street,  Woolvfich,  is  the  contractor. 

A  new  mission  church  was  opened  in  Berridge- 
road,  Gipsy-hill,  by  the  Bishop  of  Eocbester,  on 
Wednesday  week.  It  is  built  of  red  bricks,  and 
consists  of  nave,  transepts,  chjinee  ,  organ- 
chamber,  and  Vfs'ry,  and  is  seated  for  2bO  persons 
The  organ  is  being  built  by  Messrs.  »  alter,  ot 
Loudon. 

A  new  Baptist  chapel  was  opened  at  Shoreham 
on  Wednesday  week.  It  is  Italian  m  style,  and 
Wis  erected  from  the  designs,  and  under  the 
superintendence  of  ,Mr.  Arthur  Loader,  of  Brighton. 
Ml.  Bruton  was  th^  contractor,  and  the  cost  was 
about  £I,.300. 

The  historical  painter,  Leon  Cogniet  died  in 
Paris,  on  Sunday,  at  the  age  of  8, .  Ho  was  a  pupd 
of  Gueriu,  and  took  the  P"^ /«?""''  "i  ^t^'. 
The  picture  that  estabhshed  his  tame  was 
"Tintoretto  Painting  the  Dead  Body  of  us 
Daughter,"  which  was  exhibited  m  ISl-o,  and  pur- 
chased by  the  Bordeaux  Museum. 

The  Wesleyan  chapel  at  Faversham,  Kent,  was 
reopened  on  Monday  week,  after  renovation  in- 
ternal decoration  in  colour,  and  >™P™7«"'«°'j 
effected  at  a  cost  of  £GOU  Mr.  E.  Hoole,  of 
London,  was  the  architect,  Mr  FuUer.  ot  Faver. 
sham,  the  buUder  and  Mr  F.  Baker  executed  the 
decorations. 


Builbing  tutcllii3cucc. 
— -♦♦♦ 

BEiiMONnSEY.— The  foundati..n-^toIle  of  anew 
Town-hall  for  Bermoiidsey  was  laid  on  Tuenjiiy, 
on  a  site  at  the  corner  of  Spa-road  and  Nucfc- 
ingor-road,  Bormoiid.scy,  in  the  presoore  of  a 
largo  gathering.  The  Bite  eontuiua  upwardii  of 
lO.OOUft.  superficial,  which  has  been  purchu.'u.'d 
at  a  cost  of  £12,000.  The  public  hull,"»tinuiU>d 
to  hold  1,200,  will  be  80ft.  by  .52ft.  9in.  in  th.- 
clear,  and  37ft.  9in.  in  heiglit,  with  gullerien  on 
each  side,  and  an  additional  galh-ry  at  tlie  itoiitli 
end.  The  ground -floor,  according  to  the  plan, 
contains  accommodation  for  tliu  Hcvcrul  ntlicor- 
of  the  vostry,  and  of  the  boarda  of  govcmon 
and  directors,  together  with  a  board  room, 
IGft.  9in.  by  29ft.  Gin.  in  the  clear,  and  20ft.  in 
height.  The  public  hall,  which  hon  been 
designed  on  the  model  of  Shorcditch  Town-hall, 
may  be  used  without  at  all  interfering  with  the 
business  of  the  parLsh.  The  co.»t  of  the  building 
is  £21,200,  and  the  contractors  are  Meiwr- 
Perry  and  Co.,  of  Bow.  The  orchitectn  ar- 
Messrs.  G.  Elkington  and  Son,  U.5,  Citunun- 
street. 

CocKERjiotrrn. — On  Thursday  week,  a  new 
Sunday-.school,  erected  in  connection  with  Chrvit 
Church,  Cockermouth,  was  opened.  The  school 
is  built  in  the  Early  Geometricul  stylf,  from 
designs  by  Mr.  W.  C.  Jennings,  architect, 
Cockennouth,  under  who.'fO  superintendence  the 
work  has  been  carried  out.  The  walls  are  con- 
structed of  Tallentire  stone,  in  cour>c-sncckeJ 
rubble,  with  skew  chiselled  dreiwingn.  The 
building  is  roofed  with  green  slates  from  Butter- 
mere  Quarries,  surmounted  with  a  red  tile 
cresting.  Besides  the  main  schoolroom  there 
are  two  cla3.s-rooras,  one  on  either  nido  of  tht 
vestibule,  each  measuring  13ft.  by  Oft.  6io. 
Over  the  vestibule  and  cla-ss-rooms  is  a  school 
for  infants,  20ft.  by  1 3ft.  The  ceiling  has  been 
decorated  by  Mr.  John  Boyd,  of  Co.-lcermouth, 
from  designs  by  the  architect. 

Dover — The  memorial-hall  and  Dover  Taber" 
nacle  was  opened  on  the  IGth  in.'-t.  The  build- 
ing consists  of  a  hall  capable  of  accommodating 
500  persons  {exclusive  of  galleries  for  which 
provision  h.is  been  made) ;  schoolrooms  for  300 
children ;  double  vestries  and  offices.  "The 
nature  of  the  site— a  narrow  frontage,  widening 
out  behind— neces^itated  special  planning.  The 
hall  being  almost  entirely  surrounded  by  ad- 
joining buildings,  light  is  chiefly  obtained  from 
a  large  lantern  in  the  roof.  'The  schools  are 
placed  in  front  on  the  1st  and  2nd  floom,  the 
u-round-floor  being  occupied  by  the  entrance 
corridor  to  hall,  staircase,  and  kitchen.  The 
whole  buildings  are  Early  English  in  character. 
The  front  Ls  built  of  rel  brick  with  Bath  stjne- 
dressings,  and  the  roofs  are  covered  with  Bangor 
slates.  The  contract  was  undertaken  for  about 
£1,SG0,  and  carried  out  by  Mr.  Bromley,  of 
Dover,  from  the  drawings  and  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Andrew  T.  Taylor. 
A  R  I  B.A.,  of  Moorgatc-chambors,  72.  tin*- 
bury-pavement,  EC.  A  pen-and-ink  drawing 
of  it  was  exhibited  in  the  last  R^iyal  Aondemy 
E.xhibition,  and  was  reproduced  by  u<  in  the 
BunJJixo  News  of  Oct.  8. 

Dt;.vsTABi.E.— A  new  torn-hall  was  opened  at 
Dunstable  on  Wedne.sday  week.  It  has  twen 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  former  one,  destroyed 
bv  fire  in  December  last,  and  is  a  much  morv- 
commodious  structure.  The  ornamental  street 
facade  remained  uninjured,  and  has  Ix-cn  re- 
paired and  retained,  and  a  new  clock- tower 
built  over  the  central  entran<-e.  This  leads  to  a 
rectangular  hall,  seating  300  pcrs-;n.v  on  the 
.rround-floor,  and  neariy  200  more  in  gallcne*. 
ft  is  lighted  by  a  glazed  roof  carried  on  pirden, 
and  also  bv  windows  on  one  side,  and  ha.«  a  per- 
manent platform.  At  the  rear  are  a  Iming- 
room  and  a  committee-room  ;  and  ?<>  'l"^  "PT/ 
floor,  over  the  kitchen  department, .,  «h«  "Jg^- 
trates-  room,  which  is  lofty  """l^  «"  ,'^'^"^j 
and  seats  200  person..  Mr.  H«?,'-y,E'''"y-ji7 
the  Strand,  London,  was  the  an-'h'^.' •  '""l  »^^ 
F  F.  White,  of  DonsUble,  the  bmldcr.  The 
cost  of  reconstruction  has  been  £1,690. 

Hoxnov. -The  chancel  of  the  parish-church 
of  St.' Michael,  Honiton,Ls  being  restored  ^d 
the  work  is  to  be  completed  by  the  3Uf  Ue 
cember  Mr.  Edward  Ashworth,  of  Exeter, 
k^-  s'nce  prepared  the  phuis.  and  under  h« 
i^meliate  sSpen-ision  the  ^'-"''O'^^^J^ 
on  for  the  hist  eight  or  nine  months.     There  wiU 


632 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


be  new  carved  oak  stalls  in  place  of  deal  green- 
baized  pews  ;  encaustic  tiles  wiU  be  laid  in  the 
avenues;  a  three-light  east  window  will  take 
the  place  of  the  former  one  of  questionable 
taste  ;  and  the  old  rood-screen,  some  oOft.  long, 
and  gracefully  groined  on  each  side,  and  the 
two  fine  old  parclose  screens,  which  run  at  right 
angles  from  it,  have  been  carefully  restored. 
The  works  are  being  carried  out  by  Mr.  Harrj 
Hems,  of  Exeter. 

KJEXSAL  New  Town. — A  new  church  is  about 
to  be  erected  at  Kensal  New  Town  for  the  con- 
gregation of  Our  Lady  of  the  Holy  Souls.  The 
architect  is  Mr.  J.  F.  Bentley,  of  John-street, 
Adelphi.  The  plan  will  consist  of  a  continuous 
uave  and  chancel,  30ft.  wide  and  about  130ft. 
long,  and  narrow  aisles  6ft.  wide.  The  church 
will  be  entered  by  a  porch  in  Edenham-street, 
divided  by  a  glazed  wooden  screen  from  the 
nave.  The  high  altar  will  be  backed  by  an 
arcading  sufficiently  in  advance  of  the  east  end 
to  form  a  passage-way  between  the  two  walls. 
In  a  space  divided  from  the  chancel  by  a  pierced 
stone  screen  will  be  the  recess  for  the  organ. 
At  the  east  end  of  the  north  angle  will  be  a 
chapel,  and  at  the  west  a  baptistery,  and  laterally 
there  will  be  recesses  for  a  Calvary  and  con- 
fessionals. The  features  of  the  church  will  be 
the  broad  spacious  nave  and  chancel,  with  low 
arches  and  tall  clerestory  windows,  from  which 
the  entire  building  will  be  lighted,  the  plain 
unbroken  barrel-vault  extending  the  entire 
length  of  the  building.  Attached  to  the  church 
will  be  sacristies  and  a  new  infant-school  added 
to  the  adjoing  schools.  The  estimated  cost  wiU 
be  about  £4,500,  and  the  works  will  be  begun 
early  in  the  new  year. 


CHIPS. 

Dr.  W.  CoUingridge,  Medical  Officer  of  Health 
to  the  Port  of  Londm,  is  delivering  a  course  of 
practical  lectures  in  connection  with  the  St.  John's 
Ambulance  Association  to  the  employes  of  Messrs. 
Cassell,  Petter,  Galpin,  and  Co.,  at" the  Memorial 
Hall,  Farringdon-street. 

Shrewsbury  Town  Hall,  commenced  in  1834  and 
finished  in  1837,  was  destroyed  bv  fire  last  week. 
The  building  was  erected  from  Sir'E.  Smirke's  de- 
sign, and  was  of  no  particular  architectural  merit, 
but  a  number  of  valuable  pictures  have  been  lost. 

The  fouudati m  stone  of  new  premises  atHudders- 
field,  for  the  Huddersfield  Banking  Co.,  was  laid 
last  week.  The  contracts  entered  into  up  to  the 
present  time  .amount  to  about  £17,000.  The  fire- 
proofing  wdl  be  done  by  Messrs.  Dennett  and  Co., 
of  Nottmgham  and  London  ;  and  the  carving  by 
Mr.  Harry  Hems,  of  Exetar.  The  building  is  being 
erected  from  the  designs  and  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  Edward  Hughes,  F.R.I. B. A.,  of 
Lord-street,  Huddersfield. 

At  Sheffield  on  Saturdav,  John  Johnson,  joiner 
and  builder,  Wincobank".  filed  a  petition  for 
liqmdation,  with  liabilities  amounting  (o  £1S,.500. 
The  principal  por:ioa  of  the  Uabilities  are  debts 
owing  upon  mortgages  of  properties  belonging  to 
the  debtor. 

On  Saturday  Mr-.  Mackie,  the  Member  for 
Wakefield,  laid  the  foundation  or  comer  stones  of 
an  enlarged  Primitive  Methodist  chapel  at  Wake- 
field. The  premises  are  now  iu  course  of  enlarge- 
ment and  reconstruction,  in  accordance  with  plans 
prepared  by  Messrs.  John  Kirk  and  Sons  of 
Huddersfield  and  Dewsbury.  The  alterations  will 
mvolve  an  expenditure  of  about  £1,000.  Messrs. 
King  and  Dunning  are  the  contractors  for  the 
bricklayers'  work,  and  Mr-.  John  Baker  is  exe- 
cuting the  joiners'  work. 

The  freehold  house,  No.  49.  Long-lane,  Smith- 
field,  adjoining  the  "Barley  Mow  Tavern,''  one  of 
the  oldest  houses  in  the  City  of  London,  having  a 
ground-iloor  area  of  only  I90ft.,  was  sold  last 
week  by  Mr.  Robins  (of  5,  Waterloo-place,  Pall 
Mall)  for  the  sum  of  £800. 

A  memorial  stained-glass  window,  executed  by 
Mr.  Ion  Pace,  of  the  Adelphi  and  Battersea,  has 
been  executed  m  Hare-coart  Chapel,  Canonburv 
as  a  memorial  of  the  late  Dr.  Raleigh.  " 

The  death  is  announced,  at  the  age  of  68,  of  Mr- 
George  Wagstaff  Yapp,  latterly  of  Wandsworth, 
but  lor  many  years  a  contributor  usually  from 
i  ranee  to  the  Building  News,  of  articles  on 
appUed  art  and  kindred  topics. 

The  Archdeacon  of  Ely,  Dr.  Emerv,  in  his  visita- 
tion charge  last  week,  referred  to  the  general  and 
marked  improvement  throughout  the  archdeaconry 
ot  ttie  material  fabrics  of  the  churches.  There 
was  not  one  church  in  Cambridge,  for  example,  on 
which  there  had  not  been,  daring  the  17vearihe 

bl'';^ho'^t^rd'^?^i:^^-^^-"  ^°"-°-«-^ 


Slore   than   Fifty   Thousand   Keplies   and 

Letters  on  subjects  ol  Univers;il  IiitiTfst  have  aiiiUJUtti  d'j-me 
the  last  ten  years  in  the  ENGLISH  MECK-VXIC  .\M)  WUKLO 
OF  SCIENCE,  most  of  them  from  the  pens  of  the  Ipa<iine 
Scientific  and  Technical  Authorities  of  the  day.  Thousands  of 
original  articles  and  scientific  papers,  and  countless  receipts  anJ 
wrinkles  embracing  almost  every  subject  on  which  it  is  possible 
to  desire  information  have  also  appeared  during  the  same  period. 
The  earliest  and  most  accurate  information  respecting  all  new 
scientific  discoveries  and  mechanical  inventions  is  to  be  found  in 
its  pages,  and  its  large  circulation  render  its  the  best  medium 
for  all  advertisers  who  wish  their  announcements  to  be  brought 


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"  BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

Edmund  (there  is  no  fee  required) ;  Sunset  (rather  late)  • 
Black  and  White,  Ept^rgos,  E.  Pilling  (no  vestrj'  i^ 
necessary  for  the  chapel)  ;  I  will  either  make  a  Shaft  or 
a  Bolt  of  it,  A  Bundle  of  Rue,  G.  Albert,  S.  Doughty. 

W.  IN-  W.  (The  top  ef  the  bookcase  might  be  made  avail- 
able for  china.}— GiLBEKTus.  [All  drawings  are  re- 
tuined  after  the  review  has  appeared.} 


TKAPPIXG  AisD  VENTILAXrXG  HOUSE- 
DRAINS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Builbino  News. 

Sib, — From  the  number  of  letters  which  haye 
appeared  lately  iu  the  Bullbexg  News,  I  judije 
that  house-drains  and  their  trapping  and  venti- 
lation now  claim  more  than  ordmary  attention. 
May  I,  therefore,  be  allowed  to  point  out  that 
what  is  required  to  be  done  is  to  prevent  stagna- 
tion of  the  air  in  any  part  of  a  drain  r 

A  house-drain  properly  consists  of  two  por- 
tions :  the  one  horizontal  or  nearly  so,  reaching 
from  the  sewer  to  the  back  of  the  house ;  the 
other  vertical,  at  the  back  of  the  house.  These 
two  portions  must  be  continuous  and  intact. 
In  such  a  drain  there  are  two  currents :  one  of 
sewage  downwards,    and  the  other  of  air  up- 


wards ;  and  although  the  liquid  sewage  will  run 
downwards  through  a  trap,  the  air  will  not  pas.-. 
upwards  through  it ;  indeed,  the  trap  i  i  placid 
there  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  pas.sagr 
of  air  tliat  way,  like  a  sentinel  in  a  guardhouse . 
At  various  points,  in  the  length  of  the  drain, 
there  are  branches  communicating  with  tht 
house.  It  is  these  branches  which  require 
trapping  ;  the  main  portion  of  the  drain  should 
have  no  trap  at  all,  except  it  be  found  possible 
to  place  one  close  to  or  very  near  the  sewer, 
and  then  a  trap  may  be  placed  there,  provided 
an  opening  for  the  admission  of  fresh  air  be 
made  on  the  house  side  of  the  trap,  so  that 
fresh  air  may  enter  the  drain  at  that  point,  and 
continue  its  course  uninterruptedly  through 
both  the  horizontal  and  the  vertical  "portions  of 
the  drains,  and  make  its  exit  above  the  roof  of 
the  house.  In  what  I  have  said  I  presuppose 
that  the  vertical  portion  of  the  drain,  which  is 
the  ventilating  pipe,  and  should  be  of  the  same 
size  as  the  horizontal  portion  of  the  drain,  is  a 
pipe  speciaUy  erected  for  the  purpose  of  a  venti- 
lating pipe  80  as  to  make  the  house-drain  con- 
tinuous and  perfect ;  and  where  such  a  pipe  is 
provided,  the  soil-pipe  of  the  water-closets  may 
discharge  into  a  trap,  and  have  an  opening  at 
its  foot  for  the  admisjiion  of  fresh  air ;  but  where 
no  special  vertical  ventilating  pipe  is  provided, 
then  the  soil-pipe  should  have  no  trap  at  its 
foot,  but  should  bo  made  continuous  with  the 
horizontal  portion  of  the  drain.  In  that  case 
the  vertical  portion  as  well  as  the  horizontal 
portion  of  the  drain  will  have  branches  upon  it 
communicating  with  the  house,  each  of  which 
should  be  trapped.  Every  branch,  both  of  the 
horizontal  and   vertical  portions  of  the  drain, 

I  should  be   as  short  as  possible  ;  but  whatever 

I  the  length  of  any  branch  may  be,  it  should  ha\'e 
a  fall  in  its  whole  length  somewhat  less  than  its 

I  own  diameter;  otherwise  it  rc<juircs  a  venti- 
lating pipe  for  itself. 

Now  if  these  principles  be  attended  to  there 
will  be  no  stagnation  of  air  in  any  part  of  the 
drain  ;  but  if  traps  are  placed  in  wrong  positions 
then  the  air  in  the  drain  becomes  increasingly 
foul  day  by  day,  because  it  is  stagnant  and  in 
contact  with  sewage,  and  sooner  or  later  it  will 

I  probably  find  its  way  into  the  house.  I  sup- 
pose I  know  all  the  methods  of  trapping  and 
ventilation  which  have  been  tried,  and  I  judge 
them  all  by  this  one  standard — whether  they 
have  any  tendency  to  create  stagnation  of  the 
air  iu  any  part  of  a  drain  or  sewer ;  and  that 
which  is  the  least  objectionable  iu  this  respeot 
I  consider  to  be  the  best  in  practice.  If  the  air 
in  a  drain  be  allowed  to  stagnate  and  become  so 
foul  as  to  be  injiuious  to  health,  we  have  no 
practicable  means  of  remedying  the  evil.  Dis- 
infectants will  not  do  it.  How  much  better, 
then,   to  allow   the  foul  air  neither  time  nor 

place  to  form  in. — I  am,  &e., 

Cbables  Slaoo. 


COMPETITIONS.  —  Ln-EBPOOL     INSTI- 
TVTE  AND  SCHOOL    OF  AKT. 

Sib,- — No  less  than  75  sets  of  designs  (em- 
bracing 598  drawings)  have  been  sent  in  for  the 
above  biiilding,  the  contemplated  outlay  on  which 
is  only  £10,000,  yielding,  therefore, "if  carried 
out,  a  commission  to  the  profession  of  £500. 

May  I  venture  to  ask  each  competitor  to 
assist  the  investigation  of  the  R.I.B.A.  Com- 
petitions Committee,  by  informing  me  by  letter 
(under  his  motto  if  he  pleases)  the  actual  out- 
of-pocket  expenses  incurred  in  preparing  his 
design,  and  also  as  nearly  as  he  can  the  amount 
of  time  expended  on  it,  by  himself  or  his  assist- 
ants, and  his  own  assessment  of  the  value  of 
such  time. — ^I  am,  &c., 

Thomas  Pop.tke,  Hon.  Sec.  E.I.B.A.  Com- 
petitions Committee. 

2,     Westminster-chambers,      Victoria-street, 
Nov.  20. 


A  HINT  TO  COMMITTEES,  LOCAL 
BOARDS,  ic. 

Snt, — May  I,  through  your  paper,  take  the 
liberty  of  advising  all  Competition  Committees 
(not  omitting  the  R.I.B.A.)  to  foUow  the  good 
example  set  by  the  committee  for  the  New 
School  of  Art,  Liverpool,  and  publish  in  the 
BuiLDLNo  News  a  list  of  the  mottoes  of  the 
drawings  that  have  been  received  ? 

Usually  competitors  cannot  tell,  before  the 
competition  has  been  decided,  whether  their 
drawings  have  been  received  at  aU,  or  whether 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


through  delay  in  transit  they  may  have  been 
received  too  late,  and  so  disquali£ed. — I  am, 
&c.,  D.  ir. 


VENTILATION  AND  DRAUGHT. 
SiE, — In  an  article  entitled  "  VentUation  and 
Draught,"  in  the  Butlddjg  Ne^s  for  Not.  12, 
it  is  stated  that,  for  dwelling-houses,  there  is 
one  objection  to  walls  which  are  impervious  to 
damp,  Tiz  ,  the  condensation  of  moisture  on 
their  inner  surface,  "but  that  this  might  be 
prevented,  to  a  great  eitent,  by  the  use  of  a 
lining  of  cork,  a  method  that  has  been  attended 
with  some  s-uccess  in  some  of  our  ironclads." 
In  a  damp  and  changeable  climate  like  ours  this 
is  a  matter  of  no  little  importance,  and  it  is  a 
question  whether  walls  buUt  of,  or  plastered  on 
their  inner  surface  with  some  impervious  mate- 
rial (such  as  Keene's  cement),  do  not,  by 
attracting  the  dampness  existing  in  the  atmo- 
sphere of  the  rooms  and  causing  it  to  condense, 
fulfil  a  healthful  and  beneficial  purpose.  I 
believe  it  was  Dr.  Richardson  who  remarked 
that  walls  of  this  description  are  a  sure  guide  to 
the  necessity  or  otherwise  of  artificial  heat  in 
occupied  rooms.  The  difference  of  feeling  ex- 
perienced on  entering  an  unwarmed  room  in 
cold,  wet  weather,  where  the  walls  are  thin,  and 
built  of  porous  bricks,  compared  with  one  where 
the  walls  are  constructed  of  soUd  concrete,  and 
impervious  to  moisture,  is  something  remark- 
able. I  submit,  therefore,  that  a  porous  waU, 
even  if  built  hollow,  to  prevent  moisture  pene- 
trating from  the  outside,  but  which  absorbs  a 
certain  amount  of  dampness  internally,  is  in- 
ferior in  healthfulness  to  non-porous  walls. 
Bricks  that  have  been  in  use  in  walls  of  stables 
are  quite  unfit  afterwards  for  house-building 
purposes,  on  account  of  their  having  absorbed 
the  impure  gases  generated  in  st  ibles ;  and 
where  the  latter  have  to  be  converted  to  other 
uses,  they  retain  their  peculiar  odour  for  years 
afterwards.  For  roof-coverings  for  stores, 
granaries,  farm-buildings,  and  temporary  struc- 
tures, galvanised  corrugated  iron  would,  in 
many  cases,  be  the  most  suitable  material,  were 
it  not  for  this  condensation,  which,  forming  into 
globules  of  water,  ultimately  drops  to  the  floor 
beneath,  or  trickles  in  little  streams  down  the 
smooth  surface  of  the  iron,  and  thence  to  the 
walls.  A  remedy  for  this  has  been  asked  for  in 
vain  in  the  columns  of  the  Bctlding  News  ; 
possibly,  if  a  lining  of  hair-felt,  or  some  good 
non-conductor,  could  be  fixed  to  the  waved 
surface  of  the  iron  by  an  adhesive  material,  it 
woald  be  a  partial  remedy.  Through- ventilation 
has  been  suggested,  but  is  practically  of  little 
use  ;  matchboard  lining  is  expensive,  and  not 
always  practicable,  as  -n-ith  curved  roofs,  for 
instance.  The  application  of  cork  as  an  ab- 
sorbent lining  to  the  ironclads  is,  I  am  told, 
only  a  partial  success,  and  requires  frequent 
renewals ;  moreover,  it  would  appear  to  be 
carried  on  in  a  very  limited  way,  as  no  adver- 
tisements relative  thereto  ever  appear  in  the 
building  journals,  and,  having  made  inquiries 
of  nearly  every  cork-merchant  in  London,  no 
information  can  be  gained  as  to  the  practice,  or 
the  proprietorship  of  the  patent — if  any  exists. 
An  inexpensive  method  of  covering  the  insides  of 
sheet-iron  roofs,  to  prevent  condensation,  and 
assist  in  making  them  better  non-conductors  of 
heat  and  cold,  is  much  needed,  and  would  un- 
doubtedly lead  to  that  material  coming  more 
generally  into  use  for  certain  purposes. — I  am, 
&c.,  Thomas  Pottee. 


633 


have  been  able  to  have  explained  some  points 
which,  by  the  reports,  appear  not  to  have  been 
clearly  imderstood.— I  am,  &c., 

H.  C.  Seddon,  Major  R.E. 
(,  Lpper  Nile  Terrace,  Rochester,  Nov.  22. 


SiE,— I  see  m  your  last  issue  that  Mr.  lugi-ess 
Bell  says  in  his  lecture  at  the  Eoval  Institute  of 
British  Architects  last  week,  that  the  best  wav  to 
warm  barracks  is  by  cpen  fire-places,  and  tbat'the 
best  open  fire-place  grateisone  made  and  perfected 
upon  suggestions  given  by  Captain  Douglas  Gilton 
In  this  matter,  I  beg  to  inform  Mr.  Ingress  Bell 
that  he  is  quite  incorrect,  for  I  never  had^the  least 
assistance  from  Captain  Douglas  Gallon,  or  from 
anyone,  when  I  brought  out  tlie  Manchester  grate 
— Jam    &c.,  E.  S.  Shoeland. 

Manchester  Grate  Works,  Manchester, 
Nov.  ■22nd. 


THE  MODERN  BARRACK— ITS  PLANS 
AND  CONSTRUCTION. 

SiE, — May  I  correct  an  omission  that  seems  to 
have  occurred  in  all  the  pubHshed  reports  of  the 
paper  upon  this  subject,  read  by  Mr.  Ingress 
Bell  at  the  Royal  Institute  of  Architects  i 

Neither  in  the  Transactions  of  that  body, 
nor  in  the  professional  papers,  is  any  allusion 
made  as  to  the  authort-hip  of  the  numerous 
designs  exhibited  at  the  meeting.  Mr.  Bell 
must  therefore  have  failed  to  make  it  clear  that 
I  was  the  designer  of  them  aU,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  elevation  of  the  Knightsbridge 
Barracks. 

In  these  several  works  I  was  ably  assisted  by 
Mr.  J.  M.  Rogers,  A.R.I.B.A.,  and  the  other 
architectural  draughtsmen  of  the  Designing 
Branch,  which  was  under  my  immediate  super- 
vision. I  regret  that  I  was  unable  to  be  pre- 
.sent  at  the  reading  of   the  paper,  as  I  should 


SiE,— In  reply  to  a  question  from  Mr.  E.  C 
Eobms,  Mr.  E.  Ingress  Bell  said,  "  that  the  stoves 
of  Captain  Galton  were  universally  used,  and  worked 
well."  Mr.  Bell  here  inadvertently  fell  iuto  an 
error,  as  we  supply  many  powerful  air  or  pedestal 
stoves  of  a  special  construction  for  these  buildings, 
and  not  unfrequently  other  stoves  :  and  as  contr ro- 
tors to  H.M.  War  Department  for  both  Capt.-iin 
Gallon's  as  well  aa  all  other  stoves,  we  should  like 
to  correct  a  small  error  that  may  nnintentionallv 
mislead.— I  am.  &c.,  G.  H.  Havwaed.  " 

Dyers'  Hall  Wharf,  9),  Upper  Thames-street, 
London,  Nov.  21. 


5nttrcommmucatt0u. 

QUI:sTIO^^s. 

;6303.]— Down-Draug-hts.— What  is  the  cause  o* 
do^-n  draughts  proceedini;  from  lai-ge  glass  sm-f aces !  How 
can  they  be  remedied  I— S".  H. 

[630i.]-Seats  in  Lecture  Hall.— What  is  the  best 
position  for  scats  in  a  lectore-hall,  and  why  !— S.  H. 

[6305.]— Dip  Traps.— Are  dip  traps  good  mean.s  for 
trapping  drains  !— S.  H. 

[6306,] -Breaking  "Weight  of  Cast-iron 
Column.  — Wliat  is  the  breaking  weight  of  a  cast-u-on 
column,  4^in,  outside  diameter,  12ft.  Sin.  long,  1  3-16 
metal .'— Iro.v. 

[6307.;  — Compass  Point.  —In  setting  out  achurch' 
should  the  magnetic  or  polar  north  he  used  ?  If  polar, 
what  is  the  variation  !— Dce-East. 

[63B.]— Cemetery.— What  is  the  Hsual  distance  kept 
between  graves  ?  Also  between  the  rows  back  and  front  - 
— Dce-East. 

;63i59.]— Specifications  for  External  Plaster 
"Work. — I  shall  be  glad  if  some  fellow-reader  will  inform 
me  whether  there  is  any  work  published  giWng  specifica- 
tions for  external  plastered  and  coloured  stucco  work,  \-c., 
with  method  of  appUcation  I-Sxrcco. 

[G310.1-Heating  by  Hot  Air.- Will  some  of  your 
l-eaders  be  kind  enough  to  say  what  is  the  best  book  pub- 
Ushed  on  heating  by  hot  air  ?  Also,  what  is  the  best  way 
to  test  the  quantity  of  air  passing  through  a  hot-air  cham- 
ber ?  Also  say  if  there  is  any  means  of  heating  stoves 
by  gas  for  warming  pubhc  buildings  ? — E.  J.  G. 

[6311  ]— Plaster  Coves  to  Eaves.— Will  any  of 
our  practical  readei-s  give  their  opinion  on  the  following  : 
— I  am  constiTicting  a  cove,  and  am  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
materials  are  best  suited  for  outside  work  of  this  kind.  .\s 
I  notice  in  some  coves  cracks,  and  the  colour  is  anything 
but  a  pure  white.  I  want  mine  both  white  and  free  from 
cracks. — You.ng  Sti'pent. 

[6312.1- Wood  Beam.— It  is  desired  to  strengthen  a 
wooden  beam  in  a  store  in  order  that  it  maycarry  greater 
weights.  What  would  be  the  best  means  of  effecting  this 
without  removing  it  or  placing  supports  under  ?  Some  of 
your  correspondents  may  have  had  experience  in  such  a 
case.  The  beam  is  lOJin.  X  8Jin.,  and  the  span  in  the 
clear  13ft.  6m.- Qua. 

[0313.]— American  Barrel.— Can  any  reader  say 
how  many  English  gallons  of  water  are  contained  in  an 
American  barrel  of  water !— W.  G.  S. 


[G290.]— Surveyors'  Charg:es  for  Quantities.— 
It  is  usual,  when  a  builder  employs  a  sur\-eyor  to  take  out 
quantities  for  him,  to  make  some  arrangement  that  he  is 
paid  a  small  percentage  if  the  work  is  lost,  and  the  usual 
commission  if  the  biuldergets  the  contract.  The  surveyor 
could  hardly  legaUy  recover  the  usual  commission  for 
work  not  earned  out,  thoutrh  he  would,  no  doubt,  endea- 
vour to  do  so,  and  the  builder  would  be  subject  to  the  un- 
certainty of  the  law.— G.  H. 

[6295.]— Joists  on  Girder.— In  a  similar  case,  where 
I  did  not  hke  to  trust  to  a  small  bearing,  I  had  stu-rup- 
irons  made,  pasing  over  the  upper  flange  and  chpping 
it,  upon  which  to  rest  the  joists.  Or  they  might  be 
secured  in  their  places  by  having  wrought-iron  straps 
made  to  clip  the  upper  flange  of  girder,  andtoscrew  at  the 
other  end  to  the  joist. — G.  H.  G. 

[6296.]-Damp'Walls.— There  is  littledoubtthat  the 
discolouration  proceeds  from  damp,  and  the  only  remt-dy 
is  to  batten  or  to  knock  off  the  plaster  and  cement.  Per- 
haps there  is  no  damp-course.  If  not,  one  should  be  in- 
serted.—<J. 


[sass.l-Party-Wall.-The  following  are  the  rules 
as  o  exercise  of  rights  by  biulding  and  adjoining  ownTrs! 
11. .1  No  buddmg  owner  shall,  except  with  consent  of  the 
aajommg  owner,  or  m  cases  where  any  paity  structure  is 
oangerous,  m  which  cases  the  provisions  hereby  made  aa 
to  dangerous  structures  shall  apply,  exercise  any  right 
hereby  given  m  respect  of  any  partj-  structure  unless  he 
nas  given  at  least  three  months'  previous  notice  to  the  ad- 
jommg  owner  by  dehvering  the  s,.me  to  hun  personally,  or 
by  .sending  it  bv  post  in  a  registered  letter  addiassed  to 
such  owner  at  his  last  known  place  of  abode."  Another 
rule  says,  •'^o  buildmg  owner  shaU  exercise  any  right 
hereby  given  to  him  in  such  a  manner  or  at  such  a  time 
as  to  cause  unnecessaiy  inconvenience  to  the  adjoining 
owner.  '  A  note  to  this  clause  is  appended  by  Mr.  Patei" 
son,  m  his  edit  on  of  Woohych's  Building  Act,  to  the  fol- 
lowing effect :  That  it  does  not  impose  on  an  owner  pull- 
ing down  a  buddmg  and  party- wall,  any  duty  to  protect 
.<  hoarding  or  otherwise,  and  "  under  the  pi-esent  Act 
the  buddmg  owner  is  not  bound  to  pay  for  damage  neces- 
saiilj- done  to  the  premises  of  adjoining  owner.  The 
remedy  of  the  adjoming  owner,  if  anv,  would  be  by 
action."  In  the  case  mentioned  by  ••'Surveyor,"  the 
damage  is  slight.  It  would  appear  .also  that  no  notice  is 
required  before  removing  a  building,  if  the  party-wall  is 
not  distui-bed.- G.  H.  G. 

[6299.]— Felt  on  Church  Eoof.-Good  felt  would 
not  rot  off  as  asserted.  Much  depends  on  its  quality,  and 
also  the  mode  of  laying  it.  It  is,  doubtless,  belter  to  give 
a  space  for  cu-culation  of  an:  between  the  boards  and  the 
fell  and  slates.- G.  H.  G. 


STAINED   GLASS. 

Felstead.— A  memorial  window  has  just  been 
fixed  at  Felstead  School  Chapel,  to  the  memory  of 
the  late  Lieut.  Hamilton.  This  young  officer,  it 
will  be  remembered,  fell  at  CabuT  while  leading  a 
charge  in  defence  of  the  Embassy  after  the  death 
of  Major  Cavagnari.  The  window  has  been  pre- 
sented by  the  scholars  on  the  foundation.  Ihe 
window  is  a  three-light,  containing  ia  the  centre 
the  figure  of  Abraham ;  and  on  either  side  the 
subjects  of  the  rescue  of  Lot  and  the  sacrifice  of 
Isaac.  The  window  was  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
Gibb  and  Howard,  of  Londm,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  F.  Chancellor,  architect  to  the 
school. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &c. 

The  Eotal  Histoeical  Society.— In  this 
Society's  Booms  last  Friday  evening,  a  number  of 
members  assembled  to  present  to  Lord  Aberdare, 
the  president,  a  terra-colta  bust  of  himself,  from 
the  studio  of  Mr.  Henry  Harvey,  sculpt' t,  a  Fellow 
of  the  Society,  and  a  pupil  of  Dalva.  Mr.  Harvey 
won  the  Goldsmiths'  prize  in  1879  for  the  best 
model  design.  Dr.  Zerifi  made  the  presenta- 
tion. 


LEGAL    INTELLIGENCE. 

Ijtpoetaxt  to  Butldees. — George  Henrj'  List, 
builder,  of  Stafford  House,  Clapton-park,  appeared 
at  Highgate  Police-court,  on  Monday,  to  answer 
several  summonses  chargiuij  him  with  having  failed 
to  give  notice  to  the  Finchley  Local  Board  of 
Health  that  he  was  going  to  cover  the  f  jundations 
of  a  house,  with  having  erected  a  house  having  two 
external  walls  of  insufficient  thickness,  and  with 
building  a  house  without  first  depositing  plans  with 
the  Board.— Evidence  was  given  in  support  of  the 
summonses  by  two  surveyors,  Mr.  Brooking  and 
Mr.  de  Pape,  and  the  defendant  appUed  for  an  ad- 
journment on  the  ground  that  the  summonses  did 
not  signify  what  houses  the  Board  referred  to,  and 
he  was,  therefore,  totally  unprepared  to  meet  the 
case.  He  wished  to  say  that  he  had  no  desire  to 
evade  the  by-laws  of  the  Local  Board,  hut  was,  on 
the  other  hand,  most  willing  to  carry  them  out  to 
the  letter.— Mr.  Bodkin  said  that  the  summonses 
were  perfectly  plain.  He  should  impose  a  penalty, 
but  it  would  not  be  imposed  for  a  month,  and  if  in 
the  mean  lime  defendant  complied  with  the  by- 
laws, it  would  be  a  very  nominal  one,  but  he  must 
pay  the  costs  of  the  prosesution,  £9  Us.— The 
money  was  at  once  paid. 

I.VCEEASE  IN  Value  of  Peopeety.— An  arbi- 
tration case  has  been  part  heard  at  Bradford;  rela- 
ting-to  the  value  of  two  shops  fronting  ^\  illiam 
Brown-street  and  other  adjoining  property  in 
Livesey-place,  which  Hie  Corporation  are  about  to 
acquire  under  compulsory  powers  from  Mr.  J.  G. 
Martin.  Mr.  Edward  Mills  is  the  umpire,  and  Mr. 
Ellis  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Weightman  are  arbitrators, 
and  the  inquiry  was  held  on  the  Clh  and  20th  mst. 
1  he  property,  comprising  •5-53  -5-9  square  yards,  as 
claimed,  and,  according  to  the  Corporation  sur- 
veyors,  446  square  yai-ds,  was  purchased  by  Mr. 
Martin  at  an  auction  in  Angus*,  li>n,  for  i4,D.>iJ, 
and  remained  in  the  same  condiHon  as  when  par- 
chased.  The  claimant's  three  valaers--Mr.  Thomas 
Clarke,  Mr.  Owen  Williams,  and  Mr.  E;'berl  Wvhe 
-deposed  thai  the  properly  was  worth  £}0m, 
£12  178,  and  £10,962,  varving  from  £lb  to  £20  per 
vard.  On  the  part  of  the  Corporation,  Mr.  Cor- 
iielius  Sherlock,  Mr.  W.  H.  Picton,  and  Mr. 
Edmund  Kirbv,  made  valuations  of  £4,(-5'<,  i.i,4iO, 
and  £4,722.  "The  arbitrators  and  umpire  have 
postponed  their  decision. 


634: 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Nov.  26,  1880. 


Lateeai,  Support  op  Adjoinino  Land.— The 
commissionees  of  public  woeks  aud  buixdings 
AND  Dalton  V.    Angus. —This  cas3  came  before 
the  House  of  Lords  oa  November   18th.      It  is  an 
appeal  brought  by  the  appellaots,  the   defendants 
bilow,    against  an  order  of  the  Court  of  Appeal 
reversing  a  decision  of  the  Queen's  Bench  Division, 
setting  aside  a  verdict  in  favour  of  the  respondents, 
the     plaintiffs    below.      Sir    John   Holker    Q.C., 
Mr.  Hugh  Shield,  and   Mr.    A,    G  ithorne- Hardy 
appeared     for     the     Commissioners     of     Works ; 
the  Solicitor- General  .and   Mr.   Wheeler  fjr   the 
appellant    Dalton ;    and   Mr.   Littler,    Q C,    Mr. 
Gainsford  Bruce,    and    Mr.    Kidley   for    the    re- 
spondents.    The  respondents,    Messrs.   Angus  aud 
Company,  arecoachbuiUlersatNewcastle-on-Tyno. 
In   1849  they   converted   a   dwollinghouse   in    the 
Westgate-road  into  a  cjach  factory  and  warehouse. 
In    the  process  of  conversion  they  removed   the 
internal  walls  of  their  building,  and  erected  on  their 
own  soil,  close  to  and  in  contact  with  the  adjacent 
premises,   since  purchased  by  the  appellants,   the 
Commissioners  of  Works,  a  large  stack  of  brick- 
work serving  the  twofold  purposes  of  a  chimney- 
stack  and  of  a  support  to  the  main  girders  which 
had  to  be  put  in  to  sustain  the  floors.      These 
girders  were  inserted  into  the  stick  on  the  one  side 
and  into  the   respondents'  wall  on  the  other,  and 
fonued  the  main  support  of  the  upper  stories  of  the 
factory.    The  respondents  made  these  alterations 
without  any  direct  grant  from  the  owner  of   the 
adjoining  premises  of  any  right  of  lateral  support, 
or  any  assent  on  his  part  to  the  use  of  such  support 
or  knowledge  that  the  same  was  in  fact  enjoyed. 
The  appellants,  the  Commissioners  of  Works  and 
Public  Buildings,  hiving  purchased  the  adjoinin" 
house  in  order  to  erect  a  Probate  Office  on  its  site" 
contracted  with   Mr.    Charles    Dalton,    the   other 
appellant,   that  he   should   execute    the  proposed 
works  for  them.    By  the  contract  and  specification 
so  entered  into  it  was  provided  that  the  contractor 
should  erect  and  complete  the  work  and  all  things 
necessary  to  be  done  in  and  about  the  same  in  a 
thoroughly  substantial  and  workmanlike  manner, 
conformably  to  tlie  specification  and  general  con- 
ditions, and  that  he  should  shore  up  the  adjoining 
buildings  and  make  good  all  damage  (hit  might  be 
caused  thereto  during  the  progress  of  the  works. 
Mr.  Dalton,  in  the  course  of  the  execution  of  the 
work,    excavated   the  ground    adjoining  the  re- 
spondents' premises,  leaving  a  thick  pillar  of  clay 
round  the  respondents'  stack  of  brickwork  for  its 
support,  and  also  placed   shores  to   support  the 
respondents'  building.  Notwithstanding  these  pre- 
cautions, however,  the  ground  beneath  the  chimney- 
stack  gave  way,  and   the    respondent's  buildiu" 
losmg  its  main  support,   fell.      The  respondents 
thereupon  brought  an  action  against  the  appellants 
(the  Commissioners)  and  the  contractor  for  the  loss 
occasioned  by  the  fall  of  their  building,  which  was 
tried  at  the    Newcastle    Summer    Assizes    187G 
before  Mr.  Justice  Lush  and  a  special  jury|  when 
a  verdict  was  fouud  for  the  plaintiffs,  with  £1  943 
damages.     On  the  case  coming  before  the  Queen's 
Bench  Division  for  j  udgment,  the  Lord  Chief  Justice 
and  Mr.  Justice  Mellor,  Mr.  Justice  Lush  dissenting 
decided  that  the  plantiffs  had  no  right  to  the  lateral 
support  of  the  adjacent  soil,  aud  gave  judgment 
in  favour  of    the  defendants.      That  judo-oient 
however,  was   reversed  by  the  Court  of  Appeil' 
consisting  of  Lord  Justice  Cotton  and  Lord  Justice 
Thesiger,    Lord    Justice    Brett    dissentinf       The 
appeal  from  the  judgment  of  the  Utter  Court  was 
partly   argued    before    the    House    of    Lords    in 
November  last,  when  their  lordships  directed  that 
the  cause   should    stand    over    until  the  learned 
Judges  could  attend  to  assist  the  House  with  their 
opinion  on  the  questions  of  law  raised.     Sir  John 
Holker,  Q.C.,  on  the  18th  inst.,  in  arguing  the  case 
on  behalf  of  the  appellants,  contended  that  no  user 
however  long,  could  give  a  right  to  lateral  support, 
ihe  right  to  such  support  might  be  acquired  by 
express  grant,  or   in  the  event  of  the  adjoining 
owner  contracting  not  to  disturb  his  neighbour's 
support,  but  it  could  not  be  acquired  by  mere  pre- 
scnption  or  by  the  presumption  of  a  lost  grant   in- 
asmuch as  the  adverse  owner  wjuld  have  no  mean 
of  preventing  such  a  right,  if  it  could  exist  at  law, 
from  being  acquired.    He  submitted  that  the  cases 
relatmg  to  the  right  to   light   outside  of  the  Pre- 
scription Act   had  been   decided  upon   erroneous 
prmciples,  aud  he  should  have  to  ask  their  lordships 
to  overrule  them   or  to  decide   that  there   was  no 
analogy  between  the  right  to  light  and  that  to 
lateral  support. -Lord   Blackburn:  The  cases  you 
ask  us  to  overrule  range  over  the  last  150  years   if 
not  even  from  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth.— Sir  J 
Uolker  hoped  to  be  able  to  convince  their  lordships 
that,  independently  of  the    Prescription  Act,  there 
was  no  common-law  right  to   light   o-iven  by  ''0 
years   user.    The  learned  counsel  then  proceeded  to 
>n   T.    >    ^^'"dmill  case"    (Webb   v.    Burr"  Ifl 
O.  B.,     N.  S.  268),  in  which  it  was  held  that  the 
owner  of  a  wiudmill,  which  h.d   stood  for  more 
t.aan  20  years,  had  no  ground  of  action  against 
an    adjoining     owner     who     erected     a     house 
in     such      a    position     as      to     interfere 
the    access     of     the       '    " 


"Smokecase"    ("Bryant  v.  Lefevre,"   "  L.  R," 
C.P.D.  173),  in  which   it   was  held   that  26  years' 
user  gave  no   easement   which  prevented  a  neigh- 
bour from  so  building  as   to   cause   the  adjoining 
owner's   chimney   to   smoke  ;    and  the    "  Confec- 
tioner's  case"    ("  Sturges    v.    Bridgeman,"    "L 
R.,"  U,  C.  D.,  So2),  in  which   it   was  determined 
that  a  confectioner  had   not  acquired  a  right  by  20 
years'  us  r  to   use  an   engine  which  disturbed  a 
surgeon    in    his    uewly^erected   consulting-room. 
The  learned  counsel   also   referred   to   the   case  of 
"Humphreys  v.  Brogdeu "    (12    "  Q.    B.,"    7o7), 
aud   to   several  American    cases.      Even  if   their 
Lordships   should    be   of   opinion   that  a  right  to 
light  could  be  acquired   by   20  years'  user,  he  con- 
tended that,  inasmuch  as  the  light  could  be  inter- 
cepted, while   the   lateral   support   could   not   be, 
there   was   no   analogy    between   the   two   rights. 
The  Legislature,   by  dealing  with   the  question  of 
lights,    specially    showed    that    these  prescriptive 
rii^hts     ought      not      to     be     extended     further. 
He      further      submitted      that      in      any      case 
the     Commissioners      were     not     liable    for     the 
negligent    act     of      an     independent     contractor. 
The  arguments   on   behalf   of  the  aiiellants  were 
resumed  on  Friday  last  by  the  Solicitor-general,  who 
appeared  for  the  contractor,  Mr.  Dalton,  and  sub- 
mitted thjt  the  right  claimtd  by  tha  respondents, 
would  only  be  acquired,  if  at  all,  by  express  grant, 
prescription,   or  the   implication    of  a  lost   grant. 
Acquiescence  might  well  be  implied  if  a  man  sub- 
mitted to  that  for  which  he  had  a  legal  remedy, 
but  how  could  a  man  be   said  to  submit  to  a  neigh- 
bour obtaining  a  right  to   lateral  support  Y     Was 
he,  in   order   to  prevent  his   neighbour  acquiring 
such  a  right,  to  dig  out  his  land  every  19  years  and 
I'^t  his  neighbour's  house  fall  into  the  hole  ?     The 
law  as  to  ancient  lights  stood  upon  an  anomalous 
footing,   but    he    admitted  that  it  was   too   well 
settled  now  for  any  attempt  to  disturb  it  to  be  suc- 
cessful.    The   right   to   lateral   support,    howev 
was  not  patent,  like  that  to  light.     No  practical 
iucnnvenience   had   resulted    in  America  from  its 
having  been  held  that  such  a  right  could  not  be 
acquired  hy  user.     He  further  submitted  that  there 
was  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  original  grant 
had  been   lost.     On  Monday  Mr.  Littler,  Q.C.,  on 
behalf    of    the    respmdents,    submitted    that    the 
respondents'   house    and   factory   having   been   in 
existence  since  the  yoir  1819   without  alteration, 
they  were  entitled  as  of  right  to  have  them  sup- 
ported by  the  soil  adjacent  thereto  without  inter- 
ruption by  the  apellants.    The  fact  thut  the  premises 
had  been  in  existence  so  long  raised  a  presumption 
that  they  were  entitled  to  that  right,  and  such  pre- 
sumption   had    not    been    rebutted.      Either    the 
apellants  had  had  full  notice  of  the  support  in  fact 
enjoyed  by  the  factory,  or  else  the  onus   lay  upon 
them  to  show  that  they  had  not  had  such  notice. 
On  the  question  of  the  liability  of  the  employer  or 
of  the  contractor,  he  submitted  that  inasmuch  as 
the    work    authorised    by    the    Commissioners  of 
Works  was  in  itself  woik  from  which  injury  might 
naturally  be   expected  to  be  caused  to  the  "respon- 
dents' factory,  the    Commissioners  could   not  dis- 
charge themselves  from    their    legal  liability  by 
employing  a  contractor  to  e.xecute  the  work.     On 
Tuesday  Mr.  Ridley  addressed  for  the  respondents. 
At   the    conclusion   of   the    arguments,   the    Lord 
Chancellor  put  the  following  question  of  law  to  the 
learned  Judges  :  First,  has  the  owner  of  an  ancient 
building  a  right  of  action  against  the  owner  of  land 
adjoining  it  the  la'ter  disturbs  his  land  so  as  to 
take  away  the  lateral  support  previous-ly  afforded 
by  such  land?    Secondly,   is    the    period   during 
which   the  plaintiffs'  house   has  stood   under   the 
circumstances  stated  in  the  case  sufficient  to  give 
them  the  same  right  as  if  their  house  was  ancient  ? 
Thirdly,  if  the  act  dona  by  the  defendants  would 
have  caused  no  damage  to  "the  plaintiffs'  building 
as  it  stood  before  the  alteration  made  in  1819,  is  it 
necessary  to  prove  that  the  defendants  or  their  pre- 
decessors in  title  had  knowle  Ige  or  notice  of  these 
alterations  in  order  to  make  the  damage  done  by 
their  agent  in  removing  the  lateral  support  after 
the   lapse     of    27     years     an     actionable  wrong  r 
Fourthly,  if  so,  is  it  sufficient  to  prove  knowledge 
or  notice   of    the  fact  that  such  alterations  we're 
made,  or  is  it  necessary  also  to  prove  knowledge  of 
their  effect  in  causing  the  buildings  so  altered  to 
require  a  degree  of  lateral  support  from  the  ad- 
joining   laud    which     was    not    before    needed  i- 
Fiithly,  was  the  course  taken  by  the  learned  Jud'e 
at  the  trial  of  directing  a  verdict  for  the  p!a!atiffs 
correct,  or  ought  he  to  have  left  an v  question  to 
the  jury?    The  learned  Judges  having  asked  for 
aud  obtained  time  to  consider  their  opinions,  the 
furtier  consideration  was  adjourned  sine  ilk. 


O^ut  (BWitt  ^Mt 


wind 


the    mill ; 


with 
the 


A  new  organ  was  opened  in  the  English  Presby- 
terian Church,  Brunswick-square,  Camberwell,  on 
Thursday  week.  It  has  been  built  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  J.  R.  Murray  by  Messrs.  Maley 
Young,  and  Oldknow,  of  St.  Pancras,  and  contiins 
a  great  organ  and  swell  organ,  each  of  .56  notes,  a 
pedal  organ  of  30  notes,  and  various  accessory 
movements.  The  front  of  organ  is  composed  of 
lower  octaves  of  double  and  open  diapasons. 


On  Monday  night  the  first  of  the  Cantor  Lec- 
tures, in  connection  with  the  Society  of  Arts,  for 
the  present  session,  was  delivered  at  the  Society's 
house,  John-street,  Adelphi.  The  subject  was 
"  Some  Points  of  Contact  between  the  Scientific 
and  Artistic  Aspects  of  Pottery  and  Porcelain," 
and  the  lecturer  was  Professor  A.  U.  Church, 
M.A.  Oxon,  F.C.S.,  who  fills  the  chair  of 
Chemistry  at  the  Royal  Academy.  Opinions 
differed,  he  said,  as  to  the  effect  of  scientific 
knowledge  on  art  manufactures.  Some  appealed 
to  the  consummate  beauty  of  certain  Greek  vases 
to  show  the  needlessncss  of  a  knowledge  of 
chemistry  and  physics  for  the  production  of  the 
most  perfect  ceramic  works,  and  even  wont  so 
far  as  to  arg-ue  that  it  was  sure  to  end  in  artistic 
disease — nay,  in  the  death  of  true  beauty. 
Science,  they  told  us,  crushes  imagination  and 
poetry  out  of  man's  handiwork.  On  the  other 
.•>ide,  the  devotees  of  Science  insisted  she  must  be 
mistress.  Nothing  could  be  satisfactory  save 
mathematical  precision.  Happily,  there  was  a 
third  eroup  of  persons  interested  in  art  manu- 
factures, who  were  prepared  to  welcome  help 
from  every  quarter.  They  called  in  the  chemist 
to  analyse  old  materials  and  hunt  up  new,  and 
they  prized  highly  traditional  knowKdjj:e  and 
skill  which  had  handed  on  from  age  ,  o  age  the 
sense  of  beauty  ;  but  they  would  not  bear  with 
dull  uniformity  and  stagnation.  They  might 
wish  to  chasten,  but  never  to  quench,  the  in- 
di^-idual  originality,  which  could  bear  no  more  to- 
be  everlastingly  moulding  the  same  pot  than 
the  true  painter  could  endure  to  bo  always  turn- 
ing out  replicas  of  even  his  best  pictures.  Pro- 
fessor Church  explained  that  his  purpose  in  the 
course  of  his  lectures  was  to  note  the  relations 
between  the  chemical  and  the  physical  qualities 
of  some  kinds  of  earthenware  and  china,  as  well 
as  their  artistic  qualities  as  apprehended  by  the 
trained  eye. 

At  Wednesday  night's  meeting  of  the  Society 
of  Arts,  Sir  Henry  Cole,  K.C.B.,  in  the  chair,  a 
paper  on  "The  Influence  of  Barry  on  English 
Art,"  was  read  by  Mr.  J.  Comyns  Carr.  It  be- 
gan with  a  reference  to  the  inlroducti  >n  to  James 
Barry  in  1788  of  the  young  Irish  artist,  Martin 
Archer  Shee,  who  40  years  afterwards  rose  to 
be  President  of  the  Royal  Academy.  Starting 
from  this  introduction,  Mr.  Carr  remarked  on  the 
contrast  between  the  more  supple  ami  brilliant 
Irishman  and  his  fellow-countryman  as  reflected 
in  their  several  careers.  Barry's  biography  was 
briefly  sketched,  as  furnishing  the  clues  alike  to 
liis  strength  and  liis  weaknesses.  His  absorp- 
tion in  Iiis  studies,  from  his  early  ubaudunment 
of  a  .seafaring  life  for  the  profession  of  a  painter, 
was  all-devouring.  He  often  sat  up  all  night  to 
his  work.  At  20  he  painted  that  picture  of  St. 
Patrick's  first  landing  on  tlie  Cashel  coast  which 
attracted  Burke's  attention,  and  led  to  a  lasting 
friendship  between  the  great  statesman  and  him- 
self. Mainly  througli  Burke's  genero.-ity,  Barry 
visited  Rome.  The  painter's  relations  with  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  who  took  a  genuine  interest  in 
his  career,  were  also  touched  upon.  With  all 
Barry's  many  and  serious  faults,  there  was  in 
the  whole  history  of  art  no  more  notable  instance 
of  absolute  devotion  to  an  ideal.  His  quarrel 
with  the  Academy  brought  before  us  both  the 
best  and  the  worst  sides  of  the  man's  nature. 
But  he  was  dealt  with  too  harshly.  He  might 
have  been  justly  deposed  from  his  chair,  but  he 
ought  not  to  have  been  expelled  from  the  body 
of  the  Academicians.  The  lecturer  said  he  would 
not  on  that  occasion  attempt  either  to  expound 
the  merits  or  mark  the  defects  of  Barry's  paint- 
ing. His  most  important  work  was  before  the 
eyes  of  the  audience.  The  discussion  on  the 
paper  was  opened  by  the  chairman,  who  assigned 
to  Barry  very  high  rank,  as  compared  not  only 
with  his  contemporaries  at  home,  but  also  on  the 
Continent. 

Me.  WnxiAjj  M.  'WooLLETr,  of  Albany,  a 
well-known  American  architect,  is  dead.  The 
father  of  the  deceased  was  employed,  as  architect 
or  superintendent  of  construction,  upon  tlie 
Delavan  House,  as  well  as  other  important 
buildings,  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago.  The  son's 
work  was  for  the  most  part  of  a  different  cliarac- 
ter,  his  taste  inclining  him  to  the  study  of  pro- 
blems more  modest  but  perhaps  of  greater 
artistic  interest.  The  book  which  he  published 
not  long  before  his  death,  entitled  "  Old  Homes 
Made  New,"  illustrates  the  success  which  liad 
attended  his  efforts  in  a  special  branch. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


ZOXDOy,  FRIDAY,  DECEMBER 


THE  "NATURE  THEORY"  AT  THE 
BAR  OP  FACT. 

IN  an  age  like  this,  when  scarcely  any- 
body, except  the  scientific  man,  uses  his 
ow  eyes,  and  when  most  people  are  ready 
to  act  on  any  theory  that  is  plausibly  and 
eloquently  set  forth,  there  can  be  few  greater 
services  than  that  of  calling  popular  theories 
in  question.  If  they  are  true,  they  will  only 
gain  strength  by  examination,  and  if  they 
are  wholly  or  partially  falsf ,  the  sooner  they 
are  torn  to  pieces  the  better.  A  theory  of 
the  latter  class  we  believe  to  bo  that  which 
asserts  that  all  the  arts,  and  architecture 
amoDgst  them,  should  be  based  on  the  imita- 
tion of  Nature.  Nearly  thirty  years  have 
passed  since  the  idea  was  first  imposed  on 
the  world  by  Mr.  Ruskin.  TTi^  eloquent 
declamation  has  been  echoed  and  re-echoed 
by  the  great  majority  of  art-critics  ever 
since  ;  but,  in  architecture  at  least,  the  first 
example  of  any  permanently  satisfactory 
work  done  by  acting  on  it  has  yet  to  be 
seen.  The  whole  affair  has  begun  and  ended 
in  talk.  "  Go  to  Nature — copy  Nature,"  has 
been  the  cuckoo-cry  in  nearly  every  address 
to  art  students,  architects  included,  for 
many  years  ;  but  no  architect  and  no  outsider 
that  we  know  of  has  done  any  architectural 
work  worth  looking  at  by  acting  on  the 
advice.  This,  of  course,  may  be  the  fault  of 
modem  architects,  so  the  best  plan  \vt11  be 
just  to  turn  back  and  see  how  far  ancient 
architects  copied  Nature. 

Before  doing  this,  however,  it  may  be 
well  to  state  once  more,  plainly,  and  side 
by  side,  the  "  Imitation  of  Nature  "  dogma, 
and  the  tentative  hypothesis  which  we  sub- 
mit as  being  nearer  to  the  true  facts  of  the 
case.  Art,  says  Mr.  Ruskin,  is  the  ex- 
pression of  man's  delight  in  God's  work  :  as 
long  as  men  copied  that  work,  architecture 
advanced  ;  as  soon  as  they  copied  their  own, 
it  declined.  Our  own  generalisation  will  be 
in  much  humbler  language.  It  is  as  far 
from  our  wish  as  from  our  power  to  treat  of 
matters  like  architecture  in  the"  style  of  the 
ancient  prophets ;  all  we  aim  at  is  to  see 
things  as  they  are,  and  to  help  others  to  see 
them  so.  Doing  this,  it  appears  to  us  that 
the  one  indispensable  thing  in  all  art,  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest,  is  arrangement ; 
the  putting  things  together  so  as  to  affect 
the  mind  by  contrast,  by  repetition,  or  by  a 
miiltitude  of  other  devices.  One  art  puts 
one  kind  of  things  together,  and  another  art 
another  kind.  The  things  may  be  words  and 
ideas,  as  in  poetry  ;  they  may  bo  imitations, 
more  or  less  remote,  of  Nature,  as  in  painting 
and  figiu-e  sculpture  ;  they  may  be  inven- 
tions, as  in  some  of  the  best  architecture 
and  ornament ;  they  may  be  copies  of  human 
work,  as  in  some  of  the  best  architecture 
also;  or  they  may  be  natural  objects,  as 
they  often  are,  in  the  elementary  forms  of 
art  devised  by  uncultivated  races.  There 
are  arts  to  which  the  imitation  of  Nature  is 
essential ;  there  are  other  arts  to  which  it  is 
not  essential ;  and  of  these  last,  architecture 
is  one.  We  differ  from  Mr.  Ruskin,  first,  in 
asserting  that  the  highest  and  purest  forms 
of  architecture  do  not  necessarOy  copy 
Nature ;  and,  secondly,  in  asserting  that 
they  may,  and  generally  do,  copy  human 
work.  It  is  a  question  about  facts,  which 
ought  to  be  easily  decided ;  and  as  the 
Nature-theory  seeks  to  found  itself  mainly 
on  Gothic  practice,  by  Gothic  buildings  it 
shall  be  tried.  We  shall  make  no  special 
search  for  examples  to  upset  the  one  theory 


635 


or  support  the  other  ;  the  building  selected 
shall  be  a  fair  specimen,  and  one  of  those 
generally  looked  upon  as  the  best  of  their 
kind. 

As  an  example  of  pure  and  refined  Gothic, 
then,  of  that  early  period  when  men,  as 
Mr.  Ruskin  assures  us,  copied  God's  work 
and  not  their  own,  take  Salisbury  Cathedral. 
Look  at  it  first  in  mass,  and  then,  since 
time  would  fail  to  dissect  the  whole— take 
some  one  portion  complete  in  itself,  and  ex- 
amine the  detail.  It  would  require  a  xvnA 
imagination  indeed,  to  trace  a  likeness 
between  the  cathedral  in  mass,  and  any 
natural  object  whatever.  The  long,  straight, 
level  lines  of  the  ridges  are  like  none  which 
Nature  delights  in.  They  might  have  been 
curved  like  the  profiles  of  hUls,  or  jagged 
like  those  of  distant  mountain  chains.  The 
roofs  might  have  been  rounded,  or  ngeed, 
or  treated  in  a  thousand  ways  which  Nature 
suggests  by  her  ever-changing  forms  ;  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact  they  are  simply  gabled  ; 
made  of  two  straight  lines  meeting  at  an 
angle.  So  it  is  with  the  general  composition 
throughout.  No  doubt  the  central  tower 
and  the  arrangement  of  transepts  and  pro- 
jections give  a  sort  of  pyramidal  massing  to 
the  whole  ;  and  anyone  determined  to  find 
resemblances  to  Nature  might  see  in  this 
some  faint  and  far-away  imitation  of  a 
mountain.  A  mountain  is  highest  near  the 
middle  and  lowest  near  the  sides ;  so  is 
Salisbury  Cathedral ;  and  so,  too,  are  a 
great  many  other  things  which  have  to 
stand  firm  and  to  look  firm.  We  need  not 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  Switzerland,  or  even 
to  Scotland,  to  learn  that  a  pyramid  is  a 
form  of  great  stability  ;  and,  without  think- 
ing of  Alpine  peaks,  we  may  naturally 
enough  give  visible  stability  to  our  work  by 
piling  it  up  in  somewhat  of  a  pyiMinidal 
form.  This  is  about  the  nearest  .approach 
to  Nature-copying  which  we  can  see  in  the 
general  massing  of  Salisbury  ;  and  if  archi- 
tecture reaUy  Ues  in  copying  of  this  sort, 
there  is  far  more  architectm'e  to  be  seen  at 
Stonehenge.  Let  us  pass  to  the  details  :  the 
north  transept  will  be  a  convenient  place  in 
which  to  examine  them. 

The  north  elevation  of  this  transept  con- 
sists, in  its  central  part,  of  three  stages,  a 
plinth,  and  a  gable.  It  is  a  striking  and 
pleasing  example  of  arrangement.  There 
are  large  double  buttresses  at  each  angle, 
and,  in  the  two  lower  stages,  a  couple  of 
smaller  buttresses,  dividing  the  front  into 
three  parts.  Each  of  these  parts,  on  the 
stage  next  above  the  plinth,  is  occupied  by 
a  fine  single  lancet  window.  Eai;h  part  on 
the  story  above  has  a  two-light  window  ; 
two  lights,  that  is,  imder  one  arch,  with  a 
circle  or  foUed  figure  between  the  arch  and 
the  heads  of  the  lights.  The  minor  but- 
tresses end  here,  -with  gabled  heads.  The 
third  stage  is  fiUed  with  an  arrangement 
made  up  of  a  larger  two-Light  window,  two 
panels  of  an  arcade  on  each  side,  and  a 
blank  quatrefoil  above  each  pair  of  panels. 
Finally,  the  gable  has  a  stiU  richer  and 
more  efffective  arrangement.  Below  the 
coping  is  a  bold  moidding,  taking  the  form 
of  a  cinquefoil  arch,  and  enclosing  <aU  the 
space  beneath  ;  and  into  this  cinquefoU  are 
fitted  the  heads  of  two  two-light  windows, 
and  a  richlj'-cusped  spherical  triangle.  In 
all  this,  there  is  surely  a  great  deal,  an 
overwhelming  majority,  which  is,  in  no 
sense,  imitation  of  Nature  ;  there  is  much 
which  is  human  invention  of  a  high  and  suc- 
cessful sort,  and  there  is  something,  by  no 
means  inconsiderable,  whichis  pure  imitation 
of  human  work.  We  may  grant,  if  anyone 
likes  to  contend  for  it,  that  the  plinths  and 
string-courses  have  some  resemblance  to  the 
lines  of  stratification  or  bedding  in  a  rook- 
face.  A  stratified  rock  is  built  up  of  layers  ; 
so  is  a  cathedral ;  and  a  certain  amount  of 
resemblance  is  therefore  inevitable.  But  we 
do  not  find  that  Nature  in  any  of  her  pro- 
ductions,   animal,     vegetable,    or  mineral,  i 


makes  a  usual  practice  of  marking  off  the 
base  from  the  superstructure  by  distinct 
Imes,  analogous  to  a  plinth.  Rooks,  oftener 
than  not,  rise  in  lines  or  sweeps  from  base  to 
summit ;  trees  pass  from  the  spreading  root 
to  the  slender  stem  with  no  set  off  to  mark  the 
transition,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  feet 
and  liiubs  of  anirajils.  A;  plinth  is  a  hiunan 
mvention.  Originally  it  seems  to  have  been 
the  top  course  of  the  many  courses  of  foot- 
mgs,  which,  for  mechanical  reason?,  have  to 
form  the  base  of  a  wall.  A  builder  who 
sought  to  do  as  Nature  docs,  would  cither 
have  kept  this  top  course  below  the  ground, 
as  Nature  is  apt  to  do  in  rocks  and  preci- 
pices, hiding  it  out  of  sight,  or  would  have 
eased  it  off  into  a  gradual  and  graceful 
curve,  as  she  does  with  the  supporting 
limbs  of  trees  and  atimals.  The  plinth,  in 
short,  would  have  never  existed  at  all,  had 
even  the  most  remote  and  generalised  imita- 
tion of  Nature  been  desired,  much  less  if  that 
constant  study  and  minute  copj-ing  which 
we  often  hear  of  had  taken  place  in  reality. 
It  is,  however,  one  of  the  most  essential, 
most  important,  and  most  conspicuous 
features  in  almost  every  first  -  rate 
Gothic  biulding,  from  the  earliest  to 
the  latest  times— a  piece  of  architec- 
tiure  proper,  of  beautiful  and  appropriate 
human  design.  Next  to  the  plinth  come 
the  lancet  windows,  their  heads  being,  of 
course,  pointed  arches.  The  pointed  arch, 
we  have  heard  over  and  over  again,  is  beau- 
tiful, because  it  resembles  a  leaf-form.  The 
resemblance  is  a  distant  one,  and  if  there 
is  any  truth  in  the  theory,  the  arch  would 
be  improved  by  making  it  a  closer  copy. 
Leaf  forms  are  generally  of  varying  curva- 
ture, not  made  up  of  circular  arcs;  more 
frequently  than  not,  they  are  reversed  or 
ogeed  towards  the  point.  Let  anyone  build 
a  pointed  arch  to  the  exact  curve  of  the 
most  beautiful  leaf  he  can  find,  and  then  see 
how  he  and  other  people  like  it.  Let  him 
look  at  those  pointed  arches  which  in  the 
Later  Gothic  are  reversed  or  ogeed  at  the 
summit,  and  are  by  so  much  nearer  to 
Nature,  and  see  whether  they  are  better  or 
worse  than  the  earlier  lancet  ones.  If  copy- 
ing Nature  is  the  royal  road  to  success,  it  is 
strange  that  the  more  closely  we  copy  it  the 
worse  our  work  should  get.  Let  us  leave 
for  a  moment  this  theory,  which  no  elo- 
quence less  than  Mr.  Raskin's  could  ever 
have  imposed  on  people  who  go  about  with 
their  eyes  open,  and  try  calmly  to  write  down 
what  in  this  transept  of  Salisbury,  we  really 
see  before  us. 

Starting  from  the  ground,  then,  we  first 
come  upon  a  boldly-moulded  double  plinth 
or  base-course :  a  piece  of  necessary  con- 
struction, exhibited,  and  made  architec- 
tural. It  is  wanted  mechanically,  to  widen 
the  wall  out,  and  make  it  stand  securely.  It 
is  wanted  architecturally,  to  bind  the  whole 
building  into  one,  and  to  set  off  by  contrast 
the  vertical  lines  of  the  buttresses  and  en- 
dows. It  is  moulded  to  make  it  more  con- 
spicuous, and  to  add  to  its  beauty,  on  a  near 
view,  by  the  gradated  or  contrasted  lights 
and  shades  of  the  rounds  and  hollows.  Above 
the  plinth,  we  come  to  the  lancet  windows. 
Their  heads  are  pointed,  because,  if  we  go 
backto  the  origin  of  the  thing,  it  was  found, 
about  the  middle  of  the  12th  century,  that 
a  puzzling  vaulting- problem  could  h^  best 
solved  by  using  pointed  arches  in  the  groin- 
in  «■  ;  and  because  it  was  afterwards  felt  that, 
for  the  sake  of  artistic  harmony,  pointed 
arches  ought  in  that  case  to  be  used  every- 
where. The  heads  of  the  lancets  are  moulded 
for  the  same  reason  that  the  plinth  is  ;  but 
they  are  also  recessed  in  orders.  Why  is 
this  ?  This  recessing,  in  the  case  of  a  small 
arch,  is  a  copy  of  an  architectural  invention 
meant  at  first  fur  large  ones :  an  example  of 
that  forbidden  thing,  the  imitation  of  human 
work  for  ornament.  In  a  small  arch,  such 
as  that  of  a  lancet  window,  there  is  no  prac- 
tical use  or  constructive  reason  for  building 


636 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


if  in  recessed  orders;  and  ia  many  small 
windows  the  two  or  more  orders  are 
actually  cut  out  of  one  and  the 
same  stone.  But  in  large  arches  there  is 
such  a  reason :  the  inner  order  or  ring 
being  once  turned  by  means  of  a  light  cen- 
tering, it  forms  itself  the  centering  on  which 
the  next  order  can  be  turned,  and  this  again 
the  centering  for  the  next.  This  plan  once 
adopted,  it  was  with  the  building  of  arches 
in  recessed  orders  or  rings,  as  it  was  with 
the  building  of  them  in  a  pointed  shape : 
the  form  employed  iu  the  main  arches  for 
use  was  copied  in  the  minor  ones  for  orna- 
ment. Eetuming  to  our  lancet  window,  we 
find  that  each  order  of  the  arch  rests  upon  a 
capital,  and  this  upon  a  jamb-shaft  and 
small  column  and  its  base.  More  correctly 
speaking,  it  appears  so  to  rest.  In  point  of 
■fact,  the  jamb-shaft,  or  imitation  column,  is 
as  pure  a  piece  of  ornament  as  a  crocket,  or 
a  dripstone  termination— and  the  proof  of 
rthis  is,  that  in  hundreds  and  perhaps  thou- 
sands of  cases  the  jamb-shafts  have  fallen 
•  out  of  old  doorways  and  windows,  and  yet 
the  arches  stand  us  well  as  ever.  Every  one 
•of  the  miiltitude  of  jamb- shafts  which 
adorn  all  first-class  Early  English  buildings, 
lis  a  plain,  unmistakable  imitation  of  human 
work  used  for  ornament — a  small  copy  of  a 
column,  just  as  the  favourite  decoration  of 
Perpendicular  buildings  is  a  small  copy  of  a 
buttress.  Take  away  from  any  great  Gothic 
building,  either  Early  or  Late,  all  the 
instances  in  which  human  work  is  copied 
by  way  of  ornament,  and  you  leave  little 
more  than  a  well-proportioned  example  of 
clever  engineering. 

We  have  not  yet  spoken  of  the  transept 
buttresses,  either  principal  or  secondarj-. 
These  are  not  copies  from  Nature,  whether 
near  or  remote  :  neither  are  they,  as  a  whole, 
imitations  of  other  human  work.  They  arc 
■'beautiful  and  useful  pieces  of  architectural 
invention  ;  detaOs  of  that  class  whose 
skilful  arrangement  goes  to  make  up  the 
highest  type  of  architecture  proper.  Their 
beauty  lies  partly  in  their  obvious  fitness  for 
ttheir  purpose  ;  partly  in  the  gradated  light 
and  shade  given  tc  them  by  their  splayed 
angles ;  and  partly  in  the  artistic  manages 
ment  of  their  offsets,  and  in  their  general  ex- 
cellence of  proportion.  All  this  beauty  is 
enhanced  tenfold  by  the  arrangement  of  the 
transept  end  ger.erally,  which  makes  each 
buttress  look  exactly  the  right  thing  in  the 
right  place  ;  and  emphasises  its  verticality  by 
ihe  contrast  of  strings  and  plinths,  and  its 
massiveness  by  the  contract  of  delicate 
iracery.  Even  so  pure  an  example  of  ins 
vention  as  the  buttress,  however,  could 
hardly  be  finished  without  some  little  bit  of 
imitative  human  work ;  and  we  find  its 
faighest  wtatherir.g  or  cipping  to  beagablet 
and  finial.  This  weathering  might  have 
been,  like  the  rest,  a  mere  slope  of  one  sort 
or  another  ;  it  might  have  been  a  copy, 
close  or  far  away,  of  a  thousand  natural 
forms  which  would  have  lent  themselves  to 
its  machanical  purpose  ;  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  is  an  imitation,  and  is  meant  to  look 
like  ai  imitation,  of  a  gabled  roof -end.  In 
the  finial  which  adorns  it,  we  come,  for  the 
first  time,  to  something'  that  can  be  clearly  re^ 
cognised  as  natural  ;  yet  even  here  the 
•foUage  is  no  direct  copy.  The  carver  did  not 
imitate  —as  modern  naturalistic  carvers  do 
— a  bunch  of  majjle  leaves,  or  oak-leaves,  or 
strawberry-leaves,  just  as  they  grow,  or  just 
as  they  look  when  they  have  ceased  to  grow. 
He  studied  Nature,  on  the  contrary,  to  see 
iiow  she  expres-'es  life,  anu  invented  his 
leaf-forms  himself.  Treatise-writers  tell  us 
that  Early  English  fol'age  is  copied  from 
the  Water-avens — a  rather  scarce,  wild  plant 
which  few  of  our  readers  may  ever  have 
seen.  Those  who  have  seen  it,  by  the  bums 
of  Northumberland  and  elsewhere,  will 
readily  confess  that,  whether  it  suggested  a 
conventional  type  to  13th-century  work- 
man or  not,  it  ■would  have  been  worth   no 


more  to  10th-century  ones  than  any  other 
plant  they  have  tame-ly  copied.  The  trefoil 
leaves  of  lancet- work  may  have  been 
imitated  from  it,  as  they  may  from  the 
Wood-sorrel,  or  the  Clover;  but  the  irre- 
pressible life  and  growth,  which  fill  all  that 
work  with  strength  and  crispness  and  spring, 
is  not  to  be  found  in  this  plant  more  than 
in  others.  It  seems  to  be  a  study  from 
many  plants,  at  a  time  when  they  are  first 
bursting  from  the  ground  after  winter  ;  but 
not  a  copy  of  them,  even  then.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  a  tenfold  exaggeration  of  all  by 
which  they  manifest  power  and  vigorous 
life.  The  Early  Gothic  carver  made  it  his 
business  to  discover  what  expresses  life, 
growth,  and  freshness;  and  having  once 
found  the  secret,  he  applied  it  to  -whatever 
forms  it  pleased  his  imagination  to  devise. 
He  had  got  hold  of  the  life  of  Nature,  so 
that  his  buildiuijs  look  alive  and  gro-wing 
\vith  it  to  this  very  hour.  He  could  well 
afi'ord  to  leave  his  successors  of  six  centuries 
later  the  lady-like  amusment  of  tracing-off 
leaf-  edges  and  trying  to  cut  out  fern-profiles 
in  stone. 

We  have  little  space  left  to  analyse  the 
rest  of  our  selected  example.  In  the  third 
stage,  and  the  transept  gable,  are  several 
two-light  windows,  with  cusped  circles  in 
the  heads  ;  there  is  also  a  sort  of  gigantic 
cuspin^  below  the  raking  lines  of  the  gable, 
and  there  are  some  irregular,  unpierced 
quatref  oils,  whioh  serve  to  fiU  blank  spaces 
of  walling.  The  cusped  circles  may  be  com- 
pared, no  doubt,  to  a  plan  or  top  view  of 
certain  flowers,  having  as  many  pe'als  as 
there  are  foils  in  the  design.  Gothic  folia- 
tions, however,  are,  in  all  but  a  few  rare 
and  exceptional  cases,  circular  in  their 
curvature  ;  flower-petals  are  seldom  or 
never  so.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  nearer  the 
imitation  is  to  Nature  the  worse  it  becomes 
as  art,  and,  if  there  is  any  reminiscence  of 
floral  outline  in  the  case,  it  is,  and  ought  to 
be,  only  a  very  slight  and  distant  one.  The 
gable-cusping,  too,  in  whioh  there  is  no  sort 
of  reminiscence  of  the  kind,  is  quite  as 
effective  and  beautiful  in  its  way  as  the 
circle-cusping.  Below  the  gable  an  the 
arches  of  a  blank  arcade,  carried,  or  rather 
appearing  to  be  carried,  on  shafts,  with  caps 
and  bases  ;  and  here,  of  course,  are  more 
imitations  of  human  work,  by  way  of  orna- 
ment ;  while,  on  the  upper  pinnacle,  behind 
the  west  buttress,  we  find  yet  another.  A 
pinnacle  is  simply  a  mass  of  masonrj-  put 
above  a  buttress  to  steady  it  by  its  weight ; 
to  aid  the  buttress,  in  short,  to  resist  the 
outward  thrust  of  the  vaulting.  There  is  no 
structural  reason  for  making  it  into  one 
shape  rather  than  another,  and  here,  if  any- 
where, a  builder  who  felt  it  to  be  the  essence 
of  his  art  to  imitate  Nature,  could,  and 
would,  have  given  to  that  feeling  the  most 
boundless  freedom.  What  he  really  did,  in 
this  case,  was  to  cut  the  pinnacle  into  a 
cluster  of  eight  imitative  columns  or  shafts, 
with  caps  and  bases  ;  to  cover  them  -with  an 
imitative  roof  or  spire,  and  to  put  a'ong 
each  angle  of  this  imitative  spire  an  imi- 
tative roU,  copied  from  those  of  leadwork. 
Summing  up  the  whole  results  of  our  sur- 
vey, then,  we  find  close  copies  of  Nature 
absolutely  nowhere.  We  find  the  nearest 
approach  to  copying  in  the  smallest  and 
least  important  details,  such  as  the  flnials, 
and  a  far-off  and  doubtful  approach  to  it  in 
the  cusped  circles  of  the  window-heads.  We 
find  unmixed  humin  inventions  in  the  but- 
tresses, the  plinths,  the  string-courses,  the 
arches  and  tlie  gable ;  in  all  the  great  and 
important  features,  namely,  of  the  whole 
design.  Lastly,  we  find  copies  of  human 
work  for  the  purpose  of  decoration  almost 
everywhere;  in  the  jamb-shafts,  in  the 
arch-orders  of  the  lancets,  iu  the  blank 
arcades,  iu  the  gabled  buttress  cappings,  in 
the  columnar  pinnacles,  in  their  spire-like 
heads,  and  even  in  the  very  angle-rolls  which 
adorn  them.     This,  be  it  remembered,  was 


in  that  pure  and  virtuous  period  when, 
Mr.  Euskin  tells  us,  that  architeiture  rose 
higher  and  higher,  because  men  copied  God's 
work,  and  not  their  own.  "  Clear  your 
mind  of  cant,"  said  Dr.  Johnson  ;  and  Mr. 
Ruskin's  most  distinguished  friend  has 
never  -«veariod  of  repeating  the  advice.  It 
would  be  well  for  us  all  to  take  it,  and,  in 
spite  of  plausibility  and  spurious  pietism,  to 
try  manfully  at  seiing  things  as  they  are. 


PONTEFRACT  TOWN-HALL. 

AS  we  stated  last  week,  about  59  designs 
have  been  sent  in  for  the  alteration  of 
this  old  town-hall  at  Pontefract.  In  the 
conditions  issued  to  competitors  (which 
appiar  to  have  been  very  loosely  worded) 
there  appears  to  have  been  no  particular 
style  of  design  specified  in  which  the  work 
was  to  be  carried  out,  and,  consequently, 
there  is  the  same  difficulty  in  deciding  which 
is  the  best  design.  In  selecting  a  few  of  the 
best  for  our  criticism  this  week,  we  do  not 
arrange  them  in  order  of  merit,  for  the 
reason  we  have  stated,  but  just  name  a  few 
out  of  which  the  referee  (Mr.  George  Corson, 
of  Leeds)  will  probably  select  those  which 
are  to  take  premiums. 

On  the  whole,  the  designs  are  not  of  a 
very  higb  order,  but  still  btt'cr  than  could 
have  been  expected  for  such  premiums. 
There  is  a  great  similarity  in  a'l  of  them 
in  consequence  of  a  large  hall  b  ing  re- 
quired by  the  conditions,  which  furthermore 
limit  the  cost  to  £7,000,  inclusive  of  archi- 
tect's commission. 

"  Renaissance  "  shows  on  the  ground-floor 
a  large  vestibule  adjoining  the  old  hall  in 
Bridge-street,  with  a  recess  for  a  fire-engine 
and  constables'  chambers,  and  magistrates' 
room  on  one  side  and  town-clerk's  on  the 
other,  with  a  council-chamber  in  the  comer 
having  a  separate  entrance  into  B.ixter-gate. 
Adjoining  this  are  several  rooms  used  as 
committee- rooms  and  rcoms  for  borough- 
surveyor.  Opposite  the  main  entrance  is  a 
fine  new  staircase  (with  lavatory  and  w.c. 
conveniently  near  thereto).  The  staircase 
to  firat-floor  leads  direct  to  the  assembly- 
room,  and  the  old  town-hall  is  left  intact. 
Th-re  are  retiring-rooms  and  w.c.'s  in  a 
c  mvenient  position  and  well  lighted.  The 
section  through  the  hall,  which  is  well 
executed,  shows  the  interior  off  very  well, 
ha-ving  granite  pilasters  around,  and  coved 
cornices.  'I'he  elevition  shows  a  Queen  Anne 
design,  having  a  circular-headed  door  with 
octagonal  tower  over.  The  windows  are 
large,  with  label-moulds  over,  and  the  side- 
entrance  doors  are  arranged  in  the  windows, 
which  are  used  as  fan-lights  and  side-lights- 
There  are  also  arranged  dormers  with  circular 
windows  and  .segmental-headed  windows 
alternately  along  the  elevations  to  Baxter- 
gate  and  Bridge -street. 

The  design  by  "  Straight  and  True  "  has 
certainly  the  merit  of  being  conceived  on  the 
right  principle,  as  the  ofBce  for  the  town- 
clerk  and  borough-surveyor  are  located  at 
the  side  of  thebuUding,  and  could  be  madeto 
form  one  suite  of  rooms.  While  the  main 
entrance  is  arranged  in  Bridge-street  with  a 
fire-engine  room  and  a  police-office  on  one 
side,  the  other  side  is  occupied  with  the  other 
necessary  offices,  and  at  the  back  of  these, 
lighted  from  the  yard,  is  a  building  arranged 
for  a  kitchen  or  post-office.  Facing  the 
principal  entrance,  and  connected  to  the  old 
entrance,  are  the  stairs,  leading  to  the  hall 
by  two  large  entrance-doors  with  retiring- 
rooms  0  1  each  side.  The  old  building  is  not 
touched,  thus  reducing  the  expense.  The 
elevation  to  Bridge -street  shows  a  tower 
over  the  entrance  door  (^ which  has  a  semi- 
circular head,  and  is  very  wide  and  well  pro- 
portioned), and  in  the  centre,  between  the 
tower  and  the  angle,  is  a  Queen  Anne  win- 
dow to  light  the  haU,  carried  into  the 
roof  in  the  form  of  a   gable.      The  Baxter- 


I 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


gate  frontage  shows  a  centre  two-light  win- 
dow, and  a  two-light  window  on  either  side. 
forming  dormers  into  the  hall,  with  square 
windows  to  the  ground-floor. 

"  Dum  Spero  Spiro  "  has  its  old  hall  on 
the  right  of  the  new  main  entrance  converted 
into  a  county-court,  with  a  post-office 
arranged  to  the  front  of  the  present  building, 
and  under  the  old  assembly-room.  The  offices 
are  otherwise  very  like  'he  design  marked 
"  Straight  and  True  "  in  the  main  features. 
The  town-clerk"s  office  adjoins  the  entrance, 
and  the  Baxter-gate  frontage  is  taken  up 
with  the  borough-surveyor  and  constables' 
offices,  and  a  separate  entrance  for  the 
police.  Xo  arrangement  is  made  for  a  fire- 
engine,  and  the  large  hall  is  situated  over 
the  entire  new  building.  The  elevation  is 
Classical  and  of  very  good  proportions,  very 
similar  to  the  Conservative  Club  at  ilan- 
chester,  with  a  panelled  ground-story,  and 
columns  above  two  stories  high,  colonnade 
over,  with  vases  ;  every  part  seems  well-pro- 
portioned. The  entrance,  with  a  semicircular 
head  and  carved  spandrels,  is  very  rich. 
Windows  with  circular  heads  are  placed 
between  the  columns,  and  a  tower  is  placed 
over  the  main  entrance,  which  would  better 
have  been  left  out.  The  quadrant  corner 
at  the  junction  of  Baxter-gate  and  Bridge 
street,  is  very  efl^ective. 

The  drawings   sent  under  the   motto    of 
"  Queen  Anne  "  must  also  be  placed  among 
the    good    designs.       The    plans   are  very 
similar,  in  all  respects,  to   the   first-named, 
and  the  elevations,  which  are  well  got-up. 
are   very  characteristic  of   the  motto.     "We 
can  also  speak  well  of  a  verj-  good  design  by 
"  A  Venture,'"  in  which  the   chief  entrance 
is  in  the  footpath  in  the  centre  of  the  new 
wing.     The  old  wing  is  altered   to  be  suit- 
able   for    post-office     and    rooms    for   the 
police,  and   are  connected  to   the  new   en- 
trance  in  the  footpath  ;  while   in   Baxter- 
gate  are     arranged   the    committee-rooms, 
connected    with    an    ante-room,    which   no 
other  design   shows,    and   at   the  side   the 
town-clerk's  office,  and  office  for  the  borough- 
surveyor,     'i he  chief  drawback,  however,  to 
this  design,  and  it  is  a  serious  one,  is   the 
defective  lighting,  as  it  is  found  necessary 
to  light  the  town-clerk's  general  office  and 
the  County-court,  and    County-court  office 
by  borrowed  lights,  and  in  the  judges'  room 
this  is  not  attempted,  and  neither  light  nor 
ventilation  can  be  had.     The  chief  merit  of 
the  design  is  its  good  elevation,  of  a  Classical 
character,    with    effective    windows  on  the 
ground-floor  giving  charactei-  to  the  whole, 
while  the   eleven  lofty  windows    over-em- 
phasise the  position  of  the  To\^Ti-hall.     The 
tower  in  this  design,  unlike  any  before  men- 
tioned, is  at  the  angle  of  Baxter-gate  and 
Bridge-street,  and  this  leaves   room    for   a 
graceful  gable  in  the  centre  of  the   front  to 
Bridge -street,   of    the    Queen    Anne    style 
(which,  by  the  bye,  is  very  prevalent  iu  the 
designs),  and  has  canopied  windows  to  the 
first   floor.      "Ours"   possesses  many  good 
points  in  composition,    and   has    the   main 
entrance-door  in  Bridge-street,  which  con- 
ducts to   a  hall  connected  with  a   corridor 
12ft.  6in.  wide,  from  which  access  is  obtained 
to  the  committee-room,  town-clerk's,   and 
borough-surveyor's  offices,  and  ratt -office, 
which  take  up  all  the  frontage  to  Baxter- 
gate.      The    lavatory    and    w.c.     are    well 
lighted,  and  a  very  efficient  staircase  leads 
direct  from  the  principal  hall  on  the  grormd- 
floor   to  the   reception- hall,  which   is    well 
lighted ;  also  the  retiring-rooms  are  formed 
at  the  end  of  thehall,  which  has  the  comers 
splayed  off.     The  old   town -hall  is  altered 
into   a  court,  and  the  magistrates'  room  is 
parcelled  out    of    the    old    circidar    room 
There  are   three  entrances  to  the  hall,  and 
w.c.    and    lavatory    are    handy.      A   plain 
Classical   elevation  is   shown,  which  shows 
neat     elevation     without    any   superfluous 
carving  (except  on  caps  to  pdisters)  or  other 
expensive   work,    exhibited    on    too   many. 


between  which  couplet  windows  are  placed]    TJ^^.^rl^  °{:   •     °'   t'liild-ngs  not   far   from 


havmg  circular  heads.  A  good  tomice  is 
placed  above  this,  and  other  pilasters  are 
shown  of  gren  height  above  those  of  the 
ground-floor,  between  which  are  eight  lar^e 
circular-headed  windows  to  light  the  hall.  In 
the  blocking  coxirse  of  the  cornice  above,  the 
chimneys  are  arranged,  and  a  tower,  with  a 
dome  cap,  surmounts  all.  This  tower  has  a 
square  basement,  from  which  it  is  built 
octagonal  on  plan,  with  no  apparent 
covering  to  the  corners. 

"  Castle  "  is  a  good  design.  The  entrance 
is  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  Bridge-street 
frontage;  the  post-office  is  arranged  in 
the  old  building  at  the  front  of  the  present 
building,  and  a  passage  connects  the  en- 
trance to  the  new  entrance.  The  borouo-h- 
surveyor's  office  is,  in  this  design,  very 
properly  put  next  the  main  entrance,  and 
the  tJ^\•n-clerk's  offices.  &c..  occupy  the 
Baxter-gate  frontage.  The  stairca  e  to  the 
first  floor  is  in  part  detached,  and  turning 
first  to  the  rigLt,   is  well  lighted,  and  lands 


Pontefract  being  erected  at  a  much  lower 
pnce  per  cube  foot. 

NEW  BDILDINGS  IN  THE  CITY. 

'pHERE  are  even  yet  some  parts  of  the 
1^*1  l^  '^^  appear  to  have  undergone 
iittle  change  since  the  groat  rebuilding  in 
the  l,tn  century.  Hound sditch  is  one  of 
these  stagnant  localities— still  largely 
occupied  by  Jews  and  brokers.  Aldgate  is 
anotfier  old  thoroughfare  ihat  has  little 
changed  since  its  gate  wa^  pulled  down,  and 
even  Fenchurch-street  yet  retains  traces  of 
ttie  architecture  which  followed  the  Great 
Fire.  Here  and  thereareindioationscf  rebuild- 
mg.  At  the  comer  of  Lime-street,  a  large 
site,  having  an  area  of  ■1,.'500  square  feet,  is  to 
be  disposed  of  for  building,  the  plans  of  which 
have  been  prepared  by  Messrs.  Glutton.  In 
Gracechurch-street,  adjoining  Half-Moott- 
passage,  the  new  Leaienhall  Market 
is  progressing,  but  the   antiquary  may  find 


^^t\,^^  ft    iT        ..I.     <:  "  ^■^"■"T' ""."  " -I  more   interest  in   the  remains  of  the  Late 

aUer/t;i  7A  r^^i'"''^;-^  small  corbels  and  stringcourses  in  the  old  stone 
alteration  would  be  needed  by  mafang  more  well  standing  on  one  sid,  of  the  site,  appa- 
than  the  one  door  shn-wn    n«  tv-tior.  tt.o  n.,..^-      ii-_  ^v  _   .  .       .  -"v  o.,v,  u^jpn. 


than  the  one  door  shown,  as  when  the  corn 
dors  are  crowded  with  dancers   (for   which 
purpose  the  new    room  is  particularly  re- 
quired),    great     inconvtnitnce     would     be 
experienced    for    want   of    a   second   door. 
Ante-rooms     are     shov\-n     at     the     end   of 
the  hall,  connected   with  the   ground  by  a 
private   staircase,    which   leads   direct   to  a 
door   in   Baxter-gate.      The      elevation  to 
Bridge-street   is   excellent,    with   a  broad, 
dignified  character  :  a  square-headed  Clas- 
sical door  in  the  centre,  and  three  circular- 
headed    windows    to    the    right,    and  two 
similar  couplet   windows  on  the  left  of  the 
entrance,    between   which    quarter-columns 
are  placed.     The  first-floor  windows  display 
much  real  merit,  and  are  loftier  than  those 
on  the  ground-floor,  having  also   canopies 
over.      Corinthian   caps   are  shown   on  the 
columns  and  a  cornice  with  a  colonnade  over 
is  well   relieved   by   the   chimneys   used  as 
panels  therein,  while  vases  are  placed  at  the 
ends.  A  very  weak  octagonal  tower  is  placed 
over   the   door,    which   lacks  character  and 
spoils  an  otherwise  good  elevation.    Another 
design   by  the   same    author  shows  similar 
treatment   upon   the  whole,  with  a  circular 
oriel  on  the  first  floor.     There  is  an  air  of 
sameness   about  this   design,   and  we  prefer 
the  one  first  noticed.     Twm  competitors  have 
chosen  "  1.S80  "  as  their  motto.     The  one  in 
room   No.    6  shows  a  wide  entrance    from 
Bridge-street,    and   a   circular   staircase   to 
first  floor.     The  old  building  is  used  on  the 
ground-floor  as  police-office    rooms,   while 
above   this,    the   room   formerly  used  as  a 
town-hall     now  forms   a   council-chamber. 
In  the  new   building   the   ground-floor    is 
taken  up  with  the  town-clerk  and  borough- 
survejor's  offices,  and  a  committee-room,  all 
facing  Baxter-gate.     No  provision  is  made 
for  post-office,    or  fire-engine,   or  kitchen. 
The  assembly-room  on  the  first  floor  appears 
to  be  the  only  one  lighted  from  both  ends  as 
well  as  the  front,  and,  by  so  doing,  the  old 
circular  room  is  to  be  used  in  the  proposed 
new  building  as  a  retiring-room.     The  ele- 
vations  are   broad   Classic,  with    circular- 
headed  windows  and  columns   between ;  a 
plain  blocking  course   is   similar    in   many 
ways   to  the  existing  building,   and  allows 
a  plain  substantial  job  to  be  made  of  it. 

If  the  people  of  Pontefract  get  any  of  the 
designs  which  we  have  noticed  built,  they 
will  have  no  occasion  to  complain,  although, 
with  the  building  trade  as  depressed  as  it  is 
in  Yorkshire,  we  do  not  take  such  a  de- 
spondent view  of  the  idea  of  building  what  is 
practically  but  little  more  than  one  large 
room  on  the  first  floor,  with  the  ground- 
floor  utilised  as  corporation  offices,  for  a  sum 
of  7d.  per  foot  cube,  more  especially  as  a 
reat  part  of  the  building  is  r.-ugh  work,  not 


rently  the  remnant  of  a  monastery.  'The 
waU  shows  the  positions  of  seven  corbek 
and  two  long  stringcourses,  and  the  lower 
part  has  the  appearance  of  once  having 
formed  the  side-wall  to  a  refectoiy. 

Comhill  shows  a  few  signs  of  activity.  The 
new  budding  for  the  Loudon  and  Lancashire 
Life  Company  and  Fire  Assurance  Associa.- 
tion  win  have  an  important  frontage  of 
stone.  Coupled  coluiuns  are  introduced 
between  the  windows  ;  the  latter  are  of 
three  lights,  and  have  transoms,  and  the 
stone  mullions  are  carved  as  balusters  above 
the  transom.  Messrs.  CoUs  and  Sons,  of 
CamberweU,  are  the  contra;t-ors  for  the  work. 
Just  above,  another  striking  building,  in  a 
style  which  we  may  call  Xoo-Grec— French  in 
feeling — is  to  be  seen,  the  most  noticeable 
points  about  it  being  the  -.vindows,  with  their 
raking  cornices  inclosing  a  kind  of  Greek 
honeysuckle  ornament,  the  rustications  in  the 
upper  stories  in  alternate  .ourses,  the  fret 
iu  the  upper  frieze  and  the  panels  between 
the  lower  windows.  The  details  are  wanting 
in  refinement,  and  we  may  add  that  there 
are  few  styles  which  cxa^t  more  thought 
and  knowledge  in  their  :ompositiou  than 
this,  and  hence  it  will  slowly  win  its  way  a-s 
a  popular  style  for  street  architecture. 

In  a  similar  style,  the  new  "Standard 
Life  Insurance  Office,''  in  King  William- 
street,  deserves  notice  for  the  bold  manner 
its  architect,  Mr.  Stanley,  has  turned  A 
very  awkwardly- shaped  site  to  accoimt. 
From  the  Bank  e^d  of  the  street,  the  very 
acute  angle  of  the  building  detracts  much 
from  the  architectural  efFe;t  as  seen  from  this 
point ;  the  building,  indeed,  has  the  appear- 
ance of  a  huge  wedge  or  screen,  which  inge- 
nuity has  scarcely  been  able  to  disguise.  The 
angle  has  been  returned  square,  and  is 
adorned  with  pUasters,  but  the  sharjdy  re- 
ceding side-wall  leives  it  almost  like  a 
soUtary  structure.  Walking  down  the  street, 
however,  this  dlusivc  effect  is  lost  in  the 
boldness  of  the  facade.  The  elevation  is 
nearly  divided  into  two  halves  ;  the  lower 
part  forms  a  massive  substnoture,  including 
a  lofty  entresol,  with  polished  red  granite 
pilasters  running  through  both  stories,  sur- 
mounted by  a  massive  entablature  of  the 
same  material.  The  entresol  is  divided  from 
the  ground-story  windows  by  a  deep  g^nite 
strmg  incised  with  the  Greek  fret.  Above, 
the  composition  is  of  two  stories  of  stone, 
adorned  by  three-quarter  olumns  of  the 
Corinthian  order,  and  supporting  a  deep 
cornice  resting  on  consoles.  The  detail.? 
and  ornamentation  are  thoroughly  Greek  in. 
spirit;  the  re<i  granite  pilasters  are  relieved  by 
sunk  ornament  of  conventional  kind,  and  the 
capitals  are  enriched  by  incised  ornament  of 
the  honeysuckle  order,     ^h-^   angle  of  th& 


638 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


biiilding  on  the  south  side  is  canted,  and 
has  blank  windows  ;  these  are  also  enriched 
by  ornament  of  a  similar  kind.  The  fret 
band  of  granite  that  divides  the  lower  story 
from  the  mezzanine  gives  support  to  the 
substructure,  and  the  window  reveals  are 
enriched  by  carving  in  a  quiet  and  refined 
manner.  In  the  upper  stories  balconettes 
are  introduced  over  the  first-floor  windows, 
and  the  faces  of  these  are  relieved  by 
effective  surface  ornament  of  overlajiping 
discs.  There  is  a  quietness  and  dignitj-  in 
the  general  treatment  and  proportion  that 
commends  itself ;  the  lofty  basement  adds 
much  to  the  imposing  quality  of  the  facade, 
and  the  carving  is  carefully  restricted  to 
surface  relief,  and  is  neither  obtrusive  nor 
vulgar. 

A  narrow  frontage  is  always  a  difficult 
problem  to  the  architect.  He  has  to  provide 
for  a  plate-glass  front  and  a  tier  of  windows 
above ;  there  is  no  room  for  interfenestral 
display  such  as  columns  or  pUasters,  and 
he  has  boldly  to  design  the  front  without 
reference  to  treatises  on  Italian  or  Gothic, 
for  he  wiU  find  little  to  help  him  in  the 
works  of  his  predecessors.  The  common 
■way  of  getting  over  the  difficulty  is  to  take 
a  vertical  strip  from  a  palace — a  bay,  iu 
short,  and  to  make  this  fit  the  space.  It  is 
an  easy  method  of  overcoming  the  difficulty 
certainly,  but  it  is  not  one  the  honest  archi- 
tect would  adopt.  There  are  few  attempts 
that  we  know  of  in  London  which  are  not 
more  or  less  slices  of  other  designs.  In 
Cheapside  there  are  indications  of  improve- 
ment, and  we  remark  a  narrow  stone  front 
nearly  opposite  the  Old  Jewry,  where  an 
endeivour  has  been  made,  and  not  without 
success,  to  design  a  narrow  front  upon 
a  rational  basis.  The  fagade  is  four 
stories  in  height  above  the  shop.  The 
breastsummer  is  supported  on  two  red 
granite  piers  ;  on  the  first-floor  is  a 
corbelled  bay  window  of  two  stories,  rather 
flat,  and  this  is  finished  ■\%'ith  a  balcony  on 
the  top.  The  mouldings  of  this  bay  die 
away  against  the  square  piers  or  jambs  of 
the  recess,  which  is  carried  up  through  the 
whole  front,  arched  at  the  top  below  the 
parajjet.  Of  the  two  upper  stories,  one  is 
flat, recessed withwindowsopeningout  on  the 
balcony,  and  the  one  above  forms  a  shallow 
bay,  the  vertical  angles  of  which  finish  and 
lose  themselves  under  the  soffit  of  the  arched 
head.  The  details  are  plain ;  there  is  no 
carving,  but  the  recess  gives  a  pleasing 
variation  of  light  and  shadow,  and  the  stone 
surfaces  are  broadly  treated,  the  cornices 
having  bold  mouldings.  Mr.  E.  Conder  is 
the  builder.  Opposite  to  this  building  the 
mercantile  architect  may  see  a  series  of 
shops,  forming  the  lower  story  of  the  newly- 
finished  Mercers'  Hall,  where  the  "  shop- 
front  fitter"  has  been  restricted  by  archi- 
tectural limits.  A  series  of  red  granite 
polished  pilasters,  with  elliptical  arches, 
have  been  filled  in  by  polished  oak  shop- 
framing  in  a  substantial  manner  ;  the  entre- 
sol arrangement  in  the  arched  heads  is 
satisfactory,  though  a  little  greater  height 
seems  to  be  wanted  above  the  springing. 

Passing  from  Cheapside  to  Ludgate  Hill, 
Messrs.  Samuel's  "  Sydenham  House,"  by 
Messrs.  Joseph  and  Pearson,  cLaims  attention 
for  the  florid  carving  to  the  facade,  and  the 
entresol  design.  Over  a  v.-eak  shop-front  of 
attenuated  iron  stand  Atlantes  supporting 
carved  trusses  and  a  balcony.  The  facade  is 
relieved  by  a  slightly  projecting  bay,  which 
is  carried  to  the  toi3.  The  windows  of  the 
entresol  are  divided  by  red  polished  shafts, 
with  eai-ved  caps,  and  the  arches  are 
crowded  with  French  detail  of  a  very  free  and 
roC'jco  character.  We  cannot  certainly  say 
anything  ia  praise  of  the  fenestration,  or 
the  omamentand  profusely  carved  keystones 
over  the  principal  windows;  there  is  weak- 
ness in  the  small  pediment  over  the  centre 
window  at  the  top,  the  cable  enrichment  of 
reveals  is  meaningless,  and  altogether  the 


carver  seems  to  have  had  uncontrolled 
liberty.  On  the  summit  three  cupolas  ap- 
pear, though  their  purpose  is  not  appa- 
rent. The  design  is  less  satisfactory  than  the 
same  architect's  work  a  few  doors  higher  up. 
The  new  offices  of  the  Daily  Tdajraph,  in 
Fleet-street,  may  be  mentioned  as  a  new 
building  since  our  last  survey  of  this 
thoroughfare.  Architecturally  it  is  not  re- 
markable ;  the  Italian  of  the  facade  is  of  the 
kind  the  public  have  become  almost  satiated 
with,  and  the  only  good  thing  that  can  be 
said  of  it  is,  that  the  front  is  flatly  treated 
and  the  projections  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
The  coupled  granite  pilasters  in  the  side 
piers  over  the  ground-story  look  somewhat 
out  of  place  below  the  panel-work  above 
them.  Two  wide  windows,  with  segmental 
pediments  filled  with  carving,  are  the  prin- 
cipal features.  There  is  an  official  stamp 
about  the  lower  offico-windDws,  but  the 
detaUs  are  hardly  of  the  kind  to  stand  the 
smoke,  soot,  and  traffic  of  Fleet-street. 

The  structures  we  have  described  fall 
under  two  rather  divergent  forms  of  the 
Renaissance.  One  is  characterised  by  non- 
observance  of  architectural  canons,  and  the 
other  is  noticeable  for  a  particular  adherence 
to  proportion  and  lines.  They  are  both 
French  in  their  origin  ;  but  while  one  seeks 
to  reproduce  the  extravagant  and  tawdry 
ornamentation  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  other 
aims  at  the  purer  forms  of  the  Classical 
composition  which  has  found  its  chief  ex- 
ponents under  the  Second  Empire.  It  may 
be  worth  considering  which  gives  us  the 
best  result :  every  architect  knows  which  is 
the  easiest. 


ARCHITECTURAL  OPTICS. 

THERE  is  a  kind  of  unwritten  perspec- 
tive about  which  few  architects  care  to 
trouble  themselves,  yet  a  kaowledge  of  the 
laws  on  the  subject  has  been  made  a  study  by 
all  men  of  culture.  AVe  allude  to  the  optical 
effects  produced  upon  all  objects  by  distance, 
relative  size,  illumination,  and  the  juxtapo- 
sition of  lines  and  curves.  The  study  appears 
to  us  to  be  the  more  useful  in  these  days  of 
imitation  of  forms  used  ages  ago  under  very 
different  conditions,  especially  so,  when 
quaintness  instead  of  refinement,  grotesque - 
ness  instead  of  truthfulness,  have  become  the 
aims  of  the  artist,  who  thinks  thereby  he  is 
conjuring  back  the  life  and  spirit  of  the 
original.  It  is  some  years  ago  since  Brewster 
read  a  paper  on  Optical  Illusions,  before  the 
British  Assojiation,  and  Mr.  Penrose,  Mr. 
Cockerell,  and  Professor  Donaldson,  en- 
lightened the  public  on  the  curves  found  in 
the  Greek  temples,  yet  manj'  are  still  in- 
different to  the  sources  of  visual  deception. 
One  man  papers  a  room  with  a  small-pattern 
paper  of  a  light  tint  ;  another  uses  panelling 
of  a  dark  colour,  but  people  are  seldom 
enabled  to  detect  the  real  dlffei-ence  made 
by  the  two  kinds  of  decoration.  The  difi'er- 
ence  indeed,  is  simply  a  matter  of  taste  to 
the  ordinary  observer,  and  yet  he  may 
express  surprise  to  find  the  former  room  so 
much  larger  in  appearance  than  the  other. 
The  direction  in  which  the  pattern  runs, 
whether  vertically  or  horizontally,  produces 
a  startling  effect  in  heightening  or  lowering 
the  room  ;  the  relative  sizs  of  the  pattern  and 
the  colour  of  the  paper  produce  also  other 
appearances  well  known  to  the  student  of 
vision.  Every  schoolboy  is  acquainted  with 
the  effect  of  drawing  lines  diagonally,  and 
others  parallel  across  them  ;  of  drawing  two 
sets  of  vertical  and  horizontal  lines,  and 
judging  of  their  heights  and  width,  and  of 
various  other  combinations.  The  effect  of 
light  known  as  irradiation,  may  be  curiousl}- 
observed  in  patterns  covered  with  black  and 
white  spaces.  It  is  a  controversial  point 
whether  an  architect  should  correct  the  pro- 
positions of  his  buildings,  or  alter  the  lines 
of  details  to  meet  such  illusive  effects;  the 
practical  architect  woxdd  perhaps  think  the 


matter  hardly  worth  quibbling  over,  but  it 
see:us  only  reasonable  that  the  designer 
should  be  prepared  to  carry  into  execution 
those  effects  he  desires  in  the  most  efficient 
manner ;  ho  ought  certainly  to  be  able  to 
work  with  precision,  and  eliminate  all  errors 
of  sight. 

As  regards  apparent  size  it  is  well  kno^vn 
that  St.  Peter  s  at  Rome  disappoints  the 
visitor  for  the  first  time,  owing  to  the  large 
scale  of  the  details  and  sculpture.  The 
colossal  statuesnear  the  eye,  and  the  figuresof 
cherubs  of  the  full  size  of  men  completely 
throw  out  every  other  part.  The  eye  immedi- 
ately takes  these  as  a  scale  for  measuring 
the  interior,  as  Mr.  Oldfiold  and  others  have 
shown  to  bo  the  case.  The  large  arches  and 
entablatures  of  St.  Peter's,  in  the  design  of 
which  no  allowance  seems  to  have  been  made, 
aggravates  the  illusion,  and  imtil  the 
stranger  can  adjust  his  eye  by  the  actual 
figures  of  men  and  women,  ho  cannot 
appreciate  the  magnificent  grandeur  of  tin' 
interior.  The  same  is  observable  in  cverj-  large 
public  building,  where  the  size  of  small  orna- 
ments is  increased  or  the  main  features  are 
few  and  far  apart,  as  the  nave  piers  and 
arches  of  a  church,  the  natural  effect  being 
to  dwarf  the  building.  A  very  common 
illustration  of  the  effect  of  multiplicity  and 
smallness  of  parts  in  increasing  aj)parcnt 
magnitude  and  virr  vrrsa  may  be  furnished 
in  the  case  of  a  room  hung  with  a  paper  of  a 
very  small  pattern,  contrasted  with  the 
same-sized  room  hung  with  paper  having  a 
large  bold  pattern  on  it. 

Again,  thearchitocts  and  sculptors  of  Egj-pt 
and  Greece  appear  to  have  had  a  knowledge  (if 
the  principles  of  perspective,  for  it  is  known 
that  the  heads  of  colossal  statues  are  larg'^ 
compared  with  the  other  parts  of  the  body 
the  object  being  to  preserve  a  due  relation 
between  the  parts. 

The  value  of  the  rectification  of  lines  has 
been  proved  by  all  close  observ-ers  of  build- 
ings. All  straight  lines  and  boundaries  of 
objects  have  a  tendency  to  look  concave, 
and  all  architects  know  that  straight-sided 
shafts  and  spires  have  an  appearance  of 
weakness,  aggravated  when  any  contrasting 
lines  are  near.  It  is  not  only  observable, 
with  regard  to  vertical  lines,  but  is  dis- 
tinctly evident  in  all  horizoutal  lines.  The 
refinements  of  the  Parthenon,  ably  described 
in  Mr.  Penrose's  valuable  work,  on  the 
Entasis  and  other  curved  lines  of  that 
structure  (1S-1C—1S4.S)  have  slio\vn  that  the 
Greek  architects  did  not  trust  to  straight 
lines,  but  refined  upon  them  to  make  the 
visual  effect  as  perfect  as  they  could.  The 
etittisis  or  swelling  of  the  columns,  the  con- 
vexity of  the  lines  of  the  stylobate  and  en- 
tablature noticed  first  by  Mr.  John  Penne- 
thome  in  this  country  ;  ond  the  slope  or  in- 
clination of  the  axis  of  the  corner-columns 
of  that  temple,  pointed  out,  we  believe,  for 
the  first  time  by  Professor  Donaldson,  are 
now  facts  that  no  one  has  attempted  to 
dispute.  Other  modifications  and  correc- 
tions were  made  in  the  division  of  the 
columns  and  in  the  lesser  details  of  the 
cornice ;  double  rows  of  columns  in  porticoes 
were  made  to  increase  the  effect  of  depth, 
by  the  use  of  smaller  columns  in  the  inner 
row,  and  similar  expedients  were  adopted 
to  intensify  the  effect  of  the  laws  of  perspec- 
tive by  the  medieval  architects.  Even  in  the 
minor  detail  of  the  flutes  of  the  columns,  it 
has  been  proved  that  the  smaller  ones  had  a 
greater  number  than  the  outer  row,  and 
that  the  flutes  in  the  latter  were  often  cut 
so  as  to  give  the  appearance  of  greater 
depth  of  shadow,  while  those  of  the  inner 
columns  were  segmental.  Vitruvius,  in 
book  III,  mentions  other  rcfiuements,  which 
the  reader  will  appreciate,  as  for  instance, 
the  making  of  the  angle-columns  larger  in 
diameter  than  those  inside  ;  a  modification 
that  has  been  proved  in  the  Parthenon,  the 
temple  at  Pa^stum  and  others.  In  short, 
this  refining  and   highly  critical  perception 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


639 


was  carried  throughout,  from  the  outlines  to 
the  minutest  detail.  Everything  was  viewed 
from  an  :esthetic  standpoint,  and  every  care 
was  taken  to  produce  the  desired  appearance. 
The  bungling  of  modern  detail  aiFords  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  work  of  the  Greek 
artist.  Architects  are  careless  of  the  more 
delicate  qualities  of  their  details ;  after 
passing  from  them  they  are  enlarged  by 
clerks  of  works,  or  foremen  who  have  not 
very  scrupulous  regard  for  nicety  or  effect ; 
mouldings  and  proportions  are  grievously 
garbled  or  mutilated  to  meet  the  exigent 
imperious  demand  of  the  carpenter  or  mason, 
in  many  instances  for  the  mere  sake  of 
reducing  labour,  or  under  the  pretence  of 
meeting  some  technical  point.  Bromley,  in 
his  "  History  of  the  Fine  Arts"  speaks  of 
methods  once  resorted  to  by  the  ancients  : 
he  alludes  to  the  omission  of  the  up- 
right parts  of  cornices  employed  at  great 
heights,  so  as  to  render  the  cornice  more 
proportionate  when  seen  from  below ;  the 
modem  architect  seldom  bothers  himself 
about  corrections  of  this  kind.  Chambers,  in 
his  "  Decorative  Part  of  Civil  Architecture," 
also  speaks  of  the  value  of  resorting  to 
artifice  in  cases  of  this  kind.  It  has  been 
alleged  that  the  Gothic  architects  did  not 
practise  this  kind  of  eflfect,  but  there  are 
many  evidences  to  show  that  they  were  not 
ignorant  of  certain  rules  of  perspective.  In 
Early  English  jamb  shafts  we  have,  for 
instance,  found  the  shafts  to  diminish  as 
they  recede,  and  the  jambs  of  windows  and 
doorways  also  splay  inwards,  producing 
increased  depth.  At  Erbach  there  is  a 
dormitory  where  the  pillars  gradually 
diminish  in  height.  As  seen  from  the 
end  where  they  are  the  tallest,  the  perspec- 
tive is  artitically  increased,  and  the  room 
appears  longer  while  at  the  other  end  the 
inequality  is  lost  as  the  laws  of  perspective 
come  into  play.  Instances  occur,  where  a 
similar  moans  of  increasing  distance  is 
resorted  to  by  making  the  walls  approach 
each  other  at  one  end ;  but  we  are  not  about 
to  apologize  for  all  such  deceptive  effects, 
which  are  only  tolerable  in  the  construction 
of  theatres.  In  arches,  the  use  of  stilting 
above  the  impost  is  not  only  allowable  but 
desiraVjle  if  they  are  to  appear  semicircular 
from  below  ;  and  there  are  certain  circum- 
stances in  which  a  knowledge  of  optical 
principles  become  of  the  greatest  value  to 
the  architect,  as  when  sharp  curves  of 
ceilings  are  seen  close  to  straight  lines,  such 
as  tie- rods,  and  curves  spring  from  straight 
Unes.  A  segment  arched  opening  always 
looks  wider  at  the  springing,  and  a  Tudor 
arch,  with  straight  lines  instead  of  curves, 
looks  distorted  at  the  upper  part.  We  con- 
sider the  study  of  the  juxtaposition  of  lines 
and  curves,  and  the  perspective  ctfeots  under 
which  forms,  &c.,  are  seen,  should  be  as 
necessary  a  part  of  the  young  architect's 
education,  as  the  juxtaposition  and  har- 
monies of  colours  or  the  study  of  linear 
perspective  itself. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  BRITISH  ARTISTS. 

FOR  the  number  of  pictures  and  the 
accession  of  fresh  talent  the  present 
winter  display  in  the  rooms  of  the  Society  of 
British  Artists,  in  Suffolk-street,  is  not  sur- 
passed by  former  exhibitions.  In  the  large 
room  are  to  be  noticed  a  dozen  or  more 
works,  of  considerable  merit  and  power, 
though  rather  in  respect  of  technical  quali- 
ties or  truthful  rendering  of  nature  than  in 
imaginative  design.  Taking,  for  instance, 
"  Roses,"  by  Mr.  AV.  H.  Gadsby  ;  in  a  boldly 
handled  picture  of  two  little  girls  making  up 
bouquets  of  roses,  there  is  more  naturalism 
than  ideality  of  sentiment ;  the  faces  are 
sweetly  pleasing,  and  the  reflected  light  on 
the  countenance  cleverly  managed,  although 
the  colouring  is  a  little  garish.  A  number 
of  landscapes  of  great  beauty  force  them- 
selves upon   our   attention.     AVhat   can   be 


more  charming  as  a  transcript  of  natm-e  than 
Miss  Kate  Amphlett's  "  Spring,''  a  pathway 
through  birch-trees,  painted  with  much 
vigour  and  impaste.  The  river  Thames 
from  Waterloo  Bridge  is  a  favourite  subject 
for  the  painter ;  indeed,  as  a  piece  of  scenery, 
it  rivals  in  grandeur,  if  not  in  poetic  interest, 
the  view  of  the  Doge's  Palace,  Venice  ;  but 
we  cannot  say  that  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  L. 
Clint  Miles,  it  has  been  skilfully  repre- 
sented. The  picture  suffers  from  the  thick 
muddy  look  of  the  water,  and  the  weak 
foregrovmd  and  other  technical  faults,  con- 
trasting somewhat  glaringly  ^\•ith  another 
picture  of  the  same  size,  Mr.  Walter  Gold- 
smith's view  of  "  Bray  Reach  near  Maiden- 
head," a  morning  effect  which  displays  all  the 
haziness  and  greyish  tone  of  a  river-scene 
bathed  in  a  soft  morning  light.  Equally 
true  to  nature  as  an  aerial  landscape  is  Mr. 
A.  G.  Bell's  fine  picture  (33)  "The  After- 
math." There  is  a  touch  of  humour  in  S. 
Pepys  Cockerell's  "Marrow  and  Fatness" 
(16),  and  although  a  portrait,  the  facetious 
introduction  of  a  large  marrow  in  the  wheel. 
barrow  the  chubby  little  fellow  is  drawing, 
takes  it  out  of  the  commonplace ;  nor  can 
we  pass  over  Mr.  S.  Thor's  "Still  Life," 
chiefly  noticeable  for  its  colom-.  Near  the 
corner  of  the  room,  a  striking  picture,  called 
"  A  Duet,"  by  Mr.  F.  Martin,  attracts  no- 
tice. The  girls  .at  the  organ  are  thrown 
into  shade  by  being  placed  against  a  large 
window  through  which  the  waning  light  of 
evening  enters  ;  a  treatment  which  suggests  a 
certain  degree  of  poetic  feeling,  though  the 
suiTOundings  are  not  of  the  most  poetic 
character. 

Mr.  Wyke  Bayliss,  as  usual,  contributes  a 
few  of  his  fascinating  architectural  interiors. 
The  "  Interior  of  Bruges  Cathedral,"  from 
the  choir  (52),  is  a  characteristic  piece  of 
drawing  and  colour  ;  there  is  a  semi-mystic 
spell  thrown  over  the  interior  by  the  gla- 
mour of  light  and  shadow,  and  the  organ 
aud  screen  are  thrown  out  by  contrast ;  it 
is  obvious,  however,  that  the  painter  has  been 
more  successful  in  his  fine  water-colour  in- 
terior in  another  room,  which  we  shall  notice 
by-and-by.  One  or  two  pretty  figure  sub- 
jects, Nos.  22  and  23,  are  worth  notice. 
Miss  Flora  Beid's  work  is  particularly 
refined  in  colour  and  execution,  and  Mr. 
Stuart  Lloyd  gives  us  one  of  his  fresh- 
looking  marine  views  in  Dunnose  Head, 
Isle  of  Wight.  Mr.  J.  Gow,  this  year, 
contributes  two  subjects:  his  "Morning 
Greetings  "  (55)  is  clever  in  composition, 
but  the  arm  of  girl  is  in  questionable  draw- 
ing. Mr.  W.  H.  Bartlett's  "  Evicted  Tenant " 
((ij)  will  be  scanned  with  interest,  and 
Mr.  E.  Aubrey  Hunt's  fine  landscape 
"A  Summer  Afternoon  in  Surrey,"  can- 
not but  receive  praise  for  breadth  of  colour- 
ing and  simplicity  of  subject,  and  for  the 
fine  painting  of  the  field  and  pathway,  the 
dark  blue  trees,  and  distance.  Over  the 
fireplace,  a  lovely  grouping  of  "Lilies  and 
Roses  "  is  hung,  painted  by  W.  J.  Muckley, 
a  master  in  flower  composition ;  and  per- 
haps, as  a  picture  of  the  genre  class,  Mr. 
Hayne  King's  "  Private  and  Confidential" 
(92)  is,  for  tone  and  finished  execution, 
unsurpassed.  The  scene  is  a  cottage  kitchen 
in  which  are  seated  two  girls,  one  of  them 
reading  a  letter.  Mr.  David  Law,  as  usual, 
is  the  contributor  of  a  few  forcib'o  drawmgs 
in  water-colour.  His  "  Breezy  Morning  on 
the  Scar  "  is  a  fresh-looking  study  ;  and  m 
landscapes  we  must  not  pass  by  Mr.  E. 
EUis's  fine  pictm-e,  ' '  The  Haunt  of  the  '^  ild 
Fowl"  (109),  a  forcibly-painted  piece.  A 
rather  amusing  incident  is  told  in  Mr.  W. 
Dendy  Sadler's  "Great  Expectations  : 
an  enthusiastic  angler,  under  an  umbrella, 
by  the  side  of  a  stream,  in  the  ram,  patiently 
waiting  a  bite,  while  by  his  side  stands  a 
tall,  thin,  careworn  man,  holding  the  tackle. 
This  year,  Mr.  A.  J.  Woolmer  is  repre- 
sented by  only  two  subjects.  "A  Thought, 
from    Tennyson's    'Sea  Fairies'"  (128)  is 


poetic  aud  weird  in  sentiment.  It  repre- 
sents a  bay,  with  a  rocky  cave,  peopled  by 
nymphs,  the  green  sea  and  the  colouring  are 
remarkable  for  the  pearly  hues  and  stagey 
effect  which  Mr.  Woolmer  delights  to  impart. 
A  few  of  the  most  striking  pictures  are  to  be 
found  on  the  opposite  wall.  Mr.  H. 
Caffieri,  whose  work  stands  high,  sends  a 
large  pictm-o,  entitled  "\  Marauding 
Family"  (191),  a  beech-wood  of  bright 
green,  the  marauders  consisting  of  a  man 
and  a  few  children  gathering  wood.  Mr. 
Godfrey  C.  Hindley's  "  Xo  Admittance 
Except  on  Business,"  though  small,  will 
enlist  attention  for  its  comicality  no  less 
than  for  its  quiet  satire.  An  insignificant 
little  dog  is  beggmg  on  its  hind  legs  before  a 
bombastic  guard  in  cavalier  costume  for 
admission  into  an  inner  chamber.  The  artist 
has  amusingly  depicted  the  expression  of 
overbearing  in  the  old  guardsman,  and  the 
tapestry  and  accessories  are  truthfully 
painted.  "  A  Quiet  Nook,"  by  R.  J.  Gor- 
don, a  young  member,  is  a  large  canvas.  A 
fair-haired  damsel,  in  white  cap,  seated 
under  the  shade  of  green  trees,  reading.  A 
gleam  of  sunshine  falls  on  the  face  and  book  ; 
the  figure  is  graceful,  and  the  colouring 
bright,  and  the  artist  has  been  contented 
with  conveying  the  quietude  and,  in  a  certain 
sense,  the  sentiment  of  the  theme.  Mr. 
James  E.  Grace's  "  Thistledown"  is  a  clever 
broadly-handled  landscape ;  but  perhaps 
one  of  the  most  powerfully  painted  subjects 
is  Mr.  J.  White's  picture  of  "  The  Farmer's 
Boy,"  executed  with  an  impasto  touch,  and 
displaying  much  dexterity  in  the  broad 
simple  management  of  the  figures  of  horse 
and  boy,  and  the  old  barn,  which  make  up 
the  group,  and  the  illumined  evening  sky  in 
the  background,  which  thows  up  the  figures 
in  bold  reUef.  The  muddy  road  and  the 
white  cob,  and  the  reflected  light  of  the 
bright  evening  sky  are  inimitably  executed. 
We  must  also  call  attention  to  Mr.  Macnab's 
"Resting  Place,"  a  quiet  study  of  country 
life,  and  the  eminently  artificial  subject  of 
Mr.  W.  Holyoake,  "  Divining  the  Future," 
in  which  three  young  ladies  in  evening  dress 
are  seated  on  an  ottoman  ia  a  gaily-fur- 
nished room  playing  cards.  We  cannot  but 
think  the  costume  and  upholstery  overbearing 
and  garish  in  colour.  Fresh  and  spirited  is 
Mr.  E.  Ellis's  "Among  the  Saudhills" 
(227),  while  at  the  corner  of  room  we  mark 
a  circular  canvas,  "  Otter  Hounds,"  by  Mr. 
J.  Emms  (24G),  a  group  of  vigorous  compo- 
sition but  lacking  repose.  Perhaps  one  of 
the  most  satisfactory  pictures  is  Mr.  C.  _T. 
Gariand's  highly  executed  and  finished  pic- 
ture, "  A  Contented  Mind  is  a  Contmual 
Feast."  A  dark-complexioned  bright-eyed 
little  boy,  dressed  as  a  Spanish  noble's  son  in 
a  yellow  satin  tunic  or  knickerbocker  suit, 
with  blue  sash  and  ribbon  bows  to  his  shoes, 
is  seated  in  a  handsomely  carved  charr, 
holding  a  plate  of  fruit  in  his  lap,  apparently 
m  the  very  best  of  moods,  and  care.ess  of 
the  luxurious  surroundings  in  which  he  is 
placed.  We  may  also  call  attention  to  Miss 
Bowkett's  clever  aerial  Pi'-^^"";-  '  X"  *°^ 
Way  to  the  Downs"  (180);  E.J.  Cobbett  s 
"Flower  Giri,"  rather  garish  in  co.our; 
Mr.  Vincent  P.  Yglesias's  "View  of  the 
Medway  at  Rochester"  (ITT);  Mr.  Ernest 
A.  Wateriow's  "  Eariy  Morning'  view  m 
the  Thames  Valley  (ITo),  Mr.  I .  Slocombe  s 
"  Day  Dreams,"  Mr.  J.  R.  Reid's  "Lost  and 
Found  "  (144),  "Moon  Rising:  Portsmouth 
Harbour,"  by  Mr.  G  S.  Walters;  Mr  A. 
Conquest's  "In  the  Bois  d  Amour  (3/), 
Mr.  R.  Bowling's  "Sbylook  and  Jes^c. 
harsh  and  disoordmt  in  c»l°y ;, ^'^^^■,^^- 
Fox's  softly  painted  view  ot  the  Thames 
(1.51)  and  especially  Mr.  Arthur  HiU  s 
study,  "The  Fibula,"  a  classic  conception, 
representing  a  maiden  at  the  bath  ad- 
lusthig  orlouckling  her  chiton  or  tunica 
i  hall  -  nude  figure  _  standing  upon  a 
marble  floor,  and  havmg  a  marble  dado 
behind    her.      The    colouring  is  quiet   in 


640 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


tone  and  luminous,  and  the  draperywell 
drawn,  but  the  figure  wanting  in  feminine 
grace.  In  the  south-east  room  a  few  cleverly- 
painted  subjects  are  bung.  We  note,  among 
the  best  of  them.  Mr.  Arthur  G.  Bell's 
"Idle  Hours,"  bold  in  composition,  and 
Eembrandt-like  in  depth  of  tone  and  shadow. 
Mr.  Ellis's  masterly  and  spirited  study  of  a 
"  Wintry  Gleam,  North  Wales  "  ;  A.  Ludo- 
vici's  "Fresh-Water  Sailors,"  a  brilliant 
composition  of  summer  foliage  and  gaily- 
dressei  ladies  in  a  pleasure-boat,  thoroughly 
French  in  spirit,  and  some  excellent  group- 
ing and  vigorous  handling  in  Mr.  J.  H.  S. 
Mann's  study,  "Watching  the  Lifeboat 
from  Yarmouth  Jetty."  As  a  touching 
episode,  Mr.  A.  Davis  Cooper's  piece,  "  The 
Day  After  the  Fair  "  (296),  must  be  pro- 
nounced a  decided  success.  The  little 
dancer,  in  her  dancing  dress,  resting  on  her 
drum;  the  weary-looking  dog  and  donkey, 
and  the  pitched  tent,  are  true  to  life,  yet 
stirring  enough  to  place  it  in  a  higher  class 
than  merely  imitative  art.  "  The  Matadore's 
Bride,"  by  W.  Holyoake,  charms  by  the  ex- 
pression ;  and  Mr.  Leopold  Rivers's  picture, 
"  On  the  Common,"  by  the  depth  of  colour 
and  the  breadth  of  landscape.  Mr.  Fraser 
eends  one  of  his  luminous  marine  views, 
"Running  Down  on  the  Ebb  "  (331),  delight- 
ful in  its  cool  and  refreshing  greyness  and 
transparency,  and  Mr.  Lionel  P.  Smyth  in 
his  "  Short-Hauded  "  (351),  has,  in  a  small 
canvas,  depicted  with  dramatic  power  a 
thrilling  deck  scene,  a  small  hard-worked 
crew  engaged  working  the  pumps  in  the 
midst  of  an  angry  storm.  It  would  be  im- 
possible not  to  pay  a  tribute  to  Mr.  A.  M. 
Eossi's  picture,  No.  371,  a  brilliant  bit  ol 
<!olour;  Mr.  B.  G.  Head's  piece.  No.  375  ; 
the  rich  "  Intrrior  of  Tewkesbury  Abbey," 
No.  380,  a  finely  rendered  interior  of  Per- 
pendicular work,  Ijy  Mr.  Wyke  Bayliss  ;  Mr. 
E.  W.  Waite's  broadly-painted  "  Village 
Bridge";  Mr,  W.  H.  Gadsby's  "Forty 
Winks";  the  juiet  river  scene  by  Miss 
Bowket'  ;  and  "Hide  and  Seek"  (398),  by 
E.  J.  Cobbeit.  In  the  south-west  room, 
also,  Mr.  J.  Kick's  "Loitering  on  the 
Stairs  "  is  a  prettily  coloured  subject,  and 
near  it  Beatrice  Meyer  in  her  "  Veil  of  St. 
Veronica  "  gives  us  the  legend  of  the  Saint 
whose  veU  was  impressed  with  our  Savour's 
features  on  his  way  to  Calvary.  The  old 
woman  brushing  the  hat  at  the  foot  of  stairs, 
in  Mr.  J.  HaUyar's  "  Sunday-go-to-Meeting 
Togs,"  is  a  true  rendering  of  Sabbatarian 
decorum  in  the  country.  Sickly  and  feeble 
is  the  conception  in  A.  Ludovici's  "Elaine," 
while  M.  A.  Rossi's  smiling  Spanish  face  in 
No.  434,  will  attract  by  its  winsomeness. 
We  can  only  note  the  subdued  colour  in 
CarlBauerle's  "SpringTime."  The  bibulous- 
looking  monastic  "  Brother  Ambrose,"  by 
W.  Dendy  Sadler  ,  J.  E.  Grace's  "Autumn 
Leaves  "  ;  Mr.  Ellis's  sparkling  bit  of  sea,  in 
No.  503 ;  Mr.  Edgar  Hauley's  decorative 
study  of  a  picture  against  a  gilt  leather 
background;  the  "Cavalier  Taking  Wine," 
by  Hamlet  Bannermann  ;  the  Cromwellian 
study  in  Mr.  G.  C.  Hindley's  "Anonymous 
Letter,"  and  Nos,  534,  466,  and  5.34. 

The  water-colours  comprise  some  excellent 
work.  Landscape  is  a  favourite  subject 
with  many.  Mr.  Arthur  Burchett  has  pro- 
duced with  touching  fidelity  in  his  large 
drawing  of  "The  Dying  Flame  of  Day,"  the 
reflection  of  a  sunset  on  a  quietly-running 
stream  with  banks  of  foliage  and  a  vigorous 
foreground  ;  Mr.  C.  J.  Watson,  in  a  different 
key  and  tone,  has  given  a  fresh  little  bit  of 
common  and  river  in  No.  552  ;  Mr.  Bernard 
Evans  sketches  with  his  usual  power  several 
fine  views:  "  A  Path  through  the  Woods  " 
(556)  ;  a  bold  "  Valley  Farm,  Arthog,  near 
Barmouth,"  striking  for  the  roimded  masses 
of  trees  in  the  fore  and  middle  ground,  and 
the  mountains  behind,  an  especially  brilliant 
picture.  Mr.  T.  Pyne  has  contributed  a  fine 
piece  of  river  scenery  in  his  picture  of  "  The 
Arun"  (570)    broad  and  soft  in  han'llin<»- 


and  Mr.  Bernard  Evans  introduces  us  to 
another  study  of  atmosphere  and  mountain 
background  in  "The  Estuarj- of  the  Maw- 
doels"  (613. 

We  may  also  draw  attention  to  a  few 
architectural  subjects,  foremost  of  which  is 
Mr.  Wyke  Bayliss's  "  Interior  of  Westmin- 
ster Abbey  "  (933),  a  grandly-drawn  interior 
takcQ  from  the  chancel,  in  which  the  artist's 
manipulative  power  is  shown  at  its  best. 
Mr.  Bayliss  has  a  peculiar  style  of  his  own 
combining  the  force  and  depth  of  oil  in  his 
shadows,  and  the  iridescent  lights  he  throws 
into  his  work.  In  the  arcade  this  mottled 
effect  is  striking,  and  the  shadows  are 
worked  up  to  considerable  depth.  AVe  can- 
not say  much  for  Emma  M.  Jennings's 
"  Study  of  Italian  Architecture"  ;  the  draw- 
ing is  rather  feeble  ;  and  Mr.  H.  Harper's 
"  Acropolis,  Athens,"  is  rather  chromo-like. 
Certainly,  the  view  of  the  "  Parthenon,  by 
Sunset,"  by  Mr.  E.  Phene  Spiers,  leaves 
little  to  desire  in  drawing  or  colour  ;  the 
burnt-sienna  tones  are  exceedingly  rich. 
Mr.  C.  St.  John  MQdmay  sends  also  a  clever 
study  of  Venetian  architecture  in  his  "  Ponte 
San  Toma  (739)  ;  nor  must  we  pass  L. 
Fennel's  drawing  of  "Municipal  Palace, 
Cutigliano,"  transparent  and  trustworthy  in 
drawing.  We  have  space  only  to  mention 
another  Renaissance  example  in  Margaret 
Ravenhill's  "  Courtyard  of  the  Castle, Stutt- 
gardt"  ;  the  charming  colour  study,"  Fresh 
Gathered,"  by  Carlton  A.  Smith  ;  Mr.  Fran- 
cis H.  Eastwood's  pleasing  poetical  sketch 
"  Princess  Dreamy  Eyes,"  the  apple-blossom 
in  Mr.  A.  Wardle's  "  Spring,"  Mr.  Carlton 
Smith's  "  Events  of  the  Week,"  Mr.  Banna- 
tyne's  sketch  of  "  Kye,  Sussex,"  the  vigorous 
sketch  of  Ambersham  Common  by  Mr.  S. 
Palmer  ;  Mr.  Stuart  Lloyd's  "  Over  the 
Clififs,"  a  finely  rendered  bit  of  foreground  ; 
"Poppies,"  Mr.  David  Law's  "Moorland 
Cottages,"  and  his  spirited  sketch  "  On  the 
Yorkshire  Coast"  ;  ilr.  B.  W.  Spiers'  highly 
finished  "  Old  books  and  bric-a-brac,"  the 
charming  study  of  contrast  of  apple-blossoms 
in  bright  green  vase  by  Kate  Sadler,  the 
admirable,  truthful  landscape  by  Mr.  J. 
Finnic  "  The  Edge  of  the  Common,"  and  W. 
H.Pike's  view  of  "  Kynance  Cove,  Corn- 
will,"  and  the  delicious  bit  of  colour  in  Miss 
Ada  Bell's  study  of  rich  chrysanthemums  in 
vase  (731).  "Christmas  Carol"  isa  clever 
group  in  black  and  white,  nor  can  we  omit 
the  artistic  drawing  "  A  Visitor  from  the 
Garden,"  where  the  open  window,  the  in- 
truding bird,  the  tapestry  and  curtains,  and 
the  figure  of  the  little  girl  make  up  a  pleas- 
ing study  of  accessories  and  harmony,  and 
reflect  credit  on  the  artist,  Mr.  C.  W. 
Dempsey. 

ARCHITECTURAL  ASSOCIATION. 

MK.      GILBERT     EEDGEA"VE     ON     THE     TSES     OF 
CEMEN-TS. 

[Continued  from  page  613.) 
,i  THIRD  reason  for  employing  cement 
t\  in  preference  to  limes,  is  that  a  method 
has  been  discovered  by  General  Scott,  wherebj 
limes  can  be  converted  into  cements  by  a 
very  simple  process,  and  at  a  very  moderate 
cost.  About  five  -  and  •  twenty  years  ago. 
General  (then  Captain)  Scott,  of  the  Royal 
Engineers,  found  that  a  sample  of "  grey 
lime,  burnt  in  a  common  fireplace  with  a 
smothered  fire,  had  acquired  properties  very 
different  from  those  of  the  same  lime  if  prepared 
in  a  clear,  bright  fire.  He  at  first  thought  this 
peculiar  result  was  due  to  the  formation  of  a  sub- 
carbonate  of  lime,  owing  to  the  imperfect  com- 
bustion of  the  fuel ;  but  subsequent  experiments 
caused  him  to  abandon  this  viev\-,  and  to  adopt 
the  theorj' — ultimately  proved  to  be  correct — 
that  the  change  in  the  character  of  the  lime  was 
due  to  the  presence  of  sulphur,  which  had  been 
absorbed  from  the  ashes  of  the  co.il.  This  led  to 
the  invention  of  "Scott's  cement,"  which  was 
prepared  as  follows :  Tender-bumed  grey  chalk 
lime,  made  frv.-m  a  lower  chalk  containing  from 
10  to  1.5  per  cent,  of  silica  and  alumina,  was  re- 
heated to  bright  redness  in  shallow  kilns  or  ovens, 


having  a  perforated  floor.  When  the  lime  was 
sufficiently  hot,  pots  of  sulphur  were  placed  be- 
neath the  floor.  This  sulphur  was  at  once 
ignited  by  the  heat  of  the  kiln,  and  the  fumes  of 
the  burning  sulphur  then  rose  round  the  Ume, 
and  a  coating  of  sulphate  of  lime  was  formed 
over  each  of  the  lumps.  The  lime  was  then 
ground  between  millstones,  and  Scott's  cement, 
ready  for  use,  was  obtained.  As  this  cement  ap- 
peared to  owe  its  peculiar  properties  to  very 
minute  quantities  of  sulphate  of  Ume  intimately 
mixed  with  it.  General  Scott  thought  such  a 
cement  could  be  produced  in  a  cheaper  way. 
SprinUing  lump  lime  with  sulphuric  acid,  and 
mixing  ground  lime  with  plaster  of  Paris,  were 
tried,  but  it  was  found  impossible  to  secure  uni- 
formity by  any  other  than  the  gaseous  method 
above  described.  Many  years  after,  during  the 
buildingot  the  E.-ihibition  of  1871,  General  Scott 
found  that  if  the  selenitic  lime,  however  pre- 
pared, were  first  ground  in  a  mortar-mill 
to  a  creamy  paste,  and  the  sand  was 
then  added,  a  very  good  cement  action 
was  secured  ;  and  he  made  a  selenitic 
cement,  as  he  has  termed  it,  from  a  careful  mix- 
ture of  ground  hydraulic  lime  and  sulphate  of 
Ume.  This  cement  wiU  bind  together  six  parts 
of  sandinto  an  extremely  hard  mortar,  and  will 
make  a  good  concrete  with  nine  parts  of  baUast. 
In  using  all  cements,  in  order  to  secure  their 
utmost  strength,  clean  s  ind  is  eminently  neces- 
sary. Sharp,  large-grained  sand  makes  better 
work  than  fine  sand ;  and  there  seems  scarcely 
any  objection  to  clean  sea  sand,  except  that  for 
internal  plastering  it  is  Uable  to  become  damp  at 
changes  in  the  weather,  as  the  salt  absorbs  mois- 
ture. Salt  sand  makes  stronger  cement  than 
pit  or  river  sand ;  provided  all  are  equally 
clean.  In  conclusion  a  few  words  must  be  said 
about  the  use  of  cement  m  concrete.  In  this 
direction  very  little  has  been  accompUshed 
hitherto,  and  we  plod  on  in  London  with  bad 
bricks  and  bad  mortar,  as  if  there  were  no  escape 
from  a  thoroughly  vicious  system  of  building 
which  ought  tohaveb?en  abandoned  with  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  As  London,  from  its 
peculiarpositicais,  and  must  continue, abrickeity, 
we  ought,  with  our  presentknowledge  of  the  pro- 
perties of  cements,  to  make  our  bricks  much  smaUer 
so  as  to  serve  as  mere  aggregates ;  or  what 
would  be  better  stiU,  we  should  calcine  our  brick 
earth  in  heaps  as  ballast  is  made,  and  unite  this 
burnt  clay  into  monolithic  structures  with  Port- 
land cement.  There  is  no  legitimate  argument 
in  favour  of  selling  underbumed,  mis-shapen, 
discoloured  lumps  of  calcined  clay  at  so  much 
per  1,000,  in  order  to  enable  buUders  to  charge 
us  £11  and  upwards  per  rod  for  sticking  them 
t.igether  into  walls.  It  would  be  far  better  to 
burn  the  bricks  into  clinkers,  and  then  in- 
corporate the  fragments  of  them  into  homo- 
geneous structures,  with  good  cement,  at  le;.> 
than  two-thirds  the  cost  of  brickwork.  I  hope 
to  see  the  day  when  bricks  will  be  discarded, 
and  I  trust  that  the  New  Zealanders,  when  they 
explore  the  ruins  of  London,  may  find  it 
necessary  to  dig  very  deep  down  into  the  dthru 
before  they  find  any  "genuine,  sound,  square, 
hard-burned  stock-bricks  "  for  the  cerami 
museums  of  the  future.  The  days  are  past 
when  the  colour  of  cements  must  ever  be  thrown 
in  our  teeth  as  a  reproach.  Mr.  Lascelles  has 
shown  the  possibiUty  of  so  colouring  Portland 
as  to  render  it  scarcely  distinguishable  from  red 
brick  or  terra-ootta,  and  the  house  he  sent  to 
the  Paris  Exhibition  formed  a  new  departure  in 
concrete  building.  Mr.  Lascelles  is  able  to 
prepare  mouldings  and  dressings  in  this  material 
at  a  less  cost  than  the  same  work  in  cut  bricks 
or  terra-cotta.  In  point  of  natural  colour 
selenitic  cement,  which  is  a  warm  baff,  leaves 
Uttle  to  be  desired.  Another  direction  in  which 
cement-concrete  might  be  used  with  advantage 
is  evidenced  by  the  manufactures  of  Messrs. 
Henry  Sharpe,  Jones,  and  Co.,  of  Bournemouth. 
This  "firm  has  succeeded  in  making  excellent 
drain-pipes  of  Portland  cement  concrete. 
Cement  of  high  quaUtv  is  by  them  mixed  with 
crushed  pottery,  in  the  proportions  of  1  of 
cement  to  about  3  of  pottery.  The  cement  is 
made  in  smaU  quantities  in  a  special  mixing- 
machine,  the  materials  being  first  turned  over 
di-y,  then  sprinkled  with  water  from  a  fine  rose, 
and  made  into  a  very  dry  concrete.  The  mix- 
ture ii  next  lifted  into  a"  hopper,  which  feeds  it 
automatically,  and  very  gradually,  into  the 
moulds.  These  are  made  as  cylinders  of  sheet - 
iron,  the  proper  distance  apart  to  form  the 
thickness  of  the  pipe,  from    lis.  to  3in.,  accord- 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


641 


ixig  to  its  diameter.  This  mould  rotates  slowlj- 
on  a  turn-table,  while  an  iron  rammer,  worked 
up  and  down  like  a  beetle,  compresses  the  con- 
crete into  the  mould  as  it  falls  from  the  hopper. 
When  the  pipe  is  full,  it  is  wheeled  away  on 
a  truck,  mould  and  aU,  and  stands  for 
fiom  24  to  4S  hours  to  set.  WTien  taken 
from  the  mould,  the  newly-made  pipe  is 
steeped  for  a  week  in  a  bath  of  silica — to  indu- 
rate it  more  effectually— an  ingenious  process 
invented  by  3Ir.  Highton,  and  also  used  by  the 
Patent  Victoria  Stone  Company.  The  pipe  may 
remain  in  the  bath  for  about  a  week,  when  it  is 
removed  and  shelved  in  the  open  air  for  some 
months  before  being  sent  out  for  use.  The 
Victoria  Stone  Company  just  mentioned  make 
excellent  paving  slabs  of  granite  chips  and 
Portland  cement.  The  slabs  appear  very  dura- 
ble, and  are  not  so  costly  as  common  York 
paving.  Mr.  Drake  has  recently  shown  me 
some  interesting  specimens  of  the  marble  and 
granite  mosaics  his  company  are  now  producing. 
i  feel  that  this  paper  is  very  disjointed,  but 
I  trust  I  have  succeeded  in  convincing  you 
that  the  "use  of  cements"  is  a  subject  well 
worthy  the  careful  attention  of  every  archi- 
tect. 

The  Peesident,  in  inviting  discussion  upon  the 
paper,  remarked  that  he  was  not  such  an  ardent 
believer  in  the  homogeneous  house  of  the  future 
as  was  Mr.  Redgrave. 

Mr.  W.  H.  LiSCEiiES  described  a  number  of 
examples  of  his  concrete  work  which  were  ex- 
hibited in  the  room.  Some  slabs  of  this  material 
had  been  used  by  a  Queen  Anne  architect  in  a 
new  syst»m  of  construction,  wherein  the  behind 
joists  and  flooring  abjve  were  all  represented  by 
a  thin  iron  rib  upon  which  were  laid  plates  or 
slabs  of  concrete,  which  would  be  laid  with 
carpet  orkamptulion  in  the  ordinary  manner.  A 
well-known  ecclesiastical  architect  was  about  to 
build  a  house  for  himself  upon  this  principle.  A 
great  deal  of  room  was  saved  by  it,  and  no  space 
was  afforded  between  floors  for  the  accumula- 
tion of  dust  or  gas,  or  the  passage  of  mice.  He 
had  found  that  the  tenants  of  cottages  built  in 
this  manner  experienced  no  annoyance  from  the 
transmission  of  sounds.  At  the  present  time  he 
was  ensraged  iu  experiments  to  see  if  he  could 
produce  cheaper  artisans'  dwellings  than  had 
yet  been  buUt,  and  he  believed  this  to  be  possible, 
as  the  great  iteai  of  expense  was  the  cost  of 
floors  and  partitions  for  sub-divisions.  He  re- 
ferred to  the  concrete  house,  and  the  concrete 
bath  he  exhibited  last  year  at  Croydon,  and  to 
the  tests  which  they  successfully  withstood,  a 
room  being  filled  with  faggots,  afterwards  set 
on  fire  without  injury,  and  the  bath  bearing 
sudden  filling,  fir^-t  with  hot  water  and  imme- 
diately afterwards  with  cold,  and  no  leak  or 
cr.ack  re.'^ultiug.  Owing  to  the  non-conducting 
quality  of  concrete,  the  bath  retained  its  heal 
better  than  one  of  any  other  material.  When 
made  of  comparatively  soft  material,  cement  con- 
crete will  hold  a  nail  almost  as  firmly  as  wood. 
Mr.  Lascelles  also  showed  photographs  of  the 
concrete  dome  recently  made  for  transmission 
to  India,  and  described  in  the  Building  Xews 
(p.  40S.  ante.)  Cement  work  had  superseded 
cut  brickwork,  as  it  was  cheaper,  stronger,  and 
more  impervious  to  wet.  He  had  laid  a  slab  of  this 
material  in  lloorgate-street,  E.G.,  eight  months 
since,  and  at  present  it  had  not  worn  away  more 
than  a  sixpence  thickness. 

Mr.  C.  Drake  referred  to  a  piper  read,  and 
discussion  thereon,  in   the   same   room   in   Dec. 

1567,  and  said  the  retrospect  would  teach  that 
the  use  of  cement  decoratively  had  not  obtaintd 
the  approval  of  architects,  and  it  had  failed  to 
satisfy  chiefly  in  respect  of  colour.  With  a  view 
to  remed3-  this  defect,  the  speaker  had  made 
experiments  in  18G7  and  now  exhibited  red 
cem?nt  concrete  tiles  made  in  that  year  and  in 

1568.  Some  of  these  hai  been  laid  as  flooring 
rn  1870,  and  were  now  perfect  in  colour  and 
soundness  after  t^'ii  years'  wear.  He  had  also 
used  red  coloured  cement  successfully  as  dress- 
ings anl  mouldings,  but  foimd  that  using  the 
ordinary  red  colouring  matters  of  commerce  made 
it  necessary  to  use  so  large  a  proporl  ion  of  colour- 
ing matter  'sometimes  so  much  as  fifty  per  cent.) 
with  the  cement  as  to  cause  unsound  and  unre- 
liable work.  He  had,  however,  recently  dis- 
covered a  red  capable  of  giving  an  intense  rod 
colour  when  u.sed  only  in  the  proportion  of  one- 
thirtieth  part.  A  sample  of  "  mos  lie  marble '' 
was  exhibited— the  black  marble  aggregate  of 
which  is  loss  hard  than  the  red  cement  matrix — 
showing  that  the  crystallisation  and  induration 


of  the  cement  had  not  suffered  from  the  admix- 
ture of  colouring  matter  as  it  is  apt  to  do  when 
common  red  colours  requiring  to  be  in  laro-e 
proportions  are  used.  Mr.  Drake  also  exhibited 
a  fireproof  door  being  made  iu  "  mosaic  stone  " 
(for  the  Theatre  Royal,  Manchester)  "mosaic 
stone"  concrete  moulded  corbels,  buff  and  red 
without  colouring  matter;  "mosaic  granite" 
and  "mosaic  marble"  slabs  and  tiles  for 
floors,  walls,  kc,  and  claimed  that  by  this  new 
method  of  showing  on  the  surface  the  actual 
material  of  which  the  concrete  was  compounded 
the  most  beautiful  effects  in  colour  are  obtained, 
and  the  problems  of  the  use  of  cement  decora- 
tively aad  of  architectural  treatment  of  concrete 
building  are  solved. 

Mr.  J.  S.  QuiLTEB  said  he  had  had  a  great 
deal  of  experience  in  ordinary  Portland  cement 
concrete,  the  use  of  which  was  very  largely 
increasing  in  Streatham  and  similar  suburbs  of 
London,  built  on  a  clayey  subsoil  which  could  be 
employed  as  burnt  ballast  with  the  Portland 
cement  concrete.  He  was  rather  surprised  that 
Mr.  Redgrave  should  have  recommended  the 
use  of  loam.  In  his  own  experience,  it  had  been 
slow  in  setting,  and  it  never  seemed  thoroughly 
set,  and  was  never  quite  reliable.  The  best 
damp-proof  and  satisfactory  wall  was  one  with 
a  brick  face  and  concrete  back.  He  would  pro- 
pose a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Redgrave  for  his 
instructive  paper. 

The  vote  of  thanks  having  been  accorded  with 
applause,  Mr.  Redgrave  said  that,  as  to  the  use 
of  loam,  it  was  put  in  to  destroy  the  effects  of 
shortness  in  the  fat  iimes.  It  was  a  very  dangerous 
material,  as  damp  got  into  it.  Every  departure 
from  purity  and  cleanliness  in  cements  was  to 
'oe  deprecated. 


SANITARY  SCIENCE  IX  ITS  RELATION 
TO  CIVIL  ARCHITECTURE. 
A  T  the  third  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Royal 
j\_  Institute  of  British  Architects,  held  on 
Monday  evenins,  Mr.  J.  Whichcord.  President, 
in  the  chair,  Mr.  E.  C.  Robins,  F.S.A.,read  a 
paper  of  considerable  length  on  this  subject. 
He  said  he  thought  those  architects  who  for  the 
last  thirty  years  had  practiciUy  proved  their 
interest  in  sanitary  science  in  so  far  as  it  related 
to  architecture  could  not  be  otherwise  than  be 
pleased  with  the  obvious  improvement  in  recent 
public  opinion  and  the  quickening  of  the  pro- 
fessional conscience  thereon.  Having  referred  to 
the  works  of  pioneers  in  sanitary  science,  to  the 
disgraceful  condition  of  London  before  the 
Great  Fire,  to  the  suggestions  of  Patte  for  im- 
proving the  state  of  Paris  in  1797,  andto  the 
great  Tmpetus  given  to  the  consideration  of 
sanitary  questions  in  England  by  the  visitations 
of  Cholera  in  1S42,  1847,  and  18.52,  in  which 
latter  year  his  own  attention  was  directed  to  the 
matter,  he  said  he  proposed  that  evening  to 
consider:  (I)  AVhat  had  been  defects  in  sanitary 
construction,  (2)  What  were  the  remedies  now 
generally  available,  (3)  What  further  improve- 
ments were  requii-ed.  In  London  a  system 
prevailed  which  compelled  the  professional 
architect  to  provide  against  the  insanitary  con- 
dition of  the  main  sewers:  he  had  to  fortify  the 
modern  dwelling-house  against  sewer  gas,  which 
contaminated  not  only  the  air  breathed  by  the 
inmates  but  also  the  water  they  drank.  It  was 
not  necessary  to  enter  into  mnch  detaO  respecting 
sanitary  defects.  A  summary  was  P™yided 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Dangers  to  Health 
written  in  a  grimly -humorous  way  by  Mr. 
Teale,  surg-eon  to  the  Leeds  Infirmary,  and  de- 
dicated to  his  medical  brethren.  Such  defects 
consisted  not  onlv  in  those  things  for  which  an 
architect  might  be  blamed,  but  also  in  the  faulty 
workmanship  of  artisms  :  in  the  jomting  of  bad 
iron  and  stoneware  piping,  in  false  levels  and 
bad  laying  of  drains,  in  perverse  connections  on 
the  wroug  side  of  traps,  in  ill-supportcl  vertical 
soil-pipes,  in  the  thousand  evils  emanatmg  from 
the  want  of  trained  for:inen  and  workmen.  At 
the  Conference  on  Public  Health  held  in  June 
last  by  the  Society  of  Arts,  Mr.  Rawlmson  had 
stated  that  house  drainage  was  at  the  root  of  all 
sanitary  reform,  and  that  Earl  Spencer  s  town 
house  "in  St.  James's-place  was  the  most 
perfectly  drained  house  in  London  or  elsewhere. 
The  evidence  given  by  Messrs.  Eassie,  Rogers 
Field,  and  Griffith  and  other  specialists  before  the 
Sociei  y  of  Ar  ts  was  referred  to.  The  principles 
summarised  by  Mr.  Griffith  were  quoted - 
principles  which  the   author  said  were  quite  m 


harmony  with  many  architects'  previous  practice. 
Thoy  were  (I)  Communication  between  mail', 
sewer  in  street  and  house-drain  should 
bo  disconnected  or  Hovercd  by  an  open- 
air  space  being  left  between  house- 
drain  and  sewer;  (2)  The  house-diain,  air 
and  water-tight,  should  be  laid  to  xuchafal 
as  to  be  self-cleansing,  free  from  deposit,  ai;d 
ventilated;  (.1)  The  soil-pipe  should  be  fixed 
inside  the  house  and  taken  up  full  size  above  the 
roof;  (4)  The  wastc-pip<.'s  should  discharge  into 
the  open  air  instead  of  into  8oil-pip<s  or  a  D 
trap  ;  (b)  There  should  be  no  means  of  drawing 
water  from  a  cistern  supplyiii^f  u  w.c.,  other 
than  through  the  closet ;  (6)  The  wa*te-pipei« 
from  sinks,  baths,  lavatories,  ice,  should  be  S 
trapped  underneath,  and  made  to  discharg** 
immediately  into  the  c^en  air,  over  trapp<-d 
gullies  ;  (7)  There  should  be  no  connection  with 
the  main  house-drain,  when  laid  underneath  the 
house,  except  outside  the  main  walls  of  the 
building;  (S)  "Pan  closets"  with  1)  traps 
should  never  be  used,  norsliould  D  traps  be  fixed 
under  sinks,  &o.  The  evidence  of  Me.isrs.  Easgie 
and  Rogers  Field  coincided  in  all  m:iterial  point" 
with  that  of  Mr.  Griflith.  The  author  prefaced 
the  subject  of  warming  and  ventilation,  the 
second  diWsion  of  his  paper,  by  quoting  a  re- 
mark made  to  him  by  Professor  Jinkin,  to  the 
effect  that  the  study  and  control  of  the  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  not  the  temperature,  is 
the  key  to  all  sound  ventilation.  As  that 
pressure  was  increased  or  dimini'-hed  in  its 
utilisation  so  ventilation  was  promoted  or  re- 
tarded. Following  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Parkes, 
it  was  desirable  to  restrict  the  thing  known  as 
ventilation  "to  the  removal  by  a  stream  of  pure 
air  of  the  pulmonary  and  cutaneous  exhalations 
of  men,  and  of  the  products  of  the  C'»mbustion 
of  lights  in  ordinary  dwellings,  to  which  must 
be  added  in  hospitals  the  additional  e6Suvi3 
which  proceed  from  the  persons  and  discharges 
of  the  sick."  It  was  not  only  important 
that  the  air  should  be  changed,  but  also  that  it 
should  be  drawn  from  a  pure  source  and 
carried  through  dean  channels.  By  the 
terra  "  ventilation  "  the  author  meant  a 
passage  for  the  wind,  change  of  air  or  atmo- 
.■ipheric  recuperation.  A  way  in  was  wanted 
for  the  air  and  a  way  out  for  it  in  every  build- 
ing or  portion  of  a  building.  Natural  ven- 
tilation was  the  simple  process  of  allowing  the 
external  atmo.sphere  to  mingle  with  the  internal 
atmosphere  of  a  building.  Scientific  ventihition 
was  the  same  thing,  but  with  this  difference:  in 
the  former  case  the  air  was  frt-e  to  mingle  or 
not  as  it  pleased,  and  in  doing  so  it  created  many 
inconveniences ;  in  the  latter,  direction  was 
given  to  eurrents  of  air  produced  by  interchange. 
and  a  hejlthy  commiDgling  cf  the  oxygen  with 
the  carbonic  acid  gasis  was  secuiel  without  the 
dan"erous  and  disagreeable  accompaniment  of 
drauf;ht.  The  business  of  ventilation  wa»  t'> 
direct  the  pressure  of  the  currents  of  air  admitted 
and  required  to  overcome  stagnation  under  con- 
ditions wheie  no  draught  was  admissible.  The 
natural  procos  by  which  the  temperature  of  the 
air  was  raised  was  two-fold :  by  radiation  and 
by  conduction.  Radiated  heat  he  dtfined  as 
possessing  the  peculiarity  of  passing  dinctly 
through  any  intervening  space,  without  parting 
sensibly  w'iih  its  heat,  and  warming  the  first 
obstacle  to  its  pa.ssage,  such  as  a  waU  or  window. 
with  which  it  came  in  contact ;  conducted  beat 
was  the  warmth  given  off  from  any  .surface  by 
direct  contact  with  any  substance  whether  air  or 
otherwise.  The  conducted  heat  of  an  open  hre 
passed  into  the  air,  escaping  by  the  chimnev  flue 
and  was  lost  for  heating  purposes  :  the  radiated 
heat  of  the  open  fire  was  alone  available  for  rais- 
in^ the  temperature  of  a  room.  Draujjht,  how- 
ever, was  almost  inseparable  from  the  use  of 
open  fires,  especially  when  they  were  placed 
directly  opposite  doors,  whereby  large  quantuits 
of  air  were  drawn  across  the  floor  and  pa.sstd  ap 
the  chimney.  With  reference  to  the  s:zc  and 
position  of  ""inlets"  in  room.s  it  was  desirable 
lo  make  the  area  of  each  ..pcningnot  '"Pf'j  »»>»>' 
from  oO  to  GO  square  inches,  and  they  should  le 
placed  on  the  same  side  of  the  room  as  th^  fire- 
place. The  introduction  of  air  by  vertical  shafts. 
.u-r-ested  bv  a  Mr.  Whitehurst  years  before  Mr. 
Tubtn  was  'heard  or  iv.-n  thought  of,  wa»  a 
sound  principle,  suited  to  the  requirrinents  of 
ordinar?  rooms  which  were  heated  by  the  open 
fire-plaTe  only.  Mr.  Robins  then  drew  attention 
to  several  varieties  of  stove  and  grate,  inpludu,g 
those  invented  by  Mr.  Phij^on,  l-y  Messrs. 
Verity  and  other  architects,  and,  amongst  others, 


6i2 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


jscribed  the  heating-  and  Teutaating  processes 
iopted  by  the  late  JMr.  T.  H.  Wyattin  thenew 
ospital  for  Consumption  at  Biompton,  and 
^0  in  the  NorfoUi  Hospital  at  Norwich,  built 
'  the  same  architect  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
.  Boardman,  of  that  city.  Dr.  R.  E.  Thomp- 
n  had,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Robins,  thus  sum- 
arised  his  views: — "I  think  that  air  should 
;  admitted  at  the  level  of  the  various 
3ors,  and  not  from  an  underground  cham- 
T  ;  also  that  the  air  so  admitted  should  come 
om  tho  east  and  west  sides  if  practicable, 
id  in  any  case  should  be  passed  over  tabes  of 
)t  water.  jVir  of  uniform  temperature  is 
fagreeable  and  oppressive  ;  it  is  better  that 
le  upper  air  should  be  colder  than  that  of  the 
)or,  and  that  the  warm  air  as  it  rises  from  the 
3or-level  should  be  cooled  and  agitated  as  it 
ixes  with  the  upper  air  by  the  incoming  cooler 
r.  The  foul  air  should  be  extracted  by  the 
)en  fire,  and  by  the  extracting  flues  at  the  top 

the  room,  which  .should  be  heated  by  gas 
ts  below,  or  made  to  commuuiate  with  a  hot- 
r  chamber  above  and  in  connection  with 
irrets  forming  ventilating  towers."  With 
gard  to  w.c.'s.  Dr.  Thompson  considered  that 
le  space  they  occupied  should  be  heated  to  a 
gher  temperatiu'e  than  the  passages  leading 
>  them,  and  that  a  separate  means  of  extrac- 
on  should  be  adopted.     In  reference  to  systems 

underground  reservoirs  or  chambers  for  the 
■cumulation  of  lieated  air  to  be  transmitted 
irough  shafts  to  the  different  rooms  of  a  build- 
g,  everything  depended  on  the  cleanliness  of 
lose  heated  air-chambers.  They  were  very 
.fficult  to  keep  clean,  because  they  were  out  of 
ght,  and  were  usually  dirty  and  dusty  ;  indeed 
d  had  heard  of  some  air-chambers  in  which 
scayed  organic  and  vegetable  matter  had  been 
llowed  to  accumulate ;  and  of  an  instance  in 
hich  a  defective  soil-pipe  had  discharged  into 
part  of  its  contents.  Alluding  to  the  various 
rstems  of  heating,  the  author  said  that  he  had 
a  great  faith  in  any  one  of  these,  but  that 
here  he  had  to  go  beyond  an  open  iire,  in 
partments  too  large  for  warming  in  that  man- 
er,  he  preferred  hot  water.  Twice  in  his 
ractice  he  had  been  obliged  to  substitute  hot 
atcr  for  hot  air,  both  instances  being  in 
lurches.  Two  leading  principles  governed  the 
ipply  of  hot  water  for  heating  purposes, 
mned  high  pressure  and  low  pressure.  The 
itter  provided  for  the  supply  of  water  at  a  low 
■mperature,  which  cannot  reach  boiling  point, 
1  more  or  lets  large  pipes  ;  the  former  circu- 
ited water  at  a  high  temperature  in  strong 
Tought-iron  pipes  of  very  small  bore,  rarely 
sceeding  an  inch  in  diameter.  Tho  high  pres- 
iro  sj'stem  as  now  carried  out  was  as  in- 
ocuous  and  quite  as  effective  and  manageable 
if  the  low  pressure.  After  referring  to  various 
samples  in  his  own  practice,  of  which  numerous 
lustrations  in  sections  and  working  drawings 
•ere  exhibited,  Mr.  Robins  concluded  with  the 
s^urance  that  the  practice  of  Civil  Architecture 
:)uld  not  be  divorced  from  the  experiences  of 
anitary  Science.  There  was  plenty  of  room 
jr  specialists  and  dihUuntc  exponents — indeed 
3-operation  in  overcoming  the  results  of  past 
irelcssness  was  most  needful;  but  the  fact 
;mained  that  dwelling-houses,  to  be  made 
ealthy  in  the  future,  were  and  would  stUl  bo 
3e  special  province  of  professional  architects. 

Dr.  W.  H.  CoEFiELD,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
resident,  opened  the  discussion.  A  great  deal 
ad  been  said  of  late,  he  remarked,  about  the 
lilure  of  architects  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
Ivances  of  sanitary  science  ;  it  was  declared 
lat  they  did  not  know  their  business  ;  and  all 
;e  failures  in  drainage  and  defects  in  ventila- 
on  of  houses  were  laid  to  their  door.  For  his 
wn  part,  he  had  not  found  this  to  be  the  case, 
[e  had  often  met  architects  in  consultation,  and 
ad  always  found  them  gentlemen  who  were 
ble  to  understand  all  points  that  were  raised, 
ad  he  was  glad  to  be  able  thus  to  acknowledge 
ae  courtesy  with  which  he  had  alwavs  been 
let  by  members  of  the  profession.  Mr.'Robins 
ad  told  them  that  architectural  practice  could 
ot  be  divorced  from  the  experiences  of  sanitary 
:ience.     He  would   go   rather   further,  and  sa^ 

it  had  not  been  for  the  experiments  that 
ad  been  made  by  scientific  men,  no  alteration 
1  sanitary  principles  would  have  beencarried  out. 
'or  many  years  people  had  dealt  with  house- 
ramage  on  a  wrong  system— that  of  bottlinu 
p  foul  air — and  tho  erroneous  method  would 
robably  have  continued  till  now  if  it  had  not 
een   for   certain   remarkable    experiments,    bv 


which  the  real  danger  of  sewer  air — "gas  "it 
was  even  now  improperly  called — was  made 
apparent.  It  had  been  shown  that  enteric  fever, 
and  more  recently  that  other  diseases,  were  pro- 
duced by  a  specific  poison  existing  in  sewer  air, 
and  communicable  by  contagion.  Next  it  was 
ascertained  that  the  poison  was  not  the  sewer 
air  itself,  but  particles  in  that  air,  and  it  was 
now  almost  demonstrable  that  these  particles 
M'ere  living  genns,  and  the  result  was  that  people 
could  now  understand  how  they  might  prevent 
these  particles  from  obtaining  an  entrance  into 
their  houses.  But  the  practice  of  sanitary 
science  had  not  been  carried  out,  as  the  author 
said,  " for  a  considerable  number  of  years" — 
certainly  not  for  more  than  ten  years — he  might 
almost  say  six  or  seven.  Disconnection  of  sewer 
and  house-drains  had  been  shown  to  bo  essential 
by  two  sets  of  experiments  ;  one  proving  that 
the  dangerous  particles  could  pass  by  absorption 
through  water,  so  that  a  trap  was  no  bar  to  the 
movement  of  foul  air  through  a  drain ;  the 
other,  that  when  foul  air  was  disturbed,  as  Dr. 
Franklyn  had  shown,  it  would  pass  through  a 
water-trap,  and  would  be  dispersed  in  tho  air 
above,  contaminating  it.  Thus,  while  a 
water  -  trap  would  partially  prevent  the 
passage  of  particles,  it  could  not  pre- 
vent the  passage  of  foul  gas.  But  it  was 
now  possible  to  make  a  house  perfectly  seciuc 
against  the  entrance  of  typhoid  fever,  and  should 
the  fever  be  imported  by  any  person,  it  need  not 
spread.  Acting  upon  this  knowledge,  he  had 
been  able  to  state  that  a  well-drained  school  in 
which  typhoid  occurred  need  not  be  closed,  as  if 
precautions  were  taken,  the  contagion  could  not 
spread.  jUthough  the  piiuciplcs  of  sanitary 
science  were  now  perfectly  clear  and  simple,  yet 
to  put  them  into  practice  was  most  difficult, 
especially  in  the  case  of  an  old  London  house, 
where  it  sometimes  seemed  impos.sible  to  put  it 
into  an  efficient  and  healthy  condition  without 
pulling  down  the  entire  structure.  To  till 
people  to  get  a  book  on  the  subject  and  read  it 
and  put  their  dwellings  in  order,  was  as  absurd 
as  to  teU  a  man  to  read  a  book  on  amputation, 
and  then  experiment  by  cutting  off  a  friend's 
leg.  One  of  the  most  amusing  things  was  to  go 
into  a  house  where  a  man  had  tried  to  cure  its 
defects  himself.  Often  in  houses  which  had 
been  put  in  order  by  professional  men,  sore 
throat,  sewer-diarihcea,  and  similar  diseases  were 
noticed.  These  showed  that  it  was  insuflicient 
to  disconnect  the  sewer  and  house-drain,  but  that 
the  waste-pipes  of  sinks,  discharged  even  into  an 
open  chamber,  needed  trapping.  Aii  pa.ssed, 
during  the  night,  through  the  air-chamber  into 
the  house,  and  gave  rise  to  tho  sewer-disciucs 
in  question,  so  that  a  water  trap  was  necessary 
hero.  The  waste-pipes  of  sink.s  were  not  proper 
ways  for  air  to  come  into  a  house. 

Mr.  E.  R.  RoiisoN,  F.S.A.,  regretted  that  the 
author  had  not  mentioned  methods  for  keeping  a 
house  dry,  for  that  was  a  fii'st  step  in  sanitary 
science.  Further,  the  worst  and  most  frequent 
cause  of  disease  had  not  been  alluded 
to,  namely,  that  the  same  cistern  that 
supplied  the  closets  aUo  furnished  the  drink- 
ing-water to  the  household.  Mr.  Robins 
had  said  that  "  drains  should  be  air  and  water- 
tight," but  this  appeared  to  him  wrong;  the 
modern  practice  was  to  admit  of  a  full  circula. 
tion  of  air.  [Mr.  Robins:  I  meant  that  "all 
the  joints  of  drains  should  be  impervious."]  He 
was  glad  to  hear  the  satisfactory  explanation  of 
what  had  sounded  like  a  retrograde  step.  The 
last  point  raised  by  Professor  Corfield,  that  the 
waste-pipes  of  sinks  needed  to  be  trapped  even 
when  discharged  into  the  open  air  was  novel, 
and  he  had  made  a  note  of  it  for  practice. 
Ventilation  opened  up  a  wide  subject,  but  all 
architects  had  to  do  was  to  follow  natural  laws 
in  the  main.  An  open  fire  seemed  a  chaiming 
mode  of  warming  a  room,  but  it  was  exactly  tlie 
wrong  mode.  It  warmed  the  walls  which  were 
already  heated,  and  left  unaltered  the  parts  near 
the  windows,  where  it  was  mo.st  wanted.  In 
any  system  of  warming,  an  effort  should  be 
made  to  introduce  heat  under  the  windows,  and, 
above  all,  to  render  the  corridors  and  passages 
of  the  house  comfortable.  AVith  regard  to  the 
use  of  steam  for  warming,  the  provi.sions  of  the 
Metropolitan  Building  Act  were  obsolete.  It 
persisted  in  treating  hot-water  systems  as  low 
pressure,  and  steam  as  high  pressure,  whereas 
steam  could  now  be  used  as  low  pressure,  and 
the  special  safeguards  required  by  the  Act  were 
unnecessary.  Vertical  ventUation,  it  was  per- 
fectly true,  was  earlier  than  Tobin,  but  he  should 


use  larger  pipes  than  the  author  had  recom- 
mended— up  to  141  square  inches  across  pipe ; 
they  should  be  placed  as  far  as  possible  from 
tho  fire,  and  horizontal  pipes  should  be  avoided 
to  the  utmost  extent.  Unless  absolute  exhaust 
power  were  obtainable,  tho  iidet  openings  should 
be  made  larger  than  the  outlets.  Ho  entirely  ob- 
jected to  the  dirty  air-chambers ;  they  never  were 
kept  clean,  and  whenever  they  liad  been  intro- 
duced into  schools,  the  inmates  complained  after 
a  time  of  lassitude,  fatigue,  and  weariness.  Tho 
heated  air,  so  introduced,  had  been  stated  to  be 
chemically  pure,  but  tho  facts  remained.  Unless 
the  heating  was  by  direct  radiation,  a  system  ol 
warming  was  wrong  in  principle.  Ue  wished 
to  recommend  five  or  six  books  on  these  subjects 
which  were  worth  reading.  First  he  placed 
Hood  ou  "Warming  and  Ventilation";  then 
the  late  Dr.  E.  A.  Parkes  "  Hygiene,"  Buck's 
"Hygiene,"  Professor  Leeds'  "Treatise  on 
Ventilation,"  an  American  work;  Captain 
Douglas  Gallon's  "Healthy  Houses,"  and 
Hcllycron  "  Heating."  He  complained  of  the 
mutilated  abstract  of  tho  paper  now  issued  by 
the  council,  and  .-suggested  tiiat  communications 
should  bo  published  complete,  as  in  previous 
sessions. 

Captain  Douolas  0 altos,  C.B.,  F.R.S.,eaid  he 
wished  to  add  to  the  list  of  books  recommended 
by  the  last  speaker,  that  by  Box,  on  "  Heat." 
The  author  of  the  paper  had  not  alluded  to  a 
cause  of  disease,  at  least  as  serious  as  sewer 
gas,  namely  the  entrance  of  ground-air.  Too 
mivny  houses  in  Loudon  were  built  upon 
very  impure  sites.  Builders  had  excavated  tho 
sand  and  gravel  and  had  allowed  the  sites  to  be 
filled  in  with  rubbish  upon  which  houses  wert 
built,  which  became  beds  of  fever  for  years 
afterwards,  as  the  ground-air  was  drawn  into 
tho  house  through  the  walls  and  basement-floors 
by  every  fire.  Architects  could  not  devote  too 
much  attention  to  this  matter  of  foundations. 
He  had  recently  been  to  America  and  availed 
himself  of  the  opportunities  to  sec  what  wa." 
being  done  there,  and  lie  thought  American 
architects  seemed  to  have  a  greater  scope  afforded 
to  them  than  was  the  ca.se  in  this  country ; 
greater  freedom  was  given  them,  and  money  was 
not  so  much  stinted.  In  New  York  he  remarked 
a  church  and  a  theatre  in  w^hich  the  arrange- 
ments for  ventilation  far  suriiasscd  anytliiug  he 
had  seen  in  England.  Tlie  church  ho  alluded  to- 
was  a  Presbyterian  om  ,  in  which  Dr.  Hall  pre- 
sided, and  was  closely  seated  for  2,000  persons. 
The  ventilation,  however,  was  excellent,  and 
was  partly  upon  the  propulsion,  partly  upon  the 
extracting  principle.  The  theatre  was  that  in 
Maddison-avenue,  and  licrc,  again,  the  ventila- 
tion and  warming  were  far  n»ore  perfect  than 
anything  done  here.  He  was  much  struck  with 
the  perfection  to  -which  Americans  had  carried 
their  systems  of  heating  by  steam.  Steam  had 
great  advantages  in  tho  high  temperatures  ob- 
tainable ;  but  there  were  also  inconveniences. 
One  recommendation  of  tho  hot  water  was  that 
you  could  easily  regulate  the  temperature,  and 
although  there  was  a  method  of  employing 
steam  beneath  exhaust  power,  it  was  neither 
verj'  usual  nor  very  successful.  Another  dis- 
advantage of  steam  pipes  -ft-^as  tho  noise  of  the 
steam  in  them.  Indeed,  for  a  climate  like 
that  of  England,  where  the  variations  of  tem- 
perature were  not  great,  hot  water  was  the  most 
economical  syttem  of  heating.  As  to  emanations 
from  sinks,  it  was  recently  found  that  a  series  of 
pipes  at  University  College  Hospital,  Gower- 
street,  which  only  removed  the  I'li  an  waste-water 
from  tanks  provided  against  fire,  w<  re  so  offensive 
that  they  had  to  be  removed — but  then  the  water 
was  that  of  a  LonJon  water  company. 
(Laughter.)  Mr.  Robins's  paper  was  one 
covering  such  an  enonnoiis  extent  that  it  was 
quite  impossible  even  to  allude  to  it  thoroughly 
off-hand,  and  he  would  suggest  the  adjournment 
of  the  discu-ssion — first,  however,  proposing  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  Jlr.  Robins  for  having  brought 
the  subject  before  them  in  so  comprehensive  a  form. 

Mr.  EwAN  CiiKiSTLfOJ  could  confirm  the  last 
speaker  as  to  Dr.  Hall's  churdi  in  New  York  ; 
he  had  never  entered  a  place  of  worship  where 
the  ventilation  was  so  perfect.  At  Detroit  city 
he  saw  that  from  one  set  of  pipes  all  the  build- 
ings, both  dwellings  and  public  edifices,  within 
the  radius  of  a  mile,  were  heated  to  (ti'  Fahr. 
from  one  set  of  boilers,  and  this  when  the  tempera- 
ture fell  to  20'  below  zero,  and  the  surplus  steam 
workedalltheliftsinthedistrict.  Sucha  systemof 
heating  was  not  necessary  in  this  comparatively 
mild  climate.     As  to  soil-pipe  ventilation,  he 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


643 


believed  Mr.  Norman  Shaw,  in  his  soil-pipe  dis- 
connection, had  solved  the  difficulty  of  house- 
drainage  ;  he  had  tried  it  in  a  house  in  Glouces- 
tershire, and  bad  found  no  occasion  for  traps. 
What  Dr.  Corfield  said  of  the  dangers  from 
influx  of  air  through  sinks  "was,  he  confessed, 
perfectly  new  to  him  ;  he  had  not  found  any 
foul  air  enter  where  the  drains  were  kept  outside 
a  bouse.  No  architect  ought,  he  thought,  to 
have  any  difficulty  in  keeping  all  drains  external. 
The  passage  of  air  through  walls  bad  been  re- 
ferred to  ;  he  always  buUt  them  hollow,  and 
thereby  gained  not  only  greater  strength  from 
properly-bonded  hollow  walls  than  would  be 
found  in  the  same  quantity  of  material  laid 
solidly,  but  he  had  a  non-conducting  layer  of 
air,  a  blanket,  in  fact,  which  made  the  house 
warm  in  winter  and  cool  in  summer.  He  had 
built  a  cottage  with  an  exterior  of  6in.  instead 
of  the  usual  4iu.  timber  quartering,  inside  walls 
of  boarding  and  tiling,  and  between  these, 
separated  by  air-space-s,  fillets  and  rough  plas- 
tering ;  the  cottage  had  been  found  most  com- 
fortable by  its  tenants.  In  the  early  days  of 
the  Gothic  revival,  he  advocated  the  formation 
of  aii'-spaces  in  roofs  which  were  then  miserably 
thin,  and  he  had  continued  to  adopt  that  plan  up 
to  the  present  day.  But  care  must  be  taken  in 
building  with  hollow  walls  to  exclude  bad  smells 
or  they  would  travel  through  the  cavities.  He 
had  an  instance  of  this  at  Addington  Palace, 
where  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  called  him 
in  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  offensive  smells, 
noticed  only  in  the  upper  parts  of  the  house.  He 
found  that  the  drains  were  all  laid  under  the 
house,  and  that  the  foul  air  was  drawn  behind 
the  battening  to  every  room  where  a  fire  was 
lighted,  and  so  impregnated  were  the  walls  with 
the  smell,  that  after  the  battening  and  plaster 
had  been  removed  the  foul  air  still  hung  about 
the  walls.  He  did  not  agree  with  many  of  the 
fashions  of  warming  and  ventilating  which  had 
been  propounded  by  Mr.  Kobins.  He  had  tried 
many  plans,  but  always  found  all  the  holes 
.stopped  up  within  a  month  or  so.  Nothing  was 
better  than  a  roaring  fire  and  open  window. 

Mr.  G.  J.  Stmoxs,  F.R.S.,  thought  the  builders, 
and  not  the  architects,  of  London  deserved  public 
censure  as  to  the  houses  we  lived  in.  There 
was  a  widespread  feeling  amongst  tho  public 
that  the  architect  was  a  lofty  and  exalted  person, 
requiring  large  fees,  and  so  he  was  often  not 
consulted.  Was  it  not  possible  to  have  some 
inferior  order  of  professional  men  who  would 
work  for  rather  lower  fees ':  He  referred  to  a 
system  of  ventilation  he  had  seen  in  an  assembly- 
room  at  Edinbui'gh,  where  the  air  was  removed, 
and  fresh  air  supplied  by  two  gasometer- like 
vessels  which  worked  by  a  reciprocal  motion. 

Professor  W.  R.  Ateton  thought  it  unwise 
to  trust  to  our  senses  as  to  what  was  unhealthy. 
In  Japanese  houses  he  found  people  sitting  over 
a  charcoal  brazier  with  no  chimney  in  the  room ; 
the  place  became  fuU  of  carbonic  acid,  and  yet 
the  Japanese  did  not  seem  to  mind  it,  although 
he  must  admit  that  disease  was  very  prevalent. 
Again,  in  the  United  States,  both  cast-iron 
and  wrought-iron  stoves  were  used,  excessively 
annoying  to  an  Englishman,  as  the  carbsnic 
acid  gas  passed  through  the  iron,  but  the 
iijnericans  did  not  appear  to  feel  it,  although 
their  use  of  these  stoves  was  known  to  be  un- 
healthy. Was  it  not  possible  in  the  future  many 
of  our  modem  practices  would  be  similarly 
deemed  unhealthy  ?  The  proper  mode  of 
warming  seemed,  to  him,  to  be  to  warm  by 
radiation,  and  to  admit  fresh  air  cold,  to  become 
warmed  on  the  walls  and  furniture.  How  this 
could  be  practically  effected  it  was  difficult  to 
.saj',  but  j  ust  as  ten  y(^ars  ago  it  would  have 
seemed  improbable  that  we  should  be  able  to 
light  up  large  areas  of  London  by  single  lights, 
so  might  they  not  hope  for  similar  developments 
as  to  radiated  warming,  as  they  had  seen  in 
electric  lighting  ?  For  certain  purpose  of  cal- 
culation he  and  his  colleague,  Mr.  Perry,  would 
be  glad  if  any  member  could  inform  them  as  to 
the  highest  velocity  of  air  impinging  on  the 
human  body  which,  at  a  given  temperature, 
could  be  tolerated,  and  not  considered  a  draught. 

Lieut. -Col.  Lenox  Peendeeoast  said  that 
either  of  tho  three  subjects  treated  upon  in  the 
paper,  Warming,  and  Lightiug,  and  Ventila- 
tion, would  afford  material  for  a  long  evening's 
discussion.  He  feared  architects  and  those  who 
talked  and  wrote  on  these  questions  forgot  the 
very  people  who  ought  first  to  be  considered — 
those  who  had  to  work  and  live  in  the  build- 
ings.    It  was  only  last  week  that  he  went  over 


the  men's  rooms  in  the  brand-new  barracks  at 
Knightsbridge,  buUt  from  the  desigiis  of  the 
late  Mr.  T.  H.  Wyatt.  Here  he  saw  Captain 
Galton's  admirable  stoves  in  actior,  and  yet  the 
long  rooms,  with  windows  on  opposite  sides, 
according  to  the  latest  theory,  were  so  miserably 
cold,  that  the  wretched  men  were  shiverino- 
under  their  blankets.  The  opposite  windows 
might  be  necessary,  but  why  were  the  sills 
brought  so  low?  Why  were  the  walls  only 
of  porous  brick?  And  why  should  it 
happen  that  in  ev«ry  room  all  those  elaborate 
ventilators,  described  a  fortnight  since  in  that 
room,  were  carefully  stopped  up  r  The  majority 
of  people  in  London  were  living  in  houses  which 
they  had  not  designed  nor  built,  and  they  wanted 
to  know,  not  how  a  healthy  house  could  be  built, 
but  how  to  make  existing  houses  habitable.  In 
his  own  house  he  had  made  experiments.  It 
was  impossible  to  have  openings  through  an 
ornamental  stone  front,  so  he  tunnelled  under  it, 
and  laid  sweeping-flues  of  terra-cotta,  through 
which  he  drew  in  a  supply  of  air,  filtered  but 
cold ;  he  also  provided  special  chimneys  for  car- 
rying away  the  foul  air,  and  the  system  had 
been  a  complete  success. 

It  being  now  10.30  p.m.,  Professor  T.  H. 
Lewis  moved  the  adjournment  of  the  debate, 
and  this  was  agreed  to,  the  President  stating 
that  as  the  next  meeting  was  already  arranged 
for,  the  discussion  would  probably  be  resumed 
on  the  1 7th  January.  A  cordial  vote  of  thanks 
was  passed  to  Mr.  Robins,  and  was  suitably  ac- 
knowledged by  him. 


THE  REPAIR  OF  THE  CHELSEA  SUS- 
PENSION BRIDGE. 
THE  Victoria  Suspension  Bridge  at  Chelsea, 
since  it  has  been  freed  from  toll,  and  come 
under  the  care  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works,  has  been  subjected  to  a  thorough  over- 
haul and  examination,  and  some  progress  has 
already  been  made  towards  strengthening  that 
structure.  The  bridge — as  most  of  our  readers 
may  remember — was  constructed  from  the  de- 
signs of  the  late  Mr.  Page,  and  was  considered 
one  of  his  most  successful  structures  architec- 
turally. The  future  demands  upon  it  were,  how- 
ever, much  under-rated,  and  it  has  had  the 
reputation  of  not  being  so  strong  as  it  might  be. 
Under  heavy  traffic  considerable  vibration  was 
experienced,  besides  the  lateral  oscillation  or 
swing  due  to  side  wind,  and  almost  inseparable 
from  chain  structures.  The  works  now  being 
carried  out  under  the  general  supervision  of  Sir 
Joseph  Bazalgette,  assisted  by  his  son,  by 
Messrs.  Appleby  Bros.,  contractors,  of  Cannon- 
street,  mainly  consist  in  strengthening  the 
structure  against  both  these  movements  by  the 
introduction  of  an  additional  chain  on  each 
side,  and  by  means  of  lateral  braces  from  the 
towers. 

One  of  the  first  objects  in  the  repair  of  a 
bridge  is  to  examine  and  make  good  any  defects 
in  the  girders  and  plates  of  the  roadway,  and, 
with  this  in  view,  one-half  of  the  bridge  has 
been  laid  bare,  and  is  now  undergoing  repara- 
tion and  relaying,  whilst  the  other  half  is  in  use 
for  traffic.  The  centre  part  of  the  roadway  is 
constructed  of  curved  iron  plates,  and  it  was  the 
condition  of  these  which  gave  some  uneasiness, 
as  it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  they  should  be 
protected  from  the  infiltration  of  wet  from  the 
roadway,  and  be  covered  by  some  impermeable 
coating  before  the  paving  is  laid. 

An  inspection  of  the  works  going  on  enables  us 
to  describe  what  has  already  been  done  to 
meet  these  requirements.  The  chief  structural 
alteration  will  be  the  addition  of  another  upper 
chain  on  each  side,  making,  with  the  two 
original,  three  chains,  and  such  a  connection 
between  them  as  shall  insure  each  of  them 
receiving  a  share  of  the  load.  The  engineer's 
plan  to  accomplish  this  is  exceedingly  simple 
and  effective.  The  present  chains  are  connected 
together  at  intervals  by  ii-on  links  of  a  form 
which  tend  to  throw  a  severe  cross-stram  on 
the  centre  of  the  lower  links  of  the  chain,  and 
Mr.  Bazalgette  proposes  to  relieve  this  stram  by 
vertical  suspending  pieces  uniting  the  pins  which 
bear  upon  the  lower  chain  links  to  the  eyes  of 
the  new  chain  links,  so  as  to  distribute  the 
weight  equally  between  them  all,  and  to  make 
each  link  take  its  share  of  tensile  strain.  To 
stiffen  the  bridge  against  side-wind,  trussed 
braces  have  bien  devised  on  the  outer  sides 
of  the  towers,  but  within  the  ornamental 
iron  casings ;  and  these  towers  have  been  further 


united  transversely  by  wind-tie  girders,  while  the 
anchorage  of  the  new  chains  at  the  abutments 
are  receiving  attention,  and  means  of  adjuatin"- 
them  have  been  provided,  the  Diamond  Rock 
dnll  having  been  called  into  requisition. 

Scarcely  less  important  is  the  overhauling  and 
repau-  of  the  roadway  or  platform.  Hero  we  find 
an  important  alteration  has  been  made.  The 
old  roadway  was  laid  on  buckled  plates  ;  these 
were  tarred  and  concreted,  and  wooden  paving- 
blocks  set  upon  the  surface  so  prepared.  The 
concrete  and  tar  has  been  removed  and  the  plates 
exanmied,  and  the  bridge  is  now  being  relaid 
upon  a  better  plan.  The  relaying  consists  of  a 
bed  of  concrete  6in.  thick,  and  upon  tliis  a  layer 
of  Jin.  of  Pyrimont  asphalte,  laid  Ijy  Claridge's 
Asphalte  Company,  to  secure  the  .'iurfaco  of  the 
plates  from  the  effect  of  damp.  Tliia  is  here- 
after to  be  covered  with  wood-paving.  One 
half  the  bridge  has  been  treated  in  this  manner 
with  the  asphalte,  and  notwithstanding  the 
coldness  of  the  weather  and  the  \-ibration 
caused  by  vehicles  on  the  other  half  of 
the  roadway,  the  material  has  not  suffered 
in  the  slightest  degree,  and  from  its  tough- 
ness and  elastic  nature  it  is,  without  doubt, 
the  best  material  that  could  have  been  used.  No 
bridge  roadway,  especially  its  foundation,  is, 
in  our  opinion,  properly  laid  without  a  covering 
of  good  asphalte,  and  the  engineers  have  seen 
the  desirability  of  roofing,  so  to  speak,  the  iron 
plates  of  the  bridge  by  a  layer  of  impermeable 
asphalte,  hke  that  of  Claridge's,  before  they 
lay  the  paving.  By  this  means  all  the  wet  will 
be  thrown  off  to  the  sides.  Many  of  our  bridges 
of  iron  and  brick — we  need  only  instance  a  few 
of  the  viaducts  of  our  metropolitan  lines — are 
suffering  from  an  absolute  want  of  protection  of 
the  material,  whether  it  be  iron  or  brick,  of 
which  they  are  composed ;  the  water  finds  its 
way  through  the  ballast  or  paving,  and,  in 
time,  corrosion  or  disintegration  of  the  structure 
commences.  The  usual  tar  coating,  directly 
the  oil  evaporates,  becomes  brittle  and  cracks, 
and  is  a  delusive  material,  as  it  has  also  proved 
a  dangerous  snare  to  the  contractor.  Asphalte, 
for  the  protection  of  the  very  bone  and  sinew  of 
our  structures,  is  the  only  reliable  material  for 
the  coating  of  vaults  and  arches  ;  it  is  without 
an  equal,  and  the  advantage  it  possesses  in 
absorbing  vibration  is  one  of  its  highest  recom- 
mendations for  bridge  purposes.  The  structural 
alterations  are  being  executed  under  the  im- 
mediate superintendence  of  Mr.  Bazalgette, 
jun.  Mr.  Baker,  engineer,  of  Finsbury-place, 
has,  we  believe,  devised  the  plan  of  bracing, 
and  Mr.  John  Dixon  is  acting  for  the  con- 
tractors. 

CHIPS. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  two  comer-atones  were 
laid  of  the  new  Trinity  Church  schools,  Rosscn- 
dale.  The  schools  are  being  built  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  L.  Booth,  architect,  of  Mauchesttr, 
and  will  accommodate  about  700  children.  Tbe 
warming  and  ventilating  will  be  by  means  of  the 
patent  Manchester  grates. 

Mr.  A.  M.  Hiscoeks,  C.E.,  surveyor  to  the  vestry 
of  St.  George  the  Martyr,  Soutliwark,  was  enter- 
tained at  dinner  on  Thursday  week  by  members  of  tli  a 
vestry  and  other  residents,  and  was  presented  wi'h 
an  address  and  a  purse  of  12-3  guineas,  as  a  m.irk 
of  appreciation  of  the  manner  in  which  he  his  dis- 
charged his  duties  during  the  past  ten  years. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  Pem- 
broke was  held  on  Thursday  week  to  consider  the 
desirability  of  providing  works  of  water  supply 
for  the  borough,  a  hmited  company  termed  lor 
that  object  having  collapsed.  After  lengthy  dis- 
cussion, a  resolution  was  passed  that  the  town 
council  now  take  the  matter  into  their  own  hands, 
and  will  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  best  way  to 
provide  the  town  with  water,  a  compc'ent  engi- 
neer to  be  engaged  to  ascertain  where  Wf.ter  can 
be  found.  ,  ,  .    _ 

The  accommodation  at  the  workhouse  mfirm'iry 
at  Wakefield  being  insufficient,  the  \Vakefieia 
board  of  guardians  instructed  their  clerk  at  their 
meeting  la's!  week  to  write  to  two  local  architects, 
Mr  W:  Crutchley  and  Mr.  Watson,  asking  them  to 
inform  the  board  in  writing  upon  what  termi  they 
would  prepare  plans  and  estimates  for  an  enlarg-3- 
ment  of  the  building. 

On  Sunday  a  new  Roman  Catholic  school-church, 
dedicated  to  SS.  Aidan  and  Oswald,  wa?  opened  at 
Drvclou^h,  near  Roy  ton.  The  budding  may  be 
described  as  a  free  treatment  of  English  Gothic. 
The  whole  has  been  carried  out  irom  the  designs 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Thom« 
\Iitchell,  architect,  of  Oldham.  The  cost  i» 
£2,200. 


644 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  "Nature  Theory"  at  the  Ear  of  Fact 635 

rontefract  Town-Hall 636 

New  Buildings  in  the  City 637 

Architectural  Optics    6(8 

The  Society  uf  British  Artists ...639 

Archit':ctiiral  Association 64i) 

Sanitary  Science  in  its  Relation  to  Civil  Architecture  G41 

The  Kepair  of  the  Chelsea  Suspension  Bridge    643 

Chips 643 

Our  Lithographic  Uluj-tratiooa 644 

The  Glasgow  Architects  and  the  Municipal  Buildings 

Competition 644 

Discovery  of  a  Roniin  Wall  in  the  City 644 

The  Law  as  Affecting  Quantity-Sutvejors 657 

Safety  Arrangement  for  "Water- Pi  pes " 657 

Cantor  Lectures  on  Pottery  and  Poi-celain 65S 

Schoolsof  Art ' 65S 

Competitions (J58 

Parliamentarj-  Notices 66S 

Building  Intelligence 659 

To  Correspondents 660 

Correspondence      6tjO 

Intercommunication     661 

Statues,  Memorials.  &c BG'l 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters       662 

Legallntelligence t62 

Our  Office  Table     .'  663 

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week       664 

Tenders     664 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

scott's  rejected   design   fob  the   west 
st.     albax's.  — sketches    at    fraskfobt, 

and   berlin. — offices  is 

at  speen  cnurch,  berks. 


E-STREET. — 


Our  Lithograph  iclLLUsTRATioNs- 


ME.    JOIIN     O.    SCOTT  S   DESIGN    FOE   THE    WEST 
FRONT    OF  ST.    ALEAN's. 

This  drawing  is  a  sketch  dcsijrn  prepared  by 
Mr.  John  O.  Scott  some  months  since,  as  a 
suggestion  for  the  treatment  of  the  front.  It 
was  prepared  after  Sir  Edmund  Beckett  had 
already  made  two  or  more  designs,  and  the  large 
flanking  turrets  were  in  their  general  idea 
taken  from  these.  The  design  has  the  merit  of 
retaining  Wheathamstead's  great  west  window, 
and  such  original  features  as  remain.  The 
arcades  above  the  rich  portals  are  founded  on 
traces  which  have  been  discovered.  The  upper 
turrets  are  shown  over  the  old  staircases,  and 
the  three  great  portals,  though  they  have  not 
been  worked  out  fully  in  detail,  indicate  the 
elaborate  design  which  the  numerous  beautiful 
fragments  found  prove  to  have  existed. 

SKETCHES   FKOM    BEKLIN,    FELErBUIIG,    ANT) 
FRAXKrOET-ON-JLUN. 

OcE  double  page  of  old  work  illustrations  to- 
day comprises  a  selection  which  we  have  chosen 
from  the  first  volume  of  Mr.  Bernard  Smith's 
entirely  fresh  work,  enttled  "  Sketches 
Abroad,"*  in  four  series,  which  has  just  been 
published.  The  separate  parts  are  to  be  divided 
as  follows  :— 1st  series,  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land ;  2nd,  Sketches  in  Spain  ;  3rd,  ditto  in 
Italy  ;  and  4  th,  the  same  from  France,  each 
book  consisting  of  thirty  plates.  Judging  from 
the  volume  now  before  us,  "  Sketches  Abroad  " 
■will  not  only  be  found  very  interesting  as  a 
comprehensive  collection  of  sketches,  but  as  a 
practically  useful  series  of  suggestions  in 
design,  while  the  plates  have  the"  advantage, 
which  amply  compensates  for  the  somewhat 
rough  finish  of  some  of  them,  that  all  are  fac- 
similes of  the  original  sketches  as  completed 
on  the  spot.  As  a  whole,  the  drawings  certainly 
seem  reliable,  and  the  subjects  illustrated  have 
been  chosen  entirely  from  an  architectural  point 
of  view.  They  include  examples  of  old  houses, 
town-halls,  picturesque  bits  of  s'reet  buildings' 
wood  and  metal  work,  and  furniture,  as  well  as 
needlework,  &c.,  from  Berne,  Basle,  Lucerne 
Freiburg  (Baden),  Strasburg,  Frankfort,' 
M>iyence,  Bacharach,  Andernach,  Cologne, 
Heidelberg,  Ratisbon,  Wurzburg,  Nurember.^j 
Munich,  Lubeck,  Berlin,  &c.  As  a  well-printed 
and  moderately-priced  book  of  sketches,  which 
cannot  fail  to  be  welcomed,  we  recommend 
"Sketches  Abroad." 

OFFICES,  ADDLE-STEEET,    ALDEEMANBTIET. 

The  two  houses  Nos.  18  and  19  in  the  street,  the 
front  elevation  of  which  we  give  as  our  illustra- 
tion, have  been  buUt  by  the  Brewers'  Com- 
pany, from  the  designs  and  underthesuperintend- 


ence  of  Mr.  E.  H.  Maitineau.  Thenew  build- 
ings have  taken  the  place  of  two  old  houses 
which  had  to  be  pulled  down,  and  which  had 
nothing  of  interest  about  thjm  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  old  gateway-entrance  to  Brewers' 
Hall.  This  old  doorway  complete,  with  its 
Corinthian-capped  columns  and  entablature 
surmounted  by  curved  pediment,  was  cartfully 
preserved,  kept  up,  and  incorporated  with  the  new 
design.  The  new  buildini^s  present  a  mixture  of 
red  brick  and  red  Mansfitd  stone,  the  ccrnices 
and  strings  being  of  moulded  bricks ;  ornamental 
red  terra-cotta  panels,  specially  made  by 
Messrs.  Blanchard  from  the  architect's  designs, 
are  worked  in  with  the  brickwork.  Portfand 
stone  is  used  for  the  dressings  of  windows  in  the 
stories  above  ground-floor  story.  The  carving 
on  stone  shields  in  the  pediments,  in  the  principal 
one  of  which  are  the  arms  of  the  Brewers'  Com- 
pany, was  executed  by  Mr.  L.  T.  Carter.  Mr, 
E.  Lawrance  was  the  contractor,  and  Mr.  T. 
Spooner,  the  clerk  of  works.  The  back  of  these 
two  houses  forms  the  south  side  of  the  courtyarl 
of"  Brewers'  Hall,"  which  was  built  soon  after 
the  Fire  of  London,  and  is  rather  a  curious 
specimen  of  the  period.  We  shall  hope  in  some 
future  number  to  be  able  to  give  illustrations  of 
the  old  hall,  from  Mr.  Martineau's  sketches  and 
drawings. 

LICH-OATE,   SPEEN  CHUECH,    BEKKS. 

The  lich-gate  which  we  illustrate  to-day  has  lately 
been  erected  at  the  north  entrance  to  the  church- 
yard of  the  handsome  and  picturesque  church  of 
Speen,  in  Berkshire.  It  is  the  la«t  of  a  series  of 
restorations  and  addition.s,  which  have  been 
carried  on  by  the  late  vicar,  the  Eev.  Henry 
Majendie,  and  his  successor,  the  Kev.  Reginald 
C.  Edwards.  The  framing  of  the  lich-gate  is 
entirely  of  oak.  Broseley  tiles  are  used  for  the 
roof.  The  architect  is  Mr.  G.  Atkinson  Barnes, 
of  Newbury.  The  contractors,  who  also  carried 
out  the  church  restorations,  are  Messrs.  Wheeler 
and  Son,  of  Reading. 


•  Sketches  Abroad,  mnde  whilst  Travelling  Student  of 

Eit.f^rrU'^n*t'"J-,J'''  B^"^*""    Smith,    arch.tect. 
uatsljrd,  52,  High  Holbom. 


THE  GLASGOW  ARCHITECTS  AXD  THE 
MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS  COMPETITION. 

THE  Glasgow  architects,  last  week,  declined  to 
foUow  the  course  of  action  suggetted  to 
them  by  the  council  of  the  local  Institute  of 
Architects.  The  council  proposed  that  the 
following  letter  should  be  sent  to  the  Gla.«gow 
Town  Council :  — 

••Gentlemen,— The  Glasgow  Institute  of  Aichitects. 
having  had  under  serious  consideration  the  results  of  the 
recent  competition  for  the  proposed  Municipal  Buildings, 
has,  at  a  special  general  meeting  of  the  body  convened  U 
consider  what  action,  if  any,  should  be  taken  by  the  In- 
stitute in  the  circumstances,  resolved  ie?pectful] 
bring  under  your  notice  the  following  suggestions  in  ...^ 
hope  that  they  may  be  useful  and  not  unwelcome  at  the 
present  juncture  :  — 

••  1st.  Should  the  Town  Council  decide  upon  selectirg 
one  of  the  designs  alreidy  submitted  to  them,  the  Insti- 
tute desires  to  point  out  that  it  would  be  exceedinsly  un- 
fair to  those  who  have  faithfully  endeivoured  to  aihere 
to  the  conditions  imposed  upon  competitors  if  any  design 
were  so  selected,  the  cost  of  which  would  greatly  exceed 
the  stipulated  sura. 

•••M,  In  the  event  of  the  present  competition  being 
declared  at  an  end  and  a  new  competition  being  decided 
upon,  the  Institute  would  solicit  vour  attention  to  the 
following  points  :-l.  It  is  recommended  that  the  profes- 
sional referee  or  referees  be  chcsen  at  I^rst,  and  that  bis 
or  their  advice  be  taken  in  the  framing  of  the  condiUons 
■2  That  competitors  be  furnished  with  an  exact  statement 
of  the  kind  and  extent  of  the  accommodation  required 
but  with  no  plans  except  a  block  plan  of  the  ground 
showing  the  building  Imes,  or  alternatively  with  plans, 
thearnrngement  of  which  they  should  be  at  liberty  to 
alt«- to  any  extent  and  in  any  way  they  thought  proper, 
3.  I  hat  a  period  of  not  less  than  six  months  should  be 
allowed  for  the  preparation  of  the  drawings.  4.  That  the 
lumtof  cost  should  be  greatly  extended.  5  That  it 
should  be  a  condition  that  the  author  of  the  selected 
design  should  be  employed  as  architect  of  the  new  build- 
ing, unless  it  should  be  found  that  there  were  good 
reasons  why  he  should  not  be  so  employed.  6.  That  the 
design  of  any  competitor  who  violates  any  of  the  condi- 
tions should  be  excluded  from  the  competition 

••  The  members  of  the  Institute— the  great  maiority  of 
whom  are  citizens  of  Glasgow -are  not  actuated  merely 
by  pei-sonal  considerations  in  thus  venturing  to  address 
you  ;  but  they  beUeve  it  will  be  found  that  in  this  instance 
what  will  be  best  fur  them  will  be  best  als  .  for  the  com- 
munity ;  and  they  do  not  doubt  that,  if  such  views  as  are 
indicated  above  be  embodied  in  any  new  conditions  of 
competition,  there  is  every  probability  that  the  result 
would  be  satisfactory  to  all  parties, 

•'  Should  you  desiie  a  fuller  explanation  of  these -liews 
the  Institute  would  be  glad  to  have  an  opportunity  of 
offering  this  through  a  deputation,  which  would  be 
appomted  to  wait  up^n  you  for  the  purpose," 

After  some  discussion  Mr.  John  Baird  moved 
as  an  amendment,  that  the  Institute  delay 
approaching  the  Town  Council  in  the  mean  time. 


Ex-Bailie  Salmon  seconded  the  amendment,  and 
said  he  could  not  help  thinking  that  it  would  be 
derogatory  to  the  Institute  to  approach  the 
Town  Council,  He  thought  it  a  kind  of  begging 
approach  altogether,  and,  further,  it  wa-i  liis 
opinion  that  they  would  >tultify  themselves  and 
lower  themselves  in  the  eyes  of  the  Town  Council 
by  doing  so.  He  tliought  the  letter  which  was  be- 
ing considered  well  prepared  and  very  much  to  the 
point,  and  had  no  objection  to  it  but  on  that  score. 
Mr.  Sellars,  vice-president,  said  that  he  was  pre- 
pared to  move  an  amendment  on  the  same  lines  as 
tho.se  adopted  by  Mr.  Baird,  but  he  was  please  d 
that  Mr.  Baird — one  of  the  olde^t  and  most  ex- 
perienced members  of  the  profession — by  siil  - 
initting  his  amendment,  liad  relieved  him  froiu 
that  responsibility.  It  had  been  a  matter  if 
some  regret  'to  the  speaker)  that  at  this  the  firs* 
meeting  of  the  Institute  for  the  season  he  found 
himself  in  opposition  to  the  president.  He 
sympathised  with  tlie  remarks  made  by  Jlr. 
Baird  and  Mr.  Salmon,  and  would  support  the 
amendment.  Mr.  Bromhead  and  Mr.  David 
Thomson  both  thought  the  In.^ttitute  should 
addres.s  the  Town  Cmmcil,  and  the  Chairman 
{Mr.  Honcynian)  said,  that  he  did  not  sym- 
pathise at  all  with  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Salmon 
about  it  being  derogat  iry  to  their  dignity  to 
approach  the  Coimcil  in  the  way  proposed.  They 
did  not  beg  to  be  heard,  nor  did  they  think  »<^ 
obtrude  their  advice  offensively,  but  as  repre- 
senting the  profe.s,sii>n  here.  They  were  pefectly 
justified  in  offering  their  opinion  in  the  circum- 
stances, and  he  liad  no  doubt  it  would  be  treated 
with  the  respect  to  which  it  was  entitled. 

The  motion  and  amendment  were  put  to  lli» 
meeting,  and  on  a  vote  being  taken  the  amend- 
ment was  carried  by  a  considerable  majority. 


DISCO\^RY  OF  A  ROJIAN  WALL  IN 
THE  CIT\'. 

RECENT  excavations,  made  in  conceclion 
•  with  the  enlargement  of  the  Fenchurch- 
street  Railway-Station  of  tlie  Great  Eastern 
Railway,  have  brought  to  light  theri'mains  of  a 
rubble  waUsuppo.sed  to  bo  a  portion  of  the  old 
Roman  wall.  Mr.  Alfred  A.  Langley,  the 
Engineer  of  the  Company,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Times  says  :  "  this  wall  extends  in  a  northerly 
direction  on  the  north  side  of  the  e.xistingraih- 
way  works."  Another  correspondent  ventures 
to  question  whether  the  wall  be  a  part  of  the 
old  Roman  wall,  but  our  inspection  of  the  work 
leais  us  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is.  The  wall 
has  been  found  about  lOft.  below  the  grounder 
road-surface,  and  is  at  lea.st  from  7ft.  to  7ft.  Gin. 
thick.  It  is  compo.sed  of  mountain  limestone* 
rubble,  with  layers  of  Roman  tile  every  few 
courses.  Tliere  appear  to  be  two  layers  of  tile 
to  six  of  rubble,  th  •  tiles  areabout  ISin.  by  12in. 
and  l|^in.  in  thickness,  and  are  laid  in  mortar  of 
a  coarse  reddi.«h  kind,  though  so  tenacious  that 
the  contractor  has  some  difficulty  in  removing' 
the  courses.  The  excaviition  has  reaehed  the 
bottom  of  wall,  and  the  height  is  about  S  to  lOfl 
In  the  wall  has  been  found  also  a  flue  of  Roman 
tile  measuring  13in.  square.  It  is  thought  that 
further  excavations  will  reveal  the  old  subway 
which  ran  in  this  direction,  a  portion  of  whici 
may  be  seen  under  Barber's  cellars.  The  subway 
is  about  6ft.  by  4ft.  and  is  arched  in  brick.  Mr. 
MiUiken,  in  his  letter  to  the  Timin,  describes  the 
course  of  the  old  London  wall  in  this  part.  He 
says  :  "  Running  northwards  from  the  river,  it 
would,  if  restored,  start  fre^m  a  point  a  little  to 
the  east  of  St.  Thomas's  Tower  (the  Traitors' 
Gale)  across  the  White  Tower,  to  a  point  raid- 
way  between  the  Flint  andB;»yer  Towers  ia 
the  Tower  of  London  ;  thence  to  the  postern  and 
along  the  east  side  of  Tiinity-square  (where  a 
piece  of  it  may  yet  be  seen) :  and  then  between 
Jewry-street  and  the  Minories  to  Aldgate,  and 
so  along  Duke-street,  Bevis-Marks,  Camomile- 
street,  Worm  wood -street,  itc."  The  same 
writer  suggests  that  the  wall  discovered  might 
be  usefully  compared  with  other  fragment?, 
namely  those  on  Ludgate-hill,  in  St.  Giles's 
Churchyard,  Cripplegate,  in  London -wall,  and 
in  the  yard  of  3.i,  Trinity-square,  all  of  which 
are  above  the  levels  of  the  ground.  The  wall 
discovered  at  the  Fenchurch-street  station  formed 
the  foundations  of  the  old  houses  which  have 
been  pulled  down  to  make  room  for  the  proposed 
extension.  Those  who  are  interested  in  the 
subject  had  better  lose  no  time  in  inspecting  this 
newly-found  relic,  as  the  wall  is  now  being 
removed  for  the  new  foundations. 


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Dec.   3,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


657 


THE  LAW  AS   AFFECTING    QUAXTITT- 
SURVEYOKS.* 

{Continued  from  p.  630.) 

LET  us  now  pass   to    the  quantity-surveyor's 
rights  and   his   remedies.     As  to  these,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  there  are  some  points  on 
■which  amendment    is    greatly    to    be    desired. 
When  the    quantity-suryeyor  is  employed  and 
paid    directly    either    by     building- owner,     or 
builder,  the  matter  i.s  simple  enough.     To  his 
employer  only  is  duty  due,  and  by  him  only  is 
fee  or  reward  to  be  paid.     The  biiilding-owner 
employer  cannot  complain  of  mi-takes  which  only 
harm  the  builder,  nor  can  the  builder  complain 
that  his  quantity-surveyor  has  erred  to  the  de- 
triment of  the  building-owner.     But  such  direct 
and  separate  employment  is  not  the  rule,   but 
the  exception.     The  quantity-surveyor  usually 
comes  upon    the    s'ene    thu.'^ ; — The    building- 
owner  selects  his  architect,  gi%'ing  him  his  rough 
idea  of  what  he  wants,  and  the  price  to  which  he 
means  to  go.     If  the  work  is  to  be  done  by  con- 
tract, the  architect,  having  prepared  his  p'ans 
and  specifications,  hands  them  to  the  quantity- 
surveyor,  thus  acting,    as  is  generally  under- 
stood,   as    agent    for,    and    on    behalf    of   the 
buUding-owner.  Atthis  point,  then,  the  quantity - 
surveyor   is  working  for  a    principal  whom  he 
has  never  seen,  who  is  probably  ignorant  of  his 
name,  and  has  the  mistiest  passible  notion  of  his 
calling.      Yet,  at  this   stage,   the  quantity- sur- 
veyor is   on    his  firmest   vantage   ground.     He 
has  done  his  work  for  a  known  and  responsible 
employer,  who  may  abandon  his  scheme,  and  put 
the  bills  of  quantities  in  the  fire.     If  he  does  so, 
the    quantity-surveyor    is    ia    clover,    and  the 
building-owner's   liability   is  undeniable.     This 
was  decided  in  1S37,  in  the  well-known  case  of 
"  Mocn  V.  The  Guardians  of  the  Witney  Union." 
Supposing,  however,   that  a  tender  is  accepted, 
and  a  building  contract  signed,  the  contract  with 
the  quantity-surveyor  shifts  from  the  building- 
owner  to  the  builder.     This  custom  appeal  s  to 
have  been  so  well   established    when    "  Jloon  v. 
The  Witney  Union  "    was   decided  that  neither 
party  endeavoured  to  dispute  it  ;   Chief  Justice 
Tindal  interpreting  the  contract  as  a  conditional 
one,  under  which  the  plaintiff  was  to  be  paid  by 
the  successful    competitor,    if  there  were  any. 
The  de-cision  has  repeatedly  been  cited  and  fol- 
lowed in  trials  at   Xisi   Prius,    but  it  is  always 
desirable  to  vivify  the  fossU  of  the  report  by  rini 
voce  evidence  that  the  custom  there  mentioned  is 
still  recognised  as   binding   by  all  parties  con- 
cerned.    Assuming,    however,    that    "  Moon  v. 
The  Witney  Union,"   is   of   great  weight  as  an 
authority,   it   fails    to    cover    the   whole  of  the 
ground  which  the   quantity-surveyor  would  like 
to  make  his   own.     In   practice,    when    all  runs 
smoothly,  the  money  comes  to  the  quantity-sur- 
veyor by   the    builder's    hand,    but    from    the 
building- owner's   pocket.     The    buUder    is   not 
only  at  liberty,  but   is  generally  required  to  in- 
clude the  cost  of  the  quantities  in  his  tender  for 
the  works.     Very  frequently   also   the   contract 
provides  that    the    quantity-surveyor    shall  be 
paid  out  of  the  first  sum  for  which  the  architect 
certifies  ;  and,  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  it  would 
seem,   alike   from    "  JlcConnell    v.    Kilgalleu" 
decided  1S7S,  and  from  the  general  rule  of  law, 
that,  when  no  term  of  credit  for  work  done  or 
goods  sold  is  fixed  by  contract  or  custom,  the 
price  is  payable  forthwith.  Every  wise  quantity- 
6ur\-eyor  wUl  act  upon  this  rule,  because,  if  he 
good-naturedly     refrains     from     pressing     the 
builder  who  has   not   received   the    price  of  the 
quantities,  he  wiU   run   the    risk   of  losing  the 
reward  of  his  libour  altogether.     For,  granted 
that,  when  the  building  contract  is  signed,  the 
quantity-surveyor's  contract  shifts  from  build- 
ing-owner to  buUder    and  granted  also  that,  as 
soon  as  it  has  so  shifted,  the  quantity-sun-eyor 
can  sue  the  builder,  the  prim'i  facte  inference  is 
that  it  so  shifts  at  once,  unconditionally,  and  for 
all  purposes.     If    so,    the    remedy    against  the 
building-owner  is  gone  for  ever.     Butthis  rule, 
which  looks   so   charmingly   legal,  may,   under 
certain  circumstances,  seem  the  very  reverse  of 
equitable.      In  one   case,    a    builder   had  con- 
tracted upon  quantities  carefully  prepared,  and 
of  which  the  building-owner   had  the  ordinary 
benefit  when  making   the   contract.     Payments 
were  made  on   account ;  but,    as  from  them  the 
quantities  were  carefully  excluded  by  the  special 
direction  of  the   buUding-owner,    the  quantity- 


*  A  pap«r  read  before  the  Institution  of  Siureyors  by 
i.  lUBXER,  barrist€--at-law,  Nov.  22,  1S80. 


surveyor  had  not  the  heart   to  press  a  man  who 
was  hard  up,  to  pay  the   money  out  of  his  own 
pocket.      The   builder    went    into   liquidation, 
having  received  several  hundred   pounds  within 
the  certificate  margin,  but  neither  circumstance 
was  deemed  sufficient    to   entiile  the  quantity- 
surveyor  to  recover  from    the  building-owner. 
Apart  from  custom,    such   a   ruling  is  perfectly 
right,  and  the   case   is  of   sufBciently  frequent 
occurrence  for  it  to  have  become  the  custom  that 
the  shifting  of  the  contract  from  building-owner 
to  builder,   is  subject   to  the  further  condition 
that  the  former  remains  liable  until  he  pays  the 
latter.     Some  evidence  to  this  effect  was  given, 
but  not  enough   to   satisfy   the  judge  who  tried 
the  cause.     Should  such  a  question  again  arise, 
it  might  be  possible  to  fortify  the  evidence  in 
support  of  a  custom  which  has  both  justice  and 
reason  to  recommend  it.     If,  however,  "  shifting 
at  once  and  forever"   doctrine  is  to  be  accepted 
as  the   true  one,    the  building-owner  is  in  the 
happy  po,-ition  of  having  been  helped  to  make  a 
beneficial  contract  by  a  highly-trained  profes- 
sional assistant,  to  whom  he  is  not  bound  to  pay 
a  penny  ;  and   still    harder,    the  more  care  the 
quantity-surveyor  has   taken    of  the  building- 
owner,  the  greater  the  probability  that  he  will 
get     nothing    for     it.       Amongst     competing 
builders,  the  lowest  tenderer  is  often  iinancially 
the  weakest,  and  to  him,  therefore,  payment  for 
quantities  out  of    his    own    pocket,  before  the 
building-owner    has  paid    him,    would  involve 
difficulty  in  meeting  the  more  imperiously- urged 
demand  of    the   British   workman  on  Saturday 
afternoon.     The  quantity-surveyor  knows  this, 
and  does  not  like  to  grind  the  face  of  the  poor. 
He  hopes,  and  waits,  tiU  the  works  stop  ;  a  state 
of  things  the  more  likely  to  occur  if  the  quantity- 
surveyor  has  so  done  his  work  as  to  leave  little 
room  for  contingencies  in  favour  of  the  builder, 
to  whom  a  plus  of  five    per   cent,  may  make  all 
the  difference  between  pulling  through  and  pull- 
ing up.     The  rigorously  faithful  quantity-sur- 
veyor saves  thk  five  per  cent,  for  the  building- 
owner.     The  builder  fails  before  paying  for  the 
quantities,  and  he  has  to  put  up  with  a  dividend 
of  nothing  in  the  pound,  while  his  professional 
brother,  who  is  more  lax  or  more  indulgent  than 
himself,   gives  the   margin,    which  enables  the 
builder  to  hold  on,  and    eventually  to  pay  him 
his  money.     Still,  all  things  have  their  compen- 
sation, and  if  the  building- owner  is  to  claim  the 
benefit  of  non-liability  to  thequantitj'-surveyor, 
the  latter  may  fairly  disclaim  the  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility to    him.     Liability    for  negligence 
may  arise  either   from    duty  or  from  contract. 
The  obligations  of  a  quantity-surveyor  do  not 
arise  from  duty,  for  there  is  no  common  law  duty 
binding  any   man  to  set  himself  to  the  head- 
aching    work     in    which   a    quantity-surveyor 
spends    his     life.     They     must     therefore  'be 
founded  on  contract,  and  a  contract  which  pre- 
supposes  reward.     If,     therefore,    the   contract 
shifts  from  building-owner  to  builder,  as  .soon  as 
the  contract  is   signed,  the  responsibility  .should 
shift  with  it.     That  the  builder  cannot  sue  the 
building-owner  for  inaccuracy  in  the  quantities, 
was  decided  in   "Scrivener   v.   Pask,"  where  a 
builder  failed  in  an  endeavour  to  make  the  owner 
liable  for  inaccuracies  in  the  quantities,  which  had 
involved  him  in   serious   loss,   though  he  might 
well   have   maintained    an    action   against   the 
quantity-surveyor,  whose  fees  he  had  paid.     On 
analogous  principles,  the  defendants  in  "Thorn 
V.  The  Mayor  of   London"  were  held  not  liable 
to  the  contractor  fsr  Blackfriars  Bridge,  because 
a  certain  specified  and  economical  mode  of  con- 
struction was  foimd  impracticable.     The  builder, 
who  pays  the   quantity-surveyor  for  his  work, 
has  a  good  cause  of   action    against    him  if  the 
work  be  badly  done  and  injury  to  him  consequently 
ensues.     But  who  is  to  sue  when  every  mistake 
is  in  the  builder's  favour  ?     Not  the  builder,  for 
he  is  not  only  not  damnified,  but  directly  bene- 
fited.    Not  the  building-owner,   for  as  against 
him,  the  quantity-surveyor  has  lost  his  rights  by 
the  shifting  of  the  contract  ;    he    can  have  no 
cause  of  action  upon  a  contract  to  which  he  has 
ceased  to  be  a  party.     The  buUding-owner  has 
assented  to  the  transference  of  his   own   pecu- 
niary liability  to  the  builder,  and  so  has  become 


employments  involving  trust  or  confidence,  the 
very  reposing  of  such  trust  is  a  consideration 
sufficient  to  support  a  contract  to  perform  the 
duty  or  trust  which  the  law  will  imply  as 
against  the  bailee  or  trustee.  To  sum  up — the 
quantity -surveyor's  legal  position  is  as  follows : — 
His  obligations  are  reasonable  competence  for 
his  work  ;  rea.sonable  care  and  skill  in  his  work  ; 
and  the  highest  honour  in  the  performance  of 
his  work.  Employed  by  the  building-owner, 
through  the  architect,  who,  for  this  purpose,  is 
the  owner's  agent,  his  remedy  is  agaiu.st  the 
buUding-owner  up  to  the  signing  of  the  builder's 
contract.  When  this  has  been  done,  he  may 
sue  the  builder  for  his  fees,  unless  he  has  agreed 
to  wait  till  the  building-owner  has  provided 
funds  for  the  purpose  :  but,  if  he  waits  tiU  the 
builder  has  failed,  he  cannot,  in  the  absence  of 
contract  or  cogent  evidence  of  custom,  recover 
from  a  building-owner,  who  has  had  all  the  benefit 
of  his  work,  and  has  paid  neither  builder  nor 
quantity-surveyor  for  it.  This  hardship  issome- 
what  mitigated  by  the  probable,  but  by  no 
means  certain  consequence  that  after  the  builder 
has  signed  the  contract,  the  quantity-surveyor  is 
liable  to  him  alone  ;  though  the  proposition, 
that  such  a  building-owner  may  maintain  an 
action  for  negligence  in  doing  work  for  which  he 
is  not  bound  to  pay,  is  fairly  arguable.  Whether 
it  is  or  is  not  ultimately  sustainable  is  probably 
of  interest  rather  as  a  legal  moot  than  as  a  prac- 
tical point.  It  would  be  possible  for  the  Council  of 
the  Institution  of  Surveyors,  either  alone  or  in 
conference  with  architects,  builders,  and  others 
practically  conversant  with  the  subject,  to  frame 
a  set  of  rules  which  might  be  so  incorporated 
into  every  contract  as  to  free  the  profession 
from  any  cause  of  complaint  as  to  the  legal 
position  of  quantity-surveyors. 


SAFETY  ARRANGEMENT  FOR  WATER- 
PIPES. 
IN  o"der  to  obviate  the  very  common  evils 
connected  with  the  bursting  of  water- pipes  in 
winter,  Herr  Weissbarth  has  contrived  an 
arrangement  {we  learn  from  the  Jjnilichc  Indus- 
trie ZixtKny)  by  which  any  water  that  may 
escape  thus  is  carried  off  into  the  street-drain 
or  a  cesspool,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  cheap 
mode  of  heating  the  whole  pipe  system  with  a 
single  gas  or  petroleum  flame  is  rendered 
possihle.  The  entire  system  of  water-pipes, 
which,  as  in  every  right  arrangement,  must 
have,  in  all  its  branches,  falls  towards  the 
ascending  pipe,  is  inclusive  of  the  ascending 
pipe)  inclosed  in  sheet  zinc  pipes  of  b  to  Sctra. 
internal  diameter  :  so  that  water  finding  exit  at 
any  part  of  the  system  gets  into  the  inclosing 
pipe,  and  is  carried  away.  The  inclosing  ziue 
pipes,  about  1  metre  long,  are  not  .soldered  at 
the  joints,  but  stuck  into  each  other  like  gutter 
or  waste-pipes,  and  the  water-pipes,  of  lead  or 
iron,  are  fixed  in  the  others  by  means  of  rings 
with  small  projecting  pieces  bent  at  a  right 
angle,  which  catch  in  metallic  tholes  soldered  on 
the  interior  of  the  zinc  pipe.  The  lowest  in- 
closinsr  pipe  has  a  bottom,  through  which  the 
water-pipe  passes  tightly,  and  close  above  this 
is  the  tube  by  which  the  escaping  water  is 
carried  off  to  the  drain.  In  order  to  get  at  the 
water-pipe  without  having  to  take  the  zinc 
pipes  out  of  each  other,  some  of  these  are 
furnished  with  doors  70  to  7octm.  long  and  .5  to 
6ctm.  wide,  which  are  easily  slid  within  the 
tube,  as  they  are  led  above  through  a  .soldered 
metal  ring,  and  below  through  packing  ;  the 
latter  at  the  same  time  prevents  the  water  flow- 
ing out  between  the  doors  and  the  pipe  ;  more- 
over, the  longitudinal  borders  of  the  doors  are 
packed  interiorly,  so  that  the  water  follows  the 
packing  and  dees  not  issue  by  the  door.  The 
fixing  of  the  zinc  tubes  to  the  walls  is  effected 
with  rings  on  which  they  are  supported  with 
noses.  Branch  pipes  are  soldered  into  the  main 
pipe.  AVhen,  in  a  branch  pipe,  stopcocks  occur, 
the  inclosing  pipe  is  there  perforated  for  the 
spindle  and  stuffing-box.  In  the  longer  branch 
pipes,  as  in  the  vertical  ascending  pipes,  doors 
must  also  of  course  be  introduced  in  the  inclosing 


a  stranger  to 'the  contract.     He  does  not  warrant  1  pipes,    the    openings    being    naturally   on    the 


the  accuracy  of  the  quantities  or  the  practica- 
bility of  the  work.  It  would  therefore  be 
anomalous  in  the  extreme,  if,  being  neither  liable 
to  the  quantity-surveyor,  nor  responsible  for 
him,  he  could  maintain  an  action  against  him. 
But  it  most  be  admitted  that  something  is  to  be 
said  on  the  other  side.     In  bailments  nd  other 


upper  side.  At  places  where  the  ascending 
pipe  is  exposed  to  cold,  as,  e.g..  in  water-closets 
or  entrance  halls,  the  arrangement  permits 
readily  of  a  warm  air-current  being  produced  in 
the  inclosing  pipe,  by  means  of  a  ga.s-flame 
(which  may  also  serve  in  illumination) .  To  this 
end  the  pipe  is  furnished  with  an  oblique  branch 


658 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


directed  upwards,  .and  bent  round  to  terminate 
in  an  iron  or  brass  funnel,  under  -wliioh  the  gas 
or  petroleum  flame  burns.  The  heat  then  passes 
into  the  inclosing:  tube.  In  the  air-box  above 
holes  are  provided  to  let  the  air  escape,  and  good 
ventilation  may  thus  be  secured. 

In  order  to  facilitate  repairs,  the  -water-pipe, 
at  the  middle  of  the  doors  of  the  inclosing  pipe, 
is  formed  with  br.ass  connecting  screws.  But 
the  use  of  the  ordinary  soldered  junction  does 
not  present  any  hindrance  by  reason  of  the  zinc 
tube.  Nor  are  any  other  serious  difficulties,  it 
is  said,  encountered  in  the  working  of  the 
system. 


CAJSTTOR   LECTURES    ON    POTTERY 
AND  PORCELAIN. 

IN  his  second  lecture,  given  on  Monday  last, 
Professor  Chiu-ch  dealt  with  vitreous, 
plumbic,  phosphoric,  and  other  glasses  and 
enamels,  and  ii-idescent  and  metallic  lustres,  in 
pottery.  He  stated  that  what  was  called  the 
refractory  quality  of  the  glaze  was  produced  by 
alumina,  lime,  and  baryta.  Hardness  was  im- 
parted by  silica.  The  fusible  element  of  paste 
and  glaze  were  the  alkalies,  soda  and  potash, 
also  lead  and  boracic  acid.  The  heavy  metals, 
as  oxides,  formed  calorific  substances.  Opacity 
was  produced  by  oxide  of  tin  and  sulphate  of 
lime,  amongt  other  things.  Displaj-ing  speci- 
mens which  illustrated  excellence  in  these 
several  quaUties  of  glaze,  he  remarked  that 
Japanese  samples  of  old  pottery  were  rare,  and 
were  getting  more  so.  In  studying  the  various 
kinds  of  enamel,  there  had  to  be  considered  the 
transparency  or  opacity,  as  the  case  might  be  ; 
the  colour,  in  relation  to  its  condition,  whether 
above  or  below  the  glaze,  or  distributed 
throughout  it ;  the  surface,  whether  perfectly 
or  half-polished — whether  it  had  a  metallic 
iridescence  or  a  pearly  lustre.  On  examining 
specimens  of  ancient  glazed  bricks  and  terra- 
cotta, it  was  found  that  they  contained  a  large 
quantity  of  soda.  The  Babylonian  and 
Assyrian  bricks,  2,400  years  old,  contained 
silicate  of  soda  as  the  base  of  the  gloss  ;  and 
copper,  lead,  and  even  antimony  formed  the 
basis  of  colonring.  Old  Indian  enamels  had  the 
same  character,  and  he  showed  a  specimen 
dating  from  not  later  than  the  1.5th  century. 
The  basis  of  tui-quoise  blue  and  cobalt  blue  was 
found  to  be  silicate  of  .soda,  tinctured  with 
copper  and  the  oxide  of  cobalt.  Lead  gloss 
could  be  distinctly  traced  back  to  the  second  and 
first  centuries.  Upon  two  Roman  lamps  dis- 
covered in  England,  the  colour  of  green  upon 
them  was  found  to  contain  a  large  proportion  of 
oxide  of  lead.  This  gloss  was  used  both  in 
Albion  and  Gaul,  but  was  carried  to  a  later 
period  in  the  former  country.  Tin  was  present  in 
enamels  discovered  in  England,  Spain,  and  Italy, 
and  belonging  to  the  Middle  Ages.  As  to  colours, 
those  known  as  encaustic  were  largely  used  by 
Wedgwood.  The  colour  was  incorporated  in  the 
clay.  En,imel  colours  were  practically  glass. 
The  turquoise  blue  on  some  of  the  Japanese  vases 
might  be  deepened  and  given  a  greater  apparent 
antiquity  by  dipping  in  red  ink ;  the  colom- 
was  also  improved  in  such  a  manner  by  dipping 
in  a  solution  of  Prussian  blue  or  indigo.  Man- 
ganese, when  pure,  gave  a  good  blue  or  bluish 
\-iolet ;  but  potters  who  were  anxious  to  secure 
good  colouring-  too  often  sent  to  any  and  the 
nearest  chemist's  shop,  and  got  black  oxide  of 
manganese,  and  the  resulting  colour,  instead  of 
being  bluish,  was  a  sort  of  brown.  Chromium 
highly  oxidised  gave  a  good  yellow,  but  in  other 
proportions  of  combination  it  gave  a  beautiful 
pink,  well  laiown  in  potteries.  The  lustre  of  old 
Staftordshii-e  pottery  was  excellent.  Lately,  in 
Chelsea,  a  successful  attempt  had  been  made  to 
reproduce  the  old  Spanish  and  Italian  lustres. 
The  effect  was  produced  by  introducing  silver 
compounds  into  the  glaze,  and  a  number  of  deli- 
cate mother-o' -pearl  tints  were  to  be  seen. 
"With  the  use  of  copjior,  fine  red  lustres  were 
attained.  The  old  Italian  recipe  was  followed. 
In  conclusion,  the  lecturer  drew  attention  to 
some  of  the  specimens  of  pottery  before  him, 
among  wlach  were  some  pieces  of  English  manu- 
facture which  equalled  the  old  Italian  production, 
articles  of  Persi.an  ware,  richly  inwrought  slabs, 
tiles,  salvers,  cups  and  saucers,  plates,  and 
vases,  forming  altogether  a  varied  and  interest- 
ing collection.  He  announced  that  Salt-glazed 
Stoneware  would  be  the  subject  of  his"  next 
lecture. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 

Carlisle. — The  annual  meeting  of  this  school 
was  held  on  the  2.5th  ult.,  under  the  presidency 
of  the  Mayor.  The  report  stated  that  there 
were  last  year  loi  students,  a  decrease  of  6  on 
last  year,  and  of  26  on  the  previous  year,  and 
the  debit  against  the  treasurer  had  increased 
from  ISs.  to  £15  16s.  Fifteen  prizes  had  been 
gained  against  seven  last  year,  including  a 
Queen's  prize  at  the  national  competition.  The 
chief  local  prize,  a  silver  medal,  given  for  the 
best  drawing  from  the  antique,  had  been  taken 
by  G.  H.  Moss. 

St.  Martin's -iN-THE-FrELDS. — The  annual 
meeting  of  these  schools,  situate  in  Castle-street, 
Long-acre,  was  held  on  Friday  evening.  The 
head-master,  Mr.  Parker,  reported  that,  as 
compared  with  the  past  ten  years,  there  was  an 
improvement  in  the  character  of  the  results,  as 
tested  by  prizes.  In  the  first  grade,  6  certificates 
had  been  gained,  as  against  6  last  year ;  in  the 
second  grade,  11  against  14,  but  one  had  passed 
in  all  'four  subjects,  and  would  have  been  en- 
titled to  three  prizes,  had  the  rules  allowed 
their  award ;  ia  the  third  grade,  18  prizes 
against  12  ;  but  there  had  also  been  gained  four 
as  against  three  free  studentships,  and  also  three 
book  prizes,  three  bronze  medals,  and  one  of  the 
ten  gold  medals  awarded  by  the  department. 
Mr.  Hubert  Herkomer,  A.R.A.,  who  distributed 
the  prizes,  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  head- 
master's work  as  a  teacher  and  skill  as  an  artist, 
and  mentioned  that  many  years  ago  they  were 
fellow-workers  in  the  school  at  South  Kensing- 
ton, when  they  uncompromisingly  sketched  each 
other.  He  had  examined  the  work  which  had 
won  the  gold  medal,  done  by  Mr.  F.  Herring- 
ton,  who,  ho  was  told,  was  a  die-sinker  by  trade  ; 
it  consisted  of  drawings  from  the  life,  and  was 
most  admirable  and  painter-like ;  but  it  indicated 
one  of  the  dangers  of  using  chalk,  because  of  the 
danger  of  indulging  in  mere  fumbling.  The 
awards  generally  showed  that  the  department 
was  not  deserving  of  all  the  blame  cast  upon  it, 
but  that  prizes  were  awarded  rather  to  work 
that  departed  from  the  routine  and  the  monotony 
of  the  average  school  of  art,  than  to  mere 
draughtsmanship,  and  that  the  more  artistic,  the 
more  freely  artistic  a  student's  work  was,  the 
more  prizes  was  he  likely  to  gain.  Mr.  Her- 
komer then  delivered  an  address  to  the  students, 
in  which  he  pointed  out  the  necessary  evils  of 
the  prize  and  competition  system,  and  while  he 
admitted  that  they  could  hardly  help  striving 
for  prizes  from  loyalty  to  the  school  and  from 
their  own  ambition,  he  urged  them  to  remember 
that  the  best  master  could  only  assist  their 
training  themselves,  applying  advice  in  their 
own  way,  and  insisted  on  the  importance  of 
dedication  and  self-instruction.  Above  all, 
simple  hard  work  was  necessary  ;  any  success  he 
himself  might  have  gained  was  the  result  of 
being  a  hard  worker.  In  conclusion,  he  warned 
them  against  mistaking  a  love  of  art  for  ability, 
and  suggested  that  the  great  want  of  our  schools 
was  life-work  done  in  the  spirit  of  the  antique. 
He  introduced  to  them  Mr.  Seymour  Lucas,  who, 
as  a  former  student  at  St.  Martin's,  acknow- 
ledged his  indebtedness  to  the  Gilbert  Sketching 
Club,  where  he  learned  how  to  design  and  com- 
pose a  picture,  and  begged  his  successors  in 
school-life  to  work,  not  for  gold  medals,  but  from 
love. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Raikes  Memoeial  Cmnicn. — It  seems  in  this 
competition,  no  restriction  was  made  as  to  motto 
or  name,  and  many  competitors  preferred  to 
attach  their  name.  Forty  sets  were  received ; 
these,  the  committee  reduced  to  eleven,  and 
p;icked  and  returned  the  rejected  sets.  The 
eleven  selected  sets  were  removed  to  phe  resi- 
dence of  the  chairman,  for  fui'ther  consideration. 
Of  the  eleven  so  selected,  five  are  by  local  men. 


A  new  coffee-tavern  has  been  erected  at  Cater- 
ham.  Its  total  cost  will  amount  to  about  £2,000. 
The  builder  is  Mr.  Charles  Scrivener,  of  Caterham  ; 
the  architect,  Mr.  E.  Martin;  the  fitter,  Mr. 
Hogben.  The  elevations  are  of  pale  straw- 
coloured  bricks,  from  Betchworth,  relieved  with 
red  brick  arches,  string-courses,  &c.  U he  principal 
feature  ia  the  exterior  js  the  shop-front,  which  is 
after  the  style  of  the  latter  part  of  the  I6th  cen- 
turj'.  The  prevailing  colours  of  the  shop-front 
aro  chocolate  and  buff,  relieved  with  lines  of 
red. 


PARIilAMENTABY  NOTICES. 

Open  Spaces  in  the  Meteopolis.— Itis  intendi  .1 
to  introduce  into  Parliament  next  session  a  Bill:  i 
amend,  extend,  and  enlarge  the  provisions  of  tli  ■ 
Metropolitan  Open  Spaces  Acts,  1877,  and  toeiiuMo 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  and  any  vestry 
or  other  parochial  or  local  authority  and  tlie 
Corporation  of  the  City  of  London  to  purchase  or 
otherwise  acquire  the  soil  of  or  any  limited  estate 
or  interest  in,  or  the  control  over,  any  open  spaces 
within  the  limits  of  the  metropolis,  to  devote  them 
to  public  recreation,  and  to  apply  funds,  rates,  or 
revenue  to  their  purchase,  &c.  'The  Bill  will  also 
enable  agreements  to  be  made  with  the  owners, 
trustees,  and  others  interested,  with  respect  to  the 
objects  contemplated;  and  will  provide  that  dis- 
used churchyards,  burial  grounds,  and  cemeteries, 
shall,  subject  to  such  ecclesiastical  sanction  as  the 
Bill  shall  provide,  be  treated  as  open  spaces. 

Sea-Watee  StiTPLY  to  Loxeon.— In  the  ensuing 
Session  of  Parliament  leave  will  be  asked  to  briii^,^ 
in  a  Bill  for  the  incorporation  of  a  company,  witli 
powers  to  construct  conduits,  reservoirs,  apumping 
station  and  other  works,  between  Lancing,  in 
Sussex,  and  London. 

TuE  Watee  Supply  of  the  Metropolis. — Notice 
has  been  given  that  it  is  intended  to  apply  to  Par- 
liament in  the  ensuing  Session  for  leave  to  bring  in 
a  Bill  for  an  Act  to  create  a  London  water  authority, 
representing  the  consumers  of  water  in  the  metro- 
polis and  adjacent  districts,  with  powers  to  secure 
to  them  an  improved  supply  of  water  at  reasonable 
rates.  The  Bill  asks  for  powers  to  acquire  and 
utilise  existing  sources  of  supply  as  far  as  may  be 
deemed  expedient,  to  make  all  necessary  inquiries 
with  this  object,  and  also  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  recourse  may  not  bo  had  with  advantage 
to  sources  of  supply  other  than  those  now  used  by 
the  metropolitan  water  companies.  Power  will 
also  be  sought  by  the  Bill  to  enable  the  London 
water  authority  to  make  and  carry  into  effect 
agreements  for  the  purchase  of  the  undertaking  of 
the  companies  mentioned,  "  and  to  authorise,  and 
if  necessary,  require  and  comi)el  such  companies 
respectively  to  sell  their  undertakings  or  any 
parts  thereof  "  to  the  authority,  and  iu  the  evt-ut 
of  their  purchase,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the 
intended  Act,  to  exorcise  all  the  rights  and  powers 
of  the  companies.  The  Bill  asks  to  make  provision 
for  raising  or  borrowing  the  money  and  issuing  tlie 
stock  required  for  carrying  into  effect  the  purposes 
of  the  Act  on  the  security  of  the  rates  to  be  levied 
within  the  metropolitan  water  area ;  and  in  tl-ie 
event  of  the  purchase  to  make  provisions  as  to 
applying  and  distributing  the  purchase  moneys  and 
paying  the  debts  and  liabilities  and  undertakings 
acquired,  for  the  dissolution  of  the  companies  and 
winding  up  their  affairs,  and  as  to  the  employment 
of  and  the  duties  to  be  performed  by  the  existing 
officers  and  servauts  of  the  companies,  "and  for 
compensating  such  as  may  be  deprived  of  any  salary 
or  emolument.  "  The  companies  referred  to  as  the 
metropolit.an  water  companies  are  the  New  River, 
the  East  London,  the  Southwark  and  Vauxhall, 
the  West  Middlesex,  the  Lambeth,  the  Chelsea,  the 
Grand  Junction,  and  the  Kent.  Powers  for  insur- 
ing a  proper  supply  and  its  effectual  distribution 
are  asked  for,  as  well  as  the  transfer  to  the 
authority  of  all  powers  of  regulation  or  control, 
ire,  in  respect  of  the  metropolitan  water  supply 
now  vested  in  any  public  Board  or  authority.  The 
Bill  seeks  to  alter  and  enlarge  the  powers  and 
provisions  relating  to  the  companies  mentioned,  and 
to  repeal  or  alter  certain  other  Acts  specified. 


CHIPS. 

A  memorial  window,  in  memory  of  the  late  Mr. 
W.  S.  Dixon,  is  about  to  be  placed  in  AUoway 
Church,  near  Ayr.  The  subject  will  be  the  Ascen- 
sion, and  the  artists  are  Messrs,  Kier,  of  Glasgow. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  Unitarian  schoolroom 
was  laid  in  Avondale-road,  Peckham,  on  Wednes- 
day week.  A  school  and  also  a  permanent  chapel 
are  to  be  buiit  on  the  site,  from  the  designs  of  Mr. 
H.  C.  Brace;  the  builders  are  Messrs.  Watson  and 
Co.,  of  Eist  Dulwich. 

The  church  of  St.  Michael,  Stockwell,  S.W.,  is 
undergoing  restoration,  including  the  removal  of 
the  chancel  from  one  end  of  the  church  to  the 
other,  re-pewing,  the  alteration  of  the  position  of 
the  organ,  and  the  taking  down  of  a  gallery. 
Messrs.  M'Lachlan,  of  Clapham,  are  the  contrac- 
tors. 

The  ancient  manor-house  of  Lydiard,  near  Swin- 
don, was  destroyed  by  fire  on  Sunday  week.  Work- 
men, in  the  employ  of  Messrs.  Phillips  and  Powell, 
builders,  were  employed  in  the  house  up  till  2  p.m. 
on  the  previous  day,  as  two  wings  were  being  added 
to  the  house. 

The  Ely  local  board  of  health  have  received  24 
applications  for  the  appointment  of  surveyor,  to 
which  Mr.  Harlock  was  only  recently  elected,  under 
circumstances  we  commented  upon  at  the  time,  aud 
have  reduced  the  number  to  four. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


659 


Builtiiufl  ]IutclUgcucc. 


DuuDEE. — The  alterations  and  extensions  of 
the  Bank  of  Scotland  premises  in  Dundee,  being 
complete,  the  building  has  been  reopened  for 
business.  The  original  bank  was  complicated  in 
plan,  and  inefficiently  lighted,  and  opportunity 
was  taken  in  the  alterations  of  extending  the 
telling-room  area  by  covering  in  an  open  court. 
The  result  has  been  a  large  symmetrically- 
arranged  telling-room  well  lit,  and  with  in- 
creased agent's  and  waiting-room  accommodation. 
The  south  floor  is  partly  devoted  to  .spacious 
book  and  cash  safes,  with  a  stair  and  Uft  com- 
municating. The  agent's  house,  which  occupies 
the  upper  floors  of  block,  has  been  entirely  re- 
modelled ;  as  a  considerable  part  of  its  floors  and 
walla  are  over  a  void  space  in  the  telling-room, 
WTOught-iron  beams,  of  large  scantling,  have 
been  employed  as  means  of  support.  These  are 
partly  sustained  by  granite  shafts  with  stone 
carved  caps  and  bases,  which  form  an  architec- 
tural feature  in  the  room.  The  whole  of  the 
work  has  been  carried  out  from  the  designs  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  G.  S.  Aitken, 
arcliitect,  Dundee 

DuEHAii. — The  new  post-ofEce  at  Durham, 
erected  from  designs  prepared  by  Mr.  Jas.  AVil- 
liams,  arcliitect  to  H.M.  Board  of  Works,  is  now 
completed.  It  is  situate  in  Sadler-street,  in 
close  proximity  to  the  Market-place.  It  is  built 
in  the  Classic  style  of  architecture,  and  is  two 
stories  in  height,  with  a  frontage  of  36ft.,  while 
from  front  to  rear  it  measures  SOft.  The  front 
is  of  Dunhouse  stone  up  to  first-floor  level,  and 
the  remainder  is  of  brick  with  stone  dressings. 
The  ground-floor  contains  public  office  n-ith 
counter  SOft.  long  and  sorting  office  Hit.  by 
24ft.  On  the  first-floor  is  thetelegraph-depart- 
ment,  stores,  clerks,  and  letter-carriers'  rooms, 
&c.  The  cost  of  the  building  has  been  about 
£3,  .500.  The  sole  contractors  for  the  works 
were  Messrs   Geo.  Gradon  and  Son,  of  Durham. 

HoETON-iN-ErBEESDAiE. — The  parish-church 
of  Horton  has  been  reojiened  after  restoration. 
In  the  north  aisle,  the  windows,  which  were 
circular-headtd  sashes,  have  been  replaced  by 
others  of  fifteenth- century  style,  copied  from 
those  in  the  north  aisle.  The  old  roof  to  body 
of  church,  of  the  rudest  construction,  has  been 
repaired  and  the  lead  relaid.  The  interior  has 
been  seated  with  benches  of  late  character,  open 
side- screens  have  been  erected  in  the  aisles,  and 
in  the  absence  of  the  usual  arch,  a  low  stone 
screen  has  been  elected  between  chancel  and 
nave.  The  east  window  has  been  filled  with 
stained  glass,  as  a  memorial  to  the  late  Mr.  John 
roster  ;  this  portion  of  the  work  was  executed 
by  Messrs.  Powell,  and  Co.,  of  Leeds.  Messrs. 
Hedley,  of  Bradford,  were  the  architects  ;  and 
Mr.  William  Deuuison,  of  Normauton,  was  the 
contractor ;  the  outlay  on  the  restoration  was 
about  £1,100. 

Manningham. — The  new  Church  of  St.  Luke, 
Manningham,  was  consecrated  last  week.  The 
style  is  1.5th  icentury  Gothic,  and  the  plan  con- 
sists of  nave  76ft.  long,  24ft.  bioad,  and  40ft. 
high  to  ridge;  north  and  south  aisles  each  lift, 
broad,  chancel  31ft.  long,  and  of  equal  width 
and  height  with  the  nave  ;  five  small  transepts 
or  chapels,  two  to  the  north  of  the  north  aisle, 
thi-ee  to  the  south  of  the  south  aisle,  each  1.5ft. 
long,  lift,  broad,  and  20ft.  in  height  from  the 
floor  to  the  ridge,  large  organ-chamber  in  the 
north  of  the  chancel,  tower  to  the  north  of  the 
organ-chamber,  and  vestry  to  the  south  of  the 
chancel.  Advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  con- 
siderable fall  of  the  ground  from  west  to  east  to 
provide  two  additional  vestries  in  the  basement. 
Accommodation  is  provided  for  737  adults.  The 
cost  has  amounted  to  about  ,£4,000.  The  build- 
ing has  been  erected  from  the  designs  a  nd  under 
the  superintendence  of  Messrs.  T.  H.  and  F. 
Hcaley,  of  Bradford. 

Metkopolitan  Boaed  of  Woeks. — The  super- 
intending architect  announced,  at  the  meeting  of 
this  board  on  Friday,  the  death  of  Mr.  John 
Mullins,  late  distric'  surveyor  for  Streatham, 
and  Brixton.  As  a  consequence  of  this  it  was 
ordered  that  the  Vestry  of  Lambeth,  in  reply  to 
their  letter  calling  attention  to  the  quality  of 
the  bricks  used  in  the  inner  walls  of  buildings  on 
the  Ehn  Park  Estate,  Brixton  Hill,  be  informed 
that  the  district  surveyor  to  be  hereafter 
appointed  will  be  instructed  to  pay  special  atten- 
tion in  this  case  to  the  observance  of  the  By- 


laws made  by  the  Board  under  the  provision.s  of 
the  Metropolis  Management  and  Building  Acts 
Amendment  Act,  1S78.  Drawings  submitted 
by  Mr.  C.  J.  Phipps,  on  behalf  of  Mr.  R.  D'Oyly 
Carte,  for  the  construction  of  a  new  theatre  to 
be  called  the  Beaufort  Theatre,  on  a  site  on  the 
west  side  of  Beaufort  Buildings,  Strand,  were 
approved.  It  was  agreed  to  contribute  one  half 
the  cost  of  widening  the  junction  of  Fulton-lane, 
and  Battesea  Park-road,  from  40ft.  to  70ft.,  and 
of  the  main  road  at  Nine  Elms,  as  proposed  to 
be  carried  out  by  the  Battersea  District  Board. 
The  tender  of  Messrs.  Nowell  and  Eobson,  the 
lowest  of  six  received,  was  accepted  at  £2, .57.5  for 
repairing  and  making  up  Coventry-street,  Hay- 
market,  as  widened  under  the  Streets  Improve- 
ments Act. 

NoEwicn. — The  work  of  restoration  at  St. 
Peter  Mancroft  Church,  the  finest  of  the  many 
churches  in  Norwich,  is  progressing  satisfactorily 
under  the  supervision  of  the  clerk  of  works, 
Mr.  C.  Ireland,  and  the  architect,  Mr.  G.  E. 
Street,  R.  A.,  has  recently  paid  it  a  visit  of  in.ipec- 
tion.  With  respect  to  the  tower,  the  niches  on 
the  level  of  the  clerestory,  with  their  pediments 
and  canopies,  on  the  north  and  south  facades, 
have  just  been  completed,  with  the  exception 
of  a  little  of  the  carving,  and  the  buttress  at 
the  south-eastern  angle  has  been  carried  up  to 
the  height  of  the  other  work.  The  whole  of  the 
clerestory  lights  on  the  south  side  have  been  re- 
stored, and  are  nearly  fit  for  the  glazier.  The 
workmen  are  now  engaged  on  the  two  Renais- 
sance octagonal  turrets  which  flank  the  eastern 
front  of  the  church,  and  face  the  Market-place. 
These  having  become  decayed,  are  to  be  replaced 
by  others  more  in  accordance  with  the  Perpen- 
dicidar  character  of  the  church ;  that  on  the 
south  side  has  been  removed,  and  it  is  expected 
that  both  the  new  tuiTets  will  be  completed  be- 
fore Christmas.  The  repairs  to  the  magnificent 
roof  of  nave  have  been  completed,  except  some 
of  the  carved  wood  for  replacing  fini.als,  &c., 
seen  to  be  past  alteration,  and  the  roof  was 
found  to  be  in  a  better  state  than  was  expected. 
The  nave-roof  has  been  releaded,  and  that  over 
the  north  aisle  is  now  being  stripped,  the 
timber  being  found  to  be  in  good  condition.  An 
effort  is  being  made  to  raise  funds,  before  the 
scaffolding  is  removed,  for  completing  the  upper 
part  of  the  great  square  tower,  which,  although 
carried  to  a  height  of  98ft.,  was  never  finished, 
except  in  a  temporary  and  slovenly  manner,  and 
it  is  unfortunate  that  no  trace  or  suggestion  is 
known  to  exist  of  the  original  design.  ~ 

OLDHAit. — On  Sunday  last  St.  Anne's  Roman 
Catholic  school-chapel,  erected  in  Airey -street, 
Oldham,  was  opened.  The  building  consists  of 
a  schoolroom  60ft.  by  30ft.,  20ft.  to  the  highest 
part  of  ceiling;  a  class-room  20ft.  by  14ft.,  a 
chancel  shut  off  by  folding-doors,  and  a  small 
vestry.  Accommodation  is  provided  for  260 
children,  and  the  total  cost,  including  the  usual 
offices,  boundary-wall,  gas  and  water-fitting, 
heating,  &c.,  is  not  expected  to  exceed  £3  per 
child.  The  buOdings  are  plain  but  substantial. 
The  large  room  is  heated  by  one  of  Shorland's 
"Manchester  stoves."  The  architect  is  Mr. 
Herbert  E.  Tijou,  of  Manchester,  the  con- 
tractors being  Messrs.  Charles  Schofield  and  Co., 
Oldham. 

Over  Daewen. — A  new  Wesleyan  school- 
chapel  is  now  in  course  of  erection  at  a  cost  of 
about  £1,000.  The  walls  externally  are  exe- 
cuted in  coursed  parpoint  walling,  with  dressed 
quoins  and  mullions  to  window  openings,  from 
local  quarries.  The  school-chapel  is  .5Gft.  by 
30ft.,  with  one  class-room  on  each  side  1.5ft.  by 
12ft.,  and  2  vestries  behind  same  15ft.  by  r2ft. 
Seating  is  provided  for  400,  the  centre  benches 
being  fLxtures,  and  the  benches  at  each  side  re- 
versible for  class  teaching.  The  class-rooms 
will  be  fitted  up  with  patent  revolving  shutters, 
so  as  to  disconnect  them  from  chapel  when 
required.  The  main  roof  will  have  framed 
principals  of  pitch-pine,  varnished  and  ceiled  to 
collar-beam,  and  will  have  perforated  centre- 
pieces fixed  between  each  principal  for  ven- 
tilation. The  buUdiug  throughout  will  be 
heated  with  hot-water  apparatus  fixed  in  heat- 
ing-cell under  vestries.  The  works  are  being 
carried  out  by  local  contractors,  from  the  plans 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs. 
Thackeray  and  Woods,  of  Darwen. 

South  Bank. — The  foundation-stone  of  a  new 
Wesleyan  chapel  at  South  Bank  was  laid  last 
week.     The  buildings  are  to  be  in  the  Italian 


style,  of  brick.  The  scheme  comprise.s  the  erec- 
tion of  chapel,  Sunday- schools,  vestries,  and 
minister's  house  ;  but  for  tho  present  the  latter 
is  in  abeyance.  The  chapel  is  44ft.  wide,  and 
■5Sft.  long  on  ground-fluor,  with  an  extreme 
length  of  79ft.  and  will  accommodate  720  adults 
at  20in.  each.  Hot-air  stoves  and  Boyle's  air- 
pump  ventilation  will  be  u.=ed.  Mr.  John  Clark, 
of  South  Bank,  is  the  contractor  for  the  entire 
work ;  Mr.  Job  Sturdy,  of  Middlesbrough, 
clerk  of  the  works ;  and  the  whole  design  has 
been  prepared  by  Mr.  F.  R.  N.  Haswell, 
F.R.I.B.A.,  architect,  of  North  Shields. 

Stow. — On  the  22nd  ult.,  the  old  parish- 
church  of  Stow-cum-Quy,  near  Cambridge,  was 
reopened  after  restoration  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  William  Wliite,  F.S.  A.  The  roof  was  found 
to  be  in  an  almost  dangerous  state  ;  the  ends  of 
all  the  main  timbers  being  completely  rotten. 
These  have  been  pieced  without  removal.  If 
once  removed,  their  replacement  would  have  beeQ 
impossible.  The  whole  of  the  fittings  are  of  oak. 
The  chancel  has  been  thoroughly  restored,  with 
a  grant  in  aid  from  the  Ecclesiastical  Com- 
missioners. Some  interesting  arches,  carried  ou 
angels,  have  been  opened  out  in  the  two  side- 
walls  ;  the  one  containing  a  window,  the  other 
forming  a  recess  in  which  are  remains  of  decora- 
tive colouring.  A  few  remains  of  decorative 
colour  have  been  discovered  also  on  tho  walls  of 
the  nave.  These  have  been  preserved,  though 
not  sufficiently  clear  to  be  deciphered.  The 
upper  stage  of  the  tower  also  ha.'S  been  rebuilt  in 
stone  .and  flint.  This  had  been  removed  some 
eighty  years  ago  and  replaced  with  timber 
framing  filled-in  with  brick,  and  a  sham  parapet. 
Some  rather  interesting  parapets  of  brick,  often 
found  in  the  Eastern  Counties,  were  necessarily 
removed  from  the  clerestory,  and  could  not  be- 
replaced. 

ToNBEiDGE,  Kent. — Ferox  Hall,  the  residence 
of  Mr.  T.  A.  Beeching,  the  banker,  has  been 
restored  and  considerably  enlarged.  It  is  an  old 
red  brick  edifice  of  some  architectural  interest. 
A  new  wing,  in  character  with  the  old  building, 
has  been  added  on  the  side  towards  the  stables, 
and  a  new  garden-front  has  also  been  built.  The 
materials  used  are  similar  red  brick  as  the  old 
work  consists  of  for  the  walling,  and  local  sand- 
stone for  the  dressings,  whilst  the  roofs  are 
covered  by  dark  brown  tiles.  The  carved  wood- 
work in  the  rooms  was  done  by  Mr.  Harry  Hems, 
of  Exeter.  The  exterior  stone -carving  is  also 
by  the  same  artist.  Messrs.  Benham  and  Sons, 
of  Wigmore-street,  have  supplied  the  ranges  in 
the  kitchens.  The  contractors  for  the  whole  of 
the  works  were  Messrs.  George  Punnett  and 
Sons,  of  Tonbridge. 

WiNGFLELD. — The  parish  (formerly  collegiate) 
church  of  Wingfield,  near  Bungay,  was  re- 
cently reopened,  after  restoration.  It  is  Late 
Decorated  and  Perpendicular  in  style,  and  con- 
sists of  a  nave  and  chancel,  with  aisles  ex- 
tending on  either  side  the  whole  length  of  the 
building.  Some  twelve  or  fourteen  years  since 
the  chancel  was  restored  by  the  Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners,  and  at  that  time  the  roof  of 
the  nave  and  of  the  north  aisle  were  also  re- 
stored. Tlie  south  aisle  has  been  almost 
entirely  rebuilt  and  its  roof  releaded,  and  the 
north  aisle  has  also  been  strengthened  and  re- 
paired. The  floor  has  been  raised  Sin.  in  height, 
and  all  the  pews  removed,  those  in  the  nave 
being  replaced  by  oak  benches  having  carved 
poppy-heads,  and  in  the  ai-sles  plainer  benches. 
For  the  bricks  in  passages  have  been  substituted 
tile  paving,  in  three  colours.  The  three-decker 
pulpit  has  been  restored,  and  placed  upon  a 
pedestal,  and  the  paint  has  been  removed  from  it 
and  all  other  woodwork.  A  box-gallery  has  been 
removed  from  the  tower-arch  at  the  west  end 
of  church,  and  an  oak  screen  now  separates 
the  belfry  from  the  nave.  The  walls  have  been 
replastered  and  the  stonework  of  arcades  made 
good.  Mr.  R.  M.  Phipson,  of  Norwich  and 
Ipswich,  was  the  architect,  and  3Ir.  G.  Grim- 
wood,  of  Weybread,  tho  contractor;  all  the 
carving  and  other  work  was  executed  by  Suffolk 
men.  °The  cost  of  the  restoration  has  been 
£1,078.  . 

WoLVEEHAMPTON'. — A  pulpit,  Icctem,  and 
stained-glass  window  have  just  been  placed  in 
St.  Paul's  Church,  in  memory  of  the  late  Rev. 
W.  Dalton,  B.D.,  its  founder  and  first  vicar. 
The  pulpit  is  Perpendicular  Gothic  in  style,  of 
unstained  oak,  with  winding  stair  and  baluster 
of  the  same,  and  is  8ft.  in  height ;  the  body  is 
1  octagonal,  having  carved  wood  panels  open  ta 


660 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


the  upper  portions ;  the  book-rest  and  candelabra 
are  of  brass.  The  lectern  is  of  polished  oak, 
having  canopied  panels  in  the  lower  part.  Mr. 
Veal,  architect,  designed  the  pulpit,  which  was 
constructed  by  Messrs.  CockeriU,  also  of  Wolver- 
hampton. The  window  is  a  single  light,  on 
north  side  of  organ,  and  has  as  its  subject  a  full- 
length  figure  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  bearing  the 
emblems  of  the  sword  and  book.  The  stained- 
glass  is  by  Mr.  S.  Evans,  of  West  Smethwiek. 

YoEK. — Plans  and  drawings  have  been  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  J.  Hall,  of  Canterbury,  for  a  new 
church  for  .'the  parish  of  St  Lawrence.  The 
structure  will  be  in  the  Early  Engli.sh  style.  The 
dimensions  will  be:  nave,  II  1ft.  long  by  45ft. 
wide ;  chancel,  3.5ft.  long  by  23ft.  6in.  wide. 
At  the  south  side  of  the  chancel  wiU  be  situate 
the  organ-gallery,  and  on  the  north  side  the 
vestry.  There  will  be  side  aisles  and  a  north  and 
south  transept.  The  main  aisle  will  spring  40tt. 
from  the  floor  to  the  top  side  of  the  pan,  and 
from  the  pan  to  the  ridge  a  further  distance  of 
22ft.  The  side  aisles  will  rise  20ft.  9in.  from 
the  floor  to  the  pan,  and  from  the  pan  to  the 
ridge  10ft.  The  new  edifice  will  accommodate  SOO, 
650  sittings  for  adults  and  150  sittings  for 
children.  The  inside  is  to  be  of  brick  and 
plaster,  ezcept  the  chancel,  which  will  be  lined 
with  ashlar.  The  floors  will  be  laid  with  Staf- 
fordshire tiles.  The  roof  will  be  open-timbered, 
covered  with  English  boards,  varnished.  The 
cost  of  the  church  will  be  about  £6,000. 


CHIPS. 

A  small  school  for  40  children,  with  teacher's 
d  welling-  house,  has  been  erected  by  the  School  Board 
of  Glenmuick  and  Tullich,  N.B  ,  at  a  cost  of 
£340,  from  plans  by  Mr.  A.  E.  Duguid,  Ballater. 

Plana  have  been  approved  for  a  new  coffee - 
tavern,  reading-room,  &c.,  at  Hohne  Head, 
Carlisle,  chiefly  for  the  use  of  Messrs.  Ferguson 
Bros.'  workpeople.  Messrs.  Hetheringtou  and 
Oliver  are  the  architects. 

A  new  U.  P.  church  has  been  opened  at  Perth. 
The  architect  is  Mr.  T.  Lennox  Watson,  of  Glas- 
gow, whose  design  was  selected  in  limited  compe- 
tition, Mr.  Peddie,  M.P.,  of  Edinburgh,  being  the 
proeasional  referee. 

The  Church  of  St.  Andrew,  Buckland,  near 
Dover,  was  opened  on  Tuesday.  During  the  past 
four  months,  it  has  undergone  enlargement  from 
the  designs  of  Mr.  Butterfield,  architect,  Mr.  Ad- 
cock,  of  Dover,  being  the  builder.  The  nave  has 
been  extended  westward  for  about  50ft.,  and  pro- 
vides 250  extra  sittings.  The  work  necessitated 
the  removal  of  an  old  3'ew-tree,  generally  supposed 
to  he  1,000  years  old.  This  was  successfully  done 
last  March,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Baron. 

Conservative  club-rooms  are  about  to  be  opened 
atBrighouse,  near  Halifax.  The  building  is  being 
adapted  from  shop!  with  dwellings  over,  and  will 
include  billiard-room,  34ft  by  30ft.;  reading-room, 
34£t.  by  lift.,  and  smoke-room,  34ft.  by  lift. 
On  the  upper  floor  w-ill  be  a  second  billiard-room, 
27ft.  by  22ft. ;  committee-room,  17ft.  by  8ft.,  and 
several  smaller  rooms.  Mr.  Edwin  Heaton,  of 
Brighouse.  prepared  the  plans,  and  is  also  carrying 
out  the  principal  contract. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  of  St.  Peter 
was  laid  at  Keighley.  Messrs.  Booth,  of  Halifax, 
are  the  architects,  and  the  cost  is  about  .£5,000. 

The  entrance  to  the  dock  at  Whitehaven,  which 
was  destroyed  in  recent  storms,  is  being  recon- 
structed, the  work  being  pushed  forward  to  allow 
of  the  sjeedy  re-opening  of  the  dock.  For  the 
small  stones  and  earth  backing  previously  used, 
solid  masonry  granite  blocks  and  concrete  have 
been  substituted  in  the  new  work.  Messrs.  Nelson 
and  Co.  are  the  contractors. 

St.  James's  Church,  Halifax,  has  been  closed  for 
re-pewing,  and  other  works  of  restoration.  Mr. 
Gaines  has  taken  the  contract  for  joinery,  and 
Mr.  Stafford  that  for  plumbing. 

A  chancel  just  added  to  St.  George's  Episco- 
palian Church,  Hardwicke-place,  Dublin,  was 
consecrated  on  Thursday  week.  It  provides  seats  for 
100 additional  persons  ;  the  fittings  are  of  oak,  and 
the  paving  of  marble,  and  at  the  east  end  is  a 
stained-glass  window.  Mr.  Fuller  was  the  archi- 
tect, and  Mr.  Curtis,  of  Abbey-street,  Dublin,  was 
the  contractor ;  the  cost  has  been  £700.  A  me- 
morial lectern,  the  work  of  Messrs.  Hodgens  and 
Sons,  of  Dublin,  has  also  been  placed  in  the 
church. 

At  a  vestry  meeting  held  at  Ongar,  Essex,  it  has 
been  decided  to  call  in  an  architect  to  inspect  the 
parish- church,  prepar.itory  to  a  proposed  restora- 
tion. 


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''BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 
Ambitio.v.     (Your  design  was  received  and  reviewed.] 


Contsp0ni5ntce. 


R-ilLWAT  BRIDGES    AND  IRON 

STRUCTURES. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BniLDiNQ  News. 

Sir, — Mr.  Graham  Lees,  writing  on  the  above 
subject  in  your  paper  of  Nov.  i9th,  makes 
several  statements  with  which  I  quite  agree. 

That  many  of  o  ar  rail  way  bridges  have  become 
too  weak  for  the  loads  they  now  carry,  is  very 
certain,  and  we  have  been  forcibly  reminded  of 
this  fact  pretty  frequently  during  the  last  year 
or  so,  by  the  numerous  failures  of  bridges 
which  were  built  25   or  30  years  ago. 

The  causes  of  such  disasters  your  correspon- 
dent refers  to,  and,  I  believe  that  from  the  same 
causes— deterioration  of  the  materials  used  and 
greatly  increased  loads — many  of  our  railway 
bridges  are  in  a  very  shaky  condition  from 
the  foundations  upward. 

Recently,  however,  a  searching  examination 
has  been,  or  is  being,  made  to  ascertain  their  con- 
dition, and  ensure  their  safety. 

What  Mr.  Lees  observes  about  the  "  ridi- 
culously low  contract "  for  painting  bridges  and 
roofs  he  had  to  execute,  and  the  wretched  work 
which  naturally  followed,  notwithstanding  care- 


ful supervision,  might  also  be  said  of  many 
architectural  and  engineering  works  carried  out 
upon  similar  terms. 

During  my  .30  years'  experience  of  engineering 
in  general,  including  railway  and  other  bridges, 
and  constructional  ironwork  for  buildings,  I 
have  found  that  if  work  is  to  be  well  done,  the 
contractor  must  have  a  reasonable  profit,  unless 
he  happens  to  be  one  who  would  rather  lose  by 
his  undertaking  than  turn  out  anything  of 
inferior  quality. 

With  otlicr  people,  however,  the  "  lowest 
tender"  too  often  means  such  bad  materials  and 
wretched  workmanship,  that  an  admirably- 
designed  structure  may  be  rendered  unsafe  from 
the  time  it  is  finished. 

In  the  case  of  buildings — girders  jf  bad  iron, 
carelessly  riveted,  improperly  bedded  on  piers 
and  columns ;  bolts  in  shear  put  any  way 
through  punched  holes,  and  many  other  attendant 
and  hidden  evils,  result. 

I  have  seen  machinery  made  by  a  first-class 
firm,  at  good  prices,  in  excellent  condition  after 
32  years'  constant  use,  and  I  have  also  seen 
engines  made  by  cheap  and  sloppy  people 
worse  than  second-hand  before  they  left  the 
workshops. 

The  rage  for  cheapness  and  cutting  down 
prices  until  a  good  contractor  can  hardly  make 
any  profit,  is  so  much  the  order  of  the  day,  that 
until  amoi'e  liberal  spirit  prevails,  or  better  times 
reduce  to  some  extent  the  striving  and  struggling 
for  orders  (if  only  to  keep  an  establishment 
going),  lam  afraid  the  "  lowest  estimate  "  will 
often  mean  disgraceful  work,  involving  extrava- 
gant outlay  for  repairs,  if  not  disaster  in  some 
form  or  other,  and  serious  loss. — I  am,  cSro., 

J.  W.  C.  Haldane,  C.E. 

15,  Water-street,  Liverpool,  Nov.  27th. 


Snt,— In  the  first  place,  Mr.  W.  G.  Lees 
mentions  that  it  is  the  under  bridges  which 
require  the  most  attention,  and  he  knows 
of  hundreds  of  cases  where  the  paint  has  been  of 
such  vQe  description  that  the  first  shower  of  rain 
washed  it  off.  This  is  interesting,  and  it  would 
be  still  more  so  to  learn  how  rain  can  wash  off 
paint  from  the  underside  of  bridges.  He  next 
refers  to  the  stupid  ignorance  of  chairmen  and 
directors  for  not  taking  his  advice  about  a  paint 
contract ;  I  presume  this  said  contract  was  to  be 
executed  tD  his  specification,  and  when  he  has 
specified  for  a  given  quality  and  quantity,  like 
a  certain  advertised  household  commodity,  he 
"  should  see  that  he  gets  it,"  and  if  the  con- 
tractors lose  by  it,  it  is  their  look-out  and  not 
his. 

We  are  next  treated  to  a  few  remarks  upon 
steel  rails  ;  are  set  a  little  proportion  sum,  and 
then  referred  to  a  report  of  his,  the  subject  and 
occasion  of  which  we  are  left  to  imagine ;  but 
wUl  Mr.  Lees  tell  us  where  the  leviathan  loco- 
motives he  speaks  about,  as  weighing  SO  Ions, 
are  running? 

The  rolling  loai  of  bridges  is  next  gone  into, 
and  we  are  told  that  the  hundreds  of  bridges 
referred  to  were  made  i\  times  the  strength  re- 
quired for  the  gi'eatest  passing  load ;  how  he 
arrived  at  such  accurate  information  about  all 
the  bridges  he  does  not  say,  but  one  can't  help 
admiring  the  odd  quarter  ! 

What  does  he  mean  by  the  "  wear  and  tear  " 
of  a  bridge  ?  Oxidation  we  c.in  understand ;  but 
how  about  the  "elongation  of  the  fibre  "  ?  What 
single  bridge  can  he  name  where  the  iron  has 
been  strained  beyond  its  limit  of  elasticity  by  the 
passing  load  ?  What  docs  he  mean  by  the  "  d-,- 
taehment  of  the  grain  "  ? 

Supposing  the  rolling  load  to  have  increased, 
as  he  states,  100  percent.,  how  does  he  make  out 
that  the  bridge  has  decreased  in  strength  50  per 
cent.  ?  Has  he  forgotten  the  weight  of  the 
superstructure,  and  in  getting  this  wonderful 
increase  of  100  per  cent.,  has  he  taken  into 
account  the  respective  lengths  of  the  wheel- 
bases  ? 

I  would  as't  in  what  manner  has  Mr.  Lees 
found  difficiJty  in  obtainiug  iron  for  bridges  to 
stand  more  than  18  tons  per  square  inch  ?  I 
can  name  at  least  half-a-dozen  firms  who  would 
be  glad  to  supply,  without  extra  cost,  any 
amount  of  bridge-iron  to  stand  22  tons  per 
square  inch  and  upwards.  Referring  to  the 
three-quarters  of  a  cwt.  of  rust  per  square  which 
he  scraped  off  the  Manchester  floor,  does  he  mean 
to  infer  that  the  weight  of  the  ironwork  was 
reduced  by  that  amount? — I  am,  &c. 

Hull,  Nov.  30,  I8S0.         JoHX  J.  Webstee. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


661 


BARRACKS. 

SiE, — Kindly  allow  me  space  to  say,  with 
reference  to  Major  Seddon's  letter  in  your  im- 
pression of  Friday  last :  — 

Ist.  That  I  was  most  careful  to  disclaim, 
explicit!;/,  any  personal  connection  with  the 
subject  of  my  paper. 

2ud.  That  I  was  equally  careful  to  give  the 
whole  credit  of  the  designs,  &c.,  to  Major 
Seddou  and  his  assistants. 

The  "Transactions,"  when  published,  will 
give  the  paper  in  fuU,  and  show  how  clearly  the 
above  points  were  brought  out.  Meanwhile,  I 
am  not  responsible*  for  the  incomplete  news- 
paper reports  of  which  Major  Seddon  (not 
unreasonably)  complains.  My  connection  with 
the  subject  of  my  lectm-e  was  a  purely  literary 
one. — I  am,  &c.,  E.  Ingeess  Bell. 

The  Parade,  Epsom,  Nov.  28. 

[*  Nor  are  we. — Ed.  B.  N.] 


THE    FUTURE    OF    CEMENT. 

SiE,  — In  respect  of  the  leading  article  on  this 
subject  in  the  BmLDixQ  News  of  Nov.  26th,  I 
beg  to  be  permitted  to  state  additional  facts 
necessary  to  full  justice  being  done  to  the  sub- 
ject. 

Besides  the  red  concrete  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Lascelles,  referred  to  in  your  article,  there  were 
also  exhibited  samples  of  red  concrete  made  in 
18G7  (the  bulk  made  at  same  time  being  now 
perfect  in  colour  and  quality  after  more  than  ten 
years'  wear),  and  samples  of  a  new  treatment  of 
cement  and  concrete  work,  which  gives  not  only 
the  colour  of  red  bricks,  but  also  every  colour 
obtainable  from  every  variety  of  brick,  stone, 
marble,  and  granite — and  that  not  as  a  surface 
colour  merely,  but  as  an  evidence  of  the  solid 
presence  of  the  real  material,  the  red  of  health 
instead  of  rouge-powder. 

The  samples  of  "mosaic"  stone,  marble  and 
granite,  exhibited,  indicate  a  "  use  of  cement  " 
whereby  all  natural  colours  of  aggregates, 
separately  and  in  combination,  are  in  the  archi- 
tect and  artist's  power  for  decorative  construc- 
tion— not  as  mere  surface  covering,  but  as  ex- 
hibiting on  its  surface  evidence  of  inherent 
beauty  and  strength. 

It  is  rra/concrete,not  imitating,  nor  attempting 
to  be  like,  any  other  material  whatever,  but  carry- 
ing in  its  face  evidence  of  its  solid  self,  and  de- 
pending on  itself  entirely  for  beauty,  as  for  all 
other  good  quaUties  now  so  readily  accorded  to 
good  cement  concrete. 

Another  point  to  recommend  itself  to  the 
artist  -  architect :  "mosaic  stone"  concrete, 
although  moulded  and  cast,  is  easily  carved  ; 
after  being  moulded  to  nearly  the  form  desired, 
is  as  ready  to  yield  to  the  artist's  chisel  as  natural 
stones,  and  is  not  afterwards  subject  to  the  cruel 
fire,  to  twist  the  artist's  lines  awry,  as  terra-cotta 
i.s.  And  surely  no  festhelic  devotee  is  so  insatiable 
of  "hand-work  "  as  to  grudge  the  lo's  of  rough 
hacking  away  of  a  third  or  a  half  of  the  bulk,  as 
iu  carving  stone  and  other  materials. — I  am, 
&c., 

1st  December.  Chaeles  Deake. 


GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS   COM- 
PETITION. 

SiE, — As  there  seems  to  be  a  perfect  dead-look 
at  present,  under  the  circumstances  so  ably  detailed 
by  your  correspondent  "  Viti-uvius  Caledonius  "  in 
your  issue  of  the  10th  September,  will  you  allow 
me  to  suggest  that  Mr.  Barry  should  be  urged  to 
make  his  award  o«  tJic  qnestion  of  merit  onli/,  irre- 
spective of  cost  f  I  have  waited  till  now  in  the 
hope  that  someone  might  make  a  practical  sugges- 
tion in  the  matter  ;  but  as  uo  one  has  yet  done  so.  I 
trust   that  you  will  insert  these  few  lines. — I  am, 

&C.,  "  A  COMPETITOB. 


QUEEN  ANNE  EYESORES. 
See, — Passing  down  the  Chelsea  Embankment,  I 
notice,  on  a  modem  "  Queen  Aone  "  house,  a  clock 
presumably  supported  by  a  beautifuUy-designpd 
wood  bracket,  but  wLich,  being  evidently  insuffi- 
cient to  perform  its  duty,  is  further  strengthened 
by  three  plain  iron  rods  fastened  from  brickwork. 
Would  it  not  strike  the  most  superficial  of  ob- 
servers. Sir,  that  if  such  an  instance  /lad  occurred 
in  Queen  Anne's  reign  or  thereabouts  that  the 
ISth  century  smith  would  h.ave  lavished  all  his  art 
and  skill  on  the  ironwork,  and  produced  a  thing  of 
beauty,  instead  of  the  ugly  eyesore  that  at  present 
exists  ?  Yet  with  all  our  advanced  knowledge  and 
experience  of  what  has  been  done  before,  we  are 


capable  of  producing  such  a  result  as  I  have  da- 
scribed. — lam,  lie,  Lewin  Shaep. 
84,  Cornwall-gardens, 

Quecn'a-gate,  S.W.,  Nov.  30. 


CONSTRUCTIONAL  IRONWORK. 

SiH, — As  a  subscriber  to  your  paper,  it  would 
afford  me  great  pleasure  if  you  could  open  your 
columns  for  a  correspondence,  by  capable  writer-j, 
on  the  subject  of  "Constructional  Ironwork,"  such 
as  the  best  ascertained  section  of  girders  for 
spanning  window  and  door-openings,  &c.,  &c., 
where  they  have  gretit  superior  cumbent  weight  to 
carry;  the  methods  of  calculating  strengths  of 
same;  and  the  best  way  of  applying  loads  upon 
flanges,  &c.  Such  a  subject  could  be  well  ex- 
tended, and  would,  I  am  sure,  be  a  source  of 
valuable  instruction  to  your  younger  readers  and 
myself.  Trusting  you  will  give  us  some  valuable 
papers  on  this  subject  before  long. — I  am,  &c., 

Ediuburgh,  29th  Nov.  J.  V\'.  Moeeis. 


CHIPS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  shareholders  of  the  Filey 
Harbour  Company  held  last  week,  it  was  reported 
by  the  CDgineer,  Mr.  C.  G.  Clarke,  that  a  pro- 
visional contracthadbeen  entered  into  with  Messrs. 
Lake  and  Taylor,  for  the  construction  of  the 
works. 

The  foundation-stones  of  a  new  Free  Methodist 
chapel  were  laid  at  Glentworth,  Lincolnshire,  on 
Monday  week.  The  chapel  will  seat  1.50  persons, 
and  will  cost  a  little  over  £130.  Mr.  Whitton,  of 
Lincola,  is  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Hobson,  of 
Hogsthorpe,  the  contractor. 

A  four-light  window  in  the  north  transept  of  the 
parish-church  of  Stow-on-the-WoId  has  just  been 
restored  as  to  its  masonry,  and  filled  with  stained 
glass  as  a  memorial  to  the  late  Major-General 
R likes,  C.B.  The  subjects  are  taken  from  the 
history-  of  the  conversion  of  Cornelius,  as  recorded 
in  Acts  X.  Messrs.  Waile-i  and  Strong,  of  New- 
castle-upou-Tjue,  executed  the  work. 

The  Lancaster  town- council  last  week  accepted 
the  resignation  by  Mr.  John  Hartley  of  the  office 
of  borough-surveyor,  and  voted  him  a  gratuty  cf 
£1.50.  Mr.  Hartley  has  held  the  post  for  U  years, 
and  resigned  t  j  commence  private  practice  in  the 
town. 

A  new  wiug  that  has  been  added  to  the  rural 
hospital  at  Tewkesbury  was  opened  last  week.  It 
is  Gothic  in  style,  and  is  built  of  nd  bricks,  with 
Bath  dressings,  with  a  timber-framed  upper  story. 
Mr.  T.  Collins,  of  Tewkesbmy,  was  the  contractor. 

Mis.  Cubitt,  the  widow  of  the  late  Mr.  William 
Cubitt,  originator  of  the  general  contractor  system 
of  building,  died  on  the  19th  ult  ,  at  her  residence 
at  Denbies,  near  Dorking,  aged  78.  Her  eldest 
son  is  the  Right  Hon.  G.  Cubitt,  senior  member  for 
West  Surrey- . 

A  new  Congregational  church  is  about  to  be 
erected  at  Turnham-green,  Chiswick,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  T.  Lewis  Banks.  Mr.  Brunsden's 
tender  has  been  accepted  for  the  execution  of  the 
work  at  a  httle  over  £3,000. 

Extensive  additions  and  alterations  have  been  in 
progress  for  some  time  at  the  workhouse  at  Lin- 
coln, and  last  week  a  stage  in  the  work  was 
marked  by  the  occupation  of  the  new  children's 
quarters.  Messrs.  Watkins  and  Scorer  are  the 
architects,  and  Messrs.  H.  S.  and  W.  Close,  of 
Lincoln,  the  contractors;  the  cost  has  been  about 
£8,000. 

The  restored  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Kidlington 
was  reopened  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  on  Thurs- 
day week.  The  work  done  has  been  confined 
chiefly  to  the  roofs  of  the  nave  and  sou'h  ai.-le. 
The  old  roofs  belonged  to  the  Perpendicular 
period,  and  replaced  roofs  of  the  Early  English 
time,  which  were  taken  off,  and  the  nave  side  walls 
raised  and  the  present  clerestory  windows  inserted. 
The  buttresses,  however,  on  the  outfide,  were  not 
carried  up  at  the  same  time,  and  hence  the  walls 
were  left  without  sufficient  support,  and  to  this 
mav  be  attributed  the  imperfect  state  of  the  roofs 
when  the  work  of  restoration  was  taken  in  hand. 
The  sound  old  timbers  of  the  nave  have  been  re- 
used in  a  conservative  manner,  but  the  aisle  roof 
has  been  renewed  on  the  former  lines.  Each  roof 
has  been  re-covered  with  oak  boarding  and  lead. 
The  aisle  wall  has  been  rebuilt,  and  the  tracery  of 
the  windows  in  the  same  restored.  The  work  has 
been  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Symm  and  Co.,  of 
Oxford,  under  the  directions  of  the  architect,  Mr. 
W.  Wilkinson,  at  a  cost  of  £1,.5H. 

A  carillon,  playing  14  tunes,  in  memory  of  the 
late  town-clerk  of  Penzance,  Mr.  Edward  Hearle, 
Rodd,  has  been  placed  in  St.  Mary's  Church  tower, 
Penzance,  and  was  formally  started  on  Sunday 
morning.  It  has  been  constructed  by  Messrs. 
Gillett  and  Bland,  of  Croydon,  at  a  cost  of  about 
£.300. 


5nttrcommunicatt0it. 


QU£STIOXS. 

[6314.]— Specifications  for  Houses,  Shops.  &c. 
— 1  shall  feul  obligo<l  if  some  ft.-llu\v-re;ider  will  inform 
ine  where  I  can  obtain  a  pood  specification  book  on 
hou.ses,  shops,  A.-e.,  and  also  the  name  of  autlior  of  such, 
book. -J.  C.  IJ. 

[6315.]— Sections.— I  shall  b?gladtoleam  the  proper 
method  of  measuring  off  quaotitie^  from  sections  where 
the  horizontal  scale  is  much  less  than  the  vertical— for 
instance,  to  measure  drains  thereon  frequently  varying  in 
inchnation.~T.  L.  P. 


arve  in  wood 
evening,  and 
represent  the 
of  your  kind 
on  and  even- 


'G.3ifj, ;— Wood-Carving'.— Ha\ing'  to  < 

four  tnis.';f-i.s  representing  morning,  noon, 
nig-ht,  I  iKive  cliosen  the  cock  crowing  to 
morniog  and  the  owl  night.  Wi>uld  anv 
readers  suggest  anything  appropriate  for  m 

ing  ^— YoiT.S-O  WoOD-CARVjiB. 

[6317.]  —Value  ofProperty.— Will  some  experienced 
reader  kindly  give  the  name  of  a  good  work  on  the  value 
of  freehold  and  loa.sehold  house  property  ?  Also  the  best 
current  price-book  for  builder's  materials  ? — Yoitno  Sur- 

TEVOB. 

[6318.] -Quantities. —I  prepared  bills  of  quantities 
for  tendering  contractors  by  instructions  of  architect.  A 
tender  was  accepted,  and  the  contract  signed,  which  was, 
however,  afterwards  cancelled  at  the  request  of  the  em- 
ployer and  with  the  consent  of  contractor,  without  con- 
sulting either  the  architect  or  quantity  surveyor.  Who 
should,  therefore,  pay  for  quantities !— Desidkbatum. 

[6319.]— Party-Wall.— Will  some  reader  be  good 
enough  to  suggest  some  way  of  fixing  wall  plate  to  9in. 
party-wall  (in  which  there  must  be4Un.  of  brickwork  left 
in  centre',  and  so  as  not  to  require  a  cornice  which  the 
corbelling  shown  in  Fig.  1  would  necessitate  ?    Would  the 


method  shown  in  Fig.  2,  in  wliich  A  represents  an  iron 
flanged  bearer  for  wood  plate  running  the  length  of  the 
wall  answer  !  Would  the  iron  have  to  be  purpose  made  t 
If  not.  where  could  it  be  obtained  ;  Is  there  any  better 
way  of  accorapUsliing  the  object  '—Wall  Plate. 

[6320.]— Damp  on  Walls.— In  a  church  opened  for 
worship  this  summer,  now  that  the  heating  apparatus  ia 
in  use,  and  when  gas  is  lighted,  the  wet  sti'eams  down  all 
the  walls  from  the  top,  but  when  fires  or  gas  are  not  in 
use  no  indication  of  damp  can  be  traced.  The  church  is 
fairly  ventilated.  Some  say  the  walls  are  sweating,  and 
have  not  yet  dried,  and  that  when  fairly  seasoned  it  will 
disappear.  Other  opinions  incline  to  the  belief  that  the 
outer  walling  is  not  weatherproof,  and  is  defective  in  con- 
struction. Externally,  the  walls  are  faced  with  hard  par- 
points,  pointed  in  the  joints.  The  soil  is  gravel  and  very 
diy,  and  damp-courses  through  all  walls.  Situation 
i-ather  exposed.  Building  was  roofed  in  before  June  last 
yeai',  and  plastered  in  autumn  same  year.  No  appear- 
ances of  damp  are  to  be  found  either  on  the  glass  or  var- 
nished wood  or  stone  dressings,  and  only  under  under 
circumstiince.i  above  named.  Can  any  experienced  cor- 
respondent give  an  explanation  of  cause,  or  say  if  likely  to 
be  permanent  or  temporary !— J.  D. 

[6321.]— Sewage  Systems.- Has  Capt.  Liemur*s 
pneumatic  system  for  the  collect  ion  and  disposal  of  sewage 
been  adopted  in  any  town  in  England  I  If  so,  writh  what 
success  !  Is  it  successful  in  those  places  in  which  it  has 
been  adopted  on  the  Continent !  Any  information  with 
respect  to  this  system  of  sewage-disposal  would  be  es- 
teemed. Can  any  corresjwndent  describe  the  Rochdale 
system  for  the  colle:tion  and  disposal  of  faeces  and  dry 
refuse !— Coventby. 

[6322.  —Damp  or  What  ?-I  should  be  grateful  to 
anyone  who  can  help  me  to  solve  the  following  problem, 
and  more  grateful  still  to  any  gentleman  who  can  suggest 
a  remedy :— I  took  a  house  which  had  been  vacant  for 
some  six  months,  and,  of  course,  as  is  usual,  put  in  a 
painter  and  decorator.  We  decided  to  have  the  drawing- 
room  (about  14  X  15)  distempered.  The  walls  were 
stripped,  cleaned,  and  prepared,  and  the  first  coat  of  dis- 
temper put  on.  This  was  found  to  "mottle"  slightly, 
was  sandpapered  off,  and  a  coat  of  thin  paint  put  on  the 
walls,  as  the  painter  tells  me,  "to  form  a  body."  Two 
coat3  of  distemper,  with  the  usual  stencilling,  fimshed 
the  work.  The  room  was  unused  for  some  time,  but  when 
used,  shortlv  after  ligh  ing  the  gas,  the  walls  began  to  get 
damp,  and  in  a  few  hours  were  one  "  black  mass."  with 
small  globules  of  water  standing  thereon,  and  in  some 
places  trickling  down.  Thinking  the  cause  may  have  been 
damp  walls,  a  fire  was  kept  burning,  as  also  five  jets  of 
gas.  for  a  week.  The  walls  got  dry,  the  "  damp  '*  disap- 
peared, and  it  was  thought  nothing  more  would  be  seen  ; 
but.  unfortunately,  it  is  otherwise.  "Damp"  appears 
witliin  half  an  hour  of  lighting  the  gas,  and  gradually  in- 
creases until, as  above  described,  the  wallsare  one  "  black 
mass."  The  house  hasa  cemented  front,  with  14in.  brick 
walls,  and  has  been  built  some  seven  or  eight  years.  On 
one  side  is  an  adjoining  house,  on  the  other  the  hall,  and 
the  fourth  wall  divides  the  room  in  question  from  the 
dining-room,  also  djstempered,  but  on  a  paper  inst«^  of 
the  bare  plasty 


This  room  is  perfectly  dry,  and  has 


662 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


never  shown  the  slightest  signs  of  "  damp."  I  ought  to 
mention  that  the  work  was  done  in  August  last,  a  good 
month  for  drying.  Are  the  walls  damp,  or  is  it  had  work- 
manship or  materials .'  "What  is  the  cause,  and  what  a 
cheap  but  effectual  remedy  2— A.  I".  H. 


REPLIES. 

[6296.]— Damp  'Walls.— The  plaster  probably  was 
not  in  all  parts  thoroughly  dr>-,  and  ordinaiy  paint  will 
not  stand  on  damp  plaster.  Titanic  paint  will  cure  damp 
walls  if  not  positively  wet  when  put  on.  No  damp  will 
come  through,  and  the  appearance  of  the  whole  is  noi- 
form.  A  coat  or  two  over  the  paint  named  would  be  a 
remedy.— Titan. 

[6300.1— Ventilation.— Perfect  ventilation  can  be 
secured  by  a  sj'stem  of  introducing  warm  pui-ificd  atmo- 
spheric air.  at  the  same  time  removing  all  vitiated  aii-, 
changing  the  air  each  half-hour,  making  the  room 
equally  warm  in  every  part,  and  no  cold  draughts.  Such 
a  system  is  in  use,  but  I  cannot  give  details  without  in- 
truding somewhat  on  the  advertisement  colxnnns.- 
Carbon. 

[6335.1- Dip-Traps.- "S.  H."  at  page  633,  asks  :- 
"  Are  dip-traps  good  means  for  trapping  drains  ?' '  What 
does  he  mean  by  "  dip-traps ' ' .'  If  he  means  any  form  of 
water  trap  with  a  "tongue**  or  dipper  projecting  down 
one  inch  or  more  into  the  water,  then  we  may  reply  that 
dip  traps  are  good  means  for  trapping  drains.  Tliere  are 
traps  and  traps,  good  and  bad  traps,  however.  The  trap 
which  does  its  work  satisfactorily  with  only  about  two 
gallons  of  w.ater  may  be  termed  good  in  that  respect ;  but 
the  traps  which  hold  twenty,  fifty,  or  more  gallons  arc 
bad,  and  are  then  cesspools.  It  is  easy  renewing  the 
water  in  the  former,  but  difficult  in  the  latter.  Another 
good  point  in  a  water-trap  is  that  it  should  beseU-cIeans- 
ing  as  regards  its  water  surface  upon  the  house  side  of 
the  traj).  This  is  a  special  point  in  "Buchan's**  trap 
for  drains.  Nowadays  traps  on  drains  are  generally 
ventilating  traps,  and  they  should  be  so  made  as  that,  b'y 
looking  down  the  ventilating  opening  of  the  trap,  the 
water  in  the  trap  can  be  seen,  and  the  trap  itself  cleaned 
out  if  necessary  with  a  ladle.— Pkogkess. 

[6305.]— Dip-Traps.- Dip-traps  are  effectual  in  trap- 
pmg  drains,  providing  they  are  properly  constructed.  Tfie 
dip  or  seal  should  be  of  sufficient  depth  to  resist  the  pres- 
sure of  sewer  gas,  which,  when  the  main  sewers  become 
fuUy  charged,  is  compressed,  and  if  there  is  insufficient 
means  of  ventilation,  the  foul  gas  is  passed  through  the 
traps  and  into  our  houses.  The  seal  should  dip  at  least 
6in.  into  water.  If  less,  it  would  prove  useless  when 
subjected  to  a  severe  pressure,  as  is  often  the  case  after 
heavy  rains.— Alfbed  B.  Bradv. 

[6306.]  —  Breaking-  TVeig-ht  of  Cast-iron 
Columns.— The  breaking  weight  of  a  cast-iron  column, 
4Jin.  diameter  (outside),  12ft.  Sin.  long,  1  3-16  metal,  is 
80  tons,  safe  load,  say,  S  tons.— Alfred  B.  Bradv. 

[6307.]— Compass  Point.— The  average  variation  of 
the  needle  has  been  gradually  diminishing,  and  for  all 
practical  pui-poses  for  some  time  to  come  may  be  taken  at 
21"  west  of  N.  The  diurnal  variation  has  been  observed 
to  amount  nearly  to  i  of  a  degree,  but  the  usual  variation 
is  somewhat  less  than  15  minutes.  If  "  D.  E."  wishes  to 
test  this  for  himself,  it  is  obtained  thus  :— Take  Liverpool 
for  example.  On  Dec.  4  the  sun*s  centre  will  cross  the 
meridian  of  Greenwich  at  llh.  50m.  323.  As  all  Liverpool 
clocks  mark  Greenwich  time,  add  difference  between 
Liverpool  and  Greenwich  time  11m.  53s.  Greenwich  time 
sun*s  centre  will  cross  meridian  of  Liverpool,  Dec.  4, 
1880,  12h.  2m.  25s.  n,  then,  at  Liverpool,  at  2m.  23s., 
after  noon  (Greenwich  time)  on  4th  Dec,  ISSO,  the  angle 
which  the  needle  makes  with  the  meridian  be  measured  it 
will  be  found  to  be  about  21°,  and  this  will  give  the  centre 
line  of  transepts.  Of  course,  every  town  will  need  a  sepa- 
rate calculation  for  every  day  in  the  year.  It  "D.  E." 
wishes  to  try  this  I  shiill  be  glad  to  give  him  the  figures 
for  any  day  in  the  year  at  any  of  the  large  towns  in  Eng- 
land.—W.  G.  '  o  a 

[6312.1  -"Wood  Beam.— A  good  means  of  strengthen- 
inga  wood  beam  would  be  to  truss  it  with  a  wroughl^iron 
rod,  say,  l:iin.  diameter,  which  could  be  easily  done  with- 
out much  inconvenience.  If  the  ends  of  the  beam  arc 
embedded  in  brickwork  they  would  have  to  be  laid  bare, 
so  as  to  afford  access  for  tightening  up  the  rod.  I  would 
suggest  that  the  rod  be  in  one  length,  and  parallel  with 
the  beam  at  a  depth  of  12in.  from  the  underside  for  a 
length  of  4ft.  6iu.,  and  then  canted  up  and  brought 
through  the  beam  at  each  end  at  a  point  3iin.  from  the 
top,  where  there  should  be  a  cast-iron  plate  with  a  bo.ss 
rast  on,  at  right  angles  with  the  direction  of  the  rod. 
Each  end  of  the  rod  for  about  6iu.  in  length  should  be 
I.Jin,  diameter,  with  a  V-thread  worked  on  and  h.ardened, 
and  should  have  a  wrought^ii-on  washer,  4iu.  diameter 
by  Jin.  thick,  and  a  hexagon  nut  2in.  deep.  At  each  point 
of  deviation  from  the  horizontal  the  rod  should  beir 
against  a  cast-iron  strut  of  Jin.  metal,  which  should  be 
secured  to  the  underside  of  the  beam  by  four  |  screws, 
oin.  long.  If  "  Qua  "  would  let  me  know  the  weight  the 
beam  would  be  ultimately  required  to  bear  safely,  I 
would  give  him  the  exact  diameter  of  the  rod  rcijuired, 
which  might  be  less  than  I  have  stated.— Alfred  B. 
Beady. 


An  inquiry  was  held  at-  Ramsgate  on  Tuesday 
week,  before  Mr.  Arnold  Taylor,  as  to  an  applica- 
tion from  the  improvement  commissioQers  for  the 
sanction  of  the  Local  Goverumeiit  Board  to  the 
borrowing  of  £.52,411  for  the  following  purposes: 
Street  improvements,  estimated  to  cost  .£22,454; 
gasworks,  £20,000;  waterworks,  £6,000;  wood- 
paving,  £2,775;  and  removal  of  barriers,  £1,182. 
Mr.  Barley,  the  surveyor  to  the  commissioners,  ex- 
plained the  proposals,  and  stated  that  the  authority 
wished  now  to  add  £5,887  5s.  to  the  sum  to  be 
borrowed  for  permanent  works. 

A  stained-glass  window  h.as  been  placed  in  the 
south  aisle  of  Plympton  St.  Maurice  parish-church, 
as  a  memorial  to  Mr.  C.  R.  Buller.  It  was  exe- 
cuted by  Mr.  Charles  Drake,  of  Exeter. 


STATUES,  MEMORIALS,  &0. 

Taunton. — A  memorial  bust  of  Charles  Sum- 
mers, the  Somersetshire  sculptor,  was  unveiled  in  the 
Shirehall  at  Taunton,  on  Friday  last.  It  is  from  the 
the  studio  of  Miss  Margaret  Thomas.  Charles 
Summers  was  born  at  Charlton,  near  Ilchester,  in 
1827,  and  for  some  years  worked  as  a  journeyman 
stonemason  with  bis  father,  afWeston-super-Mare 
and  elsewhere.  After  a  time  he  found  employment 
in  the  stontyard  of  the  late  Professor  Ilenry 
Weekes,  R.A.,  and  subsequently  became  a  student 
of  the  Royal  Academy.  In  1852  Summers  went  to 
Victoria,  and  was  appointed  as  the  first  president 
of  the  Victorian  Academy  of  Fiue  Arts.  He  de 
signed,  and  executed  iu  bronze,  a  colossal  memo 
rial  of  the  Bourke  and  Wills  expedition,  for  which 
the  city  of  Melbourne  paid  him  £4,000,  and  in  1870 
he  received  a  commission  for  fotir  colossal  statues 
in  marble  of  the  Queen,  the  Prince  Consort,  and 
the  Prince  and  Priacessof  Wales  for  the  same  city 
This  was  his  last  great  work,  and  he  died  at  Paris 
iu  1878. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Devoxpokt. — The  works  for  the  interception  and 
removal  of  the  sewage  of  Devonport  from  .Stoue- 
house-lake  are  approaching  completion.  The  sewer 
has  been  completed  from  its  highest  point,  near  the 
rectory  at  Stoke,  to  the  commencement  of  the 
tunnel  in  Durcford-street,  with  the  exception  of 
the  special  iron  construction  at  Millbridge,  and  a 
short  section  in  Edgcombe-street.  The  tunnel 
portion  of  the  sewer  is  3,390ft.  ia  length,  of  which 
less  than  80ft.  remains  to  be  driven.  Four  out  of 
the  seven  outfall-pipes  at  E.t.stern  King  have  been 
laid,  and  the  liichinoud-walk  sewer  is  nearly  com- 
pleted. The  experieuce  of  Sir  Joseph  Bazalgette, 
the  engineer,  in  driving  the  sewer  tunnel  through 
Torquay,  where  hard  soUd  rock  was  encotintered 
the  whole  way,  led  him  to  anticipate  similar  giouud 
at  Stonehouse.  It  has  proved  most  variable,  how- 
ever, the  hard  limestone  of  the  entrance  in  a  few 
feet  showing  fissures  which  admit  the  sea  freely ; 
and  there  have  since  been  pierced  stiff  "shellet" 
with  boulders,  loose  rock  with  clay  joints,  soft 
shellet,  marl,  and  slate.  The  result  is,  that  it  has 
been  found  nectssary  toUne  the  tunuel,  at  an  addi- 
tional cost  to  the  estimates  of  .£5,000;  and  the 
work,  which  should  have  been  completed  by  the 
end  of  this  year,  wiil  be  deliyed  bj"  at  least  four 
months.     Mr.  Henry  Stevens  is  the  contractor. 

Peteeboeough.— Sewerage  works  have  just  been 
completed  for  the  Corporation  of  Peterborough. 
They  involved  the  construction  of  13  miles  of 
brick  and  pipe  sewers;  the  erection  of  duplicate 
tanks  for  the  straining  of  the  sewage  at  the  outfall, 
and  2  miles  of  concrete  carrier ;  the  preparation  of 
96  acres  of  land  out  of  a  farm  of  300  acres 
purchased  by  the  Corporation  for  the  utilisa- 
tion of  the  sewage  by  irrigation ;  the  erection 
of  two  pumping-  stations,  with  the  necessary 
nmchinery;  and  the  erection  of  two  cottages. 
The  sewage  from  all  parts  of  the  borough 
is  conveyed  and  discharged  at  one  outfall,  by  the 
water-carriage  method  on  the  separate  system.  As 
about  seven- eighths  of  the  population  of  the 
borough  dwell  on  the  north  side  of  the  River  Xene, 
it  is  in  this  portion  th  it  the  largest  .and  most  costly 
sewers  are  constructed ;  but  the  peculiar  situation 
of  the  southern  district  has  rendered  the  con- 
veyance of  the  sewage  to  an  outfall  a  matter  of 
difficulty.  The  borough  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  is  drained  by  3|  miles  of  stoneware  pipe- 
sewers,  and  the  sewage  is  brought  to  the  river- side, 
whence  it  is  cirried  in  an  iron  pipe-sewer  under 
the  river  and  across  the  Wash  lands.  After  passing 
under  the  protection- bank  of  the  north  level  it  is 
emptied  into  a  tank-sewer,  devised  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  sewage  during  the  time  the  pumping- 
engiues  are  at  rest.  It  then  flows  into  the  wells  of 
the  southern  outfall  pumping-station,  and  is 
pumped  into  the  gravitalion-main,  close  to  the 
outfall.  The  north  side  of  the  river  is  drained  by 
9^  miles  of  brick  and  pipe  sewers.  The  northern 
arterial  main  is  a  bnck  sewer,  egg-shaped  in  sec- 
tion, of  3ft.  by  2ft.  internal  diameters,  and  3,670 
yards  long.  The  main  intercepting  brick  sewer  is 
1,235  yards  long,  and  comprises  149  yards  of  3ft. 
by  2ft.,  egg-shaped;  612  yards  of  2ft.  9in.  by 
1ft.  lOin.,  egg-shaped  ;  and  474  yards  of  2ft.  barrel 
sewers.  These  sewers  discharge  into  a  barrel  cul- 
vert. 3ft.  4in.  in  diameter,  and  508  yards  long, 
which  enters  into  a  penstock  chamber  ;  from  thence 
the  sewage  is  taken  by  two  24iu.  iron  pipes,  laid 
side  by  side,  and  for  the  most  part  in  embankment, 
to  the  straining-tanks  it  the  outfall.  The  sewage 
from  the  districts  north  of  the  river  flows  directly 
on  to  the  irrigation  area  by  gravitation.  The 
sewage,  on  arriving  at  the  outfall,  is  discharged 
into  the  settling-tanks,  b"uilt  m  duplicate,  and  pro- 
vided with  wrought-iron  strainers ;  passing  from 
thence  the  liquid  sewage  is  conveyed  in  a  concrete 
carrier  to  the  land  prepared  for  irrigation.  On 
arriving  at  the  land  prepared  for  the  reception  of 
the  sewage,  the   carrier  divides  into  two  smaller 


ones,  from  which  the  sewage  is  distributed  over 
the  irrigation  area  by  land  carriers.  The  larger 
concrete  carrier  is  1,098  yards  in  length,  and  has  a 
water-way  of  6'5  superiioial  f eet.  The  two  smallei 
carriers  are  2,159  yards  long,  and  have  a  sectional 
area  of  4  8  superficial  feet.  The  irrigation  channels 
are  12in.  wide  at  the  top,  6in.  at  the  bottom,  and 
are  Gin.  deep.  All  the  carriers  are  laid  in  horizontal 
lengths,  with  sluices  and  drops  at  every  change  of 
level.  The  soil  on  the  irrigation  area  is  of  a  light 
alluvial  character,  overlying  silt,  and  has  a  natural 
filtration  and  drainage  of  4ft.  As  the  farm  is 
situated  near  the  Bedford  level,  the  effluent  water, 
except  in  dry  seasons,  must  consequently  be  lifted 
over  the  north  bank  into  the  new  cut  of  the  River 
Xene.  This  is  eft'ecled  by  tsvo  12iu.  centrifugal 
pumps,  driven  by  two  25  horse-power  high-pres- 
sure condensing-engines.  Each  pump,  when 
making  400  revolutions  per  minute,  will  deliver 
over  the  bank  one  million  six  hundred  thousand 
gallons  in  six  hours.  The  works  were  designed 
and  carried  out  by  Mr.  J"hu  Addy,  A.M.Inst.C.E., 
of  Peterborough,  with  Mr.  John  C.  Gill, 
A.M.Inst.C.E.,  as  resident  engineer.  The  con- 
tractors for  the  buildings  were  Messrs.  S.  and  W, 
Pattinson,  of  Ruskington,  near  Sleaford  ;  and  for 
the  engines,  pumps,  boilers,  and  machinery. 
Messrs.  Seekings  and  Ellery,  of  Gloucester.  The 
works  on  the  main  drainage  and  irrigation  farm 
were  partly  executed  by  Messrs.  J.  S.  Cooke  ami 
Co.,  and  partly  by  the  Corporation. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

Aeeitkaiion  Case  at  Lancaster. — A  long  case 
of  arbitration  between  Mr.  H.  Gamett  and  the 
Lancaster  Corporation,  which  has  been  in  hearing 
at  the  Institution  of  .Surveyors  at  Westminster  for 
more  than  twelve  months  past,  was  closed  last 
week  by  both  sides,  but  the  arbitrator,  Mr.  Gully, 
Q.C.,  has  yet  to  make  his  award.  The  corporation 
seek,  under  a  special  Act,  to  obtain  an  easement  over 
Mr.  Garnett's  moorland  at  Abbeystead  Fell  and 
Lee  Fell  for  the  purposes  of  obtaining  a  water 
supply,  the  easement  to  be  7.192yds.  iu  length,  and 
7ft.  wide,  or  a  total  of  oa.  3r.  7p.  The  damages 
to  shooting  &c.,  were  estimated  by  Mr.  Garnett's 
witnesses  as  follows  :  Mr.  Gamett  claimed  £30,000, 
Mr.  Matthews  considered  £29,700  a  sufficient  sum, 
Mr.  Straker  £23,274,  Mr.  Story  also  £23.274,  Mr. 
Farrar  £16,035,  .and  Mr.  Jackson  £10,035.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  valuers  for  the  corporation  esti- 
mated the  compensation  due  to  be :  Mr.  Gow 
£1,401  93.  2d.,  Mr.  J.  Dent  £1,592  Is.  8d.,  Mr. 
Addie  £729  3s.  4d.,  Mr.  Femvick  £1,093  15s.,  Mr. 
Xewton  £875,  and  Mr.  Drewry  £1,743  15s. 

Beeach  of  By-Laws.— Last  week  several 
builders  and  owners  were  summoned  by  the 
Lanchester  rural  sanitary  authority  for  infringing 
their  by-laws.  Thomas  R.  Dolphin  was  charged 
with  having  built  a  house  at  Templetown,  in 
which  the  yard  space  was  deficient  17ft.  super., 
although  an  adequate  space  was  shown  upon  the 
plan  deposited  with  the  authority.  Defendant 
offered  to  have  the  buildings  altered  so  as  to 
comply  with  the  by-law,  and  the  magistrates 
having  heard  the  case,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Koun- 
thwaite.  sanitary  inspector  to  the  authority,  per- 
mitted this  course  to  be  adopted,  and  ajourned 
the  first  case  for  a  fortnight,  but  for  the  offence 
deviating  from  deposited  plans  fined  him  20s. 
William  Ridley,  builder.  Tow  Law,  was  summoned 
— 1st,  for  building  certain  new  houses  at  Langley- 
park  and  neglecting  to  provide  a  damp-course 
beneath  the  lowest  floor  timbers  of  such  buildings ; 
2ud,  for  proceeding  to  build  such  houses  without 
giving  two  days'  notice  in  writing;  3rd,  for  neglect- 
ing to  provide  block  plan,  &c.,  of  a  new  house  at 
Hedley-hill ;  and  4th,  for  not  giving  the  necessary 
notice  of  his  intention  to  proceed  with  the  work. 
Mr.  Rounthwaite  said  defendant  had  built  a  new 
house  at  Hedley-hill,  and  never  submitted  plans 
to  the  sanitary  authority.  For  defendant  it  was 
pleaded  that  he  commenced  to  build  the  house  at 
Hedley-hill  about  eight  j-ears  ago,  when  no  by- 
laws were  in  force.  The  present  building  was 
merely  a  continuation  of  what  had  existed  previ- 
ously, and,  therefore,  he  submitted  that  it  did  not 
come  under  the  category  of  "  new  buildings." 
Mr.  Rounthwaite  said  the  foundations  might  have 
been  put  in  eight  years  ago.  but  they  were  not 
visible  four  months  ago,  when  he  first  saw  the 
place.  The  case  was  adjourned  for  three  months 
to  give  defendant  time  to  put  in  the  damp-course. 
In  each  of  the  other  charges,  a  fine  of  lOs.,  in- 
cluding costs,  was  imposed.  For  neglectiog  to 
deposit  a  fresh  plan  with  the  authority  a£ter 
Itering  his  intention  to  build,  William  Xno.x,  of 
Mount  Pleasant,  was  fined  lOs.,  including  costs. 

E.xTENSES  OF  Removal  of  Dangeeous  Steuc- 
TUEE. — DEBE>;nAit  Y.  The  Meteopolitan  Boaed. 

This  case,  tried  in  the  Queen's  Bench  Division  on 
Wednesday,  arose  under  an  enactment,  sec.  73  of 
the  Metropolitan  Building  Act,  under  which  the 
owner  of  any  dangerous  structure  is  liable  to  pay 
the  expenses  incurred  in  removing  it,  and  a  magis- 
trate is  to  make  an  order  on  "  the  owner  "  for  re- 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEV/S. 


663 


payment  of  expenses  so  incurred.  In  this  case  the 
defendant  -was  owner  of  a  building  deemed  dan- 
gerous, and  the  Board  had  incurred  an  expense  of 
about  £.55  in  removing  it.  He  was  summoned 
before  the  magistrates  for  the  expense,  and  objected 
that  the  Board  had  a  contract  with  a  builder  to  do 
all  theii'  work  during  a  certain  period,  and  that  the 
contract  prices  were  higher  than  at  the  time  the 
work  was  done,  and  also  that  some  of  the  walls 
of  the  building  were  party- walls,  so  that  other  per- 
sons would  be  part-owners,  who  ought  to  have 
been  summoned.  The  magistrate  thought  other- 
wise, but  stated  a  case.  The  Court,  without 
hearing  him,  ujihe'.d  the  magistrate's  order  for  re- 
pajTnent  of  the  money.  The  appeal  was,  therefore, 
dismissed,  aud  the  magistrate's  order  upheld. 

TheAktisaxs'  Dwellings  Act.— Mr.  Under 
Sheriff  Burchell,  at  the  Middlesex  Sheriffs'  Court 
on  Wednesday  week,  presided  over  a  special  j  ury  in 
tliecase  of  "  The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  v. 
Thurgood,"  which  was  an  appeal  from  an  award 
made  by  Mr.  Eodwell,  M.P.,  in  respect  of  12  small 
tenements  in  Commercial-place,  Whitechapel, 
required  under  the  Artisans'  Dwellings  Act,  The 
houses  were  in  a  low  neighbourhood  and  had  been 
condemned.  Mr.  Meadows  White,  Q.C.,  and  Mr. 
Freeman  were  for  the  Board  of  Works ;  Mr.  Grant- 
ham, Q.C.  (with  w-hom  was  Mr.  Poulter),  for  the 
defendant.  The  cise  occupied  the  Court  to  a  late 
hour,  aud  the  evidence,  as  usual,  was  very  con- 
flicting as  to  the  value  of  the  property.  The  sur- 
veyoi-3  for  the  Board  estimated  the  value  at  £  1,250, 
and  the  surveyors  on  the  other  side  put  the  value 
at  £2,450.  the  amount  of  the  award  by  Mr. 
Eodwell,  M.P.,  was  not  allowed  to  be  mentioned  to 
the  jury,  and  the  Under-Sheriff,  in  summing  up, 
said  the  case  was  of  considerable  importance, 
because  if  the  verdict  were  less  than  the  award  Mr. 
Thurgood  would  have  to  bear  the  expenses,  and  he 
(Mr.  Burchell)  thought  that,  as  a  member  of 
Parliament,  the  sooner  Mr.  Grantham  got  the  Uw 
amended  the  better.  The  jury  retired,  and  on 
their  returne  assessed  the  value  at  £1,900.  The 
award  was  £2,100.  Mr.  Grantham  said,  as  the 
verdict  was  less  than  the  award,  he  had  to  ask, 
under  the  Act,  for  £20  as  costs.  The  learned 
Under-Sheriff  said  he  should  cei-tainlv  grant  the 
apphcatiou.  A  verdict  for  £1,900  was  accordingly 
entered. 

The  Eight  to  Latekal  Suppoet.— Beu>'ken  v. 
NoETH.— In  the  Queen's  Bench  division,  Dublin, 
last  week,  Mr.  Baron  Fitzgerald,  and  a  special 
jury  were  engaged  several  days  in  hearing  this 
case,  which  was  an  action  brought  by  a  jeweller  to 
recover  damages,  laid  at  £7,200,  for  loss  alleged  to 
have  been  sustained  by  the  plaintiff  through  the 
falling  of  his  house  in  "Grafton-street,  Dublin,  in 
consequence,  as  alleged,  of  the  default  of  defend- 
ant in  not  having  sufRciently  protected  the 
plaintiff's  bouse  during  the  pulling  down  of  the 
house  of  the  defendant.  Evidence  was  given  by 
an  architect  and  others  during  the  trial  tha't 
plaintiff's  house  was  in  such  a  crumbling  and  de- 
caying state  that  it  could  not  long  survive  the 
shghtest  shock.  On  Friday,  Mr.  Baron  Fitzgerald 
charged  the  jury,  showing  that  the  plaintiff"  had  no 
legal  right  to  support  for  his  house  from  that  of 
defendant.  The  law  said  that  defendant  had  a 
right  to  remove  his  own  house  and  rebuild  it,  but 
no  right  to  do  any  act  not  reasonably  necessary, 
by  which  injury  "would  be  done  to  the  plaintiff; 
nor  to  do  any  necessary  act  in  a  minner  injurious 
to  the  plaintiff,  provided  he  could  do  it  in  some 
other  way  that  would  be  less  injurious.  Besides 
this,  there  was,  iu  this  case,  a  special  contract  be- 
tween the  parties  that  the  defendant  would  protect 
Ills  walls  from  the  acts  of  the  defendant.  This  was 
differently  interpreted,  but  he  agreed  with  defend- 
ant's construction  of  it,  that  he  would  use  reason- 
able and  due  skill  and  care  toprotect  the  plaintift"3 
walls  from  any  injury  during  the  pulling  down 
and  rebuilding  of  the  next  house.  The  defendant, 
having  entered  into  that  contract,  left  the  conduct  of 
the  removal  and  rebuilding  entirely  to  his  builder, 
Mr.  Meade,  and  his  architect,  Mr. "Henderson,  but 
omitted  to  apprise  them  of  the  additional  obligation 
into  Which  he  had  entered.  As  to  the  assessment 
of  damages,  the  ptaintift'  was  not  entitled  to  an 
amount  that  would  build  him  a  new  house,  but  to 
the  value  of  the  house  as  it  was,  and  they  must 
Dot  tike  into  account  the  loss  of  trade,  profits,  nor 
the  rent.  The  jury,  after  two  hours'  considera- 
tion, foimd  for  plaintiff,  damages  £200,  and  his 
lordship  granted  judgment. 


d^ur  (DfRct  CaMt. 


iThaviug  recently  been  stated  to  the  Council 
of  the  Koyal  Institute  of  British  Architects  that 
thecharges  made  by  quantity  surveyors  are  some- 
times shared  by  the  architect,  and  such  a  prac- 
tice, if  it  really  exist,  being  open  to  great  and 
obvious  objection;  the  Council  pubUcly  declare 
that,  for  the  future,  such  practice,  if  proved,  will 
be  deemed  conduct  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
ConncU,  is  derogatory  to  the  professional 
character  of  any  Fellow"  or  any  Associate  of  the 
Institute. 

The  Court  of  the  Worshipful  Company  of 
Glass  -  sellers  are  about  to  offer  prizes  of 
£50,  £25,  and  £10  each  for  the  best  and 
most  practical  essay  on  the  past  and  present 
position  of  the  glass  trade  in  all  its  branches,  and 
stions   for    improvements  in   the   English 


trade  ;  and  iu  order  to  make  the  competition  as    -'-'°''*^- 


in  1S75  a  large  amount  of  money  was  expended 
in  structural  alterations  and  decoration  of  the 
offices,  corridors,  and  rooms  connected  with  the 
House,  there  has  not  been,  for  many  years,  such 
extensive  work  undertaken  as  during  the  present 
recess.  The  only  structural  alteration  in  the 
Commons'  Chamber  is  that  in  connection  with  the 
Reporters'  Gallery,  to  wliich,  by  trenching  on 
the  Members'  Gallery  at  either  side,  additional 
scats  for  Reporters  have  been  added.  The 
pavement  in  the  "Lobby"  of  the  House,  which 
has  been  subjected  to  more  constant  wear  than 
the  floors  of  any  other  portion  of  the  House 
of  Legislature,  was  overlooked  in  the  renovation 
of  IS 75,  but  now  the  "  Lobby  "  has  had  its  floor 
covered  with  new  tesselated  pavement  of  mosaics, 
of  the  old  pattern  of  crown  and  intertwined  roses, 
.shamrocks,  and  thistles.  Seats  similar  to  those 
in  the  House  have  also  been  provided  for  the 
accommodation  of  strangers.  Ko  structural 
alteration    is    being   made    in    the    House    of 


practical  as  possible,  they  will  be  obliged  by 
any  suggestion  that  may  occur  to  those  able  to 
give  them.  The  points  on  which  they  ask 
suggestions  are,  1st.  The  nature  and  scope  of 
the  essay.  2nd,  The  names  of  gentlemen  best 
adapted  to  act  as  arbitrators. 

The  Xunnery  Colliery  Company  have  succeeded 
in  adapting  an  arrangement  of  the  electric  light 
to  the  whole  of  their  establishment  of  screens  at 
Sheffield.  Last  week  the  new  method  was 
tested.  The  light  given  is  very  satisfactory, 
and  proves  an  effective  substitute  for  daylight. 
The  position  of  the  two  lamps  is  so  arranged  as 
to  throw  the  light  directly  on  the  coals  as 
they  pass  from  the  screens  into  the  trucks  below 


The  second  meeting  of  the  Royal  Scottish 
Society  of  Arts  for  the  current  session  was  held 
last  week,  Mr.  Henrj-  CadeU,  President,  iu  the 
chair.  The  first  communication  made  was  that 
by  Mr.  Alexander  Frazer,  M,A.,  optician,  "  On 
a  XovelForm  of  Thermometer."  The  instrument, 
which  was  exhibited,  was  a  combination  of  a 
balance  and  a  thermometer.  The  thermometer 
acted  as  the  beam  of  the  balance,  and  at 
one  end  of  the  beam  a  graduated  scale 
was  placed.  When  the  mercury  expanded 
one  end  of  the  beam  was  rendered  lighter, 
while  the  other  end  was  depressed.  Mr. 
Thomas  Ivory,  advocate,  exhibited  in  opera- 
tion a  model  of  "An  Improved  Patent  Air- 
Heating  Apparatus,"  which,  he  explained,  was 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  Glasgow  Archfco- 
logicil  Society  wis  held  on  Mondav  in  the  new 
rooms  of  the  Philosophical  Society,"  Bath-street, 
when  Professor  Young,  M,D.,  was  elected  presi- 
dent for  18S1,  and  Professor  Teitch,  LL,D,,  Mr, 
Michael  Conua!,  and  Professor  Lindsay,  D.D,, 
vice-presidents,  Mr.  St.  John  Day  read  a  paper 
on  "The  First  God  of  the  Aryans,"  and  Mr. 
Campbell  Christie,  of  Hamilton,"  submitted  notes 
on  and  exhibited  urns  containing  human  remains 
recently  found  near  Hamilton. 


The  Ughts  suppUed  emanate  from  two  lamps  I  -t^eatrng  Apparatus,  which,  he  explained,  was 
which  are  fixed  above  the  workmen,  who  thus  I  constructed  on  the  same  principle  as  the  GiU 
do  not  suffer  from  the  dazzling  efiect  produced.  I  ^'"""t  ,  apparatus  consisted  of  a  great 
The  light  being  thrown  down  directly  upon  the  f  ""i^l^er  of  separate  rods,  crossed  so  as  to  give  a 
screens,  there  iJ  no  chance  of  any  dross  or  impurity  jl^T  f?i,  '^?^/'^S  surface,  _  while,  being 
escaping  the  eye  of  the  screener.  The  lamps  i  "i<'l°sed  they  eniitted  only  pure  air,  the  produce 
have  each  a  light  of  5,000  candles.  They  are  °^  eombustion  from  the  gas  beneath  bem, 
Crickie  lamps,  the  power  being  obtained  by  a  <:arried  off  by  a  chimney, 
small  engine  of  five  horse-power  (indicated). 
The  apparatus  is  very  simple  and,  as  will  be  seen 
above,  very  economical.  The  light  is  constant, 
and  little  attention  is  required.  Mr.  Sydney 
F.  Walker,  M.S,T,E.,  Telegraphic  Engineer,  of 
Xottingham,  is  the  engineer  and  contractor  for 
the  work. 

The  company  which   has   been  founded   for 
taking   preliminary  steps  to  ascertain  whether  j  appointed  as  the  sculptor. 

a  submarine  tunnel  can  be  made  between'  The  trial-trip  was  made  last  week  on  a  branch 
Calais  and  Dover  has  at  last  succeeded  in  driving  '  railway  from  Torrington  station,  on  the  South 
a  shaft  dow-n  to  the  depth  at  which  the  tunnel,  '  Western  system  to  the  Marland  Clay  Works. 
if  practicable,  would  have  to  be  made.  Although  The  hne  includes  a  bridge  over  the  Eiver  Torridge, 
in  the  upper  strata  there  was  a  good  deal  of  ■  and  a  long  viaduct.  Mr.  Fell  was  both  the 
water,  there  is  no  infiltration  of  it  in  the  gallery,  |  engmeer  and  the  contractor. 


CHIPS. 

It  was  decided  last  week,  by  the  committee,  that 
the  memorial  to  the  late  H.  W.  F,  Bolckow,  M,P., 
should  take  the  form  of  a  statue  and  pedestal,  to 
be  erected  iu  the  centre  of  Middlesbrough-on-Tees, 
and  Mr,   D,  W.    Stephenson,    of  Edinburgh,  was 


which  is  in  the  solid  rock.  A  second  shaft  is 
about  to  be  driven,  and  the  directors  of  the 
company  state  that  if  no  unforeseen  obstacle 
arises  the  tunnel  might  be  completed  in  four 
years.  The  real  point  of  interest  for  the  public 
is  not  whether  the  tunnel  would  be  a  good  thing 
if  it  were  buUt,  or  if  it  he  possible  to  huUd  it,  but 
will  it  pay : 

The  Building  Exhibition,  Leeds,  in  April  last, 
at  the  Agricultural  Hall,  is,  we  hear,  to  be 
repeated  from  April  4  th  to  the  16th  in  the 
coming  year.  The  main  arrangement  of  the 
last  exhibition  will  be  adhered  to  in  this,  and  the 
materials  divided  into  the  following  sections  :  — 

1.  Architectural. — Drawings,  Plans,  andModels. 

2.  Construction.  —  Bricks,  Stone,  Concrete, 
Wood,  &a.,  and  Sanitary  Applianees  in  Pottery 
or  Concrete.  Constructive  Ironwork.  3.  Engin- 
eering. —  Machinery  and  Engineering  Ap- 
pliances— Taps,  .Valves,  Hot-water  and  Steam 
Heating  stoves,  &c.,  kc,  and  Metal  Sanitary 
Appliances.  4 .  Decoration.  —  Wall  -  papers, 
Paints  in  Oil  and  Tempera.  Window-glass 
Staining,  Plaster  and  Papier  Machc  Ornaments, 
Encaustic  Tiles,  &c,.  Marble  and  Terra-cotta,  kc, 
and  Carved  Woodwork;  and  section  5,  Furni- 
ture and  Portable  Decorative  Articles,  including 
Busts,  Pottery,  Metalwork,  Turned  Ornaments 
in  Wood,  Stone,  or  Metal,  &c.,  &a.  All  com- 
munications, as  heretofore,  are  to  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Black,  162  Strand,  W.C. 

In  preparation  for  the  early  commencement  of 
the  Session  of  Parliament  for  ISSl,  a  number  of 
artificers  have  been  set  to  work  to  hurry  the  com- 
pletion of  the  alterations  and  improvements 
which  have  been  in  progress  at  the  House  of 
Commons  during  the  past  few  weeks.    Although 


A  stained-glass  window  has  been  placed  at  the 
west  end  of  the  north  aisle  of  St.  James's  Church, 
Stonehaven,  X.B,  The  subject  is  the  Adoration 
of  the  Magi,  and  it  was  designed  by  Mr.  R.  A. 
Anderson,  the  architect  of  the  church. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  Biptist  lecture-hall 
was  laid  at  Worthing  on  Tuesday  week.  It 
measures  30ft.  by  35ft.,  and  will  be  built  of  red 
bricks  and  fUnt,  with  Bith-stone  dressings.  The 
style  is  Early  English,  aui  the  cost  will  be  about 
£1,000.  Messrs.  Scott  aud  Hyde,  of  Brighton,  are 
the  architects ;  and  Messrs.  Hide  Brothers  sind 
Cook,  of  Worthing,  are  the  builders. 

A  building  to  be  used  as  a  sailors'  home,  and 
also  for  housing  the  local  Mercantile  Marine 
Board,  is  in  course  of  erection  at  Dundee.  The 
architect  is  Mr.  D.  Mc  Laren,  of  that  town. 

The  River  Wear  Commissioners,  list  week, 
adopted  a  report  for  the  improvement  of  the  river, 
by  the  deepening  of  the  lowest  part  of  Sunderland 
Harbour  by  dredging,  estimated  to  cosi  £11,210; 
the  formation  of  a  deep-water  channel  to  Hylton, 
estimated  at  £25,000 ;  straightening  the  channel  at 
North  Ferry,  £12,000  ;  and  removal  of  rock  at  the 
entrance  to  Sunderland  Harbour,  £7,508.  In  all. 
the  works,  with  the  purchase  of  plant,  are  expected 
to  cost  £66,000,  and  they  are  to  be  carried  out  from 
the  plans  and  under  the  supervision  of  Sir  John 
Coode,  C.E. 

The  directors  of  the  Xottingham  Waterworks 
Company  have  presented  Mr.  Thomas  Hawkesley, 
F.E  S  ,  with  a  testimonial  m  silver,  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  50  years'  services  to  the  company  as 
engineer-in-chief,  from  its  commencement  in  1830 
fill  its  dissolution  in  the  present  year. 

The  local  board  of  Burgess-hill,  Sussex,  on 
Thursday  week  elected,  as  surveyor,  Mr.  H. 
Ingram,"  of  London,  at  a  salary  of  £115  per 
annum. 


664 


TUE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Dec.  3,  1880. 


CHIPS. 

A  small  school,  with  misti'ess's  house  attached, 
has  just  been  completed  at  Cbettisham,  Cambridge- 
shire, for  the  Kev.  R.  Wiakfield.  The  works  have 
been  carried  oat  by  Messrs.  David  Porter  and  Son, 
builders,  of  Soutbery,  near  Downham,  from  the 
designs  and  iinder  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  E. 
Swinfen  Harris,  architect,  of  32,  Craven-street, 
Strand,  London,  and  Stony  Stratford. 

A  stained-glass  window  has  been  placed  in  the 
chancel  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Lewes,  as  a  me- 
morial of  the  Doyle  family.  It  is  of  two  lights,  and 
represents  on  the  left  the  Angel  and  Mary  at  the 
Saviour's  Tomb,  and  on  the  right-hand  side  are 
Christ  and  Mary  in  the  Garden.  A  small  quatre- 
foil  above  is  occupied  by  the  cross  and  crown. 
Messrs.  PoweU,  of  London,  were  the  artists. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Guildford  town  council  last 
week,  plans  and  specifications  of  the  proposed  new 
bridge  and  approach  to  the  railway  station  were 
submitted  by  Mr.  C.  Sparkes,  C.E.,  the  surveyor 
to  Earl  Onslow,  and  were  referred  to  the  borough 
surveyor  for  examination  and  report. 

The  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Chichester  have  de- 
cided to  remove  a  series  of  dirty  canvas  screens,  by 
which  the  arches  of  the  nave  triforium  in  the 
cathedral  have,  for  many,  been  blocked  up.  Before 
this  can  be  done,  however,  it  has  been  necessary  to 
exclude r.ain  and  draughts,  and,  accordingly,  Mr. 
Vick,  builder,  of  that  city,  has  fcxken  a  contract  to 
repair  the  lean-to  aisle  roofs,  which  are  covered 
with  tiles,  and  also  to  ceil  them.  The  southern 
side  is  now  being  repaired. 

At  a  meeting  recently  held  in  one  of  the  com- 
mittee-rooms of  Wolverhampton  town  hall,  it  was 
decided  to  form  an  association,  the  special  object  of 
which  will  be  to  provide  members,  at  moderate  cost, 
with  advice  and  supervision  in  the  sanitary  ar- 
rangements of  their  dwellings.  A  provisionalcom- 
mittee  was  appointed,  and  instructed  to  examine  in 
detail  the  rules  of  the  Edinburgh  Sanitary  Protec- 
tion Association,  with  a  view  to  their  adoption,  in 
whole  or  in  part. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  school  of  art  at 
Swadlincote  was  held  on  Wednesday  week.  Mr. 
Cook,  of  Derby,  the  head- master,  stated  that  the 
school  had  received  more  awards  for  the  number 
of  students,  only  ."0,  than  any  other  school  in  Eng- 
land. 

The  forthcoming  book  on  Decoration  and  Furni- 
ture for  Domestic  Buildings,  by  Mr.  Eobert  W. 
Edis,  F.S.A.,  will  contain  about  thirty  full-size 
photo-lithographic  plates,  from  the  original  draw- 
ings of  Mr.  Maurice  B.  Adams.  A.E.I.B.A.,  in 
eluding  one  illustration  by  Mr.  H.  S.  Marks,  E.A. 

The  old  Bridge  HiU  ani other  buildings  near  the 
bridge  at  Bideford,  Devon,  .are  about  to  be  pulled 
down  by  the  feofees,  and  replaced  by  a  modem 
block  of  premises,  covering-  anareaof  61ft.  by  .56ft., 
and  from  4.5ft.  to  .50ft.  in  height.  This  will  con- 
tain on  the  grotmd- floor  a  public  free  library  and 
a  reading-room,  with  clerli'  offices,  on  the  first 
floor  the  new  Bridge  Hall,  and  over  this  a  suite  of 
offices.  Mr.  Bryden,  of  Bideford  and  Westward 
Ho  !  is  the  architect. 

The  Croydon  local  boaid  of  health  decided  last 
week  to  purchase  U  acres  of  land  near  and  to  the 
north  of  Norwood  Junction-stition  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical commissionei*s,  at  600  an  acre,  to  be  main- 
tained as  a  people's  recreation  ground  for  South 
Norwood. 


A  new  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Mirk,  was 
opened  in  the  Alexandra-road,  Wimbledon,  on 
Wednesday  week.  Mr.  May  lard,  of  London,  is  the 
architect,  and  Mr.  Manley  the  builder.  The  cost 
has  been  £1,200. 

Mr.  -\rthur  Hall,  a  well-known  Somersetshire 
au'iquary,  has  jast  died  at  his  residence,  near 
Ctari,  and  by  his  will  he  leaves  the  whole  of  his 
valuable  collection  to  the  Corporation  of  Chard  for 
forming  a  free  library  and  museum,  provided  a 
building  is  erected  within  one  year  of  his  death. 

It  is  proposed  to  fill  a  window  in  St.  Margaret's 
Church,  Westminster,  with  stained  glass,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  £800,  as  a  memorial  to  Caston. 

The  French  Permanent  Commission  of  Statistics 
have  determined  on  the  publicationof  an  J/inHaire 
de  StatUtlque  of  the  city  of  Paris,  which  will  con- 
tain ofticiil  information  regarding  the  population, 
topography,  climatology,  the  financial  situation, 
the  schools,  the  hospitals,  the  cemeteries,  the  mar- 
kets, the  theatres,  and  the  various  municipal 
estiblishments  of  the  capital. 

The  Fog  and  Smoke  Committee  met  last  week, 
when  the  chairman  announced  that  they  had 
arranged  for  a  series  of  trials  of  fuel  and  apparatus 
at  South  Kensington,  and  appealed  for  the  requi- 
site funds.  A  deputation  to  the  Lord  Mayor  wa5 
decided  upon. 

The  Hanley  school-board  have  accepted  the 
tender  of  Mr.  G.  Ellis,  of  that  town,  for  the  erec- 
tion of  new  schools  for  1,000  children  in  Cannon- 
street.  The  cost  win  be  under  £5  lOs.  per  heal. 
Mr.  W.  A.  KeateSj  of  Hanley,  is  the  architect. 

It  was  decided,  at  a  meeting  on  Wednesdiy,  at 
Wolverhampton,  of  the  Staffordshire  Mines 
Drainage  Commissioners,  that  the  Bilston  district 
must  be  ama'gamated  with  Tipton  for  drainage 
purposes.  Last  year  the  Bilston  owners  succeeded 
in  voting  thems=lves  out  of  the  operations  of  the  Ac, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  water  from  the  Bilston 
mines,  owing  to  the  pumping  operations  having 
prautically  ceased,  flowed  into  the  Tipton  district 
and  flooded  the  pits  there  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
is  estimated  an  expenditure  of  £35,000  will  have  to 
be  incurred  to  drain  the  district  before  the  immense 
arex  of  coal  now'submerged  can  be  got  at.  It  is 
proposed  to  borrow  the  money  required,  and  repay 
it  by  a  rate  of  6d.  per  ton  on  all  minerals  raised 
from  the  Bilston  and  Tipton  mines. 


SMALL  POX,  SKIX  DISEASES,  ai>d  many  other  spriis  ani 
summer  ailments  Sold  by  chemists  throuzhout  the  world,  and 
the  Maker.  113.  Uolbom  HiU.     Vie  no  rub$tituu  — ;Advi.". 

HoUoway's  Pills.— These  famous  Pills  pnrifv  the 

blood,  and  act    most    powerfully,  yet   soothinplT.  on  the  liver, 
h.  kidneys,  und  bo*el-.  giving  tone,  enefsy,  and  Tigour 


Epps's  Cocoa.— Grateful  and  Comforting-.- 


well-selected  Coco,!,  Mr.  Epps  has  pro- 
".'-s  with  a  delicately-flayoured  bCTemge 
iloctors'  bills.  It  is'bv  the  judicious  use 
t:  a  constitution  may  "be  gradually  built 
'  resist  every  tendency  to  disease.  Hun 
floating  around  us  ready  to  attack 
'  escape  many  a  fatal 


-.\iso  makcrsofEpps's  Chocolate  Essence  for  afternoons! 


MEETINGS  FOR  THE  ENSUING  'WEEK. 

Monday.- Society  of  En^ineoi-s.  F.  W.  Grierson  on 
"The  Nation;il  "N'alue  of  Cheap  Patent*." 
7.30  p.m. 

Society  of  Ai-ts.  3rd  Cantor  Lecture, 
by  Professor  A.  H.  Church,  on  *'  Some 
Points  of  Contact  between  the  Scientific 
and  Artistic  Aspects  of  Pottery  and  Por- 
celain."   S  p.m. 

London  Institution.  Finsbury-circus. 
Leslie  Stephen  on  "The  Eelation  of 
Morality  to  Literattu-e."    5  p.m. 

"Wedxesday. — Society  of  Aits.  Dr.  A.  Carpenter  on 
"  London  Fogs."    S  p  m. 

TmrESPAY.— St.  Paul's  Ecclesiological  Society.  Conver- 
sazione in  galleries  of  Society  of  British 
Artists.  Suffolk-street,  PaU-mall. 

London  Institution.  Dr.  L.  S.  Eeale. 
F.R.S.,  on  '*  The  Germination  and  Propa- 
gation of  Disease."    7  p.m. 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  application  to 
CHAELES  TEASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Hminster,  Somerset. 
— [Advt.] 


McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S."W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters. 

Designs  and  Estimates. 

General    Repairs    and    Alterations  Executed. 

Experienced  "Workmen  alvrays  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  country. — ^Advt.] 


BATH    STONE. 

SUMMER     DRIED, 

CORSHAM     DOWN, 

155.000  Feet  Cube. 
PICTOE  &  SONS,  BOX,  "v^t:lts. 

[Adtt.] 

TENDERS. 

•«*  Correspondents  would  in  all  cases  oblige  by  giving 
he  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 


Baetox. — For  laying  main  di-ains  and  making  embank- 
ments on  the  sewage  farm  at  Hixton,  for  the  Barton 
rural  sanitary  authority.    Mr.  John  Price,  A.M.I.C.E. 

Quantities  supplied  by  the  ongineer  :  — 

■W^-rthington,  W.  H.,  Manchester  £459    0  0 

Jackson,  J..  Walkden           260    0  0 

Marsland,  J  .Manchester    251  17  8 

Earner,  G.  G.,  Liverpool    213  14  0 

Claridge.  T.,  Stockport        212  14  2 

Harrison.  W.,Salford          1S7  16  9 

Turner,  R.  and  Son.  Wanington*  I'S    3  6 
•Accepted,    Ensineer'.s  estimate,  £1S5. 

BBiEKiwATEE.— For  laying  on  a  water  supply  and  refix- 
ing  soil-pipes  at  the  workhouse,  for  the  Bridgwater  board 
of  guardians  :  — 


"Willis  [accepted) 


£274  19    0 


Beightok. — For  re-fonning  roadway  on  the  Highcrol't 
Estate.  Messrs.  Holford  and  Clayton,  arcnitects* 
Brightoa  :- 

Lodder  and  Homewood        £315  0  0 

Marshall 210  0  0 

Knreoml»e         199  0  0 

Oliver,  Preston 175  0  0 


COLLINSON  &  LOCK, 

MODELLERS,    WOOD-CARYEES,    AXD    DECORATORS. 


l\rOT)T!T  >T  ,1^7)     PT ,  A  SsTTi'T?      "W^OT?  T^     for  Ceilings,  WaU  Panels,  and  Friezes,  as  in  the  best 
-LTAWj_7_Ljj^xJJ^j^     J.  XJ^rs^vj  3.  J^A^V       ^^  \J1XJX.     Old  EngUsh  Manor  Houses. 

\\'^/^/^T^     r\  i   RA''T"Vf~^  ^  *^^  ^^y^®  °^  *^®  Eenaissance,  and  used  construe- 

''  v./V/J_y     v,j.T.X\  \  -Lx>  vT  tively  in  the  enrichment  of  Interior  Woodwork  and 

Furniture. 

PATIVTTXri-      Rr     TiPPOP  A  TT'iVri-  of  an  artistic  kind.     Richness   of  Coloor  and  Effect 

-^  "^-*-^^  -*--*-^^^      ^     -L/X^V..V7X\xl.X±l>Vjr.  produced  by  Simple  and  Inexpensive  Methods. 

Specially  Designed  and   Coloured  Wall  and  Ceiling 
Papers. 


109,    FLEET    STREET,    &    3,    ST.    BRIDE    STREET,    E.G. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


665 


THE  BUILDINa   NEWS. 


LONBOy,    FRIDAY,    DECEMBER  10,  1880. 


STONE  IX  COXSTliUCTION. 

BUILDING  stones  of  good  repute  may  be 
conveniently  classified  into  a  limited 
group  of  Silicious,  Calcareous,  Magnesian, 
aud  Granitic,  obtainable  from  a  variety  of 
■well-known  and  clearly  defined  geological 
formations.  In  London  we  can  find,  in  most 
profuse  abundance,  many  examples  of  the 
best  selected  sorts,  from  the  present  condition 
of  which  wo  can  with  much  advantage 
study  their  several  peculiarities,  and  form 
some  judgments  of  their  suitability  for  con- 
struction in  impure^or  abnormal  atmospheres. 
Stone  does  not  now  occupy  so  prominent  a 
position  as  formerly,  for  many  of  the  duties 
which  it  previously  performed  are  delegated 
to  bricks,  iron,  and  timber,  so  that  in  a  great 
measure  its  use  is  confined  to  ornamental 
rather  than  structural  application.  Indeed, 
stone,  more  especially  as  applied  in  the 
buildings  of  the  metropolis,  may  be  regarded 
as  a  thin  plating  or  veneering  to  the  carcase 
composed  of  bricks  and  concrete  in  com- 
bination with  iron.  Hence  the  diminished 
necessity  for  the  mason's  art  or  the  (strictly- 
speaking)  mathematical  efforts  of  the  archi- 
tect. The  strains  and  pressiu'es  of  the  arch, 
which  were  so  frequently  the  principal 
elements  in  ancient  architecture,  arc  borne  by 
a  much  easier  and  less  elaborate  system  of 
iron-work  arrangement,  which  is,  however, 
unobtrusive  iu  character,  being  hidden  by 
various  devices  to  prevent  its  being  seen. 

Stone,  occupying  such  a  comparatively 
subordinate  place  as  that  of  ornament,  is 
subject,  however,  from  its  exposed  position, 
to  the  damaging  influences  of  climate  and 
atmosphere.  The  quality  of  the  stone,  there- 
fore, is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  modern  architect,  because,  through 
its  agency  he  gives  expression  to  his  artistic 
ideas,  and  in  fact  is  entirely  dependent  on  its 
colour,  texture,  and  other  properties  for  their 
successful  permanency.  When  we  speak, 
therefore,  of  the  decay  of  the  Houses  of 
Parliament,  we  mean  that  its  external  sur- 
face, pinnacles,  and  other  elaborate  ornate 
parts,  are  in  an  incipient  state  of  disintegra- 
tion which  must  ultimately  result  in  their 
entire  destruction.  This  incessant  process, 
hitherto  unchecked,  is  analogous  to  that  of 
iron  oxidation,  which  from  air  and  moisture 
ultimately,  if  unguarded,  succumbs  to  the 
destructive  natural  agency  against  whose 
baneful  influences  it  is  unable  to  contend.  It 
is  only,  however,  the  clothing  as  it  were  of 
the  gorgeous  Palace  of  Westminster  that  is 
sxiffering,  for  the  main  ingredients  of  the 
fabric  itself  will,  under  any  damaging  ex- 
ternal influences,  prove  competent  to  main- 
tain the  nation' s  assembly-house ;  for  althoiigh 
not  foimded  on  a  rock,  its  artificial  founda- 
tions are  of  the  most  permanent  character. 

The  decay  of  the  granite  of  which  the  noble 
structure  of  Waterloo  Bridge  is  built  is 
surrounded  with  more  cause  for  regret  inas- 
much as  the  rapid  and  too  visible  decay  of 
its  parts  denotes  that  it  is  only  a  question 
of  time  when  the  whole  building  must 
succumb  to  the  destructive  agency  with 
which  it  is  incessantly  assailed.  The  dis- 
solving action  of  moisture  in  this  case 
degrades  the  cementing  agent  by  which  the 
granite  is  held  together,  and  unless  it  be 
made  externally  waterproof,  the  bridge  is 
doomed  to  destruction ;  for  all  its  noble  parts 
and  proportion  depend  on  the  integrity  of 
the  constructive  agent  by  which  it  is  built 
up-  A  good  (or  rather  a  bad)  example  of  this 
kind  of  granite  waste  or  decay  might  have 


been  seen  but  recently  iu  the  bridge  over 
the  Litt'ey  in  Dublin,  built  by  Semple,  about 
100  years  ago,  where  tlio  balusters  of  the 
parapets  had  become  so  attenuated  as  to 
have  nearly  lost  ,ill  trace  of  their  original 
form.  The  granite  used  in  this  bridge  was 
from  Wicklow ;  that  employed  in  the  con- 
struction of  Waterloo  Bridge  being  mainly 
from  Cornwall,  while  the  parapet  and  its 
balusters  are  built  of  grey  granite  from 
Aberdeen. 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  built  of  Portland  Stone 
from  the  Oolitic  series  of  limestone,  main- 
tains, except  at  its  west  and  south-west 
extremities,  a  tolerably  fair  and  midamaged 
face.  The  decay  or  defacement  in  this  grand 
specimen  of  substantial  architecture  is  caused 
mainly  by  the  action  of  atmospheric  moisture, 
the  carbonic  acid  of  which  dissolves  out  the 
carbonate  of  lime  slowly,  and  in  certain 
aspects  softens  the  original  tooled  lines  of 
the  mason.  Another  source  of  degradation 
is  duo  to  the  deposit  of  chemical  impuri- 
ties on  its  more  ornate  surfaces,  which,  under 
certain  atmospheric  conditions,  become 
actively  destructive.  Whatever  damage  such 
a  cause  creates  may  be  considered  due  to  the 
negHgenoo  or  apathy  of  the  clerical  authori- 
ties to  whom  is  delegated  the  duty  of  pro- 
tecting the  structural  integrity  of  the 
Metropolitan  Cathedral. 

These  three  examples  of  different  stones 
from  various  geological  formations  show  the 
difference  of  values  which  they  represent  in 
constructive  art  under  the  trying  conditions 
of  a  London  atmosphere  ;  although  under 
any  circumstances  the  inherent  causes  of 
decay  would  sooner  or  later  have  become  de- 
veloped in  any  situation.  There  are  no  suffi- 
ciently important  examples  in  London  or  its 
neighbourhood  of  silicious  or  freestone  con- 
struction to  point  at,  owing  in  a  great 
measure  to  the  cost  of  conveyance  from  the 
distant  soui'oes  of  such  supplies  preventing 
its  use.  In  E^linburgh,  however,  the 
buildings  iu  which  Craigleith  stone  has  been 
used  prove  that  this  nearly  pure  silicious 
stone  is  well  suited  for  building  purposes. 
Glasgow  also  is  well  circumstanced  with 
regard  to  freestone,  and  the  best  examples  in 
that  city  are  the  Cathedral  and  the  new 
Universit)'.  The  recent  completion  of 
Cologne  Cathedral  recalls  the  fact  that  this 
great  and  beautifid  building,  whose  slow 
progress  during  more  than  sis  centuries 
must  have  been  damaging  to  the  stone  of 
which  it  is  built,  must  be  most  durable 
in  character.  This  cathedral  is  chiefly 
constructed  of  stone  obtained  from  the 
Bunter  sandstone  formation,  quarried  in 
the  Black  Forest.  It  is  fine-grained,  very 
durable,  and  its  particles  cemented  by  a 
silicious  paste. 

In  none  of  those  important  and  well  known 
buildings  which  we  have  referred  to  is  to 
be  foimd  any  settlement  or  disturbance  from 
defective  support,  and  the  stones  of  which 
they  are  built  have  proved  competent  to 
resist  all  pressure  from  whatever  source. 
The  design  of  the  architect  for  the  Houses  of 
Parliament  may  be  regarded  as  the  best  of 
its  kind,  and  in  the  great  care  taken  to  pro- 
cure the  best  quality  of  stone,  ample  pre- 
caution was  taken  in  the  task  of  exploration 
and  examination  which  precededitsselection. 
Under  what  circumstances,  therefore,  are  we 
to  account  for  the  great  mistake  which 
occurred  ?  The  most  experienced  as  well  as 
scientific  authorities  expended  their  know- 
ledge, and  every  apparent  ^safeguard  was 
forthcoming  to  insure  success.  The  stone 
selected  was  of  compound  chemical  con- 
stitution, and  approached  the  desired  pro- 
portions of  a  dolomite  which,  when  the 
carbonates  of  which  it  is  composed  are  well 
and  truly  balanced,  denotes  permanency  of 
structure  and  durability  of  a  high  order. 
Such  at  least  was  the  deliberate  verdict  of 
the  celebrated  commission  appointed  under 
the  most  favourable  conditions,  and  who 
based  their  report  on  chemical  tests  and  the 


fact  that  the   stone     was  apparoully  inde- 
structible iu  the  locality  of  its  origin. 

Until  isyj  the  magnesian  limestonc8  were 
not  much  known  beyond  the  counties  of 
Derby  and  York,  where  for  centuries  they 
had  been  used  for  local  purposes.  The  stone 
selected  for  the  Houses  of  Parliament  was 
of  a  pleasing  light  yellowish  brown  colour, 
having  a  pearl-like  lustre,  and  where  frac- 
tured displaying  a  sonii-crj'stallino  structure. 
Its  chemical  ingredients  were  carbonate  of 
lime  j1  percent.,  10  per  cent,  of  carbonate 
of  magnesium,  and  upwards  of  3.]  per  cent, 
of  silica.  Its  specific  gravity  was  2,316, 
being  higher  than  any  other  limestone, 
while  its  cohesive  resistance  was  four 
times  greater  than  that  of  Portland 
stone.  Under  the  sulphate  of  soda,  or 
"  Braid's  test,"  it  suffered  but  trifling  disin- 
tegration. This  magnesian  limestone,  there- 
fore, appeared,  from  the  most  careful  ex- 
amination, to  possess  every  requisite,  and  to 
fulfil  all  the  conditions  required  of  it.  Good 
colour,  fine  texture,  high  cohesive  capacity, 
a  minimum  degradation,  resulting  from  an 
onerous  test,  and  durability  in  an  unvitiated 
atmosphere.  What  more  could  the  most 
careful  architect  do  under  the  circumstances'' 
Nothing  !  And  yet  to  build  in  London  with 
such  stone,  woald  be,  after  our  experience, 
simple  stupidity.  The  real  and  true  cause 
of  the  decay  is  priiuarily  due  to  the  complex 
chemical  constitution  of  this  particular 
magnesian  limestone,  which  coiild  not  with- 
stand the  degrading  influences  of  a  vitiated 
atmosphere,  in  which  considerable  quantities 
of  sulphur  and  some  of  its  deleterious  com- 
pounds existed.  Although  not  a  very  porous 
stone,  it  has  sufficient  cai)acity  to  absorb  in 
a  moist  condition  the  damaging  atmo- 
spheric impurities  which  are  iu  a  manner 
conserved  and  ever-ready,  under  favourable 
circumstances,  to  display  their  detrimental 
influences.  In  all  probability  also  much  of 
the  damage  is  consequent  on  the  hurried 
quarrying  of  the  stone  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  so  large  a  work  as  that  of  the 
Houses  of  Parliament.  The  stone  in  those 
buildings  in  the  locality  of  the  deposit  was 
doubtlessly  carefully  selected  and  allowed  to 
remain  for  some  time  to  season  before  being 
placed  in  position.  Nearly  all  stones  improve 
by  such  treatment,  and  with  many  of  the 
softer  qualities  it  is  considered  improper  to 
use  them  until  after  the  quarry  "  sweat "'  has 
gone,  or  rather  exerted  its  beneficial  influ- 
ence in  closing  up  the  surface  pores  of  the 
stone  by  its  quasi-crystallisation.  The 
greatest  amount  of  waste  or  decay  in  the 
stone  at  Westminster  occurs  in  the  more 
ornamental  parts  of  the  structure,  owing  in 
all  probability  to  the  damaging  influence  of 
the  mason's  tool,  which  in  working  out  the 
details  left  exposed  angles  and  curves  cut- 
ting the  laminse  of  the  stone  in  all  dircctions- 
so  that  ready  access  was  afforded  to  the  de 
structive  agent. 

The  experience  gained  from  this  costly 
experiment  sh<)uld  bo  well  studied  by  con- 
structors generally,  and  the  architect  should 
consider  the  possibility  of  substituting  flat 
ornament  for  that  of  a  more  florid  charac- 
ter. The  waste  of  stone  in  all  public 
buildings,  from  whatever  source,  is  more  par- 
ticularly apparent  in  projecting  ornament, 
where  the  drip  is  detained  and  allowed  ample 
time  for  insidious  absorption  orptnotration. 
In  the  case  of  laminated  stones,  the  da- 
maging influence  from  frost  is  more  intense 
where  the  exposed  vertical  or  angular  sec- 
tion of  the  ornament  admits  of  the  free 
access  of  water,  which  after  being  frozen 
exerts  its  mechanical  disturbance  when  a 
thaw  takes  place. 

The  variety  of  cementing  paste  in  the 
different  stone  formations  renders  it 
necessary  to  carefully  analyse  their  values 
before  deciding  on  using  them  under  any 
circumstances  whatever.  The  sulphate  of 
soda  test,  wken  performed  under  careful 
conditions,  is  useful ;  but  it  is  only  competent 


666 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


to  prove  the  value  of  the  stone  under  ex- 
amination to  resist  the  ordinary  wear  of 
normal  atmosphere,  and  cannot  therefore  be 
considered  as  a  reliable  guide  where  dele- 
terious chemical  influences  are  to  be  con- 
tended with.  To  prove,  therefore,  what 
binding  influence  the  matrice  exerts  on  its 
associated  aggregates,  it  would  be  requisite 
to  subject  it  to  a  corresponding  artificial 
atmosphere  of  its  intended  site.  The 
binding  agent  is  most  susceptible  of  degra- 
dation, and  all  building  stones,  of  whatever 
land,  derive  their  constructive  value  from 
its  good  or  bad  agency,  and  its  capacity  of 
resisting  weather  or  atmospheric  influences 
cf  every  kind.  Our  primary  knowledge  of 
the  durability  of  stones  is  derived  from  their 
behaviour  in  situ,  or  when  built  in  walls  and 
other  imperfect  structures  in  the  locality  of 
their  derivation.  The  millstone  grit  gives 
undoubtedly  the  best  results  from  sueh  ex- 
amination, and  the  worst  may  be  regarded  as 
that  resulting  from  an  inspection  of  the 
materials  from  the  new  red  sandstones. 
Surface  stone  which  has  for  ages  resisted 
atmospheric  wear  is  well  adapted  for 
building  purposes,  where  its  texture  admits 
of  economical  conversion.  Old  buildings 
may  be  supposed  to  have  been  built  of  stones 
so  weathered  andmatured,  and  therefore  the 
results  derived  from  their  examination  are 
favourable.  Such  observation,  however,  in- 
dicates that  a  rock  which  may  be  for  all 
practical  purposes  highly  suitable  near  the 
top  or  surface  is  less  competent  to  resist 
exposure  when  quarried  at  a  depth  from  the 
surface. 

The  more  minute  the  particles  of  the  stone, 
the  closer  the  texture,  in  consequence  of  theii' 
smallness,  securing  a  perfect  coating  of  the 
cementing  paste.  If  the  aggregate  is  com- 
posed of  clean  quartzose  particles,  and  bound 
together  with  a  pure  silicious  paste,  we  find 
the  most  durable  stone,  capable  of  with- 
standing all  the  vicissitudes  of  climate.  The 
mountain  or  carboniferous  limestone  in  its 
purest  form  is  hard  and  difficult  to  work,  and, 
except  in  what  may  be  termed  its  cncrinital 
and  other  marble  deposits  or  strata,  iU 
adapted  for  house-building  purposes.  When 
used  for  engineering  works,  and  subject  to 
the  trying  winter  climate  of  mountainous 
districts,  considerable  degradation  arises, 
more  especially  in  Derbyshire  and  Yorkshire, 
where  the  condition  of  many  railway  bridges 
indicates  that  the  carbonate  of  lime  is  being 
gradually  dissolved  and  washed  out  from  its 
surfaces.  This  limestone  may  be  regarded 
as  a  practically  pure  carbonate,  and  its 
cementing  past*,  of  course,  calcareous  ;  its 
texture  crystalline  and  easily  fractured,  and 
where  found  in  .an  impure  state  (except  in 
the  marble  deposits)  with  oxide  of  iron  in  its 
analysis,  subject  to  fracture  as  well  as  sur- 
face decomposition.  Granites  are  so  irregular 
in  mineralogical  value  as  to  surround  their 
use  with  more  or  less  danger;  but  experi- 
ence, as  far  as  can  be  relied  upon,  indicates 
that  those  with  the  least  amount  of  alkaline 
analysis  stand  best.  The  qualities  of  this 
hard  rock  are  manifold,  and  chemical  estima- 
tion, however  accurate,  cannot  be  depended 
upon  as  a  guide  in  their  selection,  o^ving  to 
their  UTegularity  of  original  deposition.  In 
fact,  all  rocks  of  whatever  kind,  whether 
derivedfrom  sedimentary  or  igneous  sources, 
are  variable  in  their  chemical  constituents  ; 
but  the  builder  should  give  preference  to 
those  having  pure  quartz  as  its  base  with  a 
silicious  paste. 

The  question  of  durability  of  rocks  has, 
during  recent  times,  been  much  assisted  by 
the  consideration  given  to  the  preparation  of 
concrete  in  which  Portland  cement  is  the 
binding  agent.  The  gradual  increase  of 
constructive  value  which  arises  from  a 
careful  selection  of  aggregate  and  studious 
adherence  to  the  use  of  a  high-class  cement 
indicates  that  the  faults  of  natural  stones  are 
consequent  on  defective  proportions  and  im- 
perfect   binding    agents.      Indeed,     future 


attention  should  be  given,  in  the  selection  of 
building  stones,  to  the  quality  of  their  con- 
sliiuent  cement  paste,  and  no  stones  should 
be  toltrated,  however  pleasingtheir  colour  or 
texture  may  be,  that  do  not  possess  the  in- 
herent and  indispensable  propertj-  of  per- 
manent cohesion.  Compressive  transverse 
and  tensUe  strength  is,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, of  considerable  value  in  the 
assessment  of  stones  having  established 
reputations ;  but  they  fail  to  guide  with  safety 
when  the  stone  isfrom  some  hitherto  unknown 
and  untried  source.  In  all  cases  where 
mechanical  tests  are  resorted  to,  the  results 
are  derived  from  fresh  samples  of  the  stones 
recently  quarried,  and  still  untainted  with 
the  damaging  surroundings  of  its  future 
position.  It  is  well  known  that  some 
equalities  of  the  soft  stone  obtained  from  cer- 
tain oolitic  strata  become  indurated  by 
exposure  ;  but  it  is  not  always  found  that 
such  beneficial  results  follow  where  thej'  are 
placedin  localities  where  impure  atmospheres 
prevail. 

In  English  climates,  or  o'hers  equa'ly 
charged  with  moisture,  it  is  apparent  that 
granite  and  limestone,  if  not  many  others  of 
our  building  stones,  become  in  a  compara- 
tively short  time  endamaged  by  injurious 
chemical  action,  and  in  the  not  distant  future 
the  question  must  be  askei,  What  shall  we 
do  to  put  a  stop  to  this  waste  ?  Much  atten- 
tion has  already  been  given  to  this  moment- 
ous C|uestion,  but  hitherto  the  hosts  of 
remedies  have  followed,  and  not  preceded, 
the  use  of  the  stone,  and  failed  to  remedy  the 
evil.  If  the  stone  is  to  be  preserved,  it  must 
be  dealt  with  before  it  enters  the  damaging 
atmosphere,  and  there  would  not  be  much 
diflieulty  in  preparng  the  work  at  the 
quarry,  and  thus  secure  its  being  proof 
against  the  most  insidious  attacks  of  the 
destructive  locality  in  which  it  is  to  be 
placed.  Painting  granite  and  other  building 
stones  seems  a  dreadful  remedy,  but  their 
surface  must  be  preserved ;  the  protective 
agent  should  be  transparent,  with  consider- 
able penetrative  capacity,  so  as  to  occupy  the 
surface  pores  of  the  stone  and  prevent  the 
entrance  of  external  moisture.  The  quality 
of  such  a  preservative  will  have  to  be  un- 
exceptionable and  free  from  any  chemical 
ingredients  likely  to  aggravate  the  dangers 
which  their  application  is  intended  to  avert. 
Nature,  in  many  well-known  instances,  has 
preserved  some  relics  of  ancient  architecture 
with  a  coating  of  lichen  which,  in  their 
protective  capacity,  have  maintained  the 
original  lines  of  the  sculptor,  while  those 
portions  of  the  same  building  exposed  to 
atmospheric  influences  have  lost  all  trace  of 
their  original  form  and  character. 

The  mineralogi>t,  guided  by  the  chemistry 
of  this  important  stone  question  will,  in  the 
fu'ure,  when  petrology  or  the  study  of  the 
rocks  becomes  an  established  branch  of 
geological  science,  clear  up  much  of  the 
present  mystery,  and,  by  the  aid  of  micro- 
scope and  blow-pipe,  be  enabled  readUy  to 
estimate  the  amoimt  of  degradation  to  which 
building  stones  are  liaVile  under  certain  ab- 
normal conditions.  Modem  civilisation  has 
develoijed  new  types  of  disease  in  the 
human  bod}-,  as  well  as  creating  in  the  densely 
populated  centres  a  condition  of  atmosphere 
of  tuch  a  character  as  to  establish  certain 
endamaging  influences  on  stones  which 
hitherto  were  regarded  as  weather-proof  and 
competent  to  resist  the  most  insidious 
attacks  from  every  quarter. 


THE  WATER-COLOmi  EXHIBITIONS. 
''pHE  winter  exhibitions  of  water-colour 
■M.  drawings  open  favourably  with  the 
collectii^ns  in  Pad  Mall.  The  Society  ot 
Painters  in  Water-Colours,  o.  Pall  Mall, 
East,  show  a  number  of  sketch,  s  and  studies 
of  remarkable  merit,  and  not  a  few  of  much 
power.     In  landscapes   the  gallery  is   very 


rich.  It  would  be  scarcely  doing  justice  to 
refer  to  the  \>-orks  under  the  titles  of  the 
artists,  though  we  may  s.ay  that  the  sketches 
and  studies  of  Herbert  JI.  Ma-shall,  S. 
P.  Jackson,  E.  Thorne  Waite,  T.  Banby,  C. 
Davidson,  Oswald  Brierly,  E.  A.  Goodall, 
Alfred  Fripp,  T.  J.  Watson,  Tom  Lloyd,  AY. 
E.  Lockhart,  W.  M.  Hale,  G.  Fripp,  W. 
Callow,  Birket  Foster,  H.  P.  Eiviere,  Clara 
Montalba,  G.  Dodgson,  Brewtnall,  S.  Eead, 
and  Paul  Naftel  are  equal  to  the  reputation 
of  those  niis'ers,  and  exhibit  some  of  tlii 
highest  qualities  of  landscape  pjainting.  Wu 
might  take,  for  examp'e,  the  solid  colourinL,"" 
of  T.  J.  Watson,  as  shown  in  his  "In  a 
Wood"  (217),  the  depth  of  brown  foliage ; 
the  equally  solid,  broad,  and  truthful  handling 
of  Pl.  Thome  Waite,  of  which  he  gives  us 
several  illustrations,  as,  for  instance,  the 
"Out-door  Sketches"  (132,  173,  190,231), 
the  broad,  swelling  landscipe  (2Sl),  the 
mingled  colouring  of  298  ;  the  forcible 
sketches  of  light  and  shade  from  Miss  Clarii 
Montalba's  wond  rful  penc  1 ;  or  we  may 
turn  to  the  quiet  and  more  finished  produc- 
tions of  C.  Davidson,  as  in  his  "  Rest  "  (S), 
and  his  peaceful  "Views  en  the  Thames" 
(Nos.  27,  82,  138,  293,  326,  3S8).  Tom 
Lloyd,  too,  as  a  truthful  delineator  of 
natural  scenery,  is  nowhere  more  conspicuous 
than  in  h'S  broadly-coloured  "  View  near 
Shanklin,  Isle  of  W'ght  "  (77),  and  the 
(ketch,  "  On  an  Isle  of  Wight  Farm,"  over- 
'ooking  the  blue  sea.  Then  what  spirit  and 
transparency  of  colouring  meet  us  in 
W.  Callow's  charming  sketches  of  foreign 
scenery.  We  might  instance  his  "  Stolzen- 
fels  "  (33),  "  Carisbrook  Castle,"  "View  of 
Alps"  (102),  "The  Graade  Eue,  Dunkirk" 
(120),  the  sketch  "On  the  Moselle"  (127), 
"The  Last  Gleam  of  Day,"  the  charming 
play  of  light  and  shade  in  "Old  Norman 
Houses"  (250),  the  "Venetian  .Sketch"  (344), 
&c.  T.  M.  Richardson  contributes  also 
many  highly-finished  pieces  of  landscape 
scenery  m  Argyllshire  (207)  and  in  S\vitzer- 
land  (256)  ;  nor  must  we  pass  unnoticed 
the  careful  execut'on  of  G.  Fripp,  T. 
Danby,  and  J.  D.  Watson.  Each  of  these 
masters  gives  us  a  somewhat  different  in- 
terpretation of  Nature  :  one  a  bold 
abstraction  of  line  and  colour  in  broad 
masses  of  light  and  shade,  another  a 
closer  realisation  of  the  details  of  the 
scenery,  and  a  third  reflects  in  some 
measure  the  mannerism  and  stylo  of  the 
older  water-colour  school,  such  as  we  see 
them  in  the  works  of  Girtin,  Finch,  Penley, 
Creswick,  and  Bartlett.  Lo:  the  visitor 
compare  the  delicate  manipulation  and 
touch  of  J.  W.  North,  as  in  his  view  "  From 
the  Cottage  Garden"  (107),  and  "  Pond  by 
the  Desert  "  (81),  with  the  vigorously  bold 
sketches  of  light  and  shadow  in  Clara 
Montalba's  "Under  the  Beech  Ti-ees  "  (116), 
or  her  grand  bit  of  chiaro^cul•o  in  the  sketch 
of  London  Bridge  (144).  Can  we  po-i-ibly 
take  two  more  extreme  views  of  art  delinea- 
tion ?  Mr.  North's  landscapes,  in  their 
delicacy  of  manipulation,  resemble  the 
perfection  of  photographic  minuteness. 
We  Cin  discover  the  very  stalks  and  flower 
of  the  herbage  in  the  foreground;  the  water 
meadows  in  his  "  Autumn  "  repay  the 
clo;  est  scrutiny ;  he  portrays  the  tiniest 
w-eeds,  the  leaflets,  and  flowers,  all  with  a 
freshness  and  felici'y  of  elaboration  w-orthy 
of  the  most  dexterous  pre-Eaphaelitism  ; 
while  in  Miss  Montalba's  studies  the  artist 
seeks  to  arrest  the  observer  by  a  masterly 
and  graphic  shadowing  out  of  the  salient 
masses,  a  kind  of  sUhoueiiein  colour,  with  the 
addition  of  light.  Genre  subjeo's  are 
p'entiful.  E.  K.  Johnson's  "  Sunflower,"  a 
large  drawing  representing  a  fashionably- 
dressed  little  girl  bending  down,  with  her 
hands,  some  large  sunflowers  considerably 
taller  than  herself,  is  pretty  as  a  conception. 
The  drawing  of  the  flowers  and  green  bank 
of  the  foliage  is  minutely  and  truthfully 
rendered,  and  the   colouring  pleasing ;  the 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


667 


artist  has  discarded  the  affectation  of  Old 
EDglish  revival  in  the  dress  of  the  girl, 
I  -which  is  esitntially  modem  in  the  short 
I  white  skirt  and  black-sOk  stockings.  His 
"  LQium  Auratuni  "  is  also  a  clever  com- 
)  panion  picture,  and  the  blossom  charmingly 
:  done.  "  A  Rustic  Scene,"  alsj  by  E.  K. 
!  Johnson,  is  well-drawn  in  the  figures  and 
I  the  old  farm-house.  Some  children  on  a 
;  low  brick  wall  are  looking  at  fowls  on  th- 
othor  side  ;  simple  enough  in  incident,  bit 
'  highly  finished  and  clear  in  colouring. 
'  Passing  by  C.  Davidson's  snow-clad  land- 
I  scape,  "Rest,"  we  are  attracted  bv  a 
pleisantly-drawn  pastoral  hy  Basil  Bradley, 
"Any  Chance  of  a  Job,  Mate''"  a  questiou 
put  to  a  reaper  in  a  cornfield  by  a  sturdy 
and  willing  young  man.  W.  Oswald 
Bricrley  sends  a  study  on  one  of  the  lagoons 
at  Venice,  "An  Autumn  Squall,"  rich  in 
the  warm  coloir  of  sa  Is.  The  Princess 
Louise  contributes  a  portrait  of  Liout.-Col 
F.  de  Winton,  of  some  power ;  after  which  we 
may  notice  E.  A.  Goodatl's  "Street  in 
Cairo,"  warm  in  tone,  and  the  quiet  and 
pretty  la-idspape  of  C.  Davidson,  of 
Medmenham-ou-Thimes  ;  Alfred  D.  Fripp's 
lucid  and  transparent  sketch  of  a  Beach 
(30) ;  tUl  our  eyes  alight  on  H.  Stacey  Mai  ks' 
comical  and  clever  picture,  "The  Two' 
Dromios,"  suggested  from  Shakespeare's 
"  Comedy  of  ETors,"  where  two  brothers, 
twins,  are  so  much  alike  that  even  their 
friends  are  unable  to  distinguish  them. 
"  Henley  Church  an-i  Bridge,"  by  W.  Field, 
is  a  clever  sketch  in  li^ht  washes  of  tint ;  and 
"Calm  Decay"  (41),  a  highly-finished  | 
sketch  of  woodland.  Otto  Weber's  "Cart- t 
horses  "  are  well  drawn,  and  Albert  Good- 
win's "  Salisbury,"  a  delightful  little  sketch 
of  the  old  city,  showing  some  nice  grouping, 
will  be  admired  by  those  who  appreciate 
careful  and  polished  pictures ;  a  very  fine 
sketch  by  H.  M.  Marshall,  "  An  Old  Sussex 
Seaport,"  caonot  fail  to  arrest  a' tention:  the 
smoky  atmosphere  and  red  bouses  are  ad- 
mirably true.  Helen  C.  Angell  sends  a 
crisplj-  drawn  group  of  roses  in  No.  CO,  and 
SDme  lovely  appl,: -blossom  on  Xo.  21.3.  The 
drapsry  and  accessories  in  E.  Duncan's 
"  The  Xovel,"  and  the  poso  of  figure,  are  in 
excellent  drawing  and  taste.  For  neatness 
and  conscientious  drawing,  we  must  com- 
mend J.  Parker's  "  Old  Tithe  Farm  "  (7S),  a 
pleasing  group  of  g.ables.  "We  can  only 
glance  at  a  few  other  subjects,  such  as  T.  R. 
Lament's  "  .Artist  a  d  Critic,"  childlike  and 
truthful;  "  AquUa  andPrlscilla,"  a  group  in 
black  and  white,  by  F.  Shields  ;  W.  C.  T. 
Dobson's  "  SUvia,"  graceful  in  drawing  and 
colour  ;  W.  M.  Hale's  "  Valley  of  the 
Avon  "  ;  Collingwood  Smith's  "  Crows 
Haunt,  Haddon,"  rather  hard  in  the  foliage  ; 
T.  Danbj's  study  (100)  a  little  too  laboured  ; 
E.  Euckmau's  "His  Day  Ashore,"  a  feeling 
study  of  cliff  and  figures ;  J.  Parker's 
"Little  Idle  One;  "  E.  BrewtmU's  "  Frog  i 
Prince,"  a  clever  illustration  of  an  old  fable  ; 
S.  R-ad's  bold  study  of  rock  and  sea,  and 
his  fine  drawing,  somewhat  harsh  in  tone,  ; 
of  "  Burgos  Cathedrd"  :  H.  Moore's  fresh  ' 
woodland  study  ;  E.  K.  Johnson's  luminous 
"  .Summer  "  ;  the  finishod  sketch  from 
Haddon  Hall,  by  J.  Jei  kits,  and  his  [ 
antique  font  ia  the  chapel,  a  skilfully- 
drawn  relic  of  interest.  Among  the  few  j 
other  arc  'itectural  sketches,  we  remark  S 
Read's  "Roslyn  Chapel,"  "A  Street  ia  ' 
Blois'';  T.  M.  Richardson's  tine  view  of  I 
"  St.  Paul's  from  01 1  Blackfriars  Bridge"  ; 
H.  P.  Riviere's  "  Ttmple  of  Vesta";  and' 
W.  Callow's  "  Kirkstall  Abbey." 

The  work  on  the  screens  is  not  to  be  over- 
boked.  We  find  a  bold  and  forcible  bit  by 
Clara  Montalba  ;  several  cabinet  studies  by 
Misi  H.  Angell,  B.  Foster,  Mrs.  Allingham", 
S.  Read,  W.  Callow,  Carl  Haag,  T.  Lloyd ; 
ncr  can  we  omit  to  call  attention  to  the  fine 
collection  of  water-co'.ours  of  Dodgson, 
lent  by  several  contributors.  Nos.  435,  436, 
43S,  441,  444,  447,  465,  467,  469,  472,  &c., 


are  spl'ndid  siiecimens  of  this  artist's  powers 
as  a  delineator  of  grandeur  in  park  scenery 
and  architectural  compositions.  Dodgson's 
torte  was  composition  of  ideal  landscapes — a 
school  of  painting  fostered  by  topograjihic 
works  rather  sentimental  and  academic  than 
truthful  p''urtray.jls  of  na'ure.  In  another 
room  we  have  other  remarkable  works  of 
this  painter  exhibiting  dexterous  manipu- 
lation, sometimes  rath:r  laboured,  but 
always  striking  in  their  power  and  depth  of 
tone.  His  arehifec'ural  sketches  of  "  St. 
Bride's  Steeple,"  lent  by  E.  R.  Robson, 
F.S.A.,  ani  thatof  "  Bow  (.'hurch,"  are  par- 
ticularly noteworthy  for  accurate  drawing, 
and  the  grey,  clear  tints  of  sepia  which  ex- 
press the  detail. 

Let  us  turn  to  another  collection  of  well- 
known  artists.  The  Insti'ute  of  Painters  in 
Water-Colours  numbers  among  its  members 
some  cf  the  older  water-colour  painters. 
Tne  names  of  Absolon,  Aumonier,  Bach, 
Boughton,  Cattermole,  Corbould,  Fahey, 
Gow,  Townley  Green,  Hargitt  Hines,  Mog- 
ford,  Whymper,  Wiraperis,  Herkomer,  and 
others,  are  some  guarantee  to  the  public  that 
a  high  standard  \vill  be  maintained,  though 
even  here,  as  elsewhere,  names  are  not 
always  to  be  depended  on,  and  mediocre 
work  is  t)  be  found  largely  mixed  with  the 
superior  kind.  James  Fahey  is  always 
truthful;  his  fine  sketch  if  "Whitby,"  an 
early-morning  effect  from  the  Royal  Cre- 
scent, is  a  welcome  contribution  ;  the  misty 
air  and  cliff  are  very  happUy  rendered,  and 
the  visitor  will  find  other  sketches  of  this 
artis',  of  singular  accuracy  and  graphic 
power.  "  On  the  Beach,"  by  J.  G.  Philp, 
is  bold  and  fine  in  tone  ;  and  near  it 
Mary  L.  Gow,  a  well-k-.own  ladj'-artist, 
contributes  one  of  her  finest  works,  "Beggar 
my  Xeighbour."  two  well-dressed  little 
girls  in  light  dresses  playing  cards.  Correct 
in  drawing,  the  figures,  the  draperies,  and 
appointments,  are  gracefully  introduced, 
and  there  is  a  refinement  and  brilliancj-  in 
the  colouring  which  adds  to  the  charm  of 
the  study.  Harry  Johnson,  always  a  bold 
and  conscientious  artist,  sends  a  powerful 
s'^etch  of  rock  and  river  in  his  "Walls  of 
the  Wye,"  a  fine  piece  of  river  scenery  ;  but 
we  are  s  irry  he  has  attempted  architectural 
subjects.  His  "  Tin  tern  Abbey"  (205)  is 
weak  in  drawing,  and  rather  too  chromo-like 
to  add  to  his  reputation.  A  pretty  conceit, 
worked  out  with  considerable  skill,  is  Lionel 
P.  Smythe's  little  study,  "  Kindred  Spirits," 
depicting  a  little  girl  listlessly  seated  on  a 
swing  in  a  luxurious  garden,  while  a  black 
cat  on  the  ground  is  sleepily  engaged  rubbing 
herself  against  a  tree,  and  casting  a  glance 
at  her  little  mistress.  It  is  a  pity  so  much 
labour  has  been  thrown  away  on  W.  Wj-ld's 
picture  called  "  The  Artist's  Studio,"  a 
gorgeous  room,  overpowei-ing  in  colour,  and 
distracting  in  the  accessories.  Perhaps  the 
most  successful  study  of  rock  is  J.  G.  Philp's 
"  Cornish  Bulwark,"  a  finely-handled  bit 
of  rolling  sea  and  coast ;  the  reddish 
rock  is  transparent,  and  painted  with  much 
technical  skill.  Very  different  in  subject 
and  handling  are  C.  Vacher's  calm  \"ie\vs  of 
the  "  Pyramids  of  Ghizch,"  bathed  in 
roseate  tints  of  the  setting  sun.  The 
artist  has  caught  the  sleepiness  of  the 
scene  in  all  its  quiet  grandeur.  Mr.  C. 
Green,  as  usual,  sends  two  of  his  fini^hed 
figure-studies,  depicting  with  much  feeling 
ijnd  dramatic  skill,  the  costumes  of  our  fore-  , 
fathers.  "Interrupted,"  is  a  study  of  an 
old  gentl-man,  with  black  stockings  and 
knee-breeches  and  a  large  silk  coat ;  while  in 
155,  "  The  Harp-Player,"  we  have  a  highly- 
finished  sketch  of  a  lady,  dressed  in  the  style 
of  the  ISth  century,  playing  a  harp.  The 
accessories  and  draperies  are  exquisitely 
drawn.  James  D.  Linton,  a  master  of 
romantic  incident,  in  "  Autumn  "  and 
"Winter,"  sends  two  symbolic  studies 
of  costume,  one,  a  lady  attired  in  yellow 
silk  -with  a   crimson   sash,  holding  flowers  ; 


and     the    other,     a     lady    before    a    fire- 
place ;  but  the  visitor  will   mark  more  the 
pictorial  power  in  Lewis  Haghe's  picturesque 
interior,   No.  05,    an    "  Ante- room    in   the 
Ducal     Palace,"     where     the     Doge    gave 
audience   to   his  ambassadors.     The  figures 
and  luxurious  interior  of  Renaissance  archi- 
ture    aro    dramatically    painted,     and     the 
colouring  is   equally   rich.     In  No.  213  the 
same  painter  introduces   us  to  an  imagina- 
tive subject  ;  the  Gothic  portal  and  figures 
are  boldly  jiainted,  intensified  by  body  pig- 
ments ;  but  the  interior  of  room  in  the  Ducal 
Palace  (23S)  is  a  more  successful  study  as  a 
reproduction  of  picturesque  features  and  cos- 
tume.    Few  painters  have  so  bewitching  a 
power  in  the  technical  handling  of  the  brush 
as  Mr.  G.  Clausen.     His  "  Waiting  for  the 
Ferry"    (71),   and   "Cleaning  Day,   North 
Holland"    (ICO),   are  masterly  effects   pro- 
duced by  erasure  of  lights  and  the   use  of 
the  sponge.     "The  Old  Coaching  Days," by 
Andrew  G.  Gow,  is  a  dramatically  narrated 
incident.     The  scene,  a  bleak  road  at  dusk, 
represents  two   highwajTuen  on  horseback 
making  off  with  their  spoils,  while,   behind, 
the  affrighted  occupants  of  a  coach  are  seen  on 
the  wayside  applying  restoratives  to  one  of  the 
travellers.  We  can  only  glance  rapidly  at  G. 
G.    Kilbume's  "  Unprotected  Female,"   an 
amusing  little  stratagem  cleverly  depicted  ; 
"  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade"  (99),  a  well- 
drawn    bit    of    domestic     pleasantry;    "A 
Shady   Comer,"   by  Guido  R.   Bach  (222), 
a   large   picture,   admirable  for   its   figure- 
grouping    of    Italian     market-women   and 
f/'i)i,ins,  who  have  resorted  here  under  the 
shadow  of  a  high  wall.     The  drawing  is  re- 
markably free,  the   colouring  rich  in  tone, 
and  the  shadows  and  reflected  light  cleverly 
managed.    On  the  same  side  of  room  we  re- 
mark two  imaginative  compositions  by  Henry 
J.  Stock,    "Summer's  Wraith,"   and  "The 
Lovers"   (214),  both  of  undoubted  power  ; 
the  handling   is  in  harmony  with  the  sub- 
jects,   and  the  dark  shadowed  figures  and 
spectral     images     are     cleverly     softened 
down     by     the    sponge.       "  Evil     Frus- 
trated "     is     another    forcible     conception 
of     much     power,    granular   in     the     tex- 
ture of  the  colour.     Satan  is  well  idealised. 
"On   the   Beach"   (7),     "Dorothy"    (201), 
by  TowiJey    Green,    drawings    by  J.   W. 
TNTij-mper  and  E.   il.   Wimperis   (198   and 
200),     the    sketch     by     W.     L.     Thomas 
(195),  Durham  Cathedral,  by  Harry  Hine; 
some  exquisite   cabinet   studies   by    W.  L. 
Leitch     (165),     and     especially    the    clever 
sketches  of  French   cities,  by  L.  J.  Wood 
(149,    172,    244)    always    clear     and    crisp 
in   colour,  though   a     little   uncertaia   and 
mading    ia   the   drawing,    are   well   worth 
attention.      John    FuUerlove,    in  his   view 
of    tha    "  Cathedral,     Siena,''    has   contri- 
buted a    refined    drawing  of    the   striated 
campanile,   rich   in  the   wa'm  tmes  of  the 
marljle     and     the     grey     shadows.      The 
screens    cent  .in   several   delightful    studies 
and     sketches     by    J.     Aumonier,     G.    H. 
Boughton,    A.R.A.,    L.    P.    Smythe,   Lady 
Lindsay,  Mrs.  Duffield ;   and  the  black  and 
white  drawings  in  the  small-room  will  repay 
a   vis-it ;    it   would  be   an   om'ssion   not  to 
name  the  fine  etchings  by  Herbei  t  Herkomer ; 
the  clever  cartoons  and  studies  for  "Punch's 
Almanac"    (133,     137),     by   John    Tenniel, 
and  the  bold   figure   btudies   of  T.  AValter 
Wilson.     In  both  exhibitions  will  be  found 
very  many  indifferent  pictures  unworthy  of 
being  hung,    and   the  reflective   mind   will 
come  away  with  the  impression  that  picture- 
painters,     like     bookmakers,     are     far     too 
numerous,  and  that  the  good  of  art  would  be 
consulted  by  a  desire  rather  to  send  thought- 
ful productions  than  to  fill  the  galleries. 


A  new  Wesleyan  chapel,  with  school  and  class- 
rooms beneath,'was  opened  at  Chester-le-Street, 
county  Durham,  on  Wednesilay  week.  It  was  de- 
signed, and  also  built,  by  Mr.  William  Thompson, 
of  Chester-le-Street. 


THE    BUILDINa   NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


EN-GIXEEEIXG   AND   BOTLDING  EX- 
HIBITS AT  THE  CATTLE-SHOW. 
THIS  year's  Cattle-Sho^v  at  the  Agricul- 
tural Hall,  Islington,   is,  as  usual,  not 
without  special  interest  to  the  engineer  and 
architect,   particularly  those   concerned    in 
improvements  relating  to  agriculture.     Ma- 
chinery and  agi'icultural  implements  occupy 
the  spaces  ahove  aid  below  the  galleries  of 
the  large  hall,  besides  the  entrance-vestibule. 
In  these  classes  we  find  a  variety  of  portable 
steam-engines,  of  improved  construction  and 
of  excellent  worlimanship  ;  but  we  may  first 
glance    at   a    few   of    the    exhibits   in    the 
entrance,  galleries  and  other  parts,  of  inte- 
rest to  the  builder.    One  of  the  first  we  come 
to  is  a  new  system  of  glazing  roofs  of  con- 
servatories,  hot-houses,  and  various   other 
buildings,  without  putty.     The  principle  of 
Messrs.  Tracey  and  Sons,   of  Ilford,  Essex, 
is   a   metallic  tubular  sash-bar,  forming    a 
kind  of  double  tube,  with  open  slots  at  the 
outer  sides  to  receive  the  glass.     The  models 
shown  by  the  inventors  appear  very  simple ; 
the    roof    is    shown,    made  in  a    series   of 
cants    or    slopes,   between    which    wooden 
grooved  purlins  are  fixed  to   wrought-iron 
ribs,  and  upon  these  are  placed  the  tubular 
bars,  fitted  into  a  groove  in  purlin  at  the  top 
and  overlapping  the  next  purlin.     The  bars 
are    pleasing  in    appearance,    water-tight, 
and  light  in  weight ;  the  glasi  can  be  easUy 
made  to  slide  into   its    place,   secured  by  a 
copper  clip  at  the  bottom.     One   merit  in 
the  system  is  that  any  unsldlled  workman 
can  glaze  a  conservatory  or  hot-house  with- 
out assistance  from  a  glazier,  the  houses  can 
be  quickly  painted,    and  broken  glass   re- 
paired.    We  find  the  price  for  straight  roots 
is  Is.  6d.  per  foot,    and    for  circular  roofs 
Is.  9d.  per  foot.     In  the  little  hall,  or  con- 
cert-room, is   seen  a  variety  of   useful  and 
ornamental  objects.     Messrs.  E.  Boyle  and 
Son  have  a  stand  with  their  improved  air- 
pump  ventilators  for  buildings  and  sanitary 
purposes,  of  good  shapes  and  of  all  sizes ; 
Messrs.  Davey  and  Co.,  of  Pinsbury,  show 
their  earth-closets  ;  Messrs.  Browne  and  Co., 
of  Piccadilly,  some  stoves,  in  which  class  we 
must  call  attention  to  Messrs.  Ewart  and 
Son's      (Euston-road)      "Crown"      patent  I 
boiler,  attached  to  end  of  bath,  the  advan- 
tage of  which  is  an  immediate  supply  of  hot 
water  by  gas  or  oil.     The  "  Empress  "  ven- 
tilator is  a  good  preventive  to  do^vn-draughts 
in   some  situations  ;    and  the   office   stove, 
called  the   "  Amethysta,"  we  have   already 
alluded  to  in  our  recent  notice  of  the  Engi- 
neering Exhibition.     The  "Crown"  boiler 
is  convenient  in  size,  and  cheap  in  price,  the 
varieties   made   varying   from    £2    18s.   to 
£12  12s.,  according  to  the  size  and  quantity 
of  water  to  be  heated,  and  the  large   ones 
are    guaranteed   to   produce  a    warm   bath 
at  100  degrees  in   from  10  to  15  minutes. 
Messrs.  Jones    and  WiUis  exhibit  some    of 
their      lamps,     of     superior     manufacture 
and  lighting  power;  and  the   "Excelsior" 
p.atent  spring  mattress,    sho^vu  by  Messrs. 
Chorlton  and    Dugdalo,  of  Manchester,   is 
certainly  an  improvement   upon   the   com- 
moner kinds,  and  they  ailbrd  to  tlie   body 
uniformity  of  pressure.     The    "Excelsior" 
can  be  applied  to  most  wood  and  iron  beds, 
and  for  hospital  and  infirmary  use  it  seems 
admu-ably    adapted,    on   sanitary  grounds. 
The  same  exhibitors  show  some  ingenious 
heating  and  cooking-stoves.     Messrs.  Lin- 
coln    and    Co.,    of    Ludgate-hill,     exhibit 
sundry  engineering  appliances  ;  and  Messrs 
C.      Powis     and      Co,     of      Gracechurch- 
street,  are  contributors  of  improved  sawing- 
machinery  of  economical  construction.     We 
may   also,   in   tliis   part,    call   attention   to 
Messrs.  Eansomc's    (Essex-street,   Strand), 
stall     of     mechanical     appliances,     Messrs. 
Wright  andButlor's(Birmiugham) stoves  and 
lamps,  Messrs.  PfeU  and  Co.'s  (Cierkenwell) 
lathes   and   drOling-machines,    and    to  the 
excellent  "  Sanitas  "  products  shown  by  the 


"  Saritas "  Company,  of  Bethnal  Green, 
which  appear  to  be  gaining  popularity  for 
their  pleasant,  effectual,  and  non-poisonous 
deodorising  qualities.  We  find  the  piggeries 
in  the  hall  have  been  disinfected  by  it. 

In  the  large  hall  and  galleries  portable 
steam-engines,  agricultural  implements  of 
every  kind,  from  drilling -machines  to  corn- 
elevators,  thrashing,  corn-dressing  and  blow- 
ing machines,  root-pulpers,  and  lifters,  claim 
attention.  The  excellent  horizontal  and 
vertical  engines  and  boilers  of  the  Eeading 
Ironworks  Co.,  Eansome,  Sons  and  Co.,  of 
Ipswich  (Coohrane's  Patent  boiler)  ;  Mar- 
shall, Sons,  and  Co. ;  Eobey  and  Co.,  we 
can  only  mention  in  our  review  of  other 
manufactui-es  interesting  to  the  agricultural 
architeot  and  landed  proprietor.  Iron  roof- 
ing and  fencing,  fittings  of  farm-buildings, 
dairy  utensils,  wrought-iron  troughs,  cis- 
terns, bins,  &c.,  are  represented  by  nmner- 
ous  enterprising  firms.  The  models  exhi- 
bited by  Mr.  J.  C.  Humphreys,  of  Albert-gate, 
show  some  u;eful  cjrrugated-iron  roofs, 
farra-buUdings,  &a.  ;  and  the  builder  who 
seeks  durability  and  cleanliness  may,  in 
fatare,  avail  himself  of  the  galvanised  roof 
supplied  at  3d.  per  foot ;  he  will  not  over- 
look, also,  the  very  excellent  fittings  for 
cow-houses  and  piggeries,  shown  by  the  St. 
Panoras  Iron  Co.,  of  the  Euston-road.  The 
cow-stall  fittings,  with  cast-iron  fiuted  divi- 
sions, and  the  iron  piggeries,  are  certainly 
improvements  on  the  miserable  and  uncleanly 
erections  and  wooden  fittings  one  sees  in  the 
country  homestead.  Messrs.  Morton  and 
Co.,  of  Liverpool,  send  specimens  of  their 
iron  roofs  and  wire  fences,  with  standards 
for  straining  the  wires  ;  and  for  fences  of  a 
stronger  kind,  those  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Baj'- 
liss,  Jones,  and  Co.,  at  2s.  9d., -with  standard; 
3fr.  apart,  the  bars  being  fixed  with  tubes  at 
the  uprights,  commend  themselves.  Messrs. 
Hill  and  S.nith's  patent  "  rivetless  hm-dle," 
shows  also  a  very  strong  mijthod  of  fixing. 
Messrs.  Croggon  and  Co.,  Upper  Thames- 
street,  send  specimens  of  their  wrought-iron 
cisterns,  tanks,  and  cattle-troughs ;  and  the 
riveted  corn-bins  of  Mr.  J.  Bellamy,  Mill- 
wall,  and  his  feeding  and  drinking-troughs 
are  excellent  and  elean.  Of  other  sundries 
Eosher's  stable  j^  .ving-bricks,  rustic  sum- 
mer-houses, &c.,  !:  id  terra-cotta  and  artifi- 
cial-stone edgings,  are  effective  and  cheap, 
affording  no  harbour  for  slugs  and  insects 
We  can  only  name  the  "  L^niversal"'  wrought- 
iron  split  pulleys ;  Laurence  and  C^i.'s  Capil 
lary  Eefrigerators  for  the  preservation  of 
milk;  B.  Kitmer's  combined  dressing,  blow 
ing,  and  screening-machines  ;  John  Fowler's 
steam-tra?tion  exhibits  ;  the  Koldmoss  weed 
eradicator,  manufactured  by  Ord  and  Mad- 
deson,  Darlington.  la  another  part,  Messrs. 
Eeynolds  (Blackfriars)  and  Co.'s  sawin^ 
machinery ;  and  the  wood-working  machines 
of  Warr  and  Le«-is;  C.  Powis  and  Co., 
Gracechurch-street ;  the  excellent  pavemeat 
lights  of  Hamiltm  and  Co.  ;  and  various 
other  appliances  of  a  mechanical,  sinitary, 
and  technical  character,  are  worthy  of  ex- 
amination. Domestic  machines  and  appliances 
are  too  numerous  to  mention.  Knife- 
cleaners,  sewing-machines,  washing-ma- 
chines, and  other  domestic  articles,  are  to  be 
found  in  every  part  of  the  Show ;  and  those 
who  have  no  taste  for  cattle  will  find  an  hour 
or  two  instructively  spent. 

ARCHITECTURAL  ASSOCIATIOX. 

THE  third  ordinary  meeting  of  the  present 
session  of  the  Association  was  held  on  Fri- 
day evening,  the  President,  Mr.  E.  C.  Lee,  in 
the  chair. 

THE    OKIGrX   OF   THE  ASSOCIATION-. 

Mr.  R.  Phexe  Spiebs  read  the  following  short 
paper,  describing  the  mode  and  period  of  the 
Association's  formation  :  The  precise  date  of  the 
origin  of  the  Architectural  Association  has  so 
often  been  mooted  in  committee  when  a  new 
"  Brown  Book"  was  being  collated,  that  I  have 
thought   the   matter  sufficiently  interesting   to 


note  down  a  few  facts  concerning  it,  especially 
as  it  was  alluded  to  in  the  President's  address 
this  year,  and  as  I  am  able  to  present  to  the 
Association  what  may  be  called  the  first  "Brown 
Book"  in  existence.  The  Society  from  which 
the  Association  sprang  was  called  the  Asscciation 
of  Architectural  Draughtsmen.  It  was  instituted 
on  September  1,  1812,  and  its  objects,  five  in 
number,  are  set  forth  in  the  paper  attached 
hereto.  In  this  paper  the  rooms  are  stated  to  he 
at  33,  Southampton-street,  Strand.  In  the 
Builder  of  July  15,  1813,  however,  notice  is  given 
of  the  Society,  wherein  it  states  that  the  mem- 
bers meet  on  the  first  and  third  Wednesdays  in 
every  month  at  the  Cafe  Royal,  42,  Castle-street, 
Holbom,  and  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  that  paper 
from  Mr.  J.  K.  Colling,  who  appears  to  have 
been  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  the 
Society,  states  : — "Sir, — Itmaynot  be  known  to 
you  that  a  Society  exists  called  the  British  Asso- 
ciation of  Architectur.ll  Draughtsmen,  having 
for  its  object,  by  union  and  co-operation,  the 
providing  with  employment  those  of  its  members 
who  may  require  it.  For  this  purpose  a  register 
is  kept  of  those  unemployed,  and  which  is 
available  to  architects  who  require  assistants 
also.  Each  member  of  the  Society  furnishes 
quarterly  a  drawing  of  some  executed  archi- 
tectural subject,  which  drawings  are  kept  in 
the  portfoUo  of  the  Society,  and  not  only  form  a 
means  of  collecting  vast  professional  informa- 
tion, but  a  sure  guide  to  architects  by  which  to 
judge  of  the  ability  of  the  assistants  they  may 
select.  Connected  with  the  Society,  we  have 
also  estabhshed  a  benevolent  fund,  for  assisting 
those  on  our  books  who,  through  misfortune  or 
ill-health,  m.iy  reqmre  it."  ilr.  CoUing  then 
goes  on  to  say  that  he  has  much  pleasure  in  for- 
warding a  drawing  for  publication,  and  hopes 
to  be  able  to  supply  others.  This  drawing  of 
the  chancel-window  of  chm'ch  at  Little  Maple- 
stead  was  pubUshed,  being,  however,  the  first 
and  last  of  the  series.  Nothing  more  is  heard 
of  the  Society  till  Fobmiry  3,  1847,  when  Pro- 
fessor (then  Mr.)  Kerr  reads  a  paper  on  "  Archi- 
tectural Education,"  at  the  rooms  in  South- 
ampton-street, Strand.  This  paper  was  a  very 
important  one,  and  led  to  the  immediate  forma- 
tion of  the  Architectural  Association,  which 
sprang,  Phoenix-like,  out  of  the  embers  of  the 
decaying  Association  of  Architectural  Draughts, 
men.  The  next  notice  I  find  in  the  Fine  Arts 
Journal,  in  which  it  appears  a  meeting  was  held 
on  March  3,  to  put  into  operation  one  of  Mr. 
Kerr's  proposals,  viz.,  to  embody  "a  school  of 
design  "  ;  and  it  was  then  stated  that  the  object  of 
Mr.  Kerr's  paper,  from  which  this  scheme  (the 
formation  of  a  school  of  design)  emanated,  was 
to  form  a  Society  upon  an  enlarged  scale  with  a 
comparatively  trifling  subscription,  which  would 
induce  every  student  of  the  art  to  avail  himself 
of  its  privileges.  Some  amended  rules  were  read 
out,  approved  of,  and  a  number  of  new  names 
were  proposed  for  membership.  A  sub-com- 
mittee of  the  old  Society  was  then  appointed  to 
meet  a  deputation  of  the  newly-proposed  mem- 
bers, and  to  arrange  at  once  upon  the  actual 
working  of  the  new  schools.  The  next  notice  is 
on  May  .5  of  the  same  year,  wlien  a  paper  was 
read  by  Mr.  ColUng  before  the  already-formed 
Society  stdl  meeting  in  Southampton-street.  On 
July  7,  1847,  a  paper  on  "Architectural  Style  " 
was  read  by  Professor  Kerr,  who  had  been 
elected  President ;  and  on  October  8  the  first 
conversazione  was  held  at  the  new  rooms  in 
Lyon's  Inn  Hall,  at  which  over  a  hundred  per- 
sons were  present,  when  the  President,  Mr. 
Robert  Kerr,  delivered  his  opening  address.  It 
then  numbered  SO  members.  The  Association 
remained  there  till  AprU,  18-59,  when  they  re- 
moved to  this  building. 

THE   AECHTTECTS    OF    THE    KEN'AISSAXCE. 

JIk.  W.  Hilton  Nash  read  a  paper  bearing 
on  this  subject,  the  first  part  of  which  will  be 
found  in  a  separate  form  on  the  opposite  page. 

At  its  conclusion,  Mr.  H.  L.  Florence 
said  he  regretted  that  Mr.  Nash  had  selected  a 
period  of  Italian  architecture  so  wide,  and  con- 
taining so  many  names,  that  it  had  been  scarcely 
possible  to  do  more  than  allude  to  them.  Equal 
length  had  been  given  to  each,  whereas  a  few 
deservedmuchmoreconsideration  than  the  general 
mass.  The  lecturer  had  divided  the  architects 
enumerated  into  four  schools,  but  he  had  not 
indicated  the  characterietics  of  those  schools, 
which  were  well  marked  oat.  To  those  who  had 
seen  the  buildings  referred  to  the  works  of  the 
several   architects  were  distinguished  by  indi- 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


669 


ridual  peculiiirities.  For  instance,  no  style  could 
be  more  distinctly  ditl'erent  in  character  than 
that  of  Bramanti  and  Palladio.  The  -svork  of  the 
latter  was  indeed  a  dilution  of  that  of  Michael 
Angelo,  who,  ■  in  architecture,  was  not  a  model 
worthy  to  he  copied  except  for  his  treatment  of 
domes.  Mr.  Nash  had  not  alluded  to  the  A'ene- 
tian  school,  whose  works  were  especially  useful  to 
us  at  the  present  day,  particularly  in  the  sub- 
division of  windows  and  the  use  of  orders,  and 
deserved  careful  study.  Of  this  school  one  of 
the  best  was  Longhena,  who  had  not  been  men- 
tioned. He  proposed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr. 
Nash,  not  only  for  his  paper,  but  for  having 
volunteered  to  prepare  one,  at  short  notice,  when 
the  syllabus  had  to  be  departed  from. 

Mr.  H.  H.  Staxsus  agreed  with  the  last 
speaker  that  Longhena  deserved  a  place  in  the 
Pantheon  of  architects,  but  suggested  that  the 
reason  for  his  omission  was  that  ho  lived  some- 
what Later  than  the  period  included  in  Mr. 
Nash's  survey.  The  lecturer  had  omitted 
to  distinguish  between  the  two  archi- 
tects known  as  Sansovino — Andrea,  who  was 
properly  a  sculptor,  and  carved  the  beautiful 
tombs  in  the  choir  of  San  Maria  de  la  Popolo,  at 
Rome;  and  his  pupil  Jacopo,  who  carried  out  the 
well-known  Library  of  St.  Mark,  and  other 
works  at  Venice.  The  lecturer  had  referred  to 
the  princely  patronage  and  munificent  pay  the 
Italian  architects  enjoyed,  and  had  implied  that 
our  architecture  would  be  better  if  this  state  of 
things  prevailed  now.  In  this  he  could  not 
agree  with  him  ;  there  was  now  a  wide-.spread 
patronage  of  art,  and  the  pay  was  fair  all  round. 
One  reason  that  made  modem  work  so  poor  was 
that  our  architects  were  so  greedy :  they  took 
far  more  work  than  they  could  properly  carry  out 
or  supervise,  f  o  that  numerous  clerks  had  to  be 
employed  to  get  out  the  drawings,  and  in  some 
cases,  even  if  a  building  of  different  style  to  that 
they  worked  in  were  required,  they  did  not  hint 
at  turning  over  the  work  to  others  who  designed 
in  that  style.  Justice  could  not  be  done  ^o  a 
building  if  the  architect  was  so  pressed  by  his 
work  that  he  could  give  neither  time  nor  con- 
sideration to  it.  RatfaeUe  and  Michael  Augelo 
had  been  included  in  the  list  of  painters ;  but 
although  they  were  admirable  artists,  they  failed 
when  they  tried  to  build,  from  a  want  of  know- 
ledge of  details.  Palladio,  again,  was  not  an 
architect  deserving  to  be  copied;  but  as  an  author 
had  done  more  to  popularise  architecture,  and 
to  systematise  its  study,  than  any  of  his  contem- 
poraries. In  seconding  the  vote  of  thanks,  Mr. 
Stannns  added  that  he  hoped  to  go  in  more 
detail  into  the  subject  three  months  hence,  when 
he  proposed  to  describe  the  Association's  excur- 
sion to  Lombardy. 

Mr.  R.  Phen-e  Spiees  said  Mr.  Nash  had 
seemed  to  look  down  upon  our  painters  and 
sculptors  because,  imlike  the  Italians  of  the  15th 
and  16th  centuries,  they  had  attempted  no 
architectural  work.  He  believed,  however,  that 
several  of  our  most  distinguished  painters,  if 
placed  in  a  similar  position  to  the  men  spoken 
of,  would  evince  equal  facility  in  designing. 
The  President  of  the  Royal  Academy  had  dis- 
played a  warm  sympathy  with  the  general  ex- 
pression and  feeling  of  Greek  architecture,  and 
no  one  could  lie  with  Mr.  Alma  Tadema  in 
intimate  knowledge  of  every  detail  and  sur- 
roimding  of  Roman  life  of  the  1st  and  ind 
centuries  and  the  last  days  of  Pompeii.  On  the 
other  hand,  several  of  our  architectural  students 
had  developed  into  painters,  including  the  late 
W.  W.  Dean,  who  had  powers  as  a  draughtsman 
which  ought  to  have  been  useful  to  him,  but 
who  failed  to  gain  practice  because  he  had  no 
connection.  The  Italian  artist  of  the  1.5th  and 
16th  centories  seemed  to  have  usually  been 
grounded  in  mathematics,  and  to  have  been 
trained,  at  the  same  time,  in  modelling,  draw- 
ing, and  the  use  of  colour,  and  often  in  mature 
life  was  called  upon  to  design  and  superintend 
the  erection  of  public  buildings.  The  present 
system  of  contracting  would  render  an  attempt 
at  such  a  course  of  training  fatal,  and  it  was 
certain  that  no  man  who  now  entered  the  pro- 
fession at  40  could  succeed. 

The  vote  of  thanks  ha\ing  been  accorded  with 
applause,  Mr.  Nash  replied.  He  would  admit 
that  Michael  Angelo  was  not  great  as  an  archi- 
tect, as  his  details  were  faulty  ;  but  this  arose 
from  want  of  training.  That  "he  strove  hard  to 
correct  this  was  evident  from  his  drawings,  still 
preserved  at  Florence,  in  which  a  feature  was 
often  altered  again  and  again,  in  one  instance  as 
many  as  12  attempts  being  made  to  improve  the 


design.  Longhena  had  not  been  mentioned,  a.s 
he  flourished  at  a  later  period  than  that  to  which 
he  had  confined  himself.  He, was  sorry  he  had  not 
clearly  distinguished  between  the  Sansovinos  : 
the  second — Jacopo — was  the  only  one  ho  had 
alluded  to.  He  condemned,  with  Mr.  Stannus, 
the  modern  practice  of  architects  seeking  and 
taking  more  work  than  they  could  carry  out,  as 
the  cause  of  much  poor  architecture. 


THE   ^UlCHITECTS    OF   THE    ITALIAN 
RENAISSANCE.* 

IT  is  almost  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a 
short  paper,  to  do  justice  to  the  number  of 
illustrious  names  which  crowd  upon  us  at  this 
epoch,  and  we  can,  therefore,  only  dwell  briefly 
on  the  lives  of  the  architects  of  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  and  the  motives  which  ac- 
tuated these  men  to  produce  works  which  daily 
increase  in  interest,  and  compel  us  to  offer  our 
tribute  of  respect  to  the  energy  of  mind  and 
purity  of  thought  as  exhibited  in  them.  Although 
many  may  take  exception  at  the  over-elabora- 
tion of  detaO,  and  to  the  naturalistic  treatment 
of  ornament  in  Late  Renaissance  works,  yet  we 
may  discover  in  nearly  all  instances  a  freedom 
of  design  which,  in  earlier  times,  and  especially 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  was  often  cramped  and 
fettered  by  ideas  which  emanated  from  the  se- 
clusion of  the  cloister  and  the  austerity  of  mon- 
astic life. 

The  architecture  of  the  Italian  Renaissance 
may  be  roughly  divided  into  four  schools — the 
Florentine,  the  Roman,  the  Venetian,  and,  lastly, 
the  Baroque  school. 

To  the  first  belong  the  palaces  of  the  Medici, 
the  Pitti  and  the  Strozzi  at  Florence,  both 
having  in  them  traces  of  Meditevalism  and  pre- 
dominating strength.  The  house  of  the  Floren- 
tine noble  was  literally  his  castle ;  the  dark 
portal,  and  massive  walls  pierced  with  narrow 
openings,  and  the  rugged  rustication  of  the 
walls,  all  point  to  the  troublous  times  in  which 
these  nobles  lived. 

The  Roman  style  is  less  massive  in  treatment, 
and  ornament  is  introduced  less  sparingly  ;  a 
more  refined  taste  was  being  developed,  as  evi- 
denced in  the  works  of  Fontana,  Sangallo,  Bra- 
mante,  and  Michael  Angelo — such  as  the  Farnese 
Palace,  the  Palace  of  St.  John  Lateran,  and  the 
numerous  villas  with  which  the  environs  of 
Rome  are  studded.  As  to  the  churches  of  the 
Roman  style,  that  of  St.  Peter's  gives  the  key- 
note to  all  the  others,  and  as  almost  all  the  first 
architects  of  the  two  centuries  we  are  consider- 
ing were  engaged  upon  it,  we  may  see  in  it  the 
embodiment  of  this  style. 

The  Venetian  school  is  characterised  by  greater 
lightness  and  elegance,  and  iacludes  among  its 
ranks  such  men  as  San  Michele.  Palladio,  and 
Sansovino;  and  the  Library  of  St.  Mark  at  Venice, 
by  the  latter  architect,  forms  a  typical  example 
of  this  school. 

The  Baroque  style,  introduced  by  Maderna, 
Borromini,  and  others,  marked  the  decline  of 
Renaissance  art ;  its  effects  were,  nevertheless, 
novel  and  striking,  but  were  wanting  in  dignity 
and  repose,  and  figures  in  impossible  attitudes, 
clinging  for  dear  life  to  broken  pediments, 
marked  the  degenerate  taste  which  prevailed. 

First  among  the  architects  of  this  century, 
when  the  first  faint  glimmer  of  the  dawn  of  the 
Renaifsance  was  stealing  over  the  land  of  Italy, 
stands  the  name  of  Filipo  Brunelleschi,  son  of 
Lippo  Lapi  (born  1377,  died  1444),  who,  though 
educated  for  far  different  pursuits,  at  an  early 
age  brought  his  powers  of  mind  to  bear,  first  on 
geometry,  then  on  Dante  and  his  writings,  and 
eventually  applied  himself  whoUy  to  architec- 
ture, and,  by  earnestly  studying  the  ancient 
masters  in  Rome  and  elsewhere,  became  imbued 
with  the  true  spirit  of  the  antique,  and  re\ived 
the  ancient  orders  of  the  Doric,  Ionic,  and 
Corinthian.  The  two  greatest  works  of  this 
architect  were  the  Pitti  Palate  at  Florence,  and 
the  cupola  over  the  cathedral,  Santa  Maria  dei 
Fiori,  in  the  .same  cit}'.  The  Pitti  Palace  has  a 
rugged  simplicity  which  makes  this  building 
astonish  us,  rather  by  its  broad  treatment  of 
masses  than  by  any  delicacy  or  refinement  of 
detail.  The  entire  building  is  covered  with 
rustic  work,  the  blocks  of  stone  in  the  lower 
story  and  in  the  wall  of  the  terrace  flanking  the 
courtyard  being  of  such  an  enormous  si^e  that 


•  A  paper  by  "W.  Hilton  Nasii,  read  before  the  mem- 
bers of  tne  Architectural  Association,  on  D.c.  3rd.  (Se« 
preceding  page.} 


they  look  like  the  work  of  giants.  Some  idea 
of  the  large  proportions  of  this  building  may  be 
obtained  from  the  entrance-doorways,  wnich 
measure  about  28ft-  in  height  by  14ft.  in  width. 
But  Brunelleschi  did  not  live  to  complete  hit 
work,  and  only  carried  the  building  as  high  as 
the  second  story,  and  later  on  Ammanati  added 
mouldings  and  triangular  pediments  to  the 
windows,  to  the  detriment  of  the  original  design, 
which,  as  has  been  before  stated,  owed  its  beauty 
in  a  great  measure  to  its  simplicity  of  treatment. 

When  Brunelleschi' s  grand  conception  of 
raising  a  dome  over  the  church  of  Santa  Maria 
dei  Fiori  at  Florence  was  first  promulgated,  his 
project  was  hailed  with  derision,  and  to  prove 
that  he  was  capable  of  performing  what  he  under- 
took to  do,  he  had  rccouroe  to  the  t  rick  afterwards 
practised  by  Columbus.  When  the  persons  who 
had  been  clamouring  to  see  his  design  were  as- 
sembled, he  produced  an  egg,  and  asked  each 
one  present  to  make  it  stand  upright  on  the 
table.  All  tried,  but  failed,  when  Brunelleschi, 
striking  off  the  end,  accomplished  the  feat. 
"  We  can  do  that  also,"  exclaimed  those  assem- 
bled. "  So  you  will  say  when  you  have  seen 
my  design,"  replied  the  architect.  The  height 
of  the  cupola  from  the  groimd  to  the  summit  of 
the  cross  is  385ft.  It  consists  of  an  outer  and 
inner  shell  connected  together  at  intervals  by 
walls,  and  it  is  octangular  on  plan.  Other 
cupolas  had  been  constructed  previously  to  this, 
as  at  St.  Sophia's,  Constantinople,  St.  Mark's 
at  Venice,  and  the  Baptistery  at  Pisa  ;  but  this 
one  outrivalled  them  all,  both  in  size  and  inge- 
nuity of  construction.  BruneUeschi  was  great 
not  only  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  but  also  in 
military  architecture,  for  he  designed  the  for- 
tresses of  Vico  Pisano,  the  old  and  cew  citadels 
at  Pisa,  and  he  also  built  fortifications  on  the 
Ponte  Amare.  He  died  respected  and  beloved, 
and  was  buried  under  the  shadow  of  his  great 
dome  at  Florence ;  posterity  has,  moreover, 
awarded  him  the  highest  honours,  for  to  him  we 
owe  the  re-establishment  of  pure  architecture 
and  manly  design. 

Leon  Battista  Alterti  (bom  1398,  died  UTi, 
was  a  nobleman  by  birth,  and  son  of  Lorenzo 
and  nephew  of  Cardinal  -Uberti  of  the  Alberti, 
a  Florentine  family.  Educated  with  the  greatest 
care,  and  having  a  knowledge  of  mathematics, 
painting,  and  sculptiire,  and  possessing  a  natural 
taste  for  the  fine  arts,  he  was  not  long  in  de- 
ciding on  the  profession  which  would  be  most 
suitable  to  a  man  of  such  varied  acquirements. 
The  church  of  San  Francisco  at  Rimini  bears 
witness  to  his  powers  of  design,  and  is  perhaps 
the  most  talented  of  all  his  works.  The  interior 
is  stdl  in  the  Gothic  style,  but  the  whole  of  the 
exterior  was  remodelled  from  Ms  designs,  and 
embellished  with  choice  marbles.  At  Florence, 
-Ylberti  built  the  circular  chapel  of  the  jVnnun- 
ziata,  which  is  wanting  in  many  of  the  graces 
distinguishing  his  other  works.  The  semi- 
circular arches  being  circular  on  plan,  have,  as 
is  usual  in  such  cases,  a  distorted  appearance, 
which  mars  the  effect  of  the  composition.  The 
principal  facade  of  Santa  Maria  Novella  is 
attributed  to  Alberti;  but  Milizia,  in  his 
"  Lives  of  Celebrated  Architects,"  states  that  it 
was  probably  built  by  Giovanni  Bellini.  His 
life  was  passed  as  a  tiue  nobleman's  should  be, 
in  liberality  and  courteousness  to  all,  and  he 
died  at  an  advanced  age  in  his  native  land. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
when  the  revived  art  was  only  feeling  its  way, 
and  had  not  obtained  that  firm  footing  on  the 
soil  of  Italy  that  the  fuUoning  centurj-  esta- 
blished, the  names  of  great  architects  were  few 
in  number,  and  the  two  whose  lives  we  have 
just  considered, — namely,  Brunelleschi  and  .U- 
berti— were  the  guiding  stars  of  this  epoch. 
Nevertheless,  other  architects  flourished,  some 
of  whose  works  were  of  no  mean  merit,  and 
amongst  these  were  Michellozzo  Michlozzi,  a 
Florentine  and  a  pupil  of  the  sculptor  Donatello. 
This  architect  succeeded  in  making  a  design  fur 
the  palace  of  Cosmo  de  Medici,  by  which  lie 
secured  the  patronage  of  that  influential  man. 
and  superseded  Bninelleschi,  who  had  pre- 
viously made  a  design  which  was  considered  too 
siimpt'uous.  Michclozzo  built  the  famous  library 
of  the  Benedictines  at  San  Giorgio,  Venice,  to 
which  city  Cosmo  had  been  banished  in  1433, 
and  whither  his  architect  followed,  with  a  devo- 
tion rarely  witnessed  in  modem  times.  Ue 
made  designs  for  and  built  the  palace  of  Cafag- 
giulo,  in  MugeUo,  by  order  of  the  Duke  Cosmo  : 
also  an  ingenious  villa  at  Fiesole,  near  Florence, 
on  the  side  of  a  hUl,   with  large   cellars    and 


670 


THE  BUILDIXa  NEWS. 


Dec.  10.  1880. 


itatles  under  part ;  also  the  palace  of  the  Tor- 
nabuoni,  now  belonging  to  the  llarquls  Corsi. 
Michelozzo  died  at  the  age  of  sixty.eight,  and 
was  interred  at  the  church  of  St.  Mark,  at 
Florence. 

GiuHano  da  Majano  was  also  a  Florentine, 
being  the  son  of  a  stonecutter  residing  near 
Fiesole.  Having  studied  architecture,  he  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  patronised  by  King  Al- 
phonso  at  Naples,  where  he  built  the  great 
palace  at  Poggio,  which  is  an  exact  square  on 
plan,  and  is  chiefly  noted  for  the  clever  arrange- 
ment of  its  staircases. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century 
flourished  the  celebrated  architect,  Bramantino, 
whose  field  of  operations  was  chiefly  in  Milan 
and  the  surrounding  distiict.  He  erected  the 
Church  of  St.  Satiro  in  that  city,  which  has  been 
much  praised,  more,  however,  on  account  of  the 
sumptuousness  of  its  decoration  than  for  its 
beauty  of  design  ;  for  the  numerous  arcaded 
corridors,  and  the  many  statues  with  which  it  is 
adorned  detract  from  the  main  features  of  the 
design,  and  render  them  somewhat  confused. 
Bramante,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  later  on,  is 
said  to  have  benefited  by  studying  his  works, 
and  we  see  tokens  of  this  in  many  buildings 
erected  by  him. 

Giovanni  del  Pozo  and  Francesco  di  Giorgio, 
of  Siena,  rank  among  the  lesser  lights  of  this 
epoch.  Tlie  latter,  however,  erected  some  very 
creditable  building?,  chief  among  which  is  the 
famous  palace  of  the  Duke  Frederigo  Feltre,  at 
Urbino. 

The  sister  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture  were 
frequently  combined  in  these  times  with  the 
more  practical  art  of  building,  and  the  appella- 
tion of  ■'  painter  and  architect  "  was  as  common 
then  as  "architect  and  surveyor"  is  in  the  present 
day.  The  artistic  ideas  of  the  nineteenth-cen- 
tury archit:cts  are  often  deafened  by  the  worry 
of  business  ;  and  this  is  greatly  to  be  deplored, 
for  the  real  artist  should  be  free  from  the  pett)- 
cares  and  anxieties  which  engross  the  bustling 
matter-of-fact  people  of  the  present  day. 

A  liberal  emolument  will  not  evoke  talent ; 
nevertheless,  architects,  to  do  their  work  truly 
and  thoroughly,  require  to  have  sufficient  means 
to  enable  them  to  drive  away  anxious  thoughts 
for  the  morrow,  and  the  ancient  architects  were 
undoubtedly  treated  in  a  more  liberal  manner 
than  those  of  to-day,  or  they  could  never  have 
bestowed  that  painstaking  care  on  their  build- 
ings which  is  so  frequently  exhibited,  sin^e  their 
whole  time  and  thoughts  were  often  confined  to 
one  building,  while  the  multifarious  duties  of  the 
nineteenth-century  architect  disqualify  him  from 
taking  that  high  position  which  was  so  acquired 
by  the  architects  of  the  Kenaissance. 

Having  now  briefly  considered  the  architects 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  we  pass  on  to  those  of 
the  sixteenth  century. 

When  on  some  bright  summer's  night  we  gaize 
upon  the  cloudless  heavens,  and  see  there  some 
grand  constellation  which  rivets  our  attention, 
and  become  for  a  time  almost  forgetful  of  the 
lesser  luminaries,  so  it  is  when  we  pass  in  review 
the  architects  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Their 
names  stand  out  so  boldly  among  the  lesser 
lights  of  art  that  we  are  for  a  time  unaware  of 
the  existence  of  preceding  or  posterior  artists, 
and  we  cannot  help  asking  ourselves  the 
cause  of  this  great  uprising  and  rebirth  of 
intellect  at  a  period  when  all  true  art  seemed 
lost  in  a  hopeless  chaos.  Tliis  great  awakening 
to  the  study  of  the  beautiful  and  the  true  was 
mainly  attributable  to  the  cultivated  tastes  and 
judicious  pationage  of  the  leading  families  in 
Italy.  They  were  the  s;reat  motive-power 
which  set  the  macliinery  of  art  in  motion,  and 
evoked  the  slumbering  talents  of  men  capable 
of  greatness  in  everj-  department  of  art — in 
painting  and  sculpture,  in  poetry,  music,  and 
architecture.  "WeU  might  Michael  Angelo  and 
other  contemporary  architects  have  said  of  the 
Cosmos  and  Leos  of  the  Medici  family,  as 
Horace  said  of  Mceenas,  "0  et  pi»-idiumet 
dulce  decus  meum,"  for  had  it  not  been  for  this 
opulent  and  cultivated  family,  many  a  talented 
artist  who  now  illumes  the  page  of  history 
would  have  died  "unwept,  unhonoured,  and 
imsung."  Art  patronage,  however,  is  not  the 
prerogative  of  the  many,  but  rather  the  privilege 
of  the  few  ;  and.  like  other  good  things,  it  mu>t 
bj  judiciously  admiiuotered,  or  its  effects  will  be 
more  baneful  than  productive  of  good ;  for  far 
greater  detriment  is  done  to  art  by  the  ignorant 
patron,  who  enriches  those  who  unjustly  deserve 


it,  than  by  the  man  who,  though  appreciating 
talent,  fails  to  render  it  its  due  reward. 

Bramante  d'Urbino,  though  bom  at  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century  at  Castel  Durante,  is 
generally  classed  among  the  architects  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  His  talents  were  directed 
at  an  early  age  to  painting,  but  he  qiutted  it  for 
the  sister  art  of  architecture,  having  studied 
and  measured  the  principal  ancient  buildings  at 
Rome,  and  the  remains  of  the  villa  Adriana  at 
Tivoli.  His  chief  patrons  were  the  Cardinal 
Caraffa,  thePopes  Alexander  VI.  .and  Julius  III., 
and  the  Duchess  Eleonora  Gongaza,  the  latter 
of  whom  commissioned  Bramante  to  build  a 
palace  for  herself  and  her  husband,  the  Duke 
d'Urbino.  The  greatest  work  of  this  architect 
was  undoubtedly  the  rebuilding  of  the  church 
of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.  In  this  design  he  equalled, 
if  he  did  not  surpass,  the  ancients,  in  the  mas- 
si  veness  and  unity  of  treatment  which  pervades 
the  whole  edifice.  Strongly  impressed  with  the 
grand  proportions  of  the  Pantheon  at  Rome, 
which,  no  doubt,  he  had  studied  in  the  days  of 
his  pupilage,  he  founded  his  design  on  this  model, 
and  made  his  cupola  of  similar  dimensions,  add- 
ing the  four  arms  of  the  Latin  cross,  forming, 
when  completed,  a  building  of  unequalled  vast- 
ness  and  grandeur. 

Bramante  could  boast  of  having  Raflaelle  for 
a  pupil,  and  Michael  Angelo  for  a  friend  and 
advisor,  and  the  great  sculptor  states  his  opinion 
that  "  Bramante  is  superior  to  all  others  since 
the  time  of  the  ancients." 

Shall  we  praise  or  blame  Bramante  for  the 
revival  of  the  use  of  plastering  and  stucco 
ornament !'  There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favour 
of  the  way  in  which  he  employed  it,  namely, 
on  a  wooden  foimdation;  but  unfortunately  it 
latterly  fell  on  evil  times,  its  true  place  and  use 
being  forgotten,  and  the  stucco,  instead  of 
assisting  to  decorate  the  buildings,  served  only 
to  overburden  them  with  vulirar  ornament. 
This  is  specially  noticeable  at  Vicenza,  where 
Palladio,  not  having  had  funds  sufficient  to 
erect  liis  sumptuous  designs  in  stone,  has  had 
recourse  to  plastered  columns  on  a  brick  core 
and  the  effect  of  time  on  these  buddings  ha; 
made  them  look  pitiable  in  the  extreme,  and  has 
given  occasion  to  architects  of  the  opposite 
school  to  decry  all  architecture  of  the  Palladian 
school  as  a  sham. 

Tile  most  beautiful  erection  by  this  architect 
is  the  palace  of  the  Cancelleria  at  Rome.  The 
windows  on  the  "  primo  piano,"  or  first  floor, 
have  served  as  models  for  countless  others,  but 
none  have  surpassed  the  original.  The  fai,ade 
is  constructed  of  blocks  of  travertine  from  the 
Colosseum,  which,  during  this  century,  served 
as  a  sort  of  quarry  for  numerous  Roman 
palaces. 

Tlie  beautiful  dome  of  the  Church  of  Santa 
Maria  dclle  Grazie,  at  Milan,  is  certainly  the 
most  satisfactory  of  any  of  Bramante's  works, 
and,asFergusson.«ays,  inhis  "History  of  Modern 
Architecture,"  "Had  the  architects  of  the  suc- 
ceeding age  been  ouly  content  to  work  with  the 
moderate  amount  of  Classical  feeling  found  in 
this  building,  we  should  have  had  no  cause  to 
regret  the  loss  of  the  Gothic  style  ;  but  the 
temptation  to  employ  great  pilasters  and  pillars, 
whose  real  recommend ition  was  that  they 
covered  the  greatest  amount  of  space  with  the 
least  amount  of  thought,  was  more  than  human 
nature  could  resist,  on  the  part,  at  least,  of  men 
who  were  more  artists  and  amateurs  than  archi- 
tects." 

The  dome  of  Santa  Maria  is  6.5ft.  in  diameter, 
and  is  consequently  one  of  the  largest  con- 
structed by  Bramante,  that  at  the  church  at 
Lodi  being  .50ft.,  and  the  dome  of  the  little 
church  of  San  Pietro,  in  Montorio,  at  Rome, 
being  only  1.5ft.  in  diameter. 

Bramante  died  in  the  year  1.51-t,  at  the  age  of 
seventy,  and  was  buried  in  great  state  in  the 
church  of  St.  Peter,  the  grand  work  of  his  life- 
time, and  which,  had  it  being  executed  as 
originally  designed  by  him,  would  have  been  a 
church  worthy  of  the  golden  age  of  Renaissance 
art. 

{To  be  conduded.) 


ARCHITECTURAL  MARBLES  AT  THE 
PHCENIX  WORKS,  PLYMOUTH. 
A  AVORK  of  art  in  decorative  marbles  is 
J\.  making  rapid  progress  at  Messrs.  J.  and 
E.  Goad's  Phoenix  Marble  Works,  Stonehouse. 
As    the   greatest    work    which    has    yet  been 


executed  in  Devonshire  marble,  it  is,  remarks  the 
Wc>,t€rn  yio)-ni)ig  X'  ir^,  an  important  undertaking 
which  tests  fully  the  capabilities  of  the  stone, 
and  on  its  completion  will  redound  a  proportion- 
ate degree  of  credit  on  one  of  the  most  promising 
of  local  industries.  The  contract  which  Messrs. 
Goad  are  executing  is  the  marble  for  the  church 
of  the  Brompton  Oratory,  South  Kensington 
(which  by  the  courtesy  of  the  architect,  Mr.  H. 
A.  K  Gribble,  we  have  repeatedly  illustrated). 
The  Oratory  has  a  cruciform  nave,  sanctuarj-, 
and  chapels,  and  a  vaulted  roof  richly  decorated. 
The  arcading  of  the  whole  building  will  be 
supported  by  columns  of  Devonshire  marble,  and 
massive  shafts  with  pilasters  of  similar  stone 
will  uphold  the  central  dome  and  flank  the 
entrance  of  each  chapel.  Around  the  sanctuary 
and  down  the  transepts,  marble  pilasters  will 
spring  at  intervals.  The  effect  of  the  lower 
section  of  the  building  will  be  harmonised  by 
the  introduction  of  marble  dado  wcrk  encasing 
the  bases  of  all  the  arches,  and  the  vaulted  roof, 
ninety  feet  above,  will  be  panelled  with 
frescoes  and  decorative  mouldings.  The  im- 
portance of  the  marble  work  in  the  structure  is 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  when  completed  the 
polished  blocks  will  amount  to  a  gross  weight 
of  more  than  1,000  tons.  The  four  massive  piers 
supporting  the  dome,  each  of  them  I  "ft.  across 
the  face,  will  be  encased  in  marble.  The  pilasters 
facing  the  nave  and  transepts  will  have  a  height 
of  about  40ft.  from  base  to  capitil.  Each  of  the 
circular  columns  in  the  arcading  will  be  19ft. 
high,  and  of  proportionate  solidity.  And  of 
thesetowering  shafts  there  will  be  in  all  fifty- 
eight  —  twenty-six  of  the  circular  columns  and 
thirty-two  of  the  pilasters.  The  dado-work, 
again,  and  the  bases  and  capitals  of  the  columns 
must  be  added  to  this  enumeration. 

The  marbles  for  the  several  sections  of  the 
work  have  been  selected  with  obvious  care  as  to 
colour  and  texture.  All  the  pUnths  throughout 
will  be  of  Devonshire  black,  from  the  Billacombe 
and  Pomphlete  quarries.  The  dado- work  will  be 
of  dark  mottled,  also  from  Pomphlete.  The 
moulded  base  of  each  pilaster  is  a  picked  specimen 
of  green  marble,  which  also  comes  from  quarries 
in  Devonshire.  The  shaft  of  each  p'laster  will 
be  of  red  Devonshire  mirble,  cut  in  the  quarries 
at  Radford.  The  plinths  of  the  columns,  like 
these  of  the  pilasters,  will  be  of  Devon  black,  the 
moulded  bases  of  a  sienna-tinted  variety  from 
Radford,  and  the  columns  themselves  of  a  mottled 
stone  from  Pomphlete,  which  is  veined  with 
remarkably  rich  colours.  We  believe  the 
Corinthian  capitals  will  be  of  white  Sicilian 
marb'.e. 

The  process  by  which  the  circular  columns  are 
brought  to  the  mirror-like  smoothness  which 
they  ultimately  present  is  interesting  if  com- 
plicated. The  stone  reaches  the  words  in 
Phoenix-street  in  rough  scabbled  blocks,  not 
easily  distinguishable  from  building  stone.  -Vll 
the  work  on  them,  after  the  rough-dressed 
blocks  have  been  produced,  is  done  by  steam 
machinery.  Each  column-section  is  fixed  on  a 
rotary  axis,  in  a  travelling  bed,  and  revolves 
under  a  disc  of  solid  steel,  specially  hardened, 
which,  bearing  with  a  pressure  of  perhaps  a  ton 
against  the  revolving  block,  cuts  it  to  true  cir- 
cular proportions  with  infallible  accuracy.  The 
machine  is,  in  fact,  a  powerful  lathe,  in  which 
the  block  goes  on  revolving  until  reduced  to  its 
final  shape.  Three  of  the.-e  sections,  making  a 
complete  column,  are  next  brought  to  the  polish- 
ing machinery.  The  whole  art  of  preparing 
them  consists  in  bringing  the  profile  of  the 
sectional  blocks  to  such  a  continuous  line  that 
when  they  are  fixed  the  polished  surface  will  not 
betr.iy  any  break.  After  the  lathe  has  done  its 
work  completly  th '  column  is  fixed  in  its  com- 
plet3  state,  and  by  successive  polishing  processes, 
ending  with  the  use  of  emery-powder  and  putty- 
powder  , bring  up  the  faultless  surface  in  which 
all  the  beauty  Xature  has  blended  in  the  marble 
appears  in  its  most  perfect  state.  Next  to  the 
green  stone  the  sienna  veined  marble  is  the  most 
imposing.  The  warm  background  shows  u^ 
spongy  sections  of  delicate  madrepore,  anemones 
fossilised  in  every  shade,  some  sections  suffused 
with  the  rich  brown  of  hematite,  others  shot 
with  delicate  tints  of  pink,  or  veined  with  ochre, 
which  seems  to  have  been  fixed  as  it  trickled 
through  the  rock.  The  pilasters,  which  are 
suffused  with  a  tone  of  red  that  would  give 
warmth  to  any  interior  they  might  adom,  are 
equally  pleasing,  and  all  the  marble  is  obtained 
from  Messrs.  Goad's  quarries,  within  five  miles 
of  Plymouth. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE  BTTILDING  NEWS. 


671 


DIFFERENT  MODES   OF  ERECTING 
IRON  BRIDGES. 

AT  the  meeting  of  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers  on  Tuesdiy,  the  paper  read 
was  on  "  The  different  modes  of  Erecting  Iron 
Bridges."  by  Mr.  Theophilus  Seyrig,  M.  Inst. 
C.T..",  of  Paris. 

The  various  modes  were  ranged  by  the  author 
in  four  classes: — 1,  erection  upon  staging:  2, 
erection  by  lifting  bodily :  3,  erection  by  rolling- 
over  ;  4,  erection  by  building-out. 

1.  In  erection  upon  staging,  the  timber  piles 
or  standards  were  either  spaced  in  rows  at  equal 
distances  apart,  or  clustered  together,  lea\-ing 
wider  spaces  between  the  clusters.  The  use  of 
standards  equally  spaced  was  illustrated  by 
descriptions  of  the  timber  stagings  employed  in 
the  erection  of  the  rail  way- bridges  over  the 
Theiss,  at  AUgyiJ  in  Hungary,  with  3'2Sft.  span  ; 
over  the  Erdre,  at  Nantes,  in  Brittany,  with 
32lft.  span:  and  over  the  Thaya,  at  Znaim  in 
Moravia.  .A.s  examples  of  clustered  standards, 
the  timber  stagings  were  described  of  the  Pont 
du  Carrousel,  Paris,  with  l-57ft.  spans;  Bor- 
deaux bridge  with  253ft.  span  ;  the  railway 
bridge  over  the  Lek,  at  Kuilenburg  in  Holland, 
with  492ft.  span  ;  and  Bommel  bridge  over  the 
Waal,  with  393ft.  spans.  A  lii;ht  iron  platform 
suspended  from  chains  wa.s  employed  for  erecting 
El  Kantara  bridge  in  Algeria,  at  a  height  of 
393ft.,  with  ISlft.  span.  Light  iron  lattice 
girders,  supported  on  clusters  of  timber  piles, 
were  used  for  erecting  the  railway  bridge  over 
the  river  Inn,  at  Kijuigswart  in  Bavaria,  with 
3  spans  of  227ft. ;  but  the  intermediate  piles  in  the 
middle  span  having  been  swept  away  by  a  flood,  a 
temporary  wrought-iron  framework,  stretching 
across  the  entire  opening,  was  erected  by  over- 
hang, its  panels  advancing  from  the  piers  at 
each  side,  and  meeting  midway.  Erection  upon 
staging  involved  the  cost  of  a  temporary  struc- 
ture, the  whole  of  which  had  to  be  removed 
after  the  completion  of  the  permanent  work. 
In  many  cases  this  cost  was  compensated  by 
rapidity,  convenience,  safety,  and  cheapness  in 
the  erection  of  the  bridge.  The  danger  incurred 
by  staging  constructed  across  livers  liable  to 
floods  and  drift  was  exemplified  by  disasters  to 
the  staging  at  Hamm  railway  bridge  in 
Rhenish  Prussia,  crossing  the  Rhine  with  3i0ft. 
spans  ;  by  settlement  of  the  staging  at  KuQen- 
burs-bridge  ;  and  by  the  mishap  at  Kunigswart- 
bridge.  Otherwise  staging  afi'orded  safety  and 
facility  for  erecting  the  pemisnent  work,  which 
latter  was  subjected  to  no  undue  strain  prior  to 
its  completion.  Rapidity  of  erection  upon  staging 
was  illustrated  by  examples  of  bridges  put 
together  on  the  American  system  of  pin  con- 
nection, without  riveting. 

2.  Erection  by  lifting  bodily  had  its  origin  at 
the  Britannia  bridge  in  ISIS,  the  four  large 
tubes  of  47'1ft.  in  length  being  constructed  on 
shore,  and  floated  upon  pontoons  into  position 
between  the  piers.  The  plan  ■was  imitated  at 
t'he  Saltasb  bridge  for  the  two  large  spans  of 
4o-5ft.:  .and  at  the  railway  bridge  over  the  Weser, 
near  Bremen,  in  1867.  The  railway  bridge  at 
Moerdyk  in  Holland,  having  fourteen  openings 
of  ".28ft.,  had  lately  been  erected  in  a  similar 
way  :  by  aid  cf  the  tide  the  girders  constructed 
xipon  the  bank  were  floated  on  pontoons,  first  to 
an  intermeliate  halting  place,  .and  thence  to  the 
bridge  piers.  At  Niagara  bridge,  spins  of  107 
and  21Sft.  were  erected  upon  a  floating  staging, 
consisting  of  a  platform  carried  on  pontoons. 
Erection  by  lifting  bodily  admitted  of  large 
girders  being  constructed  conveniently  and  in  a 
safe  situation,  whence  they  were  afterwards 
floated  in  a  few  hours  to  their  intended  position  ; 
the  difficulties  were  thus  coacentrated  at  the 
fewest  points,  and  the  danger  was  limited  within 
the  shortest  time.  It  required,  however,  the  em- 
ployment of  a  special  gang  of  bargemtn  ;  and 
involved  a  considerable  outlay  for  pontoons  and 
tugs,  which  on  a  very  large  work  was  more  than 
recouped,  but  not  on  a  small  number  of  spans 
or  light  girders. 

3.  Erection  by  rolling-over  is  applied  to 
continuous  girders  extending  over  two  or  more 
spans.  It  involved  the  principle  of  planning  the 
work  with  regard  not  only  to  its  final  purpose, 
but  also  to  the  means  whereby  it  was  to  be  car- 
ried out.  The  facility  of  erection  by  rolling-over 
led  to  its  original  adoption  for  the  Sarine  railway 
viaduct  at  Freiburg  in  Switzerland,  where  the 
roadway  was  constructed  on  the  hill,  behind  one 
of  the  abutments,  .and  then,  by  means  of  wind- 
lasses, was  pushed  bodily  forwards  upon  rollers 


across  tlie  .sucoes...ive  openings  of  IGOft.  between 
the  piers.  A  similar  method  was  carried  out  for 
Stadlau-bridge  at  Vienna,  crossing  232ft.  spans. 
At  "W'oldshut-bridge  over  the  Rhine  in  Switzer- 
land the  windlasses  were  replaced  by  ratchet- 
wheels  keyed  on  the  roller-spindles,  and  worked 
by  levers,  whereby  the  rollers  were  transformed 
into  driving-rollers,  and  the  use  of  hauling- 
ropes  was  dispensed  with.  Erection  by  rolling- 
over  presented  the  advantages  that  the  main 
work  of  constructing  the  bridge  was  carried  on 
in  safety  and  convenience  upon  the  bank,  the 
actual  rolling  was  attended  with  but  little  ex- 
pense, and  the  plant  used  could  be  again 
employed.  It  was  limited,  however,  to  con- 
tinuous-girder bridges ;  the  bottom  booms  of 
the  girders  must  be  of  _]_  section  ;  and  the  lattice 
sides  must  be  strong  enough  to  withstand  con- 
siderable compression,  and  prevent  the  bottom 
booms  from  bending  dangerously.  The  bottom 
booms  were  strained  by  repeatedly  passing  over 
the  rollers,  with  changing  drection  of  the 
strains  ;  and  the  joints  of  the  lattice-bars  were 
liable  to  be  injured  thereby.  For  the  replacing 
of  existing  bridges  by  new  work  in  a  very  speedy 
wiy,  the  new  roadway  had  been  erected  alongside 
the  old  one,  and  had  then  been  rolled  into  its 
place  sideways.  On  railways  in  Hungary 
and  Austria  a.  number  of  timber  spans, 
varying  from  26ft.  to  210ft.  had  thus  been 
successfully  replaced.  A  description  was 
given  of  the  operations  at  Hemad-bridge  on 
the  Oderberg  and  Kaschau  line,  where  two  S2f t: 
spans  were  Ihus  renewed  with  oidy  about  four 
hours'  interruption  of  traffic.  In  the  renewal  of 
one  of  the  Prater  bridges  on  the  Austrian  State 
Railway,  near  Vienna,  the  new  bridge  of  350 
tons  weight,  constructed  of  bowstring  girders  of 
200ft.  span,  and  carrying  two  lines  of  way,  was 
rolled  into  position  upon  a  live  set  of  old  cannon- 
balls,  instead  of  upon  rollers  ;  the  same  device 
had  previously  been  used  in  renewing  a  single- 
line  bridge  over  the  Waag,  at  Tomocz.  Rolling 
had  also  been  applied  to  the  temporary  timber- 
staging  employed  for  the  erection  of  the  perma- 
nent structure.  This  method  was  illustrated  by 
the  successful  erection  of  Saint  Just-road  bridge 
over  the  Ardeche,  in  France,  with  Io2ft.  clear 
openings  spanned  by  arched  wrought-iron  ribs. 
Another  example  was  Regoa-bridge  over  the 
Douro,  in  Portugal,  with  spans  of  162ft.  and 
253ft. ;  here  the  rolling  timber-stage  got  so 
strained  in  the  earlier  operations  as  to  require 
the  support  of  intermediate  timber-piers  in 
crossing  the  later  spans. 

4.  Erection  by  building-out,  in  which  the 
permanent  structure  was  made  use  of  for  its  own 
erection,  dispensed  altogether  with  extraneous 
appliances,  these  having  been  successively  less 
and  less  depended  upon  in  the  modes  of  erection 
previously  described ;  lifting  bodily  required 
less  plant  than  staging,  and  buQding-out 
still  less.  El  Cinca-bridge,  in  Spain,  the 
first  erected  by  buiiding-out,  had  an  arch  of 
230ft.  spin,  each  half  of  which  was  erected  as  a 
cantaliver  or  wall-bracket  projecting  from  the 
abutments  until  their  ends  met  midway.  At 
the  steel  bridge  over  the  Mississippi  at  St.  Louis, 
with  two  side  arches  of  502ft.  span,  and  a 
central  one  of  520ft.,  the  half-arches  were 
erected  from  the  masonry  piers,  proceeding  on 
both  sides  of  the  piers  simultaneously,  so  that 
the  lateral  strains  should  counterbalance  one 
another.  The  most  recent  example  of  erec- 
tion by  building-out  was  the  railway-bridge 
crossing  the  Douro,  near  Oporto,  with  a 
crescent-shaped  arch  of  525tt.  span,  the 
height  of  the  extrados  at  the  crown  being 
200ft.  above  the  water.  The  abutments  and 
the  iron  piers  on  each  bank  having  been  first 
erected,  and  the  continuous  roadway  girders 
having  been  pushed  across  them  far  enough  to 
overhang  the  arch  105ft.  at  each  side,  the  arch 
itself  was  thtn  erected,  panel  by  panel,  from  the 
.springing,  the  overhanging  panels  being  suc- 
cessively supported  by  wire-ropes  tying  their 
outer  extremities  to  the  horizontal  girder  over- 
head, where  it  rested  on  the  pier.  The  principal 
details  connected  -n-ith  the  erection  of  this  bridge 
were  described  at  length,  as  an  example  of  work 
carried  to  a  completely  successful  issue  under 
conditions  insuring  great  safety.  Exceptional 
cases  apart,  iron  bridges  of  all  kinds,  from  arched 
bridges  to  lattice  swing-bridges,  admitted  of 
being  erected  wiihout  the  use  of  auxiL'ary  girders 
or  staging ;  and  un  'or  good  management  it 
.seem:d  likely  that  such  independent  modes  of 
erection  would  most  frequently  prove  econo- 
mical. 


The  paper  was  illustrated  by  a  series  of  dia- 
grams. 

THE  L.iTER  PERIOD  OF  ARCHAIC 
GFvEEK    SCULPTl'RE. 

ON  Friday  last  the  new  Professor  of  Arch."co- 
Ir.gy  at  University  College,  London,  Mr. 
C.  T.  NSwton,  C.B.,  DC  L.,  M.A.,  Keeper  of 
the  Greek  and  Roman  antiquities  in  the  British 
-Museum,  wound  up  his  inaugural  course  of 
lectures  on  "  Archaic  Greek  Art  "  with  an  extra 
one  on  "The  Later  Period  of  Archaic  Greek 
Sculpture."  The  five  previous  lectures  treated 
of  the  earlier  stages  of  Greek  art,  from  its  rude 
beginnings  at  Mycenoe  to  the  period  when  great 
advances  had  been  made  in  the  casting  of 
bronze,  when  marble  had  come  into  more 
general  use  as  the  material  of  sculpture,  and 
when  we  first  found  Greek  inscriptions  on  works 
of  art.  In  these  five  lectures  Greek  art  was 
traced  to  as  late  as  about  B.C.  520.  The  later 
archaic  period  might  be  conceived  as  extending 
over  about  the  half-century  from  B  c.  520  to 
about  B  c.  470,  soon  after  which  date  Phidias 
flourished.  This  period  of  50  years  was  preg- 
nant with  great  historical  revolutions,  the  ulti- 
mate results  of  which  were  to  establish  the 
pre-eminence  of  Hellenic  civilisation  and  secure 
the  national  ind»pendence.  Within  this  period 
fell  the  expulsion  of  the  Pisistratidte  from 
Athens,  the  defeat  of  the  Carthaginians  by 
Gelon,  and  his  rule  and  that  of  his  brother 
Hiero  at  Syracuse ;  the  revolt  of  the  lonians 
from  Persia,  and  their  final  submission  after  the 
fall  of  Miletus :  the  successive  victories  of  the 
Greeks  over  the  Persians  at  Marathon,  Salamis, 
Plata?a.  In  the  same  age  tragedy  under 
Phrynichus  and  JEschylus  was  developed  at 
Athens,  Pindar  flourished,  and  Herodotus  was 
bom.  The  progress  of  art  during  the  same 
period  was  commensurate  with  these  great 
changes.  One  principal  cause  of  this  was  the 
growing  importance  of  the  great  Agonistic 
festivals,  especially  of  that  of  Olympia.  It 
became  the  custom  for  victorious  athletes  or 
winners  of  the  chariot-race  or  horse-race  to 
dedicate  statues  and  groups  in  commemoration 
of  their  victory  either  at  Olympia  or  in  their 
native  cities.  Bronze  was  the  prin  ipal  material 
used,  and  thus  the  artists  gradually  learnt  how 
to  represent  groups  in  violent  action,  while  their 
observation  of  nature  was  sharpened  by  the 
study  of  living  forms.  Ageladas,  an  Argive 
sculptor,  who  was  the  teacher  of  Phidias,  made 
several  of  these  groups.  Onatas  of  JEgina 
was  another  celebrated  sculptor  of  this  period. 
He  made  at  Olympia  a  group  representing  the 
Greek  heroes  casting  lots  who  should  fight  with 
Hector,  and  other  groups  and  statues  at 
Olympia.  Three  .artists  of  this  period— Cana- 
chus,  Gallon,  Calamis — are  associated  in  two 
well-known  passiges  of  Cicero  and  Quintilian. 
from  which  we  gather  that,  in  the  judgment  of 
Roman  critics,  Canachus  and  Gallon  were  harder 
in  style  than  Calamis  and  less  true  to  nature. 
The  most  notable  work  from  the  -Vttic  school  in 
this  period  was  the  group  of  Harmodius  and 
Aristogiton  by  Critius  and  Nesiotes,  of  which 
we  may  form  some  notion  from  a  group  in 
marble  extant  at  Naples,  from  an  Athenian 
coin,  and  from  a  vase.  Calamis,  who  was  an 
Athenian  artist,  excelled  in  the  representation 
of  horses,  and  commemorated  the  Olympic 
victories  of  Hiero  by  bronze  groups  at  Olympia. 
Pythagoras  of  Rhegium  was  another  sculptor 
who  made  statues  of  Olympic  victors,  and  who 
is  distinguished  as  having  made  considerable 
advance  towards  the  more  correct  rendering  of 
nature,  especially  in  the  representation  of  the 
surface  of  the  body  with  its  veins  and  muscles. 
The  temples  built  in  this  period  further  pro- 
moted the  progress  of  sculpture  by  the  decora- 
tions they  required  in  the  metopes  and 
pediments.  Thus  artists  were  exercised  in  the 
composition  of  complicated  groups  of  figures 
in  the  round.  The  lecturer  then  described  the 
various  drawings  which  were  exhibited: — Two 
metopes  from  temples  at  Selinus,  in  Sicily  (the 
earlier  might  date  from  as  early  as  B.C.  GOO,  the 
other  prubably  as  late  as  B.C.  470) ;  one  side  of 
the  frieze  of  the  Harpy  tomb;  casts  of  two 
Sphinx.^s  from  Xanthus  ;  a  bronze  representing 
the  Apollo  of  Miletus  :  the  western  pediment  of 
the  temple  of  Athene,  at  -Fgina ;  a  coin  of 
Syracuse  of  the  time  of  Gelon  I. :  a  terra-cotta 
figure  from  Camirus,  in  Rhodes  ;  the  warrior  on 
an  Athenian  stele,  by  Aristocles ;  and  a  seated 
figure  of  Athene,  from  Athens. 


672 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


ST.  ALB  AN' S  ABBE?. 

IN  a  letter  to  the  Times  of  Tuesday,  Archdeacon 
Blomfield   writes  : — - 

"  Without  desiring  to  stir  the  ashes  of  a  con- 
troversy now,  perhaps,  beginning  to  die  out, 
and  without  hoping  to  alter  an  inevitable  con- 
clusion, I  yet  feel  constrained  to  ask  you  to  pub- 
lish one  letter  from  me,  and  one  only,  on  the 
restoration  of  the  west  front  of  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Albau's.  I  do  so  as  one  of  those  for  whom 
an  official  stall  is  provided  in  the  new  cathedral, 
and  as  representing  in  some  degree  an  important 
part  of  the  diocese — the  county  of  Essex.  Many 
of  us  still  object  strongly  to  the  plan  of  Sir  Ed- 
mimd  Beckett,  in  so  far  as  it  involves  the 
destruction  of  the  existing  Perpendicular  west 
window,  and  the  substitution  of  one  of  modern 
design.  We  do  not  consider  that  this  step  is 
justified  by  the  fact  that  former  church-builders 
would  have  treated  the  work  of  their  predecessors 
exactly  as  it  now  proposed  to  treat  the  work  of 
Abbot  Wheathampstead.  Because  others  did 
wrong  in  the  15th  or  the  IGth  century,  that  does 
not  justify  our  doing  a  similar  wrong  in  the  19th. 
— The  public  have  now  before  them  the  design 
of  Sir  E.  Beckett,  in  the  Bfileixo  News  for 
November  26,  and  that  of  Mr.  J.  0.  Scott  in  the 
same  periodical  for  December  3,  the  latter,  it  is 
true,  in  a  form  which  presents  it  more  advan- 
tageously to  the  eye.  Of  the  comparative  merits 
of  the  two  designs  in  other  respects  I  do  not  pre- 
simie  to  speak,  but  many  will  be  of  opinion  that 
the  'conservative  restoration'  which  was  advo- 
cated by  Canon  Davys  in  his  paper  read  at  an 
archteological  meeting  at  Lincoln  in  October  last, 
and  which  is  carried  out  in  Mr.  Scott's  design 
by  the  retention  of  the  west  window  as  it  is,  is 
farmore  worthy  of  the  cathedral,  and  more  in 
keeping  with  what  has  already  been  done  there, 
than  such  a  departure  from  all  indications  of  the 
original  work  as  is  involved  in  Sir  E.  Beckett's 
new  window.  Against  that  departure,  and 
against  that  part  only  of  Sir  Edmund's  munifi- 
cent restoration,  we  desire  to  record  our  emphatic 
if  unavailing  protest." 

The  Acadiiiiij  criticises  Sir  Edmund  Beckett's 
design  for  the  west  front  of  St.  Alban's  Abbey, 
which  we  published  on  the  26th  inst.,  as  follows : 
' '  We  are  told  that  it  is  in  the  '  Early  Decorated 
style,'  but  it  has  at  least  the  merit  of  carrying 
its  century  very  plainly  written  upon  it.  The 
only  mistake  a  future  critic  is  likely  to  make 
about  its  date  is  to  put  it  at  ISIO  instead  of  ISSO. 
Nothing  of  the  old  front  is  to  be  retained  except 
part  of  the  doorways.  The  fifteenth-century 
window,  which,  although  not  a  work  of  a  high 
class,  was  at  least  designed  with  some  architec- 
tural knowledge,  and  contributed  largely  to  the 
dignity  of  the  nave,  is  replaced  by  a  clumsily 
designed  '  geometrical '  window  inspired  largely 
by  Sir  Gilbert  Scott's  east  window  at  Doncaster. 
The  effect  of  this  will  be  to  depress  the  nave  as 
much  as  the  old  one  raised  it.  The  wings  have 
no  windows,  and  are  covered  with  blank  arcades, 
which  we  should  not  have  discovered  to  be  in 
the  '  Early  Geometrical  style '  if  we  had  not 
been  told  it.  But  the  crowning  bungle  is  in  the 
gables  which  surmount  the  entrances,  especially 
in  those  at  the  sides.  It  is  unfortunate  that  so 
important  abuilding  as  St.  Alban's  Abbey  should 
be  sacrificed  to  the  whim  of  an  obstinate  amateur  ■ 
but  the  execution  of  his  design  at  his  own  ex- 
pense wiU  be  his  most  appropriate  punishment, 
and  the  next  generation  will  judge  of  the  wisdom 
of   those   who   have   vainly   attempted   to  stop 


LINCRUSTA-WALTON. 
~V\7"E  have  several  times  noticed  the  new 
*  T  Sunbury  Wall  Decoration,  introduced 
some  time  since  by  Messrs.  Walton  and  Co.,  of 
Sunbury  -  on  -  Thames,  under  the  name  of 
"  Linoleum-Muralis."  This  material,  which 
has  been  deservedly  received  with  public  favour, 
is  henceforth  to  be  called  "Lincrusta-AVulton," 
from /;««)«,  flax,  and  eriista  relief,  the  inventor's 
name  being  added  to  prevent  other  films  from 
using  the  word  "Lincrusta"  after  the  first 
patent  has  expired. 

The  material  has  now  been  in  use  several 
years,  and  has  been  employed  by  many  of  the 
leading  architects  in  important  buildings  in  the 
metropolis  and  provinces,  for  the  sake  of  those 
of  our  readers  who  may  not  know  its  properties, 
we  may  draw  attention  to  its  impermeable  and 
non-conductive  nature,  its  hardness  and  tough- 
ness, the  readiness  with  which  it  can  be  cleaned 
and  fixed,  qualities  which  must  commend  them- 


selves to  all  sanitarians  and  practical  buUders, 
and  which  place  it  almost  alone  among  the 
various  kinds  of  wall-lining.  It  is,  however, 
its  artistic  merits  as  a  wall  decoration  that  have 
made  it  so  successful.  Every  architect  who  has 
seen  it  wiU  admit  that  it  combines  the  toughness 
and  weatherproof  qualities  of  stamped  leather, 
with  the  decorative  relief  obtained  by  the  em- 
ployment of  tapestry  or  plaster.  The  sharpness 
and  delicacy  of  the  stamped  ornament  are  not  to 
be  surpassed  in  any  other  material  with  which  we 
are  acquainted,  and  we  may  call  attention 
of  the  profession  to  the  pattern-book  lately 
brought  out  by  the  Lincrusta- Walton  Company, 
in  which  will  be  found  numerous  examples  of 
surface  and  dado  decoration,  which  faithfully 
exhibit  the  delicate  precision  and  beauty  of 
low  relief  characteristic  of  the  material.  In 
glancing  over  the  designs,  we  find  every  con- 
ceivable form  of  decoration.  The  fluted  dado 
(No.  120}  is  admirably  suited  for  halls  and  cor- 
ridors, and  the  more  elaborate  patterns,  as  the 
Japanese-panelled  patterns,  Nos.  129  and  132,  are 
adapted  for  rooms.  We  find  the  makers  have  not 
coniined  themselves  to  one  style,  but  have  gone  in 
for  Late  English  Gothic  (caUed  Early  English) , 
Japanese,  the  Renaissance,  and  the  Adams' 
styles.  Nos.  129  and  130  are  scarcely  Japanese 
in  spirit ;  but  as  designs  for  a  well-covered  wall 
surface  or  "filling"  they  are  admirable.  The 
dado  for  staircase  has  been  made  a  special 
feature,  as  in  No.  139,  where  the  panels  are 
disposed  rectangularly,  the  tUling-iu  of  the 
triangular  spaces  left  by  the  rake  of  the  stairs 
being  tastefully  relieved  by  conventional  forms 
and  diapers  in  a  Japanese  style.  The  dado 
(No.  147)  is  another  Japanese-paneUed  pattern, 
the  foliage  and  birds  being  tastefully  intro- 
duced upon  a  groundwork  of  simple  diaper. 
We  may  also  commend  the  panel  No.  149. 
The  patterns  for  "fiUings"  show  u  variety 
based  on  natural  plants  more  or  less  con- 
ventionalised, and  adapted  for  drawing-rooms, 
libraries,  dining-iooms,  and  every  kind  of  wall- 
decoration.  The  de.icate  flower.  No.  121,  the 
simple  Gothic  pattern,  122,  the  Renaissance 
design,  123,  and  Xo.  130  and  131  are  plea.s-iug 
adaptations  of  foliage  for  the  purpose,  avoiding 
the  faults  of  over-elaboration  and  complexity. 
For  libraries  and  bedrooms  the  patterns.  No. 
".31,  "Gothic  Lily,"  and  No.  133,  "Rosette," 
are  suitable  as  quiet  and  more  conventionalised. 
In  our  opinion  no  style  of  ornamentation  will 
develop  the  beauty  and  capabilities  of  Lincrusta 
more  favourably  than  that  known  as  the  Adams. 
Besides  these  are  plainer  surfaces,  as  the  Crepe 
pattern,  and  the  "  Key,"  a  neat  diaper.  The 
"Cupid"  decoration  and  some  of  the  friezes 
and  borders  are  noticeable  instances  of  low 
relief.  No.  134-137  are  intaglios  ;  very  effective 
borders  are  those  numbered  144,  14.5.  Panel 
patterns  and  mouldings  are  also  shown.  One 
great  merit  in  the  Lincrusta-Walton  is  that 
the  reUef  can  be  reinforced  by  pleasing  shades 
of  colour  inherent  to  the  material.  Four  dis-_ 
tinct  colours  are  manufactured,  from  dark  and 
reddish  chocolate  to  an  harmonious  neutral  tint  of 
warm  tone,  and  these  are  distinguished  by  letters, 
so  that  in  ordering  it  is  merely  necessary  to 
.specify  the  Utter  corresponding  to  the  index  of 
self-colours.  In  fixing  the  Lincrusta,  care  is 
required  in  cutting  the  edges  straight,  but  the 
instructions  given  will  enable  any  workman  to 
understand  the  operation.  Glue  and  paste  are  used 
in  the  proportion  of  one-third  of  the  former  to 
two-thirds  of  the  latter,  and  as  thick  as  it  is 
possible  to  use  it,  the  mixture  being  laid  on 
lightly  with  a  stitf  brush.  For  damp  walls  a 
specially-made  varnish  is  supplied,  with  which 
the  walls  are  covered  in  two  coats,  one  being  al- 
lowed to  dry  before  the  other  is  applied. 

There  are  various  uses  of  the  material  besides 
wall  decoration.  For  book-binding  it  seems  to 
be  admirably  fitted,  and  surpasses  leather  itself 
as  a  material  for  fine  ornament.  It  can  also  be 
used  with  equal  effect  for  ornamental  calinet 
work  and  panels,  to  chimney-pieces,  and 
wherever,  in  fact,  stamped  leather  has  been  used 
as  a  background  for  setting-off  china,  and  bric- 
a-brac.  &c.  Its  capacity  for  receiving  fine  orna- 
mentation in  relief  would  make  it  ausefid  substi- 
tute for  ceilings  where  the  delicate  Wedg  woe  d-like 
relief  might  be  enhanced  by  the  neutral  tints  of 
the  material,  or  by  painting  and  gilding.  For 
public  buildings,  such  as  concert-halls,  churches, 
banks,  hotels,  the  combination  of  durability  with 
its  sanitary  and  .artistic  qualities  seems  to  give  it 
undoubted  advantages,  and  mil  lead  to  its  ex- 
tended employment.  ■ 


We  notice,  from  a  pamphlet  which  accompanies 
the  pattern-book,  that  a  considerable  reduction 
has  lately  been  made  in  the  price  of  the  material 
— never  excessive,  considering  its  advantages  and 
its  durabUity. 


ABCH.ffiOLOGICAIi. 

Anciext  Babylonian  Kings. — At  a  meeting 
of  the  members  of  the  Society  of  Bibhcal 
Archaeology,  held  on  Tuesday  night,  at  9,  Con- 
duit-street, Regent-street  (Dr.  Samuel  Birch 
presiding),  a  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Theo.  G. 
Pinches,  of  the  British  Museum,  on  "  A  New 
List  of  Babylonian  Kings,  c.  B.C.  1200  to  2000." 
This  paper  contained  some  remarks  upon  the 
place  in  the  chronology  of  the  East  of  certain 
Babylonian  Kings  whose  names  had  lately  been 
discovered,  and  which  will  help  to  fill  up  many 
gaps  in  the  chronology  and  history  of  the 
country.  The  tablets  upon  which  the  names  are 
recorded  come  mostly  from  the  excavations 
carried  on  by  M.  Rassam's  overseer  upon  the 
site  of  ancient  Babylon.  The  principal  tablet  i» 
of  unbaked  clay,  very  small  in  size,  but  in  an 
almost  perfect  condition.  Tlie  obverse,  which 
contains  the  principal  list,  has  the  names  of 
eleven  Kings  of  Babylon,  with  the  length  of 
their  reigns,  and  is  a  duplicate  part  of  the 
tablet  published  by  the  late  George  Smith  under 
the  title  of  ' '  Fragments  of  an  Inscription  giving 
part  of  the  Chronology  from  which  the  Canon 
of  Berosus  was  copied." 

DovEK. — St.  Eadigund's  Abbey. — Tlie  ex- 
cavations commenced  last  spring  at  St.  Radi- 
gund's  Abbey,  which  yielded  such  satisfactory 
results,  are  now  being  continued  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  R.  tJssher,  and  during 
last  week  the  foundations  of  the  high  altar  were 
discovered.  It  stands  at  a  distance  of  14ft. 
from  the  east  wall  of  the  choir,  and  is  14ft.  in 
length,  being  only  2ft.  wide.  The  council  of 
the  Kent  Archaeological  Society  have  made  a 
satisfactory  grant  of  money  for  the  continuation 
of  these  works. 


ARCHITECTTJRAL  &  AKCH.ffiOLOGICAI. 
SOCIETIES. 

British  Arch-^ologicai.  Associatio.v. — The 
second  meeting  of  the  session  was  held  on  AVed- 
nesday  last,  Mr.  Morgan,  F.S.A.,  in  the  chair. 
Mr.  Gordon  M.  Hills  exhibited  a  large  collection 
of  Romano-British  fragments  of  pottery,  found 
at  Manor  Farm,  Wanborough  Plain,  Wilts, 
where  foundations  of  buildings  have  been  met 
with,  and  others  are  believed  to  exist.  Mr.  Hills- 
described  the  position,  on  the  line  of  the  loth 
Iter  of  Antoninus,  and  suggested  that  it  was  the 
site  of  a  lost  Roman  station,  being  where  one 
may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  exist,  in  relation 
to  Spinte,  the  next  one  on  the  line  of  road.  Mr. 
Way  exhibited  soma  Roman  coins,  recently 
found  at  Exeter ;  and  the  Rev.  Maude  a  large 
series  of  foreign  silver  coins.  Mr.  Butcher  pro- 
duced a  fragment  of  Roman  Samian  ware  from 
the  Wall  of  London,  now  opened  at  the  back  of 
America-square  ;  and  the  Chairman  a  perfect 
tile  from  the  same  place.  It  measures  17;in.  by 
12|in.,  and  is  2in.  thick.  Mr.  Loftus  Brock, 
F.S.A.,  exhibited  a  drawing  of  the  wall,  and, 
after  description  of  the  discovery,  pointed  out 
its  resemblance  to  the  wall  in  the  Tower  of 
London,  which  was  then  described  in  a  short 
paper.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  proposed,  and 
carried  unanimously,  to  Major-General  ^lilnian, 
C.B.,  Major  of  the  Tower,  ILM.  Office  of 
Works,  and  to  Mr.  J.  Taylor,  for  their  united 
efforts  in  having  the  fragment  cleared  for  inspec- 
tion ,  in  response  to  the  wishes  of  the  Association . 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Hooppell  then  described  at  length 
the  very  remarkable  discoveries  that  have  re- 
warded the  exploration  of  the  Roman  station  of 
Vinorium,  the  modern  Binchester.  This  co^tly 
work  has  been  undertaken  by  Mr.  J.  Proud,  of 
Bishop's  Auckland,  under  Dr.  Ilooppell's 
direction.  The  external  walls  have  been  traced, 
and  found  to  have  been  built  on  an  earlier 
British  wall.  The  plinth  is  chamfered,  similar 
to  the  wall  in  America-square.  A  paved  road, 
30ft.  wide,  extends  through  the  station,  and  the 
walls  of  many  private  dwellings  still  remain, 
many  of  the  doorways  having  bases  of  pillars  in 
position.  A  large  circular  building  was  cleared 
out,  and  here  and  elsewhere  the  walls  were  found 
to  be  lined  with  hot-air  flues  of  terra-cotta, 
kept  in  position  by  T-irons.  Traces  of  recon- 
struction were  found  in  every  direction,  and  a 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


673 


mutilated  statue  of  Flora  was  found  serring  as 
;i  i-upport  to  some  paving.  The  lecture  Tras 
illustrated  by  a  series  of  large  coloured  draw- 
iiiLTS,  which  gave  a  clear  idea  of  these  important 
and  extensive  discoveries.  A  large  portion  of 
th:  .station  remains  to  be  opened  out,  although 
?o  much  has  been  done. 

CiirBP.rDGE  Antiquaeian  Soctett. — At  the 
meeting  of  this  society,  held  on  Monday  week, 
the  president,  Professor  Hughes,  F.S.A.,  gave 
the  result  of   inquiries   and    excavations  he  had 

'  made  along  the  line  of  Watt's  Dyke  and  Offa's 
Dyke.  He  showed  that  the  engineers  of  the 
dykes  did  not  take  advantage  of  the  most  easily 
defended  points,    hut  that  they  were  carried  in 

I  as  straight  a  line  as  possible  from  north  to  south. 
In  several  cases   no   fosse   had   ever  been  made, 

.  and  the  steeper  slope  of  the  valley,  and  the  fosse, 
where  any  existed,  were  on  the  west  side.  The 
ditches  were,  therefore,  a  boundary  line,  and  not 
a  defence.  The  only  remains  which  had  been 
found  in  them  were  Roman  coins,  and  pottery, 
and  an  altar,  and  the  whole  evidence  of  age  was 
mo.st  unsatisfactory.  Dr.  Churchill,  Babington, 
said  he  believed  the  dykes  were  a  boundary 
fence,  and  were  also  thrown  up  to  prevent 
marauding  by  the  dwellers  on  the  west.  He 
described  the  very  similar  earthworks  in  East 
Anglia  known  as  the  Devil's  Ditch,  Ealsham 
Dyke,  and  Fleam  Dyke,  and  said  that  they,  too 
afforded  a  defence  on  the  eastern  side — in  this 
case  against  the  Mercians.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Hoopell  showed  a  curved  flint  knife,  6in.  long, 
a  stone  mace,  the  first  found  in  England,  and 
resembling  a  weapon  used  by  the  natives  of  Xew 
Guinea,  and  a  bronze  celt,  all  found  in  the  fens, 
at  Littleport,  Cambs.  The  mace  was  a  disc, 
having  a  sharp  edge  all  round,  and  a  hole  drilled 
through  the  centre  for  the  insertion  of  a  wooden 
staff.  Mr.  W.  "S^1lite  read  a  paper  on  the 
"Rubbish  Pits"  found  in  association  w^th 
Roman  remains,  and  which  he  endeavoured  to 
prove  were  the  receptacles  of  the  debris  of  funeral 
pyres,  and  that  the  fragments  of  Samian  ware 
alino-t  invariibly  found  in  them  were  vessels 
br^  iken  after  being  offered  to  the  gods,  the  brass 
:■  'in>  also  common  being  those  placed  in  the 
mouths  of  corpses  to  pay  the  fare  of  Charon. 

IJonsTiUKOH    AnCHITECTTniAL    ASSOOIATIOX. — ^A 

m:',-ting  of  this  Association  was  lield  last  week, 
the  president,  Mr.  J.   M'Lachlan,   in  the  chair. 
Jlr.  R.  Morham,  city  architect,  read  a  paper  on 
'■  Urban  Amenity,"  in  the  course  of  which  he 
di>cu^sed  the   desirability  of  there   being  some 
powers  for  the  supervision  of  buildings  given  to 
tho  public  authorities  with  regard  to  matters  of 
ta>te.    referring   to   various   instances  iu  which 
th'  amenity  of  towns  and  districts  had  been  im- 
proved or   spoiled  by  building  operations.     He 
'illii'led  particularly  to  the  want  of  architectural 
'    lacter  in  the  givat  majority  of  the  tenements 
.*?  humbler  classes,  which  bulk  so  largely  in 
-iburbs  of  most  of  our  principal  towns,  and 

•  -sed  his  belief  that  the  only  hope  of  ame- 
rioninthis  respect  lay  in  improved  educa- 
.  and  a  greater  interest  being  taken  by  the 

]'U  generally  in   the   architecture   of    their 
"lv-.,llings. 

I.IVEEPOOL     AP-CniTECTCTRAL        SOCIETY.  —  The 

tliir  1  meeting   of   this   society   was  held  at  the 

R  •  :il  Institution,  Colquitt -street,   on  Wednes- 

Itv  evening,  December  1st.     The  president,  Mr. 

C  Aldridge,  F.R.I.B.A.,  in   the  chair,  when  a 

di-' ufsion    took   place  with  reference  to  "  Some 

City     Improvements."      Mr.     Wm.    Parslow, 

F.K.I.B.A.,  in  opening  the  discussion,  explained 

'!i   t  the  .subject  would  probably  induce  the  belief 

*o  i'  it  was  his  intention  to  propose  some  grand 

■  ■.  ral  .scheme  for  street  improvements  ;  but  such 

not  the   case — his    thoughts  were  of  much 

ller  matters.    He   had   seen  and  heard  of  so 

y  accidents   arising    from    carelessness    in 

ting    goods    into    warehouses   in    crowded 

uess   thoroughfares,    such    as   Xorth  John- 

r.  that  he   thought  the   corporation  should 

>ome  decided  steps  towards  insLsting  upon 

•r-r  protection  being  afforded  the  public.  The 

•  evil  that  suggested  itself  to  him,  as 
iring  consideration,  was  the  danger  to 
h  wayfarers  were  subjected  owing  to  there 
s  no  by-law  compelling  plumbers  and 
rs  to  provide  against  broken  slates  and 
r  material  falling  from  roofs  under  repair, 
undoubtedly  provision  was  necessary  on  all 

:-'-Sto  prevent  loose  slates  falling  into  the 
ts  ;  there  had  been  serious  accidents 
utly  from   this   cause,   one  ending   fatally. 


There  was  great  want  of  protection  to  life  and 
property  at  the  foot  of  Leece-street  also,  where 
there  were  accidents  almost  weekly  from  run- 
away horses,  and  last  and  not  least  there  was  no 
waiting-room  and  convenience  accommodation 
for  women  in  any  part  of  the  city.  Men  had  been 
fairly  well  cared  for  in  this  respect,  but  women 
had  been  entirely  neglected.  He  thought  that 
this  subject  should  be  taken  up  by  the  corpora- 
tion, and  proper  accommodation  provided  at 
different  points,  and  if  each  were  partly  free  .and 
a  small  charge  made  for  the  use  of  the  re- 
mainder, the  income  would  cover  the  cost  of  the 
whole.  In  the  course  of  the  gener.al  discussion 
that  followed  it  was  stated  that  a  new  Building 
Act  was  being  compiled  by  the  Corporation 
Authorities,  and  the  hope  was  expressed  that  the 
Society  and  the  Master  Builders'  Association 
would  be  invited  to  send  representatives  to  act 
on  the  committee,  in  whose  hands  the  drafting 
of  the  Act  lay,  in  order  that  the  best  informa- 
tion on  all  points  might  be  obtained.  It  was 
suggested  that  the  question  of  warehouse  hoists 
.and  protection  to  the  eaves  of  roofs  might  very 
well  be  dealt  with  in  the  new  Act,  together  with 
the  foimdations  of  new  buildings,  with  regard  to 
which  great  laxity  appeared  to  prevail  with  the 
authorities,  instances  being  brought  forward  of 
large  ponds  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city  being 
entirely  iiUed  with  refuse  of  the  worst  descrip- 
tion, and  houses  being  planted  upon  them 
directly  the  operation  was  completed.  The 
president  explained  that  in  lyondon  all  front 
walls  were  carried  above  the  eaves  to  form  para- 
pets, which  effectually  prevented  the  fall  of 
slates,  &c.,  into  the  streets,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  gutters  behind  formed  a  safe  means  of  escape 
from  house  to  house  in  case  of  fires.  Pre- 
viously to  the  holding  of  the  ordinary  meeting 
there  was  a  meeting  of  the  class  of  design  and 
construction  in  the  small  library,  presided  over 
by  Mr.  Aldridge,  when  13  designs  for  a 
"Cemetery  Chapel"  were  handed  in  by 
students,  several  exhibiting  considerable  merit. 

ITOETHEEN   AKCHITECTtJEAL   ASSOCIATION. — The 

new  Session  of  the  Northern  Architectural  Asso- 
ciation was  opened  on  Tuesday  evening  by  .an 
address  from  the  President,  Mr.  Septimus 
Oswald,  who  took  as  his  subject  "Building 
Societies."  He  showed  in  consequence  of  an 
influx  of  capital  into  English  hands  there  was  a 
sudden  immigration  of  population  a  few  years 
since  into  our  large  towns,  causing  a  sudden 
demand  for  houses.  Rentals  went  up,  and 
many  houses  were  built  and  bought  by  those 
who  had  no  capital  except  what  was  borrowed 
from  building  societies.  An  equally  sadden 
exodus  had  lately  taken  place,  and  the  fictitious 
ri.se  in  the  value  of  house-property  had  been 
succeeded  by  a  great  depression,  iacreased  b}- 
the  fact  that  new  houses  continued  to  be  built, 
decreasing  the  value  of  those  already  in  the 
market,  and  the  earnings  of  buUding  societies 
had  greatly  diminished.  The  root  of  the  evO 
lay  in  the  untrustworthy  class  of  men  appointed 
as  "  inspectors  "  of  the  buUding  societies,  who 
visited  and  examined  properties  offered  as 
security  or  advances.  Better  and  more  prudent 
men  should  be  employed,  and  the  scale  of  "pay- 
ments for  valuations  "  should  be  enlarged  so  as 
to  attract  a  higher  class  of  valuer.  But  not 
only  the  property  itself,  but  the  circumstances 
and  means  of  the  borrower,  should  be  taken  into 
account  in  making  an  advance,  and  the  per- 
manent and  prospective  value  of  the  property 
should  also  enter  into  the  calculation. 


Bradninch  Church,  Devon,  has  been  much 
improved  and  parti.illy  restored  in  the  course 
of  the  last  few  mouths.  The  tower-arch  has 
been  expose  1  to  view  by  the  puULug  down  of  pirt 
of  the  west  gallery.  The  organ  has  been  removed 
to  the  north-east  comer  of  the  church.  The  west 
window  has  been  tilled  with  coloured  glass  fro;n 
the  firm  of  Hardman  and  Co.,  of  Birminghim. 
The  subject  is  "  The  Judgment  Doom."  In  the 
former  so-called  restoration  of  1S12  the  old  porch 
was  taken  down,  so  that  the  only  access  to  the 
church  was  by  the  tower  entrance  and  by  the 
chancel-door.  This  deacieucy  is  now  made  good 
by  the  erection  of  a  porch,  un.ler  the  superintend- 
ence of  Messrs.  Hayward,  who  have  supplied  the 
designs  of  the  new  chiir  seats. 

The  foundation-stone  of  new  schools,  in  con- 
nection with  Swan-hill  Chapel,  Shrewsbury,  was 
laid  last  week.  The  schools  are  estimated  to  cost 
£o.50,  and  the  plans  are  supplied  by  Mr.  A.  B. 
Deakin,  of  Shrew-sburj-.  The  builder  is  Mr.  John 
Gethiu. 


CHIPS. 

St.  Andrew's  Church,  .Sharrow,  was  reopened 
on  Sunday,  after  decoration  by  Messrs.  Powell 
Bros.,  of  Leeds. 

The  enlargement  of  the  Assize  Courts  of  York 
is  in  rapid  progress.  The  new  building  will  be 
of  Classical  design,  and  encased  externally  with 
Whitby  stone.  Its  cost  will  be  between  £3,000 
and  £4,000,  and  the  whole  improvements  will  pra- 
bably  be  completed  by  June  next.  Mr.  Charles 
Fisher,  of  Caatlegate,  York,  is  the  architect. 

The  Finance  Committee  reported  to  the  Court  of 
Common  Council  on  Thursday  week  adversely  to  a 
proposal  that  the  Corporation  should  contribute  to 
the  Institute  for  the  Advancement  of  Technical 
Education  in  the  Metropolis,  which  is  being  pro- 
moted by  the  City  Guilds.  The  Court,  however,  dis- 
approved the  Report,  and  resolved  to  make  a 
grant  of  two  thousand  pounds  per  annum  for  a 
period  not  exceeding  five  years. 

An  exhibition  is  announced  of  appliances  for 
heating,  lighting,  and  ventilation.  It  is  to  be  held 
at  the  Alexandra  Palace,  in  the  great  central 
transept,  and  adjoiuing  halls,  and  will  be  onen 
from  December  22  to  January  11.  Certificates  are 
to  be  awarded  under  the  adjudication  of  com- 
petent authorities. 

The  parish-church  of  Kidlington,  which  had 
been  closed  for  some  time,  was  reopened  after 
restoration  on  Thursday  fortnight.  The  work  of 
restoration  at  the  church,  which  consisted  chiefly 
in  renewing  the  roof  of  the  nave  and  south  aisle 
and  the  rebuilding  of  the  aisle-wall,  has  been 
carried  out  by  Messrs.  Symm  aud  Co.,  of  Oxford. 
Mr.  W.  Wilkinson,  of  Oxford,  was  the  architect. 

A  new  wing  of  the  Soldiers'  Daughters'  Home, 
at  Hampstead,  was  opeued  on  Friday.  The 
"  Boileau  Wing"  is  Elizabethan  iu  style,  and 
provides  laundry  accommodation  in  the  basement 
and  a  play-room  on  ground-floor.  The  architects 
were  Messrs.  J.  and  J.  S.  Edmeston,  and  the  con- 
tractors Messrs.  Lucas  and  Son. 

Mr.  Edward  Cousins,  who,  for  upwards  of  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  has  held  the  office  of  borough 
engineer  of  Swansea,  has,  on  account  of  failing 
health,  tendered  his  resignation  to  the  town  council, 
asking  that  they  should  appoint  him  as  consulting 
engineer  only. 

The  inaugural  lecture  of  Professor  Gardner, 
who  has  be-n  appelated  successor  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Churchill  Babmgton  in  the  Disbrey  chair  of 
Archeeology,  is  to  be  delivered  at  the  Senate- 
house,  Cambridge,  on  Thursday,  the  3rd  February 
next. 

The  Midland  Railway  Company  are  about  to 
construct  a  loop  line  of  railway  between  Holmes 
and  Masborough,  for  mineral  tiafKc.  The  perma- 
nent railway  will,  in  accordance  with  the  com- 
pany's custom,  be  laid  by  their  own  servants,  but 
coatracts  have  been  let  for  the  building  of  a  bridge 
over  the  Mmchester  and  Sheffield  Railway  Com- 
pany's Canal ;  that  for  ironwurk  has  been  taken 
by  Messrs.  Handyside  and  Co.,  of  Derby,  and  that 
for  masonry  by  Messrs.  Chadwick  and  Co.,  of 
Masborough.  The  bridge  will  b^  113ft.  Gin.  in 
span,  and  will  be  carried  on  girders  Oft.  deep, 
supported  on  four  caisson  piles  each  5ft.  in  dia- 
meter. The  ironwork  in  the  bridge  will  weigh 
210  tons. 

A  stained -glass  window  has  been  placed  in  the 
south  side  of  the  chancel  of  St.  Mary-le-F.'ims 
parish-church,  Ipswich,  in  memory  of  the  late 
Mrs.  Wa'ton  Turner.  It  is  a  single-light,  aud  has 
as  subject  "Purity,"  represented  by  a  female 
figure  holding  a  hunch  of  lilifs  of  the  valley.  Mr. 
Taylor,  of  Berners-street,  London,  executed  the 
window,  and  the  mason's  work  was  done  by 
Messrs.  Wigg  and  Wiight,  of  Ipswich. 

Mr.  John  Bowen,  of  Cambridge,  has  been 
elected  city  surveyor  by  the  local  board  of  Ely. 

The  north  transept  window  in  S".  Nicholas' 
parish-church,  Great  Yarmouth,  has  just  been 
filled  with  stained-gUss,  by  Mr.  CorneUus  Harley 
Christmas,  of  that  town,  iu  commemoration  of  the 
attainment  of  his  SOth  year.  The  subject  is  "  The 
Ascension,"  copied  from  a  painting  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  donor  by  Augelo  Bronzini,  a  Florentine 
.artist  of  the  16th  century  ;  aud  iu  order  to  provide 
unbroken  space  for  the  figure  of  Our  Lord,  the 
centre  muUion  has  been  removed  from  the  window, 
and  the  tracery  has  also  been  rearranged.  Messrs. 
Buckley,  of  Wigmore-street,  London,  W.,  carried 
out  the  work. 

The  vestry  of  St.  Pancras  elected  on  the  Ist  inst. 
as  f  ssiftmt  surveyors,  Messrs.  Alaway  and  Haw- 
trey,  from  amongb't  a  large  number  of  candidates. 

The  first  line  of  the  fifth  paragraph  in  the 
second  column,  p.  663,  last  issue,  respecting  the 
aanouncement  of  the  Building  Exhibition,  in  April 
next,  should  have  read  "The  Building  Exhibition 
/(.  W  in  April  last."  Mr.  Black's  address  (where 
all  applica'tions  for  spice,  &c.,  are  to  be  made)  is 
161,  not  162,  Strand. 


674 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  Ib&O. 


CONTENTS. 
— ♦♦♦ — 

stone  in  Construction 665 

The 'Water-Coloar  Exhibitions 666 

Engineering  and  Building  Exhibits  at  the  Cattle-Show  668 

AiThitectural  Association 668 

The  Architects  of  the  Italian  Renaissance    669 

Architectural  Marbles  at  the  Pha-nix  'Works,  Plymouth  670 

Different  Modes  of  Erecting  Iron  Bridges 671 

The  Later  Period  of  Archaic  Greek  Sculpture     671 

St.  Alban's  Abbey 672 

Lincrusta-Walton 672 

Archaeological 672 

Architectural  and  Archpeological  Societies    672 

Chips 673 

Our  LithographicIllu?tratioas 674 

Competitions 6S7 

Building  Intelligence    CSl 

To  Correspondents 688 

Correspondence      6fS 

Intercommunication     690 

Stained  Glass 691 

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters       691 

Legal  Intelligence 691 

Our  Office  Table     691 

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week       693 

Tenders     693 

rLLUSTHATIONS. 
garde:^    corner,    chelsea.  —  design    for    a    coffee- 
tavees.— new    borough    asylum,    hull.  —  beredos 
and  return  stalls  at  st.  albas's  catuedbal. 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations- 

GAEDEN     COENEE    HOUSE,    CHELSEA    EJIEANK- 
MENT. 

This  house  is  tituated  at  the  S.W.  corner  of  the 
Physic  Gardens  on  the  Chelsea  Embankment. 
The  front  and  flank  walls  are  faced  with  dark  red 
tricks,  the  roofs  are  covered  with  Broseley  tile.s 
and  Cooper's  ridge  tiles.  The  house  has  a  frontage 
of  about  45ft.,  and  contains  the  following:  accom- 
modation:— In  the  basement,  kitchen,  scullery, 
servant's  and  butler's  pantry,  2  bedrooms,  wine 
and  beer  cellars,  w.c. ,  and  store  and  glass  clofets. 
On  the  ground-floor  there  are  a  dining-room 
morning-room,  and  library.  On  the  first  floorj 
music-room,  drawing-room,  and  billiard-room. 
On  the  remaining  floors  are  bed  and  bath-rooms, 
with  linen  -  closets,  cistern-room,  and  other 
domestic  oflRces.  The  principal  staircase  is  of 
oak  with  c  irved  brackets  to  stairs,  and  carved 
newels.  The  walls  and  ceiling  of  the  music- 
room  are  of  panelled  oak,  the  walls  being  re- 
lieved with  tapestry  and  painting,  the  floor 
being  oak  parquet.  The  architects  are  Messrs. 
I'Anson  and  Son,  of  7a,  Laurence  Pountney-hill, 
London ;  and  the  builder.^,  Messrs.  Maeey  and 
Sons,  Milford  Works,  Battersea.  All  the  wood 
fittings  of  the  mu.sic-room  were  executed  by 
Messrs.  Howard,  of  Eerntrs-street. 

THE  AECHITECTDEAL  ASSOCIATION     MEDAL — DESIGN 
FOE  A  COFFEE  TAVEEN. 

We  illustrate  this  week  some  of  the  success- 
ful drawings  in  this  competition,  a  criticism 
of  which  appeared  in  our  isiue  of  the  5th  ult. 
The  site,  a  corner  one,  was  stipulated  to  be 
situated  in  a  populous  district  in  London,  and 
the  building  was  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  Metropolitan  Building  Act.  The  chief 
object  in  the  ground- floor  was  to  provide  a 
spacious  bar  with  a  large  eating-room  attached, 
which  could  be  administered  with  ease  and 
privacy  from  the  serving-room.  This  was  a 
matter  of  some  difficulty,  as  the  smallness  of  the 
site  did  not  admit  of  a  second  staircase.  The 
first-floor  plan  is  rather  crowded,  but  fulfils  the 
conditions,  and  it  would  have  been  better  if  the 
space  taken  up  by  the  chess-room  had  been 
divided  between  the  club  and  billiard-rooms. 
The  second-floor  plan  was,  according  to  the 
instructions,  to  be  used  altogether  by  the  read- 
ing-room and  secretary's-room,  but  space 
could  have  been  well  spared  on  this  floor  for 
the  chess-room.  The  third-floor  is  used  by  the 
caretaker,  and  the  kitcheo,  scullery,  and  other 
offices  are  in  the  basement.  It  has  been  a 
primary  consideration  to  well  light  and  ventilate 
all  the  rooms  and  conveniences.  The  author  of 
the  design  is  Mr.  Edwin  M.  B.  Vaughan, 
architect,  of  Cardiff. 


HTTLL  ASYLUM. 

The  buildings  inclose  a  double  square,  furnishing 
on  either  side  a  roomy  airing-ground  for  the 
more  troublesome  of  the  patients.  The  central 
portion  runs  from  south  to  north  in  the  following 
order  : — The  southern  central  position  is  occupied 
by  the  amusement  and  dining-hall,  which  pro- 
jects in  front  of  the  rest  of  the  asylum.  Next 
comes  the  kitchen  divided  by  a  corridor  from  the 
dining-hall  and  sculleries,  together  with  the 
bakery,  flour  stores,  general  grocery  stores, 
vegetable  and  potato-room,  larder  and  dairy. 
Over  the  larder  and  dairy,  &c.,  are  the  bedrooms 
for  the  cook,  kitchen-maids,  housemaids,  and  the 
patients  employed  in  the  kitchen.  On  either 
side  of  the  kitchen  run  the  connecting  corridors, 
through  which  the  patients  pass  to  the  dining 
and  recreation  hall.  The  attendants'  mess- 
rooms  open  into  these,  one  for  each  division,  and 
are  conveniently  placed  in  close  proximity  to  the 
kitchen,  with  the  cook's  room  adjoining.  Next 
in  the  middle  line  we  come  to  a  suite  of  rooms 
comprising  the  surgery  and  patients'  visiting- 
rooms.  These,  with  the  kitchen  and  corridors, 
inclose  a  square  in  which  stands  the  detached 
meat-larder.  A  subway  opens  also  into  square, 
and  aUows  the  meat,  vegetables,  coal,  and 
other  provisions  to  be  readily  brought  to  the 
kitchen  and  general  stores.  Finally,  we  have  the 
b'ock  which  contains  the  general  stores,  the 
clerk's  office  and  sitting-room,  the  porter's- 
room,  general  waiting-room,  committee-room, 
and  superintendent's-office.  Over  these  are 
placed  the  clerks'  bed-rooms,  two  spare  bed- 
rooms, the  chaplain's-room,  library  and  porter's 
bedroom,  &e.  The  infirmary  blocks  are  two- 
storied  blocks,  and  are  somewhat  after  the  plan 
of  the  new  infirmary  blocks  in  the  Durham 
County  Asylimi,  which  were  highly  com- 
mended by  the  Lunacy  Commissioners.  The 
floors  provide  all  necessary  accommodation  for 
patients,  including  a  central  day-room  with  four 
small  dormitories,  six  single  rcoms,  two  attend- 
ant's-rooms,  a  kitchen  and  scullery,  and  a  small 
visiting-room  on  each  floor,  where  those  patients 
who  are  too  infirm  to  be  taken  to  the  general 
visiting-room  may  see  their  friends.  'The  im- 
portance of  a  kitchen  for  the  infirmary  is  now 
generally  admitted.  It  allows  the  serving  of 
beef -tea  and  all  extra  diet  to  be  easily  accom- 
plished at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night,  and 
contributes  immen.sely  to  the  comfort  of  the  .sick 
and  infirm.  The  bath-room,  lavatorj,  and  water- 
closets  are  in  a  detached  building  on  the  noi'th 
side  of  the  infirmary  with  a  lobby  which  admits 
of  cross  ventilation.  The  block  for  violent  and 
troublesome  patients  is  placed  on  the  outer  side 
of  the  square,  and  consists  of  a  large  daj'-room 
with  two  adjacent  corridors,  which  can  be  closed 
by  glass  doors,  and  used  as  separate  day-rooms 
if  necessary.  In  connection  with  this  ward  are 
twelve  single  rooms  and  two  attendants'  rooms. 
The  store-rooms,  closets,  urinals,  and  lavatory 
are  in  a  detached  block,  with  gallery  for  cross 
ventilation.  This  ward  provides  accommodation 
for  some  of  the  more  violent  of  the  epileptic 
class.  The  arrangement  is  the  same  for  both 
sexes.  The  blocks  for  chronic  and  working 
patients  have  on  the  ground-floor  three  large 
day-rooms,  opening  one  into  the  other,  together 
with  a  spacious  lavatory  and  boot-room,  stores, 
and  attendant's-rooms.  The  general  bath-room 
is  closely  adjoining,  and  with  its  roomy  dress- 
ing-room is  so  placed  as  to  serve  for  both  these 
and  the  preceding  blocks.  The  water-closets 
are  detached  as  in  the  other  blocks,  with  cross 
ventilation  between  them  and  the  daj'-room.  On 
the  first  floor  are  the  dormitories,  lavatory,  a 
.single  bath,  store-rooms,  and  attendant's  rooms. 
The  blocks  for  recent  cases  are  built  out  in  front 
of  the  connecting  corridors,  so  as  to  enjoy  a 
southern  aspect  and  to  leave  the  corridor  free  for 
traffic,  and  to  avoid  what  the  architects  consider 
the  worst  feature  of  some  modern  asylums,  viz.,  a 
subway  or  covered  way.  They  consist  of  a  suite  of 
rooms  on  the  ground- floor,  a  day-room,  dining- 
room,  and  dormitory,  seven  single  rooms,  and 
two  attendants'  rooms,  a  scullery,  stove  and 
bath-rooms.  The  lavatorj-  and  water-closets 
are  detached  as  in  the  other  blocks.  On  the  first 
floor  are  the  epileptic  and  suicidal  dormitories, 
single  rooms,  attendants'  rooms,  lavatory  and 
closet.  They  are  designed  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  Lunacy  Commissioners'  suggestions. 
It  will  be  seen  that  no  special  day-room  accom- 
modation has  been  set  apart  for  the  epileptic 
patients,  the  architects'  medical  advisers  being  of 
opinion  that  it  is  better  on  the  whole  (especially 
in  a  small  asylum)  to  divide  the  epileptic  popu- 


lation over  the  general  wards  according  to  their 
peculiar  dispositions.  The  violent  would,  there- 
fore, be  placed  in  the  ward  for  the  more  trouble- 
some, the  quiet  and  well-behaved  in  the  working 
block,  the  feeble  in  the  infir  nary.  The  general 
dining-hall,  recreation-hall,  and  attendants' 
messrooms  are  placed  where  they  alone  ought  to 
be :  near  to  the  kitchen  and  sculleries,  thus 
ensuring  due  supervision  by  the  housekeeper, 
and  adding  immensely  to  the  comfort  of  the 
patients  and  attendants  by  facilitating  the 
serving  of  the  food  whilst  it  is  hot.  The  assist- 
ant medical  oflicer'  s  rooms  are  placed  near  to  the 
reception-wards  where  the  cases  requiring  most 
supervision  are  under  treatment.  The  head 
attendant's  rooms  are  centrally  situated,  being 
near  the  dining-hall  and  mess-rooms,  and  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  theinfirmary  blocks.  Themedi- 
cal  superintendent's  house  is  near  the  south-west 
angle  of  the  building,  being  connected  to  the 
female  side  near  the  infirmary  by  a  short  corri- 
dor. The  church  is  some  little  distance  in  front 
of  the  recreation-hall.  Most  of  the  wards  are 
provided  with  verandahs  for  air  and  exercise 
without  exposure  ;  this  feature  is  especially  use- 
ful in  the  infirmaries  and  receiving  wards. 
The  laundry  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the 
corridor,  near  the  female  working  and  receiving 
blocks.  It  is  capable  for  washing  for  400  people, 
and  is  fitted  with  washing  and  ironing-rooms, 
sorting-rooms,  foul  laundry,  with  separate  ap- 
proach, male  and  female  receiving  and  deliver- 
ing-rooms,  and  drying  closets,  &c.,  and  is  to 
be  fitted  up  by  Messrs.  Bradford  and  Co.,  of 
Manchester.  The  exhaust  and  steam  from  the 
engine  will  be  used  for  heating  the  drying  closets 
and  hot-water  circulation  to  day-rooms,  single 
rooms,  and  corridors,  and  the  condense  from  the 
same  will  be  used  for  the  boiler  feed,  thereby 
eft'ecting  an  economy  in  fuel,  and  reducing  the 
deposit  in  the  boiler.  The  shaft  for  boiler  has 
a  ventilating  flue  at  sides  for  drying-closet.  A 
thorough  system  of  ventilation  is  arranged,  the 
rarefying  power  being  supplied  from  the  boiler 
and  kitchen  chimneys,  and  tubes  are  taken  into 
the  various  rooms,  fre>h  air  being  admitted  by 
means  of  vertical  tubes,  the  air  in  the  winter 
passing  over  the  hot-water  pipes.  Messrs.  G. 
Jackson  and  Son,  of  Hull,  are  the  general  con- 
tractors, and  the  other  contracts  have  been  taken 
by  Messrs.  Haden  and  Sons  for  the  general  en- 
gineering, Messrs.  Benham  and  Son  for  the 
kitchen  fittings  and  stoves,  Messrs.  Bradford 
will  fit  up  the  laimdry,  Messrs.  Porter  and  Co., 
of  Lincoln,  the  gasworks.  The  architects  are 
Messrs.  Smith  and  Brodrick,  of  Hull  (assisted  by 
Dr.  Wallis,  the  medical  superintendent  of  the 
county  asylum,  at  Whittingham,  in  the  original 
arrangement  of  the  plans),  who  obtained  the 
work  in  competition,  their  plans  being  selected  by 
a  referee  appointed  by  the  magistrates  on  the  re- 
commendation of  the  Luna?y  Commissioner,*. 
The  cost  is  about  £-50,000. 

EEEEDOS  and   EETUEN   stalls   at    ST.  ALBAN'S 
CATHEDEAL. 

The  Reredos  for  the  Lady  Chapel  is  to  be  the 
gift  of  the  Freemasons  of  England  ;  it  will  be 
made  by  Mr.  Miskin,  of  St.  Alban's,  the  carving 
being  done  by  Mr.  Brindley.  There  is  just  now- 
some  doubt  as  to  the  future  use  of  the  Lady 
Chapel  which  delays  the  order  being  given  for 
its  execution.  The  return  stalls  are  to  be  erected 
ai  a  memorial  to  the  late  Archdeacon  Mildmay. 
It  is  hoped  that  those  forming  the  sides  of  the 
choir  may  be  presented  by  individuals  ;  their 
cost  will  be  £100  each.  At  present  only  the 
return  stalls  with  the  central  entrance  have  been 
ordered.  The  work  is  being  carried  out  by  Mr. 
Brindley.  A'l  are  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  John 
0.  Scott. 


The  alterations  and  improvements  that  have 
been  in  progress  in  the  chuich  of  St.  Edmund  the 
King  and  Martyr  and  St.  Nicho'as  Aeons.  Lombard- 
street,  for  some  months  past,  under  the  supeiio- 
tendence  of  Mr.  Bufterfield,  are  now  being  com- 
pleted, and  the  church  will  be  reopened  for  divine 
service  on  Christmas  Eve.  The  organ  is  being 
pu'arged,  and  many  improvements  added  to  it, 
under  the  supervision  of  Professor  Monk,  of 
King's  College. 

The  town  council  of  Newbury,  at  a  speci.il  meet- 
ing, have  unanimously  re.^olvel  to  offer  premiums 
of  JBICO  fcr  the  best  and  £50  for  the  second  best 
plan  for  the  drainage  of  the  borough  and  t'  e  dis- 
posal of  the  sewage.  A  resolution  was  also  passed 
pledging  the  authority  to  prepare  a  drainage 
scheme,  and  submit  the  same  to  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  before  March  31st. 


The  Building  Rews,  Dec.  IO.  I<VvO. 


GARDEN      corner"      CHELSEA 


E.BLAMELEY    lANSON        ARCHITECT. 


I 


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o 
2: 


The  Building  I^ews,  Dec.  JO.  I^^O. 


DESIGNTCOFFEEraraN 

Tfl^CHITECTURAL  ASSOCIATION  NEDAL  PfDZL 
AWAROLD    TO    EM.B.VAUCAN   c^i^^^STF 


oIjd»grjyWS:fViBt«lbT.i:E-s,.itra;an.b  >j*«n  square  WC 


:"b6(©qT^  :"t>t<3ltfoi^; 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NE\78. 


687 


plans.    No  doubt  the 

his  success  as  soon  as  the  award  i 


COMPETITIONS. 

S' Bristol  Tkade  School  Competitioss.— Plans 
vc  beea  received  for  the  erection  of  the  new 
■ade  School  at  Bristol  for  the  Society  of  liler- 
ant  Venturers.  This  is  the  competition  in 
(Dnnectiou  with  which  the  idea  was  conceived  of 
making  the  competing  architects  pay  a  guinea 
«ach,  which  was  not  to  be  returned  (for  par- 
ticul.ars  sec  Buildixo  News  of  Sept.  3,  p.  2S7). 
TV'e  have  applied,  as  usual,  for  information,  and 
Id  know  if  the  designs  are  on  view,  andhave  been 
favoured  with  the  following  communication  :  — 
TR-IDE  SCHOOL,  BRISTOL, 
frerswill  not  be  admitted  to  \iew  these 
f  ul  competitor  will  publish 
—Yours  truly, 

T,    ...,..■     ^  UEOr.GE  H.  PiPE. 

Bristol,  Tth  Dec.,  ISSO. 
We  should  Uke  to  know  how   many  architects 
have  helped  to  pay  the   £100  premium  which  is 
to  be  paid  to  the  successful  competitor. 

Biteton-ox-Tee.n-t  M.ieket  Hall.— At  the 
meeting  of  the  town  council,  held  on  Wednesday 
week,  a  report  from  a  committee  was  read, 
stating  that  the  design  distinguished  as  "  No.  S  " 
appeared  satisfactory,  and  could,  in  their 
opinion,  be  carried  out  for  .£8,000,  and  they 
recommended  it  for  the  premium.  Alderman 
Yecmans,  in  bringing  up  the  report,  stated  that 
it  had  since  been  ascertained  that  the  author  of 
design  No.  8  was  a  young  man  at  Birmingham, 
who  had  written  declining  to  undertake  the 
carrying-out  of  the  work  :  and  the  committee 
thought  that  if  the  council  gave  the  author  the 
CO  guineas  premium,  they  would  find  great  diHi- 
culty  in  inducing  another  architect  to  carry  it 
into  execution.  The  town  clerk  then  read  a  "re- 
port by  Jlessrs.  Evans  and  Jolly,  of  Burton  and 
Nottingh.-im,  which  stated  that  in  their  opinion 
No.  8  design  would  cost  about  £11,000,  No.  IC 
about  £10,.500,  and  No.  o  about  £9,000,  aU  ex- 
clusive of  foundations,  which  in  Burton  would 
probably  be  a  considerable  expense.  After  some 
discussion,  the  question  was  referred  back  for  re- 
consideration. 

Buetox-ox-Teent  Woekhouse.— The  board  of 
guaviians  received,  at  their  last  meeting,  a 
comprehensive  report  from  the  building  com- 
mittee, with  reference  to  the  erection  of  a  new 
workhouse,  in  which  they  recommended  the 
building  of  premises  to  accommodate  500  inmates, 
besides  officers,  in  separate  blocks  or  pavilions, 
with  an  administrative  block  in  the  centre, 
between  the  male  and  female  wards ;  and  that 
the  infirmary  and  schools  be  separate  buildings. 
Out  of  82  applications  from  architects  who  were 
willing  to  prepare  plans,  the  committee  recom- 
mended the  following  four  as  most  eligible :  — 
Hr.  C.  S.  Nelson,  Leeds,  who  had  erected 
"RTiarfdale  and  Brampton  workhouses ;  Messrs. 
Wilson,  Son,  and  Aldwinkle,  London,  who  had 
erected  Lambeth  workhou.se,  and  carried  out 
additions  to  that  of  St.  George's-in-tha-East ; 
Jlr.  J.  H.  Morton,  South  Shields,  who  had 
erected  South  Shields  and  Hexham  workhouses  ; 
imd  Messrs.  Giles  and  Brookhouse,  Derby,  who 
had  erected  the  workhouse  iu  that  town".  The 
Lommittee  further  recommended  that  the  archi- 
tect appointed  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  ih  per  cent. 
rhe  board  adopted  the  report  in  it.s  entirety, 
ivith  the  exception  that  only  two  of  the  four  archi- 
tects suggested— Messrs.  Wilson,  Son,  and  Ald- 
winkle and  Mr.  J.  H.  Morton— were  invited  to 
send  in  plans  in  competition,  a  strong  feeling 
being  expressed  in  favour  of  the  block  system  on 
which  Lambeth  and  South  Shields  wo'rkhouses 
bad  been  severally  built  by  these  architects. 

DoroLW,  Isle  of  Ma.v,  Board  Schools.- In 
m  open  competition,  to  which  50  .architects 
■esponded,  for  the  erection  of  a  mixed  school  to 
iceommodate  600  children,  the  clans  under 
notto  "  Simplex. "  submitted  by  Messrs. 
Bromilow  and  Cheers,  of  Harrington-street 
Liverpool,  and  Queen  Victoria-street,  London, 
vere  selected,  who  have  been  appointed  archi- 
ects  to  the  committee. 


school,  class-rooms,  &c.,  the  plans  submitted  by 
Mr.  Etwell,  of  Birmingham,  were  finally  st  Iccted, 
and  those  by  Messrs.  Bromilow  and  Cheers,  of 
Liverpool  and  Loudon,  obtained  the  second 
premium. 

Builbins  ^lutcllitjcnct. 

Cakdiff.  —  Clifton  Calvinistic  Methodist 
Chapel,  Newport-road,  Cardiff,  was  publicly 
opened  on  Saturday.  It  has  been  built  at  a  cost 
of  £3, .500,  and  seats  550  persons  ;  the  internal 
dimen.sions  being  58ft.  by  10ft.  Gin.  ;  22ft.  high 
to  springing  of  roof,  and  35ft.  Gin.  to  the  centre 
of  ceiling.  The  buildintr  is  Early  Decorated  in 
style,  and  has  a  tower  and  spire  "ilQft.  in  heieht 
at  the  principal  .angle  of  the  building  over  the 
staircase  to  gallery.  The  materials  are  New- 
bridge-stone, hammer-polled,  with  dressings,  and 
the  whole  of  spire,  in  Bath-stone  ;  and  the  roof- 
ing is  of  bands  of  Bangor  and  Portmadoc  slates. 
The  internal  woodwork  is  of  pitch-pine,  stained 
atd  varnished,  including  the  roof,  which  is  open 
for  two-thirds  its  height  and  ceiled  and  boarded 
the  rostrum,  and  Communion-table,  and  the 
pews.  The  windows  are  glazed  with  cathedral- 
glass,  the  gable-window  having  m.irgins  of 
coloured  glass.  Messrs.  W.  G.  Habershon  and 
Fawckner,  of  London,  Newport,  and  Cardiff, 
were  the  architects,  and  Messrs.  S.  and  a' 
Lewis,  of  Roath,  Cardiff,  the  contractors ;  the 
ironwork,  including  pillars,  gaUery-front,  grill, 
and  boundary-fencing,  was  cast  by  Messrs. 
Baker,  of  Newport. 

Fletchln-o,  Sussex.— The  parish-church  was 
reopened  on  St.  Andrew's  Day,  after  complete  re- 
storation, eft'ected  at  a  co.st  exceeding  £6,000, 
solely  borne  by  t  he  Earl  of  Shefiicld.  The  chancel- 
roof  has  been  rebuilt  in  oak,  and  the  east  win- 
dow restored,  part  of  the  former  masonry  bavin" 
been  found  buried  in  the  church.  A  new  Com- 
munion-table, in  nmrble,  has  been  erected,  with 
steps  of  Plymouth  marble,  black,  having  broad 
veins  of  white  :  the  new  rercdos  is  of  black  and 
Siena  marble,  with  an  upper  arcade  of  al.ibaster. 
The  piscina  has  been  restored,  and  new  sedilia 
erected.  New  chancel-stalls  of  carved  oak  have 
been  erected,  and  the  chancel-screen  has  been  re- 
stored, and  a  Gothic  canopy  in  oak  added,  on  the 


IltTnDEiiSFiF.LD.- Holy  Trinity  Church  has 
been  undergoing  alterations,  and  was  reopened 
on  Dec.  G.  The  alterations  include  the  reseat- 
ing of  the  nave  with  poli.shed  pilch-pine  open 
benches,  giving  accommodation  for  552  persons. 
The  nave,  aisle,  and  chancel -fl.ior  have  been 
laid  with  tiles  by  Messrs.  Minton,  Hollin.s,  and 
Co.,  of  Stoke-upon-Trent.  New  oak  stalls, 
precentor's  desk,  and  reading-desk,  with  richly- 
carved  front,  book-boards,  and  oraamcntal 
stall  ends  have  been  put  in.  The  puljiit,  com- 
munion-rails, and  reredos  have  been  restored 
and  readjusted.  The  north  vestry  has  been 
raised  and  opened  out  to  the  ohurcli,  with  arched 
openings  to  north  aisle  and  chancel,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  organ.  The  restorations 
have  been  designed  and  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
John  Kirk  and  Son,  architects,  Huddersfield 
and  Dewsbuiy. 

Mells. — The  parish-church  of  St.  Andrew, 
Mells,  Somerset,  was  reopened  on  the  30th  ult. 
It  is  a  15th-century  structure,  eon.sisting  of 
chancel  and  nave,  with  aisles  to  both,  tower, 
vostry,  and  south  porch.  In  the  nave  new  floors 
have  boon  laid,  of  wooden  herring-boned  blocks 
under  the  seats,  and  of  Minton's  tiles  in  the 
passages.  The  plaster  has  been  removed  from 
the  walls,  which  have  been  pointed.  The  church 
is  lighted  artificially  by  two  chandeliers,  and  by 
lamps  witli  duplex  buniers,  the  former  supplied 
by  Messrs.  Singer  anid  Son,  Frome,  the  latter 
by  Messrs.  Hart,  Son,  and  Peard,  of  London. 
A  new  pulpit  of  Bath  stone,  with  Portland 
stone  steps,  has  been  erected,  and  also  a  new 
chancel -screen.  Perpendicular  in  style,  richly 
carved  in  oak.  In  the  chancel  the  walls  have 
been  refaced  with  local  ashlar,  and  the  corbels 
supporting  the  roof  principals  have  been  carved 
with  figures  of  angels.  A  new  reredos  has 
been  erected  in  Doulting  stone,  with  Devon- 
shire marble  columns  dividing  it  into  panels, 
which  contain  carved  representations  of  the 
Entry  into  Jerusalem,  Christ  bearing  the  Cross, 
and  the  Crucifixion.  The  choir  desks  and  stalls 
are  carved  in  oak,  the  floor  has  been  relaid  with 
Minton's  tiles.  A  new  organ,  built  bj-  Mr. 
Voules,  of  Bristol,  has  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
£330 ;  the  organ-case  is  of  oak-,  and  the  pipes 
have  been  decorated  by  Messrs.  Grant,  Bros.,  of 
Frome.  The  architect  was  Mr.  Henry  Woodyer, 


lines  of  the  former  structure.  An  organ  has  been  i  °*  ^''^'^'''^r'  "<='>'' C;"'J<ifo'''l>   and   the  contrae 


Tm-o.N-  Gas-Woees  — In  June  last  the  Tipton 
ocal  board  invited  designs  for  a  gas-works  to 
iroyide  for  an  annual  consumption  of  60,000,000 
■ubic  feet.  The  awards  have  now  been  made, 
llr.  Pond,  of  Burham,  obtaining  the  first 
)remium  of  £100,  and  Messrs.  Bromilow  and 
Cheers,  of  35,  Queen  Victoria-street,  London, 
md  2 1 ,  Harrington-street,  Liverpool,  the  second 
f  £50.  ^ 

Wesleyas  Middle- Class  School,  Teuec— In 
his  competition,  in  which  designs  were  to  in- 
lude  provision  for  100  boarders,  master's  house, 


built  by  Messrs.  Forster  and  Andrews,  of 
Hull,  at  a  cost  of  £700.  The  roof  of  the  nave 
has  been  reconstructed,  the  clerestory  windows 
again  opened  out,  and  new  lean-to  roofs  placed 
upon  the  aisles.  The  nave,  transept,  and  aisles 
have  been  paved  with  glazed  tiles,  .specially 
made  in  dark -blue,  green,  and  yellow,  and  other 
colours,  with  borders  and  inlays  of  encaustic 
tiles.  AU  the  windows  have  been  reglazed 
with  cathedral  glass  and  tinted  borders,  and  the 
church  has  been  reseated  with  benches  in 
English  oak.  The  old  carved  oak  pulpit  has 
been  set  upon  a  stone  base,  a  new  eagle  lectern 
in  brass  erected,  and  the  old  font  has  been  re- 
placed by  another  in  Portliind  stone,  designed 
by  the  architect.  The  doors  are  all  of  "new 
English  oak,  with  elaborate  scroll  ironwork.  A 
new  vestry  has  also  been  built.  Mr.  Jno. 
Oldrid  Scott  was  the  architect,  an!  Messrs. 
Cheeseman,  of  Uckfield,  were  the  builders. 

Fi.niLEY. — The  parish-church  of  Frimlcy, 
an  edifice  erected  at  the  dawn  of  the  Gothic 
revival,  w.as  reopened  on  the  2nd  inst.,  by  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  after  restoration.  A  new 
reredos  has  been  erected,  having  an  arcade  of 
Caen  stone  supported  on  columns  of  Devonshire 
marble,  and  enclosing  panels  carved  with  the 
cross,  vine,  and  com,  by  Mr.  Boulton,  of  Chel- 
tenham. The  chancel  has  been  paved  with 
Minton's  tiles,  and  a  chancel-arch  built,  carried 
on  columns  of  Devonshire  marble.  The  east 
window  has  been  rei>Iactd  by  one  of  three 
lights,  filled  with  stained  glass  by  Messrs. 
Powell,  of  London,  th^  subjects  being  figures 
of  Our  Lord,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Paul.  ""The 
pl.aster  ceiling,  which  inclosed  the  whole  area 
of  the  church  (a  parallelogram  on  plan,\  has 
been  replaced  by  a  boarded  roof  in  which  the 
tie-beams  are  exposed.  The  square  box-pews 
have  been  removed  to  make  way  for  benches  of 
yellow  deal,  stained  and  varnished,  .and  the  new 
choir-stalls,  pulpit,  and  reading-desk  are  of  oak. 
The  galleries  have  been  cut  back,  the  seals  re- 
arranged, and  a  new  arcadcd  front  erected.  Mr. 
T.  Goodchild,  of  the  .■Udclphi,  London,  was  the 
architect,  and  Mr.  J.  Harris,  of  Woking,  the 
builder.     The  cost  has  been  about  £1,250. 


tors  were  Messrs.  Brown,  of  Frome ;  the  clerk 
of  works  was  Mr.  Fiunell,  who  also  carved  the 
pulpit,  the  corbels,  and  other  work.  The  reredos 
carving  was  by  Mr.  NichoUs,  of  Lambeth,  and 
that  of  the  screen  by  Mr.  TTios.  StUlman,  of 
Bath. 

Needwood  — Christ  Church,  Needwood,  com- 
monly called  the  Forest  Church,  was  reopened 
for  Divine  service  on  Advent  Sunday,  after 
having  been  closed  since  the  middle  of  May. 
The  old  pews  and  benches  have  been  all  re- 
moved, and  have  been  replaced  by  pitch-pine 
scats.  The  stone  flooring,  which  was  much 
decayed  and  broken,  has  been  replaced  by  a 
flooring  of  Minton's  tiles,  with*  a  through 
system  of  ventilation  imder  it ;  new  wooden 
platforms  have  been  placed  under  the  seats,  the 
old  windows  have  been  taken  out,  and  new 
stonework  of  a  Gothic  pattern  has  been  inserted 
in  them.  The  organ  has  been  removed  from  the 
south-west  to  the  north-eastern  angle  of  the 
building,  a  new  prayer-desk  and  lectern  have 
been  set  up,  the  pulpit  lias  been  lowered  and 
embellished,  a  new  oak  altar-rail  has  been  sub- 
stituted for  the  former  metal  unecclesiastical  one, 
the  inside  of  tlie  building  has  been  rccoloured 
and  the  woodwork  repainted,  and  alto^ther  the 
church  may  be  said  to  be  greatly  beautified  and 
improved.  I'hese  works  have  been  carried  out 
by  Mr.  H.  Stevenson,  builder,  of  Burtou-on- 
Trent,  from  designs  by  Messrs.  Evans  and 
Jolley,  architects,  of  Nottingham  and  Burton- 
on-Trent. 


At  the  meeting,  last  week,  of  the  Clerkenwell 
vestrj-,  a  recommendation  from  a  committee  was 
receive  1  that  the  salarj-  of  the  surveyorabout  to  be 
appointed  commence  at  £200  per  annum,  and  tint  a 
resolution  jiassed  in  July,  IS75,  fixing  the  silary  at 
£300,  be  rescinded.  To  this  an  amendment  was 
moved  that  the  salary  commence  at  £2-50  a  year. 
It  having  been  stated  that  £200  was  inadequate  tu 
the  responsibilities  of  so  large  a  parish  as 
Clerkenwell,  the  amendment  was  carried  unani- 
mously. 

The  new  buildings  of  the  textile  and  dveiog 
departments  of  the  Yorkshire  C  allege,  at  Leeds, 
were  opened  on  Fridaj-  last. 


688 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


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"BTHLDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

Will.  _  (Your  long  letter  about  so  trifling  a  matter  must 
be  a  joke.  We  suggested  the  dimensions  of  the  stuilio, 
but  to  disqualify  a  well-planned  design  for  an  excess  of 
a  foot  or  a  few  inches  is  too  absurd.  If  you  had  any 
competition  experience  you  would  not  have  made  so 
trivial  an  objection.) 


C0rit5p0utinuc. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  CEMEiSTT. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Builbino  News. 
SiK, — The  "  future  of  cement "  foreshadowed 
in  your  leading-  article  in  the  number  of  the 
•26th  ult.  is  not  calculated  to  inspire  confidence 
in  those  sanguine  and  advanced  intelligences 
who  hare  accepted  Portland  cement  and  its 
various  outcomes,  as  rendered  from  time  to  time 
in  your  valuable  journal.  I  never  expected  to 
see,  in  your  columns,  such  a  dogma  propounded 
as  that  having  reference  to  the  quality  of  mortar 
joints,  upon  which  subject  you  say  :  "  Regard- 
ing the  structural  conditions  of  a  wall,  it  does 
not  appear  to  us  any  economy  to  require  that 
the  mortar  joints  should  be  of  greater  strength 
than  the  bricks  themselves,  as  in  that  case  there 
would  be  no  advantage  gained."  To  accept 
such  teaching  would  be,  to  my  mind,  the  lower- 
ing to  one  common  level  the"  "jerry  builder" 
and  conscientious  constructor,  for  the  former 
would,  on  being  challenged   as   to  the   quality 


of  his  mortar,  maintain  that  it  was  as  'good  as 
his  bricks.  I  am  afraid  that  your  position  on 
this  question  is  untenable,  if  you  insist  upon 
such  a  comparison  being  the  ba.sis  of  estimating 
the  value  of  mortar ;  but  I  am  glad  to  think 
that  even  your  inflaence  will  not  disturb  the 
healthy  and  advancing  desire  to  reach  perfec- 
tion of  mortar,  regardless  of  the  quality  of  ma- 
terial it  is  intended  to  bind  together.  The  past 
and  present  exertions  of  practical  investigators 
of  Portland  cement  and  its  properties  of  useful 
combination  with  various  aggregates  for  mortar 
and  concrete  has  rapidly  advanced  the  reputation 
of  this  important  constructive  material  to  a 
position  far  in  advance  of  any  serious  danger 
likely  to  arise  from  the  circulation  of  opinions 
which  you  will  pardon  me  for  characterising  as 
retrogressive  in  character. 

Perhaps  the  review  was  unavoidably  lowered 
to  the  level  of  Mr.  Redgrave's  paper,  which  may 
be  interesting  to  the  members  of  the  Architec- 
tural Association,  but  which  appears  to  me  not 
only  devoid  of  all  practical  utility,  but  tending  to 
convey  erroneous  impressions  on  the  subject  of 
cements  generally,  although  Mr.  Redgrave 
glibly  discourses  about  the  opinions  and  doings 
of  chemists  who,  in  a  sort  of  desultory  manner, 
have  from  time  to  time  experimented  on  cement. 
It  is  as  well,  for  the  more  useful  consideration 
of  this  great  question,  to  disentangle  it  from 
the  conflicting  opinions  of  learned  theorists,  and 
reduce  it  to  one  of  rigid  practical  utility.  Quo- 
tations from  Batty  Langley,  and  the  host  of 
experimentalists  prevailing  since  his  time,  is 
only  cakndated  to  embarrass  the  subject,  which, 
in  its  natural  and  sensible  aspect,  is  one  of  ex- 
treme simplicity. 

Fat  limes  were  undoubtedly  the  bases  of 
ancient  hydraulic  mortars,  as  they  are,  generally 
speaking,  that  of  the  modern  Portland  cement. 
The  Romans,  however,  we  find,  produced  the 
lime,  and  in  its  caustic  and  hydrate  states, 
imparted  to  it  the  required  proportions  of  sUica, 
&c.,  to  render  the  compound  capable  of  h:vrden- 
ing  underwater,  while  the  cement -maker  of  to- 
day blends  the  chalk  and  clay  before  submitting 
the  mixture  to  calcination.  Tliat  is,  in  reality, 
the  difference  between  the  past  and  present 
cement-maker :  the  one  only  making  for  his  own 
use,  while  the  other  manufactures  for  the  public 
at  large.  The  operation  of  blending  the  trass 
or  puzzolana  with  the  rich  or  fat  lime  was 
accomplished,  in  a  laborious  manner,  by  beating, 
and  Smeaton  even  resorted  to  that  method  in 
the  preparation  of  the  Eddystone  mortar.  The 
capacity  of  increased  setting  energy  followed 
from  this  treatment,  although  the  chemical  re- 
actions were  much  less  intense  than  those 
realised  by  the  somewhat  complex  chemical  con- 
version of  similar  natural  ingredients  into  a 
double  silicate  of  lime  and  alumina  (Portland 
cement) . 

Such  a  result  as  Portland  cement,  in  its  purest 
forms,  is  highly  advantageous,  and  its  onward 
course  of  usefulness  might  remain  unchecked  if 
it  had  not  tho.se  friends  who  are  constantly 
striving  to  assist  it  by  their  mischievous  pre- 
scriptions and  nostrums.  Mr.  Colson  leads  the 
way  in  helping  to  prove  that  loam  added  to 
Portland  cement  mortar  realises  better  results 
than  certain  proportions  of  lime  and  sand,  with 
the  advantage  of  making  the  adulterated  cement 
mortar  more  putty-like  and  less  sliart  in  texture. 
A  more  recent  experience  of  Mr.  Bcrnays  at 
Chatham  Dockyard,  related  by  him  in  his  paper 
recently  read  before  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers,  says :  "When  the  quantity  of  loam 
is  small,  1 2  parts  of  this  gravel  (Thames  ballast) 
to  one  part  of  cement  make,  not  only  a  good 
hard,  but  a  very  tough,  concrete  ;  but  an  excess 
of  loam  is  injurious,  and  as  the  workmen  say, 
'kills'  the  cement.  In  winter,  the  slightest  excess 
of  loam  in  the  gravel  renders  the  concrete  liable  to 
injury  from  frost  for  a  long  time  after  it  is 
made."  The  ballast,  in  this  case,  was  not 
washed,  and  therefore  a  certain  proportion  of 
fiae  silt  or  mud  was  unavoidably  present  in  the 
mixture.  Su.^h  reliable  experience  teaches  that 
the  less  adulterant  used  in  either  mortar  or  con- 
crete the  better — a  fact  frequently  lost  sight  of 
by  the  bnprovers  of  Portland  cement  and  hy- 
draulic limes.  The  reason  is  so  obvious  that  I 
wonder  at  the  enunciation  of  such  doctrines  as 
sulphuring  grey  lime  and  selenitising  lias  lime.  I 
coin  words  for  the  several  panaceas  of  modern 
scientific  mortar  ingredients,  for  the  several  pro- 
cesses ought  to  be  specially  distinguished. 
Even  fat  limes  of  the  fattest,  in  the  hands  of 
the  intelligent  Roman  builders,   produced  good 


work,  as  their  aggregates  were  carefully  blended 
in  the  mortar  preparation,  and  its  full  value 
derived,  because  the  lime  was  usually  so  circum- 
stanced as  to  permit  of  its  f  idl  adhesive  property 
being  developed.  Modern  fat-lime  mortar  is 
prepared  on  quite  diiferent  lines,  and  therefore 
no  beneficial  results  are  obtained,  because 
neither  the  sand  used  is  of  the  right  quality,  nor 
the  lime  put  into  a  position  where  its  value 
can  be  realised.  Limes  prepared  from  pure 
carbonates  have  little,  if  any,  power  of  cohesion, 
and  they  should  therefore  be  used  only  in  such 
quantities  as  will  secure  a  thin  coating  to  the 
particles  of  sand  or  gravel,  when  their  full 
adhesive  value  becomes  developed.  Mr.  Red- 
grave endeavotirs  to  show  that  induration,  in 
the  case  of  mortars  made  from  limes  derived 
from  mountain  limestone  and  white  chalk,  is  due 
to  the  silieating  influence  of  the  quartzose  sand 
particles,  which  are  slowly  attacked  by  the  lime. 
I  had  thought  such  a  theory  as  this  was  long 
since  exploded,  more  especially  since  it  re- 
ceived its  cotip  dv  grace  a  dozen  years  ago  from 
Mr.  Spiller.  I  think  Mr.  Redgrave  would  find 
it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  form  "  com- 
pound silicates  "  under  such  circumstances,  for 
their  production  is  only  possible  at  high  tem- 
peratures. 

Concrete  ought  to  be  to  the  artistic  architect 
the  ready  means  of  overcoming  the  dangers 
attending  the  indiscriminate  use  of  natural 
building- stones,  and  its  slow  development  is  due, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  the  hitherto  insurmount- 
able difficulty  of  securing  a  pure  and  reliable 
binding-agent.  Constructors,  of  all  grades  and 
conditions,  have  for  a  long  and  weary  time  treated 
this  important  question  as  one  to  the  considera- 
tion of  which  they  should  not  be  expected 
to  give  much  heed  or  attention,  and,  conse- 
quently, until  recent  years,  and  I  may  say  until 
now  even,  its  preparation  is  conducted  on  em- 
pirical lines.  Now,  before  we  have  learned  to 
make  good  and  true  concrete,  a  siidden  and  em- 
barrassing demand  arises  for  colour,  which  Mr. 
Lascelles  has  in  a  fairly  satisfactory  manner 
accomplished  in  the  direction  of  a  pleasing,  and, 
for  so  far,  durable  red.  Pigmental  colouring 
of  concrete  is  not  likely  to  result  in  general 
advance  on  lines  so  dubious  in  character,  and 
the  fact  of  a  piece  of  Lascelles'  red  concrete 
wearing  to  the  extent  of  a  sixpenny  thickness  in 
eight  months  in  Moorgate- street,  indicates  that 
such  concrete  cannot  be  of  the  most  durable 
sort. 

Mr.  Drake,  apparently  discarding  the  obtain- 
ment  of  colour  from  such  sources,  proposes  to 
get  variety  of  effect  from  different  coloured 
natural  stones,  and  develop  their  several  pecu- 
liar virtues  by  polishing — a  somewhat  dan- 
gerous and  unsatisfactory  proposal  ;  for  it 
would  not  and  could  not  secure  what  the  artistic 
architect  desires,  viz.,  an  even  and  regular 
shade ;  but,  besides  that  difficulty,  expense 
would  operate  against  the  use  of  concrete  so 
manipulated. 

In  any  process  of  concrete  manufacture  the 
operator  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  importance 
and  absolute  necessity  of  using  pKn  Portland 
cement,  and  clean  aggregites.  In  the  absence 
of  attention  to  these  condiaoas,  a  first-rate  con- 
crete is  impossible.  Bad  cement  has  not  the 
required  binding-power,  and  urdess  the  surfaces 
of  the  sand  or  gravel  are  clean,  any  cement  w^ll 
fail  to  adhere  with  the  desired  tenacity. 

It  would  be  well  if  these  experimenters  would 
consider  the  manner  by  which  Nature  produces 
her  colours  in  the  mineral  world,  for  an  inquiry 
in  that  direction  would  show  that  the  granites 
of  Shap  and  Mull  receive  their  beautiful  tints 
from  heat-agency  acting  on  their  metallic 
ingredients.  Terra-cottas  derive  their  various 
shades  from  the  variable  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  metallic  oxides  in  the  clays  from  which 
they  are  produced. 

Papers,  such  as  those  prepared  by  Mr.  Red- 
grave, may  be  to  some  extent  appreciated  by 
those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  ;  but.  from 
my  point  of  view,  such  information  as  they 
convey  might  have  been  regarded,  twenty  years 
ago,  as  interesting  and  instructive ;  but  to 
suppose  that  architects  had  not  already  studied 
Vicat,  Pasley,  and  other  old-fashioned  cement 
authorities,  is  not  at  all  complimentary  to  their 
intelligence.  We  are  told  that  "a  week  or 
two  back,  while  unloading  a  barge  of  cement 
at  some  works  at  which  the  author  was  engaged 
in  Staffordshire,  a  sack  of  Portland  cement  fell 
into  the  water.  It  could  not  be  fished  up  for  a 
day  or  two,  but  when  recovered  it   had  become 


Dec.   10,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


689 


inverted  into  a  stone-Uke  mass,  moulded  into 
le  exact  form  of  a  sack."  Such  a  minutely 
jcorded  circuui>iance  proves,  indeed,  that  a 
:k  of  cement  hardens  in  the  water,  but  wilh- 
|ut  accurate  details  of  the  tensile  value  of  the 
iment,  the  depth  of  the  water  in  the  canal  at 
Ihe  points  where  the  accident  occurred,  or  the 
«ge  of  the  sack,  no  profitable  deductions  can 
be  drawn  from  so  remarkable  an  occurrence  ;  at 
gll  events,  I  cannot  see  any  useful  advantage 
ittained  by  the  prominence  given  to  it  in  the 
paper.  l6.  Redgrave,  however,  may  repeat 
what  he  wrote  in  replying  to  some  remarks  I 
made  at  the  recent  discu.*sion  on  Portland 
cement  and  concrete,  at  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers,  that  "  he  was  surprised  at  the  re- 
marks made  by  Mr.  Henry  Reid,  who  seemed, 
in  bis  observations  respecting  the  inutility  of 
saving  labour  and  fuel,  to  be  scarcely  conversant 
with  the  present  state  of  manufacture."  Under 
such  a  "ban,"  from  a  dilettante  South  Ken- 
sington expert,  I  should  hide  my  diminished 
head  ;  but  before  doing  so  I  hope  that  your 
kindness  will  afford  me  the  opportunity  of  re- 
cording these  somewhat  cursory  remarks  on 
subjects  which,  in  all  humility,  I  pretend  to 
know  something  about. — I  am,  &c., 

Hesby  Reid. 
21,  Arundel-atreet,  W.C,  Dec.  6. 


SiE,— As  far  as  I  can  understand  Mr.  Charles 
Drake's  letter,  he  there  offers  to  supply  the  public 
with  an  article  I  have  patented,  tnd  which  1  have 
been  working  at  for  years  to  bring  to  pei  fection. 
I  saw  notbin;^  of  the  samples  he  sp*?aks  of  at  the 
lectut  meeting  of  the  Institute,  &nd  if  he  leferred 
to  them  in  his  remarks  I  did  not  hear  him  :  in  fact, 
through  my  partial  deafness,  I  heard  very  little 
that  was  said,  but  I  wi-h  it  to  be  cleaily  under- 
stood that  I  cannot  allow  sny  infringements  of 
my  patents  by  any  one.— I  am.  ic, 

W.    H.    r.AWTvT.TRg, 

121,  Bunhill-iow,  London,  E.G.,  Dec.  8. 


RAILWAY  BRIDGES  AND  IRON 
STRUCTURES. 

Sib, — It  would  appear  almost  unnecessary  for 
me  to  answer  your  correspondent,  Mr.  Webster's, 
letter,  but  for  his  information  (he  evidently  does 
not  belong  to  the  engineering  proftssion).  Per- 
haps you  will  allow  me  a  little  space  in  your 
paper  to  inform  him  upon  the  few  simple  matters 
which  appear  to  puzzle  him. 

In  doing  so  I  will  follow  the  points  of  his 
letter. 

Under  bridges,  as  used  in  my  letter,  does  not 
necessarily  imply  that  all  exposed  parts  are 
undci-neath  the  bridge. 

The  locomotives  named  in  ray  letter  are  in  use 
on  the  Midland  and  other  railways. 

The  admiration  of  your  correspondent  as  to 
the  f  dd  quarter,  and  i\  times  the  greatest  load, 
IB  only  in  keeping  with  the  other  parts  of  his 
letter,  which  shows  a  great  want  of  engineering 
and  mathematical  knowledge.  This  calculation 
is  the  nearest  appro.'cimation  to  the  requirementos 
of  the  Board  of  Trade. 

I  must  refer  him  to  Fairbairn  on  tubular 
bridges,  Matheson  onironstiuctures.  and  Shields 
on  i'trains  on  structures  of  ironwork,  for  infor- 
mation. As  to  elongation  of  fibre  and  detach- 
ment of  the  grains  of  iron,  it  would  take  up  too 
much  of  your  valuable  space  for  me  to  go  fully 
into  these  matters  in  a  letter. 

It  will,  I  think,  be  hardly  nece.'siry  for  me  to 
give  your  correspondent  another  "little  propor- 
tion sum,"  as  I  have  no  doubt  any  small  school- 
boy in  Hull  would  be  able  to  work  him  out  the 
sum  and  show  him  that  an  increase  in  the  rolling 
load  of  100  per  cent,  is  equal  to  a  decrease  of 
the  strength  of  the  bridge  30  per  cent. 

Engineers  will,  I'm  sure,  be  aware  of  the 
difficulty  of  getting  iron  (without  extra  cost)  for 
bridge  work  to  stand  20  tens  per  inch.  I  have 
had  several  tests  recently  made  in  iron  from 
makers  of  repute,  some  of  which  were  as  low  as 
1790.  although  stipulated  for  21  tons. 

I  think  my  statement  of  the  :f  of  a  cwt.  per 
square  of  oxide  of  iron  scraped  from  the  ware- 
house floor  .idmits  of  only  one  interpretation,  and 
I  need  hardly  further  explain  it. 

I  may  say  that  I  have  had  several  letters 
lately  upon  this  subject  from  engineers,  some  of 
whom  say  that  these  matters  must  sooner  or 
later  be  brought  prominently  before  railway 
directors,  with  a  view  to  some  steps  being  taken 
to  secure  the  public  using  the  lines  of  railway 


where    such    changes    and    attention   to   these 
bridges  are  necessary. — I  am  ic, 

W.  Geahaii  Lees,  C.E. 
180,    Radford-road,    New   Basford, 

Nottingham,  Dec.  8.  I 


ST.  ALBAN'S  ABBEY. 

Sib, — In  your  issues  for  the  last  two  weeks, 
you  have  given  to  the  public  drawings  of  the 
projected  new  front  of  St.  Alban's  Abbey,  by 
Mr.  J.  O.  Scott  and  Sir  E.  Beckett  respectively. 

I  will  not  presume  to  offer  an  opinion  on  the 
merits  of  the  two  designs  :  but  would  it  be  too 
much  to  request,  considering  that  such  a  work 
as  this  in  one  of  our  most  venerable  national 
buildings  is  of  national  importance,  that  some 
one  or  more  architects  of  established  reputation 
should  olfer  (in  your  pages,  if  you  will  so  allow) 
their  comments  on  the  two  plans,  and  on  the  fit- 
ness of  either  the  one  or  the  other  for  such  a 
building  r  It  would  be  a  great  benefit  if  the 
subject  were  thought  worthy  of  notice  at  the 
Institute  of  British  Arcliitects.  To  judge  from 
what  one  hears  and  reads  (so  late  as  even  in  to- 
day's Times),  a  pretty  concordant  condemnation 
of  at  least  the  new  window  in  Sir  E.  Beckett's 
plan  seems  to  exiit.  Is  this  condemnation  justf 
and  is  the  rest  of  the  plan  satisfactorj' f  It  ap- 
pears, from  the  statement  accompanj-ing  this 
design,  that  the  cathedral  is,  architecturally, 
wholly  in  Sir  E.  B.'s  hands,  so  that  there  is  no 
appeal  but  to  the  public. — I  am,  &c., 

Dec.  7th.  Ahateub. 

LIVERPOOL  SCHOOL  OF  ART 
COMPETITIOX. 
See, — I  fear  the  exertions  of  the  investiga. 
tion  committee  of  the  R.I.B.A.  on  Competitions 
will  be  of  little  avail  in  mitigating  the  com- 
petition evil.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  here  that 
many  of  the  competitors  in  the  above  competi- 
tion, the  conditions  for  which  were  opposed  in 
every  way  to  the  Institute  suggestions,  signed 
the  petition  issued  by  Mr.  Cole  A.  Adams  some 
time  back,  and  several  are  Fellows  of  the 
Institute.  There  is  another  competition 
advertised  in  this  neighbourhood,  ^-iz.,  the 
West  Derby  Cemetery  Competition,  the  con- 
ditions for  which  are  even  more  unfair  to  the 
profession  than  were  those  for  the  School  of 
Art ;  the  three  premiated  designs  are  to  be 
monopolised  by  the  committee ;  there  is  no  pro- 
fessional referee,  and  no  guarantee  that  either 
of  the  designs  submitted  will  be  carried  out ;  yet 
there  will  doubtless  be  as  unseemly  a  scramble 
for  this  "plum"  as  there  has  been  for  the 
other.  If  architects  so  far  forget  their  dignity 
as  to  compete  under  these  circumstances,  there 
is  little  use  endeavouring  to  improve  matters. 
I  may  remark,  in  passing,  that  I  hear  on  good 
authority,  the  selection  of  the  best  design  f  jr 
the  School  of  Art  is  left  in  the  hands  of  a  com- 
mittee of  six,  not  one  of  whom  is  in  the  least 
degree  conversant  with  the  merits  of  either 
plans  or  elevations,  so  that  there  is  the  cheering 
prospect  of  a  general  scramble,  with  the  pro- 
bable result  that  the  most  proficient  ' '  tout ' ' 
among  the  75  competitors  will  secure  the  prize. 

— I  am,  ifcc,  SUBPEISED. 

Liverpool,  Dec.  1. 

SELBY    WESLEYAX    SCHOOL    .Os'D 
CHAPEL  COMPETITION'. 

SiE.^-Vn  advertisement  inviting  architects  to 
send  in  designs  for  new  Wesleyan  Schools  and 
alterations  and  additions  to  the  present  chapel, 
appeared  in  your  Lssue  of  Xovember  19  last.  I 
wrote  for  and  received  instructions,  which  were 
evidently  got  out  by  an  architect,  including  the 
plan  of  site,  which  is  very  pretty,  and  indeed 
merits  a  frame. 

In  the  particulars  enumerating  the  drawings 
required,  it  says  :  *'  Longitudinal  and  transverse 
required  for  both  chapel  and  schools  ;  the  levels 
of  floors  of  new  building  to  match  those  of  pre- 
sent one  ;  rights  of  light  all  round  to  be  shown." 
Then  it  goes  on  to  say  :  "  Sections  required  for 
pulpit  and  platform,  showing  altered  positions, 
also  seotion.s  of  pews  below  and  in  gallery."  In 
fact,  according  to  the  particulars,  a  complete 
and  concise  set  of  plans  are  required,  with 
"  separate  estimates  for  schooL",  repewing  bottom 
of  chapel,  alteration  to  gallery,  extension  of 
organ-gallery  and  entrance,"  and  the  total  ex- 
penditure is  not  to  exceed  £4,000 ;  and  what  U 
.still  more  outrageous  and  insulting  to  the  profes- 


sion is,  the  authors  of  the  plans,  cfcc,  who  re- 
ceive the  £15  and  £10,  are  to  forego  the  pleasure 
of  ever  sccmg  their  drawings,  i:c.,  back. 

AM.  this,  with  a  great  deal  more,  means,  at  a 
half-glance,  that  whoever  in  London  is  bold 
enough  to  venture  upon  such  a  lucrative  cam- 
paign, must  send  at  least  two  assistants  to  take 
plans,  elevations,  and  sections  of  the  existing 
buildings,  and  the  necessary  levels  omitted  from 
the  instructions,  which  means  a  clean  out  of 
pocket  expenditure  of  say  £10,  supposing  they 
were  away  but  three  days  from  London. 

Xow,  Sir,  is  this  doing  justice  to  the  profes- 
sion ?  I  think  we  ought  to  rise  as  one  man  to 
support  Mr.  Thomas  Porter,  who  is  so  nobly 
trying  to  regain  for  the  profession  its  time- 
honoured  reputation. 

It  would  have  been  much  better  had  the 
Wesleyans  of  Selby  invited  a  few  local  archi- 
tects (there  surely  must  be  some  in  the  town)  to 
compete,  and  not  to  have  made  themselves  the 
laughing-stock  of  all  sensible  people. — I  am,  &c., 

London,  S.W.,  Dec.  6.  J.  T.  S. 


GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS' 
COMPETITION. 

SiE, — Your  correspondent,  "A  Competitor," 
in  your  last  week's  issue,  suggests  that  Mr. 
Barry  should  be  urged  to  make  his  award  in 
the  above  competition  "on  the  question  of 
merit  only,  irrespective  of  cost." 

This,  I  am  confident,  would  be  a  very  un- 
satisfactory conclusiou  to  the  affair.  I,  for  one, 
could  have  prepared  a  design  much  superior  to 
the  one  I  submitted,  had  I  chosen  t  j  disregard 
the  cost.  The  instructions  were  clear  upon  the 
point,  and  it  was  therefore  the  duty  of  each 
competitor  to  do  his  best  nnder  the  circum- 
stances. I  was  so  fearful  lest  my  drawings 
might  be  disqualified,  that,  although  in  visiting 
the  site,  a  tower  or  dome  at  once  suggested 
itself  as  an  almost  necessary  feature,  I  re- 
luctantly abandoned  the  idea  of  either,  as  I 
knew  that  I  conld  not  do  it  for  the  money  pro- 
\-idcd,  in  addition  to  materially  altering  Mr. 
Carrick's  plan. 

As  regards  frames  and  borders  being  dis- 
allowed, I  did  not  even  put  border  lines  in  my 
drawings.  I  also  worked  strictly  to  Mr 
Carrick's  plan,  not  presuming  to  alter  more 
than  the  instructions  gave  license  for,  and  that 
only  the  position  of  doors  and  windows. 

I  endeavoured  to  keep  the  question  of  cost 
constantly  before  me,  and  am  firmly  of  opinion, 
as  stated  in  the  report  accompanying  my  design, 
that  a  building  erected  from  my  plans  could 
be  finished  for  £150,000.  There  are  others,  no 
doubt,  who  have  felt  similarly  tied  down  while 
endeavouring  to  comply  with  the  comuiittee's 
requirements,  as  furnished  to  each  competitor  ; 
and  it  would  be  most  unjust  if  a  flashily  got-up 
design,  which  in  work  might  cost  nearly  double 
the  amount  specified,  were  chosen  in  the  face  of 
honest,  though  necessarily  less  elaborate,  work. 
My  idea  is  that  all  who  have  chosen  to 
disregard  the  instructions  supplied  for  their 
guidance,  should  suffer  by  bting  disqualified, 
and  the  most  meritorious  designs,  worked 
according  to  the  instructions,  chosen  for  the 
premiums.  Or,  if  the  magistrates  and  council 
find  that  they  have  committed  themselves,  and 
are  conipelUd  to  pay  the  premiums  to  the  three 
architects  already  named  by  Mr.  Barry  ;  then 
the  mcst  satisfactory  way  would  be  to  give  an 
honorarium  to,  say,  the  first  twelve ;  and  inrite 
them  in  limited  competition  for  a  building  of 
larger  dimensions,  which  will  imdoubtedly  be 
required. — I  am,  kc, 

Old  T-SauABE. 


SiE, — My  careful  examination  of  the  designs 
for  the  above  led  me  to  a  concluiioa  just  the 
opposite  to  that  of  "  Competitor"  in  last  week's 
issue,  viz.,  that  the  award  should  be  revised 
with  a  view  to  maintain  the  conditions  of  the 
contest,  and  not  to  ignore  the  chief  one. 

I  own  the  difficulty  of  cost  to  the  designers, 
but  a  few  of  them,  less  than  seven  I  judge,  ful- 
filled the  in.structions,  even  if  "dignity"  was 
won  partly  by  plainness. 

Out  of  these,  three  should  be  chosen  to  receive 
the  premiums,  before  anything  further  is  under- 
taken.— I  am,  &C.J 

Dec.  7.  AxomEB  Cohpetitoe. 


PONTEFRACT   TOWX-HALL   COM- 
PETITION. 

Sib, — I  bc(f  to  thank  von  for  the  very  compli- 
mentary critique  on  my  designs  for  the  Pootefract 


690 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


Town-hall :  allow  me  to  say,  however,  that  my 
plan  is  uot  ''verv'  similar  in  all  respects  to  the  first- 
named."  I  lIo  uot  arrange  "  recess  for  fire-engiiae 
room,  or  council- chamber,"  neither  of  these 
being  required ;  nor  do  I  place  the  cells  in  the 
basement,  with  the  inconvenience  of  a  staircase. 
My  ari*angement  of  corridors  is  altogether  different, 
-and  I  submit  much  superior  for  light  and  conve- 
nience. My  enti'ance  and  staircase  has  a  very 
superior  arrangement,  and  is  thoroughly  well- 
lighted,  the  staircase  being  in  front  of  the  person 
coming  in,  and  uot  iu  a  side,  badly-lighted  recess. 
I  beg  to  inclose  descrii)tion  and  rough  sketch  of 
plans,  which  will  clearly  explain  my  arrangement, 
which  is  implicitly  in  harmony  with  the  instruc- 
tions.— I  am,  &c., 
Leeds.  Queen  Anne. 


THE    LAW  AS   AFPECTING    QUANTITY 
SURVEYORS. 

SiE, — The  profession  generally  are  much  in- 
debted to  Mr.  Francis  Turner  for  the  very  able 
paper  on  the  '*  Law  as  Affecting  Quantity  Sur- 
veyors," recently  read  at  the  Institute  of  Sur- 
veyors, and  published  in  your  columns. 

It  is  not  often  that  barristers  so  thoroughly 
master  the  subject  of  quantity-surveyor  law  as 
Mr.  Turner  has  done,  still  less  do  they  give  the 
public  the  benefit  of  their  experience  in  so  olear 
and  concise  a  manner. 

In  his  paper,  Mr,  Turner  refers  to  a  case  in 
which  a  surveyor  sued  a  building  owner  for  his 
charges,  but  he  (rather  unfortunately,  I  think) 
omitted  to  slate  that  it  was  taken  to  the  Court 
of  Appeal,  and  that  the  judges  there  ratified  the 
decision  in  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench. 

As  plaintiff  in  that  ease,  which  was,  I  venture 
to  think,  one  of  some  importance  as  regards  the 
principle  involved,  I  send  you  the  shorthand 
transcript  of  the  judgment,  which,  with  a  few 
prefatory  remarks  en  my  part  as  to  the  facts, 
may,  I  hope,  help  to  place  in  a  clear  light  the 
law  on  the  subject,  as  definitely  laid  down  in  the 
Court  of  Appeal. 

The  following  facts  were  proved  at  the  trial  : 
— The  defendant  employed  an  architect  who, 
with  his  knowledge,  instructed  plaintiff  to  take 
out  quantities  for  a  house  ;  plaintiff  took  out  the 
quantities,  tenders  came  in,  plaintiff's  charges 
were  included  in  the  summary  ;  a  tender  was 
accepted  (the  defendant  being  shown  the  sum- 
mary before  the  contract  was  signed,  and  being 
informed  of  the  amount  included  for  plaintiff) . 
The  work  went  oh,  defendant  requested  his 
architect  not  to  include  plaintiff's  charges  iu  any 
of  the  earlier  certificates,  with  the  intention  of 
keeping  such  certificates  at  as  moderate  an 
amount  as  possible.  AVork  to  the  value  of 
£1.400  was  executed,  and  certificates  o-ranted 
for  £1,100.  The  builder  failed;  defendant  took 
the  work  out  of  builder's  hands  and  employed 
another  builder  to  complete.  Previous  to  this 
plaintiff  had  appliid  to  builder  for  his  charges 
(and  on  being  told  they  had  not  been  included 
in  any  certificate),  sued  the  dcfend-int  on  the 
ground  that  he  (the  defendant)  had  by  design 
prevented  the  plaintiff  from  obtaining  the  charges 
iu  the  usual  way. 

The  case  was  tried  before  Mr.  Justice  Field,  in 
tlie  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  on  December  3  and 
4,  1S79,  Mr.  Mclntyre,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Francis 
Turner  being  counsel  for  plaintiff' ;  Mr.  Waddy, 
Q.C.,  for  defendant. 

Mr.  Justice  Field  nonsuited  plaintiff  with 
costs,  and  on  appeal  before  Lords  Justices 
Bramwell,  Baggallay,  and  Brett,  at  "West- 
minster, on  May  27  Lst,  after  htaring  counsel 
for  plaintiff,  and  without  calling  on  counsel  for 
defendant,  the  appeal  was  dismissed  with  costs. 

I  think  it  may  be  summed  up  shortly  that  the 
law  on  the  question  is  this  : 

First.  An  architect  may  employ  a  quantity 
.surveyor  to  take  out  quantities,  and  if  by  de- 
fault of  the  building  owner  no  contract  i^  entered 
into,  then  the  building  owner  is  liable  to  the 
surveyor  for  the  charges  (Moon  v.  Guardians  of 
"Witney  Union  ;  Gwyther  v.  Gaze.) 

Second.  If,  however,  a  contract  is  entered  into 
by  the  building  owner  with  a  builder,  the  con- 
tract to  pay  the  sur\'eyor's  charges  by  the 
building  owner  at  once  shifts  to  the  builder,  who 
only  is  then  liable  to  the  surveyor  (Young  v. 
SmithJ. — I  am,  &C., 

Sidney  Young, 

5,  Henrietta-street,  Co  vent -Garden,  W.C. 
December  6. 


very  clearly  of  opinion  that  this  case  fails  ;  I  thoufjht  so 
yesterday,  and  I  think  so  still  more  to-day.  This  is  an 
action  to  recover  the  sum  of  £S6,  which,  the  plaintiff 
alleges,  is  the  fair  value  of  his  work  and  services  as  a 
quantity  surveyor,  and  he  brings  the  action  not  against  the 
builder,  but  against  Dr.  Smith  (whom  Iwill  call  shortly] 
the  employer.  In  order  to  prove  that  contract  he  must 
prove,  in  the  ordinary  way,  that  he  was  employed  by  Dr. 
Smith,  either  personally,  or  by  means  of  some  authorised 
agent,  to  do  the  work  in  question  upon  the  terms  that 
Dr.  Smith  would  pay  him  the  fair  value  of  his  work.  He 
has  got  to  make  out  that  contract,  otherwise  he  fails. 
Now,  what  does  he  prove  1  He  proves  that  Dr.  Smith 
was  about  to  build  a  house,  and  that  he  had  adopted  a 
course  very  common  in  those  cases.  The  learned  judge 
tlien  recited  the  facts  as  given  in  evidence,  and  pro- 
ceeded :  Quantity  surveyors  are  very  ablegentlemeD.  and 
they  do  a  very  large  business,  and  I  hope  make  very  iat^^e 
profits  when  they  are  successful  ;  but  sometimes,  hke 
every  other  profession  I  suppose,  they  have  losses.  What 
is  the  contract  made  with  the  quantity  surveyor  T  I  take 
it  to  be  very  clear  that  the  contract  is  this  :  **  I  am  going 
to  build  a  house,"  says  Dr.  Smith,  "and  I  am  going  to 
put  it  up  for  tender,  that  is,  I  am  going  to  let  the  trade 
tender,  or  certain  named  people,"  because,  generally 
speaking,  the  tenders  are  invited  from  certain  builders 
selected  by  the  architect.  He  says,  *'  I  am  going  to  ask 
if  they  will  tender  upon  your  quantities,  and  what  sum 
tliey  will  ask  to  have  this  work  done  for."  If  it  is  put  up 
for  tender,  and  if  there  is  a  successful  competitor  who 
enters  into  a  contract,  what  happens?  "  It  is  not  in- 
tended that  I  shaU  pay,  but  that  the  successful  person 
shall  pay  you  "  (the  builder  I  will  call  him).  That  is  the 
contract  made  with  the  employer.  I  am  putting  it  as  the 
employer  now,  irrespective  of  the  case  that  was  cited  in 
the  course  of  the  argument— the  contract  is  not  a  con- 
tract for  payment,  it  is  a  contract  that  "  I  will  go  on 
regularly  in  course  to  obtain  a  contractor  who,  by  his 
contract,  shall  not  only  contract  that  he  will  build  the 
house,  but  shall  also  enter  into  an  implied  contract  with 
you  (the  quantity  surveyor)  that  if  I  will  add  to  the  sum 
mentioned  in  the  contract  the  sum  due  to  him,  he  (the 
builder)  will  pay  you."  That  is  the  conditional  contract ; 
therefore,  if  things  take  their  ordinary  course,  that  con- 
tract becomes  completed  by  the  course  of  conduct.  What 
was  the  course  here?  Mr.  Young  did  his  work,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  he  did  it  very  well,  and  it  went  to 
tender.  A  contract  is  entered  into  by  which,  with  the 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Young,  and  upon  the  custom  or  usage 
of  the  case,  the  employer,  instead  of  paying  Mr.  Young 
or  making  any  engagement  with  Mr.  Young  to  pay  him 
for  his  service,  engages  and  contracts  with  the  builder 
that  he  will  pay  the  builder  for  these  ser\'ices.  Thereupon, 
according  to  the  usage  as  proved  to-day,  there  is  a  new 
contract  made — an  ABC  contract— which  entirely  gets 
rid  of  and  destroys  the  old  contract.  No  doubt  that  is 
what  happened  in  this  case.  Mr.  Cook  did  make  that 
contract,  and  the  sum  was  added  to  the  tender,  and  adied 
to  the  contract  price,  and  there  was  a  contract  to  pay  by 
instalments.  In  this  case  everything  went  on  in  the 
ordinaiy  way.  The  contract  was  made.  The  architect 
certified  up  to  a  certain  sum;  hut  in  the  month  of  May 
or  earlier— at  all  events,  April  or  May — the  builder 
became  embarrassed -sometimes  builders  do  get  em- 
barrassed. Therefore,  in  the  months  of  May  and  June 
the  state  of  things  was  that  there  was  a  cons;derable  sum 
certified  for,  £1,100,  and  there  was  also  work  still  left  un- 
done. On  the  ISth  of  June  Dr.  Smith  had  not,  as  Mr. 
Turner  says,  determined  or  rescinded  the  contract,  but 
under  the  powers  and  provisions  of  the  contract,  he  took 
the  work  out  of  the  hands  of  Cook  and  completed  the 
work  himself.  The  evidence  shows,  I  think,  that  up  to 
this  time  Mr.  Young  had  never  made  any  application 
whatever  to  the  defendant  Smith,  but  had  applied  to  the 
builder  for  payment,  and  the  builder  had  said,  "  lean 
not  pay  you  bee  luse  Mr.  Alexander  has  not  included  any 
sum  for  quantities  in  my  certilicate."  Thereupon  Mi-. 
Young  waited,  perhaps  in  accordance  with  the  us  ige -I 
do  not  know.  Ue  thought  he  could  not  sue  the  builder 
perhaps.  The  question  to-day  is  whether  he  has  any 
light  of  action  against  Dr.  Smith.  I  say  that  there  has 
been  no  contract  here  by  Dr.  Smith  to  pay.  I  do  not 
adopt  the  language  we  heard  of  yesterday  about  shifting 
liability.  There  was  never  any  contract  here  which  Dr. 
Smith  has  brjken.  This  eontractwas,  "  I  will  go  onand 
will  employ  a  contractor  to  build  this  house  at  such  sum 
as  I  think  reasonable."  He  did  employ  a  contractor  for 
the  sum  which  he  thought  reasonable,  and  the  contract  )r 
went  en  and  ultimately  made  default.  Then  Mr. 
Turner  grounds  himself  upon  the  authority,  or  the  sup- 
posed authority,  of  the  case  of  Moon  v.  The  Guardians  of 
the  Witney  Uuion  ;  but  that  case  does  not  carry  him 
any  distance  at  all.  In  that  case  the  employer  had  failed 
in  his  conditional  contract;  he  had  not  got  a  builder  at 
all ;  he  had  got  no  one.  Therefore,  the  true  view,  I 
thick,  of  Moon  v.  The  Guardians  of  the  Witney  Union, 
so  far  as  it  does  not  depend  upon  the  pai-ticular  facts  of 
the  case,  so  far  as  it  is  a  principle  at  all,  is  in  accordance 
wi'h  the  conclusion  at  which  I  have  arrived  in  regard  to 
this  ease.  Mr.  Turner  says  that  the  question  arises  upon 
th2  defaults  of  Dr.  Smith.  I  know  of  no  default  of  Dr. 
Smith  at  present— none  whatever.  He  gavehimabuUder, 
and,  as  far  as  I  know,  he  has  peiformed  his  engagement 
with  the  builder.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  has  not ; 
there  is  not  the  smallest  evidence  that  he  has  done  other 
than  perform  his  contract  with  the  builder.  He  has  not 
paid  the  builder,  and  for  aught  I  know  the  builder  does 
not  deserve  to  be  paid.  I  do  not  want  to  make  any  reflec- 
tion upon  Mr.  Cook,  but  he  seems  to  have  gone  into 
liquidation  very  soon  afterwards,  and,  for  aught  I  know. 
Dr.  Smith  has  paid  all  that  he  ha?  to  pay.  The  misfor- 
tune of  Mr.  Young,  no  d'^ubt,  is  that  the  architect  did  not 
think  it  right  to  include  in  the  certificate  anything  for 
quantities.  That  is  not  the  affair  of  Dr.  Smith.  Accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Young's  very  fair  an!  good  evidence,  the 
architect  exercised  his  discretion  according  to  his  best 
judgment,  and  Dr.  Smith  is  mt  liable  for  that  in  any 
shape  or  way.  The  architect  is  not  the  agent  of  Dr 
Smith;  he  is  the  judge  between  the  three  parties,  and  I 
hcpe  and  believe  that  all  good  and  honest  men  know  that 
duty,  and  thoroughly  exercise  it  as  between  man  and 
man.  Theie  is  noliibility  whatever  on  Dr.  Smith  for  any 
act  of  that  kind,  nor  is  it  any  default  whatever  of  Dr. 
Smith.  I  have,  therefore,  not  the  sUghtest  hesitation  in 
saying  (although  I  regret  it  fi»r  Mr.  Young's  sake, 
because  he  cannot  make  Dr.  Saiith  liable)  that  I  non- 
suit him. 


$nttit0mmunicati0it. 


QUSSTIOXS. 

[6323.]— stone  Mantelpiece —I  wish  to  decorate 
an  ordinarj-  white  stone  mantelpiece.  Should  oil  or  water- 
colours  be  used,  and  what  preparation  is  needed  for  the 
stone,  and  how  are  the  colours  prepared  !— G.  A.  H. 

[6324.]— Norman  ■Woodwork. —I  happened  to  be 
in  the  north  transept  at  Winchester,  yesterdav,  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  John  Colson,  the  Cathedral  architect,  when 
my  eye  was  an-esteJ  by  an  old  oaken  bench  of  rude,  but 
immenselystrong,  construction.  Thisbenchhad  standards 
at  either  end,  haWng  poppy  head-like  terminations,  very 
crude  in  character  and  design.  In  an.swer  to  my  query, 
Mr.  Colson  suggested  the  possibility  of  the  seats  being 
Norman,  although,  of  coui-se,  no  absolute  proof  existed 
of  its  belonging  to  that  or  any  other  period.  Persjnally, 
never  having  seen  any  Norman  woodwork  in  my  life,  I 
was  powerless  to  combat  the  idea  without  feehng  that  X 
could  altogether  accept  it.  Can  any  one  tell  me  where 
Norman  woodwork  still  exists!  Parker's  "  Glossal  y" 
is  quiet  on  the  matter,  and  Mr.  CoUings,  whilst  giving 
many  illustrations  in  his  "Gothic  Ornaments"  of  Nor- 
man stonework,  fights  shy  of  the  woodwork  of  that  period. 
The  earliest  and  most  perfect  woodwork  I  know  (of  course, 
I  except  the  beautiful  examples  of  Roman  and  Greek 
carved  woodwork  our  British  and  the  National  Museuma 
of  other  countries  possess  —  referring  now  to  our  own 
British  handicraftmmship)  are  the  5'J  miserere  seats  in 
the  choir  of  Exeter  Cathedral,  some  few  others,  and  some 
stalls  at  Sahsbury,  and  one  miserei'e  in  Henn*  "NTlth's 
chapel,  Westminster  Abbey.  All  these  date  from  the 
early  part  of  the  I3th  century.  What  oak  have  we  of  a 
prior  date  T— Harry  Hems,  Exeter,  Dec.  4. 

[6325.]— Colouring  Portland  Cement.— Can  any 
of  your  readers  saggest  an  inexpensive  means  of  perma- 
nently colouring  Portland  cem'ant  without  impairing  its 
durabiHty!-J.  H.  B. 

[6326  ]— Kingpost.— Would  you,  or  any  of  your 
mathematical  readers,  be  kind  enough  to  solve  the  follow- 


ing question :— Let  the  back  of  a  principal  equal  40ft. 
the  length  of  queeapost  equal  Gft.,  the  distance  of  queen- 
post  12ft.  Required  the  length  of  kingpost  o.— William 
Hetheeisgtox. 

[6327.]  — Colouring"  Portland  Cement.  — Will 
some  reader  enlighten  me  as  to  the  mode  of  colouring  ex- 
ternal Portland  cement,  Tendering  a  red  colour  similar  to 
good  facing  bricks  !  Would  brick-dust  mixed  with  the 
cement  iu  lieu  of  sand  do  ?  Where  can  I  procure  speci- 
fications or  any  information  with  regard  to  this  sort  of 
coloured  work  .'—Fresco. 

[632S.]— Oak  Shingles,— I  wish  to  cover  an  octago- 
nal bell  turret  with  oak  shingles,  but  never  having  used 
them  previously,  shall  be  much  obliged  if  any  fellow- 
reader  will  give  me  iuformation  as  to  the  best  method  of 
laying  them,  &c.,  more  espee  ally  with  regard  to  the  hips, 
as  I  do  not  want  to  have  rolls  or  lead  on  these  if  I  can 
possibly  avoid  them— North  Coustky. 

[6329.]— Tile  Roofs.— Is  there  any  practical  objection 
to  putting  a  little  hair-moitar  or  cement  under  the  centre 
of  eachnio-tile  in  laying  them,  so  as  to  render  them  more 
secure  against  being  ripped  by  the  wind,  aud  also  pre- 
venting ao  much  draught  passing  between  them  J  If  any 
af  yo\u-  readers  would  kmdly  give  me  the  benefit  of  theu* 
experience,  they  would  greatly  oblige  a— Young  Arcui- 


Ii£FLIES. 

[63)5."1-Dip-Traps.— Inthereply  onp.  662,  by  Mr. 
Brady,  I  consider  the  statement  that  '*  the  seal  should  dip 
at  least  Uin.  into  water,'  to  be  a  mistake.  Dr.  J.  A. 
liussell,  of  Edinbui-gh,  thinks  lin  of  dip  enough,  while 
both  Dr.  Fergus  andmyself  consider liin.  amply  sufficient 
for  all  practical  purposes,  and  much  more  sensible  than 
6in.  With  6in.  of  seal  an  uanecessirily  difficult  barrier  is 
put  into  the  ready  passing  away  of  the  frece.-,  &c.,  and 
such  a  great  depih  of  seal  also  implies  an  unnecessarily 
large  body  of  wat-r  lying  in  the  trap.  The  talk  about 
heavy  pressure  ia  the  drains  beyond  the  trap  after  heav>- 
rains  is  purely  imaginary,  and  generally  exists  only  in  the 
brains  of  those  writers  who  don't  know  much  about  the 
subject.  Even  supposing  a  temporary  reflux  of  sewer  air* 
d  d  take  place  at  the  trap  or  main  drain,  the  other  traps 
would   prevent   it   getting   iuto    our   houses.  —  W.    P. 

[63U.1  -Plaster  Coves  to  Eaves.  -Render  i-.i 
Portland  cement  and  finish  with  coat  of  1,  lime-putty.  L'. 
clean  silver  sand,  and  a  little  chopped  white  hair.  I  tin '. 
this  does  not  crack,  and  remains  pure  white,  though  I 
would  advise  *' Young  Student  "  to  take  off  the  rawness 
with  a  Uttle  yellow  or  red.— il.  E.  L. 

[6315.]— Sections.— In  measuring  drains,  or  anything 
else,  when  di-awn  to  a  greater  vertical  than  horizontal 
scale,  I  have  usually  measured  the  height  of  one  end 
above  the  other  on  the  vertical  scale,  and  then  marked  the 
height  with  a  pencil  point,  to  the  same  scale  as  the  hori- 
zontal. Connect  \he  two  ends  with  a  faint  hne,  and  mea- 
sure along  that.  Graphic  methods,  I  find,  are  always  less 
labour  than  calculations,  which  are  usual  y  a  amplica- 
tion of  figures,  m  which  an  error  might  easily  be  made, 
but  not  so  easily  discovered.— A.  H.  B. 

[6319.]— Party- Wall.— Figure  2  is  the  usual  way,  but 
let  ends  of  joists  enter  wall  2|iu.  If  the  wall  is  n-.t  too 
lofty  the  break  of  bond  won't  matter,  and  the  building 
wdl  be  better  tied.  The  irons  or  plate  corbels  are  generally 
purpose  made  by  any  smith,  about  Sin.  x  -tin.  The  lower 
edge  of  joist  should  be  level  with  the  uaderside  of  plate 
orbel,  so  that  plastering  may  travel  thrjugh.  Fig^ure  1 
is,  of  course,  better  construction.- Q.  S. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


691 


[0319.1— Party-Wall.— Would  not  Beckett's  (Hart- 
fijixi,  Cheshire  ,  patent  wallboxes  for  joist  meet  the  case  of 
"(Party  Wall  '  in  last  week'.s  Buildixg  Xews.  They  only 
rMuii'e  4Un.  IiolJ,— X. 

[6321.]-Sewage  Systems.— I  believe  that  Captain 
tiernur's  system  has  not  been  applied  in  England  up  to 
the  present,  but  is  successful  in  those  towns  on  the  Con- 
tinent where  in  use.  Details  of  this  system,  as  well  as  of 
tiiat  at  Eochdale,  will  be  found  in  "Bailey  Denton's 
Sanitary  Engineering,"  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  supply 
"Covenby"  with  a  copy  from  mine  »>■  these  systems, 
should  he  be  unable  to  obtain  loan  of  same,  and  likes  to 
advertise  his  addi-ess.- A.  E.  W. 


STAINED    GLASS. 

Mo-n-r.nAY  CnuRcn,  Cape  To-n-.v.  —  Another 
stained-glass  lancet  window  has  been  added  to  this 
church,  containing  the  subject  of  "The  Holy 
""  to  t),e  Tomb  after  theKesurrection," 


Won 


arranged  in  a  [large  medallion  with  emblem.itical 
foliage  for  ground woik,  and  has  been  executed  by 
Mr.  Frank  Holt,  Stained-glass  Works,  Warwick. 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Pollution  of  a  Sussex  Rn-EU. —An  in j  unction 
has  just  been  granted,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Ivivers  Pollution  Act  of  1S7S,  against  the  authori- 
of  Lancing  College,  Sussex,  allowing  the  sewage 
to  enter  the  river  Adur  by  means  of  what  is  locally 
known  as  the  Clayton  stream,  near  Hurstpierpoint. 
It  was  shown  that  the  sewage  from  the  college 
named  flowed  into  and  polluted  the  river  "in 
question.  A  local  sanitary  inspector  testified  to 
the  contamination  of  the  water  through  an  nupre- 
vented  flow  of  sewage  from  the  college,  which  had 
as  many  as  L'-'jO  students.  Mr.  Bailey-Denton, 
consulting  engineer,  of  London,  detailed  his  pro- 
fessiouil  visit  to  the  source  and  scene  of  the  pol- 
lution, and  said  that  he  had  examined  the  place  in 
1879,  and  suggested  that  the  local  soil  should  be 
rendered  suitable  for  irrigation,  asthiswcspossible 
and  wouM  not  be  too  expensive  as  an  experiment. 
The  engineer  further  spid  that  Mr.  J.  G.  Dodson, 
M.P..  was  owner  of  the  land,  and  as  that  gentleman 
tvas  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  he 
would,  peihaps,  give  facibties  for  acquiring  the 
needed  irrigition  land  bv  purchase.  Analytical 
and  other  evidence  followed  as  to  the  river  and 
stream  pollution  by  the  sewage  from  the  college. 
The  authorities  of  the  latter,  in  defence,  contended 
that  due  ctTorts  had  been  made  to  deal  with  the 
sewage  ;  but  an  injunction  was  eventually  granted 
as  asked  for  by  the  Cuc;.field  rural  sanitary 
authority. 

WiiiSLOw  Seweeaoe.— The  Wimslow  Local 
Board  of  Health  having  a  district  of  an  area  of 
G,907  acres,  and  a  population  of  7.000,  offered,  16 
months  since,  premmms  of  £100,  £.in,  and  £2.5  for 
the  bf  st  schemes  for  sewering  .and  disposing  of  the  ! 
sewage  of  the  district.  Mr.  J.  G.  Lynde,  C.E.,  ^ 
formerly  city  surveyor,  of  Manchester,  was  ap- 
pointed referee,  and  the  first  premium  has  been 
awarded  to  Messrs.  E.  Corbitt  and  Sons,  of  Man- 
chester; the  second  to  Messrs.  Brierley  and  Holt, 
of  Blackburu  ;  and  the  third  to  Mr.  "Vawser,  of 
Manchester.  Messrs.  E.  Corbitt  and  Sons'  scheme 
is  on  the  "separate  system"  for  collecting  only 
39wage  in  the  new  sewers,  leaving  the  rainfall  to 
be  conveyed  by  existing  drains,  streams,  &c.  It 
provides  for  a  northern  and  a  southern  outfall  of 
loin,  glazed  earthenware  p'pes,  jointed  water- 
tight in  cement,  with  branch  sewers  of  12in.  and 
9in.  pipes.  A  sewage  farm  of  about  .17  acres  is 
proposed  on  or  near  Lindow  Common.  The  sewage 
13  tc  be  raised,  from  the  two  outfalls,  a  height  of 
about  l.'ift.  to  the  farm,  by  means  of  "  Shone's 
patent  sewage  ejectors,"  w"orked  by  compressed 
air  from  a  6  fi.p.  engine  at  the  farm.  Duplicate 
engines  and  boilers  will  be  provided.  Sturgeon's 
patent  trunk  air  compressors  are  recommended. 
These  wou'd  supply  compressed  air  at  about  301b. 
persquire  inch  t..  the  two  ejector  ttxtions,  where 
the  sewage  would  be  discharged  along  6in.  pipes 
up  to  the  farm.  An  air  accumulator  would  be  pro- 
vided at  the  firm,  of  2,000  cubic  feet  capacity,  like 
a  boiler  shell.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  "whole 
scheme  is  £1.5,  .5.30. 


of  extent  of  premises,  and  the  decreased  rental 
consequent  upon  it.  There  were  other  claims  for 
loss  of  profit  on  stock  purchased  in  anticipation  of 
the  proposed  enlarged  premises,  and  for  extra 
expense  in  building,  the  present  smaller  premises 
requiring  a  stronger  wall  to  carry  the  weight  of 
the  rooms  over  them.  Mr.  Grantham,  Q.C.,  with 
Mr.  Bray,  were  counsel  for  the  plaintiff  ;  Mr.  E. 
Clarke,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Brookes  for  the  defendants. 
On  the  part  of  the  Corporation  it  was  contended 
that  the  claim  was  an  excessive  one,  and  should 
have  been  nearer  £1,100  than  £10,007.  The  jury 
found  for  the  claimant— damages  .£9, GUI.  In  the 
case  of  "  Glover  v.  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of 
London,"  which  was  also  heard  in  the  same 
court,  the  plaintiff  was  the  lessee  of  15  and  17, 
Ludgate-hill,  where  he  carried  on  the  business  of 
a  ladies'  and  juvenile  warehouse.  He  claimed 
£11, .500  in  respect  of  having  received  similar  notice 
to  put  back  his  premises,  by  reason  of  which  be 
lost  space  and  the  value  of  his  leases  was  reduced. 
The  jury  found  for  the  claimant — damages  £0,310. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

The  Widexixg  of  LrDOATE-mLL.— Last  week 
the  case  of  "  Smith  v.  the  Corporation  of  the 
City  of  London"  w.as  tried  in  the  City  Court 
of  Sessions,  before  the  Eecorder  (Sir  "Thomas 
Chambers).  Q.C.,  and  a  special  jury.  The  plaintiff 
■was  the  owner  of  33  and  3.5,  Ludgate-bill,  and  in 
March  last,  having  made  preparations  for  the 
puUing  down  the  old  premises  and  erecting 
more  commodious  ones,  he  was  served  with  an  order 
by  the  Commiss-oneis  of  City  Sewers  to  put  them 
back  a  considerable  distance  under  the  powers  of 
the  Act  of  Parliament  for  the  widening  and  im- 
provement of  the  hill.  The  claim,  which  was  for 
£10,007,  was  made  up  of  various  charges  for  loss 


CHIPS. 

A  coffee-taveru,  Elizabethan  in  style,  is  about  to 
be  built  in  St.  Mary-street,  Cardiff,  from  the  de- 
signs of  Mr.  Peter  Price,  of  that  town. 

A  stained- glass  window  has  just  been  placed  in 
St.  Neot's  Church,  Hunts,  in  memory  of  the  late 
Mr.  G.  Dawson  Rowley.  The  subject  is  "The 
Garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  the  cost  was  500 
guineas,  Messrs.  Hardinan  and  Co.,  of  Birming- 
ham, executed  the  work. 

A  new  steam-mill  has  just  been  erected  at  Reed- 
ham  for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  marshes  on 
the  borders  of  the  liver  Yare.  Mr.  Barnes,  of 
the  Southtown  Iron  Works,  Yarmouth,  constructed 
the  building,  and  provided  the  powerful  pumping 
machinery. 

A  new  Presbyterian  church  was  opened  at  Wes 
Hartlepool  on  Wednesday  week.  It  is  Gothic  in 
style,  and  has  a  spire  12Gft.  high.  The  internal 
dimensions  are  76ft.  long,  by  42ft.  broad.  Mr. 
Garvy  is  the  architect,  and  the  cost  has  been 
£1,.500. 

Tlie  town  council  at  Bristol,  at  ameetingheld  on 
Friday,  empowered  a  committee  to  frame  terms  for 
arbitration,  in  order  to  obtain  the  transfer  to  the 
corporation,  by  purchase,  of  the  Poitishead  and 
Channel  Docks,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Avon. 

Itisstated  ia  Truth  that  Mr.  Redgrave,  R.A., 
has  resigned  the  office  of  surveyor  to  her  Majesty's 
pictures,  which  he  has  he'd  f  jr  many  years,  togethi  r 
w^th  the  appoiLtment  of  Inspector-Geneial  for  Art 
— offices  worth  £1,000  per  annum  ;  and  thathe  will 
enjoy  a  retiring  pension  of  £750  a  year.  It  adds 
that  the  office  will  probably  be  bestowed  on  a  rela- 
tive of  Mr.  Redgrave. 

The  first  section  of  the  Southwaik  and  Depfford 
Tramw.ays  was  opened  last  week.  It  extends  from 
the  Spa-road,  Bermondsey,  into  the  Lower-road, 
DeptfortI,  where  it  is  at  present  stopped  until  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  have  rebuilt  tlie 
Creek-bridge  and  carried  out  the  street  improve- 
ments at  this  end  and  also  at  the  Bermondsey 
extremity.  On  account  of  the  heavy  traffic  of  the 
district,  the  lines  have  been  laid  with  unusual 
solidity;  the  foundation  is  of  a  solid  bed  of  con- 
crete of  a  minimum  thickness  of  Gin.,  and  the  rails 
are  of  steel  with  7in.  wrought-iron  continuous 
bearings,  and  weighing  H21b.  to  the  yard.  The 
works  have  been  carried  out  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  W.  Shelford,  M.I.C.E.,  by  Mr. 
John  Dixon. 

The  Woburn  distiict  highway  board  proceeded 
on  the  2ud  iust.  to  appoint  a  suiveyor  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Atkins,  who  had  resigned  after  17  years' 
service.  From  52  candidates,  five  had  been  selected, 
including  Mr.  Atkins,  who  had  reconsidered  the 
matter.  Mr.  Piatt,  of  Wellingborough,  was  elected 
by  17  votes  against  10  for  the  ex-surveyor. 

A  new  Board-school  was  opened  in  P.ark-walk, 
King's-road,  Chelsea,  on  Tuesday.  It  accommo- 
tlates  SGI  children,  and  has  cost  for  erection 
£S  13s.  8d.  per  head. 

The  principal  stone  of  the  invert  sill  of  the  large 
graving  docks  at  Milford,  Pembrokeshire,  was 
laid  by  Sir  E.  J.  Reed  on  Saturday.  The  dock  will 
be  70()ft.  long,  90ft.  broad,  and  2Gft.  deep,  and  has 
already,  in  its  unfinished  state,  accommotlatcd  the 
Gir"t  l\ttslri-n  steamship.  The  stone  of  the  sill 
was  laid  at  a  great  depth  below  the  sea-level,  in 
the  largest  submarine  excavation  ever  made  by  tide 
work.  The  system  of  laying  foundations  adopted 
is  that  of  hollow  monoliths  of  concrete.  Messrs.  S. 
Lake  and  Co.  are  the  contractors. 

The  local  bo.ard3  of  Pontyridd  and  Ystrady- 
fodwg,  at  a  special  joint-meeting  held  last  week, 
approved  and  adopted  the  scheme  prepared  by 
Mr.  Lomax,  C.E.,  for  the  sewering  of  the  combined 
arbour  sanitary  diitiicfs.  The  estimated  expense 
U  £10,000. 


O^ur  ©fact  QTablt 


At  a  meetiiifr  of  the  Balloon  Society  last 
I''iiday,  Captain  Douglas  Gallon  read  a  paper  on 
"Fog  Generally,  London  Fog  in  Particular,  and 
wliat  might  bo  Done  to  Improve  the  Salubrity  of 
flio  Atmosphere  of  the  Metropolis."  While 
pointiuj,'  out  that  much  of  the  London  fog  was 
due  to  natural  cuiise.><,  wliich  could  not  be  modi- 
fied— .such,  for  instance,  as  the  geological  cha- 
racterof  the  .subsoil,  tlie  position  of  the  metropolis 
in  the  valley  of  a  considerable  river,  and,  above 
all,  the  insular  character  of  the  kingdom,  which 
gave  ready  access  to  masses  of  watery  vapour 
from  the  surrounding  ocean — it  would  still  be 
possible  to  diminish  local  fog  by  underdraining 
all  open  spaces,  such  as  parks,  squares  and  gar- 
dens. The  evils  of  fog,  however,  would  be 
comparatively  trifling  but  for  its  intercepting 
and  retaining  the  products  of  the  imperfect  com- 
bustion of  our  bituminou.s  coal  fuel,  which  caused 
almost  incalculable  evils  in  the  shape  of  impuri- 
ties highly  injurious  to  health,  both  directly  by 
entering  the  lungs,  and  indirectly  by  intercept- 
ing sunlight.  Dr.  Frankland  had  shown  that 
these  carbon  particles  attached  themselves  to  and 
enveloped  the  watery  vesicles  of  the  fog  cloud, 
giving  it  its  special  colour,  its  irritating  charac- 
ter to  the  respiratory  organs,  and  making  it 
more  persistent  than  it  would  otherwise  be.  "This 
might  be  remedied  by  perfect  combustion,  made 
compulsory  in  private  houses  through  the  medium 
of  legislation,  the  means  being  the  use  of  an- 
thracite, or  coke  and  gas,  on  the  plan  suggested 
by  Dr.  Siemens,  or  by  improved  stoves,  capable 
of  consuming  the  ordinary  bituminous  coal  with 
which  Lonelon  is  at  present  almost  exclusively 
supplieil. 

The  Lord  Mayor  attended  at  the  Institute, 
Dnimmond-street,  Hampstead-road,  on  Satur- 
day last,  to  distribute  the  prizes  to  the  successful 
competitors  in  the  Industrial  Exhibition  held  in 
connection  with  the  Tolmer-square  Institute, 
which  was  opened  on  the  IGth  October  last,  and 
which  closed  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month . 
The  prizes  consisted  of  one  gold,  1.5  silver,  and 
■13  bronze  medals,  63  certificates,  and  eleven 
presentations  from  gentlemen  interested  in  the 
Exhibition.  Mr.  Meech,  the  secretary,  made  a 
statement  as  to  the  result  of  the  exhibition, 
according  to  which  it  appeared  that  during  the 
f  jrtnight  it  was  open  it  had  been  vi.sited  by  about 
10,000  persons.  The  receipts  amounted  to  about 
£150,  and  the  expenses  to  £123.  So  satisfactory 
had  been  the  venture  that  the  Committee  had 
determined  to  hold  a  similar  exhibition  next 
year. — The  succes.sful  candidates,  as  they  pre- 
sented themselves,  were  loudly  applauded.  The 
gold  medal  was  taken  by  Mr.  O.  R.  Plummerfor 
a  carved  oak  chest  of  drawers,  whilst  the  silver 
medals  were  awarded,  amongst  other  things,  for 
the  model  of  a  yacht  in  silver,  embossing  on 
cojiper,  wood-carving  and  turning,  models, inlaid 
work,  painting  in  oils,  water-colours,  pencil,  and 
on  terra-cotta,  and  amongst  the  prize-takers  were 
not  a  few  ladies. 

A  deputation  consisting  of  Mr.  Ernest  Hart, 
Professor  Chandler  Roberts,  F.R.S.,  Colonel 
Testing,  the  Eev.  H.  V.  Le  B.as,  the  Ecv.  S. 
A.  Bamett,  Mr.  S.  Hadley,  Mr.  W.  R.  E. 
Coles,  and  others  had  an  interview  on  Monday 
with  the  Lord  Mayor  at  the  Mansion  House,  to 
interest  him  in  the  efforts  now  being  made  by 
the  joint  committees  of  the  National  Health  and 
Kyrle  Societies,  to  reduce  the  mischief  arising 
from  the  present  excessive  production  of  smoke 
in  the  metropolis.  Mr.  Ernest  Hart  said  the 
societies  thought  that  a  very  great  deal  might 
be  practically  done  to  make  the  atmosphere  in 
London  as  pure  as  that  in  Paris.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  coiiduottrialsof  the  various  kinds  of  fuel, 
and  to  promote  competitive  testing  of  the  appli- 
ances av.ailable  at  present,  or  which  might 
become  available,  for  the  purpose  of  lessening 
the  production  of  smoke.  The  smoke  proceeding 
from  the  fires  of  private  houses  might  be  ma- 
terially lessened  by  the  use  of  improved  appar- 
atus, and  that  from  factories  might  be  abated, 
with  little  interference  with  the  manufacturing 
interests,  if  the  employers  would  only  co-operate 
with  the  societies  towards  that  end.  There  was 
about  to  Ijc  an  exhibition  at  South  Kensington 
of  the  different  kinds  of  apparatus  and  fuel, 
wliicli  would  be  practically  tested.  They  now 
asked  the  Lord  Mayor  to  let  them  bring  the 
matter  before  the  notice  and  attention  of  the 
citizens  by  means  of  a  meeting  at  the  Mansion 


692 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  10,  1880. 


House  on  the  subject.  The  Lord  Mayor 
public  attention,  and  promised  to  allow  a 
thought  it  a  matter  well  deserring  of  the 
conference  in  the  Long  Parlour  of  the  Mansion 
House  on  Friday,  Jan  7- 

The  third  of  the  Cantor  lectures  on  "  Some 
Points  of  Contact  between  the  Scientific  and 
Artistic  Aspects  of  Pottery  and  Porcelain,"  was 
delivered  on  Monday,  by  Professor  Church,  who 
introduced  his  subject  by  referring  to  the  stone- 
wares glazed  with  salt  which  had  been  made  in 
Germany,  Staffordshii'e,  and  at  the  works  of 
Messrs.  Doulton  in  Lambeth,  noticing  their 
progression  from  stoneware,  jasper-ware,  and 
porcelain.  The  substance  invented  by  Wedg- 
wood was  a  clay  rendered  less  greasy  by  the 
addition  of  sUica  in  the  form  of  fine  sand.  After 
enumerating  the  proportions  of  varioas  sub- 
stances in  different  claj-s,  the  lecturer  proceeded 
to  consider  the  physical  properties  of  the  clays. 
They  contracted  very  dift'erently,  as  was  thown 
by  the  beautiful  series  in  the  JermjTi-street 
collection.  Stourbridge  clay  contracted  only  2 
per  cent.  ;  others  one-fifth  of  their  whole  bulk. 
The  Staffordshire  potters  of  latter  times  used  the 
groy  clay  from  the  coal  measures,  and  later  stiU 
a  pint  of  red  lead  to  a  bushel  of  salt  thrown  into 
the  furnace  with  the  clay.  The  third  improve- 
ment, about  1720,  was  liy  the  introduction  of 
flint  to  the  extent  of  20  or  2.3  per  cent.  The 
superiority  of  AVedgwood's  earlier  work  con- 
sisted chiefly  in  his  fine  and  careful  grinding  o  f 
the  materials  used.  On  the  site  of  Dwight's  fac- 
tory at  Fulham  remains  had  been  found  which 
indicated  that  his  manufacture  had  attained  a 
high  pitch  of  excellency,  particularly  in  BeUar- 
mines.  There  were  in  the  British  and  South 
Kensington  Museums  figures  made  at  this 
factory  and  glazed  with  salt.  The  Stafford- 
shire potteries  no  long'er  produced  salt-glazed 
ware.  Tradition  said  tliat  some  Dutch  potters 
who  came  to  London  in  1CS8  invented  the 
glazing  of  white  ware  with  salt,  which  was  im- 
proved upon  by  other  makers.  This  ware  could 
be  divided  into  four  periods — prior  to  1720, 
1720  to  1740,  1740  to  1760,  and  1760  to  1780, 
when  the  wares  were  decorated  and  perforated. 
The  two  last  periods  were  distinguished  for 
their  ornamentation.  The  lecturer  then 
enumerated  the  characteristics  of  these  various 
periods,  illustrating  his  points  by  specimens, 
some  of  them  of  great  beauty  and  excellence ; 
concluding  by  exhibiting  works  of  Messrs. 
Doulton,  James  Stiff  and  Son,  and  others  in 
illustration  of  modern  pottery. 

Cases  have  occurred  in  connection  with  rail- 
ways in  which  the  landed  proprietors  through 
whose  estates  the  land  runs  have  given  the  land 
free,  and  themselves  got  or  subscribed  the 
capital  for  making  it.  It  is  by  no  means  im- 
possible, therefore,  that  the  idea  to  which  atten- 
tion was  called  in  the  Daibj  Xeus,  on  Friday 
last,  wUl  be  taken  up — namely,  that  landlords 
should  subscribe  together  to  help  to  maintain  a 
line.  The  railway  is  that  from  Shrewsbury  to 
Llanymynech.  It  is  closed  at  present  becaTise 
it  did  not  pay.  Its  closing  has  depreciated  the 
value  of  the  property  through  which  it  passed. 
Thelandowners  are  accordingly  politelyrequested 
to  rate  their  estates  at  Is.  per  acre  per  annum.  A 
shilling  per  acre  on  each  side  of  the  railway  over 
a  tract  of  country  a  mile  wide  wiU  produce  just 
enough  to  run  a  daily  train.  It  is  computed  by 
the  Institute  of  Surveyors  that  a  railway 
increases  the  value  of  estates  by  3J  years'  pur- 
chase, though  the  owners  have  hitherto  been 
paid  for  allowing  the  benefit  to  be  done  to  them. 
If  they  now  pay  a  little  to  get  back  five  times 
as  much,  they  will  not  be  driving  a  bad  bargain. 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Parkes' 
Museum  of  Hygiene  have,  in  response  to  a  sug- 
gestion made  by  the  Nineteenth  Century  Build- 
ing Society,  arranged  for  a  course  of  lectures 
in  the  Museiim  to  the  members  of  building 
societies.  The  subject  of  the  lectures  is  to  be 
"  Dwelling  Houses,"  and  the  first  lecture  of  the 
course  wiU  be  given  next  Saturday  by  Mr. 
Edward  C.  Robins,  F.S.A.,  on  " Situation  and 
Construction."  Free  tickets  for  the  lectures  are 
being  distributed  by  the  several  Metropolitan 
bnUding  societies.  Captain  Douglas  Gallon, 
C.B.,  F.R.S.;  Mr.  Robert  Rawlinson,  C.B.,  of 
the  Local  Government  Board;  and  Mr.  E.  C. 
Robins,  F.S.A.,  have  just  been  elected  members 
of  the  museum  committee. 

A  PAKAGKAPH  has  appeared  in  some  of  the 
newspapers  on  the  recent  discovery  of  a  charnel- 


house  in  the  churchyard  of  the  Church  of  the 
HolyTrinity,  Stratford-upon-Avon,  the  resting- 
place  of  the  remains  of  Shakespeare.  As  the 
writer  has  rather  misrepresented  the  facts,  and 
made  it  appear  that  the  remains  of  the  great  poet 
are  in  danger  of  being  disturbed,  we  may  briefly 
state  what  has  happened.  Mr.  Butterfield,  the 
well-known  architect,  on  his  first  visit  of  inspec- 
tion, had  certain  excavations  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  finding  out  the  size  of  the  old  vestry 
biulding,  which  was  taken  down  in  1800.  lii 
making  them  the  walls  of  a  charnel-house  were 
discovered  which  had  formed  the  lower  chamber 
or  crypt  of  the  old  vestry.  In  this  was  a  large 
collection  of  bones,  no  doubt  gathered  into  it 
from  time  to  time  by  the  sexton  and  stored  there. 
There  was  nothing,  of  course,  remarkable  in 
this  discovery,  as  chambers  for  a  similar  purpose 
were  often  built,  in  which  the  bones  of  those 
interred  in  the  graveyard  and  which  had  been 
thrown  up  by  the  gravedigger  were  deposited. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  this  old  charnel-house 
had  been  in  use  for  centuries.  Notliing  more 
has  been  moved  than  would  just  e.xpose  the  out- 
line of  its  walls.  Far  less  respect  must  have  been 
shown  it  when,  in  1800,  the  vestry  and  itself 
were  destroyed.  Nor  is  there  the  slightest  foun- 
dation for  the  extraordinary  inference  that 
Shakespeare's  remains,whicharedeposi ted  within 
the  chancel,  will  be  in  any  danger  of  being  dis- 
turbed. The  chuch  is  cruciform,  consisting  of  a 
nave  and  side-aisles,  transept  and  chancel ;  the 
latter  was  biult  originally  by  Dr.  Thomas  Balsiil, 
Dean  of  Stratford,  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
1.5th  century.  There  is  a  tower  and  spire  over 
the  crossing.  We  hope  shortly  to  be  enabled  to 
give  our  readers  some  idea  of  the  plan  proposed 
by  Mr.  Butterfield. 

The  programme  of  lectures  arranged  to  be 
given  at  the  theatre  of  the  Royal  Institution,  in 
Albemarle-street,  W. ,  during  the  coming  ses- 
sion, includes  two  by  tho  Rev.  WiUiam  Hough- 
ton, M.A.,  F.L.S.,  on  " The  Picture  Origin  of 
the  Cuneiform  Characters,"  fixed  for  March  3, 
and  10  ;  a  cour.se  of  four  by  Mr.  H.  H.  Statham 
on  "  Ornament,  Historically  and  Critically  Con- 
sidered," on  March  17,  24,  31,  and  April  7  :  one 
by  Mr.  Alexander  Buchan,  M.A.,  F.R.S.E., 
secretary  of  the  Meteorological  Society  of  Scot- 
land on  "  The  AV'eather  and  Health  of  London," 
March  2.5  ;  a  course  of  four  by  Mr.  Sidney  Col- 
vin,  Slade  Professor  of  Fine  .\rt,  Cambridge,  on 
"The  Amazons,  a  Chapter  in  the  Study  of  Greek 
Art  and  Mythology."  January  22,  29,  and  Feb. 
5  and  12 ;  and  four  by  Mr.  Reginald  Stuart 
Poole  on  "Ancient  Egypt  in  its  Comparative 
Relations,"  on  February  19,  26,  and  March  .5 
and  12. 

The  opening  out  of  Savoy  Place  on  to  the 
Thames  Embankment  for  carriage  traffic  is  an 
improvement,  establishing  as  it  does  a  communi- 
cation between  the  Strand  and  the  river 
thoroughfare  at  a  much-needed  point.  It  seems 
a  pity  that  the  repeated  alterations  which  have 
been  made  just  at  this  part  of  the  Embankment 
appear  to  have  been  due  to  a  succession  of  after- 
thoughts. One  result  is  the  formation  of  a  rather 
dangerous  cro.-.sing  for  foot.passengers  along  the 
northern  pavement  of  the  Embankment,  which 
might,  with  a  little  forethought,  have  been 
avoided. 

The  opening  meeting  of  the  Civil  and  Me- 
chanical Engineers'  Society  was  held  last  night 
(Thursday),  at  the  Society's  new  rooms,  7,  West- 
minster-chambers, when  an  inaugural  address 
was  delivered  by  the  President,  Mr.  Henry  Ellis 
Hill.  The  list  of  papers  for  the  ensuing  session 
is  as  follows  : — Dec.  23,  "The  Patent  Laws  and 
their  influence  on  Trade,"  A.  T.  Walmisley, 
A.M.I.C.E.  ;  Jan.  6,  "  Account  of  Sombrero 
Island,  West  Indies,  with  description  of  sub- 
marine quarrying  of  phosphate  of  lime,"  R. 
Harkness  Twigg,  M.I.C.E.  ;  Jan.  26,  "  AppU- 
cation  of  Hydraulic  Machineij'  to  Mines,  Gas- 
works, Grain  Warehouses,  &c.,"  J.  Coates, 
F.G.S.,  A.M.I.C.E.;  Feb.  3,  "Draining  and 
Embanking,  with  regard  to  River  Outfalls," 
William  C.  Street;  Feb.  17,  "Water-bearing 
Strata  of  the  Thames  Basin,"  A.  F.  E.  Grant": 
March  3,  "  Steep  Gradients  v.  Heavy  Works," 
J.  B.  Walton,  A.M.I.C.E.  ;  March  17.  "House 
Drainage  and  Sewerage,"  R.  E.  Middleton, 
A.M.LC.E.  ;  March  21,  "Lifts  for  Ware- 
hou.ses,  &c.,"G.  J.  Child;  April  7,  "Rainfall," 
B.  Haughton;  April  21,  "Drainage  of  North 
Lincolnshire,"  J.  Henr}- Maughan,  M.I.S. ;  and 
May  .5,  Annual  Meeting.  AYe  are  informed 
that  Mr.  G.  A.  Peyce  Cuxson,  of  Maughan  and 


Cuxson,  London  and   Grimsby,  has  ju.st  taken     ;  | 
the  office  of  honorary  secretary. 


CHIPS. 

Messrs.  Jones  and  Willis  have  just  couipletida' 
handsome  polished  brass  lectern  for  the  Kev.  MrJ 
Biggs,  of  the  Malacca  Chaplaincy,  Straits  Settlei 
ment.  The  same  firm  have  also  just  executed  a 
handsome  oak  rtredos  for  St.  John  the  Baptist 
Church,  Hulme,  Manchester,  for  Mr.  G.  T.  Eed- 
mayne,  architect,  Manchester ;  oak  choir  seat^ 
&c.,  for  Winshill  Church,  Burton-on-Trent;  ajm 
a  handsome  Sicilian  marble  tombstone  for  Nails- 
worth  churchyard,  near  Stroud,  by  direction  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Pratt. 

The  old  school  in  Southgate-street,  Gloucester, 
so  well  known  for  the  gateway  with  the  oriel  win- 
dow over,  of  Late  Perpendicular  work,  is  about  to 
be  rt  stored,  as  a  memorial  of  Kobtrt  Raikes,  by  a 
committee  in  London.  Mr.  Charles  G.  Wayland, 
of  London,  is  the  architect.  We  have  been  pro- 
mised a  view,  with  some  particulars,  which  wehope 
shortly  to  give. 

A  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  Byron  Memo- 
rial was  held  on  Monday  at  the  studio  of  Mr.  Belt, 
the  sculptor  who  executed  the  work  as  far  as  it  has 
gone.  It  was  decided  to  at  once  proceed  with  the 
construction  of  the  pedestal  to  be  formed  of  the 
marble  wliich  the  Greek  Government  had  sent  to 
England  for  the  purpose,  the  cost  of  which,  with 
its  shipment,  they  entirely  defrayed.  The  marble 
is  a  splendid  specimen  of  Rosso- Autico.  The 
pedestal  will,  it  is  expected,  be  finished  in  February 
next,  and  the  whole  cost  of  the  memorial  will 
.amount  to  about  £3, .500. 

A  meeting  of  slate  quarry  proprietors  was  held 
c.n  Monday  at  3,  Old  Palace-yard,  Westminster, 
the  offices  of  Mr.  A.  M.  Dunlop,  the  manager  of 
the  Oakeley  Quarries.  The  following  were  repre- 
sented—namely, the  Penrbj-n,  Dinorwic,  Talsam, 
Dorothea,  Penyrorsedd,  CilgwjTi,  FalmerstoD, 
Oakeley,  Talywennydd,  Cwmorthin,  Festiniog, 
Diphwys  Casson,  and  Craigdu  quarries.  After  a 
long  discussion,  it  was  decided,  in  view  of  the  im- 
proved demand,  to  raise  the  price  of  s'ates  of  cer- 
tain size  at  an  average  rate  of  about  b  per  cent. 
This  increase  to  date  from  the  1st  proximo. 

The  largest  movable  division  ever  fitted  up  has 
been  supplied  to  Scotland  by  Messrs.  Salmon, 
Bainps,  anel  Co.,  of  Ulveratou,  for  St.  Bridget's 
New  Roman  Catholic  schools.  It  screens  the  altar 
frcm  the  schooroom,  and  is  worked  by  the  patent 
balance-weight  motion,  introduced  by  the  firm, 
and  can,  by  means  of  the  ordinary  long  aim,  be 
raised  and  lowered  instantly.  The  dimensions  are 
ccnsiderably  in  excess  of  ordinary  revolving  divi- 
sions or  shutters,  and  a  difficulty  which  has  hitherto 
been  a  serious  one  in  regard  to  divisions  of  large 
apartments  is  surmounted. 

The  Thames  Bank  Iron  Company,  of  Uppe' 
Ground-street,  London,  S.E.,  have,  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  R.  S.  Dunbar,  me  of  the  part- 
ners, most  successfully  warmed  the  Catholic  Apos- 
tolic Church  and  Cloisters,  Goidcu-.'quare,  by 
means  of  two  wrought-iron  riveted  saddle-boilers 
and  a  series  of  coils  of  pipes  above  the  floor  fine, 
at  a  cost  of  about  £337  10s.  The  committee  should 
see  about  an  effectual  system  of  ventiiatic.n.  now 
that  they  have  got  a  good  warming  apparatus. 

An  inquest  was  held  on  Friday,  at  Eistbouiue, 
on  the  body  of  a  bricklayer  from  Hereford,  named 
James  Pritchard,  who  met  «ith  a  fatal  accident 
two  days  previously  whilst  at  work  on  a  church  in 
course  of  erection  at  L^ppcrton.  It  was  stated  that 
deceased  was  at  work  on  the  face  of  the  west  sable, 
which  was  built  of  Portland  cement  and  shingle 
concrete,  with  a  stone  face  and  thin  tile-brick 
backing.  Into  this,  which  had  been  laid  the  pre- 
vious day,  and  was  thought  to  have  set,  the  put- 
locks  of  the  scaffold  were  fixed,  but  the  wall 
suddenly  yielded  and  fell,  carrying  with  it  the 
scaffold  on  which  deceased  was  at  work.  Mr. 
Schmidt,  surveyor  to  the  local  board,  having  de- 
posed to  the  good  quality  of  the  cement,  and  thei 
supervision  exercised,  a  verdict  of  "  Accidental' 
death  "  was  returned. 

The  contract  for  constructing  the  proposed  Hull, 
Barnsley,  and  AA'est  Riding  Junction  Railway 
and  Dock  has  been  taken  by  Messrs.  Lucas 
and.dird,  of  Westminster.  The  new  line  will  be 
56  miles  in  length,  or,  including  junctions  with 
other  railways,  66  miles.  At  the  Hull  extremity 
of  the  line  will  be  a  deep-water  dock,  having  a 
water-area  of  46  acres,  and  34ft.  deep,  and  sur- 
rounded by  quays  80  acres  in  extent.  For  the 
dock,  Mr.  James  Abernethy,  F.R.S  ,  of  West- 
minster, is  the  engiueer-in-chief,  and  Messrs.  Old- 
ham and  Bohn,  of  Hull,  the  acting  engineers.  For 
the  railway,  the  engineers  are  Messrs  Wm. 
Shelford,  of  Westminster,  and  George  Bolm,  of 
Hull. 

A  new  Wesleyan  chapel  was  opened  at  Bovey, 
Devon,  on  Monday.  Messrs.  Underbill  and  Aggott, 
of  Chagford,  were  the  builders. 


i 


I 


Dec.   17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


693 


THE  BUILDma   NEWS. 


L0X30N,   FRIDAY,    DECEMBER  17 


EOYAL  ACADEMY  PRIZES. 

THE  distribution  of  prizes  took  place  on 
Friday  last,  the  lOth  December,  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  Royal 
Academy.  On  taking  the  chair,  the  Presi- 
dent, Sir  Frederick  Leighton,  complimented 
the  students  on  their  competitive  work,  and 
offered  some  consolation  to  those  who  would 
not  be  called  forward.  Prizes  had  been 
awarded  in  every  section  except  one,  viz., 
the  £10  premium  for  dra^vi^gs  from  the 
antique,  not  because  there  was  not  consider- 
able merit  in  some  of  the  drawings  sub- 
mitted, but  because  in  this  competition,  in 
which  the  students  were  allowed  to  select 
their  own  subjects  and  to  choose  the  best  of 
their  work  done  within  the  year,  unusual 
merit  was  expected.  The  President  took 
this  opportunity  of  impressing  upon  the 
students  the  great  importance  of  a  longer 
continuation  of  study  in  the  antique  school, 
and  the  unfortunate  tendency  in  the  school 
to  get  through  their  work  there  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  following  awards  were  then 
made : — 

Cartoon,  O.  K.  "Warren ;  painting  figure  from  life.  B. 
E.  Ward;  painting  head  from  life,  W.  C.  Wontner; 
extra  prize,  C.  Sykes  ;  copy  oil  painting,I.ucy  Schell ;  resto  - 
ration  of  figure,  Emmiline  Halse  ;  drawing  ligure  from 
lite,  (1)"W.  M.Loudan,  (2)  J.  C.  S.  Benham ;  drawinghead 
from  life,  Rosalie  M.  Watson ;  extra  prize,  Eaiily  Drew ; 
model  flgiire  from  life,  (1)  Oscar  A.  Junck,  (2)  E.  T. 
Fulton  ;  archi.  di-awing,  (1)  M,  AUen,  (2}  E.  G.  Hardy; 
drawing  of  statue.  Antique  school,  (1)  W.  Carter,  (2)  "W. 
Ericksen ;  model  of  statue,  not  awarded ;  perspective, 
F.Miller;  £10  premium,  drawing  figure  from  Me,  antique, 
W.  M.  Laudan ;  Armitage,  (1)  H.  Paget,  (2)  L.  E.  Law- 
rence. 

The  subject  for  the  travelling  studentship 
this  year  was  "  A  College,  with  rooms  for 
principal,  vice-principal,  40  students,  chapel, 
library,  lecture-room,  dining-hall,  kitchen, 
and  offices,  &c.,  to  be  erected  on  a  piece  of 
ground  measuring  200ft.  by  1  JOft.  Draw- 
ings required :  Plan  of  ground-floor,  eleva- 
tion, and  perspective."  Four  designs  were 
submitted,  the  studentship  being  awarded 
to  Mr.  "W.  J.  N.  Millard,  for  a  design  bearing 
the  motto,  "Alma  Mater."  Mr.  Millard 
takes  the  longer  dimension  for  his  principal 
front,  the  accommodation  being  ranged 
round  one  large  courtyard.  The  entrance- 
gate,  with  carriage  and  footway,  is  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  main  front ;  the  chapel 
on  the  right,  the  north,  and  forming  the  right 
wing,  with  the  library  as  pendant  on  the 
opposite  side.  At  the  back  of  the  court,  with 
entrance  porch,  is  situated  the  dining-hall, 
the  kitchen  and  offices  being  placed  in  the 
basement  below.  The  principal's  residence 
is  to  the  left  of  dining-hall,  the  vice-prin 
cipal's  on  the  right ;  the  remainder  of  the 
buildings  enclosing  the  court  being  devoted 
to  the  students'  rooms.  For  these  a  sittiug- 
roorti  and  bedroom,  with  small  closet,  is 
provided  ;  each  suite  is  placed  on  either  side 
of  a  small  staircase  leading  to  the  first  floor. 
A  corridor  is  carried  roimd  three  sides  of  the 
court,  apparently  on  ground-floor  only.  The 
students'  closets  are  placed  on  each  side  of 
the  main  entrance,  which  seems  to  us  to  be  a 
mistake ;  it  wotdd  have  been  better  for  many 
reasons  to  have  placed  them  at  the  extreme 
end  of  the  right  and  left  corridors.  The 
footway  entrance  might  also  with  advantage 
have  been  placed  on  the  chapel  side,  the 
services  in  which  are  occasionally  attended 
by  outsiders.  The  style  adopted  by  Mr. 
MiUard  for  his  elevation  and  perspective  (a 
bird's  eye  view)  is  Late  Perpendicular.  The 
composition  throughout  is  extremely  happy 
and  picturesque.  The  centre  block,  flanked 
by  two  octagonal  turrets,  is  of  good  propor- 


tion and  characteristic  design ;  and  the 
chapel  and  library  on  the  extreme  right 
and  left  balance  one  another,  their  respec- 
tive destinations  being  clearly  suggested ; 
whilst  the  tower  over  the  corridor,  at  angle 
of  court,  accentuates  the  greater  importance 
of  the  chapel.  There  is  a  bold,  original 
feature  on  the  library  side,  which  is  worthy 
of  note;  this  is  a  corner  turret  to  the 
library,  with  a  staircase  leading  to  the  gal- 
lery inside.  Mr.  Millard  has  carried  up  this 
turret  above  the  roof  to  form  a  feature  to 
the  angle  of  his  main  front,  and  has  thrown 
an  arch,  carrying  a  passage,  across  to  the  top 
of  his  library  bow  window,  the  lead-flat  over 
which,  therefore,  can  be  got  at  for  re- 
pairs when  required.  We  do  not  remember 
to  have  ever  seen  this  done  before  ;  the  fea- 
ture, as  shown  in  his  perspective,  has  the 
advantage  of  being  picturesque  and  com- 
mon-sense. The  tower  of  the  chapel  is  well 
designed,  with  five  belfry  windows  and  an 
open  octagonal  turret  above. 

The  design  sent  in  imder  the  motto 
"  Mens  "  takes  also  the  long  side  as  principal 
front.  There  are  two  internal  courts  with  the 
chapel  placed  in  the  centre,  and  corridors  round 
each  court.  The  dining-hall  is  placed  behind 
the  chapel,  the  lecture-room  and  vice-prin- 
cipal's residence  on  the  left,  balancing  the 
library  and  principal's  residence  on  the 
right.  The  students  have  only  bedroom  and 
sitting-room,  the  latter  being  rather  small 
they  open,  however,  one  into  the  other,  as 
at  Keble  College,  Oxford.  The  space  de- 
voted to  corridors  is  too  great,  and 
those  on  the  right  and  left  of  chapel 
might  well  have  been  omitted.  The  ele- 
vation and  perspective  show  a  French 
origin,  there  being  the  lofty  roofs  and 
Norman  windows  of  the  1st  Renaissance 
period,  without,  however,  the  delicacy 
in  design  of  that  style.  The  windows — 
round  arched  and  square-headed — do  not 
agree  in  scale,  and  the  whole  work  shows  a 
lack  of  serious  study. 

"  Nimo  aut  Nuuquam  "  also  takes  the 
longer  side  (we  might  say  longest,  for  he  has 
exceeded  the  dimensions  given,  both  in 
length  and  depth)  for  his  chief  elevation, 
setting  back  the  centre  portion  so  as  to  form 
a  garden  in  front.  There  is  one  central  in- 
ternal court.  The  chapel  is  placed  on  the 
left,  being  brought  out  to  the  front  of  site, 
.and  is  balanced  by  the  principal's  residence 
on  the  right.  The  dininsf-hall  is  placed  at 
the  back,  with  kitchen  and  offices  occupying 
the  remainder  of  the  back  elevation ;  had 
these  latter  been  placed  in  the  basement,  the 
accommodation  could  have  been  easily  pro- 
videdfor  without  passing  thelimit  prescribed. 
The  elevation  and  perspective  denote  a  leaning 
towards  French  work  of  the  14th  century.  In 
the  centre  behind  the  entrance  is  a  lofty 
tower,  the  precise  use  of  which  it  is  difficult 
to  determine.  The  chapel  is  already  pro- 
vided with  a  bell-turret,  so  that  no  more 
bells  can  be  required.  We  suppose,  there- 
fore, the  usual  plea  for  a  water-cistern  must 
be  put  in ;  but  even  that  would  not  account 
for  so  lofty  a  tower,  or  for  the  large  belfry- 
windows  on  each  side. 

"  Sain  et  Fort,"  is  the  only  design  which 
takes  the  narrow  dimension  for  its  front. 
There  is  one  large  court,  with  the  chapel  in 
centre  at  the^back.  The  principal's  and  vice- 
principal's  residences  balance  one  another  on 
each  side  of  chapel.  The  dining-hall  in 
centre  of  left  wing,  with  kitchen,  &c.,  be- 
yond, balance  the  library  and  lecture-room 
on  the  right  side.  This  is  the  only  design 
in  which  there  are  no  corridors,  and  this 
accords  with  most  university  colleges  ;  there 
are  also  no  w.c.'s  provided,  in  which  re- 
spect it  differs.  The  students'  suites  are,  as 
in  Mr.  MiUard's  design,  arranged  in  pairs 
on  each  side  of  the  entrance  and  staircase  ; 
the  windows  of  sitting-room  face  the  court, 
those  of  the  bedroom  the  street ;  this  is 
better  than  in  Mr.  MiUard's  design,  in 
which  the  windows  of  bedrooms  have  only 


a  borrowed  light  from  corridor  on  ground- 
floor.  The  style  adopted  for  elevation  and 
perspective  is  15th-centui7  English  Domettic 
work,  perhaps  the  beat  suited  for  buildings 
of  this  cla^s.  There  is  a  want  of  study,  how- 
over,  in  the  design,  and  the  central  tower 
and  the  entrance  apertures  in  it,  seem  to 
require  greater  elevation. 

The  subject  for  the  perspective  model 
this  year  was  the  vestibule  of  Somerset 
House.  There  was  only  one  set  of  draw- 
ings sent  in,  and  Mr.  Frederick  Miller, 
to  whom  the  prize  was  awarded,  has  sent 
in  the  finest  drawing  which  has  been  sub- 
mitted for  years.  The  subject  was  a 
peculiarly  difBcult  one,  as  the  competitors 
were  required  to  take  their  view  looking 
across  the  vestibule.  Mr.  Miller  has  selected 
his  point  of  view  with  great  judgment, 
projected  his  cornices  and  capitals  with 
great  care,  and  drawn  in  the  various  curves 
with  a  firm  and  artistic  line.  The  specimen 
of  sciogr.aphy  also,  a  portion  of  the  Ca  d'Oro 
at  Venice,  with  its  reflection  in  the  canal, 
was  well  selected  and  carefully  drawn. 

For  the  measured-drawing  medals  subject, 
the  inner  passage  between  cloisters  and 
Chapter  House,  Westminster,  there  were 
five  competitors.  The  subject  was  a  stiff  one, 
owing  to  the  figures  and  intricate  detail  in 
the  Cbapter-house  doorway,  which  had  to 
be  drawn  to  a  scale  of  one  inch  to  the  foot. 
Mr.  MUner  Allen  and  Mr.  E.  G.  Hardy,  to 
whom  the  1st  and  2nd  medals  were  awarded, 
sent  very  accurate  and  careful  drawings  ; 
they  would  have  had  a  very  serious  com- 
petition, however,  in  the  drawings  bearing 
the  number  101,  if  the  author  of  this  latter 
had  been  able  to  complete  the  half -inch  scale 
drawings.  The  inch-scale  drawing  certainly 
seems  to  us  to  show  greater  delicacy  in  the 
delineation  of  the  figure  and  ornament. 

Of  the  other  prize  drawings,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  great 
excellence  of  the  cartoon  drawing,  "  Judith 
preparing  to  strike  off  the  head  of  Holo- 
f ernes,"  the  finest  which  has  ever  been 
submitted  in  this  competition,  showing  in 
the  pose  of  the  figure  the  arrangement  and 
detail  of  the  drapery,  the  greatest  care  and 
study,  and  general  exceUenoe  in  the  drawing. 
The  competition  for  painting  of  head  from 
life  and  for  drawings  in  chalk  of  head  from 
life  were  both  unusually  good.  The  restora- 
tion of  the  Hermes  (the  marble  lately  dis- 
covered at  Olympia)  by  a  lad}'.  Miss  Halse, 
was  tmusually  good. 


THE  LEYTOX  LOCAL   BOARD 
OFFICES  COMPETITION. 

THE  designs  submitted  in  the  above  com- 
petition and  selected  by  the  committee 
have  been  on  view  at  the  vestry-hall.  Ley- 
ton,  and  we  are  now  enabled  to  give  our 
readers  some  idea  of  them.  But  the  re- 
maining six  designs  are  huug  on  screens  at 
Park  House,  Leytonstone — an  arrangement 
that  appears  to  have  been  found  necessary 
from  want  of  space  in  the  former  hall, 
though  rather  inconvenient  for  those 
who  wish  to  compare  the  designs.  The 
competitors  invited  to  compete  were  Messrs. 
Bressey,  Bishopsgate-street ;  Forge,  Ben- 
nett's Hill;  Hammack  and  Lambert, 
Bishopsgate  ;  W.  Smith,  City  ;  Wilson,  Son, 
and  Aldwinckle,  City  ;  Wimperis,  Sackville- 
street ;  Knightley,  Cannon  street ;  Hill  and 
Fletcher,  Bow ;  Knight,  Mile  End ;  and 
N"ewman,  Fenchurch- street.  Two  of  these 
firms,  Messrs.  Hammack  and  Lambert,  and 
W.  Smith,  declined  to  compete.  The 
first  premium  has  been  awarded  to 
"Mosaic,"  by  Mr.  Knight,  of  Mile  End  ;  the 
second  to  "E.C.,"  by  Messrs.  Wilson,  Son, 
and  Aldwinckle  ;  and  the  third  to 
"  Utility,"  Mr.  Wimperis,  of  Sackville- 
street.  'These  three  designs  we  may  first 
examine.  "  Mosaic  "  has  placed  the 
clerks',     svurveyors',    and    committee-room 


694 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


on  the  ground-floor ;  the  entrance  is 
at  the  corner  between  the  two  front- 
ages, and  another  entrance  is  pro- 
vided near  the  inspector  and  collectors' 
oftices.  Two  corridors  at  right  angles, 
joining  near  the  main  entrance,  give  access 
to  the  offices ;  these  are  hardly  well- 
lighted,  and  the  small  passage  cut- 
ting off  a  slice  of  the  inspector's  office 
to  give  access  to  the  collector's  room  is 
certainly  worse  off  in  t'lis  respect,  and  does 
not  make  a  very  desirable  arrangement. 
One  noticeable  feature  in  the  author's  plan 
is  the  external  and  isolated  position  given 
to  the  lavatories,  &o.,  which  form  a  small 
building  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  corridors. 
The  clerk's  private  office,  though  com- 
municating with  the  public  office,  is  small, 
and  scarcely  appears  large  enough  for  a  small 
commit'ee,  but  the  general  committee-room 
is  of  good  size,  and  is  located  conveniently 
near  the  clerk's  and  surveyor's  offices, 
and  near  the  entrance.  All  the  offices  can 
be  shut  off  when  necessary  from  the  main 
entrance,  but  we  think  the  best  mode  has 
not  been  devised  of  obtaining  a  good 
approach  from  the  vestibule ;  the  doorway 
placed  askew  appears  too  near  the  stairs,  and 
the  shape  of  hall  is  not  the  most  pleasing. 
The  board-room,  49ft.  Gin.  by  31ft.  Oin.  and 
20ft.  high,  occupies  the  area  over  the 
clerk's,  collectors',  and  committee-rooms,  and 
is  lighted  by  a  wide  flank  and  end  windows. 
The  landing  looks  narrow.  The  increased 
height  required  for  the  board-room  has  been 
utilised  to  obtain  2  floors  of  smaU  rooms 
for  the  use  of  caretaker,  and  as  a  wai'ing- 
room.  We  cannot  express  our  approval  of 
the  design  externally,  which  is  in  a  too 
florid  kind  of  Italian  for  vestry  purposes, 
and  of  a  somewhat  music-hall  type.  The 
corner  diagonal  porch  forms  a  lobby, 
wbich  is  carried  up  as  a  tower,  and  is 
finished  by  a  lofty  roof,  though  its  utility  is 
questionable,  and  as  an  architectural  feature, 
we  must  withhold  our  praise  from  it.  The 
ornamental  console  cornice  at  the  top  of 
the  tower  and  the  pilasters  would  have 
been  far  better  omitted,  and  the  decorative 
detail  is  of  too  tawdry  a  character.  The 
author  has  made  up  for  these  defects  by 
attention  to  sanitary  requirements,  which 
have  been  generally  -well  met,  as  in  the 
isolated  lavatories  and  mode  of  warming 
and  ventilating,  Perkins's  system  being 
used  for  the  former,  and  Tobin's  for  the 
latter.  The  materials  proposed  are  white 
gaidt  brick  and  Portland-stone  dressings 
for  the  main  front,  and  plain  stock  brick- 
work, with  red  gauged  arches,  for  the  back 
and  side  fronts.  We  do  not  believe  that 
"Mosaic  "  can  be  carried  out  for  the  sum 
aamed,  namely,  £4,000,  if  we  cube  the 
building  at  lOd. — not  an  unusual  price. 

'•  E.  C."  sends  two  sets  marked  A  and  B. 
The  second  has  been  chosen.  It  is  in 
Queen  Anne,  and  displays  some  fair 
symmetrical  planning.  The  entrance  is  cen- 
tral to  the  main  front,  the  clerks'  offices 
being  on  left  side  of  the  corridor,  and  the 
surveyor's  on  the  other;  at  the  rear  end  is 
the  main  staircase,  with  the  collector  and 
inspector  placed  on  the  left  hand,  and  the 
conveniences  on  the  other.  The  board-room 
occupies  the  whole  upper  part  of  the  front 
building,  and  the  committee-room  is  placed 
in  rear  on  one  side  of  landing.  The  prin- 
cipal elevation  is  towards  Leyton-road, 
and  a  wide  gabled  projection  is  obtained  at 
the  side,  pronouncing  the  hall,  wide  bay 
windows  and  dormers  being  the  chief 
featm-es  in  the  front.  Stock-brick,  faced 
with  red  or  white  Suffolks,  is  proposed, 
relieved  by  Portland  stomt  cornices,  &c.  Tlie 
alternative  design  shows  a  half-timbered 
gable  projection  to  the  hall,  with  wide 
muUion  window,  which  projects  over  an 
arcade  below,  and  we  observe  a  sliglit 
variation  in  the  planning.  It  would  hardly 
appear  that  either  of  these  designs  could  be 
executed  for  the  sum  named. 


"  Utility,"  the  third  promiated  design,  is, 
on  the  whole,  the  best  of  the  three.  There 
is  a  central  porch-entrance  towards  the 
Leyton-road,  a  spaoiou^co'ridorwell  lighted, 
and  a  good  staircase  at  the  side.  The  clerk's 
offices  on  one  side,  and  the  surveyor's  0:1 
the  other,  form  corresponding  halves  of  the 
main  building  ;  behind,  fronting  the  side 
road  are  the  offices  of  the  collector  and 
the  inspector,  with  their  own  separate  en- 
trance. A  desirable  point  in  the  jilan  is  the 
intercommunication  that  may  be  made 
between  the  sanitary  and  collector's  offices. 
The  board-room,  52ft.  by  2Sft.  (iin.,  occu- 
pies the  entire  front  building  on  the  first 
floor,  and  a  gallery  is  shown  on  the  inner 
side,  approached  from  the  back  staircase ; 
the  entrance-lai  ding  to  hall  is  spacious,  and 
well  lighted,  and  the  waiting,  committee  and 
cloak-rooms  convenient.  The  hall  is  lighted 
on  throe  sides,  the  front  having  a  wide  bay 
over  the  arcaded  entrance.  While  the  plan- 
ning shows  a  convenient  grouping  of  the 
official  departments,  the  design,  represented 
by  a  carefully-drawn  ink  perspective,  is 
treated  in  a  characteristic  style  of  Renais- 
sance, broadly  and  plainly  dis])Osed  in  its 
main  features,  and  displaying  a  dignified 
exterior  of  an  official  type.  Its  high  roof 
and  pronounced  entrance  are  well  managed, 
and  the  author  has  avoided  excessive  orna- 
mentation. Stock-bricks,  faced  with  white 
Suffolks,  are  intended  for  the  walls  and 
pilasters,  and  stone  is  only  introduced  for 
the  caps  of  pilasters,  sills,  and  copings. 
Comparing  these  features  with  the  other  de- 
signs, we  may  fairly  say  the  design  is  less 
expensive  than  either  of  those  we  have  al- 
ready named.  Corner  fireplaces  are  intro- 
duced in  the  offices,  and  these  are  carried 
up  as  terminals  to  the  angle  piers. 

We  may  now  examine  the  unsuccessful  do- 
signs,  which  are  at  Leytonstone.  "  Triangle 
in  Circle,"  is  in  a  kind  of  Italian,  freely 
treated,  with  corner  entrance  and  tower, 
and  a  large  entrance-hall ;  from  this  corridors 
run  in  two  directions  along  both  fronts,  the 
clerks'  offices  being  in  the  rear,  and  the 
surveyor's  in  front.  The  hall  arrangement 
is  decidedly  better  than  the  awkwardly- 
shaped  one  of  "  Mosaic,"  but  the  official  de- 
partment might  be  improved.  The  board- 
room, 54ft.  by  3Gft.,  occupies  the  whole  of 
the  upper  floor  of  the  main  front,  and  ex- 
tends from  back  to  front,  approached  by  the 
angle  staircase.  "  Architect "  is  a  decidedly 
meritorious  design,  and  as  far  as  we  can  see, 
ought  to  have  been  promiated.  It  is  designed 
in  a  well-treated  official  Italian,  an  order  of 
pilasters  on  the  upper  story  standing  on 
rusticated  piers  below.  The  front  is  digni- 
fied but  simple  in  outline,  with  a  high  roof. 
The  arrangement  is  well  planned,  and  con- 
sists of  a  large  main  block  and  another 
parallelogram  of  smaller  size  behind  ;  there 
is  a  central  corridor  entrance  from  the  front, 
leading  to  another  cross  corridor  at  right 
angles  in  the  rear,  forming  the  side  entrance. 
The  stairs  are  placed  at  the  junction  and  are 
well  lighted.  On  each  side  of  the  front 
corridor  are  the  offices  conveniently  ap- 
proached, while  the  side  entrance  gives  a 
separate  access  to  the  hall  above,  and  to 
the  collecting  and  sanitary  departments  in 
the  rear.  The  board-room,  50ft.  by  30ft., 
occupies  the  whole  area  of  the  main  block 
above,  and  has  a  good  landing  and  approach. 
A  large  sepia  perspective  accompanies  this  set. 
"  Salus  Populi  Suprema  Lex"  is  a  Queen 
Anne  design ;  in  its  general  features  we  might 
mistake  it  for  a  church,  as  there  is  a  lofty 
corner  tower  with  low  spire  seems  to  over- 
power the  building.  The  planning  is  extra- 
vagant;  a  large  hall,  561t.  by  23ft.,  occu- 
pies the  central  area,  around  which  are 
grouped  the  offices,  and  the  author  has 
overlooked  the  essential  point  in  vestry  ar- 
rangement. "  Questo  E.  Mio,"  shown  by  a 
well-drawn  ink  jjerspective,  is  in  a  vigorous 
Queen  Anne  style  of  brick,  with  a  high  roof. 
The   planning   has    merit ;  the    offices   are 


syir metrically  ilisposed  on  each  side  of  a 
central  entrance,  and  an  inner  hall  and 
staircase  of  dignified  size  form  the  centre 
ajjproach  to  the  board-room  above,  which 
occupies  the  entire  frontage,  and  is  65ft.  by 
29ft.  The  collecting  and  s.anitary  oOBces 
are  in  the  rear.  "  E.^perto  Crede  "  is  too 
confused  in  arrangement  to  bear  inspection, 
and  the  design  is  rather  too  villa-like  and 
broken  in  outline— a  perspective,  showing 
red  brick  as  the  chief  material,  accompanies 
the  design. 

We  cannot  avoid  the  remark  that  a  better 
selection  might  have  been  made,  and  that 
the  unfortunate  competitors  have  some 
ground  for  dissatisfaction.  Many  of  the 
designs  exceed  the  amount  set  down,  which 
is  to  include  boundary  walls  and  every 
requisite  except  furniture.  There  was 
nothing  in  the  instructions  to  architects  to 
guide  them  in  the  disposition  of  the  several 
departments,  though  a  general  idea  of  the 
accommodation  required  was  furnished.  One 
important  point  is  the  separation  of  the 
official  departments  from  the  board-room, 
which  might  be  used  for  other  occasional 
purposes,  and  this  ought  to  be  attended  to 
in  the  selection.  Of  course,  the  selected 
design  will  bo  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Local  Government  Board. 


INSTRUCTION  IN  DRAWING  IN 
FRANCE. 

THOSE  engaged  in  art  instruction  will 
read  with  some  interest  the  recent 
report  of  the  Commis  ion  upon  the  instruc- 
tion in  drawing  in  the  French  schools. 
Various  commissions  have  been  appointed  to 
reconsider  the  system  of  drawing  in  force 
in  the  establishments  of  the  French  uni- 
versities. Inspectors  of  drawing  were  first 
appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion to  inquire  into  the  present  state  of 
affairs  in  the  lydes  and  colleges,  and  the 
remit  was  that  they  all  reported  the  urgency 
of  reforms,  and  a  special  Commission  was 
afterwards  directed  to  prepare  syllabuses  of 
instruction.  The  report  proceeds  to  speakof 
the  alterations.  One  of  the  fundamental 
propositions  of  this  report  is  that,  contrary 
to  long  usage,  "  precedence  should  be  given 
to  the  training  of  the  eye  before  that  of  the 
hand,  a  method  by  which  young  people 
would  be  induced  to  consider  primarOy  the 
essential  meaning  of  the  forms."  Pupils  are 
recommended  to  commence  their  studies 
with  linear  or  geometrical  drawing,  and  the 
Commission  suggests  that  opportunities 
should  be  afforded  the  pupils  of  practically 
applying  the  principles  they  have  learnt, 
such  as  by  lessons  on  elementary  ornament, 
so  as  to  interest  them  in  then-  work.  The 
imitation  and  appreciation  of  right  lines 
would  be  followed  by  curves,  and  later  on 
by  the  "  representation  of  objects  involving 
the  simplest  geometrical  drawing  and  the 
elements  of  perspective."  Students  of  a 
more  advanced  class  are  recommended  to 
practice  geometrical  and  shaded  perspective 
representations  of  solids  and  of  common 
objects.  They  are  required  to  make  draw- 
ings from  ornament  in  relief  taken  from 
conventional  objects,  such  as  mouldings, 
classic  honeysuckles,  bas-reliefs,  inspired 
by  examples  of  living  forms,  such  as 
leaves  and  flowers,  but  attempts  to 
imitate  the  human  figure  are  discouraged. 
As  in  England,  there  are  also  some 
in  France  who  object  to  initial  geometrical 
drawing,  and  say  that  those  who  have  a 
facility  in  handling  the  pencil,  should  In- 
taught  from  infancy  to  exercise  it  in  copying 
models,  casts,  and  engravings  of  antique 
sculptures  of  the  human  figure.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  Commission  insist  upon  the  neces- 
sity cf  a  pi-imary  or  geometrical  course  of 
teaching.  One  of  the  distinguished  members 
concludes  rightly  enough  that  as  art  is  the 
object  of  drawing,    art  should  be  the  aim. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NET7S, 


695 


Before  knowing  how  to  draw  a  line  and  to 
recognise  its  value  an  affectation  for  ideal 
beauty  is  set  up,  and  be  asks  whether  there 
is  not  danger  in  appealing  to  the  creative 
faculty  and  independence  of  sentiment,  when 
it  would  be  wise  to  attend  to  the  discipline  of 
the  rational  faculties.  It  undoubtedly 
should  be  the  main  end  of  schools  of  design 
and  drawing  to  give  a  child  so  much  of  the 
power  of  drawing  lines  with  accuracy  as 
will  enable  him  to  become  precise  and 
practical,  and  serve  him  some  useful  purpose 
in  after  life. 

The  report  speaks  with  considerable 
clearness  on  this  point ;  it  advocates  the 
establishment  of  a  fixed  cm-riculum  of  pro- 
gressive di-awing,  not  a  system  founded  on 
personal  preferences.  Drawing  from  the 
human  head  and  the  teaching  of  hatching, 
stumping  and  stippling  are  objected  to 
until  such  a  time  when  the  pupil  may  find 
himself  justified  against  confusion  between 
the  mechanical  imitation  of  an  example, 
and  the  paramount  duty  of  faithfully 
reproducing  its  essential  charac',  eristics. 
The  system  of  instruction  recommended  for 
adoption  in  France,  is  based  upon  simUar 
experiences  to  our  own.  It  was  soon  found 
that  to  teach  the  principles  of  applied 
art  for  the  purpose  of  design,  the  very 
elements  and  art  of  drawing  lines  gram- 
matically had  to  be  previously  acquired. 
Eight  lines,  then  curves,  and  afterwards 
freehand  copies  of  leaves  were  abso- 
lutely necessary  before  the  pupil  could 
express  with  correctness  and  precision  any 
solid  forms  which  were  afterwards  given 
him.  As  regards  the  higher  classes,  the 
French  programme  proceeds  to  figure- 
drawing,  and  graduated  studies  of  archi- 
tectural fragments  and  decorative  figures. 
Landscape  drawing  from  copies  and  sketches 
follows,  and  it  may  be  uoticed  as  worthy  of 
remark  that  photographs  are  rigorously 
excluded  as  examples  to  copy,  except  in 
respect  to  photographs  of  pen  and  pencil 
drawings  of  great  masters.  Preceding 
commissions  have  urged  the  same  opinion, 
founded  no  doubt  on  the  negative  character 
of  such  productions. 

It  is  some  satisfaction  to  find  the  programme 
agrees  in  every  principle  with  the  system  of 
dra-nang  instruction  inculcated  among  our- 
selves, the  fundamented  conclusions  of 
which  are  an  initial  acquaintance  with  the 
geometry  of  drawing,  followed  by  pro- 
gressive stages  of  instruction  to  the  higher 
forms ;  and  an  aim  to  impart  the  ele 
mentary  principles  of  art  which  may  be 
called  info  the  service  of  after-life  with 
decided  advantage,  and  may  also  serve  to 
impart  to  pupils  a  logical  education  in  art 
matters.  AVe  have  remarked  on  reviewing 
some  of  the  artistic  exhibitions  of  late,  as 
well  as  those  of  some  of  the  board-schools, 
the  largo  number  of  copies  from  prints  and 
other  indifferent  sources  of  figure  subjects, 
many  of  them  of  a  miserably  puerile  and 
trashy  kind,  showing  that  the  principles  we 
have  been  discussing  have  not  as  yet  found 
so  widespread  a  reception  as  we  could  have 
desired.  Cuiiics  of  pictures  of  the  class  we 
have  mentioned  should  be  excluded  from 
exhibitions  of  this  kind,  and  the  inculca- 
tion of  a  more  healthy  art  among  the  masses 
would  quickly  follow. 

MATERIALS  AND  CONSTRUCTION.* 
A  NOTHER  new  treatise  has  been  added 
-^^  to  that  pop'ilar  and  useful  series  of 
professional  text-books  known  under  the 
name  of  "Weale's  Rudimentary  Series," 
but  now  published  by  Crosby  Lockwood  and 
Co.  The  subject  of  the  new  treatise  is  one 
which,  though  it  can  claim  no  novelty,  may 
be  regarded  as  forming  the  very  foundation 


•  Materials  and  Construction  :  on  the  Strains,  Design- 
ing, and  Erection  of  Works  of  Construction.  By  Francis 
Casipik,  C.E.,  &c.  London:  Crosby  Lockwojd  and  Co., 
Dtitionera'  Hall  court. 


of  the  arts  of  architecture  and  engineering. 
Tiring  and  wearisome  as  must  be  the  name 
to  the  artistic  enthusiast  of  the  profession, 
the    science    of   construction   must    alw.ays 
occupy   the  largest  share  of  his  attention. 
Mr.  Francis  Campin,  C.E.,  the  author  of  the 
present  treatise,  is  also  the  compiler  of  other 
useful  books  of  the  same  class,  and  his  "  Iron 
Bridges,  Girders,   and  Roofs,"  published  in 
this  series,  is  known  to  many  students  of  the 
profession  as  one  of  the  simplest  expositions 
of   the  principles  of  structures  whose  very 
names  often  create  despair  in  the  mind  of  the 
beginner.      That   the  author  is  well  quali- 
fied    for      the     task      ho      has      now     ac- 
complished will  he  readily  admitted.      The 
work    enters     directly    into     the     subject, 
and,  of   course,    the   reader  will   find  little 
new   in   Mr.    Campin's   treatment,    as    the 
ground  has  been  so  thoroughly  travelled  over 
by  former  authors  that  there  is  little  fresh 
that  can  be  taught ;  indeed,  the  same  may  be 
said  of  all  scientific  subjects,  more  or  less, 
especially  in  the  domain  of  mathematics  and 
construction.     To  do  justice  to  the  author, 
however,  he  has  thrown  some  light  on  diffi- 
cult problems,  and  has  avoided  algebraical 
symbols  wherever  simple  forms  of  equations 
could  be  used ;  and  in  this  respect  we  think 
Mr.   Campin's  treatise  will   be  welcome  to 
many  students   of    engineering  and  archi- 
tecture who  would  otherwise  have  been  de- 
barred  from  using   it.     The    work,    as   the 
author  says,   is   "  especially    designed    for 
those   readers   who   desire   to   become  tho- 
roughly  acquainted    with    the  theories   of 
structure   and  the   practical   application  of 
results  in   the  simplest  way."     Only  cases 
likely  to   occur   in  everyday  practice  have 
been   selected   to   illustrate  principles,   and 
no  reader  need  be  deterred  by  the  calcu- 
lations    introduced.      The     first     chapters 
explain   terms  and  treat  of  the  elements  of 
matter,    elasticity,    internal    and    external 
forces.     We  think  this  part  might,  perhaps, 
have  been  curtailed  a  little  or  confined  to  the 
more  particular  questions  of  elasticity,  ex- 
ternal forces,  and  the  like.      The  diagrams 
illustrating  the  action  of  external  forces  are 
very  clear,    and   the  dullest  comprehension 
might  be  made  to  understand  the  complex 
action   taking  place  in  the   beam  subject  to 
cross  strain,  and  the  meaning  of  "neutral 
axis"  or  "layer"  after  such  ocular  proof. 
The  same  method  of  explanation  is  given  to 
show    the     action    of     shearing    strain    in 
crushing,    &c.      The  explanations  given   as 
to  the  correct   usj  of  the  term  "  permanent 
set,"    which   clearly   applies    to    molecular 
change,  and  not  to  subsidence  and  other  ex- 
ternal settlements,  are  usefully  introduced, 
and  we  quite  concur   in  the  remark  that  the 
working  strength  of  material  should  be  taken 
in  some  proportion  to  the  elastic  limit  of  re- 
sistance,   and    not   to   the   ultimate    resist- 
ance  of   the    material.      Less    satisfactory 
to   our  minds   are  the  definitions  given   of 
the      two      classes     of     resistance.      These 
are       undoubtedly      (1)      the       resistance 
due     to      cohesion      or     the      strength     of 
material,     and   (2)    the    resistance    due    to 
the   weight   of  material   to   overturning  or 
sliding  ;  the  first  of  these  forms  has  to  with- 
stand the  force  of   tension  or  crushing,  the 
second   kind  of  resistance,  due   to   gravity, 
comes  into  play  to  overcome  overturning  or 
external  forces,  as  well  as  the  friction  of  the 
mass  upon   its  bed.     The  moments  of  force 
are  clearly  set  forth,  as  also  the  problems  of 
forces  acting  at  a  point,  and  the  action  of 
framed  structures.     The   bending  stress  and 
moment  of  resistance  in  a  beam  are  incom- 
prehensible to  the  beginner  ;  but  when  once 
he  clearly   understands   the  manner  of   ob- 
taining the  centre  of   gravity  of  any  section 
and  the  equality  of  the  ojiposite  forces  acting 
in  it  on  each  side  of  the  neutral  axis  when  a 
cross  stress  is  e.xerted,  half  the  difficulty  of 
understanding     the    phenomena    of   trans- 
verse strain  vanishes.     The  author  devotes 
som";  space  to  the  consideration  of  this,  and 


illustrates  it  by  an  actual  case  in  which 
numerical  values  are  attached  to  the  terms. 
A  section  of  a  wrought-iron  beam  is  taken 
and  worked  out,  a  working  strain  of  1  tons 
per  square  inch  being  assumed.  A  good 
illustration  of  the  neutral  axis  and  the 
moments  of  strain  and  resistance  is  given  by 
regarding  the  former  as  the  fulcrum,  about 
which  the  forces  act.  Having  investigated 
the  nature  of  internal  resistance,  the  writer 
goes  on  to  e.xplain  the  laws  of  external 
forces  applied  to  beams  and  cantilevers  when 
loaded  in  various  ways.  One  very  important 
case  not  usually  fomid  in  books,  is  given, 
namely,  when  a  girder  carries  a  load  tlistri- 
buted  in  the  form  of  a  triangle,  as  when  the 
main  girders  of  a  bridge  are  not  square  with 
the  abutments,  and  a  road  rims  obliquely 
below,  the  load  created  by  the  small  cross- 
girders  distributes  the  load  unequally,  and 
it  is  necessary  the  engineer  shoidd  calculate 
accordingly.  Vertical  stress  on  the  web  of  a 
girder  is  considered,  also  the  resistance  to 
shearing  force.  A  useful  observation  on 
webs  is  made  :  "  In  all  parts  of  buQt  struc- 
tures, such  as  wrought-iron  girders,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  it  is  at  the  weakest 
part,  the  joints,  that  the  areas  have  to  be 
fitted  to  the  strains." 

Framed  structures  are  thoroughly  dis- 
cussed, and  the  strains  are  found  by  the 
parallelogram  of  forces.  Open  triangular 
and  trellis-girders,  and  other  forms  of 
braced  structures,  are  fully  considered.  The 
methods  of  determining  the  strains  in  roof- 
trusses  are  gone  into,  and  will  be  found  of 
service  to  the  student ;  but  the  graphic  sys- 
tem of  Maxwell,  and  other  authors,  in  which 
a  distinct  stress-diagram  is  had  recourse  to, 
is  not  explained. 

Braced  or  connected  columns,  such  as 
those  forming  the  piers  of  bridges  and  jetties, 
are  treated  in  a  practical  manner  by  a 
worked-out  example  in  plain  figm-es,  and  if 
the  method  here  shown  of  finding  the  sta- 
bility were  more  generally  resorted  to,  we 
should  seldom  hear  of  Tay  Bridge  disasters. 
The  pressure  of  wind  upon  the  structure 
(taken  at  -lOlb.  per  superficial  foot)  is  con- 
sidered, and  the  efi'ect  on  the  diagonals  be- 
tween the  columns,  after  which  the  horizon- 
tal strain  tending  to  cause  the  columns  to 
slide,  and  the  effect  of  suddenly  retarding 
the  velocity  of  a  train  by  the  application  of 
brakes,  are  taken  into  account ;  tlie  latter 
would  cause  a  longitudinal  strain  on  the 
bridge,  depending  for  its  intensity  on  the 
skidding  of  the  wheels.  Other  details  of 
bx-idge  construction,  such  as  the  floor-bracing 
and  attachments,  have  not  been  overlooked, 
and  in  most  instances,  practical  examples  of 
the  calculations  are  fm'uished.  Very  useful 
advice,  also,  on  the  proper  distribution  of 
the  bracing  and  joints  of  structures  of  this 
kind  follows,  the  value  of  which  cannot  be 
overrated. 

Iron  in  its  application  to  arched  structures 
is  discussed  in  another  chapter,  and  the 
author  points  out  the  mathematical  prin- 
ciples invoh'ed  in  their  design.  Of  course, 
the  main  point  is  that  the  line  of  compres- 
sion, or,  more  correctly,  line  of  pressure, 
comes  within  the  depth  of  arch,  so  tli;it  after 
theloading  is  considered,  the  form  of  the  iron 
rib  has  to  be  determined  by  graphic  means. 
The  effects  of  unequal  loading  must  also  be 
taken  into  account,  and  the  principle  of 
moments  may  be  applied  to  find  the  thrusts. 
Suspension-bridges,  columns,  and  struts, 
joints  and  connections,  and  other  subjects 
discussed  are  important.  We  find  some  use- 
ful observations,  too,  on  riveted  joints. 
Chapter  XII.,  on  the  "Practical  AiJplication 
of  Formida?,"  enters  into  an  hypothetical  case 
of  a  railwa}'-bridge,  and  shows  how  the 
several  girders  and  parts  have  to  be  designed. 
It  is,  in  short,  the  working  out  of  an  example 
in  all  its  details,  and  will  be  found  of  much 
use  to  the  student  who  cares  to  study  the 
modus  operandi,  following  which  the  parti- 
ctdars  of  a  specification  are  furnished. 


696 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


To  the  architectural  student  the  chapters 
on  stability,  including  the  treatment  and 
design  of  piers,  buttresses,  counterforts,  re- 
taining walls  and  arches,  are  of  the  utmost 
value,  and,  in  fact,  in  order  of  constructional 
importance,  might  be  studied  before  the 
earlier  chapters.  The  calculations  of  the 
moments  is  clearly  set  forth,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  the  parallelogram  of  force  is  shown. 
The  formulae  given  also  for  determining  the 
stability  of  masonry  arches  will  be  found  of 
use,  as  they  are  explained  by  numerical 
examples.  The  concluding  chapters  treat  of 
piers  and  foundations,  building  materials, 
oblique  arches,  &c.,  and  some  usefid  tables 
are  appended.  No  better  exposition  of  the 
practical  application  of  the  principles  of 
construction  has  yet  been  published  to  our 
knowledge  in  such  a  cheap  comprehensive 
form,  and  those  who  intend  to  qualify  them- 
selves for  the  tests  of  proficiency  instituted 
by  the  principal  societies  cannot  have  a  better 
guide. 


THE   ARCHITECTS    OF   THE    ITALIAN 
RENAISSANCE.* 

[Cuntinued  from  page  670.) 

THE  two  brothers  GiuUano  and  Antonio  di 
SangaUo  ilourished  about  this  time  (U43- 
1517).  They  were  sons  of  an  architect,  Giam- 
berti,  whose  works  have  not  been  greatly  praised, 
and,  being  educated  as  engravers,  ultimately 
turned  their  attention  to  architecture.  The 
principal  works  of  Giuliauo  were  the  cupola  of 
the  church  of  the  Madonna  di  Loretta,  at  Rome, 
buUt  by  order  of  Alexander  VI.,  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Ostia,  the  castle  of  Moutefiascoue,  for 
the  Duke  of  Valentino,  and  he  latterly  super- 
intended the  buUding  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome 
under  Leo  X.  His  disinterested  motives,  and 
his  affection  for  his  great  patron  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  areexemplified  by  thefollomngstorynar- 
ratedbyMilizia:— After  completing  the  fortifica- 
tionsof  Ostia,  he  journeyed  to  Naples  andpresented 
a  magnificent  model  to  the  king  for  some  work  at 
Castle  Nuovo,  which  so  pleased  the  monarch  that 
he  presented  him  with  horses,  clothes,  and  a 
silver  cup  containing  one  hundred  ducats.  Giu- 
liano,  however,  refused  to  accept  them,  stating 
that  he  was  stiU  in  the  serWce  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  and  the  king,  surprised  at  his  noble  in- 
dependence, allowed  him  the  choice  of  whatever 
pleased  him.  and  he  accordingly  chose  some 
fragments  of  antique  sculpture,  which  he  pre- 
sented to  his  patron  Lorenzo  on  his  return  to 
Elorence.  Antonio  or  Sangallo  the  Toungerhaslef  t 
many  excellent  works  as  evidence  of  his  talent, 
and  his  designs  for  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  were 
replete  with  originality,  and  differed  greatly 
from  those  of  Bramante.  The  most  ingenious 
work  of  this  architect  was  the  well  at  Orrietto, 
which  is  of  great  depth,  and  has  two  spiral  stair- 
cases,— one  inside  the  other, — descending  to  the 
well,  so  that  one  set  of  mules  laden  with  water- 
skins  might  be  descending  while  the  other  set 
were  ascending.  Sangallo  began  the  Farnese 
Palace  when  Paul  III.  was  cardinal,  and  when 
the  building  had  reached  the  roof,  the  Pope, 
anxious  to  have  a  cornice  which,  in  beauty  and 
richness  of  design,  should  eclipse  all  former 
efforts,  instituted  a  competition  among  all  the 
able  artists  in  Rome,  but  even  the  Pope's  in- 
fallibility could  not  ensure  a  satisfactoiy  ter- 
mination to  it,  for  the  decision,  as  in  nearly  all 
modern  competitions,  was  as  absurd  as  it  was  un- 
just. Sangallo  competed,  but  his  design  was  set 
aside  for  one  by  McUghino,  formerly  the  Pope's 
groom,  and  he  was  unable  to  restrain  his  right- 
eous indignation  at  this  imfaimess,  and 
explained  to  the  Pope  that  this  man  was  a  mere 
mountebank  of  an  architect.  "  We  wish 
Melighiuo,"  said  the  Pope,  "to  be  really  an 
architect,  and  will  therefore  take  care  to  provide 
for  him."  But  the  groom  did  not  carry  it  out 
after  all,  and  the  execution  of  it  was  entrusted 
to  Michael  Angelo. 

Simone  PoUainolo  (born  14.H,  died  1509)  was 
a  Florentme  by  bii-tb,  but  he  visited  Rome  at  an 
early  age,  and  there  acquired  a  strong  passion  for 
architecture.  He  superintended  the  erection  of 
the  Strozzi  Palace  at  Florence,  which  was 
designed  by  Crouaca,    and   buUt   the  beautiful 


bm'^fSff  A^^VT- S'",''^;  Nash,  read  before  the  mem- 
oers  of  the  -irchitectural  Association,  on  Dec.  3rd. 


little  church  of  San  Francesco,  on  the  hill  of  San 
Miniato  at  Florence,  which  has,  however,  been 
over-praised,  on  account  of  the  notice  taken  of  it 
by  Michael  Angelo,  who  sumamed  it  "La  Bella 
Villanella." 

Sansovino  (bom  1460,  died  1529)  was  the  son 
of  a  peasant,  and  became  famous  in  his  early 
years  for  sculpture,  but  especially  for  the  two 
tombs  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  del  Popolo 
at  Rome,  and  afterwards  became  equally  noted 
for  his  architectural  works.  He  built  the 
beautiful  Capella  del  Sagremento  at  Florence, 
adjoining  the  church  of  San  Spirito,  and  as  the 
compartments  of  the  vaulting  were  not  placed 
centrally  over  the  piers,  his  clients  found  great 
fault  with  him,  but  he  brought  ancient  ex.amples 
to  justify  his  design,  and  so  silenced  all  criticism. 
The  west  facade  of  the  Duomo  at  Florence  was 
then,  as  at  the  present  day,  unfinished,  and 
Sansovino  placed  against  it  a  false  facade  of 
wood,  of  admirable  design  ;  but  as  the  design 
was  of  the  Classic  type,  with  Corinthian  pilasters, 
it  is,  perhaps,  well  for  the  harmony  of  the  edifice 
that  it  was  never  executed.  Sansovino  made  a 
design  for  a  magnificent  church  at  Rome,  his 
drawings  being  preferred  before  those  of 
RafFaelle,  Sangallo,  and  Peruzzi,  but  the 
execution  eventually  devolved  upon  Sangallo, 
who  was  a  better  constructor  than  his  con- 
temporary. The  Uhrary  of  St.  Mark,  at  Venice, 
has,  however,  immortaUsed  his  name,  and  the 
building  has  a  rich  Doric  order  on  the  gsound- 
floor,  with  a  graceful  Ionic  above.  Venice  has, 
more  than  any  other  Italian  town,  been  richly 
embellished  by  this  architect.  Having  resided 
nine  years  in  Portugal,  at  the  invitatiouof  LeoX. , 
he  returned  to  his  native  land,  laden  with  rich 
gifts,  and  eventually  built  himself  a  villa  near 
his  birthplace,  Monte  Sansovino,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  Ufe. 

AVe  have  now  to  consider  the  character  of  a 
man  who  combined  all  that  was  manly  and 
noble,  with  a  deUcacy  and  refinement  of  thought 
which  have  seldom  been  surpassed.  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  the  great  painter,  sculptor,  architect,  and 
anatomist,  who  was  skilful  in  music  and  poetry, 
and  added  to  a  beautiful  exterior  the  charm  of 
graceful  manners,  was  born  in  the  Castel  da 
Vinci  at  Florence.  We  are  nut  acquainted  with 
many  of  his  architectural  works  ;  nevertheless, 
it  is  evident  from  his  writings  that  he  had 
studied  the  subject,  and  he  was  employed  by 
Ludovico  Sforza  to  conduct  the  waters  of  the 
Adda  to  Milan,  and  he  made  the  canal  of  Monte- 
sano  na\-igable  for  200  miles.  It  was  his  habit 
to  write  on  whatever  he  executed,  but  as  all  his 
writing,  like  Hebrew,  is  from  right  to  left,  it  is 
not  easily  deciphered.  His  ingenuity  was 
marvellous,  and  when  the  king  of  France, 
Louis  XII.,  visited  Milan,  he  fashioned  the 
model  of  a  lion,  which,  when  the  king  was 
seated  in  the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  moved 
towards  him  by  the  aid  of  macliinery,  and  on 
arriving  at  the  throne,  it  suddenly  stopped,  tore 
open  it3  breast  with  its  claws,  and  displayed  on 
its  heart  the  royal  arms  of  France.  Jealousy  for 
his  contemporary,  Michael  Angelo,  caused  him  to 
quit  Italy,  and  at  the  invitation  of  Francis  I.  to 
visit  France,  but  he  was  taken  mortally  ill  at 
Fontainebleau,  and  the  king  immediately  set  out 
to  see  him.  On  the  arrival  of  the  monarch, 
Leonardo  endeavoured  to  rise  to  pay  him  homage, 
but  the  exertion  hastened  his  death,  and  he  ex- 
pired in  the  Idng's  arms. 

Raffaelle  d'Urbiuo  (born  1483,  died  1520) 
was  the  sou  of  Giovanni  Sanzio,  a  painter  of 
some  note,  but  whose  name  was  ecbpsed  by  that 
of  his  illustrious  son.  One  of  the  first  works  of 
Raffaelle  was  the  fagade  of  San  Lorenzo  at 
Florence,  for  Leo  X.,  and  the  palace  of  the 
Pandolfini.  The  stables  of  Agostino  Chigi,  in 
the  Strada  Longara,  Rome,  were  designed  by 
him ;  and  here  we  see  the  coupled  pilasters 
which  were  a  constant  feature  in  Raffaelle' s 
designs ;  but  this  building  is  too  much  broken 
up  to  have  a  wholly  satisfactory  effect.  He  was 
one  of  the  competitors  for  St.  Peter's,  and  in  Ms 
design  divided  the  Latin  cross  into  nave  and 
aisles,  with  recessed  chapels  in  each  bay.  The 
arms  of  the  cross  were  semicircular,  and  were 
ornamented  with  numerous  columns  and 
pilasters.  The  idea  is  said  to  have  wanted 
grandeur,  and,  in  fact,  it  required  an  almost 
superhuman  genius  to  master  all  the  difiiculties 
which  were  connected  with  the  construction  of  so 
vast  a  work.  But  although  Raffaelle's  archi- 
tectural works  were  great,  his  powers  of  paint- 
ing were  far  greater,  and  he  was  treated  with 
every  mark  of  reverence  and  respect,  and  after 


endeavouring  to  imitate  Michael  Angelo  in  sculp- 
ture, in  which,  however,  he  failed,  especially  in 
the  nude,  he  devoted  his  whole  time  to  painting. 
He  died  at  the  early  age  of  3G,  and  was  buried 
in  great  state  at  Rome,  Cardinal  Bembo  writing 
his  epitaph,  which  has  been  thus  translated:  — 
"To  the  memory  of  Raffaelle.  Natiu-e  feared 
to  be  conquered  by  him  while  living,  and  to  be 
annihilated  at  his  death." 

Let  us  now  briefly  consider  the  strange  and 
varied  bfe  of  Baldassare  Peruzzi  (bom  1481,  died 
1536),  who  was  the  son  of  Antonio  Peruzzi,  a 
Florentine  noble.  The  civil  wars  which  were 
then  raging  in  Italy,  caused  his  family  to  be 
left  in  great  distress  and  poverty,  and  Peruzzi 
accordingly  journeyed  to  Rome,  and  devoted 
himself  to  painting  and  architecture.  He,  like 
his  illustrious  predecessors,  was  engaged  in 
superintending  the  biulding  of  St.  Peter's,  and 
made  some  improvements  on  Bramante's  original 
design.  The  pecuUarity  of  this  design  was  the 
semicircular  termination  to  each  arm  of  the 
cross,  and  the  porches  were  also  semicircidar  in 
plan,  with  three  daorways  in  each,  and  the  high 
altar  was  placed  centrally.  This  arrangement 
has  been  much  commended,  and  has  been  partly 
carried  out,  but  the  cupolas  which  covered  the 
whole  have  not  been  executed.  Peruzzi  built, 
and  afterwards  decorated,  the  palace  at  Longara, 
now  called  the  Farnesiua,  bmlt  originally  for 
Agostino  Chigi,  and  he  has  been  especially 
praised  for  the  ornamentation  of  the  loggia, 
which  is  in  such  accurate  perspective  that 
Titian  is  said  to  have  climbed  up  to  ascertain 
whether  the  corbels  were  real  or  painted.  At 
the  sacking  of  Rome  in  1527,  when  the  Spanish 
soldiers  were  plundering  the  City,  Peruzzi  was 
seized,  and,  on  account  of  his  aristocratic  person, 
was  thought  to  be  some  ItaUan  noble,  but  was 
freed  on  stating  his  profession, — not,  however, 
before  he  had  been  barbarously  treated  by  the 
soldiery,  and  he  arrived  eventually  at  Siena, 
naked  and  wounded,  having  been  robbed  of  his 
clothes  on  the  road.  His  stern  refusal  to  enter 
the  service  of  the  Pope,  who  -wished  to  employ 
him  at  the  siege  of  Florence,  shows  that  a  spark 
of  patriotism  existed  in  him,  and  that  the  Papal 
rewards  were  incapable  of  corrupting  him.  Be- 
sides the  Farnesiua  already  mentioned,  Peruzzi 
built  some  other  palaces  in  Rome,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  the  Massimi  palaces,  and  that 
which  bears  the  name  of  the  Ossoh  family.  It 
is  stated  that  his  extreme  modesty  prevented 
him  from  ever  asking  a  reward  for  his  labour, 
and  he  consequently  died  in  poverty,  his  only 
support  being  his  salary  of  200  crowns  as 
architect  to  St.  Peter's.  He  lies  buried  in  the 
Pantheon  beside  the  iUustrious  Raffaelle,  whose 
works  he  had  studied,  and  in  some  instances 
surpassed. 

The  last  three  men  whose  lives  we  have  been 
considering,  were  almost  as  much  painters  as 
architects,  and,  in  the  case  of  Leonardo  and 
Raffaelle  more  so,  and  it  has  been  before 
remarked  that  this  was  not  an  imcommon 
occurrence  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies. In  the  present  day,  however,  we  have 
no  great  artists  who  have  attempted  to  cosabine 
the  two.  We  frequently  find  an  architect  who 
devotes  his  leisure  to  painting ;  but  where  can  we 
name  a  painter  who  has  shown  any  aptitude  for 
the  nobler  art  of  architecture,  which  not  only 
requires  an  artist's  eye  to  orginate  the  design, 
but  a  constructor's  skill  to  carry  that  design 
into  effect,  and  employ  the  materials  most  suitable 
in  each  particular  case  ? 

It  would  be  well  if  the  import.ance  of  archi- 
tecture were  more  fully  appreciated,  for  nothing 
shows  the  character,  the  wealth,  or  poverty  of  a 
nation,  more  clearly  than  the  style  of  its 
architecture.  "I  cannot  touch  the  lute,  "  s.aid 
Themistocles,  "but  I  can  make  a  small  town  a 
large  city"  :  and  were  the  aristocracy  of  Engia::' 
and  the  wealthy  merchants  of  London  to  t.iki 
that  pride  in  architecture  which  prevailed 
among  the  nobility  of  the  Itaban  States,  and  the 
princely  merchants  of  Florence,  we  might  then 
find  more  earnest  desire  on  the  part  of  our 
architects  to  execute  their  work  with  that  pains- 
taking care  and  devotedness  of  which  we  see  so 
many  proofs  in  bygone  times. 

We  are  now  in  the  full  tide  of  the  Renais- 
sance, and  all  Italy  has  felt  the  influence  of  this 
stiiTing  up  into  artistic  Ufe,  which  awoke  the 
latest  energies  of  the  sixteenth-century  artists. 
The  bright  and  comely  flower  of  Renaissarce  art 
has  been  nurtured  and  cultivated  by  rich  and 
poor  alike ;  warmed  by  the  sun  of  genius,  and 
gladdened  by  the  freshening  dews  of  intellectual 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


697 


t-ffort,  the  tender  stem  h;u5  grown  vigorous  and 
healthful,  and  although  not  possessing  the  same 
energy  as  the  hardier  plant  of  Gothic  art  which 
preceded  it,  but  partaking  more  of  the  character 
of  a  hot-house  plant,  it  has,  nevertheless,  a  charm 
and  gracefulness  of  which  antecedent  artistic 
efforts  were  often  sadly  destitute. 

Michele  San  llichele  (born  14S4,  died  1559), 
was  the  great  military  architect  of  this  age.  He 
was  taught  the  elements  of  architecture  by 
his  father  Giovanni  and  his  uncle  Bartolomeo, 
who  were  both  architects.  He  was  sent  by 
Clement  VII.,  after  having  completed  his 
studies,  to  visit  and  report  upon  the  fortresses 
in  the  Ecclesiastical  States ;  and  having  accom- 
plished this,  he  started  again  to  inspect  the 
fortifications  of  Venice,  for  the  purpose  of  im- 
proving his  knowledge  of  these  subjects. 
Verona,  the  birthplace  of  San  Michele,  has  been 
embellished  more  than  any  other  Italian  town 
by  the  works  of  this  artist,  and  the  bastions 
which  he  built  to  fortify  the  town  were  on  an 
entirely  new  principle,  which  has  been  adopted 
and  improved  upon  by  Vauban  and  others :  but 
it  was  this  architect  who  in  reality  invented  the 
triangular  or  pentangular  bastion  with  plain 
fosses  and  flanks,  which  doubled  the  support, 
and  thus  entirely  superseded  the  ancient  square 
and  circular  bastions.  His  fortifications  at 
Venice  were  on  an  enormous  scale,  and  those 
who  were  envious  of  his  popularity  suggested 
that  the  firing  of  the  hea\'y  artillery  required 
for  the  defence  would  reduce  his  forts  to  ruins, 
and  Sauniichele  accordingly  ordered  the  largest 
guns  procurable  to  be  brought  and  placed  in  the 
forts  and  all  to  be  fired  simultaneously,  ilany 
of  the  timid  inhabitants  fled  when  notice  was 
given  of  his  intention,  and  a  terrific  firing  took 
place ;  but  after  it  had  ceased,  not  a  crack  or 
fissure  was  discovered  in  the  fortress,  and  the 
fears  of  the  multitude  were  converted  into 
exuberant  joy.  He  built  the  Porta  Xuova,  the 
Porta  del  Pallio,  and  the  Porta  San  Zenone  at 
Verona,  and  also  the  exquisite  Pellegrini  chapel, 
a  work  of  small  dimensions,  but  of  the  highest 
excellence.  The  stone  of  which  it  is  built  is 
found  in  the  quarries  of  Verona,  and  is  called 
"Bronzina,"  as  when  working  it  sounds  metallic 
like  bronze.  He  built  five  palaces  at  Verona,  of 
which  the  Palazzo  Pompei  is  the  most  har- 
monious in  design,  possessing  a  dignity  of  repose 
which  is  one  of  the  essential  elements  of  a 
Classic  composition. 

The  universal  genius  of  Michael  Angelo  (bom 
1174,  died  1564),  cast  such  a  refulgence  over  the 
tracts  of  Renaissance  art,  in  painting,  sculpture, 
and  architecture,  that  all  ottier  artists  seem  lost 
for  a  time  in  the  vigour  and  grandeur  of  the 
work  of  this  great  man.  He  did  not  devote 
himself  vigorously  to  architecture  till  he  was 
forty  years  of  age,  and  his  masters  were  his  own 
talents,  aided  by  his  observations  of  ancient 
edifices.  Two  of  his  earliest  works  were  the 
Medicean  Library  at  Florence,  and  the  second 
Sacristy  at  San  Lorenzo,  which  is  iindoubtedly 
one  of  his  finest  designs.  Jlichael  Angelo  also 
made  designs  for  several  gates  at  Rome,  but  the 
only  one  which  he  erected  was  the  Porta  Numen- 
tana,  or  Porta  Pia,  as  it  was  named  after  Pope 
Pius  IV.,  during  whose  pontificate  is  was  built. 
He  designed  the  Strozzi  Chapel  at  Florence,  and 
made  many  other  designs  for  chtirches,  few  of 
which,  however,  have  been  preserved ;  and  it 
was  his  constant  habit  to  destroy  any  drawings 
which  did  not  justly  convey  to  paper  the  grand 
conceptions  of  his  mind.  His  work  at  St.  Peter's 
at  Rome  gives  evidence  of  the  sound  knowledge 
of  construction  which  he  possessed,  but  his  orna- 
ments and  mouldings  are  none  of  the  purest, 
being  frequently  so  whimsical  as  to  border  on 
ugliness ;  and  he  used  sometimes  to  confess, 
perhaps  only  from  modesty,  however,  that  he 
knew  nothing  of  architecture.  It  is  well  known 
that  when  pressed  by  Pope  Paul  III.  to  accept 
the  office  of  architect  to  St.  Peter's  he  agreed  to 
take  it  on  condition  that  he  received  no  salarj', 
stating  he  did  so  "  for  the  love  of  God." 

Galeazzo  Alessi  (bom  1500,  died  1572)  having 
studied  mathematics,  £md  shown  an  aptitude  for 
mechanics  when  a  youth,  after  perfecting  him- 
self in  these  subjects,  repaired  to  Rome,  to  be 
ymder  the  tuilien  of  Michelangelo.  His  works 
in  Genoa  were  very  numerous,  including  the 
Palazza  Spinola,  in  the  Strada  Xuova  ;  a  hand- 
some palace  in  the  Porta  Romana,  for  Signor 
LaoU ;  and  the  villas  for  Count  PaUavacini,  above 
Zerbius,  and  Signor  Giustiniani,  in  Albaro.  His 
church  on  the  Carignano  Hill,  at  Genoa,  is  suffi- 
cient in  itself  to  make  bis  name  illustrious. 


We  have  now  to  consider  the  lives  of  the  two 
last  great  architects  of  the  Renaissance,  Vignola 
and  Palladio.  The  former,  whose  real  name  was 
Giaeomo  Barozzi,  was  the  son  of  Clementi 
Barozzi,  a  Milanese  gentleman  (bom  1507,  died 
1573).  He  studied  painting  at  Bologna,  but 
eventually  applied  his  mind  to  architecture,  and 
produced  a  treatise  in  his  later  days,  the  out- 
come of  his  early  studies  in  Rome,  which  has 
done  more  to  perpetuate  his  name  than  all  his 
works  in  stone  and  marble.  He  buQt  many 
churches  in  Rome,  and  was  employed  by  Pope 
Julius  III.  and  the  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese, 
who  engaged  him  partly  in  the  erection  of  the 
Farnese  Palace.  The  celebrated  Caprarola 
Palace,  however,  gained  him  the  greatest  enco- 
miums, and  eclipsed  all  his  former  efforts  in 
ecclesiastical  architecture.  After  the  death  of 
Michael  Angelo,  Vignola  was  appointed  architect 
of  St.  Peter's,  and  erected  two  cupolas  on  either 
side.  His  fertile  invention  often  led  him  into 
extravagances,  and  induced  hiin  to  depart  from 
the  correct  forms  and  outlines  of  the  ancients. 

Palladio  may  be  considered  as  the  last  great 
architect  of  the  Renaissance.  His  finest  eccle- 
siastical work  is  the  church  of  the  Redentore  at 
Venice :  but  the  work  which  has  brought  most 
renown  to  his  name  is  the  Basilica  or  Town-hall 
at  Vicenza.  In  this  city  Palladio  reigns 
supreme.  Whichever  way  we  turn  we  meet 
with  his  works,  many  of  them  finely  conceived, 
but  executed  in  plastered  brick,  so  that  their 
true  grandeur  cannot  be  justly  estimated.  The 
peculiarity  of  his  style  were  lofty  columns  run- 
ning through  two  stories,  pedestals  without 
panels  or  raised  mouldings,  simple  architraves, 
doors,  windows,  and  niches  of  simple  design, 
and  crowned  with  tmbroken  pediments.  The 
Qnarterhj  Review  and  many  amateur  critics 
have  endeavoured  to  prove  that  Palladio' sarchi- 
tectvire  was  false  in  principle,  since  the  internal 
arrangements  did  not  always  accord  with  the 
external  effect ;  but  we  must  remember  that 
Renaissance  architecture  never  aimed  at  this, 
e-xtemal  symmetry  being  its  chief  characteristic, 
while  Gothic  architecture  had  for  its  primary 
object  the  exposing  of  the  bones  and  muscles  of 
the  structure  to  which  it  was  applied.  For  the 
beauty  of  Palladio' s  architecture  we  must  look 
to  his  facades,  which  are  bold  and  imposing. 

In  the  latter  days  of  the  Renaissance  the  art 
which  had  once  adorned  churches  and  palaces 
confined  itself  almost  entirely  to  the  interior 
decoration  of  the  dwellings  of  the  nobility,  and 
the  Baroque  style  succeeded  the  bright  and 
cheerful  efforts  of  the  earlier  designers.  This 
universal  decadence  was  the  precursor  of  utter 
annihilation  of  all  genmne  aestheticism,  and  with 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  curtain  fell 
on  all  true  art. 


THE  AMERICAN  IXSTITLTE  OF 
ARCHITECTS. 

THE  Fourteenth  Annual  Convention  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Architects  met  in 
Philadelphia  on  Xovember  17  and  18.  Mr. 
Walter  was  again  elected  president ;  the  board 
of  trustees  was  slightly  changed,  and  the  pro- 
fession showed  a  grateful  remembrance  of  Mr. 
Bloor's  diUigence  and  fidelity  by  again  electing 
him,  after  a  lapse  of  some  years,  to  the  re- 
sponsible post  of  secretary,  while  the  treasurer's 
duties  are  to  be  discharged  by  Mr.  O.  P.  Hat- 
field. The  chief  work  of  the  convention  was  the 
considerationof  theresolutionsofferedayearagoat 
the  convention  in  Xe  wTork,  looking  to  a  modifica  - 
tion  of  the  relations  between  the  Institute  and  the 
chapters  of  which  it  is  made  up.  Thes3  resolu- 
tions seemed  to  suggest  an  entire  separation, 
letting  the  local  societies  manage  their  own 
affairs,  and  leaving  the  Institute,  as  an  inde- 
pendent national  organisation,  to  arrange  for 
the  annual  conventions,  and,  through  its 
board  of  trustees  acting  as  a  permanent 
council,  to  attend  to  such  matters  of 
general  import  as  might  require  action  in  the 
interval  between  one  convention  and  another. 
This  change  was  strongly  recommended  by  the 
Boston  chapter,  in  a  series  of  resolutions  adopted 
in  April  last,  as  our  readers  may  remember,  and 
sent  about  to  the  other  chapters  for  their  con- 
sideration. The  convention  discussed  the  ques- 
tion with  great  care,  and  unanimously  adopted 
a  solution  of  it  at  once  radical  and  conservative, 
accepting  the  substance  of  the  new  scheme, 
while  adhering  in  form  to  the  present  airange- 
ments.      A  new    constitution  was   adopted,  by 


which  all  that  remains  of  an  organic  connection 
between  local  societies  and  the  national  body  is 
this :  that  the  president  of  each  chapter  .shall  be 
a  Fellow  of  the  Institute,  and  shall  be,  c  hoc 
njficio,  a  vice-president  of  the  Institute  and  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  In  every 
other  respect  the  local  society  is  free  to  do  as  it 
sees  fit,  and  has  neither  duties  nor  privileges. 
The  institute,  on  the  other  hand,  is  equally 
independent,  receiving  as  members  those  who 
may  choose,  or  be  chosen,  to  take  part  in  a 
national  organisation,  individually,  whether 
they  adhere  to  the  local  organisation  or  not. 
Two  grades  of  members  are  still  recognised. 
Fellows  and  Associates  ;  but  both  alike  are  ad- 
mitted to  vote  on  all  questions.  Tlxe  only 
difference  is  that  the  Fellows  pay  higher  fees, 
and  are  alone  eligible  to  office.  FcUows  are  to 
be  elected  by  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  In- 
stitute, while  in  regard  to  dissociates,  the  present 
rule,  of  election  by  the  board  of  trustees,  is  to 
be  maintained.  In  both  cases,  of  course,  pro- 
vision is  made  for  nominations  by  responsible 
persons.  It  is  proposed  that  the  number  of  Fel- 
lows shall  be  restricted  to  70,  so  that  election  to 
this  body,  which  can  then  only  take  place  upon 
the  death  or  resignation  of  one  of  their  number, 
shall  be  of  the  nature  of  a  personal  distinction 
awarded  by  the  profession  at  large. 


THE  SITUATION  AND    CONSTRUCTION 
OF  DWELLING-HOUSES. 

THE  first  of  a  series  of  Saturday-afternoon 
lectures  to  members  of  building-societies 
was  delivered  at  the  Parkes  Museum  of  Hygiene 
last  week,  by  Mr.  E.  C.  Robins,  F.S.A.,  who 
introduced  the  subject  of  dwelling-houses  by 
suggestions  as  to  situation  and  construction. 
About  60  persons  were  present.  In  treating  of 
site,  the  lecturer  said  he  should  take  it  for 
granted  that  his  hearers'  choice  was  compara- 
tively limited  to  the  near  neighbourhood  of  the 
City,  or  within  easy  access  thereto.  In  the 
selection  of  the  site,  or  of  the  house,  if  already 
built,  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  road 
ran  nearly  north  and  south,  so  that  the  principal 
windows  and  doors  would  face  east  and  west, 
and  the  street  in  front,  or  the  garden  ut  the 
back,  would  always  partake  of  whatever 
southern  sun  our  ungracious  climate  afforded. 
If  a  comer  site  were  selected,  three  sides  of 
your  house  would  always  be  exposed  to  wind 
and  weather.  By  the  choice  of  the  southern 
comer,  much  fuel  would  be  saved  in  the  main- 
tenance of  internal  warmth.  The  consideration 
of  the  subsoil  and  stratification  of  the  earth 
upon  which  a  house  stood  was  important.  A 
damp  site  made  a  damp  house,  not  only  by  the 
surface  dampness  of  the  surrounding  ground, 
but  by  the  ground-air,  which  was  drawn  under 
and  into  the  house  by  the  fires.  It  was  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  impermeable  soils  were  drier  than 
those  which  were  permeable.  Where  a  pervious 
soil,  like  gravel  or  soft  limestone,  was  sufficiently 
deep,  and  so  placed  as  to  allow  of  the  free  passage 
of  water  through  it,  a  house  built  upon  it  would 
be  dry  and  healthy.  If,  however,  the  gravel 
was  situated  in  a  basin  of  clay  or  other  im- 
pervious soU,  it  would  only  be  fit  for  building 
upon  when  artificially  drained.  Impervious  soils, 
unless  very  carefidly  drained,  produced  by 
ev  aporation  of  water  from  the  surface,  a  cold, 
humid,  damp  atmosphere,  very  injurious  to 
health.  While  the  public  roads,  forecourts,  and 
areas  in  front  of  houses  in  towns  were  well 
drained,  the  back-gardens  were  generally  ne- 
glected, and  the  basements  suffered  in  conse- 
quence. But  a  worse  evil  was  the  erection  of 
houses  on  "made  ground"  ;  and  such  sites,  on 
which  abominable  deposits  of  rubbish  had  been 
made,  should  be  avoided  altogether.  Having 
secured  a  fairly  healthful  site,  the  next  con- 
sideration was  how  to  make  the  best  use  of  it. 
If  the  ground  were  treacherous,  as  was  usually 
the  case,  a  few  cube  yards  of  good  concrete  should 
not  be  grudged  :  and  if  the  soil  contained  water, 
Portland  cement  should  be  used  instead  of  lime 
as  matrix.  The  concrete  should  usually  be  2ft. 
thick,  and  never  less  than  12in.  thick ;  the 
trenches  should  be  12in.  wider  than  the  lowest 
footing  of  wall,  and  a  layer  of  the  same  material 
should  be  spread  over  the  entire  site,  and  under 
all  paving  external  to  the  wall  of  house.  All 
soil  drains  .should  also  be  bedded  in  concrete  to  a 
fall  of  not  less  than  Sin.  in  10ft.  Just  above 
the  lowest  floor-level,  a  damp-course  should  be 
laid  in  the  walls.     This  could  either  be  by  a 


698 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


double  course  of  slates  in  cement,  or  a  layer  of 
asphalte  jin.  thick,  or  by  some  of  the  many 
stoneware  courses  exhibited  in  the  museum. 
Those  with  littoral  perforations  were  of  great 
use  as  air-bricks  in  furnishing  a  supply  ef  air 
beneath  joisted  floors,  and  so  preventing  the 
occurrence  of  dry  rot.  Where  the  inclosing 
walls  of  dwellings  were  of  solid  brickwork,  they 
should  never  be  less  than  14in. ,  although  the 
Metropolitan  Building  Act  allowed  them  to  be 
9in.  work  for  certain  heights  and  length.  But 
a  much  cb'ier  and  stronger  wall  resulted  from 
building  hollow,  with  galvanised-iron  ties  at 
every  square  yard.  The  walls  need  not  be  so 
thick  if  built  of  cement  concrete  ;  on  the 
table  before  him  were  Lascelles'  patent  fish- 
scale  tile,  and  other  slabs,  which,  although  only 
IJin.  thick,  were  quite  impervious  to  moisture. 
The  porousness  of  soft  building-stones  might  be 
overcome  by  various  chemical  solutions ;  the 
Indestructible  Paint  Co.  had  provided  one,  two 
coats  of  which,  applied  by  a  brush  when  the 
stoLe  w-as  dry,  would  stop  the  pores.  He  never 
used  Bath  stone  externally  without  specifying 
the  use  of  this  solution.  In  the  use  of  bricks  it 
was  highly  important  that  they  should  be  well 
burnt ;  white  gaults,  wire-cut  or  pressed,  made 
good  face-bricks,  and  the  pinks  were  best  to 
back  them  with,  because  they  were  of  equal 
size.  If  a  thick  brick  were  backed  by  a  thin 
one,  the  settlement  of  the  wall  would  be  uneven, 
as  the  mortar-joints  would  differ  in  thickness. 
Condy's  granite-bricks,  from  Chudleigh,  Devon, 
•were  hke  flint,  and  could  be  put  in  trucks  for 
37s.  Od.  The  axiom  of  placing  voids  over  voids 
was  too  often  neglected  in  the  building  of  bay 
windows,  and  the  bressummer  was  frequently 
overweighted  when  no  architect  was  employed. 
Tlie  brickwork  over  every  opening  should  be 
sustained  by  discharging  arches.  What 
most  disfigured  buildings  was  the  bad  construc- 
tion of  the  arches  over  openings,  more  particu- 
larly when  covered  by  cement  architraves  and 
cornices.  He  cautionel  his  hearers  against  the 
use  of  inferior  mortar,  and  e.-pecially  against 
that  in  which  sludge  from  sewers  was  incorpo- 
rated. Chimney-flues  should  be  built  soHd,  and 
should  lie  as  straight  as  possible,  and  down- 
draught  might  be  obviated  by  sloping  a  portion 
of  the  length,  with  a  seat  at  either  end  for  the 
air  to  beat  against  it.  These,  it  was  true,  would 
harbour  some  soot,  but  woulJ  never  be  quite 
obKterated,  and  were  always  cleared  by  the 
sweep.  Terra-cotta  was  a  very  effective  lining 
to  flues,  but  it  did  not  afford  sufficient  hold  for 
the  soot,  which  often  fell  at  inconvenient  sea- 
sons. In  the  use  of  tOes  for  roofing,  or  for 
half-timbered  work,  it  was  well  to  remember 
that  pale  red  tiles,  like  place  bricks,  were  but 
half-burnt  and  porous ;  they  ought  to  be  of 
rich  warm  colou',  with  a  bloom,  and  were 
then  indestructible  and  excellent  non-con- 
ductors. Great  improvements  had  been 
made  in  ridging-tiles,  and  those  of  Cooper, 
of  Maidenhead,  and  others,  were  exhi- 
bited and  described  by  the  lecturer.  Cresting 
should  not  be  a  separate  part  of  the  ridge  set  in 
a  groove,  but  ought  to  form  part  of  the  general 
tile,  and  the  simplest  outlines  were  best.  No 
pavement  was  better  than  the  best  Stafford.-hire 
red  black  and  buff  tiles,  and  none  were  cheaper , 
they  should  be  laid  in  concrete,  bedded  in  mortar- 
and  pointed  in  cement.  Where  a  warmer  paving 
was  wished  for,  thick  wood  blocks  liin.  to  2in. 
through,  and  Gin.  longhySiu.  broad,  Burnett- 
ised  to  prevent  rot,  might  be  used ;  the}'  should 
be  bedded  in  gauged  hair-Ume  and  mortar,  and 
the  interstices  filled  in  with  dry  Portland  cement 
powder ;  after  sweeping  clean,  they  should  be 
washed  down  with  water,  when  the  cement 
■would  set.  He  showed  a  specimen  of  solid  wood 
floor,  set  in  asphalte,  invented  by  Mr.  William 
White,  and  sent  by  the  manufacturer,  Mr. 
Gregory,  of  Clapham  Junction,  and  added  that 
he  believed  it  to  be  the  best  floor  for  basements. 
Mr.  Robins  observed  that  as  the  surveyor  of  the 
Berners  Estate  in  Oxford-street,  with  some  600 
houses  under  his  care,  his  experience  hid  taught 
him  that  the  exclusion  of  moisture  was  the 
secret  of  perpetuity,  as  it  was  also  the  most  im- 
portant element  in  healthfulncss.  The  cMef 
causes  of  premature  decay  were  damp  soils, 
damp  ^\-alls,  and  damp  roofs.  Good  construc- 
tion in  building  houses  was  not  to  be  understood 
without  taking  pains  to  understand  it,  and  thus 
the  province  of  the  architect  was  not  to  be 
despised.  The  architect  stood  between  owner 
and  builder,  and  arbitrated  bbtween  the-ji ;  he 
prepared  the  specification,  he  brought  scientific 


as  well  as  technical  knowledge  to  bear  upon  the 
attainment  of  the  largest  result  for  the  least 
money,  compatible  with  soiuid  construction  and 
good  sanitation  ;  he  took  upon  himself  the  re- 
sponsibility of  seeing  that  his  instructions  were 
carried  out  by  the  builder  employed.  There 
were  lots  of  young  educated  architects,  anxious 
to  make  their  way  in  the  world,  to  whom  the 
smallest  opportunity  of  distinguishing  them- 
selves was  a  pleasure,  and  such  men  were  ready 
to  give  their  services  for  the  poor  pittance  of  5 
per  cent,  on  the  cost  of  the  building.  Why 
should  his  hearers,  therefore,  deprive  them- 
selves of  the  assistance  of  such  men  to  save 
a  penny  and  spend  a  pound  they  knew 
not  how  ?  Returning  to  the  subject  of 
construction,  the  lecturer  dwelt  upon  the  ad- 
vantages of  terra-cotta  for  dressings,  cornices, 
and  ornamental  details,  and  exhibited  specimens 
of  the  material,  remarking  that  it  was  compara- 
tively indestructible,  and  if  made  from  a  re- 
peating pattern  was  cheaper  than  any  other 
substance.  The  construction  of  drains  was 
detailed,  stoneware  being  described  and  shown 
as  the  only  safe  material  for  house-drains,  and 
the  advantages  of  disconnection  and  ventilation 
were  referred  to.  As  to  the  interior  of  the 
house,  good  joinery  was  indispensable,  and  for 
this  yellow  deal  or  pitch-pine  from  Christiania 
was  a  good  wood,  as  was  Baltic  timber  from 
Memel  or  Riga  for  carpentry.  Ttie  origin  of 
timber  could  always  be  ascertained,  as  their 
trade-murks  at  the  end  of  every  plank  and  the 
corresponding  letters  were  given  in  Spon's 
■•  Builders'  Pocket  Memoranda  Book."  In 
windows,  nothing  was  better  for  keeping  out 
weather,  and  for  ventilation,  than  the  old  rising 
sashes.  He  urged  his  hearers  not  to  covet 
heavy  plaster  cornices  and  central  rose  flowers, 
nor  to  seek  after  big  architraves  and  large 
mouldings,  and,  above  all,  not  to  tiy  to  save  by 
pinching  the  price  given  for  ironmongery;  a 
few  shillings  made  all  the  difference  between 
misery  and  comfort  in  the  use  of  locks,  fittings, 
and  furniture  generally.  If  they  had  sound 
flooring  l|in.  thick  for  ground-floor  rooms,  and 
had  them  tongued,  stained,  and  varnished  for 
ISin.  or  2ft.  all  round,  they  would  be  able  to 
carpet  the  house  at  half  the  cost,  and  have  the 
pleasure  of  removing  their  coverings  for  cleansing 
as  often  as  they  pleased  without  trouble  or  injury 
either  to  floor  or  carpet.  In  conclusion,  he 
urged  them  to  exercise  their  common-sense  in 
building  or  in  choosing  a  house,  and  to  read, 
before  doing  either,  Mr.  Teale's  book,  illus- 
trating the  evils  of  lad  plumldng.  At  the  close 
of  the  lecture,  Mr.  Rutherfurd  proposed,  and 
Henry  Eutt  seconded,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr. 
Robins,  the  latter  remarking  that  if  they  had 
not  that  afternoon  been  the  guests  of  the  execu- 
tive council,  he  should  have  suggested  that  the 
lectures  would  be  better  appreciated  and  better 
attended  if  the  place  were  rendered  more  com- 
fortable by  the  provision  of  a  few  seats  and  a 
lecturer's  table. 


AN  IMPR0^T:B  METHOD  OF  REMOVING 
THE  PRODUCTS  OF  GAS  COMBrSTION. 

MESSRS.  ROBERT  BOTLE  AND  SON, 
of  Glasgow  and  London,  have  just  intro- 
duced a  method  of  removing  the  deleterious 
products  of  gas-combustion  which  has  much 
to  recommend  it.  It  is  very  simple  and  inex- 
pensive, and  may  be  applied  to  any  building, 
great  or  small. 

The  idea  of  using  pipes  to  draw  off  the  pro- 
ducts of  combustion  and  heat  from  gas  is,  of 
course,  not  a  new  one ;  but  the  error  lay  in 
singls  pipes  being  used,  which,  in  practice, 
were  found  to  act  as  heaters  instead  of  coolers  of 
the  atmosphere,  as  they  condensed  and  radiated 
the  heat  exactly  on  the  same  principle  as  hot- 
water  or  hot-air  pipes  used  for  heating  build- 
ings. This  was  more  especially  the  case  where 
they  were  ajiplied  to  billiard-rooms,  owing  to 
the  amount  of  piping  used  ;  and  we  know  of  a 
number  of  public  buildings  where  they  had  to 
be  removed  for  this  reason,  the  remedy  being 
found  to  be  worse  thin  the  evil. 

Messrs.  Boyle  overcome  tliis  diiSculty  by 
using  double  pipes,  one  within  the  other,  with  a 
non-conducting  material  packed  in  the  space 
between  the  pipes.  'J  his  arrangement  not  only 
effectually  prevents  radiation,  but  also  reduces 
the  condensution  in  the  pipes  to  a  minimum,  as 
the  inner  pipe  is  infinitely  hotter  than  the  air 
passing  up ;  as  condelisation  only  takes  place 


when  a  body  of  a  less  degree  of  temperature  is 
come  in  contact  with.  There  is,  however,  pro- 
vision made  to  receive  and  dispose  of  any  con- 
densation which   may   ensue.     Diagram   No.    1 


shows  a  section  of  a  hall  pendant :  A  is  the 
gas  supply-pipe  ;  B  lin.  ventilating-pipe,  for 
drawing  off  the  heat  and  products  of  com- 
bustion ;  C  non-conducting  packing  between 
inner  and  outer  pipes;  D  l^in.  outer  pipe;  E 
gutter  on  bottom  of  cone,  above  globe,  to 
receive  any  condensed  v6pour  which  may  be 
formed  in  the  pipes.  There  is  no  possibiHty  of 
this  gutter  ever  becoming  full  and  causing  an 
overflow,  as  the  strong  and  continuous  rush  of 
air  up  the  ventilating-pipe,  created  by  the  air- 
pump  ventilator  on  the  top,  will  cause  it  to 
evaporate  and  carry  it  off. 


Fig.  2  represents  the  application  of  the 
arrangement  over  the  lights  of  a  billiard-table, 
and  we  have  chosen  this  illus'ration  because  it  is 
in  billiard-rooms  that  such  an  invention  is  most 
required,  and  would  be  found  most  useful.  The 
ventilating-pipe  B  is  bent  towards  and  into  the 
mouth  of  the  extracting- shaft,  so  that  it  acts 
Uke  a  hot  blast,  and  materially  assists  the  ven- 
tilation ;  there  is  double  casing,  with  non-con- 
ducting packing,  to  prevent  any  chance  of  fire 
occurring  through  the  ventUating-pipe  getting 
overheated. 

This  plan  applied  to  a  building,  in  conjunction 
with  an  air-pump  ventilator  and  proper  air 
inlits,  insures  as  pure  and  fresh  a  condition  of 
the  air  as  that  outside.  If  double  pipes  only 
were  used,  without  the  intermediate  packing, 
the  result  would  be  little  better  than  if  only  one 
pipe  was  used,  as  the  current  of  cool  air  passing 
up  betwc'  n  the  pipes  would  conduce  to  con- 
densation, and  the  warmth  it  absorbed  would 
heat  up  and  be  radiated  from  the  outer  pipe. 


THE  ROMAN  BUILDINGS  NEAE 
BR.ADING,  ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 
''I'^HE  O'diniry  meeting  of  the  Royal  Institute 
1.  of  British  Architects,  held  on  Monday 
evening,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  John 
T^Tiichcord,  was  devoted  to  the  reading  of  papers 
by  Messrs.  Price,  and  a  discussion  on  the  recent 
discovery  of  Romain  remains  at  Brading.  Mr. 
F.  G.  HiLT02f  Pjuoe,  F.G.S.,  read  a  report  by 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


THE    BUILDING  NEW?. 


eoo 


the  Executive  Committee,  and  exhibited  a  large 
plan  of  the  building'^  found,  and  several  large 
cases  filled  with  the  results  of  the  explorations, 
including  frsgroents  of  urns,  pottery,  Samian 
■ware,  small  bronze  and  iron  tools,  bones,  and  a 
great  quantity  of  fragments  of  straw-co'oured 
and  grey  glass.  The  remains,  it  •was  shown, 
extended  over  several  fields,  now  divided  in 
occupation  between  Lady  O^lander  and  Mrs. 
Munns,  a  small  portion  only  being  in  the  latter 
lady's  land.  Captain  Thorp,  of  Tarbridge, 
ascertained  that  while  placing  some  hurdles  on 
Mrs.  Munns'  land  traces  of  walling  had  been 
"found  in  the  soil,  and,  following  this  clue  up, 
the  well-defined  outlines  of  five  chambers  were 
cleared.  The  veteran  antiquarian-,  Mr.  C.  Ruach 
Smith,  himself  a  native  of  the  island,  and  Mr. 
F.  Koach,  of  Arreton,  and  others,  interested 
themselves  in  the  matter,  and  a  small  committee 
•was  formed  to  investigate  the  remains.  This 
committee  had  been  reconstituted  on  a  wider 
basis,  and  the  explorations  carried  on  systemati- 
cally by  Mr.  J.  E.  Price,  and  the  author.  Only 
a  portion  of  the  site  had  as  yet  been  opened  up, 
on  the  north  and  west  outer  sides  of  a  square 
200ft.  across,  but  nineteen  chambers  or  apart- 
ments had  been  uncovered.  In  the  present  stage 
of  the  investigations  it  would  be  unwise  to 
attempt  to  assign  names  to  these,  and  he  should, 
therefore,  distinguish  them  by  numbers :  Cham- 
ber No.  1  measured  ISft.  by  10ft.  6in.,  and  had 
outer  walls  27in.  in  thickness,  and  division  walls 
or  partitions  of  ISin.  thickness.  It  contained, 
in  situ,  five  flues  placed  at  unequal  distances 
apart,  from  3ft.  to  5ft.  3in.,  and  these  were  16in. 
high  and  4in.  broid.  In  the  chamber  were 
found  fragments  of  pottery,  iron  spikes  and 
nails,  portions  of  stags'  horns,  and  other  bones. 
No.  2  was  a  square  chamber  20ft.  in  diameter; 
it  was  paved  with  tesser;c,  and  contained  fibulre, 
pottery,  and  other  remains.  Chamber  No.  3 
was  1.5ft.  6in.  by  17ft.  Gin.,  and  was  ornamented 
in  the  centre  with  a  fresco  10ft.  6in.  by  9ft.  6in. 
At  the  west  end  of  room  was  a  mosaic  pavement 
representing  two  gladiators  in  combat ;  there  was 
on  the  north  side  a  fresco  of  a  fox  under  a  vine, 
on  the  south  another  of  a  man  with  a  cock's 
head  and  leg.s.  No.  4  was  a  room  lift. 
Sin.  by  10ft.  6in.,  which  had,  to  all  appearance, 
never  been  paved  except  with  plaster  or  con- 
crete, a  large  mass  of  which  was  found  on  the 
floor  ;  email  pillars  of  greensand  still  existed, 
and  the  room  yielded  a  number  of  small  objects 
similar  to  those  already  mentioned.  In  No.  5, 
which  measured  Vft.  Gin.  by  20ft.,  a  small  jug, 
an  iron  hook,  and  some  fragments  of  glass  were 
discovered.  No.  6  was  a  very  large  apartment, 
43it.  Sin.  total  length,  partly  divided  by  low 
■walls,  and  of  varying  breadth.  In  the  centre  of 
one  portion  was  a  very  fine  mosaic,  •with  a 
representation  of  Orpheus  playing  to  the  animals 
and  birds  on  his  lyre  ;  on  his  left  "was  a  monkey 
wearing  a  cap — a  very  unusual  adjunct.  This 
design  was  inclosed  by  the  guilloche  pattern, 
and  beneath  it,  and  also  under  Nos.  9  and  12, 
was  a  subway  about  3ft.  high,  and  coverel  in 
with  slabs  of  limestone  ;  this,  apparently,  was  a 
heating  passage.  A  great  quantity  of  worked 
stones  and  pottery,  and  a  Roman  coin,  a.d.  333, 
•were  found  in  this  chamber,  also  vessels  of  red 
or  Samian  ware,  and  others  of  cement ;  in  which, 
most  probably  a  mortanum,  were  found  coins  of 
A.D.  265-7  and  267-72,  and  pieces  of  plaster^with 
traces  of  fresco  upon  them.  No.  7,  unfortu- 
nately situate  on  the  boundarv"  line  of  properties, 
was  about  20ft.  square,  and  was  paved  with  red 
and  white  tesserae,  much  injured  by  fire.  No.  8, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  traced,  appeared  to  be  about 
"20ft.  by  21ft.;  it  contained  a  circular  structure 
4ft.  6in.  in  diameter,  which  seemed  to  have 
either  been  a  furnace  or  oven.  No.  9  was  19ft. 
Viu.  square,  and  was  paved  with  red  and  white 
tesserte.  No  10  was  lift,  by  10ft.  oin.,  and  had 
a  raised  seat  or  ledge  on  two  sides ;  it  was  floored 
with  flat  red  tiles,  and  not  with  tesserre.  The 
next,  No.  11,  was  loft,  by  5ft.,  and  simply 
paved  •with  rough  cement.  No.  1?,  was  the 
largest  and  most  interesting  chamber  yet  opened 
up.  It  was  39ft.  Gin.  in  length,  and  diminished 
•in  Iweadth  from  l&ft.  to  15ft.  Gin.  in  the  middle, 
aad  1 1ft.  at  the  narrow  end.  It  was  laid  with 
mosaic  pavement,  with  an  outer  guilloche 
border  inclosing  a  scries  of  medallions.  Of 
these  the  largest  represented  the  head  of  Medusa, 
and  there  were  shepherds  and  other  pastoral 
scenes  in  the  other  subjects.  The  border  was 
very  remarkable ;  it  exhibited  a  white  frtt  pat- 
tern on  a  red  ground,  ending  in  the  sicaftika  or 
Vedic  cross  at  one  end  of  room    In  a  pipe,  flue, 


or  drain  in  one  of  the  walls,  was  found  a  piece 
of  eannel  coal  which,  taken  with  other  dis- 
coveries of  coal  at  Uriconium  and  other  places, 
went  far  to  prove  that  the  Romans  used  it  as 
fuel.  No.  13  was  7ft.  Oin.  by  3ft.  lOiu.,  and  was 
floored  with  red  tiles  and  walled  with  plaster ; 
it  appeared   to  have  been  u~ed  as  a  bath.     No. 

14  was  loft.  4in.  by  lOft.  2in.,  and  had  a  floor 
of  cement ;  tho  walls  were  faced  with  plaster 
which  had  been  tinted  a  dull  blue  and  splashed 
with  red  and  black  in  imitation  of  marble.     No. 

15  was  a  hypocaust  15ft.  2in.  by  10ft.  7in.  It 
contained  fifty-four  pillars,  each  30in.  in  height, 
and  built  up  of  thirteen  tiles  each.  These  were 
still  ill  silii  on  the  rough  cobble-stone  floor,  and 
there  were  also  two  flue  tiles  in  position.  On 
the  west  side  was  a  low  arch  in  stone,  which, 
probably,  led  to  the  furnace,  an  adjunct  which 
has  not  yet  been  fully  excavated.  No.  16 
measured  17ft.  3in.  by  10ft.  "in.,  and  the  walls 
were  covered  with  red  stains.  Within  it,  in 
addition  to  articles  previously  described,  were 
found  a  number  of  red  slabs  of  tUe,  two  Samian 
bowls  from  Durobrivium,  a  strong  tripod  stand 
5.Un.  in  height,  Sec.  In  the  passage  leading 
from  this  was  a  bed  of  burnt  earth,  which,  when 
sifted,  yielded  IG  bronze  studs,  two  handles  of 
bronze,  four  iron  hinges  with  a  few  of  the  flat 
nails  still  in  their  holes,  an  iron  hook,  and  a 
number  of  pieces  of  pottery  ware.  No.  17 
was  19ft.  5in.  by  10ft.  Sin.  ;  the  floor  was  of 
concrete  and  the  walls  of  stucco;  it  communi- 
cated by  a  stone  step  with  No.  18.  This  room 
(No.  1 7)  contained  several  large  nails  or  spikes, 
but  the  chief  discovery  was  that  of  a  great 
quantity  of  fragments  of  glass,  varying  in  colour 
from  a  blui.5.h-green  to  drab  and  pale  yellow. 
These  were  polished  on  one  side,  and  tlie  largest 
piece  was  about  7in.  by  4iD.  Many  fragments 
of  cups  and  bottles  of  glass  were  also  found,  but 
so  crushed  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  recon- 
struct any;  there  were  also  huge  tnys  of  shale, 
broken  lamps  and  jugs,  and  a  piece  of  wrought 
iron  45in.  by  2}.  No.  18  was  21ft.  Gin.  by  18ft. 
Gin  ,  and  had  plastered  walls  of  a  dull  blue  tint 
splashed  to  resemble  marble.  No.  19,  the  large 
chamber  at  present  excavated,  was  Oft.  by  10ft. 
but  had  not  yet  been  properly  examined.  The 
walls  had  been  traced  for  at  least  100ft.  beyond 
the  limit  of  the  present  explorations.  He 
trusted  the  work  •would  be  continued,  and 
that  in  a  second  report  the  executive  committee 
would  be  able  not  only  to  describe  further 
rooms,  but  to  assign  uses,  if  not  names,  to  the 
entire  group. 

The  Peesidext  said  before  the  discussion  was 
opened,  he  would  introduce  to  them  Dromio  No. 
2,  in  a  second  Mr.  Price,  who,  although  also  a 
London  antiquarian  of  the  same  name,  and 
associated  from  the  first  in  the  work  at  Erading, 
was  in  no  way  rtlated  to  Mr.  Hilton  Price. 

Mr.  John-  E.  Peice,  F.S.A.,  then  made  a 
supplementary  statement,  in  which  he  remarked 
that  it  was  singular  that  traces  of  the  Roman 
occupation  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  were  not  known 
to  exist  till  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
The  classical  authorities  were  very  clear  in  men- 
tioning the  occupation.  It  was  a  well-known 
historical  fact  that  Vtspasian,  when  in  Germany 
with  the  2nd  legion,  was  summoned  by  Claudius 
to  assist  in  the  occupation  of  England,  and  that 
after  some  victories  over  the  people  of  Dorset- 
shire the  Isle  of  Wight  was  occupied.  Even  so 
recently  as  1816,  Sir  Henry  Inglefield  stated 
that  there  were  no  traces  to  be  found  of  the  Roman 
occupation  except  that  at  Carisbrooke  some  cjins 
were  picked  up  which  had  probably  been 
dropped  there;  but  in  1S59  some  Roman  dis- 
coveries were  made  at  Carisbrooke,  including  a 
footbath.  In  1862,  during  the  making  of  the 
Cowes  and  Newport  railway,  calcined  bones  and 
pottery  were  found,  and  these  were  followed  by 
eimilar  discoveries  at  Ryde  and  at  Arreton.  In 
1SG4  Roman  buildings,  tiles,  and  masonry  were 
discovered  in  Gurnard  Bay,  which  had  since, 
unfortunately,  been  destroyed  by  an  encroach- 
ment of  the  se^i.  More  discoveries  were  made 
at  Bromhead,  Shanklin,  and  more  recently  on 
the  Poet  Laureate's  property  at  Freshwater. 
Then  Captain  Thorp  had  traced  some  Roman 
ways  near  Brading,  and  found  that  one  of  these 
crossed,  by  a  ford  now  disused,  the  tidal  Brading 
haven  leading  to  what  was  stUl  known  as  Cen- 
turion's Copse  at  Bembridge.  An  old  lane, 
known  as  the  "Fosse-way,"  passed  close  to  the 
site  of  the  present  excavations.  They  believed 
that  the  dwellings  were  of  one  story  in  heig^ht, 
and  were  covered  with  large  tiles  laid  on  j"i»ts, 
as  traces  of  these,  and  many  of  the  roofing  tiles, 


had  been  found.  The  tiles  resembled  those 
foimd  at  Woodchester,  and  the  larger  buildings 
in  the  north  of  England.  The  whole  site  had 
been  greatly  altered  since  the  Roman  time  by 
the  encroachments  and  recessions  of  the  sea. 

Maj'-r  A.  F.  Leeds,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee, stated  that  arrangements  were  being 
made  with  the  two  proprietors  for  throwing  open 
to  the  public  all  the  remains,  which  would  be 
covered  in  by  one  series  of  sheds.  He  had  traced 
the  cause  way  very  distinctly  from  the  remains  to  the 
fordoverthehaven,  but  there  had,  atpresent,  been 
nothing  found  at  "Centurion's  Copse"  on  the 
Bembridge  side.  He  paid  a  high  tribute  to  the 
careful  and  thorough  •way  in  which  the  Messrs. 
Price  had  carried  out  the  investigations. 

Mr.  E.  W.  BsiBEOOK,  F.S.A. ,  hon.  secretary 
to  the  committee,  asked  for  technical  informa- 
tion as  to  the  buildings  from  architects,  and 
urged  the  impo.-tance  of  pursuing  the  present 
investigations  to  the  end.  They  had  not  even 
opened  up  a  great  part  of  the  area  which  seemed 
to  be  covered  with  buildings,  and  he  was  confi- 
dent, there  was  much  yet  to  be  investigated  and 
learned  at  Brading.  Dr.  Lewis  asked  at  what 
depth  below  the  surface  the  walls  were  dis- 
covered. The  majority  of  Roman  remains  in 
England  had  been  barred  at  the  depth  of  16ft. 
to  ISft. and  even  20ft.  Mr. F.  C.  Pexkose  thought 
the  most  interesting  yields  of  the  exploration 
were  the  marvellous  specimens  of  glass  exhibited 
that  evening.  It  had  been  tacitly  assumed  that 
the  introduction  of  glass  in  our  windows  was  a 
luxury  invented  during  the  Gothic  period,  and 
then  only  used  in  churches  ;  but  here  was  evi- 
dence of  the  use  of  glass  of  respectable  dimen- 
sions, and  in  t«o  or  three  colours  in  dwellings. 
Had  domestic  glass  of  the  Roman  period  been 
found  in  any  other  place  in  England?  Mr.  G. 
H.  Bincn  referred  t'j  very  similar  explorations 
he  had  made  at  Lyme  Regis,  where  the  walls  of 
a  villa  were  still  perfect  to  a  height  of  2ft.  Gin., 
and  Mr.  E.  C.  Robixs  suggested  that  explora- 
tions in  Newtown,  I.W.,  which  seemed  to  be 
built  on  the  site  of  an  older  town,  would  proba- 
bly be  repaid  by  discoveries.  Mr.  J.  G.  Wallee 
referred  to  the  use  of  the  sn-csli/.-a  as  a  border  to 
mosaic  pavement  in  one  of  the  principal  rooms 
at  Brading,  and  claimed  to  have  given  the 
symbol  this  nam?  40  years  ago.  The  swastika 
was  the  oldest  emblem  known ;  it  was  found  by 
Dr.  Schliemann  at  Hissarlik,  in  many  Eastern 
countries;  in  England  it  was  a  common  orna- 
ment on  priest's  dresses  till  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.,  when  its  use  was  discontinued,  only  reap- 
pearing once  in  the  15th  century.  The  old 
English  name  for  it,  the  late  Mr.  Albert  Way 
and  himself  ascertained,  was  "  philpot."  Mr. 
Alma-Tadeha,  R.A.,  congratulated  Messrs. 
Price  on  the  character  of  the  finds,  comparing 
the  bronze  work  with  some  in  an  Italian 
museum,  and  wished  the  committee  good  luck  in 
their  further  explorations.  Lieut. -Col.  Lexox 
Peexdeegast  inquired  if  any  theory  had  been 
formed  as  to  the  cause  of  the  destruction  of  these 
buildings.  Mr.  Foestee  Hatwaed  remarked 
that  Roman  buildings  were  not  invariably  buried 
far  beneath  the  present  soil.  At  Colchester, 
sculptured  stones  and  coins  were  but  just  be- 
neath the  surface.  Tlie  President  suggested 
that  that  was  because  Colchester  •was  built  on  a 
rocky  tite,  but  Mr.  Hay  ward  said  that  there  was 
no  stone  within  miles  of  Colchester,  •where  the 
soil  was  gravel. 

Mr.  HiLTOx  Peice,  in  replying  upon  the  dis- 
cussion, said  the  pavetrents  were  found  at 
Brading  from  .Sft.  to  4  ft.  below  the  surface,  and 
the  walls  only  about  ISin.  deep.  The  discovery 
of  glass  was  not  a  novel  feature  of  the  explora- 
tions, for  it  had  also  been  found  at  Uriconium, 
with  plaster  adhering  to  the  edges,  also  in  Lon- 
don, and  at  several  other  Roman  sites.  In  the 
glass  at  Brading,  which  had  been  analysed,  there 
was  a  total  absence  of  lead,  supposed,  from  the 
condition  of  the  buildings,  that  they  were  for- 
cibly destroyed — probably  pillaged-  and  after- 
wards set  on  fire,  as  the  walls,  floors,  and  all  the 
contents  exhibited  traces  of  burning.  The  best 
floors  were  originally  laid  with  mosaics,  and  the 
others  simply  with  plaster,  now  greatly  decayed, 
but  which  had  once  been  coloured  on  the  sur- 
face. 

The  Peesedext  proposed  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
Messrs.  Price,  and  said  he  should  not  attempt  to 
sum  up  the  discussion,  because,  coming  from  the 
chair,  there  would  be  something  like  responsi- 
bility attaching  to  his  opinions.  In  his  opinion, 
the  explorers  had  done  -wisely  not  to  attribute 
names  to  the  several  buildings  in  the  present  in- 


700 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


complete  state  of  tlie  inrestigatlons ;  but  lie 
hoped  they  -n-ould  be  ean-ied  forward  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue,  and  that  fresh  facts  would  be 
brought  before  the  Institute  on  some  future  diy. 
Mr.  J.  E.  Peice,  acknowledging  the  TOte  of 
thanks,  remarked  that  the  executive  committee 
had  steadily  declined  to  give  any  theory  as  to 
the  use  and  intentions  of  the  buildings,  fearing- 
that  further  inquiry  would  perhaps  show  that 
they  had  been  too  hasty  in  their  conclusions. 
They  had  simply  noted  everything  as  it  actually 
existed.  Traces  of  a  base  and  shaft  had  been 
found,  and  they  had  still  hopes  that  in  the  part 
yet  to  be  opened  out,  remains  of  a  more  archi- 
tectural character  would  be  found. 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  till  January 
3rd. 


ST.  MAEK'S,  VENICE. 

ME.  W.  J.  STILLMAN  writes  from 
Florence  to  assure  English  readers 
through  the  Tiiius  that  the  portions  of 
St.  Mark's,  Venice,  "rebuilt  or  restored  by 
CavaHere  Meduna  have  been  treated  wilh 
a  reverence  as  profound  as  that  of  a 
surgeon  operating  on  a  beloved  child,  and  that, 
with  the  exception  of  two  slight  restorations  to 
their  original  lines,  nothing  has  ben  altered  and 
nothing  done  which  was  not  indispensable  to  the 
preventing  the  building  from  falling  into  shape- 
less ruin.  I  have  seen  all  the  plans  for  the 
future  work,  and  believe  that  in  regard  to  what 
has  been  done  or  is  proposed  to  be  done  nothing 
different  from  the  plans  of  Cavaliere  Meduna 
will  be  done  by  the  Italian  Government  or  can 
be  done  except  to  allow  the  building  to  follow 
more  freely  its  manifest  destiny — i.e.,  to  sink 
into  the  mud  of  the  lagoons  for  want  of  a 
properly  laid  foundation,  or  fall  apart  through 
the  wretched  quality  of  the  brickwork  which 
constitutes  the  body  of  the  building.  Mr. 
Euskin  is  doing  all  that  can  be  done  to  preserve 
the  beauty  of  St.  Mark's  for  remote  generations 
— i.e.,  to  make  exact  studies  of  it  and  its  parts 
with  each  of  the  details  ;  for  at  no  remote  period 
(reckoning  archreologically)  the  building  must 
fall  into  ruin  :  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows  under  its 
floor  so  that  a  boat  might  come  up  under  the  great 
dome  if  a  canal  were  cut  from  the  lagoon  ;  and 
the  imdulating  floor  which  some  people  regard 
as  a  beautiful  feature  of  the  design  is  only  the 
evidence  and  consequence  of  the  upward  thrust 
of  the  piers  of  the  old  church  underneath,  which 
prevents  certain  points  of  the  pavement  sinking 
as  fast  as  the  rest."  Mr.  Stillman  adds  that  he 
has  no  acquaintance  with  Cavaliere  Meduna 
except  what  grew  out  of  the  visit  to  the  church 
under  his  guidance,  and  though  he  (Mr. 
Stillman)  went  prepared  to  lampoon  him  for  his 
supposed  barbarism,  he  left  convinced  that  he 
understands  his  duty  and  does  it. 

Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  in  a  reply  to  Mr.  Stillman, 
says  that  that  gentleman's  assurance  that, 
"with  the  exception  of  two  slight  restorations 
to  their  original  lines,  nothing  has  been 
altered,"  is  entirely  opposed  to  the  evidence  of 
the  eyes  of  all  those  who  have  inspected  the 
work  for  themselves  and  who  know  how  to  ob- 
serve. Mr.  Street  continues :  "  But  I  suppose  I 
am  right  in  assuming  that  the  two  slight  altera- 
tions to  which  Mr.  Stillman  refers  are — (1)  the 
alteration  of  the  levels  of  almost  all  the  archi- 
tectural features  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of 
the  balustrade  at  the  southern  end  of  the  west 
front;  and  [2]  the  bringing  forward  of  the  south- 
west angle  and  reconstructing  it  on  ground 
never  before  occupied  by  the  building.  The 
effect  of  these  two  " '  sUght  alterations '  is  to 
necessitate  the  entire  rebuilding  of  the  west 
front  from  one  angle  to  the  other,  if  the  works 
thus  commenced  are  ever  again  carried  on  upon 
the  same  lines.  But  on  behalf  of  the  St.  Mark's 
Committee,  I  venture  to  say  we  are  satisfied 
that  the  Italian  Government  will  prevent  any 
further  execution  of  such  destructive  works.  We 
have  their  distinct  assurance  that  they  will  do 
so,  and  we  prefer  believing  in  their  promi.-es  to 
believing  that  Mr.  Stillman  is  correct  in  stating 
that  'nothing  different  from  the  plans  of 
Cavaliere  Meduna  wiU  be  done  by  the  Italian 
Government.'  At  the  same  time  it  would  be 
difficult  to  adduce  any  more  complete  justifica- 
tion for  the  formation  of  a  committee  to  watch 
proceedings  than  such  aletter  as  Mr.  StUlman's, 
written  apparently  after  a  conference  -n-ith  the 
gentleman  who  has  liilherto  had  the  charge  of 
the -works  at  St.  Mark's." 


LEEDS  AECHITECTUEAL  ASSOCIATION. 

THE  annual  conversazione  of  the  Leeds 
Architectural  Association  took  place  last 
week.  The  President  (Mr.  Henry  Walker, 
F.R.I.B.A.),  delivered  a  brief  address,  and 
distributed  the  prizes  to  the  successful  students, 
The  present  occasion  was  one  so  opportune  that 
he  could  not  refrain  from  embracing  it  in  order 
to  refer  to  the  present  position  of  their  profession 
in  Leeds.  It  was  deplorable  to  find  that  the 
services  of  their  local  architects  were  not  better 
appreciated  at  home.  Could  it  be  wondered  at, 
when  he  told  them  that  there  was  r.irely  a  work 
of  any  importance  to  be  put  up  in  Leeds,  but  that 
an  architect  from  a  distance  was  called  in  to  do 
the  work  and  carry  off  the  pay.  Now,  as 
regarded  public  works,  he  contended  that  so 
long  as  there  was  anyone  practising  in  t'ne  town, 
competent  and  of  good  repute,  it  was  only  fair 
that  the  work  should  be  kept  at  home,  unless  it 
could  be  shown  that  a  better  design  could  be  had 
or  something  saved  by  going  elsewhere.  They 
were  even  slighted  by  tradesmen  and  others 
having  no  pretence  in  matters  of  taste  or  archi- 
tecture, simply  because  it  was  the  fashion  to  do 
so,  and  being  in  office,  they  used  their  power 
accordingly.  Much  of  this  arose  from  the  fact 
that  architects  were,  as  a  rule,  a  good-nattu'ed 
set  of  people,  and  too  thoroughly  engrossed  in 
their  work  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  the  present 
state  of  things,  and  consequently  there  was  no 
one  to  "  bell  the  cat."  The  formation  of  their 
society,  he  was  glad  to  say  had  helped  materially 
in  placing  them  in  a  better  position  than  they 
were  five  years  ago,  and  he  presence  of  so  many 
gentlemen  of  position  and  influence  in  the  town 
amongst  them  that  evening  was  a  proof  of  that. 
Notwithstanding  the  severe  criticism  of  the 
architecture  of  the  present  day,  the  works  of 
many  of  our  leading  architects  would  bear 
favourable  comparisons  with  the  works  of  earUer 
ages,  besides  having  an  individuality  character- 
istic of  the  present  century  ;  and  it  was  satisfac- 
tory to  know  that  Leeds  architects,  when  placed 
in  open  competition,  could  hold  their  own 
against  the  rest  of  their  professional  brcvhren  in 
the  eoimtry.  A  list  of  the  prizes  was  read  by  the 
secretary  (Mr.  W.  H.  Thorp),  as  follows : — 

Tlie  associ.-ition  silver  medal,  awarded  to  Mr.  At-thur 
Gauut  for  the  best  series  of  measured  drawings  of  the 
gateway-  of  the  Archbishop's  Palace,  Cawood  ;  the  monu- 
ment of  Archbisliop  Grey  in  the  south  transept  of  York 
Minster,  and  drawings  of  other  examples  of  ancient  archi- 
tecture. 

An  extra  book-prize,  "  Gwilt's  Encyclopiedia,"  g^vcn 
by  Mr.  W.  H.  Thorp,  awarded  to  Mr.  Frank  Eaney,  of 
York,  for  the  second  best  series  of  measured  drawings  of 
examples  of  ancient  architecture,  including  the  monument 
of  Archbishop  Grey  in  the  south  transept  of  Y'orli  Min- 
ster, and  drawings  of  several  interesting  old  Norman 
dooi-w.iys  of  churches  in  Y'orkand  the  neighbourhood. 

A  prize  of  thelirst  two  vo's.  of  Fergusson's  "History 
of  Architecture,"  given  by  Mi*.  Geoi-ge  Corson,  awarded 
to  Mr.  Alfred  -Whitehead,  for  the  best  design  for  a  town 
church  of  round-arched  style. 

A  prize  of  Fergusson"s  "  Modem  Stj-les  of  Architec- 
ture,' *  given  bv  Mr.  George  Corson,  awarded  to  Mr.  Joseph 
Hall  for  the  second  best  design  for  a  town  chmeh  of 
round-arched  style. 

A  prize  of  Fergusson's  "Modem  Styles  of  Architec- 
ture," and  -Viollet  le  Due's  "Habitations  of  Man  in  All 
Ages,"  given  by  Mr.  John  Tweedale,  awarded  to  Mr. 
Alfred  -Whitehead,  for  the  best  series  of  dra-wings  made  at 
the  fortnightly  class  meetings 

A  pr-ize  of  Nesfield's  "  Specimens  of  Medi.fval  Archi- 
tecture," given  by  Mr.  Henry  "Walker,  awarded  to  Mr. 
Bowman  for  the  second  best  scries  of  drawings  made  at 
the  foi-tnightly  class  meetings 

During  the  course  of  the  evening  Mr.  Binn's 
string  band  performed  a  selection  of  music,  and 
glees  and  songs  were  contributed  by  several 
members  and  friends.  Refreshments  -n-ere 
provided  in  the  reception-room. 


LIA'EEPOOL    ENGINEERING    SOCIET    . 

THE  usualmeeting  of  this  society,  being  tbclast 
meeting  of  the  session,  was  held  on  the  S*h, 
the  president,  Mr.  A.  Ross,  M.  Inst.  C.E.,  in  the 
chair.  The  report  of  the  council  for  the  past 
session  was  read,  which  showed  very  satisfactory 
progress,  twenty-three  members  having  joined 
during  the  year.  The  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year  were  then  balloted  for,  Mr.  Alfred  Holt, 
M.  Inst.  C.E.,  being  unanimously  elected  as 
president 

The  retiring  president  then  read  his  address, 
taking  for  the  subject  his  "  Origin  and  Progress 
of  Railways,"  being  led  to  his  choice  in  conse- 
quence of  this  year  being  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway.  The  author  commenced 
by  giving  a  sketch   of  tjie   knowledge  attained 


in  engineering,  pre-vious  to  the  introduction  of 
railways ;  and  referred  to  the  military  roads  made 
by  the  Romans  as  being  the  first  engineering 
works  in  the  country ;  the  next  in  order  being 
the  supplying  of  to-wns  with  water,  followed  by 
the  reclamation  of  hand,  much  of  which  was  done 
b}'  the  Dutch  engineer,  Cornelius  Vermuyden, 
who,  for  his  services,  was  knighted  by  Charles 
I.  in  1629.  After  the  rebellio-a  of  174.5  the 
necessity  of  military  roads  again  called  for  the 
engineer,  and  about  the  same  time  the  Duke 
of  Bridgewater  inaugirrated  canals.  From  this 
time  works  of  great  magnitude  were  carried  on  ■ 
by  such  men  as  Brindley,  Smeaton,  Eennie,  and 
Telford.  Glancing  at "  the  rise  and  progress  of 
the  steam-engine,  reference  was  made  to  the 
application  of  steam  in  the  historical  account  of 
contrivances  by  Hero,  of  Alexandria,  2,000  years 
ago  ;  and  a  description  was  given  of  the  various 
proposals  and  engines  actually  made  by  the  Mar- 
quis of  Worcester,  Papin,  Savery,  Newcomen, 
AVatt  and  Wolfe,  and  similarly  the  history  of 
steam  as  applied  to  land  transit  was  traced  in 
the  efforts  of  Cagnot,  Trevethick,  Symington, 
Murdock,  Jessop,  Blenkinsop,  Booth,  W.  H. 
James,  Timothy  Hackworth,  and  George 
Stephenson.  An  account  was  next  given  of  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  and  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railways,  instancing  the  trial  of 
locomotives  at  Ramhill,  when  the  Rocket  was 
declared  winner ;  and  the  public  ceremony  of 
the  opening  of  the  line  on  the  loth  September, 
1830,  and  the  melancholy  and  fatal  accident  to 
Mr.  Huskisson,  M.P.  for  Liverpool.  Several 
of  the  most  important  railway  bills  were  noticed 
and  figures  given  to  show  the  enormous  extent 
of  the  railway  system  in  this  and  other  countries. 
The  author,  referring  to  railway  accidents,  said 
that  all  modes  of  travelling  are  attended  with 
more  or  less  danger,  but  personal  locomotion 
has  increased  so  much  that  no  other  mode  has 
beea  tested  so  severely  as  railways  ;  still  during 
1879  (exclusive  of  the  supposed  73  persons  who 
were  dro-wned  in  the  Tay  Bridge  disaster)  there 
were  only  two  passengers  killed  on  the  raUways 
of  the  "Tnited  Kingdom  from  causes  beyond 
their  own  control ;  and  from  a  table  by  Sir  John 
Hawkshaw,  given  with  his  address  to  the  British 
Association  at  Bristol  in  1875,  we  get  an 
average  from  1S-J6  to  1873  inclusive  as 
passengers  kQled  from  causes  beyond  their  o-wn 
control,  to  miles  travelled  in  round  numbers,  as 
I  in  147,000  000,  and  as  passengers  killed  or 
injured  as  1  in  .5,000,000.  That  is  to  say, 
a  man  might  for  70  years  travel  by  railway 
over  70,000  miles  each  year,  before  he  would,  at 
the  rate  at  which  accidents  happen,  be  injured, 
and  if  he  were  constantly  travelling  at  the  rate 
of  50  miles  an  hour,  it  would  take  him  335 
years  before  his  chance  of  being  kUled  by  an 
accident  would  arrive.  The  author  argued  that 
railway  companies  had  the  public  safety  at 
heart,  and  that  safety  appliances  were  adopted 
as  the  exigencies  of  traffic  demand  and  experi- 
ence pointedoutwereapplicable  ;  placingforemost 
amongst  these  the  application  of  the  electric 
telegraph,  followed  by  a  recognised  S5  stem  of 
signalling ;  the  concentration  and  the  interlock- 
ing of  points  and  signals,  the  locking-bar  and 
continuous  brakes.  Mr.  Ross  concluded  by 
recommending  the  Liverpool  Engineering 
Society  to  its  members.  The  president-elect 
then  took  the  chair,  amidst  great  applause. 


PAINT  CRACKING. 

PAINT  too  often  is  supposed  to  be  dry,  wheu 
really  it  is  not  half  dry.  It  formerly  took 
six  months  or  more  to  get  a  job  ready  for  finish- 
ing on  the  elastic  principle,  and  then  you  would 
want  good  drying  weather  ;  but  now  you  must 
paint  a  job  through  and  through  in  a  month,  or 
even  a  shorter  time,  and  the  job  is  supposed  to  last 
the  same.  The  quick  process  or  flat  coating  can 
also  be  hurried  so  that  it  will  crack,  and  crack 
badly  too.  Our  ideas  of  obviating  the  cracking 
of  paint  are  these :  let  every  part  of  the  wood  be 
thoroughly  primed  with  good  fresh  priming : 
prime  inside  and  out,  or  use  slush  on  the  inside, 
which  is  just  as  good  as  priming,  so  that  the 
water  cannot  act  on  the  wood.  Let  the  priming 
get  perfectly  dry,  then  mix  every  coat  of  lead 
so  that  it  will  dry  hard.  Mix  the  filling  with 
japan  and  varnish,  so  that  this  may  dry  firm  and 
hard  ;  use  no  oil  in  it.  Have  every  coat  dead 
colour ;  do  not  have  them  with  a  gloss  colour, 
which  is  very  deceiving,  appearing  dry,  but 
when  the  subsequent  coats  are  put  on,  it  goes 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


701 


lulo  what  is  known  as  color  cracks,   caused  by 
:e  under-coiits  not  being:  hard.      Do  not  apply 
J  coat-i   too  heavy;  have  them  be  as  thin  as 
■  iiblo  to  answer  your  purpose,   and  let  each 
L-.:  t  thoroughly  dry  before  putting  on  another. 
Place  enough  coats  on  to  fill  the  grain  of  the 
wood,  making  a  perfect  surface.     Then  you  will 
have  on  a  body  of  paint  fii-mly  bound  together, 
lud  thoroughly  dry.     "SVhen  paint  is  thoroughly 
^rv,  it  can  shrink  no  more,   as  it  only  shrinks 
'..'III  in  the  process  of  drying,  and  if  it  does  not 
ink  it  cannot  crack  ;  also  in  this  kind  of  a 
ly  of  paint,   there  is  no   moisture   or   oil   to 
,',  I.  at  out  and  destroy  the  lustre  of  the  varnish, 
rainting   of   this   description   will   not   crack 
-.sntil  the  joints  of  the  wood  begin  to  give  way, 
iJmittiug  water  and  damp  atmosphere,  wliioh 
swells  the  -wood  along  the  edges  of   the  joints, 
oausing  the  paint  to  crack  from  the  swelling  and 
shrinking  of  the  wood.     Varnish  may  crack  on 
top  of  the  best  painting  ever  done,  and  the  under- 
neath  or   foundation   be  solid.     We  have  seen 
%\  here  the  varnish  on  jobs  was  cracked  terribly, 
i  ut  in  taking  the  varnish  off  by  the  use  of  spirits 
f  ammonia,  found  the  filling  as  sound  as  it  was 
;   i-sible  to  be.     If  the  paint  is  not  well  protected 
varnish,  it  will  perish  in  time,  sooner  or  later, 
irding  to  how  well  it  is  protected.  A  job  to  be 
I't  in  good  order  should  not  be  allowed  to  go 
I   r  two  or  three  years  without  having  anything 
laie  to  it ;  we  have  seen  men  who  would  com- 
:•!  liu  because  the  painting  did  not  last  as  long  as 
i^;'   carriage,   thinking,   we  supposed,  that  the 
:;i   painting  was  enough.  Once  a  year  is  enough 
1;  ive  a  carriage  varnished  to  be  kept  in  order, 
ugh  no  rule  is   laid   down,    except  when   it 
i.niences  to  look  as  if  it   wanted   varnishing, 
:\"e  it  done;  don't  wait  until  it  wants  burning 
:i  iiefore  attending  to  it.     Xowadays,   painters 
V,  ill  paint  jobs  in  two  weeks,  and  wonder  at  the 
r.i'ks.      The   blame   is    generally   laid   on   the 
'uiterial,  or  on  anything  else  handy  and  suitable, 
1  nt  the  real  cause  is,  finishing  the  job  in  two 
■.veeks,   requiring  the   coats  to   dry   as  hard  as 
possible,    and   trusting    to   luck   for  results. — 
American  Carriage  Monthly. 


DESIGNS    FOR    HEADSTOXES    A^'D 
CROSSES.* 

THIS  is  the  title  of  a  book  of  original  designs 
for  a  variety  of  memorials,  by  Mr.  William 
Borrowdale,  sculptor,  of  Sunderland.  No  daubt 
the  author  will  find  a  ready  sale  for  the  work 
among  a  large  class  of  cemetery-masons  and 
sculptors,  who  have  to  keep  a  stock  of  designs 
and  ready-prepared  monuments  to  meet  so  many 
tastes ;  and  for  this  purpose  Mr.  Borrowdale's 
designs  will  be  appreciated.  We  cannot  avoid 
saying,  however,  the  designs  fall  rather  below 
the  standard  of  cultivated  taste  in  these  matters. 
Where  the  designs  are  not  devoid  of  merit  they 
are  heavy ;  we  may  take  for  examples  Plates  2, 
5,  Ga,  13,  and  30.  Plate  6  shows  a  sensible 
treatment  of  headstone,  superior  in  every  way 
to  that  on  Plate  3,  where  the  carved  flowers  and 
upturned  finger  are  painfully  naturalistic.  The 
same  weakness  strikes  us  in  the  crosses  on 
Plates  4  and  10a,  also  19,  27,  34a,  40,  42,  and  43. 
Some  character  and  meaning  are  to  be  found  in 
Plate  7,  in  its  main  outlines  at  least.  The  Gothic 
cross  (Plate  9)  is  rather  loo  clever  and  German  in 
style  to  please  us.  There  is  far  more  repose  in 
the  headstones  (G  and  10)  than  in  any  others  we 
see  in  the  book.  Plate  1 1  is  a  Gothic  headstone  ; 
but  it  sutfers  from  heaviness  of  detail,  and  the 
short  pillars  are  meaningless.  Simple  and 
effective  is  design  13a;  but  those  on  plates  IG, 
17,  IS,  and  19  are  hackneyed,  and  conceived  in 
styles  which  have  grown  positively  dis- 
tasteful. The  book  would  certainly  not  lose  in 
value  if  such  sketches  as  those  of  Plates,  26,  27, 
28,  29,  33,  34,  41,  and  42  were  omitted. 


New  premises  have  just  been  completed  for  a 
firm  of  carriage-builders  in  Newington-butts, 
opposite  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle.  The  building 
is  of  three  lofty  stories  in  height,  and  is  faced  with 
white  bricks,  stone-  dressings  being  freely  employed ; 
the  style  is  Renaissance.  Mr.  Banister  Fletcher, 
of  Bridge-street,  Blackfriars,  was  the  architect ; 
and  Mr.  Barman,  of  De  Laune-street,  Kennington, 
was  the  builder. 


•  Oiiginul  Desi^s  of  Headstones  and  Crosses.  Bj 
W.  BoEEowD.KLE,  sculptOF,  Simderlaud.  London 
namilton,  Adams,  and  Co. 


BOOKS  EECEIVED. 

Practical  Mints  on  Levelling,  for  the  Use  of 
Architects  ami  Others,  by  W.  Scott  McDonald 
(Edinburgh:  W.  Reid  and  Co.  London:  B. 
T.  Batsford),  is  a  simple  and  accurate  exposition 
of  its  subject,  just  suitable  for  architects'  assist- 
ants, and  others,  to  whom  a  knowledge  of 
levelling  is  useful,  but  who  have  not  close  at 
hand  a  ready  manual.      The  price   is  only  Gd. 

Xutes  on  Books,  published  by  Longmans  and 

Co.  (London  :  Longmans  and  Co.),  is  a  very 
handy  publication.  It  enables  bookbuyers  to 
keep  themselves  informed  of  the  names  and 
nature  of  new  books  issued,  and,  with  that 
end  in  view,  is  sent  regularly  to  anyone  who 
will  ti'ansmit  his  address  to  Messrs.  Longmans 
and  Co. — — Calvtrt^s  Mechanics^  Almanack  and 
Workshop  Companion  for  18S1  (Manchester:  J. 
Calvert),  is  published  for  the  eighth  time,  and 

seems  as  useful  and  comprehensive  as  ever. 

Uarpe/s  Magazine  for  Europe  (London  : 
Sampson  Low,  Marston,  and  Rivington), 
if  equal  in  succeeding  issues  to  its 
first,  will  run  our  English  magazines  hard. 
One  hundred  and  sixty  octavo  pages,  with 
more  than  seventy  wood- engravings,  for  the 
most  part  superior  to  anything  of  the  kind  to  be 
found  in  magazines  generally,  and  all  for  a  shil- 
ling,  certainly  furnish   a  strong  claim   on   the 

support    of     English     readers. The    British 

Almanac  and  Coinpanion  (London:  Stationers' 
Co.)  has  reached  its  fifty-foui-th  year,  and  pre- 
sents a  varied  selection  of  articles  in  addition  to 
the  annual  reviews  of  science,  architeclure,  pic- 
ture exhibitions,  music,  and  metropolitan  phi- 
lanthropy. The  contents  include:  "Weather 
Forecasting,"  by  Robert  H.  Scott ;  "  Sketch  of 
the  History  of  the  Royal  Observatory,  Green- 
wich," by  W.  T.  Lynn,  B.A.,  F.R.A.S.  ; 
"Egypt  in  Liquidation,"  by  John  Crowdy; 
"Proposed  Ship  Canal  at  Panama"  and 
"  Schemes  for  a  Euphrates  Railway,"  by  George 
Dodd;  "  Watchmiking  by  Machinery  in  Eug- 
gland,"  by  Charles  Stuart  Murray  ;  "The  Food 
of  the  Poor,"  by  W.  E.  A.  Axon,  M.R.S.L., 
F.S.S. ;  "Parks,  Gardens,  and  Open  Spaces," 
byF.  G.  Heath;  "London  Hospitals  and  their 
Management,"  by  the  Editor  (Mr.  Charles 
Mackeson) ;     "Bee    Farming,"    by    James   F. 

^.obinson. The ArchitecC s  Legal  JIandhook,  by 

Edward  Jenkins  and  John  Raymond  (London: 
C.  Kegan  Paul  and  Co.),  has  reached  a  third 
edition,  and  with  additional  matter  is  additionally 
useful. The  Artisan's  Year  Book,  1881  (Man- 
chester: Abel  Hey  wood  and  Son),  is  as  useful 
and  compendious  an  annual  as  we  have  seen. 
Copious  extracts  from  the  principal  scientific 
journals,   and  much  good  original   information 

are  combined  in  due  proportion. Number  3 

of  Decoration  (London  ;  Sampson  Low,  Marston, 
and  Rivington)  is  scarcely  so  good  a  number  as 
its  predecessors  in  itself ;  but  any  shortcoming, 
so  far  as  quantity  is  concerned,  is  made  up  in  the 
large  decorative  picture  by  Mr.  J.  Moyr  Smith, 
representing  "Odin  and  his  Warriors  driving 
through  the  Sky,"   photolithographed   by  Mr. 

Akerman. Bed-Itoom    Ventilation,  by  Lawson 

Tait,  F.R.C.S.  (Birmingham  :  Berald  office)  is 
a  reprint  from  the  Transactions  of  the  Birming- 
ham Philosophical  Society,  which  may  be  read 
with  profit  and  interest — especially  just  now  in 

relation  to  the  fog  and  smoke  question. The 

JJ'ooing  of  the  IFatcr  7n/</i,  by  J.  Moyr  Smith 
(London  :  Chatto  and  Windus)  is  "  a  Northern 
oddity"  with  numerous  illustrations,  some 
fanciful,  some  humorous,  some  sarcastic,  but  all 
well  executed.  We  do  not  profess  to  under- 
stand the  story. Part  I.  of  Ilesiyns  and  Details 

of  Dwellings  of  Moderate  Cost  in  ilic  Queen 
Anne,  Ea-stlakc  and  JSlizahethan,  and  other  Modern- 
ised Slgles,  has  reached  us  from  New  York,  where 
the  work  is  being  published  by  Messrs.  Bicknell 
md  Comstock,  the  architectural  publishers. 
The  designs  profess  to  be  "adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  sea-.side  and  summer  resorts," 
md  are  said  to  comprise  drawings  by  prominent 
architects  of  New  York,  Boston,  &c.  Taking 
che  subject  illustrated  in  the  number  before  us, 
we  have  a  scarcely  more  than  ordinary  house  in 
amber  construction  by  Messrs.  Lamb  and 
Wheeler,  architects,  and  this  building  is 
copiously  illustrated  by  plans,  elevations, 
letails,  and  constructional  sections,  as  well  as 
by  a  perspective  view.  The  plan  is  certainly,  even 
from  an  American  point  of  view,  open  to  several 
objections.  The  kitchen,  for  instance,  opens 
lirectly  out  of  the  dining-room,  whUe  the  pantry 
oan  only  be  reached  from  the  former  by  passing 


through  the  latter.  No  furniture  could  well 
stand  in  the  dining-room,  as  the  wall  space  is  S3 
cut  up  by  openings.  The  construction  is  thj 
most  interesting  part  of  the  matter,  because  tho 
peculiar  American  manner  of  timber-building 
with  Btuddings  and  boarded  panels  is  clearly 
shown;  but  tho  mouldings  and  other  detail  * 
scarcely  are  characteristic  either  of  Mr.  East- 
lake,  Queen  Anne,  or  Queen  Elizabeth.  Thenum- 

ber  closes  with  a  sheet  of  verandahs. Life,  by 

.James  Piatt  (London  :  Simpkin,  Marshall 
and  Co.)  is  an  excellent  and  readable  treatise 
by  the  author  of  "  Business,"  "Morality,"  and 
"Money."  Mr.  Piatt  has  much  to  say  that  is 
worth  attention  on  such  subjects  as  the  life  of 
the  present  and  the  future,  culture,  health,  and 
recreation,  thrift,  marriage,  happiness,  and  the 
like,  and  the  conclusion  he,  as  a  man  of  business 
and  extensive  knowledge  of  the  world,  comes  to 
is  worth  taking  to  heart  by  those  who,  having 
exhausted  life  of  all  that  is  noble  and  worth 
living  for,  would  bid  us  share  their  own  well- 
deserved  despair.  "Life,"  says  Mr.  Piatt, 
"  should  be  to  all  of  us  a  struggle  after  Truth 
and  to  do  what  is  right,  with  the  object  of 
securing  natural  happiness  here,  instead  of  super- 
natural rights  hereafter,  taking  as  the  compass 
to  guide  our  lives  by,  no  human  rule  or  standard 
of  man's  devising,  but 

Tlie  unwritten  ani  the  enduring  laws  of  God, 
■Which  are  not  of  to-day  nor  yesterday, 
But  live  from  everlasting,  and  none  breathes 
"WTio  knows  theEi — whence  begotten." 


CHIPS. 

Mr.  G.  E.  Street  has  been  appointed  by  tha 
Council  of  the  Royal  Academy  to  deliver  the 
lectures  on  architecture  to  the  students,  in  the 
stead  of  Mr.  E.M  Birry,  deceased.  The  lect  ares  will 
be  given,  according  to  present  arrangements,  on 
February  14,  17,  21,  24,  2S,  and  Mirch  5,  1881. 

The  plans  of  the  new  Manchester  Post-office 
have  been  approved  by  the  Postmaster- General  ; 
tenders  will  be  invited  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks, 
and  the  actual  work  of  building  will  commence  in 
the  coming  spring.  The  site  of  the  new  Post-office 
will  be  a  parallelogram,  bounded  by  Spring- 
gardens,  Marriott's- court.  Brown-street,  and  a 
new  thoroughfare  to  be  made  from  Brown-street 
to  Spring  Gardens  bi3bind  the  Commercial  Hotel. 
The  building  will  be  a  substantial  structure, 
Italian  in  style  of  architesture,  and  in  general  ap- 
pearance not  unlike  the  new  Central  Telegraph 
Office  opposite  the  Post-office  in  St.  M.irtin's-le- 
Grand. 

A  newrood-screen  has  recently  been  unveiled  at 
the  parish-church  of  St.  Nicholas,  at  Eodmersham, 
d-:sigued  by  Mr.  S.  Slingsby  Stall  wood,  of  Reading, 
and  made  and  pUced  in  situ  by  Mr.  Harry  Hems, 
of  Exeter. 

The  parish-church  of  St.  John,  Crosscanonby, 
near  Maryport,  was  reopened  on  Thursday,  the 
9th  inst.,  after  restoration.  The  work  in  the  chan- 
cel has  been  carried  out  from  plans  of  Mr.  Ewan 
Christian,  of  Lmdon,  architect  to  the  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Commissioners  ;  and  tbat  in  the  nave  and  its 
aisle,  from  the  plans  aud  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  Ferguson,  of  Carlisle.  A  new  pulpit,  reading- 
desk,  altar-cloth,  and  heating-apparatus  have  been 
provided,  and  other  alterations  effected.  The  con- 
tractors were:  Mr.  W.  Marshall,  of  Maryport,  for 
masonry;  Mr.  W.  Foster,  Wigtou,  for  joinery; 
Mr.  Mindle,  Maryport,  for  slating ;  and  Mr. 
Xichols.iu,  Wigton,  for  xilasteriug.  The  total  cost 
has  been  about  £1,000. 

The  new  baiTacks  at  Shrewsbury,  built  under 
the  direction  of  officers  of  the  Royal  Eugmeers, 
were  occupied  for  the  first  time  on  Monday. 

NewCongrejitional  Sunday- schools  were  opened 
at  Blandford,  Dorset,  last  week.  The  principal 
room  measures  35ft.  Gin.  by  26ft.,  with  a  height 
of  17tt. ;  and  the  infants'  room  is  18it.  by  14ft. 
AU  the  fittings  are  of  pitch-pine.  Mr.  C.  Hunt, 
of  Blandford,  was  the  architect,  and  the  cost  has 
been  £58S. 

A  meeting  of  persons  willing  to  take  shires  in  a 
limited  liability  company,  to  provide  suitable 
•Iwelliugs  for  the  poor  of  Plymouth,  was  held  in 
that  town  on  Monday,  the  Mayor  presidmg.  It 
was  resolved  that  the  company  have  a  capital  of 
£-J0,000,  in  £5  shares,  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  draft  the  memorandum  of  association. 

A  new  Baptist  chapel  is  about  to  be  erected  in 
Victoria-street,  Deal.  It  will  be  built  of  brick, 
with  stone  dressings,  and  will  seat  COO  people.  Mr. 
Cottew,  of  Deal,  is  the  builder. 

Plans  prepirel  by  Messr>.  Hstherington  and 
Oiiver,  of  Carlisle,  have  been  adopted  by  the 
burial-baard  of  that  city,  for  laying  out  the  new- 
cemetery  at  Upperby. 


702 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Royal  Academy  Prizes (>9J 

The  Leyton  Loc;il  Board  Offices  Competition    69: 

Instruction  in  Drawing  in  France 69^ 

Materials  and  Construction      69.- 

The  Architects  of  the  Italian  Renaissance    69* 

The  American  Institute  of  Architects    695 

The  Situation  and  Construction  of  Dwelling -Houses  693 
An  Improved  Method  of  Removing  the  Products  of 

Gaa  Combustion 69S 

The  Roman  Buildings  near  Brading,  Isle  of  Wight...  69! 

St.  Mark's,  Venice       70< 

Leeds  Architectural  Association     70( 

Liverpool  Engineering  Society 70( 

Paint  Cracking      70( 

Designs  for  Headstones  and  Crosses     70: 

Books  Received     70 

Chips 7C.: 

Our  Lithographic  Blilstrations 70; 

Competitions 71; 

Schoolsof  Art 71; 

Archittctural  and  Archseological  Societies   71J 

Building  Intelligence 71; 

To  Correspondents 7l( 

Correspondence      7li 

Intercommunication    71) 

Stained  Glass 711 

"Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      71: 

Our  Office  Table    71! 

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      72 

Tr.ideNeW3    72 

Tenders    72 

ILLirSTRATIONS. 

HOUSB    AKD  STUDIO  OF   B.  L^KE   FILDES,   ESQ.— NEW  BASF 
.    D    F.    A.    FhIZE     MhDAL   DESIGN   FOR    i 

50  CUW3.— sr.    Matthew's    cnirRCn 


OurLithographic  Illustrations. 


AETISTS'    HOMES  :      NO.     9. — ME.     S.    LUKE     FILDES' 
HOUSE. 

The;  house  and  studio  stand  .at  the  top  comer 
of  the  Melbury-road,  Holland-park,  Kensing- 
ton, and  were  erected  som?  three  years  ago  by 
Mr.  Lascelles,  from  the  designs  of  Mr  E. 
Norman  Shaw,  R.A.  Our  illustrations  to-day 
simply  give  the  general  plans  and  elevations  of 
the  house,  but  next  week  we  shall  publish  a 
perspective  view  of  the  building.  The  house  is 
placed  about  midway  on  the  plot  on  which  it  is 
erected,  so  that  a  Iront  garden  of  moderate  size 
is  obtained.  Entering  an  almost  square  and 
hospitably-furnished  hall,  the  visitor  reaches 
the  level  of  the  ground-floor  proper,  the  various 
levels  arranged  throughout  the  house  being  so 
managed  that  the  kitchens  are  hardly  below  the 
outside  ground  level,  while  a  convenient  distri- 
bution of  rooms  very  easy  of  access  is  secured. 
Taking  it  as  a  whole,  ITr.  Fildes'  house  is  more 
of  a  residence  or  dwelling-house  than  some  that 
we  have  illustrated,  and  although  the  studio  is, 
perhaps,  larger  than  many,  yet  it  does  not  over- 
power the  rest  of  the  house.  The  inner  or 
staircase  hall  it  some  five  steps  above  the  outer 
haJl,  and  is  on  a  level  with  the  serving  and 
reception-rooms,  of  which  the  dining-room  is 
entered  first.  Here  a  massively-wrought 
chimney-piece  in  walnut,  made  by  Messrs. 
Jackson  and  Sons,  is  to  be  noticed.  India  rugs 
and  carpets,  in  quiet  reds,  grey^t,  aid  browns, 
suit  the  salmon  or  brick-rod  colouring  of  the 
walls,  and  carry  out  the  brown  p  finted  window 
frames  and  doors.  A  serving- door  is  well  planned 
next  the  back  staircase.  The  drawing-room  is 
a  fine  apartment,  having  a  deeply -projecting 
bay  window  running  almost  the  whole  height  of 
the  room  from  the  floor-line.  A  balcony  outside 
provides  a  means  of  access  to  the  garden  at  the 
rear  of  the  house,  which  overlooks  Holland-park, 
and  Mr.  William  Barges'  garden  adjoining.  A 
spare  bedroom  is  placed  nest  the  drawing  room, 
but  aa  opening  between  these  two  rooms  is  con- 
templated, so  that  both  may  be  thrown  into  one 
when  de.-ired.  A  moulded  and  foliated  mantel- 
piece in  white  well  suits  the  drawing-room.  The 
main  staircase  affords  a  graceful  approach  to 
the  studio.  The  long  narrow  windows  give 
height  and  dignity,  while  the  easy  rise  of  the 
stairs  themselves  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired. 
The  studio  is  4.3ft.  long  by  21tt.  wide,  and  h.^s 
windows  on  all  four  sides  with  a  scries  of  top- 
lights  as  well.  The  several  lights  to  be  obtained 
from  these  windows  are  completely  under  the 
control  of  the  painter.  These  blinds,  which  are 
made  of  dense  moleskin  stuff,  are  hung  on  a 
double  series  of  cords  and  pulleys,  so  that  they 
may  either  be  drawn  up  from  the  bottom  or 
lowered  from  the  top  of  the  windows,  and  by 
this  simple  contrivance,  a  high,  middle,  or  low 
light  can  at  once  be  arranged.  The  skylights  are 
shut  by  running  shutters,  and  the  wholecontri- 
vances  in  this  respect  are  so  complete  that  total 
darkness  would  be  the   result  if  all  the  blinds 


were  closed.  The  largo  window  at  the  east  end 
is  eventually  to  be  built  asam?ans  of  commu- 
nication with  a  glass  house,  which  will  occupy 
the  internal  corner  on  plan  at  this  end  of  the 
house.  For  a  glass  house  intended  to  be  used  for 
outdoor  effects,  a  sheltered  position  like  this  is 
most  desirable,  because  it  placed  open  to  a  south 
aspect  in  summer  tim",  the  heat  and  glare  of 
the  sun  renders  the  glass  house  useless  for 
painting  purposes.  An  angle  fireplace,  from  the 
special  designs  of  the  architect,  is  cosily  arranged 
in  the  studio  next  the  window  opening  on  to  the 
balcony  in  front  of  the  house,  but  the  heating 
of  th>  studio  is  provided  for  by  means  of  hot- 
water  pipe  coils  worked  from  a  compact  vertical 
boiler  placed  in  a  heating  chamber  in  the  base- 
ment. The  nurseries  are  on  the  first  floor,  and 
the  servants'  bedrooms  are  contrived  on  the  top 
floor.  The  kitchen  and  offices  are  in  the  b.ase- 
ment  and  a  "look-out"  is  shown  on  thereof 
plan.  The  material  used  for  the  walls  is  red 
brick,  and  red  tiles  are  employed  for  the  roofs. 
An  old  wrought-iron  seventeenth-century  gate 
from  Highgate  has  been  erected  at  the  entrance 
to  the  forecourt. 

NEW  PREMISES   FOE  THE  GLAMOEGANSHIKE 
BAXKENG   CO.,    ABEEAVON,    S.    WALES. 

This  building  is  now  in  course  of  erection  in  the 
main  street  of  the  town.  The  walling  is  of  grey 
Pennant  stone  from  a  neighbouring  quarry, 
with  dressings  of  white  Bridgend  stone  from  the 
Luarella  quarries.  The  roofs  will  be  covered 
with  Broseley  tiles.  The  ground-floor  contains 
the  banking  offices  and  manager's  dining-room. 
Above  is  a  commodious  residence  for  the  manager. 
In  the  basement  are  fireproof  vaults,  &c.  The 
contractor  is  Mr.  J.  Thomas,  of  Neath,  and  the 
clerk  of  works  Mr.  J.  Millward.  The  architect 
is  Mr.  J.  Bacon  Fowl-jr,  of  Swansea  and  Brecon. 

BEinSH     DAIK?     FABMEES'     ASSOCIATION,     18S0. — 
DESIGN   FOE   DAIEY-FAEM   FOE    50    COWS. 

Ik  this  design  it  has  been  the  endeavour  of  the 
author,  Mr.  Richard  Waite,  so  to  arr.iniire  the 
buildings  as  to  economise  time  in  preparing  and 
deliveria,'  food,  to  construct  each  department 
with  due  regard  to  lighting,  ventilation, 
means  of  egress,  and  internal  communication, 
combined  with  economy-.  Tie-up  stalls  are  pro- 
vided for  48  cows  in  two  double  byres,  the  width 
allowed  for  each  pair  of  cows  being  7ft.  between 
the  divisions,  and  the  length  of  standings  from 
drain  channel  in  the  rear  to  the  feeding- troughs 
is  5ft.  loin.  A  self-filling  drinking-trough, 
raised  lOin.  above  the  feeding- trough,  is  shown 
between  each  pair  of  cows,  to  be  supplied  as 
circumstances  permit,  either  by  conducting  water 
in  pipes  from  adjoining  land  at  a  higher  level, 
governed  by  service  cistern  ;  by  storing  the  rain- 
fall on  the  roof  in  a  tank  over  root-store  ;  or,  the 
tank  may  be  supplied  by  a  force-pump  worked 
by  the  engine.  The  author  has  successfully 
Cirried  out  all  the^e  systems  in  farm-buildings, 
but  where  possible  prefers  to  get  a  supply  from  a 
considerable  height  so  as  to  be  serviceable  in 
case  of  fire.  A  central  feeding-passage  6ft. 
wide  divides  each  cowhouse,  with  easy  access 
from  the  mixing-room  and  food  departments ; 
the  head-posts  to  stall  divisions  are  c  ist  iron, 
with  flanges  to  receive  batten  rails,  giving  free 
access  of  air  to  the  cows  and  providing  ready 
means  of  feeding  from  the  central  p:issage, 
between  the  bottom  rails  ;  these  rails  being  se- 
cured to  the  flanges  of  head-posts  by  screw- pins, 
that  they  may  be  raised  or  lo  svered  at  will.  Light 
and  ventilation  are  obtained  by  means  of  louvred 
skylights  on  the  ridge  of  roofs,  by  iron  case- 
ments in  external  walls,  and  by  raising  the  roofs 
and  overlapping  at  eaves,  giving  ventilation  along 
the  entire  length.  The  cowhouses  are  divided 
and  entirely  isolated  by  a  9in.  trick  wall  carried 
up  to  the  roof  (with  a  communicating  doorway), 
the  wall  being  intended  to  prevent  infection, 
should  it  unfortunately  appear.  The  doors  are 
hung  in  two  heights,  as  an  addition;il  means  of 
ventilation.  A  complete  system  of  drainage  by 
glazed  siuitary  pipes  is  shown,  conducting  all 
liquid  manure  into  a  tank,  bidlt  partly  under 
open  part  of  yard  and  partly  under  roadway, 
sunk  sufficiently  deep  below  the  surface  to  give 
a  good  fall  to  the  drains.  The  root-store 
and  grain-cistern  communicate  with  the  mixing- 
room.  The  external  doorways  are  Sft  wide, 
hung  folding,  to  admit  carts.  The  grain -cistern 
is  sunk  2ft.  6in.  below  the  general  floor  line,  and 
will  contain,  when  full,  about  3,000  strikes.  The 
engine-room  is  intended  for  a  3  or  4  h.-p.  ver- 
tical engine  and  boiler,  to  drive  2in.  shifting 
running   the   whole   length   of   the  loft  above. 


There  is  also  a  brick-built  steaming-closct,  to  be 
filled  from  the  loft  above,  as  the  chaff  leaves 
the  machine.  The  loft  on  the  first  floor  is  ob- 
tained entirely  in  the  roof  without  raising  the 
walls,  and,  like  the  mixing-rooit,  is  lighted  by 
skylights  in  the  roof.  There  is  a  communicating 
door  between  the  loft  and  the  upper  part  of  straw 
bam,  also  an  inner  door  to  straw  barn  on  ground- 
floor,  opening  on  the  main  gangway  for  conve- 
nience in  bedding  cattlo.  The  distance  from, 
food -preparing  departments  to  any  part  of  the 
buildings  being  so  small,  the  expense  of  tram- 
ways is  avoided.  The  yards  for  accommodation 
of  young  and  store  stock  are  shown  42ft.  long 
and  43ft.  9in.  wide.  Twenty-five  feet  from  back 
to  front  of  the  whole  width  is  roofed  over,  in 
two  bays,  supported  in  the  centre  by  3  cast  iron 
columns,  and  the  remaining  17ft.  3iu.  is  left  un- 
covered, but  well  protected  from  cold  winds  by 
the  adjoining  buildings.  Should  it  be  desired 
at  any  time  to  cover  in  the  remaining  part,  the 
only  expense  would  be  in  the  roof-timbers  and 
slating  ;  but  the  author's  purpose  in  leaving  part 
uncovered  is  to  meet  an  objection  raised  by  some 
practical  agriculturists,  that  the  warmth  of 
yards  entirely  covered  makes  it  undesirable  to 
turn  out  cattle  to  pasture,  except  in  mild 
weather.  Ventilation  is  obtained  on  each  side 
of  the  ridge,  and  by  raised  and  overlapj^ing  eaves, 
as  before  described.  The  yard  space  is  divided 
into  two  parts  by  means  of  a  railed  partition 
formed  of  7ft.  by  2.5in.  deal  battens,  secured  by 
screw-pins  to  flanges  cast  on  the  iron  columns, 
a  dwarf  iron  standard  being  provided  for  the 
uncovered  part.  These  rails  may  be  removed  in 
a  few  minutes  if  it  is  desued  to  throw  both  the 
yards  together.  Three  boxes  aie  shown  for 
young  calves,  and  a  hospital.  There  are  feed- 
ing-doors, and  also  an  eutranoe-door  to  each, 
from  the  cowhouse,  for  convenience  in  suckling 
calves.  As  it  is  supposed  there  would  be  but 
little  arable  land  attached  to  a  dairy-farm,  th& 
author  has  considered  a  four-stall  stable  with 
the  addition  of  a  loose  box  for  mare  and  foal 
sufficit-nt ;  but  if  a  n.ag  stable  and  coaeh-house 
are  wanted,  a  suitable  site  is  shown  for  them  on 
the  north  side  of  the  kitchen  court,  the  stable  to 
be  placed  on  the  west  side  to  avoid  any  possi- 
bility of  nuisance  to  the  dairy.  The  gig-house, 
shown  next  the  stable,  would  in  that  case  be 
available  for  a  corn  store.  The  piggeries,  with 
boiler-house  and  .swill -ciateru  attached,  are 
placed  as  near  the  dairy  as  is  prudent,  and  are 
convenient  for  feeding.  The  dairy  is  so  arranged 
as  to  be  near  the  house,  but  detached  therefrom, 
and  also  near  the  cow-stalls  for  conveyance  of 
milk  ;  the  adjoining  room  may  be  used  either  as 
achecs  -rJom  when  required  for  that  purpose, 
or  as  a  dairy  scullery  ;  there  is  also  a  covered 
shed  on  the  south  side,  for  airing  utecsil^.  The 
design  for  the  farm-buildings  also  embodies  the 
principles  adopted  by  the  author  in  actual  wort, 
and  he  is  enabled  to  give  the  following  estimate, 
founded  on  the  cost  of  similar  buildings  erected 
from  his  designs.  The  estimated  cost  was,  for 
the  homestead  and  piggeries,  £1,300  ;  the  dwel- 
ling-house and  dairy,  £900. 
ST.  Matthew's  citukch,  newcastle-itpon-ttne. 
This  church,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  plan,  has 
bf  en  designed  for  a  very  peculiar  and  restricted 
site,  which  is  surrounded  by  buildings  on  every 
side  except  the  west.  Advantige  hiis  been  taken 
of  the  circumstance  that  the  longest  dimension 
of  the  site  is  from  east  to  west,  to  take  that  as  the 
axis  of  the  church.  This  is  arranged  with  a 
nave  and  chancel,  each  25jft.  wide,  and  both 
measuring  4Sft.  to  the  ridge  of  the  roof  inter- 
nally. On  each  side  aie  two  aisles,  the  inner 
ones  being  lighted  by  a  second  clerestory.  The 
vestries  are  below.  The  whole  accommodation 
will  be  for  about  750  adults.  The  church  is  to 
be  finished  inside  in  ashlar  stone  throughout. 
At  present,  the  east  end  and  part  of  the  chancel 
and  side  walls,  with  some  of  the  nave  pillars, 
are  alone  built.  The  western  part  is  temporarily 
roofed  in  and  inclosed,  and  the  whole  area  thus 
provided  is  seated  with  chairs.  The  permanent 
arrangements  have,  however,  been  made  as  to 
levels  and  altar-steps.  The  structure  thus  tem- 
porarily finished  was  consecrated  in  May  last, 
and  funds  are  being  raised  for  the  further  com- 
pletion of  the  fabric.  At  the  proper  time,  this 
work  will  be  undertaken  from  the  outside,  and 
carried  on  without  disturbing  the  congregation. 
The  stone  pulpit  shown  in  the  drawing,  and  a 
font  of  Purbeck  marble,  with  other  matters,  have 
been  special  gifts  to  the  church.  Messrs.  Austin, 
Johnson,  and  Hicks,  of  Newcastle,  are  the 
architects. 


The  Building  I^ews,  Dec.  17.  l^^O. 


Hj^HMaM^j;  ffli?Li|:  J  |^gmiasaop3K^'4^^>  -^v>i^'-- ; 


.  /'f"""i(<iii(ititit,':ii(iuuiiiniiiiit;iiiiis^. 


Phoio  LlLo^.jpW  «r  Pnnieo  bf  J  •""  Alreni.«ii.6  Oa.eo  Squ.rc  W  ' 


The  Building  Rews.  Dec.  n.  I^^O. 


OlaTtl(>r|iJHiisliivH      Mnnkiiu;^"fTnn  ^)Hll,y    1  Mw^'' 


rk«»Ui«a^kAaMJkT  Ja>M  Ab^xs.o  ;}<ns  S^wr.  W  C 


The  Building  r>Ews,  ]^fx'.  H.  ]7u\0 


^L.-i&5.-ape«;4Pnn;Mhy,',a*!AkifrTnK;.b  j-j*eE  Square, W  C 


^L\5hT\:JoHnjon--^  "Hicks  Atc^Va:  Ne'vca-slle-upan-Tvne; 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


715 


COMPETITIONS. 

LrvEErooL  ScnooL  of  Art  CoitPETmoN. — The 
Directors  of  the  Lirerpool  School  of  Art,  some 
time  since,  offered  premiums  of  one  hundred 
guineas  and  twenty-five  pounds  for  the  first 
and  second  best  designs  for  a  new  School  of  Art, 
to  be  erected  in  Mount-street,  Liverpool. 
Ninety-two  architects  responded,  and  at  a  meet- 
ing on  Monday  night,  the  directors  determined 
to  award  the  first  premium  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Cook,  of  12,  St.  George's-crescent,  Liverpool, 
the  author  of  the  design  sent  in  under  the 
motto  "  Fides,"  and  the  s-cond  premium  to  Mr. 
C.  0.  Ellison,  of  62,  Dale-street,  Liverpool, 
author  of  the  design  marked  "Let  there  be 
Liffht."  In  Mr.  Cook's  design,  which  we  sh.\U 
illustrate  shortly,  the  entrance  vestibule,  lift, 
wide,  is  placed  in  centre  of  front  to  Mount- 
street,  from  which,  by  an  ascent  of  three  short 
flights  of  steps,  the  ground- floor  level  is  reached, 


day,  the  9th  inst.,  in  Mr.  Brassey's  new  build- 
ings at  Claremont,  Hastings.  The  annu  il  re- 
port stated  that  the  art  classes  had  been  well 
attended,  and  mo.st  satisfactory  progress  had 
been  made  by  the  students,  but  the  artism  and 
science  class  had  not  been  so  well  patronised. 
Mr.  Sullivan,  the  head- master,  repurted  that 
there  was  a  total  of  212  students  in  the  art 
classes,  and  that  2, .510  drawings  had  been  pro- 
duced during  the  year.  At  the  local  May  exam- 
inations, IS  prizes  and  13  certificates  had  been 
gained.  In  the  building  and  geometrical  draw- 
ing classes  19  succeeded  of  27  examined,  and 
gained  eleven  prices.  From  South  Kensington, 
one  National  Competition  book  prize  and  7  third- 
grade  priies  had  been  gained  by  works.  Mr. 
Thomas  Brassey,  M.P.,  delivtred  an  address,  in 
which  he  expressed  his  pleasure  at  having  been 
the  means  of  establishing  the  school  of  art,  by 
which  every  artisan  in  the  town  had  the  power 


Oa  ground-floor  the  accommodation 
comprises  two  elementary-rooms,  architectural, 
modelling,  store,  and  attendants'  rooms,  also 
male  and  female  lavatories  and  cloakroom;  and 
on  first  floor,  two  antique  rooms,  painting  life 
class,  and  head  master's  rooms.  The  various 
rooms  will  be  warmed  by  open  fire-places,  and 
ventilated  by  means  of  Tubin  tubes  and  Messrs. 
R.  Boyle  and  Sons  patent  air-pump  ventilators. 
The  building  is  designed  in  the  Queen  Anne 
style,  and  is  proposed  to  be  faced  with  Ilol- 
lington  stone,  the  estimated  cost  being  £10,600. 
We  regret  to  state  that  we  have  not  been  al- 
lowed to  see  the  designs,  and  that,  in  his  ofBcial 
letter  to  the  competitors  announcing  the  decision, 
the  secretary  states  that  the  directors  havedecided 
not  to  exhibit  them.  Very  great  dissatisfaction 
exists   among   the   competitors    genera" 


and   by   cros's-con-idors   of   communication  and    P'^^ced  within  his  reach  of  becoming  an  architect 
main   staircase   access   to   the  various  rooms  is  |  or  master  builder.     He  paid   a  high  tribute  of 

-  -  praise  to  Mr.  M.  Sullivan,  to  whom  an  addre,-s 
and  a  purse  of  £.30  was  presented  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  on  behalf  of  the  students. 

ToxBEiDOE. — The  distribution  of  prizes  and 
certificates  at  this  school  took  place  on  Thursday, 
the  2nd  inst.  The  report  showed  that  there 
were,  last  session,  54  students  :  23  were  examined 
in  April,  of  whom  17  passed,  and  3  obtained 
Queen's  prizes;  383  works  of  students  were 
sent  to  South  Kensington,  of  which  one  obtained 
a  bronze  medal,  another  a  third-grade  prize, 
and  134  were  awarded  second-grade  prizes.  The 
Government  grant  showed  an  increase  of  more 
than  one-fourth  on  that  of  the  previous  year. 

YoBK. — The  annual  meeting  of  the  York 
school    of    art   was    recently_  held,    under  the 

in  his 
e  great 


istaction  I  p^gj.i^g^gj.  of  (he   Dean   of   York,   who,  i 
-       ,         ,-  ,    -  "f ;,'"'.,  1  address,  urged  the  students  to  a  study  of  the 

some  statements  have  been  made  to  ns  which,  if    ^^f.        ^nd  remarked  that  schools  of  art 
true,  amply  justify  discontent.     W  e  may  have  I  ^^^  training  up  a  race  ^ 


were 

....  -  liuL  ninuuiK  up  a  race  of  future  artists  so  much 

more  to  say  about  the  ma  ter  next  week.  It  |  ^_.  jg^gi^jpi^g  talents  which  would  tend  to  the 
was  understood  generally,  by  the  competitor.s,  ,  ^^^^^^  happiness  and  intelligence  of  the  nation, 
that  a  professional  jreferee  would  ^be^  consul  ted,  ,  ^^.j^^  committee,  in  their  report,  expressed  regret 

at  the  loss  of  the  services  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Dominy, 


and  that  this  was  the  case,  the  following  letter, 
written  by  the  secretary,  three  months  since,  to 
one  of  the  competitors,  will  show  : — 

PROPOSED  SCHOOL  OF  ART. 

Deae  Sir,— I  am  re-iuestcd  by  the  Directors  to  inform 
vou  that,  while  they  do  not  hind  them.*elves  to  appoint  a 
profes.«ional  referte',  they  think  it  probable  that  they  will 
avail  themselves  of  his  advice  in  coming  t-)  adecisionupon 
the  designs  sent  in.— 1  am,  yours  faithfully, 

Chables  Soaep,  Sec. 

Liverpool  Institute,  Sept.  28,  ISSO. 
We  are  very  sorry  to  see  that  the  apprehensions 
expressed  by  a  correspondent  last  week  seem  not 
to  have  been  entertained  without  good  grounds, 
and  that  a  competition  which,  above  any  other, 
ought  to  have  been  fairly  and  justly  conducted, 
has  ended  in  the  way  it  has. 

The  Raises  Mejioelu.  Citl-ech  Cohpetition. 
—The  Committee,  with  professional  assistance, 
have  selected  the  design  by  Mr.  Capel  X.  Tripp, 
of  Gloucester.  They  have  refused  us  and  otheis 
a  view  of  the  drawings,  though  the  drawings 
were  on  view  in  the  early  stage  of  the  competi- 
tion to  a  few  persons,  including  some  of  the 
competitors.  The  committee  are  all  gentlemen 
of  good  position,  and  no  doubt  could  give 
reasons  for  the  course  they  have  adopted ;  but 
as  this  is  a  public  competition  with  public  funds, 
a  fair  review  of  the  drawings  would  have  been 
more  satisfactory  to  the  competitors  and  the 
profession. 


who  had  conducted  the  school  for  ten  years,  aud 
believed  that  they  had  secured  a  fitting  successor 
in  Mr.  Kean.  In  the  Government  examinations 
the  pupils  of  the  school  had  not  been  so  success- 
ful as  in  former  years.  Duly  one  third-giade 
prize  had  been  taken  as  against  nine  last  year. 
For  the  second-grade  examinations  there  were  3.5 
candidates,  of  whom  21  were  successful,  8  of 
them  beins;  marked  excellent ;  as  against  32  can 
didates  la^lt  vear,  with  20  successful,  and 
marked  excellent.  In  order  to  encourage  the 
attendance  of  artisan  students,  the  fee  had  been 
made  as  small  as  possible  (five  shillings). 


ARCHITECTURAL  &  ABCH.a:OLOGICAI. 
SOCIETIES. 

BlESnSGHAJI     AECHITECTrE.lI,     ASSOCIATION-.— 

An  ordinarv  meeting  was  held  on  Tuesday  even- 
in-' last  at  the  rooms  of  the  Association,  Queen  s 
Coileo-e  Mr.  K.  B.  Morgan,  chairman  of  the 
Association,  presided.  The  following  new 
members  were  elected  .—As  honorary  members, 
Mr  T  F  Proud  and  Mr.  A.  Clere  ;  as  ordmary 
members,  Messrs.  Frank  Simon,  J.  S  Webster, 
Edward  Mansell,  J.  H.  James,  and  J 
(Wakall) 


BuilMug  tutclligcucc. 
— »♦< — 

DiLLixGioN.— Tlio  puri.'ili  church  of  OkUiag- 
ton  waa  reopened  on  Tuc»daj  week  after  re»tor«- 
tioD.  The  porch  on  the  li'juth  ride  htui,  fur  tha 
most  part,  been  rebuilt.  The  ro<>(  haa  b»en 
restored  and  re-stuccoid  within.  A  conniilcr- 
able  portion  of  the  north  ainlu  ban  bvcn  rebuilt, 
the  clerestory  windows  li  ivi:  bwn  re»tur.'J,  the 
tower  hii8  been  restored  exttrually,  inrluJinff 
belfry  windows,  and  the  mortuary  cha|H'l  on  iho 
north  side  of  the  chancel  hiu  bi'<>n  utiliix'd  lu  a 
sacristy  and  organ-chamlx  r.  The  ai-len  or 
passa^res  h'tvo  been  laid  with  lileii  from  Memir*. 
Maw  and  Co.  The  works  have  bi*ii  ijirrii-<l  out 
under  the  superintendence  of  Meniini.  K.  b'. 
Law  and  Son,  architect",  Northamptno,  by 
Messrs.  Roberts  and  Son,  of  Woedoa.  The  oort 
will  be  about  £1,400. 

Daewes. — The  new  Condcrratirc  Club  nt 
Darwen  was  formally  op.ncd  on  Thurvlay, 
Dec.  9th,  by  the  Kiglit  H..n.  Coloml  Knd.ri'rlc 
A.  Stanley, 'M. P.  Tlie  building  Li  in  the  Cothio 
style,  and  has  been  erected  from  the  dciign  of 
Mr.  W.  Perry,  architect,  of  Sfarket-ttrrct, 
Darwen,  and  Lord-street,  Sauthport.  The 
principal  facade  fronting  Church-»tr«<t,  i*  ttctA 
with  parpoints,  which,  together  with  the  draw- 
ings and  other  stone-work,  have  be<!n  obtained 
from  local  quarries.  All  the  windows  hare  Ijold 
splayed  heads  and  sills,  each  wind'iw  b<ing 
recessed  Gin.  go  as  to  present  a  more  impuKing 
appearance.  The  elevation  to  Church-bank- 
street,  is  built  of  brick,  with  «tonc  head*  and 
sills  corresponding  with  those  of  the  principal 
front.  The  building  is  oblong  in  plan,  and  U 
admirably  suited  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  i» 
required.  There  arc  two  main  cntrancen  in 
Church-street.  All  internal  walls  are  coloure-d 
in  distemper,  and  the  cornices  to  the  several 
rooms  are  massive.  The  building  is  well  lighted 
and  ventilated,  and  is  heated  by  hot  wat«r. 
The  acoustic  properties  of  the  hall  have  l>«-n 
well  tested,  and  the  results  are  thoroughly 
satisfactory.  The  general  contractor  was  Mr. 
.J.  Pilkington,  Darwen. 

METKoroLiTAX  BoAKD  OP  WoBKS.  —  At  tho 
meeting  of  this  board,  held  on  Friday,  it  wa« 
resolved  to  contribute  £0,400,  being  half  the 
estimated  net  cost,  towards  the  improTcment 
about  to  be  carried  out  by  the  City  Commis- 
sioners of  Sewers  in  L'.me-street  and  Fen- 
church -street.  It  was  decide<l  to  reply  to  a 
complaint  from  the  vestr)-  of  Bermond.«cy  a.t  to 
the  flooding  of  basements  in  thxt  pan^h,  that 
the  Board  have  under  consideration  plans  for 
the  construction  of  a  sewer  to  prevent  ouch 
floodings.  Drawings  submitted  by  Mr.  Scfton 
Parry  for  the  construction  of  a  new  theatre, 
proposed  to  be  erected  on  the  vacant  plot*  of 
land,  Nos.  30  and  31,  in  ^orthuml>erland- 
avenue,  were  approved  It  was  rc«olvcd  to 
widen  Vauxhall-bridge,  by  the  projcit.ng  of  a 


SCHOOLS  OF  ABT. 

CiTT  of  London. — The  annual  distribution  of 
prizes  to  pupils  in  this  school  took  place 
the  other  day  at  the  School-iaU,  Skinner- 
street,  Bishopsgate.  The  report  stated  that  the 
financial  resources  of  the  school  were  at  a  low 
ebb.  Fif'een  second-grade,  and  three  third- 
grade  prizes  were  gained  at  the  Departmental 
examinations,  and  a  number  of  certificates.  The 
Clothworkers'  Company,  the  Painters'  Com- 
pany, and  the  Baroness  Rothschild  have  also 
given  prizes.  The  ch-airman  urged  the  neces- 
sity for  the  removal  of  the  school  to  a  larger, 
more  eligible,  and  convenient  site,  and  said  that 
only  four  or  five  of  the  wealthy  City  Companies 
had  given  the  committee  help  towards  doin] 
this. 

Hastings  and  St.  Leoxaed's. —  The  fifth 
annual  meeting  and  distribution  of  prizes  in 
connection  with  this  school  was  held  on  Thurs- 


new  iron  railing  upon  cantaliyen.,  at  a  probable 
cost  of  £7,000  ;  and  an  unfavourab  e  iin.wir 
was  ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  South  London 
Tramways  Co.,  who  had  memorialised  tha 
Board  to  reserve  space  on  the  proposed  new 
bridges  at  Battersea  and  Putney,  for  a  Unc  of 
tramway.  Boring  works  are  about  to  b«  onm  - 
raenced,  under  the  supervision  of  the  eng^n^r 
in  the  foundations  of  W  aterioo-bndge,  and  the 
After  the  business,  a  paper  on  j  Wandsworth-bridge  is  about  to  bo  wind-brart-d. 
i:prt';;'-in1'raU'loArt,''.wasref^^^^^^^^ 

T.  W.  Camm.     At  the  conclusion  of  h>s  Paper,    on  ''°  »»1,'^.^  J'^c„„rt     S^der    the  Arti-anV 
a  hearty  vote  of   thanks  was  accorded  to   Mr.    ^    the  J>hen«.s  Jourt,     ^^^ 

ag.unst  The  awardof  Mr.  Hunter  Rodweliy^C. 


Ellis 


a  hearty  vote 

Camm. 

Mr  J  T.  Harrison,  C.E.,  cue  of  the  inspectors 
of  the  Local  Government  Board,  teld  an  luquirv  at 
Sunderland  en  Monda  v  week,  restectmg  an  appU- 
Stom'the  town  --cU  for  sanction  to  bor- 

^"d  £910  for  ikjing  out  Burus-field  as  a  public 
recrealioD-ground.  OhjectioLS  were  lased  that 
[he  town  c!,uncil's  charge  for  private  street  works 
were  excessive,  but  the  inspector  said  he  could  not 
deal  with  the  point. 

A  chancel  is  about  to  be  added  to  S'- Augnstin^s 
Church  Halifax,  from  the  dtsigns  of  Mr  C  t  .n. 
Horsfall   of  the  town.      It  w,ll  be  opidal,  41ft 

^^linr^hted    by   three    two-hghtg^^^^^^^^ 
■indows,  each  2Jlt.  in  in  ui.     ^ „;n  i,„  „„ 


a?  to  the  value  of  13  houses  held  on  long  lea.*>  in 
Casae-alhy,  High-street.  Wh.tcehjpel ;  also  . 
rersehold  iL'erest  in  8,  9,  and  10,  Inlchorn-c<.urt 
and  a  copyholder's  interest  m  m-c  h"v—  '"  t^o 
same    court.      It   was,   said  t  . 

possible  to  speak  too  strongly  ; 

character  of  these  premises,  th 
theHiirh-street  being  some  3.- 
of  wholly  insufficient  width  for  ^ 

roents,   and  the  houses  in  a    ■ 

disrepair    and    dirt.     Clums    -.     .  -^ 

£f,6^,  and  the  Board's  -,-1 "»''»"  --'  ^j' lop- 
Mr  KodweU's  provisional  aw,.rd  ^"^,3.\°J; 
subsequently  ^^"^^^'^^^  g^ve"  verdict 
the  Board  appealed,  and  "'I  J  '^  f?"^  ^ad  at 
for  £■'  770,  the  sum  at  whioh  the  l«ara  oaa  . 
time  valued  the  property, 


thcEuiltUng  Act  CoroinitUe 


A  report  from 
was    adopted,  in 


::^S  b^a  6^;hii-;:^^ine  s^.^  wm  he  an    ^^^^ii^H^ll^ Strict  of  S,^U-« 

nr.'an-chamber  16ft.  by  22ft. 


716 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


aud  Brixton,  a  surveyorship  now  rendered 
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**  BUILDING  NEWS  »  DESIGNING  CLUB. 

ExETVANT,  Will  (your  letter  fails  to  challenge  the  merit 
of  the  design  placed  fii-st),  Beta,  Walter. 

Deawi.vgs  Received.— One  of  the  Crowd,  Ralph,  Milver- 
ton,  York,  Clavior  Etenchus,  Kismet,  I  will  Either 
make  a  Shaft  or  a  Bolt  of  it,  En  Avant,  Reginald, 
G.  W.  W.,  Hubert,  Rex,  Ernest,  Motto  A.,  Heart  of 
Oak,  Walter,  B.  J.,  Ambition,  Beta,  Veritas  Vincit, 
Subjudice,  Jack,  Dum  Viyo  Cantabo.  Semper  Paratus, 
Nitor,  Such  a  Dog,  Con  in  ciiele,  Endymion. 

LIST   OF   SUBJECTS. 

A.  A  block  of  almshouses" for  eight  inmates,  four  of  each 
sex,  situated  on  a  corner  site  with  a  lOft.  forecourt  to 
each  frontage.  Conveniences  to  be  shown.  Plans,  ele- 
\M.ti(in-:.  and  N^ction  with  a  sketch  perspective.  Draw- 
i::  1  inch  to  foot. 

I^  "1  for  a  parish  church  in  Queen  Anne, 

'    cover.     Elevation  and  sketdti.    Incli 


C0ritS}J0UXrtlUC. 


LIVERPOOL   SCHOOL    OF   ART 

COSIPETIIION. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  BtnxDiNa  News. 
SiE, — Tour  correspondent  "  Surprised  "  seems 
to  Lave  been  very  much  behind  the  scenes  in 
the  above  matter,  and  it  would  be  interesting  to 
know  how  he  came  to  learn  that  there  were 
several  F.R.I. B.A.'s  in  the  above  competition, 


seeing  that  all  the  designs  were  required  to  be 
sent  in  under  motto  ;  also  his  authority  for  say- 
ing that  there  is  the  prospect  of  a  general 
scramble,  with  the  probable  result  that  the  most 
proficient  "  tout  "  among  the  75  competitors 
will  secure  the  prize. 

Now,  as  one  of  the  F.R.I.B.A.  competitors,  I 
may  say  that  after  I  had  perused  the  particulars 
of  the  competition,  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  as  competitions  go  nowadays,  this  one  pro- 
mised a  fair  decision,  the  more  so  as  on  running 
over  to  see  the  site,  the  secretary,  Mr.  Sharp, 
told  me  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  directors 
to  call  in  a  professional  man  to  assist  them  in 
settling  the  prizes.  Another  condition  also 
assured  me — viz.,  the  one  forbidding  canvassing. 

I  was  at  considerable  trouble  and  expense  in 
sending  a  clerk  over  to  Liverpool  to  deliver  my 
di'awings  in  order  the  better  to  aroid  identifi- 
cations, and  if  the  directors  act  in  as  good  faith 
as  I  have  done,  I  shall  be  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  result. 

Your  correspondent  must  not  run  away  with 
the  impression  that  because  the  memorial  to  the 
R.I.B.A.,  praying  that  body  to  take  the  subject 
of  the  present  unsatisfactory  state  of  competi- 
tions into  its  consideration,  that  those  architects 
who  signed  it  are,  therefore,  to  be  debarred 
from  entering  a  competition  in  the  mean  time. 

No  one  longs  for  the  time  when  more  equit- 
able conditions  wiU  be  the  rule  rather  than  the 
exception  than  I  do  ;  but  that  happy  time  can 
only  be  arrived  at  by  united  and  determined 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Institute,  and  the 
numerous  architectural  associations  through  jut 
the  countrv. — I  am,  &c.,  H.  TV. 


Sir, — The  above  competition  is  another  proof 
that  something  must  shortly  be  done  to  rectify 
the  present  disgraceful  mode  of  cariying  on  com- 
petitions. 

This  one  appears  to  have  been  run  with  about 
as  much  honesty  as  the  members  of  a  long  firm 
go  to  work  in  securing  goods  for  nothing,  or  it 
may  he  said  to  resemble  the  "  confidence  trick  " 
(the  siUy  competitors  being  the  dupes),  for 
attempting  which  many  a  man  has  served  years 
of  imprisonment. 

Is  it  because  the  directors  dare  not  face  public 
criticism  that  the  designs  are  not  publicly  exhi- 
bited, or  what  ?  Would  it  not  do  the  Liverpool 
Architectural  Association  (who  are  on  the  spot) 
much  credit  to  inquire  into  the  rumours  afloat, 
and,  if  needs  be,  make  an  example  of  the  direc- 
tors for  breach  of  contract,  or  at  least  sho  w  up 
the  dishonourable  competitors  who  ha\'e,  it  is 
said,  been  unscrupulous  enough,  to  canvas  the 
members  of  the  committee,  although  it  was  spe 
cially  forbidden  by  the  conditions.  One  good 
case  decided  in  favour  of  the  competitors  would 
put  a  check  on  compe*'itions,  and  do  the  profes- 
sion immense  good,  and  this  instance  seems  to 
promise  well  in  our  favour. 

At  the  outset,  I  had  the  assurance  of  the 
secretary  that  a  professional  referee  was  to  be 
called  in.  Can  any  of  your  readers  gay  who  was 
the  man  r  As  your  coiTespondent,  "Surprised," 
would  have  us  believe,  the  committee  settled  the 
job  themselves. — I  am,  &c., 

Dec.  1.5.  A  CoMPETiTOE. 


GLASGOW  COMPETITION. 

SiE,— The  letter  of  ''Old  T  Square"  has 
led  me  to  look  at  my  notes  of  the  above  exhibi- 
tion again,  and  I  find  that  out  of  the  96  designs 
submitted,  about  60  have  disqualified  themselves 
by  contravening  the  clear  instructions  as  to  the 
preparation  of  drawings  ("  Old  T  Square ' '  is  one 
of  the  60,  through  "blacking  in"  his  windows), 
and  of  the  rest  about  30  are  clearly  out  of  court 
by  disregard  of  cost. 

The  award  of  the  premiums  among  the  few 
left  (and  some  of  them  are  most  creditably 
studied)  would  be  an  easy  task  This  done,  any 
other  design  could  be  selected  for  execution, 
altho'igh,  like  my  own  aiowdly  is,  it  may  be 
too  costly  for  tlie  competition  limit. 

But  my  chief  object  in  writing  is  to  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  architects  at  large,  as 
seen  in  the  above  figures,  are  not  honest  in  this 
kind  of  business  ;  and,  untUthey  are,  they  must 
expect  no  reform  in  competitions.  Near  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  have  here  sought  to  gain 
effects  unfairly  by  mere  drawing,  and  nearly 
one-third  more  by  elaborateness  of  design,  while 
many  of  the  first-named  delinquents  are  also 
guilty  of  the  latter  charge  as  well.     There  are 


one  or  two  exceptions  among  them  who  honour- 
ably declare  their  intentional  excess  of  the  coat 
allowed.  But  the  gi'eat  bulk  arc  at  fault.  Can 
they  complain  if  a  town  council  and  referee 
have  for  six  mouths  past  proved  unequal  to  doing 
j  ustice  ? 

And,  as  to  professional  referees,  here  is  an  ex- 
President  of  the  R.I.B.A.,  who  has  missed  a 
magnificent  opportunity  of  using  his  great  in- 
fluence in  the  right  direction. 

I  was  thankful  to  know  he  had  taken  this 
post  at  Glasgow,  but  the  result  is  altogether 
discouraging. 

Had  he  studied  the  few  which  are  fairly  ia 
the  contest,  though  domeless  and  towerless,  and 
given  the  premium  among  them,  he  need  not 
have  cumbered  and  confused  his  report  with  a 
laboured  justification  [qui  s^excuse,  s'aecuse),  but 
would  have  occupied  an  impregnable  position 
against  both  town  council  and  competitors,  aud 
would  have  read  a  most  wholesome  lesson  to  the 
profession  forits  dishonesty, and  tocorporationsfor 
instructions  whose  terms  insure  disappointment. 
This  would  have  had  an  effect  vastly  more 
beneficial  to  the  whole  system  of  competition 
than  any  rules  and  regulations  that  could  be 
devised.  The  remed}'  for  competition  evils  lies 
mainly  with  competitors,  and  far  less  with 
those  against  whom  they  so  often  coraplain.^ 
I  am,  &c. 

Dec.  13.  Anothek  CojirETiTOE. 


PONTEFBACr    TOWN-HALL    COMPE- 
TITION. 

Sir, — My  attention  was  arrested  while  reading 
your  issue  of  the  10th  ult.,  by  a  letter  bearing  sig- 
nature "Queen  Anne,"  aud  dated  from  Leeds,  on 
the  ^subject  of  the  recent  Pontefract  Town-hall 
Competition,  in  which  the  writer  uses  a  sentence 
which  occured  in  your  critic's  report  on  the  designs, 
appearing  in  your  piper  a  week  previously,  as  a 
handle  to  prai?e  up  his  own  plans,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  ruu  down  those  of  another  competitor,  to 
wit,   "Eeuiii-isance." 

As  regards  the  merits  of  the  two  sets  of  plans,  I 
am  quite  content  to  leave  the  case  in  the  hands  of 
the  referee,  who,  it  is  just  possible,  may  have 
dilTerent  opinions  on  the  subject  to  those  expressed 
by  "  Queen  Anne,"  aud  I  shouldnot  have  troubled 
to  reply  to  the  letter,  had  not  the  writer  made  some 
unjust  comparisons  requiricg  contradiction. 

'  Queen  Aune,"  in  speikiug  of  "  corridors,"  in- 
sinuates that  those  of  design  bearing  motto 
"Renaissance,"  are  deficient  in  light  aud  con- 
venience. 

As  regards  convenience,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  better  arrangement  could  be  desired,  and 
with  respect  to  the  al'.-important  element  of  light, 
they  are  in  no  way  deticient,  the  central  corridor, 
runniug  parallel  to  Baxter-gate,  being  lighted  at 
tlie  end  by  a  large  window,  and  by  three  side- 
lights in  its  length,  two  from  municipal  and  police- 
lolib'cs  opening  and  having  windows  into  Baxter- 
gate,  and  the  third  from  a  lobby  opening  into  a 
good-sized  area  at  the  back  of  the  building. 

It  is  jttst  possible  that  "Queen  Aune"  had  an 
idea  that  a  large  window  at  the  end  of  the  central 
corridor  could  not  be  managed  in  that  particular 
position ;  but  if  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to 
accurately  survey  the  surrounding  property,  and 
obtain  the  heights  of  the  respective  buildings,  ha 
would  have  found  that  there  was  only  a  1  >w  out- 
buihUng  at  that  point,  from  7ft.  to  8ft.  h'gh,  and 
as  the  floor-line  of  the  building  (owingto  thefallof 
the  ground)  is  .5ft.  above  the  ground-level,  it  will 
readily  be  seen  that  by  placing  the  window  sill  3ft. 
above  the  floor-level,  it  is  possible  to  light  overthe 
roof  into  a  yard  behind,  and  obtain  as  much  light 
as  can  be  desired. 

Again,  according  to  "Queen  Anne,"  it  appears 
that  the  staircase  in  my  designs,  is  in  a  "side, 
badly-lighted  recess." 

This  assertion  may  be  disposed  of  as  being  posi- 
tively incorrect. 

The  staircase  in  question  ascends'out  a  good-sized 
hall,  opening  out  of  the  main  vestibule  opposite 
the  entrance  by  means  of  two  wide  coupled  arches, 
thereby  making  the  two  hal's  or  vestibules  prac- 
tically one,  and  is  lighted  by  a  large  three-light 
window,  occupying  the  whole  of  one  side  of  the 
hall,  opening  into  an  area  of  respectable  dimen- 
sions, and  is,  moreover  lighted  from  the  roof  above 
by  a  large  lantern,  carefully  shown  on  the  sections, 
which,  1  presume,  "  Queen  Aune"  has  forgottoa 
to  look  at. 

He,  or  rather  she,  I  suppose  I  should  say,  com- 
plains of  a  council  chamber  being  provided,  saying 
that  it  was  not  required  ! 

By  referring  to  the  conditions,  it  will  be  found 
that  a  large  committee-room  is  asked  for,  and, 
understanding  that  it  was  to  be  used  as  a  meeting 
room  for  tlie  Council,  I  had  no  hesitation  in 
designating  it  as  the  "  Council-Chamber."  At 
the  same  time  I  arranged  for  another  smaller  room 
in  close  proximity  to  it,  for  committee  purposes. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


THE  BITILDINa  NEWS. 


717 


Then,  as  to  the  "Cells,"  until  the  referee's 
award  is  made,  I  do  not  feel  disposed  to  argue 
upon  the  question  as  to  where  they  should  be 
placed,  and  whether  it  is  better  to  have  them  on 
the  ground -tloor,  occupying  valuable  space,  than 
in  the  basement,  wiiere  they  may  be  well-lighted 
and  ventilated. 

In  conclusion,  I  trust  it  will  be  seen  from  the 
tenour  of  my  letter,  that  I  do  not  attack  or  allude 
to  the  plans  of  "  Queen  Anne  "  or  any  other  com- 
petitor, and  should  be  eorry  to  do  anything  in  such 
bad  taste,  but  merely  have  written  to  refute  in- 
jurious statements  which,  should  the  referee  see 
them,  might  possibly  prejudice  any  chance  I  may 
have  of  success. — I  am,  &c., 

Tee  Authob  of  Designs   eeaeinq  motto 
•'Renaissance." 


THE  STRENGTH  OF  OI'R  EAILAV'AY 

STRUCTURES. 
SiK,— Taking  the  advice  of  Mr.  "W.  G-.  Lees, 
I  obtained  the  services  of  a  very  small  school- 
boy, and  asked  him  to  account  for  the  50  per 
cent,  decrease  in  the  strength  of  a  bridge,  when 
the  rolling-load  was  increased  100  per  cent.,  and 
he  came  to  the  following  results.  Assuming  a 
bridge  under  the  foUowing  conditions : — 

Span  ..  ..  =  100ft. 

Depth  of  girders    . .   =  10ft. 

"Weight  of  structure  =  1  ton  per  foot  run 

Rolling-load  ..  =  IJtons         ,, 

then  the  strain  on  the  top  and  bottom  flanges 

would  be 

c  _  I    100  X  250        Tcr  n-  ^ 
&  =  i-  — =  1.56-20  tons. 

If  we  now  double  the  rolling-load,  the  strain, 
,  according  to  Mr.  Lees,  ought  to  be  312-5  tons; 
•  but,   strange  to  say,  tke  following  result  was 

!  obtained : — 
.      S  =  iM|J:^=  250  tons. 

I  am  afraid  I  must  have  obtained  much  too 
small  a  boy  ;  but  no  doubt  the  superior  mathe- 
matical knowledge  and  professional  experience 
of  Mr.  Lees  wiU  set  us  straight  in  the  matter. 

The  question  of  the  stability,  &c.,  of  our 
railway  structures  is,  no  doubt,  a  most  interest- 
ing subject ;  but  nothing  can  possibly  be  gained 
by  uttering  such  replies  as  were  contained  in 
Mr.  Lees'  last  letter.  I  asked  him  several 
straightforward  questions,  and  get  nothing  in 
reply  but  assumptions  of  other  people's  ignor- 
ance. 

He  says  that  the  4|  tons  was  the  nearest  ap- 
proximation to  the  Board  of  Trade  requirements ; 
since  his  assertions  were  the  result  of  mere 
guesswork,  why  approximate  at  aU,  why  not 
quote  the  actual  requirements?  It  is  very  like 
the  odd  Is.  9Jd.  we  see  occasionally  in  estimates 

.   of  many  thousands  of  pounds. 

I  He  also  states  that  the  locomotives  he  spoke 
about,  as  weighing  80  tons,  are  running  on  the 
Midland  and  other  railways.     I  say  most  posi- 

.  lively  that  no  such  locomotive  has  ever  been 
built,  and  most  probably  never  will  be,  unless 
they   be   for  the  proposed   ship-railway   across 

I   the   Isthmus   of  Panama.     45  tons  is   a   heavy 

I  weight  for  a  locomotive,  even  when  in  running 
order. 

He  then  states  that  the  question  of  "  elonga- 
tion of  fibre  and  detachment  of  particle  ' '  would 
occupy  too  much  space  in  a  letter  ;  but  as  his 
remarks  on  this  novel  phenomenon  would  be  of 
great  interest  to  many  of  your  readers,  I  hope 

I   you  will  grant  him  space  to  enlarge  upon  the 

I  subject. 

Nothing  further  is  said  about   the  Report  he 

!   quoted.     WiU  he  oblige   us  with  the  date  and 

I  circumstances,  as  it  must  be  a  most  interesting 
document  ? 

He  again  makes  the  statement  about  not  being 
able  to  obtain  h-on  to  withstand  20  tons  per 
square  inch — I  think  he  said  IS  tons  in  his  first 
letter.  It  is  simply  absurd  ;  an;/  good  firm  will 
be  glad  to  supply  him  any  amount  to  withstand 
that  and  more — at  least,  that  has  been  my  ex- 
perience in  some  200  bridges  and  other  structures 
which  I  have  designed ;  but,  of  course,  that 
limited  experience  cannot  well  be  compared  with 
that  of  a  man  who  has  painted  so  many  bridges, 
floors,  &c. — I  am,  &c., 
Hull,  Dec.  14.  John  J.  Weestek. 


ST.  ALBAN'S  ABBEY. 
Sin, — Tour     well-known     energy,     and    Sir 
Edmund  Beckett's  desire   to  be  obliging,   have 
done  good  service  to  us  who  wish  to  see  before- 
hand what  we  have  to  expect.      One  cannot 


readily  forget  previous  works  designed  by  Sir  E. 
Beckett,  such  as  Batchwood  and  the  St.  Alban's 
rectory.  They  bear  about  the  same  relation  to 
works  of  real  architecture  as  the  maunderings  of 
an  illiterate  person  bear  to  Sir  E.  Beckett's 
pointed  pleasantries.  The  Buildino  News  of  the 
26th  Nov.  has,  however,  shown  to  us  work  of  a 
very  different  stamp.  Sir  Edmund  took  occasion 
to  praise  his  incapacity  to  draw  when  discussing 
competitions  at  the  Institute  in  February  of  this 
year.  The  west  front  really  makes  one  believe 
that  he  has  had  lessons  in  the  interval,  and  has 
thus  been  able  to  convey  something  more  to  the 
designer  who  is  doing  his  work  at  present 
than  the  directions  with  which  the  other  de- 
.signers  had  to  be  contented. 

The  new  design  actually  bears  some  relation 
to  works  of  genuine  architecture — some  relations, 
be  it  understood — about  the  same  that  Sir  E. 
Beckett's  pleasantries,  before  alluded  to,  bear  to 
works  from  master-hands,  such  as  the  earlier 
letters  of  "Junius,"  as  "Vanity  Fair,"  or  as 
"  Gulliver."  To  point  out  faults  of  granunar 
and  style  in  this  design  may  seem  like  neglect- 
ing for  lighter  matters  the  weightier.  StDl,  I 
am  sure  that  the  repetition  in  an  exaggerative 
form  of  the  defects  of  the  present  west  window, 
and  the  crowded  arcades  on  the  aisle  walls,  and 
the  turrets  which  call  the  eye  away  from  the 
central  gable,  have  not  impressed  favourably 
even  important  persons.  'The  monotony  pro- 
duced in  the  three  gables  of  the  porches  by  their 
being  almost  on  the  same  plane,  the  greater 
distance  between  the  arches  and  the  copings  of 
the  side  porches^beyond  that  in  the  central 
porch — the  repetition  of  the  same  details  in  tho 
tympana  of  the  gables,  are  merely  three  instances 
among  a  great  number,  and  the  way  in  which, 
out  of  two  or  more  courses,  an  unhappy  one  has 
been  chosen. 

But  when  anyone  attempts  to  pass  from  tech- 
nical criticism  to  that  higher  criticism,  which 
deals  with  the  spirit  as  distinguished  from  the 
matter,  he  is  met  by  an  almost  insurmountable 
difficulty.  AV'ithout  common  ground  to  go  upon, 
it  is  difficult  to  do  more  than  make  oneself 
heard.  Trained  architects,  and  trained  critics  of 
architecture,  do  not  need  to  be  told — for  they 
feel  instinctively — when  jejuneness  and  dulness 
are  shown,  and  the  absence  of  that  sense  of  de- 
light which  makes  a  work  of  art  pleasurable  to 
its  creator,  and  thereafter  to  others.  And 
just  as  some  people  do  not  need  to  be 
told,  there  are  many  others — the  majority, 
one  fears — who  might  be  told  for  ever,  and  be  no 
wiser ;  such  people  should  either  be  modest  and 
stand  aside,  or  should  put  themselves  to  school 
till  defects  of  nature  or  education  have  been 
remedied.  I  do  not  imagine  that  there  can  be 
much  difference  of  opinion  in  relation  to  this 
design.  I  should  rather  expect  a  consensus  of 
opinion.  Perhaps  even  Sir  E.  B.  may  be  in- 
fluenced by  such  a  consensus.  If  he  can  be 
persuaded  to  postpone  the  exercise  of  his  well- 
intentioned  liberality  till  he  really  knows  what 
he  is  doing,  we  will  honour  liim  for  a  display  of 
courage  of  which  plenty  of  people  more  pug- 
nacious than  he  is  would  be  incapable. — I  am. 
Sec, A.  W.  W. 

SiE, — In  reply  to  the  letter  from  "  Amateur," 
last  week,  I  think  I  may  safely  say  that  there 
is  not  one  architect  of  reputation  who  does  not 
look  upon  Sir  Edmund  Beckett's  design  for  the 
west  front  of  the  abbey  with  sorrow  and  dis- 
gust. It  is,  of  course,  the  production  of  an 
amateur,  and,  therefore,  it  would  be  scai'cely 
dignified  for  professional  architects  to  criticise 
it,  were  it  worthy  of  serious  criticism,  which  it 
certainly  is  not.  Probably  this  is  the  reason 
the  matter  has  not  been  discussed  in  your 
columns,  the  profession  thinking  it  better  to 
treat  it  with  the  silence  and  contempt  it  deserves. 
But  Sir  Edmund  is  not  an  ordinary  amateur  ; 
inasmuch  as  he  seems  unwilling  to  learn,  and 
appears  to  think  that  he  knows  far  more  already 
than  any  architect  can  teach  him,  and  I  feel 
sure  no  one  wUl  ever  succeed  in  convincing  him 
to  the  contrary.  In  fact,  having  acquii'ed  that 
dangerous  thing,  a  little  knowledge,  he  straight- 
way presumes  to  set  up  as  a  teacher,  rather  than 
a  i^upil,  of  those  whose  whole  lives  have  been 
spent  in  a  study  of  which  he  has  little  more 
than  a  mere  smattering,  and  when  they  decline 
to  receive  him  as  an  oracle,  he  does  his  utmost 
to  disparage  and  call  in  question  the  honour  of 
architects  as  a  body,  which  it  would  be  faint 
praise  indeed  to  say  is  composed  of  as  honour- 
able men  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  his 


own  profession.  There  is  a  well-known  saying, 
and  one  in  which  no  doubt  Sir  Edmund  agrees, 
that  "the  man  who  acts  as  his  own  solicitor, 
has  a  fool  for  his  client."  Has  it  never  occurred 
to  him  that  this  may  apply  to  other  professions 
besides  the  law  ?  It  would  bo  an  insult  to  an 
architect  of  Mr.  John  O.  Scott's  ability,  to 
attempt,  were  it  possible,  any  comparison  be- 
tween the  two  designs,  yet  I  venture  to  say  that 
Mr.  Scott  would  have  produced  a  work  far  more 
worthy  of  his  reputation,  had  be  been  unfettered 
by  Sir  Edmund's  wishes  or  whims.  The  design 
is  a  matter  of  great  importance,  and  requires  tho 
skill  of  an  experienced  architect.  What  would 
Sir  Edmund  think  of  a  man  who  selected  the 
youngest  and  most  inexperienced  member  of  the 
Bar  to  conduct  one  of  the  most  important  cases 
that  could  arise  in  a  Court  of  Law  'f  Yet  his 
action  in  this  matter  is  even  worse,  for  he 
intends  to  conduct  his  own  case  1  Ho  has 
already  attempted  to  show  architects  how  to 
build  a  house,  and  the  result  is  a  signal  failure. 
His  design  for  the  west  front  of  the  abbcv,  if  it 
should  ever  have  the  misfortune  to  be  built,  wiU 
be  a  far  more  disastrous  failure,  and  will  be  a 
monument — well,  not  of  his  wisdom.  It  has 
been  said  that  Mr.  Scott's  design  was  given  in 
a  form  more  advantageous  to  the  eye  than  Sir 
Edmund's.  If  you  gave  a  perspective  view  of 
the  latter  you  would  prove  the  contrary,  as  its 
inherent  defects  would  bo  made  far  more  ap- 
parent, and,  I  think,  perhaps  even  Sir  Edmund 
might  begin  to  feel  less  self-satisfied  with  his 
production.  His  projected  arched  sill,  to  carry 
the  great  weight  of  the  muUions  and  glass  of 
the  Ul-conceived  west  window,  is  in  itself  enough 
to  condemn  the  scheme,  and  prove  it  to  be  the 
work  of  an  amateur  unacquainted  with  the  first 
principles  of  building  construction.  I  should 
be  ashamed  of  any  pupil  in  his  second  year  of 
service,  committing  such  an  absurdity. — I  am, 
&c.,  HuoHRotmiEuGouQH,  F.R.I.B.A. 

6,  Queen  Anne's  Gate,  S.W. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  CEMENT. 

SiE, — UntU  I  reached  the  final  paragraph  ©f 
Mr.  Reid's  letter  I  was  at  a  loss  to  understand 
the  cause  of  his  attack  upon  my  paper  at  the 
Architectural  Association  ;  but  he  is  evidently 
smarting  under  a  previous  grievance  and  from  a 
rebuke,  which  he  brought  upon  himself,  by  his 
statement  at  the  Institution  of  C'i%-il  Engineers 
that  "it  was  difficult  to  understand  why  (in  the 
manufacture  of  Portland  cement)  there  was  so 
great  a  desire  for  the  utilisation  of  waste  heat." 
This  question  I  will  not  now  reopen,  but  will 
confine  myself,  with  your  kind  permission,  to  a 
reply  to  Mr.  Reid's  present  strictures. 

You,  Sir,  can  easily  defend  yourself  from  the 
charge  of  writing  down  to  the  level  of  my  paper, 
"devoid,"  as  Mr.  Reid  tells  us  it  was,  "  of  all 
practical  utility,"  and  "  tending  to  convey  erro- 
neous impressions  on  the  subject  of  cements 
generally"  ;  but,  perhaps,  I  may  say  on  behalf 
of  those  ' '  learned  theorists ' '  who  are  no  more, 
but  of  whose  labours  Mr.  Reid  has  so  amply 
availed  himself  in  his  writings,  that  their 
opinions  are,  in  my  humble  judgment,  preferable 
to  the  second-hand  chemistry  of  the  author  of 
"  The  Science  and  Art  of  Portland  Cement." 

The  disquisition  with  which  we  are  favoured, 
on  the  use  of  limes  by  the  Ancients,  does  not  dis- 
prove a  single  statement  in  my  paper,  and  requires 
no  answer.  Mr.  Colson's  views  are  next  attacked, 
or  rather,  a  supposititious  argument  imputed  to 
him  ;  and  here  I  may  observe  that  Mr.  Colson's 
paper,  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Insti- 
tution of  Civil  Engineers,  contains  more  original 
matter  than  any  six  of  Mr.  Rtid's  bulky  com- 
pilations. I  do  not,  I  must  confess,  understand 
the  allusions  to  "sulphuring,"  " selenitising." 
and  "scientific  mortar  ingredients,"  so  I  will 
leave  this  point  untU  more  information  is  forth- 
coming. 

Mr.  Reid  finds  it  necessary  to  ignore  the  whole 
drift  of  my  argument  in  order  to  prove  mo  wrong 
in  the  matter  of  quartz  sand,  and,  without  the 
context,  my  statement,  as  he  quotes  it,  is  liable 
to  be  misunderstood.  Mr.  SpQler's  observations, 
which,  by  the  way,  Mr.  Reid  has  incorporated 
in  one  of  his  books,  are  known  to  me.  The 
immediate  action  of  piu-e  hydrate  of  lime  on 
quartzose  sand  is  inappreciable;  but  when,  as  I 
say,  other  bases  are  present,  and  during  the 
gradual  recarbonisation  of  the  hydrate  of  lime 
in  the  course  of  ages,  some  slight  quantity  of 
silicate  of  lime  is  formed,  which  must,  I  maintain 


718 


THE  BUILDING  NEVv^S. 


Di:c.  17,   1880, 


[pace  Mr.  Spillcr),  be  due  to  the  action  of  the  lime 
on  the  sand  particles. 

As  Mr.  Eeid  apparently  made  up  his  mind  on 
this  question  "  a  dozen  years  ago,  '  I  buppose 
it  is  useless  to  bring  forward  the  experiments  of 
Petzholdt,  one  of  tho^e  "  chemists  who,  in  a  sort 
of  desultory  manner,  have  experimented  on 
cement  "  ;  but  for  the  sake  of  those  who  miglit 
possibly  be  misled  by  Mr.  Eeid's  dictum,  I  will 
draw  attention  to  the  convincing  and  careful  in- 
vestigations, which  are  quoted  by  Dr.  Knapp, 
Vol.  II.,  p.  397.  He  tells  us  that  Petzholdt 
employed  samples  composed  of  10  grammes  of 
caustic  Ume,  made  from  Carrara  marble  mixed 
into  mortars  with  30  grammes  each  of  five 
different  kinds  of  sand  prepared  as  follows ; 
"No.  1,  chemically  pure  silica  that  had  been 
heated  to  redness  ;  No.  2,  quartz  powder  pre- 
pared from  a  piece  of  pure  white  rock  crystal, 
which  was  quenched  in  water  when  red-hot  and 
subsequently  reduced  to  powder  and  decanted 
from  water ;  No.  3  contained  white  sand,  as  is 
used  in  the  kitchen  for  cleaning  purposes — the 
coarser  particles  were  first  removed  by  a  sieve 
and  the  dust  by  suspension  in  water  and  decan- 
tation  ;  No.  4  contained  a  brown,  ferruginous, 
decanted  sand  ;  and  No.  5,  the  same  brown  sand 
which  had  been  previously  purified  by  washing 
with  muriatic  acid.  Of  each  number  three  equnl 
portions  were  submitted  simultaneously  to  ex- 
periment and  observed  at  different  periods.  The 
results  were  as  follows . — 


Soluble    1  in  an  8  ( 
silica      (   days'   \  - 


No.l 

Xo.2. 

No.  3. 

No.  4 

No.  5. 

0-686 
4-40 

0039 
060 

0-038 
066 

0-020 
0-31 

0118 
0-25 

^Tience  it  is  obvious  that  the  soluble  silica  is 
doubled,  and  even  increased  fifteen-fold  in  the 
couise  of  5  weeks,  and  no  doubt  can  any  longer 
be  entertains  1  respecting  the  formation  of  a 
silicate  of  lime  in  the  humid  way  during  the 
setting  of  mortar."  In  mortar  100  years  old, 
moreover,  Petzholdt  found  2-1  per  cent,  of  soluble 
silica,  and  in  similar  mortar  300  ye.irs  old  there 
was  G-2  per  cent,  of  gelatinous  silica,  showing 
how  .slowly  the  action  is  accomplished  ;  but  in 
these  latter  tests  other  influences  may  have  aided 
in  the  reduction  of  the  silica  to  the  soluble  con- 
dition. 

Mrr  Reid  quite  goes  with  me  in  the  matter  of 
concrete,  which  is  encouraging.  Messrs.  Las- 
ceUes  and  Drake  I  wOl  leave  to  speak  for  them- 
selves. 

Now  we  come  finally  to  the  unfortunate 
episode  of  the  lost  sack  of  cement,  and  here  I 
must  appeal  for  justice.  I  was  not  giving  a 
record  of  experiments,  but  simply  contrasting  the 
behaviour  of  a  cement  with  that  of  a  sample  of 
lime  ".500  years  old"  described  by  Alberti. 
Now,  if  I  failed  to  give  all  the  facts  which  Mr. 
Reid  considers  essential :  "the  depth  of  the 
water  in  the  canal  at  the  points  where  the  acci- 
dent occurred,"  and  "the  age  of  the  sack,"  etc., 
(is  Mr.  Reid  joking?),  it  was  to  avoid  unneces- 
sary minutise.  If  I  had  followed  the  masterly 
example  set  us  in  the  works  of  Mr.  Reid,  I  should 
no  doubt  have  given  analyses  of  the  materials  of 
the  sack  and  of  the  wood  of  the  canal-boat,  and, 
perhaps,  a  diagram  of  the  defective  plank  which 
led  to  the  accident ;  but  I  did  not  want  any 
"padding,"  and  so  inflicted  only  the  bare  cir- 
cumstances on  my  audience.  The  fact  of  my 
connection  with  South  Kensington,  with  which 
Mr.  Rei4  concludes,  is  quite  beside  the  question. 
— I  am,  &c., 

Gilbert  R.  Redgeave. 

MuswellHill,  N.,  Dec.  H. 


SiE, — Mr.  Reid  may  have  an  interest  in  the 
manufacture  of  Portland  cement,  but  he  appears 
to  forget  that  the  architect  is  equally  desirous 
to  look  after  the  quality  of  the  bricks  as  he  is 
that  of  the  mortar  ;  while  the  "  jerry  builder  " 
is  more  likely  to  cheapen  the  cost  of  the  more 
expensive  mxterial.  When  we  get  harder  and 
better  bricks,  we  might  reasonably  increase  the 
adhesive  strength  of  our  mortar- joints ;  but  I 
contend  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  strength  to 
use  cement-mortar  joints  for  ordinary  building 
purposes  Mr.  Reid  knows  that  the  strength  of 
a  structure  is  that  of  its  weakest  part,  and, 
according  to  this  proposition,  it  is  superfluous 
to  demand  a  cement-joint  or  matrix  which  would 
become  much  harder  than  the  component  bricks. 


Of  course,  for  hydraulic  piirposes,  for  walls  ex- 
posed to  damp,  and  for  piers  and  like  purposes, 
cement-mortar  has  undeniable  advantages.  All 
that  was  intended  to  be  conveyed  in  the  passage 
quoted  by  Mr.  Reid  is,  that  it  would  be  false 
economy  to  make  mortar-joints  so  much  harder 
ti-an  the  bricks  used  in  ordinary  budding  opera- 
tions that  the  latter  would  decay  or  yield  before 
the  joints;  that,  in  short,  the  aim  should  be  to 
equalise,  as  much  as  possible,  the  two  component 
jjarts  of  a  wall. — I  am,  &c. , 

Wkiteb  op  Aeticle. 


SlE,  — In  reply  to  Mr.  Lascelles'  letter,  I  am 
ready  and  willing  to  supply  moulded  red  concrete 
such  as  I  exhibited  and  spoke  of  at  the  Archi- 
tectural Association.  The.^ie  red  concrete  tiles, 
panels,  &c.,  were  exhibited  also  (with  others,  made 
by  myself  and  workmen  in  1869)  at  the  Agricul- 
tural Hall  Building  Exhibition  in  Apiil  last,  as 
mentioned  in  the  catalogue  thereof,  and  only  a 
few  yards  distant  from  Mr.  Lascelles'  own  exhibit. 
As  1  have  made  similar  red  concrete  for  a  period 
longer  thin  the  lifetime  of  a  patent,  and  to  my 
knowl'  dge,  similar  red  concre'e  had  been  made  by 
others  many  j'ears  previously,  I  am  not  to  be 
deterred  from  making  anl  supplying  similar  goods 
now  if  Mr.  Lascelles  or  anyone  else  has  subse- 
quently taken  patents  for  the  same. 

In  stating  that  I  have  "apparently  discarded" 
the  obtaiument  of  colour  for  concrete  construction 
by  the  use  of  colouring  pigments,  Mr.  Heni-y  Eeid 
has  given  publicity  to  a  misapprehension.  Refer- 
ence to  the  report  of  remarks  made  and  samples  of 
red  concrete  exhibited  at  the  Architectural  Asso- 
ciation, and  to  my  letter  on  the  subject,  both  pub- 
lished in  the  Bdildino  News  of  Dec.  10,  will 
show  that  while  mentioning  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining reliable  colouring  matter,  and  the  liability 
to  cause  unsound  and  inferior  concrete  by  the  ad- 
mixture with  the  cement  of  colouring  matter  in 
too  large  proportion,  I  also  showed  that  I  had 
overcome  these  difficulties  by  the  discovery  of  a 
pure  and  intense  colouring  pigment  requiring  to 
be  used  in  very  small  jirjportion  only,  and  giving 
very  satisfactory  results. 

Mr.  Re'ld  further  states  that  my  method  of 
developing  colour  and  effect  by  removing  the  thin 
coating  of  cement,  and  thus  exposing  the  real 
colours  and  character  of  the  aggregate  is  a  "some- 
what dangerous  and  unsatisfactory  proposal,  for  it 
would  not  and  could  not  secure  what  the  aitistic 
archi'-ect  desires,  viz.,  an  even  and  regular  shade." 
I  confess  my  inability  to  understand  this  sentence, 
and  would  be  glad  to  have  Mr.  Reid's  explanation. 
How  couUl  the  inability  to  secure  "  an  even  and 
regular  shade"  (even  if  such  were  the  fact,  but  I 
protest  it  is  not)  make  the  proposal  '*  danger- 
ous" ? 

By  exposing  on  the  surface  the  real  aggregate  of 
the  concrete,  not  only  is  an  even  and  regular  shade, 
or  the  bright  and  pleasing  shades  of  whatever 
stones,  marbles,  or  granites  may  be  selected  for 
the  aggregate,  secured;  but,  the  real  danger  of 
unsound  work  (caused  by  the  usual  method  of 
finishiuj  concrete  with  a  thin  coat  of  either  plas- 
tered or  moulded  cement  of  differeiit  proportion 
and  character  to  the  aggregate,  and  so  liable  to 
unsoundness  by  differing  degrees  of  crystalhsation 
and  of  contraction)  is  removed. — 1  am,  etc., 

Chaeles  Drake. 

Railway  Wharf,  Battersea-park,  S.W.,  Dec.  11. 


The  local  board  of  Greetland  adopted,  last  week, 
plans  prepared  by  Mr.  W.  H.  D.  Horstall,  archi- 
tect, o(  Halifax,  for  the  drainage  of  the  district. 

The  Llandaff  Diocesan  Church  Building  Society, 
at  a  meeting  held  on  Friday,  vo'ed  grants  of  £100 
towards  the  erection  of  a  new  church  at  Roath,  bj 
Cardiff,  £25  for  improving  the  school  chapel  at 
Troedyshiew  in  Pentrebach,  and  £10  for  enlarging 
Llantrissaut  school-chapel. 

The  town  council  of  Truro  decided,  last  week,  to 
apply  to  the  Public  Works  Loan  Commissioners 
for  a  loan  of  £-5,000  for  the  following  street  im- 
provements: — Widening,  &c.,  of  L^mon-street, 
King-street,  Factory-square,  and  Boscawen- 
street,  £2,427:  building  a  bridge  at  More.-k-hill, 
£230 ;  improving  footpaths  in  Richmond-hill, 
£1,120;  and  for  widening  Richmoud-hdl,  £399; 
St.  George's-ioad  footpaths,  £i;6,  the  balance  of 
£62.5  being  named  for  contingencies. 

The  parish-church  of  Horsford,  near  Norwich, 
has  been  reopened  after  partial  restoration.  A  new 
open  roof  has  been  placed  over  nave;  the  seating 
has  been  rearranged,  and  the  masonry  to  windows 
restored.  Mr.  R.  M.  Phipsou,  of  Norwich,  was 
the  architect,  and  Messrs.  Cornish  and  Gaymer,  of 
Noith  \\'alsham,  were  the  builders ;  the  cost  has 
been  £700. 

The  School-hoard  for  Brecon  on  Friday  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Ehya  Davies,  the  borough  survej-or,  as 
their  architect. 


jIntci'C0mmunicatiau. 


QUESTIONS. 

[6330.1— Ebonised  "Wood.— I  shall  feel  obliged  if 
some  fellow  re;ider  wDuld  g-i%e  me  any  information  on  the 
process  of  ebonising-  wood. — Xovice. 

[6  31.]— York  Stone  on  Girder.— "Will  any  reader 
tell  rae  the  use  of  a  cnurse  of  York  or  other  stune,  before 
beginninf?  the  brickwork,  on  a  g:irder  that  has  to  carry  a 
wall,  and  oblige— York. 

[6332.] -Surveyor's  Charges. -Would  some  pro- 
fessional readt-r  kindly  say  what  would  be  a  fair  charge  to 
make  for  surveying,  making  plans,  and  giving  probable 
estimate  of  new  road,  to  cost  about  £700  ;  and  what 
would  be  a  fair  percentage  for  superintending  the  carry- 
ing out  of  the  contract. — Kanyaka. 

[6333.  ]  -  G-ymnaslum  "Wal^  .—A  gymnasium  having 
lOin.  concrete  wall  has  developed  a  quant  ity  of  hair-like 
cracks  in  the  outer  plastering,  through  which  the  rain  pene- 
trates like  a  sieve,  to  the  natural  disgust  of  my  client. 
What  remedy,  otherwise  than  paint,  would  effect  a  cure  I 
I  have  seen  a  cement  wash  advertised,  but  cannot  now 
find  it.    Should  hesitate  to  recommend  it  without  advice. 

16334.1  — Quantities.— Is  it  correct  to  charge  com- 
mission for  4\iantities  upon  the  full  amount  of  the  ac- 
cepted estimate,  or  upon  the  residue  of  that  amount  after 
the  amount  tor  lithography  and  the  chaise  for  quantities 
has  been  deducted  I  — F. 

[6335.]— Valuations.— I  shall  be  glad  if  any  of  your 
kind  readers  can  give  me  information  as  to  the  proper 
way  to  value  hotel  and  public-housejiroperty  in  general, 
as  to  the  particulars  to  be  obtained,  and  the  basis  on  which 
the  value  is  worked  out. — Z. 

[6336.]— Holes  in  Chapel  Wall.— In  an  Early 
English  budding,  formerly  a  chapel  attached  to  a  hospital 
for  pilgrims,  are  found  in  the  wall  beneath  the  east  win- 
dow, several  holes,  about  5in.  square,  and  running  into  the 
wall  over  three  feet.  Two  of  them  are  about  three  feet 
from  the  floor,  and  can  hardly  have  been  putlog  holes; 
moreover,  they  are  inside  the  budding.  What  was  their 
probable  puipose? -H.  B. 

[6337.] -Half-Timber  Construction.  — I  shall 
feel  obliged  if  any  cf  your  readers  will,  either  from  actual 
experience  or  upon  good  authority,  kindly  reply  to  the 
following:— 1.  Wh:it  is  the  best  method  of  filling  in 
between  the  timbers  I  2.  Is  there  much  danger  of  pene- 
tration of  wet  owing  to  shrinkage  of  timbers,  or  from  any 
any  other  cause  ?  If  so,  how  is  the  difficulty  best  over- 
come ?  3.  How  does  this  kind  of  construction  wear  ?  Is 
it  liable  to  frequent  wants  of  repair  .'  4.  Are  buildings 
so  constructed  likely  to  be  in  any  appreciable  degree  colder 
than  those  built  with  ordinary  brick  walls  ?  5.  Has  this 
kind  of  construction  any  particular  advantages  beyond 
that  of  meie  picturesqueness  1  I  feel  sure  that  many  of 
your  readers  would  be  glad  of  some  reliable  information 
upon  these  and  other  matters  in  connection  with  the  sub- 
ject.-W.      

REPLIES. 

[63U. 1— Specifications  for  Houses.— A  good 
form  of  specification  is  given  in  Mr.  Hobson's  "  Domestic 
Architecture,"  also  in  "  Wightwick's  Hints"  (Guill- 
aume's  edition),  Eockwood  and  Co.— G.  H.  G. 

[6315.]— Sections.- The  method  of  measuring  off 
quantities  where  the  vertical  scale  is  greater  than  the 
hoiiz  jntal,  is  easy  enough.  Both  are  divided  into  feet 
and  mches  decimally,  and  both  scales  are  read  in  the  same 
manner.  If  "  T.  L.  P."  can  read  off  an  ordinary  horizon- 
tal scale,  he  can  read  a  vertical  one.  The  divisions  int« 
tens  or  fractions  are  the  same  in  both.— G.  H.  G. 

[6317.1— Value  of  Property.— Consult  Tarbuck's 
"Handbook  of  House  Property  "'  (Lockwood  and  Co.),  or 
Wheeler's  Guide,  by  the  same  publishers.  Laston*8 
Price  Book  is  considered  a  standard  and  reliable  work  on 
prices  of  aitificer'e  work  and  ra,aterials.— G.  H.  G. 

[6318.]— Quantities.— The  employer  is  liable  for  the 
quantities  prepared  if  ho  cancels  the  contract ;  but  as  the 
contractor  is  a  party  to  it,  I  think  he  is,  in  law,  also  liable, 
uccordingto  the  onstniction  to  be  put  on  the  ruling  in 
the  ca.'^e  of  Moon  v.  Guardians  of  Witney  Union.— 
G.  H.  G. 

[6319.]- Party-Wall.— A  bar  of  T-iron,  with  double 
flange  downwai'ds,  and  one  of  the  flanges  let  into  the  9in. 
wall,  the  ends  of  joists  jammed  tight  against  the  vertical 
flange,  will  keep  it  immovable.- J.  P.,  Jarrow. 

[6322.]— Damp,  or  What  P— The  moist  air  of  the 
room  becomes  warm  when  the  gas  is  lit.  This  immedi- 
ately condenses  on  the  cold  surface  of  the  unabsorbent 
(owing  to  coat  of  oil-paint)  walls.  Remedy. — Offer  some 
warmer  or  more  porous  surface  to  the  warm  moist  air, 
such  as  scraping  off  oil  paint  down  t  j  clean  plaster,  and 
paper  or  distemper. — Condenser, 

[6325.] -Colouring  Portland  Cement.— Speci- 
mens of  permanently-coloured  Portland  cement  that  have 
stood  unimpaired  for  many  years  may  be  seen  at  my 
address,  and  in  buildings  in  various  ^arts  of  the  kin^ 
dom.  Particulars  will  be  gladly  given  to  "J.  H.  B."  if 
he  will  fix  an  appointment.— Charles  Drake. 

[6327-1 -Colouring  Portland  Cement.— Brick- 
dust  mixed  with  cement  will  give  only  a  poor  dull  colour, 
unless  mixed  in  too  large  proportion  to  insure  sound  work. 
"  Fresco  "  may  see  samples,  obtain  full  information,  and 
a  supply  of  coloured  cement,  that,  allhough  conUiining 
an  in£mtesimal  quantity  of  colouring  pigment,  and  so 
avoiding  deterioration  of  the  cement,  will  give  a  brilliant 
and  lasting  colour  by  making  an  appointment  to  meet  me 
at  this  address. — Charles  Draks,  Xtailway  Wharf ,  Bat- 
tersea-park. 

[6328.]- Oak  Shingles.- The  county  of  Sussex  is 
famous  for  its  shingling,  and  is  much  used  for  churoll 
spires,  bay  windows,  &c.,  oak  timber  being  grown  upon 
most  estates.  The  shingles  should  be  laid  on  boarding 
and  secured  with  oak  pins.  Sometimes  for  small  works 
copper  nails  are  used.     The  shingles  should  be  cleft  out 


Dec.  ir,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


719 


of  hf-art  oak  (not  sawn),  and  all  angles  lapped,  not 
mitred.  No  lead  or  rolls  are  required  —W.  E.  A.,  XJck- 
field. 

[eSaO.l-Tile  Roofs.— Tlie  head  of  each  plain  tile 
should  have  about  Ikin.  of  mortar,  and  the  tiUng-,  if  pos- 
sible, should  be  pointed  witli  hair-mortar  inside.  Plain 
U!.'*  should  never  be  laid  in  mort.ar,  and  galvanised  pins 
n    better  than  deal  peg-s.— W.  R.  A.,  rckfleld. 


CHIPS. 

Across  has  te?n  plaoel  in  the  north  ai.'le  of 
Winchester  cathtdral,  as  a  memorial  of  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  4th  Bittalion  Rifle  Brigade  who 
died  in  the  Afghanistan  campaign. 

A  new  organ  at  St.  George's  Church,  Tiverton, 
was  formally  opened  on  Tuesday  week.  It  has 
c:st  £300,  and  was  built  by  Messrs.  Hill  and  Sons, 
CI  Camden-road,  London. 

Trinity  Wesleyan  Chapel,  East  Dereham,  Xor- 
folk,  was  opened  for  worship  on  AYednesday  week. 
It  hid  been  erected  from  the  plans  and  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Edward  Boardman,  of 
>'orwich,  by  local  contractors,  and  the  total  esti- 
mated cost,'  including  chapel,  four  vestries,  and 
alteratiojs  to  minister's  house,  is  £3,400. 

A  ne^  board-school  was  opened  at  Hollingtou. 
near  Hastings,  on  Wednesday  week.  It  has  cost 
£  1,400  for  erection.  Messrs.  Smith  was  the  archi- 
tfru.  and  Mr.  Ashdovni,  also  of  Hastings,  was  the 
builder. 

The  local  board  of  Redruth,  West  Cornwall, 
last  week,  instructed  Mr.  Silvanns  W.  Jenkin, 
C.E.,  of  Liskeard,  to  prepare  plans  for  the  drain- 
age of  Redruth. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Ripley,  Derbyshire,  on 
Wednesday  week,  before  Mr.  Robert  Morgan,  C.E  , 
one  of  the  inspsctors  of  the  Local  Government 
Board,  respecting  an  application  from  the  local 
board  of  Ripley  for  pe^mis^ion  to  borrow  the  sum 
of  £  1, .308  for  works  of  sewerage.  No  opposition 
was  offered  to  the  proposal,  which  was  explained 
by  the  engineer  to  the  local  board.  It  was  stated 
that  the  rateable  value  of  the  district  was  £34, .500. 
and  that  loans  to  the  amount  of  £27,115  had 
already  been  granted. 

Tiie  Norwich  scho  >l-board  discussed,  last  wfek, 
whether  to  build  schools  for  630,  900,  or  1,200  chil- 
dren on  a  site  in  Nelson -street,  and  Mr.  A.  H.  1 
Brown,  their  architect,  having  reported  that 
whereas  a  school  with  accommodation  for  900  chil- 
dren would  cost  £8,000,  w'uile  one  for  1,200  would 
cost  £10  000,  instructions  were  given  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  plans  for  the  largest  size  of  school. 

The  local  board  of  Sowerhy-bridge  opened,  on 
Tliursday,  the  9th  inst.,  76  applications  f'  r  the  ap- 
pointment of  gas  manager,  the  salaries  asked  vary- 
ini  from  £.5oO  per  annum  to  £85.  The  list  has  been 
weeded  by  a  committee  down  to  hve. 

The  Teignmouth  local  board  received  and  ac- 
copted,  ou  Tuesday,  the  resignation  by  Mr.  Turner, 
of  the  office  of  town  surveyor  on  account  of  failing 
health. 

Mr.  Wm.  A.  H)dg3on,  assistant  engineer  to  the 
Ties  Conservancy  Board,  was  found  dead  in  bed  on 
Friday. 

The  Lord  Chancellor,  accompanied  by  some  of 
the  other  judges  and  the  architect,  made  a  tour  of 
i'l^l'ectieu  of  the  Virions  buildings  comprising  the 
Xeiv  Law  Courts  in  the  Strand  on  Saturday  last. 

The  heritors  of  the  parish  of  Crieff  have  resolved 
to  procecl  with  the  erection  of  a  new  church  for 
the  East  Parish,  and  Mr.  Ewing,  architect,  Glas- 
gow, has  received  iustructionsto  prepare  plans  and 
specifications  for  the  building. 

The  new  seed-cru-hing  mills  and  oil  refinery  on 
fVe  Boat  Quij-,  King's  Lynn,  belonging  to  Messrs. 
Walker  and  Son.  have  just  bfen  opened  in  addition 
tr,  their  Albert  Oil  Mills  by  the  side  of  the  dock, 
Tne  buildings  cover  an  area  of  neatly  4,000  square 
\';!rds,  and  are  fitted  up  with  the  newest  and  best- 
known  machinery  extant.  The  buildmgs  have 
lieen  erected  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Briwn,  of  Lynn,  from 
[ilms  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs. 
Adams  and  Son,  architects,  King's  Lynn  and 
Wisbech. 

The  Lambeth  board  of  guardians  received,  on 
Wednesday  week, the  consent  of  the  Local  Govern- 
mfut  Board  to  the  sale  of  the  old  workhouse  in 
rrince's-roid,  and  thereupon  g^ve  instructions  to 
iheir  architect  to  prepare  plans  for  the  completion 
of  the  enlirgement  of  the  Eew  workhouso  so  as  to 
(  incentrate  all  the  accommodation  and  manage- 
ment in  one  establishment. 

To-day  the  new  building  of  the  Birmingham 
^Icdical  Institute  is  to  be  opened  bv  the  Mayor. 
The  building  is  from  the  design  Cif  Mr.  F.  B.  Osbom, 
of  Bennett's  Hill,  and  is  erected  in  red  brick,  with 
terra-cotta  enrichments  freely  introduced,  the 
facade  being  broken  by  a  portico  in  red  sandstone, 
small  balconies  to  the  upper  winelows,  with  street- 
brackets,  giving  further  variety  Jq  ijig  design.  The 
cost  is  just  over  £6,000. 


STAINED    GLASS. 

BoQN'OE.— Special  sermons  were  preached  at  the 
parish- church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  on  Sunday 
week,  on  the  occas  on  of  the  unveiling  of  a  three- 
light  stained- glass  window  in  the  chancel.  The 
central  window  is  occupied  by  Our  Lord  appearing, 
after  His  resurrection,  to  Mary  Magdalene  ;  on  the 
left  Mary  recognises  her  Deliverer  from  the  evil 
spirits,  and  on  the  right  the  Savinur  is  saying  to 
the  same  Mary  "Touch  me  not."  The  work  has 
been  carried  out  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  A.  M. 
Blomfield.  M.A.,  as  a  memorial  of  the  late  Rev. 
E.  Edle,  50  years  vicar  of  Bognor,  whose  pupil  Mr. 
Blomfield  was,  by  Messrs.  Powell  and  Sons,  of  the 
Whitefriars  Glass  Works,  Loudon. 

The  CniriEE-HorsE,  Lixcoln  Cathedkal. — 
A  scheme  for  filling  the  whole  of  the  windows  of 
the  Chapter-house  has  been  prepared  by  the  Bishop 
Suffragan,  of  Nottingham,  and  has  been  partially 
carried  out.  The  windows  will  be  memorials, 
chiefly  of  members  of  the  chapter,  and  will  also 
set  forth  the  leading  events  in  the  history  of  the 
Cathedral.  The  wmdows  of  the  lobby  will  be 
occupied  with  subjects  illustrating  the  earlier 
history  of  the  diocese,  and  those  of  the  Chapter- 
house itself  with  subjects  extending  from  the 
removal  of  the  bishops'  see  from  Dorchester  to 
Lincoln,  to  the  present  time.  In  each  mudow  are 
three  oblong  subjects,  depicted  in  rich  hues  and 
relieved  by  large  dividing  spaces  of  grisaille,  in 
which  are  shields  of  arms— of  these  shields  the 
two  uppermost  tiers  are  charged  with  the  bearings 
of  the  sovereigns  of  England,  the  third  with  tho.-e 
of  the  most  noted  of  the  bishops  of  Lincoln,  and 
the  fourth  with  those  of  the  persons  commemorated. 
One  other  window  will  also  be  filled  with  stained 
glass— the  larfre  circular  one  immediately  over  the 
entrance  to  the  Chapter-house  from  the  cloister; 
the  subject  of  this  will  be  the  Descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Five  other  winelows  of  the  Chapter- 
house prciper  have  already  been  filled  with 
stained  glass  bv  Messrs.  Clayton  and  Bell,  of 
London.  The  "two  first  commemorate  Chan- 
cellor Massingberd,  the  third  Canon  Gilbert, 
of  Systou,  the  fourth  the  Rev.  Humphrey  Waldo 
Sibthorp,  and  the  fifth  Dr.  Mackenzie,  first  Bishop 
Suffragan  of  Nottingham. 

TsTALTFEEA, — A  stiincd-glass  window  has  re- 
cently been  erected  in  Trinity  Church,  Ystiljfera, 
by  the  iuliabitants,  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
late  Mrs.  Palmer  Budd,  of  Yuisydared.  The  design 

execution  of  the  work  was  intrusted  to  Mes-rs. 

Jones   and  Willis,   of    Temple-row,    Birmingham. 
The  subject  of  the  centre  light  represents   Dorcas 
distributing  her  gifts.    In  the  side-lights  are  female  ] 
figures  representing  Faith  anil  Hope.     At  the  foot 
is  a  brass. 

4-^ 

•WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

Caediff.— The  town  council  of  Cardiff  adopted, 
on  Monday,  a  scheme  prepared  by  Mr.  John  Taylor, 
C.E.,  for  "the  purpose  of  supplementing  the  water 
supply  of  the  bore.ugh  sufficiently  to  meet  the 
present  requirements  of  the  town.  Intake  cul- 
verts will  be  constructed  at  Ely,  consisting  of  two 
lines  of  open- jointed  culverts  (laid  in  such  positions 
as  will  suit  the  future  reservoirs  and  filters)  of  a 
total  leng'h  of  910  yards,  with  intermediate  and 
connectiu°g  shafts  to  bring  the  water  to  a  point  oppo- 
site the  engine  buildings  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  From  thence  a  line  of  24in.  pipes  will  be 
laid  for  225  yards  to  the  present  tank,  which  is  con- 
nected with  the  engine  wells.  The  cost  of  these 
pipes  is  estimated  at  £9,040,  and,  besides  this  out- 
lay, thirteen  acres  of  land  will  be  purchased  to  pro- 
vide for  further  extensions.  The  scheme  now 
adopted  is  the  first  part  of  an  extensive  undertaking 
for  increasing  the  water  supply,  proposed  to  be 
carried  out  from  Mr.  Taylor's  plans,  and  estimated 
to  cost  over  £100,000. 

Taunton. — The  water-works  committee  have 
reported  to  the  town  council  of  Taunton  that  the 
trial  bore-hole  constructed  at  Forche's-corner,  on 
Blagdon-hill.  has  been  successful  in  striking  an 
abundant  stream  of  water  in  the  green  sandstone, 
soft,  below  the  surface.  The  report  was  ade^pted, 
and  the  committee  were  authorised  to  lay  a  9in. 
main  from  the  spring,  and  purchase  additional  land 
for  the  extension  of  the  reservoir  at  EuUwood. 
The  yield  of  water  is  about  40,000  gallons  per  day. 
A  local  journal  declar.s  that  "  It  is  the  hire  fact, 
however  it  miy  be  explained,  that  all  the  trial 
shafts  carried  out  under  the  advice  of  Mr.  Easton, 
C.E.,  failed  to  discover  any  water.  This  ill-success 
led  the  water  committee  to  act  upon  their  own 
advice  instead  of  the  consulting  engineer's,  and  the 
result  is  highly  encouraging." 

The  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  wiU  lay,  on 
Monday  next,  the  foundation  stone  of  new  build- 
ings about  to  be  erected  by  the  Dublin  Artisansj 
Dwellings'  Company  on  the  "unhealthy  area 
at  the  Coombe,  recently  cleared  by  the  corpora- 
tion under  au  Artisans'  Dwellings  Act  scheme. 


(J^ur  ©fftcc  QTablc. 

At  a  mooting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Yorkshire  Fine  Art  Society,  Leeds,  held  last 
week,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  hold  in 
the  spring  an  E.xliibition  of  artistic  furniture, 
representing  English  times  and  periods.  It  is 
intended  to  have  the  lower  portion  of  the  Exhi- 
bition rooms  set  out  for  the  reception  of  modem 
furniture,  the  various  styles  of  which  and  of 
decorations  the  best  furniture  makers  and 
upholsterers  of  the  kingdom  will  have  the 
opportunity  of  displaying  in  bays  or  rooms. 
The  upper  rooms  it  is  proposed  to  devote  to  the 
accommodation  of  black  oak  furniture.  This 
is  intended  to  be  the  first  of  a  series  of  special 
exhibitions,  designed  to  improve  the  taste  of 
the  people,  and  familiarise  them  with  various 
branches  of  modem  and  old-time  art ;  and  will 
be  succeeded  at  intervals  by  other  exhibitions, 
illustrative,  for  instance,  of  ' '  Gla.s,s — ancient 
and  modem  ;  "  "  Metal-work— ancient  and 
modem;"  "  Ecclesiastical  Furniture  and  Vest- 
ments— ancient  and  modem,"  and  so  forth.  It 
was  also  resolved  that  an  exhibition  of  the 
works  of  living  artists  should  be  held  in  June, 
1881. 

The  fourth  Cantor  lecture  of  the  current 
series  was  delivered  on  Monday.  Professor 
Church  took  up  the  subject  of  the  history  and 
artistic  development  of  soft  porcelain.  Local 
supplies  of  the  raw  materials  and  local  manu- 
factures of  allied  products  constituted,  he  said, 
important  elements  in  giving  to  these  wares 
their  distinctive  characters.  But  much  always 
depended  upon  the  traditional  knowledge  and 
experimental  ingenuity  of  the  manager  or  direc- 
tor of  each  factory  ;  while  the  position  accorded 
to  such  artistic  aid  as  might  be  available  had 
always  proved  of  paramount  importance.  Pro- 
fessor Church  first  noticed  the  Medicean  porce- 
lain of  the  16th  century;  the  wares  made  at 
Venice  and  Naples,  and  at  Alcora  and  Bueu 
Ketiro,  in  Spain,  were  then  considered.  The 
character  of  the  soft  paste  made  at  St.  Cloud, 
Mennecy,  Vineennes,  and  Sevres  was  discussed, 
together  with  the  effect  of  its  composition  on  the 
glaze  and  colours.  Among  English  soft  bodies, 
the  constituents  of  Bow,  Chelsea,  and  Worcester 
ware  were  detailed ;  while  some  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  minor  factories  (as  Swansea, 
Derby,  Caughly)  were  described. 

A  MEETING  of  the  members  and  subscribers  of 
the  Sanitary  Assurance  Association  was  held  on 
Tuesday,  "December  14th,  at  the  Langhan 
Hotel,  to  receive  the  Report  of  the  Provisional 
Committee  appointed  on  November  1st.  Sir 
Joseph  Fayrer  presided.  Mr.  Mark  H.  Judge 
read  the  report  of  the  Provisional  Committee, 
which  recommended  the  incorporation  of  the 
Association,  and  included  a  draft  Memorandum 
of  Association.  The  report  adhered  to  the 
original  intention  of  the  Association,  viz.,  that 
it  desired  to  promote  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  sanitary  arrangements  among 
all  classes  of  the  community  ;  to  grant  certifi- 
cates as  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  houses,  &c., 
approved  by  its  officers ;  and  while  providing 
the  best  ad'vice  and  supervision,  to  leave  the 
actual  carrying  out  of  the  necessary  improve- 
ments to  such  persons  as  the  subscribers  might 
themselves  select.  The  first  resolution  was  pro- 
posed by  Sir  Joseph  Fayrer.  seconded  by  Pro- 
fessor Corfield,  and  carried  unanimously  as 
foUows:— "That  the  Report  of  the  Provisional 
Committee  be  received  and  adopted,  and  that 
the  First  Executive  Council  be  now  elected, 
with  power  to  have  the  Association  incorporated 
in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the 
Provisional  Committee,  with  such  alterations  and 
additions  as  they  may  consider  necessary."  The 
second  resoluti"on,  proposed  by  Mr.  G.  J 
Romanes,  and  seconded  by  Dr.  G.  V.  Poore 
was  also  carried  :—"  That  Sir  Joseph  Fayrer 
K  C  S  I  M.D.,  F.B.S. ;  George  jUtchison, 
F  R  I  B  A. ;  W.  H.  Corfield,  M.A..  M.D. ;  F.  De 
Chaumont,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  ;  Mark  H.  Judge  ;  T 
Havter  Lewis,  F.S.  A.  ;  H.  Rutherfurd  ;  and  T 
Roger  Smith,  F.R.I.B.A.,  be  the  First  Execu 
tive  Council  of  the  Association." 

The  second  annual  conversazicme  of  the  St 
Paul's  Ecclesiological  Society  was  held  onThurs 
day  the  9th  inst.,  at  the  galleries  of  the  Society 
of  British  Artists,  Sufiolk-street,  PaU  Mall 
Kast.  About  350  ladies  and  gentlemen  attended 
The  large  central  gallery  was  used  as  a  concert 


720 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  17,  1880. 


room,  and  an  excellent  programme  of  songs  and 
^lees  was  rendered  by  four  members  of  the  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral  choir,  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  James  Barnby.  In  the  two  further  rooms 
there  was  a  small  but  interesting  collection  of 
objects  of  art,  lent  by  the  Rev.  S.  W.  May- 
hew,  Messrs.  Hardman,  and  others.  Among 
the  principal  articles  exhibited  were  the  follow- 
ing :  a  curious  calvary,  in  glass  of  various 
colours ;  Venetian  work  of  the  1 6th  century ;  a 
wooden  processional  cro-^s  covered  with  copper 
gilt  repoussL' ;  and  a  chasuble  of  a  singular  com- 
bination of  colours,  supposed  to  have  been  used 
by  Cardinal  Pole.  There  was  also  a  small  but 
fine  collection  of  modern  ecclesiastical  art  work, 
lent  by  Messrs.  Hardman. 

The  members  of  the  Society  of  Engineers 
dined  together  on  Wednesday  at  the  Guildhall 
Tavern.  The  president,  Mr.  Joseph  Bernays, 
C.E.,  who  took  the  chair,  was  supported  by  Mr. 
Charles  Horsley,  president-elect ;  Mr.  Jabez 
Church,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Porter,  vice-presi- 
dents ;  Professor  G-laisher,  Mr.  Perry  F.  Nursey, 
and  others.  The  chairman,  in  proposing  "  Suc- 
cess to  the  Society  of  Engineers,"  congratulated 
the  members  on  the  progress  which  the  society 
had  made  in  numbers  and  in  usefulness.  Mr. 
Alfred  Williams,  replying,  dwelt  upon  the  ad- 
vantages which  the  society  offered  to  engineers, 
and  especially  the  young  members  of  the  pro- 
fession, by  providing  for  the  reading  of  papers, 
and  by  organising  a  series  of  trips  to  see  engi- 
neering works  and  inventions  of  interest.  Mr. 
Horsley,  responding  to  the  toast  of  ' '  The 
President-elect,"  expressed  a  fear  that,  for 
some  time  at  least,  the  society  would  feel  the 
effects  of  that  depression  of  the  staple  trades 
from  which  the  country  was  still  suffering 
appreciably.  Many  young  men  would  feel 
that  they  could  not  afford  to  join  the  society, 
and  all  would  have  to  limit  their  expenditure 
if  we  were  successfully  to  compete  with  foreign 
rivals. 

The  Council  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British 
Architects  have  notified  to  students  that  candi- 
dates for  the  Pugin  Travelling  Studentship, 
1881,  must  send  in  their  applications  and  testi- 
monials, together  with  a  select  number  of  their 
drawings  and  skotohes,  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  the  Pugin  Deed  of  Trust,  on  or  before 
the  Istof  January,18Sl,  and  not  later  than  4  p.m. 
Carriage  and  all  expenses  must  be  paid  by  the 
candidate.  The  drawings,  &c.,  will  be  returned 
to  the  unsuccessful  candidates  on  application, 
and  on  the  production  of  a  formal  receipt,  but 
the  Institute  will  not  incur  any  expense  what- 
ever in  returning  them.  Candidates  are  required 
to  sign  or  initial  all  the  drawings  and  sketches 
submitted,  in  order  that  they  may  be  easily 
identified  and  returned  to  their  respective  owners 
after  the  election.  A  numbered  list  of  the  draw- 
ings submitted  must  be  sent  in  with  each  appli- 
cation. Each  candidate  for  the  Pugin  Travelling 
Student.ship  must  send  with  his  drawings  and 
testimonials  a  bona-fiiJe  statement  in  writing  that 
all  the  drawings  he  submits  have  been  entirely 
made  by  himself.  He  must  also  send  at  the 
same  time  a  certificate  of  his  birth  properly 
attested.  It  is  also  announced  that  the  latest 
time  for  receiving  at  the  Institute  till  designs, 
drawings,  and  essays,  submitted  in  competition 
for  the  medals  and  other  prizes  to  be  distributed 
next  year,  is  4  p.m.  on  Friday,  the  20th  of 
January,  1881. 

The  town  council  of  Brighton  received  on 
Wednesday  a  report  from  Mr.  P.  C.  Lockwood, 
the  borough  surveyor,  as  to  the  use  of  asphalte 
tar-paving.  He  states  that  a  total  area  of 
6,316  square  yards  has  been  laid  on  the  footpaths 
in  Lewes-road,  J  unction -road,  and  across  the 
Level,  and  also  the  cabstand  opposite  the  Grand 
Parade.  The  system  is  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  old  method  of  making  the  paths  with 
Coombe  rock  and  beach  shingle,  hut  it  is  not 
equal  to  rock-asphalte,  as  it  is  more  easily 
affected  by  changes  of  temperature  and  evapo- 
ration, and  it  needs  to  be  coated  every  year  with 
tar  and  sand,  and  would  then  be  very  durable. 
The  cost  per  square  yard  is  but  2s.,  and  it  is, 
therefore,  the  cheapest  material  for  paving  foot- 
paths, the  average  cost  of  other  pavements  being : 
clinker  bricks,  Ss.  9d.;  cement,  from  is.  to 
•5s.  6d.;  Seyssel  and  Val  de  Travers  asphalte, 
from  6a.  to  Ss.;  and  2Sin.  Yorkshire  stone,  9s. 

The  site  occupied  by  the  two  old  houses,  with 
projecting  shops,  situate  .53a  to  .54,  Parliament- 
street,  abutting  in  the  rear  on  Cannon- row,  and 


on  the  site  of  the  Grand  National  Opera  House, 
has  now  again  been  disposed  of  by  Mr.  Robins, 
of  Waterloo-place,  Pall  MaU.  In  1874,  the 
property  was  sold  by  auction  to  Mr.  Mapleson, 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  direct  approach  to 
the  new  opera  house  from  Parliament-street ; 
but  the  purchase  was  not  completed.  Its  resale 
points  to  an  immediate  movement  in  connection 
with  the  site  of  the  opera  house  on  the  Embank- 
ment ;  while  the  demolition  of  these  old  houses, 
whose  incongruity  with  their  more  modem  sur- 
roundings is  very  remarkable,  will  considerably 
improve  the  appearance  of  this  part  of  Parlia- 
ment-street. We  understand  the  price  now  paid 
is  equivalent  to  £7  per  foot  super. 

A  NEW  clock  for  Lincoln  Cathedral,  with  new 
quarter  bells,  was  set  going  on  Saturday.  Sip 
E.  Beckett,  Q.C.,  who  was  consulted,  recom- 
mended that  the  order  should  be  entrusted  to 
Messrs.  Potts  and  Sons,  of  Leeds.  The  principle 
of  the  new  clock  is  Sir  E.  Beckett's  double- 
three-leggcd-gravity  escapement.  The  ma- 
chinery weighs  about  4  tons ;  the  driving  weights 
about  \\  ton,  suspended  by  steel- wire  ropes 
270ft.  long  ;  and  the  pendulum  bob  2  cwt.  The 
beat  is  li  second.  In  addition  to  the  usual  dial 
of  turret  clocks,  there  is  a  seconds  dial.  The 
clock  is  inclosed  in  a  case,  which  has  been 
executed  by  Mr.  Allis,  from  the  plans  of  Mr. 
Smith,  clerk  of  works  at  the  cathedral.  The 
bells,  which  are  arranged  for  the  well-known 
"  Cambridge-quarters,"  also  reproduced  at 
Westminster,  are  from  the  foundry  of  Messrs. 
Taylor,  Loughborough,  the  founders  of  the 
new  peals  of  St.  Paul's  and  Worcester  Cathedrals. 
They  weigh  respectively  27cwt.  2qr.  71b., 
13cwt.  Oqr.  I4lb.,  12cwt.  Sqr.  24lb.,  and 
llcwt.  Oqr.  101b.  The  clock  is  situate  in  a 
chamber  in  the  great  central  tower,  and  has  no 
external  dials.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  cere- 
mony of  opening  the  clock  and  the  chimes,  the 
Dean  and  Canons  repaired  to  the  west-end  of 
the  Cathedral  for  the  purpose  of  laying  the 
crowning  stone  of  the  newel  of  the  spiral  stair- 
case of  the  south-western  tower,  thus  formally 
signifying  the  completion  of  the  difficult  and 
anxious  work  in  which  the  Chapter  has  been  for 
some  years  engaged,  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
J.  L.  Pearson,  R.A.,  in  tying  together  the 
magnificent  western  facade,  which  was  bulging 
outwards  to  an  alarming  extent,  rebuilding  the 
lower  part  of  the  south-west  tower,  which  had 
become  so  rent  and  shattered  as  to  threaten 
imminent  ruin,  and  strengthening  the  whole. 
The  stone  was  laid  by  the  Dean,  assisted  by  the 
clerk  of  the  works,  Mr.  J.  J.  Smith. 

A  jtEETiNO  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  ^Vi-chi- 
tectural  Museum  was  held  a  few  days  since,  and 
the  president,  the  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  B.  Beresford 
Hope,  M. P.,  took  the  chair.  The  proposal  to  alter 
the  S.W.  Court  of  the  museum  into  a  life  class- 
room was  determined  upon,  and  will  forthwith 
be  carried  out,  the  Ruskin  and  other  collections 
of  easts  in  this  court  being  allowed  to  remain  in 
their  present  place  on  the  walls.  The  screens  of 
examples  of  woodwork  will  be  removed  to  the 
top  gallery.  These  alterations  are  rendered 
necessary  by  the  continued  increase  of  meaabers 
in  the  School  of  Art  classes,  held  in  connection 
with  the  museum,  and  the  improvements  will  be 
carried  out  under  the  direction  of  the  senior 
hon.  sec,  Mr.  J.  P.  Seddon,  architect.  The 
council  made  their  award  of  the  sketching  club, 
(£5  OS.)  prize  for  the  past  year,  and  Mr.  John 
Coates  Carter  was  unanimously  elected  for  the 
prize.  Mr.  Walter  Hammond  was  awarded 
hon.  mention,  and  Mr.  T.  Frederick  Penning- 
ton's work  was  highly  commended,  but  not 
deemed  eligible  for  the  prize,  as  he  had  already 
on  a  former  occassion  been  awarded  the  same 
prize.  This  prize,  and  the  School  of  Art  medal 
and  prize  distribution  will  be  held  at  a  meeting 
for  the  purpose  on  Wednesday,  January  19, 
1881.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Sketching  Club,  held 
last  Wednesday  evening,  a  second  prize  of  two 
guineas  was  offered  by  Mr.  Druce,  to  be  called 
the  "Curator's  Prize,"  for  the  best  series  of 
sketches  made  during  the  session  illustrative  of 
the  several  periods  of  architectural  ornament 
as  exemplified  by  examples  in  the  museum. 


The  three-light  east  window  of  Kemerton 
Church,  Gloucestershire,  has  been  filled  with 
stained-glaas,  as  a  memorial  of  Archdeacon 
Thorp.  The  subjects  are:  the  Ascension,  in 
the  centre,  and  the  Resurrection  of  Our  Lord  and 
Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  side-lights. 
Messrs.  Clayton  and  Bell  were  the  artists. 


CHIPS. 

New  and  extensive  engineering  works,  erected 
for  Messrs.  J.  Dewrauce  and  Co.,  were  formally 
opened  by  a  dinner  to  the  workmen  in  the  employ 
of  the  firm  on  Saturday  week.  Messrs.  Lansdown 
and  Harris  were  the  architects,  and  Messrs.  Kiik 
and  Randall  were  the  contractors. 

The  select  vestry  of  Richmond,  Surrey,  received 
on  Tuesday  week  a  report  from  a  committee  re- 
commending the  adoption  of  amended  and  reduced 
plans  prepared  by  Messrs.  Geo.  Elkiugtou  and  Son, 
Cannon. sti'eet,  E.G.,  for  the  proposed  swimming- 
baths.  By  omitting  the  gallery  and  one  of  the  two 
boilers  the  cost  would  be  reduced  by  £1,600,  or  to 
about  £6,000,  in  addition  to  which  there  would  be 
£1,.500  required  for  purchase  of  site.  Strong  oppo- 
sition was  offered  to  the  report  on  the  ground  that 
the  instructions  to  competitors  named  £4,000  as> 
the  limit  for  works,  whereas  the  accepted  design, 
even  as  reduced,  would  cost  half  as  much  agam; 
but  eventually  the  adoption  of  the  report  was 
carried. 

New  choir-stalls,  of  carved  oak,  and  other 
fittings  in  the  same  wood,  have  i  ust  been  placed 
in  the  chancel  of  Althorpe  Church,  Lincolnshire. 
Mr.  James  Fowler,  of  Louth,  was  the  architect. 

The  new  buildings  for  Wellingborough  grammar- 
school,  erected  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Talbot 
Brown,  of  that  town,  and  illustrated  in  the 
BuiLDLNO  News  for  May  21,  1880.  have  just  been 
completed.  The  style  adopted  is  tiueeu  Aune,  and 
the  walls  are  faced  with  red  pressed  bricks  and 
Corshill  and  Bath -stoue  dressings.  The  buildings 
accommodate  SO  day  scholars  and  50  boarders,  and 
include  school  and  class-rooms,  dining-hall, 
masters'-rooms,  library  and  reading-room,  matron's 
department  and  sick-ward,  dormitories  and  lava- 
tories, with  baths  and  closets.  Adjoining  is  the 
head-master's  residence.  The  grounds  are  laid  out 
as  head-master's  garden,  largo  open  playground, 
covered  playground,  asphalte  and  grass  lawn- 
tennis  courts,  workshop  .and  lathe-room,  covered 
fives'  court,  gymnasium,  and  cricket  and  football- 
field.  For  the  buildings,  Mr.  John  Watkin,  of 
Nortliampton,  has  been  the  contractor. 

Tlie  local  board  of  Cottiugham,  near  Hull,  re- 
ceived, on  Wednesday  week,  a  full  report  from 
Mr.  B.  G.  Jacobs,  surveyor,  of  Hull,  on  the  works 
needed  to  complete  the  drainage  of  New  Village, 
in  which  it  was  recommended  that  1,800  yards  of 
drains  be  laid,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  £600.  The 
report  was  adopted,  and  Mr.  Jacobs  appointed  to 
superintend  the  work. 

National  schools  and  a  mistress's  house  have 
just  been  built  in  the  village  of  Chettisham, 
Cambs.  Mr.  K.  Swinfen  Harris,  of  London  and 
Stony  Stratford,  was  the  architect,  and  Messrs. 
David  Porter  and  Son,  of  Southery,  near  Downham 
Market,  were  the  builders. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Smithies,  architect,  of  the  Butts, 
BreatforJ,  died  suddenly  on  his  way  home  from 
church  on  Sunday  week.  Ho  was  only  20  years  of 
age. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Boulnois,  F.K.I.B.A.,  and  Mr.  A.  E. 
Warner,  A.R.I.B.  A.,  state,  in  reference  to  a  notice 
inserted  in  our  i.ssue  of  Dec.  3rd,  in  which  Mr. 
Stanley  is  named  as  the  architect  of  the  "Stan- 
dard Life  Assurance  Companys'  "  new  premises  in 
King  William-street,  E.G.,  that  Mr.  St.anley  is 
the  clerk  of  works  at  the  building,  and  that  they 
arc  the  architects  who  have  desigued  and  carried  it 
out. 

The  parish-church  of  North  Wingfield,  Derhy- 
shire,  was  reopened  on  Monday,  after  completion 
of  restoration.  The  nave  floor  has  been  rel.ii  1, 
benches  substituted  for  the  old  pews,  a  new  peal  of 
bells  bung  in  the  tower,  and  the  chancel  hai  also 
been  rearranged  and  placed  in  thorough  repair. 

Mr.  William  Furnival,  builder,  of  Wolverhamp- 
ton, whilst  feeding  a  chaff-cutting  machine,  on 
Tuesduy,  got  his  right  band  entangled  in  the 
machinery,  and  all  the  fingers  were  cut  off  the 
hand. 

The  town  council  of  Brighton  have  approve! 
plans  prepared  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Lockwond.  bor.iii_'n 
surveyor,  for  a  proposed  sanitorium,  to  be  erect,  i 
in  Bear  Hill-roid.  The  estimated  cost  of  con- 
struction is  £15,000. 

The  Cheltenham  board  of  guardians  adopted,  on 
Wednesday,  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  Darby,  theii 
architect,  for  new  workhouse  schools  for  1 1-' 
children,  est  mated  to  cost  £3,800,  and  new 
vagrants'  ward,  estimated  to  cost  £1,200. 

A  report,  recommending  the  acquirement  by 
purchase  of  the  local  gasworks  undertaking,  was 
adopted  last  week  by  the  town  council  of  Tewkes- 
bury. 

A  new  coffee-tavern,  to  be  known  as  the 
"Victoria,"  was  opened  at  Englefield-green, 
Egham,  last  week.  Mr.  Lowe,  of  London  and 
Staines,  was  the  architect,  and  the  contractors 
were  Messrs.  A.  L.  Oades  and  Son,  of  Egham. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BTTILDIXa  NEWS. 


721 


THE  BUILDma   NEWS. 


LOXDOX,    FRIDAY,    DECE3IBEK  24,  ISSO. 


THE  PEECEXTAGE  SYSTEM. 

ONE  of  the  reforms  necessary  to  place 
architectural  practice  on  a  more 
equitable  footing  is  the  alteration  or  modi- 
fication of  the  existing  mode  of  paying 
architects  by  percentage.  The  custom  of 
payment  by  commission  on  outlay  is  one 
of  modem  origin.  Even  so  late  as  the  17th 
century  we  hear  of  architects  being  paid  by 
salary,  and  Sir  C.  Wren  received  j,  yearly 
salary  for  his  work  ;  also  it  is  pretty  certain 
that  the  custom  of  remunerating  by  a  per- 
centage on  outlay  arose  when  the  architects 
duties  became  limited  to  strictly  professional 
labour,  and  were  separated  from  those  of 
the  builders.  The  contracting  system  led 
to  the  separation,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  percentage  payment  was  introduced  as 
a  convenient  mode  of  assessing  the  archi- 
tect's laboirr.  It  has  been  contended  by  some 
that  the  payment  upon  outlay  is  fair  to- 
wards the  employer,  for  they  argue  that 
the  value  of  professional  services  increases 
in  proportion  as  the  magnitude  of  the  work 
increases,  that  a  costly  building  should  re- 
ceive the  best  treatment,  and  that  the  out- 
lay incurred  by  an  individual  is  a  fair 
criterion  of  what  he  can  afford  to  pay  for 
professional  skill.  It  may  be  worth  while 
to  inquire  into  the  reasonableness  of  these 
claims.  If  it  be  said  that  the  larger  the 
outlay  the  greater  the  responsibility,  we 
can  understand  the  reason  why  the  system 
was  introduced,  but  as  the  outlay  can  be 
increased  to  any  extent  by  the  architect 
without  materially  adding  to  the  magnitude 
or  efficiency  of  the  building,  a  very  dIfFerent 
conclusion  may  be  arrived  at.  Again, 
magnitude  does  not  usually  increase  the 
difficulties  of  the  architect ;  it  quite  as  often 
reduces  the  amount  of  mental  labour — take, 
for  instance,  a  house  to  cost  £5,000,  and  a 
workhouse  or  mill  to  cost  ten  times  that 
amount.  It  is  equally  plain  that  cost  may 
be  incurred  without  a  proportionate  amount 
of  skill  being  exercised  by  the  outlay-paid 
architect,  and  to  say  that  cost  is  a  criterion 
of  what  the  employer  can  afford  to  pay  for 
professional  services,  is  a  statement  scarcely 
warranted  by  facts.  The  arguments  that 
maj-  be  urged  on  the  other  side  appear  even 
more  conclusive,  and  tend  to  show  that  both 
the  employer  as  well  as  the  skilled  architect 
are  sufferers,  and  the  only  thing  that  can 
be  said  for  the  system  is  that  it  is  an  easily 
understood  and  calculable  scale  for  the 
public.  At  present  the  architect  is  not  paid 
for  his  skill,  but  upon  the  cost  to  which  he 
puts  his  employer,  for,  unfortunately,  the 
expenditure  in  building  bears  no  just  rela- 
tion to  the  amount  of  thought  and  labour 
bestowed.  The  effect  of  this  system  is 
to  reduce  all  architects'  labour  to  one  dead 
level,  and  to  create  an  easy  means  of  in- 
creasing the  cost  of  a  building.  Whatever 
adds  to  cost  adds  to  the  remuneration  of 
the  architect.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
remind  the  reader  that  additional  expense 
does  not  always  mean  increased  efficiency ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  bears  often  an  indirect 
ratio  to  the  skill  exercised  in  the  building.  It 
is  needless  for  us  to  illustrate  this  proposition 
by  an  appeal  to  everyday  facts.  \\Tien  an 
employer  engages  an  architect  to  prepare 
designs  for  a  house  he  does  so  presuming 
that  the  usual  commission  of  5  per  centum 
secures  the  services  of  a  certain  amount  of 
skill  and  experience  ;  he  also  presumes,  like 
most  employers  of  professional  labour,  that 
for  increased  outlay  he  wiU  get  a  better  as 


well  as  a  larger  house.  Both  these  pre- 
sumptions are  to  a  certain  extent  ill- 
grounded.  As  regards  professional  skill,  at 
present,  he  has  no  guarantee  that  he  is 
employing  either  an  experienced  or  an  able 
architect  ;  on  the  other  hand  he  may  have 
placed  his  ^vishes  in  the  hands  of  a  young, 
perhaps  deservinj  and  clever  young  man, 
who  has  tever  had  a  commission  before,  and 
who,  however  anxious  to  serve  his  client, 
may  fail  from  no  fault  of  his  own  to  give 
the  satisfaction  looked  for.  Again,  as  re- 
gards cost,  the  employer  has  no  guarantee 
that  the  expenditure  of  an  additional  £100  or 
£500  will  be  well  spent,  or  command  greater 
convenience,  or  even  more  of  the  appoint- 
ments necessary  to  make  a  good  or  desirable 
residence.  The  money  may  go  in  increasing 
the  size  of  the  rooms,  or  in  adding  more 
costly  decorations  ;  but  of  actual  skill  exer- 
cised in  carrying  either  of  these  into  etl'ect, 
he  has  no  certainty  whatever.  But  the 
mischief  of  the  percentage  system  does  not 
stop  here.  There  are  some  members  of  the 
profession  who  enter  it  from  a  purely  com- 
mercial aspect ;  they  look  upon  the  archi- 
tect's employment  as  a  very  lucrative 
business,  simply  because  the  architect  can, 
if  he  choose,  "play  into  his  own  hands,"  and 
to  a  certain  degree  make  his  own  remunera- 
tion. With  men  of  this  low  morale,  the 
readiest  means  of  increasing  expenditure 
too  frequently  suggest  themselves — enlarge- 
ment and  ornamentation. 

Competition  in  itself  has  mainly  arisen 
out  of  the  present  mode  of  remuneration  ;  it 
was  clearly  promoted  to  obtain  the  best 
result  from  a  number  of  individuals  who,  if 
they  had  been  separately  employed,  would 
have  had  no  inducement  to  exhibit  skill, 
and  it  may  with  equal  fairness  be  said  that 
all  that  is  objectionable  in  that  system  of 
obtaining  talent  proceeds  from  the  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  public  to  obtain  the  most 
showy  design,  and  en  the  part  of  the  com- 
petitor to  obtain  the  largest  remuneration 
by  percentage. 

If  we  look  on  the  other  side  to  unrecognised 
talent,  the  mode  of  paying  is  extremely 
unfair ;  one  architect  may  spend  hours  of 
thought  and  study  in  elaborating  his  design, 
while  another  may  save  himself  all  trouble 
by  taking  his  ideas  from  some  book,  or 
making  his  building  the  mere  replica  of 
another ;  yet  the  remuneration  is  the  same 
in  either  case,  except  that  the  latter  has 
stolen  a  march  on  his  brother  in  regard  to 
time,  and  may  turn  out  two  designs  to  the 
former's  one.  The  copyist  does  not  quarrel 
with  the  present  mode  of  payment,  in  fact, 
he  finds  it  remunerative,  for  it  paj's  in  a  fair 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  copying  effected  ; 
it  is  a  good  remuneration  for  quantity,  but 
not  for  quality ;  but  the  artist  who  devotes 
time  and  thought  has  the  undoubted 
grievance  to  urge  that  the  more  time  and 
pains  he  devotes,  the  less  he  is  paid.  We 
see,  then,  that  tlie  present  system  is  amply 
remunerative  to  the  incompetent,  but  very 
disproportionately  so  to  the  competent  archi- 
tect, the  unfortunate  result  being  that  both 
are  placed  on  the  same  level,  and  that  in- 
capacity and  inexperience  are  paid  at  the 
same  rate  as  ability,  making  mediocrity  and 
quantity  the  most  remunerative  elements 
ip  building. 

There  is  even  a  greater  injustice  inflicted 
by  the  percentage  remuneration,  namely,  that 
the  few  successful  men  get  all  the  work, 
or  a  greater  share  of  it,  than  they  can  carry 
out  with  advantage.  Most  of  the  work  of  the 
day  falls  into  the  hands  of  a  few,  and  this 
will  be  always  the  case  so  long  as  the  5  per 
cent,  rate  is  the  uniform  charge.  When 
people  find  out  that  they  can  obtain  the 
services  of  leading  architects  at  the  same 
rate  as  those  of  a  comparatively  unknown 
practitioner,  we  cannot  blame  them  for 
using  their  discretion,  though  often  they 
have  not  the  discernment  to  see  that  by  over- 
burdening men  of  repute  with  small  com- 1 


missions,  they  are  really  obtaining  the 
thought  and  services  of  those  in  their  em- 
ploy, and  not  of  the  men  themselves,  while 
they  are  denjong  to  men  of  attainment  in 
the  profession  all  chances  of  success,  who 
are  thereby  driven  into  competitions.  We 
can  appeal  to  the  younger  members  of  the 
profession  for  evidence  of  the  injustice  done 
by  this  proceeling,  and  to  the  remarlrs  re- 
cently made  at  the  Architectural  Association 
by  certain  members,  condemning  the  present 
practice  of  architects  seeking  aLdtakingmore 
work  than  they  can  properly  supervise  or 
carry  out.  At  the  same  time  architects,  how- 
ever greedy  they  may  be,  are  not  entirely 
to  blame  ;  like  other  men  they  are  tempted 
to  take  as  much  as  they  can  get,  unmindful 
of  the  debt  they  owe  to  art.  It  is  the  system 
of  remuneration  which  has  led  to  the  results, 
for,  if  our  ablest  architects  could  charge  in 
the  same  way  as  eminent  lawyers  or  physi- 
cians there  would  be  a  more  equal  distribu- 
tion of  work,  and  the  lesser  or  younger  men 
would  have  a  better  chance  of  ^\•inning  their 
way  to  the  front  ranks  by  legitimate  means. 

We  have  seen,  then,  there  is  a  temptation  to 
the  architect  to  increase,  not  to  limit  expen- 
diture ;  that  the  demands  made  upon  the 
architect's  skill  and  labour  are  generally  in 
an  inverse  proportion  to  the  outlay  or  size  of 
the  buUding,  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  not 
fair  to  pay  him  a  uniform  percentage  in 
every  cise;  that  repetitions  of  the  same 
design,  as  in  the  case  of  a  terrace  of  houses 
of  similar  plan  and  elevation,  ought  not  to 
bear  the  same  charge  as  a  design  for  one 
house,  a  church,  or  a  complicated  municipal 
structure  where  the  skill  and  time  expended 
would  be  fourfold,  and,  lastly,  that  a  per- 
centage of  uniform  rate  has  a  tendency  to 
reduce  architectural  skUl  to  one  level,  and 
to  overburden  successful  men  with  an 
amount  of  work  they  cannot  possibly  do 
justice  to. 

The  painter  and  sculptor  both  win  their 
spurs  I  y  making  their  remuneration  corre- 
spond to  their  skill  and  to  the  demand  made 
upon  it,  and  we  can  scarcely  imagine  either 
being  paid  for  his  work  by  the  amount  of 
canvas  covered  or  of  stone  sculptured. 
Imagine  a  uniform  rate  of  charge :  where 
would  painting  and  sculpture  be  'r  But  the 
painter  or  sculptor  cannot  so  well  delegate 
his  work  to  others.  The  architects  only, 
among  the  hierarchy  of  artists,  are  content 
to  depute  others  to  carry  out  work  for  them, 
and  for  the  only  reason  that  they  find  that 
they  do  not  reap  any  additional  emolument 
for  personal  skill.  The  time  has  gone 
by  when  one  great  work  was  enough  to 
satisfy  the  ambition  of  the  architect ;  we  do 
not  live  in  the  age  of  the  Medici,  when  an 
artist  was  paid  proportionately  for  the  talent 
he  had  exercised,  but  it  is  not  unreasonable 
that  he  should  ask  for  the  same  recognition 
in  this  respect  as  the  public  awards  to  the 
painter,  the  lawyer,  and  the  physician. 

We  have  endeavoured  to  point  out  a  few 
of  the  many  evils  which  have  arisen  out  of 
the  uniform  payment  to  the  profession,  as 
set  out  in  the  present  scale,  with  the  hope 
that  something  will  be  done  at  the  next 
conference  of  architects  to  establish  a  more 
reasonable  scale  of  charges.  Mr.  Whichcord, 
in  his  opening  address  this  session,  merely 
touched  the  question  and  showed  the  unfair- 
ness of  charging  the  same  rate  for  the 
mansion  and  the  prison,  and  the  injustice  of 
making  all  young  practitioners  who  subscribe 
to  the  Institute  code  charge  the  same  as  their 
more  able  and  experienced  members  ;  but 
nothing  was  suggested  to  meet  the  difficulty. 
We  will  not  now  attempt  to  say  in  what 
precise  manner  the  reform  ought  to  be  made, 
as  the  opinion  of  the  profession  out  of  doors 
ought  to  be  obtained  before  anything  is  pro- 
posed ;  but  it  is  evident  that  a  graduated 
scale  ought  to  be  adopted,  based  primarily 
on  the  degree  of  complexity  of  buildings,  or 
the  skill  necessary  in  their  design  and  elabo- 
ration.   Such  a  scale  might  be  made  to  vary 


723 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880, 


from  10  per  cent,  to  2}  per  cent.,  small  and 
difficult  works  being  at  one  end  of  the  scale, 
and  extensive  structures  of  the  factory  class 
at  the  other.  It  is  true  in  the  schedide  of 
rules  published  by  the  Institute  an  ascending 
scale  is  spoken  of :  clause  4  states,  "  Inworksof 
small  value,  say,  £500  in  amount,  5  per  cent 
is  not  remunerative,  and  the  charge  should 
be  by  time  or  by  an  ascending  scale  reaching 
10  per  cent,  for  Tvorks  under  £100";  but 
this  clause  is  practically  inoperative  in  the 
absence  of  a  specific  rate.  Repetitions  and 
works  of  a  decorative  character  are  proposed 
to  be  charged  for  by  special  circumstances, 
but  this  also  is  a  vague  manner  of  putting  it 
and  no  settled  rule  is  likely  to  be  established 
from  such  a  clause. 

It  seems  further  desirable  that  degrees  of 
skill  and  experience  should  be  recognised  ; 
that  every  practitioner,  within  reasonable 
limits,  should  be  enabled  to  set  his  own  value 
on  his  labom-,  but  this  is  a  question  to  be 
determined  only  by  the  united  action  of  the 
the  profession.  Custom  and  legal  sanction 
have  given  the  present  system  a  footing,  but 
the  previous  endeavour  to  promote  uni- 
formitj'  of  charges  was  only  tentative,  while 
it  will  be  universally  acknowledged  that 
neither  justice  nor  common  sense  have  sanc- 
tioned a  mode  of  payment  which  places 
outlay  before  skill,  and  which  clearly  con- 
tradicts not  only  honest  free  trade,  but  the 
very  foundation  of  art. 


AECHITECTUEAL  TAUTOLOGY. 

TAUTOLOGY  in  art  is  just  as  offensive 
to  the  cultivated  eye  as  tautology  in 
speech  is  to  the  cultivated  car;  aud,  un- 
happily, it  is  far  more  common.  In  an 
hour's  walk  through  London,  there  is  a 
hundred  times  more  of  it  to  be  seen  than 
heard.  The  purposeless  saying  of  the  same 
thing  over  and  over  again,  in  different  words, 
is  the  vice  of  few  :  the  purposeless  doing  of 
the  same  thing  over  and  over  again,  in  dif- 
ferent forms,  is  the  ^•ice  of  many.  Especially 
it  is  the  vice  of  the  careless  or  incompetent 
architect,  who,  while  he  would  laugk  at  the 
man  who  should  talk  to  him  about  an  "  old 
ancient  piece  of  antiquity,"  is  Cjuite  ready 
to  show  eveiyone,  not  in  a  momentary 
speech,  but  in  a  building  likely  to  last  for 
centuries,  that  his  own  mind  is  not  a  whit 
more  cultured  or  refined  than  his  who  made 
this  celebrated  description.  That  it  may 
not  be  thought  we  are  exaggerating,  we  will 
leave  generalities,  and  with  some  views  of 
recent  buildings  before  us,  go  into  details. 

The  commonest  form,  perhaps,  of  the 
nicaningless  repetition  in  question^  is  found 
5-  in  connection  wi'h  windows  and  door- 
■■•  arches.  For  the  sake  of  convenience,  the 
designer  adopts  square  or  segmental- headed 
sashes,  and  above  them — as  common-sense 
and  good  construction  dictate — he  puts  a 
strong  stone  lintel  or  segmental  arch,  of  the 
full  thickness  of  the  wall.  In  all  reason, 
this  should  dispose  of  the  window,  so  far  as 
construction  is  concerned.  The  segmental 
arch  or  lintel  is  all  that  is  wanted,  seeing 
that  it  takes  the  whole  thickness  of  the  super- 
structure. But  too  often,  either  because  of 
the  foolish  notion  which  has  been  reiterated 
for  years  by  men  who  ought  to  know  better, 
that  there  can  be  no  good  Gothic  without 
pointed  arches,  or  because  the  lintel  or 
segmental  head  does  not  fit  well  into 
some  pre-arranged  composition,  the  de- 
signer begins  again,  and  puts  a  high- 
pointed  arch  over  all.  Having  done 
his  work  once,  he  pretends,  apparently,  to 
fear  that  it  is  not  done  well  enough  to  last, 
and  patches  it  up  by  the  addition  of  some- 
thing stronger.  Such  tricks  are  offensive  to 
every  one  who  likes  to  see  work  done  in  a 
workmanlike  fashion,  thoroughly  and  once 
for  all.  "  If  your  stone  lintel  is  not  strong 
enough,"  such  a  one  would  say,  "by  all  means 
take  it  away,  and  put  a  stronger ;   if  your 


segmental  arch  is  not  deep  enough,  put 
another  ring  round  it  and  make  it  deeper  ; 
but  do  not  leave  a  new  building  i>atched 
and  mended,  as  if  it  began  to  crumble  away 
under  your  hands."  The  reply  will  be,  no 
doubt,  that  the  fame  sort  of  patchwork  is 
foimd  in  some  old  Gothic  buildings;  that 
many  fine  doorways  have  stone  lintels 
with  arches  above  them,  and  that  seg- 
mental arches  under  pointed  ones  are 
sometimes  to  be  met  with.  This  is 
true  :  but  observe  the  vital  difference  be- 
tween these  old  details  and  the  modern 
ones  in  question.  With  rare  exceptions 
(there  are  bunglers  in  all  ages),  the  Medi- 
seval  builders  did  not  do  their  work  twice 
over,  even  when  they  used  lintels  under 
arches;  whereas  the  modern  ones  often  do. 
Look  at  the  portal  of  any  great  French 
cathedral,  and  you  will  see  that  the  great 
pointed  arch,  in  recessed  orders,  carries  alone 
four- fifths  or  more  of  the  thickness  of  the 
wall ;  then  comes  the  lintel,  or  the  pair  of 
lintels,  to  carry  the  remaining  fifth.  In  old 
work  the  arch  carries  one  part  of  the  thick- 
ness and  the  stone  lintel  another  part  of  the 
thickness ;  in  the  modem  work  the  stone 
lintel  fii'st  carries  it  all,  and  then  the  arch 
carries  it  all  again.  The  wall  is  carried 
twice  over,  for  no  sufficient  reason :  and 
this  is  a  case  of  architectural  tautology. 

In  districts  where  freestone  of  old  was 
scarce,  and  had  to  be  rigidly  economised, 
we  may  find  many  instances  in  which  a 
wide  square-headed  -ndndow  of  many  lights 
has  a  relieving  arch  above  its  square  head  ; 
and  sometimes  the  head,  as  well  as  the  arch, 
comes  to  the  outside  of  the  wall.  This 
might  possibly  be  quoted  as  a  parallel  case 
to  the  modern  ones  we  have  condemned ; 
but",  generally  speaking,  it  is  not  so  in 
reality.  The  modem  instances  are  most 
commonly  of  windows  2ft.  or  3ft.  wide,  and 
the  whole  treatment  of  the  buildings  in 
which  they  occur  shows  that  stone  is  not 
particularly  fcarce  or  valuable.  The  old 
examples  are  often  of  windows  6ft.  or  Sft. 
wide,  a  span  which  lew  building-stones  can 
be  trusted  to  bridge  over  without  failure  ; 
and  the  arch  above  the  square  head  thus 
looks,  and  is,  a  necessity,  aui  not  an  affecta- 
tion. The  same  thing  may  be  said 
where  an  arch  is  used  above  an  ordinary 
wooden  lintel.  It  is  better,  no  doubt,  and 
marks  a  higher_glass  of  design,  to  effect  the 
object  by  one  jilHBbt  contrivance  rather  than 
by  two  which  assist  each  other ;  but  even  the 
latter  is  a  very  different  thing  from  effecting 
the  object  twice  over  when  everyone  can  see 
that  once  was  enough.  In  covering  a  square- 
headed  window  of  many  lights  with  free- 
stone as  scarce  as  it  used  to  be  in  Norfolk 
when  they  imported  it  on  packhorses  from 
Lincolnshire,  one  cannot  readily  see  a  more 
sensibly  way  of  proceeding  than  to  put  a 
thin  stone  head  to  take  the  glass,  and  a 
strong  relieving  arch  to  carry  the  wall ;  but 
in  dealing  ^vith  a  common  narrow  window, 
when  stone  is  as  plentiful  as  it  is  in  London, 
everybody  can  see  more  sensible  ways  than 
to  carry  the  wall  first  on  a  sufficient  stone 
lintel,  and  then  on  a  stUl  stronger  arch.  The 
consequence  is  that  the  former  is  felt  in- 
stinctively to  be  excusable  and  even  interest- 
ing, while  the  latter  impresses  itself  as  being 
either  stupid  or  affected. 

Architectural  tautologj'  is  not  confined  to 
the  use  of  superfluous  arches  or  lintels.  We 
have  seen  corbelled  piers  weathered  back 
for  the  express  purpose  of  corbelling  them 
out  into  piers  again,  when  the  natural 
course  would  have  been  to  continue  up  the 
original  pier  without  either  corbelling  or 
weathering.  We  have  seen  eaves-cornices 
(as  far  as  architectural  design  could  make 
them  so)  with  other  eaves  cornices  above 
them,  and  many  other  details  treated  in 
the  same  way.  London  abounds  in  warn- 
ings, quite  as  much  as  in  examples,  for  the 
architectural  student ;  and  they  may  help 
to  show  him  that  of  all  the  forms  in  which 


poverty  of  invention  displays  itself,  archi- 
tectural tautology  is  one  of  the  worst. 


COPYISTS  AND  COMPOSERS. 

BY  far  the  greater  number  of  those  who 
practice  architecture  excel  as  copyists 
rather  than  as  composers.  As  with  book- 
makers, it  is  compilation,  not  composition, 
which  just  now  is  found  to  pay  the  best.  It 
is  no'use  denying  the  fact  that  our  architecture 
has  been  simply  a  series  of  revivals  with  more 
or  less  of  the  spirit,  but  with  a  great  deal 
more  of  the  manner  of  the  original  styles. 
What  we  have  done  to  infuse  life  and 
character  into  our  buildings  has  been  due, 
in  spite  of  ourselves,  to  the  inventions 
and  improved  manufactures  and  the  actual 
requirements  of  those  who  build  than  any- 
thuig  architects  have  done.  Look,  for 
example,  what  lighting  our  town  buildings, 
large  covered  areas,  and  various  sanitary 
necessities  have  compelled  the  architect  to 
do  in  planning  and  design  ;  but  how  much 
more  has  the  demands  of  a  variety  of  new 
buildings,  for  commercial,  civic,  educational 
and  hygienic  purposes,  called  forth  a  class  of 
buildings  unknown  to  our  ancestors.  The 
factory  and  mill,  the  bank  and  exchange, 
the  co-operative  store,  the  vestry-hall,  the 
museum,  the  school  of  science  and  art,  the 
modem  hospital  and  its  various  develop- 
ments for  the  treatment  of  disease,  are  a  few 
of  the  new  problems  which  now  call  for 
solution  and  architectural  treatment.  These,^ 
we  say,  have  demanded  a  certain  amount  of 
skill  and  adaptation  in  plan,  which  it  would 
be  unfair  not  to  credit  the  architect  with  ;  but 
it  would  be  going  beyond  the  truth  to  say 
these  new  buildings  have  given  rise  to  any 
corresponding  architectural  invention.  It  is 
the  prevalent  notion  that  a  style  is  elastic 
enough  to  adapt  itself  to  every  condition, 
and  if  we  admit  that  architecture  is  simply 
a  language  in  which  to  clothe  the  structure, 
we  may  be  contented. 

It  is  not  far  to  seek  the  reason  of  all  this. 
Is  it  not  because  we  are  in  too  great  haste, 
to  do  better  ? — that  the  work  of  the  hand 
pays  better  than  the  work  of  the  head  ? — and 
that  books  to  a  certain  extent  supersede 
brains  ?  Contemporary  architectui-e  seems 
to  divide  itself  into  three  pretty  well 
defined  classes — the  works  of  those  who 
copy  [well,  of  those  who  copy  ill,  and  of 
compilers.  It  speaks  well  for  the  taste  of 
our  age  that  we  have  so  many  careful  expo- 
nents of  old  work— men  who  can  select  with 
judicious  taste,  and  copy  what  they  see 
conscientiously  and  truthfully.  The  younger 
men  of  the  profession  turn  out  admirable 
designs,  breathing  much  of  the  spirit  of  the 
old,  and  to  this  school  we  cannot  award  too 
high  praise.  Good  draughtsmanship  has 
trained  their  eye  and  hand  to  the  poiirtrayal 
of  features  and  details,  a  success  in  which 
good  illustrations  have  had  a  share ;  the 
only  fault  we  find  being  that  it  stops  short 
at  imitation,  and  does  not  go  further  in  the 
direction  of  inventive  design.  Our  draughts- 
men do  not  stay  long  enough  to  make  the 
detail  their  own  ;'they  are  content  to  catch 
the  manner  without  stopping  to  enquire  into 
the  directing  impulse  of  the  old  artist's 
work.  ■  A  craving  for  change  is  too  great  to 
allow  of  a  thorough  study  of  one  style 
before  another  takes  its  place.  After  all,  we 
must  be  satisfied  with  what  the  discerning 
copyist  gives  us  ;  it  is  far  better  than  crude 
or  tasteless  art  :  there  is  some  evidence  at 
least  that  the  artist  knows  how  to  select  a 
good  type  of  moulding  or  a  good  window  or 
detail  when  he  sees  it,  and  can  apply  it  with 
a  fair  degree  of  judgment  and  taste  to  the 
building  he  has  in  hand. 

In  this  class  we  do  not  wish  to  include 
the  "  crib,"  who  is  constantly  stealing  and 
appropriating  featui-es  in  whole  or  in  part 
from  his  brother-artists.  Not  unfrequently 
we  find  designs   appropriated  or  plagiarised 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


723 


i    in  a  manner  quite  unworthy  of  the  discrimi- 
nating copyist,  though  perhaps   sanctioned 
!    under  the  somewhat  vague  phrase  of  ' '  eclec- 
ticism."     We  can  only  call  this    pilfering. 
There  is  something  more  to   be  said  of   the 
I   copyist  who  selects  poor  types  and  models  :  he 
j    is  at  least  ho)u:f:f,  and  has  the  courage  of  his 
convictions.  If  he  commits  an  offence  against 
1   good  taste,  it  is  because  he  has  been  brought 
;    up  in  a  school  where  better  models  have  not 
j   been  put  before  him. 

j       There  are  very  few  who  take  the  trouble 
I  to  compose  their  designs,  since  compilation 
I   is  so   much   more  easily  and  quickly  done. 
,t  The  architectural   compiler   picks  out  a  bit 
{  here  and  another   there,  and  the  larger  por- 
I  tion   of  the  profession   are  compilers  in  one 
I  style  or  another.     The   only   programme  of 
I  course  is  a  large   stock-in-trade  of  designs, 
a  number   of   portfolios  and  sketch-books, 
and  the  keen  sense  of  this  school  is  to  hunt 
up    all   the  "  pretty  things  "    and    "  jolly 
bits "  they   can  find   to   make   use  of   them 
■when  a  fitting  occasion  arises.    The  compiler 
his  this  advantage   over  the  mere  copyist, 
that  he   looks  at  things  with  his  eyes  open. 
Ve  must  put  him  in  that  category  described 
1  by  ilr.    Euskin  in  his  "  Modem  Painters" 
I  where  he  contrasts  "  seers   and   thinkers." 
,  That    astute  critic   remarks    "  The   more  I 
j  think  of  it,  I  find  this  conclusion  more  im- 
j  pressed  upon   me  that  the  greatest  .thing  a 
I  human  soul  ever  does  in  this  world  is  to  sef 
j  something,  and  tell  what  it  saw  in   a  plain 
i  way."     This  dictum  might  well  be  applied 
!  to  the  discriminate   architect   as  well  as  the 
artist.  Our  most  successful  men  of  the  school 
we  are  referring  to  have  the  merit  of  seeing 
something   others    cannot,  and   of  putting 
it  before  others  in  the  plainest  way  they  can. 
But  the  larger   number   of  copyists  cannot 
Ao  this  :  if  they  select  a  feature,  they  must 
needs  smother  it  up  with  something  else,  or 
put   it  in   the   worst   possib'e  place.     They 
never  seem   to  know   how  to  tell   a   thing 
effectively.      It   is   either   overdone,    exag- 
gerated in  detail,  overloaded  with  ornament, 
or  put  in  the  worst  possible   i-elation   with 
something  else.     Let  us  take  a  very  common 
instance  to  illustrate  our  meaning.      A  bold, 
striking,  and  charmingly  simple  old  gable  is 
seen  in   Kent  or  Essex   and   transferred  to 
the  artist's   sketch-book  ;  it  appears  in  com- 
bination with  no  others,  and  juts  out  boldly 
■from  the  end  of  an  old  building   of  exceed- 
ingly plain  brick  or  tile   work.     What  does 
the  restless  architect   do  ?     He  transfers  it 
to  a  building  of  ten  times  its  size  or  preten 
■sion,  squeezes  it  up  between  others  of  similar 
or    unlike     design,    and   makes     it    barely 
project  from  the  wall ;  or  it  is  introduced  in 
a  front  close  to  another,  creating  a  disagree- 
able nook  between  them  perhaps  onlj-  of  2ft. 
or  3ft.  Worse  than  all,  to   make  them   un- 
like,   the  apex  of  one  is  lopped  off,  or  half- 
bipped  as  it  is  called  ;  one  is  treated  in  brick 
or   tile,  the    other    remains    half-timbered. 
There  may  be,  and  often  are,  two  or  three 
more  gables   crowded  together,    as  dormers 
or  projections  jostling  one  another,  and  each 
asserting  its    supremacy    over    the   others. 
Perhaps  an  elaborate  timbered  one  may  be 
ha' f -hidden  between  two  advancing  gables. 
The   effect  is  confusion  and   discord.     But 
mark,  they  are  all  takenfrom  good  examples, 
and  while  the  enseinJiIe  may   be  so  bad,  the 
details  are  admirable.     It  is  imneoessary  to 
mention  other  features  when  the  artist  with 
the  best  of  intentions  has  put  a  good  thing 
in  the  wrong  place. 

The  difference  between  the  copyist  and 
the  composer  is  greater  than  at  first  seems. 
The  latter  works  to  a  rule  or  principle,  which 
the  other  never  attempts.  All  that  has  been 
said  and  argued  against  conventional  rules  in 
art,  rests  upon  the  assumption  that  there  is 
tyranny  in  obeying  a  law,  and  those  who 
argue  thus  are  all  the  time  under  the  more 
oppressive  tyrany  of  tradition.  Rosetti,  an 
avowed  pre-Raphaelist_  says  the  "  surest  ^  ^  „  miTci 
brand  of  decadence  is  a  purbUnd  reliance   David  Donglas 


upon  precedents,  the  crouching  to  authority, 
not  in  its  essence  and  authentic  meaning, 
but  in  the  express  form  which  it  has 
assumed."  The  compositionist  can  lay  a  fair 
claim  to  ha^ving  mastered  the  principles  of 
the  art ;  the  mere  copyist  is  content  to  trans- 
cribe with  literal  exactness  and  implicit 
belief.  He  designs  his  elevations  to  siiithis 
plans,  he  develops  any  little  constructional 
expedient  into  a  feature  of  beauty,  without 
destroying  its  utOity  ;  he  turns  into  account 
his  lighting  arrangements,  makes  the  posi- 
tions of  his  entrances  and  halls  external 
features,  in  short,  he  develops  his  plan,  so  to 
speak,  froTn  ■within  outwards,  instead  of 
making  elevations  the  leading  consideration. 
The  copyist  moulds  his  plan  to  suit  his  favour- 
ite "  bit,"  and  in  so  doing  loses  convenience, 
but  the  true  composer  studies  each  till  ho 
has  made  them  both  express  a  purpose.  A 
truthful  builder  invents  his  forms  to  suit  a 
given  position  or  object,  and  it  is  this  which 
often  produces  crudeness  in  design  :  hence  it 
happens  that  those  of  our  architects  who  do 
the  least  copying,  are  often  commonplace, 
meagre,  or  mechanical.  A  most  important 
difference  has  to  be  noticed  between  the  real 
designer  and  the  copyist :  the  former  begins 
ah  initio,  while  the  last  commences  where 
others  have  left  off.  He  accepts  residts,  not 
methods.  It  is  on  many  accounts  desirable 
that  good  copies  prevail.  Coleridge  has  well 
said  that  "  to  admire  on  principle  is  the  onl}' 
way  to  imitate  without  loss  of  originality." 
andif  we  could  only  con^vince  the  youngarchi- 
tect  that  there  is  adeep-r'soted  reason  for  pre- 
ference, that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  fancy  and 
inclination,  we  should  be  placing  him  on  the 
right  road.  It  is  only,  as  Sir  Joshua  Rej-nolds 
says  in  his  "  Discourses,"  by  being  un- 
acquainted ■with  the  attempts  of  former 
adventurers,  that  the  student  is  apt  to  over- 
rate his  own  abilities,  "  to  mistake  the  most 
tri'vial  excursions  for  discoveries  of  moment, 
and  every  coast  new  to  him  for  a  new-found 
country."  On  the  contrary,  it  is  possible  to 
be  overloaded  and  oppressed  by  the  ideas  of 
others.  There  are  some  designers,  it  must  be 
confessed,  who  imagine  they  have  done 
something  clever,  when  in  fact  they  have 
only  succeeded  in  accomplishing  what  others 
had  done  before  them,  and  in  a  better 
■manner  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  composer 
has  this  consolation,  that  he  is  working  upon 
recognised  principles  de  novo,  and  is  more 
likely  of  obtaining  the  result  he  is  aiming 
at ;  he  can  also  profit  by  the  works  of 
his  predecessors,  whereas  the  copyist  merely 
borrows.  We  might,  in  short,  aptly  quote  the 
words  of  the  author  of  the  "  Stones  of 
Venice,"  in  contravention  to  much  that  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  himself  has  said  :  ' '  Never 
encourage  imitation  or  copying  of  any  kind 
except  for  the  sake  of  preserving  a  record  of 
great  works."  Taking  a  re'view  of  the  modem 
schools,  we  must  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  thoughtful  compiler  is  doing  the  most 
useful  work  by  steering  clear  alike  of 
pedantry  and  personal  peculiarity. 


THE  PAST  IN  THE  PRESENT.' 

THIS  is  the  title  of  a  series  of  lectirres 
on  archseology,  delivered  by  Arthur 
Mitchell,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ancient 
History  of  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy,  and 
Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
Scotland.  The  lectures  form  t-en  of  the 
Rhind  lectures  on  archeology,  and  though 
printed  as  they  were  delivered,  ■will  be  read 
with  much  interest  by  those  who  see  in 
arohDeology  something  more  than  a  discur- 
sive and  disconnecied  account  of  ancient 
objects  and  customs.  Dr.  Arthur  Mitchell, 
in  these  lectures,  endeavours  to  trace  the 
lingering  of    old    objects   and  customs   in 


the  present,  and  to  indicate  a  stricter  method 
of    inquiry    in    archioological     study    than 
usually  followid.     The  conclusions  to  which 
the  author  h'ads  his  readers  have  a  bearing 
on  the  antiquity  and  condition  of  Primeval 
m.an,  and  the  concluding  lectures  on  civilisa- 
tion contain   speculations  which,   although 
not  altogether  new,  will  tend  to  clear  the 
minds  of  many  on  what  is  meant  by  civi- 
lisation, and  who  have  pondered  over  what 
are    called     prehistoric    objects.    Glancing 
over  the  lectures,  that  on  the  "  Spindle  and 
Whorl  "  has  a  suggestive  value.   The  author 
recounts  a  visit  he   made   to  Fctlar,  one  of 
the    Shetland  group    of   islands,   where  he 
found  the  whorl   still  in  use  for  spinning, 
and  in  actual   process  of  being  made,  in  a 
part  of  a  country,  too,  where  high  civilisa- 
tion  exists,    and    where    complex  spinning 
machinery  may  be  seen  side  by  side  with  the 
spindle  and  whorl,  the  earliest  elements  of 
hand-spinning.     In  other  parts  this  primi- 
tive mode  of  spinning  has   died  out,  as  on 
the  main' and  of  Shetland,  and  there  remains 
no  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  spindle  and 
whorl.      The   spindle    rots,    but  the  whorl.s 
(being  made  of  stone— soapstone  or  steatite) 
.are  occasionally  found  or   dug  up,  and  are 
treated     with     superstitious     care,     being 
looked  upon   as  charms.     The  lesson  from 
this,  simple  as  it  is,   is  that  in  course  of  a 
few  generations  all  knowledge   of  an  object 
may    be    lost,    and     that     a    superstitiou.s 
regard  may  be  given    to  a  mere  common- 
place-object.     From    another    curious    in- 
cident related  by  the  author,  we  also  learn 
that   it  is    possible   for    a    stone   whorl  to 
be  entirely  forgotten  by  a  new  generation 
of  spinners,  and  for  an  imperfect  substitute 
to  take  its  place  ;  it   also  appears   a  single 
century  may  convert  such  a  simple  thing  as 
a  whorl   or   a   stone  celt  into   a  charm   or 
thunderbolt,   directly  its   use  is  forgotten  : 
and  that  as  an  old  art  dies  out  a  process  of 
degradation    often   follows.      Further,    the 
author  shows  by  the  spindle  and  whorl  that, 
though  an  implement  may  be  primitive  and 
appear  rude   to  us,   it  evidences  more  skill 
and  contrivance  than  we  give  it  credit  for. 
The  argument  is  illustrated  by  a  variety  of 
useful   references.      The   hand-spinning   of 
India  is  mentioned   to  show   the  value   of 
this   simple   contrivance,    and  the    ancient 
Egyptian   spinners  are   compared  ■with  the 
modem   Hebridean   spinner,    the  inference 
being  clear   that  the  Stone-age  man  is  not 
altogether  so  intellectually  contemptible  as 
we  are  sometimes  led  to  suppose,    and  that 
primaeval   man   was   not   such   a   degraded 
creature  as  is  generally  imagined.     Another 
lecture  enters  into  the  subject  of  craggans, 
querns,  norse-miUs,  &c.,  made  in  Barvas,  in 
the   island   of  Lewis.     Several   samples   of 
"  craggans,"  rude  clay-made  shaped  vessels 
or  globular  bowls  with  necks,  are  illustrated. 
They  are  of  coarse  clay,  unglazed,  shaped  by 
women,  ■without  a  wheel,  and  bakel  in  an 
open  fireplace.      Much   the  same  moral   is 
drawn  by  Dr.  Mitchell,  from  this  rude  kind 
of  pottery,  coarser  than  many  found,  and 
supposed    to  belong   to    prehistoric    times, 
now  manufactured  in  a   Scottish  village  in 
the  19th  century.     What,  indt-ed,  would  be 
the  explanation  of  the  discovery  of  a  woman 
buried  with  her  whorl,  craggans,  and  quern 
a  century  hence  ?   That  she  lived  in  the  19  th 
century,  there   would   scarcely  be  any  evi- 
dence, except  that  we  might  see  remnants  of 
other  manufactures  of  a  more  advanced  kind. 
The  conclusion   arrived  at,  we  give  in  the 
author's  O'wn  words  :    "  (1)  That   the  very 
rudest  known  form   of  an  art  may   coexist 
in  a  nation  with  the  highest — the  Wedge- 
woods  of  Etruria  with  the  Macleods  of  Bar- 
vas.    (2)  That  it  would  be  wrong  and  stupid 
to  conclude  from  this  that  the  nation  most 
be  composed  partly  of  savages   and  partly 
of  a  highly-cultured  and   ciTUised   people. 
(3)  That   persons   capable    of    immediately 
receiving    the    very    highest     culture   may 
practice  an  art  just  as  it  is  practised  by  the 


724: 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


most  degraded  savages  of  whom  we  have 
any  knowledge."  The  illustrations  given  of 
querns  or  hand-mills,  still  in  use  in  some 
districts,  as  the  Hebridean  islands,  Shet- 
land, &c.,  and  the  section  of  a  Shetland 
norse-mill,  of  primitive  construction,  all 
tend  to  corroborate  these  conclusions. 

More  interesting  to  the  architectural  anti- 
quary is  the  lecture  on  the  rude  forms  of 
dwellings  still  met  with  in  Scotland.  A 
typical  specimen  of  the  old  black-house  in 
the  islands  of  Lewis  and  Harris  is  given. 
It  consists  of  a  large  par.allelogr.iuiic 
enclosure,  40ft.  or  50ft.  long,  with  two  small, 
wing-like  projections,  one  a  sort  of 
porch,  and  the  other  (the  lar_3;er),  a 
barn.  The  centre  compartment  is  used  as 
a  byre,  and  a  pirt  is  partitionel  off  for 
human  beings  by  a  mere  curb  of  rough 
stones.  The  hearth,  or  fireplace,  is  ia  the 
centre,  over  which,  from  the  soot-begiimod 
rafters,  a  pot  is  suspended  ;  a  bench  of  sods 
is  on  one  side  of  the  fire,  a  kind  of  seat  and  a 
three-legged  stool  is  on  the  other  for  the  use 
of  the  wife.  The  children  and  dogs  crouch 
by  the  fire.  The  author  does  not  remember 
a  table,  and  chairs  are  unusual.  At  OQe  end 
are  the  beds— rough,  wooden  posts,  with 
straw  as  bedding.  All  sexes  and  ages  oc- 
cupy the  beds  ;  the  walls  are  of  rough  stone, 
about  Gft.  high,  and  about  the  same  in 
thickness.  The  rafters  are  rough  branches 
of  trees,  bound  together  with  ropes  of  straw, 
and  overlaid  with  loose  thatch.  The  roof  is 
not  only  to  protect  from  rain,  but  to  accu- 
mulate soot  for  mantire  ;  and  the  inside  is 
described  as  "a  constant  cloud  of  peat- 
reek,"  blinding  and  suffocating  to  the 
stranger,  though  acting  as  an  antiseptic.  A 
plan  is  given  of  this  barbarous  kind  of  hut, 
seen  about  20  years  ago,  which  is  not  much 
better  than  a  dungheap  when  smoke  exudes 
from  the  roof ;  there  is  generally  no  wmdow. 
The  author  particularly  calls  attention  to  the 
way  the  walls  are  built— two  facings  of 
stone,  with  turf  between — their  thickness, 
and  particularly  the  want  of  the  overlapping 
of  the  walls  by  the  roof,  so  that  the  rain 
runs  down  into  the  body  of  the  wall;  he 
observes  that  this  lude  construction  is 
not  an  expression  of  want  of  knowledge 
or  intelligence ;  but  the  result  of  delibera- 
tion, as  the  people  of  Le«-is  are  said  to  be 
physically  and  mentally  equal  to  the  occu- 
pants of  skUfully-built  houses  in  Canongate 
or  Cowgate,  Edinburgh.  Much  more  de- 
gradation and  savagery,  he  says,  are  to  be 
found  in  the  slums  of  great  cities  than  in 
these  black  houses.  The  remarkable  class 
of  houses  known  as  "  beehive-houses,"  or  ho- 
</mH,isnext  described — hive-formed  hillocks, 
covered  with  grass.  Ooe,  illustrated,  consists 
of  acoupleof  hives,  openinginto  each  other,  in 
which  three  gii-ls  cooked  their  food  and 
slept.  One  was  a  store-room  for  milk  and 
food,  about  6ft.  across,  and  the  living-room 
was  scarcely  6ft.  high  in  the  centre.  Smoke 
escaped  at  the  apex  of  dome  ;  rough  stones 
served  as  seats,  and  served  also  to  divide 
the  sleeping-space,  covered  with  hay  and 
ru-hes.  The  walls  of  these  primitive  hovels 
are  budt  of  rough,  undressed  stone,  and  the 
domical  roofs  are  formed  by  making  the 
courses  overlap  each  other.  No  cement  is 
used,  and  the  construction  resembles  the 
oldest  known  masonry.  Groups  of  these 
dwellings  are  also  illustrated,  and  the 
author  concludes  that  they  represent  an  old 
form  of  dwelling  which  is  now  dying  out. 
Many  of  them  are  recent.  We  have  no 
space  to  describe  any  of  these  in  detail, 
though  they  are  all  of  similar  construction. 
Some  of  them  have  three  alcoves  radiating 
from  a  central  beehive  chamber,  and  have 
sleeping-places  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall. 
The  engraving  given  of  a  large  circular  one, 
sufficient  to  accommodate  40  or  50  people, 
and  its  restored  elevation,  is  very  interesting. 
It  shows  a  hypogeum  or  subterranean  gal- 
lery attached,  and  was  no  doubt  the  palace 
of  an  ancient  chief.     "  Can  any  one  assert," 


says  the  author,  "  that  the  designer  may  not 
have  been  potentially  equal  to  the  builder  of 
the  extremely  beautiful  circular  church  or 
Baptistery  at  Nocera  dei  Pagani,"  illustrated 
by  Fergusson  I'  It  is  certam,  at  any  rate,  that 
as  this  kind  of  dwelling  became  disused,  it 
underwent  a  degradation ;  and  this  fact  is 
borne  out  by  Capt.  Thomas  and  Dr.  Daniel 
Wilson,  authorities  which  are  quoted  in  the 
text.  These  dwellings,  at  any  rate,  link  the 
prehistoric  to  the  historic  man  in  a  marvel- 
lous manner. 

In  Lecture  IV.  the  caves  at  Wick  Bay  are 
described,  and  cave-life  as  still  seen  in 
Scotland.  These  dwellings  are  inhabited : 
one  had  24  inmates — men,  women,  and 
children — and  the  author's  .account  of  a 
visit  to  it  shocks  one's  sense  of  modern  pro- 
priety. Men  and  women  were  found  lying 
naked,  on  beds  of  straw,  near  peat  tires. 
Two  conclusions  drawn  from  these  facts  are 
important  :  one  is,  that  their  habitation  bj' 
a  few  does  not  prove  a  general  use  of  caves, 
and  that  cave-dwellers  may  show  a  degree 
of  degradation  not  exhibited  by  the  nation 
of  which  they  form  a  part.  Among  the 
plans  given  is  the  chambered  and  horned 
cairn  in  Caithness-shire,  190ft.  in  length, 
and  another  shorter  one.  Circular  forms 
are  more  prevalent,  and  plans  and  section  of 
two  are  given.  Mr.  Anderson  remarks  that 
the  rude  structureless  cairn,  inclosing  a  cist 
of  slabs,  is  not  necessarily  older  than  more 
complex  forms ;  here  also  the  less  com- 
plex structure  may  be  the  work  of  a  later 
and  more  advanced  civilisation,  and  it 
would  be  impossible  to  measure  the  relative 
degree  of  civilisation  by  comparing  con- 
structive ability.  The  Bronze-age  cairn  at 
Collessie,  and  the  iirns  found  in  the  cist,  are 
given  ;  but  we  pass  on.  Some  curious  and 
primitive  agricultural  implements,  found  in 
Shetland,  form  the  subject  of  remark;  but 
we  are  more  struck  with  the  engravings 
given  of  annular  brooches,  cf  Celtic  cha- 
racter in  the  ornamentation,  and  made  of 
brass  and  silver.  Another  specimen,  re- 
cently made,  is  also  shown,  and  suggesting 
a  copy  of  an  original — a  good  illustration, 
as  Dr.  Mitchell  says,  of  the  dying  out  by 
degradation.  Lecture  Y.  is  an  important 
attempt  to  show  the  errors  fallen  into  by 
classifying  antiquities  according  to  defined 
epochs  :  as  those  of  Stone,  Bronze,  and  Iron  ; 
it  asserts  that  such  a  classification  has  no 
absolute  chronological  signification  ;  that  it 
fails  to  afford  criteria  of  culture  and  capacity. 
It  is  possible  that  a  nation,  for  instance, 
should  pass  from  the  Stone  into  the  Iron  age 
without  a  knowledge  of  bronze.  The  author, 
throughout,  brings  sufficient  eWdence  to  sub- 
stantiate these  opinions  ;  he  shows  clearly 
that  rude  stone  implements  are  not  neces- 
sarily a  proof  of  great  age.  The  specimens 
engraved  from  Shetland  and  Orkney  show 
different  kinds  of  di-essing.  After  alluding 
to  superstitions  such  as  the  belief  that  the 
stone  arrow-head  becomes  an  elf-bolt  cr 
thiuiderbolt,  and  has  the  power  to  avert  mis- 
fortune, or  cure  disease,  or  the  more  revolt- 
ing superstition  that  epilepsy  may  be  cured 
by  drinking  water  out  of  the  skuU  of  a  sui- 
cide, or  by  tasting  the  b'ood  of  a  murderer, 
the  author  concludes  by  examining  the 
question.  What  is  civilisation  ?  which  he 
briefly  defines  as  "  a  complicated  outcome 
of  a  war  waged  with  Nature  by  man  in 
society,  to  prevent  her  from  putting  into 
execution,  in  his  case,  her  law  of  natural 
selection."  In  other  words,  the  degree  of 
civilisation  attained  is  the  measure  and 
success  of  man  in  the  struggle.  Isolated 
man  is  powerless  to  avert  that  great  law 
single-handed,  so  he  combines  and  aso- 
ciates  with  his  fellows  in  society.  There  is 
nothing  new  in  this  idea.  Mr.  Herbert 
Spencer,  whom  the  author  largely  quotes, 
and  Mr.  Wallace,  have  forrculated  similar 
views  :  in  fact,  it  is  the  established  view  of 
all  evolutionists.  An  important  bearing  of 
the  aboTe  theory  is  the  view  attempted  to 


be  proved  that  the  [most  ancient  man  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  inferior,  either  physi- 
cally or  intellectually,  to  the  latest  and  most 
highly  civilised.  It  is  also  assumed,  with 
much  truth,  that  the  proportion  of  the 
weak  and  uncultured  is  greater  in  high 
civilisations  than  in  low  ones ;  we  need 
hardly  point  to  the  weak  and  feeble  intel- 
lects nurtured  and  protected  by  a  high 
civilisation  which,  had  they  lived  a  more 
barbarous  or  natural  life,  would  have  fallen 
a  prey  to  the  law  of  selection.  Another 
chapter  asks  the  question — "  Can  the  brutes 
be  civilised  ?  "  It  also  discusses  the  unit  of 
civilisation,  and  the  steps  by  which  civilisa- 
tions are  reached.  Man  alone  could  never 
reach  a  state  of  civilisation  :  he  can  only  do 
so  by  uniting  and  associating  with  others, 
while  the  unit  of  the  association  is  the  family. 
No  one  can  dispute  the  opinion  of  the 
author,  where  he  shows  that  modem  war- 
fare, with  all  its  refinements,  is  but  one  of 
the  links  of  a  savage  life;  war  seems,  as  he 
says,  to  be  persistent  in  man,  whether 
civilised  or  uncivUised.  In  another  chajjter  it 
is  affirmed  that  civilisation  can  be  lost,  that 
universal  progression  is  untenable,  a  pro- 
position incontrovertibly  established  by  Mr. 
Spencer  in  his  "Sociology,"  as  well  as  by  the 
records  of  actual  nations.  "Existing  men 
of  the  lowest  types  do  not  exemplify  men  as 
they  originally  were,' '  writes  Mr.  Spencer, 
but  probably  had  ancestors  in  higher  states 
— a  conclusion  made  out  by  facts  otherwise 
inexplicable.  It  would  lead  us  too  far  to 
follow  Dr.  Mitchell  in  this  argument ;  suffice 
to  remark  that  the  means  by  which  high 
civilisation  works  are  sketched  out  fairly. 
The  conventionalities  of  modem  civilised  life, 
marks  of  culture,  themselves  constitute  a 
sort  of  tyranny  imder  which,  as  the  author 
justly  says,  we  frequently  fret,  pining  for 
the  chance  of  a  temporary  escape,  and  in 
course  of  time  civilisation  may  become 
suicidal.  The  author  follows  out  Mr. 
Spencer's  conclusions  pretty  closely  ;  but  we 
have  said  enough  to  indicate  the  drift  of 
these  concluding  lectures,  and  to  show  that 
in  our  boasted  civilisation  lurks  seeds  of 
decay.  Nearly  half  the  volume  is  taken 
up  with  the  appendix,  in  which  quotations 
from  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer's  "  Principles," 
Mr.  Wallace's  writings  on  the  "  Antiquity 
of  Man,"  Mr.  Greg's  "Enigmasof  Life,"  and 
other  valuable  sources  appear.  The  work  is 
well  printed  and  got  up,  and  the  illustra- 
tions add  much  to  the  interest  of  the  volume. 
We  must  admit  that  Dr.  Mitchell  deserves 
the  thanks  of  all  archteologists  who  desire 
to  place  the  study  of  antiquities  on  a  rational 
footing  among  other  sciences. 


LOCAL    BOARD    SURVEYORS    AND 
ARCHITECTS. 

IS  it  right  for  a  local  board  officer  to  practise 
architecture  or  exercise  control  over  the 
local  architect?  This  is  a  question  which 
every  now  and  then  forces  itself  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  those  who  watch  the  doings  in  provincial 
towns  which  aie  subject  to  building  regula- 
tions, and  it  may,  before  long,  call  for  more 
consideration  on  the  part  of  architects.  It  may 
be  as  well  to  remember  that  the  relation  between 
the  supervisor  of  a  local  board  or  municipal 
authority,  and  the  independent  practitioner,  is 
not  always  of  the  most  agreeable  kind,  and  in 
small  towns  a  feeling  of  rivalry  is  likely  to 
spring  up.  Of  course  we  refer  more  particu- 
larly to  those  towns  in  which  the  officer  of  the 
board  or  urban  authority  is  permitted  private 
practice.  Complaints  now  and  again  reach  us 
of  overbearing  on  the  part  of  officers,  of  un- 
necessary restrictions  in  matters  of  design,  and 
of  putting  into  operation  clauses  that  were 
intended  to  protect  the  public  against  the  specu- 
lative and  "  jerry  "  builder.  The  discretionary 
powers  giTen  to  local  authorities  are  no  doubt 
sufficiest  to  meet  the  conflicting  interests  that 
arise  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  adminis- 
trative machinery,  frequently  entangled  by 
legal  technicaUties,  is  often  incompetent 
to  mete^out  even-handedjustice.     The  original 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING    NEWS. 


725 


inception  of  the  Local  Government  Acts  was  the 
promotion  of  sanitary  improvements,  though 
their  extension  to  other  statutes  has  not  been  ac- 
companied by  a  corresponding  development  of 
efficiency  in  the  executive  department.  To  take  a 
by  no  means  imaginary  town  of  say  30,000  in- 
habitants, a  sur\-eyor  is  elected  to  carry  out  the 
provisions  of  the  Public  Health  Act.  He  is 
elected  from  among  a  number  of  eligible  candi- 
dates, and  his  qualifications  may  be  sufficient  to 
meet  all  the  requirements  of  his  responsible 
office.  Architectural  qualifications  are  by  no 
means  those  which  fit  him  best  to  discharge  the 
functions  of  carrying  out  the  local  improve- 
ments ;  in  many  instances  they  are  a  hindrance 
to  his  success,  and  perhaps  the  less  of  an  archi- 
tect he  is  the  better:  good  business  qualifications 
and  general  engineering  knowledge  are  the 
principal  considerations.  Highly  coloured 
testimonials  are  not  the  least  esteemed  proofs 
of  competence  he  brings  with  him.  He  is 
elected,  and  one  of  the  first  of  his  duties,  in  all 
probability,  is  the  drawing  up  of  instructions  to 
architects  for  a  new  town-hall,  or  a  new  set  of 
offices,  supposing,  of  course,  he  is  not  a  com- 
petitor hirnself.  The  ability  which  he  may  bring 
to  this  task  may  be  of  the  first  order,  or  it  may 
be  the  reverse ;  m&ny  of  the  instances  that  occur 
to  ns  show  a  practical  knowledge  of  requirements, 
and,  in  some  instances,  evidence  of  architectural 
skill.  No  one  can  object  to  a  town  surveyor  ad- 
vising or  assisting  the  committee  in  this  way  ; 
it  is  quite  within  the  duties  of  an  officer  of  the 
Board,  but  the  independent  competitor,  a  local 
practitioner,  may  view  even  this  step  as  one  not 
calculated  to  inspire  him  with  confidence  or  with 
the  justice  of  a  publicly  constituted  board.  But 
far  more  would  he  be  entitled  to  hold  this  view 
if  the  surveyor  were  also  a  competing  candidate, 
as  in  many  cases  he  is,  and  it  is  this  undesirable 
position  of  an  officer  appointed  under  the  Local 
Board  Acts  that  appears  to  call  for  redress.  The 
records  of  our  own  journal  furnish  many  un- 
pleasant instances  of  favour  shown  to  officers, 
and  of  acceptance  of  designs  prepared  by  them  ; 
bnt  we  prefer  to  take  a  commoner  case 
in  which  the  board's  surveyor  acts  in 
the  capacity  of  a  referee,  or  exercises  so 
much  control  that  his  brother  architects  have 
little  or  no  chance  of  obtaining  any  corporation 
work,  whether  through  competition  or  otherwise. 
It  will  be  unnecessary  to  mention  actual  oases, 
though  two  or  three  have  recently  happened 
which  give  force  to  these  remarks.  The  local 
board  of  a  small  town  on  the  south  coast  invites 
a  competition  of  architects  to  send  in  designs  for 
a  new  Town-hall ;  a  premium  is  offered,  and  the 
expenditure  fixed,  and  a  costly  set  of  drawings 
are  submitted.  Delay  takes  place,  quibbles 
arise,  and  finally,  the  board,  after  paying  the 
premium  to  the  successful  competitor,  propose 
to  expend  only  one-fourth  of  the  original  sum, 
and  to  employ  their  own  surveyor.  This  is  only 
one  of  a  number  of  instances  that  might  be 
alluded  to  in  which  a  similar  proceeding  takes 
place,  the  injustice  of  which  needs  no  com- 
ment. What  we  wish  more  especially  to  dwell 
upon  is  the  unfair  position  that  competition 
gives  to  a  local  surveyor  in  such  cir- 
cumstances both  over  the  professional  com- 
petitors and  the  local  architects.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  say  more  than  to  suggest  what 
advantage  might  accrue  to  the  board's  officer  in 
such  a  case,  for  although  the  premium  paid 
entitles  the  board  to  the  architect's  design,  it 
very  imperfectly  remunerates  him,  unless  he  has 
the  opportTinity  of  carrying  out  his  own  design. 
In  another  actual  large  town,  a  competition  for 
new  offices  was  contemplated,  but  abandoned, 
owing  to  a  majority  in  the  town  council,  and 
the  local  surveyor  was  instructed  to  prepare  de- 
signs for  the  enlargement  of  the  old  building  at 
a  cost  which  might  have  gone  a  long  way 
towards  erecting  a  building  of  architectural 
pretensions.  As  a  result,  the  town  has  to  put 
up  with  a  makeshift,  a  piecemeal  buUding  devoid 
of  any  dignity.  In  the  latter  case,  the  town 
surveyor  succeeded  in  securing  an  important 
addition  to  his  salary  by  way  of  extra,  but  the 
competing  members  of  the  profession  are  prob- 
ably none  the  worse  off  for  losing  an  opportunity 
for  displayihg  their  skill. 

These  proceedings,  however,  on  the  part 
of  municipal  bodies  are  not  flattering  to  local 
architects,  and  may  be  considered  an  unnecessarv 
interference  with  the  rights  and  qualifications  of 
architects  who  have  no  official  connection  with 
town  matters.  We  cannot  see,  indeed,  the  de 
sirability  or  policy  of  adding  labour  of  this  sort 


to  the  duties  of  surveyors,  and  it  maj*  be  worth 
the  attention  of  the  Local  Government  Board  to 
introduce  a  clause  restricting  local  surveyors  to 
the  duties  that  more  particularly  belong  to  them, 
as  it  may  be  the  duty  of  the  professional 
societies  to  protect  those  who  compete  for  public 
works.  The  subject  seems  to  be  worth  the  at- 
tention of  the  Sanitary  Institute,  or  of  a  future 
conference,  and  we  have  no  doubt  we  are  merely 
expressing  the  opinion  of  a  large  number  of 
practitioners.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a 
mixed  board,  composed  of  members  who  have  no 
very  clear  definition  of  the  architect's  and  engi- 
neer's work,  can  be  called  upon  to  exercise  a 
judicious  discretion  in  these  matters.  It  belongs 
especially  to  the  professions  or  their  representa- 
tive societies  to  take  the  initiative. 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  local  ap- 
pointments, and  having  an  intimate  relation  to 
the  independence  of  the  professional  architect, 
is  another  question  which  seems  to  belong  more 
to  the  functions  of  the  Institute  ;  we  allude  to 
the  conferring  th  e  rank  of  fellowship  on  engineers 
or  surveyors,  as  well  as  on  those  who  have  specially 
made  architecture  and  its  allied  arts  a  study.  It 
seemshardly  fair,  for  instance,  that  a  local  surveyor 
with  the  letters  •' F.R.I.B.A."  tacked  on  to  his 
name,  should,  by  such  an  assumption  of  su- 
periority, oust  from  the  field  others  who  have 
really  higher  claims  to  the  title,  but  who  are 
probably  titleless.  In  small  towns  the  effect 
of  this  combination  of  official  with  professional 
position  is  that  nearly  all  the  important  work 
goes  to  the  surveyor,  if  he  is  not  debarred  from 
private  practice,  and  the  professional  ratepayer 
has  a  well-founded  grievance  against  the 
"powers  that  be."  This  state  of  affairs  is, 
moreover,  somewhat  aggravated  by  the 
architects  of  the  locality  having  to  sub- 
mit drawings  of  proposed  works  (under 
the  operation  of  the  building  bye-laws) 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  board  to  the 
surveyor,  who,  of  course,  can  exercise  a  little 
arbitrary  power  if  he  thinks  it  desirable.  Neces- 
sarily all  contemplated  work  is  subject  to  his 
approval  or  veto,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  hear  of 
complaints  from  local  practitioners  against  the 
caprice  and  unprofessional  conduct  of  the  sur- 
veyor, either  in  impeding  or  otherwise  taking 
advantage  of  the  position.  On  such  grounds  as 
these  the  position  of  the  local  authorities  and 
their  professional  advisers  would  be  rendered 
more  unassailable  if  private  practice  were  strictly 
prohibited.  The  paltry  salaries  offered  are  little 
inducement  for  a  professional  man  to  forego  this 
addition  to  his  income,  but  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  might  very  well  take  the  matter  into 
their  consideration.  Above  all,  it  is  desirable 
that  sanitary  authorities,  as  at  present  consti- 
tuded,  shotild  not  exercise  any  arbitrary  powers 
over  architectural  or  aesthetic  questions.  Some 
of  these  the  institutes  of  architects,  both  of 
England  and  Ireland,  have  pointed  out  in 
amendments  we  have  before  discussed,  and  the 
authorities  would  be  strengthened  by  limiting 
their  powers  to  strictly  sanitary  construction. 


THE  EARLY  DATS  OF  PORTLAND 
CEMENT. 

DURING  the  inquiries  I  had  occasion  to  make 
for  a  recent  paper  on  Portland  cement,  I 
was  much  struck  with  the  absence  there  appears 
to  be  of  precise  information  respecting  the  early 
history  of  this  material,  and  the  difficulty  in 
which  one  is  placed  in  determining  when  Port- 
land cement  of  good  quality  was  first  manufac- 
tured and  introduced  into  London.  Certain  of 
the  dates  connected  with  its  production  have 
been,  it  is  true,  very  clearly  established  :  thus, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  we  owe  the  name  of 
this  cement  to  Joseph  Aspdin,  a  bricklayer,  of 
Leeds,  whose  patent,  dated  Oct.  21,  1824,  has 
been  often  quoted  ;  but  I  cannot  find  any  account 
of  the  elder  Aspdin' s  cement  in  the  building 
journals,  and  no  mention  of  Aspdin  occurs  in  the 
works  of  either  Pasley  or  Smith,  the  translator 
of  Vicat. 

In  a  German  pamphlet,  entitled  ' '  Erf ahr- 
ungen  ueber  den  Portland  Cement,"  by  W.  A. 
Becker,  published  in  18.53,  I  came  across  some 
interesting  partictdars  ;  and  I  have  been  kindly 
furnished  by  Mr.  I.  C.  Johnson,  one  of  the  oldest 
living  Portland  cement  manufacturers,  with 
some  facts,  which  I  think  should  be  placed  upon 
record.  In  sending  you  the  fallowing  observa- 
tions, I  am  actuated  solely  by  the  desire  to  elicit 
inforsiation  opon  this  subject,  before  those  best 


(fualificd  to  give  it  have  passed  away.  I  have 
been  at  some  trouble  to  examine  the  back  num- 
bers of  the  Ctvii  Engiiucr  and  Arc]titfct$^  Journal^ 
and  also  of  the  BiiihUr,  the  only  professional 
papers  of  that  day,  but  I  find  in  them  very  little 
on  the  subject  of  this  cement. 

Tliis  much  is  clear,  that  from  1820  onwards, 
Roman  cement,  the  invention  of  Parker,  was 
largely  used  in  engineering  works  ;  and  that  an 
artificial  cement  made  of  two  parts  of  chalk  and 
one  of  clay,  introduced  by  Frost,  was  sold  ex- 
tensively at  a  lower  price ;  but  still,  as  a  rival 
of  the  natural  cements.  Pasley,  in  his  work  on 
artificial  cements,  published  in  1838,  tells  us 
that  in  1837  he  obtained  from  Messrs.  Francis 
and  Sons,  for  trial  against  his  own  artificial 
cement,  some  casks  of  their  best  English 
(natural)  cement,  "  absurdly  termed  Roman 
cement,"  and  also  some  of  "  Frost's  artificial 
cement  from  the  manufactory  established  by 
him  (in  1825)  and  now  in  the  possession  of 
Messrs.  White,  Bazley  and  Son."*  In  a  foot- 
note we  read,  moreover,  "Messrs.  Francis, 
White,  and  Francis,  dissolved  partnership 
amicably  on  the  1st  January,  1837,  and  separated 
into  two  firms,  viz.,  Messrs.  Francis  and  Sons, 
of  Nine  Elms,  Vauxliall,  and  Messrs.  Bazley 
White  and  Son,  of  Millbank,  the  latter  retaining 
Mr.  Frost's  manufactory  of  artificial  cement  in 
Swanscombe  parish,  Kent." 

The  result  of  these  trials,  made  by  Pasley, 
proved  decidedly  in  favour  of  his  own  cements, 
the  natiu'al  cement  made  from  a  mixture  of 
Harwich  and  Sheppey  stone  being  second  beet, 
and  Frost's  artificial  cement  a  bad  third,  having 
only  66  per  cent,  of  the  cohesive  strength  of  the 
natural  cement.  Pasley  takes  objection  to  the 
mode  of  preparation  adopted  by  Frost,  and  says 
he  had  remonstrated  with  his  successor,  Mr. 
White,  in  vain,  on  the  plan  of  manufacture 
adopted  by  his  firm.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
General  Pasley  worked  out  his  process  for  the 
manufacture  of  an  artificial  cement  quite  inde- 
pendently of  anything  that  was  done  by  the 
early  makers  of  artificial  cements,  and  the 
interesting  record  of  his  experiments,  first  pub- 
lished in  1830  as  a  pamphlet,  and  subsequently 
ina  more  extended  form, as  I  havealreadystated, 
in  1838,  wasthemeansofdirectinggreatattention 
to  this  subject,  both  in  this  cotmtry  and  abroad. 
Pasley  alludes,  in  his  work,  to  the  experiments 
of  Messrs.  Francis  and  Son3  at  their  cement 
factory  at  Nine  Elms,  in  February  14,  1838, 
and  compares  them  with  his  own  previous  ex- 
periments in  January  of  the  same  year,  and  he 
mentions,  also,  the  brick  and  cement  arch  con- 
structed by  Brunei,  in  the  Thames  Tunnel-yard 
at  Rotherliithe.  This  last  most  important  trial 
of  Roman  cement  is  described  in  full,  and  illus- 
trated in  Vol.  I.  of  the  Civil  Engimir  an<1  Arihx- 
ttcW  Juiinial,  p.  119. 

As  a  general  result  of  his  investigations, 
Pasley  was  able  to  conclude  his  preface  with  a 
prediction  which  has  since  received  the  most 
complete  fulfilment,  for  he  says:  "I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  use  of  cement  is  not  only  in- 
creasing in  England,  but  that  it  will,  in  time, 
supersede  the  most  approved  hydraulic  mortars." 
Atranslationof  theworkot  Vicat,  whoseopinions 
on  some  points  Pasley  challenges,  had  been  pub- 
lished in  the  previous  year,  and  the  numerous 
experiments  I  have  mentioned,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  these  two  practical  treatises  upon  the 
subject  mark  an  important  era  in  the  manufac- 
ture and  use  of  cements. 

A  second  edition,  of  Part  I.  only,  of  Pasley's 
work  was  published  in  1847,  and  in  the  preface, 
after  referring  with  satisfaction  to  the  increased 
favour  in  which  artificial  cements  were  held,  he 
writes  as  follows  : — "At  present  there  are  three 
manufactories  of  artificial  cement  in  England 
which  have  all  been  used  more  or  less 
extensively  in  works  of  importance,  and 
have  given  satisfaction."  He  then  enu- 
merates them,  and  mentions  the  names 
of  the  manufacturers  with  a  brief  outline  of 
their  materials  and  processes.  The  firms  named 
are:  1,  Messrs.  J.  B.  White  and  Sons,  of  Swans- 
comb,  Kent,  concerning  whom  he  says  that 
' '  after  gradually  relinquishing  the  objectionable 
parts  of  Mr.  Frost's  process,  they  have  suc- 
ceeded in  making  artificial  cement  which 
they  call  Portland  cement,  by  a  mixture 
of  chalk  found  on  their  own  premises  with  the 
blue  clay  of  the  Medway."  2,  Messrs.  Evans  and 
Nicholson,    of    Manchester,  whose   material    is 


•  John  Bazley  White,  sen.,   bought  the  estate  of  Frost 
in  1832. 


726 


THE    BUILDINa    NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


called  the  Patent  Lithic  Cement  ;  and  3,  Mr. 
R.  Greaves,  of  Stratford-upon-Avon,  the  manu- 
facturer of  Blue  Lias  Cement. 

In  the  interval  which  elapsed  between  the  issue 
of  the  first  and  second  editions  of  Pasley's  work, 
the  manufacture  of  cement  had  undergone  a 
great  change,  .and  Roman  cement  had  found  its 
match.  AVllliam  Aspdin,  the  son  of  the  inventor 
of  Portland  cement,  had  come  to  London  and  had 
introduced  a  material  made  of  the  same  ingre- 
dients, and  in  much  the  same  way  as  Frost's 
artificial  cement,  but  with  very  different  qualities, 
and  young  Aspdin  .appears  at  first  to  have 
associated  himself  with  Messrs.  Maude,  Son, 
and  Co.  of  Upper  Ordnance  Wharf,  Rotherhithe. 
I  have  before  me  a  circular,  issued  towards  the 
end  of  1843,  kindly  lent  tome  by  Mr.  T.  C.  John- 
son, which,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  is  one  of  the 
eajiiest  documents  on  the  subject  of  Portland 
cement,  and  which  merits  publication  in  citenxo. 
The  opening  paragraph  is  as  follows: — "  Patent 
Portland  Cement,  manufactured  by  J.  M.  Maude, 
Son  and  Co.,  Upper  Ordnance  Wharf,  Bother- 
ith?,  London.  The  manufacture  of  this  cement 
has  for  many  years  been  carried  on  by  Mr. 
Aspdin,  at  Wakefield,  in  which  neighbourhood, 
as  also  throughout  the  northern  counties  of  Eng- 
land, it  has  been  successfully  and  extensively 
used  ;  owing  to  the  heavy  charges  attending  its 
conveyance  to  the  London  market,  its  consump- 
tion there  has  necessarily  been  limited,  and 
although  its  superiority  over  cements 
has  never  been  contested  by  those  who 
have  been  induced  to  give  it  a  trial,  the 
high  price  at  which  alone  it  could  be  supplied  has 
hitherto  proved  a  serious  impediment  to  its  more 
general  introduction  into  the  metropolis.  Messrs. 
J.  M.  Maude,  Son,  .and  Co.  have  now  the  satis- 
faction of  announcing  to  the  public  that  they 
have  made  arrangements  with  the  son  of  the 
patentee  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the 
manufacture  of  this  valuable  cement  at  theii- 
extensive  premises  at  Rotherhithe  ;  and  whilst 


of  these  experiments,  Mr.  Wylson  gives  the  first 
testimony  I  have  been  able  to  find  in  the  archi- 
tectural press,  of  the  value  of  Portland  cement ; 
he  writes  of  it  thus: — "The  deductions  thence 
arrived  at  show  an  advantage  on  the  side  of  the 
Portland  cement,  which  speaks  most  strongly  in 
its  favour ;  and  which,  judging  by  the  authority 
from  which  these  contrasts  emanate,  must  be 
considered  as  at  once  authentic  and  conclusive  ; 
establishing  this  to  be  beyond  all  doubt  decidedly 
superior  to  the  Roman  cement,  whether  as  to 
strength,  adhesion,  or  the  capacity  of  receiving 
sand,  the  latter  of  which  properties  it  is  shown 
to  possess  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  it 
actually  cheaper  than  the  other,  whilst  its  other 
recommendations  of  beauty,  and  the  saving  of 
colouring,  alone  render  it  highly  preferable." 

In  the  following  year  I  find  a  letter  in  the 
same  journal  inquiring  why  Portland,  if  it  was 
indeed  a  better  cement  than  Roman,  was  not 
being  used  for  the  ba<'ins  of  the  Trafalgar-square 
fountains,  and  Mr.  James  Pulhara,  of  Hoddes- 
don,  contributes  an  ingeniously  worded  notice 
of  his  "Portland  stone  cement,"  which,  he 
assures  the  editor,  has  had  "the  test  of  2i 
years'  use."  He  says,  of  Maude's  Portland 
cement,  that  it  "has  not  been  in  \ise  sufficient 
time  to  test  its  merits."  In  Oct.,  1 84.5,  Messrs. 
J.  B.  White  and  Sons  began  to  advertise  their 
Portland  cement  in  the  Builder.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  some  Portland  cement  stucco  on  a  house 
in  Oornhill  appears  to  have  failed  or  "  blown," 
and  Messrs.  Maude,  Jones,  and  Aspdin  wrote 
from  Rotherhithe,  under  date  of  Sept.  3,  1S46, 
to  deny  that  the  cement  in  question  was  of  their 
manufacture.  In  May  of  that  year  Mr.  W.  Titc, 
the  vice-president  of  the  Institute  of  Architects, 
spoke  of  Portland  cement  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Society  as  "a  good  material  if  properly  made 
and  properly  applied."  During  this  year  the 
numerous  railways,  in  the  construction  of  which 
cement  was  largely  employed,  caused  a  great 
demand  for  Roman  cement,  for   which  material 


they  will  thus  be  enabled  to  supply  it  at  a  con-  engineers  seem  to  have  entertained  a  decided 
siderably  reduced  price,  they  have  also  the  satis-  preference.  I  find  in  the  Builder  for  December 
faction  of  stating  that,  in  consequence  of  im-  the  following  paragraph :  — 
provements  introduced  in  the  mamifacture,  it  "  The  demand  for  cement-stone  at  Harwich 
will  be  found,  for  the  following  reasons,  infi-  is  now  so  very  extensive,  chiefly  from  the  large 
nitely  superior  to  any  cement  that  has  quantity  of  the  prepared  article  used  in  railway 
hitherto  been  offered  to  the  public  :  — 

"1.  Its  colour  so  closely  resembles  that  of  tho 
stone  from  which  it  derives  its  name  as  scarcely 
tij  be  distinguishable  from  it. 

"  2.  It  requiresneither  painting  nor  colouring, 
is  not  subject  to  atmospheric  influence,  and  will 
not,  like  other  cements,  vegetate,  oxydate,  or 
turn  green  ;  but  will  retain  its  original  colour  of 
Portland  stone  in  all  seasons  and  in  all  climates. 

"3.  It  is  stronger  in  its  cementitious  qualities, 
harder,  more  durable,  and  will  take  more  sand 
than  any  other  cement  now  used." 

After  alluding  to  its  value  as  a  stucco  and  for 
paving  purposes,  we  learn  "  It  is  manufactured 
of  two  qualities,  and  sold  in  casks  of  5  bushels 
each,  weighing'about  4icwt. 

"  No.  1  at  3s.  per  bushel  or  208.  Od.  per  cask. 

"  No.  2  at  23.  3d.         ,,        16s.  3d. 
4s.  6d.  each  allowed  for  the  casks,  if  returned  in 
good  condition."     Then  follow  directions  for  its 
use,  from  which  we  find  that  the  best  quality  is 
to  be  employed  with  four  parts  of  sand. 

We  next  have  a  series  of  comparative  trials  of 
this  cement  with  Roman  cement,  conducted  by 
Messrs.  Grissell  and  Peto,  at  the  New  Houses 
of  Parliament,  in  October,  1843,  together  with 
a  letter  from  the  contractors,  dated  York- road, 
Lambeth,  Nov.  13,  1843,  setting  forth  that  the 
experiments  were  made  by  their  direction  and 
under  their  superintendence,  to  which  they  add, 
"  the  results,  as  shown  in  the  above  statement, 
afford  very  satisfactory  evidences  of  the  superior 
qualities  of  your  cement." 

The  general  conclusions  warranted  by  the  trial 
in  question,  which  consisted  of  bricks  stuck  one 
on  to  another  projecting  from  a  wall,  and  brick 
beams  with  bearings  of  3ft.  and  5ft.,  were,  that 
Portland  with  three  parts  sand  was  more  than 
double  the  strength  of  Roman  cement  with  one 
part  sand,  and  that  with  Roman  at  Is.  4d.  the 
bushel,  and  Portland  at  '2s.  3d.,  there  was  a 
saving  of  from  lid.  to  2d.  per  bushel  of  mortar 
in  using  Portland,  owing  to  the  increased  volume 
of  aand  which  this  cement  would  carry. 

In  tho  "Essay  on  Mortar  and  Cements,"  by 
Mr.  J.  Wylson,  which  took  the  form  of  a  series 
of  articles  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Builder, 
from  April  to  June,  1844,  mention  is  made  of 
Messrs.  Maude's  cement,    together   with    Ion 


works,  that  the  stock,  usually  consisting  of 
several  thousand  tons  at  this  season,  is  now 
quite  exhaused.  Prices  have  in  consequence 
risen  30  per  cent.,  while  the  dredgers  are  reaping 
a  proportionate  benefit.  It  is  calcul.ated  that 
£25,000  per  annum  are  paid  away  in  wages 
alone  to  workmen  employed  in  this  trade."  It 
must  have  been  about  this  time  that  Sir  Robert 
Peel  announced  in  Parliament  his  intention  of 
taxing  the  cement-stone,  fearing  its  exhaustion, 
and  hoping  thus  to  resen'e  a  sufficient  supply 
for  the  purposes  of  Government  works.  This 
fact  I  learn  from  a  pamphlet  on  Portland 
cement,  issued  by  Messrs,  Aspdin,  Ord,  and  Co., 
who  state  also  that  "As  soon  as  Mr.  Wm . 
Aspdin  heard  of  this  he  addressed  Sir  Robert 
Peel  upon  the  subject,  and  intimated  to  him 
that  he  need  not  be  alarmed  about  the  supply  of 
'  lioman  cement,'  as  an  article  which  far  sur- 
passed it  was  extensively  manufactured.  To 
prove  these  remarks,  Mr.  Aspdin  waited  upon 
Sir  R.  Peel  with  samples,  and  obtained  a  reply 
to  the  effect  that  he  was  much  satisfied  with 
them,  and  with  the  explanation ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, the  proposed  tax  was  abandoned." 

Messrs.  Aspdin  state  also,  in  this  pamphlet, 
that  the  Wakefield  cement  was  largely  used  in  the 
Thames  Tunnel  about  1828,  although  "  at  that 
time  it  cost  20s.  to  223.  per  cask,  besides  the 
carriage  to  London.  Yet  Sir  I.  Brunei  deter- 
mined (notwithstanding  his  ability  to  procure 
Roman  at  12s.  per  cask  delivered  on  the  spot)  to 
adopt  Portland  chiefly  for  his  purpose,  as  its 
merits  required  no  other  recommendation  than 
an  impartial  trial." 

This  brings  me  to  the  date  of  the  second 
appearance  of  Pasley's  work,  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  existence  of  three  manufactories  only  of 
artificial  cement,  and  with  the  evidence  I  have 
collected  concerning  jVspdin's  invention,  it 
appears  somewhat  strange  that  Pasley  fails  to 
refer  to  him  in  any  way.  I  have  found  from 
the  German  work  by  Becker  'previously  men- 
tioned, that  General  Pasley  had  been  asked  to 
explain  this  by  D.  Garthe,  of  Cologne,  and  in 
Duigkr's  Pohjtcchnisches  Journal,  Vol.  CXXIV., 
the  following  characteristic  letter  from  the 
General  is  published,  which  has  not,  I  believe, 
hitherto    appeared   in    English :—"  Sir,    I    am 


express  of  my  'work  on  cement.  As  I  have 
ceased  to  occupy  the  post  of  inspector  of  the 
Royal  Engineer  School  at  Chatham,  since  my 
promotion  to  the  rank  of  Major-General  and 
have,  therefore  had  neither  assistants,  ma- 
terials, nor  appliances  at  my  disposal ;  I  have 
not  been  in  a  position  to  undertake  researches  of 
a  similar  nature  to  those  which  were  formerly 
carried  on  by  me,  and  which  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery of  an  artificial  compound  but  little  inferior 
to  the  best  natural  cement.  For  several  years 
past  I  devoted  no  further  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject until  I  learned  that  Portland  cement  was 
superior  to  Roman  cement,  and  as  it  is  the 
fashion  in  our  country  to  disguise  everything 
with  some  fantastic  name  or  other,  which,  from 
a  chemical  point  of  view,  gives  not  the  slightest 
clue  to  the  composition  of  the  article  in  question, 
I  am  astonished  to  find  that  this  Portl.and 
cement,  the  name  of  wiiich  would  lead  the 
foreigner,  visiting  our  great  Industrial  Exhibi- 
tion of  last  year,  to  believe  very  naturally 
either  that  it  was  one  found  in  the  island  of 
Portland,  or  that  it  was  related  in  some  way  or 
other  to  Portland  stone,  was  nothing  more  or  less 
than  my  own  artificial  cement  compounded  "with 
chalk  and  clay.  Messrs.  Robins,  Aspdin,  and 
Co.,  manufacture  PortUnd  cement,  which  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  jnst  as  good  if  not  better  than 
that  of  Messrs.  AVhito  and  Sons,  although  I 
never  heard  of  it  until  I  met  Mr.  Aspdin  in  the 
Great  Exhibition  last  year.  I  was  present  at  all 
experiments  upon  Portland  cement  noticed  in 
the  Builder  of  the  27th  Sept.  last.  The  results 
of  the  same  are  rightly  reported,  but  several  of 
them  are  rendered  unintelligible  for  want  of  more 
complete  particulars  or  explanatory  dra'wings. 
"Tlie  foregoing  are  my  answers  to  your  in. 
quiries. — 12,  Norfolk-crescent,  London,  March  3, 
1852." 

Mr.  Becker,  in  a  foot-note,  remai-ks  upon  the 
singular  fact  that  "  although  Joseph  jVspdin, 
the  inventor  and  patentee  of  Portland  cement, 
established  his  manufactory  at  Wakefield  in 
1825,  and  his  son  Wm.  Aspdin  founded  his  works 
at  Northfleet  on  the  Thames,  about  ten  miles 
from  Chatham,  a  few  years  later,*  where  at  that 
time  Sir  C.  W.  Pasley  was  residing,  and  although 
their  Portland  cement  was  already  much  em- 
ployed on  the  continent,  as  introduced  by 
Maude  and  Son,  and  subsequently  by  Robins, 
Aspdin  and  Co. ,  whereas  the  cement  of  Messrs. 
White  and  Sons  was  not  brought  into  the 
market  until  many  years  later  (in  1847),  Sir 
Charles  Pasley  only  learned  of  the  existence  of 
Joseph  Aspdin,  the  inventor  of  Portland  cement, 
and  of  his  manufactory,  in  the  Great  Exhibition 
in  London  in  1851." 

The  year  1848  was  in  every  way  an  eventful 
one  for  the  new  cement,  and  we  find  numerous 
signs  of  the  growing  favour  in  which  it  was 
held.  On  the  last  day  of  January  a  fatal  acci- 
dent occurred  at  Euston  station,  which  appears 
to  have  been  dtie  to  the  incautious  use  of  cement. 
A  lofty  wall,  supported  on  columns  formed  of 
bricks  on  edge,  s'-t  in  Roman  cement,  suddenly 
fell,  causing  the  death  of  two  workmen  ;  and  at 
the  inquest  which  followed,  and  which  attracted 
great  attention,  the  employment  of  cement  was 
discus.sed  at  g^eat  length.  Mr.  Hardwick,  the 
architect,  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  failure 
of  the  cement  was  due  to  its  employment  during 
the  cold  -winter  weather,  and  to  the  great  haste 
■with  which  the  work  was  run  up.  The  columns 
in  question  were  20ft.  high,  2ft.  'ijin.  in  dia- 
meter at  the  base,  and  1ft.  lOJin.  in  diameter 
below  the  capital.  Messi-s.  W.  Cubitt  and  Co., 
the  builders,  stated  that  they  could  not  assign  a 
reason  for  the  fall  of  the  wall.  On  the  llth 
Feb.,  Wm.  Aspdin  -wrote  from  Northfleet,  and 
attributed  the  accident  solely  to  the  use  of  de- 
fective cement.  In  July  of  tlus  year,  the  results 
are  published  in  the  Builder  of  some  trials  of 
Messrs.  White's  Portland  cement,  which  took 
place  at  Messrs.  Grissell's  ironworks  on  the  lOth 
and  31st  Dec,  1847,  and  which  furnish  very  high 
testimony  of  the  superiority  of  this  material  over 
Roman  cement.  These  trials,  and  the  publicity 
they  attained,  seem  to  have  given  great  offence 
to  Aspdin  and  his  partners ;  and  in  September  a 
letter  from  him  is  published,  as  an  advertise- 
ment, in  the  Builder,  i-n  which  he  sets  forth, 
among  other  matters,  that  this  cement  was  first 
introduced  by  his  father  in  1813,  and  patented 
as  "the  Portland  cement"  in  1824  ;  that  the 
original  material  is  solely  made  by  him, 
and      he      quotes      certain      tests      to      .show 


quotations  from  the  above  circular.     Speaking  I  much  flattered  by  the   favourabla   opinion  you 


is  aa  error  ;  Aspdin  did  not  go  to  Kortaueet 


Dae.  24:,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


727 


that  he  had  obtaiaed  far  better  results 
than  Messrs.  White,  with  the  use  of  more  sand. 
He  states  also  that  he  has  made  blocks  consist- 
'mg  of  1  cement  to  10  of  sand,  and  concludes  by 
calling'  attention  to  a  public  trial  the  firm  were 
about  to  institute  of  their  cement  at  their  wharf 
■at  Great  Scotland-yard.  The  proposed  experi- 
ments they  advertised  for  some  time,  and  they 
challenged  all  other  cement  makers  to  compete 
with  them.  The  trials  came  off  on  the  18th 
Sept.,  aiid  subsequently  at  Messrs.  Bramah's  on 
the  26th.  Some  blocks  were  crushed  in  the  hy- 
draulic press.  A  record  of  the  experiments  is 
given  in  the  Builder  of  Sept.  30th,  and  by  adver- 
tisement on  Oct.  7th. 

The  rivalry  between  the  two  firms  who  were 
'first  engaged  in  the  production  of  Portland  in 
the  London  district  had  the  effect  of  keeping 
public  attention  directed  to  the  new  cement,  and 
from  this  time  the  manufacture  steadily  increased 
in  importance,  while  the  uniformity  of  the  quality 
improved.  Many  makers  began  to  pre- 
pare Portland  for  sale,  and  with  the  year  1818 
we    may  consider    the   reputation   of   Portland 

.  cement  to  have  become  fully  established.  The 
price  of  Roman  cement,  when  fir~-t  introduced, 
was  43.  Od.  per  bushel:  ia  1848  it  had  fallen  to 
Is.  3d.,  the  cost  of  Portland  being  exactly  double, 
or  2s.  6d.  per  bushel. 

Mr.  Johnson  has  furnished  me  with  some  in- 
teresting facts  about  his  own  early  attempts  to 
make  Portland  during  the  year  1846,  or  there- 
abouts. He  says  :  *' I  was  at  this  time  manager 
of  the  works  of  Messrs.  White,  at  Swanscombe, 
making  only  the  Roman  cement,  Keene's  plaster, 
and  Frost's  cement,  the  latter  composed  of  2 
chalk  to  1  of  Med  way  clay,  calcined  lightly, 
weighing  701b.  to  801b.  per  bushel.  My  em- 
ployers, attracted  by  the  flourish  of  trumpets 
that  was  then  being  made  about  this  new  cement, 
desired  to  be  makers  of  it,  and  some  steps 
were  taken  to  join  Aspdin  in  the  enterprise, 
but  no  agreement  could  be  come  to,  especially  as 
I  advised  my  employers  to  leave  the  matter  to 
me,  fully  believing  that  I  could  work  it  out." 
Mr.  Johnson  then  details  the  efforts  he  made  to 
learn  the  nature  of  Aspdin's  process,  and  he 
admits  that  he  was  quite  prepared,  if  necessary, 
to  endeavour  to  gain  admission  to  his  works  by 
any  artifice  in  his  power.  He  says  the  plan  of 
manufacture  Aspdin  pursued  was  so  mystified, 
that  "even  the  workmen  knew  nothing,"  con- 
sidering the  virtue  consisted  in  something 
Aspdin  did  with  his  own  hands.  Thus  he  had  a 
kind  of  way  with  several  compartments,  and  in 
these  he  had  powdered  sulphate  of  copper,  pow- 
dered brimstone,  and  some  other  matters.  When 
a  layer  of  washed  and  dried  slurrj',  and  the  coke 
had  been  put  into  the  kiln,  he  would  go  in  and 
scatter  some  handfuls  of  these  powders  from 
tiine  to  time  as  the  loading  proceeded,  so  the 
whole  thing  was  suiTounded  by  mystery."  Mr. 
Johnson,  foiled  in  getting  any  thing  out  of  the 
workmen,  obtained  some  of  the  cement,  and  had 
it  analysed  by  the  best  analyst  of  the  day  in 
London.  His  verdict  was  that  the  cement  con- 
tained CO  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime.  The 
next  step  was  to  obtain  a  good  supply  of  bones  ; 
these  were  calcined  in  the  open  air,  creating  a 
terrible  nuisance  by  the  smell,  and  mixed  in 
various  proportions  with  the  other  matters  shown 
in  the  analysis,  but  all  to  no  good.  Having 
learnt  from  chemical  analysis   the   compo.sition 

'  of  Harwich  and  Shepp.'y  cement  stones,  Mr. 
Johnson  appears  next  to  have  devoted  several 
months  to  attempt  the  composition  of  a  cement  of 
the  colour  of  Portland  composed  of  similaringre- 
dients,  and  hefoundbyusingquicklimepowdered 
and  mixed  with  clay,  and  again  calcined,  that  a 

■  near  approach  to  what  he  was  aiming  after  was 
attained,  though  still  too  much  Uke  Frost's 
cement.  He  next  tells  us,  "  After  this  I  tried 
chalk  and  clay,  as  was  used  in  Frost's  cement, 
but  more  chalk  in  proportion,  the  resulting  com- 
pound being  hghtly  burned,  swelled  and  cracked ; 
by  mere  accident,  however,  some  of  the  bui-ned 
stuff  was  clinkered,  and,  as  I  thought,  useless; 
for  I  had  heard  Col.  Pasley  say  that  he  con- 
sidered an  artificial  cement  should  feel  quite 
warm  after  gauging,  on  putting  your  hand  on 
It,  and  in  his  experiments  at  Chatham  he  threw 
awayaU  clinkers  formed  in  the  burning.  How- 
ever, I  pulverised  some  of  the  clinker  and  gauged 
it.  It  did  not  seem  as  if  it  would  harden  at  all, 
and  no  warmth  was  produced.  I  then  made 
mixtures*  of  the  powdered  clinkers,  and   pow- 


*  Aspdin,  it  would 
nis  cement  from  a  .^.^^^^ 
tender  and  hud- burned  clinki 


u  from  one  of  his  letters,  made 
ture  in   certain  proportions  of 


dered  lightly-burned  stuff  ;  this  did  set,  and 
became  hard  soon.  On  examining-,  some  days 
later,  the  mortar  made  from  the  clinker  only,  I 
found  it  much  harder  than  the  mixture,  and  the 
colour  was  of  a  nice  gray."  The  next  set  of 
experiments  made  byhim  on  a  larger  scale  failed, 
owing  to  the  use  of  .5  parts  of  chalk  to  1  of 
clay,  but  some  of  this  cement  which  had  beon  re- 
jected and  deposited  in  a  tunnel,  when  tried  some 
months  later,  was  found  to  gauge  smoothly  and 
pleasantly  and  did  not  crack  andblow  upas  before, 
but  became  solid  and  indurated  well.  Mr.  Johnson 
says,  "Cogitating  as  to  the  cause  of  this  dif- 
ference, it  occurred  to  me  that  there  had  been  an 
excess  of  lime,  and  that  this  exposure  in  a 
rather  damp  situation  had  caused  the  excess  to 
slake.  This  was  another  step  in  advance,  giving 
me  an  idea  of  there  being  too  much  chalk  ;  so  I 
went  on  making  various  mixtures  until  I  came  to  5 
of  chalk,  and  two  of  Med  way  clay,  and  this  give 
a  result  so  satisfactory  that  hundreds  of  tons 
were  made  very  soon  after ;  some  of  which  was  sent 
to  the  French  Government  Works  at  Cherbourg, 
and  was,  I  believe,  set  up  as  a  standard  of  quality 
to  which  all  subsequent  purveyors  had  to  con- 
form." Mr.  Johnson  points  out  that  at  this  time 
he  made  use  of  mills,  similar  to  the  present  mor - 
tar-miUs,  for  crushing  the  chalk  andclay,andthat 
the  mixture  was  then  passed  between  millstones 
running  horizontally,  to  complete  the  fine  wa.sh- 
ing,  before  being  run  into  backs.  He  says  further 
"  Goreham  was  my  engine-driver,  performing 
these  operations,  by  which  connection  he  got 
his  ideas  for  his  patent,  obtained  many  years 
after.  The  validity  of  the  patent  might  have  been 
challenged  by  me,  only  there  was  this  difference 
in  our  objects ;  mine  being  to  perfect  the  fine- 
ness of  the  slurry,  using  mucJb  water  before 
running  into  backs  ;  his  to  do  away  with  backs 
by  using  a  small  quantity  of  water,  by  which 
means  the  slurry  is  sufficiently  thick  to  be 
pounded  on  to  the  drying  stoves  at  once."  This 
point  is  clearly  put  by  Mr.  Johnson,  and  ex- 
plains the  facts  on  which  Mr.  Goreham  has 
secured  the  validity  of  his  patent. 

It  will  be  clear,  from  this  record  of  his  experi- 
ments, that  Mr.  Johnson  has  strong  claims  to  be 
reckoned  one  of  the  inventors  of  true  Portland 
cement.  After  quitting  Messrs.  White,  he  set 
up  for  himself  as  a  manufacturer  of  Portland, 
and  founded  the  first  factory  on  the  Medway  at 
Frindsbury,  near  Rochester.  He  then  went  to 
Cliffe,  and  buUt  a  cement-works  ;  then  to  Gates- 
head, following  Aspdin,  who  had  failed:  and 
subsequently  took  land  at  Greenhithe,  and  es- 
tablished perhaps  the  best-designed  cement- 
works  we  have.  Mr.  Johnson's  invention 
of  chambers  attached  to  the  kiln,  for 
drying  the  slurry  by  the  waste  gases  from  the 
burning  of  the  cement,  entitles  him  to  be  men- 
tioned as  one  of  those  who  have  largely  con- 
tributed to  facilitate  and  cheapen  the  cost  of 
the  manufacture  ;  and  his  experiences  are  at  all 
times  cheerfully  accorded  to  those  seeking  his 
advice  and  assistance.  I  am  glad  to  have  this 
opportunity  of  thanking  him  for  much  help 
most  kindly  afforded  me.  With  regard  to  the 
Aspdins,  I  am  informed  that  the  elder  Aspdin 
was  still  carrying  on  the  works  at  Wakefiekl^  on 
a  small  scale,  in  18.53.  The  son,  Wm.  Aspdin, 
went  to  Germany,  and  died  in  Holstein  dui-ing 
the  Schleswig-Holstein  War. 

GiLEEET   R.    REDSEiVE. 


NOTES  FROM  EDINBURGH. 

THE  condition  of  the  Building  Trade  in  this 
city  has  presented  during  the  past  year 
some  exceptionally  favourable  symptoms  of  pros- 
perity, contrasted  with  reports  of  all  but  stagna- 
tion in  most  other  districts  of  the  country.  Not 
at  any  former  period,  when  trade  was  prosperous, 
has  Edinburgh  done  more  in  the  way  of  extend- 
ing its  boundaries  in  all  directions.  Schemes 
begun  in  former  years  have  been  carried  vigor- 
ously on,  others  are  projected,  and  in  every  side 
of  the  town,  Merchiston  excepted,  the  eye  is 
arrested  by  the  newly-rising  tenement,  or  by 
alterations  in  existing  thoroughfares.  Surburban 
villas  have  been  added  in  some  number  to  the 
south,  and  indeed  have  now  got  so  far  down  in 
this  direction  in  the  Mayfield  district,  that  no 
winter  shadows  of  the  Blackford  range  wiU  prob- 
ably arrest  their  further  progress.  These 
general  statements  may  be  comprehended  better 
in  the  light  of  the  statement  made  lately  by  the 
City  Assessor,  as  to  the  increase  in  the  yearly 
valuation  of  the  city,  and  which  for  the  past  civic 
year  amounts  to  over  £37,000. 


Notwithstanding  all  this  evidence  of  abundant 
work  accomplished,  the  complaints  of  the  want  of 
it  have  been  general  throughout  the  year. 
The  low  rate  of  wages  (masons  getting  Gd.  per 
hour,  or  6id.)  and  the  low  price  of  contract 
work,  show  that  these  complaints  arc  not  with- 
out foundation.  Encouragement  has  been  given 
to  speculative  building,  but  the  low  prices  have 
not  given  much  stimulus  to  private  enterprise 
here  or  elsewhere. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  work  done  consists  of 
street  tenements.  A  goodly  instalment  of  those 
of  the  highest  class  may  be  seen  in  the  fine  open- 
ing now  made  from  Qaeensferry-street  to 
Drunsheugh  Gardens.  The  western  extremity 
of  this  part  of  the  city  has  made  a  great  stride 
toward  completion  in  one  side  of  the  long 
shallow  crescent  leading  to  Magdala- terrace, 
and  these  houses  are  all  sold.  This  is  the  fin(>st 
Crescent  in  the  city,  or  promises  to  be,  if  a  liberal 
allowance  of  garden-ground  has  been  secured. 

Other  tenements  are  mostly  begun  and  carried 
on  by  co-operative  associations.  In  these,  the 
artisan  is  often  largely  interested,  in  some  cases 
giving  his  subscription  in  labour,  funds  having 
been  provided  to  commence  the  work  on  security 
of  the  building.  The  success  of  such  schemes 
has  been  uniform.  The  desire  to  be  honestly 
independent  of  ' '  landlordism "  and  the 
anxieties  of  yearly  tenure  is  a  healthy  symptom 
here,  and  to  this  much  of  the  recent  extensive 
building  must  be  ascribed.  The  Tynecastle 
tenements,  by  which  above  200  voters  were 
added  to  the  county,  was  a  practical  joke  of 
"diamond  cut  diamond"  which  the  success  of 
co-operative  building  made  possible  and  probably 
suggested. 

The  continuous  increase  of  the  higher  class  of 
houses  is  not  so  easily  explained.  But  Edin- 
burgh may  gain  in  a  time  of  long  commercial 
depression  by  its  attractions  as  a  quiet  haveu  of 
rest  from  the  toils  of  unprofitable  business. 
It  may  be  taken  for  granted,  that  nowhere  in 
Scotland  can  weU-earued  ease  be  taken  more 
pleasantly  than  in  the  Modem  Athens.  In 
summer,  there  is  the  attraction  of  an  unrivalled 
environment,  and  for  all  the  year,  a  healthy  and 
bracing  air,  and  there  are  many  other  advantages 
of  which  not  the  least  are  the  educational 
institutions  of  the  city.  In  respect  of  these, 
Edinburgh  is  deservedly  and  increasingly 
popular.  With  exception  of  the  far-outlying 
Stewarts  Hospital  School,  every  one  is  full. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  more  private  establish- 
ments. The  extension  of  the  univer.sity  has  not 
been  begun  a  day  too  soon,  and  will  not  be 
greater  than  the  need  for  it.  This  work  has 
been  carried  forward  \'igorously,  and  the  Lau- 
riston  or  principal  front  mU  soon  be  ready  for 
the  roof.  The  anatomical  classes  are  already  at 
work  within  their  department,  and  the  students 
and  tradesman  are  pursuing  their  labours  side 
by  side. 

The  architectural  character  of  recent  additions 
to  the  city  does  not  present  much  of  novelty, 
or  call  for  any  particular  remark.  The  lofty 
street  forming  in  Warrender  Park,  opposite  the 
Links  and  Meadows,  shows  a  little  variation  in 
design  from  tko  portion  east  of  it.  But  this 
range  of  tenements  which  seems  to  rival  "  Old 
Edinburgh"  in  altitude,  is  not  a  veiy  happy 
specimen  of  the  Scottish  style.  The  details  are 
generally  cumbrous,  and  the  monotony  of 
repetition  is  apparent.  In  the  street  rutming 
southwards,  on  the  west,  a  good  design  has 
been  marred  in  this  way.  The  circular  chateau 
turret  had  been  introduced  into  an  angle  tene- 
ment ;  but  the  builder,  not  content  with  this,  has 
marshalled  it  into  line  as  a  regiment  all  along 
the  front  of  the  street,  destroying  the  beauty  of 
a  detail  which  is  nothing  without  angular  isola- 
tion and  contrast. 

A  very  handsome  and  extensive  tenement  for 
business  premises  has  been  raised  in  Jeffrey- 
street,  and  the  Episcopal  Chapel  now  erecting 
beside  it  all  but  completes  the  Western 
Division. 

The  retirement  of  the  Dean  of  Guild  this 
year  occasioned  a  contest  in  the  election  of  hie 
successor,  which  is  not  usual,  but  was  rendered 
necessary  by  the  divided  state  of  opinion  as  to 
whether  or  not  this  official  should  be  actively 
engaged  in  the  building  trade.  A  large  majority 
decided  that  he  ought  not.  Possibly  as  a  result 
of  the  change,  the  court  has  recently  given 
decisions  indicating  a  purpose  of  carrying  out 
with  greater  stringency  the  sanitary  proidsions 
of  the  law  relating  to  the  erection  of  dwellings, 
&c.    Hitherto,  the  court  seems  to  have  winked 


728 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec,  24,  1880. 


at  compliances  with  the  letter,  which  evaded  the 
spirit  of  the  statute.  W.C.'s  were  placed,  as 
before,  in  the  heart  of  tenement,  and  the  impera- 
tive communication  with  the  open  air,  made  only 
by  means  of  a  3  or  4in.  pipe  led  up  to  the  roof. 
These  as  well  as  larger  open  shafts,  were  really 
as  often  as  not,  an  excellent  device  for  dispersing 
odours  collecting  in  the  w.c,  through  the 
house.  In  Leith,  the  court  insists  on  every  w.c. 
being  built  with  an  outer  wall.  There  seems  to 
be,  now,  after  much  discussion  and  some  popular 
lecturing,  a  better  understanding  of  the  matter, 
and  a  movement  in  favour  of  a  more  radical  cure 
by  disconnection  with  the  public  sewers  is  getting 
into  favour'  In  Portobello,  the  ventilation  of 
the  public  sewers  has  been  thoroughly  investi- 
gated, their  condition  reported  on  by  the  burgh 
eng^eer,  and  a  remedy  for  the  defects  of  the 
system  (which  is  by  open  gratings),  has  been 
recommended  and  will  in  all  likeliheod  be 
adopted.  This  consists  in  the  reconstruction  of 
defective  levels,  with  systematic  flushing  from 
tanks  properly  situated  for  the  purpose. 

Churches  and  schools  make  a  good  proportion 
of  the  yearly  additions.  Nine  churches  may  be 
reckoned  as  begun,  or  completed,  within  this 
period.  Of  these,  three  are  occupied,  and  others 
in  various  stag^es  of  completion.  With  two  or 
three  exceptions,  they  are  all  of  economical  con- 
struction and  detail.  The  most  costly  are  those 
erecting  by  the  United  Presbyterian  church. 
The  one  in  the  Dalkeith-road,  recently  opened,  is 
a,  good  sample  of  a  galleried  church,  and  a  great 
improvement  upon  any  attempt  that  has  yet  been 
made  to  carry  out  this  system  in  the  Pointed 
Gothic.  There  is  no  unseemly  proportion,  no 
spire  and  lofty  gable  front  in  lying  antithesis  to 
everything  behind  it.  It  is  a  cruciform  church, 
with  nave  of  moderate  length,  and  double 
transepts  (spanned  by  a  single  arch  inside),  and 
a  tower  of  no  great  height  attached  to  each  tran- 
sept. The  style  is  the  modem  Italian,  but  a 
•quaint  aspect  is  given  to  the  exterior  by 
the  adoption  of  some  details  of  the 
Lombardic    Romanesque.  This     is    carried 

rather  far,  perhaps,  in  the  archaic  and 
not  very  elegant  plate  piercing  of  the  side-Hghts. 
The  building  has  two  frontages  to  the  street,  the 
one  having  the  transept  gables,  vestry,  and 
hall  behind  forming  a  range,  very  nicely  put 
together.  The  front  to  the  road  is  not  so  happy, 
as  the  gable  is  stripped  of  the  support  of  the 
towers,  and  their  place  supplied  by  low  corridor- 
like porches.  This  recession  of  the  towers  is 
probably  a  device  to  accommodate  the  gallery - 
stair,  but  it  occasions  a  serious  defect  in  the  exit 
arrangements, — the  area  and  gallery  converging 
too  closely  near  the  exit,  in  a  passage  of  no 
great  width.  In  such  circumstances,  even  a 
"wide  door  is  never  spacious  enough.  A  separate 
exit  at  foot  of  the  gallery-stair  might  easUy  be 
provided  for  emergencies. 

The  interior  is  spacious  and  well  lighted. 
Although  the  galleries  are  somewhat  deep,  there 
is  no  appearance  of  the  overcrowding  so  dis- 
agreeable in  small  chnrches  with  continuous 
galleries.  The  organ  is  beliind  the  pulpit,  and 
the  ornamental  joinery  is  tastefully  decorated  in 
the  later  Romanesque  or  Norman  style.  The 
seating,  which  is  in  open  benches,  is  not  only 
cushioned  on  the  seat,  but  also  on  the  top  rail, 
and  the  aspect  is  rather  like  the  arrangement  for 
a  concert-room.  All  seats  are  free,  which  is  a 
aovelty  in  Presbyterian  churches. 

The  two  other  U.  P.  churches,  are  not  far 
enough  advanced  to  enable  any  one  to  form  a 
correct  idea  of  them  when  completed.  But  it 
may  be  noted,  that  neither  seem  to  be  making 
any  arrangement  for  the  erection  of  side  gal- 
leries. There  is,  judging,  from  churches  recenty 
erected,  a  growing  desu-e  to  have  a  plan  which 
dispenses  with  these  galleries.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  organ  into  all  Presbyterian  churches 
bat  thoseof  the  Free  Church,  is  becoming  common. 
A  very  fine  one,  by  a  London  firm,  costing 
£1,.500,  has  been  erected  in  St.  Stephen's.  These 
and  sundry  other  circumstances,  which  might  be 
mentioned,  are  indications  of  a  change  coming 
over  the  Presbyterian  communions,  which  will 
be  more  and  more  apparent  in  the  architecture, 
as  well  as  the  services  of  the  church.  The 
"  idolatry  of  the  pulpit  "  i.e.,  of  the  preacher, 
with  some  dogmative  or  other  crotchet,  which 
has  been  happUy  defined  as  the  "  hair  splitting" 
tendency  of  Presbyterianism,  (and  it  might  be 
added  the  "  body  splitting"  tendency  likewise), 
is  perceptibly  on  the  wane.  People  are  begin- 
ning to  suspect  that  religion  does  not  thrive 
upon  abstractions,  even  if  they  be  the  rational- 


ism of  a  distant  age  stereotyped  into  a  creed. 
Historic  facts  and  catholic  symbol  are  probably 
more  effectively  instructive  and  less  provocative 
of  contest  and  division.  It  is  felt,  that  the 
devotional  interests  of  public  worship  have  been 
rather  widely  thrust  aside  to  give  the  pulpit  the 
pre-eminence.  Congregations  numbering  more 
than  800  or  1,000  are  found  to  be  inconsistent 
with  pastoral  superintendence,  unless  they  are 
collegiate  charges.  The  architecture  of  the 
meeting  house,  being  modelled  on  the  doctrinal 
and  not  the  devotional  requirements  of  the 
congregation,  nothing  can  raise  such  interiors 
above  the  secular  level  of  the  lecture  hall.  The 
attractions  and  advantages  of  galleries  may  be 
many  in  some  respects,  but  they  are  not  devo- 
tional, or  indeed  favourable  to  concentrated 
attention  of  any  kind.  The  worshipper  who  is 
placed  opposite  a  crowd  of  faces,  will  fiud  him- 
self very  much  iu  the  position  of  Andrew  Fair- 
service,  with  one  eye  on  the  Bible  and  the  other 
on  the  bees.  AVith  this  great  change  of  feeling 
and  the  desire  to  keep  the  pulpit  in  its  proper 
subordinate  position,  there  will  doubtless  be  a 
more  general  return  to  the  ancient  usage,  by 
which  (for  all  ordinary  cases)  the  congregation 
is  not  unpleasantly  divided,  nor  the  unity  of  its 
attitude  impaired. 

The  school-board  have  opened  three  new 
schools,  and  the  Dairy  school  has  been  enlarged. 
A  comparison  unfavourable  to  the  board  had 
been  made  with  Glasgow  on  the  basis  of  the 
larger  grants  given  to  the  latter  for  the  year. 
To  this  the  board  have  replied  that  a  larger  per- 
centage of  the  city  arab  class  is  taught  in  their 
schools.  Mr.  McLaren,  the  city  member,  rejoins, 
that  this  can  hardly  be  when  the  number  of  the 
poorer  classes  is  so  much  greater  in  Glasgow,  in 
proportion  to  those  capable  of  att'ording  a  higher 
rent.  But  Mr.  McLaren  forgets  that  all  the 
better  class  of  youngsters  are  much  better  pro- 
vided for  in  Edinburgh  than  in  Glasgow,  with 
cheap  education  by  Merchant  Company  schools, 
Heriot  schools,  and  many  private  establishments. 
The  proportion  therefore  of  city  arabs  to  respect- 
able boys  in  a  class  here,  will  necessarily  be 
much  greater  than  in  Glasgow,  where  there  are 
no  such  schools,  and  where  the  arabs  have  tha 
advantage  and  larger  companionship  with  better 
boys.  It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  the 
schools  recently  opeiied,  and  which  do  certainly 
contain  a  large  percentage  of  the  city  arab,  or 
rough,  have  hardly  hud  time  to  get  into  order, 
and  thus  the  general  result  this  year  will  not  be 
any  fair  test  of  the  success  or  efficiency  of  the 
whole  system. 

So  rough  are  the  scholars  in  their  ways,  that 
great  difficulty  has  teen  found  iu  keeping  desks 
in  good  repair.  Rev  D.  Greig,  of  this  city,  who 
has  had  much  experience  in  fitting  up  these 
schools,  has  turned  his  attenton  to  the  subject, 
and  succeeded  in  providing  a  desk  which  has 
satisfied  the  board,  inasmuch  as  they  are  putting 
it  into  the  new  schools  and  replacing  others  with 
it  in  the  high  school.  The  specialty  of  this  desk 
Lies  in  the  casting  of  the  heavy  iron  standard,  and 
adjustment  of  the  wood,  which  is  all  machuii- 
made,  and  with  the  conveniences  now  deemed 
essential  to  the  school  desk, — viz.,  rest  for  the 
back  at  a  proper  angle,  good  broad  seat,  and 
shelf  for  books.  This  desk  has  deep  flap,  which 
falls  down  simply  to  let  the  pupil  stand  up  or 
move  out.  It  is  2ft.  Sin.  in  depth,  requiring  only 
2ft.  4ln.  of  floor  depth,  and  made  iu  the  dual 
length,  it  is  about  3s.  less  costly  than  any  other 
which  can  be  had  In  Edinburgh. 


THE  ARCHITECTURAL  TREATMENT  OF 
SM,\XL  STAIRCASES.* 

IN  reading  a  paper  before  you  on  small  stair- 
cases, I  must  ask  your  forbearance  if  I 
appear  to  treat  the  subject  in  too  elementary  a 
manner,  and  almost  necessarily  note  some  axioms 
which  will  be  already  familiar  to  many  of  you  ; 
but  as  our  Association  is  specially  intended  for 
the  use  of  students  (of  whom  a  large  number  join 
us  each  year)  I  hope  there  may  be  something 
useful  In  these  jottings,  and  the  recapitulation 
even  of  facts  will  sometimes  lead  us  to  think  and 
develop  fresh  ideas  for  ourselves. 

There  is  no  house  so  small  or  unpretending  but 
that  the  staircase  offers  an  opportunity  of  archi- 
tectural treatment,  and  by  a  little  care  and  good 
arrangement,  and  without  adding  to  the  cost,  may 


*  A  paper  read  by  Astom  "Webb,  A.R.T.B.A.,  before 
the  Architectural  Association,  on  Friday,  December  17, 
1880.    See  p.  774. 


give  a  suggestlsn  of  artistic  feeling,  and  break 
the  spell  of  that  oppressive  monotony  which  is 
the  curse  of  so  much  of  the  general  small  house 
architecture  of  the  present  day.  The  difference 
also  between  a  well  and  badly  planned  house  often 
lies  in  the  staircase,  and  nothing  is  more  common 
than  to  hear  it  said  :  "  I  should  take  such  or  such 
a  house,  but  for  the  awkward  stairs,  or  the  steep 
or  dangerous  stairs."  Our  client's  p.-opertymay 
therefore  be  seriously  damaged  in  point  of  value 
by  any  omission  on  our  part  to  arrive  at  the 
best  staircase  the  circumstances  will  permit. 

One  more  word  before  entering  on  my  subject, 
namely,  that  I  have  purjiosely  steered  clear,  as 
far  as  possible,  of  style  and  design  in  detail,  be- 
lieving that  sltilf,  after  all,  is  only  the  language  in 
which  an  artist's  thoughts  are  expressed,  and  the 
same  beauty  and  feeling  may  be  seen  and  felt, 
treated  In  various  styles,  just  as  ideas  may  be  con- 
veyed in  various  languages,  though  one  style  or 
language  may  often  be  better  suited  and  more 
appropriate  than  another  to  express  those  ideas. 

The  subject  naturally  divides  itself  into  three 
divisions: — 1st,  the  position;  2ud,  the  arrange- 
ment ;  3rd,  the  details  of  a  staircase  In  a  small 
house. 

1st. — Til e  position  of  the  staircase  in  >f/alio>i  to 
the  house.  This  may  be  external  or  internal,  but 
as  I  propose  to  deal  more  especially  with  stair- 
ca.ses  suitable  to  small  houses  ia  this  country,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  ex- 
ternal stau'cascs  need  not  long  engage  our  atten- 
tion. No  notice,  however,  of  small  staircases  could 
be  deemed  complete  without  mention  of  a  few  of 
these.  Most  of  the  remains  of  old  English  houses 
up  to  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century  show 
signs  of  external  staircases  leading  to  living 
rooms  on  the  first-floor,  and  which  were  also 
usually  approached  by  a  second  staircase  from  the 
great  hall,  which  up  to  that  date  was  generally 
the  full  height  of  the  house.  The  very  beautiful 
external  Norman  staircase  to  the  buildings 
attached  to  the  Cathedral  at  Canterbury  is  well 
known,  but  Italy  par  excellence  is  famous  for 
these  features  great  and  small.  A  very  well- 
known  one,  and  illustrated  in  our  Association 
Sketch  Book,  is  one  at  Spoleto.  I  have  an  example 
here  less  known,  which  I  came  across  at  Taor- 
mina,  in  Sicily,  and  which,  though  attached  to  a 
small  cottage,  has  all  the  elements  of  a  very 
picturesque  treatment.  The  stair  is  in  two 
flights,  the  lower  one  being  in  this  Instance 
entered  from  the  ground-floor  room  and  not  from 
the  outside,  the  upper  being  carried  on  an  arch, 
a  common  treatment,  and  here  forming  a  porch, 
with  a  stone  vaulted  roof  in  place  of  the  existing 
wooden  one,  a  very  charming  effect  could  be 
obtained. 

The  position  of  a  staircase  in  relation  to  the 
internal  arrangements  of  a  house  is  a  very 
interesting  and  important  question.  Professor 
Kerr,  in  his  book  on  the  ' '  Arrangements  of  a 
Gentleman's  House,"  says  "  A  staircase  ought  to 
be  so  placed  as  to  afford  direct  passage  for  the 
ladies  particularly  from  the  public-rooms  to  the 
bed-rooms."Mr.  Stephenson  siys,  "  No  rule  as  to 
the  position  can  be  laid  down.  It  is  usually  la 
a  conspicuous  position  ;  but  when  the  hall  is  usei 
as  a  sitting-room,  it  is  better  adapted  for  the 
purpose  if  the  stair  is  shut  off  from  it,  at  least 
by  an  open  screen."  Now  the  position  of  ths 
staircase  is  so  radical  a  factor  iu  the  planning  of 
a  house,  that  it  is  very  important  that  we  should 
have  a  clear  and  right  view  as  to  what  is  desired 
by  those  who  are  to  occupy  the  hou.se.  Mr. 
Stcpheusoa  says  "  it  must  vary  In  each  house," 
and  no  doubt  it  will  to  somo  extent,  though  the 
principle  aimed  at  will  probably  ba  the  same. 
The  same  author  says  it  is  usually  In  a  conspic- 
uous position,  also  the  fact,  as  we  all  know  ;  but 
the  question  then  comes  in  as  to  whether,  in  our 
present  habits  of  life,  this  Is  desirable  or  not. 
Let  us  look  back  for  a  moment  to  the  planning 
of  our  old  English  houses,  for  though  our  habits 
are  much  changed,  and  what  has  been  can  never 
be  again,  there  is  generally  something  to  be 
learnt  either  to  foUow  or  or  avoid,  and  it  helps 
to  show  the  growth  and  principle  on  which  our 
intricate  plans  of  the  present  day  are  based. 
We  shall  find  that  up  to  the  time  of  Queen 
Elisabeth,  the  houses  were  more  or  less  fortified, 
and  the  staircases  of  stone  placed  principally  in 
turrets,  an  arrangement  not  likely  again  to  come 
into  general  use,  though  at  West  Deane  Rectory 
as  early  as  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  _  a 
newel  staircase  is  still  to  be  seen — placed,  as  will 
be  found  almost  invariably  the  case,  in  a  corner, 
and  occupying  no  con-spicuous  position,  though 
,  its  existence  was  duly  emphasised  on  the  eleva- 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


729 


tion.  During  the  time  of  Queeen  Elizaitth, 
however,  newel  staircases  came  largely  into  use 
with  their  straight  flights  and  square  landings, 
;md  during  this  time  some  of  the  finest  stair- 
cases we  have  were  put  up,  and  many  of  our 
most  thoroughly  English  houses  were  erected, 
the  arrangement  being  distinctly  to  make  the 
]iall  an  apartment  for  general  use,  with  the 
stairs  leading  merely  from  some  retired  comer  to 
the  rooms  above,  in  most  cases  being  abso- 
lutely concealed  by  a  door  ;  and  Palladio, 
in  his  description  of  staircases,  assumes 
a^  a  matter  of  course  that  it  will  be  so 
inclosed,  but  advising  that  the  door  should  be  in 
a  conspiciou3  position,  and  in  the  best  part  of 
the  house.  The  sketch  plan  of  Hailey  Hall, 
Xo.  2,  shows  one  method  of  screening  the 
~tairs  off  the  hall,  in  a  very  usual  manner. 

Sometimes  we  find  the  stairs  placed  just  off  the 
liall  in  a  lobby  between  the  hall  and  one  of  the 
living  rooms,  as  at  Wrotham-place,  No  3,  or 
tven  still  further  away,  as  at  Severn-end, 
Worcestershire,  No.  4  (Fig.  1  of  accompany- 
ing niustrations).  This  house,  by  the  way, 
is  shown  to  visitors,  and  though  very  little 
known,  is  well  worth  a  visit.      In  all  these  cases 


there  is  a  separate  staircase  for  servants,  and  the 
usual  plan  shows  the  haU  dividing  the  family 
apartments  from  the  servants,  and  connected 
over  by  the  gallery.  This  arrangement  assumed 
of  course  that  all  the  reception-rooms  were  on 
ground-floor,  and  the  stairs  led  only  to  private 
rooms,  and  were  therefore  planned  as  private  as 
pos.sible.  No.  18  is  a  plan  of  a  house  recently 
published  in  the  Btjii.den'o  News,  in  which  the 
architect,  Mr.  John  Douglas,  of  Chester,  appears 
to  me  to  have  adapted  most  successfully  this 
tj-pe  of  old  English  planning,  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  present  day  ;  with  a  large  hall  the 
«  hole  depth  of  the  house,  and  the  staircase  con- 
^■cnieutly  cut  off  and  placed  in  a  portion  of  the 
building  by  itself.  Mr.  Prinsep's  house,  No.  17, 
also  illustrated  lately  in  the  Building  News,  is 
another  good  illustration  of  this  position  for  the 
staircase.  In  larger  Elizabethen  houses,  some 
of  the  principal  rooms  began  to  be  placed  on  the 
first  floor ;  here  the  staircase  naturally  became 
grander,  but  were  on  a  scale  beyond  the  limits 
of  this  paper.  After  this  date,  the  Italian 
model  came  into  vogue,  where  the  staircase  was 
placed  in  a  central  hall  or  cortile,  or  imme- 
diately leading  off  it,  and  this  plan,  with  more  or 
less  modification,  has  continued  to  be  largely 
adopted  down  to  the  present  day.  One  cannot 
think  of  a  suburb  of  London,  or  indeed  any  other 
large  town,  without  its  quota  of  Italian  VUtas. 
Fancy  Italian  Villas  in  this  cold,  muggy,  fuggy, 
and  anything  but  Italian  climate  of  ours  (but 
this  by  the  way).  The  Italian  ])lan  also  often 
required  the  reception-rooms  on  a  first-floor, 
and  therefore  led  to  a  grander  staircase.  The 
demand  in  the  present  day,  where  the  space  can 
possibly  be  obtained,  is  decidedly  in  favour  of  all 
the  rec-'ption-rooms  being  placed  on  the  ground- 
floor,  when  the  staircase  should  therefore,  as  I 
consider,  return  to  a  less  eonspieious  position, 
its  only  object  being  to  afford  access  to  bed- 
rooms. The  question,  therefore,  has  to  be  con- 
sidered as  to  the  best  position  of  the  stairs,  in  a 
modem  house,  taking  note  of  what  has  been 
done  before,  but  not  copying  it,  without  regard 
to  the  altered  requirements  of  to-day.  What  I 
wish  to  lay  beiore  you,  is  that  privacy  rather 
than  conspicuity,  is  to  be  aimed  at  in  a  staircase 
of  a  house  of  ordinary  dimensions  lea'ding  to 
bedrooms,  and  that  with  the  reception-rooms, 
on  the  ground-floor  the  staircase  is  put  to  no 


use  but  private  and  domestic  ones,  and  that 
where  this  privacy  is  observed,  it  is  of  advantage 
to  all  who  use  it,  and  more  especially  to  the 
ladies  of  the  household.  Tou  probably 
all  know  tho  story  of  the  amateur  archi- 
tect, who  designed  his  own  house,  his 
great  idea  being  a  large  central  hall 
and  staircase,  with  a  gallery  round,  on  the  first- 
floor,  off  w*hich  all  the  bedrooms  opened ;  the 
consequence  being  when  any  occupant  of  these 
rooms  went  for  a  bath  in  the  morning  they  were 
seen  by  tho  servants  downstairs  ;  and  later  on, 
when  the  servants  were  removing  the  slops  from 
the  rooms,  they  were,  in  their  turn,  seen  by  the 
guests  and  others  from  the  hall  below.  Many 
plans  have  been  designed  obtaining  this  privacy, 
and  this  plan  of  Hailey  Hall  No.  2,  shows  one 
means,  though  owing  to  it  creased  height  of 
modern  rooms,  the  space  occupied  must  of  neces- 
sity be  considerably  increased,  but  this  arrange- 
ment, if  the  stairs  are  screened  off  from  the  hall, 
is  capable  of  infinitely  picturesque  and  homely 
treatment,  and  what  we  want  in  small  houses, 
above  all  things,  is  a  homely  treatment ;  it  will 
nciiessarily  vary  in  every  plan,  but  the  principal 
requirements  to  be  aimed  at  will  be  the  same. 

The  hall-and-staircase  arrangement,  a  very 
common  one,  such  as  shown  on  plan  No.  .5,  ap- 
pears to  me  both  wasteful  and  inconvenient. 
The  staircase  spoils  the  hall,  and  the  hall  spoils 
the  staircase ;  that  is  to  say,  the  hall  is  of  no 
other  purpose  than  for  effect  and  show,  it  being 
impossible  to  use  it  as  a  sitting-room,  and  in  my 
view,  the  stairs,  being  placed  in  the  hall  or 
general  thoroughfare,  are  too  public  for  the  pur- 
poses they  are  intended.  Another  great  objec- 
tion also  to  this  arrangement  is,  that  the  hall  has 
to  be  lighted  from  above  only,  and  the  proper 
ventilation  of  it  becomes  a  matter  of  great  diffi- 
culty, if  not  absolute  impossibihty.  You  will 
understand  that  I  am  speaking  strictly  of  small 
staircases,  that  is,  such  as  you  will  find  in  gen- 
tlemen's houses  generally,  and  these  remarks 
do  not  apply  to  houses  where  a  portion  of  the 
building  is  occupied  by  State  apartments,  and 
where,  therefore,  a  larger  hall  and  staircase  may 
be  necessary  for  architectural  propriety  and  be- 
fit the  apartments  to  which  they  lead. 
Of  late  years,  on  the  other  hand,  the  demand 
for  cheap  houses  with  large  accommodation  has 
led  to  an  undue  reduction  in  some  cases  in  the 
size  of  the  haU,  where,  in  fact,  you  enter  the 
front  door,  and  the  stairs  are  at  your  feet,  and 
an  array  of  little  doors  all  round  you,  too  sug- 
gestive of  cheeseparing  to  be  pleasant  or  desir- 
able. My  own  idea  for  a  country-house  is  a 
vestibule,  with  passage  from  same  to  servants' 
departmput  as  means  of  access  for  waiting  at  the 
door.  The  vestibule  to  lead  into  a  hall,  with  a 
fireplace,  of  course,  carpeted  and  furnished  with 
comfortable  chairs  and  side-tables,  and  with  the 
staircase  screened  off  from  one  corner  of  it.  In 
town-houses  and  restricted  sites,  the  pusition  of 
the  staircase  is  hardly  a  matter  of  choice,  and 
must  necessarily  come  in  tho  hall ;  but  the  same 
idea  of  privacy  cm  be  aimed  at  here  also;  but 
this  brings  me  more  properly  to  ray  second  head- 
ing the  Arrangement  of  t]ic  Staircase. 

2od.  By  arrangement,  I  mean  the  number  of 
flights,  the  landings,  and  their  disposition.  And 
here  privacy  should  again  be  aimed  at,  privacy, 
that  is  to  say,  from  strangers  coming  to  the 
entrance-door,  and  the  simplest  way  of  obtaining 
this  is  by  reversing  the  flights  so  that  you  go  up 
in  the  direction  of  the  door  rather  than  come  down 
opposite  to  it  as  is  the  common  rule,  the  practice 
of  making  the  staircase  rise  immediatelj'  oppo- 
site the  entrance- door  being  objectionable.  I 
have  usually  turned  the  stairs  round  the  other 
way  myself,  and  the  only  objection  I  have  ever 
had  raised  was  in  the  case  of  one  of  a  pair  of 
semi-detached  houses,  where  the  tenant  told  me 
his  wife's  friends  "chaffed"  her  about  the 
staircase  being  turned  round  the  icrong  icaij,  and 
supposed  it  was  because  she  was  ashamed  of  her 
stair-carpets,  and  this  opportunity  for  the  dis- 
play of  the  stair-carpet  seems  to  be  really  one  of 
the  reasons  for  the  common  arrangement.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  have  more  frequently  found 
that  tenants  soon  appreciated  the  advantages  of 
the  arrangement.  In  a  town  hou.se,  indeed,  this 
seems  absolutely  the  only  relief  from  the  stereo- 
typed plan,  shown  on  drawing  No.  7  and  known 
to  you  all,  with  the  dreary  stretch  of  kamptu- 
licon  in  fancied  imitation  of  marble  inlay  or 
tiles,  and  the  said  stair-carpet  rising  steeply  up 
in  front  of  you  as  you  enter. 

There  is  one  other  plan  of  placing  the  staircase, 
in  the  centre  of  the  house  between  the  front  and 


back  rooms,  but  this  involves  top  lighting,  and 
means  semi-darkness  on  the  groimd-floor,  and 
is  not  desirable.  The  most  economical  arrange- 
ment, in  my  opinion,  where  the  frontage  is  suffi- 
ciently wide,  is  to  bring  the  staircase  forward, 
as  shown  on  plan  No.  6,  or  where  the  houses  .are 
semi-detached  still  better,  as  shown  on  plan  No. 
8  (Fig.  2  of  illustrations).     Both  these  arrange- 


GROUND    ruoon  FIRST    FLOOR 

ments   require    that   the   look-out   at  the  back 
should  be  fairly  good ;  otherwise  the  additional 


1 


I  batH'RocmI 


GROUND   FLQOH 


FIRST   EUOCR 


CaOUNO  FLOOR 


730 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


space  obtained  is  hardly  of  much  value,  though 
it  13  something  to  have  got  rid  of  the  long 
entrance-passage  already  referred  to. 

The  principal  objection  is  that  if  the  w.c.  be 
placed  under  the  stairs,  as  it  must  almost  always 
be  in  narrow-frontage  houses,  it  brings  it  very 
near  the  door  and  the  window  in  the  front  ele- 
vation ;  but  with  a  freer  treatment  of  street 
architecture,  and  by  arranging  the  entrance  to 
w.e.  to  open  on  to  the  basement  stairs  landing, 
instead  of  direct  into  the  hall,  this  objection  is 
much  modified.  Another  objection  taken  by 
some  is,  that  you  enter  from  the  street  iimkr  the 
stairs,  which  is  true ;  but  by  forming  the  por- 
tion under  the  landing  into  a  vestibule,  which 
may  be  arched  or  domed,  this  is  screened,  and 
its  reduced  height  rather  gives  dignity  to  the 
inner  hall  by  the  contrast. 

No  doubt  a  preferable  arrangement  is  that 
shovm  on  plans  Nos.  9  and  10  (see  Figs.  3 
and  4)  where  the  entrance  is  by  the  side 
of  the  staircase,  but  distinct  from  it,  thus 
giving  the  full  height  to  the  entrance ;  but 
this  can  only  be  obtained  where  the  frontage 
is  larger  than  is  usually  the  case  in  town  houses. 
Another  arrangement,  and  one  I  have  found  to 
work  well  where  a  town  house  has  to  be  altered, 
is  shown  on  plan  No.  11.  In  this  case,  a  new 
dining-room  was  built  in  the  yard  in  the  rear. 
The  dining-room  in  the  front  was  converted  into 
the  library,  and  the  library  was  thrown  into 
hall,  and  the  stairs  placed  in  it.  This  gives  an 
idea  of  spaciousness  not  easily  obtained  in  a 
town  house,  and  is  well  lighted  by  means  of 
the  court  between  stairs  and  dining-room. 
A  favourite  arrangement  in  Queen  Anne  houses, 
■where  the  stairs  have  to  be  arranged  in  the 
entrance  opposite  the  door,  is  to  turn  the  last 
four  steps  at  right  angles  to  staircase,  as  shown 
on  plan  No.  20.  This  breaks  the  straight  ladder- 
Uke  flight  in  front  of  the  door,  but  requires  a 
wider  hall  than  can  usually  be  obtained.  Having 
settled  the  position  of  the  staircase  in  regard  to 
the  house,  and  the  point  on  the  ground-floor 
most  convenient  to  rise  from,  the  next  ques- 
tion is  the  arrangement  of  the  flights  and  land- 
ings. The  first  point  to  be  kept  in  view  being, 
of  course,  the  main  landing  on  the  first  floor, 
the  object  to  be  aimed  at  is  to  place  this 
landing  so  that  all  the  rooms  on  this  floor  open 
on  to  it  without  in  small  houses,  such  as  we  are 
speaking  of,  any  corridors  or  passages.  In  a 
skilful  plan,  there  maybe  agood  roomy  entrance- 
hall  on  the  groimd-floor,  where  it  is  of  use,  and 
a  very  economically-disposed  first-floor  landing, 
though  with  the  central  top-lighted  hall  and 
staircase  already  mentioned,  this  is  not  possible. 
Plan  No.  12  shows  this,  as  also  plan  No.  10,  in 
both  which  cases  there  is  ample  entrance-hall, 
but  very  economical  first-floor  landing.  Another 
advantage  of  Plan  No.  12  may  be  mentioned, 
though  only  indirectly  connected  with  the  sub- 
ject, viz.,  the  way  in  which  the  w.c.'s  are 
arranged  on  each  floor  against  the  outer  walls, 
and  without  one  of  their  four  sides  abutting  on  a 
any  living  or  bedroom. 

Everyone  knows  that  long  straight  flights  are 
to  be  avoided,  eleven  treads  being  about  the 
extreme  number  in  one  fliglit,  and  also  that 
squ'.re  lanc'ings  are  desirable,  though  these 
should  only  be  iised  sparingly,  for  too  many 
square  landings  and  short  flights  are  more 
tiring  and  cumbersome,  even,  than  over- 
long  flights ;  but  where  square  landings  or 
quarter-spaces  are  impossible,  winders  have 
to  be  introduced,  and  these  need  not 
necessarily  interfere  with  the  comfort  of  the 
stairs.  There  are  winders,  atid  winders,  and 
everything  depends  on  the  way  in  which  these 
are  arranged.  It  is  common  to  find  most  writers 
on  this  subject  give  a  wholesale  condemnation 
to  winders,  and  to  speak  of  them  as  makeshifts 
hardly  to  be  tolerated.  The  most  usual  way  is 
to  form  the  square  quarter-space,  and  then  cut  it 
up  into  three  treads,  by  the  easy  process  of  an 
angle  set  squareot  30  and  GO  degrees:  thisinvolves 
that  the  treads  partake  each  of  a  triangular  form, 
terminating  in  a  point,  and  are  as  dangerous 
and  prolific  of  accident  as  can  be,  even  though 
the  treading-line,  which  is  about  18in.  from  the 
handrail,  may  he  equal  througout.  Plan  No.  13 
(Fig.  b)  is  a  choice  example  of  this  arrange- 
ment. I  do  not  know  whether  you  recognise  it ; 
it  is  an  example  very  well  known  as  leading 
from  thisentrance-hall^up  to  "  the  only  lending- 
library  in  the  profession"  ;  it  has  a  peculiar 
"  refinement,"  in  the  width  of  the  tread  between 
the  winders  being  12in.,  instead  of  lOin.,  like 
the  others,  and  this,  coming  between  the  very 


narrow  winders,  makes  it  singularly  awkward ; 
but  you  can  all  judge  by  experience  whether  it 
is  easy  "going"  or  not.  Now,  with  a  well- 
hole  of  12in.,  as  this  has,  it  would  surely  be 
better  to  divide  this  among  the  winders  than  to 
give  it  to  the  one  central  step,  and  if  arranged 
as   .shown   on   the   plan   below,   the    "going" 


altfrtmatiuEj  ground  puaN 


would  have  been  comparatively  good,  for  the 
rise  and  tread  are  easy  in  themselves ;  it  is  only 
the  arrangement  of  the  winders  that  makes  it 
otherwise.  On  plan  No.  14  is  the  staircase 
figured  in  Viollet-le-Duo's  "How  to  Build  a 
House."  Here  he  was  fettered  by  no  con- 
ditions, but  optionally  shows  a  stair  with 
winders — a  very  general  practice  in  France. 

The  staircase  at  Mr.  Prinsep's  house,  already 
referred  to,  is  mentioned  as  having  partictdarly 
easy  "  going,"  and  yet  it  is  largely  composed  of 
winders.  Note  that  in  both  these  examples  the 
winders  are  not  confined  to  the  treads  on  the 
quarter  spaces,  but  commence  some  way  down 
the  flight,  thus  making  the  wind  less  sudden 
and  therefore  easier.  The  small  landings  on 
M.  Viollet-le-Duc's  example  certainly  seem 
small,  and  rather  likely  to  break  the  ease  of  the 
stair.  Another  very  good  example.  No.  lo,  of 
a  staircase,  practically  composed  entirely  of 
winders,  has  very  kindly  been  lent  to  me  by  Mr. 
Lawrence  Harvey,  by  whom  it  was  recently 
designed  for  a  hou.se  in  Queen  Anne's  Gate.  I 
have  been  up  it,  and  can  testify  to  its  comfort. 
In  this  case  a  very  awkward-shaped  space  had 
to  be  appropriated  for  the  staircase,  and  a  rec- 
tangular arrangement  was  out  of  the  question. 
The  outer  string  is  here  laid  down  concentric 
with  the  enclosing  walls,  the  treads  are  then 
spaced  out  equidistant  on  the  treading  line  18in 
from  the  outer  string,  and  the  radiating  lines  of 
the  risers  are  then  drawn  in  by  eye.  This  is 
checked  by  developing  the  string  and  laying  the 
treads  and  risers  upon  it,  when  they  will  pro- 
bably be  found  to  rise  very  unevenly,  and  this 
must  be  corrected  untU  a  gradual  rise  is  obtained, 
and  the  points  are  then  taken  off  from  the 
developed  string  and  marked  on  the  plan.  The 
result  is  a  peculiarly  easy  rise,  and  to  those 
accustomed  to  use  a  stair  designed  on  these 
lines  the  body  soon  acquires  and  falls  into  the 
swing  or  curve,  which  becomes  really  pleasanter 
than  a  square  stair.  I  have  dwelt  on  this  ques- 
tion of  winders  somewhat  at  length,  as  our 
practice  in  England  is  contrary  to  that  more 
generally  adopted  on  the  Continent,  and,  I  think, 
inferior.  The  objection  to  it  certainly  is  an 
absence  of  landings  for  the  aged  and  infirm  to 
rest  during  the  ascent,  but  I  doubt  whether 
they  cannot  stop  almost  ec^ually  well  on  any  part 
of  the  .stair  as  on  a  quarter- space  landing,  and 
imless  the  rooms  are  very  lofty,  the  question 
really  seldom  arises  at  all. 

A  contiuTious  handrail  with  this  arrangement 
is  of  course  necessary,  and  this  of  itself  helps  to 
lead  one  in  the  direction  of  the  stair.  Another 
very  important  point  to  be  remembered  in  the 
dt  signing  of  the  staircase  is  that  it  naturally  acts 
as  an  upcast-shaft  to  the  house,  and  is,  as  it 
should  be,  its  great  ventilator.  It  is  very  essen- 
tial, therefore,  that   it  should  have  at  least  one 


outside  wall  with  windows  for  ventilation ;  with- 
out this  a  house  is  always  liable  to  a  close  and 
stuffy  smell,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that 
where  a  w.c.  or  kitchen  stairs  are  placed,  as  is 
often  the  case,  imder  the  principal  stairs,  special 
care  must  be  taken,  or  the  least  smell  from  eithir 
will  at  once  pervade  the  whole  of  the  house  ;  and 
on  this  account  it  is  desirable,  as  Professor  Ken- 
has  pointed  out,  that  the  dinner-service  should 
not  pass  through  the  hall  if  it  can  possibly  li 
avoided.  The  aspect  of  the  staircase  windows 
can  hardly  be  considered,  as  the  stairs  will 
naturally  be  placed  where  the  aspect  is  lea.^t 
suitable  for  rooms ;  if  you  can  get  a  sunny 
aspect  however,  it  is  preferable ;  indeed,  onewould 
like  to  get  sun  everywhere,  and  sun  in  the  hall 
and  staircase  gives  a  very  cheerful  impression  to ' 
the  house.  Stained  glass  is  very  legitimately  ^ 
used  in  staircase  windows,  but  it  is  desirable 
there  should  be  some  clear  glass  where  the  out-  ' 
look  will  allow  it,  to  see  the  sky,  or  otherwise  ' 
you  are  apt  to  give  the  impression  that  you  look 
into  a  court  or  some  other  undesirable  outlook. 
The  landings  of  a  staircase,  where  space  will 
permit,  should  be  wider  thanthe  stairs  themselves 
in  order  to  allow  of  a  stand  of  flowers  or  some  , 
china  jars,  or  of  a  window-seat,  which  really 
would  otter  rest  to  the  old  and  infirm  using  the 
stairs.  The  picturesque  effects  to  be  obtained  in 
this  way  are  endless. 

3rd.  jVnd  now  a  few  words  may  be  said  in 
connection  with  the  Details  of  a  Staircase.  The 
rule  for  the  proportion  of  treads  and  risers  need 
hardly  be  mentioned,  beyond  saying  that  the 
aggregate  of  the  tread  and  riser  should  always 
be  about  the  same.  Thus  take  17in.  to  be  the 
recognised  standard,  then  a  riser  of  "in.  would 
rec^uire  a  tread  of  10,  a  rise  of  6in.  one  of  11, 
and  so  on. 

With  regard  to  the  width  this  should  never  be 
less  than  3ft.  in  the  clear,  and  if  any  of  the  recep- 
tion-rooms are  on  the  fijst  floor,  the  stairs  should 
not  be  less  than  If  t.  wide  in  the  clear.  Staircases 
in  modem  houses  may  be  generally  divided 
into  those  with  well-holes,  and  those  without ; 
the  former  are  either  newel  staircases  in  which 
the  handrails  stop  against  the  newels,  or  else 
have  a  continuous  handrail — probably  the  most 
dangerous  arrangement  where  children  are  con- 
cerned, affording  every  facility  for  sliding  down 
them,  and  tippling  over ;  where  the  rake  becomes 
steeper ;  stairs  without  well-holes  are  either  dog- 
legged  staircases,  or  of  the  character  shown  in 
the  example  from  VioUet-le-Duc,  and  these  are 
generally  used  where  .space  is  limited. 

For  internal  domestic  staircases,  wood  is  un- 
doubtedly the  best  material.  Stone  may  be  tised 
for  the  principal  flight,  its  advantage  being  the 
quiet  which  is  obtained.  But  it  is  far  more 
tiring  and  irksome  to  those  frequently  using  it, 
such  as  servants,  and  the  same  effect  may  be 
obtained  by  the  use  of  solid  wood  steps,  which 
at  the  same  time  have  far  more  spring  in  them, 
and  are,  therefore,  not  so  tiring.  In  Italy,  and 
warmer  climates  than  ours,  stone  staii-cases  seem 
more  appropriate.  I  have  a  very  interesting  one 
here,  from  Lecci,  in  the  South  of  Italy,  shown  in 
a  charming  drawing,  very  kindly  made  for  me 
by  Mr.  Sidney  Vacher. 

The  soffit  of  wood  stairs  is  usually  plastered, 
but  the  material  is  not  really  suitable,  as  the 
spring,  which  a  good  staircase  should  have,  to  a 
slight  extent,  sooner  or  later  cracks  it  at  the 
junctioa  of  the  flights  with  the  landings.  A 
deal  panelled  soffit  would  add  but  little  to  the  cost, 
and  would,  at  the  same  time,  give  character 
to  the  stall-.  The  inclosure  of  the  stairs  by 
handrail  and  balusters  needs  no  remark,  beyond 
the  fact  that  2in.  balusters  wUl  always  look 
better  than  lin.,  and  that  3  to  a  step,  as  they 
used  to  be,  is  immeasurably  superior  to  the  two 
poor  little  inch  balusters  generally  seen.  If 
only  two  are  used,  they  should  be  of  such  a  sub- 
stance that  there  is  not  more  than  their  own 
thickness  between  them.  The  wreathed  ma- 
hogany handrail,  with  its  elaborate  scroll  on 
the  ground-floor,  is  very  expensive,  and  shouM 
be  perpetrated  no  longer  ;  it  has  called  forth 
many  elaborate  treatises  on  its  .setting  out,  and 
many  staircase  hands  have  made  its  perfection 
the  aim  of  their  lives ;  but  beyond  this  there 
is  little  reason  for  adhering  to  it,  except  in  the 
case  where  winders  are  introduced,  as  in  No.  15, 
where  it  becomes  a  necessity.  A  close  or  open 
string  Lsvery  much  a  matter  of  taste  and  design, 
though  perhaps  the  balance  is  in  favour  of  an 
open  string,  and  ladies  will  certainly  be  found 
generally  to  favour  it,  as  having  less  corners 
difiicult  to  sweep  than  a  close  one.     A  staircase 


Dkc.   24,   1880. 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


781 


juld  always  look  solid,  with  no  stint  of 
■  iterial,  and  while  elaborate  workmanship 
,  ''Tiid  be  out  of  place  on  a  small  stairoase  such 
a>  I  am  speaking  of,  care  should  be  taken  that 
;  U  the  mouldings  should  be  full  and  rather  more 
■"<s>iTe  than  those  in  any  other  part  of  the 
i-e.  The  ladder  look  of  many  stairs  is, 
.  e  all  things,  to  be  avoided.  An  old  oak 
...ircase,  which  has  weathered  almost  black, 
with  its  heavy  newels,  handrail,  and  balus- 
toi-s,  its  solid  oak  steps,  covered  in  the 
i_  jntre  with  a  white  drugget,  has  a  quiet,  homely 
;iud  inviting  look,  very  different  to  the  general 
t'jilsome- looking  and  uninviting  ladders  of  the 
present  day.  With  regai-dto  its  decoration  little 
need  be  said  except,  probably  the  less,  the  better. 
It  is  needless  now  to  inveigh  against  tlie  block- 
marble-paper,  as  architects,  at  any  rate,  have 
given  up  its  use.  A  wooden  panelled  dado,  or  a 
plain,  Tsimished  and  painted  one,  with  a  severe 
pattern  paper,  of  not  too  dark  a  colour,  is 
all  that  is  required.  Cornices  on  the  landings 
are  better  omitted  ;  but  if  a  panelled  soffit  is 
adopted,  a  small  cornice  would  probably  finish 
this,  and  run  round  the  landings  also.  Generally 
we  may  say,  plaiu,  honest,  good  construction  is 
all  that  is  required  in  a  staircase.  Ornamenta- 
tion likely  to  arrest  the  attention  is  out  of  place  ; 
the  same  applying  to  the  carpet,  which  should 
be  quiet  and  unobtrusive  in  design,  and  indeed, 
if  you  are  so  fortunate  as  to  be  able  to  make  the 
stairs  of  solid  oak,  nothing  looks  better  on  these 
than  a  clean  white  drugget. 

Gentlemen,  I  selected  this  subject  when  asked 
to  read  a  paper  before  you,  thinking  it  must  be 
interesting  to  all  engaged  in  the  study  and 
practice  of  architecture,  aifecting  so  nearly  as  it 
does  the  comfort  and  interests  of  our  clients. 


IIETKOPOLITAN  BOAKD    OF   WORKS. 

AT  the  meeting  of  this  board  held  on  Friday, 
the  election  took  place  of  district  surveyors 
for  the  two  districts  into  which  Brixton  and 
Streatham  has  been  subdivided,  viz..  East 
Streatham  and  Brixton  and  West  Streatham. 
The  returns  published  by  the  board  show  that 
the  annual  srross  return  of  fees  for  the  district 
now  divided  has  of  late  averaged  £750,  a  low  sum 
as  compared  with  the  average  of  these  offices. 
Thirty  candidates,  whose  ages  varied  from  28  to 
■46,  offered  themselves  for  either  appointment. 
The  election  was  upon  the  exhaustive  principle, 
six  candidates  being  chosen  by  a  preliminary 
vote,  and  the  lowest  being  dropped  at  each  suc- 
cessive voting.  The  following  lists  show  the  de- 
tails of  voting,  the  half-dozen  left  by  the  first 
vote  being  distingaished  by  a  dagger,  and  those 
successively  dropped  by  an  asterisk.  The  election 
for  the  Eastern  District  was  taken  first,  thus  :  — 
t  Quilter,  J.  S.,  32  ;  t  Dale,  D.  E.,  23 ;  t  Car- 
ritt,  E.,  22  ;  t  Stenning,  A.  E  ,  21 ;  t  Ash- 
bridge,  A.,  19  ;  t  Conder,  A.,  19;  t  Todd,  P., 
19 ;  Xotley,  F.  C,  IS  ;  Elkington,  George,  jun., 
17;  Large,  W.  A.,  17;  Street,  E.,  17;  Bridg- 
man,  H.  H.,  1.5;  Hewett,  E.  E.,  U;  Small- 
peice,  W.,  13;  Brooks.  C.  W.,  12  :  Hunter,  P., 
12;  James,  James  W.,  12;  Lees.  W.  H.,  12; 
Scrimgour,  W.  H.,  11 ;  Karslake,  L.,  10  :  Pow- 
nall,  E.  E.,  10;  McLachlan,  H.,  9:  Mundv, 
J.  E.,  9  ;  Edneston,  J.  S.,  7  ;  GreUier,  W.,  7'; 
Stone,  F.,  5;  Taybr,  A.  T.,  5:  Ferguson,  J. 
M.,  4  ;  Stone,  T.,  3  ;  and  Buxton,  W.  J.,  1.  (In 
deciding  tie  for  two  lowest  places :  Conder,  2 1  ; 
Todd,  20;  *Ashbridge,  12.)  Second  vote:  — 
Quilter,  30;  Dale,  20;  Todd,  10;  Carritt,  18; 
Conder,  11;  Stenning,  11.  (Tie,  Conder,  IS; 
*  Stenning,  12.)  Third  vote :  Quilter,  22;  Dale, 
21  ;  Carritt,  20 :  Todd,  15  ;  'Conder,  8.  Fourth 
vote:  QuUtcr,  2.5;  Dale,  21;  Carritt,  15; 
•Todd,  i3.  Fifth  vote:  Quilter,  26  ;  Dale,  20; 
•Carntt,  15.  Final  vote:  Qailter,  2.5  ;  *Dale, 
13.  Mr.  Quilter,  who  was  then  unanimously 
elected,  has  for  a  considerable  period  acted  as 
deputy-surveyor  of  the  entire  district  for  the 
late  Mr.  Mullins,  aud  was  Presideat  of  the 
Architectural  Association  d  u-iug  the  session 
1875-6. 

The  election  for  West  Streathim  was  then 
proceeded  with  as  follows  : — Preliminary  vote  : 
-Todd,  26  ;  t  Dale,  25  ;  t  Carritt,  21 :  t  Large, 
21  ;  t  Hewitt,  20  ;  t  Notley,  16  ;  Brooks,  15  ; 
Conder,  15  ;  Stenning,  15  ;  Street,  15  ;  Bridgman, 
14;  Elkington,  jun.,  14;  Smallpeice,  14;  Ash- 
bridge,  13;  Hunter,  13;  Scrimgour,  13;  Pow- 
nall,  10  ;  Lees,  9 ;  Mtmday,  S  ;  J:unes,  8  ; 
GreUier,  7 ;  Ferguson,  6 ;  Karslake,  6 ;  Mc- 
Lachlan, 6;  Taylor,  6;  Edmeston,  5  ;  Stone,.  F.^ 


5;  Stone,  T.,  2;  Buxton,  0.  Second  vote:  Dale, 
23;  Large,  20;  Todd,  18;  Carritt,  15;  Notley, 
10;  'Hewitt,  7.  Third  vote :  Dale,  23;  Todd, 
19;  Large,  17;  Carritt,  15;  'Notley,  7.  Fourth 
vote  :  Dale,  25  ;  Large,  18  ;  Todd,  17  ;  'Carritt, 
14.  Fifth  vote  ;  Dale,  20  ;  Todd,  18  ;  *  Large, 
14.  Final  vote:  Dale,  elected  by  2G  votes; 
Todd,  10. 

A  new  committee  of  IG  members  was  ap- 
pointed under  the  Thames  Eiver  Prevention  of 
Floods  Act,  1S79,  to  hear  parties  who  may  object 
to  the  board's  requirements,  and  geucrally  to 
carrj'  out  the  provisions  of  the  Act.  The  Plum- 
stead  District  Board  having  called  attention  to 
flaodings  in  that  district  in  consequence  of  heavy 
rainfall,  and_suggested  the  construction  of  over- 
flow culverts  from  the  main  sewer  in  the  Lower 
Woolwich-road  to  the  river  Thames,  the  clerk 
was  instructed  to  inform  the  district  board  that 
the  whole  question  of  relieving  the  sewers  in 
times  of  heavy  rainfall  had  been  under  the  con- 
sideration of  the  board  for  some  time  past ;  and 
also  that  the  Board  were  advised  by  their  engi- 
neer that  the  works  'suggested  by  the  district 
board  would  not  meet  the  requirements  of  tliis 
case,  inasmuch  lus  the  lower  floors  of  the  houses 
to  which  they  referred  were  considerably  lower 
than  high  water  in  the  river  Thames,  below  the 
outfall  sewer,  aud,  therefore,  below  the  level  of 
any  storm  overflow  which  could  he  constructed.  1 
It  was  decided  to  contribute  one-half  the  net 
cost,  estimated  at  £20,000,  of  an  improvement 
proposed  to  be  carried  out  by  the  St.  Giles's 
district  board,  by  the  widening  of  a  portion  of 
Little  Queen-street,  Holboru.  The  vestry  of 
St.  Luke,  Middlesex,  was  refused  permission  to 
borrow  a  further  sum  of  £15,000  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  the  improvement  in  Golden-lane  ; 
but  was  granted  permission  to  borrow  £12,000 
for  carrying  out  improvements  in  Bath-street 
and  Lever-street.  It  was  also  resolved  to  .ad- 
vance £6,000  to  the  Guardians  of  St.  George's- 
in-the-Eait  for  purchasing  land  and  the  build- 
ings thereon  adjoining  their  workhouse  ;  to  ad- 
vance £19,000  to  the  St.  Marylebone  Guardians 
for  works  at  the  new  infirmary  ;  and  also  £33,000 
to  the  Guardians  of  the  hamlet  of  Mile  end  Old 
Town  for  the  erection  of  a  new  infirmary.  In 
consequence  of  complaints  having  been  made 
that  the  communication  of  glanders  and  other 
contagious  diseases  is  probably  facilitated  by  the 
condition  of  the  public  drinking-troughs,  it  was 
agreed,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  sanitary 
committee,  to  write  to  the  Metropolitan  Drink- 
ing Fountain  and  Cattle  Trough  Association, 
and  other  bodies  and  persons  who  provide  public 
drinking  troughs  in  the  Metropolis,  suggesting 
that  such  drinking  troughs  should  be  so  con- 
structed and  used  as  to  have  a  constant  flow  of 
water  passing  through  them  and  running  off,  by 
means  of  a  tumbling  bay,  direct  to  a  gully  ;  and 
that  measures  should  be  taken  to  insure  the 
troughs  being  thorouglily  cleansed  everj-  morn- 
ing. A  letter  was  received  from  the  vestry  of  St. 
Luke,  calling  attention  to  the  condition  of  that 
portion  of  the  frontage  of  Colemau-street,  Bun- 
hill-row,  which  has  recently,  been  set  back  by 
the  board  in  connection  with  their  Whitecross- 
street  (Improvement)  Scheme,  and  to  the  danger 
occasioned  by  the  condition  of  the  paving,  and 
the  absence  of  a  sufficient  number  of  lamps ;  and 
poinfing  out  the  desirability  of  the  Board  con- 
structing a  proper  brick  sewer  in  the  street  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  off  the  drainage  from 
the  blocks  of  buildings  which  will  shortly  be 
erected,  and  of  the  enlarged  area  of  surface 
drainage  of  the  street.  This  was  referred  to  the 
works  committee. 


ANCEENT  EMBROIDEEY.t 

MODERN  embroidery  and  art  needlework 
must,  with  a  few  remarkable  and  praise- 
worthy exceptions,  rank  amongst  the  least  suc- 
cessful of  otir  art  revivals.  The  causes  are  not 
far  to  seek.  Men  are  not  needlewomen,  and 
women,  until  recently,  have  been,  from  no  fault 
of  their  own,  so  completely  ignorant  of  art  prin- 
ciples, and  their  tastes,  not  .seldom  naturally 
good,  so  terribly  perverted  by  the  study  of 
fashion  instead  of  beauty,  that,  with  the  best  in- 
tentions in  the  world,  their  productions  have 
been  of  a  character  to  excite  anything  but  reason- 
able admiration.  Those  who  are  familiar  with 
some  of  the  fearfully  and  wonderfully  wrought 


T  Some  Drawintre  of  Ancient  Embroidery.  Thirty 
specimens.  By  Mrs.  JliET  Biebeb.  Edited  by  W.  BcT- 
TERFiELD,    London :  H.  Sotheran  and  Co. 


cloths,  f  rentals,  and  vestments,  which  are  to  be 
seen  in  many  modern  or  restored  churches,  will 
agree  with  us  in  deprecating  the  total  waste  of 
the  labour  put  forth,  so  far  as  any  real  art-etfect 
is  concerned.  Into  tho  hands  of  many  of  the 
fair  devotees  of  the  noodle  wo  should  hardly 
venture  to  put  such  a  book  as  that  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Barber.  Much  that  is  simply  ipiaint  iu  the  olil 
examples,  of  which  she  gives  such  marvellouhly 
accurate  reproductions,  would  be  travestied,  and 
the  real  lessoius  of  the  old  work  would  be  alto- 
gether missed ;  but  to  those  who  have  taken  the 
pains  to  learn  first  principles,  aud  have  the  gift 
of  discrimination,  wo  could  not  well  introduce  a 
more  useful  or  interesting  book.  Tho  not  very 
numerous  examples  of  old  Church  embroidery 
are  little  known,  and  inaccessible  to  most  of  us. 
In  Mrs.  Barber's  book  wo  have  30  specimens 
probably  of  the  best  work  eiistiii..',  and  for  the 
most  part  reproduced  iu  chromo-lilhography  iu  a 
very  superior  manner.  Instances  here  and  there, 
with  which  we  shotild  be  dLsjio.sed  to  find  fault, 
are  doubtless  due  to  tho  difficulty,  which  the 
authoress  herself  mentions,  of  deciding  in  some 
cases  as  to  the  exact  tone  of  tho  colours  in  old 
work,  which  has  frequently  suffered  injury  from 
time  and  careless  treatment.  One  thing  must 
fores  itself  upon  thj  mind  of  the  reader  of  this 
book,  aud  that  is  the  universal  ab.senco  in  these 
old  examples  of  effort  for  mere  ctfcct's  sake,  and 
the  sparing  use  of  ornament.  Yet  there  is  nothing' 
Uke  monotony  to  be  foimd,  for  the  ingenuity 
which  in  our  own  day  would  have  fretted  itseli 
away  in  a  search  for  new  patterns  and  designs, 
found  a  better  task  in  varying  the  arrangement 
and  treatment  of  the  old  ones,  and  the  result  is 
a  con.stant  freshness,  and  a  real  originality, 
altogether  absent  from  much  modem  work. 

The  book,  which  was  written  at  his  sugges- 
tion, has  been  superintended  for  publication, 
since  the  death  of  the  authoress,  by  Mr.  Butter- 
field  ;  and  the  publishers  deserve  the  highest 
possible  praise  for  their  share  in  the  work. 


THE  ASSOCIATED  CARPENTERS  AND 
JOINEES  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  nineteenth  annual  report  of  the  associa- 
tion has  just  been  issued  by  Mr.  William 
Patei-son,  the  general  secretary.  The  report 
states  that  there  have  been  no  disputes  of  any 
moment  dtiring  the  year,  and  that  few  changes 
have  taken  place  in  the  condition  of  labour  in 
the  trade.  Work  has  been  diflicult  to  procure, 
and  many  members  have  had  to  contend  with 
long  periods  of  enforced  idleness.  The  long- 
continued  depression  in  the  building  trade  has 
been  productive  of  much  anxiety  and  misery  to 
many  workmen  who  were  formerly  in  very  com- 
fortable circtmistances.  The  number  of  opera- 
tive joiners  in  Scotland  has  decreased  to  a 
great  extent,  and  those  remaining  cannot 
procure  regular  employment.  The  joiners 
in  the  shipyards  on  the  Clyde  werk  three- 
hours  per  week  more  than  those  in  all  other 
towns  of  any  note  i»  the  countrj".  The  income 
of  the  association  for  the  year  amounts  to 
£6,333  63.,  being  a  decrease  o"f  £1,026  6s.  5W., 
as  compared  with  the  previous  year.  There  have 
been  paid  as  sick  aliment,  £2,743  Is.  7d.  ;  as 
funeral  allowance,  £555 ;  as  superannuation 
allowance,  £79  lis.  ;  as  compensation  for  tools, 
£398 3s.  11  Jd.  ;asstrike  allowance, £30 lis.  lO^d.; 
as  "  victimised  "  allowance,  £1123.:  and  £350 
as  bonuses  lo  seven  dLsabled  members.  The 
gross  expenditure  for  the  financial  year  1880 
amounts  to  £6,304  9s.  lOd.,  which  leaves  a 
balance  of  £28  16s.  2d.  upon  tho  year,  and 
makes  the  funds  in  hand,  £S,623  Hs.  2Jd. 
Of  this  sum,  £3,441  ys.  5Jd.  is  the 
property  of  section  2nd;  and  the  remainder, 
£),1S2  43.  9'd.,  belongs  to  section  3rd, 
or  the  sick  section.  There  is  a  net  profit  of 
£181  Is.  Id.  to  the  trade  section,  and  a  loss  of 
£151  4s.  upon  tie  sick  section.  The  result  is  in 
a  great  measure  due  to  unusually  high  sick  and 
death-rates ;  but  there  is  every  rea.son  to  fear 
that  many  claimants  for  sick  benefit  do  not  have 
their  cases  so  strictly  inquired  into  as  a  proper 
reading  of  the  rules  requires.  A  return  has  been 
made  for  the  first  time  of  the  plant  belonging  to 
the  branches  and  the  executive  committee.  The 
return  shows  a  valuation  of  £476  Ss.  2d.,  and 
which,  added  to  the  funds  on  hand,  brings  them 
up  to  a  total  of  £9,099  17s.  3d.  The  report  also 
states  that  there  is  a  decrease  of  1,432  members 
during  the  year,  the  number  now  on  the  books 
being  only  4,673. 


732 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,    1880. 


CONTENTS. 


Tbe  Percentage  System      

Architectural  Tautolo^    

Copyists  and  Coraposera     

The  Past  in  the  Present      

Local  Board  Surveyors  and  Architects 

The  Early  Days  of  Portland  Cement     

Notes  from  Edinburgh       

The  Architectural  Treatment  of  Small  Staircases    . 

Metropolitan  Board  of  Works 

Ancient  Embroidery    

The  Associated  Carpenters  and  Joiners  of  Scotland. 

Our  Lithographic  Illustrations 

The  Nativity,  by  Albert  Diirer 

Proposed  New  R.  C.  Cathedral,  Hong  Kong       ...     . 

The  "  Building  News"  Designing  Club    

Architectui-al  Association 

The  Chemistry  of  Sewage  Precipitation       

The  Towers  of  "Wimbome  Minster 

Scarborough  Harbour 

Almanacs  and  Diaries 

Competitions ^.    

Schoolsof  Art 

Chips 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

Intercommunication    

Water  Supply  and  Sanitary  Matters      

Legal  Intelligence 

Our  Office  Table    

Meetinga  for  the  Ensuing  Week      

Tenders    


.  724 
.  725 
.  727 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THE  KATIVITY,  BY  ALBEST  DUBEB.  — ST.  MABT  MAGDA- 
LEXE*S  COLLEGE,  OXFOED. — THE  APOSTLES*  CBEED  :  BY 
J.  DE  OHEYN. — MB.  LUKE  FILDEs'  HODSE  AND  STUDIO  AT 
KENSINGTON. — A  DBAWING-EOOM  CORNER  AND  OCTAGON 
•BOUDOIR. — PROPOSED  NEW  E.  C.  CATHEDRAL  AT  HONG 
TCONG. — NEW  CHURCH,  JOHN-STREET,  BERKELEY-SQUARE. 
— THE  HOTEL  DE  VILLE,  BRUSSELS. — WESTWOOD  HOUSE, 
SYDENHAM.  —  CHIM.VEY-PIECES  AND  OVERMANTELS  IX 
WOOD. 


OurLithographic  Illustrations. 


THE    NATITITT,  BY  ALBBET    DUEEE. 

For  description  see  p.  773. 

TEE   NEW     BUILDtNOS,    MAGDALEN    COLLEGE, 
OXFOBD. 

"We  give  illustrations  of  these  important  new 
buildings.  One  is  a  bird's-eye  view,  showing  the 
new  buildings  completed.  At  present  the  south 
and  east  elevations  only  are  being  carried  out. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  design  is  in  harmony 
■with  old  Oxford  work,  and,  indeed,  with  that  of 
Magdalen  College,  which  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  the  Oxford  colleges.  The  pre- 
sent work  adds  thirty  sets  of  rooms,  of  good 
dimensions,  for  undergraduates,  two  sets  for 
iellows,  and  lecture-room,  &c.  The  founda- 
tions are  in,  and  the  work  will  be  continued  in 
the  earlj'  spring.  The  design  is  by  G.  F. 
Bodley  .and  T.  Gamer,  architects,  of  li.  South- 
square,  Gray's  Inn.  The  view  is  made  looking 
west  from  the  existing  buUdings. 

THE  apostles'  CEEBD.  BY  J.  DE  GHEYN. 
We  have  in  this  issue  the  pleasure  of  laying 
before  our  readers  a  portion  of  a  series  of  fine 
old  Flemish  figure  subjects,  the  work,  in  the 
first  instance,  of  Carl  van  Mander,  otherwise 
Charles  Vanmander,  and  in  the  second,  of  James 
de  Gheyn  the  elder,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  the  engraving.  Of  Carl  van  Mander  we 
learn  that  he  was  bom  in  Flanders  in  1548,  that 
he  was  tutored  in  the  art  of  painting  by  Lucas 
de  Heere,  of  Ghent,  and  Peter  Vlorick,  of 
Courtray.  He  subsequently  studied  at  Rome, 
the  effects  of  which  may  be  traced  in  the  works 
we  illustrate,  for  they  are  strongly  marked  by 
the  Classic  or  Rennaissance,  which  was  not  a 
plant  of  Flemish  or  German  growth.  From 
Home  he  removed  to  Vienna,  where,  from  an 
attachment  for  his  native  land,  he  refused  the 
ofBce  of  painter  to  the  Emperor.  In  his  native 
country  he  executed  some  masterly  works  ;  but 
bis  quiet  was  disttirbed  by  the  outbreak  of  war. 
His  next  remove  was  to  Haerlam,  in  the  freed 
provinces,  where  he  founded  an  academy  of  art 
on  the  lines  of  the  Italian  school.  His  last 
move  was  to  Amsterdam,  where  he  died  in  1606. 
In  death  bis  brow  was  crowned  with  laurels, 
and  his  remains  were  followed  to  the  grave  by 
a  picturesque  group  of  three  hundred  friends. 
His  works,  although  possessing  a  deal  that  is 
Flemish  or  German  in  their  composition,  are 
strongly  marked  by  the  Classic  feeling  of  his 


time.  His  studies  in  Rome  followed  close  upon 
the  decease  of  Michael  Angclo,  whose  teaching 
may  be  seen  in  the  works  wo  illustrate,  more 
particularly  in  the  muscular  development  of  the 
figures.  His  monogram  is  an  arrangement  of 
Kam  for  Karl  Mander.  James  de  Gheyn  the 
elder  was  born  in  Antwerp  in  156.5,  and  re- 
ceived the  rudiments  of  drawing  from  his  father, 
a  glass-painter.  For  his  knowledge  of  en- 
graving he  was  indebted  to  Henry  Galtzins, 
an  artist  whose  studies  were  principally  directed 
to  the  works  of  Michael  Angelo  and  his  classic 
eontempories,  and  hence  it  follows  that  de 
Gheyn  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  works  of  Van 
Mander,  and  pleasingly  devoted  himself  to 
engraving  the  same.  The  monogram  of  this 
artist,  who  died  in  1615,  is  an  arrangement  of  D 
and  G  for  De  Gheyn.  The  date  of  these  works 
is  not  precisely  known,  but  their  age  may  be  taken 
at  nearly  three  hundred  years.  This  celebrated 
series  of  figures,  the  remainder  of  which  we 
shall  reproduce  in  our  next  issue,  consists  of 
twelve  plates,  illustrative  of  the  Apostles.  In  a 
complete  state  they  consist  of  fourteen  plates, 
twelve  only  being  at  our  disposal  for  reproduc- 
tion. These  are  adorned  with  texts  from  the 
Apostles'  Creed  in  the  style  made  familiar  to  us 
by  the  old  artists  in  painted  glass.  Our  first 
figure,  marked  II.,  is  a  masterly  drawing  of  St. 
Andrew,  with  his  cross  symbolical  of  the  instru- 
ment upon  which  he  was  crucified  at  Patras 
(a.d.  70).  Our  next,  marked  III.,  is  St.  James 
the  Great  with  his  symbols,  a  scallop  shell  and 
a  pilgrim's  staff,  allusive  to  liis  journeying  over 
sea  from  Palestine.  Near  his  feet  is  a  sword, 
the  instrument  of  his  execution.  Our  next, 
marked  IV.,  is  St.  John  with  his  cup,  allusive 
to  the  cup  of  poison  from  which  Satan,  in  the 
form  of  a  dragon,  took  wings  upon  the  saint 
making  the  sign  of  a  cross  upon  the 
vessel.  In  his  right  hand  ho  bears  his  gospel, 
and  near  him  is  seen  a  cauldron  of  boiling  oil, 
allusive  to  the  tradition  of  his  being  plunged 
into  such  a  vessel  before  his  banishment  to 
Patmos.  The  fine  figure  marked  V.  is  St. 
Philip  bearing  a  long  staff  surmounted  with  a 
cross,  symbolical  of  his  death  which  resulted 
from  being  suspended  by  the  neck  from  a  tall 
pillar.  Our  next,  marked  VI.,  is  St.  Bartholo- 
mew with  his  knife,  allusive  to  the  instrument 
by  which  he  was  flayed  alive  ;  a  saint  rendered 
historical  by  the  great  massacre  of  Protestants 
in  France  on  his  festal  day,  1572.  Our  next 
figure,  marked  VII.,  is  St.  Thomas,  with  his 
right  hand  on  his  gospel  and  his  left  holding 
a  spear  or  halbert,  the  instrument  by  which  he 
was  slain  at  Nadahar.  (These  figures  are 
reduced  in  scale  from  the  originals,  loaned  to  us 
by  Mr.  W.  Stevenson,  of  HuU.) 

AKTISTS'  HOITES  :  NO.  9. — ME.  S.  LUKE  FILDES' 
HOUSE,    KENSINGTON. 

Last  week  we  briefly  described  the  house  and 
studio  erected  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  R. 
Norman  Shaw,  R.A,,  for  Mr.  S.  Luke  FUdes, 
A.R.A.,  the  painter.  To-day  we  publish  a  per- 
spective view  taken  from  the  Melbury-road, 
and  photographed  by  Messrs.  Bedford  Le  Mere, 
specially  for  us. 

A  DEAWING-EOOM  COENEE  AND  AN  OCTAGON 
BOUDOEB. 

These  two  interior  views  may  be  taken  as 
specimens  of  the  drawings  with  which  Mr.  R.  W. 
Edis'  forthcoming  book  on  "  The  Decoration  and 
Furnishing  of  Town  Houses  "  will  be  illustrated. 
These  plates  are  here  only  slightly  reduced  from 
the  originals,  but  in  the  book  itself  the  drawings 
are  smaller.  Among  the  subjects  illustrated  are 
examples  made  by  Messrs.  Gillow,  Longden  and 
Co.,  Jackson  and  Graham,  J.  Wedgwood  and 
Sons,  Wilcock  and  Co.,  Holland  and  Sons,  T. 
Elsley,  Jeffrey  and  Co.,  Doulton  and  Co.,  The 
Murano  Gl.ass  Co.,  Widdowson  and  Veal,  Minton 
and  Co.,  as  well  as  several  rooms  designed  by 
Mr.  Edis  himself.  All  the  drawings  are  by  Mr. 
Maurice  B.  Adams,  excepting  one,  which  is  by 
Mr.  H.  Stacey  Marks,  R.A. 

PROPOSED   NEW   E.  C.  OATHEDEAL,  BONG    KONG. 

For  description  see  p.  743. 

THE    CHUECH    OF  ST.    MAEY,  JOHN-STEEET, 
BEEKELEY-SQUAEE. 

This  church  is  being  built  by  the  trustees  of 
the  Grosvenor  Estate,  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
poorer  inhabitants  of  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood, and  to  supply  the  place  of  St.   Mary's 


Chapel  in  Park- street,  which  is  unoonsecrated, 
and  will  be  pulled  down  as  soon  as  this  church 
is  complete.  No  district  wiU  be  assigned,  and 
the  new  church  will  be  a  chapel  of  ease  to  the 
parish  church  of  St.  George,  Hanover-square. 
The  site  is  small,  and  will  be  entirely  covered  by 
the  new  building.  In  plan  it  consists  of  a  nave 
with  side  aisles,  a  chancel  and  south  aisle,  and 
a  small  tower  at  the  south-west  angle.  The 
vestries,  &c.,  are  in  a  crypt  under  the  east  end, 
approached  by  steps  on  the  north  side  of 
chancel.  The  church  is  being  built  of  red 
brick  and  Ham-hUl  stone  externally.  Internally 
picked  stocks  and  white  bricks  in  bands  are 
used  as  well  as  red,  with  Bath  stone.  Lascelles' 
material  is  also  used  for  some  of  the  shafts. 
The  chancel  with  its  south  aisle  is  groined  with 
stone  ribs  and  brick  filling  in,  the  vaulting 
shafts  being  of  Purbeck  marble.  The  roofs  of 
nave  and  aisles  are  of  pitch-pine.  Mr.  Blom- 
field,  M.A.,  is  the  architect,  and  the  contractors 
are  Messrs.  Macey  and  Sons. 

HOTEL  DE  VILLE,    BEUSSEL3. 

This  well  -  known  example  of  Continental 
Gothic  art  needs  little  description  on  the  present 
occasion,  while  the  characteristic  drawing  which 
we  .'reproduce  to-day  very  fairly  illustrates  the 
market-place  as  the  visitor  now  finds  it,  with  the 
grand  subject  of  the  plate  in  the  rear.  The 
drawing  was  exhibited  at  the  recent  Black  and 
White  Exhibition,  and  the  author  is  Mr.  Henry 
C.  Brandling. 

WESTWOOD  HOUSE,   SYDENHAM. 

Me.  J.  L.  Peaeson,  R.A.,  is  the  author  of  this 
most  interesting  and  able  work.  His  geometri- 
cal drawings  of  the  same  building  were  exhi- 
bited this  year  at  the  Royal  Academy,  while  our 
illustration  to-day  is  taken  from  the  view  which 
formed  so  conspicuous  an  exhibit  at  the  same 
gallery  a  year  or  so  ago.  The  work  is  now  in 
course  of  erection,  and  consists  in  the  recasting 
of  an  old  house,  to  which  considerable  additions 
are  also  now  being  made.  As  an  example  of 
Renaissance  design  from  the  hands  of  one  of  our 
most  eminent  and  exclusively  "Gothic"  archi- 
tects, this  illustration  is  of  special  interest. 

CHDINEV-PIECES   AND   OVEEMANTELS  IN  WOOD. 

Among  our  plates  is  a  double  page  sheet  of 
drawings  illujtrating  several  wooden  mantel- 
pieces and  treatments  for  fireplaces,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Maurice  B.  Adams,  A.R.I.B.A., 
and  made  by  Messrs.  Frederick  Edwards  and 
Son,  of  Great  Marlborough-street,  W.  Few 
features  in  an  English  house  play  a  more  im- 
portant part  than  the  mantel-piece  and  fire- 
place, and  Ct-rtainly  none  have  been  more 
influenced  by  change  in  prevailing  tastes  and 
styles.  Messrs.  Edwards  have  endeavoured  to 
supply  the  desire  expressed  by  several  of  their 
customers,  that  they  should  manufactiu'e 
wooden  mantel-pieces  ready  for  use,  either  in 
conjunction  with  their  own  well-known  grates 
or  others  of  similar  make.  We  give  a  selection 
of  their  designs,  and  may  add  that  the  treat- 
ments of  overmantels  and  cabinets,  instead  of 
the  lately  fashionable  huge  "pier  glass,"  for 
the  display  of  china  and  other  ornaments,  has 
much  to  recommend  it. 


The  new  buildings  of  the  Mary  Datchelor  Girls' 
School,  in  Grove-lane,  Caniberwell,  are  to  be 
formally  opened  to-day  (Thursday).  The  new 
schools,  which  have  been  erected  from  the  designs 
of  Mr.  T.  Chatfeild  Clarke,  were  fully  described 
in  our  issue  for  the  13th  ult.  (p.  533),  iu  an  article 
on  *' Buildings  iu  South  Loudon." 

A  mechanics'  institute  is  about  to  be  erected  at 
Horsfoith,  near  Bradford,  from  the  designs  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  Messrs.  Milnes  and 
France,  architects,  of  Bradford. 

New  Board-schools  in  Campbell-street,  Maida- 
vale,  were  opened  by  Charles  Reed,  M.P..  as 
chairman  of  the  London  School  Board,  on  Monday. 
They  have  been  built  by  Mr.  W.  Tongue, 
contractor,  of  Plumstead,  under  the  supervision 
of  Mr.  E.  K.  RobsoB,  F.S.A.,  architect  to  the 
board.  They  have  cost  £6,700,  and  accommodate 
800  chUdren. 

A  local  inquiry  has  been  held  before  Major 
Hector  Tulloch,  E.E.,  on  behalf  of  the  Local 
Government  Board  respecting  an  application  from 
the  select  vestry  of  Richmond.  Sun'ey,  for  permis- 
sion to  borrow  a  sum  of  £18,000  for  purposes  of 
water  supply,  including  the  finking  of  a  well 
1,000ft.  deep. 


"ip. 


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The  Building  Hn 


A-Drawtn^-Room  Corner 


R  W  EDIS.FS  A    ARCHT«-    ., 


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Octaoon  Boudoir  -^dams- style 


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Dec.   24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDINa  NEWS. 


773 


THE  NATIVITY,  BY  AI^BERT  DUEER. 

[rLLUSTEATED.] 

We,  thia  week,  reproduce  on  an  enlarged  scale 
a  charming  etching  by  tliis  old  German  master. 
Our  object  in  giving  this  illustration  is  to  draw- 
attention  to  the  quaint  details  which  enter  into 
the  constructive  parts  of  the  composition.  The 
buildings  on  the  right  and  in  the  rear  appear 
to  be  the  ruined  portals  of  a  town  ;  that  to  the 
left  is  a  halt-timbered  erection  witli  the  lower 
story,  as  was  generally  the  case  with  all 
buildings  rising  above  the  level  of  cottages,  a 
store  place  or  shed  for  cattle.  Here  we  have 
the  side  of  this  lower  apartment  removed  iii 
true  MediiEval  fashion  to  enable  the  artist  to 
depict  the  incidents  passing  in  the  interior. 
The  Virgin  is  shown  clad  in  the  conventional 
drapery  that  was,  down  to  Diirer's  time,  an 
appendage  of  German  art.  St.  Joseph  is  sho  wn 
filling  a  vessel  with  water  from  a  draw-well  of 
the  period,  and  from  being  represented  in 
Christian  art  as  an  old  man  with  a  staff,  the 
figure  in  the  rear  may  be  intended  to  represent 
the  same  saint  in  another  capacity.  The 
front  portion  of  the  building  is  shown  sup- 
ported on  pillars  or  posts  of  squared  timber 
formed  of  two  pieces  as  thicknesses,  and  the 
rear  portion  on  a  stone  wall.  The  framing  of 
the  building  is  made  in  three  separate  heights, 
each  apparently  perfect  in  itself ;  the  upper 
stories  no  doubt  being  framed  on  the  ground 
prior  to  being  fixed  in  position.  The  timbers 
are  all  squared,  and  the  braces  are  notched  and 
dove-taUed  at  every  available  point  and  sunk 
in  flush  with  the  framing,  where  they  are 
■secured  with  pins  or  tree-naUs.  The  walling  or 
filling  in  is  of  brick,  the  uprights  no  doubt 
teing  grooved  to  secure  the  same,  the  whole 
being  roughly  drawn  or  plastered  on  completion. 
The  window  is  of  the  first  order  of  size  for  that 
period,  and  shows  one  of  the  movable  case. 
men ts  or  lead  lights  opening  on  the  inside,  and 
the  shutters,  the  forerunners  of  these  luxuries, 
opening  on  the  outside.  The  roof  covering  is 
reeds  or  straw,  held  in  position  along  the  gable 
with  thatch-pegs.  The  eave  is  strongly  tilted, 
and  here  the  lowest  peg  is  shown  continuing 
down  to  the  main  framing  of  the  wall.  The 
apex  of  the  gable  is  cut  back  and  covered  in  like 
manner,  and  from  the  openings  in  the  same  we 
may  infer  it  was  used,  as  is  stiU  the  custom  in 
•Germany,  as  a  loft  or  store-room.  The 
ridging  is  composed  of  tubes  of  plaited  straw, 
not  unlike  the  straw  cases  or  covers  of  our  wine 
bottles.  Albert  Diirer,  as  an  artist,  was  a 
careful  observer  of  all  around  him,  and  we  may 
accept  every  detail  he  here  furnishes  as  being 
authentic  and  peculiar  to  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  Away  from  the  interest  of 
Diirer's  etchings  as  works  of  art,  and  as  the 
earliest  illustrations  following  upon  the  great 
invention  of  printing,  they  are  valuable  to  those 
practising  the  constructive  arts,  as  they  furnish 
quaint  and  practical  details  of  a  bygone  age 
that  can  only  reach  us  in  this  pleasing  form. 
For  the  loan  of  the  original  from  which  this 
enlarsrement  is  made,  we  are  indebted  to  Mr. 
W.  Stevenson,  of  Hull. 

PROPOSED  NEW  R.  C.  CATHEDRAl,, 
HONG    KONG. 

[with    rnOTQ-LITHO    HiUSTEATION.] 

^r^HIS  design  has  been  prepared  in  consequence 
JL  of  the  old  cathedral  church  having  become 
unsuitable  for  the  growing  congregation.  A  new 
site  has  been  obtained  at  the  junction  of  the 
Caint  and  Arbuthnot-roads,  on  which  it  is 
proposed  erecting  this  new  cathedral,  with 
presbyterj-  and  palace  immediately  adjoining. 
The  ground  is  somewhat  restricted  in  area,  and 
has  besides  the  disadvantage  of  being  on  a 
rapid  slope,  rising  at  the  north-west  comer  to 
the  height  of  4Gft.  above  the  general  level  of  the 
grouud,  but  this  is  no  uncommon  feature  in  this 
neighbourhood,  where  the  adjoining  hUls  attain 
an  altitude  of  1,800ft.  at  a  distance  of  less 
than  2  miles  from  the  beach.  The  church  has 
nave  2Sft.  wide  with  side  aisles,  together  64ft. 
wide,  double  transepts,  chancel  containing  the 
high  altar,  and  sanctuary  with  ambulatory 
running  around  the  apse  for  processions,  four 
small  chapels  for  special  devotional  purposes, 
baptistery  and  tower.  The  latter  will  contain  a 
complete  chime  of  bells,  and  is  not  made  lofty 
in  oatUne  on  account  of  the  ground  immediately 
adjoining  rising  high  above  it.  The  sacristy 
communicates  directly  with  the  presbytery.  An 
external  passage  way  for  religious  processions 


runs  all  around  the  entire  edifice  quite  open  to 
the  sky,  except  at  certain  parts  where,  by 
means  of  easy  gradients,  it  passes  under  the 
east  chapels  forming  short  groined  cloisters. 
The  total  length  of  the  church  is  20Gft.  inter- 
nally, and  the  entire  width  across  the  transepts  is 
soft.  With  the  assistance  of  three  large 
galleries,  sitting  accommodation  has  been 
obtained  for  about  2,000  persons.  The  two  side 
galleries  in  the  transepts  wUl  each  hold  a  fine 
organ,  the  congregation  being  fond  of  culti- 
vating highly  musical  accompaniments  in  their 
religious  sen-ices.  There  are  three  public 
entrances,  the  principal  one  of  course  being  at 
the  end  of  the  nave,  the  one  from  Caint-road 
is  on  a  level  with  the  gallery,  and  the  other  has 
a  tunnel  entrance  from  Arbuthnot-road,  being 
below  the  level  of  the  floor  of  the  church. 
There  are  also  special  entrances  to  the  sacristy. 
It  may  be  as  well  to  notice  that  the  traffic  in 
the  city  is  chiefly  pedestrian.  In  the  construc- 
tion of  the  building  great  strength  will  be 
required  on  account  of  the  terrible  typhoon 
which  occasionally  devastates  the  coast.  Cross 
arches  will  span  the  aisles,  forming  concealed 
flying  buttresses,  and  besides  which  all  import- 
ant arches  will  be  strengthened  by  strong  iron 
ties.  The  great  heat  of  the  summer  months 
render  it  desirable  to  screen  the  walls  as  much 
as  possible  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 
This,  for  the  present,  wUl  be  effected  by  bamboo 
verandahs.  The  roofs  are  open  but  double  in 
construction,  and  will  be  covered  with  the  well- 
known  Chinese  red  tiles,  with  large  roll  laps 
very  bold  and  effective.  The  windows  are 
narrow,  and  will  bo  fitted  up  with  louvre 
arrangement  of  glazing.  A  network  of  passages 
will  be  constructed  under  the  floor  of  the  church, 
which  -will  enable  air  to  pass  through  gratings 
in  the  floor.  It  will  be  noticed  the  design  is 
Gothic  of  rather  Early  character.  The  main 
construction  will  be  simple  in  detaU,  it  being 
necessary  to  omit  much  of  the  more  expen- 
sive or  architectural  details  for  the  present  on  the 
score  of  economy.  For  instance,  it  is  proposed 
moulding  the  arches  hereafter,  constructing 
them  at  first  quite  square  and  plain  in  sectional 
outline.  The  materials  used  will  be  local  or 
Canton  bricks ;  dressings  of  doors  and  windows 
will  be  of  granite,  with  certain  ornamental  parts 
of  free-stone,  marble,  or  terra-cotta.  The  tim- 
ber principally  used  -will  be  Manilla.  Native 
labour  is  cheap,  but  uncultivated,  especially  in 
matters  of  architectural  finish.  Altogether,  the 
cost  of  the  building  when  finished  will  not  ex- 
ceed £13,. 500,  although  it  would  cost  much 
more  than  double  that  sum  in  England.  The 
design  has  been  prepared  by  Mr.  John  Crawley, 
architect  and  sur\'eyor,  2,  Bloomsbury -square, 
London,  and  the  works  will  be  carried  out  under 
the  superintendence  of  a  professional  gentleman 
resident  in  the  colony. 


THE  "BUILDING    NEWS"    DESIGNING 
CLUB. 

EEVTEW   OF   DESIQNS     FOR  A     CHAPEL     TO   A   PUBLIC 
SCHOOL. 

IN  proposing  this  subject,  we  had  in  view  a 
building  to  be  used  for  worship,  attached  to  a 
college,  or  connected  with  it  by  a  corridor  or  other 
wise ;  but  the  m.ajority  of  our  competitors  have 
conceived  it  as  a  structure  having  all  the  charac- 
teristics and  accompaniments  of  a  church.  Many 
of  the  designs  show  small  parish  churches,  with 
the  addition  of  transepts,  towers,  and  even  spires. 
As  external  design,  as  well  as  good  plan,  was 
the  object  we  had  in  view,  we  are  obliged  to 
accord  to  "  Black  and  White,"  the  fir.st  place. 
The  plan  of  the  author  is  a  plain  parallelogram, 
comprising  vestibule,  a  nave,  choir,  and  square - 
ended  chancel,  ivithout  any  break  in  the  wallf, 
which  is  quite  unnecessary  for  a  building  of  this 
class ;  themoresimple  it  is,  consistent-withdignity, 
the  better.  The  only  break  is  a  slight  organ- 
recess  on  the  south  side  of  the  choir.  The  nave 
accommodates  80,  the  choir  22,  and  the  gallery 
over  vestibule  at  west  end  18,  making  a  total 
of  120.  The  vestibule  terminates  at  one  end  as 
an  octagon  stair  turret  to  the  gallery,  and 
this  is  carried  up  to  just  above  the  roof,  which 
is  of  flat  pitch.  As  regards  the  seating,  it  was 
not  necessary  to  have  the  usual  cross  seats  in  the 
nave ;  a  much  better  arrangement  would  have 
been  benches  placed  lengthwise  along  the  walls 
on  each  side,  without  the  choir  as  a  distinct  pirt, 
and  with  the  masters'  desks  or  stalls  arranged  at 
one  end,  so  that  they  could  obtain  a  view  of  the 
whole  of  the  students  who  would  of  course  form 


the  choir.      The    chancel     might      have     been 
shortened    and    occupied   by   the   altar,    and  a 
lectern  placed  between  the  rows  of  seats,  which 
miglit  have  been    in   two   or   three  groups  and 
slightly  raised  at  the  back.     A  gallery  over  the 
end  for  visitors  is   a    good    feature.       The    ex- 
terior treatment  of  "  Black  and  "White"  is  pleas- 
ing ;  there  arc  four  bays,  each  having  a  square- 
headed  mullioned   -window  placed  a  good  height 
above  the  ground,  and  these  bays  arc  divided  by 
buttresses,  which   are   carried   up   to   form  low 
pinnacles  above  the  parapet.  A  piquantly  finished 
bell  gablcisintroducedovertheheadof  the  buttress 
between  the  choir  and  chancel.  The  stylo  is  Late 
Fifteenth  Century  Gothic,    treated  -with    much 
freedom  broadly  handled  in  the  main,  and  with  a 
nice    doorway.     (2)   "   Clarior  e   Tenebris"    is 
also  simply  treated  as  a  parallelogram,  the  walls 
running   through  without   breaks.      There  is  a 
corridor  entrance  shown  from  the  college  build- 
ings on  the  south  side,   and  a   small  stair  turret 
to  a  gallery  at  the  west   end.      The   nave  seats 
are  disposed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  last,  and 
our  remarks  will  apply  to  this  also.     The  chancel 
is  simply  planned,    choir  seats  are  arranged  on 
each  side  with  a  lectern  on  the  north  side,   and  a 
pulpit  on  the  other.     It  is  the  treatment  that  wo 
chiefly  commend  :  the  style  is  Late  Gothic,  and 
the  only  features  are  the  low  octagon  turret  at 
one  end,  and  a  plainly  treated  side  finished  with 
buttress   heads   of    a    Renaissance  type  and   a 
good  parapet.     Tlie  structure  has  the  merit  of 
being  characteristic.     (3)   "Veronese,"  is  of  an 
earlier  type  of  Gothic  with  a  high  pitched-roof, 
and  apsidal  end,    the    bays  being  pierced  by  a 
series  of   lancet   -windows   of   the  same  size.     A 
groined  corridor  at  the   west  end  in  the  axis  of 
the  chapel  leads  from  the   school  to  the  chapel  ; 
there  are  two  turrets  for  stairs  to  an  end  gallery, 
and  an  organ  recess  on  the  north  side  of  choir, 
with  a  semi-octagonal  end,  for  the  altar.     Here 
again  the  choir-seating  might   have  been    done 
away  with,    and   the    nave  seated   with  longi- 
tudinal stalls  and  benches.    There  are  simplicity 
and  character  in  the  details  and  the  apsidal  end 
and  turrets  are   well  treated.     Though  in  style 
rather  mechanical,  and  a  little  too  pretentious, 
and  costly,  (4)  "  Sursum  Corda"has  themcritof  a 
good  plan.  It  is  a  long  unbroken  parallelogram  of 
six  bays  with  three  groups  of  benches  arranged 
choirwise,  and  a   well  proportioned  chancel  end. 
At  the    west    end  is    a  staircase  lobby  on  one 
side  leading  to  gallery,  and  a  small  vestry,  though 
the    last    is     unnecessary,    as    the    officiating 
clergy  could  robe  in  their  own  room.     Seats  for 
the  masters  are  not  shown  at  the  west  end,  but 
the  lectern  is  in  a  good  position.  The  drawings, 
though  unfinished,  are  very  neatly  executed,  but 
the   details  are   of   a  type  we  can  hardly   call 
good.    There  is  a  bell  gable  at  the  west  end.   (.5) 
"Frank"   has  scarcely  realised   the   idea  of  a 
chapel  to  a  public  school ;   we   might   take  his 
design   to   be   an   Episcopal  or   Congregational 
chapel.     The    comer    turret    and    spirelet    are 
commonplace,   though  the  details   of  west  end 
and  flank  are  well  drawn.     In  the  plan  there  is 
a  south  cloister  approach  -with  turret  stair  to  an 
end  gallery.  The  seats  are  placed  in  the  ordinary 
way,  and  there  is  a  choir  for  10  in  each  side  and 
an  organ-chamber.  The  chanccris  square-ended. 
The  total  accommodation  is  for  149.   (6,"Nitor.") 
The  author  of  this  sketch — it  is  hardly  finished 
enough  to  call  it  complete  as  a  dra-wing — has  the 
right  idea  ;  the  sketch  shows  a  plain  span-roofed 
building  in  the  rear  of  school  buildings,  commu- 
nicating therewith  by  a  corridor.     The  propor- 
tion of  plan  is  good  ;  there  is  a  gallery  at  west 
end  and  a  plain,   square-ended  chancel  rather 
differently  treated  externally  by  the  windows, 
and  lighted   in   the  gable  end  by  a  wide,  flat- 
pointed   Perpendicular   window.     The   bays   to 
nave   are  only   two,    and  these  are    lighted  by 
square-headed  mullioned  windows.     There  is  an 
unpretentious     yet    effective    handling    in    the 
design,  but  the  seating  is  not  shown  at  all.  Very 
different  in  aim  is  the  design  "Lex"  (7).     This 
is  a  costly,  dignified  and  pretending  Perpendicu- 
lar structure  with  a  nave  and  deep  chancel  with 
low-pitched  lead  roofs.     The   chancel  is   rather 
reduced  in  width  and  also  lower  than  the  nave. 
There  is  a  narthex,   with  gallery  over,  for  the 
family   and  servants    of   the  principal;  a   nave 
39ft.   by   2.5ft.  ;  a   deep   choir   21ft.    long  with 
stalls  and  an  organ-chamber  projecting  ;  besides 
the  sanctuary.     The  seat  of  the  master  is  on  the 
south  side  between  the  nave  and  chancel   arch. 
tl  bold  bell- turret  emphasises  the  separation  of 
nave     and    chancel     externally.      The   plan  is 
very  carefully  finished  and  the  details  well  drawn, 


774 


THE   BUILDING   NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880, 


but  the  ilefigu  i»  too  ambitious.  (S)  "Edgar." 
This  desi>,Ti,  thougli  uufiuished,  ia  appropriate 
icud  diguitied  in  character.  It  is,  however,  much 
too  long  and  e.tpensive  iu  the  windows  for  a 
BJnall  school  chapel.  The  ante-chapel  or  narthes 
opcninj,'  from  the  arcade  on  the  north  side  is  a 
gijod  feature,  and  the  octagon  stair  turret  is 
well  finished  above  and  kept  low  in  harmony  with 
the  low  pitched  ruof.  If  the  chancel  had  bten 
omitted  and  the  sanctuary  had  terminated  the 
seated  portion,  a  beiter-proportioned  plan  would 
have  resulted.  The  benches  are  placed  the  right 
way  and  a  good  wide  passaje  is  provided  up  the 
centre.  The  only  break  is  a  small  organ-chamber. 
Style  is  Late  Perpendicular,  and  the  north  and 
east  end  elevations  have  plain,  flat  parapets  of 
characteristic  design.  (9),  "Fortes  Fortuna 
Juvat."  The  author  of  this  design  shows,  -what 
■we  consider  to  be  the  correct  arrangement  of  the 
seating;  the  benches  are  arranged  lengthwise  in 
two  groups,  and  the  master's  seats  are  at  the 
end  so  as  to  be  able  to  command  the  pupils  dur- 
ing service.  The  lectern,  Litany,  and  prayer 
desks  are  in  good  positions ;  the  chancel  would 
have  been  preferably  made  of  the  fcame  width  as 
the  nave  of  chapel ;  the  separation  not  only  adds 
to  co^it  of  j'oofing,  but  is  less  dignified  as  an 
arrangement.  The  entrance  vestibule  is  clumsily 
planned ;  a  gallery  is  provided  over  with  an 
organ-chamber  on  one  side  just  in  front  sf  it. 
E.\temally  the  design  lacks  character ;  the 
arcaded  treatment  of  sides  and  gable  is  good,  but 
the  porch  and  dL-tails  rather  meagre.  (We  must 
retiuust,  in  future,  attention  to  our  often  repeated 
reijuest  that  only  otje  sheet  of  drawings  be  sent). 
(Ill)  "  Such  a  Dog  "  is  a  fairly  good  treatment 
with  well-drawn  details  ia  Fifteenth- century 
Gothic ;  the  plan  is  an  unbroken  parallelo- 
gram with  one  roof,  the  ridge  being 
relieved  by  a  small  cupola  at  the  junction  of 
choir  and  nave.  There  is  a  small  end  gallery, 
nave,  and  choii',  with  an  arched  vestry  and 
organ-chamber;  the  gallery  and  screen  at  west- 
end  is  a  good  feature.  (11)  "A  Bundle  of 
Hue,"  has  more  the  appearance  of  a  small 
village  church  than  a  school  building.  There  is 
some  good  grouping  and  detail  in  the  organ- 
chamber,  vestry,  and  porch  side,  these  three 
being  covered  by  a  continuation  of  the  main 
roof  as  an  aisle  of  three  bays  and  divided  from  the 
nave  by  pillars  and  a  screen.  Two  dormers  are 
shown  above.  We  do  not  approve  of  the  seat- 
ing, the  surrounding  aisle  to  the  nave  sittings  is 
not  economical,  and  the  altar  end  is  too  shallow. 
The  small  timbered  tower  and  spire  seem  out  of 
place.  (12)  "PupilJ.,"  a  better-arranged  plan 
showing  a  side  corridor  approach,  which  is  con- 
tinued from  entrance  to  vestiy  ;  the  seats  are 
put  the  right  way,  iu  four  groups  to  seat  the 
boys,  and  there  is  a  gallery  at  the  west-end. 
What  spoils  the  design  is  the  reduced  chancel , 
and  the  broken  exterior  on  the  corridor  side, 
■which,  ia  spite  of  some  picturesqueness  and  good 
detail,  impairs  the  dignity  of  the  structure  as  a 
smaU  building  Tne  section  shows  raised  seats, 
a  desirable  arrangement  for  a  collegiate  chapel. 
The  perspective  is  rather  roughly  drawn. 

"Epergos"  is  also  one  of  those  who  adopt 
a  sensible  arrangement,  making  the  chapel,  in 
fact,  an  adjunct  to  the  school  buildings,  and 
divesting  it  of  any  unnecessary  appendages  such 
as  chancel  arches,  towers,  and  spires.  The  style 
is  rcrpendioular,  ■with  a  well-treated  west  end, 
and  an  external  difference  is  made  in  the  chancel 
by  the  introduction  of  small  -windows.  "  Quid  " 
has  also  tho  right  notion  of  plan,  but  the  seats 
would  be  better  the  other  way,  and  the  porch, 
lobby,  and  vestry  are  rather  cramped.  The 
elevations  are  suitable  in  the  main.  "  Endy- 
mion  "  has  an  awkward  roof  over  the  west  end 
higher  than  the  m:dn  roofinsr,  and  the  object 
IS  not  very  apparent.  The  plan  and  west  ele- 
tion  are  suitable,  and  a  c-snnecting  passage  from 
the  school  is  shown,  leading-  ;.y  an  outer  cloister 
to  the  vestry.  The  altar  is  shown  in  a  recess  at 
the  east-end,  and  a  deep  gallery  ia  provided, 
approached  by  a  turret  stair.  "Ephraim" 
has  a  good  plan  and  an  apsidal  end,  with 
fairly  designed  detail.  "Alpha"  sends  a 
credjtably-drawn  design,  but  he  has  mistaken 
the  intention.  The  plan  and  treatment  he  shows 
■would  do  admirably  for  a  smaU  parish -church  ■ 
there  is  a  Urge  tower  at  the  west-end,  cler.'y 
and  choir  vestries,  and  an  organ-chamber,  but 
there  IS  nothing  to  indicate  its  adaptation  for  a 
school,  and,  according  to  the  sketch,  it  is  shown 
among  trees  "UtOeDulci"  also  sends  us  a 
pleasing  little  structure  weU  suited  for  a  country 
district ;  even  for  that  purpose,  however,  a  more 


dignified  arrangement  would  have  been  to  have 
carried  the  walls  and  roof  straight  to  include 
the  chancel.  The  organ-chamber  is  unnecessarily 
large  for  a  school  chapel.  "  Howard's"  design 
may  be  classed  in  the  same  category.  The  porch 
and  side  elevation  are  pretty,  but  there  was  no 
need  of  putting  a  lofty  spirelet  on  the  turret  nor 
making  tho  structure  assume  so  independent  a 
character,  nor  was  a  font  desirable.  "Rex"  is 
simpler  in  elevations,  but  the  design  is  spoilt  by 
making  the  chancel  a  distinct  buildiHg,  and  the 
choir  arrangement  is  imperfect.  "  Motto  A." 
goes  in  for  an  elaborate  structure  ■with  one 
transept  and  apse.  The  seating  in  three  rows  is 
unnecessary,  and  the  buttresses  and  pinnacles 
out  of  place.  There  is  still  some  good  detail 
that  deserves  recognition.  "  Yaixa  Yarra  "  has 
a  better  notion  of  plan,  and  has  invested  the 
chapel  with  a  college-like  appearance,  but  the 
lead  flat,  instead  of  roof  covering,  has  an  un- 
satisfactory effect.  The  bayed  altar  recess  is 
not  a  bad  feature,  but  the  entrance  end  is  very 
poor,  while  the  arrangement  of  seats,  &c.,  is  not 
good,  and  the  very  elaborate  Late  Gothic  chosen 
too  costly. 

Among  cruciform  chiu'ches,  and  therefore  in- 
admissible, we  must  place  "  Black  and  White," 
"Hubert,"  York,  all  showing  treatments  that 
suggest  isolated  positions.  "Kalph,"  like  many 
more,  shows  a  long  nave  with  a  separately- 
roofed  chancel  and  a  small  turret  at  the  west  end ; 
the  latter  arrangement  and  the  porch  have  a 
cramped  look,  and  the  seats  and  sanctuary  are 
not  well  planned.  It  would  do  better  for  a 
small  church.  "Beta"  is  picturesque  in  its 
half-timbered  gable,  but  also  uncharacteristic, 
and  the  altar  recess  is  much  too  small.  "  Nor- 
man" has  a  better  plan,  but  the  small  chancel 
and  internal  fittings  are  not  good.  ' '  Ambi- 
tion's" arrangement  of  altar  and  choir  is 
cramped,  and  the  elevations  are  not  in  a  good 
style;  "Dum  Vivo  Cantabo"  is  too  parish- 
church  like,  and  the  lobby  at  end  awkward; 
"Try,"  to  do  him  credit,  shows  the  connection 
with  school  building,  by  a  covered  corridor ;  but 
the  chancel  arrangement  and  stairs  to  gallery  are 
faulty  ;  while  a  similar  remark,  as  to  chancel 
and  tower,  applies  to  "Nil  Desperandum." 
"Hope,"  though  it  suggests  connection  with 
school,  does  not  show  one,  and  the  details  are 
meagre  and  flimsy.  Why  the  inner  porch  and 
huge  projections  for  organ  and  vestry  r  We 
can  only  name  a  few  others  which  have  lost  sight 
of  the  school  altogether,  and  have  shown  ill- 
planned  fittings.  Of  these  we  may  note  "B.  J.," 
"Trial"  (abetterplan),  "Ernest,"  "LaborOm- 
nia-vineit,"  "Sub  judice."  "Kismet,"  "Heart  of 
Oak,"  "Con  iu  circle,''  "Hincircle,"showcorri- 
dor approaches;  but  their  architecture andinterior 
arrangements  are  of  a  kind  not  suitable ;  while 
Hexagon  in  circle  sends  a  small  church  with  two 
stories  of  windows;  and  "Ogmore,"  whom  weare 
glad  to  see  again,  an  an-angement  of  seats,  with 
a  monitor's  seat  at  intervals  dividing  the  sittings, 
but  the  external  treatment,  especially  the 
crocketed  windows,  is  not  characteristic. 

A   CABINET   FOE  BOOZS   AND    CHINA. 

In  this  competition,  "  Jack  "  takes  the  lead. 
His  treatment  is  simple  ;  the  books  occupy  one- 
half  of  the  upper  part  of  cabinet,  and  the  china 
the  other  ;  the  first  has  curtains,  and  the  latter 
is  glazed.  Below  is  a  tier  of  lockers  and  drawers, 
and  the  whole  stands  on  tm-ned  legs.  Another 
arrangement  shows  china  placed  at  the  top,  and 
lockers  and  drawers  below,  ■n-ith  cupboard  and 
open  space  instead  of  legs  as  a  stand.  The 
mouldings  show  some  refinement.  White  metal 
hinges  are  proposed.  "P.  E.  E."  is  also  a 
clever  arrangement,  Renaissance  in  character ; 
the  centre  portion  of  top,  curtained  oft,  is  in- 
tended for  books ;  and  two  nai-row  side  glass- 
fronted  cupboards,  finished  with  ornamental 
pediments,  are  given  to  the  china.  Below  are 
nest  holes  for  larger  china,  and  gLazed  cupboards 
under  the  top.  The  drawings  scarcely  do  justice 
to^the  design.  "Reginald"  is  a  quaint  old 
English  piece  of  furniture,  with  a  deep  flatovolo 
between  the  shelves  and  lower  stand,  which  last 
has  a  slight  spraddle.  The  spaces  for  china  are 
below  the  book  shelves.  "Walter"  sends  an 
elaborate  design,  with  a  centre  cupboard  ■n-ith 
lead  lights,  and  side  lockers  decorated  with 
stamped  leather.  Below  the  top  are  drawers  and 
lockers,  and  a  shelf  for  large  vases  near  the 
ground.  There  is  a  railed  top  for  china  also  above 
the  cabinet.  An  Anglo-Japanese  feeling  per- 
vades the  detail,  and  the  design  lacks  simplicity. 
"G.  W.  W."  shows  the  bookS  arranged  iu  a  sort 


of  pedestal  ease  below,  and  a  splayed  cupboard 
with  angle  shelves  for  china  above  a  top  which 
is  level  with  dado  moulding.  This  design  has 
the  merit  of  being  quiet,  and  the  mouldings  are 
good.  "  Semper  Paratus "  is  a  neat  and  well- 
designed  cabinet,  -with  angle  and  top  shelves  for 
china,  besides  the  table  top.  There  is  a  small 
central  cupboard  for  books,  and  the  lower  part 
is  intended  for  large  books.  "  Cui  Bono  "  sends 
also  a  simple  treatment,  a  bookcase  with  top  for 
china,  and  large  cupboards  below.  We  hardly 
like  the  panelling,  but  the  details  are  good.  The 
tjainted  panels  are  well  drawn.  "  Peace  "  is  too 
clever  and  elaborate  ;  the  open  side  struts  and 
brackets  are  fussy  without  being  useful,  and  the 
cabinet  would  have  looked  better  without  the 
top  cupboards.  The  books  in  the  lower  part 
would  be  much  exposed  to  dust  and  damage.  It 
looks  more  of  an  escritoire.  "  Fidelis"  is  spoilt 
by  the  bracketed-out  lockers  iu  the  upper  part, 
and  the  author  mixes  up  china  and  books  rather 
confusedlj-.  "W.  inW."  is  simply  a  bookcase 
with  cliina  in  the  upper  and  books  on  the  lower 
shelves.  Details  are  poor.  "  Rex  "  has  a  well- 
dra^wn  perspective  ;  the  sides  are  given  to  china, 
and  the  middle  part  to  books.  The  design  is 
rather  hackneyed,  and  the  details  coarse. 
"  Veritas  Vincit "  is  a  clever  sketch,  but  the 
detail  and  ornament  are  not  good  enough. 
"  Milvertou "  looks  too  much  like  a  skeleton 
cottage  pianoforte,  and  the  details  are  over 
wrought.  "EnAvant"  is  much  better  and 
quieter  in  treatment,  but  the  details  are  heavy. 
■The  outline  and  upper  treatment  are  sensible. 
' '  Con  in  circle  "  is  neat  but  too  over-laboured,  and 
the  details  are  uusuitable.  We  can  only  men- 
tion in  order  of  merit,  "  Black  and  WTiite,"  "  I 
■will  either  make  a  shaft  or  bolt  of  it,"  "  Fidoin 
circle,"  "  One  of  the  Crowd,"  and  "Peter." 


ARCHITECTURAL  ASSOCIATION. 

THE  fourth  ordinary  meeting  of  this  Asso- 
ciation \.-as  held  on  Friday  evening,  at  9, 
Conduit -street,  W.,  tlie  President,  Mr.  Ernest 
C.  Lee,  in  the  chair.  The  following  gentlemen 
were  elected  as  members; — Messrs.  J.  AV.  Cock- 
rill,  T.  H.  Maile,  J.  Kingswell  Cole,  Ernest 
Vincent  Grove,  W.  Campbell  Jones,  Alex. 
North,  Lionel  Littlewood,  C.  W.  Jackson, 
Spencer  Ashton  Pentecost,  Albert  E.  KtngsweU, 
W^m.  Hodson,  H.  E.  Trivett,  Edward  Guy 
Dawber,  Earnest  A.  Mann,  W.  F.  Sutton, 
Stephen  P.  Rees,  F.  P.  Telfer,  Frank  Rudkin, 
A.  C.  Wissenden,  J.  Clunis,  S.  A.  Edwards, 
William  W'eir,  Chas.  Mayne,  H.  Gordon,  E.  J. 
Pine,  J.  L.  Robinson,  W.  J.  Lander,  Philip  E. 
Mantell,  Geo.  W.  Hatcher. 

The  President  remarked  that  members  would 
be  glad  to  hear  that  Mr.  John  Salmon  Quilter, 
who  recently  filled  the  chair,  and  whom  they  all 
deeply  respected,  had  that  day  been  elected  by 
a  large  majority  as  district  surveyor  of  East 
Streatham  and  Brixton — an  announcement  re- 
ceived with  applause. 

THE  AECHITEOrtJEAL  IBEATMENT    OF   SMALL  STAIK- 
CASES. 

Mr.  Aston  Webb  read  a  paper  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  will  be  found,  together  with  many  of 
the  plans  by  which  it  was  illustrated,  on  p.  72S. 

Tne  Pbesibent,  in  opening  a  discussion  upon 
the  paper,  remarked  that  Mr.  Webb  had  brought 
before  them,  in  a  very  interesting  and  practical 
manner,  a  problem  with  which  they  all  had 
constantly  to  deal  -with.  He  could  not  agree 
with  him  in  the  matter  of  placing  a  strip  of 
white  drugget  in  the  centre  of  the  tread ;  it  soon 
became  dirty,  and  the  painted  margins  looked 
worn.  The  whole  s-jrface  of  the  stair  should  be 
treated  in  the  same  manner.  He  had  expected 
that  the  author  would  have  referred  to  the 
external  stairs  so  numerous  in  Caen  and  other 
towns  of  Normany,  in  houses  of  the  1.5th  and 
IGth  centuries  ;  the  stairs  were  brought  out, 
the  doorway  being  formed  beneath  them,  and 
formed  interesting  features  of  the  buildings. 
One  very  noted  staircase,  that  at  Syracuse,  had 
been  drawn  for  the  Architectural  Association 
Sketchbook,  by  Mr.  Chas.  Eastlake,  and  was  a 
charming  specimen  of  how  such  a  feature  could 
be  treated  architecturally.  Viollet-le-Duc  had 
shown  that  in  the  1.5th  ceuturj'  it  was  the  custom 
with  French  architects  of  large  buildings  to  enclose 
the  staircase  in  a  wing  or  tower,  and  to  project 
this  from  the  centre  of  the  front,  as  at  the  Louvre, 
at  the  Chateau  at  Blois,  and  in  many  parts  of 
Normandy.     In  many  cases  even  small  staircases 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


775 


of  that  period,  as  in  the  •n-ell-known  example  at 
Orleans,  only  3ft.  wide,  the  handrail  and  newel 
weresolidand  wellcar%'ed;  of  course,  suchatreat- 
ment  would  be  too  expensive  for  modem  work. 
Mr.  Webb  did  not  appear  to  have  noticed  the  very 
small  staircases  placed  in  good  English  houses 
of  the  time  of  the  Georges.  It  seemed  as  if 
people  lived  then  simply  for  show,  and  had 
little  regard  for  domestic  comfort  or  convenience. 
They  met  each  other  in  grand  reception-rooms, 
but  they  retired  to  their  own  bedrooms  ;  they 
did  not  care  how  narrow,  or  dark,  or  poor  the 
stairs  were  ;  they  lived  in  private,  in  fact,  in  a 
hugger-mugger  style.  Often  in  large  town 
mansions,  as  in  Brook-stveet,  and  elsewhere,  he 
had  seen  upper  staircases  of  a  kind  modem 
architects  would  be  ashamed  to  put  into  a  par- 
sonage, and  the  w.o.'s  opened  directly  on  to 
them.  In  a  large  country  mansion  he  had 
recently  found  a  staircase  but  3ft.  wide, 
with  "iin.  treads  and  lOin.  risers.  At 
Lancaster-gate  was  a  very  fine  old  specimen 
of  a  central  staircase — oft.  wide,  and  well 
constructed,  but,  unfortunately,  insufficiently 
lighted.  Frequently  landings  had  been  recom- 
mended by  IVIr.  Webb,  but  he  had  found  that 
these  were  inconvenient  and  even  dangerous  if 
they  were  made  too  numerous  ;  in  an  example  he 
knew  there  were  four  steps  and  a  landing  re- 
peated as  many  as  ten  times,  and  the  result  was 
that  a  stranger  going  up  was  likely  to  trip,  and 
on  coming  down  he  was  almost  sure  to  fall.  He 
could  not  coincide  with  the  author's  suggestion 
to  place  seats  on  landings.  If  they  were  put 
there  it  was  a  question  whether  any  one  would 
sit  on  them,  but  if  flowers  and  plants  were  ar- 
ranged there  they  would  be  seen.  There  re- 
mained the  question  what  to  do  with  the  cor- 
ners, and  these,  as  in  Queen  Anne  houses,  might 
be  occupied  by  little  cupboards,  in  which  choice 
china,  glass,  and  similar  knick-knacks  could  ba 
displayed. 

Me.  Thomas  Poetee  said  Mr.  Webb  in  his 
excellent  paper  had  dwelt  much  on  the  position 
of  the  staircase,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  no  general 
rule  could  be  laid  down.  Each  house  must  be 
planned  to  meet  its  site  and  size,  and  as  a 
distinct  problem.  On  one  point  he  entirely 
differed  from  the  lecturer,  for  he  had  told  them 
that  in  some  houses  the  stairs  should  be  in  a 
retired  and  inconspicuous  place.  It  appeared 
to  biin  that,  by  the  abolition  of  the  central  hall, 
they  had  lost  the  spacious  entrance  of  the  Queen 
Anne  dwelling,  while  they  had  retained  the 
small  stairs  and  upper  parts  of  a  house  of  that 
period.  In  planning  the  staircase,  which  was  a 
portion  of  the  house  in  constant  use,  lie  was  dis- 
posed to  make  it  a  marked  and  conspicuous 
feature,  and  not  to  grudge  the  expenditure  of 
a  fair  sum  in  its  treatment.  Plenty  of  ventila- 
tion was  highly  important,  and  a  good  staircase 
afforded  one  of  the  best  means  of  obtaining  this. 
At  the  same  time,  care  should  be  taken  in 
arranging  it  to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  waste 
of  space  in  passages  and  corridors.  In  looking 
over  Mr.  T^'ebb's  exhibited  plans,  while  he  con- 
sidered several  of  thera  very  useful,  he  noticed 
one.  No.  12,  which  he  regarded  as  objection- 
able, particularly  on  account  of  the  step 
shown  upon  the  landing.  People  did  not  expect 
to  have  a  step  there,  and  so  were  sure  to  trip 
over  it.  He  once  lived  at  Portsmouth,  in  a 
house  having  a  top  step  '2in.  less  than  the  others, 
and  during  the  whole  period  he  was  there  he 
always  stumbled  over  this  exceptional  tread. 
He  knew  the  example  of  an  eUiptically  set-out 
staircase  in  Queen  Anne's-gate  which  had  been 
illustrated,  and  considered  it  very  comfortable, 
while  quite  original  in  treatment.  It  was,  how- 
ever, .5ft.  wide,  and  however  suitable  for  adop- 
tion in  a  mansion,  it  would  be  impracticable  in  a 
small  dwelling  or  a  villa.  He  objected  to  one 
device  Mr.  AVebb  had  advocated  and  shown  on 
plan,  that  of  turning  the  staircase  the  wrong 
way,  resting  against  the  front  wall  of  bouse. 
One  great  defect  was  that  it  necessarily  brought 
the  w.o.  against  the  centre  of  front  waU.  Far- 
ther than  this,  there  could  be  no  basement  to 
such  a  house,  (Mr.  Webb :  I  explained  that  the 
plan  was  for  a  house  having  no  basements), 
and  would  not  admit  of  a  sufficient  landing. 
In  the  planning  of  treads  and  risers  lay  all  the 
difference  between  the  comfort  or  discomfort  that 
would  be  experienced  by  those  who  had  to  use 
them  in  daily  life.  Addi-essing  the  junior  mem- 
bers of  the  profession,  he  should  advise  them  not 
to  be  led  away  by  the  notion  that  if  they  pro- 
vided a  9in.  tread  they  must  also  have  a  7in. 
riser.     His   own   experience    was   that  a  lOin. 


tread  was  the  most  comfortable,  and  that  a  riser 
shoidd  never  be  higher  than  Gin.  Unnecessary 
landings  were  only  an  inconvenience.  The 
flights  of  steps  at  either  end  of  Trafalgar-square 
had  been  much  praised  by  writers,  and  declared 
to  be  perfect ;  but,  as  a  fact,  they  were  very 
uncomfortable  ones  to  use.  He  would  next 
refer  to  the  treatment  of  staircases.  Many 
architects  were  in  danger  of  being  too  fussy  in 
their  details,  and  made  their  small  staircase 
much  too  heavy  and  elaborate  in  their  mould- 
ings. It  was  absurd  to  put  a  Gin.  newel  and  a 
Sin.  rail  into  a  small  house.  He  held  in  his 
hand  a  specimen  of  a  prize  design  from  one  of 
the  building  papers — he  hoped  there  were  not 
many  competitors  for  this  £1,200  vUla,  if  such  a 
design  carried  off  the  prize.  It  had  a  staircase 
3ft.  wide,  with  newel  Gin.  wide,  and  of  a  most 
elaborate  character  ;  the  balusters  were  3in.  wide, 
and  not  turned,  but  double-bellied  like  stone ; 
and  the  hand-rail  was  Gin.  deep  and  4in.  wide, 
and  could  never  he  executed  in  joinery.  He 
considered  the  usual  height  of  the  hand-rail  from 
the  tread,  about  3ft.,  was  too  great.  He  should 
recommend  that  in  small  stairs  the  height  should 
not  exceed  2ft.  oin.  for  the  rake  and  2ft.  9in.  on 
landings,  to  be  comfortable  for  ladies.  Since  he 
once  tried  these  dimensions  as  an  experiment, 
he  had  always  adopted  them  in  his  own  practice. 
Balusters  should  be  desio^ed  of  such  an  outline 
as  to  be  readily  turned  in  the  lathe,  and  it  was 
undesirable  to  cut  the  string-course.  Wainscot 
was  much  the  best  material  to  work  in,  espe- 
cially for  twisted  work,  for  which  pitch-pine  was 
quite  unsuitable.  Wood  should  not  be  introduced 
for  cornices  and  soffits,  or  the  whole  staircase  and 
well  would  appear  too  "boxy." 

Me.  Cole  Adams  showed  on  the  blackboard  a 
mode  which  he  had  recently  seen  adopted  for 
avoiding  the  difficulty  of  a  steep  descent,  where 
little  space  coixld  be  obtained,  viz.,  the  device  of 
scooping  out  one  half  of  each  step,  so  as  to  obtain 
two  levels  on  every  tread.  In  speculative 
builders  he  had  noticed  another  dodge  for  lessen- 
ing the  cost  of  dilapidations  which  seemed 
worth  attention.  It  consisted  in  cutting  two 
treads  from  a  plank  on  the  slant,  and  turning 
both  the  feather  edges  inside,  so  that  the  nosings 
were  the  stoutest  part  of  the  material.  He  con- 
cluded by  proposing  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr. 
Webb  for  his  instructive  paper. 

Mr.  S.  F.  Claeesox  said  Mr.  Webb  had  not 
insisted  on  what  he  regarded  as  a  perfectly  le- 
gitimate device  in  a  small  house,  namely,  on  the 
advisability  of  proportioning  the  staircase  so  as  to 
increase  the  width  of  headway  in  every  flight  up- 
wards. He,  like  the  President,  objected  to  Mr. 
Webb's  recommendation,  which  had  been  backed 
by  Mr.  Porter,  that  the  soffit,  cornice,  &c.,  should 
be  formed  of  plaster.  The  staircase  was,  or  ought 
to  be,  one  of  the  most  carefully-prepared  portions 
of  the  joinery,  and  was  made  of  the  most  fuUy- 
seasoned  timber  employed.  Now,  if  a  plaster 
soffit  were  applied  to  it,  the  chances  were  that 
the  wet  mass  would  tend  to  warp  and  dislocate 
the  joinery.  For  this  reason,  wood  was  a  better 
material  for  these  adjuncts.  He  feared  the 
author  of  the  paper  had  hardly  considered  the 
difficulty  of  covering  them  with  carpet  when  he 
recommended  the  use  of  frequent  half-landings. 
He  differed  from  him  on  another  point  also,  in 
his  objection  to  central  staircases.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  believed  that  in  the  town-house  of  the 
future,  in  which  there  would  be  a  comparatively 
limited  frontage,  the  central  method  would  be 
"the  "  treatment  for  a  staircase.  But  this  feature 
would,  he  anticipated,  be  eontiived  on  something 
more  resembling  the  American  plan  than  we  were 
now  accustomed  to.  Each  pair  of  houses  would 
be  treated  together  with  a  central  staii-case, 
divided  by  a  glass  screen,  and  thus  more  light 
and  better  ventilation  would  be  given  to  the 
middle  of  the  block,  and  all  the  best  rooms  could 
be  placed  upon  the  frontage  with  as  little  loss 
of  space  as  possible.  Unless  there  was  some 
reason  for  obscuring  the  view — something  which 
ought  not  to  be  seen,  an  architect  should  not 
stain  the  staircase  glazing ;  but  in  this  matter 
one  was  frequently  compelled  to  give  way  to  the 
wishes  of  the  occupier,  who  often  preferied  the 
conventional  treatment.  An  instance  occurred 
in  his  o-n-n  practice  where  he  designed  and  saw 
executed  a  window,  in  which,  while  the  lower 
part  was  obscured,  he  had  provided  a  distinctly- 
marked  and  broad  transom,  above  which  was 
clear  glass.  On  visiting  the  house  after  it  was 
ocoupTed,  he  found  all  the  upper  part  of  the 
windows  had  been  filled  with  obscure  glass,  and 
his  client  explained  that  the  lady  of  the  house 


had  been  chaffed  by  her  friends  that  there  was 
not  sufficient  money  to  complete  the  windows, 
and  so  had  been  obliged  to  alter  it.  Twisted 
balusters  were  frequently  and  loudly  con- 
demned, but  there  was  a  good  reason  for  tlieir 
employment,  namely,  that  they  enabled  the  eye 
to  glide  imperceptibly  from  one  .series  of  three 
balusters  on  a  tread  to  the  next  three,  whereas, 
if  they  were  simply  turned,  the  difference  be- 
tween rake  of  handrail  above,  and  the  series  of 
sets  of  three  balusters  below,  produced  a  jostling 
effect.  He  could  not  resume  his  seat  without 
seconding  the  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Webb  for 
his  very  origin,al  paper,  which  was  a  fitting  suc- 
cessor to  the  equally-practical  one  on  "Win- 
dows," read  by  the  same  author  a  few  sessions 
since.  Mr.  Aston  Webb  had  made  a  discovery 
' — not  perhaps  a  wonderful  one  in  itself,  since 
such  papers  cr.i'ld  be  written  ;  but  he  had  made 
the  important  discovery  that  /le  could  write  them, 
and  was,  therefore,  entitled  to  their  hearty 
thanks. 

The  Peesident  then  put  the  motion  of  thanks 
to  the  meeting,  and  it  was  carried  by  acclama- 
tion. 

Mr.  Aston  Webb,  in  acknowledging  it,  ob- 
served that  all  the  speakers  had  objected  to  his 
condemnation  'of  the  central  hall  and  staircase 
treatment  of  the  house  plan  ;  but  notwithstand- 
ing that,  he  remained  of  the  same  opinion  still. 
Too  often  a  fine  staircase  was  almost  entirely  use- 
less, and  occupied  space  which  could  be  more 
sensibly  disposed  of  in  rooms.  White  drugget 
had  been  objected  to  by  the  President.  It  was 
entirely  a  matter  of  taste,  and  he  had  advocated 
the  use  of  a  narrow  strip  where  oak  was  used, 
but  had  not  proposed  to  use  where  the  wood  was 
painted  and  grained.  He  feared  Mr.  Porter 
was  in  error  as  to  his  figures  in  what  he  had 
said  in  favour  of  a  lower  handrail  than  was  com- 
mon. He  should  certainly  recommend  that  it 
be  measured  and  experimented  upon  before  so 
low  a  rail  was  adopted.  He  recollected  that  at 
the  Traveller's  Club  there  was  a  very  low  hand- 
rail, and  a  man  fell  over  it  and  was  killed  ;  and 
at  the  inquest  there  was  some  talk  of  bringing 
the  architect  up  to  answer  a  charge  of  man- 
slaughter. Mr.  Cole  Adams's  feather-edged 
method  of  cutting  two  treads  from  a  plank 
had  been  often  tried,  but  he  did  not  think  much 
of  it,  and  it  certsinly  did  not  prevent  wear  of 
tread,  and  the  consequent  claim  for  dilapidations 
at  the  end  of  a  lease.  He  quite  agreed  with  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Clarkson,  to  increase  the 
height  at  the  first  floor. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Association  will  be 
held  on  January  7th,  when  Mr.  C.  R.  Pink, 
hon.  secretary  of  the  Excursion  sub-committee, 
will  read  a  paper,  entitled  "A  Week  in  Nor- 
folk." 


THE  CHEMISTRY  OF  SEWAGE  PRE- 
CIPITATION. 
A  PAPER  on  this  subject  was  read  by  Dr. 
W.  Wallace  before  the  Glasgow  Philo- 
sophical Society,  on  Monday  wRek.  He  pre- 
mised that  the  mixed  composition  of  sewage 
constituted  one  of  the  great  difficulties  in 
disposing  of  it,  and  the  practical  question  turned 
on  how  sewage  could  be  got  rid  of  in  the  most 
convenient,  least  injurious,  and  least  expensive 
manner.  He  then  described  the  treatment  of 
sewage  by  precipitation,  as  carried  out  in  a 
number  of  English  towns,  including  Leicester, 
Birmingham,  Leeds,  Bradford,  Bolton,  Windsor, 
Coventry,  and  Aylesbury.  Purification  by 
chemical  treatment  had,  he  remarked,  been  much 
misunderstood,  and,  consequently,  discredited 
because  it  had  not  done  all  that  had  been  claimed 
for  it.  Some  had  been  inclined  to  regard  it  as  a 
failure,  and  unworthy  of  consideration.  The 
hope,  no  doubt,  of  making  a  profit  by  the  sale 
of  the  precipitate  or  sludge  must  be  abandoned, 
as  experience  had  shown  that  it  was  not  likely  to 
be  re^.lised,  but  that  was  no  reason  why  the  pro- 
cess should  not  be  adopted  for  the  purification  of 
sewage.  He  expressed  the  opinion  that  of  all  the 
substances  proposed  as  precipitates  the  one  that 
appeared  to  be  most  capable  of  general  applica- 
tion was  lime,  and  passing  on  to  speak  of  the 
system  of  precipitation  which  it  was  desirable  to 
adopt  in  the  case  of  Glasgow,  said  he  did  not 
consider  it  imperative  that  this  point  should  be 
settled  before  proceeding  with  the  works.  For 
both  systems,  that  using  lime  and  that  in  which 
sulphate  of  ammonia  with  or  without  lime 
was  employed,  the  same  tanks,  apparatus, 
and    filtering    beds    were    required,    the    only 


776 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


diiferencc  being  that  when  the  latter  process  was 
Uted,  the  filtering'   beds   did  not  require  to   be 
quite  so  exlentive  as  when  lime  was  adopted  as 
the  precipitant.     Glasgow  was  well  situated  for 
both  processes  ;  lime  of  the  finest  quality  could  be 
hadat  from  12s.  to  14s.  per  ton,  and,  probably,  from 
thediluten;itureof  the  sewage,  1.5  cwt.  per  million 
gallons  would  suffice.     On  the  other  hand,    sul- 
phate of  animonia,  containing  also  some  sulphate 
of  iron,  could  be  made  in   the  district  from  the 
waste  shale  of  the  coalfields  at  a  very  low  price, 
and  the  use  of  this  precipitant  would  keep  down 
the  quantity  of  sludge.      The    disposal  of  this 
substance  waf  one  of  the   most   important  con- 
siderations in  the  establishment  of  sewage-pre- 
cipitation works.     There  was  a  vast  quantity  of 
waste   land    on  both  sides  of  the  river   which 
might  be  reclaimed    and   rendered  valuable  by 
means  of  the  sludge,  and  he  saw  no  reason  why 
the  sludge  should  not  be  sent  off  to  considerable 
distances  by  railway,  as  was  done  at    present 
with  the  town  refuse,   to  enhance  the  value   of 
arable  land.     By   having  several  precipitation 
works,  facilities  would  be  given  for  conveyin 
the    sludge   in    various  directions.      "Whatever 
system  of  precipitation   was   adopted,    the  dis- 
posal of  the  sludge  was  one   of  the  most  im- 
portant elements  in  the  calculation  of  cost.     He 
had  estimated  that  the  sewage  of  Glasgow— 40 
to  70  millions  of  gallons   daily — would  produce 
a  quantity  of   .sludge  which,  in  the  dried  state, 
would  amount  daily  to  1 3.5  tons ;  but  as  it  must  be 
dealt  with   in  its  worst  condition,  it  would  be  a 
fair  estimate  to  take  five  times  this,  or  675  tons, 
as  the  quantity  to  be  daily  got  rid  of.     If   Ume 
alone  were  used  as  the  precipitant,  an  average  of 
about   40   tons  would  be  required  daily,  which 
at  1 23.  per  ton,  would  cost  £24  per  day,  or  .£8, 760 
per  annum.     The  total  cost  of  working  the  pre- 
cipitation   process,    not  including   interest    on 
works,  would   probably  amount   to  somewhere 
about    .£25,000     per      annum.      The     question 
whether  the  effluent   from   precipitation  would 
putrefy   and    cause   a  nuisance,    after  mixing 
with   a   considerable  proportion  of  clean  river 
water,  was  one  which  had  engaged  his  attention, 
and  the  results  of  a   number  of  experiments  he 
had  made  daring  the  past  year,  proved  to  him 
that   Glasgow  sewage,  properly    defecated  and 
introduced  into  the  Clyde  at  a   point  below   tie 
city,  would  not   under  any  circumstances  give 
rise  to  a  nuisance.     In  regard  to  whether  lime 
or  alumina  was  the  more  effective  agent  for  pre- 
cipitation, his  observations  appeared  to  indicate 
that  although  alumina  produced   a   somewhat 
more   satisfactory  effluent,  the   advantages   at- 
tained by  its  use  were  not  sufficient  to  compen- 
sate for  the  greatly  increased  cost  of  purification 
which  might   be  set  down  at  about  four  times 
that  of  lime.     If,  however,  a  very  cheap  variety 
of  sulphate  of  alumina,   with  some  sulphate  of 
iron  could  be  obtained,  or  if  the  liquor  got  by  lixi- 
viating calcined  alum  shale  was  available ;  if,  in 
fact,  the  cost  of  alumina  or  a  mixture  of  alumina 
and  o.xide  of  iron  could  be  approximated  to  that 
of  lime,  he  should  have  no  hesitation  in  recom- 
mending its  use  in  preference  to  lime.  Dr.  AVal- 
lace   concluded    by   referring  to   an   ingenious 
system   for  the  purification  of  sewage  and  the 
utilisiition  of  one  of  its  constituents,  invented  by 
Mr.  Peter  Spence,  of  the  Pendleton  ^Vlura  Works 
Manchester,   and   added  that   a  process  for  the 
extremely  rapid   oxidation  of  the  effluent  from 
precipitation  of  lime  or  alumina,    by  which  it 
would   bo    rendered  entirely   innocuous   before 
being  discharged  into  the  river,  and  that  at  a 
trilling  cost,  had  been  brought  before  him      He 
was  not  at  present  at  liberty  to  disclose  the  name 
of   the  inventor,  or  the   details  of  the  process 
but  he  trusted  it  would   be  brought  before  the 
I  hilosophical   Society   by   the   inventor  durin.' 
the  present  session.  ° 


A 


THE    TOWERS    OF   WIMBOENE 

MINSTER. 
VESTRY-MEETING  was  held  at  Wim- 
borne,  Dorset,  on  Tuesday  week,  to 
consider  a  report  made  on  the  condition  of  the 
Minster  towers,  by  Mr.  Ewan  Christian,  the 
architect  employed  to  survey  them,  on  the  re- 
conmiendation  of  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Henrv 
\\  yatt,  who  was  the  architect  during  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Mmster.  Mr.  Christian  stated  that 
his  attention  was  fii-st  directed  to  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  north-east  pier  of  the  central  tower, 
which  was  fractured  on  the  east  face.  The 
fracture  was  somewhat  serious,  as  iudicative  of 


disruption  in  the  body  of  the  pier,  but  the 
masonry  all  round  was  so  good  and  sound  that 
he  did  not  think  anj  immediate  danger  was  to 
be  apprehended.  He  suggested  that  the  crack 
should  be  carefully  watched  for  the  slightest 
movement,  and  added  that  it  would  not  be  a 
difficult  matter,  with  efficient  shoring,  to  make 
good  the  defective  masonry.  As  to  the  upper 
portion  of  this  tower,  and  more  especially  its 
western  face  and  parapets,  he  did  not  tliink  that 
repairs  could,  with  safety,  be  much  longer 
delayed.  The  western  parapet  had  long  been  in 
an  unsafe  state,  and  was  now  supported  by 
props,  but  it  urgently  needed  rebuilding ;  and 
the  parapets  on  the  other  sides  of  the  tower  al.so 
required  repair.  A  still  more  pressing  matter 
was  the  repair  of  the  arcading  in  the  bell- story, 
notably  on  the  west  side,  but  in  a  lesser  degree 
on  the  east.  The  repair  of  this  work  could  not 
be,  with  safety,  much  longer  delayed,  but  with- 
out examination  from  a  scaffold  it  would  be 
impossible  to  say  how  far  it  must  extend. 
He  should  advise  doing  the  least  possible, 
consistently  with  making  thoroughly  sound 
work  ;  but  it  was  essentially  necessary  that 
further  decay  should  be  arrested  by  stopping  out 
the  wet  and  making  sDlid  all  stonework  at  pre- 
sent more  or  less  decayed.  This  could  only  be 
properly  done  under  direction,  and  by  very  care- 
ful and  experienced  masons.  As  regarded  the 
parapets,  though  the  detail  was  coarse,  and  not 
strictly  in  keeping  with  the  tower,  he  deprecated 
any  change  of  form  or  the  removal  of  any  but 
unsound  or  really  perished  stones  ;  but  excepting 
the  pinnacles,  the  greater  part  of  the  masonry 
would  undoubtedly  have  to  be  reset  to  make 
sound  work.  To  the  western  tower,  a  very 
great  amount  of  work  was  needed,  but  this 
would  be  chiefly  surface  work,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  the  bell-chamber  windows.  The  tower 
was  not,  he  remarked,  a  very  weU- constructed 
one,  but  there  was  notking  in  the  present  con- 
dition to  give  cause  for  alarm.  The  external 
repair  should  not,  however,  be  delayed  longer 
than  necessity  required,  and  wherever  there  was 
a  risk  of  penetration  of  wet  into  the  interior 
of  the  waU.s,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  it 
should  be  excluded  by  stopping  with  Portland 
cement. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Christian  was  adopted,  and 
it  was  also  decided  to  obtain  approximate  esti- 
mates of  the  cost  of  carrying  out  the  whole  of 
the  repairs  recommended,  and  the  cost  of 
thoroughly  repairing  both  towers. 


SCARBOROUGH  HARBOUR. 

EXTENSIVE  works  of  improvements  and  ex- 
teu.sion  have  just  been  completed  at  Scar- 
borough Harbour,  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  John 
Howkins,  M.  Inst.  C.E.,  of  Edinburgh.  They 
have  been  carried  out  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  resident  engineer  to  the  commissioners, 
Mr.  R.  S.  Wild,  Assoc.  Inst.  C.E.  The  works, 
which  were  begun  as  far  back  as  March,  1879, 
have  iacluded  the  excavation  of  a  consider- 
able portion  of  both  the  outer  and  inner  harbours 
to  a  depth  of  14ft.  below  high  water  ordinary 
spring  tides,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
remaining  area  to  adepthof  r2ft.  below  high- 
water  ordinary  spring  tides ;  at  the  same  time 
the  piers  have  been  lengthened,  widened,  and 
rohuUt.  The  material  removed  from  the  bed  of 
the  harbour  consisted  of  sand  and  boulders  in 
great  numbers,  the  work  being  done  by  dredo-- 
ing,  by  hand  labour,  and  by  steam  cranes, 
filling  barges  which  were  towed  out  to  sea  and 
their  contents  discharged  into  deep  water. 
Part  of  the  excavation  was  removed  in  waggons 
drawn  up  the  slipway  and  tilted  into  the  sea  at 
the  foot  of  the  Castie  Hill,  from  which  place  tiie 
sand  was  washed  away  quite  free  of  the  harbour. 
The  outer  harbour  has  an  area  of  5.',  acres,  and 
has  been  deepened  by  an  average  depth  of  about 
yjfeet;  in  some  parts  over  oft.  of  earth  has  been 
removed.  The  inner  harbour  has  an  area  of  9 
acres,  and  has  been  deepened  by  an  average 
depth  of  about  4ft.  The  old  dolphins,  which 
occupied  a  large  area  in  both  harbours,  have  been 
removed  and  13  mooring  -buoys,  have  been  sub- 
stituted. These  buoys  are  attached  to  large 
concrete  blocks,  sunk  to  a  considerable  depth 
below  the  new  bottom  of  the  harbours.  The 
quay  nralls  of  Vincent's  Pier,  having  been  under- 
mined in  the  process  of  deepening  the  harbour, 
have  been  underpinned,  an  operation  of  con- 
siderable difficulty.  The  West  Pier,  which  had 
a  length   of   500f£.,   and  which   was  only  27ft 


wide,  has  been  lengthened  and  widened,  and  is 
now  740ft.  long  and  70ft.  wide.  This  pier  is 
f onned  of  a  face-  wall  of  Portland  cement  con- 
crets,  buUt  in  position,  and  fiUed  in  behind  with 
materials  obtained  from  the  harbours  during 
the  excavating  process.  The  concrete  wall  is 
about  23ft.  in  height  from  foundation  to  cope, 
and  is  made  of  Portland  cement  concrete  laid  in 
blocks  consisting  of  Portland  cement,  from  Lon- 
don, of  the  highest  quality,  and  gravel  got  chiefly 
from  Camehan  Bay  in  cobles,  and  also  from 
the  shore  beyondtheSpa.  In  some  instances  a  mass 
of  concrete,  weighing  about  300  tons,  was  madeat 
one  operation,  and  in  no  instance  was  any  block 
made  of  less  weight  than  about  1 00  tons.  The  old 
entrance  between  the  former  West  Pier,  and  the 
Island  Pier  has  been  closed  and  replaced  by  a 
new  one,  100ft.  in  width  between  Mncent's  Pier 
and  the  circular  head  of  the  new  jjier,  the  Island 
Pier  being  entirely  removed.  The  construction 
of  the  new  pier  was  somewhat  arduous,  owing 
to  the  difficulty  experienced  in  obtaining  suffi- 
cient foundation.  The  red  clay,  common  in  the 
district,  was  found  to  lie  at  a  depth  of  about  10 
or  12ft.  below  the  surface  of  the  sand,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  drive  sheet  piling  into  the  clay  to 
enable  the  wall  to  be  properly  founded.  Fending 
piling  has  been  driven  along  both  sides  of  the 
pier  to  enable  vessels  to  lie  against  the  pier  while 
loading  or  discharging  goods.  The  surface  of  the 
pier  is  macadamised.  The  buoys  have  been 
suppUed  by  Messrs.  Alexander  Shanks  and  Co., 
of  London  and  Arbroath.  The  original  estimate 
was  about  £13,000,  but  the  total  cost  is  expected 
to  amount  to  between  £16,000  and  £17,000. 
The  contract  was  taken  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Morrison, 
of  Edinburgh. 


ALMANACS  AND  DIARIES. 

MESSRS.  HUDSON  AND  KEARNS  have 
sent  us  their  usual  batch  of  diaries  and 
patent  blotting-pads  for  1881.  These  have  now 
become  recoguijed  necessities  in  architects'  and 
builders'  offices,  and  little  recommendation  is 
needed  on  our  part.  We  may  remind  our  readers 
that  Nos.  H ,  12,  and  1 3  are  those  more  especially 
suited  to  their  requirements.  Even  if  the  dis- 
tinctive useful  features  which  these  diaries  pos- 
sess were  absent,  they  would  be  among  the 
cheapest  published  at  the  prices.  The  CitiiZliary, 
1881  (London:  W.  H.  and  L.  CoHingridge),  is 
published  for  the  eighteenth  time,  and  gives  much, 
information  useful  to  City  men,  besides  being  a 
good  cheap  shilling  diary.  The  Railwaij  Dianj 
and  Official  Directory  (London  :  MoCorquodale 
and  Co.),  will  be  found  serviceable  by  all  civil 
engineens  and  others  doing  business  with  the 
railway  companies.  The  Professional  Pocket  Booh 
and  Uiari/  (London:  Rudall  Carte  and  Co.),  is 
intended  for  the  musical  profession. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Ceoydon  Boaed  Schools.— The  School  Board 
for  Croydon  recently  invited  plans  in  limited 
competition  for  a  new  school  in  the  Sydenham- 
road,  and  from  the  ten  designs  submitted,  that 
by  Mr.  Charles  Bell,  of  Dashwood  House,  New 
Broad-street,  has  been  selected  for  execution. 
The  new  schools  will  accommodate  750  children, 
at  a  co.st  of  about  £5,400. 

Eastbouene.— We  hear  from  the  Easthourui 
Standard,  and  other  sources,  that  the  local  board 
of  Eastbourne  have  decided  to  carry  out  the 
design  of  their  own  building  surveyor,  Mr. 
Schmidt,  and  have  practically  shelved  the  clesign 
which  has  been  awarded  the  premium  of  £75,  by 
Mr.  Foulkes,  of  Birmiuoham.  The  new  building 
is  to  cost  only  £.5,000,  just  a  fourth  of  the  con- 
templated outlay.  A  writer  in  the  Easthonrnt 
Stiindar  I  asks  what  circumstances  have  dictated 
this  step,  and  reasonably  inquires  why  com- 
petitors should  have  been  invited,  and  a  pre- 
mium awarded.  The  design  premiated  could 
have  been  carried  out  in  sections,  and  no  economy 
seems  to  be  gained  by  erecting  a  building  that 
will  be  found  insufficient  in  a  few  years. 

Swindon. — In  a  limited  competition  for 
laying  out  and  draining  new  cemetery,  and 
erecting  chapel,  mortuary,  care-taker's  lodge, 
&c.,  the  plans  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Read,  of  Swindon, 
have  been  accepted  by  the  Burial  Board,  and 
the  works  will  shortly  be  commenced. 

The  Raikes  Memoelal  Chuech. — The  Glou- 
cester Journal  and  the  Gloticetter  Chronicle  both 
published  oa  the  16th  inst.  the  following  report 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


777 


of  the  sub-committee,   who  examiQed  the  plans 
in  this   competition:    "We  have   received  up- 
wards of  40   sets  of  drawings  in  answer  to  our 
advertisement.     Some   of   them    are   extremely 
good.     The  task  that  devolved  upon  us  was  a 
difScult  and   delicate   one.     A   large  church  is 
absolutely  needed  for  the  rapidly  pressing  wants 
of  the  South  Hamlet.     It  was  proposed  by  the 
Lord  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  and  by  the  repre- 
sentative City  and  County  Committee,   that  the 
most  fitting  memorial  to  the  founder  of  Sunday 
Schools   would  be  such    a  church.     An  appeal 
was    made    to    the     whole     country,    but    the 
response   to    it  has   been    disappointing.     The 
greater  part  of  the  sum  promised  and  received 
has  been  from  local  sources.     It  is  obvious  that 
although  by    adopting  an   economical  style  of 
architecture,    and  dispensing  with  unnecessary 
ornamentation,    a   church   sufficiently   large   to 
accommodate  the  population  may  be  provided, 
yet  a  distinctive  and  handsome   church,  worthy 
of  being  considered  as  a  memorial  of  so  import- 
ant an  event   as  the  commencement  of  Sunday 
schools,  could  only  be  built  at  a  great  expense. 
The  committee  therefore  were  in  tliis  dilemma. 
A  large  church  to  accommodate  SOO  adults  was 
required,  but  the  sum  at  our  disposal  was  small. 
We  had  spent  £800  in  the  purchase  of  the  site, 
and  force  of  circumstances  compelled  us  to  fix 
on  £1,500  as  the  sum  to  be  spent  on  the  church 
— exclusive  of  the  spire  or  tower.     After  careful 
consideration   of   the   plans,    IS   were   selected, 
including   amongst   them    those   of    four   local 
architects,  and  a  sub-committee  was  appointed 
to  report  upon  them.     This  sub-committee  held 
several    meetings,    and    carefully    studied    the 
respective  merits  of  the  13  designs.     They  also 
obtained   the   assistance   and  advice  of   persons 
well  versed  both  in  church  building  and  archi- 
tecture, and  received  from  them  valuable   and 
exhaustive  reports.     In  addition  to  this  the  40 
sets  of  drawings  have  been  re-examined,  and  the 
selection    of    the     13    has     been     ratified    and 
approved.     It    was    gratifying    to    discover    a 
singular  accord  of  testimony  on  the  part  of  those 
who    assisted    the    sub-committee     with    their 
advice.     After  taking  all  the  circumstances  into 
an  anxious  consideration  we  have  adopted  the 
d-siga  presented  to  us  by  Mr.  Capel  X.  Tripp, 
and  we  bring  it   before  you  in  the  belief  that  a 
church  built  in  accordance  with  these  plans  will 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  South  Hamlet." 
The  selected  design   was  also  described  in  both 
the   Gloucester  newspapers   already   mentioned 
in  precisely  similar  terms,    as  follows: — "The 
plan  consists  of  nave  and  aisles,  transepts  and 
choir.     The  latter  occupies  one  bay  of  the  nave 
arcade,  and   is  inclosed   by  a  low   stone  screen, 
the  sacrarium  having  merely  the  requisite  space 
within  the  kneeling  step.     The  organ  chamber 
is  placed  on   the  south  side  of  choir.     Distinct 
vestries,    with  entrance    lobby   for   clergy   and 
choir,   are  conveniently  situated,   and   means  of 
ingress  and  esrress  for  the  general  congregration 
are  well  provided  for  by  three  porches  ;   that  on 
the  west  being  especially  intended  for  exit.     It 
is    proposed    to    seat    the    church    with    open 
benches,    accommodating    800    persons,     those 
intended  for  children  being  placed  on  the  north 
of  the  choir.     The  font  is  placed  immediately 
under  the   west   window.     The  style  chosen  is 
that   of   the  plate-tracery  period,   which,  from 
its  simplicity  and  solidity,  admits  of  the  employ- 
ment of  either  brick  or  stone  in  the  construction 
as  circumstances  dictate,   and  with  very  trifling 
alteration  in  detail.     Provision   is  made   for  a 
tower  being  built  at  some   future  time  at  the 
south-east   of   the   nave    without    in   any   way 
affectins  the  interior  of  the  church  or   its  ser- 
vices, and  a  bell-cot  towards  the  east  end  of  the 
nave  roof,   forms   part   of   the   present   design. 
The  nave  fittings  are  proposed  to  be  executed 
in  red   deal,  and  those  of   the  choir  in  selected 
pitch-pine,  and  the  former  material  will  be  used 
for  all  exposed  timbers  in  the  roof,   which  will 
be  covered  with  Broseley  tiles.     The  aisles  and 
other  approaches  and  spaces  will  be  paved  with 
plain  tiles,   while  the  choir  and  sacrarium  will 
receive  more  handsome   treatment.     The   form 
of  memorial   suggested  by  the  architect  is  the 
introduction   of    stained    glass    having    special 
reference   to  the   life  of   ]?obert  Raikes,   and  a 
handsome  reredos  with  a  bas-relief  of  an  appro- 
priate nature.     Every  pro\-ision  is  made  in  the 
design  for  a  system  of  ventilation  and  heating, 
andl:he  form  of  roof  adopted  would,  in  aU  proba- 
bility, render  the  acoustic  properties  of  the  church 
satisfactory.     The    interior    treatment    of    the 
church  wUl  much  depend  upon  circumstances 


and  the  materials  employed,  but  there  is  every 
opportunity  for  future  decoration,  although  the 
object  of  the  architect  has  been  to  produrte  a 
town  church  of  simple  detail,  and  inexpensive 
materials,  which  shall  depend  for  any  effect  it 
may  possess  upon  the  breadth  of  treatment  and 
general  properties." 


SCHOOLS  OF  ABT. 

Cike;ice3ter. — The  annual  distribution  of 
prizes  gained  by  the  students  of  this  school  took 
place  at  the  town  hall  on  Tuesday  week.  Mr. 
T.  Gambier  Parry,  before  giving  the  prizes, 
highly  congratulated  the  students  on  having 
been  awarded,  in  the  national  competition,  so 
great  a  distinction  as  one  of  the  ten  gold  medals 
offered  by  the  Department,  besides  two  silver 
and  one  bronze  medal.  He  then  delivered  an 
address  upon  fine  art.  The  gold  medal  was 
awarded  to  Francis  Gibbons  for  a  design  for  a 
pavement  ;  the  silver  medals  both  fell  to  Alfred 
Hall  for  designs  for  treatment  of  side  of  ball- 
room (a  design  which  had  also  won  the 
Plasterers'  Co.'s  prize  of  8  guineas),  and  for  silver 
cup,  and  the  bronze  modal  to  Mr.  B.  Pratt  for  a 
pavement  design.  Ten  third-grade  prizes,  one 
art  master's  certificate,  and  eight-second  grade 
prizes  were  also  gained  by  students  in  addition 
to  ten  certificates.  The  report  of  the  committee 
showed  that  the  school  was  in  a  satisfactory  con- 
dition financially. 

Dekby. — On  Monday  evening  Sir  William 
Harcourt  distributed  the  prizes  won  at  the  recent 
government  examinations  by  students  attending 
the  Central  School  of  Art,  Green  Hill,  Derby.  In 
the  course  of  a  brief  subsequent  address  he  ex- 
pressed the  pleasure  he  felt  at  finding  that  the 
school  not  only  afforded  amusement — though  he 
did  not  undervalue  that,  because  graceful  amuse- 
ment, such  as  the  pursuit  of  art,  was  one  of  the 
graces  and  decorations  of  life, — but  that  it 
afforded  also  in  machine  drawings,  geometry, 
and  architecture  an  occupation  which  might  be 
of  the  greatest  value  to  pupils  in  their  future 
career.  Looking  back  fifty  years  he  contem- 
plated with  horror  the  state  of  things  which 
existed  in  his  youth,  and  if  some  of  the  students 
who  were  present  on  that  occasion  could  have 
seen  the  horse-hair  sofas,  the  marine  curtains, 
the  carpets,  the  papers,  the  coal  scuttles,  and  the 
fenders  which  prevailed  half  a  century  ago  they 
would  have  been  able  to  estimate  the  progress 
which  we  had  made  in  art.  He  had  that  even- 
in°-  given  prizes  for  wall  decoration,  which  was 
inltself  an  indication  of  the  progress  made  in 
the  arts  of  life,  and  he  was  also  glad  to  hear  that 
fair  advance  was  being  made  in  the  decorative 
art  in  plate,  in  which  certainly  of  late  years 
England  had  not  been  so  distinguishable  as  she 
ought  to  have  been.  As  showing  what  an  advance 
had  been  made  in  these  arts,  he  would  ask  them 
to  compare  the  children's  books  of  the  past  and 
of  the  present  day. 

DoECiiESTER. — The  annual  meeting  of  the 
supporters  of  this  school  of  art  was  held  last 
week,  Mr.  W.  A.  Bankes  in  the  chair.  The 
treasurers'  statement  showed  that  the  total 
receipt  of  fees  had  been  £113  Is.— five  guineas 
decrease  on  the  previous  year.  The  committee's 
report  spoke  of  a  diminution  in  the  nmnber  of 
morning  students,  and  stated  that  at  the  annual 
Government  examinations  30  presented  them- 
selves, of  whom  16  were  successful  against  12 
last  year,  and  six  of  these  obtained  prizes  as 
compared  with  2  in  1879.  A  number  of  local 
prizes  were  awarded  to  the  students  who  passed 
as  "excellent." 

Dundee.  —  The  thirteenth  annual  presenta- 
tion of  prizes  and  certificates  at  the  Dundee 
School  of  Art  took  place  on  Friday  night,  the 
distribution  being  made  by  Earl  Dalliou~ie.  The 
results  of  the  Government  examination  were 
reported  to  show  a  marked  improvement  in  art 
upon  those  of  last  year,  while  those  in  science 
were  about  the  same.  In  the  former  branch,  38 
third-grade  prizes,  2  silver  medals,  and  2  bronze 
medals  were  obtained,  as  against  23  third- 
orade  prizes,  and  one  bronze  medal,  last  year. 
The  number  of  students  showed  a  satisfactory 
increase. 

Newcastle  -  ON -Ttne.— The  presentation  of 
prizes  in  connection  with  the  Newcastle  School 
of  Art  took  place  last  week.  The  report  of  the 
committee  stated  :— The  number  of  students  who 
attended  the  school  during  the  year  has  been 
■>'0   showing  a  decrease  of  21  smce  last  year. 


The  annual  Government  examinations  were  held 
on  the  22nd  and  23rd  of  April,  when  80  candi- 
dates were  examined  in  one  or  more  subjects  of 
the  second  grade,  viz.,  freehand  drawing,  model 
drawing,  practical  geometry,  and  linear  per- 
spective ;  49  of  those  candidates  were  success- 
ful. The  total  number  of  papers  worked  was 
U4,  02  of  which  wore  successful,  17  being 
marked  excellent  and  2  good.  The  analysis  of 
the  examination  stands  thus . 


Modul    Practical       Pcr- 
'  Drawing.  Geometry,  spectivc. 


Freehand. 

Examined 47  __  - 

rawed 19  17  10  16 

Prizes 2  3  4  8 

11  full  certificates  have  been  granted. 
Of  the  works  executed  in  the  school  during  the 
year,  187  students  sent  2,028.  Of  these,  407 
were  in  the  advanced  section,  executed  by  49 
pupils  ;  the  remainder  were  elementary  works, 
including  shaded  ornament  from  cast,  outline 
from  cast,  outline  of  figure  and  ornament  from 
copy,  practical  geometry,  and  linear  perspective. 
Of  the  above  students  who  sent  work,  8  only  in 
the  advanced  section  of  the  evening  cla-ss  were 
considered  by  the  examiners  at  South  Kensing- 
ton to  have  executed  a  full  year's  work  satis- 
factorily, and  20  in  the  elementary  section. 
One  national  book  prize  has  been  awarded,  and 
eight  third  grade  prizes  at  the  national  competi- 
tion, five  of  which  were  for  works  in  the  ad- 
vanced stages  of  painting  and  design.  Free 
studentships  were  awarded  to  two  students  of 
the  evening  class  who  had  submitted  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  good  work.  In  the  local  competi- 
tion twelve  prizes  were  awarded. 


CHIPS. 

The  local  board  of  Sowerby-bridge  proceeded  on 
Wednesday  week  to  the  appointment  of  a  gaa 
manager.  There  were  70  candidates,  from  whom 
five  had  been  selected  by  a  committee.  Oa  being 
put  to  the  vote,  Mr.  Johu  Marsland,  of  Xewry, 
was  appointed,  at  a  salary  of  £150  per  annum  ;  the 
second  pi  ice  being  tak^n  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Buckley,  of 
Sheffield. 

The  annual  distribution  of  prizes  and  certificates 
to  students  of  the  school  of  science  and  art  at 
Stroud,  Gloucestershire,  took  place  on  ThuTjdiy, 
the  IGth  inst.  It  was  reported  that  m  the  art 
school  there  had  been  a  steady  increase  of 
students'  fees.  Government  grant,  and  also  in  the 
number  of  works  sent  to  South  Kensington,  of 
which  there  were  442  in  the  past  session.  The 
chairman,  Mr.  Watts  Hallewell,  on  behalf  of  the 
students,  presented  two  silver  teapots  to  Mr.  Broad, 
master  of  the  art  school. 

A  new  breakwater  has  just  been  completed  at 
the  end  of  the  High-street,  Waltou-ou-tne-Xaze, 
in  the  hope  of  checking  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  It 
is  formed  of  masonry  and  is  llott.  in  length ;  the 
work  hai  been  executed  under  the  supormtendence 
of  Mr.  Goddard. 

A  new  mission  church  and  schools  at  Fishergate, 
near  Brighton,  were  opened  on  Monday  week.  The 
buildings  are  constiucted  of  red  brick,  with  aspar- 
ino-  use"  of  stone  for  dressings,  and  Mr.  Arthur 
Loader,  of  Brighton,  is  the  architect. 

Tlie  local  board  of  Goale  are  in  treity  with  the 
rivers  Aire  and  Calder  Xavigation  for  the  purchase 
of  the  local  gas-works  and  undertokmg  from  the 
Navigation. 

The  first  meeting  of  a  Public  Sea-Water  Biths 
Companv,  which  proposes  to  establish  baths  at 
Lowestoft,  and  to  which  the  Great  Eastern  Rail- 
way Co.  has  subscribed  part  of  the  capital,  was 
held  list  week.  Messrs.  Glenence  and  Oldham 
Chambers  have  been  appointed  architects. 

A  "steeple-Jack"  named  Richard  Noble,  of 
Birmingham,  was  killed  on  Wednesdiy  week  whilst 
reps.itin°g  a  chimney  stalk  at  Chance's  glass-works, 
Spon-lane,  West  Bromwich.  Deceased  had  in- 
serted spikes  in  the  chimney,  to  which  ladders  were 
affixed  ^^'hen  he  had  taken  his  position  to 
commence  work  one  of  the  spikes  gave  way,  the 
ladder  snapped,  and  Noble  feU  a  distance  of  90ft. 
to  the  ground. 

The  Court  of  Common  Council  of  the  city  cf 
London  last  week  adopted  a  report  of  the  markets 
committee,  recommending  an  expenditure  of 
£12  000  for  additional  lairage  aocommodition  for 
550  beasts  at  the  Foreign  Cattle  Market,  Deptlord. 
At  the  samemeetingnewduties  wereassigned  totfie 
two  bridge  masters,  and  their  salaries  were  increasi  d 
from  £53  for  the  senior,  and  £33  for  the  junior 
master,  to  £250  and  £200  respectively. 

\  stained  glass  window  was  last  week  placed  in 
in'the  chancel  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Chard,  Somer- 
setshire, as  a  memorial  of  the  late  vicar.  The 
window  is  Perpendicular  m  style,  and  has  been 
executed  by  Messrs.  CUyton  and  Bell,  of  London. 


778 


THE  BUILDING   NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


IButlbiitg  ^lutclltfjencc. 


BiACKBUES. —  The  chareh  of  St.  Philip, 
Griffin,  Blackburn,  was  consecrated  on  the  loth 
inst.  It  is  a  substantial  structure  of  Early 
English  character,  built  of  local  rubble  masonry, 
and  faced  with  Yorkshire  parpoints,  with  tooled 
ashlar  dressings.  The  roofs  are  open-timbered, 
covered  externally  with  blue  and  purple  slates. 
The  plan  comprises  nave,  89ft.  6in.  by  30ft., 
and  -lOft.  to  ridg-e,  with  north  and  south  aisles, 
lift.  Gin.  wide;  chancel,  same  width  as  the 
nave,  and  30ft.  Din.  in  length  ;  two  vestries  for 
clergy  and  choir  on  the  north  side  of  chancel ; 
organ-chamber  on  the  south;  a  tower,  112ft. 
high,  at  west  end  of  south  aisle,  and  north 
porch.  The  aisles  are  laid  with  stone  land- 
ings, and  the  chancel  with  ornamental  tiles  ;  the 
church  is  warmed  by  hot  water ;  the  nave  and 
aisles  are  seated  with  open  benches  of  pitch-pine, 
stained  and  varnished ;  the  ehoir-seats,  prayer- 
desk,  and  Communion-rail  are  of  oak.  The 
pidpit  and  font  are  of  Bath  and  other  stones, 
enriched  with  dark  marble,  and  the  lectern  of 
polished  brass.  Accommodation  is  provided  for 
600  persons,  and  the  total  cost  is  about  £8,000. 
The  building  has  been  carried  out  by  Messrs. 
Stones  and  Sons,  of  Blackburn,  contractors, 
from  the  designs  and  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  architect,  Mr.  John  Lowe,  F.R.I.B.A., 
Manchester. 

Beighodse. — The  walls  of  a  new  silk-mill  on 
the  "West  Holme  Estate  are  now  up,  and  the 
roof  is  in  course  of  construction.  The  rearing 
supper  was  held  on  Saturday  night  week.  There 
were  about  1.50  persons  present,  including  Mr. 
Kershaw,  the  proprietor;  Mr.  George  Hepworth, 
the  architect ;  and  the  contractors — Mr.  James 
Dyson,  mason  ;  Mr.  Thomas  Bottomley,  joiner  ; 
Messrs.  Mackrell  and  Exley,  ironfounders| 
Elland  ;  Messrs.  Hill  and  Nelson,  slaters,  Brad- 
ford ;  Mr.  William  Brook,  plumber  and  glazier ; 
Mr.  Joseph  Wood,  plasterer  ;  and  Mr.  K.  Mit- 
chell, painter.  The  building  is  a  four-story 
one,  6Gft.  high,  the  entire  length  being  300ft. 
Sin.,  and  the  width  49ft.  4in.  The  building 
is  of  stone  from  local  quarries,  and  is  the 
largest  let  in  one  contract  at  one  time  in  Brio-- 
house.  " 

Deeey.— The  foundation-stone  of  new  Trinity 
Church,  Derby,  was  laid  on  Wednesday  week. 
The  church  will  consist  of  nave,  north  and  south 
aisles,  north  transept,  chancel,  chou'-ai'sles,  and 
vestry.  The  nave  will  be  89ft.  Uin.  long,  and 
the  chancel  34ft.,  so  that  the  total  length  of  the 
buildmg  wiU  be  123ft.  Uin.  The  width  of  the 
nave  will  be  25ft.,  and  the  n^^rth  and  south 
aisles  ISft.  6in.  each,  while  the  total  width  at 
this  portion  of  the  church  from  waU  to  wall  will 
bo  67ft.  6in.  The  chancel  will  be  2.5ft.  wide, 
and  the  north  and  south  chancel -aisles  each  14ft'. 
with  a  total  width  between  the  walls  of  oSH. 
Oin.  The  greatest  width  is  where  the  transept 
will  ]Oin  the  building,  and  there  it  -wiU  reach  a 
span  of  74ft.  Oin.  The  accommodation  provided 
wiU  be  for  911  persons.  Externally  the  aiehi- 
tecture  WiU  be  of  the  14th-century  style,  and 
the  building  will  be  surmounted  by  a  spire  and 
tower  running  up  from  the  north-east  corner,  to 
a  height  of  200ft.  Tlie  architect  is  Mr  JO 
Scott,  and  Mr.  BurUson  is  acting  as  clerk  of  the 
works.  The  contract  has  been  let  to  Messrs 
Horsman  and  Co.,  of  Wolverhampton,  the 
amount  bemg  £17,100;  but  this  sum  is  certain 
It  IS  said,  lo  be  exceeded. 

HiXTHAji.-The  chancel  of  Haltham  Church, 
near  Horncastle,  which  had  in  the  course  of  time 
fallen  into  a  most  dilapidated  condition,  has  iust 
been  thoroughly  restored.  It  was  found  necess- 
ary to  take  down  and  rebuild  the  south  wall. 
Whilst  doing  this  portion  of  the  work,  a  two- 
ight  window  and  a  priest's  d-.r,  hitherto  blocked 
up,  have  been  reopened.  A  ceiling  of  plaster 
cZrT-.r'^''^'^'  '^^  '^'  '^1>'-^°»^1  i«  now 
Hlftb.  ni  ""^^"^  '°°^  °*  ''^  Memel  timber. 
Haltham  Church  consists   of  chancel,  nave,   and 

nave  and  '•■  /*  'k  T/^  ""  ^'  'l^^^^d  t^^'  t^e 
nave  and  aisle  should  also  share  in  the  work  of 
ren.vation.  Messrs.  Jackson  and  Creasey  of 
cwt  ^'         '  '^'"'^"^  '^'  restoration  o^f'  the 

de^TL7n^.l*^°°^''^?''"°°^'  '^^"i-<=l'  having 


C.  0.  Ellison,  Liverpool.  The  committee  have 
unanimously  decided  upon  the  plans  of  Messrs. 
Sugden  and  Son,  and  the  works  will  be  pushed 
on  forthwith.  The  buddings  will  be  in  the 
Rectilinear  Gothic  style,  and  will  be  built  of  thin 
red  local  bricks  with  red  Mansfield  stone  dress- 
ings. The  following  accommodation  isproWded; 
Chapel  with  galleries  and  transepts  to  seat  about 
1,000  people;  lecture-hall  to  seat  200 ;  tower 
and  porches,  narthex,  organ-chambers,  minis- 
ter's and  deacons'  vestries,  large  schoolroom  with 
about  20  class-rooms,  teachers'  social  meeting- 
room,  kitchen,  scullery,  and  other  conveniences. 
There  is  space  left  on  the  site  for  the  future  erec- 
tion of  additional  class-rooms  and  a  caretaker's 
house. 

Leith. — A  new  church  for  the  Free  Church 
congregation  of  South  Leith  is  about  to  be 
erected.  The  plans  show  a  nave  about  90ft. 
long,  with  clerestory,  aisle,  and  transept ;  a 
session-house  and  offices  being  provided  in  a 
low  building  at  one  end  of  the  church,  while  at 
the  other  end  is  placed  a  tower  and  spire,  rising 
to  the  height  of  130ft.  The  windows  are  Early 
Gothic  lancets,  grouped  and  proportioned  to  suit 
their  several  positions  in  the  building.  The 
church  is  to  accommodate  850,  including  100 
provided  for  in  a  gallery  at  the  end.  The  plans 
have  bean  prepared  by  Messrs.  Hardy  and 
Wight,  architects.  It  is  estimated  that  the  cost 
will  be  about  £3,600. 

MiNCHESTEE.—  The  new  building  for  the 
NichoU's  Hospital,  Manchester,  is  nearly  com- 
pleted. It  has  been  erected  from  plans  prepared 
by  Mr.  T.  Worthington,  architect,  of  Man- 
chester, and,  exclusive  of  furniture,  cost  upwards 
of  £20,000.  The  hospital  is  built  principally  of 
brick,  with  stone  dressings  and  finishings.  The 
style  is  Gothic,  with  square-headed  windows, 
having  stone  muUions  and  transoms  ;  there  are 
also  stone  dormers  on  the  top  story,  with 
gabled  roofs  at  each  end,  and  angle  "turrets. 
Oyer  the  entrance  is  corbelled  out  a  bold  oriel 
window,  two  stories  in  height,  terminating  at 
the  top  in  a  niche,  and  on  each  side  of  the  prin- 
cipal entrance  are  other  niches,  in  which  it  is 
proposed  to  place  statues  of  the  founder  and  two 
other  members  of  his  family.  In  the  centre  of 
the  facade,  and  above  the  oriel  window,  a  tower 
is  placed,  the  summit  of  which  is  130ft.  high. 
The  whole  of  the  ground-floor  is  constructed  on 
Dennett  and  Co.'s  patent  arching,  and  is  fire- 
proof. 

PoETSMOuin.— The  memorial-stone  of  a  new 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  now  being  erected  in 
Edinburgh-street,  Landport,  was  laid  on 
Thursday,  the  9th  inst  ,  by  the  Bishop  of  South- 
wark.  The  first  section  of  the  church  now 
being  buUt,  at  a  cost  of  about  £9,000,  consists 
of  five  bays  of  the  nave,  with  its  side-aisles. 
When  completely  finished,  the  edifice  will  cost 
about  £23,-500,  and  will  consist  of  nave  with 
north  and  south  aisles,  transept,  chancel,  and 
side-chapels,  with.sacristv,  and  lofty  tower  and 
spire.  The  total  length' will  be  about  ISoft., 
and  the  width  of  the  nave  and  aisles  together 
about  .5Sft.  intemaUy.  The  budding  is  designed 
m  the  Geometrical  style  of  the  first  halt  of  the 
14th  century.  The  walls  are  of  brick,  faced 
with  Southsea  red  bricks,  the  dressings  of  win- 
dows, doors,  and  internal  arches  are  of  Beer 
stone,  from  Seaton,  Devonshire.  The  piers  of 
the  aisle  arcades  will  be  of  Portland  stone.  The 
main  parts  will  be  finished  with  ornamental 
wooden  vaulting,  rising  to  the  extreme  height 
of  57ft.  The  chancel  and  chapel  are  intended  to 
be  groined  in  stone.  The  foundations  have 
proved  both  difficult  and  costly,  it  being-  neces- 
sary in  some  parts  to  excavate  to  the  depth  of 
more  than  20ft.,  and  fill  in  with  cement  con- 
crete, as  the  church  is  on  the  site  of  the  fosse 
ot  the  old  fortifications.  School-buildino-a 
accommodating  more  than  600  chUdren  have 
been  partly  built  in  the  rear  of  the  site,  front- 
ng  on  to  Alfred-road,  at  a  cost  of  £4, .500  The 
mam  building  is  two  floors  in  height,  and  con- 
tains  gn-ls  and  boys'  schools,  each  about  64ft. 
by  23ft.  The  infants'  school,  as  at  present 
bmlt  IS  3oft.  by4Gft.  The  class-rooms  to  each  of 
the  three  schools  wUl  be  added  when  funds  allow 
Ihe  presbj'tery,  hereafter  to  be  erected,  wUl 
tace  the  Edinburgh-road,  and  will  directly  com- 
municate with  the  eastern  end  of  the  church 
by  means  of  a  close  cloister.  Six  designs  were 
ongmaUy  sent  in  competition  for  these  build- 
ings, the  successful  architect  being  Mr.  John 
Crawley,  of  Bloomsbury-square,  W.C  ,  who  is 
now  carrying  out  the  works.     The  contractors 


are   Messrs.     Patman     and    Fotheriugham,    of 
Theobald's-road,  London. 

Roman  Catholic  CntmcH  Bdildinq  Intelli- 
GExcE. — The  Dominican  Fathers  have  finished 
the  entire  roofing-in  of  their  church  at  Haver- 
stock-hill.  It  will  be  completed  long  before  the 
period  originally  assigned  for  its  construction. 
Several  additions  and  improvements  have  lately 
taken  place  in  many  of  our  London  churches. 
At  the  Pro-Cathedral  a  large  figure  of  Our 
Blessed  Lady,  under  a  spiral  canopy,  was  blessed 
by  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  on  the  'Sth  inst.  On 
the  evening  of  the  same  day  his  Eminence 
blessed  a  new  Lady  Chapel,  in  the  Augastinian 
Church  of  St.  Monica,  at  Hoxton.  The  church 
having  very  narrow  aisles,  the  new  chapel  pro- 
jects somewhat  beyond  the  left  aisle  on  the  side 
of  the  chancel  (to  which  it  is  attached  by  a 
double  archway).  The  chapel  is  20ft.  in  length 
by  I.3ft.  in  breadth,  and  was  erected  from  the 
design  of  Mr.  John  Young,  at  a  cost  of  £800. 
The  new  chapel  ot  St.  Joseph,  in  the  Servite 
Church,  has  been  decorated  under  the  care  of  one 
of  the  Fathers.  On  the  reredoa  are  represented 
four  events  from  the  life  of  St.  Joseph,  painted 
in  the  Italian  style. 

Saliseuky. — The  Nelson  coffee-house  at  Salis- 
bury, wliich  has  been  in  course  of  erection  for 
some  time  in  Fisherton-street,  was  opened  on 
Thursday  week  by  Earl  Nelson.  The  building 
is  well  planned,  and  contains  about  30  rooms, 
including  a  very  large  club-room.  A  lift  and  a 
tramway  have  been  made  to  minimise  labour, 
and  ventilating  apparatus  has  been  provided. 
The  exterior  is  of  a  deep  red  tone,  almo.st  Pom- 
peian  in  its  style ;  full -coloured  bricks  with 
dark  chocolate  pointing  have  been  employed, 
and  the  dressings  (window  arches,  medalliens, 
finials,  &c.)  are  of  terra-cottta,  supplied  by 
Messrs.  Doulton,  of  Lambeth.  'The  contractor 
for  the  whole  of  the  works  was  Mr.  Arthur 
Foley,  ot  Fisherton,  who  also  provided  all  the 
fit'ings  and  furniture.  Mr.  F.  Bath,  of  Crown 
Chambers,  Bridge-street,  Salisbury,  designed  the 
building. 

^  ScAEBOEOTjQH.— The  new  Post-office  in  Hunt- 
riss-row,  Scarborough,  is  expected  to  be  ready 
for  use  in  the  early  part  of  next  year.  It  has 
been  designed  by  Mr.  James  Williams,  of  Her 
Majesty's  Office  of  Works,  Whitehall,  London. 
The  front  elevation  is  Classic  in  style,  and  up  to 
the  first-floor  the  material  used  is  stone,  and 
above  the  first-floor  to  the  main  cornice,  red 
bricks  and  stone.  The  main  cornice  of  stone  is 
of  a  rich  and  massive  character.  There  are  two 
entrances  from  the  street  by  stone  doorways  with 
coved  and  fluted  jambs,  and  rich  carved  work. 
The  staircase  leading  to  the  first  floor  is  of  stone, 
broad,  and  of  easy  ascent,  and  constructed  of 
moulded  spandrel  steps,  and  lighted  by  a  lantern. 
The  basement  contains  the  retiring  and  battery- 
rooms,  at  the  rear  of  which  are  offices,  lavatories, 
&c  ,  for  the  use  of  the  clerks  and  sorters.  This 
basement  suite  of  rooms,  10ft.  in  height,  is 
reached  by  two  sets  of  stone  steps  from  the 
ground-floor,  and  the  whole  area  excavated  for 
the  basement  and  offices  measures  ITJft.  by  46ft. 
The  ground-floor,  in  which  the  public  business 
wUl  be  carried  on,  consists  of  the  public  office,  a 
good  room  40ft.  long,  and  23ft.  Gin.  wide,  with 
a  height  of  17ft. ;  a  mahogany  counter  runs  the 
full  length  of  this  room.  Behind  is  a  sorting 
office,  54ft.  3in.  long,  by  27ft.  wide,  lighted  by 
both  side  and  lantern -lights.  Adjoining  is  the 
postmaster's-room,  12ft.  Gin.  by  14ft.  Gin.  On  the 
first-floor  is  the  telegraph-instrument  room,  23ft. 
by  32ft.  Gin.  and  1.5ft.  6in.  high.  The  walls  of 
lavatories,  &c.,  on  basement  and  first-floor  are 
faced  with  Dutch  tiles,  and  the  disconnection 
system  is  adopted  for  the  house-drainage.  Mr. 
Weatherley,  of  York,  is  the  contractor,  and 
Mr.  John  Plows,  his  managing  foreman,  and 
Mr.  Thomas  Leake,  clerk  of  works  for  the 
Government. 

The  Royal  ViciOELi  Coffee  Music-Hall. — 
The  Victoria  Theatre  has  been  leased  by  the 
Coft'ee  Music-halls  Company  (Limited),  who  are 
opening  it  as  a  music-hall  in  which  the  refresh- 
ments wUl  be  non-alcoholic.  It  has  undergone 
considerable  structural  changes  :  the  front  por- 
tion of  the  ground-floor  being  converted  into  a 
ooilee-tavem,  and  the  old  walls,  staircases,  &c., 
formerly  occupying  that  area,  being  removed. 
The  main  wall  of  front  is  now  supported  on  iron 
girders  and  columns,  and  the  portico  inclosed 
with  a  tavern  front  in  mahogany  and  plate- 
glass.  Doorways  have  been  enlarged  and  exits 
altered  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Metro- 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


'79 


politan  Board  of  Works.  Internally,  the  theatre 
has  been  newly-decorated  thronghout,  new 
retiring-rooms  hare  been  arranged,  new  scenery 
painted,  and  the  lightinj^  arrangements  im- 
proved. The  gas  cooking  apparatus  has  been 
supplied  by  3Ir.  Fletcher,  of  Warrington.  The 
works  have  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  HoUoway, 
nf  Lavender-hill,  from  designs  by  3Ir.  E.  Hoole, 


A  memoiiil  window  has  just  been  placed  in  the 
examination-hall  of  Queen's  College,  Cork,  as  a 
memorial  of  the  late  Mr.  Robert  Harkness,  F.R.S., 
who,  until  his  dea'h  in  1S7S,  filled  the  professor's 
chair  of  Geology  in  that  college.  It  contains 
portraits  of  Limia-us.  Cuvier,  AYemer,  William 
Smith,  Lyell,  au;l  Murchison,  representing  the 
sciences  with  which  Professor  Harkness's  name  is 
associated,  and  above  are  his  annorial  hearings  and 
those  of  the  College. 

The  town  council  of  Carlisle  decided  last  week 
to  apply  to  the  L  ical  Government  Board  for  leave 
to  borrow  the  sum  of  £0.630  for  the  formation  of 
new  streets  acconh'ng  to  the  report,  estimates,  aud 
specification?  of  Mr.  McKie,  the  city  sur\-eyor. 

The  parish-church  of  St.  Mary  Msgdalen,  Col- 
chester, was  reopened  on  Sundaj'  week  after  re- 
novation aud  the  erection  of  a  new  heating  appa- 
ratus. The  work  has  been  carried  out  by  Mr. 
Boyden,  of  Lexden. 

The  town  council  of  Brighton  received  on  Wed- 
nesday week  a  report  from  a  committee  recom- 
mending that  a  petition  be  sealed  or  sent  to  the 
Local  Government  Board  prapng  that  an  order 
might  be  ma^ie  confirming  an  improvement  scheme 
adopted  by  the  council  under  the  Artisans'  and 
Labourers'  Dwellings  Improvement  Act,  1S7S. 
To  this  an  amendment  was  moved  tliat  the  con- 
sideration of  the  question  be  adjourned  for  three 
months  till  it  is  seen  what  the  Government  intend 
doing  towards  amending  the  Act,  which,  it  was 
shown  by  numerous  instances  to  press  very  unfairly 
on  ratepayers  in  favour  of  the  owners  of  what  was 
condemned  as  unhealthy  property.  The  amendment 
deferring  the  matter  was  adopted  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. 

At  a  raeeting  of  the  creditors  of  Thomas  William 
Archer,  timber  aud  slate  merchant,  Charlotte- 
street,  Birmingham,  held  on  Wednesday,  it  was 
decided  to  Hquidate  by  arrangement.  The  total 
dehts  were  stated  at  £12,813'  lis.  Sd.,  and  the 
assets  at  £4,283  -Is.  -kl. 

Successful  experiments  were  made  last  week  for 
the  removal  of  the  bar  of  Weymouth  harbour  by 
means  of  dynamite.  Mr.  Reed,  of  Portland, 
superintended  the  work,  and  two  holes  dug  in  the 
bar,  which  is  of  stiff  clay,  one  18in.,  tlie  other  24in. 
deep,  and  in  each  of  those  a  41b.  charge  of  dyna- 
mite was  laid  by  the  diver.  The  explosion  of  the 
charges  formed  large  caverns  in  the  clay.  Mr. 
Reed  has  laid  before  the  town  council  who  had 
sanctioned  the  trial,  that  deeper  holes  should  be 
bored,  the  charges  increased,  and  the  whole  bar 
loosened,  and  immediatelj-  afterwards  cleared  away 
by  a  steam  dredging-machine. 

A  report  on  the  best  mode  of  relaying  the  streets 
of  Huntingdon,  prepared  by  the  borough  surveyor, 
was  discussed  by  the  town  council  of  Huntingdon 
on  Tuesday.  It  was  reported  that  whereas  wood- 
paving  would  cost  £4,000,  the  streets  could  be 
relaid  with  granite  cubes  which  would  last  much 
longerfor£l,900,  or,  withabouthalfgraniteandhalf 
macadam  for  £700.  It  was  decided  to  repave  wiih 
granite  cube-,  and  to  apply  to  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  for  a  loan  of  £2,000,  to  be  repaid  in  60 
years. 

Mr.  J.  Cordy  JeafEreson,  the  inspector  of  the 
Royal  Commission  upon  Historical  Manuscripts,  is 
at  present  examining  the  documents  and  charters 
belonging  to  the  town  council  of  Great  Yarmouth 
in  order  to  report  upon  the  same. 

The  umpire's  award  in  the  case  of  Hodgson  v. 
the  Bradford  Corporation  has  just  been  made 
known.  The  inquiry  rose  out  of  a  claim  by  the 
executors  under  the  will  of  the  late  T.  Hodgson  for 
£6,811  in  respect  of  property  situate  in  Well-street, 
of  which  Mr.  Hodgson  was  the  owner,  aud  which 
was  required  by  the  Bradford  Corporation  for 
street  improvements.  The  offer  of  the  Corporation 
for  the  property  was  £4,400.  The  umpir-^.  Mr. 
Mills,  surveyor  of  York,  has  awarded  the  sum  of 
£5,327  to  the  claimants. 

Mr.  Redgrave,  E.A.,  has  been  appointed  a  Com- 
panion of  the  Bath,  "  in  recognition  of  his  services 
to  the  Art  and  Science  Department,  South  Ken- 
sington." 

The  buildings  of  the  Female  Penitentiary,  Basing- 
stoke, have  now  been  so  far  completed  that  they 
are  practically  fitted  for  the  whole  work  which  is 
tmdtrtaken.  The  building  works  have  been 
carried  out  from  designs  of  Mr.  A.  E.  Barker,  of 
11,  Buckingham-street,  Strand,  London. 


■t^/o?  4bi?rt3  ^'u^??e,S^°^®*°'*  Replies  and 

0F'l^VpV<^K"1n43'';;f^?*''"'5"''^''■J^ 

OF  bCIE^CE,  most  of  them  from  tho  pt-iis  of  the  loadinir 
ohS?^".?,'^'''^"'''?'  i"!"'"'-i'i'->  of  "if-  lay.  ThooZd, "^ 
on^uial  articles  and  scicntmc  papers,  and  countless  receipts  and 
nrmklcs  embracui?  almost  cvcr.v  subject  on  which  It  is  pcSiible 
T,,f„*"?'i'°™^°"°''5'""""'°  "PP'-""^"  lUfinBtheaime'^rrrSd 
The  earliest  and  most  accurate  infonoation  respcctinit  aU  new 
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for  aU  advertisers  who  wish  their  announcements  to  he  brousht 


.... uM    nut.  mil,  luiuuiuicvnienis  lone 
of  manuftcturers,  mechanics,  scientific  f 


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"BUILDING  NEWS"  DESIGNING  CLUB. 
Received. — Hexagon  in  circle.  Nil  Desperandum.  (The 
competitors  are  to  use  theu-  own  judgment  about  the 
separation  of  the  sexes  in  the  proposed  almshouses. 
If  the  sexes  are  kept  separate,  of  course  a  cooking 
mnge  would  have  to  be  prorided  for  each  bring  room. 
A  separate  cottage  for  each  person  is  not  necessary.) 
— Cui  Bono.  (Your  drawing  was  sent  without  name 
aud  address  at  the  'oac'i  j 


Contspoitlrcttce. 


THE    LIVERPOOL     SCHOOL     OF     ART 

COMPETITION. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  BuiLDiNa  News. 

SiE, — :Thi9  is  a  case  which  seems  to  offer  an 
unusually  satisfactory  opportunity  for  full  in- 
vestigation. 

It  will  be  very  unfortunate  if  this  competition 
hears  no  fruit  but  useless  protests  at  the  restilts 
thereof.  I  beg  to  suggest  that  a  meeting  of  the 
competitors  should  be  held  at  the  Institute,  by 
the  permission  of  the  Secretary,  who,  I  feel 
sure,  would  make  some  provision  for  a  meeting. 
Competitors  in  the  provinces  unable  to  attend 
might  send  their  written  views  to  secretary. 

The  objects  of  the  meeting  shoidd  be  : — 

1.  To  seek  legal  aid  and  a.ssistance,  and  to 
appoint  a  solicitor. 

2.  To  obtain  the  co-operation  and  assistance 
of  the  Koyal  Institute  of  British  Architects,  and 
a  grant  from  their  funds  to  test  the  ea^e. 

^i.  To  prosecute  any  person  or  persons  who 
shall  appear,  after  ftill  investigation,  to  have 
laid  themselves  open  to  such  prosecution. 

4.  To  appoint  a  secretary  to  carry  out  these 
objects  (I  would  myself  undertake  this  duty, 
but  I  have  to  leave  England  for  a  few  weeks). 

•5.  To  claim  compensation  for  the  wasted  time 
and  labotir  of  9.5  architects,  if  it  be  shown  that 
the  competition  was  not  fairly  conducted. — lam, 
&c.  Faith. 


THE  LIVERPOOL  SCHOOL  OF  ART 
COMPETITION. 

Sib,— In  reply  to  what  has  appeared  in  tho 
BuiLDiKo  New8  respecting  tho  Liverpool  School 
of  Art  Competition,  I  .shall  be  ^'lail  to  .state  the 
following  facts  : — 

1.  Tho  Committee  of  Selection  consisted  of 
ten  members,  several  of  whom  liave  considerable 
knowledge  of  plans  and  elcvation.s,  and  all  of 
whom  h»d  previous  experience  of  building  com- 
petitions. 

2.  No  competitor  was  informed  by  me  that  the 
directors  would  appoint  a  profesiiional  referee. 
To  such  as  asked  the  (iue.sti..:i  I  handed  the  en- 
closed copy  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Board.*  To  those  asking  personally  for  informa- 
tion I  gave  what  I  coidd  without  stint,  but 
always  with  an  under.-tandin<f  that  my  opinion 
was  but  an  opinion,  and  not  an  "  in.struction." 

3.  The  competitor  who  was  once  a  member  of 
the  board  took  eveiy  care  to  keep  his  identity 
unknown.  His  design  was  not  included  in  the 
final  selection. 

4.  I  know  of  only  one  effort  at  "  touting,"  and 
that  was  nipped  in  the  bud — the  desi^  sent  in 
being  rejected  at  an  early  stage. 

5.  Until  the  moment  after  tho  awartia  had 
been  made,  not  a  member  of  the  selecting  com- 
mittee was  aware  of  the  identity  of  any  of  the 
authors  of  the  designs. 

The  appointment  of  a  professional  referee  and 
the  exhibition  of  the  designs  are  matters  upon 
which  the  board  had  a  perfect  right  to  form  their 
own  conclusion,  and  the  competitors  an  equal 
right  to  differ  from  them  thereon.  That  differ- 
ence they  are  freely  expresi-ing. 

To  such  as  care  to  phice  faith  in  the  assurance 
of  one  who  has  equal  interest  in  the  committee 
and  tlie  competitors,  I  can  only  say  what  I  have 
before  stated — that  the  award  of  premiums  has, 
in  every  sense,  been  justly  and  fairly  conducted, 
and  that  every  step  of  the  careful  inspection 
which  led  up  to  the  final  selection  has  been 
taken  without  prejudice  to  a  single  person  con- 
cerned.-— I  am,  &c.,  CiiAi'.LES  SuABr. 

Liverpool  Institute,  Mount-        Secretary. 
street,  Dec.  21. 


LIVERPOOL    EXCHANGE    STATION 
COMPETITION. 

Sm, — ^This  is  another  instance  of  the  way  that 
we  professionals  can  be  treated  ;  but  I  am  not 
about  to  waste  your  valuable  space  with  profit- 
less moralisings. 

Briefly,  then,  noting  in  the  particulars  of  com- 
petition that  "Quantities"  were  asked  for  as  well 
as  the  usual  designs  and  estimates,  I  wrote  the 
secretary  to  Iniow  if  it  was  essential,  as  this  re- 
quirement seems  put  in  at  the  last  in  a  sort  of 
parenthesis. 

I  find,  to  my  surprise,  that  a  full  and  accurate 
schedule  of  quantities  is  an  indispensable  item 
insisted  on,  and  that  the  committee  are  specially 
minded  to  have  it,  and  took  t'ne  matter  into  con- 
sideration before  advertising. 

As  I  have  abandoned  the  idea  of  competing, 
on  receipt  of  this  imformation,  I  have  nothing 
further  to  add,  only  that  to  anyone  else  not  80 
cautious  as  myself,  who  may  be  sanguine 
enough  to  proceed  in  this  affair,  I  would  advise 
him  to  a.scertain  from  the  directors  whether 
they  do  not  also  desire  the  competitors  to  supply, 
say,  the  brick.s,  stone,  or  ironwork,  etc. 

The  directors,  notwithstanding  their  liberal 
ideas  of  what  a  competition  may  supply,  are  by 
no  means  so  profuse  in  what  they  furnish  on 
their  part.  I  have  received  this  post  a  circular 
from  a  firm  imdertaking  to  forward,  tor  a  "con- 
sideration," the  needful  levels  and  particulars  of 
site. — I  am,  ifcc, 

Dec.  21.  "Cate." 

Sib, — The  conditions  of  the  competition  for 
the  L.  and  Y.  Railway  terminus  at  Liverpool  is 
an  excellent  example,  as  showing  how  mean  a 
really  wealthy  company  can  be  when  treating 
with  architects. 

The  directors  have  an  engineer,  and,  I  sup- 
pose, an  architect,  too ;  yet  neither  of  these  per- 
sons are  thought  fit  to  be  entrusted  with  so  im- 
portant and  difficult  an  undertaking  as  the 
building  of  their  new  station.  So  they  invite 
the  assistance  of  the  architectural  prof ession  and 
others,  on  the  following  trjly  disgraceful 
terms  : — 


renrjdnced  last  weefe.— Ed. 


780 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


The  conditions  begin  by  referring  to  a  block - 
plan  t-howing  the  proposed  lines  and  platforms  ; 
but  no  levels  are  griven,  although  the  station  has 
to  bo  a  considerable  lieight  above  the  level  of 
the  street,  and  levels  are  consequently  of  the 
utmost  importance. 

The  designs  are  to  include  plans,  elevations, 
and  sections  to  the  1-IOth  scale  in  line  (not 
coloured),  detailed  specifications,  quantities,  and 
an  estimate. 

The  premiated  designs  are  claimed  by  the 
directors,  and  they  do  not  bind  themselves  to 
employ  any  of  the  architects  or  to  carry  out  any 
design. 

The  drawings  are  to  bo  sent  in  under  motto  ; 
and  in  adjudicating  upon  the  designs,  the  di- 
rectors will  call  in  the  aid  of  an  eminent  engineer. 
The  accommodation  needed  is  left  as  indefinite 
as  possible,  it  not  even  being  stated  whether  the 
architect  is  to  design  the  new  station  roof,  or, 
like  the  St.  Pancras  Station  competition,  the  en- 
gineer wiU  do  this  ;  nor  is  it  mentioned  whether 
an  hotel  is  required  to  form  part  of  the  scheme. 
Now,  to  besin  with  the  last  clause  of  the  con- 
ditions, it  will  be  seen  that,  although  an  emi- 
nent engineer  is  to  be  called  in  to  aid  the 
directors,  yet  a  previous  clause  says  that  "A 
premium  of  £750  will  be  paid  for  the  design 
which  the  directors  "  (not  the  eminent  engineer) 
"  may  think  the  best  ;  £500  for  the  second-best, 
and  £250  for  the  third-best." 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  few,  if  any, 
architects  ever  compete  for  the  premium  ; 
yet  the  directors  disregard  this  fact,  and  have 
no  doubt  (I  gather  from  the  spirit  of  the  con- 
ditions) settled  beforehand  to  handover  the  suc- 
cessful designs  to  their  two  admittedly  incompe- 
tent officials  to  carry  out ;  or,  at  any  rate,  they 
reserve  to  themselves  the  power  of  doing  so, 
which  is  equally  discreditable. 

The  premiums,  as  they  are  called,  will  hardly 
cover  the  expense  of  the  drawings  for  so  large 
a  work,  and  apart  from  the  question  of  quan- 
tities, which  are  asked  for,  do  not  in  the  total 
represent  1  per  cent,  on  the  outlay.  As  regards 
quantities,  I  wonder  whether  the  directors 
seriously  mean  what  they  say,  or  only  need 
cubical  contents  ?  For  quantities,  besides  the  un- 
necessary expense  of  preparing  them,  could 
scarcely  be  got  out  in  time. 

In  case  the  successful  architect  is  employed, 
the  "  premium"  is  to  form  part  of  the  remunera- 
tion, which  maybe  agreed  to  be  paid  to  him; 
so  that  I  take  it,  the  successful  man  will,  after 
all  the  risks  and  anxiety  he  has  gone  through, 
be  bullied  and  badgered  by  the  directors  and 
their  officials,  into  accepting  jiist  what  terms  they 
choose  to  offer  him. 

These,  Sir,  are  not  conditions  which  honest 
men  should  either  offer  or  accept,  and  they 
only  go  to  show  how  low  our  profession  has 
fallen,  when  we  can  be  so  openly  insulted 
with  impunity.  What  is  our  representative  In- 
stitute about  ? 

Now  I  would  suggest  the  withdrawal  of  the 
present  unsatisfactory  conditions,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  others  with  a  little  more  equity  about 
them. 

Why,  for  instance,  should  more  than  l-16th 
scale  sketch  schemes  he  asked  for  at  the  outset, 
out  of  which,  say  12  of  the  best  might  be  chosen 
for  a  final  competition,  each  one  of  the  12  com- 
petitors recei-singa  real premuon  for  his  trouble, 
the  directors  putting  it  out  of  their  power  to  act 
shabbily,  even  if  so  disposed,  by  agreeing  to 
employ  the  most  successful  man,  in  case  his 
design  is  to  be  carried  out,  either  in  part  or  the 
whole,  at  the  usual  professional  remuneration. 

By  this  means  all  unlikely  and  impracticable 
schemes  would  be  weeded  out,  and  much  valu- 
able time  and  money  saved  to  the  competitors, 
while  there  would  then  be  no  objection  to  the 
directors  selecting  the  schemes  of  the  12  gen- 
tlemen for  the  final  competiti.-n,  but  a  referee  or 
referees  should  be  appointed  (their  names  stated 
beforehand)  to  decide  the  final  issue,  and  it  is 
further  questionable  whether  the  referee  should 
be  an  engineer. 

The  competitors  should  be  saved  the  trouble 
and  expense  of  unnecessary  drawings,  and  it  is 
<mreasonable  to  ask  for  quantities. 

The  (lirectors  may  rest  assured  that  the  more 
equitably  the  conditions  are  framed,  the  better 
the  class  ot  competitor  wiU  they  get  ;  but  no 
architect  with  the  slightest  common  sense  or 
self-respect  would  think  of  entering  the  present 
trap  which  the  directors  have  so  nnskilfullv 
baited.— I  am,  &c.,  At.,.   ■' 

Dec.  21. 


GLASGOW  MUNICIPAL  BUILDINGS 
COMPETITION. 

SiE, — In  reply  to  a  letter  by  "Another  Com- 
petitor," allow  me  to  say  that  the  conditions  of 
the  above  competition  did  not  forbid  the 
"blacking  in"  of  windows.  Several  of  the 
competitors  wrote  privately  to  ask  if  this  was 
forbidden,  and  they  were  informed  privately 
that  it  was.  Those  who  did  not  write  received 
no  such  instruction,  and,  in  simply  blacking  in 
windows,  infringed  no  condition.  The  com- 
petitors who  shaded  or  coloured  their  drawings 
broke  one  of  the  conditions,  and  should  have 
been  disqualified. — I  am,  &c., 

Dec.  18th.  T.  L.  W. 


SiE, — I  regret  to  occupy  your  space  again,  but 
the  letter  in  last  week's  issue  signed  "Another 
Competitor  "  classes  my  design  among  about 
sixty  who  have  disqualified  themselves  by 
"blacking  in  the  windows." 

The  instructions  to  architects  stipulated  that 
the  drawings  were  to  be  in  line  "  without 
colour  or  etching." 

Blacking  in  the  windows  was  necessary  in 
order  to  distinguish  real  windows  from  blank 
ones,  and  I  think  cannot  be  called  either  colour- 
ing or  etching.  No  artificial  means  whatever 
were  used  by  me  to  give  effect  to  my  drawings, 
which  were  simply  got  up  in  line. — I  am,  &c., 
Old  T  Squaee. 


5ttttit0mmunicati0n» 


Q  VESTIONS. 

[6338.]— Architects'  Charges. —'Would  some  oi 
your  readers  kindly  inform  me  what  per  cent,  is  a  fair 
remuneration  for  making  plans,  &c.,  of  a  fire-proof  build- 
ing all  ready  for  building  operationg,  proprietor  wiBhing 
to  cany  out  the  work  according  to  my  plans,  as  approved, 
Iiimself  ?— Query. 


THE  FUTUBE  OF  CEMENT. 

Sm,— Will  Mr.  Charles  Drake  mention  any 
pubUc  place  where  he  has  used  cement  concrete  of 
a  fine  red  colour  prior  to  the  date  ot  my  patent  ? 

There  is  a  cottage  built  by  me  at  Croydon  with 
red  cement  walls  and  floor  in  1874,  and  a  block  of 
four  cottages  built  in  1875  abutting  on  the  railway. 
In  187G  I  exhibited  it  at  the  Eoyal  Institute  of 
British  Architects,  and  in  1878  at  the  Paris  Exhibi- 
tion, where  I  obtained  the  gold  medal  for  it.  No 
one  has  disputed  my  right  to  it  until  now,  and 
unless  Mr.  Drake  can  prove  his  prior  use  of  this 
material  I  shall  doubt  his  assertion.  The  intense 
red  colour  he  speaks  of  I  have  used  for  some  time. 
Will  he  tell  us  when  he  discovered  it,  and  where 
and  when  he  has  used  it  ?— I  am,  &c. 

W.  H.  Lascblles. 

121,  Bunhill-row,  London,  E.C. 


AjAX. 


CHIPS. 

Mr.  E.  Munsey,  of  Chesterton,  was  last  week 
elected  sanitary  inspector  to  the  Chesterton  rural 
sanitary  authority.  There  were  as  usual  a  large 
number  of  applicants,  including  two  from  Lich- 
field and  Gloucester  respectively. 

Lands  for  a  sewage  farm  have  just  been  pur- 
chased by  the  town  council  of  Carlisle  at  Willow 
Holme,  near  that  city.  The  total  cost,  as  reported  to 
a  meeting  of  the  council  held  on  the  14th  inst.,  has 
been  £4,720. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  Lin- 
coln was  held  on  Saturday,  at  which  formal  sanc- 
tion was  sealed  to  a  private  Bill  to  be  promoted  by 
the  Corporation  in  the  ensuing  Session  of  Parlia- 
ment. The  main  objects  of  the  Bill  are  to 
enable  the  coqioration  to  acquire  the  undertaking 
of  the  Lincoln  GasUght  and  Coke  Company,  and  to 
extend  the  hmits  of  supply  for  gas,  electric,  and 
other  lighting,  heating  and  motive  power. 

Dr.  Ainlie,  medical  oflicer-of  health  for  Halifax, 
is  dehvering  a  scries  of  popular  lectures  on  "  Prac- 
tical Hygiene  "  in  the  Central  Hall  of  that 
borough.  The  fourth  of  these  was  given  on  Mon- 
day week. 

Plans  prepared  by  Mr.  H.  Saxon  Snell,  as  archi- 
tect to  the  Holbom  board  of  guardians  for  extensive 
works  of  reconstruction  and  improvements  at  the 
pauper  schools  at  Mitcham,  Surrey,  last  week 
received  the  formal  approval  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board,  subject  to  certain  minor  alterations. 

The  Liverpool  city  council  resolved,  on  Monday, 
to  apply  to  the  Board  of  Trade  for  a  provisional 
order  to  enable  them  to  carry  out  a  scheme  of  tram- 
ways, over  30  miles  in  extent,  at  an  estimated  cost 
of  £300,000. 


REPLIES. 

L6322.]-Damp,  or  What?— The  cause  of  themis- 
ctuef  is  two- fold.  "When  gas  is  lighted  in  a  room  a  mois- 
ture arises  which  condenses  against  the  walls.  The  walls 
being  painted  underneath,  the  distemper  prevents  the 
moisture  being  absorbed  into  the  walls.  The  remedy  is 
either  to  discontinue  the  use  of  gas  or  to  paint  the  walls. 
Ventilation  in  or  close  to  the  ceiling  will  partially  cure  it. 

1  have  known  instances  where  painted  walls  have  been 
papered,  and  on  the  inti-oduetion  of  gas  the  result  has 
been  dampness  and  discolouration  of  the  paper  from  the 
cornice  down  to  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  door.— John 

AlOiR. 

[6326.]— King-  Post— Mr.  Hetherlngton  has  stated 
an  ambiguous  question.  Let  B  equal  half  tie  —  6ft.  Then 
he  does  not  state  whether  A  or  B  is  the  greater.  It  can 
only  be  guessed  by  the  figure,  but  that  will  not  do.  You 
cannot  reduce  it  to  a  perfect  question  in  quadratics  in- 
voUing  two  unknown  quantities.  You  can  onlv  find  value 
of  A  +  B,  but  not  A  in  terms  of  B  or  B  in  terms  of  A. 
What  he  gives  as  40ft.  happens  to  be  above  TninimiiTYi  of 
possible  length  of  hypotheneuse,  but  there  is  a  limit,  which, 
of  course,  is  16'94,  and  it  might  have  been  less  than  this, 
so  it  does  not  admit  of  solution  by  Euchd.  As  for  expect- 
ing the  solution  of  a  triangle,  of  which  only  one  side  and 
one  angle  are  given,  by  trigonometry,  any  one  qualified  to 
be  a  probationary  pupil  in  an  architect's  office  will  see  the 
absurdity  of  it  at  once. — W.  Scargill. 

[6327.]  —  Colouring'  Portland  Cement— (For 
Decorations  ') —ITse  oxide  of  iron,  red,  in  the  proportions 

2  cement,  2  clean  sharp  sand,  2^  oxide  of  iron,  a  render- 
ing 3-16in.  thick  will  do.  The  colour  neither  fades  nor 
washes  out  by  exposure  to  weather.  Brickdust  would  not 
do.— A.  H.  A. 

[6331.]— York  Stone  on  Girder.— The  value  of  a 
course  of  York  stone  on  a  girder  before  c  Dmmencing  the 
brickwork  is  to  form  a  kind  of  footing  or  bedding  for  the 
brick  wall.  Its  use  ia  chiefly  to  make  a  fiat  surface  on 
which  to  commence,  and  to  distribute  the  weight  more 
equally.  It  is  evident  t  >  commence  the  brickwork  imme- 
diately on  the  flange  of  girder  would  not  be  so  convenient- 
It  also  enables  the  work  to  be  well  brought  over  the  edges, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  project  a  little. — G.  H.  G. 

[6332.]-Surveyor's  Charges.- A  fair  charge  to 
make  for  surveying,  making  plans,  and  estimatiilg  new 
road  would  be  2.5  to  3  per  cent.  The  latter  might  include 
superintendence.  A  surveyor,  of  course,  should  be  paid 
more  for  a  road  necessitating  diflicult  surveying  and  level 
than  for  a  plain  estate  road.— G.  H.  G. 

[6333.]— Gymnasium  Wall. — The  concrete  must 
have  been  made  with  too  fat  a  hme  or  very  improperly 
mixed.  Messrs.  Eansome's  silicate  solutions  might  be 
tried  with  good  effect.— G. 

[6334.]— Quantities.- Ordinarily  the  accepted  tender 
is  the  ba.sis,  and  this  frequently  includes,  of  course,  the 
items  for  lithography  and  the  charge  for  quantities  ;  but 
the  surveyor  could  not  justifiably  charge  more  than  the 
sum  put  down  by  the  contractor  or  the  commission  upon 
the  cost  of  building.  The  question  certainly  admits  of 
some  doubt,  though  I  think  that  to  charge  on  the  whole 
amount  is  to  overcharge.  —  G.  H.  G. 

[6337.]  —  Half-Timber  Construction.  —  The 
manner  in  which  I  have  recently  built  an  oriel  window  is 
shown  in  sketch  below.      The  quartering  is  4Jin.  x  4in. 


IIPLASTERIWG 
—  FELT 
BRICK  NOCGIJIC 
I  BRICK  OIM  EDGE 
^'CEJVlEJttT 


The  Great  Western  Railway  Company  are  erect- 
ing a  number  of  iron  girder  bridges  to  supersede 
the  wooden  structures  that  have  hitherto  done 
duty  on  their  West  Midland  branch,  running  be- 
tween Wolverhampton  and  Worcester,  and  better 
known  by  its  old  name  of  the  Oxford,  Worcester, 
and  Wolverhampton  Railway.  The  ironwork  is 
prepared  at  the  company's  works  at  Swindon, 
where  a  large  shoo  has  recently  been  erected  for 
the  purpose  ;  but  most  of  the  labour  for  the  erec- 
tion is  supplied  from  the  company's  depOt,  at  Staf - 
lord-road,  Wolverhampton. 


.4ny  part  of  the  framing  which  is  not  necessary  for  the 
construction  should  only  he  lin.  thick.  At  the  back  of 
the  brick  no?ging  is  placed  felt,  which  has  a  lap  of  about 
.  The  felt  should  be  so  cut  that  the  battening  can  be 
nailed  at  the  joint  to  the  quartering.  On  Feb.  16,  1877, 
you  pubUshed  a  paper  read  before  the  Architectural  Asso- 
ciation by  Mr.  Maylard.  To  this  I  refer  "  'W'."  for  the 
information  he  requires. — C.  F.  M. 

[6337.]— Half-Timber  Construction.— I  will  en- 
deavour to  answer  "W.'s"  questions  seriatim.  1.  The 
best  m' thod  of  filling  in  between  the  timbers  is  to  lay 
bricks  herring,  bone  fashion  between  the  timbers,  flush 
with  the  outer  face,  and  to  lath  and  plaster  the  inside^ 
leaving  a  space  of  aninch  or  two.  Another  plan  is  to  fix 
fillets  to  the  uprights,  upon  which  cross  battens  are 
nailed  to  receive  tiles  (Lascelles'  concrete  tiles  for  in- 
stance), or  they  m.ay  be  simply  lathed  for  stucco  or 
plaster.  The  Inside  of  the  walls  are  similarly  treated.  2. 
If  the  timber  is  properly  seasoned ,  and  a  groove  be  worked 
into  the  uprights  as  a  key  for  the  plaster,  the  wet  may  be 
excluded,  as  the  old  buildings  in  Essex  and  other  parts 
prove.  3.  On  the  question  of  wear,  I  may  simply  refer  to 
old  examples.  4.  Certainly  not.  'Walls  built  in  this 
manner,  with  a  space  between,  are  warmer  than  thin  sohd 
brick  walls._  5.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  picturesqueness 
is  the  principal  recommendation  of  this  kind  of  building. 
The  walls  so  constructed  have  the  advantage  of  occupy- 
ing less  space  than  brick  walls.  They  can  be  supported 
on  corbels,  as  the  whole  weight  can  be  thrown  upon  cer- 
tain piers,  the  chief  objection  to  the  construction  being 
the  natural  decay  of  the  timber  in  the  course  of  time,  and 
the  consequent  shimkage  of  the  filling  in.  This  is  the 
more  inevitable  from  the  fact  that  pine  timber  is  used  in- 
stead of  oak.— G.  H.  G. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


781 


WATER    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 

MATTERS. 

The  Watee  Suii'LY  or  the  Meteopolis— Ou 
Monday  a  meetiug  of  the  Metrcpolitau  and  Muui- 
cipal  Association  was  held  at  the  office,  20.  Regent- 
street,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Edward  J. 
Watherstoi].  Mr.  James  Beal  (hou.  secretary),  in 
submitting  his  report,  said  that  the  Home  Secre- 
tary, having  invited  from  the  vestry  delegates  on 
water  an  expression  of  opinion  on  the  trust,  and 
the  delegates  having  arrived  at  an  opinion  in  favour 
of  the  creation  of  a  directly  representative  body,  a 
large  number  of  vestries  had  withdrawn  their 
delegates.  It  had  been  deemed  advisable  to  re- 
consider the  question,  and  he  had  taken  the  opinion 
of  some  men  well  qualified  to  advise  on  the  mat- 
ter. Letters  from  Sir  Arthur  Hobhouse,  Sir 
Charles  Trevelyan,  and  others,  were  then  read, 
and  the  following  resolution  was  carried  : — "That, 
having  in  view  the  emphatic  declaration  made  by 
Mr.  Childers  at  the  recent  meeting  of  the  consti- 
tuents of  Sir  C.  Dilke  and  Mr.  Futh  at  Chelsea, 
this  meetinct  requests  Mr.  Firth  to  proceed  by 
resolution  and  not  by  Bill ;  and  that  he  be  invited 
to  give  notice  of  a  resolution  at  as  early  a  date  as 
possible,  confined  to  demanding  for  the  whole  of 
London  a  municipal  government  on  the  lines  of  the 
Municipal  Reform  Act,  1S35." 

WoKKixGTON.— On  Wednesday  week  Mr.  Arnold 
Taylor,  one  of  the  inspectors  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board,  held  an  inquiry,  at  the  offices  of  the 
local  board,  Workington,  into  the  application  of 
the  latter  board  for  sanction  to  borrow  £300  for 
work-)  of  sewerage,  £3,000  for  works  of  water- 
supply,  and  £3,000  for  works  of  street-improve- 
ments. It  transpired  in  the  course  of  the  inquiry 
that  the  works  of  sewerage  would  probably  cost 
double  the  sum  applied  for,  and  that  the  local 
board  were  still  divided  in  opinion  as  to  whether 
they  should  flag  or  asphalte  new  street  footpaths, 
and  the  inspector  stated  that  this  part  of  the 
application  must  be  adjourned  till  the  members  of 
the  urban  authority  could  come  to  a  definite 
determination.  As  to  the  works  of  water-supply, 
it  was  stated  that  it  was  proposed  to  take  from  a 
lake  560,000  gallons  per  day  for  domestic  purposes, 
and  about  208,000  gallons  per  day  for  trade.  The 
inspector  said  there  must,  according  to  the  evi- 
dence before  them  of  size  of  pipes  and  population, 
be  a  monstrous  waste  of  water  in  the  town,  and  he 
ad\nsed  the  authority's  officials  to  give  the  matter 
better  supervision.  He  should  recommend  the 
granting  of  loan  for  the  laying  down  of  the  new 
main. 


LEGAL     INTELLIGENCE. 

"Resukeectton'-Pie."— On  Friday  last,  at  the 
Rotherham  County  Court,  Joseph  Martin  Palmer, 
late  of  Kilnhurst,  sued  George  Pugh,  builder,  &c.. 
Sandhill,  Rawmarsh,  to  recover  £11,  the  purchase- 
money  of  several  stacks  of  second-hand  bricks. — 
At  a  sale  by  auction  in  Green-lane,  Rawmarsh,  the 
plaintiff  bought  a  brick-built  shed,  which  he  after- 
wards puUed  down.  He  had  the  bricks  dressed 
and  put  into  stacks,  and  the  plaintiff  said  that  the 
defendant  agreed  to  give  him  £11  for  the  lot  as  they 
stood.  Subsequently  the  defendant's  man  fetched 
two  loads  of  the  bricks,  and  then  he  declined  to 
have  any  more.  He  afterwards  sent  the  plaintiff  a 
cheque  for  4s.  lOd.,  and  refused  to  pay  the  balance. 
—Mr.  Rhodes,  for  the  defence,  said  that  the  plain- 
tiS  told  his  client  that  the  bricks  on  the  outside  of 
the  stacks  were  a  fair  sample  of  those  in  the  in- 
terior. He  should  call  independent  witnesses  to 
prove  that  the  bricks  had  been  stacked  for  the  pur- 
pose of  fraud,  and  the  fact  was  that  after  the  two 
loads  of  bricks  had  been  removed  the  insides  of  the 
stacks  were  found  to  consist  chiefly  of  rubbish, 
while  the  outsides  of  the  stacks  were  built  up  of 
good  and  whole  bricks. — Mr.  T.  W.  Roome,  brick- 
manufacturer,  Rawmarsh,  said  that  he  exammed 
the  11  stacks  of  bricks,  and  the  centre  of  each  was 
nothing  like  the  exterior.  The  person  who  erected 
them  must  have  been  at  very  great  pains  to  do  so 
in  the  manner  he  had  done.  The  best  description 
he  could  give  of  any  of  the  stacks  was  that  it  was  a 
"sort  of  resurrectiou-pie.'"— Joseph  Platts,  Raw- 
marsh, said  that  only  about  one-sixth  of  the  entire 
lot  would  be  good  bricks. — After  some  further  evi- 
dence had  been  given,  the  Judge  said  that  there 
was  no  doubt  that  a  deliberate  fraud  had  been  en- 
acted for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  an  unfortunate 
purchaser.  Anyone  who  knew  anything  about 
bricks  could  not  say  that  the  interior  of  the  stacks 
could  possibly  be  called  bricks.  His  judgment 
would  be  for  the  defendant,  and  he  should  allow  the 
costs  of  the  witnesses. 

A  new  and  large  schoolroom,  with  class-rooms 
and  vestry,  were  opened  in  connection  with  All 
Saints'  Church,  Scarborough,  on  Friday.  The 
former  schools  were  destroyed  and  the  church 
greatly  injured  a  year  since  by  an  accidental  tire, 
and  the  reconstruction  from  new  plans  now  com- 
pleted has  cost  £3,600,  including  furniture. 


(Bux  (B^tt  Cable. 


As  the  new  buildings  of  the  Manchester  School 
of  Art  are  now  approaching  completion  and  arc  to 
be  formally  opened  at  Easter  next,  when  Lord 
Derby  and  other  eminent  persons  are  to  be  pre- 
sent, the  Building  Committee  have  decided  to 
hold  an  exhibition  of  works  of  art,  to  be  presented 
to  the  school  for  sale,  or  to  fonn  prizes  on  the 
principle  of  an  art  union  for  the  benefit  of  the 
building:  fund  of  the  new  school.  Some  very 
liberal  gifts  have  already  been  promised  by 
owners  of  collections.  A  circular  has  been  ad- 
dressed to  a  munber  of  local  artist*,  past  students, 
and  otherj  wishing-  well  to  the  institution, 
asking  for  the  contribution  of  a  picture  or  other 
object  of  art  value.  In  response  to  this  appeal 
a  number  of  promises  of  help  have  been  made. 
The  exhibition  is  to  be  held  in  the  spacious 
galleries  and  classrooms  of  the  new  school  at  the 
opening. 

A  T.T,  the  metropolitan  gas  companies  have 
given  notice  of  their  intention,  from  the  beinning 
of  next  year,  to  reduce  their  price — the  Gaslight 
and  Coke  (Chartered)  Company,  from  3s.  4d.  to 
3s.  2d.  ;  the  South  Metropolitan  Company,  from 
3s.  to  2s.  lOd.  ;  the  Commercial,  from  Ss.  3d.  to 
3s.  ;  and  the  London  from  3s.  3d.  to  3s.  per  1,000 
cubic  feet.  It  may  be  added  that  next  year  the 
gas  will  be  manufactured  under  more  stringent 
rsgulations  as  to  its  purity.  A  weekly  return  is 
also  now  made  to  the  Board  of  Works  by  Mr. 
Keates,  consulting  chemist  and  superintending 
gas  examiner,  as  to  the  quality  of  the  gas  supply 
— in  fact,  showing  how  the  companies  comply 
with  the  regulations  of  their  Acts  of  Parliament^ 

Matence,  one  of  the  quietest  old  fortified 
cities  in  Southern  Germany,  has  seldom  of  late 
years  witnessed  such  a  scene  of  popular  excite- 
ment as  that  which  took  place  within  its  precincts 
week  or  two  since,  when  vast  crowds  of  its  in- 
habitants gathered  round  the  station  of  the 
Cologne -Dusseldorf  Steam  Packet  Company  to 
watch  with  interest  the  removal,  by  means  of  an 
American  apparatus,  consisting  of  screw  jacks, 
of  the  entire  building  containing  the  company's 
local  oflBce  to  a  spot  some  140ft.  from  its  original 
site.  The  station  was  first  raised  nearly  six  feet 
by  the  simultaneous  action  of  the  screws,  then 
transferred  to  a  wheeled  platform,  and  finally 
rolled  to  and  set  up  upon  the  new  foundations 
prepared  for  its  receptions.  The  whole  operation 
was  so  skilfully  performed  that  not  a  single  pane 
of  glass  in  any  one  of  the  windows  was  broken 
not  a  casement  set  swinging  on  its  hinges  or  a 
door  thrown  open.  The  station  now  stands  as 
solidly  as  though  it  had  been  built  there,  close 
by  the  broad  stone  steps  leading  down  to  the 
Rhine,  just  above  the  bridge  of  boats,  where  it 
is  destined  to  remain  until  the  completion  of  the 
new  iron  bridge  destined  to  be  thrown  across  the 
great  German  river. 

W^iTH  this  year  vanishes  a  large  portion  of 
Coventry-street.  Piccadilly,  to  make  way  for  the 
new  street  so  long  projected  leading  from  St. 
Martin's  Church  to  Oxford-street.  Thus  has 
faded  away  from  the  vision  of  the  pedestrian  the 
oldest  tobacconist's  shop  in  London,  founded 
oiiginally  in  1720  by  Mr.  David  Wishart,  and 
long  honourably  identified  with  the  famous  firm 
of  "  Wishart  and  Lloyd."  The  curious  old  sign 
of  the  Highlander,  Thistle,  and  Crown,  which 
for  more  than  a  centm-y  and  a  half  formed  a  kind 
of  trade -mark  on  their  card,  had  a  reference  to 
Charles  Edward  Stuart,  the  younger  "Pre- 
tender," and  at  this  house  the  Jacobites  are  said 
to  have  secretly  assembled  in  support  of  his 
claims.  The  shop,  opened  on  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1720,  the  very  day  on  which  the  younger 
Pretender  was  born,  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
first  to  place  figures  of  the  Highlander  at  the 
doors  of  similar  establishments  to  which  they 
supplied  the  commodities  of  the  trade,  in  token 
of  such  houses  being  affiliated  to  the  Jacobite 
party. 

The  Society  of  Arts  medals  in  gold,  silver, 
and  bronze,  and  certificates  of  merit,  will  be 
awarded  for  specimens  of  Fine  Art  applied  to 
industry,  exhibited  in  ISSl,  by  manufacturers, 
designers,  art-workmen,  or  possessors  of  such 
works.  The  works  may  consist  of  illustrations 
of  any  or  all  of  the  following  processes,  in  com- 
bination or  singly  :  Carving  in  marble,  stone,  or 
wood  ;  repousse  work  in  any  metal ;  hammered 


work  in  iron,  brass,  or  copper  ;  car^'ingin  ivory  ; 
chasing  in  bronze ;  etching  and  engraving  on 
metal — niello  work  ;  enamel  painting  on  copper 
or  gold ;  painting  and  mo  lolling  in  pottery  ; 
decorative  painting  ;  inlaj's  in  wood  (marquetry 
or  buhl),  ivory,  or  metal;  cameo  cutting;  on- 
graving  on  glass  ;  wall  mosaics ;  gem  engrav- 
ing ;  die-sinking  ;  gla-ss-blowing  ;  bookbinding 
and  leather  work ;  embroidery.  To  all  works 
the  name  of  the  designer  and  art-worker  must 
be  affixed.  Further  detailed  rules  will  be  i.SMued 
later.  It  is  arranged  with  the  council  of  the 
Eoyal  Albert  Hall,  that  the  place  of  exhibition 
for  the  above-mentioned  works  will  be  at  the 
Eoyal  Albert  Hall.  The  time  for  sending  in  the 
works  will  be  pulslishcd  hereafter. 

It  is  proposed  to  build  extensive  markets  for 
the  sale  of  cattle,  dead  meat,  and  vegetables, 
with  a  series  of  slaughterhouses  and  accommo- 
dation for  the  holding  of  horse  and  other  fairs  at 
Cliiswick,  on  a  large  site  facing  the  Hammer- 
smith and  Goldhawk-roads,  and  divided  by  the 
District  Rjiilway.  It  is  thought  that  the  pro- 
moters of  the  Bclieme  are  one  or  more  railway 
companies.  The  most  decided  opposition  is  being 
offered  to  the  proposal  by  residents  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  Cliiswick  Commissioners,  acting 
in  conjunction  with  the  Ecclesiastical  Commis- 
sioners, who  are  the  chief  landowners  in  the 
district,  are  supporting  an  association  which  has 
been  formed  to  oppose  the  Bill  which  it  issought 
to  pass  during  the  next  session  in  Parliament. 
A  large  mxting  was  held  by  the  association 
above  referrtd  to  in  the  Assembly-room  of  the 
club,  Bedford  Park,  on  Monday  last.  A  public 
meeting,  calhd  by  the  Chiswick  Commissioners, 
will  be  held  early  in  January  at  the  Vestry-hall, 
Tumham  Cxreen,  and  a  petition  to  Parliament  has 
already  been  signed  by  nearly  every  householder 
in  the  parishes  of  Chiswick  and  Hammersmith. 
In  a  report  to  the  Railway  Department  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  as  to  the  state  of  the  viaduct 
over  the  South  Esk  river,  near  Montrose,  on  the 
Arbroath  and  Montrose  Railway,  now  in  course 
of  construction  by  the  North  British  Railway 
Company,  Colonel  YoUand  says  that  the  work 
produces  the  impression  that  a  sufficiently  strict 
supervision  was  not  exercised  while  it  was  in 
progress.  He  proceeds  to  report :  "One  obvious 
defect  of  the  structure,  as  erected,  is  the  inse- 
curity of  the  foundations ;  but  that,  in  my 
opinion,  is  of  far  less  importance  than  its  general 
design,  and  the  nature  of  the  material  (cast 
iron)  with  which  the  piers  have  been  constructed. 
The  evidence  brought  before  the  court  of  in- 
quiry that  investigated  the  causes  that  produced 
the  fall  of  the  Tay  Bridge  fully  proved  that  cast 
iron  in  columns  of  small  diameter,  intended  to 
bear  heavy  rolling  loads,  could  not  be  relied  on. 
Several  cast-iron  columns  in  the  Tay  Bridge  of 
about  the  same  diameter  as  those  used  in  this 
viaduct,  broke,  without  any  special  cause  for 
their  fracture  being  estabhshed;  and  other  evi- 
dence proved  that  it  was  by  no  means  an  imusual 
occurrence.  The  fracture  of  one  of  the  vertical 
columns  in  any  one  of  the  piers  might  possibly 
cause  the  viaduct  to  fall :  and  on  that  ground  I 
am  of  opinion  that  piers  constructed  of  cast-iron 
columns,  of  the  dimensions  used  in  this  viaduct, 
.should  not  in  future  be  sanctioned  by  the  Board 
of  Trade."  As  the  result  of  his  examination. 
Colonel  YoUand  recommended  that  the  viaduct 
should  be  reconstructed,  and  for  a  double 
line  of  railway,  with  security  against  a  train, 
or  a  portion  of  a  train,  being  hurled  over  the 
edge  of  a  viaduct  if  an  accident  occurred,  and 
that  the  bridge  should  be  supported  on  sub- 
stanti£il  piers  not  constructed  of  small  and  slight 
iron  columns.  As  we  have  previously  stated, 
the  North  British  Railway  Company  have 
decided  to  reconstruct  the  \-iaduct — which  was 
built  from  the  designs  of  the  late  Sir  Thomas 
Bouch,  the  engineer  of  the  Tay  Bridge — in 
accordance  with  Colonel  Yolland's  recommenda- 
tions. 

The  annual  general  meeting  of  the  Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers  took  place  on  Wednesday 
evening,  when  the  report  of  the  council  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  society  during  the  past  year 
was  read.  The  ballot  for  Members  of  Council 
for  18S1  resulted  in  the  election  of  Mr.  James 
Abemethy,  as  president ;  of  Messrs.  Armstrong, 
Bazalgette,  BramweU,  and  Brurdees  as  vice- 
presidents  ;  and  of  Messrs.  Berkley,  Bruce, 
Coode,  Cowpcr,  Giles,  Hartley,  Hayter,  Pole, 
Bawlinson,  Eendel,  Siemens,  Sfevenson,  Thom- 
son, Whitwotth,  and  W^oods  aa  other  members 
of  cotincil. 


782 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  24,  1880. 


CHIPS. 

At  Pwllheli  petty  sessions,  on  the  IGth  inst.,  3S 
quarrj-raen  wore  summoned  for  intimitiating  work- 
men ill  the  employ  of  Ihe  We'sh  Granite  Company. 
The  company  hiis  oxtiusive  nuarriea  in  South 
Carnarvonshire,  and  a  fortnight  ago,  as  rejiorted 
in  thtse  columns  at  the  time,  a  number  of  work- 
men struck  work  owing  to  the  appointment  of  an 
Enslishmau  as  a  foreman.  The  defendants,  who 
were  employed  at  neighbouring  quarries,  molested 
tliose  workmen  who  wore  desirous  of  continuing 
their  labour.  One  of  the  defendants,  John  Jones, 
was  committed  for  trial,  five  were  fiued  £5  each 
and  costs,  and  the  others,  with  a  single  exception, 
■lOs.  each  and  costs.  Notice  of  appeal  was  given  in 
seven  cases. 

The  vestry  of  Clerkenwell  elected  on  Thursday 
week  a  surveyor.  Out  of  a  list  of  six  felected 
candidates,  Mr.  Jones,  at  present  assistant- sur- 
veyor in  the  employ  of  Ihe  Ci'y  Commissi'ners  of 
Sewers,  was  elected. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  fo'-vii  council  of  Graves- 
end  "was  held  on  the  16th  inst.,  for  the  purpo?e  of 
considering  the  two  rival  schemes  for  constructing 
tramways  between  Gravesend  and  Northtb^ot. 
After  much  discussion  it  \vas  resolved  to  snpport 
the  scheme  promoted  by  Messrs.  Russ  and  Minus, 
civil  engineers,  Westminster,  by  which  it  is  proposed 
to  construct  a  line  of  tramways  from  Huggins 
College,  Northfleet,  through  Rosherville,  to  the  top 
of  the  Brunswick -road,  Gravesend  ;  the  total 
length  is  nearly  three  miles,  and  the  estimated  cost 
£1.5,000,  including  rolling  stock. 

Princess  Christian,  at  Windsor  last  week,  nnvei'ed 
the  marble  statue  which,  as  a  memorial  of  the 
late  Prince  Consort,  has  been  placed  above  th^  en- 
trance of  the  Albert  Institute.  The  figure,  of  the 
finest  Carrara  marble,  was  chiselled  in  the iife/ier  of 
Signor  P.  Eomanelli,  of  Florence,  at  a  cost  of 
£500. 

The  directors  of  the  North  British  Railway  Com- 
pany, at  their  meeting  held  iu  Edinburgh,  have 
remitted  to  Mr.  Barlow,  the  engineer,  to  re- 
consider the  mode  of  constructing  the  Tay-bridge 
with  the  view  of  prosecuting  the  Bill  before  Parlia- 
ment in  the  forthcoming  Session. 

It  is  probable,  so  says  the  London  Correspondent 
of  the  Lirerpml  Mercurij,  that  we  have  seen  the 
last  of  the  luckless  Alexandra  Palace.  If  the 
scheme  which  has  been  so  long  in  hand  is  to  be 
can-ied  out,  the  beautiful  grounds  on  Muswell-hill 
will  soon  be  divided  into  six  plots,  and  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder. 

A  new  pu'pit  in  wainscot-oak,  from  the  designs 
of  Mr.  J.  Stevens,  F.R.I.B.A.,  of  Macclesfield, 
and  carved  by  Mr.  Harry  Hf  ms,  of  Exeter,  has 
just  been  erecte  1  in  St.  Michael's  Church,  Mac- 
clesfield. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Berkhampstead  on  the  4th 
inst.,  it  was  decided  to  adopt  measures  for  the 
restoration  of  the  parish-church,  according  to  a 
report  and  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  Butterfield. 

New  industrial  schools  at  Besford,  near  Leices- 
ter, will  be  opened  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Mundella,  M.P., 
on  the  17th  of  January.  They  have  been  built  at 
a  cost  of  i'20,000,  and  accommodate  150  boys. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  Leamington, 
hold  on  Monday  night,  it  was  decided  to  invite 
architects  to  send  in  competitive  plans  for  addiug 
buildings  to  the  Pump-room  for  the  acjommoda" 
tion  of  the  proposed  free  library,  school  of  art,  and 
municipal  offices. 

During  a  recent  gale  a  quantity  of  stone  was  dis- 
lodged from  the  spire  of  South  "Hackuey  parish- 
church,  and  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  have 
this  week  served  the  rector  and  churchwardens 
with  a  notice  that  it  is  a  dangerous  structure.  A 
steeple- Jack  has  inspected  the  spire,  and  it  is  stated 
lliat  a  large  sura  will  be  required  to  put  it  into  a 
Sound  condition. 

The  butchers'  market  adjoining  the  High-street 
at   Wrexham,   has  just  been   rebuilt  and  will  be 
opened  this  week.  Mr.  James  Stevens,  F.E.I.B  A 
o(  Manchester,  is   the   architect,  and   Mr.   W.  e' 
Samuel  is  the  contractor. 

A  new  Roman  Catholic  Oiapel  was  opened  at 
Blockwood  on  Sunday  by  A-ohbishop  Kre,  of 
Glasgow.  It  IS  Gothic  iu  style,  and  consists  of 
nave  and  sanctuary.  The  architect  was  Mr.  William 
Ingram,  of  Glasgow. 

Two  firos  iu  churches,  both  arising  from  the 
overheating  of  woodwork  from  the  fluet  of  heating 
app^atus,  occurred  m  Scotland  on  Sunday  last 
in  the  one  case,  at  Locheud  Free  Church,  near 
I  ampbeltown  the  wood  lining  at  the  back  of  the 
west  gallery  burned  during  the  aftemo  -n  service 
tn  the  alarm  of  the  congregation  ;  in  the  other, 
were  ",i,  .'T'"'?  I"'"''>-'=I>urch,  the  roof  timbers 
ve";  slflo,',:'-     '"^  """"■'  '■'^^'^  --    ">'■  d-"Se 

m,^,!i^i''''T,,'"?,^'  ^8le  lectern  has  just  been 
manufactured  by  Messrs.  Jones  and  WiUis,  of  Bit 


mingham,  for  St.  Thomas's  Church,  Huddersfield. 
The  same  firm  have  also  supplied  one  for  Christ 
Church,  Gloucester. 

The  Heat,  Light,  and  Ventilation  Exhibition 
has  been  postponed  for  a  few  weeks,  at  the  requ-^st 
of  a  number  of  eminent  manufacturers,  and  will  be 
held  from  January  26  to  February  12  (still  during 
the  Christmas  entertainments),  at  the  Alexandra 
Palace. 

The  guardians  of  St.  George's,  Hanover-square, 
decided,  last  week,  to  purchase  a  freehold  site  of 
the  Duke  of  Westminster,  and  to  erect  thereon  a 
new  workhouse  for  7S  inmates,  and  also  outbuild- 
ings and  ofhces. 

The  Epsom  local  board  cf  health  rescinded,  on 
the  13th  inst.,  a  resolution  permitting  the  surveyor 
to  the  board  to  undertake  private  work,  and  notice 
was  given  of  a  motion  that  the  salary  attached  to 
the  office  be  increased  from  £200  to  £350  per 
annum. 

[For  "Tenders"   w  page  XXVl  ] 


WA.SHING    MACITIXR^■! 

,1.2*  ut  the   Islirstni,    . 

littee  of  the  "Workh 

■  Iti^t  week,  ffiviiii.' 1' 


n-  -MHChinery,  i 
Th,.  Committer 


London.    The  Co 


al  dcscripti 
■        Tent 

.  Jeakes.  a 


£S0,  they  had  invited  Tenders  from  Me 


e  object. 
J.  Jcakc 


Thev 


1  Green  Workliou 


l)c  ; 


ceptt 


:».5.  that  I>eins  the  lowest  tender."  Air.  Churchwiirder 
)ved  the  adODtion  of  the  r.-port,  and  said,  in  the  case  o 
aomas  and  Taylor,  the  cost  would  be  £371  (or  four  ma 
d  the  necessary  shafting,  while  Messrs.  Clements 
id  Co.  proposed  to  supply  exce  lent  machinery  for  £225 
ip.  Tliey  had  seen  the  machinery  in  operation  at  thi 
Shoreditcli  and  Hethnal  Green  Workhouses,  and  the  Officer^ 
there  had  piven   a   first-elas^   r.pnrt    of  its  powers.     Mr.   "Wan 


Jeake 


seconde J 


a  kept  of  the 


1,1,'ton  itarracks  a  most  careful 
vorkinff  Clements,  .le.kesand  Co.'s 
the  system  formerly  in  use.  and 
so  satistied  with  th»  economy  of 
about  to  order  six  more  machines 


MEETINGS  FOB  THE  ENSUING  WEEK. 
Ti-ESDAV.— Royal    Instituti.>n.  Albemarle-st.     rji^-fesscr 

DeTvar,    M.A  ,    F.R.S.,    ua    "  Atoms." 

Lecture  No.  I.    3pm. 

Thursday.— Eoyallnstitxition.  Prof.Dewaron"xUoms." 
Lecture  No.  II.    3  p.m. 

London  Institution,  Fin.sbury-circug. 
G.  A.  Storey.  A.R.A..on  "The  Study  of 
the  Beautiful."    7  p.m. 


Saturday.— Royal  Institution.  Prof.  Dewaro 
'Lectnre  III.    3  p.m. 


'Atoms.' 


Throat  Irritation.— Soreness  and  drvnesp,  tick- 
Hnp  and  init.-\tion,  induc-inp  coiijih  nnd  affecting  the  voice.  Tor 
these  symptoms  use  Epps's  Glycerine  Jujiibci.  Givcerine,  in 
these  agreeable  'onfeclions,  hcitiff  in  proximity  to  "the  pland'* 
at  the  moment  they  .ire  excited  bv  thi->  act  of  suckine,  beiomes 
actively  hcalinfT-  Sold  only  in  boxes,  TJd.  and  Is.  lid.,  labeled 
"James  Kpis  and  to..  Homa-npathic  Chemists,  London."  A 
letter  received:  ■*  Gcnt'enien,— It  may,  perhaps,  interest  you  to 
that,  after  an  extended  trial,  I  haTe  found  your  s'yeerine 


Jujubes  of  considerable  benefit  (with  or  without  medical 
mcnt)  in  almost  all  forms   of  throat  disease.    Thev  soft 

ntheydoany  harm.— Yours  faith 


clear  the     _.. 

fully,  Gordon  Holmes    L.H.C.P.E.,'  Senior  Phv 
nlcipal  Throat  and  Ear  Intirmary." 

Lamplougrh's  Pyretic  Saline  is  refreshing, 

?«\^*'7''^^^^*''  atid  the  preventiveof  FEVERS.  KILIOVSNESS, 
8MALL  POX,  «KIN  DISEASES,  and  many  other  eprine  antf 
summer  ailments.  Sold  by  chemists  throughout  theworld.and 
the  Maker.  113.  Holborn  HiU.     Vat  no  ttihitUute  — TAdvt.) 

,   Holloway's  Ointment  is  not  only  fitted  for  heal- 

int-'huix-s,  wounds,  and  rolievini?  pxtomal  nilments,  but  rubbed 
unontheabdom»-nit  actsas  a  derivative,  and  thus  displays  the 
utmost  salntary  intlunnee  over  stomachic  disordei-s  deranire- 
m.'ntsof  the   liver,   incumar.ties  of  the    bowels,   and   othi 


comfort.- 


CINDER-SIFTING  ASH  CLOSETS 

Superior  to   E,-,rth   Clo.et,.     For   Gentlemen-s   Houses,  Cottase, 
Se!i.,ols.&o.  * 

NO  DRIEn  E.\UTH  IlEQUIUED. 

The  Sanitary  Appliance  Co.  (Ltd.),  Salford. 
Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

of  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kiugdom,  given  ou  application  to 
CHABLES  TRASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Ilminster,  Somerset. 
— [Advt.] 

McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

Btreet,  S.W.  Builders,  Decorators,  and  House  Painters 

Desii-us  and  Estimates. 

General    Repairs    and   Alterations  Executed. 

i-xpenenced  Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  countrj'.— [Advt.] 

BATH    STONE. 

SUMMER    DRIED, 

CORSHAM     DOWN 

155,000  Feet  Cube. 
PICTOE  &  SONS,  BOX,  WILTS. 

[Advt,] 


CONTRACTS. 
TLjIDLAND  EAILWAY. 


particulars  obtained 

Derby,  on  and  after  W 

Sea'ed  Tenders  to  he 

"Way  and  "Works  Comn 


.  on  TUESDAY,  the  4th  d 


m  of  Tender  and 
uinecr's  Offices, 

Secretary  of  the 
Derby,  not  later 

accept  the  loweat  or 

'JAMES  WILLIAMS,  Secretary. 


MIDLAND  RAILWAY,  SOUTHEEN 
DIVISION. 


TO  HUILDKKS 


asd  Work 

'i  a.n».  on  TUE-DAY,  Jan.  4th,  18'?1. 
The  Diiectors  do  Kot  bind  themselves  to  accent  the  lowe 
auy  expense  connected  with  any  of  8. 


7  Tender, 
Derby,  December  Uth.  IRSf), 


JAMES  WILLIAMS,  Secretary. 


T 


0  BUILDEES. 

LOCK-UP  AT  "WAKE. 


Constable's  RESIDENCES,  SESSIONAL  COURT,  LOCK-UP, 
&c.,  at  'Ware,  Herts. 

Builders  desirous  of  contractinsf  for  the  works  may  see  the 
drawings,  specifications,  agreement,  Ac,  at  the  Countv  Sur- 
veyor's Office,  Hertford,  and  at  No.  4,  Circis  place,  Loud-jri.  E.C., 
ou  and  after  December  22. 

A  copy  of  the  bills  of  quantities  and' a  form  of  Tender  can  be 
obtaiiiiil  ;il  fitht'i  ni  the  above  officoH  up;jn  the  payment  of  two 
guim^ts.  i\ iiii  h -!ii!i  will  be  returned  to  the  contractor  upon  the 
recfi))!  oi  :\  burii-ri'li'  Tender  and  the  documents  which  have  been 
suppli.'.i  t...  him. 

Tender.,    -r^il,-,!    and    endorsed    '■  Teiidrr  for  Wari' Lock-up. ■' 


December  15th.  IPSO. 


THE  VESTEY  of  the  Parish  of  St. 
M.VKY,  ISLINGTON. 
TO  CO\TR-A.CTOKS  AND  OTHERS. 
The  Vestrvof  this  Parish  heinffdesirous  01  receiving  TENl>ERR 
for  the  MAlilNG  o:  ROADWAYS  in  the  fulloH■ill^'btrec^s,  viz.  — 
Tufncll-park  fpart  of)  tapper  Hollownv  ;  \\':ti  icmlrr-road. 
Upper  HoUoway  ;  Ward-roitd,  Upper  Hol|nw:(v  .  I'lillhrook- 
road.  Upper  Hoi  oway  ;  and  part  of  Aubert  P'rk,  li  j^'hhurv. 

The  Sewers  and  Kuildings  Committee  «  ill  mi.  rt  a  tin- "vostry 
Hall,  on  WEDNESDAY,  the  29th  day  of  D.  .'■mhrr,  IHSi).  at 
half-past  ten  iu  the  morning  precise!*,  to  rtceivy  lenders  fjr  the 

I  printed  form 


Works, 
No  Tender  will  he  received  unless  made  i 

from  the  Office,  and  each  person  whose  I'  ■nder  is  aecented 


be  prepare'!  to  deposit  ; 


I  Bank  of  EngUud  t 


i  roiumittee  at  the 


Patties  tendering  are  expected  to  i 

time  and  place  above  mentioned. 

The  Committee  do  not  bind  themielves  to  accept  anv  Tender. 

JOHN  LAYTON,  Vc-try  Clerk. 


Tottenham:  local  boaed  of 
HEALTH 
CONTRACT    FOIl    KEKHING.    AyPI!  \LTIXG.  &c.,  THE 

HIGH  RO.\D,  TOTIENHAM. 

The  Tottenham  L.ical  Board   of  Health   invite  TRNDERSfor 

SUPPLYING    and    LAYING    DOWN    GRANITE    KERB    and 

PHALTE,  for  Taking    up.  Dres-ing,   and    R.-laying 

"     ■  '    "  KPft-ay 


ROCK  1 

York    Paving    and    Existing    Grani't 

Crossings,  ,and  Supplying  and    Fixing   new  York  PaviLo. 

Wails    for   the  Footpaths  of  the  high  road 


Kerb, 


lluilding    Retail 


.'•t,    approximite  bills    of 


Offices,  Coombes 
between  10  and  (  ocI'hm 
and  after  the  1st  of  Jan 


applied,  to  be  deli'' 


The  Hoard  do  not  bind  thcsiselvos  to  accept  the  low 


Tottenham,  17th  December,  1330. 


EDWARD  CKOWNE, 


PAEI8H  OF  ST.  MAEY  ABBOTTS, 
KENSINGTON. 
TO  BUILDERS  AND  CONTRACTORS. 
The    Churchwardens     of   this     Parish    invite  TENDERS   fi.r 
ADDITIONS,  ALTERATIONS,  and  DECORATIVE  REPAIRS 
to  the  Vebtry  Hall,  Kensington  High-stree*. 

A  specification  and  drawings  can  be  seen  at  my  Office  on  Tues- 
day, the  23th   instant,  and    thpee  fiUowing  days,   between  the 
hours  of  10  and  4  o'clock. 
Sealed  Tenders  are  to    he   delivered,  endorsed  "  Repairs.  &c.," 
■y  HalKatmy  lUBoe,  not  later  than  4  p.m..  on  or  before 


le  Churchwardens   do    not    bind    themselves  to  accept  the 
est  or  any  Tender.  REUBEN  GREEN. 

„  .,   „                                                        Veatry  Clerk. 
?stryHaIl,  Kensington.  25th  December.  1880. 

'0  BUILDERS  AND  OTHEES. 


Clerks'  Officfs  and  Foi 
Worthins,&c 

-.^or  plans  and  further  partieiUa'S,  apply  to  Mr.  E.  H.  BUR- 
JiELL.  .52,  Bedlord-row,  London,  W.C.,  until  Fri  av,  December 
■n  IsttO.  after  which  time  they  mav  be  seenatthe  West  Worthing 
Hoto  ,  ^\  est  Worthing,  until  Ja'iuaiy  15th,  1831.  and  all  Tenders 
MMl'-fl  .Kiompanied  hy  two  references  as  to  i-cspnnsibility  and 
Lapar.iiity  .ji  party  Tcndiiiing  to  caiTy  out  the  Works)  to  be 
.iddiP-^sfd  on  or  before  \VED.NESDAY,  January  2:!rd.  83l,"  The 
Ohairmiin,  West  Worthing  Improvement  Commissioners,  West 
tt  orthmg  Hotel,  West  AV..rthing  " 
Ihe  Commissioners  do  not  bind  themselves  to  accept  the  lowest 


npO    PLUMBERS  AND  uLAZIEES. 

J-       sn  UATIOX  W.INTED  as  Working  Foreman  or  OcnfMl 
Haad  ;  Rood  plimibtrand  writer 

EiccllHiii  rcforei.tcs  ns  to  character  and  atJlUiv.— X.,  A.  Stcb- 
oingi    AJicrtis  njufflces,  Lowestoft. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


788 


THE  BUILDma   NEWS. 


LOXDOy,    FSIDAV,    DECEMBER  31,  1880. 


THE  PRESENT  POSSIBILITIES  OF 
ARCHITECTURE. 

WE  have  tried  to  show,  iu  some  previous 
articles,  what  modem  architects  can- 
not do,  and  why  they  cannot  do  it.  They 
cannot  develop  a  living  style,  because  a 
style  is  the  product  of  many  minds  working 
together,  and  each  architect  at  present  works 
separately.  They  cannot  effect  much  m 
decorative  detail,  because  time  is  not  allowed 
them  to  think  it  out  themselves,  and  because 
few  workmen  either  can  or  will  become  sub- 
ordinate artists  capable  of  producing  good 
detail.  Seeing  this,  some  people  have  jumped 
to  the  conclusion  that  architecture  is  no 
longer  possible.  Their  chain  of  reasoning, 
actual  if  not  avowed,  has  been  something 
like  this  : — "  Art  is  the  imitation  of  Natm-e; 
the  imitation  of  Nature  is  scarcely  practic- 
able, save  in  minor  details.  Art,  therefore, 
consists  in  detaU ;  detail  is  the  production 
of  the  artist- workman  ;  the  artist -workman, 
in  architecture  at  least,  no  longer  exists  ; 
therefore,  architecture  is  no  longer  possible." 
The  conclusion,  however,  rests  on  a  false 
assumption  at  starting.  Art  is  not  neces- 
sarily the  imitation  of  Nature ;  and  the 
happy  consequence  of  that  fact  is,  that  even 
in  the  scarcity  or  total  absence  of  artist- 
workmen,  architecture  may  still  accomplish 
noble  results. 

Our  architectural  romancers,  to  whom  the 
Middle  Ages  are  that  "  once  upon  a  time  "  of 
which  all  things  may  be  safely  predicated, 
and  in  which  nothing  was  impossible,  often 
tell  us  of  the  period  when  every  workman 
was  an  artist.  It  is  not  enough  for  them  to 
say  that  the  Mediaeval  figure-sculptor  was  a 
man  of  genius,  and  the  Mediseval  carver  a 
man  of  invention  and  power;  they  must 
needs  put  every  labourer  and  mechanic  of 
the  era  on  a  simi'ar  footing.  We  are  ex- 
pected to  believe  that  the  common  working 
mason,  though  ho  could  not  by  possibility 
have  designed  more  than  a  fraction  of  the 
work  he  executed,  and  probably  dil  not 
design  even  that,  was  capable  of  designing 
it  all ;  that  the  waller  was  an  artist  in 
disguise,  and  even  the  excavator,  we  infer, 
a  man  of  taste  at  bottom.  Wo  might  as 
well  bo  told  that  giants  were  then  to  bo  met 
with  every  day,  and  fairies  every  night. 
There  is  no  reason  whatever  for  supposing 
that  artistic  power  is  more  widely  diffused  iu 
one  century  than  another,  or  in  one  class  than 
in  another.  What  English  workmen  are 
to-day,  they  were,  in  essence,  six  hundred 
years  ago,  and  with  them,  as  with  others, 
inventive  talent  is  only  the  possession  of 
one  man  in  many.  Cultivation  may  bring 
it  out,  but  cultivation  cannot  originate  it ; 
and  common  sense  will  tell  us,  what  every 
allusion  in  old  English  literature  confirms, 
that  the  mass  of  workmen  in  former  times 
were  no  more  artists  than  now.  Yet  the 
architects  of  old  got  their  work  done  by 
means  of  them,  and  done  as  well  as  we  can 
imagine  it  done ;  so  that,  at  lowest,  we 
may  make  our  work  such  as  theirs,  mhius 
the  decoration.  A  very  large  part  of  the 
decoration  they  used,  however,  requires 
little  artistic  skill  to  work  it.  'UTiatever 
can  be  fully  explained  by  drawings,  can 
be  perfectly  worked  from  dra\vings.  All 
the  mysterious  importance  which  some 
writers  give  to  the  execution  of  art-work  by 
its  designer  turns  on  this  one  principle.  If 
the  drawing  is,  as  for  one  instance,  dra'wings 
of  sculptured  figirres  and  leaf-ornament 
must  of  necessity  be,  a  mere   memorandum 


of  one  aspect  of  a  thing  which  has  many 
other  aspects,  then  everything  d<-ponds  on 
the  art-power  of  the  executant.  The  archi- 
tect may  mdicato  a  figure  by  front  and  pro- 
file sketches  ;  he  may  indicate  foliage  pat- 
terns by  an  elevation  and  two  or  three 
sections,  but  it  would  take  him  a  lifetime, 
even  if  ho  were  able  to  do  it,  to  show  by 
geometrical  plans  and  sections,  the  exact 
shape  of  every  muscle  and  evoi-y  leaf.  In 
cases  like  these,  the  workman  cannot  have 
anything  like  full  giddanco  ;  hence  he  must 
needs,  if  the  residt  is  not  to  bo  a  failure, 
be  an  art-workman,  able  to  guide  himself. 

But  the  case  is  very  diU'ereut  where  archi- 
tecture proper  and  geometrical  ornament 
are  concerned.  Hero  the  architect's 
guidance  can,  and  ought  to,  bo  complete. 
When  a  mason,  for  instance,  is  once  sujiplied 
with  the  fidl-sized  section  of  an  arch- 
moulding,  and  is  told  the  radius  of  the  arch, 
he  knows  everything  necessary  to  work  it. 
Nothing  is  left  to  his  discretion,  for  there 
is  nothing  which  he  can  be  in  doubt  about. 
There  is  only  one  way  of  doing  the  work 
without  gross  blunders,  and  all  that  is  re- 
quired of  him,  therefore,  is  ordinary 
mechanical  skUl.  Let  us  see  for  a  moment 
what  this  princiijle  deprives  the  modern 
architect  of,  and  what  it  leaves  him,  taking 
the  extreme  view  that  art-workmen  no 
longer  exist. 

In  the  first  place,  it  deprives  him  of  all 
the  trashy  leaf-carving  which  spreads,  like 
a  cutaneous  eruption,  over  half  our  larger 
buildings.  It  prevents  him — if  his  own 
good  taste  did  not  already  prevent  him,  as 
it  does  every  architect  worth  the  name — 
from  ransacHng  English  and  French  cathe- 
drals for  foliated  caps  and  cornices  to  stick 
over  tailors'  shops  and  merchants'  offices. 
It  forces  him,  to  this  extent,  to  forego  cheap 
finery,  and  to  trust  more  to  general  form 
aid  proportions  than  to  misplaced  deco- 
ration. It  promises,  in  time,  to  diminish, 
so  far,  the  sickening  pretentiousness  of  our 
streets,  and  to  make  it  possible  for  persons 
with  some  sense  of  what  is  fit  and  in  keep- 
ing, to  walk  about  London  \vithout  being 
jarred  at  every  turn  by  rampant  arclii- 
tectural  vulgarity.  It  wUl,  in  short,  make 
Queen  Victoria-streets  more  scarce,  without 
making  Baker-streets  more  common.  For, 
in  depriving  the  architect  of  some  of  his 
detail,  it  throws  him  back  more  and  more 
on  his  general  design.  If  he  pretends  to 
the  title  of  architect  at  all,  he  can  no  longer 
put  up,  as  too  manj-  pretenders  to  the  title 
have  done,  a  mere  brick  or  stone  box  with 
so  many  evenly-spaced  holes  in  it.  This  is 
what  the  inferior  sort  of  street  architect 
used  to  do,  trusting  to  the  stone-cai-ver  to 
make  his  work  showy  enough  for  the  mul- 
titude :  but  the  stone-carver  gone,  the  mere 
box  with  holes  would  not  impose  ou  any- 
body. Along  with  the  carver  would  go  the 
decorator :  the  workman,  that  is,  who, 
without  taste  or  ability  of  his  own,  is  set  to 
paint  the  patterns  and  carry  out  the  orders 
of  a  decorative  designer  above  him.  His 
departure  would  benefit  the  insides  of 
buildings  as  much  as  that  of  his  stone- 
carving  brother  the  outsides.  There  would 
be  an  end  to  the  intolerable  fussiness  of 
coloured  interiors.  We  should  be  rid  of  the 
constant  repetition  of  ill-chosen,  ill-coloured 
Ijatterns  ;  tin  eye  would  at  last  be 
allowed  a  little  repose,  and  the  mind 
would  no  longer  be  haimted  by  selections 
from  Owen  Jones'  "  Grammar  of  Orna- 
ment "  on  every  wall,  floor,  and  ceiling. 
Along  -with  the  stone-carver  and  the  deco- 
rators would  go — happy  thought  I — the  so- 
called  ornamental  ironfounder  ;  a  twofold 
culprit,  who  first  gets  his  foliage-patterns 
carved  by  a  workman  who  is  lar  enough 
from  being  an  artist,  and  then  repeats  them 
ad  hausiam  in  a  material  which  would  ruin 
the  most  artistic  work  of  this  class.  On  his 
departure  street  railings  themselves  might 
become  tolerable ;  and  we  should  no  longer 


see,  even  in  the  restoration  of  a  City  church 
like  Great  St.  Helen's,  the  churchyard  fenced 
in  with  cast-iron  scrolls,  familiar  as  "  211  " 
in  a  well-known  pattern-book.  Wo  should 
have,  in  fact,  ironfouudcrs  ti'cating  their 
material  iu  the  severe  and  simjilo  way  in 
which  it  ought  to  bo  treated,  and  showing, 
almost  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  what 
its  real  capabilities  are.  Then,  toe,  we 
should  get  rid  of  the  florid  gasfitter  and  tho 
flashy  metalworker,  with  their  elaborate 
"  Gothic  foliage  "  cutoutof  thin  sheet-iron, 
and  painted  red  and  blue  by  tho  decorator 
before  named.  There  would,  in  Mr.  Car- 
lyle's  phrase,  be  "  many  di-y  tyos  "  at  their 
exit.  Such  a  clearance  of  trash  os  all  this 
would  bo  has  not  taken  place  in  our  time ; 
trash,  too,  for  which  the  public  is  apt  to 
blame  no  one  but  architects  themselves ; 
trash  of  which  nearly  everybody  is  long  ago 
sick,  and  against  which,  if  architects  would 
one  and  all  set  their  faces,  they  would  be 
hailed  by  all  the  world  as  public  benefac- 
tors. 

Now  imagine  all  this  gone,  and  see  what 
the  modem  architect  has  left.  He  has  only 
parted,  as  we  saw,  with  those  details  which 
cannot  be  fuUy  and  definitely  explained  by 
drawings,  with  carvin;;,  figure-sculpture, 
painted  decoration,  and  the  like.  People 
always  long  for  what  they  cannot  got,  and 
hence  it  is,  p?rhaps,  that  these  subsidiary 
arts  have  of  late  years  received  such  an  un- 
precedented and  disproportionate  amount  of 
pubhc  advocacy.  Wo  are  not  underrating 
their  value,  and  we  hope  that  the  time  may 
soon  come  when  they  will  be  at  the  service 
of  all  who  need  them.  So  far,  however,  it 
is  making  a  very  moderate  estimate  to  say 
that  nine-tenths  of  what  passes  for  them  is 
mere  rubbish,  or  worse  than  rubbish ;  and 
the  present  question  is,  therefore.  What  can 
be  done  without  them  ?  In  their  absence  tho 
architect,  it  is  true,  cannot  build  a  west 
front  like  that  of  Siena,  but  ho  may  build 
one  like  that  of  Whitby  ;  he  cannot  put  up 
a  transept  like  that  of  Rheims,  but  he  may 
put  up  one  like  that  of  St.  Martin's,  Laon ; 
he  cannot  erect  a  tower  like  that  of  Senlis, 
but  he  may  erect  one  like  the  western  pair 
at  Coutances,  or  the  equally  celebrated  ones 
at  the  Abbaye  aux  Hommes,  Caen.  One 
may  pick  out,  indeed,  a  bit  of  carving 
here  and  there  from  some  of  these  latter 
examples,  but  it  is  not  of  the  essence  of 
them ;  if  it  were  all  removed,  verj-  little, 
indeed,  of  their  grandeur  and  effectiveness 
would  be  gon?.  This,  cl-arly,  is  the  sort  of 
work  that  an  architect  may  most  safely  aim  at 
when  he  has  no  subordinates  worth  tho  name. 
If,  as  some  iioojile  ^Wth  a  good  deal  of 
exaggeration  allege,  all  our  hmldings  now 
have  to  be  done  by  the  architect  and  the 
mechanical  workman  between  them,  by  all 
means  let  the  buildings  be  made  up  of  that 
class  of  work  which  the  architect  and  the  mo- 
clianical  worlnnan  can  do  well.  Let  us  leave 
off  longing  for  what  we  cannot  get,  and  do 
with  our  might  what  we  really  can  d).  Few 
of  us,  perhaps,  realise  how  vast  a  field  even 
this  leaves  us.  Artistic  planning— a  thing 
which  is  and  always  must  have  been,  pre- 
emmently  the  architect's  own  special  busi- 
ness, a  thing  in  which  multitudes  of  artist- 
workmen  could  not  have  helped  him,  and  ia 
which  the  total  absence  of  artist-workmen 
neednothindcrhim— is  still  almost  neglected. 
In  multitudes  of  cases  the  architect  has  ne- 
glected what  he  can  do,  to  attempt  what  he 
cannot  do.  His  buildings  have  been  carelessly 
planned,  inirtistioally  composed,  and  ba^ly 
designed  in  mass,  because  he  has  abandoned 
his  own  supreme  department,  and  devoted 
himself,  vainly  aft-r  aU,  to  some  minor  and 
relatively  trivial  department.  The  time  he 
has  spent  in  trying  to  explain  by  drawings 
what  drawings  are  inadequate  to  explain,  in 
trying  to  make  mechanical  oirvers  carve 
with  life  and  spirit,  and  mechanical  dec  )- 
rators  paint  with  harmony  and  delicacy, 
would  have  sufficed  to  make  his  building,  as 


784 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  31.  1880. 


a  wliole,  intercstiug,  artistic,  and  original. 
few  uiei:  ever  seem  to  have  the  least  concep- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  planning.  Their 
cbuiches  are  copi  d,  with  wearisome  itera- 
tion, from  a  few  stock  examples,  and  their 
f  trect-buildings  are  piled  up  almost  as  chance 
directs,  with  no  central  idea  in  them  at  all. 
M:itters  in  th'S  respect,  indeed,  are  not  so 
bud  as  they  were,  but  there  still  is  ample 
room  for  iiuprovemenf.  There  seemed  to  be 
a  sort  of  prevailing  belief,  not  long  ago,  that 
Gothic  street-buildings  ought  to  be  left  to 
shape  them-elves,  by  tacking  room  to  room 
in  the  first  way  that  might  be  thought  of  ; 
and  that  then  the  whole  thing  could  be  re- 
deemed and  transformed  by  the  beiuty  of 
its  isolated  details.  Mr.  Norman  Shaw's 
works  in  LeaJenhall-street  and  elsewhere 
did,  however,  come  at  last  as  a  sort  of  reve- 
lation to  the  architects  of  this  school ;  and 
few  persons  would  now  deny  that  a  street 
building  may  have  some  unity  of  design 
about  it  as  well  as  a  church. 

Volumes  might  be  written  on  possible 
types  of  plan  and  of  general  grouping,  ex- 
ternal and  internal,  though  the  average 
English  planner  seems  never  to  conceive  of 
any  figure  but  an  oblong  of  some  form  or 
other.  The  typical  English  house — the  ideal 
home  of  the  British  Philistine — has  an  oblong 
ground  plan  divided  into  oblong  rooms,  and 
four  oblong  elevations  filled  with  oblong 
doors  and  windows.  Caught  young  and 
trained  as  an  architect,  he  still,  unless  he 
chances  to  have  a  dash  of  genius  in  him, 
clings  for  life  to  his  beloved  oblongs.  He 
can  conceive  of  nothing  else  for  a  church 
plan,  nothing  else  for  a  street  front,  nothing 
else  for  the  rooms  behind  it  ;  and  his  archi- 
tecture mainly  consists,  or  a  little  while  ago 
did  consist,  in  the  application  of  indifferent 
ornament  to  these  very  ind  fTerent  forms. 
Many  of  us  can  remember  the  tax  on  win- 
dows, the  ruinous  effects  of  which  are  still 
traceable  even  amongst  our  latest  buildings  ; 
a  tax  on  ornament  might  do  our  architecture 
as  much  good  as  the  former  tax  did  it  evil. 
Under  that  beneficent  impost,  every  de- 
signer, even  the  most  perfunctory,  would  be 
compelled  to  think,  in  some  slight  measure, 
of  planning  and  grouping,  were  it  only  that 
his  clients  might  see  a  rea  on  for  employing 
him  at  all.  If  his  works,  as  they  now  are, 
were  deprived  of  ornament,  there  would  be 
-nothing  to  show  that  they  were  not  designed 
by  a  committee  of  bricklayers  and  hodmen. 
This  happy  time,  however,  may  still  be  far 
distant ;  but  every  advance  in  public  culture 
make  4  all  decoration  but  the  best  more  and 
more  distasteful.  Artist  workmen  are  not 
extinct,  but  they  are  still  extremely  rare ; 
and  more  attempts  at  sculpture,  painting, 
and  carving,  by  workmen  who  are  in  no 
sense  artists,  will  disgust  educated  people 
more  and  more  every  year.  The  vast  mass 
of  intended  applications  of  these  arts,  in 
modern  architecture,  are  still  mechanical 
attempts,  and  nothing  better ;  and  the  time 
will  soon  come  when  we  shall  all  look  on 
them  with  pitying  contempt,  such  as  that 
which  is  now  aroused  by  the  earliest  ex- 
amples of  the  Gothic  revival.  The  architect, 
therefore,  who  wishes  his  works  to  be  things 
of  beauty  for  ever,  or  even  for  another 
twenty  years,  ^vill  be  wise  to  do  one  of  two 
things  :  cither  to  find,  if  they  can  be  found 
(and  only  those  who  have  s.^arched  for  them 
know  th-j  immense  difficulty  of  finding  them) 
true  artists  to  execute  the  artistic  details, 
or  to  shun  all  details  that  cannot  be  ex- 
l)lained  with  certainty  and  completeness  by 
dr-iwings;  to  study  general  composition 
more  than  elaborate  ornament,  and  to  design 
as  liitle  as  possible  that  cannot  be  worked 
by  a  good  ordinary  mason,  bricklayer,  or 
carpenter. 

Tli^  f  lilure  has  recently  been  announced  of  Mr. 
.Tosiih  CilcUvell,  railway  contractor,  of  Kin" 
\\  iliiaiu-street,  London,  with  Uabilities  amomitiiiS 
to  ijOO.OOO.  ° 


HALLS  AND  STAIRCASE.S. 

4  S  the  hall  was  the  outcome  of  feudal 
-i.\-  living,  the  staircase  is  essentially  a 
modern  development,  and  as  the  hall 
became  reduced  in  impoi'tance  the  staircase, 
which  was  generally  a  subordinate  feature 
till  Tudor  times,  assumed  a  conspicuous 
position,  and  seems  to  have  taken  its 
place  to  a  large  extent.  Mr.  Aston  Webb's 
thoroughly  practical  paper  read  at  the 
Association,  and  fully  reported  in  our  last 
week's  impression,  did  not  go  into  the 
historical  part  of  the  subject,  interesting  as 
that  undoubtedly  is.  The  examples  given, 
some  of  which  we  have  engraved,  were 
illustrative  of  what  has  been  done,  rather 
than  suggestive  of  new  ideas,  or  as  types 
the  architect  would  like  to  follow.  Mr. 
Webb  viewed  his  subject  more  from  the 
praetic.al  standpoint,  necessitated  by  every- 
day building,  than  from  that  of  the  artist, 
and  much  of  what  he  said  we  fully  concur  in. 
Yet  it  would  have  been  very  interesting  to 
have  traced,  for  instance,  the  steps  by  which 
the  Medifcval  hall  was  developed  from  the 
Roman  peristyle,  or  the  process  by  which  the 
cloister  and  Italian  cortUe  descended  froLi 
the  same  source. 

It  is  very  tru?  there  is  no  suitable  type  of 
staircase  up  to  the  time  of  Elizabeth  for 
modern  pui-poses  ;  but  that  is  easily  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  houses  were  then 
seldom  buUt  to  contain  reception-rooms  on 
the  upper  floor.  On  the  contrary,  the 
modern  town-house  is  often  of  several 
stories — a  good  reason,  we  take  it,  why  the 
staircase  should  be  a  more  prominent  and 
artistic  feature.  Though  it  would  be  absurd 
to  aim  at  the  grandeur  of  the  Italian  stair- 
case in  our  smaller  houses,  an  alliance 
which  is  occasionally  met  with,  it  appears 
to  us  the  town-dwelling  staircase  should 
not  altogether  be  banished  from  sight 
Fully  as  we  agree  with  Mr.  Webb  in  his 
objections  to  placing  the  stairs  opposite 
the  entrance — a  position  no  good  architect 
would  ever  sanction,  we  are  inclined  to  go 
a  little  further  than  he  did  in  thinking  the 
stairs  and  hall  might  be  very  well  combined 
in  small  houses.  The  hall,  in  buildings 
of  this  class,  is  not  altogether  a  reception 
apartment  :  it  is  the  only  space  that  can  be 
allotted  to  the  staii-s,  and  with  a  little  in- 
genuity the  two  might  be,  and  often  are, 
brought  together,  without  necessarily 
spoiling  one  another,  or  diminishing  the 
usefidness  of  the  former.  Of  course, 
where  the  reception-rooms  are  all  on  the 
ground-floor,  the  stairs  certainly  might  be 
subordinated  in  importance  to  the  hall,  and 
made  a  less  conspicuous  feature  ;  a  hall  is 
very  often  spoilt,  even  in  large  houses,  by  the 
staircase  running  up  on  one  side  of  it  and 
reducing  the  remaining  space  to  a  passage 
with  doors  opening  into  the  rooms.  Many 
of  our  larger  suburban  houses  are  injured  in 
this  way.  Equally  objectionable  is  the 
common  practice  of  placing  the  stairs  near 
the  entrance,  or  just  within  the  vestibule 
and  opposite  the  front  breakfast-parlour  or 
waiting-room  ;  nothing  can  be  less  comfort- 
able or  more  inartistic  in  arrangement,  as 
every  visitor  or  stranger  may  be  brought 
into  unpleasant  nearness  with  the  occupants, 
and  privacy  is  completely  destroyed.  For 
these  reasons,  it  seems  desirable  to  place 
the  stairs  in  a  more  retired  position  \vith 
reference  to  the  entrance,  or,  as  Mr.  Webb 
suggested,  to  turn  the  first  flight  round  so 
as  to  be  able  to  ascend  v.-ithout  being  seen 
by  persons  in  the  front  passage  or  vestibule. 
We  all  know  the  usual  builder's  arrange- 
ment, which  is  to  widen  the  passage  after  it 
clears  the  froiit-room,'  and  to  place  the  first 
flight  so  as  to  face  the  front  door.  One 
reason  for  this  arrangement  is,  doubtless, 
to  get  as  large  a  front-room  as  possible, 
though  always  at  the  expense  of  the  one 
behind,  which  is  considerably  curtailed,  and 
another  is  to  avoid  reducing  the  front  room 


on  the  first  floor.  These  are  good  reasons 
to  be  urged  for  retired  positions  of  the  stairs 
in  town-houses,  though  the  plan  referred  to 
is  not  one  that  commends  itself  to  the 
ai-tistic  sense  of  the  designer  of  interiors. 
Where  the  frontage  is  wide,  the  stairs  may, 
as  Mr.  Webb  suggests,  be  brought  forward; 
but  this  arrangement  is  only  practicable  in 
semi-detached  houses  as  a  rule,  and  the 
architect  cannot  often  avail  himself  of  it. 
The  arrangement  ;  in  which  the  stairs  are 
placed  at  the  side  of  the  entrance,  and 
distinct  from  it,  as  shown  in  our  diagrams, 
Figs.  3  and  4,  given  last  week,  equally 
requires  space  ;  but  the  plan  admits  of 
architectural  effect  when  it  can  be  obtained, 
and  the  long  monotonous  entrance  passage 
is  done  away  with.  Several  good  plans  of 
this  sort  may  bo  found  in  referring  to  the 
volumes  of  the  BuiLDls^G  News.  There  is 
one  way  in  which  a  retired  staircase  can  be 
arranged  that  was  not  referred  to  in  the 
paper,  and  it  admits  of  more  architectural 
treatment  than  the  ordinary  type,  and  that 
is  by  placing  it  with  its  end  against  the  back 
wall  so  that  it  receives  direct  light  from 
behind,  although  the  same  objection toa  front 
passage  remains.  Another  arrangement 
consists  in  placing  the  stairs  at  right  angles 
to  the  entrance  corridor  and  between  the 
front  and  back-rooms,  but  this  plan  has  also 
its  defects  ;  in  town  houses  it  has  to  be 
lighted  by  a  skylight ;  it  cuts  off  the  rooms  so 
that  intercommunication  by  folding-doors 
is  impossible,  while  a  long  passage  has  still 
to  be  formed.  Looking  at  all  the  condi- 
tions and  possible  alternatives,  we  are  in- 
clined to  think  that  for  a  narrow  street 
house  the  retired  staircase  is  desirable,  and, 
in  fact,  is  the  only  one  which  can  give  that 
amount  of  privacy  necessary.  There  is  no 
objection  to  lighting  from  a  skylight  or 
from  back  or  side  window  if  it  can  be 
obtained,  but  in  these  cases  we  should  turn 
the  flight  at  the  bottom  to  face  the  inner 
hall,  or  make  it  go  up  from  back  to  front. 
An  open  screen  or  panel  framing  might  be 
introduced  to  stop  and  conceal  the  return 
steps  from  the  entrance  door,  if  the  former 
alternative  be  adopted.  In  wider  houses, 
and  in  semi-detached  dwellings,  the  front 
staircase  admits  of  many  architectural 
arrangements.  One  of  the  best  is  to  make 
the  entrance  at  the  side  of  the  house,  and 
to  open  by  a  separate  vestibule  or  otherwise 
into  a  hall  occupying  the  inner  comer  of 
the  house  in  which  the  stairs  can  be 
contrived  in  two  or  three  flights.  A  corner 
of  this  hall  next  the  entrance  can  be  cut  off 
for  a  lavatory  and  hat-stand,  and  the  stairs 
canbelightedeither  by  alarge  fanlight  or  side- 
light or  a  window  in  the  back- wall.  Many 
advantageous  arrangements  of  this  kind  will 
suggest  themselves  to  the  architect. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  a  skilful 
planner  can  turn  to  account  the  stairs  in 
houses  where  wide  halls  exist.  To  turn  the 
first  few  steps,  as  hinted  above,  is  much 
better  than  to  present  a  long  flight  to  the 
entrance  and  to  the  gaze  of  intruders, 
and  this  may  be  done  by  winders  or  by 
having  a  quarter-space.  It  is  desirable  that 
these  few  steps  should  be  wide  and  easily 
turned.  In  larger  halls,  the  plan  exhibited 
of  having  a  few  steps  to  turn  facing  the  hall, 
of  good  %vidth  and  massively  ne  welled,  is 
one  that  will  commend  itself  to  the  architect. 
So,  too,  the  simple  reversing  of  the  flight, 
or  dividing  it  into  two  or  more,  enables  the 
architect  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  long 
joiner's  flight.  In  connection  with  the  posi- 
tion and  arrangement  of  the  staircase  is  the 
landing  above.  Much  waste  of  space  and 
bad  jilaiuiing  is  often  seen  ia  ordinary 
houses  in  this  part.  Straggling,  ill-lighted 
passages,  large  useless  landings  are  common 
defects,  whereas  the  acme  of  economical 
arrangement  points  to  a  concentration  of 
the  doors  of  the  upper  rooms  round  a 
tolerably  sized  and  well  lighted  landing.  The 
landmg  shown  in  Fig.  3,  is  a  good  instance. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


78;-) 


The  remarks  ou  the  distribution  of  flights 
and  treads,  the  value  of  short  flights  and 
square  landings,  which  latter  afi'ord  many 
opportunities  for  picturesque  treatment  and 
the  introduction  of  angle  brackets  and 
■windowconservatories;  thepropcr  setting  out 
of  winders  instead  of  running  them  to  a  point ; 
the  use  pf  a  treading  line  as  in  ilr.  Lawrence 
Harvey's  staircase  in  Queen  Anne's  Gate,  and 
the  discussion  which  followed  will  be  read 
with  profit  by  aU  younger  members  of  the 
profession.  The  ambition  of  the  modem 
joiner  has  too  long  trammelled  the  architect 
in  the  design  of  staircases  with  a  sort  of 
legerdemain.  Ever  since  the  Georgian  era, 
the  art  of  staircasing  has  been  regarded  as  a 
feat  by  the  trade,  and  the  joiner  is  wont  to 
turn  with  a  species  of  pardonable  pride  to 
handrailing  and  all  its  mysteries  of 
"wreaths,"  "falling  moulds  "  as  the  very 
essence  of  joinery.  AVho  among  the  craft  has 
not  been  inspired  b}-  reading  the  treatises  of 
Peter  Nicholson  and  his  school  I  It  is  hardly 
true,  however,  that thehouses built  dui-ingthe 
early  Georges  show  few  examples  of  comfort- 
able internal  arrangements.  Many  excellent 
examples  of  staircases  may  be  seen  in  the 
older  houses,  designed  with  considerable 
effectiveness  and  good  detail.  The  flights 
are  generally  short,  spacious,  and  easy  in 
"  going,"  and  the  handrails  and  newels 
massively  treated. 

An  ingenious  plan  very  often  suggests  an 
architectural  treatment,  and  it  is  this^part  of 
the  subject  which  calls  for  the  consideration  of 
the  architect.  The  paper  scarcely  entered 
into  this  part  of  the  question.  Such  matters 
as  lialustrading,  soffits,  screens,  and  those 
abominations  known  in  specific  itions  as 
"  spandrels  "  were  not  discussed.  As  regards 
balustrading,  the  ordinary  arrangement 
seems  to  be  most  popular,  and  the  open 
string  is  preferable  certainly  for  sanitary 
reasons.  "We  think  three  balusters  on  a  step 
rather  close  :  for  the  ordinary  tread  two  seem 
ample,  for  if  they  are  of  good  size,  say  out  of 
2in.  stuff,  the  spaces  would  be  about  tqual  to 
the  solids.  The  plaster  soffits  are  no  doubt 
very  inartistic  as  they  are  generally  finished, 
but  the  meagre  appearance  might  be 
mitigated  considerably  by  running  cornices 
along  the  soffits,  instead  of  letting  them  die 
out  as  ordinarily  seen.  Modem  architects 
have  certainly  lost  the  art  of  designing 
pictorial  staircases,  such  as  were  common  in 
the  16th  and  17th  centuries.  "SVe  imagine 
few  of  our  Haags  or  Roberts  among 
painters  would  care  to  take  the  modern 
staircase  as  a  model  :  there  is  not  the  quaint 
exuberance  of  fancy  of  those  ages  which 
have  often  suggested  the  hall  as  a  back- 
ground for  the  scene-paintfr. 

Classical  buUdings  do  not  afford  us  many 
examples  for  our  purpose,  and  the  domestic 
architecture  of  ancient  Rome  scarcely  any. 
Passing  to  the  middle  ages,  the  same  dearth 
of  examples  for  the  modern  architect's  use 
exists,  though  many  picturesque  arrange- 
ments are  to  be  found  in  public  buildings. 
At  Assissi  and  a  few  other  places  in  Italy,  as 
shown  by  Mr.  S.  Vacher's  clever  drawing, 
architectural  treatments  are  common ;  the 
well-known  Canterbury  example  is  a  type  of 
"what  the  Mediiicval  builders  did  in  this  way 
extemallj",  but  the  leading  type  was  the 
newel  or  turret-stdir,  of  which  several  still 
exist,  as  at  Tam  worth.  For  picturesque 
instances,  however,  the  architect  can  turn  to 
France :  Xormandy  is  rich  in  them  ;  but 
few  more  pictorial  treatments  are  to  be 
found   than  those  of  Xuremberg. 

For  grander  interior  conceptions  of  the 
staircase,  our  own  Elizebethan,  Tudor,  and 
■  Jacobean  mansions  offer  the  best  types 
after  those  of  the  Italian  palazzi.  Every 
one  knows  the  great  staircases  at  Hatfield, 
at  Crewe,  and  other  houses,  where  boldness 
and  pictorial  effects  of  the  most  charming 
kind  are  produced.  But  it  is  to  Italy  the 
architect  turns  for  the  grander  type  of  stair- 
cases.    Here  the  great  Italian  masters  were 


engaged  in  the  design  of  magnificent  and 
impressivo  effects  ;  not,  it  is  true,  in  any  sense 
pictorial  or  suited  for  smaU  houses,  but  cal- 
culated to  inspire  the  architect  widi  the 
capabilities  of  staircase  architoctmo  of  the 
more  symmetrical  and  simple  forms.  The 
late  Mr.  Sydney  Smirke  remarks  on  two 
kinds  employed  by  the  Renaissance  archi- 
tects ;  one  kind  when  the  steps  are  supported 
between  two  walls,  and  the  otherwhere  only 
one  end  rests  on  a  wall  or  other  support, 
instances  of  which  may  be  found  at  Versailles 
and  the  Louvre.  The  second  or  open  type 
has  the  merit  of  being  free,  and  allowing 
persons  ascending  or  descending  to  sec  each 
other.  The  stately  staircases  at  Albergo  dei 
Poveri  at  Genoa,  and  the  Eoyal  Palace, 
Xaples,  and  especially  the  famed  Scala 
Kegia  in  the  Papal  Palace,  are  noteworthy 
instances  of  large  scale  and  majestic  sym- 
metry ;  while  the  Villa  Capri  and  other 
palaces  in  Venice  and  Vincenza  indicate  how 
the  great  revivalists  of  Italy  imparted 
architectural  magnificence  to  this  feature  of 
the  interior. 


THE    EMPLOYERS'    LIABILITY   ACT. 

THIS  statute  comes  into  operation  to- 
morrow, but  it  will  expire  at  the  end 
of  seven  years,  "  unless  Parliament  shall 
otherwise  determine."  There  is  little  doubt 
that  an  Act  obtained  after  so  many  struggles 
will  then  be  continued  as  a  part  of  the  law 
of  the  land,  though  there  will  probably  be 
ma' y  flaws  in  ils  construction  which  only  its 
practical  working  could  discover,  needing  to 
be  amended.  The  measure  is  confessedly 
a  compromise  between  two  extreme 
theories  :  that  of  the  masters  to  support  the 
old  doctrine  of  a  common  employment,  and 
that  of  the  men  to  abolish  it  altogether. 
Like  most  of  our  statutes  that  have  been 
fought  over  in  the  House  of  Commons,  it 
bears  traces  of  the  fight ;  and  there  are 
several  clauses  so  curiously  worded  that  it  is 
clear  our  Courts  will  have  some  trouble  in 
their  construction.  But  the  main  principle 
is  plain  enough,  and  it  may  be  stated  as 
being  not  so  much  the  alteration  of  the  law 
as  the  bringing  it  back  to  that  condition  in 
which  it  ouce  stood  as  the  common  law  of 
the  country,  before  its  rough-and-ready 
justice  was  overloaded  and  weakened  by 
legal  theories  and  technical  decisions.  The 
statute  will,  of  course,  touch  most  nearly 
railways,  mines,  factories,  and  other  large 
concerns ;  but  it  must  also  affect  every 
builder  and  contrac'or,  inasmuch  as  it  wiU 
radically  change  the  relation  between  mas- 
ters and  men  as  to  injuries  sustained  by  the 
latter  within  the  scope  of  their  employment. 
Many  large  employers  of  laboirr  will  doubt- 
less contract  themselves  out  of  its  provisions 
and  establish  various  systems  of  insurance. 
With  this  point  we  are  not  now  concerned, 
for  our  present  purpose  is  only  to  show,  as 
shortly  a^  may  be  possible,  the  changes  that 
are  wrought  in  the  law  by  the  new  statute. 
In  the  fii'st  place,  it  is  provided  that  the 
word  "employer"  shall  include  a  body  of 
persons,  corporate  or  unincorporate  ;  and  it 
therefore  comprises  both  private  and  public 
companies,  and  corporations  generally.  Then 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Act  only 
affects  one  who  is  a  "  workman,"  which 
word  is  defined  to  mean  a  railway  servant, 
and  "  any  person  to  whom  the  Employers 
and  Workmen  Act  of  ISTJ  applies."  Turn- 
ing to  that  statute,  we  find  that  the  word 
•'  workman  "  is  there  stated  to  include  "  any 
person  w-ho,  being  .a  labourer,  servant  in 
husbandry,  journeyman,  artificer,  handi- 
craftsman, miner  or  otherwise,  engaged  in 
manual  labour,  whether  under  the  age  of 
twenty-one  yeai-s  or  above  that  age,  has  en- 
tered into,  or  works  under  a  contract  with 
an  employer,  whether  the  contract  be  made 
before  or  after  the  passing  of  this  Act,  be 
expressed  or  implied,  oral  or  in  writing,  and 


be  a  contract  of  service  or  a  contract  person- 
ally to  execute  anj-  work  or  labour  "  ;  but  it 
does  not  include  a  domestic,  or  menial  ser- 
vants. It  is  clear,  howtver,  that  under  the 
words  "  labourer,  joumejTnan,  artificer,  and 
handicraftsman  "  all  those  who  are  employed 
in  the  building  trades  would  come  within 
the  meaning  of  the  expression  "  workman," 
and  so  be  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  new 
s'atute. 

By  Section  I.  where  personal  injury  is 
caused  to  a  workman  in  either  of  five  speci- 
fied ways,  he,  or  if  he  is  kiUed,  his  legal  per- 
sonal representatives,  or  any  person  entitled 
— which  means  the  widow,  or  children,  or 
the  like,  "  shall  have  the  same  right  of  com- 
pensation and  remedies  against  the  em- 
ployer, as  if  the  workman  had  not  been  a 
workman  of,  nor  in  the  service  of,  the  em- 
ployer, nor  engaged  in  his  work."  This 
comes  to  the  same  thing  as  saying  that  the 
workman  shall  stand  in  the  same  position  as 
would  any  third  party  who  was  injured  by 
the  negligence  of  the  employer  or  his  ser- 
vants :  and,  taken  alone,  it  simply  abolishes 
the  old  legal  doctrine  of  a  common  emjjoy- 
ment.  But  this  sweeping  effect  of  the  section 
is  much  modified  by  the  sub-sections,  which 
set  out  the  five  cases  wherein  the  employer 
will  be  liable,  and  each  of  which  requires 
carefid  consideration,  while  aU  are  subject 
to  the  proviso  that  the  burden  of  proving 
his  case  will,  of  course,  fall  upon  the  work- 
man suing,  as  it  does  upoa  every  other 
plaintiff.  In  the  first  place,  then,  an  employer 
wlU  be  liable  for  injury  or  death  caused  "  by 
reason  of  any  defect  in  the  condition  of  the 
ways,  works,  machinery,  or  plant  connected 
wdth,or  used  inhis  business."  It  is  obvious  that 
this  proviso,  standing  by  itself,  would  make  a 
master  liable  for  any  latent  flaw  in  a  ma- 
chine, or  any  defect  whatsoever,  however 
hidden  it  might  be,  and  however  impossible 
it  was  for  him  to  have  discovered  its  exist- 
ence. But  this  liability  is  subject  to  the 
conditions  contained  in  the  next  section, 
which  will  compel  the  workman  to  prove 
that  the  defect  arose  from,  or  had  not  been 
discovered  or  remedied,  "  owing  to  the  ne- 
gligence of  the  employer  or  of  some  person 
in  the  service  of  the  employer,  and  entrusted 
by  him  with  the  duty  of  seeing  that  the 
ways,  works,  machinery,  or  plant  were  in 
proper  condition."  It  has  always  been  the 
law  that  a  master  was  bound  to  provide  fit 
gear  and  machinery  for  the  doing  of  all 
dangerous  work  ;  and,  in  ordinary  cases,  he 
has  hitherto  been  held  liable  if  the  tools  and 
tackle  supplied  by  him  were  defective,  to 
his  knowledge.  This  arose  where,  for  in- 
stance, scaffolding-poles,  ropes,  ladders, 
chains,  and  the  like  were  rotten  or  defec- 
tive ;  but  owing  to  the  ditBculty  of  proving 
that  the  employer  knew  they  were  so,  the 
remedy  was  useless.  Now,  this  is  much 
modified,  and  all  a  workman  will  have  to 
prove  is  that  the  defect  which  caused  his 
injury  arose  from  the  negligence  of  the  em- 
ployer or  of  the  man  to  whom  he  had  given 
the  charge  of  the  machinery  or  tackle, 
which  is  a  very  different  matter.  For  the 
future,  then,  a  contractor  using  old  poles 
or  ladders  will  really  do  so  at  his  peril,  for 
the  fact  that  they  were  old  and  likely  to  be 
rotten  would  be  evidence  of  negligence  upon 
which  he  could  be  held  liable. 

The  second  ground  of  action  is  where  in- 
jury is  caused  to  a  workman  by  reason  of 
the  "  negligence  of  any  person  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  employer  who  has  any  superin- 
tendence entrusted  to  him  whilst  in  the 
exercise  of  such  superintendence  "  ;  and  in 
the  interpretation  clause  we  find  such  a  per- 
son means  one  "  whose  sole  orprincipalduty 
is  superintendence,  and  who  is  not  ordin- 
arily engaged  in  manual  labour,"  which  is 
rather  cumbrous  than  satisfactory,  and 
seems  itself  to  need  still  further  defining.  It 
has  always  been  the  law  that  a  m^ster  was 
responsible  for  the  negligence  of  his  repre- 
sentative ;  but  the  court    held  that  a  fore- 


786 


THE    BUILDING    NEWS. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


man  did  not  come  -n-ithin  this  term. 
Broadly  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
clause  just  quoted  alters  this,  and  makes 
an  employer  liable  for  the  negligence  of 
his  foremen,  overlookers,  and  superinten- 
dents generally  ;  but  we  fear  so  strangely- 
worded  a  provision  will  give  the  lawyers 
ample  scope  for  a  deal  of  quibbling  over  its 
construction. 

The  third  class  of  cases,  in  which  there 
will  be  liability  is  where  the  accident  hap- 
pened by  reason  of  the  negligence  of  any 
person  in  the  service  of  the  employer,  "  to 
whose  orders  or  d  rection?  the  workman,  at 
the  time  of  the  injury,  was  bound  to  con- 
form, and  did  conform,  where  such  injury 
resulted  from  his  having  so  conformed." 
This  is  really  an  amijlification  of  the  second 
sub-section,  for  it  makes  a  superintendent 
of  any  workman  who  is  placed  above 
another,  and  whom  that  other  is  forced  to 
obey.  It  comes  closest  to  making  a  master 
responsible  for  the  negligence  of  one  ser- 
vant injuring  another  while  working  to- 
gether in  the  common  employment,  which 
was  the  desire  of  the  trade  unions  ;  and  it 
will  render  employers  liable  for  the  negli- 
gence of  .any  workman  whom  they  trust 
with  a  little  brief  authority  over  their 
fellows. 

The  fourth  ground  of  action  is  where  the 
injury  is  caused  by  reason  of  the  "  act  or 
omission  of  any  person  in  the  service  of  the 
employer,  done  or  made  in  obedience  to  his 
rules  or  bye-laws,  or  in  obedience  to  par- 
ticular instructions  given  by  any  person 
delegated  ^\-ith  the  authority  of  the  em- 
ployer in  that  behalf." 

But  here,  again,  the  provision  is  greatly 
modified  by  the  second  clause  of  Section  2, 
which  will  compel  the  workman  to  prove 
that  "  the  injury  resulted  fi'om  some  im- 
propriety or  defect  in  the  rules,  by-laws,  or 
instructions  mentioned,"  which  evidently  is 
a  very  different  matter.  This  clause  also 
declares  that  no  rule  or  by-law  shall  be  held 
improper  or  defective  which  has  been  offi- 
cially approved  in  the  usual  way  under  some 
Act  of  Parliament.  The  fifth  instance  of 
liability  is  by  reason  of  the  negligence  of 
any  one  in  charge  of  any  signal,  points, 
locomotive-engine  or  train,  and  relates  only 
to  railways  and  their  servants.  There  is  a 
general  provision  in  section  2  which  is  most 
important  as  a  protection  to  the  employer, 
and  will  doubtless  be  often  used  in  his  de- 
fence. It  enacts  that  no  workman  shall 
recover  compensation  in  any  case  where  he 
"knew  of  the  defect  or  negligence  which 
caused  his  injury,  and  failed,  within  a 
reasonable  time,  to  give,  or  caused  to  be 
given,  information  thereof  to  the  employer 
or  some  person  superior  to  himself  in  "his 
service,  unless  he  was  aware  that  the  em- 
ployer or  such  superior  already  knew  of  the 
said  defect  or  negligence.' '  This  is  Httle,  if 
anything,  more  than  a  declaration  of  the 
liwas  it  stood  before;  as,  if  a  man  works 
willingly  and  knowingly  under  conditions 
in  which  he  may  be  injm-ed,  he  takes  the 
risk  of  the  service,  and  cannot  alter  wards 
turn  round  and  claim  damages.  Neither 
can  a  workman  recover  compensation  if,  by 
reason  of  his  own  negligence,  he  has  in  any 
way  contributed  to  cause  the  accident. 

To  entitle  a  workman  to  bring  an  action 
under  the  Act  he  must  give  notice  that 
injur)'  ha-,  been  sustained  within  six  weeks 
Irom  the  occurrence  of  the  accident,  and 
the  action  itself  must  be  commenced  within 
six  months,  cr,  in  case  of  death,  within 
twelve  months  thereafter,  though  in  this 
latter  case  the  want  of  notice  shall  bo  no 
bar  to  the  action,  if  the  judge  thinks  it 
could  reasonably  be  excused.  Careful  pro- 
^''f°?  "  """'^'^  ^°^  ^^^  service  of  this  notice, 
which  IS  to  state,  in  ordinary  language,  the 
cause  of  the  injury  and  the  date  when  it 
was  sustained,  and  which  is  to  be  served 
upon  the  employer  or  sent  to  him  by  post  in 
a  registered  letter.     As  to  the  compensation 


that  can  be  recovered,  this  is  not  to  exceed 
' '  such  sum  as  may  be  found  to  be  equivalent 
to  the  estimated  earnings  during  the  thi-ee 
years  preceding  the  injury  of  a  person  in 
the  same  grade  employed  during  those  years 
in  the  like  employment,  and  in  the  district  in 
which  the  workman  is  employed  at  the  time 
of  the  injury."  In  case  of  disputes  arising 
as  to  the  rate  of  wages,  it  will  thus  be 
necessary  for  the  parties  to  call  evidence 
upon  this  point,  which  wiU  help  to  make 
these  actions  the  more  expensive.  It  is 
fm-thcr  provided  as  to  compensation  that 
there  shall  be  deducted  from  the  sum 
awarded  any  penalty  which  may  have  been 
paid  to  the  workman  under  any  other 
statute ;  and  if  a  workman  has  brought  an 
action  he  is  not  also  to  receive  such  a  penalty. 
Every  action  under  the  Act  is  to  be  brought 
in  a  county  court,  but  it  may  be  removed 
hence  to  a  superior  court  upon  the  applica- 
tion of  either  the  plaintiflf  or  the  defendant. 
There  are  several  ways  in  which  this  can  be 
done,  but  none  of  them  are  very  simple, 
while  all  are  costly,  so  that  probably  such 
actions  will  generally  be  allowed  to  remain 
where  they  were  commenced.  As  to  the 
trial,  the  judge  may  appoint  one  or  more 
assessors,  as  well  as  a  jury,  to  assist  the 
Court  in  ascertaining  the  amount  of  the 
compensation.  Such  is  a  short,  but  com- 
prehensive, account  of  the  new  Act,  and  the 
changes  it  has  affected  in  the  law.  Until  it 
has  been  some  little  time  in  operation  it  is 
difficult  to  say  how  it  will  work,  but  it  is 
likely  enough  to  cause  much  less  litigation 
than  is  commonly  expected. 


CHEAPNESS  IN   AECHITECTUEE. 

"VrO  greater  -weakness  exists  than  the 
-^y  desire  to  make  buildings  of  moderate 
cost  architectural,  or  to  affect  a  certain  ele- 
gance. The  latest  developments  of  the  Queen 
Anne,  Chippendale,  and  Japanese  schools 
have  led  to  a  pitiable  exhibition  of  affecta- 
tion in  the  decoration  and  exterior  finishing 
of  houses  in  the  suburbs.  In  many  of  these 
new  buildings  there  is  an  attempt  at 
following,  though  at  an  immensely  long 
way,  the  caprice  of  the  schools  we  have 
mentioned.  We  may  be  sure  that  in  this 
attempt,  the  imitation  has  degenerated  into 
a  ludicrous  travesty,  and  that  the  result 
has  been  a  poor  burlesque  of  the  original 
features.  Nothing  can  look  more  ridicu- 
lous, or  be  a  greater  exhibition  of  foUy,  than 
a  cheap  or  feeble  imitation  of  a  style  whose 
intrinsic  merit,  if  it  has  any,  lies  in  the 
manifestation  of  sohduess  and  thorough 
homeliness  of  feeling.  At  even  this  dis- 
tance of  time,  we  are  apt  to  smile  or  look 
with  a  contemptuous  sneer  at  such  things 
as  G-othicised  sideboards  and  chairs,  pin- 
nacled fireplaces,  and  turreted  chimneys, 
which  were  fashionable  when  Eastlake's 
volume  on  Furniture  and  Decoration  ap- 
peared. 'UTiat  will  hereafter  be  the  effect  of  a 
species  of  gimcrackery  in  "  Queen  Anne  " 
or  in  Stuart  ?  Yet  the  exigency  of  the 
demands  of  fashion,  and  the  dictates  of 
society  in  matters  of  taste,  are  such  that  they 
are  leading  om-  second-rate  architects  and 
manufacturers  into  this  desire  for  novelty. 
Spurious  copies  of  better  work  are  to  be 
found  in  almost  every  new  thoroughfare 
out  of  London,  while  the  mania  for  Jacobean, 
Chippendale,  Sheraton,  or  Japanese  has 
created  a  market  in  which  all  kinds  of 
abominations  have  found  a  place.  We  are 
told  th.at  blue-and-white  china  no  longer 
commands  fabulous  prices,  and  that  the 
stork  in  decoration  has  found  numerous 
imitators  in  the  artists' of  Tottenham  Court- 
road  ;  but  we  wish  more  particularly  to  dwell 
upon  the  burlesques  of  architectural  features 
to  be  found  in  the  cheaper  kinds  of  houses 
round  London,  In  the  neighbourhoods  of 
West  Kensington,  Shepherd's  Bujh,  Cam- 
den    Town,    Stoke     Newington,     Clapton, 


Stratford,  and  Leyton,  on  the  west  and 
north,  and  Brixton,  Dulwich,  and  Grove- 
hiU  in  south  London,  the  small  builder  is 
doing  his  best  to  bring  into  deserved  ridi- 
cule many  architectural  features.  What  can 
be  more  meaningless  than  to  stick  little 
porches  and  bay  windows  on  houses  of  small 
frontage,  and  to  make  them  assume  the 
pretensions  to  architectural  richness  of 
mansions  at  Notting-hiU  and  Princes-gate  ? 
The  interior  and  the  fittings  of  the  house 
are  sacrificed  for  these  external  embellish- 
ments. Italian  architecture  is,  of  all  kinds, 
the  least  capable  of  being  so  travestied ; 
unless  there  is  a  certain  size  and  thorough- 
ness, this  flimsy  sort  of  embellishment 
becomes  mere  tawdriness.  Take  a  few  houses 
at  West  Kensington  or  Leyton,  of  rentals 
varying  from  £50  to  £30.  There  is  a  porch 
such  as  we  have  described,  or  a  pediment  or 
gable  carried  by  short  columns  of  stone  or 
red  granite  with  capitals  of  exuberant 
foliage,  and  generally  much  too  large  for 
the  shafts.  Above  the  entablature  is  a 
pierced  parapet  with  angle  terminals,  or  if 
a  gable  is  the  set  feature,  the  tympanum 
is  carved  in  a  wanton  and  luxuriant  manner. 
In  some  new  houses  on  the  Grove-hill 
estate,  near  Dulwich,  pointed  arch-heads  of 
stone  are  carved  with  sunk  patterns  of 
scrolls ;  in  one  case  it  is  the  ivy,  with  a 
miserably-drawn  figure  of  a  female  reposing 
in  the  entwined  branches  at  the  point  of  the 
arch — generally  some  naturalesque  imita- 
tion, defying  alike  common-sense  and  pro- 
priety. Of  all  positions  least  suitable  for 
ornament  of  this  kind  are  the  heads  and 
lintels  of  doors  or  windows.  The  carver 
can  do  as  he  likes.  He  contracts  for  doing 
the  stonework,  and  his  price  includes  orna- 
ment. "Wliat  he  does  to  embellish  his 
window-lintels  is  often  supremely  lavish,  as 
if  the  essence  of  ornament  was  profuseness, 
and  as  if  skill  consisted  in  covering  every 
square  foot  of  surface  vnih  something. 
It  is  appalling  to  think  how  superfluous 
and  cheap  thoughtless  design  and  labour 
may  become,  that  it  is  a  positive  relief 
to  sot  one's  eyes  on  a  piece  of  plain  stone- 
work. Where  placed,  and  how  little  and  good 
may  be  the  ornament,  appears  never  to  enter 
into  the  mind  of  the  builder  or  his  carver ; 
it  is,  rather  :  Cover  cheaply,  and  let  nothing 
in  front  be  loft  plain.  It  is  positively 
painful  to  see  the  workman  throwing  away 
his  skill  in  this  species  of  clap-tr.ap  deco- 
ration. In  a  row  of  newly-buUt  houses  at 
Grove  HUl,  each  ground-story  has  a  small 
bay  of  paltry  dimensions  ;  each  angle  has  a 
shaft  of  cast  iron,  representmg  marble, 
carved  with  a  jilethcric-looking  capital. 
Stone  lintels  rest  on  these  ;  but,  not  content 
with  splaying  off  the  underside,  each  splay 
is  carved  with  running  foliage. 

The  small  builder  does  not  stop  his  hand 
at  Italian,  but  displays  his  desire  to  produce 
cheap  architecture  by  following  every  new 
fashion  in  building.  A  feeble  "Queen 
Anne  "  may  be  seen  in  nearly  every  suburb. 
On  the  exterior  everything  is  reduced  to 
skin-deep  proportions.  The  brick  porch 
with  cut  or  moulded  brickwork,  the  bay 
window,  and  the  flat  gauged  arches  are 
reproduced  with  meagre  and  spiritless 
monotony.  Instead  of  the  brick  mouldings 
being  cut  and  rubbed,  they  are  run  in 
cement,  coloured  red,  and  jointed ;  the 
arches  and  sills  of  windows  are  treated  in 
the  same  manner,  the  brickwork  is  coarse 
and  thick  in  the  joints,  and  ornamental 
panels  are  often  of  cast  cement,  devoid  of 
the  sharpness  and  freshness  of  carved  brick. 
In  the  woodwork  the  expedient  of  planted 
mouldings,  in  place  of  solidly-worked  mem- 
bers, is  of  common  occurrence  ;  and  it  hap- 
pens that  the  diff'erence  between  these  two 
methods  is  greater  than  is  imagined.  A  bold 
moulding  in  wood  requii-es  solidity  of  mate- 
rial ;  and  to  make  up  thinly-framed  doors 
.and  architraves  to  represent  old  work  is  to 
belie  the  very  essence  of  style.     The  con- 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


787 


version  of  "stuff"  by  machmory— the  bat- 
tens, deals,  and  planks  of  the  trade— lies  at 
the  root  of  the  matter.  "What  is  usually 
described  in  specifications  as  lin.,  Ijin., 
and  liiu.,  when  "finished,"  is  reduced  by 
wasteful  sawing  and  planing  by  at  least  iin. 
or  3-16ths,  so  that  the  material  is  dwindled 
down  to  a  substance  quite  inadequate  to 
give  the  desired  effect.  The  buildings  we  are 
describing  showthisniggardlyuseof  material 
in  several  matters.  After  the  front  door,  the 
TVTndows  usually  tell  the  tale  on  the  outside. 
If  there  are  mullious  they  are  reduced  to  a 
fhmsiness  only  worthy  of  a  second-rate 
greenhouse;  the  mouldings  are  very  often 
put  on  instead  of  being  run  in  the  sohd,  the 
sash-bars  are  weak  and  wiry  in  appearance. 
In  the  interior,  handrail  and  balusters  are 
reduced  to  a  poor  semblance  of  old  work, 
and  everythmg  appears  to  breathe  the  spirit 
of  ostentatious  poverty.  AVe  now  hear  it  is 
the  fashion  to  divide  the  front  and  back 
drawing-rooms  by  green-painted  palisading 
with  a  wicket  in  centre,  a  kind  of  division 
which  -w-ill  get  admirers  among  those  who 
can  iU-afford  to  sacrifice  one  room.  The 
fondness  for  excessive  display  is  exhibited  by 
the  plasterer,  iri  the  heavy  and  enriched 
cornices  of  hall  and  reception-rooms.  These 
are  overladen  with  graceless  foliage  or  bad 
Classical  ornaments,  in  the  shape  of  mo- 
diUions,  honeysuckle,  egg  and  tongue,  and 
other  enrichments.  Good  modelling  is  never 
seen — it  is  quite  out  cf  the  question  ;  for  the 
artistic  modeller  is  not  a  paying  artist  to 
employ  in  works  of  this  nature.  It  is  in  the 
decorations  of  houses  of  this  class  that  we 
begin  to  learn  the  difference  between  real 
decoration  and  manufactured  finery.  Theless 
costly  the  house,  the  mnreboastful  and  vaunt- 
ing it  is  ;  the  stained  glass,  if  there  is  any  in 
the  front-door  panels  and  hall  staircase,  is  ex- 
cessively loud  in  design  and  colour,  harsh  in 
effect;  the  dados  are  pronounced,  with  a 
large,  vigorous  pattern,  destructive  of  all 
scale,  and  restlessness,  crudeness  of  colour 
and  form,  are  special  peculiarities  of  the  wall- 
papers. Surface-ornament,  whether  in  plas- 
ter or  brass,  suffers  immensely  from  this 
cause.  Sameness  and  a  mechanical  feeble- 
ness characterise  the  decorations  of  this  kind. 
In  some  of  the  costly  houses  at  jSTotting- 
hill,  Kensington,  and  other  Western  sub- 
urbs, a  considerable  sum  is  expended  in 
decorations  that  would,  if  laid  out  mth  dis- 
crimination, have  gone  towards  rendering 
the  house  substantial  and  sanitary,  while 
the  artists  employed  in  the  decorations 
might  have  been  more  judiciously  chosen  to 
embellish  a  few  of  the  principal  rooms. 
These  house-decorators  look  at  their  work 
quantitively  ;  they  hardly  eeem  to  be  aware 
the  less  there  is  of  it  the  more  intrinsically 
valuable  it  becomes,  and  the  more  interest 
it  is  likely  to  call  forth  from  those  whose 
opinion  is  worth  anything. 

It  is  very  easy  to  account  for  the  cheap 
finery  in  building.  There  is  a  demand  for 
it ;  and  there  will  continue  to  be  till  the 
public  taste  is  elevated  ;  but  it  is  the  business 
of  the  profession  to  see  how  this  can  best  he 
done.  It  occurs  to  us  that  much  of  what 
we  complain  of  is  due  to  the  system  now 
prevalent  of  underletting,  or  sub-contracting 
for  work — a  process  of  build  ng  which  mini- 
mises labour  to  the  utmost.  A  contractor 
undertakes  a  low  contract,  baseJ  upon  cer- 
tain prices  he  has  received  from  various 
tradesmen,  and  he,  in  turn,  enters  into  con- 
tracts with  them  to  carry  out  the  brick- 
work, the  joinery,  the  stone-carving,  or  the 
decorative  work.  There  is  no  personal  in- 
terest on  the  part  of  the  sub-contractor :  his 
price  is  too  low  to  make  it  remunerative, 
unless  he  empiloys  unskilful  artists,  who,  in 
like  manner,  do  not  derive  any  advantage 
from  good  work  under  such  conditions.  An 
architect  may  be  engaged ;  but  he  is  re- 
luctant to  call  upon  the  contractor  to  lay  out 
more  money  than  he  can  fairly  spend.  He 
may  gladly  avail  himself  of  the  opportimity 


of  giving  up  the  decorations  to  a  more 
practised  ornamentist  ;  and  it  sometimes 
happens  he  does  not  care  to  de- 
vote more  time  to  the  preparation  of 
extra  drawings  for  that  purpose.  The  two 
last  suppositions  are  not  unusual,  and  hence 
we  may  conclude  there  is  an  all-round  ten- 
dency to  devote  the  least  thought  to  work 
executetl  under  these  conditions.  Impersonal 
labour  will  always  bo  thought  less  of,  and  be 
divested  of  that  Ufe  and  energy  which  marked 
the  work  of  the  Modimval  and  Cinque-cento 
artist.  If  the  workman's  share  in  building 
was  recognised,  if  each  did,  as  was  at  one 
time  the  custom,  his  own  work  untrammelled 
except  by  certain  general  rules,  we  might 
again  hope  to  see  honest  vitality  in  our  build- 
ing. But,  as  under  the  present  sj'stem  of 
competition  this  cannot  be,  why  should  not 
the  same  principle  be  extended  to  the  various 
trades  of  building,  rewarding  skill  and 
ability,  instead  of  making  cost  the  test  of 
competency.  We  believe  a  great  power  rests 
with  the  architect  to  extend  competition  to 
able  artificers,  and  so  raise  the  standard  of 
art-culture  among  them.  In  the  present  day 
competition  resolves  itself  into  cost,  the 
workman  is  employed  on  the  same  principle, 
and  no  higher  inducement  is  held  out  to  the 
artist  than  that  he  must  outdo  the  inferior 
workman  on  the  same  terms  and  at  the  same 
price. 


THE    LATE  REV.    MACKENZIE   E.    C. 
WALCOTT. 

WE  regret  to  record  the  death,  at  his  resi- 
dence, .58,  BeIgT,ave-street,  Pimlico,  of 
the  Rev.  Mackenzie  Edward  Charles  Walcott, 
B.D.,  E.S.A.,  Precentor  and  Prebendary  of 
Chichester  Cathedral,  by  which  event  is  created 
a  gap  in  the  ranks  of  ecclesiological  students  not 
easily  to  be  filled  ;  and,  as  a  writer  in  the  Jfan- 
chestcr  Guardian  remarks:  "The  cathedral  Ufe 
of  England  has  lost  one  of  its  typical  champions, 
and  the  cathedral  and  conventual  antiquities  of 
England  one  of  their  most  enthusiastic  and  de- 
voted students."  Mr.  Walcott  was  the  only  son 
of  the  late  Admiral  John  Edward  Walcott,  of 
Winekton,  Hants,  formerly  M.P.  for  Clmst- 
church,  and  was  born  in  1822,  at  Bath.  The 
family  are  descended  from  the  Walcots,  of 
Bitterley,  Salop,  the  head  of  whom,  diu'ing  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  First,  suffered  much 
for  his  devotedness  to  the  Royal  cause.  He 
was  educated  at  Winchester,  and  at  Exeter 
College,  Oxford,  where  he  graduated  with 
honours  in  1S44.  For  several  years  he  was 
curate  at  St.  Margaret's  and  evening  lecturer  at 
St.  James's,  Westminster,  was  appointed  Pre- 
centor and  Prebendary  of  Chichester  Cathedral 
in  1S63,  and  was  minister  of  Berkeley  Chapel, 
Mayfair,  from  1S67  to  1S70.  Mr.  Walcott  was 
a  voluminous  and  accurate  writer  upon  anti- 
quarian and  ecclesiastical  subjects,  and  several 
of  his  best-known  works  originally  appeared  as 
articles  in  the  Buildixg  News,  the  sketch  ground- 
plans  which  usually  accompanied  the  descrip- 
tions being  drawn  by  his  own  hand.  Among 
liis  bo  sks  may  be  enumerated  ' '  The  History  of 
St.  Margaret's  Church,  Westminster,"  published 
in  1847  ;  "  Memorials  of  Westminster,"  in  18-19  ; 
"  Wilham  of  Wykeham  and  his  Colleges,"  in 
18.32;  "Cathedrals  of  the  United  Kingdom," 
in  18-58;  "Minsters  and  Abbey  Ruins  of  tke 
UnitedKingdom, "in  ISGO  ;  "History of  Christ- 
church  Priory,  Hants,"  and  "  Church  and 
ConventualAiTangement,"  in  1861 ;  "History  of 
Battle  Abbey,"  in  1866;  "The  Double  Choir," 
in  1869;  "  Cathedralia :  a  Constitutional  His- 
tory of  the  Cathedrals  of  the  Western  World," 
in  1865  ;  "The  Cathedral  Cities  of  England  and 
Wales  ■'  in  1865-6  ;  "  The  Four  Minsters  round 
the  Wrekin,"  with  illustrations  from  actual 
surveys  of  the  ruins  of  Buildwas,  Haughmond, 
Lillesb.iU,  and  Wenloek,  in  1867;  "Sacred 
jVrchceology  "  in  186S  ;  "Traditions  .and  Cus- 
toms of  Cathedrals"  in  1872;  "  The  Ancient 
Chiu'ch  of  Scotland:  a  Sjoti-Monasticon" 
in  1872;  and,  last  year,  "Church  Work 
and  Life  of  English  Minsters."  Mr.  Wal- 
cott had  also  contributed  several  papers 
to  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Institute  of 
British  ^ijchitects,  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
the  British  Archa?ological  Association,  and  the 
Royal  Society  of  Literature,  and  to  the  Buildixg 


News,  Notes  and  Queries,  Iho  Ginlleman's 
Mmjnzine,  and  other  journals.  His  last  work  was 
to  write  a  paper  upon  "  Old  St.  Paul's  "  for  the 
first  meeting  of  the  present  session  of  St.  Paul's 
Ecelesiological  Society,  in  which  lie  t<3ok  a  warm 
interest :  but  ho  was  too  ill  to  leavo  liis  room  to 
attend  the  meeting,  and  the  MS.  had  to  be 
entrusted  to  a  friend.  By  Mrs.  Waliott'sourtesy 
wo  were  enabled  to  pubhsh  the  paper  in  full  (on 
Nov.  5th  and  12th,  pp.  523,  555  of  present  vol.), 
and  it  exhibits  in  a  marked  degree  tho  research, 
ccclesiological  learning,  and  careful  citation  of 
authorities  which  were  characteristics  of  his 
writings.  It  is  to  bo  regretted  tliat  his  stylo 
was  somewhat  disjointed,  and  that  the  facts 
collected  with  much  pains  from  a  great  variety 
of  more  or  less  recondite  sources  were  not  more 
carefully  digested  and  marshalled ;  but,  although 
this  scantiness  of  final  polish  may  somewhat 
have  impaired  tho  popularity  of  his  writings,  it 
is  certain  that  Mr.  Walcott  has  rendered  impor- 
tant services  to  the  antiquarian  world.  Mr. 
AValcott's  personal  character  was  one  marked 
by  many  genial  traits;  hearty  and  cordial  in 
manner,  he  had  a  ready  courtesy,  a  vivacious 
humour,  and  great  quickness  of  rei)arteo.  In 
his  work  as  an  author  he  was  greatly  as.^isted 
by  the  possession  of  methodical  habits,  and  of  a 
remarkably  retentive  memory  for  dates  and 
books.  One  of  his  greatest  enjoyments,  when 
away  from  home,  was  sketching ;  and  his  last 
hohday,  spent  in  East  Anglia,  Lincolnshire,  and 
the  East  Riding,  was  occupied  in  visits  to  the 
remains  of  conventual  buildings,  wliich  were 
sketched  and  carefully  reduced  to  a  scale  plan ; 
the  outcome  of  this  excursion  was  a  contri- 
bution to  our  eolurrms,  entitled  "  Church 
Notes  on  and  off  the  East  Coast,"  and 
pubUshed  on  Nov.  19th  last,  p.  COl,  present 
volume.  He  was  extremely  fond  of  music,  in 
which  he  had  a  cultivated  taste,  and  his 
voice  was  clear  and  powerful,  and  well  fitted 
for  leading  a  large  body  of  choristers.  He 
married  in  1852  Rose  Anne,  daughter  of  Major 
Frederick  Brownlow,  of  the  73rd  Highlanders, 
and  niece  of  Charles,  first  Lord  Lurgan,  but 
leaves  no  family.  His  last  important  work, 
"  Enghsh  Minsters,"  isdedicatcd  "to  her  whose 
companionship  and  sympathy  for  more  than  25 
years  have  endeared  all  persons  at  home  and 
abroad."  Mr.  Walcott  had  been  in  failing  health 
for  some  months  past,  and  for  twelve  weeks  had 
been  confined  to  his  bed  by  a  painful  malady, 
which  resulted  in  death  on  Wednesday,  the  22nd 
inst.  The  funeral  took  place  on  Wednesday 
last,  the  earUcr  part  of  the  service  being  per- 
formed at  All  Saints'  Church,  G  rosvenor-road, 
Pimhco,  where  he  frequently  officiated ;  it  w-as 
conducted  by  the  Rev.  J.  FuUcr  Russell  and  the 
Rev.  T.  Perry ,  and  had  been  preceded  by  an  early 
celebration  in  the  same  church,  performed  by  the 
Rev.  T.  Dover,  of  St.  Agnes',  Kcnnington  Park. 
The  interment  took  place  at  Brorapton  Ceme- 
tery, and  was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  E.  Crake, 
Dean  of  Battle.  The  cof&n  bore  the  inscription  : 
"Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcott,  Priest,  Precentor  of 
Chichester,  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,  a.d.  1880, 
aged  59  years."  The  burial  was  in  an  earthen 
grave,  and  the  funeral  arrangements,  in  accord- 
ance with  Mr.  Walcott's  express  wish,  were 
very  simple.  There  was  a  large  gathering  of 
clerical  and  lay  friends,  both  in  the  church  and 
at  the  graveside,  uicluding  the  Dean  and  Arch- 
deacon of  Chichester  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Trevanion, 
canon-residentiaiy,  as  representatives  of  the 
Chapter  of  Chichester  Cathedral. 


ROM.ysr  nImes,  arles,  and  orange. 

THE  architectural  remains  which,  in  the 
Departments  of  the  Lower  Rhune,  still 
testify  to  the  former  magnificence  and  luxury  of 
the  Roman  colonists  who  made  these  broad 
plains  one  of  their  richest  possessions,  have  been 
so  repeatedly  described  that  it  would  be  super- 
fluous here  to  recommence  that  task.  AVorks  of 
restoration  (or  rather  repair)  are,  however,  still 
in  progress  ;  by  which  the  further  destruction 
of  these  monuments  is  for  the  present  arrested, 
and  a  few  notes  of  these  will,  perhaps,  be  in- 
teresting to  those  who  are  already  acquainted 
with  the  subject. 

At  Nimes,  the  first  mention  is  claimed  by  tho 
Amphitheatre.  This  has  been  entirely  freed 
from  the  parasitical  structures  which  had  sprung 
up  about  it,  and  occupies  a  good  position  in  the 
middle  of  a  large  square,  or  "  place."  Work- 
men, some  twelve  or  twenty  in  uuraber,  are  stUl 


788 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  S],  1880. 


employed  upon  it,  in  reinstating  dislodged  stones 
of  the  tiers  of  scats  and  vaults  b^'ucath,  and  the 
upper  courses  of  walls,  &c.,  where  they  are  in  an 
unsafe  condition.  Scircely  anything  is  done  to 
restoro  the  part,i  missing :  that  would  be  a  work 
of  too  great  a  magnitude  for  the  necessity.  But 
what  remains  is  secured,  and  made,  as  far  as 
possible,  weatherproof.  E.'ctemally,  the  edifice 
appears  almost  entire,  except  that  a  portion  of  the 
cornice  of  the  upper  order,  and  the  attic  over 
it,  has  disappeared  altogether.  Certain  columns, 
caps,  bases,  pedestals,  portions  of  arches  and 
cornices,  have  been  restored  with  new  stone,  so 
that,  if  not  perfect,  the  walls  are  sound  and 
stable.  lutemally,  perhaps,  one -half  of  the 
stone  scats  remain  in  position,  the  most  notable 
loss  being  that  of  the  vault  of  the  second  en- 
circling gallery,  nearly  the  whole  of  which 
(:uid,  of  course,  the  seats  it  supported)  has  dis- 
appeared. Some  of  the  stairs  aud  pavements  to 
corridors  have  been  put  in  order,  and  most  of 
the  old  gangways  are  practicable  with  a  little 
exertion.  So  "  Les  Axenes "  still  serve  as  a 
theatre  for  the  display  of  certain  degenerate 
pa-s'times  and  exercises  with  cows  and  horses, 
and  other  various  nomadic  entertainments  of 
fetes  and  fairs. 

The  little  Corinthian  temple  of  Augustan  age, 
called  the  ' '  Maison  Carroe  ' '  was  for  some  time 
utilised  as  a  museum,  but  lately  the  collection 
has  been  removed,  and  the  place  is  empty  and 
closed.  The  exterior  is  in  good  order,  aud  won- 
derfully perfect,  although  it  bears  the  marks  of 
former  bad  usage. 

The  Temple  of  Diana,  which  is  altogether  a 
ruin,  with  only  a  small  portion  of  its  massive, 
vaulted  roof  remaining,  is  well  cared  for  and 
watched.  But,  very  properly,  as  little  as  pos- 
sible is  done  iu  the  way  of  repair.  The  broken 
and  falling  stones  are  left  as  naturally  as  is  con- 
sistent with  safety.  The  many  fragments  of 
walls  and  foundations  which  are  scattered  over 
the  hUl-side,  around  the  principal  hall,  are  get- 
tingrather  toomuch  concealed  with  the  luxuriant, 
and  aUo  destructive,  vegetation  :  but  there  is  a 
natural  picturesque  air  about  all  the  place  which 
is  very  pleasing.  A  raUing  protects  it  from 
irreverent  intruders.  The  tower  on  the  summit 
of  the  hill  (La  Tour  Slagnc)  was  repaired  long 
ago,  but  has  had  nothing  done  of  late,  and  is 
little  more  than  a  shapeless  pile  of  masonry,  con- 
taining a  staircase. 

The  Gate  of  Augustus  has  also  been  fenced 
around  and  repaired  ;  that  is,  the  stones  which 
remained  were  made  good,  or  replaced  with  new 
of  identical  form;  but  nothing  was  added  to 
complete  the  structure.  It  is  the  ruin,  not  the 
building,  which  is  restored. 

Of  the  subterranean  works  called  the  Roman 
baths,  there  now  remains  very  Uttle  antique 
amon^  the  fine  modem  terraces,  pools,  andcanals 
adorning  the  gardens.  ' 

Orange  has  two  celebrated  monuments— the 
theatre  and  the  triumphal  arch.  Upon  the 
former  there  is  employed  a  gang  of  masons,  who 
are  engaged  principally  in  replacing  the  upper- 
most remaining  stones  of  the  nearly  entire  lofty 
walls  of  the  northern  or  stage  side,  and  in 
certain  other  positions  where  the  decay  en- 
dangers the  structure.  Parts  of  the  facino-  are 
being  cut  out  and  renewed,  and  arches,  coping's 
&c.,  repaired.  Here,  a^ain,  all  modern  intru- 
sions have  been  cleared  away,  and  the  lar^^er 
forms  of  the  ancient  etUfice  remain  very  per- 
feetlv  defined;  but  the  decay  all  over  the  surface 
has  destroyed  almost  aU  the  detail.  Cornices 
pilasters,  archivolts.  &c.,  are  often  quite  ob- 
bteratcd  by  .the  action  of  the  weather,  and  the 
walls  present  only  traces,  by  which  their  former 
existence  may  be  inferred,  rather  than  any  re- 
mains of  them  Many  of  the  bolder  detaUs 
fr,",r!e°  f^fh  '""'"■^'■.  P'lrticularly  upon  the 
favade.  OfaUthe  magnificent  internal"  orders, 
and  decorations  of  marbles,  of  which  fran-ments 
dLsinterred  from  the  M.ns  attest  the  trZl 
b^lb  ,?;f '  7^  r"'""""  °"'y  ^''""'^'  '^  position. 
Til  f^  ""J*^  ^°''""7.  in  a  recess  in  the  wall 
The  tiers  of  seats,  which  on  one  side  had  a  sub- 

?  ,?„  llP""  '""^  ^"'Jt^'-  ''i'^il'i'-  to  those  of 
the  amphitheatres,  aud  on  the  other  side  were 

f  L  t°'°  ^^'  '^°P<'  "f  ^^^  l>i"  behind-aB 
MoretCLr;;r'^  much  mined  and  broken 
More  than  half  oftheiaultoftheprincipalcircUn- 
W?'J-  '  """'•  ''"'^  °f  t''«  ^^^ts  oSv  the  fi"e 
pown  „,i,.     shows  the  form  of  the  rest.  Nothin<^ 

prac  cable  Tb  ''"''  '"'^  P™^''^!^  noth^g  is 
practicable,  the  present  worka  are  confined  to 


the  facade  and  stage  walls,   and   the  halls   and 
lobbies  adjacent. 

The  triumphs!  arch  is  eurielied  with  very  fine 
and  elaborate  detail,  and  this,  of  course,  has 
suffered  much.  The  greater  part  of  the  mould- 
ings, and,  in  fact,  nearly  all  the  finished  face  of 
the  stone,  has  disappeared  ;  the  columns  and 
pedestals  are  almost  shapeless  masses,  with  here 
aud  there  a  portion  of  the  detail  remaining.  At 
the  N.E.  angle  a  quantity  of  the  upper  masonry 
of  cornice  and  attic  has  fallen,  but  this  is  the 
only  place  where  the  general  form  has  altered. 
The  restoration  lately  undertaken  has  been  con- 
fined to  the  western  end,  and  a  short  portion  of 
return  upon  the  fronts.  This  part  has  been 
entirely  reconstructed  with  new  stone,  but  with- 
out the  enrichments  and  finer  detail.  It  was, 
probably,  the  best  manner  of  restoration.  From 
all  other  sides  the  structtire  is  seen  in  its 
genuine  antiquity,  and  the  new  portion  serves  as 
a  key  or  explanation  to  those  things  which  are 
becoming  unintelligible. 

Aries  has  an  amphitheatre,  and  also  the 
remains  of  a  theatre,  which  latter,  although 
on  the  whole  far  less  complete  than  that 
at  Orange,  are  yet  very  valuable.  The  site  has 
been  cleared  of  buUdings  and  rubbish,  and 
fenced  around.  The  lower  tiers  of  seats  remain 
almost  perfect,  and  two  columns  of  the  internal 
order  of  the  stage  stand  yet,  with  a  fragment 
of  the  architrave.  The  remains  of  the  rest  of 
the  edifice  consists  of  only  a  few  courses  above 
the  ground-level,  Excavations  have  been  made 
to  reveal  portions  of  the  works  which  carried  the 
higher  tiers  of  seats  behind  those  remaining, 
and  the  stones  thus  discovered  have  been,  in 
most  cases,  renewed.  The  basement  of  the 
building  is  thus  very  clearly  seen,  but  nothing 
exists  of  any  elevatiou,  except  some  outer  waDs 
with  arches  and  pilasters,  &c.,  and  a  tower  at 
the  south  side,  which,  if  they  really  appertain 
to  thethta're,  are  rather  appendages  to  it  than 
parts  of  it.  Many  fragments  are  placed  in 
groups  for  inspection. 

The  amphitheatre  has  lately  been,  to  some 
extent,  repaired.  It  is  surpassed  in  the  matter 
of  completeness,  by  that  at  Nimes,  which  it 
much  resembled  ;  but,  like  that  one,  is  stUl  used 
for  various  exhibitions.  The  detail  is  still 
tolerably  clear  and  good,  iu  many  parts,  and, 
externally,  the  orders  and  arches  have  been 
sufficiently  well  restored;  but  the  communicating 
staircases,  &c. ,  are  much  out  of  order,  and  have 
been  only  slightly  repaired.  Indeed,  the  greater 
part  of  the  corridors  are  ruined  beyond  repair. 
Except  the  towers  (additions  of  later  date  over 
the  principal  portals),  there  are  very  few  stones 
above  the  arches  of  the  second  order,  which  stand 
complete,  and  finish  the  walls  with  a  fantastic 
kyliue  of  semicircles.  The  works  done  here 
have  been  only  those  strictly  necessary,  and  the 
same  may  almost  be  said  of  all  the  monuments 
here  mentioned.  But  it  will  be  understood  from 
these  notes  that  the  conservation  of  such  valu- 
able relics  is,  in  France,  acknowledged  as  a 
national  duty,  and  having  regard  to  the 
economy  demanded  of  governments  and  their 
ofiicers  in  these  days,  the  duty  is  being  fairly 
performed.  This  is  a  matter  in  which  a  little 
centralisation  is  beneficial,  and  of  which  En- 
laud  is  yet  something  too  careless,  in  trusting 
so  much  to  independent  opinion  for  the  proper 
treatment  of  her  historic  monuments. 

R.  "\y.  Gibson. 


LAND-SURVEYING. 

THE  modern  land-surveyor  pursues  a  profes- 
sion which,  iu  this  country,  became  a 
prominent  and  lucrative  one  dui-ing  the  intro- 
duction of  railways,  but  is  now  followed  as  a 
distinct  profession  by  comparatively  few  men.  In 
America  the  practice  of  land-surveying  is  gain- 
ing in  importance,  and  the  subject  has  received 
a  great  deal  of  attention.  The  geodetic  survey 
of  the  States,  and  some  of  the  great  river?,  like  the 
Delaware,  have  given  a  considerable  impulse  to 
the  art ;  the  valuable  riparian  rights  along  rivers 
flowing  through  great  cities  make  it  neces-^ary 
to  take  accurate  surveys  of  the  channel.  The 
engineers  of  Philadelphia  have  lately  been  dis- 
cussing the  necessity  for  a  thorough  survey  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  an  appropriation  from  the 
Legislaturj  towards  the  construction  of  reliable 
maps  of  each  county.  Like  ourselves,  it  appears 
the  people  of  Pennsylvania  suffer  from  the  want 
of  accurate  maps  of  the  country,  aud  that  imper- 
fect methods  are  still  in  use.     Mr.   C.  E.  Billin 


Prurtnlinrjs    of    the    Engineer^'    Club,     alludes 
to  the  importance  of  a  state  survey,  as  likely  to 
bring  out  many  important  points  in  connection 
with   data,    methods,    and   results,    and   to  the 
establishments   of   fixed  standards.      The  sur- 
veyors are  at  present  picked  from  men  ■without 
any  special  training  ;  their  work  is  very  simple ; 
they  are  expected  to  use  the  surveyor's  chain  and 
compass,  to   plot  courses,    and   calculate   areas 
within     boundaries ;     these     duties    are    often 
ignorantly  discharged,  though  even  intelligent 
surveyors  are  met  often  by  great  difficulties,  as 
in  the  tracing  of  boundary  lines  located  years 
ago    by    imperfect    means,    which    have   been 
erroneously    laid    down    or    obliterated.      The 
author  proposes  that  the  club  should  devote  its 
attention  to  the  correction  of  methods   still  in 
use,  to  the  extension  of  the   surveyor's  "work, 
and  to  giving  him  a  better  position.   The  author 
says  the  surveyor   "should  know  something  of 
the  art  of   correctly  representing  the  details  of 
the  surface    by   topographical    sketching,"   he 
should  know  the  elements  of  geology,  and  the 
relation  between  rocks,  ores,  and  soils,  so  that  he 
may  be  able  to  describe  the  natural  features  of 
the  surface.      The  value  of  maps  is  considerably 
enhanced  by  details  of  this  kind,  which   might 
lead  to  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  dis- 
tricts   little  known.      Mr.    Billin   also   rightly 
concludes  that   an   improvement  in   the   intel- 
lectual standard,  and  in  the  methods  of  work,  will 
lead  to  corresponding  advancement  in  surveyors' 
social  position.     The   paper   suggests   that   the 
club  issue  a  circular  to  all  surveyors  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, asking  for  their  advice  and  opinion  as  to 
the  advisability  of  calling  a  State   Convention 
under  the  auspices  of  the  club,  for  the  discussion 
of  rules,  standards,  measurements,   and  varia- 
tions  in    surveying.      The    importance   of  the 
land-surveyor's  work  cannot  he   properly  esti- 
mated by  the   imperfect  maps  commonly  used. 
The  aids  that  can  now  be   afforded  to  the  sur- 
veyor,   such    as    the    conclusions    of    geology, 
hydrogeology,  the  flow  of  rivers,  and  such  like, 
render  it  possible  to  record  results  of  the  most 
valuable  kind  to  the   engineer,   the  sanitarian, 
the    architect,    and    the    topographer.      As  an 
example   of   the    accurate    results   obtained  by 
careful   geodetic  surveys,  we  may  mention  the 
U.S.    Coast   Survey    of    the     Delaware    river, 
made  by  Mr.   Henry  Mitchell,  as  given  in  the 
same     Pi-occt-^llngs.       The     growth     of     Phila- 
delphia made  it  necessary  to  determine,  in   the 
interests  of  riparian  owners,  the  essential  channel 
of  the  river.     Mr.    Mitchell's  method   discards 
the  shore-line  and  tJtahceg  as  uncertain  elements, 
and  a  smooth  profile   from  actual  soundings  is 
found,  reduced  by  a  fonnula,  based  upon  certain 
type  forms  of  section.     The  mid-area  and  mid- 
volurae  are  not  always   representative  of   each 
other,  and  there  is  often  a  difficulty  in  solving 
questions  of  riparian  title.     Again,  it  is  known 
that  the  cross-sections  depend  upon  the  curva- 
tures of  the  river.    In  straisiht  reaches  the  cross- 
section  is  symmetrical ;  in  bends,   the   greater 
depth  is  nearer  the  concave  shore.  Mr.  Mitchell's 
generalised     formula    introduces    elements    of 
change  for  curves,   also  for  different  soils ;  but 
we  may  simply  add   that  forms  of  section  are 
given,  and  the  following  advantages  are  claimed 
for    these   formula:; :  That   they  determine   the 
normal  position  of  shore-lines  aud  the  tJnihceg^ 
by  deducing  them  from  all  the  measures  of  each 
cross-section  ;  they  decide  what  feature  iu  any 
cross-section  is  of  such  recent   origin  that  the 
stream  has  not  yet  accommodated  itself  to  the 
change,  and  they  decide  what  portion  of  any  sec- 
tion can  be  improved  by  dredging,  and  help  to 
determine  the  effects  of  proposed  structures,  and 
their  effect  on  the  channel. 


GLASGOW  INSTITUTE  OF  ARCHITECTS. 

i  SPECIAL  general  meeting  of  this  Insti- 
.TV  tute  was  held  on  Tuesday  week,  in  the 
writing  chambers  of  Messrs,  "U'illiam  and  C.  J. 
MacLcan,  196,  St.  Vincent-street,  Glasgow, 
Mr.  John  Honeyman,  the  President,  in  the  chair. 

Amongst  the  gentlemen  present  were  Messrs. 
James  Sellars,  jun.,  Vice-Pre.sident  ;  'William 
Landless,  treasurer;  William  MacLean,  writer 
and  secretary ;  John  Burnet.  Hugh  Barclay, 
Campbell  Douglas,  John  Hutchison,  A.  G. 
Thomson,  David  Thomson,  James  Thomson, 
Bath-street ;   William  F.  S.almon,  and  others. 

The  President  stated  that  pirt  of  the  business 
of  the  meeting  was   to  consider  what  was  to  be 


m  some  remarks  on  the  subject,  reported  in  the    done  with  reference  to  the  proposed  destruction 


Dec.  .31,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING   NEWS. 


7S9 


of  the  -n-c^t  end  of  St.  Alban's  Abbey.  Mr. 
T.  L.  "\\'at,-on  made  the  following  statement  on 
the  subject : — I  have  to  ask  your  attention  for  a 
^  moment  to  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
I  reconstruction  of  the  west  front  of  St.  Alban's 
has  been  determined.  During  the  last  seven 
years  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott's  life  the  Abbey  was 
imdergoing  restoration  at  bis  hand.s.  The  tower 
had  been  on  the  point  of  collapsing  and  was 
rendered  secure ;  the  marble  shrine  of  St. 
Alban's  was  discovered  and  put  together  again, 
and  the  south  wall  of  the  nave,  which  had  been 
bulging,  was  straightened.  The  ancient  nave- 
roof  was  found  to  be  decayed,  and  a  thoroughly 
conservative  restoration  had  been  commenced 
and  partly  carried  out.  Upon  Scott's  death  the 
absence  of  his  restraining  influence  was  at  once 
fblt.  The  CDntrol  of  the  work,  in  effect,  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Sir  Edmund  Beckett,  a  weU- 
knosvn  Q.C.,  a  writer  upon  architectural  and 
other  subjects,  and  a  member  of  the  committee 
who  took  charge  of  the  restoration.  Sir  GUbert 
Scott  died  in  March,  1S7S,  and  in  July  Sir  Ed- 
mund Beckett  decided  to  destroy  the  ancient 
nave  roof,  and  to  construct  a  new  one  at  a  steeper 
pitch.  A  storm  of  indignation  was  the  result  of  this 
decision.  The  Society  of  Antiquaries,  the  British 
Archfeological  Association,  the  Society  for  the 
Protection  of  Ancient  Buildings,  and  the  Royal 
Institute  of  British  Architects,  all  protested 
against  it.  Meetings  were  held,  papers  were 
read,  and  the  daily  press  was  burdened  with 
correspondence.  During  this  time  the  work  went 
quietly  forward.  Power  was  vested  in  the  com- 
mittee I  have  referred  to,  and  two  of  its  members 
proposed  that  the  architects,  the  sons  of  Sir 
Gilbert  Scott,  should  be  authorised  to  confer 
with  the  Institute  of  British  Architects  on  the 
subject  of  the  roof.  This  was  rejected  by  a 
majority  of  three,  and  the  two  members  intimated 
their  resignation.  Having  thus  got  rid 
of  the  opposing  element  in  the  com- 
mittee, the  next  step  proposed  to  be 
taken  was  the  destruction  of  the  existing  west 
front,  and  its  reconstruction  on  an  entirely  new 
design  by  Sir  Edmund  Beckett.  He  was,  how- 
ever, too  considerate  to  shock  public  feeling  by 
the  premature  announcement  of  his  whole  in- 
tention. In  Novembc-r,  1879,  a  notice  was 
affixed  to  the  south  door  of  the  Abbey  by  the 
.  Bishop,  to  the  effect  that  Sir  Edmund  Beckett 
had  applied  to  him  for  a  faculty  to  continue  the 
work  of  re^toration,  and  particularly  to  restore 
the  western  front  of  the  Abbey.  It  goes  on  to 
say  that  "the  Committee  have  exhausted  all 
the  funds,  and  hive  become  liable  under  contracts 
for  more  money  than  has  been  subscribed,  and 
have  no  prospect  of  being  able  to  do  any  more  at 
present  ;  that  the  said  Sir  E.  Beckett  is  willing 
to  continue  the  work  at  his  own  expense,  and 
particularly  to  restore  the  western  front  of  the 
Church.  An  intimation  is  given  that  in  the  ab- 
sence of  any  sufficient  cause  to  the  contrary,  a 
lie  .-nee  will  be  duly  granted  to  Sir  E.  Beckett 
for  the  purposes  aforesaid."  Soon  after 
Sir  Edmund  Beckett  applied  for  a  faculty 
from  the  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese.  A 
formal  objection  was  lodged,  but  afterwards 
withdrawn.  Only  Archdeacon  Grant  among 
the  parishioners  adhered  to  his  objection,  and  he 
was  supported  by  Earl  Cowper  and  Mr.  J. 
Evans.  After  some  preliminaries,  the  matter 
came  up  for  debate  before  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Diocese  on  April  24.  The  counsel  for  the  ob- 
jectors said  that  a  faculty  could  not  be  granted 
until  proper  plans  had  been  brought  in.  Sir 
Edmund  Beckett  replied  that  he  would  not  de- 
posit plans.  Did  he  consent  to  do  so,  he  would 
r  have  to  be  fool  enough  to  pay  Mr.  Scott  some 
£300  in  order  to  make  them,  and  then  perhaps 
he  might  not  get  the  faculty.  The  qtiestion,  he 
said,  really  came  to  this.  The  buUdiag  was 
stated  in  the  previous  faculty  to  be  in  a  ruinous 
condition.  There  was  no  doubt  about  it,  and 
now  came  the  point — Was  he  to  send  down  to 
St.  Alban's  and  say  "  Discharge  everyone."  If 
he  did,  then  he  had  a  right  to  say  that  the 
building  would  fall  down.  On  the  29th  April 
the  Chancellor  granted  the  faculty  and  said, 
"The  sin  sh.all  not  rest  at  my  door  for 
allowing  any  part  of  the  Cathedral  to  fall  do wn. " 
Sir  Edmund  Beckett  accordingly  gained  his 
point,  partly  by  the  representation  that  if  he  did 
not  he  would  withdraw  the  workmen  and  the 
building  would  fall — a  statement  which  I  need 
not  comment  upon — and  p.artly  by  an  implied 
undertaking  to  employ  a  qualified  architect.  Xot 
a  word  more  is  heard,  until  somi  weeks  ago, 
Mr.  H.  J.  Toulmin,  hon.  sec.  to  the  restoration 


conmiiltee,  and  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  had 
supported  the  granting  of  Sir  Edmund's  faculty, 
wi-ites,  in  a  letter  to  T/ie  Tims,  "  Sir  Edmund 
Bwkctt  has  now  given  orders  to  de.«troy  Abbot 
Wheathampsteai's  west  window,  and  to  replace 
it  with  a  window  of  his  own  composition."  This 
letter  is  the  first  intimation  of  his  purpose ;  it 
appears  only  after  the  order  has  been  issued,  and 
its  appearance  at  all  is  a  mire  accident.  Mr. 
Toulmin  further  says  :  "Sir  Edmund  is  cirrying 
out  his  own  wilful  way  against  the  remonstrance 
of  his  bishop,  and  the  wish  of  the  archdeacon, 
rector,  church  wardens,  sidesmen,  of  the  Abbey 
Church,"  and  ho  states  that  a  petition  against 
it  has  been  sent  to  the  bishop.  In  a  letter  to 
the  editor  of  T/te  Times  Sir  Edmund  replies,  "  I 
know  nothing  of  his  petition  to  the  bishop,  who 
has  no  more  power  in  the  matter  now  than  you 
have."  He  says  again,  "The  work  was  duly 
ordered  as  soon  as  the  drawings  were  sufficiently 
complete,  so  that  it  will  go  ou  if  I  am  murdered 
to-night;  and  if  all  the  crazy  societies  in  Eng- 
land pass  some  more  resolutions,  and  move  for 
the  injunctions  which  Mr.  J.  Toulmin  thinks  he 
understands  as  well  as  architecture — and  so  he  does, 
no  doubt."  In  spite  of  Sir  Edmund  Becliett's con- 
tempt for  any  opinion  but  his  o  wn,  I  suppose  that  we 
may  at  least  relieve  ourselves  from  any  share  of 
responsibility  in  his  work ;  and  there  are  two 
separate  points  on  which,  as  a  society  of  archi- 
tects, we  have  a  right  to  pronounce.  First,  as 
to  the  destruction  of  the  great  west  window,  and 
second,  as  to  the  carrying  into  execution  of  such 
I  a  design  as  Sir  Edmund  Beckett's.  Abbot 
Wheathampstead's  window  dates  from  the  early 
part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  one  of  great 
historical  and  architectural  interest,  and  it  con- 
I  nects  itself  naturallj-  with  work  of  the  same  date 
ia  other  parts  of  the  Abbey,  which  Sir  Edmund 
has  not  j-et  announced  his  intention  of  destroy- 
ing. I  submit  that  the  proposal  is  an  outrage 
upon  the  intelligence  of  this  countrj-.  If  the 
parishioners  of  St.  Alban's  permit  it  to  be 
carried  out,  they  will  well  deserve  the  worst  that 
Sir  Edmund  Beckett  can  do  to  their  ccthedral. 
The  architects  of  this  country  have  had  the  good 
fortune  to  influence  the  Government  of  Italy  to- 
wards preventing  the  injury  that  was  about  to 
be  iuflicted  on  S\  Mark's  at  Venice.  Are  we 
now  to  wait  fur  the  architects  of  Italy  to  memo- 
rialise the  Brilish  Government  about  the  in- 
jury impending  over  St.  Alban's  f  If  the 
best  design  that  could  be  got  were  sub- 
stituted, the  destruction  would  still  be  matter  for 
regret ;  but  let  us  look  at  what  is  proposed.  I 
will  not  attempt  to  criticise  the  architectural 
qualities  of  Sir  Edmund's  Beckett's  design.  It 
is  the  work  of  one  so  ignorant  of  Gothic  design 
that  he  is  not  even  aware  of  his  own  ignorance. 
As  the  drawing  itself  is  before  you,  it 
would  be  waste  of  words  to  say  more. 
Let  me  now  quote  a  sentence  from  Sir  Gilbert 
Scott's  description  of  the  three  porches  of  this 
front.  "I  doubt,"  he  says,  "whether  there 
exi^ts  in  England  a  work  so  perfect  in  art  as  the 
half-ruined  western  portals  of  St.  Alban's.  I 
venerate  the  architect  who  designed  them." 
These  are  the  portals  which  Sir  Edmund 
Beckett  is  now  engaged  in  restoring,  and  upon 
which  he  is  engrafting  his  own  horrible  inven- 
t  ons.  "The  great  majority  of  ancient  build- 
ings" (lam  quoting  Sir  Gilbert  Scott  again)  "  are 
committed  to  the  mercy  of  a  herd  who  trample 
them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  against 
and  rend  all  objectors."  It  is  the  misfortune  of 
this,  the  first  of  English  abbeys,  that  it  is  not 
even  committed  to  the  mercy  of  such  a  herd,  but 
that  it  has  been  delivered  over  absolutely  into 
the  hands  of  one  who  has  already  distinguished 
himself  by  its  reckless  mutUatiou,  and  who  is 
still  eager  for  further  destruction. 

After  some  discussion  the  following  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted  : — "That  the  Institute 
record  their  strong  disapproval  of  any  unneces- 
sary destruction  of  the  Mediieval  portion  of  the 
west  front  of  St.  Alban's  Abbey,  and  protest 
against  the  proposed  reconstruction  according 
to  the  design  illustrated  in  the  Bi-u-niNa  News 
of  the  2Cth"Xovcmber  last."  It  was  further  re- 
solved that  a  copy  »t  the  above  resolution  should 
be  sent  to  the  Bishop  of  St  Alban's  and  to  Sir 
Edmund  Beckett.  The  chairman  referred  to 
the  proceedings  of  the  Town  CounoU  on  the 
previous  day,  and  said  he  was  sure  it  would  be 
gratifying  to  the  members  to  find  that  thecourse 
which"  the  Institute  Lad  so  unanimously  approved 
of  and  advocated  two  years  ago,  in  regard  to 
general  building  regulations,  was  now  likely  to 
be  followed  by  the  Town  Council. 


THE   ENGINEERS   OF  rniLADELPIIIA. 

THE  proceedings  of  the  "EngireW  Club  o{ 
Philadelphia "  contain  a  fuiily  miscel- 
laneous list  of  subjects  of  special  value.  The 
"Lighthouse  system  of  the  Delaware  river, 
from  the  head  of  the  bay  to  Philadelphia,"  by 
Edward  Parrish,  is  an  interesting  paper,  and 
describes  the  river  approaches  to  one  of  the 
great  cities  of  the  West  worthy  of  the  scien- 
tific foresight  of  American  engineering.  The 
increasing  commerce  of  the  port  has  led  to 
the  erection  of  IS  new  lighthouses  and  other 
facilities  for  marking  tlio  ship  cliannel,  so  as  to 
avoid  detention  by  anchorage  of  heavy  draft 
vestcls  up  the  river.  The  river  Delaware  is 
very  tortuous  in  its  course,  and  its  channel 
exceedingly  so.  The  system  described  by  Mr. 
Parri.sh  is  that  known  as  "  range  or  leading 
lights,"  and  may  be  described  to  be  the  ranging 
of  axial  Hues  of  the  river's  channel,  the  ranges  or 
lines  so  made  intersecting  one  another  in  deep 
water.  Vessels  following  these  lines  safely  pro- 
ceed on  their  journey.  The  lighthouses  are 
fixed  in  po.sitions  after  careful  surveys  of  the 
channel  have  determined  the  best  lines.  Each 
line  is  prolonged  on  shore,  or  into  shoal  water, 
where  the  diffii^ulty  of  construction  would  be 
least.  "The  front  light  is  only  of  sufficient 
height  to  be  visible  at  the  most  distant  point  at 
which  the  range  is  to  be  used,"  while  the  rear 
light  is  of  considerable  elev.ation  so  as  to  appear 
over  the  front  from  all  points  of  the  range  at  a 
minimum  angle  of  4  minutes  to  prevent  the 
former  from  hiding  the  latter.  Between  these 
lights  a  distance  is  set  out  of  about  one  sixth 
the  length  of  the  range  Une,  though  topo- 
graphical features  determine  this  point.  'The 
first  group  of  lights  met  with  marks  two  reaches 
of  the  channel ;  the  front  beacon  is  a  small 
frame  house  on  the  shore,  the  light  being  ex- 
hibited from  a  lantern  room  .30ft.  above  the 
water,  the  rear  beacon  is  ly  miles  distant,  and 
is  a  wrought  iron  tower  Sft.  in  diameter,  and 
leading  by  a  cast-iron  stairway  to  the  light 
120ft.  above  base,  and  ISoft.  above  water  level. 
The  tower  is  constructed  of  six  inclined  posts  of 
wrought  iron,  braced  together  by  radial  and 
lateral  ties.  It  is  imnecessary  to  say  that  other 
ranges  are  described  having  similar  construc- 
tion, and  the  entire  system  is  expected  to  be 
completed  during  the  present  year,  which  will 
make  the  Delaware  one  of  the  best-lighted 
rivers  in  the  world. 

An  interesting  paper  on  "Rock  Drills" 
follows,  by  F.  L.  Miller,  in  which  a  contrast  is 
drawn  between  the  rock  drill  introduced  in  boring 
the  Hoosac  tunnel  in  IS6G,  and  the  last  contri- 
vance. The  earlier  drill  was  used  in  that  work, 
and  was  found  so  successful  that  it  was  generally 
adopted.  It  was  a  simple  machine,  cylindrical 
in  shape,  3ft.  long,  and  about  4in.  diameter. 
It  resembled  a  steam  cylinder,  and  contained  a 
piston  whose  rod  extended  through  one  head  of 
the  cylinder,  and  a  reciprocating  motion  was 
given  to  the  drill  besides  a  rotary  motion  by 
which  the  "  bit "  was  kept  turning  on  its  axis 
while  the  machine  was  kept  running,  and 
another  forward  motion  as  the  rock  was  cut 
away.  Drawings  are  given  which  explain  the 
mechanical  construction.  This  drill  struck  300 
blows  per  minute,  and  was  operated  by  a  pres- 
sure of  GOlb.  per  square  inch.  The  author  goes 
on  to  mention  five  cla.sscs  of  rock  drills — em- 
bracing the  lever  system,  the  duplex  system,  as 
Sommeiller's  and  Ferrau.x's  ;  the  rotary,  as  the 
diamond  drill  and  Brandt's  ;  and  the  direct- 
acting  system  including  Darlington's,  Schram's, 
and  Reynolds'.  A  drawing  is  given  of  a  per- 
cussion drill,  by  Sergeant,  invented  in  1878, 
which  dispenses  with  all  troublesome  cams  and 
devices  for  imparting  the  feed.  The  arrange- 
ment is  simple;  it  consists  of  two  exhaust  ports 
and  passages,  and  a  chamber  encircling  the 
piston.  Steam  or  compressed  air  ia  admitted  to 
the  steam-chest,  and  the  v.alve  is  made  to  move 
automatically.  The  largest  drill  h.as  an  inside 
diameter  of  oin.,  and  a  length  of  stroke  of  6  to 
7in.,  the  depth  of  hole  the  machine  will  bore  is 
40ft.,  and  i'.s  diameter  from  3  to  6in.,  and  an 
average  of  70  to  SOft.  in  granite  per  10  hours  is 
stated.  The  author  concludes  by  hinting  the 
probability  that  we  may  eventually  have  a 
machine  capable  of  steadily  excavating  a  clean 
cylindrical  hole  of  the  full  diameter  of  the 
tunnel,  by  rotary  or  percussive  motion.  Another 
paper  deals  with  the  Mexico  and  Vera  Cruz 
railroad,  by  Coleman  Sellers ;  a  single  track 
road  260  nules  long,  passing  through  hot   and 


790 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


level  coasts,  and  over  ranges  of  mountains 
7,000ft.  above  the  sea.  The  bridges  are  of  iron 
built  in  England,  and  are  of  plate  and  lattice 
girders  resting  on  cast-iron  columns.  "  A  new 
methodforthequantitative  determination  of  com- 
bined carbon  in  cast-iron  and  steel "  is  the  title 
of  another  paper,  by  D.  Townsend  ;  after  which 
a  long  paper  by  Kudolph  Hering,  C.E.,  on 
the  future  sewerage  requirements  of  Phila- 
delphia, is  introduced.  The  question  of  the 
ma-ximum  amount  of  sewage  that  can  be  allowed 
in  drinking-water  is  first  considered,  and  it  is 
assumed  that  the  greatest  amount  permissible 
is  3  parts  of  organio  refuse  in  100,000  parts  of 
water  by  weight.  It  is  shown  that  the  Dela- 
ware river,  during  a  drought,  becomes  impure 
and  unwholesome.  The  author  i)roceeds  to 
discuss  how  pollution  may  be  prevented  by 
intercepting  sewers,  and  notices  the  scheme  of 
Mr.  Darrach,  and  sketches  the  outline  of  another 
system  which  treats  each  natural  drainage  area 
by  itself,  and  allows  the  discharge  to  take 
place  at  the  lowest  point.  Mr.  Hering  clearly 
argues  that  to  carry  out  a  thorough  scheme  it 
is  necessary  to  bmld  sections  of  the  intercepting 
sewers  discharging  by  gravity  directly  ;  so  that 
they  may  answer  for  future  as  well  as  present 
requirements.  The  position  of  the  ultimate 
outfall  for  the  Philadelphia  sewage  is  discussed, 
and  a  point  below  the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill 
is  suggested.  The  author's  paper  seems  to 
provide  a  well  thought-out  system  of  intercept- 
ing sewage,  operating  by  gravity  ;  and  it  may  be 
well  if  the  authorities  of  Philadelphia  were  to 
accept  in  time  the  principles  laid  down,  rather 
than  find  themselves  committed  to  a  more  costly 
and  less  perfect  scheme  in  the  future.  The 
notes  and  communications  are  full  as  usual  of 
interesting  matter. 


SAOTTAET  SCIENCE  IN  AMERICA. 

AT  the  eighth  annual  meeting  of  the  Ameri- 
can Public  Health  Association,  at  New 
Orleans,  Dec.  8  and  9,  the  President,  Dr.  J.  S. 
Billings,  U.S.A.,  gave  an  address,  in  which  he 
laid  it  down  as  one  of  the  duties  of  that  associa- 
tion to  use  its  influence  to  induce  the  legislative 
authorities  to  provide  for  scientific  sanitary  in- 
vestigations, and  to  see  that  these  are  committed 
to  proper  persons,  and  are  duly  published. 

"We  have,"  said  he,  "  already  done  something 
in  this  respect,  as  regards  the  work  of  the  Yellow 
Fever  Commission  and  of  the  National  Board  of 
Health  ;  but  we  ought  to  do  more.  The  report 
of  the  Yellow  Fever  Commission,  although  com- 
pleted, has  not  been  published,  and  the  same  is 
true  as  regards  the  Report  of  the  Havana  Yel- 
low Fever  Commission  of  the  National  Board. 
These  reports  have  been  prepared  by  competent 
men,  with  much  laboiir  and  at  considerable  ex- 
pense, forming  a  substantial  addition  to  our 
knowledge  of  this  sphinx  of  diseases  ;  and  it 
would  te  well  if  this  association  would  formally 
urge  their  speedy  publication. 
_  "At  the  recent  meeting  in  Boston  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Prof. 
Barker  gave  an  eloquent  oration  on  the  problem 
of  life,  in  which  he  declares  that  though  the 
answer  is  not  yet,  '  and  though  the  Ignis 
/atidis  of  life  stiU  dances  over  the  bogs  of  our 
misty  knowledge,  yet  its  true  character  cannot 
finally  elude  our  investigation.' 

"The  prediction  maj-  be  over-sanguine  ;  but 
the  best  and  most  highly-cultured  brains  in  the 
world  are  attacking  the  problem  ou  all  sides, 
with  the  balance  and  the  microscope,  with  the 
culture  cell  wherein  we  may  almost  see  the 
evolutions  of  the  simplest  organisms,  or  with  the 
plethysmograph,  upon  whose  index  we  may  read 
off  the  intensity  of  the  thought  of  the  person  to 
whom  it  is  applied  ;  and  within  a  few  years  we 
may  hope  for  great  advances  in  our  knowledge 
of  ntal  processes,  and  of  the  circiuustances 
which  favour  or  hinder  those  processes.  Now 
all  such  advances  are  advances  in  sanitary  science 
also.  It  is  probable,  that  is  to  say  it  is  more 
than  an  even  chance,  that  if  we  knew  the  whole 
hfe-history  of  half  a  dozen  minute  organisa- 
tions, with  the  reactions  which  occur  between 
these  and  surroimding  media,  such  as  air,  water, 
and  organic  matter  of  various  kinds,  dead  or 
linng,  we  should  know  the  causes  of  some  of  our 
most  destructive  diseases,  and  could  proceed 
■with  their  prevention  upon  truly  scientific 
principles. 

"  The  work  of  educating  the  people  as  to  the 
importance  of  sanitary  measures  has  progressed 


well  during  the  past  year,  and  has  been  carried 
on,  not  only  by  physicians,  but  by  the  pulpit 
and  the  press. 

"  The  growing  interest  of  the  clergy  in  public 
health  matters  is  very  satisfactory,  since  it  is 
desirable  for  the  sake  of  both  religion  and  hy- 
giene, that  clergymen  of  all  denominations 
should  be  practical  sanitarians.  Foul  air,  food 
badly  cooked,  impure  water  supplj',  and  dirty 
skins  are  responsible  for  a  vast  amount  of  sin 
and  crime,  and  ignorance  and  filth  are  Siamese 
twins.  All  clergymen  recognise  the  facts  in  a 
theoretical  sort  of  way,  but  many  of  them  do  not 
see  that  it  is  their  duty  to  qualify  themselves  to 
give  to  theirparishioners  practical  advice  to  secure 
cleanliness  as  well  as  godliness.  Nor  is  the  ne- 
cessity for  such  advice  confined  by  any  means 
to  the  occupants  of  shanties  and  of  tenement- 
houses.  The  health  and  cheerfulness,  and  con- 
sequently the  morality,  of  the  families  of  many 
of  those  who  pay  for  the  best  pews  in  many  of 
our  most  fashionable  churches  would  be  greatly 
improved  if  they  had  purer  air  to  breathe  in 
their  houses.  A  faulty  system  of  hoiise-drain- 
age  will  produce  not  only  actual  sickness  and 
death,  but  lassitude,  want  of  appetite,  weari- 
ness, and  fretfulness,  dissatisfaction  among  and 
with  the  servants,  and  a  pessimistic  state  of 
mind  with  regard  to  things  in  general,  upon 
which  the  weekJy  sermon  will  have  very  little 
influence. 

Let  the  clergyman  learn  to  recognise  the  real, 
palpable,  material  bogies  which  lie  in  his  path, 
and  how  these  are  to  be  destroyed  or  driven 
away  ;  let  him  obtain  sufScient  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  physics,  physiology,  and  evidence  to  keep 
him  from  certifying  blindly  to  the  efiiciency  of 
patent  nostrums  of  various  kinds  ;  let  him  imder- 
staud  the  difi:erence  between  skin-plumbing  and 
good  work,  between  a  proper'y  ventilated  church 
and  one  in  which  the  occupants  run  great  risks 
of  either  a  headache  or  a  cold,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  he  will  have  doubled  his  usefulness. 
The  daily  or  weekly  newspaper  is  also  doing 
efllective  work  in  diffusing  sanitary  information 
in  this  country. 

"'UTiilemuchof  the  cheap  and  easy  declamation 
about  sanitary  matters  which  is  so  prevalent,  is 
of  the  nature  of  an  advertisement,  yet  the  froth 
and  scum  shows  that  there  is  a  current  beneath, 
and  to  a  great  extent,  its  direction.  Slowly  but 
steadily  there  has  arisen  and  is  growing,  a  belief 
that  much  of  our  sickness  and  death  is  prevent- 
able, that  we  ought  to  be  able  to  make  our  cities 
as  healthy  as  the  country,  to  lengthen  the  aver- 
age duration  and  increase  the  comfort  of  human 
life,  and  from  people  of  all  conditions,  capitalists 
and  labourers,  from  the  mills  and  workshops  of 
the  North,  the  crowded  streets  of  our  great  cities, 
and  the  low  lying  malarious  prairies  and  swamps 
of  the  West  and  South,  comes  to  the  educated 
and  thinking  men  of  the  country,  to  the 
engineering,  and  lawyers  and  legislators  as 
well  as  to  the  physicians,  a  demand  to  put 
away  these  plagues  which  consume  our  children. 
To  meet  this  demand  requires  knowledge  and 
labour;  and  here  surely  knowledge  is  power: 
and  without  it  much  of  the  labour  must  be  mis- 
directed and  in  vain. 

"  Our  knowledge  of  the  causes  of  disease  is 
confessedly  fragmentary  and  imperfect ;  it  is  easy 
to  speak  of  foul  air  and  foul  water  in  this  con- 
nection ;  but  our  ideas  as  to  what  constitutes 
foulness  are  as  yet  far  from  clear.  Drinking 
w.ater  contaminated  with  organic  matter  or  even 
with  sewage  does  not  always  produce  disease  ; 
that  is,  immediately  preceptible ;  if  it  did,  the 
majority  of  our  villages,  both  North  and  South, 
would  be  a  hospital  camp.  Breatliing  foul  air, 
sewer-gas,  etc.,  is  not  surely  morbific ;  if  it 
were,  the  inhabitants  of  our  great  cities  would 
be  a  race  of  invalids.  We  do  not  fciiou-  why  the 
fever  spreads  one  year  like  fire  in  the  dry  grass, 
while  in  another  year  it  is  confined  to  one  or  two 
Umited  localities.  AVe  do  not /vioic  why  of  late 
years  malaria  has  been  steadily  increasing  along 
the  New  England  Coast,  nor  'why  it  alternates 
with  typhoid  on  the  moimtain  tides  of  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia.  When  I  say  we  do  not 
/vu.ic  these  things,  I  used  the  word 'know'  in 
the  scientific  sense  as  conferring  the  power  of 
prediction. 

Every  one  who  has  made  personal  investiga- 
tions iu  such  matters,  can  readily  recall  instances 
where  apparently  vigorous  health  flourishes  in 
.<pito  of  the  most  unsanitary  surroundings — 
where  he  has  seen  strong  and  ruddy  children 
playing  in  the  filthiest  alleys  and  hovels, 
where  he   has   found   children   packed  in  close 


school -rooms  almost  like  sardines  in  a  box,  and 
has  been  unable  to  prove  that  any  marked  effect 
on  health  has  been  produced,  and  where  men 
have  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  in  spite  of  the 
habitual  use  of  alcohol  and  the  most  indigestible 
foods,  and  of  reckless  exposure  and  dissipation  of 
all  kinds. 

It  is  little  wonder  that  men  who  are  not 
well-trained  iu  scientific  methods  of  thougt 
shotild,  on  meeting  with  these  exceptional 
cases  (for  although  numerous,  they  are  excep- 
tional), be  disposed  to  deny  that  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  sanitary  science.  So  far  as  personal 
hygiene  is  concerned,  each  man  must  to  a  great 
extent  be  a  law  unto  himself,  and  learn  by  per- 
sontil  experience,  what  to  do  and  what  to  avoid, 
though  the  experience  often  kills  him  about  the 
time  when  the  lesson  has  been  acquired.  The 
young  man  in  good  health  and  spirits,  who 
hardly  knows  that  he  has  a  stomach,  has  a  sort 
of  good-humoured  contempt  for  those  who  advise 
prudence  as  regards  tobacco  or  liquor,  late  sup- 
pers, ic. ,  and  is  inclined  to  think  that  his  mentors 
would  if  they  could,  iu  which  he  is  not  wholly 
mistaken,  for  it  is  one  thing  to  preach,  and 
another  thing  to  practise.  From  another  point 
of  view  it  may  seem  that  we  have  little  or  no 
power  over  the  catises  of  disease,  and  that,  as 
Parkes  suggests,  it  may  not  be  intended  that 
man  should  be  healthy.  This  is  going  back  to 
the  old  Greek  fate  Avajky  Aai;)orc,'ur.  The 
foundation  upon  which  all  science  rests,  is  the 
belief  that  like  causes  under  like  circumstances 
produce  like  effects.  '  The  curse  causeless  shall 
not  come.'  We  do  not  believe  that  disease 
comes  by  chance,  or  by  the  interTestion  of 
special  Providences,  but  in  accordance  with  fixed 
laws,  and  we  are  by  no  means  disposed  to  fold 
our  hands  in  a  despairing  Nihilism.  "Do  not 
let  us  devote  ourselves  to  the  Fates  while  we  yet 
may  have  hope  in  the  gods." 

' '  We  do  not  know  much,  but  we  know  some- 
thing— enough  certainly  to  make  it  clear  that 
we  can  know  more,  and  that  sickness  and  death 
are  due  to  -he  same  things  and  forces  which 
rightly  used  and  guided  will  produce  fertile 
fields  and  length  of  days.  And  we  know- 
enough  already  to  be  able  to  improve  greatly 
the  sanitary  conditions  of  many  places  if  we 
could  only  get  this  knowledge  applied.  The 
majority  of  our  cities  are  blundering  along  in  a 
pur-blind  and  perfunctory  sort  of  way,  doing 
much  bad  and  wasteful  work,  spending  large 
sums  to  bring  water  into  each  citizen's  house, 
but  making  no  provision  to  remove  this  same 
water  after  it  has  been  made  foul  by  use,  thus 
compelling  dangerous  air  and  soil-pollution, 
building  sewers  on  improper  plans  and  without 
sufficient  consideration  as  to  the  future  eiten- 
sion  of  the  city,  often  making  them  little  moie 
than  long  subterranean  cess-pools  generating 
offensive  and  dangerous  gases,  and  so  locating 
their  outlets  as  to  contaminate  the  water  supply 
of  their  neighbours.  They  -wUl  spend  millions 
on  marble  city  halls,  and  civic  displays,  and  yet 
withhold  the  few  thousands  necessary  to  pro- 
vide properly  lighted  and  veutUated  school- 
houses  for  their  children." 


ARUNDEL  CASTLE. 

THE  TTest  Sussex  Gazette  gives  a  fuU  descrip- 
tion of  the  principal  seat  of  the  Howards, 
and  an  account  of  what  has  been  done  and  what 
is  to  be  done  there.  From  this  article  we  have 
made  the  following  abstract  of  those  details- 
which  possess  the  most  general  interest : — 

On  the  principal  floor,  the  diawing-room, 
ante-room,  and  library  have  undergone  most  ex- 
pensive alterations.  And  from  (in  parts)  almost 
Classic  to  Early  Gothic,  the  transition  has  been 
carried  out  with  excellent  effect,  the  rooms  now 
presenting  a  characteristic  Mediaeval  splendour. 
The  windows  have  been  re-arranged  and  fitted 
with  appropriate  ornamental  glazing,  heraldic 
devices,  with  borders,  being  used  where  colour 
is  employed.  The  chimney-pieces,  familiar  from 
interior  photographs,  have  also  been  remo  ved,  and 
artistic,  highly-wrought  examples  of  the  style  of 
the  period  desired  to  be  reproduced  substituted. 
But  it  is  externally  that,  according  to  that  great 
critic— the  British  public,  the  alterations  can 
best  be  described  as  "  Prodigious  \  "  First  and 
foremost  is  the  removal  of  the  ivy.  One  would 
really  think  it  was  the  ivy  made  the  castle, 
from  the  amount  of  horror  that  the  loss  h.as  called 
forth  during  the  jjrogress  ;  but  now  the  scaffolds 
are  removed,   and   the   general   outline   of    the 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING  NEWS. 


791 


:iltered  dtsign  can  be  judged,  the  unanimous 
opinion  is  that  the  loss  need  no  longer  be  de- 
plored. Tae  new  chimney-stacks  required  by 
the  remova.  of  the  forest  of  ' '  tallboys  ' '  are  a 
successful  architectural  feature,  and,  with  the 
various  turrets,  make  a  marked  improvement  in 
the  sky-line  and  general  effect  of  this  iiue  front, 
which,  with  the  addition  of  the  new  buildings 
forming  the  private  apartments,  extends  above 
100  yards.  The  remains  of  the  old  wall  and 
buttresses,  with  the  old  bastion,  which  were 
still  standing,  have  been  retained,  and  form 
now  a  portion  of  the  general  structure  of  anti- 
quarian interest.  The  front  of  the  library 
to  the  courtyard  has  also  been  re- 
modelled. Formerly  the  windows  of  the 
library  and  the  rooms  above  were  all  in  one. 
These  have  been  taken  out,  and  replaced  by  dis- 
tinct windows  to  each  iloor.  The  oriel,  turrets, 
and  string-courses  have  also  been  revised  to 
harmonise  with  the  new  block  adjoining,  now 
just  ready  for  occupation. 

Internally,  the  stability  is  even  more  impres- 
sive ;  the  double  suite  cf  rooms  just  handed  over 
are  in  the  fullest  sense  the  private  apartments. 
There  is  a  breakfast  and  billiard-room,  which 
adjoin  the  library,  for  general  use,  communicat- 
ing with  the  boudoir  of  the  Duchess,  which 
measures  .55ft.  by  24ft.  It  is  lighted  on  three 
sides,  to  the  court,  Dutch  garden,  and  east  front. 
Communications  are  provided  to  the  rampart, 
garden,  and  by  turret  stairs  to  a  private  sitting- 
room  on  the  floor  above.  The  rooms  are  all  ISft. 
high,  and  the  mantelpieces,  fittings,  &c.,  are  all 
specially  designed  for  their  various  positions. 
What  sculpture  is  used  for  decoration  is  Early 
in  character,  heraldry  being  generally  dis- 
played. The  shield.s  are  in  colour,  making  the 
charging  very  distinct.  The  beams,  joists, 
floors,  ceUings,  doors,  in  fact,  all  fittings,  are  of 
English  oak.  There  is  an  entrance  from  the 
courtyard,  giving  direct  communication  to  aU 
the  floors  by  a  most  massive  oak  staircase,  the 
treads  being  all  soHd,  so,  if  requisite,  that 
portion  could  be  used  quite  distinct  from  the 
castle  generally. 

The  kitchens,  larders,  *.tc.,  are  now  discon- 
nected from  the  m;iin  building,  and  will  have  a 
barbican  and  separate  approach.  The  recently- 
added  block  of  offices  is  constructed  and  fitted 
with  every  attention  to  ventilation  and  the 
utilisation  of  steam,  gas,  &c.  The  service  has 
also  had  some  attention,  the  plate  closet  having 
undergone  enlargement  and  being  made  fire  and 
thief  proof.  A  system  of  hot-water  apparatus 
has  been  applied  to  the  whole  of  the  castle,  and 
about  two  miles  of  pipes  have  been  used  in  per- 
fecting it :  as  occasion  requires,  it  can  be  applied 
to  portions  or  the  whole  of  the  building  as  may 
be  desired.  The  lead  flat  of  thereof  over  pantry 
has  been  connected  with  the  corridor  by  a  light 
landing,  with  an  ornamental  parapet.  The  bells 
have  been  removed,  and  electric  communication 
.substituted  throughout. 

As  to  the  further  alterations  in  contempla- 
tion, the  first  thing  necessary  will  be  to  "clear 
the  site,"  which  will  require  the  removal  of  the 
whole  block  of  buildings  at  present  forming  the 
oast  front  to  the  quadrangle,  also  the  present 
access  to  the  keep,  as  the  whole,  from  the  Xor- 
nian  gateway  to  the  S.E.  wing,  will  be  utilised 
to  carry  out  the  new  design.  The  only  portion 
of  the  old  walls  retaioel  wiU  be  the  external 
rampart,  which  will  again  be  worked  in  to  its 
original  use.  Approached  from  the  grand 
corridor  the  new  hall  will  be  on  the  same  level, 
and  there  will  be  a  separate  entrance,  with  the 
necessary  conveniences  for  the  arrival  and  de- 
parture of  guests,  provided  from  the  quadrangle. 
The  chapel  is  in  direct  communication  and  ad- 
joining the  hall  and  reception  portion  of  the 
building.  The  basement  is  to  be  divided  into  hall 
porter,  waiting,  steward,  servants'  hall,  and 
kitchen  corridor.  All  the  offices  are  of  good  size ; 
the  servants'  haU,  supported  on  a  double-row  of 
pillars,  is  7.5t"t.  by  2.5ft.,  and  if  requisite,  the 
steward's  room  can  be  added  when  extra  space 
is  necessary.  The  hall  porter  will  be  located  in 
the  ground  floor  of  the  round  tower,  his  apart- 
ment being  2-lft.  in  diameter.  It  is  this  tower  that 
will  form  the  conspicuous  change  in  the  new  build- 
ings, and  from  its  height  and  bulk — it  being  at 
extreme  90ft.  high,  by  36ft.  diameter — be  a  land 
mark,  standing,  as  it  will,  directly  opposite  the 
approach  from  Ford.  It  will  have  a  basement, 
with  groined  ceiling,  and  a  sally  port,  giving  a 
short  cut  to  the  town,  or  stables,  on  emergency. 
The  great  Hall  will  be,, when  completed,  one  of 
the  largest  of  those  in  any  private  building  in  the 


kingdom  available  for  similar  purposes.  The 
extreme  length  internally  is  133ft.,  width  38ft., 
and  the  height  to  wall- plate  S.ift.  ;  the  roof  is  of 
the  double  hammer-beam  style,  and  the  timbers, 
which  will  be  wrought,  exposed.  There  will  be 
a  dais  of  two  steps,  and  on  the  side  to  the  court- 
yard is  the  bay,  which  will  have  an  elaborate 
sideboard.  The  entrance  from  the  south-west 
wing  is  on  the  level,  and  in  direct  communica- 
tion with  the  principal  corridor  and  present 
dining-room.  Over  the  entrance  is  a  small  ladies' 
gallery,  which  can  be  reached  without  entering 
the  hall.  The  fireplace  is  on  the  west  side,  and 
is  central.  The  chimney  piece  will  form  part  of 
the  structure,  and  reach  up  to  just  below  the 
wall-plate.  At  the  further  end  is  the  minstrels' 
gallery,  which  also  forms  the  lobby  underneath 
between  the  reception-rooms,  &c.  The  steps  to 
the  gaUery  from  the  body  of  the  hall  being 
formed  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  will  not  in- 
terfere with  the  line  of  building,  and  the  arcade 
giving  the  necessary  light  makes  a  pretty  fea- 
ture. The  materials  are  treated  with  simplicity, 
and  are  white  Mansfield  stone  and  old  English 
oak — of  which  wood  there  is  already  provided 
some  hundreds  of  tons  to  be  in  condition  for  the 
time  it  is  required. 

The  chapel  will  be  bold  and  massive  in  cha- 
racter. Internally  it  will  be  at  extreme,  78ft. 
by  26ft.,  and  consists  of  a  chancel,  nave,  and 
aisle.  At  the  north  side  will  be  the  chantry,  22ft. 
by  10ft.,  and  there  will  bo  a  tribune  supported 
on  a  double  row  of  shafts,  with  groined  ceiling 
on  a  level,  and  in  communication  with  the 
principal  floor  of  the  castle.  Access  to  the 
aisle  is  given  by  steps  in  arcade  in  wall,  allow- 
ing the  whole  width,  2Gft.,  for  the  front  of 
tribune.  The  chancel  is  apsidal,  surroimded  by 
elaborately  sculptured  and  moulded  arcade,  and 
has  a  sacristy  adjoining.  The  roof  of  nave  and 
aisle  are  of  stone,  groined,  the  ribs,  like  the 
whole  of  the  ashlar,  &c. ,  used,  being  of  Caen 
stone.  The  cells  will  be  filled  with  chalk  of  the 
neighbourhood.  The  nave  is  divided  from  the 
aisle  by  pillars  with  sculptured  caps,  from  which 
spring  the  groined  ribs,  which  have  bosses  at  the 
intersections ;  the  height  is  26ft.  to  springing, 
and  36ft.  to  apex  of  groined  ceiling.  Exter- 
nally, it  is  faced  with  white  ilansfield  stone,  and 
has  two-light  windows,  except  to  apse,  where 
they  are  single.  There  is  an  entrance  from  the 
quadrangle,  two  steps  being  required  to  reach 
the  floor-line.  The  roof  wiU  be  a  lead  flat,  sur- 
rounded by  a  parapet  with  broken  battlements.  The 
sacristrj-  is  at  the  end  of  apse,  and  extends  to 
the  old  Kormau  gateway.  The  intermediate 
block  of  building  provides  the  porch  (which  runs 
up  to  the  first  floor  only,  with  fiat  roof  and 
parapet),  porter's  residence,  and  servant's 
waiting-room,  kc,  on  ground-floor;  above  are 
about  a  dozen  reception  and  other  rooms,  and  it 
has  a  main  staircase  in  communication  with  all 
the  floors,  the  way  to  the  keep  and  the  rampart 
walls.  It  is  expected  that  the  work  will  be 
immediately  begun,  and  that  the  large  staff  of 
eii!ph;/ts  now  on  the  spot  may  be  retained,  as  the 
other  work,  being  almost  complete,  would  other, 
wise  shortly  necessitate  their  being  dispersed. 
The  time  allowed  for  its  being  carried  to  com- 
pletion is  three  years. 


CAST    IROX. 

THE  experiments  made  at  'Woolwich  upon 
specimens  of  cast  iron  show  that  the  higher 
cjualities  have  an  ultimate  tenacity  ranging  from 
10,S661b.,or4-8.5  tons,  to  31,-lSOlb.  or  U  tons, 
the  aveiage  being  21, 1731b.  or  9  4.5  tons  per 
square  inch.  In  a  large  number  of  specimens 
submitted  for  competition  the  range  of  tenacity 
is  stiU  more  startling,  varving  from  9,417  to 
34,2791b.  per  square  inch.  From  these  figures 
it  appears  absurd  to  calculate  so  closely  when 
dealing  with  iron ;  for  general  calculation  .5  tons 
may  be  regarded  as  about  the  lowest  limit,  but 
for  structural  purposes  it  may  be  taken  as  74  tons 
in  tension,  the  working  strain  being  calculated 
at  about  one-fifth.  Another  source  gives  the 
following  as  a  low  average  of  the  ultiaiatc 
strength  of  ordinary  varieties  found  in  the  mar- 
ket :— 

Tension  G    tons  per  square  inch. 

Compression   3S      ,,      „        „         f. 
Transverse       13|    „      ,.       „  *, 

Shearing  8j    , ,< 

The  iron  close  to  the  surface  of  a  casting  is  found 
to  be  harder  and  stronger  than  that  within  ;  and, 
of  course,  in  small  bars  this  hard  skin  is  greater 


in  proportion  to  the  eeotinn  than  in  largo  cast- 
ings. It  is  foimd  that  the  interior  is  more  spongy 
in  largo  than  in  small  castings,  and  Mr.  K. 
Uodgkin.son's  experiments  show  a  difference  of 
more  than  20  jxT  cent,  in  the  relative  tcnhile, 
strength  of  bars  lin.  and  Sin.  wpiarc.  It  is  well 
known  also  that  repeated  rcmeltings  iucreaso  tho 
strength  of  cast-iron.  Tho  effect  of  t<.>mporature 
upon  it  is  of  more  practical  value.  Sir  W.  Fair- 
bairn  found  that  cast-iron  of  average  quality 
loses  strength  when  heated  beyond  a  mean  tem- 
perature of  120",  and  it  becomes  insecure  at  tho 
freezing-point,  or  under  Si".  Thr-nc  data  are 
important  to  the  designer  of  ironwork,  and  may 
lead  him  to  be  rather  cautious  in  the  employment 
of  cast-iron  for  structural  purposes,  other  than 
for  columns  and  details,  where  tensile  strain,  jar, 
and  Wbration,  are  not  experienced. 

CHIPS. 

The  parish-church  of  Ham,  ne»r  Deal,  was  re- 
opened last  week  on  tho  completion  of  works  of 
restoration,  including  the  erection  of  a  new  stono 
chancel  arch  with  low  screen  and  anibo,  and  tlie 
rebuilding  of  the  open  roof.  The  wcjrk  ha?  boon 
carried  out  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  Joseph  Clarke, 
F.S.A.,  diocesan  architect. 

On  Tuesday  week  Mr.  Samuel  Joseph  Smith, 
C.E.,  one  of  the  inspectors  of  the  Local  Uovern- 
ment  Board,  held  an  inquiry  into  tho  application 
of  the  local  board  of  Stapleton,  near  Bristol,  for 
sanction  to  borrow  £18,000  for  works  of  sewerage 
and  sewage-disposal.  Mr.  Curteis,  surveyor  to  the 
local  board,  exbiliited  and  described  the  plans 
which  he  had  prepared  and  no  opposition  was 
offered. 

The  local  board  of  Horwich,  near  Manchester, 
met  on  Monday  week  to  consider  which  of  two 
schemes  of  water  supjily —one  drawn  from  Montcliffe, 
the  other  from  Lords-height— they  should  adopt, 
and  decided  in  favour  of  the  latter  plan. 

The  parish-church  of  Leadhills,  near  Glasgow, 
wasreopeDed  on  Sunday  week  after  restoration  and 
improvement  effected  at  the  cost  of  the  Earl  of 
Hopetoun. 

The  Holbom  board  of  guardians  adopted  on 
Wednesday  week  a  suggestion  made  by  Mr.  H. 
Saxon  Snell,  their  architect,  that  a  water  tower  ha 
erected  at  the  rear  of  the  carpenter's  shop,  at  the 
new  workhouse  at  Hampsteid,  on  which  a  large 
cistern  should  be  set  up  for  the  supply  of  the 
house.  Amended  plans  for  an  infirmary  for 
eighty  children,  prepared  by  Mr.  Snell,  were 
adopted. 

Mr.  James  Edmeston,  F.R.I.  B. A.,  was,  on  St. 
Thomas's  Day,  raised  from  a  common  councilman 
to  the  rauk  of  Deputy  in  tie  Council  of  the  City  of 
London. 

A  system  of  tramways  through  the  city  of  Bath 
was  officially  inspected  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  on  Thursday,  and  opened  on  Friday  last. 

The  ladies  of  the  diocese  of  Winchester  hive 
decided  to  present  to  the  cathedral  a  fac-simile  of 
the  pastoral  staff  of  William  of  Wykeham,  the 
original  of  which  is  now  at  New  College,  Oxford. 
The  work  is  being  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Stephen 
Smith  and  Son,  of  King-street,  Coveut-garden. 

Works  of  great  importance  are  being  undertaken 
at  Dartmoor  Prison,  which  is  to  be  raised  to  one  of 
the  "  first  rate."  The  separate  cells  are  t>  be  in- 
crea=ed  in  number  from  1,000  to  l,.5oO.  One  ex- 
tensive block  capable  of  holding  2-50  convicts,  has 
made  considerable  progress,  and  the  second,  of 
similar  size,  has  been  commenced.  At  the  same 
time  more  houses  are  being  built  for  warders. 

rians  have  beeu  prepared,  by  order  of  the  local 
board  of  Okebamptou,  for  the  main  drainage  of 
that  town,  by  Mr.  Martin,  C.E.,  of  Exeter.  The 
estimated  cost  of  cx-:cution  is  about  £1,270,  but 
only  about  two-thirds  of  the  scheme  are  intended 
to  be  carried  out  at  present. 

Tlie  parish-church  of  Tharaton,  Norfolk,  wai 
reopened  on  the  l-5th  inst.,  after  partial  restora- 
tion, includiog  the  erection  of  new  open  roof  over 
nave,  and  furnishing  with  open  benches  in  lieu  of 
pews.  It  is  proposed  to  restore,  as  the  next  section 
of  the  work,  the  tower,  which  is  in  a  dangerous 
state,  and  the  north  porch. 

iVn  inquiry  was  held  at  St.  Mary's-hall,  Coven- 
try, on  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  week,  Iwforc  Mr. 
\.  B.  Dickson,  an  assistant  inclosure  commissioner, 
into  an  application  from  the  city  council  of  Coven- 
tiy  for  a  provisional  order  to  enable  them  to  rega- 
hte  Stivihall -common,  and  convert  it  into  a 
pubUc  recreation-ground.  It  was  stated  that  an 
)ld  citizen,  Mr.  Divid  Sp?ncer,  had  given  4, OX) 
.'uineas  to  meet  the  expense  of  making  roads 
aud  footpaths  and  laying  out  the  grounds,  so  that 
there  would  be  no  expense  to  the  city,  and  tho 
inhabitants  were  unanimous  in  supporting  the 
scheme. 


"92 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  .31,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Present  rossibilities  of  ^Vrchitecture    

Halls  and  Staircases    

Tlie  Employers' Liability  Act 

Cheapness  in  Architecture 

Tlie  Late  Eev.  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcott     

Roman  Nimes,  Aries,  and  Oranje 

Land-Surveying    

Glasgow  Institute  of  Architects     

The  Engineers  of  Philadelphia 

Sanitary  Science  in  America     

Arundel  Caatle      

Cast  Iron 

Chips 

Out  Lithographic  Blustrutions 

Our  Commonplace  Column 

Competitions 

Archa?ological 

SchoolsofArt 

Building  Intelligence   

To  Correspondents 

Correspondence     

Intercommun'catlon    

Stained  Glass 

Statues,  Memorials,  &c 

Legal  Intelligence 

Our  Olfice  Table     

Meetings  for  the  Ensuing  Week      

Trade  News    

Tenders    

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THR  apostles'  CREED.— 0ESIGK  FOK  ARTISt's  RKSID 
— UALDEN  FACTORIES. — COMPETITIVE    DESIGN    FOR 


Our  Lithographic  Illustrations. 


THE  APOSTLES    CKEED,  BY  J.  DE  GHEYJJ. 

Vi'E  this  week  f  umi.~h  the  remainder  of  the  series 
of  engr.avings  of  the  Apostles,  by  J.  de  Gheyn, 
the  work  of  that  artist  from  paintings  by  the  old 
Flemish  master  Carl  van  Mander,  artists  of 
wliom  we  gave  snort  notices  in  our  last.  The 
first  figure  wo  here  illustrate  in  this  issue  is  St. 
Matthias,  with  the  symbol  of  his  martyrdom  or 
decapitation,  the  battle-axe,  in  his  right  hand. 
Our  next,  mirked  IX.,  is  the  bearer  of  a  strange 
emblem  evidently  intended  for  a  bow.  This 
does  not  agree  with  any  of  the  accepted  Apostolic 
symbols.  This  figure  may  possibly  be  intended 
for  St.  Thomas,  to  whom  we  attributed  the 
spear  in  our  last,  for  the  symbol  of  his  martyr- 
dom is  variently  given  as  a  spear  and  a  dart, 
and  the  artist,  instead  of  picturing  the  latter, 
may  have  preferred  giving  the  instrument  from 
which  the  dart  was  projected.  If  this  is  the 
correct  view,  the  saint  we  gave  in  our  last  as  St. 
Thomas  must  be  accepted  as  St.  Matthew  with 
his  halbert  or  spear.  Thi.s  figure  is  followed  by 
that  of  St.  Simon,  represented  with  a  saw,  the 
instrument  ef  his  martyrdom,  for  tradition 
informs  us  he  was  done  to  death  with  such  an 
instrument.  The  saw  here  depicted  is  very 
remarkable  in  its  form,  being  used  after  the 
manner  of  a  two-handed  sword,  in  which  respect 
it  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  instiuments  of 
decapitation  u>ed  by  the  old  Spani^h  execu- 
tioners. Our  next  figure,  marked  XI.,  is  St. 
Jurle,  with  the  symbol  of  his  martyrdom— a  club. 
This  saint  is  usually  represented  with  a  car- 
penter's square,  in  allusion  to  his  calling,  but  in 
the  series  we  liave  under  review  the  trade 
symbols  of  the  Apostles  are  suppressed.  This 
figure  is  followed  by  that  of  St.  Peter  with  his 
sword.  His  u.<uil  symbol,  the  keys,  are  not 
given,  nor  is  he  depicted,  as  is  u.suall'y  the  case, 
with  a  bald  head  aud  a  flowing  beard.  The 
book,  in  every  instance,  must  be  accepted  as  the 
substitute  of  the  scroUswith  which  the  Apostles 
were  represented  in  early  Cu-istian  art.  Our 
series  terminates  with  a  fine  figure  of  St.  P<.ul, 
beanng  in  his  left  hand  a  sword,  the  instrument 
of  his  execution.  It  would  be  a  cmious  point  to 
learn  if  the  instrument  here  given  is  of  the  same 
character  as  the  sword  preserved  in  the  convent 
ot  L,a  Li.-la  m  Spain,  which  is  treasured  as  the 
Identical  instrument  with  which  the  execution  of 
St.  Paul  was  conducted.  This  >aint  is  usu.ally  re- 
presented with  an  open  brok,  allusive  to  the"  fact 
ot  Ills  propagating  the  new  law  or  doctiine 
among  the  Gentiles.  To  those  of  our  readers 
who  are  curious  on  the  point  of  the  two  missing 
places  of  this  series,  we  would  refer  them  to  the 
b'-''"u  ,r^ '"''''' °"'  '"   '^"^  Print-room  of  the 


British  Museum. 


"  BrTLEIXG   NEWS  "  EESIGXEN-O  CLUB. — AN  AEI  ISt's 
EESIDEXCE. 

This  is  the  first  sub'ect  chosen  for  competition 
this  season  by  members  of  our  Designing  Club, 
and  we  publish  to-day  the  design  which  we  have 
placed  first.  The  author  is  "Jack,"  one  of  the 
earliest  members  of  our  club.  We  have  already 
remarked  upon  all  the  designs  submitted,  and 
have  nothing  to  add  here. 

MALDEM   FACTOEIES. 

These  factories  recently  erected  for  F.  W.  Row- 
ney,  Esq.  (of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  George  Eowney 
and   Co.,    artist   colourmen,  etc.),   at  a  cost  of 
nearly  £20,000,  consist  of  three  clistinct  block."-, 
with  some  stabling.  Each  block  is  so  constructed 
that  every  floor  can  be  let  out  separately,  or  as  a 
whole  ;  every  floor  being  provided  with  its  own 
w.c.'s,  urinals,  sinks,  water  and  gas  supply,  and 
coal  bunks — the  latter  being  filled  in  each  ease 
from  the  floor  aboye,  off  the  landing  of  staircase. 
The  buildings  are  covered  with  flats  through- 
out, which  will  be  used  for  storing  timber  and 
other  purposes ;  part  will  possibly  hereafter  be 
utilised  as   a    large   laundry.     These   flats  are 
formed  of  solid  concrete  composed  of  4  of  coke 
breeze  thoroughly  screened  and  picked  over,  2 
burnt   ballast  and   1  White  Brothers'  Portland 
cement  (samples  of  which  stood  satisfactory  tests 
made  by  Mr.  Kirkcaldy),  the  whole  covered  with 
asphalte  laid  by  the  Val  de  Travers  Company. 
The  buildings  contain  in  all  39,25Sft.  super,  of 
floor-space,  and  II, 279ft.  super,  of  flats,  giving  a 
total  floor  surface  of  la.  25p.  19yd.  The  walls  are 
built  throughout  of  hard  stocks  faced  with  malm 
paviors,  with  gault  bricks  to  arches,  bands,  and 
moulded  angles.     The   piers  in  centre  of  blocks 
carrying   iron    girders   of   floors  are   built  with 
Hambht's  blue  bricks  in  cement.     The  templets 
and  bed  stones  throughout  are  of  Manningham 
stone,  the  staircases  and  thresholds  of  Cunliffe ; 
and   the   copings   and    sills,    etc..    of   Finsdale, 
all  supplied  by  Mr.  Trickett,  of  Mill  wall.     Par- 
ticular care  has  been  taken  with  the  drainage, 
inspection  holes  being  formed  at  all  junctions, 
as  also  a  large  manhole  near  entrance  to  yard  for 
the  purpose  of  clearing  out  same  in  case  of  need  ; 
these   are  amply  ventilated   by  numerous  pipes 
carried  up  6ft.   above  the    buildings,    and    by 
numerous   ventilating   holes   directly   over    the 
drains.     The  whole  system  is  shut  off  from  the 
public  sewer  by  a  siphon-trap,  from  the  sewer- 
side  of  which   a  6in.  ventilating  pipe  is  carried 
up   to  prevent   same  being  forced.     A  crane  is 
fitted  to  each  block  capable  of   raising   1  ton  or 
more,  supplied  by  Messrs.    Spencer  and  GQlett. 
The   works   have   been   well   and   satisfactorily 
carried  out  bj  Mr.  Robert  Perkins,   builder  and 
contractor,  of  151,  Great  Titchfield-stre.-t,  AV., 
and  the  clerk  of  the  works  was  Mr.  Walter  Holt. 
The  ironwork  to  floors  and  flats,  of  which  there 
is  a  large  quantity,  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Archi- 
bald D.  Dawnay,  of  King-street,   Cheapside,   at 
a  cost  of  about  £3, COO.     The  whole  of  the  works 
being  carried  out  under  the  immediate  supeiin- 
tendenoe  of  the  architects,  Messrs.  Ebbetts  aud 
Cobb,  of  Savoy  House,  115,  Strand,  and  Colches- 
ter.    It  is  intended  shortly  to  very  considerably 
extend  the   stabling,  and  also  to  erect  further 
buildings  for  caretaker  and  for  engine  andboiler 
house,   .'o  as  to  supply  steam-power  to  any  pait 
of  the  blocks  that  may  he  required  ;  after  which 
the  factory  premi.ses  will  be  extended  eastwards, 
to  meet  the   recjuirements  of  the   occupiers,  or 
if  same  is  not  necessary,  further  blocks  will  be 
erected. 

COMPETITIVE    design    FOT    XEW    CLUB    BUILDINGS, 
GLASGOW. 

We  ilhislrAte  a  design  prepared  by  Messrs. 
James  Salmon  and  Son,  architicts,  for  the  new 
club  builclings,  West  George-street,  Glasgow. 
As  the  building  was  to  occupy  a  site  lyino^  be- 
tween other  buildings  to  the  iii;ht  and  left  "of  it, 
the  .architects  adopted  oriel  windows  for  the 
prinoip.al  rooms  to  secure  a  suitable  individuality 
to_  tlie  building,  and  provide  at  the  same  time 
fairly  extensive  street  views  east  and  west.  The 
library  and  reading-room  were  to  ocjupy  the 
front  portion  of  the  ground-floor  with  a  billiard- 
room  behind  them  light-d  by  a  cupola.  The 
lavatories,  &c.,  were  placed  at  the  back  of  the 
building,  next  a  lane.  The  principal  dining- 
room  was  to  occupy  the  entire  front  of  the  build- 
ing on  the  first  floor,  with  the  principal  billiard- 
room  and  smoking-room  behind.  The  private 
dining-noms,  card-room,  and  private  billiard- 
room  were  to  be  placed  immediately  above  the 


principal   dining-room,   and  the   kitcli^ns  were 
arranged  in  the  basement. 


CHIPS. 

The  vestry  of  St.  George  the  Martyr,  South wark, 
had  before  them,  on  Wednesday  week,  two  rival 
schemes  for  laying  new  lines  of  tramways  iu  the 
Borough,  to  be  promoted  in  the  next  session  of 
Parliamcut.  That  of  the  South  London  Tramway 
Company,  which  is  now  constructing  lines  through 
Wandsworth,  Bittersea,  and  Nine  Elms,  to  the 
foot  of  Lambeth- bridge,  proposed  to  extend  their 
lines  fiom  thence,  easterly,  through  Church-street, 
and  Lambeth,  Borough,  and  Southwark  Bridge- 
roads,  with  a  spur  to  Southwark- bridge.  The 
second  proposal,  that  of  the  City  of  London  and 
Metropolitan  Tramway  Co.,  was  to  commence  at 
the  Elephant  and  Cas  le  as  a  centre,  piooeeding  by 
three  distinct  but  cciunected  li^es  to  Southwark, 
Wateiloo,  and  Lambeth- bridges.  After  much 
discussion,  and  a  division,  the  repoit  of  the 
roads  committee,  recommending  the  support 
of  the  vestry  to  the  last-named  company,  was 
carried. 

The  local  board  of  Old  Swindon  have  a  dopf ed 
the  plan  by  Mr.  Read,  for  the  laying  out,  &c.,  of 
the  proposed  cemetery  from  amongst  those  leceived 
iu  competition. 

The  prizes  .and  certificates  awarded  to  students 
in  the  Norwich  School  of  Art  were  distributedi 
by  the  Mayor  of  that  citv,  on  Thursday,  the  23rd 
inst. 

The  Kenilworth  local  board  having  applied  to 
the  Local  Government  Board  for  sanction  to 
borrow  £S,500  for  works  of  sewerage,  and  to  be 
invested  with  uiban  powers  uuder  the  Public 
Health  Act  of  1S78,  an  inquiry  was  held  in  that 
town  last  week  before  Mr.  J.  ThomhiU  Harrison, 
C.E.  Mr.  G.  A.  Lundie,  C.E.,  of  Cardiff,  the 
engineer  to  the  local  board,  explained  his  plan  to 
the  inspector,  who  said  he  should  report  favour- 
ably upon  it,  and  also  in  favour  of  the  urban 
powers  app'ied  for  by  the  local  authority. 

Dr.  E.  Meyrick  Goulburn,  dean  of  Norwich,  has 
written  to  the  papers  stating  that  the  L}Tin, 
Fakenham,  and  Norwich  Railway  Company  will 
biiug  forward  a  Bill  in  the  next  session  of  Parlia- 
ment, seeking  powers  to  make  a  branch  line  through, 
the  cathedral  precincts  at  Norwich,  with  a  terminus 
close  to  the  cathedral.  He  announces  that  the 
Dean  aud  Chapter  will  offer  the  most  determined 
opposition  to  such  an  "  unseemly,  uncalled-for, 
and  unprecedented"  invasion  of  the  property  of 
the  church. 

The  compleii'  n  of  the  work  of  renovating  the 
towerof  Biierley-hillpari.'h-church,  and  of  pl.icing 
a  clock  aud  peal  of  bells  therein,  was  celebrated 
on  Thursday  week.  The  tower,  which,  like  the 
body  of  the  church,  is  of  red  brick,  has  been 
strengthened  and  increased  iu  height,  and  sur- 
mounted by  four  stone  pinnacles,  stone  dressings- 
being  put  also  to  the  windows.  The  new  bells  are 
six  in  number,  aud  have  been  cast  by  Mr.  James 
Barwell,  bellfounder,  ot  Birmingham.  The  clock, 
which  was  supplied  by  Mr.  W.  Leeson,  of  Coles- 
hill,  has  two  faces,  each  8ft.  in  diimeter.  Mr. 
Charles  Hoiton,  builder,  of  Biierley-hiH,  cnrried 
out  the  stiuctural  alterations,  and  the  entire  cost 
of  the  improvement  has  been  about  £SO0. 

A  new  vilbige  elub  and  coffee-house,  to  be  called 
the"Loadstou»,"  wasopenedatBacois'horpe, Nor- 
folk, on  the  I3th  inst.  Mr.  R.  Ncale,  of  Bacon=- 
thoipp,  was  the  builder. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Upper  Sedgley  local  brard 
held  on  Monday  week,  instructions  were  agreed 
upon  for  competitors  for  the  proposed  public  hall, 
boardroom,  and  offices.  One  of  the  Wolveihamp- 
ton  newspapers  states  that  tVie  total  outlay  agreed' 
to  was  £700  I     Surely  a  m'spriut  for  £7, COO. 

The  new  buildings,  plant,  and  machinery  of  th& 
East  Grinstead  Gas  and  Waterworks  Comp-iny, 
which  have  been  in  course  of  erection  during  two- 
years  past,  were  formally  opened  on  Tue-=d.ay 
week.  The  works  have  cost  £14,000,  and  have 
b-eu  carried  out  from  the  plans  of  Mr.  Easton  ; 
Mr  McKie  acted  as  assistant  and  resident  engi- 
neer; aud  Mr.  Bushel  as  cleik  cf  woiks. 

Extensive  alterations  ai.d  additions  are  being 
made  ti  the  botou^h  woikhouse  at  Lincoln,  from 
the  designs  aud  under  the  supeiintendcnce  of 
Messrs.  Wa'kin  and  Scorer,  architects  of  that  city. 
The  contractors  are  Messrs.  H.  S.  and  W.  Clos^, 
of  the  sam3  city. 

A  bust  of  the  late  A.  J.  Roebuck,  M.P.,  is  about 
to  be  placed  in  the  Cutlers'  hill,  Sheffield. 

A  new  United  Presbyteriau  Church  at  Maybole, 
near  Glasgow,  Gothic  iu  style,  was  opened  for 
worship  on  Sunday  week. 

Extensive  alterations  have  just  been  compleied' 
at  St.  Peter's  Workhouse,  Ipswich,  for  the  hoard 
of  guardians  ot  that  borough.  Mr.  H.  M.  Eyton. 
WHS  the  architect,  and  Messrs.  Baiford  aud  Per- 
kns,  also  of  Ipswijh,  weie  the  contractors. 


o 

K 

n 

6 

w 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


8C5 


OUE    COMilOXPLACE  COLUilX. 

OEANGEKT. 

AX  orangery  bhould  face  south  and  south-west, 
the  windows  being  only  on  those  sides.  The 
north  waU  should  be  in  a  sheltered  position,  and 
built  thick  or  with  a  hollow.  Light  and  air  should 
be  abundantly  provided,  and  the  heating  ought 
to  be  sufficient  to  prevent  the  temperature  fall- 
ing below  freezing-point.  It  is  a  desirable  plan 
to  have  double  sashes.  Shade  is  essential  in 
summer.  The  orangery  at  Kew  is  142ft.  by 
30ft.,  and  2oft.  high,  and  is  heated  by  flues. 

OEATOET. 

The  nanae  oratory  is  applied  to  biuldings  of 
various  kinds  :  to  a  .small  apartment  for  private 
devotion  forming  part  of  a  private  mansion  or 
ecclesiastical  institution ;  also  to  a  small  chapel. 
Bingham,  speaking  of  the  ancient  church,  says  : 
"An  oratory  and  a  Catholic  church  seem  to  have 
differed,  as  now  a  private  chapel  and  a  parochial 
church,  though  the  first  ages  made  no  distinc- 
tion between  them."  The'y  were  condemned  by 
several  synods.  A  chantry  is  also  called  an 
oratory.     See  Ecclesiologist  Journal,  1849,  article 

an  "Domestic  Oratories."  Petrie,  and  Brash 
{Ecchs.Arch.  1875)  speak  of  the  oratories  built 

in  Ireland  before  the  erection  of  churches.   Some 

are  10ft.  by  7ft.  inside,  and  others  22ft.  by  1.5ft. 

The  oratories  in  Cornwall  are  also  rectangular 

apartments,  and  contain  stone  altars  and  wells ; 

they  are  sometimes  built  on  mounds.    (See  Arch 

Did.) 

OKDEBS. — OBDONXiNCE. 

Fon  the  proportions  of  the  Orders  we  refer  the 
reader  to  W.  H.  Leeds'  tables,  in  Xormaud's 
"  Parallel  of  the  Orders,"  1S29  ;  also  in  "  Dic- 
tionary of  Terms"  (Lockwood  and  Co.);  see 
also  GwUt's  edition  of  Chambers  ;  llauch, "  Neue 
Systematise-he  DarsteUung,"  Potsdam,  184.5  ; 
Chipiez,  "  Histoire  critique  desOrigines  et  de  la 
Formation  des  Ordres  Grees,"  1876;  Viollet  le 
Due,  "Lectures,"  &c.  The  superposition  of  the 
Orders  are  fully  described  in  the  treatises  of  Pal- 
ladio,  Scamozzi,  Vignola,  Chambers;  and  we  may 
usefully  refer  the  reader  to  the  able  remarks  on 
the  subject  written  by  Professor  T.  H.  Lewis  in 
the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclopadia  Britaniiica. 
The  French  term  "Ordonnauce"  is  used  often 
to  denote  the  employment  of  the  orders  either 
side  by  side  or  order  above  order  ;  it  is,  in  fact, 
the  application  of  the  Orders  to  a  building.  In 
another  sense,  the  term  is  applied  to  designate 
the  manner  in  which  an  edifice  is  arranged  in  its 
parts  and  details,  or  the  etfect  produced.  In  the 
first  and  more  restrictive  sense,  an  ordonnance  is 
a  composition  in  which  any  of  the  Orders  has 
been  used,  or  which  must  be  regulated  or  pro- 
portioned to  any  particular  order.  Vitruvius 
uses  the  word  ordinaiio  in  this  sense,  meaning 
the  adjustment  of  size  of  different  parts  of  a 
building  of  their  uses.  Several  old  writers 
have  used  the  term  "  ordonnance  "  in  the  same 
manner  and  it  has  certainly  the  merit  of  express- 
ing the  qualities  of  a  Classic  composition.  See 
also  Evelyn. 

OEIENTATION  :    KOTES   OX. 


west ;  m  later  times,   the  entrances  were  turned 
to  the  cast.     In  the  Egyptian  temples  the  main 
J  '  '^^^  generally  turned   towards   the  river, 
and,  therefore,  the   axes  were  more  or  less  east 
and  west.     In  the  Christian  Church  orientation 
has   been   generally  observed  :    the   founders  of 
monasteries   conformed    to    the    rule,    and    all 
authorities  show  the  practice  was  common.     In 
some  instances,    says   Dudlev,  the   line   of   the 
structure  was   directed  to  that  point  at  which 
the  sunrises  on  the  day  of  the  commemoration  of 
the  saint  to  whom  the  church  might  be  dedicated 
Several   of   the  churches  at  PSme,   Sta   Maria 
Maggiore,    Sta  Cecilia,   St.  Giovanni  Laterauo, 
&c.,  have  altars  at  the  icest  end:  several  others 
orientate  east,  some  south-east,  some  in  a  west- 
erly  direction.     In   modem  Romish   churches, 
orientation  Js  not  followed  implicitly;  e.g.,  St. 
George's,  "Westminster-bridge-road.    In  France, 
the  position  of  the  altar  is  sometimes  at  the  west 
end;    but   in   Spain,  according  to   Mr.   Street, 
orientation  is  observed.     He  savs,  speaking  of 
orientation  :  "  It  is  always  attended  to  in  Spain, 
save  in  cities  like  Barcelona,  where  the  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  Italy  perhaps  introduced 
the   Italian   tradition.     The   feeling  about   the 
orientation  of  churches  was  stronger  among  the 
English  and  Germans  than  anywhere  else,  and 
possibly  the  Spanish    tradition  dates  from  the 
time  of  the  Visigothio  kings"  ("  Gothic  Arch, 
in  Spain.")     The  subject  is  spoken  of  in  "tt'al- 
cott's  "  Sacred  Archaeology";    by  Freeman   in 
Trans,  of  Cambridge  Camden  Society ;  Fero-us- 
fon  "Handbook, ""ire,  and  the  Arch.  Did.  °0n 
the  whole,  it  must  be  confessed  that  orientation 
was  the  rule  among  Northern  nations  ;  in  Eng- 
land   there    are    few   exceptions,    as   EievauLx 
abbey,    buOt   nearly   north  and  south ;  but  the 
site  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  determination 
of  the  axis  of  a  church.  Fergusson  rightly  says  : 
"Orientation    is   whoUy   a   peculiarity   of   "the 
Northern  or  Gothic  races ;  the  Italians  never 
practised  it." 


The  ancients  almost  invariably  placed  their 
altarstoface  the  east;  but,  according  to  Vitruvius, 
"  the  statue  in  its  cell  should  have  its  face 
towards  the  west,  so  th.it  those  who  enter  to 
sacrifice  or  to  make  offerings  have  their  faces  to 
the  east  as  well  as  to  the  statue  in  the  temple" 
fV'itrnvius,  IV.,  8).  The  temple  was,  therefore, 
built  westwards  of  the  altar ;  the  Greek  temples 
nearly  all  face  the  east,  so  does  the  statue. 
Quotations  given  in  the  ^Irc/i.  Did.  are  con- 
flicting. One  p.assage  runs  thus: — "Almost  all 
temples  have  their  entrances  and  statues  facing 
the  east,  so  that  persons  enterirg  look  towards  the 
ucst,  and  stand  with  their  faces  directed  towards 
the  west  when  they  offer  horours  to  the  gods." 
—  (Porphyry.)  Again,  another  passage  from 
Dionysius  says  the  temples  usually  received  the 
rising  sun,  to  that  as  soon  as  the  door  was 
opened  they  were  filled  with  1  ight,  the  temple  dooi  s 
being  placed  towards  the  rising  sun.  Clemens 
Alexandrinus,  Stroinat.,  lib.  VII.,  says  the 
most  ancient  of  the  temples  looked  towards  the 
west.  Another  writer  remarks  :  •' It  seems,  from 
the  words  of  the  Alexandrian  Father,  that  only 
the  temples  of  ages  long  anterior  to  his  time 
were  constructed  with  the  entrances  facing  the 
west,  and  that  the  position  of  the  temp'e  seems 
to  have  become  in  bis  days  a  matter  altogether 
of  indifference."  (Dudley,  "Naology.")  There- 
fore the  earlier  temules  had  entrances  facing  the 


OEGAX. — OEOAX  CHAMBEE. 

Notes. — Several  writers  refer  to  the  middle  of 
the  4th  century  as  the  date  of  the  introduction 
of  the  real  organ.  A  sculptured  representation 
of  one  is  to  be  seen  on  the  obelisk  erected  by 
Theodosius  at  Constantinople,  who  died  395. 
For  forms  of  ancient  organs  see  works  of  Strutt, 
Bumey,  Ciampiani  ("  De  Sacris  ^Fdificiis"), 
Rome,  1693,  Bedos,  De  Celles.  The  early  Pro- 
testants forbade  the  use  of  the  organ,  and  in 
1644  an  ordinance  was  passed  that  no  music  but 
plain  psalm-singing  shoidd  be  allowed,  and  the 
churches  were  stripped  of  their  instruments 
{Arch.  Diet.).  Forthose  who  desire  to  study  the 
subject,  we  give  the  following  list  of  works  : — 
Hopkins  and  Rimbault's  work  on  the  Organ, 
1870;  Baron's  "  Scudamore  Organs";  Rim- 
bault's "  Early  Engli^h  Organ  Builders,  from 
the  15th  Century,"  1865;  Seidel's  work,  trans- 
l.ated  from  German;  Chappell's  "History  of 
Music  "  ;  a  valuable  paper  by  Spark,  read  before 
the  Yorkshire  Arch.  Society,  1852;  "  Ecclesio- 
logist  Journal,"  1843,  1854;  Bishop's  "Notes 
on  Church  Organs  and  their  Position,"  1873  ; 
Sutton's  "Church  Organs";  Micklethwaite's 
"Modem  Parish  Churches,"  1874;  and  various 
papers  and  illustrations  in  the  Buildixg 
News.  "Vitruvius  mentions  a  hydraulic 
organ,  but  his  description  is  not  very  intelligi- 
ble. The  organ  is  said  to  have  been  first  intro- 
duced into  Church  music,  by  Pope  Vitalian  I., 
in  666.  In  757  a  great  organ  was  sent  as  a 
present  to  Pepin,  by  the  Byzantine  Emperor, 
Constantino  Copronymus,  and  placed  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Comeille  at  Compiegne.  Soon 
after  Charlemagne's  time  org.ans  became  com- 
mon. In  the  11th  century  a  monk,  Tlieophilus, 
wrote  a  curious  treatise  on  organ-building,  but 
it  was  not  till  the  loth  century  that  the  organ 
began  to  be  anything  like  the  noble  instrument 
which  it  now  is."  The  above  quotation  is  from 
the  article  in  Chambers's  "  Encyclopfedia," 
to  which  we  refer  the  reader  for  general 
information  on  the  subject.  The  position 
of  the  organ  is  a  point  on  which  there  has 
been  much  difference  of  opinion.  Several 
of  the  organs  of  our  cathedrals  have  been 
removed  from  the  choir-screen  and  placed  over 
the  stalls  on  the  north  side  of  choir,  as  at 
"Winchester,  Durham,  &c.  There  is  a  general 
feeling  to  make  the  building  the  paramount 
consideration.  "We  quote  the  following  re- 
marks from  the  EccksioJor/ist,  1844  : — "Pre- 
ceJent  does  not  very  much  assist  in  deter- 
u.iiiing  the  position  of  the  organ,  because  the 


great   increase   in    the   size   of   the  instrument 
(which  is  the  cause  of  the  difficulty)  is  of  a  com- 
paratively  late    date.      In    England,    Old  St. 
Paul's  and   "Westminster,    as  "Winchester  now, 
had  their  organs  above  the  stalls,  north   of  the 
choir.  In  France  and  the  Low  Countries,  the  west 
end  is    the    more    common    position,     with    a 
smaller  organ    (as    at   Sens   and   Paris)    in  the 
choir.     In  Italy,  there  are  often  two  of  moderate 
size,   one  on   each  side  of  the  choir ;   as  at  the 
Duomo   at    Verona,    St.    Mark's,    Venice,    and 
Florence  (where  they  are  at  the  north-east  and 
south-east  of   the  octagon),  and  at  Milan.     In 
St.  Peter's  they  are  movable,  on  wheels.     In  St. 
Antonio,  at  Padua,  there  are  four,  two  on  each 
side  of  choir.      At  Ratisbon  the  organ  is  con- 
cealed behind  the  high  altar  ;  at  Treves  there  is 
a  small  organ  north  of   choir,  and  a  full  one  at 
the  west  end,  where   in   Germany  it  appears  to 
be  the  most   common  situation,  jiarticularly  in 
new  churches.     The  custom  of  placing  the  organ 
on   the  screen  has   obtained  with  us  only  since 
the  Restoration."     The  same  writer  recommends 
a  small  organ  in  the   rood-loft,   or,  better  stUl, 
north  of  the  choir,   and   the   full  organ  in  the 
most  convenient  place  that  can  be  found.     The 
recent  introduction  of  a  surpliced  choir  has  made 
it  essential  to   place  the  organ  in  the  chancel, 
and  this  position  has  many  advantages,  though 
acoustically  the  old  position   at  the  west  end  or 
gallery  has  something  to  be  said  for  it,  as  the 
whole  body  of  sound  is   thus  thrown  forward. 
It  is  generally    assigned   in   new   churches  the 
north  side  of  chancel  either   above   the  vestry  or 
placed   on    a   low  gallerj-,    and    recessed    in   a 
chamber  pui-posely  built.     The  organ  should  be 
so   placed    that    its    tones   are   not   smothered, 
and  a  low  arch  is  thought  undesirable.     The  east 
end  of   the  choir-sittings  has  been  recommended, 
so  as  to  occupy  the  centre  of  chancel-wall  north 
or  south,  and  it  might  project  a  little  into  the 
chancel.     In  many  new  churches  the  back  of  the 
organ  farms  one  side  of  the  vestry.     Mr.   Blom- 
field  says,  in  a  paper  published  in  a  contempo- 
rary, 1861,  the  proper  place  for  an   organ  "  is 
either  in  aside  aisle   of   the   chancel,  or  in  an 
organ-chamber  built  expressly  for  it,  which  is 
better."     It  will   be  kept  in  better  tune  if  the 
walls  are  lined  with  boarding  on  battens ;    and 
if  not  in  a  gallery,  it  should  always  be  raised  on 
a  platform  some  feet  from  the  floor.     The  worst 
place,  he  says,   for  an  organ,  is  in  the  west  gal- 
lery.    On  the  contrary,  a  writer  in  the  Ch  tirch 
BtdMcr,  1873,  condemns  the  organ-chamber  as  a 
serious   blunder,    and   asks  whether   it   can   be 
right   to   push   the   organ  away  into  a  chamber 
just  large  enough  to  contain  it,   -n-ith  only  two 
sides  ojjen  to  the   church."     It  is  on  all  hands 
admitted,  an  organ  placed  in  an  aisle  or  a  cham- 
ber  within  the   walls,  is  much   better   than    a 
chamber  buUt  outside,   or  an  organ  placed  in  a 
recess.     A  writer  in  the  same  journal  observes  : 
The  first  care  should  be  to  know  the  size  of  the 
organ,  whether  4ft.,    Sft.,   or  16ft.   stops  are  to 
be  used,  and  then  to  design  the  chamber  amply 
large  enough,  and  as  open  as   possible,  with  a 
wide  and  high  archway,  so  as  to  allow  the  sound 
to  come  out.     A  clear  front  is  more  necessary 
than  the  shape   of  ceiling   or  its  height.     See 
Arch.  Diet. 


COMPETITIONS. 

Aye  New  Hospital. — Competitive  designs  for 
a  new  hospital  at  Ayr  having  been  lodged,  the 
subscribers  to  the  building  fund  have  decided  to 
submit  them  to  Professor  Gairdner  and  Professor 
Macleod,  of  Glasgow  ;  these  gentlemen  are  to 
call  in  the  aid  of  a  competent  architect,  who 
will  act  with  them  in  making  a  recommenda- 
tion. 

Clithekoe  Day  and  Scxday-Schools  Compe- 
tition.— The  committee  have  made  a  selection, 
from  twenty-one  sets  submitted  to  them  in  this 
competition,  of  five  designs,  and  these  have  to 
be  further  considered.  The  instructions  to 
architects  required  a  Sunday-school  to  accommo- 
date 1,000  children;  also  an  infant-school,  with 
class-rooms,  &c.  The  cost  was  lin.ited  to 
£2,000,  which  sum  has  been  exceeded  in  some  of 
the  designs  by  several  thousands.  The  drawings 
were  reqmred  to  be  sent  in  under  motto,  accom- 
panied with  sealed  envelopes  bearing  the  authors' 
names.  On  the  whole,  the  designs  are  not  of  a 
very  high  order ;  but,  still,  much  better  than 
could  have  been  expected  for  such  small  pre- 
miums, viz.,  £15  for  the  first  best  design  and  £5 
for  the  second  best  design,  there  being  no  tliird 


806 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


premium.  The  fire  designs  selected  by  the  com- 
mittee, out  of  whicli  to  award  their  premiums, 
are  those  bearing  tlie  following  mottoes, 
yiz. : — "As  You  Like  It,"  "Octagon,"  "Utile 
Diilci,"  "Limestone,"  and  "What  Do  You 
Think."  "As  You  Like  It"  (this  motto 
has  been  adopted  by  two  competitors^  send; 
in  seven  mounted  drawings,  including  two 
etched  perspectives ;  these  constitute  two 
alternative  designs.  The  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  plans  is  good ;  the  elevations  are 
impretending,  but  very  neat.  The  author  seems 
to  have  mastered  the  peculiar  nature  of  tlie 
site,  but  the  fault,  as  is  the  case  with  soTne 
others,  is  the  excessive  cost  of  the  design.  The 
design  by  "  Octagon"  has  the  class-rooms  of 
large  dimensions  and  so  arranged  that  two  of 
such  rooms  can  be  thrown  open  into  one  by 
means  of  sliding  doors.  These  the  author  has 
thus  arranged  for  tea-parties,  class-meetings, 
&c.  One  of  the  principal  features  in  this  design 
is  the  octagonal  waiting-room  (from  which  we 
imagine,  the  author  selects  his  motto)  to  be  used 
for  hats,  cloaks,  umbrellas.  Sec.  The  large 
Sunday-school  room,  73ft.  by  45ft.,  is  well 
lighted  and  ventilated,  having  an  open-timbered 
roof  with  well  designed  curved  circular  ribs.  A 
platform  the  full  width  of  the  room  and  about 
13ft.  in  depth,  is  intended,  and  conveniently 
near  it  is  an  ante-room  for  public  speakers,  &c., 
at  meetings.  This  ante-room  has  a  private 
entrance  out  of  Paradise-lane,  thus  avoiding  the 
great  annoyance  to  the  speakers  of  having  to 
pass  through  the  audience,  which  in  many  of 
the  designs  would  be  the  case.  Communi- 
cation is  had  between  the  infants'  school 
below  and  the  platform  of  the  Sunday-school 
by  means  of  an  easy  flight  of  steps ;  this 
arrangement  would  be  foimd  admirable  for 
concerts,  which,  we  understand,  are  occasionally 
given.  A  covered  playground  is  arranged  iu 
this  plan  for  the  infants  ;  this  space  is 
also  arranged  for  future  extension  at  a  very 
small  expenditure.  The  old  retaining  wall  is 
left  intact  by  the  author,  an  arrangement,  we 
think,  very  desirable.  The  author  proposes  to 
face  the  principal  facade  with  Yorkshire  par- 
points,  and  rubbed  stone  dressings,  the  roofs  to 
be  finished  with  Westmoreland  green  slates  and 
red  ornamental  ridge  tiles.  Tlie  elevation  to 
Church.street  is  very  good  for  the  expenditure 
intended,  there  being  no  unnecessary  orna- 
mental work  ;  still  it  is  very  effective.  The  bell 
turret  over  the  centre  of  facade  marks  the  prin- 
cipal entrance  to  the  building.  The  design,  on 
the  whole,  shows  a  great  amount  of  study  and 
forethought  on  the  part  of  the  author  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  instructions  to  architects, 
as  the  site  is  not  the  most  convenient  to  bo 
dealt  with.  The  drawings  sent  under  the 
motto  "  Utile  Dulci  "  are  very  neatly 
executed.  "Limestone"  is  a  fair  design. 
The  author's  ideas  are  represented  by  five 
•drawings  neatly  got  up,  including  perspective 
views  of  three  sides.  He  estimates  the  cost  of 
his  design  at  £2,850.  "  What  Do  You  Think  ?  " 
sends  iu  three  drawings  neatly  executed,  with  a 
highly-coloured  perspective  of  the  Church-street 
facade.  The  large  school-room  is  lighted  only 
from  one  side,  and  a  lantern-light  in  the  roof  ; 
the  class-rooms  being  arranged  down  the  other 
side  of  this  room.  The  main  elevation  to  Church- 
street  is  good ;  the  author  proposes  to  roof  all 
the  buUding  with  red  tUes,  a  material  scarcely 
adapted  to  the  district. 

The  Rowland  Hill  Mejioeial.— Fourteen 
models  for  the  proposed  statue  of  Sir  Rowland 
Hill,  to  be  placed  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
Royal  Exchange,  have  been  prepared  by  various 
sculptors,  and  are  now  on  view  at  the  Mansion 
House  pending  the  final  decision  of  the  com- 
mittee of  selection.  Nine  represent  the  post- 
ofSce  reformer  in  a  standing  position,  and  the 
other  five  as  seated.  The  Cin:e,,  states  that  Sir 
Frederick  Leighton,  P.R.A.,  has  been  asked  by 
the  Memorial  Committee  to  pronounce  on  the 
merits  of  the  several  models,  that  he  has  con- 
sented to  do  so  conditionallv ;  and  that  the 
■committee  will  adopt  his  selection 


AECH-ffiOLOGICAL. 

AECH.F.0L00T  OF  THE  Saiiaea.— M.  Rabourdiu 
who  accompanied  Colonel  Flatters  in  his  expedi- 
tion in  connection  with  the  Trans-Saharan  Rail- 
way, tor  the  purpose  chiefly  of  archteological 
research,  gave  an  account  of  some  of  the  results 
at  a  recent   meeting  of  the  French  Society  of 


Political  Economy.  He  discovered  numerous 
deposits  of  ehijiped  flints.  Ai  Wargla  he  was 
shown  some  beautiful  arrow-heads  ;  and  over  a 
distance  of  about  500  miles  he  met  with  eighteen 
flint- works,  the  presence  of  matrices  and  cores 
proving  that  they  had  been  wrought  on  the  spot 
Consequently,  M.  Rabourdin  infers  that  in 
prehistoric  times  the  desert  was  inhabitable,  and 
peopled  most  densely  in  its  northern  and  southern 
parts.  He  also  met  with  remains  of  those  great 
horned  oxen  which  Herodotus  teUs  us  were  found 
in  the  country  of  the  Garamentes.  The  industry 
of  the  Soudan  is  comparatively  advanced ;  all 
the  objects,  arms,  harness,  utensUs  of  various 
sorts  which  the  Touaregs  possess,  come  from  that 
country,  whence  also  they  obtain  powder,  ivory, 
gold-dust,  and  even,  it  is  said,  emeralds. 


SCHOOLS  OF  ART. 

DtTEHAlt. — The  annual  distribution  of  prizes 
and  certificates  to  students  of  this  school  of  art 
took  place  in  the  town-hall,  Durham,  on  Wed- 
nesday week.  The  report  of  the  master,  Mr. 
F.  Thompson,  stated  that  the  work  this  year 
was  in  advance  of  previous  sessions;  The 
number  of  students  had  been  221,  an  increase  of 
6 1  on  the  previous  yc.ir.  At  the  national  com- 
petition at  South  Kensington,  in  April  last, 
four  3rd-grade  prizes  were  gained,  and  at  the 
local  examinations  two  students  pas.sed  3rd- 
grade  in  perspective,  one  taking  a  prize ;  four 
others  qualified  for  3rd-gradc  prizes,  and  seven 
for  2nd-grade  prizes,  while  twenty-one  students 
obtained  2nd-grade  certificates.  A  largo  number 
of  local  prizes  were  given. 

ILiN-cnESTEE.— The  annual  meeting  of  the 
Manchester  School  of  Art  was  held  on  Tliur«day 
week.  The  head  master  (Mr.  Muckley)  stated 
in  his  report :  During  the  year  more  than  200  new 
students  have  joined  our  clusscs,  and  yet  not 
more  than  220  remain  on  the  register  at  the 
present  time.  2,274  works  were  sent  to  London 
for  examination  in  April  last.  The  school  lias 
this  year  received  from  the  Science  and  Art  De- 
partment two  silver  medahs,  two  bronze  medals, 
four  Queen's  prizes,  and  37  third-grade  prizes. 
At  the  second-grade  examination,  held  in  the 
school  last  April,  89  students  sjit,  who  took  127 
papers;  54  students  were  successful,  obtaining 
30  prizes  and  50  passes.  At  the  examination  in 
the  advanced  anatomy  of  the  human  figure  five 
students  sat — two  obtained  "excellent"  and 
three  "  good."  Two  students  sat  for  advanced 
perspective— one  obtained  "good"  and  one 
"fair."  The  payments  now  being  made  by  the 
Government  on  the  results  of  the  students'  work 
will  be  even  greater  tlian  they  were  la.st  year, 
namely  about  £250. 

The  Female  School  of  Ast. — On  Wednesday 
week  the  competing  works  of  art  for  the  Queen's 
gold  medal,  the  Queen's  scholarship,  and  for 
scholarships  given  by  the  Gilchrist  trustees,  the 
Clothworkers'  Company,  and  other  bodies  were 
opened  to  view  at  the  school-house.  Queen- 
square,  Bloomsbury.  The  exhibition  consists  of 
water-colour  drawings  from  the  life,  specimens 
of  modelling  in  clay,  shadings  from  the  antique, 
and  drawings  from  natural  objects,  from  the  cast 
as  well  as  from  the  flat.  The  Queen's  scholarship 
of  £30  has  been  awarded  to  Miss  Florence  Reason, 
who  was  the  winner  last  year.  The  winning 
subject  is  a  British  seaman  from  the  life.  Iler 
Majesty  has  purchased  the  picture.  A  charity- 
girl,  by  the  same  artist,  in  competition  with  Mi.ss 
Rushton,  Miss  Whittaker,  and  Miss  Lovell,  is 
cleverly  drawn,  and  Mi.ss  Lovell  as  well  as  Miss 
Whittaker  obtain  Queen's  prizes.  The  Queen's 
gold  medal  is  also  awarded  to  Miss  Florence 
Reason.  The  four  best  works  in  competition 
were  hung  in  line,  by  which  it  could  be  seen  that 
the  judges  were  amptly  justified  in  the  award 
Miss  Ethel  SpUler  and  Miss  Ethel  Chapman  ob- 
tain the  GOchrist  scholarships  of  £50  between 
the  two,  this  being  Miss  Spiller's  second  time  of 
winning  the  prize.  The  Clothworkers'  Company 
scholarship  is  won  by  Catherine  Martha  Wood, 
and  Miss  Norah  Waugh,  who  shows  many  ex- 
cellent works,  is  awarded  another  scholarship 
subscribed  for.  An  interesting  portion  of  the 
exhibitition  is  formed  of  designs  for  fans  in 
paintings  on  silk— flowers  and  birds' nests,  re- 
presenting dainty  and  delicate  pesps  at  nature 
iu  the  flower-garden,  in  the  bushes,  and  in  the 
cosy  bywaters  of  the  Thames  wliere  the  public 
have  hitherto  been  free  to  navigate.  The  prizes 
iu  this  class  are  awarded  to  Miss  Welby,  Miss 


E.  C.  Chapman  Nisbct,  Miss  E.  R.  Stones,  and 
Miss  Gertnidc  Asliton.  Other  awards  were  made 
to  Miss  Edith  Harris,  Miss  A.  Chaplin,  MissE. 
Rouse,  Miss  Lydia  ^V^littakcr,  and  Miss  Annie 
Jeffrey.  There  are  also  some  well-executed 
wood  carvings  exhibited,  the  works  of  pupils  at 
the  National  School  of  Wood-car\-ing. 


Builbiufl  Intclltgtuct 


Baclt. — The  parish-church  of  Bacup, 
dedicated  to  St. John  the  Evangelist,  which  was 
founded  in  1788,  but  has  been  formany  yoarsin 
a  very  dilapidated  condition,  is  now  being  re- 
built in  a  more  substantial  manner,  and  on  an 
enlarged  plan,  on  the  old  site.  The  new  church 
consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  north  and  south  navo 
aisles,  north  chancol  aisle,  with  a  baptistery  of 
hexagonal  shape,  projecting  from  a  wost"rn  nar- 
tliex.  The  nave,  chancel,  and  narthcx  will  all  bo 
of  the  same  width,  and  thus  a  parallelogram  will 
be  formed  of  about  120ft.  in  length  by  27ft.  in 
width.  The  church  is  being  built  entirely  of 
stone,  and  will  contain  about  900  sittings.  The 
style  of  architecture  adopted  is  Early  Geometri- 
cal Pointed,  from  the  drawings  of  Messrs.  Mcd- 
land  and  Henry  Taylor,  architects,  of  Man- 
chester. It  is  anticipated  that  the  structure  will 
be  completed  and  ready  for  consecration  during 
the  coming  year. 

Bradfoed. — The  floor  and  walls  of  the  chancel 
of  St.  Thomas's  Church,  Bradford,  have  just 
been  laid  with  tiles.  The  floor-space  within  the 
rails  is  an  arrangement  of  square  panelling  in 
which  arc  introduced  Agnus  Dei  centre-pieces, 
after  a  design  by  the  elder  Pugin.  A  corre- 
sponding design  is  adopted  in  the  space  between 
the  altar  stalls,  the  lily  being  a  conspicuous 
feature  in  the  arrangement.  There  arc  inscrip- 
tions on  the  risers  of  the  chancel  steps,  the  trends 
of  which  are  of  the  best  Yorkshire  stone. 
The  risers  of  the  steps  of  the  sacrarium 
arc  constructed  in  emblematical  patterns, 
and  the  treads  are  of  rich  red  marble. 
The  prevailing  tone  of  the  floor  is  chocolate 
and  drab,  enriched  with  blue,  buff,  gxeen 
and  white  cnrjiustic  tiles.  The  wall-tiling 
fills  the  space  IwHw  the  oast  window,  and 
is  carried  round  the  north  and  south  walls  as  far 
a-s  the  altar-rails.  This  tibng  is  an  elaborate 
and  unique  jiieco  of  work,  being  composed 
entirely  of  majolica  tiles,  with  the  exception  of 
the  centrepiece,  which  is  of  hard  painted  tiles. 
The  chancel  being  not  well  lighted,  the  pre- 
vailing effect  of  colour  is  a  light  greenish  grey 
with  centrepieces  of  a  dark  hue,  the  whole 
ning  a  delicate  complementary  to  the  floor. 
The  north  and  south  walls  are  each  divided  into 
three  panel.o,  of  which  the  central  one.s  are  each 
enriched  with  a  floriated  cross  of  dark  blue,  and 
the  others  have,  in  corresponding  colours,  the 
emblems  of  the  Evangelists.  The  east  wall  is 
divided  into  five  compartments.  Of  these,  the 
outer  panels  contain  as  centrepieces  the  sacred 
monogram,  whilst  those  immediately  adjoining 
are  corapos^^d  wholly  of  a  rich  diaper,  but  are 
without  centre  subjects,  in  order  to  give  better 
effect  to  the  painted  panel  which  occupies  the 
centre  of  the  wall  over  the  altar-piece.  This 
panel,  which  is  about  3ft.  Gin.  io  length,  repre- 
sents St.  Thomas  worshipping  at  the  feet  of  his 
Lord  and  his  God,  with  attendant  angels  and 
cherubs.  The  background  Ls  of  gold,  and  the 
subject  is  treated  in  bright  colours.  The  whole 
of  the.«e  works  have  been  carried  out  by  the 
Campbell  Brick  and  Tile  Company,  of  Stoke- 
upon-Trent,  from  the  designsof  Mr.  C.  Ilindley, 
one  of  the  artists  in  that  company's  employ. 
The  reopening  services  took  place  on  St. 
Thomas's  Day. 

Ekioiitox. — By  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Henry 
Wagner,  a  now  pulpit  and  canopy  have  been 
erected  at  St.  Martin's  Church,  Brighton.  The 
structure,  which  is  of  oak,  stands  upon  a  plinth 
of  Sussex  marble.  The  plan  of  the  pulpit, 
which  is  a  little  over  6ft.  in  diameter,  is,  based  on 
a  heptagon.  The  pulpit  itself  is  7ft.  9in.  high 
from  the  floor-level  of  the  church  to  the  book- 
board,  whilst  the  floor  of  the  pulpit,  approached 
by  seven  steps,  is  raised  4ft.  Gin.  from  the  floor 
of  the  church.  Upon  the  marble  plinth  stands  a 
plinth  of  oak,  from  the  angles  of  wliich  the 
pillars  cut  into  niches,  and  carrying  the  highly- 
enriched  cornice  which  marks  the  floor-level  of 
the  pulpit.     In  the  niches  are  figures  of  the  four 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE   BUILDING    NEWS. 


807 


Fathers  of  the  church— St.  Ambrose,  St.  Gregory, 
St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Jerome.  Standing  lis  it 
does  in  the  north-east  angle  of  the  nave,  and 
being  ttanted  by  the  cliancel- screen,  the  other 
pillars  are  either  invisible  or  are  engaged  in  the 
staircase,  and  are  consequently  not  so  richly 
carved.  Between  the  heads  of  these  pUlars 
depends  open  carved  work  of  leaves  and  flowers, 
treated,  as  is  the  whole,  in  the  style  of  wood- 
work prevalent  in  this  country  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  eight  piUars  just  described  sur- 
round a  stouter  pillar,  or  stem,  with  buttress  at 
the  angles,  and  panels  carved  in  a  simple  linen 
pattern  on  each  face.  The  floor  on  which  these 
rest  is  inlaid  with  olive-wood.which  was  brought 
by  Mr.  Henry  "Wagner  from  the  Holy  Land, 
and  cut  from  off  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Above 
the  cornice  we  see  the  sides  of  the  pulpit.  One 
tide  is  occupied  by  the  stair,  by  four  eaired  panels, 
and  the  other  three  towards  the  wall  are  formed 
by  the  backboard,  already  mentioned.  The 
subjects  on  the  panels,  which  are  carved  in  low 
relief,  are — St.  Paul  preaching  at  Athens,  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  St.  John  the  Baptist 
preaching  in  the  wilderness,  and  St.  Augustine 
of  Canterbury  preaching  Christianity  in  Eng- 
land. These  panels  were  carved  by  Messrs. 
TroUope  and  Sons.  The  panels  are  separated 
from  one  another  by  angle  posts,  which  are 
highly  enriched  with  bases  and  canopies,  and 
figures  of  the  Four  Evangelists,  and  of  St. 
Athanasius,  all  cut  out  of  the  solid,  as  are  the 
canopies  and  figures  on  the  piUars  below.  The 
plan  of  the  canopy  is  octagonal.  With  the 
exception  of  the  four  panels  already  mentioned, 
the  whole  of  the  work  has  been  executed  by  Mr. 
J.  E.  Knox,  of  Poris-street,  Lambeth,  who  also 
carved  the  rcredos.  The  work  was  designed  by 
Mr.  Somers  Clarke,  jun.,  of  C,  Delahay-street, 
Great  George-street,  Westminster. 

CAwrnoEJTE. — The  Church  of  All  Saints,  Caw- 
thome,  after  undergoing  extensive  improvements 
and  alterations,  was  opened  last  week.  The 
work  commenced  about  five  years  ago.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1875,  the  foundation-stoneof  an  addition 
to  the  south  aiale  was  laid,  and  the  work  has 
been  progressing  gradually  since  that  time  to 
the  present.  Improvements  have  been  made  upon 
the  tower,  the  walls  of  the  nave  have  been  raised, 
anew  roof  has  been  put  on,  a  new  chancel  made, 
and  the  chapel  restored.  A  memorial- window 
has  been  erected,  and  a  new  organ.  The  archi- 
tect was  Mr.  G.  F.  Bodley,  of  Loudon,  and  Mr.  G. 
Swift  carried  out  the  work. 

MiLLOM. — A  new  market-hall  and  local  board 
ofiices  were  formally  opened  at  Millom,  Lanca- 
shire, on  Wednesday  week.  The  buildings  lace 
St.  Paul's  Churc!<,  and  the  covered  market 
incloses  an  area  of  GoO  square  yards.  It  has  an 
iron  and  glass  roof,  by  Messrs.  Salmon,  Barnes, 
and  Co.,  of  ITlverston,  and  the  floor  is  laid  with 
concrete.  Underneath  the  market  are  cellars, 
and  a  fire  brigade  station.  Over  the  front  por- 
tion of  the  market  are  built  the  local  b;ard  offices, 
comprising  a  board-room,  and  rooms  for  the 
surveyor,  and  gas  and  water  dt-partments.  The 
chief  entrance  is  beneath  a  clock  tower,  7Cft.  in 
height  and  having  two  dial  faces.  The  walling 
materials  are  local  blue  stone,  and  dressings  of 
stone  from  Hawley-park,  near  Leeds,  and  the 
roof  of  the  front  portion  of  the  premises  is  covered 
with  Buttermere  slates.  Mr.  LUleywhite,  of 
Millom,  was  the  architect,  and  the  contract  for 
the  whole  work,  except  the  market  roof,  was 
taken  by  Mr.  William  Bradley,  of  Millom.  The 
outlay  has  beenX3,oOO. 

OKEnAJiiTos. — The  first  section  of  a  new 
market-house  at  Okehampton  was  opened  on 
Thursday,  the  23rd  inst.  Itcoversanareaof  1,708 
superficial  feet.  The  walls  are  of  local  stone, 
with  Belstone  granite  dressings,  lined  on  the 
interior  with  enamelled  glazed  bricks  set  in 
patterns  ;  the  dressings  are  of  Bath  stone.  The 
floor  is  laid  with  a  patent  cement  concrete,  with 
a  fall  towards  the  lower  portion  to  facilitate 
cleansing.  Gas  has  been  laid  on.  There  are 
entrances  at  both  ends  by  means  of  sliding  doors, 
fixed  in  tomporarj'  partitions,  which  will  be  re- 
moved as  other  sections  are  completed.  The  joint 
architects  were  Messrs.  Harbottle  and  Crocker, 
of  Exeter,  and  the  contractors  were  Messrs.  Peth- 
rick,  of  Ilathcrleigh .  The  present  section  of  the 
building  has  cost  £1,100. 


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Received.— J.  F.  D.— J.  J.— R.  I.  B.  A.— E.  Hebble- 
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See  the  Bcildixg  News  of  Oct.  7, 1864,  p.  754,  and  /'u/..  /. 
and  Fun  of  July  of  the  same  year.)— Esglisu  Mechamc. 
"Wilts.  (Hudson  and  Keames,  Sou thwark- street,  S.E.] 
— B.  W.  (Write  the  secretaries.) — Conway.  (There  is 
no  such  journal.) 


Coritspaiiticuce. 

THE  PERCENTAGE  SYSTEM. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Buildino  News. 

Sib, — Lord  Chief  Justice  Coleridge  ruled  on 
Saturday  last  that  a  percentage  charged  on  work 
which  had  been  tendered  for  and  not  carried 
out  was  untenable  at  law,  and  that  all  that 
could  be  recovered  was  payment  for  the  work 
done. 

It  seems  to  me  that  architects  should  know 
this,  and  although  it  involves  trouble,  it  wUl 
enable  them  to  be  more  adequately  paid,  and 
promote  a  better  state  of  things. 

A  diary  must  be  kipt,  carefully  showing  the 
time  the  architect  and  his  assistants  have  been 
employed,  and  the  proportion  of  office  expenses 
to  that  time;  all  the  details  could  then  be  made 
out  before  the  work  was  begun,  without  the 
fear  of  losing  payment  for  them  if  the  building 
be  not  carried  out. 

I  incline  towards  pursuing  this  plan  for  all 
work.  It  would  doubtless  raise  the  remtmera- 
tion  greatly  for  all  work  on  which  much  care 
and  time  is  expended,  as  well  as  reward  better 
individual  skill,  thus  enabling  men  to  gain  an 
adequate  income  without  taking  more  work  than 
they  can  properly  look  after. — I  am,  &c., 

G.     AlTCHISON. 

150,  Harley-street,  W.,  Dec.  26. 


THE  FUrUHE  OF  CEMENT. 

Snt, — On  my  return  to  England  yesterday  I 
had  your  two  last  numbers,  and  in  that  of  the 
17th  inst.  I  was  not  surprised  to  find  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Redgrave  replying  to  mine  of  the  6th 
Dec.  I  can  assure  your  correspondent  that  I 
was  not  annoyed  at  his  gratuitous  rebukes  (not 
uttered  in  debate,  but  deliberately  considered  in 
his  study)  that  my  observations  at  the  Institu- 
tion of  Civil  Engineers  indicated  that  I  was 
"  scarcely  conversant  with  the  present  state  of 
the  manufacture  "  of  Portland  cement.  Before 
the  perusal  of  his  letter  the  observation  was 
regarded  simply  as  the  vapouring  of  an  am- 
bitious would-be  cement  authority ;  but  when 
he  adds  to  it,  "second-hand  chemistry"  and 
"padded  books,"  I  begin  to  think  the  whole 
in  "bad  form,"  and  not  creditable  to  his 
"  bringings  up,"  whether  in  South  Kensington 
or  St.  Giles.  Such  an  observation  would  have 
come  with  better  grace  from  the  President,  or 
other  eminent  member,  of  the  Institution  in 
Great  George-street. 

The  discussion  on  the  cement  and  concrete 
papers  was  unavoidably  a  failure,  and  I  need 
not  have  been  censured  for  objecting  to  the 
utilisation  of  waste-heat,  for  I  cannot  see  any 
chance  of  profitable  progress  in  the  cement  in- 
dustry where  so  much  attention  is  given  to  the 
recovery  of  heats  (which  ought  not  to  exist),  and 
devoted  to  the  desiccation  of  raw  material  which 
should  not  have  been  wet.  There  is  nothing  so 
very  heterodox  in  this,  for  it  is  simply  the  wish, 
and  it  may  be  the  dream,  of  an  experienced 
cement-maker  and  writer  of  "  bulky  volumes," 
who,  in  his  labours  of  upwards  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  has  steadfastly  aimed  at  the  improve- 
ment of  the  most  valuable  constructive  agent  of 
modem  times,  and  resisted,  with  what  influence 
he  may  possess,  its  prostitution  to  purposes  and 
treatment  which,  if  permitted  to  proceed,  must 
eventually  leod  to  its  ultimate  demoralisation. 
The  greatest  danger  to  which  it  is  exposed  is,  to 
my  mind,  likely  to  proceed  from  the  writers  of 
"papers,"  who  get  their  crude  and  sometimes 
worthless  ideas  printed  gratuitously,  and  receive 
from  the  institution  or  association  from  which 
they  are  issued  a  quasi-authority  calculated  to 
be  mischievous. 

Although  Mr.  Redgrave  condemns,  in  his 
qentle  way,  my  volumes,  he  seems  to  have  studied 
them,  and  thus  tacitly  approves  of  Messrs. 
Spon's  speculative  venture  in  going  to  such  ex- 
pense in  bringing  before  the  public  the  residt  of 
my  labours  and  experience.  My  publishers  are 
too  astute  and  experienced  not  to  know  what  is 
wanted,  and  I  daresay  do  not  expect  much  sup- 
port from  advanced  cement  authorities  like  my 
traducer,  but  are  satisfied  with  high  prices  for 
first  editions  and  runs  upon  second  ones.  At  all 
events,  I  am  quite  satisfied  with  the  liberality  I 
have  met  with  from  Messrs.  Spon.  Even  the 
paper  read  before  the  Institution  of  Ci\Tl  Engi- 
neers, the  joint  production  of  Major-Gcneral 
Scott  and  Mr.  Redgrave  (it  requires  two  South 
Kensington  cement  authorities  to  write  one  tiny 
paper),  records  that  "  To  Mr.  Henry  Reid,  also, 
who  has  written  a  work  upon  this  cement,  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  profession  is  due  for  the 
facts  and  statistics  he  has  brought  together." 

The  only  really  sensible  points  at  issue  be- 
tween Mr.  Redgrave  and  ihe  author  of  the 
"  bulky  volumes "  (for  I  wiU  not  again  joke 
about  the  drowned  sack  of  cement,  although  the 
startling  episode  formed  a  good  pad  to  the  paper 
read  before  the  Architectural  Association),  is 
the  silicisation  theory,  which  Dr.  Knapp  informs 
him  that  Petzholdt  (very  much  like  third-hand 
chemistry)  proved  that  various  kinds  of  sands- 
produced  different  quantities  of  soluble  sUica. 
There  can  be  no  dispute  about  that,  from  even 
the  theoretical  aspect,  and  practice  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  silicate  of  soda  proves  that  some  sands 
are  devoid  of  soluble  silica.  I  prefer  my  autho- 
ritiesto  those  of  Mr.  Redgrave,  and  still  pin  my 
faith  on  the  practical  and  exhaustive  examina- 
tions of  Mr.  Spiller,  who  examined  the  mortar 
in  the  Roman  walls  of  Burgh  Castle,  near  Great 
Yarmouth,  and  found  only  0-40  per  cent,  of 
soluble  silica,  although  the  mortar  was  upwards 
of  1,500  years  old.  Dr.  William  Wallace,  after 
a  careful  examination  of  Phoenician,  Greek,  and 
Roman  mortars,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  hardening  of  these  mortars  was  due  to  the 
recarbonating  powers  being  but  slightly  assisted 
by  the  action  of  the  lime  on  the  sand.  I  have 
as  much  faith  in  my  countrymen  as  Mr.  Eed- 
"Tave  has  in  "  Knapp."  Knowing  the  men,  and. 


SOS 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  31,    1880. 


at  least,  tho  Enjrlisli  mortar  which  may,  or  may 
not,  bo  regarded  as  an  additional  factor  of 
safety,  has  led  me  to  tlie  conclusion  which  your 
correspondent,  in  a  ni.iza  of  "third-hand 
chemistry,"  thoughtfully  intends  to  avert  the 
evils  likely  to  follow  from  "Mr.  Eeid's  dictum " 
being  accepted. 

Tho  "disquisition  on  the  use  of  limes  of  the 
ancients"  was  a  mere  reminder  to  some  of  your 
readers  that  tho  A  B  C  of  concrete  study  should 
be  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  relative  duties 
and  positions  of  matrix  and  aggregate,  and  to 
endeavour,  if  possible,  to  counteract  the  per- 
nicious use  of  sulphur,  selenite,  and  loam,  of 
wliich  Mr.  RcdgTare  is  regarded  as  the  avowed 
tiatlf  exponent.  Mr.  Culson,  and  others,  who 
make  their  concrete  from  unwashed  gravel,  are 
under  the  necessity  of  using  a  quick-setting 
cement ;  but  more  advanced,  and,  I  may  say, 
more  scientific,  concrete-makers,  are  enabled  to 
use  a  slow-setting  cement,  because  one  un- 
alterable canon  of  their  industry  is,  that 
"  aggregates  must  be  clean." 

I  see,  in  your  last  number,  that  Mr.  Redgrave 
has  favoured  your  readers  with  what  I  suppose 
he  intends  to  be  regarded  as  a  "  Child's  History 
of  Portland  Cement."  He  quotes,  with  much 
satisfaction,  Mr.  I.  C.  Johnson's  correspondence, 
who,  I  fancy,  will  not  be  too  pleased  with  the 
means  by  which  the  "historian"  pads  up  the 
interesting  article.  Mr.  Redgrave  does  not  seem 
to  know  that  the  first  utilisation  of  waste  heat 
from  the  cement  kilns  on  an  extensive  scale  was 
made  by  Messrs.  Knight,  Bevan,  and  Sturge,  at 
Xoithileet,  who,  I  think,  before  Mr.  Johnson 
went  to  Gateshead,  and  certainly  many  years 
before  he  built  his  Queenhithe  works,  dried  the 
slurry  on  flues,  under  which  was  conveyed,  by  the 
agency  of  a  high  chimney,  the  surplus  heat 
from  the  closed -up  kilns."  This  was  the  first 
substantial  departure  from  the  original  Aspdin 
process,  in  which  close  kilns  were  substituted  for 
the  open  ones.  Having  been  engaged  profes- 
sionally in  the  Chancery  suit  which  resulted  in 
a  compromise  about  Gorcham's  patent,  I  cannot 
allude  to  the  matter  here ;  but  I  have  recorded 
years  ago  the  fact  that  horizontal  miUstones 
were  used  for  mixing  Portland  cement  raw 
materials  long  before  Mr.  Goreham  was  Mr. 
Johnson's  engine-driver,  and,  of  course,  many 
years  before  the  date  of  his  patent.  Mr.  Red- 
grave is  courteously  civil  to  Mr.  Johnson,  and  I 
am  somewhat  surprised,  therefore,  because  in 
speaking  of  the  father  of  Portland  cement,  in  the 
joint-paper,  he  says  of  Aspdin,  that  from  the 
omission  of  certain  details  in  the  specification  of 
his  patent, it  "would  seem  to  throw  serious 
doubts  upon  the  authenticity  of  his  discovery, 
at  the  date  of  his  patent,  of  the  material  now 
known  as  Portland  cement." 

If  "Writer  of  Article"  means  that  lama 
cement  manufacturer,  he  is  under  a  mistake ;  but 
that  I  have  an  interest  in  the  industry  is  un- 
doubted, for  my  time  is  pretty  well  devoted  to 
the  subject  in  adi-ising  as  to  works,  &c.,  in  this 
and  other  countries.  No  one  can  object  to  the 
views  propounded  in  the  article,  it  a  hard  and 
fast  line  can  be  drawn  and  measures  of  mortar 
value  instituted  for  the  guidance  of  the  ignorant 
and  the  control  of  the  dishonest,  although  I  do 
not  fully  subscribe  to  the  hackneyed  phrase  of 
the  strength,  &c.,  being  measured  or  assessed  at 
the  value  of  the  weakest  part.  It  savours  too 
much  of  lowering  the  quahtv,  when  the  ambition 
of  the  architect  should  be  to  raise  it.  Why  not 
make  bricks  belter  and  keep  mortar  at  its  maxi- 
mum? A  man  with  a  weak  leg  need  not  be 
bound  to  have  a  soft  head.  Xature  has  provided 
a  skeleton  frame  in  its  animal  economy  to  resist 
and  maintain  intact  the  body  against  wear  and 
tear,  and  good  mortar-joiiits  may  be  likened  to 
the  same  arrangement,  and  should  be  competent 
to  protect  the  building  from  the  variety  of  shocks 
and  strains  to  which  it  is  "exposed."  Mortar 
jomts  that  crumble  down  from  vibration  caused 
by  passing  vehicles  cannot  surely  be  regarded 
as  suitable  or  safe.  The  best  preserved  ancient 
bujldmgs  are  those  with  good  mortar-joints. 

UTiat  I  meant  by  dangerous  in  coloured  con- 
cretes was  the  risk  which  must  be  run  in  using 
pigments,  which  can  only  be  regarded  as  so 
much  loam.— I  am,  &c.,     "  Hexey  Reid. 

21,  Arundcl-street,  W.C,  Dec.  2.3. 

Sir,— Mr.  W.  H.  Lascelles  can  have  proof  of  the 
truth  of  my  assertions  that  I  have  used  red  con- 
crete prior  to  the  date  of  bis  patents  by  undeitakiu" 
to  give  publicity  to  the  proof  equal  to  the  pubUcity 
given  to  his  doubts,  and  by  meeting  me  by  appoint- 


mciit  at  the  Crystal  Palace  (low  level)  station, 
within  three  minutes'  walking  distance  of  which  I 
will  show  him,  iu  housps  built  by  my  firm  in  1839- 
70,  red  concrete,  also  black  and  buff  concrete,  there 
and  then  moulded  and  fixed,  and  remaining  till 
DOW,  without  alteration  or  repair,  iu  as  good  con- 
dition as  when  iixed. 

In  reply  to  Mr.  Lascelles'  second  question,  I  do 
not  claim  to  be  the  discoverer  of  red  concrete.  Iu 
1S')3  a  piecework  plasterer  engaged  upon  a  villa 
residence  I  was  then  building  made  for  me  samples 
of  red,  buff,  black,  and  dark  bluish-grey  concrete 
for  choice  to  useiu  dressings.  ..tc.  Th?  last-named 
colour  only  was  selected.  Even  at  that  time,  more 
than  ten  years  before  the  date  of  Mr.  Lascelles' 
patent,  I  did  not  consider  it  open  to  any  one  to  claim 
a  patent  for  the  use  of  red  or  other  coloured  cement, 
neither  would  Mr.  Lascelles  now  if' he  would  take 
the  trouble  to  search  the  Patent  Office  Library  or 
to  question  workers  in  cement,  especially  those 
describing  themselves  as  "  architectural  modellers. *' 
— I  am,  &c.  Chaeles  Deake. 

Railway  Wharf,  Battersei-park,  S.W.,  Dec.  28. 


A  WONDERFUL  STOVE. 

SiE,  —  Some  two  months  ago  you  were  kind 
enough  to  insert  a  letter  in  which  I  asked  two 
questions  respecting  a  wonderful  stove  which 
was  capable  of  all  sorts  of  things,  its  principal 
merit  being  that  it  consumed  its  own  smoke. 

The  two  questions  were  as  follows :  — 

1 .  Does  this  stove  do  all  the  things  ascribed 
to  itP 

2.  Where  is  the  stove  to  be  viewed  ? 

WiU  you  allow  me  a  few  lines  to  tell  you  the 
results  of  my  letter  in  your  paper? 

Shortly  after  its  appearance,  a  gentleman 
called  here  during  my  absence  :  he  left  the  fol- 
lowing card  : — "  John  Sanders  Stevens,  Archi- 
bald Smith  and  Stevens,  Engineers,  48,  Leicester- 
square,"  and  hft  word  that  in  a  week  or  ten 
days,  he  would  probably  be  in  a  position  to 
show  me  a  stove,  but  would  let  me  know. 

I  have  heard  nothing  more  of  him. 

The  only  other  communication  is  Mr.  Seddon's 
letter,  in  the  B0ii,ding  News  of  the  r2th  of 
November.  Like  the  author  of  the  letter  in  the 
Tekfiraiih,  signed  "  An  Architect,"  he  is  careful 
to  tell  UE  that  he  has  seen  the  stove,  but  dis- 
tinctly omits  to  tell  us  where  he  has  seen  it,  or 
where  it  can  be  seen. 

Two  months  have  now  elapsed,  and  my  ques- 
tions are  still  unanswered. 

If  the  stove  really  can  do  what  is  described, 
and  is  not  too  ugly,  it  may,  possibly,  be  the 
means  of  solving  the  great  difficulty  of  London 
architecture. 

At  preseut  no  material,  with  perhaps  the  ex- 
ception of  granite,  can  resist  the  atmosphere  of 
this  city.  But  should  it  be  put  to  rights, 
although  only  partially,  we  may  begin  to  hope 
for  better  things.  At  present,  however  beautifid 
a  building  may  be,  in  a  few  days  the  London 
smoke  destroys  the  details,  and  gives  the  whole 
surface  a  coating  of  soot. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Seddon  may  favour  us  by  telling 
your  readers  where  he  saw  the  stove  in  question. 
— I  am,  &c.  W.  Buboes. 

1-5,  Buckingham-street,  Strand,  Dec.  29. 


GLASGOW   MUNICIPAL    BUILDINGS 
COMPETITION. 

Sir, — The  question  of  "  blacking-iu  "  windows 
calls  for  a  further  brief  notice. 

"T.  L.  W."  says,  "the  conditions  did  not 
forbid,"  and  that  it  "infringed  no  condition"  ; 
whUe  "Old  T-Square"  refers  to  the  closing 
words  of  the  condition  only,  "without  colour  or 
etching."  Both  appear  to  have  noticed  only 
this  part  of  the  clause,  but  I  am  sure  they  will 
admit  that  the  former  part  is  as  binding  as  the 
latter. 

It  runs  in  full:  "The  elevations  are  to  be 
shown  in  geometric  form  only,  in  line,  without 
colour  or  etching."  A  plain"  geometrical  form 
could  be  shown  by  a  flat  blacking-inof  a  required 
shape,  but  the  added  words,  ""inline,"  forbid 
that  method. 

I  was  glad  to  see  "  Old  T-Squaie's  "  design, 
noting  it  as  one  of  the  few  which  sought  to 
meet  the  Umit  of  cost,  and  regretted  he  had 
disqualified  himself  for  a  premium.  I  do  not 
doubt  his  bona  fides,  but  when  he  says  his 
drawings  "were  simply  got  up  in  line,"  I  do 
not  understand  him  ;  for,  admittedly,  they  were 
further  finished  with  the  brush,  w"hich  the  ex- 
press tenns  of  the  condition  ("in  line  ")  forbids. 

Some  had  complied  with  all  the  quoted  clause. 


and  then  disqualified  themselves  by  colour'  1 
margins.  Other  few  were  out  of  court  only  liy 
adding  enlarged  details,  which  also  the  condi- 
tions forbad,  saying,  '^  All  the  drawings  mn~; 
be  made  to  a  scale  of  lin.  to  10ft.,"  &c.  A  ft  w 
had  put  plans  of  the  wall  under  their  elevation-, 
so  as  to  show  blank  windows  from  real  ones,  nn  1 
also  to  show  how  far  they  had  kept  to  the  Cor- 
poration plans,  but  being  to  tho  tenth  scale,  this 
I  deemed  admissible ;  nor  would  the  blacking  ot 
such  plan  walls  be  forbidden  by  the  clause  as  to 
"  elevations." 

I  name  these  items,  because  it  is  clear  many 
do  not  sufficiently  notice  the  terms  of  a  contest, 
and  it  is  only  (as  I  believe)  by  so  doing,  that 
competition  abuses  can  be  ultimately  reformed. 
Association  rules  are  a  "WiU  o' the  Wisp," 
diverting  from  the  true  remedy.  As  long  as  90 
competitors  out  of  96  break  rule,  so  long  com- 
mittees will  despise  the  profession,  and  issue 
such  terms  as  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire 
Railway  has  just  done.  They  naturally  say, 
"You  do  as  you  please,  despite  what  we  say  ; 
and  we  shall  do  as  we  please,  despite  what  you 
say." 

Small  blame  to  them  ;  they  wUl  have  a  large 
assortment  of  papers  sent  in,  and  their  final 
nominee  for  the  work  will  pick  out  what  pleases 
him.  The  public  will  say  it  is  an  imposing 
building,  and  the  profession  will  sigh  over  it, 
but  must  thank  themselves  for  the  imposture. — 
I  am,  &c.,  AxOTiLEE  Cohpetiioe. 


LI'\'ERPOOL  STATION  COMPETITION. 

SiE, — I  am  glad  to  see  the  letters  in  your  last 
issue  on  the  subject  of  the  unreasonable  condi- 
tions in  this  competition,  and  especially  as  to 
the  one  requiring  detaiUd  sptrijivations  and  qtiari' 
titles.  Ajiything  more  monstrous  I  never  heard 
of,  and  causes  it  not  to  be  a  "  design,"  which  is 
wanted,  but  a  complete  set  of  documents  on 
which  to  form  a  contract.  But  what  an  utter 
absurdity  to  suppose  that  any  one  of  the  designs 
will  exactly  meet  the  wishes  of  the  directors 
and  officials  iu  plan  of  station  and  other  build- 
ings, in  elevation,  in  style  of  details,  and  in 
materials  proposed,  frc,  and  any  alterations  will 
make  the  ' '  detailed  specification  and  quantities  *' 
useless. 

I  still  hope  the  directors  will  alter  the  condi- 
tions ;  if  they  do  not,  I  hope  all  applicants  will 
consign  the  papers  to  the  office -fire,  as  will  be 
done  by  Coiuiox  Sexse. 


LIVERPOOL  INSTITUTE  SCHOOL  OF 
ART. 
SiE, — Writers  in  our  professional  journals 
having  put  it  strongly  that  the  premiated  archi- 
tects in  this  case  owe  their  position  to  "tout- 
ing" rather  than  merit,  permit  me,  as  author 
of  plan  placed  second  by  the  committee,  to  say 
that  my  plans  were  left  entirely  to  themselves, 
and  the  writer's  description  therewith,  not  five 
minutes  being  spent  either  in  seeing  or  writing 
to  anyone  concerned  ;  and  in  order  to  remove  all 
suspicion  of  foul-play,  I  have  WTitten  to  the 
secretary  requesting  the  publication  of  the  re- 
port upon  the  drawings,  as  prepared  by  the  head 
master  of  the  Art  School,  who  drew  up  the  re- 
quirements issued  to  competitors,  and  must  ask 
your  readers  to  withhold  their  judgment  as  to  the 
charge  of  "  touting  "  until  the  issue  of  the  said 
report,  which,  unless  rumour  is  false,  will  show 
that  I,  at  least,  have  received  no  such  favour 
from  the  committee  as  your  correspondents  seem 
to  think. — I  am,  &c., 

C.  O.  Eixisox. 
(Author  of  "  Let  there  be  light.") 


SiE. — The  letter  in  your  la.st  impression,  from 
Mr.  Sharp,  is  incorrect  in,  at  least,  two  par- 
ticulars. 

1st.  At  the  outset  of  the  competition  I  went 
over  to  Liverpool  to  see  the  site,  and,  de- 
siring further  information  than  was  given  in 
the  conditions,  I  called  upon  Mr.  Sharp,  who 
during  the  interview  distinctly  and  unreservedly 
told  me  (and  coming  from  so  responsible  an 
agent  I  believed  it)  that  the  directors  had 
decided  to  call  in  a  professional  referee;  yet, 
although  I  have  written  for  the  name  of  the 
referee,  no  answer  has  been  sent  me,  neither  did 
I  ever  receive  a  copy  of  the  resolution  referred  to 
in  the  secretary's  letter  to  you  until  it  was  pub- 
lished in  the  building  journals. 

2nd.  I  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  copy  of 
the  particulars  of  the  competition,  if  that  is  what 


i 


Dec. 


ISSO. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


809 


.'[r.  Sharp  calls  giving  information  "without 
^lillt  ";  but  beyund  reffiring  me  to  the  clauses  of 
the  conditions,  I  found  him  by  no  means  so  free  as 
he  would  have  you  believe  he  had  been. 

Is  it  not  a  little  rash  on  the  part  of  the  secre- 
tary to  assert  (as  how  can  he  kuow?)  "that  until 
the  moment  after  the  awards  had  been  made  not 
a  member  of  the  selecting  committee  wae  aware 
of  the  identity  of  any  of  the  authors'  designs  f  " 
If  it  be  true,  then  itr.  Sharp  has  yet  to  explain 
how  your  correspondent,  "Surprised,"  camo  by 
his  information  ;  for,  should  it  be  as  Mr.  Sharp 
teU-s  one,  the  sealed  envelopes  were  in  his  safe 
keeping  until  after  the  awards  were  made,  some- 
thing very  Hke  '•  touting  "  must  have  prevailed 
to  a  greater  extent  than  the  single  case  admitted 
by  Mr.  Sharp  would  suggest. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  how  the  after- 
part  of  the  competition  has  been  managed.  A 
printed  notice,  dated  Dec.  14,  was  sent  me, 
stating  the  decision  of  the  directors  with  regard 
to  the  prizes  and  non-exhibition  of  the  di-a wings, 
to  which  was  added,  in  writing,  "  Yours  wUl  be 
returned  at  once — carriage  paid."  Yet,  on  the 
1 7th,  nothing  having  arrived,  I  ran  over  to 
Liverpool,  and  found  that  my  drawings  had  not 
even  been  sent  otf ,  so  I  brought  them  away  with 
me.  Judge  of  my  surprise  on  receiving  a  post- 
card, just  a  week  afterwards,  from  Mr.  Sharp, 
wliich  says,  "I  have  forwarded  your  designs 
per  rail — carriage  paid." 

From  the  above  it  will  be  gathered  how  much 
reliance  should  be  placed  in  an  overworked  secre- 
tary's assurances. — I  am,  &c., 

Leeds,  Dec.  2S.  Hkney  WAiKEB. 


TRIPOD  STAND. 


SiE, — Accompanying  this  is  an  isometric  out- 
line of  a  plan  I  have  adopted  for  supporting  a 
■drawing-bjard  on  a  tripod  stand.     A  3  C  are  the 


■feet  of  the  stand,  forming  an  equilateral  triangle, 
K  being^the  position  of  the  usual  adjusting  plates, 
'and  G  H  I  J  the  drawing-board.  E  G  and  D  H, 
F  I  and  F  J  are  diagonal  braces  or  ties,  proceeding 
from  convenient  pKces  on  the  legs  to  near  the 
corners  of  the  board.  F  D  and  F  E  are  ties  from 
the  leg  C  K  to  the  other  legs  respectively.  D  E  is 
a  strut  which,  by  means  of  a  right  and  left  hand 
screw,  is  capable  of  being  expanded. 

The  above  six  braces  and  ties  are  in  fact  all 
"ties,"  and  the  legs  from  the  points  D  E  and  F  K, 
together  with  D  E,  form  four  "  stmts,"  and  the 
action  of  expanding  D  E  tightens  all  the  ties. 

I  have  made  a  light  stand  of  this  sort ;  the  tripod 
being  a  prismatic  compass  stand,  the  ties  of  crino- 
iine  steel  |  wide,  the  strut  D  E  two  pieces  of  3  brass 
tube  connected  in  the  middle  by  a  right  and  left 
screw,  the  nuts  bemg  soldered  inside  the  tubes 
about  Uin.  from  the  ends,  the  shoulders  of  the 
screws  at  each  side  fitting  the  inside  of  the  tubes  in 
order  to  prevent  bending.  The  diagonal  braces 
have  oval  hjles  in  the  ends,  which  hang  on  hooka 
at  the  comers  of  the  board  and  go  on  to  the  heads 
of  screws  at  D  E  and  F.  The  ties  F  D  and  F  E 
pass  through  the  legs,  having  cross-pins  outside. 
The  ends  of  the  strut  D  E  are  let  into 
shallow  recesses  in  each  leg.  with  a  cross- 
piece  of  steel  on  edge  inside,  taken  by  slits  in  the 
tube,  so  as  io  prevent  the  rod  from  turning.  The 
drawing-board  has  a  boss  on  the  under  side,  bored 
so  tis  to  fit  loosely  on  the  pin  of  the  stand.  The 
whole  takes  asunder  with  great  readiness,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  board,  goes  into  a  cbth 
tase,  and  can  be  tised  as  a  walking-staff  or  Alpen- 
stock. 


The  use  I  make  of  it  is  for  a  camera- lucila  stand, 
in  pljce  of  the  heavy,  awkward,  walking-stick 
stand  usually  supplica  with  the  inslrumcut.  Of 
com se,  it  is  applicable  to  many  oHkt  u3.-«.  llio 
ties  may  be  made  of  light-pitched  chain,  and  so  the 
adjustment  may  bo  alttrtU  to  give  obliquity  to  the 
board.  The  crinoline  steel  hai  lightncs*  and 
ligidity  to  recommend  it.  and  with  it  the  stabiUty 
onl  firmness  of  the  stand  are  very  remarkable. 

The  drawing  is  to  a  half-inch  isometrical  scale, 
the  distance  between  the  feet  being  -Ift.,  and  tbo 
height  from  L  to  K  .3ft.  8iu.;  the  drawing- board 
21iu.  by  loin. — I  am,  Arc, 

EoBT.  J.  Leckt. 


j-uUuommunicati0n. 


QVESTIOXS. 

i:G339.>Breakins  Weight  of  Column.— VPImt 

is  the  breaking  weight  of  a  ciLft-iroti  hoUow  column, 
outsideiliameterljin., inside  diameter 2iia., and  12ft. 8in. 
long  .'—Coi.lll.s-. 

[6340.1- Bending-  IComent  in  Bectang-olar 
Beam. — Will  some  reader  kindly  t»ll  me  how  to  cal- 
culate the  bendinsr  moment  at  any  point  in  a  rectangular 
beam  uniformly  loaded,  and  also  iiow  to  find  the  moment 
of  resistance  of  a  simihu-  be.iia  !— Fouul-la. 

[6311.1— Gauging  Stream.— Will  some  of  your 
readers  kindly  ^ive  me  tlie  In'st  method  of  gauging  a 
stream  of  water,  and  the  various  details  in  connection 
therewith  !  Also,  what  is  me  int  by  tlie  quart-pot  method 
of  gauging !— P. 

[6312.]— Ajlti- Vermin  Coating.— Can  any  of  your 

readers  inform  me  of  a  prepiratiun  for  coating  canvas  or 
paper  to  prevent  vermin  from  eating  same  I  1  am  con- 
verting an  old  stable  into  a  biUiard-room,  and  have 
strapped  the  walls  and  put  canva.s  and  paper  on  straps, 
but  I  find  the  mice  have  begun  to  destroy  same. — Olo 
Tape-box. 

[6343.1- Water  Testa. -I  should  be  greatly  obliged 
if  some  of  your  numerous  rcjiders  vould  kindly  give  me 
any  information,  accompanied  by  some  good  practical 
tests  for  ascertaining,  1st,  the  degrees  of  hardness  of 
wa*er.  2nd,  the  best  and  simplest  test  as  to  whether  clear 
and  apparently  good  water  is  fit  for  human  food,  or  if 
polluted,  and  wliat  with  and  to  what  extent.  3rd,  tests 
for  detecting  the  presence  (if  only  in  minute  quantities] 
of  iron,  lead,  and  urine.  An  early  reply  will  be  appre- 
ciated by— JuvE.vTus. 

[6344.]— Ketaining  Wall —What  reUable  rule  can 
be  given  for  determining  the  thickness  of  a  retaining  wall 
of  masoury,  the  face  of  w  hicli  has  a  batter,  the  back  being 
vertical  ?  Example:  Wall  Sf  t.  high  of  rubble  stone  masonn-, 
laid  in  lias- lime  mortar,  the  front  face  battering  1  in  6 ; 
the  back  ha\-ing  to  support  earth,  the  natural  slope  of 
wliich  is  15  to  1  .  Weight,  of  earth.  1161b.  per  cubicfoot. 
of  masonry,  12olb.  per  cubic  foot.  What  thickness  should 
the  wall  be  at  bottom,  at  right  angles  to  the  batter,  also 
at  top !    Please  give  autLoriiies.- H.  A.  I. 


REPLIES. 

[63-26.]— King   Post-— I  inclose  a  solution  of  this 
question,  and  shall  be  glad  if  it  be  useful  to  the  gentle- 


man whose  interesting  problc 
of  ICth  Dec. :— BC  =  6 ;  CD 
and  prove  it. 

Let  0  =  DEC 
Draw  DM  perpendicular  to  AB,  and  joio  DB 

Then  .-.  CB  =  CD  .-.  <  B  =  «^  =  j  =  <  BDC 
AD  =  CD  sec.  9  =  6  sec.  9 
AB  ^  an.  ADD  ^  sin.  (-^  -I-  9) 
AD       sin.  ABD  * 


<Osin.  9_  «'"■  ("5+  ®) 

6  a«c.  9  ; — 

sin. — 

4 

J?  sin.  9  cos.  9  =  COS.  9  -tiio-  A 
3 

-,  sin.  2  9=  v'  1  +  a""-  *9 

Let  2  9  =  j; 


10 


=  -/l+-x 


•i^'  + 


""'    =  1  i-  J 

9 
lOOlr'  —  9x  =  i 
81     _ 


(200)» 


100 


81     _    .SSSl 
(200','        (#»,■ 


_    9    _  60  6712 
"aw  200 

z  =  ^'"'"  =  -343356  =  sin.  2  3 
.  by  the  tables  2  ;  =  20  ar 


— W.  W.  TfESEB. 


)  AB  =  40  «in.  9 

9  =  10'  If  (nearly)  )  =  701193  (nearly) 


STAINED  GLASS. 
B.inNSiiL-uy.— Messrs.  W.  M.  lVp|iur  and  Co.,  of 
the  Kustoii  •  roa  I,  havo  lately  pUcud  in  St. 
Andrew's  Church,  Thoruhill-squaro,  I'Alodonian- 
road,  N'.,  a  hiudsomo  sLiiueil  rUm  .a-t  window. 
The  throo  cuntro  openings  are  in  ni'-iii"ry  of  the 
Misie(  DobS'in,  late  mumUri  of  the  c  inj-ronalion. 
The  right-hand  tide  li({ht  is  prc-.3iited  by  Mr. 
Williams,  formerly  one  of  the  thurchwarJens,  in 
memory  of  a  sou  lost  at  B«a.  The  window  was 
comp'uti'd  and  liied  for  the  servica  on  .St.  .\udrew's 
Day.  Tbo  subject  is  "Tbo  Mira.  lo  of  ths  Fire 
LoAVes  and  Two  .Sma'l  Fishes."  The  figuro  of  our 
Saviour  occup  i>i  the  centre  light  with  two  of  the 
apostles  on  either  of  the  sido  lights  with  Iho  multi> 
tu do  grouped  around.  In  tho  back.'round  is  the 
8uu  setting  behind  tho  head  of  our  Saviour,  thus 
forming  a  halo  of  glory. 

BuououTY  Fiinny.— Several  new  memorial  win- 
dows have  just  been  eroct*^  in  .St.  Mary's  Epis- 
copal Church,  Droughty  Forrj-.  One  is  a  three- 
light  altar  window,  tho  centre  light  being  <iccupie-l 
by  a  figure  of  Christ  upon  tho  cross,  with  iliry 
Magdalene  kneeling  below  and  embracing  His 
feel ;  whilst  the  other  two  lights  contain  figures  of 
the  Vircin  Mary  and  John  the  Baptist.  Tho  work 
is  by  a  Brus.sels  artist,  some  of  whoso  work  is  t-j 
be  seen  in  Glasgow  Cathedral.  Another  window, 
by  Ward  and  Uughcs,  of  London,  has  also  been 
erected  in  memory  of  tho  latu  Miss  .Stirling  Gra- 
hame,  of  Duutrune,  and  her  grand-nephew. 


STATUES,  UEMOBIALS,  &c. 

St.  Astiiolin,  Waxbuook. — A  memorial  which 
has  been  erected  on  a  portion  of  the  site  of  this 
church  was  unveiled  on  Widnesday.  It  is  from 
designs  of  Mr.  Ewan  Christian,  and  has  been  exe- 
coted  by  Mr.  Cooke,  of  Kennington,  at  a  cost  of 
£100.  It  is  of  Portland  stone,  is  in  tho  Corinthian 
style,  and  contains  a  marble  tablet  bearing  tho 
following  inscription :—"  Hero  stood  the  parish- 
church  of  St.  Anthol  n,  destroyed  in  tho  Great  Fire, 
A.D.  IGUC,  rebuilt  A.D.  ICTT,  by  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  architect.  Tho  change  of  population  in  the 
City  during  two  centuries  rendering  the  church  no 
linger  necessary,  it  was  taken  down  a.d.  187>, 
under  an  Act  of  Parliament  for  uniting  tho  City 
benefices.  The  funds  derived  frsm  tho  sale  of  the 
site  were  devoted  in  part  to  the  restoration  of  the 
neighbouring  church  of  St.  Mary  Aldermary, 
where  are  also  re-erected  tho  monumental  tablets 
removed  from  .St.  Antholin,  and  the  erection  at 
Xunhead  of  another  church  dedicated  to  St. 
Antholin,  greatly  needed  in  that  thickly-popu'atcd 
district.  'Tho  greater  part  of  the  remains  are  in- 
terred in  the  vault  beneath,  and  tho  remainder 
are  at  Ilford,  where  a  monument  his  licen  erected." 


LEGAL    INTELLIGENCE. 

BuiLBEB  AXD  CLIENT.— At  tho  Wandsworth 
County  Court  on  the  I'iri  iust.,  before  Mr.  H.  J. 
Stonor,  judge,  tho  cas?  of  Walker  v.  Newman  was 
heard.  Plaintiff,  a  builder  at  liatt-Tsea,  claimeJ 
£.31,  balance  of  an  account  for  building  work  i>cr- 
formed  in  Xuvember  and  Deceoibcr,  IS7t',  in  con- 
nection with  'ho  alteration  of  a  beerhouse  which 
defendant,  a  licensed  victualler,  hid  iust  !  il.  n 
possession  of,  known  as  thoK'>vnl  Oak,  llaii;;  i  n- 
road,  Ildloway.  Defendant  'had  fibd  a  .  •  ■  r 
claim  of  flJl,  which  included  an  item  of  i'  i  as 
£1(1  a  week  penalty  for  six  weeks' delay  in  com- 
pleting tho  work  unler  tho  terms  of  tho  contract  ; 
andnho  amounts  paid  as  comp^-nsation  toownersof 
adjo'nine  proiwrty,  and  a  charge  mads  by  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  under  the  DongcrouJ 
Structures  Act.  Tho  claim  of  plaintiff  was  ad- 
mitted subject  to  the  charges  being  referred  to  and 
examined  by  an  indcpendnt  surveyor.  After 
hearing  the  evidence,  his  honour  found  for  de- 
fendant on  the  counter  claim  t  a  the  extent  of  £21 
only.    The  question  of  c/jsts  was  rtscrvcd. 

SrsotruiK  Actios  ht  ls  AncnrrKcr.— At  Iho 
Oaildford  County  Court  on  Dec.  tho  1  Ith,  the 
case  of  Shcarbnm  v.  Wall  and  H->oke  w«  hetrd. 
The  plaintiff,  an  architect  and  surveyor  n(  parking, 
claimed  £-'3  .')«.,  the  value  of  150  cu!.ic  yards  of 
stone,  allrpcl  to  havo  bc-n  wrongfully  removed  by 
defendant*,  who  are  a  well-kmwn  firm  <  f  builders 
and  contractors,  of  Brinscfimbe.  near  SIroad. 
Glooce^tiTshire.  It  sppoarcl  that  sbonf  eight  or 
nine  years  ng->.  pisioliff  was  build  ng  three  man- 
sions at  Holmbury,  and  obtained  pern.ission  from 
Ihelat     Mr   R-rr-i'd  Prav.  I^rd  r-f  ,^«  m^n^r  of 

Sher.  ■  '-  "    '    •  --'   -^ 

pay;- 
th-  1 
wbi^ 
or  fouud 

amoant  t-   . .-  „ 

.•Js.  6d.  per  cubic  yari       I  b^  d-f-p-isnt.  w»r-  «h» 

contractors  for  the  '      ''      ■    '        >    -i   -.  ,- 

in  ISTS.  and  w.re  - 

to  their  own  use,  ai 

on  hearing  this,  c[:i   -    ^  '         .  .    :   : 


.dit...i.,.      Tl..i    wa.-    Trl     ly   rlv..':--     to 
to  l-iO  yards,  and  was  valued  by  him  at 


810 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


the  stoao.  The  defendants' case  was  that  there 
was  no  stoue  at  the  nuuvry  which  was  fit  for  baild- 
in"  purposes,  but  oulya  lot  of  rubbish  which  might 
do"  for  coucrete.  It  was  also  contended  that  a 
clause  was  i.ut  in  the  agreement  for  the  building 
of  the  church  to  the  effect  that  the  contractor  was 
to  have  the  right  of  taking  stone  from  the  quarry. 
A  considerable  number  of  witnesses  were  examined 
on  either  side,  and  eventually  his  Honour  deter- 
mined that  the  claim  had  been  clearly  made  out, 
and  gave  judgment  for  plaintiff  for  £21. 

WATEB    SUPPLY    AND    SANITARY 
MATTERS. 

HOESUAii.— .lu  application  from  the  local  board 
of  Horsham  for  power  to  borrow  sums  of  £3,000 
for  sewerage  works  and  £1,200  for  the  purchase 
of  a  yard  for  storing  material  formed  the  subject 
of  a  local  inquiry,  held  on  Thursday,  the  16th  inst., 
before  Major  Hector  Tulloch,  R.E.,  an  inspector 
of  the  Local  Government  Board.  The  clerk  to  the 
Horsham  board  explained  that,  of  the  amounts 
applied  for,  £1,897  lis.  was  required  to  meet  the 
cost  of  compensation  and  arbitration,  £7'30  for  the 
extension  of  the  main  sewer,  and  £300  for  a 
siphon  and  alterations  to  the  sewer  at  Hill's  Farm. 
The  inspector  suggested  the  enlargement  of  some 
of  the  sewers  from  ISin.,  as  shown  on  the  plans, 
to  24in.,  in  order  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  their 
being  burst.  As  to  the  store  yard,  it  was  stated 
that  all  the  necessary  buildings  were  already 
erected  on  the  site  which  the  board  wished  to 
purchase. 

AEifsniE.— An  inquiry  was  held  at  Arnside,  near 
Kendal,  on  the  14th  inst.,  before  Mr.  Arnold 
Taylor,  C.E.,  inspector  to  the  Local  Government 
Board,  with  reference  to  an  application  for  leave 
to  form  a  special  drainage  district  for  the  Arnside 
portion  of  the  parish  of  Beetham;  and  also  for 
power  to  borrow  £1,200  for  carrying  out  works  in 
connection  with  the  proposed  water-supply  from 
water  belonging  to  the  Grange  local  board,  and 
which  is  stored  at  Grange,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  sands.  It  was  stated  that  the  district  of 
Arnside  was  nowarising  seaside  resort ,  with  a  present 
population,  in  ISSO,  of  30i,  dwelling  in  72  houses, 
and  that  the  special  drainage  district  would  include 
1 ,  783  acres,  besides  -560  acres  of  foreshore ;  27  of  these 
houses  were  new  ones,  and  20  other  building-sites 
were  being  built  upon.  Mr.  Harrison,  engineer  to 
the  Grange  local  board,  explained  the  plans  for 
water-supply,  and  the  inspector  intimated  that  the 
proposed  summer  supply — 3, -300  gallons  per  day — 
would  be  probably  found  before  lon^  to  be  in- 
sufficient, and  pointed  out  the  absurdity  of  fixing 
BO  low  a  maximum. 

CHIPS. 

A  stained  -  glass  window  has  recently  been 
placed  at  the  western  end  of  the  south  aisle  of  St. 
Matthew's  Church,  Ipswich,  as  a  memorial  to  the 
late  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Brame.  It  consists  of 
three  principal  lights,  the  centre  one  being  occupied 
by  a  figure  of  Jesus  as  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  the 
side  lights  by  female  figures  with  appropriate  em- 
blems, representing  Faith  and  Hope.  The  window 
was  executed  by  Messrs.  Ward  and  Hughes,  Lon- 
don, and  the  stonemason's  work  by  Messrs.  Wigg 
and  Wright,  of  Ipswich. 

Excavations  were  conducted  last  week  by  order 
of  the  Earl  of  Eglinton  in  the  Buiston  *'  crannog." 
The  ancient  lake  dwelling  promises  to  be  rich  in 
remains.  Among  the  articles  found  are  red  deer 
horns  and  roe-deer  antlers ;  wood,  bone,  and  iron 
implements :  a  well-preserved  specimen  of  an 
ancient  comb:  a  bronze  fibula,  and  one  of  gold. 
This  latter  weij;hs  about  12  dwts.,  and  is  formed  of 
thick  wire,  twisted  intj  a  simple  pattern. 

The  London  School  Board,  at  its  meeting  last 
week,  decided  to  write  to  the  Education  Depart- 
ment, asking  them,  when  considering  the  estimates 
for  schools,  to  recogoise  the  cost  of  boundary  walls 
for  schools  erected  within  the  district  of  the  London 
School  Board  as  an  extra  which  need  not  be  included 
within  the  limit  of  £10  per  child  as  the  cost  of  new 
schools.  It  was  pointed  out  that  already  teachers' 
rooms  and  schoolkeepers'  houses,  &c..  are  recog- 
nised as  extra  expenditure,  and  that  the  posi- 
tion of  the  London  School  Board  in  this 
matter  is  exceptional,  owing  to  the  fact  that  their 
schools  are,  as  a  rule,  erected  in  closely-populated 
districts,  wherd  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
buildings  should  bo  securely  enclosed  with  sub- 
etautial  boundary  walls  ;  while  in  country  districts, 
a  park  paling,  or  a  light  fencing  is  generally  con- 
sidered sufficient  for  this  purpose.  The  works  com- 
mittee wete  authorised  to  incur  an  expenditure  not 
exceeding  £300  for  ventilating  the  board-room, 
ante-room,  and  ladies'-rotm,  the  work  to  be  carried 
out  under  the  supervision  of  the  architect  to  the 
board  and  Dr.  B.  W.  Richardson.  For  fittings  and 
furniture  for  new  schools  the  following  sums  were 
voted:  Park  Walk,  Chelsea,  £5.58  7s.  3d.,  equiva- 
lent on  the  ,S()t  school- places  provided  to  13s.  lOd. 
per  head:  aud  High-slreet,  Eltham,  £204  10s.  6d., 
equal  on  200  school-places  to  203.  5d.  per  head. 


— ♦-♦-• — 

The  death  is  announced  of  the  landscape' 
engraver,  John  Cousen,  whose  works  afte'" 
Turner,  Stanfield,  and  others  those  conversant 
with  the  art  of  landscape  engra^-ing  in  its  best 
period  hold  in  the  highest  esteem.  His  larger 
plates,  "  Mercury  and  Herse,"  after  Turner, 
"Towing  the  n<Yo)-.i/ into  Gibraltar  "  and  "The 
Morning  after  the  wreck,"  both  after  Stanfield, 
are  of  great  excellence  :  but  perhaps  his  taste 
was  best  displayed  in  his  smaller  book-plates 
after  Turner,  which  are  full  of  artistic  feeling 
and  execution.  Mr.  Cousen,  in  consequence  of 
weak  health,  retired  from  the  practice  of  his  art 
about  10  years  ago.  He  was  a  native  of  Brad- 
ford, in  Yorkshire,  and  died  at  his  residence  at 
South  Norwood  on  Sunday  last,  in  his  77th 
year. 

MoEE  than  300  poor  old  people,  many  of  them 
broken-down  members  of  the  building  trades, 
or  their  widows,  enjoyed  themselves  on  Christ- 
mas-day at  Exeter.  The  old  riding-school  was 
prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  on  its  walls  hung 
the  municii>al  flags  lent  by  the  mayor.  At  din- 
ner the  ancient  guests  consumed  some  4cwt.  of 
meat  and  poultry,  which  they  contrived  to  wash 
down  with  as  many  barrels  of  beer,  whilst  a 
couple  of  hundredweight  of  plum  pudding  and 
mince  pies  followed  the  fate  of  the  more  sub- 
stantial viands.  After  dinner,  the  mayor  pro- 
posed the  health  of  Mr.  Harry  Hems,  the  foun- 
der of  the  feast,  and  congratulated  him  upon 
occupying  the  chair  upon  that  occasion  for  the 
12th  successive  Christmas-cay.  An  excellent 
tea  followed  in  due  course  ;  and  then  the  tables 
were  cleared  away,  and  country  dances  were  in- 
dulged in.  When  the  old  folks  went  home  at 
9  o'clock,  they  received  as  a  gift  a  florin  and  a 
pound  of  plum  pudding,  in  addition  to  which 
every  man  took  with  him,  in  his  pocket,  half  a 
pound  of  tobacco,  and  every  woman  alike  quan- 
tity of  tea.  Several  architects  assisted  in  the 
good  work. 

The  town-council  of  Glasgow,  last  week,  di- 
rected their  clerk,  medical  officer  of  health,  and 
master  of  works  to  prepare  a  joint  memorandum 
showing  the  necessity  of  an  amendment  of  the 
Public  Health  Act  for  discoveiing  and  reporting 
on  cases  of  infectious  disease  in  the  city,  and  of 
providing  by  enactment  General  Building 
Regulations  for  securing  increased  light  and 
ventilation  in  connection  with  dwelling-houses. 
Should  the  town -council  approve  the  report,  it 
will  be  laid  before  the  local  authorities  of  other 
large  towns  in  Scotland,  and  their  co-operation 
will  be  sought  in  pressing  on  the  Goverimient 
the  necessity  of  introducing  a  general  measure, 
applicable  to  the  whole  of  Scotland. 

The  entire  completion  of  the  restoration  of  the 
west  front  of  Lichfield  Cathedral  may  be  looked 
forward  to  at  no  distant  date,  the  works  being 
rapidly  carried  forward.  The  Koman  cement 
with  which  the  front  had  been  patched  up  is 
being  removed,  and  replaced  by  sound  stone : 
and  now  that  the  new  figures  are  being  filled 
into  the  niches,  the  stately  effect  of 
the  broad  and  richly -decorated  facade  is  be- 
coming more  apparent.  On  Tuesday  week  the 
figures  of  Bishops  Lonsdale  and  Selwyu  were 
placed  in  front  of  the  stair  turret  to  the  west 
tower.  At  Bishop  Lonsdale's  feet  is  a  repre- 
sentation in  model  of  Eton  College,  whilst  to 
Bishop  Selwyn  there  clings  a  Melanesian  hoy,  in 
allusion  to  the  late  bishop's  long  labours  in  the 
South  Pacific  Islands.  A  figure  of  Bishop 
Hackett  will  shortly  be  placed  in  its  position. 
The  statues  are  from  the  studio  of  Mr.  Searle, 
of  Brixton :  two  figures  by  Miss  Grant,  of 
Regent's  Park,  St.  James  the  Greater  and  St. 
Matthew,  have  been  placed  on  cither  side  of  the 
south-west  portal,  and  a  third  statue,  by  the 
same  lady-artist,  is  ready.  In  all,  up  to  end  of 
1880,  27  new  figures  have  been  placed  in  their 
respective  niches  on  the  west  front.  The  sculp 
tors  whose  work  has  already  found  a  place  in 
the  restoration  are  Miss  Grant,  Mr.  Searle,  and 
Mr.  Bridgman,  of  Lichfield. 

WAEii  protests  are  being  raised,  in  leadiuL 
articles  and  by  correspondents  of  the  Dublin 
newspapers,  against  the  proposition  of  the 
Science  and  Art  Department  to  erect  a  block  of 
buildings,  including  drawing-schools  and  a  mu- 
seum of  art,  on  the  Leinster-lawn,  Merrion- 
square,  DubUn,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Dublin  Society,  held  last  week,  the  scheme  was 


denounced  as  tending  to  deprive  the  city  of  anoper 
space  and  a  beautiful  garden.  Mr.  Walter  G. 
Doolin,  B.A.,  architect,  has  since  written  tc 
the  Diibbn  Fmma/i,  pointing  out  that  the  pro 
posed  schools  and  museum  of  art  will,  by  the 
perversity  of  the  department,  face  east  and 
west,  as  if  to  secure  the  worst  possible  light  foi 
drawing  purposes,  aud  that  if  they  are  erected  as 
arranged,  the  Leinster-lawn  will  be  rendered 
"a  damp,  gloomy,  unwholesome  well,  useless 
to  the  citizens  :  a  monument  of  departmental 
stupidity."  He  urges  that  a  much  more  suit- 
able site  could  be  found  in  Kildare-street,  with 
a  proper  aspect,  and  affording  a  larger  space  foi 
offices,  while  more  convenienttostudents, fromiti 
nearness  to  Trinity  College  library.  Mr.  Doolin 
also  compares  the  action  of  thedepartnientatSouth 
Kensington,  where  they  employed  an  independent 
architect,  selected  by  public  competition,  to  de. 
sign  their  Natural  Histoi-y  Museum,  with  theii 
doings  in  Dublin,  where  they  seek  to  impose  on 
the  citizens  a  design  prepared  by  some  irrespon- 
sible drawing-clerk  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  a 
stranger  to  the  city,  and  ignorant  of  its  wants. 
The  matter  will  be  brought  before  Parliament 
early  in  the  approaching  session. 

On  Sunday,  Dec.  26,  the  Sunday  Society 
opened  two  exhibitions  of  paintings  in  London ; 
one  at  the  east-end,  and  another  at  the  west- 
end.  Both  exhibitions  were  opened  at  4  o'clock, 
and  admission  was  by  ticket.  The  exhibition 
at  the  east  end  was  held  in  theBishopsgate  school 
hall,  and  included  upwards  of  50  valuable  paint 
ings,  lent  by  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
from  the  National  Collection  at  South  Kensing- 
ton. The  original  water-colour  sketches  for  tht 
Arundel  Society's  publications  were  exhibited, 
and  during  the  two  hours  the  exhibition  re- 
mained open  some  excellent  selections  were  per- 
formed upon  the  organ,  the  number  of  visitors 
being  432.  The  Hanover  Gallery  was  the  exhi- 
bition opened  at  the  west  end,  and  382  membeif 
of  the  society  visited  it.  Very  great  interest 
was  taken  in  the  original  drawings  for  Pioich, 
and  in  Mr.  Browning's  picture,  "  The  Delivery 
to  the  Secular  Arm."  At  a  meeting  of  th£ 
committee,  under  the  presidency  of  Prof.  Cor- 
field,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
passed: — " That  the  Committee  of  the  Sunday 
Society,  being  deeply  impressed  with  the 
estimable  character  of  the  late  Duchess  oi 
Westminster,  deplore  the  loss  which  His 
Grace  ihj  Duke  ef  Westminster  has  sustained 
in  the  untimely  death  of  a  wife  who  had  always 
nobly  assistedhim  in  his  efforts  to  promote  thej 
interest  of  the  common  weal,  and  most  siucerelyj 
condole  with  their  esteemed  vice-president  in 
Ms  heavy  bereavement." 

Me.  J.  C.  King  has  published  a  small  chart, 
with  remarks  on  a  plan  for  forming  an  isthmus 
to  join  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  In  a  direct 
line  north-west  of  London  about  365  mUes,  and 
north  of  Dublin  126  nnles,  is  the  narrow  pas- 
sage between  the  two  island.  The  North  Sea 
flows  ceaselessly  into  the  Irish  Sea,  adding  to  its 
volume  many  cubic  mUes  of  water  daily.  It, 
moreover,  swells  the  bulk  of  St.  George's  Chan- 
nel's tempestuous  waste  of  waters,  which  still 
more  widely  divides  the  sister  islands.  .  .  .  The 
Gulf  Stream  supplies  the  currents  flowing  con- 
tinuously tliTOugh  this  narrow  and  shallow  pas- 
sage at  the  rate  of  six  knots  an  hour  ;  this,  if 
stayed  by  a  land  barrier,  would  no  linger  cause 
the  submersion  of  many  thousands  of  acres  oi 
inland  and  coa.-t  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Irish 
Sea  doxn  to  Holyhead  and  Dublin  Bay.  The 
water  passage  between  the  Mull  of  Cantyre  and 
Tor  Point  is  19  miles  wide  by  about  474ft.  deep,,- 
at  mid- current,  but  much  shallower  towardffc 
either  shore.  The  liigh  blufis  of  Cantyre  on  thr 
Scotch  coast,  and  the  still  higher  land  com- 
prising  Mounts  Clady,  Escort,  and  Carnlea  on* 
the  Irish  coast-from  900ft  to  1,200ft.  high-- 
offer  facilities  for  gravitatingthe  materials  reqiii 
site  to  foiTu  the  isthmus  between  the  opposite 
shores.  The  superficial  extent  of  land  required 
would  be  little  more  than  a  square  mile,  the 
average  breadth  and  depth  about  100  yards.  The 
leading  results  to  follow  the  accomplishment  of 
the  undertaking  would  be  the  more  perfect 
homogeneity  of  the  united  peoples;  changing 
the  Irish  Sea  into  a  land-locked  bay ;  and  the 
natural  drainage  of  the  marsh  land,  near  _th« 
coasts,  ready  for  the  highestforms  of  cultivation. 
There  are,  the  author  asserts,  no  engineering 
difficulties  in  the  way  to  prevent  the  immediate 
commencement  of  the  undertaking,  either  as  the 
speculation  of  a  private  company,  or  as 
Government  enterprise. 


Dec.  31,  1880. 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


811 


The  question  of    underground    or  overhead   near    the  specimens.      The  lecturer  began  his 
telegraph  wires  in   cities   must,  says  tlio   Echo,    discourse  by  referring  to  some  remarkable  ex- 
V  shortly  come  up  for  settlement  in  favour  of  the    amples  of  modem  earthcrnware  which  have  only 


former  plan,  especially  if  the  telephone  sj-stcm 
is  to  be  fully  worked.     The  subject  is   as  much 
1| agitated  in  ^ijnerica  as   h,.re,    and  when   there 
have  been  a  few  more  accidents  from  broken 
wires,    the    public  will   demand  an   alteration 
e  American  Union  Telegrapli  is  about  to  try 
e  experiment   of  putting   their  wires   under- 
'gTOund   in  Philadelphia,   though  rather  reluct- 
i  antly,  as  it   involves  a  considerable  outlay.     The 
I  Western  Vnion  Company  has  also  had  the  matter 
under  its  consideration,  but  is  apparently  wait- 
ing unto  some  pressure  is  brought  to  bear  upon 
I  it.     Both  companies  are  well  aware,  as  are  our 
I  Post   Office  authorities,    that  the   subterranean 
system  is  cheaper  in  the  long  run ;  but  ha\-ing 
made  the  mistake  of  erecting  poles,  and  stretch- 
ing wires  to  act  as  gigantic  ^ilolian  harps,  they 
are  putting  off  the  inevitable  as  long  as  possible. 
Some  day,  when  a  real  live  alderm.an  is  strangled 
by  a  falling  wire,   there  will  be  such  an  outcry 
in  the  City  that  all  the  wires  will  be  buried,  as 
^onio  are  now. 

TirE  thirty-first  annual  report  of  the  National 
I  Freehold  Land  Society  is  a  satisfactory  record 
I  of  the  operations  of  the  year  ending  Oct.  31, 
ISSO.  The  subscriptions  dui'tng  the  Tear  were 
£G0rt,01C,  and  the  withdrawals  £490,848.  The 
members'  capital  at  the  end  of  the  year  was 
£118,644  in  excess  of  the  pre\*ious  year,  having 
risen  to  the  .sum  of  £1,.')21,G40,  the  largest 
amount  yet  reached.  The  freehold  and  lease- 
hold securities  have  been  increased  to  £1,378,499, 
and  the  convertible  securities  reduced  to 
£305, -524.  The  reduction  of  the  scale  for  mort- 
gage charges  to  a  uniform  rate  of  U  per  cent, 
mentioned  in  paragraph  5  of  last  year's  report, 
has  yielded  satisfactory  results,  as"  is  shown  by 
the  large  amount  advanced  during  the  year. 
Tlie  rate    of  profit  on  uncompleted  shares  was 

3  per  cent.,  and  of  interest  on  completed  shares 

4  per  cent.,  throughout  the  year.  The  gross 
profit  for  the  ye.ar  was  £(39,710.  Of  this  sum 
the  profit  and  interest  paid  to  members  amounted 
to  t-5.5,lS2.  and  after  paying  expenses  and 
writing  ott  losses,  the  reserve  fund  has  been  in- 
creased from  £.50,270  to  £5.5,301. 

Ox  Wednesday,  Dec.  29th,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  committee  of  the  Parkes  Museum  of 
Hygiene,  Jlr.  G«o.  Godwin,  F.R.S.,  in  the 
chair,  a  proposal  was  made  to  hold  an  inter- 
national exhibition  in  1881.  After  a  long  dis- 
cussion, in  which  Dr.  G.  V.  Poore,  Professor 
Corfield,  Sir.  E.  C.  Robins,  Mr.  Rogers  Field, 
Dr.  Gowers.  and  Mr.  Mark  H.  .Judgetook  part, 
the  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
passed: — "That  Her  Majesty's  Commissioners 
of  1S51  having  expressed  to  the  committee  of 
the  Parkes  Museum  of  Hygiene  their  willing- 
ness to  provide  space  at  South  Kensington  for 
an  exhibition  of  sanitary  appliances  and  the 
industries  connected  with  medicine,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  international  medical  congress 
in  ISSl,  it  is  desirable  that  the  committee  should 
organise  such  an  exhibition,  provided  that  a 
sufficient  guarantee  fund  be  obtained."  Those 
desli-ous  of  assisting  the  committee  in  the  work 
they  have  thus  entered  upon  are  requested  to 
send  their  names  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Museum, 
Professor  Berkeley  Hill 

[The  fifth  and  concluding  lecture  of  the 
orrent  series  of  Cantor  Lectures,  was  delivered 
^-  the  Society  of  Arts  on  Dec.  20th.  Professor 
Ihnrch  discussed  the  subject  of  true  or  hard 
prcelain  from  its  chemical  as  well  as  from  its 
rtistdc  side.  Its  origin  in  China  and  its  imita- 
jWi  in  other  countries,  both  of  the  East  and 
est,  were  described  in  outline.  Special  stress 
laid  upon  the  differences  in  ingredients  and 
final  composition  between  Oriental  porcc- 
ain  and  the  hard  porcelain  of  Dresden, 
Jevres,  Bristol,  and  other  European  factories. 
rhe  immense  fertility  of  the  Chinese  potters  in 
ie  methods  of  decoration  appUed  to  porcelain 
ias  entirely  obviated  that  hardness  of  drawing 
Uid  that  coldness  of  surface  which  characterise 
nost  European  hard  paste  wares.  Among  the 
lOre  interesting  new  analyses  of  porcelains 
hich  Professor  Church  gave  were  those  of  some 
acient  Chinese  pieces  found  in  the  ruins  of 
ndian  temples ;  of  Champion's  Bristol  porcelain ; 
t  Dwight's  Fulh.am  ware;  and  of  Brancas- 
jauragudis's  eirly  and  rare  manufacture.  A 
tmple  experiment  was  shown — namely,  bringing 
ut  the  lovely  tint  of  fine  Hue  and  white  "  Nankin 
hina"  by  burning  a  bit  of  magnesium  riband 


just  been  produced.  They  are  thrown,  designed, 
and  engraved,  and  otherwise  decorated  by  the 
owner  of  the  Barnstaple  potterj-,  Mr.  Braimham. 
Ho  calls  his  work  ' '  Barum  ware,  "  after  the 
old  name  of  this  Devonshire  town. 


CHIPS. 

A  new  steam  crane,  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the 
world,  has  been  in  course  of  construction,  during 
the  past  four,  years,  at  the  Royal  Arsenal, 
Woolwich,  and  is  now  ahnost  completed : 
1,800  tons  of  iron  and  .'!  tons  of  brass  have 
been  used  in  its  construction  ;  it  is  70ft.  in  hcir;ht, 
and  has  a  sweep  of  430ft.  circumstance,  and  will  be 
under  the  control  of  one  man  at  the  central  cylin- 
der.   The  lifting-power  is  1,200  tons. 

The  new  butchers'  market  at  Stafford  was 
opened  on  the  17th  inst.  It  lies  at  the  rear  of  the 
St.  John's  Matket,  and  is  122ft.  long  by  lOft. 
wide.  The  principal  front  faces  Crabbery-street, 
and  is  carried  oit  in  ashlir,  in  a  stj-le  agreeing 
with  the  old  Noah's  Ark  premises  adjoining, 
which  are  to  be  renioaelI.>d  as  market  dining- 
rooms.  The  contract  was  taken  for  the  market  at 
£3,840  by  Mr.  T.  Bridge,  builder,  of  Stafford. 

Tlie  annual  distribution  of  prizes  and  certificates 
to  students  in  the  Portsmoutli  Schools  of  Science 
and  Art  was  made  on  Monday  week  bj  Sir  H. 
Drummond  Wolff,  M.P.,  who  subsequently  do- 
hvered  an  address  on  the  development  and  pro- 
gress of  art  in  tliis  country.  The  annual  report 
was  satisfactory,  and  stated  that  a  debt  of  £45  had 
been  cleared  oil  during  the  year. 

A  cafe  and  coffee- tavern  was  opened  at 
Woodside,  a  populous  suburb  of  Aberdeen,  on 
■Tuesday  week.  It  has  been  erected  from  the  de- 
signs of  Mr.  John  Kust,  jun.,  architect,  of  Aber- 
deen. The  style  is  Classic.  Over  the  shops,  bar, 
and  dinin»-room  is  a  hall,  with  open-timber  roof, 
and  seated  for  350  persons ;  the  chief  front  is  of 
dressed  atone  from  Kearnay.  The  contractors 
were  :  For  masonry,  Messrs.  Smith  and  Beattie, 
Aberdeen  ;  carjjentry,  Mr.  G.  Jamieson,  Wood- 
side  ;  plastering.  Messrs.  Ross  and  Simpson ;  and 
painting  and  glazing,  Messrs.  James  Gannie  .and 
Son,  Aberdeen.  The  total  cost  has  been  £2,000, 
exclusive  of  fittings  and  furniture. 

A  meeting  was  held  at  Midhurst  on  Saturday 
week  to  consider  the  desirability  of  providing  a 
public  hall  in  the  town,  at  which  it  was  resolved 
to  form  a  limited  liability  company,  with  a  capital 
of  £4.000,  for  that  purpose.  Three-fourths  of  the  Heaith''A"t"Ts7.5 
capital  was  taken  up  within  four  days.  -  > 


removed  from  other  parts  of  the  cathedral,  and 
the  holy  table  is  constructed  of  oak,  ebony,  and 
w.alnut  wood,  carved  and  inlaid.  The  dossal  by 
wliich  it  is  covered  is  described  by  a  loial  news- 
paper as  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the  diocese. 

One  of  the  arches  of  a  bridge  which  carries  the 
Neasdon-road  over  the  Child's-hill  branch  of  the 
Midland  Railway  suddenly  gave  way  on  Sunday 
morning,  forming  an  aperture  of  30ft.  in  diameter 
in  the  crown  and  roadway  above. 

An  enlarged  and  entirely  now  station  is  being 
constructed  at  the  Fenchurch-street  terminus  of 
the  London,  Tilbury,  and  Southend  Railway, 
without  interrupting  the  traffic  either  on  the  rail- 
w.ay  or  in  the  street  that  jiasses  under  it.  To 
widen  the  line  over  Crutchcdfriars,  a  boi-girder 
bridge,  1 2ft.  deep,  will  bo  placed,  which  wilihave 
a  span  of  IlOft.  over  that  street  and  Cooper's- 
row  ;  the  line  will  also  be  widened  as  far  as  Good- 
man's yard.  The  whole  of  the  works  have  been 
designed  by  Mr.  Langley.  Mr.  W.  Bang  is  the 
contractor  for  the  bridges  required  in  the  exten- 
sion ;  Mr.  J.  Cardus  for  the  viaduct,  and  Messrs. 
Perry  and  Co.,  for  the  offices  and  station  build- 
ings. Between  300  and  400  men  are  employed  on 
the  work  at  the  present  time. 

New  offices  have  i  ist  been  completed  in  the 
Horsefair,  Wolverhampton,  for  the  board  of 
guardians  of  that  town.  Messrs.  Banks  and 
D.jubleday  were  the  architects,  and  Mr.  Evans  was 
{he  contractor. 

Izant's  restaurant,  in  Bucklersbury,  E.G.,  has 
just  been  rebuilt  for  Messrs.  Lake  and  Turner,  the 
proprietors.  The  buffet  occupies  the  whole  of  the 
ground-floor,  the  walls  of  which  are  covered  with 
encaustic  tiles  designed  by  the  late  Mr.  C.  A. 
Gould,  the  architect  of  the  new  premises.  The 
kitchen,  which  is  at  the  top  of  the  house,  has  been 
fitted  by  Messrs.  Jones,  Dray,  and  Co.,  and  the 
buffet-fittings  are  by  Mr.  Waruo,  of  Blackfriars- 
road.  Messrs.  Ashby  Brothers  were  the  buUders. 

A  large  reading-room  at  the  free  library, 
Wolverhampton,  has  been  opened  this  week,  being 
part  of  the  extension  scheme.  It  is  fitted  with 
desks  specially  designed  by  the  contractor,  Mr. 
Horseman,  Darlington- street,  Wolverhampton. 

The  local  board  of  Tijiton  have  received  34  ap- 
plications for  the  vacant  office  of  surveyor,  and 
have  referred  them  to  a  committee  for  selection. 


An  inquiry  was  held  at  Bungay,  Suffolk,  on 
Wednesday  week,  before  Mr.  Robert  Morgan, 
C.E.,  of  the  Loi^al  Government  Board,  into  a  peti- 
tion praying  that  parts  of  the  town  should  be  made 
into  the  district  of  a  local  board  having  an  urban 
sanitary  authority's    powers    under    the    Public 


The  water  commissioners  of  Belfast  have  de- 
termined to  provide  a  plentiful  supply  of  water  for 
the  town,  and  have  arranged  for  the  formation  of 
a  large  storage  reservoir  near  Carrickfergus  and 
other  important  works  of  extension.  The  contracts 
for  the  work  have  been  taken  by  Mr.  Peter  Quin, 
of  SpriBgbum. 

At  a  public  meeting,  held  in  Dundee  on  Wednes- 
day, Dr.  John  Boyd  Baxter  intimated  that  he  in- 
tended giving  £125,000  for  the  estabUsbment  in 
that  town  of  a  college  similar  to  Owens  College, 
Manchester. 

A  trial  trip  was  made  last  week  in  Aberdeen 
harbour  with  a  new  spoon  steam -crane  lighter, 
fitted  with  special  apparatus  by  which  it  is  hoped 
to  deepen  the  parts  of  the  harbour  inaccessible  to 
ordinary  dredgers.  It  is  provided  with  the  patent 
crane  and  dredging  bucket  of  Messrs.  Priestman 
Brothers,  of  Hull,  and  has  also  a  pair  of  three- 
pronged  grabs  for  seizing  and  raising  large  stones. 
Messrs.  IBIaikie  Brothers,  of  Aberdeen,  took  the 
contract  for  engines  and  screw-propeller,  and  Mr. 
J.  F.  Forrest  that  for  the  construction  of  the 
lighter-barge.  The  vess-l  has  self-propelling  ma- 
chinery, the  same  steam-power  being  utilised  when 
it  has  reached  a  shallow  part  for  dredging  up  silt 
deposits  close  to  a  buoy  or  quay,  for  raising  stones 
from  the  navigable  channels,  and  also  for  unload- 
ing the  stones  by  means  of  the  crane  on  to  the 
quay. 

The  local  board  of  health  for  Croydon  has  now 
definitively  resolved  to  purchase  two  sites  for 
people's  parks  from  the  Ecclesiastical  Commis- 
sioners. The  first  is  at  Oakhill,  where  eight  acres 
of  laud  have  been  purchased  at  a  cost  of  £500  per 
acre,  and  the  second,  at  Selhurst.  ^vill  cover  an  area 
of  14  acres,  and  will  cost  the  towu  £10,000. 

An  inquiry  was  held  at  Gillingham,  near 
Rochester,  on  Wednesday  we-k,  before  Mr.  Arnold 
Taylor,  an  inspector  of  the  local  government 
board,  concerning  an  application  by  the  Gillingham 
local  board  for  leave  to  borrow  £2,000  for  making 
up  and  paving  various  streets  in  the  district.  No 
opposition  was  raised  to  the  proposal. 

Anew  altuhas  just  been  erected  in  Canterbury 
Cathedral.      The    stonework    is    of    old  masonry 


A  memorial  window  is  about  to  be  erected  in 
the  parish-church  of  Melton  Mowbray,  in  remem- 
brance of  the  late  Mrs.  Markham. 

The  peal  of  bells  in  the  pasish-church  of  Ikeo, 
near  Woodbridge,  has  just  been  rehung  on  a  new 
oak  frame,  and  the  belfry  has  been  restored.  The 
work  was  carried  out  by  Messrs.  George  Day  and 
Sons,  of  Eye. 

A  new  public  hall  at  Devonport  is  approaching 
completion,  having  been  roofed-in  during  the 
past  fortnight.  Mr.  Knight  is  the  architect,  and 
Mr.  Matcham  the  contractor. 

The  winter  session  of  the  Cumberland  and 
Westmoreband  .\.ntiquarian  Society  ^vill  be  held  at 
Penrith  on  the  19th  and  20th  Januarv-.  The 
features  of  the  meeting  will  be  the  exhibition  of  a 
loan  collection  of  arms  and  armour,  and  a  drive  on 
the  first  day,  to  places  of  interest  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Penrith. 

The  Keswick  local  board  proceeded,  on  Friday, 
to  elect  a  successor  to  Mr.  Daniel  Tell,  in  the 
offices  of  surveyor  and  manager  of  waterworks. 
Ihere  were  upwards  of  40  applicants  for  the  ap- 
pointment, from  amongst  whom  the  beard  selected 
Mr.  W.  Hodgson,  of  Keswick ;  Mr.  G.  Harrison, 
of  Keswick,  and  Mr.  Russel,  of  Stockton-on-Tees, 
and  Mr.  Hodgson  was  finally  selected. 

The  Brentford  l)oard  of  guardians  at  their  last 
meeting  decided  to  erect  schools  and  dormitories 
for  300  children  upon  the  meadow  opposite  their 
union.  Mr.  Edwatti  Monson,  jun.,  of  Grosvenor 
House,  The  Vale,  Acton,  W.,  is  to  be  the  archi- 
tect. 

The  new  Hesperus  or  triplet  lamp,  of  which 
Messrs.  Jones  and  Willis,  of  Birmiughiim,  are  the 
patentees  and  manufacturers,  has  just  been  adopted 
at  Kilby  church,  near  Leicester  ;  Portmashangar 
church,  Mullingar,  Ireland;  and  the  mission 
church,  Bolton- le-Sands. 

On  January  ISth  and  following  days  the  Essex 
and  Chelmsford  Museum  will  hold  an  exhibition  of 
pictures  painted  by  Essex  artists,  and  pictures  of 
Essex  scenes  painted  by  other  than  Essex  artists. 
Anyone  willing  to  assist  in  so  praiseworthy  an 
object  should  communicate  to  Mr.  Edward  Dur- 
rant,  the  hon.  secretary  of  the  Museum. 


81-; 


THE  BUILDING  NEWS. 


Dec.  .31,  HSO. 


CHIPS. 

The  Qaeen  has  appointed  Mr.  J.  C.  Eobinson, 
»urTe)-or  of  her  Majesty's  pictures  iu  succession  to 
Mr.  liichard  liedgrave.R  A.,  C.B. 
■  Ou  Wcducsday,  rnncess Christian  opcn»d  anew 
cottage  hospitulat  Kuslefield-green,  near  Egham, 
aod  a  short  distance  from  Cumberland-lodge, 
Windsor  Great  Park.  The  hospital  has  been  built 
to  accommoda'e  eight  adult  patients  and  six  chil- 
dren, at  a  cost  of  about  £'2,.)00.  The  hospital  is  of 
very  simple  design  in  red  brick  and  shingles,  the 
architect  being  Mr.  C.  H.  Howell,  of  Lancaster- 
place. 

At  ameotiu^of  the  directors  of  the  "Cleat  Hills 
Hydropathic  Establishmtnt"  on  Thursday,  the2.')rd 
iast.,  Mr.  W.  Hoffman  Wood,  of  Ben  Khjddiug, 
was  appointed  (luantity  surveyor  for  the  intended 
new  buildings,  which  are  estimated  to  cost  £35,000. 
Messrs.  Mackenzie  and  Smith  are  the  architects  for 
the  works,  which  it  is  intended  to  commence  in 
spring. 

The  Severn  tunnel  works  are  being  pushed  for- 
ward with  great  energy.  Four  hundred  men  are 
employed,  and  the  large  pump,  specially  made  for 
the  purpose  from  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Richard- 
son, C.E.,  is  now  throwing  about  3,700  gallons  of 
water  per  minute.  It  is  hoped  that  the  uuder- 
ground  works  will  shortly  be  freed  from  water.  Upon 
the  Gloucester  side  a  small  portion  of  tlie  masonry 
of  the  tunnel  has  been  completed,  and  Mr.  Wa'ker, 
the  contractor,  is  getting  the  work  well  in  band. 

The  Pulsomctor  Engineering  Company,  Limited, 
have  found  it  necessary  to  remove  from  Battersea 
to  much  larger  and  more  convenient  premises.  Nine 
Elms  Ironworks,  Hayle  Foundry  Wharf,  London, 
S.W.,  situate  nearer  to  the  City,  and  possessing 
river  frontage,  and  an  area  of  about  three-quarters 
of  an  acre. 

The  new  building  of  the  Birmingham  Medical 
Institute  was  opened  on  Friday. 

MEETINGS  FOR  THE  ENSUING  WEEK. 

Mo.vuAY. — Royal  lostitiite  of  British  Architects.     S  p.m. 
Loudon  Institution.  Dr.  Andrew  Wil- 
son on  "  The  Past  and  Present  of  Cuttle 
Fishes."    5p  m. 

"Wednesday.— British  Archaeological  Association.  Dr. 
Wake  Smart,  "  Notes  on  Roman  Re- 
mains from  NursUog,  Hants  '*  ;  G.  R.  N. 
Wright,  F.  S.  A.,  on  "  The  Hardship  of 
the  Present  Law  of  Treasure  Trove." 
8  p.m. 

Tui-RSDAT.— London  Institution.  Professor  Henry  Mor- 
ley  oil  "Our  Li\iDg  Dramatists."  7  p.m. 
Civil  and  Mechanical  Engineers* 
Society.  J.  Coates,  F.G.S.,  A.M.I  C.E., 
" Account  uf  Sombrero  Island,  West 
Tt;":  -.  v.'i-h  r>' MTiption  of  Submarine 
'i  ■   ■  .  1  1:  Ksphateof Lime."  7p 

Friday.— Archil         I  ,:    \     .    i   ■,.,n.    C.  R.  Pink  on  ' 
W  '     .    -i  S    11. Ik."     7  30  pm. 

Satceday.- Parkcs  .MuMum  .jl  IIy»iene.  E.  C.  Robi„, 
F.S.A.,  on  •'Ventilation,  Lighting,  and 
Warming."    3.30  p.m. 


"WAGES    MOVEMENTS. 

Stoke-ox-Tkext.— As  an  outcome  of  the  general 
dissatisfaction  with  which  the  operative  potters  of 
the  Staffordshire  pottery  towns  regard  the  recent 
decision  of  Mr.  Brassey,  M.P.,  umpire  of  the  board 
of  arbitration,  a  mass  meeting  of  potters  from 
every  town  in  the  district  was  held  at  Hanley  ou 
Tue:  day  week,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the  opera- 
tives should  withdraw  from  the  board  and  form  a 
general  federation  of  all  branches  of  the  trade. 
This  amounts  to  a  dissolution  of  the  board  of  aibi- 
tration,  which  has  regulated  wages  between  mas- 
ters and  men  for  many  years  past. 

Geeexock.— The  master  masons  of  Greenock 
contemplate  making  a  reduction  of  one  halfpenny 
per  hour  ou  the  men's  wages  after  to-morrow,  the 
1st  January.  The  present  rate  of  pay  is  GJd.  per 
hour,  but  already  one  master  pays  the  reduced 
wage  of  Gd.  In  issuing  the  announcement  the 
masters  express  the  hope  that  they  will  soon  be  in 
a  position  to  improve  the  wages. 


Doulting  Freestone  and  Ham  Hill  Stone 

cf  best  quality.     Prices,  delivered  at  any  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  given  on  application  to 
CHAELES  TRASK, 
Norton-sub-Hamdon,  Hminster,  Somerset. 
—  [AnvT.] 


V 


McLACHLAN  &  SONS,  35,  St-  James's- 

street,  S.W.  Builders,  Decoratoi-s,  and  House  Painters. 

DesigTis   and  Estimates. 

General   Eepaii-3   and    Alterations  Executed. 

Experienced  Workmen  always  in  readiness,  and  sent  to 

any  part  of  the  countiy.— C-^^vt.] 


BATH    STONE. 

SUMMER     DRIED, 

CORSHAM    DOWN, 
100,000  Feet  Cube. 
PICTOE  &  SONS,  BOX,  WILTS. 


Deptford.— For   the    erection  of   bakehouse.  No.  5, 
Broadway.    Mr    J.  Wall,    A.E.I.B.A,   ai-chitect,  New 
Cross-road,  S.L.    Accepted  tenders: — 
Por  building: — 

Banks,  Lewisham       £210    0    0 

For  ovens :  — 

Smith  and  Co.,  Lambeth      87  10    0 

FoBFAii,  N.B.— For  the  erection  of  a  Masonic  hall  in 
Castle-street,  Forfar.    Accepted  tenders  :  — 
Masonry  :  — 

Adamson,  W.,  Forfar. 
Joinery  : — 

Stewart,  W.  and  Son,  Forfar. 
Plumbing  :— 

Kinnear,  W.  and  Ca.,  Dundee. 
Slating  :— 

Moffilt,  W.,  Forfar. 
Plastering : — 

Masteit.m,  D.,  Fuifar. 
Total  amount  of  contracts    ...    £1,200  10    0 
Great  Chart,  East  Kent.— For  the  building  of  two 
cottages  at  Great  Chait : — 

Bamett,  Asbf ord        £276    0    0 

Paine,  Willesborough  270    0    0 

Knock,  Ashford  230    0    n 

Pack,  Bros  ,  Egerton 219  10    0 

Howland.  Bros.,  Ashford    219    0    u 

Maxted  and  Turk,  Pluckley  ...        2U    0    0 

Padgham,  Great  Chart         2U    0    0 

Martin,  Ashford         205    0    0 

Toumey  &  Son,  Ashford  (accepted)        191    8    0 
Hampstead-road. — For   various    alterations     at   the 
"Sols  Arms,"    No.    65,    Hampstead-road,    for  Mr.  B. 
Beach.    Mr.  James  Robert  Fuiniss,  architect  :— 

Gould  and  Brand        £183    0    0 

Toms       169    0    0 

White     159    0    0 

Evers       1*5    »    0 

Simpson  (accepted)     113    0    0 

London. — For   making    various     alterations   at   the 
Mech.anic's  Larder,"  Gray's  Inn-road,  tor  Mr.  Elliott. 
Mr.  James  Robert  Furniss,  architect  :  — 
Teague  (accepted). 
For  the  erection    of    St.  Peter's  Hospital, 
Covent-garden,  W.C.    Mr.    J.    M.  Brydon,    architect. 
Quantities  by  Messrs.  Franklin  and  Andrews  :  — 

Extra  for 
tile  dada 
to  Wards. 
£50    0    0 


liamplouirh's  Pyretic  Saline  Is  refreshine, 

mo't  :»^T^-..:,ble,  .itid  til,-  pit.yontiveof  FEVEIls.  BILIOL'SNESS 
8>HI.L  POX,  SKIN  DISEASKS,  and  many  ithcr  spring  an7 
•ummerailmpnti.  .Sold  by  chpmists  throushout  thcw.uia  and 
tb«.Makcr.  Ita.  UulbornUill.     Use  no  lubtUlute —iAofrA 

Eolloway's  Pills- the  sheet-anchor  of  the  con- 
firmed dyspi.ptie.    A  few  trials  irill  prove  tlioir  potency  in  rc- 

appellto.  ivant'of'Sp,'and"JS  uu"r"«'cariM»  wh'Ic'b  lilwa?! 
»«i'«  on  n  f.  ml  .iiul  disordered  itoraach.  Tucv  act  as  alteratives 
sedutivea,  and  gentle  aperients  ..,.,^0. 

„  ^PPS's  Cocoa.-Grateful  and  Comforting'.— 

oneLn'r. ' '       ''.""'.'■   ^  ■■•■"'the 

"'""■'■^  1,,?,,',?,° 

Tided...  ^ii.ispio- 


drcds  of  subtle  maladies  are  lloatiiii;  around  >i  ready  to' att  ',"k 
^l.Vr'JT  "■'■■"'"'"■''!'''  I"""'-  '"''■  ">»y  "rape  many  a  fatal 
»baft  by  keepinii  ourselves  wcU  fortilied  with  pure  blood  and  a 

f™  1™  .^'i','''"'  .''"'J'.'^'''''  »»''  <^°-  HomecopatUic  Clieniists. 
London.  -Also  malcorsoriipps's  Cliocolatc  Essence  foraftcmoons! 


TENDERS. 

*.*  Correspondents  would  in  atl  cases  oblige  by  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  parties  tendering— at  any  rate,  of  the 
accepted  tender— it  adds  to  the  value  of  the  information. 

Batlet.— For  Batlf  y  Cottage  Hospital.    Mr.  Walter 

Hanstock,  architect,  Batley.    Accepted  tenders  :  — 

Mason :  — 

Picston,  W.,  CarUnghow,  Batley     £2,050    0    0 

Joiner  :  — 

Jackson,  G  E 770    0    0 

Plumber  :  — 
Brook,  J.,  Heckmondwike  ...  295    0    0 

Plasterers : — 
MetcalfandLockwood.Staincliffe  1.33  10    0 

Slater:- 
Thornton,  J.,  Heckmondwike     ...  159    0    0 

£3,409  10    0 
Carrickfergus.—  For  the   construction    of    a  storage 
reservoir  near  Carrickfergus,  for  th--  water  commissioners 
of  Belfast :  - 

Quin,  P.,  of  SpringbUrn  (accepted). 
Chesterton,  Casibs.- For  making  a  sewer  in  the  New- 
cut,  otherwise  iJt.  George's-street,  for  the  local  board : — 

Unwin  (accepted)  £SS  10    0 

LLowest  tender  received  ] 
Crouch  End.— For  the  erection  of  a  villa  at  Crescent- 
road,  Crouch  End,  for  the  Eev.  A.  Eowland.    Messrs 
Lander  and  Bedells,  architects  :— 

With  slate         With  tile 
roof.  roof. 

£1,633  0  0  fl,5G2  0  0 
1,625  0  0  1,545  0  0 
1,500  0  0  1,.520  0  0 
1,390    0    0        1,400    0    0 


Mattock,  Bros.    ... 

L»wi3        

McCormick  &  Sons 


Chamberlain    . . . 

Fish,  C 

Dove,  Bros. 
DartneU,  E.,  Br 
Jarrett,  C.,  Croydon 
Higgs  and  Hill 
Bird,  S 


ited 


£12.312  0 

11,984  0 

11,925  0 

11,830  0 

11,464  0 

11,430  0 

11,300  0 

11,243  0 

10,720  0 

10,680  0 

10,550  0 

10,395  0 

10,337  0 
10,274 


120  0  0 
75  0  ft 
108    0    ft 


Ashley,  Bros 

Conder,  E 

Stimpson  and  Co. 

Lawrance         

Nightingale     

Patrick,  M.  and  Son... 

Long  Eaton,  Notts.- For   enlarging   and   widening 

Brook-bridge,  for  the  local  board  :—  .^ 

Poxon  and  Eice  (accepted)     £36    0    0      , 

Marylebone.— For  alterations  and  repairs  to  No.  SK 

Wimpole-sb-eet,  W.,  for  Mr.  Eickman  J.  Godlee.    M» 

Mark  H.  Judge,  architect : —  M 

Andrews  (accepted)     £223    0    "     T 

Menstone.— For  the  erection  of  a  terrace  of  scv^ 
houses  at  Menstone,  Leeds.  Mr.  Harry  May,  architeeH 
Quantities  supphed.    Accepted  tenders:—  I 

Mason's  work  :—  f 

Etching  Bros, 
Joiner's  work:  — 

Binns,  W. 


Plumber's  work  :  — 
Plasterer's  work  :  - 


Slater's  work : 


Biu:ley,  E. 
Laycock,  J, 
Smithies,  J. 


Painter's  work:  — 

Higginbotham,  D.  and  Sons. 
Total  amoimt  of  contract       ...    £4,008  10 
Peckham.- For  additions  to  the  plant  of  Messrs. 
Gordon  and  Co.'s  brewery,  Peckham.    Messrs.  Sca" 
and  Colyer,  IS,  Gre;it  George-street,  Westminster, 
gincers : — 

BlundeU,  Bros-  (accepted). 
St.  John's,  S.E.-For  underpinning  worksatNos. 
and  51,  Eavensboume-street. 
surveyor,  New  Cross-road  :— 

Keen,  H 

Tong  

Bauks,  Lewisham  (accepted ) 


Mr.  J.  Wall,  .\.E.LB.A» 
£97    0    I 


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PARQUET  FLOORINGS, 

l.W.OiXl  tt.  super,  in  stock,  ready  for  Laj-ing 
RIGA  INCH  OAK  FLOOR  BOAEDS, 
Is.  per  foot  super,  (grooved  &  tongued). 
se    Stock    alwatjs    ready    for    Laying. 


WOOD  CARVINGS. 

AU  Styles  executed  for  the  Trade  at  SpciasI 

Bates.     Skilled  Artisans  sent  to  all  ptirta  01 

the  country.     . 

Estimates  and  Designs  on  Application. 


THIM  PARQUET 


R^iid  .Parquc' 


ARTISTIC 


t).    5-lS  inch  thick,  propared  o 

linations,  equal    in    wvnr    to    inu 

Uspd  for  Veneering  old  cxiitiu 

See  Cwcstnict-oii. 


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